Chapter Text
Hope's Peak Academy. Any student selected to attend is guaranteed success in their specific field of expertise after graduating. The school became a beacon of hope for the world to see, as it only chose and turned out the best of the best into the world. However, as funding grew more and more limited, the school was forced to limit acceptance of students and kept only those who were the most remarkable in their field, while shoving the unremarkables into the reserve classes.
Then it happened. The killing game that claimed the lives of the student council and sent the reserve classes berserk when they learned that every hard-earned cent was going towards the senseless murder of students. Soon, the madness spread outside the school walls and, slowly, to every part of the world. Hope's Peak exiled these students and put the entire school on lockdown, keeping the remaining students inside.
This is the story of Class 80 in the last days of Hope's Peak Academy before the incident of Class 78.
This is the tale of Hope's Twilight.
--
The gardens were always quiet this time of day. The sun was still shining, warm as ever, the wind gently ruffled the grass and the leaves in the trees, and the vibrant colours of the flowers that were carefully nurtured by the school beautification commitee were as much a joy to see as they always had been. Chisato Ueda, Super High School Level Botanist, regarded them happily, despite her worries. Following the riots that had broken out only weeks earlier and the violence that was spreading to the outside world, she had been up late at night with her mind absolutely racked with anxiety and she hadn't slept well in days. It had been getting her in trouble with her teachers and the Super High School Level Hall Monitor, Kiyotaka Ishimaru, much like earlier. His shouting had scared her, and now she was here, finding her solace among the flowers. Plants were easier to understand; not only because it was her field of expertise, but because plants were quiet and were simple in how they worked, not like people who were noisy and complicated. It made her happy to be tending to them or to just be alone with them.
"It's too nice a day for you to be out here by yourself, Chisato-chan."
Chisato gasped and turned suddenly to find a white-haired boy standing behind her, and she calmed down soon enough. "Don't scare me like that, Nagito-kun," she sighed.
Nagito Komaeda, Super High School Level Good Luck, chuckled warmly and smiled. "Sorry. I was just wondering why you were out here and not in class."
"Ishimaru scared me again." Chisato started to fiddle with the hem of her blazer. "He's always too loud. I haven't been sleeping well, so I've been more skittish than usual."
"That's understandable," Said Komaeda as he sat down beside his girlfriend and took her hand. It was a small contact and just enough for Chisato to stand so far. "I wouldn't blame you, given the circumstances."
"I just wish we could be told what was going on out there," Chisato huffed. "The riots were contained, but now it's spreading. I'm so worried about Grandpa, his health's bad enough as it is...!" She was starting to choke up as her eyes filled with tears. "I feel so useless just sitting here! What if he dies with no one at his side?! What if I can't help anyone?!" She burst into tears and gripped Komaeda's hand. Komaeda just sighed, smiling as he took his hand away, then moved behind Chisato just enough that he could put his arms around her shoulders and hold her close.
"You've got so much weight on your little shoulders, Chisato-chan," He said softly. "You're so busy worrying."
"I can't help it...!" Chisato cried. "I just don't want anyone else to die, but I don 't know if anything I can do would be useful to anyone...!"
Komaeda pressed a gentle kiss to the back of Chisato's head. "You have such a big heart. You say you don't understand people and yet here you are, worrying about everyone like that...it's one of the things I love the most about you." Komaeda kept talking to her, telling her how wonderful and kind and smart she was until she eventually calmed down, and Chisato just let him hold her like this. She could tolerate contact of this kind at the moment. "I love you so much, Chisato-chan," Komaeda told her.
And suddenly she felt a sharp pain and her mouth and throat filled with blood. Her throat had been cut! She clamped a hand over the wound as she writhed on the ground in pain. She looked up at Komaeda, and in her last moments she could see the crazed look in his eyes and the glint of the knife in his hands, hear his manic laughter that reverberated in her ears. She only managed to choke out the first three syllables of Komaeda's name before the world went dark.
--
Hikari Nanase hated sneaking around, but on this day, the Super-High-School-Level Conservationist had no other choice if she wanted to avoid the Hall Monitors. Her friend hadn't turned up to class, and Chisato never skipped classes. Next to Yukari Shimizu, Super High School Level Philosopher, she was the model student of Class 80, so Chisato skipping class was automatically suspicious, and their worried teacher, Miss Nago, had asked Hikari to go find her, however, she hadn't found anything yet, and she was starting to panic. She'd searched the halls, the empty science rooms, the dormitories, the library, the bathrooms and the dining hall, but still nothing. What if she'd been taken on her way to class, Hikari thought anxiously. Students had been disappearing as of late, never to be heard from again or turning up dead days later, and Hikari dreaded the thought of one of her best friends ending up that way.
Eventually, Hikari came to the school gardens, where she saw someone lying on the grass. She stepped out and walked closer to it. At first, she felt relief. It was Chisato, obviously, judging by her characteristic coke-bottle glasses sitting on top of her backpack. She must have just had a nap at recess and slept in a bit, that's all.
"Chisato-chan, you know you're not allowed to be out here during class," Hikari chided playfully as she walked closer. "What, was Kiyotaka giving you trouble--" She was cut off mid-sentence when she saw the blood and the horrifying look on Chisato's face, and once she saw the gaping wound in her throat, Hikari screamed. Windows opened and students stuck their heads out to see what was happening while others flooded the halls. First to her side was the Super High School Level Detective, Kyouko Kirigiri, who looked down at Chisato's lifeless corpse with concern before kneeling and closing her eyes. Hikari had burst into tears by now, and Kyouko stood to console her, putting an arm around her shoulder, before telling a teacher to bring a tarp from the bio lab and another student, a hall monitor, to take Hikari away to her room while she began her work. Hikari was still insonsolable as she was led away by the hall monitor, and as much as she hated being carted around like this and as much as she hated the new (but hastily thrown-together) student council's lackeys, her thoughts were on what she'd seen. Why would anyone want to kill Chisato? She didn't have a bad bone in her body! No one really hated her at all, not to the point where they would want to kill her at least! It just didn't make sense. They passed Naoto Sohma, Super High School Level Biologist and Hikari and Chisato's friend, on the way and he stopped the hall monitor for a moment.
"Hikari-kun, what's the matter?" He asked. "What happened?!"
"It's Chisato-chan...!" Wailed Hikari. "She's...she's...!" Hikari burst into tears again and Naoto took her from the hall monitor, insisting that he'd get Hikari back to her dorm room, and the two held each other as Naoto soon joined in Hikari's grief and the two mourned the loss of their beloved friend and colleague.
--
Mika Morikawa dabbed at her eyes gently with her handkerchief, trying to be careful as she dried her tears away. The Super High School Level Mortician had been trying to keep herself together since the announcement that Chisato had been killed. She had known Chisato well- the two had been in almost every single class together, and the two had an appreciation for classical music. To know that her innocent and determined soul was no longer in this world weighed heavily on Mika's shoulders, so did the knowledge that she would be asked to dress the corpse for a funeral. She had started picking out the different textiles she was going to use to dress the body from some bolts of cloth in the textile room when she was joined by her beloved, Tsuneo Kurenai; Super High School Level Samurai. He silently placed his hand on her shoulder and Mika eased into his touch so easily.
"I never imagined I'd be doing this for one of our dear friends, Kurenai-kun," She sighed sadly. "Dear Chisato-chan...so full of potential. Nanase-san and Sohma-san must be devastated."
"Kyouko Kirigiri is questioning her at the moment," Tsuneo informed her. "She suspects the culprit is still in the school."
"I hope she catches him," Said Mika. "Chisato would want him caught." She lifted a bolt of cloth off the rack and walked over to one of the tables to measure it out, then took out her handkerchief again and dabbed lightly at her eyes. "Is there any talk of a suspect?"
"Not yet."
"What do you suppose, then?" She asked him.
Tsuneo crossed his arms. "I would suspect those closest to her. In particular, Komaeda Nagito."
"Her boyfriend?"
"It seems most likely," Said a new voice. The two turned to see the Super High School Level Detective standing behind them. "He hasn't been seen since the murder."
"Isn't there anything Chisato's body could tell you, Kirigiri-dono?" Mika asked her.
"Apart from the fact that she knew her attacker, not that much," Sighed Kyouko. "I've interviewed Nanase and Sohma. I just need to speak to you, Morikawa-san, and then I'm going to find Komaeda."
Mika took a seat and neatly folded her hands in her lap. "If there's anything you want to know, I'm an open book." Tsuneo stood at her side as Kyouko sat down across from them and asked Mika questions.
Between herself and the Super High School Level Chess Player, Ayano Ayanokoji, she and Mika knew everything about everyone in Class 80. Kyouko would have no problem extracting information from her, especially in such desperate times and especially when her eyes and ears stood right next to her and her best friend was among the most affluent of Hope's Peak student population. Kyouko quickly had all she needed, but before she left, she asked one more question: "How was Chisato's relationship with Nagito Komaeda?"
"He's never mistreated her once," Mika explained. "Though I have heard she caught Junko Enoshima flirting with him not that long ago, but she didn't seem to let it get to her. Strange, isn't it?"
Kyouko gave a thoughtful 'hm' before she bid her goodbyes and left the room, leaving Mika to her work.
--
The funeral came with the news that Chisato's grandfather had died, and it was impossible to bury them together. The students all gathered in the gymnasium, dressed in their uniforms and all of Class 80 wearing black bands around their arms. Chisato was laid in a coffin just in front of the stage, the lid to one side, and her classmates came up one by one and laid flowers at the foot of it as they passed it on their way to their seats at the front- some students from other classes even came and left some and said a few words, even her long-time rival, Ryouta Hoshino, Super High School Level Florist, who went as far as to say, or so some went on to tell, that he was sorry for criticising her and that he hoped her afterlife was a good one, which was strange to hear coming from someone that resented almost everyone around him. Even stranger was that one among Class 78 lingered perhaps a bit longer than the others, then walked off to his seat as if holding back the urge to cry. Hikari and Naoto couldn't stop each other's tears as Yukari Shimizu gave a speech on behalf of Class 80 as a goodbye to Chisato, thanking her for offering her silent understanding to her classmates and her great heart that ached for so many, and the Principal, Jin Kirigiri bade his farewells to Chisato and thanked her for her talents that brought the gifts of nature to the world. During the service, some among Class 80, 79 and 78 sneered and glared and whispered as Nagito Komaeda stumbled to the front and fell to his knees at Chisato's coffin, tears streaming down the boy's face.
Tsubasa Yamano, Super High School Actor, turned to his cousin, Shiori Ikeda, Super High School Level Soprano, with a scowl on his face. "Has he no shame?" He scoffed. "I'll bet he murdered Chisato."
"Only a psychopath would attend his victim's funeral," Shiori remarked coldly. "I warned Ueda. I told her he was out of his mind." She crossed her arms. "Not her fault, though; that boy was never capable of thinking for himself in the first place. Komaeda didn't deserve someone like Chisato, she was too good for him. If you ask me, if anyone deserves to die, it would definitely be him."
Some distance away, Ayano Ayanokoji was watching the scene and surveying it carefully, strategies already forming in her mind. The chess player had, in some sense, seen this coming. The person responsible for the riots in the reserve classes that spread outside the school was more than likely behind this and had pulled Komaeda's strings to make him kill Chisato, though how and why she hadn't manage to ascertain just yet. Repressing a smirk, she quietly surveyed the crowd, worked out the pieces on the board, and formed her strategies. There was a reason the Ayanokoji family rivalled the Kuzuryu, after all- and she planned to come out on top, no matter what it took to do so.
--
The remaining students of the reserve classes were gathered in one classroom as Ayano surveyed them. These students were the few who chose not to be completely stupid when the riots started and had put themselves in her employ for the sake of still feeling like they have a purpose. Pawns, Ayano concluded, were so laughably desperate for meaning and purpose. It was like it was all these simple, talentless morons wanted, but her quarry was taking this to extremes that even she wouldn't even dare to even touch upon. Most likely, she was sentencing these kids to death by sending them out with the promise of becoming a part of her growing yakuza family and finding some use for themselves, but it had to be done for the good of the school and for the sake of stopping the senseless violence brought upon the world by Ultimate Despair.
"Welcome, my friends," She said sweetly. "I do hope that you aren't being incovenienced by any of this, but this is an urgent matter, after all." The reserve class students looked to each other nervously. "As you are all well aware, many of Hope's Peak's students have been murdered recently by your classmates. I understand you all wanted nothing to do with it, but I am presenting you all with a chance to get to the bottom of it. I plan to find the person behind it and I would very much love to have you all listed with me in the history books when we stop this atrocity- but there is a catch: you all have to join the Ayanokoji family and swear loyalty to me."
"What if we don't want to?!" Snapped a student.
Ayano just shrugged. "Then you're free to just leave. I won't stop you and I'm not forcing you to be here, after all." The student went quiet and Ayano gave them their assignment; pursue the following students: Nagito Komaeda, Teruteru Hanamura, Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, Peko Pekoyama, Hiyoko Saijoni, Nekomaru Nidai, Mahiru Koizumi, Kazuichi Souda, Gundam Tanaka, Princess Sonia Nevermind, Ibuki Mioda, Tsumiki Mikan, Akane Owari, Mukuro Ikusaba, Junko Enoshima and Byakuya Togami. She sent them out with orders to report on these persons of interest, then walked off to find Jirou Abe, Super High School Level Confectioner. She had a bridge to build if she was going to get anywhere.
With luck, she found Jirou in the home economics classrooms and closed the door behind her. "Got a minute, Jirou-chan?" She asked flirtaciously.
Jirou sighed as he set down the spoon he had preciously been mixing with. "Stop calling me that," He told her sternly. "I'm not your dog."
"I have a proposal for you," Ayano continued, sauntering over like a cat. "A proposal that could very well guarantee our survival."
"From an Ayanokoji?" Jirou scoffed. "Not likely."
"Look, Jirou-kun," Ayano sighed, dropping her flirtacious tone. "I know what happened between our families was ugly, but I wasn't even in charge of that at the time. I need your help to bring down Ultimate Despair."
Jirou quirked an eyebrow. Ayano Ayanokoji asking for his help after her father had so ruthlessly commanded the death of his parents?! She was lucky that he hadn't taken her life, but since he was in a good mood today and she'd stopped calling him Jirou-chan for once... "I'm listening," He replied eventually. "But this had better be worth my time."
Ayano gave a cat-like grin in response and chuckled lowly. "Excellent."