Guide:

{Word Count: 3,232}

(Y/n)'s P.O.V.

The slight morph of expression on Celeste's face was confirmation of my presumption. I grinned slightly, satisfaction drowning out the former concerns I held about this trial. Though she tried to hold a poker face as her red irises lingered at the side of her narrowed eyes, I had already caught the sudden twitches of her now quivering lips and the fiddling of her pale fingers. A certain aura radiated from her, one that I had not seen from her before.

Fear.

She cleared her throat, beginning to walk away from me. "I do not know what you are referring to," she stated. The clicking of her heels against the tile seemed especially loud as I focused my attention on her. Like a predator selecting its prey, I had my eyes glued on the Ultimate Gambler. This was one bet she would not win.

Though it would be a bit boring to call her out right away, wouldn't it? You never begin the climax of a story only to resolve it right away.

Everyone was now stationed at their assigned podiums. The room seemed emptier than ever now. Perhaps that was because it was; there were only just a few of us left now. I noticed that the theme of the trial room had changed yet again. The colour pallet was more mellow now, the wallpaper a lovely shade of blue and teal stripes. There were also a few moons hung up on the wall as well. I wonder why Monokuma decided those would be a suiting theme for this trial.

"My, oh my! I just adore seeing how few of you there are in this trial room now!~" Monokuma giggled as he sat down on his throne. "What's with those faces? And yeesh! (Y/n) looks really intimidating right now.."

Everyone turned to look at me.

"Uhh, no she doesn't?" Hina quirked an eyebrow. "She looks like...totally chill right now."

"Oh, does she? Maybe it's just me then..." I noticed Monokuma smirk at me for just a second. "Anyways, that's not the point! Let's get this show on the road! Woohoo!! So excited for this!"

Hiro sniffled, cleaning his running nose on the white sleeves of his button-up shirt. "Why do you make us do such horrible things to each other...?"

Monokuma's smile faded. A scoff came from him as he rolled his eyes. "Isn't it obvious by now? You guys are so stupid. I want to spread the despair that seeps inside my soul to all of you. It's my job, it's my purpose. Get it through your thick skulls!" Hiro flinched at the sudden yell from the male sitting on the throne.

Monokuma grew amused of the fear radiating from Hiro. His frown slowly grew to a smirk which had then evolved into a wide grin as he broke into a fit of laughter. Clutching his stomach and smacking the armrest of the throne, Monokuma couldn't even form a sentence.

"Stop goofing around and begin the trial already!" Byakuya demanded.

"Shut it, Byakuya! I start the trial when I wanna! Don't rush me, stupid head!" Monokuma's laughter ended. He pouted and crossed his arms, turning his head to the side with his nose pointed up towards the high ceiling.

We all were forced to wait until Monokuma's little fit had ended. Luckily, it only took a few seconds for Monokuma to grow bored of pouting.

The trial was commenced.

Hina was the first to speak. "This is pointless! We already know who did it!"

"Ohhhh?~ Is that so?" Monokuma leaned forward as though he was a child listening to an interesting story told by his father.

"Yes. It was Hiro. I have no doubt in my mind. All evidence points to him, after all," Celeste explained. She briefly glanced in my direction. All I had done was stare right into her blood red eyes.

"I didn't do anything!!" Hiro clasped his hands together above his head. He seemed to beg for mercy. "Someone knocked me out! I don't know anything about anything, I promise you!!"

"I am sorry to break this to you, but we do have much evidence leading to you being the culprit of this case." Celeste sighed, resting a hand on her chest. She listed all of the points of evidence, further pushing Hiro into a corner of despair. "The evidence is quite compelling. (Y/n), wouldn't you agree?"

Ah, what an interesting technique.

I smiled at Celeste. My calm demeanor didn't seem to unease her in this moment. Directly asking me in this situation was a rather ballsy move.

"It is rather obvious answer, isn't it? However, isn't it too obvious? Either Hiro is just that incredibly stupid or, just perhaps, he is being framed."

Kyoko raised her eyebrow. "(Y/n), would you elaborate on that?"

Before I could answer, Byakuya opened his big mouth and beat me to it. "Actually, why don't we discuss the evidence that leads Hiro to being the culprit? I wouldn't want to waste my time on (Y/n)'s theory unless there is a weakness in the current answer. It would be a waste of precious time. If we find something that spares Hiro some innocence, only then will I think this is worth looking into."

What an asshole.

"Actually Byakuya-"

"I do think that is a good idea," Celeste intervened Kyoko. Kyoko sent her a slight glare to which Celeste only smiled.

"But-" I couldn't even finish my sentence when suddenly a horrific pain shot through my brain. I gasped, grasping the bandages that were tightly wound around my head. Was the medicine finally wearing off?

Hina quickly reacted, leaning against her assigned podium and shouting, "(Y/n), are you okay?!"

"I-I..." I could only muster up a pathetic, weak tone. "Gah!-" My sentence wasn't completed due to another pang worsened the aching in my head. I began to feel weak and light, almost as though I was no longer apart of my body. The voices around me grew all lumped together to form an annoying, unclear sound. Black had eaten away at my vision until I could no longer see anything before me.

Without being able to control it, I had passed out.

As soon as (Y/n)'s eyes had closed and she began to fall forward, I was already rushing out of my seat. The throne was incredibly elevated above the ground to loom over those in the trial room, but despite that I had still jumped down without hesitation. There was a slight ache in my ankles when I landed, but I didn't pay any mind to it. I rushed over to (Y/n), lifting her from the podium she was slumped against.

I carried her in a bridal style and gripped her body tightly in fear of dropping her. It was a bit hard to carry her properly when she was limp in my arms, but I managed to make my way back to my throne without dropping her.

"Continue the trial!" I announced to the students. "Sheesh, don't pay any mind to her, alright?! It's not like she's dead or anything." Upon me announcing so, the others continued the trial. I struggled to climb back up onto my throne, nearly tripping on each step. One I finally made it up, I collapsed down onto the plush seat, placing (Y/n) down onto my lap.

I positioned her so she could comfortably rest her head on my chest. The back of her knees rested atop the left armrest, dangling the rest of her legs off of the throne. One arm wrapped around her and the other resting on her thigh, I held her protectively as though she would drift away with the wind if I were to let her go.

With (Y/n) now absent from the trial, Kyoko took charge. She asked questions, accused others, and pointed out different clues others seemed to somehow miss. It was quite impressive, but not as impression as (Y/n) was.

I looked down at the female passed out in my lap. I wonder what caused her to do so? Though I do admit...

She looked super adorable when she was asleep!

I unconsciously grinned like a fool, brushing a stray strange of (h/c) hair from her face. I trailed my index finger down the side of her face as I admired how her (s/c) skin seemed to gleam in the lighting of the trial room. Her peaceful expression put me at ease, even if it was just for a moment. No one could ever deny how beautiful she was.

"Hey, human teddy bear!" I heard a sudden exclamation from Hina. Unamused, I turned my attention to her with a deadpan expression. How rude of her to interrupt my time to admire (Y/n)!

Hina furrowed her brows as she, rather loudly, yelled at me. "Stop being so creepy with (Y/n)! Don't be all gross and touchy with her while she's sleeping!"

"..." My frown slowly morphed into a smirk. I noticed how Hina's eyes widened. I only pulled (Y/n) closer, nestling my face into her hair. I gripped her even tighter and softly chuckled at Hina's fallen expression.

"Hey, stop doing that!!" hissed an angered Ultimate Swimmer. From the loud exclamation, (Y/n) stirred a bit. Her peaceful expression morphed, her nose scrunching and her eyebrows furrowing. My breath hitched for a moment. When she finally returned to her deep sleep, I relaxed again.

"Hey, stop being so loud!" I whisper-shouted to Hina, a glare accompanying my statement. "Get back to the trial! I'll claw your eyes out if you don't!!"

Taking my threat seriously, Hina returned to the trial, her lips awkwardly sealed in a tight line. I laughed at her reaction, but kept my laughing quiet in consideration of (Y/n). She must be so tuckered out... She deserved a nice rest right here in my lap!

I hardly even paid attention to the trial at this point. I rested my elbow against the right armrest, leaning my cheek in my open palm. Whenever I watched the trial, I simply scanned all the students in boredom. I would much rather focus my attention on the pretty girl sleeping in my lap.

After what seemed like years of watching the students argue back and forth, the climax of the trial finally began. Celeste was acting rather strangely compared to the normal façade she usually put up. Uncomposed and frantic, Celeste screamed at Kyoko whenever she brought up Celeste's real name. This was way more interesting to watch than the rest of the trial.

Of course I knew Celestia Ludenburg was a fake name, but would they get the gothic girl to admit that herself?

"Celeste... Could you please show us your handbook?" requested Kyoko. She radiated an authoritative aura as she spoke. Her expression hardened when Celeste shook her head and refused to comply.

"Th-That's an invasion of privacy!!" Celeste insisted, sweat pouring down her abnormally paled skin. "I refuse to do so!"

Kyoko paused for a moment. An audible sigh escaped from past her lips as she uncrossed her arms. "Celestia Ludenburg, reveal to us your real identity. It is over now. You are cornered."

"It...It is not in my nature to give up. Even in situations like this, it's against my nature to give up! Because.... Because..." Celeste seemed to struggle to form her next sentence. "Because, because, because, because, because-!"

"Celeste."

Panting, Celeste's face scrunched into an ugly expression of pure rage. She pointed a finger at the lavender-haired female accusing her, yelling, "until this game is over, you never know what might happen!!"

"I have no choice," Kyoko announced. She then recounted every single detail of the case, staring down Celeste as she did so. I didn't really care to listen. After all, I was there to see everything go down on camera. After the explanation, Kyoko spoke these next words that absolutely shattered the Ultimate Gambler. "Celestia Ludenburg, you have lost."

"I...lost?" Celeste repeated in utter disbelief. "I... I have never spoken those words before. Those words hang heavy on my shoulders, dragging me down to the deepest pits of despair..."

"You are the killer, are you not?"

"Ah, Kyoko, here you are taking charge. You must have been some sort of detective in your last life," Celeste gazed off to the side. "I, Celestia Ludenburg- Actually, no. My name is Taeko Yasuhiro. I will admit that now. I cannot bring myself to drag things on after I have lost so horribly."

Taeko clasped her hands together, a habit she seemed to do mindlessly, and turned to me. She couldn't even bring herself to smile at this moment. "Monokuma, I am ready to begin. Actually, this must be the end. Please begin the voting time."

"As you wish, Miss Taeko Yasuhiro," I spoke those words slowly, seemingly rubbing in her defeat. "Everyone, the moment we've all been waiting for... Voting time!"

The usual happened: a lever appeared in front of each of the students for them to vote. Each of them voted for the blackened in silence. As expected, Taeko was pronounced guilty.

"Since (Y/n) has unfortunately passed out in my arms like a princess being saved by a prince, I will not count her as a voter for this trial. Anywho, you guys were totally correct again!~ How exciting!"

Taeko ignored me, turning to the other students and beginning to chatter about something. It had to be important, but due to her low tone and me being practically glued to the chair by (Y/n) in my lap, I was forced not to listen in on the information she spoke about.

I impatiently waited for her speech to be over so the punishment could begin. Oh my, did I have a wonderful punishment for her! I bet her heart will be lit ablaze by how amazing the execution will be!

Now annoyed with impatience, I shouted, "hey, enough chit-chat! You need to be executed!" I gasped at my loud voice, quickly checking to see if it woke up the angel in my arms. Luckily, it had not.

"Very well. I suppose I'll let Kyoko hang onto this," Taeko dropped a key into Kyoko's gloved hands. Hmm... I think I had an idea as to what that would be. "I hope this may give you the hope you all strive for so desperately. Well then... Take care everyone." Taeko gave everyone one last false smile. "Perhaps we can all meet again in another life..."

Turning to me, Taeko showcased how she was prepared for her punishment. I grinned in excitement. Before focusing on the punishment, I began to shake (Y/n) awake. Due to my continuous shaking, her eyes slowly opened and peered up at me.

"Mmm... Monokuma...?" she mumbled, looking up at me with those beautiful (e/c) eyes of hers. Just her gaze made my heart flutter.

"Mhm, it's me, your knight in shining armor~" I chuckled when she made a face at the comment. "Time to wake up, sleeping beauty. Or do you need me to kiss you awake?" I puckered my lips and pulled her in, making tons of kissing noises as I did so.

As expected, she acted like she didn't like me and immediately shoved my face away.

"Gross! Don't kiss me, weirdo!" shouted (Y/n), hurriedly sitting herself up and jumping down the throne. She jumped down with ease, not even in pain after she landed rather harshly on her feet. Maybe it was 'cuz she played in tons of action films where she had to preform stunts like that.

(Y/n) fixed up her appearance before joining the other students that clustered in a group. I saw Kyoko quickly give an explanation as to what happened as well as (Y/n) sending a certain look towards Taeko.

"Can we finally start?" Taeko asked, her smile slightly wavering.

"Of course~ Allow us to begin!~ It's punishment time!!" Just as always, a button appeared before me to begin the punishment. I slammed a mallet down on the large, red button, laughing as I did so.

I quickly traveled down the stairs of my throne to begin the fun. Pulling a chain off of the floor, I slung it around Celeste's neck and proceeded to drag her down the hall behind me. My laughter echoed against the walls of the hall as I did so.

Now it's time for the end of yet another Ultimate student.

(Y/n)'s P.O.V.

Though I had not participated in the trial, I was still forced to watch the execution. I couldn't believe I was resting in Monokuma's lap the entire time... That was seriously embarrassing. Not to mention I would get backlash from asshat Byakuya Togami later about this.

However, it wasn't time to worry about that now. The punishment was beginning.

The trial of Taeko Yasuhiro, the one I knew was behind this in the end. I wonder if perhaps I would get a bit of satisfaction from this punishment?

Taeko was positioned against a tall, wooden log with many hay bales placed around her. Tons of Monobears were in the crowd of this execution, laughing as the executor, Monokuma, neared Taeko with a lit match in hand. He flicked the match into the flammable material, scurrying back in order to avoid getting burned.

The flames of the fire that surrounded Taeko reflected in my (e/c) eyes as I watched. The flames danced around like a couple performing a tango for a large audience. The blazing fire engulfed Taeko bit by bit, but a smile stayed as she endured throughout the entire execution.

The execution ended with a firetruck ramming into Taeko to finish her off. The flames slowly dispersed, leaving us all in darkness. Monokuma hopped out of the firetruck, making his way through large amounts of rubble and ashes to reunite his feet with the floor of the execution room. Sweat dripped from his skin, causing his hair to stick to his forehead and his skin to shine in the dim lighting. He stomped on one more ash that remained ablaze, successfully putting out every last bit of the fire.

It was over; Taeko Yasuhiro had been executed. Reduced to nothing more than a pile of ashes, we would never see her again.

As my eyes adjusted to the new lighting without the blazing fire, I looked away from Monokuma and to the students around me. I noticed Hina covering her mouth with her hand, fighting back the urge to vomit from the horrific execution that just took place.

I was doing the same, covering my mouth with my hand. However, I was not fighting back the urge to vomit, but instead... I hid a smile.

Perhaps, just this once, I could allow myself to indulge in despair. After all, isn't this what was wanted of me?

This is what she would have wanted. No, this is what she wants.

Tears streaming down my face with a smile hidden behind my trembling hand, I stared at the aftermath of Taeko's execution. Conflict continued to rip me apart on the inside. Two complete opposites fought for dominance inside of my body.

Hope or despair... What would win me over in the end?