https://youtu.be/eoVFwqnfQag

((Thanks so much to my amazing friend, TheSaiyanJedi5, for ideas for this chapter!  *gives him all the hope bagels* Also, this is the first chapter of the Hope Arc. And it's based on the movie "Danganronpa 2.5, Nagito Komaeda and the Destroyer of Worlds. (It's on the top, if you haven't seen it. Be sure to put on the captions for the translation, though.)))

((Nagito's POV))

It was as if I was falling. I felt light and like nothing in the world could ever hurt me. I thought I'd get lost in this feeling forever. But in the midst of all that, I saw someone I loved more than anything in the world. The one person who loved me more than anything. Midori Reiko. She looked just as she always had. Her beautiful face, her red hair, her green eyes. Her smile, so full of hope and warmth. The many things I'd missed since I died. She saw me and smiled in her usual way. "Nagito!!!" She said. I smiled also. I reached out to her, but she disappeared. 

The scene around me shimmered for a while and turned into Hope's Peak Academy. It looked brand new. Just as it had when we arrived. This must have been before...Before the Tragedy occurred, I thought. I looked ahead and saw Midori walking alone. I went forward and tried to touch her shoulder, but my hand went right through her. Then, I heard a voice. A very familiar voice. My voice. 

"Midori, wait up!!!" I yelled, running up to her. She turned and smiled. "Oh...Nagito. Good morning," she said. "Morning," I said. "Mind if I walk with you?" She shook her head, smiling and blushing. Why didn't I notice this before? I thought. Why did it take until the Neo World Program to find out that I loved her? I looked at Midori. Maybe I did love her...Before we became Ultimate Despair... I walked beside Midori and my past self. I know this is only a memory, and I'm not really talking to her...But it's good to hear her voice again, I thought.

"Nagito...Thank you for walking with me," Midori said. I smiled brightly and walked alongside her. Suddenly, she tripped and fell. "Ah!" I quickly ran and caught her out of instinct. This time, I wasn't a bystander, watching as the scene unfolded. I was in my body. "Are you okay?" I asked. She blushed deeply and nodded. "Yeah...Just a little dizzy." Then, she hugged me tightly. "Don't leave me...Nagito..." she said. I looked at her. "I won't Midori," I said. Then, before I knew it, I leaned down and kissed her. She kissed back and smiled. "Mmm." I smiled, then gasped as I watched her disappear in my arms. "Midori!!!" I yelled. 

Suddenly, a light enveloped me. I covered my eyes, and when I opened them again...I was in a classroom. Midori was sitting beside me, lost in thought and looking upset about whatever she was thinking about. I frowned. She's probably worrying about her talent again, I thought. I sighed heavily. "Talent...Talent isn't necessary," I said. "No one needs talent." Midori looked at me, frowning. "You say that now but...What if talent...helped you find someone you loved?" she asked. I shrugged. "Then, I don't know what I'd think," I said. 

Midori's eyes widened and filled with tears, then she turned away. I could hear her sobs, but I didn't know why she was crying. I don't get it...Why is she upset? It's the truth, I thought. This world...would be so much better without talent.

-Time skip, many days later-

I walked beside Midori to the house of my fellow classmate, Tio Minako. He is the Ultimate Case Cracker and excels at solving mysteries. Midori was bringing me to the funeral for his little sister, Akemi. She had died mysteriously yesterday. No one knows why, or how. "Come on, Nagito. Tio needs our support," Midori said, snapping me from my thoughts. "After all, he just lost his little sister." 

I nodded slowly as we approached Tio's house. He was a mess, crying his eyes out and holding his head in his hands. He looked...terrible. In his hands, there was a picture of Akemi, smiling. Midori walked up and hugged him. "Tio...I'm so sorry," she said. He hugged back and dried his tears. "Thanks. I know you didn't really know Akemi that well...But it means so much that you came. Both of you," he said. "Of course. We're here for you if you need us, Tio." Tio smiled. 

Suddenly, a boy with a pompadour shoved into the room and stopped in front of Akemi's casket. After seeing her smiling face on it, he sobbed and screamed her name, over and over again. Tio walked up to him and gently put a hand on his shoulder. "Mondo..." he said. "I..." Mondo jerked away from Tio as if he were on fire and glared at him. "Don't. Don't you dare try and cheer me up after you let her die!!!" he yelled. Tio frowned and looked down. I could tell he felt that Mondo was right.

Midori stood in front of Tio. "It wasn't his fault!" she yelled. Mondo growled angrily at her. "Wasn't his fault!? He...! He...!!!!" Midori glared at Mondo angrily. "And where were you?! You're her boyfriend! Why didn't you protect her?! You coward!!!!!!!" she yelled. Mondo's eyes widened, then he looked down. "Coward...." he said. Then he looked up at Midori angrily. "Coward, coward, coward, coward coward?! WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU CALLING A COWARD, BITCH!?" he yelled.  In a swift movement, he punched Midori as hard as he could. She fell down, unconscious.

Tio gasped and ran to help her. "Midori!!!" I watched as he did so. After making sure she was okay, Tio growled angrily at Mondo. "How dare you hit her!? All of this...Only because you're grieving!" he yelled. Mondo looked down and laid his head on Akemi's casket, crying. "Just...Just get the hell away from me," he said. Tio nodded and took Midori to the other side of the room, giving Mondo room to mourn. He glared at me angrily. "And where were you, Komaeda?!" I looked up. "Hm? I was just thinking..." I replied. "Thinking?!" Tio roared angrily.

"She tried to use her talent to diffuse the situation," I said. "And now look what happened. Talents are useless..." Tio growled again at my comment. I frowned. "Why are you so defensive? All I'm saying is if she were normal, we'd be happier together." "She was hurt and you didn't care!!!" Tio said angrily. I shook my head. "...I did care," I said. "But with my terrible luck, I would've hurt her worse. Sorry." Tio turned away. "You won't know if you have terrible luck or not if you don't try!" he yelled. Maybe you're right, Tio, I thought. 

Midori groaned softly as she began to wake up. Tio helped her sit up. "Midori..." Midori rubbed the bruise Mondo left on her right cheek. "Ow...Damn, that hurt," she said. "Are you okay?" Tio asked. She nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine. We'd better get going," she said. Tio nodded. "Alright, but...Be careful. Whoever killed Akemi is still out there," he said. Midori nodded and we left.

-Komaeda Residence, 11:30 p.m.-

I sighed as I sat on my bed. It was a long day. Especially after Akemi's funeral. That only made everything worse, I thought. But still...I can't help but remember what Tio said. "Whoever killed Akemi is still out there". What did he mean by that? Does...Does he actually know how did this? I was snapped from my thoughts when my phone rang. I looked down and saw Midori's number. I answered it. "Hello? Midori?" My eyes widened as I heard her crying on her end. "Midori, what's wrong? What happened?" I asked. She sobbed more. "Nagito...Listen to me...I....I don't have much time...I lo-!" She suddenly screamed and I couldn't hear her anymore after that. "Midori? You what?! Midori!" I yelled. On the other end, I heard someone I didn't recognize. A male. 

"Am I speaking to Nagito Komaeda?" he asked. "Who are you?" I asked. "The World...Destroyer," he replied. "But never mind me...I believe someone else wants to talk to you." I heard Midori crying again. He must've given her back the phone. She sobbed. "Nagito...I want to tell you something," she said. "I...I love you. I love you, Nagito." My eyes widened as I heard that. "Y-You love me?" I said, surprised. "I always have," she replied. "I was too...afraid to say anything. Because you said you hate talent...I thought you...hated me too..." She let out a sob and my heart felt like it was breaking. "No, that's wrong! Midori, I don't hate you, do you hear me! I don't hate-!" My voice was interrupted by another. World Destroyer's. 

"Now listen...As your world crumbles before you," he said. There was silence for a moment, then I heard Midori's sobs again. "Nagito," she said. "I love you..." My eyes widened. From the way she was saying it, it seemed like she...was going to die. It sounded like she was barely clinging to life. Like she...didn't want to die, but was being forced to. "Midori, I...I love you t-" BANG!!!!!! A gunshot rang out through the phone. My eyes widened. Just like that, Midori was gone. Midori...I'm so sorry, I thought. 

"Has your world crumbled yet?" World Destroyer asked. "Huh?" I said, my eyes wide. "It would seem not," he said, bored. "What are you talking about!?" I asked. "Then I shall proceed until it has," World Destroyer said. "One by one. Piece by piece...I will tear it down. I will leave nothing behind. I will offer no mercy. I will spare no one. Just like this girl, they will all fall." My eyes widened and I growled. "I've heard enough!!!!!!" I yelled as I hung up and threw my phone on my bed. It lit up again, this time containing two text messages. I looked at them and gasped. The first one was of Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu and Sonia Nevermind. Both were dead with a bullet-shaped hole in their heads. Fuyuhiko was holding a gun in his hand, as if he were ready to shoot the World Destroyer. 

When I flipped to the second one, my eyes filled with rage and pain. It was Midori. There were tears on her cheeks that mixed with the blood that pooled around her wound. She, too, had a bullet hole in her head. I could only stare at her corpse as a tear fell down my cheek. Then another on the other side. Midori... I thought. Her words from before echoed through my mind. "You say that now but...What if talent...helped you find someone you loved?" I clenched my fists and left my house, knowing what I had to do.

-Abandoned Building-

I walked inside and saw the World Destroyer looking up at the sky. "I did not anticipate you would show up so soon, Komaeda. I expected I would have to delete another ten of your friends," he said, looking at me. I glared at him coldly. "Neither Kuzuryu, nor Pekoyama, nor Sonia, nor Midori...were by any means pushovers," I said. "You must possess a great deal of talent...to be able to take them out so easily. You see, I...I despise talent. Were I able, I would erase all talent from the world entirely. And I've never felt anything so strongly. So you...have to go." 

"And how do you intend to get rid of me with no talent of your own?" he asked. "I won't deny that I'm just a regular guy with a bit of an unlucky streak. I don't belong anywhere near the spotlight," I said. I held the chestnut that fell in my hair this morning in my hand. "But someone once told me...I'd never know if I didn't try!" I threw it. He dodged and the chestnut lodged itself in my hair once again. I smiled. "See? Anything I do turns out bad for me," I said. "I would never come out of this on top." I held a baseball in my hand. The same one that hit me in the head a few days back.

"But you know what? Even though I lack any real talent...I can't see myself losing to you either!" I said, throwing it. Again, he dodged it. When I heard the baseball zooming my way, I caught it. World Destroyer smiled. "What you're feeling, Komaeda...And what Midori had before when she told you how she felt...is called 'hope'," he said. I frowned. "'Hope'? Hope...? What a peculiar sounding word," I said. "Although...I feel like I've heard it before. Alright then...Let's see what hope can achieve!!!" I threw the baseball as hard as I could. It zoomed past World Destroyer's head and banged around the abandoned building, knocking all of the screws loose. They rained down around us. 

I smiled. "I have such terrible luck. I couldn't possibly defeat you. But maybe I can take you out with me," I said. "Imagine how incredibly unlucky you'd have to be...to make a whole building collapse by merely throwing a ball. Even if it was already falling apart." I pulled out the gun that Fuyuhiko had and pointed it at the grate angled to where the bullet would strike me in the head and kill me. "Kuzuryu...Midori...Thank you," I said as I fired the bullet. It ricocheted around a few times before finding its way into my skull. I fell to the ground and the last thing I saw was Midori's smiling face. 

I smiled, coming out wearing what I did on Jabberwock Island. World Destroyer smiled as well. "Looks like you've finally awakened," he said. I smiled and nodded. "Yeah. And...Am I the last one to awaken?" He nodded. I smiled. "And Midori?" I asked. He looked up. "That's not for me to say," he said. "Alter Ego, all assignments have been finished." As he said that, a bright light shone around us. 

When it faded, I heard a familiar voice. The same voice as the World Destroyer's. "Can you hear me? Nagito!!!" he said. I opened my eyes and sat up. "Izuru, I assume?" I said. He smiled. "Actually, it's Hajime. But...Izuru and I are one and the same," he said. "Everyone else has already woke up. They're waiting on you." I smiled. "What about Midori? Where is she?" I asked. Hajime's smile fell. "She's with Tio, Makoto, Togami, and Kyoko," he replied. "Where?" I asked. He looked down sadly. "That's the problem. I don't know where exactly. Sorry."

I stood up and walked outside. Hajime followed and sighed. "Nagito, I..." he said. I clenched my fists at my sides. "I have to find her," I said. "I don't want what happened to her in my dream to be real. If she really died..."I shut my eyes tightly. Midori with a bullet hole in her head was all I saw. Hajime smiled. "We'll find her. I promise," he assured me. I nodded. "Right. Let's go find her," I said. Hajime nodded and we boarded the boat together. Hold on, Midori, I thought as I smiled. I'm alive...And I'll be there soon. So just...hang on until then! 

To be continued..!

Next time:Gozu's Tragic End!