Hold on. Before we do anything, we need to proceed with tradition. Hiyoko? Remember when you dick kicked Junya? Wellll *Gives Hiyoko some steel capped boots* Now its Storm's turn. And this will be the fate of EVERY male villain we catch. I have been looking forward to this for a LONG, LONG time.
So you did research. Congratulations. Is this the part where we finally duke it out?
You’d like that, wouldn’t you? I’d rather not.
Really...? I mean...you came all this way, and with a lot of company too. I would’ve figured you at least...I dunno, wanted a chance to take a shot at me.
You have an island full of robots, security measures and who knows what else. I figured you were hoping for a fight.
Fair enough. But is this it? You came all the way here just for what? For me to put a bullet through your skull without so much as a fight? You’re leaving our audience pretty disappointed, y’know.
I’m not doing this for them or even myself. This is all for you.
Aww, I never knew you cared so much!
I’m being serious. I don’t need weapons for this; everything I need is right here.
*Kyoji sets the case on the ground and slides it over to him*
Why don’t you see for yourself?
...
Hm?
How do I know this isn’t a bomb?
*He slides it back*
Alright, I’ll open it for you.
*He opens up the briefcase, slides it back and Storm picks it up and looks inside*
Alright, let’s see what-
...
Huh...?!
Wh-what is it?
Nakamura, hehe...this...this is a joke, right? You made this up, didn’t you? You came out here to show me a funny joke?
Because if not...
I’m completely serious. What’s in there is absolutely real.
Can someone quit being cryptic and tell us already?!
Alright. Nanami-san, Ise-san, you two weren’t around for this, but I made sure to inform the others. When our “gracious” host was in middle school, he was in a relationship with a girl named Hayley Arai.
Nice girl, overall. Very pretty. You remember her, don’t you? She certainly hasn’t forgotten you.
Not since she was paralyzed in that shooting...or when her daughter was born.
Both: What...?
Yeah, I thought it was strange too. As far as anyone knew, the story of her pregnancy was a rumor. And even if it were true, the shooting that left her paralyzed also lead to termination.
But it turns out we were all wrong.
...Where are they? Tell me!
Don’t bother. You’ll never find either of them, trust me. I made sure to warn them what you’ve been up to and what to look out for. I know all your tricks, Storm, and now they do too.
You...
“Me” nothing. You didn’t even try to figure out what was going on with her after that incident, did you?
You manipulated her brother into committing it, treated her maiming like a triviality, then abandoned her and moved on with your life, never even considering the possibility that maybe she really was carrying a child. Your child.
And oh my, how ironic is that? After all, that’s almost the exact same story you fed to these two about Ise-san’s birth.
You...You hypocrite!
You...You took her from me...if I’d known, I would’ve-
Would’ve what, Storm? Raised her? Cared for her? Treated her like a human fucking being?
You know what the funniest part about that is?
I actually believe you.
What?
You girls did hear about the things he’s claimed responsibility for, hasn’t he? How he drove every foster family he’s had to suicide? How he convinced Arai-san’s brother to engage in a shooting? The pain and misery he inflicted on Hope’s Peak?
Well, I can confirm the latter certainly happened.
But what about the rest?
...
Storm, I’d like to know: did you really drive those families to the brink? Or were you really just there when it happened? And you saw it happen over and over again?
Did you really drive Arai-san’s brother over the edge...or did you just take responsibility for it? Did it help you cope? Did it make you feel powerful? Can you answer me why?
And for Arai Hayley herself...was your relationship just about power? Did you really feel nothing for her otherwise?
Or did you really love her? It would’ve been so easy to assume you forced her into it...but maybe it really was consensual?
Seeing you and Ted-kun together, it really made me wonder if you cared about him too.
And that’s why you do it, isn’t it? The insults, the bigotry, the cruelty...it’s all just a game to you. Something to make you feel stronger, getting a rise out of people. You don’t even really feel that way, do you?
No, you just thrive off the toxicity. You love seeing people upset, one way or another.
This whole time, I looked at you as the embodiment of evil...a man who fully embraced every dark, sick and inhuman part of his soul. But now, after looking over all the data carefully? Now I see you for what you are.
And I want to ask you, Storm: what happened to you? What could make a man hate and fear his own sense of compassion? What’ve you kept hidden and bottled up from the world? What could make you want to be this horrible?
Whatever it was, I’m sorry it happened. But it’s inexcusable. All the things you’ve done as a result, the people you’ve hurt...was that your way of coping? Was it just a choice you made? Was this villainous cult leader some persona? A new life you decided to embrace?
…
No answer? That’s fine. Your silence is enough.
Because even after all this time, you can’t escape from it. No matter what you try to do, how much you try to control, no matter what kind of identity you might try to embrace, it doesn’t change what you’ve always been. What I can finally see you as now.
Just a scared, angry little man who never got a break. One who can’t stand that anybody else did.
