-This is made by Starrshard on Ao3 and Wattpad, please check them out. I have been given permission to upload this to, as they do not have an account on this website-
"There's something that's been bugging me since we discovered Eijirou was the one who broke down the vent," Mashirao said. "Why did he?"
"Yeah! Why would Eijirou break down Shouto's vent, of all people?" Tooru piped up. "Plus, Shouto wasn't even staying in his room. He was in Izuku's dorm, because Izuku took over his dorm."
"Maybe... Eijirou intended to kill Shouto?" Mei suggested.
"Wha-? Kill Shouto?" Izuku yelped. Of course he'd freak out if that ever happened.
"Yeah! It makes the most sense, actually!" Mei said. "Eijirou broke into Shouto's room with a weight! Why else would he try to enter the room, anyway?"
"But that doesn't explain why after Shouto left, Eijirou reentered and ransacked the room," Tsuyu said.
"...maybe Eijirou thought Shouto was hiding, and wanted to find him and finish him off?" Tamaki suggested softly.
"If that's the case, why would Eijirou touch things such as the bedsheets, the cabinet, and the desk? I obviously can't hide in any of those places," Shouto spoke up. "My desk was a mess and the drawers had been rummaged through, for example."
"See, he's right," Tsuyu agreed. "Someone in a hurry to kill someone wouldn't waste time on tiny cabinets."
"So what was Eijirou doing?" Hitoshi inquired.
"He was looking for something."
"Say again?" Nejire turned to Yaomomo.
"I said, Eijirou was clearly searching for something in Shouto's room," Yaomomo repeated. "He ransacked the place, and certainly didn't make it a secret he was entering, bashing down the vent cover so loud. A killer wouldn't try to wake up their victim. It was as if Eijirou wanted Shouto to get out."
"If that's the case, what was Eijirou searching for?" Mirio questioned.
What Eijirou was searching for... I can definitely figure that out, with a bit of work...
Psyche Taxi : Start!
...
Question 1: What did Eijirou plan to do when he entered Shouto's room?"
Left: To destroy something
Middle: To kill him
Right: To find something
Right: Correct!
...
Question 2: What did Shouto take with him when he left the room?
Left: Keys, Pillow, Blanket
Middle: Pillow, Blanket, Notebook
Right: Keys, Pillow, Blanket, Notebook
Left: Correct!
...
Question 3: Did Eijirou find what he was looking for?
Left: Yes
Right: No
Right: Correct!
...
Question 4: What was Eijirou looking for?
Left: Keys
Right: Notebook
Left: Correct!
Success!
Question 1: To find something
Question 2: Keys, Pillow, Blanket
Question 3: No
Question 4: Keys
Break!
"That's it! Eijirou was looking for the keys," Yaomomo murmured aloud.
"The keys?" Denki asked. "What keys?"
"Shouto and Izuku's dorm keys," Yaomomo replied. "When Shouto moved to Izuku's dorm, he brought his own room key, which was where Izuku stayed, and Izuku's key, where he stayed. Eijirou must've been looking to get one of them."
"Why only one? And how do you know it's the keys?" Hitoshi asked.
"I'll answer your second question first," Yaomomo said. "We know Eijirou entered Shouto's room looking for something. Out of everything left in the room -which was not a lot-, nothing was taken. Shouto and Izuku could both reel off a list of the belongings in the room, most of which being common items in every dorm.
"However, Shouto took three items with him when he left, before Eijirou got in," she continued. "He took the two keys, his pillow, and his blanket. Again, the pillow and blanket are common items in every dorm. Eijirou wouldn't have wanted those. So by process of elimination, he was looking for the keys."
"That's... actually pretty smart," Izuku commented. "But then, what about the thing with it being one key Eijirou was looking for?"
"Eijirou had just entered the room Shouto was in by vent," Yaomomo explained further. Unless he really wanted to open the door for some reason, he doesn't need Izuku's dorm key. Therefore, the key Eijirou was searching for..."
Select an Answer:
Shouto's dorm key
Izuku's dorm key
Shouto's dorm key : I got it.
"...was Shouto's dorm key, where you, Izuku, had been residing."
"Why would Eijirou want the key to that room?" Tsuyu spoke up.
"Yeah! I had the Despair Sickness, remember? Why would Eijirou want to enter... my room?" Izuku asked, confused.
"Oh, and Eijirou had the vent map! Why does he have to go through the door, when going through the vent means entering as well?" Nejire prompted.
"None of this makes sense," Tamaki muttered.
"Eijirou must've wanted to go through the door, for some reason, whatever it is. But why?" Shouto asked. "Like he just said, Izuku had the Despair Sickness. He had the symptom of wrath. He was violent. Why would Eijirou want to approach him?"
"Yeah! To open Izuku's door, when he was like that... that would let him out into the dorms!" Tooru said.
"H-Hey, don't talk about me like I'm some savage animal!" Izuku protested.
"Letting a violent Izuku into the dorms would result in injury, or death, if he attacked someone unprepared," Denki commented. "Why would Eijirou let him out like that?"
"To kill someone for him, perhaps?" Mezou suddenly spoke, for the first time in a while. "Or to kill Shouto? Maybe Eijirou really did want Shouto's key as well, to open the door."
"But Eijirou also scared Shouto out of his room. If that was his intention, he would've failed by doing that in the first place. Eijirou obviously didn't want to kill Shouto, using Izuku," Hitoshi deduced.
"Guys, I think we're forgetting something important here, though," Mashirao suddenly said.
"What?" Tsuyu turned to him.
"Whatever the reason, did Eijirou actually open Izuku's door?" the tailed ex-hero asked. "He didn't get the key. The doors are only unlockable by key."
Did he..?
There's something that proves he did...
Mind Mine : Start!
...
Paperclip : I got it.
"Yes, Eijirou did open Izuku's door," Yaomomo confirmed, confident in her choice. "He picked the lock using a paperclip. I found it on the floor in front of the door when I went to investigate."
"If that's the case... then Eijirou let Izuku out of his room, before he died," Nejire said. "Oh. Wait a second..."
"To open Izuku's door... paired with this circumstance, that could only result in death," Mirio finished grimly.
"Wh-What are you saying?! I would never kill Eijirou!" Izuku wailed. "He was one of my closest friends! One of the only ones I had left, next to Shouto!" His voice cracked as he said those last words, 'the only ones I had left'.
"You would never kill Eijirou, sure... but the Despair Sickness might say otherwise," Yaomomo countered.
"Hey, Yaomomo. Lighten up on him, would you?" Despite his words, Shouto was staring at Izuku with wide eyes, as if he realized what this case was starting to reveal.
"I can't, Shouto. After Kyouka... you should know that by now." Yaomomo's voice was lifeless, her eyes hazy as she looked at him. He dragged his eyes from his boyfriend to the Affluent Progeny- or the Detective, whatever floats the boat; Yaomomo wasn't even sure of her own talent anymore. "I can only seek the truth."
"If this is what you're going at... give some evidence to prove it," Shouto challenged. He's going to defend Izuku to the last step, she realized. He's going to let his emotions get the better of him...
"Of course I have evidence. I wouldn't give a baseless argument," Yaomomo huffed. Evidence, evidence... let's see...
Select a Truth Bullet!
...
Slashed Carpet : I got it.
"Izuku being the killer would make sense, considering the slashed carpet," Yaomomo said. "If he'd pursued Eijirou down the stairs, he could've ran on all fours, considering his wrath. Shouto, you once said that he attacked you on all fours in your room, back when you tried to accompany him, right?"
"Y-Yes, that's true..." Shouto murmured.
"...but your logic is inconsistent!"
Break!
Wh... What the fuck?
"What? What's wrong?" Yaomomo wasn't exactly used to seeing Shouto so riled up.
"You're saying Izuku ran after Eijirou on all fours, carrying knives? Are you absurd?" Shouto hissed.
"Shouto..." Izuku murmured softly from his own podium.
"What do you mean, absurd?" Yaomomo asked.
"What I mean? I'll show you what I mean!" There were tears in Shouto's eyes, Yaomomo could tell; he knows the truth, but he just doesn't want to accept it.
I'll have to show him...
Rebuttal Showdown : Start!
Shouto Todoroki : Momo Yaoyorozu
Truth Blades: Eyeball, Knife One - Eyeball, Knife Two - Potted Plant, Shouto's Account, Denki's Account
"So you say Izuku ran after Eijirou holding knives," Shouto began. "That's illogical, because how could Izuku have obtained knives? There's no way he could've gotten his hands on some blades. Obviously, there were none in his room to begin with, and nobody would give them to him!"
"I will cut through your argument."
Denki's Account : Cut!
"What do you mean, I'm wrong?" Shouto stared at Yaomomo.
"According to Denki, Eijirou got something from the kitchen last night. He wasn't sure what he got, but it was likely the knives," Yaomomo said. "Denki. Can you say anything to confirm or deny?"
"Um... not really," Denki replied slowly. "I know he didn't go near the fridge. He didn't say hi to me, either. He was sort of hasty."
"That confirms it, then. Eijirou hurriedly grabbed two knives from the kitchen. If he'd go as far as to open Izuku's door, he might as well provide the weapons," Yaomomo deducted.
"But... to give Izuku, with Despair Sickness, knives... that'd be-" Mashirao was about to say.
"Ah!"
"Hm? What's wrong, Yaomomo?" He cocked his head at her.
"That's it! That's the answer," she exclaimed, a burst of inspiration in her veins.
What Eijirou intended to do... why he would give Izuku knives, and open his door... I can see it now...
Hangman's Gambit 3.0 : Start!
Why did Eijirou approach Izuku?
...
SUICIDE : I got it.
"Eijirou had been planning to commit suicide all along," Yaomomo declared.
"Eh? Suicide?!" Denki yelped.
"Everything Eijirou did, from breaking into Shouto's room, picking Izuku's lock when he failed to get the keys, getting knives from the kitchen... it was all in an elaborate plan to commit suicide!" Yaomomo declared.
"S-Suicide? Why would he involve me..?" Izuku's voice was hushed, haunted, hollow.
"Ah... it does make sense," Mirio said. "Eijirou wanted to open Izuku's door, give him knives, and let Izuku kill him."
"G-Guys... please wa-" Izuku's soft protests were ignored.
"If that's the case, then why did Eijirou even try to enter my dorm?" Shouto retorted. "Why didn't he just lockpick from the start?"
"I don't think Eijirou ever considered lockpicking until after he failed to get the key," Yaomomo said. "He would've used the key to be faster, and afterwards Izuku would take it upon returning to his room, so it would be harder to tell. However, because he improvised and picked the lock, he left behind the paperclip by mistake."
"So, Eijirou had to improvise... even if he had gotten the key, his plan was kind of bad," Hitoshi murmured. "He must've planned for Izuku to pursue him downstairs and kill him swiftly in the hall. Except Izuku must've been faster than he anticipated, and he got attacked upstairs, leaving that blood stain. Second, Izuku also slashed the stairs, leaving even more unwanted proof."
"G-Guys... why are you-" Izuku tried to speak again, only to be run over once more.
"Eijirou's plan hinged on secrecy, and a bunch of unrealistic independent variables," Mezou muttered. "It's no wonder it failed so poorly. People saw him retrieving his weight, and the knives... that was the first mistake. The second was expecting an ill Izuku to show such control."
"M-Mezou-" Izuku spluttered.
"But his failure became our success," Yaomomo finished. "We should now go over the case again, one last ti-"
"Wait! Yaomomo!"
She looked up, turning to meet Shouto's gaze. "What?"
"You're missing something. Something didn't add up, and I knew it; with what Hitoshi and Mezou said, I realized what it was." Shouto's eyes were even, his voice steady. Looks like he got himself together, except he's still on the wrong side.
"Well? What's your groundbreaking evidence, Shouto?" Yaomomo prompted.
"My evidence... I'll show you! And after I do... it'll be clear why Izuku can't be the killer!" Shouto declared.
"Sh-Shouto..." Izuku's eyes were wide and filled with tears. "Shouto, wait-"
"Izuku, it'll be okay, just you see!" The Theorist's eyes softened as he turned to the jadette, a smile tugging at his lips. He returned his gaze to Yaomomo, and in a blink he was a boy of ice once more. "I'm going to show you the truth, Miss Detective!"
Argument Armament : Start!
{Shouto's Audio Clips Letters to Counter}
Phase 1
"Yaomomo, I believe..." (A) (A) (A)
"...that you've overlooked an important piece of evidence." (W) (W) (A) (W) (W) (A - Hold)
"It's about Izuku's physical state before contracting Despair Sickness." (D) (D) (S) (D) (D) (S - Hold)
"He was ill and weakened. You saw that yourself." (W-A-S-D)
"There's no way he could've attacked Eijirou like that!" (A) (A) (A) (D) (D) (A)
Phase 2 : Advance!
"Yaomomo, can't you see my logic?" (W) (A) (S) (D)
"Izuku was sick!" (D) (A) (W)
"He couldn't have chased and attacked Eijirou..." (D) (S) (A) (W) (W - Hold)
"And besides, even if adrenaline and Despair Sickness contributed..." (W) (W) (A) (S) (S) (D)
"It wouldn't explain the set up after Eijirou died." (W-A-S-D)
Phase 3 : Advance!
You can't see anything... anything at all!
"Why do you keep insisting?" (W) (W) (A - Hold)
"I've given you so much evidence..." (W) (A) (S) (D)
"You can't just throw it down the drain!" (W) (A) (D) (S)
"Listen to me, Yaomomo." (A) (A) (D - Hold)
"Izuku would never kill..." (W) (W) (S - Hold)
"Not even under the influence of Wrath..." (S) (D) (A) (W)
"There must've been a part of him in there..." (W-A-S-D)
"...under the wrath..." (W) (W) (A - Hold)
"He wouldn't have killed Eijirou!" (W) (A) (S) (D) (D - Hold)
Final Blow!
W = Dote
A = Mono
S = Kuma's
D = Anti
"Izuku had been ill, even before the Despair Sickness! How could he have set up the body afterwards?"
"This is why."
A-S-D-W : MonoKuma'sAntiDote : Break!
"If Izuku's weakness prior to the Despair Sickness had been an illness, then Monokuma Antidote would've treated it as well." Yaomomo's eyes met Shouto's wide, blue and gray ones.
"What do you mean?" he murmured.
"Monokuma. You released your Antidote in the form of a gas through the vents, didn't you? It's the most logical way to cover every single ill person, no matter where they were in the building."
"Ooh, how smart! You're absolutely right!" Monokuma grinned. "My special antidote can cure any illness, including Despair Sickness! I evaporated it and released it into the ventilation system, as soon as Eijirou bit the dust. It sure worked well."
"See? It was released throughout the whole building, the exact moment Eijirou was killed. Therefore, Izuku would've been cured of both Despair Sickness and whatever illness was making him so weak previously. He would've regained his strength, and would've easily set up the body," Yaomomo explained.
"But what about before that, while he was chasing Eijirou downstairs?" Tsuyu asked.
"He must've been powered by his Wrath illness. Remember what happened when Shouto himself tried staying in the same room as Izuku?" Yaomomo prompted. "He attacked him. He was strong and sturdy, too, according to what he told us afterwards. It's not a stretch to think Izuku would attack Eijirou."
"B-But... to think Izuku would set up the body after he was cured of Despair Sickness would mean he was conscious of what he was doing and what he had done. Are you sure he would do that?" Shouto challenged.
"Yeah."
"I-Izuku?" Shouto whipped around, not having expected the second Ultimate Hope to say such a thing. "Izuku, what are you saying?"
"Give it up, Shouto. It's okay. I'll admit it." Izuku's gaze was shadowed. He looked up to meet his boyfriend's gaze, tears streaming down his face. "It's true. I killed Eijirou. I was cured of Despair Sickness when Monokuma released the antidote, and I set up the body afterwards."
"Izuku..!" Mirio's eyes were wide. Everyone in the trial room was gawking at him, at the formerly hopeful boy, at someone who'd been their friend the whole time.
At someone who'd ended up killing their classmate in such a despairfully hopeless way.
"Izuku... why are you..?" Shouto's eyes were disbelieving, alight with crystal tears.
"I told you, it's okay. I wasn't going to admit it at first, actually... I don't want to die. I want to keep saving people." Izuku smiled sadly, tears still falling. "But then I saw you jump to defend me, even though you knew Yaomomo was right... is that right?"
"I-Izuku-"
"Tell me, did you really think that with so much evidence stacked against me, I still wasn't the culprit?" Izuku's voice was insistent.
"I..."
"Tell me." His voice softened, his green eyes hardening. "Or I won't know if you're an idiot or a coward."
"Izuku..." Shouto stared at the shorter Ultimate with tears falling down his face. The trial room was silent. Yaomomo could feel the tension in the air.
"I... yes. Yes, I knew you were the killer, I knew nobody else could've been it, not when everything pointed at you." Shouto's voice broke, his gaze dropping to the floor. "But that didn't mean I wanted to admit it. I didn't want to think you would..."
"Haha... so you were just scared." Izuku's voice was sad, his green eyes boring into Shouto's. "I didn't want to see you waste yourself on trying to fight something you couldn't win against... so I decided, maybe I'll just let everyone know. Get it over with. Right, Yaomomo?"
"...Sure." Yaomomo was taken by surprise as the ex-hero turned to her. "You want me to go over the case again, right?"
Izuku nodded in reply. Shouto was silent, his eyes lowered and shadowed. He's not going to fight it.
Yaomomo took a deep breath. "In that case... here's the entire story, one last time."
For Izuku.
Closing Argument : Start!
"At around midnight, Eijirou entered the ventilation system and broke down the vent barricade in the culprit's dormitory with a weight from the gym. Shouto was staying in this room, since he and the culprit had swapped rooms a few days prior, when the culprit contracted Despair Sickness.
"Also, Eijirou had a copy of the map of the vents that the Big Three had found. How Eijirou obtained this copy is up for debate; it's just known that he had the copy, and likely used it to reach this room.
"Anyway, due to the loud crashing noise from the wood barricade breaking, Shouto woke up. He got up to investigate the sound upon seeing the damage. Eijirou crept back in the vent and hid around the corner with the weight in hand.
"Shouto didn't see Eijirou. Instead, unnerved, he propped the barricade back up and left the room with a few possessions: his pillow, a blanket, and a pair of keys. One of the keys was to Shouto's own dorm, where the culprit was, and the other was to the culprit's dorm, from which Shouto was leaving. He stayed at Mirio's dorm for the night.
"Eijirou broke down the barricade again once Shouto left. He entered the room and ransacked it in his hasty search for a certain item: Shouto's dorm key, in order to open the door and approach the ill culprit. Because Shouto had taken the key with him, Eijirou was distraught to find that the item was gone.
"Undeterred, Eijirou had to come up with another way to enter the room he wanted to. He decided to pick the lock instead. Eijirou left Shouto's room through the vents, went to the culprit's room, and picked the lock open with a paperclip.
"Eijirou entered the ill culprit's room, confronted and provoked them, and dropped a pair of knives he'd taken from the kitchen on the floor for them. He then booked it out of the dorm and ran, hurrying to get downstairs to the fifth floor. However, the culprit was faster than Eijirou expected.
"With the knives in hand, the culprit was hot in pursuit. They managed to jump Eijirou on the sixth floor, stabbing him once in the back and possibly slashing his arm. Eijirou managed to get free and continued running downstairs. The culprit followed, still holding the bloody knives and running on all fours. They slashed the carpet on the stairs in the process, likely tumbling down partially.
"Eijirou stopped in the middle of the hallway on the fifth floor. Why would he stop? Because this was his plan all along: to commit suicide via allowing the culprit to murder him in a Wrath-fueled bloodbath.
"The culprit attacked Eijirou. If they hadn't already, they slashed his arm with one of the blades and stabbed him repeatedly in the abdomen. They also ripped out of his eyes with their bare hands. Eijirou died swiftly, just as he'd hoped.
"As per Monokuma's promise, an antidote for the Despair Sickness was released in the form of a gas through the vents. This antidote was special, though; it would cure all illnesses, including the Despair Sickness, but not limited to. Therefore, as soon as the culprit delivered the fatal blow, they would be in the process of recovering swiftly from the Despair Sickness... but also from a mysterious illness they had prior to contracting that, an illness that physically weakened them. They would regain their strength, which is crucial to the next part of the case.
"When the culprit came to, they realized that they had killed someone under the influence of Despair Sickness. Likely realizing what this meant, they decided to set up the body further. The culprit took the smaller of the two knives and stabbed it through the torn-out eyeball. They then went into the nearest dorm -room 1-A- and borrowed the cabinet from the common area.
"They used the cabinet as a stepladder and reached the ceiling, ripping off a tile to expose the wires behind it. They hung Eijirou up, using the wires as makeshift rope. Some of the wires must've frayed or ripped in their work loosening them enough to hang the body up, because there were some light burns on Eijirou's neck, where the wires contacted his skin.
"The killer left the eyeball, endorned with the smaller knife, on the floor, under the hanging body. They returned the cabinet to the common area of 1-A, without realizing they'd put it in backwards. They also left the ceiling tile in a nearby storage closet, obviously nervous and in a haste to get away from the scene. To tie it all up, they buried the second knife, still covered in blood, in a potted plant by the stairs on their way up.
"And the culprit of this case... the killer behind this murder... was the one and only Izuku Midoriya, the Ultimate Hope."
Break!
Izuku chuckled softly. "Haha... you're absolutely right, Yaomomo. I killed Eijirou, just as you described."
"Izuku... how could you just... admit to all this?" Shouto's voice was hushed, his eyes wide.
"Because it's the only thing I can do." Izuku's eyes were soft, his voice low and sad. Forlorn. Tears still tracked his cheeks. "I messed everything else up so badly that this was my only option left. Now, can we please get the voting over with?"
As per Izuku's request, everyone was silent as they cast their votes, pointing their red levers at him like guns. Once everyone had submitted their votes, Monokuma got up and approached the slots machine that determined their vote.
All three little images landed on Izuku. The machine lit up in a frenzy of lights and music and bells. Coins spilled from the rewards slot. We were right.
"Puhuhu! Three in a row now!" Monokuma grinned and walked back up to his golden throne, accompanying Dabi atop it.
Class Trial : End
"You were right again this time! Izuku Midoriya, the Ultimate Hope himself, was the blackened!" Monokuma declared all-too cheerfully.
"We're always right... but sometimes, I don't want it to be that way," Mei murmured.
"Izuku... so it really was you." Tsuyu's voice was hollow as she said those words.
"Of course. Izuku admitted to it earlier himself," Mezou said, emotionless, his arms crossed and eyes lowered.
"It all really does feel more real when the vote confirms it though..." Hitoshi was holding his hands together and rubbing his fingers against each other, as if to comfort himself.
"Why..? Izuku, why didn't you fight it? The Sickness, I mean. Could you fight it?" Mirio seemed shocked and heartbroken as he stared at his friend.
"Izuku couldn't fight it! That's why he killed Eijirou!" Shouto declared. "Right, Izuku?"
The freckled boy was silent for a moment before choosing to speak, tears dripping from his face. His words were quiet, but clear and fragile as glass. "No, Shouto... you're wrong again. It's been happening quite a lot recently, isn't it?" He let out a choked laugh.
"Hm? Wh- What do you mean..?" Shouto took a step back, as if struck by a knife.
"Izuku... did you really kill Eijirou... on purpose?" Denki was in shock.
"Well... When I was pursuing Eijirou, when I was on the floor over him and stabbing him in the stomach... I think a part of me knew what I was doing. But I let it happen." Izuku's voice was steady as he spoke, his teary jade eyes fixed on Shouto, as if challenging him to say otherwise. Of course, he didn't.
The trial room was, surprisingly, quiet. Nobody dared speak as they absorbed what Izuku had said.
Shouto was the one to break that quiet.
"Why did it have to turn out like this..?" he murmured, his voice breaking. Tears welled over his eyes; his gaze was shadowed as he pursed his lips. He looked like he was ready to break down and sob on the floor like a baby.
"I'm... sorry, Shouto." Izuku lowered his own eyes, refusing to find his lover's. "I know you wanted a happy ending for us... and I'm sorry I couldn't give that to you. It's all my fault. You don't deserve me, or the mess that I've created-"
"Izuku, don't say it like that!" Shouto cried, his voice cracking. Tears ran down his face. Yaomomo couldn't think of a time she'd ever seen the stoic boy shed a single tear, much less cry like the world were collapsing. "None of this is your fault..!" He took a tentative step forwards, towards Izuku, hesitating for just the slightest moment. "Please don't blame yourself... if you did that, I... I don't know what I would do."
"But that's the truth," the jadette stubbornly insisted. "It is my fault that I killed Eijirou. I could've controlled myself, I know that... but I let myself kill him anyway. Because I realized, 'If I kill this boy, I could get the antidote. The curse would be lifted, and if I succeed in the trial, my mother would be freed'. From the bottom of my heart, that's the truth."
"Izuku, please..." Shouto was openly weeping now. He stumbled towards Izuku and closed the gap, wrapping his arms tightly around him, his head resting on the green-eyed boy's shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Shouto... and please don't look at me like that... I don't think I can take seeing your eyes so sad again." Izuku murmured with a small smile, crying silently as he reciprocated the hug, nose pressed against the side of Shouto's neck. The taller was sobbing now, jewel-like tears dripping down his face in an icy waterfall.
The crowd was silent, spare for Shouto's crying and Izuku's gentle murmurs in an attempt to comfort him.
"C-Curse?" Nejire suddenly whispered, just loud enough for the entire room to hear. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Izuku didn't respond, preoccupied with comforting Shouto. Yaomomo doubted he'd even heard her. Much to everyone's surprise, it was Tsuyu who answered.
"Do you remember the USJ attack, back when we were all still heroes?" the frog-girl prompted.
"Of course," Denki murmured. "It was the first time we met the villains..."
"Well, recall that the League of Villains only consisted of a few people back then," Tsuyu continued. "It was just Shigaraki, Kurogiri, Nomu, and that girl, the one who called herself Dancing Death, right?"
"Yeah," Tooru murmured. "She was rather scary... just the look in her eyes was enough to scare the daylights out of me."
"And speaking of which, if I could just interrupt for a moment-" Mashirao looked to Tsuyu, who simply nodded, "-none of us have seen Dancing Death since USJ, not even during the attack on the dorms. What happened to her?" Mashirao turned to Dabi and Monokuma, who were still both sitting atop the throne.
"She's helping out with some of our operations in the cities," Dabi replied lazily. "We didn't need the entirety of the League working on the Killing Game, and she wanted to work in society rather than out, anyway."
"Seems legit," Mezou muttered.
"Well, anyway, the League recruited a ton of minor villains and criminals for the attack, right?" Tsuyu continued. "During the battle, when Izuku, Mineta -if anyone remembers him-, and I were fleeing the Lake Zone, we were attacked by a surprisingly strong minor villain. He called himself the King of Dice, or something like that."
"The King of Dice? I've never heard of such a villain," Mirio commented quietly.
"Makes sense, since he's apparently a minor criminal," Tsuyu replied, her voice low. "However, he had a rather strong quirk: he could cast a curse or a blessing on someone, the contents of which are determined by him. We dueled for a while; it was three on one, but he was surprisingly quick and agile, taunting us and then dodging away, trying to tire us out.
"He cast a curse on Izuku; a death curse, to be exact. His quirk was activated when he touched someone; that would determine a target. He stepped back after grabbing Izuku's arm and cast the curse. He said, 'I curse you to die within the next five calendar years.' "
"He set Izuku to die?!" Mei cried.
"If he set it as five years, it must've been bad luck that the curse took effect within only one," Tamaki murmured.
"Guys, come on, let's keep hearing Tsuyu's story!" Denki cried. The room fell silent.
"Of course, the downside of his quirk was that he would faint immediately after the curse was finished being cast," Tsuyu continued once again, with a nod of thanks to Denki. "We were confused at the time, and more focused on getting to All Might, so we didn't think much of it. I think it was only after that Izuku realized what that meant," she finished. "That's the story of the curse."
"He only told me, and a few other people," Shouto suddenly said. His voice was small and meek, all of the energy drained out of him. He and Izuku had let go of each other, but Izuku was still holding both of Shouto's hands, likely for the last time in his life.
"When I started to get weaker, after we were locked in here, I realized that I was dying, and that the curse had been real," Izuku said. "So when the antidote motive was presented, I wasn't sure what to do... I didn't want to kill anyone, but I didn't want to die, either. So when I got Despair Sickness, and Eijirou entered my room and handed two knives to me, I took the chance. But now I'm going to end up dying anyway."
"Yyyyyyou're right!" Monokuma suddenly screeched. Everyone jumped, obviously not having expected such an outburst. Izuku sighed and removed his hands from Shouto's. "Sorry to break into this lovey dovey stuff, but it's time to get some action in here again!"
"A-Action..?" Denki whispered.
"That's right! It's Punishment Time!" Monokuma smiled, his pearly whites glittering in the light of the chandelier.
"Punishment... Time?" Shouto's eyes widened. "No! You can't- you can't execute Izuku! Not after what he just went through, after he sacrificed so much to get rid of the curse..!"
"Puhuhu! Sorry! Rules are rules!~" Monokuma didn't look very apologetic, as per usual.
"Izuku..! I..." Shouto turned back to his boyfriend, as if wondering what to say to him, what his final words should be.
"Now then, I have prepared a very special Punishment..." Monokuma began slowly, relishing in the storm of emotions running rampant through the trial room.
"It's okay, Shouto. You don't have to forgive me. I was selfish and let despair overcome me..." Izuku laughed softly, the waterworks starting up again.
"...for the Ultimate Hope, Izuku Midoriya..!"
"Ultimate Hope..? Ha. More like Ultimate Despair," Izuku chuckled sadly, his eyes lowered to the ground.
"Izuku, no!" Shouto stepped forward and grabbed Izuku tightly, clutching him tight to his chest. The red and white haired boy cupped Izuku's cheek with his hand and lifted his head, kissing him on the lips. Izuku was frozen, startled by the sudden initiation.
Shouto pulled back as quickly as he'd began. Their eyes met; Izuku's wide, Shouto's brimmed with tears. The latter was crying again, his words riddled with sobs as his breath hitched.
"Are you ready?" Monokuma began.
Shouto's eyes were alight with panic at Monokuma's ever-moving conclusion, which was to lead to the execution. He let go of Izuku's face, instead wrapping his arms around him. Izuku stayed limp, allowing the taller boy to hold him. "I- I love you, Izu- Izuku... n-no matter what..."
"Iiiiit's PUNISHMENT TIME!"
"...you were always my hope."
GAME OVER
Izuku Midoriya has been found guilty. Time for the punishment!
Izuku was dropped in the middle of a cityscape. Buildings of various shapes and sizes towered around him. A network of streets spiderwebbed the execution field. At the edges of the environment were tall stone walls. The sky was a mere artificial hologram; flickering, orange and red lights and mirages, designed to simulate a sunset.
He was trapped.
For a breath's pause, nothing happened. A synthetic breeze ruffled Izuku's hair. His eyes were alert, scanning the environment, waiting for something to pop out at him. What's this execution supposed to be..? Yaomomo wondered. Beside her, Shouto was trembling, perhaps even hoping Izuku would make it out of the execution alive.
A false hope that would prove to be, indeed.
A young, feminine voice could be heard, echoing off of the chamber walls and carried by the wind.
"Izukuuuu~! Ready or not, here I come!"
Toga.
Izuku immediately realized what was going on. Turning a full circle in place, he considered his options before hastily entering a nearby office building.
All of the lights were off, but the elevator display panel on one wall was still alight. When Izuku pressed the open button, the metal doors slid open, sure as day. He jumped inside and shut the doors, before directing the elevator to go up, all the way to the roof.
Of course, Yaomomo thought. He could hide on the roof, and while he's in the elevator Toga can't get at him. Clever.
But of course, this was an execution, not a hero class drill of get-away. The elevator halted at floor five. It was stuck. Panic evident on his face, Izuku repeatedly pressed the open button a few times. Nothing happened. Aside from the fact the elevator lights were still on, it was obvious the elevator was jammed.
Seeing no other way to get out, Izuku began to pry open the elevator doors by hand. It took a minute, but he managed to force the metal slides open just enough to step out. His fingers were rubbed raw and red from the effort, but he succeeded nonetheless.
Izuku was standing in the middle of a dark hallway. The lights were off; the only dim lighting came from the windows at either end of the hallway. A sign on one end also noted that there was a staircase. Izuku began making his way towards the sign, walking briskly, when suddenly, a voice sounded from the other end of the hall.
"Izukuuuuu~ Why are you running?"
Izuku didn't even need to turn around to see who it was; who else could it be besides Toga? Instead, he bolted, running for his stairs. Toga raced after him, knives and syringe at the ready. She was wearing her villain suit, the blood storage and suctioning pack strapped to her back.
Izuku hit the stairs, whirling around the corner and bounding skywards. Toga was hot on his trail as he hit the roof. Synthetic wind whipped through his hair, stronger up near the ceiling compared to down on the street. Izuku was panting, unused to exerting so much energy since his the weak spell he'd been under the past few weeks. His head turned left and right.
He was atop of barren stone roof, the edges being slightly raised. Otherwise, there was no barrier to going off the roof onto the side of the building. He seemed to be contemplating his options when a pair of small, dangerous hands came down on his shoulders from behind. "Guess who?"
Izuku Midoriya's Execution: Romeo and Juliet gone wrong! : Executed!
Toga was clearly enjoying every moment of Izuku's execution. Meanwhile, the jadette froze, relaxing his muscles to the best of his ability in order to throw her off guard. It worked, and he leaped from the older girl, whirling around to meet his opponent face-on.
"Aww, Izuku, sweetie, why the angry face? What did I ever do to you?" Toga played the innocent girl card, smiling sweetly at him, as if they were old friends -or lovers- and she wasn't holding a syringe in one hand and a knife in the other.
"Get away, Toga. Or you know what's going to happen." Izuku was in a fighting stance. Sweat beaded on his forehead; out of exhaustion or anxiety, Yaomomo wasn't sure.
"But haven't you lost your quirk?" Toga grinned. "You can't do anything to me."
With that, she leaped at him, knife and syringe both poised to strike. Izuku dodged the knife and grabbed the syringe, his fingers closing over her hand. Due to his more muscular build, he managed to rip the syringe from her hand.
However, this meant that they were now connected by the clear plastic cord of the syringe, which ended in her blood pack. Inspired by this new development, Toga stabbed the knife at Izuku again. He held onto the syringe and ducked just in time, the blade brushing his hair as it soared over his head.
Izuku, holding onto the syringe so he and Toga were locked in close combat, kicked at her. She leaped up, the cord of the syringe lengthening to accommodate her movement. Back and forth, back and forth, the two dueled; Toga jabbing and slicing with her other syringe and knife, while Izuku kicked and punched, occasionally jabbing at her with the syringe in his hand.
It must've been ten minutes. The two were still going at it. The tension was high in the viewing room, where the rest of the surviving students watched on the screen.
"He's getting weaker," Yaomomo suddenly heard Mei whisper, her voice trembling in anxious anticipation of what was about to happen.
Sure enough, when Yaomomo glanced back to the screen, Izuku was noticeably slowing down. He was trying his best, she knew that; but he had grown so accustomed to being unable to exert high amounts of energy over the past few weeks. He wasn't pacing himself; he'd given too much at the beginning, and now he was paying for that loss.
"Hehehe!" Toga giggled, her golden eyes alight. She was in shape as ever, still ready to keep fighting. She's stronger than we expected, Yaomomo noted. That girlish physique really doesn't show her strength... "Getting tired already, Izuku?" she taunted.
Izuku, on the other hand, was panting. Sweat poured down his face. He looked exhausted, his movements getting sluggish as he continued to dodge every blow. "Of course... not..."
"But you're getting slower," Toga pointed out. She stepped back and took a running leap at him, knowing he likely didn't have the energy to attack her back. "I guess it's time for the show to begin!"
Toga landed square on Izuku's chest, shoving him to the ground. She moved to pin him, her legs on either side of his to keep him down. "Are you ready?" she asked teasingly. "Cus things are about to get veeeeery bloody!"
Izuku made a low growling sound through his teeth. He writhed, attempting to break free, but failed to break free of the girl's grasp. He was completely at her mercy.
Toga grinned and pulled out a pair of syringes. She stabbed them, one on each side, in Izuku's wrists. They immediately went into effect; blood began to flow up the clear cord in pulses, the pink fluid making its way towards the pack on Toga's back.
"Squish, squish; squish, squish," she giggled, leaning forwards so her chest was against Izuku's and they were face to face. "Haha! I've always dreamed of this happening... and now I'm going to be the last person you see before you die!"
Yaomomo could only imagine how distraught Shouto was at the moment.
Izuku's face was pained, his eyes wide. The blood-sucking was starting to have an effect on his complexion, too. He was paling dangerously due to the swift, extreme blood loss.
"While I'd love to sit here until you turn into a dry skin bag for me to grind into makeup powder, we don't have time for that... so it's time for the grand finale!" Toga grinned, whipped out a knife, and before anyone could say a word, she plunged it into Izuku's chest.
Over and over, the blade went up and down, silver meeting red, pink geysers of blood erupting from the ever-growing number of stab wounds. Izuku cried out in agony; a horrible sound ripped from his throat.
"Shh, Izuku," Toga smiled, still stabbing holes in Izuku's body. "It'll be over soon~"
And right she was. Izuku's cries became considerably weaker, until they were mere whimpers. His eyes were shut, as if keeping them open was too energy consuming. He was dying, as surely and quickly as the blood flowing from his chest and abdomen suggested.
"Hehe... goodnight, Izuku. Sweet dreams~!" Toga stepped back, bloody knife and syringes in her hands, hanging loosely by her sides. Her clothes were stained with Izuku's blood, some of it splashing across her face. She licked at it, grinning as she relished the metallic taste. The blood pack on her back was full of the pink liquid. "I'll see you next life!"
With that, she skipped away, leaving Izuku alone to die on a stone roof, under a fake sky and fake sunset.
The camera was fixed on Izuku's body. His chest rose unevenly with tiny breaths. He was fighting to stay alive.
"G-Guys..." Izuku's voice was small, but audible. "Please... always have hope... I love you... all..."
A small smile slid over his face, and he fell still.
Izuku was dead, lying in a pool of blood. The puncture wounds wept, as if also miserable he had just been murdered, executed, erased from the world for good.
Beside Yaomomo, Shouto was shaking. When she turned, she realized he was crying, a haunted expression on his face.
"Why..? How could... Izuku just- just die... so easily?" His voice was shuddering as tears ran down his cheeks. A shadow fell across his gaze.
Nobody replied. Everyone was staring, stunned, at the screen. Their friend, the great hero-to-be, Izuku Midoriya... was dead.
Never to cry again. Never to smile again, or fight again, or laugh... never to speak, or dance, or write his borderline-obsessive hero analysis ever again...
Never to breathe again.
"Everyone, please go back to the trial room. Monokuma has something to say." Dabi spoke up from the side of the room, standing in the shadow of the machinery in the room. The class silently turned and filed down the hall, back into the circular trialspace.
"Upupupu! Wasn't that an interesting execution?" Monokuma grinned. "Not as fast-paced as Fumikage's... but fun, nonetheless, riiight?"
Shouto was silent, his eyes fixed to the ground. Yaomomo wasn't sure if he'd ever recover from watching that execution.
"How could you be so cruel..?" Denki murmured, his eyes vacant as he gazed listlessly at the floor.
"What part of this game isn't?" Mezou suddenly said. "Friends betraying friends, despair winning over hope... every aspect of this game is crueler than reality itself."
Silence followed Mezou's words. Sensing the awkward tension in the room, Monokuma cleared his throat rather loudly.
"Ahem! While you all did fantastically in the trial today, you all missed one little secret," the rodent said mischievously. "How did Eijirou get that copy of the map?"
Why is he bringing this up now? Yaomomo thought. We don't want to know anymore... it's all pointless now, right? Eijirou is dead, and so is his killer. There's nothing left to solve...
"I said," Monokuma repeated, insistent. "How did Eijirou get his map?"
"We don't know!" Mei suddenly wailed. Tears edged her eyes, and her face was red with anger. "We don't know, okay?! Why are you asking this now? After what you just did to Izuku?!"
"Calm down, miss girl genius!" Monokuma snapped. "I just wanted to tell you all something...
"Eijirou got the map of the vents from mister Mezou Shouji!"
Silence. Everyone -except Shouto, Yaomomo thought, glancing at the boy out of the corner of her eye- turned to stare at Mezou, obviously snapped out of their stupor by Monokuma's prompting. Of course, not everyone was at full attention, but most were coherent enough to feel blame towards the multi-armed boy.
"H-Hey! Guys, why are you all looking at me like that? I didn't kill anyone, or anything!" Mezou yelped.
"But you gave Eijirou the map," Tsuyu murmured. "If you hadn't... Eijirou might not have thought of his suicide-murder plot. And Izuku wouldn't be dead right now."
"W-Wait! Let him explain," Tamaki suddenly said. "Mezou. Why would you give Eijirou the map of the vents?"
"Well, I'll gladly explain why I did that. It was a few nights ago, the evening of the day Tsuyu attacked me in the cafeteria..."
~*Flashback*~
"Eijirou. What do you want?" Mezou asked. They were standing in the gym; Mezou had been training with weights, letting out his anger at Tsuyu by destroying the room. Eijirou had walked in; Mezou had narrowly missed striking him in the head when he entered. Now, the two stood face-to-face by the hole in the wall.
"I've been looking everywhere for you, Mezou," Eijirou replied. His eyes still held that haunted, vacant look. It would've been unnerving, had Mezou not seen much worse in this game the class played, and continued to play.
"Why?" Why the hell would he be looking for me? I've done everything I can to make people get away... Dammit, Fumikage...
"I need you to kill me." Eijirou looked Mezou dead in the eye as he said that. "Please."
"What?" Of all the things, Mezou had not been expecting Eijirou to say that. "What do you mean?"
"I mean what I said. Kill me." Eijirou continued. "I'll take you back to my room, or whatever. Kill me on my bed by pouring poison down my throat. Stab me in the chest. Bash my skull in with a weight, I don't care! Just kill me!"
"Dude, this is so unlike you!" Mezou grabbed Eijirou by the shoulders, overcome with sudden sympathy and warmth. What am I doing? "What happened to being manly and never giving up?"
"False hope like that would never get you anywhere. Not here. Not in this hellhole, or out in the world. All Might allowed us to hope. Heroes and heroes-to-be alike could fulfill dreams and instill hope in people." Eijirou gazed up at Mezou. "There are no heroes here. Only killers, and to-be-killeds. There is no hope left."
"But Eijirou- remember what happened right before All Might's last battle," Mezou insisted. "You went all out, saving Katsuki with your friends. What happened to that mentality? That 'go for the impossible, never give up, be manly' mentality?!"
"That was in a world of heroes and dreams and magic. This is different. This is a mere pit of death and despair and trials," Eijirou replied, stubborn. "Come on, Mezou. Just kill me."
Mezou paused. A dark thought flashed through his mind. If I kill him, and get away with it... I would've lived up to Fumikage's expectation. To keep living. I don't want to die in this shithole... so why not escape?
But the rational part of his mind knew he couldn't. Fumikage had also told him to not become like him. Fumikage didn't want Mezou to kill, unless necessary, like when Fumikage killed Kyouka to protect him.
That was what drove him to his decision.
"I can't kill you, Eijirou," Mezou said. "But I can give you something. A gift, of sorts."
"I don't want a gift," Eijirou muttered.
"Here." Mezou ignored his protest and pulled the folded up piece of paper from his pocket. He'd been carrying it around anytime he left his dorm, careful not to let Fumikage's memoir, the item he'd entrusted to Mezou, get lost or damaged.
"What is this..?" Eijirou took the paper, unfolded it, and stared at its contents.
"It's a map of the vents," Mezou explained. "Remember how after his crime, Fumikage supposedly left through the vents? He didn't travel to his room by trial and error; he had this."
"But where'd he get it?" Eijirou prompted further. His interest was obviously piqued by the peculiar trinket.
"He didn't tell me the specifics; just that during a recent investigation of the school, he overheard someone talking about obtaining a map of the vents from the principal's office. He snuck into their room at night through his own improvised vent route, took the map back into the vent, and copied it down on a piece of paper. He returned the map by morning," Mezou finished.
"Are you sure this map is legit?" Eijirou asked, staring at it with wide crimson eyes.
"Absolutely. Fumikage himself used it," Mezou replied indignantly, irritated at being doubted, at his friend being doubted.
"Alright, then. Thanks, Mezou." With that, Eijirou turned tail and left with the map.
~*Back to Present*~
"That's the story of how Eijirou got the vent map. From me." Mezou stood there, cold as ever, his arms crossed.
"Why... why would you give him that?" Mirio asked, seething. "Fumikage already used it once for a murder. Why would you hand off such a dangerous item to him?!"
"He was desperate, and I thought it was an acceptable thing to give him. I expected him to do wrong with it, but wasn't he already doing that, asking me to kill him? That would've been a plot that, if it failed, would've killed me too. Even if I hadn't had the rationale that killing him would've been unethical as well, I wouldn't have done it anyway because of what it would mean for me," Mezou explained, his voice unemotional.
"Honestly, it's sorta surprising Mezou here is talking about good life decisions based off of ethicality," Denki mumbled.
"What was that?" The ex-hero in question's head snapped up.
"Um! Nothing!"
Yaomomo stood there, unmoving. So Fumikage's map ended up having a huge role in Eijirou's plan. If he didn't have a ready map of the vents, he likely wouldn't have thought to go through the vents and break into Shouto's bedroom to get the keys... without that idea, he wouldn't have thought to even break into Izuku's place.
Why is it... that even after that Assassin is dead... he can still manage to kill people?
"See? That's the story you were all missing out on!" Monokuma grinned. "With that out of the way... it's time to head back up! Everyone, get in the elevator!"
The class filed onto the bronze elevator silently, not a word to be exchanged. The doors closed, shutting them in, and moved upwards. Just like in Izuku's execution.
-This is made by Starrshard on Ao3 and Wattpad, please check them out. I have been given permission to upload this to, as they do not have an account on this website-
Except this time, the elevator didn't jam. And the killer wasn't outside of the elevator; this time, they were inside.
Well, soon-to-be killers, at least.
And soon to be victims.
How many more times will we have to go through this? How many more trials, and deaths..? How many more classmates do we have to uncover the terrible truth about, only to sentence them to death?
Sometimes...
...I wish someone were watching...
...so that they could come fly us out of this hellscape.
Chapter 5 : The Impurity that Tainted your Blood : The End | Surviving Students : 12 | To be Continued
Item Obtained: Used Map of the Vents