Danganronpa: Memento Mori

Chapter 4, Part IV

Chapter 4: Out of the Frying Pan, Part IV (Deadly Life)

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I stared at the giant man's corpse, with a horrific realisation in my mind - he was dead, and one of us was to blame. I just stood there as the rest of us assembled: first Daigo, then Souta, then Madoka, then Umiko, then Ayane, then Kaiji, and lastly Yukiharu.

Daigo: Goddamnit! Not again! I thought we were all better than this!

Ayane: Unfortunately, my lo- I mean, Daigo, you can't trust anybody around here.

Daigo: But still... who had it for Hirou, huh? HUH?! He tried protecting us all and this is how one of you repaid him?!

Yukiharu: Geez, Daigo, you're practically following in my footsteps!

Daigo: Listen, I don't want anybody to die, I know. But Monokuma wants either all of us or the guy who did it dead-

Madoka: And you're putting the needs of the many over the few?

The grey-suited boy hung his head out of what appeared to be shame.

Daigo: (quietly) That's the only option we can go with.

Madoka: Please.

Kaiji: Well, this is somewhat of a relief.

Souta: What...? Why?!

Kaiji: I found a few too many stupid mafia stories in the library. They practically all read the same, only with the names changed.

Ayane: This is no time to be debating about books.

She turned around and pointed towards Hirou's dead body, still laid down on the floor.

Ayane: He is dead. Hirou is dead and one of us killed him.

Umiko... didn't look like she was taking it well. In life, Hirou always kept something of a close eye on her, I observed, and now that he was gone, there was nothing stopping her from collapsing onto her knees, and screaming at the top of her lungs.

Umiko: Hirou... Hirou! Please... respond!

Madoka: Isn't it obvious? He's dead.

Umiko: (sniff) No... He was always looking out for us... for me... and... and now...

She collapsed, bursting into tears. While most of the others looked on with sincere concern, Madoka was almost... indifferent.

Madoka: What a crybaby.

Ayane: Put yourself in her shoes, Madoka. You're trapped in a game where you are encouraged, if not forced, to kill your peers so that you alone will survive. And if you fail to accomplish that, you yourself will be subjected to a gruesome death. Ren suffered. Yura suffered. Even Luka suffered.

Madoka: But she needs to have more guts.

Ayane: What do you think she is? I can tell that she was already something of a timid spirit.

Kaiji: Enough is enough! We must... find out who did this!

Yukiharu: Go ahead, then. No good in not trying, at least.

Monokuma: Yes, yes, you must.

And he must have been tailing behind us all this time, as once I turned around to acknowledge the new voice I saw none other than Monokuma, standing in the doorframe and facing us all.

Monokuma: Every murder isn't complete without a murder investigation! I've been overseeing countless ones! I've seen baseball players, swordswomen, anthropologists, even clowns kill! And I wonder who is to blame for Mr. Shinju's death, huh...?