Hello readers and welcome to my new chapter. So, I'm slowly but surely getting back in the swing of writing daily. Though a little monkey wrench I call Persona 5 got thrown in there. I've been hearing how good the game was in the internet, along with a few recommendations here, so I finally decided to check it out. Suffice to say, I'm binge watching a walkthrough on youtube. I'll try not to let it interfere with writing, though.
So, with that out of the way, enjoy the chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa.
A Lucky Soldier: Hey everyone! Introductory chapter here so just a few things to start things off. Not too many questions I could really toss up here this time so I guess I'll keep it short here.
Q: What's your favourite characters and seasons from Total Drama?
L: I actually have never heard of it but if it's worthwhile, I'll maybe check it out. I've been blasting through a few other things that I'll talk about at the end of the chapter :P
S: Favorite characters are Trent (S1), Duncan (S1-2), Bridgette, and Noah (S3). My favorite seasons are season 1 and 3.
Q: Have you read Danganronpa: A New Hope by Scorpio 116?
L: Nope, haven't read it. I've got quite a bit on my plate right now so maybe I'll get to it if its worthwhile.
S: I read some, but stopped reading at some point. Felt that it was getting a bit too dark for my taste.
Chapter 43: Watching Ch 3: A Next Generation Legend! Stand Tall, Galactic Hero! Part 2
(Chapter 3 - A Next Generation Legend! Stand Tall, Galactic Hero!)
"...The hell?" Mondo deadpanned. He, along with several of the others, were baffled at the title, as well as the image alongside it.
"Okaaay, can someone explain to me why the title is something Hifumi would come up with?" Leon asked, ignoring the indigenous squawk that came from the fanfic creator.
"Maybe it's suggest that the tone this chapter is more lighthearted?" Makoto suggested.
"I hope so." Sayaka sighed, hoping for a change of pace. "We need some more lighthearted moments after the last two chapters." No one disagreed with that statement.
After the picture disappeared, narrator Makoto spoke. "The morning after the conclusion of the second class trial…" The screen lit up to show Makoto entering the dining hall, with Kyoko, Celeste, Hiro, Sakura, Taka, and Hifumi were already inside. "Everyone met up in the dining hall, just like always. And I expected it to start like any other day. That what I expected, but…"
"Um, where's Miss Asahina?" Hifumi pointed out nervously.
The absence of the donut-loving girl got the others tense, especially the girl herself and Sakura. "Do you think the ghost got her?" Hiro questioned, looking ready to panic. "Maybe it killed her!"
"Let's not jump into conclusions yet." Kyoko advised. "We still don't know what Hina saw." And while it does look like a ghost, she wasn't one to start believing in the supernatural.
"Today's count kinda suck, right?" Hiro sighed miserably. "Toko and Byakuya still refuse to show up…"
"And I haven't seen Miss Asahina anywhere." Hifumi noted.
"She said her stomach was hurting, so she's taking it easy in her room for today." Sakura informed them.
Everyone relaxed a bit when they heard those words. "Phew. The ghost didn't get her." Hiro sighed in relief.
"Will you stop saying it's a ghost?" Byakuya asked in frustration.
"It's was a green, floating head! Chihiro's green, floating head!" Hiro exclaimed. "How can it not be a ghost?!"
'Because it could be a computer…' Chihiro thought to himself. He didn't tell the others since he couldn't be certain that it was Alter Ego. After all, it's still a classified project.
"That is rather unusual for her." Celeste mused. "Normally she is so full of energy."
"Which is exactly what makes me worry…" Sakura agreed.
"Can't blame her for staying in her room." Sayaka said in sympathy. "Anyone would after seeing what she saw."
"No argument there." Leon remarked with a frown.
"Awww you guys are all making it sound worse than it really is!" Hina complained and pouted.
"So it's just the seven of us, then?" Kyoko inquired.
"It looks that way…" Makoto answered as he looked around.
Hiro then turned to Taka's direction. "It's times like this where the committee chairman needs to get things going with a BANG!" He exclaimed.
Taka didn't say anything in response. The Ultimate Moral Compass looked paralyzed in his seat, trauma written all over his face, eyes heavy from lack of sleep, and his skin sickly pale. "Or not…?"
The state Taka's in caused many to wince, especially Mondo. "Looks like Taka is taking the last trial pretty hard." Junko noted.
"I'm not surprised." Taka said, looking a bit tense. "After all, I had a hard time dealing with watching the future event happening. I can't imagine what my future self is feeling." 'And I hope I never will.' He thought to himself.
Makoto and the others looked at the traumatized student. 'Taka hasn't said a word since everything that happened yesterday….' Makoto thought to himself. 'One look at his face showed he hadn't slept a wink last night. It must be because of Mondo…'
That caused Mondo to look down and clench his fists together, guilt churning in his stomach. He didn't think his death would affect his friend so badly. Though in hindsight, he's one of the few, and the first, that became such a close friend to Taka, so it would be obvious that his death would affect him badly.
'You really did fuck it up…' He thought to himself bitterly. But soon, determination filled him. 'But I won't this time.'
A flashback of Mondo's execution was shown. 'The two of them became so close, and then he finds out Mondo killed Chihiro…' He continued. 'And then…having to watch Mondo get…punished. And nothing he could do about it…'
Taka gripped his knees tightly at the last sentence. That's what frustrated the most about the last chapter. There was nothing he could've done. He couldn't get everyone's secrets revealed, stop Mondo from doing what he did, couldn't save Mondo from the execution…all he could do was watch.
'I won't be doing that next time.' Taka thought, determination also filling him. 'Next time, I'll be sure to stop this alongside everybody else!'
"So, I mean…what's gonna happen now?" Hifumi asked everyone. "We haven't found any way out, and we have no idea if help's ever gonna come." The fanfic then groaned, his head drooping. "Now I'm all depressed just thinking about it…"
"We simply have to make the best of things," Celeste advised them. "Do our best to get along and live here together in piece."
"She's still going on about living there?" Leon asked incredulously. "Okay, I think Mondo was on to something when he called her a loon!"
"Will you not call me a loon?" Celeste said, gritting her teeth a little at the insult.
"Well, you can't really blame him, can you?" Junko remarked. "Anyone insisting on living here are either crazy or living in a dream. It's almost as bad as Hiro."
Celeste nearly snapped at being compared to Hiro. She never want to be compared to the idiot! However, she manage to keep her composure. "I very much doubt that my future self is as bad as Hiro. At least it's a solution as to what to do instead of denying it altogether."
"When will you guys stop bringing that up?" Hiro whined.
"Forget about the outside world, and accept this new life. That is the only hope we have now."
Celeste mentally frowned at this, being sure to conceal her emotions. While her future self said similar several times already, those words seem more…forced, than usual. Her future self must be getting frustrated, due to the last two trials happening.
Makoto also noticed the slight change in wording and tone as well. It caused him to frown in concern. Is the situation really getting to her?
"What…?" Makoto said, looking at Celeste with slight disbelief. "To live here forever…?"
"Here we have every convenience. We have food, clothes, our every need is seen too. Why are you dissatisfied?" She asked them. "In fact, let me ask you this? What is it about the outside world that you long for?"
"Um, our family?" Leon began listing as it was obvious.
"Our friends?" Sayaka continued for him.
"The outdoors?" Hina added.
"Proper education?" Taka spoke up.
Junko snorted. "It seems that there's plenty of stuff the outside world has." And that exactly how she wants it.
Her voice then got a little colder. "Competition, discrimination, victimization, and violence…as society grows, so does its perversion. In which case, is our current situation is not-"
She was interrupted by Hifumi, who looked frustrated. "Demon Angel Pretty Pudgy Princess…"
"Hmm?" Was Celeste confused response, her cold demeanor replaced with confusion.
The group, who were getting chills from Celeste's speech, was confused at Hifumi's sudden statement. "Uh, what?" Junko spoke up for most of them.
"Meggy, the drill shop owner, the bunny-eared Amazon, Catgirl Dogboy, Robo Justice the Galactic King…" Hifumi listed off. "And…! And-!"
Toko let out an annoyed groan. "G-Great. H-He's talking about h-his manga and a-anime trash."
"It's absolutely not trash!"
"I-It is so! There's nothing good that comes from that!"
"Insulted 2-D one more time and…"
"Will you two stop this bickering?!" Taka shouted in frustration. "We do not have the time for it! We need to continue watching, else we'll be here for who knows how long!"
The two grumbled, but stayed quiet for the moment.
"What I mean is, there's no 2D here!" Hifumi roared.
"The mastermind puts such base desire to their advantage, bending you to their will…" Celeste said dismissively.
"Okay, well, anyway…" Hiro spoke up. "Since Taka's like, catatonic…as the oldest one here, I'm officially stepping up to take the lead!"
That had some in the group burst out laughing, those being Junko, Leon, Sayaka, Hina, and Mondo. The five were doubling over in laughter, the idea of Hiro being a leader so ridiculous it's hilarious.
"Hiro, leading a group?" Byakuya repeated, looking repulsed at the idea. "That's like gambling away your entire fortune."
"Y-Yeah! I sooner see my grunt of a sister take a leadership position than Hiro!" Junko giggled, ignoring the look that her sister is giving her.
As they laughed, Hiro hung his head down in depression while Makoto and Chihiro gave him sympathetic smiles. "You guys suck, you know that?"
"So! We're gonna work together and spend the rest of the day searching the school!"
"Searching…?" Makoto questioned in slight confusion.
"Well, I mean…since the class trial is over and all…" Hiro explained, trailing off.
"...there should be new places for us to investigate." Sakura finished for him.
Eyes lit up in remembrance at this. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that." Hina said, scratching the back of her head sheepishly. "Since the trial is over, another floor opened up."
"And that means the third floor is open." Celeste said, smiling a little. "Now they can have access to the recreational room, art room, and physic lab."
"We can also see if there's any clue the mastermind left." Kyoko mused.
Hiro quickly latched onto his future self's suggestion. "See? I can come up with good ideas!"
"That's actually surprising.." Mukuro commented on the side.
"Definitely unexpected." Hifumi added.
"Don't get too excited." Byakuya remarked with an eye roll. "Any fool with half a brain could suggest that."
"Yeah, that's the ticket! Maybe we'll find some kind of clue this time!" Hiro said with some excitement.
"Then once we're done eating, let's split up and begin looking around." Sakura advised. "Do you have any problems with that, Celeste?"
"Hmm…there may well be a discovery waiting for us which may further enrich our life here." Celeste stated.
That caused several of them to roll their eyes. "How much you want to bet that she doesn't bother looking for clues?" Leon asked.
In response, Mondo snorted. "No betting on a sure thing."
"Er, no…the point is to look for clues." Hifumi reminded her.
Suddenly, someone dashed into the dining hall and stood in front of the group. That person was none other than Genocide Jack. "You called for me, and so I appear! Genocide-!"
Hifumi screamed in fear at her appearance. "Nobody called for you!"
Her sudden appearance caused several of them to yelp or jump in surprise. But the most extreme reaction was Toko, who let out a shock and terrified scream at her alter ego. "G-G-Genocide J-Jack?!"
"Why the fuck is she still there?" Mondo asked incredulously.
Junko let out a sigh. "Guess it's one of those days where she stays for a while."
"So it would seem." Byakuya sighed with obvious annoyance. He wonder how his future self is fairing with Genocide Jack.
"What the…? How come it's Genocide Jill, and not Toko?" Hiro asked nervously.
"God, this place is just AMAZING! Finally a place I can just be my murderous self!" Jill stated, exuberant as ever. "Which is why I've decided to stop holding back and spread my wings! No more hiding in a cave for me!"
"G-Go back in the cave!" Toko shouted, curling up into a ball, her body shaking. "G-Go back in my m-mind!" Seeing her alternate personality, so full of life and crazy, made her even more scared of Jill.
Some of the others looked at Toko in concern. "Is Toko gonna be okay?" Hina asked, worried.
"This is Toko's first time actually seeing Genocide Jack." Kyoko sighed. "So it might take her some time to get use to seeing her other personality on the screen."
"Something tells me that Jill will have plenty of screen time for that." Sayaka mused.
"Plus, I have another battle to fight!" She added. "The whole 'killer with a split personality' thing is sooo overdone. I gotta destroy that stereotype! I'll fight all day and all night murder those totally sanderous cliches!"
"...Why does Jill say things that always give me a headache?" Leon groaned, facepalming and shaking his head. "She IS the cliche!"
"But…you are the killer with a split personality…" Hiro pointed out.
Hifumi groaned in frustration. "If she weren't here, my chances of survival would go up at least 10%!"
Despite her terrified state, Toko snorted. "Y-You say that as if s-s-she's your target. G-Genocide J-Jack only kill cute a-and adorable boys. Y-You aren't cute!"
"Maybe not in this form, but my ultra form is one that would have Miss Jill drooling!" Hifumi declared.
"...I'm not gonna bother commenting on that." Leon groaned even further.
"C'mon, you gotta back me up here! Even the biggest stars need the little people to hold them up!" Jill then ended that statement with her signature laugh.
Sakura let out an annoyed sigh. "Well, whatever else we do today, first we should eat. We can't do anything on an empty stomach."
"You're right." Makoto agreed. "Let's hurry up and eat so we can start our investigation…" Jill's continued laughter entered the group's ear once again.
"So they'll have to eat with Jack?" Hiro moaned in annoyance. "Aw man."
"That'll be an annoying meal." Leon sighed. Makes him sorta glad he's out of the picture.
"So we were forced to eat with a murderer." Narrator Makoto said as the TV showed the annoyed Ultimate eating alongside Jill. "And after a much needed but very annoying meal…" The TV then transition to Makoto walking into the third floor. "...we set to work looking around the school."
"The 3rd floor of the Hope's Peak Academy…" Makoto murmured to himself. "I wonder what we're gonna find this time…" With that, he began exploring.
The scene switched to Makoto entering the recreational room, with Celeste already inside. "Hmm…so this is…" Makoto trailed off.
"A recreational room." Celeste answered. "A place for students to come and relax…"
"I never would've imagined a school having a place like this…" Makoto commented on.
"It was definitely a nice surprise." Hifumi agreed. "But the recreational room in the new school building makes it look mediocre in comparison."
"Definitely." Celeste, Mondo, Leon, and Sayaka said in agreement. That recreational had much more variety than the old one.
"Well, no normal school would." Celeste pointed out as she looked around. "It has Othello, shogi, even a dart board and a pool table. And look at this…" Her eyes was then set on a collection of magazines near the wall. "They even had even provided us with a remarkable number of magazines. Those will certainly be helpful in keeping our boredom at bay."
"Indeed." Celeste agreed with her future self. "While not up to par with the current recreational room in the new building, it will still provide some entertainment."
"Yeah, cause that's what they fucking need right now…" Mondo remarked with an eye roll.
Suddenly, Monokuma popped up. "Ring, ring, ring! Hello there! Allow me to expound!" (At this point, there were a few jumps, but overall, no one was really surprised by his appearance.)
"We've got fashion, motorcycles, martial arts, video games, baseballs, science, all kinds of magazines!" The bear listed off. "Oh, but nothing dirty! This is a school, after all. If you need a quick fix, check out the swimsuit mags!"
"And will you be adding to our collection as the new issues come out?" Celeste inquired.
"Sorry, no can do." Monokuma answered. "Even if I wanted to, right now magazines are kinda…"
His words got the group's attention. "Kinda what?" Taka asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion and curiosity.
The bear quickly covered his mouth. "Oops!" He squeaked. "Nothing, never mind, no, no, no! Anyway, that's it for my expoundation. Bye-bye!" With that, the bear quickly left.
"Can he stop making us so curious?" Hina whined. "What did he mean by 'are kinda'?"
"Is it related to our lost memories?" Byakuya mused. "After all, a few of us would notice quite a few contradictions between the latest magazines and our memories."
"Maybe, but the wording doesn't match that well." Kyoko pointed out. "From what he said, it may be something else. Something both we and our future selves are unaware of."
"What would stop Monokuma from being able to get the latest magazines?" Sayaka questioned, worried.
"It could all just be a farce to get us thinking." Celeste said, thinking on the other possibility.
Celeste was silent for a moment, musing on what he said. "What he just said…" She murmured.
"I know, right? It bothers me, too…" Makoto agreed, frowning a little.
"Life here would be that much nicer if he could add some new issues once in a while." Celeste sighed in disappointment. "How disappointing."
"R-Really…?"
"Your priorities really needs some adjusting, Celeste." Byakuya sighed in slight annoyance. The gambler merely smiled in response.
The next scene was Makoto entering inside the physic lab, with a traumatized Taka still inside. 'This is….the physics lab.' Makoto thought to himself. 'It's less like a classroom and more like some kind of research institute…'
"A lot of the rooms seem more like research institutes than classrooms." Celeste noted. "Though considering that Hope's Peak holds the most talented people out there, it isn't that much of a surprise."
"Yeah, that's true." Makoto agreed. People like Chihiro and Kazuichi, the Ultimate Engineer, would need laboratory-like classes. "On another note, what's that giant machine in the middle of the room?"
"I've been wondering about that myself." Kyoko mused. "Perhap it's something that was created by an Ultimate or bought by Hope's Peak."
"Or something the mastermind brought in." Byakuya suggested.
Hina shuddered at that. "If it's that, then I really don't want to know what it would do."
He then turned to Taka. "Hey, Taka. Don't you think this place is like some kind of research institute?" He asked, attempting to get the moral compass to talk.
He was met with silence. 'Still no reaction…' Makoto sighed.
"I don't think you'll be able to get any reaction from him for a while." Mukuro noted with a sigh. "Watching someone whom you grew close to, despite it being only a few days, would render many people in this state for a long period of time."
"Personal experience talking again, sis?" Junko inquired. The soldier nodded.
"I saw civilians that were caught in battle suffering the same way, and there were a few in Fenrir that were like that." She informed them. They had to resign from the mercenary group because of it.
The luckster then turn his eyes to the machine in the middle of the room. "What's up with this ridiculously big machine…?" He mused out loud.
Suddenly, Monokuma popped right in front of Makoto. "Watch out!"
His sudden shout drew in a few more jumps and yelps this time. "Wh-What is it?!" Hina exclaimed nervously.
"Is this thing going to explode?!" Hifumi screamed in panic.
The luckster jumped at the sudden shout. "Wh-What-?"
"What, do you wanna do some quantum leaping?!" The bear exclaimed.
"Huh…?" Was Makoto's confused response.
"What the fuck is this bear talking about?" Mondo questioned, still looking a bit rattled. "Or is it more random shit?"
"I'm willing to bet on the latter." Byakuya sighed.
"That's a time machine!" Monokuma informed him. "Pretty awesome, right? It as designed by a student right here at Hope's Peak!"
"A time machine?!" Several of the students shouted in disbelief.
A giant glimmer of hope spread into Taka's eyes. "Then…maybe my future self could stop Mondo from commiting his crime." His voice steadily went higher. "Maybe we stop this entire killing-"
"Before you gets your hopes up too high, do remember who we're dealing with here." Celeste interjected. "A madman capable of creating the school into a prison and making us his prisoners. One who has effectively played with our emotions to get us killing one another. Would someone like that really leave such a powerful machine out in the open for us to use?"
"And that is without considering what he's saying is true." Byakuya added. "As far as we know, no one in Hope's Peak has created such a thing. And since in the future, Hope's Peak is closed for a year, I doubt anyone would have the sufficient time to create it."
Each good point diminished their hopes to the point where several have slump in disappointment. "But…but then why would Monokuma say that?" Chihiro asked.
"It's obvious why, Chihiro." Mukuro sighed. "It's too hurt Taka even more. Bring his hopes up only to crash it down."
That drew an angry growl from the biker. His bro was hurt enough with the last trial. Now he's going out of the way to hurt him even more?!
The Ultimate Physicist…although, they don't go here anymore. They died during The Tragedy!"
The last sentence caught the group's attention. "The Tragedy?" Hifumi repeated with obvious confusion. "What is he talking about?"
"Unsure. I've never heard of it before." Sakura said, frowning in puzzlement.
Kyoko looked down in thought. 'Is this another part of the future?' Kyoko thought to herself. 'And does it tie in with Hope's Peak?'
The only ones who weren't puzzled were the despair sisters themselves. 'So that's what it's called.' Mukuro thought with a small frown. 'The Tragedy.'
'Ooooh, so that's what it's gonna be called!' Junko squealed internally. 'I like it! Makes it sound much more catastrophic!'
That's when Taka finally spoke up. "A time machine…?" He said hoarsely. "Seriously…? So…it can go back in time…? Okay, then…let me get in here…"
Steadily, his voice started rising higher with desperation swimming in his eyes. Slowly, he walked towards the supposed time machine. "If I can go back to the past…then I can…" Finally, he began shouting. "This time I'll stop Mondo for sure-!"
"Look like your prediction is correct sis." Junko said with a fake grimace. Taka winced and clenched his fists while Mondo anger grew as he watched this scene.
"Oh, sorry, not possible." The bear quickly interjected. "This particular time machine can only go back one minute. It comes in handy when you, like…leave your pizza bagels in the microwave one minute too long."
That caused Taka freeze. "One minute…?"
"Hmm…you sound disappointed." Monokuma commented on.
"That. Fucking. Bear!" Mondo growled like a barely contained animal. "Isn't this damn game enough for the sick fucker?!"
"This is just cruel…" Chihiro whimpered, feeling empathy for his friend.
"But actually, I was lying about the whole thing anyway. There's no such things as time machines!"
"What…?" Was what Taka croaked out.
Several of them winced at how broken Taka sound, and felt their anger towards the mastermind increase. "Will that electronic teddy bear just shut up already?!" Leon exclaimed in anger. "Taka is already suffering enough!"
"The mastermind doesn't seem to get enough of our emotional pain." Celeste said, her voice and facial appearance emotionless.
"Honestly, it's just an air purifier." Monokuma informed them.
"Air purifier…?" Makoto said incredulously.
The others felt that disbelief as well, along with their anger. "You mean to tell you me that this machine just produce clean air?" Byakuya questioned with obvious annoyance and disbelief. "Why waste resources on that?"
"At this point, I stopped trying to figure out the logic behind the mastermind's actions." Celeste sighed.
"It can produce clean air no matter where you're at. With that thing, you could even live on Mars!" Monokuma continued. "But what with the discombobulating gravity and deadly low temperatures, you prolly don't wanna live on Mars. Anyway, this machine is the reason you guys have all this delicious air. So don't go messing with it! You break it, and it's your butt!" With that, he disappeared once more.
Makoto stared at the giant air purifier with disbelief. 'This huge thing is just…an air purifier? And more than that…' The luckster turned to Taka, who somehow looks worse than before. 'To go out of your way to say something you know will hurt someone who's already suffering…' "God damn you!" Makoto cursed in anger.
"Agreed, future me." Makoto muttered, looking angry himself. Beside him, he could hear Sayaka's grip on the arm rest tighten in anger.
Hina also look pissed, with angry tears swelling in her eyes. "Why? Why go out of your way to hurt us even more?" She cried out.
"Like Kyoko said a few days ago, the mastermind is a bully." Mukuro sighed, a small hint of disapproval in her voice. "A sadistic, childish bully."
Meanwhile, Mondo used every ounce of his self control to not go charging and punching the TV. When this chapter is over, he's definitely gonna ask Spirit for a punching bag. Specifically one with Monokuma's face on it.
As he went to leave, he spotted a camera on the table. 'Oh, this is…' He grabbed the camera and held it up. 'It's a digital camera. It's got some kind of weird anime style design on it…'
"Wait a minute…" Makoto said slowly in realization. "Isn't that your camera, Hifumi?"
The fanfic creator got a closer look at the camera. "You're right! It's mine!" He exclaimed in surprise. "But what's doing in the physic room?" A look of horror then crossed his face. "And why does it look so banged up?!"
"It probably has something to do with our lost memories." Byakuya mused. "As well as the fact most of our stuff was taken away from the beginning."
'It's kinda beat up, but it looks like it still turns on just fine…' He then turned it on to see if it works. 'Yup, it still works! I should show the others later.'
Hifumi moaned in disappointment. "It's supposed to be in mint condition! Now, it's useless! Might as well as be trash!"
"For someone who valued it so much, you're quick to throw it away Hifumi…" Makoto pointed out with a sweatdrop.
The switched to Makoto entering the art room, with Hifumi already inside. "Well, well. Look at all this equipment! It certainly scratches that artistic itch of mine…" The fanfic creator mused. "Art supplies, of course, but they've also collected all kinds of sculpting tools!"
"So, Hifumi…do you like sculptures and figurines and stuff?" Makoto asked him.
"Well normally, I limit myself to 2D. But figurines are like, borderline 2D, so it's okay." Hifumi answered.
"How the fuck is that borderline?" Mondo asked bluntly. "There's nothing 2D about it!"
"Figurines are based off 2D characters, and are not real life, 3D people!" Hifumi argued. "So that's makes it borderline 2D!"
"That's kinda a stretch, I think…" Sayaka replied with a sweatdrop.
Makoto sweatdropped. 'I don't know how that's 'borderline', but okay…'
"I'm a fan of Charanbo, Pumpkinhead, and I especially admire anything that Saburo Roppongi makes." Hifumi continued speaking. "Charanbo's ability to express the movement of muscles is exquisite, as seen in his Mama Cat series. Pumpkinhead is like a little fairy, representing this century's greatest quality! Saburo Ronpoggi, meanwhile, is known for his Mecha Musume series, which led to a worldwide tour. Truly they can be regarded as the Elite Four!"
Hifumi's lecture made the group…lost, to say the least. Hiro, Chihiro, and Hina had looks of pure confusion on their faces while Byakuya, Toko, and Leon have various forms of annoyance on theirs. The others' expressions varied.
"Who, and who, and who now?" Hina asked in utter befuddlement.
"There's the most well known manga artists out there." Makoto explained to them, hearing about them from Hifumi already.
"But, why four?" Hiro asked in confusion. "Aren't there just three of them?"
"Well, four sounds a lot cooler than three!" Hifumi exclaimed in defense. "Besides, I plan to get that empty seat myself!"
"G-Good grief, just s-shut up already." Toko grumbled.
"But…one of your elite is missing." Makoto pointed out.
"Well the Elite Three just sounds stupid, now doesn't it?!" Hifumi exclaimed in defense. "Besides, that empty seat rightly belongs to…me!" He then snickered evilly. "It begins…today begins my reign as the legendary ruler of the nex century!"
"Will he please stop babbling nonsense?" Byakuya groaned, facepalming. "This is an utter waste of time!"
"I beg to differ!" The fanfic creator himself refuted. "Ignorant folks such as you needs the knowledge of the world of mangas and fanfictions!"
"I rather stick to my knowledge of baseball, thanks." Leon deadpanned.
"I see…well, good luck with that." Makoto quickly left the fanfic creator be and went to the repository attached to the art room. Once inside, he looked around. 'This is the repository that's attached to the art room. It used to store different artsy things…'
As he looked around, he eventually spotted something on the floor. "Huh…what's this on the floor?" He moved to where the item is at and got a closer look. "A picture…?" As he went to pick up, he froze when he got a closer look at the content of the picture. "Huh…?"
Cause in that picture was Mondo, Leon, and Chihiro, smiling, and with the windows unbarred.
Everyone's eyes widen in surprise at seeing this, especially those in the pictures. "Hey, that's our picture!" Leon said to Mondo and Chihiro. "The one Makoto took when we were goofing around the class that one time!"
"Hell yeah, you're right!" Mondo agreed. "But what's the hell is doing laying around in the art room?"
"First Hifumi's camera, and now this picture?" Celeste mused. "This is getting curiouser and curiouser…"
'Agreed.' Kyoko thought to herself. Why and how were those items lying around like that in the 3rd floor? Were they left there accidently at some point? Did Monokuma place them there for clues?
"What is this…?" The luckster asked him, shocked at what he's seeing. 'Why is it just these three? What are they doing together? How come they're smiling like that?'
Question after question race through his head. 'When was it taken? Who took it? Where's the camera they used? How'd they get it developed?' He then looked at the background. 'And in the picture, the window in the classroom…' "There's no metal plate covering it!" He yelled out loud. "Which must mean, wherever this picture was taken…it…wasn't here at Hope's Peak?"
"Huh?" Hiro said, confused. "What does he mean that it wasn't there at Hope's Peak? It was, before it turned into a prison!"
"You forget that none of our future selves know this." Kyoko pointed out. "As far as they know, none of them went into Hope's Peak before. They never met each other until they entered Hope's Peak."
"Yeah…that's a fair point." Sayaka admitted, biting her lips at the reminder.
Before he could even think of any answers, Monokuma suddenly appeared. "That's mine! Give it back!" He then snatched the picture Makoto before he could blink.
"What the he-?" Mondo exclaimed in shock before his anger overrode it. "The hell it yours, asshole!"
"Yeah! Give that picture back!" Leon shouted in anger and agreement.
"You peeked, didn't you?! Well, they all had some pretty dazzling smiles, huh?" The bear asked. "They were definitely living their school life. It's like they ripped a page right outta the book of youth!"
"What's going on with that picture? Do you know…?" Makoto asked the bear.
"I'm not tellin' you nothin'!" With that, he disappeared.
"Why can't you give me a straight answer?!" Makoto shouted in frustration.
The others couldn't help but jumped at the anger Makoto's showing. "Damn, dude. You're pissed." Leon whistled, his own anger gone.
"Man... who wouldn't be?" The luckster himself deadpanned.
"That's true." Leon admitted. "I would've punched a wall in your shoes."
"I would've trashed the whole fucking room." Mondo sighed. "Seriously, can't the bear give us straight answers? Or just shut the fuck up?"
"Unfortunately, he won't do either." Byakuya sighed in annoyance.
"But hey, look at the bright side." Hina chirped.
"Th-There's a bright side?" Toko asked incredulously.
"There is!" She insisted. "Since Makoto founds a few things from our past, maybe our future selves can figure out that they lost their memories!"
Kyoko sighed. "I"m sorry Hina, but that's most likely not gonna happen." Kyoko refuted. "We ourselves had trouble thinking and accepting that our future selves memories were lost. Imagine how hard it would be for them."
That caused the swimmer to sag in disappointment. "Oh, yeah."
He let out a breath of annoyance. 'Nevermind…I don't even know why I bothered asking…' As he walked out of the room, he mused to himself. 'I discovered a lot of stuff. And it was all strange. But I dunno if any of it was an actual clue…I'm just getting more confused.'
"It appears that Kyoko is correct." Celeste pointed out. "The others would also probably right it off as forgery from Monokuma."
"Okay, okay, I get it…" Hina moaned.
Sakura placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder while Makoto gave her a comforting smile from his side. "Don't worry, Hina. I'm sure they'll be able to find out about their memories." Makoto reassured her. "Maybe Monokuma left more clues around the area, something that can lead them to their memories."
Hina brightened up at Sakura's comforting touch and Makoto's comforting words. "Yeah! They'll figure all this out soon!" She said in determination. "But hopefully without another murder!"
"Now that's getting your hopes too high." Byakuya remarked, drawing a glare from Hina.
As they spoke, Kyoko thought of the things they heard and the things they've found. Unable to get new magazines under some circumstances? The Tragedy? Hifumi's Camera? The picture?
Two main question came to mind. Why were those items lying around? And what exactly is going to happen in the future?
And that's the end. I hope you guys liked this chapter. And I hope the binge watch won't get in the way for too long. Review, favorite, and follow and I will see you guys later.
A Lucky Soldier's small anime rant:
Ok it's been about 2 updates since I talked about my anime adventures here, and I'll start with both Golden Time, and White Album 2. Both of them are romance animes that hurt so good while also bringing fantastic story telling (although at the expense of a not-so-smart MC) that I don't know how I haven't heard of them until I stumbled onto them. I'm a person who would take a Happy Ending over a sad one any day, but I still appreciate really well done bad ends. And that's where these two come in. Golden Time was a good emotional ride. Although I wouldn't say it was as in-depth as White Album 2, it was well done enough that it was very enjoyable for me. White Album 2 on the other hand, is the kicker. There's so much I can talk about the beauty of the complexity in this plot, but I'd rather not to save space here. I am aware that White Album 2 originated from an Adult Visual Novel, but that doesn't mean the story is bad. The anime captures the feelings of the three main characters so well, and the complexity of their love for one another so well that even though it brings so much pain, I found myself unable to hate any of the characters for who they are. I won't spoil what happens, but if you find yourself watching White Album 2, make sure you follow up by reading a summary on what happens afterwards. If the Visual Novel is divided into 5 parts, the anime only covers the Prologue and Chapter 1. I'm going to need some light hearted stuff now.