Hello readers and welcome to my new chapter. So, I was planning to let this out earlier, but college got in the way, as well as other affairs. Plus, a new fanfic idea came into my head (A Total Drama Fic) and it made it hard to write this one. I'm very tempted to do the fic, but I'm trying to resist the temptation (I blame my sister for deciding to watch the Total Drama series on Netflix). Hopefully, fighting off the idea didn't decrease the quality of this fic.

So, on this chapter, we're finally gonna wrap up chapter 2 and then start the break. I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa.

A Lucky Soldier: Ok guys, I'm announcing that I'm leaving fic and Spirit is giving up as well. This will be the final chapter so y'all can stay in suspense for the remainder of your lives. Despair that you'll never see the ending to this story! Haha!

Questions:

Q: Are you going to add some lines from the English dub such as "That place is sealed tighter than Togami's butt."?
L: Not anymore! This fic is OVVVVEEERRR! (And probably not. I believe Spirit is going off the English version of the game and not the Anime.)
S: Correct. Like I said before, I'm mostly going the game, not the Anime. Though their might be times I use some scenes or lines from the anime, though it's only a MIGHT.

Q: Shouldn't Kyoko be noticing things by now? (Like Junko not feeling anything for the executions?)
L: As I said, this fic is OVVVEEERR! Your question is irrelevant! (Remember, Kyoko is human as well. Even though she probably spent more time around dead ones than live, I believe that she still has certain reactions to extreme things [such as these executions]. Regardless though, if it hasn't been specified, Spirit and I apologize but in the viewing area, Junko and Mukuro are actually sitting behind Kyoko so she wouldn't notice anyways. :P)

Q: Timeline Reminder
L: Irrelevant! Fic is over after this anyways so suck it! (So, remember this is before things Junko makes sh!t hit the fan, but long enough into the first school term for everyone to start becoming comfortable with each other. IIRC, Junko's plans start officially go into motion about a year after they start going to Hope's Peak, and we'll say that it takes Makoto about half a year to get on good terms with everyone as well as general bonding with the class. So, if I were to put it, somewhere past the 6 month part of the first year, but no later than 8 months in. Take that how you will :P)

Chapter 40: Watching Ch 2: Boys' Life of Despair Part 17 + Break

The screen then went back to the trial room, with everyone looking disgusted and horrified. Monokuma was the first to speak. "Laugh at death, and your soul will forever be at peace." The bear stated mockingly.

"It…can't be…" Taka muttered, completely pale. "My…brother…"

'Another murder…another execution…' Makoto thought numbly. 'I want to feel again…everyone's lives here are taken so lightly here…I feel like I'm might be going mad…maybe I'll just…let it happen…' He was broke out of his thoughts when Taka began crying out in anguish and grief. Tears poured out of his as he screamed and shouted.

Taka's grief filled screams resonated in everyone's ears. It was an agonizing scene, to see the usually composed and punctual Taka drowning in his own tears.

"Taka…" Hina choked out, staring at the shooked moral compass. "I can't even imagine what he's feeling."

Makoto shook his head at the unsightly moral compass, knowing all too well that feeling of betrayal.

"As Taka's screams invaded our skulls, we were forced to realize once again…" The narrator Makoto spoke up once again. "But he…of course he had to…"

"What a disappointment." Byakuya scoffed uncaringly. "This is the end of the game?"

His words snapped almost everyone out of their stupor. Just about everyone reflexively turned to Byakuya, speechless about how he was taking it. Even Genocide Jack was oddly quiet about this.

"What….what?" Leon slowly asked, anger slowly rising up in his voice.

"You...you..." Hina couldn't bring herself to speak, her eyes already flooded with tears and her voice couldn't hold out as well.

Byakuya could only stay silent in the eyes of his classmates. He felt like he was suffocating from their appalled reactions paralyzed that him and made him hate his past self even more. The frozen atmosphere was temporarily alleviated as a very emotional Hina spoke from the screen again.

"You're completely insane, you know that?" Hina growled, tears pooling from her eyes. "A game? One of our friends is dead! Do you realize that?!"

"Of course I do. Because this game is life or death." Byakuya responded back.

Kyoko lightly glare at Byakuya. "I don't have anything to say to you." She told him coldly. "I don't have a response, except that…I just don't understand why. Why did you go out of your way to disguise Mondo's crime?"

Everyone who wasn't lost in their emotions tensed up in anticipation of Byakuya's answer. The seconds in between Kyoko's question and Byakuya's response felt much longer than it really was.

"Why...?" Byakuya rhetorically repeated.

Makoto heard the sound of Leon clenching his fist next to him. Though Makoto has a feeling that he knows exactly what's going to be said, he can't help but share the same tension Leon is experiencing. Meanwhile, Byakuya clenched his teeth and tightened his grip on his sleeves in his typical crossed arm seating position.

"Isn't it obvious?"

Byakuya gripped his sleeves even harder. He knew this tone of speech all too well, that look on his face, that smirk.

"Because it made things interesting."

A drop of sweat rolled down the side of Makoto's face. Though he feels like he knows exactly what he's going to say, he still found himself extremely tense from the result of all of this. He looked around, very concerned about how everyone was going to react.

Beside him, both Leon and Sayaka were similarly very rigid like himself. Though he couldn't see Kyoko's face because of her hair, he could tell that disappointment and disapproval were just putting things very nicely judging by her aura.

Further down, Hiro haven't said anything for a while, and he's sitting there completely appalled, Hifumi sharing a similar reaction to his. Near them, Hina was visibly shaking as tears continued streaming down her eyes with Sakura holding her close, both a concerned and dangerous look on her face. Celeste looks oddly composed about this, but knowing from experience, that's not always a good thing.

Mukuro was... to put it lightly, very displeased while Junko's face was blank. Though it was very uncharacteristic for Junko to have a blank face, this might've been beyond what she was expecting.

Finally, Taka looked like he was about to burst, both of his arms gripping the arm rests of his chair tightly as if he was ready to spring up into action, while Mondo was conflicted on taking action or wallowing in self loathe. Chihiro though crying, found himself uncomfortably in between the two.

Before anyone could speak however, Byakuya continued on the screen.

"Last night, when the murder took place, I was in the library as usual."

"So you ignored the nighttime rule too…" Celeste sighed, displeased.

"That rule never mattered to me." Byakuya replied back. "I don't recall agreeing to it."

"Well, I don't particularly care. Please continue." The gambler told him.

"The night grew late, and I decide to return to my room. Which is when I stumbled upon him…" The heir continued. "I spotted Mondo coming out of the girls locker room. After he'd gone, I looked inside and saw the corpse."

"Wh-?! You mean you actually witnessed the murder?!" Hiro exclaimed in shock.

"He was such a fool. He didn't have the slightest idea that I'd seen him." Byakuya snickered.

"So…you're saying you knew who the culprit was from the very beginning?" Hifumi inquired nervously.

"Indeed." The heir confirmed. "But if that had been the end of it, how boring would that have been? I mean, what a waste of time to have the answer revealed right at the beginning. Which is why I decided to…lend a little helping hand. I thought it would liven things up."

Everyone stared at him in shock. "You did all that…to 'liven things up'?!" Makoto exclaimed incredulously.

Makoto's onscreen reaction was enough to wake everyone up from their stupor.

"YOU BASTARD!" Taka roared, finally able to launch himself up from his chair towards Byakuya. However, he only made managed to make three steps before Mondo grabbed his arm.

"Please move out of the way." Taka growled angrily, but Mondo shook his head.

"Look man, its not worth it." Mondo said, also very mad about his explanation.

"He needs to learn his lesson one way or another! This is just corporal punishment. I'll make sure to go 'easy' on him." Taka said threateningly, trying to twist away from Mondo's grip.

"Wasn't it you who said corporal punishment was unjustified?" Mondo gritted. Though Taka's build looked average, he was much stronger than his looks suggested due to his daily rigorous training.

"THIS CALLS FOR EXTREME MEASURES MONDO! JUST LET ME BEAT SOME SENSE INTO HIM!" Taka yelled, increasing his resistance.

"LOOK AT ME HERE!" Mondo roared, louder than Taka. "I've been trying to beat sense into people for a long time now and look at where it's got me!"

With that, Taka threw his fist at his chair, knocking it over before ceasing his resistance and fell silent. Mondo, seeing that he's calmed down a bit, let go of him and sat back down. The others could only watch in surprise as their roles were swapped for once. Gritting his teeth, Taka performed a half-bow, picked up his chair and sat back down in begrudging silence.

As Taka picked up his chair, Hina couldn't hold it in anymore and started bawling. "I can't... I just can't believe you! Just... how...how do you see the world like this?" She spurted out in between crying.

Of course, Byakuya had no reply to all of this. Contrary to his other self on the screen, there were no witty remarks to make, no arrogant replies, no condescending attitude to take. Had Spirit not been here, he's sure that under normal circumstances, Mondo would have killed him if he heard that elsewhere.

Junko meanwhile, tried her hardest to maintain her blank face. This was all so much more than she expected that she didn't know any other way to hide her true feelings to all of this. In fact, when she made eye contact with Makoto earlier, she thought she had been found out. But much to Junko's dismay, her half-assed blank face had convinced him otherwise. Even so... for things to turn out like this, it was really interesting in it's own way. No one saw the creepy smile slowly form on Junko's face as things on the screen got even better for her.

"So after hearing about Genocide Jack from Toko, you decided to use that…to create a fake murder scene?" Kyoko realized.

"But damn, man…if we hadn't figured out who'd really done it, you woulda been dead too, right?" Hiro pointed out.

"Well obviously I would have revealed the truth before it reached that point. Of course…" Byakuya turned and looked directly at Makoto, causing him to stiffen.

For once, Byakuya tensed up the moment he figured out why he had done everything. His eyes popped wide and he took an non-composed breath of air in his moment of realization. Of course, the things he done could not have only been for entertainment, everything he had done had a purpose. How could he have not realized it until now?

"Thanks to a certain remarkable someone, it never did. And I was able to perform an interesting experiment." The heir stated. "Once I do decide to become blackened, I now know who I'll have to watch out for."

"Wh-?!" Makoto took a step back at the implied threat.

Suddenly, Byakuya stood up and started walking away, startling everyone else as they were just about to turn to him again.

"Hey! Just where do you think you're going?" Leon asked angrily, causing Byakuya to stop on his way to his room. He visibly took a breath before replying.

"Its none of your business. I simply felt like going for a walk." Byakuya said, not turning around.

"W-Woah, didn't Spirit say we all had to watch this?" Hiro asked, speaking up for once.

"The most important part is over is it not? Besides, you can fill me in later." Byakuya retorted.

"But Byakuya.." Makoto said.

"Shut it. I don't need this from you. Not now." Byakuya shot back and walked away without giving someone a chance to speak.

Makoto turned to Spirit, who oddly enough, hadn't stopped him. Spirit simply shrugged.

"He is somewhat correct. You can fill him in afterwards." Spirit said.

"Welp, in that case, I'm going to take a walk too! Geez listening to all this nonsense is boring." Jack said.

"W-Wait, not you too!" Makoto cried.

"Shut it beansprout! Unless you want me to give you a special haircut? Or a head cut? Which do you prefer?" Jack shot back. When Makoto didn't reply, Jack laughed.

"Kyahahaha! Good boy! Good boy! Ja, I'll be in my room... sharpening my scissors..." Jack said to herself before walking away as well.

Makoto looked at everyone else, though no one else was leaving, their faces said it all: "Let's just get this over with." With that, Makoto nodded towards Spirit, who had paused the TV to continue.

"So that was your reason…" Kyoko sighed.

"Are you satisfied?" Byakuya inquired.

"Yes. We're done listening to your story. Moving on…" The lavender haired girl turned to Monokuma. "There's something I like to ask Monokuma."

"Oh?" The bear tilted his head. "I'm up next?"

"You like to perform these elaborate executions each time, correct?" Kyoko inquired. "My question is…why?"

That managed to temporarily suppress everyone's current emotions and pay attention. Now that Kyoko mentioned it, they want to know that too. Why does Monokuma perform these extreme and bizarre executions?

Monokuma let out a small laugh at that. "Do you like them?" He asked. "But you know, this punishment, this despair - it's not just for you. All this punishment, all this despair is my gift to mankind itself!"

"You're over exaggerating." Kyoko deadpanned.

"I am not over exaggerating!" Monokuma refuted. "These punishments are meant to transform all hope to despair!"

"What the hell is he talking about?" Leon asked with obvious confusion. "A gift to the whole world?"

"Transforming all hope to despair?" Kyoko added, furrowing her eyebrows. What are these hints Monokuma is giving…

"How is this a gift to the whole world?" Celeste questioned.

"...What do you mean?" Sakura inquired, confuse.

"Mean…?" Monokuma repeated. "Meeaaan…? Mean?" He begin sounding angrier. "Mean, mean, mean, mean, mean, mean, mean, mean, mean, mean!" That's when he exploded. "Good GRIEF! I don't understand why you have to pick apart every little stupid thing!"

'He's not going to elaborate.' Kyoko thought with a mental sigh. She kinda expected that.

Byakuya scoffed. "Whatever, it doesn't matter." He said. "In the end, I'm going to stand alone as the victor. And then everything will be revealed to me."

"Ahh, the noble son of a noble family…truly you understand me!" Monokuma gave his signature laughter. "I think this is the start of a terrifying friendship!"

For a moment, Makoto could feel the bitterness that everyone held against Byakuya return again.

"Shut up. I would never stoop to the level of a childish criminal like you." Byakuya said coldly. "Let me just say this…after I have achieved complete victory…you're up next. I'm going to find and kill you. Understand? In the name of the Togami family, for which victory is foregone conclusion…"

"Oooh, so cool!" Monokuma mockingly gushed. "It's like you're the main character of a video game or something! No trash mob for you!"

"I swear, whatever it takes…I will kill you!" Byakuya growled.

"Wow. Guess Byakuya still hates Monokuma as much as all of us do." Hiro said.

"Indeed. For someone so fixated on entertainment, I have to say this was unexpected." Celeste commented as well.

"Of course he would." Makoto said. While Byakuya looks like he's enjoying this, it still doesn't change the fact that the mastermind kidnapped him and put him in that situation against his will.

The bear merely laughed. "Temper, temper! Sounds like someone needs a nap!" Monokuma then continued laughing evilly.

The camera then slowly moved to each of the traumatized and shaken faces of the Ultimates. "Monokuma's laughter peeled across the courtroom, and the curtain closed on the case of Chihiro and Mondo." The narrator Makoto spoke up. "But I knew it wasn't the end. The killing game will still continue…because the mastermind wouldn't let it end. For those of us who were still alive, our worst fear and despair kept on multiplying…it was the kind of despair that felt like a blind puppy in hell had more of a future than us…all of our courage, our effort, our friendship…it felt like it amounted to nothing at all.

"...It was the worst kind of despair." With that last statement, the screen went black.

Makoto's narration sunk the atmosphere of the room again. The constant question of "How many more of them were going to die?" "How many more executions were there to watch?" "How many times are they going to watch themselves hang their heads in defeat at the hands of Monokuma?" circled around everyone's minds. With such heavy thoughts, everyone was ready to leave before stopping themselves as Spirit held up his hand, commanding them to stay. Weary and confused, they returned their attention to the screen, wondering what else was going to be shown.

The next scene was Monokuma in a monitor room, with a silhouette of a person facing him.

"W-What is this?" Makoto asked reflexively.

"T-This must be one of those scenes where the mastermind speaks to the traitor of the group!" Hifumi chimed in.

"As useless as your usual rants are... you might be spot on about this one..." Sayaka said, causing Hifumi's eyes to glint in excitement.

"But of course! As a man of art, this is just common knowledge!" Everyone ignored him on that comment.

"Well, anyway, like I saying…" The bear said. "This is a pretty good spot…yeah, a really good spot!"

"Anyway, isn't it amazing how that girl went and killed someone before things even had a chance to get boring? Once things really get moving, it'll be like a roller-coaster. There won't be any stopping it! Fear and despair charge forward at a speed nothing can hope to match."

Sayaka flinch in guilt at the reminder that she was the first to try and kill. By Monokuma's words, she caused this, she caused the killing game to begin. Every death that happened, and will happen, was because she succumbed to Monokuma's sick game first.

"But I must admit, I'm disappointed…" He continued. "I went to all the pain and effort of making you part of the group, and you couldn't play your part…you do remember you were supposed to make the first move, right?"

"W-What?" Leon gasped.

"N-No way..." Sayaka breathed out.

Mukuro also looked completely surprised. She was supposed to be the only mole in the game, who was this one? How many more were there? It made her mad that Junko didn't tell her because she wasn't supposed to live up to this point either.

The bear then shrugged. "Well, no biggie. Nothing we can do about it now. So just do your best to make things more exciting from now on, okay? After all, that's what everyone wants to see…"

"What the heck is he talking about?" Hina exclaimed in confusion and frustration. "And who on earth is he talking to?"

"Is one of us…actually working for the mastermind?" Celeste asked. Though she very much knew the answer, she still asked in the hopes of being refuted.

"Apparently so." Mukuro replied. Junko looked at her, displeased for helping the group, but Mukuro returned the look, displeased that Junko haven't told her who it was in the first place, on top of betraying her. "This person, is a mole for Monokuma it seems. Someone who was supposed to start the killing game."

Mukuro's reply shocked the entire group. "WHAAAAAT?!" Hifumi screamed in shock, despite his guess. "One of us is…an ally of Monokuma?!"

"A traitor?!" Hiro exclaimed in panic.

"But, that's impossible!" Hina denied, shaking her head. "Who would want to work with the bear?!"

"You're assuming it's of their own volition." Kyoko pointed out. "Keep in mind that the mastermind has a large amount of information on each of us."

"Which means that he can force any of us to be moles." Celeste concluded, her brows furrowed from the fact that she haven't ever considered this to be true. "Or to kill, judging by his words."

"That is…a possibility." Sakura conceded. "But which one of us is working with him?"

That cause of wave of distrust to form around the group. Which one of them is a spy for the mastermind? Which one of them is allying with him?

The silhouette was silent for a moment. Then, they spoke. "There's one thing I like to ask you…"

"Um, why is there subtitles here?" Hifumi asked with a frown. "And why can't we hear the person speaking?"

"Spirit probably made this, to keep the person anonymous for the time being." Kyoko answered, seeing as their host disappeared once again.

"But why?" Sakura questioned. "Why keep it hidden?"

"There's probably a point where it would be revealed to us in one of the other chapters." Mukuro guessed. "At the very least, in the next chapter."

"And so we'll find out which one of us is the traitor?" Hifumi inquired.

"Don't say that!" Makoto protested. "We don't know for sure if there's a traitor!" While Monokuma's words does bother him a bit, there's still a chance that it could be someone outside of their class. He isn't gonna doubt any of his friends until there's some evidence that one of them is with the mastermind.

"As long as you don't wanna know my measurements, fire away!" Monokuma complied.

"Who is it?" They asked. "The sixteenth high school student, I mean…"

That cause Monokuma to make a sound of surprise there.

That caught everyone's attention.

"Huh?"

"Sixteenth student?"

"Are they talking about Junko?"

Heads immediately turned to Junko. In response, Junko waved her arms in front of them. "Hey, don't look at me! I don't have a clue what the bear's talking about!" And she was actually telling the truth. But her analyst mind is working on figuring it out. 'Mukuro wasn't the only mole? Who else could I have possibly manipulated?'

More questions came into their head, with the more analytical ones analyzing the information given to them.

"My, my, you really took me by surprise there." Monokuma admitted. "I know I said you could ask anything, but…super denied! Ultra denied! Demonic denied! Because you see…that's my ace in the hole."

More than a few students were nervous at the claim. "A-Ace in the hole?" Hiro stuttered out nervously. "Please tell me he's exaggerating."

"I really hope so, dude." Leon replied back. "I really do."

With that little bit of info, the best conclusion Junko could come up with was that she planned to use Mukuro for something. But for what? That's where she get stuck in.

And that gets her excited! That unpredictable card! She's really eager to see how that card is played.

Mukuro noticed her sister's gleeful aura that only she can perceive. Immediately, she knew why. "So she doesn't know either... another spontaneous decision? Likely after I was removed since I wouldn't ask about the 16th student..."

"And nobody would be dumb enough to reveal that, right? No matter how close they were to their 'friends'..." He ended his statement with his signature laughter, while the silhouette merely remained silent. And with that, the screen went black.

"Chapter 2, Boys' Life of Despair. THE END." Once again, the red and yellow silhouettes of the entire was shown, with Mondo's and Chihiro's getting blacked out next.

As the video ended, the class went to process everything they saw once again. Grief, nausea, anger, curiosity, dread…all those emotions were being felt by the group.

Before anyone could say anything, Mondo got up from his seat and walked to the direction of their rooms, causing Taka and Chihiro to turn to him.

"M-Mondo?"

"B-Bro, wait!" Their voices stopped the biker in his tracks. After a moment, he spoke.

"Sorry, bro. I know your shocked and disappointed that I would do something like that." Mondo said softly, turning turning towards him. "I'm honestly pissed off with myself. After all this time, I'm still cowardly enough to kill someone like Chihiro. And Chihiro? ….I'm sorry. For what I did to you. And for not living up to your admiration." With that, the biker went upstairs.

The grief, turmoil, and anguish was clear on Taka's and Chihiro's faces. For Taka, knowing what Mondo's future self did, seeing his execution, left him in his current state. He honestly wanted to know if there was anything he couldn't done to stop it. Anything that would save his two friends.

For Chihiro, he felt betrayed, as well as deep sorrow when he found that Mondo was his killer. But when it was revealed on why he did what he did…a part of him felt responsible, as well as guilty. How could have just assumed that the motive wouldn't effect Mondo? That he didn't had anything bad in those letters?

After a moment of silence, Makoto hesitantly spoke up. "Um, let's go take a break. I think all of us needs one at this point."

"No kidding." Leon said under his breath, slowly releasing his tension. If chapter one was bad, this one was a lot worse. It really took all their energy.

"We'll re-converge here after our minds settle." Kyoko stated. "After that, we'll continue watching." A few of them flinched at that, but their silence conveyed their agreement that they will need to press on. As Hina and Taka silently got up and started leaving, Celeste asked a question.

"So, who's going to explain everything to Byakuya and Toko?"

The mention of Byakuya's name prompted a couple glares from Hina and Sayaka, but the gambler only sighed in response.

"As much as you hate him, they still need to be informed of this development. But I do share your sentiments, I would rather not speak to him as well." Celeste explained.

"I, I'll do it then." Makoto said.

"In that case, I will accompany you." Kyoko spoke up as well.

"Huh? I'm sure I can explain it to him myself." Makoto replied, not wanting to burden another person.

"Two brains are better than one is it not? I believe you said this to me multiple times." Kyoko shot back. "Besides, you're too prone to be emotional."

"Ah, I did say that. Alright then, we'll speak to them." Makoto said. "Ok everyone, make sure to get some rest, we'll meet here again tomorrow."

With that, everyone either returned to their own rooms or went to the recreation room to ease up their tension.

(Break Room)

Anger. Guilt. Sorrow. And several more emotions were swirling in Sayaka's heart.

The Ultimate Pop Sensation is at one of the tables in the cafe, though she doesn't have any food in front of her. After seeing Mondo's execution, she wasn't up to eating anything. She doubt anyone is up to it right now.

"Not eating anything?" Mukuro said from behind.

"Ah Mukuro?" Sayaka said surprised.

"Skipping a meal can lead to some detrimental effects on your health. Surely as an idol, that could impact you in some way." Mukuro said.

"Thanks, but no thanks. At least, not with that on my mind..." Sayaka said, feeling uncomfortable.

"Are you perhaps, referring to the execution?" Mukuro asked.

"Y-Yeah..." Sayaka said, looking away.

"If you're referring to the Monokuma, I doubt he was actually eating Mondo's remains." Mukuro said.

"W-What?" Sayaka reacted, surprised, causing Mukuro to sigh.

"I explained this to a couple others already, but as I said, that butter were not made with the fluids used from Mondo's execution. In fact, those fluids were not Mondo's remains at all." Mukuro explained.

"R-Really? How can you be so sure?" Sayaka asked.

"Well, I'd rather not get into the gruesome details, so I'll try to keep it simple. The cause of death for Mondo was likely either electrocution, heat, both of that, or being crushed by the forces he was subjected to. I've had my fair share of experiences in using fire based weapons, as well as witnessing electric weapons so I can say with certainty that when used on a person, it is impossible to only have that one liquid remain. As for the forces, the human body isn't meant to go at that kind of speed. Simply put, the faster one goes, the more pressure is put in one's internal organs. I'll leave it at that." Mukuro explained.

"So... Monokuma wasn't eating him after all?" Sayaka asked again, looking a little bit relieved.

"I guarantee it. Monokuma probably did this as a means of psychological warfare, or simply, to mess with our minds." Mukuro reassured her. Sayaka finally gave in, letting out a breath of relief as if something disturbing was lifted from her mind.

"If you're so confident about it, then I guess I'll trust your judgement on that. Thanks Mukuro." Sayaka said, letting out a small smile for the first time in a while.

"Don't worry about it." Mukuro brushed off in her usual tone while glancing behind her. "Although it seems like my presence is warding off a certain person right now." Though Mukuro spoke to herself, it made Leon audibly gulp from behind.

"It's alright Leon, I was just leaving anyways. I need to check up on my sister after all. I bid you two good night." Mukuro said before leaving.

"Ah, good night Mukuro." Sayaka said to the retreating soldier as Leon walked up and took her place. "Though she's usually quiet, she's awfully thoughtful isn't she?"

"I guess she is. That's definitely surprising considering the cold face she usually has on." Leon commented.

The two fell into a short silence next to each other as their feelings returned to them.

"Hey, you ok?" Leon suddenly asked, startling Sayaka.

"No... but yes." Sayaka replied uncertainly.

"I take it that you're still a bit pissed off?" Leon asked, to which Sayaka could only nod in confirmation.

Right now, her anger is overruling her other feeling. And the anger is pinpoint at one Ultimate Affluent Progeny.

First, he claimed that her death was somehow Makoto's fault. Next, he began acting worse than usual, saying that he plans to win this game and insulting everyone. Then he decided to string up Chihiro's corpse out of boredom. What pushed to pure fury was when he threatened Makoto.

Using Chihiro body like that was enough to push her over the edge. No one deserve to have their corpse defiled like that, especially not someone as cute as Chihiro. But threatening the sweet, lucky student? Byakuya was very lucky that she acknowledge that it was future self that did all that. Very lucky.

After a moment, her anger faded and the guilt she's feeling crept up. Like she had any reason to be protective of him. After all, she decided to kill somebody and pin the blame on him. And because of that choice, she ended started this killing game. A killing game that took Chihiro's and Mondo's lives in chapter 2.

Sorrow then mixed with her guilt. Neither of those two deserved their fate. Chihiro was just trying to be strong, trying to find the strength that was always been inside him, and tried to find someone that could support him. And Mondo? He made a mistake, a large one, one that he deeply regrets. Chihiro didn't deserve to get murdered and then used, while Mondo didn't deserve that brutal execution.

She couldn't help but think who's going to be next. Who else will be the victim? Who else will be the blackened? Who else will die because of her?

Shaking her head of those thoughts, she returned a question to the baseball prodigy.

"Anyways, what are you doing here?"

"Other than wanting to talk to my favorite idol?" Leon asked rhetorically with a smirk. But the smirk quickly fell. "Well, it's just that I felt like we need to talk. Are you up for it?"

Sayaka bit her lip nervously, but nodded. She knows that she needs to talk to Leon at some point, otherwise, things would just stay awkward between each other.

With her nod, Leon sat in front of her. The two was silent for a moment, neither one knowing what to say. For Leon, he doesn't really know what to actually say first, how to bring chapter 1's incident up. For Sayaka, she's trying to think up a good apology for Leon.

After a moment, Leon decided to speak first. "So, about the last chapter-"

"I'm sorry."

Sayaka's sudden apology took Leon by surprise. "Uh, what?"

"I'm sorry Leon." Sayaka repeated, guilt in her voice. "I know an apology isn't enough, but I can't think of anything else."

"Woah, woah, woah, hang on a moment." Leon backed up. "Why are you apologizing to me? I'm the one who killed you."

"Only because I attacked you first!" Sayaka shot back, her hands gripping her arms tightly. "If I didn't decide to attack you, you wouldn't have even thought about killing anybody! I caused you to become the blackened and get executed!"

"Sayaka…" Was all Leon could say, leaning back a little in surprise.

"And because of that, I want to apologize to you." The idol then stood up before bowing to him. "I'm so sorry, for trying to kill you. For causing you to be the blacken. And I hope you can still trust me."

The baseball player was silent for a moment, taking in her apology. Finally, he let out a sigh, scratching the back of his head. "Look, Sayaka, I'm as much to blame as you are." He told her. "I had plenty of chances to stop what I was doing, but I didn't. It's as much as my fault as it is yours. So how about we both forgive each other for what happen?"

"Does that mean…?" Sayaka looked up from her bowing position.

Leon gave her a reassuring smile. "Yea, I still trust you... as long as you still trust me."

Relief and happiness filled Sayaka's face as she sat back down. "Thank you, Leon." Sayaka said, unshed tears filling her eyes. "I won't break your trust like my future self did, I promise."

"And I promise not to come at you with a knife no matter what you do." Leon said jokingly, earning a small giggle from Sayaka. With that, the two began having a normal conversation once again, the tension between them gone.

(With Chihiro)

After chapter 2 ended, Chihiro went up to his room, not really wanting to go in the recreational room at the moment. He sat on his bed, curled up into a ball, various emotions mixed in his heart.

Sorrow. Anguish. Slight betrayal. That was Chihiro thought when he thought about his death. About how Mondo, the person he admires most, was the one to kill him.

'But…why?' Chihiro thought, burying his face into his legs. 'Why was he jealous of me? What's there to be jealous about?' Subconsciously, he knew why, after all, Mondo said it himself. But he just couldn't comprehend why. How could Mondo view him as strong? Of having strength? How could anyone, when all he did was hide by dressing as a girl?

'I want to change.' Those words of his future self echoed into Chihiro's mind. Words that held courage and determination. Did his other really felt that way? He really felt the courage to reveal who he is to everyone? But where did it come from? How was he able to gain it? It was something his self-loathing mind couldn't figure out.

He was knocked out of his thoughts when a knock entered the room. "Chihiro?" Makoto called out. "Can I come in? Come talk to you?"

"O-Okay." Getting up from his bed, the programmer moved towards the door and opened it to let Makoto in. Chihiro was surprised to see Kyoko outside as well, but she made no motion to enter the room.

"Um, you're not coming in?" Chihiro asked.

"Ah, I just happened to be going to my room. Don't worry about me." Kyoko said, before walking down the hall.

"Yeah, don't worry about it." Makoto said, giving Chihiro a soft smile. "Say Chihiro," He greeted softly. "How are you feeling?"

Chihiro looked down. "Not well." He said, his voice weak.

"Yeah, I can imagine that." The luckster then entered in the room, with Chihiro moving back onto the bed while Makoto sat beside him. "Want to talk about it?"

Chihiro curled up into a ball once again, silent. "...Why?" Chihiro finally asked, deciding to ask Makoto for answers. "Why was Mondo jealous? What reason for him to be jealous of me?"

Makoto sighed sadly at this. "It was because you were showing a strength he didn't have, Chihiro." Makoto said. "Combined with the stress of the situation, he just…reacted. Seeing that you were someone that he tried to become was just too much for him."

"But I'm not strong!" Chihiro protested, surprising Makoto. "I'm weak! Weak enough to get myself killed! To have to rely on others support! I couldn't even help anyone before I died!" Tears began leaking from his eyes as he started sobbing.. "I'm not strong. Not at all. I'm just a weak, little coward."

"No, that's wrong!" Makoto refuted strongly. Now it was Chihiro's turn to be shock, staring at the luckster with wide eyes. "You aren't weak, Chihiro. And you're certainly not a coward. You have a inner strength inside you, one that is larger than you think."

Chihiro's eyes widen even further at this. "B-But-"

"Chihiro, you had the courage to admit to me, Mondo, and Leon that you were a guy." Makoto pointed out, not letting him demeaned himself further. "You had to courage to face the reveal of your secret when we were watching the trial. And may I remind you that your future self had no memory of Hope's Peak, so that inner strength was always there. You just didn't know it."

Chihiro looked at Makoto, shock clear on his face. Is what Makoto saying really true? Does he really…have that kind of strength?

The luckster then smiled at him. "You are strong Chihiro. After all, you saw it for yourself didn't you? It might not have been the best circumstances, but all you really needed was just a little push. I'm sure you must have been feeling the same way."

The programmer was silent, taking in Makoto's words. It's true that he did need a push, but is he really as strong as Makoto says? He…always had that strength he was seeking? A part of his mind, the one that has always been told he was weak, was saying that he was still weak. But another part, one that's slowly growing, felt strengthened by Makoto's words of encouragement.

"I still don't know if I'm as strong as you say…" Chihiro said to himself, determination building with each word he spoke. "But I want to be. I want to have that strength, to rip off this layer of weakness and lies. I want to change!"

His words, the determination, brought a smile to Makoto's face. It was the look that Chihiro very rarely has. The same look his future counterpart had when he spoke to Mondo. One that revealed how brave he really is.

'You already are strong, Chihiro.' Makoto thought with admiration. 'You already have that courage. You just need to let it out.'

And that's the end. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and that the quality is still up to snuff. Next will be the break. Review, favorite, and follow and I will see you later.

A Lucky Soldier's random notes:

If it weren't obvious enough, April fools guys. I personally don't really like the whole April fools phenomenon, joke, celebration thing... but for the sake of customs, I'll play along. Anyways, my school semester is coming to a close soon, and I'm taking the Summer off so hopefully, I'll find more time to write stuff (As well as doing the second chapter of Lost in Tranquility).

I don't really have anything interesting to say here aside from the fact that I've watched a lot of anime, in particular, Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei was a really good one. Currently reading the LNs now and I can't wait for more on that. Another interesting couple was Nisekoi! and Masamune-kun no Revenge (Although, I'm sad it's been a while since the manga update). Check those two out if you're one for romance!