Shuichi couldn't remember when or how he got to his dorm room. He just found himself in his bed, completely numb to everything. He couldn't sleep, nor did he think he wanted to. He just wanted to escape the despair.
Still, sleep came all the same, and thus a pattern was created.
Morning would come, the morning announcement would play without Monokuma, and then Shuichi would stay in his dorm room, laying lifelessly. And then nighttime would come, the announcement would play once again without Monokuma, and Shuichi would stay awake staring at the ceiling of his room before sleep took him.
He wondered what the point of living anymore was. He wondered how the others were doing at that moment. But no matter how much he tried, Shuichi just couldn't bring himself to move. His mind was muddled, and his body had no energy to move. And so he stayed there, unmoving and unthinking. What would be the point?
Days passed, and Shuichi remained there. And just when he had reached the peak of his despair, and just when he began to think he should just let death take him, something unimaginable happened.
Ding dong! Ding dong!
The doorbell to his room rang.
"What?" Shuichi didn't know what to make of that, but his body reacted reflexively
Somehow getting out of his bed, Shuichi slowly walked over to the door and opened it.
"Shuichi…" Kaede said when she saw the tired, broken-down Shuichi. And despite her own tired, broken eyes, She gave Shuichi a small, weak smile. "You look terrible, though I doubt I look much better."
"K-Kaede?"
"You might want to clean yourself up a bit. We need you to come to the dining hall with everyone."
"...Everyone?"
"Yeah. Kirumi says it's kinda important. So…I'll be waiting for you, along with everyone else." Kaede said in a small, weak, pleading tone before leaving.
"I…guess I should go." Shuichi shrugged.
He hurried and took a hot shower to clean himself up before leaving his room to head toward the dining hall. When he got there, everyone besides Kokichi and Rin was already there, and so was the dreadful atmosphere that had surrounded them all after Kokichi's grand reveal. Each of their eyes no longer shined with life, and despair and sorrow lingered on all their faces.
"Wow…everyone looks awful." Rantaro let out a chuckle, but it was more hollow and self-degrading than light-hearted.
"Really? Even I look terrible?" Keebo asked wearily.
"Well…your face always looks like that." Tenko pointed out with a sigh.
"So why are we here? Was there anything else that needed to be discussed?" Kaede asked in an exhausted voice.
"We're discussing how we wanna die, right?" Tenko asked with a dark look in her eyes.
"What?" Shuichi let out a small gasp.
"I don't want to suffer anymore, and the same is true with everyone else, right? So aren't we here to end it all together?" Tenko asked weakly.
"Perhaps… I do not want to feel like this anymore either." Kirumi let out a sad sigh in a tired voice no one else had ever heard from the maid before. "However, I think we should wait until after we look at this before we decide whether or not we should do something like that."
That's when Kirumi took out something from her pocket, and everyone gasped.
"Is that…a Flashback Light?" Shuichi exclaimed.
"Why do you have that, Kirumi?" Rantaro asked.
"I was feeling restless, so I tried to clear my head by walking around and cleaning. Doing housework and chores like that…helps distract me. I just…even with everything that's happened, I suppose I am still not the kind of person who can lie in bed forever, even if I want to." Kirumi explained with a deep frown. "That is when I found the Flashback Light. I was just…on top of the table when I checked out the dining hall this morning."
"It was just…sitting there?" Kaede asked.
"Kokichi probably put it there," Tenko muttered.
"To…confirm the truth, perhaps?" Keebo guessed.
"Maybe. Using the Flashback Light, we'd be able to recover memories that might corroborate his story." Rantaro gave a small nod.
"So Kokichi wants us to use the Flashback Light to confirm that retched truth he told us." Kaede grimaced.
"We don't need to confirm anything. We already saw it! We saw the outside world for ourselves… What could prove what he said more than that?" Tenko said in a defeated tone.
"Even so, I do not think we should just ignore this. I…do not think that would be the right thing to do." Kirumi told them.
"Why? Why do we have to do that?"
"Because what else are we supposed to do? This is the only thing left for us now." Kirumi replied. "If we are going to die, then we might as well do everything we need to do before that so that we will have no more regrets afterward. It is not like it matters whether it is dangerous or not, correct?"
"I guess that's true. There's nothing else we could possibly lose now." Rantaro sighed.
"We don't even have hope left to lose." Kaede nodded solemnly.
"If that is the case, then let us at least try to do what we can." Kirumi pleaded. "I…do not want to keep wallowing in self-pity anymore. I just want to do something. Anything, really."
"...Okay. It's not like things can get worse than they already are." Kaede sighed.
"That's true. I guess…I'll stay and do this too." Tenko mumbled.
"What about you three? You are staying too, correct?" Kirumi asked the three boys in the room.
"We might as well, I guess," Rantaro responded half-heartedly.
"Yes… Very well, then." Keebo nodded as well.
"Y-Yeah…" Shuichi weakly said.
It was highly suspicious for a Flashback Light to randomly show up, but it didn't even matter. Their spirits were already broken. They had nothing left to lose anyway, so what did it matter if they willingly fell into this potential trap?
"Okay…I am going to turn it on now." Kirumi muttered as she held the Flashback Light.
With that, Kirumi switched on the Flashback Light, and at that moment…the world flipped upside-down…turned inside-out…as their world was engulfed in light.
And suddenly, everything made sense.
This was the truth!
It all started at that academy… A government-backed school that nurtured the most talented students in various subjects. Hope's Peak Academy. And the event that tore that school apart…changed the world.
The biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history. It triggered a wave of terrorism and war across the world. Humanity's true despair. Half the world was destroyed as a result of the terrible violence. And that tragedy was caused by a single high school girl.
The Ultimate Despair, Junko Enoshima. She used whatever means necessary to paint the world in despair. The killing game of the 78th class of Hope's Peak Academy was the same way. Trapped by the Ultimate Despair, forced into a killing game…
But after Junko Enoshima died…the case was closed, and the world began to slowly recover. But Junko's disciples, the Remnants of Despair, weren't done sowing chaos. They even began to recreate the killing game Junko had made, entrapping countless people in new, fake versions of the terrible game. The Future Foundation fought against them, trying to restore order. The war between hope and despair grew more and more extreme. The fight raged on, but came to a sudden end.
And…right then… it was from then on that they all remembered…the beginning of their truth.
One day, terrible despair suddenly rained from the sky. A countless number of meteorites fell upon the world, carrying an unknown virus. Emboldened by the overwhelming despair, the Remnants cried 'Humanity deserves damnation'! The Future Foundation was overwhelmed by the renewed despair and quickly lost influence.
But then…Makoto Naegi, one of the survivors of the killing game of the 78th class and headmaster of the new Hope's Peak Academy, teamed up with the brand-new leader of the Future Foundation. This young man was the key figure leading the battle against the Remnants of Despair and had ended multiple faux-killing games after joining the organization, and with all of his achievements, he became known as that generation's new Ultimate Hope. That person…was Rin Wakuri. With both of them working together, pulling together members of Hope's Peak Academy and the Future Foundation to this end, they started the Gofer Project together.
'Only genius can overcome nature. And only hope can overcome despair. Our young geniuses must escape this Earth, to become the seeds of the future. That is the only hope for humanity.' With those principles, the Gofer Project began, and sixteen Hope's Peak students were selected, alongside Rin Wakuri, who was to help guide and protect the students after they escaped the apocalypse. And those sixteen students were them. They weren't attending different high schools, they all were attending the newly rebuilt Hope's Peak Academy! The school accepted applications from talented students to help cultivate Ultimate Talents, and it had accepted all of their applications.
The sixteen of them, along with the leader of the Future Foundation, Rin, were all chosen for the Gofer Project because they were the only ones left. The mysterious virus from the meteorites had spread rapidly around the world. The entire world was on the brink of extinction. Hope had almost triumphed…but cruel despair came roaring back to overtake the world. But somehow, the seventeen of them just happened to be immune to the virus. That was why they were chosen for the project.
This was the truth. Everything…was connected!
"Everyone! Did you all remember!?" Shuichi shouted once all the memories were done being absorbed into his mind.
"Yes! I can vividly recall everything now!" Keebo exclaimed.
"I-Incredible… How in the world could we have ever forgotten something like this?" Rantaro said as he held a hand to his head in disbelief and awe.
"That's right! We all were Hope's Peak Academy students!" Kaede proclaimed excitedly.
"That's right! We were symbols of hope entrusted with humanity's survival!" Tenko nodded enthusiastically.
"Except for one person." Kirumi corrected. "Kokichi Oma…the mastermind behind this killing game… His organization, DICE, was… They were Remnants of Despair."
"That's right! The cult organization out to destroy the Gofer Project was DICE! If Kokichi is the leader of DICE, that means he controls the Remnants of Despair. Out of all of us…he is the closest to the Ultimate Despair." Shuichi stated.
"Oh! It's so obvious now! A faux-killing game recreating the game the 78th class of Hope's Peak played could only be run by the Remnants of Despair!" Tenko shouted. "The class trials… Monokuma… The students of Hope's Peak Academy… It's all just like Junko Enoshima's killing game! Only someone who worships the Ultimate Despair would replicate that killing game!"
"Which means that this killing game is just like the ones that came before." Keebo nodded.
"And that explains my status as the Ultimate Survivor, too," Rantaro added. "I remember now. I was captured by Remnants of Despair and was forced to play one of those faux-killing games with other Ultimates, and I was one of the only people who managed to survive those faux-killing games without the Future Foundation's help. That's why, along with my Ultimate Adventurer title, I was known as the Ultimate Survivor."
"This memory also explains Kaito's illness! He must have contracted that mysterious illness that was plaguing Earth!" Shuichi shouted.
"But how? I thought all of us were chosen for the Gofer Project because we were immune." Kirumi stated.
"Perhaps Kaito was never immune, but just hadn't contracted the disease yet?" Tenko suggested. "I mean, the symptoms we know Kaito had were quite similar to what that illness causes! So it must have been that disease's fault Kaito died!"
"This also explains why Kokichi took Rin hostage, too!" Kaede shouted. "Kokichi knew Rin was the leader of the Future Foundation, the new generation's Ultimate Hope. Rin had led the Future Foundation against the Remnants and ended multiple of their plans! He probably wanted to take revenge against Rin for all that he did as the Ultimate Hope."
"That's entirely plausible. This is still a battle between hope and despair, after all." Keebo pointed out.
"But if this was such an important killing game, why did Kokichi suddenly end it?" Kirumi questioned.
"That's just something the Remnants of Despair would normally do. They admire Junk Enoshima, right? He must have made this elaborate plan to cause us to despair, but he got bored with that plan and just abandoned it! That kind of despicable thing is just like those degenerate Remnants!" Tenko grimaced before yelling. "Ooh! That just gets me so angry just thinking about it! I'll never understand those horrible miscreants! He's a total men-ance!"
"Wanting to feel the despair of your plan being ruined… That's an Ultimate Despair for you. Junko did the exact same thing if I recall correctly." Rantaro sighed.
"Is that really the reason?" Kirumi pondered before shaking her head. "I suppose it does not matter at the moment. We have now learned the truth of everything, but what can we do?"
"Is there anything we can still do at this point?" Kaede asked. "Even if we get out of this academy, the outside world is still destroyed. There's no more hope out there for us."
"Then we just need to become that hope!" Keebo proclaimed.
"Woah! When did you get so bold, Keebo?" Tenko asked in surprise.
"If all hope is lost, then it's up to us to become that hope! After all, we're students of Hope's Peak Academy, aren't we!?" Keebo continued. "We're all that's left of the seventeen who survived the battle between hope and despair! If we give up now, everyone who fought on the side of hope will have fought for nothing!"
"Fought for nothing, huh," Rantaro mumbled, his crossed arms tightening into fists as the sour taste of those words left his mouth.
"That's…what my inner voice is telling me. That no matter what, I cannot abandon hope. I cannot give up. Yes, that's what it's urging me to do. So I will not despair! Even if it's only a little, I will move forward with hope!"
"Keebo…" Shuichi said in awe of the robot's bright hope.
"Right now, there is no use in thinking about whether our lives have meaning or not. Because as long as we're alive, we still have the power to decide that meaning for ourselves. That's what I believe hope is!"
"That's what hope is…" Kaede repeated before a bright smile of her own began to take shape. "You're right. You're absolutely right! We're students of the new Hope's Peak Academy, the rebuilt symbol of hope! If we give up, the world really will be plunged into despair!"
"That's right! In the end, it's all about our resolve and willpower! So we've gotta live till the end! We can't give up now!" Tenko agreed.
"We can't do anything in that destroyed world outside, but it's just as Kaito used to say, right? 'The impossible is possible, all we gotta do is make it so', right?" Rantaro smiled. "If anyone can do it, it's us Ultimate Students."
"Very well. It is our duty as the last survivors of humanity, correct? Then this is the least we can do. For everyone who paved the way for us to get this far." Kirumi stated with a stern, determined look.
"...You're right. Let's do it." Shuichi nodded, his own confidence and determination growing as well. "Let's fight, together! Against despair!"
"Yes! As long as we stand together, without giving in to despair, we will find a new hope!" Keebo exclaimed proudly.
They all stood in unison. They each felt the power of hope coursing through them, driving their bodies forward toward the future. The hope born in this academy is a tree of life with roots down deep. It was supporting each and every one of them.
"This is perfect! I haven't felt this motivated in a long time!" Tenko cheered as she began throwing out Aikido moves out of nowhere.
"That's the power of hope for you! I feel like we can take on anything now!" Kaede smiled as she brought her fists up confidently.
"Kokichi may have left that Flashback light to push us further down despair, but it seems that plan backfired. All it did was fire us all up again." Rantaro smirked.
"Ah, so…what's our plan now? What are we going to do about Kokichi?" Shuichi asked.
"Well we gotta stop him, right? Or else this despair will never end!" Tenko stated like it was obvious.
"We need to save Rin, as well," Kirumi mentioned. "He was the leader of the Future Foundation. With him, the Ultimate Hope, at our side, no despair could possibly win."
"Of course! He might have lost his memories and fallen to despair, but we'll show him that hope still exists! We'll save him from Kokichi, and then this will all end!" Kaede agreed happily.
"That's right. Even without his memory of who he is or what his real talent is, he still fought to protect us and end the killings. Even if he doesn't remember it, we're all still on the same side. We owe him that much, at least." Rantaro responded confidently.
"Once Rin is back by our side, then even now that we're the only survivors left, I think we might actually find that new hope." Keebo gave a genuine smile to the others.
"The problem is…where are Kokichi and Rin?" Kaede pondered.
"I recall Kokichi mentioning the Exisal Hanger before he left us," Kirumi answered firmly.
"Both of them?" Shuichi questioned. "Kokichi did say that Rin would be trapped in there, but…"
"By chance…I happened to see Kokichi leaving the hangar during nighttime yesterday as I was going around cleaning to distract myself." Kirumi explained.
"By chance? Really now? Are you sure it was just a coincidence?" Rantaro smirked. Kaede seemed to catch on immediately and began smiling too.
"Oh! I bet the truth is that you were worried about Rin and went to see if he was alright. You both were always so close." Kaede said, getting a small, pink blush and a flustered look from the Ultimate Maid.
"I…It is my duty to care for everyone here. So of course I would be concerned." Kirumi told them as she averted her eyes. "It is the duty of a maid to–"
"Right, right. We get it. No need to explain it to us." Tenko laughed as she patted Kirumi on the back, though that just seemed to make Kirumi more flustered, which was a really strange sight considering Kirumi had never been flustered like this before. "So we know they're in the Exisal Hanger, but how do we get them out?"
"That's right. The hanger has an alarm system that will go off if anyone approaches the shutter. On top of that, Kokichi has the alarm remote key to shut off that alarm system." Keebo noted.
"There's also that electric barrier, right? You'd need to do something about that, too." Kaede stated.
"Yes, but…even approaching the control panel will set off the alarm, too…" Keebo sighed.
"Hmm… I don't know how we might be able to get around that. The Electrohammers might be able to turn off the barrier, but we won't be able to do anything against that alarm since it'll detect us long before we could get close and disable it." Rantaro grimaced.
"...Do not worry. I believe I know how we can handle the alarm" Kirumi stated. "All we need is to find that Electro-Radar Miu made Rin."
"Oh! The Electro-Radar! If we have that, we might be able to disable the alarm!" Tenko shouted.
"Not only that, but it should work on that remote Kokichi uses to control the Exisals, too," Kaede added.
"But wouldn't the radar be in Rin's dorm room, or on his person? I don't see how we would be able to get to it ourselves." Shuichi stated.
"Then perhaps we can make our own? The device was made in Miu's lab, so perhaps she left behind the blueprints we can use to recreate it." Kirumi suggested.
"That's true. With the supplies from Miu's lab and my own, we should theoretically be able to create a new Electro-Radar if we have the blueprints." Keebo said.
"Kokichi will be good as defenseless if we use to disable the alarm and the Exisal remote. The most he might be able to do is get in an Exisal to control it manually, but we should be able to stop him if we're fast enough." Rantaro said.
"Plus we'll have two Electrohammers to disable two of the Exisals, so it shouldn't be an issue," Keebo stated.
"Kaede, Kirumi. You both were the last two to have the Electrohammers. You still have them, right?" Tenko asked.
"Well…I sort of left mine sitting around without charging it. I was too depressed to do anything with it once we got back from the tunnel." Kaede admitted sheepishly as she took the compacted hammer out of her backpack, showing just the lack of any power in the device.
"I…am afraid I did much the same." Kirumi frowned, disappointed at herself it seemed.
"It takes 24 hours to charge an Electrohammer, so we'll have to wait until tomorrow morning. That will give us enough time for us to look for the Electro Radar blueprints and maybe recreate it for tomorrow." Rantaro said.
"So we have to wait until tomorrow. Dang it! I was so pumped to punch Kokichi in his stupid. lying face!" Tenko complained loudly.
"We don't have much of a choice, unfortunately." Shuichi sighed.
"Well, that's fine. We'll be all prepared tomorrow, so I'll just punch his face harder than to make up for it." Tenko proclaimed proudly.
"Then all of this ends tomorrow. We'll save Rin and capture Kokichi! Once we lock Kokichi up and prevent him from causing any more trouble, we can finally live normal lives again." Kaede said.
"Well, as normal as they can get here in this spaceship." Rantaro laughed.
"Capture him…" Kirumi repeated as she put her hand on her chin in a thoughtful manner. "It should not be too difficult in that case. Not when Kokichi will no longer have the Exisals on his side."
"Right? We've got this!" Kaede said happily with a bright smile. "Let's do our best everyone!"
"Y-Yeah!" Shuichi smiled back at her.
And so, they finalized their plan to get into the Exisal hangar tomorrow morning. Until then, they would have to wait for the Electrohammers to recharge and finish their other preparations with the Electro Radar. They decided to split up, focused and determined. Keebo and Rantaro went to Miu's lab to look for the Electro Radar blueprints and start making the new device, and Kaede, Kirumi, and Tenko went to gather other weapons just in case Kokichi resisted.
Meanwhile, Shuichi decided to make himself useful by scouting out the hangar area. He figured it would be for the best to check out the scene before they executed their plan. It would be bad if there was something that could get in their way they could have avoided by knowing about it beforehand. Besides, he was worried about Rin, too. Who knows what Kokichi might be doing to the one who used to be the leader of Future Foundation and the Ultimate Hope? Even after Rin tried to push them away and insulted them, Shuichi still considered him a friend.
It didn't take long for Shuichi to walk to the Cyber Courtyard. He proceeded through the area cautiously, especially as he started to get close to the hangar. If Kokichi was in the hangar, Shuichi figured he would have the Exisals patrolling the area. At least, that's what he thought until he came across a strange sight.
"Huh? Monokuma!?" Shuichi nearly shouted when he saw the bear surrounded by four of the five Exisals.
Shuichi hadn't seen the bear in a while, so it was surprising to see him so suddenly. He must be having the Exisals guard him or something. What else would they be doing? But why now? And why have four of them guarding him? Kokichi was controlling them, right? Why would he do that?
That's when Shuichi had a thought. If the four of the Exisals were here, then there would only be one Exisal guarding the hangar at most. And even then, maybe Kokichi was using that fifth one to guard Rin instead of the hangar. So this might be Shuichi's chance. He had to hurry, but still move carefully to avoid drawing any attention to himself.
So he kept moving, keeping out of sight of the Exisals around Monokuma and making his way to the hangar. When he finally got there, the first thing he noticed was that the alarm had been turned on, along with the electric barrier. He couldn't get too close without the alarm going off, and with the fifth Exisal MIA, he couldn't risk it.
"Hopefully I can find a good spot to survey the scene…" Shuichi mumbled to himself. "If I remember correctly…there's a bathroom with a small window there. I should check it out."
So the detective started walking over to where he recalled seeing the bathroom window. When he saw it, he walked over to it and peered into the small window, and he saw someone on the other side lying down on the ground. He also heard what might have been light snores. It didn't take long for it to click in Shuichi's head.
"Ah!" He couldn't stop himself from gasping, and the person in the bathroom taking a nap shot up with a shout.
"Aah!" The person shouted before turning to the window. Shuichi was met with sharp red eyes gazing back at him as they widened in surprise. "Saihara!? What are you doing here?"
"Rin!?" Shuichi yelped in surprise.
It was definitely Rin, though unlike when he had last seen him, it seemed as though he was healing from some kind of fight. Bruises and marks were all over his face, and they looked like they had been there for a few days.
"Shhh! Don't shout, idiot! Oma's gonna hear you!" Rin scolded as he moved to the window.
"Ah…Is he close by?"
"No, he locked me in here, but he's still in the hangar. He might even be right outside the door. To make things worse, he has an Exisal with him. If he catches you, you might be thrown in here with me."
"Yeah, that's true."
"So…why are you even here? What are you doing?" Rin asked with a skeptical glare.
"What am I doing here? Saving you, of course."
"What? By yourself? Are you trying to get yourself killed?! Idiot! I thought out of everyone, you wouldn't be attempting a suicide plan like that."
"N-No, of course not. I'm just scouting the place out. Tomorrow morning…we're all coming to rescue you."
"You…all are gonna try to rescue me?" Rin's eyes widened as he nearly took a step back from his shock. "Why? Why would you all do something so risky for me?"
"It started with Kirumi. Honestly, I…I had given up. I think we had all given up. But Kirumi managed to find something to give us back our resolve to fight. Now everyone's working hard to get you out of there. Because…you're our friend. You've saved us plenty of times, so returning the favor like this is the least we can do."
"...You guys don't owe me anything. If any of you were in here, I wouldn't do the same. You really should just stay away and leave me here. There's no point." Rin growled softly before his face showed an expression of complete defeat. "There's just…nothing left to do. Not anymore…"
"No! Don't give up, Rin! You can't give up yet! It isn't like you!" Shuichi told him in a loud whisper.
That took Rin aback a little, his jaw slightly ajar before he found words to speak with again. But soon, Rin's expression shifted into one of rage.
"Those words… You have no right to say that kind of naive nonsense to me!" Rin growled angrily, startling Shuichi as he did.
"R-Rin–"
"Shut up!" Rin nearly shouted, but managed to keep his voice somewhat leveled. "A cowardly detective that had to be picked up by a murderous piano freak and an idiot astronaut with no common sense just to no longer be afraid of the truth has no right to talk to me about giving up! What do you actually know about me, huh? Nothing! So don't talk as if you know what I'm feeling right now!" Rin looked down as his fists began to shake with fury. "Do you think this is easy for me? That I want to give up? To throw away everything that I've been working towards like trash? To burn all the bridges I've built befriending and caring for you guys? That all it took was a single betrayal to make me call it quits!? That's the biggest lie I've heard yet! It's not easy! It's never been easy!"
"It was so much easier pretending and telling myself that there was something I could do to fix everything! That as long as I kept thinking and coming up with plans, I could keep everyone alive! But that was just a lie! I was lying to myself this entire time! I finally get it now… There's no way out! No way to end this, understand? The only path everything leads to is our death, so we might as well give up! If there was something I could do…I'd do it… I swear that I would…but I've already tried everything. I've used every resource at my disposal, and every plan I could come up with, only to come out covered in other's blood and empty-handed. I couldn't save a single damn soul…"
"I can't…I can't bear that weight anymore. Carrying it all was impossible from the very start! I just can't… It just keeps slipping through my weak hands whenever I try to carry it further. I don't want to care anymore. My heart can't take any more pain and betrayal. The lies, suffering, and death…I feel like I lose a piece of myself every time it happens! So I refuse to go further. I'm bowing out of this game. I just…I just want it to be over."
"Why'd it have to be me? It could have been anyone else, but it had to be me! It had to be Rin Wakuri! I never got a choice in the matter! I never got a chance to choose who I was allowed to be because I was too busy playing the part forced onto me! Why…? Tell me why! Why do I have to be the leader?! Why do I have to bear all the responsibility!? Why do I have to feel this pain over and over and over again? Why…can't I just let it all go…?"
Rin's voice was strained now, as well as cracking with sorrow and pain. His heart had been on the verge of shattering apart for a long time now, and he had finally reached his limit. The way he clutched his chest with a clear, visible aching in his eyes showed just how much he was hurting as tears threatened to spill out from his eyes. The only thing that could describe it was a deep sense of hopelessness.
"Rin, I…" Shuichi tried to say something, but what could he say after all of that? Anything he might have said died in his throat in the face of Rin's burst of emotion.
"...Just leave," Rin muttered. "You all can do whatever stupid plan you want. Just leave me out of it."
And before Shuichi could say anything else, Rin grabbed the window cover and pulled it down, ending the conversation abruptly and on a sour note. Shuichi stood there in silence, biting his lips before finally coming up with something to say.
"Rin…You're right. I don't understand what you're feeling, and I don't truly know much about you. However, I want to believe that I that as someone I still see as my friend, I know at least a little about you. So I can say with certainty that you're not the kind of person to give up like this. Even if you want to, I don't think you'd let yourself. After all, even with how angry you are at us, you still tried to warn us against fighting Monokuma in your own way. Even if you want to give up…even if you want to throw away the responsibility and burden that's been placed on you…even if you don't even want to care about us anymore, I know you're the kind of person to see things through to the end. More than anything, I think you hate letting people down and failing them, especially if you care for them."
"You say that you haven't saved a single soul, yet I can name countless times you've saved us. You saved Rantaro from Kaede's trap, and you saved Kaede from becoming the blackened. You saved Kirumi when you used the Necronomicon when no one else wanted to use it. And you've saved us plenty of times during the class trials. You've encouraged us, tried to protect us, and tried to guide us to what you thought was the best possible answer. None of us blame you for what happened. In fact, all of us are more than grateful for you."
"We don't expect you to be perfect. You're only a person like us, even if you are a bit older than us. You can only do the best you can like anyone else in your position, and in my opinion, I think you did an amazing job so far. So don't worry about it anymore. You don't need to worry about carrying this burden alone anymore. From now on, we'll help carry it with you. We'll be the ones to save you. So don't give up. There are plenty of people here that want to see you smile, so we'll fight for a happy ending for all of us."
"So you can't give up. It'd be a crappy story if the hero gave up so easily." Shuichi didn't really think when saying that final part. It was just an instinctual thing. Perhaps Kaito had rubbed off more than he had thought. Not that he thought that was a bad thing.
There was no response, but Shuichi said what he wanted to say. With nothing else to do or say, Shuichi left the hangar. For the rest of the day, he helped Rantaro and Keebo search for the Electro-Radar blueprints and helped them as much as he could when they started building the device. After he had done everything he could, he returned to his room to rest for the final battle. And before he knew it, nighttime was already upon him.
"We go at dawn," Shuichi muttered to himself. He wouldn't hesitate anymore. He couldn't hesitate anymore. "I have to do it. To live, to find a reason to live, to live for everyone who died…I will fight."
It was with that thought in his mind that he repeated before sleep took him.
Ding dong, bing bong
At the chime of the empty, Monokuma-less announcement, Shuichi quickly jumped out of bed.
"Alright…here we go. First to the dining hall." Shuichi said eagerly, ready for what was to come next as he charged out of his room and basically ran to the dining hall. When he got there, everyone was ready and waiting.
"Finally! We're all here!" Tenko cheered.
"Is everyone ready!?" Keebo asked.
"Of course! My Electrohammer is all recharged!" Kaede smiled as she showed off her glowing hammer.
"What about the radar?" Kirumi asked.
"About that. We managed to find the blueprints for the Electro Radar, and we managed to get something together, but none of us are the Ultimate Inventor like Miu." Rantaro admitted as he took out the janky device from his pocket. "Keebo, Shuichi, and I managed to get something together after working on it all day, but I doubt it'll last long. At best, it'll work once and then fall apart, so we only have a single shot at this."
"Right." Shuichi nodded before turning to Kirumi and frowning. "Kirumi…where's your Electrohammer?"
"I apologize, but I must have been careless." Kirumi frowned as her head drooped in a disappointed manner. "It seems that I must have misplaced it after we returned from the tunnel."
"Yeah, Kirumi told us about it yesterday. We looked for it everywhere, but we couldn't find it." Tenko frowned.
"We think either she left it in the tunnel after Kokichi revealed everything, or that Monokuma or Kokichi took it when she wasn't looking. As the mastermind, it would be easy for Kokichi to break into her room while she wasn't there to steal it away. And using Monokuma would be a lot easier." Kaede said.
"I did leave my room quite a bit after we learned the truth at the end of the underground tunnel. As I told you all before, I tried to distract myself with busy work like cleaning and organizing things around the academy." Kirumi explained. "They would have plenty of chances to steal the Electrohammer."
"They probably tried to get mine, but I stayed in my room the entire time, and I left the hammer in my backpack after we returned from the tunnel, so I had it on me when we meet up yesterday, remember." Kaede added.
"I suppose that makes sense. Kokichi wouldn't want to risk us having weapons that could disable the Exisals or Monokuma." Rantaro sighed. "Nothing we can do about it. One should be enough to turn off the barrier, and the radar should disable the Exisal remote. If everything goes the way it should, we should be fine."
"I apologize again for my lack of attention in this endeavor. I should have paid more attention and taken steps to prevent such an important device from being stolen." Kirumi apologized once again.
"It's fine Kirumi. We all were in a bad state after Kokichi revealed everything. I don't blame you that you weren't paying attention, what with everything that happened." Keebo told her.
"It'll be fine! We've still got this in the bag!" Tenko shouted. "Now let's get a move on! We're wasting time!"
"Ah, before that, there's something I want to say. I scouted out the hangar yesterday…" Shuichi began.
"You scouted out the hangar?" Kaede asked, a little surprised at that.
"Y-Yes, and I discovered that Rin was trapped in the hangar's bathroom." Shuichi explained.
"The bathroom, huh? That would be the best place to keep someone locked up in that place." Rantaro hummed as he crossed his arms.
"And I also saw Monokuma by the hangar, being protected by four Exisals." Shuichi told them. "So we have to be careful that we aren't spotted."
"Oh, I saw that too." Keebo said.
"What? You saw that…? Were you at the hangar, too, Keebo?" Shuichi asked.
"Yes…I thought maybe I could get through to Kokichi before we carry out our plan. So I went to the hangar last night and tried to talk to him." Keebo explained.
"You tried to talk to him…by yourself?" Kirumi repeated in a worried voice. "You realize how dangerous that could have been, yes?"
"I'm sorry… I thought it would be preferable for him to release Rin peacefully." Keebo admitted sheepishly.
"No use worrying about something that already happened. So how'd it go?" Rantaro asked.
"It went about as well as I expected… There was no response at all." Keebo sighed. "But I did witness a few things."
"Oh? What'd you see?" Kaede asked.
"We can discuss that later. For now, I'll share what I saw that's relevant to our plan." Keebo said. "Shuichi saw four Exisals that appeared to be guarding Monokuma. Well, I saw one of them enter the hangar."
"Just one?" Tenko asked.
"Yes. The green Exisal." Keebo nodded.
"The green one…I'm sure I saw that one guarding Monokuma." Shuichi muttered.
"I made sure to stay out of sight while I watched. Neither the alarm system nor the electric barrier reacted to the Exisal's presence." Keebo told them.
"So the alarm system and the electric barrier do not affect Exisals?" Kirumi questioned.
"Considering it's where the Exisals are stored, that would appear to be a safe assumption." Keebo nodded.
"Anyway, that means there are two Exisals in the hangar if nothing's changed since then. We'll need to be extra careful." Rantaro stated. "We can't afford to waste this chance we have. We only get one shot at this."
"That's exactly right." Shuichi nodded.
"Well then, it's time to get started! We're off to end this once and for all!" Tenko proclaimed.
"Let's go! We must end this killing game once and for all, no matter what!" Keebo shouted.
Now energized and motivated, everyone rushed out of the dining hall, weapons in hand. They marched out of the academy all the way to the Cyber Courtyard, making sure to stick together the whole way. However, when they were getting close to the hangar, they saw the three Exisals that had been surrounding Monokuma, however, something had happened.
"Huh? Where's Monokuma?" Kaede asked out loud.
"And why aren't the Exisals moving anymore?" Shuichi added his own question.
"Something must have happened. I wonder why Kokichi stopped the Exisals, and where Monokuma went." Rantaro muttered.
"Do you think Monokuma was called back to protect Kokichi?" Kirumi asked.
"It's possible. Monokuma, along with the other two Exisals will be a lot of trouble for us to deal with." Rantaro grimaced. "Still, we can't back down. We can still get through this."
"Right. We can't stop now." Kaede said.
And so, they continued moving until they finally reached the Exisal hangar. Once they got there, everyone turned to Kaede, who still had the only Electrohammer left.
"We're here now. Let's get started." Keebo said.
"I'm ready! I'm gonna punch Kokichi into next week!" Tenko cried out.
"Ready as I'll ever be…" Kaede said as she held the hammer tightly.
"Rantaro, are you ready with the radar?" Kirumi asked the survivor.
"Yep. Here's hoping it works out." Rantaro said as he took out the device.
"With this, the alarm should be disabled, along with Kokichi's remote to control the Exisals. We'll have a chance against him with this." Keebo let out a nervous breath.
"Let's stop Kokichi before he gets into an Exisal." Shuichi quickly said. "But be ready for the worst. We might have to use the Electrohammer if things go wrong, and once we use it against one of the Exisal, we won't be able to do it again."
"Geez, you're making me more nervous with that, since I'm the one with the hammer and all." Kaede gave a nervous chuckle at that.
"Let's not waste any more time. I'm using the radar." Rantaro told them. "Really hoping this doesn't explode in my hand like Rin said would happen with his."
Rantaro activated the Electro Radar, and the moment he did, an electric hum came out of the device. And at that moment, the light signifying the alarm system went out.
"The alarm system is disabled! Now we can approach the control panel!" Keebo shouted.
"Good. I'm glad that worked." Rantaro smiled before he noticed the smoke coming out of the radar. "Oh crap!" Rantaro quickly tossed the radar away, and it promptly exploded in midair. "Whew…glad it didn't do that while I was still holding the thing." The adventurer muttered as he stared at the broken radar that was now lying on the ground in a burnt heap.
"Nothing more we can do about it." Kirumi muttered. "Kaede, will you do the honors?"
"Right, leave it to me!" Kaede shouted as she rushed over to the control panel. "Hmm?"
"Is something wrong?" Keebo asked.
"Sorta. The control panel is all scratched up! Like, it looks like someone tore it up with something sharp!" Kaede yelled back as she gestured to the panel.
"You're right. It's incredibly damaged." Shuichi noted. "But why–?"
"We'll worry about that later! We don't have time to worry about that! Kokichi might be getting ready with an Exisal!" Tenko shouted.
"Oh! Right! Sorry!" Kaede yelped as she raised her hammer once again and brought down the Electrohammer as hard as she could. The moment the hammer connected, the control panel shut off, taking the barrier along with it.
"Nice! The barrier's turned off now!" Tenko shouted.
"Let's go!" Keebo told them as they all rushed to raise the shutter.
"We won't let Kokichi get away with anything else!" Kaede screamed.
"You all better be ready for this! This is it!" Tenko told them.
"It's not like any of us are gonna give up now!" Rantaro replied with a chuckle.
"The Remnants of Despair end here and now!" Keebo proclaimed.
"We are going to end all of the suffering! For everyone who has died here!" Kirumi exclaimed.
"We won't let despair take hold of us anymore!" Shuichi yelled with determination.
They all raised the shutter, and together, they burst into the hangar, weapons in hand. They would end this. They would end the killing game. They would end the despair!
…at least, that's what they thought would happen. But what greeted them was something completely different.
The moment it came in sight, they all froze. Their eyes widened, their jaws slacked, and a few of their weapons slipped out of hand. They couldn't believe their eyes. They didn't want to believe it, because that would mean accepting something worse than anything they had seen before. It would mean accepting that the despair was ready and waiting for them, having already predicted their arrival.
And what they saw was most certainly despair.
There…in the middle of the hangar, was the hydraulic press. It was closed, and blood was everywhere around it, dripping down from the two slabs of metal that had been pressed together. There was so much blood it was dizzying. And dangling from the closed press was a single purple sleeve, drenched in blood.
"...What?"
That was all Shuichi could say in the face of what he was now seeing. He just stood there limply until a certain chime rang out.
Ding dong, dong ding…
All the monitors flickered on, and a certain bear was shown laughing it up.
"Puhuhu… Puhuhuhuhuhuhu… A body has been discovered! Everyone, please gather at the Exisal hangar!" He announced. "Ah-hahahahahahahaha! The killing game just keeps going and going! The despair's not over yet!"