Danganronpa: Poisoned Hope (Fanganronpa)

Chapter 5 - Post Trial and Execution

After the votes were tallied, Monokuma began to address us as we got down from our podiums.

"Now that your wonderful votes have been counted, checked, and tallied, let's take a look at the results!"

The large, sleek, black screen lowered from the ceiling, coming to life. All of our faces were displayed one by one, 6 red bars flashed next to Arashi's portrait.

Every single one of us voted for her...Arashi's even voted for herself. I just hope that it was the right decision.

The screen when black again so Monokuma could continue his usual post-trial speech.

"Now let us see if that's correct. Is she the culprit? Did you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one? Let's find out!" The bear enthusiastically announced while the TV switched on to present the roulette wheel. The arrow in the middle of it spun until it eventually landed on Arashi's face. However, even the arrow seemed uncertain, as it took a moment to properly stop on top of Arashi. Almost like it hesitated...

Monokuma spun around to face us and started to clap his paws together in content. "5 correct trials in a row! Amazing! And yes, the person who brutally killed not only Mei Tanoshi but also Kei Shizuka was...Arashi Tsuyoi, the Ultimate Collector!"

"Arashi..." I turned to her. She seemed completely fine as she stared at the screen that slowly ascended back to the ceiling. "Why? Why did you do it?"

"You said you would explain everything after the trial. So spit it out." Toshiro joined in. Arashi took her eyes off the TV and looked at us.

"Well...I didn't say I'd explain everything. Just what I can."

"Just hurry up and tell us already! We're gonna run out of time!" Reina hurried her up, wanting her to say as much as she possibly could before her execution.

"Ok, ok...I guess I should start with my reasoning and motive, right?" She asked us

"I don't really care. As long as you keep it short and snappy. I, for one, am looking forward to the execution!" Mizuki happily giggled, imagining all the gruesome possibilities Arashi could get punished in.

"How about...why you killed Mei. Wasn't she your best friend? You would do anything for her, so why did you kill her?" Ryuto wondered.

"Aw, man. That question already..." Arashi said. "I did say I'd explain what I could, so...I guess I can't go back in my word." she took a deep breath and began. "I killed her because...Mei asked me to. She came to me."

"Wait, what?" I was surprised.

"When I found Mei after the breakfast meeting, she begged me to kill her so the rest of us could live. Mei didn't want anyone else to do it. I didn't want to at the time...but agreed. I wanted to respect her wishes."

"Bullshit," Toshiro called her out.

"What?"

"If she was your best friend and asked you to kill her, why did you do it so brutally? Wasn't a quick stab enough? Or did you want to murder her that bad?" He asked.

"No, because the mastermind also wanted me to kill her."

"Really?" Ryuto perked up. "The mastermind?"

"They wanted me to make sure her death was as brutal as I could make it. Even if her cause of death was poison, they wanted the scene of the crime to be gory. They did tell me they had a grudge against her for revealing her identity and quitting. They helped me set the crime scene and escape the scene along with everything else." She explained.