Part 19: Update XVII

And what Toko spotted was... two Monokuma kids carrying a TV?



What is it? A monitor?
Is it... some kind of trap again?



One of the kids turns the TV on, and...



...it's Jataro!



♪ BGM: Ghost Stories From the School District of Revolution ♫

...Huh?
Wh-What's with this creepy little kid?
Ah! Am I on already!?
Ohhh, I was gonna raise the curtain after Kotoko introduced me wlth a joke...
Hey... Is this kid with them, too? Is he a part of that Warriors of Hope or whatever?
Y-Yeah...
Yeeep.
I'm the Priest, Jataro Kemuri. AKA, Li'l Ultimate Art. But I'll warn you now... Don't say my name out loud. It's a curse.
D-Don't mess with me, brat! Take off that mask, I'm sweating just looking at it!
N-No! Horrible! If I do that, your eyeballs are gonna explode!
...Huh?
Even I don't want to see that... Someone's eyeballs melting off cuz of my face...
Oh, by the way, do you know? Is it just an urban legend that they use bugs to make food dye?
Cuz like, wasabi and stuff, with the taste and the color... It's suspicious...
You... I'm sure you've heard this before, but you are t-totally gross!
Huh? Gross? I dunno, I think I'm a cheerful kid...
Oh, maybe I... I just don't understand what "cheerful" is? Then I apologize. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. From the bottom of my heart, I'm so sorry. I beg you, forgive me, I'm sorry.
E-Enough already! You're grossing me out!
...Huh? You don't forgive me?



Well, maybe not. Maybe you're just teasing me, like boys who tease the girls they like... I mean, if you guys are little boy lovers and just wanna love me till you go crazy...
Even if we were siblings in a previous life, I'd still hate you!
Wh-What are you trying to say? I-I don't really get it...
Well, I can understand that. This is like a yawn after all. It just comes out of my mouth involuntarily. Nobody can make anything of it. I don't even understand it, either. This whole thing is just killing time. Just a distraction from the horrors around you.
You guys must be pretty laid back if you're actually interested in what I'm saying.
...As expected of Demons.
I've had enough of this. Goodbye.
Ah, wait, hold on! I was just trying to be nice! I wanted to tell you something!
Tell us what?
Um, it's regrettable, but the one with the wristband can't leave the city.
C-Can't leave? Why?
Well, you're a target for our game, right? The game isn't fair if there aren't any rules. Everything was already thought out. So that means there's a limit in this game.
L-Limit... Don't tell me... The reason that boy exploded when he tried to leave the town swimming...
...Huh!?
Th-That's not our fault! It's not like we wanted him to blow up or anything. The wristband is made to explode when the user goes outside the town without permission...
...Well, when I say it like that, I guess it kinda is our fault...
Wh-What!?
You should have said that in the first place! Omaru here was about to explode!
But "some things are better left unknown"... Adults say that all the time. It would be better for Mr. Pig if he didn't find out he was about to be bacon... It doesn't change the fact that Mr. Pig is gonna die. So isn't it better not to tell him?
Oh, d-don't go acting all philosophical about this! This game's rules are managed way too loosely!



♪ BGM: DSO_Desire for Execution... ♫

Yuta, he... He died, y'know? To call what happened to him a... A "game"...
...There are some games that require you to risk your life...
Huh? What do you mean...?



♪ BGM: It's a Kids' World ♫

Hey, um, which do you not like more? Being ignored or ghosts? I don't like ghosts more. Ghosts are always cursing people and killing them all of a sudden... It makes me super mad.
S-Stop it, already! Stop saying things that make no sense!
That's right, just keep hating me. All you have to do is hate me. I'm from the Hate Planet, where being hated makes you feel good. And it's easier to just be hated.
Oh, don't worry, I hate gross little boys like you to death!
Huh, what you just said... Doesn't it kinda sound like "love" if you flip it around?
I was worried, so I had to make double sure. That's why I called you guys.
...Double sure?
If you guys see this, you're gonna hate me even more!
Tadaaa!



♪ BGM: Business Trip Version Punishment ~Adult Diorama Episode~ ♫

This art style shift does not promise good things happening.



Jataro is in some sort of weird playroom-type place.



Some carousel horses, a big Monokuma, and a block castle gets dropped in and some balloons start flying.



We are shown a scene of a bunch of people dancing in a circle around the block castle...



...with the big Monokuma sitting there moving his arms...







...and, uh...





...things take a turn.











A fairly dark turn.



♪ BGM: DSO_DISTRUST ♫

We return to our regular artstyle with Komaru not knowing what the fuck.

I'm not gonna look... I'm not g-gonna look! It must be something horrible...
So, this guy, I hunted him down at the shopping district... And this one I hunted in the bathroom.
Ugh...
Oh? Are you disgusted? But I can't just stop... Making dioramas is like, the only hobby I have...
So how about it? I put a bad taste in your mouth, so now you hate me, right?
Or maybe... You guys aren't affected by this... Because you have disgusting hobbies, too.
P-Please, just stop already!
...

♪ BGM: Like I Would Become A Monster ♫

Why do you want me to stop? Because you already hate me enough? Or because you don't *wanna* hate me? Because it's a waste of time? Because you're tired of it? Because you don't *want* to be?
I mean, I don't know for sure... I'm just a kid, so I dunno what you really mean...
Y-You! How crazy can you be!?



Well, it doesn't really matter... After all, I have so much fun now compared to before. I should thank Mr. and Mrs. Demons. I want to say, "Thank you for teaching me that I'm nothing but ugly, nasty, worthless filth."
I live like filth, surrounded by filth! Inside this paradise, where no adults can get in the way! Ehe, ehehehehe!



And that concludes the broadcast.



Toko is pissed, and Komaru can't deal.



And as the kids carry the TV out, Komaru just collapses.



♪ BGM: DSO_All All Apologies ♫

...
...Ugh... Uuugh...
C-Crying like a kid won't make them treat you like one.
*sob*...
Are you really going to just accept it? Be their prey?
If not, there's only one thing to do. You can't run. You have to fight.
Like I said, that's impossible...
No, it's not impossible! You have Master's gun, don't you!?
No, that's not what I mean. I'm not like you. I'm just a normal high school student who can't do anything, y'know? Just running would be hard enough, but to fight? That's impossible...
...And just why do you think I'm here?



♪ BGM: DSO_Welcome Despair Academy ♫

I'm not telling you to deal with it on your own...
You better not forget... I'm with you, too.
T-Toko?
I-If it's impossible to do on your own, well then I guess I have to do it with you! So just a little more...just fight a little bit more.
... It's okay to...rely on you?
Y-You've already relied on me! Isn't it a bit late to ask that?
You're right... Sorry.
If you have time to apologize, might as well do it outside. The atmosphere here is...oppressive.
Hey, Toko...
I already told you, don't apologize.
No, it's not that... Thank you.
Wh-What are you being so honest for? It's just...ugh, gross.
So c'mon, enough with that grossness and let's hurry up and get outside.
...Yeah, okay.



♪ BGM: Wonderful Dead 002 ♫

Alright, so that idea was a massive bust, guess we're headed back outside then.



We really don't have any other path we haven't explored out there, so I'm not sure how we're going to make progress that way.



♪ BGM: DSO_Mr. Monokuma's Extracurricular Lesson ♫

As Toko and Komaru exit the station, they can't believe their eyes, because what do they see?









A fucking GIANT MONOKUMA DANCE PARTY.



There's way too many of them...
L-Let's go back.



And thus, they head back. I just love this little scene. They had all the options in the world to explain why Komaru and Toko couldn't return back the way they came - the tunnel collapsing also made some rubble fall and block the entrance or maybe a large sinkhole. Hell, maybe just have a bunch of Monokumas out on the prowl. But no, they decided the answer was a GIANT MONOKUMA DANCE PARTY. And that's awesome.



♪ BGM: DSO_Beautiful Dead ♫

Then, what should we do?
Don't ask me, I'm not your personal GPS.
S-Sorry, you're just so reliable, I thought I'd ask.
...
Reliable...?
W-Well, it is true that my brain is far superior to yours...
Now let's see... It might be better to head back underground for now, to find another exit.
Back through the underground? Are you sure you're okay with that?
Wh-What do you mean...?
I mean... You're afraid of the dark, aren't you? The underground is pretty dark...
...
...Shit.

Hrm.

Oh, are you trying to be an example? To show me how to go forward, even if you're scared?
I see! As expected of a true mentor!
Ughhh...



♪ BGM: Wonderful Dead 002 ♫

And with that, we're back where we started from. I guess next time we'll head to the right, we weren't allowed to go there the last time, but it's the only remaining way left.