Class 78th Watches the Future

by Spirit Soldier

We know the story. Class 78th loses their memories, and were forced into the killing game. Only a few of them survive the game. And what happens when those sixteen students, their memories of each other intact, watch the Danganronpa series? What happens if they see their future selves killing each other? Watch, as Class 78th watches their future.

73. Watching Ch 4: All Stars Apologies Pt 6

I'm back! Hello readers and welcome to my new chapter. So, it's been months since the last chapter and honestly? I have no excuse for that. I wanted to write and finish this chapter, but the motivation just wasn't there. I can only guess why it wasn't: the biggest reason being that the reaction fic was getting stale for me, and/or I was hit with some writer's block for this fic.

Here I am now. Hopefully, this'll be the end for the long writer's block. Still, I'll probably put more focus on other fics, just so this doesn't get stale for me, so be prepared to wait however long for the next chapter. With that out of the way, enjoy this one.

P.S. Thanks for all the praise, kind words, and concern you guys have given me. Most, if not all the reviews here, having been nothing but positive, and the few criticism I do get don't feel insulting or hate-filled. Didn't think this fic would get as popular as it did when I first started, but I have no complaints (I'm also kinda amazed that no trolls or flamers found their way here. Especially since there are still some in my earliest fics).

Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa.

Chapter 72: Watching Chapter 4: All Star Apologies Part 6

The sound of the school bell echoed once more followed by Monokuma showing up on the monitors again. "Attention! Attention!" The bear exclaimed. "Please gather in the gym as soon as you possibly can! Quickly, quickly, quickly, quickly!"

Recognizing the common pattern of events, the students sulked at what it was to come. "A motive…" Byakuya murmured just audibly enough for everyone to hear. It wasn't a question.

No one refuted Byakuya's words. At this point, they knew that Monokuma was going to give a motive. So all they can do is just watch, see what it is, and see what happens.

The scene switched to Makoto's room, where the lucky student was laid on his bed. 'He made a special announcement… to ask us to come to the gym?' He thought worriedly. 'And he sounded pretty serious, too…'

After the usual cinematic sequence of the students assembling in the gym, Monokuma hopped right on the podium.

"Okay, let's get this show on the road!" The bear announced excitedly.

"You're about to give us the motive presentation, aren't you?" Byakuya questioned bluntly.

Monokuma tilted his head in response. "Hmm?"

"You got us all together to present another motive, right?" The heir repeated, annoyance in his tone.

"Why play dumb now?" Byakuya remarked, his eyes narrowed and slight annoyance also showed in his voice. "There's no use doing so. He never called us together at the gym without telling us something important."

"What about the beginning of chapter two, with the whole exercising thing?" Hifumi pointed out.

"It still informed us of something important right after." Byakuya responded back, eyes still on the screen. "So there's no way that this isn't a motive."

"I-Is he right…?" Toko asked fearfully.

"We have to go through this again…?" Hina inquired uneasily, her face pale.

"Ugh… no! Not again!" Hiro protested, also blue in the face. "I can't take it anymore!"

"Why are you all surprised?" Byakuya asked, with slight disbelief and now visibly annoyed. "Your future selves should have seen this coming at this point."

"W-Well, it's not like I want to get used to this!" Hina argued heatedly. "We don't have a heart of stone like you do!"

"That's hardly an excuse for not knowing the obvious." Byakuya retorted. "You've seen as much already."

That had caused Hina to turn red, both in embarrassment and anger. But before she could lash out at him, Sakura got her attention by grabbing her arm and then shook her head. The swimmer pouted angrily and reluctantly held herself back.

"I'm impressed by your level of dismay." Byakuya remarked snidely. "You finally see just how low on the totem pole of life you really are."

Before anymore could be said, the bear spoke up. "No… no, no, no…" He stated repeatedly, shaking his head with each 'no'. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO!"

His head then shot straight back up. "That's not it at all. We're not here to talk about motive. The reason I gathered you all here is so that I could get rid of my grudge."

"Huh?" Was the response of some of the students.

Kyoko, however, narrowed her eyes. 'Just like I thought.'

'Your… grudge?' Makoto thought in confusion.

"We have a grudge against you, of course, but I don't recall you having a grudge against us." Kyoko remarked in slight confusion.

"I told you yesterday, didn't I? An eye for an eye, a fang for a fang." Monokuma reminded them.

While the bear's cryptic words stiffened the majority of the class, the smarter students quickly caught onto what Monokuma was insinuating. One such student was Makoto. 'Wait… don't tell me he's going to…'

"Stop beating around the bush! Just tell us what you're talking about!" Byakuya demanded irritably.

The bear snickered in response. "Well, Byakuya. You've already told everyone how one of you might be working as a spy for me, right?"

"Yeah, so, what about it?" The heir shot back.

"Well today I'd like to tell you about the spy." Monokuma announced.

At that point, everyone now realized what the bear was about to do.

"Oh, crap!"

"He's not actually planning to…!"

Makoto's eyes widened at that. "What…?"

"So guess what. The spy is actually Sakura Ogami!"

"...Shit." Leon cursed.

"Fuck." Mondo followed right after.

"This… is not good." Sayaka gulped fearfully. "This is very bad."

"Indeed." Celeste agreed with a nod. "Monokuma just released a decisive trump card."

"How?" Hiro asked, not understanding the significance of the revelation. "Having Sakura be revealed as a spy isn't a bad thing, is it?"

"If it came from her, no." Kyoko said, eyes narrowed. "But our future selves got this information from Monokuma."

"Which means you're less likely to trust her." Byakuya stated, a frown also on his face. "And as we've seen, that distrust eventually leads to..."

Murder. No one could refute Byakuya's unsaid word, and could only acknowledge it.

Hina, meanwhile, could only stay silent and watch, dread building up in her gut.

That stunned the whole group to silence, as they processed what Monokuma had said. 'He said it so openly, it made it sound like it wasn't that big of a deal…' Makoto thought numbly. '...even though he'd just revealed a huge secret.'

"What…? What did you say?" Hiro questioned in shock, eyes wide as a saucer.

"He said the spy is Sakura." Byakuya repeated, a scowl clear on his face.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Hina spoke up, a surprise look on her face. A look of anger then came after. "There's… there's no way Sakura is a spy! Right, Sakura?" The martial artist was silent, unable to grace the survivors with an answer. "Sakura…?"

"And I might just make Sakura fulfill the promise she made sometime soon…" Monokuma continued. "And if she doesn't… I can't be responsible for what might happen to that hostage of mine…"

"Aaaannnd, he just added extra fuel to the flames." Junko remarked with a 'wince'. "That just went from bad, to really bad."

"B-But, Monokuma just said that he got hostages!" Hina protested. "Can't that convince them that Sakura isn't the enemy?"

"Do you think we will care?" Byakuya shot back, arms crossed. "I won't. If anything, that's all the more reason to doubt Sakura."

"That'll definitely be your future self's line of thought." Celeste agreed. The heir reluctantly grunted in silent acknowledgement. "As for Hiro, the fool will be too frightened to think rationally-"

"Can you blame me?!"

"-and Toko will follow Byakuya's line of thought, not to mention her natural distrust of everyone around her." Celeste added. "So yes, it's accurate to say that Monokuma's words are rather volatile."

The swimmer couldn't help but scowl, gritting her teeth. Are they really going to see Sakura as the enemy? Not even hear what she has to say?!

The martial artist herself could only stay silent, as she witnessed the consequences of her unknown actions.

"Anyway, that's all I wanted to say. What you guys choose to do with that information is up to you. Roast her, boil her. Kill her, don't kill her. Whatever!" The bear then let out his signature, sinister laugh. "Either way, I can't wait…!" And with that, he disappeared in classic Monokuma fashion.

"U-Um…" Hiro hesitantly spoke up. "So… what does this mean? I-Is it true? Has Ogre really been spying on us for the mastermind?!"

"What are you saying?! There's no way!" Hina protested fiercely.

"But that is wh-what the stuffed animal said, r-right?" Toko pointed out.

"Well he's wrong!" Hina argued back. "There's just… no way!"

Hina's protest caused Sakura to clench her fist tightly, closing her eyes in shame. Is this what Mondo had felt during the end of the second trial? When Taka has so much faith in him, yet it goes unrewarded?

"Well, Sakura? If he's wrong, all you have to do is tell us." Kyoko called out to the martial artist.

At first, Sakura was silent. Then, softly, she spoke. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier…"

"What…?" At that, Hina went pale.

'I should've told her sooner. Told anyone sooner. Perhaps if my future self had accepted Makoto's offer to talk, instead of pushing it to the next day…' Sakura thought as she watched the consequences unfold. 'Perhaps I was too much of an idiot myself.'

"Then he was being serious, for serious?!" Hiro exclaimed fearfully. "Ogre's been working for the mastermind?!"

"I'm sorry…" Is what all Sakura could say.

"So you've b-been lying to us all this t-time?" Toko hissed.

"I-It's not true…!" Hina protested, looking shakened. "Sakura was probably… being controlled! There's gotta be some reason… some reason! She didn't have a choice, she was just… forced to do it!"

"Yeah, I'm sure Hina's right." Makoto spoke up. "The mastermind probably threatened her somehow, and Sakura had no choice but to do what she was told."

"Wh-What…?" Toko looked at him suspiciously. "You're talking like y-you know that for a f-fact!"

"Because… I do know it for a fact." Makoto admitted. "Because I saw it!"

"Yes, yes! Tell them Makoto!" Hina pleaded, hoping that his story will at least change some minds. "Get them to understand!" The other students can only give her looks of pity knowing that the chances of that happening are rather low given what they had seen.

A flashback of the battle between Sakura and Monokuma was then shown. "I saw Sakura and Monokuma… fighting… And that's where I heard it…" The luckster explained. "Monokuma mentioned a 'hostage' a second ago, right? And during that fight, I heard Sakura say… that she'd decided to fight against the mastermind."

The screen then went back to the gym. "You… saw all that?" Sakura inquired, looking away.

"The mastermind took a hostage, so you were forced to swear loyalty to them, right?" Makoto asked rhetorically, turning towards Sakura. "But in the end… you made up your mind to 'betray' the mastermind."

"Which means Sakura isn't our enemy. She's a friend who we can trust without question. Is that it?" Byakuya asked mockingly. He then scoffed. "Ridiculous. Do you live in some sort of alternate reality fairy tale? She was the mastermind's tool. You absolutely cannot trust someone like that."

"H-He's right! We can't just believe whatever she says now!" Hiro stated, backing up the Togami heir.

"Are you kidding me?!" Hina shouted in rage. "How can you have such a black and white view?!"

"How can you be so trusting of someone who could potentially could be a spy?" Byakuya retorted coldly. "Let me be clear; I don't share my future self's views now. But I do understand him. What if this was all according to plan? She could kill any one of us when our guards are down."

"That's a heavily paranoid line of thinking, Byakuya!" Taka pointed out

"Is it really?" The Togami heir asked back. "In a life and death situation where you can die in any given moment, you wouldn't have any doubts at all? How naive."

"B-Byakuya!" Makoto cried, upset at his choice of words.

"Tch." Byakuya clicked his tongue in annoyance. "In any case, I still think my thinking is quite justified in this situation."

"That's true." Mukuro grimly chimed in. "It's quite easy to think like that when friends and enemies are constantly changing."

"How can we even be sure she really did betray the mastermind?" Byakuya continued. "Maybe this is a double-take, and she's still doing what the mastermind wants."

"Who the hell was she trying to fool?!" Leon questioned with some disbelief. "Sakura and that damn bear didn't know shit about Makoto watching them."

"Leon's right; neither of them would have known that Makoto would be able to hear them fighting and see it for himself." Kyoko spoke up, before turning towards Byakuya. "As Taka said, your future self has an extremely paranoid thought process."

Byakuya was silent at this, merely stonily watching the future events unfold. Watching himself fall further into the mastermind's web.

"Sakura would never do that!" Hina shouted in retort.

"Okay, then Sakura… if you really cut ties with the mastermind, tell us who they really are." Byakuya demanded, facing the martial artist.

"Well…" Sakura faced away from the heir, looking down at the floor. "Sorry, I can't. Even I don't know that."

"Does he honestly expect for her to know that?" Junko remarked with a raised eyebrow. "That the mastermind would actually tell her that big a secret?"

"No commander would give out vital information so freely." Mukuro agreed with her sister. "Not unless there are strings attached like a bait."

"He's really being unfair to Sakura…" Chihiro said softly, a sad look on his face.

"You don't know? That just makes you all the more suspicious." Byakuya stated.

"She's telling the truth!" Hina insisted. "You have to believe her!"

"Shut up. I'm not finished questioning her." The heir retorted coldly. "Next question. What's this about a 'promise'? What did the mastermind order you to do?"

At first, Sakura was silent. But after a moment, she spoke up. "I was told…" An anguish look entered her face. "...to kill one of my friends."

Despite knowing what happened and despite seeing Sakura resisting Monokuma… everyone couldn't help but feel chills go up their spines. The confirmation of the untold truth caused the room to go cold.

For a moment, everyone went silent as the room dropped twenty degrees. But after a moment of cold, loud silence… "I see." Byakuya said, eyes narrowed. "So even now, you've taken aim on our lives."

"You're wrong, I'm telling you! Sakura would never do that!" Hina protested.

"Y-you don't have to yell, we can h-hear you just f-fine." Toko hissed. "Don't you have an i-inside voice…?"

"It's because you're not LISTENING to me!" The swimmer shouted back angrily.

"Honestly, would they?" Mondo snorted. "We're talking the most paranoid of the bunch here; Byakuya, Toko, and Hiro. The moment they heard Sakura was the traitor was the moment they stopped listening thanks to fear."

"Hey!"

"I-I don't need c-criticism from you!"

"Hmph."

"Please, stop." Sakura interrupted, placing a hand on Hina's shoulder. "You don't need to defend me anymore. I have to take full responsibility for this…"

"How do you intend to do that?" Kyoko inquired.

"By destroying the mastermind."

That threw everyone out for a loop.

"What?!"

"Is she crazy?!"

"Have you lost your fucking mind?!"

"That's way too dangerous!"

"You'll get yourself killed!"

"Sakura!" Hina turned towards her friend in shock and fear. "Why?!"

The martial artist was silent, merely gazing at the screen with narrowed eyes.

Makoto's eyes widened. "What…?"

"I'm going to challenge them." Sakura explained. "Even if it means we both go down, I will defeat them. That is how I intend to take responsibility."

"WHY?!" Hina repeated, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "Why put yourself in such a dangerous situation?! Why risk getting yourself killed?!"

"...It's the only way to atone." Sakura sighed, her body feeling heavier. "Hina… I've committed a grave sin by allying myself with the mastermind; resisting him does not change that. The only way I can prove commitment to you and the others… is by bringing down the mastermind. The person I've supposedly previously aligned with."

"Sakura…" Tears slowly slid down from Hina's eyes, unable to handle the thought of Sakura dying.

'You shouldn't have to do that.' Makoto thought, a remorseful look on his face. 'Everyone made mistakes of their own. It's why we're in this position in the first place. If only I was able to talk to you sooner…'

Was that possible? Could he have found a way to talk to Sakura sooner? Solve the situation before Monokuma could interfere?

"H-Hold on!" Hina spoke up hysterically, looking at Sakura in panic. "What do you mean, if you both go down?!"

Instead of answering, Sakura said, "Hina… I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this."

"What…?" Was all the swimmer could say at the moment.

"I didn't know what to do. I went back and forth about confiding in you again and again…" As she spoke, the martial artists gripped her fists tightly. "But I was scared. I thought if I told you, you might think less of me."

Mukuro couldn't help but empathize with Sakura. It was something she had grappled with Makoto for these past few days; something she's still in conflict about, considering that she hasn't revealed everything to him.

"Did she really think I would?!" Hina exclaimed, her face still being stained with tears. "Would you actually think that I would look down on you if you told me? If you just talked to me about it?" This time, her question was directed at the current Sakura, who couldn't help but look away slightly.

However, before she could say anything, Mondo spoke. "It's normal." He sighed, looking down on the ground. "When you fuck up real bad, when you do shit that you can't take back… it's pretty fucking hard to admit it to anyone. Especially to people you're close to."

Hina was quiet in thought, thinking over Mondo's words. Meanwhile, both Chihiro and Taka glanced at their biker friend, in both sadness and sympathy.

"S-Sakura!"

"I'm sorry…" With that, Sakura turned away from everyone and left the gym.

"...So she really is planning on taking out the mastermind." Leon remarked, grimacing. "Even willing to take him down with her if that is what it takes."

"If anyone could do it, Miss Oogami would be the top contender." Hifumi said, before looking down. "But…"

"Is it truly worth it?" Taka finished the unspoken question, a frown on his face. "Is this really the only way of atonement?"

"There's no feasible way to get out of the school through force or other means." Mukuro mused. "And if there was any info worth sharing, I'm sure Sakura would've given it at this point. So no, I doubt there's anything else she could do, that they haven't already done."

"She shouldn't have to do anything!" Hina argued, an angry scowl etched onto her face. "We could've just convinced Byakuya, Toko, and Hiro that she isn't an enemy! That we can trust her!"

"It's not that simple, Hina." Sayaka stated, a soft frown on her own face. "We may know her enough to say that she can be trusted, and your future self may know her well enough too… but they don't."

"Plus, with all the killing and betrayals that have happened, it would be even harder to trust anyone with even questionable loyalties." Kyoko added. "And like Mondo said, we're dealing with three of our most distrustful classmates. So convincing them Sakura is someone to be trusted is a difficult task, near impossible."

Before anything else could be said or done, the school bell rang. Right after the nighttime announcement played, Byakuya spoke. "Well, it's nighttime. We should all go to bed."

"Hold on!" Hina protested. "This whole thing with Sakura is-!"

"Over. She's our enemy. There's nothing more to discuss." Byakuya interrupted curtly.

That caused several to frown or grimace. "It looks as though you're correct, Kyoko." Taka stated, a frown on his own face. "Even before his clear enjoyment of this game, Byakuya has always been distrustful. So I can't really say that his stance is surprising."

"Yeah, you're right. Frustrating, but not surprising." Leon sighed in agreement, rubbing the back of his head. Though a part of him had to wonder… would he have been as distrusting as Byakuya and Hiro if he was in their shoes? Would he be scared shitless of what Sakura could do? He still remembered the chill he felt when Sakura stated that she was ordered to…

'Nope!' The baseball player shook his head roughly, pushing out the thought. 'Stopping thinking about it Leon. Don't get Hiro level paranoid.' Still, despite the frustration and disbelief he shares with the others… a part of him couldn't help but understand the distrustful trio just a bit.

"No! Sakura is NOT our enemy!" Hina shouted back. A sad, almost depressed look entered her face. "Why… why doesn't anyone understand her…?"

"What is it you think you understand?" Byakuya retorted. "You didn't even know who she really was."

"Th-That's-!"

"Let it go for now, Hina." Kyoko advised, interrupting Hina. "Talking about it isn't going to help anything."

"B-But…!" Hina tried to argue.

"Go to your room, cool down, and we can continue this discussion tomorrow." The lavender haired girl continued, unabashed. Hina was silent at that, a few frustrated tears falling from her face.

'Why? Why don't they understand her?' Hina thought in frustration. 'Why are they so determined to see her as nothing but an enemy? She hasn't done anything to deserve it!'

"Good idea." Celeste nodded in approval. "Hina is too fired up at the moment, and the others will not listen at the moment. Talking it out tomorrow is the best choice."

"Doubt it will lead too much though." Junko snorted. "If anything, it'll just be the same scenario."

"It was the worst…" Narrator Makoto stated, as the remaining students left the gym and went to their rooms. "The mood at the end of the night was just the worst… being in such an awful mood… we were honestly glad the day was over."

"So this is what the mastermind has intended." Celeste mused loudly, eyes narrowed. "Not only has he made Sakura a target for distrust… but also created dissent at the same time."

"And over half the class is taking the bait." Kyoko sighed, not surprised yet still disappointed. "Byakuya, Toko, Hiro… even Hina is playing into the mastermind's hand."

"What?!" Hina twirled towards Kyoko in shock. "How am I doing that?!"

"Hina, while your defense for Sakura is admirable… it's only creating more conflict between you and the other three." Sayaka told the girl gently. "If you keep trying to blindly defend Sakura, tension will rise and…"

"Someone might do something they'll probably regret." Taka finished gravely. "I've seen it before; heated arguments happening between two or more people, right before they come to blows."

'And because of this, a killing is bound to happen' Byakuya thought to himself. 'Whether it's through the actions of Hiro, Toko, or… myself, wanting to take down Sakura first; conflict between the three of us and Hina; or even Sakura herself, due to fear for the hostage.' One way or another, this will end with murder.

Hina couldn't say anything to this; she could only look down in shock and frustration. Are they right? Is her future self only adding fuel to the fire? Making another murder, another class trial, invetitable? But even if they're right…

'What else am I supposed to do?!' The swimmer practically screamed in her head. 'I want them to trust Sakura! How else can I do that?!'

The scene then cuts to Makoto's room, with the luckster sitting in his bed. 'Sakura… is the spy.' He thought to himself. 'She's the traitor…' The lucky student leaned back onto his bed. 'Byakuya said Sakura is the enemy. But he's wrong… she's not the enemy.'

A determined look entered his face. 'She's my friend, without a doubt!'

Many couldn't help but turn towards the lucky student once more. "Wow, dude; even with all that happens, you still have faith in Sakura?" Leon remarked, in both wonder and exasperation.

Makoto merely shuffled uncomfortably at the attention. "Of course. Future me saw that she was resisting the mastermind; we all know how earnest she is. I know that future me only knew her for a short time… but he does see her as a friend. And I can't help but place my trust in them."

Before he knew it, he was smothered by something, startling him for a moment. Before he could freak out, however, he quickly noticed the ponytail in front of him, as well as how soft and warm the something was.

"Thank you, Makoto." Hina whispered tightly, a few tears slipping down onto the luckster's jacket. "I know that I already said that, but still… thank you. I'm really glad I'm not the only one who trusts her."

A tint of red spread through the luckster's cheek. However, he ignored his embarrassment and hugged the girl back. "Like I said, trusting my friends is the only thing I can do. I'm just not built to be suspicious of others."

'It's why you're so wonderful Makoto.' Sayaka thought fondly. 'Even when we give you all the reasons not to, you still try to see the very best in others.'

'A naive ideal; most wouldn't be so foolish.' Byakuya thought, looking away. 'Still, out of all the plebians... maybe...'

'I can't say this is a great mindset given the circumstances...' Kyoko thought in slight exasperation. 'Some caution is definitely necessary but... at the same time, that is what makes you Makoto Naegi.'

Many of the students held similar thoughts, from fondness to bewilderment to exasperation. All of them can't help but admire the trust Makoto manages to hold for others; and some wonder… what would it take for that trust to be broken?

'But… what can I do?' Was the next thought in Makoto's head. 'What can I do to make everyone believe in Sakura? How…?'

"I doubt there's anything you could do Makoto, to convince the others of my allegiance." Sakura stated, looking towards him. "Still… I must thank you again for the trust you place in it. My future self may not have earned it… but I will strive to ensure that yours or Hina's faith is not misplaced."

"I don't doubt that for a second Sakura." Makoto responded back, while still locked in a hug with Hina. "As for what you said before… yeah, I doubt there's much I could do." He looked down sadly at this. "Even I can see that there's no changing their minds."

"That's right." Kyoko nodded, eyes focused on the screen. "At this point, there's no stopping the coming conflict. We can only hope for the best."

And that the end. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'll try to be quicker with the next one (As I do want to finish this), but like I said, be prepared for long updates. Also, check out my other fics; the current ones I'm going to update are The-Boy-Who-Lived-Comes-to-Mahora and The Hyperactive Ninja of Sainan, so I recommend those two (Despite the low chapters).

Also, if you haven't already, check out my blog, Galactic Media, when you get the time. I'm not updating on it that often currently, but I manage to get a number of posts on there (All of them rankings so far). Review, favorite, and follow, and I will see you guys later.