ACT I: THE TITANS, THE BEAR AND THE FORTRESS OF DESPAIR

Chapter 7: Finale

History of Despair

Part 2

Broken hearts

Once, Kazuki Ishikawa had fallen for an ordinary girl, Ayame Miyazaki. She was part of the same orchestra and together the two of them spent hundreds of hours practicing, experimenting with new ways of delivering music to the audience. They bonded, but when the time came and Kazuki wished to have their relationship evolve, he was met with refusal. Though Ayame never gave a reason, stating she saw him more as a friend and a mentor than a lover and was perfectly happy to continue such, Kazuki knew the truth behind it: his talent.

Being the dubbed the Ultimate Flautist by Hope's Peak Academy, he was a league ahead of anyone else in the orchestra with almost every reviewer and magazine singling him out for praises from an otherwise mediocre orchestra. Kazuki stood out like an eagle among the doves, taking all the credits for the success of the orchestra whether he wanted it or not, and that was the cause of his fallout with his friends. Ultimate and ordinary people simply couldn't get along. Ayame couldn't return the love he gave her because of that. Sometimes, Kazuki wondered his life would have been better if his talent never existed - if he was ordinary rather than ultimate.

And then there was something else, something more sinister. Several nights, instructor Kogoro Daito would ask for Ayame to have one-on-one sessions with him after everyone else had gone home, and she would comply with no question, though a feeling of sadness encompassed her when she silently nodded her head. Kazuki had never found out if this extra training was genuine.

But those were old stories. After a couple of years studying at Hope's Peak Academy, Kazuki had moved on and began a new career in the music industry. This time, nothing was holding him back.

Except for a strange package he received from an anonymous sender.

Within the package, there was a letter and, suspiciously, a taser gun. The letter urged him to come to the studio he used to practice with his old orchestra at ten o'clock in the evening and enter room B-14. It said he would find something of great interest in there, not saying exactly what. The letter also demanded that he carried the teaser gun with him, again without explaining why he would be in need of such a thing.

At first, Kazuki thought it was a trick. He was no stranger to that; last week, somebody sent him chocolate filled with maggots. Due to the amount of envy and resentment towards their privileges, it was not unusual for students of Hope's Peak Academy to receive such cruel treatments from those less fortunate, both from the Reserve Course and from outside the academy itself.

But something was clawing inside his chest. Returning to the studio where he used to make friends with ordinary people, friendships that eventually collapsed because there was nothing ordinary about him, filled him with a sense of nostalgia. His departure was not voluntary but the only course of action back then to prevent furthering the conflict that was rocking the orchestra at its core. The orchestra was still in business after he left one year ago, but their popularity had greatly declined in his absence, Daito doing everything he could to keep the band together. Ever since then, Kazuki still had contact with Ayame. Their correspondence became less frequent over time and on the few occasions where Kazuki got to see his ex-girlfriend, he felt his heart would break apart if he approached her.

This letter. For all he knew, it could be just a cruel prank to exploit Kazuki's past against him. But the nagging feeling he had was overwhelming. In the end, he chose to go. No matter how small the chance of it being of any significance was, Kazuki would still take it.

That night, Kazuki arrived at the studio where he used to practice with his old orchestra, carrying with him the teaser gun just as the letter required. Strangely enough, the door was not locked, which meant there was something else inside at this time of day. Entering the place he once found familiar but had since evicted from his mind, Kazuki felt a coldness running through his body. Was it one year the last time he trod these halls or was it one hundred?

Using a flashlight, Kazuki navigated his way to room B-14 which stored equipment. As he placed his hand on the doorknob, a voice at the back of his head told him to stop, that he would not like what was on the other side, that whatever behind this door would change him forever. Kazuki ignored it. If this was a prank, then it would see to the bottom of it.

Like the main entrance, the door was not locked. Kazuki twisted the handled and it gave away. Within room B-14, a scene was unfolding that filled Kazuki with disgust.

"So this is what your one-on-one sessions are all about," the Ultimate Flautist commented, his voice a cold as a winter breeze. While others might have flown in a rage, Kazuki kept his cool despite the urge to unleash untold violence upon the deviant in this room.

Two persons were in room B-14 when Kazuki entered: Ayame and instructor Daito, the former wearing only her panties and bras and the latter sitting on top of her drooling, his hands placing a cusp on her breasts. Only Daito seemed to be enjoying it, his victim wearing an exhausted and defeated visage, moaning huskily but putting up little resistance otherwise. Daito was running his tongue along the length of the girl's neck when he was cut short. Both were equally astounded and horrified at the sight of their former orchestra mate.

"Ishikawa?" Daito stuttered, standing up from Ayame who retreated into a corner, sobbing. "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here," Kazuki barked, his anger flaring. "What are you doing here?"

"It's part of the training," Daito claimed. "You see, when the body is…."

"Enough from you," Kazuki hissed. "You lying snake. Ayame, is this what had been going on all those times?"

"I'm sorry, Kazuki-kun," Ayame wept. "I…I have no choice…"

"That's right," said Daito. "Unlike you, she doesn't have any talent. Where you could succeed without even lifting a finger, she had to break her back over it. I gave her a chance to get better. I taught her everything I knew, and even things I am still only half-sure about, so that one day she could be on the same level as you. But in return, I would like repayment for my effort, something more gratifying."

Daito's words hit Kazuki like a steel fist. All of these sufferings Ayame had to go through, all because she wanted to be like him. Not only were they too much, Kazuki knew it was all for nothing; long had he learned it was all but impossible no matter how hard she tried. "You are a maniac, Daito," said Kazuki venomously. "I'm turning you in. You will not lay a finger on her after this day."

"You wouldn't dare, boy," Daito screamed. "You don't have the ball to do it. Without me, you wouldn't have attained such privilege. I was the one who raised you from the bottom, and this is how you intend to repay me?"

"Watch me," Kazuki replied coldly. "As for you, Ayame, this is for your own good. This has to stop. It's not worth giving up your dignity or your health. Talents are not everything."

Screeching like a crazed animal, Daito launched himself at Kazuki, ramming him into a wall. Instinctively, Kazuki pulled out the taser and rammed into his chest. The sound of electrical discharge was followed by a brief agonized scream from Daito. Then, it was all silent.

Letting Daito's body hit the floor, Kazuki moved towards Ayame to comfort her. Though a wedge permanently divided them, small moments like this were all he needed to be with her.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Kazuki-kun…," Ayame sniffed. "I don't want you to see me like this."

"Neither do I," Kazuki said. "Look, you have every reason to hate me because of how successful I am in music. But I can't cook whereas you make the best cookies ever. I am lousy when it comes to classic literature; without your help, I would have failed that test."

"What are you saying?" asked Ayame, confused.

"All of us have our flaws and greatness," Kazuki replied. "Just because I'm the Ultimate Flautist doesn't mean I am better than you in every way. I'm just a human, after all."

"I see," said Ayame, a sense of relief flooding her. She wiped away her tears. "Thanks for saying so."

"Good," said Kazuki. "Now let's get out of here."

The two of them were about to leave when Kazuki realized something was wrong with instructor Daito. Closer inspection revealed he wasn't breathing anymore.

"Oh no," Ayama gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. "I just remember. He…he has a heart condition."

"What?!" Kazuki exclaimed. Rushing to Daito's side, he attempted to revive his former instructor to no avail. The heart had stopped forever. The sexual predator was dead. There was no way to revive him on the spot and even if an ambulance was called, it would only arrive too late. As much as Kazuki hated to admit it, he had just committed a murder. Unwillingly, but murder nonetheless.

Kazuki's mind was in turmoil. He had only intended to save Ayame, and now he had committed the ultimate crime. Never minding his relationship with Ayame, his entire career was at stake. Hope's Peak Academy might cover up his crime, but would his conscience really allow it? The weapon, why did it have to be a taser? Did whoever sent him that package know of Daito's risk of heart failure? Was it their plan all along to have Kazuki use such a weapon on his former instructor so that it would kill him?

"What are we going to do now?" Ayame asked.

A feeling of despair crept through Kazuki but so was confidence. Kazuki knew he had to make a decision, one that would decide the future of them both. There was no going back at this point. Neither of them could afford to let the truth slip, less their lives were forever ruined. Kazuki still had a promising career to pursue, one he wished to see the end of, and Ayame had already been through enough without getting involved in a murder.

With a deep sigh, Kazuki said, "Music instructor Kogoro Daito died from a heart attack after accidental electrocution. It was a tragic loss. No one is to blame for his death. Neither of us is here tonight or has any knowledge regarding this incident. Is that clear?"

Ayame hesitated. "Yes," she said at length.

Kazuki knew nothing would be the same again after that day. What he didn't know, however, was that Daito was not the only person he would have to kill to protect Ayame.

Day 5

Tartarus Keep

13:00

Trial Ground

"That was one hell of a duel," Monokuma declared. "The tension, the climax, the death blow, I looooove it!"

"Satisfied now?" El Viento grunted as she switched back to her more serious demeanor. "Let us vote for the culprit already."

"As you wish," said Monokuma. "If there's nothing else left to say, then I shall give you what you wish. Everyone open your Electronic-IDs. I have enabled the voting function of this trial. Each of you only has one chance, though, so make it count."

As Monokuma explained, the names of all sixteen students appeared on our Electronic-IDs with Akihiko's crossed out, though it was still voteable which I believed was in case the victim committed suicide. We had all the evidence we needed now and even the prime suspect wasn't showing any resistance anymore. It was time to end this charade once and for all.

Nominate the killer.

Kazuki Ishikawa – 12

Ashley Wiltarrow – 1

No vote – 2

"So the dice has been cast," announced Monokuma gleefully. "And for the final result…. In a shocking twist, you bastards have got it correct. Kazuki Ishikawa the Ultimate Flautist is indeed the blackened in this case. Well done! Oh, I'm so proud to have subjects who are not only faithful but courageous and smart as well."

"We're not faithful to any of your bullshit, Monokuma," Hokuto spat.

"Hey, who voted for me?" Ashley cried. We all ignored her. It was probably a prank and she the one voting for herself.

The revelation of Akihiko's killer left me with mixed feelings. On one hand, our class, through working together, had succeeded in overcoming this challenge and postponed (or perhaps merely delayed) Monokuma's judgment. On the other, to continue our survival, we had condemned yet another to their fate, and that was, in a way, the equivalent to murder.

"So the truth comes out," said Rin derisively. "Is there anything you want to say, Kazuki? Any excuse for your action?"

"I have no excuses," said Kazuki, maintaining his composure. "Only explanations."

"Then explain yourself," Hokuto demanded. "What could drive you to commit the ultimate crime, on one of your friends no less?"

"Ishikawa-kun, why did you have to do it?" Minako sobbed.

"I thought you weren't the impulsive type," said Inori. "How could you have done it?"

"It is not out of an impulse that I did this," said Kazuki. "I thought about it day and night and, in the end, I saw this was the only solution. Our friends and family are kept hostages by Monokuma as we speak. The longer this drags out, the more they will have to endure. I did what I must to save them all."

"By murdering another?" I argued. "Can't you see this is what Monokuma wanting us to do the whole time? And you played straight into it."

"There was no other choice," Kazuki replied.

"There must always be," said Yume. "Murder is never the right thing no matter how pushed to the edge you are or no matter how wrong and evil somebody is. We all deserve a second chance. As for our situation, if we could all work together, I am sure…."

"What?" Kazuki barked. "Tell me, Yume. Tell me your plan, your specific, detailed, foolproof plan, to get us out of here by working together."

The Ultimate Baker was silenced by Kazuki's sudden outburst. At this point, Kazuki was too deep into the mud pool to pull his leg out, but before sinking completely, he would not be undignified. And that meant he was unwilling to accept there was any flaw in his reasoning for murder regardless of how hard we might try to convince him. Having attended several courts as an evidence presenter, I had seen this scenario play out all too often: saving loved ones, protecting nature of human encroachment, committing evil to prevent a greater one. Many of them bordered on insanity and I was glad I never had to argue against them; the attorneys did so based on the information I provided.

"He's right," said Fitzgerald. "Not even I have come up with anything yet and, so far, Hokuto seems to be endangering us as much as saving us."

"You are selfish and arrogant if you think you can succeed on your own like that," El Viento raged at the Ultimate Flautist. If this were a less formal setting, I thought she might resort to the use of violence.

"And you a foolish and impractical if you think friendship is the solution to everything," Kazuki retorted. "There are obstacles impossible to overcome and your wishful thinking is not going to help. Somebody has to do something, for the status quo will only bring misery to our friends and family. If none of you has the gut to do what has to be done, then I shall lead the way."

"There was another who thought the same thing last night," said Eliza.

Kazuki took a deep breath, saying, "Hijiri, Amelda, you both made the same choice I did, and for that, you have my admiration. I hope you two understand the sacrifice I've made here."

"I don't deserve it," I told him. I wanted to save my sister. She was the most precious person in my life. I would give anything for her release, anything short of doing serious harms to, or killing, others. That being said, what I did last night was something I could not account for, but if the motive had never existed and Hijiri been persuadable, I was certain I would have killed her out of revenge anyway. In a way, it made me less than Kazuki standing here right now, for I had no noble cause to back up my deed, even if that deed was a failure.

"And now you choose to blame others for your crime?" El Viento said. "Pathetic."

"Please don't drag Amelda into this," said Inu. "He only did so under the influence of drugs."

"He's under the influence of drugs, and I am under the influence of Monokuma," said Kazuki. "All the same. Free will is a luxury none of us here has."

"Thank you Kazuki for your kind words," said Hijiri. The Ultimate Geisha had been mostly silent throughout the whole trial that we almost forgot she was even there. Now, her eyes were filled with tears as she spoke to the only person in this room who appreciated her in some way, "I wished it could have turned out another way, one where no one has to die and no one has to kill."

"Never trust the words of scoundrels," Rin barked. "You and Hijiri are no different from one another: scums that deserve to be removed from society."

Kazuki shrugged. For someone knowing he would meet his end in a few moments, the Ultimate Flautist refused to show any sign of fear or surrender. He probably was aware of the possible consequences the moment he chose to embark on this path. "Whatever you say," he said. "You may think I am crazy, but let's see how long you can retain your sanity in this mad game. I am only one step ahead of all of you."

"Enough," Rin shouted. "Enough of your blabbering. We want to hear nothing more from you. Monokuma, get on with the execution already."

"Yeah," Eliza added. "I'm hungry. I have not eaten since yesterday."

"Wait," said Inu. All of us were surprised to hear from the Ultimate Chemist who had been all but passive in the trial so far. "There is one more thing I want to know."

"Ask away. You have exposed me and my fate is sealed," said Kazuki. "I have nothing to hide."

"Why did you kill Akihiko?" asked Inu, clearing his throat. "I don't think you had planned to kill him since he was wearing shades. Don't tell me you were targeting me all along."

"No, it was unfortunate that he had to be the victim," Kazuki elaborated. "He was in the wrong place and the wrong time. I spent too much time practicing dart that I completely forgot to practice hiding in the shadow. I blew my cover and he discovered me."

"If he's not your intended target, then who was?" asked Ashley.

"Fitzgerald," I said. "You were trying to kill him, weren't you, Kazuki?"

"You deduce correctly," said Kazuki. "I figured he would have posed the most threat to my deception. And so if I am to successfully commit murder without getting caught, he would have to be eliminated."

"A wise choice," Fitzgerald admitted. "To kill a snake, you must go for its head. I was rather careless last night, traveling in the dark without any advanced aid. If you were to strike, Kazuki, I might not have survived."

"You could still have, couldn't you, Kazuki?" Inori raised the issue. "The maximum number of victims is two. If you had tried to assassinate Fitzgerald as well, Monokuma would not have stopped you despite having already prevented Amelda from killing Hijiri."

For the first time, I saw uneasiness on Kazuki's face. His breathing increased as he searched for a way to put his thoughts into words. "I know," he replied finally. "That was what I had wanted as well. But in the end, well, I couldn't. The moment Akihiko dropped to the floor never to rise again, something within me was convulsed by the act. At that moment, I saw what kind of monster I had become and my conscience was tearing me apart. Fitzgerald then came. I knew I could still take a shot at him, but in the end, I faltered. One death was enough. Two… that might be too much for me to bear."

"I guess you weren't that monstrous, huh?" Eliza remarked derisively.

"And you lost your best chance of escaping with that?" said Fitzgerald. "How irrational. If I were you, I would not have succumbed to such sentiment." The statement from the Ultimate Private Detective stunned me. Did he realize that very irrationality was the only reason he was standing here right now? How the Ultimate Private Detective could comment about his own death so calmly was beyond me.

"As for Inu?" I asked.

"He's too shaky to be a reliable witness," said Kazuki simply. "I knew about his routine and tried to exploit it."

"Is there anything else?" Monokuma asked. "If that' all you have to say, then on with the punishment."

"Wait," cried Yume. "It can't end like this. You can't execute him, Monokuma."

"Watch me," mocked the bear. "I'm the Overlord of this castle and your lives are in my paws."

"Guys, we need to do something about it," Yume begged. "Anything. One of our friends is dead. We can't lose another." But his pleas were met with grim silence. Eyes hot with tears, Ultimate Baker looked around for any sign of support, only to be met with a row of grim and silent faces. Even El Viento shook her head sadly.

"Let it go, Yume," I told him.

"It's not worth it," said Hokuto coldly. "There is nothing we can do about it, so let it be."

"No," Yume cried. "How could you all just sit there and watch? That's it. I'll…"

"Yume, stop," Kazuki urged, his sharp voice cutting through the reigning silence. "I'm done for it. I made this decision and I am ready to face the consequence. There is no reason for anyone to risk their lives for me." At this point, I had nothing but respect for Kazuki. He faced death with dignity, whereas I did with uncontrollable rage and bloodthirst.

"I…I won't take it," said Yume, clutching his face in his hands weeping. "I won't let anyone else die."

"Save only those that can be saved, Yume," said Rin sternly. "You must also make sure you don't die in the process."

"I hope you all will get out of here alive," said Kazuki. "Don't let my sacrifice be in vain."

"You are no martyr," El Viento grunted. "You are a murderer, plain and simple."

"One day you might not think of me that way," Kazuki let out a fainted smile. "But until then, good luck with the Mutual Killing Game. So I guess this is goodbye to me."

"Goodbye, Kazuki," said Inori. "I will miss your music."

"Me too," said Kai. "Your flute play is masterful. I wish I had been able to dance to your tune at least once."

"May God have mercy on your soul," I prayed. "Blessed is the one true judge, not the mockery that stands before us."

"One last thing," said Kazuki. "Monokuma, do you honor your promise to let our friends and family go? I have made the first kill just as you wanted."

"Of course," chimed Monokuma. "The Overlord never goes against his words. They will be released safe and sound, I can assure you that."

"Then do it," Kazuki taunted. "Execute me, asshole! Show me the best you can do!"

"Alrighty, if there is nothing else, I shall commence the execution," the sadistic bear laughed. "Let's give everything we've got. It's PUNIIIIIISHMENT TIME!"

GAME OVER

KAZUKI ISHIKAWA HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY

TIME FOR PUNISHMENT

Monokuma clapped his paws three times and out came two persons dressed in identical black and white costumes similar to those worn by the Sentinels of Tartarus Keep (Holy God, how many people were involved in this?). Both carried a rifle on their hands, though the design was nothing like I had ever seen, also painted in the same coloring scheme. Wordlessly, they approached Kazuki, handcuffed and took him away, the Ultimate Flautist fully resigned to his fate and making no attempt to resist. The enforcers took Kazuki through the door opposite of the one we used to enter the trial room and the three of them disappeared.

A few seconds later, a gigantic television screen attached to the wall came to life, displaying the image of Kazuki standing in what seemed to be an outside world at first glance with the sun and clouds in the sky and grass beneath his feet. Looking more carefully, I realized the whole setting was fabricated. The scene resembled Europe in the Middle Age with gothic-style buildings, windmills, and castles in the background.

Most disturbing of all, a man in a rat suit (also in black and white, but looking more like a Skaven than Mickey Mouse) stood next to Kazuki, leering at him with sinister reddish eyes. The man carried a flute with him.

THE END OF THE PIED PIPER

The rat-man started playing. His music was coarse and blaring, the exact opposite of the type produced by Kazuki. Yet, there was another quality in his music, one we just realized out of how Kazuki was able to deceive Inu so easily, one so terrifying it made some of the students gasp in horror: the melody, or cacophony for a better definition, influenced the mood of the listener, and thereby their action. Inside the courtroom, its potency diminished greatly as the speakers could not emulate the exact content. However, Kazuki was given no such protection.

Within seconds, Kazuki was fully in a trance. His facial expression was goofy and his body loosened. Continuing his music, the rat-man gestured him to follow and Kazuki did so, despite all the screaming in the courtroom begging him to otherwise. The rat-man led Kazuki through the countryside to a small lake barely larger than a pond. Those knowing the fabled folk take would have an idea of what would happen next. But just as Kazuki was standing on the bank one step away from the water, the music abruptly stopped.

Snapped out of hypnosis, Kazuki surveyed his surrounding in bewilderment. He stood next to the lake but had not stepped into it yet. Even stranger was the fact the rat-man was now retreating. At that point, some of us probably thought something was wrong with the execution, and that Kazuki might not have to die after all.

All hopes were squashed when the water came alive and a legion of moaning zombified children with pale, disease-ridden skin emerged. The morbid sound they made filled everyone in the courtroom with abject terror. Decayed teeth and hands lashed out at the petrified Ultimate Flautist. Kazuki let out the slightest of screams before he was pulled into the lake by what seemed to be the victims of the Black Plague, only they were alive despite all evidence pointing to their painful demise. After a few violent waves, the lake was calm again. Only this time, the water was deep red. Fragments of clothes and flesh floated to its surface.

Kazuki Ishikawa, the Ultimate Flautist, has been executed

The remaining students including myself were dumbfounded by what had just taken place. To be fair, if Monokuma had gone all the way creating this medieval-theme Mutual Killing Game, I supposed he would be somewhat creative when it came to executing us, considering societies at that time were much more savage than current ones. But nothing prepared me for what I had just seen. Not even the Joker was this kind of twisted.

"Holy shit, what the fuck was that?!" Hokuto exclaimed.

"Goodness," Yume covered his mouth in shock. "That was horrifying. What have we gotten ourselves into?"

"That was quite disturbing," Fitzgerald commented, frowning. Coming from him, that meant A LOT.

"This has to be a joke," said Ashley who wisely looked away the moment the zomblets jumped out from the lake. "It must be a joke. No way is this real. No way. Just fucking no way."

"I would like to think the same," stuttered Kai, her face losing color (if that was even possible given how pale she was to begin with). Her jaw dangled in utter, speechless horror.

"Zombies?" Eliza exclaimed. "Zombies. Children. Fucking zombie children. Are you kidding me? Where the heck did you even get those?"

"You don't' want to know," Monokuma sneered.

"Oh God," Eliza complained. "Now I'm not feeling so hungry anymore."

Neither Hijiri nor Minako made a sound except sobbing, both too shaken by the macabre element of the execution to say anything. Hijiri looked like she was going to throw up. While her intense fear of blood was fabricated, not many could look at what happened to Kazuki and come out okay.

"Monokuma, you sick bastard," El Viento was the first to cry out against the liege of Tartarus Keep. "Kazuki deserves to die for his crime, but not in that way. No one, not even the foulest offenders, deserves that kind of death."

"That was so uncalled for," Inori added.

"Yeah," said Tatsuya. "I think I would rather get m-m-m-murdered than executed like that."

"Is it so hard to come up with a more dignified execution?" I cried.

"What do you expect?" Monokuma fired back. "Firing squad? Lethal injection? BOOORING! Remember back in the Middle Age where public execution was a thing, and many were the methods employed to bring death and suffering to the sinners? Well, this is just like that. Hurrah for old values."

"You evil twisted son of a bear-bitch," Rin barked. "You won't get away with this. I swear upon the graves of Akihiko and Kazuki no more of my classmates will die before you are arrested."

"I will help you with that," Hokuto agreed, galvanized by the grotesque execution. "By getting us all out of this cursed place in one piece. You can all count on me."

"Feisty, aren't you?" Monokuma responded. "Let's see how you plan on keeping that." Raising both his paws, the Overlord of Tartarus Keep made his announcement, "And so concludes the very first trial of the 32nd Mutual Killing Game. I hope you all have had a despairingly good time. Now, please vacate the basement and head back to your room. You've all done well. Take a good rest, you deserve it. Until next time where we have another gathering on the trial ground, I am your host, Overlord Monokuma."

With that, the bear was gone. All lights were turned off, except the ones showing us the stairs leading back the main hall. With nothing left to say, we departed. Once again I carried Minako while El Viento hefted Inori on her shoulder. Both had fallen unconscious at the conclusion of the trial, though for Minako she probably was just tired; the girl had a bad habit of sleeping in random places. As for Inori, having to stand in one place for so long in a rather confined space undeniably took a toll on her already fragile health, not to mention the mental damage from seeing a friend die such gruesome death.

One by one, we each headed back to our room. I dropped Minako in hers, knowing clearly what danger still lurked in the botanical garden in the form of mutated plants.

Today was a long day. Two friends had died. It turned out the bear had an army inside his castle aside from the Sentinels that showed up on our first day: the armed enforcers, the man in rat suit playing the flute, those zomblets coming from the lake. If our chance of escaping was slim before, it was all but impossible now; Hokuto might still have other ideas, though. I doubted Rin would be able to forgive Hijiri for what she did. Fitzgerald, he was an asshole, but that was hardly new knowledge at this point. If it weren't for him, we might not have solved the mystery. It was Kazuki's moment of weakness that forever damned him. My left hand was now unusable for at least a few days, though not as bad as my sister who had lost an entire arm permanently. But Inu was back, so at least that was good news. I thought I might need some rest after all of them.

24:00

Residence Area

Inside her room, Hijiri was in total distress. She had given in to her murderous urge and attempted to kill one of her friends. Her plan failed and, in doing so, nobody could ever trust her again. That arrogant bitch Rin Yamamoto, in particular, was especially harsh about it and confiscated her Electronic-ID for the time being, preventing her from leaving the confinement of her room (she could open the door from within, but not from the outside).

But it was not what Rin was capable of doing to her that filled her with the most trepidation, nor the distress faced by her Oka-san or her sisters (if Monokuma really lived up to his promise, they were probably freed by now). Instead, her encounter with Amelda Mason had taught her a new level of fear she never imagined.

The aching in her neck was a grim reminder of the retribution she received for her crime. But there was more to it than what the others might believe. Amelda himself probably was aware, though, like Hijiri, he remained quiet about it.

The drug should have completely nullified him or at least prevented him from moving a muscle. Yet, that was not the case as he sprang out at her with the strength of a bull, nearly choking the life out of her. Worst still, when she stabbed him in the hand, she saw what happened clearly. A fountain of blood erupted, more than any human could possibly bleed. She thought it was a hallucination, until she smelled it, felt its stickiness on her clothes and skin. But when she woke up the next morning, all was gone. No other student could see it coating the walls, floor, and ceiling like the aftermath of dynamite exploding inside a paint can. The only blood dripping from Mason's hand was as much as one could expect from being impaled by a scissor blade.

When Amelda tried to kill her, she looked at him in the eyes and he looked back. His face was calm for someone consumed by a bloodthirst, though given his talent that was hardly a surprise. Before blacking out, she even remembered his exchange with Monokuma being knocked out by a magical blast himself. The way it sounded, Monokuma himself didn't notice the blood either. He didn't look like someone under the influence of the drug at all. Yet, it didn't look like he was in control of his actions either, and his reactions in the trial were all genuine from what she could see.

Which begged the question: What was the real Amelda Mason? The murderous madman with a straight face or the somewhat timid, calculating Ultimate Accountant he proclaimed himself to be? And where did all the blood come from that only she and Mason could see?

All Hijiri's thoughts were cut off when the door to her room opened and walked in the Ultimate Police Officer with her foreboding demeanor. She had Hijiri's confiscated tablet with her. To enter someone else's private quarter without their permission was a rude thing to do and Hijiri had long held a great contempt towards the law enforcers for their lack of mannerism. Yet, she knew she was hopeless in this situation. She couldn't fight back alone – even without the pain in her neck she would stand no chance against the Ultimate Police Officer – and no one would come to rescue her, not after what she had done.

Like Kazuki, Hijiri found herself resigning to fate.

"Let's make this quick," said the Ultimate Geisha, mustering every ounce of strength she had left.

"No compromise," Rin replied. "I will stay here as long as it takes for you to learn your lesson."

ACT I ENDS

Author's note: Alright, this is the end of the first act. As you can already see, the execution feels more realistic but retains all the cheesiness and horror that the Danganronpa franchise is known for. Because it feels more realistic, the disturbing level is pushed even higher, just like what happened in Chiaki Namai's execution in the anime. I hope you all like it.

The history of despair segment so far is seen when we have to say goodbye to a character. From the next act, this will appear when we get a focus on the character, not necessarily mean they die. This is because there are 16 characters (some might have more than one history segment) and not all of them are going to die. With this part, I aim to explore more about the characters in the period in which their memory is erased, something we get very little of in the games (though they did expand upon the cast of Danganronpa 2 in the anime).