NOTES

Alright guys, I'm alive!

About this fic: It was a crack idea that I had thought up of one day that turned out to be quite interesting had I taken this more seriously. However, since my troubles back in Spring and Summer (I'll explain at the end), my writing has slowed to a crawl so I really felt the need to push this out ASAP for some reason.

I'm also using this fic to experiment with a setting that involves more than 4 people talking and I realized that trying to have 15 or 16 characters interact with each other meaningfully is extremely tedious and difficult. It almost gets to a point where I'd rather write academic papers instead because of how hard it is. It also feels kind of weird adding a couple lines of text after every line that a character speaks, but maybe that's just me.

Anyways, enjoy the fic! If you want to know what happened to me and/or updates regarding future works from me, see end notes :)

Prologue: Closing Argument?

Makoto Naegi sat down on the edge of his bed, frustratingly tired from the events of the day. After relentlessly bugging Monokuma about the "blackened" rule, the bear finally gave in and explained the class trial. Everyone was herded to the elevator behind the red door and a quick tour of the trial room as well as an explanation of the class trial was given by the monochrome bear.

The overall reaction was less than happy. Though the knowledge of the class trial may deter others from trying to kill, the trial room didn't exactly offer anything else that was beneficial to the group. Groaning, Makoto got up and walked over to his desk, took out the notepad and started brain dumping before heading off to bed. Writing down his thoughts before going to sleep has always helped him get better rest, but this night, something was still bugging him. To everyone else, it may have seemed that Celeste had asked a perfectly normal question, which received a normal answer. However, to Makoto, it felt like there was a bigger significance to it.

"What about that other empty seat?" Celeste asked. "There are only fifteen of us so why are there sixteen seats?"

"Oh, no reason. It's just that our little courtroom here can technically fit up to sixteen people!" The bear replied.

Of course, it was a perfectly normal answer, and yet, it bugged Makoto to no end. A sixteenth person would change the game entirely, but could there be a sixteenth person? It was the fact that every little thing Monokuma has done so far has either been of some significance or was just completely spontaneous that Makoto wasn't sure if this was significant or not. He began writing down everything about the situation he was in with the hopes that maybe he could figure something out. Starting with the beginning, Kyoko confirmed that the layout was exactly the same as Hope's Peak Academy, so there was no doubt that they were trapped in the school. Working with the confirmed facts so far, he moved onto the lesser details: Barricaded windows, entrance sealed with a large door, turrets in the entrance hall and any other conclusion the group has came to so far. It was also odd that he woke up as if he cried himself to sleep, and no one else did.

Makoto didn't feel like he was getting anywhere, until he wrote down the point about the cafeteria always being stocked on food. He stopped writing to think about it. Being trapped in a heavily barricaded place, with all necessities being provided for, it seemed like a familiar concept. Perhaps the idea of the killing game has been blinding them piecing together other facts.

With all the facts written down, he began to work on the questions that were on everyone's minds. Why were they there? What happened when they entered Hope's Peak Academy? Why hasn't help arrived yet? Though writing down the questions they had only made his brain hurt more, Makoto decided to at least try to explain them. Why hasn't help arrived yet? It was a fact that for several days since their "abduction", there has been no sign of help from the outside. It didn't make sense, and yet it was a reality.

"Maybe I should turn my thinking around here… instead of wondering why help hasn't come, perhaps I should think…?"

After a few minutes of thinking, Makoto blinked blankly at his newfound conclusion. It was highly improbable, but it also seemed to lead on several other questions. He yawned and stretched in his chair, feeling the fatigue get to him.

"I should probably get some rest… Maybe I'll bring this up tomorrow and we can get somewhere…" Makoto thought as he proceeded to knock out on his bed.

Makoto groaned as he woke up to the morning announcement. Getting ready to leave for the dining hall, his eyes glanced over to his desk in the room. He debated whether to bring up such an absurd idea and in the end, decided not to take the notes with him. Upon walking into the dining hall, he was surprised to find himself to be the last one to show up.

"NAEGI-KUN! You're late for the morning meeting! If it weren't for Maizono-san's pleads, I would have came and dragged you out already!" Kiyotaka roared.

"Hey hey now, it's just one time… after all, he has been on time every morning before!" Hina said.

"That still does not excuse his tardiness! Naegi-kun! Explain yourself!" Kiyotaka ordered, causing Makoto to sigh.

"S-Sorry for being late, I guess I just didn't get a good rest last night. I'll try not to make it a habit" Makoto apologized.

"See? I told you! You can't blame him for being a little restless in a situation like this!" Sayaka grumbled at Kiyotaka.

"Yeah! I would've been late too if I wanted some extra shut-eye!" Junko chimed in.

"Rest is very important for the body's health." Sakura added.

"It's alright, I'm here now right? By the way, did I miss anything?" Makoto asked.

"N-no, not really, we were just asking around if anyone had found anything new or had any ideas." Chihiro replied.

"Which turned out to be a complete waste of my time. We should cease these pointless meetings if no one has anything to contribute." Byakuya huffed from the corner.

"Oh? I didn't see you contributing anything there, Togami-kun." Celeste said with a sly smile.

"I didn't want to be here in the first place. But someone was insistent that I show up." Byakuya replied.

"We simply want to keep everyone informed of the situation." Sakura said.

"So in the end, no one had found anything new since yesterday's tour." Sayaka concluded sadly.

"Which fucking sucks! ARRGGH! I just wanna get out of here!" Mondo yelled frustratingly.

"Man, chill out for now. Getting all angry isn't going to help anything ya know?" Leon shrugged.

"The fuck did you say?" Mondo turned to him, glaring at the baseball star.

"Oowada-kun. It would be extremely disadvantageous for us if you were to knock out another person right now. Remember you're not the only one trapped in here." Kyoko advised.

"I know! But it's just so frustrating!" Mondo seethed.

"So I take it that no one here had anything to add then." Makoto nervously said.

"Not unless you have something to add." Sayaka smiled.

"H—I—I don't think I do.." Makoto said.

"That was awfully hesitant of you. Are you sure you don't have something?" Celeste asked.

"W-Well, what I mean is, it's just a random crazy idea so… I'd rather not…" Makoto replied, rubbing the back of his neck to alleviate the awkwardness.

"Hey man, anything is better than nothing right now so you might as well." Leon shrugged.

"Yeah! I mean, even if it helps in the tiniest way, it's still something positive!" Asahina added.

"I'm all about crazy ideas too! Let's hear it!" Yasuhiro agreed.

"Naegi-kun! Given our current circumstances, I must request that you share your thoughts on the matter!" Kiyotaka ordered.

"I-I-I would, it's just that…. It sounds like a really bad joke right now…. Or maybe that… I haven't thought it through yet…" Makoto sheepishly said.

"Then maybe we can work it through together?" Junko suggested.

"The sharing of knowledge has always benefitted the group for the most part." Sakura agreed.

"I-If you got something, t-then spill it!" Toko said with an accusatory finger.

"Tch. This better not be a waste of my time." Byakuya said.

"So Naegi Makoto-dono does seem worthy! Hehehe!" Hifumi commented.

"Um, you're all sure that you want to hear this?" Makoto asked one last time, to which he received fourteen distinct looks of approval.

"Hey! I want to hear this too!" Monokuma cried as he appeared out of nowhere.

"Get lost you loser!" Leon said.

"Yeah! Fuck you!" Mondo added.

"Hey! That's no way to treat your headmaster!" Monokuma protested.

"Well, telling a bunch of students to kill each other isn't any way to treat your students either!" Asahina cried.

"Man, you guys are mean…" Monokuma sadly said as it dipped its head and left the room.

"Er.. okay then. But I should say that I haven't exactly thought this all out yet, and it might just be conjecture at the end of the day. So, I'll need to ask everyone to just hear me out until the end before making your judgement. I have a feeling that it'll make sense once I reach the end of this thought process." Makoto explained.

"That sounds fair." Celeste said with a thoughtful expression.

"I agree to your terms and conditions!" Hifumi added.

"T-This isn't some crazy conspiracy theory about aliens is it?" Yasuhiro cried.

"Ahh.. well.. not aliens… but it might seem crazy.." Makoto admitted.

"Then save your breath. I won't stay to hear such-"

"But I believe it will answer most of the questions we have about our situation." Makoto interrupted Byakuya, silencing him as he simply folded his arms and turned slightly to face him.

"If no one else has any objections, please begin! Naegi-kun!" Kiyotaka exclaimed.

"Alright, so, let's just completely forget the two most pressing issues at the moment for now: The killing game, and how to get out of here.." Makoto began.

"What? But like you said, they're the two most important things right now!" Leon protested.

"Waaah? It cannot be! Naegi Makoto-dono! You are a traitor!" Hifumi cried.

"Can both of you be quiet? Naegi-kun here hasn't finished talking yet." Sayaka pointed out, earning a couple apologetic looks from the guilty party.

"Thank you, Maizono-san. As I was saying, with those two issues out of the picture, it'll become much easier to focus on the other things. The next obvious question is then, how did we end up here? We all clearly remember walking into Hope's Peak Academy, fainting, then waking up to… uh.. this." Makoto explained.

"So you have an answer to how we wound up like this?" Celeste asked.

"Hmm, how do I say this…. Currently, no. I don't. But, I feel like, once I start with the next question and get things going, I feel like this question will get answered." Makoto replied.

"Hmph. So in the end, this really is just conjecture." Byakuya commented.

"Y-Yeah! D-don't go spouting nonsense i-if you had n-nothing to begin with!" Toko agreed.

"I believe it's far too early for this to be conjecture, he hasn't even made his point yet." Kyoko countered.

"Then let's fucking get on with it." Mondo said, tired of the interruptions.

"Ok, so leaving that behind for now, our next biggest question is, why hasn't help arrived yet? We've been trapped in this school for a few days now, and surely, everyone outside should be worried about how the school turned out. Under normal circumstances, signs of help would have shown up by now." Makoto said.

"That's right! We've been stuck in here for so long, someone should've noticed by now!" Asahina cried.

"On top of that, this whole place is messed up!" Mondo added.

"B-But wait! Y-You said 'under normal circumstances', w-what do you mean by that?" Chihiro asked.

"Ooh! Little Fujisaki-san here has a point! What do you mean by normal circumstances?" Junko added.

"Well, what I'm thinking is, instead of wondering why help hasn't arrived yet, maybe we should turn our thinking around and instead, think, in what circumstances does it take for help to not arrive?" Makoto asked.

As soon as Makoto proposed the question, a light silence filled the room as everyone thought about it for a second. It didn't take long for the brighter ones to realize where Makoto was going with this and everyone else had a general idea of what Makoto was implying.

"I feel like I should get this, but I don't." Mondo grumbled.

"You see, it's a fact that help hasn't arrived in days now, so instead of keep wondering why they haven't arrived and instead think, what would have to happen outside, for help to not arrive? This way, I think we'll begin to see things in a different light." Makoto said.

"Where are you going with this?" Byakuya asked.

"I think I get it…" Chihiro spouted out. "Are you saying, in what circumstances would the police need to be to not respond to a help call?"

"They would have to be completely occupied due to more pressing matters, or there has to be some sort of state emergency where all police resources are deployed." Kyoko said, and with a small gasp of realization, continued: "Are you saying…"

"…That something catastrophic happened outside?" Byakuya finished with furrowed brows, stunning the rest of the group with the weight of the implication.

"N-No way!" Yasuhiro yelled, gripping his hair.

"H-How can that be?" Chihiro cried.

"The world at its end?" shrieked Hifumi.

"I-It was fine just days ago!" Sayaka protested.

"W-Well, I can't prove that it really is happening, but it would lead onto the next thing." Makoto shakily replied.

"And what is it Naegi?" Sakura hesitantly asked.

"Ok, with that scenario in mind, I now want everyone to reconsider the appearance of the building we're in. Doesn't it kind of, sound familiar to something else that's related to the scenario?" Makoto replied with the question.

"Y-Y-You're not suggesting that this is similar to an emergency shelter are you Naegi-Kun?" Kiyotaka quickly realized.

"A shelter? This building?" Mondo asked incredulously.

"W-Well, the thing is, we were thinking that we're trapped in here. But again, that could go both ways. Maybe everything else is kept outside? I mean, all the windows are barricaded, the entrance hall is sealed with a large door and somehow, we seem to have all our necessities provided for us." Makoto explained.

"Not to mention the large guns too…" Chihiro added.

"A-Are you sure y-you're not developing S-Stockholm's Syndrome from being here?" Toko angrily cried.

"It would seem our lucky student here has grown rather attached to the hospitality Monokuma has been providing." Celeste sarcastically said.

"N-No! You're wrong! Remember that I said to just forget about Monokuma and the whole killing game for a second and just focus on this!" Makoto cried defensively.

"B-But even if that's all true… what now?" Asahina hesitantly asked.

"To be honest, that's as far as I have thought up to last night, but I feel like if we keep at this, more answers will follow!" Makoto said.

"So, in the end, it's just another made-up story." Byakuya said.

"H-Hey, maybe it's too early to call it quits ya know? And besides, we agreed to help him think through it anyways." Junko shrugged.

"I agreed to no such thing." Byakuya snapped back.

"On the assumption that those circumstantial conditions are true, then his idea do hold some merit." Kyoko thought out loud.

"Maybe we should take another look at this building?" Junko suggested.

"But we've already searched everywhere we could." Asahina said.

"In addition to that, the upper floors are still restricted to us." Sakura added.

"Same with the dorm building. No going up that way either." Leon said.

"It appears we have reached an impasse!" Hifumi cried.

"S-Stop it with your p-preposterous outcries! I-If you're going t-to talk, t-then at least contribute something!" Toko yelled back.

"Please, stop you two. We s-should get back to the topic." Sayaka pleaded.

"Another look at the building huh?" Makoto thought.

"Do you guys think this is just an elaborate riddle that's part of the entrance ceremony?" Yasuhiro thought.

"Shut up you fucking idiot." Mondo replied, causing Yasuhiro to shriek in terror.

"Actually, I would like to ask a question." Kyoko spoke, then turned to Byakuya. "Togami-kun, you must have been involved in multiple building projects in the past have you?"

"That is correct, but why ask this?" Byakuya replied, now slightly interested.

"Given the…. Renovations Hope's Peak has undergone, how long would you say it would take to complete this kind of overhaul?" Kyoko asked.

"I-If I had to guess, I-It'd take quite some time. An automated defense, barricaded entrances, self-sustaining food system, not to mention anything else in the upper floors we haven't found yet." Chihiro thought out loud.

"That depends." Byakuya said. "But assuming that there are at most ten more floors to this building, then building it from the ground up would take around a year, on average. However, since this is a school, the barricades and automated systems must have been added later… adding in the trial room, I'll estimate around a couple months of renovating assuming all the resources were available at their earliest convenience….!"

Byakuya physically flinched in realization as he finished his explanation. "That's impossible…!"

"AHHH! I see! If we've barely been here for a week, it would have been impossible to get all these renovations done!" Kiyotaka concluded.

"What? Then what we're seeing is impossible!" Asahina cried.

"W-What the hell? What does this mean then?" Leon panicked.

"We must have passed into another dimension!" Yasuhiro screamed.

"T-That's extremely unlikely. However, where does that leave us?" Celeste asked.

"If we all only arrived here a week ago, and these renovations take at least a couple months, then it appears we have a contradiction." Kyoko said.

"Oh! That means one of them is wrong!" Junko cheerily cried.

"T-That's what a c-contradiction usually is y-you idiot!" Toko snarled.

"Well, I think Enoshima-san might be right here." Makoto said. "Maybe we should think about this in another light again."

"You keep saying that, but how do we do that?" Asahina complained.

"I believe he's saying to approach this from a different angle." Kyoko said. "In this case, he's probably about to say that instead of thinking why the contradiction exists, perhaps we should reconsider what we know to eliminate this contradiction. Am I right?"

"AH! T-That's right! If the renovations would take at least a couple months, then perhaps, we were wrong about when we got here!" Makoto exclaimed.

"That's preposterous! We all know we got here a week ago!" Byakuya said.

"Yeah but, what if…. When we fainted, we were out for a lot longer than we thought?" Makoto thought out loud.

"What the fuck? Are you out of your mind? You'd be dead if you were out for a couple months!" Mondo yelled.

"In addition to that, our physical capabilities would severely limited for being asleep for so long." Sakura said.

"I can't even imagine sleeping for that long…" Leon commented.

"Yeah! I'd die from being so… inactive!" Asahina added.

"Well, there has to be something that explains these differences, right?" Junko shrugged.

"A-Aren't you awfully h-helpful all of a s-sudden?" Toko spewed.

"Hey! I'm just trying to contribute to this whole thing!" Junko snapped back.

"No, I think she means that… you seem a little different today.." Sayaka clarified.

"W-What? I'm like, totally normal right now!" Junko cried.

"R-Regardless, if renovations take that long, then we should reconsider whether we remembered things right. It's the only thing I can think of to explain this." Makoto cut in.

"But we can't be wrong right? We all agreed that we arrived here a week ago." Asahina said.

"Well, we seem to be convinced by our memories that we arrived here a week ago, but perhaps the answer lies in the fainting?" Makoto proposed.

"There's no way we could have stayed unconscious for that long though, we'd be dead by now." Leon said.

"That much should have been obvious from the start." Byakuya commented.

"Then maybe there's something else that happened that led to the memory loss… wait… memory loss? Perhaps we have been here for that long, but we lost our memories?" Makoto thought.

"T-That's a scary thought…" Asahina shuddered.

"Mind control?" Yasuhiro cried out.

"Memory loss on this scale would require quite the traumatic experience…. To all of us no less.." Celeste said, ignoring the clairvoyant.

"That is true. If you're suggesting we lost around a couple months of memories, then we all must have suffered some serious brain damage which aside from a couple of you, I highly doubt. Otherwise there was a traumatic event that caused all of us to faint and lose them." Byakuya added.

"Hey! What're you trying to say with that?" Yasuhiro cried from the back.

"I-If that's true, t-then that means we've been traumatized just a little more than a week ago…" Chihiro commented.

"Hey guys, what if the reason for the memory loss isn't that important? I mean, after all, we're assuming it already happened right?" Sayaka asked.

"Not important? It sounds totally important! I can't sit here knowing I lost a bunch of my memories without knowing how!" Leon complained.

"That's assuming you lost memories in the first place you dumbass." Mondo said.

"Well, it's not like you use your brain that much." Junko commented.

"H—You…!" Mondo stuttered.

"Guys please! We're having a discussion here!" Asahina said.

"Actually, I think I got something." Makoto said. "Maizono-san may be right about the reason not being important… for now."

"Explain yourself." Kyoko said.

"Alright, putting everything together, let's start from the top again for this scenario. For the sake of this argument, we all arrived at Hope's Peak sometime ago as students. Then after studying here for some time, something happened outside to which the school is then converted into a shelter. It might even be possible that we were the ones who 'trapped' ourselves here. Anyways, after converting the school into a shelter, I assume something happened within the school and we lost our memories." Makoto explained.

"But what happened from within then?" Leon asked.

"Perhaps there has been a betrayal!" Hifumi cried excitedly.

"O-Or aliens!" Yasuhiro cried.

"A-Actually… I've been t-thinking about this for a little bit but… maybe t-there could be something that causes i-immediate memory loss…" Chihiro said.

"You do? Tell us!" Mondo encouraged.

"W-Well, it's not a definite answer… but look at it this way… Hope's Peak is tailored to the most talented students right? I mean, we have Maizono-san who's the ultimate pop sensation, and Celeste-san for ultimate gambler. So I've been thinking there were probably other students here as well…. And possibly maybe one who's the ultimate neurologist?" Chihiro explained.

"The ultimate neur—what now?" Yasuhiro asked.

"Neurologist. Simply put, someone who studies the nervous system of the body and their functions." Kyoko answered.

"Exactly. So maybe, this neurologist developed something to incite immediate memory loss?" Chihiro suggested.

"Maybe Monokuma's operator is this ultimate neurolo—la-whatever then?" Asahina asked.

"You could be right about that." Makoto said.

"Hmm? And how do you know that?" Leon asked.

"Well, remember the trial room? There were sixteen podiums while there are only fifteen of us. I mean, Monokuma said that technically it could fit up to sixteen people, but I don't think it's like that. Considering what Monokuma is like so far, I think it's meant for the operator themselves." Makoto explained.

"Well whatever! We just need to find this person, and beat em up until they let us go!" Mondo roared.

"You forget that 'this person', is controlling Monokuma." Byakuya sneered.

"So just to recap, we all enrolled into Hope's Peak, spent some time here, then something happened to the outside world which led to Hope's Peak being converted into a shelter. After that, something happened from within which caused us to lose our memories to which what led us to where we are now. Is that what you've been trying to get at Naegi-kun?" Kyoko asked.

"Yeah, that was generally what I had thought up last night, just not with all the details…" Makoto confirmed.

"Then, you do know what this suggests right?" Kyoko asked again.

"Huh? Uhh…" Makoto thought to himself for a second before realizing what her point was. "Oh crap!" Makoto cried out.

"W-What does she mean?" Mondo cried out.

"She means that, there is a traitor amongst us." Byakuya said, to which the air suddenly felt a lot heavier. It almost felt like the entrance ceremony all over again, but before anyone could act, Kyoko continued.

"If we were to accept your scenario, then it would point to that direction. After all, given how 'fortified' this shelter is, it is highly unlikely for Monokuma to have broken in from the outside. Therefore, the only conclusion we can come to is that Monokuma was already inside." Kyoko said as she folded her arms and eyed everyone.

"A-An.. inside job…" Leon repeated.

"S-Someone has turned to the d-dark side!" Hifumi cried.

"T-There's no way one of us can be a traitor! Right?" Kiyotaka asked around.

"So this game was rigged from the beginning…. How boring." Byakuya said.

"W-Wait! T-The traitor doesn't have to be one of us! A-After all, we concluded on a sixteenth person right? What if it's this sixteenth person? Monokuma's operator?" Makoto asked.

"That's true, but until they come out and confess, we have no way of proving that right now. Unless, you have more ideas?" Kyoko said.

"I… I… I don't…" Makoto resigned.

"H-Hey c'mon now… we're still all in this t-together right? There's no way one of us can be the traitor!" Junko said, trying to keep everyone together.

"Puhuhuhu! Getting defensive now eh? Well, figures since you've been awfully helpful… puhuhu!" Monokuma snickered as it appeared out of nowhere again.

"W-What the… What are you doing here? We told you to get lost!" Leon cried.

"Y-Yeah! Leave us alone!" Asahina yelled.

"Are you sure? You sure you don't want to find out who the traitor is?" Monokuma asked, stunning the group into silence.

"No answer huh? Well, since I'm such a great headmaster and all, I'll just go ahead and tell ya!" Then Monokuma raised its paw towards Junko. "There! She's your traitor!" It excitedly exclaimed as all eyes fell onto the ultimate fashionista.

"Y-Y-You're all going to believe him? H-He's obviously lying!" Junko defensively cried. When no one spoke to defend her, she backed up in disbelief. "N-No way…"

"Ah! I forgot something! If you really want proof, check the back of her right hand! She must have covered something up with foundation!" Monokuma cried.

"H-Her right hand?" Sayaka questioned.

"Oooh and check her pockets! She might have something dangerous in them too!" Monokuma continued.

Before anyone could make a move however, Junko leaped backwards, spacing herself a good distance from everyone else.

"…. I see." She said in a completely different voice.

The person to which everyone knew as the ultimate fashionista proceeded to reach up towards her hair, and in one swift motion, ripped off her wig and threw it to the side, revealing dark bobbed hair instead. Makoto blinked as he watched the transformation. It was supposed to be the first time he saw this, but for some reason, he felt as if he recognized her.

"Well, well, well! What do we have here! The traitor of course!" Monokuma happily cried out.

"Y-You're the traitor?" Leon asked, appalled.

"N-No way…" Asahina breathed out.

Makoto stood there frozen. On one side of the room was Monokuma, on the other was someone they all thought to be Junko Enoshima. The group exchanged looks between the bear and the traitor nervously, unsure which was the bigger threat. Makoto could feel the tension in the room rise to a whole new level.

"T-This is bad…. Never had I thought this was going to be true… it was supposed to just be a theory… But still… it can't just end like this…" He thought to himself.

"L-Look, b-before anything happens…. Let's let you talk first.." Makoto said.

"Indeed! E-Explain yourself!" Kiyotaka cried.

"… That's just like you, Makoto." The girl spoke, her expression never changing.

"H-Huh?!" Makoto was taken aback by the usage of his first name. Although, as he looked around, everyone else also noticed this and seemed to all come to conclusions on their own. The girl, noticing this, spoke up again.

"If you are all accusing him of being another traitor, then unfortunately, that's not the case. However, everything we've talked about in the past hour has been true."

"That is sooo true that he is another traitor!" Monokuma jabbed.

"If he was another traitor, he had no reason to bring all of this up." The girl countered.

"Ahh fine fine! Have it your way!" The bear crossed its arms.

"First of all, who the fuck are you? And second of all, what the fuck is happening right now?" Mondo asked angrily.

"That's a fair question. Very well, I will explain everything. My name is Mukuro Ikusaba, ultimate soldier. The situation you all find yourselves in, is very similar to what we have been discussing up until now. The truth is, we have all spent two years together here as class 78 of Hope's Peak." She explained.

"T-TWO YEARS?" half of the group cried out.

"Indeed. Two years. Then six months ago, tragedy and despair had struck the outside world, which turned into a global catastrophe and hence, the school converting into a shelter for its students. However, what the school didn't account for was the fact that despair had already reached the school." Mukuro continued.

"Aaaaannd bingo! Nailed it! That's right! It's quite amazing how the ultimate lucky student somehow came up with this overnight!" Monokuma confirmed across the room. "Oh isn't it so despairing? Finding out that all of you were friends but now all you see are strangers? Ohohoho it's just about as despairing as your sister spilling the beans!"

"SISTER?" Everyone reacted.

"Twin sister." Mukuro corrected. "The one behind Monokuma, is the real Junko Enoshima."

"I am not Junko Enoshima! My name is Monokuma and I am your headmaster!" Monokuma pouted.

"WHAT?"

"I see. By having your twin pretend to be you, you were able to control everything from behind the scenes. The cameras around the school would allow you to monitor everything while Monokuma is used to keep us in check. In addition, you were already disguised as your sister so you can further control us." Kyoko surmised.

"Correct. That was the plan." Mukuro confirmed.

"Tch, such cowards. So the game was rigged beforehand." Byakuya said.

"An underhanded tactic indeed." Celeste agreed.

"Aaand so what if it is?" Monokuma laughed. "Besides, you know I actually had a prize for the final five survivors right?"

"WHO CARES ABOUT THE DAMNED PRIZE?" Mondo roared.

"Yeah! We don't want your prize!" Asahina cried.

"Accepting a gift from the enemy is always a bad idea!" Hifumi chimed in.

"Ahh well then. If you refuse the headmaster's gift, then I guess there's no choice." Monokuma said sadly.

"W-What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Leon cried.

"What are you planning now?" Sakura asked.

"Welp, no point explaining if you're not going to remember this. It's time for another reset. Mukuro! Sic em!" Junko spoke through the Monokuma microphone without the filter.

"WHAT?" Everyone turned to the soldier, who suddenly had a pair of guns raised at the group.

"W-Wait! T-That's-!" Makoto cried.

"It's a loaded gun! Get down!" Kyoko called out. Sakura, Asahina, Leon, Mondo, and Kyoko herself dove to whatever cover there was, and everyone else stood frozen by their fears. Mukuro aligned her aim to the direction of the group, her eyes concentrated on her target. By the time Makoto realized the danger he was in, it was already too late for him to move. But that didn't stop him from trying to take cover as he dove straight into a bench to his right. He grunted in pain as he rolled off the bench and under the cafeteria table in a feeble attempt to keep himself safe.

*BANG BANG BANG*

Three shots rang out in the room, followed by metallic "clank". Feeling something was strange, he chanced a look from under the table and was immediately shocked by what he saw: Monokuma flat on its back with three smoking bullet holes on its head and belly. He turned back to Mukuro, whom still has her guns pointed at the door and the barrels still smoking.

"W-What?" Makoto breathed.

"AAAAHH I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA DIE!" Yasuhiro cried out.

"S-S-She's gonna kill us!" Toko screamed.

"No, I'm not." Mukuro said.

"W-wait, what?" Leon asked, confused.

"L-look! She shot Monokuma!" Chihiro pointed out.

"I-Indeed she did." Byakuya agreed, still slightly fazed by the turn of events as he stood next to the collapsed bear. "However, just because you turned on your ally doesn't mean you'll be forgiven."

"Wait, let's let her explain herself first." Kyoko said, coming out from behind another table.

"Y-Yeah! Wasn't your plan to fucking kill us all?" Mondo asked.

"No. The plan was to wipe your memories again and reset the game. But as I said, that was the plan." Mukuro said.

"Then, you mean you have other plans." Sakura assumed.

"No. Not really." Mukuro answered, looking to the side.

"Why the change heart? You have no reason to considering how far things went." Kyoko said.

"Also considering the position you're in, you're in even more of a disadvantage than we are." Celeste added.

Mukuro stayed silent to the question, refusing to make eye contact with any of them.

"I guess… I can only see the same thing happen so many times before I realized this wasn't worth it." She finally answered.

The weight of her answer silenced everyone in the room, however, there wasn't much time for this to sink in.

"Hoooh? What is this Muku~?" Junko spoke through the monitors. "And here I thought you were just as boring as these guys are."

"It is more interesting this way." Mukuro replied.

"W-What is going on?" Makoto asked.

"You shut your fucking mouth! Every single time I start this game and you have to ruin it! UGH! What is wrong with you?" Junko screamed.

"T-This isn't the first time?" Sayaka breathed out.

"Of course not! I swear to god I should've just killed him before thi-"

*Click*

Junko's angry rant was interrupted by Mukuro pulling out a controller of sorts and pressing a button. She let out a breath as silence enveloped the room.

"I've always preferred the quieter times." She whispered to herself before turning back to everyone.

"W-What just happened?" Kiyotaka asked.

"I.. I think she just shut off her systems… the other monitor is off too." Chihiro pointed out, to which Mukuro nodded.

"Regardless, you want definitive proof of being students here right? Here." Mukuro said as she produced several pictures of the class from her pocket and handed them to Makoto.

"T-This is…" Makoto breathed out in disbelief.

"Pictures of us spending time together." Mukuro answered.

"N-No way…" Asahina said as she looked at the pictures.

"T-That's bullshit! Me friends with HIM?" Mondo cried.

"With these pictures as proof, I suppose we have no choice but to accept them as fact. However, I still have many questions regarding our situation." Kyoko said, ignoring the shock of the other students.

"Given our current circumstances, I'll answer one right now." Mukuro said.

"Alright. What is my ultimate talent?" Kyoko asked.

"Oh that's right! You never told any of us what your talent was!" Sayaka said.

"Of course, that would be your first question." Mukuro mused. "Kirigiri-san, your title is the ultimate detective."

"Ultimate detective, hmm… yes. That would make sense." Kyoko thought out loud.

"Just a second, what did you mean by our current circumstances?" Byakuya asked.

"We don't have much time before my sister changes her mind. We should start heading towards the entrance hall right now." Mukuro said.

"Wait, what? Changes her mind? On what?" Leon asked.

"My sister lives off of despair." Mukuro answered.

"Despair?" Makoto asked.

"I'll explain this on the way. Let's get moving first." Mukuro said as she started leaving the dining hall. One by one, the rest of the class started following her, not wanting to be left behind.

"You see, my sister's title isn't the ultimate fashionista." Mukuro spoke, loud enough for the entire group to hear. "Her proper title would be the ultimate analyst. With that kind of talent, imagine living your whole life with the ability to analyze each and every outcome of every situation. Life would become boring quickly. However, one day, she found despair to be something that she can't predict, and soon enough, she became addicted to it."

"Then, why did you help her? You must have known this was wrong." Sayaka asked.

"I have my own reasons." Mukuro replied. "Anyways, because of her addiction to despair, every plan she comes up with has its flaws. Even with the plans of utmost importance, she will always leave the possibility of defeat open so that she can feel the euphoria of despair. And the same can be said for our current situation."

"So you're saying she has also anticipated you turning on her then." Kyoko said. "Shouldn't we be concerned that she will try to stop us?"

"Yes, and no. As I said before, she will always leave the possibility of defeat open and if it does so happen, she will embrace it. However, she's also not very patient. I can only keep her systems down for so long before Junko regains control of everything." Mukuro explained.

"S-So, how much time do we have left?" Hifumi asked from the back of the group.

"Enough." Mukuro simply said.

"Well, here we are. What now?" Mondo asked, to which, Mukuro took out a remote control, instantly gathering the attention of everyone else.

"I-It can't be this easy…" Kiyotaka said.

"Y-Yeah! T-There's no way w-we can just walk out of here r-right?" Toko cried.

"We can if we move quickly." Mukuro reassured. She raised the remote control and pointed it at the door, but paused for a moment before handing the remote control to Makoto instead.

"Here, I think it's more fitting that you do this." Mukuro said.

"Huh? Why me?" Makoto replied, confused.

"I-It's just better that way." Mukuro simply said.

"I.. uh.. Ok." Makoto gulped as he received the remote. Although it wasn't very heavy, he still felt as if there was a huge weight attached to the remote. He looked around one last time, gathering everyone's own look of approval before pushing the button.

A huge sound began blaring throughout the room as the large metal door starting unlocking itself. The twin turrets on the roof began unfolding and retracting themselves back into the structure and the hiss of the hydraulics at work can be heard.

Makoto felt a hand placed on his shoulder, he turned to see it belonged to Mukuro.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

"W-What? What for?" Makoto replied.

Mukuro didn't answer, but instead, handed another picture to him. It didn't take long for Makoto to realize what it meant.

"T-That's-!"

"I guess it does explain everything." Mukuro said.

"S-So you, and I, we're –?"

"Come, let's not get left behind. We can sort this out once we're safe." Mukuro said. She grabbed his hand and let the blinding light envelope them all.

End Notes:

Thanks for making it to the end! Anyways, here's my update since my last work:

First off, thank you for all the kudos and favourites during my absence. It's been constantly reminding me about this despite being a mess and really, seeing that email notification about a kudos/favourites/likes really makes me smile. So again, thanks for keeping me going!

My last work was published on April 12, which was just at the end of my Spring semester this year. During the time then, I started on another work that involves a different AU but I realized that it was a bigger undertaking than what I had initially thought so I ran into a lot of writing problems working on that. I didn't get very far during my break between Spring and Summer semester, and my Summer semester was a disaster.

It turns out that taking 3 writing intensive courses, was an extremely bad idea and it took a massive toll on my mental stamina. Any extra time I had was spent on trying to recharge via video games or just sleeping so throughout the entire summer, I barely spent 1 hour writing my fic every other week. Even during the times I was able to write, I had writer's block from my mentality being focused academic papers all day. Turns out that repeatedly bashing your mind against writer's block and forcing yourself to write is a very inefficient way of dealing with it.

So instead of writing, I turned my efforts somewhere else where I don't need to spend that much brain power: Beta reading and editing. If you linger around , you might have noticed that I have been an editor for the story "Class 78 Watches the Future" by Spirit Soldier. It's an interesting story that involves pre-despair class 78 watching the events of Danganronpa 1 and reacting to it so if you're into that, go check it out! (Although, I should note that it has a harem element featuring Makoto with every girl minus Toko and Sakura)
Spirit sends me the next chapter almost every 1.5 weeks so the updates are fairly frequent as long as I finish editing it within the same day or the day after.

Fast forward to now, I'm slowly recovering from the mess of a summer that I had, and I realized another thing: I don't have a spot where I can post my current status and updates. So regarding that, I'll now put it on my profile so in the off chance that you're wondering when my next work is going to be finished or what's my current status, just hop over to my profile and it'll be there.

Anyways, that's all for my current update! See you all around for my next fic featuring more standard Naekusaba :)