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takonei · 3 years

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Beta AU - Main story, Chapter 6, Investigation (Part 3)

Note of the author: jfc this investigation is long. But that’s to expect from chapter 6. Also: Updated the warning list. Please check before reading.

Also I apologize for the terrible formatting at a certain point in the chapter. Tumblr is a bitch. If it really bothers you, I suggest reading on AO3.

Chapter 6: My killing game, our killing game

...

Miu and Shuichi stared at each other.

"So... What is even left to investigate in this room?" Shuichi looked around.

The wall with Motherkuma was covered, Kokichi and Kirumi were taking care of the computer, and all that was left was, well, a kitchen. A simple trashcan, a fridge, and several cupboards.

Miu shrugged. "Well, I would hate myself if some clues were hidden in this section and we ignored them because we said 'who would hide major clues in the fridge?', if you know what I mean."

She started making her way there. Shuichi blinked, a bit confused by her statement. Who would even hide evidence in a fridge?!

But perhaps she was right. He could try to look up in those strange places.

He opened a cupboard to see packs of coffee and different types of food: Almonds, dry nuts, and other non-sugary snacks. Whoever owned this place clearly didn't have a sweet tooth.

"Why the hell are there hard drugs in the fridge??"

Shuichi immediately turned around to see Miu holding what looked like a blister of tablets. "What do you mean 'hard drugs'?!"

She looked just as confused. "I don't know, there are dozens of them in the fridge, that's the last thing I expected to see here."

He approached the fridge to see what she was talking about. And true to her words, dozens of blisters were placed there. He could only stare wide-eyed at the questionable sight.

Miu sighed. "I am seriously wondering what the hell is going on in the mastermind's head."

"For now let's just... Put it back where it was." Shuichi said.

Obtained truth bullet! Drugs in the fridge

He closed the fridge, then turned back to his friend.

Miu shook her head. "Anyway, let's just- let's just investigate somewhere else!"

It was clear she was asking herself as many questions as him.

Why would the mastermind need drugs…?

Shuichi eyed the trashcan on the side. It was ridiculous, but judging by what they found in the fridge, he wouldn't be surprised if something important was in there.

He lifted and shook the bin to empty it on the ground. And just as he thought, two items fell off. It was... a book and a USB key?

The book was heavy and old-looking, although that aspect looked like it was done on purpose. It didn't have anything written on the cover nor on the back, but instead, he could feel his eyes staring at the odd and mysterious decorations on the front. If anything, it looked like a dark magic grimoire.

He opened it and saw the title on the first page.

"'Necronomicon'...?"

Shuichi flipped through the pages. He felt his heart skip a beat when he saw a resurrection ritual being mentioned, but his hopes were cut short when he noticed that all the pages had tacky doodles of Monokuma everywhere. It was very hard to take this book seriously, and it probably didn't have any real value. No wonder it was thrown in a trashcan.

But where did it come from? That was another mystery...

He set the book down and took the USB key. Black and white with Monokuma's signature eye on it. But on a closer look, it didn't seem to be a USB key. Perhaps another storage system that didn't fit a normal computer.

Whatever these were for, they had a reason to be here. And he would have to find it.

Obtained truth bullet! Book and key

He took them both to show them to Miu. Perhaps she will know more about their uses than him.

"Hey... Did you find anything yet?" he asked.

The blonde woman closed the cupboard she was searching in. "Nope. What are these?" she pointed at the two objects.

He handed the book to her.

"I found them in the trashcan. It looks like Monokuma wrote the book, but... I don't really get it. What is it even for?"

Miu inspected the cover and back of the book. She opened it and looked at the inside cover.

"... I've seen this pattern before. I don't know where, but I've seen it."

Shuichi raised an eyebrow and his friend showed him.

However, it was a simple abstract mix of black and dark grey hues. There wasn't anything concrete, just monochrome splashes.

"Are you sure that's not just... a random pattern?"

"Hey! Don't doubt my-

She abruptly stopped herself. Shuichi felt guilty seeing her fierce expression deteriorate into sorrow. "Nevermind... Maybe I'm hallucinating as you say."

Miu gave back the book. "As for the key, I don't have a clue. Never seen anything like that before."

He glanced away. It wasn't his intention to make her doubt her abilities as an artist, but he did. But before he could apologize, she walked away to the next cupboard to inspect, clearly wanting this conversation to end.

… Perhaps he should do the same.

After putting the book and the key on the table next to the sink, the blue-eyed teen opened the next cupboard.

But just as he tried to reach inside, something heavy fell from the top of the shelf directly on his head. He heard the object hitting the ground as he rubbed the spot.

Of course, he would get karma for that with Kokichi a few meters away from him.

But what had hit him?

He looked on the ground to see a... hacking gun?

Shuichi inspected it. It was remarkably similar to the ones Ryoma had created, if not the same. But this one was painted differently and had started accumulating dust. It was black and white, and the symbol on the side was Monokuma's red eye instead of Ryoma's sigil.

With the dust, it looked like it was created before the actual hacking guns, but Ryoma hadn't built this one for sure.

Upon turning it on, his eyes widened as he looked at the number of shots left in the gun.

49.

It had been used once before, but... By whom?

Obtained truth bullet! Hacking gun

Shuichi set the gun on the table and sighed.

None of these ‘clues’ led to anything other than more questions. It was frustrating.

He turned to Miu, perhaps she would-

...

She was staring at a document with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Miu...?"

Her eyes shot up to his, and he instantly felt a chill down his spine.

She was filled with pure terror.

She swallowed and walked up to him, clenching the paper tightly.

"Shuichi, what the hell is this?!"

The blonde shoved the paper in his face.

He stumbled on his feet and took the paper, confused.

...

What...

What the hell was this?!

"Saihara... family contract...?"

Miu was silent as he was reading, the dread slowly settling on his face.

It was a contract between his family and an organization known as ‘Team Danganronpa’ to finance and advertise a killing game with himself as the ‘protagonist’.

"Did you or did you not sign that shit?!"

Her voice became louder, and his heart started racing in his chest.

"I-I don't remember any of this! I've never seen this paper in my life!!"

"Then whose signature is at the bottom?!"

...

He froze.

His gaze drifted right next to the scarlet red stamp that had the form of Monokuma's eye, on the three signatures written in dark blue ink.

Respectively his father, his mother... and himself.

He felt his throat tighten at the sight of his own handwriting.

Shuichi Saihara.

His hands were trembling as he kept staring at the paper.

Shuichi Saihara.

It was the truth, wasn't it?

His family was responsible for the killing game.

He was responsible for the killing game.

…

Everything became white noise. He could feel his senses leaving him.

All he could see was his own handwriting. Blue stains from a past he could not remember, taunting him endlessly. All he could hear were muffled voices clashing together, drowned in a constant dissonant ringing that didn’t want to stop. All he could feel between his fingers was the paper stained with his own mistakes, now wet with the warm, fat tears he didn't even feel falling.

...

What...

What had he done?

What kind of monster was he?!

The noise became louder and louder, until...

Shuichi felt the paper being taken from his hands, and everything instantly became clearer in his mind.

He raised his head to look at Kokichi and Kirumi, who had joined them supposedly because of the ruckus. The latter was reading the paper with an unreadable expression.

Her intense green eyes suddenly met his. The cold wave was another hit to the chest.

There was a long silence in the room.

"This is your signature, isn't it?"

Unable to mutter a word, he closed his eyes, breaking the painful eye contact. "... It is."

For some reason, he couldn't feel her judgmental gaze on him. What was she thinking about?

They had all the reasons to hate him, and he deserved it. He agreed to make them suffer, to let them die and decay miserably, away from their loved ones.

Rantaro's words kept playing in his head.

He may not remember it, but the evidence was here. He did sign this. He agreed to let them rot.

And he doesn't even remember it.

"I'm... I'm sorry I... I don’t…"

The three pairs of eyes were surely locked on him, but the words never came out of their mouths.

...

"Kirumi... What do you think of all of this?"

He couldn't bear looking at her.

"... Something about this contract doesn’t sit right with me."

Shuichi felt his heart skip a bit.

"I do not know what, though.” She brushed the paper with her fingers.

“I do not think this is the original but rather a copy. However, correct me if I’m wrong, Miu…” Kirumi gave the paper to the other girl. “… But the writing does give me the impression that this was not edited in any way.”

“I don't have any reason to think that this contract was faked, but... It's too easy."

He heard Kokichi shifting his feet to turn to her. "What do you mean?"

"Miu, you find this in a cupboard of all places." she said. "Not a safe, not in a drawer, but a cupboard anyone could open, in the middle of glasses and plates. Why would a contract that important be here, and not in a secured place, or at least a real drawer?"

Shuichi lifted his head.

"From what I remember, I have spent countless hours in mansions either stealing important documents, taking care of evidence that could expose me as the culprit, and sometimes placing fake evidence to incriminate another maid or worker."

"And never have I ever found a document that important in a cupboard nor have I ever placed fake evidence here."

Miu seemed to ponder for a moment. "And... What do you think that means?"

She sighed. "To me, there are no logical explanations. The mastermind is just making a fool out of us."

The blonde's eyes widened. "You're the one who said this thing couldn't have been faked! It has to come from somewhere!"

"It's… exactly like the Sanzu garden."

The three turned to Kokichi.

"Kiyo... He had made his plan because the mastermind knew Tsumugi's attitude was suspicious to him! They manipulated the academy for days to separate us! Maybe they're doing the same here to throw us off!"

Shuichi's eyes widened. "You... You think so? But-

"You might be right. That's the most plausible theory in my eyes." Kirumi interrupted him.

"With the proof that our memories could have been altered, I decided to only trust the memories we made in this killing game, and nothing else."

"And perhaps you guys should do too."

"So you think... Shuichi doesn't have anything to do with the creation of the killing game?" Miu hesitantly asked.

...

Silence.

"Maybe, maybe not. Because our memories may have been altered doesn't ultimately prove his innocence. This contract looks real, after all." she said.

"But Kokichi is right. Letting our emotions get the best of us would be our greatest mistake, and that's exactly what the mastermind wants right now."

His other two friends nodded in understanding.

... But for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to feel relieved by her words.

After all, he might be more of a monster than he remembers.

And that terrified him.

Obtained truth bullet! Saihara family contract

Shuichi still had trouble looking at any of his friends.

"Should we... go back to the computer?" Kokichi broke the silence.

"Of course."

Miu, Kokichi, and Kirumi started walking towards the engine. But Shuichi still had a word to say.

"Kirumi..." he muttered.

She stopped in her tracks.

"Why did you defend me?"

The young woman said nothing, then side-eyed him.

“First of all, learn when it is appropriate to start conflicts between us.”

He winced at the remark.

"I don't know what you did before we all met. I don't know why you supposedly agreed to finance this killing game.”

“You could even be faking your emotions and try to create unnecessary conflicts to make sure we don’t find enough hints to end this killing game for all I know."

"You may have signed this contract, but I could be worse than you in every way imaginable, rotten to the core and deserving hell more than anyone else on this wretched planet. I remember being a mercenary, I might as well be the devil."

"To blame you for everything that happened to me, knowing there is a possibility that I am a monster viler and more vicious than you could ever be... would make me a hypocrite."

Shuichi pondered to himself, eyes low.

"Kirumi! You coming?" Miu's voice took them out of their thoughts.

"I'm here."

The sound of her heels resonated in his ears. He followed them, and his eyes landed on the computer screen.

The long-haired girl started typing again. "I don't know what I can do at this point. As I said, I'm not an expert hack-

Kirumi was interrupted by a sudden explosion that blew up the door that was right next to them, scattering debris and... burned books?

He had forgotten about the door leading to the library. And standing there, a cannon pointed at the room, was Monoshi.

"SECRET-ENTRANCE-UNLOCKED: LIBRARY. NO-SECRET-ENTRANCES-REMAINING."

The modified bear left as suddenly as he came, leaving a gaping hole replacing the sealed door between the two rooms.

"Guys! Look!"

Shuichi suddenly turned to Miu.

"We finally got access to the computer!"

Kirumi raised an eyebrow, clearly confused. "How...? I didn't even enter anything."

Shuichi hummed. "Maybe... Karma did the job?"

"Whatever happened, it worked. We shouldn't waste time wondering about that right now." Miu scanned the screen with her eyes.

There were several applications and files, it was hard to choose what to click first.

"Look, there's a file called 'flashback light list', maybe we should start with that?" Shuichi suggested.

Miu clicked on the file.

Sixteen files, all named with... Two letters.

"Okay... What are we choosing first?" the blue-eyed teen asked.

"The first, duh."

The blonde clicked on the file named "AY".

Anterior_AY.cmr Chapter_2_AY.cmr Chapter_3_AY.cmr Chapter_4_AY.cmr Chapter_5_AY.cmr Character_AY.ccr Motive_05_AY.ccr Motive_05_END_AY.cmr Talent_AY.cpr

Miu frowned. "... I have several questions."

"The ‘character’ file matches what we saw in the flashback lights guide." Kirumi noted.

"But what about the 'chapter' ones?" Shuichi asked.

Kokichi blinked. "I don't even know what I'm looking at."

He couldn’t deny things were very confusing, whether they knew what was in the guide or not.

"Maybe we should check the others...?" the other boy suggested.

Miu went back and clicked on the second file: "GG". It was the exact same list, with the 'AY' replaced by 'GG' except...

The 'Motive_05' files were missing.

"Could you go back for a second, Miu?" Kirumi frowned.

The girl did as told.

The other stared at the screen for a moment. "... Those are our initials. Each of those files is about us."

Shuichi's eyes widened. But just as she said, he noticed the file named 'SS'. And indeed, the list was about them.

AY, GG, HY, KA, KM, KT, KO, KS, MH, MI, RA, RH, SS, TC, TI and TS.

Miu immediately clicked on her file. It had all the same files as the others, without the 'Motive_05' ones.

"What the hell...?" she muttered.

They checked each of the files to spot the differences.

Angie had the 'Motive_05_AY.ccr' and the 'Motive_05_END_AY.cmr' files.

Ryoma had 'Motive_05_RH.ccr' and 'Motive_05_END_HR.cmr'.

Tsumugi had 'Motive_05_TS.cmr' and 'Motive_05_END_TS.cmr'.

However...

Kokichi was missing the 'Talent' file.

Shuichi was missing the 'Character' file.

Kirumi was missing the 'Anterior' file.

And Tatsuya was missing those exact three files.

Shuichi swallowed. Should he be happy that he didn't have a 'character' file? Should he be mad? Worried?

He didn't know.

All those files were the same for everyone, except the initials at the end of each of them, unique to each participant.

But Kirumi, Kokichi and Tatsuya... Why were they missing files?

Especially Tatsuya. He would understand if he was a robot like they all thought until tonight, but Tatsuya was a human just like them before being transferred into K1-B0.

...

When were those flashback lights even created?

Obtained truth bullet! Flashback light list

Miu turned to the others- those with the missing files.

"I don't get it... I know I should be mad that I have those flashback light files but what about you guys? Why are you missing some of those files?"

Shuichi nervously looked away. "I wish I knew..."

Kokichi was still staring at the screen. "I think we skipped a file..."

Miu froze. "I-I don't know what you're talking about?"

She was clearly lying.

Shuichi scanned the screen, until...

"... It's Rantaro's file, isn't it?"

Her shoulders dropped, her hands clenching into fists.

"I... I don't know what it's gonna be and I'm scared."

Kirumi crossed her arms. "Unfortunately, he could be like us, missing a file. We have to know if there is a difference.”

She swallowed and clicked.

And indeed, his file was different. But not in the way they expected.

Anterior_RA.cmr Chapter_2_RA.cmr Chapter_3_RA.cmr Chapter_4_RA.cmr Chapter_5_RA.cmr Character_RA.ccr EmergencyTherapyRantaro.ccr Talent_RA.cpr

Shuichi's eyes widened.

What the hell was this new file?!

Miu jumped from her seat. "Emergency therapy...?"

She didn't think and immediately clicked on the odd file to open it. But...

... An error message popped up, indicating that the file was corrupted and thus impossible to recover.

They stared at it, defeated. They didn't even do anything, but it still felt like they failed at keeping one person safe.

Seeing a file named 'Emergency Therapy' exclusively for Rantaro corrupted and beyond repair gave him a sick feeling in his stomach.

If there was one file that they had needed, it was this one. And yet, it was completely ruined.

This message reeked irony, and Shuichi hated it.

Obtained truth bullet! Corrupted file

Miu slammed her hands on the table. "Why?! This isn't fucking fair! Why is this file even here if it's just to stand there and taunt us?!"

...

No response.

Indeed, why did this file even exist? Why would the mastermind even create this?

The more they searched through this room, the less he understood their intentions. It was getting harder and harder to look at the hints and clues that were ‘offered’ to them.

But was there really something to understand?

The mastermind was a monster. Someone who would make them suffer for their own amusement no matter what. But...

'The 'mastermind' is only a pawn in the greater scheme that this killing game is.'

If they were merely a pawn, then how disgusting were the people above them...?

... This was terrifying to think about.

Kirumi leaned forward and closed the error window. At least they wouldn't have to look at it anymore.

The girl next to her stared at the file's name. She seemed to ponder to herself.

"Hey, is it me or..." she trailed off. "... Nevermind."

She closed the tab. No one wanted to see those files anymore- this grotesque mockery of their despair.

Shuichi couldn't find the courage to look at the screen anymore.

Kokichi broke the silence. "Was this icon here before?"

He pointed at a logo that looked like Monokuma's eye. Titled 'FLIBD - SRD subjects'.

Kirumi frowned. "No... It definitely wasn't there."

Miu got the message and clicked on it.

What appeared before them looked like an information sheet. A picture of a young girl their age, and some data about her.

She had incredibly beautiful traits, the bright blue eyes of a doll, and voluminous blond hair attached in two pigtails. She wore a thin black necklace that contrasted a lot with her fair skin.

But something caught his attention. His heart skipped a beat when his eyes landed on the hairpins.

Two Monokuma heads, one fully white on the left and one fully black on the right.

"W-Who the hell is she?!"

"She's wearing Monokuma like a fucking trophy. Whoever she is, I already don't trust her." Miu hissed.

Only an ally of Monokuma would wear such a gross accessory.

"Her name is Junko Enoshima, according to the info on the profile." Kirumi noted.

Junko Enoshima...

He has never heard this name before in his life.

At least, from what he remembers.

Was she part of those behind the killing game as a whole?

Obtained truth bullet! Junko Enoshima

They decided to look into the written details about her.

Junko Enoshima - #01-006 Ultimate analytical prowess - Type primary: O Type secondary: M Intensity: A- High Beginning: / Conflict status: Tame Keyword: Despair Status: Dead - 6M - 1/26

"Wait, she's dead?" Miu raised an eyebrow.

"Apparently so." Kirumi said. "Although I do not know what the '6M' means."

Shuichi neither. But what did those 'types' even mean? And all the other info given here?

"Wait, look at the keyword!" Kokichi said. "Isn't Monokuma always babbling about despair?"

"So you do think she has some kind of relationship with Monokuma, right?" Shuichi asked.

"She has Monokuma hairpins, so there's no questioning that." Miu turned to her friends. "She does give me the impression that she’s like… The creator or something."

The creator of Monokuma...?

"But she's dead! Does that mean the mastermind was her, but she was actually dead all along?" Shuichi exclaimed.

"I don't think the mastermind is dead. Someone has to take care of Monokuma and the killing game somehow." Kirumi pondered. "Though I don't deny she must have a connection with him."

Shuichi stared at the screen. "Wait, there's a '1/26' at the bottom of the screen... Are there other people like her?"

Miu span around to face the screen. "That's what we'll find out."

She tapped the right arrow on the keyboard, and another information sheet appeared. But the person on the screen looked... Completely unrelated.

It was a boy this time. His face gave Shuichi chills. He looked like he was a ghost. Messy hair white as snow with weak scarlet ends, and skin almost as pale as a corpse. His grey eyes looked empty, devoid of life. He seemed to be wearing a green hoodie, but he could only guess. However...

... He did not wear a single accessory related to Monokuma.

Nagito Komaeda - #02-028 Ultimate lucky student - Type primary: O Type secondary: / Intensity: A- High Beginning: / Conflict status: Tame Keyword: Hope Status: Dead - 5V/S – Terminated - 2/26

"Dead too?!" Miu yelled. "Are all of these people dead?!"

"This one indicates 'terminated'. That was not on the first one." Kirumi pointed out.

Whatever that meant, it was not a good sign.

"But look... The keyword..." Kokichi said.

Hope.

The exact opposite of Junko Enoshima.

"Do they or do they not work for Monokuma?" Miu raised an eyebrow. "It's confusing as hell."

"I don't think we were right when we assumed this was a list of those who worked for the game." Kirumi explained. "This is something else. The icon said 'subjects' with two acronyms. But if we don't know what the acronyms mean, we are not going to get far."

Subjects...?

It sounded like an experiment. This was... worrying, to say the least.

"So what? Do we look at the other info sheets to see what is actually going on?" Miu suggested.

"We can only try."

And so, they did. Each of those info sheets contained the same kind of info, although the parameters changed.

There didn't seem to be a pattern in the talents- they were at random, from art, to knowledge, and sometimes even murder related. Ultimate vocalist, assassin, poet, anthropologist, psychiatrist… How many ultimate students even existed in the world?

The ‘types’ changed letters. Some had both primary and secondary filled, some had only the primary.

The intensity part was generally either low or moderate. Sometimes it was marked as 'high', but only on rare occasions. The letter 'A' also seemed to have turned to an 'N' around the 5th person.

But he also noticed that for some, unlike the two first, the 'beginning' part was filled. Sometimes it was a person's death, a day, a random event, and sometimes... A trial? They did wonder if other ultimates had been in a killing game just like them.

The fact that they were probably not the first victims made Shuichi want to puke.

They then noted that the 'beginning' part was only filled for those with the letter N in the ‘intensity’ part.

The 'conflict status' part was completely random, with no apparent pattern. This was probably the part he understood the less.

On the keyword part was often noted notions or concepts, but he had seen a name or two on these info sheets.

As the status...

All dead.

Not a single one was noted 'alive'. One or two had the 'terminated' note, but all of them were dead, for some reason or another.

It was painful to look at, even though none of them recognized any of the people in the pictures, or even the names.

On the 25th info sheet, Miu clicked on the keyboard to see the last person, and...

It was like time had stopped.

They recognized this face all too well.

Messy green hair, an intense emerald gaze powerful enough to petrify someone, and young, slightly feminine traits on a male teenager they had all known as...

"R-Rantaro...?" Miu muttered, her voice shaking.

This was him. There was no doubt about it. But... Why...?

Rantaro Amami - #53-844 Ultimate medic - Type primary: T Type secondary: P Intensity: N- High Beginning: Tsumugi Shirogane's death ~ Ch4 trial ~ Night 16 Conflict status: Very aggressive Keyword: Save Status: Dead - 5E - 26/26

"W-What does Rantaro have to do with these people?!" Kokichi exclaimed with his feeble voice.

Kirumi approached the screen and narrowed her eyes at the picture that was in front of them. "As much as I hate to say this, we will probably get a better understanding of this list with him there."

Unfortunately, she was right.

However, something immediately bugged him. "Hey, is it me or are those '53' everywhere? This is the third time in a row I've seen the number written.”

Kokichi turned to him. "Wasn't it also written on Keebo's plans?"

Shuichi's eyes widened. "It was! I don't get what it means, though."

"Can we talk about like, everything else?" Miu frowned with a mix of both confusion and annoyance.

Perhaps it was nervousness that made him focus on the less important details. Whatever the reason, he hated it. The rest of the information was much more primordial to their investigation and understanding of the situation, after all.

"'Tsumugi's death’, ‘Ch4 trial’, and a certain night…“ Shuichi muttered to himself, low enough so he wouldn’t be heard by anyone.

He did have an idea of what had happened during that time, but… He didn’t have the courage to say it out loud.

Kirumi was reading the info sheet. She seemed to be focused on trying to get a clue out of this.

“Did you… figure out anything?”

She only narrowed her eyes. “I do have a theory, but it lacks evidence, so I suggest you take what I say with a grain of salt.”

“I do believe this has something to do with his mental state.”

Bingo.

“What do you mean?” Miu raised an eyebrow. “I mean… We all figured out something wasn’t right, but… What does this have to do with that?” she gestured to the info sheet.

Kirumi seemed to be choosing her words, then sighed.

“It’s after Tsumugi’s death that he… started acting strange, to put it lightly. And as much as I tried to talk to him about it during the last few days, it was useless.”

Shuichi felt his heart sting as those moments started invading his mind again. The fourth trial was a nightmare. Four hours of figuring out who had orchestrated Tsumugi’s execution, and a quarter of it was spent deciding if it was Rantaro’s most trusted friend or the beloved therapist who was the culprit.

And the fifth trial… He didn’t even want to think about it.

“Hold on, you knew he was in this state and you didn’t say anything?” Miu frowned.

… He didn’t like where this was going.

“Look, some things happened that you probably don’t want to know. This group was already fragile to begin with. To tell you the truth would have been like smashing an already collapsing vase with a baseball bat.”

“And you just left him alone thinking telling us would have made things worse than they already were?!” she yelled.

“I severely fucked up, I know that already!! Don’t you think I realized by now?!” Kirumi’s voice was growing louder, filled with rage.

Her eyes, bright green, and a glare as powerful as…

Shuichi instinctively took a step back.

“Why didn’t you tell us?!” the other girl stood up. “What did you have to gain by doing your little thing alone on your side?!”

“Miu-“ he approached her.

“Shut it! It’s between me and her!”

“No! I’m just as much at fault for this if not more!”

She stopped. Everyone turned to him.

Oh no.

“You… What?”

He turned away. “I… I knew about this as much as Kirumi. I’m the one who told her in the first place. I tried to investigate with her but… We were never successful. He always turned us away.”

Kirumi looked at him, silently.

“And what’s your excuse? Why did you decide to hide all of this from m- from us?”

He could tell Miu was mad. But her anger was not his biggest concern.

Why was this moment still intact in his mind, replaying itself over and over again?

The cold blade against his throat, steady and ready to slice through it like a vulgar piece of meat.

A gaze… His gaze…

“I-I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Please.”

He felt his voice cracking at the last word. He probably looked miserable, which was something that happened way too often for his liking.

There was a long, uncomfortable silence. He couldn’t blame Miu for wanting to know, but that was not something he wanted to even think about right now.

Kirumi sighed. “Look, Miu. I know we messed up. You have every right to be mad. But this-“ she vaguely gestured at the group. “-is exactly what I wanted to avoid at a time like this. If you want, you can take a small break while we continue to investigate.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s fine. It’s just… a lot to take in. All of this.”

While he knew she could not even begin to understand how he felt back there, to learn that two of your friends hid such important things about the person you cared about the most…

Miu rubbed her eyes. “I’m fine. Let’s just- let’s just keep going. Sorry for the outburst.”

Kirumi put a hand on her shoulder. “Listen. I might have been too harsh and I’m sorry. When I say take a break, I mean it.”

She lowered her gaze. “… Alright, I’ll- I’ll be right back.”

Miu walked to the back of the room. She needed time for herself, and Shuichi respected that.

Kokichi glanced at them both. He looked like he wanted to ask about what had happened but didn’t dare to.

“It’s… It’s complicated.” Shuichi muttered.

“I wasn’t going to ask… I’m just wondering if you at least talked about it properly to someone.” He replied. “When I talked to Miu, I felt a bit more… refreshed, I don’t know how to explain it.”

Shuichi weakly smiled. “Thanks. I talked a bit to Kirumi about this already, but it- it’s still not something I want to share. At least not now.”

The white-haired boy turned to the picture of Rantaro. “Save…”

An obsession he developed, to the point of ending his own life in some twisted plan.

“I don’t think I will ever understand him…” the boy muttered.

Shuichi swallowed. “Maybe we could have been true friends… If only we met differently, then things would have been better.”

Kirumi had her eyes on him. “… That’s nothing but a distant dream, now.”

She looked at Miu, then back at the computer, deciding to close the haunting file.

They would have to figure out what it all meant, but right now they were drained. Whenever Rantaro was mentioned, things did not end up well.

Obtained truth bullet! Subject list

Shuichi glanced at the ground for a moment. He was the one to start the meaningless investigation, despite himself.

He thought it had been completely useless in the end, since Rantaro ended up achieving his wretched goals, but perhaps... Not all of it was for nothing. There was still more to this, and this list was the proof.

Miu came back to them. “Alright, we done with this file?”

It was obvious she was still shaken.

Kokichi hummed. “We… figured we could go onto something else.”

She went back to the chair and thought for a moment. "… What are we checking next?"

Shuichi approached her to look at what could be useful, pushing his thoughts to the back of his head. "Hey, doesn't this look like a chat device?" he pointed at an icon. "Maybe the mastermind was talking to an ally, or someone they're working with."

The girl cracked her fingers. "Let's see what this bitch was up to."

After clicking the icon, one single conversation appeared on the screen.

"We might need to read all of this, maybe try to scroll up to see where it starts?" Shuichi suggested.

And so she did. Unfortunately, they didn't seem very talkative, and they did not know when those conversations really happened.

But now, they could read actual conversations from the mastermind and their accomplices, and that was more than enough.

Or superiors, if Rantaro was right.

=====

I request an alternate motive. This is urgent. <

> Which one?

Number 05. <

> Understood. Please give me the details in a voice call.

(Voice call lasted 19 min 47 sec)

=====

"Alternate motive...?" Kokichi tilted his head. "We were supposed to have another motive at some point?"

Shuichi slammed his hands on the table. "Wait! Motive 05! It's the flashback lights file!"

"The flashback lights for Ryoma, Angie, and Tsumugi only." Kirumi noted.

Miu frowned. "Wait, if this is about the despair disease, why didn’t Kokichi have a file? You had the disease, right?"

He stiffened. "Y-yes? I had the disease!!"

And yet... Nothing was proving it. Neither the files, nor the attitude back then.

"That's... odd, don't you think?" Shuichi raised an eyebrow. "Kokichi did not change attitude and did not have his memories of that period erased..."

The young boy looked panicked, to say the least. "I don't know! But I... I had the disease, Monokuma said it and I know I had it..." he trailed off.

The three looked at each other. After what had just happened with the contract and the file, preying on it would only make things worse.

Instead, Rantaro's words ringed in his head.

'No existing disease infects people that differently.'

And he was right. This was no disease, but instead flashback lights. Which made a lot more sense than whatever explanation the bears came up with.

... And with how much Angie changed because of 'the disease', he started wondering what the flashback lights were truly capable of.

Pure terror, and nothing else. he thought to himself.

Miu scrolled down to look at the next conversation.

=====

The next motive will be an alternate one as well. This is an important demand.<

> I expected that. Which one?

Number 13. <

> Are you sure? This is not an easy motive to handle.

Yes. I believe it is the best way to continue the game. <

> Understood. Shall we make a voice call for the details?

Yes. <

(Voice call lasted 1h 49 min 04 sec)

=====

"Wait, the Sanzu garden was not planned from the start either?" Shuichi raised an eyebrow.

"Forget about that, look at the voice call!" Miu exclaimed. "Two hours of babbling about how to make us suffer?!"

"No, Shuichi is right." Kirumi frowned. "The motive was planned after the despair disease to an extent. This means that the mastermind somehow managed to put all of that into place in a few days at most."

He didn't think about that. "That's... how?!"

"Shuichi, I think at this point we should stop asking 'how is this possible' and more 'what is going on’. This entire bullshit sounds like science fiction, but here we are." Miu sighed.

And she was right, unfortunately. He didn't expect science to be able to transfer a human soul into a robotic body nor to be able to mess with memories in such a way, but he had to accept that this was real.

"Still... They planned and prepared all of this way too quickly..." Kokichi muttered.

If the mastermind worked alone, that would have been impossible. But as Rantaro said, they don't know how many people are behind the scenes.

It was terrifying.

They kept scrolling to see what happened after that.

=====

> This trial was a wonderful success. You have made an excellent job handling this motive.

> Rare are those who can make it work correctly.

Thank you. <

> However, we will once again need you to keep an eye on someone for tonight. You might already know who I'm talking about.

Yes, I do. And understood. <

=====

"Wonderful success my ass." Miu hissed. "As long as we get hurt, they’re happy. Fucking bastards."

"I think we should talk about the 'Rare are those who can make it work correctly.'" Kirumi noted. "Did other people have to do this in the past?"

That was more of a rhetorical question. This conversation was just blatant proof that...

... This was not the first killing game. And enough of them had the Sanzu garden as a motive for this to be said. How many had to be trapped in those chambers, or were hurt by the countless traps placed to terrorize them?

It was sickening.

"Um... Why are they talking about 'keeping an eye on someone' though?" Kokichi asked. "And 'once again'? Did the mastermind already have to do that?"

"It does seem normal that they are tasked to keep an eye on us, but that message seems to hold more importance." Kirumi said.

But for what, though...? What is so important that the mastermind needed to be reminded to do that?

Whatever the reason, he already hated it.

He glanced at the screen and saw that Miu had scrolled down a bit.

=====

We need to talk. Right now. <

> What is it about?

Don't feign ignorance. <

> We are already working on this. You do not need to intervene.

Understood. <

=====

"What the hell?" Miu raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

It was odd to see the mastermind be mad at whoever their colleague was. Whatever they did must not have pleased them.

But was it a good or a bad sign?

"It must have happened after the fourth trial, but not on the same day as the other conversation." Kirumi pondered. "Although I doubt this has anything to do with the fifth trial."

He nodded. Judging by how they talked, the chances were low.

But unfortunately, there wasn't much they could deduce from this conversation.

Miu scrolled down and they realized this would be the last conversation the mastermind and their accomplice had.

======

> This entire trial was a full-blown disaster. How did you mess up that badly?

> Do you realize we might have executed Mr. Amami for nothing? We don't even know if he was indeed guilty.

I didn't ask for him to be executed, as far as I know. You did. <

Also, don't act like you didn't want him to die. I do have a part of responsibility < in this, but do not put 100% of the blame on me.

There are things and people I simply cannot control, you should know that.<

> You do know executing someone without concrete proof of the crime is not something we can do out of the blue.

> Someone like you shouldn't be in this position. You knew him better than everyone else and there is no excuse for your failure.

Once again, you are also to blame. I warned you about him. I specifically told < you he was a force to be reckoned with, someone to never underestimate.

Why do you think I chose him of all people? <

> You could have made the job easier for yourself and for us, and you didn't.

What is done is done. This game will come to an end very soon, and I have < no choice but to take another route for the finale.

> You know we cannot afford to end the killing game like this.

It is too late for that. We underestimated him, and we must pay the price. <

I'll let you handle the preparations. You might need to hurry up, though. I have < a feeling he prepared more than we first expected.

> Understood.

======

The four of them stared at the screen with wide eyes.

Shuichi had his eyes locked on one single sentence.

'I didn't ask for him to be executed.'

Rantaro...

"Rantaro was supposed to live?!" he yelled.

"Hold the fuck up! If the mastermind didn't want him dead, then why was he executed?!" Miu turned back, panicked.

Shuichi paused, then glanced at her. "W-

"He was right."

He suddenly turned to Kirumi.

"Rantaro mentioned Monokuma possibly getting new orders during the trial, when he suddenly turned against him and gave us a very explicit reason to vote for him."

"So that wasn't the mastermind?!" Kokichi exclaimed.

Then... The mastermind was actually not in total control of the trial...?

What on earth had happened back there?!

"So they fucked up, the mastermind wanted to let him go but whoever the fuck was actually behind the scenes wanted him dead?!"

This was almost exactly what Rantaro had predicted.

His foresight was one of the greatest qualities he had, to their dismay.

But...

"Who are we even calling the mastermind if they don't even have full power over the game?!"

"A pawn." Kirumi bluntly said. "The 'mastermind' has a certain amount of power, but they’re at the lowest level of the hierarchy."

He swallowed. "Still... The fact that the one we considered our greatest enemy for so long might be nothing next to whoever was behind them..."

A graveyard silence settled among them.

He couldn't even bring himself to fear the mastermind anymore.

Rantaro had told them. He had told them that there were more people behind this horror, but... He never imagined anything like that.

"But... Look at this..." Kokichi pointed at the screen. "The other person says they can't kill us out of the blue... Are they still bound by the rules? I thought the mastermind was doing this game for them?"

"Then there must be more layers to this." Kirumi crossed her arms. She raised a finger, pointing at nothing in particular, then raised it up as she talked. "The 'mastermind' is at the bottom, then it's the second layer- this person, whatever their role is, and finally someone else at the top, who has given them the instructions and is only watching."

"That's my understanding of the situation."

Shuichi pondered. This looked like a decent explanation.

But still, whoever is at the top...

... What kind of power did they even possess for multiple killing games to be organized?

Miu stared at the screen, still reading the messages. "The mastermind knows Rantaro more than anyone else... What does that mean? Do they know us as well?"

"That does seem logical. They have 'chosen’ Rantaro, whatever that means, so they probably ‘chose’ us as well. Though I don't know how they could know us enough to the point of creating the Sanzu Garden." Kirumi said.

"That doesn't surprise me at this point, to be honest. What I'm worried about is the last message the mastermind sent. They seemed to know Rantaro had prepared something, so Monoshi must have not been that much of a surprise for them."

If they knew something was going to happen, then... Why didn't they do anything? Was it because the game was already supposed to end?

Was the game successfully ended by Rantaro, or was it already supposed to end, making his sacrifice utterly useless?

"Does that mean they knew we were going to end up in this room?" Kokichi asked.

That... was actually a good question. They didn't seem to have tried to hide major clues like the flashback light guide and the computer, but at the same time, the contract with his family was here. And they were actually able to go past the computer security.

"Maybe... I wouldn't be surprised if they did, but here we are, looking at their conversation with their boss, so who knows." Miu sighed.

Obtained truth bullet! Conversation with the mastermind

The group stopped talking for a moment. They needed to process this. Not just this part of the conversation, but the rest of the investigation. From Tatsuya Idabashi and his corpse, Keebo, the contract with his own family, the subject list to this...

What did he get himself into?!

Kirumi let her shoulders drop. "We should go back to investigating the academy while we still can. I think we’ve seen enough from this computer."

Shuichi turned to her. "Wait, there might still be info on this…"

As much as he hated it, he knew he was right. This computer was a gold mine, despite all the nuggets being coated in poison.

Miu pondered. "But she's right on one thing. We’ve all been on this computer for a while instead of the usual two-by-two. We should get back to that strategy."

Just as she finished her sentence, the sound of another explosion from the outside was heard.

"I... I think I'll stay here…" Shuichi nervously said.

"Fine. I'll go outside." Kirumi took a step back. "I'll try to investigate alone."

"I might also need some time to process all of this bullshit or I think I'll have an aneurysm." She muttered to herself, although Shuichi did hear her.

The sound of her heels faded away as she passed through the destroyed entrance in the library.

Miu crossed her arms, gaze to the ground. "I'll go to the surface too. Can I leave you two with the computer?" she asked.

"C-Count on us."

Shuichi muttered this unconsciously, but he didn't even know if he was ready to see more.

Miu gave him a weak smile and walked away, leaving him with Kokichi.

Once she was out of sight, Shuichi sighed, putting his face in his hands. “What are we even doing…?”

Kokichi put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

It was impossible to keep calm.

“I’m sorry, I- I just don’t know what to think anymore…” he mumbled.

The other boy let his hand drop. “It’s fine… I know this is dumb coming from me, but… Please talk if you need to.”

He paused.

“I just… I feel guilty about Rantaro. I should have said something to Miu… I know I shouldn’t have stayed silent but h- he…”

His throat tightened.

“I don’t know what happened to you exactly, but… He did something bad to you, didn’t he?”

His silence provided him the answer.

“I can’t blame you for reacting the way you did… I know I shouldn’t talk behind people’s backs, but I know Miu is biased, and I can’t blame her either.”

“What I’m trying to say is, you shouldn’t feel bad about keeping it a secret. Maybe things would have gone differently if you talked about your worry, but… You are not the one who is responsible for his death.”

Shuichi stayed silent, a bit surprised by his words.

“Kokichi…”

“If anyone is at fault, it’s whoever organized the killing game, right? So the only thing we can do is to stop them.”

He felt a smile form on his lips, despite the tears threatening to fall at any moment.

“… Thank you.”

“No problem, that’s the least I can do now.”

Shuichi glanced back at the conversation.

"Do you think we should try communicating with them?" he asked. "I don't even know what we'll get out of it, but we could try."

Kokichi frowned. "It feels weird talking to the people who did all of this to us... But we don't have anything to lose, right?"

"I don't think so..."

Shuichi approached the keyboard and took a deep breath.

I managed to get back to the room. What's the next step of the plan? <

"Wait... Aren't they watching us with the cameras?" Kokichi asked. "Don't they know it's us?"

Shit.

Shuichi slowly turned to him. "W-What do we do now?"

They stared at the screen for what felt like an eternity.

"I don't think they'll answer..." Shuichi mumbled.

He reduced the window size to look at what was available on the computer. Unfortunately, there weren't many icons, but one stood out to him.

"Mastermind rules...?"

He clicked on the icon. It looked like a set of rules they had to follow.

Overall, nothing was alarming or too out of place. Check the room and give updates as often as possible, always keep an eye on the participants, interact as little as possible with the environment not to disturb the game...

... But then, his eyes landed on one specific rule.

#10. Prevent suicides

There is always a possibility a participant will try to end their life at some point in the game, and at a time it is not welcome (i.e.: less than 24 hours after a trial, a participant's death -unless chapter 3- or at any moment the death will be too obvious for a proper trial to be done). In that case, make sure the participant stays alive for the sake of the game by whatever means necessary. Keep an eye on them until the situation is suitable enough for them to do so, or if they simply don't want to commit the act anymore.

Shuichi's eyes widened.

"That's... That's what we're worth to them?" Kokichi's voice was shaking.

The blue-eyed teen swallowed, taking a step back. "This… This is..."

…

If he had truly wished to end it all... The mastermind themselves would have come to his rescue, for the sole purpose of continuing the game...?

How was he supposed to feel about this?!

Obtained truth bullet! Mastermind's rules

He instinctively closed the window.

Thankfully, there wasn't much they could search in this computer anymore, aside from one icon Kokichi pointed out.

"Hey, look at this, maybe... Maybe this is about the cameras?"

Shuichi clicked on it, and to their surprise, all the screens lit up, showing different cameras around the academy. But the cameras looked like they were... flying? They were at the very least not attached to a wall, the ground, or a ceiling, and they were moving.

He spotted Kaito's exisal and Monoshi still hardly fighting against the other bears, Miu running around the main building and Kirumi walking towards the dorms' building.

Another screen showed their faces, staring at the camera. And yet, there was nothing in their field of vision aside from the screen of the computer.

Very disturbing, to say the least.

On the main laptop was a gigantic list of... 'nanokumas'?

There seemed to be hundreds of them, each marked as active, aside from a small portion of them, marked as destroyed.

Were they the cameras? Cameras small enough not to be noticed by anyone?

Rantaro was right on many more guesses than he thought.

Obtained truth bullet! Nanokumas

Since there wasn't much to see here, he closed the window.

"So... What do we do now?" Kokichi asked before glancing at the table. “Hm?”

Shuichi turned to him. “What is it?”

“Kirumi and I found a key next to the computer, that she guessed was a master key, something that could unlock all rooms. But it’s gone now, she might have taken it.”

A very useful item that he despised the existence of.

He looked at the entrance in the library. "There is nothing left to check in this room, so we might as well get out. I hate this place."

His friend nodded. "Yeah…”

And so they did. Once they were out, they decided to split up to check places they might have missed.

There was one place Shuichi needed to go to.

He glanced at the dorms building where Kirumi had supposedly gone to.

He needed to get there. He ran as fast as he could to avoid any possible damage.

Shuichi immediately closed the door behind him, and the ruckus outside became less loud. But the silence of the dorms was not that much more reassuring.

His eyes drifted to the different rooms, now all empty, as their owners were either dead or investigating. However...

... He noticed one door was slightly opened.

Rantaro's.

He swallowed and approached the room.

...

After what felt like an eternity, he found the courage to quietly open the door.

He felt himself gag right after stepping into his room.

There was a strange mix of unpleasant smells- nothing like Tatsuya's lab, though. A mix of sweat, chemicals and medicine drowned in a sea of heavy enclosed air. The room itself was incredibly messy and disorganized. He noticed a needle on the bedside table with a bottle of liquid medicine, a half-emptied bottle of water, and pills.

The bed was not even made. The pillow was thrown away and the blanket had fallen on the floor next to the bed.

His eyes glanced towards the wardrobe. It was supposed to have a mirror, but... The shattered shiny pieces of aluminum on the ground told enough for him to understand what had happened.

Looking at this scene made his heart ache. Everything he had seen in the mastermind's room had been messed up, but...

Seeing the madness in the most intimate place they had for themselves was something else. It felt like he wasn't entering a simple room, but rather getting a glimpse of the fragmented mind of his former friend. The one who laid down his life for them- for their safety and out of spite.

His head turned to the bathroom, and that's when he noticed the other person in the room- who hadn't noticed him yet.

Kirumi was staring in front of her, an unreadable expression on her face.

She placed a hand on the mirror, gently brushing it with her long, thin fingers.

After swallowing, he stepped forward.

Kirumi suddenly turned around, just noticing him.

"... It's you."

Shuichi looked down for a moment. "Sorry if I surprised you."

Her shoulders dropped as she turned back to her reflection. "It's fine."

It’s only then that he noticed the state of the mirror, which had been out of his sight until now.

Shattered.

Three strikes that left crackles all over the piece of furniture. The mirror was barely keeping it together. One move too brutal and everything would fall apart, breaking into a million more pieces. Their reflections were distorted by the splits, one of the strikes ironically placed around Shuichi's head.

He could only stare, a hand clenching his heart and his mind drowning in never-ending dread.

(BGM)

They stared at themselves, not even daring to look at the other’s reflection, in a silence that he would have enjoyed at any other moment, but right now, he couldn’t describe it as anything other than suffocating.

His eyes drifted to the glass shards in the sink and the opened tubes of painkillers. The unpleasant smell was stronger, it was impossible to ignore it.

"..."

"Kirumi..."

She glanced at his reflection. "Yes?"

"Can we even stop them?"

She stayed silent for a moment, looking at herself.

"I don't know."

"The mastermind and their allies are powerful, and they seem to have total control over us."

"I would be lying if I said I truly believed everyone would get a happy ending."

Shuichi looked down.

"What even is a happy ending? One where we at least survive? Do we escape the academy? Will we able to go home?"

"What's... What's your happy ending, Kirumi?"

Her eyes widened a bit. Was she… caught off guard?

"..."

"... My happy ending, huh?"

She narrowed her eyes.

"It’s not like I can choose my destiny. The moment this game started, the possibilities for my future narrowed down to very few thin lines.”

“I do not care what happens to me in the end. I know my purpose was to stay alive at all costs, but… There’s no point believing in that anymore.”

“Perhaps I will die, perhaps I will live, and it doesn’t matter. What I truly wish for is to stay true to my morals.”

She paused.

“I know this might sound nonsensical, but I despise cruelty. I’ve seen many flaunting its greatness, but I always believed those people were the weakest humans to ever live.”

“Being cruel is admitting you are unable to suppress a mere urge, that you are nothing but an animal.”

“A simple proof of inhumanity.”

Her eyes hadn’t moved from her own reflection.

“I don’t want to die as a beast, a slave taking orders without second thought, nor as a killer.”

“My happy ending… is to die as Kirumi Tojo.”

…

Shuichi looked down.

“And you?”

His eyes darted up.

“What is yours?”

He looked back at himself.

... What was his happy ending?

"You don't have to answer me. All that matters is that you know what you want and what you believe in."

"Believe me, it takes a lot of mental strength to bring yourself to question all of this, but once you do, it's a new path that opens to you."

"One that you won't regret, even if things may not go exactly as you wanted."

She walked out of the bathroom.

"This killing game changed us all. It's our job to gather the misery and despair we felt for so long and throw it back in the faces of the wretched monsters who ruined our lives."

The sound of her heels faded away.

He stared at where she was standing for a minute before turning to the mirror again.

He wished to say his happy ending is one where they all escape and go home, but…

That was dream out of his reach, and he had to accept it.

Perhaps they would never stop those behind the scenes. Perhaps they would never find peace.

Perhaps they were all going to die.

But…

He couldn’t wallow in what-if’s.

He was going to fight until the end, for those who died, and those by his side.

He may never achieve a true happy ending, but to die trying to get it would be better than to let everyone’s sacrifices be in vain.

And he had just the right idea for a way to end this game.

After sharing one last glance with his shattered reflection, he left Rantaro's room.

He opened the door of the dorms building to see the long-haired woman standing there.

Kaito's exisal was down, surrounded by the four others.

The mecha opened to reveal their friend coughing. He lifted his head to look at them both. He was...

Defeated.

"Kaito!!"

Miu's voice echoed in the courtyard as she sprinted with Kokichi towards them.

"Puhuhu! My, my! You put up quite a fight! I'm impressed!"

Monokuma's laughter ringed in their ears.

"Unfortunately for you, it looks like your little temper tantrum is over!"

Kaito tried to get himself out of the exisal but was struggling to do so with only one functioning leg. Miu ran up to help him, putting his arm around her shoulders.

"So... How was your little period of free time without your beloved headmaster? Did you have fun running around? Going into my super-ultra-mega private rooms?"

"Fuck you." Kaito spat.

"I will take that as a yes!~" the robot laughed. "Now, now. Since this unwanted chaos is finally over, shall we-

"I demand a trial!!"

Everyone turned to the source of the voice.

Shuichi had taken a step forward. That might be the dumbest idea ever, but if this game had to end, it had to be like this.

He stared at the bear in the eyes.

“I want one last trial to end all of this.”

Kaito looked at him with eyes that screamed ‘what are you doing?’. But… That was the only way.

“Rantaro said it himself, this game is over. We have seen what was behind the scenes and we will not partake in this madness anymore!"

He pointed a finger at him. "This is your trial! Your trial as the culprit of everyone's murders in this killing game! And if you don’t want to accept this reason…”

“… Then think of this trial as the one for Keebo’s murderer, since you lied about Kaito being the culprit of the case.”

...

Monokuma looked surprised, although it was hard to read his mechanical face.

"Puhuhu... You do have some guts! Can’t say the same about my sweet monokubs… and myself, but that’s not the point.”

His glare did not falter.

“Very well! I accept the deal!”

"Everyone, please gather at the shrine of judgment!"

The bear and his cubs jumped away to their destination.

Once alone, everyone turned to him.

"Shuichi... Do you really think this is a good idea?"

He wanted to say he wasn't sure, but now wasn't the time to doubt.

"This is our only choice if we want to end the game. I don’t think Monokuma would have accepted to do anything else."

Kirumi crossed her arms. “Monokuma has already accepted the deal. I can’t say I had better ideas, though.”

Kokichi nodded in agreement.

Shuichi looked at his friends with a weak smile. "Let's end this, everyone."

Miu put a hand on his shoulder. "Then let's go. Together."

"You guys are going to have to sum up the situation for me, because I have zero clue how your investigation went." Kaito sighed.

The four others glanced at each other. He was lucky not to have seen the horrors of the mastermind’s room, but they would have to tell him at some point.

"We'll... We'll do that in due time, don't worry." Miu mumbled.

Kaito sensed her worry and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, I know you guys did well. We'll talk about it during the trial, alright?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Thanks."

They arrived at the shrine, which had been slightly damaged by the exisals. The elevator opened, and the five survivors stepped in.

This was it.

The final trial where everything would end.

He could feel his heart racing in his chest as they got closer and closer to the courtroom.

He glanced at each of his friends, the ones who were still alive with him.

Kokichi, who, despite the hardships he went through before and during the game, gathered the strength to surpass them all, with the help of the kind hearts of the group.

Kaito, who, despite his disability as well as the false accusations thrown against him during the third trial, was someone one could count on, a great friend who wouldn’t let you down.

Miu, who, despite her willingness to kill for her cherished son at the beginning of the game, turned her sorrow into determination to end the game and to fight against their captor, and used her compassion to help whoever needed her.

Kirumi, who, despite her title, was one of his greatest allies, helped him through the hardest times, as well as the rest of them with a great strength, intelligence, as well as the double-edged sword that her condition is.

Friends that he would never, ever forget.

…

The elevator ride was even longer than last time- were they in yet another room?

His question was quickly answered when the door opened.

The courtroom did not even look like one anymore. The decoration was as futuristic looking as the podiums, with bright neon colors vibrating in the dark. And yet, the room was illuminated well enough for them to be able to see each other clearly.

They went to their podiums. And now, eleven of them were occupied by portraits stained by pink crosses.

They looked at each other, all uncertain about the outcome.

But they had to do this.

This killing game was going to end, right here and there, at last.

#ndrv3 #danganronpa v3 #ndrv3 au #beta au #main story

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daisiesanddanganronpaimagines · 7 years

Text

Three Treasures

Title: Three Treasures

Word Count: 2650

Fandom: Danganronpa, Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.

Pairing: Kaede/Saihara

Rating: T to a low M.

Major character death and spoilers for chapter 1! You have been warned!

Summary: Shuichi has a dream about Kaede. Kaede leaves him a present that he hadn’t thought to find. Written for Saede Week ( @saiedeweek), Day 1: Death.

A/N: so this was written for saede week

and we get a week of fanfics for these two nerds!!

yay!!

this scene had been floating around in my head for a while and i finished it yesterday

wooo

i'm not very confident in this fanfic honestly but, i like it and the idea.

it gives the boy some closure.

Anyway, maybe leave a like if you enjoyed? And please please, please reblog! Even a comment on the post or in the tags with a reblog would be amazing! <3

Thank you for reading!!

(pssst: reblogging and tagging it helps me a whole lot!!)

Ao3 Link

Fanfiction.net Link

The golden sunlight touched the grass and filtered through the trees, bathing the forest path in front of them in a soft golden hue. He looked around at the trees, and then his eyes flickered down to the hand grasping his, fingers interlaced.

His eyes flickered back up to the person, next to him, only to meet the familiar dark lavender irises he’d become accustomed to seeing over time. Even with being accustomed, his breath hitched.

Kaede grinned at him, pulling him forward. She had on a white dress that seemed to be patterned with some song. It fell to her knees, and slightly puffed out at the waist, where a black belt separated the top half and the bottom half.

The blonde must have noticed him staring, because she dropped his hand and stepped out in front of him and twirled.

He watched as the dress caught the air and puffed out around her, making her laugh freely. She looked her age - not how he’d last remembered seeing her.

He was glad. This was what she deserved.

“C’mon, Shuichi! We’re almost to the end of the forest!” She cheered, holding out her hand to him.

Shuichi smiled softly, reaching out to take her hand in his once again.

But this time - he’d never get to take it.

A collar came from somewhere, cuffing her neck. Her eyes went wide as the clothes and scenery flickered.

Her dress - to a skirt and vest.

A beautiful forest - to a deadly killing game.

Again and again it flickered as Kaede was drug up and up, to a place that he couldn’t reach no matter how hard he tried.

Memories are trickling back now.

Kaede on the giant piano.

She’d been skipped from key to key, drug back and forth while suffocated by the rope she was dangling from.

Just enough to kill her mercilessly.

Just enough to allow her glimpses of eye contact with him, sadness, and longing, and need there, haunting him like ghosts. Although, he probably looked the same, beside the tears.

The light caught in her hair as Kaede hung there, her face clouded in shadows. A sick feeling welled up within him.

And as he watched in those final few moments, the light caught something else, too. Her face seemed to turn up to the light, and it caught her wet lashes, the gleam of tears on her cheek - and that ever present, ever peaceful smile.

He remembered what she had said to him.

“You are my wish.”

Yes, he remembered it now.

Just before the collar had taken her, she'd stepped forward, kissed both of his cheeks, and wiped the remaining tears on his face away with her thumb and hands. He’d leaned into her touch ever so slightly at that moment, watching her smile up at him with warmth, even though she knew this was the end for her.

And then - the collar came. Desperately, he reached out for her, and she reached back, fingertips brushing his before she was ripped away from him. But he had seen it.

That smile.

That trust.

That blush.

That hope.

“Shuichi! Take care of them! Survive, even if that’s the only thing you can do!”

And then, the piano came down.

Her blood had gone everywhere, mixed in with pieces of the robotic bear.

The tears seemed to be swallowing him now - taking him over like a tsunami washing away items on a beach.

His eyes slid shut - and he began to shake. His knees almost buckled.

Shuichi tried with everything he had to breathe, but it felt like his throat had swollen shut.

He couldn’t breathe.

Oh god, he couldn’t breathe.

He couldn’t-

A searing pain welled up in his cheek, and he fell to the ground. A salty taste invaded his mouth.

Finally, he took a deep breath in.

He was grounded now.

He looked up at Kaito, listening closely. His eyebrows furrowed.

He was grounded, wasn’t he?

So why -

*Ding-dong!*

“Huh?”

*Ding-dong!*

“What the…?”

He stood, only to find everyone suddenly frozen. The Kaede from earlier was back, but she had an ugly scarring from the rope around her neck.

She smiled at him sadly. “I’m sorry things didn’t go the way I wanted...but...I have control for a couple more minutes before I have to really let you go.”

“Let me go…? What?”

Kaede shushed him, laying her hands on his shoulders and then wrapping him tightly in a hug. She was shaking. “I’m sorry,” She cried, “I’m so, so sorry for leaving you alone like this.”

He hugged her back. She felt...real. Warm. And yet...somehow ethereal.

The blue haired boy rested his head on hers.

“Behind the chalkboard in my lab….there are three items. Just for you. Don’t let anyone else see, okay?”

Shuichi’s shaking now, too. “Are...you real? Or...is my mind trying to cope?”

Kaede smiled softly. “Well, that’s for you to decide, now isn’t it?”

Shuichi laughed. “Yeah, I think you’re real enough.”

Kaede grew quiet suddenly. “Hey, I know this seems random - but did you ever want to...be with me?”

Shuichi nodded.

In response, Kaede let out a sigh in relief, slumping against him. “Oh, good. You know, when we were here, I had a dream that we had a kid together.”

The grey eyed male went red in the cheeks. “Mhm…”

*ding-dong!*

“And….it was a little blonde girl.”

*ding-dong!*

“What did we name her?”

*ding-dong!*

“Maya.”

*ding-dong!*

Kaede stepped back from him suddenly, and looked up.

“Oh, no.”

“What?”

*ding-dong!*

Kaede stepped closer and pressed their foreheads together.

“Listen, we don’t have much time. But, I want you to know that I love you. And I always loved you. Even though we were together two, three days? Doesn’t matter. I love you. And I want you to be happy. Live. Live for me, okay? Just...get out of here.”

“Kaede-? What-?”

She steps back, just out of reach.

“Goodbye, Shuichi.”

He reaches out to her, but the chain has come again, and drags her upward. Shuichi gets one last glance before she’s gone. A white, floor length silk gown replaced her other dress, and she seemed to have wings and a halo.

He looks around again - but only sees white.

Shuichi supposes that was when he woke up.

The next day - when he has time, he stops into her lab. He knows that someone probably sees him when he’s doing this - but decides that they’re most likely brushing it off as him coping.

The door slides shut with a soft ‘click’ behind him, and he sighs, taking a deep breath. He steeled his nerves. Was….that really Kaede?

Some desperate hope inside of him wanted it to be her - craved that connection. The majority, though, reasoned that it was his mind coming up with desperate images to get that connection he craved.

His steps as he approached the chalkboard were slow, methodical and even, even though his arms were beginning to shake violently.

Shaking still, he peeked behind the chalkboard, his heart thumping as violently as his hands were shaking still.

At first, he saw nothing. It was so elaborately hidden - he thought - that he began to wonder just how much time Kaede had spent in this room. But, when he adjusted himself to see if he was missing something, he noted a glint of silver. Reeling back, his mind began to go wild. Was there actually something there? If so, did that mean that Kaede had really contacted him in his dreams? But why him? And that declaration of love….it was real?

She’d loved him?

And he’d never known?

Before his mind could fall further into the abyss of his thoughts, he reached up to the silver glint he’d seen and pulled.

A bag came away in his hand, the handle covered in silver wires. He reached back again after setting the bag on the ground, only to find a small portion of the wall that cut away - almost like a cubby hole.

He smiled to himself. He should have known that she’d do something like this - something that would be passed off as a trick of the mind.

It’s what she’d done for the murder, after all.

He paused after that thought, darker thoughts threatening to consume him. He shook them off however, and investigated the bag as he sat down on the floor. There were items inside, which he took out.

Three items, just as the dream Kaede had specified.

A CD case, a little pink pouch, and a large envelope.

The CD case was clear and simple enough, and if he looked, he could see two discs. The pouch was a drawstring pouch, and it was a light, pastel pink. He remembered seeing something like that in the warehouse, so he supposed that she could have gotten it from there. He opened it by pulling on the drawstrings, and found hundreds of Monocoins in there.

He sat it back in the bag carefully. The next item he investigated were the discs.

One read “Songs Saihara Would Like,” and the other read, “Playing.”

The first he could figure out pretty easily, as well - there was an extensive music collection in the warehouse. The second was a little harder.

Playing? That could refer to a number of things. Playing a video, children playing in a park, playing an instrument.

An electric charge lanced through him.

Playing an instrument….

Playing the piano.

He’d never mentioned that he’d wanted to see her play, but somehow she knew. He was itching to go down to the A/V room to watch them, but he decided that he had to look in the envelope, first. It was large and a bright shade of orange, and Kaede had wrote something on it. It also bulged slightly, like it was holding something.

“Unless you are Shuichi Saihara or my future self and have found this envelope - do not open it! - Kaede Akamatsu”

He smiled, and then turned it around and opened it. Inside was a piece of paper, Kaede’s monopad, and her room key.

He took out the paper first. It was a letter.

Dear Shuichi, xx-yy-zz

If you’re reading this, then I’ve died. I died trying to defeat the mastermind. Maybe you’ll never read this at all. Maybe I’ll be too much of a pansy to let you know where it is. Hehe, maybe I’ll come back after death if that happens.

If there’s one thing that I have to say to you - it’s that I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what will happen at this ‘class trial,’ if we have one, but I’m willing to bet that you’ll figure me out. And then you won’t say anything because of all the time we’ve spent together, so I’ll make you convict me.

And I know that we’ll both probably be emotional messes the entire time, and everyone will say that I didn’t do it - because really, who would expect me to be the culprit? God...I’m just so terrible. At the time I’m writing this - Monokuma has told us about the time limit on the killing.

We came up with a plan to trap the mastermind, and I’ve come up with my plan to try and kill them. And then, I slipped away from you and went to write this. Honestly, this is stupid, and I’m sure everything will turn out for the best...but something just doesn’t feel right. I mean, the mastermind brings us here and keeps us trapped - even going as far as to build that huge dome - and we’ll be able to end it all?

Just like that?

I do trust you, and your plan - but I don’t trust myself to do this right. So, that’s that.

There’s also something else that’s been going on lately. I...I’ve been getting these flashbacks of a girl who’s just like me - but isn’t me. She says stuff I would never say, and yet, some little part of me resonates with her. I feel like...at a time, she was me - but she somehow isn’t me now. Do you know what I mean? I feel like...she was putting up a front with all the things she said, but I was at her core. And then I was exposed somehow, and now she’s a part of me, but I’m who she really is.

It’s weird, I know - but maybe it’ll help you in some way.

Anyway, this is getting pretty long, so I’ll wrap it up. When we were together, it was awesome. I felt like I could do anything with me - and while I don’t know if you felt the same, I feel like...you would agree. I think what I’m feeling now that I’m thinking about you is something like love, but not quite love just yet. Maybe when we get out of here, it will be more. I hope so.

In the envelope with the letter will be my Monopad and the key to my room. I don’t really know what use you’d have for this stuff, but I thought you’d like it. Plus, there’s no one else I’d really trust with my Monopad and stuff with other than you. The discs and Monocoins are my way of atoning, too. For making you convict me...and all of that.

Shuichi, stay safe and survive, okay? Even if I don’t - I want you to survive for me. Keep your head up, and lead everyone. I know you can do it!

Goodbye, Shuichi.

I love you.

With love,

Kaede Akamatsu

Tears were falling freely from his eyes as he read the letter over and over again, hand covering his mouth as he tried in desperation not to cry.

He did.

The letter fluttered to the floor.

Oh, Kaede.

The tears that were flowing down his face were ones of a heartbroken and mourning boy - one who’d like anything more than to have her back.

But - that wasn’t happening, anytime, now was it Shuichi?

No, no it wasn’t.

After a few minutes, he pulled himself together. Quietly, he slid everything back into their respective places within the bag, pulled himself up off of the floor, and walked out of the room with the bag hung off of his shoulder. In retrospect, he’s glad that no one saw him, and especially Miu, who would probably ask him if he was carrying around that bag to carry around his “lady products” in. He would have snapped at her.

That didn’t happen, however, and he got down to the A/V room with no hassle. Quickly, he locked himself in and sat the bag on the couch, and then took the discs out. First, he inserted the one of Kaede playing. Then, he started everything and sat himself on the couch, staring at the screen.

At first, there was black, and then there was a small beep, and a view of Kaede and her piano. She smiled at the camera and said; “I assume you’re watching this after the letter, so I can’t say much except that I’m sorry. But, even still, I hope you enjoy!”

With that, she placed her fingers to the keys and began to play. The soothing melody of “Clair de Lune,” by Debussy flowed throughout the room.

He supposed she meant it to be calming, but it overwhelmed him with a tidal wave of emotion, and he began to cry.

He wasn’t sure when the first song ended and the other started. He wasn’t sure when the sound of the piano left his ears altogether.

He wasn’t sure when he passed out from crying.

He woke several hours later, extremely tired even after sleeping, the bag clutched against him tightly.

If anyone had found him - they didn’t mention it.

Neither did he.

#danganronpa v3 #drv3 #drv3 spoilers #saimatsu #kaede x saihara #saihara x kaede #saede #kaede akamatsu #akamatsu kaede #shuichi saihara #saihara shuichi #angst #these two #they'll be the death of me #saiede #saiaka #saiedeweek2017 #@saiedeweek #my fanfiction

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