As long as you have hope, you can keep moving forward
no matter what trouble you may fall into.

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   I woke up in pain, Yashihiro was roughly shaking my shoulder. He pulled me up to a sitting position. Chihiro was sitting on the foot of the bed, I guess he was waiting for me to wake up. I noticed the marks on my arm caused by Junko were still there.

    Dammit, Mukuro... please don't actually be dead.

   "What...day is it?" I asked.

   "Ummm, I have no idea--." He confessed, "We don't exactly have a calendar here. We wake up and go to sleep whenever Monokuma tells us."

   "Y-yeah... Did anything happen?" I asked. Yashihiro sat on my bed with his head in his hands. He pondered for a moment but I guess nothing came to mind.

   "There was something... but I can't remember it." He sighed, I kicked off my bed to get ready when he suddenly shouted, "Oh! Wait! I suddenly remember now!"

   "Jesus, you really do have the memory of a goldfish.." I sighed.

   He frowned, "Who told you that?! Anyways, we were pretty sure Makoto died yesterday--"

   "What?!"

   "D-Dont phrase it like that!" Chihiro went white.

   "S-Sorry! He wasn't responding to any of us and we were sure he had died because his door was closed and he went to bed early."

   "Jesus, just because someone went to bed early, doesn't mean they died?!" I removed the hand from my heart. Another day with these guys and I think I might drop dead from high blood pressure.

   "Anyways, Kyoko came out and told us that he was sleeping, so there's that--'' He opened the door for both me and Chihiro to exit. The three of us made it down the dimly lit hallway and to the cafeteria where no one apparently was.

   "Are we that late?" I asked.

   "N-No! I'm sure we took the usual time to get ready!" Chihiro looked as if he were going to cry.

   "Did they forget us?" Yashihiro gripped his hair, "Is this their way of getting back at us? I-I promise guys, we'll start showing up early from now on!"

   "My oh my, are you sure you're going to be able to keep that promise?" We all screamed. I turned around to see Celestia waiting at the door, a small grin plastered on.

   "J-Jesus!"

   "M-My heart!"

   "I'm putting a bell on you!"

   She didn't enjoy Yashihiro's comment, "I... am not a cow. Follow me, you three."

   We didn't give it a second thought and followed the brunette out of the cafeteria and down the long hallway. Nobody talked the entire way. This only left to me to so many questions, Mukuro and what the fuck Junko was planning to do.

   I didn't have to be left alone with my thoughts when we walked into the gym. There on the ground was a broken Monokuma. Yashihiro eagerly grabbed his toolbox and went ham.

   "Wait!" Mondo shouted, but it was too late. The head was already screwed off. "You idiot, what if it exploded?!"

   "This is our only real chance at getting a clue on how these work--Chihiro come help me! Crack this thing open!" Chihiro sighed but obliged.

   "What the fuc--" Makoto just arrived along with us. I'm guessing he's up from his slumber.

   "Jeez. To show up now, like it's no big deal..." Byakya snarled at the five of us, im guessing it was more directed at me and Makoto....

   In my defense I was knocked out.

   Toko played with her fingers, "You made us s-stay up all night, while you slept like a b-baby in your bed!"

   "No seriously--Wh-What are you doing?" He asked.

   "What does it look like? We're dismantling it to see what makes it tick." Yashihiro stated the following like it was obvious.

   "Dismantling!? But I mean...that's Monokuma you're messing with, right!?"

   "yep, that's right." Aoi responded. She popped the 'p'.

   "Relax. There's no danger." Byakuya crossed his arms.

   "You guys say that as if this thing didn't almost just blow us up earlier-" I rolled my eyes.

   "Exactly, what are you thinking!?" Mondo agreed with me, "How can you say tearing apart something like that isn't fucking dangerous?"

   "It isn't! What do you want us to say?" Aoi argued back.

   "Who even found this?" Celestia looked disgusted--rightfully so.

   "I did." Byakuya looked so full of himself. "Just before we went to bed last night, I came to the gym to try and talk to Monokuma. I wanted to see if he had any new information about Kyoko's disappearance. And I found him here, just like normal. However...when I found him, he was no more than a regular toy. He didn't react, didn't say a word."

   "You're saying...he wasn't moving at all?" She hummed. She moved to the machine, suddenly looking interested.

   "Not an inch, Celestia. I waited there until nighttime officially began, but still Monokuma laid there motionless. I gathered everyone up as quickly as possible so they could take a look. Even then, he still didn't make a move. So I immediately initiated the disassembly process."

   "We shouldn't be playing with this thing..." I shuffled, "I don't want to find something we are not supposed to."

   "Man up, wuss. What are we going to find?" Mondo rolled his eyes at me.

   "A bomb, medal rods to impale us, gas, ANYTHING DEADLY?!" I shouted, Mondo started to sweat a little and he backed away from the bear a little.

   "T-There's nothing to be afraid of... Master said it was okay and It was Master's s-stroke of genius. A chance to find out what m-made Monokuma tick..."

   "I don't know man, anything Y/N says is usually right or is going to be right..." Mondo was skeptical.

   Byakuya ignored Tokos mumbling, "One thing we discovered is that he's quite a sophisticated machine. It's leagues beyond any normal remote-control toy. Who has enough free time to invest in something like that, anyway...?"

   "B-But besides that, what I'm wondering is...why did he stop moving all of a sudden?" Makoto looked at me for help, I lifted my hands up in defense.

   "I thought maybe he'd malfunctioned, but we didn't find any cause as we were taking him apart."

   "So he didn't break down..." I sighed.

   Byakuya ignored me, "Then maybe something happened to his puppeteer, the mastermind. Something unexpected. I can't imagine any other possibility."

   "Something...unexpected?" Makoto asked.

   "That doesn't sound very good." Chihiro sighed.

   "They were probably so s-scared of Master, they ran away in t-terror..."

   "Or maybe they got sick or something?"

   "But Monokuma made his announcement this morning, right? Who was that, if not the mastermind?" Makoto sighed at Aoi and Tokos outburst.

   "It's so unlikely..." Celesita argued. "You are all fools if you think he is truly dead."

   "You're still using the fake accent--whatever, Oh, I'm sure that's a recording. It's set to a timer, and plays as necessary."

   Aoi agreed with what Byakuya said, "That's true. He says the exact same thing every day, right?

   "Hey, guys? I don't think now's a good time for light conversation..." Yashihiro caught our attention as he held up what im assuming to be a bomb. "I just found something. What is it...?"

   "Nah! Thats a fucking bomb! I told you that we shouldn't be playing with it and now we're going to die?!!" I shouted as I tried to run out of the gym. Mondo was right along with me.

   "Calm down you two. Its just a bomb. There's some installed in every Monokuma robot, I'm sure." Bytakya sighed as he held onto our hoods

   "You can't just say it nonchalantly, man.." Mondo sighed.

   "A b-b-b-bomb!?" Yashihiro shouted.

   "That's super bad! We need to get rid of it!" Aoi flumbed away from the robot.

   "Roger that!"'

   "It appears the bomb has a motion sensor. Any sudden movements, it's sure to go off." Byakya looked smug and Aoi looked as if she were going to have a mental breakdown

   "M-Motion sensor!? Seriously!? Agh...I'm starting to get all shaky...!" Yashihiro started to sweat.

   "Then fucking stay still..." Mondo clenched his fists.

   Celestia grinned, "Hmmm, one single move and we could all go kaboom..."

   "Hey! Get it together! You're a man, aren't ya!?" Aoi clenched her fist.

   "I-I'm fine! I'm totally fine! Ah, ah, ah!"

     Celestia backed up at the Shaking Yoshihiro, "He looks as if he could faint at any moment..."

   "You're so NOT fine! You're all 'ah ah ah'!"

   "Oh, I probably should have mentioned. The motion sensor is off right now." Byakuya confessed. Everyone let out a shaky breath, I didn't notice I had held my breath as well.

   Yashihiro let out a hefty laugh, "Jeez, don't scare me like that!"

   "God, you're like the world's most spineless worm of the century!"

   "Hey, come on! The century's just getting started! Don't call the race already..." Yashihiro signed at Aois insult. 'Funny, where i am, it's 2022. Ist it crazy how in a few years, 2022 would be considered long ago. If you think about it, I'm pretty sure I came here around 2021-- almost a full year.'

   "Whatever... Just h-hurry up and put the bomb down. Hanging onto it's not g-gonna do anyone any good..." Toko jessured to the bomb.

   "Oh yeah, good call." Why Yashihiro flung the bomb across the room, i dont know...
"Okay, it's down! Everything's all good!"

   "Now what if it exploded---"

   "Shut up Y/N." Byakuya scowled. He explained how they were going to try and uncover the mastermind's true identity. They were going to break into the headmaster's room. "Since the mastermind appears to have stopped all activity, now's our chance. Wouldn't you agree?"

   "B-But...if the mastermind comes back while we're in there..." Makoto asked.

   "If you're scared, you're welcome to stay here by yourself."

   "Or go l-live in the chicken coop, with all the other chickens. You can be chicken number s-six..." toko added on, " Byakuya finished, "This is a battle, a fight to the death between us and the mastermind. We don't have time to deliberate."

   "Yeah. I mean, I don't wanna hafta kill each other, or anyone else. But we have a chance now..."

   Byakuya scoffed at Aoi's suggestion, "So? What are you going to do? Are you going to run away, or are you going to fight?"

   "...You're right. I'll go with you."

   "Okay then. We're going to break into the headmaster's room. Everything comes down to this moment. Anything can happen, so prepare yourselves." He continued. Byakuya really was a leader, he managed to bring everyone with him to break into the masterminds room.

   I leaned back on the floor, allowing my back to hit the dirty floor. I rested my eyes. I assumed everyone had left me behind, I'm sure Chihiro went along with them when i felt someone laying down next to me.

   "Chihrio, you know you could follow the group--right?"

   "I'm not chihiro." I jumped at a rough voice. I opened my eyes to find Mondo laying on the floor with me. I started to get up, but he held onto my wrist. "Its fine, I kinda wanted to sit on the ground.

   "Are you sure?" I asked, "We could go to another room? Or...off the floor?"

   "Nah, it's fine. I would prefer to look out at the stars but..." His voice trailed off.

   "This is the best we can do, huh."

   "I'll take you out to a hill, then we can see the stars. All of them. With no interruptions. No lights, no buildings and no people--just us..." He confessed, our eyes met. He killed his head back.  "... Listen, can I talk to you about something important?"

   "What about?"

   "It's kind of cheesy, but... ...there isn't really anyone else here I can talk to about this kinda stuff. I can't show weakness in front of my classmates, and I've never had a friend on the same level as me... So...do you mind?"

   "I'm all ears, Mondo. Your secret is my secret."

   "Listen, do you like being a high schooler?" That... was a weird question. I answered him and he nodded. "I like it too, ya know. I like screwin' around with my friends and stuff. Whenever I get to go out and run wild with my Crazy Diamonds crew, it's such a goddamn rush... I mean sure, there was a shit-ton of pressure to build up the gang and everything, but still... Gettin' to hang out with them was the fuckin' best, man." He moved his arms around like crazy, demonstrating the incident.

   "I guess it wasn't all peachy, huh?"

   "I guess... But I've been thinking a lot lately... What's gonna happen when I'm done with high school? Everyone in the Crazy Diamonds is gonna graduate. I gave everything to them. What do I do then? And I'm not smart like the rest of you... College? Not a chance. So I gotta get a job, right? I feel like...maybe I've already done whatever I'm gonna do in life. Maybe I've maxed out... It's like I'm...empty now. I dunno, I can't figure out how to say it... The point is, that's how big a part of my life the Crazy Diamonds have been. So when I think about not having that around anymore ...I get scared. Maybe that's why I came here in the first place, to run away. To run away from fear..."

   "That.. sounds pretty depressing. I'm glad that even for a while, you didn't give up hope."

   He chuckled a little. "Hope... that's funny. Do you think maybe this is my punishment for everything up till now? Maybe I'm being punished for just doing whatever I felt like all my life."

   "Nobody deserves this..that's horrible to say someone is punished like this... instead of sitting here and going 'what did i do to deserve this', think how can i take this new life experience and move forwards..."

   "You sound like a pastor."

   "Never compare me to something like that again..."

   "I'm just messing with you. But...maybe you're right--pastor and all... Maybe having as much fun as I did, means I'll be able to dedicate myself to working hard from now on." He sighed as he moved his arms above his head. "You know, when I think about it...maybe it won't be all that bad! Maybe I'm even starting to look forward to the idea of working. Just a little."

   "Job? What kind of job would you want to get?"

   "You're going to laugh." he puffed out his cheeks a little before letting them deflate. 'What a cute habit...'

   "I'm not! I promise!"

   "Laugh and I kick your ass. I want to be a carpenter."

   "A.. carpenter?"

   "Oh, I wanna be a carpenter for sure! I figure, I've done such a good job of busting shit apart, I'd prolly be good at building it, too! Just watch! I'm gonna become the best carpenter you've ever seen!"

   "Well, you do you. I'm sure you can do it."

   "Course, that means we gotta get outta here first..."

   "We can do it. As long as we work hard and don't give up... and you guys stop playing with bombs."

   "Yeah, you're right. You're right..."

  
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Dangan-Trust Stats

Makoto Naegi — (Trust)

Kyoko Kirigiri — (Trust)

Byakuya Togami — (Slightly Less Tense)

'Junko Enoshima' — (Neutral)

Kiyotaka Ishimaru — (Got Chris Rocked)

Leon Kuwata — (Deceased)

Mondo Owada — (Trust)
↟
Mondo Owada — (Friends)

Chihiro Fujisaki — (Newlyweds)

Aoi Asahina — (Neutral)

Sakura Ogami - (Backstabber...)

Hifumi Yamada - (Deceased)

Toko Fukawa - (????)

Yasuhiro Hagakure - (Neutral)

Sayaka Maizono - (Deceased)

Celestia Ludenberg - (Friendly)

Achievements:
Petting Zoo
Friendship is magic
Boom Baby
Cooking mama
Are Ya Making Friends Son?
THE GIRLS ARE FIGHTING
Parent Trap
Ace Attorney
Minecraft sparkle
Bounded together?
Fortune Teller
Cyberchase
Angsty teen
Eggless...