A/N: Okay first thing's first, here's the current status of the free time events poll:

Nodaka Hoshi – 5 votes

Beigoma Kiyoshi – 5 votes

Azami Jagaimo – 5 votes

Izuru Kamukura – 4 votes

Jose Historia – 4 votes

Aya Kisaragi – 3 votes

Mukuro Ikusaba – 2 votes

Sawa Nanase – 2 votes

Keiko Akasaka – 2 votes

Chihiro Fujisaki – 2 votes

Yasuke Matsuda – 1 vote

Micho Auruka – 1 vote

Jonathan Junmaru – 1 vote

Nate Baron – 1 vote

Soshun Murasame – 1 vote

Nagito Komaeda – 0 votes

Connie Takemi – 0 votes

Shiro Shirobane – 0 votes

Cam Yano – 0 votes

After this, only two more parts till we have our first free time event, so any last minute voters should be advised to go ahead and vote before it's too late. Remember, your choices shape Akira's actions outside the main story. You get to pick who you want Akira to go closer to.

Alright making an appearance in this part of Chapter 1 is an uninvited guest who has come to put a stop to all our thrilling mutual killing fun. We can't allow that, now can we. Good thing Monokuma himself will soon also be making an appearance to do away with this intruder and explain all the inner workings of Despairadise to our dear students. And we'll get to learn just what makes those key collars so important. Now are you ready to enter Despairadise? Good, then enjoy reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa.


Chapter 1, Part 12: Miaya's message


Identification verified.

Akira Maita, 17

Title: Ultimate Wannabe

Previous class: Reserve course class 77-B

Commence scanning…

Then a blue light developed the room and a *buzzing* sound filled the air, and then a few seconds later the blue light vanished and the voice returned.

Initial scan complete.

Now presenting key collar. Hold still please.

Suddenly a pair of robotic hands appeared out of holes in the ceiling and placed something around my neck before I could even react. I heard an electronic *click* and then felt around my neck. I was now wearing a small electronic collar that was fastened tightly around my neck.

Commencing explanation of key collar.

Please, do not try to remove key collar it will act as your ticket in the game. If you choose to tamper with your key collar you will be severely punished by Headmaster Monokuma. Do not fear, the key collars are beneficial to you as Headmaster Monokuma will explain to you later.

Then the metal door in front of me opened up.

You may now proceed to meeting area.

Please do not wander off until your entire party arrives, as Headmaster Monokuma is planning to brief you the rules of your stay here.

We hope enjoy your time in Despairadise Mr. Akira Maita. Here's hoping you don't get killed first.

*Hahahahahahahahahaha*

I ran out of the open metal door as fast as I could, and then I was greeted with yet another peculiar sight. A lush green field of grass, purple and pink twilight skies, and a warm and welcoming setting sun. The area actually looked normal for the most part, but I knew this was anything but normal. How did I know? Well for starters I was pretty sure that the sun didn't have a face on it when I looked at it seven years ago. And I was also pretty sure that the world I came from was not a small city inside a large glass dome, especially a Monokuma themed city. In the distance I could see that Monokuma had recreated the Hollywood Hills from America. The large white letters D-E-S-P-A-I-R-A-D-I-S-E overlooked the small city, as peppy J-Pop music played throughout the dome. Just another abnormal sight in the abnormal story that had become my life.

I stood upon a large hill that overlooked the unnatural setting. From what I could see, the small city appeared to be made up of a town that surrounded two large towers that stood at the center of the city, the two towers being white and black in color. White on my left side, and black on my right. Just like the color scheme of a certain, maniacal, mechanical bear. The half of the town that was on the side of the white tower looked peaceful and cheery, the roads were clean and bare and the sun seemed to shine down upon it. And towards the back of the cheery side of town I could see a large golden gate that seemed to be blocking off another area. Meanwhile, on the side of the black tower things seemed decrepit and disgusting. Half of the buildings were falling apart and appeared to be covered with mold and decay, garbage littered the streets, and the whole area seemed to be very dimly lit. It almost looked like a stereotypical bad neighborhood where gang violence was sure to occur. And beyond the bad side of town was a black iron-spiked gate that seemed intimidating as much as it was ginormous.

I could also see that both sides of the city were labeled accordingly. On the cheery side of town, the word HOPE was etched out in the ground in a beautiful gold and cursive design, taking up almost all of the ground in that area. And on the bad side of town, the word DESPAIR was spray painted on the cracking and filthy ground with blood red paint in a very sloppy and hard to look at writing. Then I looked up at the sky. Like I said before, the sun had a face on it. It was smiley and gleeful face that was complete with a big toothy smile. And it was currently starting to set over the horizon beyond the cheery side of town. I looked over to the bad side of town and I could make out the top of the moon beginning to show beyond its horizon. 'Well the look of them may be different but at least they still rise in the east and set in the west,' I thought to myself.

It was utterly ridiculous, Monokuma had created an entire world for us, just so we could play his stupid game. Not that I was complaining, after being inside that stuffy school building all this time it felt good to feel the sun on my skin, even if said sun was purely artificial. I also like the feature of J-Pop music playing throughout the area inside the dome, it wasn't too loud to become annoying and it didn't play the same song over and over again so it didn't become repetitive. It was almost like the gentle background music of chirping birds that was normal back in the real world. 'I'm definitely not staying here forever, but it's nice to know that it won't all be bad.'

Then I looked down to a valley just below me that was covered with beautiful and colorful flowers as far as the eye could see, and in the center of the flower field lied a big oak tree that shaded everything within a ten-meter radius with its limbs and leaves. And shaded under that tree were my friends, who had already managed to escape the academy. Beigoma was the first person to notice me. "Kira Onii-chan, down here!" she waved at me. I waved back at her and then ran down the hill to meet up with the others. Beigoma met me half way and embraced me in one of her vice grip hugs. "I missed you so much, Kira Onii-chan! I was afraid I was never going to see you again!" she appeared to be genuinely worried about me.

I eased her worries by patting her gently on her head, which seemed like a brotherly kind of thing to do. "There, there. No need to worry about me. Like I said before, we're all leaving this place together, so of course that means me too. But you know it's only been about half an hour since we've been apart, right?" I asked her with a sweatdrop.

Beigoma looked at me with a pitiful puppy-dog expression. "Every single minute away from my Onii-chan is torture."

I chuckled awkwardly. 'This girl is so weird,' I thought to myself.

After a few more moments of hugging me, Beigoma let me go…but only in the most embarrassing way possible. She sighed enthusiastically. "Energy charge complete. Thank you for the motivational boost, Kira Onii-chan," she said with a giggle.

My left eye twitched in frustration. And the others obnoxiously snickered.

Micho was the first one to acknowledge me. "Nice of you to join us, O-Nii-Chan ~," she said jokingly. "We were starting to think you got locked inside from how long you were taking."

"No I solved the riddle easily, thanks to your and the others' help," I replied to her.

"So you must have gotten phased by what was outside the academy then, eh?" Jonathan asked.

I sighed. "Yeah, it was a lot to take in. Everything's really gone, just like Junko and Monokuma said."

"Did you see all those dead bodies? I nearly passed out again from the shock," said Aya.

"Granted I was only around for the first part of the Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History, but I was actually expecting a lot more destruction," said Mukuro. "Monokuma must have cleaned some of the chaos up when he was constructing this place, that's the only reason I could think as to why the carnage was so tame."

"That was tame?!" Nate exclaimed. "What kind of hell did you go through as a mercenary?!"

"You don't want to know," said Mukuro. "Trust me the less you know about my past the better."

"Noted, geez you are one scary girl, Muku, you know that?" Jonathan asked.

"Scary? Hmph, I 've been called worse," Mukuro replied.

"Do you think everywhere in the world is as messed up as this place?" Jose asked.

"Most likely," Izuru replied. "Despair is a disease. It spreads and infects, until everyone is sick. It is without a doubt capable of causing such a global pandemic."

"Well then if despair is the disease, we just need to come up with a vaccine of pure concentrated hope to inject into people's veins. Together we will triumph and bring hope to the world once again," said Nagito.

"Why is it that half the time we have no idea what the hell you're talking about?" Nodaka asked Nagito.

"If you ask me, hope is all the more powerful when it continues to mystify you," Nagito replied.

"That does not answer my question at all," Nodaka replied unsatisfactorily.

Beigoma huffed. "Oh, enough about that horrible place outside! We're here in Despairadise now, so let's just make the best of our life here! Isn't this place beautiful?! The scenery here reminds me of my hometown!"

Then at that moment Yasuke appeared behind us. "You do remember that we're being forced to kill each other here, right?" he asked.

"Hey, Yasuke's here! Welcome to the club, dude!" Nate exclaimed.

"Excuse me if I don't feel very excited about being here," Yasuke replied.

Then suddenly Deva showed up. "You're such a freaking sourpuss. Lighten up will you? We're out of that hell hole now, so just take that victory and call it a day," he said.

"Deva? You're here too?" I asked in confusion.

"It was my turn a few minutes ago and then when I got outside I saw Dr. Know it All there, creeping around," Deva explained.

"I wasn't creeping, I was investigating. I wanted to know as much about the people we're dealing with as possible," Yasuke explained. He frowned. "Though I have to say, it's far worse than I thought. And Otonashi, is she somewhere safe?" he asked himself.

"Don't worry, I'm sure your girlfriend's fine," Sawa suddenly said, surprising us all. Apparently when we were so focused on Yasuke and Deva, she snuck up behind them and had stayed silent since then.

"Nanase-san?! When did you get here?!" I asked in surprise.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Just now, I got out of the academy only seconds after Matsuda-san and Murasame-san headed off in this direction. So I followed them here."

"You were following us the whole time and didn't make a peep? Now that's the behavior of a creeper," said Yasuke.

I was confused. 'Wait a minute. If Deva met up with Yasuke when he got outside, and Sawa saw them just before they both headed to Despairadise then that would mean the two of them stuck around on the Hope's Peak Academy campus for a full five minutes. They didn't mention that before.' I stared strangely at Yasuke and Deva. 'Am I just reading too much into things or are the two of them up to something? No, that can't be. I'm just being paranoid.'

Nodaka, sensing my unease, walked up to me and took my hand into hers. "You okay?" she whispered to me, out of earshot from the others.

"Yeah, it's nothing," I whispered back to her. Then I lovingly rubbed the back of her hand with my thumb. "I'm glad you're safe. I'd be completely lost if something happened to you. I don't think I would be able to forgive myself for letting you down again."

She smiled at me. "You don't have to worry about me. I'm a demon, remember?" she said with an added giggle. And then she tightened her grip on my hand. "But it means a lot that you care so much about me." We both looked into each other's eyes and time seemed to come to a standstill. Until…

"Ahem, Romeo and Juliet? Do you want us all to give you some alone time?" Chihiro asked with a snicker.

"I have a feeling that this is going to be really awkward now," said Micho.

"It's cute, but it kind of leaves a bitter taste in my mouth," said Sawa.

"Leave them alone, if they want to make goo-goo eyes at each other and act like idiots, let them," said Yasuke.

Jonathan noticed that Beigoma was quiet. "What no cutesy quip or reference to a shoujo manga?" Beigoma glared daggers at him and he backed away out of fear of his own life. "Okay, sorry I asked."

Then Beigoma turned back to Nodaka and I and then walked up to us. "Ahem, Kira Onii-chan can I talk to you for a second?" she asked innocently.

"Umm, sure what's on your mind?" I asked.

"Actually, it's kind of private so…" Then all of a sudden Beigoma separated Nodaka and I and then latched onto my arm. She turned to Nodaka and asked, "You don't mind if I borrow him for a few minutes do you?"

Nodaka was visibly shaking in anger, but she did her best to force a smile. "No, not at all."

"Thanks." Then Beigoma turned back to me and smiled innocently, "Shall we go Kira Onii-chan?"

"Umm…" and before I could reply she dragged me off away from Nodaka and the others. Then when we were out of earshot Beigoma stopped and let go of my arm. She took in a deep breath and gathered her words before she began to speak. "Kira Onii-chan, I know that you probably think I'm weird for how I act and talk. But believe me when I say that I truly think of you as my brother. I've always wanted an elder brother, in a lot of the manga and stories I've read there's a big brother character who looks out for those younger than him even if they aren't related by blood. They're so nice, and smart, and caring. And they remind me so much of you, Kira Onii-chan." Beigoma looked down at the ground.

"I know I'm not your real little sister, and no matter what I do, that fact can never change. But, even if you don't think of me as your little sister, I'll always think of you as my big brother. And as your honorary little sister, it's my job to look out for you as much as it is your job to look out for me," Beigoma explained.

"Kiyoshi-san, what are you…" I tried to reply but was cut off by her.

"That's another thing, I don't like being called that by you. If it's not too much trouble, I'd like you to be more familiar with me. You don't have to, but if you think of me in a more familiar way than that might make what I have to say easier," Beigoma said.

"Okay, what do you want me to call you then? Beigoma-chan, or just Beigoma?" I asked.

She frowned. "I guess that's fine, but if at all possible, I'd like our relationship to be more special than that."

"More special?" I repeated in confusion.

"Well, you have a nickname that you call Hoshi-chan sometimes, right?" Beigoma asked.

"Yeah," I replied awkwardly. I had forgotten that she and the others heard everything about Nodaka and I through her outbursts earlier. "I gave it to her when we were little, it's just a name that I use to tease her sometimes, nothing major."

"Be that as it may," said Beigoma, "I'd be really happy if you gave me a nickname as well, Kira Onii-chan." Beigoma blushed in embarrassment and twiddled with her fingers. "You don't have to use it all the time, you could just use it when we're alone if you want to. I just…I want to have a special connection with Kira Onii-chan just like Hoshi-san has."

I smiled at her. "Well if it's just a nickname, then how about…?" I stared at her and contemplated what would be a good nickname for her. I thought it over for a few moments and then said, "Asa-chan?"

"Asa-chan?" Beigoma repeated in confusion.

"Short for asagao? You said you love flowers, right?" I asked.

Beigoma nodded. "I really love flowers. Back in my hometown in Hokkaido, there's this huge field of flowers which I would go to almost every day and read, and frolic, and just take everything in. But why morning glory?" she asked.

"I don't know. It's just you remind me a lot of that flower. Everything about you is bright and cheery, and you're strong and resilient but at the same time delicate and bit of a crybaby," I said with a chuckle. "Nodaka's really into flowers too, that's one of the things I remember about her very well. And she was very interested in the legends surrounding them. She told me the morning glory was inspired by a beautiful princess who had a noble heart and a caring nature. Her tears were magic, and every tear that touched the ground would sprout a morning glory, which the princess named because they brought her so much joy during her morning walks. Asa-chan just seems like a perfect name for you," I explained.

Beigoma's smile grew three times in size and then she suddenly lunged at me and pulled me into one of her vice grip hugs. "It's perfect, thank you so much, Kira Onii-chan," Beigoma replied lovingly.

I hugged her back and patted her on her head. "Anything for my beautiful Asa-chan."

We hugged for a few more moments and then we separated. And Beigoma's warm and happy smile was replaced by a doubtful frown. "Okay then, I know I have your trust now, Kira Onii-chan. So I know that I can say what I have to say to you without any worry."

"Alright, and what exactly do you have to say to me?" I asked.

She sighed and then shockingly said, "Stay away from Hoshi-san."

My eyes widened in surprise. "Wh-What?!"

"I didn't want to tell anyone about this until I was absolutely certain about who it was, but after finding out all about you and Hoshi-san, I finally figured it out." Beigoma took off her sunhat, and then revealed that she had something hidden inside an inner fold of it. It appeared to be a piece of paper. Beigoma took the piece of paper out of her hat and then placed her hat back on top of her head. Then she unfolded the paper and revealed that it was a pamphlet, and a very familiar pamphlet at that. "Here, you should read it." Beigoma handed me the pamphlet and I took it hesitantly.

I opened the pamphlet and found that it was very similar to the one I had received before when I woke up in the infirmary. It read:

Welcome to the new extracurricular course at Hope's Peak Academy. Though there has always been despair lurking in the background of this shining school of hope and pride this year we will be holding a special course for a few select students who are seriously in need of a dose of despair to get them to see the world for what it truly is. While attending this course you will be treated to daily despair by participating in a game that's fun for all ages.

And the first phase is the Murder Mystery Tour, where you will have to find out who killed the student known as Hajime Hinata. Your acceptance letters should have told you the gist of the game but now I will tell you the rest. You are free to explore the main school of Hope's Peak Academy and search for clues as to who Hajime Hinata's killer is, and when the killer has been correctly identified then the real game will begin. Consider this another test to see if you have what it takes to stick it out.

But first of all remember that your original acceptance letters said we have to meet up at 8:00 AM, so before you begin solving mysteries young sleuths it's important that you get to know your partners. Report to the entrance hall immediately at 8:00 AM. You're going to be staying here for a long time so you might as well learn to like each other.

When you think you know who the killer is meet up to discuss it with your classmates and then call on me and I shall come. And keep in mind I have eyes all over the school, so no slacking off and no funny business or there may be dire consequences. Just because this isn't an ordinary class doesn't mean you can do whatever you want.

Sincerely, the Headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy

It was all the same information that had been in my pamphlet. Except for one minor note:

P.S. – I have given you each a special hint to what's going on here. There is a hint in each of your pamphlets. Some are as plain as day, such as yours, and others are completely hidden in the context. It is up to you and your fellow classmates whether you wish to share your hints with each other.

'Hint? I'm sure there wasn't any kind of hint in my pamphlet. Wait was there?' I couldn't remember. At that point in time all I remembered thinking was that I needed to get the hell out of that school. And there was no way for me to check now, because I had left that pamphlet back at the infirmary, and the academy was going to be blown to smithereens any minute now. I couldn't get to it, even if I wanted to. That was when I noticed that there was a flap cut into Beigoma's pamphlet. The flap was big enough to hold something inside of it. I looked to Beigoma and asked, "Should I…?"

She nodded in reply.

I fished the object out of the pamphlet's inner flap and then held it up to my eyes. It was a photograph, but not just any photograph, it was a class photo. And it wasn't just any class in the photo. It was our class. The Extracurricular course class. We were all standing on the steps of one of the academy's school buildings, it was almost impossible to tell which one. And at the base of the building's steps there was a black chalkboard sign that read: Paradise Lost, Class 0. All of us were in the photo. I knew it was impossible because besides today, and October 23rd 2015, none of us knew each other, save for a few people being acquaintances and classmates. Then I recalled the gap in our memories. 'Is it possible that this photo is from that time?' I carefully scanned over the faces of the students of this Paradise Lost course and found that they were identical to the ones I had come to know.

(A/N: The positions that the kids are in, in this class photo, would take too long to completely write out and wouldn't be worth the effort. Plus, I wouldn't be able to effectively write out their actions since it would be posed because it is in a photo so I am just going to offer a visual aid on the student's placement in the class photo. I'm planning to eventually draw this class photo, but for now I'm working on drawing each student separately, so I'll let you guys know when that's done. So for now just bear with this outline I wrote out.)

Back row

Keiko Akasaka/Connie Takemi/Micho Auruka/Yasuke Matsuda/Soshun Murasame/Azami Jagaimo

Nagito Komaeda/Izuru Kamukura/Akira Maita/Nate Baron

Chihiro Fujisaki/Cam Yano/Mukuro Ikusaba/Jonathan Junmaru

Shiro Shirobane/Aya Kisaragi/Sawa Nanase

Jose Historia/Beigoma Kiyoshi

Front row

'Yep, it's definitely us. Everyone's here…' then my eyes widened when I realized that one person was missing. 'Nodaka? Where's Nodaka?' I looked over each face again, to check if I simply overlooked her, but no matter how many times I checked the results didn't change. There were only nineteen people in this photo. Not twenty, just nineteen. Forget twenty-one, there weren't even twenty. I looked back to Beigoma. "Is…is this for real?" I asked her.

"I don't really know," she replied. "I just can't help but feel that what Monokuma and Enoshima-chan were saying about there being an imposter is the truth. But if that's the case, then why are there only nineteen of us, not twenty?" It looked like she had reached the same conclusion I did. "Something's definitely not right about all of this. But I think one thing is for certain, I think Hoshi-chan is the traitor."

"…" I was speechless. Sure it made sense. Considering everything I had heard and seen about Nodaka since we got here had been one big lie. She wasn't the Ultimate Maid, she was not a member of the Kuzuryuu clan, heck it wasn't even clear if she was ever a student at Hope's Peak Academy to begin with. There was a lot of evidence against her. Even she at one point was convinced she was the traitor. And all logic said she was right. And yet…Nodaka was the girl had loved before I even knew what love really was. I thought back to our childhood together, and all the fun times that we shared. It was the best time of my life. That couldn't have all been fake. 'No, I won't believe it. I won't let her be alone again.' I slid the photo back into the pamphlet's inner flap and then handed the pamphlet back to Beigoma. "You shouldn't trust that photo Asa-chan, it's obviously one of Monokuma's tricks."

Beigoma frowned at me. "You're probably right. But what if you're not? I don't want to see you get hurt, Kira Onii-chan. I mean, isn't it possible that she's just using you?"

"No," I said sternly. "Not Nodaka. She is not the traitor." I shook my head. "I'm not even saying that there is a traitor amongst us, but even if there is, it is not Nodaka. Ultimate Despair not only erased her memories, they implanted false ones in her head. Heck, she was so scared that she was the traitor that she almost tried to kill herself."

Beigoma's eyes widened in surprise. "I…I didn't know about that."

"She didn't tell any of you?" I asked in confusion. I sighed. "No of course she didn't. She always puts the weight of the world on her own shoulders so others don't have to deal with it," I said to myself. Then I looked back at Beigoma. "Look Asa-chan, I don't remember much about my life before Hope's Peak Academy, but Nodaka is the one constant that's keeping me sane right now. I know her. I love her. She is not capable of being one of those monsters. Let me tell you about the real Nodaka Hoshi, she's mature for her age because she learned how to take care of herself at a very young age. Her parents both worked steadily, so she was almost always alone. She didn't really know how to make friends so everyone she met, she would end up biting their heads off with verbal abuse. But that's just her shell, the shell that she still wears today because she's afraid that if she doesn't act tough then people will see how fragile she really is. But if you get the chance to know her, you'll see what I see in her."

I smiled as I listed off the many nice things I could think about Nodaka. "When we were little I was picked on a lot because I was a wallflower. Some of the meaner kids called me a freak because kept to myself a lot. And I didn't tell anybody about it because I didn't want to make things worse for myself. One day, it got so bad that one of the kids gave me a black eye, and later that night Nodaka caught a glimpse of it. I didn't ask her to help me, and she didn't even appear to acknowledge it at first, but the following day those same bullies apologized to me immensely for picking on me for so long. And they were all covered in bruises. I knew she did it, but I didn't thank her, and she didn't ask for one either. She just protected me because she felt like doing it. It's because that's who she is." I was starting to remember all the things that made me fall in love with her. "And this one time, these girls were doing the same thing to another girl. They all attended this private school that Nodaka went to, I knew because they wore the same uniform that she always wore on school days. Apparently the girl being picked on was like me, a wallflower who didn't have a friend in the world, and the girls doing the picking were known bullies of Nodaka's school. Out of the blue, Nodaka swooped in and started defending the defenseless girl, even going so far as to give one of the bullies a bloody nose. I never told her, but I watched everything she did that day from afar. Honestly, she was like a superhero. And the girl she saved agreed too. But Nodaka just shook off her praise like it was no big deal."

"…" Beigoma was silent as she listened to my stories about Nodaka.

"She's violent, and rude, and she can also be sometimes downright rotten. But she has a good heart, and she's kind, and courageous, and selfless to a fault. That is the true Nodaka Nakatsukaze." I sighed. "And even if her name is Nodaka Hoshi now. Even if she can't remember who she really is. Even if all the evidence is stacked against her. I will still believe in her." I nodded with a newfound resolve. "So yes, I choose to believe in Nodaka more than I do some clearly doctored photo. And all I'm asking of you, Asa-chan, is that you give Nodaka the same benefit of the doubt. I actually think you two would get along swimmingly if you gave each other a chance." I chuckled. "You actually have a lot more in common than you think. So please, for me, trust in Nodaka."

Beigoma fell silent for a moment as she thought things over. And then she smiled and nodded. "Okay, I'll try to make nice with her." Then she huffed and puffed out her cheeks like a child who didn't get their way. "But I still don't think she's the right girl for you, Kira Onii-chan."

I chuckled. "And just who do you think is then?"

"Well…" she blushed and twiddled with her fingers again. "Maybe she's been right in front of you this whole time and you haven't realized it yet?"

I snatched Beigoma's hat from her and then when her head was exposed, I ruffled up her hair. "You're my little sister, remember? You can't just change rolls like that." Then I put her hat back on over her ruffled hair. "No matter how much you wish it, you are not Kirino Kousaka and this is not Oreimo." She wasn't the only one who knew manga. I only usually read mainstream or highly recognized stuff though.

Beigoma smiled mischievously at me. "Touché Kira Onii-chan, but you forget that in those kinds of stories the little sister always gets picked in the end. You'll see, in the end we will share our forbidden, incestuous kiss and live happily ever after."

'Happily ever after?' Come to think of it…no that couldn't be right. Could it? I had to know, or else it was going to drive me crazy later. "Umm, Asa-chan, in those kind of stories what usually happens after the siblings' kiss?"

"What do you mean? The story ends with the kiss, that's the way it always happens. Don't you know anything Kira Onii-chan?" Beigoma replied.

"That's not what I meant. Umm, do you know what usually happens after the kiss?" I asked.

"No, like I said that's how it ends. No one knows what happens after the kiss, it's left up to your imagination," Beigoma said innocently.

I twitched my left eye in frustration. 'Are you seriously going to make me come out and say it?' I asked myself. I took a deep breath. "Okay let me ask you another question, Asa-chan. Have you by chance ever read any manga that had a label on the cover that said: R-18 or Do not read if you under eighteen?" I was really making an effort to tiptoe around the question.

Beigoma gasped in embarrassment, and a red blush overtook her face. "Kira Onii-chan, don't tell me your read that kind of manga?! How could you do something so horrible?! You're underage!"

"Come again?" I replied in confusion.

"That manga is strictly forbidden for anyone under the age of eighteen! And according to the report cards in our e-handbooks, you're still seventeen! Don't you realize, you're breaking the law?!" Beigoma exclaimed.

"…" Was this chick serious? That was the only thought running through my head at that point.

Beigoma sighed. "Honestly Kira Onii-chan, to think you would just be willingly break the law like that. I mean, what's so special inside that manga that would drive you to take such reckless measures?"

Yep, she was serious. "So Asa-chan, you've never read one of those manga out of curiosity?"

"No, what's inside them that's so important? Can't I just wait until I'm eighteen?" Beigoma asked innocently.

"Just curious, did your parents ever tell you about the facts of life?" I asked.

"No, both of my parents work overseas and I haven't seen them in years…even before our time skip. I've live with my grandparents in Hokkaido since I was five," Beigoma replied. "But my grandparents told me that when two people love each other very much that a stork…"

"Thank you," I cut her off, "I think I get the picture. Forget I asked, it's not important."

Beigoma shrugged her shoulders. "If you say so." Beigoma turned in the direction of the others. "Now let's get back. I think the others are starting to show up." Then she went off ahead of me.

I watched her walk off and then sighed and shook my head. "Great, just what we needed…another Azami," I said to myself. And then I wandered back over to the others.

In my absence Shiro had appeared, and he informed us that Connie and Cam weren't that far behind. It was almost over; we were so close to being free of that dreadful place. Just a little bit longer and we would all make it out safely. And a few minutes later, Connie appeared.

"Bonjour mes amis!" Connie called out to us from atop of the hill as she waved. "Did you miss me? No?" And suddenly a large gust of wind enveloped us and within a few moments it was suddenly gone. And that wasn't the only thing that disappeared. Keiko was gone as well.

"What the hell?! Where did she…?!" Yasuke exclaimed.

"Dude," Nate nudged Yasuke to get his attention and then motioned for him to look back at the hill.

We all followed suit and were surprised to see that Keiko had appeared atop of the hill next to Connie and was currently eating her face. That was how it appeared from here at least. "Mmmmmmmm. Muuuuaaaaaaaaaahhhhh. *Lick* *Suck*."

"You have got to be kidding me?" Jonathan said as he shook his head. "Doesn't she ever quit?"

"Well, Takemi-san did promise her a kiss," Sawa replied with a sweatdrop.

"Umm, should we really be watching this?" Micho asked uneasily.

"Are you kidding?! I wish I had some freaking popcorn!" Deva exclaimed.

"God, you are so damn disgusting, Murasame," said Nodaka.

"Eh, if it makes you feel any better I'm just Soshun's inner thoughts. He would never react the way to anything that I do, guy shows about as much emotion as a rock," Deva replied.

"Akasaka was this aggressive with Junko as well, but I have to say judging from the sounds that she's a lot more into this one with Takemi," Mukuro remarked. She sniffed at the air. "And I can smell the influx of their pheromones from here." The freckled stoic blushed. "It looks like they're both getting pretty hot and bothered from this."

Nate covered his ears. "Ah stop, dude! Now that you said that I can totally smell it too! TMI! TMI! TMI! TMI! TMI!"

"Umm Kira Onii-chan? Would this be a situation in one of those R-18 manga you like to read?" Beigoma asked.

"What did the crybaby just say?" Nodaka asked in threatening manner.

"Nothing! She said nothing!" I shouted.

They had been going at it for at least two minutes now, and in that time neither of them had come up for air. Connie wasn't that into at first since Keiko took her by surprise, but it appeared that Keiko had a certain charm over her because with ten seconds of the kiss, she was already kissing her back. And now they were both so enthralled in each other that they didn't notice they were starting to lose their balance from teetering on the edge of the hilltop. And soon they lost their balance completely and tumbled down the hill and rolled into the valley, their lips never parting as they did so, even when they landed right in front of us.

That's a little over three minutes now," Jose said as he checked his e-handbook. "Is no one going to stop them? They could seriously collapse from oxygen deprivation if they don't disconnect soon."

"You're fifteen, how is this not getting to you?" I asked.

"You'd be surprised how many lesbian mystery novels there are, Senpai," Jose replied.

"Thanks, I don't think I can ever unhear that," said Micho.

Then finally we saw someone appear at the top of the hill once again. Our final classmate, Cam Yano. "Hey guys! I finally figured it out, the answer is…!" he stopped when he saw what had our attention right now. Then he slowly crept down the hill and made his way to Chihiro. Then he asked her, "How long have they been going at it?"

"Since you're here, it's definitely been over five minutes," Chihiro replied with a light blush.

Then finally…"*Pant, pant, pant*.Oh G-God, I *pant* don't…think I can f-feel my to-tongue *pant*," Keiko panted out.

"I…*pant* don't *pant* think I can feel my *pant* legs," Connie panted out. Both girls took a moment to catch their breaths and then they began talking normally. "I didn't think you would just attack me like that. A little restraint would've been nice," Connie said.

Keiko giggled. "Come on, don't pretend you didn't love it ~," she said. "Within mere seconds you were dominating my tongue with your own." Keiko playfully poked Connie's nose.

Connie blushed. "Geez, you have no tact, do you?" Connie struggled to get up off the ground with Keiko still on top of her. "Do you mind?"

"Poo," Keiko said in a disappointed tone. Then she picked herself up off the ground and gave Connie her hand and pulled her up off the ground as well. "I was hoping for round two too."

Connie dusted the grass off of her clothes and sighed. "You're going to end up killing me with your brashness."

Keiko wrapped her arms around Connie's waist and pulled her into a tight hug. "Oh please, you know you love it," she said in a loving manner. "Hey Frenchie, tell you what. First chance we get, why don't you and I go off from the group and…" Keiko whispered something in Connie's ear, and judging by how wide Connie's eyes got it must have been something really perverted.

"Connie Chop!" Connie shouted as she brought her gloved hand down upon Keiko's head, bringing the croupier girl down on her knees and making her dazed. Then Connie went on to senselessly pelt Keiko with attacks. "Connie Chop! Connie Chop! Connie Chop! Chop! Chop! Chop! Chop!" Her senseless chopping attacks drove into Keiko's head and reduced the croupier girl to having half of her head dug into the ground, and made several large bumps appear on the back of her head.

Keiko twitched in agony as she lay sprawled upon the ground. "Okay, I guess that's where we'll draw the line," she murmured.

Connie pulled back her gloves over her hands and then adjusted her top hat with a huff. "Honestly, I don't know what I see in you Mademoiselle Queen of Hearts." Then Connie walked away from Keiko and came and joined our group. "I apologize, for putting you all through that. But please do know that I was not aware of how aggressive and public she was going to be. I'm sorry if we made and of you feel uncomfortable." Connie bowed to us and asked for our forgiveness.

"No, don't sweat it, dude. It's cool," Nate said with a sweatdrop.

"Yeah, umm if anyone should apologize, it's us. We shouldn't have pried on such a private moment between you two," Micho replied.

"Even if we were kind of forced to watch," Nodaka added.

Connie chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah, again sorry."

And then our thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a school bell chime.

*Ding dong, bing bong*

And then a monitor suddenly burst up out of the ground in front of us and flickered to life in a wave of static. Then Monokuma appeared on the screen, sitting in the same golden Monokuma head-shaped throne, and sipping on the same fruity looking drink. "Hello my pretties, it's nice to see that you all arrived here safely. And now that you're all here, allow me to be the first person to welcome you to Despairadise. Unfortunately, I am busy at the moment with something that desperately requires my attention so I cannot do this in person so I am forced to send out my underlings as your welcoming party. Now I know you're all disappointed that you won't get to see me, the big cheese, in person for a while but do not be discouraged young students. You'll be seeing me very soon." Monokuma laughed manically and then continued his speech. "So until then, what do you say we sit back and watch some fireworks? I think you're really going to love the show."

Then suddenly, the sound of loud machines turning on could be heard in the area around the outside of the dome. And a few moments later, the dust and smoke of the outside world began to fade and reveal the path from Hope's Peak Academy that we all used to get here, and finally the academy's campus itself. Then a big red ten appeared in the top right corner of Monokuma's monitor's screen. "T Minus ten seconds to Hope's Peak Academy's complete and utter destruction. For almost seven years this academy has been an abandoned ghost of its former self, which doesn't even so much as glint with a single shred of hope. Everything that this school once stood for has become tainted with despair. Which is why it fills my tiny little blackened heart with great pride to finally destroy one of the main objects of my rage with just the press of a button. Now without further ado, let's start the countdown!" And then the timer began to count down. "10! 9! 8! 7!..."

We all stood absolutely still as we awaited the destruction of Hope's Peak Academy. No one dared utter a single word as we bore witness to the fall of that legendary school. "6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1! 0!"

The main school building began to shake in place until finally, the walls collapsed…literally. The four walls of the main school building just kind of folded in on itself. There wasn't any explosion, or large crash, or anything. The walls just collapsed like they were backdrops for some cheap, low-budget movie. And the walls collapse exposed something hidden in the academy. A large Shinto shrine guarded by Monokuma-shaped lion dog statues.

"Psych! *Upupupupupupupupupupu*. There weren't any bombs morons, I just said that to mess with you guys!" Monokuma chuckled maniacally. "You should've seen the looks on your faces! Priceless!"

"Son of a bitch!" Nodaka shouted.

"That manipulative little bastard!" Jonathan exclaimed.

"Damn him!" Yasuke exclaimed.

"I hate that fucking bear!" Nate exclaimed.

"Even I'm a little pissed off at that one!" Micho exclaimed.

"Meh, I'm not even surprised anymore," said Izuru.

"Now then, allow me to introduce your moderators for the coming game. Their job as such is to observe everything that you do here in Despairadise and report to me on their findings. They have all the power I do, so don't even think of trying to mess with them. Beware, I have granted them power over you and as such they have the authority to inflict despair on whoever and whenever they please. So please give a warm welcome to my loyal assistants and fellow merrymakers in despair. The fearsome and mighty…hey what's going on? Eh, why is the signal cutting out? Hey! Hey! Goddammit, I will not be silent! You can't just…!" And then suddenly the video feed cut out and a message appeared on the screen along with a picture of a broken Monokuma robot with Xs for eyes, as did a long broadcasting beep.

We're sorry! We are currently experiencing technical difficulties! Please stand by!

"What the hell?" I said aloud.

And then a few moments later, the broadcasting beep stopped and a whimsical sounding voice sounded over a black screen. "There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity."

"Umm, is it just me or did the Mastermind watch way too many episodes of The Outer Limits?" Cam asked.

"Wrong, my dear student." We were surprised to hear that the person talking on the monitor responded to Cam. "I am not the Mastermind. No, I am someone else entirely." Suddenly the black screen fizzed out and another person appeared on the screen. Someone who I didn't recognize. It was a pale woman with short blue hair and blue eyes with long eyelashes. She wore a gray hairband, a pale brown jacket, a black vest, a white dress shirt, and a red scarf which covered the lower part of her face. "Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Miaya Gekkogahara and I was once known as the Ultimate Therapist."

"Miaya Gekkogahara?" I repeated her name in confusion.

"I've never heard of her before," said Aya. "Who is this Gekkogahara-senpai?"

"Beats me, I've never heard of her either," said Nate.

"I have," Yasuke replied. "She was one of the leading experts on clinical neuropsychology as well as several other psychological fields."

"Oh so she's a brain doctor like you?" Shiro asked.

"Basically yes, in actuality, no nothing like me," Yasuke explained. "Whereas I deal with mainly brain anatomy and physiology, Gekkogahara dealt purely with the psychological aspects of the brain. She was a very brilliant doctor who had the ability to connect with anyone she came into contact with, which was why she was such a gifted therapist. Apparently anybody who talked to her would open up automatically and let out all their troubles, allowing her to easily diagnose and solve their issues. She was a real legend in the academy's neurology department."

"Please, you give me too much credit. If I really were as brilliant as you said I was then I would've never allowed mine and my fellow Ultimate's research to fall into the wrong hands. But unfortunately that is exactly what has happened, with our research now in their hands Ultimate Despair has reached a peak never thought possible. We have always been able to keep despair at bay, even if at some points it appeared as if we were losing the war we would always find a way through our troubles. Because the people we looked to lead us all believed whole-heartedly that hope would one day triumph despair. Their hope in hope is what saved us…for a time at least."

"What do you mean? Ultimate Despair didn't take over the world?" I asked.

"Not completely no, though even today there are some parts of the world that are overridden with despair, other parts of the world didn't give in no matter what the cost and have fought tooth and nail to remain that way every day since then. Slowly but surely, hope is rising again." She sighed. "There are so many things I wish I could tell you, but I'm afraid my time here is limited. So I can only tell you what's absolutely necessary for you to get through this ordeal unscathed."

"Hang on, hang on. How do we even know that we can trust you? We've been tricked like this by the Mastermind before," said Nodaka. "Plus that cheery, artificial voice of yours creeps me out."

"You just can't sugarcoat anything can you?" Micho asked Nodaka.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, this isn't my real voice. This is the voice of my creation, my colleagues and I selected this voice because we thought that it might help fill people with hope and joy. That was the whole point of my creation, to undo what Ultimate Despair has done to so many others in the past."

"You mean the brainwashing?" I asked.

"Correct. The remaining Ultimates and I developed a way for anybody brainwashed by Ultimate Despair to regain their humanity and sense of hope. However, the project was at first considered to be a complete failure due to unforeseen complications, and after which it was shut down and not remade until just recently. Unfortunately, it was not remade by me or my colleagues," Miaya explained.

"But by Ultimate Despair?" I asked.

"" Miaya stayed silent for a second and then she spoke again. "To be honest, we're not entirely sure who's responsible for this. Since then, a few of Ultimate Despair's key members have returned to the side of hope and have joined forces with my colleagues to fight back against the remaining factions of Ultimate Despair. But about three months ago, several key components of our creation were stolen right from under our noses. And one week ago, the culprits in question launched a mirrored version of our creation. Since then, my colleagues have been at work trying to put a stop to their plans whatever they may be."

"So even you guys outside of this place, don't know what's going?" Jonathan asked. "Man, you must be some real idiots. Ultimate Despair stole your technology and you have no idea what they want to do with it?"

"They're doing the best they can with the limited resources that they have. But rest assured, their main concern is getting you guys out safely. It has been and always will be," Miaya explained.

"Then what's taking so long?" Beigoma asked.

"Well they already attempted to free you before, but unforeseen circumstances resulted in the Mastermind kicking them out before they could achieve this. And now, they are pinning their hopes on you and me to figure a way out of this," Miaya explained.

"They sent you here to help us? Then where are you Gekkogahara-san? Tell us, and we'll come and find you," I said.

"" Miaya fell silent.

"Miaya Gekkogahara is dead, isn't she?" Mukuro asked. The rest of us looked at Mukuro in surprise, and then we turned back to Miaya to confirm if this was true or not.

"Yes, the real Miaya Gekkogahara died a few years ago," Miaya replied, to which we all gasped. "She was spared from the initial strike of the Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History, and then she went on to join the resistance known as the Future Foundation and fight back against Ultimate Despair."

'Future Foundation?' I recalled Nagito telling me about them before.

"But eventually, she was murdered by a former follower of despair. I am all that remains of her, a fail-safe that she created if her creation ever fell into the wrong hands. Technically, we shouldn't even be having this conversation now, I'm just able to talk to you because of outside interference by my friends in the Future Foundation. They placed me here to act as additional moderator for the Mastermind's new mutual killing game, and as such help you guys find a way to escape that doesn't involve killing each other. But I can't do that myself, I'm just a memory inside my creation. You need to trust my creation for this to work. I need you guys to trust in the Future Foundation. No matter what you may hear. No matter what tricks the Mastermind pulls. Trust in the Future Foundation, and trust in my creation. She's not like Monokuma, she doesn't have an evil bone in her body. Trust her, and you will be saved eventually. I swear to you."

I looked at the others, and silently asked them if they were onboard. They all nodded, as did I. "Okay, we'll trust in the Future Foundation," I replied. "We already promised ourselves that we would not play the Mastermind's game, all we need to do is escape from their control. So if the Future Foundation can help do that, then we'll take all the help we can get."

Miaya nodded. "Very well, and don't worry, you're making the right choice here. But now I'm afraid it is time for me to leave, so just remember…no m-m-matter wh-what nev-never lose h-hope," Miaya stuttered out and then suddenly she disappeared from the screen and the monitor went black again.

"…" for a few moments we all just stood there in silence.

"Hmm, Azami-tan's confused hebi. What do you think Gecko-chan was talking about hebi?"

"More than that, do you guys honestly think we can buy all that after everything we've been through today?" Nodaka asked.

"No, everything she spoke of was the truth and nothing but," Nagito replied. "I've heard of the Future Foundation before; they are true warriors of hope. They've been fighting a war with Ultimate Despair since the very beginning. What's that old saying, the enemy of my enemy is my friend?"

"Ultimate Despair is definitely our enemy, and Monokuma seemed really surprised that his video feed had been taken from him so it seems genuine. I say we trust them," said Micho.

"I want to trust them too. I have to believe that there is still some good left in the world," said Beigoma.

"So we all agree then? We'll work together with the Future Foundation and this moderator they're sending over to us and escape this place. And then we join them and fight against Ultimate Despair," I said.

"Right!" the others replied.

"Okay, then let's…!" I was cut off when something suddenly shouted.

"Love! Love! Love! Love! Love! Love to the reeeeeeeeesssssssssssssccccccccccccuuuuuuuuuuuueeeee!" We all looked up at the top of the dome, which shielded us from the heavy fog of smoke and dust that polluted the outside air, and were surprised to see something suddenly crash through the dome's glass. A pink comet zoomed down to the ground below, leaving a white streak in its wake. And then within moments, the comet crash landed in the valley right next to us., kicking up a cloud of dust, which we all shielded our eyes to avoid. Then when the dust cleared we looked back at the crash site and saw the thing that created the comet…or rather it's lower half. The thing in the comet crashed so bad that it ended up burying itself in the ground. And the only sign of life from the thing in question was the endless kicking of its feet in an effort to get unstuck from the hole they were buried in.

From what I could see, the thing wore white stockings and a pink and white frilled tutu-like skirt. And next to the comet thing lay a long pink stick with a double gold, heart shaped end and a set of white wings. "Umm, could I get a little help here?" the thing murmured while its head was underground. Then we all gathered closer around the thing in question and Yasuke and I grabbed either of its legs and pulled the thing out of the ground. With a few small tugs, the thing was full visible, and was surprising to say the least. "Oh, you boys are so kind, helping out a teacher in need. Gold stars for the both of you." It was a stuffed rabbit. A talking stuffed rabbit. A talking stuffed rabbit that was dressed up like a magical girl. Along with her skirt and stocking she wore a pink bib with a gold charm attached to it, a pair of white wings which were attached to her back, and a pink bow which was tied around her right ear. "Umm, you can put me down now."

"Oh right, sorry. Guess, we were just surprised," I replied. Then Yasuke and I sat the rabbit magical girl down on the ground and she picked up the stick that lied next to her and stood up on her feet. Then she blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry for the bad landing, I was hoping my entrance would be more theatrical," she said with a giggle.

"Who…or what are you?" Nodaka asked.

"Me? Well, my name is Magical Girl Miracle * Usami, or just Usami for short. But you, my young students, can call me sensei," Usami replied happily.

"Sensei?!" we all replied in explanation.

"Yes?" Usami replied innocently.


A/N: Magical Girl Miracle * Usami has landed! Maybe badly, but still. But you know this isn't going to last, Usami is just no match for Monokuma…not in her current state at least. So prepare for her reawakening as Monomi next time.