With my head a tangled mess, I reach the gym to find everyone already waiting. The place is dolled up for a cutesy entrance ceremony, but in a few minutes Monokuma will pop out and a bomb will be singing backup.
"See? Told ya! Totally normal entrance ceremony, man!"
Hagakure Yasuhiro crows, and just looking at that sea-urchin hair makes my own scalp itch.
Anyway, if memory serves, right after the urchin says that line…
"Heeey, is everyone here~!? Then let's get this show started!!"
The sudden voice sends the kids spinning in confusion. I play along and glance around, just in time for Monokuma to spring from behind the podium.
"Waaah! The doll's talking!!"
"Stay calm…! It's just a speaker inside the doll…!"
Their shrieks volley with Monokuma's jokes, but I can't spare the bandwidth. My mind is totally consumed with one question: how do I commit murder?
While I'm wrestling with homicidal logistics, the students start yelling at Monokuma.
"What do you mean… live here forever…? You're joking, right…?"
"I never lie! I'm a good bear, you know!"
I'd sooner trust a wild grizzly flashing its fangs than that monochrome psycho. Still, Mukuro Ikusaba handles the act flawlessly—hidden talent for improv, apparently.
"Oh, that reminds me—one little detail. You're completely cut off from the outside world, 'kay?"
Monokuma keeps rattling off lame jokes, but aside from the sea-urchin who thinks this is some hidden-camera gag, everyone's faces are carved from dread.
The tension spikes when Monokuma lays out the conditions for leaving the academy.
"W-what did you say!? We have to kill each other…?"
"Why the hell would we kill each other!?"
"Yeah, quit the crap and just send us home!"
The protests fly—pointless, of course. Speaking of which, in a second Mondo Owada is going to…
"…Enough of this. Get outta my way."
Mondo shoves the sea-urchin aside, storms up to Monokuma, and hoists the bear by the scruff.
Any second now the warning beep will sound and the bear will explode—but Kyoko Kirigiri is supposed to warn him to throw it, so everything should be fine…
Wait, what the hell?
Kyoko Kirigiri is staring straight at me. Not gonna lie, my heart skips—hhnng, Kirigiri-sama… Focus! She should be warning Mondo right about now!
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!
"Quit making weird machine noises and say something already!"
This is bad. If Kyoko doesn't step in, Mondo's going sky-high. One option left—interfere.
"Throw it—now!"
"Huh…?"
"Shit, throw the damn thing already!"
Maybe my sudden ferocity startles him, because Mondo hurls Monokuma into the air. And the next instant…
BOOOOOM!
With a thunderous blast, Monokuma vaporizes mid-air. The students stare, mouths hanging.
I'll admit my own spine tingled. I KNEW it would explode, but the unplanned variables had my nerves coiled so tight I still flinched. Couldn't show it, though—Kyoko's been drilling holes in me with her eyes all this time.
Seriously, why is she STILL staring at me when a bomb just went off? Ultimate crush or not, it's spooky. I wrench my gaze away only to see another Monokuma rise from a trapdoor.
"Too bad~ I almost turned you into buttered mush~"
"W-what the hell did you just say, you bastard…?"
Mondo rages, but Monokuma's eyes lock on me. What gives? Is today my birthday?
"You again… Upupupu…"
Monokuma smacks his lips at me, then turns to address everyone.
"Well then… time for a final matriculation gift."
He hands out Electronic Student Handbooks. The indispensable Danganronpa gadget—right in my hands.
The fact it actually powers on excites me, but reality drags me right back down.
"That concludes the entrance ceremony! Please enjoy your rich and gloomy school life! See ya~"
Monokuma vanishes and silence crushes us. When everyone finally snaps out of it, panicked chatter erupts—until Kirigiri reins us in.
"Everyone, calm down. Let's summarize. According to Monokuma we've been given two choices."
Exactly—spend eternity here without killing, or kill someone and go free. A grotesque binary soaked in despair.
Some try to deny it, and Togami cuts them down.
"Whether it's true or a lie isn't the issue. The issue is…"
…whether someone already believes it. Like the blue-haired idol whose face just hardened.
The atmosphere grows heavier; everyone eyes each other. I already know who kills whom, so I just fiddle with my handbook.
"So, what now? Gonna keep tip-toeing around each other forever?"
Say what you mean! Kickacola!
Kirigiri's barbed words snap the others back to reality.
They pore over the regulations, but I keep focusing on my Mukuro problem.
While I'm spiraling, a memory flickers across my mind—
the IF side-story unlocked after beating Super Danganronpa 2.
'Right… according to that novella… Mukuro can be redeemed…'
It's post-sequel bonus content, but worth a shot. In that story, Naegi rescues Mukuro and turns her into an ally.
Mukuro's combat skill ranks at the top even among the Ultimates—only Sakura Ōgami could trade blows with her. Securing her would be a massive coup.
But I've also got to watch the blue-haired idol. Maizono is slated to fire the starting pistol.
Preventing her attempt is easier—block the room swap, hide the motive video, whatever. Stopping Mukuro's death is the real headache.
Mukuro is fated to defy Monokuma and get blindsided, so she worries me more than Maizono.
The plan: block Maizono's murder attempt, then rescue Mukuro. That's where my head is when—
"Guh…!"
A scream snaps me back—Naegi goes flying. The text never captured how spectacular the launch looks in real life.
We lay the unconscious Naegi in his room and split up to investigate. Time to see how perfectly this place matches my memory.
.
.
.
.
'Suspicious…'
Kyoko Kirigiri, choosing to explore alone, watches the boy's retreating back and thinks.
She can't put her finger on it, but every instinct screams that the boy is suspicious.
Nothing felt off when he arrived late and introduced himself in that awkward tone. But during their brief exchange, she sensed something distinctly strange.
He'd approached with a vacant expression, then looked at her with a gaze both nostalgic and heartbreaking. His voice trembled when he accepted her decision to keep her talent secret.
His behavior in the gym was even stranger.
He didn't so much as blink when a bear-shaped robot appeared. He kept a poker face when told they had to kill each other.
Then, locking eyes with her as though expecting something, he suddenly panicked—and prevented an explosion.
For a moment she wondered if he was the mastermind, but no mastermind would act so blatantly suspicious and sloppy. She shelved that theory… partially.
If he isn't the mastermind, how does he stay so calm, and how does he know so much about her—about a talent she herself doesn't fully grasp?
How much does he know? Does he understand her ability better than she does? What lets him remain composed in a nightmare like this?
One thing is certain: the Ultimate Counselor, "K," must be watched.
Lost in thought, Kyoko Kirigiri continues her investigation.