Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc IF

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc IF, full title Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc IF: The Button of Hope and the Tragic Warriors of Despair (ダンガンロンパIF 希望の脱出装置と絶望の残念無双) is a light novel written by Ryōgo Narita.

It explores a "What If" storyline with Makoto Naegi having received the Escape Button from the MonoMono Machine in the beginning of the Killing School Life, which helps him slowly regain his memories.

It is unlocked after completing Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair.

Chapter 1
Makoto receives a strange button from the MonoMono Machine, presses it, and receives a strange electric shock that causes him to have a terrible headache. While he assumes it was just a trick, Monokuma is watching in secret. He comments on the sheer improbability of anyone actually winning the Escape Switch, and eagerly anticipates the results of what will happen next as the Escape Switch begins to reverse Makoto's memory erasure.

As he's lying in bed thinking about how to escape, he has a sudden realization that he feels like he can trust all his classmates as much as he can trust Sayaka Maizono, followed by the headaches getting worse. Sayaka then knocks on his door, planning to start her plot for murdering Leon Kuwata. However, Makoto collapses and loses consciousness before she can ask him about exchanging rooms, causing her to abandon her plot out of concern for him.

Makoto wakes up in the nurse's office with Mukuro Ikusaba (disguised as Junko Enoshima), who tells him that Sayaka spent the past night caring for him and tries to brush off his question about whether they knew each other before the opening ceremony. The two converse over the topics covered in Mukuro's Free Time Events, but he is strangely unconcerned by her comment about promising not to kill him, much to her confusion. As she departs Makoto has a feeling, at the time inexplicable to him, that he's talking to someone other than Junko, but dismisses the feeling as just a symptom of his mysterious illness.

The students are all called to the gym, and when Makoto answers Kiyotaka Ishimuru's question about where he was (despite everyone already knowing about his collapse), Celestia Ludenberg remarks that it seemed as if Makoto knew exactly what to say to answer his demands. He tries to figure out how he knew what to expect from Kiyotaka, but only ends up worsening his headaches.

When Monokuma explains the Class Trial system, Mukuro (as Junko) challenges Monokuma. As he threatens to imprison her and Makoto continues to sense that "Junko" is actually someone else, Makoto recognizes Monokuma's face from newly emerging memories of The Tragedy and realizes that he is going to kill her.

Just as the Spears of Gungnir are being released, Makoto yells for Mukuro to get out of the way with her real name while running towards her. She is so surprised that she steps back, and Makoto is stabbed by one of the spears instead. The pain of his injuries jogs his memory, restoring his knowledge of the past two years.

Chapter 2
The point-of-view switches to Mukuro as she reels from the shock of Junko's attempt on her life, Makoto's recognition of her, and how he nearly died for her sake. Makoto weakly asks her why she's dressed up as Junko and expresses his happiness to see her safe, but quickly passes out due to blood loss as Mukuro can only scream in despair. Monokuma attempts to ambush her while she is too distraught to react, only to be driven back by Sakura Oogami before he can slit Mukuro's throat.

Junko switches gears and has Monokuma say that he has been hacked by someone from the outside world. She (speaking through Monokuma as a supposed "Ultimate Hacker" named Besshiki Madarai) claims that Mukuro is a terrorist who started the sadistic killing game and that Makoto is her accomplice. Mukuro's attempts at defending Makoto end up implicating herself instead, and she is soon forced to abandon her disguise and confess her true identity, as well as her affiliation with Ultimate Despair. This soon backfires and makes the other students even more suspicious of her claims that Makoto is innocent.

Knowing that she is the only one with the medical knowledge to treat Makoto's wounds and fearful of what Monokuma might do to him in her absence, Mukuro grabs Makoto and attempts to fight her way out of the gym. She takes on Sakura Ogami, but Sakura turns out to be the better warrior. Realizing that she can't beat Sakura in unarmed combat, Mukuro intentionally triggers Toko Fukawa's personality change into Genocide Jack, and in response to a dismissive comment from Byakuya Togami mentions that they've known each other for two years rather than two days. Jack distracts the students, allowing Mukuro to leave the gym, carrying Makoto, so she can treat his wounds, as Kyoko Kirigiri silently observes the unfolding events. She notes that Monokuma has gone inactive, and begins to form a hypothesis about what it might mean.

Chapter 3
Mukuro carries Makoto on her back as she runs to the nurse's office to treat his wounds and save his life. She also ponders the fact that Junko just betrayed and nearly killed her, blaming herself for not dying and bringing Junko despair by doing so. She contemplates the possibility that she might be able to bring Junko more despair by opposing her plans, but cannot bring herself to turn against her sister.

The other students in the gymnasium face off against the serial killer Genocide Jack, and she starts a fight with Sakura. Only Kyoko notices that Jack recognized Mukuro.

Back in the nurse's office, Mukuro uses the first aid equipment to stop Makoto's bleeding. She is in the process of trying to find Makoto's ID to determine his blood type for a transfusion when Monokuma appears behind her. After implying that Mukuro might be trying to rape Makoto, Junko attempts to manipulate Mukuro into killing Makoto by appealing to her romantic feelings for him, but Mukuro refuses her orders without fully understanding why she would do so.

Junko claims that when Makoto's memories are restored he will turn against her like the rest of her classmates, and suggests that if she kills the rest of the students instead she could live in safety with Makoto forever. Mukuro continues to reject her temptation, but is left badly shaken by her sister's words. Junko then offers to tell Mukuro what Makoto's blood type is. When Mukuro thanks her, Junko loses her temper, says that Mukuro has done nothing but disappoint and anger her, calls her a "dog" who can only obey blindly, and reveals that she lied about Makoto's blood type under the assumption that Mukuro wouldn't be foolish enough to actually believe her. Monokuma then attacks Mukuro, who parries the strike with a nearby IV stand before breaking down and apologizing for her acts of defiance.

Much to Mukuro's surprise, Junko then activates a monitor to speak to her directly without using Monokuma. Junko apologizes for trying to kill Mukuro, says "I love you" to her, and assures her that her dreams will come true in time. In that moment Mukuro realizes that Junko is breaking all connections between them and that she never truly understood her sister.

Monokuma then reactivates to taunt Mukuro further, but she kicks him into the air and impales him and a security camera with the remains of the IV stand in a way that disarms his bomb. Watching over Makoto, Mukuro resolves to bring Junko the despair she desires by taking responsibility for her past crimes and putting an end to everything that Junko seeks to accomplish, starting with ensuring that Makoto and their classmates survive and escape.

Chapter 4
More than ten minutes pass, and Jack is tied and locked up in her room after being distracted by Byakuya. Half of the students stay behind to keep watch over her, while the other half search through the school building for Mukuro and Makoto. When they arrive at the nurse's office, Kyoko finds the nonfunctioning Monokuma with a hole through his chest and the remains of a security camera and deduces the presence of Makoto and Mukuro.

Kyoko tells Chihiro Fujisaki to stay with her in the nurse's office to search for clues, because he's the only one who can investigate Monokuma's body, and the others leave the nurse's office. She tells Chihiro to use his laptop microphone and voice recording function, because she wants to record everything that they will hear from this point. Then she asks out loud what Mukuro would have done if Kyoko had announced that she found Makoto. Chihiro is confused until he sees Makoto hidden underneath a bed that was in a blind spot from the doors, with a blood pack that was hidden beside the bed providing him a saline IV.

Kyoko tells the unseen Mukuro that she knew Mukuro was hiding in the infirmary based on the slight tilt of the bed whose frame she was clinging to, causing Mukuro to show herself. When Mukuro asks why Kyoko didn't reveal her presence or Makoto's to the others, she explains that she has to remain impartial in order to understand the truth of their situation. She uses Mukuro's earlier statements, Genocide Jack's recognition of Mukuro, and her own memory loss to deduce that everyone else had their memories tampered with as well and asks Mukuro to tell her side of the story. At Kyoko's further request, Mukuro reveals that Kyoko is the Ultimate Detective and agrees to tell Kyoko everything she knows about Junko and her plans, including Kyoko's reasons for coming to Hope's Peak Academy and the fate of her father.

She regrets that only Junko has the pictures that would confirm her story, but thanks Kyoko and Chihiro for listening to her nevertheless and asks them to take care of Makoto for her. Mukuro initially plans to leave to bring her sister despair in the assumption that she wasn't good for anything else, but Kyoko persuades her that if she can keep Monokuma occupied it will buy Kyoko and Chihiro the time they need to ensure Makoto can regain consciousness without his interference. She further tells Mukuro that while she is not willing to trust her right away, she sympathizes with her wish to keep Makoto safe whereas "Madarai" was willing to let him die without a second thought. Mukuro doubts her own ability to cooperate as they propose, but agrees to do so to the best of her abilities. Soon after Mukuro departs, Chihiro finds that Monokuma's control program is one that he had designed himself, confirming Mukuro's story about the two years they had forgotten.

After entering the main hallway, making sure to keep away from Sakura and Mondo in particular, Mukuro encounters a group of Monokuma units in the hall that Junko uses to taunt her, calling her a "disappointment" again and mockingly asking if she worked things out with her "rival in love". Mukuro demands that Junko opens the front gate, only for Junko to remind her that she was one of the people who brought the outside world to ruin in the first place and that everyone had previously chosen to seal themselves inside the school of their own will. In response, Mukuro reaffirms her wish to bring Junko despair by stopping her plans and standing with the hope that Makoto gave her.

The Monokumas all proceed to attack her as machine guns built into the ceiling begin to fire at her, but she is able to fend them off with the use of the rod she used earlier and her military training. Junko continues to taunt her, saying that she has no intention of letting the students die as she can just erase their memories as many times and for as long as she wants to keep the killing game going. Despite Mukuro's efforts, the number of Monokuma units keeps increasing endlessly, to the point where she begins to tire. Even so, she refuses to stop fighting, determined to ensure that Makoto and the others escape to the outside world.

Chapter 5
Junko continues to watch Mukuro fight the hordes of Monokumas, amused to see her sister trying so hard to cause her despair. Feeling a great sensation of despair from the events unfolding before her before her boredom sets in, Junko decides to try and personally talk to her sister using the speaker system, in an attempt to bring her back from her "inhuman" state. Her plan ends up working when she plays the clip of Makoto from before he saved Mukuro, causing her to momentarily lose focus just in time for the Monokumas to land a string of hits on her. Unable to react quick enough, the Monokumas are able to hold her down.

Junko decides to continue her taunting, expressing her plans to restart the Killing Game with Mukuro participating as herself, with her memories as the Ultimate Soldier removed. She goes on talking about how when the students find out about Mukuro's status as a member of the Ultimate Despair they'd turn on her in an instant, but Mukuro can only focus on how losing her memories would remove her only remaining connection to Junko almost permanently. Junko then decides to brutally injure her sister with all of the executions they had planned before removing her memories, calling in a motorcycle to drag her through the school. Much to their surprise, Mondo is the one riding the motorbike when it shows up, crushing the Monokumas that were keeping Mukuro trapped. Junko speaks as "Madarai" in an attempt to make Mondo turn on Mukuro again, but he refuses on the notion that he can't stand by and let a girl get hurt. Pulling Mukuro on to the motorcycle, the two flee from the horde of Monokumas chasing after them, telling her that while he still can't trust her he believes he can trust "him".

With the Monokumas getting close to the bike, Mondo and Mukuro seem to be done for until Sakura intervenes, holding the horde back. Mukuro sees the other students huddled near the front gate, along with Makoto, having finally regained consciousness. He was able to convince the other students of the outside world's current state and of Mukuro's story by recounting his regained memories of their time at Hope's Peak, causing them to trust him once again as he spoke of matters that he could have only known about if their bonds were as strong as he claimed they were.

Mukuro is surprised when Makoto expresses his thanks for keeping him safe and calls her his friend, believing that he could've only seen her as a traitor after regaining his memories. Makoto reassures Mukuro that she can leave Ultimate Despair behind and that even if neither of them is able to figure out what she should do afterwards, the mere act of trying to find a new path will make a difference for her. She recalls that he said something similar to her in the infirmary while she was still pretending to be Junko, leading her to realize that even with his memories erased his character remained unchanged.

Junko, losing patience with her act as "Madarai" and annoyed by Makoto's suggestion that she too could choose a new path as well, decides to implement a special "final exam" for the captives, speaking as herself and revealing that she placed the hints within the control code herself, planning to let it be discovered in the event Chihiro was one of the last five survivors so they could figure out the truth of the outside world and despair over it. She says that if they fail the test, she will reset all their memories and begin the killing game anew. Kiyotaka Ishimaru confronts her, adamantly arguing that none of them would commit murder against their classmates. In response, Junko tries to goad Sayaka into a despair-induced breakdown over her plot to kill Leon, but it's interrupted by Leon chucking Yasuhiro's crystal ball at the Monokuma unit she's talking through with enough force to send it flying into a wall. Leon promises to pay a flustered Yasuhiro back for the shattered ball if money is still relevant in the outside world, while Sayaka decides to confess her scheme to everyone later (an act that Leon mistakes for a confession of love).

Junko sets up the "final exam", promising them all freedom if they can get to a switch at the front gate within fifteen seconds of the start of the test. She also mentioned that she'll be sending them off with "fireworks", which some of the students realize means she plans to self-destruct all the Monokumas in their way, causing the route to escape to be filled with flames that would kill anyone trying to reach the switch and destroy the switch itself.

As the other students debate which of them will try to make the suicidal run to the switch, Mukuro decides to try and endure the explosions in order to help her classmates go free, knowing that the escape switch was real (all of Junko's plans had a chance that they'd fail, as this would let her feel despair herself) and that Junko was undoubtedly planning her next killing game with them. When Sakura tries to dissuade Mukuro from sacrificing herself for the sake of redemption, Mukuro persuades Sakura to propel her forward through the hallway upon receiving a certain signal, knowing that Junko would not be able to resist the opportunity to see her despair. That unexpected plan is able to distract Junko for one second, long enough for Mukuro to reach the switch at the end of the path. While doing so, she destroys the last Monokuma's self-destruct system to ensure that Junko cannot break the switch.

As the Monokuma unit shuts down, Junko jeers that Mukuro put her trust in others in order to complete the challenge and claims that she only lost because she never expected Mukuro to disappoint her as much as she did. In response to her sister's words, Mukuro declares that they would have lost no matter what were it not for the erasure of the students' memories, as their bonds were so strong that no despair could convince them to kill each other. She promises to bring back their memories as classmates and friends and show them to Junko so she might despair even more.

Junko has nothing but scorn for her sister's vow and promises that when the students return to Hope's Peak she'll have a new killing game waiting for them. Before the Monokuma unit breaks completely, Junko hints that she has plans for an interesting island she discovered while preparing the Killing School Life.

Cradling the destroyed Monokuma in her arms and frustrated that Junko refused to drop her Monokuma persona even at the moment of her defeat, Mukuro decides that she will seal away all her despair in her heart until she can unleash it on her sister, a "perfect storm" that will be the end of both of them.

Epilogue
As the students begin to head out into the outside world, Mukuro decides to don her Junko disguise once more in the hope that it will help her better understand her sister. She is prepared to accept the resentment of those who still have hope for her role in destroying the world and the hatred of Ultimate Despair for betraying them, but resolves to live on for her classmates' sake until she can destroy Ultimate Despair once and for all. The other students, despite knowing of Mukuro's actions, decide to forgive her (with Byakuya suggesting that he may end up pardoning her once civilization is back in order). Mukuro realizes that so long as the research notes by Yasuke Matsuda that she needs to restore everyone's memories remain in the academy, they will need to come back and confront Junko once again.

Mukuro entrusts the escape switch to Makoto. Makoto decides to confront the despair awaiting him head-on, with Mukuro promising to both protect his hope and bring Junko the despair she craves. The door opens to an uncertain future in a destroyed world.

Trivia

 * At the end of the novel, Junko mentions that she found a "very interesting island" that could factor into her later plans. It's quite likely that she's referring to Jabberwock Island.
 * While Mukuro and Kyoko are discussing the latter's lost memories, Kyoko suggests the possibility that all sixteen of them were possibly talentless teenagers who had false memories of their lives and talents implanted into them. Though this is likely an unintentional connection, it is very reminiscent of the final twist of Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.

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