Wow, I wasn't expecting another chapter so soon, but anyway, things have definitely gotten interesting with Chiaki going along with Chisa's "game" despite still distrusting her. However, that's understandable considering what Chisa put her through. I wouldn't be surprised if Chiaki envisioned that Chisa was still leading her on and was smirking from the afterlife, but nonetheless, she's decided to push on regardless. I really liked the trips down memory lane she had when she passed her old haunts, and I was also surprised that Chisa was able to keep everything related to Junko hidden in Hope's Peak's library without anyone in the Future Foundation noticing anything. Surely someone must've noticed something unless Chisa somehow managed to copy everything at Future Foundation Headquarters and it's those copies that Chisa managed to smuggle out to Hope's Peak with the originals still in Future Foundation's custody.

Since you had a scene that detailed what Kyoko, Makoto and Aoi were doing, I'm assuming that they'll still have a part to play, unless it was just setting up for the epilogue in the anime, but anyway, Kyoko promised that she wouldn't tell anyone what Chiaki told her despite her own feelings. Imagine that, learning that her father's killer faked her death and is still at large and that she's not the one to defeat her, though thankfully she'd not like Juzo and it's just the fact that Junko's still alive that bothers her.

At least Kyoko was able able to calm Aoi down when she protested about Chiaki's departure relatively quickly, though even if Aoi had been there when Chisa framed her, I don't think she could've done anything. Given how Munakata was, if Aoi hadn't been cut down and killed, she probably would've ended up being Chiaki's cellmate or perhaps Chisa would've arranged for her to have had some kind of "accident", who knows, that's just my speculation.

Anyway, Makoto's idea is good, but I feel that Kyoko has raised good points. Something associated with tragedy and disaster wont be accepted so easily, so Makoto has an uphill struggle. Of course, knowing Makoto, something like that isn't going to stop him, and judging from the anime's epilogue, we all know that he'll succeed, though I liked the reaction to the suggestion of him being headmaster, and Aoi's hasty retreat when he tried calling on her for help. Yeah, him recommending Munakata, since he feels that he's more qualified than him is something Makoto would probably do, but like Kyoko had said, given everything that's happened, I doubt Munakata would want anything to do with Hope's Peak ever again, given that he considers it one of his failures and that it would undoubtedly result in a lot of painful memories for him, besides, I doubt Makoto would know where to start looking for him.

As for Chiaki, so now she's getting somewhere after reading into Junko's past. It's kind of creepy how someone as seemingly perfect as Junko can be so messed up, given that she either killed those "suicide victims" herself or she drove them to suicide. So even as a child she was messed up, though I wonder what it was that caused her to see a counselor in the first place, and I also suspect that Junko was behind her parents' deaths as well.

I'm guessing that Chiaki discovered the picture that Junko had drawn of her way back during the Killing Game, and it's interesting in that it ties into that dream Chiaki had. I remember back in chapter one, Chisa said that she wasn't aware of any past history between Chiaki and Junko, though it now seems that they did have a past meeting, though perhaps Chisa was just trolling Junko back then, or perhaps Chisa found out later, or maybe even, Chisa never discovered it at all, but I get the funny feeling that this forgotten meeting between them could possibly be what caused Junko to go down the path she took. Wouldn't that be something, if Chiaki learned that she had somehow been responsible for Junko ending up the way she was? She could see that as Chisa's plan, leading her to the truth so she can experience the despair or realising that she was responsible for Junko's descent into villainy. Of course, that's just speculation.

However, in order to get to the bottom of it, Chiaki's decided to let Junko's memories into her mind, a risky move since she could be overwhelmed and become another Junko, but somehow I get the feeling that that's how Chiaki will end up discovering Junko's weakness, the one that Chisa alluded to all the way back in chapter one. As I said before, what AI Junko tried to do to Chiaki, could end up spelling Junko's downfall, as it'll provide Chiaki with the missing piece of the jigsaw in order to defeat her.

As for the last scene, it seemed that Junko went to that bridge, planning on suicide, but balked every time she went. I wonder what it was that made her balk, and I'm guessing that it'll lead into her meeting with Chiaki, and since Chiaki's experiencing it herself, perhaps it'll jog her own memory and she'll remember the incident from her own perspective as well. However, assuming I'm right, I wonder if something happened between Chiaki and Junko that caused Chiaki to suppress the incident in her subconscious or if just so much had happened since then that Chiaki just plain forgot about it. In any case, going forward, things will be interesting.

Oh my god no... Chiaki can't die! All the shit she's gone though, all the pain and loss, I want her to save the day and live and have a goddamn happy ending!

Wow, what a chapter. Liked the dream sequence between Chiaki and Chisa, though the question is, was it really just a dream, or was Chisa's ghost visiting Chiaki in her dreams? Of course, another question would be, if she had accepted Chisa's offer to stay with her forever, would she have just remained comatose in the real world for the rest of her life or would she have died? However, it seems that despite everything, including how upon seeing Miaya's body last chapter and thinking how she never wanted to wake up again, she still felt that she had to do something in the real world, since she changed her mind at the last second, and Chisa didn't really seem to mind. I guess it's ambiguous on whether it was just a dream version of Chisa or her ghost visiting Chiaki in her dreams.

I also liked the heart-to-heart talk that Chiaki had with Kyoko, and that Kyoko was willing to listen to her and believe her, though considering what has happened over the past five days, I suppose that Kyoko has no reason to suspect that Chiaki is lying, and yeah, I can understand Chiaki's turmoil in Chisa's death. That part of her probably feels relieved that she's gone, but another part of her still mourns her since despite everything she's done, it was thanks to brainwashing, and no doubt the Junko within Chiaki is egging her on to hate Chisa.

I feel sorry for Chiaki. She's slowly but surely being overwritten by Junko's consciousness and feels that it's inevitable that she'll succumb. It's sort of like Chisa's situation, that she's battling the despair. I remember Izuru once telling Chisa that she was fighting a losing battle against despair. However, I'm hoping that somehow some way, Chiaki can somehow override Junko's consciousness and erase it from existence. It's a shame that she feels that she has to confront Junko alone. Somehow I get the sense that her former classmates will end up coming to her aid and teach her the value and power of friendship, that she doesn't have to face Junko alone, and knowing Junko, I bet she'd rant and rave about Chiaki "cheating". However, she can rant and rave all she wants, it wont change the fact that she's lost. Hoping Chiaki wont end up dying and would have earned her happy ending, though assuming that she does die, I can't help but see that she'll end up taking Junko with her, and given Junko's attitude, I bet the fact that she'll die with no one but a "nobody" for company would probably terrify her. As Chiaki told AI Junko, getting beaten by a "nobody" is a level of despair that even Junko can't handle, and it would be the ultimate insult to her.

Also, I'm still interested in the weaknesses that Chisa mentioned to Junko about her analytical abilities. However, I'm sure that will become apparent as things wrap up. I can just picture Junko's last word being furious curses and insults at Chiaki for defeating her, and as I mentioned last paragraph, it would be doubly insulting to Junko that Chiaki dies along side her, as Junko will have no one except her for company.

Anyway, why do I get the sense that Munakata will make an appearance later on, though it'll be interesting in how he'd react to Chiaki's survival, given everything that happened, if he still hates her or if he's calmed down, but knowing him, if he learned that Junko had "corrupted" her, he'd probably kill her, unless he's mentally exhausted to the point where he's grown tired of hating. However, it would be something if he finally did get to accomplish what he wanted, killing Junko Enoshima, with Chiaki holding her in place while he delivered the killing blow to both of them, and given Chiaki's mindset and believe that she's becoming Junko, I can pretty much see her going along with that, since she believes she's dead anyway. In any case, it'll be interesting to see what happens from here on in.

Determination is the answer to all problems! For this somber tone of this chapter, please listen to these.

"Imaginary Friends (orchestral version)" by Deadmau5
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This fanfic is fantastic! I absolutely adore how you portray Chiaki Nanami, she is incredible! I also find the relations with characters to be really compelling. I can't wait for more!

So far I love how this plot is forming up, It's like elements of Ultra Despair Girls but so much more. Can't wait to read how Chiaki deals with her "extra Life" now. And will she be "the Savior" something even more than the Ultimate Hope? Cause that'll be interesting to see.

PRETTY PLEASE LET CHIAKI DIE!

Aww now i'm sad poor Mukuro

Gee, what an interesting chapter. I have to admit that I never anticipated Enigma's true identity, but that just leaves more questions than answers, like if Junko did use body doubles like she said, then just who was the Mukuro and Junko in the Killing Game? However, as you said in your author's notes, I'm sure it'll all be answered in the final arc, though I still wonder if the Junko that Chiaki spoke to really is the real Junko or just a clone, or maybe it was the Junko in the Killing Game that was a clone, but that's just my opinion.

As for Chiaki's dream at the beginning, it's obvious that the girl standing opposite her was Junko, and I did have this sneaking suspicion for a while that Chiaki and Junko had met before in their youth, though since it wasn't mentioned, I never brought it up before, though in that case, perhaps Chisa was wrong in chapter one and Chiaki and Junko did have prior history. That is an interesting take, considering that I, myself, have explored that idea for ideas I have. Of course, it seems that Chiaki is running from the truth as the narration once stated, she already knows the answers to everything, but she just doesn't want to admit it, not even to herself, so she deliberately deceives herself to avoid facing up to the truth.

As for Chiaki's rescue of her former colleagues, what happened to them? I mean, Chiaki had a group of her former colleagues with her when she was ambushed, but you never mentioned what happened to them? Where they killed or put back in the brig, or had they been converted to despairs? I wonder if Mizuki's group escaped okay or if perhaps everyone was in on it, but that's just me speculating.

Anyway, as I said before, I never imagined that Enigma would be Junko, I mean, just how did she manage to defeat Juzo? Before in canon, she had help from the Reserve Course students she brainwashed, but when Juzo confronted her as Enigma, she had no backup this time. How ironic that Juzo felt the same as he did back then. I wonder how he'd have reacted to have discovered that the person behind the mask was the very same person responsible for his first humiliation, that if assuming that it's the real Junko and not some clone, not that it would make a difference to Juzo. He'd probably just kill her anyway if he could, clone or not, but too bad he wont get that chance, since he'll be dead in the end. I guess "Enigma" was right, they wont meet again.

Anyway, another confrontation between Chiaki and Junko, and, yeah, as I said before, I think Chiaki already knows the truth, it's just that she doesn't want to face up to it, but probably if she did, it would present the key to finally beating Junko once and for all. The only thing holding Chiaki back is Chiaki herself, though this time, Chiaki didn't manage to get under her skin as much, though she did manage to point out that even if Junko's explanation about Izuru was true, then it wouldn't matter because Izuru (and Hajime) chose Chiaki over Junko, and I also think that Chiaki telling Junko that she can't beat her on a fair and open playing field is accurate. After all, as Chiaki pointed out, Junko always stacked the odds against her to make sure she'd lose. Of course, Junko could've just killed her, but I think part of Junko just wants to prove Chiaki wrong, and that's what Chiaki tapped into, even if she hadn't meant to, since it seemed that she was only trying to prolong her life as long as possible to get a final, "Screw you" in at Junko, but instead, she piqued Junko's interest, so she gave Chiaki a month to set up some sort of game, only this time, it'll be on Chiaki's terms, though I don't trust Junko to play fair. I bet she'll just try to cheat in order to win.

As for the second last scene, poor Chiaki. I bet she feels that she's lost everyone that's gotten close to her. I'd hate to see her reaction once she learns of Chisa's death. After seeing Miaya's dead body, I doubt she'll want to have her final game with Junko and will probably say, "Screw it, let Junko win, I don't care anymore", but I can also seeing someone (probably Makoto) talking her into gathering courage to stand up and face down Junko one last time and take vengeance for everyone who has suffered because of Junko. It'll be interesting to see how things play out from here.

Interesting last scene, so in her final moments, the real Chisa managed to emerge. Too bad that it was too little too late to save her though, but at least she was free of despair. I wonder if she'll somehow manage to help Chiaki from beyond the grave somehow, though I'm not sure how, but assuming that's what you have planned, it'll be interesting to see. I think the deciding factor in all this is that Chiaki will learn that she's not alone, whereas Junko is all alone.

As a sign that the end is near, please play this music piece! And at the very least, Chisa finally came back to the light, if only for a few seconds.

"Finis Est Principium Alterius" by Petri Alanko & Martin Stig Andersen (from the soundtrack for the video game, Control. The title means "The end is the beginning of another" in Latin.)
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You're doing an incredible job on this story. I've been following it since the beginning and I have to say its among my favorite stories for Danganronpa.

Thanks for joininng my discord with Vixen earlier today.

Im still hoping that they can save Chisa even ater this but right now ZIm more pumped to see Class 77's reaction to Nanami being alive

Wow what a chapter. You're just full of surprises, though I have to say, I get the sense that Chisa lied to Chiaki by saying that she lied to her about all that Savior stuff just to test her resolve, and though Chisa didn't tell her that, I'm guessing that ultimately, Chiaki decided that it no longer mattered, given that she decided to go ahead and try to stop Junko anyway regardless of whether Chisa was lying or not. Of course, that's just my theory. Who knows, maybe Chisa was telling the truth, but somehow I doubt it, given what she said to Junko all the way back in chapter one, and what she said at the end.

Somehow, when it came to what Junko did to Chiaki, I have to say that it looks like I called it, Junko really has implanted a part of herself in Chiaki and is slowly taking over her. Chiaki herself even figured as much, and I also called it that somehow it was going to help Chiaki overcome Chisa, though even if Chiaki hadn't been able to stop herself and killed Chisa, Munakata would've been even more determined to hunt her down and kill her, and they'd have been nothing Chiaki could've done to stop him. However, somehow I get the sense that Junko imprinting herself on Chiaki is going to somehow backfire on her as it'll give Chiaki the missing knowledge she needs to exploit her analytical talent's weaknesses, and if so, that would be something that Junko would never see coming.

Chiaki VS Chisa was interesting, though I have to say that Chiaki could not have won without Junko's "help", as unwanted as it was, but still, points for Chisa for accepting her fate had Chiaki gone and done it. However, maybe that was because, as I stated before, if Chiaki had gone ahead and done it, she'd have to contend with an irate Munakata, since he'd hunt her down to the ends of the Earth and nothing would get him to calm down until Chiaki was dead. So it's just as well Chiaki managed to stop herself before she went too far, and that part with Chiaki's "graduation" was rather heartwarming, but with Chisa parting ways with Chiaki, I get the sense that she wants to go with her, but feels that she's in too deep to turn back.

Also, I think I called it when I said that I believed that Chisa murdered Miaya, though what surprised me was that Chisa was going to kill her anyway, at least, that's what I felt based on what she said. I highly doubted Monaca was able to do it, considering that she was in Towa City and never left, though I do suspect that Chisa helped Monaca sneak Robo-Miaya in. Poor Miaya, she became great friends with Chiaki, and yet despite that, Chiaki somehow still managed to stop herself from taking vengeance on her murderer despite the fact that Chisa had to go and taunt her about how anyone who got close to her ended up dying.

Anyway, as for Chiaki, it seems she's going to rescue her former subordinates now, and maybe that's where Mukuro and Enigma will reemerge, though I wonder how her subordinates will feels about her now since shes supposedly been outed as a despair. Maybe they'll be ungrateful, and given that Chiaki has Junko in her mind, Junko will emerge and they'll take it as proof that Munakata was right. Anyway, I still can't help but wonder who Enigma is. That will be an interesting discover, and also, I wonder how Mukuro will react to discover that her sister managed to imprint herself on Chiaki, and I bet that Chiaki's going to end up having more flashbacks of Junko's life, probably a scene with Junko and Mukuro.

In any case, that scene with Junko and Kitta. That was surprising. I never expected that, though Kitta was dismissed and Junko had a few guys cause a massacre, and what she did to that girl was monstrous, giving her an autograph and then when the girl came to her begging for help, Junko revealed that she was the mastermind just to see the look of despair on her face. There really was no need for that, but then again, this is Junko, she does things simply because she can, though unlike most others, she seems to have a grasp of the consequences of her actions, and knows that what she's doing is wrong, but instead of deterring her, it only serves to encourage her.

Also, that part at the end, I gather that Chisa figures that the Future Foundation won't discover that the body she sent to them is a fake, or if they do discover that it's fake, then they'll be too preoccupied to do anything about it. Yeah, Munakata, I think, really did start to warm up to Chiaki more than he wanted to, though I really do hope they meet again, and, I know I've said this before, I really hope he gets down on his knees and grovels to Chiaki for forgiveness for what he did to her. That would be something to see, just to see how much Makoto managed to get through to him. I wonder if he really would swallow his pride and grovel to Chiaki. I also hope that if Junko comes back in some shape or form, Munakata is there to witness Chiaki defeat her, just to see how he'd react at knowing that his chance to defeat her was taken from him again, and by someone he had wronged in the past. Also, I wonder if when Munakata discovers the truth about Chisa, you'll add a scene in which he recalls Chiaki's accusations, just to see how he'd react. Still, I feel that Munakata should face some retribution for what he did to Chiaki, and like being proven wrong, and then have it rubbed in his face something rotten.

Also, it'll be interesting to see how Chiaki is able to fight off the "Junko" within her, though as I said before, somehow I get the sense that this will backfire on Junko, and it'll just end up helping Chiaki in discovering what her analytical ability's weaknesses are. Who knows, maybe Chiaki can bloom into the savior that Chisa said she was, despite seemingly debunking it, though assuming that Chisa was telling the truth, I guess the joke would be on her since Chiaki turned her lies into truth, though, as I said before, I think that Chisa was lying to test Chiaki's resolve, though you left that ambiguous, as Chisa never really admitted that she lied, which is why I admit that I could be wrong and Chisa was telling the truth, and if so, I get the sense that Chiaki will turn her lies into truth, though it'll be interesting to see how she manages to expel Junko from her mind.

Also, I think I noticed a spelling mistake, where Chisa said that the Neo World Program couldn't do anything for her, I think you put the world, "from" instead of "for", and also, in one of Chisa's sentences, I noticed that you also forgot the " when there was a break in Chisa's speech.

A gamer meme inspired a theory.
Chiaki's superpower is empathy.
She the Ultimate Gamer who has walked in the shoes of thousands of protagonists.
Junko is afraid that Chiaki might just be able to understand her.

Wow, this was quite the interesting chapter, or at least the second part of it was. As for the first part, it was predictable, as it covered the fifth trial, and everyone knows how that panned out. However, the second part came out of nowhere and caught me completely by surprise. I never expected something like that to happen, Junko taking Chiaki out to have one final chat with her, but her AI duplicate gives her a third chance at life, though I have to give Chiaki credit for standing up to Junko, probably intending it to be a final "Screw you" to her, but it ended up getting to Junko. Thinking it over, I have to agree with Chiaki, that Junko is a cheater who only cares about winning. Sure, when things are going her way, she'll play by the rules, but the moment she feels there's a chance she could lose, she interferes, and yeah, I always thought that there would be a level of despair that would be too great for even Junko to handle, after all, she is only human, and humans all have their limits. Junko's limits just so happen to be greater than most others.

Unfortunately I don't know whether to be happy for Chiaki or be scared because who whos what Junko did to her. I can only guess that Junko either imprinted a copy of herself onto Chiaki, or just her personality, and if that was not enough, Chisa's found her and doesn't look too pleased to see her, though I wonder if she'll try to kill her, given how her means of controlling her is gone and also I wonder if she deems her plan a failure as a result of what Chiaki's done, though wouldn't it be something if whatever Junko did to Chiaki happened to be the very thing that saved her, as I'm sure it would catch Chisa off guard, though given canon, I doubt Chiaki or a Junko-controlled-Chiaki would kill Chisa since she died in the Final Killing Game.

Of course, what Junko did to Chiaki would probably play into Munakata and the radical faction's assessment of her, and unfortunately, all but Munakata would be dead by the end, so they won't get an opportunity to apologise to her (though I doubt Ruruka would apologise and look for some other excuse to hold on to her hatred). Of course, since Munakata's going to live, perhaps Chiaki can overcome whatever Junko did to her with him as a witness, just to prove him wrong, though knowing Munakata, he'd probably just kill her anyway just to be sure, though if it's after Makoto got through to him, it may give him reason to pause.

Also, I wonder if whatever it was that Junko did to Chiaki will be what Chiaki needs to figure everything out, Junko's weakness and the reason she wants her dead. Personally, I'm hoping that Junko is in Chiaki's head, and Chiaki is eventually after to read her mind and figure out exactly how to beat her, though just how Chiaki will get rid of Junko, or whatever it is that Junko did to her is a mystery. I still remember all the way back to chapter one where Chisa stated that Junko's talent had its weaknesses, and I still don't know what they are. Hopefully, this isn't the last of Junko, as I'm hoping that Chiaki can finally beat her and read how Junko reacts to it.

Anyway, Enigma and Mukuro are still out there, so I gather the next part of the story will deal with them. Hopefully Mukuro will gain the confidence to stand up to Junko, though given how Junko is in canon, she'd probably welcome it, as it would give her despair, though given how Junko is here, it's hinted that her love of despair may be a smokescreen for something else, something that I hope Chiaki can find and use it against her.