Chapter 12: Ultimate Luck vs Ultimate Despair

"Attention Student Body, "School Life of Mutual Killing" is now entering what we'll call the "True Answer Arc." No holds barred. All or nothing." Monokuma announced. "Now, so you don't piss and moan about fairness, I'm granting you unprecedented access to all rooms on campus! Go hog wild!" The announcement made them uneasy, but certain that they'll find the clues needed to find the truth of the school. Everyone hears a chime from the student notebooks. The previously locked rooms on the notebooks' maps flash green, indicating that they are now unlocked. "Time's a-wasting, so have yourselves a look-see. Unlock the mysteries at the heart of Hope's Peak." Naegi, Kyoko, Sonic, and Marinette head up the floor to see the second floor dormitory, damaged beyond repair.

"Wow. A monsoon blow through here?" Naegi asked about the damage. "I mean, damn… Look at this place."

"Naegi, look!" Sonic said, pointing to an open door at the end of the hall.

"No loitering, now. The last trial's just around the corner." Monokuma laughed over the PA system.

They enter the principal's private room. "So you actually think this is where your old man hung his hat?" Naegi asked.

"Yes." Kyoko answered.

"Oh yeah. I forgot you already cracked this puppy open with the skeleton key." Marinette remembered as Kyoko accessed a computer.

"And I'm sorry to say, already came up empty-handed." Kyoko added. "Every last file on the hard drive led me down a blind alley. Not a scrap about the "incident."

"Leave it to the bear to give us access to a room where there's diddly squat." Sonic sighed.

"Well, there is one small ray of hope." Kyoko said.

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked. Kyoko typed something in and shows that them that a password is required.

"Ah-ha." Naegi said.

"It's clearly shielding something, but your guess is as good as mine." Kyoko said.

"Wish I was a hacker." Naegi commented.

"I've tried all the obvious choices, but no luck…" Kyoko continued. "Unfortunately we don't have the time to plug in every single possibility."

"Hey… I'm no tech wizard like Max, but do you think that… I mean, you don't mind if I have a go at it?" Naegi asked. He types in a name: KYOKO. The password was successful.

"Well whaddya know? It worked!" Sonic said in surprise. A secret door is revealed and opens.

"Didn't see that coming…" Naegi said. They head in the secret room and they find a party box on a lone table.

"What's that in the party box?" Marinette asked.

"I don't believe I'd be so quick to open it…" Kyoko said. "Whatever's in there, you can be certain it's not a party." Those words made Naegi and Marinette nervous. Naegi opens the box and he, Sonic, Marinette are horrified to see what is inside. They freak out at the sight of a skeleton, that appears to be stuffed haphazardly inside the box. "Naegi, Sonic, Marinette, meet my dad.

"We're so sorry!" Naegi said.

"So… this pile of bones is him?!" Sonic asked. Kyoko simply nodded.

"Wait, back up a sec! How could you possibly know that's your dad?!" Naegi asked.

"Hold on… I remember Alter Ego telling us about the principal being a man in his thirties… and the odds of him being here on the campus are quite high." Marinette remember.

"And then, there's Monokuma asking us why the school has only sixteen students inducted alive." Sonic added.

"Inducted alive… He used that word because evidently there were people already here for whom that wasn't a fair description." Kyoko deduced. "I don't know what it amounts to, but I think by the time we got here my father was long dead. We're down the rabbit hole."

"And you were right this entire time…" Naegi said. "Whoever the mastermind really is, it sure as hell can't be an old skeleton."

"Glad we're in agreement." Kyoko said as she walked off.

"Where are you going? We can't leave him like this… Ugh…" Naegi said.

"Naegi, I know how it feels... but the longer we dawdle, the less chance we have of getting out." Sonic said. He looks at the bones and notices something. "Check this out." He pulls a digital notebook from the bones and powers it on.

"Something tells us this'll be useful down the road." Naegi commented.

"Truth be told… I'd just as soon it wasn't." Kyoko spoke.

"Why?" Marinette asked.

"I didn't come to this school to solve some deep, dark mystery… I came to reconnect with my dad…" Kyoko said. "That's what I get for having dreams, I suppose." She put away a photo of a younger Kyoko and the principal. "Whatever. Good riddance. He was trash."

"Don't say stuff like that." Marinette said to her. "Sure you and he didn't get a chance to reconcile, considering the events that transpired, but I can tell that he still loves you deep down."

Naegi finds a memory card taped to the back of the frame. "Crazy…" They head to the computer and place it inside the disk drive. They see a video file. "It's a video… Let's have a look." He plays the video, and it shows the principal meeting with several of the students. The first he spoke with was Sayaka and asks her if she is consent with the likelihood of spending her life in the school. She agrees. "What the hell…?" The video then shows Naegi having a meeting with the principal.

"Wait, that's you!" Sonic noticed.

"I had a meeting with the principal?" Naegi asked in confusion. "I sure don't remember that…" The video then shows Togami's meeting with him. "This… this is insane! Pretty damn sure I'd remember agreeing to be here until I die! What is this all about?!" But their biggest surprise is when the video reached Junko's meeting with him.

"What the…?" Marinette gasped. Just as the video was about to play, the power was suddenly cut. They turn to see Monokuma with the computer's power cord.

"Ain't technology a bitch?" Monokuma asked.

"You little snake!" Sonic glared. Sparks then flew from the hard drive, destroying the memory card.

"You never know exactly when it's gonna crap out on ya, but you can bet your ass it'll be the wrong time… Murphy's Law: if it can go wrong, strap in." Monokuma said.

"Wrong time, nothing!" Marinette argued. "Let the video continue and it would've busted this case wide open!"

"Dear oh dear! You are a mumbler!" Monokuma said. "Use your words next time, missy!"

"We were on to something, I'm positive!" Naegi said. "Kiri, your dad totally left that behind for us to find! He had to have!"

"It's best to say he's trying to help us from beyond the grave." Sonic added.

"Yeah. I know you've gone over the room already, but…" Naegi continued until they see Kyoko turn around.

"Naegi, Sonic, Marinette, would you… mind terribly giving me a moment to myself?" Kyoko requested.

"Oh… Of course… Come on." Naegi, Sonic, and Marinette left her in the office and walked down the ruined hall. "Kiri… I swear to you we'll solve this… Then together… we'll walk out of here."


While that goes on, the others try to gather whatever clues they could collect around the school. Togami, Twilight, and Chloe are in the principal's office on the fifth floor. Togami finds a profile of Mukuro Ikusaba.

"Mukuro Ikusaba… The infamous sixteenth student." Togami read the profile. "Member of the mercenary Fenrir Group… She was an Ultimate Soldier?"

"Look at that. "Upon enrollment, student had no visible scars." Chloe read part of the profile.

"That conflicts with Monokuma's report…" Togami commented. "It said… Her scars were there for "some time"… So when exactly was she "enrolled" here?"

"Good question…" Twilight pondered.

"Can we help you?" Togami asked, knowing that Monokuma was watching. The bear flinched. He placed a slip of paper on the floor and left without saying a word.

Back with Naegi and the others, they reach another locker room, which is just as damaged. "We haven't really looked in here yet…" He tries to open one of the lockers with his own student notebook, but it didn't work. "Damn…"

"Hold on… What if…" Marinette pulled out the principal's digital notebook and she was able to open the locker with it.

"Great work, Marinette." Naegi thanked her. He opens the locker door. "Still feels weird, though."

"Let's see…" Sonic said as they see a bunch of books, tarot cards, and a crystal ball. "Tarot cards, crystal ball… Wait… isn't this Hagakure's locker?"

"Oh snap… you're right!" Naegi realized when he saw Hagakure's name on a notebook. He opens the notebook. "Good study notes for a guy who's supposed to be psychic… Hold up… We've had no classes… What's there to even take study notes about?"

"You got me." Marinette said as she opens the adjacent locker. All she finds inside is a journal. Inside it was a lone note. The note was a plan to convert the school into a shelter. "Naegi, check this out!"

"What is it?" Naegi asked. "A plan to turn Hope's Peak Academy into a shelter and have the students live together…"

"After much consideration, I'm convinced I need to address this directly." Marinette continued reading. "I will take the matter up with my father. It's time for me to speak up."

"Father"? This would mean that this is Kiri's…" Naegi realized. "She's talking about her dad so casually… But that doesn't make sense…"

"She said he hadn't been in her life since he walked out on them when she was little." Sonic said. "What, she was just gonna call a meeting with him out of the blue?"

"This doesn't add up!" Naegi said before noticing another note. It read: "Despair has wormed its way in… There are in fact two. That is why we survived… I know it." They rush back to where Kyoko was, but they couldn't find her.

"Two what?" Naegi asked in confusion. "Two Despairs?"


Naegi, Sonic, and Marinette glance at the surveillance camera. "Maybe we were supposed to find that locker. Maybe the mastermind planted that journal to throw us off. Either way, what does it mean?" Naegi pondered. He looks at the map of the school and sees a biology lab on the fifth floor.

They head to the aforementioned room and find that it was built to function as a morgue. "This must be the bio lab." Sonic said.

"Feels more like a morgue if you ask me." Marinette shuddered. "This must be where the bodies go after they're killed or executed." They see Toko passed out on the floor. "Fukawa!"

"Is she… okay?" Sonic asked. His answer came when she awakens as Genocider Sho.

"Yeah!" Sho laughs as she jolts to her feet, scissors in hand.

"Genocider Sho. Awesome." Naegi droned, unimpressed by the sudden switch.

"Sorry. Guess you could say I was out cold for a bit, literally." Sho said.

"I think it's safe to guess you have no clue why you're here." Sonic deduced.

"Beats me! It's a mystery!" Sho confirmed.

"Yeah, thought so." Naegi said. "No offense, but that must suck switching back and forth all the time."

"At least we have a full disclosure policy…" Sho said as she pulled Mukuro's corpse from a freezer. "It's the best way to be schizoid." She looks under the sheet covering the corpse, shocking almost all of those present. "A-ha… This is what triggered my lamer half's fainting spell. Ikusaba was flame-broiled to perfection, huh? Like she didn't already look like a friggin' pincushion."

"Only problem is the stab wounds aren't what killed her." Sonic said.

"Moving right along!" Sho said as she shoved the corpse back in and puts her scissors at Naegi's neck. "My Pookie… Tell me where he is or die."

"You mean Togami? He must be investigating somewhere else." Sonic said.

"Why'd I bother asking you?" Sho said. "No one knows Master Togami like I do!" She laughs as she left but she suddenly switches back to Toko.

"You were right about this being a morgue, Marinette." Naegi said.

"It appears that nine of the freezers are holding your friends' bodies." Marinette commented. "Wait… nine…?! Shouldn't there be ten?!" They soon hear Monokuma laughing.

"Ah! Monokuma!" Naegi yelped.

"Whoa, ease up there, Nero Wolfe." Monokuma said. "Just wanna help ya." He left another slip of paper at the foot of the door and left. Naegi picks it up.

"Sure you do…" Naegi muttered as he looks at it. It was a picture of the class. "Another one of these damn pictures…" Sonic noticed something.

"There, between Hagakure and Owada." Sonic said.

"So that's Mukuro Ikusaba." Marinette commented.

Mukuro Ikusaba
Ultimate Soldier

"For someone who's meant to be the Ultimate Soldier, she looks pretty." Marinette added.

"Speaking of which, I don't see you anywhere on this, Naegi." Sonic noted.

"Y-You're right." Naegi noticed. "Weird."

"Sixteen is the magic number, right?" Sonic asked.

"I believe it is." Naegi agreed.

"Stiff upper lip, boys and girls! To everything a season – churn, churn, churn!" They hear Monokuma over the PA system. The other students have received a similar photo. "The night can't go on forever… Cock-a-doodle-doo! Dawn is dawn, even when it's not so golden. Even, oddly enough, when it's pitch black… Eventually, the driving rain trickles down to nothing… Eventually the soil cracks…"

Everyone then headed to the elevator for the final trial, to find the truth of everything that has happened throughout their time here.