Phantom Thieves of Hope - A Danganronpa X Persona 5 Story.

Chapter 60: Chariot to Victory

All All Apologies - Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

The debacle of Hina's supposed "cheating" had put the audience on edge. For most of them, this was one of the worst events they'd ever been to, and the fact that the star athlete, who had already been underperforming, was called out for cheating as soon as she decided to up her game, solidified that fact.

Donyokuna and the referee had told Hina to take a hike after what happened, while everyone worked to decide what to do with her. With a heavy heart from disappointment, she wandered back to the changing rooms. Nothing had gone as planned for the swimming competition. Despite practicing for hours and challenging herself to the limit, she was unable to perform when it counted most.

She was now being charged with cheating. Something that was new for her. No one had ever imagined she would cheat in all the years she'd played sports.

Hina no longer even trusted her own talents. Did she still deserve to be referred to as the Ultimate Swimming Pro?

It didn't matter. Makoto was going to make sure she never felt like this again.

Using their VIP passes, Makoto, Sakura, Kyoko and Yuta passed the security and made their way to the back corridors of the establishment. They made their way through the corridors, exploring it as if it were a maze of some sort, with little instructions on where to go to find Hina.

"Just keep looking around until you find the changing rooms," Kyoko instructed, "That's probably where she will be."

"I don't get it though," Yuta, who had already been filled in on the situation, remarked, "you guys are seriously saying that Donyokuna is up to something? I mean, I never really liked that woman a whole lot, but...what do you think she's even doing?"

"That...We don't know yet. But she's incredibly suspicious. When Hina got fouled, she seemed really happy about it for some reason," Makoto told him, "I'd like to know why, but we won't get anywhere just saying all of that to her face."

"Indeed," Sakura nodded, "she'll just deny any accusations we present to her. It's not like we have any proof that she's really up to no good."

"Right," Kyoko affirmed, "we can focus on Donyokuna when the opportunity arises. The first order of business is to go and talk to Hina. Not only do I believe we might find some key information in her testimony...but I think she could use a shoulder to lean on."

"I dunno you guys...I've literally known Aoi all my life, and I don't think I've ever seen her this down in the dumps before," Yuta told them, "Your friend with the short black hair was right. I don't think she's really in the mood to be talking to anybody right now."

"Hm...Yuta-kun has a point," Sakura realized, "If even Naegi's world-class motivational speeches haven't worked, what can we possibly say to her that will lift her spirits again?"

"Come on. I appreciate the compliment, but I think you're hyping me up a little too much," Makoto chuckled, embarrassed, "Listen. Do you know why it is that Hina's really upset? After having spent a lot of time training with her, I can pretty easily tell."

"What's that, then?" Kyoko asked. Makoto inhaled a deep breath, then put a hand on his heart as he explained.

"Hina may be an athlete, but she doesn't care about winning or losing. In fact, she doesn't mind losing so long as she's having fun competing against spirited competitors like herself," he said, "But what's happened today is the complete opposite of what she loves about sports, and it's crushing her. Not only have her opponents not shown any sign of care towards the event, despite its importance, but the moment she herself starts to kick things into high gear and show off her competitive spirit, she gets falsely accused of cheating."