Hello readers and welcome to my new chapter. Here, we're getting right into the plot, plus one more freetime event. So, I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa.
A Lucky Soldier: Nothing much to respond to this time, so let's jump right into the story! The plot moves forward!
Chapter 32: Watching Ch 2: Boys' Life of Despair Part 9
"Hmm….asking us to gather together all of a sudden like this," Taka mused as he stood vigilantly in the gym. Everyone else around him had their own looks of fear, suspicion, and vigilance. "What could he possibly want?"
"Indeed. What might await us this time?" Celeste questioned.
"I don't even want to know." Sayaka complained.
"And yet, we have to watch." Byakuya sighed.
Byakuya let out a small chuckle. "He keeps things interesting, that's for certain."
"Is he actually laughing?" Leon questioned in disbelief. "I mean I know we talked about this but uggh!"
"He's seriously messed up right now!" Hina exclaimed.
Byakuya gritted his teeth, at the reminder of his future self's attitude.
"How is that funny?" Hifumi questioned in slight disbelief. "Can't you smile like a normal person once in awhile? Like how the housewife on a classic TV show smiles at the end of an episode?"
Junko snorted. "He could! Once he gets that stick out his ass!"
"There's no way! It's lodged in there!" Leon remarked. "Not even Makoto could get that out of him!"
"And it's impossible to stick a brain into that empty head of yours, no matter how hard someone tries." Byakuya retorted.
"There's something totally messed up with you if you can laugh at a time like this!"
Byakuya raised an eyebrow at this. "Which of us is actually 'messed up', hmm?"
That startled Hina a bit. "Wh-What's that supposed to mean…."
"Nothing in particular. Just admiring, that's all…." The heir stated. "I don't want to kill anyone. But I also don't want to stay here, living in blind denial day after day. I was just admiring how you could live like that and still keep your sanity."
Hina growled at this. "Denial?!"
"Are you trying to make everyone your enemy?" Kyoko questioned, looking at the heir. "Because you're making yourself a target."
"No kiddin'." Mondo snorted. Byakuya chose not to speak right now.
Hina gritted her teeth at this. "I'm not in denial…."
"That reminds me. Remember how you kept rambling about how the police would come to help us?" He asked rhetorically. "How did that turn out? It seems to me there's no sign whatsoever of possible rescue."
Makoto's eyes widened as he remembered. "Now that he mentioned it…."
"Yeah! Where the heck is the police?" Hiro questioned. "Shouldn't they be rescuing us by now?"
"It's been nearly a week since we got trapped there." Taka mused. "People are bound to notice us missing."
"But we don't know if they know, that we're trapped in Hope's Peak." Celeste pointed out. "Hope Peak has been closed down, remember?"
"Th-That's just…." Hina began growing pale. "I wonder what actually happened."
"It's strange, that's true." Kyoko agreed. "There's no way the police wouldn't know about it. We're right in the middle of a major urban area."
"Kyoko has a point." Makoto stated. "Since Hope's Peak is at a major urban area, the people should've noticed something strange about the school."
"Pretty hard to miss too, with all the metal plates and what not." Mondo commented.
"But all that we have is theories right now." Byakuya stated. "For all we know, none of them are right."
"True. We don't have a base for anything right now." Kyoko admitted with a hint of resignation. "The only thing we know for certain is that our memories are erased, Hope's Peak has been closed down, and that we are in Hope's Peak."
"The police sucks!" Hifumi declared. (To which caused an eye twitch from the detective.)
"On the contrary, the mastermind may just be that powerful, to take control of even the police…." Celeste retorted.
"Oh!" Hiro gasped in remembrance. "This might not be related, but-"
"Then don't say it." Toko interrupted.
"Nope, gonna say it!" Hiro stated back.
Toko sighed. "G-Great. What idiotic comment is gonna come out now?"
"It's not gonna be idiotic! It'll be important, I just know it!" Hiro exclaimed.
"It's about last night. I was near the main hall, just staring off into space." Hiro began. "When all of a sudden….I heard it."
"You heard what?" Chihiro asked curiously.
"A sound that…." Hiro frown in thought. "I don't really know what it was…."
"Wh-What kind of sound?" Taka inquired.
"Well like I said, I don't really know." The fortune teller repeated. "But if I had to describe it….it was like….a construction site, I guess?"
"A construction site….?" Makoto repeated in confusion.
"Yeah, a construction site?" Hina repeated in confusion.
"Well, that would open up to multiple possibilities." Byakuya mused. "If Hiro's words are credible."
"For all we know, the dude may have just imagined it." Mondo agreed.
"I mean, I could just making that up. I only just barely heard anything…." Hiro told them.
"See? What'd I tell you?"
"Still, it's something we should keep in mind." Kyoko said. "In case we find something that coincides with what Hiro said."
"Yes. With any mystery anime, the seemingly most unimportant detail could become very important." Hifumi stated.
"Chekhov's gun, a writing principle stating that every element in a story must be significant in some way and those that aren't should be removed." Toko cited, before realizing that everyone was looking at her. "W-What?"
"N-Nothing. It's just... new.. to see you speak without the stutter." Makoto commented, causing Toko to look away in embarrassment.
"S-Shut up and f-focus!"
"Then you d-definitely made it up." Toko stated cynically. "M-Must've just been the sound of the ocean in th-that head of yours…."
"You have the weirdest insults sometime, Toko." Hina sweatdropped with a few nods of agreement around her.
Then, a familiar, annoying voice popped in. "Say what?! Whatchoo talkin' about, Toko?!" As everyone turning towards the platform, the scene changed.
The camera lowered from the ceiling to behind the remaining Ultimates. When the camera was right behind them, it zoomed in to the podium and once again, Monokuma appeared on it.
Kyoko was the first to speak. "He's arrived…."
"What Hiro heard was the sound of construction…." Monokuma informed them. "But it could've been an explosion!"
That got several blinking in shock. "Huh? An explosion?" Makoto repeated slowly.
"He's joking, right?" Hiro asked nervously.
"With this bear? Who could say?" Junko said.
That caught the group by surprise.
"Huh….?" Was the only response Makoto could manage.
"Or maybe a machine gun!" The bear let out his signature laugh. "That can kinda sound like construction in a way!"
"What are you talking about….?"
Kyoko frowned. "If he's not lying, then what Hiro heard is probably something important."
"What do you mean?" Sakura inquired.
Makoto spoke up then. "Do you think a fight is happening outside?" Kyoko nodded.
"If I'm right, then there's a basis for one of my theories." The detective explained. "Given that the school seems to have been reinforced with a variety of barricades and automated defenses, we can only assume that the exterior is like that as well. It's likely that we haven't been abandoned but instead that there are people, most likely the police, that are trying to break through."
"And I'm guessing they made ways for the entire school building to be nearly soundproof, since Hiro could barely here it." Celeste mused. "So who knows how long the people out there was trying to get us out? Or how many that have died trying?"
That got more than a few nervous gulps. None of them wanted to think about it.
"It's still a theory as of now so I can't confirm anything. Lets keep watching." Kyoko said, taking their minds off the gruesome thought.
"Ah-ah-ah! Beyond this point my mouth is zipped, my lips are sealed, I am fully puckered!" Monokuma declared. "It's a secret little secret!"
"Look like we won't get any more information from the bear." Byakuya sighed.
"You think its doing this on purpose?" Hina asked.
"Regardless, a little information is better than no information!" Taka exclaimed.
"Fine, then let's move on to what you can tell us." Kyoko said, getting to the main reason. "Why did you call us here?"
"You don't beat around the the ol'bush do ya?!" Monokuma rhetorically asked. "Ready for me to get to the point, huh? But before that, you don't mind if I vent a little?"
"Do we have a choice?" Leon remarked.
"My guess is no." Junko chimed in.
"I'm low on energy these days. My stitching is even losing all its shine and luster," Monokuma said depressingly. "I'm thinking, it's probably become of this ho-hum, boring old everyday life. I'm looking for something with a little more stimulation, something ripe with danger and intrigue!"
"Then how about joining the fucking army?" Mondo suggested. "That should stimulate you enough, you psycho bear!"
'No thanks. That's Mukuro shtick, not mine!' Junko denied.
"Listen, can I be frank?" Monokuma asked. "The next blackened hasn't shown up yet, and I'm getting booooored! So, I've decided to come up with a new to motivate you!"
That had several of them stiffen in fear. "M-Motivate?!" Hina exclaimed.
"Does he have more of those videos?" Chihiro questioned, shaking a little.
"I really fucking hope not." Mondo stated, clenching his fist.
"M-Motivate….?!" Makoto exclaimed in trepidation. "Is it another set of videos or something….?" The memory of his home being a wreck flashed into his mind. "Are you gonna show us some demented thing to try and drive us all to murder?!"
"Drive you to murder?!" Monokuma repeated in outrage. "What a mean thing to say! That's just awful!"
"It's what you did!" Sayaka shouted in anger, and slight guilt. "You showed us something to drive us into murder, you psychotic monster!"
"Sayaka…." Makoto clasped his hand onto Sayaka's, with her returning the grip. Though she didn't spew out anymore words, the angry look on her face did all the speaking for her.
"I don't know what you've got planned, but we're not going to kill each other!" Taka stated confidently. "No matter what you do, I swear to God we won't!"
"Yes! We will definitely not kill anyone!" Taka agreed with his counterpart.
Byakuya rolled his eyes. "Merely wishful thinking. We all know good and well that another killing is bound to happen."
"You know, it couldn't hurt to be a bit more optimistic." Hina said with a frown.
"I'm only being realistic." Byakuya remarked, rolling his eyes. If killings didn't happen in this future killing game, there would be no need for any of them to be here.
"Hmm. That's very big talk. Do your very best to back it up, okay?" The bear then went back to the subject at hand. "Now then, with your permission, let me begin!"
Chihiro wrapped her arms around herself in fear. "What is it going to do now?"
"Whatever it is, we should brace ourselves." Sakura advised, also tense.
"So, this time it's….embarrassing memories and secrets!" He revealed. "As long as you're alive, it's a given that there's things you don't want other people to know about you! So I did a little investigating of my own, and I dug up some of your darkest secrets!"
That had everyone stiffened up. "O-Our darkest secrets?" Toko repeated. "Y-You don't t-think he's serious, do you?"
"If they aren't our darkest, I doubt he would've used them as motives." Celeste said with a frown. "But how will he use them, I wonder?"
"I have an idea of what he's gonna do with them." Kyoko said.
"So do I." Makoto spoke in with a anxious frown. "And I don't like it."
Monokuma then showed several envelopes in his hands. "And those embarrassing memories and secrets are all contained in the envelopes I have right here. I'm going to hand them out now, so take a second to take a peek!" After that, Monokuma toss each of them toward the feets of their respective owners. Makoto quickly got his off the ground.
Subconsciously, everyone leaned in a bit closer to the screen in anticipation of Makoto's secret. Considering that Makoto is such an open book, and doesn't seem to have anything like that, they can't help but be curious about what he got hidden.
The boy in question went a bit rigid, wondering what secret does Monokuma that would make him want to kill. As he recall, he doesn't have anything big, does he?
Nervously, he pulled out what was on there. When he read what was one there, his entire body went rigid.
The note says, "Makoto wet the bed until he was in 5th grade."
The initial moment of dread was replaced by a small moment of silence before a couple of students bursted out laughing. "You wet the bed until 5th grade?" Leon laughed out.
"Seems like his secret is normal as well." Junko snorted, though she's slightly peeved that there isn't any good dirt on him.
Sayaka giggled and, along with Kyoko, shuffled a bit away from him, prompting him to pout. "Hey c'mon, it's a normal thing! I swear!" He tried to defend himself, but only receiving more laughter.
"I don't know what to think," He sighed. "Should I feel embarrassed that my secret got revealed…..or weirded out that Monokuma thought I would kill someone over that?"
"He probably couldn't find anything else about you." Mukuro said with a shrug.
"What….?!" Makoto exclaimed.
"H-How….?" Hina stuttered in shock.
"How'd you find out about this?!" Taka questioned in panic. And just like that, everybody started panicking at once.
The continuation of the video put a hard stop on any more laughter from happening, bringing everyone back to reality. "This isn't the time for laughter." Byakuya said crisply. "After all, the mastermind knows all our darkest secrets."
"Wh-What does he plan to do with them?" Chihiro stuttered in slight fear.
Celeste gripped the armrests. "I think we all have an idea as to what."
Monokuma spoke up from all the panicked talking. "You have 24 hours! If someone doesn't become blackened by then….all your deepest, darkest, most embarrassingest secrets will be exposed to the world! Maybe I'll roll by a crowded intersection in a van strapped with loudspeakers and spill the beans!"
Chihiro's eyes widen dramatically and went pale as a sheet. "H-He's gonna reveal our secrets to the world?!"
Some of the others, such as Mondo, Toko, and Celeste, didn't feel so well either, though the more stoic ones manage to hide their emotions.
"I don't know if I should feel good for not being there." Leon admitted, not looking well. "On one hand, it saves me from dealing with this, on the other hand….well, I'm dead."
"Trust me, I know how you feel." Sayaka agreed, feeling as bad and conflicted as Leon, if not more so. After all, she did start chapter 1, but since she's dead, she doesn't have to worry about doing it again. A strange and uncomfortable thought, for sure.
Meanwhile, Junko is swimming in mental bliss. She could never get enough of the panic and terror and despair from her classmate's faces, especially poor little Chihiro's. She can imagine the despair the future Chihiro is feeling right now!
He let out a fake embarrassed scream. "Wouldn't that be so embarrassing?!"
Makoto was silent for a moment. Then, he spoke. "So that's what you meant by 'motivate'?"
"Yup, you got it!" Monokuma confirmed. "They're all pretty unpleasant, trust me. None of you want me to reveal that stuff, right?"
"It's definitely something I'd rather people not know," Makoto admitted. "But….we'd never kill over something like that!"
That shocked the bear. "Wh-What'd you say?!"
"He's right!" Taka immediately agreed with. "Your plan is doomed to fail! No one's gonna murder someone for this kind of thing!"
"Agreed, future me and Makoto!" Taka said with the same passion. "There's no one who would kill over embarrassing secrets!"
"Yeah! There's no way I would kill somebody over mine!" Hina agreed.
Some of the others, however, couldn't bring themselves to agree with them. Kyoko, Celeste, and Byakuya know full well that everyone have different secrets, and that each secret isn't at the same level as the others.
Junko also knew this as well. And that there are certain secrets people would really kill over, such as Toko being Genocide Jack or Chihiro actually being a boy.
"O-Oh, no…." Monokuma moaned in disappointment. "Is it because….for better or worse, your memory is still a way to connect to the outside world? I have stuff I wouldn't want anyone to know no matter what, so I assumed you'd all be the same. Which is why I put so much effort into preparing this next motive!"
Monokuma turned away from them. "Maaan! You're saying you really won't kill each other over this stuff? That just sucks!" The bear let out a sigh, almost looking convincingly depressed. "Well, what can you do? Okay, then in just 24 hours, I'll expose all your secrets just to make myself feel a little bit better! So sad, so depressed! Farenotwell…..!" With that, Monokuma left the gym.
Mondo clenched his teeth, thinking about the circumstances of his brother's death. If the gang finds out that it was because of him, everything they worked for will crumble. Will his other try to stop that from happening? Would he….kill?
'No. No, I'm strong!' Mondo thought, shaking his head. He wouldn't let this shake him. He wouldn't let this result in him killing somebody! He's strong enough to handle this!
Though inside….he knows what he's afraid of that happening. Afraid of that possibility.
Chihiro, meanwhile, is shaking, her arms wrapped around herself. What would happen if her secret got revealed to the world? How would people look at her? A pervert? A cross-dressing freak? Just the thought of her secret getting revealed terrifies her. She can't imagine how her future self is feeling right now.
Hina was the first to speak up. "I didn't know what to expect at first, but….maybe we dodged a bullet on this one." The swimmer stated. "I mean yeah, having those secrets revealed is gonna be totally embarrassing. But that's seriously not enough to give someone a reason to kill, right?"
"Definitely not!" Hina agreed with her other. "Like I said before, I wouldn't kill somebody over mine! I doubt anyone else would!"
"I would have to disagree." That comment came from none other than Byakuya. "There are people who could, and probably will, kill to keep their secret to the grave."
That shocked the others. "How can you say that Byakuya?" Taka demanded. "Why would anyone kill over something as petty as embarrassing secrets?"
"Do not hold your secret in the same pedestal as everyone else's." Byakuya chided. "You cannot judge someone else's values based on your outlook. Some secrets may be darker than you realize."
"And what makes you say that?!" Hina demanded.
"Genocide Jack." That shut them all up quickly.
Makoto bit his lip. He can't help but admit that Byakuya has a point. After all, the whole class knows about Genocide Jack, and he is one of the few that knows that Chihiro is a boy. If those two are hiding those kinds of secrets, what does everyone else have?
"Good news, everyone! I have a brilliant idea!" Taka told everyone. "Why don't we all just confess the secrets in those envelopes right here and now?! If we do that, any and all motive for murder will vanish! That's pretty smart, right?!"
"Yeeaaah, that's not gonna work." Leon deadpanned.
Taka turned his head towards the baseball player. "Why not? How can you be so sure?"
"Again, Genocide Jack." Byakuya emphasized, causing Toko to shudder a bit.
"Okay, so my embarrassing thing is…."
Toko interrupted him. "I d-don't want to hear your stupid s-story!"
"What?!" Taka exclaimed.
"Besides, I don't….I don't w-want to talk about it…." Toko stated. "I don't c-care what anyone says, I don't want to talk about it!"
"Neither do I." Celeste spoke up. "Not because it is unpleasant, but because it is impossible."
"Aren't you being a bit dramatic?" Hiro asked her.
Celeste shook her head. "No, I am not. It is impossible for me to reveal."
'That's definitely a lie there.' Makoto thought with a mental eye roll. He has a feeling that her secret is her real name.
"Well, it's just human to wanna hear it when you say it's impossible!" Hifumi stated in interest. "C'mon, it'll be good for ya!"
"Absolutely not." Celeste denied.
"It's okay, just a little bit." Hifumi insisted. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon….!"
"Aren't you a bit too interested, Hifumi?" Hina asked, a bit creeped out.
She wasn't the only one. "What the hell do you think she's hiding?"
"Who knows?" Hifumi said, a bit persasive. "Miss Ludenberg may be hiding something very jui-"
"Hifumi, if you value your life, I suggest you be quiet." Celeste said with a tight smile, trying to reign in her temper.
"As I said-"
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon!"
Finally, Celeste snapped. "I said I don't wanna talk about it, you big tub of lard!" That had Hifumi screaming and backing away in terror.
A few jumped, but overall, no one was surprised by this. Hifumi really shouldn't have insisted on it.
Byakuya then spoke up. "I agree with them. There's no need to discuss it."
Taka then turned to Chihiro. "What do you think, Chihiro?"
"Um….s-sorry, I don't really want to talk about it right now." Chihiro said, looking down.
The present Chihiro also looked down. Of course, it's not surprising that she doesn't want to reveal her own secret. She was too weak to do that.
"But I don't want to leave things the way are. So maybe I can talk about it later…." She took a breath. "After I try my best….to become strong….then I can tell everyone."
Then, her head shot up in shock. Did she hear that correctly? Is her future self….actually willing to tell her secret? Makoto, Mondo, and Junko was also surprised by this.
Chihiro ran through her thoughts again and again, asking question after question about her own secret. She couldn't let the world know that she's actually a boy, the consequences would be completely unbearable. It would ruin her life. So then, why was she willing to reveal it?
"If you don't wanna talk about it, you don't have to." Hina reassured. "I'm not super excited to talk about it, either…."
Mondo let out a sigh. "If everyone's that much against it….even if my bro's the one that suggested it, I gotta say no."
"W-Well, that's okay, then." Taka relented. "Either way, it's just a few secrets, I'm sure nobody's about to kill anybody over it."
'I hope you're right….' Makoto thought. 'A secret so bad you'd kill someone to keep it….nobody's got something like that, right?'
"I would like to think not," Sakura said, closing her eyes. "But…."
"Considering what Toko's secret is, there are probably a few of us who have bad secrets." Kyoko said. "Otherwise, Monokuma wouldn't be so confident about it being a motive."
"But you saw him be surprised that none of us would kill for it, right?" Hina reminder her.
Mukuro answered that. "He's probably faking that." That earned a few gulps, and a look of approval from Junko as she soaked in the fear from everyone.
Makoto bit his lip. Like his future self, he hoped that none of his friends have secrets they would kill someone over. But, in the back of his mind, he knew more than a couple that would definitely do it.
"Okay, I'll stop with the secret talk. But…." Taka said nervously. "Each of us has 24 hours to get ready! Having our secrets exposed isn't going to be fun, but it's not like we're gonna die cuz of it! So, you know, um….don't do anything, hasty?"
"T-That only gonna make us worry m-more, idiot." Toko hissed. "S-Stop repeating it."
Taka bowed his heads. "My apologies!"
"The way you keep repeating it kinda makes me worry even more…." Hifumi told him nervously.
"Oh….." The moral compass simply said. "Uh, okay, sorry." After a few more words from the group, the class left the room.
Soon, all of them got back to their room. As Makoto got closer to his own room, he was stopped by someone grabbing the sleeve of his jacket. He turned to see Chihiro behind him. "Chihiro, is something wrong?" Makoto asked in concern.
"No," Chihiro shook her head. "It's just….I know that we talked earlier, but can we talk about you tonight?"
Makoto rubbed the back of his head. "Um, sure, I don't mind at all."
"Really?" A smile lit up her face. "Great! Let's go to my room then!" Before the luckster could say anything, the programmer pulled him to her room.
In a span of minutes, the mood in the room slowly lightened up at the change of pace. The girls in particular, smiled fondly at seeing the two interact. "It's always nice seeing our two cinnamon rolls talk with each other." Sayaka sighed.
"No doubt there." Hina said in agreement. Said 'cinnamon rolls' blushed at the compliments.
But Chihiro focused her gaze at her counterpart. Is she really not affected at the fact that her secret will get exposed in 24 hours? What's going through her thoughts right now? She tried to simulate her future self in her mind, but she still can't come to a conclusion.
The scene switched to the two of them sitting on Chihiro's bed. "Okay, let's go! I wanna hear all about you!" Chihiro said eagerly.
"I'm happy to talk, but what do you want to know?" Makoto asked.
"Well, let's start with a question." Chihiro said, thinking for a moment. "What do you like to do in your spare time?"
"Well, you know," Makoto began, a bit sheepishly. "I watch TV, play video games, lay around….that's pretty much it."
"Huh?" Chihiro looked surprised at this. "What about sports?"
"Oh, I don't really play anything." Makoto said sheepishly. "The only time I run anywhere is during gym, or when I'm running late in the morning…."
"Really? And you're still so strong?"
Junko snorted. "Did you not see Makoto getting sucker punched by Mondo?"
"Yeah. Makoto's is pretty weak out of all of us." Hiro mentioned. Makoto glowered at the fortune teller for that comment.
"Like you're any stronger!" Hina huffed.
That took the luckster off-guard a bit. "Strong? Me?" Makoto shook his head. "N-No, I'm pretty much on the bottom of masculinity!"
"You're on….the bottom rung?" Chihiro asked slowly. "Oh…." The programmer gained a disappointed look.
"What gave you the impression that I was strong?" Makoto asked the programmer.
Chihiro looked away sheepishly. "I don't know, it just….you just seemed to be strong. I thought the way you held yourself is strong."
"Perhaps you're seeing Makoto's mental strength, rather than his physical one." Kyoko suggested. "After all, from what we've seen here, Makoto is incredibly strong, mentally."
That got a sheepish chuckled and blush from the luckster. "I don't really know about that."
"It's true," Sayaka agreed with Kyoko. "Even after the deaths of me, Mukuro, and Leon, as well as the fact that….that I betrayed you, you still held strong."
"Not to mention the intention to carry the weight of their deaths." Mukuro added in. "Only those with clear mental strength could do something like that." The blush on Makoto's face grew bigger.
"Hey, what's the matter?" Makoto asked in concern.
"Well, it's just….I'm looking for someone strong." Chihiro told him.
"Someone strong?" Makoto repeated. "Well, what about Sakura….?"
"...No, I mean a guy." Chihiro corrected.
"A guy….?" A perverted glint entered Hifumi's eyes. "Miss Fujisaki, do you have an interest in strong guys? Are you….attracted to them?"
That caused Chihiro's eyes to widen and to shake her head rapidly. "N-No, it isn't like that!"
"Now, now, no need to be-" Before he could finish, a baseball once again hit Hifumi in the head. "Ow!"
"You really like getting hit with these baseballs, don't you?" Leon commented casually, his eyes hinting to the huge sack of baseballs below his arm rest. Chihiro gave Leon a grateful smile, which he responds with a low thumbs up.
"Then what about Mondo?" Makoto suggested. "He's the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader, right? He's gotta be the strongest guy here."
"Mondo…." Chihiro thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, that's it!"
"But why are you looking for a strong guy?" Makoto inquired. That got Chihiro silent.
"Yeah, I'm curious to," Hina spoke in. "I mean, why not Sakura or even Mukuro?"
"Well, because, I….." Chihiro, like her future counterpart, ended up silent.
Seeing the conflicted look on her face, Hina backpedaled. "You have tell me if you don't want to, Chihiro. I won't push you for an answer." That earned a sigh of relief from the programmer.
'She went silent again….' Makoto noticed. 'Is she, like….into tough guys or something?'
After a moment of silence, she began speaking. "I want to….start training." She admitted. "I'm so weak….
"...Huh?"
"I thought if I could talk to someone strong about it, it might help motivate me." Chihiro explained.
"And you think Mondo, or any other tough guy, would help with that?" Junko asked.
Chihiro nodded, looking down. "I-I don't mean to offend anyone, but…."
"It's alright, Chihiro, I'm not offended." Sakura reassured. While she's curious as to why Chihiro would seek a strong man for advice rather than her own gender, she took no offence from her words.
"So that's why, huh?" The luckster said in understanding. "Sorry, I wish I could help somehow…."
The two was silent for a moment. Then, Chihiro spoke up. "Hey Makoto….? Do you have any kind of, um….inferiority complex?"
"Inferiority complex…..?"
"You know, some part of you that you can't stand. Something you absolutely hate…." The programmer explained.
Makoto looked up at the ceiling. "Well, I guess so…." He answered. "For me, it's how forgettably ordinary I am. I've been made painfully aware of this part of me ever since I came here. The rest of you all have your ultimate abilities, but I don't have any kind of talent at all."
That had the group looking at the luckster himself. Said luckster looked away from them, feeling a bit embarrassed that his own insecurities were let out.
"Hey Makoto," Hina called out softly in concern. "Do you really feel that way?"
After a moment, Makoto spoke up. "Well, sometimes yeah. I mean, even though I forget about this sometimes when I talk to you guys, all of you have such amazing talents." He told them all. "Every one of you excel in your field. But me….other than my optimism, I'm just a normal guy lucky enough to be picked to go to Hope's Peak. And even then, it was quite the misfortune that got me into here."
The others looked at him in surprise. Though they had became great friends with him, they had no idea that Makoto had that kind of insecurity within him. One of the few who wasn't shocked by his confession was Chihiro, who have spent the time learning about the luckster.
Celeste looked away, gripping the arms of the chair she's on. His words, his insecurities….they hit close to home, more than she would like to admit. Any empathy she's feeling on the subject, she tried to push it down in her mind.
Makoto sighed. "I know, it must be pretty stupid compared to the problems you guys have, but it's something I can't help feeling that."
"No," Sayaka latched onto his arm, which got the luckster blushing. "No, it's not stupid at all."
"We all got our insecurities, Makoto," Kyoko, meanwhile, grabbed his other hand with her gloved hand. "There's no need to feel embarrassed about it." Several of the others voiced their agreement to this.
"Yeah man, it's not that big of a problem." Leon commented with a thumbs up.
"You may see yourself as inferior, but at the end of the day, we're all still part of Class 78." Mukuro added, prompting a look of disapproval from Junko.
Makoto's cheeks went a bit redder. "Th-Thanks."
"And….how do you overcome those feelings?" Chihiro inquired.
"I'm not sure I can…." Makoto admitted. "That's why I just decided to accept it. It's how I feel, and there's nothing I can do about it. And if I find myself thinking about it too much, I just find something else to do with my time. If I throw myself into something hard enough, I can forget about it for a little while."
"Throw myself into something…." Chihiro pondered those words. "I see. That's a good idea. If I don't do something, nothing's ever going to change." A bright smile entered Chihiro's lips once again. "Yeah, I think your advice has helped me understand!"
'Advice?' Makoto thought to himself. 'I'm not sure if it was anything like that….'
'It still doesn't feel like it.' Makoto thought. But he's glad it helped Chihiro, especially since he knew the programmer's secret.
Chihiro giggled. "Thanks, Makoto!"
Makoto smiled. 'Well, if it helped, that's good enough for me.'
"Yeah, it helped a lot." Chihiro reassured. "Thanks a lot, Makoto."
Makoto smiled and shrugged. "It' no problem. Glad I could help, somewhat."
Mukuro then pointed out something. "It seems you and Chihiro aren't really affected by the thought of your secrets being revealed."
Makoto chuckled sheepishly once again. "Well, my secret, while embarrassing, isn't really something I would kill somebody about."
"True enough," Byakuya agreed. He doubted anyone would kill over such a mundane secret. He then turned to Chihiro. "But what about you, Chihiro? Is your secret is as boring as Makoto's?"
"Um…." Chihiro looked away. "It's something I want to try to keep secret, as much as possible. Still, even with that, I wouldn't want to kill anybody." Which makes her future self's reaction that much more surprising. Instead of crying, feeling terrified, or letting anxiety eat her up alive….she doesn't do any of those thing. She ran through several simulations in her head, but without that one piece of information, it just doesn't make sense that she's thinking about revealing her secret.
As they talked more, narrator Makoto spoke up. "Secrets or memories you don't want anyone to know….a way to connect to the outside world," He began. "Honestly, the things Monokuma said didn't have an effect on me. There's no way anyone would kill over stuff like that. At least, that's what I thought…."
As he spoke, once the nighttime announcement played, the Makoto on-screen left Chihiro's room and went back to his. "But maybe I was just being optimistic. Which is probably why, without too much of a struggle…."
Once he got into his room, Makoto got onto his bed. "Geez, I'm more tired than usual. Super tired today….."
As he closed his eyes, the narrator Makoto spoke. "...I fell asleep." The screen then went back. "But what I didn't know is that even then….a tragedy was taking place."
That had everyone stiffening. "A-A tragedy….?" Hina stuttered out.
"Makoto, you're joking, right?" Hiro asked nervously.
"Do you really think Makoto's the type to joke about crap like that?" Junko asked rhetorically.
Makoto gripped his legs. What are they about to see? Who….who's gonna die next?
And that's the end. I hope you guys like this chapter. Next stop, the deadly life. Review, favorite, and follow and I will see you guys later. I will see you guys later.