World Order Series: Final Account

[♪♪♪]

Open your eyes.

Breathe out

Everything is okay now.

The world has changed once again. It is five years the anniversary of the day that ended the second killing game. Five years since Mika Tsukizuka died. Five years since the Tragedy finally came to a close. These years were not easy to traverse; the world was already so damaged. It was never going to be simple to fix in a few months. However, perseverance paid off…

For everything that was done.

For all the pain that was caused.

The world was finally able to heal.

From the ashes of Hope’s Peak Academy rose a new society, one that was clear from the influences of despair at last. The dwindling forces that supported Mika Tsukizuka slowly started to dissipate and disappear until at long last, the flame of chaos that was lit by the former painter had finally diminished. This New World Order so to speak, was never as grandiose in scale as the world that came before it of course, after all, so many people had died in the four years that spanned the Biggest Most Awful Most Tragic Event in Human History. The human race, small in number, slowly started to bounce back.

In the ruins, they rebuilt settlements, started up infrastructure, opened trade with the rest of the world once more. Slowly but surely, schools were opened, jobs were made and people started to live the lives they once did before the tragedy, even if it was amongst the ruins of a civilisation gone past.

The human race had learned from its mistakes. The chaos and despair that once rose from inequality and corrupt power was one of the past. That’s not to say crimes don’t exist in this new world. There is always going to be some sort of evil to balance out the good.

That is the way of society, as Sadako Kirimizu once put it. 

But that evil was manageable, and balance had once again returned to the world. 

To commemorate those that had fallen and those that had survived to save the world, two statues were erected in very specific locations on Japanese territory. 

One, each with the faces of those who participated in the first killing game, the SpecOps agents, was built at the entrance to Outpost 11, on a windswept island off the coast of Tokyo bay. 

The other, each with the faces of those who participated in the second killing game, the Hinanjo Captives, was built in front of the gate to Hope’s Peak Academy, in the centre of Tokyo itself.

The Heroes of the Tragedy will never be forgotten.

From all three mods at the World Order Games, we thank all those who participated in these games from the bottom of our heart.

Breathe | Epilogue

[♪♪♪]

After their chat with Akira and Kazuya, the group of survivors watched the two men gleefully take Sorakuma away to be melted down. At this point, they were left standing amongst the great number of Hinanjo Villagers and Foundation members. Each one of the faces of these exhausted people curling into smiles as they soon started to realise that their suffering was finally coming to an end.

To Raven, Utsusu, Daishin, Hanari, Persephone, Ren and Bunji however, despite being surrounded by so many people, taking into account those that they lost along the way during the killing game, life still felt a little lonely, a little empty. They had been labelled as the saviours of this new world; a group of ordinary people who got caught up in a terrible nightmare. Their determination and sheer force of will bringing them to a point where they survived this ordeal. Was it for survival? Love? or a desire to see things how they once were. 

Even so, their survival seemed bittersweet. So many people had died during the mutual killing… Their names… yes…

Kazuro Ryokugane, Shinsuke Naragachi, Kibou Kirimizu, Keiko Yamaguchi, Hisayo Takamiya, Sakurako Morisawa, Ayame Satoshi, Shichiro Kamiya, Nobuyuki Tsukada, Sunshine, Kiha Ryu Each one of them fought and died for survival and their own hope. It was clear that had their hands not been forced by Sorakuma, then maybe they might have all lived. 

Three others had died, however their lives had only brought continued suffering…

Touma Genjou, Tomoyo Iori

and of course,

Mika Tsukizuka.

Super High School Level Despair had infiltrated them from the very beginning. Their fates puppeteered by those who sought to see Mika’s vision to the end. 

These lives will not be forgotten. For better or for worse.

The survivors found themselves surrounded by the villagers and Foundation members. Many of those who joined the fight were friends or relatives of these survivors. As some of them approached their special people, weeping with joy at their safety, the group of captives could only look at each other with the knowledge that the Tragedy was finally ending. Peace was on the horizon.

Soon, there will be no more destruction, murder, execution, suffering or despair. 

These Captives… These survivors… from both the first killing game and the second. They were originally nothing but remnants of the Old World. With their determination, their strength and their courage, they successfully became the beacons of hope for the New World. Future and Past, Truth and Lies, Hope and Despair. Like everything else in this world, it required a delicate balance. Now, all these brave survivors could do, much like those who survived the SpecOps killing game, was…

Close their eyes.

Take a deep breath.

And start again.

THE END

Old Faces, Old Friends | Epilogue

[♪♪♪]

As the captives finished their final words, the crowds let out a quiet cheer. The sound was less jubilant than those of the despairs that surrounded Mika. Rather these shouts were of relief. 

Jiro closed his eyes and murmured something that was only barely audible.

He took a deep breath and smiled again at the survivors. He then glanced over his shoulder, his grin only growing wider.

Two men walked up and stood next to Jiro, both of them looking out at the survivors.

Keep reading

One last time. | Ren | Epilogue

Screaming Kiha’s name into the smoke was fruitless, yet Ren did it nonetheless. When Mika led him away, and once her body burnt on that pyre. Once they found him again, yet still he insisted on staying behind. It’s agonizing to know that there was nothing they could do for him. After being so cruelly and thoroughly broken by this world, and this game, none of them could ever change Kiha’s mind.

Chasing after him would be foolish. It’d be useless. No matter how much he wants to.

All Ren can do is follow after Bunji with the others. Bunji - he can hardly believe the man they’ve been using as a lifeline for so long was actually here. At the very end, he still came through for them. And not just him, somehow. It’d be so easy to leave this dwindling number of survivors behind, especially as time went on. What were 21 people worth? What about 15? 10, until it was 7.

What sacrifice was that worth, and why were these people so willing to give it?

Even one person would have stunned him, so the two crowds, of the Future Foundation who barely knew them and the members of Hinanjo they had lived among. It’s truly… bittersweet. After all they’ve lost… knowing that, without a doubt, Kiha isn’t alive in the wreckage of that school. Ren can only stare, eyes burning from both the smoke and something else, at what remained.

It’s so little, yet at the same time, these smiling faces he can’t see, these people he cannot recognize -

Maybe this is what hope looks like.

It’s painful to think of those who could have been standing here with them. But Bunji was still alive, despite all the odds against him, and never gave up fighting for them. Raven, Seiko, Abe, Daishin, Hanari…

They were all alive.

Ren had feared, once, what the world would think of the people in this killing game and the things they’ve done. A pointless worry, obviously, if how much they fought, just to assure their survival, meant anything at all.

There’s nothing something like him can ever say to the crowd. He’s never been one for speeches. It’s impressive enough that he doesn’t get a spike of anxiety in hindsight, knowing all of these people watched the broadcast. He’s content to stand back and let the others do the talking.

But it’s–

Who. Is that.

A woman shoves through the crowd, muttering apologies to the villagers of Hinanjo. The second she breaks through, her eyes land on Ren. Very long brown hair, tied up hastily, but - that’s so vague. Who is that? She’s running up to him, she’s crying, and she’s-

And she’s his older sister. 

Whatever she’s sobbing into his chest is mostly unintelligible. He can only pick out bits of pieces around her tears; “… idiot… was so worried… so much… I’m so happy you’re safe…!”

Ren carefully wraps his arms around her, patting her hair as she’s done for him throughout their childhood.

He glances up, smiling helplessly at Seiko as she approaches, robot child in tow. It’s weird, isn’t it? Not just Seiko - of course he loved her, but all those he survived with… it’s hard not to think of them all as some sort of strange, mishmashed mess of a family. Beyond that, he had Nana to take care of now, too.

When Maho releases him, hurriedly doing her hair back up the way Ren recognizes, he turns to Seiko, and laughs softly.

The burning remains of Hope’s Peak were a testament to the world beyond, yet Ren wasn’t scared. After all, they’ve already survived worse, haven’t they? 

A Better World, A New World | Epilogue

[♪♪♪]

As Foundation soldiers moved past the group and over to the gate towards Hope’s Peak Academy to commence clean up, Jiro lead the seven killing game survivors down the street a little, walking amongst the members of the Foundation and Hinanjo that were busy tending to each other. At one point, he stopped, and turned around with an exhausted smile on his face.

Jiro closed his eyes.

Jiro gestured to the people of Hinanjo village as they wore weary smiles. Even through their own loss, it seemed that they retained hope.

Jiro gestured once more to both the Hinanjo villagers and the Future Foundation members. All of them were now eagerly staring at the group.

[ You may now submit your final posts ]

An Alliance of Two Saviours | Epilogue

[♪♪♪]

As Raven, Utsusu, Daishin, Hanari, Persephone and Ren all dashed out of the gate, they found themselves standing in a very familiar area, one that was now devoid of fog. It was the Northern Thoroughfare, next to the old Entertainment building that they had once used as part of their living space in the killing game. However, the streets were not as empty as they once were. As Bunji shut the gate behind them, the group could see that they were stood in front of two rather large but rather beaten up groups of people. Each one had members who were bleeding, damaged but still holding on to dear life.

One one side, lead by a black haired man in a tattered green sweater and covered in yakuza tattoos, were recognisable villagers of Hinanjo. Each one of them holding a different weapon and helping tend to their wounded. 

On the other were a group of people in various black suits and makeshift armour. Their logos spelled out who they were clearly. It was the Future Foundation. One of their numbers, a brown haired man with an eyepatch and a bandaged arm, quickly jogged over to the surviving group of captives and signalled out for Bunji to join him.

This man, tall and rugged, with brown hair and orange eyes, pulled out a walkie talkie and quickly snapped into it.

He gritted his teeth.

At his command, the helicopters started to take aim at the school and in a flurry of whirring sounds, missiles fired out of their silos and struck the school in a blaze of fire and explosions. Five minutes of destructive fanfare and Hope’s Peak Academy was levelled to nothing but rubble, it’s legacy dying along with it.

As for Kiha Ryu? He finally got to reunite with Mika amongst the flames of destruction that now filled the campus of Hope’s Peak Academy.

The man turned to the captives as Bunji joined their ranks once more. He clipped the walkie talkie back onto his belt and folded his arms.

The man looked weary and beaten down. You could see that he himself was also sporting various injuries. He grit his teeth.

He shakes his head with a huff, almost sounding amused near the end. That’s gruff old dad for 'ya.

Despite ending on a rather bittersweet note Bunji scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. He looks away from you all with a solemn sigh.

After speaking Bunji took his place next to the fellow survivors. Despite his usual harsh appearance, there was something warm and comforting about his return. A moment later, Jiro signalled at some Foundation soldiers…

I Cannot Continue | Epilogue

[♪♪♪]

At Bunji’s command, the group immediately starts to head through the gate. However at the last moment, they realise that Kiha was not with them. The 6 of them turn around and call out to the man who was stood at the fringe of the crowd.

At the sound of his name, Kiha turns to the other survivors. He seems caught off-guard as they approach him, and even more so at the arrival of the Future Foundation. With Bunji’s arrival, there’s finally a fighting chance at hope, but…

He looks to the others, pulling himself together long enough to offer them one last, painful smile over his shoulder. Despite the tears still running down his cheeks, it’s one of the most genuine that he’s had in a while.

Whether or not anyone tries to speak to him afterwards doesn’t matter - he only lifts a hand as a final farewell and walks into the thick cloud of smoke surrounding the stage, disappearing before anyone can stop him. When he’s sure the others can’t see him anymore, his expression drops into a blank stare as he looks up to Mika’s smoldering remains on the funeral pyre.

The last bits of confetti in the air drift into place on the ground in a manner that’s oddly picturesque considering the gruesome scene playing out around him. Kiha doesn’t pay it any attention, however - whatever was left of him seems to have shattered completely.

At the very least, he’ll hardly feel whatever is in store for him.

As Kiha disappeared into the crowd, the grieving survivors could only turn and follow Bunji out of the gate. There was nothing they could do for him now.

A Friend Indeed | Epilogue

[♪♪♪]

The sound of screams and cheers in the campus square was deafening. The huge number of Mika’s followers losing their minds in jubilance as their beloved leader burned and died before their very eyes. The excitement felt by the crowd was reminiscent of the time that Akari Okamura was executed as well; a befitting end to the queens of despair.

As the crowd started to get more rowdy, Raven, Utsusu, Daishin, Hanari, Persephone and Ren looked furiously into the mass for any sight of Kiha. Ever since Mika had dragged him into the crowd, they had nearly lost sight of the former Olympian. They ran around the edge of the crowd towards the Hope’s Peak gate, shouting his name. Soon, the man appeared on the fringe of the crowd, his face weary and distraught. Before the group could reunite with him, they were disturbed by the sound of loud whirring above their heads. They glanced up to see a group of 6 helicopters, each one flying low and charging directly towards the school. On the side was a logo painted clear…

The Future Foundation.

Help had finally arrived.

As the helicopters hovered overhead, the group could see that suited and armoured individuals were deploying the missiles that were set on board. However, it seemed that they were holding their fire. 

What was going on?

As the group backed towards the gate, they found themselves alerted by the sound of the gate itself being busted open. They spun around to see a familiar face standing before them…

It was none other than the man who had left everyone so long ago to go get get help; Bunji Okamura. Despite having lost contact with him not long ago it seems like he was finally back. Now with a familiar feathery bird in hand, and with his ever present scowl on his face, he looks to the remaining survivors all impatiently.

 Bunji didn’t give anyone a chance to reply before turning around and urging them all to follow. 

Punishment: The Parade | Chapter 6

In response to Daishin, and even to the few words Abe says, Mika laughs and speaks sweetly.

There is a small pause as Mika wipes at her eyes, but she is soon to leave her podium again, taking the few steps necessary to stand on the other side of Kiha again. Smiling, she reaches her hand down to him.

At the sound of his name, Kiha’s head picks up to face her.

His expression is mostly hollow, but there’s something about the way he looks at her that seems completely captivated, like he can’t bring himself to look away. His hands had been clinging tightly to the hair ornament that she had dropped into his lap, but they let it go clattering to the ground in favor of holding Mika’s hand. He wordlessly pulls himself up until he is standing at his full height in front of her.

Once Kiha’s hand is in hers, Mika offers Kiha and the rest of the room another smile before she looks at Sorakuma and simply gives the robot a nod. Sorakuma, seemingly knowing what Mika means, nods back, and Mika turns to the exit, pulling Kiha along with her as she walks to it. The remaining three members of SHSL Despair follow behind.

Sorakuma walks towards the exit too, but stops at the doors to look back at everyone else while pointing to the exit.

Whether everyone wishes to leave the gym or not, the gun carrying, Monokuma masked members of despair approach, making it obvious that they have no real choice.

Exiting the gym, the walk is unfamiliar for some, and familiar for others – a silent trek through the hallways until they reach a set of doors that lead out into what was once the large grassy courtyard in the center of HPA’s campus.

Two more Monokuma masked despair are waiting, and when Mika reaches the doors, they open them for her. Compared to the dark halls of the school, the light outside is overwhelming – it takes a moment for everyone’s eyes to adjust, but even before then, they are met by an equally overwhelming volume of noise.

[ ♪♪♪ ]

Cheers. Music. Fanfare. Once everyone’s eyes have adjusted, what they have entered to is made clear by the crowds of people on either side of what is a clear path, lined with large bouquets of red poppies, and the confetti and banners that fill the air:

A parade.

Mika leads the way down the path, smiling happily and waving to the monstrous crowds of people on either side. Lining the path along with the flowers are masked guards, armed with guns that ring out with gunfire every now and then – bodies of people who have attempted to enter their path begin to line it as well.

Somehow, this does not deter the countless people cheering, and the music plays unhalted from the large area that they eventually end up in front of once they have made their way down the entire length of the path:

A wooden stage, with what appears to be a pyre and stake built on top of it, and two large screens to either side.

In front of the stage, Mika comes to a stop. While everyone else is halted behind her, she turns to Kiha, who has stopped next to her. Mika regards him with a gentle smile, before lifting his hand to her mouth and softly kissing the back of it.

Smiling still, Mika walks away, letting Kiha’s hand slip away from her grip. The members of SHSL Despair follow her up the stairs onto the stage, and then up the wooden stairs that lead up to the pyre and stake.

The woman turns to face the crowd again, and as she lifts and stretches her arms out to either side, the already boisterous crowd erupts into crazed cheers at an overwhelming volume. At the same time, the members of SHSL Despair tie her to the stake with rope that had been waiting on top of the pyre.

As the three masked despair walk back down to the stage floor, the screens on either side of the stage come to life. On them, Mika is viewable – and as what she says booms across the courtyard for all to hear, it is clear that this is being broadcast just like everything else in the killing game.

Her words are short and quick to the point. Grinning, Mika points down to the three SHSL Despair members. As the screen’s image cuts to them, a number of Monokuma climb their way onto the stage.

Just like the rest, the three are gunned down.

There is only one last member of SHSL Despair to kill – and only one last thing she has to say as she raises her arms again.

While Mika’s words ring through the air, the Monokuma set fire to the pyre she is standing on. At first, the fire only licks up to her feet – but it takes no time for it to spread along the wooden pyre and stake.

Even so, there is no screaming like in the kiln. From Mika, the only sounds are mixed laughter and sobs as she grins and cries. The fire is quick to engulf her.

It is a twisted image.

Around everyone, the crowd seems to grow even more chaotic. It’s not long before the masked guards are overwhelmed by the people that clamor desperately towards the stage on which Mika burns, and who spill out into the path everyone stands on.

But somehow, they are safe. There are people the grab for them, but Sorakuma guns them down in seconds time and time again. The robot meant to bring them nothing but despair has been instructed to preserve their lives in the end, it seems.

…Chaos.

It’s what Mika wanted, and all around, it festers – but as her laughter stops, and her arms fall, there is no control to what is left in her wake.

The person who ended the world they knew has ended her own, and ended herself with it. Mika Tsukizuka, the woman who orchestrated the fall of the world and the most despair inducing incident in the history of mankind, is dead.

But the chaos continues.

In sheep’s clothing | Ren | MM Trial | Re: That

One second, Ren is staring at Tomoyo as she rants. Raves. None of them knew sensei like she did. Her desperation makes it clear who she’s talking about. It’s exhausting, listening to it. He can’t help but wonder if there was something he could have done to help her when they were in school. Someone he used to like, and trust, and she–

Is run through with a sword.

His entire body stiffens, a fight or flight response screaming through his veins. She wasn’t that tall, yet how she carries herself has her towering over them all. He can barely move his head to follow her striding form, staring at - at…

The long hair is the same. The colour is right. It’s a kimono, similar to what she always wore. But burn scars are scattered across her flesh, and the way she carries herself. As she slowly, confidently speaks to them, saying things that she would never.

He wants to pretend. Maybe it’s not her.

But as she retakes her spot, moving that fake effigy of a woman they never should have mourned, Ren can’t possibly say the person smiling cruelly down upon them all is anyone but Mika Tsukizuka.

The threat is the same as it was from Tomoyo, but with Daishin so clearly at gun point, it feels… much more real. All he can do is stare at her, wide eyed. Abe’s outburst barely shakes him from the cold stupor.

This woman killed everyone. 

His brain can barely form the words. It can barely form thought. He wants to cry, and the way his eyes burn may have it happen. He wants to–

Shepherd || Sensei || Trial 6 || ATTN: Everyone

[♪♪♪] Once all sign of life has completely left Tomoyo, the masked woman gently lays the girl on the floor before grabbing the weapon used in her attack. When her thumb presses the top of it, the long, thin blade retracts back into the plastic casing with a small click. Briefly, what can be assumed as her gaze lingers on the body on the floor, but…

Soon, her head lifts, and her attention is slowly and silently shifted from person to person.

There is an undeniable authority that mingles with the shock in the air – radiating from this single figure alone.

She sighs, sparing no last glance to Tomoyo’s corpse as she passes behind Ren. The woman holds her head high, and there is no mistaking the deadly lack of hesitation in her words and movements.

With the way the sleeves of the woman’s furisode trail behind her as she walks, one might call her graceful – were grace the sign of a wild animal poised to lash out without warning, at least.

Continuing behind the podiums, she passes Raven next.

Next, the empty podiums between Raven and Daishin.

The woman pauses behind Daishin, raising her hand into the air and pointing down at them.

There is a laugh of happy agreement from Sorakuma, before all of a sudden, the bear leapt from his podium and stood in the middle of the courtroom, directly in front of Daishin Taniguchi. In one hand, he held a semi automatic rifle and in the other… a water pistol?

After that, Sorakuma fell silent and the woman spoke once more.

She continues her walk, and as she passes behind Kiha, she reaches up to drag heavily burnt fingers across his back.

Now standing behind the next podium, she grabs the portrait standing behind it and moves it out of her way.

The woman stands where the portrait once was, and with a soft laugh, pulls the mask away from her face and tents her fingers together in front of her.

Keep reading

Little Lamb || Trial 6 || ATTN: Everyone

Tomoyo’s face contorted from shock and pain, digging her nails into the woman’s arm in a desperate attempt to steady herself. She coughed weakly, trying to speak through the blood she was choking on.

She had so many more things to say, but all of them were drowned out by blood in her mouth. Tomoyo reached for her Sensei, confused and desperate. In her last moments, there’s no trace of the confident SHSL Secretary, or the cruel and angry member of SHSL Despair. In the end, Tomoyo Iori is a frightened child, reaching out to the woman she thought would save her.

With a gentle touch, the woman caresses Tomoyo’s cheek. Her voice, although muffled by the mask on her face, is both soft and familiar.

She sighs, and as Tomoyo’s struggle weakens, she leans down closer to the girl. Oddly enough, her voice is strained with unmistakable anguish.

After another lingering second, she pulls her hand away from Tomoyo’s cheek, bringing it up to the sheep facade hiding her face from view. She lifts it slightly, but the woman’s features remain shadowed as she leans down and presses a gentle kiss to Tomoyo’s forehead.

…It takes only a few seconds longer for the girl’s grip on the woman to go slack, and the rest of her body limp as her pleading whimpers cease.

Tomoyo Iori is dead.

“Through difficulties in the stars                              Let us seek higher                                           God willing, the stars shine…”

thanks i hate it | ren | mm trial | re: tomoyo, daishin

Tomoyo and Raven could probably go back and forth for hours if they let them, so in a way, he’s relieved Kiha broke in and mentioned what Ren didn’t want to think about. He takes a moment to shoot Raven an exhausted frown, silently begging the magician to stay at his podium.

He didn’t want to say it. It was bad enough that he thought it. Yet…

Daishin’s memory really drives it home, doesn’t it. From evidence alone, this felt like a safe assumption, but after that?

HYPOCRITE THAT YOU ARE | Ren | MM Trial | Re: Tomoyo

Ren mutters this, weakly, as Tomoyo speaks, but it isn’t until she finishes that her words really and truly settle in his mind. She pressed one of the buttons. She mourned the loss of Ayame and Kamiya.

… How dare she?

How dare she?!

She has no right - no right to mourn these people when she’s the reason they’re dead! Mika would still be here, Ayame, Kamiya, Sakurako, every single villager, every single one of them would still be alive and together had she not shoved them into this goddamn game! No one pushed to murder, no one mourning the loss of the people they love most! Ren’s fingers tighten into white-knuckled fists around his podium.

There’s no way any amount of berating will make her realize how wrong it is. Believing oneself to be perfect is often the sign of…

He tightens his grasp, so hard that his fingers are aching.

Ren lets out a bitter sigh. What a hypocrite. All of them…

Looking at her, he isn’t sure what emotion should forefront. Anger? Despair? Pity? Even if he won’t ever understand her answers, he wants to know why she thought this was worth it. Or else, all of those people he loved really did die for nothing.

Kouhai? More like NOhai | Ren | MM trial | re: Tomoyo

Ren’s voice is immediate, firm - resolute, despite Tomoyo being so close to where he stands. He fixes her with a frown as she speaks so harshly to Raven, only a few podiums away. What else should he expect from the mastermind behind the tragedy? Cruel words like that…

Showing what sort of person she really is. He feels sick.

His eyes move over to Raven for a second - a quick, just as stern, don’t you dare move from that podium. I’m watching you, magician. I’m between you and her.

And then the others - all pretty appropriate reactions considering what they’re being told. Being the new SHSL Despair, when all the members from before were ruthlessly killed? Everyone who has worked with Tomoyo is dead, if her words are to be trusted, so why would any of them, beyond a sense of morals and being a decent human, want to work with a partner that has such a high mortality rate?

Gotta take the time to assure Daishin, apparently, before going back into the interrogation. Once Hanari finishes, he picks up.

I’d rather die than work with you is a sentence best left unsaid, but the implication is rather clear in his tone.

This bread is rotten | Ren | MM Trial | Re: Reveal

Being right really was the worst. They all agreed, but the reality of that didn’t fully settle until Tomoyo turned that calm smile, right past Ren and towards Raven. As she spoke, so casually, about how cruel it was to accuse Persephone when she would never call someone merely a year older than her sensei–

Because she was the reason all of this happened.

The reason all of those people had died - not just people Ren loved, but those who were loved by anyone - is right there. The reason all of them had suffered as much as they did.

And she is standing literally right next to him.

Not only is it someone he went to school with, liked, trusted, she is also standing right there. She could easily reach over and touch him. What had once been a source of comfort very swiftly geared in the opposite direction.

is this bread gluten free | ren | trial 6 | re: raven, tomoyo, persephone

This game had reunited him with two of his former classmates, both of whom he always enjoyed spending time with. Kamiya had been a close friend to him since the very beginning, and he was dead. Tomoyo was a reliable, friendly underclassman, who had felt lucky to be able to call his friend after all they had been through.

It’s difficult to return the desperate look she’s giving him.

But Ren musters all the suspicions from before, and focuses on what Raven is saying. His eyebrows furrow. Hearing all of those things, about Tomoyo, about Persephone–

As prepared as he wanted to be, it was still hard to accuse someone you liked of something like this.

Daishin more or less covers what Ren wants to say next, but he still frowns, towards Raven. Glancing down at his own watch, he stays silent as Daishin finishes, before looking upwards once more.

There were still some arguments that could be made in the opposite direction, but, geez, that was a lot of talking. Ren has yet to look especially upset at anyone - not for their accusations, or the accusations against them. If anything, he just seems… sorry.

Looking to his trial neighbour, he finishes,

I’m all outta bread we best get some | Ren | Trial 6 | Re: Everyone

There are almost too many diary entries to keep straight, but Ren stays completely silent as the others speak - their findings, what they think. In fact, for a moment, he shuts his eyes while he listens, putting his complete attention into their words.

After a beat, he opens them. He’s still managed to maintain a calmness he, in hindsight, wishes he could have mustered for the 5 previous trials.

… Cool, don’t elaborate or anything.

Ren’s eyes flicker over for a split second before he resumes speaking.

He pauses. Smiling weakly, brows furrowed, he finishes with a somewhat helpless,

Right? Ren is less confident in this statement but, at least, unlike the last trials, he is actually voicing the thoughts he’s not sure of. Progress. Character development.

Helps in the Bread Getting | Ren | Trial 6 | Re: Raven

The same effigies within their circle of podiums. All of those they had lost since they woke up in that dilapidated city. It was difficult to think back on the way they were when they discovered the body of Kazuro and watched Touma’s execution. Looking around at the survivors standing there…

They’ve all changed so much. Not just their relationships - them. As people, they were all different. Watching the video of the Ren who graduated from Hope’s Peak, and standing here now, was eye opening.

There’s no monitor to anxiously avert his gaze to, but he doesn’t feel the need to do so in the first place.

He hesitates.

Glancing around the room, his eyes flicker to the portraits surrounding them - those from the last game. Two different versions of Kamiya, a picture of Hanari despite her standing right there…