Chihiro's POV
I had a really fun training session with Mondo and Taka last night. After we were done,we went back to our rooms and rest. After i woke up,i heard Monokuma announcing that a body has been found. I immediately jumped up and changed my clothes,hurrying to look at who the next victim was. It was Hagakure. The killer? In the second classroom trial,we finally found out that Touko was also Genocider Syo. She killed him because Hagakure caught her transform into Genocider in the library. She wanted to keep her identity hidden. With that,Touko was punished and killed by Monokuma. The murdering went on. Next,it was Asahina and Hifumi. The culprit was Celes. She tricked Hifumi into killing Asahina. Celes then killed him off. After that,Sakura killed herself. She left a message,saying that she was a spy and she did it because she had to. She did it because her family's lives were at stake. She killed herself because she felt weak. She wasn't able to protect Asahina,her best friend,from being killed. She thought that by doing self suicide,it would redeem her sins for not being a good friend both to Asahina and to all of us. I was really scared. I didn't expect for these killing incidents to happen. But i was alright. Mondo and Taka were by my side. I was able to go through all of it together with them. Nine of us died and only six people were left. What's surprising for us next? There was another person. Monokuma forced us into finding the mysterious person's murderer. We found no evidence or clues whatsoever,but Monokuma said that it was Naegi. Kirigiri also said that Naegi was the culprit. We were hesitant,but we decided to vote for him and we were right. Naegi was almost squished to death in his 'punishment',when a glitch happened. The giant block of metal stopped while Naegi kept on moving backwards and fell to a deep hole. Monokuma just shrugged it off and left. Kirigiri left while the rest of us mourn over Naegi's death. But something bugged my mind.
"What's wrong,Chihiro?" Taka asked. I shook my head.
"Nothing. It's just that something feels off. Naegi should've been squished to death but the system glitched. I wonder why though.."
"Actually,i saw your face when the glitch happened" Mondo said.
My face? Could it be Alter Ego? But how? I haven't finished her yet. How can Alter Ego take over the system? I was thinking around when Kirigiri came back with Naegi. She told me that she had to make Naegi the blackened because she knew that Naegi will survive with luck on his side. Kirigiri and Naegi then went to the auditorium to challenge Monokuma on finding who the real culprit was. We all agreed. We will finish the killing incidents once and for all. Monokuma accepted the challenge. He opened all the locked areas and gave us little clues,including class photos. It's weird. We were here for only a few weeks. How could he have these photos? Editing maybe? I don't think so. After a few hours of clue finding,we finally found who the real mastermind was.
"The real mastermind is none other than Junko Enoshima!" Naegi said.
"You sure? You can still change your guess,Naegi" Monokuma said.
"I am absolutely sure! The Junko Enoshima we met before was your twin sister,Mukuro Ikusaba! She was also the body that you used as the mysterious person to frame me and kill me off!"
"Just admit it,Enoshima. All clues lead to you. There's no escaping from this. Show yourself!" Kirigiri sternly said. Monokuma then shut down,white smoke coming from behind him. Then there was a tiny bang and there she was. Junko Enoshima was the mastermind all along. She was standing proudly and wearing a crown on her head.
"HAHAHA! I gotta say,Naegi. You really are out of my expectations" she laughed.
"We got it right,so talk!" Togami demanded.
"Fine,fine. In short,i made the world drown into despair. You and your principal tried to lock yourselves inside so you can be safe from the outside world" Junko said while rolling her eyes.
"We...trapped ourselves..?"
"Yep. Me and big sis managed to get in just in time before you sealed off all exits. I then erased your memories for the last two years up until the day where we first enrolled at Hope's Peak. I gotta do a lil bit of surgery too,but that didn't effect anything. I did all of that so my plan called 'The School Life of Mutual Killing' can commence. Nine of us are already dead because of it!" She laughed. I heard a bang coming from Mondo's side.
"YOU BITCH!" He yelled.
"Oh yeah,a little information for all of you. The world's a beautiful mess of despair out there. I guarantee that your loved ones are dead" Junko laughed.
"Impossible! The Togami empire will not vanish!" Togami said.
"It did,though. I kinda killed off every member of the Togami family,even their business partners. So....TOGAMI EMPIRE IS LONG GONE,BABY!"
"Impossible..."
Togami then went to his knees, frustration and shock mixing together on his face. All of us were also gloomy,given the fact that our loved ones were gone.
"How about we play one final game?" Junko asked.
"What game..?"
"All of you cast the last vote. This time,it'll be different. You'll have to vote for hope or despair based on how you feel. If even one of you vote for despair,all of you will lose and you'll all be stuck in here for the rest of your lives. If all of you choose hope,i'll lose and give out the antedote to give you back your memories. I'll also die in execution and the air vents will go out,meaning you'll have to go out to survive. How about that?"
I would choose the first one,but i want to go out. I can't be stuck inside here any longer. If i chose the first one,i wouldn't remember any memories from the past either. But if i choose the second one...we could die outside. I'm scared. I don't know what to choose. I looked around and saw everyone else just as confused as i am.
"Your time is 5 minutes starting from now!" Junko said.
We all thought about choosing despair over hope,when Naegi raised his voice.
"No! We will not fall into despair! Mondo,your biker gang members are still out there. They need you to lead them on fighting the despair. There's no one else that is capable of leading them more than you. Ishimaru,your dad is a police. He can defend himself. You have to prove to your dad that you can be better from his expectations and make him proud. Togami,your family may have died,but you are Byakuya Togami. The Togami empire can still rise from the darkness. Lead the empire and make it shine once again. Chihiro,your programming skills are needed to stop the despair. Please,keep holding on. Your dad may not be that strong,but he's smart like you. You also have us. Kirigiri,your dad tried to save us. Don't let his efforts go to waste. I'm sure he's watching from above,being proud of us to be able to make it this far. I'm sure he's proud of you,his one and only daughter"
Naegi's words lit something inside all of us. We all smiled. The hope inside our hearts were finally brought back.
"TIME'S UP! So,what's your choice?" Junko said. We all switched glances with each other and nodded.
"HOPE!"
Junko was shocked and took a step back.
"W-What?! You should've chosen despair,not hope!"
"Shut your mouth,you peasant!" Togami yelled.
"It's over,Junko. We won. Now give us what you promised!" Naegi demanded. Junko shivered and laughed like a maniac. She lost but she was laughing?
"OH MY GOD! The despair...the despair of my thoroughly-thought plan failing is so good....AHAHAHA! Anyways,i always keep my word so..."
She then pressed a button that was in front of her. Purple gas filled the room. My head then throbbed painfully. I shut my eyes and held my head. The memories were slowly coming back. W-What is this?! M-Mondo was one of my childhood bullies?! I...I remember now! Mondo was my bully,we met again here at Hope's Peak...i remember everything! I gasped. Leon,one of my best friends,is dead...how would Souda feel? I looked at everyone else to see the same reaction. I looked at Mondo and felt hot tears fill my eyes.
"M-Mondo..."
He was on his knees,his face showing that he was shocked. His eyes were wide and his mouth was open.
"I...remember...." he mumbled. He then ran towards Junko and held her by the neck. Junko was gasping for air,clawing Mondo's hands with her nails,but to no avail. Mondo's grip got tighter.
"YOU....YOU BITCH! BECAUSE OF YOU,I ALMOST KILLED CHIHIRO,MY OWN BOYFRIEND OVER SOMETHING THAT WASN'T REAL! DAIYA'S STILL ALIVE AND I ALMOST KILLED CHI BECAUSE OF YOUR FALSE MEMORIES! YOU'RE GONNA GET IT THIS TIME!" He yelled. Taka ran over to him.
"KYOUDAI,NO! YOU'LL KILL HER!" Taka said.
"Taka,let him kill her. It was part of the deal" Kyoko said. She then looked at Mondo. They both nodded. And just like that,Junko died,being choked by Mondo. He dropped Junko's body to the ground and took a button device that fell off from her pocket. It was the button for opening the school's exit. Mondo then looked over to me with tears on his eyes. I ran to him and hugged him. He crouched down to my level and hugged me back,crying along with me.
"W-We made it,Mondo..."
"Y-Yeah...i really love you,princess....i almost killed-"
I knew what he wanted to say and i didn't want to hear it. I kissed him to stop his sentence. He was surprised at first,but he kissed back. After we separated,i looked at him in the eyes and held his face with my hands.
"Mondo,stop. I don't want to hear those words ever again. Okay?"
"Whatever you say,princess" he smiled.
"Umm..sorry to disturb you two lovebirds,but we have to go. Now. The air vent just died" Taka said. Was he standing there this whole time? That'd be really awkward. We then went to the school gates,meeting with the rest of the group. Naegi was the one who was holding the escape button.
"Alright,guys. This is it. We have to be ready for whatever is outside" Naegi said. We all nodded.
"It feels like graduation,don't you think?" Taka said. Kirigiri nodded and smiled.
"Perhaps you can say that"
"Man,if ya call this a graduation,this is probably the worst one ever" Mondo complained. We all just laughed while Togami smiled. Isn't that a first?
"We made it alive,Mondo. You should be thankful"
"Heh. Sorry,Chi" Mondo sheepishly said while scratching his head.
"You guys ready?" Naegi asked. We nodded. Mondo then took my hand and intertwined it with his,giving me a smile. I smiled back at him.
"Let's go!"
Naegi then pressed the button,opening the exit. This was it. We were finally out from the school. Danger lies ahead of us,but we'll be able get through it as long as we stick together. Hang on,dad. I'm coming for you.