Disclaimer: I own neither the series nor the characters

"Naegi-kun, password."

"I'm still not sure why you want me to do it, Kirigiri-san"

"You have precedence."

With only those words, his classmate turned boss walked out of the room leaving Naegi Makoto by his lonesome with only a single laptop on his desk.

The screen showed nothing but a single word along with a white bar below it.

"Password" was all the old laptop told Naegi but the young man knew it would be able to tell him more. After all, this contained the answer he had been looking for ever since he had left his once Alma Mater turned prison.

Even knowing who had previously owned this laptop sprang no clues to his mind. Was there really any way to overcome any possible protections done by the Ultimate Programmer?

It could have been anything from birthdays to names to even just a combination of random letters yet, for some reason, Naegi could feel his fingers slowly settle on the keyboard.

It was like they were moving on their own.

-Hi, Alter Ego. Can we talk?-

At the press of the enter button, a bright familiar face popped up with a dialog box popping in.

"It's nice to see you again, Naegi-san."

Naegi smiled back.

"C'mon just drive already." Fukawa mumbled as the three took their seats. She had sandwiched between the two which sadly wasn't as exciting as one could hope.

"No way! I can't even ride a bicycle without my brother holding onto me!" Naegi Komaru looked like she didn't know what she was doing as she sat at the front seat of the motorcycle. To be fair, she honestly didn't.

"It's fine," Towa Haiji said from the back, the third person on their transportation. "Motorcycles are easier to ride than bicycles. This model is even for beginners. Just turn the right handle bar to start it."

Komaru turned to the front, still unsure of herself. With hesitation, she placed her hands on the handlebars and hesitatingly flicked her wrist to turn on the machine.

Suddenly, the motorcycle roared to life as it rushed forward, forcing all three participants backwards. If it wasn't for Haiji being at the back it was possible Touko and her would've fallen off from the speed.

Still, even though she got it moving, she had no idea what came next. Moving the handlebars was heavy, Komaru did not know how to control the speed or how to break and the less she thought about turning the better.

She was so confused she barely heard Haiji's cry of "Look out!" as a few Monokuma's jumped at them from the road.

"Hey, I'm taking over for a bit. We're turning."

Before Komaru could even think about the voice she just heard, she felt her body move without permission. Her body leaned forward and tilted, shifting her center of gravity. The maneuver allowed the three of them to avoid the robot bears as they harmlessly missed the three.

"Did you get it yet?"

Suddenly, Komaru felt control return to he body. The change caused her to wobble for a moment but, amazingly, she was able to stabilize the cycle once more. For some reason, she felt like she was able to grasp how to use the machine. Without having to worry about that, she could finally appreciate other things.

Like the wind in her hair, the scenery passed by as they travelled at tremendous speeds.

It was amazing.

"It's fun, right?"

"Yeah! This is great!"

"Who's she talking to?" asked Haiji although Touko had already fainted at this point to reply to him. He was impressed with how well the younger girl had taken to driving though.

"I promised your bro a ride one day but you'll have to do. You'd better not die! You're already a Crazy Diamond at this point!"

"YEAH! LET'S GO!"

Much to Touko's dismay, Komaru made the cycle go even faster, a dangerous glint in her eye. Haiji wanted to tell her that she shouldn't talk so much or she'd bite her tongue.

Komaru just raced forward, feeling a hundred other bikes trailing behind her.

"What about a picture diary?

Miaya blinked before responding through the Usami on her monitor. "That's a great idea, Naegi-kun! I'm sure Usami would love to take notes herself of what happened in the island every day!"

Naegi nodded, happy they had reached an understanding however Miaya wasn't done.

"However, there is a problem." Miaya added.

"What's that?"

Both Miaya and Usami looked him in the eye, deadly serious. "Usami can't write nor read."

Naegi blinked. Couldn't they have just programmed that or something? Well, if that was the case…

"Then let's give her a companion then. Maybe, a fellow student who could join the group?" Naegi said the next words with a finger pushing against the bridge of his nose. Even if he had never wore glasses in his life, the action just came naturally.

"After all, every magical girl needs a sidekick, right?"

That suggestion may have been a bit too good as the ultimate Councilor spent a bit too much time designing the magical girl lore of the rabbit.

It came to the point that, because the two had run out of time to design one, it was decided to just leave the design of Usami's assistant to the students themselves.

After all, no one liked an OC.

Of all the Ultimate Despair Naegi had dealt with, Nagito Komaeda was perhaps the hardest to capture.

Not because of where he was (He was the one who appeared before Naegi after all. Somehow.), it was that the man was obsessed. No, rather, it was something that went past obsession.

The man appeared before him one day, placed a loaded revolver in front of Naegi and gave him a choice, no a challenge.

Not as Hope, but as Luck.

A game of Russian Roulette. He wouldn't be told how many bullets were loaded. Only one shot to the temple. According to the Remnant of Despair, that was the only condition he'd go along with Naegi or he'd kill himself which would release a biological virus as well as several bombs he had hidden underground he had hidden on Towa City.

Of course, Naegi's sister was still on the island so he had no choice.

It was also the worst timing as it was at a specific point of his schedule that Naegi knew no one would come for him in the next few hours or even knew where he was. An impossible slight in time that the man had somehow chosen to face him.

He looked deadly serious as well and even so Naegi could not risk even if the man was lying.

So with a shaky hand he grabbed the gun and…

"It's a bluff. There is no virus nor are there any bullets. Russian Roulette is such a cliché boring gamble. He could've at least brought something interesting. No, he finds YOU too interesting. An S-rank if anything."

When Naegi pointed that out to him, Nagito Komaeda broke down in laughter and praised him as "Of course, someone such as I couldn't trick the Ultimate Hope." and "Why would I even think my talent would be equal to someone with both Luck and Hope." And other numerous drabbles.

He then started preaching words about hope and despair for the next few hours before he was finally detained which made Naegi almost wish he took the shot instead

At least, this meant his hunt was over.

All Ultimate Despairs had been "arrested".

Naegi stared at the pod in front of him.

Right now, the remainder of the 77th class were close to discovering the ruins and he knew were about to face the Graduation trial, no, maybe even Enoshima Junko herself. There was also a very large chance that Junko had altered the program somehow.

The only way for him to help them was the Shutdown Sequence he implemented. They didn't have enough people to do it and he knew they needed three more. He had already sent a message to his friends, hoping, knowing they would get there in time and yet…

Going in was practically suicide. Not only would he not know if he'd make it in time he would also not know if both of his friends would as well. It may have been too late right now.

Should he just believe in his luck...?

"You only get stronger by taking adversity by the horns. Confront that thorny path with enthusiasm."

No. He would believe in his friends. He'd believe in Hinata and the others who had gotten that far.

Without any hesitation, Naegi stepped in the pod to enter another reality.

"Now, now Naegi. You know you shouldn't be running in the hallways."

It was like a scene from one of his nightmares, being back at the school and having that thing in front of him.

Naegi glared at the familiar nightmare in front of him. The monochromatic bear was the last thing he ever wanted to see but, as usual, it obstructed him from getting to the graduation room to help the 77th class.

He had to get there soon before they were tricked by Enoshima.

However, even if he wanted to, the Monokuma in front of him did not relent or move aside. In fact, it bared its sharp claws at him and Naegi really didn't want to find out just how pain felt in a virtual world.

Naegi also didn't have any conceptions that he could beat it when he'd seen Monokuma battle out Oogami Sakura before.

Still…

"What's wrong Naegi? Bear got your tongue?" The Monokuma stepped forward, claw still brandished. "You know I never did get to really execute you. Maybe now's a good opportunity."

The bear jumped, looking to maim but-

"Spear of Gungnir"

Suddenly, a single iron bar flew out of nowhere and pierced through the Monokuma in mid-air. A second after, even more spears rammed through the bear, locking it mid-air.

"Go."

Not even hesitating, Naegi ran past the suspended body of Monokuma, hoping he could make it in time for the graduation trial. In the back of his mind, he wondered when did Alter Ego finally got more control to help or maybe one of his friends outside did it. Whatever the case, he wouldn't hesitate to take this chance.

With a strained smile on his face, he yelled a thanks as he ran off, not once looking back.

"….I wonder if you would have liked the despair, Junko-chan."

It was an honest surprise that Naegi could still feel surprised when another killing game started during his trial.

Not only was Monokuma back but this one looked to be more twisted with poison distributing bracelets, illegal actions, and time limits.

What was worse was that, compared to (supposed) strangers, Naegi was now surrounded by people who may be after him due to his actions in saving the Remnants of Despair.

There were especially two who looked to want to beat him up, one a boxer and the other an ex-student council president. Somehow, the latter was more terrifying.

Of course, the smartest thing to do would be to get away, regroup, maybe do the usual detective work.

There was just one problem.

His bracelet read "No running". Naegi wasn't sure how he'd be tracked but if he did that meant he'd die a leathal dose of poison.

Running was also something that would help when the enraged boxer or the katana welding president would be after him. It was almost second nature in front of danger.

And yet every time he wanted to pick up the pace and speed up...

"Don't run in the halls!"

His nerves would calm and fight easily overwhelmed flight.

Thankfully, if he couldn't run, he had friends who could run for him.

"Why are you still alive, Naegi-kun?"

"Didn't you promise to get me out?"

"You should have died."

What…was this feeling?

It was like he was in a dream only it was so real.

No…this was real.

This was the truth.

All around him, the bodies of his friends stood.

Bruised.

Bludgeoned.

Melted.

Smashed.

Broken.

Burned.

Poisoned

Stabbed.

Dead.

And it was all his fault.

They were all Naegi Makoto's fault. All Munakata had told him was correct. All his words were empty. Was he really that weak that he couldn't save everyone? What was he thinking that he had any form of victory over Enoshima Junko? He had always corrected others, but he was the wrong one in the end.

He had never won. He had just lost with the least damage.

So, right now, all he could do was atone. And the only way to do that was to join his friends. He couldn't just continue living knowing that they were all dead.

**** kept going, right?

"I'm…on my way"

Crawling forward, he grabbed hold of a convenient nearby dagger and pointed it to his neck. Two corpses reached out to him with extended hands.

A wide grin broke across his face and-

"Upupupu, so this is how you're going to die? Through a shitty brainwashing video? Lame! This isn't even real despair! Just some dressed-up suicide instructions! I'm going to look like a fucking loser if my killer died like that!"

The world around Makoto changed.

The blue crystal nightmare world broke apart as the impossible pressure in his brain was replaced by a familiar dark, dreadful feeling. It felt as if a thick black shadow was enveloping his whole mindscape, driving out whatever influence there previously was.

It was a feeling Naegi Makoto knew all too well. A sickly numbness that he constantly fell into ever since he woke up at Hope's Peak Academy before his first killing game.

All around him the corpses of his previous classmates were swallowed by a tidal wave of pitch black. Their bodies disappeared as the darkness indiscriminately blanketed everything in its path, including Naegi himself.

"It looks like Homo no Ippo is close. Does he really think a little choking is going to stop the brainwashing effects? It didn't work for the Minotaur who poked his eyes out nor did Sadako stop after smashing herself hard enough to bend thick steel. Even candy slut was pretty fucked up. Plot Hole much?"

Suddenly, his hands felt weightless as the dagger was forced out of their grip.

"Just this once…let despair help you out."

Naegi ignored the words… words? Was someone talking to him? The need to kill himself halted as despair overflowed through his body.

Naegi Makoto despaired.

He despaired on his current situation. He despaired how he had almost died for nothing. He despaired how he almost squandered the hope that had been entrusted to him. He despaired for Kirigiri Kyoko's death. He despaired for all his classmates, his friends.

And yet, even if he felt enough despair to last a lifetime, he still hoped. After all, the two were always present, there would always be despair but when there was, there would always be hope after.

And if there wasn't, he just had to make it himself.

"See, it's easy for someone as disgustingly hopeful as you are. These videos remove your despair and so remove your hope. How boring for Ultimates like us."

Naegi Makito found hope within despair.

"You can't die here yet, Naegi. Not when there's still so much despair left for you to spread. You've already given so much to all those who worshipped the ground I walked! You can't stop now. After all…"

"You took down Enoshima Junko…" was all Naegi could hear of a deep male voice as he was lifted and choked against the wall.

As his breathing started to get harder and his eyes regained focus, Naegi swore he heard an 'Upupu' ring through his head. Compared to the ones he heard earlier, this sounded much more familiar.

"No...I can't use that."

Shaking his head, Naegi Makoto crumpled up the sheet paper in front of him and threw it on top of a pile of similar failures.

Writing music wasn't something Naegi expected to be doing as a Headmaster but, then again, he was clearly underqualified already. Technically, he didn't even graduate high school.

But when he had decided on the very foolish idea of reopening Hope's Peak, the once Ultimate Luckster knew he had to make sure every part was perfect and in good taste for those who had died due to the Tragedy that originated from the very school.

If that meant he had to be the one to create the new School Anthem, then so be it.

Then again, he had been at it for almost a whole day but he had yet to even decide the words or the melody.

For a moment, Naegi was able to stumble into this upbeat jazzy dance beat but decided it sounded too much like an intro from a video game.

Just as he was about to give up, his lips started to hum a familiar melody. His fingers moved naturally in front of the keyboard.

How did it go again?

It wasn't one of her songs, those probably still had copyright somehow, but he swore he had heard her hum this melody once in the past.

"Hmm Hmm Hmmm Hmm~"

It was as if she was humming it right next to him.

A solo became a duet until only silence remained.

No, faint applause.

Nine pairs of hands clapped at an idol's final performance. One to be heard by no one else.

"Naegi-kun?"

Hopes Peak's headmaster turned to his Vice Principal who just entered the room.

Kirigiri Kyoko only saw a single man sitting in front of a piano.

As a detective, her observation skills were greater than most people. That was why she had to question the contradiction between what she heard behind the door and the lone person in front of her.

"Were you talking to anyone?"

Naegi only returned a knowing smile.

"No. Just listening."

AN: It's been a hot minute DR, my beloved. Just a real quick one-shot. I wrote the Junko part first because I found the self described Plot Hole of Juzo choking Naegi somehow snapping him out of things when everyone else basically killed maimed themselves to death and decided, you know, why not just do all the dead DR1 kids?

Wait, did I forget someone...

"Did you need something Kirigiri-san?"

"A lot of things actually. Hagakure is trying to pilfer building materials. Togami and Asahina are both arguing on the size of the pool. Fukawa's decision on what books to use for the library is impossible biased."

"...haha. That just sounds like the usual. What's really going on?"

"You've gotten quite cheeky over the years. Anyways, I found your old wallet. One of the many I believe."

"Oh yeah. I think I went through one every month until I started asking for your help in finding them."

"True, but I'd like to discuss what I found inside of it, instead."

"Huh? I don't think I had that much money in it"

"It wasn't money, there was barely anything in it but an old ID of you and This."

"Ah! That's-"

"Trust me Makoto, you won't regret keeping one in there. You never know when you'll get lucky, right?"

"Dear Headmaster, maybe it's time we discuss the policies of having high school students carry this sort of thing around and why the packaging is half way open already..."

"K-kirigiri-san, wait...I can explain..."

"...and that's a strike out."