As I finally began to wake up, I snuggled closer to (Y/n). If I were being honest to myself, I didn't want to leave; I wanted to stay like this forever. My chin was rested over (Y/n)'s shoulder, giving me a clear view of her peaceful face. Her fingers were entangled within my hair and the comforting action was almost enough to drag me back to sleep.

It was time to go.

I left the bed leisurely and was sure not to wake (Y/n). Once I tucked her into the covers to keep her warm, I sat at the edge of the bed near her. I reached my hand out and gently stroked her cheek. She nuzzled her face into my hand, her warmth making my cold hand warm up.

I leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her nose. "I love you."

I moved away from her and left the room in a hurry. I shouldn't have stayed the night in (Y/n)'s dorm; the mastermind is probably going to be pissed! I quickly made my way to the area where the masterminds would stay. Upon opening the door, the mastermind was standing before me with a smile wicked enough to scare any person.

"Hey Monokuma~ I see you stayed the night elsewhere," the mastermind spoke. I gave a nod in response, closing the door. They grabbed my face and forced me to look them in the eye. A sharp pain shot through my neck from the sudden movement, causing a groan to erupt from my throat.

"Ugh, what's the matter with you?! Stop letting your stupid feelings get in the way of the original plan we all had in mind," the mastermind sneered.

"What's the matter?~ Are you jealous I'm spending more time with (Y/n) than you are?"

I received a harsh slap to the face from my remark. "Don't you talk to me like that, you fucking loser! I'm the reason why you met her in the first place. If I would have never found you, (Y/n) would have never even looked in your direction."

I didn't utter a response. The mastermind looked pleased as their lips curled into a smile.

"Remember your place. Don't ruin our plan or else I'll make sure you never see your lovely (Y/n) ever again."

"Good morning everyone!~ It is now 7 a.m., time to rise and shine!"

I groaned and kicked the covers off of myself. I was sick of hearing that announcement every single morning; it was getting tiring. I glanced around the room and noticed Monokuma was nowhere in sight. Ah, he must have woken up early and left to make sure he would make it in time for the morning announcement.

I felt a bit of disappointment about not seeing Monokuma in the morning.

I dragged myself out of the comfortable bed. I went to make my way to the bathroom, but ended up tripping and falling face-first onto the ground. "...what the hell?" I mumbled, glancing back at whatever the hell I just tripped over.

There was the backpack full of games, magazines, and other things that Monokuma had left. Seriously? He couldn't have taken that with him?

I get up and kick the backpack underneath the bed to avoid any further incidents. I continued on with my morning routine then exited my dorm room. I went to the dining hall like I always do every morning to grab breakfast.

I enter the dining hall, acknowledging the others in the room. I went and grabbed something to eat then took a seat near the others to listen in on their conversation.

"Kyoko, did everything go alright with Alter Ego last night?" Celeste questioned.

"Yeah, there weren't any problems. I checked on it not too long ago and there weren't any issues, however..." Kyoko hesitated for a moment, placing a finger on her chin. "I must enforce a new rule. Using Alter Ego without permission is prohibited. Going in and out of that room would make the mastermind suspicious."

"Isn't that obvious? Who the hell would do that?" I commented.

"You would think it's obvious. Hifumi, any comment on this matter?" Kyoko glared at Hifumi.

Hifumi squeaked. "Ah! N-Nope! We all need to be careful...just as you said!"

"That's suspicious..." I mumbled.

"Nope! Nothing suspicious! Let's just stop wasting time and eat breakfast!!" Hifumi practically screamed.

Everyone else in the room began to eat their meals in silence. I kept glancing at Hifumi and questioned his behavior. It was quite clear that he had something to do with Kyoko enforcing a new rule.

I finished my meal and cleaned up my mess. I walked out of the dining hall and began to make my way back to my dorm. I had nothing better to do than lay on my bed anyways. While I was walking through the halls, I had crossed paths with Taka.

He wasn't in the dining hall earlier, so I was a bit glad to see he's still alive. Although he was alive, he looked awful...To describe his appearance in the best way possible, he looked like a zombie.

"Hey Taka-"

Taka grabbed my shoulders in desperation. "(Y/n)...is it true?"

"Um, is what true?"

"Can...I really see Chihiro?"

"Oh! I think you mean Alter Ego..."

"Is he alive?"

I paused for a moment. "Well, not exactly-"

"Please take me to him. I...I want to talk to him."

Ugh, I felt terrible. Kyoko said not to use Alter Ego without permission, but if I left Taka like this I would feel even worse. Ah, what to do...

"Okay, let's get going."

Taka's dull eyes seemed to light up for just a moment when I began to lead him down the hall and to the bath house. I led him inside and directed him to the locker where the laptop was kept.

"Where's Chihiro...?" Taka mumbled.

"Ah, okay. So on this laptop is a program called Alter Ego. Tell me what you would like to say and I'll type it," I answered. I placed my hands on the keyboard and glanced back at Taka.

Taka gulped and forced the words out from his mouth. "Do...you hate Mondo? And do you hate me for n-not being able to stop him?" I typed his questions and submitted them into the program.

The laptop emitted a green light as the face of Chihiro loaded onto the screen. Taka let out a small gasp as the gentle voice began to speak.

"Do you hold yourself responsible...? If Master were to answer, I believe he would say..." Alter Ego took a moment to load a line of dialogue. "Please live on for the both of us. Although it is impossible for me now, you can still survive and escape."

Taka's mouth was agape, but no words were spoken. I also kept silent as I let the situation play out before me.

"The one speaking is Taka, correct? Master told me about you and Mondo..." The laptop screen went dark for a moment. Once it had powered back on, a picture of Mondo had appeared onto the screen.

"Mondo?" I mumbled in slight awe.

"You're not giving up on yourself, are you?!" Mondo's voice rang out. "A man is only worth as much as the load he can carry! You understand. right bro? Are you just gonna stand there and wait for things to get better?"

Taka continued to stay silent for a moment before letting out a laugh. I turned my gaze from Alter Ego to Taka, gasping when I saw that he was smiling.

"Those words...are deep within my heart!" Taka yelled. A transformation began, Taka's former gloom replaced with a burst of confidence.

"What the hell?!" I shouted.

Taka's eyes were (quite literally) burning with passion as he let out a yell. "I'm totally stuffed with fighting spirit!"

"Taka, calm down!-"

"I am calm and do not call me Taka! That is no longer who I am...I'm me! I am a new me! I AM ME!" Taka howled, rushing out of the bathhouse.

I couldn't even register what had just happened. This school was just filled with fun surprises, wasn't it...

"What do you think you're doing?"

I turned my attention to the person who had just entered the bathhouse. There stood an annoyed Kyoko, her arms crossed her her chest.

"Oh, Kyoko! I was just-"

"Don't just do whatever you'd like. It will cause problems for everyone here," Kyoko asserted. "Get out. Now."

"Sorry," I muttered as I walked past Kyoko and out of the bathhouse. I returned to my room with not much else to do.

I thought back to Taka's outburst. How strange...all it took for him to regain his spirit was a few words from a computerized version of his former friend.

I wonder if Alter Ego could make a computerized Junko for me to talk to? Ah, it was probably best to not think about such things. Plus if I were to interact with Alter Ego again without permission Kyoko would be livid.

I laid back onto my bed, glancing up at the blank ceiling. I stretched my hand upwards as though I was trying tp reach the ceiling. The glimmer of my ring caught my attention. The ring Junko gave me was the only item I had left to remember her by. I curled myself into a fetal position, shutting my eyes tightly. I hated Hope's Peak Academy.

I could do everything I could to distract myself from this horrible situation, but at the end of the day I still sink into a pit of despair. Was there really any hope left?

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I do not own Danganronpa or any of the characters. I do not own the artwork used unless stated otherwise