A.N: Hello again, everyone! Here's Chapter Seven of this Afterlife fic, focused today on Hifumi, the Ultimate Fanfic Writer. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter Seven: When Fiction Beckons Despair
Hifumi could still feel Hina's tears fall on his skin as he awakened for the second part of his existence. The fanfiction writer felt betrayed but also very guilty. His actions had caused the death of someone he didn't necessarily consider a friend, but at least a peer he didn't mind. He had bought the words of someone he didn't know the real side of, and this had led him to stand where he stood.
Miss Luden- Yasuhiro… betrayed me… And I've killed Mister Ishimaru, who had not done anything wrong… Looking down to the ground in shame, Hifumi blamed himself. I couldn't see through her lies because I couldn't remember she was the Queen of Liars… this is catastrophic…
As he slowly started to walk in a random direction, the Ultimate Fanfic Writer couldn't look up, his guilt continuously bringing him down. Every time he blinked, the boy saw Taka's corpse and was reminded that he was the culprit. Maybe he had not orchestrated his demise, but he had been the one to strike a fatal blow to the Ultimate Moral Compass. It all seemed like a fiction he would have written, but unfortunately, it was reality.
The others probably won't forgive me… They must already think I am a strange character, so now they'll ostracize me… The boy clenched his fist in anger, swearing, "Damn you, Miss Yasuhiro! Your villainous personality wouldn't even be defeated by Princess Piggles!"
His shoulders slumping, Hifumi continued to make his way on a random path, walking to clear his mind, or at least, try to. It wasn't working much, honestly.
H-Hopefully, Mister Naegi and the others will be able to expose her… If I had known I would be betrayed, I wouldn't have done what I did… To say I killed someone so I could get Alter Ego for myself… I-I am really selfish… What kind of image am I going to give of fanfiction now?! A-And how much sadness will I have caused to Mister Ishimaru and his friends…?
"Hey, isn't that…?"
"H-Huh?"
Turning around, Hifumi gasped when he noticed just who was standing there. Cowering in fear, he took a couple of shaky steps back.
"M-M-Miss I-Ikusaba… M-Miss M-Maizono…"
"You're right! It's Hifumi!" the pop idol exclaimed while the soldier narrowed her eyes on the boy. "But then… D-Did we miss a whole Class Trial? Did anyone see what happened?"
"No, I don't think we've missed a trial," Mukuro told her, not taking her eyes off of Hifumi. "It's still pretty early on Earth, and they're probably still investigating Taka's death. I don't know what happened exactly, but perhaps you'd be able to tell us."
She stared at the fanfic writer, making him gulp in fear.
"D-Don't hurt me, pleeeeaaaaaase!" Hifumi begged, looking pleadingly at the two girls. "I-I'm sorry!"
"I am not going to hurt you…" the black-haired girl said with a sigh. "However, I hope you have prepared a better apology than that… You'll probably need it sooner than you think…"
"Yeah, definitely," Sayaka agreed, looking at Hifumi with neutral eyes. "I won't personally judge you because I don't know why you did what you did and that what I attempted to do to Leon was probably worse, but that doesn't mean everyone will think like that."
"Y-Y-You mean…?" N-No… Mister Owada… "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah! I-I'm gonna die again!" the otaku screamed in panic and began to turn and look around as if looking for an escape route. "Curse you, Miss Yasuhirooooooooooo!"
These last few words caught the two girls' attention, especially the much more focused Mukuro.
"Wait, what did you say…?" she immediately asked, listening closely.
Next to her, Sayaka seemed to be deep in thought, repeating, "Miss Yasuhiro… Miss Yasuhiro… Miss Yasuhiro… Where have I heard that name before…" suddenly, a lightbulb appeared over her head as she exclaimed, "Hey, I got it! Wasn't that Celeste's real name?! The Headmaster let it slip once, remember? I-Is that right, Hifumi?"
"O-Oh…" S-So that's where I remember it from… Even I had forgotten that… it just came back to me when she hit me on the head… "Y-Yes, that is correct… Miss Ludenberg was indeed Miss Yasuhiro…"
The Ultimate Soldier nodded and adopted a thinking pose, saying, "I see… But what does Celeste have to do with anything? I… know Junko's third motive was aimed at her, so I'm not so surprised, but…"
"Oh, that vile woman! She used me to kill Mister Ishimaru; that's what she did!" Grr… His anger building up inside him as he thought of the Ultimate Gambler, Hifumi took a deep breath to calm himself. "She's such a wicked witch!"
"W-Wait, she did what?!" the blue-haired idol exclaimed in shock, covering her mouth with her hand to muffle her gasp. "S-She… used you…?"
"Indeed she did! T-That… t-that…" The insult died in the boy's mouth, but both the soldier and the pop sensation could imagine what he wanted to say. "S-She used my affection towards Alter Ego to manipulate me into doing her bidding! H-Her story about being harassed by Mister Ishimaru must have been a pure fabrication, too!"
Sayaka's shocked expression grew even more extreme as her blue orbs widened even more. Even Mukuro couldn't hide her surprise behind her usual stoic countenance.
"Y-You say she invented a story about being harassed by Taka?!" the Ultimate Pop Sensation exclaimed, but before Hifumi could think he'd earned an ally, she added, "And you bought that?! What the hell?! That's the last thing Taka would do! A-Are you dumb?!"
"S-Sayaka, calm down…" Mukuro told her softly, taking her hands with her own. "Let him explain, okay?"
W-Wait… Suddenly distracted from the topic at hand, the fanfic writer's eyes turned passionate as he exclaimed with a somewhat pervy tone, "W-Wait, Ikuzono is actually a thing now?!"
Unsure of what he was talking about but creeped out by the way he was looking at them holding hands, Mukuro's face quickly grew threatening as she said in a low voice, "I don't know what you're talking about, but you better stop before I hurt you more than Mondo will…"
"A-A-Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah, I'm sooooooooooooorrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyy!"
"It's okay, Mukuro, don't worry about it." the pop star told her girlfriend with a reassuring smile before turning back towards Hifumi. "But that doesn't excuse the fact that you've believed something that was just impossible! Didn't you even think for a second that it didn't make sense at all…?"
"A-Admittedly, I… I didn't want to kill Mister Ishimaru at first…" the writer admitted with a great deal of shame, not daring to look at either of the girls in the eyes. "I… I didn't want him to have Alter Ego only for himself, but killing him seemed too much to me… b-but then… Miss Yasuhiro said Mister Ishimaru had harassed her, and the thought enraged me. I… I don't know to what extent she meant that, but it wasn't something I could condone. And so… she came up with a plan in which we could both get out of the Killing Game alive… Grr, that backstabbing, good-for-nothing lolita! Now I realize she just wanted the ten million dollars! What a greedy person!"
Mukuro remained silent and deep in thought about this whole situation. Sayaka, on the other hand, happened to still be way more vocal.
"You say Celeste did all of this…? But then… she must be the blackened, right? What do you think, Mukuro?"
"I think you're right, yes." the soldier confirmed. "When Hifumi killed Taka, he became the blackened, but when Celeste killed him in turn, she took on that role. This means that… a new Class Trial is about to begin… and knowing how deceptive Celeste can be… maybe we should worry…"
"I-If I may…?" the fanfic writer shyly asked, raising his finger. Seeing he had Sayaka's attention, Hifumi said, "I was able to tell Miss Asahina the name of my killer when they found my body, s-so maybe they'll be able to figure it out…"
"W-Wait, you told them that Celeste had killed you?!" Sayaka exclaimed before a relieved smile appeared on her lips. "That's great! Now we're sure they're gonna get it right! Did you hear that, Mukuro?"
After a second of silence, the deceased soldier frowned, making her girlfriend do the same.
"I wouldn't be so sure, unfortunately…" the short-haired girl told her, looking to the most recent newcomer. "Hifumi, just to be sure… how did you refer to your killer when talking to Hina?"
"O-Oh, um… I was really weakened, but I managed to say 'Yasuhiro' though not anything else… W-Wait…" N-No, I messed up! Princess Piggles, save me!
The Ultimate Soldier sighed in disappointment, the truth of the matter dawning on her. "As I thought… what you told them was absolutely useless, Hifumi. The others don't remember Celeste's real name, so it won't help them, and it might even get them off-track! They'll think Hiro did it now! S-Shit, this is not good for them!"
"W-WHAT?! H-Hifumi, you absolute idiot!" the pop idol snapped, glaring at the boy. "I-I swear, if the others can't figure it out, I'll strangle you forever!"
"Eeeeeeeek! P-Please don't, Miss Maizono!"
"He's right, don't do that, Sayaka." Mukuro requested, her voice sweet. She then whispered something in the pop star's ear, and for some reason, Hifumi felt it was probably insulting if he wasn't allowed to hear it. "You're coming with us, Hifumi. I'll call the others and tell them to go to the Afterlife Theater. We need to see the Class Trial unfold before it is too late."
Her voice worthy of a true leader, Mukuro took the lead, and after casting a look behind her to make sure her girlfriend and the Ultimate Fanfic Writer were following, gradually sped up, phone in hand, until she was running, leaving Sayaka and Hifumi to exhaustingly try to follow behind.
I hope Mister Naegi, Miss Kirigiri, and Mister Togami send you to the stake, you treacherous witch!
"Mukuro, what's happening?!" Leon asked in a panic as the soldier approached a group made of Leon, Mondo, Taka, Chihiro, and last but not least, Jin. "Why did we need to come here in such a hurry?!"
"Something shitty has come up." the soldier pointed at the fanfic writer panting behind her, saying, "About this guy who thought it was intelligent to believe everything someone called the 'Queen of Liars' told him."
Mukuro's voice was ruthless, condemning. Hifumi couldn't disagree with what she had said, though, and opted to remain humbly silent. However, when the group realized who was standing next to Sayaka and behind the Ultimate Soldier, things got heated.
"H-HEY, that's the motherfucker!" Mondo exclaimed, his expression going from genuine surprise to absolute fury in a millisecond. "You fucker! I'm gonna beat you to death, you piece of shit!"
"M-Mondo, no!" both Chihiro and Taka exclaimed as the biker sprinted and readied a punch that Hifumi could see coming as fast as light but couldn't dodge. The irony that none of them could be "beaten to death" anymore went unnoticed.
"P-Please, n-no!" the overweigh boy pleaded as he saw Mondo's fist get inevitably closer to his face. I suppose I'll join the Afterlife of the Afterlife now…
However, before Hifumi could tell his goodbyes again, he noticed the biker's fist stopping magically in front of his face. He blinked a couple of times quickly before observing that something was preventing it from hitting him. Or rather, someone.
"As much as I sympathize with you, I can't let you do that," Mukuro said firmly, maintaining a grip on Mondo's fist like it was child's play. "The last thing we need right now is conflict. If we give in to Junko's plans even now, then our deaths were worthless."
"F-Fucking l-let go, Mukuro!" Mondo ordered, clenching his teeth. After noticing she wouldn't budge, his anger increased a bit more. "Fuck off, chick! I don't give a shit about unity! This bastard killed my boyfriend, goddamnit!"
W-Wait, his boyfriend?! Barely stopping the words from getting out of his mouth, Hifumi thought, So Ishimondo is actually a thing now?!
"And I'm telling you that if you wanna argue about it, then you'll do it with words, and not like a tyrant addicted to violence!" the soldier insisted, twisting the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader's arm a bit and making him wince. "Are we understood?"
Slightly pushing the girl away - a first - Mondo turned around and headed inside the Afterlife Theater, with Taka and Chihiro following worriedly.
"That was a good reaction and even better behavior, Mukuro." the former Headmaster told the soldier. "I will try to have a chat with Mondo when we come out of there to approach the situation with diplomacy. In the meantime, don't go near him, Hifumi, understood?"
"Y-Yessir!" N-Not that I planned to!
"Good. Then let's go inside." Jin said and got going, with the rest of the deceased students in tow. "We scouted Celeste to try and learn more about how her deceptiveness could be associated with her gambling luck. I have the feeling it's going to come and bite us harder than I could have thought…"
With these mysterious and not-so-encouraging last words, the man pushed open the doors to the theater, leaving everybody else to gulp and hope for the best for their friends.
"How many times do I have to tell you…? My… name… is…" the gambler paused for a second, taking a deep breath. "CELESTIA LUDENBERG, GODDAMNIT!"
"How long do you plan to go on pretending…?" Byakuya asked, clearly annoyed.
Regaining a little bit of composure, Celeste replied, "I'm not pretending. It's the truth! And since you have no way to contradict me…" she then snapped… again. "That's the only truth there is! MORON!"
There was a growing tension weighing on everybody inside the projection room. Everyone had been sitting there for quite some time now - making sure to separate those who couldn't sit next to each other - and had been watching the third Class Trial unfold.
Sayaka had informed everyone of Hifumi's version of events, which meant that all eyes were on Celeste. There wasn't anyone in the room who worded their sympathy for the gothic girl, and Mondo's anger couldn't be described without resorting to violence. Taka had spent most of his time trying to calm him down, but it wasn't showing signs of working.
On his end, Hifumi was hiding a smirk of satisfaction. To see the Ultimate Gambler so frustrated, so angry, so out of character… it was more satisfying than he would have admitted. In a few words, he wanted her to die for betraying him and forcing him to kill an innocent person, and so far, the trio of Makoto, Kyoko, and Byakuya was doing just fine.
"NO, THAT'S WRONG!" the lucky student shouted at the gambler. "That's it…! The handbook!"
Eight pairs of eyes widened as they immediately figured out what Makoto was talking about. The soldier was the first to comment.
"He's right… Junko knows what her real name is, so she'd have no issues putting it on her e-handbook… And if she did…" Mukuro paused, taking time to ascertain her position. "Then it's checkmate for Celeste."
They almost all sighed in relief, knowing that Celeste wouldn't escape the grasp of the surviving students - whose numbers were actually reducing very quickly.
"What?!" Celeste screamed, anger written all over her face.
"Any time you turn your handbook on, it shows the owner's name when it boots up, right? Monokuma told us all about it before!" Makoto said, confirming the Ultimate Soldier's theories. "So all we have to do is check her handbook, and that'll clear up everything." the boy pointed his finger at the accused, saying, "That's how we can find out Celeste's name!"
"Damn, Makoto's really good!" Leon complimented, looking proud of his friend. "He's growing up to be a heck of an investigator!"
"Indeed! Professor Makoto's insights and wisdom shall lead the class towards greater heights!" Taka added in agreement, his spirit fully back. "I couldn't have asked for a better peer to solve the mystery behind my murder!"
Hifumi looked down to his seat as the moral compass exclaimed that, a painful reminder that he'd been the one to buy Celeste's lie and kill him. In the end, he had paid a heavy price, but being unsure of whether or not his classmates would ever accept him fully into the group again was the worst feeling possible.
He was willing to apologize for however long it took, but would they be ready to listen? This question plagued his mind.
And all of this because of the girl on the other side of the screen.
I… I don't think I'll ever forgive Miss Yasuhiro! T-That sorceress! Using my weaknesses to fulfill her own aspirations! She wasn't much better than Miss Enoshima herself!
"Th-That's an invasion of privacy! I-I refuse to cooperate!" she stammered, struggling to keep any of her calm.
"Of course you do, fucking bitch…" they heard Mondo say over a sigh. "Of course you do…"
M-Mister Owada… He… He didn't deserve what she indirectly did to him either… Hifumi thought.
Meanwhile, Makoto had closed his eyes, and no one could miss how focused he was. Rarely had they seen him so determined and deep in thought. When he opened them again, he seemed sad. And they all knew exactly why and couldn't blame him.
The poor Mister Naegi… e-even a villain such as Miss Yasuhiro… he has empathy for her… He'd be a great source of inspiration for one of my future fanfics… M-Maybe centered around Naegiri?
Obviously unaware of what was going on in the deceased Ultimate Fanfic Writer's mind in the Afterlife Theater, Makoto looked at the Ultimate Gambler and asked her, "Celeste… Can you please just tell us what really happened?" his eyes drifted down, slightly depressed. "Please, just tell us…"
"Celeste's plot definitely took a toll on Makoto…" Chihiro said aloud, worriedly. "I hope he'll be alright… And the others too…"
"Well, let's send them our best wishes, everyone!" Sayaka exclaimed, trying to cheer up the group a little. She and the programmer shared a smile, though the global mood wasn't improved much.
"Even when I'm put in check, it's just my nature not to give up," Celeste told the Luckster, giving him her most adorable (and deceitful) smile. "Because… Because, because… because because because because because because because-! Until the game's over, you never know what might happen!"
"Okay, she's lost it." the baseball player simply said, trying to relax in his seat. "For real, she's gone nuts. If she wasn't before, I guess."
Indeed! She's such a skilled manipulator, and she always was! And only I was enough of a fool to fall for her lies!
"Fine then. Let me settle it. Let me go over the case again, from the beginning, and shed light on all your crimes." with one last deep breath, the hazel-eyed boy exclaimed, "And that'll bring everything to an end!"
Hifumi couldn't hold back the tears when Celeste confirmed that the story he'd been told had been nothing but a lie. Taka had never stolen Alter Ego, never threatened her, never abused her, never planned to kill him. In the end, perhaps the Ultimate Moral Compass had not been who he used to be in his final hours, but he had never planned any wrongdoing.
And thus, Hifumi cried. He cried all the tears his eyes could potentially shed in a silent room. The only sound that could be heard was that of the gambler's cruel explanations on the other side of the projection screen. Junko's victims were all silent, unable to say anything, while the Ultimate Fanfic Writer cried in despair.
The boy's thoughts were empty, save for a few images of death, blood, and despair flashing through his mind every now and then. There was nothing else than these dark flashbacks of hitting the moral compass on the head with that hammer and putting the blood of a true blackened on his hands. Perhaps his time had come earlier than anticipated, but he considered himself just as guilty as his manipulator was.
"I do not know if I should be saying this, but you shouldn't cry, classmate."
"H-Huh…?" among all the silence, the fanfic creator looked up as someone talked to him. "W-Why…?"
"I cannot change the facts, and even if I would have liked for things to turn out differently, I know Professor Makoto's hope will reach everyone in the end, and it will reach us, too. Perhaps you yielded that hammer when I was murdered, but I understand why. I made my own mistakes, and you have made yours. My family's name has been tainted with errors, but contrary to my ancestors, I have learned to accept them and move on. I have no doubt that you can do the same. Looking back, the person who killed me wasn't you, and it wasn't even Taeko… No… The one who killed me, and who killed all of us here… was Junko. I won't ever let anything make me forget this!"
"M-Mister Ishimaru…" C-Could he be…
"So, as well all begin a new crusade, I officially wanted to say that I forgive you for what happened during the Killing Game! May our past conflicts be the foundations of a greater friendship in the future, Hifumi Yamada!"
With teary eyes and a genuine smile, Taka extended a hand towards his former enemy.
"M-Mister Ishi- Taka…" in the moral compass' smile, Hifumi could see every source of hope there had ever been in his life, from his family, his passion, his friends… They brought a smile onto his face, and with no hesitation, he shook Taka's hand firmly. "T-Thank you…"
Behind that scene of rebuilt trust, however, was a whole different thing happening.
"I don't fear death. Kill me however you like. But you know, if I could be reincarnated… If I had a choice, then…" Celeste paused, her calm voice reminding everyone of what they were about to witness again. "I think I would like to come back as Marie Antoinette."
"You'd just get executed again…" Hiro remarked, sweatdropping. For once, they all agreed with him.
And at that, the gambler simply giggled.
"She's forcing it."
"Huh?"
"Her smile, it's forced," Mukuro said, intensely focusing as Makoto looked at Monokuma. "She lies to herself in an attempt to think she's in control. But right now, the second they forget that the one in control is Junko… is the moment they lose."
A shiver ran down everyone else's spine as the soldier said that. They all knew something about Mukuro if nothing else: the girl knew what despair was. And the reminder that their internal conflict was hiding a much darker and despairing truth replicated in the Afterlife Theater, the same tension that had engulfed the trial room.
"You all done? Okay, then let's get rollin'! The blackened disturbed the peace, and must pay the price!" the bear exclaimed, his grin back in full force. "Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for… her! The Ultimate Gambler! Let's give it everything we've got! It's… PUNISHMENT TIIIME!"
Celeste looked mostly undisturbed, though her surviving classmates were either shocked or disgusted. The same could be said for everyone in the Afterlife Theater, though, even in the face of certain cruel death, there was at least a grin, maybe not of complacency, but of revenge.
"I guess I'll let Kyoko hold on to this." the lolita girl said flatly, moving closer to the Ultimate Detective and taking her hand for a split second.
"This is…!"
T-The key to Alter Ego's locker… Poor thing, locked in there without anyone visiting her…
"Will it really give you the hope you're looking for? I can't say I ever saw it that way… Which is why…" there was a look of uncertainty in Celeste's eyes for a second, though it quickly disappeared in favor of her usual, deceitful smile. "Actually, it's not important. Well then… take care, everyone. Perhaps we'll meet again, in another life."
And with these last few words, Celeste's execution began. Unable to witness it happen, Sayaka left the room with Leon accompanying her. Mondo stormed out, and his intentions were abundantly clear, forcing Mukuro to begrudgingly follow him so he wouldn't do anything unwise. The Headmaster seemed undisturbed, even if he looked far from pleased. On her end, Chihiro kept her composure, displaying a mental strength that impressed Taka and Hifumi to no end.
Miss Yasuhiro… The fanfic writer's moments of servitude both before and during the Killing Game, which were akin to a strange and unhealthy friendship between them, flashed through his mind. As the flames grew stronger and stronger, surrounding the gambler and leaving her without any possible escape, Hifumi thought a lot. He wanted her to suffer what she had done to him and pushed him to do to Taka… but… a part of him remember that the Celeste he had known wasn't like that.
She wanted her castle, her vampiric butlers, and their absolute faithfulness, but… he remembered that maybe, just maybe, there was more to her than that. As she stood on the stake with her smile unwavering, Hifumi realized that perhaps, she was another victim of this. Mukuro's words echoed through his mind.
"The second they forget that the one in control is Junko… is the moment they lose."
Miss Ikusaba is right… if I keep thinking that Miss Yasuhiro was the only person responsible for my demise, then I'll never move forward and get my character development… If I want to max out my friendship stat with everyone else, I need to join their fight against Miss Enoshima…
When the firetruck hit the Ultimate Gambler, there was no doubt remaining in Hifumi's mind.
Just like any villain at the end of an RPG, maybe Miss Yasuhiro deserves a second chance… a 1-UP, of sorts… Perhaps we can write another story, even if nothing will ever be the same. But they don't have to be. That's decided! My… our next tale will be hopeful, leaving behind all the memories of despair! That's the story I want us to write, all together!
To be continued…
A.N: You wouldn't believe how uninspired I was for this chapter... It's not that I don't like Hifumi (I'm very neutral about him), but he's probably the most uninteresting character in the game, so it wasn't easy to find inspiration. I hope you liked this chapter nonetheless. Until the next chapter, please leave a review, and I hope you have a nice day, everyone! :)
