Chapter 1: Omake: Moving Forward

No one knew what to say after what had happened. Once they returned to Hope's Peak Academy, everyone split off, likely to try and forget what they had witnessed. Akira had done the same, trudging along like a zombie. The academy that he had admired, and yearned to one day be in, was now nothing more than an academy that bred despair. In a single day, three people had died, and three of his friends were gone. While he didn't condone what Junko and Leon did, he was sure they were good people. In the end, it was the situation that drove them to act.

Akira had spared a glance into the Laundry Room as he entered the Hotel Plaza, but the scene from before had been cleaned. It looked like a normal laundry room. The scratch marks and broken sword were gone, and the boy's bathroom had been cleaned. Makoto and Leon's bodies were gone, as if they never existed. He wondered how it had been cleaned up so easily, but after a while, he just didn't want to keep thinking about it.

The Ultimate Lucky Student didn't even bother entering his room. He leaned back against the wall, slowly sliding down until he was sitting. He put his hands in his head, holding it tightly in his grasp. "What do I say… What should I do? How can I even explain what the hell just happened?"

"You're keeping yourself together better than I thought you would."

He glanced up at the speaker, finding Kyoko standing in front of him. The violet-clad woman had likely followed him. He hadn't been paying attention to where people had gone after returning from the Class Trial Court Room. He knew they all needed some quiet. He merely frowned, glancing away from her.

"Did we do the right thing? I mean… We discussed everything, arrived at our answer but… was voting for Junko right?"

"She wasn't innocent in what she did. She was given a motive and she acted on it, just like Leon did. She could have stopped but didn't, because she yearned to leave this place just like the rest of us do. As for doing the right thing, well… that's up to you, you are alive, right?"

He didn't say anything, merely looking at his hands. "A part of me was… worried. Worried we wouldn't conclude. Worried we would all die. When Monokuma said execution, I didn't take him seriously, but when I saw what he did to Junko I thought… that could have been me. At that moment I realized that I am not going to let that happen to me. I don't want to end up like that."

"You have a stronger resolve than anyone else in this academy. The way you spoke, the way your voice cut above everyone else's, the way you practically led everyone to the answer… It's clear that you have what it takes to get through this." Kyoko said firmly, making him laugh.

"No, I don't. I was on autopilot there… I was just piecing things together and throwing it out there, and it happened to all fall in line. But in the end, I had nothing. I started praying for a miracle, for anything that could help us…"

"And it did. Peko handed you the piece that condemned Junko for her crime. It was your luck that brought that miracle to the surface."

"Luck… right."

She didn't say anything, looking away from the young man. She gathered her errant thoughts, finally breaking the silence. "There's a sense of irony in all of this. An Ultimate Lucky Student finding himself at the end of a crime, and an Ultimate Lucky Student praying for the miracle that would expose that crime."

"Hm." the raven-haired boy muttered. He closed his eyes for a moment, slowly exhaling as he glanced up at the girl. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I feel like you have what it takes to overcome this. To move past the deaths of your friends, the deaths of Leon, Makoto, and Junko. And keep moving forward." she said. She crossed her arms, looking away from him. "Without someone like that, everyone else wouldn't be able to break free from such a desperate situation."

"Move past their deaths…?" he asked, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, but that's not who I am. I can't just… forget that they lived. Leon paid for his crime with his life, and Junko's self-defense turned deadly because she wanted freedom. But Makoto? All he did was try to help his friend. I could never forget something like that. Which is why I want to remember him. I'll remember Leon and Junko as well because someone has to. I'm gonna carry their memories until my final breath."

He expected her to remain stoic but was instead surprised by a smile. It left just as soon as he saw it, making him wonder if he had imagined it. "So instead of forgetting them… you are choosing the hard road huh? Well… I have high expectations of you."

"You sound a lot like my sister right now."

"Oh? I wasn't aware you had a sister."

"I've mentioned her only briefly. My family… They aren't… mine." he said, glancing away from her for a moment. "I'm an orphan. From a young age, I didn't know who my family was. I sat back and watched as all the other kids got picked, but never me. Never me. There was a girl there, a bit older than me, who watched over the younger kids. She was stern, never smiled, and scolded everyone a lot but… She was the closest thing to family I had. So I started calling her big sis. She told me not to call her that but it stuck. We got picked together, guess the owners of the orphanage didn't want to separate us."

"Sounds like a stroke of luck."

"Maybe… some people would call it luck, others…" he paused, shaking his head. "I've probably said more than I should have. I've kept my personal affairs a secret to everyone for most of my life. The only constant in it was my sister encouraging me. Even when my foster family told me I'd never amount to anything, and even when my foster brother said I was hopeless, she was there, always encouraging me, telling me I could be anything I wanted. What I wanted most was to be accepted… and I thought being in Hope's Peak Academy would lead to that…"

He let out a dry laugh, shaking his head. "What a fucking joke."

"Kyoko, Akira, there you are."

The pair looked up at Kiyotaka, who looked rather distraught. He had a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead as he stood before them. "I'm sure you'd like some time to recover after what happened but… I thought it best to hold a meeting. To…"

He sighed, glancing away. "I don't know honestly. But I don't want anyone to be alone with their thoughts, not after what happened."

"Sure. We'll be there soon." the lavender-haired girl replied. The Ultimate Moral Compass merely nodded, and as fast as he had arrived, he left. Akira took a deep breath, rubbing his eyes momentarily before placing his glasses back on, only to see an outstretched hand in front of him. "Come on, no man is an island."

He accepted her hand, rising to his feet. Silently, the pair headed toward the Dining Hall. It was quiet upon their arrival, the 18 others who had scattered across the academy had returned. Everyone was in a similar state of shock. Celeste and Byakuya were among the few who had kept it together, while the others were a mixture of crying, anger, or fear. The tranquility they had earlier that day had been shattered and it wasn't coming back.

"Sorry, we're late," Akira said, halfheartedly as he stood near the edge of the center table. Sayaka had been sitting in it, face in her arms. The seat where Makoto had sat that morning was empty, and it wouldn't be filled ever again. Kiyotaka shook his head, clearing his throat.

"There's no need to apologize, Akira. We don't blame you or anyone for wanting some time for themselves."

"Are you alright, Akira?" Hina asked curiously.

"I'm fine, though you should be asking Sayaka. She's the one who was attacked in the end," he said, glancing at the Ultimate Pop-Sensation. She didn't say anything, hardly even moved. He reached out to her but pulled his hand back, biting his lower lip. "It'll take a while. But I think all of us will be fine."

"Fine? After what we just saw, you think we'll be fine?" Hiyoko asked, a look of disbelief on her face. "Look around you! Three people are fucking dead and we just saw one of those people die! She was… in pain, suffering! You think all of us won't be fucked up from that?!"

"Hey, there's no need to shout at him, Hiyoko. I agree that none of us will be fine after what we saw, but we're gonna have to be if we want to live." Mahiru said, placing her hand over Hiyoko's, and squeezing it. "We have to move forward."

"I agree with you, Mahiru. We have to move forward, but we can't forget those we've lost. Makoto gave his life to save his friend. Leon was misguided due to the ticket and Junko did what she did, not just in self-defense, but because she yearned to be with her sister. I don't excuse what they did, but I can't entirely say it's their fault. The motive was the root of everything," Akira said.

"Whatever the case may be, we cannot allow something of that magnitude to happen again. We must become a stronger, united front against Monokuma. That is how we will show him that we are not to be trifled with." Sonia said firmly, a look of confidence on her face. "It is by working together that we shall overcome the herculean task placed before us."

"She's right, guys. We have to cheer up! Getting depressed isn't gonna help anything, right? If we work together, I'm sure we'll find a way out of here." the Ultimate Swimmer said, a warm smile on her face.

"Is that honestly supposed to make us feel better?" Byakuya asked, earning a surprised look from Hina.

"Huh?"

"We were already "working together" and yet someone was still murdered. Anyone could betray us at this point. Now that it's happened once, it's a question of when, not if, the next one takes place."

"R-right… it's all because of what L-Leon did… to Sayaka, and to Makoto." Mikan said, shivering a bit from where she stood. "J-Junko wasn't innocent either."

Akira didn't say anything, his frown deepening.

"B-But… If we work together against the mastermind, like Sonia said, nobody'll have any reason to do something like that!"

"Get real, Hina. The Mastermind is just going to play us like a fiddle, like he did with all of us. He passed out those tickets in secret, and Leon acted on his. So did Junko, the only one who didn't was Makoto, and look what happened to him." Kazuichi said, shaking his head.

"That could have been anyone, Kazuichi. You mean to tell me if you saw someone fighting, you wouldn't try to stop it? That if someone was trying to violate one of the girls, you wouldn't protect them?" Hajime questioned, giving the boy a level glare.

"Ah… Well of course I'd do something."

"That means putting yourself at risk then. If something like that happens again, you have two choices. Risk your ass to save them, or ignore it. And neither of them are a good choice. Because no matter what, someone could end up dead." Fuyuhiko said, glancing away from the others. "If you ask me, we shouldn't bother being all buddy-buddy. Especially when anyone can shank us in the back."

"Then what can we do? Just sit here with our fingers up our asses pretending like everything is fine? Because nothing is fucking fine." Sayaka said, finally breaking her silence. "Everyone is looking around, feeling sorry for each other, for themselves, begging and pleading we'll be let out. But that isn't gonna happen. We're all going to die here, one way or another, so we should just give up."

"Give up? Come on, Sayaka, don't be like that." Akira said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Makoto wouldn't want-"

"Makoto is dead." she spat, glaring at him. "That's the reality of the situation. It doesn't matter what he could have wanted. It doesn't matter what he would have done. Because he's gone, no trace of him exists. Nothing. That's what'll happen to the rest of us, because to the Mastermind, we mean nothing. He proved it when he killed Junko."

"That's… a very pessimistic way of viewing the world, Sayaka," Hikari said, bowing his head dejectedly.

"Every minute that passes in this place feels like we're being choked. I don't know how we'll manage to get it, if we even can," Ibuki said. Her normally cheerful demeanor had been replaced with one of worry. It was as if she had been replaced by a different person.

"We can and we must. Lying down and giving up is exactly what the Mastermind wants. Remember what he said, he wants us to forget the outside world. But the outside world is what all of us yearn to return to. So we have to fight, not against each other, but against the one who trapped us here." Peko said firmly.

"But we don't even know who that is. How are we gonna fight against someone whose face we haven't seen?" Hiro asked, sighing.

"He's right. I gotta have a face so I can punch the fucker." the biker said, clenching his fists. "Because he definitely has to pay for the sick, evil shit he's been pulling on us."

"That's why we have to work together! We must if we wish to regain our freedom!" the Ultimate Princess said, only for Byakuya to scoff, looking away from her.

"Keep telling yourself that. I'll be over here in the real world," he replied, shaking his head. "Working together? Fighting the common enemy… Like it or not, it's not that simple."

"He's correct." the quiet Gambler said, breaking her silence. "The Mastermind seems to be much more powerful than we ever suspected. They took over Hope's Peak, which was supposed to be well-defended, then modified it to fit their desire. They created Monokuma, which seems incredibly advanced, and they're providing for our every need. The cherry on top? The very execution we witnessed."

She looked around the room, meeting their gazes for a moment. "Everything has been planned out to the last excruciating detail. This is not the work of your average everyday psychopath. Defying them is… a great risk…"

"Then… What exactly is it we are supposed to do?" Peko asked, frowning as she leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "We don't have many options."

"Anyone who wants to escape… Will just have to follow the rules," Byakuya began, adjusting his glasses. "In which case, the only option is to deceive those around you, and win the game."

"C-can we not refer to this as a game, please?" Mikan quietly said, being ignored by the affluent progeny.

"N-no."

"No, what?" the man said, glancing at Chihiro, who was struggling not to cry. She wiped her tears away in a vain attempt as more continued falling down her face.

"I don't want to live… if it means killing someone else to do it. I don't want to kill anyone else…!"

"Anyone else?" the Ultimate Clairvoyant asked, clearly confused. "What do you mean?"

"J-Junko died because we all voted for her, right? It's no different from us killing her ourselves!" she exclaimed.

"B-but… that's different, isn't it?" Ibuki asked.

"She's right, if we hadn't, then it would have been all of us that died instead. That isn't what you wanted… is it?" Hina asked, receiving silence from the Programmer.

"Hina's right. If you heap that kind of blame onto yourself, then you'll turn into a full-fledged masochist." Hikari said, giving the girl a head pat. "It isn't your fault and it isn't ours. We had to follow the rules, because not following the rules has… consequences."

"C-consequences," she said softly under her breath. Akira gathered his thoughts for a moment, licking his lips as he started to speak.

"Chihiro, Listen… You're not to blame, no one here is to blame, okay?" he began, deciding to address the entire dining hall. "Leon acted because of the ticket, Junko defended herself, and Makoto protected his friend. All of them are circumstances of one provocation, the motive the Mastermind gave us. They're the sole party responsible for what's happened. We had no choice but to vote. Because not voting meant we would die. And it's awful… it's awful having to think that but sometimes you have no choice."

He squeezed his hand tightly as he looked at the table. "My heart aches because I had to stand there and watch as a helpless woman, who wanted to live, died at the hands of a psychotic mechanical animal. But in the back of my mind, I was thinking "Better her than me" and that is a feeling all of us will have to get comfortable with. Because if you choose to kill, if you make that choice, because you want to be free well… the rest of us will have no choice but to condemn you to death because that's the fate we have been given. We can pretend it isn't like that, we can try to live in blissful ignorance but the fact of the matter is, this is reality. All we have to do is make peace with it and live. But never… never forget the ones we lost."

Ding dong dong ding

The Television screen roared to life, causing everyone to shift their gaze toward it, looking at it in worry. Monokuma sat nonchalantly in his chair as if nothing had happened a few hours ago.

"Ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10:00 PM. As such it is now nighttime. Soon, the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Oh and one other thing… It was totally obvious before that you were trying to make yourselves feel better and justify what you did. See you, see you, don't see you, see you! That's about how much I can see you, even when you try to hide!

Now, pay attention and remember this well. The burden of judging others is a heavy one to bear. So be well aware of your actions! Order and stability, rely on the sacrifice and responsibility of everyone! Okay then… sweet dreams everyone! Good night, sleep tight, and don't let the bedbugs bite… or do, that'd be entertaining, hahahahahaha!"

With that, the TV shut off, throwing the entire school into silence. Mikan let out a whimper as she shivered in her spot, looking nervously around the room. "W-what was that about…?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Hiyoko said, in a surprisingly calm tone. She rose to her feet, crossing her arms as she looked around the room. "He's saying what happened was our fault."

"Our fault? That's… pretty cruel, man." Hiro said. Mondo let out a growl, punching his palm in anger.

"That piece of shit! Who does he think he is?"

The sound of a chair scraping filled the dining hall, making Akira shift his gaze. Sayaka had stood up, not bothering to say anything to anyone. She walked out, slowly leaving the plaza. The sole Ultimate Lucky Student didn't really have anything to say. It seemed the effect of his speech was lost thanks to whatever Monokuma had said. He merely sighed, glancing at the ceiling.

"So… that's how all of this ends. We lost three friends and we're to blame for what happened to Junko. Fantastic… Seems to me as if this shit is only just beginning."

"We should… start making our way out of here before we get in trouble. I'm not exactly hungry." Kiyotaka said.

"Neither am I, my friend," Hikari said, biting his lip. "We should tread lightly, we are completely blind moving forward."

"Agreed. Let's just… pray for the best and prepare for the worst." Sonia added. With those final words, everyone started making their way out of the dining hall. Akira meanwhile decided to grab some stuff from the kitchen before it closed for the night.

It didn't take him long to reach his dorm. He fished around for his key, slipping it into the lock, making sure he didn't drop anything he had grabbed. Stepping into the room, he spotted Sayaka sitting on her bed, staring at the wall. He set everything down on the table, sitting down next to her.

For a while, he didn't say anything. He didn't want to say anything. After all, she was still in shock after what happened. She needed time and he understood that. But he also wanted her to know that she wasn't alone. After a few minutes of silence, she moved slightly, wrapping her arms around him, hugging him tightly. He hugged her back, rubbing the small of her back as she started to cry.

He held her for what seemed like hours, but in reality, it must have been a few minutes. She finally settled down, drying her eyes with her sleeve. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"R-ruining your blazer. I must have cried through it by now," she said, making him laugh.

"Sweetheart, I could care less if my blazer gets ruined. You are free to cry on my shoulder whenever you need to. We all need someone for that, at some point." he admitted, swallowing the lump in his throat. "But we can't afford to cry forever."

"I know… I want to grieve Makoto, and Junko… and hell, a part of me wants to grieve for Leon too, despite what happened. But we can't. We have to be prepared for whatever that sick bastard is going to throw at us." she said, finally releasing the boy, sniffling. "I want to thank you."

"First apologizing and now thanking me?" he jokingly said, only for her to playfully slap his arm.

"I'm thanking you for taking my ticket. If I had found it, and had it on my mind well… Who knows what could have happened. I've been thinking a lot about my friends, the girls in my idol group. I've wanted to see how they're doing, and if I had access to something like that…" she said, shuddering a bit. "I've done terrible things to get where I am, but I've never thought about taking a life. If my friends were at risk, and that ticket was my freedom… maybe it would have been me being executed instead of Junko."

"Don't say that, Sayaka. I don't think you have what it takes to kill someone," he said in a reassuring tone. "You are so kindhearted and beautiful. You live to make others happy with your songs. I can't imagine the Ultimate Pop-Sensation hurting someone just to get out of here."

"You might believe that, but you don't know me for sure."

"Of course I do, because I'm psychic," he said, a smile on his face. She gave him a deadpanned look, only to break into giggles shortly after. "There's that smile I missed."

"You dummy… maybe I'm not the only one with good intuition," she said, looking away from him. She grabbed a hold of her skirt, squeezing it tightly in her grasp. "I'm scared, Akira. Scared that I might get roped up in a motive, or that I'd be killed by someone else. And… I don't want to die."

"You're not going to. Because I'll protect you."

"Protect… me…?" she asked, uttering a dry laugh. "Right. The last person who promised me that ended up dying. I can't trust anyone here, Akira, no one but you. I don't know how or why but I can't shake this feeling in my heart. That I can trust you with anything… everything."

"Huh? That's… Wow… really?" he asked, taken completely by surprise.

"Have you ever had deja vu? Like… you get this feeling that you've spoken to someone, met someone, or seen someone before?" she asked, earning a nod from the boy. "That's the feeling I get with you, and with some of the others too. It's the same feeling I felt with Makoto, but a part of me just thought it was because we both went to Black Root."

"Hm… You know, you aren't the only one who's felt like that. Chihiro asked me if we had met before, and I had that same feeling with Hina. Who knows? Maybe the situation we're in stressed us out so much that we just think shit like that."

"Hah… no self-respecting psychic would ever admit to that, Akira. You're starting to sound like Hiro." the blue-haired girl said. He let out a laugh, covering his mouth with his hand.

"Yeah… I guess you're right about that," he replied, glancing away from the girl. It was quiet for a moment, but it didn't last long. He took a hold of her hand, giving it a light squeeze. "No matter what happens, Sayaka, you're not alone. It'll be hard opening up to others, but we're gonna have to. We have to trust each other, because if we don't… then more people will die."

"I know that but… I just can't find myself able to… Junko lied so easily to save her ass, and I know it was in desperation but-" she paused, closing her eyes tightly. "-I'm worried someone else will do it again. Just lie to save their asses, and I'm scared that lie will be taken as truth."

"Then it'll be up to us to make sure those lies never make it to the Class Trial. We'll have to fight hard to live. Because we have to live." Akira said, holding a hand over his heart. "Junko, Makoto, and Leon had dreams, and their dreams died with them. But we can't let their lives disappear and we can't let their memory vanish. We have to keep them alive in our hearts. So when we finally leave this shithole of an academy, we'll be able to lay them to rest."

"I don't know what it was Makoto wanted… but I'm sure he wanted, above all, to see his loved ones again. The same can be said for Junko, and Leon too. So I'll keep living, someone has to tell them what happened. I'll find them… I'll tell them about what happened, because they deserve to know what happened," the Ultimate Pop-Sensation said with a smile.

It was a pained smile, and Akira could tell she was forcing herself to do it. He gave her hand another squeeze, looking at the far wall. "She was right about one thing, she's tough as nails."

"Yes, I am tough as nails."

He turned to face her, giving her a slight glare. "You gotta stop doing that."

She stuck her tongue out at him, giving him a grin. "I don't think I will~"

They laughed, a genuine laugh neither of them thought they'd be able to share. Akira rose to his feet, stretching his arms above his head as he walked toward the table. "We haven't eaten anything all day, and I know it's probably a bad idea, after what happened but… I thought some of this stuff could cheer you up."

"What d'ya bring?"

He stepped aside, revealing a pint of cherry vanilla ice cream. Her eyes lit up, almost like a Christmas tree, full of life and joy. He reached for a pair of spoons, holding them out. "I happen to know this is your favorite flavor, thought we could share it. It isn't the only thing I brought, Hina will have to live with the supply of donuts going down for a bit. I got cinnamon buns and chips and a whole bunch of other shit for us to pig out on."

"That sounds like fun but… god the extra calories."

"Who gives a shit about that? I think we have other things to worry about, Sayaka," he said, uncapping the ice cream, sitting down next to her, handing her a spoon. He dug in first, pulling out a heaping spoonful. "You should know, I'm lactose intolerant."

"Oh god, that poor toilet."

"Yep."

It was a small step, but this little act was enough to reignite her will to live. Sayaka would continue to fight, because she had to. She wanted to carry Makoto's memory with her. The memory of the kindhearted boy who saved a crane, the story of a strong man, who fought her attacker and protected her, the kindhearted lucky student who gave his life for her. She wouldn't let him die, not now, not ever.

A/N: And thus, Chapter 1 has come to an end. I'm sure people weren't expecting Makoto to die first, but I wanted to keep things fresh. This is not going to be like other Trigger Happy Havoc stories. But that's obvious given I am using characters from SDR2. The Rules of Danganronpa haven't changed! Pay Attention to Everything, Nothing is as it seems, and Don't grow attached to anyone. The 3 rules of the universe that had been beaten over my head more than once lol. Chapter 2 is going to be a doozy, and I just finished Chapter 3, which contains 13 Acts total and the longest chapter of the story. I tried to keep it down to 30 pages but it was a Class Trial Chapter so yeah. It's gonna be a fun time.

As an aside, I am posting these to AO3 before I post them on here because FFN has been pissing me off a lot lately so yeah... If you wanna read them on there first, then feel free to do so! That's about it, see ya.