Part 23: Update XXI

♪ BGM: Secret Base ~Left Behind By The Adults~ ♫

Alright, time to have ourselves a little get-together with Shirokuma.



If these irritating cowards are nice people, this world must not be made up of bad people. And that "stranger danger" warning would no longer be needed...
Wow, such an amazing world! That's the epitome of my ideal!
...I was being sarcastic.



This place is used as a conference room, so let's talk inside. Here, come in!



Who's not here?
The leader of the Resistance. I wanted to introduce you guys to him. Can you wait here a little while? I'm sure he'll be back soon.
Leader? He's probably some old geezer who thinks he can run the show. I won't hold my breath. What kind of leader would a pitiful place like this even have? Definitely a useless old man. If he really is a superior man, he would be in a superior organization. Just like Master...
And you shouldn't have high expectations either, Omaru.
Expectations...? What kind of expectations?



Well, nobody showed up, but there's some exclamation points over there that mean that we can interact with those lockers. So let's check those out instead.



Names of the dead are listed here.

"List of Missing"

Names of the missing are listed here.



I-It's not even murder at this point... This is war.
The kids call it "revolution."
That's just semantics!
Exactly. Call it whatever name you please, in the end, there's still a mountain of bodies. But by calling it a revolution, they justify it in their minds, and become even more brutal.

There's some political implications here that I'm not gonna touch with a seven foot pole.

By how you're talking, you seem to know these brats pretty well.
You're talking about the Warriors of Hope who lead the "Monokuma Kids," right? From what I know, they were apparently students of an elementary school affiliated with Hope's Peak.

♪ BGM: DSO_Despair-Syndrome ♫

Hope's Peak Academy!? Why would that name come up now?
What about it? Did something happen before?
Not just "something"... But forget about it for now. It's a very long story.
But more on the subject, I never expected the academy to also have an elementary...
They're not technically affiliated. Attending Hope's Peak Academy still requires being scouted. But the elementary was still prestigious. Many Hope's Peak Academy students came from there. The elementary studied the talents of children. Only child prodigies could attend.
And how exactly are they prodigies? They're just a bunch of mental brats.
I guess that just shows that having a great mind does not always make a great person. 0r child. A child's talent can easily be corrupted into something evil. Those five are the worst example. Actually, the Warriors of Hope were all in the classroom with the "trouble" children.
Troublemakers, huh? Just as I thought, they were all deviants from the start.

Of course, you might imagine that there were reasons why these five were "trouble" children.

It might be more accurate to say that they owned talent not even the teachers could control. And what makes it more horrifying is that they're still kids. They kill without guilt or mercy.
You remember what you were like when you were children? How many cruel things you did? Insane because they're too pure. Uncontrollable because they're too innocent. Children with more potential than adults, with such cruel natures... How horrifying it would be if they were truly out of control. Towa City is an example of that.
...
Y-You... You think it's fun to threaten us?
I-It's not like that! I'm just trying to tell you to be careful!
Hmph. That's none of your business.

Alright, so that's some backstory on the Warriors of Hope. What else?



Everyone got killed. The sound of the chanting, the screaming like dogs beinq choked, never leaves my ears. Everyone got killed. Everyone got killed. Devils. They're devils in the bodies of children. Damn devils! Damn devils! Damn devils! Damn devils! Damn devils! Damn devils! Damn devils! I want to grind down your organs, your heart, liver, your kidneys, everything, into dust. I want to throw you all into a blender and turn you all to sloshy livestock feed. I want to stab your eyeballs with a pencil until I can write with your blood. I want to boil you alive in a pressure cooker until your screams stop. I want to squeeze your little bodies until blood leaks from every pore on your skin. I want to slash open the wombs of the mothers that birthed you and stuff you back in.

...fucking Christ almighty.



Th-That's quite a poetic style they have there...

Well, let's hope the third one is, uh, less graphic?



These symbols are supposed to be dates.

Shirokuma brought in 3 new people. I feel happy, but at the same time...scared. I wonder how many adults are killed above ground. How many of them got saved? How many bodies are lying there...?

○ / △ -

Thanks to the newbie's screaming, sleepless nights continue. From what I can tell, in his dream, his friend gets killed by kids, and he screams out. I can kind of understand how he feels. I can't blame him.

○ / ⃞ -

The newbie finally broke. Even though he's a grown adult, he ended up acting like a newborn baby... He lost against his nightmares. To the kids. Looking at the scenery forces me to realize that, even though I'm here, I couldn't run. Every time a newbie is brought in, my despair increases. I can't even run, nor forget... The children will kill us all.



Just reading it makes me dizzy...





Suddenly, somebody walks in!

Yo, Shirokuma! Heard you were looking for me.



Ah, Haiji!
I heard you went outside again without my permission. Didn't I tell you it's dangerous?



So, two more newcomers?



Name's Haiji Towa. I'm the leader of the resistance here.



Wh-what a surprise... he's pretty handsome...
Huh?



♪ BGM: DSO_Beautiful Dead ♫

I'm...Komaru Naegi.
U-Um, so, a girl who's filthy and a girl who's clean, which one do you pref--
Um, if your last name is Towa, does that mean that you're...?
Yeah... I'm from the Towa family.
Haiji's father is a chairman of Towa Group.
Then... You're a son of a distinguished family!? And the Towa Group, too... You must be very...
Ah, I'm getting a little hot from all this excitement. I don't mind if you help me cool--
Got it! Leave it to my special cooling device!
I-I didn't ask you!
Well... I'll tell ya right now, I don't have status or money or anything. Those kids took it.
Thanks to them, I lost everything. Towa Group, and even the whole damn Towa City...
...
Ah, by the wayyy... Do you happen to know who's leading the children?
...Who knows?
Then... Do you maybe know why Towa City became a target?
Sorry, but I don't really know much about Towa's situation. Didn't really do anything there. And the one who would have all the answers, my dad... He's been missing since the riots.
Missing...

♪ BGM: DSO_All All Apologies ♫

I... I'm the same. I don't know where my parents are, either.
So I... I want to go home no matter what! Please, tell me how to get out of this city!
... If there *is* a way to escape... I'd love to know.
...Huh?
All the roads that connect to the outside are blocked completely. And it wouldn't matter anyway. That wristband... Those kids put it on you, right?
I know, it will explode if I try to leave, but... Does anyone know how to take it off, or something?
...
N-No?
I *want* to help, but...I'm sorry, it's just not possible.
However... No need to get too down about that. At least this place is safe. Those brats don't even know this place exists.
Y-You're telling us just to hide here?
It's not like you can escape anyway. Staying put and keeping quiet is the best move right now.
... You're... You're right... At least, as long as I'm here... There's no need to worry...

♪ BGM: DSO_Welcome Despair Academy ♫

...Why don't you fight?
...Hm?
Isn't this a resistance? An organization created to fight these little brats, right? Then why don't you just *fight*?
Fight? That'd be suicide. We have no guns.



Your arm... Did a Monokuma do it...?
Yeah. Got crushed, crumpled up like paper. The whole thing only took a split second. Those brats were...laughing. Like it was fun to them. While I was screaming, bleeding...
They're not kids... Not anymore. They're devils!
Devils...?







♪ BGM: DSO_Despair-Syndrome ♫

Of course that just means it'll never fully heal.
So basically, your will got shattered along with that arm of yours, right?
...Huh?
And that's why you're sitting here, moping and pitying yourself, right?
What the...? You sure got harsh...
Th-That nice girl act was just for your benefit! I got information now, using my womanly charm!
Huh? An...act?
O-Of course! I belong to Master Byakuya *only*!
There's no way I'd give my heart to some mole of a man, hiding underground like a coward!
It's not like I'm going to hide forever! I'm just waiting...for the right opportunity to strike!
Excuses. Save 'em for your psychiatrist.
What's the point of fighting back, knowing that you'd die!? It's all for nothing if you're dead!
The way you are now... You might as well be.
Toko! That's too far!
I'm saying it to you, too.
...Huh?

♪ BGM: DSO_Welcome Despair Academy ♫

Weren't you going to fight against those brats? What are you doing sympathizing with these people!?
Yeah, okay, maybe you are just an average, common, ordinary character with no special talents! A drab girl who lacks presence and charm, with no athletic or intellectual skills!
...But what's wrong with that!? Someone who just keeps making excuses and doesn't even try to fight back...
You're worse than dead. Totally worthless.
Wh-Why are you being so cruel!?
H-Hey now! I'm sure Toko didn't mean it like that...
Oh, yes I did.
Just looking at you frustrates me. You... remind me of myself, in the past.
...Huh?
No matter how much pain or despair you feel, nothing will change if you keep denying it. So why don't you just try to change it yourself?
No matter how scary the situation was, he faced it head-on, and moved forward...

No points for knowing which "he" she's talking about.

Thanks to that, I'm alive today.
...Wh-What are you talking about?

♪ BGM: Secret Base ~Left Behind By The Adults~ ♫

Rushing forward at full speed with no hope of success isn't courage, it's stupidity.
Wh-Who's stupid!?
Well? Do *you* have a plan? Do you know of some way to get out of here? Do you know how to remove a wristband?
Y-Yeah, of course! I-I'm sure Future Foundation technology can get it off easily!
...Huh?
Ah, I was just saying... It's not like we can contact Future Foundation anyway.
Wait, hold on. What did you just say about Future Foundation?

♪ BGM: DSO_DISTRUST ♫

Don't tell me you're just gonna leave it up to *those* guys.
Wh-What do you mean...?
U-Um... Toko is a member of Future Foundation.
What...? What did you say?
...Haiji?
If that's the case, then I'm sorry, but... Get the fuck out of here. I refuse to cooperate with you.



And he's out.

Ah! H-Hey!
What happened? Why'd he get angry all of a sudden?
... ...Let's go.
Huh? But...
He told us to get out. We can't stay here.
Y-You're right but... ...



♪ BGM: Secret Base ~Left Behind By The Adults~ ♫

And with that, we've met the leader of the resistance. Toko is not good at making friends. Next time, we need to figure out what we're doing next, because it seems like we've run out of options.