Dangan Ronpa: The Despair in Our Stars (SYOC)

by SanityRequiem

Part Three of the Committee Saga. Time and history repeat. Shiro Amari, the Ultimate Composer, finds himself stranded on a spaceship with nobody he can trust. He finds that the time limit is the least of his worries as everybody and everything becomes more and more suspicious. Who can Shiro trust in this twisted game? And why does everything feel so familiar?

19. After Trial 1-1

After-Trial 1-1: Grief's Trauma

(Usual trigger warnings for Danganronpa but there's also some unreality in here so heads up...Thanks, Fubuki and our special guests of the chapter)

(Also sorry for the lack of updates for...like five months...oh wow. I swear to God we aren't going to have unannounced another hiatus in a long time. I'll explain more in the author's notes. Now back to our original program of screaming in confusion)

Beta Read by: Lupus Overkill and Allen Ux Ultor (the evil mod trio is back)

---

Well, that was...gruesome.

Of course, that is to be expected in a death game. That only confirms my theory that Mononeko's care for us is nothing but a lie. She would have not let unnecessary cruelty happen otherwise. It was a bit extreme, even for despair standards. Executions should only kill their target, not play with their food.

For a couple of minutes, I am left in the room, with nothing but Emilynn's floating, freezing corpse on the television to keep me company. I can almost say I prefer the fire over this.

Maybe all of this time to ourselves in the mastermind's way of making our minds process the true extent of the trauma. Silence for this long is not good for a musician's ears. Whenever you are waiting for something to happen, everything goes at a snail's pace. It is best just to be patient and not think about it.

Emilynn was too naive. Etsuko was too driven. A psychologist should know better than to play with God. Both of them may as well be dead.

Then again, if somebody like Emilynn was truly lucky, they would have never met somebody like Etsuko. Etsuko is somebody to follow her every curiosity, even if it leads to a trail of bodies. Avoid them at all costs.

Wasting your time singing songs and trying to befriend strangers for nothing more than amusement will only get you killed in a situation like this. Saitou was clearly planning something, but we will never figure out what it is considering he is dead. Emilynn was a fool to trust somebody directly hired by the people behind this.

Never gonna give you up, huh?

Interrupting my inner monologue, the container I am inside begins to descend. Guess whatever this place is has a lower level. If they are allowing us to stay awake right now, what was the reason for them to use sleeping gas before? I should really stop questioning everything about this. At this point, it is only giving me a headache.

It only takes about thirty seconds for the room (which can only be described as an overly elaborate elevator) to reach its destination. The door opens, revealing an exact identical room to the court, only without all the podiums and the chairs. It is the exact same design. I am not a design expert so I do not know how this is possible.

Space is still clearly visible. Emilynn is also still floating around there, turning into a popsicle. She would find this fate darkly amusing. If they try to serve those popsicles, however, I have to figure out a way to talk myself out of it.

The best way to deal with grief is to know that the body is only a pile of flesh. Now there's no trace of the person previously known as Emilynn McKay. She will probably eventually collide with a planet and have her entire existence turn into ash. There is no reason to feel sorry for something without life. That would be wasting the valuable time you have left in this world.

That would make me a hypocrite. Since when haven't I been one though? All humans are hypocrites.

Four of the other elevators followed after mine. Strange. Why didn't they all come up at the same time? Could there be a deeper reason, or is Mononeko continuing her tradition of being overly lazy? Probably the latter.

The four open to reveal Yuki, Fubuki, Tahlia, and Suzunami. That is a strange group of people.

There is nowhere for us to go so this is going to be awkward. The moment the doors open, Suzunami runs and xe throws up in the corner while trying to find a way out. Mononeko should really add some garbage cans in here if they plan to have their bodies hanging around in space (also it seems like the spaceship is not moving now). Suzunami would have probably run back into xyr elevator, but the doors are closed now.

Tahlia stays in her spot, with her hand clearly grabbing something in her pocket. Yuki is pacing around the entire, large room, hugging herself too tight (to the point she is leaving red marks on her skin). The singer too is avoiding looking up.

"...Dammit." Fubuki starts lightly pulling on her hair. She begins shifting her weight from one foot to another. "...What is this cruelty? Whoever did this deserves to face what they've done to others..."

"They're bastards..." Tahlia responds. She does not move to face Fubuki, who is now in the center of the room. Unlike the others, Fubuki cannot stop looking at the corpse.

"Can they not even give us anything after death!?" Yuki complains. Her pacing becomes even faster. Far gone are the days of people not taking this seriously and singing meaningless songs.

"If Mononeko allows it, I shall create an invention to at least give closure!" Tahlia clenches her teeth. "That cat won't do such a thing! I can't even make a better robot than her! Which I can do easily! Damn these rules!"

"I'll help you, however I can!" Yuki finally stops her pacing and runs over to Tahlia. She faces away from all of the stars.

"Suzunami shall join us as well! Fubuki...uh, honestly, I don't even think we like, talked once...But that doesn't matter since I'm wonderful at conversation!" Tahlia fixes her hair with one hand but the other still stays in her pocket.

"Uh, Suzunami?" Yuki questions, not even turning to face xem. Suzunami only responds by throwing up again.

"Tahlia...yes...yes we did..." Fubuki crosses her arms. "Enough of that, though, we do our healing later. Where's everybody else? I don't want Jun crying like a baby without me being there."

"I need Yuu!" Yuki exclaims. "He'll know what to do in this situation! Maybe we can use parts from the karaoke machine to create a super awesome robot. Right, Suzunami?" Suzunami, of course, does not reply. "Hmph. My idea is too good for you commoners to understand. For I'm the queen!"

"As much as I want to hope, they won't just leave stuff like that in the karaoke machine," Fubuki points out. "Also, like, the television room would be better. Characters like us always find a way out of these situations in my ARGs."

"This isn't an ARG," I say. When can Jun come back and handle this nonsense?

"Are you so sure about that?" Fubuki still is way too hard to get an accurate read on her. "Nothing, in reality, can be confirmed. All of us could be a lie. Characters created by a sadistic author only to play out her twisted fantasies and process her trauma."

There is silence for just a moment. At that moment, however, the air becomes even heavier. Everybody else in the room tries to think of a way to continue the more lighthearted conversation, but they all stop in their tracks.

"We're all gonna die and we're all murderers..." Suzunami raises from the floor.

"No, we're not going to do this defeatist shit! We're doing what it takes to survive!" Tahlia counters, her voice wavering a little.

This conversation has taken a dramatic turn quickly. Teenagers and young adults can never keep their emotions in check.

"Suzunami is right. Emilynn's blood is on our hands. Is that way you can't confront the reality staring at you?" Fubuki stares at the corpse in the stars. "In this world, we must become monsters to survive. Funny thing is that we need despair to hope. Unless somebody is finally willing to take drastic measures to end the cycle that started way before Junko was even born-"

"Uh, can we stop this, uh, philosophy? Everybody is so stressed out and I think we just gotta ignore everything for now and get some sleep. Yeah." Yuki uncomfortably laughs. Suzunami cowers even more into the corner.

"...This is the only way all of us can atone for our actions-"

"What are you talking about?" Tahlia interrupts Fubuki.

"Nobody wants to remember the truth...This twisted simulation-"

"Wait, what!? You gotta be shitting me!" Tahlia pulls her hair. "Wait a minute, how did you get knocked out? You're wearing a gas mask all the time!"

"I get the pleasure of being hit by a fire extinguisher. Or a baseball bat. Whatever reference they feel like making." Fubuki nods. "You know, there are more important questions like there's only us five. And like just whatever crazy shit happened during that trial."

"Clearly, we're the biggest threats! With me, being the best player in this game!" Tahlia refuses to ever let go of her overblown confidence. "That's their problems though since we can stop a tragedy like this happening-"

"No, it was a random generator," Mononeko falls harshly from the ceiling. The annoying cat is finally here to avoid all of our questions and make everybody more confused. "When will they improve the transportation...wait, I'm in charge of that."

Suzunami stares at the cat for a second blankly before coving xyr head. Fubuki does not even move an inch, keeping her single focus on Emilynn at all times. Meanwhile, I also stay where I am, curious to see who will make the next mistake.

"What the hell!?"

"Tahlia, we have to work on your fucking language..." Mononeko crawls her way to her student.

"Um, what's going on? I demand you give us answers!" Yuki points her finger at Mononeko while slowly inching away.

"We already wasted too much time with this group," Mononeko ignores the pleas of the others. "Everything about all our projects is way behind schedule and I'm the one being blamed. It's not my fault the staff can't putbe together enough to make an episode in two months. I know I'm in charge, but come on!"

"And people say I'm uncaring to my workers," Fubuki scoffs.

"What do you mean too much time!? You better not bring out that gas again! The least you can do is dare to take out my genius with another method!" Tahlia challenges the cat. What is with everybody in this game and having a death wish?

"You can join me and get the bat. It gives you three extra awards of a bruise, a concussion, and possible brain damage!" Fubuki juts out her chin.

"I think your brain is damaged enough, Fubuki," Mononeko laments. "We try to do one nice thing for you and Jun, and this is how you repay us?"

Wait, what does that mean? Fubuki and Jun are becoming so suspicious that they are becoming not suspicious. There is no way that this amount of suspicion on smart people is not planned beforehand. If the mastermind does not want us working with them, perhaps that is the best alliance to secretly make.

"Mononeko, if you truly cared-" Fubuki is cut off by...another Mononeko dropping from the ceiling with a baseball bat. Ouch.

The ARG designer now lays unconscious on the floor. The other Mononeko marches around Fubuki, threatening all that come too close with a baseball bat.

"There really are baseball bats," Tahlia comments. Her detective work is truly amazing. "I can do something with this-"

"No. I don't want to deal with that fallout. I already have too much work and too little pay. Spare me-"

"Why should I care about you when all you're doing is hurting us? My perfection won't be spoiled by the likes of you-" Another ninja Mononeko comes from the ceiling but this time with a fire extinguisher. Then there were three.

"Eek!" Suzunami protects xyr head even more, but I do not believe that will protect xem from robot ninjas. I never thought I would have to think that.

"Stop this madness!" Yuki commands. Oh no. Can people focus more on their own grief other than their willingness on playing the role of the sacrificial hero?

"Yuki, we have a promise too. Don't forget that," Mononeko innocently smiles. Yuki freezes up. "Do you want to throw away everything we have given you just to play more into your delusions like Fubuki?"

"..." Yuki closes her mouth.

"I don't like using these methods, but I've no choice. You must understand. It's how the world works." Mononeko sighs.

Suzunami is now paying attention to the conversation, slowly putting xyr hands down. The three of us remaining stay in silence for a couple of seconds, until a familiar gas starts filling up the room.

Instead of fighting against it, the three of us make ourselves comfortable on the floor.

"Congrats, all three of you now understand the importance of sleep."

---

There are three people in the room. Two men that I have not seen before though they feel familiar, and a woman conveniently covered in shadows. No matter what, they would not acknowledge me.

"Alright, alright, I guess it'll be fun to see the battle of the brains between you two. Got no other form of entertainment right now." The woman takes out what looks like a notebook, though it is hard to see thanks to the aforementioned shadows.

"I see no point in this argument. Especially since Natsuo will not act like a sensible human being-"

The man getting interrupted has long white hair that is in a ponytail. He has a black face veil that covers his mouth, with it being see-through enough that you can see the mole underneath the right side of his mouth. The rest of him is blurry as if this dream has not processed everything about him. However, the last thing I can make out is that his skin is sickly pale.

"Shut up, Masamune! Get that stick out of your ass and stop preaching about love and understanding while living the past! The Saviors of Humanity are dead, get over it already." Natsuo, I am assuming, pouts.

Natsuo also has long hair, but this time it is blue and left alone to be free and wild. His eyes are brown and sharp as if they are threatening all that get too close. He has tan skin, and a muscular, tall build. Once again, most of the rest of his body is covered in a blur. Maybe it is some sort of suit Natsuo and Masamune are both wearing?

...Why do those names give me a strange pain in my chest? Who are these people? Do they relate to...Bennett and Marise at all? Wait, why did those two pop up in my mind once again? I did not think I would have to think about those two ever again. Maybe I should stop being so naive myself.

"Let's get this over with. We got the actual story to get to and the two of you are just wasting space. So like kill each other or something-" The woman is not too phased by Natsuo cutting into the conversation abruptly.

"I'm not that stupid! God, nothing is getting done here!" Natsuo rushes out of the room and slams the door behind him. Luckily, nobody exactly like this is in this killing game.

"I will not give in to your silly games...Junko." Masamune brings out a gun and points it at Junko.

"Don't be so dramatic. I'm not your enemy. Kill the mastermind since your precious little boyfriend is already dead over there," Junko says. "Otherwise, everybody else in this game, including you, will die. I won't look forward to observing that. You already know what the Future Foundation would do to me. And, no, they wouldn't make the mastermind Mei again. That'll be too easy."

"It isn't that easy. Why should I believe a single thing you say? You're the one who got us into this mess in the first place!" Masamune is about to pull the trigger.

"Junko, we kinda need to leave! ASAP!" Emilynn of all people burst into the room at that moment. Her hair is blonde, however, and she is wearing a suit out of character for her.

"Remember, Masamune, playing my game is the only way you can survive!" Junko runs away with Emilynn, who closes the door nicely.

Masamune says nothing. He only drops his gun down.

---

M̴̙̽̌͑ͅa̶̼̿͊̾s̸̺͔̲̄̐̂à̸̗̯̣́̒̍͌̃̉m̷̞͍̻͊͊͜û̴͍̱̹͎̬̎̄̑ǹ̶͔́̋ĕ̵͇̝͓̯̈͌͜'̴̹̓̍̕s̶̯̎ ̸̨̜̩͉̬̪̍͊̔͊̑b̶͉͔͎͆̅̈́͗̕ọ̵̢̜̀d̶̩͔̥̗̩͑̈́̉̽͜͠y̵͚͚̳͒̿͜ ̷̧̗̭̗̜̈́̽̍͒͂ḩ̵̣̃͠ǎ̶̻͉̾͒͊́͝ṅ̸̖̮̞̍͂ǧ̶̨̗̰̝̠̏͊s̵̻̫̣̙̗͖̊̆̂̽̕͘ ̷̮͓͐f̴̘̰̒͗̊͠͝ṙ̶̡̳̼̮͍͉͆ọ̴͉̘̺͐͆͝m̷̩̞͍̗̖͐̀ ̵̖̍̽̓̈́a̶̯̫͗͋̽ ̷͙̟͕̈̏͋̇͐͝b̶̨́̊̄̈̊̅ȩ̵͙̊͗l̴̨̛̈́̈́̉̂͝ţ̸̜̪͙̔̆͜ͅ ̷͛̔́͗̽͝ͅá̶͓̬̠̞b̸̘̥͎͘͜o̶̘̳͇͂͜v̵̫̤͚̗̱̗̆́ę̴̘̺͕͎̯̄̾̔͗͘ ̵̤̔̇͐̃̕ṫ̵͈͎͍h̴̠̙̬̄͋͝e̵̡̢̛̟͚͔̓̓̿̈́͘ ̷̞̌͛d̶̰̭̗̎̈́͑ę̷̨̛̪̱̮̀͘ṣ̷̨͖̲͛̔̉͊͘ͅḱ̵͍̺̮͔̺̹̒̓̎.̶̢̧̭͌̒́̉͝ ̸̡͉̪̳̖̦̓̅H̴̦̽̍̑e̷͚̖̲̒̆̐̔͘͠ ̵̱̘̱͗̆̈̒s̸̪̼̩̲̗̦̎͑ẅ̵̘͔̝̅̈̎̃̕͝ă̴̢͐͆̎̚͝y̸̧̨͕̙̲͂́ͅş̵̢̱̞̂̎͌͊̒ ̵͎͑́̈́̐b̴̡͙̩͙͍͉̋͗̐a̶̧̠̮̹̩̋ç̶͉̬̹͈̐̚k̴̟̭̲̰̩̈́̀̕ ̵̘̰̌â̷̡̝͎̪͎͙͐̂͂̾n̸̞̲͔̰͚̂̇̐̀̚̕d̵̫̠͚͕͖͒͆͠ͅ ̸̨̲̖͓̟̂̃f̴̬͈̩̀͆͛̋͠o̸̲̞̤͗͒͋̕ŕ̵̦͍̻͕͍̘t̶̟̯̗͍̓̈́̂h̷̰̳̄,̵̡͉̀͌̚ ̴͈̭̊̒͋͝͠͝ḩ̴̛̩̲̭̈́̄̇̄ḯ̵̧̝̙̹̏̏́̿̚s̶̛͔̕͝ ̷̗̿͌͊̈́͌f̴̡̛̹̬̪̪̿̀͐͝i̴̥͇̻̠͙̍͛̐ñ̸̡̤̅g̵̥̟̒̔̂̚e̴͉͔̣̜͗̽̋r̸̠͉͠s̴̠͍̄̍̃̍ ̸̡̧̡̖̠̱̇͆͛̀̎͝ĉ̷̺̗̦̰̀͜ő̸̞̠͊̎̇́̽͘v̵̜̝̂͆̆̌̅͝ẻ̶̝̘̙̅̋͐̑ṙ̷͕̫͖͖̑͌ẽ̵̠̳͓̄d̶͎̭̗̝̄̌̆ ̸̪̖͙̦̽͂́̈́͝i̷̗̞͕̟͈̮͐͂ṋ̷̬͕̑̈́̾ ̷̮̪̾̓͛̆̈́̕b̶̝̮̻̺͑̓̃̈̀͝ḹ̷̝̤ơ̵̭̞̅̀͘ǫ̴̭̱̻̋̉̌͜ḍ̵̳̠̌̽͠.̷̱̗̔̚ ̵̠̲̦̂̍̊̄̿͜A̷̛͎͗͒͘̕̚ṅ̵̡̘͔̮̋̾͝͝ȏ̴͚̰̌̕t̷̠͓̦͊̈́̓h̸̡̛̯̮̃̓̂ê̷͍̥r̶͚̝̬͐̊̐̆̍̂ ̸̫̳̜̘̰̊̒̂̑͝S̸̘͔̝͈̦̜͝h̸̩̫̙̙̼̖͗͂̐͝ī̶̖̻̦͔̜͇̏̈́̄̽̏͘r̶̹͔̜͉͌̓̑̈́̉ơ̴̧͆̆ ̸͓͋̍̌͝͝ẁ̴̤͉̤̼̎̾͛̈́̇̀͜ä̵̟͓͐̇͊̎ṭ̶̫̓͛̓͘̚ç̵̙̤̪̪̅̀̓̌͝ȟ̸̯̹̪̳̬̠ḝ̵̢̀̅̈̈̚s̶̙̙̳̓͝ ̷̘̤̭͖̋ͅỏ̷̯̦̣̝́̓͘v̶̡̗̼͚̪̆̊͋͝è̵̱͚͓̟͚̆̃̓ȓ̶͖̮̎͗̑̇̆̚ ̴̨͈̃͐̄̑̔ḫ̶̲̰̤̗͚̑̓̆̄̚͠i̴̛̬͓͛̆̿̎͌ḿ̵̙̖̗̮̦̫́̇͠,̶͕̟̻͈͈̋̿̀̈́̑͠ ̶̛̲͔̺͓͆͐̀̑̀s̸̗͙̽̑̿̍̚ţ̶̡̰̬̙̟̏͌̔̈́̃ą̵͙̲̞͌͘͠r̸̯͚̘̀͋i̵̯̖͔͐̒̿̓̈͝ǹ̶͙̮̭̈̿̓͘ġ̸͔͎͂͂͝ ̶̩̘̯̫͙̜̾̒̎b̴̨́̀̀l̸̲̟̗̠̫̎̾̈́͊̄̚a̵̖̓̈́n̵͎̰̟͓̑̎k̸̩͎͑͜͠l̵̀̎̅͘͜͠ÿ̵͚̞̩̃̊̑̉͝ ̸͈̩̪̹̫͛́̄͘͜ǎ̶͍̺͎̉̂͘͝t̴̢͈̖͉̜͠ ̴̛̙͓̹̉͊͛̆t̷̳͇͎̬͎̙̃͊̀͑̈́ḥ̷̌͆̒͋ę̵͍̿̇̀͑̐͘ ̵͚͑̂́͗͋͠ç̵̲̬̜̇̿ỏ̷̳̥̈́͐̍̊͝͝r̵̛̘̞p̴͎̫͉̟͙̊s̶̺̄̋̑͘͠è̵̢̥̦̆͒.̵̙̽͑̀̈́ͅ ̷̛̝̲̺̈̉̈́A̷͓͉͎͂̎ͅņ̶͉͔̯̮̀͂̓̔d̶̡͍̳͔͖͗̔̃͛̈́̌ ̵̝̫̬̼̱̏̒͜ỳ̴̠͕̙̳̬ę̷̫̟̯̱̉̐ţ̷̣̠̤̞́̀ ̴̨̞̲̫̼̍͂̿ͅa̶͎͆̑̒̏ṋ̴̪͒̒́ȍ̸̮͋̂͜t̷̢̢̛͈̻̹͆̽̓̑͜h̵̼̫̓̃̃͋e̵̡̗͉̖̖̽r̵̗̻̙̫̅͋̇̇ ̸̗̬̈́̎̿͆S̷̝̖͋̃̀͘h̷̼̓̿ì̵̦̤̪̐̔͌r̶͔̳̞̗̠̂̉̏̓́͘o̴̯͚̓̓̾̈́̒ ̸͓̯͇̄î̶̮̬̪̞̱s̴͓̽͛̾̒̂̄ ̸̬̠̀͊̏̂͜͝͠s̴̡̬̈́͒̏̋̀̕î̵͇̙̲̤͌̆t̸͔̓t̶͕̠̺̠̽̈́i̴̙͇͝n̴̦̖͑͆́̈́g̶̻̱̝̰̋̓ ̵̝͇̙̙̓͂̇̚i̵͇̜͑̈͒͗ń̶̨͚͖̘̖́͆ ̸͎̞͉̌̊̑͒̑t̸̲̀͒̂h̵͓̗͂̀͊e̸̖͈̟͕̘̖̿͒͝ ̶̹̙̖̀̌̄̀͂̏c̷̗͉̪̙̻͒h̴̜̬͖̪̩̭̄̇͆̍̀ä̷͉̟̹͔̝̙́͐̎̃i̶͚̜͕̖̊̇̀̎͊̈́ͅr̵̗̎̿̐́̓ ̵̟͙͖̠̜͙̉̅͠ạ̸̻͌t̶̨͕̗͂͗̍̉̋ ̶͕̆t̷̛̼̦͍̼̼͌̑͠h̵̳͔̝̣̀e̸͖̗̰̅̉͊̂ ̷̨͚̜͎̱̘͗͂̀d̴̠̖͚̀̑͝ě̶̮̖̮̗̘̖̈́͗s̴̰̤̪̈́̓̈́͗k̷̥̂̆́̚̕͝,̸̡͇͉̝͖̒̔̓͝͝ͅ ̵̯͎̈͊̉̀̑̊w̵̱̻̬͔̠̘̾͆̊͝ì̸͓̼̏̓̉͠t̸̢͕̭͉͒h̸͕͎̞̾̑̄ͅ ̸̱͇̩̎̇â̶̛̫ ̶͖͙̠͂̈̍͌b̸̯̭̳͓̽ű̶̠͌͘l̴͎͐͌̃ĺ̸̥̮͇̀̓̚e̴͈͓̬͚̣̾͛͘͘͝t̴̓͋̿͘͝ͅ ̶̻͓͔̣̅͘ͅi̸̡͖͛̆̒̏̎n̷̤̖̘̐̏͋ ̵̞̺̖̈̒̐̈́̍ḥ̴͛͛̌͘ḭ̵̧͉̹̞̂s̸͚͆̈́̌̌͆ ̶͔̅̒͑̍͝f̵̰͖͠ó̵̲͇̘̗̹̕̕ŕ̵̛͕͓̆̎͘e̶̺̫̔̕̚h̵̰͐̆ḛ̵̕a̷̡͓͉̓̎͛̎̌d̷̢̧̺͓͓͓͐̓̚.̶̛̺̮̓́̾̈͗

---

Ņ̵̬͖̽̔̔̈́á̷͖͈͙̳̽͛̾̈́̆͠t̵̢̂̌͝s̵̨̥͔͎̿̎̌ų̴̢̟̲̂̑ő̷̡̖͚͓̩͉͐̇̈́͒̑̅̎ ̴̺̔̈͆̌̒͋̆ş̷̡̭̮̬̺̐̏̈̏̈́̄ţ̶͔̼̮̦̭̈́͛̊̓̑̂͆ȃ̸̺̥̞̩̜͈̞͆̓͛̾͌͝r̷͓̖̱̼͖̝̓̿̑͌ȩ̷̢̫͈̳̥͍̏̈́͋̆̈́̕s̸̖͚̲̆̔͊ ̶̯͍̿̋̆͑į̸̡̭̫̥͍͇̪̒̇̀̐̚ṅ̶̝̯̳̭̼̍̐́̿͒̃̚ ̴̧̤̯͛̔̉̌̅̾h̷̡̜̦̄̆́̑ö̵̲̖͛̈́̓̈́̾r̷̠͍̺̈͛̀̊̚͘ŗ̵͚̼̹͈̞̦͆́̎̾̚ǫ̸̳͈̝̬̪̊͜ŗ̵̳͓̥͉̱̏͐̎͛͌ ̸͎̑̎̽͌̾a̴̯͕͋̾͊̿̌͋͗ͅț̶̗̬̋̂ ̷̛̯͍̥ͅậ̵̘̳̠̟̝̈l̸̯̥͙͈̺̪̀̔͐̈́̅̕ḽ̸̒͒̌ ̴̢̹̰̝͇͓̻̌̎͒t̶̹̞̫̺͂͐͑͆̂̕̚ḩ̷͉̞̓̓̒͝ế̷̱͈̻͆̐̒̈́́ ̶̨͔̠̯̫̮̫͗b̵͉̺͍͐ö̷̧͍̫̱͙͙̽̏̊̚ḑ̷̞͖̹̜̭͇̈́̉͆͘į̷̹̣̺͉̓͝e̷̹̎̈́̽̾ş̷̝̙͆͗̈́̇ ̴̜̉͑̒͜s̶̹̺͔̬̼̝̊̋͑̄͋̕̕ų̸͕̈̚͜r̸̨̠̘̘̝̹̥̈́̓͋̈ŕ̶̢͓͔͍̤̲̩͋̍͛̇̈ơ̸̧̡͚̫̤̞͓̒̇̽͛̚̕ủ̷͔̿͑ǹ̵̙̻̑͆͝ḑ̴̼̦̔͒̄̒̀͐͜i̸̝̲̓͂̕n̵̥̠̄̈͊ĝ̸̠̒̌͆ ̶̤̘̭̬͙̭͒͜ȟ̵̦̀ĩ̵̦̟̠̭͋̈́̚ṃ̸̟̼͙̗̗͔̆̂.̷͎̹̹͓͍̹̍̂͑͋̈́ ̴̢͉̪͕̌̽͋ͅM̸̻̯̭͇͘ȩ̴͉̲̀̿̋͛͠í̴̼̼̼̌̾̔̀͒̽ ̶̨͍̤̮̿̓̚̕ḯ̴̡̮͚̬̥̘̀̿ṣ̸̻̲̼̱̬̽̔̀͆͂̉̒ ̴̩͔̜̠̰̱̏̐̾̇̀̕i̵̫͑ṋ̵̻̦̫͕̗̩̪͋̒̀̚͝͝ ̷̯̳͐̊̕f̵̥̲̪̦̥̳̈͐͜ṟ̴̦́͗̎̊̇ơ̶̮͓͂̀̇͘ņ̸̧̡̩͙̽͊̀̅ť̴̼͉̘͈̳̹̉̒̊͆̌̚ ̶͍̼͈̙͔̒̎͗̚̕͜͠ǒ̴̰͆̓̃̌͝͝͠f̸͚̲͙̼͎̹͊̋̋̀̑̒ ̷̧̦͊̽͋̈́̔̚͠h̸͈̯̫̓̀ǐ̵̳̤̬̰͂͊́͊̾m̴̜̳̭̤̯̤̀͂̀̏̾͠ ̸͍̒̇͋̾͆̿a̸̧̠͑n̸͖̒͌̔͋̈͊̚d̸̡͙̃̌̀̽͌͑ ̸͓͚͓͒̒̅̀̄̚Ŝ̵̡̝̘̅͊̔̓̾̈a̷͎̹̩͂͛̃í̶̤̞͔̍̑̕͜t̷̟̫̄͌͂͗͒̾ọ̴́̽͆̈́͑̆ȗ̸͍̳͉̜̮͍͉̃̑ ̷̙̥̯̾̀͝Ḵ̷̣̳̖̥͎̰̝̈́͂ȃ̷̢͈̩̤͕̯̬͗̈́̏ț̴̥̰̌͋̿͋͌̉͠ą̷̨̺̬̎̈́͜͝t̸̫̻̟̍̔͛͜ạ̸͔͔̿͒k̶̞̩͚͕̪̺͐̚ͅe̴͔̬̦͒ ̸̡̖̖͓̦̠͠ḅ̷̱̜͂͐͝ę̶̟̙̭̖̞͈̊h̴̨̹̀̄́͋͜͝î̶̡̬͈̇́́̇ǹ̶̢̲̫̰͝d̴͓̟̺̫̕.̷̛̤͍̲̠͆̅̊͒̅͌ͅ ̵̨͚͙̋͑͝B̴̗̳̠̤̻͒̓̋͠ư̵̧̏͐ț̶̹͆͑̽ ̷̢͘w̶̱̮̲̩̉̎̋͂̾h̶̻̟̙̫̻̝͐̀̈́̏̓͐̉ą̷̨̡̣̤͈̯̐̋͂̇̋̎͒t̵̜̩̝̟̻͂̉ͅ ̷̮̓̈́̈́̈̑̆̐h̵̩̔͋͝͝͝͝è̷̫̳͍̭̿̎̓͝ ̷̧̝͈̻̭̖͕͂̔̃̕ņ̷̛̲̖͉̻̫̹͒̈́̌̊̌͝ṏ̶̢̞̝͖̊̏ͅt̷̢͎͇̖͚͖̯̿̋̚i̶̧͍̪͈̹̦̺͒c̶̏͊̽͛͆̄̄ͅḛ̵̜̟͖̻̱͐̌̐̀̊̅ṣ̷̢͔̰̹͆ ̶̣͉̘͔̪͙̈́͆͑͘͝ţ̷̣̕ḧ̸̝̫̑̿͜ȩ̶͎̩̺̐̔̒͘ ̴̢̜̭͕̞͚́̑͌͂̊͠ͅḿ̶̯̰̗̟͈͉̆͋õ̴͍͜͝s̴̢̭͚͔̠̹̀̅̉͠͝ţ̶̳̥͒ ̵̫̘̦̺̇̽i̴̢͇͕̜͙̥̍̂͠ś̷̬͈̈̓̀͜ ̵̱̭̎̂M̸͉͕͊͛̈͒ì̸̡͍̲̜̪̘̓̃͝ͅẕ̶̡͓̈́ŏ̶̦̞͍̗́̿͘ŕ̴̨̢͙̱̱̯̦̆̎̉͌̑̓̚ẹ̸̭̭̬̠͌ ̸̻͊́̈́̍͝ẃ̴̨̧͔̫̻̈́̒̈́ḭ̷̺̩́̔̈́̈́̍̓ẗ̸̫̮͔̟̿͊̐̂̌̉ͅh̷̢̪̗̽̆̍̅̎̑ ̵̡̝̈́̀͂̌̂̾t̶̢͈̤̮̤̽̃̅̈ͅḝ̷̪̥̌̆̌͑ȁ̶̼̝̥̦̔̒͂̾̈́͛͝ͅͅr̸̠̐͗ṡ̴͔̅̅ ̸̗̦͌̎͜͝ŗ̷̠͎̫̘͎̋̇̓͠ͅù̸̡̦͍̼̏̇̀͂n̴̡̢̪̠̞̿̀̂͜ń̵̮͚̣̈̔̚i̸̲̋͒͒̌ń̴͔̗͍͚̮̥̈́́͐̍̎g̴̡̗̠̣͌͐̅̔ ̴̧̮̙͐͒̀̎̓̃d̵̦͖̪̑̿͐ǫ̵̧̘͔̩̝̼̜̂͑̆̏ẃ̷͍̆n̶̹̮̘͖̹̽̅́̌̎ ̶̼́ͅḧ̴̡̥͕͓̪̜͕̈́͒̆́͝ê̵̹̦̇́͑̈́͐ř̶̢͓̅̉ ̸̳͎̻͍̀̃̇͐͐f̶͇͉̫̩͐͛̋a̸̧̙̺͔̖̽̔̕c̷̟̳̦̫̩̐͐̆̒͑̿̕e̵͈̊͐̅̂͗̀͝.̷͐̅͂̓̈́̕ͅ ̵̡͕͈̝̦̰͆T̸̜̂̽́͌̐ẖ̴̫̬̖̺̯̜̫̀͊̊̈́͑ẻ̸̩̟̮̐̇̉̅̒͆͜͜ ̸̹̭̩̍l̴̡͓͍͙̤͌͋̓͋͛̐ͅä̴̺̼̯̍͘͠ś̴̟̦͋͐̈ţ̷̻͈͂ ̷̟̹̞͔͗̑t̶̛̺͎͖̙̻h̴̡̟͎̖̉ḭ̶̣̈̎n̴̟̮͓̂̒̏͐ǵ̸̡̗̘͙̭͍̩̓̀͋̾̊̕͘ ̷̠̿̍̀̂̂͌͐Ņ̷̩̀̋̄ã̷̙͊͆̈͐͘͘t̷̢̮̘̬́s̷̰͐̉́͛͋͘ů̷̠̬̰̜̅͛̋͌͋̀͝ờ̷̼̂̎ ̵͙͇̪̍͂͑̎ͅŝ̵̲̭̈́́͠͝ę̷̲̣̰́̄̈́̕ẹ̶̮̬̌̀ş̵̣͈̫̣̄̓͘ ̶̬̼̝̺̰͗̿̕͝ī̷̬̫͓̐̿́̂̕̚͜ş̴̨̠̲̲͊ ̵̣̑̓̈́̋͝Ę̵̡̝͉͕̹̳͖̾͛̂̍̉m̶̡̞̗̈́̈̃̿͐̈́͆ͅį̸͓̝̤͙̍̔l̵̫̮̰̲̓̅̂͆͜ȳ̴̝̓̔͂̿̑͝ň̷̡͎͇͉́̊̉̍ṅ̷̝̦̱͍͇͇̯͌̿͆̈̐̆ ̶͔͔̠̅͂̃s̶̥̙̼̪̳͚̀͊̑́̽̚̚ḥ̸͇̺̩̍͊͒̅ȯ̸̧̜́̽̾̐̍̏̂ǫ̸̡̇̎̐̾̌͘t̷̤͍̺͔̼͘í̶̱̻͉̌͛̀̀̍̊ͅņ̷̢̟͐́͂͋̀͘͝ģ̸̜̝͂̀̄̄́͗̌ ̷̝͉̩́̾à̷̡̱̹͋̀͒̌͘ ̵̧̟͈͉̝̣͐͑̈́̒̿̍̚ͅb̵̛̮͗ư̵̻͆̎l̶̼͉̬̥̯̅ḷ̸̳̾͋ę̴̧͇̩̻̗̝̤̉͒̍̀́̅̚ẗ̷͔̠̱̙̘̗͉̓̌͑̃̚ ̵̨̧͎̰͍͓́͘f̷̛͇͚̦̲̊̅̽̔ŗ̸̮̘͖̣̞̪̉̚ŏ̴͍̫͆̀̉͒̐͝ḿ̷̢͑̓̊̒̕ ̵̼̍̐̓t̸̘̪̭̠͕̰͇̄̂̀̇̋̑͝ḩ̸̲͓̬̞͆e̸̩̣̟͙͎̕͝ͅ ̶̯̘͒̋̑̄̕ğ̴̠̞̻̍͌̃͋͠ư̶̡̰̹͋̆̑͂ń̷̯̦͚̋ ̶̥̯̭͍̳̝̽į̴͎͉̪͔͈̼̃͊̈́͝n̴͓̉̆͒̉ ̶̥̳͒͘ḣ̵͔̐͒́ȩ̴̜̦̅̓̇̃͋͒ŗ̸̆ͅ ̶̢͓͈͕̝̟̯͊̈́͂̉̅̕h̵̜̣̀ą̴̹̪̾̔̇́̑͜͝n̵̨̛̮͇̞̰̈́̔͐̓d̷̲͉̔͋ş̵̟̙̤̳̳̺̿̅̀͗͗̍.̷͈̺̺̹̹̝́̇͋͑̋̔̾ ̸̧̭̖̤̀̐͝B̴̛̜͍͉̣͔̥͑̔̂̐̋͠e̵̢̙̩͖̗͙̖̊͆́̂͋̐s̸͎͚̲͉̉i̶͔̻̮̺̮͂͑̉̌͂̚͝d̴̖̙̲̖̈́̑͌͜ȅ̸͇͕̖̭̯̜̍͆ ̵̠̘̥̻͙̤̇̂ḣ̷̞̺͓͓̗̦̱́̈̒̚e̷̺̭̓̒̚͜͝͠ŕ̸̹̳͔̥̖̙̌́͝ ̵̨̱̗̹̎̑̐̒͐̏́i̸̩͙̓̈́̈́s̷̮̄ ̴̝͑S̶͇̬̭̤͔̮̪̾̑̈́ḁ̶̰̳͎̹̘͔͚̒͑͘̕i̸̹̓͊̐̋̎t̷̡̡͓͎̮̀̄o̴̦͕̖̅̇͗ư̸̢̠̝̪̂̑́ ̸̼̰͆̂͌Ķ̸̲̽̌̋͆̄̄̓ư̶͓̝̟͖̾̒͆́̑̈̕ŕ̵̨̭̺͇ǫ̷̢̮̗̌̒̈̈́̅̀̑͊ḳ̵̨̺̱̘̊̽̿̉͘͠ȍ̷̗̫̙̒̕̚m̸̩̜̓͐̅̇͑ạ̶̼͍̳̲̈̂̇͛͆͝.̸̩̠̹̜̹̗̈͊

---

When I come to, I am still on the floor of the mysterious room, but the only other person, or should I say robot, with me is Mononeko. Looking up to the sky, Emilynn is still up there, in her slowly decaying glory.

...That was a pretty wild and disturbing dream.

"Sorry for that, sometimes I lose my cool with certain people around. I should follow my own advice and ground myself! My students shouldn't see my angry or scary sides! I'm your nice, cuddly teacher!" Mononeko exclaims.

"I'm pretty sure I'm older than you," I dead-pan.

"Gasp! I can still be your teacher even if I'm younger. I have way more life experience! But enough of this, I want to go to sleep, but my superiors are like, we have to develop the characters more, so we have to explore their reactions to trauma. Which is a little invasive. People are here for the killing, but also apparently the drama and romance. We learned our lesson from last time and made sure that there are no canon pairings at the start of the story," Mononeko rants.

Before our conversation can continue any longer, five more elevators come down to our floor, and five more people pop out. They are Ayumu (who hopefully is too torn up by the trial to discuss anything that happened during it), Himura, Leonie, Mizore, and Sachiko.

The moment Sachiko comes out of her room, she begins praying. Her eyes are still a little red, but the tears themselves have seemed to stop. Leonie's eyes are red as well but a little less so.

Ayumu immediately notices the body hanging out in space and covers his eyes with his arm. Looking closer, I can see Ayumu is shaking slightly. Mizore stands there, with no words being able to escape her lips, as she blankly stares in horror at the body.

"Um, Shiro, what are you still doing here?" Himura questions me. He is not phased at all.

"I have no idea," I answer. I highly doubt Himura cares about the ins and outs of despair television.

Breaking out of her trance, Leonie immediately begins to investigate the area around us without saying a word to the people around her. She has the best idea out of this entire group. There probably is an exit out of this room besides the elevators somewhere, but Mononeko will probably not allow us to use it.

Ayumu is still not doing anything until Mononeko goes up to him and whispers something into his ears. Then suddenly, Ayumu's shoulders relax. Mizore focuses onto Mononeko as she leaves Ayumu.

"Shiro, we still need to talk," Ayumu tells me. I promptly ignore him.

"Himura, how are you doing?" I ask the violinist. Ayumu peers at me.

"Pretty good, I wonder what Ayumu needs though." Himura smiles keenly. This smug bastard.

There is an awkward tension between us three men. Leonie is still investigating the room (she is also purposefully trying to not look up and seems to be whispering something to herself), while Sachiko continues her prayers. It may be a waste of time to do those prayers, but it is better than Sachiko being a crying mess.

"Mononeko, is there a way to get Emilynn down from there?" Mizore asks. "That sight...those less familiar with death will be disturbed by it."

"I would very much like that, but I'm not allowed-"

"Let me do it. I need your assistance, Ayumu," Mizore interrupts Mononeko but nothing is done to her.

Speaking of cats, Pon-chan is nowhere to be seen, so perhaps that cat has already escaped through its previous means. This is the only time I will ever think about how much I would rather be a cat.

"As much as I want to help, I don't think I can..." Ayumu pales a little.

"Let me teach you how to get used to these sights then," Mizore responds. "Your talent makes you the most used to death, after all, except if these two are hiding something. Which is highly likely. After all, Himura, you don't seem too phased with this despite just being a violinist."

"Where I live, you have to get used to these sights to survive. Most of you Ultimates don't know how it's truly like for the ordinary people. Not everybody gets born with a golden spoon in their mouth-"

"Then you'll be perfect, sorry, Ayumu!" Mizore grabs onto Himura and drags him away. Himura tries to fight back, but nothing is able to get through to Mizore when she is like this.

Unfortunately, that distraction causes me to be all alone with Ayumu. There has to be a way to talk myself out of this. Luckily, Ayumu is the type of person to not hold grudges, so maybe me trying to throw him under the bus will be quickly forgotten.

"Now that we're alone, perhaps I can teach you how to pick your fights. Never would have guessed I would become your father figure," Ayumu smirks. This piece of shit.

"I already had a father, I don't need another one," I answer. Having another father figure would be an act of disloyalty to my true father. "And wait, I'm way older than you!"

"You don't act like it," Ayumu's eyes are facing the floor. His words do not have the usual smooth flow that they usually do. "In all seriousness, though, the way you acted during the trial wasn't healthy. I'm worried about you."

"That's a waste of time. This is a killing game. Worrying about others will get you killed-"

"Wanna bet on it?" Ayumu questions me.

"...What're the terms?"

"Shiro, for being so 'logical', you take risks too easily. Anyway, if I win, you...have to work my shifts for a week. If you win, which you won't, then I'll admit defeat to you," Ayumu says. He is way too good at reading people to not be a threat.

"What if one of us dies?"

"We can think things through later. We're too sleepy and emotionally exhausted to process everything," Ayumu yawns.

Even though the trial lasted only a couple of hours or so, it is like days have passed. Emilynn is no longer alive to help speed through time, and she no longer can make my life miserable by forcing me to do karaoke or taking embarrassing videos of me. That annoying kid, if only she knew better than to trust Etsuko. Then again, even if Emilynn was not friends with Etsuko, she still would have killed Saitou one way or another. Their bad luck is the main reason to never get close with any of the McKays.

"Wait, what's the bet?" I request to know.

"Not telling. You have to use your own skills to figure everything out." Ayumu is going to be the death of me. "Of course, part of it could be you accepting me as your friend. Maybe I can work something out with Renkou."

"You two are planning too much without me!" Mizore jumps in between Ayumu and I. "Clearly, I'm gonna be the winner!"

"What happened to...Emilynn?" Ayumu still refuses to look up.

"There's nothing to work with in here. I'm not the Ultimate Inventor." Mizore shrugs. Himura is by her side, staring off into space.

"Seriously, what's wrong with your parents for making their child have to go through that?" Ayumu asks.

"Don't you dare say anything bad about my parents," Mizore glares at Ayumu.

"They should treat their child better. Nobody else here seems to know what good parenting is." Ayumu does not flinch.

"I hate to...interrupt this conversation, but where's Leonie?" Himura goes over to Mononeko, who has fallen asleep during our conversation, and pokes her lightly.

"Did she actually find a way out of here? I should've focused on that!" Mizore whines.

Looking around myself, I do not see a trace of Leonie. That girl is also smarter than I originally thought. Is there a secret to this room after all? And how could a video game developer figure it out before anybody else?

"Why didn't you wake me before!? Ah! I don't care if it's not good story wise, I'm knocking all of you out now!" Mononeko begins to pace around the room. If only robots could sweat.

"Couldn't you have one of your copies watch over everyone?" Ayumu makes a good point actually.

"Or do you have to be awake for your copies to do anything?" Mizore adds-on. Maybe we have a small chance of not dying.

To be fair, though, I have to admit that Etsuko admitting to everything easily made our chances of survival go up a lot. What would have happened if Etsuko had more selfish motives? We have to learn how to become better at trials, or all of us will die. Or perhaps I should do it myself, considering I am the only person I can trust. Anybody in this ship can be a killer. The smartest person I trust can also easily turn into a victim as well. If a killer knows what they're doing, they should keep their eye out on threats.

"You kids ask too many questions! I don't know how to respond." Mononeko begins tugging bits of her fake fur out.

"Then you shouldn't have kidnapped a mathematician! It's in our nature to question reality!" Mizore exclaims. "Oh, I know, I promise to stop asking questions if you bring Emilynn's body down! Seriously, some people will be severely upset. Like Sachiko over there."

"Please have mercy, Emilynn, we didn't mean to kill you!" Sachiko cries out. I am ashamed to admit I almost forgot the shrine maiden was still with us.

"All of you are giving me a headache. I know you have reason to be upset, but this is just how the world works now under Team Danganronpa," Mononeko frowns. "Wait, why am I still talking to you? This is a waste of time, and we don't want the after trial to be longer than the trial itself! We still have so many groups to go through."

Ayumu is about to also make a counter-argument, but, once again, the sleeping gas fills up the room. You would think by now the Despairs would have figured out a better way to move between scenes.

---

Another weird dream comes to me.

This time, the first thing I see is a pile of bones and flesh in front of me. There is nothing on the body to tell that it is human, except for its skull that only has one big crack in it. All of the other bones are twisted beyond recognition, to the point that it is hard to tell that they are even bones anymore.

"Mei Yamazaki. Just a normal girl. Why is a non-Ultimate being dragged into this?" A woman speaks in a sort of robotic manner.

The girl herself is dressed in a fashionable manner. A white, long-sleeved shirt hangs loosely on her body, exposing much of her collarbone. She wears a necklace made out of a brown string and a golden pendant, looking like it was made by a child. Skinny blue jeans flatter her curves, being held up by a brown belt which can be seen since her skirt is tucked in.

Five-inch black heels make the already tall girl tower over the other person she is with. Golden stud earrings are pierced in her ears, visible due to her hair being tucked behind her ears. Resting on her head, there is a red beret. Matching the color of the beret almost exactly, the girl has stunning scarlet eyes, but all of her mascara and eyeliner cannot completely hide the massive circles underneath her eyes. Her marvelous, big lips are painted expertly with red lipstick. The color of her hair is light autumn, reaching all the way down to her midsection. The hair itself is fairly wavy, making it hard for the beret to stay in place even though it continues to do so.

Wait...Mei Yamazaki? That cannot be right. This dream could be nonsense, however, and Mei Yamazaki is a very common name to have. Is my brain trying to warn me about something with her?

Also, the information here cannot be right. Mei Yamazaki is the Ultimate E-Sports Gamer. Seina is able to confirm this, and I am sure Leonie has at least heard of Mei somewhere before.

"We do not have time to worry about yet another slave to the Committee. At least, she was freed from them-" The other woman is hard to read.

"Only to land into the hands of Team Danganronpa! The girl is only thirteen. How did she even get here? Don't they enjoy having people older than this kill each other?! Please don't tell me they're changing the age range." The fashionable girl finally has more emotion in her voice.

Who wants to tell this woman that there have been games with participants thirteen years old and/or younger? The Despairs do not care.

"I promise, we can rest after all of this is said and done. Just pretend this is one of your debate events or something. You know, somewhere more fun. Afterward, we can finally have a vacation. Haha, maybe that bunny island place you keep talking about will somehow be available." The more mysterious woman gives the other girl a soft smile before getting back to business with a serious face.

The serious girl has messy purple hair, hastily tied together in a green scrunchie. Her eyes are almost the exact same color as her hair, only being a bit darker, and she wears bulky brown-framed glasses. Blush covers her cheeks, making her pale skin seem more pinks in those spots. A giant grey scarf covers her neck, with only some of a necklace being able to be seen, remarkably similar to the one worn by the other woman.

Underneath there is a gray sweater dress, though it is noticeably lighter than the scarf, that is a little bit too big for her. She has on brown ankle boots that are a little worn. Colored on her nails is gray nail polish, some of it being chipped but otherwise in good repair.

"There is not a lot of information available. The murder weapon was a shot put ball, afterward an unknown person tampered with the body in the form of torture. It is currently unknown how the torturer got away with it without anybody else knowing, as their identity has not been figured out," the girl with the purple hair informs. "However, what we do know is that Emilynn McKay supposedly killed her by accident, perhaps via her very own luck. Though the torturer must have caused everything, since it would not surprise me if they used a means to purposefully trigger Emilynn's luck to kill Mei. What we do know is that Team Danganronpa wanted this Mei Yamazaki dead."

Wait, Emilynn killed another person by accident via her luck? Please do not tell me that Etsuko was somehow involved in this as well. If so, why did that idiot have to trust her!?

"This...?" Before the other can finish her thoughts, a loud beeping noise sound plays. The purple-haired girl sighs and pulls out her tablet. "This Mei...what do you mean?...Did you even listen to me?"

"I can explain it all to you later. Somebody has been caught in our trap in the library. You stay here while I go investigate. Make sure nobody, especially Natsuo, gets any ideas about this." With that said and done, the purple-haired girl leaves. The brunette stays behind, staring longingly at the dead body. This Mei's empty eyes scream at her even though they could not possibly have a voice.

"Aito, stay safe, okay? We're gonna be back home soon, I swear!" The brunette tries to smile but can't.

Why does my brain have to remind me that Aito exists? Why do these possibly fictional people inside my brain have to mention him?

Maybe I should stop taking my dreams so seriously. They are just random images after all.

---

This is going to get tiring. Hopefully, Mononeko is able to find a better method, but, knowing her, that's highly unlikely. Though, if the 'audience' wants it, Mononeko might have no choice but to listen.

Let's not think about the dream right now. It will only be a waste of time, and will only leave me more confused. Dreams are nothing but nonsense anyways. Surprisingly, Mononeko could be the best source of information on whatever is going on inside my mind.

Speaking of Mononeko, though, she is nowhere to be seen. Is she still chasing after Leonie even after however long it has been?

Even without Mononeko being here, more elevators come down and open their doors. Much like before, this is a group of five more people. Kitsu, Rokuro, Seina, Chika, and Choumi. All of them leave their elevators and the doors close behind them. They already look worse for wear than the previous groups.

"...What kind of sick bastard...?" In a rare moment of vulnerability, Choumi takes a step back when she notices Emilynn's corpse still up there. "Guys, don't look up."

"What the hell!?" Kitsu cries out. His eyes are red, and there are still some tears falling. Guess not even an actor can fake their emotions easily after witnessing all of...that. "I mean, things could be worse! We aren't being forced to eat Emilynn or something! We can...continue smiling?"

Kitsu's own words do not even work on him, since he only starts to cry more. To be honest, his tears are starting to get on my nerves.

"Do I need to cover your eyes because you can't follow simple instructions?" Choumi huffs. "And don't do that living on for the dead crap. Everybody here should know that mentality is bullshit. Live on for yourself instead, don't put words in the mouths of the dead."

Choumi bites her lip and digs her nails into the skin of her arm.

"Let's stop fighting, o-okay?" Seina, of course, is trying to be a peacekeeper, but nobody takes her seriously with her shaky words.

"I need Sora. He's probably so scared!" Chika hugs herself. She shifts her weight from one foot to another.

Unlike everybody else, though, Rokuro just stares and says nothing. His eyes do not go anywhere, and the only movement Rokuro makes is his body barely breathing. Both Chika and Rokuro rejoice in their newfound silence together.

Joining Chika and Rokuro, nobody dares to say another word. The silence is deafening. I have not noticed the quiet hum of the air conditioners until now.

"This tragedy might even be a little funny if not for the fact that this is reality and not fantasy." Seina tries to break the ice. Unfortunately for her, there is no ice to be broken in this hell.

"Not the time, Seina." Choumi bites her lip a little bit harder.

The air is thick with tension, nobody willing to lighten up the atmosphere. That is, until Mononeko comes back. She does not have Leonie with her, which means she brought Leonie to wherever we're being taken to next, or Leonie managed to outfox the cat.

"All of you need better mindfulness skills," Mononeko comments. Why ever would I need something like that?

"It's hard to work on skills when you're forced to kill each other," Choumi states the obvious. For some reason, that only makes Kitsu sob louder.

"You still can have a healthy mindset in a killing game! It could help you win!" Mononeko smiles. "Sometimes the best way to truly improve yourself is being forced into life and death situations. Then we can see who is truly worthy of life!"

"That's morbid," I comment.

"Wait, Shiro!?" Choumi exclaims.

Wait, did everybody else in the room seriously not notice me until now? There might be more important things to think about and notice, but I do not exactly blend into the background. Or maybe I do, perhaps my outfit and appearance match too similarly to the stars.

"Ahem! I'm in the middle of a lesson for all of you. I won't repeat it again since that takes too much energy," Mononeko slams one of her paws into the floor. Chika squeaks.

"Perhaps you should find a better way to teach," Seina remarks. "Ruling people over fear is something the Committee does, not the Despairs. Isn't your whole thing about freedom? So give us the choice whether or not we participate-"

"You know how bullshit you are, Seina," Mononeko interrupts, for once being snippy with one of us. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to do that! Sometimes I can get angry when I don't get enough sleep and caffeine!"

Seina compresses her lips together. Choumi turns to her and raises one of her eyebrows and then does the 'zip your lips' motion. Chika purposefully looks the opposite direction of the both of them.

"Now that I have all of your attention, let me explain some more things! Of course, you can tell this to your fellow passengers if you want, but the choice is ultimately yours! After all, this is a trip of self improvement! Either you become better people by working together and defeating the Despairs, while also accepting your fate of dying on this vessel, or one of you learns how to successfully win one of these games by yourself! This time on purpose! That way, you can become the leading hope for all of us outcasts in society! You can defeat the Committee once and for all!"

Mononeko's eyes sparkle. The more she speaks, the less I understand about her. Of course, Mononeko chooses to continue her confusing monologue.

"The only way the previous world was saved was because of Matoko Naegi, the Ultimate Hope! But then the Future Foundation lost its way and betrayed its original meaning! Now, despair is the true hope-"

"Should've known you were also a Despair," Rokuro interrupts, finally out of his trance. "Wait, didn't you say you didn't care less about us before-"

"I've got a script, you know!" Mononeko shouts.

"Shouldn't you break free from the script based on your own ideology?" Seina questions. Her bluntness ends with a random Mononeko clone once again falling from the ceiling and hitting her with a fire hydrant this time. Wait, where did they get that?

"Eek!" Kitsu and Chika both jump away. Rokuro returns back into his dissociative state.

"No more interruptions please! The teacher is having a lesson and I'm almost done. Considering that Hotaru and Yasu have not met expectations, and Hayato continues to not listen to us, we need somebody else! Especially considering a certain somebody executed all the best chances we had!" Mononeko is speaking nonsense now. "Don't end up with Kaneshiro Kazuma or whatever he's going by these days. There's way too many of him to keep track."

Instead of continuing her ideology speech, Mononeko is now venting to us about her workplace issues. Once again, I do not have any desire to know about how the Despairs or Team Danganronpa or whatever are operating.

"Oh no, if I speak anymore, I might spoil something! It's not like you can do anything in space though!" Mononeko whines.

"No, you can continue," Choumi smirks.

"We have to switch already! Otherwise, people might get bored! People have such short attention spans these days! One dose of nothingness and they're only able to indulge in what they want!" Mononeko continues to complain about her own actions.

Of course, here comes the sleeping gas. Everybody but Choumi decides to not fight against it. Of course, Choumi fights until her last breath.

---

The purple haired girl from my previous dream is back. She is investigating some sort of room, but I cannot make out what it is. Her phone begins to go off, and the woman rushes to answer it. For some reason, she is unable to remember where she put it. Then she is finally able to find it and answers the person on the other side of the call.

"Three rings? Do you hate me now or something? Oh, that's so sad. I was just starting to like you." I do not even have to see her to know that it is the Master calling, and she is deviously smiling.

"Any updates on the mission?" The purple hair girl's carefully emotionless face begins to crack.

"We found a traitor. It's you. Really, it's quite cute you thought you could deceive us. But really you are just a meaningless character, with your story unknown and nobody cares for you. Hell, this isn't even going into the main story! How pitiful." She drops the phone, the sound of it echoing throughout the gym. But the phone is accidentally on speaker, causing the words to still get to her.

"Master, I am not a traitor, you are being tricked-"

"Nobody wants to hear the arguments of somebody that doesn't matter. Not even your name is known, so who should give a shit about you? This is only an epilogue, part of the story nobody pays attention to. So talk to somebody that actually gives a shit." The phone call ends. Meanwhile, the girl cannot move, her feet firmly planted in place.

Moments later, her legs give up on her, collapsing harshly on the ground.

But, the girl still has the energy to grab onto her pendant. She opens it up, revealing it has been a locket all along. Inside is a picture of her and another girl, with a younger Aito in the center. Closing it up again, the girl stands up.

"I need to go to the library..." She takes another deep breath in a useless attempt to calm herself.

---

T̵̼͉̤͔̲̲̬͐̽̑̂̾̏̚̚͜ḩ̸̫̳̗͉̱̜̊͆e̷̱͊͆ ̵̮͔͈̬͌̈́g̸̢̹̬̟̬̯̱̒̋͆́͗ḯ̷̗̺̳̳̣́̊̓͒̀r̶̼̼̟̀̈́̇͌͠l̷̟̣͔̊͗̿̿̎̿̈ ̶͔̜̿̔̂̎ẉ̶̱̫̾̒͐̄̽͊͘î̷̛͔̲̍͛̽͑̚͝ţ̸̘̘̲̹͖̹̂̐̍̎̑̀̅͝h̸̢͈͓̰̞̪̳̦̿̽͒͐ ̶̙͇͊̓͊͜͠p̶̢̨̙̟̘̮̦̗̿͑ȕ̷̜͕͆͛͝͝r̷̺̃̇͐̿̌ṕ̷̢̲̬̝̖̂͛̍l̵̝̘̀̽̿̀͆ę̵͔̠͐̃͜ ̴͙̫̫̯͇̲̼̝̔̔̈͂́̂̉̍h̸̯̣̹̉̇̏̈́͂â̸̡̦̩̻ī̴̘̩͉̯͍̳̀͊̕r̷̯̈́̍̔͋'̶̡̗̻̲̮̘͙̪̈́̆s̵̡̥͓͈̎ ̷̧̱͌͗̈́̍̊͠b̸̘̲̑͝o̷̻͇̺͆̈͊̏̈́̈́́͝ḓ̷͓͍̝̿̓̐̌̅̚͠ỳ̸͎̻̯̜͎͚͜ ̵̯̳̩͇̓͑͘i̴̳̇͝s̸͍̼̘̿̕ ̸͇̹̙͍̙͈͎̻͂͆̕f̷̢̦̙̦͚̻̐̔͜ͅo̸̧̖͔̺̖̘͗̉͐͒̋͝ư̴̪̜͖̂̓̈́̎͜n̵͇̣̈́̊̋͠ͅd̶̹̫̰̼͔͚̿̀̃̓ ̸̝̺̗̿̔̋͝͝ḭ̴͙̼͆̄͒̎̚ṇ̴̢̯͓͌̀ ̸̡̻͔̯̏͊̆̅̉̑̀͠t̶͈̩͑̽͐h̶̢̭̮̜̮̟͕͙͑ȩ̷̖̱̘̦̝̲̫͂͘͝ ̸̧̝̹̰̼̰̻͓̊̊͑́̑͂̎l̵͈̯͑̌̀̽̈́̈́̆͝ȋ̵̧̛̘̥̑̏b̸̖͌͌̓r̴̢̝̝̘͔̺̎a̵̧̮͖̩̻͈̦̾͂̅̀̉͜͝ŕ̶͉̑̄̏͆̏͝ÿ̴͍̪͙́̊̇͛̈̄̚̕͜.̷̡̪̿ ̸̙͖̲̮̰̈́͛̎̐̑͂͆͘Ị̸̜͇̘̀ͅt̷̢̜̹̩̀̀͆ ̵̨̢͈̩̯̩̱͆̐̾͝i̵͓̞̱̝̬̻͠s̸̢̮̫͖̃ ̶͓̯̯̻̄̊̓̌̔̆̋͗i̸̯̦͑n̶̙̠̫̬̄̒̒̾͝ ̶̢͕̳͛̏͌͊̀̏͝s̶̙̮̯͔͎̆͛͝u̷̢͇̣͙̬͖̿͜͠͠ͅc̵̥͇͚̑̈̕h̶̯̱̬̭̣̙̼̏ ̸̥͕̺͓̖̬̣̈͋͐͒́̈̔͘ȧ̶̖̮͐̂̎̽̆͛ ̴̯̉͋̓̌s̸̗̥̜̀̈͝t̴̺̔̌͊͂̍̎̈́̒ä̶͎̬̍̂̕̚t̴̨̛͍͓̭̮̹͍̔̌͂́̾ė̵̦̹͓̤̹͐̿͋̌ ̸̛̠́̈́̈́t̸̢̢͔̥̦̻̳̳̋̈́̐h̵̨͙͕̥̼̩̯̦͌̓͝ä̵͓̻͕͚́͊̔͜ṫ̵̡̼̱̫͎͖͉̥́̓̐ ̶̲̦͎̤̳̱̰̏į̵̟̣͇̣̱̯͇̽̀̃̾̃͝t̷̢̓ ̴̛̜̗͕͎̻̪̭͓̾̃̅͛͝c̷̢̱̞̘̮̖̦̹̅̈̈a̸̧̛̰̩̺̬͖̒̿̈́̒̕͘͘ͅǹ̶̢̳̺͋͛ ̷̢̂͒̍̃͑n̸̨̮͔̝̪͚̟̺̾́̈́̋͌o̴̢͐̀̍͘ ̷̬̺̔͐͘l̶͖̲͗̑́̋͊̆ö̸̗́̂̃̅́͗͝n̶̢̲̝̻̾̚̕g̶͔͓̗͎̈̍͝e̵̪̯͔̎͑͂̀̊̋̌̌r̷̗̭̭͂̒ ̵͐͋̃̕͜b̸̝̤̝̰̫́͌̏̚̕͝e̴̱̙̦̭͔̖͛̕ ̶̱̘̥̥̊̀͑͘̚͠c̴̳̘̦̠̾͊̈́̌̈̀̓̇l̴̨̻̟̖̩̭̑̏̇a̵̢̹̳͎͗̀̋̇͂͆̈͜s̴͔̯̺̃͒s̷̥̦̭̤̟̈́i̵̪̭̯̖̺͉̽̒̈́̎̈̽͆̓͜f̸̛̞̙͉̭͍̯̪ͅi̵͚̗͍͌̈́̈́͋̽̈́̕̕͜e̵͕͇͂̅͛d̷̡̺̭̤͚̍̀̿̓͋̔̽ ̶̛̻̇̓̔̌͑̕͘ā̴̧̺͉̘̺͈͇̖̿̚s̶̨̫̲̦̗̖͆̓̋̑͜ ̸͎͚̟̓̔͊̍͗̚ͅa̵͖̺̜͉̖̞̹͗̓̽́̿̐̚͠ ̵͔͎̆̓͠h̶̰͚̠͕̀̇́̓̈͝u̶̜͉͉͊͐́̍̌̔̿̋m̷̙͈͍̤͔͕͈͗͌̔̇͛a̵͚̗̙̲̳̦͛̐̂͘n̴̨̯̈́͐̿̉͌̊͒ ̵̳͔͈̗̃ͅb̵͓͉̙̼̱̍̋́̀̚ͅě̴͇͌̋̈́̎̕i̵͓͓̇̑́̈̔͝n̸̯͎̅̿̈́g̴̰͔͓̒̀͌́͜͠,̸̧͖͎̜̫̜̬̿ ̷̠̼̬̹̤̰̲̖͌̑͐ḅ̵͍̐ͅu̷͙͚͔̲̅̈̌͝t̸̯̺̣̠͍͍̓̀̀̋̇͝ ̸̢͈͈͕̭̎̆͑͘r̸̡̼̳̻͓͖͋ả̸̖̱̹̯̈́t̵͈́͒̄̊̄̔h̶̨̧̠̳̾̉̑ë̵͓̪͉̠͖͎̯͖́͐̏̇͠r̵̢̘̟̘̘̭͓͎̃̆̓̐ ̸̧̥̮̤͇̼̋̂t̶̡̳̗̹͚̩̭̍̀̒ĥ̸̡̧͔͎̙̖̙͍̈́͗̓͊̀̚e̸̡̩̮͓͋̉̆̅͑͗̋̕͜ ̷̫̉̂w̶͇͓̤̰͕͎͑́ơ̶̯̦̤̤̔̀̈́̽̇r̶̳̥͖̮̤̐l̸̠͖͈͕̥͔̪̅͆̽̅͘ḋ̷̜̭̮̲̯͎̈́̅͜͝'̵̫̘̜͎͖̥͈͒͆̀͑̌́͆̕͜ṡ̸͔̦̯͌̀̚͝͠ ̶̢̬͉̩͓͕̄̔̀̑͑͐͜m̸̢̧͈͎͖̮͊̊̎̈́̒͘ơ̵̟̊̽̅̊́s̸͈͔͉̠̜̋t̵͇̗͔̅͛͋͗͆ ̴̧̡̰͕͎͌̈́m̷̧̺̋͆͂̊̏̽̿̓ȅ̸̢̮̩̼̚͠ͅͅs̵̹͇̩̖̥̿͌̉͆ş̶̭̖̘̮̜̗̇̇͐̀̕ë̵̥́͒̿d̸̙̽ ̴̨̝͓̞̘̘̺̱̌̄̑ṷ̷̧̪͔̭̦̟̆p̸̢͓͕͎̠͙͔̏͝ ̶͍͕͍̩̃̉̔͝p̸̢͙̋̃͝a̵̯̙̫͍̋̀̒r̵̢̢̞̺̝͈̈̑̈́̌̃̏͠͝t̵̡̢̖̟͍̬͉̤̎̂y̶̧͎͓̪͕̣̪̽̉̓͋̅̒͝͝ ̷̮̣̯̜̩͎̌́̚̕d̸̟̖̪̙̹͇̘͓̅e̴̝̼̺̓̈́̚͝č̶̨̗̗͚o̵̮̼͂͂̄͋͗̈̈́͠ř̷̖ā̴̱͕̣̖̰͊̐̑̏͐̈͝t̵͖̲̳͐͑͆̽̉͊͜͝ͅi̶̧̱̣̼͈̳̹̗̓ơ̶̹͓͆̾̀͗̎̕n̸͚̱͕̬̳̮͕̖̅̉̂̕͝ş̷̻̠̈́̇̾̒̓̅̐̕.̷̣͂́͛́͛ ̷̻͈̹̼̥̅̓̇͐̈́ͅ

̵̢̨̜̜͉͎̖̐

̷̻̬̉͐̋A̴̧̦͎̫̲̖̋̄̂ͅĺ̷̜̱l̴̜̱̘̔̾͘ͅͅ ̴̧̺̟̜̐̈́ó̵̱̠̮̜̩̼̙̏̚f̴̞͉̬̠͈̞͋̓̍͘ ̷̨͎͕͇͘h̸͎̘́̓̌̔̎̾̅ȩ̴͚̮͔͖͕̈́͂ͅŕ̵̠̥̀̀͛̈́͜͜ͅ ̶̭̬̪̒͋͂̄̿͆͘ͅg̷̬͕͓̥̮̒̇̅̾͆̇ứ̷̡̪͉̰͉̤̓t̴͈̭͉͔̐̆́̃͝ͅs̶̡̜̫͓̹̉͛̈̂͑̾̏̀͜ ̴̠͈̭̅̃̽̉̓̆͒l̶̗̗͚͔͛ï̷̛͈͙̻̟t̸̳͉͌̀͊͠t̶̨̤̘́̾͌͗͘̚ê̴̒͊̑̊͋̄̉ͅr̵͍̬̹̘͌͆́̽̎͌͘ ̶̢̣̠̯̉̐t̷͖̗͉͔̘̑̂͝͝h̵̡͖͕̲̯̔̇̐̐͝e̵̢̠͙̬̥͐̂͑̓̕ ̶̨̫̩̗̓f̸͚̠̻̈́͛͐̚̕͜l̷̬͙̻̤̩͙̟̭̐̔͝o̴̢̡̢̙̖̯̾͋̑̈́̚͝o̴̬̮̻̭͖͑͐̾̊̎r̶̢̼̯̱̟͗̒̔͑̑̈́͜,̸̲́̒̐͜͝ ̶̡̣̻̗̾̀̊̈̇͗̋ŵ̴̡̻͙͍̯̈́̓͂̆̿̂į̸̛͕̺̜̍́̃t̸̩͐͜h̶̡̛̰̩̅̋̌͠ ̷̬̀͆̑̂͋o̵̡̱̗͓̮̦͚͇̓n̵͙̥̈́̅ḽ̷̼̞͓̤̦͂̾̈́͆̎̉͝ͅÿ̷̥͔̹͕̜̮͇̻͛̅̿͛̄ ̸̣̑́̂͒ḥ̴͐̉̅͐̈́̕e̴͖̭͋r̶̡̼̤̳̪̻̤̓̏͌̇͘͝ ̴̠̓̔̈́ḩ̵̧̪͖̩̭̼̅͑͊̀́͝͠e̸̛̼͙̳̻̱̳͒́̐̎̽̔͊ͅa̸̧̜̲̣͓̻͐͜͝r̵̢̩̰͍͈͓̬͎͋́̈͛̎̕t̶̨͇̹͚̾̈́͛̃̉̓͐̑ ̴̭̟̇̍̍ḿ̴͍̣̪̮͔̩̟͙̃͑̒̀į̵̀̀͑͆̇̋̈͘ṡ̴̘̮̮̱̑́͑̚͜ͅs̵̨̩̹̫̱͉͙͛̈́̒͛̾̕̕i̶̛͙̦͙̥̮̣̮̽̀̀̽̅̚ǹ̴̡̥̳̣̜̃̿́g̷͕̞̳̏̓̆̏̎̕͝ ̶̙̼̩̱̀̅͑͗̽f̶͚̺̓ṟ̸̯̙̌̈́̈́͛ő̷̥͓̳͖̻̜̓͘m̵͇̗̻͔͛́̃ͅ ̷̻̪̦̣͓̂̈́͘͝ţ̸̟̳̳͙͔͐͊̀̾̐̕ͅh̷͖͍̭̻̃ͅẹ̸̥͔̦̣̲̥͎͒͠ ̴̢̡͈͔̘̻̳̰̈́b̸̩͕̈͘l̴̺̈́̀͘͝ơ̸̡̡̻̮̎̈̉͑̽͘o̸̢̰͛͋̕͝ͅḑ̷̢͈̯̣̖̯̿̄́̃̉̈́̍̕͜ỵ̶̨̜̻̳͙̟̙̋̅ ̸̝̱͖͈̰̅͊͆̀̚͘r̵̲̤̥̔̊o̷̧̫̳̫̔̈́̉ö̵͚̤́̓̿̑m̵̢̝̝̼͙̜̉̋̒̊̃̈́̚.̵̛̼͔͊̈́ ̷̡̘̲̰̙̇̈͌̑́̉͜͝Ṱ̶̼̪̤̩͉̝̈͊̈h̴̢̡̖̮̪̲̯̮̑́͘ë̸̖͕̻̅ ̸̛͓̿̄̂́̇͜͝i̴̛̬̮̖͓͐n̵̞͆t̵̗̾̽͋̈̌̆͌e̴̎̎͜͝s̴̬̺̟͍̞͓͎̖̓͊̒̐̃̓͂͝t̵̻̮̟̻̰͍̂̎͗̿̐̐͝i̷̲̱̫̹̱͓̤̐̒̾͐͆̉ṇ̴̢̪̻̀̔̎̍ĕ̴̡̬̙̘̺͋̿͜s̶͚͚̳̈́ ̴̡̢̦͖̊͌͒ā̵̢̪r̵̡͈̥̞̦̩͆̿̕ȩ̵̙̤͇̮͙̈́̎͘ ̷̡͕̜̤͈̆͐͜͝͝ḷ̴̥̱̗̈́̉͋̀͗͝͠͝ï̴̧͕̤̞̗͇̍̓k̴̛̼̰̫̐̑̾͌̂̽̇e̴̩͌̐̈́ ̷̨̘͓̗͉͍͋͛̒͛͊̃͜p̶͔͍̤̖͇̪̦̩͐̅̀̎̽͂͠à̴̗̺̹̈́̇̾̾͛̍͋ṙ̷͕͎̫̀͘͜͜ṭ̸̛̘͑̋̏y̸͍̿̄ ̴̞̹͉̝̱̪͎̿̆́̃͌̒͘s̷͍̻̮̜̺̬̻͗̃̽̍̆̕t̶̡̜̠̫̮̣̤̿̾̈́́͒̐́r̴̛̦̐̏̏̉́͝ę̸̧̛͙̔̽̀̐̈͊͗a̷̡͈̦͉͊͆́m̶̩̯̪͔͇̱͓̈̅̌̈͊̉͝ͅe̷̢̠͕̭̳̜̲͒̍̓̊̈́̏̍ŗ̷̧͕̖̊͐͆̾̂̐̑̃s̵̱͙̜̗̞̟̀̕ͅ,̶͚͇̉̿͠ ̵̙̜̪̟̝̫͒a̵͚̼͚͖̍̒̇͛̈͆̈́̕n̸̛̟̫̙̲̞̈́̊͌̈́̉d̸̨̢̪̳̹̟̎̎ ̵̩̩̳͖̩̦̓͆̿͝͝ͅţ̸̡̼͎̖͔̔͂̓͒̑̏̓͑͜h̴̗̐́̂̏̈́̐͗e̵͈̤̖͌͛̾̋ ̷̥̟̹̌̈́̈́r̶̢̯̹͉̖̀͜ẹ̵̢̝̤͚̘͔̒̑͜ṣ̷̛̣͈̘͎̼̋̆̓͋͗̚͠ͅt̶̥̰͙̻̝̀̃͌ ̵̡̛̯̦̤̜̫͒̽̈́͒͒̃o̵̜̪̤̻͈̘̬̞̽̒̿͐̍̔͆͝f̶͕̱̰̠̼̿̽̾̈́̈ ̸̙̗͎̺͍͔̰͕̊̔̕t̶̻͠h̴̗̞͔̗̦̳̻͆͐̐͝ȩ̸̠̾̈͌͐̈́̽̿ ̸̦͇̫͚̜͖̔͌̒̓͝ͅg̸͉̯͉̪̗̱͗̃ͅū̸̻̳̦̬̞͚̭͂̀̔̉̚͜t̷͇̭͒̇̂̓̈́̕s̴̡͖͉͖̋̑̒̆̊ ̶̲̜̗͓̃̉̃f̵̨̛̹̙̩̎̐͗̐͑́ṛ̶̛̆͗u̸̹̜͕̠͓̳͗̈́̔͘ͅì̵͉͙̍̄̕͝t̸̡͚̙̰̦͉̦̒̈́̏͠ ̵̗̺͔͙̳̗̎̀̒̄͆̽̕͝p̶̟̔̂̆̓̑͝u̵̖̟̻͎̳̐̋̌̈́̓̒̽̎ǹ̴̦̒̿c̶̥͕̜̙̙͛̀̾̃͆̓̚h̸̗̹̦̱͙̉̿͆͐̎̕͘͝ ̴̰̺̥͎̘̲́͑ͅṡ̸̝̇p̶͎͉͙͙̋̎̈́͘i̷̟͍̬̞̣͙̱̒l̵̡̻̯̬̜͓̎͑ḻ̵̡͔͓͇͈͂̈̀͌̄̉̋͠ȇ̴̢͉̝̣̠̟̮̻̌́͝d̴̛̙ ̷̧̢̨̱̻̾̑͂̍̒̄͘͠ͅȯ̵̹͕̥̦ͅn̶͈̜̮̠̱͔̲͓̾̎͋͒̊̕͘ ̶̢͈̜̻͍̈ţ̵̪̺͉͕̼̬̔h̶̨̢̛̝͍͑͊e̵̫͕͍̦̳͐̀́̆̀ ̵̖̝͉́́̿̈́̉́͝f̷͔̜̙̄l̷̩̑̈́̀̓̅̐͋ó̷̧̥͑̒̌̈́̽͒ǫ̸͙͙̫̍̉́͑̈́̏̃́r̷̡̡̦̥͚̖͖̰̐̍̊͋̑͘.̷͚̥̠͙̯̫̻̓̐͆̿̍̅̎̀ ̶̝̼͓̣̪̝͎̀

̵̻͔̳̼͕̓́́̍̒

̵̮̟̜̿̂̅̋̈́̾͜͠Ḥ̷̣̲̬̪̦͇͉̊e̵̟̦̙̲̘̾͗̇͛͝r̶̫̐̅ ̷̯̠̻̍͆̑̽̚e̵̮̼̻̝̯͈̰͔̐̇̊̽͠y̵͔̯̗̩̌ͅẽ̷̟̙̳̮͔̣̲͔͑͘͘s̶͕̻̯̭͍̺̮̐͑̐̐̓̂̈́͘ ̸͗̽͆͑ͅh̶͔̞͓̍̄͂̊̐͝a̵̱͍̦̒̐v̷̬̑̉͂̆̃͆̐͜ȩ̴̡̲̻͕͙͓̈́͐̄͊̔̉̕ ̵̛̹̳͕̙͍̺̻͊̇̈́̅ḇ̴̯̫̘͙̰͍͌͑̉̾͛͐͘͘é̸͖̘͈̌͛͝ȩ̶̜͓͕͚̘̖̞̓͆̉̑̾̚n̸̟͉̲̺̗̹̭̆̇ ̸̬͈͉͊̏́p̸̡̢̩̜̼̟̦̎̿́̎͜i̷͂̉̌͘͘ͅç̷̧̹͉̺̈̏k̸̪͕̪̺̔ę̸̯̞͔͕̑͌̓̀͋͂ḓ̶̢̛̻́͗ ̴̣̍͊͠͝ơ̵̮̫̻̌̄u̶̝̥̜̹̩͗͘ṭ̷͔͊͊̈́̌,̴̮͎̹̱̓͜ ̷͍̖̗̹͓̩̒ä̷̹̞̤́͗̈ṋ̶̡͉͋́̀̎̅͘͠ď̵̟̈̈́͊͗,̸̨̥͇̫͎͉͕̖̈̋͋̉͌ ̸͇̭̼̗͚̍̌i̸̪͍̭͑́͗̂n̵̰̤̣̥͆͆̿̕̕ś̴̤̳̯̝͒̀̽̈͜͝ͅt̵̥͎̏̽̑͒̆͂e̸͇͊͐̀a̸̹͈̬͙̳̗̱̎̈́̿d̸͔̥̮̝̭̍̏̌̏̎̋ ̶̦̼͍̪́̀̋̿̈͘̕o̴̤̰͙͌́f̴̨̤͇̠̜̊̐ͅ ̷͉͓̦̝̥̺̣͉̑̔̒ț̴̡̧̻̯̝͕̍ḧ̸̛̬̤͍̞̹́̃̂e̶̢̯͓̼͚̝̼̽̌̊̾̓ͅì̴̻͇̺͙̑̈́̃̈́̚ͅr̵̡͔͎̒̑ ̷̯̰͇̖̣͌̊̽̾̓ư̸̫̫͍̌̈͋̈́͂͝ś̶͚̪̫̣̣̠͓̖̿̀̒̅͂u̴͉̩̰̰̗̟̽̋͐͜ã̸̢̛̱̙̙͇̟͉̰̑̽̌̆ļ̸͇́͝ ̸͉̩̱͖͈̋̾͋̅́͌͜d̴̬͚̘͕̝̰̈́̃͒̒̂̌̈́a̸̳̪̥̗͘r̴̖̓͜k̸͍̫̳̠͐̅ ̸̧͗̒́͂̔̈́̓͛p̶͇̍̿̓̃̔̂̽̅ụ̵̗̯̻̘̄̏̍̓̒́͝r̶̙̾͊͗̌̽̌͘p̸̣͆̈́̄͊̑̃ͅl̴̢̨̯̣̞̚e̷͔͓̜̰̤͉͕̬̿,̷̦͕͍͉̔͆̏̓ͅ ̴̙͙̠̰̼̬̑̅̿͛͝t̷͇͍͍̗̰̖̃͑̀̚̚͜ͅh̶͔͚̾̐͂̍̒̕e̶̤̜̠̒͋͐̈́̕͠ỷ̸̧̻͇̦͚̋̇͂̿̕ ̴̟̳̓͑̔̊̋̊͛͘h̶͉̳̱̤̺̭̉͆̂͠à̴̢̧̘̩̘́͛͛̈̔͋̚v̴̡̰̳̘̦̱̙̘̓̂è̵̬̜̰͈͎̹͗̓̔̄͗̎̾ͅ ̷̫̼̪̻̔́c̸̪̅̑̈́̍̓̌̓ȟ̴̯̳̟̤͆̏͐a̵͈̻̙̎͂̓͋͜͠ṅ̸̛̲ģ̸̰̝̦̰̥͖͛e̶̝͚̒̋̆͂́̄̋̕ď̴̡͉̠͇̈́͗̄͆͠ͅ ̶̗̮̯̙̪̜͛́͠ĩ̷̢̢̙͎͔̦̽̾ǹ̸̯̮̙̮̯̈̈͐͠t̴̨̩̤̝͖͉̪͒͊̉̌͂̑̀ͅo̶̫͕̠̳̮̠͍̊̓͛̂̀̍͠ ̸̣͉͖͎̌̐̎ḁ̵̛̲̘̦̣͆͒͂̋͆̀͠ͅ ̸̦̺̲͙̠̹͕̀͆̍͋́d̸̻̦̺̤̓̽̈́̆͛̊ͅe̸̞̫̩̯̜̦͖̟̊͗̒͒̓̒̏̚é̴̪̲̾͐͠͠ṕ̷̧̰̔̂ ̶̜̝̲̳̃̈́̂b̷̧̨̫͙̘͛̃̆̈́̃ͅl̷̡̻̬̥͉̏̌́͜ȃ̷̡̜͎̺̜̜̋ç̵̟̯̦̙̀̉̀́̽͒̕͝k̶̼͈̑.̸̻͇̞̺̀̈͛̾ͅ ̴̢͖̜̳̪̦͈̔͑͆O̵̦̯̎̅̅f̴̧̗̝͖͎͚̐̇͋͌̇͜͠ ̴̬̜̪͂́̎c̵̗̠̖̬͛̄͊̌́ò̵̘͕́u̷͗̌̀̊̆͐͛͛ͅȓ̸͇̠͇̼͓͔̣͖͊ş̸͈̘̰̈́̄̂͐̏͘ė̴͕,̸̨̻̣͍͎͖̼̳̍̈ ̵̨̫͓̩͈̇̽͌ț̶̫̰̮̟̟̞̄͊̀̃̿h̷̡̳͙͇̮͍̒͑̄e̴̤̾̊̓̽͊ ̴̡̻̣̬̩̦͠ę̷̞͇̻̖̤͈̻́̂́̑̊̈͛y̵̨͖̽́͒̚͘͝͝͝e̵̡̛̬͊͑̅͆̆́ͅs̴̫͓͔͊̚ ̶̧̣͚̲̺̯͙̽̍̓͝a̶̺̥̩̮̦̮̣͎̎̈́r̶̙̍͂̂̈́̕e̵̢͍͗͌͊ ̸̳͈͖̗̖̬̙̆̉̏̐̾h̸̖̓̉͠į̷̥͖̦̔̓̊d̷̩̰͈̅͋̈d̴̤͙̗̝̮̺̾̐̍̅͊̚͜e̵̢̛̼̞̗͛̕͝n̸̮̺̳̖̘̞̳̾̅͒͒̈́̌̑͝ͅ ̴̘̮͂́̀͑͊̾͜͝į̴̧̬̖̮̱̜̉̇̋̕͜͠͝ṅ̵͙͖͌̏̃̿̚ ̶̠̙̝̦̍̂̽͊̎̈́̃́͜ṱ̸̺̯͍̈́͝h̸͎̼̍̕͘é̸̹̰̗͒͑̃̿͝͠ ̸͈̹̭̹̲̃̈̾͘͝t̵̹͇̰̐̑̕͜͝r̴̯̲̎͐̋́̿͐̈́̕a̸̢̧̮̭͈̽s̵̼̃̅̌ẖ̵̢̘̬̅̀ ̶͈̪̜̺̮͑́̑̈́̂́͜ͅc̸̝̥̲͓͈̜͇͒̉̑͑̋͝a̵̧̭͍͐n̸̨̛̘̗̠̲̹̺͌͊́̏́͘͜.̶̯̑͜

̵͇̌̀͋̾

̷̪̀̄Ṯ̵̝͍͈͕͍͐̅̌̈̿̕h̷̲̯̀̄͆ĕ̵̥̳̜͖̭̜̃̌͊ ̶̡̪͉̪͖̹̙́͋͂̈́̔̓̀͝ͅb̸̢̙͙̺͖͗̔͛̆͊̍̚ͅŕ̸̝̤͍͚̏̐̓͆u̸̢̠͎̮̱̲͉͍̿̃͊̈́̋̓n̴̻̘̓̿͛̾̔́e̷̘̻̫͐́̄̀͛͘t̴̟̭̝̊̈́̽t̵̪̭̘̟͕̒̒͌̚͠e̵̡̨̛͔̮ ̴̻͓̟͕̊̎̐̃͗ȩ̸̱͖͓̹̬̙͗̀̈́̀̄̃̃̾ǹ̷̙͔͖t̶̨̧̗̞̖̹̻̠͊̈́̿͌ē̷͉̩̠͈̓̏̆͐̄ṟ̴̩̻̜̪̔̌̓͛̓̎s̵̛͙̼͙͍̊ ̴̼̗̣̙͍̩͙̓̌̆͋̓͜t̵̨̫̗̗̪̰͚͗h̶̨̭̭̪̪̠̟͆̾̄ĕ̴̩̱̋͐͂̑̒̈́ ̷̨̣͆͌͐́̈́r̷̺̭̼̀ỏ̷̺̪͔̗̫͙̈͝ö̶̢͉̹̫̆̉̀̉̊̆̕m̴͇̙̲̘͎̉͆͒̒̂͝ͅ ̶͍̖͎̤͉̠̇̉͊͐̌̀͠a̷̹̗̬͍̘̥͖̒͌̂̄̐̾͝͝n̵̡͇͝͠ͅd̶̢̢̪̓̀̓̉ ̸̲͑̽͐s̵̞̣̝̰̺̩̲͋̔̾͂̐̽̊̈c̷̨̛̱͙͑̀̀̊̚ͅͅr̸̢̧͇̺̰̟͆̔̒̈́̚ę̴̘̯̋͆͐a̴̡̳͉͑m̵̘͖͓͍̟̆̅͗̈̾́̚ͅś̷̮̭͔̽̐.̶̣̹̆̾̅̀̋̇͝

---

It's official. This is getting tiring.

"Maybe this next group can be more well behaved so I can actually have a nap," Mononeko yawns. Does she ever get bored of always talking about naps and caffeine?

I resist the urge to say Mononeko can sleep more if she stops forcing us to kill each other. Considering how she reacted to Seina, the cat does not react well to honest criticism. Emotional beings like this are why I stick to logic as much as I can.

"Okay?" I say. Sometimes even I have my idiotic moments.

"Let's get this over with. Just three more groups. Then the Master will finally be proud of me!" Mononeko's eyes begin to sparkle again. There must be something inside the robot that makes them do that.

Just like that, the next group is here, and arrives into the room. This time, they are Hanane, Yuu, Natsuki, Ichiko, and...Mei.

"Why didn't you allow us to stay in the room? I could've done something to..." Hanane quickly shakes her head. "You bastard! You should've given us even a chance to try to save Emilynn! You know that she's innocent, Mononeko!"

"You really shouldn't say that to the bear that kidnapped us," Yuu tells Hanane. As always, Yuu's words of wisdom are ignored.

Ichiko is frozen in place, clinging desperately to one of her notebooks. Natsuki is on the verge of tears, but she keeps forcing herself to try to keep a straight face. Mei is much like Rokuro, just staring off into space.

"Thanks, Yuu, I should give you a golden star! Sadly, I don't have my stickers with me now. Good behavior should be rewarded!" Mononeko smiles. She tries to make herself look cute, but, honestly, that just triggers the uncanny valley.

"Everybody else has been allowed to try to do something before! Why is it different with us?" Hanane roars.

"I already said something about it, didn't I? There have been way too many escape attempts and, well, actual escapes. We're not taking any chances!" Mononeko responds. "You agree with me, right, Mei?"

"Hm?" Mei blinks. "Oh, yeah, Mei's my name. Uh, sure."

"Mei also gets a golden star!" Mononeko beams.

"She isn't listening-"

"Hanane, shut up," I say. I do not wish to see Hanane get added to the list of people taken out by ninja Mononeko clones.

"We have the right to experience closure-"

"Hanane, listen to me, and do what I say-"

"Shiro, you also get a gold star!" Mononeko turns to Hanane, however, and glares at her. "People should always know to stay in their place, except if they're smart enough to break free from it without getting killed."

"Fine," Hanane hisses. "If you're not a coward, Mononeko, you'll put me on the jury next time."

Mononeko nods. I look up to see that Emilynn's body is still up there, everybody in this group however is too focused on themselves and Mononeko to realize. Maybe Emilynn will stay up there forever, with nobody here giving a second thought.

"Thank goodness, we stopped fighting," Yuu sighs.

"Why are you so calm about this?" I ask him. Yuu is acting nothing like his sister, Yuki.

"I'm used to it," Yuu shrugs. "Somebody has to protect Yuki from the horrors of the outside world. Especially when you're like us."

"With so many good students here, maybe I can continue my speeches so nobody will act out once again!" Mononeko does a twirl.

"What's the meaning of this? Hanane is right when she said that nothing like this has ever happened before in the games. Even Fuyuhiko was allowed to try to save Peko, even though that almost killed him," Ichiko clutches onto her notebook harder.

Hanane and Ichiko can create a fearsome team if they ever decide to work together. But, along with Leonie, they are far too independent to think about that. If I want to survive this game, I have to keep these three away from each other.

"Learn more about the forest game, Ichiko. That's my advice to you," Mononeko's smile does not falter.

"How can we learn more about anything if we're stuck here? You won't even give us a chance to break free-"

"I'm tired of this," Mononeko states bluntly. Not again.

This time I prepare myself a little more when the gas eventually comes. Luckily, from what Mononeko says, and the number in our class, there should only be two more groups after this.

---

"You're not even supposed to be a part of this! Why are you here!?" The brunette cries out to a figure hidden in shadows. "I know how this game works, so bring her back to me! I'll do anything!"

"I highly doubt that. Honestly, I'm tired. I don't like acting this way, but idiots like you keep forcing my hand," the figure complains. The voice is familiar, but, for some reason, I cannot remember where I heard it before. "And now I have to keep in character, keep in a meta sense, so I can entertain my audience. My children of despair should be more grateful to me for extending so much energy after they keep screwing up over and over again."

"That's not what I came here for!" The brunette shouts.

The figure gets out of what seems like a chair and steps out of the shadows, to reveal she is the Master. She looks worse for wear, with massive dark circles underneath her green eyes.

"Aimi is rubbing off on me. I'm so tired. Let me tell you, I'm not in control of this game, it was your precious somebody that dragged me into it again. The only reason I was in the original was for the sake of Mei and, well...Kane. We all know how that turned out. I just wanted to scare your idiot girlfriend. I wouldn't waste my time turning her into the most tacky party decorations," the Master rubs her forehead.

"But-"

"Stop talking," the Master snaps her fingers and the brunette freezes in place. "Hey, Shiro, you can come out now. I don't know why this useless mastermind wants to make you go through this, but there must be a reason."

"What?" I question her. This is the weirdest lucid dream I ever had.

"Let's have a talk. I gave you what you wanted, after all. It's been too long and I want you back to me, okay? So you just have to survive this with Hope and we can be happy together! After all, that'll make Hope stop talking nonsense!" The Master's smile is too similar to Mononeko's. She is way too close to me for comfort.

"..." I do not want to think of the Master.

"You know what, this formal talk is way too restricting. I don't want to go all Despair Queen on you. You do realize that I act that way just for Angelica, right? She made a promise to me that if things go our way this game, then we'll be able to live our own lives!" The Master's eyes sparkle but in a much more sinister way than Mononeko's. "Oh, call me Dawn! I really don't like my original name, and I think this has the same essence without reminding me of that bitch, Yuna. Oh sorry, I didn't mean to get mad! If the name isn't to your liking, you can call me Missy!"

"..." What is she talking about?

"Are you still mad about what I did on Lost Paradise? Seriously, that was so long ago, and it was for the sake of you! I didn't do anything wrong, like Kaneshiro! After all, my intentions were pure!" Dawn pouts. "All that despair talk is called playing a character and doing what has to be done! Everybody was also entertained by that chapter and sales went up for that season. Before that, the reception was honestly mediocre."

"..." This person is out of her mind.

"Oh no, did I show you too much information at once? Oh dear! I guess I should stop this! Just know that no matter what this mastermind has done to you, I'll have you back!" Dawn will not stop smiling. "Everybody always sees my way of things. All that matters is if I have to force them to or not. Because you're way too stubborn for your own good. Submit to me. If it'll make you feel better, I can act exactly like that bitch, Eimu!"

Dawn's smile drops and she glares at me. Before I can process anything else, she snaps her fingers and everything turns to black.

"If you want to experience the truth of logic and emotion, sweet Shiro, you better learn how to play along. You don't want to end up like Hope, do you?"

Time stops.

---

Do not think about Dawn.

Mononeko is still here, and she is still the same as always. If anything, Mononeko is a refreshing presence right now. I would rather have somebody predictable like Mononeko than...whatever that was.

"You must be getting tired, but I promise you that this is almost done. Then you really should get all the rest you need before...well, I won't spoil that!" Mononeko hums to herself. Oh no.

"I'm quite fine, but thank you, Mononeko."

"Don't lie to me, Shiro. You should focus more on your health and feelings. I don't want you having a heart attack at thirty! Master will kill me!" Mononeko whines. I take a step back. "...This isn't gonna do anything right now. I'm just gonna bring the others here already."

This is one of the only times I agree with Mononeko. Small talk is useless, and clearly neither of us are going to change our mindsets. I also do not want her bringing up that person again. Then again, now I am relating to this goddamn cat because of how tired I am. I need a drink to stop whatever these dreams are.

Just like that, Asuka, Jun, Kaimaru, Osamu, and Renkou enter the room. I only need to do this one more time after this group. Let us see what chaos this group will create.

Asuka and Renkou have similar reactions of their faces becoming much paler, but otherwise seeming to be doing fine. Surprisingly to me the most is that Kaimaru, of all people, is a crying mess. It is a weirdly humorous image because he is still stuck in his bunny suit. Osamu honestly doesn't look any different, which is odd. Even somebody like me was taken aback by everything, but it does seem like it has been a couple of hours. The personal assistant could be still too young to fully understand what death is.

Jun just returns back to his elevator room before the doors close. Before he makes his exit, though, I notice that he is shaking.

"Jun, get back here! Don't be a child!" Mononeko runs over to Jun's door and begins banging on it. The stage manager does not open the door.

"What the...is this some sort of twisted joke!?" Asuka looks up and immediately stiffens.

"Got it, don't look up." Kaimaru covers his teary eyes with his arm.

"These sick bastards...I'll never play your game!" Renkou declares. Mononeko ignores him.

"Please tell me that wasn't there before..." Osamu says.

"...How can anybody go this far?" Renkou knows that nobody can give him an answer outside of the morbid truth: entertainment.

Despairs only care about their own self interest, and any claims otherwise are just well-constructed lies. There will definitely be ones that lie to themselves about having a moral compass, maybe to feed into their own inflated ego. Somebody who has not been truly exposed to the underbelly of society, like Asuka and Renkou, cannot understand that. Some idiots will think that everybody has some good in them. Even if the person who they were before was a saint, all traces of the human before are gone, and it's worthless spending anymore time thinking about saving them.

"Mononeko, explain yourself!" Asuka and Renkou demand.

"When I'm done getting Jun out of here!" Mononeko pouts. Renkou is about to go to Mononeko, but Asuka stops him by grabbing his shoulder.

"I know you guys don't like Emilynn, but this is nuts!" Osamu shouts. "Not only is that very unsanitary, it's rude and disrespectful!"

"Dude, that shouldn't be what you're focusing on..." Kaimaru says. "Somebody fucking died."

"Why didn't we react this way to Saitou though?" Asuka asks. That...is a good question. "...Mononeko, what have you done to us?"

"Maybe I'll answer some of your questions if you help me!" Mononeko is trying to pry the door open, but it is no use. Really, they should have a crowbar or an emergency button for cases like this.

"Why is it that some of us remember Katatake and some of us don't? And why is Ryusuke acting so weirdly? Why is it that I feel like I have deep connections to people I haven't met before!?" Asuka's voice becomes more breathy as her yells continue. "What was my connection to Emilynn McKay!?"

"You ask too many questions-"

Instead of the sleeping gas, however, Asuka is yet another victim to the random ninja Mononeko clone attacks. This time Asuka gets knocked out by what looks to be a volleyball. Mononeko keeps thinking that she has a sense of humor.

"What gives you the right to do that!?" Renkou calls out.

"I'm the headmaster."

"Wait, Renkou, do you know what happened?" I question him. I will spare this idiot man the fate of being beaten down by a random object.

"I only saw the execution..." Renkou cannot meet my eyes. Perhaps somebody should fill him in on the details, but not me. Maybe I can lose Ayumu by sticking him on Renkou.

"Etsuko tried sacrificing herself, but it did not work," Osamu explains. Oh, I guess being an assistant is useful in some situations. Osamu can just do all the explaining work instead.

Thinking about it, Osamu acts very differently when Sachiko is not around. What exactly causes him to have so many different facets of his personality? Maybe Sachiko has some clues, because this is not the behavior of a regular assistant. If anything, Osamu is an annoyance to Sachiko.

"You see, the mastermind used a loophole to get rid of Emilynn since not even the Despairs have a good opinion of the McKays. Since Emilynn is the one who triggered the trap, then she was considered the killer, even though Etsuko created it. Possibly to lure the mastermind to their death, and probably thought she wouldn't be caught because of the darkness and apparent lack of cameras. Of course, the mastermind outsmarted Etsuko once again. She should learn to stop doing that," Osamu monologues.

Where was this behavior of Osamu's during the trial? He is way too smart for somebody his age. Just this one conversation shows that Osamu can become a threat if he feels like it.

"...So even this game is rigged..." Renkou comments.

"Don't become a threat and the Despairs won't target you," I add on to the conversation. Kaimaru is listening to us intently.

"If you don't make enough moves, though, the Despairs won't find a reason to keep you around after the games. They have no use for somebody that's boring." Osamu makes a shockingly good point. Though the Despairs are way too interested in my way of thinking, so I believe I am safe for now.

Not to mention what Dawn...no, Master said.

"As much as I enjoy you boys actually talking to each other, Jun is making this difficult for everyone. So sorry to say, but it's sleepy sleep time. You should be grateful you're allowed to sleep so much!" Mononeko automatically appears in front of us.

"You can't just do that-"

"Once again, I can. Except if you want my higher ups to pick something they find funny and have you wacked with it," Mononko interrupts. "You can join Asuka and get beaten by a basketball! We need some slapstick laughs in here every once in a while, otherwise the kids would get bored."

"..." Renkou is not given a choice when he becomes another victim of the ninja attacks. Hopefully, this is the last one.

"Now that everybody's well behaved, including surprisingly Kaimaru, now you can have a sleepover together! It's always good to encourage your students to create bonds with each other! Bonds are the true strength of this world! Even when the world ends, if somebody you truly bonded with manages to survive with you, then everything will be okay! True friendship defeats the inferno!"

"That's not true...everybody should just use people like me..." Kaimaru still covers his face with his arm.

Gas fills the room once again. We are powerless to do anything but give into its effects.

---

This dream is in the format of low quality camera tape. It is incredibly grainy and I cannot make out anything about the figure in the middle, only that they are indeed a human.

"...This is not the time to discuss philosophy-" A masculine voice says, most likely from behind the camera.

"Shush now! It's the perfect time. All of this searching would be for nothing if I don't explain myself. Reality is an illusion I control, after all, and you've to follow what I say! Have more faith in me, because I've more faith in you." The figure relaxes.

That moment, footsteps can seemingly be heard from outside the room, until the door opens. The figure does not respond to the new people that have entered the scene.

"Told you that I recognized that voice. It's the crazy bitch again-" The grainy quality of the sound makes it so I cannot make out why all these voices except for the man's voice that feels so familiar.

"Excuse me, I'm the one with control over this story-" The figure is not pleased with the new woman that has entered the room so rudely.

"Nope, nope, nope! Rather have them fill me with bullets than deal with this shit again!" Unlike all the other voices, Emilynn's is clear and can be understood by anybody who has heard her at least once. Once again, why is Emilynn haunting my dreams?

"You really should not mess with the narrator..." The man's voice is weak.

"Narrator? Is that right? I always wanted to meet up with somebody like you," the woman says. "I wonder what goes on in your head to create a story as messed up as this one. Really, you must have a messed up childhood, or else you might be a little of a psycho."

"Oh, this isn't a story! This is reality, a reality in which I seek to control. The Master has tried to take that control away from me. But you shouldn't force people into Killing Games like this with predetermined results. That makes things boring and the audience apathetic," the figure explains. Then the figure begins playing around with their outfit, making it seen that they have a strand of white hair.

Why is everybody suddenly so obsessed with the Master?

"Are you finally somebody with common sense? That can't be right. I trust my partner to know that something crazy has to be happening with you. What exactly do you plan with all of this?" The woman says. Emilynn, or whoever sounds like her, strangely stays quiet.

"Finally a good question!" The figure begins to clap loudly. "Simply, I'm taking control of it myself. Somebody has to take out the vermin and make sure everything has peace. Anybody who breaks the rules of society shall be forced into a Killing Game. That way, peace will be eternal. People will have to stop judging each other because all the bad people will already be dead!"

Whoever this white-haired person is, is also out of their mind.

"What the fuck," Emilynn finally speaks.

"It is truly the best way," the man adds-on, with his presumed master nodding her head intently.

"You really shouldn't get in my way since, in the end, we both want the same thing. Eternal peace! Sure hope you don't mind that I plan to get rid of Hope's Peak. I know how you Future Foundation scum can be protective over your precious little killing grounds," the figure states.

For a split second, everything appears clearer. The figure removes their helmet, to reveal their eyes are pure white. Almost like the eyes of children rolling back their pupils to scare their friends during school, but this is very clearly not the same. If anything, this figure resembles more of an angel than a human.

"It's you! Goddammit..." The woman states. I still cannot see what is happening behind the camera.

"You shouldn't act that way. We all have to work together, you know? To defeat Team Danganronpa. I really do not want to see the Dawn, just like you. So let's become allies, Junko!" The figure reaches out to me, almost like they are trying to invite themselves into my very own mind.

"What the fuck is going on!?" The woman, presumably Junko, cries out.

"Junko!" Emilynn screams.

"Don't worry, I'm just messing with her and the potential audience being shown this! Nothing to worry about!" The figure's face is mostly hidden through static, but even the overwhelming static cannot hide her smile. "If you behave, I promise to never do anything like this again! It's her fault for having the name Junko and not changing it. Junko is the one who caused all of this, after all, and nobody should have pride in that name."

The figure moves behind the camera, and a commotion can be heard from behind the scenes.

"Such a waste. Oh well, such is life. You must always be prepared to die in the world the Master made. I am so sorry that I did not choose to intervene sooner. Then all of this useless bloodshed wouldn't happen. All of your kids still would be free and living their best lives, without the burden of the Committee, Team Danganronpa, or the Future Foundation." The figure does not appear once again in their throne of lies.

"W-who are you...?" Not even Emilynn is able to meme herself a way out of the figure's grasp.

"Do you really want the answer to that question?" The figure asks. "You should not be scared. There is no reason for me to hurt you right now. I mean, I will put you in one of my Killing Games eventually, but I've got a good feeling that you would be able to make it. After all, you're not really Junko, are you?"

One of the people in the room grabs onto the camera and tries to smash it onto the ground. However, the camera hangs on for the little amount of life it has left.

"There goes all my hard work. Really, you should think more about the consequences of your actions. I do not control much here since this is the Master's domain. Neither of us would want to get mixed up in all that chaos." The figure can once again be seen, but their emotions seem to be never changing.

"Once again, who are you?" Emilynn questions. Junko remains silent, almost like she is fighting her own inner battles.

"It's simple, Junko! I'm Hope!" Hope does not acknowledge that it was Emilynn who asked the question. Suddenly, though, Hope becomes much more serious. "And together, we will be in this next Killing Game. For retribution."

Hope takes a second to purposefully stare into the camera before the footage stops.

---

What...was that?

...I just have to get through one last thing, and, maybe then, these weird dreams will finally stop. There can only be so much information that my brain can process at once.

"Are you alright, Shiro?" Mononeko asks me. With this chaos, this goddamn cat is the only constant.

"Yes." There is no use trying to reason with Mononeko, so it is better to lie.

It is not like Mononeko actually cares outside of her own twisted philosophy. If she does act caring, it is probably because the script demands it. No matter how innocent an actor may seem, they always have something sinister hidden about them.

"...You should be more honest about your feelings and ideals to other people," Mononeko politely scolds me. "Otherwise, one day it might all come out bursting onto the surface, and there will be nothing any of us can do to help you. That's what makes repression a truly dangerous act..."

Instead of listening to Mononeko continue with her self-righteous speeches, I search the room once again, now that my brain has completely woken up from whatever that was. The first thing I see is that Emilynn's corpse is now in here. With that realization, the horrible smells finally invade my nose.

Oh.

Oh no.

"You noticed? I'm sorry, but this has to be done! At least I managed to convince them not to put the corpse in Etsuko's room this time!" Mononeko says.

Why is everybody connected to the Despairs so obsessed with things having to be done? To be fair, I understand that statement somewhat, but clearly it does not apply to many of the situations the Despairs use that excuse for. They truly are just trying to protect their pride.

"..."

"We should just end this already! They can cut this part out. Exposition usually is frowned upon," Mononeko sighs.

I take a deep breath. Although I do not care about any of these people, there is a limit that not even I will cross. There is going to be more screaming and crying, so it is best to prepare for my incoming headache.

Fuck it.

I hear the elevators coming down, so I quickly take off my dress jacket and put it over Emilynn's corpse. It does not cover everything, but it is better than exposing her soulless eyes to the world.

There is still overwhelming dread invading every inch of this room.

However, there is nothing else that I am able to do when the doors open. Even those who already had their entire world crushed already, have to accept the brutal truth of our reality. We are prisoners. Our wardens are nothing more than bored sadists.

Aito, Keiji, Sora...and Etsuko.

Sora immediately throws up when he is bombarded by the overwhelming sight and smell of human rot.

"..." Etsuko falls to her knees and refuses to say anything.

Aito, Sora, and Keiji are all crying messes. It was indeed good for me to prepare for the sounds of sobbing. Sora is doing his best to hold in more of his vomit, but his face is still green.

There are no words to be had, only tears. Tears are a waste of hydration. Eventually, everybody will learn how to stop crying.

"Wow, uh, I'm sure everything will be okay!" Even Mononeko is at a loss of words. There is truly nothing to do.

Sure, one of us could comfort these people, but I have never been known as the caring type. Mononeko probably understands that her useless words of sympathy and pity would only make things worse.

"Hm, now you know you shouldn't mess with the people in charge?" Mononeko rubs the back of her head awkwardly.

"None of this is fair!" Keiji protests. Mononeko is once again not phased by the average meaning of justice.

Aito is surprisingly the one who stops crying first, and walks over to me. There are so many questions I want to ask him, but I do not think Aito would answer. Especially because most of my information comes from dreams which probably are not even correct.

"Thanks, Shiro!" Aito gives me a genuine smile. This kid is adorable when he is not going off the rails.

"As much as this is nice to see, we sadly have a schedule. Too much time has already been spent on this chapter. I sure hope that you kill somebody more quickly next time, otherwise I have to keep making excuses for you!" Mononeko says.

Everybody else in this room will process Mononeko's words later. Maybe Mononeko will up her game with the next motive if she is the one who plans them. Or maybe she truly has no say in the creative process of this game.

Whoever the mastermind is, they will have to have a lot of free time to themselves to think of everything. Is it possible that not everything is planned in advance? Maybe that's why Team Danganronpa's games are going more poorly than Junko Enoshima's.

Once again, the gas enters the room. And, once again, sleep finds us all.

---

"This game is finally over," The Master smiles. Not her again. "Now we can finally focus on something worthwhile. I was thinking about doing something with butterflies. But that might be a long time away. Let's just say that the fans of our series will freak out about this! Aren't you so excited? We've so many ideas. And the Committee is playing right into our hands, creating more Ultimates and even building a new Hope's Peak. I just know that you're proud of me."

Maybe if I do not say anything, the Master will not notice me.

"Be that way. I'll always be excited about these projects. There are so many possible storylines to explore! So many characters that can become a fan favorite! Locations to truly bring to life! I wonder if we can possibly get the rights to places like the Fox Village and Cat Island. Those would be fun. Especially if we find people that are allergic!" The Master exclaims, her eyes still completely black.

"Personally, I think that's all garbage. There's no justice in that. Just take down the Committee already if you truly care about that shit," somebody says, but I cannot find them in this room.

"This has never been about justice. It's been all about making them feel the pain that we have. That there is what we call revenge. You should know about that," the Master says to herself. "Or maybe it is about justice, since there can be justice in revenge. All my words have no meaning but all the possible meanings all the same. You shouldn't trust the words of a truthful liar like me~"

She hops down to my level and stares directly into my eyes.

"Hm, do you like me better in despair or not? It's hard to tell. Or maybe I'm always in despair, or always in hope. Who knows? How much does despair truly change somebody's personality? Are the changes superficial, or is it our true selves?" The Master begins to circle around me.

"..." It is useless to answer her.

"No matter, say, Shiro, I got a promise to make." The Master stops right in front of me again. She presses both of her arms against her chest. "I won't mess with you unless you want me to for the rest of this game! You just have to call my name whenever you want me around! Of course, the others can call my name as well~"

"Sure?" Everything relating to the Master is a manipulative lie.

"Alright, then, just call my name Dawn. Hm, it should be three times in a row, since I truly don't want to waste my time coming to you whenever you want to talk about the time of day," she explains. There is no way I will ever do this.

"You'll be calling my name in no time! I promise that~"

The Master smiles at me one last time. Then everything fades to a predictable black.

Time to finally get some actual sleep.

---

Sorry for such a long wait for this chapter. And honestly, chapters should be shorter now, since I think they're just better quality shorter and have better flow and less of our lovely Shiro monologues. Sorry, Shiro monologues.

Anyway, the reason why this took so long is that I finally escaped my abusers. Of course, now I'm stuck living in Alabama of all places, but I am happier now. This is my message to all of you readers out there that no matter what, you can escape your abuse and live your best life. Even if it has to be in Alabama of all places. I never thought I would live in Alabama but here I am, in Alabama.

Anyway, escaping abuse is more important than writing fanfiction so yeah. But now that I am not surrounded by my crazy family anymore, I should finally finally be able to write more. Jesus Christ.

Also, yes, this was purposefully written for the two year anniversary of this version of DiOS. Have fun being confused. Yes, this will all make sense and be explained during this story.

Now onto the reviews!

Reviews~

TheRoseShadow21-This is Committee Saga, everybody suffers. Even the Despairs suffer with having to deal with all of these casts and Kaneshiro executing all their promising candidates. Goddammit, Kaneshiro. Here's some more suffering and some exploration of trauma! But also lots and lots of confusion. Shiro is just not questioning anything anymore. Yep, Shiro is part Ainu. :D He's a quarter, since his mom is half Ainu, but Shiro doesn't know that. Shiro honestly needs to learn more about his Ainu roots, but, of course, Einosuke continues to ruin everything. Thanks so much~

AnonChan1-Yep, just know that we do actually have a second part of this After Trial too (yes, this continues). Same, motivation has been lacking lately, but I'll try writing more dammit because I will complete CS. Even though we have like seven more stories or something insane like that, we're gonna be here for a very long time. ADHD pals unite. Nothing is purely heartwarming is CS. Even the heartwarming moments that happen are there to twist your heart later. Einosuke continues to ruin everything: Chapter 3456. Oh, the Ainu are an indigenous minority in Japan. Shiro Kayano is an actual Ainu activist. Emilynn's dead body needs a hug. Mononeko is very interesting and she's gonna be fun with her character later on~ Etsuko is goddamn broken and I don't blame her. Tahlia is up to the challenge Tahlia then proceeds to kill them all. Mei is totally naive, I swear people. Tahlia is Tahlia. Emilynn's dead body once again needs another hug. Well, at least Shiro gave her his jacket. This is Committee Saga. It always goes poorly.

Everybody thinks Team Danganronpa is super calm and composed but then it switches to behind the scenes and all the Despairs are just running and screaming everything while Kaneshiro is in the corner watching happily as everything burns because of the things he did. Etsuko be trying to kill the mastermind and/or Hope but everything blows up in her face yet again. Goddammit, Etsuko. BUN is BUN. ;) Prepare to suffer even more since the next trials are no better. Luckily, there's no Mirabilis moment...yet. Mononeko has standards.

ADHD makes mind go blank. Shiro just wants everything to go poorly because that is the only reality he knows and he doesn't trust when things goes well because GODDAMMIT EIMU. Shiro just sees a word once in like a play or something and just puts it in his vocabulary incorrectly and he's lucky that Shinichi is no longer alive or Shinichi would legit lose his mind. What have you been searching up on your phone for that result, Anon? ;) Secrets and everybody having the worse communication skills of all time. Goddammit, Mirabilis. Even in death, Emilynn will continue being a meme, and probably still find a way to show everything that Shiro cat video. Get some rest, Anon! :D Here's a lot of blood related and non-blood related sibling dynamics! All of them will end horribly. One of these days I should make more of them. Especially since I finally got a new laptop that actually works. Everybody suffers in Committee Saga.