Boy, I am beat. I'm still recoiling from the busy week I mentioned in the last chapter, but hey, I finally got a new job. So that's cool. Hopefully it won't slow down my production or hinder its quality, but you never know in this economy. In any case, once again, I'm sorry to any Kazuichi fan for making him the blackened, but hopefully this execution I designed will help take away the pain.

Either way, I hope you enjoy this chapter.


Chapter 8

Breaking Down

Monokuma giggled to himself as he tallied up the votes. "Correct! That's right! This time, the blackened responsible for killing Teruteru Hanamura is Kazuichi Soda!"

"A-Are you serious...!?" Fuyuhiko asked. "Are you saying you're gonna punish him for something he didn't even do?"

"WHYYYYYYYY!?" Nekomaru cried. "WHY DID IT HAVE TO HAPPEN LIKE THIS!?"

The Mechanic was shaking as tears streamed down his cheeks. "Th-This can't be happening... Why...?"

"Why..." Maki repeated sadly. "That's what everyone wants to know, huh? I could reiterate the answer in more detail, if you want, but the outcome won't change."

"What do you mean?" Hajime asked.

She took a deep breath, glaring at Nagito. "Teruteru spent all day preparing the dishes for the party. Around noon's time, I spotted him carrying some ingredients, and offered to help. My true intentions were to get to know him. However, we eventually heard some weird laughter from the dining hall. When we went to investigate... We saw Nagito, in the middle of cleaning duty, putting a knife under the table. After such a suspicious move, we decided to keep watching him. We saw him mess with the irons, and the air conditioners... And the whole time, he was grinning like a lunatic. So we decided to confront him. But instead of denying his actions, he doubled down. He told me that no matter what I did, he wouldn't stop trying to start the killings. So that's why I devised my plan the way I did. I knew I couldn't stop him without taking him out of commission for some time. But I guess Byakuya absorbed some of the blast, so neither or them were terribly injured."

Byakuya himself didn't say anything. He simply kept his head down and his arms folded.

"N-Nagito... what is the meaning of this?" Hajime asked. "E-Explain it to me! I don't understand... anything about this story at all!"

"You see, if you have a favourite boxer, don't you want him to fight against a strong opponent and win?" Nagito asked.

"You better not compare us to that." Fuyuhiko said.

"Huh? Am I wrong? It's a given that trials are necessary to become strong, and the harsher the trial, the stronger you become, no? For mere humans, killings are simply a tragedy, but... for worthy humans, a trial such as this can elevate their status to an even higher level. It's amazing to me that someone as untalented as myself can become that trial! There's no point in someone like me surviving... It's far more significant for me to die as everyone's trial. There's no greater honour than becoming the foundation so that your values may ascend to brave new heights!"

"S-Stop it..." Kazuichi begged. "You're seriously... starting to piss me off..."

"I-I don't understand at all!" Mahiru shouted. "Are you saying you basically want to commit murder for fun!?"

"It's not the same as killing for fun, but... I guess it'd look the same in your eyes. I have no intention of surviving and leaving you all to die."

"Is that why... you didn't mind when Maki and Teruteru discovered your plan?" Hajime asked.

"Or perhaps that was intentional too?" Chiaki guessed. "Nagito wanted to involve us in the killing... Plus, it'd be better for him if the mystery was more complex... Is that why you blatantly revealed your plan to them? You expected to pique Maki's interest... And you looked forward to the mystery becoming more complex."

"Well... you're basically right. It's true I was looking forward to that. That's why I took the time to tell Teruteru about the secret passage I found while I was cleaning... After Maki left, of course."

"That was your doing as well?" Gundham asked.

"I just casually mentioned it: "Oh, it's dangerous if you fall, so don't get too close to it.""

"This dude... He's seriously batshit crazy! He's insane!" Kazuichi shouted.

"I know. That's why I tried to stop him. But I guess Teruteru had a similar idea..." Maki said with a sigh.

"But if you were trying to stop him, why did Kazuichi trigger the explosion?" Sonia asked.

"I don't know!" She snapped. "Alright? Is that what you want to hear? Don't act like I wanted any of this. I don't know why Kazuichi beat me to the door, and I don't know why Teruteru crawled under the floor like he did."

"Teruteru... was probably just trying to stop Nagito... by any means necessary." Hajime guessed.

"I see... Teruteru is amazing..." Nagito decided. "He stood up to my challenge, and decided to fight for his freedom by trying to kill me... And yet... I never expected an ending like this... Such despair!"

"Wha-!?"

"But... we shouldn't let him die in vain. I'm sure everyone will become even stronger by overcoming this despair..."

"Could it be...?" Peko asked. "You knew Teruteru would try to kill you, so you set him up to fail?"

"...Of course not. I'm not that good at calculating. I just took some precautionary measures. The results of that were going to be my fun for later... Just kidding. But I never expected it would turn out like this. I never thought I'd be the one to survive. But since it was my life that had been saved, I didn't want to just waste it... So that's why I decided to help the killer."

"Why... why...?" Hajime asked.

"Well, because... I thought whoever the killer was must have committed their crime because they also had strong hope. Which means their actions were motivated by hope... If they were willing to go that far, I thought they might truly be the person whose existence I was waiting for. I thought they might be the hope that could overcome any despair. In order for me to confirm it, I decided to help the killer!"

"Wh-What do you mean, "confirm"!? Just stop it already!" Hajime demanded.

"But unfortunately, Kazuichi turned out to be the killer, and he gave up almost immediately. I still think this trial was adequate for everyone's hope to grow, but that was mostly because of other factors, like Byakuya and me interfering. I definitely think this trial could have been a lot more interesting! If only I had figured out earlier that he was the killer, I could have helped Kazuichi so much more! But in the end, my help wasn't enough, and this turned out to be a bad ending for Kazuichi... But you should be proud of yourself. You will not die in vain! You will become a splendid sacrifice for everyone else so their hopes can grow even more powerful!"

"S-Sacrifice...!?" Kazuichi choked out.

"Hey, is it really okay for us to just leave this crazy bastard alone like this?" Fuyuhiko asked. "Isn't it better if we just fucking kill him off!?"

"Kyaaaah! "Kill," he said!" Monokuma squealed. "High school students are sooooo violent these days! But the person who's gonna get killed now isn't Nagito. It's Kazuichi."

"...Eek!?"

"Puhuhu, you didn't forget, right? Cuz I told you already at the beginning, right? If the blackened killer loses... a fun punishment awaits them."

"H-Hold on..." The Mechanic said. "I didn't mean to kill anyone! This was just an accident, right? Can't we say it, uh... doesn't count...?"

"It doesn't matter if it's an accident, self-defence, or intentional, a murder is still a murder! If you kill someone, that's murder!"

"This is too cruel!" Sonia argued. "Have you no sympathy judgement? Extenuating circumstances...? P-Probation...?"

"I don't accept any of those claims!"

"Th-That's-!"

"Besides, everyone knows the most fan-favourite killers are the ones with complex and interesting motives. Nobody cares about accidental killers like him. Sooooo... It seems there's no point in basking in the afterglow, so let's hurry up and begin the punishment!"

"N-No! You can't!" Monomi begged.

"Jeez! Get outta my way!" Monokuma wound up and gave you a corkscrew punch, sending her flailing back and forth like a pinata.

"Gyaaaaaah!"

"There... now that the annoying little sister has been dealt with, let's get back to business..."

"Hold on, no...!" Kazuichi interrupted. "I still... I don't wanna die! Not yet! There's still... some things I have to say!"

"I've prepared a special punishment for Kazuichi Soda, the Ultimate Mechanic!"

"I-I... I still haven't said goodbye! I need to say-!"

"Let's give it everything we've got! It's... PUNISHMENT TIIIIIME!"

"NOOOOOOO!" Suddenly, chains came from the corridor behind him and locked around his neck, choking off his screams. As he was pulled away from the group, he desperately reached his hand out toward Sonia. She watched as he was pulled through the curtains at the end of the corridor, and out of her sight.

Monokuma laughed as the giant monitors near the ceiling of the trial room booted to life, forcing the survivors to view the execution of their classmate and friend. The live video showed Kazuichi laying on what appeared to be a workbench in a garage. A Monokuma wearing a jumpsuit stood over him menacingly. Loudspeakers through the room announced the title of the execution:

"Heartbreak Overdrive!" The jumpsuit Monokuma started using pliers and other tools to cut open Kazuichi's chest. Many students looked away and covered their ears at his bloodcurdling screams. When he had a sufficiently large hole in him, the Monokuma grabbed a device resembling a car battery, but with some transparent parts, and started hooking it up to him. When the operation was over, blood red liquid flowed through the transparent parts of the device in timing with the Mechanic's rapid heartbeats.

The chains around his neck then lifted him into the air, and moving him over to the other side of the garage. Waiting there was a black and white sports car with a red decal like Monokuma's eye across the hood. As he neared it, the hood opened, and he was unceremoniously dropped atop the inner workings. Then, two more jumpsuit Monokumas made their way over and started strapping Kazuichi and his battery to the car. Once the battery was fully hooked up, the engine roared to life. With that, the door of the garage opened, revealing a desertscape unlike anywhere on the islands the students had explored, and the car sped off.

Kazuichi tried to keep his breathing steady, hoping that by keeping the car moving with his blood he could delay his death. Unfortunately, keeping calm nerves was not the boy's strong suit, and the blood loss from his open wounds only served to weaken his pulse. There was also his motion sickness to take into account, but that was the least of his concerns at the moment. However, before he had time to think about any of that, he noticed the car was quickly approaching a ramp in the distance. With a thump, Kazuichi's heart skipped a beat, and the car was airborne. He closed his eyes and braced for impact with the sandy earth... but it never came.

Instead, the car began to transform, like something out of an anime or video game. Before he had a chance to react, he was no longer on a sports car, but instead on the tip of a rocket. The rocketship of his dreams. The one he always wanted to make. The one he would never get the chance to make. The engine of the mechanical marvel roared as it blasted off into the sky. The thinning of the atmosphere and the extreme speeds he was reaching made his breathing even more laboured, and in time, he began to feel lightheaded. He slowly drifted into unconsciousness, and wondered why he didn't reach it sooner. But before he could enter his peaceful slumber, before he could even close his eyes, a beep came from his chest. Looking down, he saw the battery with no fluid running through it. His heart had stopped. The battery exploded, and the rocket along with it, sending chunks of charred flesh flying in every different direction, with most of it being completely destroyed in the blast.

The camera panned across the desert, to a small shack labelled "Soda Bike Shop," with the word "King" added shoddily at the front. The exploded pieces of the rocketship fell from the sky, crushing the small building under their weight. With that, the video feed cut to black as all the classmates stood in silent horror of what they witnessed.

"YAHOOOOOOOO! EXTREEEEEEEEEEEEME!" Monokuma cheered from his throne.

"Kyaaaah!" Monomy cried at the violent sight.

"Phew! The adrenaline is rushing through me!"

"K-Kazuichi!" Mikan screamed in shock. Beside her, Ibuki was foaming at the mouth.

"Wh-Why...?" Sonia sobbed. "Why... did you do something so cruel?"

"Huh? Didn't you learn when you were in elementary school?" Monokuma asked. "If you badmouth someone... The teacher writes it in a note, and makes whoever you badmouthed read it to you in front of the class... When that happens, only then do you think about how it feels to be badmouthed. The same applies to murder."

"H-He didn't even do it on purpose!" Mahiru shouted.

"Ugh... so cruel... This is just too cruel...!" Mikan began to cry.

"Well, it can't be helped." Monokuma said. "Rules are rules and this is the killing rule after all!"

"What... rule... You're the one who's breaking the rules!" Hajime accused.

"Huh? I just can't let that slide... What do you mean?"

"When you mentioned the motive... Didn't you also promise something!? Wh-Why... why didn't you tell Kazuichi about his forgotten memories!? He had a right to know!"

"Yeah... us too..." Fuyuhiko agreed. "We all have a right to know...! Hey! Hurry up and tell us! What did you mean earlier when you mentioned our "school memories"?"

"Oh yeah, I did promise to return your memories after the killing began..." Monokuma recalled.

"Huh? You're gonna do it?" Monomi suddenly looked very worried. "But... telling them is kind of..."

"But I never told you guys that I'd tell you right away."

"Wha-...!?"

"Th-That's not fair!" Akane shouted.

"Of course, I'll keep my promise to return your memories someday. But... it's still not clear when that "someday" will actually be... Bwah-hahahahaha!" With that, he disappeared.

"U-Um..." Monomi scanned the room, seeing each of the students' angry or disgusted faces. "I must excuse myself as well! Th-There's something that I need to do!" With that, she disappeared as well, leaving the rope she was hanging from empty and slack.

"That's not fair! They both ran away!" Ibuki shouted.

"M-Monokuma had us wrapped around his finger after all...!" Mahiru said.

"An ending like this is just full of despair... A seriously tragic despair..." Nagito said. "But still, at times like this... As the symbols of hope, you guys need to keep doing your best!"

"You... why're you smilin'?" Akane asked.

"How can you smile in a situation like this, you creep!" Ibuki spat.

"Hold on... I'm sad too, you know... Didn't I tell you? From the bottom of my heart, I truly love you all. You Ultimates who inspire hope... and your splendid talents. There's no way I can be happy when we've lost such a talented individual."

"Don't go sayin' creepy shit! I'll fucking kill you!" Fuyuhiko threatened.

"...Please, kill me any time."

"...Huh?"

"If you hate me, I don't mind you killing me! I've already prepared myself to become your stepping stone! If absolute hope can be born from that... then my life is nothing special."

"You... how messed up are you...!?" Nekomaru asked.

"However, if you're going to kill me, make sure you discuss it with me beforehand, okay? You see, if you do that, then I can cooperate with the killer."

"Are you seriously... intending to help the killer?" Hajime asked.

"It's really not that big of a deal. If you're students of Hope's Peak Academy... If you're the symbols of hope who possess the chosen talents... Then it shouldn't matter to you guys at all if I cooperate with the killer, right!?"

"Hmph... Declaring so confidently that you'll side with the killer..." Gundham muttered.

"Maybe this was his plan all along." Hiyoko accused. "Since he's willing to work with the killer, he wants us to think it's better for us not to kill him..."

"Well, I don't mind what you think of me..." Nagito decided. "In actuality, thanks to Byakuya, I'm starting to feel a small desire to live." He glanced at the rotund boy, who still said nothing. "Mostly, I just want to watch everyone destroy all the despair that comes for you, one after the other...! Ahaha, just kidding!"

"Hey, can I punch ya?" Akane suggested. "I just won't be satisfied till I punch ya!"

"Fine..." Hajime said. "Let's stop this already... It's just going to be a waste of time... if we keep dealing with him...!"

"Huh? Even Hajime hates me now? That stings... I felt you and I were quite similar."

"What does that...?"

"You hold a special feeling toward Hope's Peak Academy... just like me."

"Don't put me in the same category as you...!"

"But how can you say you're not? Monokuma said it himself... We don't know anything about each other's true nature. No, if it's true that our school memories were stolen, it's the same as not knowing our true selves, too. Especially for you... right? Someone who can't even remember what his talent is..."

Hajime glared at him for a few moments before looking away. "...Akane... please feel free to punch him."

"...Will do!" She stepped up and readied her arm.

"...H-Hold on!"

"P-Please stop this at once!" Sonia begged, her voice cutting through the commotion. "Nothing will come from fighting like this. There... there is something else that we must do. We must not argue with each other in a place like this. There... is something more important we must do."

"...Which is?" Gundham asked.

"Do our best."

"...Hm?"

"We must first leave here... and get some rest. And then... we shall all work together and do our best. Do our best so we never have to come back here again. That is what... I believe we must do right now... I am sorry... If only I was a better motivational speaker..."

"But... what do we have to work hard at?" Fuyuhiko asked.

"I do not know, but we must do our best!"

"...Jeez, I don't get you at all. Are you some kind of moron?"

"It's fine if you don't know." Chiaki said. "What matters is that you hold on to the feeling that you have to do your best. So... let's do our best. Let's make sure a killing like this never happens again."

"It's scary but... doing our best is our only option." Mahiru admitted. "There's no way I'm doing what Nagito said."

"All right!" Akane cheered. "I dunno what you're all talkin' about, but let's do our best for now!"

"Very well... Even if we are not able to change the future, I guess I should at least change my tomorrow..." Gundham decided.

"Damn fiend... I won't give up until the very end!" Nekomaru declared. "I won't die in vain... I'll give my entire existence, my entire power, my entire body and soul, and fight to the very end!"

"Yeah, you're right..." Hajime agreed. "Let's definitely work together and leave this island!"

"Do our best..." Maki muttered as she continued to stare up at the screen that showed her friend's death. They were big words, but empty ones. She couldn't understand how such cheap words could serve to fight off their despair. How immature were her classmates that all it took were three words to blind them from the truth? In her heart, she wished she could be like that. But unfortunately, delusions held no claim to her mind; all she knew was the truth, and the road that lead to it. She could not turn away from it so easily.

She turned to Byakuya, who still had yet to say anything since the vote was concluded. She knew he was the same way. Under all his regal grandeur, he was a fellow truth-seeker. No matter how much he lied to himself, he could not hide from the truth. He could not deny his role in the events leading up to Kazuichi's demise.


I was exhausted.

I know it's not right to complain when others are suffering far worse, but it was true. It may have been more personal for Chiaki and her classmates, but I was far from uninvolved in these people's lives, and being forced to watch Kazuichi's execution was just another punch to the gut. How many punches has my gut sustained in the last year? At least twelve, by my count. And that's not even counting what I went through in Towa. To be perfectly honest with you, I just wanted to take a breath. This ordeal wouldn't be nearly as painful to endure if I had some recovery time, but it's just one thing after another with this Ultimate Despair shit.

Now... with my whining out of the way, I was currently alone in the observation room. I mean, not really, since Taichi was still working at keeping the virus at bay, but since he was so absorbed in that, he didn't really have time to react to what was happening around him. I envied that. One may be curious why no one else was with me, considering the ones who were assigned to watch the screen were Celeste, Chiaki, and Miaya, meaning they weren't allowed to just leave unless another was there to take their place(Unlike me, who chose to be here for some stupid reason).

Well, the issue is, it's currently Chiaki's shift. She tried to watch Kazuichi's entire execution, similarly to how I always tried to watch the executions in my own killing game, out of some desire to honour the dead in some way. And she did. But then she broke down into tears, and excused herself to go to the bathroom. I couldn't bring myself to make her stay, and even if I could, I probably wouldn't. It was the first time I saw her cry, and I knew how it felt, in a way. Watching someone you care about be humiliated in the face of death. Watching a part of your world, however little, shatter so utterly.

Although I don't recall ever crying after watching an execution. All I ever felt was emptiness. I guess that means Chiaki still has something that I lost at some point. What could it be? Humanity, perhaps? But if that's the case... If Chiaki is human... then what am I? Thoughts like that were why I didn't like going down this train of thought. I certainly cried when the stress got too overwhelming, Chihiro can testify to that, but why was I always so emotionally dead as I watched my friends die?

My thoughts were interrupted when the door to the room opened. I was expected Celeste or Miaya to show up to take Chiaki's place, but instead, Kyoko stood in the door frame.

"Albert, here you are. Come on, my grandfather finally got back to us with the results of the files." She looked around the room for a moment before raising an eyebrow. "Chiaki's shift?"

"Yeah..."

"I trust the trial wasn't fun to watch?"

"Oh no, it was pretty fun. It's been a while since I watched a Danganronpa trial. It's just that the end wasn't very pretty. I'm sure you remember the executions Junko managed to cook up with machinery. Imagine if she had control over the laws of physics and stuff."

She hid it pretty well, but I could've sworn I saw her shiver. "Well, if you don't tell me the details later, I won't complain. I'll call Miaya to take Chiaki's place early. When she gets here, come to the conference room. I already told everyone else to gather there."

"Everyone else...?" I repeated, nodding at Taichi.

"You know what I mean. Everyone except Hina."

I nodded. Makoto, Byakuya, Celeste, Chihiro, Kyoko, and myself. As much as I liked Chiaki, Miaya, Taichi, or even Grand Bois Cheri, I hadn't quite formed a fire-forged bond with them like I had with the six of my classmates. Though it won't be the same without Hina. Hey, maybe once Towa evacuations are out of the way, we can all have on big reunion party. Heh, yeah, if only...

"Right. Well, I'll try to get there soon, but try not to wait for me." I told her.

She gave me an odd look. "Don't be ridiculous. We'll wait as long as we have to. I'm not going to repeat myself, after all."

"Well, Miaya might be a while. Lack of wheelchair accessibility and all."

"In any case, I'll see you there." With that, she turned and left me alone once again.

I sighed and turned back to the monitors. Hopefully, some good news would come out of this. I needed to find out the true nature of Maki Yugami. Was she an incompetent friend, or a manipulative foe? I had no idea.


Maki Yugami stepped out of the steamy bathroom, a towel wrapped around her body, while running another one through her long hair. The eventful day had her exhausted, but the feeling of the hot water on her skin had rejuvenated her. Due to the trial, she didn't have time for a full night's rest, but she could at least get in a nap before morning, and she doubted anyone would fault her for sleeping in.

"My my, it looks like I came in at a great time..." Maki flinched when she heard the voice, and pulled the towel tighter over herself. But she relaxed some when she saw her company was simply Monokuma.

"Well, hello to you too, Junko. I didn't think you would stop by for a visit."

"Ooh, she knows my name! I'm so scared!" The bear laughed. "And just what are you gonna do with that knowledge, huh?"

"Nothing, yet. Even if I told everyone you were behind this, it wouldn't change anything. But it's always better to know something than not. After all, you never know when that information could come in handy."

"Puhuhu... You know, I knew someone once who had a very similar philosophy. He kept a lot of things hidden from his friends just because he didn't think it would help them. But ten of his friends died anyway, so maybe it would've been better for him to spill his guts right from the beginning. Talk about regrets from our youth, am I right? Though it might be weird to say since you two are so different... You definitely remind me of him."

She put a hand on her hip. "Whoever it is you're muttering about, I don't care. And I don't appreciate being compared to someone who failed in such a spectacular fashion."

"Oh? So, Teruteru and Kazuichi were victories for you, then?"

"Don't put words in my mouth. If I could have taken measures to ensure Nagito was the only victim, I would have. But I won't make the same mistake again."

He laughed at that statement. "Oh, c'mon, you don't need to keep up that act around me. You knew Teruteru was going to be under the floor, right? And you wanted to be the one to open the door so you could become the blackened, right?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. Yes, I did plan to be the one to open the door, but I had no reason to believe Teruteru would be killed in the explosion. In a way, I guess it's lucky that I failed to reach the door in time, since I don't quite plan on becoming the blackened yet."

"Huh? Yet? So you would totally be down for some killing later?"

"Don't misunderstand me. I'm not some psychopath who wants to rack up a body count. But everyone has their limits. Your motives have a way of picking at the dark corners of people's minds. If this game goes on for too long, even I might end up tempted to sacrifice the others to save myself."

"Speaking of which, I just thought it was worth mentioning... I'm fine with the fact that you're protecting yourself from the other students. Makes it more interesting that way. But if you ever are voted as the blackened and executed, just know that I can override that sort of thing."

She cocked her head to the side. "That sounds like something you wouldn't tell someone until the last minute. You know, to make the despair more real. Why are you telling me now?"

"Eh, I consider it an investment. I can definitely get more bang for my buck of despair with you around, so I don't want you going and getting yourself offed so soon. Besides, I'm a sporting bear. Everything should be fair and square, that way the losing side had only themselves to blame."

"Uh-huh..."

"...What were we talking about? I feel like I had something to ask you, but I forgot because the conversation moved on. Don't you hate it when that- Oh! Now I remember! I was curious where you came from. Because you're definitely not a member of Class 77-B, or else I'd remember you."

She glared down at the bear for a moment, taking a measured breath. Then, she turned and walked over to her dresser. "I'm done talking to you."

"Aw, c'mon, really?" Monokuma asked as she stripped off the towel and started putting on her underwear. "Hmph. Well, not that this isn't super fun to watch, but it's a little inappropriate for a headmaster to watch his student get dressed, right?"

"You're not my headmaster. You're Junko Enoshima, a high-school girl, and one of the most notorious psychopaths in all of history. You'll forgive me if I'm not entirely modest in front of someone who I can't even view as human."

"Jeez, you really have a sharp tongue, don't you? Guess I'll have to wait until some other time to cut it out, though."

Maki was already tucking herself in her bed. "Not listening. Sleeping now."

"So disrespectful. Oh well. I can always have my fun later." With that, the bear disappeared, leaving the girl alone with her thoughts.


And now we officially get to move into Chapter 2 territory. As I mentioned, I've neglected to show much of Albert and friends during this first case, so I'm going to put more focus on them for the next few chapters. And I definitely plan to show more of Albert interacting with the people around him, since he hasn't gotten a chance to do that in a long time. Hell, off the top of my head, the only survivors he really ever had a serious heart-to-heart with were Makoto, Chihiro, and Komaru. And Toshihide, I guess. So I definitely plan to revisit his relationships with the others. Speaking of revisiting things, remember the last time I had a Survivor/Victim list like this?

Survivors-15: Maki Yugami, Hajime Hinata, Akane Owari, Byakuya Togami, Chiaki Nanami, Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, Gundham Tanaka, Hiyoko Saionji, Ibuki Mioda, Mahiru Koizumi, Mikan Tsumiki, Nagito Komaeda, Nekomaru Nidai, Peko Pekoyama, Sonia Nevermind

Victims-2: Teruteru Hanamura, Kazuichi Soda

In the next chapter, Albert will continue his investigation, and continue to watch the killing game...