sanctuaryinfear

[sanctuaryinfear]

             CHAPTER SIX END > NEW GAME START?

TEN ITEMS ARE WAITING IN YOUR PRESENT BOX…

UR Hisako Uehara

UR Kuukai Nikaidou

UR Masaru Kishibe

UR Shiori Morishima

UR Miles “Milo” Saito

UR Ryuuya Nakagami

UR Miyako Naito

UR Sakuya Uehara

UR Hayate Minami

Bonus Content?

      CONGRATULATIONS! THANK YOU FOR PLAYING!

[sanctuaryinfear]

             CHAPTER SIX END > NEW GAME START?

SIX ITEMS ARE WAITING IN YOUR PRESENT BOX…

UR Katsuo Mizushima

UR Risa Ryuu

UR Yui Hibiki

UR Emil Akagi

UR Keiichi Yokoyama

UR Kiyoi Endo

[sanctuaryinfear]

{ Epilogue || Lazy Days }

It was just another day, and a new term had begun in your academy. You had started attending Hope’s Peak Academy, a school for the gifted and noticed in society, about a year ago. It was strange to think that spring was upon you again…

You entered your classroom bright and early. This was a new assignment, and you could not say you weren’t at least a little bit excited. You weren’t too attached to your previous class, not able to really recall a single name or say much about them. They were all pleasant peers, but there was nothing that clicked between you all. You couldn’t imagine making any memories with any of them.

Perhaps this group could be different. It felt a bit odd being reassigned for you had thought they kept all their respective classes together throughout their years, yet here you were. You supposed maybe not all traditions were meant to be kept. A breath of fresh air and a new pace could surely do you some good.

A series of greetings already started as you all idled there coming from the various, bright faces.

“Gooooood mornhan~ Ah say, it’s a lovely morning….” Giving a small yet energetic hop, Yui (a name you would catch onto later) bounces around a few times before giving a hearty laugh. “Bwahaha….it feels like Ah slept forever! How about yah…? Oh! Yeah! Want to hang out today?”

"Good morning, good morning!!! C'mon, c'mon, it's gonna be a great day!! I can feel it!!!"

[ good morning! rise and shine!! looks like you had your beauty sleep... or maybe thats just you! ;) ]

"Oh! Good morning! Let's do our best today, okay? Hee hee- I'm ready to go if you are!"

“Goooood mornin’! The air feels mighty nice today! I have a feeling this is gonna be a good day! How about you?”

“Ehe, good mornin’! Hey, to wake you up, I’ve got a joke, wanna hear? It’s like this: Once upon a time there was a cheerio—“

"Five more minutes, I want five more fucking minutes please. I am too tired for this."

Another peer whose name you would learn later, Hozumi, waves his hand to you, a brief but gentle smile on his face. ". . . Hey. Mornin', bud. Nice to see you. . . What's up?"

“Huh? Why are you staring? Ah, do I have bedhead? How embarrassing...well, good morning to you, anyway!”

Another waves really cheerily and show you their board! It says <Good morning !!! Let's make today a good day!!! ^o^)b>

You already felt at least a little welcome, and you had given your own good morning in the great exchange. You felt a smile tug at your lips, and there was a strange feeling you had never felt before. These people felt oddly familiar, yet you were certain you had never met the majority of these people at least personally.

You simply shrugged it off, ready to forge a new future with these peers of you… these twenty-six strangers.

[ art by n! ]

[sanctuaryinfear]

[sanctuaryinfear]

{ Endgame || Winter’s Kiss }

When you turned to see who it was, it was a red-head with a very tired face, though he still somehow managed to keep poise about despite his disheveled appearance.

“Kimino-san?!”

The one called Kimino nodded slowly.

“Miyamoto, Inoue, you really did make up a good mess out of things, didn’t you?”

A sigh escaped his lips and he shook his head briefly.

“I couldn’t care less myself; I was beginning to feel less and less proud of what I had made anyway.  It was more annoying to deal with Haruguchi, I want you to know. I’ve got better things to be doing than listen to his chides.”

“The rest of you. I’m Masaru Kimino. Call me Kimino for both convenience sake and formality I guess, though I doubt we’ll ever see each other again after this with this memory.”

“I’m an alumni of Hope’s Peak Academy. I used to be the Super High-School Level Programmer. I… specialized in making things like this happen. Virtual realities. It was kind of the only fun I ever had until I met idol games. You can thank me for that part. All my orders were were to make you a world to live in, but if I got to mess around with it, I’d do it.”

“The… fact that you all were stuck in one wasn’t supposed to be too obvious, but I guess you could say I got tired of watching you all. My neglect got taken over though, so that just bit me in the ass, you could say. Thanks Miyamoto and Inoue.”

“Colleen and Lucas were just there to be your babysitters since I would rather not do it myself, and also because I was ordered to give you babysitters to replace Miyamoto and Inoue anyway. I never said I was good at making artificial intelligence, to set the record straight.”

He paused again as if he needed a breather himself. He didn’t seem very used to talking so much. You noted how he seemed to refuse to keep any eye-contact at all with anybody, seeming unused to doing that as well.

“You can think of this as an experiment put into the wrong hands. I may follow directions from higher-ups and for money, but I still like to have a little fun myself. When the fun ran out, so did the stability of this project. Sorry, not sorry if you’re listening right now Haruguchi.”

“Now that both Haruguchi’s and Minami’s goals have been accomplished even if not in the best way, I’m caving into Miyamoto and Inoue and pulling the full stops on this trainwreck.”

“I’ll be gone soon, but I should explain the procedure of how this going to go since for some reason I was oh so very graciously trusted with this duty.”

He rolled his eyes.

“Even if you all agreed to this, you understand we can’t just let you all go run willy-nilly after this. Call it kindness or barbarity, but we’re going to let you all go back to your normal attendance at the academy but we have to wipe your memories. For those that died who really cared, you were all being stationed at my grandparents’ inn. They’re getting tired of me occupying the whole damn place anyway.”

“I… frankly don’t know why any of you would want to remember any of this— I sure wouldn’t, but you can’t just be blabbing about everything that happened here, and you probably wouldn’t be able to just resume your school lives normally if you had fake murder on the mind. I’m sure this probably ended up counting as unethical anyway, so it’s best to just push all this under the rug.”

“You’ll all get memories to replace those of this mutual killing, but they’ll be pretty boring, average, teenage memories, I guess.”

“You don’t have a choice in this matter, and we’ll be letting you out one at a time. Once we wiped your memories, we’ll transfer you back to your dormitories in the actual campus in the hour of buffer time we get before you’ll just naturally wake up. It’s almost morning anyway in the real world, so I’m thankful for that at least. Less confusion for all of us to deal with.”

“We’re going down roster-order sans Minami since he’s already out and taken care of if you have to know. Sorry to everyone at the end of the list. When I’m popping out, it should only take a few minutes for Mizushima to disappear from this world.”

There was a bit of a pause before he turned away and began to vanish.

“...You’re safe with us at Hope’s Peak Academy; we’ll take care of all of this, and you can just forget it, trust me.”

[ art by n! ]

[sanctuaryinfear]

Endgame || The End, the Fall

After a few moments, you heard the brunet stranger clear his throat.

“My name is Daisuke Miyamoto for thosse who didn’t know already. My companion here isss Yuuki Inoue. We’re... from the firssst incident. We got ordered to s-ss-stay and be templates for... well...”

He gave a deep bow to everyone, changing his topic completely, leaving the last one dead.

“I… really am ss-sorry… We were told to come in thiss world and ssstick around s-so that Lucas and Colleen wouldn’t interfere. The only way they could ever die… is if we were in the s-ssame place as them for an extended period of time. Er... We’ve been here for a while but... in hiding. ...Until jussst now.”

It was then you heard Yuuki’s loud voice pierce the sense of calm that had been associated with Daisuke’s words that filled the air.

“HPHM! That’s right-- you should be glad we decided to show up!”

“Er… you don’t have to be… really.”

“Uuuum, of course they should be! After all, we’re the ones who had to meddle around with the program and all just to save theeem~!”

In sharp reaction, the rather quiet male’s eyes widened and he brought up a finger to his lips.

“SSSSHH..!!”

A new voice, one unfamiliar to some but barely familiar to others, piped up from elsewhere, the familiar sound of materializing into this reality also resounding throughout the trial room.

“Don’t worry about keeping quiet, you two.”

[sanctuaryinfear]

Endgame || Unforgettable Summers

You turn your heads, finding that two new people materialized in the trial room. Those that died could recognize them, but you can’t deny the fact that the bellhop and candy counter girl both bear some sort of resemblance to the two, and you realize that the four’s voices sound identical, Lucas to the brunet man, and Colleen to the blonde girl. After a bit more time, you began to remember the corpse you had been led to, and you can at the very least pin the identity of the female.

“Um...w...who are you…? Lucas...do you know...um...these people…?”

“We’re you...but stronger!”

“End this ch-charade, Yuuki!”

“Bleh! You’re no fuuuun!”

You watch as Lucas and Colleen’s struggle to maintain any sort of presence. Colleen looks towards her peer, and any look of boredom over these past few weeks has changed to one of absolute terror.

“...Lu...Lucas...is...this the end…? Are we...going to…?”

Lucas doesn’t answer, and Colleen didn’t finish her sentence. You have a feeling you understood her own worries though, and very soon the unidentified brunet speaks up.

“I’m s-ssorry, but thisss won’t take too long. The pain will be over s-soon.”

He offered a truly apologetic look, contrasting heavily with his peer. His words rung true, for when either the bellhop or the candy counter girl tried to open their mouths, the glitching got progressively worse until you could barely recognize that there were supposed to be people where they stood save for the occasional flicker of stability.

“I’m sorry...I hope all of you...enjoyed your stay. I can’t do much more now...to make it any better...so please, I’ll be happy...as long as I know I did my...best… Ah...I’m so scared…”

Though it was difficult to make out, it almost looked like Colleen was smiling, though it soon fell, and her voice trailed off with a whimper of sorts.

Thiss iss where I s-say I really belong to your kind, huh? I’m… not God’s Chosen, but I’m a mortal. Jussst like you all! S-Ssso... “

You begin to hear Lucas start to cry, unable to finish his words. He sounds so young the way he does, as if he were some child experiencing something for the first time.

And then the two were gone.

[ art by leo! thank you! ]

[sanctuaryinfear]

Endgame || Spring into Action

After the execution was done with, you knew in yourself that it was pointless. After all, seeing how all the other deceased students had been brought back just by breaking a mirror, you technically could all just do the same for your mastermind, couldn’t you? You could call this just the end and try and forget…

You all are faced with a horribly awkward silence, until you hear two pained screams.

You turn to the sources, and you realize that the voices belong to Colleen and Lucas. This was the first time you had ever heard either of them actually seem to be legitimately hurt or suffering and for a longer amount of time, and you watch as the two begin to seem to glitch out once more, but their states seemed to be severely worse than what you had seen at dinner.

“H-huh…? What’s...happening...L-Lucas…?”

“What iss thiss…?”

You’re unsure for the sudden cause. If it were just because the mastermind had just been executed, then they would have been at risk the entire time. That didn’t make sense at all…

“Taadaa~! Here we aaaare! Miss me yet? Come on, Daisuke, you’re taking too looong~!”

“Yuuki… Honessstly, we could’ve entered more sssslowly…”

[ art by farren! thank you! ]

[sanctuaryinfear]

Clocktheatre || S(he) Loves Me, (S)he Loves Me Not

TW: Blood, Stomach Trauma, Strangulation, Physical and Emotional Abuse, Caps, Car Crash

Commencing execution…

                           【 (S)He loves me, (s)he loves me not 】

[♫]

As the screens turn on, it occurs to you that this will be the last execution you’ll have to witness. Just one more time and you would be finally free. At last, you wouldn’t be forced to watch these gruesome sights anymore and even though you know that Hayate wouldn’t actually die (or at least that’s what you assumed from everything you’ve learned thus far), it doesn’t change the fact that it would be still a chore to watch through it.

At the beginning, you spot the popping dancer in a long, dimly lit hallway. Given that behind him was a dead end, he didn’t have much of a choice but to proceed forward. His footsteps echo loudly in the hallway and for the first minute or two, it would be the only sound you would hear. He’d also pulled up his hood from the start, obscuring his face from your view.

Thankfully, this monotone procedure was soon over when Hayate spotted a better lighted area in front of him. Without meaning to, he picks up his pace to reach it - having since long seen the dark red door that awaited him at the end of the hallway. For a moment, he just stands there, before he hesitantly grabs the door handle. Carefully, he pushes it open a bit, merely wanting to take a peek inside. However, thanks to the view you have, you’ve seen a few moments before that a pair of hands emerged from the darkness, pushing him forcefully into the room that lies beyond the door.

In contrast to the dark corridor, Hayate was now in the middle of a colorful disco filled with people. Instead of silence, music was blaring from all sides, though that was one of Hayate’s least problems. After all, he’s being pulled through the masses by the people that occupy it - and you had to admit, seeing how all of them appear to be businessmen of sorts was rather strange. It also doesn’t help that they were faceless, so it only adds to the creepiness.

In the middle of all the pushing and pulling, his hood had come off and when the last person threw him to a spot on the dance floor that was actually free, his cloak had been ripped off from him. Thus, Hayate fell to the ground in his usual attire - no edgy glasses or his vest having red spades and clovers on them anymore. There was no time to analyze why he’d been stripped off of them, because the camera panned out to ten men who stepped into the free space as well. If it weren’t for their hairstyles and -colors, they would’ve looked like everyone else in the room.

When Hayate got up from where he’d fallen, his eyes widened in surprise and shock upon seeing the men in front of him. It seemed like as if he was able to recognize them despite how shallow they looked. Again, there was not much time to think, as the music suddenly changes and the crowd starts to cheer. In the background, a panel lit up with the following written on it; “DANCE OFF BETWEEN THE MOON FOXES!”

From somewhere - you weren’t really sure where though -, someone shouts into a microphone:”LET’S GIVE IT TO HIROSHIIIIIII~!”

Without further ado, one of the men steps up and begins to dance to the music - you recognize it as a streetstyle once. The crowd goes wild, though the dance itself only lasts for about 20 seconds, before the voice calls out for someone else.

“HEEEEEEERE COMES NAOKIIIIII~!”

As ‘Hiroshi’ walked back to the others, the one called Naoki took his place on the dance floor and started to pick up from where his partner left. This procedure was repeated again and again, each time with a different name.

Takuya. Shouhei. Isamu. Kohaku. Ayumu. Kaito. Yuuichirou. Aoi.

[TW: Stomach Trauma]

As the last one was almost finished with his performance, he had closed the distance between himself and Hayate, who was merely observing everything from where he stood. It wasn’t the first time that one of the men got close to the popping dancer, though this time would be different. After all, you see how ‘Aoi’ suddenly pulls out a knife from his sleeve and rams it deep into Hayate’s abdomen. Completely taken aback, a pained yelp escapes the boy’s throat and he hunches over while the crowd seems to get ecstatic.

[TW END]

Before Hayate had even the chance to react in any way, two of the other dancers approached them, securing his arms with an iron-tight grip. Hayate was forced to stand despite in how much pain he was. The knife was then mercilessly pulled out from his wound, blood gushing out so quickly that it stained a considerable amount of the floor in no time. Hayate’s pained scream was drowned out in the cheering of the crowd, as well as the invidious laughter of the supposed Moon Foxes members.

The purple-haired boy was struggling to hold onto his consciousness, so he wasn’t quite aware of what would happen next - you, on the other hand, saw what was about to unfold.

As the knife wielder was about to stab Hayate again, his hand got grabbed by someone else. You recognize these hands from back at the beginning, but your attention was instantly taken to what these hands were doing - you already knew what one of them did and you would witness what the other did in a second.

After all, it’s hard to miss the knife that was dug into ‘Aoi’s’ back now.

When the camera finally pans out on the whole picture, you notice several things. Aside from the new body that just hit the floor, there are several other corpses in the background; seven to be more precise. Then, there was the crowd that started to freak out and leave the murder scene as fast as they could. Last, but not least, the holder of the second knife - a middle-aged woman with black hair and brown eyes. Her flower-patterned dress is tainted with blood, but she pays no mind to it and instead attacks the duo that hold the purple-haired student. Her face is completely blank as she stabbed both of them fatally while Hayate - now with no one lifting him up anymore - falls unceremonically to the ground. A pained groan escapes him as he put his hands onto his wound and squints his eyes harshly.

The groan seemed to have caught the woman’s attention, whose face showed emotions now. It was surprise at first, before it turned to a worried expression. She kicks both bodies away from Hayate, giving them a dirty look, then turns around and... smiles. However, it wasn’t any normal smile that was plastered on her face - it was the kind of smile that would make your alarm bells go crazy and urge you to get the hell away from that woman.

“Hayate-chaaaaan~”

Her voice was sickenly sweet and that alone made Hayate freeze. His eyes shot up instantly, widened in complete terror. He began to shake violently, trying to make his body move, but yet again, he was powerless to do anything. The woman kneeled besides him and put the knife away, scooping the bleeding boy up into her arms. She gently stroked a hair strand out of his face before pulling him into a tight hug - so tight that it was suffocating.

Though not nearly as much as her words.

“Don’t worry, my child, auntie loves you… Auntie loves you so much, even more than your dead mummy. Auntie is the best, isn’t she? She won’t die and leave you behind. She won’t be like her stupid sister. She’ll always love you and never let go...”

Her tone was a strange mix of gentleness and eeriness, her smile having an almost maddened tone to it.

“Auntie loves you… auntie loves you…”

Hayate shook his head weakily, coughing as he had difficulties to breathe due to the smothering hug he found himself in. The same Hayate who usually didn’t shy away from physical contact at all, the one who would never push anyone away from him…

That Hayate tried to desperately pull himself away from his apparent aunt.

When she felt the resistance against her - no matter how weak it was -, she froze up, her face blank again. She simply sat there for a few moments, before something changed - now, her face was contorted in rage and fury and with a shrill scream, she threw Hayate away from her. He landed harshly on the ground and let out a gasp, writhing in pain.

[TW: Physical and Emotional Abuse, Strangulation, Caps]

He didn’t get any moment to catch his breath, of course - this was an execution, after all, so it only made sense for his situation to get more and more worse. Thus, it only took seconds for the woman to storm towards him and begin to strangle him, whilst also violently bang his head against the floor multiple times. As if that wasn’t enough, she started to hurl all kinds of insults at him.

“I HATE YOU! YOU’VE TAKEN MY BELOVED SISTER AWAY FROM ME, YOU DEMON CHILD! YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONE TO DIE AND NOT HER! A LITTLE KID IS WORTH NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, YOU’RE DISPOSABLE! SHE WAS MY LIGHT AND YOU TOOK HER AWAY FROM ME! BRING HER BACK! BRING ETSUKO BACK AND DIE IN HER STEAD! DIE, JUST FUCKING DIE ALREADY YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF TRASH! DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE!!!”

Midways, Hayate’s glasses fell from his face and the aunt hurled him against the ground again, letting go of his throat. The injured man coughed violently, gasping for air while clinging to his consciousness with all of his might. He was dizzy from all the abuse, not capable of thinking straight anymore - not like you could blame him, given that he definitely had a concussion on his head now along with the stab wound in his abdomen.

[TW END]

You could only watch helplessly as the black-haired woman grabbed the knife and made her way back to Hayate, kneeling down as she started to stab him god-knows how many times. If you had dark humor, you might entertain the thought of Hayate turning into swiss cheese.

She didn’t stop ramming the knife into him nor throwing insults at him even after life had already vanished from his body.

However, when she finally realized that he wasn’t moving anymore, her body froze up again, her face twisting into agony. She seemed to be completely horrified at the sight before her, shakily dropping the knife from her hands.

“H… Hayate?”

Her voice broke as she called out to the dead boy, though naturally, there was no response. Tears welled up in her eyes and she screamed in terror, hugging the lifeless body close to her. Again and again, she shouted his name desperately, pleading and begging for him to come back. At one point though, it wasn’t Hayate’s name that you heard anymore - it changed into Etsuko.

You thought that this should finally be the end of this mockery and you weren’t wrong to think that - you only weren’t prepared for the last seconds of this execution.

[TW: Car Crash]

Out of nowhere, a car crashed into the room, flying directly towards Hayate and his aunt. There were only split seconds to take in as much as you could; like the couple inside said vehicle. Despite how quick it happened, your eyes went to the passenger seat where you saw a woman that looked similar to the aunt - and especially to Hayate.

Though her smile was an especially cruel one.

[TW END]

Before the car could hit them, the screen cuts to black - though you weren’t spared from the horrible noises that followed after the crash. It would chill you to your bones.

And then, there was silence.

Sergeant Grey Hayate Minami, SHSL Popping Dancer and Mastermind has been executed!

[ art by finn! thank you! ]

[sanctuaryinfear]

Endgame | Showtime’s over, but not without a warning

[♫]

Although he was looking like a very sad man™ right now, a more genuine smile crossed his features, his eyes more focused on those whom he got close to.

“I’m glad that I didn’t let my fear consume me and instead, made all these wonderful friendships. Not even those, but… no. No, I can’t say that. Not now. ...If you doubt me, I don’t blame you, but I have absolutely no reason to lie to you. Everything I said and did… I meant all of it. None of my emotions were fake, because... I mean, I’m a bad actor anyway, so you would’ve seen right through me if I started to act differently!”

“Well, the only expection was the despair fever, of course. I still apologize for how I behaved back then. Speaking of, this… was the only motive where I wasn’t as frustrated as with the others, because it was done to save everyone from it’s effects. I mean, I was still really sad, but...”

“Jeez, I’m just rambling and rambling now, aren’t I? Haha, sorry, guess you kind of do that when you held back so much.”

Hayate let out a humorless chuckle. Seemed like as if he did pour a bit of his heart out there, but… well, it might be his last time before he’d be dragged off to his execution, huh? After all, who knew what would happen next?

“... I guess I should finally finish, huh? Though there is… one more thing that I need to tell you. It’s about the events that transpired after Lucas got attacked.”

“To be honest, ever since that, a lot of things happened that weren’t planned. That I don’t quite understand myself.”

What was that supposed to mean?

“I have no clue why everything became so… disrupted after that. Or why the “dead students” came back, because that wasn’t planned at all. The same goes for the aprupt calling of a mastermind trial. I mean, I’m glad that they did that, so we can end this all, but… it’s strange. Of course, there is always the possibility that they simply changed things around - it’s not like as if I’m in the known about everything, but…”

“Be careful, okay? I hope that I’m just worrying too much, but I don’t want for you to get hurt anymore. So… keep your eyes peeled, yeah?”

He heaved a sigh, looking worn out now. Well, he did talk quite a bit, so it wasn’t surprising that he felt drained.

“... I don’t regret partaking in this project, because it will help to avoid such cruel games in the future. No one will actually have to suffer through this ever again. That’s what this whole simulation was for, after all. I never minded sacrificing myself for this cause, because as long as I was able to help people, I’m content with… w-with disappearing.”

At that point, his voice finally began to break and tears started to flow down unashamedly.

“Though I d-do regret causing you all so much pain. That’s the only thing that I’ve wished to change, because I-I never wanted to harm you. This had been never my intention, it could never be…!”

“I… It’s time for me to go. Well, it really shouldn’t be surprising, because…”

At that point, a chain darted out of the void and secured itself around Hayate’s neck, only leaving him enough time to say one sentence, before he got dragged away.

“A cursed child like me should have died a long time ago.”

[sanctuaryinfear]

Endgame | It doesn’t matter where you stand, you still suffer

[♫]

It was actually pretty sad how easily Hayate could say something like that about himself. It sounded like as if he’d just talked about the weather, as if he’d simply stated an unimportant fact when he referred to his own worth. Whether you wanted an answer or not to his own perception, he continued on without missing a beat.

“After I accepted, I helped out, but… y’know, the mastermind title doesn’t actually suit me. If anything, I was more of an observer.”

“My job was to make sure that the mutual killing game would continue until they gathered enough data. I thought that I could do it, because I knew that nobody would get hurt! Nobody would actually die and it would help many people in the future!”

“... But as you saw for yourself, I pretty much failed at that, huh? Ever since we all got our supposed crimes, I… was really tempted to tell you the truth. There were several instances where I was this close to reveal everything. I just couldn’t stand seeing y’all in so much pain. It hurt. Like, a lot.”

His smile got more strained, but he it didn’t completely falter yet.

“Despite that, I knew that I couldn’t do it - because if I did, then all of this would’ve been for naught. The farther we got, the more senseless all your suffering would be and… that would’ve been so much worse than anything else. Instead, I decided to do something akin to damage control, I suppose. When someone went ahead and killed someone, I always did my best in both investigations and trials to find the culprit, because it was the least I could do if I wasn’t able to prevent murders from happening. Although nobody was ever in true danger, you guys didn’t know. And you always killed under the premise that someone’s life was gone for good.”

“That’s why I was always so broken up whenever someone fell for the motive - because despite knowing that this was just a simulation, it broke my heart to see how… how willing people were to sacrifice someone’s life for mostly their own needs. Safe for one motive, all of them had a rather selfish nature to them. Before you ask, I… didn’t have a hand in them. I knew they would be a thing, but I didn’t know what we would get.”

“Anyway, whenever a murder occurred, I always imagined that this could’ve actually happened in real life. And that was what crushed me the most - my friends could have really killed each other off for good if this wasn’t an experiment to prevent that from ever happening again. All these deaths could have been easily avoided, but… they happened nonetheless. I won’t lie, I was pretty shocked when Risa-chan killed so quickly, because there wasn’t even a real motive out yet. I thought that everyone would wait for help to arrive first, so I was pretty optimistic that nothing would happen for awhile, but… that was awfully naive of me, huh?”

Hayate adjusted his hoodie a little, letting his glance wander over all the students.

“Then, the second motive took place and although it was rather inconvenient for everyone, we could have still pulled through together. Afterwards, the mastermind clue was used as a bait and… although it did help you in the end, you didn’t really catch me that quickly - not to mention that I would have given you more than enough mastermind clues, because I never wanted to remain hidden. That’s why I was so… frustrated and angry when so many lifes were lost to this specific motive. Not only because one of my good friends died and I couldn’t catch his culprit, but also because I knew that it wasn’t even necessary. Of course, you couldn’t know that, but… it doesn’t change how I felt about it.”

“The next motive was also hitting pretty close, because… with how it went down, it just reinforced my fear of close bonds. Because I saw for myself how one of them could destroy many others and that always scared me. Despite that, I guess I… already couldn’t go back to how I was anymore.”

[sanctuaryinfear]

Endgame | Emotions are a fickle thing, aren’t they?

[♫]

“Well, you already know about the bond thing, though it’s not… entirely accurate.”

Something was still amiss? Then again, it’s not like as if you were required to analyse any motivations to death - your job had been mainly to find the mastermind behind this all and you’ve succeeded at that!

“I won’t bore you with my backstory, but I’ve always been afraid of close bonds. I’ll happily befriend everyone, but I didn’t allow anyone to get too close to me. Treating everyone equally was what I’ve always done, but I didn’t feel… uh, fulfilled? Like, as if something was missing. So I thought that maybe, I could get over that fear if I’m placing myself in a “dangerous” situation. And while that happens, I also thought that it might be possible that others could get friends that they might not have get otherwise, too! Because you always hear about how people get a lot more closer if they’ve undergone something tough together!”

“So, that’s one reason. The other is… even if I didn’t take the role, someone else would’ve. It’s not like as if I, as a person, was absolutely necessary for this experiment. Anyone could’ve done it, as long as they’d be willing enough to help out. I mean, just think about it - if I’d declined, I’d either live with this knowledge or they would’ve simply deleted it from my brain. I mean, they can actually manipulate your memories, you know? After all, we were all forced to forget each other’s names - the same applied to me, because Haruguchi-san didn’t want too many… uh, what did he called it, ‘confounding variables’? Yeah, something like that.”

This was a scary thought, wasn’t it? First, you found out that you apparently consented to this experiment and now you were told that they made you forget anyone’s names? That was… scary.

“Of course, we might have been all spared from this if I didn’t agree to help, but… that wouldn’t mean that this experiment wouldn’t take place, would it? And whoever takes on this role, they’ll have to be prepared to face all the hate that they’d get from their fellow classmates. Not to mention that… there was always the possibility that one of you might’ve ended up being the mastermind, so we’d all still get dragged into this regardless.”

At that point, Hayate lifted his hand to his neck, slowly pulling the hoodie over his head. Right now, he could certainly appreciate that new cloak he got.

“And I didn’t want for any of you to get hated on. Or anyone else, for that matter. If I didn’t take this role now, someone else would’ve need to face all these raw emotions in my stead. I simply couldn’t allow for that to happen. It would feel like as if I’m being a coward for pushing this onto someone else. That’s why… I ended up accepting the offer. Because it’s better if people hate someone as worthless as me.”

[sanctuaryinfear]

Endgame | Why, oh why you?

[♫]

“It’s true that one of my motivations was to test bonds. However, it wasn’t the sole reason that made me go along with this project. I guess it would be more appropriate to begin from when I was being recruited by Hope’s Peak.”

Wait, what did he just say? Hope’s Peak was involved in all of this? Whether you were taken aback or not, Hayate didn’t stop in his explanations.

“Do you remember the man from the very beginning? Yuuma Haruguchi? Before you ask, I’m just as clueless as you when it comes to his role in this mutual killing game. I didn’t know that he would make an appearance or… well, get killed.”

The popping dancer scratched his cheeks.

“Anyway, he approached me first, asking me if I was interested to help with something. Naturally, I agreed to help, because it always makes me happy if I can lend a hand! … Though when he started to tell me about the first mutual killing game, I was… mortified. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Before I could get any more anxious, he told me that Hope’s Peak was looking for a way to never let that kind of thing ever happen again. However, for that to happen, they needed data. To acquire this, they decided to recreate the mutual killing game, so they could test whether their hypothesis of what exactly transpired back then was correct or not. Naturally, they didn’t want to endanger anyone, which is why we’ve ended up in this virtual reality. We’re also being constantly monitored by Haruguchi-san’s team at Hope’s Peak, so nothing could go wrong.”

“Aside from that, he told me that they’d be willing to help me with any kind of motive I could possibly have. There’s actually two of them, if I’m being completely honest, but before I get to them, I’m sure you want to know one thing...”

He glanced around, a sad smile plastered on his face.

“Why did it have to be you?”

“... It’s because that was a condition from Haruguchi-san if I were to accept the role. That made me hesitate at first. I mean, I really wanted to help him, because I knew that no one would get hurt and it would help to make the world better! But… dragging my classmates into it? I wasn’t sure about that, like at all.”

“... Though I guess now is a good time to reveal my own personal motives, huh?”

[sanctuaryinfear]

Endgame | What is right and what is wrong?

[♫] 

As soon as he said these words, something about him began to change - or to be more precise, it was his clothes that had started to catch your attention. It only lasted for a moment, but when it was over…

Well, there wasn’t an extreme change per se, but it was still pretty noticable. Hayate wore his usual clothes - though for those who liked to pay attention to details, they would notice that the symbols on his vest had changed. Instead of black hearts and diamonds, there were now red spades and clovers. His glasses were also slightly redesigned and certainly gave him a bit of an ow the edge feeling, if you’re being brutally honest. Or well, they just looked plain stupid.

The biggest change was what was added on Hayate. A cloak, split in black and white, was over his shoulders now, along with a hoodie that was down for the time being.

“Huh?”

Seemed like as if your resident mastermind was just as much confused as you, but after staring at himself for a minute, he simply scratched his cheeks and shrugged.

“I… uh, okay? I don’t think this was necessary, but… thank you nonetheless!”

“Now, let’s resume where we’ve been a moment ago, okay? First of all, let’s start with what you got right! Now that my status is official, I’ll say it again - it’s just as you thought, those crimes you got at the beginning are fake! You haven’t done anything wrong, so you can finally feel at ease about that, yeah? I mean, I did tell you from the very beginning that this was the case and I probably shouldn’t have done that, but… when I saw you all freak out like that, I just couldn’t help myself, y’know? And hey, it’s not like as if this would’ve been… uh, out-of-character for me, so I guess they let me do it anyway? Not like I’ve been successful at convincing anyway, a-aha…!”

His chuckle sounded rather hollow and with a sigh, he continued.

“A-Anyway, you’re right to say that we’re in a virtual world. This… well, ‘experiment’ was supposed to simulate as much from the previous mutual killing game as it could. If you wonder when it happened, it was just last year. Truth be told, I don’t know all the details myself, but I’ll share everything that I am aware of.”

“Unlike ours, it happened in reality. The students there had actually committed crimes, but were forced to forget it. The goal for this incident was to punish them for escaping the law. Out of 19 students, only five survived. F… Fourteen people died during the first mutual killing game. They… They’re all really dead…!”

Hayate sounded rather distraught at the end, but forced himself to take a few deep breaths. After a moment or two, he straightened himself out and pushed forward, regardless of the tears that were stinging his eyes again.

“S-Sorry. I guess I should also mention that you already saw the previous mastermind, too. Remember the green-haired person at the hotel’s trophy room? That was them! They… were among the people who died at the end. And the rest of the students… you also saw their portraits in the castle.”

“I think that’s enough about the first game for now. Let’s focus on the motivation behind this simulation, okay?”

[sanctuaryinfear]

Endgame | Is it the end… or the beginning?

[♫]

In all honesty, there had been no point in continuing this argument with Akisa anymore. She could think whatever she wanted - if she thought that he was threatening to kill her, it was her own violent mind that led her to this conclusion, not him. All he said that he wouldn’t allow her to hurt his friends anymore - which in his case, would most likely just result into pushing her away repeatedly if she moved in to punch anyone. What, you thought he was actually going to fight? Hah. Hahahahahaha. Good one!

The popping dancer simply took in Hayashi’s words. There was no response from him, simply a small nod. He figured that some people would still end up hating him. It hurt, but… that’s what he’d expected ever since he decided to take on this role, right? There had been so much time for him to brace himself, but it simply hadn’t been enough would it ever be enough, though?

Either way, he didn’t even regard any words to the hiker anymore, simply moving away from her - but not before putting a hand on Hozumi’s shoulder and smiling at the male, mouthing a ‘Thank you’, before going back to his podium.

Enough votes had come in, so it was time to tally them. Obviously enough, they’d been all on him; and unsurprisingly enough, it was the correct choice to make.

Hayate Minami, the SHSL Popping Dancer, was the Mastermind behind the Mutual Killing Game at Tudor Hotel.

The first emotion he felt upon this revelation was relief. A sigh escaped his mouth and his smile seemed to grow a bit more genuine. Hayate wouldn’t have known what to do if - for some reason - they got it wrong. That’s why he’d been so adamant about them being absolutely sure, because he wanted for them to believe in themselves and the answers they had come up with - no matter what Hayate did or said.

He was proud of them.

After another moment of silence, he looked up from his podium and it was kind of weird how a smile could show happiness and sadness at the sane time.

“C… Congratulations, everyone! You caught me fair and square. I’m really… really happy that you managed to do that! It was never my intention to remain incognito, y’know? I was just waiting to be found out, because… it would finally signal the end of all of this.”

“... It’s time to tell you the truth. About everything.”

[sanctuaryinfear]

Hayate Minami, SHSL Popping Dancer - 19

Defaulted:  Peacock, Rose, Lavender, Oakwood, Ashe, Silver, De’ath, Magnolia

“It was Hayate Minami the Super High-School Level Popping Dancer who’s behind it all!!”

[sanctuaryinfear]

Milo votes Hayate Minami the SHSL popping dancer for Mastermind