We are finally at Chapter 23! I will address reviews before moving onto the chapter itself.
From codywhite162, thank you and I appreciate what you said.
From FranFranWriter, fair enough. From Komaru's point of view, I would like to get more answers too. And that's fair, preferring the sections that are original, as opposed to the stuff that are adapted from the original game.
From the guest, regarding who those two at the end are... I guess we'll eventually find out. Thank you for the kind words.
From Kitsune No Hi 75, regarding Monaca and Big Bang Monokuma, she's the type that likes to handle things more... her own way if possible. Though at the same time, yeah that is a viable option admittedly as well. If you want, try out the original Ultra Despair Girls (though you might have by this point, though don't force yourself if it isn't for you), since you might enjoy it and see for yourself in regards to everything it has personally.
From galaxyseal, thank you. I appreciate that you love this story so far.
Thanks to everyone so far, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Towa City was just as despair filled as ever, as chaos continued within the area. But today seemed to be different… and in a rather big way. A giant sight was slowly and carefully making steps in the city, as the sounds of stomps were being made. The mechanical giant known as Big Bang Monokuma, was walking with no fear, as Monokuma Kids ran away in fright. Many other Monokuma robots, approached the giant, in some vain attempt to somehow damage it. But Big Bang Monokuma just reduced any enemy robots to scrap, as it stomped or swatted at such nuisances. Inside Big Bang Monokuma's head, was a control room, where three individuals were present. One of the three was Haiji Towa, who could be seen with an overzealous expression of glee and confidence, being the one piloting Big Bang Monokuma. Every enemy robot destroyed gave him more and more elation compared to before. The other two were Komaru and Mukuro, as the younger teen had a nervous expression on her face while the soldier girl looked concerned.
"Did you see that!? Who's the boss now!? As long as I control Big Bang Monokuma, all those tiny Monokumas are basically nothing!" Haiji boasted, as he had a confident look on his face, while both Komaru and Mukuro just remained quiet. From outside in the city, many adults who were around the area, cheered wildly for Big Bang Monokuma, as it destroyed any small Monokumas that were in its way.
Meanwhile, a certain green haired kid was watching what was unfolding from the outside, as she was present in a room watching a TV, with a smile on her face. Monaca seemed pleased by what she was seeing. Then her attention was diverted when a certain someone entered the room.
"Greetings. I came to say good bye," Nagito calmly stated. Monaca looked curiously back at him, as her attention shifted towards him.
"Huh? Why? This is where all the fun really starts!" Monaca questioned. Before Nagito could say something, a third presence made itself known in the room.
"For real though! The real deal starts now! It's like you get the gal of your dreams, and once that happens, you can start wearing their underwear, whenever you want!" Kurokuma exclaimed with laughter. "Isn't what I just said, so clever? We should put that shit on a calendar!"
Both Monaca and Nagito blankly stared at Kurokuma, unsure of what to say. After a bit, Nagito decided to just continue speaking to Monaca, acting as if Kurokuma said nothing.
"Before I leave, there's something I should let you know," Nagito spoke to Monaca.
"Oh! You're finally going to come out of the closet!" Kurokuma joked, while the other two just ignored him.
"I've received information from the Monokuma Kids on watch, that they saw an intruder has entered Towa City and they arrived alone," Nagito explained. Monaca's curiosity grew, from what she just heard.
"Alone? Was this someone from Future Foundation?" Monaca questioned.
"I don't know to be honest. But I recommend you keep it in mind, just in case," Nagito warned. Monaca however just shrugged, feeling it wasn't a big deal by this point. She focused on the TV again, watching the destruction that was unfolding. "You seem to be in a rather carefree mood, despite what's happening,"
"Tch. Don't talk to Monaca like that! She knows what she's fucking doing!" Kurokuma berated, as Nagito looked skeptical. "You'll all see by the end of this!"
"Well regardless, it doesn't matter. I'm confident hope will prevail at the end," Nagito said calmly.
"Hmph. So, to prove your whole crazy plan of hope or whatever, you helped Monaca make all this despair, huh?" Kurokuma questioned. "Well, that's just fucking stupid. It's like going to the desert when you want to drink some tasty water,"
"It's totally contradictory, right?" Monaca added, feeling unsure if Nagito was really going to get what he wanted from all of this.
"No, you both misunderstand. In order to get rid of all the despair, you must let it all flourish first. Nagito said with confident smile. "When the despair grows to it's highest peak, you then burn it all the way to its roots. After that, only hope will remain. There is nothing contradictory in that,"
"Burning the crops and salting the earth, huh?" Kurokuma replied, feeling more unsure if that would work or not. Monaca giggled at the prospect she just heard.
"You really are amusing Mr. Servant. Despite the fact you've fallen into despair, you still fight for hope," Monaca mused out loud. "Was it because of Big Sis Junko's influence? Or were you always like this?"
"Who cares Monaca? Let this chump exit the stage already," Kurokuma suggested. "If he wants to get out of here, it's no skin off my back,"
"Well regardless… thank you for your hard work Mr. Servant," Monaca said, as Nagito just smirked towards her. "I'm sure we'll never see each again,"
Nagito merely just walked away from the two, while Monaca decided it was time to stop watching the TV, as she also wheeled herself out of the room, and headed elsewhere, with Kurokuma following her.
Outside at a huge outdoors auditorium, a huge crowd of adults had amassed at the location, all murmuring in excitement at the current situation. Most of them were now wielding weapons like baseball bats, or crowbars, as they were now ready to fight back against the Monokumas. Haiji was standing behind a podium, setup on the stage of the auditorium, while Big Bang Monokuma stood nearby, not active at the moment. Among the huge crowd was also Mukuro, Komaru, and their band of survivors connected to the students of Class 78. Haiji signaled for everyone to be silent, as he began to speak.
"First of all, I want to apologize to all of you. The reason I always pushed for us all to wait in our base, wasn't because of an opportunity… but it was just an excuse. In reality, I was just scared shitless, because of those damn kids," Haiji stated before he continued. "But then those two girls over there. Who are neither kids or adults, snapped me out of it,"
Haiji pointed to where Komaru and Mukuro were standing, as Komaru felt nervous with all the attention drawn towards her, while Mukuro just sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Thanks to them, I've finally woken up. No matter how scared you are, if you want a hopefull future, you have to fight for it! So never again, are we going to hide and cower and lose what we care about! With our hands, we'll take back Towa City!" Haiji exclaimed, as he then pointed towards the colossal bear nearby. "With the power of Big Bang Monokuma, we have the power to take it back now! We'll teach those deranged kids, who really runs this town! Which is Towa City! Our town and our home!"
The crowd of adults roared into cheers for Haiji, agreeing with what they heard from their resistance leader. Mukuro was pondering from everything that was happening, while Komaru looked concerned.
"The adults are really riled up huh?" Mukuro pointed out, not sure how she now felt about that.
"Wouldn't it be better if they were a bit calmer about all of this?" Komaru suggested, feeling uneasy.
"Yeah? Well, I wouldn't suggest that to them. They probably turn on us in an instant," Mukuro said back quietly. Komaru gulped from hearing that, unsure of what to do. A familiar sight walked up to the teenager girls, carrying Shirokuma's head. It was Hiroko, as she began to speak to them.
"Yo. You two got a sec? Shiroro wants to speak to you two right away," Hiroko asked, as it seemed even Hiroko came up with a nickname for the robot bear head, she carried.
"Shirokuma! Good timing, because I wanted to speak to you as well!" Komaru said while Mukuro looked annoyed.
"So, you guys are worried too, right? It would be bad if the adults attacked the kids, riled up like this," Shirokuma asked while Komaru nodded in agreement. "Haiji seems like he's holding a grudge. Not just against the Monokumas, but the kids too. If they end up fighting like this… both the kids and adults might end up killing each other,"
"I thought we wanted the adults to fight back though," Mukuro questioned, as Shirokuma answered her back.
"Well… we didn't know Haiji had something like Big Bang Monokuma around. The adults should have the power to protect themselves but… Big Bang Monokuma isn't about protecting," Shirokuma replied concerned. "It's about destroying,"
"Is there anyway we can calm the adults down then?" Komaru asked, with concern on her face.
"I doubt it. Just listen to Haiji over there," Hiroko stated, as she pointed towards the man, who was still rallying the adults.
"We might lose our lives. We might take lives. But we will not be afraid anymore! Today we make the memorial of our victory and the kid's defeat!" Haiji yelled out, as the adults all cheered in agreement.
"Yep. They definitely want blood now," Mukuro stated calmly.
"The moment they saw that stupid huge Monokuma, their eyes all lit up," Hiroko added. "Maybe it is their last hope… but at the same time, maybe it's too far big of a hope. I highly doubt they'll go easy on the kids, just because they're kids, even if we told them too. Especially now,"
"There has to be some way to calm them down… Shirokuma, do you have any ideas?" Komaru asked worriedly, as she felt tense from what was happening.
"Well… I do have one idea," Shirokuma suggested. "The Monokumas causing trouble in town aren't running around on their own like me, per say. They're given general directions to cause havoc. I think… there might be a device somewhere giving them orders,"
"Where do you think that would be?" Mukuro asked curiously. "And how do you know this for sure?"
"I'm pretty sure. Those other Monokumas need to be, at the very least, be given some sort of orders to their AIs. If I had to guess where it was… I think it be Towa Hills. The headquarters for the kids," Shirokuma answered. "I think they have a controller or something there. If someone were to destroy it, the kids wouldn't have an army anymore. Then the adults shouldn't and hopefully wouldn't use Big Bang Monokuma,"
"But who can go there? It sounds really dangerous and… oh," Komaru said with realization as Mukuro looked like she didn't mind the plan.
"Don't get me wrong. Normally this be a suicidal plan. Going into heavily guarded enemy territory, looking for a controller we don't even know the exact location and all," Mukuro stated. "But the regular Monokumas should be distracted by Big Bang Monokuma, and be fighting that huge giant instead,"
"If you use that as a distraction, then that be a good chance to get into Towa Hills with little to no problems!" Shirokuma added.
"Give me a moment to talk it over with Komaru," Mukuro answered back. Mukuro pulled Komaru aside to talk alone, as they stood away from Hiroko, Shirokuma, and anyone else nearby. "What do you think about this plan Komaru?"
"Well… Makoto might be in Towa Hills," Komaru said concerned. "This might be the chance to save him,"
"Yeah. That's a very good point honestly," Mukuro said back, as thoughts of Makoto being held prisoner, entered his mind. "Alright… let do it,"
Both Mukuro and Komaru walked back over to Hiroko and Shirokuma, as the teenager girls decided to speak to them.
"Alright. We're going to Towa Hills," Mukuro calmly explained.
"Stopping the kids from being able to use their Monokumas, might convince Haiji to stop using Big Bang Monokuma as well," Komaru added.
"You will? Oh, thank you two!" Shirokuma answered back in a warm tone. Before anyone could say anything else, a voice rang out from Haiji, at the auditorium.
"Big Bang Monokuma, is ready to fight once again! All of those who wish to fight, be ready!" Haiji proudly proclaimed, as the crowd cheered in agreement. He began to walk away from the podium and slowly headed towards Big Bang Monokuma, eager to pilot it.
"We better leave soon. Haiji is about to go," Komaru said. Both girls took out a map they had of the city and were now viewing it, looking it over. Komaru then eventually pointed to a spot on the map. "Towa Hill… Towa Hills is nearby Mukuro!"
"Well, we should head out soon. We're going to check in with the others before we leave," Mukuro added, as Hiroko nodded to them with a smile. The two teens walked over to them, as it seemed they all decided to just stay at the auditorium, as very other adult was preparing to disperse to the rest of Towa City. The two walked up to Yuta, as he was still holding the cage that belonged to Kameko.
"Hey Yuta. How are you doing?" Komaru asked, as Yuta beamed a smile towards her. Yuta was currently feeding Kameko some blueberries, as the teenager boy dropped some into the stinkbug's cage.
"Alright. I'm just staying here. Taking care of Kameko," Yuta said back. "Just taking care of Kameko still,"
"Good. I rather you be doing that then joining the adults in the rampage they're about to take," Mukuro stated. "Keep Kameko safe still,"
"Will do," Yuta said, as the two teenagers bid him adieu. They then went to Yukimura and Kanon who were sitting together. Yukimura was biting onto beef jerky he had, while Kanon was still chewing on bubble gum.
"You two aren't going either huh?" Mukuro asked, while both of them just shrugged.
"I got to make sure I stay alive, so I can see Leon again," Kanon calmly stated while chewing on bubble gum. "That's all that matters to me,"
"What about you Yukimura?" Komaru asked, while the tough guy teen just sighed.
"I don't know. Those kids caused a lot of bullshit for me, but… I don't fucking know. I'm tired of all this bullshit," Yukimura stated feeling tired. "I'm just going to stay here, I guess. Besides I got to stay alive for Mondo, like Kanon is for her cousin,"
"Sounds good to me," Mukuro said, as she and Komaru left them and went to see Ayaka and Fujiko as they had Grand Bois's cage, with the big cat inside with them. Grand Bois was currently trying to shut and rest its eyes, as it was rather noisy currently, with all the commotion going on.
"Awww. I want to pet the big kitty, but he's trying to sleep," Komaru said with a bubbly smile on her face. "How's he treating you two?"
"While he is picky about certain things, he's still a big sweetie pie," Ayaka said in response.
"We're just going to stay here and keep him and ourselves safe," Fujiko added. "Ever since Haiji got that huge Monokuma… it feels like things are about to get more drastic,"
"Smart move. Keep taking care of that cat you two and stay here," Mukuro stated, as they left them, and went to see the remaining people connected to Class 78. Taichi, Pennyworth, Kenshiro, Takaaki, and Fuhito were all seated together, discussing the current situation. They stopped when they saw Mukuro and Komaru nearby.
"We wanted to check on you guys, considering everything," Komaru stated,
"Well… things have definitely gotten more… hectic since then," Taichi said a bit concerned.
"On one hand, that giant Monokuma might help resolve the current crisis… but on the other, it might be excess in what's needed," Fuhito said, feeling concerned by the current situation.
"It's overkill, is what it's like," Takaaki, added in an irritable manner. "Well, Haiji can do what he wants. I'm tired of everything and just plan to stay here,"
"We all decided to just stay here, so we won't be involved in the following battles," Pennyworth explained to the teenager girls. "Plus, we all have a duty to survive for our respective loves ones,"
"Plus, we're going to stay here, to keep each other safe," Kenshiro said, as the martial artist looked around, looking at the others also connected to Class 78. "You two be safe in whatever you two plan to do next,"
"We'll be back after we look into some stuff. You all stay here and away from the fighting," Mukuro said to them, as the men nodded in agreement as the two bid them well, and decided to speak with Hiroko one more time, as the adult woman still held Shriokuma's head.
"We're going to leave soon. You stay safe Ms. Hagakure. You too Shirokuma," Komaru said with a worried smile.
"I will. Best of luck to you two," Hiroko said back with a smirk.
"Be well you two!" Shirokuma added, as both finally departed and headed for Towa Hills. Where they could possibly stop the regular Monokumas, and where Makoto might possibly be held at. Big Bang Monokuma began to make its move again, attacking any Monokumas nearby it, while the adults all began to smash and destroy any Monokumas they came across.
Eventually the two made it to Towa Hills itself, which was a massive circular building that served as one of many headquarters for the Towa Group. Near the entrance, the two found a bunch of Monokuma Kids, shaking in fear, as they just simply sat outside of it. The kids seemed to not even react to their presence, as they remained where they were.
"They're scared Mukuro…" Komaru said uneasily, as the two stood nearby the children.
"I mean… Big Bang Monokuma is a thing now, and the adults are fighting back," Mukuro replied in response. Both were silent as they stayed in front of the kids, unsure what to say. They both began to walk away but then Mukuro stopped. Komaru looked confused at her, while the soldier girl turned to face the Monokuma Kids. "You all better find a safe place to hide. I don't know if here is good, but just keep it in mind,"
Mukuro walked away, with Komaru following after her, while the Monokuma Kids just thought about what Mukuro just said, as they still sat there. The two went and entered the building, and were now inside. They were now in a huge lobby with escalators, stairs, chairs, and many other things around.
"Where do we start searching Mukuro?" Komaru asked, as the scale of the place felt among the bigger places, she's been too.
"I don't know. Let's just start searching everywhere. We may find Makoto, we may find something to stop the Monokumas, and so on," Mukuro suggested. "Regardless, even with Big Bang Monokuma being a distraction outside, we still have to be on our guard Komaru,"
"I know. Let's get started Mukuro!" Komaru said, feeling both excitement and fear enter her, as both began to cautiously explore. The two began to explore the headquarters, as they ran into obstacles like huge robots (that were the same models belonging to the Warriors of Hope fought before) blocking the way through a gigantic wide door, that had the four robots blocking the way.
"Well… at least no one is piloting them and trying to kill us with them so far," Mukuro stated with a sigh, annoyed these machines were in the way.
"Well those Warriors of Hope, piloted them with remote controls," Komaru pointed out. "If we can find where the remote controls for these robots, then maybe we can move them out of the way?"
"Sounds like it's worth a shot. Let's keep exploring," Mukuro replied, approving of the idea. After some more exploration, they found themselves in an area that served as a dormitory for every Warrior of Hope, besides Monaca herself. Masaru, Jataro, Kotoko, and Nagisa each had a color coordinated room for each of them. Inside every room, the teens found a remote controller they suspected could move the machines. While in Nagisa's room, they found something concerning. It was a file containing information regarding the Monokuma Kids and their helmets.
"Anyone who wears the Monokuma Heads will go through a brainwashing process. If they wear the Monokuma Head, they will become allies of the Warriors of Hope. The Warriors of Hope, and the children who are with us, will help make Towa City become the peaceful paradise we desire," Mukuro calmly explained.
"Brainwashing? That sounds like something straight out of science fiction," Komaru commented.
"I mean… consider all the robots and technology you've seen as of late. Something like brainwashing isn't unfeasible," Mukuro answered back quietly, as memories of a certain Ultimate Animator and how he and Junko were involved with each other, came to mind. "Something like brainwashing is definitely not known for the public. Anyway... so those Warriors of Hope made every kid wear one of these, so they would work for them,"
"Maybe there's a way to get those helmets off the kids then?" Komaru asked concerned. "If they're brainwashed, it means they're not in control of their actions. The adults shouldn't be fighting the kids then,"
"Yeah. I guess it's another thing we'll have to see if we can also remedy, while we're here," Mukuro mused, as she took the file with her, just in case. The girls left the dorm and headed to the area where the robots were guarding the door was. Both Komaru and Mukuro carefully took out each of the remote controllers.
"Can I pilot them?" Komaru said with excitement in her voice, as if she had won the lottery. Mukuro felt sweat drip from her face, as she wasn't sure that wasn't the best idea. "I promise I'll only move them out of the way!"
"Don't make me regret this please," Mukuro said in annoyance, as she passed Komaru two of the controllers. Slowly and carefully, they used the remote controllers, and had the robots moved out of the way. Now the door was no longer blocked.
"Yeah! We should keep using these Mukuro!" Komaru said with a big grin, while Mukuro rolled her eyes from hearing that.
"No. Let's not, because we might end up destroying the whole place. Let's hide these back in their respective rooms and hope no one finds them," Mukuro answered back, as she and Komaru went back to the dorm area, and placed each respective remote controller in each of the Warriors of Hope's closet. The two teens went back to the door that was no longer blocked by the mechs. "You ready to continue?"
"Well, there was something on my mind Mukuro," Komaru pondered. "That Monaca girl didn't have a room in the dorm here, like the other Warriors of Hope,"
"So? Considering everything we know, she seems to have more authority over the others," Mukuro answered with a shrug. "Let's keep going,"
"I guess. But still..." Komaru responded back with her own shrug. The teenager girls entered through, and now found themselves in a new huge office like lobby, that looked sleeker and more modern compared to the previous one they were in. The teenagers soon found themselves face to face with an elevator, with a retinal scanner being the thing needed to be used to activate it.
"A retinal scanner huh?" Mukuro mused, as she doubted, she and Komaru had the right eyes to activate this.
"I've seen these in movies and stuff," Komaru pondered out loud. "It scans your eyeball and if it's correct, it lets you through,"
"Correct. But considering we're just teenager girls who don't work for Towa Group, I don't think our eyes are going to open it up," Mukuro said, wondering what they should do.
"Maybe we can get Haiji? He's part of Towa Group, isn't he?" Komaru suggested.
"But he's busy using Big Bang Monokuma right now," Mukuro replied annoyed, as both teenager girls just ended up sighing. "Unless we can get him out of there, we can't get through this elevator,"
"Don't worry… I'm right here," said a familiar voice, surprising both Komaru and Mukuro. Both girls turned around and saw the adult man, now within their presence.
"Haiji! What are you doing here?" Komaru asked surprised.
"We thought you were using Big Bang Monokuma to fight off the other Monokumas?" Mukuro asked herself, wondering why he was here. "Why are you here?"
"Same reason you two are here. You're looking for the device to control the Monokumas, right?" Haiji explained. "The Monokumas from all over Towa City, swarmed me at once. Even with Big Bang Monokuma, it was simply too much. So, the plan has changed. Destroy the controller first, so the enemy is significantly weakened. Then after that we're just only dealing with kids,"
"Did you come up with that plan?" Mukuro asked. "You seemed pretty content using your giant earlier,"
"Shirokuma suggested it to me at some point, before I made my speech as a suggestion. Why?" Haiji asked, while Mukuro couldn't help but feel concerned to hear that for some reason.
"No... I was just curious," Mukuro replied back, as a gnawing feeling about Shirokuma, came back to her.
"Anyway, this is good timing. We have a retinal scanner over here. Can your eyes unlock this elevator?" Komaru asked. Haiji walked up to the retinal scanner, and examined it. He shook his head in frustration.
"Well first of all, this scanner is normally unlocked, which means it's also normally usable, without a retinal scan. It's been changed to locked, meaning it requires a retinal scan," Haiji explained.
"But your eyes should work on it, right? You're part of Towa Group after all," Mukuro asked back.
"No. The only thing that can release the lock, is the eyes of Towa Group's chairman," Haiji answered with frustration building in his voice.
"The chairman? Your father? But you said he was missing, right?" Komaru asked back.
"Missing… right. I only said that because I didn't want to admit to the truth. The truth being… that he's dead," Haiji said begrudgingly.
"What!? That's terrible," Komaru said, feeling bad for Haiji.
"Wait a minute… if he's dead, then would a retinal scan with his eyes even work?" Mukuro questioned.
"No. As long as his eyes are intact, it should still work. If someone can drag his body to the retinal scanner, it should work," Haiji explained feeling anger building up. "His body should still be on this floor,"
"On this floor!?" Komaru said, wondering how Haiji knew that.
"He was killed before my eyes. My old man was killed by Monokumas on this floor, in the Chairman's Office. I… I ran away, but I'm sure his body is still in the office We were the only ones in it at the time," Haiji explained. "I'm going to go check on Big Bang Monokuma. You two get my father's body and activate the retinal scanner,"
"Wait, you're not coming with us?" Komaru asked.
"I refuse to go along with her sick twisted games. I rather just destroy this whole building with Big Bang Monokuma then see and use my father's dead corpse like this," Haiji replied back with anger. Both Mukuro and Komaru looked in unease, considering they were still in this building, along with possibly Makoto. "But I won't do that. I'll let you two handle it,"
Haiji then walked away, and was soon gone from the area, while Mukuro and Komaru just looked at each other.
"Who's the her, he mentioned?" Komaru whispered to Mukuro, while the soldier girl, had a bad feeling about all of this. "Well… let's try the Chairman's Office. Though I can't say I'm excited about what we'll find possibly,"
The two teenager girls continued to explore the area they were in, eventually finding the Chairman's Office. The two found themselves in a cafeteria area exploring it, while Komaru's eyes saw a book that caught her attention.
"A Complete Manual for Marriage Prep!" Komaru read out loud excitedly. "With just this one book, you're safe from womb to tomb! From engagement to divorce, we have completely covered the know-hows of anything and everything related to marriage! Learn the ABCs of marriage!"
"You are really into stuff, relating to love, aren't you?" Mukuro asked as Komaru has a bubbly smile on her face.
"Well considering you and my big brother might get married one day, it's something I'm keeping in mind," Komaru replied with a big grin, while Mukuro felt her face getting hot.
"Stop it! This isn't the time to be talking about stuff like that!" Mukuro said back abashed.
"I just wanted to lighten the mood," Komaru said back while Mukuro just groaned. "Things have been getting pretty heavy lately,"
"Why does it always have to be about who I like?" Mukuro whined, while Komaru giggled. "What about you? Do you like anyone like that?"
"Huh… well now that you mention it… I'm not sure," Komaru said, thinking about it. "I don't know. I guess I've been so focused on everything that's been happening here and all, that I haven't had time to have thoughts about that,"
"And you have time to have thoughts like that, for me and Makoto?" Mukuro asked back annoyed, though a very tiny part of the soldier girl, wondered if Yuta's crush on Komaru, would amount to anything. Both teens pressed on and eventually the two arrived to the Chairman's Office. It was a huge bloody filled room, as the corpse of Towa Group's chairman, still laid there, behind the desk. Komaru's face frowned immensely, while Mukuro gritted her teeth.
"Mukuro… I really don't want to drag this corpse, all the way back to the retinal scanner," Komaru said feeling both nervous and disturbed.
"Then… I have an idea in mind, that should be less of a hassle in comparison then," the soldier girl said, as she took out one of her knives. "Komaru… look away and give me some time. I'll take care of it,"
Komaru nodded to her, wondering what she had in mind, but decided not to ask. Komaru stood near the door to the Chairman's Office, and after a bit of time passed, Mukuro came back to her, holding what appeared to be a large bag. Komaru was about to ask what was in the bag, but stopped as she realized, she didn't want to go any further. The two quietly walked back to the retinal scanner, in the main area, as they now stood in front of the elevator.
"I'll do it. Just look away again Komaru," Mukuro said calmly, as Komaru nodded and quickly looked away. Not wanting to see how Mukuro activated the retinal scanner. Soon after, a loud robotic voice appeared.
"Retinal scan complete. Identity confirmed. Access allowed," said a robotic AI voice, as the elevator, was now finally open.
"You can look now Komaru," Mukuro said, as the younger teen turned to face the elevator. Mukuro then handed the bag to her, freaking the younger girl out. "Now can you toss this out to a garbage can or something? I don't want to keep holding this bag anymore,"
"What? Why me? Also, I can't toss this out!" Komaru whined, while Mukuro looked annoyed at her. "I'll get divine punishment!"
"Again, with this occult talk? I really need to introduce you to my classmate. Anyway... there's no such thing as stuff as divine punishments or ghosts or whatever!" Mukuro replied back with a groan. "Once someone is dead, that's it!"
"Miss… miss… miss…"
A ghostly voice however, spoke to Komaru, as the younger teen freaked out, while Mukuro just looked confused.
"Did you hear something Mukuro?" Komaru asked, now creeped out. The soldier girl just blinked her eyes at Komaru, wondering what was going on. "That's strange… I thought I just heard something,"
"Can you knock it off and get rid of that bag already?" Mukuro asked, starting to feel annoyed again. However, Komaru continued to hear that same voice, from before.
"I keep hearing it though! I'm not lying-" but before Komaru could say more, a blue fiery spirit appeared before the younger teen. Komaru screamed in shock, from what she just saw. The appearance of the spirit, caused Komaru to drop the bag she was holding, making it land on the floor with a thump, and for herself to fall and sit on the floor now. "Ghost! Ghost of a severed head!"
"What are you talking about Komaru!?" Mukuro asked uneasily, as she was starting to get freaked out too, though not for the same reasons. "Stop fooling around!"
"I'm not lying! There's a ghost here!" Komaru stammered out in fear.
"Miss… you're horrible. Dropping my head on the ground like that," the spirit explained to Komaru.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean too! It was an accident!" Komaru apologized profusely, while Mukuro just continued to stare at Komaru, unsure what to say. "I'm really sorry! Please don't curse me!"
"Curse you? I wouldn't do that. I just want you to listen," the spirit spoke, as Komaru continued to freak out. "I am Tokuichi Towa… I was the chairman of Towa Group in the past,"
"I know… you're Haiji's father, aren't you?" Komaru answered back scared still.
"Correct. But do you also know… that Monaca is his little sister?" as Tokuichi's spirit spoke back.
"Monaca is… Haiji's little sister!?" Komaru spoke out, while Mukuro raised her eyebrows from hearing Komaru say that. "They're siblings!?"
"Yes. Let me get straight to the point then. I beg you… no matter what… stop Monaca from going out of control," Tokuichi continued to explain. "If this continues, she'll ruin the Towa family's name, forever. That ungrateful child… she forgets she is in my debt, for taking her in, and now she revolts against me!?"
"Taking her in?" Komaru asked, wondering what he meant by that.
"That whelp's mother was my mistress. But that bitch abandoned her responsibility, and forced Monaca on me, when she was a baby," Tokuichi explained. "If her mother wasn't going to raise her, I wouldn't have tolerated the pregnancy at all!"
"That's horrible…" Komaru said, feeling kind of bad for Monaca now.
"I even let her stay in our home and raised her. I could have easily have left her in an orphanage. But she… killed her own father!" Tokuichi vented in anger about. "It's all that woman's fault! She's the one who made Monaca insane! I knew something was wrong, when Monaca slowly became more rebellious since meeting her!"
"Wait… that woman? Who's that?" Komaru asked, wondering who he meant. However, Tokuichi ignored her question, as he just said the following.
"I don't have much time left to speak with you, so just know this. I beg you… please stop Monaca and avenge me! That's all I can say!" Tokuichi said, before he departed from the area. His spirit went away, while Mukuro looked really concerned, as Komaru slowly stood up from the ground.
"Are… are you feeling alright Komaru?" Mukuro asked, wondering what the hell just happened.
"Yeah, I just… I just spoke with a ghost," Komaru said. "Monaca... is Haiji's little sister Mukuro,"
"I mean… I guess that's technically possible," Mukuro said, as she grew tired of arguing, and decided to not press the issue anymore. "Look, let's get going. We should have already been using the elevator,"
Komaru just nodded, not wanting to dwell on what just happened anymore. The two walked into the elevator, and took it to an upper part of the headquarters.
As soon as they arrived to the upper area, the two were now in a dark hallway, with the lights broken. The two cautiously made their way down the hallway, and entered another room. A large bright square office room, that had a familiar person holding onto metal pipes, near the ceiling.
"Kyaaa! Stop! Don't come near me!" Kotoko whined, as four Beast Monokumas were waiting on the ground staring at her.
"It's her again!" Komaru said, as they recalled that Kotoko survived their encounter earlier.
"Ahh! You two! Please help me!" Kotoko pleaded, as she still held on for dear life. "These perverted bear robots are going to gang up on me!"
"Let's ignore her. We have our own business to attend to," Mukuro said, feeling she wasn't worth the time, while Komaru had a pouty face form, disagreeing with that.
"Wait, wait! If you help me, I'll help you two out in some way! I promise!" Kotoko begged, as she did not want to be bear food. "Please I'm begging you two!"
"Come on Mukuro. She might be able to help us," Komaru whined, as Mukuro just sighed and hoped she didn't regret doing this. Komaru took out her Megaphone Hacking Gun, while Mukuro took her handguns and knives. After a bit, the Beast Monokuma were turned to scrap. "Okay! It's safe to come down now!"
Both the teenager girls, went under to where Kotoko was hanging from, and caught her as she let herself fall to the ground. Then Kotoko found solid footing and smiled with relief.
"I'm glad you two showed up. Even if I don't like you two, even I have to give you thanks for saving me," Kotoko said, grateful to the two.
"Why were you getting attacked? The Monokumas work for you kids after all," Komaru asked.
"It appears I've been betrayed unfortunately," Kotoko said with a casual shrug.
"You seem to be rather nonchalant about being betrayed of all things," Mukuro stated in response.
"Well, I'm just acting like I'm fine with it. If I wasn't acting, I lose my cool like some angry wretch," Kotoko said as calm as possible. "For Monaca to put so much effort in betraying me, I'm boiling with anger!"
"So how exactly did Monaca betray you? Besides sending Monokumas after you?" Mukuro asked, wondering what that was about.
"I was eavesdropping on a conversation between her and Nagisa, a while ago. She said it herself… she doesn't care about paradise and never has. She was just taking advantage of all of us, for her own goals," Kotoko explained as she was beginning to lose her composure, thinking about when Monaca broke Nagisa's spirit down. "Remember when those Monokumas Kids made an attempt to attack me, when I lost to you two? I'm confident that was her own doing. That she was trying to kill me. The paradise we children wanted? I don't think it was ever going to happen!"
"If that's true, then… what is she after?" Komaru wondered, as it did seem that Monaca had her own goals, separate from the other Warriors of Hope.
"I'm not sure. But frankly I don't care what she's really after," Kotoko said, now starting to sound actually angry. "She's just the worst! She can choke on a bowl of poo and just die!"
"Why should we believe you, regarding any of this? For all we know you can be lying to us," Mukuro asked, wondering if Kotoko was trying to get them to lower their guard.
"If you still don't trust me, I'll let you in on a little secret," Kotoko answered back, as that caught the teenager girl's attention. "The whereabouts about that big fat liar, Monaca,"
"Where Monaca is?" Mukuro asked, as she wondered if that was information, they themselves cared about.
"Monaca should be on the Excalibur, which is anchored at the roof of this building, on the helicopter port," Kotoko explained.
"The Excalibur? What's that?" Komaru asked, unsure.
"It's that big airship you fell from, a while back. Remember?" Kotoko taunted, while Komaru grimaced about remembering that.
"Okay but if that's the case, why don't you go see her yourself, about everything going on?" Mukuro questioned, feeling unsure still about Kotoko.
"I was going to do just that, but I got attacked by those Monokumas you just saw, and was stuck here, till you two saved me," Kotoko explained. "That liar poop head Monaca has a device that controls the Monokumas in The Excalibur! I'm sure of it, and she used it to keep me stuck in this room!'
"I guess we're going to pay Monaca a visit then," Komaru said, wondering how that was going to go.
"Another question then… is there a hostage from Future Foundation being kept prisoner here, at all?" Mukuro asked, hoping Kotoko had the answer and was telling the truth.
"Yeah. Some cute brown haired guy who looks like, he would have pretty nipples I think," Kotoko said, while Komaru felt her face go blank from hearing that, while Mukuro pretended she didn't hear the part about the nipples with rolled eyes. "He's being held in the storage room on the top floor of Towa Hills. But… the key to that room is in the pocket of that lying bitch Monaca!"
"Then all I have to do, is find that brat, and get that key," Mukuro said out loud, eager to save Makoto.
"Then after that, let starving dogs eat her!" Kotoko said with sparkles in her eyes.
"That's going too far... but either way, we do need to get that key off her," Komaru said, with a hesitant tone.
"Last question before we head to the roof. Do you remember when the blue haired kid, had a key card that removed Komaru's explosive wristband?" Mukuro asked, as she recalled how Nagisa did that, at Kotoko's flooded arena. "Do you know where we can get something like that? I know at least one person who could benefit from it,"
"Oh that? I have one of those on me actually," Kotoko said. She took out a keycard of her own and handed it to Mukuro. "You can have it as another token of appreciation, since you two saved my life earlier. Now… I'm going to head off and get ready on my own. Then I'm going to give that bitch Monaca, a piece of my mind!"
Kotoko walked away from the two, exiting the room, while the teenager girls just looked at each other. The two shrugged, feeling pleased that saving Kotoko seemed to benefit them heavily.
"Well, Taichi can get the explosive wristband he has off of him finally," Komaru said with a smile, as Mukuro placed the keycard into her black drawstring backpack.
"Yeah. We can also use it for anyone else who might have it too." Mukuro said with relief. "But first, let's get going and see Monaca ourselves,"
The two left the room, and continued, now looking for the way to the rooftop. Eventually the two came across a very peculiar door, that was very different from all the other ones they've seen so far. It was a metal door, with blood stained on it, with claw marks on the walls nearby it.
"That's… that's a very creepy door," Komaru said, wondering if they should go take a look.
"Well, it might lead to the roof, or have something of importance," Mukuro suggested. "I'll lead the way, so don't worry,"
Komaru nodded, as Mukuro took out one of her handguns. She slowly opened the door, and the two slowly ventured in. Inside was a room full of torture devices, recording equipment, and dried blood on the ground. On the other side was another metal door as well.
"What is all of this!?" Komaru asked, creeped out by what she was seeing.
"Monaca's way of making people she doesn't like suffer, if I had to guess," Mukuro said with concern. "Hopefully Makoto never had to be in here,"
"Oh god! Don't say something like that!" Komaru said, hoping that was also the case. As the two girls, were about to leave, they saw a familiar person, now also in the room. "Huh?"
"What are you doing here? I thought you went to check on Big Bang Monokuma?" Mukuro asked.
"I did. Then I came back to see if you two solved the elevator problem. I guess I caught up with you two," Haiji explained. He looked around the room, and his face was full of anger. "All of this… so it was all here,"
"Haiji? What are you talking about?" Komaru asked.
"You two have no idea what this room represents, huh? This room is where the kids were torturing the adults. Our loved ones, and they were sending broadcasts of it, throughout the whole city," Haiji explained with anger present. "They were using it, as a way to try to bait out more adults into the open. But all it did was make most people more fearful and upset,"
"That's very… despair inducing," Mukuro said, as it felt like something her sister would do.
"You both understand now, right? It represents all the despair we were forced to feel. All the adults back at the Resistance Base… their loved ones, killed right here," Haiji explained.
"Wait… every loved one killed here, was connected to the adults at the secret base?" Mukuro questioned, wondering if the kids could be that precise about this.
"Yes! That's also another reason why, I will never forgive those bastards, for what they've done!" Haiji yelled out, as Komaru grew tense at his presence now, while Mukuro just gritted her teeth. He then pointed to the door, on the other side of the room. "This must be where they kept the dead bodies. Threw them away, as if they were just broken toys!"
He walked up to the door on the other side of the room, and stopped before it. He then turned to look at the teenagers, as they still stood where they were.
"Do you want to see it? I'm sure seeing what's beyond this door, will make you lose any empathy or sympathy or whatever you might have for the kids, gone in an instant!" Haiji asked, his voice sounding a bit manic.
"We're not taking sides or anything. It's just… I don't know. This whole thing is just cause for concern, that's all," Mukuro explained, as Komaru just nodded in agreement.
"Fair enough. Well... you two go on ahead. I'm going to stay here, a little longer," Haiji calmly replied back. "I have to… I have to be able to tell the other adults about this place. To be able to describe it,"
"Haiji… those kids didn't do it of their own free will. They didn't," Komaru tried to explain, but Haiji just seemed to ignore her or not believe her. Seeing this, Mukuro gently pulled Komaru away.
"Let's go Komaru. Let's just go," Mukuro whispered quietly, as Haiji was soon alone in the room, by himself. The two girls were back out in the hallway, as they looked at each other. "The fact he just ignored you when you said that, means he doesn't care."
"But… it's not just that I wanted to talk to him about. I wanted to ask him if Monaca was his little sister," Komaru brought up.
"Maybe if we see him later. He seems way too… emotional right now," Mukuro asked, and wondering herself if that was even true. "Though I will say, some stuff does feel kind of peculiar now,"
"What do you mean?" Komaru asked, while Mukuro went into a thinking position.
"I mean… all the adults tortured or killed, are related to the people in the Resistance Base?" Mukuro answered. "Something feels fishy about all of this. Still… we got to press forward for Makoto's sake at the very least,"
"It'll be okay Mukuro. You and me… we'll hopefully make everything right," Komaru encouraged, as Mukuro nodded to her in response. The two continued onward and finally made it to another area, by taking a staircase.
In this new area was a huge spiral staircase above what appeared to be another big room across, from where they were, with a bunch of potted plants nearby.
"Well this is a nice change of scenery compared to those dark hallways we were in," Komaru said with a cheery disposition.
"I bet that spiral staircase, leads to the roof of this building," Mukuro pointed out. "At least I would hope that's the case. Come on,"
Both of them continued to the doors on the other side and opened them. Entering, they saw themselves in what appeared to be a throne room, with a massive royal like chair on the other side, with a big royal blue rug that flowed from the entrance to it. There were white and black tiles on the ground, many lit candles, and oddly enough, a huge cracked hole open to the side of the royal chair.
"This room creeps me out… and why is there a huge cracked hole on the wall over there?" Komaru stated, as the two teens walked over there. "It looks like something out of a videogame, where you bomb the cracked parts of the wall, and a secret entrance is revealed,"
"Did you play a lot of videogames during your time in captivity here?" Mukuro asked, while Komaru just cheekily shrugged in response. "Anyway, let's go through this area and see where it leads,"
The two walked through the cracked hole, and down a green hallway. Interestingly enough, they came up to a part of the hallway, that had a ladder that was going up, while the rest of the hallway led to elsewhere. The two decided to go up the ladder, seeing where it would lead first. After climbing to the higher area, they saw a brown wooden door on the other side.
"Well I guess we can check out this area, while we're here," Komaru suggested as they walked to the door. They slowly opened it, and then went inside. What Mukuro saw, made her eyes bug out, as all over the green floral walls, were pictures of a certain someone all too familiar to Mukuro. Even the ceiling had a giant picture that depicted that same person. Also present in the room was a bed, a table and a chair beside it. Komaru blinked her eyes wondering who this person was.
"Huh… she looks familiar?" Komaru said, as she wondered for a bit. "Like I saw her in… a magazine or something,"
"Let me guess… was it a fashion magazine?" Mukuro reluctantly asked, as Komaru nodded to her, looking curious now. "That's because all these photos… are of the Ultimate Fashionista. Also known as… the True Ultimate Despair,"
"True Ultimate Despair… wait isn't that… your sister?" Komaru asked, feeling surprised. "The one that guy obsessed with hope, brought up?"
"Yes. Junko Enoshima… this is her," Mukuro answered, feeling awkward. Why were there so many photos of Junko here?
"So, the Ultimate Fashionista is also the True Ultimate Despair?" Komaru asked, not sure what to feel. "How does that happen?"
"Junko is… a lot more then she seems. Her being a fashionista is arguably a cover for her actual talent," Mukuro explained. "Her talent being analysis,"
"Analysis?" Komaru replied, feeling surprised a fashionista was proficient in that.
"Yes. She can basically analyze almost anything and use it to her advantage usually," Mukuro explained. "She isn't someone you want to mess with Komaru,"
"Well… let's hope it doesn't come to that. No offense to your sister and all," Komaru said with a gulp. Komaru walked around, looking at all the different photos, while Mukuro stood where she was, just looking around. "Hey Mukuro! Take a look at this photo!"
Mukuro walked to where Komaru was and noticed the younger teen pointing to one particular photo. It had Monaca in her wheelchair and Junko standing beside her, both of them smiling, and doing a peace sign.
"The girl that's with Junko in this photo… it's Monaca," Komaru noted. "I guess this is Monaca's room?"
"Well, it explains why her room wasn't with the others in the dorm area in this building. She had her room separate from the others," Mukuro added. "Junko… and Monaca,"
"Mukuro… have you ever met Monaca?" Komaru asked, as Mukuro looked towards her. "Or any of the Warriors of Hope? Before everything that happened here?"
"No. Junko kept everything involving them a secret to me," Mukuro explained. "She kept me out of the loop, regarding certain things. This being one of them,"
They both stayed silent as they were unsure what to say. Komaru wasn't sure if she should talk about Junko at the moment, anymore.
"Komaru... can you give me some time alone? I'll meet you down by the bottom of the ladder," Mukuro asked quietly.
"Sure. I understand," Komaru answered back. "I'm going to use the ladder and wait there for you… if you want some time alone, it's fine,"
Mukuro just nodded to her, as Komaru soon made herself scarce and was gone from the room. She looked at the photo that had both her sister and Monaca. They were both smiling immensely.
"I wonder… if Junko got along better with Monaca, then with me," Mukuro said quietly and openly, since as of late, the soldier had been questioning both herself and a lot of things in general. She thought back to what Nagisa said, about how Junko treated the Warriors of Hope with a lot of love and care. Her relationship with her sister, wasn't the best at the moment, even if she did still love and cared about her still. It was a fact, Junko tried to kill her during the failed killing game at Hope's Peak Academy. "Sis… do you even love me still? Did you ever love me? We're still family yet… I just don't know anymore,"
Memories flashed back, when they grew up as orphans for a brief while. How the world was cruel and harsh towards them during that time. How she and Junko used to comfort each other, during their times of need. How they would have to scavenge for what they could to survive, even going through stuff like payphones back then, for whatever coins were left behind. Eventually the two became part of a proper family. However, she herself eventually, ventured into becoming a soldier in the Middle East, and being away from her sister for a long while.
A part of her was glad that Junko had another person she apparently actually liked, even if it was more than her. Like a sister, finding out their sibling had a good friend they could also be with. It reminded her of when she was a young child, Junko became attached to a boy, who would one day become the Ultimate Neurologist. Glad her sister found someone to be attached to apparently. Another part of her wondered, if she and Junko could share a moment like in that photo, like how she and Monaca did.
The soldier sighed, trying to not think about it, as she decided it was time to go back to what she was doing before. She opened the door and was surprised to see Komaru standing outside. Before she could say anything, Komaru hugged her, catching her off guard and surprising the soldier. Just like when she saved the younger teen in the train used by Kotoko and got hugged in return, she felt herself surprised and silenced.
"I… I couldn't help but listen in on you Mukuro," Komaru said quietly, feeling bad for the other girl. "No matter what happens… with everyone else and everything else… I really want to be your sister still. I want to make it official. So, let's succeed in what we're trying to do,"
The younger girl then got off the older one, as Komaru just smiled gently, while Mukuro felt herself smiling towards her.
"Thanks, Komaru… I needed that," Mukuro said, as both of them made their way out of Monaca's room. "Let's continue on,"
The two climbed down to the lower area, and continued on in the hallway, from the cracked hole in the wall from earlier. They ended up at the end of it, that had another ladder. The two climbed it to the top, and found themselves in another hallway that ended with gray doors. Walking towards it, they slowed opened the doors and found themselves in another new area. The place with the spiral staircase that was connected to the roof of the building. Curiously, they saw a metal locked door with a lock on it nearby, as they walked towards it.
"Do you think… this is where they're holding Makoto?" Komaru asked, wondering about the possibility. "We were told Monaca has the key for Makoto's jail cell,"
"Let's find that little horror and get that key from her," Mukuro said, feeling more and more eager to take down that little brat, as she scowled at the thought of Makoto being a prisoner to her. The two ascended the spiral staircase and eventually found themselves on the roof of Towa Hills. Just as Kotoko said, the large Excalibur airship was parked on the roof, and tethered to it. In front of the airship was a large scaffolding structure setup, allowing people to get on and off the airship. Unfortunately for the two, a bunch of Monokumas were present, ready to fight them.
"Bring it on!" Komaru shouted, no longer feeling intimidated by the robotic bears, as she and Mukuro drew out their respective weapons, as they began fighting the machines in their way. "You're all going to get out of our way, now!"
Hiroko was sighing, just sitting at the outdoor auditorium. She looked to see the others also seated, either talking with each other, or napping. She was still holding Shirokuma's head, making sure the good bear was safe. Her eyelids were slowly falling, feeling like a nap was approaching her soon.
"Hey Hiroko? Are you okay? You look tired," Shirokuma asked concerned. Hiroko just yawned from hearing that, in response.
"Well, my sleep schedule in general is all over the place since this city went to Hell and all," Hiroko responded with a sigh. "Today in particular I feel pretty drained,"
"Maybe you should take a nap? Some of the others are resting as well," Shirokuma suggested.
"I could use some more beauty sleep. Good suggestion Shiroro," Hiroko said, as she placed Shirokuma's robot head to a seat next to her, and began to nap peacefully. Shirokuma, then carefully looked around. All the hostages connected to Class 78, were all preoccupied in their own way, nobody looking towards him. The robot head began to somehow hop down from its seat, and carefully made its way out of the auditorium area, headed elsewhere apparently.
Komaru and Mukuro were on the scaffolding structure, heading towards the airship. Tons of scrap metal of broken Monokumas was scattered on Towa Hill's rooftop. The two felt like the end was nigh as they made their way through, and finally entered the airship.
"I remember being here… and I'm pretty sure that girl Monaca, is in that huge hall, that I ended up being in last time," Komaru said with both a confident and concerned look on her face, as the two traversed the black and white hallways that were in the interior of the airship. "Hey Mukuro…"
"What is it?" Mukuro asked back, as they were searching the airship.
"A lot of bad things happened to me in this city… and I have a lot of bad memories," Komaru stated. "But I am so happy that I was able to meet you,"
"Why are you saying this all of a sudden? Save it for after we discipline that imp," Mukuro replied, feeling concerned for Komaru. Like if they were going to have bad stuff happen to them soon.
"Ah… you're right," Komaru said back, just smiling now. The two eventually found themselves climbing stairs and right before a large white regal door, with red stain glass above it. "This is it. This is where I met Monaca personally, the last time I was here,"
"I'm going to show that little kid, that she's going to regret messing with us and Makoto," Mukuro said, feeling full of energy. "We've come this far. Monaca better be ready for us,"
"Watch out Monaca, because we're going to fight for our happy ending!" Komaru added with a big confident grin, as she felt similarly.
Both stood outside of the door, ready to head in. The finale was about to begin.
To Be Continued...
What did you guys think? Some notes as always.
1. Stuff about Junko and Mukuro's past is hinted to a degree in the games and in some of the other official material. And of course that Ultimate Neurologist seems to be a certain someone as well, who is part of Danganronpa Zero.
2. The scene involving the ghost is from the actual game. So yeah, spirits and ghosts are an actual thing in the world of Danganronpa. That scene ended a little more differently in the original game (though I guess that can be said for most things in this story in general, this chapter included).
Well that's about it for this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and the story so far. Thanks to all of you so far. Till the next chapter!