Lucky Gambit

Nanami remembered each word as if it was happening once again, right in front of her. Their slow, calm breaths of relief had sped up as soon as Monokuma had uttered the words:

「You're Wrong!」

Kuzuryuu had stopped breathing. Sonia had inhaled sporadically, trying to fight back the tears that brimmed her eyes. Souda was incapable of stopping his tears from falling as he continuously questioned "What the hell…?", and Owari seemed to fall into another world as she stood there, frozen.

"H-how…" Hinata breathed, tears threatening to fall from his eyes as well. "I-it was…"

"Oh please, Hinata!" scoffed the monochrome monster, "You knew something was wrong with the case! You should have said something!"

Hinata tried to say something after that as the liquid started to spill from his eyes, but he couldn't get it out. No one could. It took a small relief from Nanami's cheek to realize even she, a mere program, was crying for this.

"The murder of the Super High School Level Good Luck, Nagito Komaeda, was in fact not a suicide!"

Nanami realized in that moment that, regardless of how it happened, it was her. She was the traitor. He was luck. He wanted her dead – or so that's what she'd thought. There was no way the killer wasn't her.

And as Monokuma called her name, she sighed. And as the terrified and betrayed expressions of her friends looked back at her, she bit back the tears. The words they said, the sobs they let loose, she couldn't even hear them at this point. She looked down at her shoes as Owari, being held back by Sonia and Kuzuryuu, screamed at her from the top of her broken lungs, spit and tears flying from her face. And Souda, who could barely form coherent words, sat on the ground, crying his eyes out. Only once did she look up, and that was when the voice farthest from hers spoke. The hardest to reach out of them all.

"W-why?"

Hinata's shattered voice broke through her thoughts, and disregarding the others, she rapidly looked up at him. Her stomach dropped as she saw how hard he was trying to not cry, his fists clenched and his teeth partly gritted. Why did she care so much about Hinata? And after a moment of just looking at him, disregarding the others, she realized the answer was simple.

Ah yes, she loved him, didn't she?

The tears she'd been struggling to hold back began to rain down all at once, and she found herself struggling to speak. She lifted her hands to her chest, playing with the ribbon that was tied at her shirt. With a small hiccup, she tried forming words.

"H-hinata…I-I…"

"Let's give it everything we've got! It'ssssssss Punishment Time!"

Sonia and Souda collectively screamed, and even the tougher souls like Kuzuryuu and and Owari began to lose their cool. Hinata, despite the circumstance was the only one to remain calm, wiping his tears with his arm. In that moment, the gamer ripped her bow out, gripping it harshly in her palm.

"H-hinata…!"

It had been too late though, and as soon as she realized what was happening, the five kids were pulled off to their doom. Nanami ran through the door with them, only to end up on an observer's deck, watching it them die in a punishment made for her. Kuzuryuu, Sonia, Souda, and Owari were all shot down in the beginning. Hinata had raced through, trying to find a way to escape. The last place he found himself though, was a retro styled game.

Tetris.

The gamer had been screaming incoherent words as she watched her friends die, her face a total wreck from crying as hard as she was. Seeing Hinata in the situation stopped her though, and she wordlessly watched as Hinata got boxed in. Each Tetris block brought him closer to his doom, and with each pound of the block Nanami's racing heart ached harder. And as the final Tetris block was about to be placed over him, she shrieked like a banshee, dropping the ribbon she held in her hand as she tried to reach out for him.

"HINATAAAAAA!"

Her brain stopped working once the block made contact.

Nanami was lead back to the trial room by Monomi in almost a dead state. Monomi rambled on about something, most likely trying to keep Nanami's mind off the entire ordeal. But the only thing the gamer could think about was why she was the only one left. She, the traitor, was literally the only one left alive.

Virtually alive, she reminded herself. Technically they're all still alive.

This one idea reminded her that things weren't completely lost. Now that the simulation was over, they'd probably wake up as they were before. It wasn't the best alternative, but it was better than them never waking up at all. Heck, some of them might even be awake! Nanami kept repeating this possibility in her mind, assuring herself everything would be fine, over and over and over again. And she was generally beginning to believe it, until she stepped back in the trial room.

There were X's on everyone's faces but hers, and a new space in the trial circle. A new space in which a throne sat, with a monster sitting atop it.

A monster with a perpetual sneer on her face.

"You're…"

Nanami tried her best to stand tall and hold her ground, but what with everything that took place prior, she was weak the knees and light-headed. Just looking at the gamer made the wretched beast begin to laugh, motioning her to the place she stood every trial in. Nanami, despite Monomi's protests, walked without saying a word to her place. A small seat was there, which Nanami took advantage of almost immediately.

"…Junko Enoshima…" Nanami finished, catching her breath. This was Monokuma. This was the problem. Despite knowing she was just a virus, the gamer found herself incredibly scared by just her aura.

Junko nodded, looking up and down her alter, before speaking.

"Y'know Nanami, I'm very displeased."

"With what?"

"Everything."

Junko crinkled her nose, huffing a bit in frustration before continuing.

"Well, I mean, not eeeeeverything, y'know? What I really hate is how everything's turned out since the fourth trial. It's just gone so terribly, don't you think?"

Nanami was about to answer, before Junko clapped her hands, cutting the gamer off.

"That's it! I have the greeeeeeaaatest idea EVER! Almost as good as the Mutual Killing!"

"Y-you do?" Nanami's voice shook as her fists clenched further. As much as she wanted to run away, Nanami couldn't stop herself from shaking in fear where she stood. Looming above her was the despair that killed her friends, and she was in no shape to do something about it.

"Mhm! I know what I'll do, I'll reset the game!"

"What?!"

"Yeep! I'll start the whole simulation over, like a system reset. No one except you and me will remember the events that took place here, and you'll get to go through the whooooole game over again!"

Monomi screamed in horror, saying that this was preposterous, delusional, and that the monster was mad. Junko rolled her eyes, taking Monomi by the ear and throwing her against the wall.

"And to add on to it, I just thought of an even BETTER idea!"

Nanami stood up this time. Starting the simulation again…that…was it a good idea? She knew regardless that Junko would start the mutual killing again, but maybe…just maybe…she could prevent it?

"I'll even let another person keep their memories. One of my choosing. How does that sound?"

"Chiaki, you just can't! Don't do it, it's-"

"Dangerous?" Junko spat, turning her attention towards the rabbit. "Listen rodent, I'm giving you a fucking second chance. You should be groveling at my feet you motherfucking ingrate of a little sister!"

She had a point. Junko was giving them a second chance. A second chance to defeat despair. To help everyone get out alive. To tell Hinata…

"You'll probably play a nasty trick, like giving only Tsumiki her memories!"

Junko scoffed. "Oh please, that's soooooo predictably booooooring. I promise, who I've picked will be barrels of fun for all~!"

With that, Junko took Monomi and chucked her harder against the wall this time. This knocked Monomi out, giving the girls some privacy. Junko turned back to face her counterpart, crossing her legs and resting her head in her palm. With a confident smirk, Junko looked down at Nanami.

"So, my dear little Chiaki, what will you choose?"

Nanami took a deep breath and thought about her choices. Let's get real, Chiaki, she told herself. They're probably not awake, and most likely won't wake up.

She could fix this mess. She could help make things better. Prevent the killings.

Silently, Nanami looked up at the demon before her and nodded. There was no way she could turn it down, the opportunity was perfect. She'd save everyone like she was supposed to.

Junko cackled in the otherwise silent trial room. She stood up from the throne, and with of a snap of her fingers, uttered words colder than ice:

「Let the game begin!」

.

Nanami woke up in a classroom, her head resting against the desk. She yawned, stretching and then sitting upright again, looking around her surroundings. It was the classroom they'd started out it the last time around. She felt almost a sense of comfort looking at the place; before despair, before the killings, before everything. A wave of relieve washed over her body, and the compelling feeling of wanting to take a nap overwhelmed her. With that, she rubbed her eye, allowing herself to fall asleep.

Until she realized that what she rubbed her eye with was in no way her sleeve.

She stood up almost instantaneously, looking down at her outfit. She still had her backpack on, which was a plus. But she noticed the distinct difference in the rest of her, specifically her shirt. Her dark blue jacket was replaced with a light blue cardigan that was particularly low cut around the boob area. And she noticed instead a bra, she had a tie-able around the neck tank top that was also low cut. Either way, plenty of boob. Junko must've designed this, she thought with a groan. The cardigan went down to the edge of her skirt, which remained relatively the same, except white. Instead of her mary-janes, she wore light pink lolita boots that reached just under her knees. Her black socks were pretty much the same; the only difference were the garters that now held them up. Calmly, Nanami walked over to one of the windows to look at her reflection next. Thankfully, there was no makeup, and her clip was still there. However, she did notice that there was some hair sticking up in the back, which as much as she tried to smooth it down, it kept sticking up.

"What are you doing?"

She turned around to see Togami – or the other Togami, really – standing there with his arms folded, eyebrow cocked. Nanami took one look and almost burst into tears right there, but instead she smiled politely.

"I was just making sure I looked nice. I slept in this morning, so I wasn't sure."

He scoffed. "Whatever."

Nanami sat back down in her chair, tapping the desk with her nails. It worked. That was all she could think. It actually worked.

One by one, all the students gathered in the classroom, with no recollection of their deaths that had occurred. Nanami felt weird, intruding in a group of zombies or something.

When Hinata walked into the room, as awkward as the first time, Nanami felt relief wash over her. They were all okay, she cheered to herself. It…it actually worked!

"Ah, hey, can you get out of the way? I'd like to get in too, y'know!"

Nanami's breathing stopped as the colour drained from her face. Behind a frantic to apologize Hinata, a cheeky Junko Enoshima stood, tall and just as annoyed as ever.

"'Bout time," she grumbled, flipping a pigtail.

Junko was dressed in a white and pink sailor uniform with short sleeves, and black thigh socks with out of place garters. And speaking of out of place, she was also wearing white combat boots and white ribbons in her hair. Resting on her neck was a black, skin-tight choker. Despite looking cute, Junko surely had a way to make the look hers.

"Well, since that was the last student to enter, let's start the discussion.

The conversation started as it should, but Nanami paid no mind. She speed walked over to Junko, who smirked deviously for an instant as the gamer approached her.

"Why are you here?!" Nanami whisper-yelled. Junko shrugged, throwing her arms behind her back.

"Why not?" she asked sweetly, a sick smile on her face. "It'd be boring if things remained the same, so I figured, despite my changes, I'd spice it up more!" Junko held up her hand in a peace sign, which caused Nanami to gape slightly. She was seriously going to be playing the game with them?!

"But in the end, that also puts you at risk, right? What would happen if you got killed in your own game?"

Junko tried stifling a laugh, but was practically bursting at the seams doing so. She composed herself with a happy sigh. "Nanami dear, that would be the worst, wouldn't it? The most despair-inducing outcome I could think of. Which is why I'd be willing to put my life on the line for it!"

"B-but…what about Monokuma?"

"Don't worry Nanami, I already have a backup in place. Everything will go fiiiiiine! Well, as fine as it can be while you all kill each other! Upupupupu-"

"You two! What are you talking about?"

Nanami and Junko looked over at the rest of the group, all of which were staring at them, waiting for them to answer. Nanami was unsure of what to say, whereas Junko knew exactly how to answer.

"Just discussing our outfits at first! It's a shame she's not really into clothes like me, but I guess that's understandable. What do you need, hmm?"

Junko's arms were folded with an eyebrow cocked. Togami was visibly annoyed by her final comment, but dismissed it for the time being. He then began to address the entire class, this time with all of them listening.

"Anyway," said the booming voice of Nidai. "As I was saying. Instead of trying to figure out why we're here, we should try to figure out why we can't leave."

"Huh? Whaddya mean we can't leave?"

Their conversation continued, discussing all the possibilities as to why no one could leave, why they were there, et cetera. Nanami wasn't really paying attention; she didn't need to. Not only did she know this all already, but she didn't really want to listen. Just seeing them and hearing them all alive was enough for her.

"Ah, you're wrong, this is not an entrance exam."

And right on cue, Usami's voice rang through the room. Nanami shot a quick glance to Junko, who just simply shook her head. So Usami is blind as well, huh.

Nanami decided to keep herself from looking suspicious and input her voice into the mix.

"It sounds like it came from behind the teacher's desk…"

And just like that, Usami appeared and introduced herself. And, as prior, everyone freaked out.

"What…is that…?"

"Um…it looks like a stuffed animal…"

"That's right, I am a squeezably soft stuffed animal. Magical Miracle Girl Usami…AKA, Usami! I may not look like it, but I am your squeezably soft teacher."

Usami's introduction went just as it did the first time. Everyone was shocked and frustrated, calling her things like a Chihuahua instead of a rabbit. This was a time when Usami was still confident and didn't mind being called those things. Just thinking about that caused Nanami to frown.

Before Nanami could comprehend what was going on, she was flung into the field trip. She'd spaced out and reminisced for much longer than she would've preferred, and was at a loss of words.

"Everyone, please stay calm!" That's what Usami had said, but at this point, how could she?

She'd flung everyone back into this world, remembering nothing of the bonds they all shared. Understanding nothing of who they each were, of what happened, and of what was about to happen.

The look on her face was one of pure despair. She could feel Junko's gaze on her.

She really messed up on this one.

Hinata eventually bolted, leaving everyone else to stand around and discuss their circumstance. Junko grabbed Nanami's arm and dragged her into the group just as she was about to go after him. That's right, she had to keep her façade. Even Junko knew that better than her.

"Well, I think the best thing to do right now is to introduce ourselves. It's better to know who we're trapped with." Togami's voice was just as loud as Nanami remembered. His tone and aura were extremely demanding; everyone was probably intimidated by it, honestly.

Ibuki was the first to jump up. "Oooooh! Introductions?! Ibuki LOVES meeting new people! Ahem. I'm Ibuki Mioda, the Super High School Level Musician!"

Togami blinked at her before nodding. "Alright then. I'm Byakuya Togami, and I'm the Super High School Level Heir."

One by one, everyone in the group introduced themselves by giving their name and talent. Nanami noticed how much she was able to detect about them by who they stood next too; Peko and Kuzuryuu, Togami and Ibuki, Souda, Sonia, and Gundam, so on and so forth. She noticed that naturally the only person not really standing next to anyone was Komaeda.

"I'm the Super High School Level Good Luck, Nagito Komaeda. I know it's kind of a lame talent, but I hope you won't think less of me for it!"

Nanami couldn't help but smile and giggle a little, earning a glare from Togami. Blissful ignorance was nice, Nanami supposed. Komaeda seemed to see her smile based on his words and shot a small glance at her before looking away. Well, it wasn't like she could help it. The sentence basically contradicted everything from the last run through.

Junko, who was standing next to Nanami, introduced herself after that.

"Junko Enoshima, Super High School Level Model. I'm going to go find that kid with the ahoge now. Ciao~"

With that, Junko spun on her heel and left, leaving a staring Souda and a whole group behind.

"Wow…" was all he could say, practically drooling.

Nanami cocked an eyebrow at him, completely confused. He had a thing for Sonia though. Why would he even…?

She decided she was overthinking it and stepped up last.

"Uh, hi, I'm Chiaki Nanami, the Super High School Level Gamer." She bowed slightly, before stepping back with a yawn.

"Well, now that we're all introduced, what do you suppose we do?" Koizumi was the first one to speak, looking at Togami. He scoffed, folding his arms.

"Isn't it obvious? We go and investigate the island, that's what we do."

"Wow pig barf, you don't have to be so rude about it!" Saionji sneered from next to Koizumi, giving him a stern look of disapproval. He frowned.

"Although I do agree it was a tad rude, I do believe that Togami has a marvelous idea! We should all explore the island and get a feel for our new home!" With that, Sonia took off in a random direction with the intent of figure out the island. Soon after that, the rest of the group began to disperse as well, leaving Nanami to go run off.

Nanami ran as far away as she could, to the farthest end of the beach. Eventually stopping and crashing, she fell to the ground, completely exhausted. She hadn't had a good nap the entire day to recharge, and it was certainly catching up to her. Why was this happening? That's right, it was because she tried to make a rational decision when she was terrified and her friends were dead. She panicked. That was why she was here.

Nanami felt tears brimming her eyes. She'd messed up big time. How could she have thought this was a good idea? Despair would happen again, that was inevitable, and she just couldn't take it by herself.

It then occurred to her she wouldn't be, someone else remembered.

And she'd left the biggest hint when giggling at Komaeda.

Whoever had their memories knew about Komaeda, except maybe Togami. The chances of the person with their memories seeing her and understanding where she came from was far too great to not be the case. With that, Nanami stood up, thinking about it more deeply.

Whoever new, were they coming to seek her out? Would they be able to work together? To stop despair?

"Well, that all depends," she murmured to herself. "On who it is and how much they know."

Nanami dropped her arms with a sigh. She couldn't just ask who it was, and if she dropped too obvious of hints about it she'd be questioned. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place with this one, and she-

"Well? How much would they need to know? Because you know, I do know a great deal of things."

When she realized who the voice behind her belonged to, her blood ran cold. A shiver ran down her spine just by thinking about it. Junko had picked well for this one, and she should've seen it coming.

"I should've known it was you."

"Hmm? And why's that?"

"Because I know my enemy."

Laughter, psychotic laughter, echoed from behind her. She felt the person's arms wrap around her waist as their head rested on her neck.

"Y'know, before all this started, Monokuma told me we'd be doing it again. And he told me that the traitor would be there, and the traitor would know."

Nanami felt light headed once again, closing her eyes in frustration.

"And you seem to know, Nanami. So may I ask, was it you all along? Did my plan really work?"

Biting back the tears, Nanami lowered her head slightly, before nodding slowly.

"Yes, Komaeda. I'm the traitor."

He chuckled darkly into her neck, before standing upright and cackling with all his might. Nanami spun around and he clasped his hands with hers, looking down at her in a crazed daze.

"I found out a whole lot from the Final Dead Room Nanami," he started, his voice slowed down as her heart raced. "I found out that all the talented pillars of hope were just flukes, hiding their despaired selves under cloaks of hope! All except for you, Nanami."

Nanami took a deep breath. Somewhere, somehow, she knew he knew. She knew that was why he was hostile towards the others, and Hinata in particular. Hinata, whom he'd cared about more than anyone else, was cast aside as soon as he found out.

"Now, I don't really care if they die, or if I die when the mutual killing happens again," he started. "However,"

He brought Nanami instantly into a hug, squeezing her tight enough where she couldn't escape but loose enough where she could still breathe.

"If you want them to be saved, they'll be saved. If you want them to die, they'll die. You are the only hope, and a lowlife such as myself isn't worthy of such hope. I'll become your stepping stone, a way to help fix this island and put an end to this despair!"

Nanami, who was pressed up against him, closed her eyes once again in defeat. Just when she'd figured things couldn't get much worse…

.

"I absolutely love you Nanami…my precious pillar of hope…"

.

…they did.

A/N: Don't even ask me where I got this idea from. It just kind of happened oops

Anyway, the story is about Nanami and Komaeda basically going through SDR2 knowing what's supposed to happen already. All of the murders will be different, and it's just a fun twist of an AU in my opinion.

The prologue is kind of vague because most of the dialogue was straight from the game. Because there was just no creativity there, I decided not to add it.

Unlike the popular opinions, I tend to lean towards KomaNami. I don't actually know why, they're just incredibly cute together and would be an amazingly healthy relationship. Nanami's extremely dazed in the story at the moment, but like, there'll be a shit-ton of fluff. There will also be another pairing or two which aren't exactly popular pairings, but I go based on how it would be in canon, or I try at least.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE HinaNami. But Hinata's not a main focus at the moment. And on top of that, no real romance will be portrayed for awhile, simply because it'd be stupid to start it off with no plot. It'll be one-sided on Komaeda's part until he chills out a little.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the story! Favourite and Review and all that, and I'll see you when the next chapter comes out!