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“This is so stupid, oh my god. How- The angle’s all off!”
Tsumugi watched in dismay from the mastermind’s room as Kaede set up the death trap behind the detective’s oblivious back. From her cameras, she could clearly see that the shot-put ball would land a whole row of books away from the intended target.
Though she grumbled and complained, Tsumugi wasn’t too upset. She always knew this plan had a good chance of going awry. It was a complicated mechanism, one difficult to set up perfectly without cameras monitoring each and every section of the trap. On top of that, Kaede had zero experience in killing people. (Well, her game version, at least. Whatever her pre-game self got up to in her free time wasn’t Tsumugi’s business.)
Luckily, the mastermind prepared for this possibility! The victim would be right outside the mastermind’s room. He’ll be an easy target. Sneaking up behind someone and bashing their skull in with a metal ball isn’t difficult, Tsumugi tried that before! Tsumugi can deal with a little hiccup in her game.
As long as there aren’t any more surprises down the road.
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“I’m afraid that isn’t true, Ryoma. There are people who care about you,” Kirumi sighed through the screen, nearly making Tsumugi spit out her drink. “I may not know what is going on in the outside world, how our country is faring, or how I can even do anything to help if I left. As much as it pains me to say it, I… I cannot serve my country as a Prime Minister at the moment. But, I do know I can serve you and the people in this academy, as a maid… And as a friend, if that is your request.”
“N-No, but- but this was going to be perfect! A selfless blackened, a murderous Prime Minister! Were you even listening to yourself, Kirumi?! You weren’t being selfless, you were- you’re so selfish!” Tsumugi hissed to herself, grabbing her backup flashback light. She didn’t want to resort to this, but… “And since you’re so selfish, you’re making me do even more work! Is that what a maid does?! Make even more work for their master?!”
Bursting into the lab, she found the two of them in a warm hug. The bright flash of the flashback light interrupted their moment, and when the light resided, Kirumi and Ryoma were sprawled on the floor, unconscious.
Still grumbling, Tsumugi got to work, grumbling all the way.
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“Kehehe… I understand, Sister. I shall wait until we all leave… Then, I can bring you all the friends you want…!”
Okay, Kirumi, Tsumugi could kind of understand. But Korekiyo?! Her poor, sweet, beautiful, crazy serial killer?! Did someone mess up with the initial flashback lights?! She knew she shouldn’t have trusted those disgusting Monokubs with the flashback lights – now Kiyo’s broken! Something’s wrong with his “Sister”, or maybe he’s forming some sort of – urgh! – conscience?!? This was ridiculous. He had already finished setting everything else up, cut up all the boards in the other two rooms, and now he was changing his mind about the whole murder plan. Absolutely. Ridiculous.
Angie was already on her way. Tsumugi had no time to waste. Grabbing the flashback light, she marched up the stairs to the creepy floor, prepared to bash the artist’s head with the memory-altering technology and to fix this. And if Tsumugi had to help Korekiyo kill Tenko later, she swears-
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Tsumugi had to help Korekiyo kill Tenko later.
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“Gonta… Gonta not sure with this plan…”
Tsumugi tried not to groan as she listened to the idiotic conversation playing through her hidden headset. There were files she had made sure Miu wouldn’t be able to look into and had hidden the code for the headset in there. She had wondered if she was being paranoid, needing to listen in to every conversation that occurred in the virtual world, but it turned out that she was right to worry.
The little prankster was trying his best to convince the entomologist that killing Miu, and everyone else, was the best choice of action, but Gonta was surprisingly stubborn. Her sweet, innocent, precious Gonta… Where did she mess up with him? Was he too kind? Too afraid of killing? Too… Too hopeful?!
“Cuz, cuz what if… Outside world, not that bad? We all escape together, maybe find other friends? Maybe we don’t have all memories yet?”
“Okay, maaaaaaybe we don’t have all the information yet! But we still gotta deal with stinky Miu! She’s gonna kill me if you don’t protect me, Gonta! Do you want me to die, Gonta?!”
“N-No! Gonta no want Kokichi to die! Gonta no want Miu to die, too! Gonta think, maybe I talk to Miu? Maybe then, she change her mind?”
Okay, time out. The situation was nigh unsalvageable at this point. Good thing Tsumugi had installed yet another function to her hidden headset! Making a series of quick gestures, everyone in the virtual world was knocked unconscious, and the mastermind was kicked out of the program. Now that she thought about it, this would be the easiest murder to fabricate. Everyone’s memories were so easily altered in the virtual world, and all Tsumugi had to do was to strangle Miu in her sleep! Sure, Miu may wake up in the middle of it, but Tsumugi was sure everything would be fine…
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Practically shaking in excitement, Tsumugi grabbed a fistful of popcorn and stuffed it in her mouth, eyes locked onto the screen. Maki had broken into the Exisal and was headed to the hangar, murder in her eyes. Finally, finally, Tsumugi was going to witness some action! She knew that even if all else fails, she could always count on her favourite assassin OC to do something cool. Even if Maki wasn’t exactly the planned blackened for this case, Tsumugi could still get to enjoy the conflict in the hangar, and the assassin’s anguish later on during the night…
The hangar door flung open, and Maki burst in, brandishing her crossbow. The poisoned arrow flew true, striking its target on his back. With a cry, Kokichi fell to his knees. The look of shock on both his and Kaito’s faces were priceless! This was better than any movie Tsumugi had ever seen, even that Danganronpa movie from season 10… Her face was practically pressing against the screen at this point, wanting to see her characters’ every expression.
“This game is over, mastermind.” Seething, Maki aimed the crossbow at Kokichi’s head this time. “I can’t believe how disgusting you are. Forcing people to play this cruel game, enjoying watching us murder each other…!”
“Heh… Hehee, w-what can I say? I… I just love watching all of you suffer…!”
“You… I thought I was a monster, but you… You’re a demon. I guess I shouldn’t have expected anything less from a Remnant of Despair…” Even with all her implanted skills, the assassin’s arm trembled slightly as she held the weapon. “Tell me the truth! What really happened in the outside world?! Are there really no more survivors?! What happened to Junko Enoshima, and the other Remnants?!”
“I… Uh, wuh…? Hehee… I have no clue what you’re talking about!”
Maki’s finger was on the trigger. Tsumugi was most positively fangirling. She was going to have a real murder, a real trial, and nothing was going to stop her now-
“Whoa- Whoa, whoa, wait! Wait a second!” That was when Kaito decided to recover from his shock and butt in. “I- I have no clue what you’re talking about, or what a ‘Remnant of Despair’ is, or who Junko Enoshima is, but you can’t kill Kokichi! He’s not really the mastermind! I overheard him, from the bathroom, muttering to himself about how he’ll find the real mastermind and end the killing game for good!”
“What.” Maki stared.
“What.” Kokichi blinked.
“WHAT?!?” Tsumugi threw her bowl of popcorn in the air.
“Yeah! So, let’s just put our crossbows away, and we can talk this out, yeah? Look, just do what I’m doing. See, I’m putting my crossbow away…”
Tsumugi watched in silence as Maki, somehow, for some inane reason, decided to follow Kaito’s lead. A strange feeling bubbled up in her chest. Painful, beyond pain, to the point it was euphoric. It was then that Tsumugi had an epiphany: Nothing was ever going to go her way. Her game was rigged from the start. All her blackened, all her victims, they were never going to follow her design. She was the mastermind, but she was powerless. A puppet master dancing to the puppet’s strings. Clinging onto the hope that she could somehow turn things around was pointless. Nothing she did matters, so, that meant she could do anything! She was trapped, but upon realising this, she was free.
Was this… Was this despair?
Slowly, Tsumugi began to laugh. How could she not have seen this before? How did she not realise how trapped she was, working for Team Danganronpa? Working for an audience’s entertainment? Screw entertainment! Screw Danganronpa! All she wanted was a mystery, and some fun.
Still giggling maniacally, Tsumugi tore her script into pieces. Who cared what her bosses wanted for the fifth and sixth chapter?! Her dream was already ruined, so why not go out with a bang? Why not bring everything down with her?! This way, her failure of a season would be remembered for eternity – remembered as the last season, the season that ends Danganronpa forever!
Yes, yes, she could see everything coming together. She had old drafts, rejected drafts, murder plans and finale reveals she drew up for fun. She would bring them to life. She would fabricate one last murder, one last convoluted and horrible and wonderful murder. Then, she’d let everything come crashing down, literally.
And best of all… She’ll make herself forget! Forget that she was the one that orchestrated her beloved franchise’s downfall. She’ll pull her own strings, make herself fall into this death trap. If her puppets won’t dance to her strings, fine, she’d dance in their place.
No, she’d make the whole world dance.