"So you were The Mask this whole time?" Makoto asked as Ben had been brought to the cafeteria at Hope's Peak by Hajime, Junko, and Mukuro, where he had now come clean to the others.
"Yeah, sorry for the confusion but...I didn't really want people finding out." Ben awkwardly confessed.
"I suspected The Mask was you. The structuring of his face and how his hair was done led me to narrow it down." Kyoko said as Ben looked at her surprised.
"Wow, you really ARE the Ultimate Detective."
"Man, if I was the Ultimate Journalist and not just the Ultimate Photographer, that'd sure be a big scoop!" Mahiru said before noticing Ben's nervous expression. "Don't worry, I wouldn't sell you out even if that was the case."
"Man! A mask that can give you cartoon powers? I wanna try it!" Kokichi said with sparkles in his eyes.
"Absolutely NOT!" Korekiyo said. "You're chaotic enough without that factor needing to be applied, Oma-Kun."
"Benio-Dono, do you mind if perhaps I use your exploits to create my latest masterpiece?" Hifumi asked as Ben shrugged.
"Go ahead, I mean, I'm not protesting."
"Excellent! I will be sure that you gain credit where credit's do!"
"Nyeh...and you were also the Seer who brought me to my room so I could replenish my mana?" Himiko asked as Ben nodded, flinching at Tenko's glare aimed at him in the process.
"That was such a sweet thing of you to do. I bet you were like a big brother helping out his little sister." Sayaka giggled.
"Yeah, I guess so..."
Fuyuhiko had invited Ben to play pool in the game room with him, Byakuya, Celestia, Kokichi, and Kaito. Fuyuhiko was currently retelling how he got Peko a necklace for her last birthday.
"Then for her last birthday, I gave her that necklace. I gotta say, as we got older, I started to realize how much she meant to me. Heck, I'd go so far as to say... I'm crazy for her."
"Ah, true love. Reminds me of the time I shipped Mark Antony and Cleopatra...Shame it didn't work out." Kokichi chuckled.
"Really?" Ben flatly said. Just being in contact with Kokichi showed that the shorter boy loved messing with others, hence his title as Ultimate Prankster.
"Of course, you really think something like that'd be true? When I lie, I like to keep people guessing on whether it is a lie or not, not make it blatantly obvious."
"I certainly hope Kuzuryuu doesn't save the love confession for Pekoyama's next birthday," Celestia said. "A girl can only wait so long."
"Shigura..." Byakuya began as Ben looked at him. "Since I know you are The Mask now, I just wish to say this; I appreciate you bringing some humiliation to those arrogant Towa, especially considering the kind of person Haiji is."
"Yeah, that creep rubs me the wrong way in general. And that's not even counting on how he once tried to put the moves on Naegi's little sis or how he treated his own younger sister just because she wasn't officially his flesh and blood." Kaito said in agreement.
"Still...what I did to him at the Coco Bongo..."
Byakuya put a hand on Ben's shoulder. "Listen, Shigura. You have NOTHING to apologize for. Haiji is a helion and while I do admit that what you did to him was...brutal, to say the least, you at least didn't kill him."
"Don't know if permanently damaging his arm is any better..." Ben said, looking away.
"Hey, if not you, then one of my people would have done him in themselves!" Fuyuhiko vouched.
"Amazing how well people can bond together over the shared hatred of one man." Celestia giggled as Kokichi nodded, his hands behind his back.
"Yeah, it's pretty sad...is what I would say if I was a pedo sympathizer."
"Whoa! That's amazing!" Ben said as Chihiro was showing him a special laptop of her own design which contained a fully-functioning and sentient AI she called Alter-Ego. Hifumi found himself quite smitten with it, only to get a smack upside the head from Hiyoko to get his mind out of the gutter.
"T-Thanks. Alter-Ego is my pride and joy..." Chihiro shyly said as Ben couldn't help but find her so utterly adorable.
Laughter was heard as the two turned to see Mondo and Kiyotaka with their arms around each other, acting like brothers.
"I wonder what's going on with them. Weren't they fighting to see who was the bigger man?"
"About that." Chihiro began. "During their sauna duel, they passed the time by talking and apparently found they had more in common than they thought."
"Well, that's good to hear," Ben said. "But who won the contest?"
"I asked Ishimaru and Oowada-Kun about it and they told me to forget about it." Chihiro then giggled as she recalled what Kiyotaka did afterward.
"Just forget about it. Forget... Forget... Forget BEAM!"
"S-Shigura-Kun?"
Ben perked up as he was walking to the art room to meet Angie, Sonia, and Leon when he heard Toko's voice. Turning around, he saw the Ultimate Author looking at him with a nervous expression.
"Oh, Fukawa-San, what's up?"
"Ever since you confessed about being The Mask, I...I felt like I needed to confess something in return."
"What's wrong? I'm all ears."
"W-Well, you see...T-There's this other side of me...A side I'd prefer never existed." Toko began. "Y-You see, I have Disassociative Identity Disorder. It tends to be triggered when I sneeze or faint. Then the other me comes out."
"Dare I ask what...or rather WHO the 'other' is?"
Toko hung her head, a look of shame in her eyes as she trembled. Ben nervously held a hand out to her before she spoke the next words.
"H-Her name...is Genocide Jack."
"You mean that serial killer that's been all over the news? That's you?" Ben asked before pausing as he thought it over. "Well, technically, it's not you because of the DID..."
Toko nodded. "You know how all Main Course students have their own ElectroiDs? Mine contained a profile on Jack and I realized the headmaster knew. I was surprised he didn't have me turned in. Jack was given the title of Ultimate Murderous Fiend. I guess since the school was in need of my talents as an author, they had no choice but to let her in as well. Though don't ask me how a serial killer can bring hope to the world."
"Toko...I think you're very brave for telling me this. Does anybody else know?" Ben asked as Toko blushed at how accepting he was of her revelation.
"O-Only Omaru does...B-Because she's my best friend. I'm pretty sure Makoto knows as well since she probably told him."
Omaru was Toko's nickname for Komaru. Considering they were best friends, Ben figured it was Toko's way of being a Tsundere.
"S-Since you had Hinata, Enoshima, and Ikusaba supporting you when you revealed your secret identity to the rest of us...I feel like I need to come clean as well." Toko explained.
"Well don't worry, I'm sure the rest won't think any less of you. Especially the likes of Makoto, Chihiro, Gonta, and Sonia. Those guys wouldn't even hurt a fly, especially Gonta." Ben reassured, making Toko blush once more.
"Hey, baby~!" Junko squealed as she glomped Ben from behind, making him yelp in alarm before relaxing when he recognized it was just her.
"O-Oh, hey, Junko..."
"You know, we never got to talking back on our little 'date'~. Do you wanna hear the story about how me and Muku-Chan have different surnames?"
"I always did find that weird even though you're both sisters."
Junko smirked. "Well sit down and let Momma Junko tell you the tragic tale of the Despair Sisters!"
Ben sat down and Junko began telling her and Mukuro's story. The sisters grew up homeless and their parents had never even officially married, which is why they had different surnames. Junko took up modeling and Mukuro joined Fenrir so that both could make ends meet. Junko turned out to be gifted in the ways of modeling and Mukuro was a natural-born soldier, never suffering an injury in her time at Fenrir.
"Wow, that's some story. Talk about rising from the darkest pits."
"Yeah, but just between you and me..." Junko whispered into Ben's ear. "The despair I felt back then as a child when Muku-Chan and I were fighting to survive? It gave me a rush of excitement. To be honest, I thought despair on myself and others would be the secret to true happiness...and then you showed up, you wacky, green-faced, handsome lunatic."
Ben blushed as Junko bit on his ear, a shiver running up his spine as she trailed her perfectly manicured fingers over his waist, her legs wrapping around him as she sat on his lap.
"The chaos, the free spirit, just the desire to make sure everybody has a good time...and making sure all those asshole pigs get what's coming to them...it turns me on even more than Despair does...I like YOU more than I like DESPAIR~."
Before Ben knew it, Junko pressed her lips to his own. He had no other choice but to let her dominate him in that moment. After what felt like hours but was really on a few short minutes, Junko broke away, a trail of saliva separating her and Ben's mouths.
"If you want, come to my room in the dorms...we'll have more fun there~."
Junko got off Ben and headed off, giving him a teasing shake of her ass as she did. Ben clutched his chest as he breathed heavily, his heart beating so fast, he felt like it would explode right then and there.
"Goddamit...What have I gotten myself into?!"
Next Time: Preventing Tragedy!
In the next chapter, Ben proves himself to be a Hero without help from the Mask of Loki!