Chapter 57: Day 51

They all stood in a half circle, staring at each other as well as the Warlockuma back-up that was in the middle of the gymnasium. Togami's heart beat rapidly in his chest, though he made sure to hide it behind a bored facade. Naegi was doing a far worse job, fidgeting and eyeing the others. Most were the same as him. Only Celeste, Kirigiri, and Togami himself gave the appearance of being unperturbed by the heavy silence that reigned.

Inhaling and slowly exhaling, Togami eyed the clock on the wall. It was almost 9:00 am. "51 days have passed," he reflected. "Over a month and a half. During which I was held hostage with former classmates, attacked by an animatronic bear, and fell in love with a commoner." He peeked back down at Naegi, then returned his gaze to the Warlockuma. "What a way to end my high school career…"

"Allllllllrighty, folks, it's time for the grand finale!"

Monokuma's voice pierced through the silence, and Togami watched as he appeared on stage with a series of obviously false diplomas in hand. Wearing a graduation robe and cap, he sauntered up to them and giggled mischievously, setting the diplomas down next to him. "I got your graduation certificates all set and ready to go!" he proclaimed. "But first, I need to make sure you have at least two passing grades!"

"We'll answer your questions first," Kirigiri stated, taking a step forward from the group.

"Very well! Usually as headmaster, I would run the show, but I don't mind getting what you're most confident in out of the way! Makes it much funnier later." Clearing his throat, Monokuma held up his paw and shouted, "Okay, question 1! What is the Tragedy?"

Togami sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "It's a catastrophic event taking place outside," he stated. "Something that caused the world to collapse, that is destroying civilization. It led to the deaths of many people we knew."

"Hmm…" The bear shook his hips left and right, then muttered, "Fine, fine, that works. Though to clarify, the Tragedy is still continuing. When you leave, you'll all have to deal with that fine mess."

"We assumed as much," Celeste whispered.

"A'ight, question 2!" Holding his other paw up, Monokuma asked, "Why are you all still here in Hope's Peak?"

Fujisaki fidgeted and said, "We… We all agreed to stay behind."

Naegi nodded. "Our parents and friends outside told us to stay behind. And so we did."

"Hmmm…" Shaking his hips again, Monokuma remarked, "Well, that ain't the whole story, but it is true that you all agreed to stay here." Pointing at them, he said, "In fact, you all were the ones that boarded up the windows and doors!"

"We… What?!" Kuwata raised his fist and glared at Monokuma. "What're ya talking about?!"

"What do you mean, we did that?!" Hina exclaimed.

"You all knew the Tragedy was raging outside, and so, you all decided as Ultimates to stay behind and protect yourselves!" Monokuma explained. "You all worked together, raising those huge pieces of metal to block the windows. So this prison, in reality, is the work of your own doing!"

Togami inhaled sharply and looked to the others, who were mostly staring at the plated windows. "We did this… Though… I suppose that isn't surprising. I remember how sure I was of my decision to stay thanks to…" His gaze traveled back down to Naegi.

Monokuma laughed once more. "Alright, third question! What happened to Hope's Peak Academy's administration? Anyonnnnneeeee?"

"They died." Kirigiri's statement was cold and got everyone's attention. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides, and she glared darkly at Monokuma. "They were killed. Here in this school."

"Correct-a-mundo!" Monokuma declared. "Administration died right here in this school!"

"But that doesn't answer–"

"Ah ah ah." Monokuma cut off Taka's words with a wiggle of his paw. "Those answers will come with time…maybe. Eventually. But I ain't answering nothing about your memories. You'll just have to put those pieces together! Puh-hu-hu!"

"The real question is, does that constitute an A?" inquired Togami.

"I mean…" Monokuma sighed heavily. "Once again, I gotta go with the damn technicalities. You did answer all my questions, and accurately too. Soooooo…" Holding his arms up, he said, "That's one A for you all. Congratulations!"

"H-H-Hopefully there are n-no balloons th-this t-t-time a-around," Fujisaki commented.

"Nah, not yet anyways! For now we go onto the second round!" At that, Monokuma lunged forward towards the Warlockuma, standing directly in front of it. "I must now see what this Warlockuma can do! Someone turn it on!"

Fujisaki pulled out the remote and pressed the button. Immediately the rabbit-shaped robot sprung to life. The pink tutu stood out from the white painted metal. Its pink ears flapped upwards, and its black eyes began to glow a soft red hue. In its hand was a wand with a red gemstone in the center of two golden hearts. Where Enoshima and Maizono found the materials to make the wand, Togami would never know. But with a feminine voice and a red blush on the cheeks, the back-up robot greeted, "Good morning, starshine! I hope today is a pleasant day for you!"

"Wha…?"

"Can I get you something to eat or drink?" the Warlockuma continued. "We're all here to have fun, after all!"

"You came up with this, Togami?!" Monokuma glanced over, and Togami rolled his eyes before pointing to Maizono, Hina, Enoshima, and Ogami.

"We thought it might be nice to have… Well, something nice," Hina remarked.

"With this girly shit?!" Monokuma folded his arms and shook his head. "No. No, no, no! This doesn't even hit technicality! How is it a magician? A warlock? It's just a rabbit!"

"Oh, I can do magic!" the Warlockuma exclaimed. Togami frowned when the rabbit rushed up to Monokuma's side. "Watch this!" The Warlockuma smiled, twirled, and held its heart-shaped wand up in the air. It then tapped Monokuma on the head.

To nobody's surprise, nothing happened.

Monokuma growled and shoved the back-up to the side. "Nope. No A for you! You're all stuck here!"

Gasps erupted from the group. "B-But we have to get out of here!" Maizono exclaimed.

"You can't keep us here any longer!" Taka declared.

"We have met the quest's requirements and should now be allowed to proceed!" Hifumi shouted.

As the others protested, Togami glanced over at Kirigiri. He frowned when her gaze fell to the floor, and, following it, he saw that the Warlockuma was pushing itself back up to standing. It then turned and pointed at Monokuma.

"Stop right there!"

All eyes widened and looked down at the back-up. Togami's frown deepened. "How many voice lines did they record for this thing?" he thought. Something was…weird…about this.

"These students have spent 51 days together, learning, growing, and coming together as a group!" the Warlockuma stated proudly. "They have earned their place and earned the right to leave! With my magic, I'll grant them their wish!"

And then, to Togami's utter shock, the Warlockuma lunged directly at Monokuma. Pinning him to the ground, it raised its wand and began bashing his head in with quick, repeated slaps. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, OWWW!" Monokuma shouted back. Monokuma raised his paws to fight back, pushing the Warlockuma off of him. "What are you, a damn genie?!"

"No, I'm a warlock!" the Warlockuma proclaimed. Rushing back at him, she continued smacking him with the wand. "Now let. Them. Out!"

Togami slowly looked to the others, eyes wide in shock. Fujisaki's mouth was covered by his hand, and he looked in terror at the scene before them. Kirigiri's eyes were wide yet focused. Naegi and the rest looked as though they had just seen a ghost. Togami slowly turned back to the fight and realized that somehow, Monokuma was losing. The Warlockuma was thrashing him, causing his robe and cap to tear.

"Let. Them. Out!" the rabbit repeated.

"All right! All right all right all right! I quit!"

Togami's breath hitched in his throat. The rabbit stopped fighting, and everyone watched as Monokuma pulled out from under his robe a large remote. He slowly handed it to the rabbit, who held it up high with a bright smile. "Justice prevails!" the robot proclaimed.

"Uh… What justice…?" Kuwata muttered.

"Yo, what the fuck did we create?!" Owada shouted.

"It's gonna turn around and destroy us!" Hiro gasped in horror.

"Oh no, I'm not going to do anything like that!" the rabbit proclaimed with a wide smile. "But I AM going to get rid of you, Mr. Monokuma!" Using her wand, she continued swatting and hitting the animatronic bear, who covered his face and cried out in pain.

"I'm done, I'm done!" he shouted. "Take your stupid diplomas and get out of here!" Rushing back to the stage, he all but stumbled into an opening in the floor, disappearing from the others.

Togami merely stared, blinking dumbfoundedly, as the Warlockuma approached them. Walking directly up to Fujisaki, it handed over the remote and said, "Here! Take it and leave this place! You've all learned to rely on each other for comfort, fun, and support! Make sure to continue doing that as you leave this school."

"Uh… I mean…" Fujisaki slowly reached out and took the remote.

"And don't forget, you can always come back here if you need to find yourselves again!" With the last of its power, the Warlockuma smiled and waved at them before it shut off, its eyes fading from the bright red to black.

For a few seconds, nobody spoke.

"Uh… What…just happened?" Enoshima asked slowly.

"I don't know…" Fujisaki admitted. "I… I didn't program that at all!"

"Forget all that! Do we have the damn remote?!" Owada leaned forward and glanced down at the machine in Fujisaki's hands.

"I… I think so!" Fujisaki exclaimed as he looked it over. "It says 'Main Gate.' That has to be the front door, right?!"

"Then let's go!" Maizono exclaimed. "Let's get out of here!"

"But wait, don't we want to know more about what happened here?" asked Hina. "I mean, what all was Monokuma referencing about us locking ourselves in? And the other administrators?"

"We won't get those answers here," Togami stated. "Let's just get out and see what the outside world is like. We can return anytime to investigate."

Kirigiri nodded. "Everyone, return to your dorms, grab your belongings, and meet at the main hall. It's time we finally left this school."

Togami nodded and followed the rest of the students out of the gymnasium. Before completely leaving, however, he glanced over his shoulder at the lone Warlockuma. "I've lost my damn mind," he thought to himself. "But when we're situated… When we know more of what's going on outside these walls… I'll come back. We'll solve this mystery. We'll figure this out."

"Hey, is everything okay?"

Naegi's voice cut through his thoughts, and he swiftly turned, looked down, and nodded. "Yes," Togami answered. "Come on, let's go."

"So what do you think it's gonna be like outside?"

"We're about to find out."

Togami slung his backpack over his shoulder and watched as Naegi did the same. Naegi then grabbed the handle of their shared suitcase. The corporate heir's heart raced in his chest, the reality that they were finally about to leave this school sinking in.

They were about to leave…and face the outside world. The Tragedy. Whatever horrors awaited them.

Naegi approached and grabbed his hand. Immediately their fingers intertwined. "I… I think I'm ready for this," the brunette whispered.

Togami nodded. "We have to be," he replied. "But… We'll be together through this. I promise."

Naegi smiled. "Yeah. Like you said, I have to see the brighter side in all of this. So… We're going to leave this place, we'll find everyone, we'll start fixing everything! You'll rebuild the Togami Corporation. You'll help us find our families. We'll find places for food and storage… We'll make it. We'll do better than just survive."

Hearing Naegi say it made Togami's lips curl into a smile. "Well, don't use your Ultimate Luck in one go," he retorted with a smirk. Yet as he spoke, he tightened his grip on Naegi's hand. "But you're right. We have no choice but to succeed."

"Yeah…" Leaning up, Naegi kissed Togami's cheek and smiled widely. "We've got this, Byakuya."

"That we do, Makoto." Returning the kiss on his forehead, he gestured towards the dorm door. "Now come on. Let's go."

The two slowly made their way out of the room. Togami instinctively went to lock the door, then realized there would be no point. He shrugged, and hand-in-hand, the two walked down the hallways. Togami hated the sense of nostalgia washing over him; it wasn't like his time here was the best. "I suppose, despite the ridiculousness of it all, I do have a few fond memories of this place," he conceded. Looking down at Naegi, he smirked and thought, "Good thing I'm bringing them with me."

Arriving at the main hall, they found that most of the other students were already present. Many were carrying backpacks or suitcases much like Togami and Naegi; however, Hina and Ogami were pulling a cart with what Togami could only assume were boxes of food and supplies. Kirigiri turned and approached the two. Togami saw that, in addition to a large backpack, she was carrying the present in her gloved hands. The lid was placed on top along with the bow, giving it the appearance of never having been opened.

"So, we're heading to your place, first?" she inquired.

Togami nodded. "I believe that is the plan."

"And we'll begin looking for clues from there?"

"Yes. Into our missing relatives, Monokuma, the Tragedy, and our memories."

Kirigiri smiled and nodded. "Perfect."

"Alright, we're all here!" Owada and Taka rushed into the main hall, and Togami quickly took stock of the others. Indeed, everyone was present and accounted for.

"So, uh, who's gonna open the door…?" Fujisaki asked, holding the remote out in his hand as he spoke. All eyes looked around, and Togami sighed and looked directly at Kirigiri.

"You do it."

"What…?" Kirigiri's eyes widened in shock. "Why me?"

"Because you helped solve the mysteries, you were on the leadership team, and you're going to be instrumental in us solving the cases outside of this school." He nodded to her. "So you do it."

"I agree," Naegi stated.

"Me too!" Taka declared.

Kirigiri smirked, nodded, and set the box down on the ground. "Very well then." Approaching Fujisaki, she took the remote from him, giving him a brief nod as she did so, before turning and walking up to the main door. Togami watched her, keeping his grip tight on Naegi's hand.

And as she pressed the button, the guns withdrew into the ceiling, and the door to the outside world began to slide open. Togami saw hints of sunlight, real sunlight, and felt his heart racing. "This is it," he thought. "The end of our time at Hope's Peak Academy."

Author's Note: Hey everyone! So this seems like the ending, but I have one more chapter ready to post to serve as an epilogue. I'm hoping to post it either this weekend or next Thursday at the usual time.

And for those wondering about the bizarre Warlockuma, I tried to be somewhat faithful to the actual ending of School Mode. So if it seems random... It is and isn't. Typical of Dangan. :)