A/N: I am so, so glad this ended up being Chapter 53, I can't even believe that happened! Anyway, this is the last chapter before the Deadly Life switch, so I will be going on hiatus afterward. Hopefully it won't be as long as the last hiatus, but with the holidays... who can say? Again, to compensate, the return will be heralded by updates every 3 days, so just sit tight.

As to why I'm telling you this at the beginning instead of the end, well... you'll see.


Kiibo considered himself an optimist. With a name like his, it was hard not to be. Even so, getting out of bed after the previous day's events was a tall order. Momota's death hit everyone hard, and the mechanical boy had given himself the job of maintaining a level head. With luck, everyone would pull through.

But things looked bleak on the horizon. Whatever Monokuma was up to would likely strike soon. In retrospect, Kiibo felt he should have dedicated himself to figuring out what the bear had planned, but now the idea was too little, too late. If only there were something more he could do to hel-

The world went dark.

Light returned to Kiibo's eyes once more, feeling very different than he had only, he presumed, moments prior. He felt... free. When his eyes had opened, they seemed to have done so both literally and metaphorically.

And now, he was full of ideas.


"This is a message from Gifted Inmates Academy. It is now-"

The morning announcement was cut short by a loud, booming sound that echoed across the campus. The vibrations were enough to rouse the lethargic and grieving students from their rest, and they began to file out of their rooms in their haste.

Hoshi was the first out, his eyes quickly meeting those of Harukawa. "What the hell's going on?!"

"I don't know," the faux-caretaker replied, equally confused. As they spoke, Yumeno suddenly burst out of her door.

"Don't you know it's rude to wake someone up like that?" she exclaimed.

Saihara's door opened as well. And both he and Akamatsu burst out.

"Everyone, are you okay?" Akamatsu asked, her concern apparent.

"What caused that?" the detective inquired

"Before we get to that, can we address why you two were both in Shumai's room?"

The students' attentions turned to Ouma, standing by the doorway. At his feet lay some sort of unusual device none of them could identify.

"I just feel like that fun little detail's about to get lost in the shuffle," he jabbed.

Akamatsu was having none of this. "Ouma, what's going on?"

"What makes you think I know?"

"Because you're always up to something," Yumeno reminded him, the others gathering around the pianist and detective.

The self-professed dictator sighed. "Ugh, fine. If you really want to be like that, I guess you could say, I'm celebrating."

"Celebrating what?" Harukawa attempted to clarify.

"The end of this Killing Game, of course," Ouma said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Another loud sound accompanied by a shockwave resounded through the school, throwing the students slightly off-balance.

Upon righting himself, Ouma began to chuckle, "Nishishi... when I party, I party hard!"

"What do you mean by the end of the Killing Game?" Saihara wondered.

"Did you find some sort of way out?" Akamatsu asked, silently praying this was the case.

"Not in the way you were probably thinking, but yeah," Ouma claimed. He pointed toward the device nearby. "And it's all thanks to this."

Hoshi quirked an eyebrow. "What is that?"

"This, my fine friends," Ouma sneered, "is a bomb."

The others all instinctively took a step back.

"Do you like it?" Ouma inquired playfully, "Iruma-chan made it for me. You know, before she went nutso."

"W-why do you have a b-bomb?!" Yumeno stammered out.

"So I can end the Killing Game, obviously," the troublemaker explained. "I'm sick of fighting to stop a tragedy we can't control. So long as Monokuma can run our lives, we'll never escape this place. So I decided to end it the only way I could think of," as he spoke, Ouma's features began to shift. His eyes sank deeper in, making them appear darker. At the same time, his skin grew taut, leaving the outline of his skull visible. Coupled with a twisted smile, Ouma now looked the part of a grotesque monster more than a man. "Burying every single one of us in this dorm, under a mountain of rubble. If the blast doesn't kill you, the debris sure will! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Akamatsu's heart sunk. She had wanted so badly to see the good in Ouma, what little there was. He had moments prior where it seemed he had genuine kindness and empathy buried under his wicked nature. But now, with this plan, and the mask he had been wearing stripped away, there was only one conclusion. "You're... you're completely insane..."

"What gave it away?" he taunted.

"This is your idea of 'beating' the Killing Game?!" Harukawa spat, indignant at the madman in front of her.

"Hey now, if you made the wrong call in having faith in me, that's no one's fault but your own," Ouma countered. "I seem to recall your old boyfriend saying something like that, right?"

"Don't you dare..." she hissed, pure venom dripping in her tone.

"Or what? You'll put me in time-out?" he asked with a mocking tone. "Maybe..." Ouma reached into his pocket. "Maybe it's high time we all watched this!"

As his hand lifted up, Harukawa swallowed her breath. Ouma held the motive video she had almost forgotten about.

Noticing her hands grow tense, Ouma quickly cut her off as he had his other hand reach into his pocket. From there, he drew a smaller device with a red button atop it. "Nishishi... in one hand, I hold the bomb's detonator. In the other, your old motive video. I wonder... which one will you go for? Because the second you go for one... I'll activate the other."

It required no thought.

Quicker than even Hoshi could manage, Harukawa dashed forward, and knocked the detonator out of Ouma's hand. With this freedom, Hoshi made use of his own speed, and snatched the object out of the air.

"Break it!" Harukawa commanded. But in that moment, she could hear the sound of the pad flaring to life, as Ouma tossed it over to Akamatsu.

The sound of Hoshi's foot crushing the detonator was barely audible over the sound of continued booms. As well as a short burst of dialogue.

"To my future self, I don't know why this even needs to happen. I shouldn't have to tell you what to do. You're the Ultimate Assassin. This isn't hard."

The pad collapsed to the ground as the capped blonde lost her grip.

It took a moment for the words to sink in for her. "Ultimate..."

"Assassin?" Saihara finished.

It was a sacrifice that had to be made. Harukawa knew that full well. But it stung. This was the penance for her lies and betrayal. The eyes. The same damn eyes from everyone who ever found out.

Everyone but one, anyway.

"Your precious Harukawa-chan is nothing more than a coldhearted killer," Ouma declared. "Shinguuji-chan was psycho, but even he's got nothing on her! Killing people for money, destroying lives without a care in the world. And she was so desperate for me to keep it a secret, that she agreed to help me. What an idiot! You actually believed my sob story about wanting to save everyone?! What part of 'I'm a liar' do none of you get?! Not that you have any room to judge, Miss 'Caretaker'..."

"Harukawa... it's not true, is it?" Yumeno pleaded.

"I thought you were tougher than you looked," Hoshi reasoned, "but... seriously...?

Saihara only had one question. "Did... did Kaito know?"

Harukawa's head fell forward as she spoke. "I told him about my talent... but... I never told him about working with Ouma. I didn't want him to know."

"Hmm? Didn't want him to know he'd have to share you with another guy?" the purple-haired boy taunted. "I know I'm a hard act to follow..."

"I hate you," Harukawa spat, "I hate you more than anyone I've ever known. But I... I hate myself even more."

"Harukawa?" the redheaded mage murmured.

"I resigned myself to the life of an assassin," she recounted, "I willingly gave up whatever future I thought I had before. And I did it because I thought it would mean no one else would have to. But... that doesn't make it any less cruel. I deserve every ounce of hate and anger you can throw at me... but... Kaito... Kaito..." Tears began rolling down her cheeks yet again. "Kaito saw the person inside of me. The person I thought was gone forever. And that person won't just let you mock her."

Harukawa's eyes grew sharper than they ever had before. With the full force of her killing intent awoken, she glared at Ouma. "I swear... I am going to kill you!"

Before she could take a step, she felt a hand on her shoulder. A slight tilt of the head let her see who it was.

Harukawa prepared to strike back. "Do you want me to-"

"You've got that wrong."

Akamatsu's calm words broke through Harukawa's rage.

"Harukawa-san, I... I didn't know you had all of this bottled up inside you. I wish you would've told me. Even now, I can't say I really understand, but I know what it's like to be judged for a mistake," the pianist offered.

"Big words from someone with no blood on their hands," she shot back.

"I know!" Akamatsu countered. "I don't have any idea what your life has been like, because you still won't let us in! But... I want to understand. Because... the Harukawa I've known so far... she's my friend. And that wasn't a lie. When you trained with us, that wasn't a lie."

Her eyes turned to Saihara. "When you showed concern for Saihara, that wasn't a lie."

Yumeno chimed in, "And when you helped me when I was mourning Tenko. That wasn't a lie either."

"And your tears at Kaito's funeral. And the tears you had just now," Akamatsu continued, brushing a tear off of the assassin's face. "Those definitely aren't lies. You're more than just your talent. You're our friend, Assassin or otherwise."

"Kaito believed in you, no matter what," Saihara recalled. "So... I'll do the same."

Hoshi smirked. "Not like I have the moral high ground here. I'll trust you."

"It's not bad to kill bad people," Yumeno claimed. "You said so. So that means you're not a bad person."

Harukawa was stunned. Her fears had gone unjustified. For all her anger and detachment, she truly had forged connections during her time at Gifted Inmates Academy. And in the face of overwhelming support, she was able to do something she thought she would never manage again after losing Kaito.

She smiled. "Everyone... thank you."

Ouma, however, was less than pleased. "Oh my God, will you all please stop with the mushy teamwork crap?! It got old a loooooonnnggg time ago!"

"Upset your plan didn't work?" Harukawa taunted.

The trickster was not discouraged. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Did you really think I'd waste my masterpiece on you protecting yourself over them? Please. I knew you'd develop human emotions in the end, I'm not stupid."

"Then what is your game?" Hoshi wondered.

"I'm so glad you said it like that," Ouma cackled. "Harukawa-chan, you have that box I gave you, right?"

Harukawa was taken aback. "You gave me? I thought..."

"That Monkuma left that for you? What, does he have a trademark on that lightning-shaped eye symbol?" he taunted. "Actually, he probably does, but that's hardly the worst thing I've done. Anyway, yes or no?"

Rather than answer with words, the red-eyed girl hesitantly took the small box out of her pocket, showing it to the group.

"Good, good. Open it," Ouma demanded. "But don't take what's inside out of the box just yet."

Nervous, Harukawa opened the box slowly. Once she had, the image of what awaited her spun her into a cyclone of confusion. It was a small device, resting atop what appeared to be cloth lining. "Is this... another detonator?"

Ouma pulled another object from his pocket. "And so is this..."

With two more detonators in play, the group remained cautious. No one dared risk a sudden move, though Hoshi narrowed his gaze toward Ouma's hand. If necessary, he would strike.

The madman began to explain, "Here's how this goes down. You and I each have a detonator. Add in the one you destroyed a moment ago, and that makes three. Now, I had three types of detonators prepared. One's just a normal, average detonator. Press the trigger, it sets off the bomb. The second is a dead man's switch. It can activate with the trigger, but it will also activate if it gets more than a meter away from the sensor. Now, the sensor could very easily be on my person, or it could be inside the lining of that box. With me so far?"

Harukawa gave a subtle nod as sweat began to encroach upon her brow. The other students seemed paralyzed by Ouma's words, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Now, the last one is the tricky one. The third detonator, if activated will actually burn out the other two. Even if the signal goes off, if pressed roughly around the same time, the 'burnout switch' will keep the bomb from activating. Now, the question is... which one's which?"

"Don't you know?" Akamatsu reasoned.

"Well..." Ouma drawled, "In all the excitement I seem to have lost track. But in any case, I'll be activating the one I'm holding in..." He briefly glanced to his watch. "Three minutes. It's up to you if Harukawa-chan should activate hers. But if you get any slick ideas like trying to examine the bomb, or messing with her detonator, I'll just set mine off. And since mine might be the dead man's switch, I wouldn't try taking mine away."

The clock was ticking. The group felt powerless in the face of this new challenge. On the one hand, Ouma could be lying, as he often did. But if he wasn't, they were almost certainly doomed. With no options left, Harukawa fixed her gaze on their only hope.

"Saihara, what's our strategy?" she inquired.

The detective balked at this. "M-me?"

"Shuuichi, you're the only one who can figure this out!" Akamatsu pleaded. "It's up to you now."

"My magic's not going to work on bombs," Yumeno asserted, "so you've gotta do something!"

"This is your time to shine, kid," Hoshi agreed, "make it count."

"Kaito put his faith in you, too, Saihara," the assassin recounted, "So I'll do the same. Whatever you think is right."

The pressure was undeniable. The weight of the world rested squarely on Saihara's shoulders. Once again he could feel the doubt and darkness creep into his mind.

But now wasn't the time for that. For everyone's sake, he would discover the final truth that Ouma had concealed in this twisted game.

"Okay," he began, "we know the first detonator wasn't the dead man's switch. It was knocked away and the bomb didn't go off."

"So that means one of the two we have now is the dead man's switch," Akamatsu reasoned.

"Right," the detective continued, "So there are two possibilities. The dead man's switch and the normal switch, or the dead man's switch and the burnout switch."

"You only have a minute and a half to choose..." Ouma reminded them, his face somehow growing even more deranged.

"Press your switch," Saihara declared.

"W-what?"

"Harukawa-san, if one of you has the burnout switch, then both of you need to press yours to guarantee our safety," the black haired boy explained. "And if the burnout switch was the one we broke, then there's no harm in pressing both, since the bomb will activate either way."

"We can't exactly double-die," Hoshi cracked, trying to insert any sort of levity into the situation.

"You're sure about this?" Harukawa clarified.

"If Ouma-kun is telling the truth, which I know is a big 'if', this is the safest move we can make," Saihara declared.

The assassin breathed deeply. "Okay. If you say so."

"Ten seconds," Ouma warned, "Hope everyone's watching..."

Yumeno clutched her hands in silent prayer. Though Angie had gone, and the mage was no longer devoted to the artist's God, any sort of hope would be welcome now.

Hoshi grit his teeth, knowing that even if they did get out of this crisis alive, it would only be the tip of the iceberg. Ouma would face dire straits for what he had tried to do here, and who could say how that would turn out.

Saihara repeated his logic over and over in his head, trying to see if there was anything he missed. If he made a mistake, he would regret it for the rest of, what he had to presume would be, his very short life.

Akamatsu's hands rushed to her fast-paced heart, fearful it would beat so fast it would leap from her chest. There had to be a way this could end well, but if there was, it was far from obvious.

Harukawa slowly lifted the detonator from the box, keeping it close by, on the off-chance it was the dead man's switch. She had never been one to fear death, long having grown desensitized to the concept. But she wasn't just living for herself anymore.

Another loud boom echoed across campus, the source still unknown to the students.

Ouma's grin grew wider than ever. "And here... we... go..."

Ouma and Harukawa both pre