The giant doors at the beginning of this horrific game weren't nearly as terrifying as what you both were really faced with inside. You should've stayed behind that damned door's opening. Maybe then you wouldn't have been in this pain right now. Junko's pitchy voice kept ringing through the monitor- Praising Nanami's skills, and admonishing yours. You were both wounded pretty lightly so far. Your stamina was lower, but all in all, it was just scrapes. You could make it...

Chiaki felt her foot lower on a tile and she stepped back quickly, falling back with a shrill scream. Her foot caught on a sharp spike and she tried her best to manage pulling it out.

"Badoh oh!~ Here's where things get hairy! Give em hell girlfriend! Eyes on the prize! Your friends are waiting for you at the finish line!~"

Chiaki cried, not daring to look up at the monitor, and you tried hoisting her back onto her feet. Neither of you had any medical supplies on you. You probably wouldn't get a chance to use them if you did, and neither of you knew where Mikan was. Then again... Would seeing Mikan help right now...?

"I've heard stories, ya know... Apparently you're the glue that holds the whole shabang together!~ Lines were all drew up in that sand before you came along. Your classmates were a ragtag bunch of brats and back bitters!" Junko spoke to Chiaki with a smug look.

"W-we can make it... We can make it...!" Chiaki chanted tirelessly as her eyes flinched towards every direction.

Chiaki barely missed getting stabbed and your shoulder was slashed lightly as you glanced her way in worry. "W-we will Chiaki... I promise..!" You were paranoid, and you wanted to hold hands with her to make sure you stayed together, but it seemed to only heighten every risk there was... The labyrinth seemed to get smaller and smaller every second and you choked back a cry as it seemed to close you in tighter. Was there any end to this thing!? You heard the rumble of another ball, as it rolled down the hall towards you both and Junko spoke once again.

"And you made a team outta them! I'm drawn to that kinda talent like a moth to a flame."

Suddenly you were separated, both of you going opposite ways on accident. You looked back in fear again, everything felt colder- How were you going to protect each other like this- Dammit! Couldn't this at least just stay a two player game!?

You could barely hear distant voices, Junko from a farther out of sight monitor, and Chiaki yelling at her with determination. Another slash to your leg, and you screamed. "(Y/n)!!" You heard Chiaki call out for you, and turned around to her direction. You couldn't see her, but you were almost certain, she was around the corner- So you ran.

Your desperation was met with another failure, and your back was met with a mildly spiked bat.

"Dontcha just love technology you guys!? It makes the battle even more fun! Though I wouldn't have needed it if Honey-bun didn't try playing hero~ I mean haven't you done enough? All of your insecure classmates finally have some sense of self love! Aww- Isn't that nice?~" You could hear a loud cackle as you fell to the ground, gripping your rumpled shirt. You were bleeding so hard...

"Whoa! Go team Nanami! You're on fire girl!~ As expected of the Super High School Level Gamer!" Junko squealed again. "The sooner you both perish horribly, the sooner this video can kick rock bottom into prime real estate!~ Oh my god... silly me, I mean- Good luuuck!~"

Just the word luck made your heart ache as you thought back to Nagito. And speaking of which, where could they be...? After everything Junko said, would they really be at the end of this maze...? Your thoughts were easily distracted by a distant whimper from the opposite side of the previous one and with a light glimmer of hope, you cautiously checked to see if it was Chiaki. You were met with a quick hug- But the hug wasn't a happy reunion as much as it was a valiant save.

"Chiaki!" You whimpered as you both fell to the floor. Chiaki's right eye was bleeding, and her shaky hands gripped your shoulders. "We have to run, now!" She trembled, pulling you up quickly, you nodded. "S-stay behind me, you're hurt worse than me right now- The end should be somewhere around- we're almost there! We'll make it!" You cried. You grabbed her hand despite your paranoia and ran as carefully as you could through the maze. 'Remember running with Akane-chan... Sparring with her and Nekomaru- Or dancing lightly with Yoko-chan... Ibuki even gave you tips for how she hears better!' You thought to yourself, and then spoke it aloud with a mumble. "We just have to remember... They wouldn't give up on us! That's why we're all so strong!!" You grabbed her arm from under the shoulder and she quickly pushed you away, just in time to dodge the spear coming your way. She threw herself to the opposite wall, just barely missing it as well. "W-we can't be reckless either... B-but I get what you mean (Y/n)! I-I know we can both make it!" She smiled sadly, still composing herself through the pain in her body.

"Yeah right- Blegh-! I'll have you know your little knight in shining armor isn't going to save you today girlies!"

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The class muttered among each other... Begging each other to start searching for Chiaki, to save you and her both...

Yet there seemed to be a problem... it was as if there was no hope... And their bodies couldn't move. Stuck to the ground they stood on, unable to even look away or close their eyes to the screen. Nagito stared as well, afraid that if he looked away, he'd never see you again... Scared that if he looked away... And couldn't save you, the next time he'd see you would be while you're inevitably...

And in a second of panic driven adrenaline... Nagito tore from where he stood before finishing the thought and raced to the entrance of the room. He pounded on the door, looking back and hoping for help, but no one else seemed able even still. As he stared back at them, the glazed look in their eyes and silence made it seem as if they could no longer hear much around them either. Junko's eyes flipped back to the class, and a single monitor just above Nagito and the door housed Junko's voice. "Hey! Hey you! What are you doing- Sit and stay like a good dog! That's what girls like, you disobedient little virgin!!" She glowered at him and flipped the monitor screen to show you again. "What'll you do if your sweetheart dies and you don't even get to see her final moments lover boy?"

"... I have to try! She would kill herself to save me if she had to... She would cast away doubt with a chance of dying by my luck just to make me feel better!! I-I won't let something like this stop me, I can't!!-" His eyes lit up with a fire of defiance as he gathered as much strength as he could, ultimately hurting his arm, but effectively getting the job done.

"Ugh! SIS!!!" Junko yelled to her sister, and the monitor above the door broadcasted the game normally again. Mukuro blocked the door at a second's notice, effectively trapping the class again right before they even had a chance of leaving. She looked back to track Nagito, and he wasn't there anymore, taking the smart choice to run, he was already bounding down the halls in search of you both. Mukuro sighed, and Junko's reassuring voice rang through the corridors Nagito ran through.

"Jebus Christ! This is exactly why I hate trouble making lovestruck brats like you two! Ugh, whatever, it's impressive that you broke through the hypno jazz, but Kamakura will deal with you, so the end goal's the same."

Nagito's breath hitched and he turned a sharp corner The walls were thick and it didn't seem like he'd be able to find you both at this rate. "Tch... Shut up!" He growled, and it might've been the first time he'd ever done that. He turned another sharp corner, almost falling but quickly getting back up. The few screens that were in the hall suddenly clicked off, and as unsettling as that was to him, he kept running despite it. His adrenaline rush was fading away as he wore out his last few threads of energy.

He panted on his way down a hidden set of stairs, a long way down to run, but the end point was an alluring set of doors that he was sure would lead him where he wanted.

Not knowing the way, and still finding just what he needed? Luck really was his middle name, but right now all he wanted to do was use it to save you.

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"Chiaki...?" You whispered, trying to drown out the incessant voice coming from the monitor.
"Yeah, (Y/n)?" Chiaki gritted her teeth defiantly at Junko's words and the pain in her body began to spread faster than before.

"Y-You see it too right...? The g-goal?" You smiled, and Chiaki looked ahead with blurry eyes. You were both gasping for air as you reached for the door and you paled again as Junko's laughter seemed to get menacingly louder.

"We won't die... Not like this, and not to someone like her! We have each other, so there's no way we'll lose, and our class will come for us!" Chiaki voiced her passion as Junko began to drown her out.

"That hope-! Having your hopes reach their height only to be brutally crushed...! I'm gonna be so jealous~!" Junko squealed. "Tell me you two-"

"How does it feel to die to despair?"

Chiaki opened the door and you stopped her, your eyes swirling as you began to sweat even more anxiously. You stared ahead through the door at a mirage of your friends. You see a glimpse of Nagito for a second, and your teacher... Chiaki steps forward, almost stilled within the same brief dream, and you snap back to attention as you realize they aren't really there. "Why would she suddenly let us go if her goal is despair...? Chiaki! What do you think is really past here...!?"

You look over to her one last time and scream.

"It isn't real-!"

The rumble of another boulder that hastens your movement, and without thinking, tears in your eyes, you both run into the room at once. As you see holes in the floor start to gleam, you know you're done for.

A single push is all it takes, moving Chiaki out of the way of a final spear from the wall, yet not enough for you to both completely miss the spears in the ground. As they pierce your bodies, your eyes shoot open, and you stare more aimlessly at the ground. The sound of piling coins ring through the halls of the maze, and into the room with the scene of the crime.

"Congratulations! Now you'll all be exactly like me!"

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Nagito could never forget the moment he walked into the room's back entrance. The jingling sound of coins playing from the monitor, and Junko's voice fading away as it slowly dimmed out. In a flash of a second, the spikes retreated into the ground and the whirring sound of a camera closing in checked you both one last time up close. Startled, Nagito stepped back with a glazed look in his eyes. He could feel something inside breaking, and he walked up closer to you both again. Someone else entered the room and you could just barely hear a conversation. You couldn't make out any of the garbled words, and it was just as impossible to tell who was speaking. The blood in your eyes, and the pain running through your body grew louder as the conversation ended, and finally you closed your eyes.

Nagito looked back down at your body and laughed, tears streaming down his face as the laughing grew louder. "One day... An even greater hope will be born from this despair! I'm sure of it...!!"

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~*~*~*Monokuma Theater*~*~*~

Crossing over now, there is a second book https://www.wattpad.com/932396574-the-ultimate-sweetheart-book-two-goodbye-despair