"You have seen the true sides of Hope and Despair."

"..."

"Have you found the answer?"

"Yes."

"Which is stronger?"

"Hope can be easily transformed into Despair. The more Hope you have early on, the more Despair you get later. That is, if you turn into Despair at all."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Hope is much stronger than Despair. That is my answer."

"..."

"But only at the beginning."

Act One

Hope Incarnate

"Finally… We are finally free. But there wasn't even time to take a breath of relief. Because the real fight had just begun."

-Makoto Naegi

The 1st Killing School Game.

The conveyor belt halts to a sudden stop.

The incredibly large compactor stalls.

Below said large compactor, Junko Enoshima was hugging an inactive Monokuma robot while waving to the other surviving students. She was the mastermind - the genius model behind the Killing Game at Hope's Peak Academy, as well as the Tragedy that had brought the outside world into ruin. Thanks to her, humanity had been brought to its knees, in the name of despair. She was the Ultimate Despair, Ultimate Fashionista, and the Ultimate Analyst.

Makoto Naegi, Kyoko Kirigiri, Yasuhiro, Toko Fukawa, Aoi Asahina, Byakuya Togami…

Even Junko Enoshima herself, in her battered state was kept in suspense. This was supposed to be the finale to her execution. After being voted for during the last class trial, she had subjected herself to a gruesome execution that was made up of every other execution that she had used.

The 1,000 Blows

The Cage of Death

The Burning of the Versailles Witch

Excavator Destroyer

After School Lesson

All of it was combined in order to make the Ultimate Execution. Somehow, Junko had managed to survive the first four executions. Now, she sat beaten and bloody as the compactor in After School Lesson stalls above her. This execution was meant for Naegi. However, due to his luck, he had ended up surviving.

Would the execution fail once more? Would Junko live to see another day? It wasn't impossible to think that she would somehow live. She had cheated death once before - by using her sister as a decoy. Mukuro Ikusaba, who was disguised as Junko was dead, impaled by various spears.

*BANG*

The resounding smack as Junko Enoshima was reduced to nothing more than a pink splatter answers them.

Nope. Junko was dead, this time for good.

All that remained was a handheld remote with a large red button - presumably the remote to open the front door.

The Killing Game at Hope's Peak Academy was over.

The surviving students quickly and silently made their way to the entrance where the giant lock awaits them. There was no time to delay - as Junko had said, the air purifiers had already shut down. They needed to get out of here as soon as possible.

For a moment, they all just stand in front of the locked door in silence. To no one's surprise, it was Kirigiri who broke the silence.

"We can't just stand around like this forever. At some point we need to leave." The detective states in her usual cool demeanor.

"Naegi, would you like to do the honors?"

"A-Alright." Naegi grasps the remote with both of his hands, staring at it as if he was unsure what to do. It was obvious what needed to be done - just press the large red button. But for some reason, Naegi was unnerved by the remote. His mind was telling him that he shouldn't press the button.

"B-But… is that really it? Is this really the remote for this door?" Asahina stares anxiously at him.

"You don't need to read into what she said too much to find the answer." Kyoko says.

I will force you out, ensuring you all die horrible deaths in the outside world.

"But you never know. Maybe it's actually a switch that's gonna make the school self-destruct! I mean, Junko never said specifically that she'd let us leave here alive!" Hagakure points out nervously.

"I suppose that's possible."

"IT IS?!" The clairvoyant shouts, sweating bullets.

"Even if there's a possibility of that happening, it would be stupid to not take our chances with it anyway." Byakuya rolls his eyes at Hagakure's stupidity. It was useless to start worrying about that kind of stuff at this point. Unless they all wanted to slowly suffocate in this building, they needed to get out, regardless of the risk.

"Kyeehaha!" Genocider Jill laughs maniacally as she brings out her scissors. "There's nothin' to worry about! If something ever happened to Master, I'd take my scissors and jam 'em so far up- Achoo!"

"... Huh? W-Where am I? Wh-Where's the courtroom? Weren't we fighting against t-the mastermind?" Toko frantically looks around, confused.

"It's all over. We're just about to leave the school." Asahina quickly informs Toko of their situation.

"We can l-leave?!" Toko steals a lustful glance at Byakuya, drool seeping out of her mouth. "That means that M-Master and I can finally get married?!"

"Not in a million years." The affluent prodigy sneers disdainfully.

"I would gladly wait that long for you, my white knight!" Instead of being dejected, Toko takes the insult in stride.

"Anyway…" Kirigiri clears her throat. "I have no doubt that we'll be able to leave here without a problem. Don't worry."

"Yeah, it's just what happens after we get outside that worries me." Asahina frowns.

"B-But you know… In the end, a part of me still thinks that maybe when we get out of here, we'll see that everything she said about the world was a lie." Hagakure says. "That on the other side of this door is a world as peaceful as we remember. I know that sounds dumb, but…"

Naegi smiles at Hagakure reassuringly. "Well no matter what it looks like, it's still our world. It's where we're meant to live."

"I guess…"

"And… how do I put this? Unlike this school, the world is really big, right? Since it's so big, I'm sure that there must be some despair. But there also has to be lots of hope."

"The act of searching for hope, to try and find it - that by itself is the true meaning of hope. As long as you have that hope, you can keep moving forward no matter what trouble you may fall into." Kirigiri smiles gently at Naegi. "Is that what you meant?"

Naegi laughs awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. Kirigiri had turned his awkward sentences into a quote that would be found in the book of a philosopher. "Yeah, that's the general gist of it… I guess."

"Hmph. Rest assured that I, Byakuya Togami, will rebuild this world from scratch if need be. Once I get out of here, I shall see to it that the Togami Empire shall return to its former glory."

"When I get out of here, the first thing I'm going for is a donut shop! I'm getting myself hundreds, no thousands of donuts!"

"Erm, there might not be any open donut shops if it's an apocalypse out there." Hagakure comments.

"Well, I'll make my own donut shop!"

"Come on, Naegi." Kirigiri says with a touch of impatience in her voice.

Naegi nods. "It's time… time that we move forwards!"

Kirigiri nods. "Even if everyone in the outside world is gone… Even if the world is steeped in despair… As long as I have people like you around, I can face forward and keep moving. If we can get out of here and do something, have some kind of impact, then that we should work for it."

Taking a deep breath, Naegi turns to the door. As he does this, the banter halts to a stop and the other students of class 78 turn to the door.

Despair.

The world ahead is undoubtedly filled with despair. But in the cracks of despair, seeds of hope are planted. These seeds of hope will grow into something bigger, something greater.

I'm going to keep moving forward, with hope in my heart.

Since I have hope, I can show courage.

Since I have hope, I can move forwards.

The world can move ahead.

Makoto Naegi presses the button.

The 2nd Killing School Game.

Pain.

This is what Makoto Naegi is currently feeling. He was suffering from a headache that was so bad that Naegi thought his head was surely being split into two. It was as if an iron pike was being stabbed into his brain.

What's… happening to me?

The last thing he remembered was pressing the remote to open the lock to the outside world. He and his friends had stopped Junko Enoshima and escaped from Hope's Peak. They were going to face the outside world, together.

Then, as suddenly as it came, the headache stops. All that remained was a subtle feeling of drowsiness. As the pain recedes, Naegi slowly and deliberately raises his head from his arms. For some reason, he was burrowing his head into them.

He was in a familiar room with bolted windows. In this room, there were several desks and a security camera. A small string of drool had been going down the side of his mouth.

"What the heck? I'm still at school? " Naegi says out loud. He looks around frantically - Sure enough, he was in a classroom. In fact, it looked like this was the classroom that he first woke up in.

This didn't make any sense. Why would he still be in here?

Unless… Was that all just a dream?

Cautiously, Naegi checks the desk that he was sleeping on. There was a cheap looking pamphlet in it… just like last time.

"The next semester is about to start. Starting today, this school will be your entire world."

"The same pamphlet from when I first woke up…" Naegi mumbles to himself.

I better see if I can find anyone else. Naegi thinks to himself, walking out to the hallway.

"Hey! Kirigiri? Asahina? Hagakure? Togami? Any of you guys out here?" Naegi calls out while walking around.

No response.

Maybe the main hall? The door should still be open…

As Naegi walks into the main hall, something causes him to stop abruptly.

"W-Wha…" The luckster stammers at the sight in front of him. His heart freezes as his breath is caught in his throat. Instantly, Naegi's face goes completely pale.

Everyone was there… just standing around, nonchalantly.

"Oh hey. Another new kid!" Owada walks up to him with his hand raised in a greeting. Owada had been executed by Monokuma - electrocuted and melted, he had been turned into butter (somehow) and eaten by the sadistic bear over a pile of pancakes. And yet here he was, alive and well.

Not just Owada either. Everyone who had been murdered or executed by Monokuma was here. All 14 of them… are still alive?

"H-How is this possible?" Naegi's face was as white as a sheet, as if he had just seen a ghost.

Or rather, 9 ghosts.

"Huh? How is what possible?" Owada asks, frowning.

Slowly, Naegi turns his gaze to Maizono. The last time he saw her, she was sitting up against his bathroom wall with a knife stuck to her stomach, blood pouring out of her like a fountain. She was most definitely dead, murdered by Leon Kuwata.

But here she was, smiling softly and waving her hand at Naegi.

This was too much. Naegi's eyes roll up to the back of his head as he promptly faints. His brain had practically overloaded.

"Woah, hey!" Owada stumbles back as he watches Naegi fall onto the ground.

"Did he seriously just faint?" Kuwata scratches the back of his head, clearly uncomfortable.

"Naegi?" Maizono quickly walks up to the unconscious luckster and kneels down next to him. "Naegi, are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Do you know this kid?" Owada asks.

"Yeah. We… We went to junior high together. His name is Makoto Naegi." Maizono says as she stands back up again.

Owada scoops up Makoto and puts him over his shoulder in a sort of fireman carry. "I'll hold on to him until he wakes up I guess. Sheesh, what a pain…"

"Listen up asshole! This shit's gone way too far! What the hell kinda joke is this?!" Owada furiously steps in front of Monokuma, fists clenched.

Monokuma had just finished explaining the rules to the students - They would be forced to live here forever unless they decide to murder each other.

"Joke? What, you mean like your hair?"

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY?!"

"Oh? Have one of your students died already? I'm super impressed!" Monokuma cackles gleefully as he points his paw at Naegi, who was still unconscious and being carried by Owada. "Such bloodlust!"

"FUCK YOU!" Owada roughly puts Naegi's body down on the floor and picks up Monokuma with one arm.

"Gotcha, you little piece of shit! I dunno if you're a toy or a stuffed animal or whatever but either way, I'm gonna rip you to fuckin' shreds!"

"Wah! Violence against the headmaster is in violation of school regulation!" Monokuma cries out, flapping his stubby arms and legs around.

"Shut the fuck up!"

Suddenly, a loud beeping noise comes out of the bear. At the same time, Monokuma abruptly stops struggling and instead goes limp in Owada's hand.

*BEEP*

"Huh? No smart-ass comeback this time?"

*BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.*

"STOP BEEPING AND SAY SOMETHING!" Mondo roars.

"Watch out!" Kyoko suddenly shouts. "Get rid of it! Now!"

"Huh?"

*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*

"Throw it already!"

Owada hesitates slightly before nodding and tossing Monokuma far up into the air. No less than 3 seconds later, a giant explosion manifests from the thrown Monokuma, sending shockwaves throughout the gym. Several students wince and put their hands up to their ears.

*KABOOM*

"Ah!" The sound of the giant explosion was enough to finally get Naegi out of his faint spell. "What's going on? What was that?" Naegi looks around frantically.

"The hell?" Owada gapes up at the air as small fragments of the bear fall down. A scrap of metal falls on Owada's face but he doesn't even flinch. "That sure as shit wasn't a joke. It blew the hell up!"

"Welcome back to the land of the living." Togami sneers at Naegi.

"Is that… Smoke? What happened?"

"That dumbass bear blew up, that's what happened!"

"Hey this means that the teddy bear is dead now!" Fujisaki pipes up hopefully. "Right?"

*Boing*

A cartoonish sound effect echoes through the gym as another Monokuma springs up from literally nowhere. The Monokuma was visually identical to the one that just blew up. In fact, if you didn't see the Monokuma explode, then you wouldn't have noticed any difference.

"I told you already! I'm not a teddy bear, I'm Monokuma!"

"Another one?!" Kuwata yelps, backing up several steps.

"Son of a bitch! It just tried to kill me!" Owada clenches his fists hard. Veins pop up from his neck and arms, but he refrains from attacking Monokuma again.

"It's happening… again?" Naegi whispers to himself. It was the exact same situation as last time. For some reason, it was all repeating. He had gone through the door. He had beaten Junko and escaped from the school. Despite all of that, he was back at the start. It was as if nothing had happened.

This is too real to be a dream. Were we captured and put into this situation again? Maybe since the first killing game ended as a failure, Junko tried again… Wait, what am I thinking?! Junko is dead! So was Owada! So was everyone else! What's going on here?!

"Naegi, you've been keeping quiet. Despite being woken up to an unfamiliar situation, you seem to have little questions. Aren't you confused as to what's happening?" Kirigiri's voice suddenly breaks up Naegi's thoughts.

"Huh? O-Oh. You mean the killing game, right?" Naegi says nervously.

Kirigiri's gaze suddenly sharpens. Naegi had been unconscious throughout Monokuma's entire explanation. He had no way to know that they were in a killing game… unless he knew something that they didn't. Was he working with whoever was behind Monokuma?

"He must be plotting to m-murder someone!" Fukawa shrieks and points at Naegi. "It's me isn't it?! Y-Y-You all hate me anyway! Don't get near me!"

"A lie. That's what this is. All these ridiculous things we've heard… This all has to be fake!" Ishimaru declares. Despite his apparent confidence, large beads of sweat were dripping down his forehead like a waterfall.

"Yeah!" Hagakure frantically nods his head in agreement. "Obviously a joke, a prank! Nothing that the bear said is real!"

"Idiots, all of you." Togami scoffs, unperturbed by the situation that he and everyone else had found themselves in.

Naegi was as worried as everyone else was, but for entirely different reasons.

I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"Stop! We shouldn't fight!" Naegi steps in between Togami and Owada. Just like last time, Togami and Owada had gotten into a fight. Togami's cold statements were more than enough to provoke the bike gang leader into threatening him.

Of course, Naegi knows that Owada was going to punch him if he interferes. But maybe he could use this knowledge to his advantage.

"The fuck you just say?" You some kinda goody-goody little bitch?" Owada snarls, cracking his knuckles. "Get outta my way you fainting pansy! The fuck you think you are, my mom?"

"That's not what I'm trying to say here." Naegi puts up his hands in a gesture of peace.

"FUCK YOU!" Owada roars and swings his arm.

*Whiff*

Naegi pulls back before Owada could punch him, cleanly dodging his attack.

"Ugh! Fuckin' prick!" Owada tries winding up another punch but before he could strike again, Ogami holds his arm back.

"That is enough." Ogami warns with a dangerous aura. The air around her literally crackles with energy as she glares down at Owada. "This is no time to be fighting.

Paling slightly, Owada scoffs. "Whatever."

Nodding, Ogami turns her attention at Naegi. "Nice dodge. I didn't expect you to have such quick reflexes if I were to be honest."

Naegi chuckles awkwardly. "Thanks, I guess."

It really is all happening exactly the same…

"I'm really sorry to come by so late."

Naegi stares at Maizono who was standing in front of his room. Her body was trembling and her body was deathly pale. Naegi could see hints of tears present in her eyes, threatening to spill out.

"Sorry to bother you but…. Something weird just happe-"

"Please be honest with me Sayaka." Naegi puts his hand up, interrupting Maizono. He stares into her eyes with an uncharacteristically grave expression.

"H-Huh?" Maizono blinks. "What do you mean?"

"I know, Maizono. I know what you're planning."

Maizono's eyes fill with panic. Instinctively, she takes a step back and gapes at Naegi. "Naegi, I-"

"Maizono, there's no need to be so desperate!" Rushing forwards, Naegi grasps Maizono's hands, causing her to gasp. "Please… don't do this."

…

"My pop idol group was on the motive video. I… I need to check up on them. I need to get out of here! My dream, it's…"

Maizono gasps as Naegi suddenly pulls her into a tight embrace. The comfortable warmth that suddenly seeps into her body causes her to shiver. Slowly, she puts her arms around Naegi and returns his hug.

"We will get out of here, together. I promised you before and I will promise you now."

Why? Naegi knew that I was going to kill someone… But he still trusts me? I don't deserve this.

"I was going to… kill someone. I was going to frame you."

"I know."

"I-If you knew, then why are you being so trusting towards me?" Maizono whispers. "If you knew I was going to kill someone then you shouldn't be like this! In fact, you should hate me!"

"No, that's wrong!" Naegi pulls away from the embrace and puts both of his hands on her shoulders. He stares into her eyes with a fierce determination. "I shouldn't hate you! You're my friend! I want to help you, Maizono. I don't care if you were going to frame me or not. I know that you don't really want to kill anyone Maizono. You were just backed into a corner."

Guilt starts to slowly crush Maizono. Had she really been planning to kill someone and then frame this innocent boy?

I'm disgusting.

"No, I used you. I didn't even hesitate to frame you for… for a murder." Maizono shakes her head. "You were… just a tool."

"If I was really just a tool, then why didn't you just aim to kill me instead of Kuwata? I would have been a much easier target, don't you think?"

Maizono gasps.

"Maizono, you're my friend. I only wish the best for you. That's why I promise that we will all get out of this mess together!"

That was it. She couldn't take it anymore. Like a broken dam, tears start pouring out of her eyes. Putting her hands up to her face, she starts sobbing uncontrollably, body trembling with grief and guilt. She felt as if her heart was being torn into two. She was willing to kill an innocent person and then frame Naegi. Naegi, the boy who she actually wanted to become friends with. Naegi, the boy who saved the crane from the school pool. She was about to throw his life away, and for what? For her dream of becoming an idol. It was loathsome.

Somehow, he had known about her plan. Even so… he had taken the time to talk to her. Instead of telling the others, he had gone to her personally and talked her out of it. Naegi was a saint in her eyes.

Once again, Naegi softly hugs Maizono and rubs her back in an attempt to comfort her. Maizono wraps her arms around Naegi and buries her face into his hoodie, still snivelling. He felt so warm, so solid. He was like a beacon of hope in the form of a high schooler.

Finally, after a few minutes, Maizono pulls away from Naegi and looks down at the ground. "Naegi… I know that I shouldn't be asking this, especially after what I had planned to do, but… can I stay in your room? I don't care if I need to sleep on the floor. Please Naegi, just for tonight."

Naegi smiles and nods. "Why don't we switch rooms then? That was kind of what you were planning to do anyway, right?"

Maizono shakes her head firmly. "I just… w-want to stay with you."

"Ah…" Naegi scratches his chin, blushing slightly. "W-Well in that case, I guess that's fine… but you don't need to sleep on the floor. You can have the bed for yourself."

Maizono laughs humorlessly. Naegi was way too nice for his own good. She was just about to murder someone - she didn't deserve a bed, or even a floor. She deserved to be sleeping in a pile of garbage. "No. Naegi, I'm going to sleep on the floor whether you like it or not. I wouldn't even dream of taking the bed."

Naegi flinches, taken aback by her sudden determination.

"I insist. Really."

Sighing, Naegi relculantly nods. "If you're really sure…"

"I am."

"Then I'll sleep on the floor too."

Maizono throws her hands up in frustration. At the same time, a cold dagger stabs into her heart. She knows that he didn't mean it, but all he was doing was making her feel worse.. Without a doubt, Naegi was the nicest person that she had ever met. Was she really about to frame him for a murder?

"Fine." Maizono says. Rubbing the last of her tears off of her face, she manages a weak smile. "Thank you, Naegi. Good night."

"Good night... Maizono."