A/N: Sorry about the long wait! This is my favorite chapter so far yaaaaaaaay

––

The hour passed, and the time arrived for them to all gather at Monokuma Rock. The sun had set and the sky was a dark blue. No one was in the mood to say anything, and no one had the stomach to stay around the diner any longer. The smell of blood was overwhelming. They all departed without looking back.

Akane was bringing up the rear. Nekomaru and Mikan must have been too preoccupied to pay her any mind, but Hajime noticed immediately. She was limping along on her injured leg, wincing in pain. She looked sick to her stomach, and not because of what had happened in the diner.

Hajime came to a stop, waited for her to catch up, and glared at her.

"I know what you're doing, Akane."

Akane stopped next to him, giving him a defensive look. "What? What are you talking about? I'm not doin' anything."

"Don't try to lie to me," he snapped. "Do you really think this is a good idea? How are you going to help the others like this? How are you going to help Chiaki?" His glare was unflinching. "What about Nekomaru? Do you think this is what he wants?"

Akane seemed to falter once she thought of Nekomaru. She broke her gaze with Hajime and looked at the ground.

"Don't… don't bring up Coach," she muttered. "Just leave him out of this."

She turned around and started limping away again. Hajime was burning with frustration as he watched after her. She never listened to anyone… once she got an idea in her head, there was no stopping her.

He had to the others about this. But he'd have to wait until after the Class Election. He could only worry about one thing at a time.

––

Everyone made it to Monokuma Rock, including Monokuma himself, who happily and excitedly greeted them all, telling them what an thrilling, chilling Class Election they were all in for. Then he vanished, and once again, the enormous escalator came falling out of one of the giant bear mouths, signaling it was time for them to enter.

As everyone rode the escalator up, and then rode the elevator down, no one said much of anything. Ibuki was shuffling nervously back and forth, but even she was quiet. Which one of them would not be joining the others for the ride back up? Who among them deserved it the most?

As they all filed into the trial room, the first thing Hajime noticed was that there were two more portraits. Sonia's was crossed out with an ornate cursive letter X, while Kazuichi's had a crisscrossed screwdriver and wrench. Monokuma and Monomi were in their usual places, and Monomi looked more defeated than ever as she sat haplessly in her cage.

"Is everybody here? Everybody still alive, that is? Then let's get this Class Election started!" Monokuma cheered once the students had all taken their places. "Who's about to win the Least Valuable Player award? I can hardly contain my excitement!"

Teruteru threw his arms in the air. "Oh, just do it already! Just vote for me! I know you all want to do it!" he shouted. "I was in charge of you all, and Kazuichi died on my watch."

Hiyoko just laughed at him. "Don't be ridiculous! Nobody was following your orders!"

"Teruteru. You didn't do anything wrong," Nekomaru said firmly. "Nobody here did anything wrong. Except Nagito, kind of."

"My only regret is that I have but one life to give for my classmates," Nagito sighed dreamily.

"Nagito's not at fault either," said the Imposter. "If Kazuichi had just stayed where it was safe, he would still be alive."

"It's my fault if it's anyone's," Hajime muttered. "I should have saved him."

There was one good thing about all this, anyway. Hajime was still affected by death. He still had a soul.

"Everybody quit griping. I know whose fault this is," said Akane. "It's that dumb rabbit thing! What's her name!"

Fuyuhiko looked at her. "You mean Monomi?"

Akane thrust a finger directly up at Monomi. "Yeah! She was supposed to help us fight that thing! And then she ducked out for the whole battle!"

Monomi shrank back in her cage. "I… I didn't mean to…"

Ryota looked shocked. "Akane! That's kind of harsh, isn't it?"

"It may be harsh, but it's true. Maybe Kazuichi would still be here if she'd just done her job," said the Imposter.

"If Ibuki had to write a song about her, it would be called… 'Dead Weight Rabbit'!" Ibuki said happily.

"Ahem! As much as I love inflicting pain on my dear little sister, you are only allowed to vote for one of your classmates!" Monokuma chimed in. "So you're going to have to find someone else to blame for this mess you're in, kiddos!"

"Right. Getting mad at Monomi won't help us right now. Everyone, let's focus on what's important," said Mahiru.

"It's true. One of us must take the fall for this, whether we like it or not," said Peko.

Ryota didn't look satisfied. "But who's going to do that? Who can we possibly vote for?" he said. "What happened was… it was horrible, but it's not like anyone wanted this to happen. No one wanted Kazuichi to die… right?"

"Of course not. We'd have nothing to gain from that," said Mahiru. "And anyway, we were all in the same place and keeping tabs on each other. No one would have been able to do anything suspicious."

"But Nagito was in the bathroom a suuuuuuper long time!" Ibuki spoke up, folding her hands behind her back and leaning over at the student in question. "Wasn't he just supposed to grab the drain cleaner and come back?"

"Yeah! What were you doing in there, you nasty perv? Trying to get off a quickie while we were all fighting for our lives?" said Hiyoko.

Everyone turned to look at Nagito, and he simply folded his arms and closed his eyes. He couldn't seem to keep the self-satisfied smile off his face.

"Well… it's impossible for me to lie to my beloved classmates," he said. "To be honest… the drain cleaner was right there behind the door. I may have waited in the bathroom… a bit longer than was necessary."

He opened his eyes, looking absolutely delighted. "I simply wanted to raise the stakes a little! Defeating the Monobeast so easily… that wouldn't inspire any hope at all!"

Everyone stared at him, and then the room exploded into noise.

"H-how could you? How could you? Kazuichi died because of you!" Mikan wailed.

"You ruined the rebirth of the Hanamura Diner! RUINED IT!" Teruteru shouted, waving his arms around in indignation.

"HEY! EVERYBODY QUIET DOWN!" Monokuma's voice rang out over all the others as he banged his gavel. "Geez, you kids seriously need to chill! Smoke some weed or something! You're hurting my sensitive little ears!"

The students reluctantly fell quiet, except for the Imposter. "Hajime? Did you know Nagito would do something like this when you sent him to get the drain cleaner?"

"Of course I did," Hajime sighed. "But anyone else would have gotten killed trying. I needed his luck. I just… couldn't stop Kazuichi from getting involved."

"Guys. Seriously. Quit blaming Hajime whenever something goes wrong. We're all responsible for ourselves," said Fuyuhiko.

"This is all Nagito's fault…" Akane looked like she wanted to leap across the trial room and throttle him. "You and your stupid hope! You're always messing things up!"

But as always, Nagito didn't look guilty in the least. He didn't even look perturbed at all the other students shooting him death glares.

"Now, now… I understand your disappointment, but I didn't know Kazuichi would do what he did. You can't blame me for his actions, can you?" The smile still hadn't left his face. "Perhaps the fault lies with him, for not believing in hope strongly enough."

"No, no, no! Victim blaming is strictly prohibited on this island!" Monomi shouted from inside her cage.

"Oh, just be quiet already! Nobody wants to hear from you," Nekomaru snapped at her.

"Please, everyone… Nagito's right," said Ryota. It looked like he was the only one still trying to keep the peace. "We can't blame him for Kazuichi. We can't blame anyone. This isn't a murder trial." He gazed down at his podium. "We should stop this line of thinking. If we're going to execute someone… it shouldn't be out of revenge. That's what Monokuma wants."

"Hey! I'm sitting right over here, you know! But you're totally right," said the bear.

Ryota's words seemed to have their intended effect. All the anger seemed to drain from the students, and several of them started staring at the ground, looking guilty.

"What are we even doing?" Mahiru covered her face in her hand. "We're trying to find someone to blame for Kazuichi's death… so we can kill them too?" Her shoulders sagged. "What kind of monsters are we?"

"It's not like we want to do this, Mahiru," said Hajime. "But the only alternative is all of us dying. And we have to stay alive. For – "

"For Chiaki? Is that what you were about to say?"

Hajime turned to face the one who had spoken. Peko's glare was boring into his soul, her red eyes flashing.

"We still have no proof she's even here. It's entirely possible we've been sacrificing each other for nothing. Isn't that right?"

"Hey now! Are you calling me a liar?" Monokuma demanded. "I've been called a lot of things in my lifetime. Big Smelly Monster, Murder Bear… Emperor Hirohito… but I will not sit back and let you call me a liar!"

"What do you want us to do, Peko? It's either this or we give up," said Hajime.

"You offered yourself up as a sacrifice before, didn't you? Perhaps we should take you up on that offer."

Everyone looked astonished.

"Uhhh… Peko's having one of her 'moments' again. Should we be worried?" said Ibuki.

"Peko! Leave Hajime out of this!" Fuyuhiko snapped at her.

"He has been unable to protect us so far," Peko went on like she hadn't heard him. "Perhaps his talent would be better used in the outside world. If Chiaki was never here… if we've just been blindly playing along with Monokuma's game… then Hajime is the only one who can put a stop to it."

"No. That's enough." Fuyuhiko put on his commanding voice that made everyone stop and listen. "I'll be the sacrifice. Everyone vote for me."

And there it was. The moment Hajime had known was coming.

"Fuyuhiko! What are you talking about?" Mahiru demanded.

"What, are you guys deaf? We're all looking for someone to blame for this shit. So blame me." He stuck his hands in his pockets. "You're all so busy blaming Nagito, you forget the drain cleaner was all my idea. If I'd just thought of something different – "

"But it worked! Your idea worked!" said Ryota.

"Did it? Did it really? Yeah, I'm sure Kazuichi would agree with that." Fuyuhiko let out a mirthless laugh. "Let's face it, you guys don't need me. What am I good for? Stirring up shit, that's it."

Not surprisingly, Peko had something to say. "Young master. I will not allow this."

Fuyuhiko grimaced, like he'd known this was about to happen. "Peko. I know this is hard for you to understand, but my life isn't worth more than anyone else's here. Shit, this is what I deserve."

"Fuyuhiko… don't say that…" said Mikan. "N-no one deserves one of Monokuma's executions. And… and you've been so helpful to us…"

Fuyuhiko slammed his hand down on his podium. "Quit acting like I'm some innocent! Did you all forget I'm a fucking yakuza? Do you know how many deaths I'm responsible for? Because I've lost count."

Peko's voice was rising in volume along with his. "None of that matters. I will not allow you to die here. Everyone should vote for – "

"No. Don't say it. You are not giving up your life for me. Not again." Fuyuhiko held up his hand so Peko wouldn't try speaking up again. "This is me facing the consequences of my own actions. You can't do this for me. You understand?"

Peko was strangely calm. "I see. So you've made up your mind." She looked up at their headmaster. "Monokuma. If there is a tie for largest number of votes, then both students are executed. Is that correct?"

Everyone looked at her in shock.

Monokuma sat upright on his throne. "Did I hear that correctly? A two for one deal? A double whammy? Why, how can I say no to that?"

The Imposter looked furious. "Peko! What are you trying to say? You want us to kill both of you?"

"There are thirteen of us remaining. If there are six of you who wish to vote for Fuyuhiko, then six of you should vote for me," Peko said firmly. "If my young master is executed, I will have failed in my duty to protect him. This is the only sufficient punishment."

"Peko. There's no way we're going along with that," Hajime said impatiently. "We can't just go around killing off multiple people. We need nine of us to activate the shutdown sequence."

"Then I suggest you save all your votes for me. If Fuyuhiko dies, then I die. That is the sum of it."

Hajime grimaced and squeezed his eyes shut. Peko was being unreasonable, and she knew it. Fuyuhiko knew it too, of course.

"Peko! Just knock it off already! You're not dying for me, and that's final!" he shouted, gripping his podium.

"I can't say I care for this outcome either," said Nagito. "Peko choosing to die alongside her young master… where's the hope in that? It would be much better if she used his death as a stepping stone and rose up against her despair!" His eyes were shining in anticipation. "Such beautiful hope… I can't even begin to imagine it!"

"I… don't agree with how he phrased that, but Nagito has a point," said Nekomaru. "We need you, Peko. Don't throw away your life like this when you don't have to."

"So you refuse to vote for me? You all insist on killing Fuyuhiko and leaving me alive?" Peko was shaking with rage. "Then you will not have my cooperation going forward."

Everyone was silent, except Monokuma, of course. "Oh-hooooo! Now it's getting interesting! Where's my popcorn? You, Chef Boyardee! Go make me some."

"A-as if if I'd ever waste my talent on you!" Teruteru stammered.

"P-Peko… please don't be like this," said Mikan. It looked like she was struggling not to cry. "We can't watch you be executed again… you deserve to live! That's what Fuyuhiko has been trying to tell you!"

"I would gladly face execution again. Anything is preferable to the shame of living, knowing I failed him. If you would do that to me…" Peko was standing perfectly still, but the venom in her eyes made everyone instinctively tense up. Her message was clear. She had no problem becoming their enemy.

"Everyone, please." Fuyuhiko was tired. He was rubbing his forehead. He'd had this argument so many times, and it was always the same. "You can't listen to her. You have to vote for me. We can't lose anyone else." He looked around the room at all of his classmates. "I'm begging you."

"Oooookay, I think we've heard everything we need to hear out of these lovebirds! Now let's get started with the important part! It's time for the voting!" Monokuma raised up his paw as the holographic displays appeared in front of everyone's podiums. "The rules are the same! You may vote for exactly one person!"

Hajime looked at the class portraits staring back at him. This hurt so much. He knew what he had to do… there wasn't a good answer, but…

He pressed Fuyuhiko's picture, closed his eyes and turned away.

"Excellent! All the votes have been tallied! Now let's see the results!" Monokuma said a moment later. "Who's it gonna be? Who's it gonna beeeeeeee?"

The television lowered, and the results appeared on the screen. Five votes for Fuyuhiko, four votes for Peko, two votes for Hiyoko, one vote for Hajime, and one vote for Ibuki.

"Why you little rats! Who thought it was funny to vote for me, huh?!" Hiyoko stomped her foot and fumed.

"Well you've done nothing but insult me and my amazing talent, so fair's fair!" Teruteru blew a raspberry at her.

"I didn't want to vote for Peko… or Fuyuhiko… I'm sorry…" Mikan whispered.

Hiyoko glared at her. "You…"

"Wait a minute. Who voted for Ibuki?" said Akane.

"Oh, that was me. I was banging out a drum solo and accidentally hit my own portrait. Sorry!" said Ibuki, rubbing her head with a cheeky grin.

"Well, you're all idiots, but that's old news. More importantly… the winner of this Class Election is none other than Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu!" Monokuma cheered as more confetti fell from the ceiling. "Man, how disappointing… I was so looking forward to having a double execution! We haven't had one of those since those pink-haired twins!"

In the blink of an eye, Peko had drawn her sword in front of Fuyuhiko. "I will not allow this. You will not touch him. I will burn this island to the ground before you have him."

Fuyuhiko's last nerve had finally snapped. "Peko! Stop it! That's an order!"

Everyone fell silent as Peko slowly turned to face him. Fuyuhiko hated ordering Peko around; he wanted her to be her own person with her own agency, no matter how little she understood the idea. This was the last thing anyone expected to hear out of his mouth.

"You need to get this through your head," he said hoarsely. "You can't protect me forever. Someone here has to die. That's just how it is."

"There is no reason it should be you," said Peko. "I must protect my young master. That has always been my purpose. I cannot – "

"If you ever cared about me as more than your 'young master', you'll let me do this."

Peko was finally stricken dumb. She stared down at Fuyuhiko, having no way to respond. Then to everyone's shock, Fuyuhiko suddenly pulled her into a hug, burying his face into her shoulder.

"If I do one thing right with my life, it's gonna be saving you. Understand?"

Peko still didn't say anything, so Hajime spoke up. "I'm sorry, Peko," he said. "We didn't want this. Nobody wanted this. But Fuyuhiko's not the only one who needs you. Chiaki needs you too."

"We all want you to live, Peko. Please do us this favor," said the Imposter.

Peko looked completely lost. It was such a strange thing to see on someone like her. "But… I…"

Fuyuhiko stepped away from her. "This is my last request to you. You have to live, and you have to help the others. Okay?"

Without waiting for her to answer, and looking like he'd lose his nerve if he looked at her any longer, Fuyuhiko turned away from her and looked up at Monokuma. "Okay. Can we get this over with now?"

Monokuma clapped his paws in delight. "Oh yeah! Finally! What an unforgettable execution this will be! The head of the infamous Kuzuryuu Clan! I know where you're headed, and it's not the good place!"

Fuyuhiko just wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "Yeah. I'll save you a seat. Don't keep me waiting." Then he stole one final look back at Hajime. "Hajime… bring her back, okay?"

"Let's give it everything we've got! Iiiiiiiiit's PUNISHMENT TIME!"

Peko finally snapped out of it. "No! Stop this! Stop it!" She tried to reach for Fuyuhiko as a metal chain came shooting into the room, latched around his neck and dragged him away. But her fingers just missed his. Nekomaru immediately threw his arms around her and pinned her to his chest, keeping her locked in place as she thrashed and struggled.

"Young master! FUYUHIKO!"

––

GAME OVER

Fuyuhiko has been elected.

Time for the punishment!

Fuyuhiko was standing in what looked like a busy intersection in the middle of Tokyo. The sky was pitch black, and the stars were drowned out by the brightly colored signs and neon lights adorning every building as far as the eye could see.

Then suddenly, four Monokumas came falling down from the sky and landed on the street, surrounding him in all directions. They all looked particularly ferocious, covered in scars and tattoos. Their apparent leader was wearing a gold jacket and an eyepatch.

Dragon of Jabberwock

Ultimate Yakuza Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu's Execution: Executed

Fuyuhiko wasn't going down without a fight.

The Monokumas came swinging their fists at him, but he didn't even try to run. He ducked and dodged, he blocked their punches and countered with his own. He weaved back and forth between them, making sure all four couldn't reach him at once. He wound up and dealt a haymaker to one Monokuma with enough force to send it staggering backwards.

Then the Monokumas started fighting dirty. They grabbed random things lying on the street corners, like a bicycle and a street sign, and brandished them like deadly weapons. Their leader whipped out a baseball bat.

Fuyuhiko's eye grew wide, but he couldn't react in time before they all started wailing on him. They swung the bicycle at his legs, they decked him over the head with the street sign, and they kept going at it as it became clear he couldn't guard against them all. There was a crack as one of his arms broke. One of his teeth went flying.

Then three Monokumas backed off, and Fuyuhiko, bleeding from his nose and mouth, cradling his broken arm to himself, was left staring down their leader. He could only back away in fright as the bear spread its arms wide and started blazing with a fiery red aura.

The Monokuma swung his bat once, hitting Fuyuhiko in the stomach and sending him doubling over in pain. Twice, striking him across his back and causing his knees to give out, sending him collapsing onto the street.

Then it swung him over its shoulder, leapt into the air, and performed a pile driver, slamming him headfirst into the ground.

Fuyuhiko's skull shattered.

The Monokumas were left standing around and looking disappointed that the fight was over so quickly. They all casually walked away, and then one last Monokuma arrived on the scene, driving a cement mixer. The drum tilted downward, and whatever was left of Fuyuhiko quickly vanished underneath a sea of cement.

––

Everyone in the trial room stood in complete horror. Hiyoko and Mahiru had both folded their arms and turned away, frowning deeply, like they weren't sure how to feel. Mikan burst into tears.

And Peko… she had gone limp in Nekomaru's grasp. He looked down at her and gently let her go, and she simply sank to her knees, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

"I failed him. I had one task, and I failed him."

Hajime wasn't doing any better. He clenched his fists, pressing his forehead against the podium. He didn't even try to stop the tears from falling. He'd known this was coming, and it still didn't make it easier.

"God dammit…" Rage flared up inside him, and he slammed his fist into the podium. "God dammit!"

Monokuma was resting his head in his paw. "Geeeeez. You kids are really embarrassing me, you know that?" he scoffed. "Crying over some yakuza scum? Do you know how happy the rest of the world would be to hear he's gone? They'd be partying in the streets!"

There was a sound of a sword being pulled from its sheath. Peko had stepped forward and pointed her blade directly under Monokuma's chin. He didn't even move to acknowledge her.

"One more word out of your mouth, and I will gut you like a fish."

The other students stared at her. "P-Peko! You can't! He'll just kill you too!" cried Ryota.

"She knows that. That's the whole point," said Nagito, standing back and observing everything with his arms folded. "What a sorry sight to see… for someone as strong as her to give up on hope so easily."

"Peko! Did you forget what Fuyuhiko said already?" Hajime stepped in front of her, pushing her sword away. Peko glared at him but didn't fight back. Even without a weapon, he would beat her easily, and she knew it.

"You have to remember his – what he said to you." He'd almost said "last words". But they weren't. They wouldn't be. "He wants you to live. If you want to honor him, then that's how you can do it."

Everyone looked expectantly at Peko, waiting to see what she would do. Peko recognized that all eyes were on her, and perhaps more importantly, she realized she could never avenge Fuyuhiko if she gave up her life now.

She quietly sheathed her sword. "Save your platitudes. You all killed him. All of you. I won't forgive this."

And she stormed into the elevator without another word.

Monokuma quickly broke the tense silence. "Boy, was that a good show or what! I gotta say, that girl has a knack for swaying the Class Trials! I hope she sticks around." He just then seemed to notice the others. "What, you're all still here? Show's over, kids! Go home."

Slowly, reluctantly, the students did as Monokuma said and filed over to the elevator. Peko had already ridden it up by herself, so they ended up having to stand around and wait for it to come back down for them.

Once everyone was back outside and wandering back to her cottages, Hajime sought out Mikan in the crowd. Their problems weren't over yet. He hadn't forgotten his talk with Akane before the trial.

"Mikan," he said, tapping her on the shoulder as gently as he could. She still leapt high into the air and almost screamed, but she relaxed a little as she turned around and saw who it was.

"Oh… w-what can I do for you, Hajime?"

"I need you to look after Akane. She's… not taking care of herself."

Mikan looked alarmed. "What… what do you mean? She should be recovering just fine. I set a very strict regimen for her – "

"Mikan. Trust me. You need to keep a close eye on her. She's ignoring your orders because she thinks you won't try to enforce them."

Mikan deflated a little. "Oh… well, all right then… I suppose you do know best, after all…"

Drawing into herself in shame, Mikan quickly turned around and hurried back to her cabin. Hajime watched after her, too weary to feel any guilt of his own.

––

Night had fallen completely over the virtual Jabberwock Island. Everyone was back in their cottages, curled up in their beds, trying to will themselves to sleep and mostly failing. Only one person remained, standing alone and forgotten in the darkness, gazing despondently up at Monokuma Rock.

"Ohhhh… they're right. My students are right," said Monomi, sniffling to herself as her ears drooped low. "I'm so useless. Even now, I can't protect them. They all deserve a better teacher than me."

Suddenly, there came the faint sound of footsteps in the sand from somewhere in the darkness. Monomi looked up in surprise. "W-who's there? Who's watching me?"

In response, Nagito came stepping out of the shadows.

"Hello there, Monomi," he said casually. "I couldn't help but overhear you. It sounds like you're disappointed about today as well."

Monomi looked at him in confusion. "What? What do you mean 'as well'? Are you not feeling well, Nagito? Did someone say something mean to you?" She sounded a little too eager to be helpful.

"Oh, no, nothing like that. It's just… this Killing Game is going off without a hitch, wouldn't you say? In just a few more days, we'll have gathered all the Monocrystals and be able to save Chiaki." He shook his head. "Such an easy victory doesn't inspire any kind of hope. I tried to improve things today, but as you saw, the others weren't too fond of the idea."

Monomi looked scandalized. "Nagito! Are you saying you don't care about rescuing your classmate?"

Nagito raised up his hands. "Not at all! That couldn't be further from the truth. It's just… this is Chiaki we're talking about. Is it really okay to bring her back so casually? Without an epic showdown where hope triumphs over despair once and for all?" He clenched his fist in determination. "I won't let that happen! She deserves better."

Monomi cocked her head a little bit. "I'm not really sure what you're saying, Nagito. But if you're trying to save Chiaki, then I'll help you any way I can! I'm your teacher, after all. Teachers are meant to help their students."

Nagito gave a deep, satisfied smile. "Thank you, Monomi. I knew I could count on you. The others may not recognize your true value, but I do," he said. "Of course, Hajime has a way of predicting what people will do… but it will be fine! Not even I can predict what will happen when my Ultimate Luck is in play."

He gazed out at the ocean. "Chiaki… if you're listening… this is all for you."

Surviving Students: 12

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A/N: I might ship Kuzuhina just a little bit shhhhh