Epilogue:

The walk back to the restaurant was sombre. Everyone walked slowly, shoulders slumped and in silence. Mikan broke off early on to care for Gundham, her explanation punctuated by whimpers and apologies. Hinata simply nodded and continued walking, too tired to comfort the poor nurse. Eventually, the remaining students gathered, each standing awkwardly and refusing to meet eyes.

Akane moved first, moving to the fridge and pulling out a smoked leg of ham. The others followed suit, and soon the restaurant was filled with the sounds of eating and the hissing of cooking food.

"A job well done," Komaeda said suddenly, flashing a smile. "As expected of Ultimates, you unravelled that mystery with ease. A shame about Souda, though. His hope was too weak to stand up to all of your shining potential."

Hinata wanted to say something, he really did. But the words were stuck in his throat, and his mouth wouldn't work the way he wanted. His hands shook as he thought back on the events that had transpired just that afternoon. Had it really been so recent? Time passed so agonisingly in the trial, each minute stretched an eternity.

Nobody ended up saying anything. One by one, they wandered out of the restaurant like ghosts, their lips and their footsteps silent as they walked. Eventually, Hinata followed them, having choked down an apple and a glass of juice, not able to stomach much else. Making his way to his cabin, he collapsed, and saw nothing else.

Hinata's introduction to the new day was in the form of intense, golden sunlight streaming onto his face, burning his eyes even as he forced his eyelids shut. He rolled over, pulling his pillow over his head. He didn't want to get up; doing so meant going to the restaurant. The restaurant where Souda no longer whimpered and blustered and laughed the way he always did in the mornings. He knew this wasn't good for him; denial didn't make him any safer, nor the death of his friends any less real. But he wanted to wallow in it for just a little more. His slow internal sinking into despair was quickly interrupted by a knock at the door. Or, well, maybe something closer to a jackhammer.

"HINATA!" Nekomaru roared from the other side of the door. "GUNDHAM HAS AWOKEN. EVERYONE IS HEADING TO THE HOSPITAL. IF YOU ARE INSIDE, YOU ARE WELCOME TO JOIN US!" Silence followed his words, and then the only sound left was the heavy thudding of his footsteps retreating along the wooden path.

"Gundham…" Hinata muttered to himself. He honestly didn't want to leave his cabin and face the world just yet, but… his friend needed him. Hell, he was lucky to still have him. If Sonia's plan had gone even half to plan, he'd be dealing with three dead classmates instead of two. What was he thinking, wallowing like that? He needed… he needed to stay strong. For his friends, both alive, and dead.

He pulled himself from his bed, noting to aching of his muscles and the brightness of the world outside. He had overslept. A lot. Pulling on a new uniform, he stepped outside, hearing his joints pop as he moved them properly for the first time in maybe a week. He mightn't be able to remember his time with the Despair Disease, but he certainly felt the reminder now. Giving one more stretch to the heavens, Hinata set off briskly walking to the hospital.

Nothing of note happened along the way, though that was weird in of itself; with such an eccentric group, something interesting nearly always occurred. This time though, Hinata didn't even meet a single person on his trip. Thoroughly weirded out, he finally stopped at the entrance of the hospital, and pushed the glass doors open cautiously. Seven eyes blinked back at him. Everyone, besides Mikan and Gundham, as far as he could tell, were stationed in the lobby of the hospital, their body language awkward and stoic.

"Took you long enough," grumbled Kuzuryuu.

"Hajimeme is alive!" cheered Mioda.

"W-What did you just call me-?"

"E-Everyone!" Mikan stumbled through the double doors, before regaining her balance and standing upright, trembling. "U-Um, y-you can v-visit now, but please don't be too l-loud or upset the p-patient, p-please. I don't want him to re-open his w-wounds."

What little chattering there was died down immediately, and everyone made their way to the last door at the end of the hallway.

Nekomaru's old room Hinata noted numbly. An air of tension and underlying nervousness hovered as they opened the door quietly. Inside, contrasting against the pristine white sheets lay Gundham Tanaka.

His normally impeccably styled hair was limp and messy. His eyes were closed, but opened when the other members of the class entered. "Greetings, mortals." His normally boisterous tone was reduced to a grating whisper, though his typical trademark smirk remained affixed firmly on his face.

"It's good to see you awake," Chiaki smiled.

"You really scared us there!' Akane commented, grinning broadly.

"Glad to see you're not as dead as you looked." Kuzuryuu said grimly.

"Gwahaha!" Gundham chuckled darkly. "It takes more than that to kill the great Gundham Tanaka!"

"Yeah, of course, Gundham.." Hinata smiled. It was nice seeing someone, anyone, acting like normal.

"However," coughed Gundham. "My all-seeing eye was damaged in the incident, so I am unaware of what exactly may have transpired." He added, looking away.

Akane, Fuyuhiko, Hinata and Mikan all looked nervously at each other. Komaeda watched from a distance, a smile playing on his face. Eventually, everyone's gazes came to land on Kuzuryuu, and he stepped forward with a sigh. Taking a seat on the only chair available in the room, he began recounting the events.

"And that all happened yesterday, so you haven't been out all that long, really." Kuzuryuu finished.

Gundham was silent, though his brows were pulled together in a rare show of apprehension or concentration. "I see…" he muttered. He bowed his head. "So the Dark Lady was overwhelmed by the power of Monokuma's foul magic. I am perhaps a little surprised. She had such potential. And should the sharp-toothed one not intervened?" he questioned darkly.

"Honestly-" Kuzuryuu began.

"You'd be dead."

Everyone turned to look at Komaeda, who just smiled cheerily in return.

"You'd be dead, I'd have taken the blame for the murder, and with such a well-formed plan, it's possible she might have even gotten away with it!" he laughed, waving his hands around emphatically.

"I understand. So the Sharp-toothed one, his crime, it was an accident, correct?"

"Yeah," sighed Hinata. "Honestly? Looking back on the case, he knew barely anything about Sonia's plan, but in the trial, when I think about all the things he said… Souda always liked to throw blame around. During trials he was always pointing the finger." Hinata rubbed his face tiredly. "But looking back, he didn't do that this time. He even defended people. He defended Mikan twice, and even refused to take Komaeda up on his offer to take the fall. He… he didn't want to die. And honestly, Souda's never been very brave, so I suppose it's not a surprise he never mustered up the courage to outright expose himself, or confess. But he didn't try to throw us under the bus either. He wanted us to live, just as much as he wanted to live. He…he trusted us to find the truth. And I don't think we'll ever forget that, or that the very reason he dashed into that cinema was to help out a friend."

"Then I admit I underestimated him," mused Gundham. "It is true that he was never one I was considered brave. But to allow and help the truth to come to light when it would destroy you? I would say that takes courage. It is a shame, then."

"A shame?" asked Komaeda.

"Very. For such a hero's death, he shall be ushered through the gates of heaven, sung to sleep with the songs of angels. As my soul shall descend back into the depths of hell itself when my mortal body finally perishes, I will not be able to thank him for his valiant deeds." Only the tremble of his pale hands gave away Gundham away as he continued his bravado. "We shall have a funeral!" He suddenly declared.

"A funeral? Why? We never had a funeral for the others!" Hiyoko growled, her eyes flashing.

"It shall be magnificent!" Gundham continued, unawares. "It shall be in honour of the sharp toothed one, and for the Dark Lady as well."

"Sonia, too, Gundham?" Mikan asked gently.

"Indeed. She may have fallen under the cursed beast's foul magic, but that was never her fault. Her actions were never her own; I see no need to punish her soul."

"Let's do it. Actually, we should do one for everyone." Chiaki decided.

"No fucking way. Funerals…funerals are depressing as fuck. We don't need that right now." Kuzuryuu said angrily.

"Then let's make it a party!" Mioda cried enthusiastically. Everyone groaned quietly.

"I don't know about anything as big or as loud as before, Mioda," Komaeda laughed nervously. He winced at the memory. "But perhaps a small gathering on the beach would be fun?"

"Perfect!" Gundham declared. "I shall be able to call forth the hellflames to commemorate their passing and send their spirits on their way."

"What?" asked Akane.

"He wants to build a bonfire." Hiyoko clarified, rolling her eyes. "I guess," she hesitated. "If we could include Mahiru… I might be willing help out. Maybe…dance…or something…" she mumbled.

"It's settled!" rumbled Nekomaru.

"N-Not tonight though!" fretted Mikan. "Gundham needs at least three days rest before he can go anywhere!"

"Alright!" yelled Akane. "We'll prepare the best funeral party ever!"

The next three days were filled with nothing but party preparations. Poles and lanterns were strung up, and a large bonfire lay prepared in the centre. Tables were lined in rows and chairs were ransacked from various buildings as the day approached.

The night of the party consisted of tables packed with packets of chips and badly cooked hamburgers; a sight that would have made Teruteru cry with grief. Gundham sat in a wheelchair, fussed over by Mikan as he watched the flames flicker. Hiyoko fulfilled her promise as she swept onto the makeshift stage of palm leaves and soft sand, twirling hypnotically with nothing but the crackling of the flames as her music. Akane set up a volleyball game, crushing everyone, including her own teammates until only Nekomaru was able to participate. The game ended with a shock ending of Akane winning by a single point and a hair breadth. The athlete, shocked still at first, began screeching in delight as she was tackled joyfully by Mioda and hugged roughly by the coach. Mikan and Gundham eventually left, slipping away back to the hospital. The night ended as one by one, the students fell asleep, their faces lit by the moonlight and their hair tangled with sand.

And as the night drew to a close, Hinata was left staring at the moon silently, thinking back on all the mysteries that are still be solved. His heart giving a pang at the empty spaces, he looked over his peacefully sleeping classmates. Akane and Nekomaru, side by side, Kuzuryuu alone and curled, twitching occasionally; Komaeda, alone on the sand bank, Chiaki was napping, console in hand under one of the tables, and surprisingly enough, Mioda and Hiyoko curled up, back to back. They looked…peaceful, he decided. And with that, he closed his eyes and decided that the mysteries could wait one more night to be solved.

A/N And that's that! For now, there's no plans for a sequel, especially as this took forever to write, but I appreciate everyone's feedback and support. I hope this was a satisfying ending!