"Ahh, this is a school announcement. You've all probably figured this out by now, but at this point, the killing game has now entered 'True Ending' mode. So in the name of fairness, I will unlock every room in the school! Look wherever you want! Solve the mystery in whatever way you see fit! Puhuhu… Then we can all meet up at the class trial, okay?"

Naegi finally allows himself to let out a sigh of relief. Now, all he needed to do was to ally himself with Kirigiri. She was the Ultimate Detective after all. It would certainly help things along. The hard part was going to be telling her about how he deceived her, along with everyone else.

"Well, I'd better get going. I have an endless list of things that I need to check." Kirigiri and Naegi were the only two people in the cafeteria. Everyone else had already gone off to do their own investigations. They had all agreed that investigating independently would be more efficient than being together, since they had a lot of ground to cover.

"Kirigiri." Naegi says cautiously. "I need to tell you something important."

"What is it?"

"I… erm, I'm from the future. I've been through all of this already, including the last trial. I kind of already know all about the secrets of this school and why we're here."

Kirigiri narrows her eyes. "Excuse me?"

"Mukuro Ikusaba was Junko Enoshima. She was posing as her in the beginning and was originally meant to just be taken out of the game through fake imprisonment. On a whim, Junko, the real mastermind, decided to execute her instead. She saved the body and then re-used it for the case."

"..."

"You weren't the only one with amnesia either. All of us had it too - it's just that you had the worst case of it. Two years of our memories were erased - memories of the outside world and our time spent together as classmates. When we experienced going through the gates to enter Hope's Peak, only to faint afterwards was because that was the cutoff for the memory erasure. What we forgot was that we all locked ourselves in here volun-"

Kirigiri puts up her hand, cutting Naegi off. She seemed uncharacteristically puzzled, but it wasn't as if Naegi could blame her for feeling that way. He had just dropped a giant load of information on her after all. "Why are you telling me all of this?"

"So that you won't have to spend time investigating the school." Naegi says simply.

"For the entire killing game, you knew everything that was going to happen? Each murder, each trial, you knew about all of them. But you didn't try to stop anything - you just let those people die. Why?" Kirigiri's tone wasn't accusatory or angry. She just wanted to know why.

Naegi sighs and looks down at the floor. "I'm stuck in some sort of time loop. Junko trapped me in one so that I could feel despair or something. This situation is the only one I know of where we would get limitless access to investigate the entire school. That's why…"

Naegi takes a deep breath.

"Kirigiri, will you help me investigate this time loop? I want… No, I need to escape it. Otherwise, I would have to go through all of this again and again, forever."

"..."

"Tell me everything."

So he does. He spends fifteen minutes of what little time they had telling her his story. He only goes over significant events in order to save time - if he told her about each and every loop he went through, then they would be here for hours. Throughout his entire recounting, Kirigiri only mutters to herself while occasionally shaking her head.

"So after Junko kicked the floorboard, I was sent back here again. You already know everything that happened this time around, right?"

"All I know is that you lied." Kirigiri deadpans.

"W-What?" Naegi stammers.

"For several weeks, you lied through your teeth about everything." Kirigiri continues, with a slightly irritated expression. "You knew every single event that was going to pass and not only did you not try to stop them, but you feigned ignorance. In a way, you're not so different from the mastermind."

At this, Naegi couldn't help but wince. That was a low blow, but not entirely untrue. Keeping silent about the mastermind made him a sort of accomplice, despite the fact that he had good reasons to stay silent.

"I suppose that I can't blame you for deceiving us, but…" Kirigiri scowls at him. "You knew everything, including about the last trial. I suppose that you also knew that I would have you take the fall and be executed? And that I would jump down to try and save you?"

"Well-"

"Why didn't you just tell me?" Kirigiri interrupts. "I can understand not telling me during the early parts of the game, but at the very least you should have told me while we were alone in the trash chute. It's not like there are any cameras down there. In fact, the mastermind didn't even know you were alive. That seemed like a much better opportunity to tell me about this."

Naegi winces again. Yet another good point. Talking to Kirigiri out in the open like this was actually very risky. For all he knew, Junko was listening in on them at this very moment. Telling her about his situation back in the trash chute would have been safer and saved time.

"I guess I just didn't really think about it." Nagei admits quietly.

"You didn't think about it." Kirigiri echoes. "You didn't think about it."

"Well, you know I…" Naegi's voice dries up in his throat. No, he didn't have any real excuse for this. He was just so focused on getting to the investigation part that he didn't stop to consider his plan. "Ah. Sorry, I guess." Naegi mumbles, face turning red.

"Naegi." Kirigiri says in an icily cold tone. Her face was neutral, but Naegi could sense frustration and anger in her. "If you've lied to everyone for this whole time, how can I know that you aren't lying right now? In fact, you're saying that I don't need to waste time investigating. Perhaps this is an attempt at misdirection."

"No! It's nothing like that!" Naegi says quickly. This was what he was afraid of from the start, and perhaps part of the reason why he put off telling Kirigiri about this for so long. He was afraid that Kirigiri would think that he was the mastermind, or working for him. "Come on, you believed me the other times I told you about this!"

"That's from your perspective." Kirigiri says sharply. "I don't remember going through this game more then once, and neither does anyone else. You have no evidence that what you say is the truth, besides for the fact that you know more than you should about the killing game and the other students. And that doubles as evidence that you're working for the mastermind."

"Kirigiri." Naegi says in a pleading tone. "Really, I'm telling the truth. What can I do to prove it to you?"

Kirigiri only sighs before turning away from Naegi. "... To tell the truth, my instincts are telling me that you're being truthful here. However, my instincts also didn't detect that you were lying during the killing game. I want to believe you, but I can't. Not right now. I'm sorry Naegi, but you will have to investigate on your own. Goodbye."

Before Naegi could say anything, Kirigiri quickly walks away from him, muttering under her breath as she did so. Naegi tries to call out to her, to try to convince her to help him but he found himself unable to say anything. He just stood there stupidly, staring at her shrinking figure as his stomach starts sinking.

As she disappears from the room, Naegi feels a small part of his hope vanish with her.

Then, Naegi remembered.

I can just go back and try to convince her again.

That, of course would mean that Naegi would have to let all of his friends die again. He could look on in silence as they murder each other, only speaking to bring them through class trials or to strengthen their bonds. He could waste even more time and bring his friends even more suffering. Kirigiri's rejection won't even matter.

Naegi feels the urge to laugh again. It bubbles in his chest and rises to his throat, leaving burning sensations wherever it went. How could he be so forgetful? There was no consequences for anything he did. Any failure, any misstep, he could just undo. The fact that he was getting upset over something like this was hilarious.

So Naegi laughs to his heart's content, into the empty dining hall. There was no one around anyway. And even if there was…

He could always just go back, couldn't he?

"The beginning of the end of the class trial! Everyone gather once again at you know where! Puhuhuhuhuhu!"

Monokuma's announcement signals the end of the investigation period. While Asahina, Hagakure, Fukawa, Togami, and Kirigiri were investigating the secrets of the school, Naegi investigated his time loop. With several hours of free time in his hands to look anywhere he wanted, he finds…

One clue.

He had gone back to the gym room and looked around the spot where Junko had stomped on a floorboard. After a few awkward minutes, he finds one that was slightly more loose than the other ones around it. He managed to pry it open with his hands, and had found a button that was connected to some sort of wireless transmitter. The transmitter itself wasn't anything special, so that ended up as a dead end anyway.

Naegi sighs as he enters the elevator room. The only other person there was Kirigiri. As soon as he makes eye contact with her, Kirigiri speaks.

"Most of what you said correlates with my investigation… If you were working for Monokuma, then I can't fathom why you would give me that kind of information, unless the information I found was also planted, which is unlikely." Kirigiri says flatly, brushing away a strand of hair from her face. "So, I suppose that you were being truthful. I apologize for not believing you, but I hope that you can see why I was skeptical."

Naegi smiles weakly. "It's okay. I didn't really find anything in my own investigation, but if I can get you to help next time around… Well, I will definitely be able to find something. Even if I don't then… Well, I have an unlimited amount of time to keep trying, don't I?"

At that moment, Togami enters the elevator room. He trains icy glares at both Kirigiri and Naegi as he moves to the corner farthest away from the pair.

"Everyone's going to act like that. Monokuma gave them photos that made them think we're all traitors or something." Naegi whispers to Kirigiri.

One by one, the other students enter the elevator room. Sure enough, they all acted distant and paranoid, giving each other glares and avoiding any conversation. When Naegi first experienced this, he felt nervous. Well, nervous was an understatement. It felt like his heart was going to burst from his chest from sheer anxiety.

Now… there was nothing. He felt completely empty, save for a slight amount of irritation. Why wouldn't he feel like this? None of this mattered anyway. As soon as it was over, Naegi would have to restart everything.

Then, he would have to see all of his classmates die again.

Then, he would have to go through each and every class trial again.

Then, he would have to try and convince Kirigiri again.

Then, he would have to investigate the school again.

And there wasn't a single guarantee that he would even find anything on his next attempt. All of this was beginning to get more annoying, then despairing.

…

"You're all the mastermind, aren't you?! You're all out to get me! I'm right, aren't I?! I knew it!" Hagakure points at everyone frantically.

…

…

"It's the same for everyone else. You don't remember choosing to live here forever. Or even talking to the headmaster about it at all." Kirigiri states in a matter of fact manner.

…

…

"Despite the time she spent in battles as a member on Fenrir… when she entered this school, she hadn't sustained a single injury!" Naegi says, contradicting Fukawa's statement.

…

...

"Officially, ten murders have been committed so far. But one of the victims may have been murdered… and then murdered again." Naegi explains to everyone.

…

…

"So she killed Ikusaba, who had taken her place, making it look like she'd died. And the real Junko… is still alive." Togami surmises.

…

…

"That's right! You've already spent two full years here at Hope's Peak Academy! And that entire period of time… is precisely what you've forgotten!" Junko laughs maniacally.

…

…

"Puhuhuhu… It's laughable, really. He was the headmaster, but he had no idea. He had no idea that we, the Ultimate Despair had already made our way into the school. So what was supposed to be a shelter to keep you safe… became a cage that made it impossible for you to escape despair!"

…

Again, Naegi brings his classmates out of despair. He repeats his heartfelt speech and encourages everyone to not give up. This was a climactic moment, the peak of the trial, and a scene that inspired hope to everyone, including the people watching them.

It inspired hope for everyone except for Junko... and for Naegi himself.

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. 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 is dead. But not for long.

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. Again.

As soon as Junko dies, Naegi quickly walks over to the remote and picks it up, wiping off a few drops of blood with his sleeve. Then, he puts his finger over it.

"Hey Naegi, shouldn't we wait until we're in front of the door to open it?" Asahina stares at Naegi strangely.

"Nope. See you guys later… I hope that I can figure this out soon." Naegi sighs and presses the button.

The 56th Killing Game

Pain.

Naegi wakes up with a headache.

In a familiar classroom.

Here we go again.

…

"I have an unlimited amount of time to keep trying, don't I?"

As soon as the pile of trash falls down, Naegi runs over to it and starts digging through it. In no time at all, he finds a gloved hand that was moving around. He grabs the hand and pulls it out, greeting its owner as he does so.

"Hey, Kirigiri."

Kirigiri quickly straightens up and brushes off some trash from her body. Then, she looks up and stares at Naegi with a curious expression. "How did you know I was here?"

Naegi takes a deep breath. This was going to take at least another twenty minutes, thirty if Kirigri had any questions. And knowing her, she would have plenty to throw at him.

"The beginning of the end of the class trial! Everyone gather once again at you know where! Puhuhuhu!"

Monokuma's announcement signals the end of the investigation point. While Asahina, Hagakure, Fukawa, and Togami were investigating the secrets of this school, Kirigiri and Naegi investigated the time loop. Naegi had actually managed to convince Kirigiri to help him this time, though she displayed doubt at first. Naegi couldn't blame her either - he had basically admitted to lying to her for the entire game, only to then tell her that he was a time traveller. That would be like someone saying that they were a millionaire, only to then start begging for money - Naegi was practically asking to be called out.

Somehow, Kirigiri was convinced though. Naegi didn't know if it was the environment, or the real desperation in Naegi's voice, or the fact that he could flawlessly answer any question she had, or some other factor. Whatever her reason was for believing him, he was grateful.

They had still split up for the investigation though - like Kirigiri had said, splitting up would be more efficient. But even though was confident that there was nothing in the first three floors, (he had looked through them dozens of times during other time loops) Kirigiri had insisted on looking through them anyway, her reason being that Naegi might have missed something. While Naegi admitted that it was possible he had missed some sort of obscure detail, he very much doubted it.

Naegi had focused his search on the last two floors. Even though he knew where not to look, he still managed to find absolutely nothing. That made it two times in a row where he couldn't find anything - he didn't count the floorboard in the gym, as Junko had shown that to him herself. He couldn't even find another trigger for the time machine, if there even was another.

This had dampened his mood somewhat, but… Kirigiri must have found something, right?

"To be honest, I haven't found anything."

"... What?" Naegi blinks.

"I've gathered every single file in this school together and skimmed through all of them. There was not a single mention of a time machine, time loop, or anything of the sort in any of them." The detective sighs and rubs her eyes. "I read so much that I had started to get dizzy."

"Kirigiri… You managed to go through all of the files in this school within a few hours?" Naegi gapes at her in surprise. "Even if you didn't find anything… that's still kind of impressive to be honest."

Even though he was surprised, Naegi still couldn't feel but a pit of disappointment form in his stomach. He had gone through quite a bit of trouble getting Kirigiri on her side. She was supposed to be the Ultimate Detective, someone who Naegi could rely on… but she found nothing.

Kirigiri rolls her eyes. "I told you, I only had enough time to skim it. There's a possibility that I missed something in them, though the chance is low. Besides, I couldn't find anything to help you."

Naegi shrugs. He was definitely upset about that, but it wasn't like he could criticize her. He had dozens of loops to investigate, and he hadn't found anything himself. Besides, the fact that Kirigiri had gone through all of those files for him saved a lot of time in the future.

"By the way, Naegi… There is one possible solution."

Instantly, Naegi perks up. He couldn't keep the desperation out of his voice as he starts shouting. "Really?! What is it?! Tell me!"

"It may be risky, but if there's no other choice… Trying to overload the time machine might break you out of this time loop."

Naegi blinks. "How would I do something like that though? I mean, we don't even know where the time machine is supposed to be, or if there really is one at all. We haven't found any clues throughout the entire school, so it might just not exist or something."

Kirigiri shakes her head. "You don't need to find it. Naegi, you found one of the triggers for the time machine under the gym floor boards, correct? There was a button connected to a wireless transmitter that may be connected to this time machine. Now, you also mentioned that Junko said there was a large amount of these triggers."

"..."

"Admittedly, I don't know much about electronics or technology, but… It may be possible to sort of 'overload' the time machine with a bunch of signals at the same time. If the machine gets overloaded, a glitch may happen or the whole thing might just completely malfunction altogether."

Realization dawns upon Naegi. He didn't know much about machines either, but that definitely sounded plausible. There was about one or two seconds of delay between a trigger activating and being sent back in time, so pressing a bunch of buttons in succession was definitely something that could be easily done. If he managed to cause a glitch in the time machine, then his time loop might be broken! (A/N: I don't know anything about technology either, so overloading a machine with signals might not even be possible, idk. But it's a story about a time machine, so suck it up :p)

"Again, this is only going to be a last resort plan." Kirigiri says quickly. "Neither of us knows what would happen if you were to go through with this. You might escape this time loop. Nothing may happen at all. Maybe the time machine glitches by sending you three hundred years in the past. Anything is possible."

"Right, but-"

Naegi stops talking as Togami suddenly walks into the room. That meant it was nearly time for the last class trial. For everyone here, it was a climactic end to the hellish killing game that had plagued their lives for the past few weeks, the final trial of life and death.

To Naegi, it was just an unskippable cutscene.

As they are joined by the rest, Naegi begins to fidget impatiently.

Gotta go through this again… Damn.

Naegi goes through the last class trial once again.

Blah blah, Junko's the mastermind, Ikusaba was her fake, blah blah inspire hope, blah blah there's an apocalypse happening… Naegi thinks to himself as he watches his classmates go back and forth.

He felt quite empty inside, but on the outside he gave passionate arguments and inspired hope to the rest of his friends. Faking everything several times had done wonders to his ability to act, refining it to the point where his ability to lie was probably well past Celeste's at this point.

As soon as it's all done and over with, Naegi watches Junko get crushed again. Deep down, he feels the slightest bit of satisfaction.

Serves her ri-

Naegi doesn't let himself finish that thought.

He can't advocate for her death. He can't advocate for any sort of death. She was still a human being, one with emotions, even if those emotions were mainly despair. Watching her die can't bring him any sort of joy. He won't allow it, or else he might really fall to despair.

With this chilling thought, Naegi walks over and presses the button to open the doors.

Again.

...

Naegi didn't know it. While he labored, he thought he was working for Hope. He thought of himself as someone who had the power to save his friends.

Naegi didn't know it. In his mind, he thought that he was surging past despair and into a future filled with hope.

Naegi didn't know it, but while he time traveled again and again, Hope diminished from his heart.

He lied to himself anyway, claiming that he was still filled with hope. He lies to himself, lies about fighting for the side of hope.

And he was really convinced - Naegi had gotten really good at deceit, after all.