Checkmate of Death (Danganronpa THH x OC)

by artsy_wish

Summary:

Hanako Yasashiku was accepted into Hope's Peak Academy as the "Ultimate Chess Player." However, she, along with 15 other students are forced to participate in a killing game hosted by a robotic bear. Will Hanako be able to get out of the game alive, or will it be checkmate for her?

Hello everyone, this book will contain spoilers to the game, blood, murder, swearing, some dialogue changes, and maybe a bit of OC x canon. Also, this is my first fanfiction. I hope you enjoy it.

I do not own anything about Danganronpa except for my oc.

Notes:

This work is existing on Wattpad, but I thought that I should post my fic on here as well.

Chapter 1: OC Info

Hello there. My name is Iris, and I would like to welcome you to this story. I appreciate that you decided to click on this story, even if you decide to drop it after this chapter.

I have been reading stories where the reader or the author's oc are in Danganronpa, and I thought that I should have a go at it as well. It might not be the greatest, but I'm willing to do my best. Also, this is NOT a reader insert.

Anyways, enough rambling. On with the intro!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Made this using an oc maker and edited it)

 

Name:

Kanji: 優しく 花言葉

Romaji: Yasashiku Hanako

Katakana: やさしく花子

English: Hanako Yasashiku

Talent:

English: Ultimate/Super High School Level Chess Player

Kanji: 超高校級の 名手 「チェスプレーヤー」

Romaji: Chō kōkō kyū no "chesupurēyā"

Profile:

Gender: Female

Height: 5'5" (164 cm)

Weight: 67kg (149 lbs)

Birthday: July 13 ♋

Chest Size: 86 cm (34 in)

Blood Type: AB

Likes: Board Games

Dislikes: Loud noises, rich boys, and rumors

Accessories:

Wear a sparkly light purple butterfly claw hair clip that attaches the front strands of her hair.

Voice Actors:

Junko Takeuchi (JP)

Erika Harlacher (ENG)

Kari Wahlgren (Anime)

Extra Info:

Hanako gets startled very easily.

Thank you for reading this so far (or not) and I hope you enjoy this story. 

 

Chapter 2: Hope’s Peak Academy

The sun was shining on the bustling urban scene of Tokyo, Japan. In the center of the town, there stood a tall building. That building was Hope's Peak Academy, a government-funded school that brings in top students from every single field imaginable. If you come here and be able to graduate, you're automatically set for life. With hundreds of years of tradition, it sends the cream of the crop into the workforce every single year. The building was built to raise hope for the nation's future. Which makes Hope's Peak a pretty fitting name.

And there, standing in front of the gates of the building...

Was her.

Her name is Hanako Yasashiku. Today was the day that she would be attending the school dedicated to ultimates with the rest of the 78th Class. Looking at her letter, she started reflecting on the events leading up to this moment.

Hanako is especially known for her talent for playing chess. She was able to beat anyone who played against her. People say it's just luck, others say skill, and the rumors say that she or her wealthy parents bribed the opponent to lose. If someone asked her, she would say she uses her strategy. When Hanako got her acceptance letter, her parents were delighted and enrolled her immediately before she even got to think it over. Regardless of whether she wanted to or not, she was here.

Hanako continued to stare at the building. It was a lot bigger in real life than in photos, and grand too. Hanako couldn't take her eyes off it. As she continued to stare at the building in front of her, the nervous feeling continued to grow.

Pull yourself together Hanako, she thought to herself. There's no reason to get nervous. You can do this! Besides, you can't just stand here forever. Clutching her acceptance letter in her hand, she looked over at it one more time. It said that there would be a meeting for all incoming students in the main hall at 8 a.m. She was half an hour early, so she thought she could explore the school for a bit. Taking a deep breath, Hanako walked into the building.

However, as soon as she took her first step inside the main hall, her vision started to warp and twist around. She suddenly felt dizzy, and her vision quickly blurred.

"Ngh! What the..."

Before she knew what was going on, everything went black.

 

 

PROLOGUE

Welcome to Despair

 

 

(First Person POV)

"Ugh..."

I was starting to regain consciousness after the whole blackout thing. I opened my eyes and lifted my head to see that I was sitting at a desk in some sort of classroom.

"How did I get here?" I asked myself. Maybe someone saw me pass out and took me to the classroom? That means I'm still in Hope's Peak right? But why didn't they take me to a nurse's office? And why is no one here? A million questions ran through my head. But the main question I have right now is...

What the heck is up with the classroom?

There were huge metal plates attached with giant bolts where I presume the windows should be. I went up to one of the plates and tried to open one of the bolts.

"Ugh! Ow ow ow! It's bolted on tight!" I said, looking at my red hands.

There was also a surveillance camera in one corner just staring at me. I heard that Hope's Peak Academy has top-notch security, maybe it's for extra precaution.

I notice a piece of paper on a desk in front of me. I picked it up and read the messy handwriting on it that looked like a preschooler made it.

"The next semester is about to start. Starting today, this school will be your entire world."

Entire word? Is this some sort of joke? Cause it isn't funny at all!

I looked up the clock to see that it was now 7:47. Was I passed out for 17 minutes? Anyways, I should probably leave the classroom to get to the main hall. There might be other ultimates already there.

As I opened the door, there was a hallway with eerie purple lighting.

"This lighting color does not look good in a hallway," I muttered to myself.

After a while of walking around, sort of exploring the place for a bit, I finally found the main hall. There were already a handful of other students there waiting. As soon as I entered, they all turned and stared at me.

"Oh hey! Another new kid!" Said a tall, skinny man with very bushy hair.

"Hello. I'm assuming you all are students here as well?" I asked.

"Yes, we are. This is supposed to be our first day, but once we set foot in the main hall, we fell unconscious and woke up in a classroom," answered a quiet voice of a little girl with short, light brown hair.

"That happened to all of you as well?" I asked, quite shocked.

"Indeed. It is becoming rather strange don't you think?" Asked a gothic-lolita-style girl.

"Counting you, that makes 12 of us now. I suppose we should wait for more for the others to show up," suggested a rather round person with round spectacles.

I nodded my head and walked over to join the others, waiting for the other ultimates to appear.

=======

By the time 8 o'clock rolled around, there were 15 of us now. We continued to wait, thinking that maybe this was everyone until one more person came in.

"Whoa, hey! Another new kid?"

I looked to see an average-looking boy with brown hair and a pointy ahoge.

"Huh? Then you guys are all...?" Asked the boy.

"Yeah... We're all new here. Today's supposed to be our first day of class," the light-haired little girl answered.

"So counting him, that makes sixteen. Seems like a good cut-off point, but I wonder if this is everyone..." The round man wondered out loud.

"Umm...how's it going? My name's Makoto Naegi," said the brown-haired boy. "Sorry I'm late. A bunch of stuff happened, and then all of a sudden I was just...asleep."

"Whoa, you too?" The bushy-haired man said, quite shocked.

"Things just keep getting curiouser and curiouser..." The gothic-lolita-style girl said.

"So strange... I declare beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is a strange situation indeed!" Said the round boy.

"Um...what are you talking about?" Makoto asked. "I honestly have no idea what's going on right now."

"Just a moment! There's something else we must address!" Yelled a boy with short, spiky black hair aggressively. He pointed to Makoto. "Makoto! Your tardiness is unacceptable! Surely you were aware the meeting was to start at 8 a.m. sharp! To be late on your first day is unspeakable! I must report you, and you must accept your due punishment!"

He sure yells a lot.

"What's your problem?" Asked a girl with strawberry blond pigtails. "It's not like he 'wanted' to be late. He didn't have any control over it."

"And besides, it is only the first day," I added. "So maybe you should go easy on him."

"Everyone just calm down!" A cheery-looking girl with a high ponytail said. "Listen, why don't we all go around and introduce ourselves?"

"The hell!? Now's no time for friggin' introductions!" Yelled a tall, muscular man with a pompadour hairstyle.

"Maybe, but it may be good to at least find out who we all are before digging into the bigger problems here," the goth-lolita girl said. "I mean, how are we even supposed to talk to each other if we do not know each other's names?"

"That's a good point..." Agreed the timid little girl.

"Okay, so let's get introductions out of the way, then we can move on to whatever else. Sounds good?" Asked a blue long-haired girl.

We all silently agreed. Pretty soon, everyone was moving around introducing themselves to one another.

 

Chapter 3: Introductions

I decided to start introductions with the boy with spiky hair who yelled at Makoto earlier.

"I'm Kiyotaka Ishimaru. I believe in bold simplicity! Let's work together on our educational crusade!"

From what I've heard, he went to some famous private school and won top honors every single year. He's a flawless honor student. He's also known for the things he's done with the Public Morals Committee. They said that he respects all the rules, earning him the title of  Ultimate Moral Compass.

"Anyway, you can call me Taka. What is your name?" Taka asked.

"My name is Hanako Yasashiku," I replied.

"Hanako Yasashiku. That's a good name, a strong name! You should thank your parents for giving you such an excellent name. And to keep that name from losing its value, you must devote yourself every single day! Life is worth putting every ounce of effort into it! Right? Right!" Taka yelled.

He's so loud it makes my ears ring. I better watch my behavior around him, or else I'll get a very boring lecture from him.

=======

A girl with dark purple hair tied up in double braids stood alone in a corner. I decided to go up to her.

"N-Not that you'll remember my n-name anyway, but..." She stuttered and looked up. "I'm T-Toko... Toko Fukawa."

Oh, I heard of her! She wrote a novel when she was ten that launched her literary career. She released a love novel "So Lingers the Ocean" two years ago and it is said to be her masterpiece. It became such a hit with the women that it got the fishermen at the top of every "Hottest Men" poll. She's won countless literary prizes and all her books are instant best-sellers. She's the  Ultimate Writing Prodigy .

"... Wh-What? I-It's not polite to stare, you know." Toko said, taping the ends of her fingers together nervously. "Stop staring at me like I'm some filthy creature! Not everyone can be as b-beautiful as you, y-you big-breasted baboon!"

Big-breasted baboon? Is that the best you can come up with? They're not that big, are they? 

"I wasn't thinking that at all. I was just thinking that-" I tried to explain, but Toko interrupted.

"I-I know what you "just thought...! You just thought you've n-never seen such an ugly woman. You just th-thought it was sooo funny...!"

"That's not true at all," I said, trying to reason with her.

"Don't bother trying to l-lie to me!" Toko yelled. "I know it's true. Otherwise, you... I know you can't stand looking at me! Wh-Whatever, I don't really care. I'm used to it..."

I sighed. I should have expected to meet someone with an inferiority complex, but a successful author? I was way off what her personality would be like. I walked away from her, not wanting another remark coming out of her mouth. I can't help but feel sorry for her. Maybe she just needs someone to talk to.

=======

I walked over to the blue long-haired girl with a sailor outfit.

"Hi, I'm Sayaka Maizono. I look forward to getting to know you!"

Wow. I never would have thought of meeting a pop idol up close before. She's the lead singer of a famous pop group known all across the country. She's in high demand to appear in every TV show and magazine. The  Ultimate Pop Sensation ...   People say she's as pretty as a doll.

"I'm not a doll, you know. I'm alive!" Sayaka said, causing me to jump a bit.

"D-Did you just read my mind? Are you psychic?"

"Why yes I am."

"..." I just stared at her.

She giggled. "Kidding! I just have really good intuition."

She's sharp I'll give you that.

=======

Next was a boy with spiky red hair and a whole bunch of piercings.

"Yo! The name's Leon Kuwata. What's up?"

Leon Kuwata... That's the name of the  Ultimate Baseball Star  who played for the national high school champs as their cleanup hitter. But...

"You?"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"Pardon me for saying this, but you do not look anything like a baseball player."

"What, were you expecting some kid with a shaved head?" Leon asked.

"Well...sort of. I saw a picture of you online before, so I thought that's what you would look like."

Leon sweat dropped. "What!? Aw man, you found that picture of me playing baseball? Seriously!? I hate that picture! This is not cool. This is SO not cool... Seriously, I'm like, mega embarrassed right now. I didn't have a choice, okay? Shaving your head like that is part of national championship regulations! But now I refuse to cut my hair. And I'm not gonna dye it back to normal, either! Actually, can I be totally honest with you?"

"Of course."

"I don't like baseball. Like, at all. I've never gone to a single practice."

I raised my eyes. He's never practiced before, and he still is the star player? Wow, I'm impressed. He must be some kind prodigy.

"And as soon as I got accepted here, I quit baseball for good!" Leon continued. "I have my own dream for the future!"

"What is your dream?"

"My only path in life is getting into music! You can feel that star-quality aura I have, right?"

No, not really.

"I'm gonna be a singer, so all I need is a songwriter and someone on guitar, and we're set! This new version of me that's chasing after my dream is, like...super cool to the max!"

I never thought a baseball all-star would want to be a musician. Guess there is a first time for everything.

=======

I went up to the round boy with the face of a hamster.

"I...am Hifumi Yamada. But if you want to call me by my nickname, "The Alpha and the Omega!" I don't mind."

"I'm Hanako Yasashiku."

Hifumi "The Alpha and the Omega" Yamada... No, I'm going to stick to saying your real name. Speaking of him, I don't know all that much about him, except that he writes fanfictions.

"By the way, how much do you know about the world of 2D art?" Hifumi asked.

"Well... I know the basics of it," I answered.

"Well, in that world, I am well known and supremely well regarded as the Ultimate Fanfic Creator. I once sold 10,000 copies of one of my fan comics at a school festival. The event has passed into legend... Some of them didn't get it, of course, saying I'd "tainted" the event. How stupid can you be!?"

Selling 10,000 copies is pretty impressive, I'll admit that. And at a school festival?

"The words of such idiots mean nothing to me. I am like Van Gogh-utterly unappreciated in my time. I am a soldier, serving night and day to destroy all mindless preconceptions about fan fiction. I'm sure if you were to observe my work, Miss Yasashiku, you would comprehend its greatness immediately. For my work is filled with deepest meaning..."

"Oh?" I asked.

"It's about embracing our basest urges..."

Oh great, he's a pervert! Better get out of here!

=======

Okay. Five down, ten more to go.

I walked over to the girl with the high ponytail who suggested the introductions. She looks sporty and cheerful.

"Heya! I'm Aoi Asahina! But my friends just call me Hina. 'Sup?"

She's been breaking records in every competition since elementary school, especially swimming. That's why she's the Ultimate Swimming Pro . She's been chosen as an upcoming Olympic cadet. Her ability, appearance, and...proportions have been widely discussed online.

"So uh...what's your name?"

"Hanako Yasashiku."

"Hanako Yasashiku. Got it! I'll hammer it into my brain right now!" She began to move her finger on her hand as if she was writing something, muttering my name repeatedly.

"May I ask what you're doing?"

"You don't know? If you wanna remember someone's name, you gotta write it on your hand three times!"

"I never heard of that before."

"Well, now you do. Hey, by the way...does your first name have one n or two?"

"One."

"Got it. Anyway, glad to meet ya!"

"Indeed."

She's an easygoing person, bursting with energy.

=======

I then went over to the timid light brown-haired girl. She was standing there with her cheeks pink.

"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Chihiro Fujisaki... Sorry, I get kinda embarrassed whenever I introduce myself like this... Anyway, I hope we can get along..."

I giggled. "That's okay. I'm Hanako Yasashiku."

"...Huh? Maybe it's just my imagination, but...have we met before?" Chihiro asked.

"I don't believe we have," I said after doing some thinking. "You probably must've seen a picture of me in the newspaper."

"Oh, yeah. Good point. Sorry..." Tears filled up Chihiro's eyes.

"Oh no! Don't apologize for that! It's just a simple misunderstanding."

"Oh, yeah..."

Chihiro is mainly known for creating some cool cutting-edge programs. She's the  Ultimate Programmer . She's so adorable, and she's quite shy too. That endeared her to a lot of fans.

"Hey, so listen... I-I'm really sorry," Chihiro apologized again.

I looked confused. "What are you sorry for now?"

"Well, just cuz...you seem upset. You must be mad at me, right?" Chihiro asked, with tears flowing down her eyes.

"No. I'm not mad at you at all. I was just thinking about something."

"Thinking...?"

"Yes. Nothing about being mad at you at all."

Chihiro sighed in relief. "Oh, that's good. I was afraid maybe you didn't like me. Hehe... I'm glad!"

Oh my goodness she is so cute! I'm starting to see why fans are so into her.

=======

The next person to introduce was a girl with long lavender hair. When I approached her, we didn't say anything right away. Soon an uncomfortable silence followed until I decided to speak.

I cleared my throat. "H-Hello... My name is Hanako Yasashiku. What's your name?"

The girl was silent for a few seconds before she spoke.

"My name is...Kyoko Kirigiri."

She doesn't talk much, does she? She's also got a mysterious aura coming out of her. I don't know anything about her or her talent. Maybe it's best if I don't ask. And if I did, I don't think she would tell me.

I cleared my throat again. "Well... It is very nice to meet you. I hope we can get along and talk more." I was going to walk away, thinking that she wouldn't say anything more until...

"I hope so too."

I was startled by her voice. I looked back at her, and she nodded her head at me. I smiled at her and walked off.

=======

I moved on to a girl with strawberry blond hair tied up in two pigtails. When she saw me, she held out a peace sign.

"Hiii! I'm Junko Enoshima. Charmed, I'm sure!"

Anybody would recognize the face of the  Ultimate Fashionista. She's living the dream of every high school girl, and she's got more charm and presence than any of them would have. Her face is on the cover of every magazine, but...

"You don't look much like your photos," I said out loud.

"Huh...? Oh, are you talking about my cover photos and junk? Ahaha, well of course! Those are totally photoshopped."

"Photoshopped?"

"Yeah, you know-edited to hell and back. With like, computers and junk?"

"So they exaggerate you?"

"Come on, don't act so surprised! You're gonna make me all depressed. It's totally normal these days to photoshop the crap out of cover photos. If you're surprised by that, you'd be totally blown away by a certain dangerous little diva of ours... They make the eyes and junk super big, and tweak the skin so it looks all ceramic and porcelain."

I nodded my head. So many dreams are being crushed today.

=======

I walked toward the muscular, vulgar man with the pompadour hairstyle.

"Name's Mondo Owada. Nice to fuckin' meetcha."

That's the name of the leader of the largest biker gang in Japan. He's earned the awe and respect from every gang in the country. The  Ultimate Biker Gang Leader.

"Umm... Hanako Yasashiku. It's nice to meet you too."

"Hell yeah."

I should probably watch what I say in front of him, or else he'll knock me into next year.

=======

Alright. Five more people to talk to, and then I'm done.

I went over to a very muscular person that I would have mistaken for a man if it wasn't for the sailor outfit.

"I am Sakura Ogami."

The  Ultimate Martial Artist. She's competed in a martial arts tournament in America and won. She's fought over 400 matches and has won them all. Because of her muscular body, she's earned the nickname "Ogre," and some even call her the closest known relative to primates.

"Hey, you," Sakura said, causing me to jump slightly. She began to poke and prod at my body. I felt pretty uncomfortable and violated.

"What were you doing?" I asked when she was done.

"Muscular quality and quantity is right around that of an average athletic high school student... You seem pretty flexible as well," Sakura said. "Perhaps I might consider you to be my training partner."

I sweat dropped. I think I'll pass up on the offer.

=======

I moved towards a tall, skinny man with blond hair and rectangular glasses.

"Name's Byakuya Togami."

Wow. Some half-assed introduction. But I guess that's expected from a rich boy. He's the heir to his family's massive financial conglomerate. He's already managing business operations, and has a vast amount of personal assets. The  Ultimate Affluent Progeny is an accurate title for him.

"How much longer are you going to stand there? I'm starting to get sick of looking at you," Byakuya complained.

I scowled. Rich boys like him are such a pain in the ass.

"I'm Hanako Yasashiku" I said, flatly. I was about to turn and walk away, wanting nothing to do with him until he spoke up.

"Yasashiku... By any chance have we ever met before?"

"No. But I'm sure you met my parents."

"I see..." Byakuya said, adjusting his glasses. "Yes. I remember now. You look very much like your mother."

"And you look like a skinny twig," I complimented back, earning a scowl from him. I simply smiled at him and walked away. I could feel his cold, blue eyes glaring at me.

=======

I went up to the bushy-haired man. He looked pretty relaxed, despite the situation we were in.

"I'm Yasuhiro Hagakure-Hiro for short! Take it easy, yeah? I know I will!"

Yasuhiro Hagakure, aka the "Supernova" in the psychic community. The  Ultimate Clairvoyant... I don't believe in this fortune-telling shenanigans. But for him to be here, there must be some truth behind it.

"Ahh... Okay, I give up," Hiro said suddenly.

"Give up on what?"

"I saw it. I looked right at it... Seriously, I totally saw it!"

"Saw what?" I asked, probably going to regret asking it later on.

"A guardian angel with a crazy perm chasing after Bigfoot running off with a skyfish in its mouth. And that guardian angel...is YOUR guardian angel!"

"..." Yep, I regret asking it.

Hiro then laughed. "Nah, I'm just kiddin'. But hey, we should grab some brewskis sometime and get real deep into Lemuria and its civilization."

"Umm... Thanks for the offer, but aren't we too young to drink?"

"Oh, I'm actually 21. I've been held back a few times, see, and...well, it's a long story."

I'm sure it is...

=======

Next was the girl wearing a lolita-style dress and black drill pigtails. I don't know why, but there's something about her that says that she is not to be trusted.

"I do not think we have been introduced. I am Celestia Ludenberg."

Her accent sounded either French or German, but it seems rather off.

"I'm sorry. Did you say Ludenberg?" I asked.

"Yes, that is correct. But if you don't mind, I would prefer for you to call me Celeste."

"Umm...you 'are' Japanese, correct?"

"Of course. Why do you ask?"

"That name doesn't sound like a Japanese name. Could you perhaps tell me your real name instead?"

Celeste giggled. "Heh-heh. I don't know what you are talking about. Celestia Ludenberg 'is' my real name. But as I mentioned, I would much rather you call me Celeste."

She's polite, yet also forceful at the same time. Celestia Ludenberg, the Ultimate Gambler. She never lost a single bet. Everything about her is wrapped in a veil of lies. She got the name, "Queen of Liars," when she entered an underground gambling tournament and won the other player's life savings. And also her gothic-lolita dress is really beautiful.

"I look forward to getting to know you better. Heh-heh-heh..." Celeste giggled deceptively.

I better watch myself around her so I don't get caught up in one of her lies.

=======

Last but not least, was the boy with brown hair who walked in late.

"H-Hi there. I know I already introduced myself, but my name's Makoto Naegi. I'm this year's Ultimate Lucky Student. It's an honor to meet you."

So he's the one who won the lottery. Every year, Hope's Peak Academy holds a lottery to see which person gets to attend the Academy. The person who won is dubbed the  Ultimate Lucky Student.

"My name is Hanako Yasashiku. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Hanako Yasashiku... The daughter of Japan's richest billionaire and a real whizz when it comes to playing chess. She's been entering tournaments since she was 12, and never lost a single match. She once defeated seven chess champions at once, which earned her the title of the  Ultimate Chess Player. However, there have been rumors about her recently.

I noticed that Makoto's face looked kind of confused. "Is there something wrong?" I asked.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You seemed to be puzzled about something."

"Oh! Well, I was wondering...are any of the rumors I heard true?"

I flinched. Of course someone would have to ask about them. "I can assure you they're not! I duel with skill and honor! Those stupid paparazzi will make up anything just to get a good scoop!"

Makoto's face turned red and looked nervous. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you mad."

I sighed. "No, it's not your fault. I didn't mean to yell. It's just...a lot to deal with right now."

Makoto nodded. "Well anyways, it's really nice to meet you. I hope we can get along."

I smiled at him. "Likewise."

Whew! The introductions are now done. Even though each of us are "ultimate," we all have our own thing that makes us unique and special. I leaned against the wall and waited for the others to finish.

=======

"Okay, time to get down to business," Byakuya said once everyone finished. "This is no time to stand around making friends like a bunch of dull-eyed baboons."

I rolled her eyes. Seems like someone needs a hug.

"Oh, that's true," Makoto said. "I think someone said something about a bigger problem or something? What was that about?"

"Well, you see... Makoto, you said a bunch of stuff happened and then you were "just asleep," right?" Sayaka asked him. "Well...the same is true for all of us."

"What? Seriously!?"

"Just after each of us got to the main hall, we lost consciousness," Leon explained. "And when we came to, we were somewhere here in the school! That's what happened to you, right?"

"B-But that's just...weird! That every one of us would get knocked out like that..."

"Exactly! That's why we're all freakin' out!" Mondo yelled.

"And that's not the only thing. You saw where all the windows in the classes and hallways were, right?" Taka asked. "But instead of normal glass windows, it was a bunch of big metal plates! What's that about!?"

"Plus, all my stuff's missing!" Junko said. "Even my cellphone..."

I checked my dress pockets to see if it was true. Sure enough, my cellphone wasn't there.

"Yeah, you're right. I haven't seen my PDA anywhere, either..." Chihiro said.

"And then there's the main hall here. The front exit is completely blocked by some giant metal hatch. But there wasn't anything like that when I first got here...! What the heck!? What's it doing here!?" Taka yelled.

"Maybe we got caught up in some kinda, like, you know...crime or something?" Junko guessed.

"What like...a kidnapping?" Leon asked. "You think maybe someone grabbed us and hauled us off and we're not actually at school?"

"So if we're not at school, name another building that has classrooms in it," I asked him.

"Come on, don't think like that. Cheer up!" Hiro said. "I bet this is all just part of the school's orientation procedure. Yeah, I'm sure that's it! So I'm just gonna take it easy for a little bit."

"Oh... So you think they wanted to do something to surprise us?" Chihiro asked, looking rather relieved.

"Huh. Well if that's all it is, it's nap time for me. I was up way too late last night, so I could use a little shuteye," Leon said.

Even though the tension in the room lifted, I wasn't so sure that it was all just some procedure. Everyone being knocked out and then waking up to metal plates and a hatched door? That doesn't seem like a procedure at all. Was something big going to happen?

*Ding dong, bing bong*

Suddenly, a loud noise filled the room, bringing everyone's attention. Soon, the TV monitor turned on. It was staticky at first, but then a shadow figure appeared.

"Ahem! Ahem! Testing, testing! Mike check, one two! This is a test of the school broadcast system! Am I on? Can everyone hear me? Okay, well then...!"

The voice was high-pitched. It sounded playful, completely unconcerned, yet also eerie.

"Ahh, to all incoming students! I would like to begin the entrance ceremony at...right now! Please make your way to the gymnasium at your earliest convenience. ...That's all. I'll be waiting!"

And just like how it appeared, the monitor shut off and the silhouette disappeared.

"... What. The. Hell was that just now?" Junko asked.

"Well then, if you'll excuse me..." Byakuya said, walking away without a care in the world.

"H-Hey! What, you're gonna take off just like that!?" Junko called out after him, but he was already gone.

"Ohh yeah, now I get it! This whole thing was just to get us all pumped up for the entrance ceremony!" Hiro explained, then laughed. "Man, thank god it was all a joke. I'd be totally freaked if this was real! Alright, guess I'll head out, too. Wonder what they got planned for us next..." Hiro walked out with a smile on his face.

"Damn, I was totally looking forward to that nap, too. Why'd they have to go and kill the mood?" Leon complained as he dragged his feet out of the room.

"W-Wait for me! I wanna go with you!" Chihiro called out and went after him.

"That is that, then. I will see you all there," Celeste said with her deceitful smile and walked out.

"N-Not that anyone cares, but I-I'm gonna go, too..." Toko grumbled and walked off.

Everyone took off towards the gym, but I stood where I was. Something about all of this doesn't feel right. This feeling in my gut was telling me that something was wrong, and it wouldn't go away.

"Is something wrong, Hanako?" Makoto asked, causing me to jump a bit.

I hesitated before replying, "I...have this weird feeling that all is not what it looks like."

"I know how you feel," Sayaka said, joining us. "This...this doesn't seem right."

"Yeah, that announcement was totally weird," Junko said.

"Maybe, but just staying put doesn't mean we'll be safe," Kyoko said. "Besides, aren't you guys just a little bit curious to find out what's going on around here?"

"If we do not move forward, we learn nothing. The only choice is to push ahead," Sakura said calmly.

She's right. We need to get to the bottom of this!

"They said to go to the gym, right?" Makoto asked.

 

Chapter 4: The School Headmaster

The rest of us left the main hall and walked toward the gym. We found the doors of the gym and walked inside.

"God, I had no idea this Hope's Peak Academy place was gonna be such a pain in my balls," Mondo complained. "It really ain't that much different from the time I spent in juvie. Hell, this place is even worse!"

"And why isn't there anyone here? Walking through the halls, I didn't see a single person..." Sayaka observed.

"Is it possible that we are the only students here?" I asked.

"Isn't that like, seriously not good?" Junko asked, with sweat dripping from her forehead.

"Th-They're just trying to spook us! They'll take those metal plates down later, I'm sure of it..." Taka said, sounding unsure himself.

"All we can do now is hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Nothing ventured, nothing gained," Sakura said.

Is she always so inspirational?

"Well hell, it ain't like I'm scared or nothin'. Let's just get this over with!" Mondo yelled. "Hey! Where's whoever called us here!?" He barged right into the gymnasium doors.

"Mondo, stop! No running!" Taka called out and followed him into the gym.

"I too shall go," Sakura said and entered.

"H-Hey, wait! Don't leave me here all alone!" Hifumi cried out and ran off.

"Well, see you guys inside," I said and walked towards the gym.

=======

Once I entered the gym, the other students were there waiting in what looked like a completely ordinary gym.

"Oh. It really does look like an entrance ceremony..." Makoto said, observing the scene.

"See? Told ya! It's totally normal entrance ceremony stuff," Hiro said.

As much as I wanted to admit that Hiro was right, in a way it just emphasized how different and 'not normal' any of us were.

"Hey there, howdy, hello! Is everyone here? Good! Then let's get things rolling!" It was the same high voice that called from the monitor earlier. All the students turned towards the stage where a podium was and popped out from behind it was...

"Huh? A...teddy bear?" Chihiro asked.

"Is this...some sort of joke?" I asked.

"I'm not a teddy bear! Nor am I a joke! I...am...Monokuma! And I am this school's headmaster! Nice to meet you all!" Monokuma introduced. It spoke in a carefree attitude that was completely out of place. The feeling in my gut turned into fear.

"Wh-? Waaaaaah! That teddy bear can talk!" Hifumi screamed.

"Calm down! I'm sure there's just a speaker inside it," Taka said, sounding confused.

"I told you already, I'm not a teddy bear... I'm Monokuma! And I'm your headmaster!" Monokuma cried out in anger and waved his paws.

"Waaaaah! It moved!" Hifumi cried out again.

"Seriously man, calm down!" Mondo yelled at him. "It's prolly just a remote control toy or somethin'."

"How dare you compare me to a child's plaything!" Monokuma said, sadly. "You've cut me deep. Deeper than the Mariana Trench..." Monokuma then giggled. "My remote control system is so complex, even the folks at NASA can't recreate or even comprehend it! Ah, but don't make me say stuff that might destroy NASA's dreams. I just couldn't BEAR that!"

I rolled my eyes in annoyance. Oh my god, that pun was just terrible.

""Bear" that? Really? You are...unfortunate," Celeste said.

"Now then, moving on! We really must hurry and get started..." Monokuma said, ignoring Celeste.

"Giving up already? No other stupid bear puns?" Junko asked.

"Don't you dare encourage him!" I ordered.

"Quiet down now, quiet down," Monokuma ordered. "Ah, okay, so...!"

"He has abandoned the gag..." Sakura said.

"Everyone, stand at attention and bow! And...good morning!" Monokuma ordered.

Seriously!? Who would be stupid enough to-

"Good morning!!!" Taka said and bowed.

...Never mind.

"Y-You don't have to s-say it back..." Toko stuttered.

"Now then, let us commence with a most noteworthy and memorable entrance ceremony!" Monokuma stated. "First, let's talk about what your school life here will be like. Now, ah, make no mistake-you few students, so full of potential, represent the hope of the world. And to protect such splendid hope...you will all live a communal life together solely within the confines of this school. Everyone will live in harmony together, and adhere to the rules and regulations of the school. Ah, now then...regarding the end date of this communal life... There isn't one! In other words, you'll all be here until the day you die! Such is the school life you've been assigned."

I felt my body turn cold. I had to live here with these strangers until I die! That's just...terrible.

"Wh-What did he just say? Until the day we d-die...?" Toko stuttered in fear.

"Oh, but fear not! We have quite an abundant budget, so you won't lack for all the common conveniences," Monokuma assured.

"That's the least of our worries right now!" Sayaka said.

"Yeah, what the hell? You're saying I have to live here forever? You're screwing with us, right?" Junko asked.

"I am not screwing with you! I am no liar, of that you can be 100% sure," Monokuma replied in anger. "Ah, and just for your information...you're completely cut off from the outside world. So you don't have to worry about that dirty dirty land beyond these walls ever again!"

"Cut off...? So all those metal plates all over the school... They're there to keep us trapped in here?" Makoto asked.

"That's exactly what they're there for. No matter how much you may yell and scream for help...help will not come. So with all of that in mind, feel free to live out your life here with reckless abandon!"

"Come on, what the hell is this?" Leon asked nervously. "I don't care if the school or whoever else is behind it all, this is just a really bad joke."

"Yeah! Cut this shit out! It isn't funny anymore!" Mondo yelled.

"You keep saying this is a lie, or a joke. A bunch of skeptics, all of you," Monokuma said. "But I guess you can't help it, huh? You all grew up in an age where you're taught to doubt your neighbor... Well, you'll have plenty of time to find out whether or not what I say is true. And when that time comes, you'll see with your own eyeballs that I speak the undeniable truth."

"Having to live here forever would be...quite the problem," Celeste said.

"Come, now. What's the matter with all of you?" Monokuma asked. "You decided of your own free will to attend Hope's Peak Academy, didn't you?"

Not me.

"And now, before the entrance ceremony is even finished, you've already decided you want to leave? Oh, but you know... I guess I did forget to mention one thing. There 'is' one way for you to leave the school..."

"R-Really...?" Toko asked, desperate to know what it was.

"As headmaster, I've crafted a special clause for those of you who would like to leave! I call it...the Graduation Clause! Now, let me tell you about this fun little rule. As I mentioned, in order to maintain an environment of harmony here, we rely on a communal lifestyle. And if someone were to disrupt that harmony, they and they alone would be allowed to leave the school. That, my students, is the Graduation Clause!" Monokuma explained.

"What do you mean by "disrupt the harmony"?" Byakuya asked with a scowl on his face.

Monokuma began to laugh. "Puhuhu... Well, you know... If one person were to murder another."

"M-Murder!?" Makoto repeated in fear.

"Stabbing, strangling, bludgeoning, crushing, hacking, drowning, igniting, how you do it doesn't matter. You must kill someone if you want to leave. It's as simple as that. The rest is up to you. Give it your all to achieve the best outcome in the worst way possible."

The tension in the room became so thick a person could cut a knife right through it. We all couldn't believe our ears. "You must kill someone if you want to leave." I couldn't get the saying out of my head. The feeling of fear became even worse, and shivers went up my spine. And I wasn't the only one; the others were feeling the same feelings.

Monokuma then laughed again. "Puhuhu. I bet 'that' got your brain juices flowing! Beats the heck out of a human catching a salmon, huh? Like I said before, you guys are the hope of the world. But you know... Taking that hope and seeing it get murdered creates a darkened shadow of despair. And I just find that so...darn...exciting!"

"What the hell are you talking about!? To kill each other is... It's...!" Leon trailed off.

"To kill each other is to kill each other. I'm sure there's a dictionary here somewhere if you need it," Monokuma said.

"We know what it means, that's not the problem! Why do we have to kill each other!?" Hina yelled.

"Yeah! Stop blabbering on with all this nonsense! Just let us go home already!" Hifumi screamed.

"...Blabbering?" Monokuma asked. Suddenly, his red eye started blinking. "Blabbering, blabbering, what do you mean blabbering!? Stop blabbering on about blabbering on! You guys just don't get it, do you? "Let us go, let us go!" You keep saying the same thing over and over and over and over...! Listen. From this moment on, this school is your home, your life, your world. Got it? And you can kill as much as you wanna kill! So go ahead, go on a kill-kill-killing spree!"

"Alright, come on... How long are you gonna keep this up?" Hiro asked, looking as calm as ever.

"Eh?" Monokuma tilted his head in confusion.

"You got us, okay? You scared the hell out of us. So you can go ahead and reveal the trick now."

"Reveal the trick...?"

"Yeah, cuz I mean... Y'know, this is all some kinda trick and all, right? So uh, like..."

My face turned expressionless. Is this guy for real?

"Dude, shut the hell up and get outta my way," Mondo said, shoving Hiro off to the side and stood in front of Monokuma. "Listen up, asshole! This shit's gone way too far! What the hell kinda joke IS this!?"

"Joke? What, you mean like your hair?" Monokuma asked, all innocent-like.

I snickered. Well, that's gotta hurt.

"FFFUUUUUUUUUUUU-!" Mondo roared in anger and then charged at Monokuma as fast as a bullet. He grabbed Monokuma by the neck and lifted him up into the air. Monokuma waved his arms up and down trying to get free of Mondo's strong grip.

"Gotcha, you little piece of shit! I dunno if you're a toy or a stuffed animal or whatever the hell! Either way, I'm gonna rip you to fuckin' shreds!" Mondo threatened.

"Waah! Violence against the headmaster is in violation of school regulations!" Monokuma whined.

"Shut the fuck up! Let me outta here, or I swear to Christ..."

Monokuma suddenly went limp, and a faint beeping sound was heard.

"What, no smartass comeback this time!?"

The beeping sound became louder and faster.

"Stop that goddamn beeping and SAY SOMETHING!"

"Watch out! Get rid of it!" Kyoko suddenly called out.

"Huh...?"

"Hurry up and throw it!" Kyoko ordered.

Mondo did as she ordered and threw Monokuma as far as he could. As soon as he did...!

BOOOOM!!!

Monokuma exploded mid-air, creating a big explosion. Screaming and shrieks from the students followed afterward.

"The hell!? Th-That sure as shit wasn't a joke. It blew the hell up..." Mondo said, eyes widened in fear.

Even with my ears covered, they were ringing as I trembled in fear from the loud explosion. I could smell gunpowder in the air.

"But you know... This means that the teddy bear's been destroyed, right?" Chihiro asked, hoping that it was true.

"I told you, I'm not a teddy bear! I'm Monokuma!"

I shrieked as the students turned their heads back to the podium to see Monokuma undamaged and perfectly fine.

"Uwah! There's another one...?" Leon asked fearfully.

"You son of a bitch! You seriously tried to kill me just now!" Mondo growled.

"Well, yes. I was serious about trying to kill you. You did violate one of the school regulations, after all. I'll let you off with a warning this time, but you'd better be careful from now on. Any naughty boy or girl who violates my rules won't get off with a little swat on the butt," Monokuma threatened, raising his paw to show his sharp claws.

"H-Hey... So does this mean there's like, a bunch more of you around somewhere?" Junko asked, sweating.

"Monokumas have been placed all throughout the school, yes," Monokuma answered. "Plus, don't forget the surveillance cameras installed everywhere. And if you're caught breaking any rules, well... You all just saw what happened, right? Puhuhu... And I won't be so forgiving with my punishment next time. So don't let it happen again!"

"Th-That's not even punishment. That's just...wrong..." Hina said.

"Now then, lastly... To commemorate your joyous entry into our school, I have a little something for you..." Monokuma pulled out a bunch of tablets from out of nowhere. "This is our official student handbook! Pretty cool, huh? As you can see, it's fully digital. So naturally, we call it... The e-Handbook!"

"..." Everyone went silent.

"Ahem. Yes, well, moving on..." Monokuma continued. "This handbook is absolutely vital to a healthy school life, so don't lose it! When you start it up, it will display your name. Always make sure you have the right one! Now, this is not your everyday notebook. It has so many more uses than that! Also, it's completely waterproof. Splash it, wash it, drown it, it'll keep on ticking! And thanks to its space-age design, it can withstand an impact force of up to ten tons. Very resistant! It contains all of our school regulations, so make sure you review them thoroughly! You'll hear me say this a lot, but any violation of school regulations will not be tolerated. Rules restrict, yes, but they also protect. Society, for example, would be utter chaos without laws. The same thing applies here! Which is why it's crucial we have strict punishments in place for violators. Okay, well...that brings our entrance ceremony to a close! Please enjoy your abundantly dreary school life! And...see ya!" With that, Monokuma disappeared behind the podium, leaving the rest of us in shock.

"So, guys... How would you define what we just experienced?" Taka asked.

"How...? Why...? I don't understand any of this..." Leon said, his face turning white.

"We have to l-live here forever...? Or...k-kill?" Toko asked, rubbing her hands up and down on her head in fear. "Wh-What...? What just happened!?"

"Everyone, we need to just calm down," Kyoko said calmly. "First, let's just take a second to summarize everything we just heard. Based on what Monokuma said, we essentially have two choices."

"One choice is to live here together in harmony until we die, and the other is to kill someone to get out of here," I summarized.

"But...killing someone... That's..." Chihiro said with tears flowing down her eyes.

"We were abducted out of nowhere and stuffed into this place meant to look like a school. And now we're supposed to start killing each other? This is... This is...this is just...! What IS this!?" Hifumi cried out in fear.

"A lie, is what it is. All these ridiculous things we've heard... This all has to be fake!" Taka said in denial.

"So the whole bomb thing that happened a few minutes ago was fake? 'Cause it sure wasn't fake!" I said.

"Right now it doesn't really matter if it's real or fake. What matters is..." Byakuya said, turning toward the rest of us. "Is there anyone here who's seriously considering all this...?"

Nobody responded. I looked around at the others, as they were looking at one another, trying to see into their thoughts. The hostility and anxiety in the air was almost tasteful.

And that's when it hit me. The true terror is hidden within the rules. "You must kill someone if you want to leave." Those words cut deep into each one of us. Everyone was becoming suspicious of one another, forced to wonder, "Is someone going to betray us?"

And that was how my new school life began. This school, which had raised student's hopes so high.

It's 'not' a school of hope.

 

 

It's...

 

 

...a school of despair.

 

 

PROLOGUE

Welcome to Despair

THE END

Surviving Students: 16

To Be Continued

Chapter 5: Exploring the School

To Survive

Daily Life

"You must kill someone if you want to leave."

Those words ran through my head like a videotape on repeat. My body was slowly beginning to paralyze with fear. The air surrounding us felt heavy, pressing down on us like a huge weight. But no matter how heavy the air was...her sharp words pierced through easily.

"So? What are you going to do now? Just stand around glaring at each other?" Kyoko asked, bringing everyone's attention back to reality.

"R-Right... She's right! Sometimes, even if you're nervous or afraid, you just have to step forward! To forget such a simple fact... I can't forgive myself. I'm so ashamed! Please, someone hit me! I can't forgive myself! Somebody hit me! Punish me!" Taka begged with tears in his eyes.

"Jesus. If you have time to yell about it, you have time to DO something about it," Mondo said.

"Perhaps, but...what is the mission, exactly?" Hifumi asked.

"Idiot! To look for a way out, duh!" Leon answered.

"And we totally need to find whoever was controlling that stupid bear and beat the hell out of 'em," Junko added, snarling in anger.

"...B-But before we do all that, maybe we should take a look at the handbook..." Chihiro suggested. "It's probably best to check out the school regulations Monokuma mentioned before doing anything else."

"True. If we stumble around with no clue what the rules are, something like that might happen again..." Celeste said, glancing in Mondo's direction.

"Shit..." Mondo mumbled under his breath.

"Fine. Then let's hurry up and check out the stupid rules already," Junko said impatiently.

I turned on my e-Handbook that Monokuma gave to all of us during his explanation. The first thing that popped up when I turned it on was my name, then the Main Menu appeared. I selected the School Regulations icon and began to read to myself.

~~~

1.) Students may reside only within the school. Leaving campus is an unacceptable use of time.

2.) " Nighttime " is from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution.

3.) Sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory will be seen as sleeping in class and punished accordingly.

4.) With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore Hope's Peak Academy at your discretion.

5.) Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of surveillance cameras.

6.) Anyone who kills a fellow student and becomes "blackened" will  graduate , unless they are discovered.

7.) Additional school regulations may be added as necessary.

~~~

I looked up from my screen to see that everyone had the same stormy expression as me. 

"This is bullshit! What the hell kinda rules are these!? I'm not gonna let them control ME!" Mondo yelled.

"Well then, why don't you wander around the school without a care in the world and see what happens?" Celeste said with a giggle. "Personally, I would love to see what happens when someone breaks one of the rules."

"But if he got punished like what we saw before, I don't think there'd be a respawn waiting for him..." Hifumi muttered out loud.

"... I... Ever since I was a kid, I grew up with my older brother pounding this into my head... When a man makes a promise, he has to keep it, even if it kills him," Mondo said.

"...So what?" Junko asked.

"I've made a ton of promises that I still have to keep, that's "so what"! So I can't afford to die in here!" Mondo yelled.

"None of that made much sense to me, but you are saying you will follow the regulations, is that it?" Celeste asked while twirling her hair.

"Huh? Oh, well...yeah, I guess you're right," Mondo said.

"That's good to hear," I spoke.

"Hey, um...I have a question. For regulation number six...what do you think it means exactly?" Sayaka asked the group.

"You're talking about the second half, right?" Makoto asked. "Where it says "unless they are discovered"? I was wondering about that myself."

"It's saying that if you want to graduate, you have to kill someone without anyone finding out it was you," Byakuya explained.

"B-But why...? Why do we h-have to do that?" Toko asked.

"I don't see any reason to worry about it. Just worry about following the rules as they've been explained to us," Byakuya replied. "Frankly, I don't want to hear anything from someone who waits for others to decide what to do for them."

"D-Don't jab at me..." Toko mumbled with a weird smile forming on her face.

"More like a full-on stab..." Leon interjected.

"Well for now, let's forget all that silly junk about murderers or whatever," Hina said, trying to lighten up the mood. "Now that we know the rules, let's start exploring the school!"

Taka nodded his head. "True. We need to find out where exactly we are. Is there any way out? What about food and supplies? There are tons of questions we need to answer!"

"Damn straight! Okay, then let's all start looking around!" Leon shouted.

Byakuya sneered. "...I'll be going alone."

Of course you would.

"What!? Why? That's a pretty stupid idea, don't you think?" Junko asked.

"Someone here might already have started thinking about murdering one of us. Are you saying we should stand around with them in our midst and make it that much easier for them?" Byakuya asked.

"W-Wait, hold on a second. That would never-!" Sayaka spoke, but Byakuya cut her off.

"Don't bother saying it couldn't happen. You can't deny the possibility. That's why you all seized up with fear when that graduation rule was made clear to you," Byakuya smirked. "Am I wrong?"

I hate to admit it, but he's got a point. Everyone was scared when the word "murder" came out, and even though we are "classmates" we are still strangers. So the possibility of someone committing murder here is still pretty high.

"B-But... ..."

"So, I'm simply acting in accordance with what I think is best for me." He began to walk away, but Mondo blocked his path.

"Hold on! Like hell I'm gonna let you run off and do whatever you want!" He cracked his knuckles as he yelled at him.

"Out of my way, plankton," Byakuya ordered.

"Wh-!? The fuck's that supposed to mean!?" Mondo growled.

"One tiny bit of plankton, drifting across the sea. So miniscule, so insignificant, they couldn't possibly have any kind of influence on the boundless ocean."

"I'm gonna kick your ass!" Mondo was about to charge at him, but Makoto stepped in.

"S-Stop it! We shouldn't fight!" Makoto ran up to try to soothe things out between them.

"The fuck you just say? You some kinda goody-goody little bitch? Who do you think you are, talkin' to me like that? You think you're my fuckin' dad or something!?" Mondo was now clenching his fists at Makoto.

"N-No, I wasn't-!" Makoto tried to speak, but Mondo wasn't going to hear anything.

"Fuck you!"

*WHAM*

Mondo punched Makoto right in the face, sending him flying through the air before crashing into the ground.

"Makoto!" Sayaka called out and ran over to his unconscious body. A few others, including myself, went over to see the damage.

"I-Is he..." Chihiro trailed off, fearing for the worst.

"No, he's alive, just knocked out cold," Sayaka answered as she got up from the floor looking relieved.

I glared at Mondo. "How dare you do that to him! He was only trying to calm things down, and what did you do!? You took your anger out on him, that's what! You ought to be ashamed of yourself!"

Mondo avoided eye contact with me and growled at the floor.

"I suggest that we put this aside for now and take Makoto to his dorm," Kyoko suggested.

"Sakura, think you can carry him?" Sayaka asked.

"Of course," Sakura replied and carried Makoto in her arms.

"Then I suppose the rest of us should continue what we were going to do before and explore the school right?" Hina asked.

"Right. Let's do that! And after a while, we should meet up in the dining hall and tell each other what we found!" Taka said.

Soon, everyone began to search around the school. Most people went in groups, and some went alone. I chose the alone option and walked around an area of the school. There was a trash room with an incinerator but there was a gate blocking it, a warehouse, a laundromat, a bathhouse, and the dining hall. The warehouse and bathhouse were both locked.

Soon after that, I continued walking until I came across a hallway full of dorm rooms. There were signs with a pixelated picture of each one of us. I found my room between Junko and Celeste. I opened the door and went inside.

When I got inside, the first thing I noticed was how big the room looked on the inside. There is a pink bed and behind it was a drawer full of beauty stuff on top and a chair. Next to the drawer was a shelf of books and a vase full of daffodils on top. There was a round table covered with a light blue silk tablecloth with a chess board set up on the table. Two ornate dining chairs were placed across the table, and a crystal chandelier hung above it. Beside the table was a shelf full of chess variants.

There was also a key sitting on the table. It had my name on it, so it must be my key to my room. I picked it up and put it in my dress pocket for safekeeping.

On the wall, a note was taped with a message:

Announcement from Headmaster Monokuma:

Each room's lock has been designed to completely protect against tampering or lock-picking. Remaking an individual room key is quite troublesome, so please make sure not to lose yours. Your room comes furnished with a shower, but please note that the water is turned off at nighttime . Also, the bathrooms in the girls' rooms include a lock of their own. Finally, we've prepared a small gift for each of you. For the girls, a sewing kit . And for the boys, a toolkit . The sewing kit includes a map of the body's vital organs. One stab will do the job, girls! For the boys, we believe a strong blow to the head with any of the tools should be ample. Don't think! Just feel! And let's all enjoy ourselves!

I tore the paper off the wall. Then I walked to the drawers and opened them to find a sewing kit with a map of the body's organs, just like the note said.

"As if I'm going to use it to kill!" I yelled. I crumpled the paper and threw it under my bed.

You know what, since the room includes a shower, why don't I have a nice relaxing shower? It'll relax me from everything that's going on right now, and I do need to freshen up before the meeting.

By the time I finished freshening myself, it was a bit past 7 p.m., so I went over to the dining hall. A few students were already there, including Makoto.

Soon, everyone came in one after another. A few minutes went by, and everyone had gathered in the dining hall.

"Okay! It looks like everyone's here. Time to start the meeting! Let's all go around and share what we found out during our respective investigations!" Taka instructed. "The sooner we find out what's going on, the sooner we get out of here!"

"Wait, hold on a sec!" Junko said, interrupting Taka.

"What's wrong!?" Taka asked.

"What about, uh...what's her name? You know, the silver-haired girl. Uhh...oh yeah, Kyoko!"

"...What about her?"

"She's not here."

"What!?"

I looked around the dining hall. Sure enough, she wasn't here.

"I wonder where she went. Has anyone seen her?" Hina asked. Everyone shook their heads.

"Wait, so 'nobody's' seen her...?" Chihiro asked.

Did something happen to her? Could she be...? The words that Monokuma said earlier came back to me.

-------

"Stabbing, strangling, bludgeoning, crushing, hacking, drowning, igniting, how you do it doesn't matter. You must kill someone if you want to leave . It's as simple as that. The rest is up to you. Give it your all to achieve the best outcome in the worst way possible."

-------

I shook the thought out of my head. I'm sure there's another reason for this.

"Darn it, Kyoko! You're really going to be late like this on the first day of school!? Not only is she late, she didn't tell anyone she would be late! A most unbecoming personality trait..." Taka complained.

"You're being a real jackass right now, you know that?" Junko told him.

"Well what do you want me to do!? Punctuality is everything!" Taka replied. "Now then, I declare that the first session of the Hope's Peak Academy briefing meetings has begun!"

=======

"Okay, so since you're in the dark about all this, let me lay out what's been going on." Sayaka said to Makoto. "Everyone split up to investigate different parts of the building, but... [Byakuya], [Taka], and [Hanako] each went off on their own, and so did Kyoko."

"I wanted to try and find some clue as to who's responsible for imprisoning us here..." Byakuya stated. "But unfortunately, I made no such discoveries. That's all from me..."

"Really? That's it?" Taka asked.

"If I'd uncovered anything, naturally I would have more to say. But I didn't. So I don't."

"R-Right, understood..."

=======

"I spent some time looking around the dormitory, and... There I made the discovery of the century! I found that there was exactly one room for each person!" Taka said.

...Yeah. We all know that!

"Well yeah, I figured that out before anything else..." Hina said.

"Each door already has a nameplate on it, so I guess all the rooms have been assigned already," Junko said.

"And each room key was attached to a keychain with the owner's name precision-etched onto it," said Sakura.

"And Chihiro and I found out that all the rooms are totally soundproof," Junko added.

"Your next-door neighbor could scream their lungs out, and you wouldn't hear a thing..." Chihiro explained.

"Well, each room also had a private bathroom, which could also lock," chimed Celeste.

"But it looked like there were only locks on the bathrooms in the girls' dorms," Junko said.

"Okay, so they got a bunch of rooms ready for us. They're assuming we're gonna be here a while..." Mondo said.

"Well, better to have than have not! At least we don't have to worry about surviving like wild animals," said Taka, trying to encourage everyone.

"Th-That can't be all you have to r-report, can it Mr. Honor S-Student?" Toko muttered.

"... That's all for my report! Let's move on to whoever's next!"

=======

"I spent some of my time searching around this area," I started. "There is a warehouse and a bathhouse, but they are both locked. And there's also a laundry facility and a trash room."

"Did you say "trash room"?" Hifumi asked rather excitedly.

"Yes, but there is a metal gate, and I couldn't get it to budge."

"Why are you so excited about a trash room?" Hina asked Hifumi.

"That, Miss Asahina, is strictly a man's business," Hifumi replied with a hint of pleasure in his voice.

I glared at him before continuing. "Anyways, I couldn't find anything that'll help us escape. So I guess that's all for my report."

=======

"It looks like [Leon, Hiro, Junko and Chihiro] all grouped up together," Sayaka pointed out.

"We went all up and down the school, double-checking the windows in all the hallways and classes," Junko started. "We wanted to see if we could get any of those metal plates to come off. And what happened was..." Junko trailed off.

"Nothing. Not a damn thing. We couldn't get a single one to budge even a little bit," Leon said, finishing Junko's sentence.

"There wasn't any hope of escape anywhere... The school really has been totally cut off," Chihiro said with tears in her eyes.

"This sucks... It 'really' sucks! It sucks sucks sucks sucks SUCKS! What the hell are we gonna do!?" Junko panicked.

Leon sweated. "Goddamn, calm down! You're starting to make me nervous!"

=======

"The same goes for [Hina, Sakura, and Mondo]," Sayaka said.

"We thought maybe we could find some way to communicate with the outside, so we went looking all over!" Hina said. "But...we didn't find a thing. Sorry..."

"I went back to the main hall, thinking maybe we could do something about that giant hunk of metal," Mondo spoke. "But even with Sakura and me both, it wouldn't budge. We hit it with desks and chairs, and nothin'... It was hard as, like...metal."

"Well yes, it 'is' metal..." Celeste pointed out the obvious.

"Anyway, if we're gonna get outta here, it's not gonna be through there."

"I feel like I could just cry... But no, I have to hold it in! I have to manage my hydration...!" Hina said.

"I shall tell you what happened next..." Sakura spoke. "It has nothing to do with communicating with the outside world, but it's still worth worrying about. In both the school and dorm areas, there was a set of stairs leading up to another floor."

"But there were gates there, and we couldn't find any way to open them, so we couldn't check it out," Hina continued.

"In other words, at this point we are only able to search the 1st floor. We can further assume that there is potentially something above the 2nd floor, as well. And if that's the case, there is at least a chance it may lead to a way out," Sakura said.

=======

"[Celeste, Toko, and Hifumi] were left over, so they joined up," Sayaka explained.

"If I am being honest, I can't quite say we acted as one. Rather, we did 'nothing' as one. We spent the entire time in the gym," Celeste confessed. "Honestly, we are not exactly the types to go running around a school like a gaggle of junior detectives."

"What the hell were you thinking, just sitting around the gym the whole time?" Junko asked, quite pissed.

"W-Well it's not like any of you i-invite me along! Nobody said hey, c-come with us! I blame y-you for leaving me out! I-It's your fault!" Toko excused.

"You know you could have just gone on your own instead," I spoke.

"Or if you wanted to go with someone, you should've just said something!" Junko said.

"Hmph. F-Forget it. Like I'd w-want to go anywhere with a dirty s-slut like you..." Toko grumbled at Junko.

"Slut...?" Junko looked taken back.

"Your mind is as th-thin as your body. You m-make me sick to my s-stomach..." Toko explained.

Junko looked mad. "I...I don't even know how to react. How can you say something so awful to someone you just met?"

"Alright guys, everyone just calm down, okay? All this stress is bad for your skin, y'know?" Hiro said, butting into their conversation.

"Yeah! It sounds like you two are so close now you're fighting like sisters!" Sayaka said.

I don't believe that's the way it works.

=======

"So that's what they have to say, huh?" Sayaka asked. "Then I guess I'm the only one left... I went and had a look around the dining hall... I found a fridge in the back of the kitchen, and it was overflowing with all kinds of stuff. I guess we don't have to worry about food, at least."

"Sure, for now. But even with all that, there are sixteen of us. How long can the food last...?" Hifumi inquired.

"Y-You can just eat sesame s-seeds or something..." Toko suggested.

"Huh? What am I, a parakeet?"

"I don't think we have to worry about it. All the food gets restocked automatically each day," Sayaka explained. "At least, that's what Monokuma said..."

"You saw him!?" Junko yelled.

"Yeah, he came out of nowhere while I was checking the fridge, told me that, then disappeared again. He was so fast, I can't believe someone could have been moving him around with a remote control..."

"A weaponized toy that can just appear from nowhere... I can't tell if we're supposed to be afraid or not," Chihiro said.

"But was everything okay? He didn't try to like, eat you or anything?" Hina asked Sayaka.

"E-Eat her...? Um, what do you mean by that? I mean, when you say "eat," what kind of eating are we talking about?" Hifumi drooled perversely.

"Not the kind of eating you're thinking about, you nasty pervert!" I yelled.

"C-Come on, man!" Hina said.

"What the hell, fatty!? You're acting like some kind of sleazy drunk dude," commented Leon.

"Not like there's a good kind of drunk dude..." Hiro muttered.

"Hey! Stop screwing around, all of you!" Junko ordered. "Are you still asleep or something? We're prisoners here! We could all just die any second!"

"She's right. We can't be makin' stupid jokes right now. We gotta do something, or-!" Before Mondo could finish his sentence, a voice interrupted him.

"You're all spending an awful lot of time yelling and carrying on." We all looked to see Kyoko walking into the dining hall. "Do you really think you can afford to do so? Have none of you accepted the reality of the situation?"

"Kyoko! Where the heck have you been!? We already started the meeting without you!" Taka yelled.

She didn't say anything. Instead, she dropped a piece of paper on the table.

"Huh? What's this...?" Makoto asked, as everyone examined the paper up close.

"It appears to be a map of Hope's Peak Academy," she replied.

"A map...?"

"Wh-What the...? Where did you find this?" Taka inquired.

"It doesn't matter where I found it," Kyoko said, brushing off the question.

"It DOES matter! You're really freaking us out right now!"

"Never mind that. What's it mean?" Junko asked.

"Just look at it. The building we're in right now is laid out in precisely the same way as Hope's Peak Academy," Kyoko said.

"So what you're saying is...this really is Hope's Peak Academy?" Makoto asked.

"Well, in terms of its construction, yes. But it looks like it's had a number of strange...renovations done to it."

"Renovations...?"

"You mean like the metal plates and the locked-up entrance?" I asked.

"I don't know all the details yet. All I found was details about the 1st floor," Kyoko folded her arms.

"But then...this really is Hope's Peak. We didn't get kidnapped and taken to some other place..." Chihiro said.

"So stupid it's not even possible. 'This' is where the country's future elite are supposed to come and learn?" Mondo asked, grinding his teeth.

"But if this really is Hope's Peak, where are all the other students?" Hina asked.

Hiro sighed. "Hey, come on, guys. Let's just stop talking about all this...you know, negative stuff..."

"But aren't you worried? Things don't look good..." Makoto asked him.

"Worried? What's there to be worried about?" Hiro asked. "I mean, this was all planned out, right? The people in charge of Hope's Peak put this all together, right? Man, if I got stressed every time something like this happened, I'd have ectoplasm shooting out my mouth! Good things come to those who wait, right? So we just gotta chill and everything'll work itself out!"

I was slightly irritated by Hiro's ignorance, but I kind of wished I was as relaxed as him.

Celeste began to laugh. "Hahaha!"

"Wh-Why are you laughing? What's so funny!?" Toko asked.

"I am just happy, that is all. It seems splitting up to investigate was a good idea, after all," Celeste replied with a smile.

"Haven't you b-been listening!? Looking around was a t-total waste of t-time!" Toko complained. "We d-didn't find a way out, didn't f-find who's behind this. We still have no idea what's g-going on!"

"Huh? Is it not crystal clear to you what is going on? It is perfectly obvious that we have been imprisoned in some secret location, with no way out."

No one responded. The reality was staring at us right in the face, and we didn't want to accept it.

"You didn't h-have to go and s-say that. I w-was trying not to th-think about it... N-No way out... We're t-trapped here. What are w-we supposed to d-do...?" Toko scratched her head in fear.

Byakuya chuckled. "It's very simple. If you want to leave, you just have to kill-"

"Don't you dare finish the sentence!" I yelled.

"Everyone just calm down, please!" Sayaka pleaded. "We need to stop and think about what to do from here."

"There's gotta be 'something' we can do..." Leon said.

"All we can do is adapt. Adapt to living our lives here from now on," Celeste smiled.

"Live here...? Are you saying we should just accept it?" Chihiro said with tears.

"A lack of adaptability...is a lack of survivability. Survival is not based on who is the strongest or the smartest. It comes down to who can adapt. As someone who has come out on top more than once, I have a suggestion," Celeste said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Mondo asked.

"We all understand that we are trapped here. Which means we will be spending the night. However... You all remember the rule regarding nighttime, right?"

" Nighttime " is from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution. Sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory will be seen as sleeping in class and punished accordingly."

"So regarding this "nighttime," I think we need to add a rule of our own," Celeste suggested.

"What do you mean?" Makoto asked.

"Going out at nighttime should be prohibited altogether. The school regulations do not actually tell us not to go out at night. I would like to make it official."

"B-But why...?" Toko asked.

"The way things are now, every time night comes we will all start to get worried and anxious. We will all be afraid someone might try and come kill us."

"What!?" Sayaka gasped.

"If we have to worry about that night after night for who knows how long, it will wear us down in no time."

"So you're suggesting we limit our activity at night as a kind of preventative measure," Sakura spoke.

"However, unlike the other rules, nobody can be forced to comply. We all have to agree to follow it."

"I see what you mean. But...I think I can agree to that. It's like the little goth lolita said. Without something like that, we're just gonna self-destruct," said Junko.

"On behalf of all the men here, I agree to comply!" Taka yelled.

"Hey, you can't just decide to speak for us!" Leon objected.

"So everyone is in agreement? Good. Then if you will excuse me..." Celeste started to walk off.

"Huh? Wait, where are you going?" Chihiro questioned.

"It is almost nighttime. I want to take a shower before it arrives. So...goodbye." With that, Celeste left the dining hall gracefully.

"S-So I guess it's pretty obvious where we go from here. We'll be spending the night, it looks like," Hifumi spoke.

"Adaptability..." Sakura muttered.

"So, Mr. Chairman...what next? One person already left," Junko asked Taka.

"U-Umm... Well then, what say we call an end to today's meeting!? Like she said, it's almost nighttime anyway. We can reconvene first thing tomorrow morning!" Taka said.

"Do we really have to stay the night here...?" Chihiro asked.

"We don't have a choice. We can't go for long without getting some sleep," Junko said.

"So we have to just give up..." Mondo sighed.

"That's all f-fine and good for t-today, but what do we d-do tomorrow?" Toko asked.

"Our only option is to split up and look around again, and let everyone know if we find anything," Sakura said.

"Yeah, okay. Let's do that...!" Hina agreed.

"Then we're done for today? Good, I'm exhausted..." Junko sighed and walked away. With that, everyone left for their dorms.

=======

Once I got to my room, I lay on the bed and began to reflect on today. Is this really where I'm going to stay for who-knows-how-long with a bunch of people who might betray and kill one of us?

"This is so not fair!" I yelled as I pulled a pillow over my head. Usually, at times like this, I would polish my worries away. But unfortunately, there wasn't a polishing kit.

*Ding dong, bing bong*

I lifted my head to the monitor to see Monokuma on screen sitting in a chair holding a glass of red wine.

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

The monitor shut off. I guess this is where the new rule we promised goes into effect.

I suddenly feel so exhausted. I pulled the covers over me and went to sleep. And when I woke up, I would be at home hearing the sounds of the servants working and the smell of breakfast. But a part of me knows that will never happen.

 

Chapter 6: Free Time Event #1

=======

*Ding dong, bing bong*

I opened my eyes to see Monokuma appear on the monitor.

"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"

I got out of bed and went to take a quick shower. After I finished and got dressed, I headed out of my room to be seen by Taka.

"Good morning, Hanako!" Taka yelled.

I nearly shrieked, but I managed to hold it in. "G-Good morning."

Taka smiled. "Yes, morning greetings are quite a delight! Such an energizing way to start the day! Now then, let's make sure we both do our very best throughout the day!"

I shrugged and walked off to the dining hall for breakfast. After I finished, I went back to my room.

Hmm...there's tons of time left. Maybe I should spend some time with someone.

A/N: For these free time events, I'll be picking everyone's events by using a wheel. These will be featured in Hanako's POV, except for her own, it will be switched to Makoto's POV.

=Free Time=

Toko Fukawa:

I went to Toko's bedroom door and rang her doorbell. I thought that maybe she would like it if someone were to talk to her.

Toko opened the door and glared at me. "What do you w-want?"

"Hello Toko. I was wondering if we could spend some time together?" I asked.

Toko's face turned shocked. "You want to s-spend time with me...? I don't know what you're p-planning, but...do whatever y-you want."

I spent some time with Toko.

We stood in silence for a bit. It looked like she wanted to say something, so I decided to talk. "So, Toko?"

"What? You wanna t-talk to me? Well, I can't stop y-you. So talk already!" Toko spat with a blush on her face.

I took a deep breath. "Alright. So, what do you like to do in your spare time?"

"Why do you w-wanna know...?" She asked.

"Well, I mean, you know... We're trapped here together, right? If we're gonna be friends, it'd be nice to get to know each other," I explained.

"Huh? What'd you just s-say?"

"What do you mean?"

"After that p-part about being trapped... We're gonna be wh-what?" Toko looked mad.

"Oh, that. I said, 'friends'. Is that a problem?"

"Hmmmeeheheheeh... Whaddya mean, f-friends!? You think I'm s-stupid? You're trying to trick me! I've already been h-hurt once before... I'm not gonna l-let it happen again...! Come on, y-you don't really care about m-me... You don't want to kn-know about me! Even I know that...!"

"That's not true at all. I'm very sorry that you got hurt before. I've been hurt too, but I can assure you I really want to know you."

"Fine. Then t-tell me... You know why they c-call me the Ultimate Writing Prodigy, right?"

"Of course. It's because you write novels, and you won all kinds of literature prizes."

"Then tell me wh-what I'm good at... Tell m-me what my genre specialty is! If you r-really wanna convince me you give a crap, you should at least kn-know that...!"

"Why, it's romance, of course,” I answered.

"Oh...you a-actually knew?"

"Your biggest success was "So Lingers the Ocean". Everyone says it's your masterpiece. The book was such a hit that fishermen shot to the top of all the "Hottest Men" polls."

"How did y-you know all that...? There's no way you c-care about me...!"

"I keep telling you, I do. We are friends after all."

Toko began to freak out. "Nng...! I'm blind! Your s-straightforward nature blinded me! Hyeeeeeeeehhh!" Toko ran back to her room and slammed the door shut.

"Oh dear. I hope I haven't left a bad impression on her," I said and went off.

=======

The next day...

Mondo Owada:

I went to a classroom and found Mondo there by himself. I decided to talk to him since I was interested in his position as the leader of a famous biker gang.

"Hello Mondo."

"What's up, chick? Something wrong?" Mondo asked.

"Oh no, nothing's wrong. I was wondering if we could talk about some stuff?"

"Shit man. Normally I don't hang out with chicks this much, know what I mean? But I got some time to kill, so whatever," Mondo grumbled.

I spent some time talking with Mondo.

"Hey Hanako! What's your ride?" Mondo asked.

"I'm sorry, my ride...?"

"Yeah, chick! Your hog! Your chopper! Your motorcycle!"

"Does a limousine count?"

"What!? You're not a little kid anymore, right? And you still don't have a hog!? God, you're such a fuckin' dweeb!" Mondo complained.

I scoffed. "Well, I apologize that we don't have the same ideal way of transport!"

Mondo sighed. "Alright chick, I'm gonna educate ya! A real man, or in your case a woman, rides Kawasaki, okay? That's what I ride. You oughta see it, chick. The v-twin's got that monster power, it's like your dancin'. Course, it ain't just for anyone. You gotta have the skill to handle it!" Mondo said while smiling happily.

"You must really love your motorcycle, don't you?"

"Hell yeah I do! I'm a goddamn biker, ain't I? We're crazy as hell!"

"Yeah, you are the leader of the biggest bike gang in Japan."

"Damn straight! The invincible Crazy Diamond gang! You wanna come on a ride with us? The monster sound comin' outta that straight pipe... Hot damn!"

"Straight pipe?"

"Come on, you gotta know what a straight pipe is, right?"

"It's when the motorcycle doesn't have a muffler, right?"

"So you 'did' know. Good! Then that's that! Next time we ride, you ride with us! Man, that makes me think back to when I first started riding. My big bro used to ride too, ya know. His name's Daiya. Daiya and Mondo—together we were the Diamond Brothers! Everyone up and down the country knew us! Course, I was always the cool one..." Mondo bragged.

"I'll admit, that sounds incredible."

"Thanks. The first time I went out, I ended up at the back of the pack. Eventually the cops got on us, and they surrounded me. I was in some tough shit, chick! So I pulled over, but when they came up to me... Well, let's just say it was a massacre."

"Oh my! You must be really strong."

"Of course! You can't wave the banner for our gang without that kinda strength! In a fight, they'll go for the leader first. Kill the leader of the pack, ya know? That's why the other gangs come after me. So if you wanna be leader of the pack, you gotta be a tough motherfucker! You'll see what I mean when we go on our first ride. Get ready for it!"

"I've never ridden a motorcycle before, let alone own one."

"Then you can ride with me!" Mondo offered.

"Well...alright, why not?"

"Great! Damn, I am pumped! I can't wait to get outta here now!" Mondo walked out in a good mood.

Soon, I walked out as well.

=======

Hifumi Yamada:

I entered the kitchen to get something to eat when I saw Hifumi there.

"Ah, Miss Yasashiku! Funny meeting you here! A salute to you! Salute! I just saluted, did ya see!? That was the Hifumi Ultimate Salute! Zam!" Hifumi said once he saw me.

"Er... Yes, I saw. Since we're both here, do you want to grab a bite together?" I asked.

"Why, certainly! And while we're at it, let me tell you something about cosplayers: Cosplayers these days are totally ignorant of the origin, the history, the significance of their hobby! And if you don't know your history, you can never have a complete cosplay experience! So, Miss Yasashiku, prepare for a gloriously detailed history of the cosplay world. Now, in 1955..."

I listened to Hifumi's half-obsessed rant while we ate.

When he finished ranting, Hifumi began to laugh. "Mwehehe... I see quality in you, Miss Yasashiku. True quality! And that's why...I've decided to present to you my lecture on the nature of fan fiction! If we're going to be friends, you must be fully informed. I will permit no fanfic bigotry whatsoever!"

"I...have no idea what that is. Like I said before, I only know the basics of this kind of geeky stuff... Er, apologies if I offended you in any way."

"That's okay! Because I take the word geek as a compliment! For you see, there is nobody on Earth so full of knowledge as a geek! In a sense, a geek is like an expert. That's right, a total expert! A successful musician must necessarily be a music geek, a good movie director is a movie geek. You see? It's those experts, those 'geeks' who open up the world to others! So when you say that writing fanfic is "geeky"...you're recognizing us as true experts!"

"So then...what exactly 'is' fanfic?"

"Oof! Super direct question FTW! Basically, we have all different kinds of stores and events, right? These are where groups of holy warriors sell their own stuff based on games, comics, anime, everything."

"And that stuff people make is fanfic?"

"Comics are the most common creation, but it also includes games, music, and even merchandise! By the way, there's a name for when a group of fanfic creators come together. Specifically, it's any organized group that comes together to release their work," Hifumi continued.

"The group is called a circle, correct?" I asked.

"It sure is! Of course you knew that. I mean, it's only common sense! I certainly hope you don't expect me to explain such common-sense topics every time!" Hifumi grumbled.

"I can assure you I won't. But like I said, I only know the basics," I said.

"That goes well beyond "I don't know too much!" But I guess I can't blame you. The propaganda never touches on that, so as a fanfic ambassador... By the time I'm done with you, you'll be itching to buy a premium pass to the next fanfic con! Right!?"

"...Sure," I said, even though I highly doubt that will happen.

"Gwehehe... That's it for today. I hope you're excited for your next lesson! I can't wait to see what the future has in store for the two of us..." Hifumi said.

We parted ways.

=======

Makoto Naegi:

(Makoto's POV)

I found Hanako sitting in a classroom by herself. I decided to go up and talk to her.

"Hello Makoto. How can I help you?"

Hmm... Should I hang out with Hanako for a while?

-----

-Spend some time with Hanako ✔

-Go see who else is around

-----

"Oh, you wish to hang out with me? I suppose I could spare some time."

I spent some time with Hanako... Hanako and I grew a little closer today.

Would you like to give Hanako a present?

-----

-Yes, definitely ✔

-Not really, no

-----

What would you like to give her?

Zoles Diamond has been selected.

"Why thank you Makoto. I'll accept this with much appreciation."

I get the impression that she liked it. That's good...

-----

"Say Makoto, can you keep a secret?" Hanako asked.

"Um...sure, I guess," I said.

"I'm going to tell you my secret about how I win all my tournaments. But you must promise me that you will not tell a single soul about it. Do you promise me that?" Hanako asked.

"I promise," I assured.

"Good. Now pay attention 'cause I'm only going to tell you once." Hanako Hanako said and leaned in. "The secret is that I have a strategy, and that strategy is...keen memory."

"Keen memory?" I repeated.

"Yes. In my book, there are two types of memory: Normal and chess. To play chess, one must have an exceptional memory of the different moves being played. To the average person such as yourself, that would seem impossible. But to me, the ability to memorize board positions and moves just comes naturally and is one of the best indicators to show how good I am," Hanako explained.

"So...why keep it a secret?" I asked.

"If word ever got out, there would be a huge fuss trying to prove me wrong. Besides, I already have enough on my plate anyways," Hanako said while looking at the ground.

She must be talking about the rumors.

Hanako quickly shook her head. "Well, now you know my secret. You better keep your promise, or else there will be trouble!" She said while glared at me.

"D-Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."

"It better be." Hanako turned and walked off.

I wonder if all chess players act a lot like her.

Hanako's Report Card has been updated based on your experience with her. Your maximum number of Skill Points has increased!

After Hanako left, I headed back to my room.

=======

After I left Makoto, I went back to my room. As soon as I entered, the nighttime announcement began to play.

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

I was exhausted from all the talking. I crawled into bed and slept almost immediately.

 

 

Chapter 7: The First Motive

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"

I groaned. Monokuma's announcements were starting to annoy me. Is he going to say that every single day? Couldn't he change it up every once in a while? I thought about it while I got up and did my morning routine.

As I was finishing up, the sound of the doorbell caught me off guard. I opened the door to see Taka.

"A fantastic morning, isn't it!?" Taka greeted me loudly.

"It's too early to tell," I said.

"Now then, if you'll pardon the interruption...!" Taka said while he barged into my room.

"Alright. Let's get to the point already. Why are you here?" I questioned.

"No matter how intensely the stormy seas may batter me, I will not fall as long as my feet are firmly planted! ...You agree, right?" Taka asked.

"Beg your pardon?" I said, kind of confused.

"And if you can't do it alone, just find someone to support you, and you can support them back! That's how you can overcome any storm!"

"...Taka, whatever it is you want to say...say it normally."

"I was thinking about it last night, and...I decided we all need to really come together. And that was when I realized... Every morning from now on, after the morning announcement, everyone should have breakfast together! And now is the beginning of that fateful day! Please head to the dining hall at your earliest convenience! That's all for now! I have to go let everyone else know the good news!"

I was about to talk back, but Taka turned and left without waiting for a reply. I sighed.

I might as well go before he comes back and yells again.

I finished my morning routine and headed to the dining hall. Most people were already there, so I sat down and waited for the others to show up. Soon, everyone arrived.

"Okay, looks like everyone's here. So then, let's begin our very first "breakfast meeting"!" Taka stated. "Everyone, thank you for making time in your busy schedules to come together."

"I didn't make time for shit. You dragged me here..." Leon complained.

"I know I already mentioned this earlier, but... In order to get out of here, it is essential that we all cooperate with each other. And the first step is this breakfast meeting, to allow us to become friends and build trust! So from now on, let's all meet here in the dining hall every morning after the morning announcement! Now then, let's eat!"

"You w-want me to eat breakfast with other p-people? I've never done that b-before. I'm not s-sure..." Toko stuttered while tapping her fingers together.

"Yeah, it's been a while for me, too," Leon said.

"Well anyway...did anyone happen to come up with any clues?" Junko asked.

No one said a word.

"Seriously? Nothing at all!? Anything, it can be about how to get out, or who's doing this, nobody has anything!?" Junko yelled.

"...You are going to die," Celeste said suddenly.

"Huh...?"

"If you can't stop yourself from showing weakness in front of others...you will die," Celeste explained.

"Wh-What the hell? Don't even freaking joke about that!"

"I am not joking. Adaptability is survivability. Did I not say so? So you'd better hurry up and adapt to your new life here."

"Have you gone completely insane? Adapt to my new life here? Do you have any idea what you're saying?"

"Yeah, sounds like the girl wants to live here. And hell, more power to her," Mondo said, butting into Celeste and Junko's argument. "But shit... No way in hell am I living here! I'm gettin' outta here, I don't give a shit!"

Celeste giggled. "Hmhm. Sure, feel free."

"Okay, so...nobody has any clues?" Leon asked, getting everyone back on topic.

"One thing I can tell you is who's behind all this. Someone who's totally weird and messed up," Hina spoke. "Why else would we be trapped in here in the first place?"

"Well, sure, it could be something like that. But for right now, actual clues are..." Leon said.

"U-Umm..." Chihiro's quiet voice spoke up, turning everyone's attention to her.

"Huh? What's up?" Leon asked.

"If you think in terms of people who are really abnormal or bizarre... Do you think maybe the person responsible for all this could be a [certain murderous fiend]...?" Chihiro asked.

"A murderous fiend... Chihiro, do you have some idea who might be behind all this?" Makoto asked.

"Well...maybe. I mean, I can't really be certain, but..."

"Certainty is not a concern right now! I'll allow whatever remarks you may have!" Taka yelled.

"O-Okay, well... Have you guys heard of Genocide Jack?" Chihiro asked.

"Genocide Jack?" I repeated.

"You mean that serial killer that's been in the news and all over the Internet?" Makoto asked.

"The monstrous villain who's murdered scores of victims in brutally bizarre fashion... The word "bloodlust" was left at each murder scene, written in the victim's own blood. Whoever it is, he's like a ghost. He strikes without warning, and disappears without a trace. And on the Internet, they started calling him... Genocide Jack. That about covers it, I think," Byakuya explained.

"They say he's claimed over a thousand victims..." Hiro added.

"That's just an urban legend though, right? I mean even like, ten people would be totally insane," Junko said.

"..." Toko's face scrunched in fear.

"Anyway, whoever Genocide Jack really is, he's obviously some kind of super crazy killer," Chihiro said.

"And if he really is this "ultimate" psycho, I wouldn't be surprised if he put together something like this," Mondo said.

"But like I said, I can't be certain. I don't have any evidence or anything. It's just a thought..." Chihiro reminded.

"But if they're the killer, isn't that like a killer of a problem for us!?" Leon asked.

"It's okay! Everything's absolutely, positively, one hundred percent without a doubt gonna be okay!" Hina said with a positive attitude.

"What makes you so sure about that?" I asked.

"Cuz help's gonna be here soon, I'm sure of it!" Hina replied.

"Huh...? H-Help?" Toko repeated.

"We've been stuck in here a few days already, right?" Hina asked. "Nobody's been able to contact us, so I'm sure they're getting worried. I bet they called the police already!"

"AHHH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Everyone jumped in shock to see Monokuma pop out of nowhere and sit in one of the empty chairs.

"The police? You're putting your faith in the police!?" Monokuma asked.

"What are you doing here!?" Sakura asked.

"You guys, seriously... Do you understand what role the police exist to fill? All they're good for is being a foil, playing against a villain or anti-hero or evil organization. The bad guys come along and destroy them, and that shows just how badass they really are. Are you sure you wanna rely on such an unreliable group of losers? I mean come on! If you really, REALLY wanna get out of here, all you gotta do is kill!" Monokuma said.

"Hahahaha!" Hiro laughed.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"I'm just impressed at the total commitment to this whole act," Hiro replied.

I stared at him in disbelief. How dumb are you?

"...You're still going on about that?" Junko asked, annoyed.

"So, mister serial killer psycho freak bastard...what the hell do you want!?" Mondo asked Monokuma.

"Mr. Serialkillerpsychofreakbastard, huh? That's a pretty long name! German, maybe?" Monokuma asked.

"We know who you really are!" Mondo yelled.

"Maybe if I ignore him, he'll just go away..." Monokuma said with his back turned.

I snickered. That's gotta hurt just as much as the hair joke.

"Hey! Don't ignore me, asshole!" Mondo threatened.

"Okay, okay, let's get back to business. Your life here has begun and a couple days have gone by, and nobody's killing anybody! I thought all you kids were lazy and selfish, and here you are working together. But I'm totally bored!" Monokuma complained.

"There's nothing you can say that'll make us start killing each other..." Makoto said confidently.

"Wait, I think-yes! Ding ding ding! I figured it out!" Monokuma called out.

"Oh no. That can't be good," I muttered.

"All the mystery ingredients are here-right people, right place. So why hasn't anyone killed anyone yet? That's what I couldn't understand. But I just realized there was one very important piece missing!"

"Wh-What are you...?" Makoto trailed off.

"If you wanna know, I'll tell ya! It's motive! Puhuhu! It's so simple! I just have to give everyone a motive!"

"Motive? What the fuck are you talking about!?" Mondo asked.

Monokuma ignored him. "Oh, by the way! There's something I wanna show you guys!"

"Stop changing the goddamn subject!"

"I have a little video I'd like you all to see. Oh, but don't worry. It's not some pervy "adult" video or anything. Seriously, it's nothing like that! It's a special video for each of you showing what's going on outside the school."

"Outside the school...? What are you talking about?" Makoto asked.

"Heh-heh! Ooh, Master's so impatient today! Why don't you just watch it and find out? Here in the school, there's a specific place you can go that has everything you need to watch the video."

"Good, then we can go watch the video right now," Kyoko said. "But before we do that, I'd like to know... What are you? Why would you do something like this? What do you want from us?"

"What do I want from you...? Well, if you must know..." Monokuma's red eye glowed as it did on the first day as he answered. "Despair. That's all. If you want to know more than that, you'll have to figure it out for yourselves. Do whatever you need to uncover the mystery hidden within this school. I won't try and stop you. Cuz to be honest, it's entertaining as heck watching you guys search so desperately for answers! So I guess I want amusement from you, too." And just like how he appeared, Monokuma disappeared.

"He's gone... And once again, he left before we could find out anything useful," Sayaka said.

"Really? I think we learned something 'very' useful," Kyoko said. "He has no intention of standing in the way of our pursuit of the truth. Interesting..."

"Perhaps, but what about the video he mentioned? I'm very curious to see what's on it," Sakura said.

"Same here! Okay, so...!" Mondo looked around until his eyes fell on Makoto. "Hey Makoto! Check this out for us, would ya?"

"Huh? Why me!?" Makoto asked.

"Cuz you're closest to the door! That's the rule, right?"

"R-Rule...?"

"Hey, hey... Hey hey hey hey hey! HEEEEEY!!! You see how passionately I'm begging you!? What's the big deal? Just check it out real quick!"

"You better do as he says Makoto, or else he'll give you a punch on the other side of your face," I said.

Makoto nodded his head nervously. "O-Okay...I guess I'll get going, then."

Mondo grinned. "Awesome, thanks! I owe ya one!"

"...If Makoto's going, I'm going with him. It's not safe to walk around this place alone," Sayaka offered.

"Yeah, sure thing. Then we're countin' on the both of ya! If anything happens, just yell and I'll come runnin'!" Mondo said.

The two got up and walked out of the dining hall. While all of us were waiting, I sparked a conversation with Celeste. We were talking about our strategies for winning when Sayaka came back.

"Hey guys! We found the specific place Monokuma mentioned. It's the A/V room, and there is a box with a bunch of DVDs with our names on them. Come on, I'll take you there." We all got up and followed Sayaka through the halls.

Once we got there, we saw Makoto standing in front of a DVD monitor, trembling in fear and anger, punching the desk.

"I have to get out of here. I have to get out, right now! I need to make sure everyone's safe!" Makoto yelled.

"Makoto...? What happened? Make sure who's safe?" Sayaka asked.

"Wh-What's going on?" Hina asked.

Makoto didn't say anything. Instead, he pointed to the cardboard box.

"Is that what Monokuma was talking about?" Leon asked.

"What's on them?" Taka asked the question that filled everyone's head. Everyone gathered around the box and grabbed their DVD. I grabbed mine and took it to an empty monitor. I placed the DVD in the player. The screen was dark for a few seconds until an image appeared.

"Miss Yasashiku, I want to say how proud I am of you for being accepted into Hope's Peak Academy."

I softly gasped. There on the screen was a middle-aged man with black hair and was wearing a suit. It was one of my former teachers, Professor Akira. He was in a classroom, sitting in a chair, looking as happy as ever.

"I want you to do just as best at the academy as you did here, but make sure to have fun as well, alright? I wish you all the best and I know you will make everyone here very proud," Professor Akira said.

Suddenly, the screen went static, and a new image appeared. Professor Akira was gone, and all that was left was the classroom broken and torn apart. It looked like it was in a warzone. Then Monokuma's obnoxious voice came out of the speakers.

"If it wasn't for Professor Hiraku Akira, Hanako Yasashiku would never be where she is today. His coaching and support led her to become the Ultimate Chess Player. But it looks like something terrible has happened to her number one supporter! This is bad! Super bad! Could it be all over for him? Or worse, checkmate?"

Look for the answer after graduation!

I stared at the screen with my eyes widened with shock. I couldn't take them off the screen after what I saw. I was panting, sweat and tears fell from my face. I was freaking out, and from what I heard, everyone was reacting almost the same way.

"What the fuck...?" Mondo sweated.

"Th-This can't be real, right? It has to be fake, right!?" Hina asked in fear.

"Yeah, no way it's real. Haha...no way," Leon said, sounding unconvinced.

"I can't t-take it anymore... I c-can't take this anymore! Let me out of h-here!" Toko panicked.

From what I could tell, everyone was in fear and confusion. No one bothered to hide their feelings.

Well...except for her.

"I see... So this is what he meant by motive," Kyoko said as calmly as ever. "He wants to fuel our desire to leave so that we're more likely to start killing each other."

"It is the classic "prisoner's dilemma"," Celeste stated.

"...Huh?" Hifumi looked confused.

Celeste was explaining the definition of prisoner's dilemma, but I didn't listen. I just kept staring at the screen, the video I saw kept playing in my head. Tears kept falling from my eyes. Professor Akira was my favorite teacher, and he was the one who discovered my chess talent and suggested that I should enter tournaments. I couldn't imagine what Monokuma had done to him.

I need to see if he's okay. I need to get out of here! I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!

My thoughts were interrupted by someone shouting. I jumped and turned my head to see Sayaka running out of the room.

"Sayaka!?" Hina yelled.

"Let her go," Byakuya ordered.

"I-I can't do that!" Makoto objected. "I have to go make sure she's okay!"

"I h-hate romantic comedies like this. I don't care what h-happens to her, personally..." Toko said.

"That's because you're totally thoughtless!" Junko said.

"I'm...really worried," Hina said.

"Then why don't you go do whatever you think you have to? We don't all have to stick around together, right?" Celeste suggested. "Speaking of which, I have my own things to take care of. Goodbye." With that, Celeste walked away.

Soon, everyone went their own ways. Makoto ran out to look for Sayaka while most of the others headed to their rooms.

Once I got to my room, I locked the door and flopped on my bed. I can't get the images out of my head. I want to get out of here, but that would mean killing someone. But what would happen if I got caught? I decided to just try to forget about it as I slowly drifted off to sleep.

=======

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"

I groaned as I lifted myself out of bed. I must've slept through the entire day yesterday. I did my morning routine and then remembered about the breakfast meeting.

I don't want to go, but if I don't, then Taka will barge in yelling at me. Guess I don't have a choice.

I walked out of my room and entered the dining hall. Taka, Chihiro, Hina, and Sakura were already there. I said good morning to them and took a seat. Soon, Makoto came into the dining hall.

"Hello Makoto, and good morning! Can you believe it? I was the very first one here this morning!" Taka bragged.

"Ehehe...good morning," Chihiro said.

"Mornin'!" Hina said.

"Hello," I greeted.

"I suppose I'm early..." Sakura smiled.

Afterward, Mondo, Junko, and Hifumi came in.

"Yo," Mondo said.

"Sorry I'm late! My make-up just would NOT cooperate this morning!" Junko apologized.

"My apologies, ladies and gentlemen. My morning, ah, duty took a little longer than usual..." Hifumi said.

You did NOT need to say that out loud!

Finally, after a while of waiting, Kyoko, Celeste, Leon, Toko, and Hiro arrived.

"...I suppose I'm late," Kyoko observed.

"Good morning, everyone," Celeste said.

"My bad, guys! Slept right through my alarm!" Leon chuckled while rubbing his head.

"Wh-What? Is it s-so awful to be l-late?" Toko stuttered.

"I didn't oversleep, just so you know. Nope, got lost! I blame the Bermuda Triangle..." Hiro excused.

"Wait, aren't we still missing some people?" Taka asked.

"Yeah, Sayaka and Byakuya aren't here yet," Hina observed.

"You all can excuse Byakuya since he is a rich boy, and they love to come fashionably late. But I'm not sure about Sayaka," I said.

Makoto had a worried look on his face.

"...What's going on? Did something happen?" Byakuya asked as he walked in.

"Told you," I said.

"Hey man! Have you seen Sayaka?" Mondo asked him.

"Why would I have? I just came straight from my room to here," Byakuya answered.

"Did she forget about our breakfast promise...?" Hifumi wondered.

"I got the sense she always has her stuff together..." Kyoko muttered.

Makoto's face changed from worried to fear. He quickly got up from his seat.

"I-I need to go... I have to check on her!" Makoto ran off quickly.

A few minutes passed and neither Sayaka nor Makoto came. Worried and tension filled the room.

"Darn it! What could be keeping them so long!?" Taka asked impatiently.

I was worried. Did something bad happen? Could one of them be...?

I quickly got up and ran out of the dining hall.

"Hey! Where're you going?" Hina called out but I didn't answer. I ran to the dorm rooms and saw one of the doors wide open. I went inside to see a terrible sight: The room was a mess. Scratch marks were all over the walls, floors, and bed. The table was turned, and what looked like a sword was taken out of its sheath and was on the ground.

"What happened here!?" I said out loud. I looked towards the bathroom door and saw Makoto passed out on the floor. I went over to check on him, but when I looked in the bathroom, there was a gruesome scene.

Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Pop Sensation, was dead. 

Chapter 8: Body Discovery Aftermath

Notes:

A.N: I want to thank you all so much for getting this story over 100+ hits. Now with that out of the way, on with the chapter!

To Survive

Deadly Life

Sayaka was dead.

I knew this would happen sooner or later, but I wasn't mentally prepared for it. I screamed so loud that I barely heard it myself. I just stared at Sayaka's body, unable to get my eyes off it.

I heard the footsteps of the others coming into the room.

"Hanako! What on earth is goin-OH MY GOSH!" Taka yelled when he saw the body.

Soon the room was filled with screams, cries, and panic. But over the loud noises, the monitor played.

*Ding dong dong ding*

Everyone went silent as they turned their heads towards the monitor screen as Monokuma appeared.

"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!"

The monitor turned off, and Monokuma appeared out of nowhere.

"Wohohohoho! Finally! Someone is finally dead!" Monokuma cheered as he did a little dance.

"Cut this crap out, you little shit! What the heck was that announcement about!?" Mondo yelled.

"Geez, no need to get your hair in a twist. What you just heard was the body announcement. When three people find a body, the body announcement will play, and the investigation will start. And then, when the investigation time is up, the class trial will start. But before we do that, please make your way to the gym for an important announcement," Monokuma said.

"And leave our friend here!? I don't think so!" Taka said. The others protested as well until the voice of reason spoke up.

"It's best to do as he says. We don't want any more trouble," Kyoko said.

Everyone went silent.

"Good then. I'll be waiting," Monokuma then disappeared.

We silently walked to the gym while Hiro carried Makoto on his back. Once we all got there, Hiro placed Makoto on the bleachers while everyone spread out in the gym. Some were standing, some were sitting. I was also sitting trying to get the image of Sayaka's corpse out of my head.

Sometime had gone by, and Makoto began to open his eyes.

"Ah! You're awake! Finally! Are you okay?" Hina asked.

"Now's no time for sleeping. Get your ass up!" Mondo ordered.

"Huh...?" Makoto looked confused.

"You were unconscious, dude. I had to carry you back here," Hiro said.

"It's no surprise, considering what happened," Sakura said.

"What...happened?" Makoto asked before he realized what happened. "Gh-! Grraaah!"

"H-Hey, are you okay!?" Hina asked again.

"So it wasn't a dream?" Makoto asked. "What I saw... It was real...?"

"That's right. It really did happen," Byakuya confirmed. "Sayaka...is dead."

Makoto's eyes began to widen up in fear. He took off running, but I managed to grab onto his arm.

"Makoto! Where are you going?" I asked.

"I have to see for myself! I have to see if Sayaka is-! If Sayaka is...!" Makoto trailed off.

"You can check once, twice, a thousand times. Sayaka is completely and irrevocably dead," Byakuya said with no remorse.

"No! I have to see for myself!" Makoto yelled as he tried to wiggle out of my grip.

"Listen to us, man! Whaddya think's gonna happen if you go out there?" Mondo asked.

"Well what good is it gonna do just sitting around here!? I mean, why are we all hanging out in the gym at a time like this!? Our friend...Sayaka...she's... She's dead!"

Realizing this, Makoto's body went limp. I let go of his arm.

"None of us want to be here right now, either," Kyoko said.

"Then...why?"

"Sh-Shouldn't it be obvious? Monok-kuma...he told us all to c-come here..." Toko stuttered.

"Well, hold on! Don't talk like that. We all protested it!" Taka said. "I mean, we remember the terrible price Sayaka had to pay... B-But...!"

"I'm the one who convinced them to come. Right now, we need to do whatever he says. We're his prisoners, right? It's not a good idea to defy him without reason. We don't need to make any more sacrifices than we already have..." Kyoko explained.

"... Why should we listen to anything he has to say?" Makoto asked. "It's obvious he's the one who killed Sayaka!"

As if on cue, Monokuma popped up from behind the podium.

"I would never do that! If you can believe anything, you can believe that!" Monokuma said.

"He's here again..." Leon growled.

"Unless someone violates a school regulation, I absolutely will not interfere. I can promise you, I won't do anything that goes against the purpose of your school life here. I'm famous at safari parks throughout the world for following the "Bear-Times-One" rule!" Monokuma said.

"Then...who did it? Who killed her? Chihiro asked.

"You already know the answer! The one who killed her is...one of you!"

No one replied to that.

"Hmm? What's the matter? You guys all look like you're about to see a dove get shot up with a Gatling gun! Don't you remember what I told you when this all began? One of you decided to kill Sayaka so that you could graduate! Someone's just following the rules. There's nothing wrong with that!"

"Y-You're lying...right?" Hifumi asked.

"Of course he's lying! I'm telling you, he killed her!" Makoto yelled.

"Nope, sorry. One of you is now a bona fide killer," Monokuma said. "If they wanted to, the one who did it could testify to that little fact."

"What...?" Makoto whispered.

Everyone turned to look at one another, trying to read their faces. They all looked scared, suspicious, and confused.

"A-Are you serious...?" Chihiro cried.

"Someone... Someone killed someone!" Taka yelled.

"It is amazing what some people are capable of," Celeste said calmly while playing with a piece of her hair.

"Hey, hold on! Don't just assume he's telling the truth!" Mondo yelled.

"That's enough," Byakuya spoke. "Before we do anything else, I'd like to confirm something with the stuffed animal here. If one of us really did kill her, that person gets to graduate from the school, right?"

"...Huh?" Monokuma asked, confused.

"Don't play dumb! That's what you said, isn't it!? If you kill someone, you get to leave!" Byakuya said.

"Puhuhu... Puhuhu! Poohohoho! Bwaaahahahaha!" Monokuma began to laugh.

"Why are you laughing!?" Leon asked.

"Puhu...it's cuz... Naive... You're just so naive! You think it's really that easy? You can just kill someone and waltz on outta here? You're super naive! Devilishly naive! HELLISHLY NAIVE! No no no, the real thing has just begun."

"The...real thing?" Makoto repeated.

"Are you ready!? Allow me to explain the second part of the rule regarding graduation! Just like I explained before, you must kill someone if you want to leave. However...even if you do that, there's still one more part to the agreement you have to uphold, remember?"

"You are referring to rule number six of the school regulations... If you are the "blackened" that committed the murder, you can't be found out by the other students. That is what you are talking about, is it not?" Celeste asked.

"Bingo! It's not enough to just kill someone. You have to actually get away with it! Which naturally means you need a system in place to assess whether or not it's been gotten away with! So, a certain amount of time after a murder has taken place, a class trial will begin!"

He mentioned the class trial part in the body announcement.

"Yup! It'll begin a few hours after the murder!" Monokuma continued. "Everyone will gather together, including the blackened who committed the murder. And they and the spotless students will engage in one big debate showdown! During the trial, you'll have to present your arguments about who you think the blackened is. And once everything comes to an end, the outcome will be decided by popular vote! If the answer you've arrived at is correct...only the one that disturbed your peace will be punished. The rest may continue their communal life. However...if you choose poorly...then the one who got away with murder will survive, and the rest of you will receive your punishment. Which of course means your school life will come to an end! As far as class trial rules go...that's all there is to it!"

"So, um...what exactly is this "punishment" you keep talking about...?" Hifumi asked nervously.

"Oh! Well, to put it simply... It's execution!" Monokuma answered. 

Everyone's eyes widened.

"E-Execution!?" Hifumi cried out.

"And by execution, you mean..." Chihiro trailed off.

"Execution is...execution. Ex-e-cution! Electric chair, bzzt bzzt! Poison gas, cough cough! Torn apart like a paper plane in a hurricane!" Monokuma said, his red eye glowing.

"S-So, to make sure I understand... If we get the culprit right, then only they die. But if we get it wrong...all the rest of us get...executed?" Taka asked.

"What a smart little chimpanzee you are! Look at you, implying you didn't do it without actually saying it! So it's basically what the outside world calls a "lay judge" system, or an inquisition type thing! Which means you'll be deciding who you think the killer is. But judge carefully, because all your lives are on the line! Okay, let me just add the rule I just described to your handbook. Make sure to keep it in mind!"

I felt the handbook vibrate in my pocket. The new rule has officially been added.

"W-Wait, hold on a second!" Junko yelled. "You're freaking insane, you know that!?"

"Hmm?" Monokuma tilted his head in confusion.

"A class trial? What the hell is that!?" Junko asked. "I don't want anything to do with it!"

"Why not?" Monokuma asked.

"Whaddya mean why not!? Why do I have to waste my time trying to figure out who murdered someone!?"

"What!? Are you saying you're not gonna participate in the trial!? Only punishment awaits such blasphemy!"

"What? Punishment?"

"I might...I dunno, throw you in a deep, dark, scary prison or something."

"Shut the hell up! Say whatever you want, I'm not gonna be part of this!"

She's gonna get herself killed... I thought as I watched this argument go down.

"Don't be so selfish!" Monokuma shouted.

"You're the one being selfish! Kill whoever you want, it's got nothing to do with me!" Junko shouted back. 

"The evil standing here before me... I'm trembling with fear...! But I won't give in to such evil! It's my style to stick it out and resist till the very end...! If you really wanna get out of here...you'll have to go through me first!"

Monokuma jumped off the podium and waddled towards us. But then...

"Gyumeh!"

Junko stomped her boot on Monokuma's face and kept it there.

"Are you enjoying yourself now?" Junko asked.

"Are you?" Monokuma asked.

"Huh?"

"Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is not allowed. You've violated a school regulation... I invoke the mighty summon spell! Help! To me, godly spear Gungnir!" Monokuma called out.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, multiple spears came out and pierced right through Junko's body.

"... Wh...? H-Huh? This wasn't...supposed to... Why...me...?" Junko muttered weakly. Then, she fell to the ground.

Junko Enoshima, the Ultimate Fashionista, moved no more.

"Wh-What the..?" Hina gasped.

"I don't..." Chihiro's eyes filled with tears.

"Th-This can't be real," Leon said.

"NO WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYY!" Hifumi yelled.

Even though I was in shock, the one thing that was on my mind was...

Called it!

"Now I am painfully aware of the great power and meaning of a promise... I really wanted to keep a corpse from popping up for no good reason, ya know? But I guess you all need to be taught a lesson, after all. Ahh, what an amazing promise! But now you guys understand, right?" Monokuma's red eye began to blink again. "Now you see just how serious I am... Defy me and you get shot full of holes, exploded, buried alive, disintegrated...et cetera. So if you don't want that to happen to you, you'd best obey those school regulations!" Monokuma threatened.

I took another look at Junko's impaled body. Tons of blood poured out of her body. I started to get sick to the stomach.

"It's really not all that shocking," Monokuma continued. "She just died, that's all. Just went and died. It's no more remarkable than the inevitable demise of the entire human race. It's just as natural as the eventual end of the world itself. This isn't some superhero comic. So it's not like when you die, you didn't 'really' die. This is reality!"

"...Why did you have to kill her? Didn't you say you would put her in prison or something?" Kyoko asked.

"I changed my mind," Monokuma replied, turning his back on us.

"No, you've been wanting to kill this entire time."

"Kill this entire time...? Don't be silly, you can't kill time!" Monokuma turned to face all of us. "Or are you being metaphorical? Are you saying I wanted to waste time this whole time? Come on, what do you take me for? I'm Monokuma! Anyway, none of that matters right now. I have something I'd like to give you to help you in your search for the blackened!"

Monokuma pulled out tiny files and handed them out to each of us. "This little file has all the information I've gathered about the death in question. I like to call it... The Monokuma File! I mean, naturally you guys aren't experts at this kind of thing, so you can only do so much with a corpse. So instead, I've gathered up everything I know about the circumstances and cause of death. What's that? How do I know the cause of death, you ask? Cuz the surveillance cameras picked up the whole thing! I got to see it all go down!"

"Kind of figured..." I muttered.

"Wait, so then...you know who killed Sayaka?" Kyoko asked.

"Of course I do!" Monokuma answered with a giggle. "If I didn't, I couldn't possibly pass a fair and accurate judgment during the trial, now could I?"

"That's a good point. The judge has to be able to make the proper decision. That's...somehow comforting," Kyoko said.

"Now then, please put your full effort behind your investigation! After all, you don't have any choice but to give it your best shot! Seriously, you don't have a choice! Okay, so we'll meet up for the class trial...in a little while!" Monokuma jumped behind the podium and disappeared.

Everyone was left stunned and confused. I continued to stare at Junko's cold dead body. Nobody said a word for a long time. We were all still recovering from the shock of Sayaka and Junko being dead. One of us had actually murdered someone...and we will all die here if we don't find out who it was.

"Now's no time to wallow in your depression," Kyoko said, causing me to take my eyes off Junko's corpse. "The worst thing we can do right now is lose all faith in each other. That would lead to the same disastrous result as having 'total' faith in everyone else."

"Huh...?" Leon said in confusion.

"Cooperation is absolutely key at this point. Who you decide to trust or not trust is, of course, up to you," Kyoko explained.

"Continuing to think about and talk about the deceased certainly isn't going to help anything," Celeste said.

"S-Saying stuff like that is just-!" Hina yelled, but Celeste cut her off.

"How many times have I told you? Anyone who can't adapt...will die. Death is the only thing awaiting those who are unable or unwilling to adapt. If that happens, you only have yourself to blame."

"What an awful thing to say! Especially after what's happened!" Hina yelled.

"Right now, exposing the killer is the most important thing. Because if we don't, we're all going to die here," Kyoko reminded.

"...She's right. We need to begin our search right away," Byakuya said.

"Either way, we can't run away from the situation, so we have no choice but to move forward," Sakura said.

"We just hafta do it, I guess... What other choice do we have?" Hina said.

"No way in hell am I letting someone kill me...! Alright, dammit! Let's do this!" Leon yelled.

I nodded my head. We're gonna do this! We're going to figure out who killed Sayaka, and nothing is going to get in the way!

=======

I watched Mokoto walk over to Junko's body and put his hand on her wrist.

"Makoto, what are you doing?" I said to him.

"... She...really is dead," Makoto said.

I rolled my eyes. Yeah, no shit Sherlock.

"I don't know why you even bothered to check. After those injuries, and losing that much blood... Frankly, I'd be shocked if she 'did' survive something like that," Byakuya said.

"H-Huh...? H-Hold on..." Hiro spoke up and then began to freak out. "H-H-H-Hold o-on! J-J-Just w-wait a second! Sh-She's...dead!? Then that means...! That means everything that's happened so far is real!? It's not a joke or whatever!? It's really real!? Hell no! S-Someone save me! Let me outta here! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!"

"You're j-just now accepting that...?" Toko asked.

I sighed. Hiro is such an idiot.

=======

"Before we start searching for Sayaka's killer, we need to decide what to do about securing the crime scene," Kyoko said.

"What do you mean...?" Makoto asked.

"You're thinking of putting someone on guard duty so nobody can disturb the area, aren't you? After all, if the culprit decides to destroy the evidence, we're pretty much screwed," Byakuya said.

"In that case, I don't mind doing it," Mondo volunteered. "I don't like havin' to think, anyway. I'll let you guys figure out who killed that chick."

"Okay, then we can let Mondo look after the scene," Hina confirmed.

"Well, no...we can't just leave him there alone," Byakuya said.

"What? Why the hell not!?" Mondo yelled.

"Isn't it obvious? If you were the culprit, what's the first thing you would do? By volunteering for guard duty, you're in a position to destroy all the evidence you want."

"Wh-!? Fuck you!"

"Fine, then I'll stay on guard duty as well. That way there's no problem," Sakura suggested.

"2-player co-op base defense with the two of them... With their stats, they're totally OP!" Hifumi said.

"Since we won't be able to help investigate, we're putting our faith in the rest of you," Sakura said.

"I-I'm still pretty freaked out, but...I'll try." Hina said.

=======

"Hmm?" Celeste was reading the Monokuma File, then began to laugh. "Heh heh...so you finally noticed."

"Huh? Noticed what?" Leon asked.

"I was looking through the Monokuma File we received. And I noticed something very obvious, and very unusual," Celeste said.

"Huh? What are you talking about...?" Chihiro questioned.

"Go ahead, take a look. Notice anything interesting about where Sayaka died? She died in Makoto's dorm."

I opened the Monokuma file to see that the file did say that Sayaka died in Makoto's dorm.

"Wh-? She's right!" Hina said.

"Then, could it be...!?" Hifumi cried. 

All eyes turned to Makoto.

"H-Hold on a second! You've got it all wrong!" Makoto defended. "F-For just one night, I...I traded rooms with her. I did it because...she was afraid."

"Y-You expect us to b-believe that? Just tell us the t-truth!" Toko yelled.

Everyone was now suspicious of Makoto, but for some reason, I didn't believe that he would do that. He and Sayaka have been close since we got here. There was no way that Makoto would betray her like that.

"Are we all done talking?" Kyoko asked. "We need to begin our investigation soon. At this point, we should split up. We need to get to the bottom of this and find out who killed Sayaka. We'll have to collect clues to form a foundation, then construct an argument to come to a final decision. If we get this wrong... Well, do I really have to say any more?"

"I'd rather you didn't, no..." Hifumi said.

"Everyone pray for good luck," Kyoko turned and left the gym.

"I'll be going, too," Byakuya said and followed after her.

"Oh yeah, I'm on guard duty, huh? I'd better head to the scene of the crime!" Mondo said.

"Ah, that's right," Sakura said.

"...Lemme just say this right now! If whatever son of a bitch did this is here right now, and they're thinking of destroying that evidence... They'd better not let me find 'em! I'll skip the trial and cave their goddamn skull in myself! I'm serious! I will fuck them up!" Mondo threatened and ran off with Sakura to the crime scene.

"But...I mean, we're not detectives or anything, y'know? And we're gonna investigate a murder? How do we even do something like that?" Hina asked.

"We don't r-really have to do anything in p-particular. W-We already know who k-killed Sayaka..." Toko said.

"What are you implying...?" Makoto asked.

"It was y-you." Toko answered.

"I'm telling you, it wasn't me!"

"D-Don't come any c-closer! Are you g-gonna kill me next!?"

"W-Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot. It's not for sure that Makoto's guilty yet," Hina butted in.

"That's true. We may as well at least check just to check," Hifumi said.

"Even if I w-wanted to, I c-couldn't help inv-vestigate..." Toko said.

"Wait, why not?" Leon asked.

"I'm not g-good with...b-b-blood. All it takes is o-one glimpse and I b-black out."

"Well, whatever. I don't think anyone was expecting much from you, anyway. Alright, I guess I better get going." Leon left, then the others did as well.

"W-Wait, don't go yet! You have to hear me out!" Makoto cried out, but everyone ignored him. I turned and quickly glanced at him before I left.

I stood in the hallway gathering my thoughts.

There's no way Makoto could have killed her! Or am I just jumping to conclusions too soon? I'll just let the evidence speak for itself.

Gathering my courage, I headed to Makoto's dorm. Time to find out the truth!

 

Chapter 9: Investigation

While walking to Makoto's dorm, I read through the Monokuma File.

"The victim was Sayaka Maizono. The time of death is estimated to be around 1:30 a.m. The body was discovered in Makoto's room, in the dormitory. All evidence suggests that the death took place in the bathroom. The cause of death was a stab wound to the abdomen. There was also an injury to her right wrist. Specifically, the wrist appears to have suffered a fracture."

"Good to note."

Monokuma File #1 has been added as a truth bullet

I made it to the dorm room and went inside. Mondo and Sakura were guarding the crime scene, and Kyoko was there as well. I began to analyze the room. I took a closer look at the sword on the floor.

That looks like the replica sword I saw in the trophy room. Was it used in the attack? And it's also been taken out of its sheath.  Also, some of the gold coating has come off, especially around the handle.

I touched the gold coating and when I lifted my hand, it was covered in gold.

"Well, that explains it."

Replica Sword has been added as a truth bullet

I noticed that the sheath has scratch marks on it. How can a sheath be damaged? If someone was going to fight with a sword, they should've unsheathed it. I wonder what caused that?

Replica Sword Sheath has been added as a truth bullet

As I got up, Makoto came into the room and looked around.

"Is that...evidence of a struggle?" Makoto asked.

"Sure seems like it," I said.

"Dammit...! I was right there in the other room! If only I'd heard something!" Makoto yelled.

"That would not have been possible," Sakura spoke.

"Huh...?" Makoto asked.

"Don't you remember? All of our rooms are completely soundproof. So something could happen in the room right next to you, and there's no way you could know," Sakura reminded him.

"Oh yes. Chihiro and Junko discovered that on the first day," I said.

"Perhaps this was another of Monokuma's strategies, creating an ideal setting for murder..." Sakura said.

Evidence of a Struggle has been added as a truth bullet

Makoto picked up a key that was on the ground.

"That's my room key... When we switched rooms, we switched keys too. So Sayaka would have had the key here in my room the entire time," Makoto explained to me. "But wait... If that's true, then...how did the killer get into the room in the first place?"

"This is probably a stupid suggestion, but maybe she invited them in?" I guessed.

"No that can't be it. Sayaka said that she wouldn't open the door for anyone, not even for me. Maybe she dropped the key somewhere, and someone else grabbed it or something. Actually no, that's not possible, either..."

Hmm...

Switching Rooms has been added as a truth bullet

Makoto then went to his drawer and opened it. Inside was his toolkit, and it looked like it wasn't used at all.

"Which makes sense, I guess. I mean, it's mine, and I haven't had any reason to open it," Makoto said as he was thinking the same thing as me. "I can't even imagine a situation where I'd need a toolkit like this..."

"Yeah, seriously!" Mondo agreed. His loud voice caused me to jump.

"Oh, Mondo..." Makoto greeted.

"We ain't exactly in the mood to be buildin' fuckin' furniture, right?" Mondo asked.

"So you haven't used yours either, then?" Makoto asked.

"Not just me. Nobody's busted theirs out yet, far as I know. Actually, we were talkin' about it yesterday. None of the guys have opened their toolkits yet. Cuz like, why the hell would we?"

Toolkit has been added as a truth bullet

"Ya know, I realized something while I was on guard duty..." Mondo stated. "The killer could've already destroyed some evidence, right? Before anyone found the body, I mean. There's a trash room in the dorms, right? They coulda tossed some stuff in there..."

"Y-Yeah, that's definitely possible," Makoto said.

"That dirty bastard...! Anyone who raises their hand to a woman is scum that deserves death. That's what my brother taught me. So if I ever find the son of a bitch that did this, I'm gonna pound his goddamn face in."

"B-But...what if it was a girl that did it?"

"... That'll all get sorted out when the time comes."

Shaking my head, I headed over to where Kyoko was. She was crouched down, examining the floor.

"Hey, Kyoko..." Makoto greeted. "What are you doing...?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kyoko asked.

"N-No, not really..." Makoto replied.

"I'm searching."

"Searching...?"

"What are you searching for?" I asked, but Kyoko continued investigating.

"Did you lose a contact or something?" Makoto asked. 

Kyoko didn't respond. A few seconds later, she got up.

"Are you a clean freak?" Kyoko asked Makoto.

"Huh? N-No, I don't think so," Makoto answered. "But what...?"

Kyoko glanced around his room. "Interesting... Just as I suspected, there's something [very unusual] about your room."

"Unusual? What do you mean?" Makoto asked.

"I've searched your floor from one corner to another...and I didn't find one single strand of hair."

"Really...?"

"Not one hair from the victim, and not one hair from you, even though you've been living in here."

"You know, now that you mentioned it...I noticed something while I was looking around before. It looked like the lint roller in my room had been used, but I never touched it. Could someone have used it to...?"

"Very interesting... Your room didn't have a single hair in it, and someone used your lint roller without your knowledge. In other words...someone other than you came in and scrubbed your room clean."

"Was it...Sayaka? Or the killer?"

"That's the question, isn't it?"

Makoto's Room Cleanliness has been added as a truth bullet

I turned my head towards the bathroom, where her body is. Taking a deep breath, I walked right in. The smell of blood pierced through me, and I felt my stomach turn again. I wanted to get out of there, but I can't. I have to do it for Sayaka's sake.

Exhaling, I began to examine the body.

I pulled out the Monokuma File and began to go through it. "Some sort of sharp object has been thrust into her stomach." I took a closer look at the object. "It looks like some sort of knife. It must've come from the kitchen. Also, the file says that her right wrist is broken."

I took a closer look at her wrist. "It seems pretty swollen and bloody. And it looks like there's some gold coating on it too. She must've touched the Replica Sword. Also, her left index finger has blood on it, while both of her palms are clean. Strange..."

Sayaka's Wrist has been added as a truth bullet

Since the stab wound in the stomach is what killed her, then her wrist must've gotten broken earlier during the struggle. The killer attacked her in the main room, where they broke her wrist. Sayaka ran to the bathroom, where the killer cornered her and stabbed her.

My eyes went past Sayaka to some writing on the wall. I moved her body just a bit to see that it was a string of numbers written in blood. The numbers were 11037.

Sayaka must have done this, right? That explains why her index finger is covered in blood. I wonder what it means.

I walked out of the bathroom just as Makoto was about to walk in. He looked scared, so I patted him on the shoulder.

"I know you're scared and upset, but you have to do it. For Sayaka," I encouraged him. Makoto smiled and nodded his head and walked into the bathroom. Kyoko and I were waiting outside for him to finish his investigation. A few minutes later, he walked out.

"It looks like you found it, right Makoto?" Kyoko asked. "The [bloody numbers]... That's most likely Sayaka's [dying message]."

"I've never seen something written in blood before... It really was her final message... It's as if she wrote it with life itself," Makoto said.

"...Do you often talk like an aspiring poet?" Kyoko asked, causing me to chuckle a bit.

"But the numbers she wrote... What do they mean?" Makoto asked. "11037... I have no idea what that could possibly mean."

"The way she wrote the numbers makes me think she wanted to use her body to block them. If she wrote them in that location, while she was sitting the way we found her...it means she must have wrote them by turning only her hand towards the wall. If you were to write something in that position, do you know what the results would be?"

"The result...?"

"Think about it."

"You're not gonna tell me?"

"You need to uncover the mystery of this case yourself... Otherwise, the case will end and you'll remain unconvinced."

Makoto turned his head towards me as if he wanted me to answer, but I just simply shrugged my shoulders.

Dying Message has been added as a truth bullet

"There's one other thing I wanted to ask you about. Do you know how the door to your bathroom got broken?" Kyoko asked.

"Broken...? Oh, you mean how it gets stuck?" Makoto clarified.

"Gets stuck?" Kyoko asked, quite shocked.

"What do you mean "gets stuck"?" I asked.

"Well, I guess I'm the only one, but the door doesn't fit in the frame quite right. When I first tried to use it, I thought it was just locked. But once you learn the trick, it opens no problem," Makoto explained.

Bathroom Doorframe has been added as a truth bullet

"So the door doesn't quite fit the frame, huh? But actually, I'm referring to the broken doorknob," Kyoko said.

"Huh? The doorknob?"

"You didn't notice? Well, just try closing the bathroom door. I'm sure you'll see right away what I'm talking about."

Makoto did what Kyoko instructed and closed the door. "...Huh?"

The doorknob was crooked, and it was hanging from only one screw.

"Wh-What the heck!?" Makoto cried out. "The doorknob's practically about to fall off! Why is it like this...?"

"Someone must have used a screwdriver or something similar to unscrew it," Kyoko explained. "Whatever it was, it's obvious this was intentional."

"What!? It was intentional? Why would someone want to do that!?"

"I guess maybe they were trying to get the door unlocked and ended up breaking the whole thing."

"But my bathroom doesn't have a lock on it... Only the girls' bathrooms can lock, right?"

Kyoko was thinking for a while, then she looked like she was struck with realization and shot a question at Makoto.

"I have just one more question for you... You mentioned earlier that your bathroom door would get stuck, right? Did you tell anyone about that?"

"Oh, umm... Well, I did tell Sayaka about it last night, when we switched rooms."

"So what you're saying is, only you and Sayaka knew about it... Hmm... Interesting... Then that clears that up," Kyoko said with a slight smirk on her face.

"Huh? What clears what up? I'm so lost..."

"Well...see you later," Kyoko ignored Makoto and walked away.

Bathroom Doorknob has been added as a truth bullet

As soon as Kyoko left the room, I turned to Makoto. "So... What is your next plan?"

"Well... I was thinking that I should look into where the murder weapon might have come from. And also...I should see what was on Sayaka's DVD. With her dead, I have no choice but to see what was in her video. And then I should check some other areas too," Makoto explained.

"That seems like a lot of stuff. Tell you what... Why don't you find where the murder weapon originated and check her DVD, while I save you the trouble and check the other places myself?" I suggested.

"Really? You'll do that?"

"Absolutely. But I'll expect you to pay me in cash for this."

"Huh!?"

"Kidding! I'm just kidding."

"Right... Well, thank you, Hanako."

"Anytime," I left the room and started to walk away.

With all the evidence I collected, it proves that Makoto isn't the guilty one. Now, the question is who is the guilty one? I'll save it for the trial.

When I closed the door, I saw something that caught my eye: The nameplate on Makoto's door had Sayaka's nameplate on it, and the room on the left had Makoto's nameplate on it.

"Why is Sayaka's nameplate on Makoto's door? Did someone switch it? If so, then why?" I wondered out loud.

Dorm Nameplates has been added as a truth bullet

Anyways, I should probably start by searching the trash room. Mondo said that the killer could've tossed some evidence in the trash room. But as I remember, there's a big metal gate blocking the entrance, so how do I get in then? It's best if I ask the bear himself.

I stopped in front of the gates of the trash room and began to call out to Monokuma. "Oh, Monokuuuuma!"

"It's the end of the line," a voice spoke behind me. Even though I knew that he would pop out, I still got startled as I turned to see him.

"Beg your pardon?" I asked.

"The trash room... This is where all the trash in the school eventually winds up," Monokuma explained.

"I know that. But that's not what I want to talk to you about. How do you get the gate open?"

"No no no! No entry beyond this point! Only the person on cleaning duty is allowed in!"

"Well then, who's on cleaning duty?"

"No no no! No entry beyond this point! Only the person on cleaning duty is allowed in!"

I sighed. This is annoying. I'll just go ask the others.

"No no no! No entry beyond this point! Only the person on cleaning duty is allowed in!"

"I got it the first time alright!?"

I walked out of the room just as Monokuma disappeared.

Cleaning Duty has been added as a truth bullet

I remember that Hifumi was interested that we had a trash room. I wonder if he's the one on cleaning duty. I should ask him.

I spotted Hifumi in the dorm hallway. "Hifumi! I want to ask you something. Are you on cleaning duty?"

"Cleaning duty? As a matter of fact, I am. Why do you ask? It just so happens Monokuma talked to me yesterday and asked me to take care of it. Without someone on cleaning duty, the school would be flooded with trash in no time. So I formally applied for the position! I was gonna start this morning, but after what happened, I haven't had a chance to get started."

"Great! Can you open up the gates in front of the trash room for me please?"

"Of course! It's my job to gather up all the garbage and toss it in the trash room. And to do that, they gave me the key for the trash room gate! But we're supposed to rotate once a week, so eventually you'll be in charge."

"Wait, hold on..." Byakuya cut into me and Hifumi's conversation. "You need a key to get in the trash room? And only the person on cleaning duty has access to the key? What's the point of going to all that trouble? Why not just leave the trash room open all the time so we can all throw things out whenever we want?"

"Because that way, it would be too easy for the killer to destroy the evidence. Remember rule six? 'Anyone who kills a fellow student and becomes "blackened" will graduate, unless they are discovered.' The killer could use the open trash room as an advantage so they won't get caught," I explained.

"Yes, that must be why. If anyone could go in and out of the trash room whenever they wanted...then destroying evidence would be easy. The thrill would disappear, and things would become boring," Byakuya said with a smirk.

"Anyway, more important than that..." Now it was Leon's turn to butt in. "Hey fatty! Why'd you want the cleaning duty gig, anyway!?"

"I-I just decided to volunteer for something I knew no one else would wanna do. What's the big deal!?" Hifumi asked.

"Liar! I know why you did it... You wanna dig through all the girls' trash! Looking for...y'know...and poking around at it!" Leon accused.

"What are you talking about!? All my love is for 2D!"

"But there's all kinds of trash diggers like that! Maybe you'll get tired of 2D, and then turn to-"

"I would NEVER get tired of 2D! After spending a significant amount of time comparing 2D and 3D, I voluntarily chose 2D! The only thing 3D is good for is to shower love and affection on 2D! ...Oh, and PVC figures!"

"How are you not totally embarrassed to say stuff like that!?"

"Will you both just shut up already and that's an order!" I yelled at both of them.

"Yes ma'am..." Hifumi and Leon mumbled.

"If you're so worried about Hifumi's questionable morality, there's a very easy solution," Byakuya said. "Whenever a guy has cleaning duty, Sakura can accompany them, from picking up the trash to disposing of it."

"Whaaat!?" Hifumi cried out.

"If you're as innocent as you claim, where's the harm in it?" Byakuya asked.

"Kh-! That's not how it's supposed to-!" Hifumi grumbled, but I interrupted him.

"We're getting way off topic here. You still remember that I asked you to open the trash room gate for me, right?"

"Oh, okay!" Hifumi cheered as he and I walked to the trash room. After Hifumi rambled about some guy killing his wife or whatever, Hifumi took out the key and used it to flip the switch, and the gates slowly rose. I made my way inside and began to look around. The first thing I noticed was a burnt piece of clothing.

"Hey! There's something in front of the incinerator... It looks like a burnt piece," I called out to Hifumi.

"A burnt piece...? Like a hunk? Like a hunk of burning love!?" Hifumi asked.

"What!? No! It looks like the sleeve of a button-up shirt. And it's got some blood on the cuff, which means that this is leftover evidence that the killer destroyed. But there are a lot of people here that wear button-up shirts. It's not enough to find the killer's identity."

Burnt Shirt Piece has been added as a truth bullet

Next to the burnt sleeve, there are shards of broken glass.

On closer inspection, it looks like it used to be a crystal ball big enough to fit the palm of your hand. And a crystal ball is most commonly associated with fortune-telling. And who's the one person who does fortune-telling: Hiro. I last saw him in the gym freaking out. I'll have to talk to him later.

I picked up the pieces and put them in my dress pocket.

Shattered Crystal Ball has been added as a truth bullet

A roar from the incinerator startled me. I checked the incinerator to see that it was on.

"Do you see the green and yellow buttons next to the mouth of the incinerator?" Hifumi asked. "It's a pretty simple setup. You press the green button to get it going, and the yellow button to turn it off. Sooner or later you'll be on cleaning duty, so make sure you learn this before you leave, okaaaAAAYYY!?!? Huh!? Someone turned the incinerator on! Very strange... I'm quite certain it was off last time I was down here. Perhaps it was the work of a fairy..."

"Hifumi! Did you realize what you said?" I asked.

"Huh? The fairy...?" Hifumi questioned.

"...No. The part when you said that the incinerator was off the last time you were here."

"Ah, yes. About that there can be no mistake. If I've got one thing going for me, it's my memory! Yesterday, as soon as I was appointed, I came down to check the place out. It definitely wasn't on then. I haven't been back to the trash room since then... And since I'm the only one who has a key to open the gate...it should be impossible for the incinerator to be on. And yet..."

Someone must have turned on the incinerator without opening the gate. I wonder how?

Incinerator has been added as a truth bullet

I thanked Hifumi for his help and headed off to the gym. Once I got there, Hiro and Chihiro were there, as well as Junko's dead body. I walked towards Hiro.

"Aggh! No no no no no! I gotta get outta here! Gotta get out now! I've had enough! Gotta break free!" Hiro panicked.

"Hiro, are you done?" I asked impatiently.

"Ghh... Hrm? Huh? Hanako, what are you doing here? What...?" Hiro muttered.

"Listen, does this look familiar?" I asked as I pulled the glass shards out of my pocket for him to look at.

Hiro's eyes shot up. "Ahhh! That's my crystal ball! But...it's all smashed! What the hell...? I-I only bought it cuz the guy said it was blessed! He said it was unbreakable...! So...how did it break? Was it actually just made of glass!? And not crystal!? Did that guy totally dupe me!? He said it belonged to the pillars of history... Genghis Khan, George Washington, Napoleon... He said whoever controlled that crystal ball controlled the world! Was that seriously all BS!?"

I shook my head. "You really are gullible, you know that? But beside the point, it belonged to you, yes?"

"Yeah, that's mine for sure. I prolly forgot it in the laundry room last night. Someone musta come by and snatched it."

Then that means anyone who came inside could've taken it...

Shattered Crystal Ball truth bullet has been updated

"Thank you, Hiro. You've been a help," I said.

"S-Sure..." Hiro stuttered nervously.

"I'm kind of curious...but how much did you pay for that thing?"

"Everything I saved up from fortune-telling for two full years. Came out to be like...a million."

"Well, I hope this has taught you a very important lesson."

*Ding dong, bing bong*

The monitor in the gym flickered, and Monokuma was on the screen.

"Erm, so ah...I'm getting tired of waiting. What say we just get started, hm? It's time for the long-awaited... Class trial! Now then, allow me to appoint a proper location for the proceedings. Please go through the red door on the 1st floor of the school! Puhuhu. See you soon!"

I silently walked out of the gym to the red door. When I got there, there were a couple of students already there. Soon everyone was there except for Makoto, but eventually, he arrived. Everyone was staring at him.

"You're late, Makoto! We've all been waiting for you!" Taka yelled.

"Hmph. I bet y-you were afraid you would be discovered as th-the murderer you are..." Toko smirked.

"Let's not jump to conclusions just yet! Save that for the class trial! There we can all reveal the details of Makoto's crime!" Taka said.

I sighed. Everyone had their minds set on Makoto, but I know that he didn't do it, and so does Makoto, and possibly Kyoko as well.

The monitor flickered, and Monokuma appeared on screen once again.

"Puhuhu... Is everyone here? Okay then... Please board the elevator in front of you, which will transport you to the courtroom...where all your fates will be decided. Puhu. I'll meet you all down there. I'll be waiting..." Then the monitor turned off.

"Let us begin..." Sakura said as she walked to the elevator first.

"Good idea," agreed Celeste and followed after her.

Everyone walked into the elevator. After doing a short prayer, I walked in to join the others. Kyoko and Makoto were the last ones to board. As soon as they got in, the elevator door closed and began to descend with heavy clunking sounds towards the school's basement.

"I wonder if this is how a death row inmate feels when his time finally comes..." Makoto wondered out loud.

"Rather than that, is it not more like a defendant waiting to receive his judgment?" Celeste asked.

Oblivious to our shared anxiety, the elevator lowered us further and further into the bowels of the school. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the elevator stopped. The doors opened to reveal the interior of the courtroom.

"Nyohoho! You've finally arrived!" Monokuma popped up and sat on a throne-like chair. "What do you think? Doesn't it feel just like a real courtroom? It's like a Hollywood movie set, right!?"

"Not even close. It's total shit," Mondo answered.

"Okay, okay, everyone find your assigned seats and sit down! Hurry up now, hurry up!" Monokuma ordered.

We did as he instructed and found our seats, which were arranged in a giant circle. I found mine next to Sakura and a framed picture of Junko's face crossed out with a red X. It was set up so everyone could see each other, and it'd be easy for their tensions and unease to transfer to anyone else. The air grew very heavy.

And so, the curtains on our first case opened... A deadly judgment... A deadly deception... A deadly betrayal... A deadly riddle, a deadly defense, a deadly faith... A deadly...class trial...!

 

Chapter 10: Class Trial #1 Part 1: The Blame Game

CLASS TRIAL! ALL RISE!

"Let's begin with a basic explanation of the class trial!" Monokuma started. "So, your votes will determine the results. If you can figure out "whodunnit" then only they will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong one...then I'll punish everyone 'besides' the blackened, and the one that deceived everyone else will graduate!"

"And the killer really is one of us, right?" Makoto asked.

"Of course!" Monokuma answered.

"Okay then...everyone close your eyes, and whoever did it, raise your hand!" Taka ordered.

"Don't be a goddamn idiot. Why the hell would they raise their hand?" Mondo asked.

"Besides, that's not how a trial works," I explained.

"Before we move on and start the trial, can I ask a question real quick? What's going on with...those pictures?" Kyoko asked, pointing to the framed pictures of Sayaka and Junko marked with a red x.

"I'd feel awful if they got left out just because they died. Friendship penetrates even death's barrier!" Monokuma explained.

"Friendship...penetrates?" Hifumi repeated.

"Okay, but what about that other empty seat?" Celeste asked, gazing at the empty seat in front of Monokuma. "There were only sixteen of us to begin with, so why are there seventeen seats?"

"Oh, no reason. It's just that our little courtroom here can technically fit up to seventeen people," Monokuma excused. "Okay, that about does it for the preamble. Get ready to get started! First up is the case summary. Now, let the class trial...begin!"

- Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument! -

Taka: I assert that the one who was murdered was Miss Sayaka Maizono!

Hiro: ... Yeah, we know that part already.

Byakuya: And the murder took place in Makoto's room.

Hina: In the bathroom...

Chihiro: So it seems most likely that... The killer must have taken her by surprise while she was in the bathroom. She didn't even have a chance to resist ...

Truth Bullet: Evidence of a Struggle

Makoto: NO, THAT'S WRONG!

- BREAK!! -

"Just a second, Chihiro. Try to remember how my room looked ... With the way things have been damaged, I think we can definitely assume there was a struggle," Makoto said.

"A struggle? Between who...and who?" Chihiro asked.

"Between Sayaka and the killer, of course," Makoto said.

"So you're saying...Sayaka wasn't caught by surprise in the bathroom...?"

"She must have been attacked in the main room first, then she ran to the bathroom to try and hide. The killer followed her in, and that's where they finished the job..." Celeste explained.

"That much should have been obvious after taking one look at the scene. It shouldn't even need explaining," Byakuya said.

"S-Sorry..." Chihiro said.

"Hey, it's alright. At least you tried your best," I encouraged.

"...Okay, so what's next?" Hiro asked.

"Next is the subject of the murder weapon," Sakura said.

"Wow...this is starting to sound like a real trial!" Hifumi said.

- Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument! -

Sakura: So what was used to kill her?

Taka: There was some kind of sharp object thrust into her stomach... Without a doubt, that is the murder weapon!

Mondo: So the killer used some random knife they had on 'em...

Truth Bullet: Kitchen Knife

Makoto: NO, THAT'S WRONG!

- BREAK!! -

"No. I do think it was a knife-but not just any knife. I'm almost positive it was a kitchen knife ," Makoto said.

"Huh? A kitchen knife...?" Mondo repeated.

"Since most knives are found in the kitchen, that would be a convenient place to get one," I stated.

"And after the murder, we discovered that one of the knives from the kitchen was missing," Makoto explained.

"Which means that knife must be the murder weapon," Sakura stated.

"Ohh...yeah, I guess that makes sense. You could sorta see the weapon stickin' out of her stomach... And if you look real close, I could totally see that being a kitchen knife," Mondo observed.

"Okay, so the murder weapon was a kitchen knife. But where does that get us?" Leon asked. "I mean, we all know Makoto killed her, right!?"

"That's r-right... Makoto's room was the s-scene of the crime. What more proof do you n-need?" Toko stuttered.

"H-Hold on a second! I'm-!" Makoto was about to speak, but he got cut off by Kyoko.

"Let's draw our conclusions 'after' we've presented our arguments. Otherwise, what's the point of the trial?"

"Well we can talk all we want, it's not gonna change 'that' conclusion," Leon said.

"Are you sure about that?" I asked. "I'm sure that a piece of evidence will reveal something new and change everything."

"You really believe that...?" Hiro asked.

"Certainly," I said confidently.

- Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument! -

Leon: So I guess there's no question that the kitchen knife was the murder weapon. But where does that get us?

Toko: M-Makoto must've taken it f-from the kitchen, right? He did it in s-secret, when nobody was in the d-dining hall ...

Truth Bullet: Aoi's Account

Makoto: NO, THAT'S WRONG!

- BREAK!! -

"Okay, wait, hold on. I didn't take the knife from the kitchen," Makoto said.

"Next you're g-gonna say you're not the k-killer, right? Go ahead and say it all y-you want...!" Toko accused.

"Well, what if I have a witness ? What do you think, Hina?"

"...Huh?" Hina looked confused.

"Remember what you were telling me earlier?"

- Flashback -

"Well, I went to get some tea from the kitchen last night, and all the knives were still there. But when I finished my tea and went back into the kitchen to wash my glass...one of the knives was gone."

"So you're saying the knife disappeared while you were drinking your tea in the dining hall?"

"Yeah..."

- End of Flashback-

"Just to be perfectly clear, the knife disappeared while you were in the dining hall , correct?" Makoto clarified.

"Y-Yeah, that's right..." Hina answered.

"And at any point while you were there, did you ever see me come into the dining hall?"

"Umm...no, I don't think so..."

Byakuya scowled. "You don't "think" so?"

"...No, he definitely wasn't there!"

"The knife disappeared while Hina was in the dining hall. But I wasn't there the entire time," Makoto recapped. "In other words, there's no way I could have taken the knife!"

"Okay, th-then what about this...? What if the i-idiot swimmer girl and M-Makoto are in on it together , a-and lying to protect each other?" Toko stuttered.

Hina looked offended. "Idiot swimmer girl!? Oh, and more importantly, why would I get involved in something like that!?"

"Speaking of which, I'd like to ask the bear...if there 'is' an accomplice , do they also become "blackened"?" Byakuya asked.

"So you ask, and I shall answer!" Monokuma said. "Each murder is allowed to have an accomplice, but only the one who does the killing will get to graduate."

"So in other words, two people can work together, but one of them has no chance of profiting from it..." Kyoko said.

"Then there's no way anyone would work together, right...?" Mondo asked.

"But...what if they 'did' work together, and they just didn't know about the rule?" Chihiro suggested.

"Uggh, good grief! Enough already! No, okay!? There are no accomplices in this case! ...Oops! Did I say that out loud...?" Monokuma said with a laugh.

"Anyway, I didn't go to the dining hall, and I didn't take the knife. So I'm not the killer!" Makoto yelled.

"Okay, so then...who 'did' take the knife?" Chihiro asked.

"Hina seems the obvious candidate. After all, she just said she was in the dining hall..." Celeste stated.

"Oh, so we're blaming Hina now?" I asked with a scowl.

"N-No way! I swear it wasn't me!" Hina yelled.

"Sure, but can you or anyone else prove that?" Hifumi asked.

"I can," Sakura said.

"That's right! Sakura was with me the entire time I was drinking my tea..." Hina confirmed.

"Uhh...I hate to have to ask, but just to be sure, Sakura's..." Leon trailed off.

"Me," Sakura simply said.

Leon sweat dropped. "...Right."

"But then...couldn't either one of them have grabbed the knife?" Hiro asked.

"Actually, no. Because...um...well..." Hina mumbled.

"Just spit it out already!" Mondo said impatiently.

"I stayed in Hina's room last night," Sakura said.

"I got so scared thanks to those creepy videos. I wasn't really thinking, I just asked her to stay over. Which means we have airtight alibis!" Hina explained.

"You s-stayed over...? Doesn't that v-violate one of the school r-regulations?" Toko asked.

"We're not allowed to sleep anywhere but the dorms, but it doesn't say we have to stay in our assigned room..." Chihiro explained. "So...I don't think that's a problem."

"It IS a problem!" Taka yelled. "A boy and a girl spending the night together!? It's...it's...unwholesome!"

"But...I'm a girl," Sakura said calmly.

"Wh-!? You are!? Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Taka apologized.

"And that is why you should ask someone their gender instead of just assuming it," I said.

"But if it wasn't either of you, then what other possibility is there?" Celeste asked.

"Actually, there 'is' one other possibility. Right, Hina?" Sakura asked her.

"Oh yeah, that's true! One other person did come to the dining hall while we were there." Hina said.

"Why didn't you say so in the first place...?" Byakuya said, looking mad.

"Well, because...they're not here anymore," Hina answered. " Sayaka . She's the one who came up to the dining hall. And then later...she wound up dead..."

"Then... Sayaka is the one who took the knife...?" Makoto asked.

"That's the only possibility," Sakura said. "And thinking back on it, she was acting kind of unusual... When she came into the dining hall, she didn't even look at us. She just went straight to the kitchen. As she left, she said she just wanted a drink of water. But most likely..."

"Then the person who took the knife was the victim herself!" Taka yelled.

"That raises another question. Why did she take the knife in the first place?" I asked.

"I'm sure...I'm sure she just took it for self-defense..." Makoto answered.

"So you're saying the knife she took...was then taken from her, and she was killed with it?" Byakuya asked. "In that case, you may not have taken the knife, but you still could have killed her ."

"What!?" Makoto yelled.

"S-See!? He did do it, a-after all!" Toko stuttered.

"No, you're wrong!" Makoto defended.

"So that's how you would twist the argument and send us all off in the wrong direction...!? Hm-hmm... You possess a most terrifying talent..." Hifumi growled.

"I had enough of this! All you...idiots have been doing during this entire trial is putting the blame on others, especially on Makoto! Don't you realize that it's still too early to do that!?" I yelled.

"She's right. It's still too early to decide conclusively that Makoto is the killer, would you say?" Kyoko asked. "Because, you see, if the room did belong to the killer, then they did something most bewildering . And until we unravel that little mystery, you simply can't declare that he's the killer."

"Bewildering? What the hell are you talking about!?" Mondo asked.

"Something was missing from the scene of the crime that by all rights should have been there. You know what I'm talking about, don't you?" Kyoko asked, eying me.

Something that should have been at the scene but it wasn't... That must be the crucial point. I have to figure out what it is.

-Hangman's Gambit! -

H A I R

THAT'S THE ANSWER!

- COMPLETE!! -

"Of course! There wasn't a single hair on the floor!" I answered.

"So...the culprit removed some evidence?" Chihiro asked.

"Yes. And if I were the culprit... Why would I need to get rid of all the hair in my own room? It wouldn't be unusual at all to find my hair at the crime scene, if the crime scene is in my room," Makoto explained.

"The reason all the hair was gone...was to remove any trace that Sayaka had ever been there. That makes sense, does it not?" Celeste asked.

"No. If that were the case, they would have had to do something about the body itself, not just her hair," Kyoko pointed out.

"Ah-ha-ha! Yes, very true, very true!" Hifumi agreed.

"Okay, then why wasn't there any hair on the ground?" Leon asked.

"The killer got rid of it all, of course. To remove any trace that 'they' had been there ," Kyoko answered.

"Wait, then that means...!" Mondo realized.

"Precisely. It's simply beyond reason to believe that the room's owner and the killer are one and the same," Kyoko said.

"Then...Makoto isn't the culprit?" Chihiro questioned.

"But are you sure we can decide something so important based solely on the absence of some hair!?" Taka asked.

"No. There are other reasons that prove why Makoto couldn't have done it," Kyoko replied.

"I would like to hear these reasons..." Sakura said.

"Do you remember anything remarkable about the bathroom at the scene? Sayaka was attacked in the main room first, then fled into the bathroom, right?"

"Yeah, then they ran after her, got into the bathroom, and stabbed her..." Mondo recapped.

"And how did the killer get into the bathroom? Did they have any trouble with it?"

"What do you mean...?" Celeste asked.

"It's fairly certain that the killer had some trouble getting into the bathroom... There was clear evidence left behind. Do you remember, Makoto?"

Makoto thought about it before he answered. "Evidence that the killer had trouble getting into the bathroom... You're talking about the doorknob , right?"

"Huh? The doorknob? What doorknob?" Hiro asked.

"The doorknob for my bathroom... It was completely broken. See how the top part was unscrewed, and the doorknob's about ready to fall off?" Makoto asked, showing the doorknob picture on his e-Handbook.

"Oh yeah, true... But what does it mean?" Chihiro asked.

"In trying to bypass the lock, they ended up nearly removing the entire doorknob. This is another most bewildering act for the room's owner. It proves Makoto is beyond suspicion," Kyoko explained.

"So what, you're saying he wouldn't break the door in his own room?" Leon asked. "But if the only choice you have is to break it, you break it! There's nothing "bewildering" about it!"

"You still don't see? Okay, then... Let's take another look at how the incident unfolded. Hopefully that will help you understand..." Kyoko suggested.

- Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument! -

Kyoko: The incident took place in Makoto's room. Sayaka was first attacked in the main room . She then fled into the bathroom.

Mondo: Then the killer ran after her... And they got into the bathroom.

Leon: At that point, the killer had to try and bust down the door ...because Sayaka had locked it .

Truth Bullet: Bathroom Doorframe

Makoto: NO, THAT'S WRONG!

- BREAK!! -

"The reason my bathroom didn't open wasn't because it was locked. After all, the girl's rooms are the only ones with locking bathrooms, right?" Makoto asked.

"Yes... Now that you mention it, that is true," Sakura confirmed.

"Then...why didn't your bathroom door open...?" Chihiro asked.

"Because it was stuck ," Makoto answered.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Leon questioned.

"My bathroom door doesn't fit in the frame quite right. Monokuma over there can testify to that."

"Yep! True as true can be!" Monokuma testified. "But ya know...you're supposed to be the Ultimate Lucky Student , right? But to have such a cruddy door... Puhuhu...! That's not lucky at all!"

"So the reason the door didn't open was just because it was stuck... But the killer didn't know that, and assumed it was locked. So they tore apart the doorknob to get in," Kyoko explained.

"Okay, but why would the killer even think the door was locked in the first place?" Celeste asked. "Everyone should have known you can't lock any of the boy's bathrooms."

"The killer could easily make that mistake, thanks to one important detail about the scene of the crime..." Kyoko said.

"The killer must not have realized that it was my room ," Makoto said.

"What!? Are you saying the culprit didn't even know where he was? That's...inconceivable!" Hifumi cried out.

"And yet, he's absolutely right," Kyoko said.

"SAYWHAAA!?" Hifumi yelled.

"Well, to be more specific... What the killer didn't know was that Makoto and Sayaka had switched rooms," Kyoko clarified. "Which is what led to the misunderstanding about the bathroom. If Sayaka had been in her own room, then..."

"Then there would have been a lock on the door, and they would've had to break through...!" Taka concluded.

"So they had no idea how unnecessary their actions were..." Sakura said.

"Ultimately, we can't know if it came open by force or simply by accident, but... The killer must have been considerably confused, with no idea how they actually got the door opened," Kyoko said.

"Regardless, it was a pointless act. Wasting time trying to break down a door that wasn't locked is..." Byakuya trailed off.

"...definitely something I wouldn't do, since I would've known exactly why it wasn't opening. Right?" Makoto asked.

"That is...a definite possibility," Byakuya admitted.

"So the killer would have to be someone who didn't know they'd switched rooms...?" Chihiro questioned.

"Then Makoto 'couldn't' have done it...!" Toko realized.

"About time..." I muttered.

"Okay, then who 'did' do it!?" Mondo yelled.

"I'm sorry, but I give up! Quit without saving!" Hifumi said. I stifled my laugh.

"But...what happens if we can't decide on who we think did it...?" Chihiro asked.

"Well then, why don't we just vote right now? Majority rules!" Taka suggested.

"Majority rules? Do you really think that's a good idea...?" Leon asked.

"He's right. If we guess wrong, all of us except the blackened will get executed," I reminded.

"Yeah! Our necks are on the line here! Someone seriously needs to do something. For serious...!" Hiro suggested.

"Does no one have any other thoughts or questions? It does not matter how trivial they may seem..." Celeste asked.

"Oh! As a matter of fact, I do have one question!" Hina said.

"Oh...you..." Celeste said, disappointedly.

"You don't gotta sound so disappointed!" Hina yelled.

"It's fine, it's fine, just ask your question!" Taka ordered.

"Oh yeah! Okay, so, umm... Well, I was just wondering, how'd the culprit get into Makoto's room in the first place?"

"Hmm... Yes, how 'did' the killer get inside?" Sakura asked.

"Maybe Sayaka just dropped the key somewhere and the culprit picked it up. That's possible, right?" Leon suggested.

"I don't think so. That seems way too convenient," Taka said.

"Then...maybe someone picked the lock?" Chihiro suggested.

"Negative! If you remember, Monokuma made it quite clear that the locks are all unpickable." Taka objected.

"Fine, how about this? The killer got in the easy way," Hifumi suggested. "They could've knocked and said they wanted to talk or something, and Miss Maizono just...let 'em in!"

"No, that can't be it, either," Makoto said.

"O-ho! Trying to argue against me? Sounds like someone doesn't know his place! Hello!? Why, exactly, can't that be it!?" Hifumi yelled.

"Because Sayaka was already scared , remember? That's why she asked me to switch rooms in the first place," Makoto explained.

- Flashback -

"The same goes for you, Sayaka. No matter who it is, don't open your door for anyone."

"Even if I'm sure it's you, I absolutely won't open it. Otherwise, what's the point of even switching?"

- End of Flashback-

"Knowing what she'd been through, I just can't believe she would have opened the door for anyone," Makoto said.

Is that the real reason why Sayaka asked to switch rooms? Or was there...another reason?

Chapter 11: Class Trial #1 Part 2: Oh, How the Tables Have Turned

"Knowing what she'd been through, I just can't believe she would have opened the door for anyone," Makoto said.

"...What if her being scared was a lie?" Kyoko suggested.

"Huh...? Wh-What the hell is that supposed to mean!? Why would she lie about something like that!?" objected Makoto.

"I know you don't want to consider it, but look at this and tell me...can you still deny the possibility?" Kyoko then pulls out a piece of paper with shaded words from her pocket. There were words on it that read:

"There's something I want to talk to you about, just us two. In five minutes, come see me in my room. Check the nameplates to make sure you don't get the wrong room, okay? Sayaka"

"I found a notepad during my search, and I shaded in the top sheet with a pencil. And these are the words that appeared," Kyoko explained.

"Oh man, I've totally seen people do that on detective shows!" Hina cried out. "When you write, it can leave an imprint. Sketch over the next sheet of paper, and you can see the words! When I saw that, I was like, 'Holy crap! I better make sure I rip the paper out before I use it from now on!'"

"It's a pretty old-fashion technique, but even the classics can be surprisingly useful sometimes. Oh, and I should also mention...I found the notepad on the desk in Makoto's room," Kyoko said.

"Huh?" Makoto said confusedly.

"Which means, only someone who had been in Makoto's room before the incident could have written it," Kyoko explained.

"Then either it was Makoto, who lived there, or Sayaka, who switched rooms for a single night..." Byakuya said.

"So, Makoto...did you write this?" Kyoko asked.

"N-No, I didn't. But-" Before Makoto could continue, I cut him off.

"Of course he didn't. Because the letter has Sayaka's signature on it."

"B-But why? Why would she write that?" Makoto asked.

"The note was likely her way of getting in touch with a certain someone. She must have slid it under their door to let them know she wanted to meet with them in secret," Kyoko explained.

"If you got an invitation like that from the Ultimate Pop Sensation, what young man could resist?" Hifumi asked. "Oh course, I'm only into 2D so it wouldn't have any effect on me!"

"...But can we be sure anyone even got this note?" Celeste asked. "And honestly, even if they did, I do not think they are at all involved in what happened."

"Huh? What makes you say that?" Chihiro asked.

"Hmhm... Would you like to hear what I have to say? Very well, then. Pay attention!" Celeste ordered.

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Celeste: Sayaka and Makoto switched rooms, correct? But in the note, the place they were asked to come to... It specifically says "my" room.

Chihiro: I see... So if someone read that note...then they would have gone to Sayaka's room!

Celeste: Exactly. The room that Makoto was staying in.

Truth Bullet: Dorm Nameplates

Hanako: I TESTIFY AGAINST THAT!

-BREAK!!-

"Actually Celeste, the nameplates on Makoto and Sayaka's rooms got switched," I explained.

"They got...switched?" Celeste asked in shock.

"That's right. The nameplates got switched, just like the rooms themselves. As a result, the nameplate on Sayaka's room actually had Makoto's name. And the nameplate on Makoto's room had Sayaka's," Kyoko explained.

"So what you're saying is, the room Sayaka was staying in, was actually marked as her room," Byakuya confirmed.

"Then...if someone 'did' do what the note said, they would end up at Makoto's room, where Sayaka was..." Chihiro explained.

"Plus, their rooms are right next to each other. So switching the nameplates would be no problem," Kyoko said. "And the one who switched the names was... Well of course it wasn't you, right Makoto?"

"R-Right..." Makoto mumbled.

"Okay...then who did it?" Leon asked.

"Me and Sayaka were the only ones who ever knew about us switching rooms. So the only other person besides me who would even know to switch the nameplates...was Sayaka," Makoto answered.

"You can also infer as much from her note... She specifically tells the reader to check the nameplates. She would only have written that if she knew the nameplates had been switched," Kyoko explained.

"But...why would she switch them in the first place?" Chihiro asked.

"She wanted someone to come to the room she was in, and 'also' hide the fact that it was Makoto's room," Kyoko replied.

"What...?" Makoto gasped.

"Inviting someone to 'your' room, but not telling them you'd switched rooms... Why would anyone do that?" Hina wondered.

"To understand that...we first need to understand what happened after she invited the person into the room. That's where the answer lies..." Kyoko said.

"What happened then was...probably... Whoever she invited over...came in, and...attacked her!" Taka guessed. "We figured it out! We know who did it! Whoever she invited over is the culprit!"

"But we still don't know who it is, ya goddamn idiot..." Mondo said.

"Sayaka fought with her killer in the room, yes? Perhaps the answer to our previous question lies in that initial struggle," Celeste suggested.

"Yes, I think you're right," agreed Kyoko.

"Then...we just have to figure out what happened during the fight, right!?" Hina asked.

"That reminds me... There was a replica sword at the murder scene. Was that perhaps used during the fight?" Sakura asked.

"Oh yeah, what's the deal with that sword?" Mondo asked.

"Sayaka suggested I should hold on to it. I thought it might come in handy if I had to defend myself..." Makoto explained.

"Perhaps the killer used the sword to break Sayaka's right wrist," I suggested.

"How the hell could you know that's what broke her wrist!?" Leon asked.

The reason is that when you look at her wrist, there's no doubt...

-Choose Truth Bullet-

Truth Bullet: Sayaka's Wrist

"THAT'S IT!"

-----

"Take a good look at her broken wrist. It should be pretty clear how it got broken. Right there where her wrist is all swollen, there's glitter on there, see?" I said as I showed everyone the picture on the e-Handbook.

"Is...is that gold?" Chihiro asked.

"It sure is. Specifically, the gold coating from the replica sword," Makoto confirmed. "You barely have to touch that stuff and it'll stick right to you. And there's some on her wrist because..."

"I got it! Because she got hit with the sword, right there on her wrist!" Taka interrupted.

"I see, I see... And so the truth draws ever closer..." Hifumi mumbled.

"Alright! Then it's about time to solve this mystery!" Hiro cried out!

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Hiro: When the fighting broke out...the culprit grabbed the sword. And that's when the first blow was dealt! A sword-based sneak attack!

Truth Bullet: Replica Sword Sheath

Hanako: I TESTIFY AGAINST THAT!

-BREAK!!-

"I don't believe the fight started with the sword," I said.

"Huh? Why not?" Hiro asked.

"Because the sword's sheath had been scratched." I pulled out the sword sheath picture. "You see? There's a gash in it. Like someone cut into it with a sharp object."

"Something sharp... You mean, like the kitchen knife? That was the only sharp thing found at the scene..." Chihiro suggested.

"Stop jumpin' ahead! Slow down and explain it so I get what the hell's goin' on!" Mondo yelled.

"If the sword was used first, there wouldn't be any explanation for the scratch on the sheath. In order to attack someone with the sword, you had to take it out of the sheath first," I explained.

"That's true. With the sheath on, it'd be heavy and bulky and useless as shit," Mondo said.

"Okay, so how 'did' the sheath get damaged?" Hifumi asked.

"If they got attacked with the kitchen knife, maybe they grabbed the sword as a defensive impulse," Kyoko suggested. "In that situation, there wouldn't be any time to actually unsheathe the sword."

"So you're saying the sword was initially used to defend against an attack from the knife..." Sakura said.

"Which means whoever had the kitchen knife...was the one who attacked first!" Hifumi said.

"I think I got it! So here's how it all played out... The culprit came in, found the kitchen knife hidden there somewhere... Then they took the knife and attacked Sayaka before she knew what was happening! So she grabbed the sword to defend herself, but then the culprit took that from her, too...! Then, after they broke her wrist with the sword, they took the knife and...finished it..." Taka explained.

"Sorry, but I don't think Sayaka used the sword to defend herself," Kyoko rejected.

"Wh-!? How the hell can you not think that!?" Leon cried out.

"Because she never held the sword at all. There's a certain part of her body that makes this clear," Kyoko explained.

"You're talking about her palms, right?" Makoto guessed. "The palms of her hands were perfectly clean, so I don't think she ever picked up the sword..."

"How can you know that by just looking at her palms...?" Hina asked.

"Like I said before, the gold coating on the sword comes right out. All you have to do is touch it. In fact, if you look you'll notice that a lot of the gold has already come off the handle. It's safe to assume that's because whoever used the sword got some of it on their own hands. There's really no way she could have picked it up and come away completely clean," Makoto explained.

"Maybe she w-washed her hands after she e-escaped into the bathroom..." Toko suggested.

"I...highly doubt that," I said.

"Why d-do you say that? Is it b-because you think I'm u-ugly...?" Toko muttered.

"What, no! This has nothing to do with being ugly-which, by the way, you're not. It's a whole different reason," I explained.

And that reason has to do with a certain regulation that happens to the bathrooms at nighttime...

-----

-The water was off ✔

-Water can't remove it

-She's afraid of water

"THAT'S IT!"

-----

"The Monokuma file says that Sayaka's time of death was around 1:30 a.m., at "nighttime." And the water shuts off at nighttime, right?" I explained.

"Oh...I didn't know that. Actually...I haven't taken a shower here yet..." admitted Toko.

"Oh my..." Hifumi said in disgust.

"Y-You're no different! You s-smell like a big f-fat ugly donkey!" Toko insulted.

"Hmm? I'm not sure whether to take that as an insult or a compliment!" Hifumi said.

"An insult, obviously..." Leon answered.

"...So anyway, if Sayaka never touched the sword, then that means... The killer is the only one who used the sword. But hold on. If that's right, then the one who damaged the sheath with the kitchen knife was..." Taka trailed off.

"Sayaka...? She had the kitchen knife...?" Makoto gasped.

"But...we already said that the attack started with..." Chihiro trailed off.

"The person with the knife attacked first, and the sword was used as an impromptu defense," Byakuya summarized.

"Then the one who attacked first was...!" Hifumi gasped.

"Sayaka..." Makoto said.

"Now do you understand? She wasn't a blameless victim in this," Kyoko said.

"No, far from it. It's almost as if...she had been planning to commit a murder of her own," Byakuya spoke. "She took the knife from the kitchen, then invited the culprit to the room she was staying in. And if it's true that she had the kitchen knife and attacked without provocation..."

"Indeed...these are all the actions of an assailant," Sakura said.

"Which brings up another point... Makoto, Sayaka was the one who suggested you two switch rooms, correct?" Celeste confirmed. "Maybe the reason she wanted to switch rooms...was so that she could pin the crime on you. That is a possibility, is it not?"

Makoto's eyes went up in shock. "Sayaka wanted to-on me!?"

"..." Kyoko listened to the conversation.

"That would also explain why she would switch the nameplates. She wanted to get whoever she had targeted to come to Makoto's room, where she was staying... And by committing the murder there, instead of her room, that would implicate Makoto. But for that to work, the target had to be lured out while still keeping the room swap a secret. If the target knew she had switched rooms, they would have become suspicious right away," Celeste explained.

"So all that's why she switched the names...?" Mondo asked.

"But doesn't that plan seem a little risky?" Hifumi questioned. "For one thing, even if her plan worked, Mr. Naegi would just tell everyone they'd switched rooms."

"I don't know... I'm not sure our softhearted Makoto is capable of that kind of cutthroat behavior. I'm sure Sayaka realized the same thing, which is why out of all of us, she asked him to switch rooms," Byakuya evaluated.

"..." Makoto looked at the ground.

"P-Plus...she 'was' the Ultimate Pop Sensation... A t-totally forgettable kid, o-or a national superstar... Who are you m-more likely to believe?" Toko asked.

"Wait, then...you're saying she had this all planned out...?" Hifumi asked.

"Holy shit!" Mondo yelled.

"But in the end, her plan backfired. She launched her attack with the knife, then found herself under attack in turn. That must be when her wrist got broken, and she was forced to drop the knife," explained Celeste.

"The tables were suddenly turned on her, and she died at the hands of the one she'd planned to murder..." Sakura concluded.

"J-Just hold on! That can't be true!" Makoto objected. "Because...! Because..."

"Hey, hey! You guys have totally derailed the argument!" Monokuma interfered. "You're being super boring right now! Come on, hurry up and decide who did it! Wouldn't it be awful if I had to punish you all just because you ran out of time!?"

"Oh yeah... We gotta decide who we think did it..." Hiro reminded.

"Makoto, right now you just need to concentrate on figuring out the answer to this mystery. If we can't uncover who murdered Sayaka, it's over for all of us..." Kyoko said.

"She's right. If you want to avenge Sayaka, don't let your feelings get the better of you!" I advised.

Makoto sighed.

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Leon: It's easy just to say, "Hey, decide who did it!" But there just aren't any more clues!

Truth Bullet: Dying Message

Makoto: NO, THAT'S WRONG!

-BREAK!!-

"There still might be one clue left- Sayaka's dying message," Makoto said.

"Dining-wait, what did you say?" Leon asked.

"The dying message. She wrote something on the wall behind her, remember? 11037, written in her own blood. There must be a clue about the killer hidden in there..." Kyoko explained as she showed everyone the bloody numbers.

"Well, before we get too far into that, I need to ask... Can we really be sure that Sayaka is the one who wrote it?" Celeste asked.

"Her left index finger had blood on it. That could only be because she used that finger to write the message." Makoto answered.

"I see... She broke her right wrist during the fight, so she'd have to use her left hand to write..." Taka said.

"Sure, I think we can all agree Sayaka wrote it, but still... What the heck do those numbers mean? 11037?" Hina questioned.

"Hey Chihiro, you're a computer nerd or whatever, right? You should know all about numbers and shit!" Mondo told Chihiro.

"N-No, that's not... Yes, I'm a programmer, but I don't see any kind of meaning in these numbers," Chihiro said.

"...Of course, It's because they're not numbers," Kyoko explained.

"Oh! Yeah, it looks like..." Hifumi gasped.

"Huh? What? What!?" Mondo yelled impatiently.

"No, it's just...look at the numbers assuming they're 'not' numbers. Don't these first two, 11, look less like two numbers and more like one letter?" Hifumi observed.

"Ah, you're right! The connecting line is barely there, so I assumed it was 11, but... Looking at it now, you could also read it as an N!" Chihiro explained.

"Whoa! You might've finally just said something worth a shit!" Mondo praised.

"Bwehehe! Our little grey cells are really getting excited now!" Hifumi laughed.

"But even if that really is an N, "N037" doesn't make any more sense than before..." Sakura said.

I took a closer look at the photo and began to turn the picture to see it from a different angle. When I turned the picture upside down, I finally found out the meaning of the message. From the corner of my eye, I saw Kyoko look at me with a smirk on her face and nodding her head. I turned to Makoto to see he was thinking very hard.

"...Rotate the image 180 degrees," Kyoko instructed.

Makoto did as he was told and let out a gasp. "Oh my god... Now I see! She wrote down the killer's name..." Makoto said.

"Huh!? You just shot past the clue part and right on to who did it!" Hina cried out.

"So wh-whose name did she write...?" Toko asked.

"HERE'S MY ANSWER!" Makoto called out. "The key to solving this mystery was simply to rotate the writing 180 degrees. If you turn the message around... it becomes the letters L-E-O-N. L-E-O-N... or more accurately..."

.

.

.

"Leon!"

 

Chapter 12: Class Trial #1 Part 3: The Conclusion

"If you turn the message around... it becomes the letters L-E-O-N . L-E-O-N... or more accurately, Leon !" Makoto cried out.

"Say, isn't that your first name, Kuwata?" I asked with a smirk.

"Wh-!? What the hell are you talking about!? I-It's just a coincidence! It's just a bunch of random squiggles that happen to look like my name!" Leon denied.

"No, it's not random at all. She wrote that message on the wall behind her as she was leaning up against it. In that position, she couldn't move to write normally, and had to write upside down, as it were. And as a result... When you look at it standing in front of her, it ends up getting flipped. Try it for yourself, if you want. Write something sitting like her, and the letters will be inverted ," Kyoko explained.

"Th-That sounds like one hell of a stretch to me...! I'm the killer!? You can't go and say shit like that!" Leon yelled.

"If you're 'not' the killer, then why did you try to destroy the evidence?" Kyoko asked.

"...Huh?"

"You know what I'm talking about, right Hanako? The evidence Leon tried to get rid of?"

The evidence that Leon tried to get rid of is...

- Choose Truth Bullet -

Truth Bullet: Burnt Shirt Piece

"THAT'S IT!"

-----

"It's the burnt shirt piece I found laying on the ground in front of the incinerator, right?" I asked.

"As the killer stabbed Sayaka, they must have gotten some of her blood on them. And to dispose of the shirt covered in the victim's blood, they threw it into the incinerator," Kyoko explained.

"But one piece burned off and got left behind..." Celeste said.

"And the killer didn't notice. If they had, they most certainly would have panicked. Isn't that right, Leon?" Kyoko asked him.

"Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-!?" Leon was now sweating and looked pale.

"But is one scrap of fabric enough to conclude that Leon is guilty?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah... I mean, Leon's not the only one wearing a white button-up..." Chihiro observed.

"Th-That's right! There are plenty of other people here with shirts like mine! With just that one little charred piece, there's no way you can say for sure who it belongs to!" Leon yelled.

"You're right. That alone isn't enough. But there are some other points that may reveal the truth..." Makoto said.

"Are you finally starting to understand? The answers to all the riddles are right here," Kyoko said.

"Yeah, I think so..." Makoto muttered. "I GOT IT! If we look closely at how the shirt was disposed of , we should be able to figure out who the killer is," Makoto explained.

"O-Oh, yeah...that's a good point. I think I know what you're going to say... You can't reach the incinerator without opening the gate in front of the trash room, right? And obviously you wouldn't be able to hit the switch to turn it on, either. You'd need the key to get in. And the one with the key was...the person on cleaning duty! So the killer had to be whoever was in charge of taking care of the trash! Right!?" Leon accused.

"Hahaha. Interesting... Hifumi laughed, but then he realized that Leon was talking about him. "...Gweh!?"

Great, now the blame is on Hifumi! But there's another way to use the incinerator without being the one on cleaning duty. And that'll prove that Leon's the real killer!

- Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument! -

Leon: The key to the trash room... Whoever was the one on cleaning duty must've had it, right?

Toko: So the only one wh-who could get to the in-ncinerator was...the p-person in charge of the t-trash?

Leon: And you'd have to get close to the incinerator in order to destroy the evidence.

Truth Bullet: Shattered Crystal Ball

Hanako: I TESTIFY AGAINST THAT!

- BREAK!! -

"Hold on a minute! I think I know how someone could dispose of the evidence without using the trash room key!" I said.

"But if you can't get past the gate, you couldn't possibly turn on the incinerator, could you?" Sakura questioned.

"Yes, you could. If you use this." I pulled out the fragments of the crystal ball from my pocket and showed it to everyone.

"What is it, some kinda glass ball? It's busted as hell..." Mondo commented.

"Actually, it was supposed to be a crystal ball . But uh..." Hiro clarified nervously.

"But...how would you use it?" Chihiro asked.

It was used a certain way, which was...

-----

-Divine with it

-Roll it

-Throw it ✔

"THAT'S IT!"

-----

"The killer simply aimed the incinerator switch and threw the crystal ball, which they found in the laundry room, through the gap of the gate. All they had to do was hit the switch, and the incinerator would come to life," I explained.

"Someone threw that...through a gap in the gate!?" Hifumi cried out.

"Remember what you said before, Hifumi?" I reminded him.

- Flashback -

"Huh!? Someone turned the incinerator on! Very strange... I'm quite certain it was off last time I was down here. Perhaps it was the work of a fairy..."

- End of Flashback-

"Hifumi had the key, so the only way the incinerator could have turned on without his knowledge...was because the killer was able to hit the switch 'without' opening the gate. Once they'd gotten the incinerator going, all they had to do was ball up the shirt and toss it right in!" I explained.

"H-Hey, come on...what the hell is this?" Leon asked in fear.

"All you have to do is look at the scene to know that the killer never actually went inside the trash room. The shards of broken glass, the incinerator left running, the piece of shirt that escaped the fire... If the killer had been on cleaning duty, the evidence would have been taken care of much more thoroughly," Kyoko explained.

"W-Wait, no...just hold on!" Leon yelled.

"But the distance from the gate to the incinerator has to be at least... thirty feet , right? The pinpoint accuracy you'd need to throw a glass ball that far and hit something that small... Could someone really do that?" Chihiro asked.

"Th-That's right! There's no way! It'd be impossible!" agreed Leon.

"Difficult, maybe. Impossible? I don't think so. Because the killer is... Because the killer is the Ultimate Baseball Star . Isn't that right, Leon!?" Makoto yelled.

"D-Do you have any idea how stupid you sound right now!?" Leon yelled in fear.

"A target thirty feet away would surely be little challenge for the Ultimate Baseball Star," Celeste said.

"Y-Y-Y-You can't be serious! I...! I...! I'm not the killer! These goddamn shit-for-brains have got it all wrong, I'm telling you!" Leon yelled.

"You still won't admit it? Okay then... Makoto, go ahead and review the incident one more time to make his crime perfectly clear. And with that, we can end this..." Kyoko instructed.

"Listen to me! What the hell do you mean, end this!?" Leon cried out.

"Say what you want, Leon. But all the questions have been answered, and the truth has been revealed. Now here's what happened...!" Makoto said.

- CLOSING ARGUMENT! CLIMAX INFERENCE! -

"HERE'S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED! I think I'd better take one more look back at the case from the very beginning... Last night, the killer went to the room Sayaka was in. In other words, my room . From what we can tell, Sayaka invited that person there intending to kill them. She attacked them with the knife she'd taken from the kitchen earlier...but then something happened that she wasn't prepared for. They grabbed the fake sword I'd put in my room, and fought back. During the struggle, a strike from the sword broke Sayaka's right wrist ... And that's when she lost her grip on the kitchen knife...

"Finding herself cornered, Sayaka panicked and ran into the bathroom . The killer went after her, but couldn't get the bathroom door open. What they didn't know was that my bathroom door got stuck easily , and there was a trick to opening it. Sayaka knew about that because I'd told her, but of course the killer had no way of knowing. So instead, the killer forced the door open, took the kitchen knife...and stabbed Sayaka. But with what strength she had remaining, Sayaka left a dying message ... To keep the killer from noticing, she wrote it on the wall behind her ... And with that, all her strength was gone.

"With Sayaka dead, the killer quickly began destroying the evidence. First, they took off their shirt , which was covered in their victim's blood. Then they took the lint roller in my room and cleaned up the entire area. They wanted to make sure they got rid of any trace they'd ever been there...

"Afterwards, the killer headed to the trash room to destroy their bloody shirt. They tried to burn the shirt using the incinerator there. But the trash room was blocked off by an especially sturdy gate, preventing access to the incinerator. So they came up with a plan to use Hiro's crystal ball , which he'd left in the laundry room. The killer managed to throw the ball through the gap in the gate and hit the incinerator's switch. For any normal person, that'd be an impossible throw, but the killer had the confidence to take a shot. And that's because the killer...was the Ultimate Baseball Star . The crystal ball, thrown with absolute precision, hit the switch on the incinerator...which then quickly roared to life. Having destroyed the final piece of evidence, they left the area with, I imagine, a sigh of relief. But there was one thing they missed... Part of the shirt they'd thrown into the fire burnt away and fell out of the incinerator. The killer didn't notice this, and so left behind a piece of indisputable evidence.

"Isn't that right... Leon !?"

- COMPLETE!! -

"It would appear that Hiro simply forgot his crystal ball in the laundry room. You went there to try and wash the blood out of your shirt, and that's where you saw it right? Seeing the ball, you thought of a way to take care of everything..." Makoto said.

"So, Leon...do you object to anything that's been said?" asked Kyoko.

"Do I object...? Hell yes I object! Of course I do! I object, I object, I object! I mean, all of this is just a bunch of stupid theories! You need evidence! Where's the evidence!? Without evidence, it's all bullshit! It's bullshit and I refuse to acknowledge it!" Leon yelled in anger.

"Well then, I guess this is as good a time as any to present the evidence that proves you did it. Makoto, Hanako...I believe you're in possession of that evidence? When the killer removed the screws from the doorknob, they didn't use anything from Makoto's room to do it. Instead, they must have used something that belonged to them," Kyoko said.

"I refuse to acknowledge you! You're stupid! Stupid stupid stupid! Stupidstupidstupidstupidstupidstupidstupid!!!"

Geez, what a pain!

- The Moment of Truth! -

"Where's your proof!?"

"You kiddin' me!?"

"Not a chance!"

"It wasn't me!"

"Stupid!"

"You lie!"

"Stop talking!"

"Shut up!"

"Without evidence, it's all bullshit! It's bullshit and I refuse to acknowledge it!"

Truth Bullet: Toolkit

Makoto/Hanako: THIS SHOULD PROVE IT! /TAKE THAT!

- BREAK!! -

"The screws on the bathroom doorknob were removed," Makoto said.

"Yes, but what kind of tool did they used..." I asked in an innocent voice.

"I mean...it had to be a screwdriver, right?" Mondo answered.

"Oh yeah. I'm pretty sure the toolkits we got each had one inside," Hiro said.

"Then that must be what he used! There aren't any other tools anywhere," Hifumi said.

"But the toolkit in my room had clearly never been used..." Makoto said.

"That's because the culprit didn't know it was your room! They thought they were in Sayaka's room!" Taka explained.

"Only the boys got toolkits, so the killer naturally assumed there wouldn't be one in there..." said Chihiro.

"Okay, then whose toolkit did the killer use?" Makoto asked.

"Stupidstupidstupid!" Leon kept crying out.

"The only answer is that it has to be their own toolkit!" I answered.

"Stupidstupidstupidstupidstupid!!!"

"Leon, would you mind showing us your toolkit? If I'm right about this, then...the screwdriver will show some evidence of being used!" Makoto said.

"Stupidstupidstu...uh, huh?"

"And if you say you used it for something else, you'll have to explain exactly when, where, and why..." Byakuya ordered.

"And let me say this right now... "I lost it" isn't an excuse at this point," Kyoko added.

"Stu...pid. Stu...pid?" Leon's face lost all color as he knew that he had no excuses left to give.

"So, you have no rebuttal?" Byakuya asked with a smirk.

"Then it would seem...we are finished here," Celeste said.

"Puhuhu..." Monokuma began to laugh. "Looks like you've reached your verdict! Then are we ready to cast our votes? You all have a lever in front of you. Use it to make your selection! Oh, just to remind you all... Make triple sure you vote for someone! You wouldn't want to be punished for something so minor, right? Okay! Then let's get excited! Who will be chosen as the blackened? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one? What's it gonna be? What's it gonna beeee!?"

Everyone pulled on their levers. A few seconds later, a slot machine came out of nowhere. Its slots began to turn until Leon's head came up in a row. The word "GUILTY" flashed at the bottom of the slots. The votes were right.

"Uh-oh! Looks like you got it right on the money! The blackened in this case, the one that killed Sayaka...was no other than Leon Kuwata!" Monokuma confirmed.

Everyone looked at Leon with fear, anger, or disgust. Leon just had his mouth open while sweating hard. "...Huh? H-Hold on just a second..."

"Leon... Leon, did you really...kill Sayaka?" Makoto asked.

"I don't believe it..." Hina said while covering her mouth.

"Son of a bitch...! What the hell is wrong with you!?" Mondo yelled.

"I-I didn't have a choice... It was kill or be killed! S-So that's why...I killed her first," Leon confessed. "None of you are any different! One wrong step, and you'd be the one standing here! It was complete chance that I wound up like this! I was just...unlucky! That's all..."

"Grr...!" Mondo growled.

"Excuses, excuses..." I said.

"H-Hey, come on...! You really expect me to just accept my death!?" Leon yelled.

"It's all because of that video... Even I couldn't handle what I saw in there. If I was her, and the video actually had something to do with me, I can't even imagine... The one thing that was more important to her than anything else-her dreams, her friends... To have to see something like that happen to them... And Sayaka..." Makoto explained.

"Boy howdy! The entertainment industry must sure be terrifying, huh!?" Monokuma asked. "I mean, to try and kill someone just because of those relationships ! She seemed so nice and lovely on the outside, but inside...she'd descended into pure madness!"

"Wh...what did you say?" Makoto glared at Monokuma.

"I understand, really I do. Yup yup! You're in utter despair thanks to Sayaka's betrayal, right? Compassion, intimacy, love... The stronger those feelings, the stronger the despair when they collapse!"

"Stop screwing with us! This is all your fault! Sayaka being forced to do something like that... All of it... Everything...! It's all your fault!" Makoto cried out as he lunged at Monokuma but was stopped by Kyoko's strong grip.

"That's enough. If you really want to make her enemies pay for what they've done, you need to let it go for now," Kyoko said.

"...Dammit!" Makoto yelled.

"Ahh, that was a close one! I thought for sure you were gonna give me a good walloping!" Monokuma showed his claws in a threatening manner. "Just barely avoided punishment, you did! Now then! Since you so magnificently revealed the identity of the killer during the class trial...the blackened, Leon Kuwata, will receive his punishment!"

"P-Punishment?" Leon stuttered. "You mean...e-execution? W-Wait a second! I didn't have a choice! I HAD to kill her!"

"I'm sorry... You had to kill her?" I repeated.

"Y-Yeah, that's it! I was just protecting myself in the heat of the moment! It was self-defense!" Leon excused.

"How, exactly, was it self-defense?" asked Celeste. "When you forced your way to the bathroom, did you or did you not use your own toolkit? After she'd shut herself in the bathroom, you went out of your way to head back to your own room... Then you came all the way back, broke into the bathroom, and killed her. Am I wrong? You had any number of chances to stop what you were doing. But you chose not to. Is it not because you had an unclouded intent to commit murder?"

"N-No! That's not...!" Leon tried to speak, but Makoto cut him off.

"Stop it... I've had enough of this."

"Oh? Are you sure? You were closer to her than anyone, were you not?" Celeste asked in surprise. "He killed your precious Sayaka. Do you understand?"

"I can't say Leon is solely to blame. Of course, I don't plan on blaming Sayaka, either. Because... Because the one to blame...is him!" Makoto shouted as he pointed to Monokuma.

"S'waaah!?" Monokuma tilted his head in confusion.

"If it weren't for you...this never would have happened to Sayaka, OR Leon! We shouldn't be fighting each other... We should be fighting against the one who put us in this situation! The mastermind!" Makoto shouted.

"Uh-oh! Did you awaken to your sense of justice!?" Monokuma asked. "Well, it just so happens that there's nothing more unethical than an unwavering sense of justice. After all, it's people with that sort of mentality that perpetuate war all over the world. Is that the kind of justice that's awakened within you!?"

"Just...shut up!" Makoto snarled.

"Okay, well, anyway. More importantly...! Let's hurry up and get to what everyone's been waiting for! The punishment!"

"I'm begging you...! Please, don't do this!" Leon begged.

"No more begging! No more excuses! You must pay the penalty for breaking the rules! Society demands it!"

"S-Stop, please...!"

"Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for Leon Kuwata, the Ultimate Baseball Star!"

"No no no no no no no!"

"Let's give it everything we've got! It's...PUNISHMENT TIIIME!"

"NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Chapter 13: Class Trial Aftermath

The courtroom was so silent that one could hear a pin drop. Leon Kuwata, the Ultimate Baseball Star, had been executed before our very eyes. His cries of pain continued to play in my head. I stood, frozen as my body was shaking from nervousness. The feeling inside of me... the true face of despair.

"Wooohooo! Extreeeeeeemmmmmeeeee!" Monokuma cried out in excitement, causing me to snap out of my trance. "Man, my adrenaline is pumping right outta control!"

"Uwah...! Uwaaaaaahhh!" Hifumi shrieked.

"Wh-Wh-What's going o-on!?" Toko stuttered in fear.

"I-I can't take this anymore...! Do we really have to keep doing this? I just can't take it!" Chihiro cried.

"Well hey, if you don't like it...all you gotta do is swear to cut ties with the outside world and accept living here forever! But that's only if every single one of you can get on board with that. Puhuhuhu... Waahahahaha! Bwaaahahaha!" Monokuma laughed.

"Man, fuck you... Why the fuck are you doing all this evil shit to us!?" Mondo questioned.

"Evil? You make it sound like I'm some dark, awful, secret society type of guy! Or in this case, a dark, awful, secret society type of BEAR!" joked Monokuma.

"Um, so why are you putting an upstanding young citizen like me through such a grueling ordeal?" Hifumi asked while shaking in fear.

"It seems like you're trying to use common sense to make sense of something that doesn't make sense! That's like trying to put a mile on a scale! I just don't think it's possible..."

"Hey, uh, I don't think what you're saying and what I'm saying quite fit together," Hifumi said.

"You piece of shit! I don't know who you are but I'm gonna pound your ass into the ground!" Mondo threatened.

"Puhuhu. You must really hate me to get so angry, huh?" Monokuma giggled. "But if you do that, you're barking waaay up the wrong tree. What happened, happened because more than one of you decided you wanted to get out, right? No matter how much time passes, you can't cut free of your regrets from the outside world. You're to blame!"

"Of course we can't cut f-free of the outside world! Being trapped in this insane p-place...!" Toko grumbled.

"Hmmm... You're trapped, are you? Well, I'm sure once you learn all the mysteries of this school, your thinking will change for sure. You'll think, "Boy, isn't it so wonderful how we all get to live here forever!?""

"What are you trying to say...?" Taka asked.

"I feel like there's some deeper meaning hidden in there... Just like before..." Kyoko said.

-------

"Okay, well, anyway. More importantly...! Let's hurry up and get to what everyone's been waiting for! The punishment!"

-------

"When you say "everyone"...who exactly are you referring to?" Kyoko asked.

"Sorry, I said everything I've got to say! I need to save some of the fun for later! Bwaahahaha!" Monokuma then disappeared, leaving all of us in the courtroom.

We were frozen in our spots, unable to move. The only sounds that filled the room were the sounds of grunts and crying. This was our reality now, and boy is it a nightmare kind of reality.

=======

After a while, we all headed out of the courtroom and went our separate ways. I went to my room, locked the door, and flopped onto the bed. Three people were brutally killed in the span of 24 hours. They were our classmates, our friends. They had so much to live for, and their lives got taken away so soon. And now, I'm pretty sure Professor Akira is dead as well.

As I stared up at the ceiling, a thought ran through my head that I didn't want to believe, but it was the dark truth: the killing game has officially started...

 

 

 

...and things will go drastically downhill from here.

 

 

To Survive

THE END

Surviving Students: 13

To Be Continued

Chapter 14: A Whole New World (Every Turn, a Surprise)

Notes:

I'm sorry I had to do that to the title. I couldn't resist...

After what felt like forever, I managed to lift myself out of my bed and walk over to the dining hall. Mostly everyone was already there, so I gave Hiro back his broken glass ball, took my usual seat and waited. After a while, most of the students arrived. Makoto was the last one to come.

"Sorry I'm late..." Makoto said as he entered.

"Hey...are you okay, Makoto?" Hina asked.

"You sure took your sweet time! I was just about to get you and drag you back here!" Taka yelled.

"You can't do that! After everything that happened today, he should be allowed to come whenever he wants!" I yelled at him.

"I-It's alright Hanako. There's no need for that," Makoto said.

"So, Makoto, what happened? Was your room fixed up like he said?" Taka asked.

-------

Oh, I almost forgot! Since the class trial is over, I'll go ahead and dispose of all of the corpses ! It's okay, no need to thank me! Just seeing your delighted, smiling faces is thanks enough for me! After all, nobody wants to look at a rotting corpse every day! That can't be good for your health... Nyohohoho!

-------

"I imagine it would be pretty hard to sleep with a rotting corpse in your bathroom!" Taka laughed, trying to brighten the mood but failed miserably.

"Jesus, that's fucked up, man. Why would you say something like that?" Mondo asked with disgust.

"My room was...spotless. There wasn't anything left. Like the whole thing... never happened ," Makoto answered.

"It must be tough staying there, knowing what happened. Why don't you just stay in Sayaka's room?" Sakura suggested.

"Well...staying there, with her scent still hanging in the air... That would hurt just as much. Plus... I've decided that I can't turn away from her death..." Makoto said with determination.

"M-Makoto... Hey, cheer up! Getting depressed isn't gonna help anything, right? If we all work together, I'm sure we'll find a way out of here! So everyone just...try and cheer up and get back on track!" Hina said, trying to encourage everyone.

"Is that honestly supposed to make us feel better?" Byakuya sneered.

"Huh?" Hina looked taken aback.

"We were already "working together" and yet someone was still murdered. Anyone could betray us at this point," Byakuya said with a smirk.

"It's already happened. It won't be long now before one of us becomes the next victim," I chimed in.

"Yeah, because S-Sayaka made the first move ..." agreed Toko.

"..." Makoto went quiet.

"B-But...if we work together against the mastermind, nobody'll have any reason to do something like that!" Hina argued back.

"Keep telling yourself that. I'll be over here in the real world. Working together, fighting a common enemy... Like it or not, it's not that simple," Byakuya retorted.

"...What do you mean?" Hifumi asked.

"The mastermind seems to be much more powerful than we ever suspected. They took over Hope's Peak , which was supposed to be well defended, then modified it to fit their desire. They created Monokuma, which seems to be incredibly advanced, and they're providing for our every need. And the cherry on top is the execution we witnessed. Everything has been planned down to the last excruciating detail. This is not the work of your everyday psychopath. Defying them may be too great of a risk..." Celeste said.

"Then...what are we supposed to do?" questioned Sakura.

"Anyone who truly does want to escape...will just have to follow the rules. In which case, the only option is to deceive those around you, and win the game," Byakuya advised.

"N-No..." whimpered Chihiro.

"No what?" Byakuya glared at her.

"I don't want to live...if it means killing someone else to do it. I don't want to kill anyone else...!" Chihiro cried.

"Anyone...else? What do you mean?" Hiro asked while scratching his head.

"Leon died because we all voted for him, right? It's no different from us killing him ourselves !"

"B-But..." Hiro stuttered, but Hina interrupted him.

"If we hadn't voted for him, then we all woulda died instead, right...? This isn't what you wanted, is it...?" Hina asked

"..." Tears continued to flow down Chihiro's cheeks.

"She's right. If you heap that kind of blame on yourself, you'll turn into a full-fledged masochist," commented Hifumi.

"..."

"Chihiro, listen... You're not to blame. Not you, not Leon, and not Sayaka. The mastermind is responsible for everything that's happened. We had no choice but to vote. I can't even imagine what would've happened to us if we'd refused. And in the end, it was Monokuma who ultimately killed Leon! So don't waste your anger on yourself... Instead, direct it at the mastermind!" Makoto said to Chihiro to try to encourage her.

*Ding dong, bing bong*

The monitor flickered, and once again Monokuma appeared on the screen.

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime . Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Oh, and one other thing... It was totally obvious before that you were trying to make yourselves feel better and justify what you did. See you, see you, don't see you, see you! That's about how much I can see you, even when you try to hide! Now pay attention and remember this well! The burden of judging others is a heavy one to bear . So be well aware of your actions! Order and stability rely on the sacrifice and responsibility of everyone! Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

The monitor turned off.

"What w-was that about just n-now...?" Toko asked nervously.

"Was he saying it's our fault what happened? That's pretty cruel, man..." Hiro said.

"That piece of shit! Who does he think he is!?" Mondo yelled.

Soon, everyone left the dining hall and went to their rooms. At long last, the day drew to a close... A tense, maddening day that saw the deaths of Sayaka, Junko, and Leon...

But, this is just the beginning...

The beginning of our despair ...!

Boy's Life of Despair

Daily Life

=======

The next morning Monokuma made his usual morning announcement. But then he called all of us to the gym .

"The gym? What does he want this time?" I muttered as I quickly did my morning routine and headed off to the gym.

Most of us were practically frozen with fear. But Monokuma was determined to get us involved in his little game... And with that goal in mind, he began it ...

=======

"Okay! Lift your arms up, and down! One, two, three, four!" Monokuma instructed.

"One, two, three, four!" Taka yelled back.

"Now reach waaay up, and bend waaay down! Tighten those muscles! Let's add a little strength, a little speed to those young bodies of yours!"

Yes, the little game of his was exercising. We couldn't believe what we were witnessing. Taka was the only one who was fully participating. Some others, like Makoto and Hina, were partially doing it while the rest of us, including myself, watched.

"Ahh, doesn't this feel just great!? Being stuck inside like this, you gotta make sure to stay healthy!" Monokuma said.

"You're the o-one keeping us "stuck inside"..." Toko muttered.

"Don't sweat the small stuff! That's my motto. Whoa, I sounded pretty cool just now, don'tcha think? Did you fall in love with me? Am I just to die for? Am I just to die in writhing agony for?" Monokuma asked.

"So...why did you call us here? Certainly it wasn't just to make us exercise..." Sakura said.

" "Just" to make you exercise? JUST to make you exercise!? If exercise makes you laugh, exercise will make you cry! Now, if you keep doing these exercises, you will uncover the secret of the Assassin's Fist! Passed down from generation to generation in the empire of darkness... The power can be yours!"

"That sounds like the kind of junk a middle schooler would come up with..." Hifumi said.

"It doesn't matter! Just get to the point. Did you really call us down here just to exercise?" Makoto asked.

"Of course not! You think I have that kind of free time on my hands!?" Monokuma yelled.

"Then tell us already!" I yelled impatiently.

"Ahh, I'd like to make an announcement! Every time you overcome a class trial here at Hope's Peak, a whole new world will open up to you!" Monokuma said.

"A whole new world...?" Hiro repeated.

"It'd really suck if you had to live here forever with nothing new to stimulate you! Besides, I know how you kids get these days with your ADD and ADHD. I gotta keep you motivated! So go ahead, look around all you want! Enjoy the brave new post-trial world till you explode!" Monokuma jumped behind the podium and disappeared.

"A new world ?" Makoto asked.

"Is he talking about...a way to get outside?" Hina suggested with the hope that it was true.

"That seems...unlikely," Celeste said.

"Well we won't know till we look!" Mondo shouted.

"Whatever he meant, it seems we'll have to search the school one more time," Sakura suggested.

"Okay, then let's split up and start investigating! When you're done, everyone meet back up at the dining hall and we'll share what we found!" Taka ordered.

"You're basically a one-trick pony, you know that?" Byakuya said with a smirk.

"More like a staple food source! Now let's get moving!" Taka cheered.

Soon everyone headed out the gym doors and began searching. I looked around and found that the gates that used to block the stairs are now gone.

So is this what Monokuma meant when he said "a new world..."

I went up the stairs to the second floor and was greeted by blue lighting.

"Honestly, this lighting color is better than the lights on the first floor," I muttered as I began to explore the newly opened floor.

I came across a lavender door with an anchor on it and a sign with the word "POOL" on top of it.

"There is a pool on the second floor? Interesting..." I pushed the door and walked inside.

When I got in, Hina, Celeste, and Chihiro were standing in the area with two doors behind them marked for each gender.

"Oh, Hanako! Hey, guess what! Guess what I found! A pool! There's a pool here! A POOL! Pool pool pool!" Hina cheered as she grabbed both of my hands and jumped up and down like a little child.

"Yes Hina, I know," I said while chuckling.

"And there's a ton of exercise equipment in the locker room! Sakura's gonna go nuts when she finds out!" Hina cried out.

"Yeah, you're right about that," I said.

I noticed that Chihiro looked kind of nervous. I went up to her to try to figure out what was wrong.

"Hey Chihiro, have you checked out the pool yet?" I asked.

"No... I...don't like wearing swimsuits," Chihiro said. "But still...it sounds like the locker rooms here have all the exercise equipment you could ask for. Maybe I'll give it a try. I'd kind of like to get a little stronger..."

"Really? I never expected that," I confessed.

"But...I'm not even brave enough to step foot into the locker room..."

"Why don't you want to go in?"

"It's not that I don't want to. It's just..." Chihiro looked at the ground.

I think this is a hint that she doesn't want to talk about it. Speaking of locker rooms, I should check them out. I walked over to the door marked "Girls" and turned the handle, but it wouldn't budge.

"Oh! And I guess you need your handbook to get into the locker rooms!" Hina said, standing next to me. I jumped at the sound of her voice.

"Oh really?" I said.

"Really really!" Said the voice of Monokuma popping out from behind us.

"Uwaah!" Hina shrieked.

"AHHH!" I yelled.

"If you wanna unlocker the locker room you'll have to swipe your personal e-Handbook across the card reader next to the door. However, to ensure maximum security within each locker room only a boy's handbook can open the boys' locker room, and the same goes for the girls ! And that's the bottom line!" Monokuma explained.

"Hmm...but what if someone opens the door, and then someone else sneaks in?" Hina asked.

"Anyone who commits such indecency will be punished without mercy for their scandalous sexual depravity! See, there's a Gatling gun mounted on the ceiling, right? And it'll be all DUKKA DUKKA DUKKA DUKKA!" Monokuma continued.

"I bet it'd really hurt to get shot by that thing!" Hina explained.

"Really? I didn't know that!" I said sarcastically.

"Um, no...I think it'd be a 'little' worse than that..." Chihiro said.

"But what happens if someone loans their handbook to someone else? A boy could borrow a girl's handbook, and that would get them into the girls' locker room, would it not?" Celeste asked.

"Wh--!? That never even occurred to me! To think someone could be so low, so cowardly, so devilish! Hmm... Okay, then how's this sound? Time for a new rule! As of this moment, loaning your e-Handbook to another student is strictly prohibited . There! So now nobody can give their handbook to anyone else, right? You like that? I'm kind of a genius, right? It's cuz my brain is 100% cotton!" Monokuma said.

"I do not imagine anyone would have lent their handbook out in the first place. After all, they would likely be held responsible for anything that person might do using their handbook..." Celeste said.

"But ya know, you seem awfully concerned with all this locker room security stuff..." Hina pointed out.

"It's cuz all you teenagers are sex-crazed maniacs! You're at that age you'd try humping a plastic bottle! So to keep anything unseemly from happening, I have to maintain a rigorous watch!" Monokuma said.

"Then in that case, I would ask that you keep the same close eye on our dorms. If some man and some woman decided to share a room, there would be nothing to stop them," Celeste suggested.

"All I care about is protecting the holy image of the school itself! I don't care what happens in your private dorms! By force or by cunning, do whatever you want!" Monokuma said.

"I hate you so much..." Hina told Monokuma.

"Okay, so the new regulation is now in place! See ya!" Monokuma then disappeared.

"I will never get used to him popping out and disappearing from nowhere," I muttered.

"Maaan, that stupid bear totally ruined my mood! Maybe I'll go take a dip to cheer myself up. Celeste, Chihiro, Hanako, you wanna come with me?" Hina offered.

"There is nothing I hate more than getting water on my face," Celeste said.

"Sorry...I'll pass this time," rejected Chihiro.

"Thank you, I'm not in the mood," I said.

"How come! When you're in a funk, there's nothing better than a good swim to pull you out of it!" Hina said.

I'm pretty sure it only fits you, Hina.

=======

After a bit of exploring later, I came across a double door with the sign "Library." I slide the door open to see Kyoko, Hifumi, Byakuya, and Toko there. The library is bigger on the inside, with shelves and shelves of books covered in dust upon closer examination. There was also a desk, a worktable, and another door.

Makoto came in and walked over to Toko. "You must be pretty happy to have all these books around, huh Toko?"

"N-Not particularly... Nothing's really c-caught my attention so far," Toko stuttered.

"Indeed. There's a plethora of books, it's true, but the content seems...lacking. Where's the comic books!? Where's the young adult section!?" shrieked Hifumi.

"Comic b-books? Young adult? That stuff's a w-waste of time..." Toko growled.

"I've seen what you write, Miss Fukawa. Talented as you are, your stuff isn't any more "worthwhile." " Hifumi said.

"My stories are filled with true love and pure feelings! Don't compare them to that garbage of yours! Your writing doesn't even m-mean anything. It's just a bunch of j-jumbled up letters...! S-Someone should just...burn it all."

"Ooh, the lady doth protest too much, methinks! I bet you're secretly into boy-on-boy action!"

"Boy-on-boy...? I don't care if it's a-anime or comics or fanfic or wh-whatever! It's all filth! Throwaway culture that'll be trashed and forgotten in half a decade! Ugh...just t-talking about it makes me sick to my s-stomach. I feel like I'm g-gonna throw up..."

"Grr...! You've insulted me, and you've insulted my honor!"

"Alright guys, break it up," I said, trying to calm them down.

It was only a few minutes later before Hifumi started to yell. "I'm absolutely shocked!"

"...How come?" Makoto asked.

"They have all these books here, and not ONE copy of ANY of my works!" Hifumi complained.

"W-Well, yeah... Why would they have c-comics in a library? Plus, most "fanfic" is j-just porn drawn by a bunch of a-amateurs..." Toko said with a smirk.

"You just don't get it. Not. At. All."

"I-I do too get it... And w-with a face like yours, anyone can tell n-nothing you do is worthwhile."

"Say whatever you want about me, but never judge a book by its author! Now hear this! Appearances mean nothing at all! What you see before you is nothing more than the rind that contains the meaty pulp of my genius! My creations are what determine my meaning and value!"

"You're so f-full of it..."

"Hmph. I'm used to being misunderstood. You think weak attacks like yours will drop my HP?"

These two are... something.

=======

I noticed an old and dusty-looking laptop on the desk. I tried to turn it on, but Kyoko stopped me.

"It's broken. I tried pressing the power button earlier, but nothing happened."

"Such a shame..." I muttered. "But if it did work, I don't think we can google our way out of here."

"Indeed," Kyoko said.

=======

Makoto noticed a letter on a small shelf covered in dust, just like the rest of the place. He picked it up and began to examine it.

" Hope's Peak Academy...? " Makoto read with a shocked voice.

"It was buried under a thick layer of dust. It must have been sitting there for quite a while. Well, shall we see what's inside?" Kyoko suggested.

"But...we shouldn't read other people's mail without their permission," Makoto said.

"Okay, then why don't you go and find someone who works at this Academy and ask if we should read the letter," I said as I snatched the letter from Makoto, opened it up, and began to read out loud.

" From the Hope's Peak Academy Executive Office " Throughout the years, we have been committed to shaping the youth who will one day shape the world. We have a long, proud history as an institution of higher learning with full government support. Our graduates enter society ready to take on active leadership roles in every major job field. However, Hope's Peak Academy must now lower the curtain on its glorious history, for the time being. This decision was not an easy one to make, but serious issues beyond our control have made it necessary. But make no mistake--this is not the end for Hope's Peak Academy. We intend to reopen our doors as soon as the issues forcing our closure have been resolved. That being said, this is the end for now, and I would like to personally and sincerely thank everyone for your help and support over the years. For now, we are awaiting official governmental authorization to formally cease operations."

"What does this mean?" Makoto asked once I was done.

"Hmm... The contents of this letter are quite interesting indeed," Byakuya said.

"It would seem Hope's Peak had stopped functioning as a school . And judging by the amount of dust the letter had collected, it doesn't seem to have happened recently. If I had to guess, I'd say this letter could be at least a year old ," Kyoko explained.

"So...you're saying Hope's Peak closed down at least a year ago?" Makoto confirmed.

"Most likely, the mastermind took over the abandoned school in order to put on this little performance," Byakuya suggested.

"B-But that would mean it was closed when I got here just a few days ago. But I didn't get that sense at all. Plus, if the school 'had' shut down, don't you think it would've been in all the newspapers and stuff? I mean, you're saying it could've happened over a year ago, right? But before I got here, I looked stuff up online about the school, and never saw anything about this," Makoto said.

"That must have all been part of the mastermind's plan. They lured us all in here. Someone who could create a place to judge and execute people could potentially be capable of anything. Of course, that's all assuming that this letter is real ," Byakuya said.

"If it 'is' real, though, that does solve one mystery surrounding the school... The reason there are no other students here could be because the school had already closed down," Kyoko said.

"That would be a nice, simple solution, it's true," Byakuya agreed.

"Well then...what about this other part?" I spoke. " "This decision was not an easy one to make, but serious issues beyond our control have made it necessary. But make no mistake--this is not the end for Hope's Peak Academy. We intend to reopen our doors as soon as the issues forcing our closure have been resolved." What did they mean by the serious issues part? If that's the reason why the school had to close... Does it have something to do with what's happening to us now...?"

"If the two events are in fact connected, uncovering that connection would be a useful clue, on top of figuring out the mastermind's motive . Although I can't really say any more until we find more details," Kyoko explained.

"So in other words, only the mastermind knows the truth right now," Byakuya said.

I nodded my head. I did enough exploration today. I better head off to the dining hall.

=======

Once everyone came to the dining hall, Taka began the meeting. "Okay, ladies and gentlemen! How'd it go? Did anyone discover any interesting new anything!?"

"There's a library!" Hifumi shouted.

"And a pool! A freakin' pool! And locker rooms filled with exercise equipment!" Hina cheered.

"There was not, however, anything resembling an escape route," Sakura said.

"Yeah...she's right..." Makoto agreed.

"Well hey, there's no reason to get all sulky! Wait till you hear about my amazing discovery! The warehouse and bathhouse on the 1st floor of the dorms are now open! And the warehouse is chock-full of food, clothes, whatever you want. There's so much it's insane! So go ahead and stuff yourself to the gills whenever you feel like! Ha-ha-ha!" Taka laughed.

"Keep in mind, of course, that going out at nighttime is still prohibited . Please do not forget..." Celeste reminded.

"Okay, and what about a fuckin' way out of here? You find anything like that?" Mondo asked.

"Oh, well...umm..." Taka mumbled.

"There wasn't anything in the warehouse we could use to get our asses outta here? Nothin'?" Mondo yelled.

"U-Unfortunately, no...not that I saw..." Taka looked at the ground.

"You fuckin' people... Who gives a shit if we have a goddamn pool now!? Or a warehouse, or whatever the fuck! We're still trapped in this piece of shit school! We need to find a goddamn way OUT!" Mondo shouted.

"Now, now. There is no point in taking your anger out on us. Adaptation is the key, yes? For now, we must each find a way to enjoy our current situation," Celeste said.

"Whatever you say, ya fuckin' loon..."

"For now, let's just continue our investigation, and let everyone know if you should discover something..." Taka ordered.

"So, are we done for today?" Kyoko asked.

"W-Well...yeah, I guess so," Taka said.

The air seemed to suddenly grow heavy as we walked out of the dining hall. Was all of this the mastermind's plan? To give us hope, just to turn around and betray that hope?

When I got to my room the nighttime announcement began to play.

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime . Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

I crawled into bed, exhausted from the long day, and fell asleep.

Chapter 15: In Search of the Affluent Progeny

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day! Oh, that's right! I wanted to let you know that your e-Handbooks have been updated! New regulations have been added, so please take a look and enjoy your school life more than ever before!" Monokuma's voice shrieked through the monitor before it turned off.

He must be talking about the new rule from yesterday... " Loaning your e-Handbook to another student is strictly prohibited."

I sighed as I got out of bed. I did my usual morning routine and went to the dining hall. As usual, everyone started piling in. Makoto came, but he wasn't the last one this time. Byakuya and Taka haven't shown up yet.

"Mornin', Makoto!" Hina greeted.

"Good morning. Is everyone here already?" Makoto asked.

"Nope! Still waitin' on Byakuya and Taka. Byakuya's no surprise, but it's strange Taka's not here yet..." Hiro responded.

"Knowing Taka, I imagine he is trying to get the King of Tardiness up and out of bed," Celeste said. I snickered at Celeste's comment.

"I'm sure they'll be here soon enough. Just be patient," Sakura advised.

"I don't mind waiting for them, but there is one problem..." Celeste began to say.

"Which is...?" Makoto asked, curiously.

"I am thirsty," Celeste said.

"How the hell is that a problem!?" Mondo yelled.

Celeste ignored him. "Hifumi, would you make me some tea?"

"...Huh?" Hifumi looked confused.

"Milk tea, if you please."

"Wh...why me?" Hifumi asked.

"Your roundish figure reminds me of the owner of the coffee shop I used to frequent. I can feel my throat drying out. Quickly, please."

"O-Okay..." Hifumi stuttered as he went off to the kitchen to complete Celeste's order. A few minutes go by, and Hifumi returns with a tray in hand.

"Thank you for waiting!" Hifumi said as he gave the tray to Celeste.

"Hmhmhm. Finally..." Celeste said with a giggle.

"You c-could've made some for the r-rest of us, you know..." Toko said.

"I emphatically decline! You're not my type at all! Hmhm... It's all about the law of causality, basic instinct, act and react!" Hifumi said.

"Grr..." Toko growled.

"Well then, if you don't mind..." Celeste held the teacup in her hand but then her expression changed. "...Wait." She turned her head and...

CRASH!!!

Celeste threw the teacup as hard as she could at the wall.

"What the--!? H-Hey! What are you doing, my little white rabbit!?" Hifumi cried out.

"I HATE this kind of tea!" Celeste complained.

"U-Umm...I don't understand..." Hifumi muttered.

"Imagine we are at a coffee shop--just any normal, everyday cafe. I sit down, and I order some tea. They then ask me, "Would you like lemon, or milk?" Now, further imagine that I replied, "Ah, yes, I would like milk tea, please." In this case, along with my tea they may bring me a small container of milk, yes? But this is not for me! I am among those who prefer the milk to be part of the process from the outset! The fragrance is just so overwhelmingly sweet that way... Adding milk or lemon right before you drink is like dousing your fries in ketchup--mere condiments! Whenever looking for a cafe, I first review their menu to see if it offers the proper style of milk tea. And I cannot acknowledge any "milk tea" that does not add the milk during the brewing process!" Celeste explained.

"Umm...I went to all that trouble to make you that tea...and you wanted me to go even farther?"

"Yes, I realize it can be a bit of a hassle... Even in cafes that offer proper milk tea, it is always more expensive than simple tea with milk. It takes more time to prepare, surely, but...why even bother creating a menu if you are not going to offer the highest level of quality!?"

"Well, um...we don't actually have a menu..."

"That does not matter. Hurry up and bring me what I asked for, swine!" Celeste was no longer in her calm self and suddenly became a raging monster.

"WHAAAAAT!? O-Okay! Your little piggy will bring it right out!" Hifumi ran into the kitchen frightened.

"Hmhm. I do so love coercion," Celeste returned to her calm self. Everyone noticed her sudden change of behavior and didn't want it to go unnoticed.

"You were like...a totally different person just now," Hina said.

"Yeah, shit... You really went psycho there," Mondo observed.

"Hmhmhm..." Celeste giggled and brushed off the comments.

I knew there was more to her than what meets the eye... I better watch myself around her.

The dining halls suddenly flew open, and Taka entered looking quite distraught.

"Bad news, everyone! There is a mystery afoot!" Taka announced.

"Huh? What happened?" Hiro asked.

"It would seem Byakuya refuses to leave his room! I stood there pressing his doorbell over and over, but he never showed himself," Taka said.

"Maybe he just...wasn't there," Makoto suggested.

"I'd like to think so. But I'm worried something might have happened to him," Taka said. He didn't need to explain further because we all knew what he meant.

"I-It might be a good idea if we all split up and go look for him," Makoto said.

"Ah! I was just about to suggest the same thing!" yelled Taka.

"Stop trying to one-up e-everyone..." Toko muttered.

"Okay, then I'll go check his room one more time. I'm just gonna keep on hammering that button till I get a response," Hina said.

"Very well, then the rest of us can go check the rest of the building," Sakura said.

"Yeah. Before it's, y'know...too late," Hiro said.

=======

"Why on earth must I waste my precious time looking for some rich boy!" I complained as I leaned on the walls near the entrance of the stairs. "I personally don't care what happens to him."

Makoto walked up the stairs and saw me nearby. He walked up to me.

"Hey Hanako. Have you found Byakuya yet?"

"No, and I don't want to look for him," I replied.

"Why not?" Makoto asked.

"Because I don't want to, that's why. And besides, I'm sure he's alright," I assured.

"How can you be so sure about that?" Makoto inquired.

"Because I know where he is," I said.

"You do?" Makoto asked, quite shocked.

"Must you ask so many questions? Anyways, if you want to look for him, go right ahead. I'm not stopping you," I said.

Makoto looked at me with a weird look but walked away a few seconds later. A bit later I heard his voice cry out.

"Byakuya!?"

Oh, Makoto must've found him. I walked to the source of the voice which came from the library to see Byakuya sitting in a chair reading a book while holding a cup of coffee.

"Hey, uh...what are you doing?" Makoto asked.

"I'm fishing. What does it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to read. So if you could be quiet..." Byakuya ordered.

"Oh...sorry," Makoto apologized.

"Why are you apologizing?" I asked Makoto.

Makoto looked at me confused, but then remembered what he was here for. "I- Oh yeah! What are you doing here? Everyone's super worried! We've all been looking for you!"

"Who asked you to do that?" Byakuya asked.

"B-Because...we're all supposed to meet up in the morning and eat together. We made a promise!" Makoto reminded him.

"A promise...?" Byakuya sighed. "Can't I get a second's peace and quiet around here?" He snapped his book shut, and slowly stood up, smooth and silent as a shadow. The rest must've heard Makoto and entered the library moments later.

"Byakuya! So this is where you've been hiding!" Taka yelled.

"The heck are you doin' here, man?" Hiro asked.

"We were very concerned..." Sakura said.

"Well you had no reason to be. I was just reading. I've never read such a...coarse novel before, but it might just prove useful at some point," Byakuya said.

"Wh-What were you reading?" Hina asked.

"A mystery novel," Byakuya replied.

"A mystery novel?" I repeated. I never met a rich boy who took an interest in mystery stuff. How interesting.

"W-Wait, so are you gonna use what you're learning in there to betray us!?" Hifumi sweated.

"Don't be stupid."

"Yeah!" Makoto yelled.

"It's just something to keep in mind."

"Yea--what?" Makoto caught himself and stared at Byakuya in shock.

"If I decide to fight, of course I'll come up with something original. Otherwise, this game of ours will be totally boring, right? It's not often you get to take part in such a high-stakes, high-tension activity. So if you're going to do it, you have to make sure it's entertaining. Mhmhmhm..."

His words sent chills down everyone's spine, and his undeniable smile wasn't helping. I couldn't believe that he of all people actually enjoyed being part of this, even going as far as calling it a "game."

"What the fuck do you mean, "game"!? That's fucked up!" Mondo yelled.

"But it 'is' a game. It's a game of life or death, which can have only one winner. That's all there is to it."

"He is right. It's a zero-sum game," Celeste spoke up.

"Huh?" Makoto asked, confused.

"It is a part of game theory, a mathematical model. In game theory, what we are going through now is called a "zero-sum game." In this type of game, in order for one person to gain something, another must necessarily lose something. In other words, it is a situation in which participants must compete for position or resources,"

"Oh! You mean like some kind of elimination match," I said.

"Entrance exams, sports tournaments, job openings--most social interactions fall into this category. Everyone must scramble to obtain something which is limited. For you to succeed, someone else must fail. This also applies to the school life we have been subjected to here. In this case...our "limited resource" is that only one of us can successfully become the blackened," Celeste explained.

"So, this game was designed from the beginning to force one of us to try and defeat all the others," Byakuya concluded.

"Th-That...that can't be what they had in mind!" Makoto denied.

"This is why adaptation is so crucial. If those who want to escape were to disappear, there would be no reason to continue playing the game," Celeste said.

"But why would I want to stop playing? It's so much fun..." Byakuya said with a wicked and evil smile, turning his face into something inhuman.

Yep... He's gone insane.

"It sounds as if you do not acknowledge even the possibility that you may lose, am I right?" Celeste asked.

Byakuya smirked. "Of course."

"You do not speak like the others. Exactly what I would expect from the Togami heir apparent," Celeste said.

"Must you stroke his arrogant ego?" I asked Celeste, slightly irritated.

"...It's just normal arrogance, isn't it?" Hiro asked.

"You talk like that, but what if you end up dead!?" Hina cried out.

"I won't. It simply isn't possible," Byakuya said confidently.

You wanna test that?

"Who the fuck do you think you are!?" Mondo yelled.

"You know, I still just can't believe it..." Byakuya muttered.

"Believe what!?" Mondo yelled.

"That an uneducated, brain-dead, useless piece of garbage like you has survived this long," Byakuya said with no remorse.

"I'm gonna fuckin' kill you!" Mondo threatened.

"Like I said. I won't die."

"You keep saying that, but--" Hiro tried to speak, but got cut off by Celeste.

"Do not bother arguing with him. For him, the concept of losing simply does not exist. He is the Ultimate Affluent Progeny, after all--a boy raised to succeed from the day he was born. He considers victory his destiny, and has lived his life accordingly. Tests and challenges are merely ways for him to stand victorious. Even if it is a life-and-death situation. Is that not so, Byakuya?" Celeste asked.

Byakuya smirked. "At least one of you seems to understand."

"It is because I am the same as you. Games are meant to be won," Celeste said.

"Are you trying to suggest we're on the same level? Close that vulgar mouth of yours," Byakuya ordered.

"Well, well. I do apologize," Celeste said sarcastically.

"Anyway, let me just say this to all of you. You all need to try harder. If an opponent isn't going to give it their best, where's the fun for me?" Byakuya glared at everyone.

"Th-That's a terrible way to look at it..." Chihiro spoke up.

"Hmm?" Byakuya now glared at Chihiro.

"This...isn't a game. Our lives are on the line, you know... To kill your own friends is...is... It's horrific!" Chihiro yelled.

"Friends? Who decided that?"

"...Huh?"

"We're not friends. No, quite the opposite. We're in competition--we're enemies."

"B-But...you know..."

"But what? Stop trying to force your contradictions on me and just accept what I'm telling you."

"U-Um..."

"Yes? If you have something to say, say it. Otherwise, keep your mouth closed."

"... I-I'm sorry..." Tears flowed down Chihiro's cheek.

"Hey, shithead! You get off on bullying people that can't fight back? You wanna try that on me!?" Mondo shouted.

"So, you're back to pretending to be friends, huh? And how long do you think that's going to last?" Byakuya chuckled.

"Fuck you!" Mondo roared.

"Is that all you can say? It's unfortunate you would waste your breath on such empty gibberish," Byakuya said.

"That's it! You're fuckin' dead!" Mondo began to charge at him, but Hina stopped him.

"H-Hold on! Just calm down!"

"I AM calm!" Mondo shouted.

"How is 'this' calm"!?" Hina shouted back.

Byakuya turned his back on the rest of us. "Anyway...I don't have any intention of working with the rest of you any longer. To cooperate during an elimination game is... Well, frankly, it's a waste of time. And I hate wasting my time."

"Waste of time?" Makoto repeated.

"Engaging in "friendly" group meals is out of the question. Someone could easily poison our food. And I'd rather not become part of the Last Supper just yet," Byakuya explained.

"Quit talking like you're in a fuckin' movie or something!" Mondo yelled.

"All I'm saying is that, ultimately, you are all free to do whatever you want on your own. Goodbye." Byakuya walked out of the library, and nobody stopped him.

"Thank god he's gone," I said while shaking my head.

"Was he serious about all that...?" Hiro asked.

"He was, without a doubt," Celeste confirmed.

"Well fuck him, then," Mondo growled.

"B-But what he said... He might not n-necessarily be wrong... I mean, can you s-say for sure someone 'won't' poison our f-food?" Toko stuttered.

"Hey, come on! You too, Toko!?" Hina yelled.

"Well, it's n-not like anyone would care even if I w-was gone, right...? Actually I bet you all 'w-want' me gone! You all think I'm d-disgusting!" Toko yelled.

"None of us think that..." Makoto assured.

"You j-just 'think' you don't think that!"

Hiro sighed. "I know some people like to play the victim, but this is just...totally out there."

"You think I d-don't know, but I do... You want me g-gone! And I'm s-sure...the rest of you want the same th-thing, don't you!" Toko ran off in a hurry.

"Ah, hey! Toko, wait!" Makoto called out to her.

"Just let her go. Once she gets going like that, there is nothing you can say to bring her back," Celeste said.

Everyone went back to their rooms without any answered questions.

Chapter 16: Free Time Event #2

When I entered my dorm, I flopped on my bed and tried to forget the earlier events. But the more I tried to forget about it, I just kept on remembering it. I need a polishing kit more than ever.

How about instead of just forgetting about it, how about I talk to someone? It would be a better way to forget about things.

I got out of my room and went to find someone to talk to.

=Free Time=

Hifumi Yamada:

I went my way up the second floor when I spotted Hifumi in the hallway.

"Well, if it isn't Miss Yasashiku! How can I help you?" He asked as I approached him.

"Well, you can help me by engaging with me in a conversation so I can get my mind distracted," I replied.

"So you want to be around me, eh? That means you must have realized that I have certain...powers." Hifumi said with a weird-looking face.

Uh oh!

"Yes, that's right! My greatest power is my ability to negate the power of others! I've never actually used it in a fight yet, but I'm not worried. Cuz whatever abilities they have...all I need is my power of negation!" Hifumi explained.

Hifumi made me take part of his delusion

"Now then! This time, would you like to learn about one of my many legends?" Hifumi asked.

"You have legends?" I questioned.

"Naturally! You don't become the Ultimate Fanfic Creator without a few legends sprouting up around you! One such legend is how, in middle school, I was able to convince the school to create a fanfic club! And from that day, I exposed myself and my fanfic to the world at large! By the way, do you happen to know what all my work is based on?" He asked.

"...No, sorry."

"Well, surely you've heard of the highly acclaimed anime Demon Angel☆Pretty Pudgy Princess ! Now, you might think that that sounds totally cliche, but you would be WRONG! I didn't simply copy the "pretty girl" style. I took a total meta sci-fi approach! My perspective was seen as quite odd, of course, but if you really look at what I was doing...my version of Princess Piggles was the total antithesis of the new-wave sci-fi movement. In fact, it was my response to J.G. Ballard's speculative fiction stylings! Buwheh! Ahh, my geekdom is leaking out again. I apologize! Anyway, unlike most fans, I never saw Princess Piggles as your typical moe anime."

"I got the impression that you didn't. But I just can't believe that you single-handedly persuaded the school to let you make a club. How'd you do that?"

"I bribed them with a cut of my profits," Hifumi admitted confidently.

Profits?

"And I've only gotten better at it! I'm blowin' up! Now then, up till now, I've always focused on taking part in Princess Piggles single-setting events," Hifumi rambled on.

"What's a single-setting ?" I asked.

"It's when a circle gets together to come up with a project or event focused on only one show or series. So a Princess Piggles single-setting event would only allow works involving Princess Piggles, see? On the flipside, if there's no restriction on the number of properties, do you know what that's called?" Hifumi quizzed.

"I believe it's called a... free-for-all ," I answered.

"That's absolutely right! There are actually plenty of free-for-all events every year, and yet... More and more slackers are showing up with no idea what fanfic really means! It's so ANNOYING! So in order to crush these peons with all my might, I'm going to start taking part in more free-for-alls!" Hifumi yelled.

"Crush them? That's definitely not friendly."

"I don't participate in these events to make friends! And I cannot forgive those lazy bastards! And don't tell me to ignore them! If you let some little wimp survive, you'll regret it later! Play any RPG where the villain spares the hero when he's level 1, and what happens? Boom! Dead! It's a dog-eat-dog industry, where only the most brutal survive. Oh, but don't worry. I'm gonna start you off easy by getting you involved in some simple cosplay action !"

"I'm sorry. Did you say cosplay?"

"You're a pretty good-looking girl. If your costume was decent enough, I might even let you work my booth! Bwehehe... I bet you could even net yourself a strong young man! So with that in mind, let's change the world of fanfic together!"

I ran away from him.

=======

Yasuhiro Hagakure:

I ran into the kitchen where I bumped into Hiro.

"Well well, Hanako! What's goin' on?" Hiro asked.

"Um... Just a weird hangout," I said.

"You wanna get a bite to eat in the dining hall? I'll teach you where all the best power spots are!" Hiro offered.

Hiro taught me all the best power spots.

Suddenly Hiro became lost in thought about something.

"Hello! Earth to Hiro! Are you alright in there?" I joked as I knocked on his forehead lightly.

"Huh? Oh sorry, I was just thinking. Hey, Hanako. You know what I think? You and me meeting like this? It wasn't a coincidence. So I've got some good news for you! I'm gonna give you a psychic reading at a huge discount!" Hiro offered.

"A discount...?" I repeated.

"Normally it's a thousand bucks for two hours. But for you? Let's call it nine hundred !" He offered.

"That's only a hundred-dollar discount! It's still way too expensive!"

"Hey, come on! You should count yourself lucky that the Ultimate Clairvoyant is willing to tell your future!"

"...So are you pretty accurate?"

"I sure am! At the bare minimum, I've got a 20% chance of accuracy !"

Is he for real?

"For real? Don't make that face! Didn't you hear what I said!? 20% of the time I'm right, every time! That includes natural disasters, election results, you name it! Don't you realize how amazing that is!?"

"No, " I replied with a smirk.

"Okay, fine! I'll give you a special trial run! After all I've already seen what the future has in store for you!" Hiro offered.

"Look Hiro, I appreciate it, but I'm not interested. It's not that I don't trust you, but I would much rather prefer if the future took me by surprise instead of already knowing what's going to happen. There wouldn't be any fun in that," I explained.

Hiro went back into deep thinking before he laughed. "Alright, if that's what you want. But if you ever change your mind, let me know as soon as you're ready for my services! Hahaha!" Hiro walked out laughing.

I will never understand this guy.

=======

Kyoko Kirigiri:

I noticed Kyoko looking around in one of the classrooms. I decided to go and talk to her since practically everything about her is a mystery.

"Who set all this up? And why did they choose us? There are so many mysteries..." Kyoko muttered.

"Hello Kyoko. Can I help you in your investigation?" I asked as I approached her.

"I'm in no position to tell you what to do. You're free to do as you wish, right? But I have my own way of doing things," Kyoko answered.

I decided to take that as a yes and joined her as we searched around the school in silence.

"... Are you scared, Hanako?" Kyoko asked, breaking the silence.

"Scared of what?" I asked.

"Being trapped in a place like this..." Kyoko elaborated.

"Oh, that. Well... To be honest, I am," I answered.

"Ah. That's good," Kyoko said.

"How is that good?" I asked, confused.

"Fear is proof that your imagination is still functioning. Frankly, I feel bad for anyone who can't feel fear. Without imagination, you can never deduce what action to take next."

"But what about you? Aren't you scared as well?" I asked.

"I'm scared too, of course... I simply hide my emotions. There's no advantage to be gained from letting others see how you feel."

"You hide them?"

"What I mean is, I'm not as foolishly open as you are."

"Hey! I am not!"

"Also, the "fear" I experience is a little different from yours, I imagine," Kyoko explained, ignoring my outburst.

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"You're afraid of what you might lose, right? But I'm afraid of what I've already lost ."

"I don't believe I get what you're saying..." I said.

"I know. Goodbye." With that, Kyoko turned her back and walked away.

Well, she's still a mystery.

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime . Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

I walked out of the classroom and headed back to my room.

I'll admit, I feel a bit better. But even though today is over...this "game" definitely isn't. How long is it gonna keep going?

I thought about it as I drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 17: Comforting Chihiro

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"

I slowly got myself out of bed and did my morning routine. Once I was done, I headed off to the dining hall and sat in my usual seat. One by one, everyone else entered, and then finally Makoto came in last.

"Is this...everyone? It feels a little...small," Taka observed as he looked around the dining hall. "Even the table looks bigger, somehow."

Ever since the events with Byakuya and Toko yesterday, it's no surprise that they both didn't show up. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if they never came to the breakfast meetings again.

"I assume that is because three people are dead, and two are abstaining," said Celeste.

"Yeah, with five people missing, I guess it 'would' feel kinda empty," Makoto said.

"Still... I know Byakuya's whatever, but shouldn't we go check on Toko?" Hina suggested.

"I vote no. She's super annoying," Hiro admitted.

"How can you be so cold? You are like a piece of rock candy," Celeste said.

"What!? No, rock candy isn't cold! It's sweet!" Taka yelled.

"That's just a figure of speech, Taka," I said.

"...Anyway, Byakuya's the real problem. If we don't keep an eye on him, he might really kill someone. You can see it in his eyes... We got no choice! Get some rope! We're gonna hafta keep him bound and gagged!" Mondo yelled.

"Yeah, let's do that!" I cheered.

Makoto sweat dropped. "I think that's going a little overboard..."

"He's right! In this situation, there's nothing scarier than when an ally turns loose cannon! It's just like when we were kids, and someone would go crazy at sports day or whatever!" Taka yelled.

"What the fuck are you talking about!? You gonna use the rope to do tug of war or something!? Idiot!" Mondo insulted.

"I'm not an idiot...! YOU'RE an idiot!" Taka countered back.

"Who are you callin' stupid!?" Mondo growled. While all this was happening, Chihiro had her head down and tears filled her eyes.

"Huh? What's wrong, Chihiro? You don't look so great..." Makoto said to her.

"Oh, I'm just going through a little...self-loathing," Chihiro said.

"Huh? Self-loathing?" Makoto repeated.

"Well, after what Byakuya said to me yesterday...I just got so nervous, I locked up. I couldn't say anything. Mondo ended up having to help me out. And even 'he' said I was someone who "can't fight back"... I...I hate how weak I am," Chihiro explained.

"Ahh, I see. So Mondo made you depressed," Hina said.

"What!? How's it 'my' fault!? I wasn't tryin' to be mean! Besides, girls are just naturally weak anyway right!?" Mondo growled.

"...Gh..." Tears were now flowing down Chihiro's cheeks.

"A-Are you...crying...?" Mondo asked.

"It's cuz you were screaming like a lunatic!" Hina said.

Chihiro continued to cry. I went over and handed her a handkerchief. Chihiro took it and wiped her eyes with it. "T-Thank you..." Chihiro muttered.

"Hey, c'mon, don't cry...I-It's my fault, okay? I won't yell at you anymore..." Mondo assured.

"Really? Not sure I can believe that..." Hina sighed.

"J-Just shut up...I got it! I'll make you a promise as a man !" Mondo declared.

Chihiro looked up at Mondo. "Promise...as a man?"

"Maybe I mentioned this before, but... Ever since I was a kid, there was one thing my brother told me over and over again. He said that no matter what, a real man ALWAYS keeps his promises. That's what he left me."

"Left you...?" Hifumi asked, confused.

"Oh, yeah... My brother's dead," Mondo said while looking at the ground.

"Oh...I see..." Makoto muttered. I looked at Mondo with an empathetic look.

"Anyway, I don't wanna talk about it. Don't wanna make all you guys cry! Anyway, so you can trust me when I make that promise. So you don't gotta cry anymore!" Mondo grinned.

"O-Okay. Thank you...Mondo," Chihiro said looking happy.

"S-Sure..." Mondo blushed.

"But...I still don't like how I am right now. I have to get stronger... If I'm so weak anything can make me cry...that's not good."

"Still, don't stress out too much about having to get stronger," Makoto advised.

"No...I 'want' to get stronger. Maybe I should...start working out..."

"In that case, I would be happy to help you out anytime," Sakura offered.

"B-But then Miss Fujisaki would get smashed into a billion pieces!" Hifumi yelled.

"Shut up, you," Hina glared.

"Hmhmhm..." Chihiro giggled.

"Ohh, finally cracked a smile, huh?" Hiro noticed.

"Y-Yeah... Everyone...thank you," Chihiro said with a smile as her cheeks went pink.

Aww, Chihiro looks so cute when she smiles.

And thus, the breakfast meeting concluded on a happy note. We then all left to do our own things. While heading back to my room, I notice a coin on the ground. I picked it up and saw that it had Monokuma's face on the front of a coin.

Monokuma has currency? Good to know I guess... I'm gonna use it.

I headed over to the gift shop and put the coin in the slot of the machine. I turned the mechanism and watched as a machine spitted out a present, revealing a Small Light the size of a matchbox.

"Um... I don't know what to say. Thank you, I guess," I said to no one.

Disappointed, I put the small light in my pocket and decided to walk around to see who I should hang out with.

Chapter 18: Free Time Event #3

=Free Time=

Chihiro Fujisaki:

The noise of the washing machine caught my attention. I checked the laundry room to see Chihiro doing her laundry.

"What's wrong Hanako? Do you need something?" Chihiro asked, noticing me.

"Oh no, nothing's wrong. I was just having a look around," I answered.

"You want to sit down and talk for a while?" Chihiro asked.

I agreed and spent some time talking to Chihiro.

Midway into our conversation, Chihiro began to mumble to herself. "No... No...!"

"What's wrong Chihiro?" I asked.

"Ahh, it hurts..." Chihiro mumbled.

"Did you get hurt, Chihiro?" I asked worriedly.

"Oh, well...not really. I got bit by a mosquito last night," Chihiro explained.

"Oh, a mosquito? I thought you got seriously hurt."

"Oh, did I give you the wrong impression...? S-Sorry...!"

"You don't have to apologize. It was my fault for overthinking. But you said it hurts? Did it really bite you that hard?"

"Yeah, see? Look." Chihiro held out her arm, where there was a huge red bump on her pale shin.

"Ooh, that's really big," I observed.

"It's way past itchy now. It really hurts...!" Chihiro said.

"But why's it so big? Did it bite you while you were asleep?" I asked.

"Oh, no. I was awake."

"Didn't you notice?"

"No, I noticed. But..." Chihiro trailed off.

"But..." I said.

"Well, I felt it bite me, and I looked down at it. But I didn't do anything. I just sat there and watched it suck my blood..."

"Why didn't you smack it?"

"Cuz...that would've killed it, right?"

"Well, yes..."

"It must have been really hungry to suck that much blood. If it was that hungry, it would've been really sad not to let it have anything."

"It's...just a mosquito."

"Mosquitos are living things too, though. It might have its own mosquito family... S-Sorry, I know that's dumb..." Chihiro began to tear up.

"No no no! You don't have to apologize. Just try not to scratch it, okay? It'll make it worse," I said.

"But what if it gets so itchy I can't take it?" Chihiro asked.

"Mix some baking soda and water and apply it to the bump. It'll help reduce the itching," I advised.

"Wow, I had no idea...! You're so smart, Hanako!" Chihiro said with the cutest smile I have ever seen in the entire world. I wanted to squish her cheeks so badly, but I must restrain myself.

"But anyway, don't you think it's kinda strange?" Chihiro asked.

"What's strange?" I asked.

"Well this school is completely sealed off, right? So how'd a mosquito get in? Maybe there's somewhere here in the school where bugs can live and grow. Some kind of...nature-y spot. Or or or! Maybe there's a secret passage somewhere that leads out of the school!" Chihiro suggested.

"Well, even if there's not, I'm sure we'll get out of here somehow. If we all work together , we'll be out of here in no time!" I encouraged.

"You're right! Working together is super important... Of course, I dunno how I can be useful. I'll probably just weigh you all down..." Chihiro said with her head down.

"Hey, don't say that. It makes me feel way better knowing you're here to help!"

"It does? Really...?"

"Yup! So let's all do our best, okay?"

"O-Okay! Eheh... Thank you, Hanako," Chihiro said.

The washing machine stopped, signaling that it had finished, and I went off while Chihiro finished her laundry.

=======

Toko Fukawa:

I went to Toko's dorm room and rang her doorbell. I hoped that after what happened during our last hang out she still would like to talk to me.

When Toko opened her door, she let out a gasp. "Hanako! Are you...l-leering at me!? What are you th-thinking? What are you planning to d-do to me!?" Toko yelled.

"N-Nothing. I was wondering if you want to hang out?" I asked.

"I was p-perfectly happy spending time by m-myself... But I guess if you're so d-desperate for attention, I can h-hang out for a little bit..." Toko grumbled.

I spent some time with a cold and distant Toko...

"..." Toko went silent and stared at the floor.

"Toko...?" I called her.

"Wh-What? You have a question? You have a question f-for your classmate...!?" Toko asked, looking...rather happy?

"I know I asked you this before, but what do you like to do in your spare time?" I asked.

"I just w-write. I'm serialized , so I'm a-always really busy...! And when I'm not writing, I'm s-studying. I'm not an idiot l-like you...! Agh, d-dammit...! I had to go and open my b-big mouth again... You must hate me for s-sure now, right?" Toko panicked.

"It's alright. Don't worry about it... But I can't believe you actually write novels! And that people all over the world read them... So...how do you get your ideas for what you write? Do you use real-life experience, or...?"

"Are you stupid!?"

"Eep!"

"I t-told you, didn't I? I write romance novels ...! How could I use m-my real-life experiences for that...!? It's all from my i-imagination! It's just delusions ! Delusions let you fall in l-love as much as you want, even if you n-never do in real life! Or are you s-saying you can't write romance novels unless you already have lots of experience i-in love...?"

"No, I wasn't trying to..."

"It's okay. I'm used to p-people making fun of me... B-But... Someday, I'll show them! I'll get pretty s-someday and show them all...!" Toko slammed the door in anger.

"Am I doing the right thing, talking to her?" I wondered out loud as I walked away.

=======

Makoto Naegi:

(Makoto's POV)

I spotted Hanako in the hallway on the second floor. When I approached her, I could hear her mumbling to herself.

"The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future. It's a deep quote by Oscar Wilde, and one of my favorites."

Hmm... Should I hang out with Hanako for a while?

-----

-Spend some time with Hanako ✔

-Go see who else is around

-----

"I'm not really in the mood for conversations... But if you want, we can take a stroll around the school."

I walked with Hanako around the school in silence... Hanako and I grew a little closer today.

Would you like to give Hanako a present ?

-----

-Yes, definitely ✔

-Not really, no

-----

What would you like to give her?

Everlasting Bracelet has been selected.

"My my my. Out of all the things I've been given, this is simply beautiful. I think I'll keep it."

Seeing Hanako so pleased with something I gave her makes me happy!

-----

"...Um Makoto? Don't take this too personally, but... What's it like living in the middle class?" Hanako asked out of the blue.

"Well... We're not rich, but we're not poor either. We live a comfortable life, have the basic necessities, and we have to work to get money. We don't have servants, but we manage without them. Personally, I really enjoy my life and I wouldn't have it any other way," I answered.

"Oh, I see..." Hanako went into deep thinking before continuing. "You know, I've always been fascinated by you commoners. Your way of living your life has really sparked an interest in me! You commoners really are something, you know that?"

Commoners? Is that a polite term for peasant? "Well, what about your life? Your family is the richest in all of Japan, so you're basically living in everyone's dream."

"Honesty, it's not all fun and games as you imagine or see in the media."

"What do you mean?"

"Growing up, I never really saw my parents very much. They would go out for dinners, parties, and travel the world, so I was basically raised by the staff at my mansion. Now don't get me wrong, I really love and care about them as well, but it's not the same as parental love. You get what I'm saying right?"

"I believe so."

"So to show that they loved me, they would send me tons of gifts from their travels. The more expensive they were, the more it meant that they loved me very much. And then there are also the standards that come along with being the daughter of a rich family. You must be elegant, polite, beautiful, and most importantly, ladylike. You have no idea how stressful and pressure it is to keep your image from losing its value. And social gatherings are such a bore! All you do is stand around in pretty outfits and uncomfortable shoes and make small talk with other rich folks. And don't get me started on them, especially rich boys! They're braggy, narcissistic, only care about themselves, and the only reason they and anyone else is interested in you is that..."

Hanako seemed to be caught on to what she was about to say and began to laugh. "Ha ha ha! Look at me, ranting to you about my life. I must be boring you out of your wits."

"No, you're not boring me a bit. It's actually rather interesting," I said.

"Aww, you're sweet. I bet you say that to just about anyone."

"Heh heh... So, what was it you were going to say everyone being interested in you?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Just forget about it, okay?"

She says it as if it's something not important, but I'm not so sure about it. Is she avoiding talking about it on purpose...? I guess there are some things that I don't understand about her yet.

Hanako's Report Card has been updated based on your experience with her. Your maximum number of Skill Points has increased!

Once we were done, I headed back to my room.

=======

Once Makoto and I parted, I went to my room and realized that it was almost nighttime. I was so wrapped up in talking to the others that I forgot that I hadn't eaten since breakfast.

Now is a better time to get some food before the dining hall closes.

And so, I headed to the dining hall to get something to eat. That's all I wanted, but little did I know that I was about to be roped into something like this...

...Actually, I was already roped in.

Chapter 19: Sauna Battle Turned Bromance

When I opened the dining hall door, I was met with an argument between Taka and Mondo. I just stood there in silence and watched the argument go down. The door swung open to reveal Makoto walking in and stopped in his tracks when he noticed Taka and Mondo.

"Hey, Makoto! Hanako! Perfect timing!" Taka yelled when he noticed us.

"Huh? What's going on?" Makoto asked.

"No idea. I just walked in and saw these two arguing," I explained.

"I have a favor to ask! C'mon, you two. You gotta be our [witness] !" Mondo requested.

" Witness to what...?" Makoto asked.

"This guy's been talkin' shit about me since day one. Callin' me a coward and shit like that..." Mondo explained.

"You 'are' a coward! That's why you turn to violence to solve your problems! That's why you can't do what society asks of you, why you walk around dressed like that!" Taka yelled.

"...The fuck you say? You dunno shit." Mondo growled.

"You've already lost to yourself, but you're such a coward you don't even realize it!" Taka shot back.

"So what, you sayin' you're 'not' a coward? You think you're tougher than me?"

"I 'know' I am!"

"Okay, then let's throw down . Prove you got what I don't got!"

"I accept your challenge!"

"So that's what's happening', you two. You gotta be our witness!" Mondo said, turning his head towards us.

"You're gonna...throw down? You're not gonna like...start punching each other, are you?" Makoto asked.

"There's a bathhouse on the 1st floor of the dorm, right? With a sauna inside?" Mondo asked.

"I see...a simple endurance contest, is it? We're going to see who can stay in the sauna the longest , am I right!?" Taka shouted.

"Goddamn straight!" Mondo roared.

Taka dragged Makoto while Mondo carried me over his shoulder and took us to the front of the sauna door in the bathhouse.

"A-Are you guys really gonna go through with this?" Makoto asked nervously.

"Shit yeah!" Mondo cheered as he put me down.

"He'll be done in a matter of minutes, anyway. People like him are, without exception, all talk!" Taka cried out.

"Bring! It! On! Hell, let's make things interesting . Wouldn't wanna win without a challenge, right?" Mondo said.

"Interesting...?" repeated Makoto.

"How interesting?" I inquired.

"We're gonna battle with all our clothes on !" Mondo yelled.

"Th-That's idiotic! Suicidal!" Taka said, his eyes shot wide open.

"What, you afraid?" Mondo sneered.

"Y-You're going to regret this!" Taka shot back.

"Shut up and let's do this!" Mondo ordered.

=======

And so, the sauna battle has officially begun. True to his word, Mondo entered with his clothes on, while Taka, on the other hand, took his clothes off and wrapped his waist around with a towel.

"H-Hey, Mondo..." Taka called.

"What, asshole?" Mondo asked.

"You can take off your uniform, ya know. Go ahead, I won't judge."

"And you can shut the fuck up and mind your own business. I mean, look at you. Your face is all red. What're you, one of those goddamn hot spring monkeys?"

"I-It just so happens...I was born with a red face...!"

"You don't have to act all big, man."

"A-Act, you say? Hahaha! I'm still plenty good to go! I'm so good, I could eat a steaming-hot bowl of soup right now!"

"Are they...okay?" Makoto asked with concern.

"I'm sure they are," I said as I continued to watch them from the window. Who knew under that uniform that Taka has a fine-looking chest?

A few minutes passed... Then a few dozen minutes... Then an hour...

"D-Don't you think...it's about time...you gave up?" Taka asked Mondo.

"What about you? You can't even hardly talk...dumbass," Mondo said.

"Say wh-whatever you want...I'm still totally...good to go! In fact, I'm starting to feel...kinda cold!" Taka said.

"That's...prolly not good..." Mondo said.

"H-Hey, uh...guys? I know you both wanna prove how big of badasses you are, but...don't you think you've done enough?" Makoto asked.

"Shut up!" yelled Taka and Mondo.

"Maybe it's best if they decide when they have enough," I said.

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime . Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

"Nighttime already? And I still haven't eaten anything..." I muttered.

"...Hey, did you hear that? It's nighttime. How about we call it a tie?" Makoto asked.

"In a true competition...there's no such thing as a tie! You win, or you lose. That's...the only thing that matters!" Taka shouted.

"Listen to you...you son of a bitch...! Then bring it on...! I'll...I'll push you right up to the gates of hell!" Mondo yelled.

"Th-This isn't good, guys..." declared Makoto.

"Yeah, you hear him? Better crawl on back...to your room...! You too Hanako...! I'll let you know how it went...in the morning! Then you can start spreading my...my legend...!" Mondo said.

"Come tomorrow morning...you'll fall down in front of me..down on your knees. I'll show you where to do it...!" Taka said.

Oh my! I hope nobody takes this out of context. I smirked at that thought.

"Big talk from someone...whose face is about to explode...!" Mondo said.

"Right back a-at ya!" Taka countered.

"...Okay, well...g'night then," Makoto said.

"Don't overdo it," I added as I and Makoto headed to our dorm rooms. I flopped on my bed and silently mumbled a prayer that they won't go too far to their deaths.

=======

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"

I got out of bed, and then remembered about Taka and Mondo's battle last night.

I do hope they survive.

I quickly finished my morning routine and headed to the dining hall as fast as I could. But when I got there...

"Bahahaha! What are you talkin' about, bro?"

"Kahahaha! What are YOU talkin' about, bro!?"

I stared at them with my mouth wide open. Okay... Not what I was expecting...

"What...the...?" Makoto said confused as well.

"Hey, Makoto! Hanako!" Mondo called out.

"Thank you so much for acting as our witness yesterday!" Taka said.

"Huh? Are they...friends now?" Makoto asked.

"Sure seems like it," I replied.

"They've been like this all morning. They were all buddy-buddy as soon as they walked in. It feels gross," Hina said while shaking her head.

"Feels gross? Hell no. Feels 'great', more like!" Mondo said.

"This almost feels like sexual harassment, somehow..." Hina said.

"Forget her, bro. A girl like her just doesn't get our manly bond ! Friendship between men is stronger than blood! A woman could never understand!" Taka yelled.

"What you just said? Bro, that was cool as shit! I should get a tattoo of it!" Mondo explained.

"No, bro, you mustn't! Your body is a temple, given to you by your loving parents!" Taka advised.

"So, um...who won the contest?" Makoto asked.

"Who gives a shit!?" Mondo roared.

"Yeah, don't ask stupid questions! What matters is that we both took part in it together! So kamehame forgetaboutit!" Taka yelled while moving his arms around.

"You're over nine thousand!" Mondo yelled as he and Taka threw their arms around each other and began to laugh.

"It's like they emerged out of the sauna as two different people," I observed.

"Friendship between men seems very...simplistic. Nothing like what I'm used to with girls," Sakura said.

"Yeah, for real..." agreed Hina.

And so, for the rest of breakfast, all that was heard was Mondo and Taka's overpowering "brotherhood," which is a pretty unfortunate experience.

When I finished, I headed back to my room and spent the rest of the day reading while eating caramel candies. Time passed and it was now almost nighttime when the monitor played. 

*Ding dong, bing bong*

I gazed up at the monitor and Monokuma's face appeared on the screen.

"Ahem! School announcement, school announcement. Nighttime is quickly approaching, but before it arrives... All students, please gather in the gym immediately. Emergency! Emergency!"

The monitor shut off, and I stared at it for a few seconds before I sighed and began to walk toward the gym. I had a pretty bad feeling about this, but I better not defy him.

I made it to the gym and waited for the others to arrive.

Chapter 20: Deep Dark Embarrassing Secrets

A few minutes later, everyone arrived at the gym at Monokuma's order.

"Hmm... Asking us to gather together all of a sudden like this... What could he possibly want?" Taka inquired.

"Indeed. What might await us this time?" Celeste asked.

"Hmhmhm. He keeps things interesting, that's for certain," Byakuya chuckled.

"How is that funny? Can't you smile like a normal person once in a while? Like how the housewife on a classic TV show smiles at the end of an episode?" Hifumi requested.

"There's something totally messed up with you if you can laugh at a time like this!" Hina yelled.

"Which of us is 'actually' "messed up," hmm?" Byakuya asked.

"Wh-What's that supposed to mean...?" Hina asked.

"Nothing in particular. Just admiring, that's all. I don't want to kill anyone. But I also don't want to stay here, living in blind denial day after day. I was just admiring how you could live like that and still keep your sanity," Byakuya said.

"I'm not in denial..."

"That reminds me. Remember how you kept talking about how the police or whoever would come help us? How'd that turn out? It seems to me there's no sign whatsoever of possible rescue."

"Th-That's just... I wonder what actually happened."

"It's strange, that's true. There's no way the police wouldn't know about it. We're right in the middle of a major urban area," Kyoko said.

"The police suck!" Hifumi yelled.

"On the contrary, the mastermind may be just that powerful, to take control even of the police..." Celeste said.

"Oh! This might not be related, but--" Hiro began to speak, but Toko cut him off.

"Then don't say it."

"Nope, gonna say it!" Hiro said. "It's about last night. I was near the main hall just staring off into space. When all of a sudden, I heard it."

"You heard what?" Chihiro asked.

"A sound that... I don't really know what it was..." Hiro said.

"Wh-What kind of sound?" Taka inquired.

"Well like I said, I don't really know. But if I 'had' to describe it...it was like...a construction site, I guess?" Hiro guessed.

"A construction site?" Makoto repeated.

"I mean, I could just be making that up. I only just barely heard anything..." Hiro mumbled.

"Then you d-definitely made it up. M-Must've just been the sound of the ocean in th-that head of your..." Toko muttered, but the familiar voice of the build-a-bear reject cut her off.

"Say what!? Whatchoo talkin' about, Toko!?" Monokuma asked as the students turned to the podium to see Monokuma pop out from behind.

"He's arrived..." Kyoko mumbled.

"What Hiro heard wasn't the sound of construction...but it 'could' have been an explosion!" Monokuma explained.

"Huh?" Makoto looked confused.

"Or maybe a machine gun! Puhuhu... That can kinda sound like construction in a way!" Monokuma continued.

"What are you talking about...?" Makoto asked.

"Ah-ah-ah! Beyond this point my mouth is zipped, my lips are sealed, I am fully puckered! It's a secret little secret!" Monokuma said.

"Fine, then let's move on to what you 'can' tell us. Why did you call us all here?" Kyoko asked.

"You don't beat around the ol' bush, do ya!? Ready for me to get to the point, huh? But before that, you mind if I vent a little?" Monokuma asked and continued on before anyone answered. "I'm low on energy these days. My stitching's even losing all its shine and luster... I'm thinking, it's probably because of this ho-hum, boring old everyday life. I'm looking for something with a little more stimulation, something rife with danger and intrigue! Listen, can I just be frank? The next blackened hasn't shown up yet, and I'm getting booooored! So, I've decided to come up with a new way to motivate you!"

Everyone froze up when the word motive came out. The recent motive was playing in my head, driving me to fear.

"M-Motivate...!? Is it another set of videos or something...? Are you gonna show us some demented thing to try and drive us all to murder!?" Makoto yelled.

"Drive you to murder!? What a mean thing to say! Just awful!" Monokuma said.

"I don't know what you've got planned, but we're not going to kill each other anymore! No matter what you do, I swear to God we won't!" Taka shouted.

Monokuma giggled. "Hmm. That's very big talk. Do your best to back it up, okay? Now then, with your permission, let me begin! So this time it's...embarrassing memories and secrets! As long as you're alive, it's a given that there's things you don't want other people to know about you! So I did a little investigating of my own, and I dug up some of your darkest secrets!" Monokuma pulled out envelopes from behind, each envelope with a person's name on them. "And those embarrassing memories and secrets are all contained in the envelopes I have right here... I'm going to hand them out now, so take a second to take a peek!"

As Monokuma spoke, he tossed the envelopes into the air and landed at our feet. I quickly snatched the envelope with my name written on it. I pulled out what was written inside...and my entire face went beet red.

"Hanako Yasashiku has a habit of staring at people's chests, especially at girls."

I'M NOT A PERVERT!!! IT'S JUST A GUILTY PLEASURE OF MINE!!!!!!!!!

"What...!?" Makoto gasped.

"H-How...?" Hina muttered.

"How'd you find out about this!?" Taka yelled.

Everyone was panicking and talking at once.

"You have 24 hours! If someone doesn't become blackened by then...all your deepest, darkest, most embarrassingest secrets will be exposed to the world! Maybe I'll roll by a crowded intersection in a van strapped with loudspeakers and spill the beans! Kyaaah! Wouldn't that be sooo embarrassing!?" Monokuma threatened.

"...So that's what you meant by "motivate"?" Makoto asked.

"Yup, you got it! They're all pretty unpleasant, trust me. None of you want me to reveal that stuff, right?" Monokuma asked.

"It's definitely something I'd rather people not know, but... We'd never kill over something like that!" Makoto yelled.

"Wh-What'd you say!?" Monokuma growled.

"He's right! Your plan is doomed to fail! No one's gonna murder someone for this kind of thing!" Taka shouted.

"O-Oh no... Is it because...for better or for worse, your memory is still a way to connect to the outside world? I have stuff I wouldn't want anyone to know no matter what, so I assumed you'd all be the same... Which is why I put so much effort into preparing this next motive! Maaan! You're saying you really won't kill each other over this stuff? That just sucks! ...Well, what can ya do? Okay, then in 24 hours, I'll expose all your secrets just to make myself feel a little better! So sad, so depressed! Farenotwell...!" Monokuma left with a sad look on his face.

"I didn't know what to expect at first, but...maybe we dodged a bullet on this one. I mean yeah, having those secrets revealed is gonna be totally embarrassing. But that's seriously not enough to give someone a reason to kill, right?" Hina asked us.

"Good news, everyone! I have a brilliant idea! Why don't we all just confess the secrets in those envelopes right here and now!?" Taka suggested. "If we do that, any and all motive for murder will vanish! That's pretty smart, right!? Okay, so my embarrassing thing is..."

"I d-don't want to hear your stupid s-story!" Toko interrupted.

"What!?" Taka looked taken back.

"Besides, I don't...I don't w-want to talk about it... I don't c-care what anyone says, I don't want to talk a-about mine!" Toko grumbled.

"Neither do I. Not because it is unpleasant, but because it is impossible," Celeste said.

"Well it's just human nature to wanna hear it when you say it's impossible! C'mon, it'll be good for ya!" Hifumi encouraged.

"Absolutely not," Celeste said.

"It's okay, just a little bit. C'mon c'mon c'mon...!" Hifumi urged.

"As I said--"

"C'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon!"

"I said I don't wanna talk about it, you human bag of lard!" Celeste shouted.

"Kyaaah!" Hifumi yelled.

"I agree with them. There's no need to discuss it," Byakuya said.

"I would rather not tell mine. It's...rather embarrassing," I said with my face turning a deeper shade of red.

"What do you think, Chihiro?" Taka asked her.

"Um...s-sorry, I don't really want to talk about it right now," Chihiro responded. "But I also don't want to leave things the way they are. So maybe I can talk about it later... After I try my best...to become strong... Then I can tell everyone."

"If you don't wanna talk, you don't have to. I'm not super-excited to talk about it, either..." Hina said.

"If everyone's that much against it... Even if my bro's the one that suggested it, I gotta say no," Mondo said while looking at the ground.

"W-Well, that's okay, then. Either way, if it's just a few secrets, I'm sure nobody's about to kill anybody over it," Taka reassured. "Okay, I'll stop with all the secret talk. But... Each of us has 24 hours to get ready! Having our secrets exposed isn't going to be fun, but it's not like we're gonna die cuz of it! So, you know, um... Don't do anything hasty!"

"The way you keep repeating it kinda makes me worry even more..." Hifumi muttered.

"Oh... Uh, okay, sorry. I know it's gonna be tough, but..." Before Taka could continue, the nighttime announcement began to play.

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

"Nighttime already, huh? Okay, let's all call it a day," Hiro suggested.

"Good idea. We need to prepare for tomorrow," Sakura said.

One by one, we all left the gym and headed to our rooms, leaving things as they were, and leaving things as they lay.

As soon as I headed back to my room, I flopped on my bed and reread my secret over and over again. Is this really something I would kill someone over?

My eyes suddenly became heavy, and I couldn't keep them open for much longer. I crumbled my secret and tossed it under my bed and slowly fell asleep. But what I didn't know is that even then...a tragedy was taking place.

=======

"..."

"...morn...ing."

"...good...d..."

"Goo..d...morning..."

I slowly began to open my eyes to see that the source of the sounds came from Monokuma who was standing on my bed with his face close to mine. "Good morning!" He said again.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" I screamed as I slipped off my bed and landed on the floor on my back. "Ow!" I rubbed my back in pain while Monokuma was laughing his ass off.

"Upupu! Nice reaction! I'm glad to see you didn't disappoint!"

"Gah! What the hell are you doing here!?" I asked.

"I wanted to spice things up! So instead of a school announcement, I decided to wake you up in person!" Monokuma answered.

"Why?"

"Because it's fun. And I love your reactions whenever you get startled."

My face turned red with embarrassment and anger.

"And as long as I'm here, I figured I'd let you hear it right from the bear's mouth," Monokuma continued.

"Hear what? I asked.

"Are you sure you should be acting this laid back? I mean, even though something happened to one of your buddy-buddy classmates?"

"What?"

"Wuhwuhwuh-what? Your face is all normal looking, like you don't care what happened!"

"I do care. Now what happened?

"Puhuhu! That's for me to know, and you to find out! Good luuuck!" Monokuma disappeared.

Getting up from the floor, I rubbed my back and quickly made my way to the dining hall. Hina and Sakura were already there, so we waited for a couple other people to show up. A few minutes later, Hiro and surprisingly Byakuya came in as well. Soon afterward Makoto rushed into the dining hall.

"Ah, Makoto!" Hina said.

"Good to see you're alright," I said.

"Are you okay?" Hiro asked.

"Did Monokuma talk to you, too?" Sakura questioned.

"Hiro, Hina, Sakura, Hanako, and... Byakuya... You're the only ones here? Where's everyone else?" Makoto asked.

"Either they're already off trying to verify what Monokuma said...or they've fallen victim to the "something" that Monokuma mentioned," Byakuya explained.

"The...something?" Makoto repeated.

"It can't be... Has it happened again? Murder...?" Sakura said.

"S-So if something really did happen... Does that mean someone did it cuz of what happened yesterday?" Hiro asked.

"It can't be! That stuff was just a bunch of old memories!" Hina objected.

""Just" old memories? Don't be so sure about that. Clearly someone felt it was more important than that," Byakuya said.

"Huh...?" Makoto said.

"To judge someone else's values based on your own outlook... Do you realize how dangerous that is?" Byakuya asked.

"Wh--? Why didn't you say something yesterday!?" Hina yelled at him.

Byakuya smirked. "Did you already forget? This isn't a co-op game. It's every man for himself. What good does it do me to go out of my way to help you?"

"Stop saying that already!" Hina yelled.

"There's something wrong with him, for serious. Did he get brainwashed or something?" Hiro asked.

"That's not important. What matters right now is that we find out what happened..." Sakura said.

"She's right. Let's all split up and begin looking. Hmhm... The game is afoot," Byakuya said.

=======

After looking around the first floor, I made my way up to the second floor and went to the pool area. There was nothing of interest in the hallway, so I made my way to the locker rooms. When I got close, I noticed that the doors were open.

Aren't these supposed to be locked?

*Ding dong, bing bong*

The monitor began to flicker, and Monokuma appeared on the screen.

"For this investigation, I have unlocked the doors. Please look around to your heart's content!" Monokuma said and signed off.

"I-Investigation...?" Makoto repeated.

"Just as I thought," Byakuya said.

I jumped at the voices of Makoto and Byakuya from behind me. They must've entered during the announcement.

"Judging from what he just said, there can be no doubt a murder really has taken place," Byakuya explained.

"C-Come on...!" Makoto denied.

"And the locker rooms... They're suspicious. Very suspicious, indeed. Wouldn't you agree?" Byakuya asked.

"Huh? Suspicious...?" Makoto asked.

"It seems nobody's searched the locker rooms. Let's start with the girls locker room..." Byakuya muttered.

"Why specifically the girls locker room?" I asked. He ignored me as he walked past me and pressed his hand against the girls locker room door, and the door swung open without a sound.

Inside the locker room, time began to freeze...

Chihiro Fujisaki, the Ultimate Programmer, was crucified between two power racks.

 

Chapter 21: Bloodlust

Notes:

A.N: Hey everyone, hope you're all doing good. I'm back with, hopefully, weekly updates. I'll try to write when I have some free time because I'm so busy with stuff. Anyways, enjoy this long-awaited chapter.

Boy's Life of Despair

Deadly Life

No, not Chihiro! Anybody but Chihiro.

My eyes were paralyzed onto Chihiro's body with tears pouring out. Chihiro was the sweetest person anyone could ever meet, and now she's been taken away. I knew someone would die next, but I couldn't imagine in a million years it would be Chihiro.

"UwaaaaaaAAAAAHHH!!!" Makoto's scream snapped me out of my trance as the body announcement began to play.

*Ding dong dong ding*

"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!"

"...What the hell was that?" Makoto asked.

"Ah, that's right. You were unconscious during Sayaka's, so you don't know about it. What you just heard was the body discovery announcement. Apparently, when three or more people discover a body, an announcement plays to let everyone know. I imagine it's so that the search for the culprit can proceed fairly for everyone involved," Byakuya explained.

He then turned his attention back to Chihiro's body, "Most unusual, don't you think...?" He asked in a calm voice. "Look. Chihiro's corpse has been suspended somehow. And something's been written on the wall, in blood... "Bloodlust"? Such a brutal way to kill someone... No, this is beyond brutal. Wouldn't you agree?"

"How is it 'not' brutal? They killed her! One of us killed her!" I shouted, brushing away my tears.

"No, that's not my point. This murder is far too bizarre for any everyday amateur to have committed it. Unlike with Sayaka, this murder was not a crime of passion or necessity. It's almost as if whoever did this...did it for fun. You see what I mean, don't you?"

" ...What?" Makoto looked very confused. Soon the sounds of running footsteps were heard from behind us and the voice of Taka rang out.

"Hey, I heard screaming! Did something--?" Taka then froze when he saw Chihiro's body. "...AAAAAAAAHH! Chihiro!? The body discovery announcement!? Then Chihiro really is...?"

"Dead, yes," Byakuya confirmed.

"D-D-D-D--!" Taka stuttered.

"Before you start screaming your head off, go round everyone up. It seems another game has begun. Another life-or-death game to uncover a killer..." Byakuya ordered.

Taka bolted out of the locker room and did as he was told. Soon, everyone gathered at the scene with looks of confusion, fear, and anger. We all just stood there, gathered around Chihiro's body.

"Damn... I couldn't keep her safe!" Sakura said in anger.

"So there's another victim..." Taka said with tears.

"Which means we are now in the same position once again," Celeste said.

"Fuck, man... What the fuck IS this!?" Mondo cried out.

"It's a dream... This is a dream! It's all just a dream! In fact, I haven't even been born yet! I don't have any memory of ever being alive! Ugyaaaah!" Hifumi screamed.

"Shut up," ordered Celeste.

=======

I looked behind Chihiro to see the word "bloodlust" written on the wall in blood. The others have taken notice of it as well.

"I don't think it's any kind of dying message. It's just too...strange..." Kyoko thought out loud.

"But, you know...that thing about writing "bloodlust" in blood... Doesn't it sound kinda familiar?" Taka asked.

-Flashback-

"A murderous fiend, who kills again and again using a bizarre and brutal method... And at the scene of each crime, the word " bloodlust " is written in the victim's own blood. They're like a ghost, attacking suddenly then slipping away before the police can catch up to them. And what nickname did the Internet give to this mysterious serial killer?"

-End of Flashback-

"Genocide Jack!" Hiro cried out.

"Then this is...some copycat killer trying to imitate Genocide Jack's "style"? But...why would anyone do that?" Hina asked.

"Perhaps...it's the work of the real Genocide Jack," Byakuya suggested.

"The real...? Wait, are you saying Genocide Jack is here in the school!?" Hiro cried in fear.

"Th-There's no way...!" Hina denied.

"But going so far as to write bloodlust at the scene... I am surprised at their stupidity..." Celeste commented.

"I can't imagine a worse situation than dealing with a stupid murderer..." Sakura said.

"Ah--!" Hina let out a gasp.

"What is it now!?" Hifumi asked.

"Toko!" Hina cried out and pointed to the entrance. We all turned our heads to see Toko, who was the last to arrive, panicking.

"Ah...ahh...? Nnnnnno... Wh-Why...? Why...? W...h...y...? WHYYYYYYYY!?!?"

*GADUNK*

Toko fell to the ground and passed out.

"Toko!" I called out and ran to her and used my hand as a fan to give her some air.

"She fainted! That did NOT sound good!" Hiro panicked.

"T-Toko!" Hina said as she too rushed over to the collapsed Toko and started trying to shake her awake. "Toko, are you okay!? Come on, wake up!"

"Oh, that's right. I just remembered what she said, about how she faints anytime she sees blood," Hifumi said.

"So she is hemophobic? I imagine she does not watch too many horror films, then," Celeste said.

"This isn't a violation of the rules, right? I mean, technically she passed out somewhere besides her room," Hiro said.

"No, I think it should be okay. The regulations prohibit "sleeping." Like, on purpose," Makoto explained.

"Ahh, so since she didn't faint on purpose, it doesn't count? Gotcha," Hiro said, sounding relieved.

"Toko, can you hear me!? Hey, you gotta wake up!" Hina cried out. As if she'd heard her...Toko suddenly shot awake. As in, she literally jumped up from where she was laying. It was such a strange reaction, I was startled at her sudden outburst. She leapt straight up into the air, changing her stance as she did. Her tongue drooped out of her mouth and her eyes narrowed.

"Huh? What?" Hina said, confused.

"Sorry about that. I was just so shocked, ya know? It happens, right? Was I the only one?" Toko asked. Her speech was entirely different from how she usually speaks.

"T-Toko? Are you...okay?" Makoto asked.

"I'm fine, I'm fine! Kyehaha...! Whoa, is that a dead body!? Hey! Are you dead!? Kyeehahaha!" Toko laughed.

"She musta hit her head 'real' hard when she fainted..." Hiro commented.

"The world has a front and a back, a top inning and a bottom, a sea of truth and a web of lies!"

"This is...quite concerning. I mean, she sounds completely different..." Hifumi observed.

"Toko, is everything...alright?" I asked.

"Everything's fine! At least the stutter's all gone. That's a good thing, right!? Kyeehahaha!"

"It's clear to me that everything is 'not' fine! Your eyes seem strangely vacant!" Taka yelled.

"It might be best if we take her back to her room for the time being..." Sakura suggested.

"That's a good idea," I said.

"I don't mind taking her, but...could someone help me?" Hina requested.

"If you need help, I don't mind--" Hifumi started, but Hina interrupted him.

"Taka, could you help me?"

"Huh? She totally ignored me!" Hifumi said in shock.

"Very well. You take care of the girl, and the rest of us can begin the investigation right away. Can I assume nobody has a problem leaving Sakura and Mondo on guard duty again?" Byakuya asked.

"H-Hold on a second. Rushing to an investigation--" Makoto said, and Byakuya cut him off.

"The mastermind isn't behind that. After what happened last time, surely you realize that."

"Nng...!" grunted Makoto.

"There is no question that Chihiro was murdered by someone among us. Isn't that right, Monokuma?" Byakuya asked, and Monokuma appeared out of nowhere.

"Right as rain! But don't take it as a bad thing. It's just a fact of life! Because that's how graduation works! What, does that freak you out? You guys got no balls, you know that!? Is there just nothin' down there at all? Well, I'll let you pray to mine if you want. Actually, I don't have any, either! Sorry!"

"Stop monologuing and give us what you came here to give us. You 'did' bring it, right?" Byakuya asked impatiently.

"Hehehe... I sure did, chum! Allow me to present the next Monokuma File. I know how much you must be looking forward to it! So, please do your very tippytop best on this investigation!" He placed the files on the floor and disappeared.

"Do we really gotta do another investigation...? Examining the corpse of one of our friends... Having to suspect all our 'other' friends... I hate this... I can't take it anymore!" Hina gasped.

"I hate it, too! I-I-I've had enough! I'm gettin' outta here!" Hiro yelled.

"Where do you plan on going? There's nowhere to run," Sakura said.

"Just accept it already. After all, blood is just a liquid. A dead body is a simple object," Byakuya said with no regret.

Celeste smiled. "You are very...enthusiastic about all of this, are you not?"

"How can I not be? If we don't unmask the culprit we all die," Byakuya reminded.

"Th-That's true, but...to jump into it so soon..." Makoto muttered, earning a glare from Byakuya.

"What? Do you 'want' to die? Fine, then go off and die somewhere. Right now, go ahead. You're a waste of space,"

Does anyone have an Uno reverse card I can use?

"A dead body is an...object?" Mondo repeated what Byakuya said before. "Chihiro wasn't an "object"! Show a little respect, or I'll beat some into ya!"

"Everyone stop bickering. Listen, there's some truth to what Byakuya said," Kyoko spoke.

"K-Kyoko!" Makoto gasped.

"If we don't solve the mystery and find the killer, our own lives are forfeit. And if Byakuya is right that Genocide Jack is somehow the one who killed Chihiro then unless we do something, more victims could start piling up," Kyoko explained.

"Forget more victims! If we mess this up, we're all dead meat!" Hifumi shouted.

"Hold on, hold on," Monokuma appeared out of nowhere yet again. "If that's your worry, you don't gotta worry any longer! In any one killing game, the guilty party may only kill a maximum of two people."

"What...? I don't remember any rule like that," Hifumi said.

"I just came up with it. I mean, if one person went around and killed everyone, your lovely student life would be all over, right?" Monokuma asked.

The e-Handbook buzzed in my pocket, signaling that the new rule has been added.

"In that case, why not limit it to 'one' person?" Sakura asked.

"Well in a good mystery, you don't want to miss out on at least the 'potential' of a serial killer angle! Nyoohohoho! Just one would totally murder that possibility! Farewell for now! I'll catch you guys at the class trial!" He jumped and disappeared.

"I can't say I understand his thinking, but if we can kill up to two people then one more person's life could still be in danger," Celeste said.

"Which is definitely not good. We need to uncover the culprit before something else happens," Byakuya said.

"YOU need to shut the fuck up!" Mondo yelled.

"W-Well...for now, Taka and me are gonna drop Toko off at her room," Hina said.

"Nice! I'm gonna get dropped off!" Toko cheered as she, Hina, and Taka left the locker room.

"We have no time to stand around here. We must begin our investigation tout suite. If we do not solve the mystery of who killed Chihiro...then we will quickly follow her into the afterlife," Celeste reminded.

Celeste is right... I hate this, but...if I want to survive... Me and everyone else... We have to do it. We don't have any other choice! I need to bring Chihiro's killer to justice!

And thus, the investigation has officially started.

 

Chapter 22: Another Investigation

I picked up the Monokuma file and began to read the information.

"The victim was Chihiro Fujisaki. The time of death is estimated to be around 2:00 a.m. The body was discovered in the girls locker room, on the 2nd floor of the school. The cause of death was a blow to the head with a blunt object. She was killed instantly."

That's all it says. I shouldn't really complain about it, I just have to work with it.

Monokuma File #2 has been added as a truth bullet

I headed over to Chihiro's body when a poster on the wall caught my eye. On the poster was a girl in a bikini on all fours hunching over in a position. Taking my eyes off her...cleavage, I saw that her face was covered in blood.

It must have happened during the murder.

I turned and noticed a dumbbell on the ground with one side of it covered with a bloodstain. Makoto and Byakuya both noticed it as well.

"The Monokuma File said "a blow to the head with a blunt object" is what killed her," Byakuya recapped.

"Does that mean this dumbbell was actually the murder weapon...?" Makoto asked.

"I don't imagine it could have been anything else," Byakuya answered.

Locker Room Dumbbell has been added as a truth bullet

Underneath Chihiro's body, there was a fresh bloodstain on the carpet. It must've been splattered with blood during the murder...

"I use this locker room all the time. Now...it's become the site of Chihiro's death," Sakura spoke.

"Why was she killed in the locker room? Perhaps she could have been killed somewhere else, and then carried here. She would've been light to carry," I suggested.

"She was very light, that is true. It wouldn't be hard for someone to carry her. But still... I still think she came here on her own, by choice," Sakura said.

"Oh yes! I remember that she's been talking a lot about how she wanted to get stronger. But according to the Monokuma File, she was killed around two in the morning. Would she really be exercising that late?" I asked.

"Hina or myself are usually in the locker room during the day. So she was probably avoiding it then."

"Avoiding it?"

"Although we invited her to join us more than once, she never showed up. So I can only assume she was trying to avoid us."

"So instead, she came to exercise in the middle of the night?"

"Perhaps. But it's difficult for me to imagine she would have come alone. She did want to start exercising, but she specifically mentioned she couldn't do it by herself. She needed support from others."

"So... she could've come here in the middle of the night to train in secret but also would have come with someone else."

"It's a possibility, I think," Sakura said.

Sakura's Account has been added as a truth bullet

Well, that about wraps up investigating the locker room. I better check out some other places.

I headed down to the first floor to investigate when Hina called out my name.

"Hanako! Big trouble! Need your help!"

"I'm kind of busy right now Hina," I said.

"But it's an emergency...! Emergency! C'mon, please! You gotta help me! This is a serious emergency! Please, please! You gotta help me!" Hina pleaded.

"Alright Hina, just take a deep breath," I advised.

"But...but...! It's an [e-mer-gen-cyyy]!"

"What's the emergency?"

"Something's wrong with Toko. She's acting super strange!"

"So what do you want me to do?"

"Can you check up on her while I find other people to help?"

"Alright. I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks Hanako!" Hina said and bolted away.

I hurried my way to Toko's dorm room and rang her doorbell. After a minute the door opened a bit. Through the open crack, was Toko, looking all nervous and trembling in fear.

"...What do you w-want?" Toko asked.

"I just wanted to check up on you? Are you alright?" I asked.

"G-Go away!" Toko ordered. "I w-won't let Genocide Jack get t-the better of m-me!" Toko then slammed the door in my face.

"Well, that was weird," I muttered. I heard footsteps running in my direction. I turned to see Hina running back.

"Have any luck?" She asked.

I shook my head. "She really is acting weird." Makoto ran and Byakuya strolled towards us.

"You guys are too slow!" Hina yelled.

"I think you're just...too fast..." Makoto panted.

"So? What's this emergency?" Byakuya questioned.

"Well, after what happened in the girls locker room, we left Toko in her room so she could lay down. After a while, we came back to check on her. Ya know, see how she was doing. But when we did it was weird. She refused to come out, and she kept saying all this weird stuff," Hina explained.

"Weird stuff?" Makoto repeated.

"Yes. I tried talking to her, but it didn't really work out so well," I said.

"We should try talking to her ourselves," Byakuya suggested.

"Y-Yeah, good idea," Makoto agreed. Makoto went to the door and rang the doorbell. The door immediately cracked open just a bit, and there was Toko, still shaking in fear.

"...What?" Toko questioned.

"Oh, um...nothing. It's just that...Hina was really worried about you, holding yourself up in your room..." Makoto explained.

"Leave me a-alone..." Toko said.

"Um, yeah, sure thing. But...could you open up, just for a second...?" Makoto requested.

"...Won't a-allow it..."

"Huh...?"

"I w-won't let Genocide Jack have control!" Toko cried out and slammed the door hard.

"Wh-What was that...?" Makoto asked, confused.

"She's been acting like that the whole time. When I rang a little while ago..." Hina began to explain.

-----

"I'll d-drive out...the killer... D-Drive out the murderous fiend..."

-----

"It doesn't make any sense, right? I was afraid to leave her in there alone, so I tried to bust down her door but it felt like something was holding it shut on the other side. I couldn't even budge it... Whatever it is, I'm really worried about her... Isn't there anyone who might be able to persuade her...?" Hina questioned.

My eyes immediately went to Byakuya. "Why don't you do it Byakuya? I'm sure she'll listen to you," I suggested with a smirk.

Byakuya shrugs his shoulders. "...Sure, whatever."

"Huh? You're gonna talk to her, Byakuya? Wow, I guess you can be nice when you want to!" Hina said.

Byakuya ignored her and rang the doorbell. A few moments later Toko opened her door again.

"Leave me alone! You're all s-s-s-so annoying... Ah--! Backula!" Toko gasped. I covered my mouth so I wouldn't laugh at what she called Byakuya.

"It's Byakuya," Byakuya corrected.

"...I-I'm sorry. I couldn't k-keep our promise... But don't w-worry. Never again... I...! I won't let Genocide Jack have control ever again!" And Toko slammed the door.

"Even Byakuya couldn't pull it off..." Hina mumbled.

"There's nothing else we can do. Let's get back to the investigation," Byakuya ordered.

"H-Hold on! Hey, Byakuya. What was Toko talking about just now? Something about a promise?" Makoto asked.

"Yeah. What was that about?" I asked.

"Hm? Oh, I have no idea. Another one of her delusions, I'm sure," Byakuya said, brushing it off.

"B-But..." Before Makoto could continue, Byakuya interrupted him.

"If I say I don't know, that means I don't know. Just let Hina take care of her."

"O-Oh...yeah, okay. I'll stay here and keep an eye on her," agreed Hina.

"Well then, let's go." Byakuya turned his back and walked away.

"B-Byakuya!" Makoto cried out and ran after him. I walked with them and Byakuya took us to a certain room.

"...The library?" Makoto asked.

"Come on, let's go in," Byakuya said. He led us inside and stopped in front of the back door.

"It's the archive, right?" Makoto asked.

"Hurry up and go inside," Byakuya ordered.

"Oh...here?"

"It'll all make sense once you're inside."

We all walked inside to see tons of shelves full of books, boxes on the ground, a stepladder, files and paper, and...

"...And so much dust, too," Makoto commented.

"I would say there's enough value in this place to endure the dust," Byakuya said.

Makoto headed over to one of the many shelves and scanned through the files. I, on the other hand, looked through the boxes and found an empty wooden box, but judging by the smudges in the dust, it looks like there was something inside.

"What was in here?" I asked Byakuya.

"There was an extension cord plugged in there. It proved very useful while I was in the library," he answered.

"And you used it on that desk lamp?" I asked, pointing to a lamp in the far corner of the room.

"Do you have a problem with that lamp? It was here before, then I moved it over there. It's too dark over there, so I thought I'd put it to good use," Byakuya explained. He then turned his attention to Makoto. "If you're thinking of looking through any of them, let me give you a little warning. Those things are filled with graphic, disturbing photos from all kinds of crime scenes. It's the kind of thing any normal person wouldn't ever want to look at. Be careful..."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Makoto asked.

"All those files there are investigation reports related to different cold cases. Those are internal documents, for police eyes only. They're not the kind of thing you'd expect to leak," he explained.

"Oh...?" Makoto said. We both kept searching around until Byakuya stopped us.

"So? Are you finally beginning to understand the true splendor of this library? The entire reason I was interested in the library...is because of this room right here. It's home to classified government documents, police records, things no ordinary person would ever see. Isn't it magnificent?"

"This...can't be for real, right?" Makoto questioned.

Byakuya scoffed. "That's your guys' problem. Anything that doesn't fit into your preconceived reality, you label it a lie."

"Well, it's not that. It's just... It's not like I totally refuse to believe it, but... I mean, there's just so 'much'. How could anyone have put all this together?" Makoto asked.

"I suppose it goes to show just how much Hope's Peak truly wields. Or perhaps the mastermind may have wanted to provide us with enough entertainment to keep us from getting bored. What's wrong? You still can't believe it?"

"What about you? How can you believe it so easily? Things like that are usually impossible..."

"What do you mean, usually? Usual? Normal, ordinary, simple? Those things don't exist anywhere in the real world. If you don't understand what they actually represent, you don't understand the nature of anything. Besides, what you consider "usual" is based on your common sense, right? But what makes you think your own "common sense" applies to me at all? The documents gathered here are genuine. I have [reviewed them multiple times], so there is no doubt."

"H-Hold on a second! You're saying you've read all these documents, and more than once!? But...all this has to be like top secret, confidential stuff, right? So why...?"

"My family has a reading room just like this at our home. Ours is bigger, of course. And not as dusty," Byakuya bragged.

"Huh...?" Makoto looked confused.

"I heard that members of the Togami family have access to any variety of government-related documents. That also includes foreign powers as well as domestic, right?" I intervened.

"Correct," Byakuya confirmed.

"H-How is that possible...?" Makoto asked in shock.

"I already told you, there's a secret council that controls the world from the shadows. My family is a member of that council. And I have within me the bloodline that will allow me to one day bend the world to my will... But to become such a ruler, I must know all levels of this world backwards and forwards. So whenever I have time, I like to review whatever documents and materials that interest me. Which is why I can proclaim, without a doubt, that the materials gathered here are the real thing,"

He's the scariest rich boy I've ever met.

"And what always interested me the most were the "cold case" police investigation reports," Byakuya continued. "Reading through those reports has always been a hobby of mine, ever since I was little. It's excellent mental exercise. I've solved more than a few of those cases just by reviewing the reports. And among all those reports, one of my recent favorites is the Genocide Jack case." While he talked, Byakuya grabbed a specific file from the shelf. "This is the complete case file. Every single report surrounding the Genocide Jack cases has been compiled in here. Because there are so many, allow me to quickly summarize the main points. To begin, there are two notable characteristics in every Genocide Jack murder. The first characteristic is that at every crime scene, the word "bloodlust" is written in the victim's own blood. And the second...is that when the victims are murdered, their bodies are suspended in a certain way. Save your surprise. The best part is yet to come. For the second characteristic, where the victims are suspended... The only ones who knew about that particular fact were members of the police and other higher-ups. By all accounts, nobody in the media ever found out."

"Huh...?" Makoto was still confused.

"In other words, no one on the news, no one online, 'nobody' knew about that aspect of each crime. Only key officials and the killer himself knew about this act of "mounting" the victim. Now, if you recall Chihiro's corpse, her body was most certainly mounted in this fashion."

"So...how could the killer have known about suspending the victim...?" Makoto asked.

"That's the key question. But in fact, the answer is quite simple. The culprit isn't a copycat killer... It's the real Genocide Jack," Byakuya announced.

"...Gh!" Makoto let out in shock.

"That right there is the evidence that Genocide Jack has hidden himself among the rest of us." He let out a laugh. "Hmhmhm. Things are really starting to get interesting, aren't they? I never imagined a killer with such a reputation would ever become part of our little game. Now, don't you think it would be good for you to take a look at what I've already seen? You might just manage to ferret out a clue or two. If you get down on your knees and beg, I might even show you myself."

I scoffed. "In your dreams! Just hand it over will you?"

"Well, you didn't beg, but I guess it's okay this time. Feel free to look at it in here, but you can't take it with you." Byakuya handed me the file, and I flipped through it until I had reached the pages with photos collected from each crime scene. Makoto peered over my shoulder to have a look at it.

Several pages contain the names of Genocide Jack's victims. Ken Harada, 32. Tetsuhiro Honda, 17. Shoji Gaku, 23. Kanno Isei, 14. Takeshi Yoshida, 30. Komatsuna Taro, Takefumi Gono, Udhida Naohisa, Takeshi Masamune, Yuto Yumejima, there was no end to it... But one thing became perfectly clear... All of the killer's countless victims were killed and suspended in exactly the same way. And at the scene of every murder, the word "bloodlust" was left in the victim's own blood.

"Now take a look at the next page, and you'll find another interesting tidbit," Byakuya said.

"The next page...?" Makoto repeated.

I flipped the page to see the title "Profiling results" and read the paragraph underneath it.

"All of the crimes took place either on weekdays at night, or during holidays, either day or night. The most common time for the killings to take place was on holidays, in the afternoon. Based on these facts, it could be suggested that the suspect may be a  student . Evidence suggests that the suspect lingered at the scene, but when they did leave, they were in a panic. Because an eyewitness has never come forward, it's unlikely there was any external reason for this. This confused behavior suggests..."

"...that the suspect may potentially suffer from dissociative identity disorder," Makoto read out loud.

"The key point here is that the culprit may well have a split personality," Byakuya said.

Genocide Jack Case File has been added as a truth bullet

"Alright, we should get going soon," Byakuya said.

"Huh? Where are we going?" Makoto asked.

"Anywhere but here. We've finished our business here, haven't we?" Byakuya turned and walked away.

"Ah, wait! Byakuya!" Makoto ran after him. I placed the file back on the shelf and went after them.

"Well...this is where we part ways. I have some things I need to take care of before the class trial," Byakuya said when we exited the library.

"Huh? Just all of a sudden like that?" Makoto asked.

"Come on, enough of your annoying misapprehensions. Did you really think we'd be together the whole time? Take responsibility for yourself and do something useful. Move the investigation forward on your own. Well, goodbye." Byakuya walked away.

"Oh well, who needs him anyway. Come on Makoto," I said and walked off. "We're going back to the crime scene. And we should also check the boys locker room." 

"Okay. We should also talk to the others. They might have come up with some info that might be useful," Makoto suggested.

"Good idea." We both headed up to the locker room hallway where we met Hifumi.

"Ding ding ding! Hifumi has discovered evidence revealing the identity of the culprit! Hmhmhm... Another stat increase for me!" Hifumi cheered.

"Evidence? What did you find?" Makoto questioned.

"I cannot reveal that just yet! But I guarantee that what I found will steal the killer's break from his lungs!" Hifumi explained. "Oh yeah! Miss Ludenburg said she'd witnessed something worthwhile, too."

"What did she see?" I asked.

"She refused to tell me. It's like when a girl bullies the boy she likes, right? Right!?" he asked.

"Sure..." I answered.

"Okay, so...where is Celeste now?" Makoto asked.

"The warehouse by the dorms. She was there, but at the same time...not there."

"Okay, well... I'm gonna go talk to her. I'll be right back." Makoto went off to look for Celeste. I headed over to the boys locker room and the first thing I noticed was the poster of a popular boy band called Tornado.

I don't believe it quite fits in the 'boys' locker room.

There was also a strange stain on the carpet. I wonder what that could be.

Boys Locker Room Carpet has been added as a truth bullet

There wasn't anything else to discover so I went back to the girls locker room. Kyoko was in deep thinking, so I decided to approach her.

"Hello Kyoko. Made any progress?" I asked.

"Generally speaking. But I have to get going. I have something unrelated to take care of," Kyoko said.

"Something unrelated? What is it?" I asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about. Just concentrate on the murder," Kyoko advised.

"Um... Okay?" I guess she doesn't want to talk about it.

"Before I go, let me give you one piece of advice. You should examine Chihiro's body one more time. Thoroughly. Also, her handbook is missing. You might want to determine its whereabouts. That's it. I'll be praying for your success," Kyoko turned and left. 

Chihiro's e-Handbook has been added as a truth bullet

At the same time, Makoto entered the room. "Just in time, Makoto. I want you to check Chihiro's body. Kyoko says to do it thoroughly though," I said.

"Alright, but I do have my limits... Well, I'd better give it a shot anyway. Let's see..." While Makoto looked around, I took another look at the posters. The boys locker room has a poster of a popular boy band, and in here, there's a poster of a big-breasted swimsuit model. Could the posters have been switched? Why though?

Two Locker Room Posters has been added as a truth bullet

My attention went to Makoto. "So, what did you find?"

"It looks like Chihiro's hands are bound with what looks like some kind of rope. The rope was used to prop her up in a kind of crucifix position. ...Huh?" Makoto yelled in shock.

"What is it?" I asked.

"This rope has a...plug!? Wait, so then...this isn't a rope at all! But the more I think about it, the more that's not the only thing that concerns me," Makoto stated.

"I believe I get what you're thinking. Chihiro's fatal injury was a blow to the head... Which means someone struck her in the head in order to kill her. But comparing her body to the bodies of Genocide Jack's victims, something's not quite right," I said.

Status of the Dead Body has been added as a truth bullet

"I'm gonna go check a certain place to look over some things. But before I do, I better give you this," Makoto handed me the handkerchief that I gave to Chihiro when she was upset. "I found it in her pocket."

I took the handkerchief from him and put it in my pocket. "Thank you, Makoto. I'll see you later." I headed over to Sakura since she told me that she uses the locker rooms a lot, and Makoto left the room. "You spend a lot of time exercising in the girls locker room, right Sakura?" I asked her.

"I've used it nearly every day since it opened up," Sakura confirmed. "Sometimes Hina and I use it together."

"Well then, do you think the posters in the boys and girls locker rooms could have been switched?" I asked.

"Sorry, I can't really say. I never paid any attention to the posters," Sakura admitted. "But there 'is' something that's been bothering me about the locker room... You see, I like to drink a little protein coffee every time I finish exercising."

"We have protein coffee?"

"In the warehouse. It's not the highest quality, but I don't have a lot of other options. I mix protein powder with coffee, and down a glass of it after exercising. Anyway, the other day, I spilled some on the carpet in the girls locker room, and it left a stain."

"I don't see a stain."

"Exactly. I noticed it earlier--the stain has disappeared. I can only assume someone came along and cleaned it up. But still, isn't it unusually clean? As if there was never a stain here to begin with..."

Disappearing Stain has been added as a truth bullet

*Ding dong, bing bong*

The monitor flickered, and Monokuma was on the screen.

"Erm, so ah...I'm getting tired of waiting. Shall we just plunge right in? It's the moment you've all been waiting for...the class trial! You remember where to meet, right? Please go through the red door on the 1st floor of the school! Puhuhu. See you soon!"

I sighed and headed over to the red door. I went in and waited for the others to show up. Soon, everyone except one person was there and Monokuma popped up.

"Ahem, so...is everyone ready to--whaaat!? Am I blind, or are we missing someone?"

"Yeah, Toko's not here," Mondo answered.

"And Toko is...?"

"You really don't remember...?" Hiro asked.

"Kidding! I'm just kidding. How could I forget that little nutjob? She's a crucial part of the class trial this time! Okie dokie, I'll go ahead and drag her out here kicking and screaming. Just one moment, please!" Monokuma disappeared and came back a few minutes later dragging Toko.

"Nng...ghh... I t-told him I didn't want to, but...h-he forced me! I can't believe you would d-drag a girl around... Terrible...! You're t-terrible!" Toko screeched.

"Whew! So NOW everyone's here, right? Okay then, hustle onto the elevator and let's get this show on the road! I'll see you guys down there!" Monokuma disappeared.

"So, shall we get going? It's time to find out who killed Chihiro," Byakuya stated.

Chihiro... Chihiro Fujisaki... She was so gentle, so calm and meek. Nobody had any problems with her. Someone made the choice to kill...a girl like that. And that murderer...is one of us. Someone standing right here.

"We have no choice, right? We have to do this..." Makoto stated.

"Yes," Kyoko agreed. I nodded my head and walked towards the elevator. With each step I took, my heart raced faster and faster. As soon as everyone was on...the elevator began to descend. The steel box sank with heavy clunking sounds deeper and deeper into the ground. And as we went deeper, the uneasiness in my heart grew bigger and bigger. The elevator was unaffected, however, and continued to descend without hesitation. Finally...it came to a sudden stop.

When the door opened, the trial room was redecorated.

"What do you think? I redecorated! Isn't it so fresh? Isn't it so EXCITING!?" Monokuma asked.

"Don't waste our time with stupid questions. Let's get this over with," Byakuya said impatiently.

"Good, good, you're rip-raring to go! Gotta say, I don't hate it! Not at all! Okay then, let's get this show on the road! Everyone, please find your assigned seats!" Monokuma ordered.

And so, the curtain opened once again...

A deadly judgment... A deadly deception... A deadly betrayal... A deadly riddle, a deadly defense, a deadly faith...

A deadly...class trial!

Chapter 23: Class Trial #2 Part 1: Genocide Jack's Identity

CLASS TRIAL! ALL RISE!

"Let's begin with a basic explanation of the class trial!" Monokuma started. "So, your votes will determine the results. If you can figure out "whodunnit" then only they will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong one...then I'll punish everyone 'besides' the blackened, and the one that deceived everyone else will graduate! Okay then, so first off... Let's talk about the murder weapon!"

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Sakura: Chihiro's fatal injury... It appears it was a head wound.

Taka: According to the Monokuma File, the killer used a "blunt instrument," but... What kind of "blunt instrument" could it have been!?

Hiro: I bet it was an iron pipe!

Truth Bullet: Locker Room Dumbbell

Makoto: NO, THAT'S WRONG!

-BREAK!!-

"Can we agree that the object that dealt the fatal blow was the dumbbell, found at the scene of the crime? It was covered in blood, and there was nothing else at the scene that could have caused that kind of injury," Makoto explained.

"And the wound on the victim's head is consistent with the shape of the dumbbell. As far as I'm concerned, there's no mistake and no room for doubt on this one," Kyoko concluded.

"You...looked at her head wound?" Hina asked.

"Kyaaah! That's sooo creeeepy!" Hifumi shrieked. Kyoko said nothing.

"If you don't mind, I will proceed from here," Byakuya said. "Let's move on to discussion of the culprit. Although, I believe the criminal behind this heinous act is already quite clear."

"What? For real!?" Hiro cried out.

"Chihiro's killer is the fiendish serial killer, Genocide Jack!" Byakuya stated.

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Byakuya: The culprit is Genocide Jack, I'm sure of it. Case closed, as far as I'm concerned.

Hina: But...that's impossible!

Byakuya: Why? What makes it impossible?

Hina: Well, I mean...come on...! There's just no proof for it!

Truth Bullet: Genocide Jack Case File

Hanako: I TESTIFY AGAINST THAT!

-BREAK!!-

"Actually, I know one reason he could be involved," I said.

"What!?" Hina cried out.

"Byakuya, Makoto, and I came across a certain file while looking around the archive in the library." I pulled out the file from the e-Handbook. "It's some kind of confidential file the police put together about the Genocide Jack case."

"What...? That's kinda weird as shit, isn't it? What was something like that doing in the library?" Mondo asked.

"The why of it is probably more trouble than it's worth, so let's forget about that for now. More importantly, it outlines all the specifics of every Genocide Jack case in exceeding detail. According to the file, there appear to be two defining characteristics in every Genocide Jack case. The first is that a bloody message is found written at the scene of every murder," Byakuya explained.

"Oh, that's right! "Booblust"!" Hifumi said.

"Uh, no...it's actually "bloodlust"..." Hina corrected.

"But more important is the other characteristic. And it's something that has never been made public," Byakuya continued.

"Never made public...? What the hell is it?" Mondo questioned.

"Why don't you tell them, Makoto?" Byakuya asked him.

"Apparently, in every Genocide Jack case, the killer suspends the body in a certain way. Other than the killer, the only people who know about this are the higher-ups in the police department," Makoto answered.

"However, Chihiro was most definitely suspended in the same way," Byakuya observed. "So, how did the culprit know about this, when only high-level police officials were aware of it? There's only one logical answer I can think of. It's because the culprit in this case...is the real Genocide Jack."

"No fuckin' way!" Mondo gasped.

"You're saying Genocide Jack...is one of us?" Celeste asked.

"Yes. In fact, it's Toko," Byakuya said, pointing to her.

"Wh...?" Toko looked nervous.

"Genocide Jack's true identity...is Toko Fukawa."

"YOU LIIIEEEEEEE!" Hifumi shrieked.

"Wh-Wh-Wh-What?" Toko stuttered.

"Hey, okay, wait, hold on a sec! Toko has like, bloodophobia or whatever, remember? What kind of serial killer is afraid of blood!?" Hina asked.

"Is Toko Genocide Jack? The answer is yes...and no," Byakuya answered.

"Another riddle? Man, why's this gotta be so complicated?" Hiro muttered.

It's kinda like a riddle... Genocide Jack is Toko, but 'isn't' Toko... What does it mean?

-Hangman's Gambit!-

S C H I Z O

THAT'S THE ANSWER!

-COMPLETE!!-

"The answer is that Genocide Jack has a split personality," I answered.

"...Huh?" Hina looked confused.

"In the file, it mentions that the suspect might have...what's the word again?" I said, trying to remember.

"Dissociative identity disorder," Makoto answered.

"Right, that."

"O-Okay...but still, to go and say that about Miss Fukawa is--" Byakuya cut Hifumi's sentence.

"Perfectly acceptable. Toko's strange behavior after seeing the body is proof enough that she has a split personality."

"You're talking about how she started acting totally different than usual, right?" Makoto asked.

"That's right," Byakuya confirmed. "Think back--she fainted when she saw Chihiro's corpse, and then when she woke up..."

-Flashback-

"I'm fine, I'm fine! Kyehaha...! Whoa, is that a dead body!? Hey! Are you dead!? Kyeehahaha!"

"She musta hit her head *real* hard when she fainted..."

"The world has a front and a back, a top inning and a bottom, a sea of truth and a web of lies!"

"This is...quite concerning. I mean, she sounds completely different..."

-End of Flashback-

"She was acting funny, that's for sure! That melancholy tone of hers completely disappeared!" Taka recalled.

"Don't go assigning adjectives to my t-tone without permission..." Toko grumbled.

"Not to mention, once she regained consciousness and saw Chihiro's body again, she was utterly calm. In other words, within her is one personality that can't handle blood, and one that obviously can," Byakuya explained.

"N-Ngh...!" Toko grunted.

"So when Toko trapped herself in her room, it's because she was scared of Genocide Jack...?" Hina questioned.

-----

"I'll d-drive out...the killer... D-Drive out the murderous fiend..."

-----

"The reason she locked herself in her room wasn't to keep other people from getting in... It was to keep her other personality from getting out," Byakuya clarified.

"What...?" Hina gasped.

"Toko was afraid--afraid of the murderous fiend inside of her, of killing even more people..."

" H-H-How...?" Toko stuttered.

"Yeah, how can you know all this!?" Hina shouted.

"I do believe you misunderstood her. What she's trying to say isn't, "How can you know all this?" No, what she wants to know is, "How could you tell them?"" Byakuya said.

"...Huh?"

"Last night, just before Monokuma gave his "motive" speech, Toko and I had a strange conversation. She told me a most interesting story... She said a murderous fiend lived within her, and she was afraid it could appear and attack at any time. And that trepidation is what's caused her to have such a bleak attitude. Isn't that right, Toko?"

"Urg...gaah...!" Toko was really mad.

"This is all a lie...right, Toko?" Hina asked.

"Y-You said you wouldn't t-tell anyone...!" Toko said.

"...What!?" Hina yelled.

"You p-promised...! I can't b-believe you l-lied!" Toko yelled.

Byakuya sneered. "You have only yourself to blame--you came to me with your tragic little story. I didn't ask you to. This is the real world, not some romantic fantasy fairytale."

"Gyah...! G-Gaah!"

"Besides, you broke your promise first. You said that as long as you were here, no matter what, you wouldn't let Genocide Jack kill anyone. But in spite of that promise..."

-Flashback-

"I-I'm sorry. I couldn't k-keep our promise. But don't w-worry. Never again... I...! I won't let Genocide Jack have control ever again!"

-End of Flashback-

"You said if I k-kept my promise...you would g-go out with me! Th-That's the only r-reason I promised...!"

"How many times do I have to tell you? I never said that. But you weren't able to do it--you just couldn't resist that rush you got from killing, could you?"

"I-I tried...I swear I t-tried to control it! B-But..."

"But your efforts were useless. What a disappointment," Byakuya said.

"Nggh...I hate you..." Toko said.

"Well, the opening act is nearly finished. All that's left is to hear from the person in question directly."

Toko began to panic. "The p-person...? Y-Y-You don't m-m-m-mean...!?" Toko's body suddenly lunged backwards. A huge THUD echoed across the courtroom. But in the next second...

Toko lugged up again, this time a long tongue hanging from her mouth and her eyes were now red. Toko was now Genocide Jack.

"Well hello there! Is it me you were hoping to see!?" Jack spoke in a scratchy voice.

"Gah! Eugh, what the heck!?" Hifumi gasped.

"So you figured it out, huh? Well, whatever! What're ya gonna do!? I'm the Ultimate Murderous Fiend, Genocide Jack! Or better yet, let's go with Genocide Jill!" introduced Jill.

"What the fuck is this!?" Mondo asked.

"Holy..." I said.

"Toko...what happened to you?" Taka asked.

"Not Toko! That's a loser name! And what happened is a textbook split personality! So what if one of them happens to be a serial killer!? You should turn a blind eye to one's faults! Kyeehahahaha!" Jill laughed.

"She's so...intense!" Hiro observed.

"Like they say, sound in murderous mind, sound in murderous body!" Jill said.

"This one is so different from the one we've come to know..." Sakura spoke.

"Yes, well, the world is composed of a front and a back, you know. Just like how every inning has a top and a bottom, or how in the depths of every truth lives a little lie... Behind every dark and gloomy soul lives another that shines as bright as the sun! Kyeehahahaha!" Jill laughed.

"Um, Miss Jack--er, Jill? Can I ask you a question...?" Hifumi asked.

Jill smiled. "What's up!?"

"Some of us think you might be the mastermind behind our entire situation. What are your thoughts on that?" Hifumi asked.

"Well I'll tell you! I am the mastermind of all masterminds! ...Just kidding!" Jill answered.

"Then...it's not true?" Makoto asked.

"Of course it's not true! How dare you try to link me to that creepazoid!?" Monokuma intervened. "And another thing! The police and government and society in the outside world are totally powerless! I mean, they just let this idiotic bloodthirsty maniac go buck wild all over town!"

"Sure, I'm a bloodthirsty maniac. But life is pain, right? To live is to hurt other people. It's a necessary evil if you want to survive. The act of living itself causes pain for everyone...! ...Just kidding again! Kyeehahaha!"

Gosh, this is weird...

"This should be enough to convince you. This murderous fiend is responsible for Chihiro's death. There's clearly a motive, so there should be no doubt," Byakuya spoke.

"...A motive?" Sakura repeated.

"Remember what Monokuma told us? If someone didn't murder and graduate within 24 hours, an embarrassing memory or secret would be revealed. Well, let's assume that Toko's secret was about Genocide Jack. If a secret like that came to light, Toko's life would have undoubtedly been forever ruined. So she had a very clear motive to never have that side of herself exposed," Byakuya explained.

Jill nodded her head. "Interesting... Very very very interesting...! But sorry! As much as I hate to admit it, I'm not the culprit!"

"...Huh?" Taka said.

"But I cannot imagine anyone other than you could murder someone in such a bizarre fashion..." Celeste said.

"Maybe so, maybe so! But nevertheless, it's the truth," Jill said.

"...Do you really expect any of us to believe you?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah! I could never believe a word you say, you monster!" Hina shouted.

No, something's not quite right about all this. I need to get some more details about all of this.

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Jill: Sorry, but I didn't kill anyone!

Sakura: You say that, but do you really expect any of us to believe it?

Celeste: Perhaps if you had an alibi, that would change things...

Jill: Ohh, an alibi, huh? Now we're talkin'!

Byakuya: When you compare your past murders to this incident the modus operandi matches completely. What more proof do we need?

Truth Bullet: Status of the Dead Body

Hanako: I TESTIFY AGAINST THAT!

-BREAK!!-

"The methods of murder aren't exactly the same. There's a slight difference between the Genocide Jack cases and this one," I said.

"Huh? How's it any different?" Hiro asked.

"Uh-oh, you don't know? Well then, human garbage, let me tell you!" Jill started. "I murder with passion and conviction! I consider myself a professional, and I have a very particular way of doing things! Imagine you go to a fancy Italian restaurant. They're very picky about the noodles, the sauce, everything. But what happened to Chihiro... It'd be like if that same Italian restaurant started using Ragu or Chef Boyardee! This is no creation of mine!"

"Let me rephrase that, in a way that maybe makes more sense..." Makoto offered. "There are two clear differences between the Genocide Jack cases and this one. For one, the cause of death is different. In the Genocide Jack murders, all the victims were killed the same way. According to the case file, they were all apparently killed with...a pair of scissors. But Chihiro died from a blow to the head, right?"

"Ah, yes! That is remarkably different from the other murders!" Hifumi confirmed.

"Would you guys think it's so strange for someone who kills the same way without fail to suddenly change their method?" I asked. "And there's also one more conflicting detail."

Jill had a weird blush forming on her face. "That's right! In my recipe of murder, if the bloody message is the tortellini then the arrangement of the body would be the pesto sauce!"

"Could you please stop comparing killing people to cooking...?" Hiro muttered.

"S-So...are you saying the other difference has to do with how the body was arranged...?" Taka asked.

That seems right. The second difference is related to how she was suspended.

-----

-How the body was posed.

-When she was suspended

-What was used to suspend her ✔

"THAT'S IT!"

-----

"Do you all remember what the killer used to suspend her? They'd used some kind of rope to hang her up by her wrists," I said.

"What is your point?" Celeste asked.

"My point is that in all the previous Genocide Jack cases, something else was used to suspend them... And the answer is pairs of razor-sharp scissors," I explained.

"And guess what! I used my own specially designed scissors for the murders AND the arrangement!" Jill shouted while biting her thumb. "Like I said, I'm a professional. So naturally I'm very picky about the tools I use! And--andandandandand ya know what else!? Big Mac and Purple Haired Richie said there's two differences, but they're both wrong!"

Makoto sweat dropped. "Big Mac...? Purple Haired Richie...? Are you referring to me and Hanako?"

"Who else, Big Mac?" I smirked.

"Listen up, you two! There's actually one more difference!" Jill stated.

"...Huh?" Makoto asked.

"My word! You really didn't notice? Take a look at who the victims were in each Genocide Jack case... There's a pattern there just waiting to be discovered!"

"A...pattern?" Sakura spoke.

"Figure that out, and it'll be plain as death why I couldn't have possibly killed that little loli girl!"

Makoto went into deep thought before he answered. "Is it because...Chihiro was a girl?"

"BINGO! Bull's-eye! Right on the money!" Toko confirmed.

"What are you talking about...?" Hiro asked.

"In all the Genocide Jack cases, all the victims had something in common," Makoto observed.

"All the victims were guys!" I said.

"That's right! The people I kill with such passion and conviction...are all adorable little men! Kyaah! I can't believe I said it! I'm so embarrassed!" Jill gushed.

"The hell is wrong with you!?" Mondo yelled.

"I can't help it. I'm just a full-throttle boy-on-boy fangirl! And the mopey side of me just hates it! But now I'm on the fast track to becoming a full-fledged fanmadam!" Jill cheered.

"So since Chihiro was a girl and not an "adorable little man"...you wouldn't kill her?" Taka asked.

"Would an Italian chef suddenly start making ramen, just because they're both noodles? Don't be stupid! I have too much passion and conviction to cross that line! That's the absolute reality of the one and only!"

"We get it. You've clearly explained your hobby and your philosophy. But that's not all there is to it. It's a different matter entirely...when you're forced to kill in order to survive," Byakuya said.

"Quiet, lowly cur!" Jill ordered.

Byakuya's face looked very much offended. "Lowly...cur?" I tried to hide my snicker but failed miserably.

"I would never kill for a reason as petty as mere survival! And! If by some fluke I 'did' kill to survive...why would I bother with the message and arrangement!? It'd make me the obvious suspect!" Jill said.

"That...does make some amount of sense," Celeste admitted.

"PLUS! Whatever reason I have for killing, I would NEVER leave out my prized scissors! Who would go out of their way to use a big stupid heavy dumbbell!?"

"Maybe you used the dumbbell cuz you couldn't find any scissors in the school?" Hifumi suggested.

""Any" scissors? I don't just use "any" scissors! I only use my own set of high-class, envy of the entire world scissors!"

"Okay, whatever, there still aren't any in the school..." Hiro said.

"Are you sure about that...?" Genocide Jill suddenly reach under her skirt and pulled out four pairs of sharp scissors and waved them. "Da da-da daa!"

"Grgh! She's fully equipped!" Hifumi yelled and backed away from her.

"That's right! So I can kill anywhere, anytime! Why would I resort to dumbbells or rope, when I have my trusty scissors by my side? Go ahead, tell me I'm wrong. You can't, can you? Gutter dogs, all of you! Not to mention, I have no clue how to tie a good knot. So rope's totally out of the question anyway!"

"Ngh...ngraah...! I have no idea what's going on anymore...! Could such a heinous villain really be innocent!?" Taka asked.

"But...the body really was suspended, right? And nobody but the police knew about that..." Mondo said.

"Yeah! That's why we figured it had to be the real deal and not some copycat killer or whatever!" Hina said.

Makoto began to think before something crossed his mind. Who was the person who dragged him around during the investigation, who showed all the evidence...?

"Byakuya..." Makoto began to speak.

 

Chapter 24: Class Trial #2 Part 2: Is Byakuya Guilty?

"Byakuya...it's possible you could have found out, isn't it?" Makoto asked. "You'd have no problem gaining access to classified government documents or internal police records. Plus, you'd already looked through the Genocide Jack file before this all happened, hadn't you?"

"..." Byakuya said nothing.

"A-Are you saying...Mr. Togami did it?" Hifumi asked.

"Then the reason he pushed the theory of Genocide Jack being the killer so hard was because he wanted to pin the crime on her!" Celeste explained.

"So he rearranged the scene to disguise it and make it look like I'd put my stamp on it...! The adorable glasses man was behind it all!? Ahh, I'm on fire!" Jill blushed.

"...Well, Byakuya!? What's your response!?" Taka shouted.

"I see... So now the suspicion falls on me. Then I must ask...when would you say I began acting suspicious? Surely you must have an answer..." Byakuya spoke.

"Hmm, looking back and thinking about it now, the way you were acting right before we discovered the body was a little strange..." Makoto answered.

-Flashback-

"And the locker rooms... They're suspicious. Very suspicious, indeed. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Huh? Suspicious...?"

"It seems nobody's searched the locker rooms. Let's start with the girls locker room..."

-End of Flashback-

"You wanted to go to the girls locker room right away, right? But since you're a guy..." Makoto spoke, but Byakuya interrupted.

"I should have naturally thought of the boys locker room first. Is that what you want to say? The victim was Chihiro. A girl. Hence why I said we should check the girls locker room."

"Nothing strange about that, I'd say!" Hifumi intervened.

"Keep out of this!" I said to Hifumi. "And by the way, there is something 'very' strange!"

"Okay then, what's so strange about it? Go ahead, share with the rest of the class," Byakuya ordered.

Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Hina: So you said Byakuya was acting kinda weird before we found the body (absorb)... But he was acting weird...how?

Hifumi: If you're presented with the opportunity to check out the girls locker room, you absolutely take it...! That's a natural reaction for any guy!

Byakuya: The victim was Chihiro, who was a girl.

Truth Bullet: before we found the body

Hanako: I TESTIFY AGAINST THAT!

-BREAK!!-

"You want to know what's so strange about it? Then I'll tell you! Because before we actually discovered the body, we didn't know who the victim was! So your so-called claim doesn't hold up!" I explained.

"I see...That's a good answer, I must admit. Interesting. Very interesting, indeed! But your reasoning is still too weak!" Byakuya said.

"What?"

"What's wrong? Is that it? Surely you've got more than that. Go ahead, show us..."

I narrowed my eyes. Typical rich boy attitude, acting like he doesn't care at all. I've got him cornered, but he's acting like it has nothing to do with him!

"What's the matter? You're not finished already, are you? There must be more to it..." Byakuya said.

"Of course there is! I think..." I said.

"There 'is' more to it. Think about it. We just talked about the differences between this case and past Genocide Jack incidents. The proof you're looking for is hidden in there..." Kyoko explained.

"..Oh? Proof that I'm the culprit, you mean?" Byakuya asked. Kyoko stayed silent.

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Jill: What, the difference between the cases? You want me to explain it again!? When I want to kill, I use my very own special scissors! And I use those same scissors to arrange the body!

Celeste: But...Chihiro was suspended with... It was some kind of rope, was it not?

Taka: That's right! It absolutely was!

Hifumi: Then there must be something very fishy indeed about that rope...!

Mondo: Hey, Byakuya! Where'd you get it from, huh?

Byakuya: I'd never seen that rope before in my life...

Truth Bullet: Library Desk Lamp

Makoto: NO, THAT'S WRONG!

-BREAK!!-

"Actually, I'm pretty sure you 'have' seen it before. Because you see, that rope--or should I say...that extension cord?" Makoto asked.

"What!? An extension cord!?" Hifumi shrieked.

"Byakuya--you've used the extension cord in the library more than once, haven't you? And the same extension cord that was in the library all this time...went missing after the murder! And there's no way someone who uses that extension cord as much as you do wouldn't discover that fact!" Makoto explained.

"Then Byakuya must be the one who took the extension cord! I can't imagine any other possibility!" Taka shouted.

"... That's really what you think? Then your conclusion is something like this...? I killed Chihiro in the girls locker room, then hung her up and wrote that bloody message. I intentionally made it look like Genocide Jack was behind it. Is that about right?" Byakuya recapped.

Look at him, totally calm, totally unconcerned. As if he's... not even... involved...? I couldn't believe what I was thinking. I glanced over to Makoto, and it looked like he was thinking the very same thing.

"What's wrong? I asked you if you think that's what happened," Byakuya said.

"Hell yes that's what happened! So that's it, right? Byakuya's the killer!" Mondo shouted.

"I don't disagree with not disagreeing!" Jill agreed.

"He kept calling this a game, right? So he'd be totally willing to do something like this to "win"!" Taka yelled.

"... Um, sorry but could we hold on just a second? I...I think we need to talk about this a little more," Makoto said.

"Huh? Do we really need to? We've already decided who did it," Hiro complained.

"No, I agree with Makoto. There's something that's still bothering me..." I said.

"Is that right? And what, pray tell, is still bothering you? I killed her in the girls locker room, then disguised my crime. Specifically, I dressed it up to make it look like it was the work of a homicidal psychopath. What about all that "bothers" you?" Byakuya asked.

I raised my eyes in shock. What Byakuya said... There's something that concerns me.

-----

-Genocide Jack's presence

-The extension cord

-The scene of the crime ✔

"THAT'S IT!"

-----

"You say you killed Chihiro in the girls locker room, right? But could it be possible that the murder took place somewhere else?" I asked.

Byakuya sneered. "How disappointing... What kind of question is that? Even in the world of disappointments, this is a true letdown. She was found dead in the girls locker room. There is absolutely no question about that. How could the scene of the crime have been anywhere else?"

"Well...I think it's entirely possible that she was killed somewhere else, then carried there later along with the rest of the murder scene!" Makoto suggested.

That caught Byakuya off guard. "The...rest of the murder scene? ... That was awfully specific. Please tell me you have a reason for saying all of that."

"Oh, I believe I do," I smirked. Watching you lose your confidence is so great to watch. He never even realized that the actual crime scene could have been somewhere else.

"Hey, don't just move on without permission! What do you mean she was killed somewhere else!?" Taka shouted.

"Come on, Hanako! If there's any chance the murder took place somewhere else, let's see the proof!" Byakuya shouted.

The proof is things that got switched!

-Choose Truth Bullet-

Truth Bullet: Two Locker Room Posters

"THAT'S IT!"

-----

"The proof is the poster that's hanging in each locker room," I said.

"Your proof...is some posters?" Byakuya questioned.

"The poster that's in the girls locker room has a picture of a big-boobed supermodel. But don't you think that's kind of strange that the girls locker room has that kind of poster?" I asked.

"I bet those massive jugs of hers were totally fake! Kyeehahaha!" Jill commented.

"And in the boys locker room, there's a poster of the super popular boy band Tornado. Again, that's really strange for it to be in a boys locker room."

"So you're saying that maybe the posters were switched?" Celeste asked.

"Not just the posters. There's one other thing I noticed... You know what I'm talking about, right Sakura?" I asked her.

"You're referring to my protein coffee, aren't you?" Sakura asked.

"...Protein coffee?" Hifumi repeated.

"While I was in the girls locker room earlier, I spilled some protein coffee on the carpet. But I noticed that after the murder, the stain had been totally scrubbed away," Sakura explained.

No, the stain was scrubbed away... It was moved...

-Choose Truth Bullet-

Truth Bullet: Boys Locker Room Carpet

"THAT'S IT!"

-----

"The stain on the girls locker room carpet wasn't scrubbed. I found a similar stain on the boys locker room carpet," I explained and showed the stained carpet picture to Sakura on the e-Handbook.

"That's...definitely the stain from my protein coffee!" Sakura said in shock.

"Then...does that mean that the carpets were switched, too? But...why would anyone do that?" Celeste asked.

"To move the murder scene from one locker room to the other. It's a possibility, don't you think?" I asked.

"What!?" Taka shouted.

"In other words, in order to completely swap the scene of the crime the bloodstained poster and carpet were moved along with the dead body. By doing this, the killer was able to change the entire room where the murder took place," Makoto explained.

"I can certainly follow your reasoning, but...why would the culprit bother doing that?" Celeste asked.

"Huh?" Makoto asked.

"Why would they go through all that trouble of switching the scene of the crime? Actually, an even bigger question... If the murder did take place in the boys locker room then how did Chihiro get in the boys locker room in the first place?" Celeste questioned.

"Ah--!" Makoto gasped.

"I didn't think of that..." I mumbled.

"To get into the locker rooms, you have to swipe your e-Handbook across the card reader device. But Chihiro's handbook should have only allowed her access to the girls locker room. She had no way to get into the boys locker room to begin with," Celeste explained.

"No, she DID have a way! And I can tell you what it was!" Hiro said.

"I highly doubt that," Celeste simply said.

"Shut up! I'm telling you, I know how she could have done it!" Hiro yelled.

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Celeste: Is it really possible? Could Chihiro really have gotten into the boys locker room somehow?

Taka: Ah! I've got it! She must have hacked her e-Handbook! She was the Ultimate Programmer, after all. I'm sure that would've been no problem for her!

Hiro: No, I don't think that's it... She used the thing that was in the main hall!

Hifumi: Huh? What thing?

Hiro: I'm talkin' about Leon's handbook, of course!

Truth Bullet: Broken e-Handbook

Makoto: NO, THAT'S WRONG!

-BREAK!!-

"No, I don't think Chihiro used Leon's handbook," Makoto said.

"Why not!?" Hiro questioned.

"Because Leon's handbook was broken," Makoto explained.

"Oh! Well then yeah, I guess that'd be pretty impossible, huh?" Hiro said.

"I am struck silent by how quickly you gave up..." Sakura commented.

"Plus, isn't there a regulation against using someone else's handbook?" Celeste asked.

"Actually, the rule states that loaning your handbook is prohibited. It says nothing about borrowing one. In other words, you could borrow a dead person's handbook all you want, and you'd be safe," Byakuya explained.

"Yup yup yup! Hit the nail square on the noggin!" Monokuma confirmed.

"Of course, if it were broken, that wouldn't make any sense anyway..." Byakuya said.

"So then, she must have hacked hers like I said! She used her Ultimate Programmer skills and--!" before Taka could continue, Monokuma cut him off.

"Bzzt! You can't fix an e-Handbook. The instant you open one up, a security buzzer starts blaring!"

"So if she didn't use Leon's handbook, and she didn't modify her own handbook..." Sakura spoke.

"...Maybe Mr. Naegi's and Ms. Yasashiku's initial assumption is just...wrong?" Hifumi suggested.

"It seems like there's no way she coulda got into the boys locker room, so I guess so..." Hina agreed.

"Okay then, I vote for Byakuya!" Taka shouted.

Is that really the truth? Chihiro was originally killed in the girls locker room, and Byakuya's the culprit? There's just got to be something else to it... My thoughts were interrupted by Kyoko's voice.

"...Hold on a second. I agree with you, though. I think you're on the right track."

"What the--? You finally decide to open your mouth, and 'that's' what you've got to say?" Mondo yelled. "There's no way she could get in the boys locker room, right!? So--!" Kyoko interrupted him.

"Why are you so sure she couldn't get in? There's still one other way she could have gained access."

"...What!?" Mondo shouted.

"What are you talking about!? What other way is there!?" Taka questioned.

"Well, to explain that, why don't we take a little break from the trial? I'd like you all to come see something," Kyoko said.

"Wait wait wait wait wait wait wait! Just what do you think you're doing!?" Monokuma asked.

"Don't worry. This'll make the whole trial more exciting. I'm sure that thought must please you?" Kyoko asked.

"Huh? It'll make things more exciting? Well alright then! I declare an official class trial recess!" Monokuma announced.

"Huh? For real?" Hina asked.

"Now then, what is it you wanna show us? It better not be boring, or I'll be VERY unhappy...!" Monokuma said.

Kyoko smirked. "Oh, I have no doubt it'll meet your lofty expectations. So, shall we go?"

=======

The class trial was officially put on hold. We all followed Kyoko out of the courtroom, and she took us to...

"...The girls locker room?" Makoto asked.

"We've already searched this place top to bottom! What are you trying to pull, missy!?" Taka questioned.

"I'd like you to examine the victim's body, one more time," Kyoko ordered. "Be sure to examine the entire body very carefully. Take your time."

"Examine her...carefully? Like, using our hands?" Hifumi asked. "Nowaynowaynowaynoway!"

"It's...probably best if I don't run my hands all over a girl's dead body..." Taka said.

"I-It's not that I'm creeped out or anything. It's just...based on religious grounds, ya know...?" Hiro excused.

"...Very well. I'll do it," Sakura volunteered.

"B-But you're a girl. You shouldn't have to touch a dead body. Just let one of the boys do it..." Hina suggested.

"No, it's okay. I think Chihiro would rather have a girl examine her. So just leave this to me..." Sakura said.

"S-Sakura..." Hina muttered.

"What is this, some kind of secret girl-on-girl action!? Is that what you two are about!?" Jill asked while blushing madly.

"That's not it at all! Stop screwin' around!" Hina yelled.

"Okay, here I go... I'm sorry, Chihiro. Please excuse the intrusion..." Putting her hands together in a brief prayer, Sakura then began to quietly examine her body.

"Be sure to check her entire body, and I believe we will solve this particular mystery," Kyoko said.

"Her entire body...? I know you say that, but..." Sakura stopped and her eyes widened with shock when she examined Chihiro's waist. "What--? This is... What does this m--? Huaaaaaaahhh!"

"What is it!?" Makoto asked in fear.

"Not possible... It's not possible!" Sakura's eyes were staring wildly at Chihiro's lifeless form. Her massive frame trembled, and I swear I could see a glowing blue aura surrounding her.

"What's not possible?" I asked.

"This...this girl is...!" Sakura trembled.

"Is what!?" Hina asked.

"...is a boy!" Sakura shouted.

"Wait, what!?" I shouted.

"Ah, I see. So "she" was actually a he. Interesting. Thank you for confirming this fact," Hifumi said, and then realized a second later. "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?"

"...You're joking, right?" Hiro asked, quite shocked.

"I wouldn't joke about this!" Sakura yelled.

"Th-Th-Then... Then it's really true!?" Taka asked with a white face.

"Chihiro was...a guy?" Makoto asked.

"Hmm? Oh what, you guys didn't know? Heck, I knew that right off the bat! Chihiro Fujisaki was totally a guy!" Monokuma confirmed.

"Th-Then...he was a cross-dresser!? Now I'm REALLY on fire! I wish I HAD killed him!" Jill grunted.

"So that's what Kyoko wanted to show everyone, huh? Interesting..." Monokuma said. Kyoko said nothing. "Puhuhu. Yes, that certainly does make things much more exciting! Now let's ride this wave of excitement back to the courtroom and get back to the trial!" he announced.

Chapter 25: Class Trial #2 Part 3: Weak and Strong

Soon, we arrived back to the trial room.

"Ahem! I do apologize for keeping you waiting. Now then, let's resume the class trial! We've all just learned of the shocking revelation that Chihiro was actually a boy! Let's pick up from there!" Monokuma ordered.

"Yes, well...I don't know his reason for hiding it, but the fact is, Chihiro was not a girl, but a boy. And because the victim was male, he would have had no problem gaining access to the boys locker room," Kyoko explained.

"Assuming his handbook did, in fact, list his gender as male...then yes, that would be true," Byakuya said.

"Of course his handbook said he was a boy! He dressed like a girl, but he was a boy through and through!" Monokuma confirmed.

"So then, there should be no issue with Makoto's and Hanako's initial assertion... The victim was killed in the boys locker room, and was then later moved to the girls locker room. And the killer could have easily used Sayaka or Junko's handbook to get into the girls locker room," Kyoko explained.

"So Chihiro really was killed in the boys locker room!?" Taka yelled.

"I still don't understand the motive for moving the body, but...yes, that does seem plausible," Kyoko said.

"Well...I must admit, I did find it rather odd... I knew he felt a little...off. There was a certain incongruity to his "female" body," Byakuya admitted.

"This is a most titillating situation!" Jill said.

"So now everything has been connected. All the mysteries have finally become clear," Byakuya said.

"Okay, well, connected or clear or whatever... We still think 'you're' the killer, remember?" Hina asked.

Byakuya didn't listen. "Hmhm. Very interesting. This has become very interesting indeed..."

"Ahh, he's off in his own little world..." Hifumi observed.

"What about you, Makoto? Hanako? After everything we've learned, do you still think Byakuya's the killer?" Kyoko asked.

"Well, without a doubt Byakuya's the one that made Chihiro's death look like Genocide Jack did it. But...but I... I think he might not actually be the killer after all," Makoto answered.

"I hate to admit this, but I agree as well," I said.

"What? But aren't you the one who accused him in the first place?" Hifumi asked Makoto.

"He just seems to be too...easygoing about all this. Like he's enjoying us solving the mystery. The way he's acting, it makes it seem like it doesn't have anything to do with him," Makoto explained.

"And you think that might be because it 'doesn't' have anything to do with him?" Celeste asked.

"Plus, the evidence he left behind was a little too...how can I put it? Overt. He consciously chose to use the extension cord, knowing it could connect him to the murder. At least, that's how I see it... And Byakuya, when you found out the murder took place in the boys locker room, it seemed to rattle you. And then again when you found out Chihiro was actually a guy... If you really were the killer, that stuff wouldn't have had any effect on you."

"So that's your thinking, huh? Well, it bothers me that you don't have more concrete reasons, but..." Byakuya sighed. "It's fine. I guess I'll mark it as correct, for the time being."

"Mark it as...correct?" Hina repeated.

"He's right. I am not the culprit. I just happened to come across the corpse in the girls locker room, and decided to alter it," Byakuya admitted.

"Are you fucking with us right now...?" Mondo gritted.

"No, I am not...effing with you right now. I'm telling you the truth," Byakuya said.

"Well I find it very hard to believe!" Taka shouted.

"Go ahead, find it very hard to believe. You're free to be executed along with the rest of us."

"If you're really telling the truth, then...why? Why'd you do that to his body?" Hina asked.

"My reasons hardly matter right now. Uncovering the culprit is much more important, wouldn't you say? Now then...if it wasn't me, who was it?"

"W-Well...I don't think I can say for sure without talking about it a little more," Makoto said.

"We're seriously gonna keep going? We're all good, aren't we? I thought it was clear Byakuya did it!" Hiro said.

"No, I'm with Makoto. If there's any doubt whatsoever, we need to explore every possibility. Because if we're wrong, we all die here," Kyoko said.

"...That's true. Very well then, I'm with you, too," Celeste said.

"So am I," I said.

"Damn straight! Count me in!" Hiro cheered.

"Do you not have a mind of your own!?" Taka shouted.

"Of course I do! What am I, an ant or somethin'?" Hiro asked.

"Anyway, let's discuss this all as a group one more time. We still have to make our decision," Makoto suggested.

"That's very true..." agreed Sakura.

"Our lives are all on the line..." Hina muttered.

"Excellent! Then shall we resume our game of hide and seek?" Byakuya questioned.

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Sakura: Isn't there a single clue that might lead us to who did it?

Taka: Well, clues are one thing, but... Did nobody get a look at the killer!?

Hiro: I'm sure if someone saw the killer, they woulda said something by now...

Sakura: Perhaps someone saw the victim at some point. Even that might be enough for now...

Hina: Yeah, all we need right now is any kinda new info.

Hiro: It's over... It's all over...! You wanna know who saw the victim? The killer! And only the killer...

Truth Bullet: Celeste's Account

Makoto: NO, THAT'S WRONG!

-BREAK!!-

"I believe someone else did see the victim before he was murdered. What do you think, Celeste?" Makoto asked.

"Now that you mention it, yes. I did see him," Celeste confirmed.

"Huh? Really?" Hifumi asked.

"Oh, but I suppose only Makoto knows about this. The rest of you had no idea, did you? That is why you're all making such ugly noises," Celeste said.

"Whatever, just hurry up and tell us!" Taka yelled.

"It was last night, right before nighttime. I saw Chihiro...in the dormitory warehouse. I saw him stuffing a track jacket into a duffel bag. And then, I assume, he headed off to exercise," Celeste explained.

"A track jacket and a duffel bag? But we didn't find anything like that at the murder scene!" Taka said.

"It seems likely that the culprit destroyed them to get rid of any evidence..." Sakura suggested.

"And that's when he said something that struck me as rather odd..." Celeste continued.

-Flashback-

"Well...I'd better get going. I'm kind of in a hurry."

-End of Flashback-

"Chihiro told me he was "in a hurry." But why would he be in a hurry? Only if someone were waiting for him, I should think."

"So Mr. Fujisaki was on his way to meet with someone, and then they were going to work out together...?" Hifumi concluded.

"But Hina and I had invited him to exercise with us plenty of times, and he always declined..." Sakura said.

"Probably cuz he was afraid you'd find out the secret he was hiding, right?" Hiro asked.

"Which means that conversely, he must have trusted whoever he was meeting with very much. Enough so that he was willing to risk his secret being revealed..." Celeste said.

"Uhuhu! What a marvelous friendship!" Jill commented.

"The point is, whoever he met up with is the culprit, right? So we just gotta figure out who it was!" Hina encouraged.

"But knowing what we know, I can't even guess..." Makoto spoke, but Kyoko interrupted.

"..No, you already have what you need to make the connection."

"Huh...?" Makoto gasped.

"You know who the killer is," Kyoko announced.

"S-Seriously!?" Taka stuttered.

"Wh-Who is it!? Who's the killer!?" Mondo yelled.

"Think back to the track jacket and duffel bag the killer disposed of. Focus on the details of these items, and it should become obvious who was waiting for him," Kyoko explained.

"...Are you sure about that?" Celeste asked. "You really think we can figure out who did it based on two pieces of evidence that we don't have?"

"What, you wanna track down some fingerprints or something?" Hifumi questioned.

"Even if we had the equipment for that, we wouldn't know how to use it!" Taka said.

"As was noted, the evidence is already gone. There's nothing to get fingerprints 'from'", Byakuya said.

"Maybe, but we 'can' make certain inferences, if we just take the time to talk it out," Kyoko explained.

"Easy for you to say... But fine--Celeste, did you notice anything special about the bag or jacket?" Hina asked.

"The bag was...just a normal duffel bag from the warehouse. All the bags in there are the same, so I can't imagine what would make that one special..." Celeste replied.

"Well, if I remember right, there was a decent variety of tracksuits to choose from... Do you think there might be some connection between the culprit and Chihiro's jacket?" Sakura asked.

Kyoko smiled. "Perhaps. Let's explore that, and talk a bit more about the jacket he took."

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Kyoko: First of all, we know where Chihiro was headed... He was on his way to go exercise. So next we have to ask... Why did he choose the specific tracksuit that he did?

Byakuya: What do you mean, the specific tracksuit?

Taka: I got it! He picked that tracksuit because it matched the one the culprit was wearing!

Mondo: So what you're saying is the killer was wearing the same blue tracksuit as him?

Truth Bullet:

Makoto: YOU GOT THAT...RIGHT?

-BREAK!!-

"Hold on a second, Mondo! What did you just say?" Makoto asked.

"...Huh? What'd I say?" Mondo asked.

"When Celeste testified a few minutes ago, she said... "I saw him stuffing a track jacket into a duffel bag. And then, I assume, he headed off to exercise." She never said anything about the jacket's color," Makoto explained.

"So if Celeste never mentioned the color, how come you know about Chihiro's "blue" tracksuit?" I asked.

"What are you--!? You just--!" Mondo stuttered.

"Hey, Celeste. What color 'was' Chihiro's tracksuit?" Byakuya asked.

"As a matter of fact, it was...blue," Celeste answered.

"And before we began the trial...did you tell anyone that?" Makoto questioned.

"The only one I told about any of this was you," Celeste replied.

"Then...Mondo, how did you know what color Chihiro's tracksuit was?" Sakura asked.

"B-Because I--! I just--!" Mondo stuttered.

"I-I'm sure he saw the clothes at some point in the investigation...!" Taka suggested.

"No, that can't be it. The bag and clothes were surely disposed of by the time we began our investigation," Kyoko debunked.

"Then the only reason he could have known what color the tracksuit was is if he saw Cherry with it before he died! That's the only possibility!" Jill announced.

"Cherry...? Are...are you talking about Chihiro?" Hina asked.

Jill ignored her. "So, how 'bout it!? Did you see the tracksuit or didn't you!?"

Mondo was sweating bullets. "J-Just by chance... I just happened to see it last night... He walked past me, and he was carrying the tracksuit in his hands."

"No, that can't be it, either. According to Celeste's testimony..." Makoto began.

-Flashback-

"She stuffed the jacket into her bag in a hurry. It was almost like she was trying to hide it... And just like that, she was gone."

-End of Flashback-

"When Celeste noticed it, Chihiro made a point of making sure the jacket was completely in the bag. If you just ran into him briefly, you couldn't possibly have seen what color the tracksuit was," Makoto explained.

"Gh--! Nggh...!" Mondo grunted.

"It would appear you've dug your own grave," Kyoko said.

"Perhaps, but you handed him the shovel, didn't you? That's why you said what you did. Focus on the tracksuit, and it'll be obvious who he met with? What a bunch of nonsense," Byakuya said.

"...Ah, now I understand. It was all one big bluff, wasn't it? Your true intention was to draw a slip of the tongue from the culprit... That's why you said you knew who did it, to put them on edge," Celeste explained.

Kyoko nodded her head. "That's right. However... Mondo was my target all along. I had my suspicions about him from the very beginning!"

"But why...? What made you so suspicious?" Makoto asked.

"That's a good question," Kyoko said. "There was a certain turning point that tipped me off. Maybe you didn't notice it, Mondo, but you tend to refer to men and women differently. You only call guys "dude." For girls, it's "chick". And after he was killed, you happened to refer to him as "dude." Once I picked up on that, it occurred to me that Mondo knew something we didn't."

"Y-You noticed such a tiny detail!?" Hifumi screeched.

"Are you a witch? She's a witch! You're positively frightful!" Jill said.

"No, I'm not the frightful one. Not nearly as frightful as someone capable of murdering a friend," Kyoko announced.

"Kh...!" Mondo gritted his teeth.

"Mondo...was it really you? Did you really...kill Chihiro?" Makoto asked.

"I...I...I-I-I... I didn't kill anyone! You've been all over me, judging everything I say, putting words in my mouth... What gives you the right to treat me like a goddamn criminal!?" Mondo yelled.

"Y-Yeah! He would never do something like that! This is a false accusation!" agreed Taka.

"It's true, my reasoning on that is pretty shaky," Kyoko admitted.

"Th-That was fast..." Makoto said.

"Well, this does present us with a problem. It seems we are all out of leads," said Celeste disappointedly.

Hifumi chuckled. "Heh heh heh. My time has nearly come... That's what my little ghost friend is telling me!"

"Oh yes, you did say you'd found some evidence, right?" I recalled.

"Really!? What kind of evidence!?" Hina asked excitedly.

"...Actually, you know...not that I'm thinking about it here calmly, it might not be all that relevant," Hifumi doubted.

"Jeez, did your confidence just get up and walk away? It's fine, man, just tell us!" Hiro encouraged.

"I-If you really insist, then..." Hifumi dug into his backpack and pulled out an e-Handbook. "Umm...here it is."

"Hmmm? What do you have there?" Jill asked.

"It happens to be an e-Handbook. I found it laying on the ground, so I scooped it up," Hifumi explained.

If it was found on the ground, then it must belong to...

-----

-It's Chihiro's ✔

-It's mine

-It's Mondo's

"THAT'S IT!"

-----

"We know that Chihiro's handbook was missing from the scene of the crime, right?" I asked.

"For a fact," Kyoko confirmed.

"For a fact indeed! I was totally sure I'd found it," Hifumi said.

"Then it must hold some clue about the culprit, right!?" Hina questioned.

"Well, that's what I was hoping. But it's busted. It won't even turn on," Hifumi mopped.

"I imagine the culprit broke it to get rid of any evidence after the murder," Celeste explained.

"That's odd. I didn't think the handbooks were quite so...fragile," Byakuya said.

"You're right, they're not! They're totally waterproof and shock-resistant! It would take an awful lot to break one..." Monokuma said.

"And yet, this one does appear to be broken. As is Leon's sitting useless in the main hall. For all your confidence, that is a remarkably high failure rate," Celeste commented.

"Puhuhu. Do you think there might be some kind of mystery in there somewhere? How, precisely, did the handbooks get broken?" Monokuma asked.

"You already told us before that the handbook has one weak point, didn't you?" Makoto asked.

"Ugyah! You remember that!? S-Sure, maybe I let that slip, but I never told anyone what the weak point actually was!" Monokuma said.

"But if the handbook is supposed to never break, and two of them broke in quick succession, then..." Sakura trailed off.

"Then we can only assume that someone's figured out its weakness. You know what the weakness is, right Monokuma? So, what is it?" Kyoko asked.

"Huh? You're asking me?" Monokuma questioned.

"I think it's a necessary piece of information if you want this to be a fair trial," Kyoko explained.

"But...if I tell you, and someone else decides to copy it, that would be very not good..." Monokuma sulked.

"Just tell us already! Why would we wanna break our own handbooks!?" Hina yelled.

"Oh well... I have a weakness for pushy demands. But you're sure you won't follow their example? Then allow me to make a special announcement! The weak point of my cutting-edge e-Handbook is...! When it's exposed to high temperatures for too long, it will suffer a meltdown and totally brrreak!" Monokuma explained.

"I flippin' knew it!" Hifumi cried out.

"...You knew it?" Makoto asked.

"Yeah, cuz I found the handbook laying on the floor of the sauna!" Hifumi said.

"The temperature in the sauna can reach over 200 degrees. Strange how you don't get burnt, huh!? It's because as your sweat evaporates, it creates a cooling layer of air around your skin! If the hot air of the sauna were somehow pushed directly onto your skin, you'd definitely get fried! That layer of air would get blown away. That's why you may feel a burning when you move around. So when you're in a sauna, make sure to keep nice and still!" Monokuma advised.

"Wow, interesting! I learned one new fact today!" Taka said.

"That is a mere trifling speck of knowledge!" Hifumi said.

"Anyway... If you found the victim's handbook in the sauna then the killer must have been purposely trying to raise its temperature in order to break it," Makoto explained.

"Meaning the culprit somehow knew its weakness..." Sakura concluded.

"But how'd they find out? Monokuma said he didn't tell anyone, right?" Hina asked.

"Indeed, quite the mystery..." agreed Hifumi.

"What if they found out by accident?" Kyoko suggested.

"What do you mean, by accident?" Sakura questioned.

"What if the killer took their own handbook into the sauna, not knowing its weakness, and it broke? They'd realize it was broken, of course, and it wouldn't be hard to figure out why. And once they had Chihiro's handbook, they knew they had an easy way to dispose of it," Kyoko explained.

"I won't say it's not possible, but...who would have done something like that? I don't know of anyone who took their handbook into the sauna..." Byakuya said.

"..I might know someone who did," Makoto said.

"So do I!" I cried out.

Hifumi gasped. "Whoa, seriously?"

"The person who might have taken their handbook into the sauna was none other than..." I started.

"Gh...! Nrgh!" Taka grunted.

I pointed my figure to the culprit. "IT WAS YOU ALL ALONG! Mondo...your handbook got broken in the sauna, didn't it?"

"Wh-Wh-What!?" Mondo stuttered.

"Why!? Why do you keep accusing him!?" Taka cried out.

"Mondo and Taka had an endurance contest in the sauna not too long ago, remember?" Makoto asked. "And for the contest, Mondo just so happened to keep his school uniform on. But little did he realize, he'd also left his handbook in one of his uniform pockets. And when it was all over, Mondo discovered that taking your handbook into the sauna could easily destroy it."

"Ngh... Grrhh...!" Mondo grunted.

"No, wait, hold on...! You've got it all wrong! He would never kill--!" Taka denied. "I don't accept this! Show me the proof! The actual, solid proof!"

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Kyoko: Let's test Makoto's and Hanako's assertions. If what they say is correct, then Mondo you broke your own handbook.

Celeste: In other words, if Mondo's handbook is actually broken then that proves that what Makoto said is right.

Mondo: Well my goddamn handbook works just fine!

Truth Bullet: Broken e-Handbook

Makoto: NO, THAT'S WRONG!

-BREAK!!-

"Mondo, the handbook you have right now... Is it really yours?" Makoto asked.

"...The fuck is that supposed to mean!?" Mondo shouted.

"The broken handbook that was in the main hall... Isn't that one actually yours?" Makoto clarified.

"What the heck are you talking about!?" Taka shouted.

"What I mean is, I think Mondo swapped his handbook out for one that actually works. I think he took Leon's handbook and replaced it with his own... After all, Monokuma said himself that Leon's handbook never should have broken."

"That's right! The punishment it suffered wasn't nearly enough to destroy it!" Monokuma confirmed.

"So then, the broken handbook in the main hall is actually Mondo's. Which would mean that the handbook Mondo has right now is actually Leon's, yes?" Celeste explained.

"But doesn't that violate the school regulation that says loaning out your handbook is prohibited?" Hina asked.

"Well, here's how I look at it... There is a rule about loaning your handbook to another student. But if they're dead, they're not a student! It's kind of a grey area, I admit, but no worries! If anything, it just makes things more interesting! As such, I decree that exchanging handbooks with a corpse is not a violation of the rules!" Monokuma announced.

"Well, Mondo? If I'm wrong about this, you're welcome to say so. I'm happy to admit I made a mistake, but..." Makoto looked at the ground.

"S-Son of a bitch...!" Mondo cursed.

"What's wrong, bro? Come on, tell him he's wrong...! You ARE wrong! You HAVE to be wrong...!" Taka encouraged his bro. "Everything you just said is wrong! You made it all up!"

"Okay, then why don't we look back on this case one more time, from the beginning? That way, everything will become clear, and we'll all see if I was right or wrong!" Makoto said.

-CLOSING ARGUMENT! CLIMAX INFERENCE!-

"First, let's take a look back to before the incident... Last night, Celeste saw Chihiro in the warehouse, correct? At the time, she was apparently stuffing something into a duffel bag. That "something" was a blue tracksuit. You can confirm this, right Celeste? With bag in hand, Chihiro headed out, even though it was officially nighttime.

"She made her way to the locker room. Specifically, the boys locker room. But how could the victim, who was apparently a girl, access the boys locker room? Simple. Because "she" was really a he. Which is why he was able to use his own e-Handbook to gain entrance to the boys locker room. Once inside, he met with someone there. And the person he met was the one who killed him! It seems likely that the killer grabbed the nearby dumbbell, approached the unsuspecting Chihiro...and attacked him. And that's where the bloodstains on the poster and carpeting in the boys locker room come from. It was likely in the heat of the moment. The body was arranged, but the murder itself felt unplanned.

"Which is why the killer hurried to try and hide the act. First, pulling up the bloodstained carpet, then removing the bloody poster...and finally carrying the corpse into the girls locker room. A girl's handbook was necessary to get into the locker room, of course... But this alone doesn't prove that the killer was necessarily a girl. After all, Sayaka and Junko's handbooks had been placed in the main hall. Using one of those, a boy could get into the girls locker room without much problem. And that's exactly how the killer did it. With the carpet and the poster they'd brought with them, they got to work. They changed the layout of the boys and girls locker room, in what you might call...a crime scene switch!

"That could have been the end of things, but no... Byakuya discovered the body and decided to...intervene in the situation, making things even more complicated. So, after stumbling on the crime scene, he went and grabbed the extension cord from the library, and then 'he' got to work. He used the cord to string up Chihiro's lifeless body. Then, using the victim's own blood, he left a grisly message there at the scene of the crime. He wanted to create the illusion that Genocide Jack was responsible for the slaughter.

"And around the same time that Byakuya was putting together this facade, the killer, having already disposed of Chihiro's bag and other belongings, arrived at the sauna. There, they planned to destroy the last piece of evidence...Chihiro's handbook. And just as the killer expected, the steamy sauna was enough to ruin the electronic gadget. Somehow, the killer knew that the handbook couldn't stand up to the heat of the sauna. And the reason they knew that is because the sauna had already wrecked their own handbook! ...And that's how it all played out.

"Isn't that right, Mondo Owada!?"

-COMPLETE!!-

"Kh-Kheeh..." Mondo didn't know what to say.

"W-Wait...! No, this can't be right! Where's your evidence...? Y-Yeah, where's your evidence!? You need evidence! You need proof! Without any proof, you can't pin any of this on him!" Taka shouted.

-The Moment of Truth!-

"Show me some evidence!"

"You're wrong!"

"I won't listen!"

"I refute you!"

"False!"

"You're corrupt!"

"I refuse to vote!"

"Without any proof, you can't pin any of this on him!"

Truth Bullet: Broken e-Handbook

Makoto: THIS SHOULD PROVE IT!

-BREAK!!-

"If my thinking so far is right, Mondo must have replaced his broken handbook with Leon's. In which case, we can just check each of our handbooks right now. Once we do that, we'll--" before Makoto could continue, Mondo cut him off.

"We don't gotta do that."

"Huh?" Makoto looked taken aback.

"Yeah. Yeah... I did it... I killed him," Mondo admitted.

"Bro? Bro...what are you saying?" Taka asked.

"I got no choice, man. After hearing all that, I gotta just...give up. Go ahead, Monokuma. Get it over with... Ask for the god damned verdict..." Mondo ordered.

"Roger that!" Monokuma said.

"W-Wait, hold on--!" Taka cried, but Monokuma was not hearing it.

"No waiting! No holding on! Time for the moment we've all been waiting for! Grab your lever and give it a yank! Who will you elect as the blackened this time around? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one? What's it gonna be? What's it gonna beeee!?"

Everyone pulled their levers and waited. A minute later, the slot machine came out and started spinning until it stopped on three pictures of Mondo's head. The word "GUILTY" flashed and confetti came out.

"Uh-oh... This time it looks like...you got it right again! Yes, it is so. The blackened that killed Chihiro Fujisaki was Mondo Owaaadaaaa!" Monokuma announced. Mondo looked at the ground. "In case you're wondering, the vote was NOT unanimous. Kiyotaka chose the wrooong answer! You're treading very close to the danger zone, Mr. Ishimaru! You need to be more careful!" Monokuma continued.

"I-I refuse to believe it... There's no way...no way he would kill someone!" Taka denied.

"Sorry..." Mondo apologized.

"Wh-Why are you apologizing!? Why!? Why why why why why!? WHYYY!? Wh...why?" Tears were flowing down his cheeks. "Why did you do it!?"

"..." Mondo stayed silenced.

"Well, it looks like Mondo's taken a vow of silence, so allow me to explain on his behalf..." Monokuma began. "The story of murder this time...is the sad story of two men. Oh, but for anyone who doesn't really wanna hear it, you can just scroll down to watch the execution video or something."

=======

"Anyway, there was once a young boy... And his name was Chihiro Fujisaki. He had an extreme inferiority complex regarding his own  lack of strength . "You're so weak,  even though you're a boy !" He'd heard things like that as long as he could remember, and he couldn't overcome his weakness. On the contrary, he tried to hide and buried himself  further and further  into that weakness to take on the fragile form of a petite young girl. He had chosen that as his  way out ."

"Now nobody will be able to say anything about "even though you're a boy"..."

"But no matter how tightly he wrapped himself up in that shell, the inferiority complex had already taken root deep inside of him, and was not so easily weeded out. As it turned out, the shell was completely empty. The complex didn't disappear. Instead, it only grew stronger and stronger."

"I'm...weak... Weak, weak, weak, weak, weak, weak, weak, weak...!"

"Once the  killing game  had begun here at the school, he had no choice but to accept this fact. After all, this world is survival of the fittest. If you're not strong, you don't survive. And then the lovely and hateful Monokuma announced the revealing of the  embarrassing secrets . Which, of course, included Chihiro's embarrassing secret, which I was more than willing to divulge..."

"Even though he dresses like a girl, Chihiro is actually a boy."

"And that was something Chihiro couldn't let anyone find out, no matter the cost. If that was revealed, it would be the end. The hardened shell would crack, the armor would fall away. Without a doubt, those around him would torture him more than ever before. Everyone figured being thrust into such a dilemma must have sent him spiraling into despair. And yet...!"

-Flashback-

"Um...s-sorry, I don't really want to talk about it right now. But I also don't want to leave things the way they are. So maybe I can talk about it later... After I try my best...to become strong... Then I can tell everyone."

-End of Flashback-

"Annoyingly, he used the threat of discovery to motivate himself to become stronger!"

"Now's my chance... I'm going to get stronger...and accept who I am... Strong enough so that when someone says "even though you're a boy" I'll be okay. I'll get better!"

"With that thought at the front of his mind, he resolved to take immediate action. And so... That day, he made the commitment to begin exercising. He was prepared to retrain his mind and body. But sadly... That would be the first and only chance he would get at it! When he'd decided to start exercising, he thought it would be good to ask for someone's help. But he wanted to tell that person his secret first, and then ask them to help him from there. And the person he went to..."

"It was me...!" Mondo finally spoke up.

"Yup, it sure was!" Monokuma confirmed. "The biker gang fella had been painfully clear about how important his manly promises were. So Chihiro probably figured that even if he confided in Mondo, his honor would make him keep the secret. Plus, Mr. Macho Mondo was the very symbol of a strong man that Chihiro had always aspired to."

"Maybe talking to Mondo about it will help give me some courage..."

"So he went and asked Mondo to help him become strong! That was his aspiration... And he thought that only with Mondo's support would he ever be able to come close to that."

=======

"So then, that must be why Mondo did what he did--to keep the promise he'd made to Chihiro," Kyoko said.

"Huh? Did what he did? You mean...? That's why Mondo carried Chihiro from the boys locker room into the girls locker room?" Makoto asked.

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean," Kyoko confirmed.

"Wasn't that to cover up what he'd done?" Hifumi questioned.

"That could have been part of it, but I don't think it was the main reason. The real purpose was to keep the promise between men he'd made to Chihiro," Kyoko explained.

"But...how does moving the body keep his secret?" Hina asked.

"Because if everyone knew he'd been killed in the boys locker room then everyone would have been arguing about how "she" got into the 'boys' locker room, right? Once that started up, at least a few of us would have immediately begun to suspect his identity. So, he tried to protect Chihiro's secret by putting him in the girls locker room and stealing his handbook. See?"

"Then...Mondo did all that to keep the promise he'd made to Chihiro...who he'd also killed?" Makoto said, confused. Mondo was silent again.

"Why...would he...do that? The more I hear you talk, the more I don't understand! I mean, you guys trusted each other, right!? So why? Why did you...?" Taka cried.

"... Because...no matter what, I didn't want anyone to know..." Mondo trailed off.

"So that's what triggered it, after all. The possibility of having your embarrassing memories and secrets exposed..." Kyoko said.

"Th-that's impossible! Nothing could have been that bad! Something he didn't want anyone to know, even if it meant killing someone...? It's impossible!" Taka denied.

Byakuya scoffed. "How many times must I repeat myself? To judge others by your own standard is the height of folly. Even if you can't comprehend it, he obviously can. That's all there is to it."

"Shut up," I muttered.

"Well, while we're on the subject...why don't I tell you? That embarrassing memory, that secret he didn't want anyone to know... You know what Mondo did?" Monokuma questioned. "He killed his own brother!"

"Gh--!" Mondo grunted.

=======

"Mondo, the  Ultimate Biker Gang Leader , makes all the hoodlums and riff-raff across the country tremble... But the only reason he had the chance to join a gang in the first place was because of a  certain someone . Mondo's older brother's name was  Daiya Owada . Mondo had nothing but respect for him. It was because of Daiya that Mondo ever got on a motorcycle. Mondo's older brother was his only family growing up. He was the only one Mondo could trust, or respect. He wanted to measure up to his big brother, so he imitated him in everything he did. Mondo was the epitome of the starry-eyed kid brother. Meanwhile, the charismatic older brother had put together a local motorcycle gang...and before anyone knew it, it had grown into the biggest biker gang in the country. Daiya, the older brother, number one in the gang. And his number two, his younger brother, Mondo. In the beginning, everything was peaches and gravy. But when Mondo started to think about how he would have to take over the gang from his brother someday his brother's greatness, his reputation, began to gnaw on Mondo's very soul!"

"The kid's gonna take over for Daiya, huh?"

"Daiya created this gang with his bare hands! Mondo's just along for the ride!"

"Can someone like that really be our leader?"

"All that'll do is make the gang look bad."

"Almost every day, Mondo heard the gossip and whispers of the other members of the gang. Which is why..."

"I gotta get stronger...stronger than Daiya. Once...just one time... No matter what, I gotta win... I don't care what it takes, I gotta come out on top!"

And on the night of his amazing brother's retirement ceremony, Mondo challenged him to a street race! But during the race, tragedy struck... The kid brother pushed ahead with reckless abandon, eager for victory, and dashed into oncoming traffic. But suddenly...! Daiya pushed Mondo out of the way, and he got hit by the truck instead! Laying in his kid brother's arms, the older brother delivered his final words..."

"M-My bad, kid... I fucked up. Sorry."

"Of course he knew it was his brother's fault, but Daiya never blamed him for what happened."

"Hey, kid... The rest is up to you. No matter what, you gotta keep the gang together. Cuz it's the team...you and me put together. It's...a pr... a promise...between men..."

"He decided to hide the truth of what happened from everyone else in the gang. In order to keep the gang together, and keep the promise to his brother, he could never admit to anyone that it was his own  weakness  that had caused the accident! And as a result...the team was made even stronger, under the banner of the  kid who'd bested his big brother . "Daiya was gonna lose to his kid brother, so he got stupid and got himself killed." That became the explanation for what happened. Mondo's lie became the truth. He wanted to lead the team so bad, he was willing to tell all kinds of lies about his brother!"

"I'm...strong... Strong, strong, strong, strong, strong, strong...!"

"And yet... As soon as our killing game began, he realized no matter how tough he pretended to be, he was just another  weakling  that could die in an instant. And then the lovely, the hateful Monokuma announced the revealing of the embarrassing secrets. At that point, it was clear I would have no problem shedding light on his secret..."

"Mondo killed his own older brother."

=======

"N-No matter what...I couldn't let the other gang members find out. If that happened, everything would have been ruined..." Mondo explained. "Everything me and my brother had worked to create...woulda been destroyed... His death...all the guilt I'd been carrying around...it all woulda been for nothing. So that's why... That's why I...I...!"

"Oh Mondo..." I whispered.

"After I saw what Monokuma had on me my head filled up with a kind of fuzzy uneasiness, and just started swirlin' around. I'd never felt anything like it before," Mondo continued. "I didn't know what to do about it. I wasn't sure what to think or say. But after a while, that fuzzy uneasiness... Turned itself into a rock-hard lump of anxiety, way down in my stomach...! And it was right around then that Chihiro asked me to start working out with him. And right there, I... He told me a secret."

-Flashback-

"Seriously? Jesus..."

"Y-Yeah... I'm sorry I lied to you."

"But...why? Why now? Why are you telling me this all of a sudden?"

" ...Huh?"

"Cuz I mean...you've kept that secret all this time, right? If anyone found out...you would..."

"Y-You're right, but...I want to change. I wrapped myself in lies. I'm weak. I want to destroy that version of me forever!"

"His words were like a knife in my gut... I felt like he was exposing the lie I'd been living myself."

"I have to change. I don't want to be weak anymore. You're so strong, it can't hurt you, right? Whatever secret Monokuma might tell us..."

"...So, what? You're saying I should just say it?   You're saying if I really am, I should just be able to tell everyone my secret?"

"Huh...?"

"I was...jealous. I was jealous of Chihiro's strength. He had the strength to face his own weakness, to try and overcome it...! It was the kind of strength I've never had... So I was jealous of him. And that jealousy...broke me."

"Are you making fun of me? I'm strong? Are you fucking with me right now?"

"I-I'm not making fun of you. You really are strong, Mondo..."

"I felt like I could hear something starting to...creak. Something...inside my head."

"What did he want me to do? What was I 'supposed' to do? Was I supposed to just sit back, let my secret get revealed, and ruin everything...?"

"Wh...what's wrong?"

"Why did you have to tell me all that? Are you trying to rub my failure in my face?"

"N-No, I just...really admire you. I admire...your strength..."

"That's right... I 'am' strong... Strong... I'm strong...!"

"Strong, strong, strong, strong, strong, strong!"

"Stronger than you! And stronger than Daaaaiiiyaaaaa!!!"

-End of Flashback-

"I don't remember anything after that... When I woke up again, he was laying at my feet...covered in blood... I had the dumbbell in my hand...and I was just staring at him...down on the ground..." Mondo concluded.

"H-Hey..." Taka cried.

"...I...killed him. I killed Chihiro. Even after all this time, I'm still just as weak as I've always been! And thanks to that, I did something I can never take back...!" Mondo cried out.

Monokuma laughed. "Ahh-hahaha! Look at him! You see? You're all just like him! For a secret from the past, for a memory... For that, he killed another living human in cold blood! He couldn't cut free of his regrets from the outside world. He doesn't know what true strength is. Do you see hope anywhere in there!? Cuz I sure don't!"

"You...bastard! Just shut up, you son of a bitch! Go ahead, say that again, I dare you!" Taka cussed.

"Okay! I'll say it as many times as I want! ...is what I want to say, but...unfortunately, I can't do that right now! Because the time for punishing is fast approaching!" Monokuma announced.

"P-Punishing...?" Makoto repeated.

Taka's eyes shot up. "You mean...execution...!?"

"That's what I promised you, right? The blackened that disturbs the peace will be punished," Monokuma reminded.

"H-Hold on!" Taka cried.

"Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for Mondo Owada, the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader!"

"N-No, wait! Wait!"

"Let's give it everything we've got! It's...PUNISHMENT TIIIME!"

"I! Said! WAAAAAIIIITT!!!"

"... Sorry, man... I couldn't keep the promise we made... from one man to another..." That was Mondo's last words before the punishment began.

 

Chapter 26: My Brother...

"Laugh at death, and your soul will forever be at peace," Monokuma said, breaking the silence after watching the execution.

"It...can't be... My...brother... Urraaaaaaahhh...! URRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!" Taka cried.

Another murder...and another execution... Mondo Owada, the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader, had been turned to butter... Everyone's lives are taken so lightly here... I feel like I might be at the end of my wits... And as Taka's screams invaded our skulls, we were each forced to realize once again... But he...of course he had to...

"What a disappointment. This is the end of the game?" Byakuya asked.

"B...Byakuya...?" Makoto questioned.

"You're completely insane, you know that? A game? One of our friends is dead! Do you realize that!?" Hina yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Of course I do. Because this game is life or death," Byakuya merely said.

"I don't have anything to say to you. I don't have a response, except that...I just don't understand why. Why did you go out of your way to disguise Mondo's crime?" Kyoko questioned.

"Why...? Isn't it obvious? Because it made things more interesting." Byakuya's voice was calm, emotionless. Like the voice of death. It made me shake with anger.

"What do you mean, "it made things more interesting"?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Last night, when the murder took place, I was in the library as usual," Byakuya began, and Celeste interrupted.

"So you ignored the nighttime rule, too..."

"That rule never mattered to me. I don't recall agreeing to it."

"Well, I don't particularly care. Please, continue," Celeste insisted.

"The night grew late, and I decided to return to my room. Which is when I stumbled upon him... I spotted Mondo coming out of the girls locker room. After he'd gone, I looked inside and saw the corpse."

Hiro gasped. "Wh--!? You mean you actually witnessed the murder!?"

"He was such a fool. He didn't have the slightest idea that I'd seen him."

"So...you're saying you knew who the culprit was from the very beginning?" Hifumi asked.

"Indeed. But if that had been the end of it, how boring would that have been? I mean, what a waste of time to have the answer revealed right at the beginning. Which is why I decided to...lend a little helping hand. I thought it would liven things up."

"You did all that...to "liven things up"!?" Makoto yelled.

"So after hearing about Genocide Jack from Toko, you decided to use that to create the fake murder scene?" Kyoko questioned.

"But damn, man... If we hadn't figured out who'd really done it, you woulda been dead too, right?" Hiro asked.

"Well obviously I would have revealed the truth before it reached that point. Of course..." Byakuya turned and glared in my and Makoto's direction with his sharp eyes piercing into us. "Thanks to two certain remarkable people, it never did. And I was able to perform an interesting experiment. Once I do decide to become blackened, I now know who I'll have to watch out for."

"Wh--!?" Makoto stuttered.

"Oh, we'll see about that..." I threatened.

"So that was your reason..." Kyoko said.

Byakuya smirked. "Are you satisfied?"

Kyoko nodded her head. "Yes. We're done listening to your story. Moving on... There's something I'd like to ask Monokuma." Her eyes shifted towards Monokuma.

"Ohh? I'm up next?" Monokuma asked.

"You like to perform these elaborate executions each time, correct? My question is...why?"

Monokuma giggled. "Puhuhu... Do you like them? But you know, this punishment, this despair--it's not just for you. All this punishment, all this despair is my gift to mankind itself!"

"You're overexaggerating," Kyoko said.

"I am not overexaggerating! These punishments are meant to transform all hope to despair!" Monokuma shouted.

"...What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"Mean...? Meeaaan...? Mean? Mean mean mean mean mean mean mean mean mean mean! Good GRIEF! I don't understand why you have to pick apart every little stupid thing!" Monokuma shouted.

"Hmph. Whatever, it doesn't matter. In the end, I'm going to stand alone as the victor. And then everything will be revealed to me," Byakuya said with confidence.

"Ahh, the noble son of a noble family... Truly you understand me! Puhuhu... I think this is the start of a terrifying friendship!" Monokuma announced.

Byakuya scowled. "Shut up. I would never stoop to the level of a childish criminal like you. Let me just say this... After I have achieved complete victory...you're up next. I'm going to find you and kill you. Understand? In the name of the Togami family, for which victory is a foregone conclusion..."

"Oooh, so cool! It's like you're the main character of a video game or something! No trash mob for you!"

"I swear, whatever it takes...I will kill you!"

"Puhuhu... Temper, temper! Sounds like someone needs a nap! Puhuhu... Puuhuhuhuhu! Ahh-hahahaha!" Monokuma's laughter pealed across the courtroom, and the curtain closed on the case of Chihiro and Mondo. But I knew that wasn't the end. The killing game would still continue... Because the mastermind wouldn't let it end. For those of us who were still alive, our worst fear and despair kept on multiplying... It was the kind of despair that felt like a blind puppy in hell had more of a future than us... All of our courage, our effort, our friendship... It felt like it amounted to nothing at all.

...It was the worst kind of despair.

Boy's Life of Despair

THE END

Surviving Students: 11

To Be Continued

 

Chapter 27: The Third Floor

A Next Generation Legend! Stand Tall, Galactic Hero!

Daily Life

After exiting the trial room, I spent the rest of the day in my room, holding the handkerchief tightly in my hand and trying not to cry, but failed miserably. The morning after the conclusion of the second class trial, I sulky headed off to the dining hall. Everyone was there, just like always. And I expected it to start like any other day, but...

"Today's count kinda sucks, huh? Toko and Byakuya still refuse to show up..." Hiro said.

"And I haven't seen Miss Asahina anywhere," Hifumi said.

"She said her stomach was hurting, so she's taking it easy in her room for today," Sakura explained.

"That is rather unusual for her. Normally she is so full of energy," Celeste commented.

"Which is exactly what makes me worry..." Sakura muttered.

"So it's just the eight of us, then?" Kyoko asked.

"It looks that way..." Makoto said.

"It's times like this where the committee chairman needs to get things going with a BANG!" Hiro shouted and pointed to Taka.

"..." Taka didn't respond and instead just stared.

"Or not...?"

The look on his face showed he hadn't slept a wink last night. It must be because of Mondo... The two of them became so close for only a day or two, and then he finds out Mondo killed Chihiro... And then...having to watch Mondo get...punished. And nothing he could do about it...

Poor Taka...

"So, I mean...what's gonna happen now? We haven't found any way out, and we have no idea if help's ever gonna come. Ngh! Now I'm all depressed just thinking about it..." Hifumi sulked.

"We simply have to make the best of things--do our best to get along and live here together in peace. Forget about the outside world, and accept this new life. That is the only hope we have now," Celeste spoke.

"What...? To live here forever...?" Makoto questioned.

"Are we really going to have this type of conversation again?" I muttered.

Celeste ignored me. "Here we have every convenience. We have food, clothes, our every need is seen to. Why are you dissatisfied? In fact, let me ask you this? What is it about the outside world that you long for? Competition, discrimination, victimization and violence... As society grows, so does its perversion. In which case, is our current situation not--"

"Demon Angel☆Pretty Pudgy Princess..." Hifumi interrupted her.

"Hmm?"

"Meggy, the drill shop owner, the bunny-eared Amazon, Catgirl Dogboy, Robo Justice the Galactic King... And...! And--! What I mean is, there's no 2D here!" Hifumi shrieked.

Celeste sighed. "The mastermind puts such base desire to their advantage, bending you to their will..."

"Okay, well, anyway... Since Taka's like, catatonic... As the oldest one here, I'm officially stepping up to take the lead! So! We're all gonna work together and spend the rest of the day searching the school!" Hiro announced.

"Searching...?" Makoto repeated.

"Well, I mean...since the class trial is over and all..." Hiro started.

"...there should be new places for us to investigate," Sakura finished.

"Yeah, that's the ticket! Maybe we'll find some kind of clue this time!" Hiro declared.

"I sure hope so," I said.

"Then once we're done eating, let's split up and begin looking around. So you have any problem with that, Celeste?" Sakura asked her.

"Hmm... There may well be a discovery waiting for us which may further enrich our life here," Celeste responded.

"Er, no...the point is to look for clues," Hifumi said.

And just as we were starting to come together, she barged in and ruined the conversation...

"You called for me, and so I appear!" said the voice of the serial killer. "Genocide--!"

"Ahh! Nobody called for you!" Hifumi shrieked as I screamed.

"What the...? How come it's Genocide Jill, and not Toko?" Hiro asked.

"God, this place is just AMAZING! Finally a place I can just be my murderous self! Which is why I've decided to stop holding back and spread my wings! No more hiding in a cave for me! Plus, I have another battle to fight! The whole "killer with a split personality" thing is sooo overdone. I gotta destroy that stereotype! I'll fight all day and all night to murder those totally slanderous cliches!" Jill explained.

"But...you 'are' a killer with a split personality..." Hiro observed.

"Gh--! If she weren't here, my chances of survival would go up AT LEAST 10%!" Hifumi complained.

"C'mon, you gotta back me up here! Even the biggest stars need the little people to hold them up! Kyeeehahahaha!" Jill laughed.

"Well, whatever else we do today, first we should eat. We can't do anything on an empty stomach," Sakura advised.

"You're right. Let's hurry up and eat so we can start our investigation..." Makoto said.

Jill laughed and lunged herself into an empty seat next to me. We were forced to eat breakfast with a murderer. And after our much needed but very annoying meal we set to work looking around the school.

=======

When I headed up to the third floor, I was greeted by purple lighting. I headed to the door that was in front of me. When I entered, there was a blue room full of games to play. Celeste was also there.

"So this must be..." I muttered.

"A recreation room. A place for students to come and relax..." Celeste explained.

"Strange that a school would have a place like this," I said.

"Well, no normal school would. It has Othello, shogi, even a dartboard and a pool table. And look at this..." She pointed to a shelf full of magazines. "They have even provided us with a remarkable number of magazines. Those will certainly be helpful in keeping our boredom at bay,"

"Ring ring ring!" Said the voice of Monokuma popping out of nowhere. I jumped at the sound of his voice. "Hello there! Allow me to explain! We've got fashion, motorcycles, martial arts, video games, baseball, science, all kinds of magazines! Oh, but nothing dirty! This is a school, after all. If you need a quick fix, check out the swimsuit mags!" My face turned pink at Monokuma's comment.

"And will you be adding to our collection as new issues come out?" Celeste asked.

"Sorry, no can do. Even if I wanted to, right now magazines are kinda..." Monokuma trailed off.

"Kinda what...?" I asked.

"Oops! Nothing, never mind, no no no! Anyway, that's it for my expoundation. Bye-bye!" Monokuma disappeared.

"... What he just said..." Celeste began.

"Yeah, it's definitely strange..." I said.

Celeste sighed. "Life here would be that much nicer if he could add some new issues once in a while. How disappointing."

"Sure..." I said and left the room. I continued walking until the lights changed to a light blue and behind a load of pillars was a huge arch. I walked in to see it was an art room full of drawings, canvases, sculptures, desks, and a door in the back room. Hifumi was also there, taking a look around.

"Well, well. Look at all this equipment!" Hifumi said. "It certainly scratches that artistic itch of mine... Art supplies, of course, but they've also collected all kinds of [sculpting tools]!"

"I didn't know you take an interest in sculptures and figurines and stuff," I said.

"Well normally, I limit myself to 2D. But figurines are like, borderline 2D, so it's okay," Hifumi said. "I'm a fan of Charanbo, Pumpkinhead, and I especially admire anything that Saburo Ronppongi makes. Charanbo's ability to express the movement of muscles is exquisite, as seen in his Mama Cat series. Pumpkinhead is like a little sculptor fairy, representing this century's greatest quality! Saburo Ronppongi, meanwhile, is known for his Mecha Musume series, which led to a worldwide tour. Truly they can only be regarded as the Elite Four!"

"Four? You only mentioned three elites," I said.

"Well the Elite Three just sounds stupid, now doesn't it!? Besides, that empty seat rightly belongs to...me! Hmhmhm. It begins... Today begins my reign as the legendary ruler of the next century!" Hifumi announced.

"Okay... Well, I wish you the best," I said and walked over to the back door. It turns out to be a repository room full of art equipment. Makoto was in the room staring at a picture in his hand, looking shocked and confused.

"What is this...?" he muttered.

"What's what?" I asked and headed over to him.

"Take a look at this," Makoto said and handed me the picture. I took it and gasped. The picture showed Mondo, Leon, and Chihiro looking all happy and smiling. Millions of questions raced through my head at once: Why is it only these three people? What are they doing together? How come they're smiling like that? When was it taken? Who took it? Where's the camera they used? How'd they get it developed? And in the picture, the window in the classroom...

Makoto must've noticed the windows too because he said "There's no metal plate covering it! Which must mean, wherever this picture was taken... It...wasn't here at Hope's Peak?"

However, before any questions could be answered, he came out of nowhere.

"That's mine! Give it back!" Monokuma shouted and snatched the photo out of my hand. "You peeked, didn't you!? Well, they all had some pretty dazzling smiles, huh? They were definitely living their school life. It's like they ripped a page right outta the book of youth!"

"What's going on with that picture? Do you know...?" Makoto asked.

"I'm not tellin' you nothin'!" Monokuma said and left.

"Why can't you give me a straight answer!?" Makoto shouted.

"Let's worry about that later. There are still some other places to check out," I said and left the room. Makoto followed after me and we both walked to a dark hallway. There was a door with the sign "Physics" next to it. We both walked in and the room looked like some kind of research institute. There was a huge machine in the middle of the room and Taka was standing near it.

I walked up to Taka. "Hey, Taka. Don't you think this place is like some kind of research institute?"

"..." Taka said nothing and just stared off.

Still no reaction...

"What's up with this ridiculously big machine...?" Makoto wondered out loud, staring at the machine.

"Watch out!" Shouted Monokuma as he appeared out of nowhere yet again.

"Wh-What--?" Makoto stuttered.

"What, you wanna do some quantum leaping!?" Monokuma asked.

"What are you even talking about?" I questioned.

"That's a time machine! Pretty awesome, right? It was designed by a student right here at Hope's Peak! The Ultimate Physicist... Although, they don't go here anymore. They died during The Tragedy!" Monokuma explained.

"A time machine...?" Taka managed to say, but his voice sounded so hoarse. "Seriously...? So...it can go back in time...? Okay, then...let me get in there... If I can go back to the past...then I can... This time I'll stop Mondo for sure--!" Taka cried, but his idea was crushed by the bear.

"Oh, sorry, not possible. This particular time machine can only go back one minute. It comes in handy when you, like...leave your pizza bagels in the microwave one minute too long."

Tears streamed down Taka's face. " One minute...?"

"Hmm... You sound disappointed. But actually, I was lying about the whole thing anyway. There's no such thing as time machines!"

"What...?"

"Honestly, it's just an air purifier."

"Air purifier...?" Makoto repeated.

"It can produce clean air no matter where you're at. With that thing, you could even live on Mars! But what with the discombobulating gravity and deadly low temperatures, you prolly don't wanna live on Mars. Anyway, this machine is the reason you guys have all this delicious air. So don't go messing with it! You break it, and it's your butt!" Monokuma explained and disappeared.

"..." Taka returned to his blank state.

"God damn you!" Makoto shouted. He then noticed something pink on the table. While he was doing that, I went through a back door and entered the equipment room. Genocide Jill was already there. The room is super disorganized and...

I sniffed the air. It smells like some sort of strange chemical.

"Ahhh, this place is sooo relaaaxing! Sooo calming! The smell of formaldehyde is almost unbearable... It's so tempting! Ahhh, I wanna just dunk myself right in it!" Jill gushed.

Of course you would like it. I sighed and headed back to the dining hall, having done enough exploration.

=======

When I got back to the dining hall, the first thing I noticed was...

"Hina!?" I shouted.

"Ah--!" Hina gasped.

I went up to her at the same time as the others rushed into the dining hall.

"Hina!" Sakura shouted.

"Huh? I thought she was sick or somethin'," Hiro said.

We all crowded around Hina. Being surrounded by everyone like that, Hina looked really uncomfortable.

"Are you feeling better already?" Sakura asked.

"Y-Yeah... I ate a few donuts, and that really helped a lot," Hina said, rubbing the back of her head.

"You do love those donuts..." Makoto commented.

"But...wasn't it your stomach that was hurting?" Celeste questioned.

"Well, my stomachache kinda made me hungry, so...you know... Er, ahaha...I guess my memory's kinda fuzzy lately..." Hina said.

"They say that a goldfish will eat however much food you give it, even if it's about to burst. Miss Asahina's pretty much the same, it looks like," Hifumi pointed out.

"Hey! You of all people don't have any room to talk!" Hina shouted.

"Anyway... I was worried about you," Sakura said.

"S-Sorry..." Hina muttered.

"Besides that, you--!" Jill started to say.

"H-Huh...?" Hina looked up at her.

"Jeez, your knockers are HUGE! What the heck, did you convince them to double up on milk production!?" Jill simply said.

"Stay away from her, fiend," Sakura growled and stood in front of Hina, the glowing blue aura surrounding her.

"And I could say the same thing about you rich girl!" Jill said to me. "Did you convince your money parent to give you some dough to get breast implants?"

"I can assure you, they're real..." I said, face going pink from embarrassment.

"A-Anyway...first thing's first, we should talk about what we found. Right, Taka?" Hiro asked him.

"..." Taka said nothing.

"...Right," Hiro said.

=======

"Um, I wasn't able to help much with the investigation, but...I did make one discovery..." Hina started.

"It didn't happen to be a donut-related discovery, did it?" Hiro asked.

"What does that even mean? Never mind... It's about the nurse's office! Remember? There's one on the 1st floor, right?" Hina reminded.

"I remember. But it's locked," Sakura said.

"Actually...not anymore."

"Did you find any protein in there? Or even vitamin supplements would be fine."

"I did look, but no dice... Just a bunch of headache medicine and over-the-counter stuff."

"I see..." Sakura sighed. "That's disappointing."

"It 'is' disappointing. Like the end of the world is already here..." Hina pouted.

You girls sure like your protein.

=======

"The long road to maidenhood begins with a single step... That road may begin with only wrinkly old men, but it will end with strapping young adorable boys!" Jill said.

"What the hell are you talking about...?" Hiro questioned.

"Kyeehahaha!" Jill laughed.

=======

"There was a rather remarkable physics lab on the 3rd floor. In the middle of the room, there was a machine bigger than anything I've ever seen before..." Kyoko said.

"Oh yeah, apparently it's an air purifier," Makoto explained.

"Huh? What's something like that doing there?" Hiro questioned.

"Is the device really that big?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, it's massive!" I confirmed.

"I...really don't get it," Hina said.

"..." Taka said nothing.

=======

"Oh, I just remembered! I saw Byakuya a little while ago," Hiro said.

"What!?" Jill yelled and pointed her scissors in Hiro's direction. "Where!? WHERE WAS HE!?!?"

"Y-You're kinda scarin' me..." Hiro said in fear.

"Where. Was. HE!?" Jill repeated.

"He was in the locker room... He had a huge stack of books he musta got from the library," Hiro said.

"So THAT'S where he was hiding! I won't let him get away from me! Kyehehe..." Jill laughed and ran off to find him.

"She just...ran off!" Hiro sweated.

"You okay Hiro?" I asked.

"I think so..."

"Is...is she okay?" Makoto asked.

"We should not concern ourselves with her," Celeste advised.

=======

"There 'is' one piece of good news. There just so happens to be a rec room up on the 3rd floor! I have no doubt that our student life here will be even more enjoyable because of it. Hmhm. Will someone join me in a game of Othello sometime?" Celeste asked.

=======

"I searched the entire 3rd floor, but...all the windows in the halls and the rooms were blocked off," Sakura said.

"I wish they'd give this a rest already, for serious! Gimme back my bright blue skies!" Hiro complained.

"Just forget about it," Celeste advised.

"You make it sound like I dropped a nickel or something!" Hiro said.

"Just to be sure, I went from one end to the other, testing each metal plate. None of them budged. It would seem escape via the 3rd floor is as impossible as we feared..." Sakura confirmed.

"I see..." Makoto muttered.

=======

"There was an art room on the 3rd floor, and it had all kinds of gear. Myehehe... Now I'll be able to recreate all my favorite [anime characters]!" Hifumi exclaimed.

"Oh yeah! Speaking of anime, that reminds me... I found something while I was looking around!" Makoto pulled out a pink camera covered with blue and yellow hearts and has an anime character on it.

"Hrm...a digital camera?" Sakura asked.

"That's what it seems like..." Makoto confirmed.

"Does it still work?" Hiro asked.

"Yeah, it seems fine," Makoto said.

"Well then, let's see it!" Hiro grabbed the camera from Makoto and took a closer look at it. "What the heck? This thing is like a kid's toy! It looks like it can store like five pictures, maybe? It doesn't have a timer or anything!"

"On top of that, its appearance seems...questionable. Is this some kind of anime character? Strange..." Celeste pointed out.

"Rude! She's not strange! She's Princess Piggles, from "Demon Angel☆Pretty Pudgy Princess"!" Hifumi yelled.

"Oh, you recognize this, Hifumi?" Makoto asked him.

"Of course I recognize it! It's a super rare prize that was given away at a bingo contest at a big anime convention... You have any idea how much I had to pay that guy to get my hands on it!?" Hifumi then gasped. "Wait...that's my camera!"

"What!?" Makoto said.

"Wh-Where did you find it!?"

"In the physics lab..." Makoto answered.

"It's my most prized possession. I brought it here with me, but I lost it the first day, along with my phone."

"Why would it have reappeared in the physics lab...?" Celeste questioned.

"Agh, but look at it! It got all messed up! Like when someone steals a sticker from your collection, or you buy a secondhand shirt... Well, that's it..."

"Huh? That's it...?" Makoto repeated.

"It's not mint condition. I don't need it anymore..." Hifumi explained.

"But weren't you just saying how much it meant to you?" Makoto pointed out.

"Then...may 'I' have it?" Celeste asked. "I might be able to find some sort of use for it. If any of you would like to borrow it, please feel free to ask."

"Well...I can't really imagine any of us are gonna need to take any pictures or whatever..." Hina said.

"Yeah, true..." Makoto agreed and handed the camera to Celeste.

=======

"Psst... Makoto," I whispered to him. "Are you gonna tell the others about the picture?"

Makoto nodded his head. "Hey, um...can I tell you guys something? I found something that's...kinda been bothering me."

"What is it?" Kyoko asked.

"I found this weird picture in the repository. Apparently Monokuma took it..." Makoto explained.

"A weird picture? You mean, like...dirty!?" Hina exclaimed.

"No no, not that kind of weird. The picture showed Leon, Mondo, and Chihiro all together," I explained.

"Those three...?" Kyoko muttered.

"Yes, and they were...laughing," I continued.

"It showed the three of them together, laughing? When could it have been taken?" Hifumi questioned.

"And there's more... In the picture, there weren't any metal sheets covering the windows," Makoto added.

"Then...the picture wasn't taken here?" Sakura asked.

"But I don't recall hearing anything about them knowing each other before coming to this school," Celeste said.

"You two probably just imagined it! Monokuma cast a spell on you!" Hifumi suggested.

"No! I saw it, I'm telling you!" Makoto argued.

"So did I!" I said.

"But if it wasn't taken before we got here, or 'after' we got here..." Hina started.

"I bet they're all still alive! They left the school and then took that picture!" Hiro suggested.

"That's impossible," Kyoko debunked. "After all...we saw it with our own eyes. They're all dead. Either murdered or executed..."

And they're not the only ones... Junko and Sayaka are dead as well. It was real. They all died. There's no way any of them are still alive.

"So we have to figure out when that picture was taken..." Makoto said.

"Monokuma most likely forged it. I can't imagine any other possibility," Celeste suggested.

I'm not so sure it was a forgery.

"Stay focused, you two! Don't let Monokuma's bullcrap sidetrack you!" Hiro advised.

"He's right. But more importantly... On another topic, there is something that has been [bothering me]. I would like to discuss that," Celeste announced.

"What's bothering you, Celeste?" Makoto asked.

"It's about Hina..." Celeste started.

"What? Me!?" Hina questioned.

"You said your stomach hurt, did you not? But I believe that was a lie. What really happened?" Celeste asked.

"Huh?" Hina said, looking quite shocked.

"It varies from person to person, but whenever someone lies, they tend to have a way of showing it. It is called a "tell"--something that you can't hide, no matter how hard you try. Whenever Hina lies, the tip of her nose gets just a little bit longer."

"What!? For real!?"

"Actually, no."

"Huh...?"

"But your reaction just now confirmed it--you 'were' lying."

"Th-That's no fair!" Hina yelled.

"Hmhm. If you are going to lie, at least try to lie convincingly," Celeste advised.

"Hina...be honest. Were you lying about your stomachache?" Sakura asked.

"... Y-Yes..." Hina admitted.

"Why...? Why would you lie about that?" Sakura asked.

"Are you feeling guilty about something!?" Hifumi interviewed.

"No, that's not it at all! It's just... I mean, I have a reason for it! To be honest...I didn't have a stomachache. I did it cuz...even if I came and told you [the truth], I thought you wouldn't believe me..." Hina explained.

"The truth...?" Makoto repeated.

"...I saw it," Hina began.

"Saw what...?" Makoto asked.

"A ghost..." Hina answered.

"A ghost?" I repeated.

"A ghost...? You mean like, THAT ghost!?" Hifumi asked.

"Is there more than one ghost...?" Kyoko wondered out loud.

"B-But...I mean, ghosts are..." Makoto tried to find the right words.

"See! I told you you wouldn't believe me!" Hina yelled.

"I-It's not that I don't believe you, but..." Makoto trailed off.

"..I believe you. No matter what anyone else might say, I will believe whatever you say, no matter what. So...can you tell us exactly what happened?" Sakura asked.

"If you really mean that, Sakura...then okay. I'll tell you. Umm, so...it happened last night," Hina began. "I was in bed, but I couldn't get to sleep. I just kept thinking about everything that's happened up till now. I ended up just getting more upset... So to try and cheer myself up, I thought I'd go get some donuts."

"Donuts again!?" Hiro interrupted.

"And you ignored the rule regarding nighttime..." Celeste said.

"I know, sorry. I feel really bad about that..." Hina apologized.

"Anyway, please continue," Sakura said.

"Well... So I left my room and headed for the warehouse..." Hina continued. "But then I started hearing a strange sound..."

*Grr grnnn*

*Grn grn grrnnn*

"It was coming from the direction of the bathhouse. So I headed that way... The locker was halfway open, so I took a look inside... And I saw a human shape, surrounded by a pale green light. There's no doubt who it was... It was Chihiro!"

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" Hifumi screamed.

"N-No way...! A gh-gh-gh-ghost!?" Hiro panicked.

"It is simply not possible. You must be mistaken. Just as in most cases of "paranormal" activity, it was born from your weakened mental state," Celeste explained.

"Then all we have to do is go see for ourselves, right? Let's just go to the bathhouse and see what Hina saw," Sakura suggested.

"It is a waste of time," Celeste said bluntly.

"Maybe, but...there's no harm in it, right? If we don't find anything, that'll be the end of it," Makoto said.

"You're gonna go try and see a gh-gh-ghost...? Is that really a good idea? It might put a curse on you!" Hiro yelled.

"You can wait here if you want," Hina suggested.

"Yeah Hiro. That way, you can be an easy target for the ghost to haunt you for the rest of your mortal life," I said.

" N-No way! I don't wanna be alone! Take me with you!" Hiro pleaded and grabbed my arm in fear. I laughed at his childish behavior.

"What are you going to do, Celeste?" Kyoko asked her.

"I suppose I have no choice..." Celeste said.

"How about you, Mr. Ishimaru? Are you gonna wait here?" Hifumi asked him.

"..." Taka stayed silent.

"...I guess that's a yes," Hifumi said.

And so, we all walked to the bathhouse to check out Hina's ghost.

 

Chapter 28: Meeting Alter Ego

Hina led us to the bathhouse and we entered the dressing room.

"I-It was right here... I saw it right here in the dressing room!" Hina said.

"Urg... I'm getting goosebumps..." Hiro said, still clinging to my arm.

"Ia! Ia! Cthulhu Fhtagn!" Hifumi chanted.

"Shut up! What if he actually shows up!?" Hiro shouted.

"Hina...where was it you saw Chihiro's ghost?" Sakura asked Hina.

"Well, I heard a sound...and when I opened the locker...I saw a kind of...pale outlines of Chihiro..." Hina explained, pointing to a locker.

Makoto walked up to the locker and opened the locker door. Inside of it was...

"...a laptop? What's something like that doing here?" Makoto asked out loud. The rest of us gathered around him to have a look.

"I remember seeing this..." Kyoko muttered.

"Oh yes, I remember. It's the laptop that was in the library," I said.

"But how did the laptop get from the library...to here?" Makoto asked.

"And...I guess it's in sleep mode, but...the power is definitely on," Kyoko observed.

"Huh? But I thought it was broken..." Makoto said.

"I would bet that Chihiro fixed it. After all, he was known as the Ultimate Programmer," Sakura said.

"More importantly... Hina, you said you saw a green light, yes? Surely you did not mistake the light of the monitor for a ghost?" Celeste asked Hina.

"..." Hina stayed silent.

"I am surprised you are able to dress yourself in the morning," Celeste said.

"Oh man. If I had the "loves clueless girls" attribute, I would've fallen in love big-time just now! I'm so glad I don't have it..." Hifumi commented.

"Well I didn't really expect to find a freaking laptop inside a freaking locker, okay!?" Hina yelled.

"Look, it was in the middle of the night. Anyone can make a mistake like that," I said, defending her.

"Yeah! As a matter of fact, one time I thought I'd spotted a Grey alien, but it turned out to be a tadpole!" Hiro said.

"Don't compare what happened to me to one of your stupid delusions!" Hina shouted.

"Don't be mean! I was just trying to make you feel better! What if I get all depressed forever now!?" Hiro countered back.

"But listen, isn't this really strange? What's this laptop doing in here?" Makoto asked.

"Maybe someone hid it here," Kyoko suggested.

"If that's the case, we found it pretty easy..." Hiro commented.

"Whoever put it here, I don't think they were trying to hide it from 'us'," Kyoko said.

"Huh...? What do you mean?" Makoto asked.

"Haven't you noticed? There's one big difference between this room and all the others," Kyoko said.

I looked around the room and my eyes widened. "There's...no surveillance camera in here."

"Precisely. There's no camera in here. Which means, this is the one spot where the mastermind is blind," Kyoko explained.

"So you're saying someone put the laptop here so the mastermind wouldn't know about it?" Hifumi questioned.

"And what Hina saw wasn't the ordinary glow of a computer screen. It was...the figure of Chihiro, shining pale green. I think it would be best if we investigated this laptop in a little more detail," Kyoko suggested. Makoto walked up to the laptop.

"So first of all, we have to wake it up," Kyoko instructed.

"Right..." Makoto started hitting random buttons on the keyboard. A few seconds later the display instantly began to glow a pale green. There were a bunch of different icons on the desktop. However, one icon caught Kyoko's attention.

"There--the icon on the far left."

"What is it...? It says...Alter Ego?" Makoto read out loud.

""Alter ego" literally means... "another self," I believe. In the field of artificial intelligence, it is not uncommon to create different aspects of a personality. You can consider it something like...a pen name," Celeste explained.

"Could you let me see it, Makoto?" Kyoko asked. Kyoko moved between Makoto and the computer. She moved the cursor over the Alter Ego icon...and when she double-clicked it. The screen suddenly went dark. And then, a voice spoke out of it.

"Master! You're here!"

Chihiro's face appeared, taking up the entire display.

"I-It's a ghost! Buddha and sweet baby Jesus, save me!" Hiro screamed and hid behind me, holding my arm for dear life.

"Ow ow ow! You're squeezing my arm too hard!" I winced.

"Calm down. It's not a ghost," Kyoko said.

"Huh?"

"Then...what is it?" Hina asked.

"I'm sure if we just talk to it, we'll find out," Kyoko said. Kyoko began to type, hands blurring across the keyboard.

What are you?

"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Chihiro Fujisaki... Eheh... I always get so embarrassed introducing myself," the figure of Chihiro spoke.

"Th-That voice... The tone and everything..." Makoto said.

"It's...Chihiro," Sakura muttered.

"Alter Ego... I've heard about this kind of AI program, but I've never seen one for myself" Kyoko said.

"AI program...?" Makoto repeated.

"It's how Chihiro earned his title of Ultimate Programmer. The AI lives in a computer, and by repeating different tasks, it gains knowledge and grows bit by bit. Apparently, Chihiro used a support vector machine and reinforcement learning to develop it... Eventually, he came up with a breakthrough in artificial intelligence design," Kyoko explained.

"Support vector machine...? Reinforcement learning...?" Makoto repeated, sounding very confused.

"To put it simply, it's a learning method for computers," Kyoko clarified.

"If you wanna know more...just Google it, okay!?" Hifumi suggested.

"But if this AI continues to grow, it will become more than just a piece of software to help people. Some say that an AI like this might someday 'replace' people."

"And that is why it is called Alter Ego? A fine choice then, I must say... It can create memories, have thoughts, and "grow up." The process isn't much different from how humans work. If you were to raise your own AI that way, it would make perfect sense to refer to it as your alter ego," Celeste stated.

"A second, perfect personality that can never forget or grow old. That's what Chihiro created. That's...Alter Ego."

"Kyoko... How do you know so much about this?" Makoto asked.

"..." Kyoko said nothing.

"Anyway, so he fixed the broken laptop and put his own program on there. That is what this means, yes? Then he brought the machine to this dressing room, where the mastermind would not be able to see it," Celeste recapped.

"Hmm, but you know... All this about "Master" and whatnot... Yes, yes... I...I believe I'm on fire..." Hifumi drooled.

"Oh, great..." I muttered.

"I thought you were only into 2D..." Hiro said.

"This is the most EXCELLENT 2D possible!" Hifumi cheered.

"But he's a guy! And also a computer program!" Hiro pointed.

"Oh, that aspect is no problem," Hifumi said.

"That...aspect?" Hiro repeated.

"Don't question it," I advised.

"Anyway, let's talk to him a little more," Kyoko suggested and typed away rhythmically.

How much do you know about what's going on?

"Master only gave me a general idea... But I do know things have become very grave. He found himself caught up in this without any warning..." Alter Ego explained.

Kyoko immediately shot out another question.

Why are you here?

"Are you asking what Master had planned for me?" Alter Ego questioned. "Well... He wanted me to analyze the massive number of files stored on this laptop. I believe the files are related to the school, but the protection on them is surprisingly strong. So it's taking me a little longer than I thought. But here's what Master must have been thinking... The fact that the files are protected so tightly means they must contain some important secret. For example, perhaps...the secret of this school."

Makoto let out a gasp. Kyoko pushed forward and asked her next question.

How much longer until everything's unlocked?

"Umm...it's gonna be a while. But I'm definitely gonna do it, so you can just leave it to me!" Alter Ego said.

"So because of how long it would take, he designed Alter Ego to handle the workload," Kyoko explained.

"Smart. It also means that the work remains uninterrupted, even after his death," Celeste said.

Once again, Kyoko typed quickly.

Keep it up. But be careful not to let the mastermind notice you.

"Don't worry. I've got a secret plan all ready, just in case... Actually, I can see what's going on using my built-in webcam, so if anyone suspicious shows up...I'll just scream for help real loud!" Alter Ego explained.

"It's a pretty...basic plan, I have to say..." Makoto commented.

"That is fine during the day, but nighttime is a concern..." Celeste pointed out.

"Huh? Why?" Makoto asked.

"Have you forgotten? All our rooms are completely soundproof. Once we close our doors, he can scream as loud as he wants but we won't hear a thing," Celeste explained.

"Okay, then how about once it's nighttime, we each take turns guarding the dressing room?" Makoto suggested.

"There's a good chance the mastermind would notice us all going in and out of the dressing room like that," Kyoko said.

"Then...what can we do?" Makoto asked.

"Once nighttime comes, I'll leave the door to my room open. Then there's no way I can miss Alter Ego yelling," Kyoko explained.

"B-But...if you leave your door open all night, then..." Hiro trailed off.

"There's a chance I may become a victim myself, I know. But I'm not as weak as you may think. I wouldn't go down without a fight, I assure you," Kyoko assured.

There was an undeniable strength in her voice when she said that. She was totally confident that she would be okay. That confidence was somewhat similar to Byakuya's tone, but at the same time different. It's like someone who'd been dropped onto a battlefield versus someone who'd been born on a battlefield.

"Umm...would you mind if 'I' asked a few questions?" Alter Ego asked. " I haven't seen Master for a while. When you got here, I thought it was him, but... Is Master...?"

For only a second, Kyoko seemed to not know what to do. But she recovered just as fast, and quickly began typing. Her answer was direct.

Chihiro is dead. Mondo killed him.

Alter Ego lowered his head. "I see... To be honest, I knew all along... I knew the chances that Master would survive this situation were very low... So...I was prepared for this moment..."

"Somehow I feel kinda...sorry for her..." Hifumi said.

"I can't even imagine how it must feel to lose your "other self"..." Hina said.

"It is a simple computer program. It does not 'have' feelings," Celeste said bluntly.

"Are you sure about that...?" Hifumi questioned.

"Anyway, that's enough for today. If we linger here too long, the mastermind will start to suspect something," Kyoko said and typed one last sentence.

I'll come back later.

"Yes, please do! It's a promise, okay? Bye-bye!" Alter Ego bid, and the screen turned black.

"Hurm..." Hiro let go of my arm and began to think.

"Is something wrong Hiro?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering if we might be able to get this laptop online. Then we could call for help from the outside..." Hiro suggested.

"But this is just a dressing room. I don't think you can get online from here..." Hina pointed out.

"Well if we take it out of here and find somewhere that 'does' have online access...!" Hiro said.

"Th-That's way too dangerous! The mastermind would find out in no time!" Hifumi shrieked.

"Oh, yeah...true," Hiro agreed.

"This is no time for taking needless risks. For now, I'll monitor the progress of the file analysis. I'm confident we'll uncover some kind of clue once it's finished," Kyoko said.

"This feels like a detour more than anything else, but...I suppose it can't be helped," Celeste sighed.

"Well, for now all we can do is wait for Alter Ego to finish his work," Sakura said.

"So, should we get going?" Hiro asked.

"Indeed," Kyoko answered.

"Goodbye! We'll be back, I promise!" Hifumi drooled.

"C'mon, Hifumi, let's go!" Hina ordered.

"O-Okay..." Hifumi sighed, and we all left the dressing room. As soon as we were out in the hall, Hina let out a joyful shout.

"Isn't it awesome!? I ended up doing something totally awesome, right!?"

And as if he'd been waiting for his cue...

"Dun da-da duuun! Hina has gained enough experience to level up!" I shrieked as Monokuma popped up. "So...what was this awesome something? You guys all seem in remarkably good spirits. Did something happen!?" Monokuma questioned.

"N-No, nothing in particular...!" Makoto said.

"Ooh, keeping secrets? No fair! I demand an exclusive interview!" Monokuma ordered.

"Denied, denied, super denied!" Hifumi shouted.

"Y-Yeah, just because you demand something, doesn't mean we have to do it!" Hina stated.

"Do it...? You mean, like, 'do it' do it?" Monokuma asked.

"Wait, what? What do you mean, 'do it' do it?" Hina asked.

"Ewww, gross! You said "do it"!" Monokuma laughed.

"What!? You said it first!" Hina yelled.

"We were just talking about going to the bathhouse. We have not had a chance to relax in some time," Celeste spoke up.

"...Huh?" Monokuma tilted his bear head.

"But unfortunately, the bathhouse is not divided into men and women sections. So we decided to do rock-paper-scissors to decide which group would go first. Hina won the match for us, and that is why we are all so pleased," Celeste continued.

Hina nodded her head in confusion. "Y-Yeah, that's right! Speaking of which... Okay, boys! Why don't you head on back to the dining hall or something? We're gonna take a nice, long bath!"

"Ahhh, jeez, what're ya gonna do, right!? We lost, fair and square!" Hiro fake pouted.

"Well, ladies? Shall we go?" Celeste asked. Celeste didn't hesitate to come up with the ruse, and her poker face didn't even flinch. So she and the rest of us girls headed back into the dressing room. The girls changed out of their clothes and wrapped their bodies in towels and went into the bathhouse. I stayed in the dressing room for a few minutes, trying to calm myself down before heading into the bathhouse last. The girls were already washing up and having a good time. Toko was there as well, which surprised me since I didn't see her come in. I couldn't help but stare at how the towels showed how curvaceous the others were, including myself.

"Hey, Hanako! Are you gonna stand there all day or what? Come join us!" Hina called out, snapping me out of my trance. My face turned bright red as I simply nodded my head and headed over to the pool where Celeste was relaxing. I sat down near the edge and dipped my feet in the pool and tried not to stare at anyone.

"Hanako, is everything alright?" Celeste asked, approaching me. "Your face is bright red."

"O-Oh, is it? Well...the heat is just getting to me," I lied.

Celeste stared at me, not sure whether to believe me or not, but then continued what she was doing before.

And so, I spent the rest of my time sitting near the pool, taking some glances at the girls and having the time of my life. And during that time, I may have had the feeling that we were being stalked.

 

Chapter 29: Money, Money, Money

A few hours later, we had finished our baths and joined the boys in the dining hall.

"Ahhh, man what a nice bath!" Hina sighed.

"Getting a chance to stretch out and relax after all this time was a true pleasure," Celeste said.

"It was fun!" I commented.

"Indeed," Kyoko agreed.

"Normally, after a long bath I like to make myself a nice protein coffee, but..." Before Sakura could say something else, Monokuma popped up and interrupted her.

"Sorry, no time for that!"

"That's what I figured..." Sakura said.

"...Huh?" Monokuma looked confused.

"We were just saying in the bath how it was about time for you to get up to something," Celeste explained.

"After seeing how happy we were, an evil little monster like you would never let that last for long," Kyoko added.

"You're a party pooper!" I yelled.

Monokuma lowered his head in sadness. "Y-You're all so terrible to me... *Sniffle sniffle* Everyone's so cold and mean! Even after I got presents for you all!"

"...Presents!?" Makoto asked.

"Hmmm? Oh, have I got your attention? Puhuhu. Then let's head to the gym, where your presents await! No questions, no dilly-dallying! Get a move on, and everything will become clear!" Monokuma said and disappeared.

"Wh-What is it...? What are you scheming this time!?" Hifumi wondered out loud.

"He's probably going to repeat the same thing again. Providing us with a motive to get things moving..." Kyoko explained.

"...Again?" Hina asked. "I don't want to... I don't want to do this anymore..."

"Me either. I'm, like, totally traumatized..." Hiro added.

"It's okay. We have Alter Ego. I'm sure he'll find something that'll help us. So for now...we just have to endure it, come what may," Kyoko reassured us.

=======

With heavy feet, we made our way to the gym. But when we arrived, there were already two people waiting for us.

"To be kept waiting by the likes of you. Rest assured, if we had access to firearms, you'd all be dead," Byakuya sneered.

"Byakuya...? Did you get here early?" Makoto asked.

"Did you forget how to walk? Is that why you're late? It's simple--right foot, left foot. Right foot..." Byakuya instructed.

"We know how to walk, thank you very much!" I said.

Celeste giggled. "Hmhmhm. The same as always, I see. Her, on the other hand..." Celeste turned her head towards Toko. She was back to her normal self and was listening to us.

"Oh, she's back to her Debbie Downer self, huh?" Hiro asked.

"I heard what sounded like a sneeze, and she was back to her old self," Byakuya explained.

"So now she goes from manic to depressive whenever she sneezes? Seems kinda late to add that into the mix..." Hifumi said.

Toko sneered. "Why does e-everyone keep making fun of me...? I hope you all win the l-lottery and get hit by a b-bus..."

"So when you wanna say something mean, 'then' you can talk, huh?" Hina asked.

"Anyway. It looks like everyone's here," Sakura observed.

"Which means..." Kyoko trailed off. We all turned our heads to the stage and a couple seconds later, Monokuma popped up from behind the podium.

"It looks like everyone's here! So then, let's get started!" Monokuma announced.

"Come on, out with it. What kind of motive have you prepared for us this time?" Byakuya asked impatiently.

"Whatever you subject us to, we will not break," Sakura declared.

"Yeah, that's right! We're not gonna lose to you ever again!" Hina yelled.

"Puhuhu... You don't have to get so defensive. Calm down! I've decided to change things up a bit this time. Up till now, I've been using the WOOSH of the North Wind to get you all moving. But sometimes you gotta use the Sun to light a fire under someone's butt! Ahh-hahaha!" Monokuma laughed, and extended his arms wide open, "So without further ado, I give you...THIS!" Piles of money fell from the ceiling and landed on the podium. "Ten million dollars! I've prepared this graduation present for whichever lucky student makes it out of here alive! Whaddya think? It's ten million bucks! Ten million smackaroos! It's like totally wowie wow wow, am I right!?"

I burst into laughter. "Ten million dollars!? Are you kidding!? That's barely anything!" I said between laughs.

"I have to agree with her. It's not nearly enough," Byakuya said.

"When it comes to motives, money certainly is the gold standard, so to speak. Whether it's in a mystery novel, or the real world..." Kyoko spoke.

"B-But... There's no way we'd kill each other for money!" Hina shouted.

"She's right. You can't simply purchase a person's life," Sakura said.

"You can say ten million or however much, I don't give a crap! For serious!" Hiro said but sounded unsure.

"Yeah...they're all right... Whether it's ten million, or any other amount of money... No, not even just money. From now on, no matter what you do, we won't kill our friends!" Makoto announced.

"C'mon, stop trying to act tough. The most important thing is to live a pure and moral communal life!" Monokuma laughed and disappeared, leaving his words onstage along with the massive sum of money.

"Th-There's nothing to worry about, right? Nobody would kill a friend...for money, right?" Hina asked.

"Have you so quickly forgotten the lesson from last time? You can't judge others by your own standard," Byakuya reminded us.

"Y-Yeah, there might be someone here who's having m-money problems!" Toko suggested.

"Personally, I've earned over one million dollars from my gambling efforts. My life is...comfortable," Celeste announced.

"H-Hifumi? What about y-you!?" Toko questioned.

"I'm a super popular content creator! I don't have any problem making enough to buy my comics and DVDs!" Hifumi yelled.

"Th-Th-Then...!" Before Toko could continue accusing, Sakura stopped her.

"Just stop. Pressing others about their personal finances is...ugly."

"U-U-U-Ugly!?" Toko stuttered.

"Don't worry. Either way, whatever's going to happen will happen without warning. That is the nature of this game," Byakuya smirked.

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

"It's that time already, huh...?" Hina said.

"Before we separate, let me remind you... Starting tonight, I'll be leaving my room door open to make sure nothing happens to Alter Ego. But just because my door is open, don't assume that will make me an easy target. Or the predator may suddenly find itself the prey..." Kyoko's voice was calm and composed, but it was clear she meant what she said.

"Okay, okay, let's everyone just head back to our rooms! And don't think about that whole money thing!" Hiro advised. "Got it? Good! Then let's break! ...How was that? Pretty good, right Taka?"

"..." Taka still said nothing.

"...Right."

As soon as I was back in my room, I crawled into bed and passed out as soon as my head hit my pillow.

=======

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"

I got out of bed, did my morning routine, and headed to the dining hall. A few minutes later, everyone arrived.

"So, the people here today are the same as yesterday. Just us eight."

"Byakuya and Toko are a lost cause, but..." Sakura trailed off.

"It looks like Mr. Ishimaru's decided to stop coming for good, too..." Hifumi observed.

Hiro sighed. "It's like he's just...given up."

"For people wound as tight as he is, when you snap, you snap hard," Celeste said.

"Poor guy..." I muttered.

"I wish there was some way to make him better..." Makoto said.

"On another topic... Kyoko, did everything go alright last night?" Celeste asked her.

Kyoko nodded. "Yeah, I didn't have any problems. I went and checked on the laptop a little while ago, and there weren't any problems there, either. But..." Kyoko seemed to hesitate, but continued on. "It's related to this case, so I suppose I should be blunt. I have to make a new rule. Using Alter Ego without permission is prohibited. Someone going in and out of the dressing room would draw unwanted attention from the mastermind."

"I would have thought that would be obvious. Why do we need to make a rule about it?" Celeste asked.

"That's a good question. Do you have any thoughts on that, Hifumi?" Kyoko asked the fanfic writer.

"N-No... It's just like you said. We all need to be...very careful..." Hifumi panted.

"...Huh?" Hiro looked confused.

"Whatever, let's just hurry up and eat! We don't have time to stand around flappin' our lips!" Hifumi yelled.

"Jeez! Why're you talkin' like a pissed-off drill sergeant all of a sudden!?" Hiro asked.

We ate breakfast in a rush, then headed back to our rooms. I went to my room and decided to take a nap. 

 

Chapter 30: Free Time Event #4

Notes:

A.N: I want to thank you all so much for 1k+ hits. I really appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.

A few hours later, I woke up from my nap feeling refreshed.

I still have some time left to spend. Let's see who else is around.

=Free Time=

Yasuhiro Hagakure:

I walked to the rec room and found Hiro there looking quite sad. I approached him.

"What's goin' on Hanako? I'm like, super exhausted, so I hope you don't need anything from me..." Hiro sighed.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Is there anything I could do to help?" I asked.

"Can you try to cheer me up, Hanako? I'm down in the dumps and I got no energy at all..." Hiro requested.

I did my best to cheer up a down-and-out Hiro. It didn't take long to get him smiling again.

"So! You changed your mind about getting your fortune told!?" Hiro asked.

"Nope... Actually, how do you do your fortune-telling, anyway? I saw you doing palm readings and stuff, and I didn't see you use any tools or anything," I said.

"Wow, I didn't know you knew about divination tools! Sounds like you know your way around the spirit world!" Hiro exclaimed.

"I just know the most popular tools stuff."

"Now that I know you're an expert, I have a question for you! A correct answer gets you another discount!"

"I told you, I don't want to know my future!"

Hiro ignored me. "There are 22 cards known as the Major Arcana, and 56 cards known as the Minor Arcana... Generally, the cards from the Major Arcana are used for divination. Do you know what I'm talking about!?"

"That's easy. You're talking about tarot cards!" I answered.

"Ahh, gloriously correct! I will now tell your fortune for a measly six hundred bones!"

"Hiro for the last time, I'm not interested!"

"I see... Well, like I said, if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me!"

"I know. Anyway, getting back on topic about what I asked you about before... If you don't use any tools or whatever, how do you do your fortune-telling?"

"Well, don't be fooled. I have my own techniques. For example, I employ numerology!"

"Numerology?"

"It uses a mathematical formula to predict the future based on birth dates, letter numbering, all that."

"If that's how you do it, then how come I didn't see you doing anything like that, either?"

"Well, it's more of an inspirational style of fortune-telling! Some kind of unknown power just acts through you, and suddenly, bam! You've got the info!"

"I believe the word for that is intuition."

"Don't try and describe it using such a cheesy word!"

"But if it's not intuition, then it's gotta be some kind of supernatural power!"

"Don't compare my clairvoyance to some occult bullcrap! I hate the occult! Take that crap somewhere else!" Hiro yelled.

"You hate the occult?" I asked.

"Yup! Now here's some good news. Act now, and I'll throw in an extra bonus on your reading! I used white magic to record a CD of spirit messages I received from the luxury suite of heaven! Five seconds of this baby, and you'll be witnessing miracles and communing with angels for days!" Hiro offered.

"And you said you hate the occult," I reminded him.

"Hey, business is business!" Hiro shot.

He's such a greedy little pig... I thought as I rejected Hiro's offer and walked out.

=======

Kyoko Kirigiri:

I went to the physics lab to explore the room some more, when I noticed Kyoko behind the air purifier. Her back was facing towards me.

"What's the matter? Are you keeping an eye on me?" Kyoko asked, startling me. "Don't worry. I'm not going to kill anyone."

How did she know I was here? "Well, I wasn't really. Do you want to hang out or something?" I asked.

Kyoko turned towards me. "I was just about to head to the dining hall to get something to drink. Do you want to come with me?"

I went to the dining hall and drank some tea with Kyoko. While we were there, an uncomfortable silence filled the room. I decided to start the conversation.

"So, Kyoko..."

"If you're expecting a conversation, don't. There's no need for it," Kyoko said.

"Why not? Don't you think talking is important? If we're going to get out of here, we all need to be on the same page. And to do that, we need to get to know each other."

"You could certainly make the argument that forming friendships may help prevent killings. But are you asking for some kind of deep connection?"

"Deep connection?"

"You could just be deceiving us, pretending to be everyone's friend so you can gather information."

"I'm not that type of person!"

"Well then, let's do a quick test, shall we?"

"What type of test?"

"If you're as gung-ho on friendship as you claim, this should be an easy question."

"A simple Q and A? Well then, fire away."

"Are you ready? You consider Hina one of your friends, yes? If that's true, what is her ultimate ability?" Kyoko questioned.

I smirked. "That's an easy one... Hina's the Ultimate Swimming Pro, of course."

Kyoko nodded her head. "Well...asked and answered. Then your pleas of camaraderie are true."

"Of course."

"Yes, of course. Such a foolishly open person as you could never lie. Everyone would know right away."

What's with the "foolishly open" stuff?

"Okay then, as promised... What would you like to know about me?" Kyoko questioned.

"Well... What school did you used to go to, before you came here?"

"Before I came here...? ... I guess I was living abroad."

"Living abroad? Was it an exchange program? Or did your parents work overseas or something?"

"... My parents? I suppose?"

She doesn't sound so sure... Perhaps she was living abroad because of one of her parent's jobs. I'll start with her father. "So what kind of work does your father do?"

"... Foreign government? Top secret clearance...?"

Question marks again...

"I kept up my end of the deal. This should be enough, right? I'm leaving now," Kyoko left before I could ask another question.

"She's so full of mystery," I muttered.

=======

Celestia Ludenberg:

I went to the kitchen to wash mine and Kyoko's cups when I ran into Celeste.

"Well, if it isn't D-rank Hanako. Is something the matter?"

"Nothing, everything is fine," I said.

"Well then, shall we have a bit of a conversation? Ah, but don't misunderstand. I have no affection for you on a personal level," Celeste said.

I spent some time with Celeste.

"Say Hanako...do you like mahjong?" Celeste asked.

"I played it a couple of times, but I always get confused and ended up losing. Chess is more up my alley," I explained.

"Is that so? A pity. I was hoping we might play together."

"I'm assuming you're good at it?"

"Good? No, I am not merely good. I once played a game of Russian roulette mahjong and won."

"Russian roulette?"

"It was a truly fierce contest, put on by a half-insane billionaire in the basement of his mansion. My opponents were a fierce old man and a silver-haired boy who was said to have the devil's own luck. We played with a modified rule set. I remember well the glass tiles we used..."

"And you won...?"

"I defeated them both at once. I will never forget the angry, twisted looks on their faces. The crowd that been invited to watch became positively riotous. Nobody could believe I had won. Hmhmhm. That is one of my fonder memories..." Celeste smiled at the memory.

I'm really glad I didn't agree to play mahjong with her. We said our goodbyes and I went off.

When I exited the dining hall, I saw Makoto leading Taka to the bathhouse.

I wonder what's going on? I quickly and quietly followed them.

 

Chapter 31: Alter Ego Love Battle

I watched as Makoto opened the locker where Alter Ego is placed, and Taka stared at it.

"Okay, so...there's a laptop inside the locker, understand? And on the laptop there's a program called Alter Ego," Makoto explained.

"How do I...talk to him?" Taka asked, his voice sounded so hoarse.

"O-Oh, um... Well, you just tell me what you want to say, and I'll type it in for you," Makoto said.

"... Do you...hate Mondo? And since I couldn't stop him...do you hate me?" It was clear Taka was forcing himself to get the words out. From his mouth, to the bottom of his heart...he forced his weakened voice to make the sounds. Before Makoto could type anything, I step forward.

"You shouldn't be doing it!"

Makoto jumped from startlement. "H-Hanako!"

"Kyoko made it very clear that using Alter Ego without permission is prohibited," I reminded him.

"I know but... I couldn't just leave him like this. Besides, maybe talking to Alter Ego will help give him some comfort," Makoto explained.

I turned my head to Taka. At a closer range, he looked so tired, probably due to a lack of sleep, and he looked a bit thin. "...Please," Taka begged.

I sighed. It honestly hurts me to see him like this, so I guess having him talk to Alter Ego would probably make him feel a bit better. "Alright," I said.

"Thank you Hanako," Makoto said and began typing the questions exactly as Taka had asked them. And then Alter Ego flashed onto the screen.

"...Do you hold yourself responsible...?" Alter Ego asked. "If Master could talk now, I think this is what he would say... Please, live your life for the both of us. It's impossible for me now, but you can still survive and escape--all of you."

"..." Taka stayed silent.

"Hey, Taka..." Makoto began, but quickly closed his mouth.

Alter Ego continued. "The one asking those questions is...Taka, right? Analyzing all available data, that's the only conclusion I can come to. Master told me how close Taka and Mondo had become. So that must be why he feels responsible..." The screen suddenly went dark. And what appeared next was... Alter Ego took the form of Mondo's head. "You're not letting yourself get crushed under the weight of that responsibility, are you!?" It spoke.

"Gh--!" Taka stiffened.

"A man's only worth as much as the load he can carry! You get it, right bro? Hell, what am I saying? Of course ya do!" Mondo said.

"Whoa!" I gasped.

"Th-That's...!" Makoto stuttered.

Alter Ego returned back as Chihiro. "I'm sorry if I startled you... That was my attempt at a simulation, using the data about Mondo that Master had given me. I figured if Taka was depressed, that's the kind of thing Mondo would have said to him..." Alter Ego switched back to Mondo again. "So you're just gonna stand there, huh? Just wait for things to get better? Just take your time and get all depressed... Take the time to indulge your regrets... You might even start walking again without realizing it. Sure, that kind of mediocre thinking might work for some people." Then Chihiro returned again. "...What if I said it with that kind of condescending tone!?"

"... Hehe... Hahaha..." Taka began to laugh.

"Taka...?" Makoto called out, as he and I turned towards him.

Taka clutched one of his fits tight and closed his eyes, showing his dark eyelids and a blue aura surrounding him. "... It's starting to sink in... The way a bucketful of water sinks into a bone-dry sponge..."

"Huh...?" Makoto didn't get what he was saying.

"Uh, Taka? Are you okay?" I asked.

"Those words... Deep within my heart...! They're inside of me! Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!" Taka let out a scream as his whole demeanor changed. His hair and eyebrows turned white and there was a red aura shooting out of his eyes.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed.

"T-Taka!?" Makoto stuttered.

"Who the fudge is Taka!?" The new Taka asked.

"Y-Your eyes..." Makoto pointed out.

"Hey, don't worry about it! Guess I caused kind of a scene, huh? Shoot, man..."

"And your voice..." I commented.

"I'm...a new me... Hraaah! I'm totally stuffed with fighting spirit now! Ya dumbbutt!" Taka shouted.

"O-Okay, Taka... Just calm down," Makoto advised.

"I AM calm! And don't call me Taka! That's...that's not my name anymore... I'm...me! I! Am! Meeeeeee!" Taka let out a bone-chilling howl and ran out of the room.

"H-Hey! Taka, hold on!" Before Makoto or I could go after him, someone stood in our way: Kyoko. As if tagging Taka out, she walked briskly into the dressing room.

"What do you think you're doing?" Kyoko asked, her tone cold as ice.

"K-Kyoko! Oh, um...no, see...this is just--" Makoto tried to explain, but couldn't get the words out of his mouth.

"I just got here," I excused myself.

"Don't go around doing whatever you feel like. It causes problems. And not just for me. For everyone," Kyoko said.

"S-Sorry..." Makoto apologized.

"If you're really sorry, you'll get out of here. Now," Kyoko ordered.

"... O-Okay..." Makoto said, as he and I walked out of the bathhouse and went to our rooms. I laid face down on my bed feeling embarrassed and sullen for giving in and letting Makoto use Alter Ego.

This would never have happened if I just said no. Now Taka has gone super crazy. I'm seriously worried about him.

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

It's nighttime already. I guess I'll have to wait till tomorrow.

It didn't take long for me to fall asleep.

=======

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"

I yawned as I got out of bed, did my usual morning routine quickly, and headed off to the dining hall. I made up my mind last night to tell everyone what happened with Taka yesterday. But when I got there, the only person there was Hiro.

"Yo. I've been waiting," Hiro said once he saw me.

"Where is everyone?" I inquired.

"They went on ahead," Hiro answered.

"Ahead?" I repeated.

"We can talk about it later. For now, let's go take a bath." Before I could ask, Hiro wrapped his arm around my shoulder and led me to the bathhouse. When we entered, everyone was there, and Hifumi was sweating like crazy.

"Kyaaaaahh! Someone heeeeelllp!" Hifumi shouted.

"What's going on?" I asked, walking towards the others.

"Hanako! Save me! I've never asked you for anything, but I'm asking now!"

"What do I need to save you from?" I asked, slightly annoyed.

"Sh-She's trying to kill me...!" Hifumi pointed at Kyoko.

"I never said I was going to kill him. I simply asked him a question. I'd like to know why he made [the same mistake] twice," Kyoko clarified.

"The same mistake...? What did he do?" Makoto asked.

"He snuck into the dressing room in the middle of the night and accessed Alter Ego without permission. And when I caught him last night he was hugging the laptop and breathing strangely," Kyoko explained.

"Wh-What were you doing!?" Hina asked.

"I thought I made myself clear yesterday, but since being subtle didn't work I suppose I have to clarify myself further," Kyoko said.

"Hyaaaaah! Please don't kill me!" Hifumi begged.

"I'm not going to kill you--merely instruct you."

"Ngh...gh!"

"Um, Hifumi...could you tell me what happened?" Makoto asked him.

"W-Well, I just...I was just talking!" Hifumi said.

"Which was prohibited, was it not?" Kyoko reminded.

"I-I mean, you see... Talking to her was just...so much fun! And I j-just..." Hifumi stuttered.

"Whoa! Okay, time out! I can't even believe I'm about to ask this, but... Hifumi...you're not gonna tell us you...fell in love or something, are you?" Hiro asked.

"Hah! That I, the cold-blooded killing machine of the underworld, would ever fall in love!? That's... Wait...no way! Is...is this 'love'!?" Hifumi questioned.

"Oh boy..." I muttered.

"I happened to do a psychic reading for a certain famous CEO once and that guy was seriously head over heels for a mannequin. He had a wedding and everything! And your eyes just now... I saw the same look in HIS eyes!" Hiro pointed out.

"Shut up! She's not a mannequin! She's an ANGEL! And don't bother telling me angels exist! What we have can't be defined by your petty "words"!" Hifumi shouted.

"Yeah, you're totally in love..." Hina sighed.

"So...how did things end up like this?" Hiro asked.

"... W-Well, at the beginning...I just wanted to hear her say "Master" one more time. B-But then I was poking around at her settings and stuff, and saw she was a well-designed program. And it was like...how can I say...? It was the first time I...I was ever able to talk like that...with a normal girl," Hifumi admitted.

"But she's definitely 'not' a normal girl..." Hina pointed out.

"'She' wasn't even a girl to begin with," I added.

"Even when all we did was talk about my hobbies and stuff...she wasn't annoyed or disgusted or anything," Hifumi continued.

-----

"Your stories are so interesting, Hifumi! C'mon, tell me more...! I wanna learn everything you have to teach me."

------

"That's the first time a girl's ever said anything like that to me. Besides my mom, I mean..." Hifumi sulked.

"Your mom says stuff like that to you? That's kinda amazing all by itself..." Hiro muttered.

"That's why I was just...so happy. It was so much fun! And before I knew it... I found myself, y'know...liking her. Her face, her personality, her voice. Even her keyboard..." Hifumi explained.

"Even the keyboard...?" Hina repeated.

"I think you have misunderstood the situation, Hifumi," Celeste spoke up. "Alter Ego was not interested in who you 'were'. It was interested in what you 'knew'. It is an artificial intelligence. It exists to learn. Of course it wanted to hear of things it did not know. You are an expert in many things Chihiro could not have taught it about, for what that is worth. Alter Ego wants that information--that is all."

"I-I know... I mean, I do know that. But still... Are you saying it's totally hopeless? Er..." Before Hifumi could continue, a loud voice spoke up.

"You gotta be freakin' kiddin' me!" I shrieked as we all turned our heads to see Taka, still in the same state as yesterday. "Hey, you jerks! I'm sittin' here, listening to you guys jibber jabber on about whatever!"

"Oh, Taka! Are you back!?" Hiro asked.

"Who the hell's Taka!?" The new Taka asked.

"Um...you?"

"Listen up! I'm me! Got it!?"

"Huh...? You're...who?"

"Don't bullcrap me! Isn't it obvious!? I'm Kiyotaka AND Mondo. So, like...Kiyondo, I guess... I'm gonna stick a banana up your tailpipe!" Kiyondo shouted.

"What the...? What the heck kind of fusion is this!?" Hiro yelled.

"What's happened to you, Taka?" Hina questioned.

"Funny you should ask that..." I said as Makoto and I told everyone what had happened the day before.

"So because of what Alter Ego said to him..." Sakura recapped.

"Are you sure it's Alter Ego's fault? Maybe Mondo's ghost showed up and possessed him!" Hina suggested.

"Gh-Gh-Ghost!? No, th-th-th-there's no such thing!" Hiro stuttered.

"What are y'all whining about!? C'MON! God, you're really cheesin' me off...!" Kiyondo yelled. He then pointed to Hifumi. "Hey, Hifumi!"

"Y-Yes...?" Hifumi stuttered.

"I dunno what you're thinkin', but...bro belongs to me!" Kiyondo announced.

"Huh...?" Hina questioned in shock.

"Alter Ego! He's an exact copy of the one who gave me my soul back! And I'm not gonna let anyone else have him ever again! Fudgin' idiot!" Kiyondo explained.

"... I'm afraid...I can't allow that," Hifumi denied.

"What!?" Kiyondo yelled.

"I can't withdraw... Mr. Ishimaru... Since I have this opportunity, let me say this right now... Destiny has bound me and her together in the Gordian Knot of true love!" Hifumi shouted.

"Well me and HIM have been melded together in the white-hot heat of FRIENDSHIP!" Kiyondo shouted back.

"H-Hey, come on, you guys..." Makoto said, trying to stop the argument.

"Moron! Talk down to me and I'll ram my fist right into all four of your vital points!" Kiyondo yelled.

"Well 'I' punch at the speed of sound! And I don't have any arm hair so there's no drag!" Hifumi shouted.

"Knock it off, both of you," Kyoko ordered. "This doesn't belong to any one person. Chihiro left him to all of us. We can use him to finally gain access to vital clues."

"Kyoko's right. If anyone dares disturb our peace any further... They'll have to deal with me," Sakura threatened, clutching her fists and the blue aura surrounding her.

"...!" Both Hifumi and Kiyondo said nothing.

"Until Alter Ego has finished his work, don't do anything weird. Have I made myself clear?" Kyoko asked. The two boys muttered quietly.

"I can't hear you..." Sakura growled.

"Y-Yes!" Hifumi stuttered.

"G-Got it..." Kiyondo agreed.

"Okay then. Let's get out of here. We can't afford to linger too long," Kyoko said.

"Are you sure it's okay to let them off with a warning?" Sakura asked.

"Yes. I have a plan. It'll be fine..." Kyoko assured.

After watching Hifumi and Kiyondo leave dejected, we all went back to our rooms.

Since there was still plenty of time left in the day, I decided to go out and find someone to hang out with.

 

Chapter 32: Free Time Event #5

=Free Time=

Byakuya Togami:

I went to the art room to explore the repository room when I bumped into Byakuya.

"Scurrying around again, huh?" Byakuya asked. "Looking at you makes me physically ill."

"I could say the same about you, but I'm not since I'm a nice person. So instead, I'm giving you a chance to have a proper conversation with me before I change my mind about this," I offered.

"Fine. I don't mind allowing you to indulge in my attention. I hope you appreciate this," Byakuya said.

I spent some time with Byakuya.

"Just to be clear, being the Ultimate Affluent Progeny is only one of my many talents. Some people think I rely on the care and protection of the Togami name," Byakuya said.

"Are you doing a monologue?" I asked.

Byakuya ignored me. "But I don't rely on my family. Rather, I am my family's savior. The Togami Corporation reaches across the world, true, but I will take us to even greater heights. It is expected of me, naturally. After all, even my own family has recognized my ultimate superiority. In other words, even among the Togami family, I am the chosen among the chosen."

I scoffed. "So much confidence. Such a typical personality trait of a rich boy."

"And that confidence is justified, I assure you. It comes from the battles I've fought and won."

"Battles?"

"I am personally worth over 4 billion dollars, separate from my Togami family assets."

"And just how did you make that much money?"

"The stock market. I buy and sell shares and assets, based on market trends, all within a single day. Surely even someone as simple-minded as you has heard of this technique."

"Day trading, duh! And you were able to make 4 billion dollars doing that?"

"Well, I first started doing it just to keep myself occupied, and before I knew it...there it was. It's really not a big deal."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course, it isn't to you. But are high schoolers even allowed to buy stocks and bonds?"

"...I'm Byakuya Togami," Byakuya simply said.

"And I'm Hanako Yasashiku. Pleasure to re-meet you," I joked.

Byakuya once again ignored me. "4 billion dollars is nothing to the Togami Corporation, but for personal use, it's not bad. So now you understand, right? I'm not merely the child of modern-day nobility."

"Since you're so good at this, we should start calling you the Ultimate Day Trader!" I teased.

Byakuya smirked. "Oh, I don't do that anymore. It was too simple, so I got bored of it pretty quickly."

My face turned expressionless.

"Of course, that's how I feel about anything I do," Byakuya continued. "Frankly, life is too easy. It's only natural for me to do whatever I want in this world."

I sighed and walked away. Sometimes I wonder why I bother with him.

=======

Hifumi Yamada:

I went to the warehouse to look for some snacks. Hifumi was already there, looking quite sad.

"Hi Hifumi," I greeted.

"...Yes? Do you need something?" Hifumi asked. "If you don't have business with me, please leave me alone."

"Are you upset because of what happened this morning? Do you want to talk about it?" I offered.

Hifumi smiled. "You don't have to worry about me. I'm just really exhausted. But I do appreciate it! It's nice to have friends to check up on you!"

I spent some time with Hifumi.

A bit later, Hifumi began to sulk again. "Hanako..."

"Is everything alright?" I asked.

"It...hurts...!" Hifumi grunted.

"What hurts? Are you okay!?"

"Gh-! Gh-gah-grh-guh!"

"You're starting to sweat a lot. I'll go get you some medicine! What kind of medicine do you need?"

"... Coke..."

"Beg your pardon?"

"Coke! Diet Coke! Bring me some Diet Coke right noooooooowww!" Hifumi screamed.

I took a few steps back. He just pulled a total 180! "Umm... I don't know if there's any Diet Coke here in the school."

"I-I know... I've looked all over... And now I'm going through Diet Coke withdrawal!"

You're just overreacting.

"Kh—! If only I'd mastered the hypno-eye technique... Then I'd take over Monokuma's brain and use him to go get me some Diet Coke! But I never did learn that one... You got lucky this time, bear... So, uh... I can't take it anymore! I would literally murder everyone in here for a can of Diet Coke!" Hifumi announced.

"Don't say stuff like that! Just get yourself another beverage!"

"You can say that cuz you don't understand the glory and splendor of Diet Coke! Diet Coke is...a friend to all mankind... A single sip and your body melts like butter! It's the kind of high nothing can match. It clears my mind, and even the most boring conversation sounds like a cinematic masterpiece! Kh...! I knew I was going through withdrawal...! Am I hallucinating now!? Kyaaaaahhh! Away, vile spirits! I cast thee out!"

"Hifumi, will you just calm down!"

"Nng... Here come the auditory hallucinations. That voice...! Ah! Princess Piggles! It's you!"

"Will you just snap out of it!?"

"The princess told me to snap out of it...!"

"Don't let this Diet Coke obsession that you have beat you!"

"You're right, I won't lose... I'm a strong boy! I can endure this! For you, my princess! Now let's play tag! Hooray! Hooray! Tag, you're it!" Squealing like a little girl, Hifumi ran off.

"I'm sure he's okay," I said, as I took some caramel candies and walked off.

=======

Makoto Naegi:

(Makoto's POV)

I approached Hanako's dorm room door.

I guess I should press the doorbell...

*Ding dong*

A few seconds later, Hanako opened the door.

"Hello Makoto. How nice to see you."

Hmm... Should I hang out with Hanako for a while?

-----

-Spend some time with Hanako ✔

-Go see who else is around

-----

"Well, I got nothing better to do, so why not? Besides, I like talking to you."

I spent some time with Hanako... Hanako and I grew a little closer today.

Would you like to give Hanako a present?

-----

-Yes, definitely ✔

-Not really, no

-----

What would you like to give her?

Rose Hip Tea has been selected.

"H-How did you get your hands on something like that!? This should be kept someplace safe! I'm going to hold onto it!"

Seeing Hanako so pleased with something I gave her makes me happy!

-----

"Ugh! I'm so bored Makoto!" Hanako complained.

"What are you bored of?" I asked.

"I played every single chess game variation that I could get my hands on and now I don't know what to do now..." Hanako explained.

"Wow! You really love chess that much, huh? I mean, it's no surprise, since you are the Ultimate Chess Player."

"That's right. Chess has always been my pride and joy. The endless possibilities for each move, the aesthetic, the different variants, the logic and reasoning behind each move... I love it all!"

"Since we're on the topic of chess, I've been meaning to ask... How did you come across your talent?"

"Oh, so you want to take a trip down memory lane? Well, I might tell you, but you gotta answer a question first?"

"A question...?"

"Listen closely 'cause I'm only gonna ask you once. Which chess piece moves diagonally?"

Hmm... The chess piece that moves diagonally is...

-----

-Rook ✔

-Bishop

-Queen

-----

"Is it...the rook?" I asked.

Hanako scowled. "Where did you get that idea? The rook moves horizontally or vertically, not diagonally."

"Y-Yeah, I knew that. I was just making sure you knew. Anyways, the piece that moves diagonally is called..."

-----

-Rook ❌

-Bishop

-Queen ✔

-----

"I believe it's the queen that moves diagonally," I said.

"That is true. But it actually moves in any direction," Hanako clarified. "I should probably have said that it only moves diagonally."

"Only moves in that direction. So it's gotta be..."

-----

-Rook ❌

-Bishop ✔

-Queen ❌

-----

"The answer is the bishop, right?" I answered.

Hanako nodded her head. "You got it. Well, since you answered correctly, you'll get your answer. Do you remember when I said that my parents would get me gifts?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"Well, when I was eight, one of the presents they gave me was a chess set. At that time, I didn't know how to play, so one of my butlers taught me. I instantly clicked with it, and ever since then, I devoted myself to playing every single game that I can get my hands on. Then when I was 12, one of my former teachers found out about my skills and suggested that I should enter tournaments. So I did and the rest is history."

"That sounds awesome. And even with the rumors swirling around, you still keep going on."

"..." Hanako's face turned expressionless.

Oops... I shouldn't have said the 'r'-word.

Hanako closed her eyes. "You're right. I still keep going...because it's something that I enjoy. Yes, there are haters no matter what you do, and yes, it does hurt. But that's not gonna stop me from doing what I love. And if you truly love the thing you do, then you keep doing it no matter what anyone else says. Because in the end, it will all be worth it."

Keep doing it no matter what. That's actually some pretty good advice.

Hanako's Report Card has been updated based on your experience with her. Your maximum number of Skill Points has increased!

After a few minutes of conversation, I headed back to my room.

=======

After Makoto left, the nighttime announcement began to play.

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

I climbed into bed and fell asleep.

 

Chapter 33: Missing Alter Ego

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"

I yawned as I got out of bed, did my morning routine, and headed to the dining hall. Soon Sakura, Hina, Hifumi, Celeste, Hiro, and Makoto came trickling into the dining hall.

"Taka and Kyoko are not here today..." Celeste observed.

"Kyoko's still on guard duty, probably," Hiro explained.

"I have no idea about Taka..." Sakura said.

"May as well just forget about that guy!" Hifumi suggested angrily.

"You don't have to get so mad..." Hina said.

"They're rivals in love. What're ya gonna do...?" Hiro asked.

"Don't put me on the same level as that...that... virgin! I might catch his virginity!" Hifumi said.

"Nah, my guess is you're already infected..." Hiro said.

"Wait, can you really catch it!?" Hina began to panic.

"Stop being vulgar. Let's eat breakfast," Celeste suggested.

As soon as everyone approached their food, a chilling laugh cried out.

"...Kyeehaha!"

"Huh? That voice..." Hina said.

The doors to the dining hall exploded open, and the figure of Genocide Jack appeared.

"Kyeeehahaha!" the serial killer laughed.

"So it's you, Genocide Jack. And..." Sakura trailed off when she saw Byakuya enter the room.

"Don't bother asking why we arrived at the same time. The answer should be obvious," Byakuya scowled.

"I'll give you a hint... I'm wearing red lingerie today!" Jill blushed.

"Umm...I don't think anyone wanted to know..." Hina commented.

"Hold on a second! You...!" Jill pointed at Hina.

"H-Huh...!?" Hina gasped.

"What's your top power level, like 35-22-33!? You start out big on top to try and look thinner down south! Look at your melons! They're seriously gargantuan! Do you dunk 'em in milk every night or something!?"

"Y-You're starting to freak me out...!"

"Can you stop talking about Hina's chest!?" I ordered.

"Aww, don't be so jealous Hanny. Your melons come in a pretty close second," Jill said.

"..." I could feel my cheeks turn pink.

"If you lay a finger on them...I will show you no mercy!" Sakura threatened.

Celeste turned her attention to Byakuya. "So? What do you want? Surely you are not here to join us for breakfast."

"Of course not. I came to hear a story," Byakuya explained.

"A story...?" Makoto repeated.

"A story that nobody's bothered to tell me yet," Byakuya clarified.

He must be talking about Alter Ego...

"Sorry, but we can't talk about that right now," Sakura said.

"Why not?" Byakuya asked.

"Because of certain...circumstances," Sakura explained, her eyes flickered at the security camera.

"Up till now you haven't given a crap about anything and 'now' you're all concerned? I don't buy it," Hiro said.

"I've just made a decision. When we get out of here, I'm going to feed your body to the vultures," Byakuya said, pointing to Hiro.

"What kind of messed up dictator are you!?" Hiro yelled.

"But isn't this a democracy? Or would you exclude those who don't fit into your tyrannical majority?"

"Th-That's not what we're doing..." Makoto spoke up.

"Well, whatever. If nothing else, tell me what's going on with Taka. When I saw him yesterday, I happened to notice something seemed...off. So I was curious."

"Taka has become utterly useless," Celeste simply said.

"Celeste! You don't have to say it like that!" Makoto said.

"Did his spirit collapse or something? Was he unable to withstand this environment?" Byakuya questioned. "Those men who clothe themselves in the cheap fabric of justice are often the first to fall... But perhaps that will make things all the more interesting..."

"Interesting...?" Makoto repeated.

"Let me leave you with a bit of advice. Don't come to rely on false camaraderie or you'll reap its bitter reward."

"That's why you came? To give us that amazing "advice"?" Hina glared.

"It seems I am unwelcome here. Then I will grant your desire and remove myself..."

"Yeah, you do that," I said.

"Yeah, let's get outta here!" Jill spoke.

"...You don't need to come with me," Byakuya ordered.

"You don't have to play hard to get, Master! You can just play hard!" Jill said.

"That doesn't make any sense..." Byakuya slowly backed out of the room. He started picking up speed and sprinting out of the dining hall.

"He ran away...? So now he's 'running' hard to get... I see! Wait wait wait wait! Gyaaahahahaha!" Jill laughed and ran out after him.

"S-So at the end there... What was that all about?" Hina questioned.

"Just now, Byakuya was like..." Hiro trailed off.

"Maybe he's like the mean guy who starts acting different or getting all flustered when things change!" Hifumi suggested.

"...Guess so," Hiro agreed.

The rest of us finished our breakfast, then went back to our rooms. I spent the day in my room reading books. It was hours later when I heard footsteps and something shoved under my door. I peeked from my book and noticed a piece of paper. I went over and picked it up. There was a message on it that said "Meet in the dining hall!"

The handwriting is really good. I wonder who wrote it and why? What's the point of calling me out like this? Guess I better go check it out.

I headed to the dining hall like the note said. When I got inside there, Hiro was standing by himself.

"Oh, Hanako!" Hiro said once he saw me.

"Hiro? You wrote that note?" I asked.

"Yup, I wrote it," Hiro confirmed.

"Your handwriting is admittedly, really nice," I complimented.

"Well, I was always taught that if you had bad penmanship, a ghost would come and haunt you."

Never heard of that superstition. Wonder who taught him that? "And what was the reason you wanted to meet me?"

"Oh, I just did what Kyoko asked me."

"Really?"

"I'm just an errand boy on this. Anyway, whaddya say to a late-night bath session?"

"Huh?!"

"Okay, let's do it!"

"I never agreed to-" Before I could say anything else, Hiro grabbed me by the shoulder, pulled me close, and whispered into my ear.

"It's all an act, so the mastermind won't notice. Everyone's waiting in the bathhouse."

Oh, so something about Alter Ego then. I nodded my head and me and Hiro hurried to the dressing room.

=======

Everyone else was already there when Hiro and I arrived, and an angry voice echoed out.

"Hey! You! How long were you gonna keep us waiting!?" The irritated voice of Kiyondo pierced through the air as he stared pointedly at his wristwatch. "It's almost 10 o'clock, you know that!? Bedtime for all the good little boys and girls!"

"Tch... Shut up..." Hifumi muttered.

"What'd you say!? You want me to make you cry, little girl!?" Kiyondo yelled.

"Taka... He seems to be even worse off than I'd heard. Well, maybe it's a good thing. Maybe he's finally starting to grow a personality," Byakuya smirked.

"What--!? You got a lotta poop fallin' outta that mouth of yours, you know that!?" Kiyondo shouted.

"How rude... A maggot like you has no right to speak that way to our heaven-sent Master...!" Toko defended. I rolled my eyes at her comment.

"Hm? Are you back to your normal gloomy self? I can hardly keep track at this point," Celeste pointed out.

"Sh-Shut up...!" Toko grumbled.

"Well anyway, everyone's here, right!? Then my messenger duty is complete!" Hiro announced.

"You wanted us all to meet here, right Kyoko? So, what are we doing here?" Sakura asked.

"Isn't it obvious? It's gotta have something to do with Alter Ego, right!?" Hiro yelled.

"Yeah, totally! Did he finally find a clue? What is it? A way out!? The mastermind's true identity!?" Hina asked with excitement.

"... It's gone," Kyoko said.

"Gone...?" Makoto repeated.

"I came here a little earlier to check up on things, and that's when I discovered... Alter Ego--the laptop--has disappeared..." Kyoko explained.

"What!?" Makoto exclaimed.

"You're kidding, right...?" Hina asked.

"..." Kyoko stayed silent, which confirmed that she was telling the truth.

"H-Huh...? What...? She's...gone?" Hifumi spoke.

"You can't be fudgin' serious! What'd you do with him!?" Kiyondo shouted.

"Was it the mastermind? Did they finally notice what we were up to?" Celeste suggested.

"I told Alter Ego to yell if anyone he didn't recognize appeared. If it was the mastermind, I'm sure he would have alerted us," Kyoko said.

"Maybe we just...missed it?" Hina guessed.

Kyoko shook her head. "I was in the laundry room right next door all day. There's no way I wouldn't have heard it."

"B-But...if it wasn't the mastermind, then..." Makoto trailed off.

"The solution to this particular mystery is obvious! It could only have been...him!" Hifumi yelled, pointing to Kiyondo. "Mr. Ishimaru! You stole her, didn't you!?"

"What!? I'm the Ultimate Moral Compass! I would never do something like that!" Kiyondo denied.

"I don't think it counts when you say it about yourself like that..." Hina muttered.

"You're the suspicious one here! You're nothin' but a big, jiggling sack of fat!" Kiyondo accused.

"Shows what you know. This isn't my true form! I still have three more transformations left! Er...wait, I mean--it wasn't me! Everyone knows YOU'RE the thief!" Hifumi yelled.

"Wrong! It's you!" Kiyondo argued back.

"Ugh! This is getting nowhere!" I yelled impatiently.

"Well I'm sure it was 'one' of you. So whoever did it, just hurry up and confess!" Hiro ordered.

"No. There's no way either one of them did it," Kyoko said.

"Huh? Why not!?" Hiro asked.

"I told Alter Ego to yell if either Taka or Hifumi came into the dressing room," Kyoko explained.

"Wh...what?" Kiyondo gasped.

"It was a countermeasure against the clear danger that one of them might come for it," Kyoko continued.

"But...I never heard any yell," Celeste commented.

"Exactly. Which means it wasn't them."

"Then...who was it?" Hiro questioned.

"The fundamental circumstances are becoming clear... If it wasn't the mastermind, and it wasn't Taka or Hifumi...then quite simply, it was someone else," Byakuya spoke. "Makoto, Celeste, Sakura, Hina, Hanako, Toko, or myself... One of us must be the thief."

"Why would any of US wanna steal Alter Ego!?" Hina questioned.

"How about this for a reason? There is a traitor among us," Byakuya announced. All of us were silent for a couple of seconds until Makoto spoke up.

"...Huh?"

"One of us is working for the mastermind--a spy. And that's the one who stole Alter Ego. Can you deny the possibility?" Byakuya asked.

"I-It can't be!" Makoto denied.

I narrowed my eyes at Byakuya. "And what made you come to that conclusion?"

"I've actually been thinking for some time now that there might be a spy among us. The mastermind brought someone in to help keep things moving smoothly," Byakuya explained.

The room went silent again.

"Why do you not speak? Are you struck silent by your inability to comprehend such a possibility?"

"I don't care!" Hifumi shouted and then sulked again. "I don't care...who... Someone, anyone...save her... Please, rescue her... I'm begging you... I just want to see her smiling face again..."

"Same here. How many times do they hafta kill bro before they're happy...? I'll beg, I'll scrape my head across the ground. Just please give him back...!" Kiyondo begged, tears streaming down his fiery red eyes.

"This is pretty messed up... But still, I think I kinda get how they feel..." Hina said, looking quite sad herself.

"I think Alter Ego is most likely still safe, for the moment at least," Kyoko reassured them.

"If they wanted to destroy it, they wouldn't have taken it. They would've done it right here," Celeste explained.

"So you're saying whoever did it has something else in mind for him..." Sakura said.

"That doesn't matter. Nothing...nothing else matters... No matter what it takes, I'm gonna get him back! That's my promise as a man!" Kiyondo proclaimed.

"I swear I'll save her! Using the power of love...!" Hifumi cried out.

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

"It's nighttime..." Hina announced.

"It is unfortunate, but we will have to leave the search for tomorrow. For now, everyone get some sleep," Celeste ordered.

"How can you be so casual! We don't have time to wait around!" Hifumi grumbled.

"What good are you if you are too tired? You will be much more effective after a good night's sleep," Celeste advised.

"Who gives a crap about "effective"!? We're talkin' about our FEELINGS here!" Kiyondo shouted.

"Anything we do at night brings a higher chance of the mastermind noticing us. Celeste is right. We should begin our investigation tomorrow morning," Kyoko explained. She turned her head to Makoto. "What do you think, Makoto?"

"I...agree with you. If we run around tonight in a panic, the mastermind is sure to notice, and we won't get anything done," Makoto explained. "Taka, Hifumi... I know how you feel right now, but... It's best if, just for tonight...you can try and endure it."

Kiyondo and Hifumi grunted, signaling their agreement.

"Okay, then let us part for today. We will begin our search for Alter Ego in the morning," Celeste announced.

"And you should think about what I said--someone may very well be spying for the mastermind," Byakuya reminded.

=======

Everyone headed back to their dorm rooms. I flopped on my bed and the moments of what happened flowed back into my head.

Alter Ego was gone as quickly as he appeared. We'd finally have a tiny speck of hope. But even that was taken away from us. And we couldn't do anything about it. We were given hope, and then when that hope was taken away, despair entered the picture. It's like the mastermind planned for all of this. And this whole thing about there being a traitor... Could they really be working for the mastermind?

Sighing aggressively, I covered the blankets over me and went to sleep.

 

Chapter 34: Robo Justice

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"

I opened my eyes and immediately shot out of bed and did my morning routine as fast as I could. Today was the day we get to look for Alter Ego, and I was pretty excited about it. Once I finished, I ran to the dining hall to see Hina, Sakura, and Kyoko there. I waited with them for a few minutes, and then Makoto showed up.

"Is this it? What happened to the others?" Sakura asked, looking around.

"Aren't they coming...?" Hina asked.

"Eh..." I shrugged my shoulders.

"..." Kyoko was deep in thought.

"Only...five people?" Makoto counted.

"God! This is why I hate people who take their sweet time with everything!" Hina complained.

"Anyway, let's wait a little while longer for the others," Sakura suggested.

So we waited. An hour has gone by and still no one showed up.

"So...it's 8 o'clock. We've been waiting here a full hour..." Hina said.

"Why haven't the others come?" Sakura questioned.

"Hiro and Celeste have never missed a day...till now," Hina pointed out.

"And what I'm really worried about is...Hifumi and Taka. They were more eager than anyone to look for Alter Ego...and they're not here," Makoto added.

"Do you think perhaps the rest are already searching?" I suggested.

"No. Something must have happened," Kyoko said.

"Huh...?" Makoto looked confused.

"I was careless. I was too distracted by Alter Ego... But Monokuma gave us a motive. There was no way something wouldn't happen eventually," Kyoko explained.

"Don't tell me someone did something...for money!" Makoto shouted.

"We need to go look for the people who never showed up," Kyoko said.

"O-Okay. Let's go track them down..." Hina said.

We all left the dining hall and entered the hallway.

"We can cover more ground if we split up. Sakura and Hanako, you two check the dorms. Make sure to check all of our rooms. Makoto, you check the 1st floor of the school. Meanwhile, I'll check the 2nd floor," Kyoko instructed.

"Okay, then I guess I'll check the 3rd floor," Hina volunteered.

"Don't take any risks. If anything happens, call for help right away," Kyoko advised.

"I really hope nothing happens..." Hina said.

"So do I," agreed Makoto.

"Okay, let's go," Sakura said.

Anxiety was written across each of our faces as we went our separate ways. Sakura and I raced to the dorm rooms and checked each open room. A few minutes of searching later, Hina came running toward us.

"Sakura! Hanako! Come quick! Celeste is injured!" Hina informed.

Without hesitation, we all ran up the stairs to the third floor and entered the rec room. Inside was Celeste with scratches on her face and rubbing her left arm, and Makoto looking at some sort of hammer on the ground.

"Makoto! Celeste!" Hina called out to them. "I found Sakura and Hanako!"

"C-Celeste... What on Earth happened here?" Sakura asked her.

"Apparently she was attacked by some kind of strange man..." Makoto explained.

"A...strange man? Tell us everything you can remember, Celeste. Be as detailed as you can..." Sakura said.

"Well, it all happened earlier this morning..." Celeste began. "I woke up a little before 7 a.m. Nighttime was not yet over but I knew it was about to end, so I decided it would be okay if I... I decided to take a little stroll around the 1st floor. ...I understand now that that was a mistake. Anyway, that is where I first saw the strange man. I was immediately wary of him... He was obviously suspicious, so I decided to follow after him in secret. As I followed, I saw him go into the rec room. I tried to peek through the gap in the door which is when he noticed me, and..."

"And that's when you were attacked," Sakura concluded.

"It happened after 7 a.m., just after nighttime had ended," Celeste added.

"So if it happened just after 7 o'clock..." Makoto began.

"...then that was just about an hour ago. Right when we were all meeting in the dining hall..." Sakura finished.

"The attack caused me to lose consciousness. Which would mean, I was unconscious for about an hour," Celeste observed.

"Well, I'm just glad you weren't hurt too badly..." Hina said.

"That is because I begged and groveled for my life..." Celeste admitted.

"You did what?" I asked.

"I told him I would do anything if he spared me. I offered to lick his boots, whatever it took..." Celeste explained.

I looked at her suspiciously. I didn't take Celeste as the type to beg for mercy. Something is pretty fishy here...

"So you were willing to throw away all your pride..." Sakura said.

"It is a necessary skill for survival. Anyway, the important thing now is that we go search for the suspicious individual. If we do not hurry, this could become a [serious problem]," Celeste announced.

"Celeste... What do you mean, a "serious problem"?" Makoto asked.

"When I looked in the rec room, I saw that the suspicious man was not alone. He had with him...Hifumi."

"H-Hifumi!?" Makoto stuttered.

"After he attacked me, he dragged Hifumi away..."

"You mean...Hifumi was kidnapped?" Sakura said.

"Shouldn't we start looking for him, then...? Listen, Celeste...did anything in particular stand out about this strange guy?" Hina questioned.

"Did anything stand out? Well... Rather than trying to explain it, it would probably be faster if I simply showed you," Celeste said.

"Show us...?" Makoto repeated.

"This is Hifumi's hand-me-down. His digital camera..." Celeste said as she pulled the camera out.

"You don't mean...!" Makoto trailed off.

"I was able to photograph the suspicious individual without him realizing it."

"Seriously!? Let's see it!" Hina requested.

"I would tell you not to be shocked, but I fear it would do you no good." With that strange comment in mind, we all looked at the camera. The picture showed what appeared to be a robot suit holding Hifumi.

"Huh...? Whaaaaaaat!?" Makoto screamed.

"Is that a...robot costume?" Hina questioned.

"As I said, a very strange and suspicious individual, yes?" questioned Celeste.

"So this weird robot guy...dragged Hifumi away?" Makoto questioned.

"And I took this right after being attacked. In other words, a full hour ago. Which is why if we don't hurry, it could become a serious problem," Celeste said.

"I believe I understand what happened. Well, no, there is much I don't understand. But... The point is, someone dressed like that dragged Hifumi away," Sakura recapped.

"And it happened over an hour ago..." Makoto said.

"This is bad! We have to hurry!" Hina panicked.

"Celeste, do you know where this mysterious man went?" Makoto asked.

"When they left the rec room, they headed left..." Celeste directed.

"If that's true, they were headed toward the stairs leading down to the 2nd floor!" Sakura said.

"Then he must be down there, right!?" Makoto asked.

"Isn't that where Kyoko is supposed to be?" I reminded.

"Huh? Speaking of which, why isn't Kyoko here?" Makoto asked.

"Sorry...I didn't have time to go look for her," Hina admitted.

"This is bad. If the strange man did head to the 2nd floor, Kyoko might run into him..." Sakura said.

"We have to hurry! Kyoko's in danger!" Makoto shouted, and we all dashed out of the rec room and down to the 2nd floor. When we got there, we, unfortunately, met up with Byakuya and Genocide Jill.

"What's going on? What's all the fuss?" Byakuya asked.

"Yeah! You guys playin' a game or something!?" Jill asked.

"Does it freaking LOOK like we're playing a game!?" Hina shouted.

"Listen, have either of you seen Kyoko or Hifumi?" Makoto asked them.

"Nope nope, sure haven't!" Jill answered.

"Are they on this floor? We just got here ourselves. I heard some kind of uproar, so I came running," Byakuya explained.

"We came here together!" Jill blushed.

Byakuya scowled at her. "No...you're just stalking me."

"A-Anyway, can you guys help us look for them?" Makoto requested.

"Why? What happened?" Byakuya asked.

"There's no time now. We'll explain later," Sakura said.

"Well...fine. It sounds like something interesting is going on," Byakuya smirked.

"HIFUMI! KYOKO!" Hina shouted loudly, causing me to jump. "If you can hear me, say something!"

Her voice echoed down the hall. At first, there was silence. Then, a faint noise could be heard.

"Hm...?" Sakura was the first to notice the sound.

"Did you hear something?" Celeste asked.

"Maybe... I think it came from...the library!" Sakura said.

"The library!? Okay, let's go!" Hina said, and we all ran to the library as fast as our legs would carry us. When we opened the door to the library, there stood Hifumi, seriously injured. There was blood on his head, and he was sweating a lot.

"Gh... It hurts...it hurts...!" Hifumi muttered as we all ran up to him.

"A-Are you okay!?" Makoto asked worriedly.

"I'm glad to see...you're still alive..." Hina said, slightly relieved.

"It's super bad, though... Look at all the blood..." Hifumi pointed.

"How did you get hurt?" Byakuya asked.

"That guy hit me..." Hifumi replied.

"What guy?" Makoto asked.

"Robo Justice. Er, that's what I decided to call him, just now..."

"What are you talking about...?" Byakuya questioned.

"Th-That guy was...Robo Justice..."

"This "Robo Justice" you are referring to is...this, is it not?" Celeste asked, showing the picture of the robot dragging Hifumi.

"Wh-What the hell am I looking at...?" Byakuya questioned.

"This is the one that attacked Celeste and Hifumi. Isn't that right, Hifumi?" Makoto asked.

"Yeah...that's him, I'm sure of it... Robo Justice...!" Hifumi confirmed.

"Robo Justice, huh...?" Byakuya muttered.

"This just keeps getting stranger..." Sakura said.

My eyes shifted toward Hifumi's feet, where a hammer was laying. Is this what was used to hit Hifumi?

"Justice Hammer 2...?" Makoto muttered.

"He attacked me with that hammer. He bonked me right on the head with it..." Hifumi explained.

"A hammer that big, I'm surprised you're still okay..." Hina said.

"I'm 'not' okay...! Look at all this blood..." Hifumi growled.

"Protein helps heal wounds, you know. Would you like some?" Sakura offered.

"...I have never heard such a thing. Are you sure it isn't just you?" Celeste asked.

"Ahh-hahahaha!" It was the sound of Monokuma's laugh as he appeared.

"Eep!" I was startled.

"It's him!" Hina exclaimed.

"Puhuhu! A robot of justice, huh!? Now things are 'really' starting to get exciting! What kind of special moves does it have? Can it fly? Can it COMBINE!? Nyoohohoho!" Monokuma laughed and disappeared.

"Why...is he here?" Byakuya asked.

"Let us not concern ourselves with him... What we need to do now is get Hifumi to the nurse's office right away. Whatever else we do, he needs to be treated as soon as possible," Celeste advised.

"You're right! Let's go!" Hina said.

"Ngh... Thanks, everyone..." Hifumi thanked.

=======

We helped Hifumi walk to the nurse's office on the 1st floor so we could take care of his injuries.

"How ya feelin', Hifumi? You want me to take a look at ya?" Hina offered.

"I-I'm okay... I think it stopped bleeding. I'm still kinda dizzy, though..." Hifumi said.

"Perhaps you should rest here a while," Celeste suggested.

Hifumi nodded his head slightly. "Y-Yeah, good idea..."

"The rest of us should get back to looking for that mystery assailant..." Sakura said.

"Indeed. Before another victim appears... The Justice Hammers seem to be increasing in size; first 1 and now 2," Celeste observed.

"If there is a Justice Hammer 3, we can only assume it is even bigger than the first two," Byakuya added.

"If you got hit with anything bigger than that, you'd be dead for sure!" Hina said.

"Tell us what happened to you, Hifumi," Byakuya said to Hifumi.

"Well...I woke up early this morning and started looking for Alter Ego ahead of everyone else... I went to the 3rd floor, and that's where the strange costumed man attacked me..." Hifumi explained.

"That must be what I witnessed at around 7 this morning," Celeste said.

"After that, he dragged me to the library and WHACK! Down came the hammer... That must've been...30 or 40 minutes ago," Hifumi added.

"At around 7:30 in other words... We would've still been in the dining hall," Hina said.

So that means Makoto, Hina, Sakura, Kyoko, and I all have the same alibis.

"I was in the laundry room, doing my laundry," Byakuya said.

"Wow! A rich boy doing laundry? I never thought that would be possible!" I joked. Byakuya scowled at me.

"His black underwear is as black as the pitch-black darkness of the blackest night..." Jill commented.

"Why do you know that...?" Byakuya asked her.

"Isn't it obvious? Cuz I was peeking!" Jill answered.

I'm...just gonna pretend that I never heard that. Anyway, that means Byakuya and Toko were together at the time meaning they also have alibis. Then the only ones who 'don't' have alibis are Hiro and Taka, the two we haven't seen yet.

"By the way, what happened to Kyoko? I haven't seen her anywhere..." Byakuya pointed out.

"Oh yeah. She was supposed to be checking the 2nd floor, but...I didn't see her up there at all," Hina explained.

"Where could she have disappeared to...?" Sakura wondered out loud.

"She's disappeared, huh? What a strange woman... She might be exactly as I suspected..." Byakuya said.

"H-Hold on! Kyoko was with us in the dining hall when Celeste and Hifumi were attacked! So--" Makoto stated, but Byakuya interrupted.

"I'm not talking about who attacked them."

"...Huh?"

"I'm referring to what we talked about last night. Who the mastermind's spy might be..."

"Are you saying...Kyoko's working with the mastermind? Th-That's not possible!" Makoto defended.

"Isn't it? This woman, who seems almost eager to handle dead bodies, hasn't even revealed her true identity," Byakuya explained.

"Save this discussion for later," Sakura spoke up. "Right now we need to focus on finding the suspicious individual."

"Yeah! If we don't hurry, there's only gonna be more victims! That might be why Kyoko and Taka and Hiro haven't shown up yet!" Hina said.

"Sh-She's right. We have to do something about that mystery man first..." Makoto said.

"Don't worry about me. I'll catch up with you guys after I rest for a bit..." Hifumi assured.

"Understood. Take care of yourself," Celeste said.

"Okay, let's go," Sakura said, and the rest of us left the nurse's office.

"So whoever that is running around, why are they wearing that weird costume?" Hina questioned.

"Don't bother looking for reason from a deviant," Byakuya advised.

"So? What're we gonna do? Split up and look around?" Jill suggested.

"Our opponent is very dangerous. We don't know what they're capable of. Even here..." Sakura said.

"...!?" Celeste's face turned to shock.

"What's wrong...?" Byakuya asked.

"I saw a shadow! Something moving around at the top of the stairs!" Celeste said.

"Really!?" Hina asked.

"Up on the 2nd floor, then? You bastard! You won't get away from me!" Sakura cried out and we all shot toward the stairs. Once we got there, there was no sign of Robo Justice.

"He must be around here somewhere. Let's split up and corner him!" Celeste suggested.

"But don't take any chances. As soon as you find him, call out and I'll come running," Sakura said.

"Okay, but...what should we yell?" Celeste asked.

"Is that important right now? Just scream anything!" I yelled.

"Then...is "haaah!" okay?" Celeste questioned.

"Haaah or dohyaah or whatever you want! Just yell loud enough so we can hear you!" Hina yelled.

Celeste giggled. "Hmhmhm. Dohyaah? I have never heard such a reaction..."

"Okay, whatever! Just hurry up and start looking! Okay? Let's go!" Hina said and ran off.

"Hey Mister Robot! Where ya hidin'? If you don't come out, we're gonna decommission ya!" Jill called out and ran off as well.

Soon we all split up and looked for the costumed suspect. After a minute of exploring and searching, a loud scream could be heard.

"Ha-aaaaaahhhh!"

I jumped at the sound. "That sounds like Celeste from the third floor," I said and sprinted up the stairs.

"Over here, everyone!" Celeste called out to everyone who had heard the scream.

"Celeste! What's wrong!?" Hina asked.

"That was a rather...intense scream for someone like you," Byakuya said.

"I saw him! The strange costumed man...! He ran off as soon as I screamed... I was blocking the stairs, so he headed further down into the hallway and disappeared...!" Celeste explained and pointed down the hall.

"He must be down this hall! Come on, let's go!" Makoto cried out, but before we could go anywhere, Jill started making noises.

"Haa...haa..."

"What is it now!?" Hina yelled impatiently.

"Hachoo!" Jill sneezed. When she opened her eyes, she was back as Toko. Her red eyes turned back to gray and her long tongue disappeared. "H-Huh...?" Toko looked around confused.

"Wow," I exclaimed.

"Whoa! It's really true!" Hina looked surprised, but quickly shook it off. "But that doesn't matter right now!"

"Ungyaaaaaahhh!!!" Another loud scream echoed through the hallway.

"Ahh!" I screamed. Gosh, if I don't die by either being murdered or executed, then I'll die from too much startlement...

"Huh!?" Makoto jumped.

"Wh-What was that!?" Hina stuttered.

"That came from downstairs! It must have been..." Celeste trailed off.

"Hifumi! He's in the nurse's office! This is bad! Come on, we have to go back!" Makoto yelled.

"What about the suspect? We've gone to all this trouble to capture him, right?" Byakuya asked.

"Then why don't we split into two groups?" Celeste suggested.

"I'll lead the hunting party. That seems much more interesting," Byakuya smirked.

"Very well, then Makoto, Hanako, and Hina, you come with me to the nurse's office. I will leave the capture of the suspicious individual to Toko, Sakura, and Byakuya," Celeste organized.

"We'll handle it. Just go take care of Hifumi," Sakura said.

"Okay! You guys be careful!" Makoto said.

Byakuya, Toko, and Sakura went off their way and me, Makoto, Celeste, and Hina all ran downstairs to the 1st floor.

"He's in the nurse's office! Let's go!" Hina shouted.

=======

We stormed into the nurse's office and opened the door, the world of dripping blood greeted us...

Hifumi Yamada, the Ultimate Fanfic Creator, laid in a puddle of his own blood.

 

Chapter 35: Disappearing Bodies

The floor was covered in blood. And in the center of all this blood was...

"H-Hifumi...?" Makoto muttered, unable to take his eyes off the corpse.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" Hina screamed.

"Oh god..." I muttered.

"I-It looks like something...very bad has happened... I certainly was not expecting this. I did not imagine that Hifumi would be murdered!" Celeste grimaced.

"M-Murdered!? You're not serious, are you!? He's not really dead, is he!?" Hina yelled.

*Ding dong dong ding*

"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!"

"What the...?" Hina gasped at the announcement.

"That was...the body discovery announcement. It must mean... Hifumi... Someone killed him. One of us..." Celeste explained.

"One of...us?" Makoto repeated.

"And look at that..." Celeste said, and pointed to something on the floor that had also been on the floor after the last two surprise attacks. It was another hammer. Justice Hammer 3 to be exact.

And it's even bigger than the other two!

"Just as I suspected. One strike from that, and you're finished..." Celeste said.

"Then the killer..." Makoto trailed off.

"There can be no doubt. The suspicious individual, going by what Hifumi called him... the culprit must be Robo Justice. Whoever's hiding in that costume is the one that killed Hifumi!" Celeste announced.

"But...wait... You saw him on the 3rd floor, right? Running back into the hall... So how did he end up in the nurse's office? You're not saying they, like, teleported or something, right?" Makoto questioned.

"We can figure out that part later. Right now, we have to tell the others," Celeste said, dismissing the questions.

"Y-You're right," Makoto agreed.

"Then shall we go?" Celeste asked.

I glanced at Hina. She was looking pale, her mouth wide open and her eyes shot out of her sockets.

"Hina, are you alright?" I asked.

"..." Hina said nothing.

"Hina...snap out of it," Celeste said.

"...Huh?" Hina spoke.

"Are you okay, Hina?" Makoto asked.

"S-Sorry...I'm not sure I can move right now... I-I'm feeling kinda..." Hina placed her hands over her mouth, and her legs were shaking.

"This is a problem. We can't just leave Hina here alone," Celeste said.

"Okay, then Hanako and I'll go get everyone. You stay here with Hina!" Makoto suggested.

"... Very well. I leave it to you two, then," Celeste said.

"Okay! We'll be back soon!" Makoto said and took off.

"Get well soon Hina!" I said and ran off after him. We ran to the third floor where everyone else was.

"Makoto! Celeste said that the robot was headed further down into the hallway and disappeared," I reminded him. "That must be where the others are."

"That would be the physics lab. Let's go!" Makoto said and we both ran faster.

When we entered the room, there was nobody there. Yet there was some kind of presence coming from the back room. We both entered and we were greeted by the second nightmare of the day.

Kiyotaka Ishimaru, the Ultimate Moral Compass, lay dead in a pool of his own blood.

 

A Next Generation Legend! Stand Tall, Galactic Hero!

Deadly Life

 

Hifumi's body is in the nurse's office and Taka's body is in the equipment room. Two nightmares, one right after another. Nightmare isn't the right term to describe it. The better word would be...harsh reality. The true nightmare is this reality, the reality I and the others who are still alive have to face every day.

"Why...is this happening?" Makoto grunted.

"..." I said nothing. I just stared at Taka's body. My eyes then shifted to Toko, who was laying on the ground.

"T-Toko!? Don't tell me...! Toko, too!?" Makoto panicked.

"Relax. She just passed out when she saw the blood," Byakuya spoke, which made me jump. I was so busy staring that I didn't notice that Byakuya and Sakura were in the room as well.

"The blood...?" Makoto asked, but then remembered that Toko is afraid of blood.

"We've tried everything to get her to wake up, but no luck. Just leave her be for now," Byakuya advised.

A little bit away from Taka's body, there was another hammer labeled Justice Hammer 4, and it was even bigger than the others.

"But...why is it Justice Hammer 4?" Sakura questioned.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Makoto asked.

"Celeste was attacked with Justice Hammer 1, then Hifumi was hit with Justice Hammer 2. But this time it was Justice Hammer 4," Sakura explained. "What happened to number 3?"

"Ah--!" Makoto gasped.

"W-Well..." I started.

"..What's the matter?" Byakuya questioned.

"W-Well, when you mentioned Justice Hammer 3, you just reminded me..." Makoto trailed off.

"Out with it. Do you know something?" Byakuya asked.

"Hifumi was killed with Justice Hammer 3," I explained.

"Wh...!? Hifumi's been killed!?" Sakura cried out.

"Y-Yeah..." Makoto confirmed.

"Which is why you came to get us... Then we'd better go check it out," Byakuya suggested.

"Of course! Come on!" Sakura said.

So Sakura, Byakuya, Makoto, and I rushed out of the physics lab. But as soon as we were out of the physics lab...

"Ah--!" We bumped into Celeste.

"Celeste? Aren't you supposed to be waiting in the nurse's office?" Makoto asked.

"S-Something has...come up," Celeste announced.

"Yeah, I heard. Hifumi is dead, right?" Byakuya said.

"Well...that is not all. It is...gone," Celeste said.

"Huh? What's gone?" Makoto asked.

"It has disappeared..."

"Disappeared...?" Makoto repeated.

"Hifumi's body has disappeared!"

"What...?"

"What are you talking about? It's disappeared? Don't be ridiculous," Byakuya said.

"..." The look on Celeste's face said otherwise.

"...Are you serious?" Byakuya couldn't believe it.

"What the heck is happening here...!? Everyone, back to the nurse's office!" Sakura ordered.

We all ran to the nurse's office as fast as our legs could take us. When we opened the office door, we couldn't believe our eyes. Hifumi's body was there just a few minutes earlier, only to be gone.

"What the..." I muttered.

"It just...disappeared?" Makoto muttered.

"...Me and Celeste went to the bathroom... But we were only gone for like a minute! And then, when we got back..." Hina trailed off, unable to take her eyes off the bloody floor.

"This must be the work of the culprit. They must have come and carried the body away. They must really be enjoying this... Enjoying the sight of us standing around, frightened and confused... We're all going to die here. We're going to die, just like those guys died..." Celeste explained.

Those guys...?

"I don't believe this. I don't believe a body would just...disappear. First there were two murders, and now one of the bodies has been taken? This is...unnatural," Byakuya denied.

"H-Hold on! What do you mean, TWO murders!?" Hina gasped.

"Taka's been killed. We found him in the equipment room," Sakura explained.

"I-It can't be! Taka, too!? It can't be... It can't be... NooooooOOOOOOO!!!" Hina shouted.

"Hina, calm down!" Sakura said, rushing to her side to comfort her.

"We're all gonna die... All of us... They're gonna kill all of us!" Hina cried.

"Then who might the next target be? Toko?" Byakuya questioned.

"Huh...?" Makoto looked at him confused.

"I completely forgot! She's still unconscious in the equipment room!" Sakura reminded everyone.

"You left her at the scene of the crime!?" Celeste asked with shock.

"We didn't have a choice. She passed out, and she refused to wake up," Byakuya explained.

"So she is still unconscious?" Celeste asked.

"Wait, so you knew she was still up there, and said nothing? Why...!?" Sakura asked.

"That annoying little insect clings to me wherever I go... We'd be better off without her," Byakuya said.

"Y-You bastard!" Sakura said. The blue aura was glowing around her again.

"She may be annoying to you, but that does not give you the right to just leave her there where she could be attacked!" I yelled.

"Calm down. You forgot about her, didn't you? You have no right to blame me," Byakuya said.

"Everyone stop fighting! Right now we need to hurry back!" Makoto said.

"I can't take this anymore... I don't want anyone else to die!" Hina cried.

"Byakuya... If something's happened to Toko, I'll never forgive you!" Sakura glared at him.

"Hmph," Byakuya smirked.

We shot out of the nurse's office and bolted up the stairs yet again, heading back to the 3rd floor. We ran back to the equipment room at full speed. And when we got there, Toko was still unconscious in the same position.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank God you're okay," Makoto muttered.

I turned my attention to the bloody floor. Taka's body, which should have been right there, had disappeared.

"This can't be happening..." Byakuya muttered.

"Are we hallucinating all this or something?" Sakura asked.

"No...it's not a hallucination," Makoto said.

"Wh-What!? Are you saying...Taka disappeared, too!?" Hina cried.

"Stop saying "disappeared." It didn't just vanish into thin air. Obviously whoever did this has hidden the body," Byakuya clarified.

"But why would they do that?"

"I couldn't possibly begin to imagine," Byakuya said.

"Anyway, our costumed suspect is clearly continuing his crime spree," Celeste spoke.

"We gotta hurry up and catch him, before he kills ALL of us!" Hina yelled.

"Oh, I don't think you have to worry about that," Byakuya sneered.

"Huh...?" Hina was confused.

"Think about it... Who could possibly be responsible for killing and hiding these dead bodies?" Byakuya questioned.

"U-Umm..." Hina couldn't think of anyone.

"When Hifumi's death cry went up, everyone here was together on the 3rd floor," Byakuya began.

"After that, we split up into two groups," Celeste added.

"And now this time, you all came here as a group from the nurse's office," Byakuya continued. "In other words, the only ones who could have done this are Hiro and Kyoko, who are still missing."

"H-Hold on a second! Kyoko has an alibi for when Celeste and Hifumi were attacked! There's no question that she was in the dining hall with us!" Makoto defended.

Byakuya smirked. "Hmph. You seem very adamant about defending her. Perhaps you are...in love?"

"Th-That's not it at all!" Makoto denied.

"Well, anyway. Yes, I do accept Kyoko's alibi," Byakuya said.

"Which means, the suspicious individual we're looking for can be none other than...Hiro," Celeste announced.

"Which further means, there will be no more murders. The regulations are very clear about that."

"Oh, that's right...! There's a rule that says you can only kill a maximum of two people..." Makoto reminded everyone.

"As long as that rule is in place, there will not be a third murder. If they were to break that rule..."

"I'd mince ya!" Monokuma appeared. "Mince ya without a second thought! Mince ya, grind ya, turn ya into paste! By the way, did you know that fish paste can also refer to shellfish, like shrimp or crabs!?" And just like that, he disappeared.

"...Indeed," Byakuya agreed.

"So since two people have been killed, there is no possibility of anymore," Celeste simply said.

"You knew that from the beginning, didn't you Byakuya? Which means you knew Toko was never in danger..." Sakura spoke.

"I still meant it when I said we'd be better off without her, though," Byakuya admitted. "Anyway, with that in mind, we can now relax and search for the two missing bodies."

The two missing bodies. Two people have been killed, and their bodies have been hidden somewhere. The only one without an alibi, the one who we haven't seen at all, the only one who could have done it...is Hiro. But...could someone as dimwitted as him really be the killer? And then there's Kyoko. If she's not involved in this case, then where did she disappear to?

"We need to find those bodies, or our little narrative here can't move forward," Byakuya said.

"Very well. Then let us split up and begin searching," Celeste said.

"B-But..." Hina hesitated.

"There is no need to be afraid. No more murders will take place during this case," Celeste assured.

"I-I know that. I mean, I think I do. But..." Hina trailed off.

"If you're still nervous, I'll come with you," Sakura suggested.

"O-Okay, thank you..." Hina thanked.

"No need to thank me," Sakura said.

"Then let's get moving. Yell out if you find anything," Byakuya said.

Byakuya left the equipment room, and everyone else followed.

I looked around the entire third floor, but I couldn't find the bodies. The rec room, the classrooms, the art room, nothing. I tried to look in the repository, but the door was locked. I stood in the middle of the hallway, trying to think what place I missed when Celeste and Byakuya approached me.

"Hanako...!" Celeste called out.

"Why are you just standing there? We need to get to the repository," Byakuya said.

"You mean..." I trailed off.

"...I found them. Hifumi and Taka's bodies had both been hidden in the repository," Celeste explained.

"I've already told Hina and Sakura. We'll go on ahead..." Byakuya said and he and Celeste left. I followed them to the art room. We headed to the repository door and Byakuya opened it with ease.

Wasn't the door locked before? I thought as Byakuya opened the door, and when we entered, we saw them...

The bodies of Kiyotaka Ishimaru, the Ultimate Moral Compass, and Hifumi Yamada, the Ultimate Fanfic Creator, lay on the floor.

The two bodies that had disappeared were right there. The smell of blood made my stomach turn, even though I should be used to it by now. And then the announcement played for a second time.

*Ding dong dong ding*

"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!"

When the announcement ended, Monokuma popped up. "And so here we are! Without further ado, let me give you all the next Monokuma File! I was going to hand them out when you found the bodies the first time, but I thought something might happen. It was really hard to resist, but...turns out I was right!"

"Just hand it over already," Byakuya said impatiently.

"Now, make sure to investigate with all of your mental might and prepare for the class trial! Okay, see ya later!" Monokuma dropped the files on the floor and disappeared.

"Well then, now that we've found the bodies, all that's left is to uncover the culprit," Byakuya said.

"H-Hold on... How can you be so...so calm...? I mean, they're 'dead', ya know!?" Hina yelled at him. "Dead! Gone forever! They're never coming back! Awful... This is all just too awful!" Hina burst into tears and clutched at Hifumi's lifeless body. "Wh-Who would do this...? Why...? WHYYY!?"

Large, wet tears fell from her eyes. The tears landed on Hifumi's cheeks. If this were some world of make-believe, that might have been when Hifumi opened his eyes. But this wasn't a movie. However, when the tear hit his cheek, Hifumi opened his eyes and weakly raised one of his arms up.

"Ng..." Hifumi groaned.

"He's alive again!?" Makoto yelled in surprise.

"Where...am I? Cold...so cold... Is...winter coming?" Hifumi asked weakly.

"H-Hifumi! Wake up!" Hina begged.

"...Huh? Ahh...that's right... I remember now... Hope's Peak..." Hifumi muttered.

"Come on! You gotta wake up!" Hina urged.

"Before...I'd met you...all... I'd met...you all..."

"His memories are all blending together. He has nothing useful to offer us..." Byakuya spoke.

"Ahh...the light... It's... reaching out...to me... Like...the tail...of a comet..."

"Hey, Hifumi! Who was it? Who attacked you!? Who tried to kill you!?" Hina asked.

"Who...killed me...? That's right... I remember...their name..." And with his final breath, Hifumi muttered his killer's name.

" Y...Yasu...hi...ro..."

He closed his eyes, and they never opened again. Death for the second time. Absolute, undeniable death. And no matter how many tears Hina splashed on his face, there was no second miracle to wake him up again. Reality set in again.

"This isn't some stereotypical fantasy world. Tears can't restore a person's vitality," Byakuya spoke.

"You have no tears, do you? No blood in your veins, no calcium in your bones. At least you have your meat..." Celeste said.

"Typical rich boy," I muttered.

Byakuya scowled. "You're just angry. Going out of his way to return, just to leave us with those unnecessary dying words. Now this game has become exceedingly boring."

"He said...Yasuhiro, right?" Sakura asked.

"Yasuhiro Hagakure... That is the only person he could have been referring to," Celeste said.

"And with that, the case is solved," Byakuya said.

Assaulting people, killing Taka and Hifumi, and then going so far as to hide their bodies. A criminal that hides his face behind a mask and uses a bunch of giant wooden hammers. Is that what Hiro is? Was he just pretending to be dumb all this time?

"If it's true, I can't forgive him..." Hina said as she stood up, tears still falling down her face. "No way can I ever forgive him! To kill two of our friends...!"

"Anyway, it's about time we tracked down the culprit in our little life-or-death game here. Although...this time it's not all that life-or-death. The trial will conclude without much trouble," Byakuya said.

"Yes, it does look that way," agreed Celeste.

I sighed. Here we go again. I have no choice but to go through with this. To make sure everyone survives. I just have to do it!

And thus, the investigation began.

 

Chapter 36: Double Body Investigation

First things first, I'd better check the Monokuma File. I picked up the file and began to read.

"The victims were Hifumi Yamada and Kiyotaka Ishimaru. The cause of death for each was a blow to the head. It is thought that they were both killed with a similar weapon."

Wait, is that all? I looked around and saw that pretty much everyone was thinking the same thing.

"...That's it?" Makoto questioned.

"Yeah, it's pretty strange. We got way less information this time than before," Byakuya pointed out.

"That is no problem. After all, the events of this case unfolded before our very eyes. We should know more about what happened than the Monokuma File could, anyway," Celeste explained.

"Maybe..." Byakuya said.

"There's something else that's bothering me... Someone else has been missing for quite a while..." Sakura began.

"Are you talking about Kyoko?" Makoto asked her.

"Without a doubt, she has an alibi for when Celeste and Hifumi were attacked. But what if the killer wasn't acting alone? What if they had...an accomplice?" Sakura questioned.

"An accomplice!?" Makoto shouted.

"An accomplice!?" Monokuma gasped as he appeared yet again.

"...What are you doing here?" Celeste asked.

"Don't be rude! I'm here to answer your question!" Monokuma said.

"What question...?" Makoto asked.

"You're talking about accomplices, right? I'm pretty sure I explained it before, didn't I? During the first class trial!" Monokuma explained.

-----

"Speaking of which, I'd like to ask the bear...if there 'is' an accomplice, do they also become "blackened"?"

"So you ask, and so I shall answer! Each murder is allowed to have an accomplice, but only the one who does the killing will get to graduate."

"So in other words, two people can work together, but one of them has no chance of profiting from it..."

"Then there's no way anyone would work together, right...?"

-----

"So basically...you can be an accomplice if you want, but there's no gratification in it!" Monokuma recapped.

"So are you saying nobody worked together this time, either?" Sakura asked.

"Sorry, can't answer that! It would obstruct the free exchange of information between you guys. I just want to make sure you don't forget--no matter how much you assist in a murder only one blackened can graduate. An accomplice gets NOTHING!" Monokuma said.

"Then we only need to figure out who that one blackened is that did the killing, right? Just like normal?" Byakuya asked.

"Okay, okay, let me take this opportunity to clarify the whole shebang. In this class trial, what you need to determine is...the one true blackened who devised the murder plot and put it into action!"

So the true blackened is just one person then...

"Now it's down to the final battle between all of you, and the blackened! Good luck to all the contestants!" Monokuma said and left.

"Then I can't see any way Kyoko would be connected to this case, after all," Makoto said.

"You may be right..." Byakuya admitted.

"If that's true then...Kyoko, where are you?" Hina muttered.

"As long as she's not connected to the case, it doesn't matter. Let's get back to the investigation," Sakura said.

"I have absolutely no doubt that Hiro is responsible. But for the time being, I suppose it can't hurt to pursue further information," said Celeste.

"You know...don't you think we should consider a certain someone a suspect, just in case? I'm talking about the murderous fiend...Genocide Jack!" Hina suggested.

"Wha--!? I'm offended!" Genocide Jill's voice spoke up.

"Kyah!?" Hina gasped.

"You... When did you--?" Byakuya stuttered.

"I've been looking all over for you, Master! When I woke up, you were nowhere to be found!" Jill explained.

"..." Byakuya said nothing.

"Anyway! You there, milk sack swimmer girl!" Jill cried out, pointing her scissors at Hina.

"Milk sack...?" Hina repeated.

"Why do I gotta be a suspect!?" Jill asked.

"Well, I mean...you 'are' a serial killer," Hina answered and glared at her.

"So what, I'm like a special guest suspect every time!? I have an alibi, you know!"

"She's right about that... When we heard Hifumi scream, she was with me. And when the bodies disappeared, she was still lying unconscious in the equipment room. Plus, Taka's body aside, I can't imagine any way she would have been able to move Hifumi's body," Byakuya explained.

"Besides, I calculate every move I make! I'm not gonna kill someone when everyone knows what I look like! They don't call me the murderous fiend for nothing!"

"That's not the kind of thing you should be bragging about!" Hina yelled.

"On another topic, should we post a guard by the bodies like before? We can't have them disappearing again..." Celeste suggested.

"Hina and I can handle that. You don't mind, do you Hina?" Sakura asked her.

Hina nodded her head. "Sure. I'd be totally useless on the investigation anyway..."

"Then that's that. Let's begin," Byakuya stated.

Monokuma File #3 has been added as a truth bullet

I walked up to the hammers of all different sizes hanging on the wall. Although some are more like mallets.

Could the Justice Hammers have been designed using these as a model? Or were they painted over them? Either way, all the hammers here have obviously seen a lot of use. They're all covered in debris and chalky stone powder... Wait...

I brushed my finger on one of the hammers. This one hammer isn't dirty at all. It's actually wet. Did someone wash it recently?

Spotless Hammer has been added as a truth bullet

I headed over to examine Taka's body laying on a blue tarp. His hair returned to its natural color.

Poor Taka... At least he's with his bro now... Anyways, the Monokuma File said he died from  a blow to the head . We found  Justice Hammer 4  near his body in the equipment room. That must be the weapon that killed him. There's also this tarp laid out under his body. The killer used this to move Taka's body so that way, there wouldn't be any blood left behind while the body was moved.

Blue Tarp has been added as a truth bullet

Next, I examined Hifumi's...big body.

Just how did the killer move someone so big from the nurse's office on the first floor where he was discovered to here, the repository on the third floor without anyone noticing?

I thought and thought, but nothing came to mind.

Ugh! I'm wasting time! I can think about it later. For now, I have to finish the examination. Hifumi also died from a blow to the head. Probably from Justice Hammer 3 found in the nurse's office.

"Wait..." I muttered as I looked at his face. "Weren't his glasses covered with blood? But they're completely clean now. Did someone wipe his glasses off? But who and why?"

Hifumi's Glasses has been added as a truth bullet

After examining the bodies, I took notice of a dolly in the corner and went up to it. It doesn't seem to have a handle. I saw it in the art room before, probably to move statues around. It's kinda awkward, but if one would bend down, it's not too hard to use. But hold on a minute... Wasn't this in the equipment room when we found Taka's body?

I examined the wheels. There's a bloodstain on it. So there's blood on the wheel of the dolly that was moved from the equipment room to the repository. I need to check the equipment room for an explanation.

Repository Dolly has been added as a truth bullet

I arrived at the equipment room and saw Jill already there.

"I was sleeping right here when the killer carried the body away! I'm super pissed I missed such an ultimately rare event!" Jill complained.

I didn't know how to respond to that, so I just nodded my head and made my way to the bloody pool of blood on the floor.

There's some kind of small tire mark going through the blood. That reminds me of the dolly in the repository. There was blood on its tire! That must be where the blood came from. So Taka's body was moved using the dolly. And since both rooms are on the 3rd floor, that should definitely have been possible.

Equipment Room Bloodstain has been added as a truth bullet

But even if the dolly 'was' used to move Taka's body, what about Hifumi's body? His body was on the 1st floor. There's no way to get it up to the 3rd floor, even with a dolly.

I sighed as I headed out of the equipment room where Hina came running.

"Hanako! Big news! BIG NEWS!" Hina cried out.

"What is it?" I asked.

"We found Kyoko!" Hina announced.

"Really!?" I said.

"Wait, I wasn't done. There's more big news!" Hina explained. "Robo Justice showed up, too!"

"What?"

"It's Hiro wearing the costume! Anyway! As soon as you can, head to the pool, on the 2nd floor!" Hina took off as fast as she could.

"What a coincidence that Hiro and Kyoko would turn up at the same time. Anyways, I should get going," I muttered and headed to the pool.

=======

Once I got there, everyone else was already there, including...

"..."

Kyoko. I looked at her for a moment and then turned my attention to Robo Justice, where a familiar voice came out of it.

"Phew! Man, I have had the WORST day!"

"... Hiro...?" Makoto questioned.

"I found Hiro. He was jammed into the pool room locker. It looked like he was fast asleep, so I kicked him and woke him up," Kyoko explained.

"I still can't believe you kicked me! You coulda been a little more gentle about it. Like, I dunno, caress my face or somethin'!" Hiro yelled.

"...That's creepy," Kyoko said.

"Anyway... Kyoko, where have you been all this time? You just disappeared all of a sudden, without a trace..." Makoto asked.

"There was something I had to check up on," Kyoko explained.

"What do you mean...?" Makoto asked.

"Never mind."

"I 'can't' never mind...!"

"Never. Mind. More importantly..."

Does she know that the others think she might be the mastermind's spy?

"First of all...Hiro, you need to explain to us why you're dressed like that," Kyoko turned her attention to Hiro.

"Oh, uh, well...I mean... I have no idea. One second I was asleep, don't even know how that happened, then I woke up, and then I was here..." Hiro explained.

"I don't care. Do something about that costume. It pains me just to look at you," Byakuya ordered".

"Well, um... I dunno what's up with this thing, but I can't actually get it off...! A little help?" Hiro requested.

"Why would you make something that you can't take off by yourself?" Celeste asked.

"I didn't make the stupid friggin' thing!" Hiro yelled.

"There's a clasp on the back that's keeping you from getting it off. It looks pretty sturdy. I don't think you can get it off on your own," Kyoko observed, "We don't really have a choice. Let's help him."

With everyone's help, we slowly got Hiro out of the suit. It took a few minutes, but eventually, we got all the pieces off.

"Whew!" Hiro sighed in relief. "Free at last!"

"Isn't it kinda weird how perfectly the suit fits Hiro...?" Hina observed.

"More to the point, nobody but Hiro would be able to wear that costume," Celeste added.

"Wait, what? H-Hold on a sec!" Hiro sweat dropped.

"Don't bother trying to act innocent. The blueprints were in your room, as well. In other words, it is obvious to everyone that you made this costume," Celeste said creepily.

"That's true. I saw the blueprints myself," Byakuya confirmed.

"Yeah...me too..." Makoto muttered.

"Then it's obvious... The one who put this costume on and went around attacking everyone was Hiro!" Hina announced.

"Shall we tie him up and gag him?" Celeste suggested.

"Good idea! We wouldn't want him killing anyone else..." Hina glared at him.

"T-Tie me up!?" Hiro stuttered.

"I don't know if that's a good idea..." I spoke.

"He may be a suspect, but he deserves fair treatment," Kyoko said.

"Yeah! I mean...attacking? Blueprints? I have no idea what you guys are talking about!" Hiro said.

"You can't talk your way out of this. It's been decided... You killed them!" Hina declared.

"What? Killed who!? I have no idea what you're talking about! There must be a fake Hiro running around!" Hiro cried.

"You're the only one who can wear this costume. So who else could possibly be the costumed attacker!?" Hina yelled.

"How do you know I'm the only one!? Maybe you should try it on yourself before you convict me!"

"Fine! If you're gonna be a jerk about it, I will!" Without missing a beat, Hina started putting on the Robo Justice costume.

"Ahh! See, look! See how loose it is? I mean, come on... I'm blind as a bat in here! Can't see my feet at all. I'm surprised you got anywhere in this thing!" Hina said as she struggled to keep her balance.

"I'm telling you, it wasn't me!" Hiro said.

"And not to mention--! You totally can't bend at the waist! Seems like a pretty obvious oversight..." Hina added.

"That's not a very nice thing to say!"

"...Hmm?" Celeste glanced at Hiro.

"Er, I mean--it's not like I made it! I just got caught up in the moment..."

"Well, either way...now we know for sure, right? I mean, it seems pretty clear that nobody but Hiro coulda fit into this dumb costume!" Hina said as she took the suit back off again. "Well? Now you're all out of excuses."

"N-No, see...it's cuz you're a girl! If it was another guy, then..." Hiro excused.

"Makoto, go ahead," Byakuya ordered Makoto to try on the suit.

"O-Okay..." Makoto muttered and put the suit on against his will. "It's no good... The arms are too long. There's no way I can wear this..."

"See!? I told you it was impossible!" Hina said.

"You are absolutely right," agreed Celeste. "It seems this costume was made to fit Hiro's body exactly."

"Th-Then...there's another costume! They must have one that looks the same, but...but fits them!" Hiro excused again.

"If you insist on this line of defense, then show us some evidence," stated Celeste.

"Evidence...?" Hiro repeated.

"You claim there is another suit, yes? Then you must find it and show it to us," Celeste instructed.

"Wh-What the heck!?" panicked Hiro.

"Who cares!? Hiro's the only one without an alibi during this whole thing anyway! Which is how we know it was him!" Hina yelled.

"I mean...is that really true? I have no idea what's been happening... Could someone, like...tell me?" Hiro asked.

Robo Justice Costume has been added as a truth bullet

"U-Umm...if you don't tell me what's going on, how am I supposed to understand? I think I've figured out that...someone's been killed, right? Hey, Makoto...who was it?" Hiro asked Makoto.

"W-Well... Two people were killed. Taka and Hifumi..." Makoto explained.

"What!? TWO people!?" Hiro shouted.

"Why are you freaking out? You did it," Hina accused.

"I did not!" Hiro cried out, but then he began to think. "Wait, hold on... If those two are the ones that were killed... That's it! I know who did it!"

"This better be good," I said.

"You may as well tell us, then," Kyoko said.

"Taka and Hifumi were fighting over Alter Ego, right? Which means! Alter Ego and/or Chihiro must have done it!" Hiro stated.

"Pfft," I tried not to laugh but failed miserably.

"What's so funny?" Hiro asked.

"Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounded just now?" I said while laughing.

"Yeah! Stop trying to trick us! Just admit that you did it, okay!?" Hina yelled.

"I-I'm telling you, you got it all wrong!" Then Hiro gasped. "Ah, I know! That note!"

"Note...?" Makoto repeated.

"Last night, someone slipped a weird note under my door. And here's what it said... "I found a hole maybe we can use to escape. Monokuma can't find out, so don't tell anyone else for now. Let's meet in the rec room at 1 a.m." But the last thing I remember is going to the rec room, then for some reason I fell asleep... The real killer probably drugged me or something!" Hiro explained.

"...Not a chance," Hina said.

"No, hold on. He could be onto something. The nurse's office did have chemicals that could do that..." Kyoko explained.

"Wh...Really?" Hina questioned.

"I told you. Someone's trying to set me up... A secret passage--a chance to escape... Someone wrote all that to trick me!" Hiro explained.

"Even if that's true, you must be one dumb fish to bit every piece of bait that floats in front of you," Hina shook her head.

"Well after being trapped here so long, even if you know it's a lie, you gotta check, right? Gyaho! They preyed on my desire to get out of here! They deceived me!"

"I still don't buy it..."

"Well you SHOULD buy it!"

"Okay...then show us that note!"

"With pleasure! I have it right here in my..um, pocket... ..." Hiro searched his pocket but couldn't find the note. "Looks like I lost it..."

"Yeah, sure..." Hina said sarcastically.

"P-P-Please, ya gotta believe me! I wouldn't hurt a fly!" Hiro wailed.

"As I said before, if you want us to believe you, you must produce evidence. Can you show us the note? I have no particular issue with what you claim, but if you want us to believe you, give us a reason," Celeste said.

"Wh-What the heck!? For serious!" Hiro yelled.

Yasuhiro's Account has been added as a truth bullet

"Now then, shall we resume our investigation? There's no time to waste before the class trial begins," Byakuya spoke.

"Why do we need to keep investigating? We already know who did it..." Tears began to stream down Hina's cheeks. "Why...? Why did you kill them? Tell us, Hiro...!"

"No... It's like I said...!" Hiro panicked.

"Was it really to get the money Monokuma offered us? Yeah, that must be it... You must be totally broke and that's why...!" Hina accused.

"W-Wait! That's a false accusation! Someone, help me!" Hiro begged.

"Just be thankful we haven't bound and gagged you!"

"If you have time to yell and carry on, you have time to search for your evidence. Right?" Byakuya asked Hiro.

"Ah! You're right! I need to look for the second suit and that note! Feet don't fail me now!" Hiro yelled and ran off.

"I guess I'd better get back to guard duty... I was gonna ask Toko--er, Genocide Jack to switch with me... But if she and Sakura got into a fight, we'd have a catastrophe on our hands. Well, bye..." Hina said and walked away.

One by one, everyone peeled away. I was about to leave when someone called my name.

"Makoto, Hanako, do you have a second?" Kyoko asked.

"Huh?" Makoto looked at Kyoko.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I want you two to help me with the investigation. It looks like I got a late start on this one, so I need to make up some ground," Kyoko requested.

"Of course," I said.

"...Sure, I don't mind helping. But can you promise me something? Later, when we have time...will you tell me why you disappeared?" Makoto asked.

"No," Kyoko rejected. "Anyway, I need your help. You don't mind, do you?"

"...O-Okay," Makoto muttered.

"Thanks. Now then, shall we...?" Kyoko headed out of the pool and me and Makoto followed after her.

"So...first I'd like to examine the corpses," Kyoko said as we were walking to the repository. "Dead bodies don't lie, you know. They tell the truth far more easily than the living. Wouldn't you agree?"

"How are we supposed to answer...?" Makoto asked.

I just stared at the ground.

"Anyway, we have to hurry. Before the class trial begins again..." Kyoko said.

"Y-Yeah, you're right..." agreed Makoto.

"We have already lost a lot of time already," I stated.

"Okay then, show me where the bodies are," Kyoko said.

We arrived at the repository, where Hina and Sakura stood guard.

"Hifumi...and Taka..." Kyoko whispered. For 'only' a moment, she seemed to go rigid. But then she snapped out of it.

"Well then, let's get started." Kyoko crouched down next to Taka and without hesitation began examining it up close. "The Monokuma File was right. They were killed using similar weapons," she muttered as she worked. Her movements were so smooth, and she was so calm.

"You two. I found something," Kyoko called out.

"You did...?" Makoto asked.

"You remember the wristwatch Taka always wore on his left hand?" Kyoko asked.

"He did...?" Makoto questioned.

"You didn't know?" I asked.

"Are you so oblivious to the people around you? Do you dislike other people that much?" Kyoko asked.

"N-No, that's not it..." Makoto denied.

"Anyways, what about the watch?" I spoke.

"Take a look... It's broken," Kyoko showed us the watch. "You can see the hands aren't moving, right? It most likely broke when he had his encounter with his assailant. And if you notice, the hands are frozen at just past 6 o'clock."

"So that would mean...the watch was broken sometime just after 6?" Makoto asked.

"But last night, Taka's watch definitely wasn't broken..." Kyoko explained.

-----

"Hey! You! How long were you gonna keep us waiting!? It's almost 10 o'clock, you know that!? Bedtime for all the little boys and girls!"

-----

"So if it worked at 10 last night, it couldn't have been broken at 6 p.m. Meaning it must have happened at 6 this morning," Kyoko concluded.

Broken Wristwatch has been added as a truth bullet

"And that's not all. Look at Taka's left hand. He appears to be gripping something..."

Makoto and I looked at his hand and saw something white clutched in his fist.

"You're right! There's something...white in there," Makoto observed.

"Can you try and pry it out?" Kyoko asked Makoto.

"Me!?" Makoto cried out.

"Rigor mortis has already set in. Boys are better suited to this kind of manual labor, right?" Kyoko explained.

"O-Okay..." Makoto stuttered and began to open Taka's fist. After some effort, he was finally able to free the object from his tightly clenched fist.

"A...piece of paper?" Makoto questioned.

"Was that all he had in his hand?" Kyoko asked.

"Yeah, that's it... Just a little scrap of paper. Doesn't seem like much of a clue, does it?"

"I wonder about that..." Kyoko then turned to Hifumi's body. "Let's check Hifumi's body now. Perhaps he's left us a few clues of his own."

Kiyotaka's Scrap of Paper has been added as a truth bullet

Kyoko searched Hifumi for a few minutes and then got up.

"So? Did you find anything?" Makoto asked.

"I did. More than I expected, to be honest. Look at this..." Kyoko showed us a crumpled-up piece of paper.

"A...wad of paper?" Makoto questioned.

"Hifumi had it hidden on him," Kyoko explained.

"Where was it hidden?" I asked.

"He'd stuffed it in his pants. So I can only assume he'd hidden it on purpose, you see?" Kyoko answered.

"What...?"

"In his pants...? Wait, so you--!?" Makoto cried out.

"It was just his pants. Not like his socks or something..."

What's that supposed to mean?

"Anyway, let's take a look at the paper. Go ahead, Makoto. Open it up," Kyoko ordered.

"Why always me...?" Makoto muttered as he took the paper and uncrumpled it.

"...A note!?" Makoto said and read it out loud. "I found a hole maybe we can use to escape. Monokuma can't find out, so don't tell anyone else for now. Let's meet in the equipment room at 6 a.m."

"That sounds...very familiar," Kyoko observed.

"Oh! It's the same thing Hiro said! Then he must have been telling the truth!" I said.

"Although...it's not exactly the same, is it?" Kyoko questioned.

-----

"Last night, someone slipped a  weird note  under my door. And here's what it said... "I found a hole maybe we can use to escape. Monokuma can't find out, so don't tell anyone else for now. Let's meet in the  rec room at 1 a.m. ""

-----

"The time is different... Hiro told us that his note said to meet at 1 a.m. But the note they wrote to Hifumi asked him to meet at 6 a.m." Makoto pointed out.

"Hold on. Just because Hifumi had the note, doesn't mean it was meant for him," Kyoko said.

"Huh...?" Makoto was confused.

"Part of it has been torn off, right? I think there's likely some meaning there," Kyoko explained.

Some meaning...

"Umm...could you maybe explain it a little more?" Makoto asked, still looking confused.

"Think carefully..." Kyoko advised, "Why would he have been clutching that scrap of paper so tightly?"

"I...I have no idea..."

"What if it 'wasn't' just a scrap of paper when he was holding it? What if it was something more important? And how would something important like that become a mere scrap of paper? That's what you need to answer."

The Note Hifumi Had has been added as a truth bullet

"And while we're at it, I should tell you one other thing," Kyoko added. "The two victims this time definitely had their e-Handbooks on them. So the handbooks have nothing to do with how the murders were carried out. Not that there was any reason to think they were connected to the killings in the first place..."

"So you're saying I don't have to think about the handbooks this time, right?" Makoto asked.

"If you didn't have to think about them at all, I wouldn't have gone out of my way to mention it. All I said was that they weren't used to help carry out the murders. There may come a point, however, where a handbook may play a role," Kyoko explained.

Well, if Kyoko says that it's important, then I'd better keep it in mind.

e-Handbook has been added as a truth bullet

*Ding dong, bing bong*

The monitor flickered, and Monokuma appeared on the screen.

"Are you excited? Are you pumped!? It's time for the class trial to begin! Like the bright burst of fireworks, like the flash of a soul clashing with life and death...! And so, with no further ado...! Everyone please meet at the usual spot! Make your way to the red door on the first floor of the school! Puhuhu. See you soon!"

"It's unfortunate, but I suppose this is where our investigation comes to an end. You'll have to figure out the rest for yourself, and come to the proper conclusion," Kyoko spoke.

"Yeah...you're right..." Makoto said nervously.

"We should head there now," I spoke.

"O-Okay..."

So the three of us head towards the red door. And as soon as everyone was all there...

"Hello! (Hello...! Hello...)" greeted two Monokumas.

"He's multiplied!?" gasped Makoto.

"Nope, not multiplication! It just looks that way cuz of an illuu~~usion! I'm moving so fast it only LOOKS like I've multiplied! Ke-heh-heh... Can you guys tell...which one is the real Monokuma!?" the two Monokumas asked.

"Can we just get on the elevator already?" Kyoko requested.

"You're not playing along! (Along...! Along...)"

"We're not here to play with you!" Byakuya yelled.

"Okay, okay, fine!" The two Monokumas disappeared and one Monokuma popped up. "Then if everyone's here and ready to go, please board the pain train! Er...elevator. I'll see you guys down there!" And Monokuma left.

"Okay then, shall we?" Byakuya asked.

"H-Hold on! I'm not mentally prepared yet...!" Hiro spoke.

"You'll NEVER be mentally prepared! You can't run away anymore, Hiro. You're gonna pay for your sins..." Hina yelled.

"I told you already, I didn't do it! For SERIOUS!" Hiro shouted.

"That reminds me... Did you ever find the other costume? Or the note?" Celeste asked.

"Um, well...no, but--"

"How unfortunate. Then it would seem we have our culprit."

"N...ngh!"

"This isn't the place to talk about it. Save your accusations for when we get to the courtroom," Kyoko advised.

"She's right. Let's get down there first. Then the story can really begin.." Byakuya said.

"Yeah, good idea," agreed Makoto.

Breathing deeply, I walked towards the elevator. Once everyone was aboard, the doors closed on their own. And the steel box began to move downward. The clunking of the elevator kept us company as we fell further and further down. There was no going back. Until we settled all this, we couldn't go anywhere. I'm not sure how long it was before the elevator finally came to a stop. The elevator doors slid open...opening up onto a cruel fate and a newly redecorated courtroom.

"Hmhmhm... When I see all of you gathered together like this...I realize just how few of you there are left! Your school life is slowly reaching its climax!" Monokuma giggled.

"Only cuz of you!" Hina yelled.

"Why...? Why are you making us do such cruel things to each other!?" Hiro asked desperately.

"What what!? Do you really hate me so much? But I'm so cute!" Monokuma stated.

"Stop goofing around and begin the trial...!" Byakuya ordered.

"Don't rush me! Of course I'm gonna start it! I would never be like, "Stay tuned for the action-packed class trial after this commercial break!" I'd never hold out on you like that! ...Okay, let's begin! Get to your assigned seats!"

And so the curtain opened once again... A deadly judgment... A deadly deception... A deadly betrayal... A deadly riddle, a deadly defense, a deadly faith... A deadly...class trial...!

 

Chapter 37: Class Trial #3 Part 1: Is Hiro the Culprit?

CLASS TRIAL! ALL RISE!

"Let's begin with a basic explanation of the class trial!" Monokuma started. "So, your votes will determine the results. If you can figure out "whodunnit" then only they will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong one...then I'll punish everyone 'besides' the blackened, and the one that deceived everyone else will graduate! Now then, to begin with..."

"We already know who did it!" Hina yelled.

"Wuzzat...?" Monokuma asked.

"It was Hiro. He does not have an alibi for when the murders took place, and we found him in that suit," Celeste explained.

"Don't try and deny it! You killed them!" Hina shouted.

"I didn't! Someone knocked me out! I was asleep the whole time! I don't know anything about it!" Hiro explained.

"Shut your murdering mouth, murderer!" Jill yelled.

"Who are YOU calling a murderer!?" Hiro shot.

"I am sorry to say, Hiro, but we do have evidence..." Celeste pulled out her e-Handbook to show the evidence. "Blueprints for the suit... Parts we assume were used to build it... And all of it was found in your room. You have to admit, the evidence is quite compelling. It points to you as having created the suit and wearing it while committing crime after crime..."

"How many times do I have to tell you!? I...I...! I don't know, I don't know, I don't KNOW!" Hiro panicked.

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Celeste: Everything we found in your room... The blueprints, the suit parts, they are all proof enough that you are the culprit.

Truth Bullet: Yasuhiro's Message

Makoto: NO, THAT'S WRONG!

-BREAK!!-

"Are we sure Hiro really made those blueprints?" Makoto questioned.

"What do you mean...?" Celeste asked.

"Well, take a look at this..." Makoto pulled a familiar-looking note out of his pocket. "It's the note that Hiro wrote asking everyone to meet up after Alter Ego disappeared. The handwriting's obviously different, wouldn't you say? When you compare it to the blueprints..."

"...there's no way you could think the same person made both of them," Kyoko concluded.

"Unless that person made it a point to disguise their handwriting..." Celeste debunked.

"No, the differences are bigger than that, I think," Sakura said.

"Come on, I'm not smart enough to think of trying to change my handwriting anyway!" Hiro said.

"You're not even smart in the first place," I spoke.

"Hey! I take offense to that!" Hiro yelled.

"Heh heh..." I chuckled.

"So Makoto, are you saying you don't think Hiro's the culprit?" Hina asked.

"And he's not the only one. I think Hiro is innocent, as well," Byakuya admitted.

"What...?" Makoto gasped.

"Then who was in that Robo Justice suit!? Is it like Hiro said? Was there really someone running around in a second suit?" Hina questioned.

"The suspicious individual hidden within the suit... Go ahead, Makoto. Tell them who it was," Byakuya ordered.

I rolled my eyes. Of course, he passes it off to someone else.

"So? Who was in the Robo Justice suit?" Hina asked.

"Other than Hiro...I can't think of anyone else it could have been. Obviously he was the one in that particular suit, and we never found any kind of second suit..." Makoto explained.

"Then there can be no doubt--Hiro is the prime suspect," Byakuya announced.

"That doesn't make any sense! You JUST said Hiro didn't do it!" Hina said.

"It makes perfect sense. Hiro was the suspicious individual in the suit, but he's not the culprit," Byakuya explained.

"So what you're saying is..." Sakura trailed off.

"That's right. The culprit in this case has nothing to do with being in the Robo Justice suit," Byakuya said.

"What!?" Hina gasped.

"Now that's a bold assumption!" Jill commented.

"And what reason do you have to make such a statement? You do have a reason, yes?" Celeste asked.

Byakuya smirked. "Of course. But before we get to that... There's something else we need to clarify first. So let's get that out of the way."

"Hey, stop trying to boss us around!" Hina yelled.

"All things have a proper order," Byakuya scowled.

"So, what is it? What needs to be clarified?" Sakura asked.

"We must clarify the method of transportation for Taka's lifeless body. It would seem that his corpse was moved using certain particular items. Makoto? Can you tell us what they were?" Byakuya asked Makoto yet again.

Would it kill you to say it for once?

"They were...a dolly and a tarp, right?" Makoto said.

"...Tch," Byakuya scoffed.

What's the matter? Are you jealous that he got it right?

"So, let's see if I can explain..." Makoto started. "Taka's body disappeared from the equipment room, and then we rediscovered it in the repository... And when we found it for the second time, it was wrapped in a blue tarp, right? It was the same tarp that up until then was stored in the equipment room. So the killer must have seen it there and decided to use it when they moved Taka's body. That way, they wouldn't leave any bloodstains while they were moving it."

"Okay, that explains the tarp. And the dolly?" Sakura asked.

"I can explain that," I said. "The dolly was also in the equipment room when we first found Taka's body. But when the body disappeared, so did the dolly. Later, when Taka's body reappeared in the repository...the dolly reappeared there."

"In other words, you think they used the dolly to move the body, am I right? But are you sure you are not mistaken?" Celeste questioned.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"Are you absolutely positive the dolly was in the equipment room when we found Taka's body? That dolly was made specifically for moving large objects between the repository and the art room. It would be very strange indeed to discover it had made its way to the equipment room. Is it not possible that it was in the repository all along, and you simply didn't realize it?" Celeste questioned.

"She's raised an objection. How do you respond?" Byakuya asked me.

"There is no shame in being wrong. Nobody expects much from you, anyway. We have all accepted the fact that you rarely understand what is going on around you," Celeste giggled.

"Since when!? I'll change your mind about that!" I shouted.

-The Moment of Truth!-

"You have it wrong!"

"I cannot agree!"

"You are a fool..."

"So pathetic..."

"Lies will get you nowhere!"

"Do your worst!"

"Away with you!"

"You miserable wretch!"

"Are you absolutely positive the dolly was in the equipment room when we found Taka's body?"

Truth Bullet: Equipment Room Bloodstain

Hanako: TAKE THAT!

-BREAK!!-

"If you want proof, then I'll give you proof! When I found the dolly in the repository, one of the wheels had a bloodstain on it," I explained and showed her the picture. "In the equipment room, there was a pool of blood with a tire mark that matched the dolly wheel's tread. The killer must've rolled the dolly through the blood as they wheeled the body out of the room. And as the blood dried on the tire, they moved the body into the repository. Is that the proof you wanted, Cel-es-ti-a?"

"Tch--!" Celeste scoffed in anger.

"Well, anyway. That was just something we had to get out of the way. Let's get back to the main subject..." Byakuya requested.

"Yeah! The subject of how Robo Justice didn't do it! Cuz if it's not a killer robot, then...what kind of robot is it!?" Hina shouted.

"I'm not sure that really matters..." Sakura said.

"I'd be happy to explain why the occupant of the suit couldn't possibly be the killer. If you look back on how the body was transported, it will become immediately obvious," Byakuya explained.

I need to pay attention to that so it can be explained why the person in the suit couldn't have done it.

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Byakuya: As we know, Taka was killed in the equipment room. And from there, the body was moved to the repository, correct?

Hina: Yeah, the culprit wrapped the body in the tarp...then loaded it onto the dolly and wheeled it off, right?

Byakuya: Now, keep in mind that the dolly doesn't have a handle.

Hina: Well, yeah, but even without a handle all you'd have to do is bend over.

Truth Bullet: Robo Justice Costume

Hanako: I TESTIFY AGAINST THAT!

-BREAK!!-

"You're right about the part that you could push a dolly without a handle if you stoop down low. But with that suit on, do you think you could actually get into a crouch position?" I asked Hina.

"Wh-What do you mean...?" Hina questioned.

"Remember when you tried on the suit?" I asked.

-Flashback-

"Ahh! See, look! See how loose it is? I mean, come on... I'm blind as a bat in here! Can't see my feet at all. I'm surprised you got anywhere in this thing!"

"I'm telling you, it wasn't me!"

"And not to mention--! You totally can't bend at the waist! Seems like a pretty obvious oversight..."

-End of Flashback-

"When you're in that suit, not only can you not see your feet, but you can't even bend at the waist, correct?" I explained.

"Now that you mention it...yeah..." Hina confirmed.

"It seems like it'd be awfully hard to push that dolly if you couldn't bend over..." Sakura observed.

"Well, what's to stop you from simply pushing the dolly with your feet?" Celeste suggested.

"When you can't even see your feet? You really think someone could kick the dolly all that way?" Makoto asked.

"Yeah, it'd be totally impossible! Not that I can say for sure myself!" Jill answered.

"On top of that, if you were wearing such a rigid, cumbersome suit it's very unlikely you would have the dexterity to go about wrapping the body in a tarp," Byakuya added.

"Well I mean, isn't that just a matter of taking off the suit when you're ready to move the body?" Jill wondered.

There's absolutely no chance that happened, because...

-----

-Once it's on, you can never take it off.

-You can't take it off by yourself ✔

-Hiro's not strong enough

"THAT'S IT!"

-----

"Taking the suit off was not an option. Remember when Hiro was in the suit?" I reminded.

-Flashback-

"I dunno what's up with this thing, but I can't actually get it off...! A little help?"

"Why would you make something that you can't take off by yourself?"

"I didn't make the stupid friggin' thing!"

"There's a clasp on the back that's keeping you from getting it off. It looks pretty sturdy. I don't think you can get it off on your own. We don't really have a choice. Let's help him."

-End of Flashback-

"That's true. It seems impossible to put the suit on or take it off without help," Sakura confirmed.

"Then...you really can't take it off by yourself? Hiro wasn't just making it up?" Hina wondered.

"O-Of course I wasn't making it up!" Hiro yelled.

"If he could have gotten it off by himself, I don't think he would have let us see him wearing it. Showing up in the suit was basically an invitation for everyone to suspect him," Makoto explained.

"Y-Yeah, that's right!" Hiro agreed.

"So...it's really 'really' true that Robo Justice couldn't have moved the dolly...?" Hina questioned.

"To be clear, whoever did move the body, it couldn't have been Hiro in the robot suit, correct?" Sakura asked.

"No, wait, just a second if you please. Have you forgotten about the picture that I took?" Celeste reminded everyone. "You all got a good look at it, did you not? The image of Hifumi being dragged away by Robo Justice? If whoever was in that suit is not the culprit, how do you explain that? Besides, do you remember what the now deceased Hifumi said...?"

-Flashback-

"How did you get hurt?"

"That guy hit me..."

"What guy?"

" Robo Justice . Er, that's what I decided to call him, just now..."

-End of Flashback-

"So long as those faces exist, the proper conclusion is beyond question. The individual inside the suit and the culprit are one and the same. It was Hiro, without a doubt," Celeste concluded.

"Yeah...! Yeah, that's gotta be right!" Hina agreed.

"H-Hold on a second!" Hiro cried.

I scowled. You know this chapter should really be called "The Blame Game Part 2."

"It's still far too early to reach that conclusion," Kyoko interjected. "Besides, there's no hurry to decide who did it. Before we rush to a verdict, shouldn't we explore every single possibility? Instead of seizing on one viewpoint, the truth is uncovered by analyzing things from every angle."

"Perhaps, but where do we go from here?" Sakura asked.

"Let's review this series of unfortunate events from the beginning. Maybe we'll uncover something new..." Kyoko suggested.

"Pfhah! What a pain in the ass!" Jill commented.

"I don't disagree, but our lives are on the line. If this is what it takes, we have to do it," Sakura advised.

"Plus, maybe we'll get to find out where the heck Kyoko was when everything went down..." Hina added.

"Alright then, let's take another look back at what happened. I suppose we could start with this morning..." Sakura began. "Five of us gathered together in the dining hall--Makoto, Hina, Hanako, Kyoko, and myself. We waited there for quite a while, but nobody else showed up. So we went to look for everyone. That was around 8 a.m."

"And as soon as we split up, Kyoko went missing," Hina spoke.

"Soon after that, Hina found Celeste in the rec room, and quickly came to get Makoto, Hanako, and me," Sakura continued.

"It seems I was unconscious for about an hour after I was attacked by my mystery assailant. I know it was an hour because I remember being attacked a little after 7," Celeste said.

"That was when we saw Celeste's picture and discovered that her assailant had been wearing a strange costume. As it turns out, it was Robo Justice... It also soon became clear that this same Robo Justice had abducted Hifumi. We were soon joined in our search by Byakuya and Toko, and then went on to find Hifumi in the library. He was injured, so we took him to the nurse's office and resumed our search for the suspect. But not long after leaving the nurse's office..."

-Flashback-

"...!?"

"What's wrong...?"

"I saw a shadow! Something moving around at the top of the stairs!"

-End of Flashback-

"When Celeste told us that, we decided to split up and search the 2nd floor. And soon after that..." Makoto began.

"I saw someone moving around on the 3rd floor, and I yelled out to everyone as soon as I did," Celeste said.

-Flashback-

"Celeste! What's wrong!?"

"That was a rather...intense scream for someone like you."

"I saw him! The strange costumed man...! He ran off as soon as I screamed... I was blocking the stairs, so he headed  further down into the hallway  and disappeared...!"

-End of Flashback-

"And then..." Makoto continued.

-Flashback-

"Ungyaaaaaahhh!!!"

"Ahh!"

"Huh!?"

"Wh-What was that!?"

"That came from downstairs! It must have been..."

"Hifumi! He's in the nurse's office! This is bad! Come on, we have to go back!"

-End of Flashback-

"That's when we decided to divide up into two groups. Celeste, Hina, Makoto, and I hurried back to the nurse's office while Sakura, Byakuya, and Toko went after the suspect," I spoke. "When we got back to the nurse's office, we found Hifumi dead. And that's when the body discovery announcement went on. Makoto and I left Celeste and Hina there and headed back to the 3rd floor, to let you guys know what had happened."

"Meanwhile, we had just discovered Taka's body, in the equipment room. We must have found both bodies at almost exactly the same time because we heard the same announcement not long after we'd discovered his body," Sakura explained.

"And that's when we told you guys about Hifumi. Then the four of us headed for the nurse's office. But right after we left the physics lab we ran into Celeste, who'd arrived after us, and she told us something very surprising," Makoto said.

-Flashback-

"Hifumi's body has disappeared!"

-End of Flashback-

"We rushed back to the nurse's office and saw that she was right."

"Then we remembered we'd left Toko passed out in the equipment room, so we hurried back again," Sakura continued.

-Flashback-

"This can't be happening..."

"Are we hallucinating all this or something?"

-End of Flashback-

"But when we got there, we discovered that now Taka's body had 'also' gone missing. Next thing we knew, we were searching the school for two missing dead bodies. And after some time..."

"Celeste informed us that she'd found the bodies, and we all headed to the repository which is where we rediscovered the corpses.," Byakuya spoke.

"I think that about covers it," Makoto concluded.

Kyoko nodded her head. "I see... The whole thing sounds exceptionally complicated. It certainly seems to me that these are not a simple series of connected events."

"Okay, well...if that's true, then what?" Makoto asked.

"Rather than a single series of events, I think we have to consider each murder a separate situation. And from there, we can uncover the contradictions surrounding all of them. Now then, let's get started, beginning with what happened to Taka..." Kyoko suggested.

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Kyoko: So, regarding Taka's death... I wonder if he died before Hifumi... Or perhaps it was after?

Hina: We already know what order (absorb) they were killed in! Taka came last!

Sakura: What makes you say that?

Hina: Because of the numbering of the Justice Hammers!

Truth Bullet: what order

Hanako: I TESTIFY AGAINST THAT!

-BREAK!!-

"When did we assume that the hammers were used in the same order as their numbers? Perhaps the numbering is just another way the killer tried to trick us," I said.

"So you're saying the culprit wanted us to 'think' the hammers were used in order but in reality Taka was killed 'before' Hifumi? Okay then, let's see the proof," Byakuya requested.

The key evidence that proves Taka was killed 'before' Hifumi is...

-Hangman's Gambit!-

W R I S T W A T C H

THAT'S THE ANSWER!

-COMPLETE!!-

"The evidence is no other than Taka's wristwatch!" I showed everyone his broken watch in the e-Handbook. "It's broken with the hands pointing just past 6 o'clock."

"It must have gotten broken when he was attacked by the killer. Because as of last night..." Kyoko explained.

-Flashback-

"Hey! You! How long were you gonna keep us waiting!? It's almost 10 o'clock, you know that!? Bedtime for all the little boys and girls!"

-End of Flashback-

"So if it wasn't broken after 6 last night, then he must have been attacked around 6 this morning."

"And that would be his official time of death," Makoto concluded.

"But if that's true, then he was killed well before Hifumi..." Sakura said.

"And before Celeste was attacked this morning, which happened around 7," Makoto added.

"That's right. Taka was killed before any of the other incidents took place," Kyoko said.

"That simple little fact slipped past all of our minds. We made the wrong assumption about the order of events all because of the Justice Hammers," I explained.

"That's exactly why the culprit wrote the numbers on each hammer, and had them increase in size. That way, when we saw how they were used in each incident, we'd easily make that wrong assumption," Byakuya explained.

"Now, if Taka 'was' killed around 6, then everyone's alibis for his murder go out the window. Because when he was killed, we hadn't met up in the dining hall yet," Kyoko went on.

"That may be true in the case of Taka's murder, but all of our alibis still hold true for Hifumi's death," Sakura said.

"That's right... With him at least, we're all safe..." Hina said. "When we heard Hifumi screaming, we were all together. Except for Hiro and Kyoko... Then we all ran down to the nurse's office, and that's where we found his body..."

"That's totally true! We're all in the clear!" Jill yelled.

"Oh, I know! They must've recorded him screaming on a tape or something, then played it later on!" Hiro suggested.

"If that's true, where's the tape?" Hina asked him.

"I dunno," Hiro shrugged.

I laughed. "You said that so calmly!"

"Anyway, we all have rock-solid alibis for when we heard Hifumi scream. Since all of us were there together, clearly none of us could have killed him," Sakura said.

"And it does not stop there," continued Celeste. "There was also the moment when we discovered the body had disappeared... When his body vanished from the nurse's office Hina and I were in the bathroom together, while everyone else was in the equipment room, correct? And then there's the disappearance of Taka's body from the equipment room... At that time, we were all gathered together in the nurse's office because of Hifumi going missing."

"Well, don't forget, I was passed out in the equipment room the whole time!" Jill reminded.

"Wait, then what if Genocide Jill did it!? She could've dragged Taka's body out of there right then!" Hiro accused.

Byakuya shook his head. "Even if she could pull that off, there's no way she could have done the same with Hifumi's body. Because, as we just established, she was passed out in the equipment room when his body disappeared."

"Besides, I didn't do either of 'em anyway!" Jill said.

"In other words, it is impossible that any of us could have killed Hifumi, or moved either of their bodies. On the other hand, Hiro and Kyoko had disappeared. So they most certainly could have done those things," Celeste said.

"Hmm... So what now, Kyoko?" Makoto asked her.

"For now, we can't get fixated on who did it, or we'll just keep going around in circles. So instead of "who" I propose we start talking about "how"... In particular, I think we need to figure out how Hifumi's body got moved," Kyoko suggested.

"That's true. We searched everywhere, but we couldn't figure out how to explain his body disappearing. And according to what Celeste said..." Makoto explained.

-Flashback-

"We could not have been gone for more than a minute or two, though."

"So then, the killer was able to get in and move Hifumi's body in that short amount of time?"

"It would seem so..."

-End of Flashback-

"His body apparently disappeared in the one minute her and Hina took their eyes off it. But to carry that much weight from the 1st floor up to the 3rd, in that short amount of time..."

"...Oh man, yeah! There's no way! It'd be impossible!" Hiro agreed.

"Well, what if I told you there was a way to make the impossible possible?" Kyoko spoke.

A way? How thought?

 

Chapter 38: Class Trial #3 Part 2: The Dead One Alive

"Well, what if I told you there was a way to make the impossible possible?" Kyoko spoke.

"What? How!?" Hina asked.

"If the dead body...were to move itself," Kyoko announced.

"Huh...?" Makoto gasped.

"Th-The dead body m-moved on its own!?" Hina cried out.

"How though?" I asked.

"N-N-N-No! Not another gh-gh-gh-ghooooossst!" Hiro panicked.

"I don't think it has anything to do with the occult. I think what she's implying is we thought Hifumi was dead, but perhaps in reality he was still alive," Byakuya explained.

"He was...alive!?"

"Are you saying Hifumi wasn't carried out of the nurse's office, but simply walked out on his own?" Sakura questioned.

"But I mean...we found his body! He was dead!" Hina said.

Byakuya smirked. "Perhaps he was simply 'playing' dead."

"That... It isn't possible...!" Celeste denied.

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Sakura: Are you saying that when we first found Hifumi in the nurse's office...there's a chance he was actually still alive?

Celeste: No...it is impossible. Hifumi was dead, without a doubt.

Kyoko: And you know that how?

Celeste: Surely you heard the body discovery announcement along with the rest of us... Hifumi's dead body had been found...and that is why the announcement was made.

Kyoko: Are we really so sure about that? Maybe the announcement was intended to signal someone else's discovery (absorb)...

Truth Bullet: someone else's discovery

Makoto: NO, THAT'S WRONG!

-BREAK!!-

"Was the body discovery announcement that was made really intended for Hifumi?" Makoto asked.

"Of course it was. The announcement played right after we discovered his body," Celeste recalled.

"Maybe, but that was also the same time that Taka's body was found," Makoto said.

"That's right. It wasn't long after finding his body that we heard the announcement," Byakuya spoke.

"So there's a good chance we've made a mistake in there somewhere. I think we've confused whether the announcement was for Hifumi or Taka."

"First of all, if two bodies had been found, there really should have been two announcements," Byakuya explained.

"Maybe Monokuma simply got lazy and rolled them together into one..." Celeste suggested.

"What do you say, Monokuma? Any comment?" Byakuya turned to Monokuma for an answer.

"Well, it's a very sensitive issue, so I can't go into too much detail... But what I 'can' say about the body discovery announcement is that...it's only broadcast when three or more people find a dead body for the first time!" Monokuma explained.

"That didn't answer our question, man! We're asking if you're a lazy bum!" Hiro said.

"No, actually, that was plenty," Byakuya said.

"Huh?" Hiro looked confused.

"He said it's only broadcast when a body is discovered "for the first time." Which means even if we find the same body again later, he won't make the announcement again," Byakuya explained. "If that's true, then why was the announcement made again later on?"

"Huh? Later on!?" Jill repeated.

"Yes. We heard the body discovery announcement twice," I confirmed.

The first time the announcement played was when we found each body in the nurse's office and the equipment room. And the second time it played was when...

-----

-Just after Hifumi came back to life

-When both bodies were rediscovered ✔

-When Toko was found unconscious

"THAT'S IT!"

-----

"We heard it the second time in the repository when we rediscovered both bodies. It didn't seem weird at the time, but it contradicts what Monokuma just told us."

"Exactly," Byakuya confirmed. "If we were actually "re"discovering both bodies, the announcement shouldn't have played."

"Then in reality, when the two dead bodies were rediscovered, one of them was actually...being discovered for the first time!" Makoto concluded.

"So when we found Hifumi the first time in the nurse's office, he wasn't actually dead yet... Meaning he wasn't actually found dead until we came upon him in the repository," Sakura recapped.

"And that's just part of it... There's one other thing that leads me to believe he was still alive in the nurse's office..." Makoto said.

"Oh! Oh! I know! I know!" Jill butted. "Because he was super good at playing dead! Badda-bing badda-boom!"

"That is the worst logic I have ever heard... But honestly, I do not think there's anything that can prove he was still alive," Celeste spoke.

"Okay then, let's take another look at the events surrounding the discovery of his body. Then it should become clear whether he was really alive or not," Kyoko suggested.

"This whole thing is pointless..." Celeste sighed.

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Hina: Well here's one thing we do know... The first time we found Hifumi's body was in the nurse's office. And then, while me and Celeste were in the bathroom his body disappeared!

Byakuya: And the next time we saw his body it was in the repository.

Celeste: But when you compare his body before being moved, and his body after being moved... Other than the change in how it was positioned, there was no notable difference.

Truth Bullet: Hifumi's Glasses

Makoto: NO, THAT'S WRONG!

-BREAK!!-

"In fact, there was one clear difference between Hifumi in the nurse's office and the repository... His glasses. That fact alone proves that he was only playing dead in the beginning," Makoto explained.

"...Perhaps you'd like to fill the rest of us in?" Celeste requested.

"When we found Hifumi in the nurse's office, his glasses were covered with blood. But when we found him again later in the repository they were spotless. And! I found the item he used to wipe them clean in the nurse's office trash can!" Makoto pulled out the certain evidence from his e-Handbook. "It was a glasses cleaning cloth featuring a certain cartoon mascot! One look at the bloodstain on the cloth should make things clear. This piece of cloth was used to wipe Hifumi's glasses clean. And the mascot on the cloth is the same one that's on the digital camera, right? And whose digital camera was it? Hifumi's, of course..."

"The character was...Princess Piggles, from "Demon Angel☆Pretty Pudgy Princess" I think..." Hina observed.

"I highly doubt anyone but Hifumi would have brought something like this to school..."

"I see your point. And the only people here who wear glasses are..." Sakura glanced at the two people who were wearing glasses.

"I wouldn't be caught dead using a tacky piece of garbage like that," Byakuya said.

"A few tissues is all I need to keep my glasses clean!" Jill said.

"Then there's no question--it belonged to Hifumi," Makoto confirmed.

"Mm, mm... So what you're saying is...what exactly?" Hiro questioned.

"To make it simple for you, Hifumi used his own glasses cleaning cloth to wipe the blood off his glasses," I said.

"Even if that is true, it does not mean he wiped the blood off himself," Celeste said.

"Oh please! Other than the owner of the glasses, who would benefit from a clean pair of glasses!?" I asked, getting annoyed by Celeste's constant denying.

"That's a good point..." Sakura agreed.

"Then it must've been him...right?" Hiro asked.

"So let's assume that Hifumi was still alive in the nurse's office. He pretends to be dead, then when he's alone, he wipes his glasses clean so he can see... Then he stands up and walks out on his own two feet. And with that, the impossible task of moving his copious corpse...becomes possible, wouldn't you say?" Kyoko asked.

"But then, if he was just pretending to be dead...what was with all that blood? Was it paint or somethin'?" Hina asked.

"The fridge in the nurse's office contains packs of blood for emergencies. He probably used one of those," Kyoko explained.

"He figured if he was gonna play dead, he should go all-out! So he just dumped it everywhere! But he got crazy with it, and had to wipe his glasses off when he was done! God, what an idiot!" Jill said.

"And if Hifumi was still alive at that point, the disappearance of Taka's body is easily explained. It should be perfectly obvious who must have moved Taka's corpse..."

"It could only have been Hifumi," Makoto answered.

"While we were all gathered in the nurse's office, he went to the equipment room and took Taka's body..." Byakuya said.

"That also explains how the door to the repository got locked," Makoto added.

"The door was locked?" Jill asked.

"Well, after the bodies disappeared, we all went looking for them, right? So me and Sakura headed for the repository. But when we got there, the door was locked!" Hina explained.

"And the repository door can only be locked from the inside. Which means, when Hina and Sakura got to the repository, someone was already inside," Makoto said.

"And it could only have been Hifumi, who'd just finished stashing Taka's body there," Byakuya said.

"He convinced us all he was dead, and when he saw his chance, he dragged Taka's body to the repository. So, Hifumi wasn't just another victim in this case--he was one of the assailants," Kyoko announced.

"B-But...that means he took part in the murders...!" Sakura gasped.

"I...I just can't believe it..." Hina denied.

"If you're having trouble, would you like me to show you one more piece of evidence?" Kyoko offered.

"Th-There's more!?" Hiro gasped.

"Oh, absolutely. The single biggest fact pointing to his involvement has yet to be revealed. You know what I'm talking about, right you two? The item he took off Taka's lifeless body?" Kyoko asked me and Makoto.

The thing that Hifumi stole from Taka has to be...

-Choose Truth Bullet-

Truth Bullet: The Note Hifumi Had

"I GOT IT!/THAT'S IT!"

-----

"You're talking about the note Hifumi had hidden away, aren't you?" Makoto asked.

"A...hidden note?" Hina repeated.

"That's right. We found it stuffed in his pants," I explained.

"What!? In his..." Hina trailed off.

"...pants!?" Jill finished Hina's sentence.

"Hrm. Yes. His pants..." Sakura muttered.

"Okay, well, forget about the pants for now. Take a look at what the note says..." Makoto began to read it out loud. "I found a hole maybe we can use to escape. Monokuma can't find out, so don't tell anyone else for now. Let's meet in the equipment room at 6 a.m."

Hiro's eyes lit up when Makoto finished reading. "Ah! That's the note I was telling you about! The one that told me where to go! ...Huh? Wait, this one's a little different. In my note, it said... "Monokuma can't find out, so don't tell anyone else for now. Let's meet in the rec room at 1 a.m."

"I see... Then this note isn't the same one Hiro got," Makoto pointed out.

"It's...not the same?" Hiro repeated.

"In other words, the killer got in touch with another person besides Hiro. And that person could only have been... That's right! Taka! The killer used this note to draw out Taka and murder him!"

"Hello! Over here! Objection! Objection!" Jill shouted, getting our attention. "I don't really understand what's going on, but...Hifumi had that letter, right? So whoever wrote it wasn't drawing out Tick Tock! They were drawing out Huffy!"

"Ummm...just to be clear, Tick Tock is Taka and Huffy is Hifumi...right?" Hina interrogated.

"Ugh, yes! Why must you ruin it EVERY TIME!?" Jill shouted.

Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Jill: Huffy had the note, right? Then the person it was intended for must have been Huffy!

Kyoko: But remember what the note said. What time did it say to meet?

Sakura: 6 a.m., I believe...

Jill: The time doesn't matter! The note has nothing to do with Tick Tock!

Truth Bullet: Broken Wristwatch

Hanako: I TESTIFY AGAINST THAT!

-BREAK!!-

"There actually is a connection!" I said.

"Wh--!? What the hell are you talking about!?" Jill yelled.

"The note said to meet at 6 a.m., which is the same time Taka was murdered, because of his wristwatch which we already proved. And another thing to note is where the note says to meet. The equipment room."

"Which is where Taka was killed. I see..." Sakura nodded her head.

"In conclusion, Taka was murdered at both the time and place written in the note. Is that enough proof to show that this note was definitely meant for Taka?" I asked Jill.

"Hmm...well, when you put it like that... No further objections! Kyeeehahahaha!" Jill laughed.

"Then someone used that note to trick Taka, just the same as me... Gh--! The culprit really is a cold-blooded monster! Telling people they'd found a way out...!" Hiro grunted.

"But if they gave the note to Taka...what was Hifumi doing with it?" Hina questioned.

"Stuffed down his pants, no less!" Jill laughed.

"Most likely, Hifumi stole it off Taka's corpse after he died," Makoto explained.

"Huh? He stole it...?" Hina repeated.

"Where's your proof? Go ahead, show us," Byakuya ordered.

"I have the proof," I spoke.

And that proof that Hifumi stole the note from Taka is...

-Choose Truth Bullet-

Truth Bullet: Kiyotaka's Scrap of Paper

"THAT'S IT!"

-----

"When we searched Taka's body, his lifeless hand was gripping a small scrap of paper," I said.

"If we're right about this, the sheet of paper this piece came from is..." Makoto put the scrap and the note together, and it matched perfectly. "Yes! It fits perfectly with the note we found hidden on Hifumi!"

"Then Taka's scrap and Hifumi's note..." Hina trailed off.

"Yup. They're from the same piece of paper," Makoto confirmed.

"Hifumi had the note meant for Taka, while Taka's corpse still grasped a small piece of that note... There's only one way to explain it..." Kyoko said.

"Taka died clutching the note. Hifumi tried to free the note from his death grip leaving behind only one small scrap," Sakura recapped. "Did I get all that right?"

"That means Hifumi knew the note was important..." Byakuya said.

"Exactly. Which proves that he was an accomplice in the murder," Kyoko stated.

"Whoa...!" Hiro exclaimed. "Yeah, after seeing all this, Hifumi was super involved in this whole thing for sure! In fact... He was behind the whole thing! In FACT, he's still alive!"

"...No," I simply said.

"When we found him in the repository, Hifumi was truly and completely dead. The second body discovery announcement proves that," Makoto explained.

"So then...who killed Hifumi?" Hina asked.

"Whoever did is the mastermind...the true killer," Sakura answered.

"He was killed in the repository, so he must have been killed not long after transporting Taka's body," Kyoko said.

"So he must have been killed after Taka's body vanished but before we found both bodies in the repository..." Sakura said.

"During that time, we'd all split up and were searching for Taka's missing body. In other words, during that time...none of us have alibis," Byakuya said.

"Wait, but me and Sakura were together!" Hina defended.

"Stop trying to steal the spotlight, ya stupid walrus!" Jill insulted.

"Who are you callin' a walrus!?" Hina shouted.

"Anyway, when they were killed bothers me too, but there's something that's been bothering me even more!" Hiro spoke.

"And what might that be?" Celeste asked.

"The weapon they used to kill Hifumi!" Hiro answered.

"The weapon...?" Sakura repeated.

"Yeah, cuz I mean...according to the Monokuma File... The way Taka and Hifumi were killed was almost the same, with them having similar fractures and all... But Justice Hammer 3 and 4 were still laying around in the nurse's office and equipment room, right? So if Hifumi was killed in the repository, the culprit woulda had to grab one of the hammers, kill Hifumi, then put the hammer back where they found it. But wouldn't that be seriously risky for 'em?"

"Wow..." I said, astonished.

"...I'm surprised. It seems there's some semblance of a brain knocking around that skull of yours, after all," Byakuya complimented.

"Hell yeah, it's packed in there good and tight!" Hiro said.

"He's right, though. I don't understand it, either. The Monokuma File makes it clear that they were killed using similar instruments... But if the hammers were already laying around those other rooms..." Sakura said.

"So the question is, how could the culprit have gotten their hands on either of the hammers? Personally, I haven't a clue," Celeste said.

"So which hammer was used to attack Celeste? Number one or number two!?" Hina questioned.

"Those were accounted for in other rooms, too. And I don't think either one is big enough to kill someone," Makoto pointed out.

"Um...then, uhh..."

"...Is it not possible they used a different weapon?" Byakuya asked.

"I don't think it 'is' possible! They were both killed with the same kinda thing, right?" Hiro questioned.

"So then, what was used to kill Hifumi...?" Sakura asked the big question.

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Sakura: What was used to kill Hifumi...? Was it Justice Hammer 3? Maybe Justice Hammer 4?

Celeste: Well, whatever it was, there's one thing we have to figure out. How was the culprit able to move around so freely with the weapon? How did nobody witness them carrying it?

Jill: Sounds like a Justice Hammer 5 is about to make its appearance! Check out murdergear.com/hammertime for more info!

Hanako: Use promo code "JUSTICE" to get 50% off your shipping fee!

Hiro: Well, one thing seems pretty clear... The murder weapon had to be one of the Justice Hammers!

Truth Bullet: Spotless Hammer

Hanako: I TESTIFY AGAINST THAT!

-BREAK!!-

"The murder weapon wasn't a Justice Hammer. In fact, it was something completely different," I said.

"But...seriously? A different weapon?" Hiro questioned.

"More accurately, a hammer from the repository. The killer could easily use that to kill Hifumi. If you look closely at the hammers in the repository, most of them were covered in flecks of grit and debris. But for some reason, one of them had been scrubbed clean."

"Huh...?" Hina was confused.

"The reason it was scrubbed clean was most likely it had been used to commit murder. If the hammer got covered in Hifumi's blood, then of course they'd have to wash the blood off. And speaking of hammers, I'd like to note that the repository has all different kinds of hammers--big ones, small ones, and even some flat, mallet-like ones. I believe that whoever made the Justice Hammers used those as a basis for their design."

"If that's true, that would explain the Monokuma File's note about the wounds being similar..." Sakura said.

"So Hifumi moved Taka's body to the repository, where someone then used a hammer to kill 'him'," Byakuya said.

"And whoever did that is the true killer--the one Hifumi was working with...and the one who betrayed him...!" Hina concluded.

"Hold on a moment. I still think it's strange to assume someone was working together with him. The way the "graduation rule works, there is no benefit to helping someone else carry out a murder," Celeste reminded. "So the idea that anyone would work together like that is simply ludicrous. We talked about this, did we not?"

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Celeste: Based on the rules that have been laid out for us... Even if more than one person is complicit in the murder...only the one who actually carried out the act can "graduate" and survive. Assuming the rule holds true, it is simply impossible that two people worked together on this.

Sakura: That 'is' how the rule was explained to us...

Kyoko: But that only really applies if there's one murder, right? In this case, however, there were two murders (absorb).

Truth Bullet: two murders

Makoto: NO, THAT'S WRONG!

-BREAK!!-

"Since there were two murders, it's at least plausible that more than one person was involved," Makoto said.

"...What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"If there'd only been one murder, then yes, the idea of an accomplice isn't really worth considering. Naturally, if only one person can be saved per murder, an accomplice has no risk versus reward benefit," Kyoko explained.

"Risk versus reward...benefit?" Makoto repeated.

"The payoff for working together--the reward that balances out the risk of taking part in the scheme. There's no point in being someone's accomplice if there's no benefit to you. However, if there 'were' some potential mutual reward for the risk, then cooperation becomes possible."

"You're saying that two people could act as each other's accomplices to commit two separate murders," Byakuya said.

"I think that's what the true killer told Hifumi; they would each have an accomplice for their crime. And based on the case's events, Hifumi would have been the first one to act, murdering Taka. They made him carry out the first murder so he couldn't back out of helping them later on."

"So in this case, there wasn't one single person committing multiple murders... Instead, each person killed someone, creating two separate incidents. And it only looked like one person because that's how the true killer designed it to look. A single suspicious individual, a similar weapon used in each crime, disappearing bodies... By creating one seamless set of circumstances, they made it look like one person was behind it all!" Makoto explained.

"The mastermind picked their target and managed to convince him to go along with their plan. And then, to avoid the "no accomplices" rule, they simply...killed their accomplice. Which, if true, means that betraying Hifumi was part of the plan from the very beginning," Byakuya added.

"Th-That's just...awful! How could anyone be so cruel!?" Hina gasped.

"You think so? I can't help but admire its cunning. Still, their choice of accomplice seems...odd," Byakuya said.

I glanced at Kyoko. Kyoko must have noticed that fact from the very beginning. This is why she suggested not to look at this as a series of connected events, but entirely separate incidents. Kyoko really is amazing. Almost 'too' amazing even. It's almost unnatural how good she is at this. Perhaps this is related to her talent.

"I understand how an accomplice could be involved, but then who was the one pulling Hifumi's strings?" Sakura asked.

"That's problem numero uno right now!" Jill said.

The true killer manipulated Hifumi to carry out several actions, and in the end, betrayed and murdered him. In the debates up till now, the way the case has unfolded... When you consider all that there's really only one person who seems to fit.

I pointed to the true killer. "IT WAS YOU ALL ALONG..."

.

.

.

"Celestia."

 

Chapter 39: Class Trial #3 Part 3: Such Weird Behavior for the Queen of Liars

"Celestia, you're the true culprit," I announced and pointed my finger at her.

"Ah, so I'm the suspicious individual now, am I?" Celeste gasped, then giggled. "Hmhmhm. I really do hate this kind of joke..."

"A joke? I wonder..." Byakuya thought out loud.

"So what you are saying, then, is that I specifically chose to work together with Hifumi. The idea that I would choose to spend any amount of time interacting with him..." Celeste then burst into anger. "That I would go within ten feet of that shit-for-brains! That lazy, worthless goddamn idiot!" She quickly cleared her throat. "Ahem. Ah, pardonnez-moi."

"Just to be clear, there 'is' evidence to support it," Byakuya said.

"...Is that so?"

"It is. Throughout the investigation, there was a certain behavior that was common only to the two of you. Considering what we've learned so far, it only further proves that the two of you were working together!" Byakuya explained.

"The behavior they had in common had to do with the "suspicious individual" in the suit, doesn't it? The only ones who ever actually saw Robo Justice firsthand were Celeste and Hifumi," Makoto answered.

"Shush. The adults are talking now," Byakuya scowled.

"S-Sorry..." Makoto muttered.

"As he said, only Celeste and Hifumi ever laid eyes on the costumed individual. If we accept that Hifumi was one of the culprits, we can't help but suspect what Celeste has said, as well," Byakuya explained.

"Are you saying everything they told us was a lie...?" Hina asked.

"After taking Hifumi to the nurse's office, we all began our search for this individual, correct? And not too long after that, do you remember what Celeste said?" Byakuya reminded.

-Flashback-

"I saw a shadow! Something moving around at the top of the stairs!"

-End of Flashback-

"We headed to the 2nd floor specifically because of what she claimed to have seen. Next, to draw is all to the physics lab, up on the 3rd floor..."

"...She let out a bloodcurdling scream," Sakura recalled.

"And when we'd all come to see what was wrong, what was it she said?"

-Flashback-

"Celeste! What's wrong!?"

"That was a rather...intense scream for someone like you."

"I saw him! The strange costumed man...! He ran off as soon as I screamed... I was blocking the stairs, so he headed  further down into the hallway  and disappeared...!"

-End of Flashback-

"Once she'd done her job of getting us all up to the physics lab it was time for her partner to get to work."

-Flashback-

"Ungyaaaaaahhh!!!"

"Ahh!"

"Huh!?"

"Wh-What was that!?"

"That came from downstairs! It must have been..."

"Hifumi! He's in the nurse's office! This is bad! Come on, we have to go back!"

-End of Flashback-

"It was to get us to divide into two groups...so that we would discover both bodies at the same time!?" Hina gasped.

"In fact, Celeste was precisely the one who proposed that we split up," Byakuya continued.

-Flashback-

"Then why don't we split into two groups?"

"I'll lead the hunting party. That seems much more interesting,"

"Very well, then  Makoto ,  Hanako , and  Hina , you come with  me  to the nurse's office. I will leave the capture of the suspicious individual to  Toko ,  Sakura , and  Byakuya ."

-End of Flashback-

"Well? If Celeste and Hifumi were working together, all those chance events suddenly become connected..."

"..." Celeste said nothing.

"And on top of that...that piercing cry of yours early on... That was to signal Hifumi, wasn't it? It was your way of telling him, "We're on the 3rd floor, everything's going according to plan." Why else would you let out a scream that could have carried across the sea?"

"..."

"I've just realized another strange thing..." Makoto spoke. "When we found Hifumi in the nurse's office, who we now know was only pretending to be dead..."

-Flashback-

"I certainly was not expecting this. I did not imagine that Hifumi would be murdered!"

-End of Flashback-

"Celeste...you were the first one to say he'd been murdered. You wanted to make sure we wouldn't have any doubt in our minds," Makoto explained.

"..." Celeste still said nothing.

"I-I don't believe it... Everything...the whole thing was one big act!" Hina yelled.

"Hina. You were with Celeste when Hifumi's body disappeared, right?" Makoto asked her.

"Yeah... I was feeling kinda sick, so Celeste took me to the bathroom..." When Hina said that, her eyes widened with shock. "...Wait! Then that was--!?"

"She wasn't worried about you. She just saw a chance to help Hifumi sneak out of the nurse's office," Makoto explained.

"By getting you out of the room, Hifumi had the advantage to sneak out of the nurse's office undetected," I recapped.

"Each piece isn't much by itself, but start putting them together and the picture gets very ugly indeed. Wouldn't you agree, Celeste?" Byakuya asked Celeste.

Celeste smiled. "...I have no idea what you mean."

"Don't bother trying to deny it. You made one fatal mistake," Byakuya said.

"...Oh did I?"

"I didn't even catch it myself when you first said it, but looking back, I can say that that one little slip-up was your undoing."

"Wh-What are you talking about...?"

"I'm talking about what you said after Hifumi's body disappeared and we returned to the nurse's office."

-Flashback-

"They must really be enjoying this... Enjoying the sight of us standing around, frightened and confused... We're all going to die here. We're going to die, just like those guys died..."

-End of Flashback-

"I remember her saying that too, but...I don't understand what's so strange about it," Sakura spoke.

"Then pay attention," Byakuya ordered. "Sakura, Toko, and I were first to discover Taka's body in the equipment room. Then Makoto and Hanako showed up and told us Hifumi had been killed. So Sakura and I left with Makoto and Hanako. Once we were in the hall, we ran into Celeste, and the five of us headed to the nurse's office. Now, the entire time we were together, none of us said anything about Taka being dead. Think about it--Celeste's comment doesn't make sense. It was completely out of place."

"Yeah, I see what you're talking about. Although I don't really get what it means..." Hiro said.

"You hear that, Celeste? Everyone's having some trouble understanding. Could you repeat what you said?" Byakuya requested. "If you're really not the culprit, you shouldn't have any problem repeating it, right?'

"..." Celeste nodded her head.

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Celeste: All I said was... They must really be enjoying this... Enjoying the sight of us standing around, frightened and confused... They must be positively elated... We are all going to die here. We are going to die, just like those guys died... ...And that is all I said.

Byakuya: And that's all it takes to finish this. It's obvious, isn't it? What was so strange (absorb) about Celeste's comment?

Truth Bullet: so strange

Makoto: NO, THAT'S WRONG!

-BREAK!!-

"That's right... There's no reason Celeste should have said "just like 'those guys' died"... When she said that, none of us had told her Taka was dead," Makoto said.

"..." Celeste listened quietly.

"Exactly. And we didn't run into her until after we were all out in the hall. So there was never any chance for her to have seen his body in the equipment room for herself," Byakuya said.

"So how did you know, Celeste? How did you know more than one person had been killed? And how did you know they were both guys? Because Kyoko had also disappeared, right? So she could have been dead, too."

"..." Celeste stared at the ground for a second, and then she began to giggle. "Hmhmhm... You all have such vivid imaginations, you know that?"

"Imaginations...?" Byakuya repeated.

"You claim that I was lying when I told you about the suspicious person I saw... Then what about the picture I took?" Celeste showed the picture of Hifumi and Robo Justice again. "How do you explain this picture of the costumed villain dragging Hifumi away?"

"I-It has to be some kind of setup, right? Celeste put the suit on, and then...then she used the camera's timer to...to set up the picture!" Hiro suggested.

"Have you so quickly forgotten? You are the only one who could have possibly fit into that suit," Celeste shot down. "Plus, I happen to know that this particular camera does not have a timer. In other words, it is an unassailable fact that this is a picture of Hifumi being dragged away. If everything I told you was a lie, how can this picture exist?"

"Simple. Are we sure that's really a picture of the suspect dragging Hifumi away?" Kyoko spoke.

"...What could you possibly mean by that?" Celeste asked.

"Surely there are other explanations than the one you've offered up," Kyoko said.

"No...there is no other explanation," Celeste declared.

Other explanation? If it wasn't a picture of the suspect dragging Hifumi away, then the only other explanation is...

-----

-Hifumi and the suspect are dancing

-Hifumi and the suspect had been drinking

-Hifumi is dragging the suspect away ✔

"THAT'S IT!"

-----

"It's 'not' a picture of the suspect dragging Hifumi away, but rather, it's a picture of Hifumi dragging the suspect away!" I said.

"Kh--!" Celeste gasped.

"That's certainly within the realm of possibility. The one being dragged off in that picture isn't Hifumi, but the person inside the robot suit. We've simply been led to believe that it's the other way around. And the strange costume might only exist to lead us astray even farther. If you saw someone wearing something like that in this situation, of course you'd notice and be suspicious," Kyoko explained.

"Th-That's what happened! You put me to sleep and made me out to be the bad guy in all this!" Hiro yelled.

"Hmhm. Hmhmhmhm... Eheh... Such a thing...is utterly impossible. Hifumi was dragging him away? Ridiculous," Celeste said.

"Is it? I don't think it's ridiculous at all," Kyoko said.

"Then shut your mouth and allow me to educate you," Celeste ordered.

So Celeste thinks she can prove that there's no way Hifumi was dragging the suspect away. Let's see about that.

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Hiro: You dressed me up in that suit after I passed out... Then you just draped me across Hifumi and had him carry my weight! You tried to make me look like the bad guy!

Celeste: Like I said--ridiculous. As you can see in the picture, the suspect is standing perfectly upright. If the person inside the suit was unconscious there's no way they could stand up straight like that.

Truth Bullet: Robo Justice Costume

Hanako: I TESTIFY AGAINST THAT!

-BREAK!!-

"Even if the person inside the suit were unconscious, they could still stand up straight. Because that Robo Justice suit had a certain characteristic..." I explained.

-Flashback-

"You totally can't bend at the waist! Seems like a pretty obvious oversight..."

-End of Flashback-

"That's right! They totally made a mistake when they made it, so it couldn't bend at the waist!" Hina recalled.

"I'm not so sure that was a mistake... I think the suit was designed from the beginning to be used the way it was.," Kyoko hypothesized.

"Ngh...!" Celeste flinched.

"Celeste and Hifumi took the suit they'd specially designed and stuffed Hiro into it. The point of it all was to make us believe whoever was in the suit was to blame!" Makoto shouted.

"Ngh-gh-gh!" Celeste ground her teeth.

"Well then, I suppose this is checkmate..." Byakuya smirked.

"...Checkmate indeed," I said.

"Checkmate...? ... Heh...hehehe... Hah...haha...hahaha..." Celeste began to laugh hysterically and then turned into a raging mad monster. "Don't make me laugh, you idiot! What do you mean, checkmate!?"

"C-Celeste...?" Hina stuttered.

"Clearly, you want to cram me into your little "guilty" box. Well there's one little problem! Have you already forgotten what Hifumi told us as he lay dying!?" Celeste shouted.

-Flashback-

"Hey, Hifumi! Who was it? Who attacked you!? Who tried to kill you!?"

"Who...killed me...? That's right... I remember...their name... Y...Yasu...hi...ro..."

-End of Flashback-

"When we asked him who had attacked him, his answer was quite clear, was it not? He said, and I quote, "Yasuhiro." In other words, Yasuhiro Hagakureeeee!" Celeste shrieked.

"W-Wait, but my name isn't really Yasuhiro! It's actually Taro!" Hiro yelled.

"Real helpful Taro," I said.

"Your confusing statements don't make any sense. You're only making things more complicated," Sakura said.

"He did say Yasuhiro, but are we sure he was really pointing the finger at Hiro?" Kyoko questioned.

"What the hell are you talking about!? I'll burn you alive!" Celeste shouted.

"Kyoko...what do you mean by that?" Makoto asked.

"Think back to how Hifumi used to talk to us... How did he refer to each of us?" Kyoko questioned.

"...That's right! Our last names! He called us all by our last names!" Makoto recalled.

Kyoko nodded her head. "Exactly. I know I heard him say "Mr. Naegi" more than once, for example. So if Hifumi 'did' mean to say Hiro's name, he would have said his last name--Hagakure."

"I'm sure it was just incidental--by chance he just--his first name...!" Celeste excused.

"Indecent...?" Jill spoke.

"Don't talk," Byakuya ordered.

"Random chance... Now isn't that a convenient explanation? No, there's no reason to think he would have said the name any different than normal. But he must have run out of energy before he could say any more," Kyoko said.

"So Hifumi was trying to tell us the last name of whoever killed him...?" Makoto said.

"But the name he said doesn't apply to anyone here..." Sakura said.

"Well, no, hold on...there's one person it 'could' apply to... And that's Celeste. She never actually told us what her real name is..." Makoto said.

"Wh...? What did you just say? To think you'd take your false accusations so far... I don't know whether to laugh or spit... Come on! Enough with your idiotic blather! Yasuhiro is a loser's name! Do I look like a loser to you!? Well!? Dooooo I!? What!? I think I've earned the right to be a little on edge!" Celeste shrieked.

"A little...?" I sweat dropped.

"Okay, then fill us in... What's your real name?" Makoto questioned.

"Fine! Make sure your ear holes are wiiiiiiide open and listen up! My real name is Celestia Ludenburg! Could you PLEASE stop making me repeat myself over and over again!?" Celeste yelled.

Celeste still won't give up. Well then... It's time to make her accept it!

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Kyoko: Hifumi was trying to tell us something... He wanted us to know the killer's last name--Yasuhiro.

Hina: If there's one person here who might have that last name...

Sakura: It would have to be you, Celeste. You haven't told anyone what your real name is.

Celeste: How many times do I have to tell you...? My...name...is... Celestia Ludenburg, goddammit!

Byakuya: How long do you plan to go on pretending...?

Celeste: I'm not pretending. It's the truth! And since you have no way to contradict me...

Truth Bullet: e-Handbook

Makoto/Hanako: NO, THAT'S WRONG!/I TESTIFY AGAINST THAT!

-BREAK!!-

"That's it...! The handbook!" Makoto said.

"What!?" Celeste shouted.

"Any time you turn your handbook on, it shows the owner's name when it boots up, right? Monokuma told us all about it before!" Makoto reminded.

-Flashback-

"This handbook is absolutely vital to a healthy school life, so don't lose it! When you start it up, it will display your name. Always make sure you have the right one! Now, this is not your everyday notebook. It has so many more uses than that!"

-End of Flashback-

"So we have to check her handbook and that'll clear up everything. See if Celeste is actually her real name!" I said.

"Th-That's an invasion of privacy! I-I refuse to cooperate!" Celeste stuttered.

"... Celeste... Can you please just tell us what really happened? Please, just tell us..." Makoto begged.

"... Even when I'm put in check, it's just my nature not to give up. Because... Because, because...because because because because because because--! Until the game's over, you never know what might happen!" Celeste yelled.

"Fine then. Let me settle it. Let me go over the case again, from the beginning, and shed light on all your crimes. And that'll bring everything to an end!" Makoto yelled back.

-CLOSING ARGUMENT! CLIMAX INFERENCE!-

"Before anything, the killer persuaded someone to help carry out the murder. And that person was...Hifumi. With an accomplice, the killer was able to execute a number of otherwise impossible schemes.

"First, they convinced someone to meet them in the rec room last night at one in the morning. That "someone" they met with was Hiro. The murderous duo intended to pass Hiro off as the prime suspect. So when they met up with him...they drugged him, knocked him out, and stuffed him into the Robo Justice suit. Next, Hifumi positioned himself to make it look like Robo Justice was attacking him, while the killer used a digital camera to take pictures of the "assault." They did all this just to create evidence that would put the suspicion on Hiro. When they were done with him, they shoved him, still unconscious, into the pool room locker.

"And then finally, at 6 a.m., they moved into the "murder" phase of their plan. They called Taka to the equipment room. And that's where Hifumi killed him, making it the scene of the first murder. The murder weapon was "Justice Hammer 4," which was left there in the equipment room. The reason hammer number 4 was used was to create confusion about the order of the crimes.

"So, next they falsified two more assault incidents. For these attacks, the killers pretended to be the victims, to solidify Robo Justice as the suspect... The first fake incident was the attack in the rec room. There, the killers wanted us to see Justice Hammer 1 and the Robo Justice pictures they'd taken. They wanted to make sure we bought the "surprise attack" story. The second fake incident was the attack in the library. This time, they planted Justice Hammer 2 and "injured" Hifumi to sell us that story. With these two incidents, the killers were able to create a certain preconception in our minds that the suspect was increasing the size of the hammers and attacking people in order as they did. We fell right into their trap and started looking for the suspect based on that, but...

"...while we did that, we left Hifumi alone in the nurse's office. This was exactly what Hifumi was hoping for. He took a blood packet from the refrigerator and Justice Hammer 3 and turned the room into a crime scene, in which he himself had apparently been brutally murdered. He let out a scream to draw us back, and when we returned, that's what we found. Meanwhile, the other group that had been out searching found Taka's body at the same time. So when we heard the body discovery announcement, we naturally assumed it was for Hifumi.

"We left the nurse's office, and Hifumi once again took advantage of the situation. He simply got up and made his escape. When we learned his body had disappeared, we all rushed back to the nurse's office. And once again, Hifumi had the chance he was waiting for. This time, he snuck into the equipment room... He wrapped Taka's body in a tarp and used the dolly to move it all the way down to the repository. That explains how each of the bodies disappeared. But even Hifumi didn't know what the true killer had in mind for their final act... Their plan all along was to kill Hifumi and get rid of the one person who could betray them. And they did it using an ordinary, everyday hammer from the repository. That should cover everything that happened in this case. And the villain behind it all is...

"Celeste! Sorry, you lose!"

-COMPLETE!!-

"I...lost? I lost...!? When was the last time...I was forced to utter such words?" Celeste gritted her teeth. "They hang heavy around my neck..."

"Then you admit it? You're the killer?" Makoto asked.

"Hm. Heh... Listen to you, trying to take charge. As if you're my private instructor... I, Celestia Ludenburg--actually, no... Taeko Yasuhiro is fine..." Celeste, or rather Taeko, said. Her accent dropped completely.

"Taeko...?" Makoto gasped.

"So, you've finally accepted it," Byakuya said.

"I'm the kind of person, once I've lost, I don't like things to drag on," Taeko explained.

"Interesting..." Byakuya muttered.

"Okay, Monokuma. I'm ready to begin. Or, no... I suppose this is the end, isn't it?"

"Hmm. Hmm. It is indeed the moment we've all been waiting for! Time to vote! Okay? Okay! If you would, please locate your lever and cast your vote! And when the votes are tallied...who will become the blackened!? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one? What's it gonna be? What's it gonna beeee!?" Monokuma questioned.

Everyone pulled their levers. A minute later the slot machine appeared and started to spin and slowly a row of Taeko's heads appeared and the word guilty flashed. Cheers were heard and money poured out of the slots.

"It's basically a formality at this point, but once again you're totally correct! The blackened this time...the true killer who devised the whole stinkin' scheme, was... Celestia Ludenburg! Or more precisely...Taeko Yasuhiroooo!" Monokuma announced.

Taeko sighed. "I lost... Well, that sucks. I guess trying to work with someone else was a mistake, after all. Hifumi's ineptitude was beyond all my calculations."

"So you really did approach Hifumi with this plan? But how did you get him to agree? I can't imagine he would have happily agreed to commit murder," Kyoko asked.

"I'm sure she relied on her specialty--lying," Byakuya said.

"My specialty? Don't make me laugh. I didn't have to lie to get him to agree," Taeko said.

"Then did you use...you know...?" Kyoko questioned.

"I knew you'd figure it out, Kyoko. You're absolutely right. To get Hifumi to act as my accomplice...I used "her". For everyone who's still left, I'll avoid mentioning it by name, but it was the one thing Hifumi and Taka were both super into."

"Does she mean...?" Makoto muttered.

"What? What what what!? What are you talking about!?" Monokuma asked.

"Don't interrupt. We're in the middle of a very important conversation here," Kyoko ordered.

"I'm totally out of the loop, as usual. How sad..." Monokuma sulked.

"Then you're the one that stole it?" Kyoko asked.

"That's right, Taeko confirmed.

"And you used it to drag Hifumi into the plan you'd come up with."

"Right again. Last night, after we had our meeting about how it'd disappeared, I paid Hifumi a little visit."

-------

"Oh, um...what are you doing here?"

"I was hoping I could talk to you. Alone. It is about what was stolen. I know who did it..."

"What...?"

"It was Taka. He stole it."

"What!?"

"And I have proof. Would you like to see it?"

"As it turned out, I'd found a use for the digital camera. I'd taken you-know-what to Taka's room earlier and took pictures of it there. I deleted the picture as soon as I'd shown it to Hifumi, of course."

"Grrn... So it WAS him! But how did he do it!? She was supposed to yell if either of us got close to her!"

"You are correct. Which is why Taka forced me to steal it."

"Whaaaaaat!?"

"Please forgive me. He...he threatened me."

"H-He did...?"

"He came to my room last night unannounced, and then... It's hard for me to even say... He...abused me..."

"What!?"

"And he...he took pictures. He said if I did not do as he asked, he would show them to everyone... So I...I had no choice..."

"Th-That's a crime! An absolute crime! He...! I mean, I knew he'd gone a little crazy, but...! I never imagined he would...would go that far!"

"It was amazing how completely he bought it. Hmhm... I can't express how enjoyable that was."

"I'm about to say something I've never said before in my life... I'm going to kill him! I'm going to f...f...f-fucking kill him!"

"Wait, please! If you go now, you will be playing right into his hands!"

"Huh...?"

"Taka is planning to use her...to escape. And he has made 'you' his target..."

"Escape? You don't mean...?"

"Taka is going to try to kill you."

"Wh-Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!?"

"And all so he can keep her to himself..."

"Th-That bastard! Bastard bastard bastard BASTARD!"

"Can we allow him to continue with these barbaric acts?"

"Absolutely not! How could I!? She...she... I have to save heeeeeerr!!!"

"Then...would you like to join with me? It just so happens, I have come up with a plan..."

"Huh...?"

"I have devised a way to reclaim what he has stolen, and escape this dreadful school. Hmhm... Hehehehe... And with that, it is complete..."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, nothing..."

-------

"Hifumi agreed without a second thought. Hmhm. The effect that item had on him was...remarkable. The power of love... Even a love as twisted as that can still drive people mad, it would seem," Taeko concluded.

"So you did lie," I spoke.

"I wouldn't call it lying, more like motivating him."

"You disgust me..." Hiro spoke.

"I have another question for you. Was that strange costume Hifumi's creation?" Byakuya asked.

"Yeah. It was a real pain in the butt, too. All I asked him to do was make something to hide the face and general body size. I had no idea he'd make something like...that. But it's my fault for picking him in the first place," Taeko explained.

"So...why'd you decide to make me the suspect?" Hiro asked.

"Because you're stupid," Taeko simply said.

"That's it!?" Hiro cried.

"And in that regard, I made the right choice. I'm so glad your stupidity surpassed my every expectation. Life must have been tough on your parents, though."

"I feel like I could cry..."

"But when you were explaining your plan to Hifumi, how did you explain the part about him playing dead?" Sakura asked.

"What she's asking is, what was Hifumi supposed to do after that, assuming you had actually let him live?" Byakuya clarified.

"That's simple. After he did his part and pretended to be dead, once someone showed up I told him to say he'd been seriously wounded, he was on the verge of death, but he just barely held on," Taeko explained.

"And he really believed that?" Hina asked.

"Well of course, that wasn't all there was to it. As I explained it to Hifumi, the plan was... while you were all questioning him about what had happened to him, I was going to murder someone else. At that point, Hifumi would have an alibi, so nobody could doubt him. I told him that, and he believed it."

"It all seems very...straightforward. Stereotypical," Byakuya commented.

"I just matched the lie to the level of the opponent. In fact, Hifumi ate it up. He believed the lie wholeheartedly, right up until the moment of his death."

"So you had planned to kill him all along!" Sakura exclaimed.

"...But of course. There would have been no point to my plan if the one who pretended to be dead did not end up dead himself."

"How can human life mean so little to you...?" Hina glared at Taeko.

"That's a non-issue. I simply did everything in my power to win."

"Now you sound like Byakuya!" Hiro growled.

"No, he derives his pleasure from the thrill of the hunt. In that aspect, we are nothing alike."

"Then...what made you take things this far?" Kyoko asked.

"Was it really...just for money?" Hina still had her glare at her.

"Are you talking about the ten million dollars Monokuma offered us? That 'is' a lot of money, it's true. But that's not all there is to it. From the moment our new life here began, my only thought has been escape," Taeko explained.

"B-But...all along you've been saying how we have to accept living here!" Hiro said.

"Obviously that was a lie!" Taeko shouted.

"Hyah!" Hiro jumped.

"I couldn't take it! I hated it from day one! More than anyone anyone ANYONE else in here! I wanted to get out! Every day was fresh torture! And do you wanna know why? HUH!? Because...I had a dream. And accepting a life here would have meant nothing less than giving up on my dream forever... And there was no way...that I could ever do that. In the underground world of gambling, I risked my life to make a metaphorical killing. And it was all for that dream..."

"And what was this dream of yours...?" Makoto asked.

"To live in a European castle."

"That's it!?" I shouted.

"A c-castle!?" Makoto stuttered.

"And to gather handsome men from all over the world to serve as my butlers-slash-bodyguards. I was going to make them dress up like vampires and satisfy my every need. Once I obtained that, I would have created a perfectly aesthetic world of decadence... Living the rest of my life there was my only dream, my only goal... That's what life is all ABOUT! Combined with my own winnings, Monokuma's ten million dollars would have made that dream a reality. I got right to the edge, but... Unfortunately, my dream has been scattered to the wind. Still, I don't have any regrets. I pursued my dream till the very end, so why would I?" Taeko said.

"You sound so passionate, but...you were really able to kill your own friends for it?" Hina asked.

"Are you asking me to feel guilty? That's a pointless endeavor. I think nothing of sacrificing others for my own ends. I feel nothing. That's all there is to me. That's what makes me...complete. Hmhm. Isn't it terrifying how different our values are? There's simply no room for understanding."

"Th-That's what 'we' should be saying. And plus... how can you be so calm? Don't you realize you're about to die? Why aren't you scared...?" Tears fell down Hina's eyes.

"Hmph. My ability to lie is unrivaled, and I take pride in that. It's not just other people--I can even fool my own emotions. The conscious deceives the unconscious."

"And that's why you're not scared?"

"That's right. I don't fear death. Kill me however you like. But you know, if I could be reincarnated... If I had a choice, then...I think I would like to come back as Marie Antoinette."

"You'd just get executed again..." Hiro muttered.

"Hmhm. Hehe...hehehe," Taeko giggled. She smiled, but her smile looked like a poor effort to force it. She claimed she could fool her own feelings. But that statement must have been her final lie.

"You all done?" Monokuma asked. "Okay, then let's get rollin'! The blackened disturbed the peace, and must pay the price! Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for...her! The Ultimate Gambler! Let's give it everything we've got! It's...PUNISHMENT TIIIME!"

"I guess I'll let Kyoko hold on to this," Taeko walked over to Kyoko and gave her a key.

"This is...!"

"Will it really give you the hope you're looking for? I can't say I ever saw it that way... Which is why... Actually, it's not important." Celeste/Taeko turned to us and smiled. "Well then...take care, everyone. Perhaps we'll meet again, in another life."

 

Chapter 40: Recap

It's over. The third execution...is over. Celestia Ludenburg, the Ultimate Gambler's death is over. The class trial is over.

"Isn't it just awful? Someone couldn't cut free of their regrets from the outside world, and so more people had to die... You guys are still young! You need to place more value on your lives! Jeez... And here I thought you guys were gonna pass the torch of hope to the next generation!" Monokuma said.

"Wh-What do I care about hope!? I'll throw it in the trash if you just let me out of here!" Hiro cried.

"You're all the embodiment of hope, whether you like it or not. And it's my destiny to knock you down one by one! It's sad, yes it is. But that reality just can't be avoided," Monokuma said.

"Don't talk like you're not responsible... How long are you gonna make us keep going through this!? What do you want from us!?" Makoto shouted.

"God, I'm so sick of people asking me that! Give it a rest already!" Monokuma turned his attention to Kyoko. "So anyway... Kyoko, did I see you get some kind of key-type object from Celeste? So uh...what's the deal with that?"

"..." Kyoko stayed silent.

"Huh? What's the matter?"

"I'll answer your question, if you answer mine," Kyoko said and gave the bear a stern look. "What did you do? What did you...do to me?"

"...What!?"

"Answer me. What did you do to my body?"

"Uwaaah! Oh man, oh jeez... Oh man, oh jeez! What do you mean, what did I...do!? I-I have no idea...! I don't know anything about it...!"

"..." Kyoko closed her eyes and bowed her head to the ground.

What is she talking about?

"Okay, things are getting kinda awkward. I think it's about time I got out of here... Meanwhile, you guys can go on enjoying your school life. If you get lonely, gimme a shout! Not that I'll do anything about it, of course! Puhuhu... See ya!" Monokuma disappeared and left us all depressed and in despair. But through all this despair, there was one small hope.

"Hey, Kyoko. Monokuma already mentioned it, but... What's that key that Celeste gave you?" Makoto asked her.

"Most likely..." Kyoko showed everyone the key. "It's the key to one of the dressing room lockers."

"What!? Then that means...!" Hina trailed off.

"Celeste probably hid it in there," Byakuya said.

"It was right under our noses this whole time," I gasped.

"I suppose sometimes it's easiest to miss what's right beneath your nose. Well then, we'd better go check," Sakura suggested.

"Good idea," agreed Kyoko.

=======

We all left the courtroom and headed to the dressing room as quickly as we could. As we approached the dressing room, Kyoko turned to us.

"I'm going to go on alone from here. Everyone else head to the dining hall. I'll check in with you later."

"Why, exactly, are you going alone?" Byakuya questioned.

"Do you even have to ask?" Kyoko asked and glanced quickly at the surveillance camera.

"That's not what I meant. Why 'you'? There's still the risk of a spy, you know," Byakuya reminded.

"..." Kyoko went silent.

"Then I'll go too," Makoto volunteered.

"You...?" Byakuya glared at Makoto.

"Please, let me go!" Makoto begged.

"...Standing here arguing is going to draw more attention to us. Hmph. Do whatever you want," Byakuya said and walked away.

Makoto smiled. "Thank you, Byakuya."

"Then it's up to you now," Sakura said and walked away.

"I'm gonna go to the dining hall, okay?" Hiro followed after Sakura.

"Huh? So Makoto and Kyoko are gonna go...together? Ahh! Does that mean what I think it means!? Good luck, Makoto! Girls like her are total pushovers when you show a little backbone!" Hina squealed and ran off.

"Well...good luck I guess," I said and followed after Hina, leaving Kyoko and Makoto alone.

In the dining hall, we all sat and chatted for a bit. Kyoko came in a few minutes later and told us that Alter Ego was unharmed, and the files would be ready by tomorrow. She sounded so relieved. After a while, the nighttime announcement came on and we all headed back to our rooms. When I climbed into bed, I did a recap of everyone that had died.

Sayaka was killed by Leon. Monokuma killed Junko because she broke a rule. Then Leon got executed for his crime. Then Mondo killed Chihiro out of jealousy and anger and got executed. Hifumi killed Taka, and Celeste backstabbed Hifumi and killed him. Then 'she' got executed. There are now eight of us left. Who's next to die? Who's gonna strike next?

There were a lot more questions than answers. But the main question I had as I drifted off to sleep was...

Who is the spy?

A Next Generation Legend! Stand Tall, Galactic Hero!

THE END

Surviving Students: 8

To Be Continued

 

Chapter 41: The Fourth Floor

The next morning, we all met up in the dining hall like we usually do.

"So now there's only six of us here..." Hina sulked.

"Only a third of the number of people we started with..." Hiro sighed.

"It feels so empty here..." I muttered.

"Loneliness has become commonplace," Kyoko said.

"That's true..." Sakura nodded her head.

"..." Makoto stared at Sakura.

Sakura noticed Makoto's staring and turned to him. "Makoto, are you okay?"

"Ah--! N-No, I'm fine...!" Makoto stuttered.

"..." Kyoko stared at him.

"Okay! In that case, let's eat till we pass out!" Hina suggested.

"Whaddya mean, "In that case"?" Hiro asked.

"Well, cuz look how scary everyone looks! It's gotta be cuz you're all fighting on empty stomachs, right? If you fill your belly, I'm sure you'll all cheer up! So, let's eat!" Hina explained. "Let's fry up some fish and donuts and eat till we can't stand up!"

"That's like a Deep Impact style, meteor impact, extinction level event combination of foods..." Hiro gasped.

"What!? Those are both breakfast time top sellers!" Hina said.

"Still, the "till we can't stand up" part is a problem. After we're done, we need to go explore," Kyoko said.

"That's right. Since the class trial is over, new areas should have opened up..." Sakura said.

"Plus, we still have Alter Ego. We don't have to give in to despair just yet," Kyoko added.

"She's right... We have to plan ahead and think about the future!" Makoto said to motivate us.

"Yeah, yeah! Think happy thoughts! Not deathy thoughts!" Hina said.

"Like when we're gonna get outta here, right? When this is all over...I think I wanna get reborn for serious. Er--I mean, reborn AS someone serious..." Hiro said.

"Hey, are you okay? That sounds like something someone who's about to die would say..." Hina said.

"I'm totally okay! I'm not gonna die! Why? Cuz there aren't gonna be any more murders!" Hiro announced.

"Huh? What makes you so sure...?" Hina asked.

"I predicted it last night! Since it revealed itself to me from the ether, there's no doubt about it!" Hiro explained.

"...How accurate is your fortune-telling, anyway?" Sakura asked.

"I can usually hit twenty or thirty percent on a good day!"

"That's really low for someone sounding confident just about now," I spoke.

"Well, yeah! It's not like it's ESP or whatever. Of course I'm only gonna get it right sometimes! I told you, my fortune-telling isn't like some occult thing!"

"Fortune-telling...isn't occult?" Hina repeated.

"Of course not! Clairvoyance is clairvoyance! Don't put it in the same category as cattle mutilation!"

"Cattle... What?" Hina asked.

"He's referring to the urban legend where aliens abduct cows and dissect them as part of their research," Kyoko explained.

"No...! You're calling it an urban legend!? As a matter of fact, it's true... As a matter of fact, it's happened to me!" Hiro said and began to tell his tale. "It all happened one day when I went to get a hamburger... It was a place I'd never been before. They claimed their patties were 100% all beef... So I got a burger to go and headed home. And before long...the sky was filled with a mysterious blinding light! Some crazy beam came out of nowhere and locked on to my hamburger! And as soon as the beam touched it, the burger started floating in mid-air...! And then, still floating there, the entire burger started coming apart! One part of it just vanished, while the rest fell back into my hand...! Do you realize what that means? It means, the burger wasn't 100% beef! It must've had some pork or something mixed in... Something like seventy percent pork and thirty percent beef, would be my guess. So I stormed back into the burger place and got up in the manager's grill. And they totally admitted it... It WASN'T 100% beef! They totally mixed in ground pork with it! Now do you see!? THAT is cattle mutilation!"

The room went silent for a few seconds.

"HA HA HA HA HA!" I burst into laughter.

"I...kinda got lost halfway through..." Makoto muttered.

"I can't tell if you're for the occult or against it. You stink of stupidity..." Hina sighed.

"I stink of--!? How dare you!?" Hiro yelled.

"Well, you do stink, though."

"That's fine!"

"That's fine!?"

"U-Umm...anyway... I hope your prediction turns out to be true..." Makoto said, changing the subject.

"Well, at the very least, 'I' won't murder anyone!" Hiro said.

"Me either! I mean, I would never!" Hina said.

"Me either..." Sakura said.

"Nor I," Kyoko said.

"So won't I," I said.

"That goes for me too, of course. I could never kill any of my friends!" Makoto yelled.

"To be honest, I wish Byakuya and Toko were here for this, too," Sakura said.

"But...they're so hard to deal with. They only think about themselves," Hina spoke.

"Yeah, we're better off without 'em, I say..." Hiro stated.

That was enough to prove... We were all united for the time being, but within that bond hid weakness and fragility.

 

All.Star.Apologies

Daily Life

 

=======

We began our search as soon as we'd finished our breakfast in the dining hall. We all went up to the newly opened fourth floor and went our separate ways. I started with the door labeled "Data Center" and tried to open it.

*Rattle rattle* The doorknob didn't move.

It's locked. There must be something good in there. Too bad I can't do anything about that.

Across the data center, there was a big brown door with the sign "Music". When I opened the door just a bit, I heard voices. I peeked and saw Makoto and Kyoko in there having a conversation.

"So, now it's your turn. Let's hear your secret," Kyoko requested.

"...Huh?" Makoto asked.

"Did you think I wouldn't notice? You're hiding something. ...Am I wrong?"

"Th-That's--!"

"What's the matter? If you're worried about the camera, why not just write it down?"

"U-Um...well..."

"... We're friends, so you should be able to trust me. Isn't that what you said before?"

Said before? I'm missing out on something.

"S-Sorry... I can't tell you. Not yet..." Makoto answered.

"... So...that's your answer. But do you think that's fair? You were happy to hear what I had to say, but now you're unwilling to share?" Kyoko questioned.

"I'm sorry. I really am..." Makoto apologized.

I quietly closed the door and hurried off before they noticed me. I'll check out the music hall later.

I ran to a huge brown door that says "Headmaster's Room."

Headmaster's room? There's gotta be something worthwhile in there. I tried to open the door, but just like the data center, the door was locked as well.

*Rattle rattle* Went the doorknob.

"Dang it..." I muttered. I can't do anything about it.

I walked over to the door near the headmaster's office labeled "Office." I headed inside and there were a lot of desks next to each, each containing a blue swivel chair and flowerpots.

Something on the floor caught my attention. I picked it up and gasped. It was a picture of Celeste, Hifumi, and Sayaka hanging out and having fun. And they were in a classroom without metal plates over the windows, just like in the first photo. The picture of the three deceased students hanging out filled my head with questions.

"Find something Hanako?" Makoto's voice startled me out of my thoughts as he walked into the room.

"I found another one of these photos," I said and handed it to him.

Makoto took it and gasped. "...What!? It's...exactly the same!" After staring at the photo for a minute Makoto shook his head. "No! There's no way! Monokuma did it! It must be fake!"

"Nyohoho! YOU'RE fake!" Monokuma popped out of nowhere and snatched the photo from Makoto's hands. " A forgery plot? What are you, a middle schooler? You think the moon landing was faked, too? Come on!"

"Then...you're saying this picture is...real?" Makoto questioned.

"If there were such a thing as the Nobel Truth Prize, I'd take first, second, AND fourth place! Actually, that's probably not true!" Monokuma spoke nonsense.

"I asked you a question! Is this picture real, or is it a fake!?" Makoto yelled.

"Oh, Makoto. You're so eager to split things in half, aren't you? But it's no use. It's just no use... If you try to split something that can't be split, you'll end up feeling like YOU'RE the one being split. The picture is real. No more, no less. Puhuhu...!" With that, Monokuma disappeared.

"So the picture...is real?" Makoto questioned.

"Probably. Or it's probably one of Monokuma's lies," I said.

We both headed out of the office, and I walked to the "Chem Lab." I opened the door and saw Hina and Sakura deep into a conversation. I walked to a big shelf full of all kinds of medicine.

"Ah!" Hina gasped when she saw me and grabbed my arms. "Listen, Hanako! Listen! Just take a deep breath and calm down and LISTEN TO ME!"

"O-Okay okay..." I muttered.

"There's all kinds of stuff we didn't have before! Vitamins, minerals, amino acids, creatine--! And--! WHAT!? They even have Proteinzyme-X!" Hina yelled in excitement.

"What's that?" I asked.

"A high-quality protein drink! It's nothing like that cheap swill in the warehouse. It's connoisseur level!" Sakura explained.

"How interesting..." I commented.

"This is amazing! It's a gold mine! Ahh, my prayers have finally been answered! Time to load up some more prayers, then!" Hina squealed.

I left Hina and Sakura at their "gold mine" and headed back to the music room since I didn't have a proper look at it. It was empty when I arrived. It was huge with seats and a stage with spotlights beaming down on a piano. I headed to the piano and took a seat.

I'm no Ultimate Pianist, but I know how to play a couple of songs. I began to play a song, and soon one song became two, and before I knew it, I played almost every song that I knew.

Well that was fun. But I should better head back to the dining hall. I ran back down to the dining hall and saw the rest already there.

"Sorry I'm late," I apologized as I sat down.

"So, is this everyone?" Hiro asked.

"Okay, let's discuss what we all discovered," Sakura said.

"Yeah, good idea..." Hina agreed.

=======

"There was a big shelf in the chem lab on the 4th floor, and it had all kinds of chemicals and stuff," Hina started. "And there was an all-star cast of nutrient additives and supplements! You should at least go take a peek. I highly recommend it!"

"I think you and Ogre are probably the only ones interested in stuff like that..." Hiro muttered.

"Oh, but...it's not all good stuff, though. There was medicine and health stuff, but on top of that...There was also, um...a bunch of different poisons," Hina added.

"P-Poison!?" Makoto stuttered.

"They were all labeled clearly, though. So it would be hard to grab one by mistake..." Sakura said.

"Still, we'd better make sure we're careful around there," Kyoko advised.

"And...we probably shouldn't tell Byakuya or Toko about the poison, right?" Hina asked.

"What do you mean...?" Hiro questioned.

"Well, just in case... You know what I'm trying to say," Hina said.

Hiro sweat dropped. "J-Just in case... Yeah, I think you're right."

"It's Byakuya. It won't be long before he's discovered it for himself," Kyoko said.

To put something as dangerous as poison right out in the open for anyone to see and get, that's absolutely the work of the mastermind.

=======

"I found a couple rooms on the 4th floor, but they were locked! The data center and the headmaster's room!" Hiro announced.

"The headmaster's room!? That sounds like exactly the kinda place we'd find some clues!" Hina said.

"If we can somehow unlock the door and get inside..." Makoto said.

"Who cares about a stupid lock! It should be no problem for the world's strongest missing link to knock down one measly door!" Hiro pointed to Sakura.

"...What was that?" Monokuma's voice came from behind Hiro.

"Uwah!" Hiro cried out.

"No, please. Continue. Did you say I've got the nicest butt on the block? The curviest hips in town? Is that what you said!?" Monokuma questioned.

"Hell no I didn't!"

"Then what DID you say? Cuz I KNOW you weren't talking about tearing down the door to the headmaster's room."

"Ng--!"

"Knocking down your headmaster's door? What kind of war on education are you trying to start here!? That's MY room, ya know? It is 'now' anyway... And you're thinking of busting it down? You seriously don't wanna piss me off. You have any idea how much bacteria lives on a single bear claw?"

"N-No, I was just kiddin'! Please don't get mad!"

"I'm not mad! >_<"

"You're totally mad! ;_;"

Where did the emoticons come from?

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to add a rule for this, but if you're gonna go around having those thoughts... I have no choice but to add to the school regulations!" Monokuma announced.

"Seriously...?" Makoto muttered.

"Breaking down a locked door is prohibited! There, that's a rule now, ya jerks!" Monokuma yelled and disappeared.

"I-Is he gone...?" Hiro stuttered then let out a sigh of relief. "Whew... Man, I was scared for my life! I was sure he was gonna kill me, for serious!"

"But if he would go out of his way to make up a rule like that, there's no doubt that something important must be hidden in the headmaster's room," Sakura said.

"But...now that it's a rule, there's nothing we can do," Makoto said.

"Dammit..." I muttered.

"..." Kyoko was silent.

=======

"Metal sheets had been attached to all the windows on the 4th floor. None of them budged an inch..." Sakura informed.

"Just like everywhere else..." Kyoko pointed out.

"Escape from the 4th floor seems unlikely. That was to be expected, though," Sakura sighed.

=======

"There is a huge music room with a piano on the stage and everything," I stated.

"What's so important about a piano?" Hiro asked.

"A piano is said to help reduce stress and anxiety. And with what we're going through we definitely need it," I explained.

"Any type of music does wonders for the mind and soul," Sakura added.

"Then we should totally have some sort of music get-together sometime," Hina suggested.

"That would be nice..." Makoto said.

=======

"Um...Kyoko?" Makoto called out to her.

"..." Kyoko ignored him.

"Hey, Makoto... Does Kyoko seem upset to you? She is, isn't she!? She's totally mad!" Hina observed.

"Y-Yeah, it looks like it..." Makoto said.

"..." Kyoko still said nothing.

"I bet it's your fault, isn't it? You must've done something to her," Hina glared at Makoto.

"So...has everyone said what they need to say?" Hiro asked.

"I think so..." Hina said.

"But it looks like nobody found any clues at all, let alone a way out of here. I haven't been this depressed since my house burned to the ground! Someone, do something to cheer me up!" Hiro panicked.

"Um...can I say something?" Makoto requested.

"It's cuz my dad was smoking in bed!" Hiro said.

"That's...no... I have something I'd like to report. So...you guys all remember, right? You remember when I found that picture up on the 3rd floor the other day?" Makoto reminded.

"You mean the one that showed Mondo, Chihiro, and Leon all together, right?" Sakura asked.

"Well, Hanako found another one. Another picture, almost just like that one."

"Another one...?" Hina repeated.

"Yes. The picture this time featured Celeste, Hifumi, and Sayaka," I spoke.

"Huh...?" Hiro gasped.

"And they were all smiling... And the classroom in the picture didn't have any metal covering the windows," Makoto added.

"So the picture of Mondo, Chihiro, and Leon wasn't the only one... Now you found one that had Celeste, Hifumi, and Sayaka?" Sakura questioned.

"But...how can that...?" Hina trailed off.

"Monokuma must have faked it!" Hiro suggested.

"But...if the picture 'is' real...then everyone who was in it... There would have to be some kind of hidden connection there, don't you think? Some deeper truth...that we just don't understand..." Makoto pondered.

"Can't be! It's a fake!" Hiro panicked.

"But Monokuma said it was real. I know we could just write that off as a lie, but..." Makoto said.

"Then you trust Monokuma's word over the people who have died?" Kyoko spoke.

"Huh...?"

"That's what you're saying, isn't it?"

"No, that's not it..."

"I'm shocked. You told everyone how we should believe in our friends, but you refuse to do the same."

"Th-That's not--!"

"C'mon guys, stop fighting, or all your good luck is gonna float away!" Hiro spoke up, interrupting Kyoko and Makoto's argument. "Anyway, Makoto, Hanako...you two are thinking about it too much. There's no way Monokuma didn't fake that picture."

"He's just trying to confuse us. You shouldn't listen to anything Monokuma has to say," Sakura advised.

"Y-You might be right, but still..." Makoto trailed off.

"Are you still so conflicted?" A voice spoke. We all turned our heads to see none other than Byakuya entering the dining hall with a smug look on his face. "It looks like you guys have stopped playing nice."

"Byakuya!" Makoto gasped.

"You all have the same sunken look on your faces. You were all so ugly before. You shouldn't let them sink any lower," Byakuya insulted.

"Sorry..." Hiro apologized.

"Don't apologize!" I yelled.

"Leave us alone! You're not a part of this!" Hina shouted at Byakuya.

"That's true enough. Your problems aren't mine. We are, and always will be, completely separate. So whatever's causing your faces to turn so ugly has absolutely nothing to do with me. And if I happen to discover a vital clue, it wouldn't concern you in the slightest," Byakuya said.

"Huh...?" Makoto looked confused.

"Did he finally just say something useful?" Hina gasped.

"...Byakuya. What have you been up to?" Kyoko questioned.

"I don't mind telling you. Perhaps forcing your lazy brains to get to work might do you some good. I was in the bath. What else would you like to know? Today's lottery numbers?" Byakuya asked.

He must be talking about  Alter Ego ...

"Maybe we should 'all' go take a bath," Kyoko suggested.

"Ah...good idea," Sakura said.

"A mixed bath...?" Hiro asked.

"A mixed bath...!" Hina confirmed.

"Let's get going then," I said.

And so we all walked to the dressing room to hear what Alter Ego had to say.

Chapter 42: What Alter Ego Found

When we all got to the dressing room, Toko was sitting alone on the bench, the laptop in front of her.

"...Toko. Did you decide to come hear what Alter Ego has, too?" Makoto asked.

"I-I already heard it...with M-Master..." Toko blushed. "With Master!"

"You don't have to keep saying it... Anyway, so what are you doing right now?" Hina asked.

"Shut up. Stop b-bothering me," Toko said.

"She's not bothering. She was just curious," I spoke.

"Get out of the way. We have to talk to Alter Ego," Hiro ordered.

"N-No. I made Master a p-promise," Toko stuttered, biting her thumb.

"A promise?" Sakura repeated.

"Master told me to w-wait here, so that's what I'm d-doing," Toko explained.

"What are you, his dog!?" Hina questioned.

"If it's wh-what Master wants, I'd do anything h-he asks."

"Yuck!" I gagged.

"You just love being mistreated..." Hiro sighed.

"W-Well fine, if you really want me gone, by a-all means... Hachoo!" Toko sneezed, and a second later she turned to Genocide Jack. "Hey guys! What's goin' on!?"

"Um...we'd like you to move," Hiro requested.

"Sure thing! Just kneel before me and beg!"Jill said.

"First a mega masochist, now a super sadist!" Hiro panicked.

"Um, Toko...? Seriously, I'm asking you nicely to let us use the laptop," Makoto said.

"Hm? HmmMMmMmmMmMMMmmMm~~? Didn't you hear what I said!? I told you to kneel and beg!" Jill shouted and pointed her scissors at Makoto.

"Come on, Makoto! Give her the ol' one-two combo! One--drop to your knees! Two--beseech!" Hiro instructed.

"Why are you acting like you're not part of this...?" Makoto sighed and got on his knees. "Please, I'm begging you... Will you please let us use the laptop?"

"Kyeeehahahaha!" Jill laughed and then blushed. "Such an ultra miraculous feeling of happiness! All my pent-up anger at Master for abusing me is evaporating!"

"So even 'you' realize it's abuse..." Hina sighed.

"That should be enough, right? Hurry up and let us talk to Alter Ego," Kyoko said.

"O-kaaaaaaay!" Jill said and stepped back. Makoto got up from the ground and everyone gathered around the laptop.

"Everyone, come closer! I already told Byakuya, but... I was finally able to crack open all the files that were on this laptop! Sorry to have kept you all waiting!" Alter Ego smiled.

"Just what I thought..." Kyoko muttered.

"Finally...the time has come..." Sakura announced.

"Nng...I'm starting to get kinda nervous..." Hiro grunted.

I nodded my head in agreement. Makoto nervously was about to type when Kyoko's voice stopped him.

"Move," she ordered. Makoto moved to let her take over.

"Here we go..." Kyoko began typing, the words appearing as fast as one could read them.

Can you tell us what you found out?

"Sure. I analyzed the files and extracted all the useful information I could find. And one particularly important fact I discovered was that a certain plan had been put into effect here." Alter Ego showed a picture on the screen. "To isolate the students of Hope's Peak Academy and create a communal life for them." That was the stated goal of the plan... But it was meant to be more than just a normal school life. The students were intended to live out the rest of their lives here."

"Th-That's...!" Makoto gasped.

"It's...exactly the situation we've found ourselves in," Sakura widened her eyes.

"It's quite unthinkable, isn't it? And what's more, the one who came up with the plan was none other than the administrators of Hope's Peak themselves," Alter Ego continued.

"The administrators!?" I repeated.

"What!? Wait, hold on! Then the reason we've been imprisoned here... It wasn't the work of some psycho freak or criminal organization or whatever... It was...the school itself?" Hina gasped.

"That doesn't make any sense! Why would they do that!?" Hiro yelled.

"I don't think Alter Ego is finished. Perhaps we should hear the rest..." Kyoko suggested.

"It seems that the reason they devised this plan was because of what happened one year ago," Alter Ego continued. "This is how they described that event... They said it was the "biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history."

"What does that mean...?" Hina asked.

"Yeah, what kind of name is that for something!?" Hiro yelled.

"..." Kyoko looked deep in thought.

"Otherwise known as The Tragedy, it was apparently some sort of devastating occurrence. Because of The Tragedy, Hope's Peak Academy was forced to discontinue its role as a school and close down," Alter Ego explained.

"I see. Things are finally starting to make sense... What this means is, one year ago, this thing--this tragedy--took place. And whatever it was, it forced Hope's Peak to shut down. From there, they decided to use the school as a kind of staging ground... They planned to sequester the students here, where they would live out the rest of their lives," Kyoko explained.

"But...why would the Hope's Peak administrators want to shut everyone in like that?" Hina questioned.

"And what could this "tragic event" have possibly been?" Sakura added.

In a flash, Kyoko had typed their questions into the computer.

"Sorry...I don't know. If that information was ever on this computer, it's gone now... I'm totally useless... I'm sorry," Alter Ego apologized.

"Then...is this really the end? We get halfway through the answer, and that's it?" Hiro panicked.

"It would appear so. Disappointing..." Kyoko said.

"Oh, wait! There's one other thing I forgot to mention," Alter Ego remembered. "I think it might be important. I believe it has to do with the mastermind..."

"The mastermind!?" Makoto repeated in shock.

Kyoko's fingers moved even faster than they had so far.

Did you figure out the mastermind's identity?

"No...that I still don't know. But I 'did' find a clue, I think. The one leading the Hope's Peak staff, the one who finalized the plan to isolate you was the Hope's Peak headmaster. So that same person may very well be the mastermind who planned all this out. And according to the files, the headmaster is a man in his late thirties. It seems possible, even likely, that he's somewhere in this school right now," Alter Ego explained.

"The headmaster...is here in the school!?" Kyoko gasped.

"Then that's gotta be the mastermind! I mean, Monokuma's been calling himself the headmaster, right?" Hina reminded.

"Which makes the real headmaster that much more suspicious..." Sakura said.

"Then there's absolutely no doubt that there's something worthwhile in his office!" I said.

"But if we break down the door to his room, we're dead, right? So what are we supposed to do?" Hiro questioned.

"I'll find a way..." Kyoko said.

"Huh?"

"No matter what it takes...I will find the headmaster. No matter the cost..." Kyoko said with a determined voice.

"Kyoko? What's going on...?" Hina asked.

"...I can't explain why. I just...know that I have to find him."

She "has" to? What does that mean? When she heard about the headmaster, her reaction was almost...violent.

"...We should see if Alter Ego has any more information," Kyoko said. She regained her composure, and she started typing again.

Did you learn anything else?

"I'm sorry... That's everything I found. All the information on this laptop seems to be pretty old, so that's all I can do from here. I'm really sorry..." Alter Ego lowered his head.

"Then...it really is all over," Hiro sighed.

"Wait. Alter Ego seems to have more to say," Kyoko said.

"Um, well... It's kind of a different topic, but...I was wondering about something. I haven't seen Celeste, Hifumi, or Taka since yesterday..." Alter Ego spoke.

A heavy silence fell across the room. The only sound was the flat, precise clicking of keys as Kyoko typed.

They're all dead.

"...What!?" Alter Ego gasped. "I see... Certainly I knew that was a possibility, but... it really happened. ... Oh, sorry... There's no point in me getting depressed over things I can't do anything about..."

"Well then, I guess that's it," Kyoko stated and began typing again.

You've done your job. Thank you.

"I'm done? I guess I am, huh? Then...maybe I'll take a little rest. I'm kinda tired... Goodbye, everyone. See you later..."

With that, the laptop entered sleep mode.

"So Alter Ego did everything he could..." Sakura muttered.

"We won't have to talk to him all that much anymore," Kyoko said.

"But...I feel kinda sorry for him," Hina said.

Hiro scratched his head. "You feel sorry...? But "he's" just a computer program, right?"

"I know, but still...he did everything he could for us, ya know?" Hina asked.

"I mean, yeah, it did. But that's what a computer program is 'designed' to do. You don't tell a computer "good job" every time you shut it down, do you?" Hiro questioned.

"Well, no... But when we talked to Alter Ego, I guess I just...didn't see it that way," Hina explained.

"Actually, neither did I," I said.

"Hey, come on! It's just a program! You 'can' tell the difference between a program and a friend, right?" Hiro questioned.

"But you know...what's the difference between us and that program, really?" Makoto asked.

"Huh...?"

"I started thinking about how you would differentiate a person and an AI. Alter Ego isn't human, I know that. It's just a program running on a computer. But at the same time, I couldn't help but think of him as our friend," Makoto explained.

"Yeah! He's no different from us! He's still our friend!" agreed Hina.

"I think...maybe I understand where you're coming from... Then there's no problem calling him a friend! After all, the more friends the merrier, right!? Check this out! Friendship has no survival value. Instead, it gives value to survival," Hiro said.

"So anyway..." Kyoko spoke, brushing off the topic.

"Don't "so anyway" that! It's a totally smart and cool thing that I quoted from I don't remember where!" Hiro yelled.

Kyoko ignored him. "Anyway, there's nothing more Alter Ego can do to help us. As such, his role in this is over. Am I wrong about that?"

"No, but..." Makoto began.

"And frankly, I question the ease with which you decide who is and isn't your friend," Kyoko interrupted.

"The story's gotten off track. We should go over what Alter Ego said one more time," Sakura suggested.

"Yeah, good idea! What was the Hope's Peak staff thinking...? Why are they making us kill each other!?" Hiro yelled.

"Alter Ego said that what happened one year ago is what started everything," Sakura recapped.

"Yeah, he said it was the biggest, most awful, most hopeless event in human history, right?" Hina asked.

"It must have been a huge incident, whatever it was... But did something like that really happen a year ago?" Makoto questioned.

"I don't remember anything happening that you could describe that way. What about you guys?" Hiro asked.

"I don't really watch the news, so..." Hina admitted.

"Sorry, nothing comes to mind," Sakura said.

"I don't recall any news like that," I answered.

"That event led to the closing of Hope's Peak. If nothing else, it must have had some kind of connection to this school," Kyoko said.

"Maybe all the students here were killed or something!" Hiro yelled.

"That kind of catastrophe would have been all over the news. At least one of us would remember that..." Sakura said.

"Then...maybe they covered it up! That would explain why none of us knew that the school had been shut down!" Hina suggested.

"Totally covering up something like that... I suppose it's not totally impossible," Sakura said.

"What's wrong with our government!? Our taxes pay their salaries, they should be handling stuff like that!" Hiro complained.

"Maybe. But right now there's only one path open to us... We have to find the headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy. We have to find him, and make him tell us everything. As long as we can get our hands on him, I think..." Kyoko glared.

"But even that is a problem not so easily solved," Sakura said.

"Yeah...you're right..." Hina agreed.

"Well, our business is done here, so for now we should get out of here," Kyoko said.

"Oh yeah, good idea," Hiro said.

"Then I... Ah...achoo!" Jill sneezed, turning her back to Toko. "Huh...?" Toko's eyes widened in shock.

"Is it really that dusty...? Wait, I mean...!" Hina trailed off.

"O-Oh no! I'm not w-waiting anymore! I'm n-not guarding it... Byakuya's gonna b-be so mad at me...!" Toko stuttered.

"Oh boy..." I muttered.

"Let's avoid getting involved any further," Kyoko suggested.

"Good call..." Hiro said.

=======

As we left the dressing room, Monokuma was there waiting for us.

"My heart is pound-pound-pounding away... It's pounding...with anger!" Monokuma shouted.

"Y-You're not still mad about that whole "breaking into the headmaster's room" thing, are you...?" Hiro panicked.

"Oh, that little matter doesn't matter even a little. And I'm a little jealous of you guys enjoying an indecent mixed bath, but that doesn't matter, either. It's building... I feel it building... My head's about to boil over with rage!" Monokuma shouted.

"D-Don't get so angry. Here, let me help center your chakra..." Hiro offered.

"Etch this on the walls of your brain, okay? When you do something to me, I do it right back... An eye for an eye, a fang for a fang..." Monokuma said and disappeared.

"Fang for a...fang?" Hiro repeated in confusion, then he began to panic. "B-Be careful! He just chanted the incantation of devastation!"

"No... It's just a saying," Sakura assured him.

"Oh, I see..."

"But what's he talking about?" Makoto inquired.

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

"So, it's nighttime. What does everyone want to do? Celeste was the one who suggested our nighttime rule, but she's gone now..." Kyoko said.

"I think we should still avoid being out at nighttime. I know it'll make me feel better that way..." Hina suggested.

"I agree," Hiro said.

"Very well then. In that case, time for bed," Kyoko announced.

So everyone headed back to their rooms.

=======

Once I was back in my room, I kept thinking about what Alter Ego said. What we'd learned from him left me more confused than ever. The administrators of Hope's Peak had planned all of this because of "The Tragedy" which had happened a year ago, but no one remembers it. And apparently, the headmaster is the one behind it all--our closest guess to who the mastermind is. All these mysteries make me worried. But I still have to push forward to try and unravel them, bit by bit. I'm sure the road will be long, and tough, but I don't have any other choice.

Slowly, I drifted off to sleep.

 

Chapter 43: Some Breakfast Meeting

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"

"Well... Better head to the dining hall," I muttered.

So, like usual, I did my morning routine and headed off to the dining hall. When I got there, the first thing I saw was...her.

"Toko! How wonderful of you to join us!" I greeted.

Toko just grumbled as I took a seat next to her. A couple of minutes later Makoto showed up and stared at Toko in surprise.

"What are you s-staring at...?" Toko asked.

"Oh, Toko...?" Makoto questioned.

"What, you think y-your eyes will rot just by l-looking at me? Fine, then DON'T l-look at me!" Toko grumbled.

"I think he's just surprised to see you at the breakfast meeting, is all..." Hiro explained.

"Indeed. It's been quite a while since you joined us," Sakura said.

"Yeah, what made you change your mind?" Hina asked Toko.

"Byakuya said he...l-likes girls to have some meat o-on her bones, so... I'm g-gonna start eating! I'm gonna force it d-down into my stomach! I'm gonna eat till I d-drop!" Toko explained.

"That's very unhealthy!" I said.

"I refuse to l-lose!" Hina yelled.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." Sakura advised.

"Well, other than that...it looks like Kyoko isn't here," Makoto observed.

"Oh, she said she'd come by later," Hiro said.

"Later...?" Makoto repeated.

"Yeah. After you leave," Hiro explained.

Kyoko really hates him that much now?

"I know I said she wanted you to show some backbone, but you didn't need to show her THAT much! You're dirty, Makoto! Dirty! President Dirty of Dirtlandia!" Hina shouted.

"You don't understand...!" Makoto defended.

"You're the type who takes the stairs of love three steps at a time, aren't you!?" Hina accused.

"I'm telling you, it's not like that!" Makoto shouted.

"J-Just shut up already, Hina...! You've been running your f-filthy mouth like that all m-morning..." Toko butted in.

"Filthy? ME!?" Hina gasped.

"Don't m-make me repeat m-myself..." Toko smirked.

Hina's face went red as a tomato. "I'm not filthy!"

"It's n-no use denying it. We can all s-see how disgusting you are..."

"Sh-Shut up...!"

"You and that lusty body of yours... Night after n-night, you go out for your illicit c-club meetings..."

"H-Hey, knock it off. I can't deal with dirty stuff like that..."

"Your m-midnight sextracurricular activities only put us in e-even more danger...!"

"S-Stop it..."

"You'd like me to s-stop, wouldn't you? Your sweaty h-hands gripping the big, fat chalk t-tight... Going for all that e-extra credit... Your screams are like the s-screech of a violated blackboard! And...! And! Ah! It's a-amazing! Indecent ideas are c-coming to me one after another!"

I felt my face heating up rapidly. I turned my face away and covered it with my hands.

"So, would you rather have your black eye on the left or the right?" Sakura threatened Toko.

"Hyeeeh! S-Sorry sorry sorry!" Toko apologized repeatedly.

"Let's leave Toko alone. She's gone a little...funny from all her pent-up frustration," Hiro advised, then turned his attention to Makoto. "Anyway, you and Kyoko need to make up already, ya know?"

Makoto nodded his head and then he went up to Sakura. "U-Um...Sakura?"

"What is it?" Sakura asked.

"Can you make some time later? I was hoping I could talk to you," Makoto requested.

"Ah! Now that Kyoko's dumped him, Makoto's trying to win Sakura's heart!" Hina accused.

"Are you in h-heat, Makoto? Don't care who they a-are as long as they've g-got the right equipment?" Toko blushed.

"Watch out, Sakura! Makoto's transformed into a wild beast! Prime Minister Wild Beast of Beastopia!" Hina warned.

"Can you two just leave him alone?" I requested.

"Why is this happening to me...?" Makoto mumbled.

"Can our talk wait till tomorrow? I'd like to get some rest today... For some reason, I've been feeling worn down these last few days," Sakura said.

"Huh? Are you sick? Did you get hurt?" Hina asked in worry.

"No, nothing serious. I've just had some minor aches and pains..." Sakura explained.

"But it must be pretty bad if you have to go rest. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm sure a protein shake and some sleep will get me back on my feet."

"That's true, protein is good for all kinds of stuff!"

"You guys, like, worship protein. It's like your god or something..." Hiro sighed.

"Makoto! I dunno what it is you wanna talk to Sakura about, but save it till tomorrow! She's in pain!" Hina said.

"Y-Yeah, I got it..." Makoto said.

"Sorry..." Sakura apologized.

"Well...for now, let's eat!" Hiro cheered.

"E-Eat? I'm kinda n-nervous..." Toko stuttered.

"Huh? How come?" Hiro asked.

"Cuz...I don't usually...e-eat in front of other p-people. Ever since I w-was a kid, I'd...eat b-by myself," Toko explained.

"What about your family?" Hiro asked.

"Oh, well-y-yeah. I used to live with my d-dad, my mom, and my m-mom."

"You had...two moms?"

"What? That's just how th-things were..."

"That's, like, a serious issue!"

"Just let it go. You're asking for trouble getting involved with her more than you have to," Hina advised.

"How d-dare you speak to me with that d-disgusting mouth of yours..." Toko said.

"S-Stop saying stuff like that!" Hina blushed.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm just gonna finish my breakfast now," I spoke.

"Y-Yeah, me too. If I don't, Kyoko will never show up," Makoto said.

"Pretty miserable situation, man," Hiro commented.

"H-Hehe..." Makoto laughed awkwardly.

So everyone scarfed down their breakfast and headed their separate ways.

 

Chapter 44: Free Time Event #6

=Free Time=

Aoi Asahina:

I decided to go to the music hall to play the piano more. When I entered, Hina was already there muttering to herself.

"Pushing on 'em doesn't help, smacking 'em doesn't help... What the heck is up with those things?" Hina looked up and saw me staring at her. "Oh! Sorry, I'm talking about the metal plates covering all the windows. Ah, I know! We should try grabbing the top and yanking down on it!"

"I don't know if that is a good idea..." I said.

"You wanna do some stretches with me?" Hina asked.

I followed Hina's lead and did some elaborate stretching.

After we finished, Hina ran in place. "Oh man... Oh man...!"

"What's up?" I asked.

"I'm gettin' totally fired up!" Hina said.

"Really? How come?"

"How come doesn't matter! Now that I'm revved up, I need to get it out! Let's race!"

"Um... No thanks. You'll just beat me."

"Really? Well, I don't mind a solo run!"

"You always seem so excited, Hina."

"Huh? Hey, are you makin' fun of me!?"

"No, just impressed."

"Really...? I used to know this one guy, he was always like, "Hina, you're like, a super spaz!""

"Super spaz?"

"Yeah! Like, he'd see me wearing shorts in winter, and he'd say stuff like that. But if you lose to the cold like that, it just means you weren't dedicated enough!"

"Wow! But don't you get sick from doing stuff like that?"

"Getting sick is for the weak! If you're really dedicated, winter means even lighter clothes! It's all part of your training!" Hina explained. "So, like, are you the type who gets sick easy?"

"I usually just get the sniffles when it is the flu season," I explained.

"Still, you need more training! Okay! I've got the perfect remedy to keep someone like you fit as a fiddle!"

"What kind of remedy?"

"Actually, I do this myself every morning! You just strip down to your waist, then take a dry towel and start rubbing down your bare skin! I call it...! I call it...uh... What do I call it again?"

"I believe it's called towel treatment," I said.

"Oh my god! Yeah, that's it! I love going out on my apartment balcony, stripping down, feeling the wind on my skin... God, it feels so amazing! I never let a morning pass without getting in a good rubdown!" Hina sighed at that memory.

My face turned a bit pink. So you strip down on your balcony where passers-by could see you. And she's okay with that?!

"You should give it a try! If you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything! I'd hate to see you catch cold or something..." Hina suggested.

"Thanks... I'll keep that in mind," I said and walked off.

=======

Yasuhiro Hagakure:

I was walking down the hallway, and Hiro approached me.

"I had a dream last night... I saw that the spirit world was going to flood us with energy and save us from this school nightmare! It's a prophecy! Take that to heart!"

"Um... Good to know?" I said.

"Oh, I got something I wanted to show you! I got the stigma...on my back! Heh-heh-heh. It's a gift from the gods!" Hiro said.

Hiro showed me the scar on his back, though I had a feeling that the scar was from something else.

Hiro began to panic. "This is getting serious, man... When are we gonna get outta here!? The world is so big, so freakin' huge! And we've all been stuffed into this one tiny corner..."

Poor Hiro... I almost feel sorry for him.

"Can we talk, man to woman? I haven't told anyone else, but I need to get this off my chest..." Hiro confessed.

"What is it?" I asked.

"There's a big reason why I'm so anxious to get out of here."

"Which is...?"

"I'm super worried, man! I'm afraid someone's gonna bust into my house and steal my collection!"

"What type of collection?"

"I've been surfing black markets and back channels to build a huge collection of OOPArts!"

"..." My face went expressionless.

"No reaction? Wait... Don't tell me you don't know about OOPArts! You know, OOPArts! Out-of-place-artifacts!? Stuff they find in the ruins of ancient civilizations, but with no explanation how it coulda got there! The crystal skulls, the golden airplanes of Colombia, the Baghdad Battery, just to name a few!" Hiro explained. "But OOPArts can be more than just artifacts! For example, I'd definitely classify the famous geoglyphs of South America as OOPArts!"

"Those famous South American geoglyphs are called the Nazca lines, right?"

"You got it, Ace!"

"Don't call me that."

"Plenty of museums and research centers claim to have all those different OOPArts, but ya see... Here's the shocking truth! For all of 'em, the real deal is at my house! Did I shock ya? Did the truth slam into your soul like the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs!?"

"You keep them at your house?"

"Yup! Got it mostly through the Internet! It's more valuable to me than anything!"

He is definitely the world's biggest sucker.

"I've invested every penny I have into that collection! Which is why I'm so worried... If that stuff gets stolen while I'm gone... It'd just be the most tragic tragedy! You know what I've had to go through to get that stuff!? Why do you think I got held back, like...ya know...three or four years...?" Hiro questioned.

"Three or four years!?" I gasped.

"Oh, uh! Nothing! Forget about the last part!"

"Sure... Anyways, I've read that when you really do serious research on those artifacts, there's a perfectly normal explanation for them most of the time."

"Don't be stupid! You—stupid—Hanako! It's a government cover-up! They want to hide the ancient aliens and the secrets of the universe!"

I leaned in towards Hiro. "Hiro, darling. Can you tell me again how much you hate the occult?"

"This isn't the occult! It's about aliens and ancient civilizations living together! Yes, it's possible!" Hiro argued.

"Sure, sure," I said.

We talked for a bit more and then we headed our separate ways.

=======

Kyoko Kirigiri:

When I parted ways with Hiro, I found myself face-to-face with Kyoko.

"What's the matter? Why are you bouncing around like a little rabbit? Don't you have anything to do?" Kyoko asked.

"Not really. Do you want to spend some time together?" I offered.

"There's no reason to decline. And I'm not the type to decline, anyway. Besides...I find myself more and more intrigued by someone like you." Kyoko's cheeks turned a little bit pink when she said that.

I spent some time with Kyoko.

"... Can we finish this already?" Kyoko suddenly asked.

"Finish what...?" I questioned.

"If we truly want to trust each other, we must truly know each other. That is what you believe, isn't it?"

"Well, yes, but..."

"I understand why you feel that way, but...when it comes to me, I think you should probably give up."

"How come!?"

"Because I don't have anything to talk to you about."

"So...you don't trust me then?"

"... If you get too involved with someone, you're apt to lose any sense of good judgment. I learned that lesson myself all too well. Personal experience is a ruthless teacher."

"Personal experience?"

"Surely by now you've noticed what I always wear, something unique to me..."

"It's... your gloves, right?" I questioned.

"That's right," Kyoko confirmed.

"Then...how are your gloves connected to your experience?"

"Simply put, there was a time when I grew attached to someone, and I made a bad decision. I was forced to learn a very powerful lesson, and these gloves are a daily reminder of that. So on these gloves, I swore to never make the same mistake again."

"That's...really sad, actually. Could you tell me more about it?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't. That's the end of it."

The end, huh? So in the end, I never got to learn anything about her, and about how she feels.

"... Anyway, don't get too depressed over this," Kyoko said, interrupting my thoughts. "The reason I'm not willing to talk about it isn't because I don't trust you. In fact, I 'do' have faith in you. Which is why I decided to tell you what I have. I want you to understand 'why' I can't tell you. I can't show you myself, just like I can't show you what's beneath these gloves. I can't remember the last person who saw what was beneath my gloves."

"Wow, that long, huh?" I asked.

"That's right. And I can't imagine a point where I would show them ever again. Only someone I could call my family would be worthy."

"Family?"

"Are you going to volunteer?" Kyoko asks, her cheeks going pink again.

My face heated up. "W-What!?"

"Got you... Hehe... You really are foolishly open," Kyoko laughed and blushed.

I smiled. She laughed. I've never really heard her laugh like that. That must be her natural laugh. It wasn't fake. So maybe in the end...she did show me some part of herself. Maybe she showed me her true feelings.

"I know I always tell you to be careful and protect yourself, but...to be honest, I hope you don't change. I prefer you this way. This is...you," Kyoko smiled.

So in the end, I never did really figure her out. But at least we got a little bit closer.

After we finished up, I went back to my room.

I sat in my room for a few minutes when the announcement played.

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Attention! Attention! Please gather in the gym as soon as you possibly can! Quickly, quickly, quickly, quickly!" Monokuma ordered.

Oh god, it must be motive time... I sighed and hurried off to the gym.

 

Chapter 45: Traitor Revealed

Everyone heard the announcement, and once we were all gathered at the gym, Monokuma appeared.

"Okay, let's get this show on the road!" Monokuma announced.

"You're about to give us your next motive presentation, aren't you?" Byakuya asked.

"Hmm?" Monokuma tilted his head a bit.

"You got us all together to present another motive, right?" Byakuya asked again.

"I-Is he right...?" Toki asked in fear.

"Why else would he call us to the gym?" I spoke.

"We have to go through this again...?" Hina asked.

Hiro panicked. "Ugh...no! Not again! I can't take it anymore!"

"I'm impressed by your level of dismay. You finally see just how low on the totem pole of life you really are," Byakuya commented.

"No... No, no, no..." Monokuma shook his head. "No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no NO! That's not it at all. We're not here to talk about motive. The reason I gathered you all here is so that I could get rid of my grudge."

A grudge?

"We have a grudge against you, of course, but I don't recall 'you' ever having a grudge against 'us'," Kyoko said.

"I told you yesterday, didn't I? An eye for an eye, a fang for a fang," Monokuma reminded us.

"Stop beating around the bush! Just tell us what you're talking about!" Byakuya yelled impatiently.

"Well, Byakuya. You've already told everyone how one of you might be working as a spy for me, right?"

"Yeah, so, what about it?"

"Well today I'd like to tell you about that spy."

"What...?" Makoto gasped.

"So guess what. The spy is actually Sakura Ogami!" Monokuma announced.

He said it so openly, it made it sound like it wasn't that big of a deal even though he'd just revealed a huge secret. Everyone was silent for a moment until Hiro spoke. "What...? What did you just say?"

"He said the spy is Sakura," Byakuya replied.

"Wh-What are you talking about? There's...there's no way Sakura's a spy! Right, Sakura?" Hina looked at her best friend to say that wasn't true, but Sakura was silent with her eyes closed.

"Sakura...?" Hina called her name again.

"And I might just make Sakura fulfill the promise she made sometime soon... And if she doesn't...I can't be responsible for what might happen to that hostage of mine... Anyway, that's all I wanted to say. What you guys choose to do with that information is up to you. Roast her, boil her. Kill her, don't kill her. Whatever! Puhuhu... Either way, I can't wait...!" Monokuma laughed and disappeared.

"U-Um... So what does this mean? I-Is it true? Has Ogre really been spying on us for the mastermind!?" Hiro yelled and began to panic.

"What are you saying!? There's no way!" Hina denied.

"But that 'is' wh-what the stuffed animal said, r-right?" Toko stuttered.

"Well he's wrong! There's just...no way!" Hina argued.

"Well, Sakura? If he's wrong, all you have to do is tell us," Kyoko said.

"..." Sakura still said nothing.

"Sakura, please. Is it true what Monokuma said?" I asked.

"... I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier..." Sakura finally spoke.

"What...?" Hina gasped.

"Then he was being serious for serious!? Ogre's been working for the mastermind!?" Hiro yelled.

"I'm sorry..." Sakura apologized.

"So you've b-been lying to us all this t-time?" Toko sneered.

"I-It's not true...! Sakura was probably...being controlled! There's gotta be some...some reason! She didn't have a choice, she was just...forced to do it!" Hina guessed.

"Yeah, I'm sure Hina's right," agreed Makoto. "The mastermind probably threatened her somehow, and Sakura had no choice but to do what she was told."

"Wh-What...? You're talking like y-you know that for a f-fact!" Toko yelled at him.

"Because...I 'do' know it for a fact. Because I saw it! I saw Sakura and Monokuma...fighting... And that's where I heard it... Monokuma mentioned a "hostage" a second ago, right? And during their fight, I heard Sakura say she'd decided to fight against the mastermind," Makoto explained.

"You...saw all that?" Sakura questioned.

"So was that why you were being so secretive?" I asked.

Makoto nodded his head. "The mastermind took a hostage, so you were forced to swear loyalty to them, right? But in the end...you made up your mind to "betray" the mastermind."

"Which means Sakura isn't our enemy. She's a friend who we can trust without question. Is that it?" Byakuya sneered. "Ridiculous. Do you live in some sort of alternate reality fairy tale? She was the mastermind's tool. You absolutely cannot trust someone like that."

"H-He's right! We can't just believe whatever she says now!" Hiro agreed.

"How can we even be sure she really 'did' betray the mastermind? Maybe this is a double-bluff, and she's still doing exactly what the mastermind wants," Byakuya suggested.

"Sakura would never do that!" Hina yelled.

"Okay, then Sakura...if you really have cut ties with the mastermind, tell us who they really are," Byakuya ordered.

"Well... Sorry, I can't. Even I don't know that," Sakura admitted.

"You don't know? That just makes you all the more suspicious."

"She's telling the truth! You have to believe her!" Hina begged.

"Shut up. I'm not finished questioning her. Next question. What's this about a "promise"? What did the mastermind order you to do?"

"...I was told...to kill one of my friends," Sakura answered.

It suddenly felt like the temperature in the room had dropped twenty degrees.

Byakuya smirked. "I see. So even now, you've taken aim on our lives."

"You're wrong, I'm telling you! Sakura would never do that!" Hina defended.

"Y-You don't have to yell, we can h-hear you just fine. Don't you have an i-inside voice...?" Toko stuttered.

"It's because you're not LISTENING to me!" Hina shouted.

"Please, stop. You don't need to defend me anymore," Sakura said to Hina. "I have to take full responsibility for this..."

"How do you intend to do that?" Kyoko asked.

"By destroying the mastermind," Sakura answered.

"What...?" Makoto gasped.

"How are you going to destroy them?" I asked.

"I'm going to challenge them. Even if it means we both go down, I 'will' defeat them. 'That' is how I intend to take responsibility," Sakura explained.

"H-Hold on! What do you mean, if you both go down!?" Hina asked with a worried look on her face.

"Hina...I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this."

"What...?"

"I didn't know what to do. I went back and forth about confiding in you again and again... But I was scared. I thought if I told you, you might think less of me."

"S-Sakura!"

"I'm sorry..." Sakura turned away from us and left the gym. When she left, the nighttime announcement played.

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

"Well, it's nighttime. We should all go to bed," Byakuya suggested.

"Hold on! This whole thing with Sakura is--!" Hina said, but Byakuya cut her off.

"Over. She's our enemy. There's nothing more to discuss."

"No! Sakura is NOT our enemy!" Hina yelled and lowered her head. "...Why...? Why doesn't anyone understand her...?"

"What is it you think 'you' understand? You didn't even know who she really was," Byakuya said.

"Th-That's--!"

"Hina, please. Don't bother with him. When a rich boy makes up his mind, there's no talking him out of it," I spoke.

"B-But...!"

"Why don't you go to your room and cool down? After what happened, I think we could all use a good night's sleep," I suggested.

"..."

=======

We all left the gym in the worst mood possible. I was honestly glad the day was over. I flopped onto my bed.

So Sakura's the traitor then. Byakuya said Sakura is the enemy, but he's wrong! He's just a coward! She's not my enemy! She's my friend, an inspiration, and nothing's gonna change that!

I slowly drifted off to sleep.

=======

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"

I groaned as I got out of bed and lazily did my routine. It's going to be an awful day today. I just know it.

I left my room and headed to the dining hall as usual. Soon, everyone was there, except for Sakura, and Makoto showed up a few minutes later.

"Ah, Makoto! Are you okay?" Hiro asked.

"Huh? What do you mean...?" Makoto questioned.

"You were late, s-so...we were worried a-about you..." Toko said.

"What a dullard..." Byakuya muttered.

"Toko? Byakuya? What are you doing here?" Makoto asked them.

"They're "taking refuge" here," Hina said angrily.

"Refuge...?" Makoto repeated.

"In other words, they're hiding here like the bunch of cowards that they are!" I yelled.

"Don't make that stupid remark. We have to protect ourselves against the mastermind's tool," Byakuya explained.

"The mastermind's...? Are you talking about Sakura!?" Makoto looked around the room. "Huh...? Where 'is' Sakura?"

"All I know is, if she were here, I wouldn't be. The only reason I went out of my way to join the rest of you was as a safeguard against that threat," Byakuya continued.

"Th-Threat...!?" Makoto repeated.

"Why...? Why do you hate her so much?" Hina asked.

"Isn't it obvious? Because this makes things unfair," Byakuya said.

"Unfair...?" Makoto questioned.

"The game should be fair to all players. The existence of a spy for the mastermind upsets that balance," Byakuya explained.

"Ha! What a stupid reason!" I laughed.

"Stupid? This is a life-or-death game, is it not?" Byakuya glared at me.

"It IS stupid! You're a stupid idiot!" Hina yelled.

"Before you get too far into your argument, maybe you should stop and think things through," Kyoko butted into the argument. "Why did the mastermind reveal that Sakura was the spy to us?"

"They were getting revenge on her, right? Like Monokuma said, "An eye for an eye," Hina answered.

"That may be part of it, but it's not the whole picture. Revealing that fact also meant to serve as the next motive the mastermind wanted to give us. The chaos and confusion born from suspicion. The hatred... In other words, this right here--the fighting, the bickering--is the trap the mastermind laid for us. Knowing that, will you still stand there and argue like children?" Kyoko questioned.

"Th-That's not what I'm trying to do. It's just..." Tears flowed down Hina's face. "I mean...how can I get you guys to believe in Sakura again?"

"If she really can beat the mastermind like she said, that'd go a long way in my mind..." Hiro replied.

"Idiot! You'd really ask her to do something so dangerous? What if something terrible happens to her!?" Hina yelled.

"It wouldn't matter," Byakuya spoke.

"...What?"

"If Sakura were to die, that's one less person for the mastermind to control. I have no problem with that," Byakuya said.

"H-Hold on! Byakuya--!" Makoto yelled, but Byakuya continued on.

"In fact, if she did die, that would settle this entire issue, wouldn't it? It would put the whole problem to rest!"

*SLAP*

Hina slapped Byakuya so hard across his face, that his cheek had a bright red slap mark on it.

"What the hell...?" Byakuya exclaimed.

"You disgust me! You're...you're a monster! To say something like that... It should've been you. You should've been the one to die!" Hina shouted.

I smirked widely. You tell him Hina!

"I should've died...? Interesting. Then are you planning to take care of that yourself? Go ahead. Try it, if you dare. That's how it works here, after all," Byakuya challenged Hina.

"You think I can't do it?" Hina said with tears.

"H-Hina! Calm down!" Makoto told her.

"This is exactly what the mastermind wants. And it's exactly what Sakura 'doesn't' want," Kyoko said.

"..." Hina went silent.

"What's wrong? Lost your nerve?" Byakuya mocked.

"... I'm leaving... I'll be in my room." Trembling with anger and tears in her eyes, Hina ran off.

"That s-stupid cow...! How dare she...? She should d-die a thousand deaths. No, a million...!" Toko growled.

"Oh shut up you!" I yelled at her. Toko jumped and took a few steps away.

"So she was just another hysterical little girl. Hardly worth my attention..." Byakuya said.

"It's what other people call having "feelings," Byakuya. And all you can do is mock them for it," Kyoko pointed out.

"What's wrong with that?" Byakuya asked.

"A friendly word of warning--someday that attitude is going to come back and bite you. Hard."

"And I will happily elude its attempts.

"Typical rich boy behavior..." I muttered quietly under my breath.

"S-So um, ya know...How about we, uh...eat?" Hiro spoke up, which earned glares from everyone. "Er...maybe now's not a good time... Heh...heh-heh..."

Without a word, each of us left the dining hall. We headed back to our rooms, one by one.

 

Chapter 46: Free Time Event #7

=Free Time=

Toko Fukawa:

I was walking down the hallway when I heard Toko muttering.

"When are w-we ever gonna get out of h-here? N-Not that I'd have much to look forward to i-if I 'did' get out..."

"Oh really? That's quite a shame. Do you want to talk about it?" I asked.

"What, more p-pity? Aren't you such a g-good person, showing me all this pity...?" Toko spat.

I spent some time with Toko.

"Hey...! I want to t-talk to you," Toko said.

Well that's a first...

"Are you l-listening to me?" Toko asked.

"Now I am. Go on," I urged.

"I just w-wanted to clear something up. I mean, I 'h-have' to clear it up. What I said before... I d-don't want you to get the wrong idea, o-okay?"

"Said about what?"

"About not having any love in r-real life. I don't want you thinking I-I don't have any experience a-at all! Even someone like m-me has...gone on a date."

"Really?"

"It's true! I'm not l-lying! I'll tell you all about it if y-you really wanna hear!"

"No thanks."

"I was in junior h-high, and out of nowhere this g-guy from another class just asked me o-out," Toko started.

Guess I'm hearing it anyway...

"He asked m-me to make plans for the date," Toko continued. "I stayed up all n-night for three days planning it. And what I came up with w-was... It was our f-first date, so I wanted to do something t-traditional. I decided on going to see s-something."

"What did you see?" I asked.

"Are you stupid!? When you're talking t-traditional date stuff, what do you THINK it w-was!?"

"Alright, alright! Don't yell at me! You planned to go see a movie, right?" I questioned.

"Y-Yeah. It's pretty cool, right? You go w-watch it, then afterward talk about it all p-passionately... In other words, it's i-ideal first-date material," Toko explained. "Next I had to d-decide what to go see. Since we were in junior h-high, we couldn't go see some kid's m-movie, right? I wanted something really a-action packed. So we d-decided to check out a Seijun Suzuki t-triple feature. "Tokyo Drifter," "Fighting Elegy ", and "Branded to Kill." I-Irresistible for any guy, right?"

"Um..."

"You don't know who S-Seijun Suzuki is!? He's world-famous for h-his one-of-a-kind aesthetic, his u-unique blending of color!"

"Well sorry for not being a movie fanatic!"

"The killer's the main character, and he gets r-riled up by the smell of cooking rice. A murder masterpiece!" Toko explained.

"I can't speak for every guy when I say this, but I don't think there's probably not a lot of guys who have any idea who he is," I commented.

"Ngggh! You're right... I learned that f-fact the hard way. He musta h-hated it, cuz he disappeared right i-in the middle of the first movie!"

"He did that!? That's terrible!"

"W-Well, it is what it is. Besides, I found out i-it was just a dare, anyway..."

"A dare?"

"Yeah. He lost a b-bet with his friends, so he had to go o-out on a date with me... And there I was, s-spending three days to come up with something for us to d-do... This is all y-your fault! You made me remember that terrible t-trauma!"

"How is that my fault!?"

"Do you like h-humiliating me that much? Is th-that how you get your kicks? I've finally seen the r-real you..."

"That's not it at all!"

"I c-can't be around you and your perverted f-fetish anymore...! I'm l-l-leaving!" With hatred burning in her eyes, Toko glared at me before stomping off.

"Geez, overreacting much?" I muttered and walked off.

=======

Byakuya Togami:

I went to the warehouse to get something to eat. When I entered, there stood Byakuya with a smirk on his face.

"Sakura and Hina... Finally, some action. Hmhm. Things are starting to become interesting..." He looked up and noticed me. "Huh? Oh, I didn't see you standing there. Do you need something?"

"Don't mind me. Just gonna grab something and be on my way. Unless you wanna hang out or something?" I immediately froze as those words left my mouth. Why did I say that!?

"Fine. I don't mind allowing you to indulge in my attention. I hope you appreciate this," Byakuya accepted.

I spent some time with Byakuya.

"Listen, Hanako. I wanted to ask you something," Byakuya requested.

"What is it?" I questioned.

"You know...only a chosen few, perhaps 1% of us, are able to succeed in life. For the other 99%, their dreams never come true. Some never even have a dream in the first place... Spending every waking hour toiling to scrap together a meager living, just barely getting by... I just don't understand. Is there any meaning to a life like that?"

"Why are you asking me that?"

"Because you're part of that 99%, of course. Why did you even feel the need to ask?"

I gritted my teeth in anger.

"Up until now, I've never been around anyone like that. So I'm interested... So tell me, how does it feel to live a life without hope, without potential or ambition or dreams?" Byakuya asked again.

"First of all, they're rumors! How many times do I have to explain that!? Second, just because those 99% of people might never be as rich as you or anything, doesn't mean they can still have ambition, or dreams even! Do you have to go around saying that to everyone? Can you rich boys only be happy by being better than everyone else?" I questioned.

Byakuya smirked. "Your complaints are as old and tired as a third-rate pop song from any generation... And yet, those are the words of the 99%. That is how you find comfort in your tiny, cold little world."

"Stop saying that!"

"Sorry, I can't not speak the truth. No matter how much you push and struggle, people like you will never be in a position to change the world. You could all disappear tomorrow, and nothing would change. Your existence is of no consequence."

"Whether that's true or not, it doesn't matter at all! Even if you ever lived a totally normal, unimportant life, you could still find happiness in that. If I spent all my time comparing my life to other people's lives, I'd never be happy. Sure, maybe you can do that. You were guaranteed success from the day you were born, so—"

"Hold it!" Byakuya interrupted me. He glared at me with anger. "From the day I was born? You have no idea... You don't have a clue what you're talking about!"

"Huh?" I was taken aback by his sudden change in behavior.

"Those who are "chosen" from birth have no concept of what that truly means. I have gone to battle and emerged victorious. 'That' is why I am the chosen."

"Wh-What are you talking about?"

"You're spoiled, all of you "rich girls". Running away into a world of self-indulgence. Battle, competition, rivalry—you run away from it all. 'That' is why the 99% walk the path that they do. Good god, your absolute lack of understanding makes me want to weep." After showing a surprising amount of emotion, Byakuya quickly left.

"What...?" I froze in my spot, trying to comprehend what had happened. He was acting totally normal, up until the part about being guaranteed success from the day he was born... I wonder why that set him off.

I grabbed a snack and quickly headed out.

=======

Makoto Naegi:

(Makoto's POV)

I found Hanako in the music hall muttering to herself.

"I'll kill 'em. One of these days, I will strike at 'em unexpectedly..."

Hmm... Should I hang out with Hanako for a while?

-----

-Spend some time with Hanako ✔

-Go see who else is around

-----

"You didn't hear what I said, did you? Cause I was just kidding, okay? ...What's your favorite color?"

I answered Hanako's childish questions... Hanako and I grew a little closer today.

Would you like to give Hanako a present?

-----

-Yes, definitely ✔

-Not really, no

-----

What would you like to give her?

Rose in Vitro has been selected.

"Aww, for me? You shouldn't have. On second thought, I'm glad you did."

I get the impression that she liked it. That's good...

-----

"God! I am so annoyed!" Hanako complained.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"No matter where I go, those stupid rumors follow me everywhere! If there's one thing in the world that I hate more than rich boys...it's rumors!" Hanako yelled angrily.

"I can understand why you hate them. I mean, I would feel the same if things were circling around about me that aren't true," I synthesized.

"Thank you, Makoto. I'm glad we're on the page," Hanako said.

"Speaking of rumors, how did it even happen?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Well, it all started a bit before I got the invitation from Hope's Peak..." Hanako began. "It was before a tournament started. One of my opponents came up to me and asked if they could borrow some money. So, being the nice person that I am, I lend them a couple of bucks. Then the tournament started and I faced off against them...and as usual, I won. Someone must've seen me give money to them and thought that I was a briber. So they told someone, and the rest is history."

"All that for a simple kind act!? That's terrible!" I commented.

"Believe me, you have no idea. Everyone started calling me a cheater and a fake. I lost my friends and I had to learn the hard truth that the only reason they were hanging out with me was because..." Tears started to fill her eyes, but she quickly brushed them off. "I'm sorry, I said too much. Anyways I have to go."

Hanako took off running. This is the second time she's been avoiding certain discussions. Perhaps they are connected somehow...

Hanako's Report Card has been updated based on your experience with her. Your maximum number of Skill Points has increased!

Shortly afterward, I headed back to my room.

=======

I ran to my room and flopped on my bed trying to forget these memories. Tears flowed down my face. I slapped myself to keep myself from crying. Stop it! They're not worthy of you!

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

What a terrible day. We still haven't settled things with Sakura. Everyone's in a terrible mood. I highly doubt that tomorrow will be any better.

I slowly fell asleep.

 

Chapter 47: Dining Room Attack

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"

I got out of bed and headed out of my room, but as I closed the door, a scream cried out.

"UWAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!" The scream made me jump out of my skin. I ran to the dining hall as fast as I could. When I entered, Hiro and Makoto stood terrified.

"Ah, Hanako! We got a big problem, man!" Hiro cried out.

"What's going on?" I inquired.

"L-Look!" Hiro's finger shook as he pointed. Hina was sitting on the floor holding her shoulder in pain and Genocide Jill stood above her with her scissors in hand.

"Hina!" I yelled.

"Nn...ghh..." Hina groaned in pain.

"Sh-She killed her... Genocide Jill killed Hina!" Hiro panicked.

"No no no no no! She's not dead! Open your eyes! No way she's dead!" Jill said.

"What happened!?" I yelled.

"Well, Toko and Hina... Just all of a sudden, they were yelling, and then they knocked the pepper off the table," Hiro explained.

"Which caused Toko to sneeze," I guessed.

"Her giant balloons are a little too perfect, aren't they!? I might be flat, but at least mine are real! And look at my shapely collarbone! Doesn't it just totally set you on fire!?" Jill drooled. "Anyway, you totally non-adorable boys and adorable little girl just get her outta my sight, okay? Or else... I'll start cutting. And cutting, and cutting, and indulging myself for who knows how long..."

"O-Okay then, let's get Hina to the nurse's office. C'mon, you two. Help me!" Makoto requested.

"S-Sure thing!" Hiro said.

"Very well then," I said.

"Weeeoooo, weeeoooo! Kyeeehahahaha!" Genocide Jack's abrasive laughter chased us out of the room as we carried Hina away.

=======

As I finished patching up Hina's injury in the nurse's office she seemed to have finally regained her composure.

"Th-Thank you..." Hina muttered.

"Are you sure you're feeling better?" Makoto asked.

"Yeah...it really was just a scratch," Hina assured.

"But still, that was super close! If I hadn't yelled out, you'd be dead right now! It's all thanks to me, ya know!" Hiro bragged.

"Yes, well, a thousand thanks to you, sir," Hina said sarcastically.

"So sarcastic! That just makes you sound even MORE hostile!" Hiro gasped.

"So... What exactly happened?" I asked.

"Oh, um...we just got into a [fight]. And I lost my temper, and flew off the handle..." Hina explained.

"Let me guess...the fight was because of Sakura?" Makoto guessed.

"At first, I tried to just ignore it. If you let jerk buttholes get to you all the time, you'll never have time left to live your life. But she just wouldn't let it go. So I just... Without thinking about it, I felt like I wanted to punch her a dozen times!" Hina continued.

"A dozen punches isn't really "without thinking"..." Hiro muttered. We all ignored him.

"And when things got out of hand, Genocide Jack got let loose. Right?" Makoto concluded.

"It's my own fault. But I just...couldn't take it anymore. Because... Because...! Because she was saying all these terrible things about my friend, ya know!?" Hina's eyes started welling up with tears. And just as the tears were on the brink of spilling over...

BANG!!!

The door to the nurse's office burst open, causing all of us to jump. We all thought the door was gonna fly off its hinges. And there she stood before us...

"...Hina?" Sakura cried out,

"Sakura!" Hina cried back.

"You're hurt... What happened?" Sakura asked.

"Oh! N-Nothing, it's not a big deal...!" Hina assured her.

"Makoto! Hiro! Hanako! What's the meaning of this!?"

"I-It wasn't me! It was Genocide Jill! It's all that demented murderous fiend's fault!" Hiro explained in fear.

"Grrrnnnnhhhh!!! To hurt Hina... Damn you...! To leave me alone, but hurt her... What is this...? What issss thiiiiiissss!?" Sakura shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Hyaaaaaahh!" Hiro screamed.

I took a couple of steps back in fear.

"I-I'm okay, really! It's just a scratch...!" Hina reassured.

"Grrrnnnnhhhh!!! Unforgivable... I can't forgive them!" Sakura shouted.

"HYAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" Hiro screamed.

Sakura turned to Hiro with a deadly glare as the blue aura returned, surrounding her body. "Hiro...if you want to hate someone, hate me. If you want to hurt someone, hurt ME!"

"I-I-I don't... 'hate' you, exactly..." Hiro tried to explain.

"WHHHHYYYYYYYY!!!" Sakura screamed.

"S-S-S-S-S-S--! Somebody save meeeeeee! I'm just a bystander! I'm just a bystander!" Hiro nearly tripped over himself as he ran screaming out of the nurse's office.

"You come back here you coward!" I shouted after him. I was about to chase him when...

"What's going on? What's all this noise about?" Kyoko stood in the doorway of the nurse's office, taking Hiro's spot in the room. "I gather that something happened?"

"K-Kyoko! Please, you have to stop Sakura!" Makoto begged.

"You don't need to stop me... I'm okay. I'm not going to do anything. I just..." Sakura managed to calm herself down. "I'm drawing a line, right here and now. ...Goodbye." Sakura turned and left the nurse's office.

"W-Wait! Sakura!" Hina sprang into action, leaving the nurse's office to chase after Sakura.

"Well... I guess that's over with..." I muttered as I walked out, leaving Makoto and Kyoko alone.

=======

I spent the rest of my day in my room avoiding everyone, especially Hiro and Byakuya. I was in the middle of my slumber when the doorbell rang.

*Ding dong*

I slowly opened my eyes as the doorbell rang again.

*Ding dong*

I slowly got out of bed and opened the door, revealing Kyoko with a serious expression.

"Hanako, get out here," Kyoko ordered.

"Kyoko? What's going on?" I asked.

"Hina just came to see me, and she was white as a ghost. It sounds like something's happened," Kyoko explained.

"I-!" My heart started to beat fast and I suddenly found myself wide awake.

"She said for us to come to the rec room. I already sent Makoto there."

"Let's go!"

The two of us ran up the stairs to the rec room where Hina was standing in worry and Makoto was peeking through the window.

"Hanako! Kyoko!" Hina cried out when she saw us.

"What's wrong Hina!?" I asked.

"S-Something's not right... In the rec room...!" Hina explained.

"What's inside?"

"It's Sakura," Makoto answered as he turned his head. I peeked into the window and Sakura was sitting with her head bowed down.

"What's going on? Did something happen to her?" Kyoko inquired.

"I was just walking past, and I happened to notice her through the window... But I couldn't get the door open... I tried knocking, I tried calling her name... But she wouldn't respond... S-So what should we do? What are we gonna do!?" Hina panicked.

"First of all, we need to get into the room," Kyoko instructed.

"But the door's locked, right? And if we break in, we'll be violating school regulations..." Makoto pointed out.

"We're going to force our way in," Kyoko said.

"I just said--!"

"The door isn't locked. It's not locked because the rec room door doesn't 'have' a lock."

"Huh? Then why...?"

Kyoko went up to the door and tried to open it, but the doorknob wouldn't turn. "It feels like the door is pressing against something inside the room. Is it...the chair?"

"Chair...?" Makoto repeated.

"Either way, this door isn't locked. Which means, as far as I can tell, the rule doesn't apply."

"Then...there's no problem if we break in!?"

"Let's smash the window. That should be the fastest way..."

"Something tough will have to do," I suggested.

"Okay, I'll go get something to break it with! Wait right here!" Hina said and ran off.

"Is she...okay? I mean, it's Sakura, so I'm sure..." Makoto trailed off.

"..."

"..."

Neither of us replied. There was only silence. But that silence didn't last very long.

"Here!" Hina cried out as she ran back with a broom in her hand. "*Huff huff* I found a broom! *Huff* In the classroom! *Huff huff* Use it!"

"You can handle this, right Makoto?" Kyoko asked.

"Hit it with all you got!" I encouraged.

"C'mon! Please, hurry!" Hina begged.

"Okay! You three, stand back!" Makoto took hold of the broom and swung as hard as he could. In one solid hit...

*CRASH*

The window shattered into a hundred pieces, scattering across the rec room floor. Makoto stuck his hand through the now open window and started jostling the chair.

"The chair's pretty heavy... But if I can just...!" Makoto grunted and pushed on it with all his strength, and finally the knob turned.

"Sakura!" Makoto called out and ran up to her as fast as he could. But the moment he laid his hand on her...

...all he felt was the cold death of Sakura Ogami, the Ultimate Martial Artist.

 

Chapter 48: Guarding Arrangements and a Compromise

*Ding dong dong ding*

"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!"

All.Star.Apologies

Deadly Life

"Huh...? Sakura's... Sakura's...dead? She's...really dead?" Hina muttered next to me. My eyes stared steadily forward. I could only look forward. I could only look on with tears in my eyes at Sakura's dead body.

"We didn't make it in time. It's happened again..." Kyoko muttered and began to gently inspect Sakura's body. Was she confirming that Sakura really was dead? Checking for a pulse, or a reaction? I wondered.

"... I have to go get them... I have to go get...the others..." Hina said and left the rec room with shaky legs. And with shaky legs, I walked to Makoto and Kyoko.

"Why...? Why...did this have to happen?" Makoto asked in anger. He repeated it over and over again.

"..." I continued to stare at Sakura.

"I need to examine Sakura's body..." Kyoko said.

Makoto and I just stood there motionless behind her, unable to do a thing while she checked Sakura's corpse. Time passed, and after I don't know how long...

"I got everyone..." Hina announced as she, Hiro, Jill, and Byakuya entered the room.

"Uwah! O-Ogre!?" Hiro gasped.

"Oh. So she's dead, huh?" Jill asked.

"Sakura's been killed? I see..." Byakuya smirked.

As soon as they arrived, Kyoko began...

"You heard the announcement just now, right? So you know what this means."

"Sakura was murdered. And by someone in this very room... Is that what you were going to say?" Byakuya questioned.

"...No. Whoever killed her...it's not just "someone in this room." It was one of you... Hiro, Byakuya, Toko--one of you killed Sakura!" Hina accused with tears in her eyes.

"Wh-Wh--!?" Hiro gasped.

"You're accusing us before we've even begun the investigation?" Byakuya scowled.

"I don't need to investigate anything... Because you hated her. You hated the sight of her! One of you did it, I know it!" Hina argued.

"You...know it?" The voice of Monokuma made me jump as he appeared in the room. "Jeez, I didn't know your power level would increase by that much just by getting mad!"

"What are you doing here...?" Hina glared.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to hand out my little murder flyer," Monokuma explained. "That's right! It's the next Monokuma File! And don't get so mad, Miss Asahina, or you're gonna ruin that lewd little face of yours! Now then! With that, I--"

"Hold on..." Makoto interrupted. "There's something I want to ask you..."

"Huh?"

"It was you, wasn't it? You killed Sakura?" Makoto asked.

"Huh huh?"

"Sakura wanted to challenge the mastermind to a duel. Maybe you and her fought again, and then..."

"Then I killed her? Sorry, not quite! Actually, not even close. That whole thing is totally irrelevant now! Sakura came to a most regrettable end without even getting the chance to finish things with me... Which, thank God for that! It saved me the trouble of having to go through with our little fight. Cuz even for someone like me, it would've been no mean feat to take down a behemoth like that! I gotta tell ya, I was actually pretty worried! I mean, she'd violated a rule by attacking me in the first place, but I wasn't able to punish her! So I dunno who it was, but whoever the blackened is this time...I owe ya one!"

"Y-You owe them one!?" Hina shouted.

"Oopsie! Before you get all pissy-potty at me, you better figure out who did it first! Cuz I mean...your lives are all on the line, right? Puhuhu... Puhuhuhuhu!" Monokuma laughed as he disappeared.

"What the hell...? He owes them one? I hate him! I hate this whole thing!" Hina cried.

"Well I, for one, am glad it was Sakura. She was working for the mastermind, after all," Byakuya said.

"H-How can you say that now...!?" Makoto asked.

"Sorry, I don't have time for your squabbling. The next game has already begun... If you want to be angry at someone, be angry at whoever killed Sakura," Byakuya said.

"..." Hina glared at Byakuya.

"Right now, our top priority needs to be uncovering Sakura's killer. If we can't do that, we're all dead," Kyoko explained.

"Then let's decide who will stand guard this time," Byakuya suggested.

"...I'll do it," Hina volunteered.

"Hina...?" Makoto looked at her with worry.

"I'm okay... Just let me handle it...! Besides, I...I want to be here...with Sakura," Hina explained.

"Okay, then Hina is guard number one. But we need one more." Byakuya turned to Kyoko. "Kyoko, that's you."

"...Me?"

"You're always a thorn in my side. This time just stand by and watch quietly. Consider that an order," Byakuya explained.

"An order that she has no right to agree to!" I yelled.

"Fine. I'll stay behind," Kyoko agreed.

"What!?"

Byakuya smirked. "Then it's settled. Let's begin, shall we?"

"...Hold on! Before that, there's something I want to say," Hina spoke.

"Which is...?"

"Hiro, Byakuya, Toko--none of you are allowed to step foot in the crime scene."

"What...?" Hiro gasped.

"One of you killed Sakura! I won't let someone like that come anywhere near her!"

"Don't be stupid. Our lives are in just as much danger as yours! We have every right to investigate," Byakuya said.

"I don't care what you say. I'm not letting the one who killed Sakura anywhere near her. Even if it means I have to use force, you're not getting in here...!"

"Well, it appears further discussion would be a waste of time. How about a compromise?" Byakuya suggested. "I won't ask you to let all of us in. Just let me."

"What!?" Hiro shrieked.

"You don't really care, do you? You're both useless, anyway."

"Nope, don't really caaaare! I'd rather spend my time coming up with another splendid fantasy involving Master, anyway!' Jill blushed.

"Does anybody have a trash bin? 'Cause I'm gonna barf!" I asked loudly.

"And you, Hiro? Do you really object?" Byakuya asked him.

Hiro scratched his head. "I-If you're gonna go that far, what can I do? I mean, I don't have anything to hide, so why should I care?"

"Then it's decided."

"Nothing's decided!" Hina yelled.

"I know how you feel, Hina, but you should agree to his request," Kyoko suggested.

"B-But--!"

"We have to find out who killed Sakura. For those of us still alive, and to honor Sakura's memory..."

"...Fine. I guess that's okay. But no matter what, Byakuya, you absolutely aren't allowed to touch her...!"

"Naturally. Who would want to touch a filthy dead body?" Byakuya asked.

"Oh I don't know... Who was the one who had to touch Chihiro's dead body to mess up the crime scene? Do you know who? DO YOU FUCKING KNOW WHO!?" I shouted at him. I was struggling to not punch that ridiculous smirk of his ugly rich-ass face.

"That's enough fighting," Kyoko ordered. "We need to focus on the investigation from here on out. Everyone, keep this in mind. If we can't uncover Sakura's killer...all of us face execution."

I took a deep breath to calm myself down. Finding out who killed Sakura is not a matter of hoping we can do it... It's that we 'have' to do it if we want to survive. It's a kind of...hopeless hope. We have no choice but to just do it...!

And so, the investigation began.

 

Chapter 49: Try Not to Attack Anyone During an Investigation

Like every investigation, I first read the Monokuma File.

"The victim was Sakura Ogami. The time of death is estimated to be around 12 noon. The body was discovered in the rec room, on the 3rd floor of the school. There is evidence of a strong blow to the victim's head. No other injuries were noted. However, it seems that at some point, the victim suffered from violent vomiting of blood."

Monokuma File #4 has been added as a truth bullet

"I think the case this time might be...a challenge," Kyoko said out loud.

"Why's that...?" Makoto asked.

"The only way into the rec room is the door we just came through. And that door had been jammed shut with the chair from inside the rec room. Which means the killer would have had to escape somehow, 'after' barring the door," Kyoko explained.

"So if the door was blocked from the inside, and there was no way in or out till we broke the window... There's like...zero escape, right?" Makoto questioned.

"In other words, this is a classic locked room murder."

"L-Locked room murder...?"

One might see this kind of thing in mystery movies or books or whatever. But could it really happen in real life right before our very eyes like this?

"Are you curious to hear more about what a "locked room" murder entails?" Kyoko asked.

"S-Sure, if you don't mind..." Makoto answered.

"When you break down this type of murder mystery, there are four basic types. The first type is when the locked room is created after the actual crime is committed. This simply means that the killer commits his crime, then through some special method seals the room. This mainly involves some sort of trick involving the "locking" of the room. Basic approaches include using a string, or simple mechanism. There are a number of variations."

Then we just have to check the door to see if that's what it was.

"The second type is when the locked room already exists before the crime is committed," Kyoko continued.

"Oh...?" Makoto looked quite interested.

"Basically, the killer uses a special contraption or tool from outside to target the victim inside. You push a switch and it fires a handgun, you shoot an arrow through a gap in the door, something like that. But in this case, that doesn't seem to fit. There are no guns or arrows in the school, and the door doesn't have any gap that would allow it... The third type is when the killer stays in the room until it's opened up."

"What do you mean by that...?" Makoto asked.

"They stay hidden, and when the door is opened, they use the confusion to blend in with the group. They pretend they showed up along with everyone else, and that's that," Kyoko explained.

Eh... I'm not too sure about that one... But I'll keep that in mind.

"And the fourth and final type is when it wasn't actually a locked room at all."

"Not a locked room...?"

"By that I mean, there actually is an alternate escape route somewhere within the room. You see this a lot in novels and things, but in reality it's generally not possible."

"Then you think we can cross that one off, too?"

"I believe so, yes. So, when it comes to locked room mysteries, those are the basics."

"So there are four possibilities... Then...Kyoko, which of those four choices seems the most likely in this case?"

"That's a good question. Answering that should be our primary focus during this trial. But right now...I can't really say."

"I see..."

The way the killer set up the locked room is a mystery. Until I figure that out, the truth behind Sakura's death will stay hidden. It's definitely gonna be tough, but I need to concentrate and investigate as much as I can. For Sakura!

With new courage, I headed to Sakura's body.

Poor Sakura... She drew her last breath sitting slumped forward in this chair. Her bloody head shows the obvious evidence of the  blow to the head  Sakura suffered. Normally, I wouldn't have any problem believing that that's what killed her. But according to what the Monokuma File said, she had also  vomited blood .

I looked at Sakura's mouth. There are traces of blood on her lips for sure. So what would have caused her to vomit blood? The Monokuma File specifically said she hadn't suffered any other injuries.

Status of Sakura's Body has been added as a truth bullet

"Maybe her getting hit on the head somehow caused her to start vomiting blood?" Makoto asked.

"Not a chance," the obnoxious voice of Byakuya spoke up.

"B-Byakuya..." Makoto stuttered.

"However, your eyes have landed on a most interesting location," Byakuya pointed out.

"Interesting...?"

"Yes, most interesting. Don't you agree?"

"No," I simply said while trying to keep myself from exploding with rage. To calm myself, I looked at the ground as I breathed when something caught my eye, a red and white checkered pattern wrapper on the ground next to Sakura's feet. I picked it up to take a closer look at it.

"Ah, that's--!" Hina gasped.

"You seen this before Hina?" I asked.

"Well yeah. I mean, I gave it to her... That's a candy wrapper. Sakura got super upset when she found out Genocide Jack had attacked me, right? So after we left the nurse's office, I gave it to her. I thought it might help her calm down a little..." Hina explained.

"You gave it to Sakura," I repeated.

"I found a big box of it in the warehouse. I...really like 'em... Actually, as soon as we could get into the warehouse, I took the entire box back to my room. I made sure nobody else could get their hands on 'em."

Hm... Maybe I should do the same thing with the caramel candies.

"But I wanted Sakura to get a chance to try one for herself. That's why I gave it to her... But now...they've lost all their flavor." Tears filled up Hina's eyes again.

"Oh Hina..." I wrapped my arms around Hina and gave her a hug and she immediately hugged back. We stayed like that for a minute until Hina pulled away.

"Thanks Hanako... I guess I needed that," Hina said as she wiped away her tears.

"Anytime," I smiled and put the candy wrapper in my pocket.

Poka Dot Candy Wrapper has been added as a truth bullet

Makoto and Kyoko were checking out the open locker. I walked up to them. Upon closer examination, there was a handprint in the dust.

"What's a handprint doing here?" Kyoko asked.

"It looks like someone touched the inside of the locker, and it left a handprint in all the dust..." Makoto observed.

"And it looks quite fresh, too. I'd say someone was hiding here in the locker, and they left behind a little something extra..."

"Do you think the killer hid in the locker until the room was opened?" I questioned.

"Unfortunately, that's not a possibility," Kyoko said.

"How come?" I asked.

"Think back. Before we opened the door, we looked inside the room, right?"

"Oh yeah... And the locker was already open at that point..." Makoto added.

"So there's no way someone could have hidden in there until 'after' we opened the door," Kyoko concluded.

"My bad then..." I said.

Locker Handprint has been added as a truth bullet

As I walked away, I heard a crunching sound below my feet. I looked down and saw shards of glass scattered all around the chair Sakura was sitting on.

The glass is all...red. And... These are the top and bottom sections of a bottle. So this must have originally been a  bottle .

Glass Shards on the Floor has been added as a truth bullet

There was also something else on the ground near the glass. It's a figure that fits in the palm of my hand. It's...a Monokuma figure. And it's holding a knight chess piece!

Figure on the Floor has been added as a truth bullet

I headed to a shelf where Kyoko and Makoto were and saw that it had four red bottles lined up. And inside each bottle, there's some kind of Monokuma figure each carrying a different chess piece.

"What I'm wondering is, how'd they get those figures inside the bottles...?" Makoto inquired.

"It's no different from your standard ship in a bottle," Kyoko said.

"...Huh?"

"You know, where the bottle's opening is smaller than the boat placed inside? You've never seen that?"

"Oh, yeah...maybe I have."

"So this is the Monokuma version of that. A...Monokuma Bottle, if you will," Kyoko said.

Monokuma Bottle has been added as a truth bullet

"I feel like I'm finally starting to make sense of things, little by little..." Makoto muttered.

Yes, me too. The Monokuma Bottles sitting on the shelf... The Monokuma figure on the ground... The red shards of glass, which probably started out as a bottle... Which would mean...Sakura must have been hit in the head with a Monokuma Bottle, right? The shards of glass and the Monokuma figure are evidence of that... So I think it's safe to say that the  Monokuma Bottle  was the weapon.

I looked at the magazine shelf and there was a bloodstain in front of it. It must have come from Sakura, right? But that doesn't make sense. Why is it so far away from where she died?

Magazine Shelf Bloodstain has been added as a truth bullet

Makoto was talking to Hina when I walked past them to the entrance. On the ground on top of the broken glass was some kind of plastic container.

"It looks like...a protein drink. And it's empty..." Kyoko spoke.

"It must belong to Sakura. Everyone knows how much she loved her protein. And she mentioned more than once how protein was good for all sorts of ailments," I said.

"I wouldn't take that to heart, if I were you..." Kyoko advised.

"I know..." I sighed. But still, this protein can... It's got a label CHEM A-2 on it. That reminds me... Sakura mentioned how the chem lab had all kinds of health stuff. So she must have gotten this from the chem lab.

"But that's strange..." Kyoko spoke.

"What's strange?" I asked.

"You see what's scattered around the can?" Kyoko questioned.

"Shards of light blue glass... They must be parts of the window Makoto broke to get inside."

"But they aren't just scattered 'around' the can. They're also underneath it."

"I noticed that. Do you think that matters?"

"I can't say for sure yet, but you're probably going to want to take a note of it. I feel like it'll become an important clue later on..."

An important clue, huh?

Empty Protein Drink has been added as a truth bullet

Well since I'm here, I might as well check out the door. This door is the  only way  in or out of the rec room. It doesn't have a lock, and there's no evidence I see that the mountings have been tampered with. The only notable change to the door is that smashed window which happened when Makoto broke it to get inside. There's no evidence that any kind of string or mechanism was used on the door. In other words, there isn't anything suspicious about the door itself.

I then examined the chair that barricaded the door. There's no evidence that any kind of string or mechanism was used on the chair. So then there's no reason to think the chair had anything special done to it. After the examinations, there's no doubt the reason the door didn't open was simply because the chair was shoved up against it. This kept the doorknob from turning, and the door from opening. And there was no evidence of the door or chair being tampered with or anything like that. So the killer must have created the locked door from the inside, 'not' from the outside.

Rec Room Door has been added as a truth bullet

"Well, Hanako? Have you finished with your general part of the investigation?" Kyoko asked.

"Yes, I believe so..." I answered.

"Then you and Makoto should probably go talk with people now. I'm on guard duty, so I can't leave. Which is why I've decided you two will go in my place," Kyoko said.

I sighed as Makoto and I headed out of the room.

"Why do we have to talk to them? They're so annoying!" I complained.

"Even so, we still have to talk to them," Makoto explained. "Sakura wanted to meet with Byakuya, Hiro and Toko. I already talked to Byakuya earlier and he said that he hasn't seen Sakura today at all. So now we need to hear what the others have to say."

I scoffed. "Typical. Rich boys like him are just a bunch of cowards that hide behind their arrogant behavior and their precious money sacks!"

"Why do you hate rich boys so much?" Makoto asked as we reached the dorm hallway.

"... Now's not the time to explain. I'm gonna talk to Toko while you talk to Hiro, okay?"

"Alright..." Makoto agreed and walked to Hiro's door. I stood in front of Toko's door and pressed the doorbell.

*Ding dong*

After a few seconds, Toko slightly opened the door.

"Huh? Wh-Who's there?" Toko muttered.

Sheesh, that's the most negative aura I've ever felt.

"Well? What do y-you want?" Toko asked.

"Oh look, you're back to normal. Genocide Jack isn't around for now," I pointed out.

"D-Don't even say her name... It makes me s-sick to my stomach... I was in such a g-good mood, too...!"

I rolled my eyes. You sure don't 'look' like it... "Can we talk? I need to ask you something."

"... Kh...!" Obviously annoyed, Toko slithered out into the hall. "Wh-What do you want? You said you wanted to [talk] to m-me about something...?"

"I wanted to talk to you about the fact that Sakura had asked to meet with you," I said.

"Wh--!? I-I-I don't know what you're t-talking about!" Toko denied.

I could feel myself boiling with anger. "Well, I heard that your "precious master" had been asked by Sakura to meet up with him."

"What...? She w-wanted to meet with Master, too? Ah! I just s-said "too," didn't I...? I guess now it's t-totally obvious, huh?"

"Yep. So, can you tell me about it?"

"I a-admit, I did get the note... B-But I didn't go see her! I was s-scared, so...I couldn't bring m-myself to go!"

She claims she didn't go see her, but I don't believe her! But until I can prove otherwise, I have no choice but to accept it as fact.

"Is that g-good enough? Then I'm going back to m-my room..." With that, Toko quickly retreated into her room.

Toko's Account has been added as a truth bullet

Makoto came back just as Toko closed the door. "I finished with Hiro. Had any luck with Toko?"

"Yes. She claims that she got the note from Sakura, but she didn't go to see her cause she was scared," I explained. "How about Hiro?"

"He said he hasn't seen Sakura since Hina was attacked and he didn't go meet up with her, but somehow I doubt that," Makoto said. "So what now?"

"Let's check out the Chem Lab," I suggested. "There was a protein can at the scene of the crime, so it must've come there."

"Alright let's go then!" With a smile, Makoto and I raced up to the Chem Lab. When we went inside, that rich-ass Byakuya was there.

"Makoto, Hanako...did you have your eyes on the chem lab, too? Just make sure you don't get in my way," Byakuya ordered.

"Yeah, yeah, just don't get in our way first!" I ordered.

"I think what you meant to say was, "Yes, sir. I understand.""

"WHY YOU-" I was about to lunge at him, but Makoto held onto me tight.

"Just ignore him and let's check out the cabinets," Makoto said as he dragged me towards them. I just can't get over how big it is.

It looks like three shelves have been connected together to make one giant shelf. But more important right now... What's that  powder  that's been spilled in front of the shelf? I have to be careful not to step into it.

In cabinet A, there are all kinds of dietary supplements and different medicines. The protein drink in the rec room probably came from this shelf. All the containers on this shelf are labeled with the letter A, and a number. So I guess I can consider this part of the shelving unit section A.

"...Huh? But wait!" Makoto said and took a closer look at one of the bottles while trying not to step on the yellow powder. "There's one bottle here that's labeled CHEM C-9...! Could someone have put it here on accident...?"

"Don't know," I answered and searched cabinet B. On this shelf, it looks like a bunch of chemicals that I have no idea what they are. I took a bottle out and examined it up close.

"They're reagents. Put simply, they're used in experiments to bring about a chemical reaction. How have you lived in such ignorance for so long? It must truly be bliss..." Byakuya insulted.

I clutched the bottle tightly. Just ignore him... Just ignore him...!

"I-Isn't that kinda harsh...?" Makoto asked.

"What, you think studying science and mathematics has no practical application in the real world? The words of a lifelong loser. Which, I suppose, suits you well."

"ARGH!" In anger, I threw the bottle in my hand as hard as I could at Byakuya. He quickly dodged it and the bottle ended up on hitting the wall behind him, crashing into pieces.

"Hanako!" Makoto shouted.

"Tsk. Pathetic and predictable," Byakuya smirked.

"There's more where that came from!" Before I could tackle him, Makoto wrapped his arms around me tightly restraining me.

"H-Hanako, calm down. This probably isn't a good place for you to be in. Why don't you go check out the crime scene again while I take care of things here," he said and began to drag me out of the room.

"I'm not leaving you here alone with that bitch!" I shouted and tried to hold my ground.

"But if you stay here, you'll continue to act like this. Trust me, it's for your own good," Makoto reasoned.

I sighed aggressively. "Fine..."

"Thank you, Hanako." Makoto dragged me towards the door and let go of me. I walked out of the Chem Lab and went back to the rec room.

"So Hanako, how's your investigation going?" Kyoko asked.

I explained to her about what Toko told me and what Makoto told me about Hiro.

"I see... So along with Byakuya, they're both claiming they didn't go see her. But it's all too convenient. Someone must be lying. Well, I've made some progress of my own. Sakura's body, the shelf of magazines, and the Monokuma Bottles. These three things have revealed new clues. You'd do well to look them over one more time," Kyoko suggested.

I started with the magazine shelf. "Clue, clue, where's the clue..." I muttered. My eyes then hit an upside down magazine. Did someone put it back that way by accident?

"If something catches your eye, it's important for you to explore that in detail, don't you think?" Kyoko asked.

"Yes it is..." I picked up the magazine and flipped through it until I came across a certain page. On that page, near the center of the magazine, a word had been written in bold, bloody letters... And it said...Toko.

"Is this a dying message!?" I asked.

"Then it would appear you've found it," Kyoko said. "It is indeed a dying message. Someone used their finger to write it. But just to be clear, I'm not the one who put it back upside down. It was already like that when I found it a little while ago. I made sure to put it back exactly as I found it, for the benefit of others who might come looking."

"H-Hey... Is that...? That says...Toko, right?" Hina said as she peeked from behind our shoulders.

"It looks like it," I answered.

"Then...she's the killer! Right!?" Hina yelled.

"Hold on Hina. That hasn't been confirmed yet," I said.

"It's settled! She's the killer for sure! That's conclusive evidence, right!? We can use it to corner the killer!"

I can see why you would think that, but... It just seems too easy. If anything, it makes me that much more suspicious.

Magazine Dying Message has been added as a truth bullet

Makoto came in just as I was checking out the Monokuma Bottles. "Hey Hanako. I'm done with the Chem Lab. How's it going on your end?"

"Well. Kyoko said that she'd found a new clue involving the bottles," I explained.

Makoto looked at the bottles closely.

"So? Did you figure it out? There's a hidden correlation between all the bottles. Pay careful attention and you're sure to find it," Kyoko hinted out.

Hm... I think I know what she's talking about.

"Hey, Kyoko...can't you just tell me what it is?" Makoto begged.

"I don't mind guiding you toward clues, but giving you my conclusion isn't a good idea. Each person needs to come to their own conclusions, so that everyone can have confidence in the outcome," Kyoko said.

"And it's not just because you don't trust me...right?"

"..."

"No answer!?"

"I do trust you, to a degree. Otherwise, I wouldn't have told you anything to begin with."

Monokuma Bottle truth bullet has been updated

"Actually, there's one other thing about the Monokuma Bottles that's bothering me... I'd like to do an experiment to confirm it. You two don't mind helping me, right?" Kyoko requested.

"An experiment...?" Makoto repeated.

"Can you gather up all the pieces of the broken Monokuma Bottle? Try to get the smaller pieces, too."

"Huh? Are you sure it's okay to mess with the crime scene like that...?"

"I've already done a thorough investigation, so it's fine. And that obnoxious Byakuya's not here, so... Anyway, I need to get something from the chem lab. While I'm gone, try to gather up all the glass." With that, Kyoko left the room.

"I really don't know what this is about, but...what choice do I have? I'd better just do it," Makoto sighed.

Makoto took the broom while I took the dustpan and got to work collecting all the broken bottle pieces.

=======

Just as we finished up, Kyoko came back with a scale in her arms.

"Sorry to keep you both waiting. Is everything ready? Then let's get to work."

"So...what kind of experiment are we doing?" Makoto asked.

"I got a scale from the chem lab. We're going to use it to compare weights."

"Compare the weights...of what?"

"The pieces of glass you collected, and one of the Monokuma Bottles that's still intact."

"Why do you want to do what...?"

"That's the point of the experiment. It'll make sense when we're done." Kyoko placed the scale on the pool table. "First, let's compare the weight of two of the normal Monokuma Bottles." She grabbed two bottles and put one on each side.

"It's...balanced," Makoto observed.

"Which means, each Monokuma Bottle weighs about the same."

"Obviously. The Monokuma figures inside are basically the same, and nothing else could really affect the weight," I spoke.

"Now, here comes the important part... Put all the pieces you picked up on one side of the scale. Now, what might we expect to see?" Kyoko questioned.

"Well, a normal assumption would be either they'll balance out, or the pieces Hanako and I collected will be lighter. We did our best to get them all, but there's a chance we could have missed some here and there," Makoto hypothesized.

"Okay, then let's give it a try." Kyoko took one bottle off the replaced it with a bag of broken pieces. The scale with the bag on it dropped.

"Huh...? The broken pieces are...heavier!? H-How is that possible...?" Makoto questioned.

"Just as I thought..." Kyoko muttered.

"What?" I asked.

"The results of our experiment, and the correlation between each of the bottles--put it all together...and I believe you will arrive at one very persuasive conclusion. So? What do you think? It's all on you both."

Monokuma Bottle Experiment has been added as a truth bullet

Now the final thing to check is Sakura's body.

I stared at her, not really moving.

"Just staring off into space isn't going to help you figure anything out," Kyoko spoke.

"Yeah, I know. But..."

"Don't you think you might need to actually examine the body?"

"..."

"There's no getting around it." Kyoko didn't recoil at the thought of touching a dead body. She was completely unemotional.

"I can't believe how calm you are. No matter how many times I see a dead body, I can't get used to it..." Makoto complimented.

"That's totally normal," Kyoko said.

"Then...how can you...?"

"I imagine it's because I've had plenty of opportunities to touch dead bodies in the past."

"What...?"

"Sorry, never mind. More importantly, look here..." Kyoko pointed to Sakura's shoes.

"Her...shoes?" Makoto questioned.

"You see that yellow powder on her instep?"

"Yes," I answered.

"Yeah, it really stands out..." Makoto observed.

"That powder is clue number one," Kyoko said.

Yellow Powder has been added as a truth bullet

"Next is the wound to her head. Look carefully... Actually, even telling you that, it's incredibly difficult to spot. So let me just explain... It would appear that she didn't suffer a single blow...but instead, received two blows to the head," Kyoko said.

"Two blows...?" Makoto repeated.

"Interesting, wouldn't you say? And there's one more interesting thing... Both of her hands were spotless. There's absolutely no trace of blood on either one. So, that's what I learned from examining her body in detail."

It's amazing how she was able to learn all that just by looking at her body. I don't think anyone but Kyoko could have pulled that off.

Kyoko's Examination Summary has been added as a truth bullet

*Ding dong, bing bong*

The monitor flickered, and Monokuma appeared on the screen.

"......Oops! Ya caught me sleeping. Your investigation was just so boring, I couldn't stay awake! Should I do it? Is it okay? Can I? Can I can I can I? Okay, then let's begin the class trial! You know where to meet, right? Please go through the red door on the first floor of the school! Puhuhu. See you soon!"

That time already, huh? But the mystery of the locked room is still only half solved. At this point, whatever happens will have to happen at the class trial!

=======

Monokuma made his announcement, and everyone began to meet up, one after another. And then...

"The ultimate martial artist! ^_^ A locked room murder mystery! ;)" Monokuma said using emoticons.

"What the...?" Kyoko muttered.

"Oh, I've just recently discovered the power...of emoticons! Like, no matter how awful something is, if you toss in a smiley face, it turns positive!" Monokuma explained. "For example... You're at a picnic and you find a dead body! XD"

"This is just plain creepy..." Hiro said.

"And how about the reverse? No matter how great something is, if you put in a sad face, it makes it look super negative! For example... Do you have a hundred friends? T_T"

Hiro gasped. "He's right! That 'does' make it seem sad!"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh brother!"

"Now then, please get on the elevator! o_O I'll see you all down there! <(*-*<) ^(*-*)^ (>*-*)>" Monokuma disappeared.

"Wh-What the hell was that...?" Toko questioned.

"I don't get it..." Hiro said.

"I don't get 'you' guys! How can you act so casual after murdering someone!?" Hina yelled.

"I-I...don't think I'm acting casual. Er, I mean...! I didn't murder anyone!" Hiro yelled back.

"Yeah, I'm c-completely innocent... How d-dare you call me a murderer!?" Toko stuttered.

"Whatever..." Hina grumbled.

"Either way, the truth will be revealed soon enough. Because there can be no doubt, one of us is the culprit," Byakuya said.

The killer... The one that murdered Sakura... She was stronger than anyone I know... And yet, someone killed her. And that person is here. That person...is one of us!

"Come on, it's time to put an end to this..." Makoto encouraged us.

One by one we all walked into the elevator. We watched the doors close and felt it begin its sinister descent. The elevator lowered, uttering its all too familiar clunking sounds. It fell lower, and lower. And as suddenly as always, the ride was over. The doors opened once again to the now Egyptian themed trial room.

"Hmm... Just the seven of you, huh? Really..." Monokuma said from his throne. "That's so few! You must be so lonely!"

"You say that like it's not YOUR fault we're all that's left!" Makoto shouted.

"I wonder, will the class trial end with one less classmate again? Or...will your school life come to an end completely? Now then, are we ready to begin? You know the drill! Find your assigned seats!" Monokuma ordered.

And so, the curtain opened for the fourth time... A deadly judgment... A deadly deception... A deadly betrayal... A deadly riddle, a deadly defense, a deadly faith... A deadly...class trial...!

 

Chapter 50: Class Trial #4 Part 1: Who's the Culprit?

CLASS TRIAL! ALL RISE!

"Let's begin with a basic explanation of the class trial!" Monokuma started. "So, your votes will determine the results. If you can figure out "whodunnit" then only they will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong one...then I'll punish everyone 'besides' the blackened, and the one that deceived everyone else will graduate! Now then...where to begin...?"

"We already know who did it...!" Hina said.

"Whoa! Deja vu!" Monokuma gasped.

"The one who killed Sakura...is one of the people that hated her! Byakuya, Toko or Hiro! It was one of you!" Hina declared.

"Hmph. Idiot," Byakuya scoffed.

"I-I had nothing to d-do with it..." Toko denied.

"Y-Yeah! I'd never kill someone, no way!" Hiro argued.

"I don't wanna hear your stupid excuses!" Hina shouted.

Hina seems really sure that one of those three is the killer. She must have some reason for believing that.

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Hina: It was one of you... One of you killed Sakura!

Byakuya: And what reason do you have for saying so?

Hina: Because you all had a motive! You hated her!

Byakuya: Is that it? That doesn't make any sense...

Hiro: That's the only reason you have for accusing us?

Truth Bullet: Aoi's Account

Makoto: NO, THAT'S WRONG!

-BREAK!!-

"Another reason you suspect them is because Sakura wanted to meet with them, right?" Makoto asked.

"Yeah! And that was right before she died!" Hina confirmed. "So there's no doubt about it! One of those three killed her!"

I can't disagree with Hina. There's good reason to suspect all three of them. Then does that mean that one of them did it?

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Hina: The fact that Sakura wanted to meet with all three of them... There's no way that's not suspicious! One of you is absolutely guilty!

Byakuya: I don't deny that she wanted to meet with us, but... I never went to see her.

Toko: I-I didn't either...

Hiro: Yeah, same here! I never saw her...!

Truth Bullet: Pocket Trash

Makoto: NO, THAT'S WRONG!

-BREAK!!-

"Hiro...when we were talking before, you dropped a small piece of paper, remember? It was white with red polka dots..." Makoto recalled.

"Wh-What's that got to do with anything!?" Hiro asked in shock.

"Red polka dots...? That's gotta be the wrapper from the candy I gave Sakura!" Hina said.

"N-No, it's...it's, um..." Hiro was trying to think of an excuse.

"Ever since we got into the warehouse, I totally monopolized that entire box of candy. So there's no way a single one of them was left in the warehouse!" Hina explained.

"In that case, Hiro...where 'did' you get that piece of candy?" Makoto questioned.

"From Sakura! It's the only explanation!" Hina answered.

"U-Umm... W-Well, I mean...yeah, sure I got it from her, but... But she gave it to me forever ago! It doesn't have anything to do with what happened to her!" Hiro yelled.

"When? When did she give it to you?" Hina asked.

"The last time you saw Sakura was...when Hina had to go to the nurse's office, right?" Makoto asked.

"Y-Yeah, so I musta got it...some time before then," Hiro said.

What Hiro said is an outright lie. Because Sakura could only have gotten the candy 'after' the incident in the nurse's office. And I know that is because...

-----

-Hiro got the candy from Hina

-Sakura loved candy too much to share

-When Saura got the candy ✔

"THAT'S IT!"

-----

"That's not true Hiro and you know it! Hina didn't actually give Sakura the candy till after she left the nurse's office. So if that was the last time you saw her, there's no reason you should've had that candy!" I explained.

"Dammit!" Hiro shouted and then quickly realized what he said. "Er, I mean...what I meant was, uh... ... Oh, that's right! I DID meet up with her in the rec room! You got a problem with that!?"

"Why the s-sudden hostility...?" Toko asked.

"But we just talked, that's all! I didn't do anything! You gotta believe me!" Hiro begged.

Toko scowled. "Y-You're acting incredibly s-suspicious..."

"YOU'RE acting incredibly suspicious!" Hiro yelled back.

"More h-hostility..."

"It's not just normal hostility! You're the real culprit! I even have proof!"

"Huh? P-Proof! What are you t-talking about?"

"I'm talking about her shining message! At the scene of the crime, she had written out "Toko" in her own blood, right? It was her "dying message"! Just like what you guys were talking about with Sayaka!"

"That's true! I saw it for myself!" Hina confirmed.

"See? See!? Toko did it!" Hiro accused.

"Wh-Wh-What are you saying!? No w-way! I didn't d-do it!" Toko denied.

"You just don't know when you're beat, do ya!?" Hiro shouted.

"Hiro, hold on..." Kyoko spoke. "When did you see that dying message of hers?"

"Huh...? W-Well, when we found Ogre's body. Duh..." Hiro said.

"But if you recall, Hina was very adamant about keeping you away from the scene of the crime. So it's hard to believe that's when you actually saw the message for yourself," Kyoko said.

Wait a second... When Kyoko found the magazine with the dying message in it, it was...

-----

-On the magazine shelf ✔

-Under the magazine shelf

-Above the magazine shelf

"THAT'S IT!"

-----

"Kyoko, you said you found the magazine on the magazine shelf, right?" I asked.

"That's right. Looking through the shelf, I found the magazine with the dying message on it. I found it right there at the scene of the crime, after we'd started the investigation," Kyoko explained.

"If what you said is true, then what Hiro just said doesn't make sense," I said.

"D-Doesn't make sense...? What doesn't make sense!? Everything I said makes perfect sense!" Hiro argued.

No, it doesn't, and I'm gonna prove it!

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Hiro: I can tell you exactly when I found the dying message: When Ogre's body was discovered!

Kyoko: And I can tell you when 'I' found the dying message... It was only after the investigation had begun. I found the magazine tucked away on the magazine shelf (absorb)...

Truth Bullet: magazine shelf

Hanako: I TESTIFY AGAINST THAT!

-BREAK!!-

"When Sakura's body was discovered that magazine was sitting on the shelf nearby. That's where Kyoko found it after we'd begun the investigation. And you weren't at the murder scene, so there's no way you could have seen it!" I explained.

"Gah-hah!" Hiro cried.

"Tell us the truth, Hiro. When did you see the message?" Makoto asked.

"H-Hold on, you're focusing on the wrong part! Why does it matter when I saw it!? All you gotta do is read the vienna sausage Ogre left us and we know who the killer is--Toko!" Hiro continued to argue.

"I don't even know where to begin with that one!" Hina said.

"What's vienna sausages got to do with this?" I asked.

"He's just t-trying to confuse us...!" Toko said.

"Actually, can we even be sure Sakura wrote that message in the first place?" Kyoko questioned.

"Um, yeah...? I think we can all agree Ogre wrote that message! One hundred percent without a doubt she wrote it! And this is me talking, so you know it's true!" Hiro answered.

You sounded unsure just now. There's no way Sakura wrote that message!

-The Moment of Truth!-

"Show me the proof!"

"I'm AT LEAST 30% right!"

"Can't hear you, can't hear you!"

"The occult is bullcrap!"

"Conspiracy!"

"Give it a rest!"

"The end is nigh!"

"One hundred percent without a doubt she wrote it! And this is me talking, so you know it's true!"

Truth Bullet: Kyoko's Examination Summary

Hanako: TAKE THAT!

-BREAK!!-

"I'm completely unconvinced that Sakura was the one who wrote that dying message. Because if you look at it, the message was almost certainly written using a finger, but both of her hands were completely free of blood," I explained.

"Say wh--!?" Hiro cried.

"Then...who did write it...?" Hina questioned.

"Hiro could very well have written it himself. That would explain how he knew about the message in the first place," Kyoko suggested.

"N-Ngh...grr...!" Hiro sighed and admitted defeat. "Yeah... Yeah, that's exactly what happened."

"Ah! He admits it!" Hina gasped.

"I figured as much," Kyoko said.

"But...why would you write something like that?" Makoto asked him.

"B-Because... Because I killed her!" Hiro confessed. "Please, just let me explain what happened... I got Ogre's note, and so I headed to the rec room right before noon, just like it said..."

"You just did exactly as the note asked? What a fool..." Byakuya spoke.

"Shut up!" I shouted.

"And when I got there..." Hiro continued.

-Flashback-

"Sorry, but do you mind waiting? I asked a couple of other people to meet, as well."

"O-Okay..."

"Would you like a piece of candy? It might help give you some energy."

"O-Oh, sure... Thanks."

"And that's all she said. After that, we just stood around in awkward silence... Suddenly, I heard her mutter something..."

"This is it... I'm going to end it today... I'm going to end...everything."

"As soon as I heard that, I just knew... I knew she was gonna try and kill me! She was gonna kill me and make her escape! So of course I freaked out, and then..."

*SMASH!*

"I saw my only chance. I grabbed a Monokuma Bottle from the shelf, and smashed it across her head! I...I hit her from behind, before she had any idea what was happening!"

-End of Flashback-

"Then she just...went limp. I didn't see her move again after that. Once it was over, I pulled myself together. I realized if I didn't do something, I'd be caught and executed. So I wrote Toko's name in blood across a magazine on the table, and...I ran away."

"I-I can't believe you! You're the worst! I hope you d-die!" Toko shouted.

"Well, that's what happened. Go ahead, roast me, boil me, do whatever you want..." Hiro said.

"You're not gonna get off that easy. It's death...death for the one that killed Sakura! We're ready to vote now, right!? We know who did it!" Hina yelled.

"No, I think there's more to Hiro's story..." Kyoko spoke.

"What are you talking about? What else could there be!?" Hina asked.

"There's one thing that Hiro's story just now doesn't explain. And until we figure that part out, we can't consider the case closed," Kyoko explained.

What's the thing that Hiro did that doesn't make sense?

-----

-Why he picked Toko

-Why he didn't use Sakura's finger

-Why the magazine is hidden ✔

"THAT'S IT!"

-----

"That's right. Everything you just said, doesn't explain why the magazine was hidden," I said.

"Huh...?"

"When the body was discovered, the magazine had already been picked up and put on the shelf. Why would you waste your time to write that message and then place it somewhere we might not find it?" I questioned.

"Oh. Well, uh... I didn't hide it. I'm sure I just left it sitting there on the table," Hiro said.

"...Really?" Makoto said.

"H-He's lying! He's g-gotta be lying!" Toko accused.

"I don't see any reason he would lie now, after already confessing to the crime..." Kyoko said.

"Then...he's 'not' lying?" Hina glared.

"Assuming he's telling the truth, someone else must have put the magazine back on the shelf. In other words, at least one other person was in the rec room both before and after the incident," Byakuya explained.

"I don't think there's any question about that," Kyoko agreed.

"Th-Then...who was it?" Hina asked.

"If they went to the trouble of hiding the magazine, they must not have liked what was written on it," Kyoko said.

"It had to be Toko, right?" Makoto questioned.

"Wh--?" Toko bit her thumb.

"Who else would want to hide the magazine other than the person whose name was written on it?"

"Is he right, Toko? Did you really go to the rec room...?" Hina glared at Toko.

"Wh-Why would I have...? Wait, b-but more important...! That doesn't even m-matter! We already know who d-did it, right!? Hiro just a-admitted it!" Toko yelled.

"That's right. I killed her," Hiro said.

"No, you didn't," Makoto objected.

"Wh-Who asked you!?" Toko sneered.

"I don't doubt Hiro attacked Sakura with the bottle. But that's not where this case ends," Makoto said.

"What do you mean...?" Hina asked.

"What he means is that Hiro isn't the killer," Kyoko replied.

"You can't be s-serious! That's just... I don't b-believe it!" Toko yelled.

"Hiro, tell us what happened one more time. If we go through it once more, it should become clear he's not Sakura's killer," Kyoko instructed.

"Um, so...what do you want me to do?" Hiro asked.

"Just tell us what happened one more time, when you attacked Sakura," Kyoko explained.

"I don't really see why, but...okay!"

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Hiro: I didn't want to, but...I did it. I grabbed a Monokuma Bottle from the shelf nearby and I hit Ogre from behind before she could do anything!

Kyoko: You hit her from behind... And you only hit her once, is that right?

Hiro: Yeah, just once...

Truth Bullet: Kyoko's Examination Summary

Hanako: I TESTIFY AGAINST THAT!

-BREAK!!-

"If Sakura died from Hiro's single blow, then why does she have two head wounds?" I asked.

"Huh? Two...?" Hiro repeated, quite shocked.

"That's right. She had two separate wounds on her head," Kyoko confirmed.

"And remember, this girl examines dead bodies as a hobby. Personally, I'm inclined to believe her," Byakuya said.

"But...I only hit her once. How could she have two wounds?" Hiro asked.

"Two wounds means she was struck twice. What's more, both attacks must have come from a Monokuma Bottle," Kyoko explained.

"H-Hold on! How can you know that j-just from some cuts on her head? She was a-attacked twice? With two M-Monokuma Bottles?" Toko questioned.

"It's not just because of her head wounds. It's also because of the Monokuma Bottles themselves. There's something very suspicious about those bottles... Once you understand that point, you'll understand why two separate Monokuma Bottles must have been used," Kyoko said. "Think back...after the incident, there were 4 Monokuma Bottles left on the shelf, right? And we found pieces of a bottle on the ground, along with the chess piece it had inside."

"A knight chess piece to be exact," I added.

"That was the bottle Hiro hit Sakura with, right?" Makoto asked.

Kyoko nodded her head. "For now, just note that there were four intact bottles, and one broken bottle. But originally, there were six bottles in total. Meaning one has gone missing."

"But h-how can you know for sure there were s-six bottles...?" Toko inquired.

"That's easy. If you look at what the bottles all had in common, it should become clear."

Makoto thought for a moment. "That's it! The chess pieces! Inside each bottle, there was a Monokuma figure holding a different chess piece."

"King, rook, bishop, pawn... I definitely remember seeing each of those," Byakuya said.

"And the knight chess piece was in the broken bottle," I said.

"So? What's that m-matter?" Toko muttered.

"I guess you don't know too much about chess, do you?" Kyoko turned to me. "Hanako. As the Ultimate Chess Player, would you care to explain the pieces?"

My eyes sparkled with excitement. "Absolutely! Okay so, in chess, there are six different pieces--the king, the queen, the rook, the knight, bishop, and the pawn. Looking back at the crime scene, the king, rook, bishop, and pawn were still in their individual bottle. And on the ground was the knight..."

"...Oh! So the queen is missing!" Hina announced.

"Bingo!"

"So we only have evidence for five bottles at the scene, while one apparently went missing," Makoto said.

"What does ch-chess have to do with anything!?" Toko asked.

"Yeah! Shogi is way better!" Hiro said.

"That's just Japanese chess," I said.

"Yeah! ...Wait, n-no! That's not what I mean! So, let's say a b-bottle did go missing... Th-There's still no evidence that h-has anything to do w-with this case! That bottle c-could have disappeared anytime b-before the murder!" Toko suggested.

"No, it's clear that the missing bottle 'is' connected to this case," Kyoko said.

"H-How is it clear!?"

"Think about what state the missing bottle must have been in. Maybe then you'll understand..."

"The bottle must have been broken," Makoto said.

"What m-makes you so sure!?" Toko yelled.

"Because there was evidence at the scene that supports it."

"Huh?" Hina was confused.

"That's right. We found evidence that shows there was more than just one broken bottle at the scene," I said.

"And what is this e-evidence!?" Toko inquired.

The evidence that proves that is...

-Choose Truth Bullet-

Truth Bullet: Monokuma Bottle Experiment

"THAT'S IT!"

-----

"Earlier, Kyoko, Makoto, and I did a little experiment. We compared the weight of the broken bottle pieces at the scene to one of the unbroken bottles. And what we found was that the collection of pieces was heavier. And the reason for that is because there was actually more than one bottle's worth of shattered glass," I explained.

"Wh--!?" Toko gasped.

"So from this, we can surmise that two bottles were actually broken at the scene of the crime. But someone did their best to clean up the pieces of one of the bottles, along with the figure inside. But when they did, they must have left behind a few too many pieces. Which is only natural. They certainly had no way to measure the exact right number of pieces to remove," Kyoko explained.

"But...why would they have to try and get rid of it like that, anyway?" Hina asked.

"Because of what it would reveal about the case... The bottle that was removed from the scene was used the second time Sakura was attacked," Makoto said.

"The second wound on Sakura's head came from that second bottle. Given all the evidence, this is the only possible conclusion," Kyoko added.

"The killer wanted to make it look like there was only one attack, so they had to get rid of their evidence."

"From there, we can conclude that it wasn't Hiro who delivered that second blow. Wouldn't you agree, Toko?" Kyoko gave Toko a cold gaze.

"Wh--!?" Toko pulled on her twin pigtails.

"And there's the matter of the magazine. You must have been in the rec room when the incident took place."

"W-W-W-Wait! I admit, maybe there was a s-second attack, but... But there's n-no evidence I had anything t-to do with it!" Toko yelled.

"No way! You killed her, I'm sure of it!" Hiro argued.

"Sh-Shut up! Until two seconds ago, y-you were claiming 'you' k-killed her!"

"I'm not afraid to admit when I'm wrong! That's just the kinda guy I am! Plus, I just remembered something that proves it!"

"Okay, fine, let's hear it..." Byakuya requested.

"It was right after I got Ogre's note..." Hiro began. "I was kinda nervous about it, so I went to the rec room early. Y'know, to stake it out or whatever... So I was waitin' there, and that's when I saw her... I saw Toko go into the rec room! Pretty soon, Ogre showed up and 'she' went in the rec room! I assumed Toko was still in there, so I figured everything would be okay. That's why I headed in... But when I got inside, Ogre was all alone! Toko had disappeared!"

"And you just now decided to share that with us...?" Byakuya scowled.

"After the shock of thinking I'd killed someone, I forgot all about it!" Hiro excused.

"Could someone tighten the screws on his brain? I think they've come loose..." Byakuya ordered.

"Bold of you to assume he had a brain in the first place..." I said.

"So, Toko! Where the heck did you disappear to!?" Hiro interviewed Toko.

"You d-don't know what you're talking about. I never went in the r-rec room!" Toko said.

"I'm sure she didn't disappear, but maybe she found somewhere to hide..." Kyoko suggested.

"What!? Hiding i-in the rec room? Don't be r-r-ridiculous! Wh-Wh-Wh-Why are you all ganging up on me! You're all nothing but v-v-v-vermin!" Toko stuttered.

-The Moment of Truth!-

"It's a l-lie!"

"I admit n-nothing!"

"I h-hate you!"

"I curse you...!"

"N-No no no!"

"I d-don't know anything!"

"That's en-nough!"

"Shut up...!"

"Hiding i-in the rec room? Don't be r-ridiculous!"

Truth Bullet: Locker Handprint

Makoto: THIS SHOULD PROVE IT!

-BREAK!!-

"Did you know someone left a handprint behind on the inside of the locker? They must have been hiding in there and put their hand on the wall without thinking. Does this handprint look familiar, Toko?" Makoto asked her, showing the photo on his e-Handbook.

"N-No, it doesn't!" Toko shrieked.

"Okay then, let's just compare it to your hand, shall we? That'll clear everything up, right?" Kyoko requested.

Toko went silent, and then she let out a loud shriek. "KYAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

"Stop wasting my time. Just tell us the truth," Byakuya ordered.

"...Okay. It's my handprint," Toko admitted.

"Dang, she just straight-up admitted it!" Hiro gasped.

"Of course she would! She would do anything her "precious master" tells her to!" I said with disgust in my tone.

"Then 'you' killed Sakura!" Hina yelled.

"N-No! I swear, there's now w-way!" Toko denied.

"Toko, denying isn't gonna get you anywhere. Just say the truth," I advised.

"I...I p-probably did kill her," Toko admitted.

"I-" I looked at her in surprise. I didn't really think she would listen to me.

"Straight-up again!" Hiro gasped.

"Wait...what do you mean, "probably"?" Hina asked Toko.

"Give us the details, Toko. What happened between you and Sakura?" Kyoko questioned.

"..." Toko went silent.

"Talk. Now," Byakuya ordered through his teeth.

"Please Toko?" I requested.

"After I read S-Sakura's note...I decided to go there early. So I w-went into the rec room... I didn't know wh-what she might do if I didn't g-go, but I was too scared to f-face her head-on... So I f-figured I'd just sneak in first, and h-hide in the locker..." Toko explained.

"Then...did you see what happened? Did you see me hit her?" Hiro questioned.

"Yes. And I s-saw you write my name. I saw you f-forge her dying message!" Toko yelled.

"Well...that's awkward," Hiro said and scratched his head.

"So after he left, I j-jumped out of the locker and p-put the magazine back on the sh-shelf."

"But when you did that, you put it back upside down," I said.

"I didn't m-mean to... I was in a h-hurry!"

"Imbeciles, all of you," Byakuya commented.

"Forget all that. Why did you attack Sakura...?" Hina asked.

"A-After I put the magazine back, I heard a s-sound behind me, like a--like a monster g-growling... And when I t-turned around...there was S-Sakura, covered in b-blood...and staring r-right at me! When I saw all that b-blood, I fainted...right there in f-front of the magazines. I don't remember what h-happened after that. If you want to know m-more, you'll have to ask...her." Toko took the end of one of her twin pigtails and rubbed it against her nose. "...Achoo!" A second later, Genocide Jill appeared. "Ha-ha! Guess who's back!"

"It WAS your fault, after all!" Hiro accused.

"My fault, Master's fault! When our faults combine, they soar to even greater heights!" Jill gushed.

"I'm really gonna bark this time..." I muttered.

"Just answer the question. Did you kill Sakura?" Byakuya asked.

"Well, to be honest, Miss Morose and me don't actually share our memories! So I can't really say what was going on. But I was just minding my own business, sleeping peacefully, when someone shook me awake! Was it a prince paying me a visit, I wondered. So I opened my eyes to see...splatter everywhere! I was NOT prepared for that! And, well...I guess it took me by surprise! I got so startled, I smacked her with the first thing I could find. Which I guess was a bottle!" Jill explained.

"Sakura was just worried about you, and you...! You're terrible!" Hina shouted.

"No, SHE'S terrible! Thanks to her, I murdered someone who wasn't an adorable boy for the first time ever!" Jill yelled.

"And when it was all over, you collected the pieces of the bottle to get rid of the evidence, didn't you?" Kyoko guessed.

"I wasn't about to die for some woman! If I'm gonna go down, I want it to be for killing Master!"

"Just go away and die your meaningless death alone. Don't drag me into it," Byakuya said.

"But I just can't catch a break, ya know? Fate's got it out for me! Cuz normally, Sakura should've been able to dodge my attack no problem!"

"Even as strong as she is, she must have still been reeling from Hiro's attack," Kyoko said.

"Hey, come on. That's, y'know... But anyway, I'm not the one that killed Ogre! So that's good!" Hiro smiled.

Good for you maybe... Keep talking like that and Hina's gonna--

"Well then, that's that! Let's start the vote!" Hina ordered.

That's strange... I thought for sure you'd have some words to say for Hiro.

"What's wrong? Come on, everyone! We're ready to vote, right? Let's do this!" Hina encouraged.

"No, not quite yet..." Byakuya said.

"Huh? Not yet? Why not yet?"

"Don't you think there was something odd about Toko's story? I mean, you had to have noticed..."

"Odd? Huh?" Hiro was confused.

"Hiro's attack, and then Toko's... But that still wasn't the end of it. Tell us your story one more time. Tell us what happened after you fainted. Then even this gaggle of idiots should understand what I'm talking about," Byakuya ordered Jill.

"Your wish is my command, darling!" Jill blushed.

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Jill: I was just sleeping peacefully... And all of a sudden, Sakura was right there in front of me! I remember waking up right in front of the magazine shelf!

Hiro: And you were taken by surprise when you saw Ogre covered in blood... So you smashed her head in with the Monokuma Bottle?

Jill: You got it! I smashed her good!

Byakuya: And where did the attack take place?

Jill: Right where I woke up! I killed her there in front of the shelf!

Truth Bullet: Status of Sakura's Body

Makoto: NO, THAT'S WRONG!

-BREAK!!-

"We found Sakura sitting upright in a chair... If the blow by the shelf was the cause of death, there's no explanation why she was in that chair..." Makoto explained.

Byakuya smirked in approval. "So, you finally noticed."

"That's just another lie from a bloodthirsty serial killer!" Hina yelled.

"Are you sure you didn't attack her while she was sitting in the chair?" Hiro asked.

"No, I'm sure she's telling the truth. Anyone who saw the murder scene should think the same way," Byakuya said.

That must be it... The evidence that proves there was an attack in front of the magazine shelf is...

-Choose Truth Bullet-

Truth Bullet: Magazine Shelf Bloodstain

"THAT'S IT!"

-----

"Sakura was definitely attacked in front of the shelf. The bloodstain by the magazines proves that," I said.

"Then she must have moved the body after she killed her, right?" Hiro suggested. "All to make it look like I did it! Cuz when I hit her, she 'was' sitting in the chair!"

"Hey, come on now. Look at me. I can't carry anything heavier than my own scissors! There's no way I could move a muscle-bound heavyweight like that!" Jill countered.

"Then...then what's the deal?" Hiro questioned.

"Well? Are you still convinced the case has come to an end?" Byakuya asked Hina with a smug look.

"B-But...!" Hina stuttered.

"Plus, the biggest mystery of all--the locked room--still has yet to be explained. Until we take care of that, we can't say this case has been properly settled," Kyoko said.

Alrighty then. Let's work on solving the locked room mystery!

 

Chapter 51: Class Trial #4 Part 2: Poison

"Plus, the biggest mystery of all--the locked room--still has yet to be explained. Until we take care of that, we can't say this case has been properly settled," Kyoko said.

"Oh, that part's easy! After she killed Sakura, Toko just hid in the locker again!" Hina explained.

"Huh! So she just hid in there till everyone showed up and opened the door? And while everything was all confused and hectic, she just snuck out of the locker into the group!" Hiro concluded.

"No, I don't think that's possible," Makoto debunked. "Even before we opened the door to the rec room, Hina and I both got a look inside. And at that point, the locker was already open. So obviously Toko couldn't have been hiding in there."

"Hrmm... Okay then, where 'was' she hiding?" Hiro questioned.

"I dunno! What's this whole "locked room" thing about, anyway?" Jill asked.

"How do you not know!? You killed her!" Hiro accused.

"I think the fact that I don't know proves I DIDN'T kill her, thank you very much!" Jill smiled.

"Y-You're lying!" Hina yelled.

"No, she's not. I've been saying all along, there's still more to this case," Byakuya said.

"But if Genocide Jill didn't do it, that means Ogre didn't die from the shot to the head..." Hiro trailed off.

"And?" Byakuya glanced at Hiro.

"W-Well, I can't imagine what else could have killed her..." Hina said.

"That's because you're overlooking vital information," Byakuya said.

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Hiro: What was it that killed Ogre? If it wasn't from Genocide Jill's attack...then what was it?

Hina: There's no other possible cause. What killed Sakura... I can't think of anything other than the shot to her head!

Truth Bullet: Monokuma File #4

Makoto: NO, THAT'S WRONG!

-BREAK!!-

"According to the Monokuma File, Sakura had vomited blood. I think we can assume this was related to her cause of death. In fact, there was even a trace of blood left around her mouth," Makoto explained.

"Well, I mean...maybe when she got hit with the bottles, she cut the inside of her mouth..." Hina suggested.

"If that's all it was, the file wouldn't have specified "vomited blood." Not to mention, I didn't find any cuts inside her mouth," Kyoko explained.

"You even checked in there!? God, you really ARE into dead bodies!" Jill commented.

"No, I'm not "into" dead bodies. What I'm "into" is solving mysteries," Kyoko said.

"But if there wasn't a cut of anything, then what made her vomit blood?" Hiro asked.

"Some sort of reaction within her body. Most likely... Sakura was poisoned," Byakuya said.

"Poisoned...? Hiro gasped.

"That's right! This is the conclusion I've arrived at, and so there can be no mistake."

"Ahh! You're making me go all weak in the knees!" Jill drooled.

"Please stop! You're making me sick!" I pleaded.

"She was poisoned...? It isn't possible!" Hina denied.

"Is it really so hard to believe? Then let me explain exactly how the culprit was able to poison her," Byakuya said.

"You can...explain it?" Hina repeated.

"Of course. If you don't mind..."

"Everyone, quiet! Shut up and listen to Master!" Jill ordered.

"But you're the only one talking..." Hiro muttered.

"The key to unlocking this mystery was hiding in the chem lab, up on the 4th floor," Byakuya started.

"Huh? Not in the rec room!? Then I could've found it all along!"

"No, you wouldn't because you gave up on searching the moment you were banned from the crime scene," I said while rolling my eyes.

"Well...yeah, good point..." Hiro agreed.

"There's a big shelving unit in the chem lab that houses a variety of mixtures and chemicals. And that's where I found...this." Byakuya pulled out a brown bottle with the label "CHEM C-9" on it.

"I-Is that...the poison!?" Hiro shrieked.

"It's not an especially powerful poison, but it'll still kill you if you drink an entire bottle. But the specific properties don't matter. What does matter, is where I found it."

"Where'd you find it?"

"The shelf is divided up into three sections--A, B, and C. In section A, dietary supplements; in B, reagents; and in C...a variety of lethal chemicals."

"And that's where the poison came from!? Section C!?" Jill asked.

"Well...that's the question, isn't it?"

"The poison was actually in Section A, wasn't it?" Makoto answered.

"Huh? But you just said that section A was for supplements or whatever..." Hiro reminded.

"Strange, isn't it? Why would there be a bottle of poison mixed in with all those nutritional additives?" Byakuya questioned.

"Yeah, so...why?" Hiro asked.

"Because the culprit switched it out, that's why," Byakuya stated.

"Switched it out?" I repeated.

"Wh-What do you mean?" Hina asked.

"I mean...this." Before any of us could react, Byakuya took the bottle, brought it to his lips, and began to drink from it.

"Huh? Master...!" Jill gasped.

I couldn't believe my eyes. We were so shocked at what we were seeing, all we could do was stand there and watch. But as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Byakuya was as calm as ever.

"Ugh, that tastes awful," Byakuya spat in disgust.

"Oh no! Master's in real trouble! You have to drink some water! You can't just swallow powder, it'll stick to your throat!" Jill panicked.

"Idiot! He just swallowed poison! We need to make him spit it out!" Hiro yelled.

"The flavor certainly makes me want to spit it out. What's so "high-quality" about this stuff...?" Byakuya asked.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Hiro asked.

"I'm talking about the protein, of course."

"Protein...?" Makoto gasped.

"Can I see that bottle for a second?" Kyoko requested.

"Ah, sure. Do whatever you like," Byakuya complied.

Kyoko took the bottle from Byakuya and scraped out a bit of the contents with one finger. She touched her finger to her tongue.

"This is... It's protein powder," Kyoko confirmed.

"Huh?" Makoto looked confused.

"Correct. That wasn't poison in the bottle, but harmless protein powder. Which makes one wonder... The poison that should have been in that bottle...where did it go?" Byakuya questioned.

Makoto thought about it for a moment. "The poison...must have been poured into the protein can. If the protein's in the poison bottle, it seems only logical to assume the reverse is true, right?"

"Absolutely. The contents of each container were switched. So the protein was in the bottle of poison, and the poison was in the protein can... Once you accept that, it becomes obvious how the culprit was able to get Sakura to drink the poison," Byakuya explained.

"Holy crap!" Hiro gasped.

"All they had to do was hand her something there at the scene, and she was happy to drink the poison herself."

Something at the scene... That must have been...

-----

-A Monokuma Bottle

-A protein bottle ✔

-A cup filled with water

"THAT'S IT!"

-----

"You're saying they gave her a protein drink, right?" I asked.

"A protein drink which actually contained a deadly poison..." Byakuya said.

"...What!?" Hina gasped.

"That's all it took to kill Sakura. That is the true cause of death!" Byakuya announced.

"Y'know...I do remember Ogre saying that protein stuff was good for all kinds of aches and pains! So maybe she took it to try and help with the whole bleeding-head-would thing!" Hiro suggested.

"But what was offered to her instead was a bottle full of poison. And I already know exactly who swapped the mixtures!"

"For real!? Who was it!?" Hiro cried out.

"Evidence revealing who replaced the two materials was left in the chem lab for anyone to see."

"The footprints left behind in front of the shelf... That's the evidence you're talking about, isn't it?" Makoto guessed.

"I visited the chem lab this morning, and there were definitely no footprints there at that point. They must have appeared around the time of the murder, which leaves no doubt that they're connected. What's more, the footprints were in front of section A, where I found the bottle meant for the poison. The culprit must have gone to section A to swap the poison and protein, leaving their footprints behind. And given how clear the prints were, figuring out who they belong to will pose no problem. All we have to do is check everyone's footprints right now! Then we'll see who--"

"...It was me." The voice of Hina interrupted Byakuya. "The footprints...they're mine."

"H-Hina...?" Makoto gasped.

"...If you're all gonna find out anyway... I'd rather you hear it straight from me, ya know?" Hina looked down at her feet.

"Then...Ogre's killer was--!" Hiro cried out.

"Yup... I did it! I killed Sakura!" Hina revealed.

"Just as I suspected. The footprints were made by a pair of sneakers--there was no mistaking it. And the only people here who wear sneakers are..." Byakuya trailed off.

"Me and Hina are the only ones," Makoto finished off his sentence. "Oh, so Byakuya...that explains why you..."

-Flashback-

"These footprints must be... Makoto, are they yours?"

"No!"

"Okay. Then let me see your shoes and I'll confirm their size for myself."

-End of Flashback-

"If the footprints didn't belong to Makoto, that left only one other possibility," Byakuya said.

"Just Hina..." Hiro said.

"Plus, Hina's been acting strange ever since the trial began. You were in an awful rush to get to the vote, weren't you? This whole time, you've been focused on pinning the crime on someone else, haven't you?" Byakuya questioned.

"..." Hina was silent.

"I...I can't believe it," Makoto said.

"What about it can't you believe?" Byakuya asked.

"Well, it's just...the two of them were so close," Makoto stated.

"Even the closest of friends can become backstabbers," I spoke. "Because of their closeness, Sakura didn't think twice about it when Hina handed her the concoction."

"Hina used that trust to kill her! She deceived the victim, and she tried to deceive all of us. I have to say, Hina...coming from you, this was a particularly nasty little scheme." Byakuya said.

"..." Hina continued to stay silent.

"Hina...is it true? Did you really...kill Sakura? And if you did... Why!? Why would you do that!?" Makoto shouted at her.

"...I found her, there in the rec room... She was hurt. She asked me to bring her that protein drink. But...when I went to get the powder from the chem lab, it just...occurred to me all of a sudden," Hina explained.

""Now's my chance to kill her." That's what you thought, right? That's when you switched out the protein powder, and that's when you gave her the poisoned mixture," Byakuya said.

"And then...she downed it, all at once. And...and then..." Before Hina could continue, a voice interrupted her.

"Hold it! I'm not convinced..." Kyoko said.

"You're not about to claim she wouldn't kill a close friend, are you? You still don't get it, do you? The game we're playing here isn't so kind. Honeyed words like friendship don't matter here. What matters is outwitting the opponent, defeating them... Not a person alive would sacrifice themselves for another. In the end, we're all in it for ourselves. Just like how this girl sacrificed Sakura...to save herself," Byakuya said.

"..." Hina said nothing.

"You say that, but I'm still not convinced," Kyoko said.

Byakuya sighed. "How many times do you plan to repeat yourself?"

"Don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying it because of some misguided sentimentalism. But there's still that one unsolved mystery, and I'm not convinced," Kyoko said.

"Are you talking about the locked room problem?" Makoto asked.

"Hina...if you really are the killer, explain it. How did you create that locked room?" Kyoko questioned.

Hina was hesitant for a moment. "W-Well... ... Th-That doesn't matter! Just cuz I'm guilty, that means I have to tell you everything!?"

"No, it doesn't. But the fact that you won't tell us concerns me."

"Surely you're not--do you honestly think Hina didn't actually kill her?" Byakuya asked.

"And if I do?"

"Impossible. She switched out the mixtures. She's the culprit. There's no way you can doubt this."

"Are you sure about that?" Makoto asked. "Even ignoring the fact that I don't want to believe it...it just doesn't fit."

"What doesn't fit?" Byakuya questioned.

"I mean...why would someone leave such a clear clue like a footprint? It's too...obvious. Too easy," Makoto explained.

"He's right. It makes it look like you wanted people to suspect you," Kyoko said.

"Th-That was... I was just...nervous! So I-I didn't notice I'd left a footprint!" Hina argued.

"...You didn't notice?" Kyoko repeated.

"Y-Yeah! That's just how it was. What can I do?"

"Listen, Hina... Could you go into a bit more detail? Tell us more about when you switched the poison and the protein."

"H-How come! That doesn't matter!"

"Hina...please, I'd like to know, too," Makoto begged.

"Pretty sure most of us do," I said.

"...F-Fine..." Hina agreed.

"...Waste your time if you like. It's clear that Hina is the culprit. There's nobody else to suspect. Nobody else could have possibly done it," Byakuya said.

"Go ahead, Hina. Start from the moment you arrived at the chem lab," Kyoko requested.

"W-Well... Right away I went to section C, and got the poison," Hina began.

"And is that when you spilled the powder in front of that part of the shelf?"

"Y-Yeah...when I opened the bottle, I dropped it like an idiot."

"I see. Okay then, go on."

"So then I moved to section A and got the protein powder, and that's where I switched them. Once I was done with that I took the protein can that had the poison in it and left the room. But I accidentally put the bottle filled with protein powder back on the wrong shelf. And because of that, everything I did got found out. And...that's it."

"... That story you just told... First you went to section C to get the poison, then moved to section A to get the protein. Right? Meaning you went from section C to section A," Makoto recapped. "Do I have that correct?"

"Y-Yeah..."

Makoto went into deep thinking. "Can you repeat that series of events one more time?"

"What's wrong with you, Big Mac!? You're being awfully pushy!" Jill observed.

"It's the same thing no matter how many times you hear it. How long until you're satisfied...?" Byakuya questioned.

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Hina: First I went to section C... That's when I grabbed the poison.

Kyoko: And you spilled some of the powder on the ground in front of the shelf.

Hina: Yeah. When I grabbed the bottle, I dropped it...

Kyoko: Okay, and then...?

Hina: I moved from section C to section A...

Truth Bullet: Footprints in the Powder

Makoto: NO, THAT'S WRONG!

-BREAK!!-

"You said you went to get the poison from section C, and that's where you spilled the powder, right?" Makoto asked her.

"Yeah...what about it?" Hina questioned.

"And after that, you said you moved from section C to section A to get the protein... But the footprints left at the scene were 'not' moving from section C to section A. That contradicts what you just said," Makoto argued.

"Wh--!?"

"Then...maybe she moved in some weird direction on purpose to disguise her movements...?" Hiro suggested.

"No, that can't be it. Remember what Hina just said?" Makoto reminded.

-Flashback-

"I was just...nervous! So I didn't notice I'd left a footprint!"

-End of Flashback-

"Ah--!" Hina gasped.

"What the--? Hina, what's the meaning of this!?" Byakuya yelled.

"U-Um, well..." Hina was trying to find the right words, but she couldn't think of anything to say.

"You lied to us, plain and simple. If you look at the footprints, your movements in the chem lab are obvious. The powder had already been spilled when you came in, and you went straight to section A. So you never went to section C. Whatever you did there, it only involved section A," Kyoko explained.

"W-Well, you see... ..."

"Wh-What the...? What the hell? What's going on here!?" Byakuya yelled.

"And the footprints aren't the only problem with her account," Kyoko continued.

"What...?" Byakuya gasped.

"Before I explain that part, I'd like to submit some new evidence."

"New evidence!? Impossible! There can't be!"

"...Are you sure? After all, you're the one that gave it to me."

"I...did?"

"It was hidden inside the bottle of poison you gave me. I'm amazed you of all people would miss such a vital clue. A truly grave oversight..."

"... Just say it, already! What is it you think you found!?"

"I found this." Kyoko pulled out a piece of glass and showed it to everyone. "It had sunk to the bottom of the bottle. And the hidden clue was exposed thanks to you ingesting the powder. I couldn't have solved the mystery without you. So, thank you for that."

"B-But...what is it?" Byakuya asked.

"Oh, you still don't realize? Well then... Hanako, why don't you explain it?" Kyoko suggested.

"Oh absolutely!" I smirked, enjoying watching Byakuya's ego shatter to the ground.

"... F-Fine! If you really do know, explain the meaning of that shard of glass!" Byakuya yelled impatiently.

The shard of light blue glass Kyoko found in the bottle of poison was from...

-----

-The bottle of poison

-The rec room window ✔

-The Monokuma Bottle

"THAT'S IT!"

-----

"The glass is part of the window from the rec room door, right?" I said.

"The window...?" Byakuya repeated.

"The window we broke to get in was light blue, just like the piece of glass in the bottle. So that must be it."

"You're right, it must be. Of course, that leads to another question... How did a shard of glass from the window get inside this bottle of poison?" Kyoko questioned.

"What's so strange about that!?" Jill asked.

"What's strange is that...according to what Hina told us... The bottle of poison was left on the shelf in the chem lab. That is what you said, right Hina?" Makoto said.

"Uh...umm..." Hina started sweating.

"And yet, somehow a piece of glass from the rec room window made its way into the bottle..." Makoto continued.

"Then everything Hina told us was a lie!?" Hiro shrieked.

"In reality, that bottle of poison most definitely found its way to the rec room. It was there at least until the window got broken. In other words, when the locked room was unlocked. There's no other way to explain the presence of that glass in that bottle."

"And then, once the room was opened, the bottle somehow got moved back to the shelf in the chem lab. Meanwhile, the protein can we found at the crime scene was planted there. That had to be after the locked room was opened. In other words, after Sakura died," Kyoko explained.

"Wait, hold on... You're moving too fast! I'll grant you, the bottle of poison may well have been in the rec room when it was locked, but how can you say the protein can was put there after the room was unlocked!? We already know she was given the protein can with the poison inside, right? If that can wasn't there when she died, how did she get poisoned!?" Byakuya questioned, looking even more stressed out.

"You're right. We do need to explain that. But before we do, there's something I'd like to confirm with everyone here," Kyoko said.

"Huh...?" Hiro questioned.

"It has to do with the protein can. After Sakura's body was discovered, did anyone move it or trip over it or anything like that?" Kyoko questioned.

"What are you talking about? Is this some kind of loaded question?" Byakuya scowled.

"Not at all. Just answer to the best of your ability," Kyoko advised.

"...Well, no. Not that I remember," Byakuya answered.

"Yeah, me either," Makoto answered.

"I don't believe so..." I said.

"Not me," Hiro said.

"Same here!" Jill said.

"Y-Yeah, me either..." Hina said.

"Okay then, that settles it. That proves that the protein can found its way to the murder scene 'after' the room was opened," Kyoko said.

"Oh, come on! How can you say that!? How can you know what I don't know!?" Byakuya shouted angrily.

The reason she can say that is because there's evidence that proves that someone brought the protein can to the rec room 'after' it was opened!

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Kyoko: When it comes to that protein can, there's not a doubt in my mind. Until the locked room was unlocked, it absolutely was not in there!

Hiro: So you're saying...someone planted it there after we got the door open?

Byakuya: No...no, that's impossible... I-It had to have been in there the whole time! It had to be! It was in there before the rec room was unlocked!

Truth Bullet: Empty Protein Drink

Hanako: I TESTIFY AGAINST THAT!

-BREAK!!-

"Hey rich boy! You remember how there was broken glass scattered all around the room, right?" I asked him.

Byakuya scoffed. "Of course! It came from the window you broke to get in. What about it?"

"Well, you may not notice this, but those pieces weren't just scattered 'around' the protein can... They were also 'underneath' the can," I pointed out.

Byakuya's eyes widened in shock. "Wh-What!?"

"And this alone proves that the can must have been placed on the floor 'after' the window was broken. So it had to be after we got into the room!"

"Kh--! I-I see... So that's your explanation... Kyoko...earlier, when you asked if anyone had moved the can, or tripped over it..." Byakuya said.

"If that were the case, that would explain the can being on top of the glass," Kyoko said.

"So you asked everyone about it to eliminate that possibility right out of the gate..." Makoto said.

"And that's made everything clear, hasn't it? As long as it was a "locked room," it only contained the bottle of poison, and 'not' the protein can. But once the room was opened up, they were switched. And as a result the protein can wound up in the rec room, and the bottle of poison returned to the chem lab" Kyoko said.

"..." Hina stared in disbelief.

"If that's all true, then...why did Sakura drink the poison? I thought we all agreed she was tricked into drinking it because of the protein can..." Byakuya said.

"No...that's not why... The only explanation is...she drank it from its original bottle, knowing exactly what it was," Makoto said.

"Precisely," agreed Kyoko. "She was alone in a locked room. All she had was the poison. What other possibility is there?"

"You're saying she drank it...knowing what it was? Such a ridiculous fiction is..." Byakuya trailed off.

"...exactly what happened," Kyoko finished off.

"... Then tell us already...! Er, sorry. Please, tell us," Byakuya asked.

"Oh my god! Did a rich boy just apologize!? It's the end of the world!" I faked panicked.

"Oh shut up you!" Byakuya ordered.

"Make me!" I challenged him.

"Ahem!" Kyoko cleared her throat loudly to silence us. "Before we get to that, we need to clarify one other thing... We need to establish who exactly got the poison from the chem lab and took it to the rec room."

"...It was Hina, right? She took it and gave it to Ogre," Hiro said.

"What do you think, Makoto?" Kyoko asked him.

"I think...it was Sakura herself," Makoto answered.

"Huh? So Sakura, who was apparently murdered, just...poisoned herself?" Jill questioned.

"Wh-What are you talking about!? There's no way!" Hina denied.

"On the contrary. We know for a fact she went to the chem lab, right to the section full of poisons," Kyoko said.

"You're lying... Stop lying! Why!? Why would you lie like that!?" Hina shouted.

-The Moment of Truth!-

"You're a liar!"

"What are you saying!?"

"Wrong... You're wrong!"

"I'm telling you, I did it!"

"Just end it already!"

"Stop talking!"

"I don't wanna hear it!"

"I hate you!"

"Do you have any kind of proof Sakura took the poison!?"

Truth Bullet: Yellow Powder

Makoto: THIS SHOULD PROVE IT!

-BREAK!!-

"Hina...did you know that Sakura's foot had a certain yellow powder stuck to it?" Makoto asked.

"... ...It did?" Hina questioned.

"It did. The same yellow powder that had been spilled by the shelf in the chem lab," Makoto confirmed. "That powder was yellow, wasn't it? So the powder we found on Sakura...what else could it be but the powder from the chem lab?"

"Ah--!" Hina gasped.

"Wait wait wait... So what was that powder doing on Ogre's foot?" Hiro asked.

"And it was only on her instep, right!?" Jill asked.

"That's right," I confirmed.

"Sakura must have been standing right there where the powder was spilled. So the person who spilled the powder by the shelf wasn't Hina, but Sakura!" Makoto announced.

"Ah...!" Hian gasped again.

"And when Sakura dropped the bottle, she dropped it away from where she was actually standing. Which is how she was able to avoid getting it all over herself. But the powder still got scattered around, and some of it must have wound up on her instep," Makoto explained. "Is there any problem with my thinking?"

"But why did Sakura pay a visit to section C in the first place? The only explanation is that she was looking for poison. After all, that's all that section contained," Kyoko said.

"N-No! It was me! I--! The poison--! Because... Because...! Because I killed her!" Hina shouted.

"Hina, that's enough! You did not kill her!" I said.

"That's right...you didn't kill her," Makoto said. "The one who killed Sakura..."

.

.

.

"...was Sakura herself."

 

Chapter 52: Class Trial #4 Part 3: The True Culprit

"The one who killed Sakura...was Sakura herself," Makoto revealed, pointing to Sakura's portrait.

"Gah...!" Hina gasped and covered her mouth.

Byakuya couldn't believe what he had heard. "Wh-What...? The killer was...Sakura?"

"No..." I muttered in disbelief.

"Wait, so you're saying...it was suicide!?" Hiro cried out.

"I-I don't believe it! I don't believe it any more than I believe I can fly!" Jill said.

"I can't believe it, either. Or rather, I don't 'want' to believe it. But when you really think about it, everything matches up," Makoto said. "Sakura went and got the poison. She barricaded herself in a room, and she drank it...all so she could end her own life. And that explains why we couldn't solve the mystery of the locked room. ...The locked room mystery was created by Sakura."

"I'm sure she locked herself in so nobody could stop her from doing what she did. She sat there, drank the poison, and breathed her last breath... And the empty bottle of poison rolled around the locked room, until we came and opened it. At that point, someone grabbed the bottle and snuck it out of the room. And that was you, wasn't it Hina?" Kyoko explained and pointed at Hina.

"Ng...gaah..." Tears filled Hina's eyes again.

"You did it to throw off the investigation, didn't you? When we found her body, you stayed right there near the door with Hanako. Because you already knew Sakura was dead, and because the bottle of poison had rolled near the doorway," Kyoko explained.

"That's when you picked up the bottle, wasn't it? Makoto and I were too shocked to notice anything, and Kyoko was busy checking the body," I said.

"And the more I think about it, the more I realize how unusual your actions were," Kyoko continued.

-Flashback-

"... I have to go get them... I have to go get...the others..." Hina said and left the rec room with shaky legs.

-End of Flashback-

"You said you were going to go get everyone else...but your real intention was to go to the chem lab and switch out the containers, wasn't it? Once you were at the chem lab, you headed straight to the section where the protein powder was kept. There, you took the powder and poured it into the bottle of poison you'd grabbed from the rec room. When you left the lab, all you had was the empty protein can. Thinking about it like that, the footprints make perfect sense."

"When you were done, you gathered everyone together, and once you were back in the rec room..." Makoto continued.

-Flashback-

"I got everyone..."

"Uwah! O-Ogre!?"

"Oh. So she's dead, huh?"

"Sakura's been killed? I see..."

-End of Flashback-

"While everyone else was focused on Sakura, you quietly placed the can on the ground," Makoto said.

"..." Hina stayed silent.

"Honestly, I should have noticed... You should have been the first one to run up to Sakura's lifeless body. The Hina I know never would have left her side in a situation like that..." Makoto said.

"..."

"So, Sakura committed suicide. In order to hide this fact, Hina undertook a series of actions to undermine the investigation. As long as you could disguise the truth, you didn't care if we blamed you for her death. That's why you didn't bother to get rid of such obvious evidence, right?" Kyoko explained. "The footprints in the powder, and the bottle of poison. Vital pieces of evidence, and yet..."

"So you're saying Hina consciously deceived us to make it look like she killed Sakura?" Byakuya asked.

"..." Hina broke down crying. "N-No... No! No, no, no, no, no! I killed her! I did it!"

"Hina please. That's enough of this. It's over now," I said.

"It's not! Nothing's over!" Hina yelled.

"It is! Actually, no...you're right. We have to end this properly...!" Makoto said.

-CLOSING ARGUMENT! CLIMAX INFERENCE!-

"This case began when Sakura asked a number of people to meet her in the rec room. Specifically, those people were Hiro, Toko, and Byakuya.

"But one of them headed out a bit earlier than the others--Toko. She got there one step ahead of everyone else and looked around for a good hiding spot. And she found it. She crawled into the locker to get out of sight. Then, from inside the locker, she saw Sakura enter the room.

"Next to arrive was Hiro. When he got there, he mistakenly thought Sakura was going to try to kill him, so he panicked. Without thinking, he grabbed a nearby Monokuma Bottle and attacked Sakura with it. Thinking he'd killed her, he hastily began covering up his crime. He took a magazine from the table, and forged a dying message from Sakura. To that end, he wrote down a name... Toko... By writing her name, he was hoping to pin the murder on her. But of course Toko had witnessed the whole thing. So as soon as the coast was clear...she jumped out of the locker and hid the magazine on the shelf with all the others. But in her rush she made one little mistake... She put the magazine back upside down. Soon after, she watched as Sakura slowly opened her eyes... She also saw the blood dripping off Sakura's head, and fainted. This caused her personality to switch back over to Genocide Jack. When she woke back up, her second personality also saw the blood-soaked Sakura and she freaked out. And just like Hiro, she grabbed another Monokuma Bottle and attacked her. This explains why there were two wounds on Sakura's head. Assuming Sakura really was dead this time, she set about disposing of the evidence. She gathered up the broken Monokuma Bottle shards, and the queen chess piece. And that explains how Sakura was attacked twice with the same type of weapon. But even after those two blows, she was still alive... So then, what was Sakura's actual cause of death?

"It was the poison that Sakura herself got from the chem lab. She turned the rec room into a true "locked room" scenario and then drank the deadly mixture. And there, she took her final breath...

"Later on, the rest of us discovered that her body was in there... We had to smash the door's window to get inside. But someone already knew what had happened, knew that she had committed suicide... And that same someone quietly snatched the bottle of poison from off the ground...and while nobody was looking, replaced it with an empty protein can. They did all this specifically to place all the suspicion on themselves in an attempt to guide the trial to a false conclusion. And the one who went to all that effort...

"...was you, Hina."

-COMPLETE!!-

"That's the full truth of the case..." Makoto ended.

"Kh...waaaah...!" Hina bawled.

"Sakura...took her own life. And you claimed to be the killer to hide that fact, isn't that right?" Makoto asked.

"..."

"That's...what happened?" Byakuya asked in shock. "But...Makoto, Hanako, how did you--? How did you two manage to--? How were you able to uncover the truth...that even I couldn't discern!?"

"Huh? Oh, well, I mean..." Makoto trailed off.

"Heh heh..." I smirked.

"You still haven't realized? We don't all act according to calculations and cost-benefit diagrams. That's what makes us so complicated. That's what you don't understand, and that's why you couldn't solve this case," Kyoko explained.

"Gh--!"

"See? Didn't I tell you? When you dismiss other people's feelings, it'll always come back to bite you in the end."

"..."

"Okay, okay. I think we can all agree you made your point," Monokuma spoke. "Did you guys forget already!? You still haven't voted yet!"

"Oh yeah...that's right..." Kyoko said.

"You seriously forgot!? Urrg...I can feel my energy draining outta me... Well, whatever. You don't really have a choice, anyway. You just gotta do it! Maybe you don't want to, but please grab your lever and cast your vote! So, who will be chosen as the blackened...? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one...? What's it gonna be? What's it gonna beeee...?" Monokuma sulked.

We all pulled our levers and waited. The slot machine popped out and the slots began to spin. The slots slowly landed on three grey colored Sakura's head. Cheers were heard and coins and bequests of flowers came out. The votes were once again right.

"Yeah, that's right. The one who killed Sakura was Sakura herself," Monokuma announced sadly and then his back to us. "...Okay, we're done here."

"So that's the whole truth, huh? I see... But there's still one thing I don't understand," Byakuya said and turned to Hina. "Hina...why did you try to cover up what happened? If the truth hadn't come to light, you would have died along with the rest of us. And yet you...! Why did you do that!?"

"Yeah! We almost died there!" Hiro yelled.

"Because... That's exactly what I wanted!" Hina shouted.

"What...?" Makoto asked.

"I mean, the reason Sakura died is cuz all of you pushed her into a corner. You...you all killed her... So that's why... I couldn't let her be the only one that died!" Hina explained.

"You d-don't mean... You were gonna t-take us all with you!?" Jill stuttered.

"But why though?" I asked.

"We have to atone for our sins. Because everyone...even me...we all killed her. We all have to pay for our crimes..."

"F-For serious!? That's--!" Hiro gasped.

"You still don't understand? Then let me explain... Do you realize just how much despair Sakura was carrying with her when she died!? Look at this..." Hina pulled out a note from her pocket and showed it to everyone.

"Such brutality has made me desperate. So instead of just waiting to be killed, I'll do it by my own hand."

"Th-That's...!" Makoto stuttered.

"I found it on the ground, in front of the rec room. It's...Sakura's suicide note," Hina said.

"Suicide note...?" Makoto repeated.

"Thinking back, I should have seen it coming..." Hina began.

-------

"It was right after Genocide Jack had attacked me. Sakura got mad and stormed out of the nurse's office... I ran out after her, and..."

"Sakura, calm down! You don't have to worry about me, I'm fine!"

"I...can't calm down... I don't care if I suffer for this. It's my fault, after all. But now 'you're' suffering because of me... You tried to protect me, but because of me...my closest friend got hurt!"

"S-Sakura..."

"Because of me...my friends are all going to kill each other. This is all...my responsibility."

-------

"Sakura...thought she was responsible. She thought everything was her fault. Which is why...she wanted to find some way to get everyone to forgive her. So she asked to meet with...them," Hina continued.

-------

"You asked to meet with those three? You can't! Don't you see how dangerous that is!?"

"Don't worry. I just want to talk to them."

"Talk about...what?"

"..."

"Listen, don't do it. If they all gang up on you at once, even you..."

"Hina... Please, don't think of things like that. They're not my enemy. They're...friends."

"S-Sakura..."

"She clearly believed... She...completely believed...in all of us. If you'd just talked to her, you would've understood. She was a friend to all of us... And yet... And yet...!"

-------

"You trampled all over her feelings. And then you did the unthinkable..."

"N-No, that was just a...a misunderstanding!" Hiro excused.

"Don't stand there and call it a misunderstanding!" Hina shouted. "She believed in you...and you wouldn't even listen to what she had to say. Without a single question, you tried to kill her... Do you have any idea how desperate she was, seeing you act like that!? That's what her suicide note means... "So instead of just waiting to be killed, I'll do it by my own hand." That's how far you'd pushed her..."

-------

"Sakura! What happened to you!?"

"H-Hina...you came..."

"Wait right here! I'll help you out!"

"H-Hina..."

"Huh...?"

"I...I'm so glad I got to meet you..."

"Wh-What's wrong, Sakura? Why are you talking like that...?"

"I...have a favor to ask."

"A favor...?"

"I'd like...some protein. Could I ask you to...?"

"Y-Yeah, you got it! Just hang on, I'll be right back!"

"That was...the last conversation I had with her."

-------

"I went to the chem lab to get the protein she'd asked for. When I got there, I saw the powder. And that's when I realized... I saw that someone had taken something from the poison shelf. Sakura... So I ran back to the rec room as fast as I could. But by the time I got there, it was already too late..."

-------

"Sakura! Let me in! Please, open the door! ...Why...? Why!? Why did she have to die!"

-------

"She had weaknesses, just like any other person. If she got cut, she bled. If someone hurt her, she felt it. That's weakness... That's normal...! And yet... You all blamed her... I tried to protect her, and I suffered for it. And that just added to the weight she had to carry...! And I didn't even realize it..." Hina cried.

"Hina..." Makoto muttered.

"We killed her... All of us. We pushed her into a corner...and we murdered her. People like us shouldn't be allowed to live!"

"And that's why you tried to lead us astray. You did your best to make us arrive at the wrong conclusion during the class trial," Byakuya scowled in anger.

"Sakura died hating all of us. I wanted to free her of her regrets. But even that got found out. In the end, I wasn't able to do anything for her... I could never face her after this..."

"I'm sorry to interrupt right when you're about to deliver the final tearjerker, but...it's just taking so long, long, long, LONG! I'm about to fall asleep over here!" Monokuma spoke. "I mean, do you really think you have any idea what Sakura was actually thinking when she died?"

"What did you say...?" Hina glared at the bear.

"Everything you just said is nothing but your interpretation, right? Your own opinion on what her suicide note meant?" Monokuma questioned.

"O-Of course I know what she was thinking! Cuz her and me--!"

"Well, what I'm really trying to say is...don't you think the entire foundation is shaky? What if it was really...like this?" Monokuma pulled out another note.

"What...is that?" Hiro asked.

"Isn't it obvious? A suicide note. 'Sakura's' suicide note," Monokuma said.

"Wh-What? But Hina already..." Makoto began, but Monokuma cut him off.

"Oh, I wrote that one. It was all me, baby. This is the one Sakura addressed to Hina and put in her room!"

"What? Then... You...lied to me?" Hina asked in shock and covered her mouth.

"Oh, don't say "lie"! That makes it sound so dirty! I just thought I'd liven things up a bit!"

"You filthy little...!" Makoto growled.

"I'm not filthy! I didn't do anything. Did I falsify evidence? Did I affect the outcome of the class trial? The case played out between you and you alone. You were the ones jerking each other around. Heck, even if the will 'had' factored in, it still woulda been between you guys. So what's the problem!? This is all part of the production process! Okay, and...scene! Cut!"

"So then, what did she write in her 'real' suicide note?" Kyoko asked.

"I'm glad you asked! For your benefit, I shall read it using my melodic, angelic, harmonic narrator voice! But you know...haven't you ever been curious about the whole "suicide note" thing? Who came up with the idea of leaving a note when you kill yourself in the first place? And isn't it just so unfortunate? Killing yourself is just so final, ya know? You can never hear the rest of their story. The truth is lost in darkness. Gives me the willies...!"

"Just read it will you!?" I yelled impatiently.

"Okay, okay, jeez! Talk about a buzzkill... Alright, here we go. Ahem!"

-------

"My good friend Hina. There's something I have to tell you. I hate to do it like this, but you need to know. This is...my final wish.

"As you know, I've been giving information to the one who's imprisoned you here. It was our first night in this strange school that the mastermind came to see me... You see, the mastermind took control of my family's dojo, and demanded I become their tool. You might not see the importance of a dojo, but my family has watched over it for over 300 years. I couldn't let it be destroyed under my watch. So even if it meant my own life, I had to protect it. That's how I saw things...

"However, that was my greatest weakness. And because of that, I made the mistake of giving in to the mastermind. And what the mastermind wanted from me was nothing less...than murder. They were probably worried that until the first murder had happened, nothing would move forward. But what neither the mastermind nor I expected...was the incident involving Sayaka. At that point, the plan changed. The mastermind told me to hold off--to wait until we reached another stalemate.

"However, as I lived here with all of you... As I lived here with Hina...my resolve began to weaken. Watching everyone fight with such despair, trying so desperately to stay alive...I saw the weakness in my own heart, the mistake of succumbing to the mastermind. And more than anything...I cannot betray those who would call me their friend. That's how I came to feel."

-------

"So that's why Sakura..." Makoto muttered, remembering the fight between Sakura and Monokuma.

-------

"I've made a decision... I will no longer retreat, no longer compromise, no longer regret... I've made my decision! I'm going... to resist you!"

-------

"Of course, because of that I decided to reveal her secret, which made everyone else hate her. Her decision to stay true to all of you led directly to all of you hating her for it... Ironic, isn't it!? Or maybe oxymoronic? Or just moronic...?" Monokuma questioned and continued reading.

-------

"Of course, I understand if you all hate me. All of this is because of my own weakness... I'm perfectly willing to accept whatever attack you may want to make on me. So this is my atonement for betraying you. That's what I had in mind... But unfortunately, that's not enough. This won't end with just me accepting your hatred.

"My own situation has started having an effect on more people than just me... Which is exactly what the mastermind wanted when they revealed my betrayal.

"My betrayal brought suspicion, disharmony... The mastermind knew that eventually it would escalate into someone murdering someone else.

"Of course, I'm still responsible for that, as well. I have an obligation to get this situation under control. And to fulfill that obligation, I've decided to do as the mastermind has commanded. I will do as I was told, and commit murder. But I've decided... The one I'm going to kill is...myself

"If the mastermind demands that I kill someone, then that someone will be me. Then my dojo will be safe, and above all else, none of you will have to kill anyone. When I die, the source of conflict among you all died with me. For that, I'm willing to give up my life.

"If it can save you, then sacrificing my own life could have no greater meaning. Whatever you think of me, please know that you all are my most treasured friends... I've never had people like you in my life..."

-------

"Then...Sakura...didn't feel cornered. She didn't die hating us. She wanted to...stop us from fighting? To protect us?" Hina questioned.

"She didn't end her own life because she was weak. Quite the opposite, in fact..." Kyoko said. "She was strong. 'Too' strong. That's why she killed herself. She chose death for herself in order to protect the rest of us. To sacrifice so much... No normal person could do that. It was only her limitless strength that made it possible."

"..."

-------

"Finally...Hina, I want to apologize to you especially. The reason I didn't tell you any of this is because I knew you would try to stop me. I'm really, truly sorry. But please don't be sad. If I can thwart the mastermind's plans, if I can keep you from killing each other...that's enough for me.

"This is the path that I have chosen. This is the only way I have left to distinguish myself. And you can use this note to bring the class trial to a quick end. I'm sorry to ask you to do something to unpleasant, but I have to leave the rest to you. Please talk to Byakuya, Toko, and Hiro on my behalf. I can't tell anyone about my plan while I'm alive, but I wanted you to understand why I'm doing this. In the end, though, I hope to show myself through actions and not words. Hopefully then they'll see...

"I never saw you as my enemy. You were only ever my friend, who I wanted to help as much as possible... Hina...whatever it takes, survive. Survive along with everyone else. No matter what...just survive."

-------

"Th-This is...! I...I didn't understand how she felt... Not at all... I thought we were close, and still...!" Hina cried.

"But in the end, all her meddling was like, totally pointless!" Monokuma said. "She died so you guys wouldn't try to kill each other, but you almost ended up doing it anyway! Thanks to you, her death had no purpose at all! In fact, it was BECAUSE of her stupid meddling that the rest of you nearly bit the big one! She deserves all the blame! Everyone blame her! Go ahead, she deserves it! Puhuhu... Now then, the next victim has been decided!"

"What do you mean, next victim!? Nobody here blames anyone!" Makoto yelled.

"Hrmm?"

"First of all, you're in the wrong for tricking Hina with that fake suicide note! And plus... Sakura's death wasn't a waste!"

"Hurrrmmm?"

"Because she made us remember... We're not enemies that hate each other. We're friends, who need to work together!"

"Damn straight. This is all because of our misplaced hatred. I don't blame her! I CAN'T blame her! And nobody can blame Hina, either!" Hiro said.

"Buhwah!?" Monokuma began to sweat.

"Whether or not there was a spy never really mattered. Because the one we need to destroy...is you! Nobody else!" Makoto declared.

"What the heck!? That's not how this is supposed to go! But anyway, are you sure about that? This killing game is a competition between all of 'you', remember?" Monokuma reminded.

"He's absolutely right about that," Byakuya agreed.

"Ahh, lovely Byakuya! You understand, don't you!?"

"This is a life-or-death elimination match. The only way to survive...is to win. There can be no doubt that those are the rules of the game. Which is why...I am bowing out of the game," Byakuya announced.

"Huh...?"

"Sakura and Hina were both willing to sacrifice their own lives to deny the reality of the game. Thanks to them, it would appear the others have cast aside their dear for this game. There's no point in participating in a game which has lost that excitement. Which is why I will no longer be participating in it."

"Wh-What's going on here!?"

"Now I have only one thing to look forward to. And that is to heap the harshest possible punishment onto the one who thinks they can control me!"

"B-Byakuya! Does this mean...?" Makoto asked.

"Don't misunderstand. I haven't been moved by some thoughtless sentimentalism, if that's what you're thinking," Byakuya said.

"Wherever Master goes, I go! And if the mastermind turns out to be a guy, maybe I can catch on fire!" Jill drooled.

"Oh boy..." I muttered.

"E-Everyone...!" Makoto smiled brightly.

"Well? Now can you say that Sakura's death had no meaning?" Kyoko smirked.

"Hmph. How boring. But nothing good can come of this. I'm still gonna be the one having the fun time!" Monokuma said.

"The fun...time?" Hiro repeated.

"Anyway, let's forget about that good-for-nothing backstabber and get back on track! It's the moment you've all been waiting for! Punishment time!" Monokuma announced.

"Wait, but...Sakura was technically the killer, right? And she's dead!" Jill said.

"Y-You're not gonna...!" Makoto trailed off.

"I-Is it me...?" Hina asked in fear.

"Oh heavens, no! Just cuz the blackened is dead doesn't mean I can sub in whatever ol' student I want! Didn't I tell you!? I'm very particular about the "Bear-Times-One" rule!" Monokuma explained.

"So... are you gonna execute Sakura's dead body then?" I asked.

"Sadly no, but not a shabby idea though. I spent so much time preparing my special punishment, it'd be a shame to let it go to waste! So, for my special punishment...I've prepared a special guest!"

"A special guest...?" Makoto repeated in confusion.

"Let's give it everything we've got! It's...PUNISHMENT TIIIME!"

 

Chapter 53: Chapter 37: What Did the Mastermind Do to Us?

"Y-You...!" Makoto shook in anger.

"You suck, man! You turned him into a mangled hunk of junk!" Hiro cried.

"Whew, that really took it outta me! Maybe I'll go grill up a plate of chicken! After all, they say for post-workout grub, chicken's where it's at! And I'm all about the grilled goodness! Fried? Broiled? Gimme a break! The color, the smell, the succulence... Grilled is where it's at! Ahh-hahahaha!" Monokuma laughed.

I clutched my hands into a fist as I glared at Monokuma in anger. Alter Ego had been crushed into a gazillion pieces. He was our hope to get out of this hellhole of a school, but Monokuma took it away from us.

"How dare you...? That was my friend! How dare you kill him!?" Makoto shouted.

"Huh? You were friends with a laptop? That's pretty pathetic. What's next, friends with a basketball!?" Monokuma teased.

"Shut the hell up! He wasn't just a laptop. He was my friend! And you killed him!" Makoto yelled.

"Is this what you call animism? Where a soul dwells within all thing? Even, like...laptops? Well, you can call it whatever you want. Bottom line is, it got in my way. It was trying to find things out all sneaky sneaky," Monokuma said.

"So...you finally noticed him," Kyoko said.

"Finally? No no no, I knew about it from the very beginning! I knew Chihiro was doing something with the laptop. And I knew you were using it to analyze data. I knew exactly how it was all gonna play out from the start!" Monokuma explained.

"What...?" Makoto gasped.

"You knew, and you were still cocky enough to let us take the plunge...?" Byakuya gritted his teeth.

"Well, I mean...the data in that laptop? It was...I guess you could call it a gift, from me to you. Or maybe more like a reward, in honor of you being able to unlock something so difficult. So of course I didn't care if you got access to that. Puhuhu... Yeah, the punishment time has made me feel a billion times better! Experiencing a meaningless death is so soothing! It makes me remember that every low can get even lower!"

"No...his death wasn't meaningless, either. Everybody who's died so far... The deaths of each and every one of our friends... They all make us stronger! I swear to God...someday, you WILL pay for this!" Makoto declared.

Monokuma began to sweat. "Holy moly! You're super mad! Like, just unreasonably upset! Okay, time to bring things to a close! Oh, but before that--! I need to read the post script."

"Post script...?" Kyoko repeated.

"You mean there's still more?" I asked.

"Yeah, there's still a bit more left of Sakura's note," Monokuma confirmed.

"Huh...?" Hina looked at him with tears in her eyes.

"Puhuhu... Do I have your attention? Okay then, here we go... Prepare your ears for the dulcet tones of yours truly!"

-------

"...One other thing, Hina. There's something I'd like you to tell the others. Hopefully it will act as a clue to help you unravel the mystery of this school. I've spoken with the mastermind off and on the whole time I've been here, and so I've learned one thing... Which is...the mastermind has  done something  to us. I think what they've done is--"

-------

"Oopsie daisy!" Monokuma interrupted himself. "That was a close one! Another word and we would've been hip deep in spoiler territory! Okay, I don't wanna ruin the surprise, so book club is dismissed for today!"

"What!? You can't just stop at the most important bit!" Hiro cried out.

"It makes your brain rumble and tumble, huh? It makes you so mad you don't even friggin' know, huh!? That's the whole point, STUPID! It's to get back at all of you for hardening your resolve!"

"Fine, but at least... Sakura's note..." Hina requested.

"Like I'd ever let any of you greaseballs have it!"

"B-But..."

"Heh-heh-heh. Sucks for you, loser!" Monokuma glanced at the note. "...Wait, what's this?"

"What is it now...?" Kyoko asked.

"There's one last line in the note!"

-------

"And let me just say this to the mastermind. I'm not going to just lay down and die. I 'will'  fight you , you bastard. No matter what."

-------

"...And that's seriously it! Huh. Wow, what a stubborn loser, huh!?"

She won't lay down and die? She'll fight you?

"Well, whatever. Who cares what some dead musclehead has to say? Okay, I'm outta here! You guys should try to get some rest, ya know? And maybe take some time to reconsider how you approach this school life of yours... Are you sure you don't want to graduate? Can you really cut free from the regrets of the outside world? Puhuhu... Think about that. Think long, think hard..." With his parting words, Monokuma disappeared.

What was that about? Sakura's final message, her last clue to help us solve the mystery of this school. The mastermind... did something  to us? Kyoko said something like that before, didn't she? It was after Celeste's trial was over...

-------

"What did you do? What did you do...to my body?"

"...What!?"

"Answer me. What did you do to my body?"

-------

The mastermind did something to us... To our bodies... What did the mastermind do to us?

"So the class trial is over and Monokuma's gone..." Hiro spoke up. "So...now what do we do?"

"What else is there, other than to head back up?" Byakuya said.

"Oh, yeah! Okay, let's get out of here," Hiro said.

"B-But... I, um... ..." Hina muttered, avoiding eye contact with us. Hina must still feel responsible for everything that just happened.

"Hmph. Dial back that ego a bit, girl. The kind of mystery someone like you could pose is absolutely no threat. I would never have lost to that kind of challenge," Byakuya said.

"What are you talking about? Kyoko, Makoto, and Hanako are the ones that figured everything out," Hiro argued.

"Shut up..." Byakuya sneered.

"...Seriously...I'm sorry..." Hina apologized.

"How many times do you plan to apologize? How about you make that the last one. I haven't reached a point where I need someone apologizing to me more than once..."

"O-Okay, I see what you mean... Th-Then..." Hina's face turned a bit red. "I'll...try..."

"H...u...h...? Th-That totally wasn't normal, right!? Did she just c-capture his flag...? No! No no no! I cannot suffer the existence of someone who would disturb the romance between me and Master!" Jill yelled.

"Wh-What are you talking about!? That's absolutely NOT what's happening here!" Hina denied. "Why would I ever go for a sleazeball like him!"

"Sleaze...ball?" Byakuya repeated.

"That's right! I called you a sleazeball! Cuz you are! Sleazeball!" Hina yelled.

"Ha ha ha ha!" I laughed.

"Apparently you still have a death wish," Byakuya glared at Hina.

"Ohh, more biting sarcasm? No wonder you don't have any friends!"

"Hey! Stop fighting with Master! You're making me jealous! 'I' want the abuse give-and-take! ME!" Jill shouted.

For some people, it wasn't so easy to get along with others and act like friends.

Well, I suppose that's just how it is for now.

=====

And so, Sakura's class trial came to an end, and we all headed into the elevator and made our way back into the Academy. But this story wasn't even close to over. Time kept marching on. We all went back to our rooms, and before long, night snuck up on us...

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

Nighttime descended, and pulled me down along with it, down into sleep. I couldn't remember the last time I'd fallen into such a deep sleep. As I fell asleep, little did I know that in just three days, we would be faced with another murder. Three days before the worst thing so far would reveal itself.

All.Star.Apologies

THE END

Surviving Students: 7

To Be Continued

 

Chapter 54: The Fifth and Final Floor

100 Mile Dash; Pain of a Junk Food Junkie

Daily Life

The next day after Sakura's class trial that morning, we all met in the dining hall.

"So, let's begin the usual post-trial investigation," Byakuya announced.

"Hey, you didn't make small talk or anything! We never just get straight to the point like that!" Hiro pointed out.

"If you want to keep up with me, you must refrain from pointless small talk," Byakuya explained.

"Jeez, how high is that horse of yours?" Hina asked.

"Very high," I answered.

"He just acts like that to hide his own insecurities. That's what I like to think, anyway..." Hiro said.

"Regardless, if you want to defeat the mastermind, you need to follow my lead. They creep around the school like a mouse, but the mastermind's pride is as bloated as a cow's udder. And no matter what it takes, I 'will' rid this world of them..." Byakuya declared.

"..." Toko said nothing.

"Hey, Toko...you've been pretty quiet," Hiro observed.

"..."

"Man, you're so boring now! You just sit there, like a mushroom. Gonna start calling you Miss Mushroom!" Hiro teased.

"..."

"She didn't snap back at you..." Hina noticed.

"Toko, are you okay?" I asked.

"Her talking makes things difficult. So I told her not to open her mouth without permission," Byakuya explained.

"What!? But if she can't open her mouth, she can't eat! Or drink water!" Hina yelled.

"I don't care," Byakuya simply said.

"Of course you don't..." I scoffed.

"And you're okay with that, Toko!?" Hiro asked her.

"..."

"Jeez, how low is that rock you're hiding under...?" Hiro sighed.

"I believe this is the small talk Byakuya warned us against," Kyoko said.

"And yet...I let myself get involved. But it is now finished. I will never allow you to drag me down to your level again. We're going to begin our search. Stop running your mouths and start moving your legs," Byakuya ordered.

Pressured by an obviously irritated Byakuya, we all started our exploration.

=======

And so, with Byakuya leading us, we all went up to the newly opened fifth floor and were greeted with pleasant blue lighting and with sparse foliage on the sides.

Huh... It's totally different from all the floors we've seen up till now. For some reason it feels pleasant, but at the same time...unpleasant.

I began my exploration with a very large wooden door. I slide it open to reveal the school dojo. Across from it were full-bloom cherry trees. Kyoko was there staring at them. I walked up to her and admired the cherry trees up close.

"It's quite elegant," Kyoko spoke.

"It sure is. This is something you consider elegant?" I asked.

"I lived overseas for a long time, so this kind of Japanese-style scenery is refreshing," Kyoko explained.

"I see..." But considering our situation, isn't it kinda...out of place?

I left Kyoko to her admiration and entered the double door across the hall. Inside was a huge garden with enormous plants. As I looked up at the tallest plant, I noticed the blue sky. Or so I thought that was the sky.

"At first I thought I saw blue skies, but turns out they just painted the walls and the ceiling!" Hiro explained. His voice made me jump slightly. "Oh, but the plants are all real. It's been a while since I've smelled vegetation. It helps me relax."

"..."

"...That's not what you're thinking, is it!? Don't you get it!? Don't you realize...the true horror of plant life!? It's there, just beneath the surface. Beneath their calm exterior, they're always watching, and waiting... And when they decide they can't leave us in charge of Earth anymore...they'll put their plan for global human extinction into action!" Hiro rambled.

"..." I stared at him expressionless.

"I'm serious!"

"...Sure..." I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to the very tall plants. Those things are super weird and super creepy! Flowers aren't supposed to get this big!

"Are they even real?" I muttered to myself.

"WATCH OUT!!!" Monokuma screamed as he popped out of nowhere.

"AAAAHHHHH!" I screamed.

"That's a Monokuma Flower. I came up with the name myself. Try and touch it, and you're in for some real excitement! Your heart's all like whoa! and the plant's all like snap! and your flesh is all like bluuuggh I'm dead!" Monokuma explained.

So it's a monstrosity then.

"It's pretty frickin' amazing, if I do say so myself! A student at Hope's Peak added improvement after improvement, and created this miracle creature! The Ultimate Botanist... Although, they don't go here anymore. They died during The Tragedy!"

That's the second time Monokuma mentioned an ultimate dying during The Tragedy...

"By the way, despite how it looks, that flower is super practical! It can eat paper, plastic, even people! So it's totally good for the environment! Such an eco-friendly creation is vital for the future growth of a healthy society! Not that I'd know anything about that myself! Ahh-hahaha!" Spouting more and more nonsense, Monokuma eventually disappeared.

Well, I better keep my distance then. I turned and began inspecting some sort of device on the side.

"It's for the sprinklers!" Monokuma appeared again and explained.

"Sprinklers?" I repeated.

"Yeah! It controls the sprinklers in the garden! The sprinklers are set to go off every morning at 7:30. Don't you dare change it without permission! Of course, the settings panel is locked, so you couldn't change it if you wanted to!" Monokuma continued.

"So 7:30 a.m. every morning, every day, right?" I recapped.

"Yup, you got it. It's super user-friendly, which sucks. So if you get here too early, you'll get drenched. So watch yourself! But you're not a little kid, right? You're too old to go running through sprinklers anyway. ...Or do you have some kind of water fetish!? I'm gonna tell everyone! Ahh-hahaha!" Monokuma laughed and disappeared again.

"I do not!" I yelled. Sighing, I walked over to the chicken coop near the panel. They seem normal, regular chickens don't eat people, or lay bombs instead of eggs, or something crazy like that.

"Oh, you like chicken too, Hanako!?" Hiro asked. "Yeah, I love these little guys. They're seriously cute, right!? And there's exactly five of them here!"

"Exactly?"

"Five! You know, the number that comes after four and before six? At least, in terms of natural numbers... Anyway, whenever the number five pops up, that's a good omen! It contains the mysteries of the cosmos... It's a number of power! A refreshing number on par with hand-squeezed all-natural lemonade!"

"..." And just when I thought he couldn't get any crazier.

I left Hiro to the chickens and walked to the toolshed in the back of the garden. Upon entering, I realized that this place seemed totally disorganized. From a lawnmower to fertilizer, flowerpots to farm tools. And leaning against the back wall... Wait... Is that a pickaxe?

I closely examined the pickaxe. There's something carved into the handle of this pickaxe... Crazy...diamond? Isn't that Mondo's gang? Did this belong to Mondo? But what would a biker gang leader need a pickaxe for? Deciding to best leave it as a mystery, I left the garden and continued my exploration down a very long ominous hallway. Greeting me at the end was a grey double door with the word "RAW." I pulled on the handle.

*Rattle rattle*  Dang it, it's locked. The sign in the hall says  Bio Lab . A bio lab that we are forbidden to enter. Kinda sounds like something out of an old cheesy horror movie.

Walking away, I went to a classroom nearby. Every other floor only has two classrooms, so it was strange to see three. When I entered the classroom, the grotesque horror of the room struck me hard and fast.

"What the!?" were the only words that came out of my mouth. The room was covered in blood, slash marks, and body markings. Desks and chairs were tossed around. And the smell of dried blood was so overwhelming, sour, pungent, impossibly rank, that it made my eyes water.

"It smells awful, doesn't it?" Byakuya asked.

"Terrible," I said and plugged my nose.

"It must be at least vaguely familiar to you. After all, you've been around your fair share of corpses," Byakuya said.

"So...this smell is what I think it is..." I said.

"It's the smell of death. Their flesh and fat and blood..." Byakuya confirmed.

There was no surprise in his voice. But he was right. We all had experienced this smell more than once before. The smell of death and despair.

"But the smell here is strong, condensed. It's the smell of a battlefield." Byakuya added.

"It's probably Monokuma's--"

"What, my fault AGAIN!?" Monokuma popped up angrily and startled me. "Stop trying to blame everything on me!"

"Well it is your fault!" I argued.

"No, no, no. It's quite the opposite!" Monokuma denied.

"The opposite?" I repeated.

"Yup! Let me give you an itty bitty eegie squeegie little hint. As far as this room goes, I don't know a thing! I just left it exactly how I found it."

"Exactly?"

"How's that for a hint!? Better than those stupid "hints" you get from NPCs in those mean old RPGs! But it's pretty scary, huh? Blood all over the walls and junk... Of course, even in the outside world, people die bloody, gruesome deaths every day! So it's not really a big deal! Just keep your chin up and keep on livin', soldier!" And with that, Monokuma disappeared.

Sometimes I never understand what he's talking about. He just left it the way he found it? What's the meaning of all this?

I turned to Byakuya. "You have any idea what Monokuma just told us?"

"..." Byakuya said nothing, deep in thought.

Is he really thinking that hard? Or is he flat-out ignoring me? Probably the second option.

I took a closer look around the classroom. There's blood all over the place and there were white chalk outlines drawn all over the floor. I've seen this kind of thing on detective shows at the scene of a murder.

"It appears all the bloodstains are dry. And their color has changed, as well. I think it's safe to assume these stains are considerably old," Byakuya spoke.

"Is all this really blood?" I asked.

"Of course. I wouldn't find it interesting otherwise. And it 'is' interesting, I assure you. What on Earth happened in this classroom...?" Byakuya questioned.

Of course he would find this interesting.

Thankfully, that's all there is to see here, so I left Byakuya to his enjoyment. I guess that's all that there is to see up here. And once again, nothing I found seems to make any real sense.

"Better head back to the dining hall..." I muttered and made my way downstairs.

=======

One after another, everyone made their way to the dining hall. And before too long, everyone showed up.

"It would appear everyone has returned," Byakuya announced.

"But still...it's just the seven of us. That's barely enough for a decent volleyball team..." Hiro sighed.

"Hey! Don't be a sourpuss! We gotta think positive! Besides, even if one more person died, we can still field a basketball team!" Hina said.

"That's like...reverse positive thinking..." Hiro said.

"Anyway, there's no time to be depressed. For the sake of everyone we've lost, we have to do our best," Makoto encouraged.

"Can we stop all this group hug nonsense? We need to find out what everyone discovered," Byakuya ordered.

-------

"I checked all the windows on the 5th floor, front to back," Hina began. "That used to kinda be Sakura's job, but..." Hina looked down with a hint of sadness in her eyes before continuing. "Anyway, no dice. There were metal plates on all the windows, just like everywhere else."

"Which means no chance of escape on the 5th floor, either..." Kyoko said.

"Just like all the other floors," I sighed.

"But when I was looking around, I realized something about [the layout of the school]..." Hina said.

"What exactly did you notice about the layout of the school?" Makoto asked.

"You took a good look around the 5th floor yourself, didn't you Makoto?" Kyoko asked him. "Because if you did, you must have noticed. The 5th floor is lacking something every other floor has."

"Are you talking about...stairs? There aren't any stairs leading up from the 5th floor. That's what you're talking about, right?" Makoto questioned.

"Does that mean...the 5th floor is the end!?" Hiro gasped.

"We're finally starting to get a clear picture of this school," Kyoko said.

"All that's left now is to solve the underlying mystery," Byakuya said.

"But that's the hardest part...: Hiro said.

"Yeah, since there are still a couple locked rooms," I reminded them.

"Even if it's hard, we still gotta do it!" Hina encouraged us.

"Yeah, Hina's right! Everything will be okay. As long as we work together, I'm sure we'll make it out of this...!" Makoto motivated us.

-------

"Well...there's a big garden up on the 5th floor," Hiro said. "And I found more than one thing to be worried about... A [stupidly large plant], a [chicken coop], and--I know what you're gonna say, but...a [toolshed]!"

"Monokuma said that it was called a Monokuma Flower," I spoke. We have to be careful around it, because it's dangerous."

"It's totally a man-eating plant! I'm pretty sure it's different from the one that lives in the pipe, though. Anyway, that thing must benefit from the sprinkler system as much as anything else in there..." Hiro said.

"Oh yeah. Apparently the sprinklers come on every morning at 7:30 on the dot," Makoto said.

"Yeah, remember that! You don't wanna get drenched and catch a cold!" Hiro said.

"Well you don't have to worry. They say idiots never catch colds, ya know," Hina said.

"Of course not! Cuz idiots never get wet!" Hiro grinned.

"Umm...I think you're thinking of ducks," Makoto said.

"I'm starting to worry about you, Hiro. Can you tell me what ten plus ten is?" Hina quizzed.

"Hey, come on! You don't ALWAYS have to call me dumb! I may have been held back three times, but that doesn't make me stupid!" Hiro said. "But if it'll make you happy, I'll answer your dumb question...! So! Um...what was the question again?"

Hina sighed. "Don't worry. You just answered it..."

"There were a bunch of chickens in the chicken coop, right?" Makoto asked.

"That's right! Five! Five chickens!" Hiro confirmed.

"I love chickens! Let's raise 'em up big and fat. Then we can make fried chicken! Oh, or barbeque! Decisions, decisions... Oh! Oh! Or how about raw! Cuz there's nothing fresher than raw, right!?" Hina drooled.

"I'm pretty sure that'd kill you..." Hiro muttered.

"Anyways, have any of you noticed the pickaxe in the toolshed?" I asked.

"Huh? What about the pickaxe?" Byakuya questioned.

"Well, the pickaxe had the words Crazy Diamond carved into the handle. Haven't we seen that phrase somewhere before?" I asked.

"Crazy Diamond? Hmm... Yeah, that does sound kinda familiar, I think..." Hina pondered.

"I don't just think, I know. We've definitely seen that phrase before," Kyoko said.

"Huh? Where!?" Hina questioned.

"Ah, that's it! I remember..." Makoto spoke. "It was on Mondo's uniform! On the back of his jacket... His jacket said the same thing, right? Crazy Diamond!"

"You're absolutely right..." Byakuya said.

"But why would that be on the pickaxe in the garden?" Hina questioned.

"Mondo must've snuck in there and done it, right?" Hiro suggested.

"But we didn't have access to the garden until today," Byakuya shot down Hiro's suggestion.

"Then...maybe Mondo brought it with him when he first came here, and Monokuma confiscated it?" Hina said.

"Yeah, just like he did with Hifumi's camera," I said.

"Whatever the reason, that's what stuck out to me in the toolshed--the pickaxe connected to Mondo," Makoto said.

"Well, what stuck out to 'me' wasn't the pickaxe at all!" Hiro announced.

"Huh? Then...what did?" Makoto asked.

"What 'I' noticed was the lawnmower! I'm thinking maybe we can use it to call for help..." Hiro proposed.

"How are you gonna call for help with a lawnmower!" Hina asked in disbelief.

"I dunno! Maybe I can use it to make crop circles or something! Yeah, that's it! I'm gonna make crop circles! And we can use those to call for help!" Hiro explained.

"Hahahaha!" I burst out laughing.

"What the heck's happened to you...? You weren't like this in the beginning, you know," Hina said.

"Well, back then my personality hadn't quite solidified yet...!" Hiro explained.

"I didn't think it was possible, but I'm more disappointed in you now than I've ever been..." Hina sulked.

-------

"My concern is with the bio lab. That was the only place on the 5th floor that we couldn't access," Kyoko said.

"The bio lab, huh? I wonder what's in there..." Hina said.

"If this were like, a cliche horror game, it'd be some kind of creature," Hiro said. "The final boss, or Tyrant, or--!"

"We're...not in a horror game, though..." Hina interrupted.

"Either way, we don't need to worry about it at the moment. Don't bother thinking about something that can't be understood no matter how much you think about it," Byakuya advised. "Your tiny brains can only do so much, so focus on utilizing them efficiently."

"I don't really like 'how' you said it, but 'what' you said is probably right," Hina said.

"No, how I said it is right, too," Byakuya said.

-------

"Well, here's a discovery that'll brighten the mood," I began. "We now have ourselves a dojo."

"A dojo!? Really!?" Hina cried out with excitement.

"Yep, but it's not just a plain old dojo. It has beautiful cherry trees with falling petals," I continued.

"It's very majestic if I do say so myself," Kyoko said.

"I bet a place like that would be filled with power spots!" Hiro said.

"Oh, I bet Sakura would have loved that room. It would have reminded her of her family dojo, I'm sure of it," Hina said sadly.

"I'm sure she would've loved it too," Makoto said.

-------

"By the way, did any of you find it? The other strange room on the 5th floor. Well, no..."strange" is a massive understatement. The smell of flesh and fat and blood... The white outlines of countless corpses... It was more dreadful than anything I've encountered here so far..." Byakuya said.

"Wh-What the hell are you talking about!?" Hiro cried out.

"The smell itself was horrific. Far beyond any normal murder scene. Every body's smell, concentrated..." Byakuya continued.

"God, I'm glad I didn't see it... I feel like I'm gonna barf just hearing you describe it..." Hina said.

"But I mean...what the hell happened in that room?" Hiro asked.

"I can only think of one thing... A large group of people died right there in that room," Byakuya explained.

"A bunch of people were...killed in there?" Hiro repeated in fear.

Hina covered her mouth. "Stop, seriously... I'm gonna throw up..."

"Perhaps that's what was meant by the biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history," Kyoko said.

"...Huh?" Makoto questioned.

"You're thinking the same thing, then. My theory is the mass murder that took place in that room is the incident said to have happened one year ago," Byakuya said.

"So the awful scene in that room... That was "The Tragedy" that happened a year ago that Monokuma and Alter Ego talked about?" I asked.

"Precisely. The Tragedy is another name for the genocide of the student body of Hope's Peak Academy. If that's true...that would explain why Hope's Peak was forced to close its doors," Byakuya said.

"I mean, I guess that all makes sense, but...it's all just...so awful," Hiro commented.

"Not just awful... Super awfully awful!" Hina gasped.

It sure is... But how come none of us ever heard about something like that happening? Does that mean they really did cover it up?

-------

"..." Toko looked like she wanted to say something.

"Hey, Byakuya...it seems like Toko wants to say something," Makoto observed.

"So? Why are you telling me?" Byakuya scowled.

"Because you were the one who told her not to speak!" I reminded him.

"Ah. I'd forgotten about that," Byakuya said.

"Jesus, man! I know you like torturing her, but come on!" Hiro said.

"Well, Toko. If you want to envelop us all in your putrid breath, I won't stop you," Byakuya told her.

"Y-You honor me, Master..." Toko spoke, a blush forming on her face. "And d-don't worry... I took care of the o-odor problem..."

"Hahaha, seriously!? You're just gonna take it?" Hiro laughed.

"Sh-Shut up! And don't interrupt when M-Mater and me are talking!" Toko yelled.

"...Okay, so, what did you want to tell us?" Hina asked.

"Well, I was in a c-classroom on the 5th floor, and s-something caught my attention..." Toko pulled out a knife and showed it to us. "It was...th-this."

"A knife!?" Makoto gasped.

"Whoa, that thing is huge! It's like, Rambo size!" Hina said.

"It's a survival knife of some type..." Byakuya said.

"But...what was it doing in a classroom?" Makoto questioned.

Toko bit her thumb. "How would I kn-know...?"

"What're you gonna use that knife for...? What're you planning to do to us!?" Hiro asked Toko.

"I'm not g-gonna do anything! I j-just picked it up! I didn't wanna leave a kn-knife just laying around..." Toko explained.

"I'd rather have it laying around than in the hands of a serial killer!" Hiro yelled.

"D-Don't compare me to...her! I'm n-nothing like her!" Toko shouted.

"Listen, more important... Now that we have the knife, what are we gonna do with it?" Hina asked.

"That's a good question," I said.

"We can't let Toko keep it, that's for sure. We dunno what she might do..." Hiro said.

"I don't w-want it anyway! It's too dangerous..." Toko said.

"Hmm...so what to do...?" Makoto muttered.

"Why don't you hang on to it, Makoto?" Kyoko suggested.

"Huh? Me!?" Makoto exclaimed.

"That's a good idea," I said.

"Oh yeah, I totally trust Makoto to take care of it!" Hiro agreed.

"Then that's that!" Hina concluded.

"H-Hold on!" Makoto objected. "Don't I get a say!?"

"It just shows how much they trust you. You should do as they ask," Byakuya ordered.

"Okay, s-so here you go, Makoto..." Toko handed the knife to Makoto.

"F-Fine..." Makoto obliged and took the knife from her.

"Anyway, th-that's all I wanted to say..." Toko concluded.

"Hey, Toko," Byakuya called out.

"Ah! D-Do I still have bad b-breath!? Sorry sorry sorry! I'm sorry it stinks! I'm sorry it stinks! I'm sorry--!" Toko apologized.

"You made a valuable discovery. Good job," Byakuya praised.

Toko's eyes widened in shock. "Huh...? Huh...? Huh...? Did Master just...p-praise me?"

"Hey, good for you!" Hina smiles.

"Ng...! NgaaAAaAhh! I-I'm dreaming... I must b-be dreaming! Ahh...that I would ever e-experience such a dream... Aha... Ahahahahaha! I feel...s-strange...! Ahaha...so strange...! R-Really strange! Oh no...! Aha...hyah...hyeehahaehea!" Toko drooled and giggled.

"Great, she's broken now," I said.

"Whenever I look at Toko these days, it makes me feel...sad," Hiro said.

"Well, I think that's all the new information we have for now," Byakuya announced.

"So? Now what do we do?" Hiro asked.

"Well... Starting today, you're all under my command. But before we proceed, I need to figure something out," Byakuya said.

"Jeez, how cocky can you be!? You're gonna bust through the ceiling if your head gets any bigger!" Hiro commented.

"So...what is it you wanna figure out?" Hina asked.

"Kyoko's identity..." Byakuya answered.

"...Huh?" Makoto questioned.

"..." Kyoko went silent.

"Kyoko's identity? But Kyoko is...Kyoko...right?" Hina asked.

"Yes, but who 'is' she?" Byakuya questioned. "The rest of us have a clear, definable reason for having been selected to attend Hope's Peak Academy. Hina's the Ultimate Swimming Pro, Hiro's the Ultimate Clairvoyant, Hanako's the Ultimate Chess Player... Even Makoto is the Ultimate Lucky Student. So what about Kyoko? Can anyone tell me what 'she' is?"

"Now that you mention it...she's never told us," Hiro recalled.

"Well, Kyoko doesn't really like talking about herself anyway, right?" Hina questioned.

"It's not a matter of what she likes or doesn't like. This is a matter of trust. Can you trust someone who's unwilling to reveal their true identity? We need to avoid raising any more unnecessary suspicion. So Kyoko, it's time you told us..." Byakuya told Kyoko.

"...I can't," Kyoko said.

"What!? Wh-Why won't you tell us!?" Toko yelled at her.

"I didn't say I "won't." I said I can't," Kyoko clarified.

"Wh-What do you mean...?" Hiro asked.

"Because...I don't remember," Kyoko said.

"What...?" Makoto questioned.

You don't remember...?" I repeated.

"I have no memory of what I am," Kyoko explained.

"You have no memory...? You mean..." Makoto trailed off.

"Amnesia...?" Hina finished off.

"..." Kyoko said nothing.

Byakuya narrowed his eyes. "If I thought you had a sense of humor, I'd say you were joking. But if this is a joke, I'm not laughing."

"Y-You can't be serious right now, c-can you?" Toko asked.

"I knew you wouldn't believe me. That's why I didn't say anything," Kyoko explained. "But it doesn't matter. Either way, the truth will make itself clear before we're done."

"So you have no intention of telling us? Then I can no longer stand by and do nothing..." Byakuya said.

"What are you going to do? Torture me?" Kyoko asked.

"Nothing so barbaric as that. I will simply...limit your options. I can't allow you to engage in any further suspicious activity," Byakuya explained.

"Limit my options...?"

"Give me the key to your room."

"But...if she gives you her room key...!" Makoto began.

"She can't go to sleep in her room! She'll be breaking a school regulation!" Hina stated.

"And if she doesn't want that, she'll talk. It's easy, all she has to do is tell us about herself," Byakuya said.

"You can't do that!" I argued.

"...Fine. I understand," Kyoko complied.

Byakuya smirked. "Good, you're finally in the mood for conversation."

Without saying a word, Kyoko walked right up to Byakuya, and...held out her room key to him.

"You damn fool... Why do you refuse to talk...!?" Byakuya questioned as he took her room key.

"Whether I want to or not, I can't. All I can do is keep telling you that," Kyoko explained.

"M-Maybe she really did lose her memory..." Hina said.

"If you really think about it, it doesn't sound totally impossible. This is the worst school ever, where only the worst stuff happens, right? Amnesia would fit right in," Hiro said.

"The worst school, where only the worst things happen? Do you really mean that?" Kyoko asked him.

"Huh...?"

"Can you really be sure that life here has been filled with only the worst things?"

"Wh-What do you mean...?" Makoto asked.

"...Perhaps I've said too much." Kyoko then turned her back on us, and without a word began to walk away.

"Where do you think you're going?" Byakuya called out to her.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to do anything to harm any of you," Kyoko said as she left. The dining hall was silent. The only sound was the door opening and closing as Kyoko left the room.

"Wh-What's her deal...?" Hiro asked.

"I think you went too far, taking her room key like that..." Hina said.

"Rich boys always take things too far," I grumbled.

"F-For her, that wasn't far e-enough...! Or m-maybe she gets off on the attention. I can't believe her, e-enjoying getting yelled at..." Toko said weirdly.

"You're getting noisy again, Toko," Byakuya sneered.

"..."

"Sorry, I can still hear you. The sound of you breathing, of your heart beating...it grates on me."

"Are you telling her to die...?" Hiro asked. "I mean, I know how you feel, but...!"

"KYAAAAAAAHH!" Hina screamed suddenly.

"AHHH!" I screamed.

"Uwah!" Hiro yelled. "Wh-What the hell!? Why're you yelling all of a sudden!?"

"Cuz...! Cuz! Look!" Hina pointed to Monokuma, who was standing there looking quite angry.

"I-It's you... How long have you been standing there!?" Hiro asked.

"I'm very...very... AAAAANNNGGGRRRYYYYYY!!!" Monokuma shouted.

"Eeeekk!" I yelped.

"Angry at what...?" Hina asked.

"At the thief! Yes, that's right. I'm very sad to have to tell you, there's a thief in your midst!" Monokuma announced.

"What!?" Hiro gasped.

"Myyy PRECIOUUSSS! They stole it!" Monokuma explained.

"...Your precious?" Makoto repeated.

"Your teacher had such faith in you... And this is how you repay me? With betrayal? Reality is filled with so much hardship, isn't it? No wonder people run away into their fantasies..."

"But...what the heck is your "precious"?" Hina asked.

"Shut up! I hope all of you get stuck in a hiring freeze and die penniless on the street!" Monokuma yelled and disappeared.

"And he's gone... What the heck was that all about?" Hiro asked.

"He said something about his "precious" getting stolen. Does anyone have any idea what that might mean?" Hina wondered.

"Beats me," I said.

"It likely has something to do with Kyoko," Byakuya said.

"...Huh?" Makoto questioned.

"Who else other than her would be willing and able to steal something from Monokuma?" Byakuya questioned.

Did Kyoko really steal something from Monokuma? If that's true, what was it and why?

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

"Uh-oh. We need to get out of here..." Hina said.

"We can talk about this more tomorrow," Hiro suggested. "And about Kyoko..."

"However, after what just happened with Monokuma, and Kyoko, I feel like there's...something in the air. I would suggest you take extra precautions tonight. Stay in your rooms, don't go wandering around..." Byakuya ordered.

"We don't need you to tell us that," I said.

Byakuya ignored me. "Well then, let's disperse. I'll see you all tomorrow."

Following his lead, each of us went back to our rooms.

 

Chapter 55: Where is Kyoko?

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"

I groaned as I got out of bed and quickly headed to the dining hall. Soon the others showed up. Makoto, as always, was the last one to arrive.

"You're one minute late, Makoto. How do you explain this?" Byakuya complained.

"S-Sorry. I'm not feeling so great today," Makoto explained.

"You r-really think a tired excuse like that i-is gonna work?" Toko asked.

"Huh? Are you allowed to talk again?" Hiro asked.

"I don't recall giving you permission..." Byakuya said.

"Huh...? I-I just thought... I mean, since a d-day had passed, it had maybe r-reset...S-S-S-S-Sorry! Please don't hate me! Whatever my p-punishment is, I'll accept it! I'll hang a s-sign from my neck that says "Bad Girl"! I'll clean your bathroom w-with my toothbrush...!" Toko said while rubbing her hands through her hair.

"If you stop making disgusting comments like that, 'maybe' I can forgive you," Byakuya said.

"Th-Thank you! I won't make any more d-disgusting comments, I promise...! If I do, you can stuff m-my mouth full of trash... As long as i-it's you and no one else, I d-don't mind...!" Toko drooled.

"Please stop! It's too early to be sick!" I begged.

"It's no use. She's disgusting to the bone..." Hiro sighed.

"Anyway, where's Kyoko? I haven't seen her this morning..." Hina pointed out.

"Not cool! This is worse than being late for lunch, for a date, for your wedding, for anything!" Hiro yelled.

"Maybe she's mad about what happened yesterday, and she's not gonna show up anymore..." Hina suggested.

"Maybe..." I said.

"Whatever her reason, I'm curious to know what she 'is' doing," Byakuya said. "I know she's not in her room, so..."

"Oh yeah, you still have her key, right?" Hiro asked.

Just then, Monokuma popped up. "Ah, are you looking for Miss Kirigiri?"

"Wgah! What do you want now!?" Hiro asked.

"I'm right, right? You're wondering where Miss Kirigiri is, right?" Monokuma asked.

"D-Do you know where she is...?" Makoto asked him.

Monokuma began to sweat. "Hmm... Well, it's hard to say..."

"Huh? You don't know, either!?" Hiro gasped.

"It's because he doesn't know. That's why he's here--to try and prod us for information," Byakuya explained with a scowl on his face.

"Hey, don'tcha hate it when you ask someone what their favorite movie is, and they name some indie bullcrap?" Monokuma questioned.

"I feel like I'm g-getting whiplash, the way he changed s-subjects like that..." Toko muttered.

"So? Was I right? You're looking for Miss Kirigiri! Any idea where she might have gone...?" Monokuma asked.

"...We have no idea," Byakuya answered.

"And even if we did know, we wouldn't tell 'you'!" Hina declared.

"For serious!" agreed Hiro.

"Hmm... I see..." Monokuma turned his back on us. "Well, fine. Whatever! I don't even care anymore! Sayonara, suckers!" As soon as he was gone, we all glanced around at each other.

"So...what was that just now? Does that mean Monokuma doesn't know where she is, either?" Hina questioned.

"It would seem that way..." Byakuya said.

"It's like Kyoko vanished into thin air," I said.

"Where the heck could she have gone...?" Hiro asked.

"Don't you think we should all go look for her?" Hina suggested.

"And how would you suggest we approach that task? Even Monokuma can't seem to locate her..." Byakuya said.

"Yeah...how can he not know where she is?" Hiro questioned.

"So strange..." Hina commented.

We spent the rest of breakfast talking about where Kyoko could have gone. Afterwards, we returned to our rooms.

 

Chapter 56: Free Time Event #8

=Free Time=

Byakuya Togami:

I went to the garden to admire the plants more. When I entered, there stood Byakuya.

"What? Do you need something?" Byakuya asked once he saw me.

"No. Actually... I want to talk to you," I requested.

Byakuya smirked slightly. "It pains me to watch you. Do you really desire my affection so much? Hmph. You're free to do what you will."

I ignored the insults and spent some time with Byakuya.

"... How do you still not understand?" Byakuya questioned.

I raised an eyebrow. "Understand...what?"

"I've been sacrificing all this valuable time of mine for 'your' sake. But it's all amounted to nothing. We simply have nothing to talk about. We could talk forever and a day, and I would gain nothing from it," Byakuya said.

"Yes you can! We gain some understanding from each other-"

Byakuya interrupted me. "You and I will 'never' understand each other. Even though we are from the same status, we live in different worlds. Our ways of life, our ways of thinking are totally incompatible. You're a loser. So go ahead and live your loser life, make a bunch of loser friends. Then together, you can lick each other's loser wounds."

"You don't have to repeat the word loser you know..."

"Whether your self-indulgence is a lie or not, it doesn't matter. Whatever happens, I'm going to keep on fighting, and I'm going to keep on winning. That's one thing that will never change."

"But doesn't that make your life kind of hard to have to win all the time?"

"Such is the fate of the chosen."

That word again... "The last time we talked, you kept talking about "the chosen". What does that mean exactly in your context?" I asked. "It seems to have a lot heavier meaning to you than how I'd normally think of it."

"..." Byakuya went silent. He was in deep thinking before he spoke again. "Fine. If I'm going to waste my time with you anyway, I may as well explain this one last thing. I'll tell you how I became known as the Ultimate Affluent Progeny..."

"Very well then. You have my attention."

"It has to do with the secret to the Togami family's prosperity. Our success comes from our family's rather...peculiar inheritance system."

"Peculiar inheritance system? What do you mean?"

"You see, our family head never takes a wife. Rather, he couples with exceptional women the world over, in order to bear as many children as possible."

What!? All over the world!?

"They then make the children compete, and only one can come out on top," Byakuya continued. "And whoever it is...earns the right to become the next head of the family."

"You... You have to fight your own brothers and sisters!?" I gasped.

"For my battle, there were fifteen of us in total. When all was said and done, only one was still standing—the youngest brother. Me. In the entire history of the Togami family, the youngest male had never won."

Wow, that sounds brutal. I can't even imagine something like that... Actually, this scenario we're in sounds similar, so I guess I can.

"So, now do you understand? I won my title in open combat. 'That' is how l became the Ultimate Affluent Progeny. I was not born into greatness. I had to earn it. I put my life on the line, and I 'earned' the right to be called the chosen."

"If you put your life on the line, then... What about your siblings?"

"Dead."

"Dead!?"

"I don't mean that literally, of course. They become dead to the family, unfit for the name of Togami. Of course, for them it really is like death. They're forced to become one of the 99%. One of...'them.'"

"It...must've been really hard, right?"

"You can't even imagine. Which is why the survivor is recognized as the chosen. When you take over as the head of the family, all the weight of that family comes to rest on your shoulders. That is how dedicated I am. I am forever dedicated to keep on winning. And so I shall. Otherwise, I would feel only pity for those I'd already defeated."

What he said means that he pretty much carries the weight of always having to win... Winning comes naturally to him.

"All I'll say at this point, is that I'm going to win 'this' game, too. It's been a long time since I've had so much fun. I need to get as much enjoyment out of it as possible. And in the end, I will stand victorious. I won't lose to the mastermind or you or anyone else. Even as the rest of you fall one by one, I will live and I will win. As long as my name is Byakuya Togami," Byakuya declared.

The finality of his statement left no room for doubt or question. Nobody but Byakuya could talk that way and sound so convincing. But because it's him, it seems possible that maybe that 'is' his fate. Honestly, the more I talk to him, the more I see how far apart we are. But at the same time, I feel like I understand him as well... At least I 'think' I do.

"Now let me be crystal clear—we no longer have anything to talk about. Do not come to me like this again. Goodbye." With that, Byakuya walked off.

"Wait a second!" I called out.

"I said we no longer have anything to talk about," Byakuya repeated.

"Let me just say something real quick, then I'll be out of your hair."

Byakuya turned to face me.

"I want to thank you for telling me about your family. Even though you don't show it, it must be hard on you. And..." I hesitated before continuing. "I want to apologize for throwing a bottle of reagent at you during the last investigation. I was angry and I know that doesn't excuse my actions, but I did it anyways. I could have injured you or worse, kill you. I know that you probably won't forgive me, but I want to get it out of the way, so...I'm sorry."

Byakuya's eyes widened, but then he smiled slightly. "You are a very strange girl, Hanako. And don't worry. I accept your apology." And then he left the garden.

"...I sometimes wonder who is controlling me," I muttered to myself. I then left the garden a bit later.

=======

Aoi Asahina:

I went to the dojo to find Hina there.

"'Each and every person has to do their job. The cooperation of each player is true teamwork.' That's a quote from the famous rugby player Yuji Matsuo! We gotta do the same thing thing-co operate so we can survive!" Hina said.

"Too bad that didn't really go well..." I muttered.

"You wanna go for a run to relieve some of this stress?" Hina offered.

Hina and I went for a light run through the school.

Once we were done, Hina began to speak. "Hey, Hanako? Can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"I wanted to ask you something..."

"What?"

"Oh, um... I mean... ..." Hina was having trouble finding the right words to say. "C-Can you just come to my room when you get the chance!? Right here is like...!"

"Like what...?"

"Okay, see ya later! Better not stand me up!" Without bothering to wait for a response, Hina ran off.

Well that was odd. She sure is acting strange. I wonder what that was about? Well if I want to know I better get going.

I headed to Hina's room as she asked.

"Umm... Sorry for making you have to come here..." Hina apologized.

"It's alright. But what's going on?"

"I just...wanted to ask you something. Will you promise to give me a real answer?"

"Of course."

"What do you...think about me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean me...as a woman."

"As a...woman?"

"Wh-What I'm trying to say is...! Do I have, you know... womanly charms?

"Well... I think... Wait, where's all this coming from?"

"... People have always told me how I'm not ladylike... And I mean, I can't really disagree. All I'm good at is sports, exercise, physical stuff... But maybe that's just because I've never actually been in love...! Since I've never fallen in love, how can I say I'm a woman? So that's why... Um... I want you to be my girlfriend," Hina explained, her cheeks turning red.

"Huh!?" My face turned pink.

"N-No, I mean-! Not like my REAL girlfriend! Just, like, a practice run!"

"Oh... Practice run...?"

"I'm not a woman because I've never been in love, and I can't fall in love cuz I'm not a woman... It's like, a vicious cycle, ya know? So my strategy is, I'll do a practice run to draw out my feminine side! That way I'll be in the perfect position to fall in love! So I'm asking you - begging you to help me practice and pretend to be my girlfriend!"

"But...why me?"

"You're the only one I can ask, Hanako! I mean...you must have experience with love right? Please! I'm on my hands and knees here! It won't even take that long!"

She seems serious about this...

I sighed. "Alright. I guess I can help, for a little while."

"You mean it!? Alright!"

"So...what am I supposed to do?"

"Oh, uh...good question. Ummm... ... Well, whatever! Let's just get started!"

Whatever?

"Okay, here we go!" Hina cleared her throat. "Oh, darling! You're home! Are you ready for dinner? Or should I get a bath going?"

"Um Hina... That's more like a stereotypical 1950s married couple."

"Oh... Different approach, then? W-Well... You lied to me! You said you left your wife!"

"That's even worse!"

"Really...? You mean I can't even get a practice run right!? Was that the fatal blow...!? Seriously, what am I supposed to do!? Just become that one crazy lady who gives up on love!?"

"No, no, not at all. Let's just dial it back. First of all, do you really need to go through all this practice stuff?"

"I told you...I'm not "ladylike"..."

"Even if that's true, I'd say that's just part of your charm."

"Huh...?"

"If you push it and get all nervous, that's totally not you, right? Me, personally, I think you're fine just the way you are. Because that's who you 'are'."

"Hanako..." Hina blushed.

"And falling in love is supposed to be fun, right? If you stress out about it, where's the fun in that?" I questioned. "And well...not that I know anything about love, either. So maybe that doesn't mean anything."

"No, it does... If it's you saying it, it 'does' mean something... Maybe you're right. I shouldn't push it. I should just be me. I just have to wait until I meet the right person. Like Jason Statham. Anyway, thanks Hanako! You've definitely helped lift that weight off my chest! And on top of that...I kinda had fun practicing with you. I might ask you to help me again someday!"

"Um... I think I had enough practice."

"Oh, really? Then...if it wasn't practice...?"

"Huh?" My face went pink again.

Hina laughed. "Kidding! I'm just jerkin' ya around!"

I laughed as well. A joke, huh? Well, joke or not, I definitely feel like I've gotten a lot closer to Hina. I think we've finally become friends.

"So? What's your type, huh? What kinda guys are you into!? Or are you into girls? Or both!?" Hina questioned.

"Uh... D-Don't worry about it!" I said, my face heating up again.

"Awww, come on! Don't get embarrassed! Hahahaha!"

Hina and I got more fired up about love than I expected, and after a while I headed my way.

=======

Yasuhiro Hagakure:

I was walking down a hallway when Hiro approached me looking rather mad.

"A certain organization is behind all of this, I'm finally sure of it...! But I can't say their name, cuz as soon as you do, they come and...get rid of you. Kurt Cobian said their name. John Lennon said their name! They're bad...so bad...really really bad!"

"Uh... Thanks for the info I guess. Do you...wanna hang out?" I offered.

"Well then, why don't we have a heated discussion about cosmogony!" Hiro suggested.

I learned all about Hiro's theories on the origin of the universe.

"Hanako! You ready for me to tell your fortune!?" Hiro asked.

"Hiro for the millionth time, I'm not interested!" I said.

"C'mon, don't be like that! This one's on me! Free of charge! No money down!" Hiro persuaded me. "I'll be waiting for you in my room! Meet me as soon as you can!" He turned and walked off.

If I keep rejecting his offer, he'll still keep persuading me to accept. Alright. I'll do it. But only because it'll shut him up. And I better keep my guard up. I doubt he actually will do it for free.

So I went to Hiro's room.

"Yo, Hanako! Welcome!" Hiro greeted me.

"Alright. Let's get this over with," I urged.

"Listen, before we get to reading, I have a little favor to ask..."

"Of course, there's a catch."

"No, man! I'm for super serious this time! Er—I mean, I really am serious! I want to talk to you about a problem I'm having..."

"A problem?"

"I listen to everyone else's problems all day, right? But who do 'I' have to talk to? Friends? Nope. I mean I literally have zero friends..."

I suspected he didn't. But to hear it out loud from him makes me feel bad for him.

"This is the first time I've felt like there was someone I could talk to, could share my problems with," Hiro continued.

"Really? Well... I guess I wouldn't mind listening to your problem," I said.

Hiro smiled. "Thanks...! So, you remember I told you how I got held back a few times, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, there's kind of a serious reason for that."

"What is it?"

"Someone's after me."

"Someone's after you!? Hiro what did you do!?" I yelled.

"No, I—what makes you think I did anything? I just got dragged into it. I had an appointment come in, the daughter of some rich upper management type guy. Maaaybe I pressured her a little to pull out her entire life savings... Well, when her dad found out, he went apepoop, and it turned into a whole legal thing... And it turns out, this Mr. Richie Rich guy just so happened to have ties to the mob. So then I had these super scary gangsters coming after me...!" Hiro explained.

"Did you try to run?"

"Yeah. But they caught up to me, of course. They tried to force me to pay them...well, more than I could afford. So I snuck my way into Hope's Peak... The instant I leave this school, they're gonna come for my guts! Black market organs are in huge demand! But I love my organs! I don't wanna give 'em to someone else! So, here's the deal. Sell me some of your organs on the cheap, and I can resell 'em at market price!" Hiro offered.

"Absolutely not!" I cried out.

"Just one! One's all I need!" Hiro begged.

"No!"

"Okay, fine! Sell me your identity! Those are pretty valuable these days!"

"NO!"

"Then give me your money. Your family is loaded, so they won't notice anything!"

"..."

"Gah...! You're so selfish!"

Me!? Selfish!? You're the one who's selfish around here! I bet you used that money to buy those artifacts of yours, didn't you!?"

"Gwah! H-How'd you know!?"

"You mentioned how expensive that stuff was. What else could it be?"

"Wait! Y-You're not suggesting I sell my OOPArts, are you!?"

"Sure, why not? That makes the most sense, doesn't it? If you can't bear to do it yourself, I'll help you."

"No! No no no! No freakin' way! That collection is all I have in life! How could you even suggest such a terrible thing! You're a cruel woman, Hanako Yasashiku!"

I sighed. "This is getting nowhere. Look, I know you're desperate, but that doesn't make it an excuse to act like a child. So if you stop panicking and crying, I'll lay out a deal for you."

"What kind of deal?" Hiro questioned.

"I'll help you pay up if we manage to live and get out of here, but only a couple hundred. In return, you have to make the rest of the money you own without scamming people."

"Really? You'd do that?"

"You have my word."

"I knew you'd come through for me, Hanako!" Hiro said happily and hugged me tightly.

We sealed the deal, and I walked out of his room.

=======

Toko Fukawa:

I was eating in the dining hall when Toko came up to me.

"Hey, H-Hanako? Could you come to my room...?" Toko requested.

"What for?" I asked.

"I want to sh-show you something. I'll be waiting th-there..." Toko said and walked off.

Well that's a first. I better head there.

I quickly finished my meal and headed off to her room.

"Th-Thanks for coming... But don't get the wrong i-idea! I didn't ask you here for a-anything...like that! If you lay a hand on me, I'll b-bite my own tongue off and choke o-on the blood! Till I'm d-dead!" Toko threatened.

"I would never," I assured her. "So anyways, what do you want to show me?"

"I was hoping you would...r-read this." Toko handed me a massive stack of thick paper. I saw the handwriting on the top sheet, the neat letters packed close together.

"What is this?" I asked her.

"W-Well I took Makoto's advice and s-started writing something other than r-romance, and I w-wanted a second opinion on it..."

"Oh. Okay then." I started scanning the text. A few seconds later, I was still reading. The words kept flowing into my head, the scenery unfolding before my very eyes. "Wow, Toko! This... This is really good! This is probably the best book I've ever read."

"It's pretty g-good, right? Hehehe...!"

"Yeah, good but also quite dark."

"You know what they c-call the type of writing where the author has directly experienced the subject matter? It's a kind of naturalistic style popular in Japan. Katai Tayama's "Futon" started it all..."

"Um... Is it an I-Novel?" I guessed.

"C-Correct...! Mine's still a w-work in progress, though. But as soon a-as it's finished...it's going to b-become a shocking masterpiece that'll change the face of the I-Novel f-forever!" Toko announced.

Knowing her...she might actually be right about that. "Well it 'will' be a masterpiece, I have no doubt about that. I have full faith in you."

Toko looked at me in disbelief. "I-I don't get you... W-why are you so n-nice to me? All I did was yell at y-you."

"Well like I said when we first started talking, I was hurt too. By people who I thought were my friends. So in a way, I know how you feel. Even if you do make me angry and disgusted, you don't deserve the things you went through."

Toko's cheeks turned pink and she tapped her fingers together. "Ahh, I'm s-so embarrassed...! I'll express my a-appreciation in the form of a p-poem!"

"A poem? You don't have to-"

"'On a locked and rusted door / I dug my nails in and dragged them down / Warm blood mixed with old rust / Flowing down my wrist / Coils like a snake / Embracing my body / You watch me / A smile in your eyes / You watch / Time runs away / And you with it / You leave me drowning in a red sea /' ...Well? Now do you understand how I feel?"

"Well... I-I believe so..."

"S-So...that's it for now. Now I have to do my b-best to bring the story to an end. And when there's someone there t-to support me for that... that's what you c-call a friend...right?"

I gasped and let out a smile. "Yes Toko. That's what you call a friend."

"Now get out b-before you decide to lunge for m-me after all!" Toko shouted.

I laughed happily as Toko kicked me out of her room.

=======

Makoto Naegi:

(Makoto's POV)

I found Hanako in one of the classrooms on the first floor. I decided to go up and talk to her.

"Do you ever notice the drawings on the chalkboards? I'm feeling tempted to erase them."

Hmm... Should I hang out with Hanako for a while?

-----

-Spend some time with Hanako ✔

-Go see who else is around

-----

"You must really like spending time with me, don't you? The feeling is mutual in case you're wondering."

I spent some time with Hanako... Hanako and I grew a little closer today.

Would you like to give Hanako a present?

-----

-Yes, definitely ✔

-Not really, no

-----

What would you like to give her?

Blueberry Perfume has been selected.

"Why thank you Makoto. I'll accept this with much appreciation."

I get the impression that she liked it. That's good...

-----

"... Makoto, I made a decision," Hanako said.

"About what?" I asked.

"I'm going to tell you the subject that I've been holding back on. But not here. I don't want someone to eavesdrop on us. Come to my room when you're ready," Hanako explained and walked away.

The subject she's been holding back on? "Could it be the reason why everyone is interested in her?" I wondered out loud Well, I guess I won't know until I go.

So upon Hanako's request, I head to her room.

"Makoto. Thank you for coming," Hanako greeted.

"Of course. So what is it you want to talk about?" I questioned.

"It's about..." Hanako hesitated before continuing. "As I mentioned in our last discussion, after the rumors broke out, I lost all my friends. They...only wanted to hang out with me because...because of my ranking."

"Your ranking?" I repeated.

"What I mean is... They only wanted to be my friend because I'm famous and rich," Hanako explained. "To be honest, I should've noticed it before. They always ask me to pay for them. And mind you, they were also from wealthy backgrounds. So they could've paid for stuff as well... But no! I had to do it! And when I won my first tournament, I was surrounded by people that I never met before." As she talked, tears filled her eyes. "But what hurt me the most was this guy who I thought would be my friend for life. But it turns out that he was only after my money! It was so selfish of him when he is a...a..." Hanako trailed off, sadness overpowering her.

Poor Hanako... I thought. It must really hurt her to talk about something so heartbreaking as this. Perhaps I should help her out and say what she's trying to say...

-----

-A jerk ✔

-The muffin man

-A rich boy

-----

"He's...a jerk?" I questioned.

"Well, yeah he was. But that's not the main thing about him," Hanako said.

"Alright then. He's not just a jerk, he's also..."

-----

-A jerk ❌

-The muffin man ✔

-A rich boy

-----

"The...muffin man?" I guessed.

"Makoto, this is serious! Be serious!" Hanako yelled while also laughing.

"Well at least you're smiling now," I said.

"Yeah, thanks. I guess I needed that. But still. Be serious."

-----

-A jerk ❌

-The muffin man ❌

-A rich boy ✔

-----

"He's a rich boy, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's right," Hanako confirmed. "So now you know why I hate rich boys. They're greedy after more money when they already have more than what the commoners will have in their lives!"

"You believe all rich boys are like that?" I asked.

"Yeah! Look at Byakuya! He's a jackass and insane!" Hanako said.

"Well yes, but just because a couple of rich boys you met are greedy doesn't mean that the rest of them are," I assured.

"How would you know?" Hanako asked.

"Well... Do you really know that every single rich boy in the world is a jerk?" I questioned her.

"Well... No..." Hanako admitted.

"Then how would you know unless you give them another chance. Look, I'm not forcing you to change your opinion right away. It will take time, and who knows, you might be surprised."

"You really are optimistic, you know that. You always see the good things in everyone and everything. That's...one of the things I like most about you," Hanako said, hiding her pink cheeks. "Well... Thank you, Makoto. I really needed to get that out of my chest."

Hanako definitely looks a lot better now after we had this conversation. I definitely feel like I understand her a lot better after this. I think we've finally become  friends  in the truest sense of the word.

Hanako's Report Card has been updated based on your experience with her. Your maximum number of Skill Points has increased!

We talked for a bit more, and then I headed back to my room.

=======

For the rest of the day, I hung out in my room when the nighttime announcement played out.

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

"Well, time to hit the bed," I muttered as I climbed into bed and tried to sleep. However, a few minutes later the doorbell rang.

*Ding dong*

I opened my eyes as the doorbell rang again.

*Ding dong*

"Wonder who that could be..." I muttered as I got out of bed and opened the door.

 

Chapter 57: Dismantling Monokuma

When I opened the door, there stood Byakuya, Hiro, Hina, and Toko.

"Well, hello there. Here to have a sleepover?" I joked.

"Now's not the time for jokes. There's been a strange development. Everyone, follow me to the gym at once," Byakuya ordered.

The rest of us followed him to the gym as he ordered and there, he showed us an unusual scene: Monokuma was lying on the floor motionless, his red eye not shining as it used to. It was as if he shut down completely. He definitely looked like a stuffed bear now.

"Just before the nighttime announcement went off, I went to the gym to talk to Monokuma to see if he found anything about Kyoko's disappearance. And that's when I found him here just like that, motionless and not reacting at all. So I waited till the nighttime announcement played, and yet he still lay there motionless. So I rounded up the rest of you," Byakuya explained.

"Wait. If Monokuma isn't working, then what about the nighttime announcement?" Hiro asked.

"That was obviously just a recording," Byakuya answered.

"That makes sense. I mean, Monokuma has been saying the same thing over and over again," Hina said. "But anyway, don't you guys think it's so strange? What could cause this to happen?" Hina questioned.

"Do you think Monokuma broke or something?" Hiro guessed.

"Well the only way we'll find out for sure... Is to disassemble him," Byakuya said.

"Disassemble him!?" The rest of us repeated in shock.

"You heard me. This is now our chance to see how this thing works," Byakuya said as he pulled out a tool kit from his suit jacket and tossed it to Hiro, who caught it. "Let's see how it moves, what sets it off... See what makes it tick."

"Oh t-the way you said that m-makes me weak in the knees," Toko drooled.

"So we're really gonna do this, huh?" Hina asked.

"Yes. And we're going to get to the bottom of this even if it takes us all night," Byakuya declared.

"Wait a second! Shouldn't we get Makoto as well?" I asked.

"We went to his room before we stopped by yours, but he didn't answer," Byakuya explained.

"He's probably just a heavy sleeper," Hiro guessed.

"We'll try to wake him up again in a bit. Now then, to work!" Byakuya said.

And so for the rest of the night, we took Monokuma apart. We discovered that he was a very complex robot, with wiring and materials beyond any normal remote-control toy. And as a precaution, we made a rule to not go anywhere unless we were accompanied by someone. We even went to the bathroom in pairs. And every hour, two of us rang Makoto's doorbell to try to wake him up, but he never answered. We began to fear for the worst.

Hours passed, and then the morning announcement played.

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"

"Wow... Morning already?" Hiro said.

"Well that means that the dining hall is open. So we don't have to go in pairs anymore. Now then, who's up to get breakfast?" Hina asked.

"W-Why don't you g-get it? After all...y-you're the one who s-suggested it," Toko stuttered.

"I don't want to get it! You get it!" Hina argued.

"Come on guys! Let's not fight so early! We're all tired and stressed and this argument is going to make it worse," I said.

"I know! Let's do rock-paper-scissors and the loser has to get us all breakfast!" Hiro suggested.

So we did rock-paper-scissors, and Hina lost.

"Aw man..." Hina sighed.

"Heh heh..." Toko chuckled.

"Well, you know the consequences. So hurry up with it," Byakuya ordered.

"Okay, okay! No need to be pushy!" Hina said and walked out of the gym.

A bit later, Hina returned with plates in her hands and a smile on her face. "Guys! Guess what? Makoto's awake at last!"

"It's a-about time..." Toko muttered.

Just then, Makoto entered the gym.

"Ah, there he is!" Hina announced.

"Makoto! That's goodness you're alright," I said, feeling relieved.

"This is worse than being late for your wedding, the birth of your son, and your own funeral, all at once!" Hiro said.

"Jeez. To show up now, like it's no big deal..." Byakuya scowled.

"You made us s-stay up all night, while you slept like a b-baby in your bed..." Toko complained.

Makoto looked at us and then he noticed that we formed a circle around the remains of Monokuma.

"What the--!? Wh-What are you doing?" Makoto cried out.

"What does it look like? We're dismantling it to see what makes it tick," Hiro said.

"Dismantling!? But I mean...that's Monokuma you're messing with, right!?" Makoto panicked.

"Yeah, that's right," Hina confirmed.

"She's not even fazed...!"

"Relax. There's no danger," Byakuya assured him.

"You say that, but... Seriously, what are you thinking!? How can you say tearing apart something like that isn't dangerous?"

"It isn't! What do you want us to say?" Hina asked.

"We've been doing this all night, and we're still here," I pointed out.

"Yeah, but still!" Makoto said, still panicking.

"Well, I guess I'll handle this. I'll explain what's goin' on, Makoto. Cuz that's how much I like ya! Byakuya found this li'l fella layin' around, then we tore it apart!" Hiro explained.

"That doesn't explain anything..." Makoto said.

"Just before we went to bed last night, I came to the gym to try and talk to Monokuma. I wanted to see if he had any new information about Kyoko's disappearance. And I found him here, just like normal. However...when I found him, he was no more than a regular toy. He didn't react, didn't say a word," Byakuya explained.

"You're saying...he wasn't moving at all?" Makoto questioned.

"I waited there until nighttime officially began, but still Monokuma laid there motionless. I gathered everyone up as quickly as possible so they could take a look. Even then, he still didn't make a move. So I immediately initiated the disassembly process," Byakuya continued.

"It was Master's s-stroke of genius. A chance to find out what m-made Monokuma tick..." Toko smirked.

"One thing we discovered is that he's quite a sophisticated machine. It's leagues beyond any normal remote-control toy. Who has enough free time to invest in something like that, anyway...?" Byakuya questioned.

"B-But besides that, what I'm wondering is...why did he stop moving all of a sudden?" Makoto asked.

"That's the question we were all thinking," I said.

"I thought maybe he'd malfunctioned, but we didn't find any cause as we were taking him apart," Byakuya said.

"So if he didn't break down..." Makoto trailed off.

"Then maybe something happened to his puppeteer, the mastermind. Something unexpected. I can't imagine any other possibility," Byakuya said.

"Something...unexpected?" Makoto repeated.

"They were probably so s-scared of Master, they ran away in t-terror..." Toko smirked as she blushed.

"Or maybe they got sick or something?" Hina guessed.

"But Monokuma made his announcement this morning, right? Who was that, if not the mastermind?" Makoto asked.

"Oh, I'm sure that's a recording. It's set to a timer, and plays as necessary," Byakuya explained.

"That's true. He says the exact same thing every day, right?" Hina questioned.

"Wish he'd change it up from time to time..." I muttered.

"Hey, guys? I don't think now's a good time for light conversation..." Hiro was still dismantling Monokuma while we spoke. He pulled out something out of the robot bear. "I just found something. What is it...?"

"I-It's...!" Makoto stuttered.

"It's what?" Hiro asked.

"A bomb. There's some installed in every Monokuma robot, I'm sure," Byakuya said.

"A b-b-b-bomb!?" Hiro stuttered in fear.

"That's super bad! We need to get rid of it!" Hina said.

"Roger that!"

"It appears the bomb has a motion sensor. Any sudden movements, it's sure to go off," Byakuya said.

"M-Motion sensor!? For serious!? Agh...I'm starting to get all shaky...!" Hiro said as his hands shook like crazy.

"Stop shaking you nimrod!" I yelled.

"Hey! Get it together! You're a man, aren't ya!?" Hina shouted.

"I-I'm fine! I'm totally fine! Ah, ah, ah!" Hiro screamed.

"You're so NOT fine! You're all "ah ah ah"!" Hina mimicked.

"Oh, I probably should have mentioned. The motion sensor is off right now," Byakuya said.

We all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha! Jeez, don't scare me like that!" Hiro laughed.

"You're such a jackass..." I said.

"God, you're like the world's most spineless worm of the century!" Hina insulted.

"Hey, come on! The century's just getting started! Don't call the race already..." Hiro said.

"Whatever... Just h-hurry up and put the bomb down. Hanging onto it's not g-gonna do anyone any good..." Toko ordered.

"Oh yeah, good call," Hiro said and dropped the bomb on the ground with a thunk. "Okay, it's down! Everything's all good!"

"So now that we're done with Monokuma... What should we do now?" Hina asked.

"It's now time to now move on to the next stage: Uncovering the mastermind's identity," Byakuya said. "And what better way to do it than by breaking into the headmaster's room. With the mastermind out of the way, we can now take advantage of this situation."

While we were talking, Mokoto seemed to zone out as he stared at Monokuma's remains. Hina noticed him and called out to him. "Hey, uh...Makoto?"

"Huh?" Makoto snapped out of his trance and looked at us.

"Don't "huh" us! Did you hear a thing we just said!?" Hiro asked.

"...Huh?" Makoto repeated.

"So that's a n-no. What are you, some k-king of brain-dead farm animal...?" Toko insulted.

"S-Sorry..." Makoto apologized.

"Are you okay...?" I asked.

"I'm not too sure..." Makoto said.

"We were just saying, since we're done dismantling Monokuma, what should we do now?" Hina told him.

"And we've decided to continue our offensive assault. To try and uncover the mastermind's true identity, we're going to break into the headmaster's room," Byakuya continued.

"R-Really...?" Makoto asked.

"Since the mastermind appears to have stopped all activity, now's our chance. Wouldn't you agree?" Byakuya asked.

"B-But...if the mastermind comes back while we're in there..." Makoto said.

Byakuya scowled. "If you're scared, you're welcome to stay here by yourself."

"Or go l-live in the chicken coop, with all the other chickens. You can be chicken number s-six..." Toko bullied.

"This is a battle, a fight to the death between us and the mastermind. We don't have time to deliberate."

"Yeah. I mean, I don't wanna hafta kill each other, or anyone else. But we have a chance now..." Hina persuaded.

"So? What are you going to do? Are you going to run away, or are you going to fight?" Byakuya asked.

"...You're right. I'll go with you," Makoto said.

Byakuya gave him a satisfied look. "Okay then. We're going to break into the headmaster's room. Everything comes down to this moment. Anything can happen, so prepare yourselves."

"I'll follow you a-anywhere, Master! To all the ends of the E-Earth!" Toko drooled.

"Sakura...if you can hear me, lend me your strength..." Hina prayed.

"I can do this... I'm a man, and I can do this! I've got the will of the entire universe on my side!" Hiro motivated himself.

"For all our classmates that fell victim to this game... Time to put your souls to rest at last!" I said.

We each found determination in our own ways, and when we were ready, we left the gym and headed to our target: the headmaster's room, on the 4th floor of the school.

Chapter 58: To the Headmaster's Room

The six of us made our way to the fourth floor and stood in front of the big door of the headmaster's room. Makoto reached out to the doorknob and tried turning it.

*Rattle rattle*

"It's locked. As expected," Byakuya said.

"So...what are you gonna do?" Makoto asked.

"Isn't it obvious? We're going to tear this door off its hinges," Byakuya answered.

"Wait, but...the rules say--" Hina spoke, but Byakuya interrupted.

"We've seen that the mastermind isn't watching us. Those don't matter anymore."

"But like Makoto said... If the mastermind did show up while we were in there..." Hiro said.

"Then we'll just have to finish our business before that can happen," Byakuya finished.

"Okay, sure...but..." Hiro hesitated.

"We've come this far, we can't back down now. We agreed this is what we have to do. So we have to do it."

"S-So beautiful...!" Toko gushed.

Hiro sweat dropped. "For serious...?" he asked her.

"We don't have any choice... We're desperate! Let's do it! Let's rip this door down!" Hina yelled.

"Alrighty then. So...does anyone have any ideas on how to do that?" I questioned.

"Yeah... This thing looks pretty sturdy..." Hiro examined.

"Then we'll need something sturdy of our own," Byakuya said.

"Oh...what about that one thing?" Makoto suggested. "The thing in the toolshed..."

"You mean the pickaxe?" I asked.

"Interesting. That could very well be exactly what we need," Byakuya said. He then turned to Toko. "Now then... Toko, what time is it?"

"W-Well, when we left the gym, it was j-just before 9 o'clock. So it's probably 9 on the d-dot now..." Toko answered.

"Okay. Go get the pickaxe and be back here by 9:01," Byakuya ordered.

"What!?" I shrieked.

"That's straight-up unreasonable!" Hiro yelled.

"I-I-I...! By m-myself...?" Toko stuttered.

"Surely you like to have your me-time once in a while, right?" Byakuya suggested.

"W-Well...if it's me-and-you-time, Master, then y-yeah..." Toko blushed.

"Here we go again..." I muttered.

"You know how much time it took you to say that? Ten seconds. Take too long, and I'll erase your existence from my consciousness," Byakuya threatened.

"UnacceptabbbbbbllllLLLLLLEEEEEEE!!!" Toko shrieked and ran off as fast as she could, and loud as a herd of rabid elephants.

"Don't you always try to do that though?" I asked Byakuya.

"It's called motivation, and it makes the job quicker and faster," Byakuya explained.

"For serious, though...are we just gonna knock this door down?" Hiro questioned.

"No problem is solved by running away. Find your stones and be a man."

"Maybe, b-but I'm still super stressed... I'm so tense, I can hardly talk... I'm all flubbust--no... I'm totally flabbag--flapstaf--"

"Fapsauce!?" The voice of Genocide Jill spoke from behind us.

"AHH!" I screamed.

"Gross! Where'd that come from! Wait, Genocide Jill? Where'd YOU come from!?" Hiro panicked.

"Hello hello! It's the wondiferous, murdiferous fiend, here to greet you with a razor-sharp smile! Kyeeehahahaha!" Jill greeted and laughed.

"What about the pickaxe? Where is it?" Byakuya questioned her.

"I was supposed to pick an axe...?" Jill questioned.

"No, you seeping imbecile. The 'pickaxe'..." Byakuya clarified with a mix of angry and annoyed tones.

"S-Seeping imbecile!? Oh, Master! You wound me with your executive-level barbs! Bushwah! Here comes the bloody nose!"

"Seriously, though...did you really forget the pickaxe?" Hina asked.

"Omega-3 fatty acids, that's what you need! Great for the ol' memory factory!" Hiro advised.

"But I think we already established that their memory doesn't carry over when they switch..." Makoto reminded us.

"Yeah... She did say that in the last trial," I confirmed.

"This is a level of uselessness I find difficult to tolerate..." Byakuya said with a scoff.

"Ah! The light bulb just went on! That's why I went to the garden, right!? I was supposed to get the pickaxe! Alright, we've solved one mystery! That means there's just one more mystery left!" Jill announced.

"One more mystery...?" Makoto repeated.

"Yup! Now we just need to figure out the identity of Object X!" Jill said.

"Object X?" I repeated confusedly.

"Now what are you talking about...?" Hina questioned.

"Did you already forget what we were talking about? You're like, missing out on life..." Hiro sighed.

"I'm not missing out on life! In fact, I found one in the garden!" Jill yelled.

"What...? What did you find?" Makoto asked.

"Kuh...oar...puss..." Jill pronounced.

We all gave her a confused look.

"Didja hear me!? I said corpse!" Jill repeated.

"A corpse...!?" Makoto yelled.

"That's right! I found a corpse in the garden!" Jill announced.

"Well then. Before we enter the headmaster's room, it appears we have something else to look into. We're going to the garden," Byakuya ordered.

"O-Okay...!" Makoto complied.

We all ran as fast as we could to the garden. As soon as we entered the garden...I saw it.

A corpse lying on the ground, with a mask covering its face.

 

Chapter 59: Corpse in the Garden and the Data Room

Jill was right. There was indeed a body in the garden. A mask covered their face, and there was a knife buried in their stomach, up to the hilt.

"Wh-What the...!?" Makoto stuttered.

"O-Oh my gosh!" I shouted.

Hina covered her mouth. "A-Are they really dead!?"

"For sure. But..." Hiro trailed off.

"Who...is it?" Bykakuya asked.

100 Mile Dash; Pain of a Junk Food Junkie

Deadly Life

"Kyeeehahaha! I told ya, there's a corpse hangin' out here!" Jill laughed.

"Are they really...dead? Is this really a dead body...?" Hina questioned.

"You need to begin looking around right away. However... Be ever so careful. There's no telling what you might find," Byakuya advised.

So we began to investigate the mysterious body. It was very hard to tell who the victim was with the mask covering their face like that. And the white coat they're wearing makes it impossible to tell anything about the body itself. The victim is a total mystery.

"Their heart isn't beating, they're not breathing, all signs of life have come to a complete stop... Thanks to the knife that's been driven into their stomach, their clothes are stained a bright red. It appears the bleeding has stopped, but the blood that's there is still wet. Be careful you don't touch it and get some on you..." Byakuya observed.

"How can you be so calm at a time like this? Who 'is' it!? Their face and body are all hidden, so I don't have a clue..." Hiro said.

"I'm pretty sure it's a girl at least..." Hina guessed.

"Huh? How can you tell?" Hiro asked.

"Well...I think I see the outline of her chest. And just the general shape of the body... Yeah, the more I look, the more I'm sure it's a girl," Hina pointed out.

Then... Could the victim be...

"Well... I suppose the only way to know for sure is to take off the mask," I said.

"Kyeeehahaha! Okay then! Let's just tear the mask clean off!" Jill said and ran right to the body.

"Wait, don't--!" Byakuya called out, it was already too late. Jill's hand shot out toward the mask. And in the next instant...

*KABOOOOOOM*

...there was a blinding light and a deafening roar. And Jill flew across the garden. The body...blew up. It blew up it blew up it blew up it blew up it blew up it blew up it blew up it blew up!

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" I screamed so loudly as my whole body shook.

"Hurry up, put out the fire," Byakuya shouted and passed a bucket of water to Makoto, who looked like he was on the verge of passing out. "Come on, dump the water on it."

"O-Okay!" Makoto complied, took aim, and tossed the water as hard as he could at the upper half of the body which was on fire.

*SPLOOSH*

Thankfully, that was enough to put out the fire. It died down, leaving behind only the unpleasant smell of burning.

"I-I guess that took care of it..." Makoto said.

"But what the hell, man?" Hiro yelled.

"It...exploded?" Hina stared in disbelief.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" I panicked.

"I...had a bad feeling about that body. But I never imagined it would explode... And now the body..." Byakuya muttered.

"It's burnt to a crisp! That's beyond well done, man!" Hiro shrieked.

"Don't compare it to a steak! I'll never be able to eat steak again..." Hina said.

"But now that the body's charred, I really have no idea... How are we gonna find out who it was...?" Makoto questioned.

"Who isn't here right now?" Byakuya asked.

"...Huh?"

"If we consider who's not here, that will quickly narrow down who it must be."

"There's only one person missing..." Hina said.

"It's...Kyoko," Hiro answered.

"K-Kyoko!?" Makoto shouted.

I-Is it really...?" I asked, not wanting to believe it was true.

"Calm down. I didn't say it was Kyoko," Byakuya said.

"But, I mean...who else...?" Hiro questioned.

"There 'is' one other person. The mastermind..." Byakuya revealed.

"What!?" Hina shouted.

"Th-The mastermind!? Come on, there's no way! The MASTERMIND got char-broiled!? Get serious!" Hiro yelled.

"I agree, normally the idea wouldn't be worth considering. But I have reason to believe it may be true. The mastermind being dead would explain that other matter, wouldn't it? Monokuma can hardly move around if its master is dead, right?" Byakuya explained.

"B-But...that corpse is a girl, right? It doesn't make any sense! I mean, remember what Alter Ego said?" Hiro reminded.

-------

"So that same person may very well be the mastermind who planned all this out. And according to the files, the headmaster is  a man in his late thirties . It seems possible, even likely, that he's  somewhere in this school  right now."

-------

"He said the mastermind is some middle-aged dude, right? Which the corpse obviously isn't! Then could that mean...the mastermind 'isn't' the headmaster...?" Hiro questioned.

"Is it the teenage girl Kyoko told me about? The Ultimate Despair...?" Makoto spoke.

"Huh...?"

"Mukuro Ikusaba...the seventeenth student at Hope's Peak..." Makoto said.

"Seventeenth student?" I repeated.

"...What are you talking about?" Byakuya asked Makoto.

"The other day, Kyoko confided in me... She said there was a seventeenth student here in the school," Makoto explained.

"I think you'd better tell us everything you know," Byakuya requested.

"W-Well, all Kyoko told me was..." Makoto began.

-------

"Mukuro Ikusaba... The seventeenth student, lying hidden somewhere in this school... The one they call the Ultimate Despair... Watch out for her."

"It sounded like Kyoko thinks Mukuro Ikusaba is the mastermind," Makoto continued.

---

"No...the headmaster isn't the mastermind, I'm sure of that."

"What...?"

"I don't have proof yet, but I have no doubt I'm right."

-------

"There's another student here, and it's a female? That 'would' match the body's characteristic..." Byakuya compared.

"And that phrase, the Ultimate Despair--it sounds super mastermind-y, doesn't it?" Hina asked.

"Okay, so...the mastermind is this girl Mukuro? And she's a student here? And she's the Ultimate Despair? But if she's been hiding here in the school like some teenage Bigfoot...how'd she wind up burnt to a crisp!? None of this makes any sense! To just suddenly show up and then die!?" Hiro questioned.

"I think we'd better take a closer look at the body. There may be some clues to help us figure out exactly who it is," Byakuya suggested.

"Ah! Hey, wait!" Hina gasped.

"...What?" Byakuya asked.

"A-Aren't we forgetting something? You know...Toko?" Hina said.

"Oh yeah! She got totally blown up, huh!?" Hiro said.

"You think she's okay?" I questioned.

"Forget about her. I'm sure the explosion vaporized her," Byakuya said.

"Nn...gh...!" A grunt was heard. Toko stood up with her tongue dropping out of her mouth.

"Oh! She survived!" Hina announced happily.

"Oh...she survived..." Byakuya repeated in a less enthusiastic tone.

"Huh? What just h-happened...? Master...?" Toko asked as she looked around.

"You declared for the whole world to hear that you would never again inhale a single molecule of oxygen," Byakuya said to her.

"Oh. Then...I don't mind b-breathing in the carbon dioxide you exhale. That's enough for m-me to live..." Toko said.

"This is the strangest back-and-forth I've ever seen..." Hiro said.

Makoto took a closer look at the burnt body.

"Watch yourself, Makoto. She may be dead, but she's still a girl..." Hina advised.

"D-Don't worry. I don't plan on touching the body all that much," Makoto said. He then noticed something on the ground. He picked it up and saw that it was a key. "Then this key is...?" Makoto mumbled to himself after a bit of silence.

"What is it? Did you find something?" Byakuya asked as he approached him.

"Yeah... This was on the ground near the body," Makoto said and showed the key to him.

"I've never seen this key before. What could it possibly go to...?" Byakuya questioned.

"So even you don't know, then?"

"Makoto...I'm going to give you a very important task."

"Huh...?"

"That key might give you access to certain areas we thought were locked."

"You mean...?"

"The bio lab, the data center, the headmaster's room, and the dorm rooms on the 2nd floor... It's in your hands."

Makoto sighed as he walked out of the garden. A minute later I began to walk out as well.

"Where are you going?" Byakuya asked.

"I'm going with Makoto. And also, he's not your errand boy," I said as I left the garden. I saw Makoto as he tried the key to the door of the Bio Lab. "Makoto!" I called out to him.

Makoto turned around as I caught up to him. "Hanako? What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Keeping you company. And I need to talk to you about something," I said as we walked off.

"About what?"

"Since Kyoko told you about Mukuro, then she must've told you where she went off to, right?"

"Sorry, but I don't even know where she went."

"Then what about the precious thing that Monokuma mentioned? Surely, she must have something to do with this?"

"It...was a key that she stole from the headmaster's room."

"How did she get in the headmaster's room!?"

"The lock was broken thanks to Sakura, and she used me as a decoy to distract Monokuma as she sneaked in."

"WHAT!?"

"Don't shout..."

"Then how am I supposed to react then? Makoto you really need to learn how to stand your ground and not let other people boss you around. Especially with Byakuya."

"But I don't mind it. Really..."

"You don't sound so sure..." A bit of silence followed. "By the way... How are you feeling? About everything that's happened?" I asked.

"Well... I am sad that almost all our friends have died, and I'm angry at the mastermind for putting us through this hell. But throughout our ups and downs, we finally have some hope that this killing game will come to an end soon. We just got to hold on, just a bit longer," Makoto said.

I smiled slightly. "I hope you're right."

As we talked, we headed to the headmaster's room, and the dorm rooms on the 2nd floor, but the key didn't fit in either of the locks. The data room was the last place to check. We stopped in front of the data room door.

"Okay, let's give it a shot..." Makoto said and inserted the key he found in the garden into the keyhole and gave it a turn.

*Click*

"It fits!" Makoto announced.

"Alright! Finally!" I cheered.

"Wait here. I have to go tell everyone else!" Makoto said and ran off. I anxiously waited until the rest finally showed up.

"Here we are," Byakuya said as everyone finally arrived.

"About time. And the door is still unlocked," I said.

"Hey, so...when you open that door, there's not gonna be another huge KABOOM like before, right?" Hina asked.

"You're asking that question 'now'?" Hiro said, sweating.

"Don't worry. We have Makoto," Byakuya said.

"What...?" Makoto questioned.

"It's in your hands..." Byakuya said.

"Again...?" Makoto sighed.

"It means I trust you," Byakuya said with a smirk.

I scowled. That's an absolute lie.

Before Makoto could take a step, I rushed past him and opened the door quickly. Inside was a dark room full of monitors, swivel chairs, and desks. The proper word to describe the room would be...strange. All the rooms up till now were strange, but this room had a special kind of strangeness. It wasn't a surface fear like the rest of the school. Here, fear was lurking beneath the surface. The room was filled with that kind of dread.

"Hey, that's--!" Hiro extended a trembling hand and pointed to all the monitors on the walls. Each monitor displayed a different section of the school. The dorms, the classrooms... Every part of the school was covered.

"Th-This is...!" Makoto gasped.

"It's a direct feed from every single surveillance camera...! All the cameras in the school feed back into this room...and they're displayed here on these monitors. So the sole purpose of this room...is to watch us," Byakuya explained.

"To...w-watch us!?" Hiro yelled.

"Then this room is...!" Hina began.

"The mastermind's private room, without a doubt," Byakuya finished.

"My god..." I exhaled. The mastermind's room... So the mastermind was here...watching us.

"Then I think this settles it," Byakuya said.

"Huh...?" Hina was confused.

"The body in the garden... If they had the key to this room, it can only mean one thing. That was the body of Mukuro Ikusaba, and she was the mastermind."

"Then the mastermind is dead? Like really really dead!?" Hina questioned.

"It would seem so."

"F-For serious!?" Hiro shouted.

"It's too bad they had to g-go and die...before Master could k-kill them himself!" Toko said with a smirk.

Hm... Speaking of killing, the mastermind obviously didn't die a natural death. Were they murdered? And who was it that...?

"B-But...if the mastermind really is dead... That means we can finally get outta this hellhole! We gotta hurry up and find the exit! C'mon!" Hiro said excitedly.

"No. We have to check this area thoroughly first," Byakuya said.

"Huh!? But what about the exit!?" Hiro whined.

"If the mastermind truly is dead, we can leave whenever we decide to. But right now...we need to find out why the mastermind set up this life-or-death game in the first place. And I'm bothered by the fact that the mastermind was obviously murdered," Byakuya explained.

"M-Murdered!?" Hiro stuttered.

"So you think so too, huh?" Makoto asked him.

"Naturally. The state of the corpse makes it plain as day. There is absolutely no doubt the mastermind was murdered."

"Wh-Why's it gotta be that way!? I mean, who could've even done it!?" Hiro asked.

"That's exactly why I said we need to investigate the purpose and identity of the mastermind."

"Now do you u-understand, you useless insect!? You're banned from t-talking to Master ever again!" Toko ordered Hiro.

The mastermind's purpose...and why they were killed. This room may very well hold the answers to those questions. After all, the mastermind must have spent who knows how much time here.

"Okay then, let us begin our search. It's time to uncover the identity of the mastermind," Byakuya said.

I looked around the room. There's a lot of stuff to look at in the data center. Where should I begin? I decided to start with the wall with a ridiculous number of monitors.

And the mastermind's been using them all to spy on us.

"As long as I h-have this..." Toko muttered.

"Have what?" I asked.

"Look at M-Master go... It's like a feast for the e-eyes... H-H-H-H-How much is a m-m-m-m-monthly membership...!?" Toko drooled.

"..." Leaving Toko to her delusion, I went to the desk with a bunch of computers all lined up. They look like high-performance PCs, not like the ancient laptop Alter Ego was installed on.

"They're all on, but they seem to be locked," Byakuya observed.

"So what, we can't do anything? Just use your fighting spirit to force your way in!" Hina encouraged.

"What c-century are you from...?" Toko questioned.

"The mastermind must've been using these to monitor the network. And Alter Ego..." Makoto said.

"You may well be right about that. But there's no point in thinking about it now," Byakuya said.

"You're right..." Makoto agreed.

On one of the tables, there was a TV on it.

"Huh? Hey, look. Next to that TV... Isn't that a TV antenna?" Hiro asked, pointing to a blue antenna. "It is! It's just like the one my grandma uses! It's totally one of those hi-def antennas!"

"Wait, so if we hook up that antenna, we could watch TV?" Makoto asked.

That got Hina's attention. "Huh? Did someone say TV!?"

"Well well, Saturday Morning Hina's here!" Hiro said.

"Uhh...are you talking about me? Anyway, if we can watch TV, let's do it! C'mon c'mon c'mon!" Hina urged.

"Ah, you're all starved for info from the outside world, huh?" Hiro asked.

"That and as well for entertainment," I said.

"Alright! Lemme work my magic, and you'll be quantum leaping your way to TV land before ya know it!" Hiro said and started to work on the TV and antenna. I watched as he worked. A bit later he began to speak again. "Hrm... Hrm hrm hrmmm... Oh...! Oh oh oh oh oh!"

"...What's wrong?" Makoto asked.

"Good news for all you Saturday morning kiddies out there! I think I got the TV working!" Hiro announced.

"Really!?" Hina said with happiness.

"Now all we gotta do is...switch it on!" Hiro said.

"...Then do it," Byakuya said.

"Friggin' idiot mastermind! All "you guys need to cut free from your regrets of the outside world"... And they were sitting here watching TV the whole time! They really thought they could get away with it...?" Hiro muttered in anger as he turned on the TV with a remote. It was static at first, but when it cleared, it showed all of us instead.

"Hm...?" Hiro hummed.

"What...?" I said.

"Huh...? This is..." Makoto trailed off.

"It's the feed coming from...the surveillance camera monitoring this room, isn't it?" Hina asked.

"Huh? That's weird..." Hiro said.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Byakuya asked.

"That's really weird. Hmm..." Hiro said.

"Y-YOU'RE weird...! Weird in every way p-possible. And not j-just weird... Super weird!" Toko insulted.

"But...this TV isn't hooked up to anything but the antenna... So how is it showing the camera feed?" Hiro asked.

"Did you try changing the channel?" Hina suggested.

"Oh, good idea. Let's give that a try." Hiro went through each channel one by one. But on every channel, it was just us. It was a live feed of us standing there in the data center. "What the heck...?"

"Is it broken or something?" Hina asked.

"No... There must be some kind of trick to it, some weird setup..." Hiro mused.

"A trick? What kind of trick!?" A high-pitched voice asked from behind us.

"I'm not sure, but..."

"...Huh?" Toko's eyes widened in shock as she turned to the source of the sound.

"...Huh?" The high-pitched voice repeated.

"Wh...?" Hina gasped as she saw the source.

"Wh...?" They repeated again.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAATTT!?!?" Hiro shrieked as we all turned to see...

Monokuma. Functioning and standing right there.

"AHHH!" It was my turn to scream.

"Gyaahaha! Been a while, ya friggin' bastards!" Monokuma laughed.

"M-Monokuma!?" Makoto stammered.

"How...? You're supposed to be d-dead!" Toko yelled.

"Gyaaahahaha! Me, dead!? Don't be freakin' stupid!" Monokuma said.

"Hey, you're actin' kinda strange! Something seems...different," Hiro observed.

"Of course I'm different! Evolution is perfectly natural! After all, I've been hibernating for two years already..."

"Not even! It's been like half a day at MOST!" Hiro shouted.

"How are you alive again!?" Hina asked.

"Oh yeah, that's it. Puhuhu... The look on your faces right now is sublime! That's what I wanted to see--the moment you went from hope to despair..." Monokuma said.

"Don't tell me you pretended to be dead, all for this moment...?" Byakuya asked in anger.

"Why would a bear pretend to be dead? You're the ones who should pretend to be dead when you see a bear! I mean, that's totally laughable! It makes me laugh! I'm gonna laugh now! A-ha-ha-ha! And that's that. Well, it's almost time to cut off your past so full of hope, and begin to despair at the future ahead of you! I want you to all have way more fun in this killing game!"

"You can't be serious... We have to keep going?" Hina said in disbelief.

"N-No... We were supposed to get out of here...!" Hiro cried.

"Get out of here? Are you still obsessed with getting out of here? How do you not get it!? There IS no getting out of here! And besides... his life isn't all bad ya know! I mean, there's stuff you won't like about life no matter where you are!"

"Are you s-serious? This place is the w-worst...!" Toko complained.

"I second that," I said.

"If it's the worst, does that mean you're in...despair? Ahh-hahahahaha! Whew. I'm pooped from all that laughing! I guess I'll just get to the point now," Monokuma continued.

"The point...?" Makoto repeated.

"You guys really struck gold when you found that TV. Yes, indeed! That TV is an essential part of your school life here," Monokuma said.

"I knew it was hiding a secret of some kind..." Byakyua said.

"But I connected the antenna, so why's it just showing us the surveillance feed?" Hiro asked.

"Puhuhu... Look how attentive they are now! Well then, I'm gonna let you in on a blood-gushing secret and tell you about it!" Monokuma said.

"Huh? But...what does that mean?" Hina asked, still confused.

"It's displaying th-the signal...? But it's just us, standing h-here..." Toko said.

"Ugh, you're so stupid! Don't you get it!? Fine, I'll just tell you... This killing game is being broadcast live to the entire world. It's the most popular thing on TV!" Monokuma announced.

"What...?" Makoto questioned.

"This killing game is being broadcast live to the entire world. It's the most popular thing on TV!" Monokuma repeated.

"..."

"Wh-What? Broadcast live...to the entire world? What kind of bad joke is this...?" Hina asked in fear.

"It can't be... Have they taken over the airwaves somehow...!?" Byakuya questioned with a shocked expression.

"No! This is a joke! One big sticking joke!" I yelled in disbelief.

"The camera feed is being broadcast...? No way, that's impossible!" Hiro denied.

"That kind of overconfidence is a major weakness in your crisis management system, you know that? All you need is one weird trick that I found, and hijacking the airwaves is Easy Mode!" Monokuma explained.

"A-Are you being serious right now...?" Makoto asked.

"Of course!" As Monokuma said that, I heard a kind of creaking sound. It was coming from my own mind. Like a boat tossing in the ocean, my mind had begun to creak and groan.

"Everything has a meaning, you know... All those hints I gave you, all those tantalizing tidbits about the school's mysteries... Even me luring you here right now... Why would I do any of that without a reason? It was all for my captive audience--to show them true despair like they'd never seen it before! I became the director of a despair-based production! This is the ultimate reality show! The best in despair entertainment!" Monokuma explained.

"You're lying! If this was on TV, the police and everyone else would be going crazy!" Hina said.

"Y-Yeah... There's no way they wouldn't have tried to come and rescue us!" Hiro said.

"What if...they already did?" Monokuma wondered.

"...Huh?" Makoto said again.

"But then again...it's not really any of their business, right? Sure, some people might yell at their TV to try and warn you. But who would actually come here to help? Don't you think that's possible? I don't really know personally though, so whatever!" Monokuma said.

"But to take control of all communications like that, you'd need an astronomical amount of resources," Byakuya said.

"Yup! So, how could things have come this far? Well... That's a secret! There's something you all need to do first, remember?"

"What...?" Makoto gasped.

"Yeah, duh! There's the little business of..."

*Ding dong dong ding*

"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!"

"Huh...?" Makoto's eyes widened.

"C-Class trial!? Do you mean...!?" Hina couldn't complete her sentence because she couldn't speak anymore.

"Puhu... Puhuhuhuhuhu...! Puhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhu...! I'll leave the next Monokuma File right here. Everyone give it all you've got, okay!? Okay! Things are gonna get pretty crazy from here on out! You're in for a heck of a ride...! I can't wait...! I can't wait!" And then he left.

The reality was incomprehensible, the truth hopelessly out of reach. All we were left with...was despair. We stood there for I don't know how long, frozen in place. I couldn't think, couldn't move. My heart was pounding like crazy and was sweating bullets from everything that happened until now. It took everything I had just to keep myself standing upright.

At long last, Hiro finally broke the silence. "I don't understand any of this... What's "despair entertainment"? And...how is he still alive!?" Hiro panicked.

"I thought that finally...'finally' we could get out of here..." Hina sulked.

"He really did crush our hopes alright..." I sighed.

"A-And plus...what did he s-say about a class trial!?" Toko stuttered.

"Well that part's obvious. The class trial is the class trial. What it means is that at this point, we have to figure out who the culprit is... Figure out...who killed Kyoko," Byakuya said.

"What...?" Makoto muttered.

"Wh-What are you talking about? I thought Mukuro Ikusaba was the one who died..." Hiro said.

"The victim was female, right? Kyoko certainly fulfills that condition. And if Monokuma is still alive and active...that means that the mastermind, Mukuro Ikusaba, isn't dead. So naturally that body can't belong to her. So it must be Kyoko. There is no other possibility," Byakuya declared.

Is it really her? The body is...Kyoko's? Kyoko's been murdered?

"I don't believe it...! I refuse to believe it!" Makoto shouted.

"Whether you believe it or not doesn't matter. The truth is the truth! If you refuse to believe, it's your responsibility to uncover the truth for yourself," Byakuya said.

"Myself...?"

"...Anyway, we'd better begin."

"B-But...if we're gonna have a class trial...then that means the killer..." Hina trailed off.

"Correct. It must be someone participating in our school life," Byakuya confirmed.

"Wait, so you're saying one of us killed Kyoko!?" Hiro shouted.

"Well...that's not precisely what I'm saying, no."

"Huh? But you just said--"

"I don't have time to explain now. There is a veritable mountain of issues I need to confirm. So I'm going to begin my search. If you value your lives, you'll put everything you have into this. That is how this game works, after all..." Bykuya reminded all of us.

So, after all the events leading up to now, we begin our investigation.

 

Chapter 60: Investigation of the Unknow Victim

Like always, I read the Monokuma File.

"Due to the explosion, the victim's identity is unknown. They were, however, dead before the blast. The victim had been stabbed a single time with a knife, which went completely through the body. They had also been struck in the head with an object about as thick as a metal pipe. The body was covered with other wounds, but these were at least several days old."

The Monokuma File doesn't tell us who the victim actually was. Could it really be Kyoko? Or...?

I shook my head. I have no time for guessing right now. I have to investigate. I have to uncover the truth. No matter what, I have to find out what happened. Or we're all dead!

"To the garden!" I said to myself and marched back to the crime scene

Monokuma File #5 has been added as a truth bullet

When I arrived, everyone was already there doing their own thing.

Okay, time to get started. I need to check anywhere that may be important, from one end to the other. I just need to do what I always do.

I walked to the body and began to examine it. It's probably for the best to check if the victim was Kyoko or not. The first thing I noticed was the victim's hand.

"Oh...? There's something weird about the body's fingernails. Oh, these are fake nails. They're really long. I never understood why they're such a big deal. They seem like they'd get in the way of normal activities," I muttered to myself.

Fake Nails has been added as a truth bullet

There's also something on the back of her right hand. Is this...a  tattoo ? It got burned, so I can't make out the whole thing, but... It looks like it's  a picture of a dog . I'm sure this must be important.

Tattoo on the Right Hand has been added as a truth bullet

"Now about the body itself... The upper half of the body got set on fire in the explosion, so it's totally blackened. And also, the top half of the body is wet due to Makoto throwing a bucket of water on it to extinguish the fire," I said out loud. There's nothing strange about the top half being wet...right?

Exploded Body Analysis has been added as a truth bullet

Stepping away from the body, I looked around at the ground when my eyes met some fragments. I took a closer look at them.

These...look like fragments of something. They're all burnt, so I can't really be sure, but I feel like I've seen something like it before. But where? Wait, was it...there!? I'll have to double-check that later...

Fragments Near the Dead Body has been added as a truth bullet

A couple of feet away, a scorch knife laid on the ground.

It must be the knife that was stuck in the body before it exploded. The force of the explosion must have thrown it over here... The Monokuma File said the knife went all the way through the body, from front to back. Then there's no doubt that that's the murder weapon that caused the  fatal injury . But... Why does the knife look...really familiar...?

My eyes widened with shock when the realization hit me. Wait... Is that... The survival knife that was entrusted to Makoto!?

I turned to look at Makoto, who was talking to Byakuya. No... He couldn't have... Could he?

Knife at the Crime Scene has been added as a truth bullet

"Listen, Hanako..." Hina spoke, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Do you remember how the body looked, y'know...before it blew up?"

"Well let's see... If I remember correctly... It was wearing some kind of mask, and a big white coat. Also, there was a knife sticking out of the stomach, and the area around it was stained with blood. Apparently, the wound had stopped bleeding, but the blood on the body was still wet. Byakuya said not to touch it to avoid getting all bloody. But for how much blood there was on the body...I don't recall seeing any on the ground around it," I explained, the picture appearing in my head.

"Wow, thanks! That was a big help. Now that you explained it, I totally remember how it looked!" Hina said.

"Well, having to talk about it like that helped me remember it a lot better, too. So thank 'you', too," I said.

Body Before the Explosion has been added as a truth bullet

Walking away, I examined the sprinkler system.

This is the panel that controls the sprinklers. They're set to turn on at 7:30 every morning. And Monokuma said the time positively couldn't be changed. But wait... If the sprinklers turn on at 7:30 each morning, and if the body was here before then,  the sprinklers should have gotten it wet . Which would mean the murder must have taken place...

Sprinkler has been added as a truth bullet

The clucks of the chickens drew my attention. Upon walking close, I noticed something was different.

"One, two, three...four!?" I counted. Weren't there five chickens?

"What's goin' on, Hanako?" Hiro asked.

"Oh, I'm glad you're here. Listen, do you remember how many chickens there were in here?" I questioned.

"Of course! There were precisely five," Hiro answered.

"That's what I thought..."

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

"There's only four chickens here now. We're one short..."

"Huh...? AaaaAAaaAAAHHhhhHH!"

"That's so weird. I wonder when it disappeared..."

"I was down here just before nighttime last night, and there were definitely five chickens then. What are we gonna do!? Going from five to four is gonna have an impact on the structure of the world! It's like a jigsaw puzzle. If even a single piece disappears, the entire world will remain unfinished!" Hiro panicked.

I ignored Hiro and focused on the problem at hand. Why did one of the chickens disappear? Could it be related to the case...?

Chicken Coop Chickens has been added as a truth bullet

"It's 11 o'clock right now!" Hiro spoke again.

"...Okay, and?" I questioned.

"Oh, well I was just thinking about when we first found the body..." Hiro said.

"When the body was found, huh...?" I repeated. That's not a bad idea to look back to help me remember when that was... Shortly after 10 o'clock, Byakuya, Hina, Toko, and Hiro came to get me so we could disassemble Monokuma. That took all night. Then the morning announcement went off at 7 o'clock as usual. Then Hina went to get breakfast. Shortly after 7:30, Hina returned, and Makoto entered the gym. Next, Toko went to get the pickaxe. And that's when she found the body... What time was it then...?

-------

"Now then... Toko, what time is it?"

"W-Well, when we left the gym, it was j-just before 9 o'clock. So it's probably 9 on the d-dot now..."

-------

"Ah, yes! It had to have been right around 9 o'clock!" I said.

"Ah! Now that you mention it, I think you're right! So I think we can say for sure that the body was found at 9 a.m. Okay, my job's done!" Hiro said.

That's...a pretty small job.

When the Body Was Found has been added as a truth bullet

I entered the toolshed to have a look around, just to be sure.

This room is dusty and disorganized. In other words, a pretty stereotypical tool shed.

As my eyes scanned around, they caught sight of a dirty tarp. Wait...was there a tarp in here before?

Upon closer inspection, the top part of the tarp is wet, and covered with mud and grime. But the underside was totally clean, and completely dry.

One side of that tarp is  wet and dirty ... Something about that bothers me...

Tarp has been added as a truth bullet

I walked out of the shed and decided that since I checked everything I needed to in this area, now is a good time to talk to Makoto before I head out and check some other areas. "Makoto, I need to tell you something."

"What's up?" Makoto asked.

"We've known each other for like, what? A week or two? But that's enough for me to know that you are soft and wouldn't dare to do anything drastic without having second thoughts," I began.

"I...guess so..." Makoto said.

"However, if there is a chance that I've misjudged you and you did end up killing someone... Then I'm gonna defend you with my life," I declared.

"Huh...?"

"Don't ask me why I'm doing this, because to be honest I don't know why. Maybe because that's what friends do. Or maybe because I don't want to believe the truth. Either way, I'll be by your side and defend you till death, and that's a promise."

"Wait... Where's all this coming from?" Makoto questioned.

"... Did you kill the victim?" I interrogated.

"What!? No! Don't tell me you suspect me too!?" Makoto panicked.

"Too...?" I repeated.

"Byakuya says that I'm the prime suspect in this murder case."

"Well then...to be honest I do a bit. But like I said, I'm defending you, got it?"

"Yeah I got it. Thank you. I appreciate it," Makoto said with a smile.

I smiled back. "Anytime. By the way, have you checked the toolshed yet? There's something there that might be an important clue."

"I was just about to do that," Makoto said and walked to the toolshed. I exited the garden and walked down to the gym. Monokuma's dismantled body still laid on the floor. But...

"Thought so... It's gone..." I muttered.

-----

"I just found something. What is it...?"

"I-It's...!"

"It's what?"

"A  bomb . There's some installed in every Monokuma robot, I'm sure."

"A b-b-b-bomb!?"

-----

And  that bomb  went missing... There's no doubt about that. The fragments I found in the garden...

Fragments Near the Dead Body truth bullet has been updated

I glanced down at Monokuma's dismantled body. "I bet this is all funny to you isn't it? I bet you being shut down was a distraction for us while you and the mastermind, Mukuro or not, plan something big, is that it?"

"..." The dismantled bear said nothing.

"... What am I even doing? Talking to a broken bear? I'm getting crazy," I muttered.

I stayed in the gym for the rest of the investigation having a conversation with dismantled Monokuma.

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Time is utterly silent, and yet it constantly assaults us--organisms, the earth, natural phenomena... It damages us little by little, until the end. You should really think about that. Anyway! It's time to begin the class trial! So, please meet up in the usual spot! Puhuhu... See ya later!" The working Monokuma announced and shut off the monitor.

"Well... Nice talking with you. I actually enjoyed our conversation" I said to demolish Monokuma and walk off to the entrance of the red doors. I got inside and waited. Soon, almost everyone came. Byakuya and Makoto entered together.

"Whoa, Byakuya and Makoto showed up together!" Hiro said.

"That's a first..." I said.

"Where the heck have you two been!? You just disappeared without a word!" Hina said.

"We were investigating, of course. How could you not figure that out by this point?" Byakuya questioned.

"M-Makoto's ranked high enough for you guys to go off t-together...just the two of y-you...?" Toko sneered.

"What, are you jealous?" Hina asked.

"Or...are you making up some kind of creepy fantasy for yourself?" Hiro asked.

"Stop talking and brace yourselves. He'll be here any second," Byakuya ordered.

Any second... Knowing him, he could show up at any time... When I imagined what was about to happen, I immediately tensed up and prepared myself. But... We stood there for five full minutes, waiting for something weird to happen. And then five minutes became ten...

"What's going on here? Why hasn't Monokuma shown up yet?" Byakuya questioned.

"Maybe he died again...?" Hiro guessed.

"What should we do? Should we keep waiting here, or...?" Hina asked, trailing off.

"Or what!?" Monokuma asked as he popped up from out of nowhere.

"AHH!" I jumped.

"Nyohoho! Did I scare you?" Monokuma chuckled.

"I demand an explanation! Why did you waste my time and make me wait like that!?" Byakuya asked in anger.

"What? I made you wait? You've got it all backwards. 'You're' the ones making 'me' wait!" Monokuma corrected.

"...Huh?" Makoto asked confused.

"I'm waiting for everyone to arrive! We can't start till everyone's here, now can we?" Monokuma explained.

"What are you t-talking about...? Everyone 'is' here. We've all been w-waiting for 'you'," Toko said.

"Puhuhu... Sorry, but you're wrong. But I've been waiting ten minutes now, so it's okay if I punish the one making us all wait, right? If we all agree it's a violation, I'll arrange a punishment right now--!

"If it's me you're waiting for...I'm here." A voice spoke from behind us. We all spun around to look and saw Kyoko Kirirgiri alive and well. "I'm here, and no rule's been broken."

"K-Kyoko!" Makoto cried out.

"Where have you been!? You got us worried half to death, I'll have you know!" I yelled.

"Kyoko!? You're still alive!?" Hina exclaimed.

"N-No...! That's a gh-gh-gh-ghost!" Hiro panicked.

"Stop t-talking..." Toko ordered.

"If you wanna fight, do it at the class trial! You need to save some of the fun for later, right?" Monokuma spoke.

"But is it okay that there's no particular penalty for being late?" Byakuya scowled.

"I made it here just fine. What school regulation did I violate? Am I wrong?" Kyoko questioned.

"You're so selfish... So spoiled! You're right. There's no penalty, officially. But I bet you'll be sorry later... No, I'll make 'sure' you're sorry later...! Anyway, hustle your butts onto the elevator! I'll be just one step ahead of ya!" Monokuma yelled and disappeared. When Monokuma was gone, we all rushed up to Kyoko.

"Kyoko...!" Makoto called her name again.

"So you really didn't die!?" Hina asked.

"Of course I didn't die..." Kyoko confirmed.

Hina smiled happily. "Thank God! I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Perhaps, but that's not necessarily a good thing for us," Byakuya said.

"Huh...?" Makoto looked confused.

"He's right! Now we've gotta deal with a gh-gh-ghost!" Hiro shouted in fear.

"I told you, stop t-talking...!" Toko sneered.

"Come on, let's just go. Whatever we need to discuss, we can do it during the trial." Without ever looking directly at Kyoko, Byakuya stepped into the elevator.

"Master! W-Wait for meee...!" Toko shrieked and followed after him.

"Good call. Who knows what might happen to us if we take too long...?" Hiro questioned.

"I'll be happy when this trial is all over..." Hina sighed.

"This is going to be one hell of a trial, I'm sure of it..." I muttered.

One after another, we all piled into the elevator except for Makoto and Kyoko. We waited for a minute until Hina called out to them. "Hey! What are you two doing!? Hurry up, before we get in trouble with Monokuma!"

After a few seconds, Kyoko entered and Makoto, being the last one left, stepped into the elevator and the doors slid shut.

This time, the clunking was loud enough to hurt my ears, and the dread began to consume me once again. I will never get used to the mental pressure that comes with preparing for an execution. In that dusky darkness, nobody said a word. We just stood there, silent and still.

After an immeasurable period of time, the doors opened without warning... A dazzling light penetrated every depth of my eyes. But it wasn't the illuminating light of hope...

It was the blinding light of despair.

When the light dimmed down, the courtroom came into view, being redecorated with a bunch of pinks and blues.

"Ahh, I've been waiting for this! I feel like it's been forever since we got together like this... The time for pointless jokes and jabs has passed. Let's get on with the show!" Monokuma announced.

And so, the curtain opened for the fifth time... A deadly judgment... A deadly deception... A deadly betrayal. A deadly riddle, a deadly defense, and deadly faith... A deadly...class trial...!

Chapter 61: Class Trial #5 Part 1: The Victim's Identity

CLASS TRIAL! ALL RISE!

"Let's begin with a basic explanation of the class trial!" Monokuma started. "So, your votes will determine the results. If you can figure out "whodunnit" then only they will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong one...then I'll punish everyone 'besides' the blackened, and the one that deceived everyone else will graduate! ...Okay, well! I'll leave the rest up to you!"

"Well then, let's discuss the specifics of the victim. First, we need to clarify who exactly the unidentified victim is," Byakuya said.

"It's Kyoko! There's no other explanation!" Hiro declared.

"But Kyoko's standing right there...!" Toko pointed out.

"No! That's a ghost!" Hiro argued.

"..." Kyoko stayed silent.

"But...she has legs and stuff," Hina spoke.

"Well that's just because...she's like the latest evolution in ghost technology!" Hiro explained.

"...What is wrong with you?" I questioned.

"There's a limit to how much ridiculousness I can tolerate..." Byakuya muttered.

"Um, okay...so I just have to prove that the corpse isn't Kyoko, right?" Makoto asked. "Then let's compare Kyoko's traits to the traits of the dead body."

"Her traits...?" Hina repeated.

"I'm talking about her gloves. They'll give us some insight into the mystery, I'm sure of it," Makoto said.

"In that case, I think it would be helpful if someone explained why she actually wears those gloves," Byakuya said.

"And would you happen to know the answer?" Kyoko asked him.

"In fact, Monokuma told me. Apparently you have scars on your hands you don't want anyone to see," Byakuya revealed.

"..." Kyoko went silent again.

"Oh! You know, now that I think about it...the corpse wasn't wearing any gloves, right!?" Hina remembered.

"They probably just got burnt up in the explosion! I'm not convinced! The ghost is just trying to fool us all!" Hiro argued.

"Are we seriously going to waste time arguing about this!?" I asked with annoyance in my tone.

"We're gonna be stuck here if we don't, so we don't have any choice but to..." Makoto said.

I sighed. "Let's get this over with..."

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Hiro: That "Kyoko" there is just a ghost!

Toko: I-Impossible...

Hiro: Okay, then prove it! Prove she's not a ghost!

Hina: The dead body wasn't wearing gloves!

Hiro: They got burnt up in the explosion!

Hanako: We're wasting time here!

Toko: Then...she was wearing gloves before the explosion...?

Hiro: Well, yeah! She must've been wearing gloves!

Truth Bullet: Fake Nails

Makoto: NO, THAT'S WRONG!

-BREAK!!-

"No, there's no way the corpse was wearing gloves. Whoever it was, they were wearing fake nails, remember? I imagine trying to wear gloves over nails like that would have been a pretty big pain. Besides, Kyoko wears gloves to hide her hands, right? It'd be pretty weird for someone who's self-conscious about their hands to wear fake nails, don't you think?" Makoto argued.

"Jeez man, you don't know women, huh? They're complicated like that!" Hiro countered.

"Excuse me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"If anyone doesn't know women, it's you!" Hina said.

"Well, Kyoko? Any thoughts?" Byakuya asked her.

"These gloves were custom-made to the size of my hands to make sure they don't interfere with my daily life. If I wore fake nails, the gloves wouldn't fit properly," Kyoko spoke.

"Then that's that. The dead body doesn't belong to Kyoko," Makoto concluded.

"Which should have been obvious, since she's standing right here..." Byakuya said.

"Okay, so then...who's the real victim? First we need to figure that out!" Hiro said, satisfied that Kyoko isn't a ghost.

"That's the first thing I said. You're the one who's been dragging us around in circles..." Byakuya reminded.

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Hiro: If Kyoko really is still alive...then who died!?

Hina: There's gotta be some way to figure it out.

Toko: I don't th-think so... The face was scorched beyond recognition... And there wasn't any description in the Monokuma File.

Hina: Well if we can't identify the body...

Truth Bullet: Tattoo on the Right Hand

Makoto: NO, THAT'S WRONG!

-BREAK!!-

"There was one clue left behind that we can use to identify the body," Makoto began.

"What? For real!?" Hina gasped.

"If you're l-lying, you'll die a cruel and unusual d-death...!" Toko cursed.

"A cruel and unusual death!? This I gotta see!" Hiro said.

"Just ignore them Makoto and continue on with what you were saying," I spoke.

"The key to figuring out who it was...is the tattoo on the back of her hand," Makoto continued.

"Oh, yeah. The design's pretty strange, huh? Is this...a dog?" Hina asked while looking at the photo on her e-Handbook.

"Her master m-must have made her get it...to be like, "You're my b-bitch,"" Toko said as she blushed and drooled heavily.

"Seriously!? They really did something that humiliating!?" Hiro shrieked.

"No, that's not it. The identity of the victim is hidden within that tattoo," Byakuya said.

"Whoa, really!?" Hina gasped.

"The Fenrir Mercenary Corps. That's the name of the military group Mukuro Ikusaba belonged to..." Makoto revealed.

"Okay, so...?" Hiro scratched his head looking confused.

"To show that they're a member of the team, each soldier that joins the squad would get a tattoo representing Fenrir somewhere on their body," Byakuya explained.

"Fenrir...?" Hina repeated.

"The representation of Fenrir is...a wolf," Makoto said.

"Fenrir, the Wolf of Ragnarok. It's from Norse mythology. A huge, world-ending wolf beast... He's the ch-child of the trickster god, Loki, and a female giant," Toko explained.

"Man! After all this time, we finally got a glimpse of the literary all-star!" Hiro said.

"A wolf tattoo... Then that means--!" Hina began.

"Exactly. The body we found had a tattoo of a wolf," Makoto confirmed. "Which means that person must have once belonged to Fenrir. So it must have been Mukuro."

"What!?" Hiro shrieked.

"Dun dun dunn!" I sound affected.

"H-Hold on... Isn't she the one that was behind this whole thing?" Hina asked.

"Ah-ha-ha-ha!" Monokuma laughed. "You sound surprised! But you're absolutely right! Yes, indeed! The trial this time is to solve the murder of Mukuro Ikusaba!"

"Wh-What? Are you saying the m-mastermind is dead...and now we have to have a c-class trial?" Toko questioned.

"No. It means we were wrong in thinking that Mukuro was the mastermind at all," Byakuya said.

"But, I mean...being the Ultimate Despair seems like a pretty mastermind-y title to me..." Hina said.

"Maybe we shouldn't have been thinking of her as the Ultimate Despair in the first place. After all, looking at her profile, I didn't see anything that would fit such a description... All it said was that she was the Ultimate Soldier. If I remember correctly, that other information came from..." Byakuya then pointed to Kyoko. "Kyoko, that's what you told Makoto, right?"

"..." Kyoko stayed silent.

"So that means...Kyoko got it wrong?" Hiro asked.

"Then...who was she? Who was Mukuro Ikusaba?" Hina questioned. "She's been gone this whole time, and when she finally turns up, she gets killed!"

"Usually, when there's a s-scene where an important character dies, it has a lot m-more detail..." Toko pointed out.

"So you're saying she wasn't an important character? Which would mean she was the same as us--just another participant," Byakuya said with a smirk on his face.

"Then who's the real mastermind?" Hiro questioned.

"It must have been th-the Hope's Peak Academy headmaster, a-after all...!" Toko answered.

"No, the headmaster has nothing to do with it," Kyoko spoke up.

"But how can we trust that? We already know your information about Mukuro was wrong," Byakuya said.

"My information was not wrong..." Kyoko objected.

"Okay, okay! We're in the middle of a trial right now!" Monokuma interrupted. "Figuring out who killed Mukuro is first and foremost! Please limit all future prattle, chatter, and chit-chat as much as possible!"

"...Fine. Uncovering the identity of the mastermind will have to wait. But remember this... No matter what happens, we 'will' find out who you really are. I stake my family name on it!" Byakuya declared.

"I have officially decided to completely ignore all such attempts at provocation! Now then, just so nobody's confused, let me state this one more time for the record... The reason we're having a class trial is because a murder among the students has taken place! Hammer that point straight into your big ol' brains!" Monokuma said.

Byakuya sneered. "What you're saying is that both the victim and the culprit are part of the student body?"

"Then...one of us killed Mukuro?" Hina asked.

"Wait, no! There's a chance that there's some mystery 18th person who's been hiding all along!" Hiro suggested.

"Nope! There are only 17 students in total that have been taking part in these events!" Monokuma revealed.

"Seriously!? Then...one of us killed Mukuro!?" Hiro panicked.

"It sure...seems like it..." I said.

"Who d-did it!? Who's the killer th-this time!?" Toko shrieked.

"Get a hold of yourself. We've already narrowed down the list of possible suspects," Byakuya said.

"Huh...?"Hina questioned.

"I'm sure you realize who I'm talking about, right Makoto? Who the evidence points to?" Byakuya said to Makoto.

"You've narrowed it down to...Kyoko, and me. Right?" Makoto said.

"...Why do you say that?" Kyoko questioned.

"Allow me to explain..." Byakuya began. "Just after nighttime last night, I went to the garden. So I can confirm that at that point, there was no dead body there. So, the murder must have taken place after I left the garden. However...Hiro, Toko, Hanako, Hina and I were in the gym the entire time."

"The gym...?" Kyoko repeated.

"That's right. The five of us were there trying to dismantle Monokuma," Byakuya continued. "The whole time we were very careful not to go anywhere alone. We even went to the bathroom in pairs. All of which is to say...the five of us all have alibis. The only ones without alibis..."

"...are me and Makoto. That's why you're able to narrow down the list of suspects," Kyoko concluded.

"Exactly so," Byakuya confirmed.

I knew there was a chance... I promise Makoto that I'll defend him, and that's exactly what I am going to do!

 

Chapter 62: Update

Hello. I'm sorry it's been a while since I last updated. I was in the middle of working on the next chapter when my college work started to take a toll on me. Then came family and health problems as well as job hunting and moving on to new fandoms that I lost motivation and forgot all about it. Now my motivation is back, and I hope to publish the next chapter by the end of the month and hopefully finish this story. I want to thank you all for your continuous support and I hope you'll continue to enjoy the rest of the story.

Chapter 63: Class Trial #5 Part 2: Defending Time

"Um, I have something I'd like to say regarding the whole alibi thing..." Makoto spoke.

"...Are you thinking of raising an objection?" Byakuya asked.

"Well, before that, I just want to try and get a better idea of what time the murder took place. Doing that might reveal some kind of clue..." Makoto suggested.

"Whatever you want. Somebody go ahead and help him out," Byakuya said.

"Me and Byakuya can both confirm that the body wasn't in the garden at... Well, it was after nighttime for sure. I'd say it must have been around 10 o'clock. So the murder musta happened after 10 p.m." Hiro said.

"Then I guess we can say the timeframe for the murder was between then and when we found the body...? Oh, but...what time did we find the body?" Hina questioned.

"The one who saw the body first was Toko, right? When she went to go get the pickaxe..." Hiro recalled.

"The body must have been discovered at 9 a.m., since that's when Toko went to get the pickaxe..." Makoto said.

-Flashback-

"Now then... Toko, what time is it?"

"W-Well, when we left the gym, it was j-just before 9 o'clock. So it's probably 9 on the d-dot now..."

"Okay. Go get the pickaxe and be back here by 9:01."

-End of Flashback-

"H-He's right, it had to be around th-then," Toko said.

"So the murder must have happened sometime between 10 at night and 9 in the morning," I said.

"For me, I was already asleep before nighttime hit. So I don't have an alibi after 10 o'clock... But I'm sure I met up with everyone else before 9 this morning," Makoto said.

"We ran into each other in the dining hall, right? That was around..." Hina tried to remember before she spoke again. "Oh yeah! Right around 7:30! I remember checking right before I went in, so I'm totally sure about it."

"Which means from 10 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., you don't have an alibi," Hiro said.

It looks like the game has begun... If Makoto can't provide an alibi for that period...then I just have to prove the murder didn't happen during the time he didn't have an alibi!

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Byakuya: We've established a timeframe for the murder. It took place somewhere between 10 o'clock at night...and 9 o'clock in the morning.

Truth Bullet: Sprinkler

Hanako: I TESTIFY AGAINST THAT!

-BREAK!!-

"The murder couldn't have happened anywhere near 10 o'clock. It had to have taken place way later!" I began.

"And what makes you say that?" Byakuya asked with a scowl.

"Because of the sprinklers in the garden. The sprinklers are set to go off right at 7:30 every morning, right? So if the body had been in the garden before 7:30...then it should have been completely soaked!" I explained.

"H-Hold on! I remember this part p-perfectly!" Toko objected. "The body 'w-was' wet! Dripping wet, in fact..."

"I'm sorry Toko, but you're wrong," I interrupted.

"I'm wrong? H-How? Are you saying o-only the mouth down south was wet!? How dare you spew s-such indecent words!?" Toko accused.

"What!? No! I'm saying that the body was wet, but not because of the sprinklers!"

"What do you m-mean...? By d-denying the sprinkler...are you trying to deny my e-entire existence!?"

"No!"

"Man! You're totally wacko!" Hiro commented.

"If you r-really think it wasn't the sprinkler...y-you'd better tell us why!" Toko challenged.

I need to prove that it wasn't the sprinklers that got the body wet. All I have to do is hit Toko with certain evidence, and that should do it.

-The Moment of Truth!-

"I admit n-nothing!"

"I h-hate you!"

"N-No no no!"

"I d-don't know anything!"

"That's en-nough!"

"Hold on...!"

"A-Are you trying to blame me!?"

"I'm r-right about this!"

"H-How can you say it wasn't the s-sprinkler!?"

Truth Bullet: Exploded Body Analysis

Hanako: TAKE THAT!

-BREAK!!-

"Remember what the body was like after the explosion and you'll see why it wasn't the sprinklers," I recalled. "While the top half of the body was wet, the bottom half was completely dry. If the sprinklers got the body wet, shouldn't the 'whole' body have been wet?"

"S-So they only got the top wet? The bottom was c-completely dry!? What a brutal m-maniac!" Toko said.

"I'm so sick of her..." Hina muttered.

"Um... Moving on..." I continued. "The reason only the top half was wet was because while the body was still on fire, Makoto doused it with water. But only the part on fire--the top half. So if the sprinklers didn't get the body wet, then the murder must have taken place...sometime 'after' the sprinklers turned on at 7:30 in the morning!"

"Which means she must have been killed sometime between then and when the body was discovered at 9," Hiro said.

"But Makoto's alibi was only missing from 10 o'clock last night to 7:30 this morning, right?" Hina recalled.

"So there's no way Makoto could have done it!" Hiro said and then turned to Makoto. "I guess you had an alibi, after all. Good for you!"

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"In which case, the only one left without an alibi...is Kyoko," Byakuya stated.

Kyoko stayed silent, then she spoke. "...I'd just like to say one thing. If you vote for me, and I die here, the mystery of this school will stay hidden forever. Which is why...I can't let that happen!"

"So are you saying...you're not the culprit?" Byakuya interrogated.

"Of course I'm not. I have no reason to kill anyone. This is a trap the mastermind has laid for us," Kyoko revealed.

"A trap...?" Hina repeated.

Monokuma bursts into laughter. "Ahahahaha! We're this far into the game, and 'now' you decide to blame me? Stop wasting time! Stop wasting energy! You really think your little trick is gonna work!?"

"Shut up, you!" Byakuya ordered.

"You got it, boss! Shutting up now!" Monokuma complied.

"Anyway... Kyoko, you actually did have a reason to kill her," Byakuya continued.

"Huh? She did?" Makoto questioned.

"She thought Mukuro was the Ultimate Despair. In other words, the mastermind behind everything... So she killed her to try and put a stop to all this. Isn't that right, Kyoko? But you made one catastrophic mistake--Mukuro wasn't the mastermind at all. And as a result, we were forced into another trial, something I'm sure you weren't at all expecting," Byakuya explained.

"So th-that was her motive...?" Toko spoke.

"If she had a motive, and no alibi, well then...I think it's pretty clear Kyoko's gotta be the culprit..." Hiro said.

"... I'm not the only one without an alibi. Hanako's explanation is still insufficient. Which means that Makoto still has no alibi," Kyoko said.

"Huh...?" Makoto's eyes widened.

"The sprinklers didn't get the body wet, but that doesn't mean the murder happened when she said it did."

"Wh-What are you--!?" Makoto gasped.

" Because you see, there is a way the body could have avoided getting wet," Kyoko continued.

"...Interesting. I'm listening," Byakuya spoke.

"All it would take is covering the body with a certain something to keep it from getting wet," Kuoko explained.

A "certain something"? Could it have been...?

-Choose Truth Bullet-

Truth Bullet: Tarp

"THAT'S IT!"

-----

"It's the tarp...isn't it?" I guessed, hesitantly.

"You catch on quick," "Kyoko confirmed. "You're right. All you'd have to do is cover the body with the tarp, and that'd take care of the water. In fact, that's exactly what the killer did. The dirt pattern on the tarp can attest to that. Only one side of the tarp got dirty, because that's the side that got covered in water. The side that faced down over the body, meanwhile, kept perfectly clean. This proves that the killer used the tarp to keep the body from getting soaked."

"But why would they go to all that effort just to keep the body from getting wet?" Byakuya questioned.

"Most likely so they could cloud the issue of when the murder actually took place. In other words, to create an excuse exactly like the one Hanako just gave us to clear up Makoto's name..."

I gritted my teeth. Why is she doing this? Why would she want to make Makoto look like the killer? ...No, I can't think about that right now. That tarp... If it was used the way Kyoko said... The tarp must have touched the body, right? But the body...

"Wait. Something's not right," I spoke.

"And what might that be?" Kyoko asked.

I can worry about Kyoko's motivations later. If I don't do something, everyone's gonna think Makoto's the killer! I have to refute what Kyoko said!

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Kyoko: By covering the body with the tarp, the killer prevented it from getting wet.

Hiro: So the reason the tarp was only dirty on one side...is because the sprinkler got that side wet!

Makoto: But the underside of the tarp... It was totally spotless, right?

Hiro: It's cuz that side was protected from the water! Since it was facing down toward the body...of course it didn't get dirty!

Truth Bullet: Body Before the Explosion

Hanako: I TESTIFY AGAINST THAT!

-BREAK!!-

"Actually, one side being clean is pretty strange, if you think about it. Because...the blood wasn't dry before the body got blown up, right? Byakuya said it himself-not to touch it or you might get some on you. If you put a tarp on a body in that state, it absolutely would have gotten blood on it," I explained.

"Well...maybe the culprit washed it, so nobody would know they'd used it," Hiro said.

"If they had, they would've washed both sides. Just washing the one side wouldn't hide anything," Byakuya shot down.

"Oh...yeah, true," Hiro admitted.

"More than that, what if the very blood we saw on the body was meant as a kind of camouflage?" Kyoko suggested.

The blood was...camouflage?

"Y-You mean...someone else's b-blood? Where would they get something l-like that?" Toko asked.

"I know! They coulda grabbed some of the blood packs from the nurse's office! That's what Hifumi did, right?" Hiro recalled.

"No, that's not what happened this time. The killer got the blood from right there in the garden," Kyoko revealed.

They got blood from right there in the garden, right? Which must mean...

-Choose Truth Bullet-

Truth Bullet: Chicken Coop Chickens

"THAT'S IT!"

-----

"Is it...chicken blood?" I answered.

"What!? Chicken blood!?" Hina repeated.

"When I checked the chicken coop for the first time, there were five chickens. But after the murder, there were only four," I called back.

"S-So you're saying...someone killed a chicken and then covered the body with its blood!? Man, that's messed up!" Hiro yelled.

"Killing a living thing just to do something like that is awful! They should have at least eaten it!" Hina said.

"I wonder if the killer had to get the blood from the scene so they wouldn't be spotted walking around... Anyway, there's no denying that a chicken went missing, which provides a basis for my theory," Kyoko said.

"Perhaps, but even so...there's one thing that still doesn't make sense. You said the culprit used the tarp to avoid the water, and then covered the body in blood, right? But if that's the case, then the blood should have soaked into the ground around the body. But that's not what we saw. Only the victim's clothing had blood on it. The ground was completely clean," Byakuya pointed out.

"I have to agree, that certainly is strange... Maybe they didn't apply the blood at the scene. Maybe they covered the coat in blood beforehand," Kyoko theorized.

"They covered it...beforehand?" Makoto repeated.

"When you discovered the body, was it wearing the coat like you normally would?" Kyoko asked.

"Um...I think so..." Makoto tried to recall. "Wait, no... The head was through the neck hole, but the arms weren't in the sleeves."

"Then that settles it," Kyoko stated.

"...Sorry, I'm having a tough time keeping up. What settles what...?" Hina asked.

"Here's what happened--the murder took place before the sprinklers went off. But the body didn't get wet, because the killer covered it with the tarp. Then, later, at the same time the killer was gathering up the tarp, they pulled the coat over the body. The coat they'd already covered in blood. This series of cover-ups was meant to disguise the actual time the murder occurred. They wanted us to think the murder happened sometime after the sprinklers had gone off, at 7:30," Kyoko said.

"If that's actually what took place, it certainly becomes possible that the murder happened earlier..." Byakuya pondered.

"But...to pull all that off...wouldn't they have had to go back to the garden after the sprinklers turned off?" Hina pointed out.

"That actually wouldn't have been all that difficult," Kyoko answered.

"Huh...?" Makoto gasped.

"They already had the coat ready. So they just had to grab the tarp and pull the coat over the body. They'd be done in no time," Kyoko said.

"Maybe, but still..." Makoto tried to defend himself.

Kyoko turned to Hina. "Hina. After you met up with Makoto in the dining hall, did you two stay together from that point on?"

"Oh, no. I headed off to the gym, and Makoto didn't show up till later," Hina recalled.

"Then he had plenty of time to spare, wouldn't you say?" Kyoko questioned.

"No he didn't!" I shouted.

"Don't bother saying it's not possible," Kyoko scolded.

"Ghr-" I gritted my teeth.

"I must admit, Kyoko's reasoning is sound. Makoto's alibi is...inadequate," Byakuya spoke.

"..." Makoto went silent.

Damn it! When one thing clears up there's still another thing to foil it! Why is Kyoko doing this? Usually she helps, but now she's trying to entrap Makoto. I don't understand...

Disguised Dead Body has been added as a truth bullet

"Well then, it looks like we're back to square one. Makoto's alibi is no good, so once again our suspects are him and Kyoko," Byakuya said.

"For serious, man...which one of 'em did it? Hey, why don't we let luck decide? Let's flip a coin! Fifty-fifty odds!" Hiro suggested.

"Oh--!" Hina gasped.

"See? Pretty good idea, right?" Hiro grinned.

"No, not that! I just remembered something super serious!" Hina said.

"Well, don't just stand there. Out with it," Byakuya ordered.

"You know that knife we found all black and burnt?" Hina recalled.

"The one we found stuck in the body before it exploded, right? According to the Monokuma File, the knife went all the way through, from front to back. So? What about it?" Hiro questioned.

"I'm pretty sure I'd seen that knife somewhere before... That's what I thought when I first saw it. I just remembered!" Hina said.

-Flashback-

"Listen, more important... Now that we have the knife, what are we gonna do with it?"

"That's a good question."

"We can't let Toko keep it, that's for sure. We dunno what she might do..."

"I don't w-want it anyway! It's too dangerous..."

"Hmm...so what to do...?"

"Why don't you hang on to it, Makoto?"

"Huh? Me!?"

-End of Flashback-

"I-It's...the knife we g-gave to Makoto!?" Toko gasped.

"Oh no..." I muttered.

"..." Makoto had no reaction.

"You don't seem surprised. You must have noticed earlier..." Byakuya noticed.

"Y-Yeah..." Makoto admitted.

"Then why did you hide that fact?" Byakuya questioned.

"It's not that I hid it. It's just..." Makoto began, then went silent again.

"Suspicious... Very suspicious indeed! The knife we found stuck in the body came from Makoto! Now I'm totally convinced he did it! Twelve thousand percent convinced!" Hiro shouted.

Remember your promise Hanako... I have to prove that Makoto didn't murder anyone!

-Nonstop Debate! Make Your Argument!-

Hina: The knife we found lodged in the dead body...

Toko: I-It's the same one we g-gave to Makoto!

Hina: It really is, isn't it? I was afraid of that...

Hiro: If he did have that knife before, then...that seals it! Makoto did it!

Makoto: Just because I had the knife once...that automatically makes me the killer?

Hiro: Well, getting stabbed is what killed her right?

Truth Bullet: Disguised Dead Body

Hanako: I TESTIFY AGAINST THAT!

-BREAK!!-

"Wait just a minute. The stab wound isn't what killed Mukuro. That should be clear from the description of the cover-up we just heard!" I said.

"Lies!" Hiro accused. "We never talked about what killed her!"

"Then listen to me! The killer covered the dead body with the tarp, and then put the bloody coat on it, right? In other words, the victim never wore that bloodstained coat until after they were dead," I explained.

"Okay, fine! So what!?" Hiro shouted.

"So, when we discovered the body...the knife had been thrust through the coat along with the body. Which means that if she wasn't stabbed until the coat was put on, and she was already dead at that point. Obviously, the stab wound isn't what killed her! That's 'so what!'" I explained.

"M-Maybe Makoto stabbed her twice! Once to kill her, and once to cover it up!" Hiro suggested.

The victim was stabbed twice in the same spot? No, there's no way that's possible...

-Choose Truth Bullet-

Truth Bullet: Monokuma File #5

"THAT'S IT!"

-----

"If you read the Monokuma File, it clearly states that there was only one stab wound," I pointed out.

Hiro gasped. "Oh yeah, it sure did! I totally forgot about that!"

"Then the knife..." Hina began.

"...was just another piece of camouflage set up by the true killer. They probably stabbed her to draw attention away from what actually killed her. Exploding the body afterward was probably meant to do the same thing. The explosion severely damaged the body, making it impossible to know what really killed her. It was all the killer's attempt to destroy all evidence of their crime!" I concluded.

"So they wanted us to notice the stab wound, and then detonated the body afterward... They meant for us to latch onto the knife as the cause of death, then destroy any evidence proving otherwise," Byakuya summarized.

"Oh, hey, I have a question! It kinda goes back to the beginning, but... What's the deal with that explosion, anyway? Why'd the body just blow up all of a sudden like that?" Hina asked.

"If you bothered to put that lump of grey matter between your ears to use, you'd know the answer..." Byakuya scolded.

"Well if you're so smart, just tell me!" Hina yelled.

"I'll tell ya! I bet some unknown quantum particle caused an atomic-level spontaneous combustion!" Hiro said.

"I might be dumb, but even I'm not dumb enough to believe that!" Hina said.

"Go ahead, Hanako. Tell her, or we won't make any headway on this," Byakuya ordered.

There's only one explanation I can think of for the explosion...

-Choose Truth Bullet-

Truth Bullet: Fragments Near the Dead Body

"THAT'S IT!"

-----

"After the explosion, we found a tiny fragment of something on the ground near the body, right? That fragment reveals the cause of the explosion," I showed the picture of the fragments on my E-Handbook.

"Huh? You know, I feel like I've seen something like it before..." Hina said.

"Because you did. We saw the same thing when we dismantled Monokuma. It's part of a bomb," I revealed.

Hina's face lit up in realization. "Oh! Then the explosion was cuz of the Monokuma bomb!"

"Anyway, the culprit's motive is becoming more and more obvious by the minute. They wanted the knife wound to look like the fatal injury so that we'd suspect Makoto. And the only one who would benefit from that..." Byakuya pointed to Kyoko. "...is the only other possible suspect. You, Kyoko."

"..." Kyoko closed her eyes and looked away.

Phew! Finally Makoto's in the clear.

"Hold on a second, Byakuya..." Makoto spoke.

"...What's the problem?" Byakuya sneered.

"Well I just feel like...we need to think this through. We still don't know what actually killed the victim," Makoto said.

"That's true! It's definitely bugging me. What really killed her...?" Hina questioned.

"...Fine, I have no problem with that. Let us continue the debate. It won't change the facts of the case, regardless," Byakuya said.

"..." Kyoko stayed silent.

Alrighty then. Time to move on to figuring out what ultimately killed the victim.