Brave Little Rabbit: Hero Ko-usagi

**Brave Little Rabbit: Hero Ko-usagi** is the name of Hirohito Kozaki's execution, as featured in Danganronpa 4: Paradise on the Hopeful Planet.

## Sequence

*Excerpt taken from Chapter 65 of Danganronpa 4: Paradise on the Hopeful Planet*

The neck chain yanks Hirohito away into the execution room, leaving the others behind to watch from where they can't interfere. The chain snaps into the darkness, manacle releasing Hirohito, and he lands somewhere surrounded by shadows.

Vivid green prop-grasses pop up in a pair of rows, waving back and forth. They continue on in a line, faster and faster, until they circle Hirohito. A spotlight shines down on him where he stands up at the end of a running track, similar to an exercise machine save that there's nothing but track. There are no safety railings, and the end of the track terminates over empty air. Light meanwhile shines through an open door on the opposite end of the track, about fifty meters away. Monokuma lounges against the doorway on a small platform next to it, holding and occasionally chomping on a large carrot. White cardboard bunnies frolic among the grasses, and the track jolts and begins to run--backwards, away from the doorway.

Hiro staggers but starts to jog against the track, which continually threatens to dump him over the end. An instant after the track starts running, it also starts to tilt down. At the same time, over the doorway ahead, a sign lights up in neon green: “PASS THROUGH THE DOOR TO ESCAPE!”

Upon seeing this, Hirohito grits his teeth and bursts into sprinting speed, fighting against both the backwards track and the increasing vertical. He passes forty meters, thirty, twenty... ten... With the finish line agonizingly close, the steadily dropping track finally begins to significantly stymie his progress.

Even so, he refuses to give up. Legs pumping, veins bulging, lungs bellowing, Hiro pours on every last scrap of speed he possesses to keep moving forward despite the odds against him. Eight meters... seven... five... As he races against time, he stretches out an arm for the doorway, so close to freedom he can taste it, while Monokuma continues to chomp away at his carrot.

At three meters, Hirohito bunches his muscles and bursts into an incredible leap, the likes of which could clear any hurdle. He sails for the doorway, nothing left to obstruct his way, freedom closing inch by tantalizing inch...

Monokuma takes one last crunch bite of his carrot and carelessly tosses the head away onto the track.

It lands, with precise and perfect timing, right where Hiro's foot does, and rolls forward under his inertia, sending him flailing backwards. He slams hard against the track, which bounces him like rubber down the rest of the way. He falls all the way down, scrabbling at air when he reaches the end with wide and terrified eyes. The last thing he sees is Monokuma chortling and waving good-bye, the green neon flipping over to hot pink reading, “NICE JOB BRAKING IT, HIRO!!” and a dark outline in the bright doorway. He struggles fruitlessly for the light.

Half a second later, Hirohito slams hard on a platform raised up in the shape of the sole of an athletic cleat--with the spikes to match.

## Trivia

* The pink text in Hiro's escape clause is a reference to a TVTrope, Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!