Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The three classes of Hope’s Peak Academy were enjoying a pleasant December lunch after Midterms.

Class 77 was as raucous as ever, the noise from their classroom audible even from far down the hall.

Ibuki was playing her air guitar as her friends watched in amusement. Akane and Nekomaru were close to duking it out, if not for the efforts of Hajime and Sonia.

In Class 78, things were much calmer, though their conversations were no less engaging. 

Makoto was discussing their Econ assignment with Byakuya, who was reluctantly instructing him, though anyone with a decent pair of eyes could see that he was pleased to be doing so.

Mondo, Chihiro, Leon, and Kiyotaka were talking about something or other, while Sayaka was giggling at Hifumi and Celeste.

The 79th Class of Hope’s Peak was, if it was even possible, more obnoxious than 77, if it weren’t for the efforts of some of the class (Mostly Kaede and Kirumi).

Kaede, Shuichi, Kokichi, Maki, and Kaito were engaged in a very animated conversation, one that Miu was trying, and failing, to pretend she wasn’t eavesdropping on.

All three classes were having a fine time when the ground suddenly started to shake. For one reason or another, all 48 people passed out.

***

Bev watched all the people they wanted phase into their room. They were spread out around the room, lying unconscious on the ground.

One by one, they began to stir, going from dazed to confused and scared. They all started talking at various intensity until-

“Everyone! Please be quiet!” Bev yelled at the top of their lungs.

Immediately, everyone turned to face them, 

“Thank you. Welcome, students of Hope’s Peak. Now, I’m sure you have a lot of questions, so let me preemptively answer some. My name is Bev, they/them pronouns if you would, and yes, I did bring you here. I’m not saying how, but you are in a void of sorts, so time won’t pass in your world. As for why you’re here, that’s simple. I need you to watch something. It mainly focuses on Class 79, but it does pertain to everyone in this room. If you would find your assigned seat, we can get started. I will provide context and answer questions as necessary.”

The students looked between one another, especially at Class 79, since Bev had said they were the focus, but they did as asked, locating their seats without complaint.

The classes were set in three loose rows, 79, 77, and 78 from front to back

Byakuya, Makoto, Sayaka, and Kyoko were given a couch to share, as were Chihiro, Mondo, Taka, and Leon on another four-seater. Sakura and Aoi, and Junko and Mukuro were each on a two-seater. Hifumi, Celeste, Hiro, and Toko all had their own recliners.

Class 77 was as follows 

Nagito, Hajime, and Chiaki had their own couch, as did the Fab 4 (as Ibuki had so christened the group consisting of her, Mikan, Hiyoko, and Mahiru). Fuyuhiko and Peko were sharing with Gundham and Sonia, while Akane and Nekomaru had a couch much like Sakura and Aoi. The Imposter, Teruteru, and Kazuichi had recliners.

Kaito, Maki, Kaede, Shuichi, and Kokichi had the biggest sofa in the room, one that was front and center to the screen that Bev was going to show them something on. Tenko, Himiko, and Angie had their own couch, as well as Miu and Keebo. Everyone else in Class 79 had recliners

“Awesome,” Bev finally said. “Let’s get started, shall we?”

Bev sat down with a bounce in their own recliner, making a remote appear out of nowhere. They pointed it at the screen and pressed play.

Chapter Text

The scene opened with Keebo, Tsumugi, Himiko, Maki, and Shuichi standing behind podiums at various points around a circle. The other slots contained pictures of their classmates with red x’s and other symbols over their faces. It then panned to Monokuma and the Monokubs.

“Uh, Bev…”

Bev sighed, but knew exactly what Hiro was asking. “Alright, two seconds in and it’s already exposition time. So. The bear’s name is Monokuma. The smaller bears from left to right are Monodam, Monosuke, Monotaro, Monophanie, and Monokid, collectively known as the Monokubs.”

“I do not believe that was what Yasuhiro was asking,” Korekiyo said cooly. “I believe he was referring to the fact that only five of our classmates are physically present, while the others are being represented by crossed-out portraits. Do explain, would you?”

Bev sighed again. “Ok, here goes. To start, each one of your classes was forced to play a killing game-”

“What!?” was the unsurprising response of a majority of the students, including one Junko Enoshima. However, she was extremely pleased. Her plan of a killing game with her classmates seemed to have been a future success, and classes 77 and 79 played as well? Even better. She didn’t know where the so-called Monokubs came from, but she did know Monokuma, as he was her intended mascot for the Class 78 game.

“What do you mean ‘Killing Game’?” Mahiru demanded.

“It might be easier to understand if I explain the basic rules and premise. All students are trapped in a location, in this case it’s called the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles, with no escape. The only way to leave is to kill someone and get away with it.” 

“That’s awful…” Sayaka murmured. “Who would do such a thing?”

“You’d be surprised, Sayaka,” Bev said. “Anyway, a class trial occurs after a body is discovered and the remaining students are given time to investigate. The murderer, called the blackened, has to get away with their crime at the trial or else they’ll be executed.”

“An eye for an eye,” Celeste said to herself.

Bev nodded. “That’s the idea. However, should they get away with it, all the other students will be executed instead.”

“And that’s what’s happened with our class?” Ryoma inquired.

“Indeed, as well as with classes 77 and 78. However, I should tell you that this is not a normal class trial. Its abnormal circumstances are why I’m showing it to you in the first place. Let’s get back to watching, shall we?”

“I'd like to begin by asking Shuichi a question, since this class trial was his idea…” Monokuma started. 

“Huh? Me? Why would I call for a class trial?” Shuichi said in slight shock.

“You’ll see in just a moment. It’s for a good reason,” Bev assured him.

Shuichi nodded, but he still felt a bit uneasy. The class trials weren’t a good thing, so why had he gone out of his way to ask for one?

“What, exactly, is the point of this class trial?” 

“Yeah! Why are we having a class trial if no one died!?

“No one died?” Hajime asked rhetorically.

“The mystery deepens, it seems,” Chiaki responded. She’d played murder mystery investigation games, of course, but none had ever had a premise quite like this.

Whoa! My voice was playing louder than I expected! I might be on a roll today!” Monotaro said in surprise.

“Hey, I'm no slouch at bein’ a loudmouth either!” Monokid protested.

“Me too!” Monophanie agreed

“Monodam’s voice is super soft, though. Everyone cool with him gettin’ blown up!?” Monosuke asked.

“Uh, b-blown up?” 

Bev turned to Chihiro. “Yeah... I wouldn’t get too attached to them, Chihiro. Oh, and Monokuma has a detonator.”

“Oh, okay…” 

“YOU-SAID-THAT-THE-KILLING-GAME-WOULD-END-IF-YOU-EXPOSED-THE-TRUTH-AT-THE-CLASS-TRIAL. SO, YOU-BASTARDS...WHAT-IS-THE-PURPOSE- OF- THIS-CLASS-TRIAL?” Monodam asked in his robotic way. 

“Can they just get on with it already?” Hiyoko huffed. “I don’t want to be here,” she then complained.

Mahiru shushed her, patting her hand lightly.

“Oh, that's a good question!” Monokuma said happily.

“But his voice was quiet!” Monotaro protested

“Does voice volume not matter at all!?” Monphanie exclaimed. 

“No, it does not in most cases,” Sonia said. “Projection is important, of course, but what you say and how you say it are much more important.”

“Wow...as expected of Miss Sonia,” Kazuichi said, getting a stern glare from Gundham, which he immediately withered under.  

Shuichi started at the six bears. “All right, I'll give you an answer. The reason I called for this trial is... I wish to retry a past case.”

“Oh?” Kyoko’s interest was instantly piqued. She had never personally overseen a retry of a case, but she knew that it had the potential to change the conclusion drastically. 

Shuichi may be her underclassman, but she both respected and trusted him as a fellow detective, and as such, she believed his reason for doing this would be justified.

“A retrial!?” Monokid yelled.

“For which case?”Tsumugi asked. 

“The first one-the murder of Rantaro Amami. 

Rantaro’s eyes suddenly widened “So I died first? That’s unfortunate.”

Though he appeared relatively unbothered by this revelation, most of his classmates could tell that it was upsetting him. Everyone else was either unphased or just surprised. 

“Yes, you did,” Bev confirmed, tossing a handful of popcorn in their mouth.

I've found new evidence relevant to the case. In light of that evidence, I demand a retrial!”

“What's the point of a retrial? The result of the first-class trial has already been settled.” Monokuma said.

“Not if new evidence has been found,” Kyoko countered, though Monokuma couldn’t hear her, of course.

Shuichi nodded in agreement. “The case isn’t settled until those pieces are accounted for.” 

He hadn’t come here expecting to solve the murder of one of his classmates, but Shuichi just hoped everything would turn out okay.

“Yeah yeah!” Monotaro quickly agreed. 

“What if our vote...was wrong,” Shuichi said, pulling some of his fringe in front of his eye.

“Eh? A wrong outcome?” Junko said in ‘surprise.’ In truth, she was squealing internally. She was absolutely loving the drama already. Looking around, she saw similar expressions of surprise.

“Vote?” Ryoma questioned.

“Right, that’s how they decide who they think the culprit is, and who gets executed.

“Nyeh? Wrong!?” Himiko said in bewilderment

“That’s breaking the rules Bev outlined earlier!” Taka said suddenly. That caused the room to erupt in chatter.

“That’s true, isn’t it…” Aoi said slowly.

Sakura nodded. “Bev said that if the guilty party was found out, they alone would be executed. However…”

“If Monokuma executed an innocent person knowingly, that would be a violation of the rules,” Kyoko said

“I bet he probably just doesn’t care,” Leon said dismissively. “I mean, it’s a killing game, right?”

“Well, yes. However, the punishment rule is one of the most important rules in the game. Also, I should mention that Monokuma is a stickler for the rules.”

“The whole game wouldn’t make sense anymore if he could just kill off anybody he wants,” Peko stated, her red eyes level with Bev. Bev just nodded.

“Monokuma said the blackened for that incident was Kaede...” Maki said.

“Wh-what...What!” Kaede yelped in shock. 

Rantaro looked at her, trying to force down the feeling of betrayal. 

“K-kaede kill Rantaro? Why?” Gonta questioned.

“I-I’m wondering that as well.” Kaede agreed, though she seemed a little pale.

“You were trying to kill the mastermind,” Bev explained. “Rantaro was simply unfortunate enough to get caught in the crossfire.”

The two students in question looked at each other. Though he undoubtedly felt betrayed, Rantaro gave the pianist a slight smile and nod before turning back to the screen.

“Are you saying he was wrong!?” Keebo asked.

“Wh-Wh-Wha-What!?” Monokid yelled.

“Monokid, your reactions are too extreme! It's making the rest of us look bad.” Monophanie admonished.

“...” Monokuma pulled out the detonator

“O-oh shit! he's already got the detonator!” Monosuke stuttered.

“Oh dear…” Chiaki murmured, leaning on Hajime, who just patted her head with an awkward smile.

“To test the validity of our vote we're going to retry the entire case.” Shuichi continued. “If Monokuma was wrong...the validity of these trials would be in question. The entire killing game wouldn't make sense anymore!”

“A killing game doesn’t make sense in the first place,” Ibuki muttered loudly, scratching the back of her head.

“I see...You think you can destroy the game by calling out my failure as the gamemaster.”

At this, Junko was surprisingly caught slightly off guard. Destroy the game?

Destroy the...Hah! She’d like to see them try. The idea was so funny she almost started laughing out loud, but managed to contain herself.

“You shouldn't have a problem with this if you have nothing to hide, Monokuma.”

Makoto nodded. “He really shouldn’t.”

“Puhuhu...So in the end the first case has become the focal point yet again... What a twist! What an interesting twist! Okay, let's do this!” Monokuma said excitedly.

“So what is this new truth?” Maki asked him.

“There are several... but before we go any further, I want to discuss Rantaro’s talent.” 

At this, the Adventurer arched an eyebrow. Surely it couldn’t be that important, right? Why would adventuring be of any importance in this game?

“Did you learn what his talent was?” Keebo questioned.

“Huh? Did we not know?” Kaito said in confusion. 

Bev shook their head. “Rantaro’s talent was a mystery to everyone but him, and was different from what his real talent is.”

“So Rantaro’s not the Ultimate Adventurer?”

“Not in this situation, Himiko, no.”

“Rantaro’s Ultimate talent was a mystery, but now I know…” Shuichi thought as he looked at the guy in question’s x'ed out portrait.

He...was the ultimate survivor,” Shuichi finally said.

“That Ulta-what now?” Miu said loudly

“Ultimate...survivor?” Maki echoed uncertainty. 

“What might that mean…” Byakuya wondered. Unfortunately, he didn’t have anything else to go off of.

“I saw it too. He said so in his video,” Himiko confirmed.

A flashback of Rantaro was shown.

“Well, the truth is...this isn’t your first killing game,” 

“I see...very interesting...Wait, whaaat?!”

Rantaro just shook his head at Hifumi’s antics, but he was just as shocked as everyone else. He’d been in another killing game? He’d survived, obviously, if that was his other talent, but seriously?

he told the camera. “You’re the Ultimate Survivor. You survived the last killing game. That’s why you get this perk-the Survivor Perk.”

“Rantaro became the Ultimate Survivor after surviving a past killing game. After his memory was wiped, he participated in the killing game once again.” 

“B-but, why…?” Mikan struggled to get the rest of her thought out, but everyone was pretty much thinking the same thing.

“So this wasn’t Rantaro’s first killing game?” Tsumugi asked, somewhat incredulously.

“But why did he participate in a second killing game!?” Keebo asked.

I'm not sure yet…” Shuichi admitted. “But after I learned that Rantaro is the Ultimate Survivor, I deduced his objective.”

“...Rantaro’s objective?” Maki asked in confusion.

“That must have to do with the reason he ended up being killed by Kaede,” Kirumi said thoughtfully.

“But wait,” Tenko interjected. “Didn’t Shuichi say he was retrying the case because he thought the result was wrong? If the initial result was Kaede…”

“I see, I see, then Shuichi must think Kaede is innocent,” Angie said lightly.

“Wait, so Kaede not kill Rantaro?”

“We don’t know that for certain, Gonta,” Maki reminded him. “However, that does seem to be the case.”

“The reason he went to the library before he was killed, and why he knew about the hidden door,” the detective elaborated.

“Wait, hidden doors?” Kazuichi suddenly perked up. “Hidden doors almost always lead to hidden rooms. Wonder what’s behind this one.”

“True, you see stuff like that a lot in mystery novels,” Mahiru agreed.

“Didn’t he just happen to randomly notice the hidden door?” Himiko pointed out 

“That's what I thought at the time,” Shuichi agreed. “But it appears that assumption was false. There was an actual reason Rantaro knew about the door. Rantaro was given this Monopad as a kind of “Survivor perk,” He said, pulling out the bloodstained device. “It has a map of the entire academy, including areas that had not yet been unlocked.” The screen of the Monopad scrolled, showing said map. “Of course, that includes the hidden room.”

“Well that’s certainly useful,” Celeste remarked.

“I’d say so. A map is most certainly a useful tool,” Taka nodded. 

“To think Rantro was given that as a Survivor Perk…” Keebo said 

“He found out about the hidden room with this map?” Maki questioned. 

“The Monopad also contained a video Rantaro recorded for himself,” Shuichi continued.

The message on the Monopad was displayed, but not easy to read.

“If the mastermind ever needed a spare Monokuma, they would head to the hidden room,” Maki read from the device.

“What, is there a machine that pumps out Monokuma?” Miu said rhetorically.

“Actually, that would make sense. In the event that Monokuma gets destroyed, the mastermind would need a way to replace him, since they aren’t directly interacting with us.” Keebo said.

“The message was what inspired him to go to the library, to investigate the hidden room.”

“The time limit is now in effect! If a murder does not occur by nighttime, two days from now...then every student forced to participate in this killing game will die! Mauled to shreds by countless Monokumas from the rumored Monokuma-making machine!

“Well, uh, that is...certainly a motive,” Tsumugi said, faltering.

“The mastermind would have gone to that room to mass-produce Monokuma once time ran out…” Keebo realized. “So in order to figure out who the mastermind was… Rantaro went to the hidden room at the back of the library just before time ran out.” 

“Smart.” Kyoko nodded in approval, which made Rantaro smile slightly. However, it was immediately wiped off his face when he remembered what would happen.

“That's right. Rantaro must have come to the same conclusion that Kaede and I did.”

Kaede and Shuichi reflexively looked at one another, a lot of questions clearly on their mind, but with no way to answer them.

“It sure is ironic that the Ultimate Survivor died because of Kaede’s trap,” Himiko said lazily.

Kaede winced at the reminder. She still couldn’t believe she’d killed someone, especially Rantaro. It was just...something she couldn’t believe.

“But if Rantaro had a clue like that, why didn’t he come to us with it?” Keebo reasonably questioned. 

“Yeah, why not? You know you can tell us anything, right?”

Rantaro chuckled at Kaito. “I know, I know,” he said placatingly.

I assume because he didn't trust us.” Shuichi guessed. 

“Huh? Why not?” Tsumugi asked, confusion and concern in her eyes.

“Right, I should probably explain this,” Bev said, getting everyone’s attention. “This is true for all of your games, by the way. You had your memories wiped.”

“So we didn’t remember each other?” Kirumi put a hand to her mouth. Bev nodded.

“That certainly would hamper our ability to trust one another,” Kiyo stated.

“The killing game had just started, after all. What he said in his video message certainly didn't help either. He told himself to only share this information with people he could trust.”

Nekomaru frowned. Trust was the foundation of any smoothly operating team. If they couldn’t work together, they’d never get anywhere.

“He didn't have any recollection of filming this message, right?” Maki assumed. “That means he must have had trouble believing it as well.”

“It was probably confusing to him too. That's why he didn't consult us.”

Hina sighed. She didn’t know what she'd do in that situation either, besides panic. Eat donuts, maybe? Yeah, that seemed likely. 

A flashback was shown.

“...”

“Why the long face?” Ryoma asked.

“It’s nothing…I figure no one would listen to some guy who can’t even remember his own talent, right?”

“I’m sure we’d listen anyway,” Kaede said with forced confidence. Kokich just raised an eyebrow at her, to which Kaede just made a face at him in response.

The screen flashed. 

“This is exactly what Monokuma wants us to do...So what else is part of his plan? Is my memory part of it too? If it is, then...can I even trust myself?”

“So the bear wished to foster distrust within the group, I see,” Celeste said, a hand to her lips.

Junko allowed the tiniest twitch of the corners of her lips. Oh~ this was beautiful.

“He didn't know if he could trust that video, or trust us, or even trust himself...he must have been...so lost…” Shuichi said sadly. 

Mukuro was starting to wonder something similar. She’d agreed to help her sister in her quest to spread despair, but seeing what became of her underclassmen...well. Maybe she needed to talk to Makoto. He’d know what to do. Of course, that meant telling him about Junko’s plan, but...

“But with the time limit approaching, he decided to take a chance.” 

“Right, that’s a thing,” Leon said in annoyance.

“Time limits are annoying,” Himiko said with a pout. “They affect my ability to perform my magic.”

The flashback returned.

“There’s no need for that, because I’m going to end this game.” Rantaro declared. “I’ve already decided.”

“Well looks who’s confident,” Miu said. 

Rantaro just seemed surprised. “Is that information really capable of doing that?”

“It must be, if you’re willing to attempt such a thing at all,” Kiyo told him.

“You’re...going to end this game?” Kaede said slowly.

“It’s not about outfoxing everyone in this killing game, it's about ending the game itself. That’s the real goal.”

Hajime’s eyes widened ever so slightly. That...was actually a really good point. If-

“Hey, Bev. Has anyone else in any of the games tried to do this?” Nagito asked.

Bev nodded. “Yes. There were about….three or four attempts? I believe.”

“Can...you even accomplish such a feat?” Kiyo asked him.

“I wouldn’t be saying this if I didn’t think I could,” he said self-assuredly.

“So he went to the library alone, without telling anyone…” Keebo said.

“Then he got killed by Kaede’s trap...” Himiko concluded. 

“But can we really assume that?” Kyoko wondered. “Considering the very point of the retrial is because of new evidence, that would suggest that whatever trap she set failed, since Shuichi seems to think Kaede might actually be innocent.”

“The only people who knew about the hidden door at that time were Rantaro and I,” Shuichi said. “I had Kaede with me and I thought I could trust her. So I told her about the hidden room... That was the difference between me and Rantaro, I suppose. I had Kaede…”

The three aforementioned people exchanged looks. Kaede just looked at both boys guiltily, which prompted Shuichi to pat her arm reassuringly.

“And Kaede’s the one who killed him!” Monokuma said 

“What a snake!” Monosuke agreed.

“No, she isn't!” Sayaka suddenly yelled. “You have no right to say that!”

Ibuki nodded. “Yeah! Kaede’s, like, one of the most trustworthy people you’d meet.”

“Trust me, I know deceivers when I see them,” Kokichi said. “Kayayday isn’t like that.”

“I think you’re the last person people trust, dude,” Kaito remarked dryly.

“W-well, regardless, I agree with him. It just isn’t in her nature.” Shuichi said.

“...” Monodam said nothing.

“Hey, so... what are you guys talkin’ about? Is this somethin’ I forgot?” Monotaro asked hesitantly.

“I don’t know anything about what they’re saying,” Monophanie stated nervously.

“IS-THIS-SOMETHING-THAT-TRANSPIRED-BEFORE-WE-WERE-BORN?” Monodam asked. 

“So what's your point?” Monokuma asked irritably. “You know who Rantaro was, and why he did what he did... But it's pointless now isn't it?”

Makoto shook his head. From what he’d gathered, Shuichi clearly seemed to think Kaede might be innocent. They weren’t aware of what, exactly, this evidence might be, but they probably just needed to watch to find that out.

“No it's not pointless,” Shuichi said insistently. “Now that we know this new information, if we look back at Rantaro's case... we can find a new truth that we missed at a time.” 

Kyoko nodded to herself. Finding the truth was at the heart of what a detective did, and if that meant that your initial conclusion was wrong? Well, that was just part of the job. 

“A new truth?” Monokuma questioned.

“I don’t really get it, but we just need to look at Rantaro's case again, right?” Tsumugi said. 

“Then let's do it,” Maki said calmly.

“Yes! let's do this together!” Keebo said passionately. 

“With my vast magical powers, I'll turn Monokuma into an omnibus!” Himiko declared energetically.

“Um, y-you do r-realize that an o-omnibus is just...a regular b-bus, right?” Toko said to the magician. All she got for her efforts was a huff of annoyance.

“I don’t really get that either, but I guess we’re gonna republish Monokuma!” Tsumugi said, despite her proclaimed confusion.

“You too! Use c-correct words, for c-cry out loud.”

“I’m not too sure either…” Shuichi admitted in his thoughts. “But the real battle is just beginning. We’ll prove that the result was wrong and corner the mastermind together!”

The camera suddenly moved to the center of the podium ring, focusing on whoever was talking as their words appeared. At the side of the frame, several bullet looking things with phrases appeared, before collapsing and showing only one.

“Uh, Bev? Care to explain what this is?”

“Sure, Mahiru. This is called a non-stop debate. These, and other events, will show up on occasion. It's just a way to show certain aspects of the debate.”

“Rantaro went to the library...just before Monokuma’s time limit expired,” Maki stated, a section of her words appearing on the screen.

“Using the information provided by the Survivor Perk…” Keebo continued. “He made his way to the hidden door. 

“To expose the identity of the mastermind,” Himiko proclaimed

“What are those yellow words?” Kirumi wondered.

“They’re called weak points. Basically a contradiction that those bullets in the corner can fire through. There is only one correct one, though. There are also blue ones that are agree spots, which are pretty self explanatory.

“But before he could achieve that goal,” Tsumugi continued the train of thought. “He got hit in the head with a shot put ball and died.” 

“B-blunt for trauma to the head,” Mikan said meekly. “That’s...rather unpleasant.”

“Cuz of Kaede’s fully automatic killing machine!” Monokuma declared with enthusiasm.

“Eh? Fully automatic?” Monotaro said in confusion.

“Really? How? Like, I get it’s bad and all, but creating an automatic mechanism is pretty impressive.” Kazuichi said

“Like a Rube Goldberg machine?”

“Yeah, Fuyuhiko, basically.”

“There was no culprit at the scene…” Monokuma explained. “The only one in the library at the time of the murder was Rantaro himself!”

The bullet in the corner suddenly cycled through the options and shot itself at the yellow words of Monokuma.

“That’s wrong!” Shuichi thought as the Non-stop debate ended.

“No, Rantaro was not the only one in the library at the time the murder occurred. This Survivor Perk Monopad is proof of that,” the detective stated.

Rantaro winced at the sight of his own corpse. 

“Why would that Monopad be evidence?” Himiko asked.

“The Monopad was given exclusively to Rantaro as his survivor perk, correct? But when we searched Rantaro’s body he didn't have it on his person. 

“Someone musta stolen it then, right?” Kaito inquired

Shuichi nodded. “That seems likely.”

He only had a student handbook Monopad. Which means that someone took this Monopad from Rantaro after the murder.” Shuichi explained.

“That’s very wrong!” the Monokubs suddenly interjected

“Wow, that’s what we’ve been saying,” Monotaro said brightly.

“What? Ugh, keep quiet, will you? I don't have time for your nonsense right now,” Shuichi told them irritably.

“They are quite obnoxious,” Ryoma muttered in agreement.

“Really, I have no clue what anyone is talking about…” Monophanie timidly admitted.

“If we don’t chime in soon, Pops is gonna push the detonator!” Monosuke said nervously.

“Then we better not let these fuckin’ chumps run their mouths anymore!” Monokid bellowed.

“You know, I honestly feel sort of bad for them,” Sonia admitted.

“Yeah,” Chiaki added. “Monokuma does have that detonator.”

“But that doesn’t change the fact that they’re really annoying,” Kazuichi told them.

“A bloody monopod is disgusting!  You should wash it right away!” Monotaro said, pretty far off-topic.

“Yeah, if you wanna break it, sure. Throw it into a sauna or pool, why don’t you?” Miu said somewhat crassly.

“That’s not a real rebuttal,” Monphanie reprimanded.

“Someone stole the Survivor Perk Monopad!? Where's the proof!?” Monosuke pushed.

“No way there's a bloody thief!” Monokid declared confidently.

“But remember, Rantaro brought the survivor quick monopod to the library.” Shuichi countered. If it's missing now, that must mean someone stole it!” 

“He brought that monopod to the library?” Monosuke grilled. 

“I think there's maybe no way that's possible!” Monotaro said, as if he had no grasp of the situation.

“All he had on him was the Student Handbook Monopad. He didn't bring the Survivor Perk with him.” Monokid asserted.

“No, there is no doubt Rantaro brought the Survivor Perk Monopad to the library. The picture taken just before he died clearly shows him holding.” 

“That could be his student handbook Monopad for all you fuckin’ know!” Monokid yelled angrily.

“True…” Hina admitted. “Did they say whether they found the normal handbook?”

Sakura shook her head. “I don’t believe so.”

“No, it was definitely this same Monopad. You see the way the blood is dry here?” He pointed out. “The outline of his fingers matches how he was holding it in the picture.” 

“Oh, you're right!” Tsumugi said.

“Shortly after this photo was taken, Rantaro was struck in the head by the shot put ball. Do you think that's when this bloody outline on the Monopad was formed?” Keebo inquired. 

“I do,” Shuichi told him. “That's why the Monopad Rantaro is holding in this picture has to be the same Monopad we have now!’ He concluded.

“Wh-whaaaat!?” Monosuke yelled in shock. 

“C’mon, no overreacting!” Monophanie scolded. “It makes us look like we're not paying attention!”

“Scream all you want! Monosuke’s the one that's gonna get blown u-” Without warning, Monokid suddenly exploded.

That surprised everyone.

“Why would he blow up his own cub!?” Akane said, shocked.

“Who cares, they were annoying anyway,” Hiyoko said dismissively. 

“Whaaaa! Monokid!” Monotaro cried as Monophanie vomited.

“Kh! I was so upset my cute cubs lost that my finger slipped,” 

“Atua says that is incorrect,” Angie said, hands pressed together.

Himiko shrugged. “Not like they had much of a chance against the Ultimate Detective anyway.”

Shuichi’s cheeks flushed slightly at the compliment.

Monokuma growled. “But those were some pretty fireworks. Even in death, my kid’s a real cutie. I hear lions push their cubs into bottomless ravines to kill them.” 

Ibuki gasped dramatically. “Not the Lion King! That scene traumatized me as a kid!”

“Um, what are you talking about?” Sonia inquired awkwardly.

Ibuki gave an affronted gasp. “You’ve never seen The Lion King?”

“Um, no, I have not?”

“Oh, you absolutely need to! Why don’t we have a movie night?”

Sonia smiled. “That sounds wonderful, Ibuki. I would love to.”

“Alrighty, it’s decided!”

“They don’t *kill* them,” Himiko corrected with a huff.

“So there was a thief, huh? I can't believe someone would do something so evil…” Monokuma continued.

Maki rolled her eyes. “Says the bear who’s hosting a killing game.”

“So who took the Monopad?” Maki asked. “Do you know anything else?”

Shuichi put a hand to his mouth and thought for a moment, before saying, “The one who took that Monopad... is the mastermind. I'm sure of it.”

“The mastermind!?” Himiko said, clearly surprised.

Unlike screen Himiko, most people in the room were not actually all that surprised at the revelation.

“The Survivor Perk Monopad was found in the library's hidden room. And only the mastermind would have been able to enter that room, correct?”  

“Between the time Rantaro died and when they found him, they put that Monopad in the hidden room?” Maki stated.

“That does make sense,” Chihiro said thoughtfully.

“Nope, that's impossible!” Monokuma declared confidently. 

“Impossible? Why?” Keebo asked.

“Huh? You don't know? Why, even my cute little cubs have already figured it out.”

“He’s seriously calling on them again?” Makoto said incredulously.

“Huh!? We have!?” Monophanie exclaimed in a way that made it very clear she absolutely hadn’t.

“Y-yeah. So... I'll let Monotaro explain.” Monosuke said nervously. 

“Huh? I've already forgotten what we're even talking about.” the red cub said.

“He’s too honest for his own good,” Junko scoffed, though she didn’t actually care. She was mostly just waiting for the despair to inevitably begin.

Monokuma pulled out the detonator, looking rather threatening.

“Oh crap, he’s gonna push it! it's gonna be Monokid all over again! 

“THE-MASTERMIND-IS-NOT-IN-ANY-OF-THE-PHOTOS-TAKEN-IN-THE-LIBRARY. WHY-IS-THAT?” Monodam asked the group.

“They’re not?” Hina said, surprised. 

“Huh?” Monotaro deadpanned. 

“Oh, that's true…” Tsumugi conceded. “In order to get to the hidden room, you need to move the bookcase, right? But Shuichi and Kaede set up those hidden cameras so...If the mastermind was using that door, they would have been caught on camera.”

“The camera’s must have been part of whatever trap Kaede set,” Kyoko reasoned.

“That would make sense,” Byakuya agreed. “Though we have no idea how they work, or what their intended purpose was.”

“But none of the pictures showed anyone like that,” Himiko pointed out. 

“THEN...THAT-REASONING-IS-WRONG..” Monodam concluded.

“Amazing, Monodam! Well done!” Monophanie praised.

“Hold on” Keebo interrupted. “The hidden cameras in the library had interval timers.”

“Intervals?” Kazuichi said. “Bev, you’re the only one who knows anything about these cameras, right? What are they talking about?”

“The cameras in the library were made to be motion activated. Shuichi and Kaede had Miu modify them to work like that. When she did, she also made it so the camera rolled the film automatically.”

There was a flashback of Miu.

“After the shutter snaps, the camera can’t take a new photo for 30 seconds. Cuz I redesigned the cameras to auto roll the film instead of havin’ to do in manually,” Miu explained.

“Perhaps the mastermind worked within that 30-second interval?” Keebo then suggested.  

“I see. So the mastermind hid in the hidden room, waited for the right timing...grabbed the Monopad from the library, and then returned to the hidden room!” Himiko summarized.

“Well said, Himiko,” Tenko praised, causing the magician to blush.

“Hold on!” Monokuma interjected. There's a flaw in your logic!”

“What!? What flaw!?” Himiko exclaimed

“Huh? Don't ask me-the Monokubs are gonna explain it,” Monokuma told her 

“What!? Again!?” Monotaro cried. 

“Reject your logic without explaining why! That's the Monokuma debate style!” Monokuma laughed. “Take it from here, Monokubs! And you better use your brains or I’ll kill ya!”

“My goodness, he’s quite harsh, isn’t he?” Ibuki said awkwardly.

“What are we arguing about again?” Monophanie asked. 

“Th-the hidden camera! Isn't it weird that the mastermind’s not in any photos!?” Monokuke pressed.

“Unless they use the interval between shots,” Keebo reminded them 

“The camera has a 30-second interval between shots. That's enough time to take the Monopad from the body.” Maki added. 

“THEN-WHERE-WAS-THE-MASTERMIND-HIDING?” Monodam questioned

In the hidden room of course,” Himiko said, like it should be obvious. 

“IF-THEY-WERE-STILL-INSIDE-THE-HIDDEN-ROOM-HOW-WOULD-THEY-KNOW-WHAT-WAS-HAPPENING-IN-THE-LIBRARY?”

“The mastermind saw what was happening in the library. They had surveillance cameras,” Shuichi told them.

“SURVEILLANCE-CAMERAS?”

“Wh-what...? Where would...something like that be?” Monosuke asked in confusion.

“You don't know, even though there are Monokubs just like you?” Keebo asked with a slightly mocking tone. 

“There’s a sixth Monokub?” Hiro said dramatically.

“Eh? Monokubs?” Monophanie said in confusion

“I mean these.” Keebo showed them the tiny thing with wings and a camera.

“Ohh...So cute and tiny,” Monophanie fawned.

“They are quite cute,” Sonia admitted with a smile.

“Yeah...I do wonder about the tech though. How’d they get something so small to function?” Kazuichi said.

“Psh, that’s fuckin’ easy,” Miu said brashly.

“Aren't they?” Monokuma agreed. “They're your siblings too.”

“That's a big reveal to drop so casually!” Monosuke said incredulously

“These little guys are called Nanokuma’s. Their job is to monitor the campus.” Monotaro explained.

“HOW-DO-YOU-KNOW-THAT?” Monodam questioned.

“Oh, father told me! He said to make sure I told everyone! I had completely forgotten about it. Good thing I just remembered!” He ended cheerfully. 

“Dumbass, you remember too late!” Monosuke scolded. 

“Does he always forget stuff like this?” Akane asked rhetorically.

Bev shrugged. “Pretty much.”

“There are countless Nanokumas buzzing all over the campus,” Keebo informed them. “All the footage they record is wirelessly transmitted through Motherkuma...and then sent to Monokuma.” 

“....Motherkuma?” Byakuya said incredulously. 

“Yes, via Motherkuma. That's an important point. If Motherkuma receives the camera feeds, the mastermind could ask it anything. They would know about the situation in the library and the hidden room.” Shuichi explained.

“I see! Motherkuma can tell them the interval timers for the cameras!” Himiko said excitedly. 

“Then the mastermind was in the hidden room after they stole the Monopad from Rantaro.” Maki finished. 

“But why would they steal the Monopad?” Tsumugi asked.

“The mastermind was probably terrified by the idea of us picking up Rantaro’s perk.” Shuichi theorized.

“No, that’s wrong!” Monokuma interjected.

“He just had to go and steal the protag catchphrase,” Bev muttered to themselves unhappily.

“...What?” Shuichi thought.

“I wasn't necessarily afraid…” Monokuma claimed. “The survivor perk was for Rantaro’s eyes only. Sure, he could have shared the info with you... But that's not the same as getting the info directly from the Monopad. Cuz then, you can't say it was a Survivor Perk for Rantaro’s eyes only, right? So when he died, I took it back. That's all.”

“Hmm, Atua says that is wrong,” Angie said, putting a paintbrush to her mouth. “He says Monokuma is simply making excuses.”

“I don't know about that,” Shuichi told him doubtfully.

“Hm? How do you figure?” Monokuma inquired.

“You look calm now... but at the time, you must have been pretty desperate.” the Detective speculated “The Monopad clearly stated that there was a mastermind in the academy. If we knew then that a mastermind was behind everything, we would have worked together. But you couldn't let that happen. You needed us to go after each other.”

“Teamwork and cooperation are important in any environment,” Taka declared. “Especially in a school environment.”

Monokuma had no response for that.

“Either way, you admit the mastermind stole the Monopad, right?” Maki pressed 

“Well, yes,” Monokuma finally admitted. “But only reluctantly.” 

“Then the mastermind messed up! If they wanted to retrieve the Monopad, they should have used Monokuma to do it!” Himiko said

“Nope, that’s impossible,” was the bear’s refute. “The rules state I can't participate in a murder, which includes tampering with the crime scene.”

“If you're so strict about following the rules, does that mean that someone is watching?” Shuichi questioned. “If that's the case-” 

“Watching?” Maki said curiously. “I mean, I guess we’re technically watching, but I get the feeling that it's not referring to us.”

“Still, what a waste of a survivor perk!” Monokuma ignored the detective. “If only he’d lived a little longer, then this info would have made things interesting!”

“Nyeh! Stop changing the subject!” Himiko complained.

“I still don’t have the full picture...but it seems that we’re all being watched. In that case...this plane should go well. If I ruin this killing game by proving that it doesn’t follow its own rules….I should be able to end the whole thing!”

“But how Shuichi do that?” Gonta wondered.

“Let’s continue watching,” Keebo suggested. “We’ll learn more details that way.”

“But the point of this class trial is to discuss Rantaro’s case, right?” Monokuma continued the discussion. “The mastermind stealing his Survivor Perk shouldn’t affect it whatsoever. In the end, Kaede killed him... There's no shaking off that truth.” 

“Right…” Mikan said dejectedly.

“No, I don’t think that’s what happened at all,” Kyoko thought to herself. “The mastermind was in the library during the interval, and stole that device. Who’s to say they didn’t kill Rantaro first? They certainly would have known what Kaede’s intended weapon was, with those Nanokuma’s, and the time limit probably made them nervous as well.”

Kaede bit her lip anxiously. It hadn’t been too prevalent up till now, but the second-hand guilt was back full force. 

“Yeah, yeah!” Monosuke agreed

“One truth prevails!” Monotaro said enthusiastically. 

“No that's not the truth. I'm certain of that.” Shuichi said firmly. “It's a lie that you made up.” 

“A lie, you say? What kind of lie? Did our beloved Kaede really kill someone?” Kokichi said, an edge to his voice despite the neutral expression.

“...no, I don’t think so. My guess is that the mastermind killed Rantaro and framed Kaede,” Shuichi said, getting a nod of agreement from his fellow detective.

“...Me? Lie?” Monokuma said, like the very idea was ridiculous.

“That's right! Kaede wasn't the one who killed Rantaro. The true culprit is... the mastermind controlling Monokuma! They're the one who killed Rantaro!” Shuichi declared.

“I figured as much, and it seems other Shuichi reached the same conclusion. I wonder if there's any other evidence to help support it,” Kyoko thought in approval.

“The mastermind is the culprit!?” Tsumugi said in shock.

“Geez, and you call yourself the Ultimate Detective?” Monokuma said disappointedly. 

Said detective winced. He had doubts about his title on the best of days, despite everyone's reassurance, but hearing something like that still stung.

Kaede squeezed his hand, offering a reassuring smile. On his other side, Kokichi had a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

“Tryin’ to overturn the results of the first class trial… The Monokubs won’t be silent about this!”

“Whaaat!? Us again!?” Monotaro complained. 

“But we said we don't know!” Monosuke told him.

“Now they’re starting to actually make me feel bad for them,” Tsumugi said, though she still didn’t have much sympathy for them.

A Nonstop debate began.

“If Rantaro’s killer is the mastermind...that means Kaede was the mastermind!” Monotaro began.

“What kind of logic is that!” Keebo complained.

“Isn’t she dead? Unless she faked it somehow, I don’t think that’s possible.” Ryoma said.

“CAN-YOU-PROVE-THE-MASTERMIND-IS-THE-CULPRIT?” Monodam asked.

“Yeah! Got any evidence!?” Monosuke continued. 

“You want evidence Kaede is the culprit?” Monokuma asked cheekily. “The shot put ball at the murder scene! She used the camera flash to lure Rantaro in... and then cracked his skull with the shot put ball!” 

The Imposter grimaced in sympathy. That wasn’t a very pleasant way to go. Then again, it was pretty much instant. 

“Yep yep! Kaede set up the whole thing…” Monophanie agreed. “Even the lethal shot put ball. Kaede had it all along.” 

“That’s wrong!” Shuichi thought as the appropriate bullet was fired.

“The most important face we discovered during the investigation is this. The shot put ball that Rantaro was killed with, was different than the one Kaede had.” Shuichi proclaimed. 

“Different? How does he know that?” Teruteru wondered, pulling a comb through his hair. 

“What’d you say!? I have no idea what’s going on!” Monophanie cried.

“A different shot put ball? What do you mean?” Maki asked. 

I found a shot put ball in the trash can in the hidden room,” Shuichi told her. “But it was not the murder weapon. That shot put ball didn't have any blood on it. Rather... there was a pink fiber stuck to that shot.”

“...!”

The significance of that evidence hit both detectives at the same time. 

“Her vest!” Shuichi realized. “Did she wrap the shot in it or something?”

“Pink fiber? So what?” Monokuma said dismissively. 

“Yeah...I’m not really following,” Tenko said. “Can someone explain?”

“I think I’m about to, Tenko, don’t worry.”

“Do you remember how Kaede was carrying the shot put ball? She had it in her backpack.” Shuichi reminded them.

“Kaede’s backpack. She was carrying the shot put ball in there. Despite its weight, it would have been easy to carry in a backpack. I noticed you also had a spare vest, which you could have wrapped it in. That would prevent the cameras you were carrying from being damaged.”

Kaede’s lips pursed slightly. How thought out was this murder plan of hers? Why had she tried to kill someone? Even if it seemed she wasn’t actually the killer, it still made her sick to think that she’d even considered murder in the first place.

Past Kaede had no response.

“I see...She had in her backpack!” Himiko said rhetorically.

“It was wrapped in her spare vest. Her *pink* vest,” he reminded them.

“I see...the shot put ball you found in the hidden room had a pink fiber on it.” Maki realized  

“Yes, it's a fiber from her vest. That can only mean that the ball I found was the one

that was in Kaede’s backpack,” Shuichi explained. 

“And therefore is not the shot that killed Rantaro,” Kyoko concluded. Shuichi nodded, having thought the same as her.

“Wh-what'd you say? Really, I got no idea what you're talkin’ about!” Monosuke said.

“That shot put ball did not have blood on it, so it could not have been the murder weapon. In short, the shot that Kaede used didn't hit Rantaro!” Shuichi declared.

Anyone who hadn’t understood the significance of the shot did now.

“Th-then...maybe they just washed off the blood!” Monosuke nervously suggested.

“If so, the fiber on the shot put ball would have been washed off as well!” Shuichi pointed out. “It's clear to me that the real murder weapon is different than the shot Kaede had. Yes, Kaede set up the bookcase and rolled the shot into the vent... But that shot didn't hit Rantaro! Her plan failed!”

“So the mastermind killed Rantaro instead?” Kaito asked, scratching the back of his head.

“That would be the most logical answer,” Keebo nodded. “The shot was apparently found in that hidden room, which only the mastermind had access to.”

“F-failed!!? I don't even know what that means!” Monotaro cried.

“I-if you found that shot put ball in the hidden room, then that means…” Himiko realized

“The mastermind took it from the library. Only they could get in that room, after all.” Shuichi agreed.

“The mastermind took it?” Tsumugi said in disbelief. 

“So they recovered the shot that missed Rantaro, and he was killed by a different one.” Keebo concluded.

“Rantaro was killed by the mastermind, who made it look like Kaede was the culprit.” Shuichi figured. “That required a bit of trickery on the mastermind’s part… They prepared their own shot to kill Rantaro and switched it with Kaede’s shot. They took Kaede’s shot put ball and stowed it in the hidden room. To put it simply, Kaede didn't kill Rantaro, it was the mastermind!”

Rantaro and Kaede exchanged looks, one heavy with both guilt and relief. Though Rantaro was glad Kaede hadn’t actually killed him, that meant someone else had, and that someone was also the mastermind of this sick game.

“What!” Monosuke yelled.

“Did you! Monotaro continued.

“Sayyyyy!?” Monophanie finished. 

“EVERYONE-CALM-DOWN! FATHER-IS-GOING-TO-YELL-”

Despite Monodam’s efforts, he still exploded.

“Eh!?”

Keebo was taken off guard by the sudden explosion. Given Monodam’s robotic appearance, and him being less annoying than the others, had made Keebo actually like Monodam a little.

“What! Monodam, why!?” Monotaro cried.

“Whoops. I got too worked up and accidentally pressed the detonator.” Monokuma said calmly. 

“Suuurrreee…” Aoi drawled, clearly not believing him in the slightest.

Monophanie promptly threw up.

“The mastermind killed Rantaro... but why? Tsumugi asked shakily. 

“I believe the reason had something to do with the time limit motive,” Shuichi explained. “Kaede was keeping us all together, and we refused to kill each other. 

“That’s a very important quality to possess,” Nekomaru said with a smile. “It’s like they say, teamwork makes the dreamwork.”

To break up the stalemate, the mastermind introduced that motive. However, this was a gamble. They didn't want to cause total chaos, after all.” 

“Because that would just end everything,” Himiko noted “They wanted an exciting killing game...” 

Junko nodded and smiled internally. She wasn’t entirely sure if she was masterminding this game, as she knew she would with her own class, but whoever it was someone after her own heart. Hmmm...who from class 79 might it be….

“That motive put pressure on the mastermind as well as us,” Keebo said. 

“Yes. Kaede had a plan to kill the mastermind, but Rantaro was caught in the trap. However… her plan ultimately failed. The shot put ball that she rolled didn't hit Rantaro.”

“Because it missed, we would have been annihilated due to the time limit... but the mastermind wanted to avoid that situation, so they took action,” Maki concluded.

“That would have been the end before anything even really began,” Mukuro said thoughtfully. In battle, that sort of thing was a good strategy, but this wasn’t a battle, at least not in the traditional sense.

“Thanks to the Nanokuma's, the mastermind would have known Kaede’s intended murder weapon... So when her plan failed, they would already have another shot put ball prepared.” Keebo said. 

“Then, the mastermind manipulated the scene to make it look like Kaede succeeded. All they had to do was hide Kaede’s shot in the hidden room that only they could enter.” Shuichi finished.

“S-so, Kaede was executed on false charges!?” Himiko cried in outrage. 

That set a good portion of people off, mostly from class 79, but plenty from 77 and 78 as well.

“How dare he do that!”

“Atua can’t accept this.”

“I see...he really is the worst, huh?”

However, it was Taka that made the most important point.

“He broke one of his own rules.”

“Oh, yeah!” Mondo realized. “The one about only the guilty party being punished, right? If he broke that rule…”

“Yes...yes, she was. She didn't actually kill anyone.” Shuichi said sadly. “But she was executed nonetheless. Because the mastermind framed her for Rantaro’s murder! And Monokuma played along. He let us believe the mastermind’s lie. We were all fooled, including Kaede. We thought she was the culprit until the very end. And you tell us this game is fair? That there are rules?” He suddenly yelled angrily. “That's all bullshit! This game makes no sense at all!”

“You tell ‘em Shuichi!” Kaito said proudly. 

Shuichi was a bit taken aback, but then again, it was Kaede.

“If Monokuma twisted the truth for this case... then he could have twisted it for the other cases as well, making this killing game unfair.” Maki realized.

“I see. The validity of every other trial is in question now,” Peko said.

“Th-then it’s not even a killing game anymore. That’s just...killing.” Himiko said rather darkly for someone like her. 

“That’s not divine at all,” Angie said plainly.

“I...don’t think that’s the problem,” Tenko said slowly.

Monokuma was silent.

“I won't forgive them,” Shuichi said darkly. “I'll never forgive them for breaking the rules and killing Kaede. 

“Oh, did Monokuma actually manage to make Shumai angry? That’s a feat right there,” Kokichi said, sounding just a little impressed, though some could guess he was just as mad as Shuichi.

So cruel...I'll never forgive them! And I *will* avenge Kaede! I swear on her kindness and her love... and her grave that I will avenge her!” 

“Thank you, Shuichi,” Kaede said quietly.

Shuichi shook his head. “You’d do the same for me.”

“That’s...true, but still. Thank you.”

“Yeah! How dare the mastermind create the detonator that blew up the adorable Monodam!” Monokuma yelled.

Immediately, the atmosphere was broken.

“Seriously? Why doesn’t he do us all a favor and blow himself up,” Hiyoko said irritably.

“You’re the one that blew him up!” Himiko protested. “Don’t pass the buck!”

“Anyway,” Keebo said, getting them back on topic. We know the mastermind is also Rantaro’s killer. Let's figure out who that is.”

“That is, if Monokuma still wants to continue this class trial…” Maki stated. 

“Of course we’re gonna keep going! Like I said, this killing game will never end!” He said wholeheartedly.

“Yup, yup, yup!” Junko giggled internally. “I haven’t made you despair yet, so no way is this done.”

“No, Monokuma. I will end this. I will reveal the identity of the mastermind and end the killing game!” He confidently declared.

Chapter Text

“End the game? Are you sure you can do that, Shuichi?” Maki asked.

“We’ll just have to see, I guess, but I sure hope so.”

Junko scowled internally. This could ruin everything. Then again, the despair from her plan being foiled...

“U-um... May I interject?” Monophanie spoke up. “You keep accusing this so-called mastermind but… are you sure there’s even a mastermind at all?”

“Gotta be, surely. Someone had to set this shit up and control everything, right?” Mondo pointed out.

“True,” Leon nodded in agreement. “I mean, this isn’t just going to run itself, right?”

“Are you sure you bastards aren't imagining it?” Monotaro latched on. “If the mastermind is real, show ‘em to us.”

“You guys are the ones hiding them!” Himiko objected.

“It's possible the mastermind is still in this academy. The Survivor Perk said so.” Maki pointed out. 

Ok, now Junko really wanted to know who it was. It could be her, potentially, but it could also be a member of class 79, and the mystery was exciting to her. 

“If they were involved in Rantaro’s murder, there's no doubt,” Himiko said. 

“Then they must have snuck in during the Gopher project

“Huh? What’s that?” Himiko asked, directing her question towards Bev.

“Basically, it was the supposed plan to send the members of class 79 into space after meteors started bombarding earth and released a deadly virus. Oh, but don’t worry about that happening to you. That was made up,” Bev said easily, earning shocked and incredulous looks at how chill they were.

and stayed hidden in the aca- Ah!” Tsumugi suddenly gasped.

That caught everyone a bit off guard.

“Did you figure something out, Tsumugi? Perhaps Atua blessed you with divine realization,” Angie said cheerfully.

Tsumugi looked at the artist. “I must have, but I don’t know what that might be.”

“You just ah’d! What was that “ah” about!” Himiko yelped.

Kyoko put a gloved hand to her chin. That was the question, wasn’t it? Perhaps there was some outside information that other Tsumugi knew that they weren’t privy too yet?

“I just realized something…” Tsumugi said

“Say it! Or I’ll cast my “All the guys you date will be single fathers” curse!” Himiko threatened.

“Such a dastardly curse!” Ibuki said dramatically, hands to her cheeks.

Hiyoko rolled her eyes.

“It’s...Kaede’s younger twin sister!” Tsumugi cried.

“...I’m sorry, what?! Kanna?” (A/N Not her canon name, of course. Kudos if you get the reference)

“You have a twin?!” 

Junko internally cackled at the chaos caused by a single line. Of course, she had some doubt that Kanna Akamatsu was the mastermind, but it was a fun little bringer of chaos. 

And for Tsumugi to suggest it, hmm…?

“Uh, yeah, Kanna is my twin sister, but why would she be the mastermind?” Kaede frowned. She just didn’t think her sister would organize anything like this

“Her what!?” Shuichi thought in shock and disbelief.

Shuichi resisted the urge to snort. Seems his other self had thought the same.

“Younger...twin sister?” Maki said uncertainly.

“It was on this Gopher Project participant list.” the cosplayer explained. “She has a twin sister. It seems sorta weird to me. The original mastermind had a twin, too, right?”

“Huh? Is she talking about the mastermind of the other games?” Imposter wondered.

Bev nodded. “Yup, exactly.”

Junko suppressed a grin. Yup, that was a true statement.

Meanwhile, Mukuro shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

“Are you saying those same circumstances apply here, as well?” Keebo asked. 

“This killing game was influenced a lot by the past one, right? So maybe the mastermind’s real identity was, too.” 

“The mastermind who snuck into the academy and made us play this sick killing game...is Kaede’s twin sister?” Shuichi thought, though he seemed a bit doubtful.

“Yeah... For some reason I get the sense it's not,” Hiro said, scratching his chin.

“M-maybe... I guess that's a possibility…” Himiko conceded.

Kaede huffed slightly. Himiko wasn’t wrong, but...Would Kanna really do such a thing? Himiko didn’t really seem to believe it.

“Either way, there's no doubt that the mastermind is hiding somewhere in this school,” Keebo said. 

“How unfortunate that you couldn't find them during your final investigation,” Monokuma said in mock pity. “You're not allowed to leave while the trial is in session, so you can't search for them now.”

“You can't leave during a trial unless you gotta pee,” Monotaro said.

“Oh ho ho ho~?”

Imposter reached over and lightly smacked the back of Terteru’s head.

“Oh! I gotta pee!” Himiko falsely claimed.

“Really, Himiko? You need to work on your lying game, that was just bad,” Kokichi said lightly. Himiko just stuck her tongue out at him as Tenko glared.

“We’re not falling for that one!” Monophanie scolded.

Kokichi made a gesture towards the screen as if to say ‘see?’

“Kaede’s twin sister…? Is the mastermind still hiding somewhere? Is she really the mastermind? Is it really that simple?

Kyoko sat deep in thought. It was possible, as had been stated several times already, but she wasn’t ready to accept that solution so easily. The mastermind could have just as easily been a member of class 79, something she’d been considering in the back of her head for a while now. But if it was, who? And why? That was the question.

“Can you guys figure out the identity of the mastermind? Monokuma inquired. 

“Besides the 16 of us at this school…” Himiko continued. There was a 17th person too! That 17th person is the mastermind!”

“No, the mastermind can't be a 17th person. That contradicts what  Motherkuma said.” Shuichi told her.

“The one you’re all looking for comes to this room quite often.”

“Well, I suppose that clears that up,” Kyoko thought dryly. So it was indeed someone from class 79. 

“It implies that the mastermind wasn't in the hidden room the whole time. They must have been coming and going between the room and the academy, right? Would someone who has to stay completely hidden really risk that?” He asked them. 

“Right. If they were trying to hide, they woulda just stayed put.” Himiko agreed.

“Indeed, tis better to stay cloaked in the shadows than venture into the light,” Gundham chuckled lowly.

“Geez, can you not speak normally,” Hiyoko complained.

“I see! that's some impressive logic!” Monotaro said brightly.

“Don’t agree with him,” Monphanie admonished.

“And during the investigation, I found a classroom that makes flashback lights.” Shuichi continued.

“Huh? The hell are those” Mondo asked.

“Basically, they’re flashlights that do stuff with memory,” Bev explained. “They’ll come up again later, so don’t worry about it too much right now.”

“A classroom that makes flashback lights?” Tsumugi repeated rhetorically.

“Ah, I'll explain the details later... But there was something interesting…

*Right at that moment, the classroom door suddenly burst open*

“There you are, Shuichi!” Himiko said, relieved.

“H-himiko!?”

*Huh? The classroom changed back to normal?*

“When the door is opened, the classroom reverts to its original state. Clearly, the room is hiding something.”

“Hmph, they obviously didn’t want anyone walking in on them,” Fuyuhiko said.

“But couldn’t they just have a separate room?” Nagito pointed out. “I don’t know about you, but that seems like it’d be much less of a liability.”

Shuichi turned to both of them. “True. That’s probably a reason the mastermind can’t be a 17th person.”

“Isn't it obvious?” Tsumugi said. “The mastermind didn't want anyone to see them making flashback lights...” 

“But why create such a classroom at all? If the mastermind were a 17th person... they could have their own completely separate room to make flashback lights.” The detective pointed out. 

“Indeed... that would be much safer.” Keebo agreed. 

“Knowing this, we can make a few assumptions about the mastermind’s identity. However, the implications...aren't good,” Shuichi said. 

The members of class 79 exchanged anxious looks. Some of them had worked out what Shuichi was getting at, and the rest were picking up on the uneasy vibe of their classmates.

“Wh-what an ominous way to say it... But there's nothing to worry about!” the Mage declared confidently. “We got this far because we're friends! We’re in this together, no matter what! There's nothing to fear!”

“Y-yeah, she's right!” Tsumugi quickly agreed.

“The mastermind is most likely...one of the participants of this killing game,” Shuichi said after a moment of silence.

“W-wait, really,” Chihiro squeaked. “Would any of them really do that?”

Leon patted Chihiro’s shoulder, though it didn’t do much to reassure the programmer.

“O-one of the participants?” Tsumugi stuttered.

“One of the 16 people who were forced to play this game,” Shuichi repeated. “One of us.” 

“Wh-what...did you say?” Himiko said quietly. 

“I...don’t want to believe it either,” Keebo said. “But given the evidence, it does seem likely. However, I’d like to say that, even if one of us turns out to be the mastermind, we’re still classmates, friends. No matter what, I won’t let this video affect how I see them!”

“Wow, well said for a robot,” Kokichi jabbed cheekily. “But yeah, I agree.”

“Y-yeah, me too,” Tsumugi said.

“Damn straight. We don’t know what kind of motivation the mastermind was given, so let's reserve our judgment, alright?” Kaito put his fists together.

One by one, the members of class 79 agreed, and even some from class 77 and 78 silently joined in. 

Makoto was smiling, and next to him, Kyoko was doing the same, even if it was a little hard to tell.

Only one person wasn’t pleased by Keebo and Kaito’s rallying, and that was, of course, Junko.

“Grrghhh, he's so annoying!” 

She wanted to scream, but she didn’t. She took a deep breath and smoothed over her expression and emotions. 

Soon. They would fall into despair soon enough. 

She’d make sure of it.

“The classroom that makes flashback lights and the hidden room being visited often... It all suggests that the mastermind is someone we'd see every day at the academy.” Shuichi explained.

“Someone we'd see every day... Like one of the 16th students?” Maki echoed.

“Th-that’s crazy!” Himiko protested. “There's no way one of us is the mastermind! Because... we're all friends! We swore to fight together!” 

“Puhuhu...Then it just means that all your friendship talk was a lie, right?” Monokuma teased. 

“Not exactly,” Makoto said. “Just because they might be the mastermind doesn’t have to mean they weren’t your friend.”

“World war two comes to mind,” Kiyo said with a gentle chuckle. “There were reports of enemy soldiers having drinks together during ceasefires. Opposition doesn’t have to mean antipathy.”

“Wow, really?” Ibuki said, eyes wide.

“Indeed,” Kiyo confirmed. 

“Sh-shut up! That’s not possible!” Himiko yelled insistently.

“Puhuh...You're upset and irrational. at times like this, a voice of reason is necessary. Absolutely necessary!” Monokuma ended with a growl.

“G-got it! We're up!” Monosuke said.

Hina groaned. “Is he ever going to give that up?”

Sakura shrugged. “Until all the kubs are detonated, I doubt it.”

“Alright, we're gonna put on a reasonable yet outstanding show and earn our right

to live! Monophanie said cheerily.

“EH? Our right to live? Is someone about to die? Is that what's going on?” Monotaro questioned.

“Whatever! I don't believe you! There's no way the mastermind’s here!” Himiko yelled. 

Junko resisted the urge to laugh. Oh, this was wonderful. Poor little Himiko was in denial, even though the mastermind was close to being revealed. Junko couldn’t wait, and she’s quite sure she knows who it is now.

“Wait... even if it's one of the 16 students, it doesn't mean it's one of us, does it?” Maki stated.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Tsumugi asked. 

“It's possible that the mastermind merely faked their death, and has been alive this whole time,” Keebo explained. “Now that we know Monokuma will break rules as he sees fit, that possibility should be-”

“I dunno,” Akane said as she picked stuff out of her ear. “Isn’t that kinda hard to do?”

“It’s difficult, yes,” Sonia agreed. “But it’s not impossible.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Hurry up and answer!” Monokuma interrupted. “If you don’t hurry up, I’m gonna blow up the rest of the Monokubs!”

“Ahhh! Hurry up and answer!” Monophanie shrieked.

“The identity of the mastermind...We’ll know for sure once we determine who killed Rantaro. I need to confirm something to find out who that is.”

“We need to go over everyone's alibi for Ranaro's murder again.” he eventually said. 

“Makes sense,” Chiaki said, leaning on Hajime. “Hindsight is 2020. They have more information now. It’s like...getting an item to unlock a new side of a story.”

“Our alibis... from way back then?” Tsumugi said questioningly. 

“Didn't we discuss that during the first trial?” Keebo said. “What good would it do to discuss it again?” 

“Now that we know Rantaro was killed by the mastermind, it might lead somewhere. We might find a hole in someone's alibi that we didn't see at the time.” Shuichi told him. 

“So we just have to give our alibis again,” Maki said rhetorically. 

“F-fine... Then let's do it,” Himiko acquiesced. “So we can be sure that the mastermind’s not one of us…”

Celeste sighed quietly. She couldn’t very well blame Himiko, but being so in denial was only going to hurt her more in the long run.

“Puhuhu...I wonder where this discussion will lead,” Monokuma said easily. “Will it lead to a mastermind in this very room? Or...not? Either way, we're gonna make sure this trial stays exciting!”

Byakuya suddenly frowned slightly. “He keeps mentioning keeping things exciting. Why? Shuichi did mention earlier the possibility of people watching. But if so, who? And for what reason?”

“I was in the game room in the basement,” Himiko stated. “With Kaito and Gonta and Maki. Also, Tenko and Angie were there too.” 

“Hmm, plenty of witnesses, but it is in the basement. It would be possible…” Kyoko thought.

“Even if I was in the same basement it's impossible for me to have killed Rantaro!” Maki said sharply.

“Hey! I didn’t kill Rantaro either!” Himiko protested.

“I was in my room, by myself,” Keebo said. “And so were Ryoma and Kokichi, too. I know that is a poor alibi but... I did not kill Rantaro!” 

“He’s right about it being poor, but Keebo doesn’t seem the type. The dorms here aren’t in the same building, and it's possible that’s the case there as well. In which case it’s unlikely.”

“I was in the dining hall,” Tsumugi continued. “Kiyo, Miu, and Kirumi were with me. Though I did leave briefly to use the bathroom... I couldn’t have killed Rantaro!”

“Could she have?” Kyoko wondered. “We don’t know the layout of the academy, but…”  

“And Shuichi was with Kaede, so...He couldn’t have killed Rantaro either!” Monokuma added.

“...There’s clearly something wrong here.” Shuichi realized easily, his hair creating a shadow over his eye. “If someone killed Rantaro...It could only be them!”

“Who, bro? Lay it on us!” Kaito declared confidently.

“Wait a minute, Tsumugi.” Shuichi said. 

“Wait, there’s a problem with Tsumugi’s alibi?” Rantaro said, eyes widened slightly.

Tsumugi paled. “W-well, I suppose it’s not entirely out of the question, b-but I wouldn’t do that!”

As Tsumugi received light reassurances from her classmates, Junko felt a laugh bubble in her chest. It seems she was right! The mastermind was their dear Cosplayer, Tsumugi.

“But I do wonder how I convinced her. Perhaps...ah, I’ll worry about that later. I can just *feel* the despair coming on!” she thought giddily.

“Huh?”

“You said you went to the bathroom.”

“It’s true. I went to the restroom closest to the dining hall.”

“The girls’ bathroom near the dining hall...right?” He asked for confirmation.

“Wh-what’d you say!? That bathroom!?” Himiko yelped in realization.

Kokichi arced an eyebrow. Something about that bathroom was important, huh? Himiko clearly thought so, which made Tsumugi’s escapade all the more suspicious. 

“Huh? Wh-what? What about it?” Tsumugi said, sweating nervously.

“Shuichi, didn't you investigate the girls’ bathroom? Did you find anything?” Maki interrogated. 

“Degenerate!” Tenko suddenly yelled, only to be held back by pressure on each of her wrists.

“It's okay, Tenko,” Angie placates gently. “It was an investigation, special circumstances. Besides, Maki seems alright with it. Perhaps he learned an important clue.”

“M-maybe, but-”

“And I’m sure Shuichi would never do that under normal circumstances, right.” Her expression suddenly became much more threatening.

Shuichi quickly agreed. He wouldn’t do that, truly, but he also shuddered to think what Angie might do if he ever did.

Mahiru frowned from her spot behind them. Seems nobody would need to reprimand him. She supposed he was embarrassed enough as it was.

“The utility closet in that bathroom... has a hidden passageway,” Shuichi revealed. “One that's connected to the hidden room in the back of the library. Which means it's possible to get into the hidden room from that bathroom!” 

Tsumugi felt her stomach drop. If that was the case, then…

She shook her head quickly. Their class had just agreed to withhold judgment, but she still felt horrible. If she really was the mastermind, she wanted to know why. 

And she hoped they’d be able to forgive her.

Kyoko had also come to a similar conclusion. At this point, it seemed very likely that Tsumugi was the culprit they were looking for, considering those couple of points. The only question was why. What motive could Tsumugi possibly have? And did the original mastermind have anything to do with it.

Kokichi glanced at Tsumugi, who had her arms wrapped around herself protectively. The pieces were slotting into place, and Kokichi wasn’t sure if he should be surprised or not.

“What?” Tsumugi said weakly.

“Around the time Rantaro was killed, Tsumugi went to that exact bathroom. I'm positive that when Rantaro was killed, the culprit was in the hidden room. It’s too convenient to be coincidence.”

“I see what you’re saying,” Kaito admitted. “But Tsumugi? Is she even capable of...that?”

“It’s not as difficult as you might think,” Kyoko spoke up. “Plenty of violent crimes have been committed by people younger and weaker, especially with a weapon.”

“U-um, she’s right, you know,” Mikan agreed. “I think q-quite a few people in this room would be capable of d-delivering a fatal blow to the head with a blunt object.”

That had everyone quiet. It was true, really. About a quarter of them had talents focused on athletics, and even more were athletic in their own right. Even most of those who didn’t fall into those categories weren’t really weak, by any means.

“Hold on,” Tsumugi interjected, slight panic to her voice. “This is all so sudden, I don’t think I understand.”

“I feel ya, man,” Hiro thought. He wasn’t the smartest, he knew that. Hell, even if he was the only one in the room old enough to drink, not including Bev, he still wasn’t the smartest, but that didn’t mean he was totally stupid. 

“But...maybe they got there from the hidden door in the library instead,” Himiko suggested.

“No, I don’t think so. Remember that I had placed dust in the card reader in the library. I was trying to determine if the hidden door was opened with the card reader. But the dust didn't fall. That means nobody used that card reader.”

“And they probably would have shown up in those photos too,” Byakuya pointed out.

“Yeah,” Makoto agreed. “If they were in the hidden room before Rantaro got there, they would have been caught on camera if they didn’t take another route.”

“So.. to enter the hidden room they would need to use a different route-the girls' bathroom,” Maki realized.

“Yes, I believe that's the case.” Shuichi agreed. “The culprit entered the hidden room from the girls' bathroom on the first floor... and, with the help of Motherkuma, watched the situation in the library unfold. As soon as they saw that Kaede’s plan failed, they waited for the camera interval… and leaped out of the hidden room, shot put ball in hand. The hidden door could open from the inside, so there was no need to use the card reader. In any case, the culprit attacked Rantaro with a shot put ball, left it in the library... picked up the shot that Kaede had used, and returned to the hidden room. 

“And he also took the Survivor Perk Monopad that Rantaro had, right?” Maki guessed. 

“Yes. Then they left the Monopad and the shot in the hidden room, headed into the passageway… and returned to the girls’ bathroom.” Shuichi concluded

“An excellent summary, Shuichi,” Kyoko praised. Said person's cheeks flushed.

“Are you saying the one who did it...was Tsumugi?” Himiko said, like she didn’t want to believe it.

“N-no...It has to be...some kind of mistake.” Tsumugi argued weakly. “Up till now, everything pointed to the mastermind *not* being one of us!”

“Is Tsumugi even capable of doing all this? She's just a cosplayer, y’know?” Himiko pointed out. 

“We did just discuss that most of us would be capable of this particular act,” Peko reminded them. 

“Y-yeah!” Tsumugi quickly agreed. “This would be impossible for just some cosplayer!” 

“But you said that you went to that bathroom during Rantaro's murder,” Shuichi reminded her. “How can you possibly refute that fact?” 

“Yet another nail in her coffin,” Byakuya thought. It was pretty clear now that it was Tsumugi, but it might take a bit of convincing to both get her to admit it and to get the others to accept it.

“Refute? It’s...all just a coincidence…” Tsumugi said shakily. “Oh, Keebo and Ryoma didn’t have alibis. What if they went to the girls bathro-”

“Yeah...I don’t think so. Having a hidden passage in the girls' bathroom while the mastermind is male would be a major risk. While it would be a good cover, If they got caught, it would be extremely suspicious. I think that risk was a bit too great to do something like that,” Mukuro reasoned. 

“That’s a really good point, Mukuro,” Makoto said with a smile, making Mukuro blush.

“Did you see one of them in the girls’ bathroom?” Shuichi asked her bluntly. 

“Oh yeah, that’s true. If anyone else were in that bathroom, Tsumugi likely would have seen them,” Leon realized.

“And if it were a boy, she definitely would have taken note,” Sayaka said with a nod. 

“What?”

“If one of them had gone into that bathroom, you would have seen each other, right? But you never mentioned that.” 

“Th-that's…” Tsumugi stuttered nervously.

“Tsumugi, what's the meaning of this?” Maki asked her coldly. 

Tsumugi kicked her legs up onto the seat, curling up into a ball. A blanket suddenly appeared in her lap, and she gratefully curled up underneath it.

“Can this...really be true?” Keebo wondered.

“...Tsumugi, is this true?” Himiko asked pleadingly. 

“N-no, it's not! I really only went to use the bathroom. I didn't know about the hidden passage-”

“Look lively, Monokubs!” Monokuma suddenly interrupted threateningly. “You’re up! Move your asses!”

The mood was broken as everyone suddenly groaned. 

“Those kubs are like a cumulation of all the things that make a character bad,” Hifumi said.

Toko growled. “L-like you would know a good ch-character from a b-bad on,” she said, pointing an accusatory finger at the fanfiction writer. “You c-can’t even keep characters i-in character.”

Hifumi looked like he wanted to say something, but Bev shot him a look that said to shut up. Which he did.

“That’s very wrong,” The Kubs yelled in unison.

“F-father’s never yelled at me like that before…” Monotaro said anxiously.

“If we don't do well here...we're all gonna get blown up together!” Monosuke said.

“I still wanna live longer! I wanna see the next chapter!” Monophanie proclaimed. “So please, let us win!”

“Oh boo hoo,” Hiyoko mocked. “It’s a pity you think such a lame request will work,” she said with a sneer.

“What?” 

“Please! Please let us win!” Monotaro begged.

“We don't wanna die!” Monotaro cried. 

“We’re like snowflakes! We’re one of a kind!” Monophanie said.

“Actually,” Bev said in amusement. “You’ve already been replaced once during this game.”

“Were they really,” Ryoma asked.

Bev nodded. “Yup. They’d all actually been destroyed once before this.”

“I don't know what four-eyes is talking about... Bad guys never wear glasses!” 

“Anyway, just cut it out! We don't wanna die!” Monotaro pleaded

“Monokuma and the mastermind are the bad guys here. You don't wanna die!? Do you know how many of my friends were sacrificed!?”

“Ooohhh, you made Shumai mad,” Kokichi said in mock cheeriness. “That’s a big no-no.”

Most of Shuichi’s classmates nodded in agreement. Shuichi didn’t get angry very often, but when he did, lord help the unfortunate soul unlucky enough to be on the receiving end.

“Please! Help us!” Monotaro implored.

“Is four-eyes over there really the mastermind? We don't know what anything!” Monosuke yelled anxiously. 

“I don’t wanna...I don’t wanna explode!” Monotaro cried.

“Their whining is annoying,” Nagito sighed, rubbing his temple. Hajime patted his arm sympathetically.

“Even if she is the culprit…” Monophanie said.

“Hey! Let's just stop this!

“There's no evidence that she’s the mastermind!” Monophanie finished.

“Before being destroyed, Motherkuma told us something,” Shuichi told them.

“There’s more?!” Tsumugi squeaked, face blanching.

Junko was having a harder and harder time suppressing her wicked grin. 

“I have a built-in voice authentication system. I can’t birth Monokumas unless the designated person specifically says the word “birth”

Everyone sweatdropped. 

“That's, uhh… an interesting choice of words,” Teruteru said slowly, drawing a comb through his hair.

‘Though not entirely inaccurate,” the Imposter pointed out. 

“That individual is, of course, the mastermind.”

“When the mastermind commands Motherkuma to give birth, it makes a spare,” Maki explained 

“We all tried it out,” Himiko said.  

“Ah, but Keebo wasn't there, was he!?” Tsumugi said desperately. 

“R-right, because I was fighting the exisals,” Keebo said. 

“Did you hear that!?” Tsumugi cried. “Keebo didn't try giving Motherkuma a command! So the real mastermind is-”

“It’s one single piece of circumstantial evidence,” Kyoko thought sadly. “Everything else points to it being you.”

“Tsumugi was the only one who didn't say “give birth,” Shuichi said plainly. 

That made everyone go completely still. At this point, it was pretty undeniable that Tsumugi was the mastermind, and they weren’t quite sure what to think about it.

“Huh?” 

“Everyone else said “give birth.” 

“Whatever, just give birth to a Monokuma!” Himiko said in exasperation.

“Are you listening? We said give birth to a new Monokuma.” Shuichi said.

“Hurry up and give birth to a Monokuma,” Maki said curtly.

“Tsumugi specifically used a different phrase.”

“Yeah! Try and make a new Monokuma!”

“You didn't say “give birth,” you said “make.” 

“I did, huh? God…”

Tsumugi pulled the blanket tightly around her. Why would she do something like this? That was the one question in her mind right now, and she couldn’t for the life of her think of an answer.

“Ah!”

“You knew how to get Motherkuma to create a spare, didn't you?” Shuichi accused. “That's why you specifically said “make.” If you had said “give birth” Motherkumaa would have made a spare. Am I right, Tsumugi?”

Tsumugi was silent for a moment before- “Hey...come on...what's wrong? Don't be like that Shuichi. Do you...really think I'm the mastermind?” she asked desperately. “Th-there's just no way! Hey everyone, say something! I'm not the mastermind! That's crazy, right!?” 

“Then refute it. We're waiting.” Maki said coldly. 

“Jeez, Makiroll, you really don’t pull your punches, do you?” Kaito muttered. Maki just elbowed him in the side.

“Huh…?”

“I... don't want to believe it either,” Shuichi admitted. “That one of our friends, the survivors..could do this. That's why I'm begging, Tsumugi, I'm begging you to refute me I might be wrong I... I was wrong before, about Kaede... That's why I need everyone's help! I don't care if my detective work is wrong, I want to hear your argument! Reaching the truth *together* is what cooperation means to me!”

“I...I don’t think I have anything,” Tsumugi admitted with a whisper.

Junko barely stopped herself from laughing. Shuichi’s hope was just so adorable, and she couldn’t wait to see Tsumugi tear it down.

Tsumugi only stood there silently as she sweated nervously.

“Tsumugi, please,” Keebo said.

“Tsumugi... please!” Himiko implored.

Still nothing from the cosplayer.

“What's the matter? You can't argue back after hearing that?” Maki taunted. 

“Woah, hold on,” Monosuke interjected. “I dunno what's going on right now but, just hold on a sec!”

“I don’t believe now is the best time to be speaking,” Celeste said to herself, heard only by those in her immediate vicinity.

“Oh, Monosuke’s infamous impatience rears its ugly head!” Monotaro said with misplaced cheerfulness

“And what an ugly head it is.” Monophanie agreed.

“I-I don't think friends should blame each other like this, y’know!? C’mon, smile everyone! I know, we could watch a comedy special so we get all smi-” 

With minimal warning, Monosuke, like the previous two Monokubs, exploded.

“Good god, this fucker is really trigger happy, isn’t he,” Mondo growled.

“Ehh, it's not like we really cared for those bears anyway, right?” Leon said, scratching the back of his head.

“Even so, they still had a desire to live,” Taka admonished, getting an apologetic shrug from Leon.

“Geez, you're noisy,” Monokuma said testily.

Mukuro exhaled slowly through her nose. She’d been on edge the moment this viewing started, and she was really wondering whether she ought to confide in Makoto, or anyone, really.

“Waaah! Monosuke!” Monotaro cried as his sister threw up.

“F-father...why? You loved Monosuke so much!” 

“Oh yeah, you’re right. But we're at the good part now. So be quiet and watch like good little cubs.” He said dangerously. 

“Truly, even the darkest demons in the furthest reaches of hell would find this creature unappealing,” Gundham said to himself.

“F-father?” Monotaro said uneasily.

“Puhuhuhu….See? It’s getting exciting. Shuichi is trying to reveal the mastermind...trying to overcome despair...It’s so...heart-pounding…” the bear said happily.

“It really is!” Junko thought giddily. “Ahh~ Hope and despair are going to clash, and soon. Which will win, I wonder.”

“We have the mastermind cornered, why is Monokuma so calm? He should be feeling cornered as well...forget it. We’re on the offensive here. If we make the mastermind’s identity clear, all this will be settled.

Kyoko sighed. This sort of thing came with the job description. It was her grandfather's policy to put their detective work over everything else, even personal connections. She loved him, really, but she’d come to realize how stunted her emotional development was because of it.

The camera showed a phantom ring around Shuichi. This ring went around the circle, circling each person or podium it passed until it stopped on Tsumugi. It then made a move like when you select something in a game.

“So this is it, huh?” Nagito thought. “Tsumugi had a lot of hope herself, but it seems Shuichi was able to overcome it. How wonderful!”

“The mastermind of this killing game, and the culprit who killed Rantaro… is you, Tsumugi. There are no other possibilities.”

Again, Tsumugi was silent.

“You don’t have anything to say?” 

“A-anything to say…?” Tsumugi echoed. “Even if you keep saying all that stuff…I...still don’t get it. Hey, let’s stop this already! You're mistaken! C-cus we’re all friends, right!? Weren’t we going to work together to end this killing game!?”

“Ghk, it seems the power of friendship has failed,” Hifumi clenched his fist, getting a weird look from Hiro.

“Th-that trope is so s-stupid and overused,” Toko stuttered while glaring.

“Miss Fukawa,” Hifumi gasped dramatically. “I’ll have you know that the power of friendship-”

“All right, all right, save the discussion for later,” Taka interjected, getting grateful looks from everyone.

“This is a class trial!” Shuichi countered.

“Ah!” Tsumugi gasped.

“Although we were forced into these class trials by the mastermind, that's how we survived! It was the only way... It was the only way we could survive! So please, Tsumugi, refute the evidence! Say something! Your life depends on it…” Shuichi pleaded. “Please…”

“Tsumugi...I don't wanna suspect you... I wanna believe in you. I want the mastermind to be somewhere else like in the previous killing games. So...If you're really not the mastermind then don't give up! I'll cheer you on!” 

“Thank you for believing in me, Himiko, even if it’s pointless,” Tsumugi said quietly

“I-its not pointless! Maybe you really aren’t the mastermind. It’s possible, right?” Himiko said, though it looked like even she didn’t quite believe her own words.

“Himiko…”

“E-even if you say that…” Tsumugi trailed off 

“Puhuhuh….Tsumugi is taking her sweet time, but waiting around is so boring…” Monokuma complained. “Hey, Shuichi. Why don't we look over the case again.” 

“What?”

“C’mon, that's, like, your thing. Present the truth and end this. Cuz there are people who don't know what heck is going on until we get to this part! Now then, let’s start!”

*Closing Argument*

“Oh, oh, oh, is this another thing like non-stop debates?” Ibuki said excitedly, garnering some displeased looks from some, and grateful looks from others.

Bev nodded. “Yup. this is how the case summary is displayed, in manga form.”

“This is the truth of the case!”

“With this new evidence, let’s look back at Rantaro’s murder.” An image of Shuichi and Kaede peaking around the corner of a door was shown. Another picture appeared, showing Angie, Tenko, Himiko, Kaito, Maki, Kaito, Gonta, and Rantaro walking past said door.

“The night of the incident, Kaede and I were in the 1st-floor classroom,” Shuichi narrated. “We were waiting for the mastermind to trigger the trap we set in the library”

The next image was Shuichi peaking around the corner, watching the aforementioned group go down the stairs. The image then switched to Kiyo, Kirumi, Miu, and a silhouetted figure with glasses. 

Tsumugi winced, pulling the blanket up to her chin. 

“Around that time, there were four people in the dining hall...including the mastermind. The mastermind was probably irritated that no murders had yet occurred. After the motive was given, they knew Kaede was planning something. But the mastermind wanted some insurance. They would take action if necessary. The mastermind excused themselves from the dining hall and went to the bathroom. And from there, to the hidden room in the library that only the mastermind could enter.”

The next image appeared, that being Kaede and Shuichi looking up at a screen. “And there, they waited,” Shuichi continued. “With less than an hour before the time limit expired, Rantaro moved the library’s bookcase…”

The picture changed to a shocked Shuichi and Kaede, with a device going off in Shuichi’s hand. “Which set off the receiver I was holding.”

The screen did a page flip effect to Shuichi running out of the classroom as Kaede looked on in surprise. 

“It all happened the way we determined in the first trial...except at the end…”

An image showed Kaede shrugging off her backpack, and another of her taking a shot put ball out of it, then tossing it through a vent near the floor. The final image of this frame was the shot put ball rolling.

Kaede glanced at Tsumugi, who’d pretty much cocooned herself in the blanket she probably got from Bev. As much as Tsumugi was the real guilty party, Kaede couldn’t help but feel somewhat responsible as well. She’d allowed thoughts of murder to enter her mind, and acted on them.

“I ran out of the room, and Kaede rolled the shot put ball into the air vent.”

The screen page flipped again, this time showing Rantaro pushing a moving bookcase, having caught sight of a camera.

“At the same time, Rantaro was lured by the flash of the hidden camera Kaede had set.” The comic showed the flash going off, and Rantaro’s attention being caught by it. The last image showing him investigation the offending bookcase.

“He unwittingly stepped right into the path of the shot.”

The page flipped to the shot rolling through and out of the vent, and down the prepared books. There was also a small frame showing the countdown screen.

“The shot rolled down the path Kaede made, and then…”

The last image was the shot falling above Rantaro as he investigated.

Rantaro grimaced. 

“...fell right onto Rantaro’s head, killing him instantly...or so we thought. It turns out, that’s just what the mastermind wanted us to believe. In reality, Kaede’s murder plan happened quite differently.”

The page turned to the shot missing the Adventurer.

“The shot put ball that Kaede rolled didn’t actually hit Rantaro.”

The next image was the shot laying harmlessly by Rantaro’s feet, and Rantaro looking up in surprise and shock.

“...He must have been surprised, seeing a shot put ball drop out of nowhere like that. But his fate was sealed.”

“I believe we all would,” Peko said quietly.

Fuyuhiko nodded. “Yeah, shot put balls don’t just randomly drop out of nowhere.

The next picture showed Rantaro still looking curious as the silhouetted figure appeared behind him, holding their own shot.

“The mastermind saw that Kaede’s plan failed, and stepped in to finish the job.”

The figure reared up behind Rantaro, wielding their shot.

“The mastermind jumped out of the hidden room, and attacked Rantaro from behind! And in their hand, the real murder weapon- their own shot put ball.”

The page turned, showing a bloody hand holding a tablet, and the mastermind with a bloody shot put ball standing over Rantaro’s body.

“Rantaro wasn’t killed by Kaede’s shot, but by the mastermind’s. The mastermind picked up Kaede’s shot, and left their shot put ball at the scene.”

The mastermind was shown dropping their shot and picking up the tablet from the ground.

“They also looting the Survivors' Perk Monopad from Rantaro’s body.”

The final image of this page was the mastermind holding both items and grinning wickedly.

The page turned to Shuichi, Kaede, Tenko, and Kaito peering around the door and watching the bookcase close.

“I remember seeing the bookcase closing just as Kaede and I got there. The mastermind had probably just finished their crime.”

The next three images were the aforementioned four discovering Rantaro’s body. Finally, Kaede was seen with a pained expression on her face.

“And so, the real truth was perfectly hidden from us. We went to the class trial… and reached the “truth” that Kaede was the culprit. But that truth had been twisted by the mastermind.”

Junko cackled internally. Tsumugi had performed wonderfully as a mastermind. Hmm...

The page turned to show the silhouette placing the monopod on a table.

“After the murder, the mastermind left the stolen Monopad on the table in the hidden room…”

The figure was shown dropping the stolen shot into a trash can.

“And threw Kaede’s shot into the trashcan. A little careless of them...to not get rid of all the evidence. They probably believe no one would ever get into that room. But we did.”

The mastermind was seen going through a door.

“Their crime complete, the mastermind went back through the hidden passageway. The passageway led from the hidden room all the way to…”

A bathroom was shown, with a door opening.

“...The girls’ bathroom on the first floor! While the mastermind was pretending to use the girls’ bathroom...they were actually using the hidden passageway.”

The glasses-wearing figure peaked their head out of the bathroom door.

“That’s how they moved around without being noticed. Anyone could have used the hidden passageway, not just the people in the dining hall. But looking at the survivors...only you could possibly be the mastermind.”

The final imaged showed the silhouette and Shuichi, with Shuichi pointing his finger at them. The silhouette then flashed to reveal Tsumugi, pushing her glasses up.

“Ugh, I don’t really like visual novels, don’t even consider them real literature, but I guess that was a good medium for this sort of thing. Maybe Hifumi could actually make a good visual novel if I had creative control over the story aspect…”

“If I’m wrong...please, refute me. Please tell us you aren’t the mastermind, Tsumugi Shirogane, the Ultimate Cosplayer!”

“Another excellent summary,” Kyoko told Shuichi.

“I-it’s nothing, really,” he said, cheeks pink as he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

“Just shut up and accept the compliment, Shumai.”

Chapter Text

The screen shattered like glass fragments. It then cut back to the trial grounds, and Shuichi standing behind his podium.

“That’s the truth of this case, of the killing game itself. Well, Tsumugi?” he prompted.

“W-well..what?” Tsumugi asked nervously.

“Seems like it’s case closed,” Kyoko thought. She was curious what was going to happen now that they’d outed Tsumugi.

“Y-yes! What a scorching hot twist! My hand holding the detonator is tensing up…”

“D-don’t get tense! C-c-calm down!” yelped Monotaro

“Daddy! Please, stop this!” Monophanie pleaded anxiously. “Go back to how you used to be, when you loved us oh so much!” she then said.

“How I used to be...was more suited to a different story than this one,” Monokuma said simply.

“A different story?” Makoto questioned out loud. It was an interesting choice of words, one that he made a mental note of.

“...huh?”

“Basically, your story doesn’t matter! I gotta watch this exciting development!” he finished giddily.

“Well, Tsumugi? Are there any flaws in Shuichi’s logic?” Keebo prompted. “If so, then...please tell us.”

“F-flaws? There’s a bunch of flaws...all over it,” she said somewhat timidly.

“Then explain,” Maki said bluntly.

Kirumi sighed quietly. It seemed this was the end of the road for Tsumugi.

“Y-you can do it! You can do it, Tsumugi!” Himiko encouraged.

“E-even if you cheer me on...It’s not like that! I didn’t do it! It’s plain to see!” she insisted.

“Merely insisting that it wasn’t you isn’t going to do you any favors,” Byakuya said bluntly, which made Tsumugi wince. He was right of course, but still.

“Fight back, Tsumugi! C’mon! You can do it, you can do it!” Monokuma yelled enthusiastically, detonator in hand.

“Daddy, you’re tensing up again!”

“I still wanna live, so please don’t push the button!”

Leon snorted. “Yeah, and Class 79 wanted to live too, but you saw how that turned out.”

“Leon,” Chihiro quietly chided.

Mondo shrugged. “He’s got a point though.”

“Maybe, but still.”

“Tsumugi, please just say something! If you don’t defend yoursel-”

“It’s Junko Enoshima!” Tsumugi suddenly cried.

The room suddenly went silent for maybe five seconds before erupting in noise.

“Huh!?”

“What does Miss Enoshima have to do with this?”

“Weren’t their memories wiped?”

“How does she know about Junko?”

Even Mukuro had let out a confused “What?” when Tsumugi said that. Almost everyone had something to say. Everyone, that is, except for one person. Junko Enoshima herself.

The fashionista had a shocked expression on her face, just like everyone else, but internally? That was a whole different story.

It took an impressive amount of effort to not burst into hysterical laughter. She was positively giddy at being exposed like this. And the unpredictability of this situation was amazing too. She hadn’t seen this coming. After all, she didn’t think Tsumugi knew about her.

“Ah~ This despair...It’s absolutely wonderful!”

Bev whistled. “Everyone, please relax and keep watching. Everything will be explained.”

“...What?”

“Yeah, what Shuichi said,” Kaito said loudly. “How could she possibly be involved?”

“Cuz...it’s always been her.

If people hadn’t been confused before, they were now. Well, a majority were, anyway.

Kokichi frowned slightly in consideration. The other classes had also played a killing game, that’s what Bev had said. Likely, that’s what Tsumugi was getting at, Junko masterminding 78’s game, and probably 77, too.

Shuichi and Kyoko had come to a similar conclusion, as had several other of the more intelligent students.

“But why? And how?” Kyoko wondered. She was clearly missing some critical pieces to this case, and it was annoying her to no end. Looking over to her fellow detective, she could tell he was feeling much the same.

In the Hopes Peak killing game, and the Jabberwock Island killing game...Junko Enoshima didn’t participate. She controlled the game from outside. 

Mukuro winced ever so slightly. She knew, of course, how the Hopes Peak killing game was at least intended to go down, but now? She was beginning to have her doubts. She really should talk to Makoto when this was over, he’d help her, right?

Right?

The rest of class 78 was staring at the fashionista in shock, especially Makoto. Well, Kyoko’s expression was slightly hardened with narrowed eyes, but that was beside the point.

Did she really do that? Would she do that? If you’d asked them this before, they would have said no, but now? They weren’t so sure.

Even if it’s boring or repetitive, she’s always the mastermind, isn’t she!? Then it’s like that this time too! It’s gotta be Junko again!”

Gonta tilted his head. “But Tsumugi mastermind, right? So how Junko be mastermind too?”

Kaito scratched the back of his head. “Not sure, big guy, but let’s just keep watching. Knowing how it’s gone so far, it’ll probably be explained.”

“Junko Enoshima is dead,” Maki said curtly. 

If she’d been feeling giddy before, Junko was practically euphoric now. Oh, she just knew how much despair she would have been in prior to her death. If everything played out like she thought it might, that is. She was having an extremely difficult time staying in ‘character’, as it were, controlling her urge to burst out into uncontrollable, crazed laughter.

“She’s not part of this killing game.”

“Y-you’re wrong...She hasn’t been eliminated...She’s...It’s all Junko’s doing! This killing game is her doing too! Yeah, that’s gotta be it! Cuz Junko Enoshima is…”

“Junko Enoshima is…” Monokuma asked.

“Cuz Junko Enoshima is…” Tsumugi repeated.

Subconsciously, everyone leaned forward in their seats, as if waiting to hear some big revelation that didn’t exist.

“Junko Enoshima is!?” Monokuma said, more annoyed, pulling out the detonator.

“Daddy, please don’t get so excited! You’ll press the button by accident!” Monophanie squealed.

“Look at our cute faces! Can you really bear to be without us!?”

The tension that had been built up was quickly broken, replaced by a mix of anxiety and irritation. 

“Junko Enoshima is…” Tsumugi said, louder this time.

“Get to the point!” Fuyuhiko snapped, getting nods of agreement from pretty much everybody.

“Junko Enoshima is what!?” Monokuma roared in irritation. 

Some people actually let out a chuckle or snort at the bear’s outburst, and most had to agree with Monokuma’s irritation.

“Ok, time for a commercial break!” he finished calmly.

“Wait, what!?”

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“What’s that have to do with anything?”

As the students broke into chatter, the gears in Byakuya’s head were turning. He’d kept the idea that the trial needed to be entertaining in the back of his mind, and the idea returned full force. Commercial breaks were, of course, characteristic of a show, but this trial couldn’t be a show, right? That’d be ridiculous.

Unbeknownst to him, Kokichi was thinking similarly. This entire trial, hell, this entire scenario, was weird and didn’t make sense. Why did anything play out the way it did? Why did Monokuma act this way? Something wasn’t adding up, and that bothered both boys to no end.

“No it isn’t!” Monophanie insisted.

“See, we’re a good comedy group, too! So please don’t-”

The monokubs exploded unceremoniously.

“Whelp, that’s that for them,” Hifumi said. “Such a tragedy, hmm…”

“Hifumi, save the thoughts for later,” Celeste said.

"Of course, Miss Ludenberg!”

The area around Tsumugi filled with fog as she hugged herself.

“Cuz... Junko Enoshima is…” Tsumugi trailed off. “Junko...Enoshima is….”

“Right the fuck here!” said a different, but familiar voice.

Everyone, but mostly Class 78, paled, including the woman in question. However, she was buzzing with anticipation for herself to make the grand reveal.

The fog cleared to reveal Junko herself.

“Ok, how the fuck is that even possible?” Fuyuhiko demanded.

Bev shrugged. “Just take it for what it is right now. It comes up again later.”

“Okay…?”

“Puhuhu...Sorry to keep you waiting. Even if nobody was waiting, even if it makes you go “What, again?”...The diva of despair takes the stage once more! Junko Enoshima the 53rd!”

“The 53rd?” Hajime questioned.

“Like the fifty-third version,” Chiaki said, though only Haijime and Nagito heard her.

Nagito shrugged. “Maybe, but it’s a very specific number, don’t you think?”

*Junko Enoshima the 53rd, New Ultimate Despair*

“Bwah-Hahahaha! There you have it! Once again, the mastermind is Junko Enoshima!” Monokuma laughed in delight. “Bwah-hahahahahaha!”

“Junko Enoshima...the 53rd?” Keebo said uncertainly.

“Hmm, Atua says that number is important,” Angie said, paintbrush in hand. 

“Not sure what it could mean though,” Tenko said. She was having trouble processing the fact that both masterminds were girls and not degenerates at the moment, but she forced herself to focus.

“Tsumugi..wh-what’s the matter? Aren’t you...Tsumugi Shirogane? Our friend who survived with us?” Himiko asked a bit desperately.

Tsumugi and her classmates were wondering similarly. What was going on?

“Hahah, sorry about that. You can go ahead and forget about Tsumugi Shirogane,” ‘Junko’ told her.

She suddenly changed back into Tsumugi. “Because I’m just a character. Y’know, a lie!”

And...everyone's confusion only increased.

“Tryna steal my trademark, ‘Mugi?” Kokichi said with false niceness.

“Huh? N-no, of course not!”

“Neeheehee, I’m just teasing.”

Despite Kokichi’s effort to lighten the mood, most people were still a little confused by what Tsumugi meant.

She changed back to Junko. “Sorry to all her fans out there. If any of you even exist, that is.”

Several people frowned at that. What fans? Even if everybody knew Tsumugi had her fans through her cosplay, they got the sense that that wasn’t what Junko was talking about.

“A-A lie...?” Himiko stuttered.

‘Junko’ pushed up Tsumugi’s glasses on her face. “Tsumugi Shirogane was nothing more than a cover for me, the mastermind. Puhuhu...calling her your friend ...Oh, it’s laughable, really. Really, I’m gonna laugh! Ahahahahahahah!”

Pretty much everyone from Class 79 had verging degrees of a scowl

“Tsumugi made me that dress for my concert, of course she’s my friend,” Kaede said with puffed cheeks.

“It was nothing,” Tsumugi said bashfully. “I’m just good at sewing.”

“Yeah, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” Kaito said, glaring at both on screen and in person Junko. “And even if she did betray us, that doesn’t mean we weren’t friends

“A-are you serious!? You’re the mastermind behind this?” Shuichi said in disbelief.

“But why?” Makoto wondered despondently. He’d thought Junko was a pretty cool person up until now, but if what she was saying was true, then…

Were they ever really friends to begin with?

“But, why?” Maki asked “That face and that voice! It’s just like…”

“Junko Enoshima!” Keebo finished.

Kyoko’s eyes narrowed just slightly. What they’d said was true, but…

“I know, right!? Oh, does it make you fall into despair? Ahahah, well, does it!?”

“No, that’s not possible...Junko Enoshima is dead!” Shuichi exclaimed.

And Junko couldn’t help herself. She laughed.

It was a crazed, hysterical sort of laugh, one that didn’t belong to someone completely sane. Everyone was staring at her, but she didn’t care. 

Mukuro just sat there, and as the person sitting closest to her, she was getting some expectant looks, but she hesitated.

This was her sister, and what’s more, Mukuro knew why, specifically, Junko had been set off.

But…she couldn’t just leave it like this, and it was for that reason she did what she did next.

She slapped her.

Were there going to be repercussions later? Sure. But right now Mukuro elected to ignore that.

“Get a hold of yourself,” she said sharply, a message in her gaze that only a sister that was in on the plan would give or get. “This isn’t like you.”

Junko stared at her, and something passed between them.

“Bev,” Mukuro said. “Could we take a break? I think we could all use it.”

Bev nodded. “Sure. Stretch your legs, have some snacks, drinks, whatever. We have been sitting for a while.”

At that, everyone stood up. Some chose to sit back down in various groups, while others stood. Some got food, drinks, and whatnot, while others used the restrooms that appeared.

Class 79 all stood in a tight ring in momentary silence.

“Um…” Tsumugi said quietly before quickly bowing. “I’m terribly sorry!”

It wasn’t much, but she didn’t know what else to say. 

“Hey, remember we all agreed to withhold judgment earlier?” Kaito said. “Sure, there’s no denying what other you did, but, uh-“

“It was you, but not you, is what I think Kaito is trying to say,” Keebo says. “We aren’t going to hold you responsible for something you haven’t even done, at least not to where we aren’t friends anymore.”

Kaede nodded in agreement. “Yeah, but what I want to know is what, exactly, Junko has to do with this, and why.”

Shuichi put a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “Well, as other Tsumugi said, she was the mastermind of the other two games, right? So there’s that. But the one thing that I don’t get is the switching and why she picked Tsumugi of all people.”

“Also, it’s rather curious she called herself the 53rd, is it not?” Kiyo reminded them.

“Ah, that’s true,” Rantaro said.

As they talked,Mukuro pulled her sister into a side room that appeared as the rest of their class followed.

Everyone, with the exception of Kyoko, Celeste, and Byakuya, whose faces were unreadable. had confused, betrayed expressions. 

As the 78th and 79th classes continued to talk, class 77 was dispersed in small groups discussing what they’d been watching. Unlike their underclassmen, they didn’t have any classmates they needed to confront.

Peko had a considering look on her face. “It’s quite strange, don’t you think? What reason did Junko have for masterminding the other games?”

Nagito nodded, hand to his chin. “Indeed. She appeared to be the main instigator, but beyond that, we have nothing.”

“And why Tsumugi?” the Ultimate Imposter added.

“Yeah,” Mahiru agreed. “You’d think she’d pick someone like Kokichi. I mean, he seems like the type someone who orchestrates killing games would choose, right?”

Kazuichi nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah. I mean, he does lie a lot."

Hajime frowned. “But isn’t he the Ultimate Supreme Leader? Would he ever actually follow anyone?”

“Hmm, good point,” Chiaki agreed. “I think...Kokichi marches to the beat of his own drum.”

Over back with class 79, a similar conversation was occurring.

Kaito shrugged. “Don’t you think she would have done better to pick someone like Shuichi or Kokichi? No offense, Tsumugi, but I think they’d be much better at that sort of thing.”

“It’s...it’s okay,” Tsumugi said as Shuichi sighed and Kokichi huffed. “It’s true I’m not the smartest person in our class.”

“Hah, maybe she just didn’t wanna be overshadowed. Madame Bitch does live in the spotlight after all, and Miss Plain Jane couldn’t hold a candle to her.”

“I-that’s true, I am plain, but you don’t have to say it so boldly, Miu!”

Ryoma popped a candy into his mouth “Actually, that’s a good point. I think Kokichi and Shuichi would have been a little too smart for a mastermind to be comfortable with.”

Shuichi nodded slowly. “That makes sense. It could become a liability.”

“Yeah, especially Kokichi,” Kaede agreed. “You, uh, follow your own path, to put it simply.”

“Neeheehee, Kayayday knows me so well!”

Kirumi nodded curtly. “You are the Ultimate Supreme Leader. I doubt you’d find yourself following anyone any time soon.”

Shuichi nodded at the maid. “It would be in direct conflict with that part of his character.”

Gonta crossed his arms with a thoughtful look on his face. “So Junko pick Tsumugi because she easy to manipulate?”

“Nyeh, that’s what it seems like,” Himiko said before yawning. “Mehh... I’m tired.”

“H-himiko! Do a few jumping jacks, or something!” Tenko encouraged. “It’s not good to let your blood pressure get so low!”

“Nyeh…”

Eventually, class 78 came out of the side room, with Junko being flanked by both her sister and Mondo.

“Hey, Bev,” Mondo said. “Can you expand this couch to three? Imma be assisting Mukuro.”

Bev popped back in. “Sure thing. Is everyone ready to get back to the trial?”

Upon getting everyone settled back down, Bev sat back down themselves and pressed play, rewinding just a couple of seconds.

“I know, right!? Oh, does it make you fall into despair? Ahahah, well, does it!?”

“No, that’s not possible...Junko Enoshima is dead!” Shuichi exclaimed.

“But..why’d you call yourself “The 53rd”? Himiko asked.

“I think we’re all wondering that,” Makoto said, getting a nod from most.

‘Junko” pushed up her glasses again. “As history repeats itself, so does Junko Enoshima…” She said vaguely

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?” Hiro wondered, scratching his head in confusion.

“Perhaps she’s talking about a legacy,” Celeste said. “That, or she’s just delusional.”

“Nyeh?...”

“As you can see, I am a perfect reproduction of Junko Enoshima,” she told them.

Kyoko frowned. A perfect reproduction? Now that she said that, she realized what about Tsumugi’s Junko was bothering her. It was almost too perfect. Like the saturation was turned up, a shiny, perfect copy. One without flaws.

“So...you’re just a freak pretending to be Junko Enoshima, huh!?” Maki said

“They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” Junko said with a giggle.

“Ah, that quote by Charles Caleb Colton?” Kiyo said. “You’ll be interested to know that Oscar Wilde expanded upon that phrase, saying ‘Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery mediocrity can play to greatness.’”

“Dude,” Ryoma said. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“And how do you know that anyway?” Keebo added

“Anthropology and etymology are linked. While sayings such as that don’t quite fall under either field of study, it was something I learned whilst doing research and field work.”

“Alright,” Kirumi interjected. “I’m sure it’s a very interesting subject of conversation, but save it for later.”

“No, a perfect reproduction!”

She changed back to Tsumugi. “Perfect reproductions are exactly the same as the original.”

“Her logic is impossible to follow, much like the real Junko Enoshima’s…” Keebo sighed.

“Yeah...you lost me at perfect reproductions,” Hiro sweatdropped.

“Gonta not really understand either,” the entomologist admitted.

“Well, it’s like Tsumugi said. Perfect reproductions are exactly identical to the original,” Sonia explained. “However, it depends on how specific you are willing to get. For example, food could, in theory, be perfectly reproduced, exactly the same size, detailing, etcetera. However, say the recipe calls for an egg. You can’t use the same egg in both recipes, so is it still a perfect reproduction? An egg is an egg, but it's not the exact same egg, so can you say the copy is perfectly reproduced?”

“Uhh, I guess I kinda get it?” Hiro said, though he still looked kinda confused. “So Tsumugi’s saying she’s that perfect copy, but she still used a different egg?”

Sonia tilted her head. “I’m not sure I follow?”

“I think,” Sayaka spoke up. “He’s trying to say that Tsumugi is a perfect reproduction, or saying she is, anyway, but only on a fairly surface level? Because Tsumugi could never actually be a perfect reproduction of Junko if you think about it too deeply.”

“R-right, that’s what I meant,” Hiro said awkwardly.

“Gonta think he understand too!”

“Whatever it is... You're the actual mastermind of this killing game, right?” Maki questioned. Her expression darkened. “So if we kill you, then that’ll be the end, correct?”

“Woah, Maki, cool it, where’d that come from?” Kaito said, putting a hand on her upper arm to stop her. The moment other Maki had suggested killing Junko, a prospect Kaito would deny he’d even slightly approve of, his girlfriend had gotten that same murderous look in her eyes as other her.

Maki glared at him, but sat back down with a sigh. “It’s nothing.”

Kaito arced an eyebrow but decided not to push the issue.

Junko reappeared. “Oh, don’t say mean things like that...Besides, killing me never ends the game.”

Mondo, upon seeing Junko become giggly again, lightly but firmly karate chopped her on the head, which had the desired effect of shutting her up.

“It never ends the game? What do you mean?” Himiko cried.

“Hmm, perhaps it's connected to her saying Junko Enoshima repeats long with history,” Celeste mused.

Makoto nodded. “Perhaps. Or she had a backup of some kind?”

Makoto thought back to the conversation Class 78 had had with Junko. With a little prompting, Junko had spilled everything. Well, maybe not everything , but enough for them to get the gist of what her plan had been.

“I wanted to cover the world with despair,” She said happily, eyes swirling as everyone looked on.”

From what Makoto could figure, it seemed having herself exposed like this might be despair-inducing enough that she wouldn’t go through with her plan, but they couldn’t be sure.

Well, they’d have to deal with both Junko, Mukuro (Junko had outed her, rather callously), and their feelings about both later. Right now, they needed to focus on the trial in front of them.

“She’s just bluffing. Let’s just kill her and get it over with.” Maki said coldly.

Maki’s trigger finger twitched. She really wanted to shoot something, especially if that something was named Junko Enoshima. (Also maybe Tsumugi, just a little, but Maki did her best to ignore that. She wasn’t the one who’d broken down into maniacal laughter earlier.)

“Wait!” Keebo interrupted. “If force is necessary, it should wait until after we see what she-”

“No need, Keebo. Because this class trial is *over*” Shuichi said.

“What? It’s over already? But I just showed up!” ‘Junko’ complained.

“Aww, that’s too bad,” Kokichi teased. “It’s almost like the producers didn’t want you there, how sad,” He then said with mock sympathy.

“Kokichi, there are no producers, unless you’re counting Tsumugi?” Shuichi said bluntly.

Kokichi chuckled. “Shumai will see eventually.”

Over with Class 78, Byakya frowned, brow furrowing ever so slightly. Producers? Was Kokichi trying to hint at something?

“You killed Kaede, and Monokuma covered it up with a false narrative! The class trials are rigged, and this whole game is illegitimate.” He said sharply.

“Hey, Bev,” Hajime said. 

“Yes?"

“Were any other trials rigged like this?”

“Yes, actually. Just one, I believe, in Class 78’s game. If it matters, I can tell you later.”

The trial continued playing, despite mild protests from said class.

“Oh that, right. Yeah, I definitely messed that up. Sorry about that. So…”

“So? Is that all you have to say?” Shuichi exclaimed. 

“The viewers won't accept that kind of apology! You gotta stop the killing game!” Himiko said forcefully.

“Eh? The viewers?” she switched to Tsumugi. “It seems like you're on the wrong track, so let me explain…” she switched back to Junko. “Okay! So first, I'll start with the event that inspired me to plan this killing game. That was... about the time the meteorite impacts started intensifying.”

“Uhh…what?” Sayaka said, blinking a couple of times in confusion

“Bev did mention meteors earlier, but I don’t see what that has to do with anything,” Leon agreed.

“Did she just start some big story on her own?” Himiko deadpanned.

Himiko huffed in agreement with her other self as she scratched at her temple before slumping against Angie.

“I knew of Hope’s Peak Academy’s Gopher Project, and my inner Junko told me…” 

“What inner Junko?” Tsumugi thought to herself.

Meanwhile, Junko giggled to herself, but Mondo nudged her with his elbow while also glaring at her. 

She changed into Tsumugi “Crushing the Gopher Project humanity's last hope, would be the perfect despair.” 

“So Junko desires to bathe the world in darkness, is that it?” Gundham wondered aloud.

“Perhaps,” Sonia said. “It seems to be a strong possibility, at any rate.”

She switched to Junko “That's when I took over the killing game I devised,I forced those selected as humanity's last hope to play my killing game.” 

She changed back to Tsumugi again. “I took the name “Tsumugi Shirogane” and sneaked in among them.”

“Did... Kokichi know about this? Wasn't he a Remnant of Despair? He was your comrade, right?” Maki asked.

“...what?” was all Kokichi had to say to that.

“What’s Makiroll talking about?” Kaito asked. “Because I’m guessing these Remnants something or others aren’t very nice.”

“Well, the Remnants of Despair were Junko’s followers, for lack of a better word. They helped spread despair around the world,” Bev explained. They tactfully left out the more...explicit stuff the Remnants did, to both themselves and others, as well as their identities. Aside from Kokichi supposedly being one, those two facts weren’t something they needed to know right now.

She changed to Junko “Huh…? Comrade? Junko Enoshima doesn't have comrades.” 

“Just followers and minions, is that it?” Mondo said. “Because that sounds like the sort of shit you’re talking about.”

“It's like, you don't need a remote after you've thrown out the TV, right?” She said, now as Tsumugi. 

“Uhh...Gonta not sure he understand.”

“It’s okay,” Kirumi said. “It’s not a very good analogy anyway.”

“The Remnants of Despair are just a bunch of despair fanboys and fangirls.” ‘Junko’ told them. “But I… am despair itself. I am a God of despair! Kokichi was just one of my believers!”

Angie hummed. “You should tread carefully, Junko. Atua becomes very angry when we mortals compare ourselves to the divine.”

Kokichi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Like he’d ever follow anyone. He did what he wanted, simple as that. 

Junko suddenly piped up. “Doesn’t it get boring, Kokichi?”

Said boy threw his head over the back of the chair to look at her. “Ehh?”

“Isn’t everything just soo predictable?” she said

“What,” Kokichi deadpanned.

“Oh come on, don’t play coy. We’re both too intelligent for our own goods. It’s boring when you know how everythings going to play out, right?”

Kokichi’s expression was unreadable, blank. “You know what I think, Junko? If this was the only solution you could come up with, what you subscribe to, then you’re incredibly, mind numbingly boring.”

Everyone watched this exchange curiously.

Kokichi then laughed, his face becoming animated again with a smile. “Sorry, that was a lie. Or was it? I’ll let you figure that one out, Junko, since you’re so smart.”

“I think that was the truth,” Shuichi figured. It had taken Shuichi a little while to realize and deduce, but Kokichi hated murder, and extreme violence as much as the next person, perhaps even more so. Kokichi had mentioned once that he never really watched crime shows, described them as boring.

In any case, it made sense to Shuichi that Kokichi would be against a game like this, even though he loved games.

“Hmm, I have to ask him about this and what Junko said earlier. I mean, I knew he was smart, but to the point of everything becoming predictable? Hopefully I can get him to be honest with me.”

“A god wouldn't be comrades with one of their believers, right?” She said after going back to Tsumugi. 

Angie hummed in agreement. She might be the closest to Atua, but she was not a comrade, merely his prophet and vestle.

“Then Kokichi didn't know your true identity either.” Keebo realized.

“Puhuhu..” ‘Junko’ chuckled. “What a hopeless existence he led. To the end, he had no idea the object of his worship was right under his nose.” 

Kokichi threw his head over the back of the couch to look at her again. “Oh yeah, I forgot to mention stupid.”

Kaede nudged him lightly, but there was no force behind it.

“I-I don't care about your story!” Himiko yelled. “Tell us about the people watching! Who’s this killing game being shown to? Where are the survivors of Humanity!”

“Survivors of the meteor impacts?” Sakura guessed, getting a nod from Bev

“Yeah. Supposedly, most of humanity was wiped out.”

“Supposedly?” Kirumi asked, but Bev didn’t answer, and the trial continued.

“There’s nobody watching,” Tsumugi said plainly. 

“We are,” Nekomaru pointed out. 

“Yeah, but my guts sayin’ that’s not what she’s talkin’ about,” Akane said. 

“Huh?” Shuichi said in confusion.

She changed to Junko “We were the last 16 people alive y’know? Who could be watching? Humanity is gone.”

At that moment, everyone in the room could have sworn the temperature dropped.

“Is it really just us?” Ryoma asked, but he got no response.

“No, you're lying,” Shuichi asserted. “If this isn't being shown to anyone, why care so much about rules? You're the one who keeps talking about making the game interesting! For whom?”

Byakuya bristled slightly. There it was again, yet he couldn’t figure out why, what it meant, which was annoying, since he thinks Kokichi already did, if his earlier statement was any indication.

“That was just a part of my perfect reproduction,” Tsumugi said. 

“You're what?” Shuichi said incredulously.

‘She said that before,’ Kyoko noted. ‘How dedicated to this is she? What’s the point?”

“I just perfectly reproduced my own killing game is all,” Junko claimed.  “Just like the old Junko! The original was meant to be shown, so that's how I made mine!” 

Class 78 wasn’t surprised, unlike the rest of their classmates. Junko had told them this after all. 

Kyoko and Byakuya were deep in thought as some of their classmates summarized what Junko had said to them.

“You just wanted to recreate the past killing game...that's it?” Keebo said in disbelief. 

“Yep that's it there are no survivors of humanity. Things are just as you recalled. That is the truth of the Ultimate Academy killing game!”

“No, that’s wrong!” Shuichi suddenly yelled.

Shuichi’s sudden declaration startled most of the people in the room.

“What is it, bro?” Kaito asked.

“I don’t know, Kaito. We’re probably about to find out.”

“Oh dear! I am so surprised!” Tsumugi said, not sounding surprised at all.

“Maybe we all remember that there's no one left out there...But how do we know our memories are real?” he pointed out.

“Are you saying our memories were messed with?” Rantaro asked.

“Well, Class 78 did say Junko intended to partially wipe their memories before their game,” Keebo reminded them. “So it's not out of the realm of possibility.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that? Do you think your memories are wrong?” ‘Junko’ asked. 

There's something that's been bothering me about our memories.” Shuichi said. Here, look at this book.”

“The Complete History of Hope's Peak Academy?” Himiko read.

“That’s a thing?” Hiro asked in bemusement, scratching his head.

“Well, not yet,” Makoto said. “Someone must write it in the future.

“This book contains years of research about Hope’s Peak Academy,” Shuichi explained. “Nothing would indicate this book is a prop. I believe the information here is accurate. But there's a lot written in here that differs from our memories.” 

“What is different?” Keebo inquired.

“To know that for certain, I'll need everyone's help. I want you all to tell me everything that you remember about Hope’s Peak Academy.”

“We just need to talk about what we remember from Hope’s Peak? Okay…” Himiko relented. 

“Um.. So it started with the Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History.” Keebo began. 

The room suddenly erupted into chatter, mostly shocked, but also confusion.

Bev whistles. “Please, be quiet. This event will be explained shortly.”

“That events originated at Hope’s Peak Academy, inspiring wars and terrorism around the world. It would not be hyperbole to say that events brought despair to all mankind.”

Junko sighed dreamily, which only resulted in her being elbowed.

And it was all caused by a single high school girl,” Himiko continued.

“Junko, I presume?” Nagito correctly guessed.

“Yeah, it was me!” ‘Junko’ said cheerfully. “Junko Enoshima enrolled in Hopes Peak Academy as the Ultimate Fashionista... but my real identity was the Ultimate Despair! In order to cover the world in despair, I put my plans-” 

“Wait a minute.” Shuichi interrupted. “Something doesn't add up here.” 

Since they had no idea what might not add up, nobody said anything, even if they were a little confused

‘Huh? I detect no discrepancy in my memory banks…”

“Yes everything we just said is just like we remember it... but it doesn't match with what's written in the history of Hope’s Peak Academy,” he said

“So you gotta play “Spot the difference!” Point out what everyone is mistaken about in their memories of Hope Peak Academy.” Monokuma said. “Alright! Time to play some Danganronpa trivia!”

Byakuya’s frown suddenly, but almost inperceptibly, deepened. Danganronpa? What was that?

Glancing around, he spotted a few other confused faces, but he wasn’t sure if it was because of the events they were discussing, or if they’d noticed the strange word.

“It’s something straight out of a game show,” Kokichi thought with interest, adding the couple details just revealed to his growing list of evidence to his theory.

“The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History…” Maki began.

“That events originated at Hope’s Peak Academy...inspiring war and terrorism around the world.” Keebo continued.  

“The cause of all that despair...was just a single high school girl.” Himiko picked up the train of thought. 

“One high school girl started the Tragedy. The Ultimate Despair, Junko Enoshima...at least, that's what I remember. But that's not what this book says. “Ultimate Despair” doesn't just refer to Junko Enoshima... “ Shuichi explained. “it refers to a group and the movement that came after. To put it simply, there's more to Ultimate Despair than Junko Enoshima.”

“This is the first time I've heard about this. Wasn't Junko the Ultimate Despair?” Maki asked, evidently perplexed. 

“Well, of course it wasn’t just me,” Junko said. “I had my dear sister working with me. And-”

Mondo put a hand over her mouth.

“That's what I recall as well.” Keebo agreed. “That label should only apply to her.” 

“Coincidences sure are scary. Everyone misremembered the same thing.” Junko remarked

“Coincidence? Misremembered?” Himiko echoed incredulously.

“No, it's no coincidence. I know there’s a difference in these memories,” Shuichi thought.

Pretty much everyone agreed with Shuichi’s assessment. Not that they’d disagree with the conclusion of an Ultimate Detective.

“And that's not all,” he then said “There are other discrepancies I'd like to point out.” 

“If it’s not the only inconsistency, then…”

Chiaki trailed off, fiddling with the small controller shaped fidget toy Bev had given her, since she wasn’t allowed to actually play a video game while this was going on.

“Ugh, does it even matter? I'm bored already.” ‘Junko’ said irritably. 

“Ugh, mhp tfph,” Junko tried to say, but it came out muffled, since Mondo hadn’t yet retracted his hand, but her visible expression clearly said ‘me too”

“Just shut up,” Maki said sharply

Kaito raised an eyebrow at Maki, even though he was inclined to agree.

“So let's continue where we left off.” Keebo then said “Junko resorted to different tactics to cover the world with despair. The killing game between the 78th class of Hope's Peak Academy, for example.”

Said class leaned forward in anticipation, wanting to learn about their game, even if they weren’t all that enthused about it.

“They were locked up and forced into the killing game by the Ultimate Despair.” Himiko continued. 

Kyoko put a gloved hand to her lips. When did Hope's Peak become inescapable

“But...boo-hoo...When I, the one who started it all, died, events were set in motion.” ‘Junko’ said in mock sadness. 

“And the world began to move towards restoration.” She finished as Tsumugi 

“Then the fight between the Future Foundation and the Remnants of Despair raged on...But the worst-case scenario was avoided! Yay, a happy ending!” Monokuma said cheerfully.

“The Future Foundation?” Sakura asked.

Bev waved a hand. “It's an organization some of you join in the future. Not really important right now, other than their mission was to restore hope to the world.”

“Not yet. There are still more points that conflict with history.”

“The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in human history happened... because Junko had prepared countless ways of spreading despair,” Keebo stated. 

“Like the killing game of the 78th class of Hope's Peak Academy.” Himiko then said. 

They were held prisoner by the Ultimate Despair and forced into the killing game.” Maki said. 

“Oh, I have some bad news about that..” ‘Junko’ interrupted. “The events that my death set in motion... are only now reaching their climax. 

“Does she mean Class 79’s game?” Peko asked.

Bev shrugged. “Might be.”

They said nothing more.

“So the Remnants of Despair and the Future Foundation are still fighting…” Maki continued, ignoring ‘Junko’ “But for now, we have avoided the worst of it.” 

“It's different from our memories after all...

“It wasn't the Ultimate Despair that trapped the 78th class in Hope’s Peak Academy.” Shuichi told them. “It was the class themselves. They shut themselves in.” 

“What?!”

“I see, I see...UEHHHHH!?”

“But why?”

“That makes no goddamn sense!”

“EVERYONE!”

When Makoto yelled, everyone immediately shut up, because Makoto Naegi almost never raised his voice.

“I think I’m right when I say it will be explained, right Bev?”

Bev nodded silently.

After a moment's hesitation, everyone settled down enough to continue watching the trial.

“Shut themselves in?” Keebo repeated. 

“Why would they shut themselves in?” Maki questioned. 

“It has to do with the Hope’s Peak Academy Shelter Project. During the Tragedy, the 78th class... trapped themselves inside Hope’s Peak Academy, for protection.”

Kyoko frowned. “Actually...now that I think about it, the principal mentioned something like this in passing to me. However, whatever plan he told me was only in the early stages of development.”

“Huh? But why?” Hina inquired. 

Kyoko shrugged. “I don’t know. I may be the headmasters daughter, but that doesn’t mean he tells me everything.”

“He barely tells me anything at all as it is,” Kyoko then thought to herself, hearing the bitterness that seeped in, which she tried to dispel.

“So our memory of the 78th class being trapped by the Ultimate Despair…” Himiko seemed to realize something 

“Are you saying... our memories are wrong?” Maki asked, worry creeping into her voice 

“It just means those documents were written all half-assed.” ‘Junko’ claimed. “There’s no need to worry about it. Your memories are all correct.” 

“Wait, but didn’t she just say-” Mahiru began to say, but she cut herself off quickly when she heard what Shuichi said next.

“What you've been saying isn't consistent!” Shuichi said. “First you said it was just “coincidence.” 

“A telltale sign of a liar,” Kokichi thought. Consistency was, like, the first rule when it came to lying. He would know, after all.

“Huh?” she said, now as Tsumugi. “Is that so?”

“...Let's just move on.” Shuichi decided “I want to talk about one more thing from our memories. It's about the rebuilt Hope's Peak Academy that we were attending. 

“What about Hopes Peak Academy?” Himiko asked. 

Anyone who had started to get distracted a bit refocused when they heard the name of their school.

“There's no doubt that the 16 of us were students at Hope’s Peak Academy,” Keebo said. “We heard it had been rebuilt, and was accepting applications for talented students again. And so, we gathered at the brand-new Hope’s Peak Academy.” 

“Since Hope's Peak Academy was large, we were all in separate classes...but there's no doubt we were students of the new school,” Maki said. 

Kaede frowned. “But we’re all in one class. And Hope's Peak isn’t that big. Well, I don’t know about the reserve course, but the main course isn’t that big. Definitely not for us to be in separate classes.”

As Kaede talked, Kyoko suddenly realized something.

“Wait...didn’t he say they were accepting applications? But that’s not how Hope's Pea...that’s the inconsistency. Has to be.”

“....Just as I thought, there’s something wrong there. But why? Why are our memories so different?”

By now, a handful of viewers had realized the detail Kyoko had.

“Hope’s Peak Academy was rebuilt... and with that ...recruitment of talented students resumed.” Keebo started. 

“When we found out... we came to the new Hope's Peak Academy.” Himiko continued 

“The new Hope's Peak Academy was a huge school. Which is why we were all in different classes.” Maki then said.

“But we’re all the same!” Tsumugi said excitedly.

“That's right! We were all students of Hope’s Peak Academy!” ‘Junko’ then said. 

“...why? Why are our memories different? What is going on here…?

“We remember Hope's Peak Academy taking applications from talented students... but that's not what's written here. The Academy did not take applications. All of their students were scouted.” Shuichi told them.

“Isn’t that, like, Hope’s Peaks entire thing?” Leon said. “The scouting process is part of what makes Hope's Peak so unique, isn’t it?"

Chihiro nodded. “It is.”

“Scouted!? I’ve never heard that,” Keebo said quickly. 

“I wasn’t scouted,” Himiko insisted. “I applied to Hope's Peak Academy on my own!” 

“Me too!” Shuichi agreed. “I *chose* to come to Hope's Peak! At least, that's what I remember.” 

“Are you saying we're remembering it wrong?” Maki interrogated. 

“But what if this book's just wrong!?” Himiko suggested somewhat desperately. “Researchers make mistakes too!”

“That is a valid statement, Himiko,” Kiyo said. “However, I don’t believe Shuichi to be the type to place such faith in a source he considered unreliable.”

Shuichi nodded. “Yeah, I wouldn’t. And...I don’t think it’s just the book.”

Call it intuition, whatever, but even with nothing to go off of, Shuichi got the feeling the book wasn’t the only source he was drawing his conclusions from.

“Maybe so,” Shuichi agreed. “But I'm not getting all this from just the book. There is other evidence as well.”

Kiyotaka stared intently at the screen. He was interested to see what else the junior Ultimate Detective had found.

“Other...what?” Monokuma said

“The killing game we’re in now is one that began with Hopes Peak Academy. So this is the third game, after Hope’s Peak and Jabberwock Island. But remember what Rantaro said?” 

“Well, the truth is...this isn’t your first killing game. You’re the Ultimate Survivor. You survived the last killing game.”

“Huh, that’s weird. What other game would I have been in, then?” Rantaro said, mostly to himself, but those who heard him, as well as those who’d figured it out themselves, were wondering the same.

Junko hummed happily to herself. Assuming what she thought was happening was actually happening, it seemed at least Rantaro’s memories had been messed with in more ways than just simple amnesia.

“I don’t think that game ever happened!” She thought, keeping her reaction as contained as possible so as to avoid her ribs being bruised from Mondo’s incessant elbowing.

“But Rataro's name wasn't listed among the past participants of the game. He was not present at the two killing games that Junko orchestrated.” 

“Then... which killing game did Rantaro participate in?” Maki asked him 

“I'm not entirely sure, but... it's clearly inconsistent, isn't it? And the inconsistencies don't stop there. Kokichi’s account is also suspect.”

That had the effect of immediately getting the liars attention, and most everyone else, too.  

“Kokichi's account is inconsistent too?” Keebo said warily. 

“Oh, an inconsistency? Do tell..” ‘Junko’ said with fake interest. 

“We remember Kokichi as a Remnant of Despair... but I don't think that's true. He wasn't a Remnant of Despair.”

Given what they knew, most people weren’t actually that surprised.

The boy in question just rolled his eyes slightly with a quiet “Obviously.”

Maki gasped “He wasn't... A Remnant of Despair?” 

“Th-that's impossible! He was definitely a Remnant of Despair!” Keebo said insistently. “The Remnants of Despair were the ones who tried to stop the Gopher Project. And Kokichi was their leader. If he was the one leading the Remnants of Despair... then he must have been second only to the Ultimate Despair herself!” 

“So that’s their reasoning, is it?” Kiyo said, humming slightly. 

“Didn’t Kokichi say Dice had over ten thousand members?” Keebo said, finger to his chin. “That many would certainly be capable of stopping such a project. Or was that a lie?”

“Neeheehee, who knows? Its a mystery.”

“Nevermind the fact that I’d never willingly be second to anyone,” was what Kokichi added to himself. “And its not that dice isn’t over ten thousand members, each is just worth that many people, that’s all.”

“Yes, he loved me more than anyone... like an obsessed fan hiding in the bushes. 

Kokichi made a face, leaning over the back of his chair again to stick his tongue out a Junko, only to be pulled back by an ever so slightly exasperated Shuichi.

So where's your proof he wasn't a Remnant of Despair?” Junko asked casually.  

“The motive video we found in Kokichi’s dorm room,” was Shuichi’s answer

“Kokichi Ouma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader...He caused mayhem the world over as the leader of the secret organization, D.I.C.E. And by “mayhem,” I mean petty, nonviolent crimes and harmless pranks. Anyway, Kokichi had ten loyal goons working for him. These goons were like friends and family...the most important people in his life.”  

“So the fucker wasn’t lying about having an organization,” Miu huffed. “But that doesn’t look anywhere close to ten thousand.”

“They aren’t even that dangerous,” Rantaro noted.

Kokichi gasped in mock offension. “I’ll have you know-”

“All right, all right,” Kaede said placatingly, putting a hand on the smaller boys shoulder. “Leave it for now, okay?”

“An organization centered around petty crimes, one that forbids murder. And in addition to that, the group was only ten people. That's far too few to be the same group that tried to sabotage the Gopher Project. Meaning that whatever group Kokichi was a part of... is not the Remnants of Despair. His motive video clearly contradicts our memories. The memory we have of Kokichi being a Remnant... has to be false.” 

“You mean...he wasn't a Remnant of Despair? That's ...not possible…” Maki said in denial.

“What’s got you so worked up, Makiroll?” Kaito questioned.

“Don’t ask me,” was the assassins slightly irritated response. “I’m not her,” she then added, gesturing vaguely to the screen.

“Come to think of it, we never actually heard it directly from him…” Keebo realized.

“But it's still not possible!” Maki insisted. 

“Why am I so convinced of it?” Maki wondered with a frown. She kept denying the possibility, for seemingly no reason.

“Kokichi didn't tell us because he wasn't exposed to that flashback light,” Shuichi said. “And...neither was Kaito.” 

The astronaut tilted his head, brow scrunching. “Huh? What do I have to do with this?”

“...Junko…? Hope…? Despair…?

“Kaiko didn't appear to know anything about the Remnants of Despair or Junko Enoshima,” he continued.  

“If they've been exposed to it, maybe we'd know the truth,” Himiko said dejectedly. 

“Maybe it's better that they weren't,” Shuichi told her. “I think the people who were affected by that Flashback Light were wrong.” 

Shuichi nodded to himself, having come to a similar conclusion. 

“Nyeh? What do you mean?” Himiko asked. 

“All of these weird inconsistencies are from memories we got from the flashback lights,” Shuichi explained. 

“So the flashback lights are the cause?” Keebo questioned.

“You found the classroom that makes Flashback Lights... right, Shuichi?” Maki questioned 

“Yes, and I noticed something strange about it. I actually did a little experimenting with the device hidden in the room. It allowed you to select the memory that a Flashback Light would recover. However, some of the memories were inconsistent with each other. “One might say ”there are survivors,” but another would say “there are no survivors.” Bizarre, right? The Flashback Lights allegedly help us recover our memories. We're supposed to remember the truth that we forgot, and there should only be one truth. But then, having the option to recover contradictory memories doesn't make sense.” 

“Indeed,” Kyoko agreed. “That’s, in essence, a detectives job, trying to find that one truth.”

“One truth, but an endless possibility for lies,” Kokichi added, putting his hands behind his head.

“Then what are you saying,” Monokuma said, sounding bored. 

“Huh!?” 

‘The flashback light isn't for recovering lost memories, is that what you're saying?”

“Then what was it for?” ‘Junko’ asked.

Sakura frowned in thought. What was it for? As much as she was wondering that, she didn’t waste too much effort trying to think of such a thing. No doubt the Shuichi on screen would answer that shortly.

“What was it for, huh? Huuuh?” Tsumugi continued.

“Go on, tell them. What are the Flashback Lights for?” Monokuma said. 

“Yes, that's it! The Flashback Light isn't supposed to help us *remember* anything!” Shuichi realized with a start. “It's a tool for implanting false memories!” 

  “Whaaat? That makes- actually, wait, no, that does make sense,” Hiro said, scratching his chin. 

Even if the idea of a memory-changing light was slightly ludicrous, everyone else had to agree, at least somewhat.

“Implanting...memories!?” Himiko said in disbelief

“Yes, the memories you could select for the Flashback Lights weren't our real memories. They were memories to be implanted inside us. That's why the contents of those memories contradict each other. Once we're exposed to a Flashback Light, those memories... become the truth to us. 

“So the memories we recovered with the Flashback Lights were…” Keebo trailed off. 

“Not real. They were all false memories. They were all lies!” 

“Lies!?” Himiko cried.

“Dun dun dun~ “ Kokichi muttered under his breath. People always acted so surprised when someone lied to them, even though deception was a part of human nature. People were so naive.

“Oh, what a horrible truth,” Monokuma said. “If the memories from the Flashback Lights are lies... Then everything was a lie! All the suspense and foreshadowing was for nothing! Can you believe it? It's like everything that happened didn't matter at all.” 

“…I don’t think that’s true.”

Kaede, though she spoke quietly, was heard by everyone.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Tenko asked, her expression mimicking the curiosity and confusion of her classmates

“Well, just because something is a lie doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter, right Kokichi?”

Kokichi stared blankly at his girlfriend for just a moment before he grins. “Righty-o! Hit the nail on the head!”

“Like the placebo effect?” Sonia said, head tilted ever so slightly.

Imposter regarded the Ultimate Princess. “What do you mean?”

“Well, the placebo effect is usually brought up in the context of medicine, where one gets positive, beneficial results from, say a sugar pill, for example, simply because their brain believes it will help. Conversely, if a person believes something to be harmful, even if its not, they can likewise be affected by the nocebo effect.”

“Oh come on,” Hiyoko complained. “There’s no way that could actually happen, right? Right…” But even as the small (ish) girl complained, she seemed hesitant.

Sonia was not perturbed. “Oh, I assure you, it’s quite real. In a distant country, an experiment was carried out on one of the prisoners. The prisoner was blindfolded, strapped to a bed, and had small wounds applied to his toes to drain his blood. Then, they were left alone in the experiment room, left to listen to the sound of his blood slowly being drained. However, in reality, his blood was not being drained. Instead, he was forced to listen to the sound of dripping water, but he believed he was bleeding to death. But...despite that, the prisoner still died.”

Sonia calmly regarded her now slightly disturbed audience. “All that is to say, lies do matter. Whether something is real or not, it still matters.”

“Uh...Sonia?” Kazuichi meekly interjected. “I think the prisoner story was just a bit much.”

And he might have been right. Toko was looking a little queasy, as were some of the other students.

“Well,” Bev interrupted. “That was a very interesting story, Sonia, but lets get back to the trial, shall we?”

“Ah, of course! My apologies, Bev,” Sonia quickly said, bowing slightly at them before sitting down.

Well, that *is* what it means.” ‘Junko’ agreed.  

“Huh?’ Keebo said quietly. 

“Lies are just like snowballs. The more you roll them, the bigger they get.” Tsumugi explained. “The bigger they are, the more fun and shocking it is when they're revealed.”

Hifumi chuckled to himself. He loved writing drama for a very similar reason. While it wasn’t exactly lies, it was, well, dramatic to see every decision made by all the characters build and accumulate, resulting in some very riveting stories. And despite their...creative disagreements, this was something he and Toko could agree on as fellow creative persons.

She switched to Junko “That’s why everything up till now has been lies! That's the truth!”

“Is it thought?” Kyoko wondered. Anything could be a lie, even this reveal, and they didn’t have much in the way of clues.  

“The memories from the Flashback Lights... were just lies?” Maki said weakly. 

It's just as Shuichi said- the Flashback Lights are not for recovering lost memories.” Monokuma said simply. “They’re tools for implanting new ones. The light they emit is actually information that has been converted to light waves. That light is beamed directly into the brain, causing a deja vu sorta phenomenon. The brain gets confused and thinks the info it just received happened in the past.” 

“So, similar to what Sonia was just talking about?” Sayaka asked.

“I guess?” Leon scratched at his goatee. “I can’t really say I get it.”

“W-we were just...confused?” Himiko asked, voice wavering slightly.

“For example, your memories of being students of Hope’s Peak Academy…?” Tsumugi said 

“Fake!” ‘Junko’ said gleefully. “Hm-hm! You guys don't have anything to do with Hope’s Peak Academy!” 

That caused everyone's various trains of thought to come to screeching halts.

Nothing to do with Hopes Peak?

“Well, we know for sure that’s a damn lie,” Kaito declared.

“Nyeh, I guess,” Himiko agreed

“None of us were ever students there,” Tsumugi told them. “It was just a fake memory.” 

“We’re..not students from Hope’s Peak?” Himiko asked, shaking slightly. 

Yep, that was all fake.” Tsumugi confirmed. 

She changed to Junko. “Looking back, it was a mistake to have you remember Hope’s Peak.”

“I didn't originally plan on giving you those memories,” Tsumugi explained. “...but, I was in a rush and overlooked all those inconsistencies, so you figured it all out…” 

“Ahahaha! It’s hopelessly the worst!” ‘Junko’ sang.

“I bet that was intentional,” Junko thought, smirking. If Tsumugi really was a perfect reproduction, then she knew how this ended.

“So that's why Kokichi had to die?” Shuichi asked incredulously. 

Class 79 immediately snapped to attention.

“Hmmm, good job, Mr.Detective... you got it.” ‘Junko’ praised.

“The only reason we thought Kokichi was a Remnant was because of the Flashback Lights. But he did say that he was the leader of a cult organization... That was a lie he invented himself. He wanted to be the mastermind... He wanted us to believe it…. That's why he lied.” 

Kokichi hummed to himself, but he was frowning internally. Why would he actively want to make people believe he was the mastermind? Sure, he knew most of his classmates tolerated him at best, but why make them hate him even more?

“Anyway, I gotta confess...You know that cult I mentioned earlier? The leader...is me.”

“Huh?”

“Which meeeans...the mastermind who snuck Monokuma onto the ark is...Meeeee!!”

“He usurped the mastermind's roll, but in doing so, became a thorn in their side. So to get rid of that hindrance, the mastermind played along with the lie. The mastermind manipulated us into thinking Kokichi was a Remnant of Despair.” 

“I guess we were right,” Hajime muttered to Nagito and Chiaki. “About her reason for not choosing Kokichi. He was a liability.”

Nagito looked contemplative. “Though, Kokichi is operating independently here. Would it have been any different were he an ally?”

Chiaki shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. We might not ever know, but seeing the problems he’s causing for Tsumugi and Junko on his own, I don’t think they’d risk having him mastermind only to turn on them.”

“At the same time, having everyone remember Hope's Peak Academy... made you guys target him because you thought he was a Remnant of Despair.” Tsumugi said. 

“You were using the Flashback Lights to control us!?” Keebo asked unbelievingly. 

“Then the reason I tried to kill Kokichi was…” Maki said in realization.

“Huh?”

Maki’s reaction might have seemed understated to her more openly shocked classmates, but it really wasn’t. Sure, she might not like the lying brat, but she’d never actively wish him dead, even by her own hands. Her occupation might suggest otherwise, but no.

It was a blink and you’ll miss it moment, but Shuichi saw the flash of fear in his boyfriends eyes before it was smoothed over.

“You were being controlled by false memories, like putty in the mastermind's hands.” Monokuma boasted. “But Maki wasn't the only one being controlled. You all were. Remember when Kokichi revealed the truth of the outside world? You all got so depressed, you couldn’t even focus on the killing game.” 

“Wait, what truth?” Aoi asked, her intense gazed fixed on Bev

“Well, it’s basically that the outside world was completely destroyed. But I trust you realize that’s a lie.”

“Wait, then... to make us recover from that, you…” Keebo said. 

“Yup!” Monokuma confirmed. “We gave you memories of being Hope's Peak Academy students! The symbol of hope!” 

“So you all could face despair.” Tsumugi continued. 

“You... controlled us with that fake memory!?” Himiko cried. 

‘It wasn't just that memory. it was all of ‘em up till now.” ‘Junko’ explained. “New mysteries and truths turn to motivation. Motivation drives a story. Everything from the Flashback Lights was just motivation to move you forward. Buuuut...I guess it was fake motivation. 

“You idiots kept getting jerked around by meaningless lies!” Monokuma laughed. 

Nobody knew what to say to that. Honestly, it was almost a bit too much, but nobody wanted to stop the trial. Without any conversation, it seemed they’d all agreed that simply getting it over with was the best option. 

“This class trial was like that too, wasn't it? Why was it you were so motivated to do it? Because you got a memory from one of the Flashback Lights, right?” ‘Junko’ prompted. 

“Was that also a memory you use to control us?” Shuichi asked her.

“Hey, what was it you guys remembered from it, again?” ‘Junko’ asked rhetorically. “At first, you ran away from the Gopher Project, humanity's last hope... But then, you bravely choose to accept your fate. You took on all the wishes of your friends and family…. And now, you remember how you got here. You remembered that you had all been entrusted with the world's hope, right? Remembering the weight of that hope should have made you feel stronger. “I have to escape!” “I’ll never give up!” I won't be defeated by the mastermind!”” 

Nagito huffed. Hope such as that, given the way it was, just felt disingenuous, a mockery of real, unfabricated hope.

She switched back to Tsumugi “Even though Kaito and Kokichi were gone, and Keebo started to go berserk... You guys didn't give up hope. You decided to face this killing game, right? 

“You were controlling our emotions? Even our resolve to defeat the mastermind?” Maki questioned.  

“This is a Killing Game,” ‘Junko’ reminded her. “A death game where emotions run like blood. If the participants aren’t trying their best to live, it's just not very exciting.”

Forget frustration, Byakuya was this close to giving into his desire to throw something and demand answers. But he didn’t. Ignoring the fact that such behavior was entirely unbecoming of someone such as himself, he doubted Bev would be willing to spill anything.

At the end. If these seemingly throw-away references turned out to be significant, he’d deal with it at the end. For now, he’d just have to watch, catalog, and wonder what conclusion, if any, Kokichi had come to before he did.

“A-all the memories...were fake?” Himiko stuttered. “Then...what was everything till now? That memory and that memory... and that memory and that memory and that memory and that memory and that memory and that-” Her voice rose, becoming more panicked as she began to spiral. “If they were all fake memories, then... Where... are we? Why are we in this killing game?” 

Sayaka felt for the young magician as the version in the room with her was enveloped by her partners. She liked to think she’d have kept a cool head herself in this situation, but there was just no way to know.

‘Yeah, who knows?” ‘Junko’ shrugged “My plans for mankind's last killing game kind of just fell apart. So figure out why on your own. This is a class trial, after all.” 

“Then...who are you!?” Shuichi asked out of nowhere. 

“Huh? What might you be asking that for?” Teruteru questioned.

Shuichi just shrugged, because he really had no clue where this was going.

“Hm?” was Tsumugi’s response

“I don't know *who* you are.” 

“Hm, Atua doesn’t quite understand either,” Angie said, paintbrush handle lightly tapping her cheek,

“Huh? What's not to understand?” ‘Junko asked.

“I…” Tsumugi started before switching again “Became me. What about that don't you get?” 

“Gonta... not sure he understand as well.”

Tsumugi hesitantly patted his arm. “Don’t worry about it, Gonta. That’s me up there, and even I don’t get it.”

“If this killing game is connected to Hope's Peak Academy, then I believe you,” Shuichi said. “This is certainly the work of someone carrying on Junko Enoshima’s will. But we have nothing to do with Hope’s Peak, so you can't be Junko. So who the hell are you!?” 

Chapter Text

Tsumugi suddenly switched to a guy with short brown hair and short-sleeved white button-up and green tie. “I’m me. No one else.” 

Everyone in the room froze, before erupting into chatter yet again.

Well, everyone, that is,  except for one. Hajime.

Because all he can do is stare in shock. Why was Tsumugi dressed as him? For what purpose? He’s so distracted that he almost misses Bev getting everyone refocused on the trial.

“Hajime.”

Chiaki quietly nudged him, and Nagito was giving him a pointed look. Giving his partners a sheepish, apologetic look, he also returned his focus to the trial.

“...what?”

“What...is this?” Keebo said uncertainty.

That was the question, wasn’t it? Just what was Tsumugi doing?

She switched to Tsumugi again “Huh? You know him, don't you? He was in the Jabberwock Island killing game.”

“So that’s what our game was called?” Peko asked. 

“Yup,” Bev confirmed. “It took place on said island, hence the name.”

She changed back to the guy in question. “I’m Hajime Hinata.”

“Th-that’s not what we mean. What are *you* doing!?” Himiko said.

“What am I doing? I'm just cosplaying.” Tsumugi said, as if it should be obvious.  

Tsumugi frowned, her face having lost just a bit of color. She made it a point to not cosplay real people, so why would she here?

“Cosplaying?” Shucihi said incredulously. 

“Yeah, this is just cosplay,” said a girl with short red hair.

It shouldn’t have started Mahiru as much as it did, but she was surprised to see herself appear so suddenly.

“Is that really what I sound like?”

“But it's not just normal cosplay! Cuz I can perfectly replicate the character!” said a guy with hair like a porcupine. 

“Hey, it’s me!” Hiro said, stating the obvious. 

“Check it out! Even my voice sounds exactly the same!” said a guy in a green jumpsuit and pink hair. 

“Is...do I actually sound like that?” Kazuichi asked awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.

“Yes, it does sound just like you,” Sonia confirmed. “I’m sure you know this, but because of skeletal vibrations and such, we hear ourselves differently compared to others.”

“Yeah, I knew it was something like that, but it’s just ...kinda weird, you know. It’s different from even recordings.”

Sonia nodded. “I understand that. It’s rather disconcerting, but we’d best get used to it. I have a feeling we’re all going to show up at one point or another.”

Call it a hunch if you will, but Sonia could just tell that this would happen.

“Is Junko Enoshima also…” Maki said as it dawned on her. 

“Yes...it's my cosplay.” Tsumugi said, a dreamy quality to her voice despite her dull eyes. Behind her, bits and pieces from other characters  started floating in a ring behind her. She transitioned back and forth between Tsumugi and Junko several times before stopping on Tsumugi.

“Random question, but can you actually switch costumes that fast?” Kaito questioned.

Tsumugi’s brow furrowed. “I’m a fast changer, but instantaneous changes like that are physically impossible. Not to mention the makeup changes that would be needed. So I don’t know how I’m doing that.”

“Not to mention I’m somehow changing height.”

It was a strange detail, but nobody could come up with any sort of explanation for how Tsumugi could possibly transform so quickly.

“I can perfectly reproduce a number of characters and actually become them!” she said. 

“This is the talent of the Ultimate Cosplayer,” ‘Hajime’ told them. 

“A number of characters?” Himiko said shakily. 

“How can she cosplay as students of Hope’s Peak Academy!?” Shuichi interjected. “Because Tsumugi told us…”

“That’s what cosplay is supposed to be in the first place! Lately, some people prefer to cosplay as non-fictional characters, which is unforgivable...It's so unforgivable that I break out in cospox if I even attempt it…”

“Cospox? That’s...not a thing, right?” Kaede said, just as confused as everyone else.

“W-well, it’s true I don’t cosplay as real people, and I disapprove of others doing it as well, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do it,” Tsumugi confirmed. “Just what is cospox anyway?”

“Basically, it's your skin breaking out in hives and turning pink if you cosplay real people,” Bev explained. 

“That's not medically possible, right?”

“W-well,” Mikan spoke up. “I-if you had enough of an a-adversion to it, maybe you’d react to a degree, or if you had a fabric allergy, but you wouldn’t turn pink either. O-oh, but that's not really related to cosplaying real people, so you can just ignore that.”

Tsumugi nodded. “Ok, I get that, but that doesn’t happen to me.”

“Ah, you remembered!” Tsumugi said happily. “Yes, that's exactly right.” 

Tsumugi’s brow creased again, because that was blatantly untrue, but she had no idea what that might mean right now.

“So then… what does this mean?” ‘Makoto’ asked. 

Makoto frowned slightly when he saw himself.

“What?” 

“If what I said was the truth, then Hope’s Peak Academy was…”

“Hope’s Peak Academy? What’s that have to do with anything?” Leon wondered.

“What Hope’s Peak Academy was…? If Tsumugi can cosplay as them...There’s only one possibility.”

“It's fictional... it's all fictional!?” he said, his face pale.

“Huh? But we literally attend Hopes Peak, so I don’t believe that can be true,” Peko said as calmly and as firmly as she could, though it didn’t do much to ease the atmosphere.

‘Fictional?” Maki echoed. 

‘The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic event in Human History never happened...Hope’s Peak, the Future Foundation, and the Remnants of Despair do not exist.” ‘Byakuya’ told them coldly.

“But we’re here, right?” Makoto protested. “Like Peko said, we’re literally students of Hopes Peak. I don’t know about the Future Foundation or the Remnants of despair, or the whatever whatever event, but still. There’s just no way, right?”

“R-right,” Chihiro said as Byakuya nodded. “We were all in our classrooms before this, weren’t we?”

Everyone gave varying degrees of agreement.

“Everyone,” Kyoko interjected. “While we don’t know exactly what’s going on here, let's try to remain as composed as possible, alright?”

People acquiesced to Kyoko's request, although some did so reluctantly, and the show continued. Only a few realized some things had been mentioned 

“Because it's all fiction.” ‘Imposter’ stated. “None of it actually happened in the real world.” 

Kokichi’s mind was processing several different possibilities, and though some of them would bode well for the group on screen, others wouldn’t.

“Is this just a lie? Given what we know about Junko, that’s definitely a possibility. Because those on screen are supposed to be us, right? Just put into a horrible situation. Unless it's a totally different universe? One that would make what Tsumugi is saying true? But that doesn’t seem right. Why would Bev show this to us in that case? There’s also all the other weird details I noticed. Maaan, this is like something straight out of fanfiction.”

‘All of those events took place within a fictional world known as Danganronpa,” said ‘Kyoko’ 

“Danganronpa!” Monokuma repeated enthusiastically. 

“Dangan...ronpa..?” Shuichi echoed hollowly.

Everyone, to varying degrees of volume and confusion, repeated the word to themselves, just like on screen Shuichi.

“What!? What are you even...talking about?” Keebo then added

“What? You’ve never heard of Danganronpa? We’re all... characters in it,” ‘Mikan’ said timidly.

“So...is that supposed to be the supposed fictional world we’re in?’ Kazuichi asked hesitantly.

“Guess so,” Nekomaru said.

“That’s right!” ‘Hiyoko’ said brightly. “Me, that nasty pig barf, and everyone else are all fictional.”

“Hiyoko!” Taka said suddenly. “That was an entirely unnecessary comment about your classmate.”

Taka shot the dancer a critical look, one that was returned in full by Hiyoko blowing a raspberry at him. 

“Well, it’s not me! Or did you forget that it’s miss cosplayer over there pretending to be me!

“Be that as it may, it’s still something you would have said! Tsumugi takes pride in the accuracy of her cosplay!”

Next to her, Mahiru sighed quietly as Mikan winced, and because of Taka’s outburst, the latter part of Hiyoko’s statement went unnoticed.

Well, that is, by everyone except those who were on the lookout for such things, namely Kyoko, Shuichi, Kokichi, and Byakuya. Though they wanted to point out what she said, the trial continued, not giving them the opportunity.

‘Hold on. Then... Hope’s Peak Academy doesn't exist?” Maki asked apprehensively. 

“Well we know that’s not true,” Ryoma noted dryly.

“Indeed,” said Kirumi. “As mentioned before, we’re quite aware of our enrollment at said academy.”

“Nope! Cuz it's fiction! Doesn't exist in the real world!” Tsumugi confirmed Maki’s words. 

“Wh-what…?” Shuichi said, face ashen. 

By now, Junko had caught on to what was happening. Oh, Tsumugi, you brilliant, brilliant girl. This was such a wonderful way to bring despair to her classmates, and Junko was, quite frankly, disappointed she hadn’t thought of it herself.

“Isn't that surprising!? Yeah... Up till now you thought fiction was fact.” Tsumugi said, sounding just a little bit condescending. 

“But it's just fiction. Danganronpa’s just fiction.” ‘Makoto’ said bluntly.

“This whole Danganronpa story was just stuffed into your memories.” ‘Mondo’ explained. 

“For that reason, you all believed that work of fiction was, in fact, reality.” ‘Sonia’ added simply. 

Sonia transformed into Ibuki. “And that’s how we put on a cosplay performance for everyone to see! A cosplay performance of the whole wide, danganronpa world!” 

Imposter was, perhaps, having some of the most trouble processes this supposed fact. He didn’t really have an identity in the first place, so this all was rather disconcerting.

Teruteru, seeing his classmates' uneasy expression, awkwardly patted his arm, even if he was having a slight crisis as well.

“Cosplay..of the whole wide world?” Himiko said with her hands to her mouth, looking a little nauseous. “S-so...this was all fake? Everything was made-up? And the whole time... we thought it was real!” Her voice had risen considerably by this point. 

“Well, our time at Hopes Peak wasn’t fake, we know that,” Tenko assured the magician, and Angie was quick to agree.

“Atua is telling us to have faith in ourselves, and our identities, Himiko. There is no need to fear.”

But even as that was said, seeds of doubt had taken root in most peoples minds.

‘Did you think the Ultimate Cosplayers talent was only limited to characters?” Tsumugi mocked.

“It’d be kinda lame if that was all the big bad mastermind could do…” ‘Junko’ said dully. 

Toko scowled. Sure, villains needed to be interesting, but this was different. She’d actually appreciate the mastermind's abilities being limited like that.

Hifumi was having a similar train of thought. Even if neither he or Fukawa really dealt with serious villains, they both knew what made a good (read: dangerous) one, and right now they didn’t want that.

“I can do far more than that... I can cosplay the world itself” Tsumugi said happily. “So if you want to make me your enemy... 

“Then your enemy is the world of Danganronpa itself,” ‘Akane’ told them. 

“Fight a corporation? Psh, piece of cake,” Miu said, though she got quite a few skeptical looks for it.

“Danganronpa... itself?” Maki echoed. 

“B-but... why? Why would you do this? Why make us think it's real-” Shuichi asked. 

“Well duh! It's so you’d all play the killing game!” ‘Hina’ said. 

“This is the world of danganronpa, y’know?” ‘Fuyuhiko’ stated. ‘No shit we’re playin’ the killing game.” 

“But it’s not just any killing game. It's a killing game that takes place in the real world, propped up by fiction.” ‘Nagito’ told them. 

“In other words, it's Ultimate Real Fiction!!!” ‘Nekomaru’ bellowed. 

“Uh, okay?” Akane said slowly. “Can’t say I really get it. Is it, like, really high tech VR? Cause that’s sorta real and fiction at the same time, right?”

At Akane’s mostly joking suggestion, the wheels in several heads started turning, mostly in Kokichi’s and Miu’s

Miu was mostly wondering if such a setup would be possible. If you put her, Kazuichi, and Chihiro together, she supposed something could be put together, but it would hardly be easy. Such a complicated system would take a lot of resources, more than three highschoolers had, at any rate, even if they were attending one of the most well-funded schools in the country.

Kokichi, meanwhile, had found what might be a solution to some of the things he’d been wondering about. Tsumugi’s quickchanges, for example? Totally possible in a virtual space. Monokuma? Again, totally feasible in a virtual setting. Even the function of the Nanokumas made more sense under this lens. Now he just needed answers to that one other thing...

“Ultimate...Real Fiction?” Keebo repeated.

“But...if it's fiction... if everything…. isn't real... Then... the world being in ruins is also fiction, right?” Maki asked desperately. ‘The world outside... is fine, right?” 

“Oh, that’s right! Of course!” Himiko said

“Ah, that’s right,” Kiyo said. “Bev did mention that meteor storm, didn’t they?”

“So..that not happen?” Gonta said.

Kiyo nodded. “That is correct. As Maki deduced, if everything supposedly wasn’t real, then it follows that the destruction of the world they knew was also false.”

‘How did you like that scene!?” Tsumugi asked them. “Our staff worked very hard on it!” 

‘Staff?” Keebo asked, having noticed such a detail. 

“So there are people running this?” Keebo added on to his other selves statement. “But who?”

“I assume we’ll find out,” Kaede said. “It doesn’t seem like something they can just gloss over.”

There's no need to worry about the people backstage!” ‘Kiyotaka’ assured him. 

“But they’re some of the most important,” Kaito protested. “It’s like when you want to launch astronauts into space. There’s a lot of people contributing that aren’t the astronauts themselves. In fact, I’d almost say they’re more important. If they mess up, things can go very wrong.”

Sayaka nodded in agreement. “It's similar with my groups concert. There are so many people that go into making sure we can perform without a hitch.”

Though they didn’t say anything, Byakuya and Sonia could also relate somewhat, though Byakuya didn’t normally give as much thought to those who worked under him to make sure things ran smoothly as Sonia did. The princess didn’t like when her subjects didn’t receive due compensation for their work.

Taka couldn’t help but grimace slightly when his other self said that. He was possibly the strongest proponent of teamwork, and the idea that others' hard work should be ignored just didn’t sit right with him.

“Anyway, back to our conversation... You guys can just relax. The world hasn't been destroyed.” ‘Mahiru reiterated. 

“Really!? It’s not destroyed!?” Himiko said hopefully. “Then we can all go home and-”

“Nah, that ain't happenin’,” Yasuhiro interrupted.

“Huh? But they should still have families, right? Nothing should have happened to them,” Sakura pointed out. “There should be no reason they can’t return to them.”

“Wait…” Hina said slowly as a horrible realization dawned on her. “I...Maybe other Tsumugi means to say that their pasts are fiction too?”

The only sign in Celestes’ demeanor showing that she was at all bothered by this was her barely there frown. “Are you sure? True, that might make sense, but…”

Kyoko felt her stomach sink, just a little. If that was really where this was going...well, let's just say she didn’t like it. At all.

Because while one could claim that Hopes Peak was fictional, it certainly could feel like it at times, there was no way they were fictional too, right?

Right?

“Nyeh!?”

“Wh-why?” Keebo wondered. “If the world is still intact, then we have homes to return to-” 

Sakura gestured to the screen when her point had been rehashed in trial.

“I told you that ain't happenin’, you dumb sea urchin headed... wait, that's me!” 

“Really, HIro?” Mukuro deadpanned, which made the fortune teller wilt slightly.

“Self burn, huh? Real smooth, Hiro, real smooth,” Hina added, making the man wilt even more as his face flushed in embarrassment.

“Monokuma, what’s going on?” Shuichi asked. 

“Do you really wanna know? Puhuhu...Forget about the outside world. It wants nothing to do with you. The walls of this academy are your world now. The outside world is of no concern to you. The audience certainly agrees with me. Isn't that right, you guys?”

“Audience?”  

Kokichi and Byakuya were the quickest to latch onto that, but everyone else had taken notice too,

“So I was right. This was being shown to people. But why?”

“Everything makes sense now. Can’t believe I didn’t realize that.”

“What audience?” Chihiro asked aloud, voicing the question everyone had.

“Well, Junko did say the first game at least was meant to be shown, so maybe it has something to do with that?” Makoto suggested.

Monokuma pulled out a key and turned in a slot on his throne. The screens around the trial room lit up with many different faces.

“Wh-what? Who are these people?” Himiko asked in shock.

“They've all been watching this killing game transpire,” ‘Kyoko’ explained. 

“Of course, those you see here are only a fraction of our total viewers.” ‘Sakura’ added on.

“Oh wow…” Mahiru said faintly. “That’s...that’s a lot of people.”

Hiyoko sniffed. “They must be total losers if they have nothing better to do than watch this.”

Despite Hiyoko’s tone, most couldn’t help agreeing with her sentiment, at least a little.

“...watching us?”

“It’s just like Shuichi said. This was all arranged because people want to see it.” ‘Sayaka’ elaborated. 

“So this was all a show... This whole killing game!” Shuichi realized. 

“So that’s why they were so concerned about this game being interesting,” Kirumi realized. “They have an audience to keep engaged.”

“Oh, oh, do you think they influence things as much as reality tv shows,” Ibuki asked energetically.

“Well, I don’t think it’s a stretch if this is supposed to be a reality tv show, so yeah, wouldn’t surprise me,” Hajime responded.

“Yeah, everyone in this whole peaceful world watches this show.” ‘Chiaki’ agreed. 

“Peaceful ...world?” Shuichi repeated. 

“Th-the outside world is p-peace itself. There's n-no despair or wars, a-and…”

“Hmmm, I see, I see….wait, ehhhhhh??!! What’s that supposed to mean!”

Celeste sighed at Hifumi’s antics. “I believe it means exactly what it’s supposed to mean. The world is peaceful. Though why that’s an important detail, I can’t say. Also, please, control yourself.”

“A-ah, apologies, Miss Ludenburg.”

‘Toko’ sneezed. “All the people in this peaceful world are straight-up crazy for this killing game!” ‘Genocider’ finished with a laugh.

‘W-wait, why would a peaceful world need a game like th-” 

“It's *because* the world is so peaceful that this killing game is necessary!” ‘Taka’ said boldly. 

“Ehh? Don’t speak so cryptically!” Hiyoko complained.

Mahiru shushed her as she shot an apologetic look to Taka, who looked quite offended.

“It is so very peaceful.. and so, it is so very boring,” ‘Celeste’ explained. 

“With so much peace, people have become bored. They need stimulation...” Kyoko said.

“Maybe it’s like how our world has video games,” Chiaki said.

Peko regarded her classmate. “What do you mean?”

“Well, our world is also pretty peaceful, right? Maybe not like the world being described on screen, but still. We have a lot of free time on our hands, for the most part. And some of the most popular games are first person shooters and other violent games that are usually more graphic. Of course, that’s not to say people don’t enjoy other kinds of games.”

“I guess that could be applied to other forms of media and entertainment,” Fuyuhiko realized. “People are damn fond of their violent shows and books, aren’t they?”

“And people love soap operas for the drama,” Aoi added. “Guess this just ended up being an even more extreme version of that, huh.”

“More extreme reality tv, if we want to be specific,” Sakura added.

“We created this Ultimate Real Fiction so Danganronpa could fulfill that need.” ‘Chiaki’ continued. “Every person in the outside world watching this is a huge Danganronpa fan. Everyone loves the killing games... This killing game is for everyone... So it's everyone's killing school semester.” 

“This killing game is the latest entry in Danganronpa.” ‘Hifumi’ stated. “The long awaited sequel that everyone has been waiting for!” 

Chihiro tilted his head. “Sequel? Just how many of these have they supposedly produced? At least three, right?”

Sayaka nodded. “If each of our classes games could be considered a season, then yes, that does make sense.”

“This is the truth of this killing game! Isn't it the Ultimate Real Fiction?!” Tsumugi asked them. 

“We... we were forced to play... some fictional killing game?” Shuichi said, face again pale. 

“Danganronpa!” Monokuma said enthusiastically. “You noticed way too late! There's no Danganronpa without Monokuma! Since I’m here, that means this is Danganronpa!”

“He’s quite cute for a mascot,” Angie said cheerfully. “Though, I think it would please Atua if he were to be a little less evil.”

The screens changed from people’s faces to a logo.

“V3? Like version three?” Akane hazarded a guess. She just got a shrug from some people.

“Wait…” Kyoko through, remembering something that had been said not that long ago.

“What is this..?” Maki asked shakily. 

“Can’t you tell? It's the title of the current Danganronpa you guys are doing.” ‘Fuyuhiko’ told them. 

“A testament to the unquenchable thirst this blood-soaked world has for Danganronpa,” ‘Gundham’ continued. 

“What do you mean?” Keebo questioned.

“Danganronpa’s gone on so long because the whole world enjoys and supports it,” ‘Chihiro told them. 

“Huh? How long has it gone on?” Himiko’s voice wavered.

“Did you forget what season of Danganronpa this is? You guys are dumber than ants,” ‘Hiyoko’ mocked. 

Gonta huffed. “Ant’s not dumb. Ants smart, and strong too!”

Hiyoko was about to retort when a look from both Mahiru and several of Gonta’s classmates prompted her to hold her tongue for once.

“Shuichi..what do you think?” ‘Makoto’ asked. 

‘What?” 

“What number killing game is this? What season do you think we're on? You should be able to tell from the logo.” 

“Mmhmhm...And if that's not enough of a hint, just feast your eyes below my belt.” ‘Teruteru’ said creepily. 

Ignoring Teruteru’s less than pleasant comment, Kyoko began to think. This shouldn’t be that hard. What was the V for? No sooner than that thought crossed her mind did the answer come to her, just as it did to several others.

Shuichi thought for a moment before saying, “Could this be... the 53rd one?” he guessed. 

“The...53rd…?” Aoi’s face was pale as she spoke softly.

“Surely not, right…?” Leon asked hesitantly.

“Perhaps not,” Kirumi said calmly. “We only know of our three games, and while it’s not impossible that there were more, it’s also quite easy to fabricate a number like that, and there doesn’t seem to be a real way for them to refute it.”

“So it could be a lie, is that what you’re saying?” Korekiyo asked. “Hmm, well, we’ll just have to see what comes of this, I suppose.”

“Knew it,” Kyoko thought. “Tsumugi had called herself the 53rd earlier, so it stands to reason the numbers would line up. Still, to think there could be 53 of these…”

“Ding, ding! Correct! This is the 53rd season of Danganronpa,” Monokuma confirmed. “In other words, Danganronpa v3’s official name is Danganronpa 53! Starting with the Hope’s Peak Academy arc in Danganronpa 1, 2, then 3... The seasons just kept coming and with it came more killing games. Until it transcended games and anime to become this, the Ultimate Real Fiction. And now, we’re in the 53rd season of Danganronpa!” 

“Hey, Angie.” Kaito spoke up. “How easy would it be to make logos like that? Just in general, not, like, in your auta state or anything.”

“Hmm? Well, show logos are quite simple as long as you have a title. Though graphic design things like that aren’t really my focus. It’s different from the art Atua uses me to create.”

“Th-the 53rd season!?” Himiko cried incredulously

“What, did the letter in there throw you off? Well, I guess that happens. But isn’t it  just rad how it looks like a letter but it's really a number!?” ‘Leon’ enthused. 

Bev held back a snort at that. Tsumugi just had to make that reference, huh?

“Our title is the 53rd, aso this is the 53ed game we have masterminded,” ‘royal Junko’ explained. “It was supposed to be a hint...But...whatever...I’m over it…” 

“Since this is the 53rd season, one would expect to see a multitude of characters.” ‘Sonia’ pointed out. 

“But you only have memories from the first two, so you wouldn't recognize any others.” Tsumugi explained. 

“Is that just her making excuses? Because it could also be because there are no others to cosplay as,” Fuyuhiko pointed out.

Peko hummed thoughtfully. “That could be.”

“That's why I've limited myself to only cosplaying as Hope’s Peak characters,” ‘Sakura’ continued 

“Is it sinkin’ in yet? This killing game is just the 53rd season of Danganronpa,” ‘Kazuichi’ said with a grin. 

“The 53rd Danganronpa…” Shuichi echoed hollowly.

“Trapped in a fictional, Danganronpa-inspired world, and forced to play the killing game…” ‘Imposter’ said 

“That is what the world desired from you,” ‘Byakuya’ stated coldly. 

“That’s pretty fucked up,” Mondo said loudly. “This society is super fucked up.”

“But how different is it really?” Celeste wondered. “Like we said earlier, it seems that this is simply a more extreme version of some of the kinds of media we have today. Actually, now that I think about it, there is some media that is quite similar to this, isn’t there?”

Mondo sighed. “Yeah, you’re right, I guess. Hate to admit it, but yeah.”

“Have any of you heard of the show Squid Game?” Sonia asked. Upon receiving various answers, she continued. “Well, its one of several pieces of media that are some form of death game. Your Turn To Die and the Hunger Games series also come to mind. Oh, and whodunit! That’s a lovely one.”

“So yes, I'm the mastermind,” Tsumugi said, finally back as herself. “But the *real* mastermind forcing you to do this is…” The screen switched yet again, back to the many faces. “The people of the outside world! The people of the outside world are the ones who are forcing you to do this!” 

“The whole world... is the real mastermind?” Shuichi asked shakily. 

“The reason I made this world... The reason you guys did the killing game.. It's all because the outside world wants it, you know? It's not just me. It's everyone involved in this project.” 

“Project?” Keebo repeated.

“Whaaaat? You don't know what that is? Is your brain leaking oil or something?” ‘Hiyoko’ said. 

Keebo huffed in annoyance. “For the last time, I don’t use oil as a fuel source. I’m entirely electric.”

“The ones managing this killing game aren’t psychos like the Remnants of Despair…” ‘Mikan’ said meekly.

“Oh, that reminds me, Who, exactly, are these Remnants?” Hajime asked Bev. “They’ve been mentioned several times now, but you haven’t said much about them, just that they followed Junko.”

Bev was silent for a moment before they decided what to say. “The identities of the remnants aren’t important right now.”

That didn’t do much to satiate most people, but the trial continued anyway. Bev, meanwhile, was wondering about the consequences of revealing what happened with class 77. Perhaps they ought to tell them? But would that even be necessary? There was a good chance telling them would just cause more problems for temporary assuage of curiosity.

For now, they’d stand by their decision. It would only cause more harm at this moment.

“They’re literal managers! Literally!” ‘Ibuki’ said, teeth clenched.

Nekomaru had his attention caught by that, just a little. He knew firsthand how challenging managing anything could be. Though, sports teams and production companies were very different things.

She went back to Tsumugi “So I want to hear your best guess. What company is running this show?” 

“…Team Danganronpa?” Shuichi guessed. 

“Yeah!” ‘Chihiro confirmed brightly. “The company that makes Danganronpa is called Team Danganronpa.” 

“You guys are behind in your studies! The audience knew the answer right away!” ‘Kiyotaka’ chided. 

“It's in the title credits at the start, too,” ‘Peko’ stated. 

The title credits began to play, displaying moments from the first three seasons.

“I'm also a part of Team Danganronpa,” Tsumugi said. ‘We make the finest killing entertainment! Everyone enjoys our work oh-so-much! And our newest project is...Danganronpa v3: Killing Harmony!” 

“A heart pounding killing game, brought to life by Ultimate Real Fiction!” Monokuma interjected.

“Shut up...shut up!” Shuichi yelled. ‘You created an entire fictional world... to make us do this fictional killing game!? No matter how many false memories we've been implanted with, *we* aren't fictional!”

“Y-yeah, Shuichi is right!” Kaito said loudly. “We’re real people!”

“You’re being too loud,” Maki said in slight irritation, though there wasn’t any real heat behind it. She didn’t like the implications of where this might be going.

“You sure about that?” Monokuma asked, seeming like he was taunting the detective.

“...What?”

“E-either way, I don’t wanna do this anymore! Let me go home already!” Himiko cried.

“That’s impossible. Didn't I tell you that you have no homes to go back to?” ‘Mahiru’ stated bluntly. 

“Wh-what!? Why not!?”

“Because you’re just like us. You only exist within the world of Danganronpa.” ‘Nagito’ explained.

“Just like us?” was the question that ran through pretty much everybodies heads.

“...Just like you?” Maki questioned nervously. 

“Hmph...Still don't get it? You just need to ask yourselves one question... “WHO THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS!?!?” ‘Nekomaru’ bellowed. 

Everyone, in varying degrees of volume intensity, and conviction, said their names. It was their identity, after all.

“Who...are we...?

“We're the same…? We're all... just like you?” Shuichi said, the idea dawning on him. 

“Yes, that’s right. You’re all fictional, too.” ‘Mikan’ confirmed.

Silence. Just silence. Everyone’s minds were essentially blank, no thoughts head empty, because what sort of reaction were you supposed to have to a claim like that? Especially with everything else that had happened before this moment.

It was also unspoken that it was just best to let the trial play anyway, to get this over with.

“...Huh?” Keebo said quietly.

“You’re just fictional characters created solely for this killing game.” ‘Makoto’ stated plainly. 

“Nothin’ we can do about it, I'm afraid. Danganronpa is that kind of property.” ‘Teruteru’ said, pulling a comb through his hair. 

“Wh-what are you saying…?” Maki asked, voice unsteady.

“W-we’re not fictional!” Himiko insisted. “We’re living, breathing people!”

“Y-yeah, what Himiko said!” Tenko said, pointing a slightly shaking finger at the screen for just a moment.

Angie was quiet for once, the end of a paintbrush rhythmically tapping slowly on the corner of her lip.

“Your immaterial existence is a fabrication, independent of your actual flesh and blood,” ‘Gundham’ told her. 

“Uh..do you mean that their versions are fake, separate from their real selves?” Kazuichi ventured. 

Gundham chuckled. “Very good. Yes, that is indeed what I said.”

“Yup, you're all fictional.” Tsumugi said with finality. 

You guys out there beyond the fourth wall already knew that, right!?” ‘Ibuki’ said loudly.

Bev resisted the urge to smirk just a little. “You all certainly do, don’t you, dear readers?”

“You all didn't look like this when you first came to the Ultimate Academy…” Tsumugi stated. “Those were your true selves. Now you're all just fictional characters. That's the truth.” 

“That’s the truth? Then...our real identities…

“You’re just normal, average, everyday people, with no Ultimate talent whatsoever.” ‘Nagito’ said softly. 

“That...that’s certainly a lie. I mean, we’re here. We have talents,” Makoto said, though he hardly sounded confident.

“...What?”

“When you guys came to this Academy for the first time... You were just boring ,everyday high school students,” the guy continued. 

“You were average students with no talent...just like me.” ‘Hajime’ added.

Hajime frowned as he wondered what that was supposed to mean. He was the Ultimate ____, right? So why...

“But boring, everyday characters have no right to be in Danganronpa…” ‘Byakuya said. “So you were all made more suitable for your new roles.” 

“Everyone remembered thanks to the first flashback light,” ‘Sonia’ continued. “You are all given personalities, talents, and upbringings to create your characters. Much like that delightful documentary, Making a Murderer!” 

Sonia’s expression brighted. “That is indeed a wonderful documentary!”

She got several looks that were either concerned or weirded out.

Kazuichi spoke despite his nerves. “Well, uh, Sonia, perhaps we should watch it sometime?”

Sonia positively beamed. “I’d love to! Maybe we ought to arrange a movie night? Ah, no matter, we can talk about that later.”

Sonia went back to watching the trial, but there was now a small smile on her face.

“It was at that point, that the prologue of this story began,” ‘Kyoko’ carried on.  

“Which means your Ultimate talents are all just fiction…” ‘Peko’ elaborated. 

“Our talents as well…” Maki said in disbelief. 

“Yup. Your talents are a bunch of lies.” ‘Chiaki’ said simply. “I mean, they suited you to a certain extent, but mostly in a placebo effect sorta way. Kinda like a form of autosuggestion... You know, like if you do it, it'll all work out.” 

“But it’s not just your talents. It's your personalities, families, memories,” ‘Hifumi’ continued. 

“It's all fiction created by the flashback light,” ‘Mahiru stated. 

“Can you really say you're not fictional now?” Tsumugi asked, pushing her glasses up. 

“Even if your body is real, your identities, personalities, talents, and past are all fiction,” ‘Hajime’ said. 

“Can you really say none of this is fictional now?” ‘Makoto’ repeated. 

“W-wait a minute...What...are you babbling about?” Himiko was shaking. “Our identities, personalities, talents, and past are all fictional!? That’s stupid!”

“Yeah, Himiko’s right!” Tenko said loudly. “There’s just no way!”

Angie placed a hand on the Aikido master's arm placatingly. “Now now, Tenko. You mustn't get too worked up.”

Himiko also reached an arm up lazily, tugging on the sleeve of Tenkos's brown uniform jacket.

Tenko blinked, before taking a few exaggerated deep breaths and leaning back with a huff. “Fine.”

“It's not stupid! Isn't this what you all wanted!?” ‘Akane’ said aggressively. 

For what felt like the millionth time, confusion swept through the room. 

“...what?”

Shuichi's quiet voice reflected what most others were thinking. Because how could they possibly want this?

“We wanted this?” Keebo, understandably, sounded like he couldn’t believe it. 

“Yeah, you wouldn’t remember, but you guys were all from the outside world,” ‘Leon’ informed them. 

“It’s not strange at all that you’d wanna be a part of the show you love,” ‘Sayaka’ said lightly.

Nobody knew what to say to that. To an extent, they understood. Most had shows they would enjoy participating in, but…

“No way! Are you saying we *wanted* to participate in this killing game!?” Shuichi protested incredulously. “That's not possible, how could we ever-” 

“Please, everyone! Take a look at this!” ‘Chihiro’ interrupted. 

The screens changed to show a single person. A very *familiar* person

“Huh? That’s my sidekick, isn’t it? What's this supposed to be?”

Kaito would soon get his answer.

“Number 154...My name is @&#%. I’ve always been such a huge fan of Danganronpa and...always wanted to be in one. If I were a contestant, I would want to be... an Ultimate Detective. I know there's been a few in the past, and I've always loved those characters... so I would want to be one of them. Ah, but, I don't *have* to be a detective. I'll be anything to be part of the show. And I mean that, anything. I’d do... anything to be part of Danganronpa. I promise, if I get selected, I will work as hard as I can.” At this, Other Shuichi began to smile. “I will come up with the best, most gruesome murders, I promise. Everyone will love it! And an Ultimate Detective hasn't been the blackened yet, so I'm sure I could do that! I'm also thinking about... the perfect punishment for an Ultimate Detective…” 

“Wh-what... was that..?” Shuichi couldn’t say much more than that. 

Everyone else was in a similar state of shock. Because that was very different from the Shuichi they knew.

Shuichi was, of course, the most shaken. He...he wouldn’t say that, right? No, no way, absolutely not.

Kaede reached over and squeezed Shuichi’s hand, not only because Shuichi needed it, she was sure, but for her own reassurance as well. Looking over, she saw that Kokichi was now basically clinging to the detective, arms firmly around his waist as he stared at the screen with a decidedly grumpy expression, presumably for the same reasons as Kaede

“Wasn't that you, Shuichi?” Maki said, also looking pretty shocked. 

“N-no, it can't be! I'd never say something like-” 

“You wouldn't say that now,” Monokuma agreed. “But this is you before you became who you are now.” 

“What?” 

“When we saw your audition tape, we had a flash of inspiration. The weakest Ultimate Detective ever... Wouldn't it be great to see him grow?” Tsumugi’s eyes sparked despite their emptiness. 

“Heh, they underestimate Shuichi,” Kaito said confidently.

Kyoko nodded in silent agreement. Even from the start, she’d sensed that her colleague had more metaphorical backbone and confidence than he realized. He simply needed a little guidance to see that.

“And that's why we made your character and had you join the gang,” ‘Mondo’ explained. 

“The rest of you are no different,” ‘Celeste continued. “You auditioned and were selected as well.”

“Auditioned…?” Himiko echoed weakly.

“Y-yeah... You were all s-so excited when you w-were selected…” ‘Toko stuttered. 

“I believe it was... right after you all receive your Ultimate Wardrobe.” ‘Peko’ said. 

H-Huh? Wh-what am I wearing?” Kaede wondered.

“Mm-hm! Looking good! Now you look more like Ultimates!” Monophanie said happily.

“Ultimates..? Really?” Shuichi said.

“Next up, the memory youse all been waiting for,” Monosuke said.

“Hell yeah! Get ready! Once the seal is broken, we’ll be in the domain of the killing game!” Monokid said loudly.

“K-Killing game…” Kaede repeated.

“You mean...we were selected!?” Shuichi realized with a smile.

“We got picked!? Really!? Alright!” Kaito said enthusiastically.

“Wh-woah, really!? I’m selected for it, too!?” Kaede said.

It occurred to Ryoma that most, if not all, of his peers' reactions had probably been similar when they were scouted to attend Hope's Peak. Quite the achievement, wasn’t it?

He wished he felt the same.

“We really... said that?” Shuichi questioned. 

“That's a lie! I have no memory of that!” Keebo said firmly. 

“You just forgot is all,” ‘Hina’ explained. “Cuz of the Flashback Light we used on you.” 

“The people you used to be are gone. Your fictional characters now.” ‘Fuyuhiko’ stated. 

“Do you finally understand?” ‘Kyoko’ asked. “You are all flesh-and-blood fictional characters.” 

“So you got nowhere to return! All that stuff’s fictional, too!” ‘Hiro’ added.

“Th-then...my friends and family...My whole life before coming here…” Himiko stuttered

“All fiction!” ‘Nekomaru’ confirmed. “That’s what a backstory IS!!!”

As the resident legitimate author, Toko had written many a fleshed-out backstory. A well-written backstory had the potential to make or break a character. Of course, some of that was simply reader opinion, but still. Backstories were something an author should never half-ass, Hifumi, and something Toko would never in a million years skimp out on. Her pride as a writer wouldn't allow it.

“You can’t go back home!” ‘Kiyotaka’ declared. “Because there is no such place!”

“Just like how there's no Togami corporation in the real world.” ‘Byakuya’ said as an example.

It was only just noticeable, but Byakuya’s face paled, just a little. Otherwise, he displayed no other outward reaction besides raised eyebrows and slightly widened eyes.

“Certainly a lie, has to be. The Togami Corporation has been at the front of Japan’s development for years. That can’t just be explained away, can it?”

Satisfied for now with his reasoning, Byakuya let it rest, ignoring the tiny seed of doubt that was asking him “But what if you’re wrong?”

“The only place we fictional characters can live, is in this fictional world. Only in this world. Only in Danganronpa.” ‘Mahiru’ said calmly.

“Only... in this world?” Maki repeated.

“Yes, the place you're actually trapped inside it's the Danganronpa world!” Tsumugi said, an excited edge to her voice. ‘That's why you guys can't leave this place. That's why your only option is to continue the killing game here. You're all fictional characters created to kill each other. It's what the world wants. That's why..” Tsumugi's voice suddenly took on a darker tone. “There's nowhere to run.” 

The courtroom was silent.

“E-enough,” Himiko eventually said. “I don't wanna know anything else!” she cried. “I’ve had enough!”

Tenko threw her arms around the mage. “Aww, don’t worry, Himiko.”

But despite how self-assured she sounded, Tenko honestly wasn’t feeling much better. She really needed to vent these emotions soon, lest she have an outburst. The only reason she hadn’t yet just yet was because Bev seemed the kind of person who wouldn’t take too kindly to someone trying to destroy their theatre room. Hmm, she should probably ask about that...

Tsumugi gasped. “Ah! That reaction!”

Even before Tsumugi said anything, Junko knew exactly what she was going to say. Ooohhh, this was so wonderful! All this despair, all this doubt about the identities they’d been so sure of, and she was loving every minute of it.

“Could it be...you fell into despair?” ‘Junko’ wondered. 

“It’s times like these you need to look to your friends for support.” ‘Makoto’ said. 

Makoto agreed with that. Yet...it felt...disingenuous? How much meaning did such words have coming from someone who wasn’t really you? Would Tsumugi remain faithful to their personalities regardless of her own feelings?  

“However, all your friends are fictional, too.” ‘Hifumi’ said dramatically. 

“Nyeh?”

“For example...even Kaito’s illness was given to him as part of his character.” ‘Mikan said softly.

Maki started blankly. “What?”  

“Huh? Sickness? Kaito not feel well?”

Kaito shook his head at Gonta. “Nah, don’t worry Gonta. I’m fine. But it seems other me was sick at some point.”

“Oh, okay! Gonta understand.”

“I was the one who came up with that plotline and gave him that virus.” Tsumugi told her “I was also the one who came up with the plotline where you fell for Kaito,” she then said smugly. 

“Wh-what ...are you saying?” Maki asked nervously. 

Maki’s face suddenly turned bright red, and though it was highly unusual for her to do this, she hid her face in her hands, much to Kaito’s amusement.

“Well, I do have to say that was a good plot line choice if that’s the case.”

“S-shut up,” she muttered as she put a hand over Kaito’s grinning face.

“But Makiroll…”

Maki turned to glare at him.

The lighthearted scene did a lot to alleviate some of the tension in the room, though there was still a lingering air of unease.

“Then, what about Tenko!? Was she always defending me because-”

“Because that was her character. It's the same for me, too.” ‘Kazuichi’ agreed. 

“A character created to bring excitement to the killing game, much like myself.” ‘Sonia’ added. 

“So the killing game swelled with excitement. Even my pants started to swell, too,” ‘Teruteru’ continued. 

Mahiru, though no one was quite sure how, karate chopped the chef on the head and was seated again before anyone realized what had happened. In fact, if it weren’t for Teruteru’s indignant squawk, they might not have realized anything happened at all.

“Y-you're telling us... this is all a lie? Even...my feelings…? Are you saying even *those* were lies!?” Maki said, not exactly outraged, but certainly upset. 

“Well, if you're going to call fiction a lie... then yes. Everything in this world has a writing credit. All our words and actions... are just a bunch of lies.” Tsumugi said plainly.

“For example, an unbreakable vow of brotherhood is just a simple plotline.” ‘Mondo’ explained to her. 

“You said it, bro!” ‘Kiyotaka’ said cheerfully. “However, that was a splendid plotline!” 

Kiyotaka and Mondo both exchanged looks and a resolute nod. No matter what, they would uphold that bond for as long as they lived.

It switched back to Tsumugi “Even that thing Kaede said that moved Shuichi’s heart. 

“...What?”

“I believe in you, so you should definitely believe in yourself!”

“That was a lie! Cuz the real Kaede said…” 

The screen changed to show another tape similar to Shuichi’s from earlier. 

“I'm perfect for a killing game. I don't have any faith in humanity.” 

And just as much as the mood had risen, it plummeted. 

Kaede looked mostly uncomfortable. 

“I...would I really say that? I mean...we all lose faith in humanity sometimes, right?”

She’d never told anyone this, but there were times where she just...lost all trust in her community. Countless times, she’d seen people act in ways that just...disappointed her? Was that the right word? Like antivaxers, homophobes, xenophobes, the list was endless. 

And yet...She knew it wasn’t all like that. All her peers were wonderful people, and they were the future, weren’t they? If she didn’t like it, then she’d just need to be the change she wanted to see

“And who could forget Kaito’s inspiring line?” 

“Don’t forget! The impossible is possible! All you gotta do is make it so!”

“That was a lie! Cuz the real Kaito said…”

Kaito’s attention returned in full. He had to wonder what he’d say.  

The tape switched

“I'm not just gonna be in Danganronpa!, I'm gonna kill everybody and win! Once I’ve got fame and fortune, I don't gotta worry about what's impossible.” 

“Well…” 

Sonia’s uneasy voice sounded.

“I...can’t say that Kaito is wrong, about the fame and fortune part, I mean. I myself come from a very affluent family, as you’re all aware, and that means many things that would be impossible for most of you are perfectly attainable for me.”

Celeste nodded. “Indeed. Wealth allows for one to achieve otherwise impossible dreams.”

The gambler was, of course, thinking of her own dream as she said this. Living in a European Castle with staff attending to her every need would have been a pipe dream just a few years ago. But now? Now it was well within her reach. 

Perhaps they all were... misinterpreting Kaitos words a bit, but the point still stood.

“It’s aaaaaalll fiction! It’s aaaaaall a lie!” Tsumugi declared gleefully. “Everything single thing that has happened in this killing game...is a lie!”

“It’s all...a lie? The reason we’re all here right now is because of them...Because of them...I was able to change. That’s why I was trying to live for them too...I was trying so hard to stay positive. But...if even that’s a lie…”

“Why... am I here? Why did I even survive this long?” he asks weakly, voice barely above a whisper. 

Kokichis arms, which hadn’t moved from their spot around Shuichi’s middle, tightened, but not too much. Kaede, likewise, reestablished her grip on Shuichi’s hand, just enough to ground the detective.

Meanwhile, Junko’s mouth was being covered by Mondo, because she’s started to show signs of a laughing fit.

Oh, Tsumugi had done even better than Junko expected. To think just a humble cosplayer could so easily bring the survivors to despair.

It made Junko very happy.

Very happy indeed.

“This is fiction. There's no greater meaning,” ‘Hajime’ said simply 

“No greater meaning to death. No greater meaning to life. It's all fiction. There's no meaning to be found in any of it.” ‘Izuru’ said dully.

“Bleh! It’s so gross I could just barf.” ‘Hiyoko’ said snidely.

“Well, I guess it makes sense you wouldn't believe all this stuff.” ‘Yasuhiro’ admitted.

“How ‘bout that? You in despair yet?” ‘Junko’s’ persona suddenly changed. “It will be troublesome for us if you don't despair under our rule!”

“What?” Shuichi’s voice was so quiet, it could have easily been missed

“Danganronpa’s all about despair! The reason is killing being so popular...Why it's gone on for 53 seasons... That reason is despair. Viewers flock to see your despair. That's why all those people out there look soo happy! See!?” 

“But don’t they get bored?” Teruteru wondered. “Seeing the same sort of things over and over? It’s like eating pasta or pizza all the time. There are plenty of variations, sure, but you’re still bound to get tired of it, surely?”

“Hmm…” Ibuki hummed thoughtfully. “How much you wanna bet that there are seasons so bad that no one ever talks about them? Like, ‘oh, season 39 was so awful, it’s completely despair-inducing."

Hifumi and Toko seemed interested in that question, but didn’t say anything to the musician's antics.

“What... is this?” 

‘Despair…? Is this...despair?”

“Is this what the outside world wants? Is this what they want from us?” he said, mostly to himself.

“Oh? Don't have the energy to yell?” Monokuma taunted “Well, yelling for help is useless for fictional characters anyway. It makes the viewers even more depraved and obsessed when they feel sorry for you. They watch, knowing that they shouldn’t, just to revel in the depravity of it all. That depravity is the appeal of death games. It's the appeal of this very killing game... It's the appeal of Danganronpa itself.”

“So what are we supposed to do?” Shuichi eventually asked. 

“Huh? What was that?” Tsumugi said.

“What... are we... supposed to do? What's gonna happen to us?"

“Hm? What are you guys talkin’ about?” ‘Akane’ inquired 

“Weren’t you going to ruin the class trial and end the killing games?” Tsumugi reminded them. “Go ahead and stop it if you can! Try and stop a world obsessed with it!” 

Tsumugi, for felt like the millionth time, was wondering just why she was helping produce such a horrible thing.

Why?

Why…

Try as she might, she just couldn’t come up with a reasonable explanation.

“Th-there's no way to stop it... it's... impossible..” Himiko said between her tears. 

“I-I’m sure that’s wrong, Himiko! You’ll think of something, I’m sure of it.”

Himiko didn’t look totally convinced, but she nodded at the Lucky student anyway.

“Oh? Are you giving up already?” ‘Celeste’ asked.

“It's all a lie... isn't it? Me... Everyone here... Everyone who died... Everything's a lie, right? I can't fight... for a lie, can I?” 

“Ohhhh? What's the matter? Are you in despair?” ‘Ibuki’ wondered 

“No matter how much you grow, Shuichi, you're still weak after all…” Tsumugi mocked. “Now that you know it's all lies, you've gone back to the weak Ultimate Detective…” 

Kyoko glared. Did they have to keep bringing that up about her partner?

“Ahahahaha!” ‘Junko’ laughed. “This pleases us! It is a despair fit for Danganronpa!” 

Junko had to agree. This was.

“Well, that was surprisingly disappointing…” Tsumugi said with a sigh “But I guess it's okay! We're still on script!”  

“Everythings a lie...Everything’s meaningless… Everything we’ve done, everything we’ve faced together… All of our feelings…”

“Pitch black lies. It doesn’t matter how many mysteries you solve. The mysteries were all fiction in the first place. All scripted. It’s all over. It’s all just a lie anyway. It doesn’t matter what you do….It’s over now.”

Chapter Text

The screen went black before displaying the following.

“...Is this the end? Please tell me. I’m asking you. Whenever I was in trouble, my inner voice would always guide me. That guidance is what brought me here. I don’t believe that’s a mistake. So... I will trust it. Please...tell me. Tell me what I should do. Please, tell me your decision.”

“That’s Keebo, right?” Kaito realized. “Who’s he talking to? Any ideas?” He then asked, turning to the person in question.

Keebo shrugged. “Don’t ask me, I don’t know.”

But like the others, Keebo was confused, perhaps even more so, because that so called “inner voice” seemed to be unique to trial participant him. He had what others might call a conscious, an internal dialogue, but what other him was describing almost seemed to be a different thing entirely.

Save this situation?

Yes

>No

Save this situation?

Yes

>No

Chiaki tilted her head. This was very much like a game selection screen, but why was ‘no’ being selected? Was this a scenario where you were supposed to fail, perhaps? 

SAVE this situation?

Yes

>No

*Remedy* this situation?

>Yes

No

“It changed?”

Chiaki shrugged at Nagito. “Seems so. Wonder why…”

The screen goes white, and Keebo is revealed

“I hear your voices, crystal clear.” he says. The scene returns to the trial grounds 

“My inner voice is telling me I need to... remedy this situation.” He informs the others hopefully. “That is why I will not give up!”

As he spoke, a flickering partial image of his face appeared. “I will not give up hope until the very end!”

The face image fully locked in, signifying a change to Keebo’s perspective.

“What?” ‘Junko’ said boredly

“We can't give up. No matter what, hope is always within reach.” Keebo said. “We must keep our heads high and search for hope, especially in deepest despair.”

“Hope..?” Shuichi said dully 

“Huh...? What hope…” ‘Junko’ said as well 

“Well someones optimistic,” Ryoma muttered as he pulled on his beanie, though whether he was referring to Keebo or Shuichi and ‘Junko” was hard to say.

‘You said so yourself. This killing game is the Ultimate Real Fiction,” Keebo reminded her. “If this is both real and fiction, then logically it can't all be fictional. Even if this world is fiction, even if we're fiction, there must be something we can do. So there must be a way to break through this! I won't give up hope! Not ever!” 

Makoto was glad they had someone like Keebo there. They couldn’t afford to fall to Junko's ploys. But what avenues for action did they have?

“Oh geez..” ‘Junko’ grumbled “How annoying…” 

‘The outside world doesn't just want despair… It wants hope too,” the robot said confidently “If our voices have reached the outside world, then what my inner voice is telling me is-” 

“Oh, your inner voice?” Tsumugi interupted “That's the voice of the outside world.” 

“What?” 

“I know cuz I wrote your plotline, too” she explained “There's no way I wouldn't know who that is you're hearing. That's the voice of the outside world.” 

‘The voice of the outside world…” Keebo echoed quietly. 

Keebo frowned. “So that’s what it is, is it? I thought it was different from my own internal dialogue.”

Rantaro nodded. “Seem’s like it,” he said, vaguely gesturing at the screen.

“From the start of this killing game, you've had a unique role. You're the audience surrogate.” Tsumugi told him 

“A-audience surrogate?” 

“Your inner voice allows communication between yourself and the audience…” ‘Kyoko’ explained. 

“That function exists to keep the audience entertained,” ‘Hifumi’ continued. 

“So is he like a camera for the audience?” Mahiru guessed. “Could his eyes do that?”

“Probably,” Peko agreed. “If the audience is meant to experience the game through him.”

“Please don’t talk about me like I’m not here!”

“Now tell me-what is your inner voice!? Speak clearly and enunciate!” ‘Kiyotaka’ said boldly. 

“What is my inner voice? If I’m a surrogate for the audience...and we’ve been communicating this whole time…

“An... audience survey?” he guessed hesitantly. 

“Bah! Could they lean any harder into the reality tv theme?” Miu scoffed. “Fuckin normies.”

She staunchly avoided the looks she was getting, even if she was right.

“Mwah-hahahahaha! Well done!” ‘Gundham’ praised. “Yes! Indeed, that is the truth!” 

“It's two-way communication that lets you participate in the program from home,” ‘Chihiro’ explained. 

“That is your inner voice’s true nature. The results of an audience survey,” ‘Sakura’ finished.

“The voice I relied on for guidance... was just the audience... answering survey questions!?” Keebo asked in shock and disbelief. 

“And every move you made was dictated by the audience's answers to that survey,” ‘Fuyuhiko’ confirmed. 

“For this season of Danganronpa, the main gimmick is audience participation!” ‘Kazuichi” said cheerfully. 

“That antenna on your head lets you receive their answers,” Tsumugi said. 

“Th- this is an antenna…?” 

“When your antenna broke and you went crazy…That was a big problem for us. We got flooded with complaints from the audience,” Tsumugi said in annoyance

“Wait, Keebos ahoge broke? How’d that happen?”

Bev turned to Kazuichi. “It was during the last execution. Some rock debris had knocked it off,” they explained. 

“But that's not your only role. You're also the audience's camera,” ‘Aoi’ told him 

“C-camera..?” Keebo stuttered 

“Your eyes…” Tsumugi said “Are the eyes of the audience itself!” 

“The...audiences eyes?”

“The outside world has been watching from your eyes the whole time! It lets them feel like they're really a part of the Danganronpa world! And it's all thanks to you!” Tsumugi said giddily. “That's why I'm so glad you survived all the way through! Cuz now I can use you to plunge the outside world into despair!”  

“D-despair?” 

Mondo swore, if he had to chop Junko on the head one more time, she would straight up pass out eventually. Well, not like he’d really care. She’d lost speaking privileges, as Hifumi had put it. Nobody wanted to deal with her right now. 

“If the audience surrogate falls into despair, then the audience does, too. By making you fall into despair, I can make the entire world fall into despair! My despair will turn from fiction to fact and destroy reality itself. Puhuhu...Isn’t that just the most delightful despair?” ‘Junko’ asked.

“Wh-why don't you go to all this trouble!? Isn't Junko Enoshima...just a costume?” Keebo questioned. 

“Oh Keebo, mon petite doudou... My cosplay is a perfect reproduction.” ‘Teruteru’ said cryptically

“Actually doing stuff the characters would is totally part of that!” ‘Yasuhiro’ said. 

“Is that why... you want the world to fall into despair?” Maki asked. 

“Th-that’s...messed up!” Himiko said, miffed.

“Heeheehee…” ‘Hiyoko’ snickered. “But that’s the whole point of Danganronpa.” 

“The outside world wants to see horrible setups and payoffs!” ‘Nekomaru’ bellowed.

“Maybe it feels different because it’s people we know, but we mentioned before how we have similarly disturbing media, didn’t we?” Hajime pointed out.

“T-thats right,” Mikan confirmed.

“Can’t really say we’re that much better than that other audience, if that’s the case, huh.” Akane said.

“Well, assuming Danganronpa cast members are more permanently alters than those in traditional reality tv, I’d say at least a little,” Sonia pointed out.

“Still a fine line, though,” Fuyuhiko said.

“What could be more horrible than a fictional despair eroding the real world?” ‘Nagito’ asked rhetorically. 

“No one could’ve imagined an end this hopeless.” ‘Junko’ said cooly.

“...No. I won't give in to despair!” Keebo declared confidently. 

“Huuuh?” Tsumugi said, unconcerned.

“If I'm a surrogate for the audience... Then I will use my inner voice to broadcast hope to the outside world!” 

“I already fuckin’ told ya! The outside world only wants despair!” ‘Junko’ said brashly. 

“There's no way to spread hope to an audience that watches killing games.” ‘Kyoko’ said calmly. 

“No! my inner voice already told me what to do! I need to remedy this!” Keebo said insistently. “If that's the voice of the outside world, then the outside world actually wants hope! So I will trust the outside world! I will trust in hope!” 

*K1-B0: Ultimate Hope Robot*

“What is this?” ‘Junko’ said dully.  

“This is the power of hope! I will not lose to your despair! Not when I'm carrying the hope of the outside world!” 

“Ugh,” ‘Junko’ huffed. “How annoying. Hope? That's not popular…” 

“Well, if I can get someone like you to fall into despair, that'd be a great ending.” Tsumugi considered. 

“I won't let you do that! Hope will never give in to despair!” 

“Ooooh? You’re going to go that far?” Tsumugi asked with a smile.

“Then..let's settle this,” ‘Hajime’ said. 

“The final battle between hope and despair!” ‘Makoto’ declared.

“Yahoo!” Monokuma said excitedly. “Now that’s what Danganronpa’s all about!” 

“Settle this...how?” Keebo wondered.

“Yes, that is a problem.” ‘Nagito’ said with a sigh. “The class trial is in disarray because Monokuma broke a rule.”

“You're the one who broke the rule…” Himiko huffed. 

“How about we start over and have a special vote?” ‘Sayaka’ suggested.

“A special vote? But you're the one who broke the rules in the first place-” Keebo tried to say.

“Whatever, man!” ‘Kazuichi said dismissively. “We've made it this far together! Let's just do one last vote!” 

“Cus that’s what Danganronpa’s all about.” Monokuma agreed.

“This final special vote will determine...Between Keebo and I...Which of us should get punished?” Tsumugi told them.

“Why those two?”

“Probably the idea of “hope vs despair,”” Hajime guessed to Hiyoko. “If that’s the theme they’re going for.”

“What?” Keebo said in disbelief. 

“Th-this’ll be a vote to determine how this s-story ends…” ‘Toko’ explained. 

“You guys have to decide whether this story ends in hope or despair.” “Nekomaru’ elaborated.

“To end in hope…?” Himiko said quietly. 

“To end in despair...?” Maki continued. 

“We decide..” Shuichi finished.

“Oh man, this is great! The outside world is starting to get jazzed up!” Monokuma said delightednly. 

“Hope will definitely win! No one here want despair to win!” Keebo said assuredly. 

“Y-yeah...that's right.” Himiko said, sounding a bit more confident. “We can't side with the mastermind-”

“Even if that choice ends in your suffering?” ‘Peko’ enquired. 

“...Suffering?” Maki asked. 

“Alright! Lemme explain what's gonna happen after the vote!” ‘Leon’ said. 

“If Keebo, representing hope, is punished and I, representing despair, win…” ‘Junko’ began 

“Then per the rule, the killing school semester will continue until only two students remain.” ‘Chiaki’ explained. 

“You're... going to continue the game?” Shuichi said weakly. 

“No need to worry!” ‘Yasuhiro’ said easily “Cus there aren't gonna be any more murders! My predictions are always correct 30% of the time.”

“Even if we make new Flashback Light motives for you, you'de know their lies…” ‘Chihiro’ pointed out. 

“So no matter how many motives we provide, it’s more likely that nothing will happen.” ‘Mahiru’ said

“Nothing will happen…?” Shuichi said incredulously. 

“You can all live happily ever after in the academy,” ‘Mikan’ said dreamily.

‘No! That's no way to live! Imprisoned in the school, living lives of despair-” Keebo started to say

‘E-even if you went outside, there'd be n-no point.” ‘Toko’ told them.

“As I said, all your memories are nothing but fiction,” ‘Byakuya’ reminded them 

“Your hometowns, your families, your friends... They never existed in the first place.” ‘Imposter’ stated bluntly. 

“Cus they’re all fiction!” Tsumugi said with undue cheer.

“Danganronpa characters can only live in a Danganronpa setting.” ‘Akane’ said, like she’d said it a million times before. 

“There's no reason to pull outta school. Only losers pull out.” ‘Teruteru’ said. 

“Th-then at least put us back how we were!” Himiko insisted.

“Silence!” ‘Sonia’ ordered. “Weep not over spilt milk!” 

“Nyeh?”

“Huh? I told you guys already. You can't get rid of memories with Flashback Lights.” ‘Aoi’ explained.

“Flashback Lights can only overwrite old memories with new ones.” ‘Kyoko’ elaborated.

‘But if you're absolutely serious... then use a flashback light to become a different fictional character instead.” Monokuma unhelpfully suggested. 

“So we...can't go back to the way we were?” Shuichi asked for confirmation. 

“Fuck yeah!” ‘Junko’ agreed. “How ‘bout that despair!? But if I, representing despair, am punished, and Keebo, representing hope, wins…” 

“Then this killing game will end, of course.” ‘Chiaki’ told them 

“However, you must follow the rules! The game will continue until the final two!” ‘Kiyotaka’ revealed. 

“So it won’t really end the game?” Maki wondered. “If we assume every other game ended similarly, it just seems that it perpetuates the cycle.”

Kyoko hummed. “An astute observation. Perhaps that’s exactly the point. The viewers get a happy ending, and the company gets to continue producing Danganronpa. Either ending means the game continues in some capacity, from the looks of it.” 

“If that’s the case, are they stuck?” Makoto wondered. “Or is there something we’re not considering?”

“We’ll just have to see,” Kyoko said.

“So only two of you can graduate.” Tsumugi finally said 

“What..?” 

“Out of the four of us ...only two can survive?’ Maki said, her face pale 

“Yes, that is so,” ‘Celeste’ confirmed “I will let you decide the two who will survive.” 

“We got this far... and you're telling us to sacrifice more of our friends?” Shuichi said, tears in his eyes. 

“It’s just two measly sacrifices, and then the rest of you losers can leave the academy,” ‘Hiyoko’ said irritably 

“However, even if you do escape to the outside world, you will find it most unwelcoming.” ‘Gundham’ told them 

“No! As long as we never give up, there will always be hope!” Keebo said firmly. 

“Tch...Well if you're gonna be a pussy about it, do whatever you want…” ‘Fuyuhiko’ scoffed. 

“Can you choose which two will survive? Can you choose which two will be sacrificed?” ‘Peko’ wondered. 

“I sacrificed myself!” Keebo suddenly said 

“Keeboy!”

Keebo turned to Miu. “What is it?”

“...tch, just don’t go thinking you can do something like this in real life, got it?”

Keebo’s head tilted. Why did Miu look like that? He couldn’t quite identify what emotions she was showing off, and her outburst had caught him off guard. Was this a display of…concern, perhaps? Well, hopefully he wouldn’t have to do something like this anyway. “I won’t.”

“Good.”

“What? Keebo…”

“If it brings hope to everyone and the outside world, I will gladly sacrifice myself.”

“B-but, Keebo…” Shuichi protested weakly. 

‘It's ok,” the robot reassured. “Even if it destroys my body, I will defeat despair!” 

“K-Keebo!” Himiko cried

“Even if you sacrifice yourself, you still need one more,” ‘Mondo’ reminded them. 

“In order for hope to win, there needs to be one more sacrifice. Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko. One of them has to sacrifice themselves…” ‘Makoto’ said. “Or hope can't win.” 

“Do you got the guts to make such a heartless choice?” ‘Ibuki’ asked. 

“Yeah…really not thinking that sounds like ‘hope’,” Kazuichi drawled.

Gundham chuckled. “Their light words match not the dark reality. Tis but an act of folly.”

“Uh, yeah, that. Really, though, this really doesn’t feel like that hopeful of an ending.”

“Th-that’s…” Himiko trailed off.

“Do you understand now? Even if you choose hope, you will still suffer,” ‘Sonia’ said lightly. 

“You don't need to choose the hard way. No one expects you guys to do that,” ‘Kyoko’ said gently. 

“Yeah! There’ll be no more killing, so let's all just stay here together!” ‘Aoi’ said brightly. 

“There’s no reason to go outside. Let’s stay here together.” ‘Hiyoko’ said cheerfully.

“Won’t you...stay here together?” ‘Sayaka asked.

“Let’s all stay together…” ‘Mikan’ said dreamily.

“I want to stay here with you…” ‘Chihiro’ said with a blush.

“Here? Together?” Maki echoed. 

“I think everyone will feel a lot better after they vote for Keebo,” ‘Chiaki said gently. 

“But that’s no way to live!” Nekomaru said vehemently.

“Yeah!” Akane agreed. “Wouldn’t that be, like, really boring?”

“Considering there’d be only two or three of them? Yeah, I’d say so,” Ibuki added.

Junko couldn’t help giggling at the emotional manipulation going on here.

“C’mon, let's stay together. Please?” ‘Mahiru’ said. 

“Together ...okay?” ‘Junko’ said. 

“Don't let it fool you! Despair won't end this killing game… Only hope will!”

“Hope…?” Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko all said in unison, no energy behind it.

Monokuma: This killing game will live on forever!

Shuichi: ……

Junko: The outside world craves despair!

Tsumugi: This killing game will end in despair!

Monokuma: Danganronpa! 

Himiko: …… 

Maki: …… 

Junko: Everyone wants to feel despair!

Monokuma: And the audience absolutely loves me!.

Tsumugi: Despair is Danganronpa! 

Shuichi: ……

Monokuma: Sometimes, I even look like this!

Maki: …… 

Monokuma: This is my 53rd appearance too!

Junko: This despair’s gonna fuck up reality itself

Monokuma: And we’ve got merchandise! Be sure to check out the website!

Tsumugi: This time, the theme is the despair of a bad ending!

Himiko: …...

“That’s right! This is a story that ends with despair!” Tsumugi said gleefully.

“I will never give up!” Keebo said firmly. “Hope will never lose to despair!” 

“Huuh? How’s not giving up gonna help you, huh? Huh?” ‘Junko asked innocently. 

“Even if you won't give up, as long as you don't sacrifice someone el-” ‘Nekomaru reminded them. 

“I’ll sacrifice myself,” Maki interrupted. 

Makiroll!”

Maki glared at Kaito. “Didn’t I tell you to stop calling me that? …and relax, I don’t plan on doing anything that drastic unless absolutely necessary.”

Kaito relaxed a little, but he still kept an arm protectively around her.

“What?” Shuichi asked in disbelief 

“If Keebo and I sacrifice ourselves.. then Shuichi and Himiko live, right? Then they can... survive this absurd killing game.”

“Maki…?” Shuichi spoke again. 

“After listening to Keebo I've decided…” Maki continued, ignoring Shuichi “I don't want this killing game to end with despair. That would just... piss me off.” 

Sayaka shrugged. “Fair enough. I think it’d make most of us mad too.”

“Even if they only feel that way cuz I wrote you like that?” Tsumugi wondered “Just like with Kaito...” 

“Even then... I'll choose that ending if it means I can kill you,” Maki said with a glare “Even if I have to sacrifice my life, I will kill you!” 

“Sacrifice? Wait, Maki!” Shuichi interjected. 

“I'm sorry... I've already made up my mind,” Maki said, looking somewhat regretful. 

“B-but...what’s gonna happen to us? Can we really go back to the outside world?” Himiko questioned. 

“What, indeed?” Tsumugi agreed “I told you over and over there's nothing for you out there.” 

“No, once the audience sees this ending, I'm sure they'll help us,” Keebo declared confidently. “Everything is going to be okay! We'll definitely find hope-” 

“What do you mean, hope?” Shuichi interrupted coolly. 

“What?” Keebo sounded concerned.

“I reject that hope! I... I refuse. I won't accept that hope!” 

“Shuichi... What's the matter?” Keebo asked hesitantly

Mondo nearly knocked Junko out cold she was giggling so hard. As it was, she simply ended up coughing a couple times and getting a cup of water for her throat because Bev took pity on her.

Oh, this was so beautiful. Even with someone actively encouraging hope, there still managed to be despair! Junko was positively giddy. 

“It's because of hope that this whole thing is happening! I reject that hope! Hope itself is the villain here. We suffer because of hope. Tsumugi isn't trying to make us despair... She wants us to trust in hope! So I say no! I reject that hope!” 

“Tsumugi wants us to trust in hope? What does that mean?” 

“The reason this madness has gone on fifty three times... It's because of hope. It's because the audience wants hope. They want to see hope defeat despair in the end. It's Hope's Peak Academy all over again! So if we fight for hope... We’d just be giving them what they want! And the killings will never end! Don't you see? Despair is the only choice.” 

“Looks like Maki was right. Or, at least other Shuichi seems to think so,” Tenko noted.

“Yeah…but what other options are there?” Mahiru wondered.

Byakuya wondered… there had to be a third option, yes? What if, perhaps, they didn’t vote at all? Pick neither Tsumugi or Keebo? What then? Well, if Shuichi came to the same conclusion he did, they’d see the consequences of that decision

“I will cut down your words!”  

“Despair takes everything from people! Even their strength to press onward! That's why it's not possible for despair to be better!” Keebo countered 

“The people watching probably feel the same way…” Shuichi said. “They want hope, too.” 

“...What?” 

Even if it's fiction, everyone wants to feel hope... it gives them... courage,” Shuichi explained. “And this killing game continues because we keep giving them the hope they want. While they ignore all the tragedies that we had to suffer to get there!” 

“Damn weird place to get courage from,” Fuyuhiko grumbled.

“Aw, don’t be like that,” Angie cooed. “Courage, inspiration, a lot of different emotions really, can be found anywhere, especially when you least expect it!”

Fuyuhiko just gave her a look but didn’t argue.

“Shuichi, that’s-”

“They let’s start the Voting Time!” Monokuma interrupted.

“...What?” 

“The final vote! It's all gonna end here! You and your shitty hope!” ‘Junko’ said. 

“W-wait! We're not finished talking!” Keebo interjected 

“Please... let me ask just one more thing. I have to know something before we vote,” Shuichi said. 

“...What is it?” Tsumugi inquired. 

“If hope wins this final vote, Keebo and Maki will sacrifice themselves.. And you Tsumugi, the loser, will also be punished. Correct?” Shuichi stated. “What kind of punishment will they receive? Please, tell me what it is.” 

“Huh, that’s actually a good question. I mean, I thought they’d just be killed,” Kazuichi said. “Wasn’t that what ‘punishment’ meant earlier?”

“True,” Kyoko agreed. “But Shuichi might be thinking it’s something else if he’s asking.”

Kyoko had her own theories, but she wasn’t going to voice them just yet.

Tsumugi only stared at him

“Why should I tell you?” Monokuma spoke instead. “I never said anything about a punishment, did I?”

“That’s right! The punishment isn't the problem right now!” ‘Kiyotaka’ declared boldly. “The problem is-” 

“No, that *is* the problem! Because if the punishment is what I think it is, then... everything would make sense.” Shuichi cut in. “Including why Rantaro participated in another killing game.” 

“Rantaro…? What does he have to do with this?” Keebo wondered. 

“You know the answer, Keebo,” Shuichi stated.

“M-me?”

“If you really are connected to the outside world... then I want you to find the answer.” 

“The final punishment… If it’s the reason Rantaro participated in the killing game again after surviving...Then the punishment must be…”

“I got it! The punishment is, you have to participate in the next killing game, right?!” 

“I see, I see, very clever, that’s how they’ve kept these games going, is it?” Hifumi realized.

“That does appear to be the case,” Celeste agreed. “A simple but effective way of ensuring the program's longevity.”

“...What?” Maki looked quite taken aback. 

“Yeah... I think so. The punishment after the final vote... is to participate in another killing game. That's what Rantaro was talking about.” 

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

“Something similar must have happened in the last killing game, and he was given a choice. He sacrificed himself... and was forced to participate again. All this means is... if we choose hope here, the killing game won't end. Tsumugi will still be the mastermind, Keebo will still represent the viewers... and Maki will be the new Ultimate Survivor. The killing game will begin again. Don't you see? if hope wins, the killing won't stop! It's *because* hope wins that the killing never stops!” Shuichi’s voice had risen a fair bit. “It's what the people want! They want hope to win, they want the happy ending! That's how the killing game has gone on 53 times!” 

“The killing game persists... because hope always wins?” Keebo said, sounding rather unsettled. 

“That's why I'm going to reject that hope.” 

“Then it’s despair? You're going to choose despair to end the killing game?” “Izuru’ wondered. “...How boring.” 

“But this is fine. Our audience loves despair, so this will please them too.” ‘Celeste’ said calmly. 

“After all, even if despair wins, the killing games still won’t end.” ‘Nagito’ told them. 

“Then... hope has to win this game, too.” Keebo said, though he sounded less sure of himself than before. “If we continue to win for hope, then this killing game will surely end someday!” 

“No, you don’t get it!” Shuichi said, an angry edge to his tone. “It’s not going to end, it's going to keep happening! Over and over!” 

“Th-then what are we supposed to do!?” Keebo asked, voice rising as well. 

Ibuki rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah…that’s what I’m wondering too.”

“...When Maki said she was going to sacrifice herself just now, I thought... Why? So many of our friends have sacrificed their lives. Why Maki? Why now? Why do we have to go through it again…? The sorrow of losing Kaede... and Kaito... Why do we have to feel that sadness over and over and over again…? Why do we have to bear that burden…? Well, I don't care how much the audience wants it, I'm not gonna feel that way anymore! I don't want anyone to feel that way anymore! Even if this is fiction, even if we're all fictional... The pain in my heart is real! The sadness I feel when I lose the people I love is real! I won't forget this game that treats us like toys. And if this is what the world wants...then I reject that world! I'll fight the world that inflicts suffering for entertainment!” 

“Fight...the outside world?” Keebo said uncertainly.

“It doesn't matter what you do. No matter what a fictional character does or says, it's just fiction to the outside world.” Tsumugi reminded them smugly. 

A small smirk formed on Kokichi’s face. Because he’s pretty sure other Tsumugi just sealed her fate with that line. Try as she might, there was no denying the impact fiction had on the real world. If not a societal level, then at the very least an individual one. How many people, even in this very room, had been influenced in any way, shape, or form by fiction? 

Well, not that it really mattered. They needed to change the outside world, no exceptions.

“Then I'll fight the outside world from within this fiction,” Shuichi said. 

“From within this fiction...But, how?” Maki inquired. 

“I...refuse to vote.” 

Chapter Text

Hi! It's been...a while, huh. It suddenly occurred to me today that I should probably update yall.

FIrst things first, as stated in the the chapter title, I'm not abandoning this fic. I said I would finish it, and I intend to make good on that promise. I do apologize for the fact this isn't a new chapter, though.

HOWEVER! That being said, this fic likely won't be updated until at least January, probably later. If you follow my Genshin React fic, you'll know that I'm student teaching until December, and thus won't have either the time or motivation to work on much writing until then. (But I'll have earned a degree, so that's fun!) 

Thank you all for your patience and for waiting this long. See you next time!