Forged in Fire

**Forged in Fire** is the name of Miko Tsunade's execution, as featured in Danganronpa 52: Despair From the Heart.

## Sequence

*Excerpt taken from Chapter 33 of Danganronpa 52: Despair From the Heart*

It was dark.

The room was lit up by a torch as Monokuma used it to light up the fire in a forge built into the wall.

This revealed that the room he was in was an elaborate forge, with a large anvil and hammer in the centre.

Miko was standing in the centre of the room. His shortsword had been taken off of him and he was looking towards Monokuma uneasily.

The camera showing the execution briefly cut outside.

The forge was built into a mountain, and snow was falling outside.

And someone was slowly making their way towards it.

The camera cut back inside as Monokuma tossed Miko some metal and a hammer.

The bear grinned, miming pointing to a watch as if to say “you’re running out of time” before vanishing into thin air with a laugh.

“Forged in Fire” - Miko Tsunade, Ultimate Bladesmith’s execution

Miko looked between the metal and the hammer he was just given. Seeing no other options, he set the hammer down and turned towards the roaring fire behind him.

He reached for some tongs to clasp the metal, only to find out too late there weren’t any.

He had to use his bare hands.

He grimaced, clenched his teeth and shoved the hand holding the metal into the fire.

He forced his eyes shut and bit back the urge to scream as the flames assaulted his hand, and the searing heat from the now glowing metal made the pain even worse.

Once the metal was heated to a red hot glow he pulled it out of the fire and threw it onto the anvil.

He went to grab the hammer but realised, much to his horror, he had used his dominant hand to heat the metal.

It was covered in severe burns. He couldn’t use the hammer like this.

Suddenly something outside pounded at the door.

Miko jumped back, but steeled himself as he instead took the hammer in his other hand.

As soon as he took a hold of the handle however, something inside opened up and a number of sharp blades shot outwards into his hand. He cried out, but fought through the pain as best as he could as he started to hammer the metal.

From both using his less dominant hand and the blades cutting into it, the metal was starting to turn misshapen despite his best efforts. Every time he tried hammering it back into shape, a blade would pierce deeper and his hand would slip.

This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all.

The latch on the door was slashed open, and he jumped back in surprise as someone ripped down the door.

He instinctively held the hammer up defensively, but froze up when he recognised the intruder’s red and black kimono.

Her outfit had been tailored with sharp clawed gloves and white accents to match Monokuma’s aesthetic, but the demon half-mask and katana were all too familiar.

He was frozen in fear as she raised her katana towards him.

Miko stiffened.
He had no other choice.

His eyes darted between the bladed hammer cutting deep into his hand, and the misshapen, unfinished and still red hot attempted blade lying on the anvil.

…

He grimaced, walked in front of the anvil and readied the hammer defensively.

Behind him Monokuma reappeared behind it, eyeing the discarded metal curiously.

The mercenary charged at him with her katana raised, but he was able to block it with the hammer. The impact drove the blades deeper into his hand, but he was able to push the katana away.

She went in for another strike and he was able to block it again.

He was fighting defensively. He didn’t want to attack her directly, he certainly wasn’t in the shape to.

But deep down, he knew all this was doing was buying time.

While the two were fighting, Monokuma had pulled out a hammer and was pounding the discarded scrap metal into various weapons.

He had fashioned it into a pile of razor-sharp blades.

The mercenary growled in frustration. Every attempted attack was somehow being blocked.

She spun around to strike in a slashing manouver. Miko struck the blade with the hammer, the blades on the handle digging so deep the tips were visible through the back of his hand.

Tears beaded in his eyes as he bit back his screams, and pushed hard enough to force the katana out of her hand and shove her backwards.

She fell backwards, and was just able to catch herself on the open doorframe.

He had a chance to get her out!

Miko braced himself, tightened his grip on the hammer and started running forward.

Monokuma, having finished with his weapons, whistled a tune as he grabbed a coal from the fire and tossed it under Miko’s feet as he was running towards her.

He cried out as he slipped on the coal and fell backwards and…

…

Blood poured out onto the floor.

Miko had dropped the hammer, his fingers twitching and his eyes wide in agony.

Blood was trailing from his mouth and down his chin.

Monokuma had set all of the weapons he had made up on the anvil pointing in the same direction.
And Miko had been impaled on every single one of them.

The mercenary pulled herself back up, picked up the discarded katana and slowly walked forward.

She gave him a victorious smirk.

All Miko could let out was a strangled cry before she plunged the katana through his neck.

His hands twitched uselessly, but eventually his limbs went limp and his eyes fell shut.

Miko Tsunade, the Ultimate Bladesmith, had died.