"So there you have it!", Monokuma laughed maniacally, all the students with widened eyes. "Chihiro Fujisaki has now fused with the late Sayaka Maizono! Usually one forgets their memory when this happens, but it seems that Chihiro was a lucky case!"
"What...?", asked the programmer. "What do you mean 'fused'? And why do I sound like this??"
"Aww, don't you get it, Chihiro? We had to fuse you with someone else in exchange of your life!", Monokuma explained. "Doesn't that sound awesome!?"
"It doesn't!", raised the programmer in a feminine voice. "I didn't ask for this to happen! I don't want to come back if it means desecrating someone else!"
"Oh, shut it!", Monokuma responded. "You've pretended to be a girl for the past 16 years out of your own cowardice and fear, so why not be a real one for a change? Get used to it!"
Nobody else said anything, they couldn't come up with something to say. Mondo was clearly in between enraged and flabbergasted at what Monokuma did. He was glad that Chihiro was alive and well, but he didn't want to see his friend suffering like this.
Seeing that nobody said anything, Monokuma continued, "Anyways, I'll be leaving now, so enjoy your new gift! Remember, I'll have another punishment ready in two days, so be prepared!". He soon left the room, leaving the confused students to themselves.
"...Guys, I want to have some time to myself", spoke up the programmer softly. "I'm still confused, I don't know why this is happening."
"...You're not the only one", responded Mondo. "We are all just as confused as to why you look like that...But I'm glad that you're with us again."
"...Thank you, Mondo", the programmer thanked with a small smile.
"...Sure", responded the bike rider before standing up and turning to the door. "I'll be waiting in the cafeteria."
Soon after, everyone left the programmer's room silently, leaving the dichromatic girl to recompose herself a little more.
Afterwards, about an hour later...
Everyone was sitting in the cafeteria, discussing about either the punishment they went through and Chihiro's new look. The broken Proto-Monobeasts and torn ceiling were now gone, leaving behind an almost spotless food court.
Almost as if nothing happened.
The students' heap of conversations came to a halt when Chihiro stepped into the food court, the girl walking in an awkward silence. Everybody couldn't help but look at the programmer's new form in bewilderment. The programmer then sat at where Mondo and Taka were sitting, the girl seemingly looking off into the distance soon after.
Eventually, the rest of the class continued talking, the atmosphere suddenly back to normal.
"...How are you feeling, Chihiro?", asked the bike rider.
The girl simply beside him simply shrugged, "...I guess I'm fine. It's just that I feel guilty for taking Sayaka's body."
"Hey, remember that you didn't choose this to happen", Taka stated. "It was Monokuma who decided to disrespect Sayaka, not you."
"You're right but...", trailed off the dichromatic girl. "I still can't help but feel guilty about this."
"Take your time", said Mondo reassuringly. "Just remember that no matter what happens, we won't stop being friends with you, okay?"
"Thank you Mondo", trailed off the girl. "I want to ask a little favor, though."
"Yeah?"
"...Is it okay if you still refer to me as 'dude'?"
The bike rider gave a small smile, "...Sure."
Meanwhile...
"Mr. Chihiro has fused with Ms. Maizono to come back from the dead...", Hifumi mused to himself, sitting alone in a nearby table. "Just what is this!? I'm going to find out for sure!". He then pulled out a clipboard and turned to where the programmer was sitting, set to ask her several questions.
Before any of that could happen though, another voice called out to him, "Hifumi". The otaku froze at the words, knowing very well from where they came from.
Turning around to face the voice's direction, Hifumi then asked nervously, "Y-yes, Ms. Ludenberg?"
"Where are you going with that clipboard?", asked the gambler with faux politeness, a cup of tea in her hand.
"I-I was just going to ask Chihiro some questions...", the otaku responded.
"Oh, Chihiro?", responded Celeste with feigned surprise. "You mean the one person who you probably shouldn't bother right now?"
"O-oh, um, yeah..."
"Then do I need to say more?", lowered the gambler's voice, giving Hifumi a deadly stare.
"N-no I got the point, Ms. Ludenberg", stammered out the otaku, turning to leave the exit with dejected nervousness.
"Mimi!", pouted Cloakie, appearing out of the gambler's back.
"I'd say", agreed the gambler, drinking a dainty sip of tea. "I wouldn't mind if he learned some respect."
A few hours after, at Chihiro's room...
"...I'm still scared, to be honest", confessed the programmer, both Taka and Mondo listening to her. "I'm going to have to learn how to live as a girl from now on."
"Well, at least you've been practicing a little", said Taka, trying to alleviate the situation.
"Yeah, that too...", the programmer trailed off. "Anyways, thanks guys for being there with me. I don't know where I would be without your support."
"Yeah, me neither", responded the bike rider. "Sleep tight, dude."
"You're already getting used to it", smiled the dichromatic girl.
"Well, what did you expect?", chuckled Mondo for a while before leaving the room, Taka following behind.
"Goodnight Chihiro."
Meanwhile...
As Makoto was leaving towards his room (he was previously doing more training), he suddenly encountered Kyoko thinking to herself.
"Kyoko?"
"Makoto, I want to ask you a question", asked the detective.
"Sure, but..."
"Why do you think Monokuma decided to help us so suddenly?"
"Huh?"
"Why do you think Monokuma decided to save Chihiro?"
The luckster could only try to think up of an answer from the sudden questions. Upon further thinking, though, Kyoko did raise a point. It didn't make sense for Monokuma to do something like this at all.
Unless...
"He...probably did it to cause us despair", Makoto answered, the detective staring at him with arms crossed. "There's something he isn't telling us, and it's probably going to come bite us eventually."
"That's not all", added the detective, Makoto looking at her. "Since he is also planning a punishment soon, he plans overwhelming us in despair, in the hopes that somebody cracks under pressure and kills someone else."
"Probably...", mused Makoto dejectedly to himself. He didn't want to think that as a possibility, but they were talking about Monokuma. He would do anything to rile up despair between the students.
"That's all I wanted to ask", Kyoko finished, turning to leave to her room. "Thank you for helping me."
"Sure, but...why me?", asked Makoto, Kyoko turning slightly to face him. "You could've talked this out with Byakuya or Celeste, those two are much smarter than me."
"Maybe, but you represent the average person in a situation like this", Kyoko explained. "Well, as normal as one could get."
"Yeah", the luckster chuckled awkwardly. "You're welcome."
The detective then entered her room, leaving the luckster to himself.
"Well, that was something", the luckster said to himself. Still though, he couldn't help but now feel worried for the programmer.
Something told him that Monokuma wasn't done with them yet.
Meanwhile...
"So Monokuma basically revived the little fry and gave him the dead singer's tits?", asked Ruruka, the rest of the group turning to face her. They had watched everything that happened, from the Impending Termination to Chihiro's revival.
Yet this was what she was thinking about?
"...Please stop talking", responded Diavolo, already fed up with the confectioner's bullshit.
"Maybe you should be doing that", stepped up Izayoi in defense of Ando. "You haven't even been with us for a day and you already consider yourself important. You should be the one stepping down."
"You...", trailed off the Italian in rage.
"Now, now, both of you settle down", said Tengan, trying to calm down the sudden uprising. "While it's not bad to ask questions, we would prefer if they weren't...vulgar, as per say."
"I was just asking a question", remarked Ando annoyed, turning to leave to the room. Izayoi soon followed.
The rest of the group decided to drop the conversation, they didn't need to talk about it anymore than they needed to.
"...In any case, why would Monokuma do something like this in the first place?", asked Chisa. "He isn't the type to suddenly help others."
"He had a motive for doing so", added the Great Gozu. "I just don't know what it would be."
"Despair", simply answered Kyosuke. "Monokuma, and Junko to a greater extent, love bringing others hope just to drown them in despair later. We're only seeing the first half of the entire ordeal."
The rest of the group couldn't help but agree with his words.
Even Diavolo couldn't help but feel pity for the students, and he was already devoid of most of his sympathy. Infinite torture really did a number on him.
"In any case, we're done for today", Tengan dismissed the room. "We will meet up here again tomorrow, so don't be late."
The room then disbanded for now, them also done for the day.
Only Great Gozu was left with the old man.
"I'm going to stay here", spoke up the bull-head. "I'll monitor them for the night."
"Thanks, Gozu."
"Sure."
...
STAND INFO:
Stand name: Fu Manchu
Stand user: Toko Fukawa
Destructive Power: D
Speed: A
Range: A
Persistence: C
Precision: D
Developmental Potential: D
Appearance: A crystal-like stand without any limbs whatsoever. With a rhombus-shapes head with a glasses motif, this stand has a mane of crystallied tentacles, serving as limbs and appendages. Each one can be controlled individually.
Stand Ability: Fu Manchu can use its tentacles as limbs for both defensive or offensive purposes. The more this stand is used, the more energy is required from the user. Overuse ends up with exhaustion.
Stand cry: None, unable to talk.
...
Author's Note: Chapter 34 done! With that, we have fully passed the Impending Termination Arc! At first, I was hesitant to finish the arc with an ending like Chihiro's, but I eventually decided to see it through and introduce another JoJo element in the story. What do you guys think about it?
Thanks everyone for the support and feedback for this story. Leave all comments below and until the next entry, I'll see everyone later!