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As he realized exactly what was going on; as the full weight of Monokuma's words finally sunk in-
a single thought resounded through his head, like a church bell signalling noon-
(We'll make it out of here! All of us, together!)
As he watched chains enclose and drag off Leon Kuwata, the baseball all-star with dreams of becoming a different kind of star altogether, for killing Sayaka Maizono, the idol who despite her constantly bubbly appearance had very real fears and worries, in self-defense-
a single thought passed through his head, distantly but clear all the same-
(We'll make it out of here! All of us, together!)
As he watched Ishimaru, the Moral Compass, normally a beacon of order and almost-normalcy, beg and plead /Please, no! Don't do this! You can't- You can't-!/ as he watched Mondo, the biker gang leader who was normally so boisterous and unafraid, lower his head in shame and admit to having killed Chihiro, the shy programmer who'd been called weak so often but was anything but-
he felt a tidal wave of sadness wash over him, impossible to avoid or deflect, at the thought of words that had once been so comforting-
(We'll make it out of here! All of us, together!)
As he talked to Alter Ego, the AI who was the one chance they had left; as he watched them speak to Ishimaru and turn him into Ishida; as he watched them say they could help them get information-
a trickle of hope welled in his chest, and the words he'd so often thought to himself began to feel /hopeful/ again-
(We'll make it out of here! All of us, together!)
As he found first Hifumi, the doujinshi artist who was fine , he had just been fine, they'd talked only minutes ago, why was this happening - then Ishimaru, former Moral Compass, now just a broken man who'd been forced to watch his best and only friend liquefy in front of him and was only now able to join him in death; as he tried desperately to untangle the web of confusion surrounding their deaths; as he discovered the depths of Celeste's cruelty, and the extent of her deceptions; as he watched her burn slowly; as he watched the firetruck hit her with a sickening noise and a small splash of blood-
he remembered with a sick feeling how hopeful he'd been, how optimistically he'd thought-
(We'll make it out of here! All of us, together!)
As he found out the truth about Sakura; as he watched them all divide and turn on each other; as he witnessed their group falling apart-
he could swear he heard the mastermind laughing as he started to forget the days when he could say such encouraging words and mean them-
(We'll make it out of here! All of us, together!)
As Sakura was found cold in the Rec Room; as the list of suspects only grew longer; as her death was revealed to be suicide; as her last will and testament was read; as Aoi cried broken tears; as their last, best hope was cruelly stamped out-
words rang in his head like a death knell, mournful and mocking-
(We'll make it out of here! All of us, together!)
As he discovered another body, this time from someone he'd never met; as they tried to find evidence despite the gaping holes in the Monokuma File; as the blame turned on Kirigiri; as Kirigiri herself turned the blame on /him/; as he sat at his desk in detention, listening to the crusher's noises getting closer and closer-
he whispered, so quietly he might never have said it at all-
(We'll make it out of here. All of us, together.)
As he was saved by Alter Ego, falling into the trash pit whole instead of as pulp; as he escaped the trash heap with Kirigiri's help; as he got closer and closer to discovering the mastermind; as he pieced together the clues with her; as he found out conclusively it could only be Junko Enoshima-
he felt not hope, but a grim determination, as he echoed the words he had repeated so often to himself once more-
(We'll make it out of here- all of us, together.)
As the mastermind herself appeared in front of them all; as she explained the true gravity of what she'd done; as she explained the rules for the final trial;
as Naegi himself voted for Despair- because if they all die, outside, then what good is being together? They don't need him, anyway. They never did. After all, shouldn't he have been able to prevent this? He could've done so much to stop it, but he didn't, and there were so many dead now- No. He would vote for Despair, and the rest would live. He'd made his choice.
His final thought before pushing the button was a bitter refrain of the same song, the original tune a distant memory-
(We'll make it out of here! All of us, together!)
as he watches in horror as his remaining friends got dragged to their deaths;
as he whirls on Junko furiously, demanding an explanation;
as she giggles "Well, of course, Naegi! Did you really think I'd let you die?!~ It's no fun when you execute someone that /wants/ to be killed, duh!~";
as Naegi, overflowing with a pure, white-hot rage he's never felt before, snaps her neck with one single motion;
as he stands over her corpse and starts laughing without knowing why, and can't quit;
as he rips his friends' crossed-out pictures off their posts;
as he takes their portraits with him when he goes to open the door that had kept them all trapped there;
as he pauses before stepping outside for the first time in over a year;
as he's still cackling because he forgot how to stop-
he manages to say something between bouts of insane laughter.
"We'll make it out of here! All of us, together!"