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Chapter Text

Log

Day: -2
Perspective: Saihara, Shuichi

-x-

The screen flickered on, revealing a person with short dirty blond hair and a feminine green uniform looking directly at the viewer…

“Good morning, everyone! I’ll give you a few minutes to get up! It’s 10 a.m.! Currently Day Negative Two! We’ve got a lot to discuss!”

Shuichi grumbled and sat up slowly. He rubbed his eyes and noticed that he couldn’t really tell where he was but chalked it up to his disorientation more than the fact that the room was nearly pitch black other than a light coming through a crack under a door.

When he looked to the television, he quizzically tilted his head, not recognizing the person he saw. Then, it continued.

“Ah! S-Sorry! I’m still giving you some time! But you’re totally safe alone in a dark room right now! Please be patient and do not panic! I’ll be turning the lights on in just a few moments as to let the late risers have some more time!”

The voice was timid, soft, nice. Shuichi seemed to immediately trust it despite his better judgement, again, blaming it on his disorientation and the fact that he heard the word ‘safe’. As he started to wake up more, he decided to feel about his surroundings.

He was wearing clothes, and they felt like his normal striped uniform. Good. He thought, then moved his hands to his sides. He was on something soft, plushy, clearly a bed or at least a mattress. The fact that it had been called a ‘room’ made sense with what he was touching. He then reached one hand up to his head, feeling his soft hair. The one strand that refused to cooperate with the others flicked over his middle finger and he let out a relieved sigh, feeling confused at why the lack of a hat was making him happy.

The last thing he tried was moving one leg over the side of the bed, slowly, and when it reached solid ground, he slung the other one to match it. He didn’t get off the soft surface, but having his feet planted made him feel more centered and in control of the situation.

When he was satisfied with his investigation, he let his mind wander. Where am I? How did I get here? What’s the last thing I remember? Things of the like.

The only one he was able to answer, kind of, was what he remembered. It was vague, choppy, like there were lots of pieces missing, but he knew for sure that he was looking up at a giant shattered dome and he wanted to escape. So, was this where he had escaped to?

Before his mind could continue, he heard, “Thank you for waiting! The lights are coming on in 3… 2… 1…”

Click.

The room illuminated and Shuichi had to blink a couple of times to adjust. When his vision started to control itself, he was overwhelmed. The room was perfect to say the least. It was a little bigger than average for a studio room and it included a nice tiled kitchen, a small closed off bathroom, a stand with an average television displaying the person on screen, a large, mahogany, three drawer desk with a puffy chair that looked so comfortable you could sleep in it, and a giant bookcase that he could already tell was lined with mystery novels. It would be no exaggeration to call it his dream apartment set up.

Suddenly, he heard a faint chuckle and returned his eyes to the monitor, “D-Do you like your rooms? We designed them especially for you! U-Uhm, if you have any complaints you can bring them up to me later! I promise! Oh a-and I’m sorry if you already tried… you can’t escape these rooms quite yet… but you will be able to, soon. Please, bear me some more of your time.”

Shuichi looked at the screen. Now that he had his bearings, he was confused as to why he wasn’t scared, but something in his gut told him that everything would be ok.

“Now… Let’s begin…

Welcome back, everyone! You might be a little confused because you’re alone right now, but I’m actually talking to forty-eight people. D-Don’t panic! No one can get to y-you! If you’re concerned, I must be absolutely adamant that you are safe.”

The voice stopped to let that sink in a moment, then got a little sad, “Out of those forty-eight people, thirty-four of you are just waking up from experiencing death. I-I’m really sorry… I’m… so sorry you had to experience that. I’ll explain more about it later, but I want you to know that if you need to talk about it, I offer therapy sessions, uhm…” It went quiet. Shuichi took a moment to contemplate the words. He hadn’t experienced death, but he did suddenly remember that he had just escaped a killing game. It was slowly coming back to him, but he could only remember vague shapes and faces.

“What I am going to do now…” The picture suddenly shifted to a girl with long blue hair, the color almost like his own. She was wearing a sailor uniform and a bright smile, and the voice was noticeably different, “… is start from the beginning!”

And it did, in fact, start from the beginning. It talked of a wonderful place called Hope’s Peak Academy where students with talents could come and harness their skills to become the future leaders of the world. It introduced itself as one ‘Sayaka Maizono, The Ultimate Popstar’, a girl who was in the new 78th Class and how she dozed off in a main hallway around 7:45, fifteen minutes before her orientation was going to start.

When she woke up, she was in a classroom, dazed and confused, but successfully made her way back to her original destination. Eventually, she met fifteen other students, all strangers, all confused and some frightened.

Then, the bear, the dreaded Monokuma, made his appearance, and he introduced them to the killing game. Shuichi could hear his breath stop short. He didn’t know the girl on screen, but he knew Monokuma, and he was shaking. Sayaka looked terrified, but continued with, “He’s not here. This is just a story. I need everyone to stay with me.” And he relaxed slightly. This voice wasn’t as comforting as the first, but it still felt trustworthy… err… more… charismatic.

She then got to the first murder and talked about… a motive. Shuichi understood. This same tactic, a video of your loved ones, had been used in his own killing game. Though, it seemed her story was different as everyone got to watch their own video.

“When I saw my friends… my group… injured on the ground, I-I had to get out. I… made a plan. I got the help of someone who trusted me and tried to lure someone into killing them.”

After a pause, she disappeared and a gentleman with a white jacket and bright orange spiky hair took her place, “That would be me, Leon Kuwata, who fell for the trap. We fought in ‘her room’ and she eventually locked herself in the bathroom.” He scoffed a moment before continuing, his confidence feigning, “I went back to my room and… I could’ve stopped but… I got a tool kit that was provided, opened the door… and… I killed her.”

It switched back to Sayaka, “But I was alive long enough to leave a dying message! One that would help everyone at the trial to discover the blackened!” Shuichi was surprised that the idea of a trial wasn’t explained and assumed the mystery forty-seven other people must’ve already come from killing games.

This… storytelling went on for hours. It changed between many faces, many different trials. People Shuichi didn’t know telling stories he didn’t know, but not once did he look away or lose focus.

He learned the original person was someone named Chihiro Fujisaki, but the speaker, playing every character in this performance, was named Alter Ego.

He was trying to keep count of how many different names and faces and murders he was hearing about. He especially got lost with the number of people living double lives. Count one Toko Fukawa, though there was a ‘Genocide Jack’. Count two different Junko Enoshima’s, one being Mukuro Ikusaba. Count two Byakuya Togami’s, one being literally just named ‘Imposter’. Count one Hajime Hinata, though there was an ‘Izuru Kamakura’… It was tough, but he did successfully count thirty-two people by the time he learned of the ‘Remnants of Despair’ and the five survivors trying, post ‘Tragedy’, to wake up their sleeping classmates. He wasn’t sure if he should count the AI ‘Chiaki Nanami’, but she didn’t seem to be anyone else. If these other dead people were here, which he wasn’t sure was the case or not, then it was totally plausible that she was here. Thirty-two was a good number. Thirty-two out of Forty-Eight meant… sixteen left. Sixteen.

The other two stories were both of sixteen person killing games. His heart skipped a beat, eyes glued to the screen.

And when Hajime Hinata turned into Rantaro Amami, Shuichi began to cry. Memories flooding back.

“Now we come the most recent story. First, Hope’s Peak. Then, Jabberwock Island. Finally, welcome, to the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles.” The detective didn’t know how to respond other than breathing heavily. How long had it been? He had no idea. It felt so good… so, so good to hear this voice. Maybe he wasn’t alive, but just hearing him was enough. Please… keep talking… tell me… tell me about the killing game, Shuichi begged mentally, pleading to remember everyone.

Rantaro almost seemed to read his mind. He spoke all about the students, ordinary people dressed in everyday clothes, who turned into ultimate students. He introduced himself and how he, out of all of them, seemed to have any idea about a killing game and an ‘Ultimate Hunt’. He talked about appearance of Monokubs compared to Monokuma and Usami. The Road to Despair. The two-day killing time limit. Then he talked about… her.

To say that Shuichi was sobbing would be an understatement. He couldn’t breathe when the blonde woman in a pink sweater vest appeared on screen.

“I’m Kaede Akamatsu! And I’m the protagonist of this story.

… Is what I’d really like to say, but that’s not true.” He stood up on his feet for the first time, slowly walking towards the television, “I desperately wanted to find the mastermind. I wanted it so bad that I… killed someone. I killed Rantaro…”

“THAT’S NOT TRUE!” Shuichi screamed at the top of his lungs. He hadn’t talked this whole time, and he was shocked at how painful it had been to yell. As he lightly messaged his neck for relief, he listened back in, realizing this had jogged his memory completely.

He remembered the mastermind’s trick. He remembered not playing the game.

Kaede, even after death come to life as this AI, was already saving him again by pulling him out of his thoughts, “… by… by setting up a trap in the library. I didn’t know it would be him… I just… thought the mastermind would be…… Anyway, I had made a good friend in the killing game! You’ll meet him later. He was able to solve everything, figure out that I did it. I was so, so proud of him. Then, I was executed.” She talked more about herself, her thoughts on the game, then finished. She turned into a short man with a beanie, and Shuichi felt like he could breathe deeply for the first time in minutes.

They all spoke of the awful truth he knew so well. Ryoma, Kirumi, Angie, Tenko, Korekiyo, Miu and Gonta… all telling their stories. This was so much different than before. Seeing people he knew talk about crimes that he solved was… hard. It wasn’t scary, it wasn’t new, it was just hard to hear again. Nevertheless, when he heard Gonta say his last words, then vanish, his heart started racing.

You’re alone, Kokichi. And you always will be… The last words Shuichi had ever said to him. They rang in his ears like poison. Yes, he had been angry. Yes, Kokichi had done something awful in the name of self-defense. But he didn’t deserve to be…

“Well, well, well~, Did you miss me, Shumai~?”

… crushed to death.

“And I guess everyone else, too. Hmph. For those of you who don’t know, I’m Kokichi Ouma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader. Usually, I’m made of up lies, but for the sake of actually getting information across to the upper classmen, I promise that everything I’m about to say is the complete truth.” It truly sounded like he meant it too. Granted, this wasn’t really him, just an AI pretending to be him, so it made sense that the character would be broken for the sake of knowledge.

Shuichi didn’t realize that his hand was touching the television. When did he do that? Was it when he heard that signature nickname? Focus, his thoughts told him, and he retracted his arm and listened.

At this point, he already knew the big reveal. Kokichi was, in fact, not the mastermind of the killing game. He was the leader of a small, but effective, organization that played harmless pranks. He was harmless, save Gonta’s manipulation. And, most importantly, he had done everything he could to defeat the mastermind, including ruining all his friendships in the process. He was attacked by a poison arrow to the back, he pretended to drink some antidote, and, he sacrificed himself in the name of winning an unwinnable game.

All because Shuichi figured out his plan. In his mind, he had disgraced Kokichi’s hard work and sentenced his second-best friend in the game, Kaito, to death by execution.

Reliving it was excruciating, self-deprecating, but also… cathartic.

When Kokichi spoke again after a pause, he looked up. How long had he been in his head? “Ahh, and I would’ve gotten away with it, too.” The voice was so serious and quiet, almost like the real deal was talking right into his head, “If it weren’t for that meddling detective... a really, really good one who knows people well enough to say the things they want to hear the least.

Ok, ok, that one was a lie!” It wasn’t, “Aaaaanyway, here’s that idiot astronaut with his side of the story! C’mon, killer, want to reiterate what happened to me?” And just like that, he was gone.

Shuichi relived a sigh when Kaito appeared on the screen and introduced himself with a loud boisterous, “I’m Kaito Momota! Luminary of the Stars! And I am NOT an idiot!” To which the detective chuckled happily to himself through the tears that hadn’t stopped since the beginning of their story time. Kaito, begrudgingly, did as he was told. He explained the whole plan again from his perspective. He talked of his time since the beginning and all his memories.

He especially talked about ‘his sidekicks’, but the special tone in which he talked about Maki was not lost on Shuichi. He remembered, post Kaito’s victorious passing, the conversation he shared with her about feelings and emotions. It made him smile knowing the two felt the same way about one another. Though, Maki’s turn wouldn’t be for a while.

Even after death, Kaito still made Shuichi feel better, stronger. He knew that the astronaut had picked him and Maki for a reason. They were both reserved and unable to come out of their shells. As Kaito finished his tale, Shuichi even wondered for a moment if he could’ve extended that incredible spirit to Kokichi, but smushed the thought before returning his attention to… Tsumugi.

Seeing her on screen made him want to throw up, but he kept it under control. She had been their friend, their trusted ally. She cried at their deaths and helped solve the mysteries. And she created a killing game all for the sake of a reality TV show!? He was livid, but too weak from the hours crying to do anything about it.

Though, strangely, he wasn’t nearly as scared of her as he had been of Junko once he learned about her. Tsumugi seemed almost… pathetic… in comparison. Not even with her ability to cosplay could she pull off that kind of evil. Yet, he still latched onto her words; every single one of them. He was looking for a sign of if she had been telling the truth or not, but he never got it. Just the same story.

For a moment, he considered what the other thirty-two people thought of that one? A woman, claiming they were fake, and constantly switching pretending to be them. Shuichi only recognized them after the revelation from Kaede but… how were they reacting to this? Were they reacting to this? He gripped his pants, frustrated. So many of his classmates had just called him a good detective but in the end, he couldn’t decipher any of the lies.

When Keebo popped up on screen, he finally sat back down on his bed, not feeling the energy to stand any longer. He was the last one to die: flying into the dome and secretly saving three of his treasured friends. The robot talked of his antenna, and the people known as his ‘inner voice’. He talked of his life, the robophobia, the game, then, “I knew I wanted to save them. We talked about all dying together, but I couldn’t let them do it. I… had to!” Shuichi felt the largest sob escape his throat, yet.

Hearing Himiko and Maki’s stories didn’t help it relent. Being the survivors meant you had the most stories to tell. Stories of pain, of losing people you loved. Himiko, already losing her master, lost two women that she held above all people. Maki, already losing her freedom, lost the only man who ever made her feel human.

And, as the assassin faded, Shuichi counted forty-seven.

Just… one more…

“H-Hi there, I’m Shuichi Saihara, the second Ultimate Detective.”

To say that seeing himself on screen frightened him would be an understatement. The person was wearing a hat and looked… shy… feeble. That wasn’t him. Not anymore.

The Shuichi on screen started telling his story: waking up in a locker, meeting Kaede, learning of the killing game and planning to stop the mastermind. When he talked of Kaede’s execution, he violently threw his hat off and continued, which finally helped the physical Shuichi relax. That was at least someone recognizable, now.

The AI version continued for a long time, not leaving out any detail.

“… Then, we saw the exit. We climbed out and made our way towards it. I don’t remember anything after that. This is the end of our story.”

Watching his own self disappear to be replaced with Chihiro Fujisaki, no, Alter Ego, was relieving.

The soft voice he hadn’t heard in a long time spoke up, “I understand. That was… a lot. Now everyone knows everything. There are no secrets. I’m going to let everyone rest up and collect their thoughts for the rest of the evening. I will wake you back up at 10 a.m.! I hate to tell you this, but tomorrow is going to be even tougher on you. If you need me there is a button next to your beds with the label ‘AE’ on it. Press it and I can talk to you one-on-one. Please, really, take this time to process and recover. You’ve all been through so much. You’re all so strong and you’re only going to get stronger!

Have a good night.

I-I love you, all!”

The monitor went silent for the first time in hours. Shuichi had no idea what time it was now, but he found he didn’t care. What was he going to do now? That was much more important.

His eyes drifted to the desk in his room and noticed a pen and paper on top of it. Perfect! He snatched it up, brought it back to the bed, and began scribbling his thoughts. He was going to take everything he was feeling and write it down.

When he was satisfied, he stripped to his undershirt and boxers, leaving the striped uniform over the chair, and crawled under the covers. He felt safe, but anxious. What would tomorrow bring? Alter Ego said ‘day negative two’, so what were they counting down towards?

Shuichi fell asleep thinking about it and the mountain of stories he had just heard, but his dreams were peaceful and nonexistent.

He was ready for the day when Alter Ego came on the screen the next morning.

“Good morning, everyone! It’s 10 a.m.! Currently Day Negative One! I hope you slept well! Are you ready?”

Then, they switched to one Makoto Naegi, “So you’ve learned about everyone who’s here. Now let’s learn about why you’re here!”

Chapter Text

Log

Day: -1
Perspective: Saihara, Shuichi/Class 79

-x-

“To be frank, you’re here to solve a mystery.” The virtual brunette started, “You’ve been brought into another game.”

After how emotional and overwhelming yesterday had been, Shuichi didn’t think scared would be what he felt when he woke up the next morning, but he was trembling, his trust faltering. Would he survive this one? Would he have to-

“No! No, No! Not a killing game! I’m sorry, I should’ve phrased that better, but ‘game’ is the perfect word to describe this. You are safe.” Makoto let the words ring, something about his small stature and knowing he was the ‘Ultimate Hope’ helped Shuichi relax slightly.

He continued, “There is no easy way to say all of this… this is what I meant yesterday by how today was going to be tougher. You are in a game, a non-killing game, with a mastermind, and a set of rules that you must follow.” Makoto disappeared and was replaced by Kyoko.

Her collected looks kept Shuichi from returning to his previous panicked state, “Do not think of this mastermind as someone interested in seeing your despair. They are simply the person who contacted me and asked me to assist in setting this up. Due to your familiarity with the word, they felt that ‘mastermind’ was the appropriate title, despite its negative undertones.”

That… makes sense, Shuichi thought during the pause before the person on screen switched to Byakuya.

“Your goal is simple: you’re trying to find three answers. First, the identity of the mastermind. Second, the truth of this world. And finally, why they would make you play in the first place. For the most part, they’re letting everyone here have free reign to do as they please, but they specifically require for Kyoko and Shuichi to present the answers.” He scoffed, looking both proud and annoyed.

Before Shuichi could even react to being called out, Byakuya turned into Nagito, “You already noticed how I mentioned the day’s number, right? Today being ‘Day Negative One’. Well, the unfortunate catch is: while this is a peaceful game, you do have a time limit of thirty days… thirty days to solve those three little mysteries. I cannot wait to watch as all of you rise to the top in the hopes of discovery!” He wrapped his arms around himself and his eyes seemed distant when he faded out.

When Junko took his spot, the detective found himself flinching. It was… normal her, no poses, no ‘new personality’, just… her…

“Failure to do so… will result in every single one you getting your memories erased.”

As quickly as she had been there, she was gone and replaced by Kokichi, which only made Shuichi flinch harder, “That’s not so much of a threat as it is… boring. Your memories will be wiped, and you’ll get to live long, ignorant, peaceful, completely boring lives here. But!” The leader’s eyes sparkled familiarly, “If you discover the truth, you get a reward!” He flung his hands behind his head and winked then flickered out.

“That reward being freedom.” Chiaki said calmly, after appearing on screen, “While the failure route is peaceful, it is not necessarily your choice. Beating the mastermind’s game gives you the privileges to choose what happens to you once the game is completed. That’s worth playing for, I think.”

The detective was inclined to agree, though he was working overtime forcing himself to not theorize too much before learning all the information.

He almost jumped when Aoi started talking, “Now… the rules! Rule number one: Absolutely no killing or murder or violence! I mean it! I’m not ready to start giving the tour yet, but I promise there’s a place where you can get all your anger and aggression out if you need to!” She huffed, satisfied.

Each rule was articulated by someone else. Shuichi was impressed by Alter Ego’s ability to play so many roles.

As Kaede, making the detective grip his sheets tightly, “Rule two: You’re expected to spend your month here to the fullest! Whatever that looks like for you. There’s something here for everyone!”

As Rantaro, “Rule three: There’s not a single place that’ll be off limits to you. Please explore to your heart’s content. The only doors that lock are your rooms, actually. I’m trusting everyone. We want you to feel like you can do anything while you’re here. You’re not limited to your talents.”

As Hajime, “There is an exception to that trust. Rule four: Under no circumstances is Junko allowed to be alone, ever. She is restrained to her room. But… anyone is welcomed to see her if they so desire. You do not have to worry about falling into despair by doing so, we have secure counter measures in place. Additionally, rule four point five: Mukuro is not allowed to be the only person watching her.”

As Sonia, “Rule five: As a group you all need to agree on choosing someone of authority. The person you need to pick will play the role of a student council president of sorts. Someone with power but will not necessarily govern you. They may then pick a team to support them in whatever endeavors they decide as a president. The vote will happen after a discussion that I will lead later today.”

As himself, which made Shuichi uncomfortable, “Rule six: On the morning of Day Thirty-One, everyone will gather in an assembly where Kyoko will report our findings and call out the mastermind, who will then give a speech after being revealed. If we are successful, everyone will get their reward. If we fail, right then and there everyone’s memories will be erased, and we will forget everything, including the killing games, our school lives, our pregame lives, and the thirty days spent here.”

And as Chihiro, the AI looking like themselves again, “Finally, rule seven: The mastermind, through me, has the power to add rules at any time, which will be announced as it happens.”

It was weird. Shuichi was feeling anxious and under pressure the entire time, but he was… excited? Curious? No one was going to die, and he had a month to answer three questions alongside an even more talented detective. In fact, he caught himself thinking this might actually be… fun? But shooed that thought away immediately, aiming mentally for another topic. Would he get to see his dead friends again? Maybe? His gut told him yes. That the group of forty-eight people present were the three groups of sixteen which included many previously dead members. He felt a shiver run up his spine at the conclusion but forced himself to ignore the Schrodinger’s students. It seemed keeping his mind on track was going to be difficult, so he decided to not listen to it at all until he heard more.

In response to that determination, he was attentive and ready the next time Alter Ego spoke, “Thank you all so much in advance for listening and respecting the rules. That was the rough part of our morning. Finding out there is a game with high stakes is never easy, but what we’re going to next will make up for it!...

…Would you like to see everyone again?” The smiling AI said, pausing, letting those words ripple on Shuichi’s ears. See… everyone…

“That’s what I thought! But it might be overwhelming, so, we’re doing this one person at a time. A door is going to open every five minutes, meaning this will take four hours total, but there are plenty of ways to entertain yourself! You do not have to exit your rooms if you do not wish to, but I highly encourage it. My screen will tell you who is currently out, so you know who to expect! Do not hesitate to push that button if you need me…

Thank you.

Let’s do this!”

Alter Ego disappeared and the screen changed color to an easy-on-the-eyes dark blue with a title saying ‘WHO’S NEXT?’ in all capital white letters, but underneath it was a picture of… Shuichi.

His door opened and, despite the nerves, he eagerly went to look outside.

A corridor lined with doors was not what he was expecting to see.

Being the first one out had the perks of walking around and exploring in silence, which he enjoyed. He discovered that he was in a back corner of what appeared to be a single floor dorm. The hallway itself looped in one big circle with a set of double doors being the only way in or out of the building. Shuichi made the decision to start at the entrance and go from there as if he had just come in from the outside.

Directly in front of him was a giant lounge. It had gaming tables of all kinds: virtual, tabletop, gambling, you name it. It had luxurious couches for hanging out. There were two large televisions on other side that were both currently off, probably as to not reveal who was next to keep it a surprise. It even had a larger kitchen than the one in his bedroom that looked like a group of people could make something together.

It was incredible, but he only had three minutes left before the next person was released, so he left the lounge and went the opposite direction of his room. He noted that each door had a picture frame and a name plate on them, but they were all empty, save his own. His had an ID photo, the one that had matched his Monokubs pad back during the game, and the name plate was filled in with a pristine ‘Shuichi Saihara’ on it. In total he counted fifty doors, including his own and excluding the entrance, but only forty-eight of them had a place for the photo/nameplate combo. The other two rooms must be for something else, he concluded, then tried knocking on some random doors to no avail while he let his timer run out.

When he heard a buzzer go off, he jumped, the excitement and the nervousness mixing comfortably in his heart. Who was he about to see? Shuichi walked around quickly, then sprinted when he saw the open door that neighbored his own. He was elated when he saw the pigtailed woman in a red outfit walk out.

“M-Maki!” He barely managed to say before she could even turn to look at him. When their eyes met, though, she flashed him a soft, caring smile. He mumbled about wanting to hug her and she obliged.

When they released her voice was gentle, “It’s good to see you, though it’s only been a couple of days. We’ve got five minutes. Tell me what you found out.”

He informed her of his previous discoveries, and they checked her door to see that the empty frame now contained her picture. So, they fill in as we get released. Another way to keep it a surprise. Shuichi’s mind was already reeling. Why would the mastermind go through so much trouble to make these reunions happen?

“Do you remember anything after we walked towards the exit?” Maki’s voice pulled him back, and he shook his head. They both thought that was weird that their memories ended right at the same moment. It was not likely to be a coincidence.

Shuichi blinked, “Well if you’re here and I’m here, Himiko should be too, right? She’ll be able to give us more information. Did you hear me knocking?”

The assassin chuckled a little, which made him flinch, “No, but Alter Ego informed us after you were out that the rooms are soundproof until we are released. So, I’d be able to hear it now, but not before. Let’s not waste our time trying.” He agreed and they spent their remaining alone time discussing theories and questions. She was standing close but relaxed, and he could tell it was a sign of trust. Her entire backstory and insecurities had just been revealed to three generations of, essentially, strangers and he cemented his determination that he wanted to make sure this feeling of safety that Alter Ego left did not disappear.

It seemed too soon that the next buzzer would go off, and the two began looking around.

On the opposite side of the building, Himiko was blinking sleepily and adjusting to the new environment. Shuichi and Maki ran up to her, confused as to why the two of them got to be neighbors, but the mage was all the way over here. They caught her up on the layout and showed her around while chatting about the game.

She informed them that her memory also cut short after walking towards the dome. That settles it, we either have collected memory loss, or this happened right after that. Shuichi pondered.

“So… who’s next, then? D-Did someone else survive? There’s only a minute left.” Himiko put a hand on her hat and tugged it down at the question. It made Shuichi’s heart hurt, reminding him of a time he used to hide behind his own brim to not look into other people’s eyes. She had come so far since the start of their killing game, but the anxiety was clearly getting to her. He reached out his hand in front of her, a slight gesture of consent, and she looked up at him and took it. Her face warmed with a thankful smile and they let go. She continued, “It was, nyeh… weird… to… hear everyone’s voices again. The computer got my hopes up. I-I think… nyeeeh… uhm… I think they might be here. Alive.”

Both Maki and Shuichi paused. Each had considered the possibility in their own time, but hearing it aloud, knowing the three were on the same page, made it seem real.

And when Keebo walked out, pristine and shiny like he had never exploded in the sky, their theory was proven correct. They were going to get to see everyone. Everyone. And the three survivors all knew what the other was feeling. They were going to reunite with the people who changed them, the people they loved… the people they believed they had lost forever. They were going to see them all.

Shuichi trembled as he approached the robot. In his mind, it was only two days ago that the academy was being destroyed, but, knowing about the deleted memories during the previous killing games, he had no idea how much time had passed between creating the exit and now. After weakly outstretching his arms, Keebo nodded, and Shuichi held him tighter than he had anything else in his entire life, to which the recipient blushed. Himiko joined soon after and Maki went up and laid a hand gently on his shoulder.

The four of them stayed like that as Shuichi said, “What is the last thing you remember?”

“With the lack of a voice in my head, I was making my own decisions. I put you all underneath that rock to protect you and then I flew straight into the dome. I don’t mean to frighten you, but I remember ceasing functionality. When I awoke in my room yesterday it felt as though I had just been jolted by a defibrillator.” He paused, noting the other’s concern and then said, “I-It wasn’t painful! It was shocking, and I knew I shouldn’t be alive, but I requested Alter Ego and we talked, robot-to-robot, and they made me feel better.” Everyone seemed satisfied with the answer and eventually ended their embrace.

They caught Keebo up on the dorm and walked him around to show off the more interesting spots, and when they were done and near the end of their time he said, “So do we know who is next?”

Shuichi rested a finger on his chin and said, “I’m not sure. So far, we have three survivors and the last person to die.” He took a moment to recall the previous day’s informative video and made a small ‘aha!’ noise, “It’s not a large enough sample size to say for sure, yet, but we’re perfectly in a reverse order pattern right now! I was the last one to present my story yesterday-“

“And I was the one before that. Himiko before me. Keebo before her.” Maki nodded, understanding, “I think it’s sound enough that we can test it out, but, if that’s true…” Her stare got cold.

The group stopped walking abruptly. It seemed like none of them wanted to finish her statement, so Maki continued, “What do you suppose we do about her?”

“Alter Ego specifically said no killing! I do not think she could do anything!” Keebo said quickly, but there was a hint of fear behind his words. He puffed up his chest like he was going to say more, but when the loud bzzzzzzzt was heard, Shuichi knew it was too late.

As the door creaked open, Tsumugi walked out confident, poised, and ready to be interrogated. She held her hands up without resistance, and Maki had no problem restraining her and hissed, “What did you do this time?”

The blue-haired woman flashed a plain smile, “I know you don’t trust me, but this is not the work of Team Danganronpa. This is a different mastermind out of my control. I’m harmless.” And, unfortunately, Shuichi believed she was telling the truth. That would make the answers too easy.

Despite that, he walked up to her, feigning confidence, and looked her eye-to-eye, “Tsumugi, I’ve beaten you once, and I can do it again. Especially if everyone is here with me!”

Her face fell for the first time, “Really, Makoto Naegi? That game is over, and I died, remember? Crushed to death, just like your precious Kokichi.” He faltered. Was she trying to get a rise out of him? Kokichi didn’t mean anything like that to him. So why did that sting so bad?

Try as he might, he couldn’t bring himself to respond and Keebo pressed a hand to his shoulder, taking over the roll of interrogator, “This is not about him; this is about you. You did die. Intentional or not, it was because of me, and I’d like to apologize for that. However, you cannot blame us for being cautious. What did you feel when you woke up yesterday? Where does your memory cut out?”

She looked Shuichi up and down for a moment with a slight scowl, then switched her attention to Keebo, “I was standing with Monokuma, perfectly in place for that rock to fall down. I awoke yesterday with a jolt and it felt like only minutes had passed.”

“That’s the same as Keebo,” Maki said, not releasing her grip on the cosplayer’s wrists, and after a pause she said, “I saw that look earlier, Shuichi, you think she’s innocent here.”

Tsumugi’s attention turned back to him with wide, confused eyes, almost regretful from how she glared earlier, “You do!? You believe me? Even after everything…”

“I… I do. I don’t think Alter Ego would’ve let you out if they thought you’d be dangerous…” His entire body wanted to look away from her eyes, but he thought it would be a step backwards, so he pressed on, “There’s no cameras here. No crew. No audience. You’re just the Ultimate Cosplayer here, like the friend we originally made. It would make no sense for you to be behind a peaceful game like this one. Maki, let her go.” And the assassin did begrudgingly, but she trusted Shuichi.

With her newfound freedom, Tsumugi gently ran her fingers over where she had been held. She chuckled slightly, “I wrote you to be a pushover, Shuichi. I’m… glad… you proved me wrong.”

Though he was insulted at the statement, he chose to ignore it, and told her about the layout. When she heard about the lounge, she seemed genuinely excited and bounded over there quickly since they were close by. Maki was still tense and alert, but the other three began to relax as Tsumugi seemed to be… normal. Shuichi wasn’t ready to forgive her, but just for a moment, he thought she could be their friend again one day. He shushed his brain and approached Maki while Tsumugi ranted about how incredible the gaming selection was to Himiko and Keebo, who at least listened to her.

He didn’t have to say anything as their eyes met. The time was almost up.

Timidly, she outstretched a hand to him, and he held it tightly. She was shaking. It was a thing so unlike Maki that it almost made him gasp, but he refused.

“He’s gonna be so happy to see us.” Was all he could say before the loud buzzer went off.

Together they made their way around the building, looking for a filled in picture frame. The other three trailed behind them, though noticeably walking apart. It was an appreciated conscious effort to make sure that the first people the new arrival would see would be his sidekicks.

When they heard a large ‘ehem!’ they all ran towards the sound and saw Kaito there smiling. He looked healthy and as upbeat as the day they met him, and the reuniting trio embraced and began sobbing.

Kaito squeezed tight and he gushed over and over how proud he was that they not only made it to the end of the game but believed in each other enough to destroy it from the inside out. He told them how much he loved them and how he thought of them, not space, in his last moments.

Maki then grabbed the arm that she had shot and cradled it in her chest, noticing that there was no injury. Kaito beamed and put his forehead to hers while still holding Shuichi close and ruffling his hair, “You thought that a silly poison-arrow-and-cough combo was going to keep Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars down!? What do you take me for, an idiot!?” He was smiling from ear to ear.

“Yes!” Maki screamed, and Kaito gave Shuichi an apologetic glance before letting him go and placing his free hand on the crying woman’s cheek as she whispered, “You’re an idiot but you’re here… and alive… and I don’t know how… and…” She bumbled for a while and only stopped talking when she released his hand and he started running it through her hair.

When she had calmed down and was staying in Kaito’s chest, he finally acknowledged the other non-sidekick people in the room, saying his hellos and his thanks for ending the game. He paused on Tsumugi for a moment and said, “I dunno about all this mastermind stuff. The Tsumugi I know wouldn’t do something like that!” And everyone chuckled, relieving some of the tension. That was the Kaito they knew.

Time was running out, and, remembering who was next, Shuichi was doing everything to distract himself. He told Kaito about the dorm, the lounge, the picture frames, and the release schedule in a matter of seconds.

The astronaut picked up on his sidekick’s worry and sighed, “I can go see him first, if you’d like?” Maki huffed an angry ‘no’ into his chest but released him anyway. He laughed heartily and turned to look at Shuichi to see his answer.

“N-No.” He mumbled, “I want to… apologize…”

“After all you went through, I’m surprised you’re ready!” Keebo interrupted, turning his attention to Kaito, “Are you not scared of what he might try to do?”

He thought for a moment and said, “I’m more interested in making Shuichi feel comfortable than my own desire to not see him again. But, watching the videos, I know now he was trying to do stuff for the right reasons. I’m not ready to be all buddy-buddy with him or anything but, in his own… lying way, he did try to save us. Maki and me, especially. He could’ve let us both die in that trial, but he didn’t, so I’ve at least gotta thank him.” And with that the buzzer went off and the group began walking.

It was too soon for Shuichi to see the door next to Maki’s open, revealing Kokichi in his full DICE gear: Hat, cape, grin and signature scarf.

He marched proudly down the hall to meet them, and stopped in front of Tsumugi, immediately throwing his hands behind his head and cooing, “Well hi there, mastermind~ You’re officially my new target, Miss Suddenly Interesting! C’mon, tell me! Tell me! What was planning a killing game like!?”

Everyone was immediately uncomfortable. Maki was being restrained by Kaito who just sighed, already slightly regretting his kind words earlier. Keebo and Himiko looked annoyed as they remembered some of the torment they had faced during their time at the academy. Tsumugi was cold, expressionless, looking down on him, but Shuichi…

Kokichi glanced around to see the mischief he had caused, but jumped when he saw the detective, “What the hell!? Why are you crying!?”

As if coming out of a daze, Shuichi looked at him confused. Crying? That must be a lie. I’m not- but as he touched his own face, he felt the wet streaks that lined it and stared forward in shocked silence.

When Kokichi noticed everyone just… standing there… he sighed, “Jesus Christ. I’m flattered, but Junko Five Point Three over here is gonna start changing the rules if you don’t get it togeth-“

“I-I’m… s-sorry for what I said!” Shuichi blurted out, embarrassed at how weak he must’ve just looked. He wanted to confront Kokichi properly and was frustrated he was showing this much emotion without understanding why. He furiously wiped the tears away.

But it shut the leader up quick. Shuichi saw his face get angry, very angry, for a split second before returning to his gleeful self, “Psssh, water under the hydraulic press~ We’re all friends again, right, right!? Just a one-time murderer, a many-time murderer, a professor’s toy, a mastermind, a brilliant and selfless leader, a boring detective… and Himiko!”

“Nyeh!? Why wasn’t there anything for me?” Himiko said, shocked, but no one answered her.

Instead, Kaito spoke up, still gripping Maki’s shoulders. He was clearly agitated, but after all he had learned, he was starting to fit some pieces into place, “C’mon, man. We’re being really genuine here. Shuichi said he’s sorry, and I’m saying thank you. You saved Maki’s life. In a way you also saved mine. So… just… can you be honest at least until your time is up? Look at Shuichi, dude.”

Kokichi rolled his eyes and returned to look at the bluenette and was taken aback by the tearless determination in the detective’s golden eyes. It rendered him speechless again, and that was enough for Shuichi who said, “I don’t need him to be honest. He can lie all he wants. I need him to listen to me.”

“What makes you think you have any right to-“

“No. Just listen. What you did was horrible, but I shouldn’t have said those awful things to you. Even if loneliness was what you strived for… I still wish…” He cut himself off, not really understanding why he wanted to say ‘I still wish I could’ve proven my words wrong’, so he opted for, “…I need to make sure you know that, while I can’t take back what I said, I’m still very sorry that I hurt you.”

Without missing a beat, Kokichi spat, “What I strived for? Do you suddenly know everything about me? You think you hurt me? Pfft, don’t be so self-absorbed, Shuichi.”

Hearing his name instead of the nickname he had grown accustomed to made Shuichi back down, crestfallen. He had really meant the sentiment, but he knew Kokichi was playing the same secretive games he had always been playing, and direct apologies wouldn’t work here.

Remembering the last time they fought, he wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice. This was… for the sake of his guilt… his apology… right?

“I would like to.” Shuichi said, then, realizing he had been a little vague considering all that was yelled at him, reiterated, “Err, I would like to get to know about you. Now that I have the chance.”

Seeing the attempt, Kaito added, “Yeah! Me too! I don’t want you feeling like you can’t talk to anyone this time!” With Keebo and Himiko tentatively agreeing afterwards.

Kokichi had not reacted to Shuichi’s statement, showing the signature blank look like he was listening intently, but the moment Kaito started talking the leader’s hat lowered, shadowing his face save a wicked grin.

He looked like he was about to retort, but Shuichi didn’t give him the chance, “Would you like me to show you around?” And, wordlessly, Kokichi nodded, and bounded towards Tsumugi, purposefully keeping his distance from the two men.

It hurt Shuichi a little, but he chalked that up to coasting off the emotional adrenaline high and focused instead on pointing out all they had learned with the small amount of time they had left. Kokichi concurred, honestly, that he felt a shock upon walking up, but did not remember the feeling of dying, despite the lack of a lapse in time between the two events. Then, he fawned over the game room and stayed there as the next door opened.

Everyone else walked around looking for Gonta, but as his room was close to the entrance it took seconds to find him. He was immediately rushed by most of the party and embraced warmly. They spoke of how happy they were to see him again.

Gonta seemed very overwhelmed but supportive saying, “Pretty person in screen told Gonta all about world! Ego used big words, but they would explain to Gonta, and called Gonta Ultimate Gentleman!” and the group was more than inclined to agree.

With patience and kindness, they taught him what they needed to and emphasized that Miu would be next; that he would get to see her, alive. He was so happy and excited that he started to cry, continuously hugging everyone around, though Maki politely declined the affection.

For a moment, Shuichi considered apologizing on Kokichi’s behalf when Gonta realized he should be there and wasn’t, but it was actually Himiko who made the effort to do so, “He’s not quite ready to see you, I think his hiding proves that. But I also think that’s saying something, nyeh, ‘cause the Kokichi I knew would come up here and make toilet paper jokes and make you feel bad. It must’ve been my magic, so I’m sure he’ll come say something to you eventually.”

Which the entomologist happily accepted and said, “Thank you for magic! Gonta want Kokichi to come on own terms. Gonta want Kokichi to want to apologize, not lie.”

The last thing that happened before Miu’s door opened right across from them was Gonta confirming his memory ended at his death and that waking had felt like ‘when butterfly releases from cocoon struck by lightning!’ and the buzzer rang out.

She stepped out with vigor, “Where the fuck is that grape-ass pissant cocksucker?”

“It’s good to see you too, Miu.” Maki said, though she couldn’t help but smile at the insult. She was trying to not hate Kokichi too much, but she could enjoy someone else doing so.

Shuichi noticed the tone in Maki’s voice and shot her a joking glare before turning to Miu, “I-If I take you to him are you going to hurt him?” And his ears were filled with loud cackling.

“No, no, nothing like that. A gorgeous girl genius like me knows when to say somethin’ for tryin’ to murder someone” She said it so casually, “but I want him to apologize to me, too! You too, Gonta!”

Hearing his name, he began sobbing again and went to hug her, “Gonta so, so sorry for killing Miu! Gonta did not know he did it until trial! Thought that killing Miu was the only way to save you! Gonta… idiot…”

If this had been during the killing game, Miu would’ve thrown a fit, but now, she just let herself be in his arms, “Woah! Hey, hey, it’s ok big guy! This isn’t how I thought my first time being embraced by such thick muscles would go but… it’s… nice… um… thank you… and I forgive you… and… I’m only gonna say that once!” She gently pushed him off of her, embarrassed, “So… save it to your memory and use it to masterbate later!” To which he happily pulled away and replied ‘Gonta will!’ not knowing the meaning behind the words and no one felt particularly inclined to correct him.

Once Miu was done throwing a hysterical laughing fit over that, she followed Shuichi to the lounge and got caught up on what the others knew. It was a short walk, but she still had time to talk about how she felt her body slowly die and then woke up excited because she thought a vibrator was inside her and was disappointed when that wasn’t the case.

“Aww, too bad the slut muffin was too busy coming back to life after I plotted her death to enjoy getting her ugly, disgusting rocks off.” Kokichi sneered at her affectionately, hearing the story at the tail end. His grin dropped when she bolted and picked him up by the collar.

She shook him violently, “How’s that any way to treat the babe of your fucking dreams, Cock-Itchy? Don’t you wanna be a little nicer to the flawless inventor that helped you beat the game? C’mon, your boyfriend has a praise kink, right? Try it on me!” She didn’t relent or release the whole time, and only she could feel him momentarily shudder at the word ‘boyfriend’, to which she excitedly jostled him more.

Panicking, Keebo ran up and grabbed her, “Miu, stop! You said you wouldn’t hurt him!” And she gently put the leader back down, having the time of her life.

He was dizzy but unharmed and he said, “Fuck off, whore, I don’t get off on choking like you do,” while dramatically falling onto the couch.

“Apology accepted!” Miu claimed excitedly, then immediately turned to Keebo and started touching him to find something to mess with or fix, despite the robot’s clear embarrassment.

The group laughed together at how normal everything seemed. Leave it to Miu to bring everyone’s spirits up despite her attitude.

After a moment Tsumugi chimed in and said, “So, are we going to talk about our next arrival beforehand?” which dampened the mood significantly. No one had an answer for her, and time ran out.

They heard Korekiyo’s door open and made their way to the sound. They noticed how close his, Himiko, Miu, Gonta and Kaito’s rooms were, but still thought the pattern to be inconsistent and weird.

He slowly exited: trembling, reserved, scary. His mask was still on, but his pupils were small and scurrying. When he spotted Shuichi, he let out a large exhale and the detective shrunk. He knew those eyes – the ones of someone who hated him relentlessly for getting them caught. It was happening again, this time from someone he once trusted. He started to hyperventilate and, seeing this, Himiko stepped forward and approached Korekiyo with no fear.

“There’s a pattern to everyone’s releases. The women you killed are going to be next and you’re going to apologize.” She said with confidence and Korekiyo’s intimidating demeanor changed to one of confusion. She smiled and continued, “You’re also going to take off that mask and remove your makeup. Nyeh, I’d rather use my magic to do it but… I don’t want to force you… if you really can’t do it.”

For a moment, it seemed like he was going to get angry again, but Kaito chimed in with, “We can help you mourn your sister in other ways! I didn’t really understand why you murdered for her, but I know at least enough now that we will get you through this!” Followed by murmurs of agreement.

His optimism was infectious, and Korekiyo lifted one of his hands to his mask, hesitating to touch it at the very last second. He looked so sad and conflicted, half of him not wanting to let go, the other half wanting to believe in that optimism after being rejected during his execution.

Tsumugi chimed in softly, “You’re still you. No matter the choices you make, good or bad, you’re still your own person. You’ll never lose yourself. That’s how I designed you.”

After processing her words, he walked back into his dorm cautiously and returned maskless with his face washed mumbling, “I can’t promise it’ll last but for now… I’ll comply…” and Himiko went up and patted his arm, to which he seemed to smile sadly. Others slowly began to do the same, not showing too much affection, but letting him know they were there.

They caught him up on the layout, picture frame, etc., which seemed to distract him and get his mind off things. They tried to get him to talk about the possibilities of still being alive, and he seemed to smile. His passions had been chosen by his sister, but it still fascinated him, and talking about it made him feel a sense of normalcy again.

Himiko was still by his side when Tenko’s buzzer went off, and they found her over on the complete opposite side of the hall. When she walked out, it took no time at all for Himiko to break down and run into her arms.

She had been so strong, standing up to Korekiyo, vouching for Kokichi, and it had come wallowing out being held in Tenko’s embrace. The Ultimate Aikido Master fell to her knees, grabbed the witch hat off and cried into the smaller woman’s red hair.

“I’m… so… happy, Himiko. I’m so happy you made it to the end. I’m so happy I’m here with you again. I’m…” The two embraced tighter. The world around them disappearing.

Sniffles were heard around the pair as some people began to feel emotional. Kaito and Maki were holding hands while Miu gently played with Keebo’s hair, knowing he would be crying if he could. Shuichi felt his own hand ache with a desire to be held, and he immediately thought of reaching out to the purple-haired man across the room which made him shiver. He physically shook that hand out and went back to focusing on the scene.

Korekiyo started to make a couple of steps in their direction to which Tsumugi said, “Wait! Her distrust of men-“

“It’s ok.” Tenko started, not moving from her position, “I… can tell he’s being less of a degenerate right now. Himiko was standing next to him when I opened my door, right? And I trust her completely.” She started planting small feathers of kisses across the small mage’s forehead and the two giggled.

The anthropologist got on his hands and knees and touched his head to the ground. He didn’t say anything aloud, but it was understood as a gesture of trying. Tenko cautiously reached her hand out and placed it calmly in his hair and said, “I don’t… I can’t forgive you, yet. You… you killed all those women…”

“I know, but I promised Himiko I would do this, and I will do the same for Angie, next.” And got up and brushed himself off after a moment.

Tenko looked confused on how he knew Angie was next, and the group helped the two girls up and informed her of their situation. She hugged Himiko tightly one last time before letting her go and said, “I remember a pain in my neck after lifting off the ground, but… I couldn’t ruin the chance for Himiko to talk to Angie again! I thought I had just passed out… when I woke up to an electric shock and it was dark, I thought I was still under the cage. It took me a while to process everything, and Alter Ego talked me through it, so I was really excited to see you all again!”

With the only other women being Maki, Miu and Tsumugi there wasn’t much embracing after that, but everyone did get to say hi and Tenko seemed noticeably less aggressive. She hovered around her mage but was clearly giving her plenty of space. The only time she reinitiated contact was when Himiko grabbed her hand and said, “Let’s go see Angie.”

Bzzzzzzzzt. When they heard stretching and an upbeat ‘praise be to Atua’ they followed it, finding the pigtailed artist smiling at them happily at the furthest point from the entrance. She gleefully bounded up to them and hummed a loving, “Atua has blessed me with a second chance at life, and he has done the same for you! There is no need for this ‘game’, Shuichi, the mastermind has already been decided!”

Knowing the answer wasn’t that simple, Shuichi replied with a kind, “If I figure out that is the truth within thirty days, then I’ll happily present Atua as the mastermind.” Angie nodded in agreement and went to reunite with her student council.

She grabbed Himiko and gently started petting her hair, saying this and that about how good it was that her god’s followers reunited. She finished with, “even if you are murderers, even if you create a world of despair, Atua will never look down on you so long as you believe in him,” making direct eye contact with both Tsumugi and Korekiyo.

Neither of them fumbled. Tsumugi did not say anything other than, “Thank you, Atua” and Korekiyo returned to his apologetic stance, saying nothing.

Seeming satisfied, Angie dismissed them both and returned to Himiko who was happily giving her attention. Eventually, Tenko made her way over and apologized too, and the two shook hands though it was clear there was still tension in the area.

They informed the artist of the layout and such and she mumbled, ‘yes, I have already been told, but he is proud of your work, so keep speaking’ and other phrases like it. She remembered being struck in the head and then blessed with spark of life from her deity, and Tsumugi reassured her she felt the same thing, to other’s disdain.

Eventually the timer ran out, and while everyone was initially very excited for Kirumi to return, they were frozen in place as she marched towards them with fury in her eyes.

She went straight for Tsumugi and grabbed her shoulders screaming, “Are they real!? I watched the videos yesterday and Alter Ego won’t tell me a damn thing! Are my people real!? Was I really helping the prime minister of Japan!? I don’t care about some stupid game or motive just…” It was messy, attitude completely unfit for the pristine maid, but it was the same look she had when she tried to escape her own fate. She crumpled to the floor, holding Tsumugi’s skirt, crying. She was human, she was barely an adult, and she was scared that everything she knew was fake.

Shuichi immediately looked around the room and saw three people specifically eye Tsumugi. Maki and Korekiyo were gripping their sleeves tightly in anticipation. If their stories were fabricated, there’s a chance neither of them killed anyone before the game, he quickly thought. The third person was Kokichi, who was standing far enough away that no one would be looking at him save a nosy detective. Thinking he was alone, Shuichi picked up a twinkle of fear in the leader’s eyes and decided to turn away before he could catch him staring. Kokichi… would lose his team, his family. It would make him the leader of nothing… I… I can’t even imagine what that would be like. The thought made him tense up, awaiting the answer.

With a dramatic sigh Tsumugi picked up Kirumi off the ground and dusted her off, “I do not have an answer that would satisfy any of you. As far as my memories go, then, yes, it’s a complete fabrication that I helped write. You all had completely different lives before, just big fans, and you all auditioned and I created your backstories and personality. But who’s to say my memory wasn’t fabricated as well? I could’ve been the second survivor of Rantaro’s game turned mastermind. Personally, thinking the latter makes me feel better about my actions. Maybe I was once the Ultimate Bartender and I made it to the end of a killing game where I didn’t murder anyone and watched my friends sacrifice themselves in the name of hope?

If you don’t like how your character was written, you’re here now, and I have no power. Change it for all I care. That’s what I was telling Korekiyo earlier, ‘you’ll never lose yourself’, even if it’s not the person I made. Though you can’t change your talents, you can change your personality and perspective. I fully plan on making costumes in my time here if there is truly ‘something here for everyone’, but maybe, I’ll make a drink or two, and see what life could’ve been like in a different timeline. Personally, I’m going to wait until I have all the information from Alter Ego, then make my decision on who I’m going to be.

Are you going to break, Kirumi? Are you going to spend thirty days of a second chance at life pining away over a reality that might not even be real? What’s the downside if it’s true? Those people watched you kill someone and get killed for it. There are clearly no cameras watching us this time, so they wouldn’t know you’re breathing now. The decision is all yours.” She patted Kirumi’s shoulders, puffing them back up, treating it delicately. It was one of her favorite outfits she had made. Tsumugi said nothing more and waited for a reaction from the crowd.

They sat in stunned silence. It became painfully clear that the others had been ignoring those thoughts originally but were glad it was brought up.

Once there were only two minutes remaining, Shuichi looked at Kaito desperately and he rose to the occasion. He gently messaged Maki’s arms where her nails had been digging into her skin during the monologue and said, “See? What did I tell you!? I believed in Tsumugi then, and I believe in her now! I’m alive right now, somehow. I get to see my friends! I get to try to go to space, again! The last thing I’ll ever get to see won’t be Makiroll’s crying face or the inside of a spaceship trying to execute me! So, cheer up, everyone! We’ve got three more people to see! Do you really want them to be greeted with fears and doubt!?” He paused, exhaling and moved his hands to Maki’s shoulders then finished with, “Kirumi would you like to know what we’ve found out?”

The maid looked both collected and mortified at the same time, and eventually she nodded slowly and had everything explained to her. Her death story lined up with the others, and the buzzer went off to reveal Ryoma’s door right where they were standing.

He exited with a huff and said, “You don’t have to say anything. Alter Ego let me listen in. I’m real glad they did, otherwise I might not have come out. You all know about my history, now. The idea that it might be fake is one of the best things that could’ve happened to me. I think… I’m going to make this second life count.”

Kirumi fell to the floor again, but this time it was to embrace the man who had let her kill him. Many people followed suit, leaving just Tsumugi, Maki and Kokichi standing.

When they were done, there was a decent amount of time left since they didn’t have to give the usual details. Ryoma talked about the drowning and waking up to electric shock casually and ended his story with, “I don’t mean to kill the mood but… Shuichi are you going to be alright?”

Every eye turned to him and gave him sympathetic stares, waiting for his answer. It was nerve wracking, but he understood why they did it. He stood up shakily, trying to feign confidence, but almost fell back down. Kokichi, being the closest, grabbed his hand before he collapsed and pulled him up before releasing and taking a few steps back. It was only a moment, but that warm touch calmed Shuichi’s nerves significantly and he exhaled.

“I… I want to see her…” He started, “I can’t promise I’ll keep my composure but… she never got to see me after her words. She didn’t get to see me take off my hat and seek the truth. All she wanted was to stop the killing game and… and I did it! I…” His body started to shake again, but when he saw everyone’s kind smiles, he shrugged it off, “No. I’m not going to be alright, and that’s fine. I want to see her more than anything in the world.”

Nods of agreement and encouragement rang out as they all started to get off the floor. Kaito pulled Shuichi in for a quick hug and then flashed a thumbs up. Any second now a buzzer was going to go off and Kaede was going to be in their lives again. No matter how anxious he was, Shuichi was going to be there for her the whole time.

Nothing in the world could’ve kept his heart from near leaping out of his throat when time was up and began walking: one step in front of the other, the group following close behind.

Two, however, held back.

Kokichi’s arm was stretched forward, like he was trying to grab something. His face deadpan and emotionless. He could either close his fist, signifying that he wanted to obtain what he was reaching for, or, he could let his arm fall away, and let the desire go off on its own to potentially be grabbed by someone else. He believed no one was watching this debate where he stood posed, indecisive, but nearly jumped out of his pants when a hand grabbed the other one that was still at his side.

Still straining to stay like that, Kokichi looked next to him and saw Miu staring straight ahead towards their classmates. There was a tear welling up in one of her eyes, but every other part of her seemed resolved.

“Close that fucking hand, shrimp.” She said in the most serious and quiet voice he had ever heard from her but didn’t do what she demanded. His arm was starting to hurt, and he couldn’t bring himself to speak, so she continued, “If you let Skrewichi get away from you then… I’ll never forgive you.”

Sighing, he clamped his fingers together to make a fist right where he had been watching Shuichi walk away. After, he looked at Miu with fury, frustrated that someone had seen an honest side of him, “Why? Do you want him, skank?”

“Fuckin’… of course not I’d break that man’s body between my incredible thighs.” She huffed, releasing his hand and going towards the group, “But… he might take something that I want. Something I never even got the chance to get to know. If that happens… we’re the ones who are going to get hurt.”

He scoffed, offended, and thought of a million comebacks, but she was already far enough that if he said something everyone would hear it and know their conversation. She filed in and somehow made her way to be the next person that Kaede would get to greet after the detective, and Kokichi finally clicked what she was trying to say. He pushed forward, looking at his still-closed hand, and relaxed the entire tension in his body.

When Kaede’s door opened, both she and Shuichi started sobbing uncontrollably, and latched onto one other. She stayed like that, tears flowing into his shoulder while he gently messaged her back with one hand and steadied her with another for a while. Emotions were high everywhere, and there were only a few dry eyes in the group by the time someone finally said something.

The pianist pushed herself away slightly and sniffled, “I can’t believe you did all of that. You discovered the mastermind and took down the entire franchise I… I’m so proud of you!”

Stammering, completely in his own world he whimpered, “You’re here!? You’re actually here and you’re real and you’re alive and…” Before he could say more Kaede shushed him and gripped him tighter.

He wiped one of his eyes after a while and mumbled, “I’m only here because you gave me courage. I never stopped thinking about our conversation. I thought of you every trial. You were always there to guide me, helping to make sure we got there. I even needed you to prove your own innocence.”

She started petting his head, looking at him with adoration, “No, Shuichi, you did all of that yourself. We might’ve helped and taught the lessons, but you made the decision to trust us.” And they embraced once more until she whispered, “I only have a few minutes to see everyone, we can talk more later. We have a lot to catch up on!”

They pulled apart, Shuichi crying and stammering. Kaede coaxed him and went to talk to Miu, pulling her close for just a moment and giggling in her ear saying, “See? Look at how many friends you made! I knew you could do it!” Reminding the inventor of the conversation they had shared alone during their time together at the academy. Once Miu was as pink as her dress, Kaede ran a hand through the genius’s hair before moving on, making her squeak softly.

One by one she made her way around the circle to anyone who wished to speak to her but stopped with a minute to spare at Tsumugi.

“You and I will be having a long discussion when we have a moment.” Kaede said, confidently. There was no malice hidden underneath the words and eventually the cosplayer agreed.

Showing her around was a speedy process as multiple people were trying to get more conversations in with her. They were all talking over the buzzer when the last person walked out of their room.

Gently making sure no one was in her way, Kaede ran towards Rantaro, slamming into his chest and sobbing intensely for the second time in less than ten minutes. He was surprised but didn’t pull back as he said, “You didn’t kill me.”

She looked up at him, pink eyes sparkling brighter than anything in the room as tears fell. Eventually, she repeated, “I didn’t kill you!” And started cry-laughing into his shirt, holding onto it like it was the only thing that mattered in the entire world.

Even if the statement was true, everyone could tell that she felt guilty, and they gave her some time before the entire group joined in a large hug. Kaito brought Maki in, Miu brought Kokichi in, Himiko brought Korekiyo in and Kirumi brought Tsumugi in.

Sixteen students stood, holding one another, finally reunited after being forced to murder one another as a spectacle.

They were too caught up in the moment to tell Rantaro about the layout, frames, or Tsumugi’s speech, and before anyone realized it, his five minutes were up.

Chihiro’s voice could be heard throughout the hall when they said, “Thank you, 79th Class! That was very touching! I’m sad that only I got to watch it happen… but please start making your way to the lounge!”

The sobbing mess of an embrace quickly fell apart as people started to leave, the ones that were pulled in especially, and eventually the whole group found themselves at the requested location.

Both televisions lit up, revealing Alter Ego to no one’s surprise. They continued, “Now that all of you are done, we have two more to go! I ask that you please keep your voices down so that they can have the same experiences that you just did reuniting with one another. If anyone asks you a question, you’re more than welcome to answer, but please, do not distract them.” They all nodded, understanding.

“Great! Then here we go!”

The televisions turned back off.

Bzzzzzzzzzt.

The first door of the second round opened wide and Hajime Hinata scanned the corridor with his heterochromatic eyes.

Chapter Text

Log

Day: -2
Perspective: Hinata, Hajime

-x-

“Good morning, everyone! I’ll give you a few minutes to get up! It’s 10 a.m.! Currently Day Negative Two! We’ve got a lot to discuss!”

For a fleeting moment as he awoke, Hajime felt an intense, searing pain to the middle of his forehead before he heard a quiet, bored ‘ouch’ echo throughout his own brain. The headache subsided near immediately after its initial spike and he started to regain composure. Ah, so he was reconnecting with Izuru. Reconnecting… they were in the same body now. Hajime was in control of motor functions, which confused him greatly. For all intents and purposes this should be Izuru’s body but, so far as Hajime could remember with this currently spotty memory, Izuru had only ever requested control when needed. It was weird… strange…

I’m not an ‘it’, Hajime. Ugh, that’s right, he also talked a lot, I meant the situation! Not you!

But the headache had been odd, they hadn’t been separated since…

Suddenly, Hajime remembered this wasn’t where he had fallen asleep last night, and immediately shot up and looked around, noticing only the bright tv hosting a smiling face where he assumed the voice that woke him up came from.

Recalling a moment in the Neo World Program, he recognized Alter Ego. They were kind, albeit timid, and they let him navigate around Monokuma to talk to Makoto Naegi of Future Foundation, who would eventually hop into the program himself to save everyone. Now that was someone who really deserved the title of Ultimate Hope, wasn’t it?

Before he could go down that mental doom spiral, he heard the voice again, pulling him back, “Ah! S-Sorry! I’m still giving you some time! But you’re totally safe alone in a dark room right now! Please be patient and do not panic! I’ll be turning the lights on in just a few moments as to let the late risers have some more time!” And it was only then that Hajime noticed the near total darkness save the television and a light from under the door.

He sighed. Despite already slightly knowing and trusting Alter Ego, Hajime was skeptical by nature, and he found himself more irritated than upset at being… kidnapped? Had he been kidnapped? It doesn’t matter. Right, he just needed to figure out how to get back to the pods so he could keep working.

Of course! The pods! Oh, good lord, how could he forget!? He had been trying, and failing, to open the pods that hosted his comatose friends for ninety-nine days now – a little over three months.

From there, memories started to fall in. The five survivors were still on Jabberwork Island while the three members of Future Foundation left by boat to be, he assumed, fired. Sonia and Soda had been taking turns diving into Gundham’s mind palace, where they constantly cooed over how it was both dark and spooky, yet fun and fluffy. Fuyuhiko and Akane were making an incredible island surveillance duo, making sure the group was truly alone, where they switched off having the former work through the night, and the latter work through the day. Finally, Hajime had been working on his own project. With all his talents, he was confident that he could recreate Chiaki with little to no trouble but couldn’t find the location of her memories anywhere. Byakuya, the original Byakuya, told him over a discreet Morse code message that as far as the progeny knew, a file to store her memories had never been created, but Hajime firmly believed he could find them.

This system had been working wonderfully, especially since the group had decided that at 9 a.m. everyone would gather for breakfast and hang out for an hour. This was done so that no one ever felt lonely. With the alternating shifts, and Hajime being on his own, there was a concern that no one would see each other, so, collectively, they agreed to one hour a day to keep each other grounded and together.

“Thank you for waiting! The lights are coming on in 3… 2… 1…”

Click.

Alter Ego’s voice caught his attention again and, after letting his eyes adjust, Hajime looked around curiously.

Despite both his skepticism and his irritation, he couldn’t help but smile at what he was looking at. Being in rather large room with a personal bathroom and his own kitchen was already one thing, but his attention was drawn completely to the other half of the room. He had an average sized bookshelf that seemed to carry books on many different topics, all of which he was sure Izuru already knew. Next to it, there was a plain office desk with a plush office chair that seemed rather ordinary. On the wall above it was a whole bunch of hand-drawn pictures of him and his friends. There was no way any of them were real, but they looked almost like photographs of happy moments that had never happened between any of them. Despite this, Hajime held them with the utmost regard, treasuring them immediately. He was especially drawn to the large portrait in the middle that looked like all of them on risers during a class photo, and he was there, included. It made his heart well up. He would’ve absolutely cried if Izuru hadn’t stopped him.

He was entirely thankful when he heard a small chuckle from the television behind him, “D-Do you like your rooms? We designed them especially for you! U-Uhm, if you have any complaints you can bring them up to me later! I promise! Oh a-and I’m sorry if you already tried… you can’t escape these rooms quite yet… but you will be able to, soon. Please bear me some more of your time.”

You should trust them. Hajime scoffed at the voice. It wasn’t so much that he didn’t trust Alter Ego, he just… needed more information first.

Then, the virtual AI came out and began talking about forty-eight people, and safety, and death. Hajime had not died in his game – a punishment worthy of the mastermind, right? Stay alive and fix your mistakes. Stay alive and wake them up. Stay alive and see the literal hell your decisions caused.

I did that. Not you. I chose to become you. But it was too late, Izuru had already force calmed him down, an ability that Hajime both loathed and appreciated. And, since emotions were currently out of the way, he didn’t flinch when Sayaka Maizono appeared on screen, beginning the long, long process of talking about her life, her death and her secrets.

The day continued and the stories of the first group’s killing game piqued both men’s interest as it was being told. Hajime only knew Makoto, Byakuya, and Kyoko, while Izuru knew Mukuro and… Junko. He wasn’t sure what to feel when he saw her again, but apathy is what Izuru decided, and Hajime was grateful for the assist. Nonetheless, it was still… nice… to hear how five of the six survivors got to be in the Future Foundation and who they had lost along the way.

It made him feel less weird when it switched to his class’ story and Byakuya showed up again, just as an Imposter this time.

For the most part through the second round of storytelling, Izuru had kept a tight grip on Hajime’s emotions, not really letting him feel much to stories he had already lived through. But there was one part where he relinquished control, a kind gesture to Hajime to let him react to the two people who impacted him most.

Trial Five.

It occurred to Hajime, really only just now, that Nagito would have to be woken up at some point… and they would have to talk. And Hajime had no idea how to feel about it.

But, as the white-haired man appeared on screen, the brunette realized he already started to feel something.

Hatred? Yeah, kinda. He saw Nagito as a friend, an ally, only for him to turn hope fanatic and use his luck to manipulate Teruteru into killing someone. Then, he planned the most insane murder in all of history, probably, and was going to let them all die. And! He… well he said a lot of mean things during the fourth trial. And maybe it was petty to still be bitter about it, Hajime was still bitter about it.

Confusion? Well, that was a given. Even knowing everything about Nagito’s tragic past and his luck cycles now, he still didn’t really understand what about hope enticed the man so much. Why it enraptured him to the point of self-mutilation, child manipulation, and murder fixation…

Those emotions were both true, but he was missing something. Maybe something softer? Something… kinder?

Ah, well, how about kinship? Nagito, the man with an unpredictable talent like luck and felt that he was useless to a society of greats. Hajime, the man with no talents who wanted nothing more than to be someone special. Nagito, who fell to despair, the one thing he hated most. Hajime, who destroyed himself to become someone worthy. Maybe he didn’t understand the obsession with hope, but he did understand him as a person… at least a little.

As Nagito’s time was wrapping up, whispering a soft, “May you all follow hope until the very end, no matter what form it takes,” directly into Hajime’s soul, he made a split decision: one more chance. Nagito Komaeda would get one more chance in his life as a friend if he could wake him up.

They would have their talk and whatever happened afterwards… happened?

Then, those silver-green eyes faded away, and Hajime gripped his heart and inhaled slowly, anticipating the voice he was about to hear next.

“Hello, everyone, my name is Chiaki Nanami, and I am the Ultimate Gamer. It’s very nice to meet you.” She began, and Hajime did not look away from the screen for a single moment, “I was a traitor put into the killing game via Future Foundation, and it was my job to keep everyone safe… but… we all know how that went.” She pouted, pulling her cat jacket over her head.

It was painful, hearing her say that, but he knew she had been powerless. Really, he could argue it was Usami’s fault for losing the battle against Monokuma, or his fault for bringing Monokuma in the first place, but he didn’t want to think about that, nor did he care for the semantics of murdering virtual aged-down teenagers.

Oh that had to be one of the weirdest parts. Thinking you’re seventeen and waking up to find you’re actually twenty now with only vague memories flooding in and out. How much had he missed? How much had he caused? What if- Chiaki is talking again. Right. Thank you.

She had the faintest smile across her face, “Despite that… I believed in my friends. I had full faith that they would go into the final trial and be able to graduate from the program. I had to help pull them a little to get there,” She chuckled lightly, “but they did it. And now they’re working harder than ever to save everyone. But you’ll learn more about that later.” She nodded to no one in particular, then began telling her own personal story. Her feelings and interpretations were one thing but then she talked about her creation. And it grounded Hajime like nothing had before.

Chiaki wasn’t- isn’t real. She was helpful and wonderful and all things good in an awful world, but she wasn’t… alive. Was she? To be fair, he never confirmed it once he escaped the simulation. If Alter Ego still existed outside of the Neo World Program, which seemed more likely now considering they were doing this… rather incredible… storytelling, they had never been in contact.

Yet, this performance kept hinting, over and over, that everyone in this presentation was about to see one another again, including Chiaki, but, ever the skeptic, Hajime decided to ignore that rising hope in his chest for fear that it would be destroyed. He was aware of the reality that most of these people were asleep in some pods on an island. He had to keep remembering that. He was merely dreaming of perfect rooms and the ability to see the people he wanted to see most, simple as that.

When Chiaki faded out, Izuru went back to suppressing his emotions without warning, and he went on to listen to the survivors’ tales.

Getting to himself at the end wasn’t as weird as he thought it would be, and, again, maybe that was Izuru helping, but, ultimately (pun intended), it was refreshing to see himself talk about everything like it made sense, like he made sense, like he was supposed to be there, like he belonged there. It was a feeling he didn’t want to lose. He released a long sigh he didn’t realize he was holding, and Izuru released him from the figurative mental chains.

His virtual self faded into a gentleman who he learned to be named Rantaro, and the third arc began. Hajime enjoyed a range of reactions while watching this new group and admired how much the fifth trial reminded him of his own fifth trial. He jumped when Izuru, Izuru, chuckled at the absolute chaos that would be if, potentially, Nagito and Kokichi met and Hajime joked back, They would hate each other, but it seemed the monotone man was already bored of that idea.

Not too long after that, he met Tsumugi, learned all about her cosplaying him, his friends, and Junko, and that their entire lives were fake. He started to really listen to her until he heard, Are you that easy to manipulate?

Hajime completely paused at that. He would believe that a Junko fangirl dressed up as him and that he was a fictional character, but he wouldn’t believe that Alter Ego wanted to help or that Chiaki could very well be alive in this world? Ridiculous. No, he didn’t believe her one bit.

Instead of the fun(?) he had been having earlier, Hajime glared at the last four stories. Trying to discern anything he possibly could about the validity of the blue-haired woman’s statements but got nothing. He did learn that only three of their class survived, and that was just tragic for a group that, outside of a killing game of course, seemed like they would be really close. Wasn’t that the same for his group, too? Even if he hadn’t originally been a part of them, Hajime was a full-fledged member of that circle now, and he was going to get them all back. He swore it.

And as the second detective finished the final story, the original Alter Ego, Chihiro Fujisaki, was back on screen.

“I understand. That was… a lot. Now everyone knows everything. There are no secrets. I’m going to let everyone rest up and collect their thoughts for the rest of the evening. I will wake you back up at 10 a.m.! I hate to tell you this, but tomorrow is going to be even tougher on you. If you need me there is a button next to your beds with the label ‘AE’ on it. Press it and I can talk to you one-on-one. Please, really, take this time to process and recover. You’ve all been through so much. You’re all so strong and you’re only going to get stronger!

Have a good night.

I-I love you, all!”

When the screen flickered out, Hajime just wanted to sleep. Even Izuru seemed like he was rather exhausted, as Hajime could feel himself, well, feel things. Despite this, he let his mind wander now that he knew literally everything about all of his classmates – relishing in all their motivations, their wills to live (or not live), their dreams.

He decided to double down, triple down, his resolve to wake everyone up as he removed his tie and his pants, laid down on his bed, and fell into a deep slumber.

-x-

Log

Day: -1
Perspective: Hinata, Hajime/Class 77

-x-

Hajime’s sleep had been completely dreamless, a simple head-to-pillow-to-sleep-to-rise sort of situation. Alter Ego had said today would be even tougher and while he was still not one hundred percent convinced of their good intentions, he did believe that they were telling the truth regarding that matter. There was going to be a drop today, he could feel it.

So, when the AI popped up, asked if ‘you’ were ready and switched to Makoto Naegi saying they were going to learn why they had been kidnapped, Hajime was completely on edge.

…And he was fucking validated.

Another game!? Who cares if it’s a non-killing game! He was still forcibly taken from his work, thrown into a random room catered perfectly for himself, and told that if some detectives (one he barely knew and one he didn’t know at all) couldn’t figure out some answers in thirty days he would lose his memories!? Why couldn’t anyone just leave him and his class alone!?

You need to calm down and keep listening. Absolutely not! He was going to listen, sure, but he was not going to calm down!

…

Ok, so, maybe he was forced to calm down, fine.

He was completely emotionally numb when the seven rules were instructed, but that was fine. None of the rules were directed at him, anyway, so he just had to not kill anyone – because he clearly wasn’t going to ‘spend his month here to the fullest’. He wasn’t going to be here for a month. He was going to get back to work.

Then. Then, then, then, Alter Ego said, “Would you like to see everyone again?” and, eventually, a picture of Shuichi Saihara appeared on the screen under the words ‘WHO’S NEXT?’ with a small timer in the corner after a few moments.

And Hajime slammed the AE Button, causing a virtual Chihiro to show up once again, beaming, “Hello, Hajime! Thank you for calling me! How can I help you?”

“What do you mean by ‘see everyone’?” He could’ve asked a lot, but that was the one big thing on his mind, “Everyone is currently asleep. So, do you mean I will see the other survivors?” He twitched his eyebrow. Izuru was half-assedly trying to regain control, but Hajime’s current fury was unrelenting.

The computer program paused for only a moment before saying, “I-I have analyzed your question and situation! I th-think that I’m not the b-best person for this right now, and I’m s-sorry! P-Please give me just a m-moment!” And suddenly, they changed to Chiaki on screen, looking stern.

“Hajime, getting angry like this will solve nothing. I can tell you how today is going to go, if you’d like?” She said, in that wonderful way that usually made Hajime think that everything could really be ok.

He looked at her, at the AI pretending to be her, and said, “You’re not real, Chiaki. You’re still Alter Ego.”

The Chiaki on screen merely tilted her head, “In most cases that would be true, but you can’t prove that for me, can you?” Which caused his mind to stop and go into analytical mode.

It was… possible… that ‘real’ Chiaki was talking to him right now, but, “You gain everything if I’m on your side...” He flashed a glare towards the television.

She sighed dejectedly, folding her jacket hood over her hair, “I’m sorry, Hajime. You’re right that I’m not really Chiaki, but you’re wrong that the only thing I have to gain is your cooperation.” He paused to let her keep going, “…Would you really believe anything I told you? That I want you to be happy? That you’re going to get to see the actual Chiaki in about two hours? You heard my entire speech, Hajime, and you still don’t believe that you’re safe in this room, in this place. So, I had to look like her, so you’d at least listen-”

“What do you mean we’ll get to see her in two hours?” Izuru interrupted through Hajime’s mouth. Despite the monotone way it was said, there seemed to be intent behind it. Izuru didn’t talk out loud just because he felt like it. Hajime continued, “You keep implying that we will get to reunite with everyone who I know is in a coma. Are you just trying to mess with me?”

The virtual Chiaki stared back for a while, then she turned into Makoto, “I’m not, nor would I ever! Not about this! You are going to see all fifteen your classmates again! Alive and healthy!” He pointed down to the bottom right of the screen, where there was a picture of Maki now, “Would you like to wait to see? That in six-ish minutes K1-B0 is going to walk out of his room, completely unharmed, and get to see the three survivors?”

The changing personality had momentarily silenced Hajime, he put a knuckle to his lips and pondered, never looking away from the brunette on screen. Finally, once Maki’s picture had turned to Himiko’s, he spoke again, “I… can understand how everyone else is here… m-maybe I’ve been asleep longer than I thought and everyone woke up… but how… how is Chiaki… here?”

“Wouldn’t it be more fun to wait and find out?” The now appearing Nagito said, making Hajime gulp, “Do you really want all of the answers so soon? What if I told you this was just a vacation? That after ninety-nine days of working yourselves to the bone, Future Foundation put you five back into the Neo World Program as a means of relief? ...What if I told you this wasn’t real? That you’re merely just dreaming, and even in your dreams you cannot let yourself be happy? …What if I told you this was real? And that everything that happened in all three killing games had been a lie. The Tragedy never happened, Hope’s Peak doesn’t exist, everyone is alive. What if it’s something else entirely? Maybe Tsumugi’s right and you’re just a work of fiction, meaning anything can happen to you at any moment?

…Do you really want to be told before you can even find out on your own? Would you believe anything I offered?” Hajime shook his head. No, of course he wouldn’t.

The television flickered, and Hajime looked up to see Chihiro again, “I-I mean it! With every fiber of my being. You will not be harmed while you are here, and you will have a good time. I promise. I promise on my code. I…” They faltered for a moment, calculating. Then, with conviction, with purpose, said “…If you participate in the mastermind’s game, I promise, on everything, that I will get you Chiaki’s Neo World Program memories. You have my word. You can take a break for thirty days, and I will give you what you want at the end, provided the detectives win. But I’m very confident in their abilities.

Is that enough to get you to stop questioning my motives, Hajime, Izuru?”

“Plenty.” Hajime forcibly said, before he added, “Y-Yes. I’ll participate.” He looked at the screen, seeing Keebo, then Tsumugi, there in the corner, as he took many deep breaths.

Somehow, someway, Chiaki Nanami was here, his comatose friends were here. So, with his new motive and resolve, he was going to try to enjoy this.

Sensing this new decision, Alter Ego spoke up, their tone soft and caring, “Thank you for calling me, Hajime. I have detected that you no longer need my assistance. Please do not hesitate to do so again if you ever need me. I am here to help. Once you are let out of this room, you may also ask the others any questions you have! Goodbye!” Then faded away, bringing the photo of Kaito up to full screen.

Hajime laid on his bed, contemplating, letting Izuru take reign back over now that he had calmed down and received something worth playing for.

His eyes shifted occasionally so that he could see where in the pattern they were. When he saw Kirumi’s picture, suddenly he heard Tsumugi’s voice playing through the television. His eyes went wide at the speech, but it didn’t change any of his opinions. He nodded to no one as it finished and went back to sitting in silence until Rantaro’s picture faded and the words ‘BREAK’ appeared on screen.

Hajime knew he was next and after those five minutes, his own face showed up, and his door slowly opened.

Seeing a row of white doors with a few scattered frames filled in was nothing to get excited about. He glanced both ways down the hall before exiting his door fully. Checking behind himself, he noticed his picture proudly displayed with the name ‘Hajime Hinata’ underneath it and made a quick joke in his head about how ironic it is that Izuru got no recognition.

Being closer to the left side of the hall, he turned that direction and started walking until he saw the two entrance doors and the grand lounge with sixteen students inside turning their heads to look at him. He recognized them all from the presentation, and curtly waved. When the group started to go back to what they had been up to, he took a moment to observe them.

The things of note were that Kaede was sitting on one of the long couches gripping and crying into the chest of Rantaro, who looked at her both fondly and with pity as he stroked her hair. Shuichi was next to them, lightly messaging one of her shoulders. On Rantaro’s other side was Miu who was uncharacteristically quiet and observing the scene while Keebo tried to cheer her up. Standing over by a wall was Korekiyo shaking and sweating, clearly in a panic, while Himiko, Tenko and Angie surrounded him and tried to understand what was wrong. And finally, separating himself by leaning on a different wall was Kokichi who’s eyes kept shifting between the Korekiyo scene, the Kaede scene and the newcomer intruding on their group.

Hajime immediately decided he should be the one to talk to, but Izuru interrupted saying No. We should talk to the detective. He was the first one out. And all he could do was agree.

Slowly, he made his way over, and spoke up saying, “Shuichi, right?” He knew he was right, “Alter Ego told me I can ask someone what’s going on. Would you be a good source of information?”

He watched as the detective lit up, excited to be of use, since he was clearly not helping the sobbing woman next to him. “Ah! Yes, that’s me. I was told to not be a distraction, but I’m happy to answer any questions you have. You’re… Hajime… right?” The brunette raised an eyebrow, slightly impressed. He couldn’t tell if the question was asking if that was his name or asking who exactly was being talked to.

“Yes, I am.” Hajime started, “Can you give me a brief rundown of everything? I believe I’ve got three minutes left.”

The bluenette stood up and ushered him slightly away from the group so that they wouldn’t disturb the others with a very serious look on his face.

When they were a decent distance away, Shuichi began. He talked about the picture frames and the layout first, which Hajime had already picked up on, then described the reverse-order release schedule that mirrored the storytelling the day before.

“I’m… I’m really… going to see all them?” Was all Hajime could mumble. He turned towards the dead participants of the third killing game sitting there, very much alive, but it hadn’t quite settled in yet. It was one thing to have Alter Ego promise something, it was another to have this man that he had no previous ties to tell him the same thing.

Shuichi took a deep breath before saying, “You are. I know our circumstances are different and your class is already on their way to being revived, but I guarantee you’re going to get to see them all now.” The way his golden eyes looked towards his friends with pure happiness was not lost on Hajime, and he felt himself get excited.

He thanked the man sincerely and let him go sit back down, though, since his spot had been taken by Miu, he fumbled to find somewhere else to go and grabbed a comfy bean bag, bringing it closer to the group. Before he sat down, his eyes went wide looking over at one of the walls of the lounge. Hajime followed the gaze and landed back on Kokichi, who was now scarfless and letting his cap cover his face. Hajime located the missing clothing mere moments later adorned on a significantly calmer Korekiyo, acting in the place of a mask, and he quickly looked back one final time at Shuichi, whose face was a mix of awe, confusion, and bewilderment, before walking away.

Despite knowing it was going to happen, the buzzer made Hajime jump, and he felt his heartbeat quicken. He knew he was supposed to be looking for Fuyuhiko based on the schedule he had been provided, and immediately gasped when he saw the young man wearing a pinstripe suit walk out in between a whole bunch of claimed rooms.

“Holy shit! The computer was telling the truth!?” Fuyuhiko shouted, then immediately ran over, “Do have any clue where we are? What’s going on?”

Blinking, Hajime instinctually put his hand on the yakuza’s shoulder, making sure he was real, and said, “No, I have no idea on the bigger picture but Shuichi, err, the second detective, let me know what’s going on in terms of the building we’re in, and some of the things that are about to happen. Are you a little calmer now? Can I tell you?” It wasn’t meant as an insult, nor did Fuyuhiko take it as one.

The blonde simply huffed, letting off steam, then smiled, “Yeah, yeah, whatcha got for me? If Alter Ego was right about you, then, am I going to get to see…” He trailed off, looking away and scoffing, “Man, I’m so sick of computers running everything… virtual bastards.”

“All sixteen of the third game’s participants are alive in a giant gaming lounge over by front entrance.” Hajime motioned in the direction with his finger, “But everyone is released in the reverse order they talked yesterday, so you’ve got a long wait until Peko is back, but you will get to see her.”

Fuyuhiko’s eyes peered into him, the serious air between them growing intense, “Does that mean we succeeded? Is that why we’re here? Where the fuck is the island, Hajime? I know this isn’t a killing game, but I’m a little sick of being dragged everywhere and losing my memory.”

The brunette cleared his throat, cursing that Fuyuhiko didn’t know anything either, “Me. Too. I don’t have answers to your questions, Alter Ego told me that I needed to find the answers on my own. I’m just as in the dark as you are… sorry. Uhm, what… do you remember last?”

“N-No, it’s fine. I’m… sorry for throwing so much at you.” Fuyuhiko sighed, “Last I remember we were workin’ on the pods, same thing we had been doing for the past three months. I just went to bed like normal and when I woke up, I was in this room.” He pointed, then noticed the filled in picture frame and flashed a small grin at it, since his eyepatch was included in the photo.

After clarifying that their stories matched up, Hajime said, “Sonia is going to be next, and I want to make sure we’re there when her door opens… but did you want to see the lounge, first? Or would you rather avoid sixteen strangers who are going to look at you like you just walked in on something? Because at least one of them is sobbing their eyes out right now…”

He heard a loud laugher in response, “Really!? They’re just dishing out their post-murder-game shit right in the middle of the lounge? Incredible. I need some good drama that isn’t involved with our class anymore!” And the two chuckled as they made their way towards the front.

They peeked around the corner and saw a few eyes notice them. Hajime gently pulled Fuyuhiko in and waved to those who were looking, “Hey guys, I won’t be able to do this for everyone, and I’m sure Alter Ego has a big meeting planned for all of us afterwards, but since there’s only two of us, I just wanted to say… Hi. I’m Hajime Hinata, talent is… uhm… everything… and also nothing… you saw the video.” He coughed, then turned to the shorter man at his side who gave him the most incredulous look saying, ‘that was the worst intro I’ve ever seen’ before he turned back to the crowd.

“And I’m Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, the Ultimate Yakuza, pleasure to meet ya, though don’t expect me to be all nice to you and shit. You’ve gotta earn it.” He said with a sneer. A few people giggled but for the most part everyone just had a nice air about them. The intros were unnecessary, as they now knew everything about the blonde standing before them, including the events between his sister and Sato, thanks to yesterday. They knew his personality, and how befriending him was much easier than he made it sound. Fuyuhiko started to blush, then turned around and walked out in a huff. Hajime simply waved at everyone again and walked out with him.

The two strolled beside each other in a happy, embarrassed silence, until the next buzzer went off revealing Sonia in the back corner across from Shuichi’s door.

She walked out with her eyes closed and head held high, like she needed to put on the most regal performance of a lifetime, but faltered when her heels made a soft plush noise on carpet instead of the satisfying clank they should’ve. When she looked down at her feet sadly, Hajime stepped forward to put a hand on her shoulder, hovering slightly and waiting for a nod before he did so.

The brunette was about to ask what was wrong when the words, “He’ll be here soon, Princess,” came out instead. Oh, Hajime thought, that’s… thanks…, but he didn’t get a mental reply. Instead he decided to use his own voice to keep going, “What he said. We’re going to get to see all of our classmates, Sonia,” His grip on her shoulder was firm as she looked at him desperately, “We’re not… I don’t think we succeeded. We went to bed and no one had escaped their pods, yet. But, somehow, they’re here-“

“When.” Her royal voice rang out. It was a command, not a statement. Tell me, right now, when exactly I will get to see who I want to see. Only kinder, and more patient.

It was Fuyuhiko’s turn, who wanted a chance to get into the conversation naturally, “In twenty-five minutes. We’ve gotta go through you, Akane, Soda, Chiaki if she’s even fuckin’ here, and that hopeful bastard. And before you ask, I know that info because Hajime said the crybaby detective said everyone shows up in the reverse order they talked in yesterday.” He said it quickly, like he refused to give her a moment to interrupt him but made sure it was clear enough to be understood.

At the mention of Chiaki, Hajime felt his heartbeat through his eardrums, and then immediately felt the same pang at ‘hopeful bastard’. He was not ready to see them, but that was ten minutes from now Hajime’s problem – not his.

After Fuyuhiko’s report, Sonia immediately lit up, pumped a fist into the air beside her, and gently placed her other hand on top of the crooked arm, “Excellent! Then I shall pout no longer! I must be in tip-top shape for when our other friends arrive! I cannot let them see me down.” Her excited voice calmed itself by the end, but the sentiment remained the same. She would wait patiently until she could see her desired again.

This gave the two men opportunities to agree and begin to tell her about the rest of the place, eventually showing her off to the 79th class, where a checkered adorned Korekiyo came up to her and bowed in a way that only someone who had studied Novosellc culture would know how to do, which made her absolutely elated. The two talked briefly about her homeland and she eagerly answered anything thrown at her, and Hajime noticed three girls watching them with soft smiles.

Eventually, with only ten seconds to spare, the trio left, but it took no time at all for Akane to happily burst through her door right at the front of the hallway as her buzzer went off.

“Aww man, Alter Ego knows how to deliver,” She cheered, looking up to the three people in front of her happily, “That’s the first real meal I’ve had in months!”

Hajime realized that he hadn’t even considered food, nor was he hungry despite not eating since he woke up yesterday, but he didn’t feel confident enough that it wasn’t somehow Izuru’s doing, so he didn’t bring the topic back up.

Instead, Fuyuhiko said, “Yo, Akane, what the hell do you remember? Were we on your watch or mine? ‘Cuz I remember bein’ asleep!” She thought contemplatively then slammed a hand on his shoulder enthusiastically.

He jumped as she shouted, “I remember I was sleeping too! That makes no sense, right!?” And sported a wide grin.

“N-No of course that doesn’t make any fuckin’ sense! There’s no point in the day where we’re both asleep at the same time!” He shouted back, his frustration increasing as much as her smile.

Hajime decided that it was time to intervene, so he stepped in between them, “Clearly something happened on the island that made us fall asleep to be brought here. What do either of you remember before that?”

The two became silent and looked at each other trying to recall what they could. Eventually, Fuyuhiko pipped up and said, “I think it was just about to be nighttime… I might have been just waking up.” And Akane concurred that she felt super exhausted, like it was the end of her shift, so it was likely that the memories ended right at the swap.

This made the group of four ponder and discuss the potentials for a moment, but it seemed like no one could recall anything concrete enough, so they’d have to leave the digging to the detectives. To change topics, Hajime offered to give Akane the run-down and she nodded enthusiastically.

When he finished and told her of the class around the corner she shrugged, noting that she didn’t want to get involved in other people’s business, so the small quartet wandered around, curious where Soda was going to pop out.

They didn’t have to wait very long for the bzzzzzzt to sound, revealing the mechanic who timidly exited his room that neighbored Hajime’s. Upon seeing the group, Soda immediately perked up and ran to hug Sonia, who returned the gesture and gently pet his head, holding him tight.

The first night they were released from their pods, before the routine had been created, the survivors were gathered in Sonia’s room, simply talking. Soda, not really getting the hint still, made an unappreciated comment about his admiration for her that wasn’t anything worse than what he said in the simulation, but it set her off into an intense sob. He started to panic and had to be dragged out of the room by a flustered Fuyuhiko, Hajime following shortly after.

The three had a long discussion after that about Soda’s behavior. It was an awkward, uncomfortable conversation, but necessary. He eventually started to understand, had a really powerful cry session with Fuyuhiko by his side, then, when both parties had calmed down, Soda went and had a private talk with Sonia. Hajime didn’t feel like he had any right to ask what happened, but the two seemed particularly close after that. Soda hadn’t made any references to romantic feelings for her since, and the two were always together talking about how to get Gundham back.

Watching them embrace now gave Hajime the same warm feelings it had back when he saw it happen the first time. They were all friends, close friends, and they deserved to be happy together just like this.

He wasn’t pulled out of his thoughts until he heard Sonia softly start explaining everything while the two were still embracing, then tapped on Soda’s shoulder twice signaling him to let go, and he did.

After learning about the release schedule specifically he exclaimed, “Wait, Chiaki is next!? How does that even… work!?”

All of them shrugged simultaneously as he looked around waiting for an answer. He sighed, mumbling something about finding out soon and then Fuyuhiko asked what he remembered last, prompting him to give the same ‘I just remember going to sleep’ story that matched the others.

Soda looked so dejected for a moment before he shook it off and boasted, “Well, I’m sure we’ll figure it all out! And if I get to see Gundham alive and Sonia smile than it’ll all be worth it!” He was looking at her affectionately when he said it, but much more in a way of genuine desire to see her happy than any sort of self-satisfying gratitude.

After that he huffed and said, “Alright! Now, take me to the kiddos! There’s someone I wanna meet!” And Hajime, confused, complied, leading Soda right to the lounge where he immediately ran up to Keebo and reached out slowly.

The poor robot froze and looked scared out of his mind until Miu jumped up from her spot and slapped Soda’s hands and shouted, “Hey! Get your disgusting oil hands off my hunk of metal meat, you got that?”

“N-No way! There’s no way I’m going to back off from getting to inspect a perfect robot like this!” Soda fought back immediately after wincing at the pain in his fingertips. She retorted and didn’t even pause when Keebo squeaked about being called a hunk.

They kept getting louder, all eyes on the arguing party, until Miu stopped talking mid-insult when a small, nimble hand reached out and tugged on her shirt. She glanced down into Kaede’s eyes and immediately backed down, looking flustered.

Kaede, after forty minutes of on and off sobbing, finally lifted herself from Rantaro’s chest and whispered in a hoarse voice, “Sorry… it was just… you’re scaring Keebo…” She was lightly chuckling, and she hadn’t let go of Miu.

Soda quickly looked back and forth between the two girls and the robot and started waving his hands in front of him, “I mean no harm, really! I just want to know how you function!” His eyes were sparkling with delight.

Eventually, Fuyuhiko and Hajime came to the rescue and started to pull him away, muttering apologies, until Keebo spoke up saying, “I-I… w-when we know a little bit more about our situation… I can… answer some of your questions… but,” he paused, taking a breath, “you cannot take me apart! And… And Miu has to be there!” To which Soda screamed ‘Deal!’ and Miu screamed ‘What!?’ but Keebo and Kaede were smiling at her and that’s all it took to get her to start sputtering and agree with the terms. When that was settled, the two older men completed their original task and threw an extremely giddy Soda into the hallway.

And as they left the lounge, Sonia, wise, caring, understanding Sonia, cleared her throat, looked at Hajime with kindness but too much intensity and said, “Thirty seconds left.”

So, of course, he started to have a panic attack, wandering aimlessly.

Fuck ten minutes ago Hajime for not preparing him for this.

Luckily for himself, he spent too long thinking about why Izuru was doing nothing to help him, you traitor, that he completely missed the buzzer going off, and didn’t see the small woman with pale mauve hair walk right up to him and poke his cheek until she did so.

He looked down at her, at Chiaki Nanami, and slowly, almost robotically, brought his hands to her face and placed his forehead against hers, whispering, “You’re… here…,” as he felt a couple tears stream down his face, “I thought… I would never be able to talk to you again…”

“I’m here,” She replied, letting the statement hover around them. She brushed one of her hands over his own and cupped it gently, “I’m right here and I’m real, Hajime. You’ve been so strong with out me and I’m so proud of you. You too, Izuru. I’m very proud of both of you for getting out of that simulation and learning to work together. I’m… honored that you’d want to recreate me.”

They stayed like that for just a moment more before he released his grip and went in for a hug instead, letting out a shaky breath when she returned the gesture.

The word, “How?” come out of Hajime’s mouth, and he shuddered at how intense and, dare he say, emotional the tone was. Chiaki merely chuckled and pulled away from the embrace, looking up at him fondly.

“How are any of us here?” She tilted her head slightly, kept her soft smile, but didn’t say anything else. She gently squeezed Hajime’s arm, then walked around him to say hello to everyone who all seemed equally as emotional to see her. He eventually joined in the group, absolutely elated that she was part of it.

Sonia started to tell her all about the layout, including the lounge with its current occupants, and pictures, which prompted Chiaki to inspect her door, nodding that it had been filled in. They informed her of the release schedule and her eyes flickered towards Hajime for a moment then returned to Sonia before nodding in understanding.

When they asked her what she remembered before dying she bunched her hands into her jacket hoodie, but didn’t bring it up to her head, “I… remember being crushed but… it didn’t hurt. I knew it was a simulation by that point. I became – I turned back into code. I – knew I was… code… and I could see everything Monokuma changed and I could see the data for Alter Ego Junko, and I could see… all of you. I watched you fight her. I watched you win. I watched you escape.”

“You…,” Hajime began, “That’s how you were able to talk to me! That’s how you were able to glitch through Izuru and save me! W-Where did you go after the program ended, Chiaki!?”

She looked down at the ground, finally pulling the hood over her hair and muttered, “I’m sorry. I don’t know. I have no memories beyond that until I woke up yesterday.”

Clicking his tongue in slight irritation Fuyuhiko asked, “Well… do you still feel like code?” Which caused her to look up at him with purpose.

“Yes and no. It feels different. There’s something else there too – that lets me have a real body. Alter Ego won’t tell me what it is… but they said I’ll find out… that… I’m an important key in this game…” Chiaki paused, took a breath and steadied herself, “So, I’m going to be as happy and as helpful as I can be.”

Her response stunned the group for just a moment, until Akane spoke up saying, “Well, hey! That’s some great thinkin’!” Which began stirring everyone out of their silence, talking about nothing of substance, simply enjoying her company.

Eventually, Chiaki, in front of everyone, grabbed both of Hajime’s hands with her own, and held them up at her chest level. She looked incredibly determined as she said, “I know there’s only a minute left, but I want you all to be kind to Nagito, please. I don’t want him to feel as alienated as he did before. I understand that he tried to hurt you and you don’t have to forgive him for that. But he deserves friendship, I think.”

Hajime was blushing at the contact but started to focus more on her words as the flustered feelings went away. He responded, “I’ve already decided to give him a second chance…” And she smiled at him tenderly, like it was one of the best things he ever could have said to her.

Everyone else seemed to be on edge at the thought of seeing him again, but with Hajime’s and Chiaki’s reassurance, they all reached the same conclusion that they would try.

As time was almost up, Hajime felt her warmth leave him and watched as she turned and picked a direction to start walking in. He followed her, filled with both anxiety and an overwhelming desire to reconnect that he didn’t quite understand.

The loud buzzer rang out revealing Nagito Komaeda’s door right at the front of the building. As he exited, he gave a faint, sad smile directly at Hajime before adverting his eyes, ashamed, which set something off in the brunette.

Any thoughts of hatred and confusion vanished immediately. Flashes of a man cut up and impaled, lying on the ground with pained, dead eyes, were being replaced by this living, breathing Nagito right before him.

Though Izuru was quiet, Hajime’s brain was screaming at him. His instincts wanted nothing more than to fully embrace the man in front of him, let him know how relieved he was to see him again, truly, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it, not yet. As a compromise, he walked up, extending his hand and said in the most sincere tone he could muster, “I’m happy you’re alive.”

For just a moment, Nagito tensed up and was almost shaking. He didn’t move to reciprocate and responded in the most broken tone, “H-Hajime, please, I don’t want to hurt you-”

“Your luck is negated by mine.” Izuru’s monotone voice interrupted. It was all that needed to be said in this moment. Nagito would be allowed to indulge in things, he’d be allowed to want things, without having to fear for anyone’s safety.

There was a long pause, almost as if the world had stilled.

Suddenly, Hajime watched Nagito’s hand wrap around his own, gripping it like a lifeline, whispering, “…Thank you. For everything.”

Feeling the energy in the room, and noting that everything was ok, Chiaki continued her original stride before Hajime had slipped past her and placed a hand on Nagito’s upper arm. This caused a chain reaction of the other four people running up but keeping their distance, letting him know they were, literally and metaphorically, taking a step in his direction.

“Would you like to say anything?” Chiaki asked calmly once everyone was around. It was an understood gesture of giving him the floor, but he didn’t have to take it if he didn’t want it.

Cloud-like hair shook back and forth before he said, “It’s not the right time, yet, but I do… want to apologize… eventually…,” The whole time he couldn’t meet any of their eyes, but Chiaki simply pat his arm and told him that was perfectly ok.

Realizing they were still holding hands, Hajime took the moment to squeeze experimentally to see if Nagito would lift his head and it worked flawlessly. When grey eyes shot up, alert, Hajime almost let a chuckle escape, but kept it to himself, “Would you like us to tell you about this dorm?”

After getting a nod in confirmation, they relinquished their handshake and Hajime pointed towards the entrance right next to them, explaining the layout and the occupied lounge. As Nagito looked around he noticed his own picture frame and smiled at it as he ran a finger over the name plate, then turned back to them and said, “And then Gundham is next, right?”

While the rest of the group blinked, speechless, Chiaki let out a disgruntled huff, “You always were too smart for puzzle games.” But he disagreed vehemently, just stating that he noticed the pattern watching the television in his room, which made sense in hindsight.

But then it dawned on everyone what he said, and all eyes turned to the princess, who’s determined face did nothing to hide how much she was blushing. While she would normally not mind the stares, it was overwhelming for her in the moment, so she tried to regain control, “I am going to lead the way there! In the meantime, Nagito, do you have any memories from before you woke up?” She took the first step away from the group and picked a random direction.

They gave her a moment, then slowly followed behind her. Nagito hovered near Hajime the whole time but was conscientiously giving him space, then answered Sonia’s question, “The only thing I remember before waking up is slashing myself repeatedly and releasing the spear. It hurt, a lot, but I was so sure…” He trailed off, eyes glazing over for a second, but came right back, “The worst was the poison.”

“You looked like you were in so much pain.” Hajime said, still walking, almost in a dream-like state, like he wasn’t really there for a moment.

Nagito took a moment to glance at him, but when the brunette didn’t turn around, he continued, “I was. But it was fast. I did it to myself.” His words were more determined this time, especially emphasizing the last sentence, so he repeated it, “I did it to myself. I wanted it to happen. When I woke up, it felt like I had just passed out for a few moments… to find out it’s been three months…”

There was some more talk about not opening the pods quite yet and Nagito apologized profusely about not being more helpful until he was cut off by the buzzer. They had gone the long way around, skipping the lounge, and found Gundham exiting his room in between Keebo and Kirumi’s.

Upon seeing them the two-tone-haired man started, “Huzzah, mortals! The darkest depths of hell have opened, granting me a second chance at-,” He never finished as Sonia walked up to him, cupped his face tenderly and brought his lips to hers. He looked completely shocked at first, but slowly melted into her and wrapped one arm around her waist and brought the other onto the back of her head, interlocking his fingers with her blonde hair.

No one dared interrupt them, and when they pulled apart, there were tears streaming down both of their faces. Gundham rubbed his thumb across her cheek, taking the water with it as Sonia broke the silence, “I missed you… so much. I’ve been trying to wake you up every single day to say that. I… I took such good care of the Dark Devas of Destruction in the simulation! They… also missed you…”

“You are truly worthy, my Dark Queen. I missed you, too. I’m… sorry for vanishing from that realm without you.” He then hugged her tightly, and only looked up to see everyone else afterwards, blushing madly once he did.

Gundham didn’t let her go as the layout, frames and schedule were explained to him. Though Soda being the person to tell him everything confused him, he didn’t question it.

Once there was only a minute left, the couple finally separated and took some deep breaths together. Sonia looked like she was the happiest she’d been since she awoke from the original game, and her smile was infectious, even as Gundham explained being trampled and waking up to shock after being asked.

The seconds counted down and Gundham looked tense while Akane was nearly ready to bounce off the walls. When the buzzer went off, she sprinted around the whole building, waving towards the lounge for a split second as she passed it, much its occupants’ confusion. She eventually found the room she was looking for next to Soda’s and stopped right in front of it as the group caught up to her.

Stretching his arms high above his head as he exited, Nekomaru smiled wide, immediately seeing the woman at his door and took no time picking her up by the waist and twirling her around. She wrapped her legs around his stomach to the best of her ability and kept a big grin as she started to cry, “Y’know, thinking you died twice really fucking sucked.”

He laughed heartily and shouted, “Taken out by a bear and a hamster! Animals must really not like me!” Akane giggled along with him, tears still falling, and rested her head on his shoulder blade. He responded by tilting his head onto hers.

They were silent as the group made themselves known. Gundham stepped forward, covered his mouth with his scarf with one hand and interlaced his fingers into Sonia’s with the other, and spoke, “I grieve a thousand times that the result of our heated duel ended the Metal Warrior’s light. I mourned the loss as long as I breathed, afterwards. You were glorious, and if there had been any other paths on our spiritual journey, I would have eagerly taken them.”

For just a moment, Nekomaru blinked, and Hajime worried that he’d have to translate, but then the muscled man put Akane down and stretched out a hand, “I felt your spirit! You were determined to fight until the end, and I returned those feelings one hundred and ten percent! You don’t need to apologize to me, because there’s nothing to be sorry for!” Relieving a sigh, Gundham released his grip on his scarf and returned the handshake firmly.

Afterwards, Akane happily stayed by Nekomaru’s side and told him all they had learned. He boasted, loudly, that he remembered falling off the door handle, dying a robot, but woke up to an electric shock a human. Soda wanted to press more on the subject, but Nekomaru simply said he was excited to meet people, new and old, and to not worry about it.

This led up to Hajime leading everyone back to the lounge, where minor chaos ensued. The minute Nekomaru spotted Kaito standing behind the couch talking to Maki he bounded up to him and boasted how nice it is to meet another trainer, and if they ever wanted to work out together, he would be elated. Kaito’s jaw dropped excitedly, and the two bonded easily in the time they had together, saying they would hang out more when they were released from the dorms. At the same time, Chiaki had been intercepted by Tsumugi, who begged to know her opinions on a whole bunch of video games. Despite the cosplayer’s history, Chiaki eagerly answered her, and the two got into a heated discussion about competitive Pokémon IV breeding that far surpassed anyone else’s comprehension, so they were left to themselves.

Both conversations were interrupted by the buzzer, and they said their goodbyes, flowing out of the lounge. They could hear the third killing game students start to talk to each other more, not so worried about being quiet now.

Taking the lead, Chiaki said, “Please leave Mikan to me. She’s going to be very frightened, I think.” And no one challenged her. They found her timidly opening her door right in between Kaede’s and Tsumugi’s up at the front, so it took no time at all to get to her.

Seeing them, she shrunk and fell backwards, absolutely terrified, but Chiaki got close to her and dropped to the ground with her hands up in surrender, “Hello, Mikan. I’m very happy to see you again. I’m so sorry that you had to remember such awful things. Will you hold my hand, please? No one is mad at you.” The nurse’s purple eyes shifted back and forth between Chiaki and the rest of the group, who held kind smiles on their faces. She gulped and nodded slowly, getting up with the gamer’s assistance. The two hugged tightly after, and Mikan was informed of everything as Chiaki led her to the lounge.

Sonia walked over to Kirumi, whispered a few things to her, then brought her back to the purple-haired woman. The maid curtsied and said, “Greetings, Mikan, it is absolutely wonderful to meet you. Hearing of your talent and the autopsies in your killing game was nothing short of incredible. I would love to learn more about medicinal practices under your guidance, in case someone gets hurt during our month here. Would that be something you were interested in?”

Mikan flustered for a second, choking up, but eventually breathed when Chiaki squeezed her hand, “I-I’m not o-opposed to working w-w-with you, but I-I’m a m-m-murderer… are y-you s-sure?” Despite getting the statement out, she was shaking, clear guilt radiating off her body.

Instead of getting angry like Mikan predicted, Kirumi grabbed the nurse’s other hand with both of hers and chuckled softly, sadly, “If I shunned you as my teacher because you murdered someone, then you would have to shun me as your student for the same reason.”

There was a heavy note in the air, and Mikan let herself break down. She started sobbing heavily and Chiaki gently ran a hand up and down Mikan’s back while Kirumi grazed her thumb back and forth over the hand she was holding. Both were saying positive things about her, and slowly all of the awakened Class 77 started doing the same, eventually ending in Izuru telling her how important she was with only a few seconds to spare.

As Chiaki began to lead her out so she could go see Ibuki and apologize, Hajime turned to Kirumi and her classmates and nodded a sincere thank you, taking note of the melancholic look on the maid’s face, before he rejoined them.

Ibuki whimsically popped out right next to Akane’s room cheering loudly, “YAHOOOO! Everyone is here! Everyone is here! You all came to see Ibuki!” And flapped her hands excitedly. It took no time at all for the musician to run up to Mikan and hug her tightly, changing her voice to something more somber, “I was really scared when we got sick. I thought I might die- but I was worried you, Akane or Nagito might die instead. I’m… I’m really so happy that we’re all here right now!” Causing Mikan to begin sobbing again before she could get even so much as a ‘sorry’ out, but Ibuki didn’t let go, and ran her hands along the nurse’s shoulders in a soothing motion.

The group said their hello’s and seemed ecstatic to see her again. Hajime took the lead this time, catching her up on all they knew, and she seemed very excited at getting to see the last five classmates and meeting ‘sixteen new potential bandmates’, which made everyone smile.

When the embracing pair finally pulled apart with roughly ninety seconds left, Ibuki held her hand tightly and said, “Well then, we gotta be ready to face Hiyoko next! You’ve got this, Mikan! Ibuki believes in you ten thousand percent and more! I’ll be here the whole time!”

Again, before Mikan could bring herself to respond, Chihiro’s voice flooded the area.

“Hello, Class 77! I am so sorry to interrupt you. Due to some p-personal circumstances, Hiyoko Saionji will not be released from her room yet. You will still see her today! But, for safety reasons, she has been changed in the schedule. Please consider her skipped in the meantime. Thank you! C-Carry on, please!”

Everyone looked at each other confused but chose not to question it as Chiaki made it a point to say if Alter Ego deemed the dancer’s appearance potentially dangerous, they should be believed. When no one contended her, she continued, “Besides, I think… it’s more important for us to remember who is jumping ahead one time slot-“

“Peko…,” Fuyuhiko said, absentmindedly, then collected himself, “Fuckin’ computer told us before time was up so that… I – we could prepare for Peko… but…”

There was silence as the yakuza’s voice faded out. It was very clear that he was stressed, thinking he had five more minutes to ready himself. No words were going to be able to calm him down, so after exchanging a look, both Hajime and Soda put their hands on his shoulders and tried to ground him. All three took a deep breath together and waited for the buzzer to announce her arrival.

After it went off, Fuyuhiko found her at the very back inspecting Hajime, Soda and Nekomaru’s doors that were right across from her room. The minute she saw her Young Master, Peko started to cry but didn’t move. Seeing her apprehension, the blond man ran up to her and wrapped his arms around her torso. He didn’t care the others behind him could see the tears streak down his face, but that didn’t stop him from trying to hide the waterworks by burying his face into her shirt.

She didn’t say anything, merely returning the hug and holding him equally as tight. Neither knew who moved first, but the two found themselves crumpling to the floor, letting themselves sob into each other’s collars.

No one disturbed them, simply watching on. Eventually, they heard Fuyuhiko start whispering, and picked up soft apologies and murmurs that she was never, ever just a tool to him.

Only Hajime and Soda were close enough to hear the finale where he whispered, “I never want to lose you again.”

Feeling the desire to give them some space, Sonia grabbed the two standing men’s wrists and pulled them and the group around the corner. Near the end of the five minutes, the mafia duo approached them, arm in arm, with wide smiles and tear-stained faces.

“Hello, everyone,” Peko said with a horse voice, “It’s really, really good to see you all. I’m… I’m so sorry for my actions. I did not value your lives enough, and I’m going to do everything I can to make it up to you.” The group adamantly refuted her, saying she had nothing to make up for right in time for the buzzer to go off.

Fuyuhiko and Peko took the lead on the way to find Mahiru’s door, and when they saw red hair peak out, they went to it and fell on the floor, immediately taking an apologetic stance.

The photographer took a step backwards, clearly confused at the gesture, but stood her ground. Fuyuhiko took the first words, saying, “I understand that there is nothing in the world that can take back what we did. Both to you, and to Sato. But I am sorry. I am so sorry beyond words. On my role as the leader of the yakuza, I vow that I will never let anything like this happen again. No more killing games, no more despair. I’m fuckin’ sick of this tragedy we all found ourselves in, and it’s ok if you never forgive me, but I need you to know that I would take it all back if I could.”

“The actions in the killing were all my own,” Peko continued his speech, “I was the one who played the video game and decided to kill you. Young Master had no intensions of doing so, but I did. I wanted him to leave the island so he could go see if she was alive. I did not regard your life as I should have, and I could offer a million apologies and it would never be enough.”

Immediately, Mahiru found herself falling to her knees, lifting their heads and wrapping both arms around each of them. She was crying heavily, “I’m so sorry Natsumi died. I’m so sorry I hid evidence. She – she picked on me relentlessly, but she wasn’t a bad girl. She was smart, and brash, and – and Seto was good, too. She was kind and shy and… neither of them should have died. None of us should have died.”

After that the three held each other for a while in silence. Maybe they hadn’t forgiven each other for the events that happened between them, but they were acknowledging each other’s reasons for doing so. The hugs and apologies signaled that they would be ok eventually, and they all knew it, even if it was going to take some time to get there.

When Mahiru realized everyone else was watching her, she detached herself and got up, pulling the duo as she did. Once she was facing the group properly, she took a deep breath and composed herself, “Hello, everyone. Thank you for your hard work trying to escape after I was gone. You were all reliable, and I’m proud to be here with you right now. But, thank you especially to Sonia, for taking care of…,” She faltered, her composure crumbling, “I… saw that she was skipped but… why?”

Being the one that was called out, Sonia took a step forward, “All we were told is that we’d still see her, but not at that time due to safety precautions. So, at worst, she’ll be released after Byakuya. So, you’ll get to be with her soon! Can I show you around and talk to you in the meantime?” Her smile was wide and caring, and it took no time at all for Mahiru agree and interlock her arm with Sonia’s.

They talked of the dorm and doors as they walked, skipping the release schedule as it was only three people left. During that time, Mahiru was able to talk about walking into the beach house and remembering everything going black before waking up to a shock, matching everyone’s stories. By that point they had made it to the lounge, and Mahiru waved and flashed a smile before they continued.

At the end of her time, they heard the bzzzzzt, expecting Teruteru, but when a small girl with two pigtails walked out in a flashy kimono with a large pout on her face, Mahiru dropped Sonia’s arm. She was going to go to Hiyoko, but the smaller woman crashed straight into her arms and started sobbing.

“Mahiru, I missed you so much! I tried to be good and dress myself and keep going after you were gone! I was angry! I was so, so, so angry but I didn’t hurt anyone! Then I got murdered by that bitch as an extra kill!?” Her voice was like venom. Usually her insults towards Mikan were childish in nature, not straight out curse words.

The red-haired woman ran her fingers lovingly through Hiyoko’s hair as she wailed, “Alter Ego didn’t let you out because you were going to hurt Mikan if I wasn’t here to stop you, weren’t you?” Her voice was quiet, stern, but understanding. The dancer just cried harder, nodding yes into Mahiru’s chest.

Hiyoko huffed a couple of times before saying, “I knew it wasn’t her actual fault. I knew that it was that stupid disease. But I woke up and after I learned everything, I was so embarrassed! That nasty, disgusting, awful person killed me – me!?”

“You know she wouldn’t have done that otherwise. Besides, Hiyoko, you were never nice to her. I think both of you owe each other an apology.” Mahiru responded, gently pulling her off. She bent down and gave a light kiss on top of Hiyoko’s forehead, “But before that I need you to know I missed you, too. When I woke up, the first thing I thought was ‘is Hiyoko ok’ because I was so concerned for you when I got attacked. I’m sorry you had to go through all of that without me.

And, you don’t have to do it immediately, but I do hope you forgive Fuyuhiko and Peko eventually.”

After hearing that, Hiyoko cried harder, but eventually found herself saying, “I’ll… try… if that’s what Mahiru really wants…,” Then turned her attention to Mikan, “Hey. I’m… sorry… for… saying all of those mean things about you. Uhm… your autopsies… really helped in the first two trials… and… you really helped us find Mahiru’s killer, so…. thank you.” She sneered after she said it, but they could see she was trying her hardest.

That seemed to be enough for the photographer, who turned to look at the crying-again purple-haired woman. Eventually, she was able to respond, “I-I-I’m also r-really s-sorry! I n-never wanted you to d-die!” Ibuki immediately took Mikan’s hand, encouraging her, “Thank you for your kind words, but, I-I c-can’t even forgive m-myself for killing either of you. S-So I don’t expect you to forgive me, e-either.”

Once the words had been said, Hiyoko walked over and everyone braced when her hand lifted. No one was fast enough to stop her from flicking Mikan’s head with a decent amount of force, causing her pain.

“Shut up! I’m just mad right now! I’ll forgive you eventually ok!? I need your worthless, ugly pig self in my life to make me feel better!” Her voice was wobbling, like she had to force the words out, and eventually Mikan nodded furiously, both girls crying. At the end Mahiru walked up behind her and hugged her, resting her arms around the shorter woman’s torso.

She leaned down and whispered ‘I’m proud of you’ into Hiyoko’s ear and then pulled back to explain all they had learned at a comfortable volume now that the emotions were starting to calm down.

With Hiyoko pacified, Hajime turned to the remaining group and politely asked, “How would we like to handle our next classmate?” With genuine sincerity.

“I want to see him.” Soda chimed in, “I want to help him like Fuyu helped me. Especially after hearin’ about his siblings…”

Peko, with a teasing smile, turned to Fuyuhiko and raised an eyebrow, “Fuyu?” He responded by blushing and scoffing, looking away. The swordswoman giggled heartily for the first time since her release and he turned back at her smiling wide.

Ignoring them, Hajime stepped forward, “I think that’s a great idea, Soda. I’ll be here if you need to switch out, I don’t think he’s going to be as easy as you were to change your ways – no offense.”

The mechanic laughed, “None taken! I’m happy it didn’t take more than a conversation.” He didn’t say more than that, and the subject wasn’t pressed, leading to the loud buzzer going off.

They found Teruteru’s room on the other side of the building right up front by Mikan’s room. He was standing right outside it, looking at the ground solemnly, but turned to face them as the group got closer.

With Soda being up front, he just happened to be who Teruteru grabbed into a hug. Though the mechanic was startled for a moment, he dropped to the ground to give the shorter man a more-proper hug. Having the embrace returned, Teruteru began to cry into Soda’s shoulder, mumbling, “I’m so sorry,” over and over.

No one was particularly close to the chef, as he didn’t have time to make friendships before he was executed, but everyone still gathered near him, showing their support silently, letting him sob. They knew his apologies were to no one in particular, so there was no move to accept them. But the group forgave him, and he could tell in the way they stood warmly by him.

Standing next to one another, Hajime glanced at Nagito, and made the mental decision that these two deaths, Teruteru and Byakuya’s, would get their apology from him eventually – if not right now then soon. As a little note, Hajime lifted his hand and squeezed Nagito’s arm once before letting it go, and the recipient nodded in understanding, though he looked crestfallen as he did.

As their time was getting closer to its end, and Teruteru was calming down, Hajime spoke up, informing him of their surroundings ending with, “…Byakuya is going to be the last person we need to greet. Are you going to be ok to see him?”

The chef nodded, finally pulling himself off Soda, “I need to apologize to him most of all…”

Not a minute later did the final buzzer of round two go off, revealing the proud Byakuya Togami in all of his imposter glory. His room was situated in the back, snug right in between Sonia’s and Nekomaru’s, creating a wonderful line of Class 77 dorms.

He was standing relaxed, like he wasn’t trying to keep up the persona he was wearing as he said in a voice that sounded nothing like Byakuya’s, “It’s wonderful to see you all.”

Those who had not lived long enough to discover Byakuya’s true identity in the game had learned it over the info video, but that didn’t seem to prepare them all to actually witnessing it.

Despite the rest of the group’s hesitation, Teruteru stepped forward, tears still streaming down his face slowly, “Byakuya I’m so… I’m so sorry. I am already prepared for you to never forgive me – but I need you to know… that I would take it all back if I could.” As a nervous tick he started fiddling with his apron, waiting for a response but not expecting one.

Suddenly, the chef felt a strong hand plant down gently on his hair, “I appreciate that. Hearing you say that means a lot to me. I wasn’t happy to die, but I knew that my actions protected Nagito, and that was my goal. Of course I forgive you.” He paused for a moment, making sure the words sunk in before he added in a joking tone attempting to lighten the mood, “Besides, who would make all my meals for me, otherwise?” And the two laughed heartily.

With the giggles flowing through the air, and Byakuya outstretching his arms, Teruteru came crashing into one of his legs – laughing and crying. The others quickly followed suit, coming into one big hug between all of them.

The embrace lasted almost the rest of the time, until right at the end Akane interrupted saying, “So, wait, why are you still Byakuya?” To which everyone paused and looked at him.

The impostor just kept laughing, absolutely elated to be reunited with everyone he so desperately wished to save and said in the happiest tone he could muster, “So you would all recognize me.”

“Thank you, 77th Class! That was a truly remarkable experience! I’m absolutely thrilled that you can reunite and work past some of your differences. I’ve even seen you start conversing with Class 79! That makes me so happy! Oh! And please start making your way to the lounge!”

The group slowly started to untangle themselves and follow their instructions, happily conversing as they did so. Once in the lounge the two screens showing Alter Ego turned on again, asking the same thing of the second game participants as they had the third – to stay quiet, let Class 78 have their reunion, and answer any questions they ask without being distracting.

With the thirty-two people on board, Alter Ego excitedly said, “Wonderful! Let’s do this one more time!” The televisions faded to black, and a loud buzzer went off.

The final first door opened, revealing Makoto Naegi sporting the widest, shiniest, hope-filled grin.

Chapter Text

He stands there watching the metal door start to open.

Despite the awful, piercing noise it makes, he doesn’t flinch until the blinding light forces him to look away. From the corners of his vision he sees the machine guns above him retract and he’s scared that at any second, they’ll realize she was lying, and the ever-looming weapons will fire right as their hope of escaping reaches its climax.

They don’t.

Instead his head pounds, overwhelming him. They were in that trial for hours, fighting comment after comment, floating between despair, hope and reality. But finally, they’re here – he’s here – and this door is opening.

It’s easy to tell he’s losing consciousness, but he doesn’t succumb to it quite yet. The door is so slow, and even glancing at it burns his eyes, so he observes the others. Every single one of them looks like the same state he feels, and he gasps as one of them, the tall one with wild hair, gives in and faints.

Two more fall right after, twin braids and a pigtail updo, leaving three; him clearly in a panic, the other two calm. Both have always been able to take life’s punches, unlike him, and they move to grab each of his hands. Feeling the contact, he notes how much they’re both shaking. It’s out of character for them, but it grounds him, and he knows his exhaustion catching up.

The door finishes opening; he falls forward.

Three people and two pairs of interlocked hands collapse to the ground.

-x-

Log

Day: -2
Perspective: Naegi, Makoto

-x-

When Makoto woke up to warmth and comfort, it felt… wrong. And everything in his body wanted to savor it, fearing it would disappear if he opened his eyes. 

Though, when a familiar voice spoke up bidding him a good morning, he was pulled from his struggle.

For a fleeting moment, he really believed he was hearing Chihiro Fujisaki, but his rationale caught up fast, as did his confusion. Alter Ego shouldn’t be able to speak to him… they had been confiscated by the Future Foundation after… the court case…

It was slowly coming back to him: Makoto was labeled defective and stripped of his position as he returned from Jabberwock Island. He captured the remnants of despair, wanted nothing but to help them recover despite the protests and threats to turn them in instead, watched as they all killed each other in the same ways that his class had done only two years earlier, then sailed home to meet his doom.

‘Doom’ meaning a month-long court case where eventually the entire Fourteenth Division was found guilty and sent to ‘prison for life’ – an over glorified way to say, ‘you have betrayed us and now we are watching your every move.’

It all made sense why he didn’t remember this feeling… he’d been sleeping on a cot for two whole months.

When the AI spoke again, he pushed himself up with a significant amount of effort. And it completely surprised him to be met with near total darkness save the lit-up screen.

“Ah! S-Sorry! I’m still giving you some time! But you’re totally safe alone in a dark room right now! Please be patient and do not panic! I’ll be turning the lights on in just a few moments as to let the late risers have some more time!”  

Safe. Makoto was… safe. He firmly believed in Alter Ego – they were his friend, his family. After not feeling safe for such a long time, he finally let himself relax and got wrapped up in the blankets he discarded only moments ago.

There was a significant pause after that, and the brunette started to drift off again. In his drowsiness, he jumped when he heard a satisfying Click that illuminated his room.  

It was completely average, but also distinctly homey. There were photos all over the walls, showcasing Makoto’s life both before and after the killing game. One picture was of him and his darling sister, Komaru, on his first day of kindergarten where she dressed up in one of his spare uniforms out of jealousy. Another was of him during the induction ceremony to the Future Foundation, even if it stung a little to look at now. But the most important one, he noted, was on the bookshelf in the corner (that had more superhero comic books than anything – a guilty pleasure of his). It was the class photo of everyone but himself, given to him during the killing game. He always kept it folded and tucked safely on him, never forgetting. Strangely though, even from across the room, he could tell this version was in pristine condition. He wanted to get up and inspect it but found that his body wasn’t ready to remove itself from the small nest he’d created, so he settled for viewing it later.

Alter Ego then commented on the rooms, and Makoto had to agree that his was indeed perfect. It was average without too much flare, but still felt like somewhere he’d be eager to get back to every night… though, anywhere with a soft surface was preferable to where he’d been sleeping before.

As his heart started to hurt dwelling on it, he thanked the AI silently when they continued talking and his eyes went extremely wide when he heard that he was here with forty-seven other people. That was such a specific number to mention… and for some reason, he seemed to immediately pick up that it was a multiple of sixteen, which made him shudder. And if some of them… a large majority of them… were being revived, it was undeniable that they were members killing games.

When did a third killing game happen? Makoto thought, but mentally dropped the subject when Alter Ego turned into Sayaka Maizono and his breath hitched. He immediately stood up, no longer consumed by his need for comfort, and dropped his blanket-robe to the ground.

“Sayaka…,” He had to take a moment to cough and he wondered how long it had been since he last spoke, “Sayaka is… alive? You’re talking to Sayaka, Alter Ego?” But the program didn’t stop to answer him, and just kept telling the Pop Singer’s story. Which was fine for now. He had two years to emotionally grow and move forward from their deaths – and the idea that they could be watching this video didn’t make sense to him at all. But he completely trusted the AI, and chose to listen to the fake Sayaka speak. Though, he found that he already lived through a majority of her story as the only details left out were the already missing school memories.  

There was a lot to be learned over the year the students had together before the world went to shit. He didn’t remember any of it personally, only learning it second hand through notebooks and social media posts, but still thought of all of it fondly as each virtual person said their monologues. Leon’s unrelenting crush on Sayaka that she turned down peacefully every time. Mukuro’s passionate feelings towards himself and how she was having doubts about her sister’s plan but felt powerless to stop her. Chihiro coming out to everyone as, first, a boy, then as nonbinary when they researched more into gender. Taka and Mondo, just like in the killing game, ironically, on opposing sides of ‘Hall Monitor’ versus ‘Delinquent’ until they spent a week facing off against one another in ‘manly tasks’ that ended with the two of them becoming best friends. Hifumi entering Hope’s Peak not getting along with anyone, but over time growing more comfortable around his peers and even starting to introduce them to his interests and gaining some new ones in return. It turns out, over a forced Class Baseball Match, they discovered his attention to detail made him a very reliable catcher, and Leon promised he’d watch the magical girl anime Hifumi was obsessed with as payment for training sessions.

Celeste was one of the saddest to learn about, as it seemed she was extremely close to Kyoko, who didn’t remember any of it even after deciphering all of the gambler’s cryptic journal entrees. They seemed to have this cat and mouse dynamic between them ever since Kyoko discovered her real name only a month in, and Celeste found that her life being a game for the detective to solve became more rewarding than making up a life at all.

Unsurprisingly, Aoi kept a very detailed diary about her everyday life and from there they learned a lot about Sakura. How Kenshiro’s condition kept fluctuating between better and worse, and the strain on the Ultimate Fighter’s emotional wellbeing was put to the test at every update. She trained with Aoi daily to take her mind off things, and the two were inseparable. There might have been quite a few chapters on the swimmer’s romantic feelings for the other woman, but also how she never wanted to make Sakura feel pressured to choose between her and Kenshiro, so she never said a word. One of the first things Aoi said upon finishing the diary readthrough was that she wished she had.

With none of these secrets being mentioned during the story time, it almost seemed as if… Alter Ego didn’t know their missing school memories, which made sense. Chihiro made them during the killing game, so of course they wouldn’t remember things they were forced to forget. Plus, the survivors never really had a moment to sit down to tell the program the updates. 

A painful shudder went up his spine when Junko showed up on screen. Makoto wasn’t worried, per se, as it was well established during Chihiro’s section that this presentation was being run exclusively by Alter Ego, and had made a point to warn everyone that they would be performing as Junko ahead of time – but he was worried that if the Ex-Remnants of Despair even saw a glimpse of her, there could be a relapse. Of course, that was just going off the assumption that they were watching this video, too.

Still, the program sure looked and sounded like her. It was jarring to say the least, but, as reassurance, she said, “This will be the only one today where I’m not fully in character. And I’m happy to drop the façade. I do not know why Junko did what she did, or what was going through her brain. But to her, this was her life’s purpose. To her, she was making the world as it was meant to be. I have spent much of my time since my creation studying her recorded words and actions, only to find that there is no logical explanation for them. And I have concluded that any attempts at understanding Junko Enoshima must be taken with a Brechtian approach. From here on, I will hop back into character, but I am only telling the facts of her life before and during the killing game. I will be giving plenty of warning to any despair-inducing content. Now…,” The girl on screen clapped, took a deep breath, and posed. She posed so many times and did so many voices while she was telling the story, that Makoto truly believed Alter Ego wasn’t lying about studying her.

Junko had very little left of her missing school life. Well, her real missing school life, anyway. She posted things on the internet all the time about where she was and what she was doing as a fashionista, but nothing about despair or Izuru. There wasn’t even brainstorming, or plans written down – her mind was just wired to think up plots and act them out, no matter how long or convoluted they were; a fact proven by Mukuro’s notebooks’ descriptions of her sister. But even in those – nothing was ever more specific than ‘the plan’.

Seeing Hiro replace the wicked woman on screen, Makoto felt himself relax. The six survivors had been nearly inseparable, both physically and emotionally, since they woke up in Future Foundation’s Emergency Room after passing out when Hope’s Peak’s door opened for the first time in a year. It took them a month or so to be released, but once they were, they traveled back to the Academy as a group.

There was an agreed upon rule that each would get to read their own notebooks, and not share anything they weren’t comfortable with, but the deceased’s items were open to any of the six’s eyes.

Aoi and Toko had no problems sharing their personal findings with the group. The former simply because most of it was about Sakura and her brother – god, Aoi had lost so much in such a short amount of time, yet she was still such an optimistic person – and didn’t have any secrets she wanted to keep. The latter was actually excited to find that she fell for Byakuya just as hard the first time, and that the class knew about her and Jack and accepted her anyway. All the survivors comforted her when Toko cried happy tears after finding out that she hadn’t killed a single person since entering the school, mostly thanks to Byakuya’s influence on her.

All of Hiro’s ‘OOPArts’ were still intact – because absolutely no one but him would ever want them – but seeing the man so unashamedly happy made everyone feel just a little bit lighter. He didn’t have much in terms of written documents from the past, as he shredded most of his papers out of paranoia. But they did discover that it was the Kuzuryu Clan that he owed money to and, after finding out Fuyuhiko was a remnant, Hiro started to grow much more relaxed as a person. With age came some maturity, and while he was still quite gullible and did everything in his power to get out of responsibilities, he was a wonderful source of positive energy for the other survivors. Each of them would definitely consider him their friend.

It was Kyoko’s journal, found during the killing game, that led Makoto to realize his missing memories in the first place, but other than that – it seemed the purple haired detective didn’t keep any other records save her case files. Byakuya was in a similar state, where he had family records and government documents (that were probably important at one point but with the whole world-ending thing they had lost a significant amount of value) but nothing personal that stated his feelings and emotions. Anything the survivors learned about the two of them were through the eyes of Celeste and Toko – but even then, there wasn’t much to be gained that wasn’t already known.

In terms of himself, though, Makoto did keep something private: a spiral notebook that was disguised as a creative writing journal. In reality, it contained short blurbs about each of his classmates which told many secrets... His initial crush on Sayaka, that faded when he saw how much Leon was interested in her. How he noticed Mukuro’s stares but didn’t think much of it and just wanted to get closer to her. When Chihiro came out, and how he took the time to research his own sexuality. Taka and Mondo starting to get close, which always made Makoto feel a guilty jealousy for reasons he’d discover in later pages. How his time with Kyoko always made him feel a little bit smarter and how he’d come to rely on and adore her. But most pages were completely filled with poetic wantings, trying to figure out how to combine his world, the average ninety-nine percent, with Byakuya Togami’s one percent.

At first, the notebook terrified him. Based on the actions of the killing game, he assumed that Sayaka or Kyoko would be the object of his affections, not the man who… insulted him on multiple occasions and, oh, strung up one of their dead classmates for the explicit purpose of seeing if Makoto could solve the murder . But the more he spent time with the heir, the more he started to see what those pages talked about. How, whenever the two hung out, Makoto was drawn by an overwhelming desire for Byakuya to see his side of things, to acknowledge him, and every time it happened, he felt like fireworks were going off in his chest.

He knew his feelings were real when Byakuya had gotten captured in Towa City, and Makoto panicked that he’d never get to see him alive again. But even when he got Byakuya’s video call, feeling overwhelmed in relief, he still didn’t think it appropriate to confess. So, he kept it all hidden, even when they were hiding on an island and doomed to be branded traitors upon their return. There was no time for romance. He had to continue spreading hope, and he could do that with his wonderful, amazing, talented friends at his side.

Makoto finally came out of his daze of memories when he saw himself on screen and started to fully tune back into what Alter Ego Makoto was saying.  

Time before the tragedy, check. Stolen memories that he doesn’t remember, check (Even if he knew some of them now). Killing game, SUPER check. Future Foundation, check. Towa City, check. Neo World Program, check. Court case, check. And, finally, jail cell, check. His whole story from start to finish for all to hear. Every embarrassing, incredible detail of it all.

His heart skipped a beat when he heard Byakuya’s voice a second time, and he got embarrassed at how fast he’d reacted to it but calmed down immediately when he recognized the Ultimate Imposter. Seeing them was incredibly reassuring, as his first assumptions of the forty-eight people being members of killing games started to become more and more likely, but that still left the mysterious third group he didn’t know.

As he had watched this particular game with his own eyes, he only paid attention to learning new personality traits and opinions on things that he hadn’t gained before. It wasn’t like the Remnants talked to him before (or, really, after) they were put into the simulation, and it was refreshing to hear their honest opinions. 

However, when Rantaro came on screen, things changed. Makoto started to feel a slight nagging pain above his right eye. It wasn’t too much that it would make life unbearable, but it was noticeable and uncomfortable. The longer the green-haired man spoke, the more it disappeared, but it came back with a vengeance when Kaede showed up next.

This pattern of intense headaches that would slowly subside just to come back when the next person showed up on screen continued the whole time. Through it all, he still desperately listened, making sure he didn’t miss a single bit of story of the one killing game he didn’t know. And finally, finally, when Shuichi turned back into Chihiro, Makoto felt no more pain.

The AI told him that there’d be even more tomorrow, and that they were reachable at any time, but still managed to give droplets of positive reassurance in their words. The brunette smiled wide as the television turned off, and he flopped back into his pillow.

While he did have questions he wanted answers to, especially about the vague statements that these dead people were alive and here, he didn’t have the energy to hold a conversation. Though he was free of the headaches, having them go on for so long tired him out significantly and it took mere minutes for him to drift off into a restful, healing sleep.

It had been two months since he had this luxury, after all.   

-x-

Log

Day: -1
Perspective: Naegi, Makoto/Class 78

-x-

The second morning Makoto woke up in a soft bed, it wasn’t as jarring as the first. He felt refreshed beyond all belief, and happily sat up to face the television head-on when Alter Ego popped up saying, “Good morning, everyone! It’s 10 a.m.! Currently Day Negative One! I hope you slept well! Are you ready?”

Though, that feeling immediately vanished when he showed up next on screen and announced they were participating in a game. Ha, even the virtual him couldn’t make speeches where he didn’t walk over some words or explain things properly.  

Throughout the explanation and rules, two things stuck out to him. The first being, when he saw Kokichi talk, he didn’t get an intense headache this time. There was a pang whenever someone from the third killing game appeared, but it was nothing more than a temporary ‘eureka’ feeling before dissipating entirely. The second was that Alter Ego explicitly said that Junko was here and was not to be left alone. She was in her room? What did that mean?

Makoto watched her die, watched her suffer through all her punishments and be crushed by the machine. The idea of her being here and still alive was terrifying, and he had to suppress an involuntary whimper.

As painful as it was to admit, Junko dying was a good thing that happened to the world, even if he still desperately wished he could’ve saved her.

He didn’t let his trust in Alter Ego falter, however. They had been together through so much. If there really was a mastermind here, with the AI at their beck and call, then he’d in turn trust them too. It was explicitly a non-killing game, right? And the mastermind wasn’t impacted by despair, right? So, this should be fine.

It didn’t stop him from thinking about how Alter Ego had been confiscated by strangers for two months.

“Thank you all so much in advance for listening and respecting the rules. That was the rough part of our morning. Finding out there is a game with high stakes is never easy, but what we’re going to do next will make up for it!...

…Would you like to see everyone again?”

Everyone. So, they were here?! His deceased friends? He could’ve pushed the button. It was right there, almost taunting him. But if he pressed it – that would be the same as admitting his doubts, wouldn’t it? Determined to see for himself the truth when the time came, he got up and stretched while Shuichi’s picture appeared on screen.

With this newfound time ahead of him, he decided to inspect the framed photo on the bookcase. It looked brand new, just how it had been handed to him two whole years ago, but the true photo was most certainly folded multiple times and regularly taken out of a wallet. So, was there a second copy? Or was this a clue to one of the mastermind’s questions?

Realizing the original was not on his person, he took the frame apart, and quickly got to creasing this one in the exact same way it had been originally, then slipped it into his back pocket after fondly staring at it for a while. He loved everyone in his photo so much, and if there was a chance he could see them again, he was going to take it, even if the idea sounded unbelievable.

Checking out the rest of the room yielded no interesting results; it was just a nice room that made Makoto feel comfortable. With nothing left to look at, he decided to grab one of the comics off the shelf and began reading it as his desk to pass the time.

When Kirumi’s profile popped up on screen he wasn’t expecting to listen in on a speech from the third game’s mastermind. Tsumugi’s claims during her story hadn’t affected Makoto. He knew he was very real and had been living through hell for years. But this monologue did affect him. If he really did have thirty days to see his beloved classmates, he’d be damned to waste this opportunity worrying about how they were here or what they did during their game.

Even if it was fake, pretending they were real just to say goodbye before moving forward sounded very nice.

After the noise clip turned off, Makoto expected the screen to show the next released person, but instead Alter Ego showed up, “Hello, Makoto! I hope you don’t mind, but there’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”

The brunette sat on his bed, “I’m all ears! What’s up?”

They didn’t change to anyone, keeping up the appearance of Chihiro, “I am not here to play favorites, but I have run some data tests, and I think you should a-aim for the S-Student Council role.” The AI physically shook on screen, collecting themselves, “I will be clear that you are not the only person I’ve contacted about this. There really will be a debate later, and the group will vote for their leader, but I think you are qualified for the position. Before you ask, the responsibilities and expectations will be revealed later today, as I want your mind to be entirely on this upcoming event first, but I wanted to give you some encouragement while I still had you in private.” They finished with a confident nod, awaiting Makoto’s response.

“O-Oh! Well I’ll definitely… consider it?” He shrugged, not really understanding quite yet.

Alter Ego giggled, “That’s all my aim was in informing you. Thank you very much for hearing me out. I’ve missed you very much, Makoto. It’s truly wonderful to see you and I hope these thirty days fill you with good, happy memories.”

That was… a little intense, he had to admit. But his feelings for the program were just as equal, “I missed you, too. A-And I’ll try! But, would it be alright if I asked what happened to you after the court ruling? Since you’re here?”

“I don’t mind at all! But it’s a very boring story.” The virtual Chihiro sighed, “I was just locked in a safe in the Division One office under the watchful eye of the Leader. I promise you I was not opened or used in that room the entire time.”

He felt some of his anxieties wash away at the news, and gleefully said, “Thank you for letting me know! Now… I just… contemplate leadership while I wait for my turn?” To which Alter Ego nodded and said a verbal affirmation before bidding him farewell for now and turning off.

This left Makoto to ponder his thoughts. He had been the leader of the Fourteenth Division of Future Foundation, and look where he’d gotten his team? But he wasn’t naïve enough to not know it was because of him that even six people survived the first killing game. It was also because of him that Alter Ego Junko didn’t get to escape the Neo World Program – though it was partially his fault that she had that opportunity in the first place.

Though one thought in particular stood above the rest – had he not already been leading the world? Sure, the Leader ruled the Future Foundation, but Makoto’s voice was the loudest, and people listened to him. All the way up until he tried to save the remnants. If the people he was leading were the victims of the three killing games, he started to think that playing president might be entirely up his alley. To spread hope to those that had been pulled into the darkest despair.

But, eventually, he saw the words ‘BREAK’ appear on the screen for a second time, and he started to get up, knowing that his group was the last one. Lucky for him, he was first, and he took a step outside, smiling as wide as he could, vibrating with excitement at the prospects ahead.

Makoto looked at the hall before him, taking in both the filled and empty picture frames. It was easy to tell that the missing photos were those of the first killing game, and he shuddered as he counted fifteen unclaimed doors. 

He admired every single photograph when he did his full walk around, but none of it prepared him as he entered the lounge where thirty-two people occupied it; alive and well.

Before he could even raise his hand to wave, a tall figure rushed over to him, immediately grabbing his hands and holding them close to their chest.

“The Ultimate Hope! It’s so wonderful to meet you! I’m such a big fan of everything you’ve ever done! I admire you so much and I cannot believe you’re here in front of me! Please! Anything you need during this time I am here to help and I-,“ Nagito was cut off by a clearly embarrassed Hajime, finally letting Makoto have a moment to process the situation.

In retrospect, he shouldn’t have been surprised, “It’s wonderful to meet you, too! I look forward to getting to know the real you as we spend the next month here.” He then stretched out his hand and gave a large grin in the white-haired man’s direction, making him… cry!? Makoto faltered for a bit, but Hajime just held up a finger signaling for him to wait, and eventually a tear stained Nagito gripped his hand with a fervor and shook it excitedly. They stayed like that until Hajime threatened to leave him to his luck if he didn’t let go and he released his grip immediately, bowing in respect instead.

Makoto just chuckled and bowed back, showing equal respect, until Hajime intervened again, “I’m sorry we broke the rule about not bothering you first. But, if you have any questions, we’re all here for you.”

That’s when the small brunette took in the scenario around him. On one half of the room were the participants of the third killing game. A scarf wearing Korekiyo was sitting on the ground playing a card game with the two women he killed and the red-haired mage that was the most affected by it. Noticing the checkered pattern, Makoto searched for Kokichi, finding him standing on a wall… brooding? He couldn’t quite tell the emotion, just that the man was tense – probably because the large entomologist he manipulated was sitting a close, but comfortable, distance next to him, simply existing in the leader’s space. On the couch was a sleepy Kaede, with Rantaro on one side and Miu on her other – both of their heads on her shoulders. The pianist was reaching out and holding hands with Shuichi, sitting in a bean bag chair. Though her eyes were unfocused and looking at nothing, his were trained on the wall Kokichi was at, definitely waiting to see if there was going to be a problem with Gonta so close.

As for Class 77, Makoto noticed Chiaki over by the video games. It looked like she was alone with Tsumugi, talking about who knows what, but they both seemed excited. Though, every once in a while, the ex-mastermind would flash a glance over to someone near her but he couldn’t tell if it was directed at the Imposter Byakuya and Teruteru, who were having a deep discussion about food, or Akane and Nekomaru, having a lovely conversation with Kaito and Maki. Hiyoko was curled up next to Mahiru on the couch, happily going through some photos the redhead found on her camera. Mikan, near the kitchens, was surrounded by Ibuki and Kirumi, trying to keep her spirits up moderately successfully. Sonia and Gundham were mediating between Soda and Keebo, which seemed to be going relatively ok. And finally, there was an intense stare-down between Fuyuhiko and Ryoma from across the room, and, knowing the yakuza as decently as he did, Makoto could tell he was trying to figure out how to go over and start a conversation that wouldn’t end up with him getting the shit kicked out of him. Peko was quiet, not trying to interfere.

At the end, his eyes met back up with Nagito’s, still admiring him almost religiously until Hajime cleared his throat and grabbed both of the Lucky Students’ attention, reminding Makoto that he hadn’t responded yet, “Right! Thank you! I believe I’ve figured most of it out, but maybe you can run it by me just to be sure?”

The taller brunette nodded, and began explaining the layout and such, to which Makoto was proud that he got most of it right, and immediately got excited knowing that Kyoko, his best friend and most trusted ally, was going to be next. He thanked Hajime again and waved to the participants of the second killing game that happened to be looking his way and stepped out of the lounge.

He hadn’t prepared for how loud and sudden the buzzer would be and it made him jump when it went off, but he found Kyoko’s door quickly. She walked out collected, though leisurely, and immediately embraced the small man upon seeing him.

“Greetings Makoto,” She began once she released him, “It’s been a while. I am happy to see you are unharmed. I assume you haven’t learned anything about where we are?”

Their prisons kept them apart and getting reminded of where he was only a few days ago made a cold shiver travel up his spine, “Not at all. But I don’t think it’s anything dangerous. Do you?”

After a moment of contemplation, she shook her head, “I am unsure of the intent and whether or not it’s benevolent, but I do agree that this mastermind does not actively seek to harm us. And I know Alter Ego has never led us astray.” The unspoken ‘ but they still could’ was not missed by Makoto, so he just nodded, trying to not think of that possibility.

She began heading towards the lounge, not needing directions or to even be told there was a giant room there. And as she walked into the space, all eyes turned to her, though she didn’t look phased in the slightest until Shuichi released Kaede’s hand and stood up.

Without missing a beat, she flashed the younger detective a sly smile and gestured her head signaling him to come over. Once he was in proximity, she stretched out her hand and said gently, “I am Kyoko Kirigiri. It looks like we’ll be partners for the next month. I look forward to getting to know you.” Shuichi returned the gesture, though she could tell he was feigning confidence, but didn’t mind at all. After hearing all he accomplished she was more than eager to watch his abilities up close.

“Shuichi Saihara. L-Likewise!” He coughed, flustered, “I will do the best I can to assist you.” Kyoko wanted to retort that they would be equals but decided that would be a better conversation for another time. Instead, she patted him on the shoulder and turned him around.

With both Shuichi and Makoto by her side, she took a deep breath and addressed the crowd, “Hello everyone. I am one of the Ultimate Detectives, Kyoko Kirigiri. I understand you’ve been forced to put your faith in me, but I guarantee you your memories will be safe. I will not fail, and neither will Shuichi. I do not know what is in store for us, but I promise you are all in capable hands.” She fluttered her hair at the end, doing a dramatic turn around and walking away, leaving Makoto to formally introduce himself, since he hadn’t earlier.

Once they joined back up, Kyoko stopped in her tracks and sighed, “Dealing with that many people looking at you expectantly never gets easier. I don’t understand how you do it.” She smiled at Makoto fondly. Though she had grown to be more willing to talk about herself and her feelings, addressing large groups never became her specialty.

“It just comes naturally. It is my talent after all! When I’m giving my speeches, I just get caught up in them. If there’s too many people, I start to forget there’s any at all. But…” He paused and patted her arm playfully, “It’s kinda nice that you get to know what people look at me like… like my life is in their hands – which, fair, most of the time it is. But it’s nice that someone else gets to share that with me.”

Gesturing for him to follow her as she started walking, she retorted, “No, I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand what you go through. But I can sympathize.” Her tone was light but turned coy when she picked up on some of his mannerisms. He’d been talking just a little bit quicker, and kept playing with the arm sleeves of the jacket he hadn’t worn in over two years, “I can also sympathize that you’re trying to distract yourself, knowing you’re about to see Byakuya again for the first time in two months.”

He was smart enough to know that his glances over the years had not been subtle but for her to directly call him out like this made him immediately get defensive, “I-I’ll be the same way with Aoi, Toko and Hiro, too! So don’t think that’s it’s just him!” To which Kyoko chuckled and kept walking making a ‘sure, sure’ gesture with her hand as she inspected the door frames.

There was some small talk back and forth after that, and with about forty-five seconds left Makoto said, “Hey, what’s the last thing you remember?”

She brought her gloved hand to her lips, thinking intently, “I was in my cell for the two months, then something happened. I can’t exactly remember what, but something happened, and we got out. I’m absolutely positive. When I woke up next, I was in my room in this dorm. Does that match your memories?” She turned around and flashed her bright, lavender eyes in his direction intently.

No… no that wasn’t quite right, “My version seems to be a little different. I don’t remember any specific events like you seem to… but I do remember falling asleep in my cell and then I woke up here. I think some time passed between the two events but nothing more than a couple days, really.” She took in that information with a very serious look, then continued walking, shutting out the world to ponder what the differences could mean.

This left Makoto to quietly follow behind until the buzzer went off, revealing the heir’s room neighboring Kyoko’s own.

His door opened like any other, but to the brunette, it was slow and torturous. Byakuya stepped out poised and proper but the moment he saw Makoto, he faltered; concern flashing behind his blue eyes. Immediately, the tall blond corrected himself, crossing his arms and looking irritated as he said, “Good. You’re alive.”

The words caught Kyoko’s attention, bringing her out of her deducing, and she raised an eyebrow at him, “Why wouldn’t he be?”

Byakuya inspected her, testing to see if she was telling the truth by not understanding him, then he calmly said, “You don’t remember?” He paused, then when neither said anything he added, “About the explosion?”

Even Kyoko looked shocked at his statement. Their continued silence prompted him to keep going, “I see. I will state everything I know to keep you up to speed.” He pushed his glasses up, “I don’t know where your memory cuts out, but I’ll start from the most recent and work backwards if you need me to-“

“We both remember the jail cells.” Kyoko interrupted. It wasn’t mean spirited, and Byakuya simply nodded in acknowledgement.

“Great. So, jail cells. Then, Toko and Komaru broke in, leaving their posts at Towa City to come release us. Why? I have no idea. But in the chaos, Makoto’s cell exploded with him still inside. My memory cuts off watching it happen as we tried to open his door.” The heir seemed to go distant at the words, clearly remembering the event, but it only lasted a moment, “You can see where my concern stems from now that he’s here, seemingly fine.”

Feeling their two stares made Makoto a little overwhelmed, but he shook it off, “I-I’m ok! I promise! But… I don’t remember any of that…”

After softening his features, Byakuya murmured, “It’s quite alright. I am… pleased to see you are uninjured.” He then cleared his throat, “Enough of that, then. We shall get more information when Toko joins us. Though, I am deeply concerned about Komaru’s whereabouts, I think that’s a discussion that should also wait. Now, if you would so kindly fill me in on what you know and if you could take me to meet the others there’s someone I need to have a discussion with.”

Makoto laughed, relaxing all the tension in his body. The concern of his crush had made his stomach flutter, but he kept it rightfully under control, as this wasn’t the appropriate time for things like this. (No times seemed to be appropriate for things like this). He agreed that waiting a few minutes for a more reliable source was a good idea, so he just basked in his own happiness at seeing Byakuya again after being separated for a while. Though, he vowed to show the same amount of happiness for his other friends, too! Determined, he answered, “Sure. Follow me while we talk!” Then made his way to the lounge, the two others following behind.

He informed the progeny of the layout, frames, and release schedule right before he turned the corner where everyone was waiting. Immediately, Byakuya brushed passed him and walked up to his Impostor counterpart, glaring him down.

“Starting tomorrow, I want you changed.” The real Byakuya demanded, not giving any time for pleasantries as Makoto and Chiaki ran over from opposite sides of the room to keep the peace.

The Impostor pushed his glasses up, not phased in the slightest, “Yes, of course, and what would you have me change to? Someone else here?” He tutted sarcastically, then scoffed, playing his role perfectly. His classmates all looked at him confused, as he had been out of character earlier. To watch him slip back into his talent at the flip of a switch was jarring. 

The twiggier man let out a long, strained sigh, “No. Just wear whatever you want. Be whoever you want. You don’t have a name, so make one up! Chop chop!”  He snapped his fingers to go along with the ‘chop’s.

“Give me until tomorrow morning. You have my word.” The Impostor said, slightly defeated, not wanting to start a full on fight.

Byakuya nodded, smirking as he always did when he got his way, “Fantastic. I am looking forward to meeting the real you. While I do not approve of you choosing me of all people, I will commend you that your performance was near perfect.” He paused, realizing that was too kind a compliment, then added “Don’t do it again.” Before turning away, stating to Makoto that his business was complete.

The trio made their way back into the hallway after that, the progeny skipping introductions, and they began to look around at the remaining empty rooms.

It wasn’t long before the next buzzer went off, and Toko stepped out of her room looking around cautiously. When she spotted Byakuya she calmed down and made her way to his side.

The time apart was nothing but beneficial for the two. Though Toko’s crush on Byakuya never wavered, the more she spent time with Komaru, the less she thought about him and missed him. And, with the writer so occupied in another city, Byakuya was able to live his life in peace, making their reunions actually enjoyable for both parties (even if he would never admit it). So, he didn’t push her away or degrade her for getting so close, as they hadn’t seen one another in over six months, save the break in, but that had been an emergency.

“H-Hello everyone. It’s g-good to see you again.” Toko mumbled, looking at everyone but Makoto. He had his assumptions as to why, but didn’t want to comment on it for fear of her reaction.

Without so much as a greeting back, Byakuya took the lead at explaining the dorms, pictures and who would be next. She didn’t ask for that information, but didn’t flinch away when she received it, simply acknowledging that she understood. His speech ended with, “Now, what is the last thing you remember? Our three memories are similar but not quite the same. We would like your recount.”

Thinking for a minute, despite Byakuya’s protesting foot taps, she eventually replied, “Well, I c-came to rescue you. But I only know that because I s-saw Jack’s plans. She was the one who did a-all of that…” She knew the blonde would be angry, so she braced for his berating words, but they never came.

When she finally lifted her head to look at him, his arms were crossed, but there was no hostility in his eyes, “I see. And do you have your stun gun? So, we may ask her questions?” But Toko shook her head no, and all three of the other survivors gave her confused looks.

She began to panic under their stares, “I-I-It wasn’t i-in my room!” She grabbed her two braids and held them tightly, “S-So I n-need to sneeze to get her.” Toko pouted, not happy that she had lost her easy ability to switch.

Smirking, Kyoko placed a hand on her shoulder and said, “Follow me.” Then lead them to the lounge.

Though, the air was completely different when Toko walked in. It wasn’t that anyone was looking at her maliciously, but everyone was tense, not sure how to react to her arrival.

The writer just sighed, knowing full well if Komaru were here, she’d tell them all off. Instead, Toko merely bowed and brought herself back up in a quick motion, “You d-d-don’t have to b-be afraid of me. Jack hasn’t k-killed anyone in over four years. She w-won’t start now.”

While her sentiment was appreciated, it didn’t calm down the group at all, until Byakuya walked forward snarling, “Oh? You’ve all seemed to forgive your murderous classmates and masterminds so easily. But not Toko who was spotless during her game? Really? How weak willed the lot of you are-”

“I’m not afraid of you.” Korekiyo’s weak voice interrupted, “In fact, I’m much more fascinated by you than anything.” While the progeny scoffed, Toko locked eyes onto the anthropologist, and the whole room waited in anticipation for her response.

“I’m not afraid of you, either.” She replied curtly, then turned to make her way towards one of the kitchens, realizing what Kyoko’s plan had been once she saw them. It took no time at all for her to find some provided pepper, and she walked out into the middle of the room with a calm expression on her face as she took a deep breath and sneezed when the spice invaded her nostrils.

Jack took over in no time at all, growling as she immediately spat, “Hey! Who’s the punk makin’ Toko feel all sad?” But stopped when she realized that the group’s eyes were on her, “Oh. I see. Welp! Hiya, then! Nice to meet ya! My name’s Jack, but you can just call me Jack~” She trilled.

Quickly, Kyoko asked, “We have some questions about your memories. Are you able to elaborate what you last remember? Did Alter Ego inform you of our situation?”

“Yep and yup!” Jack sing-songed, “First, Toko watched the original broadcast, then she made herself sneeze at the end, and AE caught me all up, then we switched back when I slept, I guess. I don’t know what the ‘tougher’ news of today was, though! I’m excited to find out once I get back to my room! Y’all don’t mind if I keep this pepper do you~?” When no one spoke up, she pocketed the small glass container and patted the fabric happily.

“As for the other part, it’s simple! Komaru and I learned about the court case, and when we found out the verdict we started planning immediately! And baddah-bing-baddah- boom we blew up the jail cells! Kyahahaha!” She put her hands to her stomach as she laughed, then wiped a fake tear from her eye, “But uh… after that my memory is gone! Kaput! No more! Just an explosion! My White Knight’s scream! And then? Total Darkness.”

She finally looked at Makoto, her face shifting into something very serious, “I don’t know what happened to Komaru after that. But the advanced calculator told me she’s totally fine, and she wasn’t invited because she’s not part of the killing games. So, don’t worry your hopeful little head about her ok, Macutie?” Jack walked over and pat his head twice, smiling with her tongue out.  Makoto beamed happily underneath the physical affection, elated at the news.

When the other students saw how caring she was being, they all, collectively, started to relax, and slowly went back to what they were doing, no longer scared of what an Ultimate Serial Killer might do.

Then, Kyoko came up to Jack and began explaining the same things Byakuya had to Toko earlier, making sure both women had the same information. As Jack started to lift the pepper out of her pocket to shift back, Kyoko butted in with a final, “Is there anyone in particular you’d like to talk to, so I make sure you get the chance?”

“No. But, please, make sure I’m always updated. That’s all I request.” The fiend said flatly, licking her lips angrily before taking a whiff and changing back, leaving a proud Toko in her place.  

It took no time at all after that for the writer to leave the lounge just to escape the people there. The three others followed suit, and, while roaming the hallway for the rest of the time, Makoto caught her up on what Jack told them all.

They stayed in a comfortable silence after that until Aoi’s door opened when the buzzer went off, and she eagerly hugged them all, “Oooh! I was so worried something happened to all of you! I’m so, so happy you’re all safe!” She then turned to Makoto, “Alright, Captain! Catch me up!” She saluted, winking at him in the process.

He just chuckled happily at her, “Of course, uh, Matey!” He then obliged, pointing to her door to show off the nameplate and associated picture, which she ogled incredulously, thinking it was ridiculous to include.

After the explanation was over, she seemed to get sadder, letting her shoulders droop, “I… I’m sorry, I need to get this off my chest. I trust Alter Ego, but I’m struggling to believe that we’ll see our dead classmates soon. I… don’t really know how to feel. It’s been so long, y’know?”

“Is that no different than catching up with someone after not seeing them for a few years?” Kyoko reassured her, “Say you ran into a friend from elementary school randomly at the grocery store. You had no reason to expect them there, or to even know they were alive, but you talk and it’s as if no time has passed at all. It’s not exactly the same, I understand that, but I think approaching this thinking ‘seeing a friend after not being together for a while’ is healthier than ‘my dead friend is now alive’.” The four people looked at her with raised eyebrows, shocked at the words, then calmly nodded. They all agreed it was a better mind set, but successfully doing it would be a different story.

Still, Aoi kept that bright smile on her face, “Then I’ll do my best to think that way! If I really do get to see Sakura and our friends, then I’ll greet them with the biggest grin! A swimmer never drowns, even in emotions!” She pumped a fist in the air and released a triumphant breath.

Makoto followed suit, mimicking her, then brought his hand down and said, “Hey, what is the last thing you remember before waking up?”   

She hummed and tilted her head back and forth for a moment before answering, “We were trapped in the cells, and then… I remember… an event! I can’t tell you what it was, but I have the vague feeling that I’m forgetting something!” She kept tapping her finger to her cheek trying to recall anything. When the group informed her of the explosion, her eyes went wide and she said, “Yes! That’s it! The explosion! And we were trying to rescue Makoto! But… to be honest… I don’t actually remember that at all. I just know you’re right.” Lost in thought, Aoi began to pace back and forth, trying to get a picture of the moment but failed.

The five of them threw ideas back and forth for the rest of the time, though none of it produced concrete results.

When the next buzzer went off, Hiro popped out scared out of his wits, per usual. Though, he quickly recovered when he saw his friends, “Hey! Everyone’s here! Alright! It’s been so long since the gang got back together! But it looks like it’s Kyoko’s turn to save the day.” He sheepishly put a finger under his nose and smiled, “Don’t you worry, I’m one hundred percent certain that I’m thirty percent certain the detectives will succeed!”

“Well, I’m certain that I will succeed, thank you.” Kyoko said slightly huffing, making everyone laugh around her.

They caught Hiro up on their situation and asked about his memories, learning his matched up to Makoto’s of just falling asleep and then waking up to Alter Ego’s voice. But he added something to the end that caught everyone’s attention, “Also, during the info videos, when that third group came on screen, I started to get a bad headache for like, every single one of them. Himiko’s hurting the most? I don’t know what that was about! But I’m glad it was temporary!”

Four out of the five perked up at this and each told a slightly different tale, as Kyoko felt one continuous, mild headache until Shuichi’s appearance made her kneel over in pain. Aoi noted a lot of growing and fading headaches, much like Makoto and Hiro, but she didn’t describe any of it as painful or even irritating, just something nagging at her. Byakuya claimed that he felt nothing until he saw Kokichi, but even if the headache had been minor, it was still noticeable.

Toko was the only one who looked confused as she tried to keep up with the conversation, “I-I didn’t feel any sort of headache? A-And I don’t think Jack did e-either. I don’t know w-what that means?”

“Whatever it is,” Kyoko spoke, noticing the braided woman started to panic, “I don’t think it’s what we should be focusing on right now. We all know who’s next. And even if she’s locked up in her room, I have no problem admitting I’m not eager to hear she’s been revived. What do you all suppose we do? Makoto?” She turned to him, expectantly.

He fidgeted for a moment, fiddling idly with his zipper, but whispered, “I… I want to, uh… talk? To her? M-Maybe say something through the door? Just a small sort of… thing?” He began moving the zipper up and down rather frantically, clearly uncomfortable.

When a firm hand gripped his shoulder, Makoto froze, dropping the abused piece of metal instinctually, “I will never understand your ability to show kindness to even the most cruel of people, but,” Byakuya removed his hand, walking around the smaller man to make sure they were face-to-face, “you already know we support you. So, if you think speaking to her is the right call, we will go with you. Are you ready?”

Though it took a minute for the confirmation to happen, Makoto nodded, forcing confidence as he took a step away from the rest of them. He picked the direction away from the lounge and stood his ground even as the buzzer sounded, revealing Junko’s smiling portrait right next to Hajime Hinata’s door.

The six of them waited just a moment with bated breath to see if she would come out. If she did, it would be the first one to prove that their classmates really were here and ready to greet them, but she never showed.

Tentatively, Makoto knocked three times and spoke with a loud voice after clearing his throat, “Junko? Are you in there? If so, would you listen to what I have to say?” He paused, not really waiting for anything, but wanting to collect himself to try and stay as rational as possible, “I’ve thought many nights to myself, ‘what would I say to her if I got to see her again’ but I never came up with anything that I believed would convince you or would even slightly get through to you, so, I’m not here to do that now. But I do hope you listen to me. I think I might be one of the only people you would listen to, if I’m allowed to think highly of myself for a moment.

I stopped you. When everyone else in that trial fell into momentary despair at your words, I stopped you and we escaped. I’ve been cleaning up the mess you left ever since. For the last four years, you’ve been working hard to manipulate the entire world, and I’m sure you were plotting even long before that. Two of those years you weren’t even alive to see it happen. And… I hate you. I, truly, wish that you had never done the things you did, no matter what it would cost me now. But even after everything… after making all of my friends forget each other, forget the people they loved, and forcing them to kill each other as strangers? I never, ever, wanted you to die. And I know now that at one point, you and I were friends. And if you’re in there, I’m going to keep trying. If your despair is unrelenting, then so is my hope. But if you try anything to my friends again? I will stop you. I’ve seen firsthand, because of you, that there are fates far worse than death, and feelings much worse than despair.

That’s all.

I hope you’re well.”

Makoto walked off, turning the far corner to take a few breaths and calm down. He chose to lean up against Toko’s door, picking one where he knew the owner wouldn’t mind, and slid to sit down at the bottom.

He perked up when he heard footsteps briskly approaching from the opposite direction of his fellow classmates and was greeted by Hajime dropping to the ground to wrap his arms around him, "Alter Ego played your speech. I’m still learning. But I figured you could use this." Izuru gripped him tighter, not really… knowing how to hug someone, then released Makoto, letting Hajime take back over, blushing and embarrassed as he quickly got up and retreated to the lounge.  

It was only a short moment, but the gesture had rejuvenated Makoto. He was ready when the other survivors came to retrieve him, relieved that they had let him have some space. Though, he didn’t miss the deep concern but also complete understanding that radiated from the group, so he stood back up and apologized for the outburst.

No one blamed him. In fact, they all agreed that maybe, in the future, they would each have the courage to speak to her like Makoto had.

For now, though, as the last seconds ticked down, all eyes turned to Aoi, who was already starting to tear up.

“I’ll be strong! I have to be!” She announced to them, and when the buzzer rang out, she gripped Makoto’s hand and pulled him along. He knew she was putting on a brave face, and he was absolutely willing to be there for her, much like he was during the nights she’d wake up sobbing once they had been released from the hospital.

When the tall, muscled woman peaked her head out the door to look around, it took no time at all for Aoi to release Makoto’s hand and run up to the martial artist, nearly toppling her to the ground in a jump hug.

Sakura held her tight, instantly sobbing into the swimmer’s shoulder, whispering, “I’m so sorry, Hina. I’m so sorry for everything.”

Furiously shaking her head, Aoi whimpered back, “No! No, I’m sorry. For not being able to save you. For being duped by Monokuma’s stupid letter. I should’ve believed in you more. Please know that I do! I believe in you with all my heart!” She let out a horse laugh through her tears, “And I missed you so much! I missed you every single day. I can’t believe you’re here.” Sakura simply nodded back, slightly too emotional to form words with how overwhelmed she was in affection.

They stayed in their embrace for quite a while. And, after letting them have their moment, Byakuya cleared his throat, “Sakura, I believe two people have something they’d like to say.” He said pointedly, knowing he had the power and authority to make the ones in question talk. He glared at Hiro first, knowing the man was a mess after watching the reunion.

“R-Right! I’m so sorry for bashing you over the head! I was terrified and not thinking clearly! I was paranoid but I shouldn’t have done it. I’m really, really sorry.” The clairvoyant spilled out, pleading like he was still terrified Sakura would break him in half.

When he was finished, Toko took a deep breath, “I’m s-sorry, too. Even if Jack is the one who physically harmed you, I still w-waited in that locker and didn’t trust you. I understand if you’re wary o-of me, but I n-need you to know Jack has not killed anyone since the k-killing game.”

Calmly, Sakura ran a hand through Aoi’s hair, holding her up with one arm, and planted a kiss on the smaller woman’s head, then released her, letting her feet fall to the ground casually. Once it was clear Aoi was stable, Sakura gently nudged her to the side so that she could bow and address the others.

“I apologize for betraying you all and helping Monokuma in any way. I do not blame any of you for your actions, and certainly do not hold any ill will towards anyone. I felt my actions were appropriate at the time, and I paid the repercussions. I… do not understand how I am breathing now… I – I remember closing my eyes for the last time, but if I am getting an opportunity to try again, I promise to not falter. You have my word, even if it holds less weight this time.”

Makoto wasted no time taking a step forward and gripping her hands in his fondly, “I believed in you then, and I absolutely believe in you now. Thank you for helping us get the answers we needed to save as many lives as we could. We never would have been able to do it without you. Welcome back, Sakura. I’m so happy you’re alive.” She began to cry again, nodding, and squeezed the smaller hands in acknowledgement of his words.

With two minutes left, Aoi filled her in on the layout and such, adamantly staying by her side. Sakura was asked if she wanted to be filled in on any information from the past four years that wasn’t covered in the video but declined. Instead, she said she’d love to catch up with Aoi over lunch, trusting Alter Ego’s words that this would be a place to relax for a whole month, and the swimmer was quick to agree.

During a lull in the explanation period, Makoto flashed a glance in Kyoko’s direction. The two had gotten very good at communicating silently over the years, and she was quick to notice the hazel eyes asking, ‘Do you want to talk about the next person before she arrives?’ But she subtly shook her head no, and he let it drop, giving her an understanding nod.

Eventually, the loud bzzzzzt sounded, and only Makoto noticed Kyoko uncharacteristically jump, playing it off as her starting to move.

They found Celeste’s room in the very back, next to Shuichi’s, and she walked out dolled up to the nines, like she had never been lit ablaze and crushed underneath a firetruck.

“Ah, greetings everyone,” She said, her fake accent perfectly recognizable. There was no attempt to apologize or even explain herself. She just gave her hello, then waited for the others to respond.

Though, the detective, knowing more about the woman than Celeste did herself, easily picked up on the way the gambler’s fingers trailed through her hair drills; like she was scared they would come off, “Hello…,” Kyoko hesitated, realizing she didn’t know how to address the newest arrival, “What... would you like us to call you?”

It was quiet after that, clearly not the question she’d been expecting to answer first. She brought a knuckle up to her lips in contemplation and eventually tutted, “Celeste, if you’d please. For, even if we knew each other before… I do not know you now.” Her red eyes met Kyoko’s in an intense stare, trying to keep up her intimidating and unapproachable persona.

She was unphased, sporting a knowing smile, “True, and I’m happy to supply you with the knowledge I’ve learned, but that is for a later time. Thank you for telling us your preferences.  Now, I’m going to ask a difficult but important question. Is your dream still the one and only thing that matters to you? To the point where you would take lives over it?” Her voice was kind. It was clear that it was less an accusation, and more an attempt to understand what the black-haired woman’s priorities were after reviving and learning the truth of the killing game.

With faux calmness, Celeste released the hair she was fidgeting with, “It is the only thing I have ever cared about. I felt nothing as I plotted then, and I feel nothing close to regret now. Had I succeeded, you all would’ve been a distant, unpleasant memory. My dream is everything to me. Not even death has changed that. You are all free to judge me accordingly, I do not mind.”  

“I see.” Kyoko snarled, then reigned herself back in, “If that is what you truly believe, I will not get in your way, but I want your word that no one will come to any harm by your hand or manipulation while we’re here.”

“On my honor.” The gambler responded, raising her eyebrows in genuine surprise.

Hating this tense back and forth, Makoto interrupted them, “Uhm! Can you tell us what you remember last?” He could tell there was an unspoken argument happening between them, and he felt it was time to stop it.

With a quick whip of her head to face him, Celeste smiled warmly, happy to change topics, “Why, of course. You see, you all said that I was the blackened, and because of that, I was tied to a stake and burned a witch. The last thing I saw was a truck aiming for my face. Satisfied?” She had a negative aura about her, like one wrong word would set her off into a frenzy.

As Kyoko went to retort, Aoi jumped ahead of her shouting, “Hey! That’s the kind of talk that’s just going to get everyone mad at each other, again!” Keeping the detective from saying something she might regret in a moment where her emotions weren’t as easily controlled, “I’m very sorry you had to go through that, Celeste! I really mean that! But you shouldn’t have killed anyone either. Can you forgive us if we forgive you?” She said the last bit sadly, like the idea of the gambler rejecting her was too much.

The words had struck a chord with Celeste, and she let out a deep exhale before saying, “I can… start to work on that, yes. I have no intentions of breaking the first rule, but we’ll see what happens when we get more information. Once a killer, always a killer, right?”

“Wrong!” Toko shouted, hurt, “Y-Y-You’re… so wrong!” And she didn’t have to say more before Celeste looked to the ground and nodded, understanding and defeated. 

When the emotions settled, and everyone seemed to be doing a little better, Makoto chirped, “There’s a gaming room here. It’s down the hall and it has even more than the rec room did at Hope’s Peak. Can I inform you of what we’ve discovered while I take you there?” Her eyes lit up, and she nodded in response, making a distinct and noticeable step away from Kyoko.

They were able to get her all of the details before she entered the lounge, and she paused at the release schedule, “Hifumi… will be next?”

No one answered her immediately, forcing Makoto to give her a hesitant affirmation. He wasn’t sure what her intent was in asking, but she responded with a curt nod, and finally turned the corner to the room where the other classes awaited.

After they had been uninterrupted for so long, everyone looked up expectantly to see the new arrivals. And, seeing the felt-top tables in the back, Celeste continued her pace without so much as a glance in anyone else’s direction. She sat down at one of them and pulled out a deck of cards from an inside pocket of her jacket, folding them expertly over the table. Everyone watched intently as she visibly relaxed at the movements then began to perform a few impressive card tricks to herself.

In no time at all, Himiko had made her way over to the table and sat down to watch, Hiro following close behind once she did. He was still unsure why she of all of them had caused him the most pain, and he figured hanging out with her would start to give him some answers. Though, all too quickly, they both became transfixed by the gambler’s movements.

While this would normally be where Tenko berated Hiro for getting so close to the young mage, she was currently occupied. The moment Sakura Ogami walked into the Neo-Akido Master’s life, she had known true perfection. Seeing her on the screen and hearing about her had been one thing – but to witness the most legendary woman standing before her was a miracle that even Himiko’s existence couldn’t compare to at this very moment. So, Sakura stood, smiling down at the younger woman ogling her and giving her compliment after compliment, and gave her a reassuring shoulder squeeze, saying she’d love to spar in the near future. Tenko nearly died on the spot, bursting into happy tears until Angie had to come get her, leaving Sakura and Aoi to chuckle happily.

Makoto flashed a grateful look over to Hajime for earlier, and the other gentleman smiled back. They proceeded to talk and begin to catch up while they waited out the clock. 

The buzzer signified that it was time to exit the lounge, and the group made their way to find Hifumi’s door in one of the very back corners. When he walked out, he was terrified. And, seeing Celeste, he immediately dove back into his room and slammed the door.

Upset but not surprised, she walked towards the barricade and knocked three times before saying, “This is not an apology, so do not take it as such, but I am stepping away so that you may greet your classmates. Eventually, I will have to rejoin the group, but if it is what you desire, I will allow this one request of my lack of presence.” She then took one step back, waiting for a response.

He cracked the door open, peering at her with fear radiating off of him, “You… You tricked me!”

“I did.” Celeste replied coolly.

He opened the door a little wider, “And… you intended to from the start?” His whole face could be seen now as he rested it on the panel.

With an audible sigh she nodded, holding her hands together at her stomach. Leave it to Hifumi to fill her with the guilt she was trying to hide.

“Hmm… you… will not harm me or berate me ever again?” The door opened completely, the author puffing out his chest confidently, a wicked smile on his face.

It was outstanding how quickly Celeste went from calm to fuming, dropping her accent entirely as she screamed, “I will berate useless vermin like you all I want! And you will never address me again!” Then stomped away. Kyoko announced she would attempt to bring her back and gave Hifumi a greeting before following the aggravated woman, leaving him to stutter in his doorframe.

“Hey man, it’ll be ok! No one’s gonna hurt anyone!” Hiro said happily, trying to usher him out, “You trust Alter Ego more than any of us, right? And they said you would have a great time here, so I’d believe them!”

At the mention of the AI, Hifumi perked up, “Y-Yeah… they talked to me. Helped me get through the fact that I… killed someone. I was so willing to do it, too. I was so easy to manipulate, and I feel so stupid…,” He finally walked out of the room, letting the door close behind him and he took a shaky breath, “I… I don’t blame Celeste! Maybe I do? I don’t know! This is so… tropey… but if I were writing the story, I’d make the character forgive her, right? So I should do the same… right? But I’m so… so…”

“It’s a hard decision.” Toko interrupted him. The two never saw eye to eye but hearing him babble was starting to bring some pity out of her, “I’m c-connected to a serial killer, so I can’t hate any of the blackened. But I won’t tell you what to choose. I’m just reminding you that all of us are here to help. A-And we had photographic proof that you two were f-friends!”

Nodding, he seemed to really concentrate on the words she was saying. And he was determined as he said, “You’re right! We were! And all of us could be friends again! That’s what the happy ending would be!” Hifumi smirked, proud of the words, “Alrighty! A.E. told me that you’d all inform me what you’ve learned. I am ready and waiting for information!” At that, Hiro told him about the release schedule first, so that he could be ready to apologize to Taka, then pointed out the photographs and talked about the lounge. He included the fact that the other two killing game participants were there, causing the writer to audibly huff.

“Chi-Chiaki is in there!?”

Everyone began to panic at the insinuation, and they all told him off, saying if he did anything to her that they’d all break rule number one themselves. They were mostly kidding, but the three Future Foundation members that had been on the island knew how important she was to that class, and how they would be more than willing to bury Hifumi alive for even thinking about Chiaki Nanami. Though, sweating under the pressure, he promised he was joking, but still wanted to genuinely meet her.

To change the subject, Aoi cleared her throat and asked if he remembered anything substantial, and he blanched, “Wait… yes I did! I remembered Celeste’s real name as I was dying! I remembered… our missing memories! But I can’t… recall any of it now. I’m so sorry.” He looked genuinely defeated and upset, and the group tried discussing things that might jog anything, but it proved fruitless.

Then, when time was almost up, Kyoko walked a significantly calmer Celeste back towards them, nodding in the black-haired woman’s direction, as if she were giving an affirmation.

“I am… sor- I – ugh! I would have never killed you if I hadn’t been in that situation! I wanted to make my dream come true with my own hands! But I am not apologizing, and we are not friends.” She spat, like it was extremely difficult to say.

At the last sentence, Kyoko gave her an angry stare, but took a calming breath to whisper, “But you could be one day.”

“But… we could be… one day.” The words grated from her mouth, humiliated.

In awe, all Hifumi could mumble was, “I would… like that.” And the conversation ended.

Things were light, despite the words and emotions, and most faces had a content smile as the buzzer announced Taka was rejoining them.

His door was right up front, next to one of the two rooms that didn’t have a frame on it. He came out of the room in a frenzy, grabbing Makoto specifically as he said, “Is Mondo alive!? Is he next!?”

The grip wasn’t hard, but it still startled the small brunette, and he didn’t have a moment to react before Byakuya stepped forward, “We can assume yes to both of your questions. Now, behave yourself. Are you the Ultimate Moral Compass or not?” The jab made Taka release his hold, and the heir backed off. Yet, the boisterous man’s eyes were still empty and sullen. 

“I’m sorry we weren’t there for you.” Makoto gasped once he’d been freed, “You were lost and hurt, and we just let you suffer in silence, too focused on our own stuff. I vow to never leave you feeling that lonely again!” 

Taka’s face dropped as he said, “When Mondo comes back, you won’t need to.” Though the words sounded intense, they were said so softly and passionately that they couldn’t be taken as anything more than a wish more so than a promise. 

In a ‘now-or-never’ moment, Hifumi walked up to him and bumbled, “T-This is really hard for me but I’m really sorry. I took your life over a computer with no regrets because I thought you stole it.” There was some whimpering after that, but the black-haired man just nodded his head.

“To be honest, I never saw that it was you who killed me! So I had no reason to suspect you! My last moments were delerious. I wasn’t thinking correctly, anyway. I don’t remember a thing about it, so I do not hold it against you! While morally, it would be unswise to befriend a killer, I threw away my own morals by claiming someone who was a killer ‘innocent’ for my own selfish actions. I’m… still trying to recover from that! But I have heard your speech and you have heard mine! And we’ll move on from this horrendous game, now that we are free from it’s dubious clutches!” His smile stretched from ear to ear, and he embraced Hifumi in a hug that was very slowly reciprocated by the other. 

From there, the group began to inform him on what he needed to know, ending specifically with the release schedule. Sakura had to hold him back from bolting across the entire floor to find the man he wanted to see most, and the group waited the painful minutes for the clock to count down as Taka became more and more restless. 

Finally, the buzzer sounded, and they found the biker stretching at the back next to Celeste’s room. 

He didn’t get a single word out before Taka marched over and embraced him with everything he had to offer. Mondo immediately flushed, tried to hide it, and gripped him back just as hard. The hall monitor began sobbing into his shoulder, spewing out his heart, saying incoherent sentences that all roughly translated to ‘I missed you’, ‘I’m disappointed in you’, ‘You hurt me.’ 

Mondo didn’t say anything back. He just kept holding the shorter man, and let him cry and get it all out. When Taka seemed out of stamina and started leaning on Mondo instead, he biker decided to speak up, “Hey, I messed up. I messed up bad. Honestly, that’s the kind of person I am-”

“Then I’ll… help you…”

“Nah, shh, it’s ok, bro. You can rest. You’ve been worrying about me in silence for two years, yeah? So you can wait just a bit longer.” He took a deep breath, feeling Taka rise and fall with his chest, “I’m not very smart, ok? I’m not dumb either! But I’m rash, and I go headfirst into things without thinking of the consequences. Two outta three times, the only person who had to deal with the emotional strain was me. My bro died, and the gang grew stronger. Chihiro died, and by the time any of you had to really deal with it, I’d already been caught. But that meant that you had to carry all of it.” He paused, letting the words sink in, “You carried so much on your shoulders and that made you an easy target. Look, I’m only good with feelings right now because I get it, but I need you to listen closely. I’m… really happy that you’re here right now… bro.” 

The two men stayed in a serene silence after that, soaking up one another’s presence happily. They still hadn't let go, and it didn’t look like they were going to anytime soon, which no one minded or commented on.

Once he got his breathing under control, Taka began the routine explanation, and eagerly said, “Now, let’s go… to Chihiro.”

They reluctantly broke apart, but stayed attached at the side as they walked forward together. Feeling emotional all over again at their display, Aoi wrapped her arm around Sakura’s and nuzzled her head into her shoulder, trailing them immediately. 

Everyone else followed behind, but Kyoko and Makoto fell back while still keeping up. They were having one of their silent conversations and each could tell the other was biting down some unwelcome jealousy. And, without a word, they both agreed that they needed to talk it out sometime in the near future, lest their emotions get bottled up. 

Surprisingly, Chihiro exited their room quickly, spouting the saddest grin they possibly could, and immediately ran to hug Mondo, though not as tightly as Taka had before. 

It startled the biker to his core when Chihiro sobbed, “I-I’m so s-sorry I made y-you feel that way! I’m…”

“ No. No. No way in hell are you apologizin’ right now! Are you nuts!?” The tall man nearly yelled, “ I’m apologizing to you , got it! You did nothing wrong, Chihiro. You did absolutely nothing wrong!” When he put his hand in their feminine locks, the programmer melted into the touch instantly. They still radiated guilt, but took the words to heart, and didn’t protest. 

After a few moments of letting them embrace, Makoto made a bold move, coming off the ‘conversation’ with Kyoko, and grabbed at Byakuya’s wrist cuff, tugging it slightly. The heir searched at him incredulously until their eyes met, and he was faced with those bright, sparkling hazel gems pleading for him to say something. 

Byakuya sighed and cleared his throat, taking a step forward, “I’m only going to say this once, so listen well. I believe an apology is in order. While I still stand by my decisions to do so, I will admit that tampering with your lifeless body to test everyone was… not… my most thought out plan, even if it did produce the results I wanted.” Multiple people, including and especially Kyoko, rolled their eyes at him, “So, I am sorry. It was disrespectful to you. I understand that now.” 

Taking a step back to return to the spot he once resided, the progeny looked to Makoto with an irritated scowl, but it melted away the moment the brunette’s beaming smile came into his view. Byakuya just sighed, very used to the man’s irresistible aura, and returned it with a satisfied smile of his own. Oh, and getting forgiven by the timid hacker was nice too, he supposed.  

When Taka and Mondo had finished telling Chihiro what the group knew, the small programmer parted from the embrace and excitedly asked, “Can I go meet Chiaki!?” And each of the Future Foundation members paused, only just now remembering the two had never met, despite being parent and child… technically. Collectively, everyone adamantly agreed they wanted the two to see each other, in person, for the first time right now.

So, they started down the hall. Chihiro walked hand-in-hand with Taka on their right, Mondo on their left, initiating the contact themselves and giddily pulling them along. No one thought it appropriate to bring up the gender question, except, of course…

“Hey, uh, so- what should we, like, refer to you as?” Hiro asked, puzzled. While he knew what they preferred during their school life, this Chihiro was different, and to him, not bringing it up was just an uncomfortable situation waiting to happen. 

The group of three faltered when their center stopped, but it took no time at all for the shortest one to happily perk up and say, “Any is fine with me! R-Really!” But Makoto picked up a strong inkling that there was more they wanted to say, and that this wasn’t exactly the truth, but felt that commenting on it would make things worse, so he bit his tongue.

Instead, he chose to say, “If that ever changes, please let us know.” And Chihiro gave a kind smile, continuing on their way. 

As everyone approached the lounge, the new additions were greeted relatively warmly, but all eyes bore into Chihiro as they made short, timid steps towards the 77th class. Tsumugi bowed and took a few steps away from Chiaki, to give them space, and the gamer started making some steps of her own to meet part way. 

They got face to face, and it took no time at all for Chihiro to start absolutely sobbing, putting both hands up to her cheeks and looking at her fondly, admiring everything about her. No one dared say a word, as the videos had taught them everything they needed to know about this moment.

“It’s wonderful to finally meet you.” Chiaki whispered. It was the most emotional the gamer had ever sounded, and she was the one who initiated the hug afterwards. 

Almost greedily, Chihiro shoved their face into her shoulder, letting tears drip down onto the signature cat jacket. They nodded as a response, and just gripped her as tightly as they could, “I-I-I… d-didn’t even know I got to-to make you. I didn’t know until the v-video said so! Y-Yet, I’m already so p-proud of you and everything you’ve done a-and-and I’m so happy you’re here! It just feels…”

“Meant to be?” She supplied, running her hands gently over their back.

“Meant to be.” The programmer contentedly responded with a long sigh, finally starting to tire themselves out after so many tears in such a short time. They didn’t talk anymore after that, and stayed together until the buzzer sounded.

A bright smile adorned Chihiro’s face when they walked out of the lounge, feeling rejuvenated and ready to welcome the last three people. 

Leon was not his usual, boisterous self as he greeted everyone with a pathetic wave, but that didn’t stop Makoto from working his magic.

The brunette took a confident step towards Leon, and grabbed his hands tightly, “You didn’t know,” He began, “You didn’t know it would turn into a trial. You didn’t know you would die if you failed. The rules weren’t explained to you. I’m not saying you should have done it - but it’s not just your fault. We’ll see Sayaka in ten minutes, and we can both greet her and heal together. Does that sound ok?”  

It took a long time for the baseball star to form the right words, “I just… thought i would escape. She tried to kill me... so... eye for an eye, right? I… the opportunity was there… my cousin was in danger… I didn’t know any of you. It was so… stupid.” He breathed out the last word, like it pained him to say, then he looked down dejectedly at the hands holding his own.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I helped start all of this. I’m sorry I took her from you…”

Those words shook Makoto to his core, but the thought that it probably hurt Leon to admit that kept him steady, “I forgive you. I... forgave you a long time ago.” He released the other’s hands and enveloped him in a hug. It was very quick, and when they separated, Leon turned and apologized to everyone as a group.

He stuck pretty close to Makoto after that, and didn’t react much when the layout, doors, and lounge were explained. They all knew he was focused entirely on what he’d say in several minutes, so no one was interested in getting him to talk. 

This left some time available and, preparing the worst, Byakuya raised his voice slightly to get everyone’s attention, “I would like to discuss our next guest. Should we assume she is not to be trusted? Should we assume that she would rebel against her sister after being betrayed? I’d like-... I demand to hear your opinions on the matter.”   

“I want to trust her! I-”

“Yes, Makoto. I’m very aware of your opinion and already took it into consideration.” The tall blond rolled his eyes, though not maliciously, and ended with a soft smirk. Makoto pouted and some people laughed as Byakuya continued on, “Anyone else want to agree or oppose?” 

A silence filled the air as the group contemplated the topic. To everyone’s surprise, it was Chihiro that spoke first, “U-Um, I really think… a-after seeing the videos… she would be on o-our side, right? A-A-And I was the-the one who watched her body after she was k-killed,” They had to pause to take a few steadying breaths, “S-She… she looked so… hurt. I-I.. I… want to believe in her! I want to be there for her! H-How do you think she’d react… if she opened her door and w-we were already accusing her?” 

Silence befell the group again, but it was much more in a stunned awe than everything. Makoto looked to Byakuya with a sheepish grin and tutted, “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”  

To keep peace for the more cautious personalities, they all agreed to be observant of her behavior but welcoming. She would be innocent until proven guilty. Near the end of the discussion, Hifumi reminded everyone that Alter Ego wouldn’t let anyone who wasn’t ready out of their rooms, and that if they trusted the AI, they might as well trust her too. 

With a little less than a minute left, they were interrupted by just the computer program they had been talking about, “Greetings everyone! I have a bit of an announcement. As you may have noticed, everyone looks exactly like they did during their respective killing games for familiarities’ sake! You are free to change this starting tomorrow, but this is how the mastermind desired you all to meet. However, due to Mukuro’s case, her being in disguise wouldn’t be healthy for the reunion! So she is dressed like she looked during her time at Hope’s Peak. Thank you for listening! Only two more to go!” 

The speakers made an audible clicking noise to signify the message was over and Makoto found himself looking down at his outfit after the message. He hadn’t really thought about the fact that he was wearing his old shirt and jacket, but having it be pointed out made him self conscious. He hadn’t worn this in two years, yet it still seemed to fit perfectly. 

Shaking himself out of those thoughts, he looked to the group and nodded at them, signaling that it was nearly time. There were only two doors left, and one of them was right next to Junko’s, so it was easy to guess who would be walking out of it. 

All too soon, the Ultimate Soldier stepped out with her chopped black hair and noticeable freckles. She looked calm, but all too tense, and Makoto assumed he’d be the best bet to try to talk to her.

Though, when he took a step forward, she flashed him a glare that made him stop in his tracks. Then, after releasing a very long sigh, she looked around the group at all of them, “I understand that you all think of me as a victim, but I’m not.” She paused to let the words linger, making sure to look directly at Makoto as she said, “I helped trap you all in here. I fully intended on helping her kill you all. Just because she betrayed me doesn’t change what I’ve done to you. It doesn’t change what I could still do to you.” In a flash, she leaped to Makoto and wrapped a hand around his neck but didn’t squeeze. 

He was powerless to her strength, and didn’t try to fight back, “She poisoned you, Mukuro. I read your notes - all of them - and I know that you wanted to stop her!” Her grip tightened, finally starting to apply some pressure.

“You only know what I left you!” She screamed, latching her other hand to his shoulder, holding herself back from choking him completely, “The only one here who knows about your missing memories is me! You don’t know what I did!” 

With a sad smile, he brought up a hand and gently placed it on top of her own, “Tell me. Please. What did you do, and how can we move past it? I have never blamed you, Mukuro. We all watched those videos. You were her twin, forced into despair from such a young age that you ran away to join a group until she found you. You’re finally safe! You can finally be free!” He was yelling back at her, both hands now gripping her own as she started to crumble from her crush’s passionate words. 

Her fingers slowly slid from his neck and she took a step back, “Don’t-” She started to say, but the words died out as soon as they left her mouth. Don’t forgive me. Don’t help me. Don’t treat me like I can be saved.  

“Makoto… I still love her. Don’t trust me.” Her face tensed, the realization that she was speaking the truth hit her head-on, and her hardened soldier’s mask broke entirely. Years of training and hiding became discarded as a few tears started to roll down her face, “I… still…” 

Everything in his body ushered him to console her, to take a few steps forward and show that it was ok, that these feelings didn’t make her as evil as she felt, but two people were quicker. In no time at all, Aoi and Sakura had gone to both of her sides and embraced her fully, “And that’s ok. No one here would ever expect you not to.” Aoi said into her shoulder, and Mukuro just nodded numbly, not expecting any affection. 

The layout and such was explained to the black-haired woman, though it was unclear if she took any of it to heart. Then, Kyoko walked up to her and said in a hushed tone, “Her room is right next to yours. Would you like to say anything?” Mukuro’s eyes opened wide, and she turned as best she could to look past Sakura on her right to see Junko’s door. 

But her face fell again once she locked onto it, “No. She wouldn’t care what I have to say anyway.” In a daze, she exited the hug, thanking them absentmindedly, and whispered, “Let’s all go see Sayaka, then.” And started walking towards the last door, shaking everyone else off. 

While he was still worried about her, Makoto didn’t want to approach Sayaka’s room looking concerned, so instead he grabbed Leon’s hand and confidently led him towards the last remaining room, snuggled wonderfully inbetween Keebo and Chihiro’s.

As the final buzzer of the evening sounded, the two men stood excited and anxious right outside her door. It opened slowly, and the idol stood frozen in shock at the scene before her. 

Without any prompting, Makoto reached out his hand in her direction as an invitation, and Leon watched as she hesitantly grabbed it with her own. When they were connected, the baseball star put his own hand on top of theirs, and all three smiled sadly at one another.

“So… I started all of this, huh?” Sayaka croaked out, clearly trying to hold back her emotions, “I don’t really know what to say.” She sounded so small, very much nothing like the charismatic pop sensation that both men had once fallen for.

Leon shifted uncomfortably, “No. We started this. You should definitely blame me, too. But Makoto said something to me earlier that I’m gonna say now: We didn’t know about the trials, and how this would change everything down the line. Your video showed your group in pain, right? Mine showed my cousin. And we played directly into Junko’s scheme. But- I’m the one who killed you. So… it feels wrong to say that I forgive you… but I do. And it’s fine if you don’t return-”

Before he could finish, Sayaka pulled her hand away and wrapped her arms around both of them, “Of course I do! I’m sorry I put my career before you. Don’t get me wrong,” She breathed, her voice lowering in pitch significantly, “I’m still going to find them. I’m still going to make my dream a reality, but you’re not the one who took me from that dream, Leon. And Makoto! I can’t apologize to you enough… you… trusted me… and I…”

“It’s ok, Sayaka. It’s ok. We’re all ok. We’re all alive.” Even the Ultimate Hope couldn’t have held on to the idea that his classmates had still been alive in confidence. He figured there was more than meets the eyeto this whole situation, but one thing was for sure: They were all real, and breathing, and needed him. Returning the hug to both of them, he relaxed, just happy they were here.

When Chihiro made the first move, going in to join the hug, multiple people followed. Hiro, Aoi, Sakura, Hifumi, Taka and Mondo had no trouble joining in. The others stood around nervously, but Kyoko grabbed Toko and Celeste, bringing them in and both gave in as soon as they felt the others around them. Sakura gestured to Mukuro, and she timidly walked forward into her embrace, also relenting to the warmth. This just left Baykuya, arms crossed and tapping a finger, secretly having a debate on if he should join, or keep up appearances. His determination fell apart when a small body shifted around, no longer perfectly in the middle, and Makoto reached out his hand to the heir, who, under the pressure of the expecting eyes, sighed and took it, joining the group. 

It was… comfortable. Many clashing personalities together in an embrace, but it felt correct, like even with the missing memories this was how they were meant to be. 

Then, Leon remembered that they hadn’t updated Sayaka on the layout, and told her everything quickly, but she just nodded, relieved tears streaming down her face.

They stayed together until the five minutes were up, and Alter Ego announced, “Thank you, 77th Class! I, truly, care about you all so much. And was made with all of you in mind. Seeing you together again, save one, makes me happier than I can accurately describe, even through the hiccups. And, with that, all three groups have gotten to reunite! Please start making your way to the lounge where we will have the last event of the day!” Exhausted, the group started to release themselves and head over, not sure what could possibly be left. 

Forty-seven students sat in the large gaming room comfortably. There was more than enough space to fit them all, and those who weren’t on couches, stools or beanbags sat on the plush carpet. Both screens were on, and it was up to the individual to choose which one they wanted to look at. Everyone got their five minute break to get settled in, and then the talking began. 

“Hello all and welcome. I would like to take this time to once again say that I am so sorry you had to participate in your killing games. None of you here deserved that, and I hope you are handling being awake at your own pace. I thank you all so much for keeping the peace at this time, and will repeat that if you have anger or frustration to vent out, you can do so at myself anytime! Or, as you will see tomorrow, there is an area for you to safely release those feelings physically!

Speaking of - let’s transition to tomorrow really quick before we finish today. I will wake everyone up at 10 a.m. as I have the past two days, and then you will finally be allowed to leave the dorms! As a group of Forty-Seven, I will lead you around place to place to show it all off! I do think you will all really enjoy it, and I’m sorry it’s taken two full days of emotional information and happenings to get there.” The program took a moment to pause and let anyone ask questions if needed, but when no one spoke up they continued, “This might concern those noticing that Rule Four will be broken with no one standing guard of Junko’s door. Do not worry. The rule will go into effect on Day One, which is two days from now. She will be forcibly barricaded for the day and allowed no visitors for all of tomorrow. I hope you understand.

As for right now we are going to discuss-”

“Um! Excuse me!” Sonia spoke up, cutting Alter Ego off, though the AI did not seem to mind, “I believe we’re about to talk about the Student Council President Position of sorts. And I wanted to propose to move that topic until tomorrow?”

Some murmurs went around the group, and eyes shifted back and forth between Sonia and the screens. In no time at all, the virtual Chihiro nodded happily and said, “That can definitely be arranged. But I will put it to a majority vote. Please allow me to state the vote clearly for you all! A vote for ‘yes’ will move the discussion of a student council leader to tomorrow after the tour is completed. A vote for ‘no’ will keep the discussion as it is today, and we will get started right away. Sonia, would you like to explain why you want to change days?”

Contemplating, she put a knuckle to her lips then said, “I would! I just think we should have more time to know the others more. And if we are all walking around as a group for the tour, I think that would be a wonderful way to see who exemplifies leadership!” Her eyes sparkled delightfully, but her demeanor fell more somber afterwards, “Also, all of us are reuniting right now. There are people we lost who are now happily back in our lives, and I don’t want to spend my first day back with them arguing over positions of power. I believe that can wait.” She ended her speech by grabbing Gundham’s hands, interlocking his fingers in her own, “I think we should all just relax and talk for the rest of the evening. Doesn’t that sound much more pleasant?”

Absolutely no one had a rebuttal, or a reason why the group should vote no, so when Alter Ego made the call it ended with majority ‘yes’s and a few ‘abstains’ and Rule Five was deemed to be a topic for tomorrow.

Smiling at the results, the AI rounded everything to a close, saying, “Well then, I am greatly looking forward to tomorrow. As for tonight, please, help yourselves and dig in! I will greet you all in the morning! Thank you so much for the wonderful day, and I wish you nothing but happiness. Goodnight!” Then clicked off.

Almost magically, a few strange noises were heard, and when everyone looked to the kitchens, there was an entire buffet waiting for them. 

Immediately, Akane and the Impostor Byakuya sprinted to get their servings, and many people followed suit. Once everyone had a plate, some of the more reserved people retreated to their rooms, but most stayed out to talk and get along, enjoying a moment of peace after so much hell.

Makoto stood at the entrance to the lounge, looking at everyone smiling and conversing and he knew that this was the happiest moment of his entire life. Well, that he could remember, of course. 

When Byakuya, sitting on a couch, caught his eye and irritatedly waved the brunette over, like it was a chore for the heir to do, Makoto happily obliged, rushing to his side. Tomorrow would bring another day, another chance for this to all fall apart, but for now, he just wanted to absorb the elated atmosphere for as long as it lasted. 

And, somewhere in this building, a mastermind sat, eating their food; the biggest grin and rosey cheeks adorning their face at how well everything had gone today.