History Literature / DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavocIf

* ConservationOfNinjutsu: In-game, the Monokuma units prove to be practically indestructible, so much that even Sakura can't destroy one whilst needing a day's worth resting from the mere encounter. Here, the little monsters go down in droves, with one falling to Leon of all people (to say nothing of the headcount earned by the fighters). Though a 105mph 1lb crystal ball fastball does have more kinetic energy than a ''.45cal bullet''. This may have been given an in-story justification with Mukuro's narration claiming that controlling more than one Monokuma at a time (let alone 30) is a task of such Herculean difficulty that only the sheer willpower granted by Junko's need to bring despair allows her to pull it off.

* EverybodyLives: Aside from expanding on Mukuro's characterization, this seems to be the point of the story.

* SkewedPriorities: When Mukuro Ikusaba admits her identity to the class by taking off her blonde wig, Kiyotaka's first reaction is to chide her for wearing one against school regulations. This is also used earlier to establish that Makoto's memories were starting to return, Taka scolds him for being late to the assembly, despite knowing that he was in the hospital. Makoto tells him to put it on the daily log, which pacifies Taka and Celeste notes that Makoto ''seemingly'' knew how to best deal with him despite the fact that he was being unreasonable and Makoto starts to wonder ''how'' he knew to do that.

* AmnesiacDissonance: The mastermind plans to invoke this with Mukuro as part of her punishment.

* AscendedExtra: Mukuro Ikusaba ascends to protagonist status after Makoto gets severely wounded by one of the Gungnir spears.

* MillionToOneChance: The chances of anyone winning the fake Escape Switch from the [=MonoMono=] Machine are 0.00000001%. Makoto manages to win it in one go.

* SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining: It's revealed here that Mukuro's title refers exclusively to combat and that she's actually terrible at negotiations or diplomacy (shown when she tries to convince the other students she's not their enemy). But when it comes to pure combat, she proves to be effectively unstoppable.

* FixFic: Even though it's official, it probably counts.
* ForWantOfANail: The shape of the story changes ''drastically'' all because of Makoto winning a fake escape switch and getting sick with a severe fever caused by electrocution when he presses it, leading him to regain his lost memories.
* FullFrontalAssault: Mukuro lets explosions burn all of her clothes off when charging for the switch of the main gate ([[FanDisservice while also badly searing her skin]]).

* HeelFaceTurn: Done by Mukuro after Makoto saved her from getting impaled by the Gungnir spears, getting severely wounded himself in the process.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: Making up for [[WeHardlyKnewYe how little screen-time she got originally]], Mukuro's the protagonist (and the first one to lack any kind of [[IdiotHair ahoge]]). This is because of her sister's plan to kill her, which was successful in the original game, failing here.

* TakingTheBullet: Makoto shouts Mukuro's name, surprising her into jumping out of the way while he runs to where she was and ends up taking a Gungnir spear to the side for her.

* TheAtoner: Lending credence to her final actions in the main story being done in atonement, Sayaka decides to tell Leon and Makoto and everyone else that she had planned to kill the former and frame the latter for his death once she had her MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment below.

* BecomingTheMask: After talking to Makoto in the infirmary, Mukuro jokes about how Makoto would be the only person she wouldn't be willing to kill, just as she did as "Junko" in the game's Free Time Events. However, afterwards, she's left confused as she's not sure whether she was actually being serious or not, and whether that was part of her act as Junko or her own sentiments. The narration notes that she had considered asking Junko to spare Makoto from the killing game, though for obvious reasons she never had the chance to do so.
* BigDamnHeroes: Just when Mukuro is about to be overwhelmed by hordes of Monokumas, Mondo rescues her atop a motorcycle to get her to safety. Ironically, this is the same motorcycle that was prepared for his possible execution, and actually utilized in the game proper to do so.

** In the original game, there was a hidden "Escape Button" item that unlocks a video of [[EverybodyLives everybody leaving the school]]; it was originally planned as part of an alternate ending in which everyone gave up their talents to leave, but was cut early on. The same switch is the instigator of the events that led to IF, likely showing how the secret video or a similar event could come to pass.

* SpannerInTheWorks: Makoto becomes one once he tries the Escape Switch. The chemical reactions caused by him getting electrocuted-ly stung by a needle makes him so sick that he collapses when Sayaka comes over to suggest the room switch that led to the first murder, and when he wakes up, his memories start to return and he saves Mukuro from being impaled. This causes her HeelFaceTurn and sends the plot wildly off the tracks.

* WaifFu: 5'7", 97lb. Mukuro is able to fight nearly evenly with the 6'4" 218lb Sakura, though Mukuro thought that Sakura was holding back. When Mukuro got "in the zone", later, she was explicitly stated to be able to fight equally with her and fought over 100 Monokumas at once, ''while also dodging bullets'' from the turrets near the school entrance.

* WorldsBestWarrior: Mukuro earns her title of ''Ultimate Soldier'', here. She first fights Sakura nearly evenly in melee combat for ten minutes despite Sakura having significant advantages in height, weight and reach. She later destroys countless Monokumas, including fighting over 100 at once.

* TheHeart: Despite having been impaled and in considerable pain, Makoto calmly talks the paranoid and confused group into uniting and giving Mukuro, the self-admitted terrorist, a chance to speak. He does this by talking though the bonds and secrets he shared with the others, including Sakura's hidden rivalry and Toko's next novel, proving the trust each of them shared before having their memories erased.

The story presents a WhatIf scenario of the visual novel. It begins the same way: sixteen elite high school students are locked in Hope's Peak Academy. However, protagonist Makoto Naegi wins an item called the Escape Switch. This causes him to pass out prior to what would have been the first murder, greatly changing the events of the game.

** In the original game, there was a hidden "Escape Button" item that unlocks a video of [[EverybodyLives everybody leaving the school]]. The same switch is the instigator of the events that led to IF, likely showing how the secret video or a similar event could come to pass.

* BecomingTheMask: After talking to Makoto in the infirmary, Mukuro jokes about how Makoto would be the only person she wouldn't be willing to kill. However, afterwards, she's left confused as she's not sure whether she was actually being serious or not, and whether that was something she or Junko would say.

* BittersweetEnding: The students manage to get hold of the real escape switch, and everyone manages to escape. But Junko is still alive at the end, the world is still a hostile place due to her and Ultimate Despair's machinations, and Mukuro Ikusaba is now both a traitor to Ultimate Despair and a world-class criminal to many of the people opposing them. However, the world now knows that Junko is responsible for The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History, and Mukuro now has a reason to live other than pleasing her sister.

* IronicEcho: Several {{Call Back}}s to the original game are used in diametrically different fashion, particularly Leon using Yasuhiro's "crystal" ball to save Sayaka, Mondo's bike being used of his own accord, and Sakura refusing to let someone make a HeroicSacrifice out of [[TheAtoner atonement]].
* KungFuClairvoyance: Ikusaba manages to dodge roughly 3 Monokumas attacking her ''per second'' (at one point during a mid-air battle).

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Sayaka almost breaks down when Monokuma intends to reveal her plan to kill someone and frame Makoto for it. It didn't help that he also emphasized how the students had been her friends for two years.

* NotHelpingYourCase: Some of the first words out of Mukuro's mouth in response to Monokuma (under the guise of being hacked by someone trying to rescue the students) claiming that her and Makoto are Fenrir terrorists is to yell out that ''he's'' not a terrorist. Kiyotaka points out to her the claim doesn't deny the accusation against her being a terrorist, and politely asks her to correct her statement to include herself. Worse yet, Celeste zeros in on the fact that she's clearly trying to help someone she's supposed to have met only a few days ago (hinting at some other connection).

* SequelHook: As they're escaping, Junko states that they'll have to return if they want the key to restoring their memories. She also references an "[[VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair interesting island]]". [[labelnote:note (Caution: Contains SDR2 spoilers)]]Strangely enough, as the ''IF'' story is a special feature earned by beating ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'', the reader would have to already know that Junko ''didn't'' set up the situation on Jabberwock Island; she hijacked a plan that Makoto and the other survivors only came up with after leaving the school and meeting the Future Foundation.[[/labelnote]]

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: The moment Mukuro hears Junko say "I love you", that's when she realizes Junko was intentionally trying to kill her and that she has no further use for her.

* SkewedPriorities: When Mukuro Ikusaba admits her identity to the class by taking off her blonde wig, Kiyotaka's first reaction is to chide her for wearing one against school regulations.

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: After Leon attacks Monokuma for her sake, a clearly guilt-ridden Sayaka tells him there's something she needs to confess to him later. Leon assumes it's going to be a LoveConfession and is practically bouncing off the walls, not hearing the part where she's also going to confess to Makoto.
* ConservationOfNinjutsu: In-game, the Monokuma units prove to be practically indestructible, so much that even Sakura can't destroy one whilst needing a day's worth resting from the mere encounter. Here, the little monsters go down in droves, with one falling to Leon of all people (to say nothing of the headcount earned by the fighters). This may have been given an in-story justification with Mukuro's narration claiming that controlling more than one Monokuma at a time (let alone 30) is a task of such Herculean difficulty that only the sheer willpower granted by Junko's need to bring despair allows her to pull it off.

** Sayaka as well; she begins the ill-fated attempt on Leon's life that would have gotten her killed in the canon story, but loses her nerve when she finds Makoto suffering from a fever.

* UnluckilyLucky: Mukuro can't decide if the spears failing to hit Makoto's major arteries is [[BornLucky miraculously lucky]] or [[BornUnlucky horribly unlucky]].

The story presents a WhatIf scenario of the visual novel. It begins the same way: sixteen elite high school students are locked in Hope's Peak Academy. However, protagonist Makoto Naegi finds an item called the Escape Switch. This causes him to pass out prior to what would have been the first murder, greatly changing the events of the game.

* NervesOfSteel: Without missing a beat, Kyoko walks into the infirmary and points out Mukuro's hiding spot with the offer to hear her out before making a judgement call. Keep in mind that the information given so far insisted that this person was a dangerous criminal that everyone just saw fist-fighting near-equally against ''Sakura''.

* TheAtoner: Lending credence to her final actions in the main story being done in atonement, Sayaka decides to tell Leon and Makoto that she had planned to kill the former and frame the latter for his death once she had her MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment below.

* TheHeart: Despite being impaled and in considerable pain, Makoto calmly talks the paranoid and confused group into uniting and giving Mukuro, the self-admitted terrorist, a chance to speak. He does this by talking though the bonds and secrets he shared with the others, including Sakura's hidden rivalry and Toko's next novel, proving the trust each of them shared before having their memories erased.

* ClueFromEd: The title screen notes that the text refers to characters from ''LightNovel/DanganronpaZero''. The "IF Monokuma Theater" prologue serves as an additional one by suggesting that the reader should beat the first game and see Mukuro's free-time events.

* AdaptationalHeroism: Mukuro's characterization here runs counter to her later portrayal in ''Anime/Danganronpa3: Despair Arc'', which was a prequel to the first game. In both cases, she starts out as [[DevotedToYou completely devoted to Junko]]. In ''3'', her devotion crosses into a masochistic and borderline incestuous level. In ''IF'', Mukuro notes that she explicitly isn't a masochist, and her participation in spreading Despair has less to do with an actual fanatical belief as it does with her simply wanting to make Junko happy. One potential interpretation is that it was Makoto later influencing her that led to her eventual mindset in ''IF.''

* ShipTease: Mukuro and Makoto, and a twisted version with Mukuro and Junko.

-->'''Monokuma:''' What do you think, Sayaka? Do ''you'' agree that no one here would kill a classmate?

* WhamLine: For Sakura, Makoto trying to reassure her about Kenichirou.

* CombatPragmatism: Soon after being outed as an accomplice to Junko, Mukuro is forced into a head-to-head fist fight with Sakura. The two clash for several rounds, all the while Mukuro states that in terms of combating "The Ultimate Martial Artist", she would ordinarily choose sniping or poison. In the end, Mukuro makes tactical use of Toko's "Genocide Jack" persona to cause a distraction that allows her to recover Makoto and make an exit from the battle.