Never Say Never
Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa or the characters associated with it.
Chapter 3
Act 3
"It's just a name…Taeko Yasuhiro…"
Somewhere…deep within…a part of her soul snapped…and a rage unlike anything this world has ever seen burst forth…however…somehow…it was contained…hidden away…buried beneath years of rigorous discipline…and a mental fortitude that most professional gamblers failed to achieve…
Externally, Celestia Ludenberg showed absolutely no hint of emotion, her mask perfect and her posture showing no weakness. That was very fortunate for the gambler, because if any of the other students had been able to see through her at that moment, they would have seen a classmate so blood-thirsty and ruthless that Monokuma would have blushed.
The mere mention of that name boiled Celestia Ludenberg's blood. She could feel every hair on her body standing on end, her body itself rejecting the moniker that had been forced upon her at birth. The disgusting reminder of who she used to be…it made her want to vomit blood. Even now, after several years of burying that name, someone had unearthed it. Not only that, they had foolishly announced it to each of the worthless idiots that she'd been misleading since the game began.
All around her, the other students expressed nothing less than confusion at the revelation of this secret. Fortunately, no one looked her way or seemed to suspect her. A part of her actually questioned why no one would consider it to be her secret, since it was obvious that she was hiding her real name. However, she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth and decided to just let them think what they wanted.
Just as the moment seemed to pass and everyone appeared ready to move on, Makoto had to go and open his mouth.
"It's just a name? That's weird," Makoto said aloud before turning and glancing toward Hiro for some reason. "Yasuhiro…that's your full name isn't it, Hiro? Is this someone related to you or something?"
Just a twitch…that's all it was…the tiniest twitch of rage tugged at Celeste's facial features…the only sign that she was in any way perturbed by that fucking absurd comment!
"Why the fucking fuck would that make any sense?!" she mentally shouted while keeping her features as normal as possible. "It's obvious that the Yasuhiro part of the secret is their family name, not their given name! So why would it matter?! How could anyone make such a childish mistake?! And why the fucking shit would you associate them with a shit-tard like Hiro?! That's disrespectful on every possible level!"
As if to add to her humiliation, Hiro let out a chuckle and scratched his head as he replied, "Ya got me! Maybe they're some distant relative or something? I mean, how ironic is it for two completely different people to have the same name, right?"
It took every ounce of willpower Celeste had to keep from walking over and stabbing that worthless loser right in the eye with her finger talon accessory. And she wouldn't have stopped there! She would have needed to break both of Makoto's legs as punishment for even suggesting such a bullshit notion. Sure, it would reveal her secret, but it would make her feel oh so satisfied! And since she wouldn't have killed them, just horrifically maimed them, there would be no reason for a true class trial, just another wannabe 'bullying' trial. However, with the level of animosity she'd been throwing at everyone lately, she decided against it, considering they could decide to have her executed via the new rules…but god-dammit she really did want to cut a bitch right now!
However, that was a gamble she wasn't prepared to deal with right now. For the moment, she knew that it was best to keep up her usual act and just let things pass by. That way, when they least expected it…she would strike! And right now, the target of her rage was the one who revealed her secret in front of everyone.
Lifting her gaze up, she carefully glared Taka's way as he set down the last secret, her secret, thus finishing out the twisted scene.
"And with that, all of our secrets are out in the open!" Taka triumphantly shouted at everyone, his hair still a white sheen and his eyes burning passionately. Misinterpreting their harsh glares as appreciative glances, he cocked a smirk and continued, "There's no need to thank me! Now that there are no secrets between us, we will be able to—".
"I'm afraid you're mistaken," the smooth and authoritative voice of Byakuya interrupted, much to Taka's displeasure. However, the Moral Compass allowed him to finish, like a gentleman should. "I was keeping count while you read them off and if I'm not mistaken, there were only fourteen secrets but fifteen of us."
"T-That's impossible!" Taka protested, diving back into the box and checking to be sure he read them all. Finding none left, he picked up the stack of open secrets and flipped through them, counting as he did so. "…twelve…thirteen…fourteen…! For the love of all that is moral discipline! Byakuya Togami is correct! One is missing!"
A wave of realization swept through the cafeteria as everyone mentally recounted how many secrets had been revealed. At the same time, Taka's eyes widened and he felt himself go weak in the knees, feeling failure creeping up on him so soon after his ascendance.
"Don't you all find that odd?" Byakuya continued, glancing knowingly around the room. "We were promised all the secrets and yet one has been omitted. Is it perhaps because it is your secret, Chairman Ishimaru?"
As that accusation was hurled at him in that snide tone, Taka felt his newfound anger powers revitalize and his aura unexpectedly brightened as he retorted, "How dare you! Suggesting that I, Disciplinary Committee Chairman Ishimaru, would deign to leave out my own secret! I can tell you for a fact that my secret was already revealed with the rest of them—!"
A menacing chuckle resounded, interrupting him and making everyone turn. They were unsurprised when they discovered Celeste, covering her mouth with one hand, stifling the end of her laugh.
"And how are we to believe that?" she insisted, her eyes seeming more dangerous than usual. "Do you have any proof that you are not, in fact, hiding your own secret from us?"
Flabbergasted by her hostile attitude, Taka shouted in protest, "Don't be absurd! I would never commit such a foul act! I am just as laid bare of my secret as the rest of you! This is all just some kind of mistake! I swear it!"
To this, Celeste chuckled again, this time even more sinister than before. "If you cannot prove your innocence, then what you have done can be classified as a form of 'bullying', yes? Perhaps we should call Monokuma to see what he makes of all this?"
"Indeed, I believe we should," Byakuya agreed before turning and glaring at a nearby camera. "I'm sure you must have heard that. Show yourself before I begin to lose my patience."
At the mention of the bear's summons, everyone tensed and prepared for the worst. After all, there was no way the Mastermind wouldn't step in, especially after being called out personally.
"Oooooh! This is getting good! I don't wanna get up but I have to!"
High up on the fourth floor, hidden away in the camera control room, the real Junko watched the scene through the monitor. It had been thrilling so far, especially watching Celeste's obvious internal freak out at having her real name read. And now the added pleasure of Taka having misplaced one of the secrets was spicing things up even more! She really wanted to continue watching but nature was calling and she couldn't hold it in much longer.
"They'll just have to wait 'til I get back! It'll raise the tension even more!" Junko squealed joyfully as she moved to stand up.
Unfortunately, her attention became instantly refocused when, as she'd stood up for her pee break, she stepped on something. Raising an eyebrow as she looked down, she bent over and picked a lone piece of paper up off the floor and unceremoniously unfolded it. As she read it, her need to pee vanished.
Junko's eyes widened as she stared at the piece of paper in her hand, the final secret that she had forgotten to place in the box next to the others before giving it to Taka. It had been an honest mistake, accidentally leaving it out. After all it wasn't her fault it ended up on the floor and not in the box. Plus, if Trust Fund hadn't pointed it out, then they probably wouldn't have been the wiser. But that wasn't really the pressing issue.
"Well…this is gonna be awkward…or is it?" she said with a smirk as she handed off the letter to a waiting Monokuma. "Rush delivery – coming right up…after I pee!"
Her bladder lurched as she dashed for the nearest restroom, confident the students could wait.
To everyone's surprise, Monokuma didn't arrive immediately. In fact, almost an entire minute seemed to pass in utter silence. Then two minutes…then five minutes…ten minutes…then a quarter of an hour went by and still no Monokuma. Meanwhile, all of the students stood there simply waiting for the Mastermind to reveal its pawn. It was incredibly surreal.
"Do you think he's really coming?" Hiro foolishly asked, the first one to voice anything since the bear had been summoned. "Not that I'm complaining—".
"That sure as hell sounded like a complaint to me!" the high-pitched tones of Monokuma abruptly erupted from the behind all of them. Spinning around, they saw the demented bear waddling into the cafeteria from the hallway entrance.
"Perfect timing…although considerably late," Byakuya said, a malicious smirk spreading over his lips. "We believe that we have a case of—".
Suddenly, the Togami Heir's breath caught in his throat as he saw something familiar gripped tightly in one of Monokuma's paws. Everyone else, however, was so stunned when Byakuya, of all people, had found himself speechless, that they hadn't noticed yet. Taking advantage of that, the bear sighed heavily before addressing them.
"Jeez! You kids work me to the bone!" the bear mimed wiping nonexistent sweat from its brow before continuing. "I just happened to be talking a walk, I have to keep my bear-ish figure somehow, and happened to come across this just outside the cafeteria."
Lifting its paw up, all of the students were both relieved and horrified to see another piece of paper, exactly like the ones that contained their secrets, held in the bear's clutches.
"Is that—?" Celeste tried to ask but was cut off.
"The final secret!" Monokuma answered, ignoring the menacing glare the gambler shot its way as it interrupted her. "I can only assume that Mr. Chairman Ishimaru dropped it on his way here this morning. You guys sure are lucky I was doing my usual rounds!"
As usual, the bear cackled as it waved the final secret disrespectfully above its head, making everyone glare fiercely at the demented automaton.
"Yes, yes, you're quite generous. Now may I please have that? I need to finish my task so that we can move on to other agendas!" Taka said, holding his hand out insistently.
Monokuma huffed and whispered, "Being pushy is how Chairmen get assassinated…"
However, the bear didn't delay, waddling over and presenting the final secret to Taka, who decided that it was best to simply get it over with and unfolded the paper. Without any hesitation, he read the contents aloud:
"One of us…sold 'oregano' to a minor?"
It took a moment for most of the students to register exactly what that secret meant. Those that understood it immediately, namely Kyoko, Byakuya, Celeste, and surprisingly Sayaka, all turned their gaze to an increasingly nervous Hiro. At that time, most of the other students followed their classmates' gazes until almost the entire class was staring directly at the now frantic Ultimate Clairvoyant.
Unsurprisingly, under the weight of all their stares, Hiro broke instantly.
"How was I supposed to know that he was a minor?! Or a yakuza for that matter?!" the clairvoyant blurted, throwing up his hands before clutching his head and rubbing his skull. "He said that he was older than he looked! He had an honest face! How could I possibly have known?!"
A resounding sigh was shared as a clear picture of the incident came to light. Most of the students shook their heads in disappointment, while the others were dumbfounded by the fact that he'd admitted it so readily. However, much to everyone's shock, Taka abruptly started laughing heartily. As one, the class turned to stare at him, utterly perplexed by his reaction to this shocking secret. Just as Kyoko was contemplating speaking up, the Moral Compass spoke.
"Ahahahaha! Foolish Hiro," he said with an understand smile. "Children can't cook for themselves! So they would have no use for oregano or any other spices for that matter!"
Realizing that the Moral Compass didn't understand the full implications of his crime, Hiro nervously laughed along with him and answered, "Ahhhh…haha…yeah! Kids can't cook…haha…ha…"
As Taka continued to laugh at what he considered to be an absurd secret, the rest of the class fell into utter disbelief. By this point, even those unaffiliated with these kinds of situations, like Makoto and Hina, fully understand that Hiro had been dealing in narcotics. However, for Taka to completely misunderstand that was actually a blessing in disguise, since he wouldn't be on the warpath over the issue any time soon.
Unfortunately, that didn't mean that others wouldn't be inclined to enlighten Taka. Strangely enough though, the primary candidates for that, Byakuya and Celeste, were choosing to remain silent. However, just by looking at them, it was obvious by their smirks that they intended to use this information as leverage if they ever needed it. Not to mention that they probably didn't want to have to deal with a rampaging, super stick-up-his-ass Taka right now anyway.
The only fear now was Monokuma, who stood right next to Taka as the announcement had gone out. Again, strangely, it seemed the bear was no more eager to correct him than anyone else…which was more frightening than anything else.
"Alright then, now that we've got all of the secrets exposed! I suggest we test the limits of our newfound faith in one another by doing a trust building exercise!" Taka shouted to everyone, the white sheen around his body and burning eyes still radiating brightly. A collective groan sounded but he promptly ignored it, most likely having anticipated their reaction. "I know, I know, this can be difficult but we shall overcome this uneasiness about our classmates together! Now, the only question is, what kind of trust building exercise shall we do?"
"Oh! Oh! I know the perfect trust building exercise!" Monokuma excitedly proclaimed, leaping up and waving its paws.
With a skeptical glare, Taka asked, "And what might that be?"
Without any other pretexts, Monokuma leapt up onto the table and struck a dynamic pose, pointing upward with a single finger. "Since you all survived another class trial, though it was considerably different, I shall graciously allow you all to advance up to the third floor!"
Mukuro's eyes widened, as did everyone else's, as they learned of Monokuma's 'generous' gift. Instantly, the soldier searched her memory for everything that was on the third floor.
"The Rec Room, the Art Room, art supply room, the physics lab and the storage room just beyond it. The art room doubled as a classroom, and there are two actual classrooms on that floor, to the right after getting up the stairs, if I remember correctly."
Internally, she grimaced as she realized that the third floor was one of the largest in the entire school and had various tools to be concerned about. The wood working utensils and other art supplies could easily be turned into tools of murder in the wrong hands. The same was true in history; hammers and sickles that were forged in order to create and help harvest were turned into deadly weapons during wartime. This school was quickly becoming more like a battlefield than a place of learning in Mukuro's mind.
"We must…go upward!" Inexplicably from behind its back, the bear pulled out a pair of spiky red sunglasses, donning them while still pointing upward and shouting, "For you all are the students that will pierce the heavens!"
"Copyright! That is copyright!" Hifumi instantly shouted, pointing accusatorily at the bear. "Even if you changed the phrase a bit, it's obviously a rip-off of—".
"And I suppose you'd be the expert on ripping manga…now wouldn't you, Mr. Ultimate Fanfic Creator?" Monokuma jeered, silencing Hifumi instantly.
The soldier watched as the fanfic creator swallowed the lump in his throat but otherwise didn't move for a moment, obviously weighing his options. It didn't take him long to decide, however, as he sat back down a few moments later and said, "…please continue."
With a menacing grin, Monokuma took in a deep breath…and then began to sing:
"A whole neeeeeew wooooorld! A new fantastic place to kill! Don't matter what you use! There's stuff to peruse! As long as one of you ends up dead tooooodaaaaaaay!"
As the bear sang, completely off key, all of the students cringed, wishing they could un-hear the song they had been subjected to. Mukuro noticed that Hifumi, in particular, had to hold himself down in his chair, probably to keep from shouting about copyright again. Then again, that wasn't really even the issue, a point that Mukuro decided needed to be stressed.
"You're not even being subtle about it anymore…" the soldier jeered, frowning angrily at Monokuma.
Without hesitation, the bear answered, "Screw subtlety! It wasn't getting me anywhere! Kill each other!"
Even though everyone in the room was more or less used to Monokuma's antics, the fact that the bear was blatantly telling them what it wanted was kind of terrifying. Mukuro could understand why it was acting like this though…Junko must have been getting bored, and that wasn't good for anyone. The soldier knew that her sister could change her mind or opinion at the drop of a hat, mainly because it was a daily occurrence.
However, with the lack of corpses this game had produced, it was obvious that Junko wasn't getting a return on the 'investment' she'd put into creating this game. And while it seemed that Junko was still actively following her own rules, for the most part, considering she added new rules for the last trial, Mukuro wondered exactly how long she'd stick to those rules. Because when Junko completely lost patience…she'd do something drastic. And that was something the soldier didn't even want to think about right now.
Instead, she chose to focus on her own advice and just do what she could for now. It was all any of them could do at the moment…especially with the way Taka was acting.
"Very well! So then, as Monokuma suggested, we shall now go and investigate the newly opened floor!" Taka shouted his orders at everyone before walking around the side of the table and heading for the door. "Everyone, get into a straight line! Single file now!"
"Wait a second," Sayaka asked the Moral Compass as he passed her and Leon. Surprisingly, Taka came to an abrupt halt and turned his fearsome gaze toward her, a questionable expression on his face. Without a hint of apprehension, the pop idol gestured to her food and asked, "Can't we at least finish eating first? At the very least, I know that Leon hasn't had anything to eat yet."
With a sympathetic smile, Sayaka turned to look at Leon, who was now dejectedly looking at the destroyed sandwich that had slipped from his hand when Taka had burst in. Carefully, she set her good hand on his shoulder, patting him gently with a consolingly smile; as if to say 'you can make another one'. The baseball star looked back to her and couldn't help but smile back with a look that said 'but it'll never be the same…'.
Confident she was getting her point across, the pop idol shifted her gaze back to Taka and continued, "And I'm sure the rest of us would enjoy finishing our meal—".
"Then perhaps you all should have thought about that before meeting in secret this morning!"
No one was prepared for the sudden explosion of fury that Taka exuded, shouting directly in Sayaka's face, spittle splattering on her cheeks. Startled, the pop idol rebounded backwards, losing her balance and almost falling, if not for the fact that Leon sprung into action and caught her. A relieved sigh escaped both of them as the baseball star slowly lowered her down into her chair, a brief appreciative smile shared between them.
However, it almost instantly vanished as Disciplinary Committee Chairman Ishimaru continued his tirade.
"If all of you had simply waited for me, and by that extent Byakuya and Toko, then we could have all had a pleasant morning meeting, eaten heartily, and then explored the new floor together peacefully! Instead, you all chose to go behind my back and forced me to take up my previous position as Disciplinary Committee Chairman just to keep order in this place—!"
"No one forced you to do anything, jackass!" Junko immediately retorted, leaning toward him with her hands on her hips. "If anything, you're the one making trouble for the rest of us! It's been difficult enough dealing with this messed up killing game! We don't need someone going all rule-Nazi on us on top of all that!"
"Though I loathe to associate myself with such a vulgar woman, I regrettably must agree with Junko," the smug voice of Byakuya rose up from behind everyone, with the Fashionista sending him a menacing glare for his comment. However, he ignored her sour glance, as usual, and continued to address Taka. "You can't possibly expect us to follow your ludicrous notions of order. After all, you are nothing more than a mere student here, the same as the rest of us. Perhaps your family used to be influential in the past, but as of now, your name means less than nothing."
A visible twitch tugged at Taka's features as Byakuya finished, a smug grin on the Affluent Progeny's lips. At the same time, almost all of their classmates shared a look of confusion. Even Junko seemed utterly baffled by that comment, falling into silent contemplation. The only one among them that seemed aware of what Byakuya referred to was Kyoko, who had narrowed her eyes at him for the implication.
"Excuse me, but, I fail to understand your implication," Celeste brazenly asked, an almost sadistic glint in her eyes. "How exactly do you mean that his name used to be influential?"
Although her question seemed innocent enough, it was obviously to everyone that it was dripping with venom, more than likely due to having her and everyone else's secrets revealed. Celeste truly didn't seem to know what the Togami Heir was referring to, but she could see that it perturbed Taka, and was willfully prodding at the open wound that had been exposed. Unfortunately, while the rest of the class felt repulsed by her and Byakuya's actions, none of them could deny that Taka had brought it upon himself.
With a cruel smirk, Byakuya turned to address everyone, clearing his throat loudly for emphasis.
"Our esteemed Committee Chairman is the grandson of Former Prime Minister Toranosuke Ishimaru." He paused for a moment, letting that information sink in. However, when he noticed the confused glances of classmates such as Hiro and Hifumi, he decided that he needed to elaborate, for the simple-minded folks. "For those that remain ignorant of our country's political history, I should mention that Toranosuke Ishimaru was removed from his position due to a scandal involving the embezzlement of a large amount of funds."
A sense of understanding flooded everyone's mind and one by one, they turned to glance at Taka. The Moral Compass' gaze was downcast, his burning red eyes closed as he quietly listened to everything Byakuya had to say.
"Oh, now I understand. As I recall, the Ishimaru family continues to struggle with sizable debt that was left in the wake of that scandal. How horrifying…" Celeste maliciously commented, adding insult to injury.
"It's more along the lines of pathetic," Byakuya added, his snide smirk shifting into a look of genuine disgust. "You obviously inherited your grandfather's penchant for making a fool of himself. As it stands, you have absolutely no right to hold yourself in a higher position than the rest of us. In fact, you've clearly overstepped your bounds. Perhaps we should consider your little spat with Sayaka as a form of bullying and—".
"Just stop it, guys!" Makoto almost pleaded, instantly drawing everyone's attention. In particular, Celeste and Byakuya sent him a fearsome glare, to which he flinched slightly before continuing. "W-We don't have time to be putting each other down like this! We need to stay strong and work together—".
"Unfortunately, I must disagree with you, Makoto Naegi!"
Everyone was shocked when Taka abruptly shouted, the aura around his body intensifying. His burning red eyes snapped open and the white sheen around his hair shone brighter than ever before. A wave of unsettlement passed through all of the students, and even Byakuya and Celeste felt a pit growing in their stomachs as the Moral Compass suddenly began screaming.
"If anything…this series of unfortunate events has opened my eyes to the truth! As we are now, there is absolutely no way that we can act as a single unit!" His voice rattled the very air as he turned his gaze toward Celeste, a sense of power flowing out of his visage. In that moment, even if it was only for a second, the tiniest bit of fear registered on the gambler's face. "Celestia Ludenberg! You are correct that my family is in debt, but at least we live a good, honest life! The same, I fear, cannot be said for you!"
As that insinuation rang out, a blank expression overtook Celeste's features, as if she couldn't comprehend how to process those words. When she finally seemed to regain her senses, she merely frowned and gave a swift huff before twirling her hair between her fingers…possibly in order to keep herself from strangling him. Seeing that she was more or less speechless, Taka then set his sights on the Togami Heir.
"And you, Byakuya Togami! You are correct that my grandfather was a fool! However, insisting that I am also a fool simply because I am his grandson is beyond petty! Your family should be ashamed of how pathetic you're acting! As the scion of the Togami family, you need to learn humility before you can ever hope to succeed your predecessor."
For a moment, all Byakuya could do was flinch, never having expected someone he'd just thoroughly humiliated to throw such disrespectful words back at him. He gritted his teeth and prepared for a counter argument but never got the chance, as Taka completely turned away from him, as if ignoring his existence. This further humiliation only served to ignite the Togami Heir's fury, his hands clenching into fists with his nails digging into his own palms.
However, before Byakuya had the chance to regain his dignity, a flash suddenly shot past him. Before he or anyone else knew it, Genocide Jill stood directly in front of Taka, poised to strike with her scissors at the ready in both hands.
"You…how dare you insult Master Byakuya!" the serial killer screeched, barely holding herself back. "That is a fate punishable by multiple eviscerations! A fate that I shall carry out—!"
Much to everyone's shock, a glass of water was suddenly splashed in her face. As the water dripped off her and splattered to the floor, Taka lowered a now empty water glass and set it on the table next to him.
"It is against my moral code to strike a woman, but you certainly needed to cool off. I certainly hope I've made myself clear," Disciplinary Committee Chairman Ishimaru told her firmly, wiping off the little bit of water that had landed on his own hand.
A confused expression overtook Genocide Jill's features as her brain struggled to register what had happened. Her braided pig tails were, miraculously, the driest part of her upper half, with the wet and matted bangs of her hair clinging to the skin of her forehead. Her glasses, obscured with droplets of moisture, slipped down slightly and hung on the edge of her nose. The top of her uniform was also dampened, clinging to her chest tightly enough to see the mounds of her breasts.
When she was finally able to think straight, Genocide Jill sputtered a bit, blowing air out her nose to clear out all of the water that must have splashed up inside. After only a few moments coughing and sputtering, she slowly pushed up her glasses with her middle finger, intentionally it seemed. When she lowered her hand, an intense blood-lust radiated from her eyes and she narrowed her gaze dangerously at the one who had done this to her.
All the while, Taka simple glared at her, not an ounce of fear present in his visage.
"You…little…bitch…you got water up my nose! Don't think that you'll…that you'll…" Genocide Jill began to say before wrinkling her nose as water dripped off it. Suddenly, she blinked her eyes rapidly, tears forming in the corners, as if trying to forestall something. "O-Oh no…! Not…now! Ah…ah…ah…ACHOOO!"
As that sneeze echoed around the room, everyone was shocked as Genocide Jill's visage suddenly shifted. Her eyes held no hint of blood-lust, her confident smirk was replaced by a fearful frown, and she was visibly trembling as her eyes scanned the whole room frantically. It was then that she noticed her dampened appearance, which only seemed to perplex her further.
"H-Huh…? W-What…? What's g-going…on? Why a-am I…all w-wet? Weren't we h-having a c-class t-trial?" Toko asked hysterically, trying to make sense of everything that had happened.
In that moment, it became obvious to everyone that, somehow, Genocide Jill had switched back into Toko. An almost collective sigh was released as this became evident, with Byakuya showing visible relief for the first time since the trial yesterday.
Unfortunately for her, Toko almost immediately noticed that she was holding her other personality's favored killing tool and couldn't stop herself from screaming. Desperately looking around the room, it was obvious that she expected to find bloody corpse rather than a gathering of her fellow students, all of whom were staring at her. In the midst of her panic, she turned her gaze to see the newly transformed Taka looming over her, his expression chilling her to the bone.
"Enough of your antics, young lady!" Taka shouted before she could recover, still stunned by everything that had happened. "If you don't put those cutting tools away this instant, I will have to report you to Monokuma for bullying!"
Only now did Toko take in Taka's new appearance; the white sheen of his hair, the burning fury in his eyes…it was reminiscent of a horror novel she'd read as a child, the kind to scare little kids, about a vicious monster that took human form to feed on children. And it seemed that, for her at least, it had the same effect on adults.
Unrelenting fear gripped Toko and, unsurprisingly, her legs buckled and she fell to the floor with a terrified wail. Almost immediately, she lifted her skirt and attempted to replace the scissors into the holsters on her legs. However, as panicked as she was, she couldn't quite get them back in, more than likely because she wasn't used to replacing them. That honor more than likely went to her other half, not to mention that her hands were shaking out of fearful desperation.
Just when she felt that she was going to break down into tears, a steady hand gently gripped her own and guided the first pair of scissors into place. Toko's gaze shot up and, rather than it being her Master, as she'd hoped, she found that Junko was the one helping to get her situated. The writer flinched and instinctively pulled away from her, shouting, "I-I d-don't need y-your help! You h-hussy!"
As she shouted that, she tried to replace the other set of scissors, only to accidentally scrape them against her own thigh. Luckily, it was only a tiny scrape and no blood came out but she winced regardless. She didn't have time to react before Junko carefully grabbed her other hand and once again guided the scissors into the holster.
Embarrassed that someone she despised had to help her, Toko had no other recourse other than to shout, "D-Don't think I o-owe you or anything! I would h-have gotten it just f-fine on my own! You p-probably think I-I'm useless, right?! That I c-can't do anything for m-myself, right?!"
She paused and waited for Junko to retort but strangely, nothing happened. It had been nearly ten seconds and the Fashionista hadn't tried to refute or agree with her statement. Honestly, it kind of scared Toko because she'd never known someone not to react when she acted like that. At the same time, she didn't say those horrible things about herself for attention, she actually believed that must be what people thought of her. And weirdly enough, Junko remaining silent actually…felt like a compliment.
It was as if…Junko didn't feel the need to reprimand or console her. She had just helped her and moved on…which confused the already perplexed writer even more!
Taking a chance, the bespectacled girl lifted her gaze up to see Junko, who had stood up and stepped in front of her, absolutely fuming. However, she didn't seem upset about the things Toko had said. Instead, the Fashionista seemed downright pissed at Taka.
Mukuro was seething, her vision was flooded with the color red and she was struggling to maintain her composure, let along her disguise. Not since her sister betrayed her had she felt such rage. Taka had far overstepped his boundaries this time…insulting and screaming at Sayaka, demoralizing Toko for her other personality's actions…it was enough to make her sick!
"Just who in the hell do you think you are…?" she seethed, keeping her voice low and menacing. "I don't care if you call yourself Committee Chairman, or even Prime Minister for that matter. You're way out of line and you need to—what the fuck, again?!"
During her tirade, Taka wrote up another pink slip for her use of language and was already working on writing up another for her coarse language a moment ago.
"Every offense needs strict discipline," Taka practically recited as he held out the two pink pages, dangling them in front of her face until she finally broke and snatched them away from him. Almost reflexively, she gripped the edges of the slips and prepared to rip them apart, but was stopped when the Moral Compass stated, "And remember, tearing up an official notice from the Disciplinary Committee is another offense. So please bear that in mind."
Mukuro's hands clenched while holding the slips, wanting nothing more than to turn them both into confetti. However, rather than deal with Taka's absurdity in writing out at least three more, two for each paper and another for committing the offense, she instead stuffed them into her blouse pocket, looking slightly defeated.
Despite that, she still found the will to reply, "This is what I'm talking about! You're going way too far with this whole Disciplinary Committee sh—", she barely managed to keep herself from swearing and instead redirected her wording. "—stuff…Disciplinary Committee stuff. I can guarantee you that this isn't the way to keep us safe or help us escape from here. Just look at what you've done in the last few minutes. You're putting everyone on edge and it's only going to lead to more problems."
The soldier gestured toward Sayaka and Toko, trying to emphasize how appalling his behavior had been. Taka took a brief moment to glance their way, with Sayaka nervously staring at him and Toko slowly crawling toward the door while still on the floor. Furrowing his brow, the Moral Compass took a moment to ponder and Mukuro hoped that her insistence would be enough to at least get him to back down for the moment. They could all talk about how to deal with him later, if need be, but right now, he was like a rabid dog snapping at everything that annoyed him.
After a few moments of silent contemplation, Taka lifted his gaze and met Mukuro's eyes. As a seasoned soldier, Mukuro could see that he had made a steadfast decision, and as much as she wanted to be reassured by that, she could also see the distrust he bore her and everyone else within his crimson irises.
"You're quite right. I haven't handled this situation as I should have, and I apologize for that," he began, daring to let everyone have the slightest hint of hope. However, it was instantly crushed as he continued, "That is why, from here on out, insubordination will not be tolerated! We've all seen how disruptions from challenging authority can have disastrous results! As such, from this moment on; anyone who has complaints will answer directly to me!"
All color drained from Mukuro's face as that proclamation was uttered, and she knew that her battle to keep everyone alive had just entered a new stage of warfare.
"This is the only way to establish order now," Disciplinary Committee Chairman Ishimaru reassured himself. "Junko is correct that I am not handling this situation appropriately…however, tough love, I believe they call it, seems to be the most effective measure to take with everyone at the moment."
Although he'd been a bit slow on the uptake, the harshness of his recent actions finally dawned on him. He hadn't meant to frighten Leon or Sayaka, even if they had provoked him first, but the fact remained that he'd responded sternly to their complaints. He could have approached the matter more carefully. Granted, they were being belligerent and there was no place for such behavior in the school environment he was building. Next time, he'd simply remind them of their own fatal mistake during the first case, which would be enough to get them to reconsider how offensive they were being towards him and their classmates.
As for Toko, or Genocide Jill rather, she was being disruptive and needed to be taught a lesson in manners. And since it was unbecoming to strike a woman, he figured cooling her off with water was more appropriate. And it had worked; she'd completely reverted back to her more manageable state, a blessing that his classmates surely appreciated as well. Her excuse of having a split personality didn't diminish her disruptive attitude, and thus, he had given her a stern verbal warning.
But then, Junko had to spout expletives in succession and needed to be reminded that a lady does not use coarse language, regardless of the circumstances. Even so, she had made a valid point. Although it was unintentionally, he seemed to be putting everyone on edge. He simply needed to give them time to adjust. After all, even he would have been surprised if a fellow classmate had suddenly decided to take complete authority over all of their lives. However, he was confident that they all would soon come to understand that this was the way things needed to be. It would be a difficult adjustment period, but he was confident he could instill the same level of respect he'd demanded from his years as a hall monitor!
Someday, they would thank him for being so vigilant against rule-breakers and dissenters. It was all for their own sakes, after all.
"By taking on the burden of enforcing the school regulations myself, rather than allowing Monokuma to run rampant, I can bring order from chaos and prevent further acts of betrayal at the same time. Even if they can't see it right now, I'm sure that my classmates will eventually understand that everything I do is for the sake of their survival. Someday, we shall all look back on this moment and recall it as the moment when I brought salvation to this horrific situation!"
As if coinciding with his thoughts, the burning white aura around his body intensified as reassurance flooded his being.
"From this moment on, any and all enforcement of the rules shall be carried out by the Disciplinary Committee!" Taka announced to his classmates with no hesitation, completely ignorant of their fiery gazes. "And since I am the only acting member of the committee, it falls to me to distribute punishment for each offense committed!"
"…Okay, this isn't going anything like I expected…and that's why it's so interesting!"
Junko Enoshima practically squealed with joy as she watched the scene on the surveillance room monitors. After giving Super Stick-Up-His-Ass the nameless secrets, the Mastermind honestly hadn't known what would become of it. For all she knew, he could have simply turned them all over to his fellow classmates without reading them at all.
But then again…if she'd really expected that to happen she wouldn't have given them to him in the first place.
"Despair can take so many forms, that's why it's so fulfilling," she reminded herself, gazing longingly at the dejected faces of her former classmates. "Torture and cruelty are the most common progenitors but, in these rare moments, good-will can instill more despair than a freight-train crashing into an orphanage while on fire!"
With a spring in her step, Junko leapt up from her seat and skipped toward the Monokuma control room, the devious glint in her eyes reflecting off the monitors as she passed by.
As Taka's proclamation reverberated in their ears, reactions varied from angered expressions to pained looks.
Makoto's shock was probably the most evident, as his mouth hung open and his eyes slightly dilated. However, he wasn't the only one, both Hina and Sakura held startled visages of their own, the former seeming a bit more frazzled than the latter. And while Sayaka shared their worried expression, Leon could only express frustration at this news, his hands clenched into fists as he glared at his sauna buddy. Kyoko was the only one who didn't seem rattled by this revelation, the look in her eyes suggesting that she had predicted this outcome long before Taka had conceived it. Rather than being shocked, Hiro didn't seem to fully comprehend exactly what the Disciplinary Committee Chairman was imposing; this was evident by the fact that he kept looking from one person to the next, hoping one of them would explain it. At the same time, Hifumi was pondering over which story-line their new dystopian-type leader would follow; would it be 'Ishimaru of the Rebellion' or 'Divergent Taka'? In either case, the fanfic creator was confident that with his vast knowledge of plot and character development, he could survive in any harsh environment Taka forced upon them. Meanwhile, Celeste continued to glare harshly, wishing the dagger she was staring at Taka weren't metaphorical. Byakuya, strangely, didn't seem all that perturbed by this development. In fact, if one looked closely, the tiniest trace of a smirk tugged at his lips, as if he was preparing to enjoy the ensuing chaos. Trembling somewhere behind him, Toko had managed to pull herself up off the floor and was currently trying to figure out where she was and why Mondo and Chihiro were missing. Finally, as the one who stood almost directly in front of Taka, it fell to Junko to showcase the look of abject horror that all of them felt deep down inside.
However, above all, a sense of confusion began to settle in as they all tried to make sense of their classmate's sudden rise to power. In the midst of this perplexion, a single voice broke through the confusion…and it was not one they had expected.
"Oooooh, I like the cut of your jib, Disciplinary Committee Chairman Ishimaru!" Monokuma suddenly cheered from atop a nearby table, making its presence inescapably known. "In fact, I appreciate your dedication to the rules so much that, I think, for the time being, I'll allow you to be the sole enforcer of the school regulations until further notice!"
Gasps of shock and looks of horror struck almost all of the students as the demented bear relayed its support of Taka's newfound position.
"T-That's crazy!" Junko immediately retorted, a contortion of terror and anger twisting her features. "Giving a student that much authority is—!"
"—Perfectly within my power as Headmaster of Hope's Peak! Or do you plan on going against my instructions again, Little Miss 'Holier' Than Thou?" Monokuma jeered cheerfully, its words a proverbial slap in the Fashionista's face.
Junko gritted her teeth and subconsciously rubbed her injured hand, the memory of her first rebellion still a fresh wound. Seeing that the Fashionista was backing down, Monokuma took that opportunity to cement its decision.
"But don't you worry, I'm not relinquishing complete control. Whenever a student becomes a blackened, or violates the bullying rule, a class trial will still be held and presided over by yours truly! However, minor issues like running in the halls and the policing of profanity shall hereby be carried out by the school's newest Disciplinary Committee Chairman!"
Immediately following those words, Taka bowed deeply to the bear and shouted, "Thank you for the honor! I promise I will do my best!"
Junko stood there, flabbergasted by her classmate's display, her will to resist slowly dissipating. Her hands closed into fists and her arms shook with suppressed rage, knowing how utterly powerless she was to stop her delusional classmate. In the midst of all that, another student approached Monokuma from the side, which took the bear a moment to notice.
"What's your goal in this?" Kyoko bluntly asked, locking eyes with the bear without backing down.
"Goal? I haven't scored a goal yet! If anything, the score is up 2 to zilch, in your favor! Besides, I'm an educator, not a Brazilian!" the bear replied while miming missing kicking an imaginary soccer ball before falling on its back. Picking itself up and putting on a pair of thick glasses, the bear continued, "And as an educator, it is my duty to teach you little punks a lesson. And what better way than allowing one of my students to 'teach' in my absence. It'll be like real world experience…if the real world were reality television."
Kyoko raised an eyebrow at that comment and replied, "Will you really stay your hand if one of us violates the rules?"
A heavy question but one that Monokuma seemed prepared for. "As I said, unless it's class trail worthy, any and all disciplinary measures will be handled by Disciplinary Committee Chairman Ishimaru."
"Is that a guarantee?" the lavender haired girl pressed, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
"I promise you that I won't interfere unless it's absolutely necessary! Trust me, as a bear, my word is my bond!" Monokuma cheerfully expressed, a hint of malice in its voice. "With that said, I think it's about time Mr. Monokuma gave himself a nice long vacation!"
Inexplicably from behind its back, the bear pulled out a Hawaiian shirt and lei, donning them both immediately. Pulling out a plane ticket from the shirt's breast pocket, Monokuma waved the expensive looking ticket for everyone to see before waddled toward the door, humming a playful tune as it went. As the demented bear reached the door, it spun around and pointed directly at Taka.
"I leave everything in your capable hands, Disciplinary Committee Chairman Ishimaru! I know you won't let me down!"
Giving a passionate salute, Taka answered, "Of course! Leave everything to me! Enjoy your vacation!"
Monokuma gave a quick salute back before dashing out the door. An instant later, the sounds of an airplane taking off resounded through the school's PA system, much to everyone but Taka's chagrin.
"Did he just get on a plane?" Hiro asked, looking upward as if he might spot it. "Does that mean there's an airport here? Do you think we could use it to escape?"
A collective groan from the rest of his classmates was all the answer Hiro needed.
Once Hawaiian shirt clad Monokuma made its way safely back into its secret hideaway, the real Junko stretched her arms above her head and giggled to herself.
Everything was set now. With Taka enforcing her rules, tensions between everyone were certain to slowly begin to rise. It would start off small, with him continuing to write pink slips and giving his classmates detention. But once he realized that those weren't as effective as he assumed they were, he'd soon turn to more drastic measures. She wasn't quite sure what that would be, but given his recent mental instability, she could only imagine the worst!
"As they say, to test a man's morality…give him power!" Junko paraphrased, patting her legs cheerfully.
And while she knew that it would be a long time before Taka took his responsibilities to that level, she also knew that eventually, the Moral Compass' constant pestering would push one of the others over the edge. If she combined this with the motive she planned to unleash later on, it would be a recipe for the first blackened to officially appear.
"I suppose I'll just have to…play my cards right," she chuckled, glancing at the duffle bag filled to the brim with stacks of money.
With a delighted yelp, she stood up from the Monokuma control panel and headed back out into the surveillance room. Plopping down into her chair and focusing on the screen surveying the cafeteria, Junko let a merciless grin overtake half her face as she settled in.
"And now, I play the waiting game…"
To Be Continued…
Greetings, my beautiful readers! Quite an interesting development, isn't it? Do you think that Monokuma will keep his word? How far will Taka take his new position of power? Is there really an airplane on campus? You'll have to tune in next time to find out!
On a side note, I do want to add that my beta, Dixxy Mouri, particularly enjoyed the airplane noise through the PA system. Sometimes it's the little things that make it all worth it! Oh, and I heard that NicoB also had Monokuma sing "A Whole New World" for his playthrough…I did not know that when I wrote this chapter…
Anyway, no huge announcements this week. I'm just getting back into the groove of updating on schedule. As always, I appreciate every review and comment you all give and if you have questions or theories, be sure to send them my way! Until next time, keep on smiling my beautiful readers!