(AN: This chapter should clear all your queries up, but should you still have any, feel free to PM me. Actually planned to post this up early this week but I was too busy and tired to write…

WARNING: The execution scene might be gory for some, but I doubt it's enough to give this an M rating. Just a gentle warning.)

Silence followed soon after, as we all looked at Hana expectantly, hoping somewhat for any sign of anger. I wanted to be wrong, but her broken will gave it all away. Her silence didn't help much either, and staring blankly at the table only worsened her case. I refused to believe that the innocent, frail looking girl in front of me was guilty for Kyoshi's murder.

"So that's about what happened... right, Hana?" I reluctantly said.

Everyone hung on the cold yet powerful words that emanated from my mouth. Without a doubt, it was troubling that this was another truth we simply had to learn to accept.

Were we making ourselves feel better?

Were we being selfish?

Were we simply playing as friends?

Hana... why did you have to do such a thing?

Couldn't you have talked it out normally?

"I guess... it's over." Kunie yawned.

Keisuke started banging his fists on the table. His eyes were watery, and he was trying hard not to let the tears flow. It was a difficult scene for us to take in.

"Gyahahahahaha! Looks like the case has finally come to a close!" Monokuma laughed his trademark laugh. "I take back what I said about the record being broken, you bastards took an annoyingly long time to decide on an answer for yourselves!"

"S-Shit... so we were right?" Settan said sadly.

"Damn right you were! Or were you?"

"Nyahahahah! Why not you take a vote and see for yourselves?" Monokuma hopped onto his table. "Wait for it... my new state of the art technology!"

My table opened to reveal a touchpad of sorts. Its header read "Cast your Vote!", and on it were a list of students accompanied by their faces.

"You there, stop sleeping!" Monokuma raised his voice. "It's the best part of the trial, so I won't tolerate any delinquents!"

"C'mon, don't miss out on this once in a lifetime experience, only available right here and now!"

Kunie pretended to fall asleep again.

"Upupupu... where did all your gusto go? Or are you just hesitating?"

"Really, did you Ultimates waste all that time and effort just to arrive at this standstill? Vote already, or I'll eat you up real quick!"

"No... I would never vote for Hana…" Keisuke whimpered pathetically.

"Upupupupu! Everyone has to vote, or would you like to try what would happen if you didn't? The system works by majority vote, so it wouldn't matter who you vote for if you're the only one disagreeing with the rest of the class!" Monokuma targeted the already broken Keisuke, who winced at his words.

"Who will be chosen as the blackened? Will you make the right choice or the dreadfully wrong one...?!"

"Just thinking about it makes my heart race three times faster than you could say I love Monokuma!"

Strangely enough, all of us were solemnly quiet after we arrived at the conclusion. Rather than denial at this point... I think most of us had trouble casting our votes because a simple touch would send a fellow Ultimate... No, a fellow classmate... a friend, to her death. We would be responsible for whatever punishment Monokuma had in store for her, so wasn't that as good as being killers ourselves...?

A sudden growl broke my train of thought.

Getting the hint, I raised my hand towards the screen that would decide whether Hana lived, or died. I shakily pressed her name, popping up a confirmation screen, with an enlarged version of her face and a blinking red "VOTE!" icon. The picture made me reconsider what I was about to do. Was I truly about to take part in deciding her fate? I tried to deceive myself that this wouldn't contribute to her death. But... I knew the truth, Monokuma wasn't playing around with his guns and threats. He was dead serious.

Aki shot an apathetic glance at my direction.

"Remember how Kyoshi died... was it fair?"

Aki's right.

This was it...

The determining factor.

Granted she was one of my friends... I took a deep breath before finally pressing the button firmly. She had killed my friend... and it was something unforgivable, even if there was a reason behind it. Even if Monokuma forced it upon her...!

There was no turning back.

Everyone else confirmed their votes in quick succession, apart from Keisuke. Eventually, he touched the screen, though he obviously wasn't keen on voting for the right person.

"Nyahahaha! The results are finally in, let's see what we have here..." Monokuma held up his own touchpad. "As expected, 14 people voted for Hana, including herself... while Keisuke voted for himself!"

"Ngh...! Hana... I'm s-sorry..."

"I broke my promise… I couldn't protect you!"

I turned to look sadly at Keisuke, who banged the table with his clenched fists repeatedly, before eventually crumpling to his knees.

"Now for the moment of truth… ding ding ding! You're correct! The murder of Dazai Kyoshi was carried out solely by your very own friend you thought to be innocent - Takara Hana!"

"Why did you have to kill him… why?" Mako asked, still unable to believe the outcome of the trial.

"Couldn't you have settled for a more peaceful resolution…? You didn't have to do such a thing!" Yukiko added.

Hana shook her head, still refusing to utter any words. Thinking about it, wasn't it strange that Hana didn't say anything at all? In fact, she even voted for herself as the culprit. Instead of doubting whether she was the killer, there was something else which didn't add up.

Iwao's outburst startled most of us. "Are you fucking kidding me? She killed Kyoshi, and that's something we can't deny."

Even though his words had the usual tinge of insensitiveness; it was true, to a certain extent.

"For once... you actually make some sense. Am I dreaming?" Kunie looked surprised, and blinked her eyes a few times.

"And she still doesn't wanna talk?" Kin conjured.

"Hana, you don't have to say anything." Keisuke said. "These people voted for you as the killer..."

She looked down.

"I think... it's okay to let them know."

"I'm going to get punished soon, anyway... it's the least I could do." She smiled sadly.

"Heh, this girl knows what she's talking about!" Monokuma exclaimed.

"Well then, shall we begin the story-telling session? Hold onto your seats, because this is gonna be a blast from the past!"

Hana stared at Monokuma, and shuddered, as he cleared his throat, and began narrating her life story.

4 years ago...

"Hana, can you see me after choir practice? I have some… important matters to discuss with you."

The man clothed in simple office wear loudly told Hana from across the room. Not realising she was subject to many curious gazes and whispers, she innocently gave a natural reply to that question.

"Sure Mr. Lee!"

Since preschool, Hana had been recognised for her voice. It was then that her mother encouraged her to take it up as a co-curricular activity, not only to cultivate her talent, but for her to truly enjoy singing. Her mother wasn't the only one who inspired her to join the choir, but also her neighbours and teachers who heard her lovely voice before. Whenever she sung, the people around her could feel the emotions she weaved into her words.

Few days later...

"If you take a look at today's papers, Hana made the headlines for the recent choir competition yet again." Mr. Lee said cheerfully. "Shall we all give a round of applause for her?"

*Clap, clap, clap*

"Pfft... No one really cares." One of the female students whispered.

"I know, right? She just got lucky is all." Another one said. "Born with a natural talent…"

Hana looked down sheepishly, and wanted to stop being the subject of attention. After all, it was getting apparent that more of her classmates were starting to dislike her even though it wasn't something she wished for.

Her talent was rare, and on top of the practice she put in day after day, it was no surprise that she ended up on the papers daily whenever she won a competition. However, the competitions she attended were not the usual singing ones, but choir competitions. She participated as a group with her school, and most, if not all of the time, she was the only one getting the glory and fame for the choir's success. This was why many of the other choir members held some amount of hatred and jealousy for the rising star.

After school...

"So what, think you're hot stuff?" A brunette pushed Hana to the wall.

She was accompanied by five other girls from the choir ensemble.

"Yea, that's right. So what if you can sing?" A girl with short black hair added.

"She probably sucked the reporters' dicks off to get on the papers. Heh, Mr. Lee might've even given her some extra lessons after school as well!"

The brunette banged the wall, making Hana flinch for a bit. Afterwards, she grabbed hold of Hana's ponytail, and brought her face close to her own.

"Just because you're talented you think you're the best, huh? Continue messing with us and this'll get worse. You better quit while you're at it."

She spit on Hana's cheek, before walking off brazenly. The rest followed their leader, and started giggling whispers. Wiping off the saliva on her face, she went on her way. Apart from the saliva, tears were also streaming down her cheek. She couldn't help it after all, it wasn't her fault for being good at singing. In the first place, the rationale of wanting to be in the choir was because she didn't want to stand out too much. At least, that's what her mother told her. She wanted her daughter to enjoy herself, and share the burden of performing with the rest of the people in the choir.

"Hana, is something the matter?" The lady passed her some food.

"U-Uh, no mom. Not at all."

"Okay... if there's anything

wrong at all, don't hesitate to confide in me." Her mother smiled. "I'm always here for you, just remember that dearie."

"I know, thanks mom." Hana lied, actually feeling bad about keeping the earlier events of today from her mother.

"Anyway, you appeared on the papers again today. I guess you're a rising star now, aren't ya Hana?" She said casually.

"H-Haha... I guess so."

"Anyways, Dad will be free this Saturday, so l made reservations for dinner."

Hana gave a small nod and they continued eating for a while.

"You know, I've been hearing you practice day in and out, such that I'm even having trouble sleeping at times... "

"Sorry mom..."

"It's fine, not like I could blame my daughter for doing what she loves." Her mother assured. "You deserve it anyway."

Smiling, Hana continued her dinner. Her facade was a tough one to put up, but something she didn't have much leeway with. After all, it wasn't like she had much of a choice.

That evening, everything was routine for that family, except that instead of the usual soothing lullaby that accompanied the arrival of the night, all that was heard; the cawing of a few crows.

Later that week...

"So, you chose to ignore our warnings?"

"…"

"Hey, you deaf? Answer her."

"Pfft, I think she's just scared."

Hana took a deep breath.

"Y-You're all just jealous, aren't you?"

"W-What? You trying to play punk with us?"

"I worked hard..."

"People who don't understand the hard work necessary to be successful don't deserve to be jealous!"

"Is she insane?"

"Who does she think she is?"

"T-Tch, think you're hot shit spouting nonsense like that? I'll show you!"

The girls started beating Hana up, and eventually she ended up being in a locker. While all this was happening, one of them was filming the entire process, and even took a couple of pictures.

It was only until the next day that she was found.

This was the first and last time Hana ever tried to stand up for herself. She had never considered telling on them, for fear of the video and pictures getting circulated online. The bullies had threatened to release the files to public if she dared do such a thing. As such, she suffered the remaining days in Sobu High - a hellhole which she dreaded to attend everyday.

"Poor little Hana thought she could bury her past, once she arrived at Hope's Peak… but nonono!"

After taking a sip of his tropical drink, he continued.

In the prison cell...

"Hana...?"

"Uhm... the letter was written by you, right?"

"Mm."

"Is the picture for real...?"

"I mean, my sister wouldn't do such a thing... daddy wouldn't allow it!"

"So there's no way she was the one who did this to you, right?"

"Monokuma's trying to get us to fight..."

Without a word, Hana showed Kyoshi her ElectroID. However, being the dumbass he was, he didn't get her point.

"This...!"

"Isn't this my family photo? Where did you get this from?!"

"Are you that dense...?" Hana finally spoke.

"Monokuma sent me this. The girl who bullied me through all of high school... was your sister."

"H-Huh?! Impossible... how could she have done such a thing?!"

"She was well behaved at home, she did chores... ran errands... and was even a nominee for star pupil one year!"

"It... can't be... right?"

"Kyoshi, as much as I would like to have believed your sister wasn't the same girl who made my life a living hell, there's just no way to deny this fact."

"The person who ruined my school life, was your sister, and your sister alone. She was jealous of me... so much that she got her other friends to join in on the bullying, till a point where it became a routine."

"I..."

"I still can't believe it…"

"I'm sorry Hana."

"Sorry...? That's all I'm going to get? An apology for all those years of suffering?"

"I understand if you're angry... but this is the most I can do..."

"I'll be sure to lecture her once we escape, but for now -"

"Understand...?"

"Pfft..." Hana snickered hatefully.

"Hana...?"

"What do you understand? How can you even understand anything?!"

"Being bullied. I..."

"I... uh... wanted to tell you I'm sorta like you," Hana stared at Kyoshi with hatred, as he continued.

"What are you on about?" She asked with a scowl.

"When I was little... I was fat. I used to get beat up for no reason... and insulted just for my size."

Hana really couldn't care about whatever the hell he was trying to say to him, but it was the next words that pissed her off.

"That's why... I told my sister to never be like them. Anyway, you're like that too... right? Ever since you started getting popular... To tell you the truth, I don't think my sister really meant -"

Hana had enough. She slammed her fist against the wall, and turned to Kyoshi with a hateful glare.

"Are you serious?!" Hana yelled, stopping him from speaking.

"If you came here just to poke fun at me instead of listening what I have to say, then you're as good as your sister!" She snarled, with an unprecedented amount of loathing. "Even now, you're still defending her? Even when I told you about my past?!"

"I don't get it, are you that stupid? Why can't you just listen to me?"

"I don't give a hoot about what happened to you when you were younger!" Hana yelled and sank to her knees. Kyoshi was shocked beyond words, so much that he even forgot to feel angry.

"I-I thought you would understand..." Kyoshi said carefully.

"That's what I thought too. But it turns out I was wrong."

"Like sister, like brother..."

"Birds of the same kind flock together..."

"I've had enough. I'm leaving." Hana got up.

"Don't ever. Talk to me again." She said, throwing a death glare at Kyoshi.

She walked towards the door, but Kyoshi got in between her and her objective.

"Hana, listen to me. I know this may not mean much to you but... I'm willing to do something in my sister's stead to repent for her actions."

"As a member of the Dazai family, I promise to redeem our name. So please, hear me out."

Hana reluctantly gave Kyoshi a chance to speak.

"I... I'm willing to give myself the same treatment that my sister did onto you." Kyoshi started. "In the greenhouse, there's a storage shed with a lock..."

Honestly, Hana couldn't care less about his repentance. She was willing to let bygones be bygones. However, since Kyoshi couldn't let it go... she ended up agreeing to the plan. Tragically, the both of them made a fatal mistake – forgetting the rules about Night Time.

The next day...

"Hana... seriously."

"Are you all right?" Keisuke asked genuinely, after sitting her down on her bed.

"K-Keisuke..."

Keisuke tried to comfort her.

"Don't worry... everything will be alright... okay?"

"I'll protect you from the killer, so don't worry."

"I know Kyoshi was a good friend of ours but... I have faith in Yu and the rest that they'll be able to find the real killer."

"I'm sure of it."

"I'm the k-killer! I killed Kyoshi!" Hana burst into sudden tears.

"H-Huh?!"

"It's all my fault... all of it. It's all my fault!" Hana cried.

"What do you mean it's all your fault? You didn't kill Keisuke, what're you talking about?!"

"It's true... I killed Keisuke! The storage shed... everything... I did it... I did all of it."

Keisuke was at a loss for words.

"B-But how did you get a gun...?"

"I didn't... I don't know! All I know was that I locked him in the shed, and he died the next day!" Hana continued tearing up.

After thinking for a while, Keisuke finally realised the possibility of Monokuma executing Kyoshi because of the Night Time rule. Hana also explained to him what exactly happened for her to have locked Kyoshi in the shed...

Keisuke holds Hana close.

"It's not your fault. You were forced into this..."

"Hana, give me the lock key. I have a plan for the trial."

"I might not be able to save you," Keisuke said.

"I k-know."

"... But I'm going to try."

"Keisuke...!"

"The trial... we're gonna hold a trial. I can trick the rest of them into voting for me. Then you can escape... you aren't going to die!"

"B-But everyone else will die, including you! I don't want that..."

"Just trust me."

"But Kyoshi died because of me...! I don't deserve to live..."

"Let me settle everything, and go with whatever I say, okay?" Keisuke smiled.

Even though Hana didn't agree, she knew that there would be no stopping Keisuke from protecting her. She shed many more tears, before they decided on the plan.

Hana lay down on Keisuke's lap, after she calmed down for a bit.

"I-I have something important to tell you Keisuke." Hana said.

"H-Huh? What is it?"

Hana nods. "W-When... you first told me about your feelings... was that true?"

"Did you like me?"

"E-Eh, I mean... I guess so."

"I thought... I shouldn't make any more memories with you because we'll only get torn apart, making parting more painful. I might get punished soon..."

"Because as the one getting left behind, you'd be the one getting hurt." Hana continued, while laying on Keisuke's lap.

"So for your sake above all else, I should stay away from you, and not implicate you..."

"N-No... I wouldn't want that." Keisuke replied.

"And yet..."

"And yet... I wondered how you would remember me in the future."

"Probably... cold, lonely and sad..."

"Only that version of me. You wouldn't have anything good left to remember me by, apart from the fact that I killed Kyoshi..."

"That's not... that's not what I want."

Keisuke felt warm droplets sliding down his thigh.

"Hana..."

"What I want is to make memories with you, but it's something impossible for us now." Hana said.

"Even so... I want you to remember I was here, till the end..."

"Till the very end..."

"I want to be with you."

"I'll always be with you... because..."

"Keisuke..."

"I love you."

"H-Hana... don't go saying stupid things like that...!" Keisuke flared up.

"I-I promise, I'll protect you. I'll save you... no matter what it takes."

"So live, for both my sake, and yours."

Keisuke

gets up and kisses Hana on the forehead, before telling her to stay in her room while he goes out to see how the investigation was going.

But a few hours later... they were in the courtroom.

"Gee whiz! That sure took a lot out of me!" Monokuma finished with a sigh. "Wasn't that boring?"

"That was just an appetiser for execution time!"

"I'm sorry... Keisuke." Hana said to Keisuke. "Sorry that things had to end like this."

"Hana... I promised..." Keisuke said, trying to hold his tears in, clenching his teeth.

Hana smiled, and looked at Keisuke with teary eyes.

"The way you hold back your tears despite your pain and try to smile..." Hana went over to Keisuke, who was still on his knees.

"The way that smile is so wonderful..."

"But... it worries me a little." Hana bent down.

"I had a good life, even if it was short-lived."

"Keisuke... and everyone. I was so happy." She stood up.

"When I came to Hope's Peak... I finally had friends... other Ultimates that weren't jealous of me. And I met you Keisuke. It was like a dream come true!" Hana smiled.

"And now it's almost time for this dream to end."

Keisuke cries and reaches out for her. Hana reciprocates, and wipes off some of his trickling tears in the process.

"Hana... I..."

"That's the first time you let me see you cry..."

"Because you've been holding back all this time, right?"

"Because you're the type to hold back..."

Even more tears began streaming from Keisuke's eyes.

"Thank you." Hana said.

"For crying for me..."

"Thank you."

Hana smiles sadly and holds Keisuke's hands. Keisuke took a deep breath in return, and removed his rainbow band, before placing it on her wrist, then hugging her. He whispered some words into her ear.

He then leans forward to try and give Hana a kiss... just to be interrupted by the slamming of a gavel.

"Now, now," Monokuma said deviously. "It's about time I end this fiasco of a lousy movie! Right?"

Keisuke lept at the bear, and let out a cry.

"Upupupupu! NYAHAHAHAHAH! Who's ready? Your very first, action-packed execution!"

"First class seats for a live punishment!"

The atmosphere was filled with heavy tears and cries as Monokuma slammed the gavel once more, this time on a red button which rose from the front of his table.

"Goodbye... Keisuke. I love you." Hana said silently.

Before Keisuke could say anything in return, Hana got dragged off by several chains, and on the screen above Monokuma displayed these words.

"GAME OVER."

"TAKARA HANA HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY."

"COMMENCING PUNISHMENT..."

The chains lowered Hana on stage into the limelight. Her outfit had been changed to a ruffly white dress, and she was struggling to break free. Finally standing on the stage, the chains unshackled themselves, leaving her surrounded by an already gathered choir ensemble, made up of female Monokumas also dressed appropriately for the occasion. A round of applause was heard offstage, and a moment of silence was observed. They took a deep breath before the performance began.

DE-VOCALIZE - ENCORE OF A FINAL SYMPHONY

Singing a horrible tune, the Monokumas chorused together happily. Hana covered her ears and knelt down on the ground, unable to stop the ensemble who were getting louder and louder without falter. As they reached too high a decibel for Hana to handle, her eardrums ruptured, and a thin line of blood could be seen flowing down the sides of her ears. Eventually, the performance ended, and the bears gave a bow. However, Monokuma chanted "Encore!", which meant another round of pain for Hana. She pushed past the many bears, before exiting at stage left, only to realise her rainbow band wasn't on her person. The performance had already started, but Hana braced herself to endure the pain which was already intolerable, just to search for the band. Making her way back to the spotlight, she finally reunited with her prized possession, crying tears of joy to have at least protected her keepsake. Little did she know, a giant locker was making its way down from above, gaining speed rapidly. The spotlight grew dimmer and dimmer, and faded out in unison, as the locker landed onto Hana, splattering blood and pieces of her body onto the stage. Cleaning up the mess, one of the Monokumas held up her dismembered left arm still wearing the band. It was presented to the ensemble as a trophy of sorts, while they gathered in a formation. They bowed once again, before the curtain fell, leaving no trace of whatever just happened behind.

"NYAHAHAHA! That sure was refreshing!" Monokuma hollered. "Phew! Who knew executions could be this fun to direct?"

We stared in disbelief and horror at what just transpired before us.

"KYAAAAH!" Minako screamed.

"… What the fuck just happened?" Iwao said nervously.

"What did you do to her…?" Mako said, trying to hold her gag reflex. "Oh my god…"

"It was an execution! Didn't I warn you all already?"

"Geez, you bastards never learn!"

"That wasn't an execution… it was just a straight up macabre show for the twisted!" Kin yelled.

I was at a loss for words myself, as people continued shouting and screaming, as if that would somehow bring Hana back. Instead, I noticed that Kunie had a look of silent anger on her face.

"Yes Kunie? Do you perhaps want to comment on how well that performance went?" Monokuma provoked.

"No…"

"There's something very wrong here!"

"How so? I put in so much effort into that show, how dare you!" Monokuma retaliated.

"How could you do such a thing…? Why are we even being forced to play this killing game?" Kunie asked.

"You wanna know that?" Monokuma confirmed. "Well, too bad! I ain't telling!"

"Maybe if you guys murder someone else, then I'll start giving you more information! If not, you can forget about getting anything from me at all!"

"H-How could you," Settan stammered. "Why didn't you at least let her give a proper goodbye?!"

"Well, punishments don't wait for anyone. What can I say? Besides, it's getting real late."

"Anyone hungry? Dinner is already prepared in the cafeteria, so go nomnom and shooshoo!"

Monokuma let out his signature laugh, and left it at that, leaving us alone in the trial grounds.

Too tired to complain about anything, with heavy hearts, we made our way over to the cafeteria before heading back to our individual rooms.

Keisuke didn't join us for dinner that night…

Thus, that marked the end of the first class trial, where Hana and Kyoshi were sacrificed. After experiencing something like that, there was no way I could fall asleep. Trust… I didn't think that anyone would have had the heart to commit a murder, but I was proven to be terribly wrong. However, I didn't feel particularly happy or sad as the events of today bore down on my shoulders. As I thought more and more, my mind began to wander… why exactly was I here? There had to be a reason… right? Somehow, one way or another, I drifted into dreamland. But it was one of the worst nights I would have in a long time.

Somewhere in Hope's Peak

?: Don't you think that was too much for the first execution?

?: I think it's a great start to the killings, didn't you see the look on their faces?

?: Better to awaken the despair in them sooner than later, ya know. Makes things much easier.

?: I guess so, but what other motives do you have in mind for them?

?: Motives… haha.

?: Don't worry, I have plenty of them.

?: Enough for a few more killings?

?: Such a silly question…

ALIVE (14)

(AN: Welp, hope that wasn't too bad. Once again, sorry for the slightly late post. The next few chapters will be explorations of the second floor into Free Time, so do vote for who you wanna see via PM!

Until next week, buhbye.)