"Hey I'm getting pretty hungry," I told Danny, "I'll be back soon?"

"Ok," Danny acknowledged. I get up from a bed, to only to be quickly reminded how weak I had become when I stumble and hit the floor.

"Sanyu are you ok, you hit pretty hard," Danny says coming closer. I frantically look at my blood coated hands and the knife in my grip, trying to come up with a way to hide it.

"No, I'm fine," I assure too late. Danny's already there, standing over me, "it's not my blood."

"Sanyu, it's fine," Danny consoles, helping me stand up, "It was pretty scary for me too." I had to look all the way up to meet his eyes. Somehow Danny didn't look the same, I instead began to see a gray shadow with only a vague resemblance.

"It's time for the execution!" The shrill Monokuma voice announces behind me. I turn around to be met with the class trial room, everyone at their podiums ready to cast their votes. Strangely only the dead began speaking, the living looking like cardboard cutouts.

"Look who it is," Grant shouts bringing attention to me, "the next on the list, I knew it was only a matter of time!"

"Wow, Sanyu, killing someone?" Yuzuru tsks in disappointment, "For your own selfish reasons at that."

"And it was his best friend too," Yukihiro chimed in.

"Well, I don't know if I have much room to talk," Alan laughs, "I mean I killed someone too."

"But we should still give the kid some credit," Yoshiki announces, "it takes a lot to kill someone like that."

"What, stab them in the back?" M asks, "Not that hard," like it was the punch line of a joke, they all began laughing, hitting the vote button simultaneously. The machine ticks, all three slots landing on me.

I can feel the metal clamp around my neck ready to drag me off to my execution. I shut my eyes tight and wait, and wait, but nothing happens. I open my eyes to a blinding light and quickly shut them. I reach for the clamp only to feel nothing but my own skin. Why am I not dead yet?

"Are you dead or not," I heard a voice ask as well, my head snaps up shaking me out of my daze, "I'm getting dizzy watching you."

"What?" I mumble confused, where am I? I take a bite out of my popcorn in my stupor... wait popcorn? I look around at the red plush chairs and the imposing screen in front of me. I'm no longer in the trial room, but rather a movie theater. In disbelief I take in the familiar faces, all turned in their chairs to face me. I'm in the back row far away from my deceased cohorts in a old rustic movie theater.

"Out of body experience, how cliche," Yoshiki scoffs when he looks at me, "I would never put that in my video games."

"Don't be a jerk," Yuzuru yells, throwing his popcorn at Yoshiki, "but he's right, this is pretty corny."

"I'm sorry," I say quietly.

"You have nothing to be sorry about Sanyu-sama," Yukihiro says as she flicks a piece of candy that bounces off my head, "besides, we're rooting for you!"

"Rooting for me? You want me to kill someone," I ask confused.

Yukihiro give me a exasperated glare, "No! I mean in defeating the mastermind."

"Oh."

Yuzuru launches over his seat and begins climbing the rows towards me. I'm not particularly threatened by the action as I should have been. His face is excited and red with exertion from holding his words in. He settles beside me on my right. Yukihiro takes my left a few moments later. Her advancement was much more polite. Yuzuru grips my shoulders.

"You look like a man in need of a verbal smack down," The debater says excited, "I'm here to use my words to tell you to use your words."

Yukihiro laughs along, "I'm here to say them more politely then."

"Use my words? For what?" I ask, waiting for them to get to the point, "I use them during the trials all the time."

Yuzuru starts with a rage fulled gasp, "Those are angry words. Debating who of our friends are murders and sentencing them to death is not a proper use of the human narrative ability! I'm talking about talking it out! I should have told you outright that I liked you instead of waiting until I was about to die, now it's one of my bigger regrets. You shouldn't wait until the last moment to tell people you care, Sanyu. When there's no more time left, how can anyone help?"

Not talking? I guess I did shut Akira and Danny out until I outright killed one. I never said I really appreciated them either.

"I've realized in my time in talking with you, that you are incredibly fucking dense!" Yuzuru laments, "I gave you so many hints, and you blew them all off. I have never felt so sadden in my life, and Grant committed a hate crime against me."

"Yeah, I put some work into setting up a bit of romance between you two," Yukihiro pouts, "I gave you the perfect opening with the milkshakes back then."

"R-romance!?" I squeak. I know Yuzuru liked me, he confessed to that after the murder. I didn't realize he was that serious though. Yukihiro had even noticed the crush early on.

"Which is why you need to make up with those two," Yuzuru sighs frustrated, "They know how to get down to business and say they're your buddies with no tsundere nonsense. I've learned my lesson about being coy."

Yukihiro's oval face grows serious and she settles back down, "I don't know if you remember, but back in the second motive Akira said something that made me really happy. When I told you about my missing sister, Michiko, Akira-sama offered to go look for her. Can you... if you remember any of this... can you hold her to that?"

"Are you guys..." I trail off unsure how to word what I'm thinking, "is this real?"

"Sanyu-sama," Yukihiro says softly and sadly, "does it matter?"

"Go out there and give that mastermind hell!" Yuzuru shouts, a small few cheers back him up, "So look at that screen and click your ruby shoes, Dorothy!"

Yukihiro settles down in her seat. M swipes some food from Grant and passes a drink over to James who passes it to Alan. Even while dead they are having fun, I suppose I don't really need to worry about them. What I need to do is focus on those still alive, I need to find the mastermind and finish this game. I don't have time to stop believing in those around me, not when I have everyone here still rooting for me!

"I will really... miss you guys," I admit finally, I look up to see the image waver before me and I black out. My eyes open to a blinding fluorescent light and I immediately shut them. I decide to go back to sleep and deal with it later. I do not come by sleep very often so I am taking full advantage of this situation. I'm still Sanyu Mochida after all.

"That was pretty crazy," Yuzuru said, "can't believe we met Sanyu in, like, a goddamn near death experience."

"It is a bit unbelievable..." James agreed. He slinks back in his chair and is suddenly a bit claustrophobic at being layered between the red seated aisles. He stands up and does a jog around the room to ease his mind. James jogs up the side stairs a bit faster. He could feel himself becoming a bit hysterical by the mere fact he is not sweating at all. There's no distractions in the theater besides the murder mystery movie he was apart of.

James has always been pretty laidback. He admits to putting off problems until the moment they kicked him in the face. He managed to stave off the pure existential fear of being a ghost until this moment. Sanyu's appearance and subsequent disappearance has put everything into a new perspective. He was never going to see his grandparents again. In a even more terrifying reverse, he was going to see his siblings very soon. James's breathing became ragged and he ignored it. A Super High School Level Kickboxer has to keep up cardio even in the afterlife.

"It's unrealistic we're trapped in literal limbo until this game finishes," M comments, there was uncomfortable silence in response. M watches his friends pace the moderately sized room. M is suddenly unsure if James is even still his friend, what about Evan? He had unintentionally killed one and fooled (abandoned) the other. Masayuki didn't care about life or death, or he shouldn't at least. He knew since he started his talent he was doomed from the start. His family was doomed, his friends were doomed, the frogs and slugs around him were doomed. He can escape and escape, but death was always waiting for him. The liminal space the group was stuck in wasn't too bad. Masayuki always enjoyed eating and he'll take what comfort he can in that fact it followed him into death. He eats a magical sandwich that magically replenishes itself. It's very bland now and M fights the urge to tell Yukihiro hers tasted far better.

"Oh my god, we're really dead," Grant cries out. He plops his head in his hands and regrets every life decision he's ever made. He hates how he always changes for the better too late.

"Yeah that existence horror has come and gone," Alan sips his jumbo sized soda. He never really enjoyed the simple things in life before now. He killed a woman to prove he wasn't ever simple. Alan Wikly made his decisions and he's held by them until the moment he died, and further beyond. He bleeds out the panicked noises of the others and focuses inward. He daydreams his friends and family in the theater instead. They used to like modest things like going to the movies and then beaches. Alan's daydream is over taken with reflections on the past. Life is just unfair, he laments.

Yukihiro stands up suddenly, "Stop!" She screams, getting the attention of the group, "We are not breaking down now. We had time in the game to cry and fight, but that's over now."

"I agree with Yukihiro," Yoshiki supports, "I've got a wife to see on the other side. It wouldn't be too becoming to appear a sniveling mess after I killed someone. She won't have that kind of pity for me, haha!"

James glares at Yoshiki and, once noticed, M joins in. Yoshiki pales at the twin stares but there isn't much he could do about it now. He made his peace within himself to carry out the act. He also accepted the eternal vengeful ghost that his actions would carry above his head. Yoshiki knew he'd do anything to see his son, not just alive, but safe as well.

Yukihiro sighs and stays standing, "I don't know why we were chosen for this, or why Despair invaded our project, but I know we can't give up-"

"Didn't you just tell us to stop fighting?"

"-To stop fighting each other," She corrects, "We're dead, we have no more secrets or influence. We need to stop building up this falseness until it collapses on us. I know some of you have made up for the actions of the game but that despair is still there under the surface. As the Despair Dead Crew, we should unite! The game isn't over yet. We can still root for the others without them hearing us. We can find out the mastermind ourselves and pass on peacefully! So let's f-"

"I know who the mastermind is, knew it when I died."

The group turns to stare at the one who died first.

(Pen Pals #5)

"We do it now, this is better then we could have imagined!" the thick letter declared, "this will be for something, don't you worry!"

The letter wasn't burned like it should have been, instead it was hidden safely in the receivers pocket. There was no need for a reply. The two corespondents met in person to carry out their plan.

Masayuki Hisakawa (M)- deceased-IcarusDash

Yukihiro Yamika- deceased - Schlaf

Akira Nishihara- alive

Haruna takahashi- alive

Veliah Kazeto- alive

Yoshiki Kaiza- deceased- DeadLyokoBrony

Alan Wikly- deceased- Dha3000

Sanyu Mochida- ?

Yuzuru Taoka- deceased- Beta reader!

Kenta Yuuta- alive

James Guzman- deceased- XSTRIKERS

Evan Halen- alive

Danny Walker- ?

Kojiro Ryuhisa- alive

Grant Kingsmen- deceased- Me!

The dream sequence was so edgy when I came back to reread it... so I made it edgier lol. I figured I'd give more spotlight on the dead characters. I haven't had fun with them in a bit. I'm now attacking your suspension of disbelief, hopefully it was enjoyable. Also, I wasn't trying to be preachy so much as force Sanyu to hear what he needed to progress lol