Hey peeps, it's the Renegade Braveheart. It's time for Q&A 2, Goodbye Despair. This time we have Gold, Ishigami, and Emma here with us this time.

Emma: "Hey everyone!"

Gold: "Yo, what's up?!"

Ishigami: "Mph…"

We're here to see if you have any questions about this story, or any of the future stories in the Fictional Saga. Well… if you have any. I just kinda want more comments and predictions…

Ishigami: "Wow, what a way to say that you're desperate."

Emma: "Don't be mean, at least he's being honest about it!"

Gold: "Whatever, just send us your questions, theories, or stuff. Make sure they're good ones and not anything spammy."

Ishigami: "Like asking to bring Marty back or something."

And as always, leave your thoughts on what happened so far with this chapter, or any of the other chapters as well. Because the end is approaching soon, and I want to see if you're all ready for it!

Emma: "Hope to see you all real soon! And enjoy the chapter!"

Chapter 5: Dawning of the Dead Part 2 (Daily Life)

Remaining Citizens: 9

Ai Mizuno (Zombie Land Saga): Ultimate (Zombie) Idol

Aoba Kuronuma (Durarara!): Ultimate Manipulator

Ryuji Sakamoto (Persona 5): Ultimate Track Star

Emma (The Promised Neverland): Ultimate Moral Compass

Bernadetta von Varley (Fire Emblem: Three Houses): Ultimate Recluse

Gold (Pokémon Adventures/Pokémon Special): Ultimate Hatcher

Espio The Chameleon (Sonic The Hedgehog): Ultimate Ninja

Miles Morales (Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse): Ultimate Successor

Yu Ishigami (Kaguya-sama: Love Is War): Ultimate Pessimist

Third-Person POV

"I… actually never studied Japanese before and I don't think it's an elective at Brooklyn Visions. (Maybe I should ask Ganke when I get back home…)." Miles mentioned as he scratched the back of his head.

"To be fair even if you could understand it, the writing is messy as hell." Ryuji stared holes at the painted chunk.

"It's "shiro'' in kanji. It means white." Ishigami stated before he just walked towards the jukebox for some reason.

"Shiro, huh?" Emma pondered.

"Yup." Ishigami nodded as he took out a Monocoin and inserted it into the jukebox.

"What could that even mean?" Gold went over to the grill and grabbed a plate of food, double cheeseburger with steak fries.

"No idea. It does ring a bell though if you add "Kane" in front of it. You think this thing is important?" Ryuji asks Emma.

"Why are you asking me?" She replies, surprised.

"Well, with Ai not being here and Trunks dead, you're the only other person who's leading us right? I mean I'd go ask Ai myself but… I wouldn't do shit that's useful to her." Ryuji defeatedly sighed.

"Ah… well this really does look like it could be useful. But why would Monokuma just throw this out? If it were something we could use, why was it just out in the open?" Emma thought for a moment.

"Maybe it's like bait for a trap?" Gold suggested.

"The next motive?" Miles guesses.

"Or was he just that careless? Ugh, I need to get a refill." Emma picked up her empty shake glass but then heard something.

Insert Song: Atsuku Nare (Zombie Land Saga)

"Eh? What's up?" Ryuji asked Emma.

"..." Ishigami remains silent as he listens to the tune from the jukebox.

Atsuku Nare! LIVE!

honki de butsukatte

itami o wake atte

sekai ni utagoe hibikase

"Dang! Whoever that girl is, she's got some pipes!" Gold started bobbing his head to the music.

"..." Emma listened to the song, and one of the 6 voices sounded real familiar.

minna o egao ni dekiru hazu

We can do it!

tsuyoku mabushī ano hikari o

tsukamitorō!

Ishigami's eyes went wide as he and the others realized who it was.

"It's Ai, that's her voice right there!" Emma pointed at the jukebox.

"Wait, the deeper voice or the slightly higher one?" Gold tilted his head.

"The slightly higher one, the one that started singing first." Ishigami told him without turning his head.

"Wow, that is one badass song. Those lyrics and that guitar!" Ryuji gushed.

"And I already mentioned the girl with that amazing voice, I need to find out which zombie girl that is!" Gold smirked.

"Can you two take this seriously?!" Miles told them.

"Uh, what's there to take seriously? It's just Ai and her friends singing a song." Ryuji raised an eyebrow.

"It's more than that. Do you hear the amount of passion behind her singing? And do you know what the lyrics actually mean?" Emma asked the two of them.

"Uh…" Gold tried to think of a guess.

"I don't know, man! We're just trying to find our own fun in this hellhole, especially with all the shit that happened last night." Ryuji responded while slightly raising his voice.

"Hey, don't talk to her like that!" Miles replied back at him.

"I'm sorry, I'm just trying to cope with the fact that WE'RE NEARLY SCREWED! Trunks freaking skewered Killua, Ai's avoiding us and apparently she's a zombie, and AOBA IS OUT THERE ON HIS OWN WITH THAT GODDAMN CARD! Why should I not try to distract myself from this shit?!"

"... I'll tell you guys about it some other time then, sorry." Emma walked out of the diner with her head down.

Ryuji's expression was then filled with guilt, as the rest of the guys just looked on as Emma exited.

"Ugh, dammit… it's all going to hell for us." Ryuji sighed, regretting the tone he used.

Right as Emma took a few steps outside she saw a tired face.

"Bernie! You're finally out, thank goodness you're—"

"I heard what happened in there through the door, I'll just get out of your way so I don't make things worse. Sorry…" Bernadetta scurried past her as Emma failed to reach her hand out to her.

The Ultimate Moral Compass sadly retreated to somewhere that can help ease her thoughts.

A library in the fourth area near the boardwalk.

Emma flips through a random book on photography until she hears a slight creak of someone entering. The girl buries her face in the book so that she's unseen.

"YAHHH!" Emma lets out a shout when Ishigami taps her on the back.

"Jeez, keep your voice down, this is a library."

"Yeah, I know…" Emma puts her face back into the book.

"And you do realize I can see you with that bouncy hair thing on your head, right?" Ishigami points out her ahoge and she pouts sadly.

"Ugh… why are you stopping by here anyways?"

"Two things. Number one, Ryuji feels bad about getting mad at you and he's likely to try apologizing later. It's up to you to forgive him. I don't really care too much, but it would be a bit too much trouble if you two don't make up." Ishigami browses the shelves for books that would interest him.

"That's true but… I'll think about it. What about your other reason?" Emma asked as he picked up a book off a shelf.

"Feeding your Alter Ego" was the title.

Ishigami sat down with the book right next to her, "... I wanted to see if you and I share the same thoughts on Atsuku Nare's meaning."

Emma's eyes widened before lowering down again,"It's like a ballad of hope, not giving up when facing rising odds. Believing in yourself enough to stand back up, even if you get knocked down. Trying your hardest to succeed and make everyone happy… This song has basically been Ai's mindset since the killing game began."

Ishigami softly nodded his head as he listened.

"Even now in the state she's in, I bet that is still the case. That hope still sits deep inside her, trapped in a sea of despair. I know she didn't tell you guys about her zombie state, she only told me and Killua. Still, that shouldn't affect how you see her too much, since we should be trying to carry on with that same mindset. It's like Trunks told us last night, use hope to finally overcome this stupid game. The willpower he talked about, and the passion that Ai has shown us, those should be our weapons against the mastermind." Emma takes a breath as she finishes.

"... Yeah basically what you said." Ishigami replied.

"Uh, good. So are you also thinking what I'm thinking? On what we should do next?" Emma put her hands on her hips.

"Figuring out how to bring Ai back into the fold, I assume?"

"Yup! And also, telling the others about all of this so they can be motivated again." Emma smiled a bit.

"I guess so. And after thinking about it more… I jumped to conclusions a bit on her zombie thing. If she were a normal one, she'd be slow as hell and could have bitten me by now. I think I'll apologize to her when she's ready to leave her room." Ishigami rubbed the back of his head.

"Ha, it looks like we both have to make up with some friends soon!"

"Friends, huh? Didn't think I'd find any outside the student council." Ishigami scoffed.

Emma turned to him when he made that comment, "Of course! We're all friends here, 'cept for Aoba. Even if we weren't in this game, I would have still liked to be friends with you!"

That big smile on her face just led to Ishigami caving in and genuinely smiling back.

"Maybe. Though it is kinda weird for a high school student to be friends with a young girl like you." Ishigami snarked.

"Eh? How sooooooOOOOOO?!" Emma then fell backward and hit one of the shelves.

"Well for starters, there's that."

Emma giggled as Ishigami pulled her back up, "Hey, how about we listen to more of Ai's music?! That sounds fun, right?"

"Hm… sure. Their name is pretty weird though. Fran Choo Choo? Frank chou chou? France chu chu?" Ishigami kept going with the wild guesses on the group name.

The two of them leave the library as they continue to chat away. However, they neglected to pick up the single book that fell from the top of that shelf Emma bumped into. Stepping out from the shadows, a figure takes the book and looks through it.

He pauses, before grabbing a notecard and beginning to write on it as he continues to read.

Ai's POV, finally

*Ding, dong, bing, bong!*

"Ahem, this is a citywide news broadcast! It is now 10 p.m. Ladies and gentlemen, nighttime has begun! All restaurants and shopping areas will be closed soon, so folks, don't try to go against the law! Now then, sweet dreams everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite…"

….. I slept for that long? That is a little impressive, but with how I've been feeling as of late, that is not good. I… should actually try to go out for a bit. At least for half an hour before heading back to bed. I'm craving a little fresh air.

I opened the door and looked back and forth to make sure nobody was around. I don't want to give anyone a scare in the middle of the night. No makeup, and I looked a bit raggedy after staying in bed for so long. Still had that one hair sticking up on my head, but I just decided to ignore it. Right when I stepped outside, I ended up stepping on something left in front of my door.

It was a book.

"Killing Games from 1-V3…"

A book on killing games? There were… other ones like this? Upon looking closer, there was a little note card sticking out from the top. I decided to save whatever page it was on for last as I left the Hope-tel to find a good spot to read. It was both unnervingly quiet and dark at night, even though I knew everyone was back in their rooms…. Although I imagine Aoba or someone else could just wander the city like I'm doing, as long as they don't sleep anywhere else.

Speaking of Aoba, he's probably going to wait until the next area opens up to make his move. As long as the card is destroyed, or he's prevented from killing anyone, it'll be fine. Better said than done however, since he would definitely plan ahead for what happens. He wouldn't keep that card on his person, so it's hidden in this labyrinth of a city. He could even be sadistic enough to have a trial anyways and when we find out it's him, he cashes in the card much earlier and it's too late.

It looks like he's in control, but it's all about the timing of things now.

There's also… the factor of him having revealed my secret. It's much more difficult for just anyone to trust me after keeping this from everyone. And because of that potential suspicion of me, it might even make it harder for me to trust some of them as well. It's all going downhill it seems like.

I… am pretty stumped.

After looking for about ten minutes, I found an empty bench in the middle of the city square. And to make it sting a little more, I recognized this bench as the one I hid behind when I hung out with Trunks the first time. Just another thing to make me feel worse, huh?

"Okay, killing game number one…" I opened the first chapter of this surprisingly short book.

Makoto Naegi: Ultimate Lucky Student/Hope. Isn't that his last name a part of the diner we frequent? Na-Egg-i Diner, who comes up with this stuff?

It was then I realized that these were all the people who were plastered all over the city advertising stuff!

The fortune teller, Yasahiro Hagakure.

The robots we fought in the gauntlet, Nekomaru (or Mechamaru) Nidai.

There was even… Byakuya Togami (two of them in fact!) and Gundham Tanaka, the guys who sent us those messages via hamster! So they're former killing game participants… that's an interesting thing to learn. I guess that makes them a little more trustworthy, even though we haven't heard from them for a while. Just what are they doing with the pictures we've taken? But… thinking about it more, it could be more difficult to send messages when the group is so fractured.

Moving on… I flipped over to the next page and it was where the notecard was stashed. I read over it... and my eyes went wide.

"Out of all of these faces, one of them is behind everything. After observing behaviors from Monokuma and Monocity's overall design layout, reading this book reinforced my theory on who. Once you have your own guess on their identity, come see me and I shall pay for the recent mistakes I have made. See you then, Mizuno." - Espio The Chameleon

Espio…

They mentioned him being a no-show, ever since the trial. I understand him feeling guilty over Killua and Trunks dying, he was the one that let their battle take place. Regardless… I did not blame him for what he did, even if I felt so much pain from seeing them dead. What does he mean by paying for his mistakes?

And more importantly…. Does he know who the mastermind is? It seems like he does, and even so, what has he been focusing on to draw his conclusion?

Ugh… so many questions. I guess that's enough reading for now, time to head back to my room.

I laid awake for a while, since my sleep schedule had been greatly damaged today. One full hour passed until I finally closed my eyes in peace.

My dreams that night were anxiety-inducing, thoughts on what Espio wants, Aoba's plans, what everyone else is thinking about me…

Ugh.

MONOKUMA THEATER IS CANCELLED FOR TONIGHT, GO BACK TO SLEEP.

*Ding, dong, bing, bong!*

"Gooooooood morning Monocity! It is now 7 a.m., and the weather today is a wonderfully cloudless blue sky! Remember to follow the law, but have fun! Also I am proud to announce that we have something new to show you so come to the docks at the end of the fourth area! Attendance is necessary citizens, don't be late!"

Took them long enough to open up the next area. It looks like I have to appear in front of everyone again, and if I show up late they will find me even more suspicious. I sighed before going to put on makeup, the end result wasn't the best because I was still feeling down. I guess I have to look pale and sickly today.

I assume everyone else was getting ready, no one was outside. Good, I won't have to worry about running into anyone on the way there. It also meant that I could take my time getting there, since I'm obviously not going to be late if I'm heading out this early.

I also wanted to take my time because I was going through four other areas on foot. Maybe I should get a moped or something to make it easier for myself, I don't want my legs to give out, or even go limp and fall off.

Okay, first to arrive. One large curtain right on the edge of the harbor, okay…

"Ahoy the—YEESH! What a half-assed makeover! I feel like you'd look better without the makeup, at least I'd know that you have a good reason to look terrible." Monokuma with a captain's hat and outfit jumped up from behind the curtain.

My urge to turn him into scrap metal is rising drastically.

"Good morning, bear, how's the—ACK!" Aoba jumped when he saw my face.

He has the guts to show up after what he did, but not the guts to look me in the face? Do I really look that bad?

I then hear some people talking from behind me.

"Hooooo, it looks like I found a new band to follow! These songs are fire!" Miles exclaims.

"Remind me when we get outta this dump to get Numbers 2 & 4's autographs!" Gold laughed.

I could faintly hear Ishigami chuckling, "Number 5's voice is just soothing on the ears, her face is lovely, and her chest is so—GAHHHHHH!"

"Gonna finish that sentence?" I asked him.

"H-H-Hey F-Flower Gal! Finally decided to join us, h-huh?" Gold stuttered.

I do look that bad apparently.

"We're glad to see you're doing… alright at least." Emma gave a reassuring smile to me.

I did break the news to her early, so I am happy that I was right to have trusted her. Even if the secret came out only a little while after, Emma's still on my side and I'm thankful. That brief feeling of happiness was cut short when I saw someone else arrive.

"Hey… Ai." Bernadetta greeted me without making eye contact.

I just nodded to her as she joined up with the rest of us. All that time with helping her get over her reclusive nature and become friends… and it seems as if it's all for naught.

"Heh, what a pity for you." A poor choice of words for someone within slapping range, Aoba.

Afterwards Ryuji and Espio showed up, the former looking down for a reason I won't press him for, and the latter just looking in my direction before looking back at the curtain. Whether he knows who the mastermind is or not, he has something planned for when I have my own theories. Very troubling after seeing what went down with Killua and Trunks.

Monokuma tapped his microphone and cleared his robot equivalent of a throat.

"Good morning everyone! I have called you all today to take you all to the final section of this fine city!"

Final section, that's it? Nowhere else to go in this place?

"There is still plenty to explore and check out with this one, so I think it'll be a satisfying conclusion! It's right over there with that handsome statue!" Monokuma pointed at the far away island with the Monokuma parody of the Statue of Liberty on it.

"Okay, but how are we gonna get there? We can't swim all that way! You better not make us do that!" Ryuji whined.

"As tempting as that would be… unfortunately no. But I do have a question of my own to ask… Do you like… boats?" Monokuma giggled.

"Oh, I think I know where this is going. And I hate it." Aoba snarked.

"Take a look at this pristine baby… behold… THE S.S. KOIZUMI!"

Wha… what?

This chapter is definitely gonna be a slow burn, but it makes sense considering it's the last one before the finale. Also yeah, mastermind junk. Have fun with that, everyone!