Danganronpa: Paradise Lost

Chapter 6, Part VII

Chapter 6: Distrust, Part VII (Class Trial)

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This was the last time we would vote here. As soon as we did, the animation for the wheel played, as usual. It spun around as usual, eventually settling upon her face. We just sighed heavily as the jingle played and the confetti dropped, just relieved that we wouldn't have to go through any of this anymore.

Because after all, Momiji Akamatsu, the Ultimate Cellist and one of the masterminds of this Killing Game, had finally been exposed.

We didn't know yet what she would do next. Whether she would execute herself out of spite, or attempt to take us all down with her, or just give up and accept defeat.

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Kaori: Just give it up. We're offering you a chance to stop resisting, and come with us.

Reiji: The new guard at the Future Foundation will be far more understanding.

Momiji: But then all of this would've been for nothing!

Shun: Seriously? You basically committed manslaughter!

Ringo: To get rid of two threats that didn't even exist anymore!

Momiji: And none of your platitudes are going to bring Kaede back! It isn't going to bring anybody Monaca and her friends killed back as well. They're dead. Forever. She's still got to pay the price for her crimes!

Monaca: I know. That's why I'm giving myself up. Why not you?

Momiji: Isn't it obvious by now?! Do I really need to repeat myself a million times? My dear twin sister was taken off the street and killed like an animal for no reason!

Daisuke: Stuff happens, Momiji. And there's nothing we can do about it. There's just some things we will never be able to understand. Like why despair even exists in the first place. But it's okay, 'cause... that's the beauty of the outside world. What we cannot understand, we're awestruck by. We can gaze up at the cosmos and appreciate our place in the universe. And our feelings are no different!

Momiji: ...Go on.

Daisuke: Sure, we can feel a bit down in the dumps sometimes. And sometimes, there's nothing but a heart, black as pitch, full of wickedness. But, believe me, it doesn't take much for a spark of hope to be lighted within us. And that little spark can fuel us for the rest of our lives.

Momiji: Explain Monaca, then.

Monaca: I knew no genuine love, once. My mother, my father, my brother, even Junko... I knew they didn't love me. None of them did. For all intents and purposes, I was alone. And when I was alone, I felt despair enter my soul... I took it out on everyone.

Momiji: You did far worse than me...

Monaca: Yes, I did. But are you sorry for what you've done?

Momiji: I don't think so. I only regret not being able to-

Daisuke: Exactly. You have no shame. She does.

Reiji: You've made up your mind, Ms. Akamatsu?

Kaori: Can I remind you that your stream is still up?

Momiji: Eh...? My stream? Forgot all about it, to be honest. I was sure things were going so well for me until the end...

Daisuke: Now look.

Momiji stared in shock at one of the monitors, once again displaying her stream of the courtroom, complete with her look towards the camera. And again, the chatbox to the side was quickly filled with insulting messages. This time, the vitriol wasn't aimed at Monaca...