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Chapter Text

Hope's Peak Academy.
 

Up close, the building was quite intimidating. The school was enough to make Sayaka feel even more anxious than she already was. Receiving a letter of opportunity, Sayaka knew she'd be a fool to ignore the perfect tool for utilising her dream! The saying, as Sayaka had heard it a million times before, went: "If you graduate from Hope's Peak Academy, then you're set for life!" Such a luxury was only granted to the best of the best. To be even considered for scouting, you had to be the very best at what you do.

 
Sayaka was many things, all of which were a means to an end for her lifelong dream, including the latest title branded upon her: The Ultimate Pop Sensation. Graduating from Hope's Peak and becoming the best idol she could possibly be had landed in her lap thanks to her efforts, and she wasn't going to think twice.

Sayaka continued the inner monologue, trying to pump herself up and bury the anxiety within before realising the time! The clock on her phone struck 7 on the dot as she hurried her way past the gate and inside towards the main hall. Sayaka reminded herself they were set to meet at 8, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be punctual.

"Yeah... Yeah, let's do this!" Sayaka psyched herself up one last time, taking her first step toward the dream she'd worked so hard for!

The bluenette couldn't help but feel a little awkward, to say the least. No one else was there at all, though the idol realised quickly that it made sense. Sayaka had plenty of time before the scheduled meeting time but was unsure how to use it. It takes her checking the time thrice, playing eye spy alone, as well as just rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet for a while until someone else shows up. It's about 7:10 am when Sayaka sees an almost too familiar head of messy brown hair approaching. Sayaka felt a twinge in her heart as the boy walked in, looking around. She had this strong urge within her to go talk to him but was unsure why. He almost looked like that boy from way back when the boy that had unknowingly inspired her a long time ago.

Mustering up a little bit of courage, Sayaka took carefully calculated steps, maintaining a perfect self-image as she approached the boy... when...

Everything spun. All the walls, the floor and the ceiling began to cave in, Sayaka's vision going dizzier than she'd ever felt as she felt her consciousness leaving her behind on the floor...

...

"W-What...?"

When Sayaka woke up, she groaned at the stiffness of her neck. Looking back and forth, she noticed herself lying on the floor, resting against the wall. She struggled to stand, the pounding headache not helping. Her vision went blurry and full of static. She stumbled down the hallway like she was learning to walk again. The soft sound of murmured voices was her destination, and she wasn't going to let a little dizziness get in her way. Gritting her teeth, Sayaka stood without the support of the wall and walked with purpose.

Each window she passed was barricaded by giant metal sheets, and large screws and bolts held them in place. Ignoring the sinking feeling they gave her, she found a familiar landmark. Sayaka wound up in the same main hall she'd collapsed in, only now there was a wide range of people of all shapes and sizes to greet her. Assuming she probably passed out from the stress, she tried to forget her clumsiness, loudly announcing herself to the large group with an introduction. 

"Hello, everyone! I'm Sayaka Maizono, I look forward to getting to know you!" She smiled with her eyes closed, just like she'd practised. Shaping your face like a perfectly sculpted artwork was merely second nature by this point.

"Heeyyy! Another new girl, whats up!" A twin-tailed blonde called out very enthusiastically, wielding a peace sign.

"Maizono... the idol!?" A boy gulped, quickly buffing up his appearance as best he could.

She recognised this one. Sayaka thought back for a few moments before recalling. Her agency had hit her with a large run-down on her classmates before she was to arrive, and it wasn't like she was going to forgo the advantage. The people were tools for an idol, after all. If she wanted to succeed, she'd need to stand out in Hope's Peak just as much outside it.

"Ah, Leon Kuwata? A nice name." She grinned with a giggle.

"Uh... yeah, haha... wait. How'd you know that?" He had quickly asked mouth agape.

"Oh, that's cuz I'm Psychic!" Sayaka stared at him, watching the boy buckle under her gaze. And just like that, she'd gotten him. "Haha, just kidding, I just have good intuition~!"

Chatter dies down after a few moments as everyone silently takes in one another's appearance, only to resurface as another new face enters. Swirling around, Sayaka locked eyes with the brown-haired boy from earlier, flashing him a cheeky grin.

"So counting him, that's 15... A good cut off point but, I wonder if this is everyone." Hifumi Yamada, the Ultimate Fanfic Creator, spoke aloud to the group.

"Sorry I'm late, a bunch of odd stuff happened and then I was... asleep." Makoto half laughs, but that causes almost everyone to perk up.

"Unacceptable! The meeting time was to be 8 o'clock sharp! Surely you knew this!" Kiyotaka, the Ultimate Moral Compass shouted.

"Cut 'em some slack, yeah? Besides, it's already passed 8 and we're still the only ones here." The older boy named Yasuhiro grumbled as conversation began to arise.

"R-Right... I guess I should apologise." Kiyotaka quickly backpedalled,

throwing himself forward in a bow towards Makoto. "I apologise for my behaviour, I am Kiyotaka Ishimaru, The Ultimate Moral Compass!"

"Oh! I'm Makoto Naegi! The Ultimate Lucky Student! You uh, don't have to bow... it's okay!" Makoto awkwardly chuckled.

"Perhaps we should all introduce ourselves then, since it seems the teacher coming to get us is late?" The Ultimate Gambler suggested, which everyone quickly agreed to.

 ~♥️~ 

Sayaka and Makoto locked eyes, the boy seemed to be deep in thought as he took in her appearance, much to the idol's amusement. "I'm... not a doll you know, I'm alive!" She teased with a wide smile.

"Huh? Did you hear me!?" He looks flabbergasted.  It's almost cute how easy he is to read.  Sayaka thought.

"It's because I'm psychic." She said, her smile gone. Sayaka stared at him blankly, gauging how he'd react.

"...Huh?" Makoto quickly became flabbergasted, unsure how to reply before Sayaka broke into giggles.

"Kidding! I just have really good intution." She smiled as Makoto sighed a breath of relief. Before they knew it, they were both giggling. "Hey by any chance-"

"Jeez, you guys! How long do you plan to waste our time with this ridiculous back and forth!" Kiyotaka barked at them, cutting their interaction short. Sayaka internally frowned, but she was patient, she'd get her second chance soon.

 ~♥️~ 

"I'm Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Pop Sensation! It's nice to meet you!" Sayaka said with a practised smile. The other girl watched her intently with no reply.

"..." The silver-haired girl is quiet, stern and waiting.

"What's your name?" Sayaka asked, maintaining the fake smile as best she could.

"...Kyoko Kirigiri." She says matter-of-factly, but to Sayaka, it sounded like she had to force herself to say it against her better nature.

"Kyoko, hm? What's your ultimate talent?" The idol asked, yet Kyoko's expression didn't change, par for the quick twitch next to her eye.

"..." She's silent for but a single moment before looking away to avoid eye contact. "Why should I tell you?"

A liar.

The industry of lies. It was something Sayaka was basically born into. Her managers? Liars. Her fellow idols, her rivals, her friends? Liars, all of them. Sayaka herself? She lied as easily as she breathed. Her face, her body, her image, her being. All practised lies. 

Everyone in the business was a practised liar, and when one gets as good at lying as her, it's just as easy to spot the cracks beneath the surface.

"Well... I guess you don't have to tell me." Sayaka let out a dramatic sigh. "But... something tells me that you don't actually know~."

"Wha-" Kyoko's mask slipped for a brief moment, taken aback that Sayak would even suggest such a thing. Kyoko puts a gloved hand to her face to think. "How did you know?"

"Oh, I'm psychic!" Sayaka smiles, watching Kyoko become even more perplexed.

"It's not that I... Nevermind." Kyoko admitted defeat, quickly building up the wall that Sayaka had managed to crack a hole in.

"I don't mean to interupt everyone, but I think we should discuss... what happened. Just after I got to the main hall, I lost conciousness for a while, and it seems this happened to everyone else, right?" Leon scratches his head as he looks out to the group.

"Yeah, b-but that's just weird! Why would something like that happen..." Hifumi squirmed.

"Exactly! That's why we're all freaking out!" Mondo suddenly yells.

"That's not just it. You've all seen the windows, yes? All of them boarded up tight." Kiyotaka adds.

"Plus! All my stuffs missing! Even my phone!" Junko scoffs, sulking as she crosses her arms.

Sayaka's hands check her pockets in an instant, coming up empty.

"M-My PDA is gone too!" Chihiro's lip quivers.

"And the main hall here... The front exit is completley blocked by some giant metal hatch. But there was nothing like that when I first got here...!" Kiyotaka stares at said hatch intently.

"Maybe we got caught up in something bad... some sort of crime?" Junko says.

"What, like a kidnapping?" Leon's face pales, and Sayaka can't help but shudder at his words, her carefully practised nature slipping.

Before anyone else can add any more, the monitor above them flicks to life, a staticky silhouette stares down at the 15. The bell chime eventually captures everyone's attention as they stare back at it.

"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! Please make your way to the gymnaisium at your earliest convienience... That's all, I'll be waiting~!" Just as quick as it came, it was gone. The high pitched and eerie voice was so out of place it made Sayaka's skin crawl. 

"What. The hell. Was that just now?" Junko is the first to speak, but just as she does, Byakuya, who had still been ignoring everyone, walks right out of the room.

"Well then, If you'll excuse me;" Are the first words Sayaka had heard him speak, but just like that, he too was gone.

Junko yells something out after him, but Sayaka is too busy trying not to freak out to notice. Something about that voice makes her body want to escape this situation like nothing else. Sayaka's head snaps backward as she felt a hand get placed on her shoulder by Yasuhiro, the Ultimate Clairvoyant.

"Hey relax, this whole thing is probably just to get us pumped up for the entrance ceremony. Man, thank god this is all a joke!" Sayaka mutters a thank you as he walks out of the main hall towards the gym. Seeing Makoto walking by himself; Sayaka runs over with a small skip to catch up.

"Well, shall we go?" She nudges him playfully, trying anything to distract herself from the situation. He nods, and off they go to the gym. Slowly, everyone arrives.

"Where are all the other students... Why are we the only ones here?" Sayaka asks aloud as they enter. Most students were faster than them, leaving just Makoto, Kyoko, Junko and Sayaka to walk in last.

The bluenette takes a look at Kyoko. Stoic and Silent. Unsure if her calmness is an act, the idol quizzically studies her body language.  Could be she's just a lot stronger than I am, or maybe I'm just overthinking things...

"This is bad... this is bad this is bad..." Junko mutters over and over. Junko, Sayaka thinks, is an easy read. The blonde was shaking, as well as verbally telling everyone of her fear. Sayaka's attempt at distracting herself was no good, the girl quickly feels her legs turn to jelly as she clutched onto Makoto's arm for support, thanking him as he didn't seem to mind. The gym looks like a simple entrance ceremony, and that puts her nerves at ease. Could Yasuhiro actually be correct? Speaking of, he seems to be very content with himself, but Sayaka struggles to tell if that's from overconfidence or ignorance of the situation. 

"See? Told ya! It's totally normal entrance ceramony stuff." He grins wide, helping some of the students, calm down. 

"Yasuhiro was right...?" Sayaka says aloud, letting out a shaky breath. 

Everything was looking up.

Then  he  spoke.

"Hey there, howdy, hello! Is everyone here? Good! Then let's get things rolling!" The same eerie voice from the monitor speaks seemingly from nowhere. Many of the students began looking around for the source of the disembodied voice until their attention was grabbed by the stage.

A bear. A teddy bear half painted white half black jumps onto the podium, sitting atop it. It would almost be cute if not for the eerie tension in the room. The students all stare in a mix of amazement and fear until someone breaks the silence.

"A... A teddy bear?" Chihiro questions.

"I am  not  a teddy bear!" it replies "I... am... Monokuma! And  I  am this schools headmaster!" The bear's static face stuck in a smile was so jarring, so creepy. Sayaka felt all her anxieties turning into outright terror.

"T-That teddy bear can talk?!" Hifumi screeched.

"I'm sure it just has a speaker in it, please calm down!" Kiyotaka cried out.

"Y-You're the least calm one here!" Toko fired back at him.

"Hey, come on now! I already told you, I am NOT a teddy bear!" The bear's red eye lit up, causing the students to whimper. "I'm Monokuma! And I'm your headmaster!"

"I-It moved!" Hifumi once again screamed.

"Man, relax. It's probably some remote control toy or somthin'." Mondo scolded, only for Monokuma to growl at him.

"Okay! One more time. I'm not a teddy bear, I'm not a toy, I am  Monokuma ! Your  headmaster !" He stomped his foot in anger. "Anyway, welcome to your new living quarters! So now I'm guessing, you're wondering how long you'll be guests of our program? Well the answer's easy! Just the rest of your lives."

"Y-You... You cant be serious!" Leon tightened his fist.

"We'll be here... forever?" Chihiro's lip quivered.

"Aww don't fret, we have an amazing budget, and your needs will be satisfied as long as you stay!"

"That's not the issue!" Sayaka yelled up at the bear. "What do you mean 'the rest of our lives'? Some of us have families and friends to go back to, we cant stay here!"

"Well, if you all want to leave so bad, there is a loophole!" Even though his face didn't move, Sayaka could feel the grin grow wider on Monokuma's face.

Byakuya's head snapped up in focus. "Please, do enlighten us on this 'loophole.'"

"Why; graduation of course! If you graduate, you get to leave!" Monokuma put his hands on his hips.

"Ah! See you guys, nothin to worry about, he's just tryin to get us psyched up for the semester!" Yasuhiro added.

"Oh! But it's not your normal graduation... In order to graduate, you must become Blackened, and pass a class trial!"

"...Blackened?" Kyoko asked.

"Yep! In order to become Blackened, you must disrupt the harmony of the communal life everyone else staying here is living! If you disrupt that harmony, you and you alone will be blackened, and if you're caught as the culprit of disrupting the harmony, you'll be punished instead!"

"What do you mean by 'disrupt the harmony'?" Byakuya's fists tightened, and it seemed as if he already had the answer to his question yet wanted confirmation.

"Oh? Well that's quite simple. If one student were to...  murder another ." The gym was left in silence for just a few moments before a sudden uproar came from all of them.

"M-Murder?!" Makoto yelled.

"S-Say whaaaaaat?!" Hifumi clutched his heart.

Byakuya looks down, seemingly angered but at the same time... intrigued. Kyoko is the only one who seems to not be freaking out, but rather is analysing Monokuma and his movements.  If only I was like her.  Sayaka thought, jealous of the girl's ability to lie. Thankfully for her, Makoto hadn't let go and was holding her protectively.

"What do you mean by murder?" Sakura clenched her fists as she asked.

"Stabbing, strangling, bludgeoning, crushing, hacking, drowning, igniting! It doesn't matter how! The student who kills and gets away with it gets to leave! The rest is up to you, give it your all to achieve the best outcome in the worst way possible! Oh I can't wait to see how you kill each other~" Monokuma gave a wave goodbye but was stopped.

"W-What the hell do you mean? Kill each other!?" Leon screamed.

"To kill each other is to kill each other. This is a school, I'm sure you can find a dictionary somewhere." Monokuma put a hand to his chin.

"We know what it means, that's not the problem! Why do we have to do that?!" Hina was on the verge of tears.

"Yeah, what she said! This crap's gone way too far... come on, why wont the teachers come and save me already!?" Yasuhiro cried out. "Come on man, let us out of here!"

'Not happening, bub! During the length of this game, no one in, no one out. No one but the students are allowed in here for this whole game, and not one of you students gets to leave either! Well, unless one of you kills, that is... Thems the rules!' Monokuma snickered. "Listen, I'll only say this one more t-" Monokuma mimics choking as he was suddenly grabbed by the throat. Mondo Owada was holding him up with a single hand, the animatronic bear flailing in his grasp.

"Listen up asshole, this shit's gone  way  too far. The fuck kinda joke is this!?" Mondo's voice boomed like thunder, and none of the students were able to do anything but watch him. 

"H-Hey! Attacking the headmaster is a violation of school regulations!" Monokuma yelped as his attacker tightened his hold.

"Shut the fuck up! Let me out of here or I swear to christ I'll-" Mondo stopped talking as a loud beep came from Monokuma. Then another... and another. He just kept beeping. "What? Is that all it took to break you?" But the beeping only got more intense. "Stop that goddamn beeping and say something!"

"Shut up and throw it!" Kyoko yelled with ferocity, enough to stun Mondo. "Hurry up and throw it!"

Mondo was stunned for a moment but in the end, gave Kyoko a nod. Just as he pulled his arm back ready to throw, Monokuma exploded in his hand. The bright flash and ear-piercing noise caused Sayaka to scream. Unable to hear anything but the ringing in her ears and the beat of her heart. Sayaka dropped to the floor with Makoto on top of her. Sayaka clutched her head trying to protect herself as she got down. It took a while for her to calm down, tears still poured down her face as she slowly looked up. Mondo was lying on the stage barely moving, a large burn scaring up the arm that held Monokuma. Most of them were still reeling from the shock, but Kyoko was on the move. Jumping atop the stage, she ran to Mondo's side. Wincing at the sight of his burns, Kyoko hesitated, her hands slightly shaking. Putting a hand on his neck and one over his mouth to check his breathing and heartbeat. Before she could do anything more, another Monokuma jumped on stage seemingly out of nowhere, shoving her onto her back.

"Alright that's it. Out of the way!" he grumbled, picking up Mondo on a stretcher with a second Monokuma before carrying him out of the gym. It would be comical on tv or in a game. Finally, a third Monokuma jumped up on stage.

"There's four of them!?" Hifumi yelled, only to be hit in the arm by Leon. 

"Is that really where you're focusing?! We could've died!" He yelled.

"Alright alright settle down. He'll be fine, and get to live. But if any of you dare to defy me again, I'll bring all my might!" Monokuma stands tall and proud. "Here, I'm delighted to hand out these! The E-Handbooks!" Before any of them can react, Monokuma threw a handful of tablets toward the students, with each person picking up the closest one.

"Now, these devices have a lot of nifty features! Such as a map of the school, a record on each student, the rules and regulations, and more! Go see for yourself, and happy killing!" Before anyone can say another word, he's gone.

Sayaka simply stares. She stares at where Mondo had been standing, the scorched ground that could've been the death of both him and maybe more if luck was that bad. Her hands trembled uncontrollably, and the girl was unable to process anything that was happening. Her mind was screaming, her heart was pounding. She looked to see that Makoto was talking to her, but the sound of his voice never reached her. She feels gravity take its toll as she slumps to the ground, the ringing in her ears growing louder as her sight goes black, her head hitting the ground.

 ~♥️~ 

Sayaka's eyes slowly began to open, the girl groaned with a stiff soreness in all of her joints as she got out of... bed? Taking in her surroundings, she found herself in a bedroom that she'd never seen before. A nice shade of pink covered half the furniture in the room, a small desk in the corner, and a table with a set of chairs by it adjacent to the bed. It would've been cozy if not for the familiar metal plates covering the windows. Sayaka slowly waddled into the bathroom, splashing water onto her face to try and wake herself up. Slowly, her breathing returned to normal, it wasn't until then that Sayaka had even noticed her panicked breathing. Sayaka looked up at her own reflection, scowling at the imperfection. She carefully crafted her face just like always, picking apart the assets of her appearance to the perfectly crafted look of an idol.

It was a practised skill, having to learn from reactions from every performance. The shape of her eyes, the perfect way to smile, the way to obtain the perfect aura of 'cute' and 'talented'. Happy with her work, Sayaka returned to the main room, only now noticing a note on the table. They were notes about the assigned dorms. Each of the girl's bathrooms had locks, whilst the boys did not. The boys were given a toolkit and the girls were given a sewing kit as... weapons.  That's right...  Sayaka sighed as she remembered their instructions.  Kill if you want to leave...? How could... How could anyone...  

Shaking the thought away, Sayaka turned on her E-Handbook for the first time, her own name flashing on the screen before the idol quickly tapped on the rules and regulations.

• Rule #1: Students may reside only within the school. Leaving campus is an unacceptable use of time.
• Rule #2: "Nighttime" is from 10 pm to 7 am. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution.
• Rule #3: Sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory will be seen as sleeping in class and punished accordingly.
• Rule #4: With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore Hope's Peak Academy at your discretion.
• Rule #5: Violence against headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited, as is the destruction of surveillance cameras.
• Rule #6: Anyone who kills a fellow student and becomes "blackened" will graduate, unless they are discovered.
• Rule #7: Once a murder takes place, a class trial will begin shortly thereafter. Participation is mandatory for all surviving students.
• Rule #8: If the guilty party is exposed during the class trial, they alone will be executed.
• Rule #9: If the guilty party is not exposed, they alone will graduate, and all remaining students will be executed.
• Rule #10: There may be new additions to the school rules according to the convenience of the headmaster.

Sayaka sighed with frustration, tapping away from the rules to the map as she made her way to the exit, walking out of the dorm room towards the dining hall. Sayaka didn't care who, but she had an intense urge for human contact, she  needed  to find someone. Sayaka shoved the door to the dining hall open with a bit too much strength, accidentally making a loud entrance as everyone inside turned to give her their attention. Par from Byakuya, Toko and Mondo, everyone was there. Makoto got out of his seat, rushing over with a smile.

"Sayaka, Are you okay?" He asked as he quickly ran to her side.

"I am... What happened? Did I miss anything after I..." Her voice trailed off.

"Not much, we learnt Mondo was going to be in the nurse's office for a few days, but it's locked for the rest of us." Makoto rubbed the back of his head. At the same time, Yasuhiro walked up to greet Sayaka as well.

"Hey! Glad to see you're up and okay. I had to carry you to your room after you passed out. But I did predict you'd be fine, glad I was right!" His grin was wide and proud.

"Oh? Thank you, Yasuhiro." Sayaka gave a polite nod, unsure what to say as Makoto guided her to the table, the idol taking a seat between him and Celeste.

"Ah, Sayaka dear. Are you alright?" Celeste asked as she put down the cup of tea she was nursing.

"Oh, yeah I'm okay! I know how I look, but I'm actually pretty strong! I've built up some pretty good muscle jumping up and down on stage!" Sayaka tried her best not to worry anyone. Meanwhile, a tray of food was placed down before her by Sakura.

"It's good to eat after a stressful event." She had a soft smirk. Despite her natural intimidating look, Sakura was quite friendly. 

Sayaka was slowly picking at her meal until the door opened once more. Byakuya entered in with Toko ghosting behind. The two sat at a table, off by themselves. The former not seeming happy with the latter's company. Kiyotaka took the opportunity to clear his throat loudly, standing up and placing his hands on the table to get everyone's attention.

"Alright, despite Mondo's absense, I believe we should discuss everything we've found around the school!" He happily took the lead like a class rep. "The sooner we find out what's going on, the sooner we get out of here!"

"Alright... Guess I'll start?" Junko crossed her arms. "There's a dorm for each of us, and each dorm has a nameplate and drawing of us on it, so they've all been assigned already."

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

"Chihiro and I tested it, and we found out that all of them are soundproof! I totally screamed my lungs out and they couldn't hear me." Junko twirled a strand of her hair in betwixt her fingers.

"Y-Yeah, that's right." Chihiro smiled shyly.

"Sakura and I went around testing all the metal plates to see if we could get one loose, but none of them are budging." Leon sulked.

"I tried as hard as I could, I am sorry." Sakura looked away. "However in the process we noticed a blocked off staircase, we were unable to unlock the next floor as well."

"There are quite a few of locked rooms. The nurses office, the sauna, both sets of stairs and the room behind the dining hall are all locked." Byakuya stated.

"I mainly just checked out the kitchen, Hina was with me too!" Makoto beamed. "It's got quite the assortment of equipment, cutlery and food. So... if we are staying here, we'll at least be well fed!"

"Something I'd like to add." Kyoko cut in. "The rooms I've seen and the map on the e-handbooks do not match. All of the locked rooms do not appear, so we could be missing even more locked areas than we're aware of."

Sayaka quizzically looked back at Kiyotaka, who immediately checked his handbook. "S-She's right... But, what's the point of all these locked rooms?"

"I doubt if we just ask Monokuma he'd tell us." Hifumi sighed.

The meeting wasn't much longer. More talk about the first floor and everyone's theories. Who's kidnapped them, whether or not someone would actually kill, which Sayaka was very thankful for the next change of topic after that. Sayaka sighed a breath of relief, realizing most people there were more friendly than they looked. Byakuya didn't engage in conversation with anyone, however. The affluent progeny didn't straight up ignore them either. With Makoto enriched in conversation with Chihiro and Hina, Sayaka scooted her chair over to sit with Kyoko, as just like Byakuya she was merely listening in.

"Sayaka, how are you holding up?" She suddenly notices her presence. Sayaka glances quickly at Kyoko's form. Her posture was well kept, with a soft gracefulness to how she carried herself. As if she was to be proper and respectful at all times. Yet, despite that Sayaka couldn't help but notice the oddness of her attire. Even now whilst eating, Kyoko kept on those black, leather gloves that she'd been wearing when they met.

"Better, but it's probably not good to adjust to this place, right?" Sayaka asked, returned by a nod from Kyoko.

"Exactly." She smiled a little. A rare sight, Sayaka was sure. Sayaka was almost surprised, as although she had just looked Kyoko up and down studying her, the idol traced the mysterious girl's eyes... she was doing the same. Kyoko's eyes gestured as if going along with her thoughts, almost exactly the same as Makoto's earlier...

"I'm not a doll you know, I'm alive!" Sayaka assures her, knowing well Kyoko was thinking something along those lines. If Sayaka had a dollar for every time someone had thought that exact thing of her, she'd be rich. 

"Wha- How did-" Kyoko's eyes widen, taken aback.  It's always fun when I nail that~  Sayaka thinks to herself.

"I told you, I'm psychic!" The idol stared into Kyoko's eyes as if staring into the void before continuing with her shtick. "Kidding, I just have good intuition!" Kyoko gives Sayaka a small chuckle softly. Sayaka smiles back, content with her efforts. At their first meeting, Sayaka assumed she'd be like a block of ice, but it seemed Sayaka was melting her already.

"Right, right. Sorry for thinking that, even if you're not actually psychic."

"Well, you never know." Sayaka brought a hand up to her chin, pulling a silly 'smug' face. "I may just be the Ultimate Psychic in disguise."

The two continue talking for a while before the same bell as last time chimes, the monitor above flicking to life. All conversation comes to a halt, and it's hauntingly silent. Monokuma sitting in an office chair holding a martini comes on the screen, rather than the staticky image like last time. All eyes are on the monitor, terrified of anything he has to announce.

"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 forbidden! Okay then... sweet dreams, everyone! Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..." And with that, the screen flicked off.

Byakuya got out of his seat with a scoff. "Very well then, goodnight." He said it almost rudely, yet it was better than Sayaka thought it would be. One by one, each of them made their way out of the dining hall, and with Junko as the last one out the door, said doors slammed shut with an audible lock.

Kiyotaka was walking side by side with Celeste, and after hearing something she said into his ear, he ran ahead to the front of the group with a shout. "Everyone! Celeste has an idea that I believe we should all do! The dining hall opens at 7 a.m. We believe we should meet there for breakfast every morning as a head count! In case..." His trailing off is more than he had to say, no one misunderstood what he was implying.

"That's not the worst idea." Byakuya sighed, "Very well, I'll see you all at morning." Before anyone could say anything else, he pushed past Kiyotaka and slammed his door shut. Celeste smiled at the agreement to her idea that everyone seemed to give, even Toko who up until now acted like she wanted nothing to do with anyone there. One-by-one everyone walked into their rooms, with Makoto, Kyoko and Sayaka as the last ones outside. Happily saying goodnight to them, Sayaka entered her own room, making sure the door was locked several times that night before going to sleep.

 End of prologue. 

 Students Remaining: 15 

Chapter Text

 Chapter 1: A Royal Catalyst Lost in Scanslation. 

 Daily Life 

After getting dressed that morning, Sayaka walked out of her room with a spring in her step. With a newfound determination, Sayaka swore not to let anything Monokuma threw at her affect her any longer. No matter what it was, she would stare it down and throw it back in Monokuma's face! ...Metaphorically, of course. She'd probably get executed if she tried that. Regardless, Sayaka wasn't naive. She knew deep down that Monokuma was not currently her biggest threat.

"If one student were to...  murder another ."

Monokuma's words echoed in her mind. Sayaka had grown up in a world of liars. Lies were a natural part of her day-to-day life. The group as a whole had sworn off the killing game. Barely half of them sounded truthful.

To Sayaka, she knew that it was really a matter of time. Who would crack first, which lie would be exposed, and which dream would outpower the other? Sayaka had a dream. That dream of her perfected career was what fueled her, motivated her. Her dream had overpowered her, made her do things she'd regretted, things she wouldn't have done without it. If she had to kill for her dream?

Sayaka wasn't sure if she had it in her to resist.

She thought of herself as one able to hold onto her ideals, and murder certainly wasn't one of them. However, she wouldn't sit and pretend like she thought it was never going to happen, that no one would have the urge. Sayaka let her feet carry her toward wherever they ran, as her eyes scanned every room and wall for just what she was looking for.

A weapon.

Sayaka had seen it yesterday. Something about it stood out to her. A gold-coated sword was left sitting in the gym. Double-checking no one was around to see her, Sayaka opened the cabinet and gently grabbed the handle. Lifting the sword off its display, she brought it closer to inspect it. It was blunt. Good enough for self-defence. Quickly retreating back to her dorm, Sayaka stashed it in a nice spot next to her bed, that way she'd be able to defend herself if... worse came to worst.

Satisfied with her efforts, she had a small moment of triumph before noticing a shine coming from her hands... the gold coating had completely come off just from her touch.

After annoyingly washing her hands, Sayaka heard the monitor in her bedroom turn on. The chime of the bell caused her heart rate to increase slightly.

"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!"

Monokuma had gone as quickly as he came, and Sayaka couldn't be more glad to not have to see or hear him again for the time being. Taking this as her queue, she once again exited her dorm room with a happy jog toward the dining hall. Opening the door, she noticed Kiyotaka, already getting to work in the kitchen.

"Ah! Sayaka, hello and good morning!" He called out from the kitchen window with a large grin before exiting with his meal. The two swapped places as Kiyotaka sat down with his breakfast, Sayaka scooting past him into the kitchen to make her own. Whilst preparing herself a small breakfast, she heard the sound of the doors once again.

"Ehehe... Good morning." Chihiro grins with rosy cheeks, following behind Sayaka into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Chihiro!" Sayaka smiled back, tying her hair up to avoid getting in her food. The two girls cooked their individual meals as the dining hall continued to get more and more full.

Finally happy with her meal, Sayaka exited the kitchen to find Asahina and Sakura walking into the kitchen past her, whilst she went to sit next to Kiyotaka. The five of them ate together until a few minutes had passed.

This group could be considered the model high schoolers, always on time and always on the top of their game, with an urge of punctuality.

"Sorry, I'm late! My make-up would just NOT cooperate with me this morning." Junko calls out as she enters, flashing a peace sign at the group. She's not alone, however. Behind her are two more newcomers. Both Hifumi and-

"Mondo?!" Asahina gasps, getting out of her chair to rush over to him. "Y-You're okay?!"

"Ha! Relax, nothing I can't handle!" He says with a smile. Sayaka can't help but frown... the smile he's giving is another lie. The idol can't help but wince at the sight of his bandaged arm, the burns going all the way up to his neck. Sensing her worry, he places a reassuring pat on her head as he attempts to go to the kitchen.

"Sit down. I'll take care of it." Sakura instructs, already on her way to the kitchen. Mondo tries to argue, but the power of Asahina's pout is enough to get him to back down.

This group, Mondo, Hifumi and Junko, could be categorised as more relaxed high schoolers. A little more lax with their time. Though Sayaka got the impression Makoto belonged to this group as well, his absence caused a slight worry to overwhelm her.

It wasn't soon long after that the third and final group had shown their face. Toko, Byakuya, Kyoko, Celeste, Hiro, Leon and Makoto had entered as a large group. Everyone began collecting their food, and eventually, we all sat at the long table together, par for Byakuya and Toko who sat off on their own nearby.

Sayaka hummed a small tune to herself, drowned out by the noise of conversation. Looking back and forth, she felt a sense of familiarity with this group she'd found herself suddenly a part of. If it weren't for the circumstances... she'd actually love it here. It was almost like they were a normal class that could get along. Before she could think on it too long, the boy next to her stood up, slamming his hands down with a smack to gain the room's attention.

"Everyone! Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to come together. I know it's been said, but to get out of here cooperation is essential!" Kiyotaka began, "The first step of that is this breakfast meeting, so we can become friends and build trust. Also, as you've seen, Mondo is back from the infirmary, I personally have caught him up on what he has missed. Unless anyone has an announcement, that will be all for this meeting, we may resume the conversation."

"Well? Did anyone discover anything?" Byakuya asked the table, looking bored. When no one had a reply, he sighed. "You're fools if you've been doing nothing with your time."

"Seriously guys? No one found anything? It can be anything at all! It can be about who's doing this, why we're here, how to get out, no one has a single thing!?" Junko almost yells, slamming her hands on the table as she leaps out of her chair.

"You're going to die," Celeste smirks, causing Junko to fall back into her chair.

"H-Huh?"

"You're panicking in front of everyone here... You're practically screaming 'I'm weak, target me!' Blatantly showing off your vulnerability is idiotic. I would not be surprised if you were the first to go..."

Junko fumbled for something to say, unable to form a proper comeback. She simply sat down and stared at her food, fists clenched. The room was nearly silent. The air felt heavy.

Taking this as a queue to leave, Sayaka collected her empty plate, exiting the dining hall after washing it.

"Ah, Sayaka!" She heard her name called out behind her, spinning on her heel, she saw Makoto chasing after her. Giving him a soft giggle, the idol walked with him endlessly down the hallway, the two quickly picking up conversation.

"Hey, Makoto... could it be?" Sayaka stopped, looking him up and down. "Do you remember me?"

"Huh?"

"You know... You went to Blackroot Junior High? You were in class 2~?"

"Oh, yeah! I was!" Makoto smiled. "I never expected you to remember me though..."

"I knew it!" Sayaka gave herself a little fist pump of victory. "We did go to the same school for three whole years."

"Oh believe me I know! It's just you were so popular and I was so... the opposite." He blushed a little saying it.

Sayaka made a mock gasp, covering her face with her hands to hide her grin. "Oh, I knew it! I came off as a total snob..."

"O-Oh! Wait that came out wrong I-"

He cut himself off when he heard her giggling, "Just teasing~!" She pulled her hands away as if playing peek-a-boo, which caused him to sigh a breath of relief. Quite cute honestly.

"F-Fine! I take that back." He said with an equally silly grin on his face, causing the idol to laugh even more.

"I'm really glad you're here... N-Not that I want you in a killing game! I-I mean, it would be a lot worse if I didn't know anyone, you know?" Sayaka sighs.

"Oh, yeah me too." His smile goes softer.

"Listen, may I ask you just one more question?"

"So polite...! What's going on?" Makoto stiffens a little. Internally, Sayaka can't help but be a little smug.  I got him~

"And so polite again, I'd like to ask... Do you have a  girlfriend ?" Sayaka leans forward, hiding her smile.

"Wh-What!? That's like, way outta nowhere!" Makoto gasps before taking a deep breath and stating; "No, I don't... a girlfriend? Not at all."

"Then...do you at least have a crush on someone?"

"W-Wait a sec, what's going on here? Why are you asking all these questions?" His cheeks are flushed red.

"I was just curious, so I thought I'd ask. Is that bad? It's only natural I'd be curious, right? Because we're..." Sayaka trailed off, rolling her hand as if asking him to continue for her.

"We're...?"

"Classmates!" She does a little clap. "But more than just classmates... we're also..."

"A-Also!?"

"Friends!" She giggles so loud it echoes in the hallway. His blushing mess of a face is all Sayaka needs as her reward. Eventually, he joins in on the laughing, and as the two calm down Sayaka speaks once again. "So? Aren't you going to ask me?"

"A-Ask you what?" Makoto is still blushing.

"Well, if I have a partner?" She smiles.

"Uhm... Do you?" Makoto hesitates.

"Nope! But I do have a crush on someone in here..." She comes to a halt, staring intensely at Makoto's eyes, waiting for that certain sparkle that says exactly what he's thinking so she could reply, "Well... it may or may not be!"

"W-Wha?! Did I say that outloud!?" Makoto stammers.

"Nope! I told you, I'm psychic!" Sayaka grins, standing on her tip-toes to pat Makoto on the head like the good innocent boy he is. "Kidding, I'm kidding... I just have pretty good intuition!" The poor boy was frazzled, so instead of playing with her food any longer, Sayaka continued walking. "Come on, we need to work together and do our best to get out of here! Let's keep looking around~"

~♥️~

Eventually, after a long day of walking around, Makoto retired to his room, the bluenette waving him goodbye as his door closed shut. Sayaka was about to enter her own room, only to spot a flurry of pink-silvery hair exiting out of the dorm room at the end of the hall.

"Kyoko!" The idol skips over toward her. "Do you wanna hang out?"

Kyoko looks almost taken aback by the offer, let alone that someone's even talking to her. Thinking on it for a moment, she nods. "I don't see why not, will you help me investigate the school?"

"Sure thing!" And with that, the two began a thorough sweep of the first floor, inspecting any crevice they can investigate.

The purple-lit hallways are still an odd sight, Sayaka thinks. The black and white checkered floor makes her wonder if this was just Hope's Peak's design choice, or if it had a different look before Monokuma's reign. On their way down the hall, Kyoko quickly tests the door to the nurse's office, and despite her attempts, it remains shut. The two share a look, both unsure of why it was locked, even after Mondo's attendance. Approaching the staircase next to the gym, Sayaka did her best to try and fit between the bars blocking their path, but she wasn't that tiny. As much as she was praised for her lean figure, you'd have to be unhealthfully small and frail to fit. Kyoko attempted to fiddle with the electronic lock next to it, but this also came up empty. The two wordlessly left to go look elsewhere, but Sayaka could see it.

The slight clench of her fists, the gritting of her teeth. Despite her attempt to make appearances, Kyoko's search was clearly getting to her. She looked stressed.

"...Are you scared, Kyoko?" Sayaka carefully asks, causing the other girl to spin around, her eyes locking onto hers. After waiting a moment, all she replies is a humm, nodding for Sayaka to continue.

"Being trapped in a place like this with no clear way to get out... Are you scared?" Sayaka asks again, playing with her own hands to keep herself from being idle.

"What about you?" Kyoko quickly deflects.

"Wh-Who wouldn't be....? Of course, I'm scared, being trapped in this insane school..." Sayaka trails off.

"That's a good thing. Fear is proof that your imagination is still functioning. Frankly, I feel bad for anyone who can't feel fear." Kyoko states emotionlessly. "Without imagination, you can never deduce what action to take next."

"You never answered me, are  you  afraid?"

"Hm... 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." She looks down and closes her eyes.

"No, that's wrong." Sayaka stood tall. Kyoko looks at her in very slight shock, not expecting the rebuttal. "Sealing away your emotions, hiding them from your friends... It's unhealthy." Sayaka frowned at her hypocrisy but wasn't going to falter. "Sharing your pain can make it hurt less, venting the frustration can lessen your anxiety and stress. Sharing your joy makes it more joyful, and sharing your fear gives you courage."

It wasn't untrue. Sayaka knew that for sure. Those unable to manage the life of an idol were sure to crumble. She'd seen it plenty of times. The lies can overwhelm them.

Kyoko stares at her, unsure of what she thinks. Sayaka reached out, grabbing the girl's gloved hands, holding them in her own. "Even if it's in private, I want you to share your emotions, okay? If you're sad, cry it out! If you're angry, vent it. If you're happy then laugh out loud!"

"I..." Kyoko hesitated, so Sayaka gave her hands a gentle squeeze before she let go.

"Think about it. okay? I'll let you continue investigating on your own, I wanna get dinner before the dining hall locks. You should too, okay? See you later!" The idol waves goodbye, skipping off to the dining hall.

~♥️~

Sayaka spent the day of hopefully not many trapped in Hope's Peak talking with new friends and exploring, but alas she was finally back in her room just in time to hear the nighttime announcement. Day Two of her new life had come to an end, and her chances of getting out hadn't improved. The chance that someone will play Monokuma's sick game gets more and more likely as more time passes. Despite the continuous build-up of anxiety, Sayaka sleeps smoother than yesterday, and the breakfast meeting on Day Three is just as dull as the previous one.

Taking the time to pick out someone new, Sayaka sits next to someone she hadn't had the chance to talk to much yet. 

"Chihiro!" Sayaka called out, finding the girl by herself in the dining hall that afternoon, holding her hand like it was in pain. "Hm? What's wrong?"

"Ow... ow. Oh, Sayaka!" She exclaims like she only just noticed the other was there. "Sorry, it's nothing. I've got a mosquito bite and it's well beyond itchy, it just hurts now."

Taking a glance at her hand, pulling it a little closer. A large red bump covers the back of her hand, way bigger than your usual mosquito bite. "Were you asleep? This seems like a bad bite..."

"N-No, I was awake! I just... sorta let it suck my blood." She sheepishly explained.

"You just watched? I hate bugs, I would've smacked it the second I noticed." Sayaka shudders.

"Mosquitos are living things too, though. It might have its own mosquito family... S-Sorry, I know that's dumb..."

Sayaka winces slightly... "No, really. You don't have to apologise. But don't go scratching it, okay? That'll just make it worse." Sayaka takes the tip of her index finger, stabbing the bite with her fingernail. "Try this with your nails! It should help."

"Wow, I had no idea...! That makes it feel a lot better... T-Thank you Sayaka!" She beamed up at the idol for a moment, before her face falters. "You're so helpful..."

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Sayaka asked.

"It's just, everyone else is working so hard to get us out of here, but I'm no help at all." She admitted.

"I assure you, that's not true at all! Who else but a cool programmer like you would be able to hack our way through any system to get us out of here?" The idol smiled.

"But I haven't done anything like that, without a computer I can't do anything... If only I were stronger"

"Listen, you'll get your chance. I'm sure there'll be a time when your skills will come in handy. So you don't have to worry so much, okay?" It seemed to work, her face lit up just a little.

As the two talked, Mondo walked in with a happy wave, the sight of him caused Chihiro to stare in awe. "Mondo's strong... I wish I was like him."

"You do?" Sayaka asked, looking at the boy.

"Yeah, I know you said not to worry but... If I was strong like him, I could help!" Chihiro trails off, thinking to herself for a moment before shutting her eyes as if she were in pain. "I'm just weak..."

"That's wrong, Chi-ro, you're awesome, I know it.." Sayaka smiled, holding her hand across the table.

"'Chi-ro'?" She blushed at the nickname. Not long after, Mondo made his way over to them out of the kitchen.

"Hey, Chihiro!" The biker called out as he approached. "You wanna get stronger, yeah? Then that's that! We'll do some exercises in the gym tomorrow, I'll see you there a half hour before breakfast yeah?" Mondo's grin is sharp, and he laughs proudly as he walks out of the room before even getting a reply.

"O-Oh... I guess he overheard." Chihiro blushed from embarrassment but was smiling nonetheless. "T-Thank you Sayaka, I'm gonna go get ready for tomorrow!" Just like that, she ran out of the dining hall, even though it was only 2:30. Sayaka shook her head with a smile, thinking that the two of them were sure to get along well. Sayaka got out of her seat with a stretch, before the chime of the school announcement made her freeze.

"Ahem, this is a school announcement! Everyone report to the gym! Go go go! Attendance is  mandatory! " Monokuma announced before the monitor flicked off. Thoughts go rampant in Sayaka's mind. Shaking her head at them, she quickened her pace to the gym.

Having already been on her way, Chihiro is the first one there, followed by Kyoko and Sayaka. Not too long after, everyone arrived. Sayaka is staring intently at everyone in front of her, not sure what to do now that she was there. She almost yelped at the touch of someone's hand on her shoulder, only relaxing to see Makoto's smile behind her. It's small, but enough to ease her emotions.

" Monokuma- Appears! " The robot bear shouts from behind the students, each of them spinning around to face him as he marches through the crowd toward the stage. "Really now? Really? Our first meeting for who knows how long and not  one  of you says good morning to your principal!?" His robotic eye turns to Kiyotaka, but not even he is willing to give Monokuma the satisfaction. "Hmph, too bad. I called you all here to give you a present! But if you're going to be so rude, I'll keep it for myself!"

"G-Good morning, Sir!" Kiyotaka snapped to a bow, suddenly motivated to follow along.

"Y-You don't have to encourage him!" Toko growled, her fingers curling with bitterness.

"Be quiet." Byakuya snapped at her, before turning his attention to their captor. "You. What is it you have to give to us?"

"Hmm, well it's day three! Three! Three whole days and not  one  murder?! That's just plainly unacceptable! You all have the means, you all have the opportunity! Just what what what is missing!?"

"Motive..." Kyoko says under her breath. Monokuma beams as he points at her.

"That's right! Motive! I've brought you aaaaall here to give each and every one of you a lil eensy motive." He then brought his hands- paws? Whatever, up above the podium, suddenly holding cards, each with a name printed on them. Tossing them to the floor, he watched on as the group inevitably pick up their respective envelopes. Opening hers, Sayaka slowly pulled out the paper within. 

'You are solely responsible for killing your brother.'

"What?" Sayaka yelps, staring a hole into the paper. "What is this supposed to mean? I don't even have a brother!" She yelled, soon followed by a similar uproar.

"W-What!? No, I didn't!" Hina's face was bright red with embarrassment.

"Hm, this is news to me..." Byakuya joked uncharacteristically, putting his card in his pocket.

"Now now, some of you may be freaking out over your secrets! Buuut! Some secrets received aren't your own! If you got a secret that doesn't make sense, It's likely you got someone else's! Can you really trust anyone here when you've read a secret like that?" Monokuma giggles.

"I-I... I got my own." Chihiro choked out a sob but was quickly flanked by Mondo at her side with a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, it's alright. You gotta be strong and face it! Don't let whatever it is get to ya, alright?" His words are the softest he's spoken since they'd met, Sayaka notes... which, basically, means he just wasn't yelling. Nevertheless, it seemed to cheer her up.

"...Kyoko?" Sayaka heard Makoto whisper. Looking over, she saw the two of them sharing secrets. Kyoko scoffs after reading the one in Makoto's possession, before silently nodding.

Within the chaos of everyone's reaction to what they read, Monokuma quietly disappeared behind the podium. 

Someone here has already killed once before... the thought echoed in Sayaka's mind, unsure how to approach this issue. 

"Um, Like what the crap! Who owes the yakuza ten mil?" Junko announces to the group as a whole.

Chaos and freaking out continue for a while, most people are laughing or are in shock over the odd secrets. Only Chihiro claimed whose secret she got, everyone else remained with their mouths shut tight.

~♥️~

After the motive reveal, everyone began slowly making their way into their dorms, except for one person in particular who stood at their door. Sayaka stood watching, waiting for her to go in, yet Kyoko never did. She was standing, staring at her motive card, unmoving.

"Kyoko? Are you alright?" Sayaka asked, causing the girl to suddenly turn around, caught off guard.

She hesitated for a moment, before opening her door and going inside. Sayaka expected that to be the end of it, before noticing the door never closed behind her. After a brief moment, Kyoko's head popped out of the door frame to look at her. "Are you coming?"

With a nod, Sayaka joins Kyoko in her bedroom and instantly starts looking around. Not a single personal object or decoration was in sight. Almost everyone else had, so it was a surprising sight to see. Sitting on the chair adjacent to the bed, Sayaka sat next to Kyoko, the quiet girl quickly pocketing the secret she had. "I'm fine." She says after a long silence. "I just wasn't expecting this form of motivation. Secrets of the past...'

"Makoto had yours, right?" Sayaka asked, biting her lip.

"Oh. Did he show you?" Kyoko asked with a stern look, to which Sayaka shook her head. "Hm... Very well." Kyoko's face returned to that practised look of blank expression, yet the subtle twitch of her eye, as well as Kyoko's uncharacteristic fidgiting of her hands, exposed her. Her fingers intertwined, gently tugging on one another, as if Kyoko was wanting to remove them, yet found herself hesitating.

"Kyoko... you don't have to show me your hands if you're uncomfortable," Sayaka said, placing her hand atop Kyoko's gently.

"Ah... you know, hm?" Kyoko asked. 

"Like I said, I'm psychic." 

"But you're just kidding, right?" Kyoko leads the punchline.

"But what if I wasn't?" Sayaka said, staring into her eyes and holding her gaze. Her eyes. A pink oval of swirling patterns, her iris' was almost mesmerising. Before either one of them could say something, the nighttime announcement played, the annoying bear taunting them more. Sayaka sighed, realising she hadn't had anything to eat. "That sucks, I haven't eaten dinner yet..."

Kyoko tilted her head, thinking for a moment. Pulling her hand free of Sayaka's, she made her way over to her bedside table, opening the drawer to pull out two muesli bars, tossing one of them to Sayaka. At the idol's confused expression, Kyoko felt the need to explain. "I keep a small stock of food in my room in case. In our current circumstances, someone could poison the food supply. So if I'm ever feeling untrusting of the kitchen, I can trust this."

Sayaka nods, unwrapping hers and happily chomping down on it. "I don't like to think like that, but... that is smart. I actually did something similar."

"Are you referring to the sword you took from the gym?" Kyoko stated bluntly.

"Wha- How did you-" 

"Because I'm psychic." Kyoko playfully winked, causing Sayaka to be flabbergasted for once. The idol smiles back at her, it seems she broke beyond that mask after all. "In reality, I was simply investigating the school grounds at that time. I saw you holding the weapon, so I tailed you... You were surprisingly unperceptive for a supposed psychic."

"Well... you got me there!" Sayaka awkwardly rubbed the back of her head. "I don't want to believe anyone here would try anything, but on the chance it happens, I want to be able to protect myself. That's why I took it..."

"That's smart. Not to upset you, but with a motive introduced, it's now a matter of  when  someone snaps, not  if.  Someone  will  kill." Her voice returns to stern.

"I know... Deep down I do know, but I'm still going to have faith in everyone! That's the best that we can do. I'm always going to do my best, and I'll work with everyone here to get out, no matter what it takes." Sayaka smiles, hoping to inspire Kyoko.

Kyoko seemed content, but with the current time, Sayaka chose then to give her an awkward yet brief goodbye. Making her way back into her own room, she crawled into bed. Unsure of what the next day would bring, Sayaka tried to keep her hopes high, even if she had to lie to herself. From the stress of it all, she fell asleep in an instant.

~♥️~

Morning came with Sayaka feeling refreshed and agile. Despite her good mood, her mind was still itching on the motive. Who could've killed their own family member? And who has her secret? More importantly,  what  is her secret? Shaking her head, trying to get the thought away, she tried to remember what she said to Kyoko the night prior. Motive shmotive! No one would murder someone over a dumb secret... right? Sayaka eagerly waited in her bathroom for the water to start working again so she could start her day with a fresh shower, quickly hurrying so she wouldn't be late for the breakfast meeting!

She... was the only one there.

Sayaka had already mentally prepared herself for a scolding from Kiyotaka for her lateness, but not even he was there. "H-Hello?" Sayaka called out to the kitchen, but it was just as empty. Other than an odd metallic smell, the dining hall was completely normal. Sayaka retraced her steps back to the dorms, knocking on Makoto's door.

She waits and waits, and knocks again, only to get no reply. In a panic, she runs to the next one and tries again, and is this time met at the door by Kyoko, who can instantly sense the other girl's panic.

"Sayaka? Sorry, I didn't think I was that late to the meeting-"

"No! No one’s at the meeting! No one showed up!" Sayaka interrupted, shaking a little before another voice joined them.

"Jeez! You were in your room the whole time!? You know we have the whole class looking for you guys?" Junko scolds, stomping around the corner to greet us. "It's almost eight, you three didn't show and Taka got pissed. Thought somethin' happened to ya!"

"Oh, I'm sorry for- Wait, three?"

"Uh, yeah? Makoto's missing too!" Junko folded her arms. Sayaka felt her stomach drop, like that feeling you get at the top of a roller coaster. Running back to Makoto's door, she tried one more time, and still got no reply. Her eyes darted back to the other two, seeing a rare sight. Kyoko was similarly distressed, and wearing it openly. Sayaka would be proud if not for her worry about Makoto taking over.

"Junko, you're absolutely sure everyone but the three of us were in attendance?" Kyoko asked with a quizzical look.

"Nah, that's just what Taka said. I was a lil late too actually." Junko twirled her hair around in her fingers.

With a nod, Kyoko ran to the dining hall, before turning back to say "Sayaka, go with her, search for Makoto, I'll do the same."

"Stay safe!" Sayaka called back, turning to Junko as if beckoning her to lead the way. Just as they were about to check the dorms, the monitor above them flicked on, with the all-too-familiar bell chime Sayaka still feared...

Ding   dong. Bing bong.  

"Attention, attention everyone! A body has been discovered! Puhuhu! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!" And with that, the monitor flickers off.

Chaos and madness... That's all that went through Sayaka's head. She couldn't stay calm. She couldn't keep it in. Her whole body was filled with dread. It had happened. She almost felt the urge to vomit. Not waiting for Junko, Sayaka ran back to the dining hall where she had left Kyoko. Slamming the doors open, Junko raced past her into the kitchen. Trying to keep up, Sayaka ran in following behind, seeing the two squatting down next to one of the cabinets, a look of sorrow dawning Junko's face.

"Kyoko! Did you-" Before she could finish her sentence, Sayaka noticed the gruelling sight of blood coating the inside of the cabinet door. Turning the corner to see inside, Sayaka falls onto one knee, trying to keep herself from collapsing at the sight. It had been the most horrible sight she'd witnessed up to that point in her life. Staring at their discovery, time seemed to freeze.

Sayaka wasn't sure exactly how long she sat there staring at the corpse of her childhood crush, none other than Makoto Naegi, the Ultimate Lucky Student, lying in a puddle of his own blood.

Chapter 1: A Royal Catalyst Lost in Scanslation.

Deadly Life

Students remaining: 14

Chapter Text

Chapter 1: A Royal Catalyst Lost in Scanslation.

Deadly Life

There's no mistaking it... the corpse lying before her belonged to Makoto.

Kyoko had found him there in the kitchen, that's what the announcement was for... for Makoto. Sayaka had promised herself she wouldn't let anything in this school affect her anymore, but this? It took Sayaka a few moments before she realised she had begun screaming. Clutching the sides of her head, Sayaka began to sob. Her mind was overwhelmed, she hardly even noticed the gathering crowd as the rest came in too.

"You guys! I-Is it true?" Kiyotaka's face was ghost white, clearly unprepared for anything he might see. Sayaka was in a daze, unable to even tell who it was that was helping her stand up and taking her away. Kiyotaka pushed past and stormed over to Kyoko and Junko, only for him to scream as well.

Mondo guided a still crying Sayaka to the table, sitting her down as she barely got out a 'thank you'. Most of them were standing in the dining hall, only Kyoko, Junko and Kiyotaka remained in the kitchen. With a face of sorrow, Kiyotaka walked out of the kitchen to address the group.

"Um... Everyone?" His voice was weak and frail. "I'm afraid it's not a joke... Makoto is dead." He said it quick and matter-of-fact, like ripping off a bandaid. 

"What the hell... what the hell is this?!" Leon shouted.

"It's a dream... This is a dream! It's all just a dream!" Hifumi was hyperventilating.

"Makoto hm? How disappointing." Celeste played with a strand of her hair, unbothered.

"Shut up... someone died! D-Don't say stuff like that!" Hina clenched her fist but was calmed when Sakura placed a hand on her back gently.

"So... does this mean we'll have to do that... class trial thing?" Chihiro asked on the verge of tears. Sayaka mentally thanked that Chihiro didn't have to go in and see Makoto's body as she did.

"Naturally, it seems we'll have to play detective and solve this murder." Byakuya tilts his glasses forward, looking awfully smug despite the terrifying situation. "Isn't that right, Monokuma?"

The bear in question had waddled up seemingly out of nowhere, grinning wide as he put his paws to his face with a snicker. "That's right Byakuya! You all better do a good job investigating! But after all, none of you are exactly experts on this, huh? Fret not, because I brought;  The Monokuma File! " The dining hall was suddenly filled with repeated beeping. Everybody's E-Handbooks flashed with a notification. Sayaka stuck her hand into her skirt pocket, fishing out the device. "I've collected each and every little fact I'm willing to share about the murder! You should see that it'll give you a head start. Anyway, you have limited time, so... see you sooooon~!"

What is this...?  Sayaka thought, shaking in her seat.  I have to help investigate Makoto's murder?   If we can't figure out who did it, we all die... I have to do this. For not only our sake but Makoto's as well!

Investigation: Start!  

Sayaka looked around. It seemed no one else had the same drive that she had. With a frown, she called out to the group as a whole. "Everyone, let's take a look at the 'Monokuma File', we may be able to get something from it."

' The victim of this murder is Makoto Naegi, the body was discovered at 8 a.m in the dining hall's kitchen.'  Sayaka can't help but shudder mid-reading, but that doesn't stop her.  'The victim has received a few injuries to the arms; including but not limited to a fractured wrist and bruising on the upper biceps. The killing blow was from blunt force head trauma, killing him almost instantly. Time of death was 9:30 p.m. the previous day of discovery.' 

That seems to be the only decent information it's willing to give, yet info such as his blood type and date of birth are there... Unsure how that could be useful, Sayaka began putting the E-Handbook away before a new notification captured her attention. '         The Monokuma File       has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.'

Sayaka glanced around, a specific person in mind; she scanned the dining hall before seeing him. "Kiyotaka, I need to talk to you!"

Despite being shaken up earlier, he seems back to his regular self. "Alright! How can I help?"

"What happened this morning at the meeting?" Sayaka asked, straight to the point. "When I got here, no one was around."

"Ah! That's right, you too were absent! Very well, allow me to catch you up to speed: I arrived first, waiting for the doors to open at 6:50 sharp, Chihiro was the first to arrive other than myself, Aoi and Sakura were not far behind her. Mondo came a little later by himself. Then a larger group consisting of Toko, Byakuya, Celeste, Yasuhiro, and Leon arrived. This was almost 7:20. It was odd to me that you, Kyoko, Hifumi, Junko and Makoto had not yet arrived, so at 7:30 we came to the conclusion to look for you all! We found Hifumi in the hallway as soon as we started searching, Junko not long after, coming out of her room once we knocked."

"I see... But I was in my room, I'm pretty sure Kyoko was too, why didn't you knock for us?" Sayaka asked, looking up at him quizzically.

"I... am not sure. I was part of the group checking the rest of the first floor, I had been looking in the gym when the discovery announcement was made." Kiyotaka looked down in disappointment. "You two were simply in your rooms? I'm shocked we didn't find you immediately."

"I guess we'll have to figure out why at the trial?" Sayaka gulped, giving him a nod as her E-Handbook beeped with the new truth bullet

 '      Kiyotaka's Account       has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

Sayaka gave the dining hall one final glance, hoping to find any differences from her memory. She couldn't tell at first glance, but the idol had a strange feeling. She counted the number of tables and chairs, and that was the same. The potted plants were the same too. It took her multiple glances before realising their positions had been changed! The plant pots were now asymmetrical. Walking toward the out-of-place potted plant, Sayaka noticed the smell of metal getting stronger. Gently lifting the plant over, she discovered a small splash of blood hidden beneath.

If this is out here... does that mean Makoto was actually attacked out here instead? Maybe... but if not that, what else could it mean?

 '      Hidden Bloodstain       has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

Unable to find any more clues in the dining hall, Sayaka made her way into the kitchen. She hesitated at the door, unsure if she was ready to face reality. She had to remind herself that this was all real. Makoto's death wasn't a lie, and she had to be strong in order to overcome it.

With that mentality in mind, Sayaka walked forward into the kitchen.

~♥️~

The kitchen had become somewhat crowded, Kyoko and Junko still leaning over the body, whilst Sakura and Mondo stood at their side. Sayaka, however, never noticed the fifth-party watching from the corner. 

"Ah, Sayaka," Celeste greeted her, waving her over. "You are alright, yes? We had missed you at the morning meeting."

Sayaka sighed, explaining the same story again for the third time, much to Celeste's amusement. Waving her off, Celeste returned to the corner, silently watching.

"The Monokuma File seems to be correct about his injuries," Junko explained, seeing Sayaka approach. "His arms were definitely struck by a blunt weapon a few times. However, it also missed an injury. He has two head wounds, not one." The fashionista wasted no time explaining their findings.

"Yes, Junko was surprisingly adept in analysing Makoto's injuries..." Kyoko added, narrowing her eyes at the girl in question.

"Is it that weird I actually paid attention in those first aid classes?" Junko grabs a strand of hair and twirls it around her fingers impatiently.

'      Kyoko and Junko's Examination Summary       has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.'

Sayaka got down on her knees next to them, looking at Makoto's lifeless body lying there... Just yesterday, the boy had been so full of life, his smile warm and inspiring, his hands warm and soft. Now they were cold and hard, his face scowling like he had been in pain.

"Was there anything else on him?" Sayaka asked, brushing Makoto's hair away from his eyes as if he would be comforted by that. She winced at how he felt. It was so cold...

"He had some note in his jacket pocket." Junko began before Kyoko cut her off.

"It asked Makoto to meet at the dining hall at 9 p.m." Kyoko whispered, although she gained a glare from Junko.

"So his killer asked to meet with him here?" Sayaka asked.

"It's certainly possible," Kyoko stated, not saying much else.

 '      Note on Makoto       has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

"That's not all, however. It should be clear if you analyse the room, but there was clearly a struggle between Makoto and his attacker." Kyoko stated.

"What do you mean?" Sayaka asked. "Makoto fought back?"

"Well, not exactly. It's possible he did but It's also possible his attacker simply missed a few swings and damaged the equipment here." Kyoko points at a stainless steel bench not too far from the cabinet, and upon further inspection, there's a noticeable dent in the centre. "If you follow the damages, you can see the path the combat took, it's a continuous path toward the cabinet from the door to the kitchen."

 '      Signs of a Struggle       has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

"Hey, Kyoko?" Sayaka puts on a faux smile, placing a hand on Kyoko's shoulder. "We can do this, get through it I mean... together!"

The silver-haired girl looked up from Makoto's body, meeting eyes with the bluenette, and sighed. A frown forms on Kyoko's lips, giving the idol a look of disappointment. "You were the one who told me to wear my emotions on my sleeve. You can let your emotions out right now instead of maintaining a façade."

Sayaka's smile fades when Kyoko calls her out to her face. "Sorry..." The idol murmured before feeling a gloved hand grip her fingers.

"It's okay," Kyoko replied quietly, giving the idol a sympathetic squeeze before releasing her hand and returning to work.

"Hey, guys? Do ya think his killer is the one that got his secret? Or if he got theirs?" Junko asked, carefully putting down Makoto's arm just as she found it.

"Well, the latter isn't a possibility." Kyoko began.

"Oh yeah! He uh... We know who he got, and they have an alibi!"

"You don't have to hide it, it's fine. Makoto got my secret, and as Sayaka said: We stayed in my dorm together from 9 until after the nighttime announcement."

"Pardon Moi~" Celeste walked over to the group from her corner, taking her time nice and painfully slow. Usually, she walked with elegance, but there was something off about it. "If I'm not mistaken, Kyoko, you said Makoto was the one to receive your secret? And you were unmistakably absent from this morning's meeting, hm?" She puts a cheeky hand to her mouth, "How interesting."

"But Kyoko was-" Sayaka began to defend her, only for the girl in question to place her hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"Save it for the trial," Kyoko instructed.

 '      Kyoko's Alibi       has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

Sayaka decided to leave Makoto's body to Kyoko and Junko, who were clearly more useful at it than she could be. Instead, she concentrated on the two people she had yet to speak with, who did not appear to be investigating.

"What are you two doing?" Sayaka asked Mondo and Sakura, who seemed content simply watching.

"Kyoko said someone might try and tamper with evidence or some crap? I'm not that good at this investigating bull crap, so I volunteered!" Mondo grunted with his arms crossed.

"Indeed, and by chance it was the person on guard duty, we both have been signed up on it to not only watch over the scene but also each other." Sakura nodded.

Sayaka nods, thinking for a moment before asking the two of them: "What about that motive Monokuma was talking about? I mean... who's secrets did you guys get? Do you know?"

"I'm not sure who's secret it was, but mine said; 'You killed 14 siblings for your own success," Sakura stated matter-of-factly. 

"Mine said something dumb about love, being a loner or some crap. You think the secrets will point at who did it?" Mondo asked.

"I'm not sure, but I think it will help." Sayaka gave a nod with a determined look.

 '      Monokuma's Motive       has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

Sayaka looked around the kitchen one last time, trying to remember how it appeared before the murder. It was only then that she realised they were one knife short on the wall-mounted rack. There were four knives hanging, with an empty space for a fifth. She peered about the room, hoping to find the missing one, but came up empty-handed. She was certain that a knife had gone missing. But why was the knife gone if Makoto had no stabs or injuries and was merely hit with a blunt weapon?

'      Kitchen Knife Set       has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

Content with her search of the kitchen, Sayaka walked back out to the dining hall, spying Kiyotaka next to the door watching from the window.

"Hey, Kiyotaka? One last thing. What was the motive you got from Monokuma?"

"My motive?" He hesitated for a moment, deciding if he should share. "Very well, the person whose motive I received... their own cousin was in love with them. I understand why it would be a personal secret, I'd be very uncomfortable to share if it were my own."

"I see... Could you do me a favour if you're not busy? Go around and try and find out everyone's secret?"

"I see, I'll be honest and say I have no clue how to investigate this case, so if I can help this way I'll definitely see to it!" He proudly walks off with a salute. Sayaka can almost say for sure that she trusts him, but knows well she shouldn't be blindly optimistic.

 '      Monokuma's Motive       has been updated in the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

~♥️~  

Approaching the dormitory's trash room, Sayaka hears a sudden squeal from behind. Spinning around, she spies Hifumi freaking out at the sight of her. "M-Miss Maizono! You're not trying to dispose of any evidence, are you!?" The boy threw an accusatory finger at the idol, scowling. "Well, I'll have you know that you can only access the utilities of this room if you're on cleaning duty!"

"Oh, really? You wouldn't happen to know who is, would you?" She smiles just like she's practised. Fan meet-ups alone would be enough training to win the heart of someone like him over, but surprisingly, he resisted.

"Ha! That look you're giving me has no effect! Your attack has missed Miss Maizono! As if I'd give myself away like that, hehe." Hifumi chuckled mischievously.

"Oh, so  you're  on cleaning duty? Got it. Come on, I wanna go investigate inside."

"Ghh!? Darnit!" Hifumi winced, utterly devastated by... his own slip of the tongue. "You witch, you tricked me! Once again 3D fails to be of any interest to-"

Sayaka grabs him by the hand, dragging him into the trash room with ease, the boy melting at her touch.

"Ah! Another one of your tricks, I see? It won't work that easily! I won't allow you past this gate, succubus!"

"Hifumi I'm not- Look can you just help me look then? You can watch over me the entire time to make sure I'm not disposing of anything."

"Hm... Fine. But I will be watching you!"

Hifumi unlocked the gate to the incinerator with his key. It was a vast and empty room, except for the incinerator at the far back wall. I could smell the faint smell of burning, but the incinerator was off. It had probably recently been used. However, there was something more interesting than the incinerator. A metallic silver bat, its top half covered in blood, hiding behind the machine.

"Hifumi, look!" Sayaka gasped, picking up the bat carefully by the handle, wincing as she accidentally got a bit of blood on her fingers.

"O-Oh my! Is that what I think it is?" Hifumi asked, his voice getting more nervous, not that Sayaka could blame him. She's felt a strong surge of adrenaline rushing through her ever since the discovery announcement, then again that may be the only thing stopping her from collapsing with emotional exhaustion.

"Makoto suffered a lot of blunt force trauma, Hifumi this is the murder weapon!" Sayaka snapped a picture of it using her E-Handbook, which promptly updates.

'      Bloody Bat       has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

"B-But, how'd the culprit get it in here? I'm fairly certain the key never left my person since I was put on cleaning duty..." Hifumi humphed to himself. Sayaka had to admit, it was a pretty good point. How  did  they get in here at all?

"You haven't used the incinerator either, have you?" Sayaka asked, still crouched behind it.

"N-No! I haven't even been properly in here since Monokuma showed me how to use it." 

"And how  do  you use it?" She asked again.

"Well it's simple, the switch next to it with the large buttons control it. One button for on, one button for off."

"And he only showed you? What does it mean that you're on cleaning duty?" Sayaka hummed as she tried finding anything else whilst he explained.

"Oh, well Monokuma approached Mr. Ishimaru and I about it, how every week one of us will be on cleaning duty. He said that he thought Mr. Ishimaru was basically in charge, so he got to choose who'd be on cleaning duty first. Since I was the first person on duty, I was meant to collect from everyone's bins and the ones in the dining hall too at the end of the week. I was given the key to the gate and told how to use the utilities in here." Direct and to the point, Sayaka mentally thanked him. 

"So Kiyotaka chose you for it?"

"Well, actually I volunteered, I figured no one else would be wanting to do it, and I was right there anyway."

'      Cleaning Duty       has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

 '      Incinerator       has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

"And your earlier question, I'm certain I hadn't used the incinerator before, s-so I'm not sure why it's been used! The culprit probably already used it somehow..."

"And they'd need your key to do it right?" I glare at him a little.

"Well n-no, the only thing the key does is lock the gate. To use the utilities without the key they'd just need to get through the gate somehow."

'      Trash Room Gate       has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

"Alright well, I'm going to ask as many people as I can so I might as well do it now, who's secret did you get?" Sayaka gave a look over her shoulder up at him.

"Um, my secret said: 'Your real name is Taeko Yasuhiro, and you're nothing more than a commoner lying to everyone about who and what you are', It's a little cruel if you ask me..." He looked down, upset.

"I see." Sayaka hummed aloud as she attempted to sort out her thoughts on the secrets that currently knew. She was unsure who her own belonged to. Makoto had Kyoko's, and if she remembered correctly, Chihiro got her own, but she was without a clue as to who anyone else's referred to. Sayaka shrugged.  I guess that's just something we'll sort out at the trial.

'      Monokuma's Motive       has been updated in the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

"Are you about done? I'd rather keep this room locked up in case the pesky culprit tries to dispose of anything else!" Hifumi gritted his teeth and clenched a fist.

"Yeah, I think I am, anything else they left in here was probably already incinerated, we can go." Sayaka exited quickly, not waiting for Hifumi to catch up as she left.

She walked along the dorms before hearing a frantic scrambling from around the corner. Seeing one of the doors open, harbouring a nameplate with an 8-Bit drawing of Leon on it, she peeked inside. The ginger-haired boy was searching his own room in a panic, tearing the room apart as he muttered to himself over and over.

"Shit! This is stupid... stupid, stupid, stupid! Where the fuck is it!?" He screamed. At this point, he wasn't going to find whatever it was. Sayaka lightly knocked on the door to get his attention. His face went from rage to blush when he saw who it was. "C-Crap! Sayaka? How did you get in?"

"You left your door open. Are you okay? What are you looking for?" Sayaka hadn't spent much time getting close to Leon in any way, but she wasn't going to leave him alone to panic.

"Well, I'll be honest, Baseball fuckin bores me, but I still had my bat with me so I thought I'd be able to use it in case anyone tries some shit, but now it's gone!" He sulked.

" Your  bat is gone?" Sayaka rushed into the room, pulling out her E-Handbook and throwing the screen in his face. "You mean  this  bat?"

"W-What the- Where did you find that?" His eyes went wide.

"In the trash room, it was hidden behind the incinerator. If you're telling the truth that you lost your bat... I think that's what was used to k-kill Makoto." She informed.

"No way, for serious?" He ran a hand through his hair. "S-Shit! I didn't do it I promise!"

"Relax, when did you first realise it was missing?"

"Just now actually. When I heard Makoto was... I-I wanted to defend myself in case anyone came for me too! So I came to my room to grab it, but It wasn't here. 'Last time I remember seeing it for sure was like... two nights ago."

"Two nights ago? So it was taken within the last two days? Is there anyone that could've taken it?"

"Well yeah but that's a lot of people, I've invited a bunch to come hang in my room with me, and even if I didn't I just leave my room unlocked when I'm not in it, too much of a hassle."

"Don't worry, I don't believe it was you that did it... I'll try my best to make everyone see the truth at the trial."

'      Bloody Bat       has been updated in the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

'      Leon's Account       has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

"Oh! Leon, one more thing? What was the secret you were given?" The idol asked, looking up at him with the same look she'd give any fan, working like a charm.

"Huh, my secret? Oh, right. Just said that the person had no friends growin' up." He said scratching the back of his head. Sayaka gave a thankful nod and made a swift exit.

'      Monokuma's Motive       has been updated in the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

Sayaka continued down the hallway before nearly slipping all of a sudden. Looking down, she noticed her right shoe had become slippery. Turning around, she realised she'd left bloody right footprints for a couple of steps, the source pouring out of one of the dorm room doors. Before Sayaka could investigate, the door opened, revealing Kyoko behind it. The silver girl's eyes widened in surprise when she saw Sayaka, leaving the door open so she could explain.

"Kyoko? How did you get in there? Wasn't it locked?" Sayaka whispered, the two girls standing in front of the now open dorm room of Celeste.

"It was. However, Monokuma willingly opened it for me. All I had to say was that it was for the investigation." She crossed her arms with a disinterested look. "However, that's not what is important. This is." Sayaka stared down at Kyoko's feet where she was pointing, a small yet noticeable stain on Celeste's tiled floor next to the door. The same blood Sayaka had stepped in. "It's blood, about as fresh as last night. There was an attempt to clean it but I believe it stained before she could." It's hard not to miss the smug smirk Kyoko's wearing on her face.

"Wait, what does this mean then? Unless she was drenched with blood I dont see how this could be Makoto's."

"Well, actually. Try judging by the position of the blood stain, and the blood stain type, it's likely it protruded from her leg whilst she was leaning against the door... It would be nice if I could test the blood sample and compare it with Makoto's, unfortunately, I do not have access to the proper equipment." Kyoko sighed.

"You're... really good at this." Sayaka said softly. "B-But anyway, what does that tell us?"

"It's better if I don't tell you," Kyoko answered, quickly continuing before Sayaka could protest. "If I simply tell you my conclusion, you won't be satisfied with it. It's better for everyone to put the pieces together themselves, so we can come to a conclusion we're all satisfied with."

"So, Celeste had blood in her dorm room, and it probably isn't Makoto's... Wait! That's it!" Sayaka tried to put the dots together, coming up with her conclusion. "Celeste was walking strangely! She was taking her time, walking really slowly. Could she have been limping?"

"Well spotted." Kyoko praised. "But are you sure that's all there is to it? Look a little deeper, and I'm sure the truth will be waiting for you." She smiled, leaving and closing Celeste's door behind her.

'      Bloodstain in Celeste's Room       has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

'      Celeste's Limp       has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

Sayaka follows behind her, nearly bumping into Kiyotaka as he swiftly rounded the corner. "Ah, Sayaka! Splendid, I'm glad to find you! I've done as you asked, and asked everyone in the class about their secret, par from yourself and Kyoko." He reached into his button-up shirt to retrieve a piece of notebook paper, on it is a list of his results.

'Chihiro got her own. 

Mondo's told of the inability to find love

Sakura's told of having to kill 14 siblings for one's own success 

Junko's told of owing a large sum of money to the Yakuza, 

Hifumi's told of changing one's legal name, 

Celeste claimed she got her own, 

My own told of incestuous love between a cousin and the owner of the secret, 

Yasuhiro's told of not truthfully gaining your ultimate title, 

Byakuya's told of ruining a friend's career in order for one's own fame, Toko received my secret, telling of my grandfather, 

Hina's told of wetting the bed until fifth grade, 

Leon's told of having a rather lonely childhood with zero friends.' 

Kyoko read over Sayaka's shoulder along with her, not missing when the idol winced as she read her own.

'Ruining a friend's career in order for one's own fame...' 

She gritted her teeth in anger, but mainly at herself. She wasn't proud of the industry standard. Of what she'd done to make it, of the enemies she'd made... Sayaka forgot where she was for a moment as the memories consumed her, only snapping back to reality at the warm touch of Kyoko's gloved hand giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. Looking over, Sayaka smiled with a whispered thank you.

'      Monokuma's Motive       has been updated in the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

"Oh Kyoko, here!" Sayaka handed over her E-Handbook, sharing the truth bullets she'd gathered thus far. Kyoko flipped through the list, noting almost everything. She read through the detailed notes like a speed reader. Paragraphs of text that would take Sayaka at least minutes were done in seconds.

"You found the murder weapon in the trash room? Leon's metal bat." Kyoko hummed. "He said anyone could have come and taken it?" Sayaka gave a nod in reply.

"T-The murder weapon was Leon's bat you said?" Kiyotaka shook a little nervously.

"Yes, however, we're pretty sure he's innocent, why go out of the way to hide the bat when it's something normal for you to own? Besides, anyone could have taken it, his room was unlocked." Sayaka tapped her temple with her finger. Kiyotaka hummed as he took it into understanding.

"I see," Kiyotaka bit his lip a little too hard. "Going into a classmate's room uninvited, stealing, and using the stolen item for murder? I don't think I could ever forgive the culprit!"

"Aww! What a smart little monkey you are! Look at you, implying you didn't do it without saying it~" An eerily familiar voice popped up from behind them, and the three turned to stare at none other than Monokuma.

"What do  you  want?" There was venom in Kyoko's words.

"Oh? Well, I came by to drop a little fact I hadn't explained yet! The Body Discovery Announcement!" Kyoko's eyebrow raised, and with that, Monokuma continued: "You see, it only activates when not one, not two, but three whole students discover the body for the first time! Then it's time to let everyone else know!" 

"Three students? But I was alone when it activated." Kyoko crossed her arms.

"They don't have to be all at once, no no no! As long as there have been three people total to find the body, that's all that matters." He patted his own tummy as if he was proud of himself.

"Um... I went to the kitchen earlier, but didn't find him. Does that mean I counted towards the announcement?" Sayaka rubbed her arm sheepishly.

"And what of the third student? Would that be the one that killed him?!" Kiyotaka shrieked.

"Well, the body discovery announcement isn't supposed to be used for deduction, so whether or not the blackened student counts will be on a case-by-case basis! So maybe?" Kyoko went to ask another question, but before she could, Monokuma ran off around the corner, likely to inform other students of the discovery announcement rules.

"Why does this have to keep getting more and more complicated..." Tears began to form in Sayaka's eyes.

"Don't worry Sayaka, we can do this. Cooperating together as a class, we can do anything! We'll avenge Makoto and bring his killer to justice! I promise as class rep!" Kiyotaka shouted with confidence.

"Hey, we never voted on that." Sayaka let out a giggle through her tears, rubbing her eyes with her hand. "Sorry, I've been trying to keep it together, seems that was the last straw."

"Don't apologise for your feelings, it's okay," Kyoko interjects. "It's natural to be stressed in this environment, you have no reason to be sorry."

The bell chime of the announcement resonated through the halls once more before Sayaka could thank her. Monokuma placed his head on his paw, martini glass in hand, as he always did. Sayaka began to wonder if the continual usage of that position was stock film rather than a live announcement. "Um, so ah..."I'm sick and tired of waiting. So, how about we just get started, hm? It's finally time for the much-anticipated class trial! Now, please allow me to designate a suitable place for the proceedings. Please go through the red door on the first floor of the school! Puhuhu. "I'll see you soon!" The monitor turned off with a click.

The trio gave each other a look. Each of them silently asked if they were ready. Almost in sync, the three of them nodded and turned to enter the first floor of the school, towards the red door as instructed. Surprisingly, they were beaten by Junko, of all people. Slowly and one by one, everyone came.

"Well then, the time has finally come. Are you ready?" Byakuya said to Sayaka in particular with a smug grin. He was into this. Too into this.

"So, the school basement has become the darkened stage... We're all here to bear witness to the culprits final curtain call!" Hifumi confidently announced.

"Well, I did  my  job. I'm counting on the rest of you from here on out!" Leon rubbed the back of his head with a toothy grin.

"I didn't see you the whole time I was investigating, didn't you just hide in your room?" Junko scoffed.

"I can't help but wonder what Makoto's killer is feeling right now..." Hina tightened her fists.

"There's no point in standing around here. Settle your resolve and step into the future." Sakura crossed her arms with an unimpressed expression, but her words seemed to make Hina feel a bit better.

"Damn, we really gotta go through with this whole class trial thing, huh? If anyone wants to confess I guess nows the time to do it!" Yasuhiro called out from the back.

"Yeah, about that. Whoever stuck us here really had the time to set up a goddamn courtroom, huh? Or did Hope's Peak just happen to have one of those in the first place?" Mondo snarls.

"Makes you wonder how long whoever has held us captive has been doing this, no? Perhaps we're not the first." Celeste smirked with her usual smug aura.

"S-So, did anyone actually do any of that i-investigating?" Toko stuttered.

"Sorry, in the end, I wasn't able to do any looking around or anything..." Chihiro was on the verge of tears. Before anyone could say anything else, the monitor on the wall flicked on.

"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..." The gates to the elevator opened, and Byakuya eagerly climbed aboard.

"Let us begin," Sakura said with enough conviction to get those frozen with fear to walk with her.

"Good idea." Celeste nodded, following suit.

"Are you scared?" Kyoko asked out of nowhere. Sayaka turned to look her in the eyes as the silver-haired girl continued. "I'm confident in my deductions for this case, but Sayaka. You need to uncover those mysteries yourself. If you don't, you won't feel satisfied with the conclusion, nor wholeheartedly believe it. Figuring it out on your own will be how we all believe it. Don't just shout your evidence and assumptions, help others come to their own conclusions with your reasoning. I'll work alongside you, but you'll need to be prepared."

Kyoko's words light up Sayaka's mind...   'I'll work alongside you...' 

I can do it,  Sayaka thinks.  For everyone...

For Makoto!

Sayaka gave a nod of determination, clenching her fists. "I'll do it, I've got this!" Kyoko smiled, walking aboard the elevator, leaving Sayaka as the last one to climb on. She did so with confidence but couldn't help but feel everyone's eyes on her.

~♥️~

The steel box descended with clunking sounds and the hum of a loud motor as the 14 students went down to the school's basement. Oblivious to their shared anxiety, the elevator continued lower and lower without hesitation. After a terribly long ride, the elevator came to an abrupt halt. The sliding doors of their metal cage parted, revealing a small circular room. 16 podiums sat in a circle, all facing inwards. Each one had a student's name on the back of it. One at a time, they all walked to their dedicated spots. Sayaka saw Kiyotaka take the space to her right. However, on her left...

A crude portrait of Makoto stood next to her, a picture of his face slashed with a blood-red X. Sayaka could feel her hands shake as she stared, only interrupted by Monokuma's cackling.
 
"Nyohoho! You've all finally arrived! What do you think? Doesn't it feel just like a real courtroom? It's like a Hollywood movie set, right!? Okay, okay, everyone continue to find your assigned seats."

Most of them had already done so, Sayaka included. With everyone in their designated spot, Sayaka concluded the purpose of this arrangement. They were all arranged in a circle so that anyone could easily see or talk to someone else, no matter who in the group. Which also meant it'd be easy for anyone to transfer all their tension and unease onto anyone else... The air grew heavy as they sat there in silence, the curtain on their first case opening. A deadly deed had taken Makoto, a deadly judgement would cast doubt onto the accused, a deadly deception would be used by the culprit, a deadly betrayal would reveal the harshest truths, a deadly defence would attempt to flee, a deadly faith would be made in their lives that they had gotten it right.
 
It was a deadly... class trial.

Chapter Text

Trial - ALL RISE

"Now then! Let's begin with a simple explanation of the class trial!" Monokuma began from atop his throne. "During the trial, you shall all present your arguments for who is the culprit, then vote for 'Whodunnit'! If your vote is correct, the blackened student shall be punished, but if you pick the wrong person, I'll punish everyone besides the blackened, and they will be let free out of Hope's Peak Academy!"

"So… what are we meant to do?" Leon asked, resulting in a few murmurs around the trial room.

"U-Um… We're supposed to figure out who killed Makoto, right?" Chihiro had her arms curled into her chest, trying to be as small as she could.

"Who did it!? Hurry up and confess so I can beat the shit out of ya!" Mondo roared, his face going red. Mondo's outrage was met with silence, no one continued to speak for a moment after that.

"Uh so… should we like, bring something up to talk about? Maybe that's how we can get started?" Junko put a hand on her hip, seemingly uncaring about this whole thing.

"Very well then, I'll present the first topic to discuss!" Kiyotaka projected his voice louder than necessary. "The Monokuma File says that Makoto's time of death was 9:30 p.m. last night! Where was everyone during that time? If we establish alibis, then we can determine who the culprit is!"

  Non-Stop Debate!  

"I was with Sakura in my room!" Hina announced.

"I can confirm that we spent the night together." Sakura smiled.

"I was in my room alone..." Leon scratches the back of his head.

"I was in the AV room." Chihiro stares at her fingers.

"I think that everyone besides those two were alone, right?" Yasuhiro asks. " [No one else was with anyone],  so no one but them really has an alibi!"

Break!  

"Hang on, that's wrong!" Sayaka interrupted, "I was with Kyoko in her room, I can back up her alibi for the night, and she can mine!"

"That is correct." Kyoko agreed.

"Ah, well alright then." Yasuhiro gave a hearty laugh. "We can clear the four of them, can't we? If they were together, the other person would rat 'em out!"

"It must be nice being that ignorant." Byakuya sighed. "What if they were simply an accomplice to the murder?"

"A-An accomplice? T-They killed Makoto together!?" Toko stuttered. "I-I bet it really is that blue-haired freak! S-She was jealous of M-Makoto being around someone else, a-and killed him with her help!"

"Come to think of it, wasn't she one of the people late this morning too?" Leon added. 

"But she wasn't the only one!" Sayaka interjected, "Myself, Hifumi and Junko were late too, and just because two people can have committed the murder doesn't mean they did."

"She does have a point, anyone is still perfectly capable of being the culprit as of now." Byakuya grimaced.

"Ah, but. On the topic of Kyoko possibly being the culprit. It is true, no? That Makoto received her secret motive? I had overheard her say so earlier." Celeste smiles.

  Make your argument!  

"Makoto was the one to receive Kyoko's secret.  She confessed so, herself  earlier during the investigation." 

"So Kyoko's the culprit!?" Kiyotaka shouts.

"She claims that she was with Ms Maizono, but they could have done the deed together!" Hifumi held an odd pose as he pointed to Kyoko.

"But does Sayaka seem the type to kill him? I thought they were like, friends?" Junko asked.

"I bet  [Sayaka got Makoto's secret!]  It must have been juicy for her to want to kill him!" Hina shouted.

"Hold it!" Mondo Growled, ending the debate.

  Counter!  

"That ain't fuckin right. Sayaka didn't get Makoto's... she got mine." Mondo admitted.

"Yours?" Sayaka asked.

"Yeah..." Mondo was visibly upset by the topic, "I got my brother killed. That's what it said, right? I don't wanna talk about it too much, make you guys cry."

"Yeah... Thanks, Mondo." Sayaka sighed with relief.

"That does not prove your innocence, however," Celeste smirked.

"And your evidence doesn't disprove it either." Sayaka tightened her fists. "At this moment we'll just go into circles unless we discuss the whole crime first."

"I think we should discuss  how  Makoto died." Junko raised her hand as if asking to speak. "He was attacked when he went to the kitchen and got beat pretty bad, the blows he took packed a punch so it was probably someone pretty strong."

"Don't look at me, my arm's still healin'!" Mondo growls.

"You're saying Makoto was simply beaten by his attacker?" Kyoko put a finger to her chin. "Without a weapon?"

"He was beaten, not cut or stabbed, and I didn't see anything that could do the trick in the kitchen, could you?"

"Not in the kitchen, no. But does that not mean the weapon could have been hidden somewhere else?"

"Somewhere else!?" Hifumi gasped.

"Why are you so surprised? You're the one that found it." Kyoko gave him a stern look.

The murder weapon, Hifumi and Sayaka found it together in the trash room behind the incinerator:  I'll prove it with this!

"Hifumi and I discovered a baseball bat, covered in blood in the trash room!" Sayaka showed off the truth bullet on her screen.

"O-Oh right, that bat." Hifumi let out a breath.

"Hifumi let me in there to investigate, somehow the killer got through the trash room gate and used the incinerator to hide the evidence!" Sayaka explained.

"As she said, the trash room had a locked gate that only the one on cleaning duty had access to, and that person is Hifumi" Kiyotaka added.

"Meaning, the one to use the trash room would A: have to find a way past that gate, or B: Aquire the key, either taking it from Hifumi or this person  being  Hifumi," Kyoko added.

"I haven't handed my key out to anyone, promise!" Hifumi squawks.

Sayaka couldn't think of any way for the culprit to get by without that key. It wasn't damaged. Even if it was, Monokuma would likely punish anyone caught trying to break in.

"What if they stole it? Did you leave it anywhere?" Sayaka suggested.

"Er, yes! I leave it on my bedside table most of the time, otherwise, I usually take it with me." He's starting to sweat under the pressure of everyone's attention.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt but can I say something?" Leon asks nervously. All eyes slowly drag from Hifumi over to him. "It'll probably be brung up later and I don't want any accusations thrown my way, so I might as well say it now. If they're right 'n' all that the bat was the murder weapon, that bat was m-mine." He finished with a gulp.

"Oh? So your bat happened to be the one that killed poor Makoto?" Celeste leant her chin on her hand. "How interesting."

"I-I didn't kill him! I swear! Someone must've taken it!" He quickly defended himself, causing Celeste to go for him even harder.

"I see, and where did you keep your bat?" 

"M-My room! Anyone coulda taken it!"

"You'll have to do a lot better than that to convince me~" Celeste smirked. Sayaka wasn't watching their back and forth. Instead, she was taking note of everyone else. They had looks of doubt. Slowly the majority was moulding to Celeste's whims. Sayaka couldn't let that happen.

Leon was digging himself deeper and deeper. Every argument he brought up came from nothing but panic, no actual logic or persuasion. He was done for if no one stood up for him, so Sayaka listened for a hole she could tear into.

  Non-Stop Debate!  

"You say  the   bat was in your room , yes?" asked Celeste, "The rooms that are claimed to be unpickable by Monokuma?" Leon gripped his podium tighter.

"Yeah,  someone came in and took it!  There's no way I'd kill Makoto!" 

"I dunno man, that's kinda suspicious... How would they get it from your room like that?" Yasuhiro asked.

"I keep it  unlocked!  Anyone could've come and taken it!" Leon's getting desperate.

"But how would anyone come to look for it? I've never heard you mention bringing a bat with you.  [No one would know]  you even had it." Hifumi added.

  Break!  

"Hang on, that's wrong!" Sayaka called out toward Hifumi, gaining the room's attention. "As Leon said, he kept his dorm unlocked. As well, he would often hang out in his room with people. Several people have been inside, and would've been able to see his bat."

"He invited me once..." Hina said quietly.

"Me too! We can back you up, Leon!" Junko nodded quickly, throwing up a peace sign at the panicking boy.

"Hmm, I see. Very interesting..." Hifumi backed off, but it didn't seem to satisfy Celeste.

"W-Wait a second!" Once Toko managed to talk, it came out loud and demanding, like she'd wanted to speak for some time now. "W-We keep saying Makolo was killed by the b-bat, right?"

"His name's Makoto... and yes?" Junko answers.

"S-So what about the knife!? There was a knife taken from the k-kitchen!" Toko was gripping onto her braids as if they would give moral support.

"Makoto didn't have any cuts or stab wounds, he only had blunt force injuries," Sayaka replied.

"But it is missing, she has a point." Junko checked her nails whilst talking, "Maybe the culprit threw it away as evidence?"

"But why would they do that?" Hina was getting pumped up. "How would that help anything with all the other evidence there?"

"Maybe when they hit Makoto with the bat, it sprayed blood on it! They cleaned the wall but couldn't clean the knife, so they threw it away to disguise the scene! Didn't they hide him in a cupboard? They didn't want anyone to find it!" Yasuhiro guessed.

"Maybe we should talk about how we think the scene went down?" Mondo asks. "Go through it step by step of the night or somethin'?"

"I agree! Excellent idea Mondo!" Kiyotaka grins. "Very well, let us discuss the full events of what happened last night!"

  Non-Stop Debate!  

"I assert Makoto Naegi is the victim of this murder!" Kiyotaka began. "He was killed last night!"

Yasuhiro pulled out his E-Handbook to look at the Monokuma file. "Well let's see, the time of death was...  9:30 , right?" 

"That's what the Monokuma file says," Chihiro continued. "So that's probably true..."

"The murder happened in the kitchen," Hina said.

"So he was probably looking for something to eat, right!? He walks right into the kitchen and wabam!  Baseball Bat Sneak Attack! " Yasuhiro shouts

"So the  [attack started when he entered the kitchen] , he was probably trying to get some food," Mondo guessed.

"He was likely caught by surprise, he probably would have put up a better fight if he went in knowing his assailant would be there," Sakura says with a hint of sadness in her voice. "Perhaps they were hiding?"

Break!  

"No, that can't be it!" Sayaka interrupted the recount of events, spying a contradiction in the words of the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader. "Mondo, would you mind repeating what you said?"

"I said, the attack started when he entered the kitchen, you sayin' I'm wrong?"

"I'm pretty sure the attack started out in the dining hall!" Sayaka said confidently, tapping on the truth bullet she had prepared for backup. 

"Is that... blood?" Hina asked.

"Out in the dining hall?" Sakura asked.

"It had been sloppily covered up by a potted plant." Sayaka elaborated, closing the truth bullet after everyone had seen it.

"If you look carefully at the way it's splattered, it would suggest it was interrupted, it's most likely to assume it was caused during the fight," Kyoko explained. 

"So... He was attacked when he entered the dining hall!" Chihiro gasps. 

"Would a hit from a baseball bat even make you bleed?" Yasuhiro asked.

"Not a whole lot... Unless he broke his nose or somethin'." Mondo replied.

"So... what, that might not be his blood?" Hina asked.

"Then perhaps it was his assailant's?" Sakura suggested.

"On the topic, I'd like to include a piece of evidence in the discussion." Kyoko held up the note she had found in Makoto's pocket. "I found this on Makoto. Someone had invited him to the dining hall at the time of the murder."

As Kyoko pulled out the note, most people stiffened at her comment. "You searched through a dead person's  pockets  !?" Leon gawked.

"It was necessary for the investigation." Kyoko gave Leon a harsh glare. "For those of you further away, I'll read it out:  'I have something we need to discuss. Meet me in the dining hall at 9 o'clock. I'll see you there.'  It's evident that his attacker had planned this well beforehand."

"So, let me make sure I've got this right." Kiyotaka looked distraught whilst attempting to reconstruct the events. "Makoto received an invitation to the dining hall. At 9 o'clock, Makoto made his way there and met the culprit. Either immediately or after some time, the culprit attacked him in the dining hall! How did they end up in the kitchen? Would it not make more sense to simply escape to the dorms where he could get help?"

"That's exactly why I brought the note up now." Kyoko stroked her chin with a gloved hand. "The collection of the weapon, the set up of time and location. The culprit had planned the murder in advance. They could easily have set up a method to prevent his escape."

"If the culprit didn't attack immediately, they could have barricaded the door in some way, or simply blocked it with their body so that Makoto would not have gotten past," Sakura suggested.

"And that's what happened to the knife!" Toko shouts suddenly. "H-He went for it! He was being attacked, a-and he couldn't run, so his instinct was to fight back!"

"Oh, I can see that! He went into the kitchen and got the knife to fight back!" Hina was upbeat as she followed along, despite the subject matter.

"Does that really make sense? I didn't think Makoto was a violent person..." Chihiro mumbled.

"Well, when it's life or death that stuff kinda gets thrown out the window, yeah?" Junko said with a shrug.

"So, the culprit followed Mr Naegi into the kitchen and killed him with a blow to the head, when he went for the knife?" Hifumi stroked his chin as if he was mimicking something.

"No. I don't think so." Kyoko interrupted. "The culprit couldn't have chased Makoto into obtaining the knife."

'They couldn't?'  Sayaka thought.  'Why wasn't the attacker able to chase Makoto when he went to get the knife...?'

>[ Makoto already had it. ]

Makoto never entered the kitchen.

They didn't know where the kitchen was.

"I think I got it! Was it because... Makoto didn't have to go get the knife. He already had it?" 

"He what!?" Hina gasped. Yasuhiro, meanwhile, was struggling to comprehend it.

"T-There's no way that's true, right? I mean, why would Makoto have it on him before he got attacked? Something like that is..." 

"Exactly what happened." Kyoko finished for him. 

"Makoto was wielding the knife and stabbed the culprit there in the dining hall," Sayaka said, thinking it over to herself. 

"Hm, so he fought back after all? As interesting as that would be, do you have any proof to back that up other than the knife's absence?" Byakuya asked. "It's possible its disappearance has nothing to do with the case at hand."

"Yes, we have proof. Why don't you tell him, Sayaka?" Kyoko gave her a determined smile, crossing her arms confidently.

"Go ahead, we're all waiting."

"Inside one of the dorm rooms, we found blood seeping out from beneath someone's dorm. A large splatter was found inside... I think Makoto stabbed his attacker..."

In the arm.

>[ In the leg. ]

In the chest.

"That's right! Makoto must have stabbed his attacker in the leg!" Sayaka's eyes honed in. It was all coming to her.

"Well? Who is it!?" Yasuhiro shouted from his podium. "You said you found it in a person's room! If you found it in their room, you must know who it is!"

Sayaka stared the person in question right in the eye. "You're right. The person whose room we found the blood in is:"

  SELECT SOMEONE:  

  CELESTIA LUDENBERG  

"Celeste. It was  your  room we found the bloodstain in." 

Celeste was calm. She took a long deep breath as all eyes stared at her in anticipation. "Ah, you found blood in my room? No, no. Pardon moi~ but it is actually just from a nosebleed I had. I was aware of this. I just had not managed to clean the stain." Celeste smiled, her eyes giving her true feelings away. Despite the grin, her eyes stared daggers at Sayaka. "So sorry you are mistaken~."

"Is that so? Then care to explain your limp?" Kyoko crossed her arms. Celeste's face didn't change, however.

"What limp? At this point, you are merely falsifying evidence to convict me. Please do try harder next time to come to a conclusion~."

"No, I saw that too!" Junko pointed. "You were walkin' all weird during the investigation, and you weren't last night!"

"Yeah! I can remember her doin' that when Sakura and I were guardin' Makoto's body!" Mondo gritted his teeth in anger, convinced he'd found the culprit.

"So... Is that it then? Celeste is the culprit!?" Chihiro gasped.

"Celeste, did you really... kill Makoto?" Hina slammed her fist on her podium.

"Shall we proceed with the voting?" Kiyotaka asked the group.

"Hold on just a minute! You have no confession. I am not the culprit, I promise you that~" Celeste raised her voice yet smiled anyway.

"There was apparently a large amount of blood in your room, with that on top of your leg injury... I suggest you tell us the truth behind both of these. Otherwise, we'll have no choice but to suspect you."

Celeste laughed. "This simply is not enough to entrap me. I'm  not  the culprit."

"You say that, but you still haven't told us the true nature of your injuries, Celeste." Byakuya's smirk mocked her.

  Non-Stop Debate!  

"I am trying to tell you. I have simply  sprained my ankle , nothing more." Celeste's poker face dropped, replaced by anger.

"You sprained your ankle? Is that what took you this long to think up?" Byakuya can't help himself but grin wickedly.

"Celeste, did you really kill him?" Hina asked sadly.

"If you listened closely, I  could not have killed him !" Celeste said bitterly.

"Yeah, right! You smashed his head in  [after he stabbed you!] " Yasuhiro shouted. "After clobbering him, you disguised the scene, and that was that!"

Sayaka had been pumped up, following along the debate against Celeste... when she heard it. She froze. A contradiction.

Break!  

"Wait, that's wrong!" Sayaka struggled for a moment, thinking about her next words carefully. "We need to think about this a bit more..."

"The hell? You're the one that said it was her in the first place!" Mondo furrowed his brow.

"I still think she's involved, but we must get it fully right. If we mess up, we die! We have to be thorough about this. If Makoto stabbed her in the leg, how could she have chased him into the kitchen afterwards?"

"Could she not have just hit him in the head as he stabbed her? Or after?" Leon asks.

"No. If Miss Ludenberg was hurt so badly that she could barely walk, I doubt she could continue fighting after that, even with adrenaline." Hifumi said, pulling a thinking pose. "Besides, Makoto had broken arms, right? It's hard to think he could stab her with broken limbs! So they must have gotten broken after. It doesn't make any sense. I think Miss Ludenberg is telling the truth about her leg injury!"

Kyoko glared at him for what he said. "No. That's wrong. The original idea of the murder is correct. Makoto fought back against his assailant, stabbing her in the leg. However, that person was no longer able to attack him, and then Makoto fled into the kitchen, where the attack continued."

"Wouldn't that mean the entire premise is wrong? The attack didn't start in the dining hall?" Sakura asked.

"No, Makoto's final blow was dealt in the kitchen. However, the final blow was dealt by a  different  assailant than the one he had stabbed." Kyoko explained. 

"A different assailant?" Kiyotaka clenched his fists. "W-What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that Celeste could've had an accomplice."

"Accomplice!? N-Not one person wanted to kill him, but two?" Chihiro shrieked. Byakuya tilted his head up to look down at her.

"As I said earlier, an accomplice is very likely in this case. That much was obvious from the beginning. Speaking of, I have a question for the bear. If there really is an accomplice, how does that affect voting?"

"Oh! You shall ask, and so I shall answer! Accomplice or not, there's always only one blackened per body! So if there was an accomplice, you'd simply vote for the blackened anyway!" Monokuma explained.

It was only for a second, but Celeste's poker face faltered. The truth was exposed. The anger, the cold rage. It was a mere second before Celeste's calm smile replaced it. "See? It is impossible. The accomplice would simply rat me out, no? It is foolish to think I am the culprit~."

"Well then, Celeste, if you're as innocent as you claim, who do you think killed Makoto?" Byakuya asked, smug as ever.

"One of those who were late this morning, perhaps. Sayaka, Hifumi, Kyoko and Junko were all absent this morning." Celeste replied, causing Hifumi to screech.

"I was just in my room! I swear it!" 

"We found you almost immediately. We already know, man." Yasuhiro sighed.

"As were Sayaka and I. She came to my dorm to get me after she woke up." Kyoko stated.

"I went straight to the dining hall, but by then, everyone had started looking for us, so I went to get Kyoko to help me find everyone," Sayaka added, followed by Junko.

"And I stumbled across those two when I was lookin' round."

"H-Hold on! This discussion is becoming derailed. We already know everyone's alibi's, so this does not help us get any closer!" Kiyotaka sighed. "It doesn't matter where those people were this morning! The murder happened at 9 o'clock the previous day!"

"Correct. It doesn't matter what Celeste thinks happened when she obviously has some connection to the case," Kyoko stated. "She's only attempting to deceive us."

"Oh? Do you still believe I to be the one responsible for poor Makoto? But I worry you have run out of evidence against me, and all of which you've used is circumstantial at best." Celeste proudly boasted, followed by Sayaka's reply.

"No... there should be more evidence we've yet to discuss!"

Sayaka had realised it. She was given a hint! Monokuma specifically came up to tell them a hint right before the class trial had begun. What  was  it? 

Think, Sayaka. Think!

What was the hint Monokuma gave us about?

  Hangman's Gambit!  

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"This is it! The discovery announcement!" Sayaka realised.

"The discovery announcement, what of it?" Sakura asked.

"Monokuma, can you tell us how the discovery announcement works again?" Sayaka pleaded.

"Well, if you wish!" He put his paws on his cheeks. "The body discovery announcement chimes when at least 3 students find a body!"

"And does that include the blackened?" Byakuya demanded.

"Well, like I told Sayaka earlier, the body discovery announcement is not meant to be used for investigation."

"But it could be important! Does the blackened count or not, dammit!?" Leon barked.

"It would be beneficial for you to tell us," Sakura said calmly.

"It's a case-by-case basis. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't." Monokuma started to sound annoyed.

"Oi! Spill it! Does it count for this case or not!?" Mondo shouts.

"Jeez, jeez, enough already! No! The blackened wasn't counted this time, okay!?" He yelled before blushing and calming back down. "Woops~ Did I say that out loud?"

"That proves it then; Kyoko and I were the final people to discover the body. Therefore one person found the body and said nothing, and that's because they are an accomplice to the murder!" Sayaka pointed an accusatory finger at Celeste once more.

"And that proves neither Kyoko nor Sayaka could have been the culprits!" Hina smacks her palm with a fist, happy with her realisation. 

"Shut up!" Celeste yelled, raising a finger rudely at Sayaka. "You degenerate, good for nothing, brat! That's nowhere near enough to convict me, you stupid commoner!"

"Commoner? What are you, some rich noble from the 1800s?" Yasuhiro shook his head in disappointment.

"Just confess already. You're only digging yourself deeper with this reaction of yours." Byakuya scoffed as he folded his arms.

"I think I've earned the right to be a little on edge after this  bitch  decided to accuse me of murder!" Celeste screeched.

"Hey, where'd her accent go?" Yasuhiro laughed.

"Shut up! If you wish to convict me, you'll have to do a  lot  better than that!" Celeste gripped the sides of her podium like she was about to fall over, her knuckles going white. 

Celeste just kept yelling. Screaming insults, each and every comment she made, her accent got more and more phony. Sayaka shook her head. At this rate, she was erratic. It'd be impossible to confront her when she was freaking out. Sayaka took a deep breath. She'd have to shoot down every statement until she could break through with a contradiction!

  Bullet-Time-Battle!  

"Pathetic! Pitiful! Absolutely stupid!" 

Celeste bangs her fist on her podium.

"Shut up, shut up,  shut up!"

"You have no proof!"

"You accuse ME of murder!?"

"There's no one here I'd work with!"

"You're all just a bunch of idiots! Common fools!"

"No good insufferable little morons!"

"Goddamnit!"

"Just shut the hell up!"

"You've claimed all of my truths as lies!  I haven't lied from the start! "

'That was obviously a lie' , Sayaka thought. But that's when it hit her. What  else  had Celeste lied about?

"Hold it!" Sayaka shouted, gaining enough voice to cause Celeste to back down. "You claim you never lied to us once, but you wouldn't even tell us whose secret you actually received!"

"Are you braindead!? I told you already I got my  own ,  you goddamn moron!"

"You claim that, but I know the truth. Kiyotaka gathered them all earlier, and we can see which one on this list was really yours!"

"Well? I'm waiting, you good-for-nothing loser! Go ahead! Which one is mine, huh?" Celeste growled. Sayaka realised most of the secrets had very-specific wording tailored to them. Even though it hadn't been written down in Kiyotaka's notes, she remembered a specific word used in one of the secrets she was told...

  Hangman's Gambit!  

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"Commoner!" Sayaka shouted, causing Celeste to wince.

"What... did you call me!?" 

"You said it earlier. Commoner!" Sayaka grinned, gaining the upper hand. "And Hifumi told me himself before:" 

 "Um, my secret said: 'Your real name is Taeko Yasuhiro, and you're nothing more than a commoner lying to everyone about who and what you are', It's a little cruel if you ask me..." 

"Your secret is that your name is really Taeko Yasuhiro! You lied to us from the start!" Sayaka stared her down angrily.

"What are you even saying!? Yasuhiro!? That's a loser's name!" She gritted her teeth.

"Hey! Don't be mean!" Yasuhiro pointed at her angrily.

"U-Uhm... what about her handbook?" Chihiro shakily raised her hand. "Wouldn't that display that name when it's turned on? We can confirm it."

"Wha- Don't you dare- the nerve of-" Celeste started to stutter but was shut up by a smug glare from Kyoko.

"Well, Celeste? Why don't you show us your handbook? Surely if Sayaka's wrong, you can prove it easily." 

"I-I'm using my right to remain silent!" She punched her podium in anger.

"I'm pretty sure that doesn't exist here." Leon sighed.

Celeste's body tensed, leaning against her podium as she struggled to stand, her body was seething. Everyone stared at her for a few moments before Kiyotaka speaks up.

"That's it then, let's start the vote!" He shouts.

"Oh? Do you want to start voting time? Well then-"

"Hold it!" Kyoko snaps. "I think we should discuss this just a little more."

"Huh? What's there left to discuss?"

"The accomplice. Why would they still be silent even now? Celeste has been caught, unless they have something to gain, there's no reason to not say their identity." Kyoko stated.

"What if they just don't wanna confess to bein' involved?" Mondo asks.

"Why does it matter? We've already confirmed Celeste to be Makoto's attacker." Sakura says.

"Think about it. There's something obviously wrong with voting for Celeste."

"Guys, don't you remember?" Sayaka asked, continuing when she was met with blank stares. "When Makoto stabbed Celeste, he was then chased into the kitchen by the accomplice. Celeste was wounded and not in the room the murder occurred... Celeste didn't have an accomplice, she  was  the accomplice!"

"Celeste?" Hina asked cautiously. "It's over. Please, just tells us who your partner was. Who worked with you?" But, she was simply met with silence. Celeste remained seething and unresponsive in her podium.

"There's no use. She's probably not gonna answer anything else we have to ask." Yasuhiro sighed.

"Um... where do we go from here? H-How can we figure out who she worked with?" Chihiro asked meekly. Sayaka hummed for a moment, thinking.

"I can't imagine Celeste would have been able to carry anything with her limp. She can barely walk now. Imagine what she would have been like at the time of the incident! That being said, how would she have been able to dispose of the evidence?" Sayaka said, trying her best not to slip up under pressure. It was just like a performance, she had thought. Using the lies to cover up her unease. Using lies to expose lies, she almost laughed at the thought.

"Okay, but where does that get us?" Leon asked impatiently.

"How the killer disposed of the evidence and got into the cleaning room. Thinking about that, I believe we can determine who the killer is! If my thinking's right... You're the only one!"

  SELECT SOMEONE:  

  Hifumi Yamada  

"Hifumi. You were the one on cleaning duty, and without your key, it's impossible to get into the trash room!"

"Huh? D-Didn't we discuss that earlier? Anyone could have come and taken the key off my desk!" Hifumi yelled, hand on his chest as he breathed heavily.

"Do you keep your room unlocked?" Kyoko asked.

"Well, uh, no. But I invited plenty of people over-"

"I'd never go in that creeps room!" Junko scoffed, wincing at the thought.

"I can't say I was invited either." Hina put a finger on her cheek as she tried to think.

"Let's make this simpler and ask, was anyone here invited to Hifumi's room?" Sakura asks the group, but no one raised a hand. 

"T-The culprit's just lying to not get found out!" Hifumi gulped.

"But you said 'plenty'. If just the culprit had gone to your room, you would know who they are, and if anyone besides the culprit were to fess up, we could determine who they are through your own account if you weren't lying, that is," Kyoko said calmly.

"B-But wait! Miss Ludenberg was one of the people to come into my room! Could she have not taken it herself and given it to her fiendish accomplice!?" Hifumi barked back.

"She also was the only one of the two of them to come to my room," Leon added. "She's prolly the one that took the bat from me."

"S-See!?" Hifumi latched onto that statement with all his life.

"I see. And Celeste visited your room only once. You said as much earlier, am I wrong?" Kyoko asks.

"R-Right! Only one time!" Hifumi cried.

"Wait, I don't remember him saying that?" Mondo stared at Kyoko, perplexed.

"Because it's simple, I lied." Kyoko rolled her eyes. "But he admitted as much. Hifumi, you say she only entered one time. How was she able to give you the key back? You said you still had it this morning for the investigation."

"E-Eeee!? Y-You... you! You tricked me! That's not... that doesn't-" Hifumi clutched his heart as he screamed.

"I doubt it's likely that she took the key. Rather I think  you  used the key to dispose of evidence and that  you  were the one who killed Makoto." Kyoko continued.

"Hifumi, please confess, or give us some way of proving your innocence." Sayaka plead. "I'm... I'm so tired of this. This arguing, all about the death of someone I cared about... Please, Hifumi. You're not a bad person, I know that. Just tell us what happened, so it can all be over."

"S-Say wha-! Grr... Do you have any idea who you're talking to, Miss Maizono!? I am the alpha and the omega! Shut up! You're nothing, just a pathetic waste of life! You'll never compare to 2D, y-you hypocrite!"

There's no point to this. Hifumi was cornered, all Sayaka had to do was make him confess, and this horrible trial could finally be over. She could finally move on and mourn the loss of her friend. She could finally bring Makoto  justice.  She just needed to beat the hesitation out of Hifumi to do it!

Bullet-Time-Battle!  

"You're wrong, wrong, wrong!"

"You'll never be close to 2D's glory!"

"Y-You... targeting everyone to get what you want!"

"You're just another nicey-nice type girl! No one actually likes you!"

"T-This is why you're a failure of an idol!"

" Anyone could have used the incinerator! Anyone could have done it! "

"It's over!" Sayaka shouted at the top of her lungs, her emotions slipping past the cracks. She took a shaky breath before continuing. "Hifumi. You were the one on cleaning duty. You were the only one instructed on how to use it. You were the only one who could access it. Please, this trial is over. Please just let it end already! Confess, please..."

"Sayaka?" Kyoko called her name softly. "Some may remain unconvinced. For the sake of everyone else, can you lead us through the events from the beginning one more time?"

"Alright... If you say so. Let me try going over everything one last time."

 It happened late at night yesterday evening. Celeste and the Culprit had met to work on their plan. One of them had slipped Makoto a note that said to meet in the dining hall at 9 p.m. Once 9 struck, Makoto entered, ready to meet. The culprit blocked the door using their larger size over Makoto, while Celeste got ready to attack. 

 After a scuffle, and with nowhere else to run, Makoto escaped to the kitchen, arming himself with a knife! When Celeste and the culprit gave chase, Makoto took the opportunity to attack back, stabbing Celeste in the thigh. Presumably, she tried to dodge so that's where he ended up hitting. The culprit took this moment to attack Makoto, striking him with the bat again, and again, and again. After breaking both his arms, the culprit managed to render Makoto defenceless and went in for the final blow. 

 Celeste retreated to her room to tend to her wound, while the culprit disguised the murder scene, hiding Makoto's body in a cabinet and cleaning the kitchen the best they could. The culprit then went to hide the murder weapon and other evidence in the trash room, as they had the key. 

"Meaning that killer has to be you, Hifumi Yamada, Ultimate Fanfic Creator!"

Hifumi was speechless. Instead of making any form of rebuttal he just... started to cry. Tears well up in his big wet eyes, and Hifumi started to sob on the spot.

"W-Wait so... we vote for Hifumi? N-Not Celeste?" Toko asked.

"Monokuma? If everything we've discussed so far is correct, do we vote for Hifumi?" Kiyotaka asks.

"If you're correct in your deductions, yep!" Monokuma grinned. "Oh I can't wait, I can't wait!"

"W-Wait... So, even though it was my plan, my gamble, my game... Hifumi is the blackened?" Celeste spoke for the first time in a while. "That was all for nothing?"

"Very well, shall we begin?" Byakuya scoffed at Hifumi's direction before turning to Monokuma. "You may commence the voting time, bear."

"Okay! Is everyone in agreement this time?" Monokuma waited for a moment before pressing his button. A lever on our podiums is now visible where before it was hidden within. "Please take the lever in front of you and cast your votes!"

Not even Celeste hesitated to flip her switch to Hifumi, locking in her vote as did the rest of the group. The large screens above them flickered on to show an animation of a slot machine, each of their faces as the icons. IT rolled until it slowly came to a stop on triple Hifumi's. Confetti shot out as triumphant horns played before it turned off. 

"And the culprit of this case is: Hifumi Yamada! Ultimate Fanfic Creator! Well done on getting it right!" Monokuma chuckled as he clutched his stomach.

"Hifumi..." Sakura sighed, looking down.

"I still don't believe it... Hifumi, why did you...." Hina held back a sob.

"Hifumi... you... why?" Sayaka muttered, her throat coarse and rough.

"H-He... I was just... trying to protect everyone from that murderous fiend!" Hifumi cried harder, wiping his tears. "I-I... He was dangerous! If we let him live, we'd all be in danger, it's as Celeste said! He was probably the one that put us in here in the first place!"

"What do you mean by all that?" Kyoko asked.

"It was my secret," Celeste explained. Reaching into her coat, she pulled out her motive.

You are secretly the murderous fiend known as Genocide Jack. 

"I didn't actually think it was Makoto. I simply told Hifumi that so he'd cooperate. All I wanted was to get out of here." Celeste looked at the ground to avoid eye contact.

"Wha- You- He-!?" Hifumi stuttered.

"W-Wait, Genocide Jack is... O-One of us!?" Chihiro yelped.

"G-Genocide Jack!?" Toko gasps, as white as a ghost.

"W-What on earth!? L-Let me out of heeere!" Yasuhiro cried, pulling on his hair.

"Um, someone wanna explain for the rest of us?" Junko scoffed as she threw her hand in the air angrily.

"Genocide Jack is a murderous fiend running around Japan. He is one of the most dangerous serial killers in our history. You might call him the  Ultimate  Murderous Fiend." Byakuya explained, pushing up his glasses with a smirk. "The Genocide Jack cases are one of those that have intrigued me most."

"So yeah. I told Hifumi: 'Who else but a plain Jane like Makoto? He even looks like a Jack'. That, surprisingly, was all it took for him to believe me." Celeste sighed. Surprisingly, she wasn't putting on the accent anymore, even now that she'd calmed down.

"But... why Hifumi?" Hina cried.

"He had come to me with his secret, which he assumed was mine, and he assumed correctly." Celeste folded her arms uncomfortably.

"So, Taeko-" Yasuhiro started before he was cut off.

"Don't you fucking  dare  call me that you-" Celeste screamed, taking a step toward him. Clearly, she put too much weight on her bad leg, which caused her to wince in pain. "Just... don't call me that."

"Even if Celeste is a horrible person, she has the right to have us call her the name she wants," Chihiro said. "T-That doesn't mean I've forgiven you... I'll never forgive you for what happened today." She started to cry once again.

"Chihiro's right... you killed Makoto, it's still your fault. Even if Hifumi is the culprit! It's your fault he's dead!" Hina shouted.

"E-Everyone... I'm sorry..." Hifumi said meekly. "I really was just trying to protect you all... You really were... I just... I just wanted to-"

"Yaaaalright enough with the sap! We have a punishment to get to!" Monokuma growled.

"P-Punishment? You mean-"

"Execution! Ex-e-cu-tion! Exxxecution!" Monokuma shrieked with joy.

"Guhwaaaaahh! Hold on, wait a minute!" Hifumi was sweating frantically as he clutched his aching heart.

"I've planned a very special punishment for Hifumi Yamada, the Ultimate Fanfic Creator!"

"N-No! Make it stop! Please!" Hifumi ran his fingers through his hair, knocking off his glasses as he started to panic harder.

"Let's give it everything we've got! It's... PUNISHMENT TIIIME!"

Before anyone could say anything more, Monokuma pulled out a small gavel from behind his back, twirling it in his hands before slamming it down on the button before him. The four screens around them flicked on to a crude animation of Hifumi being dragged away by Monokuma, with the text reading:

GAME OVER

HIFUMI YAMADA HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY.

TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!

Sayaka could feel the dread in the air as everyone stared at Hifumi, not really sure what they were expecting to happen, but before anyone could ask the door behind them opened up wide, and a clamp shot out and attached itself around Hifumi's neck, the rope it was attached to becoming tighter until it came to a straight line. The rope got yanked back as Hifumi was dragged out of the room down the corridor, the door locking tight audibly. The title card of  Dimensional Leaping  accompanied by a crude drawing of Hifumi played before the TV cut to live footage of the events transpiring.

Hifumi was dragged along the floor, skinning his legs and hands as he tried to stop himself, but soon he was brought into a room full of machinery. Hifumi was dumped on a conveyor belt as the clamp disconnected. 

As Hifumi tried to stand, the conveyor belt jolted forward and the machines started up. Hifumi was crawling on his hands and knees achingly before halting as a giant press slammed down on the conveyor belt just a few metres ahead of him. The bottom of the press had a decal of a pink-haired anime girl with a bow and wings. 

Hifumi stared up at her as the press ascends before getting to his feet and making a jolt forward, but soon after, he realised the horrible situation he was in. The entire conveyer belt was lined with hydraulic presses along the whole length.

One by one, they slammed down quick and fast. Hifumi's trying his best to time his runs and jumps to not get squished. One hydraulic press is horizontal, shooting out from next to him quicker than one should be able to activate, sending him crashing into the wall opposite the press. He quickly scurried out of the way before it fully pressed into the wall.

At this point, Hifumi was beaten, battered and bruised, clutching his chest as he breathed heavily. All this time, he'd been trying to make it to the end of the corridor, but now lying in his way was a fully extended press that wasn't budging. Soon the one above him starts to drop too, as did every single hydraulic press at once.

Out of options, Hifumi ran. He ran with the last ounce of strength of his body, the last in his life, before the presses caught up with him, flattening him in a moment before bright, vibrant blood splurted out all over the press...

The room was silent. Not a soul dares speak after what they witnessed. Kyoko stared at the TV analytically, a frown stuck on her face. Byakuya scornfully stared at the TV, angered. Chihiro, on the other hand, was crying, sobbing as she tried to hold back the tears. Everyone else's reactions are a mix of these three. Asahina, Toko, Leon, Yasuhiro and... well, Sayaka herself was scared like Chihiro. Sakura, Celeste and Junko were staring at the TV, trying to compose their thoughts like Kyoko, while Mondo and Kiyotaka were angry like Byakuya.

"What... was that?" Kyoko was the first to break the despairing silence.

"Huh? That was punishment!" Monokuma tilted his head, confused, "Were you not paying attention!?"

"No, I was, but why was it so... elaborate?" Kyoko was looking into Monokuma's robotic eyes quizzically. "Why not something simpler, like a guillotine? Why go through all the effort?"

"I like to make my punishments personal! I have one prepared for each and every one of you!" Monokuma cackles. "That egg-head was always on about his 2D this and his 2D that! So I decided to make  him  2D too!"

"I... see." Kyoko sighed, thinking about it more to herself.

"Well, Monokuma? What do you have planned for us now?" Byakuya was pulling a face Sayaka could only describe as pure rage, his knuckles were turning white with how hard he was pressing them into fists.

"Hmm? Well, now you're free to do what you like! You found the culprit, so the killing game shall continue! Oh, but before you do go, I'll be unlocking more of the academy as a reward! The second floor and more shall now be open!" Monokuma gave a thumbs up before the curtain behind him drew open, revealing the elevator they took down here.

Slowly, the remaining students made their way onto the elevator. Sayaka curled into a ball, leaning against the back of the elevator as they ascended. Kyoko was by her side, a supportive hand on her shoulder as the long and slow ascent continued. 

It was the most exhausting thing Sayaka had done in her whole life. It was worse than a live scandal on air. Worse than a creep at a fan meet-up. Worse than when her idol career was nearly ended by a stupid mistake. Worse than when she ruined the life of someone she cared about. Sayaka cried. ' at least no one will try it again, now that they saw that...'  She thought to herself. But wasn't certain if it was just wishful thinking. She struggled to think about it further, as her eyes slowly shut. Despite Kyoko's hand on her shoulder, Sayaka slumped over onto the floor, passing out in the elevator.

~♥️~

Sayaka had woken up in one of the dorm rooms. The katana she stashed away was missing, as well as her clothes she had left on the floor earlier. She was in  else's  room. Pushing herself up to a seated position on the bed, she stretched her arms with a yawn, looking around.

No one else was in this dorm, nor was it decorated in any way. It was just like how they started out. Blank and empty of any personalisation. Sayaka was still exhausted, her whole body sore and tense. She wondered what advice Makoto would give to her about it, he always had some weird trick for everything, even the advice she gave to Chihiro before was just something she'd learnt from him.

Hifumi killed Makoto. It was an idiotic, terrible mistake, but she couldn't bring herself to hate him. Hifumi was a murderer. Somewhat creepy with his constant comments, but he was sociable. He was nice when he tried, a bit of a push over but in the end, looked out for other people. He took on the job of cleaning duty just because he thought no one else would want to. Sayaka wish she could have had a better chance to know him, before all this... 

Sayaka got up from the bed, ready to leave and go find the others. As she walked toward the door, she suddenly froze. Noticing her reflection. More specifically, something on the top of her head.

She'd had bad hair days, but this had had to be an all-time worst. No matter how many times she tried, she couldn't get it to go away.

Before she could think about her hair any longer, the door to the room opened with a slight struggle. Sayaka looked over to see Kyoko, her arms full, with two trays of food.

"You're awake? Good." Kyoko smiled as she walked by, setting down one of the trays on the table, and taking the other to her bed. "Eat up, that was a long day." 

Sayaka nodded with a smile, putting up a chair next to Kyoko as the two began to eat.

"How long was I unconscious?" Sayaka asked quietly, picking up a piece of chicken before she froze, staring down at her food in shock. "Y-You didn't... get this from the kitchen... d-did you?"

"I made everything myself and analysed each ingredient, it should be fine," Kyoko confirmed, before realising what Sayaka had meant. "Oh- I was hesitant at first, too... But it was cleaned up."

"Cleaned?"

"Monokuma confirmed it after, but he cleaned it up. He cleaned up the entire crime scene, and the body was already disposed of. Any trace of any event happening was gone. It's as good as new."

"Oh..." Sayaka sighed, staring at her food a while longer before eventually taking a bite. "That's upsetting, honestly... It might not have been a good idea, but I thought it would have been nice to do that ourselves... give Makoto's body some respect... Maybe even a funeral."

"I agree, even if it was the incinerator, that would have been nicer than allowing Monokuma to take the corpse and do as he wishes." She sighed, taking a long sip of her tea before continuing. "To answer your question from before, the trial finished around 4p.m. It's now 7:40 a.m., the next day."

Sayaka nodded, continuing to eat in silence for a few moments. Kyoko said she made this herself...  She's a really good cook!  Sayaka had smiled, delicious fried chicken with greens and rice. It completely outdid anything Sayaka had made herself so far.

"Um, about what we learnt yesterday... about the secrets. A-Are we in trouble?" Sayaka asked, taking another mouthful to distract herself.

"About Genocide Jack?" Kyoko tilted her head. "It  is  quite alarming, but I think we'll be fine. Genocide Jack has an MO that's easily identifiable, if they were to try anything, I'm sure we could solve it easily."

"I'm not worried about solving it... I'm scared about losing more friends..."

"I understand, but don't worry, please. I'll be there for you, and I'll protect you." She said with a soft smile before it faltered. "But, there is one unfortunate thing I'd like to discuss, this is something we  do  have to worry about" She set her food aside before reaching into her coat to retrieve the envelope that held her secret.

"Oh, yeah! I never asked what secret you got, what was it?"

Kyoko doesn't respond but simply opened it and turned it to face her. Sayaka's eyes widened with fear as she read what was written on the paper.

 You are a traitor, working for Monokuma and aiding his game. 

Chapter 1: A Royal Catalyst Lost in Scanslation.

Complete

Students remaining: 13

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: Raging Revelations

Daily Life

Sayaka stared down at the paper in Kyoko's hands for a long time... A traitor, working for Monokuma, amongst them? One of the people she'd come to know had betrayed them?  Then again,  Sayaka thought,  One of us is a serial killer, I can't be that surprised...

"Should we... tell everyone?" Sayaka asked hesitantly.

"No. I don't think so. I told you and you alone, because I feel like I can trust you. Trust isn't easy for me, but... I don't know, I feel like I can." Kyoko rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. A blush on her cheeks came and went so quick, Sayaka wasn't sure if she imagined it or not.

"U-Um... Elimination! We can eliminate certain people from being the one, right?" Sayaka stuttered, still somewhat panicking over the thought of her situation getting even worse than before. "We know what Celeste's secret was, so it can't be her. I know it's not you because Makoto had your secret! The secret I received belonged to Mondo. Byakuya had mine, um..."

"But that's all we have, isn't it?" Kyoko sighed, gripping her chin with her gloved hand. "Besides, we don't know how much we can trust that."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, what if someone claimed to get theirs, but it was Makoto's? What if the secret  was  Makoto's? What if someone's missing a secret or if one person had two, to make it impossible to guess, even if everyone were to confess their own?" Kyoko began listing off her theories over and over, each more wild than the last. "There are just too many possibilities to consider. Monokuma organised these secrets, so either he has a way of counteracting us figuring it out or doesn't care. That concerns me. Besides, even though this is arguably the worse secret, I don't think everyone will fess up and own many of them. Being Genocide Jack? Killing 14 family members? No one is likely to claim their own secret."

"So, what do we do?" Sayaka's eyes met Kyoko's, trying to gauge past the barriers Kyoko had put up. It was harder to see through the cracks of her mask when she was in her analytical mode, plus Sayaka's exhaustion made Kyoko hard to read.

"For now, I say we don't inform anyone besides each other of our findings. They are working for Monokuma, yes, but that doesn't mean he tells them everything. We should keep what we know to ourselves. Besides, if the others learn of a traitor..."

It might cause another senseless killing...  It goes unsaid, but Sayaka can hear the words regardless.

"Right. Besides, any one of them could be the traitor... It's best to keep it to ourselves." Sayaka agreed. Kyoko nodded along to Sayaka's words, taking a sip of her tea before continuing.

"Everyone is currently exploring right now, by the way. I already did a thorough exploration of the new areas earlier. The storage room behind the cafeteria was unlocked. It has many supplies for various purposes. The bathhouse is also open now, as well as a sauna inside. More importantly, the second floor is open. It has a pool and a library, as well as extra classrooms."

"A pool, huh? I bet Hina will be excited about that one." Sayaka giggled, imagining her reaction when she found it.

"Everyone left to explore around 7:30, I came to deliver your breakfast. They should be wrapping up relatively soon, would you like to finish our meals in the dining hall?" Kyoko's head tilted as she awaited her answer.

"Yeah, sure!" Sayaka collected her things, joining Kyoko on their trip.

~♥️~

It wasn't too long later that people began filing into the dining hall. Hina was practically beaming as Sakura tailed her inside, the former bouncing up and down.

"A pool! A pool pool poooool! I-" Hina was spinning around on her heels before noticing she and Sakura weren't the only ones there. Locking eyes with Sayaka, she dashed over. "Sayaka! Are you okay? I was worried about you..."

"I'm alright. If I let myself get depressed over this it wouldn't help anyone. Instead, I'm going to focus my feelings on getting out of here!" Sayaka did a little fist pump, trying to visually show just how okay she was.

People who were okay didn't feel the need to prove it.

Hina giggled, "Well, as long as you're okay... but! Sayaka, get this! There. Is. A. Pool! We can go swimming! Come on, come oooon! You have to join me sometime!" Hina was bouncing up and down full of energy. Sakura placed a hand on top of Hina's head, causing the bouncing to cease. Hina and Sakura laughed together, sitting down with Kyoko and Sayaka.

"Swimming sounds fun!" Sayaka grinned at the duo. With Hina satisfied, Sayaka was able to focus on eating. Despite her sour mood, the three girls being with her made it easier for Sayaka to pretend.

Eventually, more people arrived. Kiyotaka, Mondo and Chihiro came in one group. It was only a minute after that Byakuya stormed in, followed by Toko.

Chihiro sat down at the table, Kiyotaka and Mondo sitting on either side of her. "Sayaka... I-I'm glad you're alright! After Mondo had to carry you to the rooms, I was worried... I'm glad you could join us for the breakfast meeting!"

"Thanks, Chi-ro... Wait, Mondo carried me?" To which, Mondo gave her a wide toothy grin and a thumbs up with his good hand.

"Ha, yeah. Couldn't just leave ya in that nasty elevator a second longer. Second the doors opened, I picked ya up! Kyoko said she was willin' to room with ya, so I dumped you in with 'er!" 

"Ha! Good job bro. Leave it to you to help like that!" Kiyotaka laughed louder than necessary, which Mondo mirrored.

"You know it, bro!" The two locked arms, laughing uproariously, not caring how loud they were being. Chihiro, although caught in between their bromance, didn't seem to mind. Sayaka slowly leaned over to Kyoko, whispering in her ear as she watched on.

"They seem... awfully close. They weren't like that before, were they?"

"It happened after you passed out. Kiyotaka was taking the murder pretty hard, and the two got into a fight over Kiyotaka being 'too weak'. I left it be to watch over you and come this morning they were suddenly best of buds." Kyoko shrugged, unsure of any other detail. "Male friendship sure is interesting."

Beneath their boasting voices, Sayaka looked over at the others that remained pretty quiet. Toko was giddily playing with her fingers, not focused on anyone else there but herself. Sayaka hadn't talked to the author much, so she decided now was a good chance.

"What's up, Toko? You seem like you're in a good mood." 

"D-Did you hear? There's a w-whole library up on the second floor! I-It's full of so much amazing literature..." Toko's excitement caused her to goofily grin.

"It has a vast number of textbooks as well as novels. Very intriguing indeed. How I wonder, did Monokuma get his hands on them all?" Sayaka turned around to see him at the other table by himself, his eyes glued to a novel he had taken from the library.

"Well, this is a school... Is it not normal for it to have that stuff already?" Chihiro questioned.

"On the surface, sure. But the collection that the library has runs deeper than the Mariana Trench. Confidential police records, classified government documents, and world trade secrets, all of which are never to be seen by the public at their discretion? A bit far-fetched that it rivals my own personal library."

"W-What the-!?" Kiyotaka gasped, "What's that stuff doing in the Hope's Peak's library!?"

"Intriguing," is all Kyoko had to say.

"Oh, there you all are!" Yasuhiro greeted us with a toothy smile as he came in. Junko and Leon were behind him. 

It's not too much longer until everyone was there. Well, almost everyone. Celeste still hadn't arrived, not that Sayaka was complaining any time soon. With the majority of them at the main table, par from Toko and Byakuya, who were keeping their distance, Kiyotaka stood in front of the crowd, ready to give a speech.

"Alright! It seems that everyone that's going to attend is here. Let us start the meeting!" he raised his voice so that he was front and centre of everyone's attention.

"W-Wait, we're not gonna wait for Celeste?" Chihiro spoke a little sheepishly. Kiyotaka frowned as he thought of how to say it. Sayaka couldn't help but notice he had his eyes on her as he replied.

"After the events that transpired recently... I believe Celeste can't be trusted until she has faced punishment for her actions."

"Is that really okay, though?" Hina muttered. "Don't get me wrong, I hate her for what she did! But... do we really have to bar her from meetings? All it does is cause more fighting." 

"S-She's a killer! It's her fault that both Makoto  and  Hifumi are dead!"

"I agree with her," Junko said, placing her hands in her lap. "Besides, keeping her where we can see her is a great way to monitor her. Leaving her be lets her do whatever the heck she wants, right? Wouldn't keeping an eye on her be better?"

"Well... It wouldn't be fair of me to decide that myself anyway. What kind of leader would I be if I selfishly made that decision without the input of others... Let's put it to a vote! Anyone who agrees with my initial decision to exile her, raise your hand!"

Mondo, Yasuhiro, Toko and Leon raised their hands. Including Kiyotaka on that side of the argument it was five versus seven. "Very well then, Celeste will be allowed to rejoin... I'll go-" Taka begins to leave his place before the door opens wide with Celeste on the other side.

"There is no need, I am already here~" Celeste smiled with hands cupping her chin. Sayaka felt her body tense up with unease. Upon seeing her, Leon couldn't help but get mad, raising his voice.

"Really guys!? Even you, Sayaka? She's the one that offed Makoto! It's her fault!"

"H-How are we supposed to trust her!? W-What if she plots to do it again!?" Toko growled, leaning away from Celeste like if she got closer she'd get burned.

"Non non. I have learnt my lesson. Besides, seeing the punishment awaiting me if I was successful in becoming blackened wasn't so alluding." Celeste twirled some of her hair in her fingers.

"So says the Ultimate Gambler, who's known for taking on high-stakes, life-or-death gambits on the regular." Byakuya scoffed, gaining what seemed to be a genuine look of hatred from Celeste. "Also, what is with that accent? We are all already aware it's fake. Don't be so irksome."

Celeste had no comeback as she elegantly approached the table. Er, well. As elegantly as you could be with a limp. Sitting down, she tried not to make eye contact with anyone but Kiyotaka. It doesn't stop Yasuhiro from freaking out next to her as he scoots his chair away.

"What the hell, man!? Do you have to sit next to me of all places?"

"Stop it." Sayaka snapped, feeling a tense shaking in her arms as she stared downward at her lap. "What Celeste did was despicable. I'm not going to argue otherwise. But that's wrong. It wasn't her fault. We can't... we can't get angry with her right now. It wasn't her fault Makoto died. Or Hifumi's. It was him, that stupid bear! None of this would be happening if not for Monokuma. We shouldn't yell at her for falling into temptation. We should be angry at Monokuma! Doubting and hating each other is exactly what he wants. If we keep this up, it's just going to happen again..."

Sayaka didn't realise she had begun crying. Her anger fell as quickly as it rose, her hands slightly shaking. Junko took the silence as her turn to speak.

"She's right. As much as it sucks to admit, we can't really get mad at Celeste  or  Hifumi. They were just manipulated into doing what Monokuma wanted. So let's all trust each other and get out of here together, right?" She gives a wide toothy grin and flashes a peace sign.

"Fuck yeah! It's that shitty bear's doing! Even if this chick is crazy, it's not like she would have killed without this stupid killing game!" Mondo yelled.

"I'm sorry..." Sayaka sighed, "For getting emotional." Out of the corner of her eye, Sayaka spotted a gloved hand hesitantly move toward her own. Taking hold of it, she got a gentle squeeze.

"It may be redundant, but... Celeste, I believe we'd all appreciate an apology for your actions." Sakura folded her arms like a scolding mother.

Celeste raised an eyebrow for a moment, then shrugged her shoulders. "Very well then. I'm sorry." The fake accent was gone now. "I simply wanted to win, so I tossed the dice, but this time the odds were not in my favour, and I lost. The stakes are no longer worth the prize, so I shall not try this again. I'm sorry for taking away your precious Makoto, Sayaka."

Sayaka looked at her scornfully, unsure if she was trying to set her off or not. Regardless, Sayaka already promised to focus her anger on their captor, but that didn't mean it was easy. She quietly thanked Celeste for her apology, not convinced she meant it.

"About that. Don't they call you the 'Queen of Liars'? What a horrendous display. It's like you  wanted  to be caught." Byakuya smirked. "Even that fat idiot was able to disguise his actions better than you."

"Shut. Up!" Celeste slammed her palm on the dining hall table, pushing herself out of her seat as she raised a finger at him. "If I have to hear another word out of your goddamn mouth I-" 

"Enough!" Kiyotaka demanded, standing once more. "As has been said before, to stand against Monokuma, we must stand together. I've learnt my error of judgement, and so shall we all. In order to win, we must cooperate, so from now on, no more bringing up past mistakes. Allow us to work together and beat Monokuma's game!"

"Well, if that wasn't cheesy as heck," Junko giggled, causing Kiyotaka to falter.

"You could say that again," Hina laughed with her.

"I-It was? Sorry... I-" 

"Eh? Don't apologise! We meant it in a good way! Cheesy and corny friendship is just what we need, isn't it? Getting along and having a bond is how we beat a lame game like this!" Junko explained, causing Kiyotaka to smile with a large, goofy grin.

"A bond, you say? Wassat? Is it tasty?" Monokuma asked as he waddled slowly toward the table.

"Go. Away." Byakuya snapped.

"Huh? B-But, I came to deliver-" Monokuma began before Byakuya got out of his chair.

"Don't make me repeat myself." Byakuya stood tall and proud, looking down at the robot bear.

"So, you're not interested in the new areas I've unlocked for you?" Monokuma asked.

"We already explored them ages ago! We met up just now to discuss what we found." Junko crossed her arms.

"We don't want anything from you. Nothing. At. All. Go away!" Hina yelled, clenching her fists.

"Oh... I see. You've all outgrown your very own headmaster, huh?" Monokuma looked down and kicked at the floor. "You really don't want  anything  from me ever again?"

"O-Of course not! Bracula already told you to go away! D-Didn't he?" Toko pointed at Monokuma accusingly.

"It's Byakuya." He sighed along with an eye roll. "She is right, however. I told you to get lost. Don't make me kick you to the curb like an unwanted puppy."

"Sheesh, fine. I won't give you guys anything else from now on! I'll do just as you guys asked for!" Monokuma angrily threw his hands in the air before storming out of the room. 

"Excuse me, everyone?" Celeste's accent seemed to come and go every time she talked. It must be hard to break it once you've done it for so long. "About this... 'bonding' thing. The bathhouse has just opened, no? I think that would be a nice way to begin the process. A communal bath between everyone, hanging out and relaxing could be fun."

"Oh, oh! And the pool!" Hina bounced up and down in her seat. "We could all go swimming!"

"U-Um... I-I don't really do well with... w-water." Toko bit her thumb nervously.

"A-And I don't do so well with pools!" Chihiro cried.

"Well... As long as you turn up, it should be fine. Neither of you have to go in the water if you don't wish to." Sakura smiled.

Chihiro seemed uncomfortable at the thought of having to go in the pool...  I wonder why?  Sayaka thought  Toko said she doesn't like water. Could that be the same for her? 

Chatter in the dining hall seems to go on for a bit longer. Eventually, the group came to a consensus. That afternoon, they were to meet up at the pool to start a group bonding session. Sayaka was honestly pretty excited. The stress of it all had been too much for her to handle, she couldn't wait to unwind. She had a little free time before then, however. She'd go looking around for who to spend it with.

~♥️~

Her first choice had obviously been Kyoko , however , when she didn't answer her door and was nowhere to be seen, she quickly gave up. Sayaka was walking along the second-floor hallway when she spotted Chihiro Fujisaki. The programmer had been on Sayaka's mind since the morning meeting. Her odd reaction to the pool had made Sayaka even more curious when Chihiro was currently outside it, looking at the door to the locker room. Unaware of Sayaka's watching eyes, Chihiro pulled out her E-Handbook to enter the girl's locker room.

BZZT

The electronic lock flashed red, and the gun up above aimed at her. For a moment, time froze as Sayaka looked on in shock. Thankfully, opposite of what she had worried , the gun never fired. Sayaka let go of the breath she had been holding, walking over to the programmer, who was staring up at the mounted gun in fear. Chihiro had been too preoccupied to notice Sayaka standing behind them. Turning around, the programmer nearly screamed seeing Sayaka there.

"Are you okay?" Sayaka asked, noticing how Chihiro was shaking. When she received a nod in reply, Sayaka walked over to the door to the girl's locker room, unlocking it with her own E-Handbook.

"S-Sayaka!?" Tears welled up in Chihiro's eyes as the idol stared into them.

"Relax. It's alright, Chi-ro." Sayaka said, trying to ignore the gun mounted next to the locker room doors.

"Y-You're not gonna... get mad, at what you saw, are you? D-Did you see anything?" Chihiro gulped, looking at the handbook in her hand and back at Sayaka.

"Why would I get mad? I don't care. You're you, and that's all that matters."

"B-But, I didn't even tell you what's going on yet?"

"Well, I can only think of two things." She paused, trying to think carefully about her words. "Either you're a girl, or you're not a girl but are dressed like one." Chihiro winced, and Sayaka continued, "I dunno but, whichever it is you are; I'll accept you. You're my friend Chi-ro. No matter what you are, all I care about is who you are, regardless of gender."

Chihiro's eyes lit up as she raced forward, tackling Sayaka's midsection with a tight hug. "P-Please, don't tell anybody."

"I won't, don't worry. But... how should I refer to you?"

"Uh... c-can you still treat me like a girl, for now? S-Sorry I'm just... I'm too weak. I can't tell you what's going on..."

"It's okay, trust me, you're not weak. I'll continue to call you she until you say otherwise, alright?" Sayaka took one arm out of the hug to give her a pat on the head, only for her to nuzzle in closer.

"Come on, let's go check out the pool, yeah?" Sayaka giggled as she finally let go, following her into the locker before-

"Graaah!" Monokuma growled as he suddenly blocked the entrance.

"Gah!" The idol let out a yelp in shock. For a large, mechanical bear, he was quite sneaky.

"M-Monokuma!?" Chihiro gasped, taking a step behind Sayaka.

"Jeez! First, you tell me you want nothing from me, then you go ahead and break the rules I was gonna explain? Unbelievable..."

"Rules? What rules?" Sayaka frowned, wanting him to hurry up already.

"You can't just go into the pool together! The locker room door is for one-at-a-time use!" Monokuma threw his arms in the air as he growled again. "Wait for the door to close, then the next person can go through! That way, you have to use your E-Handbook to open it!"

Monokuma gave a wave before that all too familiar sound of him slipping away was blocked by the door , the second Sayaka opened it again, he was gone.

"S-So I can't go in after all... Hina's gonna be so disappointed..." Chihiro was on the verge of sobbing before Sayaka put her handbook in her hands.

Sayaka slammed the door shut on the other side of it, and after waiting a moment, it once again unlocked from Chihiro's use. Beaming with joy, she happily cupped her hands together. "Ah! Thank you, Sayaka!"

"No worries Chi-ro . C'mon! Let's go check out the pool, okay?"

Even after the heartfelt, emotional reveal, Sayaka and Chihiro had a great time together. Sayaka hoped Chihiro would feel a bit stronger after her time here. It was getting close to the afternoon, however. So with a friendly goodbye, Sayaka ran off to the dining hall for lunch.

~♥️~

It wasn't too long after that 3 p.m. struck. Arriving back at the locker rooms, Sayaka got in line, along with everyone else. One by one, E-Handbooks flashed against the locker room doors. Sayaka felt Chihiro's unease and tension growing behind her. The two silently trade E-Handbooks, allowing them both inside one after the other. 

Sayaka was surprised at the full attendance they got. She'd been pretty sure Byakuya at least would ditch. Although it seemed he had zero plans on swimming, judging by the book he was carrying, she was still happy to have him join. Toko, although bringing up a fear of water, had also arrived despite Sayaka's theory. 

Sayaka and Chihiro swap handbooks once more now that they made it past and begun getting changed. There were plenty of school-issued swimsuits, enough for everybody. Sayaka ties her hair up in a ponytail, handing a band over to Kyoko, allowing her to do the same.

The boys had been much faster than them, it seemed. Kiyotaka had already begun swimming laps at an impressive speed, Mondo watching on at the edge of the pool timing him. Leon and Yasuhiro had created a game of Yasuhiro running laps around the edge of the pool, with the former trying to get him wet. Byakuya, on the other hand, had pulled up a chair to read his book.

Junko shoved people out of the way as she broke into a sprint, running past as she leapt into the air, screaming with glee as she jumped in the pool.

Leon, just barely diving out of the way of her cannonball, countered with a splash that hit her square in the face, causing both of them to laugh. With the pool as wild as it was, Sayaka took the moment to simply sit down at the side and admire the view. Sayaka genuinely smiled when Kyoko sat down on her right. Still wearing her gloves despite the swimsuit... she wondered if anyone else had noticed.

Hina blew a whistle at Yasuhiro, lecturing him about running near the pool. Acting as the lifeguard, she was on top of anyone misbehaving. Sakura, taking notice of Kiyotaka's swimming ability, challenged him to a race. The two battled hard as they swam, but Sakura was winning by a storm.

I wonder if Hina would still beat her?  Sayaka giggled at the mental image. If Sakura was going so fast she left a trail, she imagined Hina dashing through the water at the speed of sound.

Sayaka let go of her tension, relaxing genuinely for the first time in forever. It wasn't a lie. She was happy. Happy in a killing game. Perhaps it was this group. She'd felt a weird sense since she sat down, it was almost hurting her brain. She felt the strangest case of deja vu. It was just like...

"Have we... done this before?" Sayaka whispered, Kyoko not picking it up from the loud noise of everyone having fun.

Deciding it was a bad idea to stare at Kyoko all day, Sayaka tried to mentally note down what everyone was doing, and with who. Chihiro was playing with Leon and Junko in the water, her giant smile causing a warm tingly feeling in Sayaka's heart.

Sayaka frowned upon seeing Toko. She had moved as far away as possible into the corner. She clutched the sides of her head as if in pain. She didn't even get changed. Celeste, also unchanged, stood with her. Whatever Celeste was saying to Toko had helped the girl calm down somewhat.

"It makes you wonder, doesn't it? Why she's so afraid of water?" Kyoko asked, tracing Sayaka's eyes. "It must be more than a simple dislike. Perhaps even trauma or a phobia. However, I think you should let it go for now."

Sayaka looked down at Kyoko's gloves... She, too, was hiding something from the world. Something beneath those gloves. Something personal, not to be theorised on or investigated. As much as she was urged by her mind to find out more, Sayaka left Toko alone. 

"Sorry. I was just... hoping she'd open up more. She only really seems to hang out with Byakuya, of all people... I wonder what she sees in him? He doesn't treat her very well..."

"She follows him and barks his every order like a lap dog, probably a crush or an obsession I'd say." Kyoko brushed one of her untied strands of hair behind her ear as she said so.

"The feeling isn't mutual, let me tell you that much." Byakuya's voice came from seemingly nowhere, causing Sayaka to yelp. Sayaka worried if they were loud enough to be heard or if he had walked over by coincidence. 

"I'd say trauma is the more likely culprit, she's cautious of everyone else, even before the killing game had begun. She has a high distrust in everyone, more than the rest do. She's skittish like she's constantly expecting an attack from all angles." Byakuya explained his thoughts, gently rubbing his thumb against the book he was holding. This was the first time Sayaka was actually able to read the cover.

So lingers the ocean. - Toko Fukawa.

"I think we should let her explain when she's ready," Kyoko spoke softly. "It's easy to create a bond of understanding between people when you know the intricate details of their past. But nothing good will come of forcefully learning of it."

"Hey... Byakuya?" Sayaka curled her knees up toward her chest, avoiding eye contact. She had wanted to talk to him for some time now, but he had always had Toko following him. "About... the secrets of our past motive... the one you got-" Sayaka cut herself off when Byakuya raised his hand, silencing her.

"I didn't come over here to chit-chat. I simply came to deliver information and clear my name of being involved with that... girl. I don't care about your secret. You betrayed a friend and sabotaged her career to proceed with your own. If anything, I actually respect that."

"Y-You knew it was mine?" Sayaka blinked.

"It specifically mentioned her 'Idol' career. 'You destroyed a fellow Idol's career in order to start your own.' I just omitted this info from Kiyotaka when he requested it."

"You... protected my secret?" Sayaka smiled, causing Byakuya to wince. 

"Don't look at me like that. It was purely for selfish reasons. If I made it obviously your secret, that would have removed your chance of becoming the potential suspect. It made the trial more interesting, nothing more."

"More... interesting?" Sayaka's hands curled into fists, tightening with every second. She stood up, getting in his personal space as he stared down at her. "More interesting!? Why would you want that? Our lives were on the   line!"

"This is a game." Byakuya lightly shoved her away, adjusting his glasses. "A zero-sum game in which both the prize and bet are our lives. Nothing is worse than a boring game, and I refuse to participate in something uninteresting. Besides, a bigger mystery allows me to see who's amongst us are useless fools, and who I'll have to look out for when I plan my  own  murder." 

"What!? What's wrong with you? You  want  to play this stupid game!? To kill... or be killed? I can't take it here at all! Makoto died because of this game, and Hifumi too! W-Why are you..." 

"I've already explained myself, and I didn't come to argue. Like I said, I came to inform, nothing more. With that cockroach following me, I barely get a moment of peace and quiet around here. Please don't contribute to being a bother." Byakuya frowned, turning on his heels to return to his seat.

"What the... what was that about?" Sayaka slumped back down next to Kyoko, curling up into a ball.

"Don't let it get to you. People like him are all the same. One day or another, his words will return to bite him. Hard."

The two were distracted when a cannonball from none other than Sakura herself managed to splash the both of them, despite how far from the edge they'd been. Blinking for a moment, the two looked at each other, before laughing together.

They stayed at the pool for a good couple of hours. The group bonded in a way that caused Sayaka's heart to pound... it was indescribable. It was like... it was like she'd always known them. Was that just how tight-knit they'd become? It didn't really feel that way, so what was this intense feeling?

After finally getting to see the Ultimate Swimming Pro in action, Sayaka had had her fill, and slowly the students trickled back to their dorms, another day coming to a close in the Despair Academy.

~♥️~

It was just shy of 7 p.m. that Sayaka found herself in the dining hall. Instead of making her own meal like usual, Sayaka herself, as well as the rest of them had gathered in the dining hall for a grand feast.

Junko, Kiyotaka, Sakura and Hina were working in the kitchen, and the rest of the students were in the dining hall having a lovely time. After the success of the pool hangout, they decided to cap off the day with a grand dinner!

They weren't Ultimate Chefs or anything, but the four on cooking duty were the best amongst them, so no one would complain. However, Kyoko and Byakuya insisted on making their own meals. Sayaka couldn't help but feel that scepticism was a bit overboard.

Regardless, when the dishes started piling out, Sayaka smiled with joy. She looked around at her fellow ultimates, the smiling faces, the getting along... she wondered if this would've been what they were like from the get-go, had it not been for Monokuma's influence?

Makoto would have loved it...  Sayaka thought.  Hifumi would've helped on cooking duty. He would have acted like a waiter in some goofy getup.

Sayaka thought about them for a moment. Makoto and Hifumi. The two they had lost.

Makoto wasn't used to the glamorous life of an Ultimate. He had said that to her, that he didn't feel like he belonged at their 'rank'. It was him, however, that made her feel safe. It was him that made her feel okay again after the first day, not any of the ultimates. He saw the joy and optimism in life without any lies. He didn't deserve his fate.

Hifumi... was tricked. Deceived into  murder . If only he had been more open about what Celeste said. If he just told everyone, nothing would have happened. Sayaka didn't get to know Hifumi very long, but she was certain that if given the chance, they would've been good friends. 

If only he'd told them...  Should we really be keeping secrets?  Sayaka wondered, thinking about Kyoko's secret.

One of these people she was sitting with, laughing with, splashing around with, eating with... living with. One of them was helping Monokuma. One person amongst them had their worst interest in mind. How could one of these people do such a thing? Sayaka couldn't even imagine Byakuya daring.

It wasn't just that, either. One of these people was a serial killer. She'd been told by Mondo that his secret was the one she received. He'd killed his brother.

How many of these people had taken a life?

"S-So um... What do you guys think? About Celeste's secret motive?" Chihiro asked the table. "A-About Genocide Jack... Do you think they could be the mastermind!?"

"Mastermind?" Junko's face went blank, having been coming out with another plate of food along with Sakura, she overheard.

"Yeah, you know, like, the one that put us in here?" Chihiro fiddled with her fingers nervously.

"Well, it's certainly possible," Sakura said calmly as ever, putting down the plates she'd brought out. "But it's also possible they have nothing to do with one another."

"Ain't something you gotta worry 'bout Chihiro!" Mondo smiled. "If that Jack guy comes at us, I'll kick his ass, no problem!"

"That would be a problem, no? if Genocide Jack were to reveal himself, we'd be trapped. I mean, what is there to do? We can't kill him, we'd just have ourselves another trial." Celeste wondered.

"W-What could w-we even do to them?" Toko gasped. "W-Wouldn't it be better not to piss off the serial k-killer? M-Maybe we should just leave them be instead!"

"Don't be so ignorant." Byakuya shook his head, leaning away as far as he could from Toko, seemingly upset she dared sit next to him. "The murderous fiend, Genocide Jack, is notorious for a reason. He is a threat."

"H-Hey, can we talk about something else?" Yasuhiro's knuckles were turning white from how hard he was gripping his chair. "G-Genocide Jack!? T-That's gotta be a joke, right? There's no way s-someone like that's really in here with us!"

"Hate to agree with that guy, but," Leon started. "what if it was just a lie? Monokuma put it in there just to make us distrust each other n crap? That seems like something he'd do, right?"

Kyoko hummed in agreement before Kiyotaka and Hina returned with the remaining dishes. With that, the party officially started! Despite the conversation, Sayaka felt her anxieties melt away.

What remained of those melted anxieties swirled into bittersweet nostalgia. Sayaka continued to think about Makoto. He had been the one to hold her when Monokuma told them about the game.  Why did he, of all people, have to fall victim to it?

Sayaka was shocked out of those thoughts when she felt a nudge from her left. Hina had sat down next to her, noticing the idol frozen. Sayaka smiled at her, picking up her utensils to continue eating.

Happy chatter continued the rest of that night, and it wasn't long after that the group dispersed for nighttime. Sayaka was enjoying her time, sure, but she couldn't help but think of the negatives. Surely Monokuma wouldn't let them have fun without terror for too long. There wasn't a chance he'd let it continue for long.

Sayaka didn't look forward to what tomorrow would bring, but she was too tired to prevent it's coming. She lay in bed, waiting for the nighttime announcement, falling asleep without hearing it.

Chapter 2: Raging Revelations

Daily Life

Students remaining: 13

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: Raging Revelations

Daily Life

Sayaka's morning routine remained the same that day. Her shower was the same as ever. Her room was the same as ever, undecorated... except for the one weapon she took from the gym. She didn't understand the point of decorating their rooms. It made her feel like her stay would last longer if she began accepting it.

Sayaka had been maintaining her old routine. Exercising every morning, stopping right for the Morning Announcement. Then hopping in the shower right as the water turned on. Sayaka felt sluggish. Like her workout had been extra hard on her. Collapsing to the floor, she took a moment to catch her breath before turning on her E-Handbook.

"Wha- Eight!?" Sayaka sat up in a hurry. She was over an hour late for the morning meeting! Somehow not noticing the Morning Announcement, she had completely missed it. Rushing to finish up her routine, she ran out the door with a sprint.

She burst into the dining hall to be greeted by a group of four. Kiyotaka, Hina, Sakura, and Chihiro were there waiting. Kiyotaka was the first to address the idol.

"Ah! Sayaka, hello and good morning! I assume you're the same as the rest?"

"The same?" 

"Well, none of us received the good morning announcement from Monokuma today. That's why we were all late, and assumedly everyone else too." 

"You don't think something happened again, do you?" Hina gulped.

"No, that's wrong. The day..." Sayaka paused, biting her lip. "The day we lost Makoto, the morning announcement still played."

"Then what is the cause of the morning announcement's failure? I doubt Monokuma simply got lazy." Sakura said. Unsure of the answer, Sayaka went to the kitchen to make breakfast.

Inside was an odd sight. The fridge was nearly empty, and the pantry was barely stocked. Their dishes from the previous day hadn't been reset, nor had anything changed from last night... Taking the leftovers, Sayaka made herself a simple breakfast. Not that she minded. She usually didn't eat large meals. 

Sayaka was shocked to see no new faces when she returned to the dining hall. Sitting down next to Sakura, she took hesitant bites of her food. Sakura immediately began a conversation with the idol, distracting her from her own unease as if Sakura had sensed it from a mile away.

"Sayaka, dear?" Sakura began when Sayaka was mid-spoonful of soup, causing her to chuckle as she frantically tried to finish it, to respond with a simple yes, "Hina and I are going to be training in the girl's locker room this afternoon at 5. We'd be glad if you were to join us."

"Group training? I never really go intense with workouts, just enough to keep my stamina high on stage." Sayaka chuckled at her own expense. "I don't think I can keep up, but I'd be happy to come!"

"The offer extends to you, too, Chihiro. We'd be glad to have you accompany us." Sakura turned to the petite girl, who was digging into a poorly constructed sandwich she seemingly made herself.

"Um, no thanks... I'm training with Mondo already! He promised to help me get s-stronger!" 

Sakura smiled with a nod. Hina, on the other hand, looked bummed by the reply. Only once the majority were finished with their food did more people finally arrive. Junko, Mondo, Celeste, Yasuhiro and Leon came in one big group, Yasuhiro looked very proud of himself.

"Haha, I knew it! I predicted the meeting would've already happened, so I went out of my way to gather everyone who'd answer their door!" Hiro said with a large, toothy grin.

"Ah! Great work, Yasuhiro!" Kiyotaka enthusiastically greeted him with a bow, gesturing for everyone to sit down. "What of the other three students? Kyoko, Toko and Byakuya?"

"Toko actually answered," Junko kicked at the floor as she leaned on a chair. "Though she gave us the cold shoulder when we asked her to come, she got real pissy that she wanted nothing to do with it for some reason."

"The other two just didn't answer their damn doors," Mondo grunted. "After Hiro got me, he asked me to help get everyone. So I went banging on that spoiled shithead's door and got fuck all from 'em."

"Ah, well. Sayaka, do you know about Kyoko?" Kiyotaka asked the bluenette.

"She didn't say anything about it the last time I saw her. Let's just wait and see. I think we'll be fine." Sayaka gave a reassuring smile.

"R-Right! So, despite the absence of others, allow us to start Hope's Peak Academy's Daily Breakfast Meeting!" Kiyotaka's voice was shaky and uncertain, but he lead off as usual. Discussing the newly unlocked areas to see if there was anything missed, everyone's plans that day, theories on how to get out, etc. Eventually, the topic turned to what had been on everyone's minds;

"So, where's that goddamn bear anyway? I didn't get a morning announcement OR a nighttime announcement." Mondo said with his mouth nearly full.

"That... is a good question," Kiyotaka began, "I-I'm sure it'll be fine! Maybe whoever's in control of it just overslept?"

"Don't be a goddamn idiot! The announcements are pre-recorded, aren't they?" Mondo side-eyed Kiyotaka, shoving his now-finished bowl to the centre of the table with a grunt.

"Huh? T-They are!?" Kiyotaka gasped.

"I believe so. The way he says it and the message in them is always the same. I've never noticed a difference between each nighttime and morning announcement. They probably are pre-recorded and set on a timer." Chihiro elaborated, causing Mondo to grin.

"See? It's like the chick said!" Mondo leaned over to give Chihiro a little fist bump, which she happily returned.

"Y-You're right, I'm sorry." Kiyotaka looked down and finally sat. Sakura quickly turned the topic back towards what was happening.

"It is quite alarming the announcements have stopped. As well as the situation in the kitchen."

"Situation?" Yasuhiro, having not been to the kitchen yet, asked cluelessly.

"None of it has been restocked! It's the exact same as it was last night." Hina elaborated.

"For serious? Maybe something did happen to Monokuma?" Yasuhiro guessed.

"Well, for now, all we can do is speculate, so let's put our worries to rest and wait and see!" Kiyotaka yelled, finding his voice again.

"Aye-aye, leader." Leon rolled his eyes as he ate, causing Junko to giggle, yet Taka faltered a little at the comment.

Breakfast continued in silence. Sayaka had finished her food long before the meeting began, so she decided she would use this opportunity to slip out and look for Kyoko.

Sayaka hadn't really searched all of the new available locations of the school, so her first trip was to the storage room, and it was very far from what she'd expected. There were boxes upon boxes of supplies stacked on shelves that went higher than she could see. Sadly very little of it looked like food, as she had assumed. There was plenty of equipment that you would see in any other school, such as markers and balls for various sports, among a variety of other goods for any purpose one could imagine. Shutting the door behind her, Sayaka ducked in between shelves exploring. The various amount of stock was intriguing. Many items were the best quality of their kind, reminding Sayaka of the ultimates that were supposed to use them. High-line cooking equipment, art supplies and more.

Sayaka had been walking through the sports section on her way out, scanning the shelf as she walked by, drumming her fingers against the bumps of the shelf. Eventually, her fingers stumbled into one of the pieces of sports equipment, knocking it to the ground with a wooden clack.

A large, sturdy wooden baseball bat rolled along the floor until it clanged against the opposite shelf. Sayaka couldn't move. Her breath hitched. She felt a pain crawling up through her starting from her arm, as if touching it sent a wave of pain through her nerves. Sayaka couldn't move, despite how much her body shook. Her legs gave out first, sending her buckling against the shelf as she slumped against it. She curled up, burying her face into her knees.

Sayaka sat there for almost too long. She'd dealt with panic attacks before. But this was something else. She couldn't control her breathing. Struggling to stand, she attempted to distance herself from the bat as she forced her body out the door.

If anyone had seen her, she didn't notice. Instead of searching for Kyoko like planned, she slammed into her dorm room, collapsing into her bed.

I'm sorry... Kyoko.  She thought, blaming herself for not going to find the girl who wasn't even waiting for her. Her mind flashed with the image of Makoto's still body, cold beneath her touch.

She tried as hard as she could to shake the thought away, eventually passing out in the process...

~♥️~

Unsure how long she'd been asleep, Sayaka gently woke up. Rubbing her eyes, she reached for the E-Handbook, learning that it was already noon. She could still make it to Sakura and Hina at Five. Her body felt stiff, and her mind still ached.

I'm... gonna go see someone!

Sayaka walked around the academy, exploring places new and old. Upon arriving at the gym, she took a peek through the open doors, seeing none other than Mondo and Chihiro!

The two were on the floor doing push-ups. Around them were gym equipment like dumbells Mondo likely brought from the boy's locker room. It was a cute sight, Sayaka admitted to herself. Any time Chihiro's arms wobbled, causing her to fall, Mondo was there to pick her back up. Eventually, she didn't struggle at all.

Closing the door gently and slowly, Sayaka backed away. Trying to think of who she was going to hang out with, the universe thought of someone for her, as Sayaka bowled over someone else when they collided in the hall just outside the school store.

"Oh... S-Sorry Junko!" Sayaka rubbed her head sheepishly as Junko offered a hand to help her up, seemingly unphased by Sayaka's head-on collision.

"Jeez, Sayaka!" Junko snorted, laughing as she looked Sayaka up and down. "For such a small gal, you got some muscle in ya to be able to knock  me  back!" Sayaka apologised once again, quickly changing the topic.

"What are you doing at the school store?" Sayaka asked, watching Junko pat herself down of dust.

"Well, I was just taking a look at what they got! They got a heck tonne of cool stuff in there!" She beamed with joy, eager to share her discovery.

"Oh yeah, like what?" Sayaka peeked down at her E-Handbook, spying the large sum of 'Mono-Coins' she'd gathered.  Maybe I could buy her something?

"Just... all them weapons, ya know~?" Junko admitted with a blush.

"W-Weapons!?"

"Huh, yeah? Is that weird or something? What am I supposed to say? Weapons are cool." She grabbed a piece of her bangs to play with between her fingers.

"Well, uh, tell me what your favourite weapons are!" Sayaka giggled, following Junko inside, a little nervous.

"Like, look here!" She grabbed a large knife inside of a cover from the counter. Just above the blade, it said 'Gendarmerie'.

"That's a pretty weird knife," Sayaka said, leaning in to get a better look.

"This baby's a C.A.C Gendarmerie Nationale!" Junko pulled it out from the cover and  flipped it!  Junko looked genuinely excited as she tossed the knife back and forth before catching it upright. "It's a rescue knife used in the French military!"

"That's... exciting? You sure do know a lot about knives. Are you a collector or something?"

Junko's face went blank as if she just remembered something. "N-No! Sorry, I musta bored the heck outta you with all my nonsense talk, good stupid ol me, right? Haha."

"Huh? No, I was actually pretty interested," Sayaka pouted, taking out a different knife from the shelves, hoping to gain Junko's interest. "Tell me about this one!"

"Ah shoot... she'd be pissed," Junko muttered under her breath before shaking her head and carrying on. "Oh, that's a KA-BAR! That's more of an American knife. That one's more for combat in the Marines n stuff!"

Sayaka was playing with it, about to press on the tip before it was suddenly snatched from her grasp. "Hey, careful! This thing's really sharp!"

"Wait, they're real!?" Sayaka quickly dropped it. She mentally facepalmed.  Of course, they're real! We're in a damn killing game...

"All of these weapons are real." Junko rolled her eyes, "Even this one!" She clapped excitedly as she rummaged around for a moment, before pulling out a gun!? "This beauty is a Mac 10! Also a French-"

"Wait, s-shouldn't we hide these then!?" Sayaka gawked as Junko casually waved around a firearm.

"Relax, I'm pretty sure there aren't any live rounds anywhere. The best you could use this for is to club someone. But if it makes you feel better, I could take these beaut's back to my room!" She stuffed the pistol down the waistband of her skirt before moving on to the knives.

"Alright, I'm pretty sure I could trust you of all people with them, after all your help the last time." Sayaka sighed with relief. Going up to the counter, Sayaka tapped her E-Handbook on the paywave. The two of them ended up carrying a large amount of weapons back to Junko's dorm.

"Dunno how bright that is, but I trust ya too!" She beamed with a smile as she flashed Sayaka a peace sign. "Sorry, musta bored you to death with all my weapon talk. I just hate being bored. Hate it! I never noticed how much I hate it. But once we got trapped in here, it finally hit me!"

"I guess it must be pretty boring, especially for someone like you, always used to the spotlight, huh? Well, me too. I miss being up on stage with my girls." Sayaka sighed. She already knew the answer, but she was curious about Junko's insight. "Is it hard being a supermodel?"

"Eh, not really. All I really gotta do is be myself, and whatever doesn't look right when we're done, the studio can just photoshop it out!"

"I see... I'm so used to hand-picking my every feature live, but I guess with photoshoots, they could just photoshop it..." Sayaka giggled as they dumped the weapons in Junko's dorm.

"Thanks for paying, by the way. I only managed to scrap six of those things! How'd you get so many?" Junko tilted her head like a puppy questioning her.

"Dunno, I guess I earned some at... the trial."

"Oh shoot, I didn't-"

"It's fine." Sayaka shook it off. "No point getting depressed, is there? I just gotta keep my head up high and carry on for Makoto's sake!" She lied as she breathed.

"I getcha. I just can't help but feel bad bout it myself. Usually, guys I attract are gross n crap, only want me to hang out or whatever. Makoto was different tho, actually treated me right. I actually freakin liked that dork, and he was the first to go? Give me a break."

Sayaka looked down at the floor, unsure of what to reply with, before feeling a sudden squeeze as the fashionista wrapped an arm over her shoulder. "C'mon! The rest of those beauties aren't gonna move themselves! We aren't gonna let anyone else get hurt, yeah? Let's go!"

All things considered, several weapons being discovered or not, Sayaka had a pretty good time with Junko. After they moved the new additions to her collection into her room, which was simultaneously surprising and unsurprisingly already had a few weapons in there, the two went to lunch, happily eating away until the afternoon struck.

~♥️~

With the alarm on her E-Handbook letting her know it was 5 o'clock, Sayaka rushed on over to the locker rooms to meet Sakura and Hina. Picking up a tracksuit from the storage room, whilst carefully avoiding looking at a specific thing within, Sayaka made her way to the second floor before running into them outside.

To her surprise, neither of them had changed out of their usual attire, both still in their regular 'uniform'. That had to be one of the oddest parts of their captive stay at Hope's Peak, the fact that Monokuma went out of his way to provide them with identical sets of clothing so they'd end up wearing the same thing every day. At that point, all of their outfits had become a uniform in some way.

"Ah, Sayaka, splendid." Sakura smiled, welcoming the relatively tiny girl. "Are you ready to begin?"

"C'mon, Sayaka!" Hina pumped herself up, her energy almost ready to burst. "We gotta get in tip-top shape if we're gonna eat doughnuts tomorrow! I'll show you my secret technique!"

Sayaka took a deep breath, knowing well she'd be too exhausted to move tomorrow. Putting on her usual mask, Sayaka tried to show enthusiasm. "I'm as ready as I'm gonna be! So, what's first?"

"First, we'll begin our stretches. Allow Hina to show you how we warm up properly." Sakura grinned, subtly excited to share this moment as she entered the locker room, the other two not far behind.

With Hina and Sakura as her teachers, Sayaka learnt the ropes of a high-intensity workout. To their credit, it was much more difficult than Sayaka could've expected. Sakura pushed the idol by throwing her into workouts she'd rarely tried, such as using the punching bag. Sakura wrapped the boxing gloves around Sayaka's hands, causing her to be a little anxious.

"I'll show you what to do, so give it a shot." Sakura smiled, demonstrating her power as she stood in a practised position, striking the punching bag. Sayaka could feel the wind wave past her from the blow, shaking the bag as it swung from its chain back and forth.

She's crazy strong...  Sayaka gulped.

"It'll be alright, give it a go, Sayaka!" Hina pumped her up.

"O-Okay..."

Sayaka stared at her opponent, the punching bag, taking a deep breath. Getting into position, she raised her gloves and readied herself. Taking a step forward, she released her energy into the punch.

The punching bag flew back, its chain snapping off of the roof, collapsing to the floor in a heap.

Sayaka let out an eep, panicking. "What!? Oh no, I broke it!"

Hina stood staring for a moment, unsure how to even comprehend it, whilst Sakura sheepishly apologised.

"Sorry. I appear to have loosened it. The damage is my fault."

"L-Let's move on to something else..." Hina winced, stepping over the destroyed punching bag.

After several hours, Sakura decided to call it for the night, despite barely seeming tired in the slightest. Sayaka was massaging her sore legs when a drink container was placed in her hands. The smell was almost heavenly, so she chugged it without hesitation. The protein coffee blend was able to rejuvenate her instantly. They'd gone at it for nearly five hours straight. Sayaka knew she'd feel the impact of this decision in the morning, a worse feeling than any performance aftermath.

"I couldn't have done it... without you guys... thanks!" Sayaka managed to get out, still huffing and puffing. The other two were seemingly unphased by their workout, which caused Sayaka to feel a little embarrassed.

"We'll go a bit easier on you next time." Sakura smiled, chugging the protein drink Sakura had made.

"Next time, I'll fill you in on my super secret post-workout technique. So you better show up!" Hina laughed, idly fiddling with her bottle as she chugged the whole thing in seconds.

Hina threw her cup in the air, only to be caught with ease by Sakura as if a practised motion. Hina sat next to Sakura, leaning on her without Sakura minding in the slightest. Sakura smiled as she looked down at her.

"Next time, for sure!" Sayaka gave a warm smile as she finished her protein coffee, stretching her arms on her way out. "Monokuma's not making his announcements anymore, so maybe he isn't locking the dining hall either? I'm gonna try and see if I can get some dinner!"

"Goodnight, Sayaka. Would you like an escort to the dining hall? It is quite late." Sakura asked.

"I may be small, but I'm no pushover. I'm tough!" Sayaka made an attempt to flex her aching muscles. "Seriously though, I'll be okay. Good night!"

Hina yawned and nestled up against Sakura's side, waving to Sayaka as Sakura cradled her.  'I wonder how many times Sakura has had to carry Hina back to her room in the middle of the night.'  Sayaka smiled at the thought.

Not looking forward to her soreness in the morning, Sayaka made haste to the dining hall. However, as she exited the locker room area, Sayaka made a sharp turn in the opposite direction of the stairs going down. Kyoko had been exploring, and Sayaka hadn't once set foot in the new library yet. 

I might as well take a peek while I'm here~

Unexpectedly, in that sharp turn around the corner. Sayaka collided head-on with someone else, taking them down with her as the two toppled to the floor in a messy pile of limbs.

"Gah, I'm sorry!" Sayaka squealed, frantically getting up off of them to see none other than- "Kyoko! I haven't seen you all day!"

"Don't help me or anything." She rolled her eyes with a smile as she stood up and brushed herself down. "Sorry about that. I've been exploring the new areas of the school all day."

"Is that why you were in... the  boy's  bathroom?" Sayaka tilted her head to look at where she had come from.

"Yes, I might as well. However, I did not find anything of importance." She sounded composed as she said that, but Sayaka couldn't help but notice her eyes flick to one of the cameras for a second.

"Gotcha! Had no plans of going in there anyway, haha." Sayaka fake-laughed, waving her off. It was something that couldn't be said out here. Sayaka would have to wait for now.

"So, where  were  you headed then?" Kyoko flexed her gloved fingers together until a resounding pop came from her digits.

"The library. I wasn't looking for anything in particular. I just haven't been yet." Sayaka began walking with Kyoko in toe.

"Well, be careful." Kyoko sighed, folding her arms. "Byakuya's been spending his days in there. He gets very ill-tempered if disturbed."

"What's  he  going to do?" Sayaka scoffed. "That boy gets on my nerves, I swear. What he said at the pool... eugh." 

"I wouldn't let him get to you. You're a kind person, while he's likely never seen true kindness." Kyoko scowled before they finally made it to the door.

The inside of the library is actually quite cozy. Other than the soft sound of four people breathing, it was quiet too. The aura the library gave off was a nice one. Yet it felt menacing towards noise of any nature. Byakuya was sitting at the main desk in the library. Toko, not too far away, was poorly hidden behind a bookshelf. She seemed to be... watching him. That aside, Sayaka didn't dare utter a word as she browsed the library's selection.

It had quite a collection of books. From textbooks to magazines to comics and novels! Sayaka even managed to find one of her favourite novel series on the shelves. Happily taking one with her, she turned to leave with Kyoko. Safely escaping the dragon's den without angering it. Once clear of Byakuya's domain, Sayaka let out the breath she'd been holding.

"So, what did you get?" Kyoko smiled as Sayaka showed off her book to her.

"A Series of Unfortunate Events! It's a series I've been reading for a while now, hehe." Sayaka smiled, clutching the book tight to her chest. "Gah! I love reading~"

"Indeed, reading is quite enjoyable. After all, it is the most efficient method of gaining knowledge. As well as an excellent way to pass the time, express oneself in writing, and as escapism through reading." Kyoko shut her eyes as she smiled.

"Reading's very enjoyable. Since it's just words on a page, it really gets your imagination going! Whenever I read a good book, I feel like I'm looking in on a whole other world. I always end up thinking about what I'd do if I were in that world."

"I see. I don't particularly remember reading many fictional books. Perhaps you could teach me more about it?" Kyoko took a strand of hair and tucked it behind her ear, and her cheeks looked as if a blush could be forming. "It could be anything. I'd be interested to see whatever you're interested in."

"Hehe, then let's get reading! Tomorrow, I'll show you a whole world of fiction I'm sure you'll love!"

The pair descended the stairs down to the first floor and into the 'Despair Hotel'. Unfortunately for her, Sayaka's theory of the dining hall being unlocked was incorrect. With a frown, Sayaka followed Kyoko back to the dorm rooms. 

As the two arrived, Kyoko invited Sayaka into her room for a bite to eat from her stash. As thankful as she could be, Sayaka happily stuffed her face with her food. A simple collection of non-perishable goods was honestly a great idea. Sayaka thought of making her own when the kitchen would inevitably restock.

Happily eating the breakfast bar Kyoko had given her, Sayaka felt her stomach thanking her, gaining a warm feeling inside.

"Like the dining hall, the water also was turned off on time. Sorry if you wanted a shower after your workout." Kyoko called out as she fiddles with the faucet in her bathroom. Sayaka frowned when she looked down, realising she was still wearing the sweaty tracksuit.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, I might stink up your whole room. I guess I'll go back to mine." Sayaka stood, stretching her back until it popped as she made her way to the door. Kyoko stopped her before she could get far.

"It's fine. Just get changed in the bathroom. You can stay if you want." Kyoko's head was turned away, So Sayaka couldn't see her face. However, the bluenette couldn't help but notice the happiness in Kyoko's voice.

With a hmp and a nod, Sayaka slinked into the bathroom to get down into her pyjamas. When she came out, she froze at the sight waiting for her.

Kyoko was sitting on her bed. Her usual attire was replaced with the Hope's Peak standard-issue pyjamas they had all been given. Though, what Sayaka hadn't expected to see right then, nor ever, were Kyoko's gloves. Her dark purple, leather, stud-encrusted gloves. The ones that she had custom-made just for her, sat neatly on the bedside next to her.

On top of her lap were her hands. Her hands were... blackened. Burnt. The texture of the skin was flakey, bumpy. The scaring across her hand was like a maze. It threaded a pattern across the skin of her hands, or at least, what skin remained. Kyoko's hands were horrifically burnt worse than Sayaka could describe. Sayaka couldn't tell how long she'd been staring. Shaking the thoughts from her head, Sayaka walked over to Kyoko, sitting down next to her. Slowly, Kyoko looked down at her own hands.

"Usually, I can't feel anything." Kyoko began, watching as Sayaka became hooked on her every word. "But at night, I like to sleep with my gloves off. It can feel chaffed or claustrophobic if I always leave them on."

Sayaka simply stared on, unsure of what to do or say. Sitting down next to Kyoko, all she could think to do was offer her own hand. Slowly, Kyoko accepted. The pair of hands met, linking with one another. Sayaka winced at the touch, not expecting how it felt. Despite the bizarre feeling, she would never let go.

"So... what... um... happened?" Sayaka paused for a moment, immediately full of regret. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked, I-"

"It's okay." Kyoko sighed before continuing. "There was a time in which I grew close to someone. And because of that someone, I made a horrible mistake. In trying to...  Yui ..." Kyoko trailed off for a moment, slowly rubbing the back of Sayaka's hand with her fingers, "Sorry. I don't think I can tell you. Not that I distrust you but, this is something I can't exactly discuss easily."

"I understand, Kyoko." Thinking back on what she saw earlier that day, Sakura and Hina... Biting the bullet, Sayaka slowly leant on Kyoko. She was only slightly taller than the idol, maybe just a few centimetres, yet Sayaka leaned her head on her shoulder with ease. To Sayaka's surprise and joy, Kyoko wasn't put off by her doing it. And, in fact, she embraced it.

Sayaka was quite used to touch. At fan meet-ups, she was always asked to shake hands. People taking photos always wished to  hug  her, despite her preference. Sayaka was touched, prodded and poked almost always, by all people. Her managers, her fellow idols, her fans. Yet this was the first time she'd been touched when it felt so warm.

It was comfortable. She didn't feel the usual sleaze of human contact that made her want to escape. She was so comfortable, in fact, that Sayaka barely noticed herself slipping into a deep sleep at Kyoko's side. Her tired brain wondered if it was really okay for her to sleep with someone in this scenario, an easy target in the killing game. But as her dreary eyes looked into Kyoko's one last time that night, she felt trust in warmth. It was too late for her to back out, regardless. She was already asleep in Kyoko's arms. She'd have to see if it was wise in the morning.

Chapter 2: Raging Revelations

Daily Life

Students remaining: 13

Chapter Text

 Chapter 2: Raging Revelations 

 Daily Life 

An intensely bright light shone on Sayaka's closed eyelids, causing them to flutter open groggily. The lights on the ceiling above had turned on suddenly, a big screw you to her lovely sleep. Sayaka slowly turned her head to see purple eyes looking back at her, the inner rich swirls of her iris making a beautiful morning sight.

Shaking that thought from her mind, she returned to an even odder one. Why  did  the lights come on suddenly? They've never automatically come on or off before. Was that Monokuma's way of saying he was still watching? Or could it be something else...

Not worrying about it for too long, Sayaka turned her attention back toward the waking girl before her, smiling. A silent agreement came to the both of them as they slowly disentangled from one another, Kyoko heading straight for the shower.

Sayaka flexed all her joints with a yawn. Doing her morning exercise routine, Kyoko was quickly out of the shower, having gotten dressed in the bathroom. The two pass the baton as they swap spots, Sayaka entering the shower. 

Finally out of the bathroom and fully dressed, Sayaka entered Kyoko's room to find it empty, the girl not even saying goodbye as she left for the dining hall. Pouting, Sayaka sulked as she looked around... the room was a mess. It was her fault anyway, ' I might as well clean it for her, least I could do.'

~♥️~

It became apparent by now that the cowlick atop Sayaka's head was here to stay. No matter how many attempts Sayaka made, in the end, it would shoot right back up. Thankfully no one had commented on it yet, but maybe they were just trying to be polite. IT wasn't that annoying, but Sayaka wasn't fond of having an antenna.

Regardless, it was another morning she'd spent staring at Kyoko's mirror at her own hair. Marching out of Kyoko's room, Sayaka made her way to the dining hall, hoping to find at least the majority of her peers, unlike last time. To Sayaka's surprise, it was almost full! It actually looked like everyone was there for once. Spying Kyoko, who was holding two mugs in her seat, Sayaka happily skipped over to sit down.

The usual chatter had resounded amongst the group, enough that Sayaka was able to tune it out as she stared into the cup Kyoko handed her. The soft tan colour of milk and coffee mixed together, the light aroma from it too made it seem heavenly. Sayaka hadn't been one for coffee personally, but what Kyoko prepared for her looked lovely. After taking a long sip of the sweet drink, she happily thanked the lavender-haired girl as she nursed her own cup.

From a quick glance, she realised Kyoko's drink wasn't the same. A dark black cup steamed in Kyoko's grasp. Sayaka felt her tongue cry out in fear from the bitterness alone. Although, Sayaka wasn't an avid coffee drinker, so perhaps it was just her 'unrefined taste', but pure coffee like that was just too bitter for her to handle. Kyoko, on the other hand, seemed to revel in the taste.

Whilst judging the other girl's choice of drink, it was only then Sayaka realised they were the only people that had anything. There was no breakfast, there were no plates, just a few cups of tea and coffee, and no more.

"Alright, everyone is here! Allow me to start this morning's meeting!" Kiyotaka stood up and slammed his hands on the table, the loud bang gaining the room's attention. "So, I believe we have all noticed by now, Monokuma seems to be inactive. The announcements aren't being made, and items in the school store and dining hall are not being replenished."

"D-Do you think, maybe something happened to it? Or it's controller?" Chihiro asked as she held her own hands, trying to support herself.

"More likely, the operator. You all remember our first day here, yes?" Celeste sipped her tea for a moment before she continued. "After the explosion of the first bear, many more appeared. Monokuma clearly has many backups at his disposal."

"I-If something happened t-to that freak that trapped us in here, does that mean we can get out!?" Toko gasped.

"I have a more sinister theory, actually." Kyoko swirled around the liquid in her mug as she said so, thinking as she spoke. 

"Go on?" Sakura raised an eyebrow for a moment.

"It'd be unfortunate to be the case, but everyone seems to be looking at this from the most positive angle, where the most negative angle is more likely correct." Kyoko sighed, took a sip of her coffee, and then continued. "What if nothing happened to Monokuma at all, and in fact, he's doing this on purpose. Removing the announcements to create a sense of unease, not restocking in order to... cause us to make poor decisions."

"You're not saying... this is another one of those motives!?" Junko's eyes widened as she dropped the spoon she'd been holding. "That fucker is gonna try and starve us!?"

Panic spread like wildfire, people gaining realisation of the situation and freaking out over the lack of food. The whole room was chaos. Sayaka struggled not to join the panic, but watching Kyoko calmly finish her coffee helped weirdly. Kyoko seemed like she had been ready for it.

It was hard not to freak out personally, but watching Kyoko calmly finish her coffee helped weirdly. It seems she'd known this would happen and was prepared.

It was a few moments more of unorganised chaos. Those who weren't freaking out, like Kyoko, were simply waiting it out. The room continued in an uproar until a loud siren-like noise drowned it out. The siren continued on until every voice had dropped, and everyone stopped in their tracks.

"Enough!" Byakuya threw the megaphone he used onto the table, angrily staring at the crowd that stared back at him. Having gotten the room, he scowled at their faces. "If I'm to be stuck here with specks of dirt such as yourselves, it will be on my own terms. If the motive Monokuma has given is starvation, then your panic will only make you starve faster. Do us both a favour and save your breath."

Sheepishly, the group looked at Byakuya as if embarrassed by their actions. None of them was really inspired in any way by his words, but his commanding voice was enough to shock some sense into them. Maybe not in his choice of words, but his ability to control the room and shout orders was enough to spark a sense of curiosity in Sayaka. She noticed something in Byakuya's demand, something he'd tried too hard to hide.

Care.

If Byakuya truly didn't give a damn about the rest of them, nothing stopped him from simply leaving. By staying and getting them in order, that showed Sayaka that deep down, he cared about their wellbeing.

Slowly, the group gathered their composure, and a few apologies murmured all at the same time. Byakuya sighed before continuing his speech.

"If starvation is the tactic Monokuma wishes to resort to, then I'll fight back against it and win by any means necessary. If cooperating with the likes of you is how then that is how I shall play. Tch, starvation... what a cheap motive. That bear must be getting desperate to rely on that."

"How could you say something like that, man! Your karma's gonna take a negative hit to the gut!" Yasuhiro pointed across to the table to get in Byakuya's face.

"Dude's right, you got a lotta nerve trying to boss me around and call me names. What's your fuckin deal anyway?" Mondo grit his teeth. "This ain't something to 'win' jackass!" Chihiro started to tremble from the continued yelling, looking up happily when she felt Sakura's supportive hand pat her back.

Suddenly, the room was brought to silence by one noise. One noise they had gotten used to yet hadn't heard in a long time; that all too familiar chime of the announcement.

"Huh... Kinda thought it'd take you kids a bit longer to figure that out! But yep! This is your new motive, everyone! Do you want your precious resources back? You want more food? More water~? That's simple! I'll get right back to it after someone does me one little favour: Kill! Puhuhu, that's all. Happy murders, everybody!" 

Leaving as quickly as he appeared, Monokuma's announcement ended, confirming their suspicions. The dread in the air hanging overhead. 

"H-He's gonna starve us!? The fuck!? This wasn't supposed to..." Junko held her own shoulders as she started to shake. "The hell are we gonna do!?"

"As Byakuya said earlier, panic i-is the worst thing we c-can do! A-As of today, I, personally, will be rationing out all meals to make our resources last!" Kiyotaka announced, not sounding very confident in what he was saying. 

"Y-Yeah, right! Let you be in charge of all of our meals, a-as if b-boy scout! You'd have access t-to everyone's food! You could easily poison us all and get away without a t-trial!" Toko shouted as she gripped one of her braids for support. Toko was quickly refuted, but not by Kiyotaka.

"Well, actually, that'd be a violation..." A high-pitched and out-of-place voice sounded from a table not too far away. The rubbish bin beside the table next to the group started to move, and Monokuma's head popped out of it. As he struggled to get its lid off of his head, he continued. "I probably should have specified earlier but, there can't be more than 2 victims per murder! If someone could just wipe the group out, there'd be no real challenge! And a game where you kids just go around killing each other with no trial wouldn't be as interesting!" He grunted harder and finally threw the bin's lid across the floor.

"That's an odd rule to only throw at us now of all times," Celeste replied.

"Well, no one's brought the idea up before! So I thought I'd be a helpful bear and nip it in the bud before it got too far! Besides, It's what you told me, remember!? Oh headmaster, we don't neeed you, oh Monokuma, we don't waaaant you. Word's hurt, ya know!"

Monokuma waddled with stride right up to the group's table "That's the point of this newest motive! You said you don't need me, so let's see how that works out! I won't give you kid's squat if that's what you want from me! No more restocks, no more announcements, and no more Mr nice Bear!" He leaned against the table and happily swiped the drink out of Mondo's hand, gulping down not only its contents but the entire glass as well.

"Hey! What the hell's the big idea!?" Mondo lunged forward, only for his hand to just barely miss Monokuma, Sakura desperately grabbing hold of his body to hold him back.

"Oh? Well, that was an interesting turn of events!" Monokuma chuckled in Mondo's face. "We nearly had a rematch on our hands, armadillo hair! Don't suppose you'd want your OTHER arm blown up, now do ya? So watch it! Just cause I added a new rule doesn't mean the old ones are out, son! Any violence towards the headmaster is an instant KO!"

"You've said your peace. Now leave." Byakuya scowled. 

"Okie-Dokie! Goodnight, my lovely little cubs~" Monokuma ran behind one of the pillars holding up the roof, and that familiar noise of his disappearance sounded from behind it.

"What a creep!" Hina gritted her teeth, holding the scared Chihiro, who was attached to her side, taking a peek out to the room.

"H-He's gone, right?" She mumbled, looking up at Hina as if she was her saviour. Kiyotaka joined the two of them, seemingly trying to make Chihiro happier. Seeing Chihiro handled, Sayaka turned her attention to the biker.

"Thanks for that, lost my damn mind. If you hadn't stopped, me I woulda fuckin' clocked that thing and gotten myself killed." Mondo was standing, hands-on-hips next to Sakura, head down in shame.

"Don't be ashamed. Instead, you should try and make up for it." Sakura smiled.

The two were interrupted when Chihiro, free of Hina's protective hug, ran up to him to see if he was okay, earning a ruffled pat on the head from Mondo in return.

"That was hectic..." Sayaka half-joked to Kyoko, who merely sighed in return, stirring the spoon in her empty mug. It wasn't long after that Kyoko suddenly rose from her seat, taking a few steps toward the exit before looking at Sayaka behind her.

"Come, I have something I want to investigate with you." That was all she said before dumping her empty mug on the tray of dirty dishes and walking out the door. Putting her own cup with the rest, Sayaka scampered to catch up.

~♥️~

"Where are we going-" Sayaka tried to call out before Kyoko made a sharp turn right behind the dining hall into the storage room. Following in, Sayaka tried her hardest not to look too closely at... specific objects. "What did you want from here?"

Without a reply, Kyoko began scanning the shelves, taking a few things here and there. Non-perishable foods and canned goods.

"You may... disapprove." Kyoko started with a heavy breath, "However, this is a game about survival that we've been forced to play. Looking out for ourselves instead of each other is what's necessary. So I'm restocking my personal supply...  You're  welcome to share with me, however."

Sayaka didn't know what to say. Here Kyoko was taking a large amount of the remaining student's most finite and crucial resource. "I won't be taking all of it, obviously. I'm not out to cause anyone harm. But at this moment, it's important to focus on oneself... even if I'm foolishly helping you as well."

"Foolishly...?" Sayaka muttered under her breath. She stared down at her hands for a while before even thinking of a reply. "I'm not happy about this, Kyoko. Not at all, but... if it's what we have to do to survive and achieve our dreams? Then I'll help."

"Thank you, Sayaka." Kyoko smiled, handing the idol a handful of canned goods to carry. The two of them made a swift return to Kyoko's room.

"Everyone's probably going to be really stressed and upset today. I'm gonna go see if I can hang out with anybody to cheer people up, ya know?"

"It isn't a terrible idea, but do be cautious. Trying to boost others' mental health in this environment could lead to great developments and boost the survivability of all our friends. However, spending too much energy at this moment could be catastrophic as well." Kyoko looked like she was going to say more, but quickly changed her mind. Looking at the time on her E-Handbook, she began to leave her room. "There's something I wish to investigate. I will be on the second floor if you need me."

With a chipper thumbs up, Sayaka psyched herself to be extra positive. Running out the door, she held her head held high. Walking down the corridor, she had her eyes glued to her E-handbook, mulling over who to go see. She briefly considered Chihiro, who was alone in the bathhouse but second-guessed herself, imagining the group of Mondo, Kiyotaka, Hina and Sakura that had already looked out for her. She was glad someone as honest as she had support to make her terrible time here more bearable.

'But not everyone has that,'  Sayaka thought. For some, that works perfectly. Byakuya didn't seem the type to be upset that no one there wanted to be his friend, but there was one girl there that had complained in the past.

Failing to follow Byakuya into the male locker room, Toko was, for once, not stalking him. Finding the author alone in the library, Sayaka made her way over, finding her face down in a novel. Toko's hands were moving so quickly Sayaka could barely see them past the blur they left behind. The author had found herself a book full of blank pages and was gliding her fountain pen across them with elegant speed.

Trying not to break her focus, Sayaka sat down next to her, reading past the blur to see Toko's work. What glimpses Sayaka was able to get stirred her. The tale of a girl waking up in a strange place, her memory foggy and full of worry. It almost reminded her of-

"Waah!"

"Aaah!"

Apparently feeling Sayaka's breath, Toko lept out of her seat at an alarming speed. Clutching the book to her chest, Toko scowled. "W-What the hell d-do you think you're doing!? R-Reading my work without permission is... i-is..." 

"Sorry, Toko. I didn't mean any harm by it! I just wanted to see what you were working on!" Sayaka slipped into the mask seamlessly.

"Y-You... want to see my writing?" Toko clutched her hands together and rubbed them as if soothing her anxieties. "W-Well, I can't show you yet. I-It's just a draft. And besides, I don't have the whole story yet."

"Hmm? What do you mean by that?" The idol tried to show her interest, scooting closer in her chair.

"I'm not writing m-my usual style if that makes sense." A blush spread across her face with an honestly creepy smile before she seemed to realise something. "O-Oh, that's right! My usual style is-"

"You write romance novels, don't you?" Sayaka asked, laughing at Toko's surprise.

"Huh? Y-You knew that?" Toko gasped.

"Of course I did. I'm psychic!" Sayaka giggled, quickly waving off her own joke. "Kidding! Kidding... Makoto told me, actually. He researched everyone he could before coming here. He said something about your big fisherman novel!"

"T-That's right. Oh... Makoto a-actually knew? I wouldn't have thought someone like him would've c-cared enough to look into that sorta thing, especially a-about me..."

Ignoring that last comment, Sayaka continued on. "So, how's this one different then? What's it about?"

"U-Uh... this one's technically non-fiction, i-in a sense. This is one of the most bizarre things to ever happen that I've heard of, so writing about our daily l-life here is how I'm recording it." Sayaka froze, mentally slipping for a moment.

"You're... writing about the killing game?" 

"Well, y-yeah! O-Once we get out of here, I-I'm gonna spread t-the word on everything that happened in here! T-The world must know everything they d-did to us! A-And besides... If no one writes about what happens here, t-the events will be forgotten." She took a breath and adjusted her large spectacles. "By writing about this k-killing game, the world can learn from it, and those who became victims won't be forgotten."

"That's-" Sayaka felt a lump in her throat, threatening to expose her. She took a moment to relax, able to speak the rest of her thought. "That's really nice, Toko..."

Toko stared at the idol for a second, her hands covering her face attempting to hide from Sayaka's psychic power of mind reading. Slowly, Toko bent over against the table, sliding the book over to Sayaka.

Despite the reminders, Toko's craft was excellent. It was clear why she was labelled the Ultimate Writing Prodigy. Reading over the words that Makoto had said to her a mere few days ago made her hands tremble. Toko was writing her account at incredible speed, merely a day behind their current moment.

"G-Go ahead, g-get angry! Y-Yell at me! I-I can take it! You must hate me for s-sure now, right?" She shuffled back in her chair defensively.

"N-No I... I enjoyed it. It was really nice to read about Makoto again. Please, keep this up. Once we get out of here, it'll be nice to have so we can remember like you said. Even if this place is hell, I want to remember the good people here."

"Y-You mean you... didn't hate it, and you don't hate me?" Toko's defence hadn't dropped; instead, she looked at Sayaka like a hurt animal wondering whether she was there to help or harm.

"Of course not. It was lovely." Sayaka smiled, reaching a hand toward the author, causing her to shrink away and tense up. Taking the hint, Sayaka pulled away. "I don't hate you, Toko. We're all forced to survive together for now, so why not be friends? It's in our best interest to get along, so... why would I hate you?"

"F-Friends!? The hell are you s-saying!? Are you just saying that to trick me th-then laugh at me later? You are, a-aren't you!?"

"Of course not. Toko, I'm not here to hurt you." Sayaka sighed, hoping to change the topic before she persisted. "Here, why don't you tell me about your writing process? You're really skilled!"

"Oh well... I found this bland book on one of the shelves, and seeing as I had the materials, I just had to write something. I-I had gotten so used to writing digitally; that finally being able to use a p-pen again was like harmony!" She admitted, slowly taking the book back. "Seeing as it's non-fiction, I'm trying to write it without any personal b-bias, so that it's not just an autobiography of my struggles, but all our struggles."

"I see, that's pretty interesting~!"Sayaka gave her another warm smile and leaned in a little closer. Toko didn't flinch that time. Although she was happy that Toko's shell was slowly cracking, she couldn't help but notice the face the girl made since. Toko was blushing, giggling to herself.

"Um... d-did you mean that earlier? About wanting to be f-friends?" Toko asked slowly.

Before Sayaka could reply, the library door opened. The blond locks of the pompous heir caught her sight. The two locked eyes before Byakuya scoffed and continued walking toward the library's archive.

Byakuya sat at the furthest possible spot from Toko and Sayaka, armed with a book and ready to shut out the world. Sayaka turned back to finally reply to Toko, only to see her head over heels for the boy avoiding her. Sayaka attempted a couple of times to get Toko's attention, only for her to tune her out. Taking her loss, Sayaka slowly slinked out of the library before she was remembered.

~♥️~

"Mm... thanks," Sayaka muttered, finishing off a tin of canned food Kyoko had happily lent. The two were taking refuge in  Sayaka's  room for a change. Although not by a lot, the difference in decoration was welcome. Even if it was a singular gold sword standing in the corner. "I just hope everyone else will be able to endure it."

"It'd be best if this motive didn't last too long, but I wouldn't hold out hope for Monokuma to change his mind. We can't get comfortable, either. Our supplies will run out eventually. We'll have to ration what we can for the time being." Kyoko said whilst swiping through the photos on her E-Handbook. Leant on her shoulder, Sayaka looked on as Kyoko flipped through.

"So, have you found anything useful in your investigations of the second floor?" She asked, but all Kyoko did in return was eye the security camera pointing right at them. "Right, sorry."

"It's fine. Hopefully, my searches will reel results soon." She said with a cunning smirk as if there was more to her statement than she'd let on. "Sayaka, would you like to take a bath with me?" 

"H-Huh?" A blush exploded onto Sayaka's face at the thought, but Kyoko's expression was only stoic. 

"The bathhouse next to the laundry room opened up. I'd like to check it out with you. Shall we?" Kyoko asked, already getting up and walking over to Sayaka's seat. "We could get a little closer..." she said before leaning in and whispering;  play along. 

Sayaka's panic quickly disappeared, slowly comprehending what Kyoko actually meant. She felt her chest flutter, from the anxieties of Monokuma watching them, of course. Nodding, Sayaka stood proud with her hands on her waist. "Sure, let's go take a bath together!" Sayaka giggled as she followed Kyoko's lead, watching as the camera tracked their movements.

It wasn't too long until the nighttime announcement would air and yet many people were hanging outside their dorms. Junko and Hina were together next to their rooms. Kiyotaka and Mondo were chatting just outside the dining hall, and Leon was alone, leaning against the wall, before noticing Sayaka and Kyoko walking by.

"Ah, Sayaka! Perfect, just the gal I wanted to see!" He laughed, rubbing his hands together as he approached. Sayaka awkwardly laughed, greeting the boy back.

"Oh, uh. Hi, Leon!" She'd said, watching Kyoko stop a few feet behind him, looking on from the sidelines.

"Yo! I was thinkin', if ya ain't busy, maybe you and I could hang out for a bit, yeah? You got that pure-hearted girl sorta thing goin' on and, that's definitely my type!" He laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Oh-oh! We can talk about music! If I'm gonna be a lead vocalist, tips from someone like you would be perfect!"

"You want to be a vocalist?" Sayaka easily slipped into the persona required, shyly giggling as she forced a blush.

"Damn straight! My plan is to conquer the world with my own punk music! Gonna start my own band and everything! Hell, spots are filling up quickly, but I can try n pull some strings, maybe save one for you!"

"Oh... that's wonderful! W-We can talk about that later, though. I have to go with Kyoko somewhere! I'll see you around, right Leon?"

"Tch, yeah." He grumbled in Kyoko's direction before giving Sayaka a goofy grin, "Later, Saya!"

Waving him off, the idol followed Kyoko into the bathhouse with a loud sigh. Looking up, she saw Kyoko standing dead centre of the room with her arms crossed. "Am I in trouble?" Sayaka joked, looking around the room for the first time.

Several lockers lined the walls, each with its own key. One key, however, seemed to be missing. Perhaps someone was already using one of the lockers?

There were several pieces of discarded clothing that Sayaka couldn't match with anyone in their group. It seems this place had a lot of use out of people past not present. ' Maybe this really was an actual school before Monokuma got here...'

"Have you figured it out?" Kyoko's voice snapped Sayaka out of her thoughts. When the bluenette struggled to reply, Kyoko continued. " There are no cameras in this room. That's why I called you in here. We can discuss things free of Monokuma's ears."

"Oh, that's awesome!" Sayaka whisper-shouted, trying to contain her excitement. "That seems like a bit of an oversight from him."

"It's plausible that he's not the original person to set up the security feed. Perhaps the original intent was for normal surveillance purposes. It wouldn't make students comfortable for the school to watch over the changing rooms." 

"Good point." Sayaka sat down on the wooden bench next to her. "So, what'd you need to talk about?"

"The second floor does have something, actually. There is a hidden room full of various files on Hope's Peak. I found many materials on the staff, students and activities of the school. Our class's list was missing, however, nor could I find anything on the headmaster."

"The headmaster?" Sayaka asked.

"Right. That's what Monokuma calls himself. The actual Hope's Peak headmaster may be the true Monokuma... and if it is..." Kyoko's face contorted into pure anger, her hands clenched into fists. "I promise, I'll find out who it is. I'll take them down. It's my duty as a..."

And nothing. Kyoko went completely silent. Sayaka waited a few moments before speaking up. Gently grabbing Kyoko's arm, she rubbed it soothingly. "Kyoko? Are you alright?" 

"Sorry... I don't understand what happened. Discussing the headmaster, I suddenly got flashes. I couldn't control my emotions..." Kyoko lowered her head.

"Your duty?" Sayaka asked softly, rubbing her arm with her thumb to comfort her. 

"I think that may be something I used to say. I'm not sure. The final word of that statement has been scrubbed clean of my memory. It's like, I can't comprehend what would have finished that thought..." Kyoko sat down, seemingly exhausted out of nowhere.

"Maybe it was your talent?" Sayaka guessed, and Kyoko nodded.

"I agree, though it's strange, I don't understand how I could just... forget my talent. I can't help but suspect foul play." She admitted.

"Foul play?" 

"I think someone or something intentionally caused my memory issues... Most likely Monokuma." She speculated, gripping her chin with a gloved hand as she tried to think. 

"Maybe you're the Ultimate Escape Artist! or the Ultimate Survivor... I dunno, something Monokuma wouldn't want in the game? If he's the one that did this to your head, he probably had a reason."

"That's likely, but without details, it's pointless to speculate on what it could be. I'll have to find evidence. I hoped that would be revealed when I discovered our class's file, yet it was removed from the rest as if Monokuma knew it could be found."

"Don't worry, Kyoko. We'll find out what your talent is! I promise." Sayaka gave Kyoko's shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"You... don't know what your talent is?" A shocked voice sounds from the door, and she looks equally surprised to see Sayaka and Kyoko as they were to see her.

"Chihiro!?" Sayaka gasped, startled by the programmer. Looking over, she saw something shiny in Chihiro's hands, a key?

"You two realised it too, right?" she asked, slowly inching inside. "That Monokuma can't see us in here?"

"Us as well? You mean you've known for some time?" Kyoko asked back.

"W-Well, it's not that I wanted to keep it secret from everyone! I just thought it'd be better if fewer people knew, so Monokuma wouldn't get suspicious, so I kept it to myself." Chihiro looked down with a quivering lip as she was placed under suspicion. "Besides, it's allowed me to work on my project without him knowing!"

"Your project?" Sayaka asked, following Chihiro to the locker.

"Uh, I-I can trust the two of you, I think... Kyoko, you're really smart, and you helped us out a bunch! And Sayaka, you're really kind, so... I think I can trust you!" She announced before opening the locker, and inside was;

"Master! You really came~!" A replica of Chihiro's voice echoed from the locker, the dim light of a screen came to life and shone the whole locker green, and a photo of Chihiro's floating head was displayed along with the text. "Oh! And I see Sayaka and Kyoko have joined you. I'm glad to see both of you!"

"What... is this?" Sayaka attempted to figure out what she was looking at.

 
"It can see us?" Kyoko put a gloved hand to her mouth as she looked on.

 
"Oh, right! Introductions, my bad, haha! My name's Chihiro Fujisaki, but not really. I'm an artificial intelligence known as Alter Ego. You can just call me that instead!" Alter Ego replied, its avatar smiling just like Chihiro would. "Also, yup! I can see a whole lot using the inbuilt webcam!"

"I found this laptop in the school library. It belonged to the school, so I thought it may have some interesting data we could use to our advantage! I coded Alter Ego to scan the laptop's files, and hopefully make a connection if it can!"

"A connection?" Kyoko inquired.

"Well, the network interface card was fully functional and working, so I thought if the school still contains any form of internet connection, Alter Ego could connect to it and send a message out for help!" Chihiro tightened her fist in a pose similar to what Hina would do when she got pumped up.

"That's right! My purpose is to delve into this laptop's files and attempt to make a connection! I already have an SOS message at the ready the second a connection is made!" Alter Ego replied.

"Wait, but you didn't type that one in... Can it just... hear us?" Sayaka asked.

"Well, the audio recognition isn't perfect, but yes! It's better to type as it can better understand, some words it can't process through audio, but yes, it can hear!" Chihiro said proudly.

"Interesting... Alter Ego, do you have any data to share yet?" Kyoko asked aloud, and Alter Ego buzzed a bit before replying.

"Not yet, the encryption of the hard drive is a bit tough for me... sorry. It should only be about four days before I'm able to access the files and begin reading them!"

"Four days? That's pretty soon. But will it be long enough for food?" Sayaka asked.

"If we ration properly, we should be fine! I can get AE to do some side calculations on a perfect rationing system for us if need be." Chihiro grinned with a blush. "However, I'm going to let her rest for now. She needs all the processing power she can get on decoding the data." Chihiro said so as she typed;  'sleepFunc(),'  into the laptop, and soon the screen went black.

"Goodnight." Alter Ego said before the fan on the laptop grew quiet. Chihiro closed the locker shut and kept the key in her shirt pocket.

"I'll be getting some rest now. It's been a long day so I suggest you both do too!" Chihiro beamed, "I'm trusting you guys... t-this will be our ticket out of here, I'm sure of it!" 

Saying goodnight, Sayaka waved Chihiro goodbye. And after another goodnight to Kyoko, she ended another day in despair academy alone in her room, unsure of what tomorrow would bring.

 Chapter 2: Raging Revelations 

 Daily Life 

 Students remaining: 13 

Chapter Text

 Chapter 2 part 4: Raging Revelations 

 Daily Life 

With her sleep becoming less and less sound every day, Sayaka, once again woke up trapped in Hope's Peak Academy. Her morning routine was the only thing keeping Sayaka sane. Taking care of her body, taking care of her hygiene, then taking care of her stomach.

On the final step of the list, she felt her stomach gurgle with its complaints. Even rationing Kyoko's stash was still a low enough amount of food that it caused Sayaka great duress. Kyoko's rations were scarce enough that by that point, She and Sayaka were eating as little as everyone else.

'How do Sakura and Hina keep up with their intense workouts with their food cut back so much?'  She thought to herself, the motive was the only reason she hadn't joined them since. It was nice to work out with them, it reminded Sayaka of her fellow idols, how she missed joining them on stage, how she missed performing, how she missed her friends on the outside, her father, her-

Sayaka slumped against her bed, hands clutching her head trying to get her thoughts in order. She was glad to have met the people there; she'd love to be friends with all of them under  any  other circumstances. But even she was almost thrown over the edge. She wanted to get out, she had to get out... but she was incapable of the requirements.

'If I'm going to get out of here, it will be with everyone else as well!'

Sayaka planned on enduring it as long as she could. Hoping rescue would come before she had to lose anyone else. Everything in her, even her intuition told her that would never be.

'But I can't give up my hope just yet!'

Her thoughts were getting the better of her. The fear of never escaping was starting to settle. The fear of more death and despair overwhelmed her. Sayaka dashed out of her room to escape that fear-

And collided face-first into Sakura.

Sakura remained standing whilst Sayaka embarrassingly fumbled to the floor, getting an odd sense of deja vu. The kind giant lent over to pick her back up, Sakura's muscular arms able to do all the work as Sayaka was hoisted to her feet.

"S-Sorry, Sakura." Sayaka sheepishly rubbed her head, expecting a lecture on watching where she was going. Instead, Sakura crossed her arms and smiled.

"There's no need for that. Come, a good meal will help you get ready for the day. Breakfast is the most important meal." She advised, guiding Sayaka to the dining hall.

"That makes sense. Being the Ultimate Martial Artist, you probably know quite a lot about nutrition, don't you?" Sayaka asked as they walked together.

"Correct. Part of my training is learning to be self-sufficient, so the ins and outs of a well-balanced diet are key." Sakura smiled, opening the door for Sayaka to duck inside.

"Ah! Good morning you two. Come, sit! The morning meeting will begin as soon as everyone arrives!" Kiyotaka was quick to greet them, saluting like a cadet.

Sayaka decided to ignore the kitchen. It was unfair enough of her to take from Kyoko's stash, it wasn't right of her to take the quickly diminishing resource from everyone else as well.

The Ultimate Fashionista waved her over, calling Sayak down to sit next to her. The four of them sat in the dining hall for quite some time before the next set of students joined. Thinking the then-current turnout was as good as it was going to get, Kiyotaka decided to begin his speech early.

"Alright! Good morning everyone. Allow me to be the first to start this morning meeting!" He said louder than necessary, hands planted firmly on the table as he announced his voice. "So, let us discuss the motive we've-"

"Uh, like... aren't we still waiting on some people?" Junko interrupted with ease despite the difference in volume. "Toko, Byakuya, Kyoko and Chihiro all ain't here. Shouldn't we like, wait for them 'n' junk?"

"I-" Kiyoaka started to speak before another voice cut him off.

"I have to agree," Celeste lowered her cup down onto the table, her smug poker face filling Kiyotaka with unease. "Unless, dear 'leader', you're saying their presence isn't of importance?"

"I-It's already 7:45!" Taka showed his E-Handbook. "They've had plenty of time to arrive, yet-"

"But like, the announcements are off, yeah?" Yasuhiro refuted as he leaned back in his chair. "Shouldn't you be a little more considerate, Mr hall monitor?" That last comment caused Leon to snicker a little under his breath.

"Y-You're right... I'm sorry." Kiyotaka muttered softly, slowly slinking back into his seat.

"Bro, it's alright, you don't gotta be so fuckin overdramatic." Mondo gave Kiyotaka a side-eye glance. "Just wait for a little. There ain't no rush." 

Instead of replying, Kiyotaka sat in silence. Sayaka couldn't help but feel a little bad for him, but at the same time, she agreed with the rest. Rather than speaking up, she watched as their defacto leader slowly slinked his head.

The nine of them that had gathered so far talked among themselves for the time being. Turning over, Sayaka noticed Junko sullenly staring at the table in front of her, as if it had personally pissed her off. Sayaka snapped her out of her funk as she tried to distract her.

"Hey, Junko? Why did you become a model anyway? It seems like something with weapons would be more to your taste!" Sayaka joked, leaning on her arm to get into Junko's view. 

"Well ya, I like weapons n junk doesn't mean I gotta make my whole career about them, though!" She scoffed. "I like keeping them as a hobby, plus it sorta... freaked out all the people I was interested in anyway. Nobody wants to hear about the fat ugly gun freak's interests. But yeah, that's why I became a model n whatnot. I used to get called that a lot actually, 'fat, ugly idiot' was me in a nutshell! Now I'm just the idiot part~!" She laughed loudly at that last statement, but Sayaka couldn't help but get a little sad.

"That's pretty awful of them to call you that. Your interests are cool, and you shouldn't be ashamed of it!" She tried to give her a warm smile. "I hope those bullies left you alone after you became a model, though!"

"Eh, not really. I mean, I did get away from it all for a while when I went homeless." She shrugged it off like it was nothing.

"You were... homeless!?"

"Yeah. It's...a long story. We were on a trip once, me n my family." Junko looked off at a wall as if she were picturing it. "To France, actually. I don't blame them for what happened, though. I was just a fat, ugly, annoying idiot. I woulda left me behind too."

"Y-Your family left you behind!?" Sayaka asked a little too loudly, thankfully it didn't seem like anyone was paying attention to them though.

"I mean, yeah. I went off on my own and did something stupid. It wasn't so bad, only took three years for me to go back home." She shrugged it off like it was nothing yet again.

"Homeless in a foreign country for three years? Jeez, I don't know if I could handle that."

"Maybe. I like to think it toughened me up. It was dangerous every night. Ya never know when someone might wanna attack you for being where you ain't supposed to be." She was only looking at a random part of the wall, but with the stare she was giving, Sayaka thought she might laser a hole through it. "But having to fend for myself? Eh, all that did was make me learn more about weapons and combat! It was pretty rad, actually."

The way she said that... it was like she actually believed it. She wasn't lying or putting on a brave face to seem strong. She genuinely thought it was cool that she had to fight to survive.

"Junko, are you... okay?" Sayaka asked cautiously. "I definitely wouldn't be able to handle all of that."

"Eh, it wasn't so bad." She chuckled as she played with a pigtail. "Actually, I'd rather be homeless again than be stuck in here. It was dangerous n all, but my odds of survival are  way  better out there than in here!" She gave Sayaka a toothy grin and a peace sign as if trying to calm her down. "In fact, not all of my three years out of the continent were homeless! 'Round year two was when Fenrir-"

Before Junko could finish, the monitor flicked on without the usual bell chime. The lights in the dining hall cut out, leaving the nine of them in darkness. Looking up at their only source of light, the monitors, the students watched as instead of a usual announcement from Monokuma, what was displayed was instead an animated video. Over and over, different animations played. A stick figure stabbing another. Two stick figures drowning as one watched from the side laughing, and more. Every couple of seconds it cut to a new one, all the while blaring horrible, ear-piercingly loud music.

It was only on for about 30 seconds, and as quickly as it came, it went. Eyes shifted between each other, no one able to comprehend what just happened. Sayaka took one glance back at Junko, she was white as a ghost, unable to speak.

"The fuck was that?" Mondo growled, getting out of his seat quick enough that it fell over behind him.

"U-Uh... Everyone, just remain calm!" Kiyotaka tried to maintain order. Quickly he scanned the room. "Everyone is still here and accounted for, apart from the four yet to show up! So everyone is fine, uh... C-Can you all take your seats for now, while-"

"Take our seats? Hell no! I wanna go find out what the hell just happened, you stupid idiot!" Leon shouted.

"Y-Yeah, what if that was how he's doing those discovery announcement things now? W-What if someone got killed!?" Hiro pulled on his hair as he shouted.

"Y-You're right... Sorry, I-" Kiyotaka got cut off yet again when the monitor came back on. This time, the face of Monokuma greeted them instead of that odd animation.

"Ahem, your attention, please! Hope's Peak Academy has an announcement to make! Er, well, an apology to make. Sorry. Sorry... Eh, sorry." He shrugged, each sorry getting less and less sincere. "Yeah, about that, I didn't mean to broadcast that video to you all, so uh, just go and ignore it for now! Try to enjoy your morning by giving it your all for today!" And with that, the monitor made the familiar sound of turning off.

"How strange. Everyone! Maybe we should search around the school, just in case Hiro was right?" Kiotaka held a fist to his chin as he tried to think. "After all, Byakuya, Toko, Chihiro and Kyoko still aren't here!"

"It would be unfortunate if someone got hurt. I agree that we should search around." Sakura said, already halfway out the door.

"Very well." Celeste rolled her eyes. "Have fun running around. I shall remain here with my tea." 

Rolling her eyes at Celeste, Sayaka followed Sakura's lead out of the dining hall to join the search.

~♥️~

The group had scattered into different numbers of people, leaving Sayaka with Junko and Leon. The three of them were the few that went to check the second floor. Pushing open the library doors, the sinister glare of Byakuya Togami greeted them. The boy, once again, had been there reading a book alone. Well, as alone as you could be with Toko following his every move. Speaking of, the Ultimate Writing Prodigy wasn't far behind, carefully watching him from behind a bookcase.

"Wah!?" Toko fell over a chair into a cluttered mess of stacked books the second the door opened, causing Byakuya to grow even more annoyed.

Glancing at the large group that came to find him, he sighed before putting his book down, bending the corner of the page before addressing them with a simple: "What?"

"We-" Sayaka started to explain before Leon shoved past her.

"Byakuya! We've been searching for your ass everywhere! What are you doing!?"

"Fishing. What does it look like I'm doing?" He rolled his eyes before getting out of his chair with a sigh. "What is it, plankton?"

"Planked- huh? Whatever, man, stop messing with me. We came searchin' to make sure you weren't killed!" He poked his temple while leaning forward in a pose, making it look like he was making fun of Byakuya.

"Well, I clearly wasn't. You may leave now." Byakuya looked down straight at his watch, ignoring anything else they had to say. "It's been five seconds. Why are you still here?"

"Psht, whatever, man. Sorry, we tried lookin' out for you." Leon grumbled as he stormed out.

"U-Uhm... Are you going to come to the morning meeting?" Sayaka asked quietly. 

"No. I see no need to get a daily update on whatever information you manage to scrape up. If something important comes, you know where to find me. Otherwise, I'd rather not waste my time and potentially be poisoned by eating with the rest of you." He spat, sitting back down and resuming his place in his book. Meanwhile, Toko finally untangled herself from the mess before shouting.

"Y-You heard Master! Get lost, antenna hair!" Toko pointed aggressively before meeping at the sight of Byakuya's glare. "S-Sorry, no talking. G-Got it!"

"I meant what I said earlier. It would make this game very boring if you decided to starve to death. Try not to disappoint me." Byakuya said without even making eye contact with either of the remaining girls, simply staring at his book as he read.

Closing the library doors to not see any more of that, Sayaka sighed with relief that the two of them were okay. Byakuya may have been insanely rude, but Sayaka didn't wish him harm, but still:

"Antenna hair?" She sulked, poking the Ahoge yet to come down from the top of her head.

"W-Well, I think it looks nice, at least?" Junko shrugged, clearly thinking of something else that was making her uncomfortable. "It sorta suits you."

"Thanks, but... Junko, are you okay? The second that announcement happened, you looked horrified."

"Yup! Better than ever, don't sweat it! The lights freaked me out, is all. C'mon! We gotta tell everyone else we found 'em and help them find the other two!" She walked off with a spring in her step, a practised motion. Sayaka could spot a liar, after all.

Returning to the dining hall, they found Kyoko and Chihiro along with the others. Rushing over, Sayaka tackled Kyoko into a tight hug. Although initially taken aback, Kyoko eventually returned the hug with a pat. Backing away, Sayaka awkwardly explained.

"S-Sorry. After the announcement, we were worried something may have happened, and we didn't know where you were..."

"Hina told me the gist of things." Kyoko held her chin while she tried to speculate. "The announcement was odd, however. I can't think of the purpose for it."

"Hold on! We were searching n junk. Where were you two?" Junko pointed accusingly at Chihiro, at Kyoko's side.

"O-Oh, the two of us were... um... taking a bath. The bathhouse is actually quite nice." Chihiro lied, meaning she was probably talking about Alter Ego.

"Oh, uh. We found Byakuya and Toko, by the way. They were in the library." Sayaka announced to the group as a whole, only for Celeste to shake her head.

"Leon already told us that, dear. Good for them~." 

"There's no reason to be so mean about it. You didn't even help look! What if one of them really did get hurt!?" Hina stood up and tightened her fists as she stepped towards Celeste, only for Sakura to grip her shoulder tightly.

"Hina. There's no need for hostility." She soothed, pulling her back down into her seat.

Sayaka sighed, it would be a long day.

~♥️~

After the mess of that morning's meeting was cleared up, the group dispersed once again. Before she could make it to her room, Sayaka was led by Chihiro into the bathhouse. 

"And so you see. We were able to cut down a whole day of processing time!" She proudly said as she closed the locker shut on AE. "Although we have to run a charger through the locker now to maintain battery life, Alter Ego should be able to process not only the computer's files faster, but more!"

"More? Did you find something else?"

"Mhm! It was Kyoko's idea. We set AE to search the local area network for any other devices! If a device is detected, Alter Ego can scan its public data. So far, we've been able to identify 18 devices." Chihiro gleamed with pride.

"18!? That seems like quite a lot..." Sayaka hummed "Do you have a clue what they can be?"

"Well, actually for a school that's quite small. The majority of the devices seem to be our E-Handbooks and one personal computer. I would have thought Hope's Peak Academy would have a computer lab of some sort we'd pick up, but nope! We have 17 E-Handbooks and a PC."

"Hold on, 17? That's two more than we should have, right?"

"Exactly, that's what makes it so interesting! I'm trying to analyse the data of the E-Handbooks, but they're actually quite secure. It may take Alter Ego quite some time to decrypt all of it. But what's really interesting is the PC." Chihiro explained, getting giddier the more she could talk. "See, we think it's the headmasters! It has high-tier Hope's Peak data, including class lists."

"Class lists?" 

"Mhm! Meaning, we can see what Kyoko's ultimate talent is!" She cupped her hands to her cheek. "She was very intrigued about that part. However, like the E-Handbooks, it's all pretty secure. It may be a bit longer than the laptop's files to analyse it all, but either way, it'll be within the week!"

"Chihiro that's amazing! With all this data, surely we can get some clue of how to get out of here! Or even who's behind this. You're the best!" Sayaka wrapped her in a hug which she returned immediately. 

"I'm just glad I can be useful! Usually, my skills aren't that practical." She grumbled.

"But here and now, your strong talent was able to save us. Just you wait, Cheero."

"S-Strong?" She whispered under her breath.

"Mhm. You're one of the strongest people I know." Sayaka teased, only to be whacked as Chihiro slammed into her with a sudden hug.

'Thanks to Alter Ego, we may really have a chance! We just need to endure it all until that fateful day...'

~♥️~

Night came and went another day in Hope's Peak Academy, the school of true despair. Another morning routine of the students gathering, minus two, to discuss more of what they already knew. Without anything new they were willing to share, the morning meeting served more like a simple headcount than anything else. Thankfully, despite her mean nature around him, Toko still served as a good informant on Byakuya, letting Sayaka know he was still alive and that she'd be with him for the day.

Nothing incredibly eventful happened on that day of their lives of the Killing School Life, and it showed on everyone's faces. Despite the threat of starvation over their heads, no one seemed that afraid or scared. Although it was bound to happen eventually, the current food stock was enough for the time being.

Instead, everyone had a constant expression of boredom. Without much to do other than hang out with the same people every day, everyone seemed just so... bored. The only people not affected by the sweep of boredom hitting all of them seemed to be those with alternative objectives. Byakuya in his reading, Toko in her stalking, Mondo, Sakura and Hina in their exercise, Chihihiro in her programming and Kyoko in her investigations. Otherwise, everyone else seemed to be hit with the same wave of incredible boredom, though it seemed to get to some more than others, judging by the constant banging of Junko's head against the table that morning meeting.

The day went painfully slow, yet no one was willing to hang out with Sayaka. The boredom was too much for some people to bother, and it's not like she could blame them. Trying to ignore her grumbling stomach, Sayaka pondered her options. ' Maybe we could put on something for fun together as a group, like the pool day?'  She'd have to get thinking about ideas.  'It's not as if I'd be that useful in helping Kyoko or Chihiro, and I'd prefer not to burn useless calories exercising when food is getting shorter by the minute.'

So instead, Sayaka relaxed in her room alone, for the time being, eventually being able to drift off asleep, marking off yet another day in Hope's Peak Academy. 

~♥️~

Yet again, Sayaka woke up alone in her assigned dorm room at Hope's Peak Academy. Yet again, Sayaka went through her morning routine quickly, and yet again, Sayaka made her way to the dining hall for the morning meeting.

Yet again, it seemed not many people were present. Only Sayaka herself, Chihiro, and two others. But what was most surprising was the identity of those two others.

"Oh! Toko, Byakuya? You came?" Sayaka asked, surprised.

"Hmph, don't make a big deal of it. I simply wished for a coffee before the majority arrived. I'll be taking my leave shortly." He looked away, unbothered, as he continued to drink his cup.

"Morning, Sayaka!" Chihiro greeted her pleasantly. "H-How did you sleep?"

"Pretty well, how bout you, Cheero?" Sayaka replied with equal enthusiasm as she sat down.

"Pretty well. I actually spent all night writing code, hehe." She giggled. "The E-Handbooks have a text-edit feature if you dig deep enough, so I was just writing all night for fun! I was thinking maybe I could get into the locked-off features it has... I stayed up pretty late, though."

"Ahem! Why yes, I do wash my fur daily! Thank you for noticing~!" The sudden high-pitched voice of the bear holding us captive shouted aggressively. His sudden arrival caused both Chihiro and Toko to yelp. 

"Ah, great. Even more unwanted guests." Byakuya joked to himself as he sneered at the bear.

"M-Monokuma!?" Sayaka yelped too, confused why he'd shown up now of all times.

"Sorry bout that! I just couldn't help but overhear you complimenting my beautiful fur! I take quite good care of it." His face didn't change, but it felt more smug than usual.

"U-Uh, no one said that." Chihiro gulped.

"Oh? But I thought I heard that. Because I'm sure that I definitely didn't overhear one of my student's talking about cracking their E-Handbooks." He growled, popping out mechanical claws from his paw.

"E-Eh!?" Chihiro gasped. "Th-There's no rule about doing so, though!"

"I didn't ask you about the rules. I told you to knock it off!" Monokuma slammed his hand down on the table aggressively.

Byakuya put his mug down on the table carefully before adjusting his glasses. "Why is that? Is there something you don't wish for us to find if we search too deep into them?"

"E-Eh?" Monokuma blushed as what looked like sweat dropped from his forehead.

"Hm, I thought so," Byakuya smirked. "What, praytell, are you hiding?"

"A-And don't go trying to take back what you said! Y-You're a f-fool if you think you can trick M-Master!" Toko eerily smiled as she scolded him.

"Er, why don't you forget about that all while I casually change the subject!" Monokuma props his head up with both hands as he relaxes in the air. "Why are you all so calm? Calm, calm, calm, calm!? It pisses me off."

"You're upset we're not panicking over your motive? After watching what happened to Hifumi, no one would ever try to kill again!" Sayaka shouted back at him.

"Eh? Well, that did anger me, but that's not what I meant. I mean, If    I  was the one that died, I'd be pretty mad no one's found my corpse yet!" Monokuma shrugged.

"W-What are you saying?" Sayaka barely got out the words before he continued.

"Oh? Well, that's quite simple. Your little defiant stance that 'no one would ever try to kill again'? Well, it's already wrong, 'cause it already happened! Puhuha!" He chuckled, holding onto his belly. 

"W-What!?" a new voice shouted. Turning her head, Sayaka saw Hina rushing into the dining hall alone, bright red with anger. "What the heck are you talking about!?"

"Eh? Do I really have to repeat myself? Okie-Dokie. One of you kids murdered another, and no one's found it yet!" He made a shooing motion with his paw before continuing. "Go on, get lookin'!"

"S-Should we even take this seriously?" Toko fidgeted with her fingers. "I-I mean, what's the point running around for him to just laugh later? H-He just wants to make us l-look like idiots! Running around like c-chickens with their heads cut off!" She angrily gripped her braided hair. 

"We might as well, come on. Toko, go with Hina. Sayaka, Chihiro, you're with me. You two take the first floor. We'll check the second." Byakuya ordered as he took charge. Toko's entire demeanour changed as an order from 'master' was given, and she followed the swimming pro out the door as the two ran out of the dining hall. Not bothering to finish his coffee, Byakuya ran for the staircase, and without questioning it, the two girls were right behind him.

Right when Sayaka went to check out the pool first, Byakuya called out to her. "Come, the library is the most likely place!" He shouted, stopping at the library door for her and Chihiro to catch up. Chihiro wasn't the most energetic person, but her training with Mondo allowed her to keep up with relative ease.

"Brace yourselves." He warned before carefully opening the library door...

Looking back, Sayaka wished it would've stopped right there. She wished Monokuma would jump out at them to declare it all a hoax, some big joke. She wished Toko was right, and he'd done it all to laugh at them. She wished they could go home. She wished they weren't trapped there, and most of all, she wished she wouldn't have seen the horrible sight waiting for them on the Library floor.

It was horrible. On the middle of the Library floor was Sakura Ogami, the Ultimate Martial Artist. Her arms were stretched out on either side as if she were on a cross, her hand pinned to the floor by a large knife stabbing into her palm. Her other palm was covered in blood, as well as her stomach, including a large stab wound in the abdomen.

Above her head was an odd blood pile. Rather than what looked to be a natural splatter, it looked to be the remains of someone attempting to clean up the blood, but Sayaka could leave that for the investigation. For now...

Sakura Ogami, the Ultimate Martial Artist, was dead.

"S-Sakura...? SAKURA!?" Chihiro cried, tears pouring down her face like a burst dam. Running forward, she tried to get to Sakura. It took all Sayaka's strength to grab Chihiro and prevent her from running over. Honestly, she wanted to run over too. But her intuition begged her to preserve the crime scene. Any and all information they could get would be crucial.

However, the second Chihiro's foot touched the floor inside the library, the monitors in the hall and the library all flickered on to display the same thing.

   *Ding, dong, dong ding*   

"A body has been discovered! Now then, after a certain amount of time has passed, the class trial will begin!" And with that, the monitors flicker off...

 Chapter 2: Raging Revelations 

 Deadly Life 

 Students remaining: 12 

Chapter Text

Chapter 2 Part 5: Raging Revelations 

 Deadly Life 

Sayaka couldn't tell how long it took for the others to arrive. Her only thoughts were static. She spent longer than she would ever want to, staring at the corpse of her newly acquired friend, Sakura Ogami, who lay still on the library floor. Sayaka couldn't fathom who would possibly want this. Not only was Sakura a strong, resilient fighter capable of any feat, but she was a kind, loving soul. She felt like she wanted to be friends with every single person there.  'Who would do this?'  Sayaka wondered.  'Who  could  do this?'

"Y-You guys!?" Hina shouted, snapping Sayaka out of her thoughts as she slammed the sliding door aside. "I went around and knocked on everybody's doors, but I couldn't get everyone!" Hina bolted right towards Sayaka, Byakuya and Chihiro with what seemed to be the majority of the others behind her.

"So we'll have to perform a class trial once again." Celeste snickered. "I do say, it's quite exciting being on the opposite end this time." She earned a scornful stare from many around her. Ignoring her comment, Leon voiced the comment on everyone's mind. With the crowd standing outside of the library, they hadn't yet seen the horror within.

"S-So the announcement went off, yeah? Who kicked it?" He questioned, trying to push past.

"Don't be a goddamn idiot and rush in there! Lemme through, I gotta guard the crime scene n whatever, yeah?" Mondo offered. And so, the three that had discovered the corpse parted ways for Mondo to go through, only for him to shout at the sight. "Holy shit... no fuckin' way!" 

"Please, the library's small, but we can fit all of us and not disturb the scene if we're careful. One at a time, everyone!" Kiyotaka shouted, trying to take charge, yet he seemed unconfident in his words as if it was troubling to get them out. Sayaka parted from the door to allow Kiyotaka through, but it seemed the sight was too much for him, causing the boy to scream. "Aaaaah!? S-Sakura!?"

Hina's head snapped to the door, tears welling up in her eyes. Although they were still missing quite a few people, it seemed she already knew and this just confirmed it. She raced in after Kiyotaka right towards the body, yet she was careful not to touch anything.

"Sakura...? Sakura!?" Hina clenched her legs as they began to shake, eventually collapsing, taking her to the floor with them.

"Wait, Sakura? You mean they got Ogre!?" Yasuhiro clutched his hair tight as he yelled. 

"Like, how? She was a beast!" Leon gasped as Hina turned around to scowl at him.

Thankfully, in not too much time, the remaining students: Kyoko, Junko, and Toko, eventually arrived one after the other. Kyoko made a swift entrance past the crowd as she made her way into the crime scene. Handing over a still-upset Chihiro to Hina, Sayaka followed closely behind Kyoko back to the body. Kyoko let out an audible sigh as she looked at the gruesome sight, and at that moment,  he  arrived.

"Aw shucks, that's gonna be hell to scrub out of the floor. There's blood everywhere! Jeez, how annoying." Monokuma shrugged before a rhythmic beeping sounded from everyone's handbooks. "Fret not, my dear students! It's  The Monokuma File!  Please, investigate to your heart's contents! I'll see you all shortly~."

Just as quickly as he came, he vanished.  'Are we really gonna have to do this all again?'  Sayaka shuddered. The investigation, the class trial, the execution? As much as Sayaka hated to admit it, it was the killer or them. Someone amongst them had taken Sakura's life, and it was up to them to find out who.

  Investigation: Start! 

Kyoko was already busy cross-referencing the Monokuma file with Sakura's body. Sayaka thought she shouldn't keep her waiting and began reading it herself.

'The victim of this case is Sakura Ogami. The body was discovered at 7:53 a.m. in the library. The victim has received multiple stab wounds, two in the palms and one in the stomach. There are no signs of poisoning in the body. The killing blow was caused by the exit wound from the knife. Time of death is currently unknown.' 

'So... the killer stabbed Sakura in the stomach. Then when they yanked the knife back out of her, that's what killed her.'  Sayaka re-read it to make sure.  'But, wait a minute. Something about this all just seems... off. Like something's missing?'  Just when that thought entered her head, the handbook beeped with a notification:

 ' Monokuma File #2  has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

That's right, Sayaka nearly forgot about the truth bullets. It seems they'll still be added automatically for her. That's useful, but she'd never be thankful to Monokuma for any of it. She'd prefer not to need it in the first place.

"It seems it's accurate for the most part." Kyoko thought aloud. "If you look carefully at the tissue in her wound here, you can see the knife created a second exit wound, which is what the Monokuma File meant by the removal is what killed her. That exit wound would have killed her almost instantly." She explained further, noticing Sayaka watching over her shoulder.

 ' Killing Blow  has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

"What do you think?" Sayaka asked. "Do you have any ideas?"

"Well, I've only just begun investigating. But there's one thing that I found suspicious immediately. Take a look at the wounds on her hands." Kyoko instructed, pointing to either one. "Can you tell what's wrong?" When Sayaka shook her head, Kyoko explained. "Sakura's palms have both been stabbed. However, they were stabbed well after she died, not before."

"Huh? How can you tell?" Sayaka winced as she watched Kyoko slowly pull on the wounds of Sakura's hands.

"First of all, there is no inflammation of the surrounding tissue. Furthermore, the body loses blood pressure, meaning these wounds never bled. The blood you see on Sakura's hands is from the injury to her stomach." She gently rested Sakura's hand back down on the floor, before continuing. "I'd also like to make note, the blood is only on the palms. There isn't a trace on any of her fingers, but... that will become relevant later."

 ' Sakura's Hands  has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

"Hey, Kyoko? Do you have a clue what this is?" Sayaka pointed to the large puddle of slathered blood above Sakura's head.

"It looks to be a rather poor job at cleaning up her blood. But what's interesting is the formation. It's not a random splatter by any means. In fact, I think it was writing." She deduced.

"Writing?" Sayaka gasped.

"Yes. It's possible Sakura survived long enough to leave a dying message. The time discrepancy between how long the knife was plunged into her versus being removed is unknown. Perhaps a clue about her attacker? Either way, it was rubbed out. If it was a dying message, her attacker probably found it while destroying evidence and tried to remove it. Although, I have my doubts about that. It is simply the current most likely candidate."

So, the killer stabbed her. Then she took her own blood to write a clue, and then the killer came back to rub it out? That could be it, but is that all there is to it? Sayaka's intuition was telling her there was more to it.

 ' Bloody Message  has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

Looking at the body longer, Sayaka's eyes were drawn to the knife sticking out of Sakura's left hand. The weapon looked large and sharp.

"Are you interested in that weapon? That's an 11-inch tactical hunting combat survival bowie knife!" Junko's voice came from behind. Sayaka yelped a little in shock, unaware she was watching her. "These aren't hard to come by. In fact, you could get one online for less than $20. I wouldn't be surprised if there was one at the school store~!"

"And the blade matches all of Sakura's injuries," Kyoko added. "I'm certain it's the murder weapon."

 ' Combat Knife  has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

"You know quite a lot about weapons, it seems." Kyoko narrowed her eyes.

"Girl's gotta have a hobby. This is mine." Junko rolled her eyes, ignoring the glare she was getting in favour of investigating.

There's probably more to it, but Sayaka decided to leave Sakura's body in their hands. They're more than capable to find the evidence on the corpse. Sayaka thought she'd try and see if she could find anything around the room!

Amid her search, something curious caught her eye. Byakuya, someone she thought would likely be investigating with passion, was leaning on the door in the back of the library. Finding it worthwhile to ask him about the case, Sayaka walked over. 

"Hey, Byakuya? What are you doing?"

"Safeguarding evidence." He scoffed, keeping his arms folded as he refuses to meet her eyes. "The Archives may prove important to this case. Therefore, I shan't let anyone read them."

"In the archives room? What sort of evidence could be in there?" She asked, waiting a few moments, only to be returned with silence. "Byakuya, we discovered her body together! Surely you can at least share some evidence with me. We're on the same side, aren't we?"

Byakuya audibly sighed before finally making eye contact with her, "Sayaka, do you remember the alarming truth Celeste shared with us in the first trial? That someone here among us may, in fact, be Genocide Jack?"

"Of course, I remember..." She winced, "But is that really relevant?"

"There's evidence that suggests Genocide Jack may be involved with Sakura's killing. And here in the archive room contains one of the only few copies of the case file and analysis conducted upon him. Of course, I've memorised it already, as my personal library contained a copy as well." He smugly grinned. 

"But, why can't you share that evidence with us?" Sayaka pleaded, "Surely that'll just make catching him all the easier, no?"

"Certain details of Genocide Jack's crimes have never been made publicly available. Therefore if I can make my suspected target slip up and reveal those details, it'll make certain that they are Genocide Jack."

"Doesn't telling  me  that kinda defeat the point, though?" Sayaka put a hand on her hip, raising an eyebrow at him.

"No, you're not even on my radar as a possible suspect. Besides, I'm confident I already know who Genocide Jack is."

 ' Byakuya's Account  has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

"Uh, Byakuya? Where were you last night?" She quickly changed the topic.

"Hm? My alibi, yes? Very well, I'll tell you." He went on. "I was in the library most of the night. I left around 11 p.m. I never once saw Sakura."

"Did you see Toko? Isn't she normally with you?" Sayaka prodded.

"Correct." Byakuya continued. "Toko has followed me most places I've gone as of late, even to the library last night. However, I never saw her again after I left the library for the final time yesterday."

 ' Alibis  has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

"Gotcha. Thanks." Sayaka swiftly turned around. It wasn't like Byakuya was willing to share anything else anyway, and she had more investigating to do.

~♥️~

Hina and Chihiro had been sitting together in the corner for a while now. Since Hina had walked in, she'd prioritised comforting Chihiro over her own feelings. Sayaka's heart fell heavy watching the both of them. 

"Hey, Chihiro?" The idol asked, seeing the small girl wipe her eyes and slowly look up.

"Oh, S-Sayaka. How can I help?" Her voice was a little shaky, but she seemed better than Sayaka first thought.

"I was wondering, when we were in the dining hall this morning before Monokuma arrived, did you see what time it was? You were fiddling with your E-Handbook, right?"

"Oh! Y-Yeah, I was!" Chihiro beamed, seemingly joyful that she could help. 

"Let me see. Um... It was 7:45 a.m. when Monokuma arrived. We probably all ran out a few minutes after searching!"

"What about Toko and Byakuya? When did they show up?" I asked.

"Not too long beforehand, about 7:30. I arrived at 7 O'clock. I was so hungry. I wanted breakfast as soon as possible. Sayaka, you arrived at 7:40 as well."

"And I probably came into the dining hall like... 7:48 then," Hina added. "Will that be important to catch Sakura's Killer?"

"It just maybe. We'll have to see when we get there."

 ' Alibis  has been updated in the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

~♥️~

Sayaka's search for rounding up alibis lead her to talk to a few more people. Kyoko claimed to be investigating the first floor, which Hina confirmed as she and Toko found her there.

Junko was in the school store, hearing the racket; she left to find those three not far outside. Although until the search began, no one could confirm either of those alibis.

Leon was happy to give Sayaka his alibi, as he and Yasuhiro were both in the bathhouse. Celeste was in the storage room behind the cafeteria and stated that she saw both Leon and Hiro enter at 6 a.m.

Finally, Mondo claimed he and Kiyotaka were in the boy's locker room from 5 a.m. onward. Which the latter aggressively confirmed. 

All of this led to, yet again, more updates of the Alibis truth bullet.

However useful those may be, gathering those alibis took up quite a lot of Sayaka's time investigating, and at that point, the library had been looked over time and time again and not  just  by her. 

Thinking it better to investigate elsewhere, Sayaka humbly left the library, giving Sakura's resting body one last look before exiting.  'Okay, let's think this through.'  The killer obviously didn't haul Sakura into the library from anywhere else. The killing had to have happened there. With the way they cleaned up the blood above Sakura's head, Sayaka doubted the culprit wasn't dirty, but that meant they had to clean themselves afterwards. 

The taps get turned off at nighttime, so the bathrooms were a no-go. Meaning the killer went somewhere else to clean themselves up. Sayaka doubted if they had blood on their hands, literally, they'd risk going downstairs, and that left only one place in her mind that was close enough.

~♥️~

Entering the locker rooms, Sayaka was met with a grody sight. There was something on the girl's locker room door. From closer inspection, it was blood. In fact, the blood was in the shape of a partial handprint. With a tap of my E-Handbook, the door opens to allow her through.

The inside of the locker room was in an even worse state than the outside. Bloodstains littered the wall closest to the door, likely rubbing off from the culprit's hand. It seemed they were leaning against the wall as they walked towards the pool.

 ' Bloody handprints  has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

Following the trail, Sayaka exited the other side of the locker room and out into the pool area, which, once again, had the same story. Just as she expected, in the pool was cloudy blood. The killer stumbled their way over there to wash up directly after their murder. But weren't Mondo and Kiyotaka just inside the boy's locker room next door? Maybe if the killer came by then, they might've heard something...

 ' Pool Area  has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

Then again, those two were only in there from 5 onwards... Wait, that's it! What was missing from the Monokuma file; it didn't mention Sakura's time of death! All they really had to go off was that neither Byakuya nor Toko found the body the previous night, and they would have left around 11 p.m. Meaning, the murder likely took place any time from 11-5... Which is plenty of time to have committed it unseen. 

Sayaka held the side of her head as it began to throb. All of this work was giving her a headache. She wasn't cut out for the life of a detective; She wasn't sure how long she could keep it going before the trial.

 ~♥️~ 

Returning to the scene, Sayaka noticed Hina was no longer comforting Chihiro. Instead, she was gloomily sitting in a chair beside Sakura, sadly watching as Junko analysed the corpse. As the idol entered, she caught the attention of Kyoko, who quickly called her over.

"How'd it go, find anything?"

"Not much, but..." Sayaka took a moment to go through her truth bullets with her, adding each of them to Kyoko's handbook.

"Thank you." She smiled. "By the way, Chihiro told me it was herself, you and Byakuya that discovered Sakura's corpse. Did anyone knock anything over when you discovered it?"

"Uh... Mondo, Kiyotaka and Hina ran in, in a panic. But I don't think anyone knocked anything over."

"In that case, take note of the room." Kyoko gestured to some of the furniture around the library. Looking at the floor, Sayaka noticed scrapes on the tiles from the legs of the tables being moved recently, as well as a few chairs having been knocked over.

"Ah, I see. So Sakura and the Killer fought and knocked into some chairs?"

"It's a possibility. But is that all there is to it?" Kyoko pondered.

"What do you mean?" Sayaka asked but wasn't given an answer, as Kyoko got back to work.

 ' Signs of a struggle  has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

Sayaka guessed it made sense that Sakura wouldn't go down without a fight, but this still seemed odd. Human or not, Sakura was a true-born fighter. How did someone get the upper hand on her?

Watching Kyoko go back to investigate the room, Sayaka struggled with what to do. She wasn't some grand detective, but she could help by asking around some more. That line of thinking led her right to a certain somebody standing outside the library door.

"Toko?" Sayaka called, squeezing past Chihiro curled up at the door, who seemed to be doing a bit better. "Can I ask you something? Why haven't you gone and looked inside the room yet?"

"H-Huh? W-What's it to you, you i-idiot popstar!?" She thrust an accusatory finger in my direction as she backed away. 

"Well, I just thought it was odd. You spent a lot of time in the library, so maybe you could help out with the investigation? Besides, weren't you in the library last night, too?" Sayaka put her hands on her hips, watching Toko get nervous beneath her gaze.

"L-Lies, I wasn't in here at all last night!"

"No, that's wrong." Sayaka sighed, "Byakuya told me you were in there with him. He didn't see you after he left for the night, though." 

"F-Fine! I-I was in there staring at... Master~" She blushed, holding herself as she clutched either arm. "He was coming in for some reading when- Ah! W-When... I don't remember what happened after we came in, actually. Oh... Oh no..."

"You don't... remember? Really?"

"I-It's true! I remember walking to the library after him, and then I remember waking up in my dorm! T-That's it!" Her reply seemed genuinely told, but it was so offputting. It's not like she just... passed... out.

"Wait, Toko! Aren't you hemophobic!?" Sayaka suddenly gasped.

"Er... I didn't think you'd remember anything about me! Y-Yes, I pass out at the sight of b-blood... But if that's what happened, how did I get back to my room? It's not like she would have done it..." Toko was talking mainly herself, speculating the possibility. 

 ' Toko's Account  has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

"So, the investigation is still going on. Are you going to help out?" The bluenette sheepishly asked.

"W-What? Do you want me to w-walk up to Sakura's corpse and just collapse? W-Will that actually be any help!?" Toko chewed her nails just like she chewed Sayaka out. 

"I meant that you can look around without going into the crime scene... but, eh, never mind."

Following her own advice to Toko, as the author slinked off back to the dorms, Sayaka decided to investigate the first floor, seeing if she could find anything there. It was only once she entered the gym did anything seem useful.

The gym entrance was littered with debris, and the sight of the room filled her with shock. There wasn't one, nor two, but three Monokumas. The robot bears were in a state of dismay, each battered and broken like they'd been forcefully crushed like an empty can of soda.

"What... happened here?" Sayaka gasped, taking a few steps forward before a fourth emerged.

"That's what I want answers for! I was minding my own business and: WABAM!" Monokuma shrieked. "If it weren't for that person, I would be  really  angry! I'm just glad they got to her first!" Monokuma patted his own belly as he chuckled.

"What are you talking about?" 

"Eh, don't worry. It's not relevant to the case... super much at least." He made a dramatic turn to one of his fallen copies, clutching it in his arms. "Look! That  monster  destroyed my FAVOURITE Monokuma." He fake cried and wailed all the while. "Go on, get! Leave me be to mourn! No clues to be found here!"

 ' Destroyed Monokuma  has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

Not wasting any more time, Sayaka hurriedly left the gym and back into the halls. Sayaka began looking over her truth bullets one by one, trying to get an idea of the structure of the case. Walking down the hallway, she paced past the main hall before noticing Yasuhiro lurking about inside.

Slowly sneaking up on him, Sayaka peered over his shoulder to get a good look at what he was up to, and to her surprise, the box in Yasuhiro's arms contained three E-Handbooks.

"Aaah! Sayaka, what are you doing here?" He suddenly yelped, hiding the mailbox behind his back.

"I'm investigating. What about you?" Sayaka smugly put a hand on her hip.

"U-Uhh... Nothing! I mean- uh... It's just a conspiracy!" He yelled before attempting to make a break for it. Swiftly grabbing the back of his jacket, Sayaka dragged him back.

"Hiro, just tell me what's going on?" She rolled her eyes.

"Uh, well, listen. Y-You might be the killer n all, so uh-"

"Yasuhiro, please, I promise you I'm not the killer; I'll prove it in the trial." Sayaka pleaded. "Just show me what you've found."

"Well, alright." He said with doubt in his voice, as if he still didn't really believe me. "I found this box with some E-Handbooks in it! Three, to be exact. It's a good omen, actually: three. The tripartite nature of the world is heaven, earth, and waters. And human as body, soul and spirit!"

"So, it's important that there are three of them..." That's more than Chihiro's scan indicated unless these belong to some of us here. 

"Well, not particularly other than being a good omen! This one's all bloody and stuff, but these two belong to Hifumi and Makoto!"

"Oh, so that bloody one must be Sakura's, right?"

"I think so. I don't really wanna clean it off; disturbing the blood's a bad sign of misfortune!"

 ' Main Hall E-Handbooks  has been added to the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

"Hey, Yasuhiro, while I have you. Where were you before this morning?"

"Oh! I was in the bathhouse with Leon. I wasn't late for the breakfast meeting, I promise. Nope, I was lost! I blame the Bermuda Triangle."

Ignoring that last part, Sayaka carried on. "Well, thanks, Hiro. I'll see you at the trial."

 ' Alibis  has been updated in the truth bullets section of your handbook.' 

It wasn't long after her conversation with Yasuhiro that the monitor above suddenly flicked on, and the familiar bell chime of the announcement sounded.

*Ding, dong, dong ding*

"There's a huge difference between 'Oops' and 'That's Right', right? Anyone can kill someone in the heat of the moment, yet surprisingly few can do so with calculated intent. I'm not totally sure myself. Maybe you should try reading between the lines?" Monokuma rested a paw on his cheek, swirling his glass as he rested on his chair.

"Either way, it's the moment you've all been waiting for... The Class Trial! Please gather at the red door on the first floor of the school... Puhuhu, see you soon!"

And with that, the monitor flickered off.

In barely any time at all, they'd all gathered at the elevator. Each of them had managed to arrive on time, with Monokuma tapping his foot before the elevator doors. Next to him was Toko, curled up and panicking.

"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..." She was clutching her head in her hands, glasses and clothes a mess, it looked like he really did drag her there, but was he even that strong? He looked rather weak, especially considering the scraps in the gym at the moment.

"Whew, so now everyone's here! All aboard the Monokuma Elevator! I'll see you guys down there!" And with that, he scurried out of the room faster than Sayaka could see.

"So, shall we get going? It's time to find out who killed Sakura." Byakuya smiled at the group, the first aboard the elevator.

Sakura. A gentle soul with a strong protective exterior. She was a rock to many in there. If given the time, Sayaka could definitely see her becoming the mom of the group, caring for and protecting all of them with a smile. Everyone she talked to about Sakura either loved her or didn't know her well. She could say for certain that nobody hated her. Yet she ended up dead regardless.

Someone made the decision to kill someone so kind. And that killer is one of them.

"There's something odd about Toko's behaviour," Celeste whispered to Sayaka. "I do not think mere shock is enough to explain it~." She winked before following Byakuya into the elevator.

"Don't worry, me and my bro got this one! Sakura's killer ain't gonna get by easy!" Mondo grinned as he dragged a stumbling Kiyotaka along into the elevator.

Eventually, they all gathered the courage to follow inside the elevator and began the horrid, slow descent.

Sayaka couldn't get a handle on her emotions. Her mind couldn't stop speculating. One of them there  killed  Sakura. But who?

The elevator descended against the dark cave-like walls with heavy, clunky noises, uncaring of their shared anxiety about what lay below. Until finally:

They were at the trial grounds.

"Hey, long time no see, you guys!" Monokuma waved from atop his chair. "Please, take your seats!"

"Shall we begin?" Kyoko gave Sayaka a reassuring smile, "Sakura's killer won't get by easily." She promised before standing at her podium.

Joining her, every student, including herself, stood at their podium, ready for the trial to begin.

The bizarre class trial began again. The threat of starvation was brought upon them, and Sakura wound up dead. Why was she murdered? Is her killer among the group even now? The mysterious identity of Genocide Jack was sure to be revealed by the hands of the Ultimate Affluent Prodigy, and they'd have their justice; in this deadly... class trial!

Chapter 2: Raging Revelations

Deadly Life

Students remaining: 12

Chapter Text

Trial - ALL RISE 

"Now then! Let's begin with a simple explanation of the class trial!" Monokuma began with the same speech as last time, almost to a T. "If your vote is correct, the blackened student shall be punished, but if you pick the wrong person~! I'll punish everyone besides the blackened, and they alone will get to leave Hope's Peak Academy! Now then, get to it!"

Similarly to last time, it took a minute before the discussion began. After Byakuya cleared his throat, he was the first to speak. "I think a good place to start will be Sakura's fatal injury. Starting the case from an objective point will resolve the trial quickly; that being said, it's clear what it is from the get-go."

That's right, Sakura's fatal injury was stated in the Monokuma File for them all to see. "It was the stab wound in her stomach. She was killed when the knife got pulled out of her."

"Correct." He smiled, "Thus, the murder weapon must obviously be that knife. Now that we're all on the same page-"

"Wait a sec. How can we be so sure she was killed by the  knife ?" Yasuhiro interrupted, "I mean, all the Monokuma file says is that she got stabbed a few times, right?"

"Good grief." Celeste sighed loudly, side-eyeing him, "It is clearly stated in the Monokuma File for all to see."

"That's just what Monokuma  wants  you to believe!" Hiro shouted.

And not even two minutes in, the debate was already derailed by a senseless problem. They'd get nowhere if they couldn't agree on something as simple as the murder weapon; It was time to clear that up first.

Non-Stop Debate!

"So the k-killer stabbed Sakura  three times.  " Kiyotaka asserted.

"With that random knife," Mondo grunted along.

"Once in the stomach and once in each hand, right?" Leon asked. "Meaning she got  [three injuries].  "

 Break! 

"Hang on, that's wrong!" Sayaka countered as soon as it clicked in her mind. "Read that a little more carefully, Leon. Because-"

"As is clearly stated in the Monokuma File. Sakura's killing blow was an exit wound caused by the removal of the knife." Byakuya stole Sayaka's thunder without care, smugly looking down on all of them.

"Can we really believe that, though? I mean- How's Monokuma meant to deduce that just from the camera footage?" Hiro asks.

"Whether or not you can trust his judgement is indeed questionable. But I checked the injuries myself, and there's no doubt about that." Kyoko spoke without any waver. "Sakura did indeed bleed out from that wound."

"Huh... I see. Still, I-" Hiro began before suddenly yelping back at Celeste's bark.

"Enough! Please, keep your stupid mouth shut before I-" Celeste's voice growled as her knuckles turned white from gripping the podium. Taking a quick breath, Celeste continued in her practised fake accent. "Yasuhiro, be a dear and quit interrupting."

"Oh! I got it! I thought of something!" Yasuhiro completely ignores her and cries.

"U-Um... So, what should we discuss next?" Chihiro cautiously asks.

"Wha- Hey! I'm for serious! It's suspicious that-"

"Perhaps we could discuss why Sakura was in the library?" Celeste twirls some of her hair between her hands.

"Argh... Come on and hear me out! I wanna know where the killer got that knife from!" Yasuhiro slammed his hand down on his podium. "Cause... I've never seen it before. Where'd it come from?"

Where the knife came from? That's right. Sayaka was sure she knew, she just had to provide evidence for it.

 Make your argument! 

"W-Where the knife came from..." Toko muttered. "It d-definitely  wasn't the kitchen!  "

"Did the killer  bring it with them?  " Hina wondered. "Could they have had it all along?"

"Let's dust it for fingerprints!" Kiyotaka suggested. "We'll catch that no-good culprit for sure!"

"No one here knows how to do that..." Leon sighed, rolling his eyes.

"If  [no one knows]  where the knife came from-" Chihiro began. "Then it could've been anywhere."

 Break! 

"Hang on, that's wrong!" Sayaka objected. "There's someone here that should know. Isn't that right, Junko?"

"Well, I'm not one hundred per cent certain." She rested her head in her hand as she leaned on her podium. "But they sell a whoooole bunch of weapons at the school store! They're like, the real deal." She gave a big toothy grin at that.

"Yeah, like a chick like you'd know anything about that stuff." Leon circled his finger around his ear, sticking his tongue out at her. "If you don't know anything for sure, why bring it up."

Crossing her arms with a roll of her eyes, Junko looked off to the side, "Sakura was stabbed with an 11-inch tactical hunting combat survival bowie knife. The sharpness of the blade and the sheen of the metal indicate that beaut's probably in mint condition, meaning it hadn't been used before, so the killer probably didn't bring it with them."

"Uh... anyone else scared she knows that?" Hiro squirmed.

"Moving on." Sayaka sighed, ignoring Leon's growing frustration. "Shall we discuss how the culprit killed Sakura?"

"I got it!" Kiyotaka shouted louder than necessary. "Sakura's killer tailed her to the library, unknown, and snuck up behind her with the knife! Stabbing Sakura's hands so she couldn't even defend herself, the killer threw her to the ground and... finished it!"

"You serious, bro?" Mondo sighed. "You knew Sakura, right? Chick couldn't be taken down by just anybody. Hell, even I'd have a fuckin' tough time."

"She was still a person!" Hina clenched her fists. "If you stabbed her, she'd bleed. If you caught her off guard, you could hurt her. She wasn't some invincible beast." She scoffed, getting angrier at this trial by the second.

"So, the killer snuck up behind Sakura and stabbed her in the stomach, and when she resisted, they stabbed her a few more times in the hands." Celeste summarised. "Does that sound correct?"

"And that's how she left behind that clue!" Yasuhiro shouted. "That's it! Sakura wrote her killer's name as she bled to death!"

"What!? S-She did!? Who's name did she write!?" Kiyotaka gasped.

"No, see. It was all covered up, remember? I used my fortune-telling to see what happened! Sakura's killer stabbed her hands, and as they walked away to clean up the evidence, she wrote their name!"

Make your argument!

"Sakura left us a huge clue!" Hiro grinned. "She wrote her attacker's name on the ground in her  own blood!  "

"Huh...? I don't remember seeing that at all." Leon raised an eyebrow.

"I overheard Kyoko say something like that during the investigation: about a Dining Message! So I did a reading to confirm it."

"You mean a dying message, right?" Hina sighed. 

" [Sakura left behind]  her Daylight Massage..." Hiro mumbled. "But then the culprit returned and erased it after she died!"

 Break! 

"That can't be it!" Sayaka interjected. "Because Sakura couldn't have written that message herself. Her fingertips had no blood on them."

"Y-Yeah, so what? She had massive wounds on both hands! She could've just used them!"

"Not at all. In actuality, the truth is: Sakura couldn't have written anything at all." Kyoko added.

"Oh yeah? And why not!?"

Kyoko's right. Sayaka tried to remember what she was told earlier in the investigation...

"Sakura's wounds on her hands were given  after  she died!"

"W-What!? How could you know a detail like that!?" Taka gasped.

"Because her blood clotting indicates her hands never bled. Therefore, it's impossible Sakura was the one to write that message."

"Hold on... Couldn't she have just used the blood from her stomach wound instead? Her palms  did  have blood on them, after all."

"No, not likely," Byakuya said. "You know the answer, right? Go on, Sayaka, tell them."

Sayaka stared at Byakuya's smug reflective glasses for a moment before continuing where he led off. "The wound wouldn't have bled until after the knife was taken out of her. And she died almost instantly after that! There's no way she had the time to write it."

"But, that was definitely a message of some kind; my fortune predicted it!" Hiro pleaded. "So if Sakura didn't write it, then who did?"

"Isn't it obvious, if it wasn't the victim, the one that had to have written it was..." Byakuya trailed off, waiting for someone to finish.

Well, let's see... If Sakura didn't write it, there's only a handful of possibilities, and the most likely of them is-

"I-I got it! Sakura's killer left that message?"

"But they cleaned up after themselves." Leon sighed. "Why the hell would they clean up their own message?"

"Perhaps, that was when  it  occurred," Byakuya smirked almost cartoonishly.

"'it'? What do you mean, 'it'?" Junko raised an eyebrow, putting a hand on her hip.

"The moment our culprit regained consciousness. Obviously." Byakuya sighed.

"Hold the fuck on. What do you mean by that?" Mondo yelled.

"When you consider  who  the culprit is, it's a strong possibility." 

"H-Hold on. You're saying that like you know who the killer is!? What are you hiding from the rest of us!" Kiyotaka asked.

"The killer of this case is none other than the murderous fiend, Genocide Jack." Byakuya adjusts his glasses before continuing. "You all remember the secret Celeste received, yes? It's already confirmed someone here is under that identity."

That's right... he brought this up during the investigation. Is it possible he was right?

Non-Stop Debate!

"Sakura's killer can be no else; it was  Genocide Jack,  " Byakuya exclaimed.

"There's no fuckin chance..." Mondo growled. "That serial killer is the culprit!?"

"According to  Monokuma's Motive...  " Kyoko hummed. "Genocide Jack really is among us."

"Oh, come on! You're seriously claiming that Genocide Jack did it with  [no evidence]  ?" Hina yelled.

 Break! 

"No, that must be it! Byakuya showed me. There's more than a bit of evidence pointing to Genocide Jack being the culprit!"

"Seriously?" Hina looked at me with worry. "Sakura was killed by some... some serial killer?"

"But, what's that gotta do with them losing consciousness?" Leon asked.

"The official police report of our very own Genocide Jack states the following:" Byakuya cleared his throat, "The culprit leaves the scene in a daze, clearly panicked and alarmed. However, no witness has ever once come forward. What, in this scenario, would cause the culprit to panic?"

Let's see. Genocide Jack leaves his gruesome murders in a panic. It also had something to do with them blacking out. Byakuya's given Sayaka enough hints; she just needed to put them together!

The culprit is  alarmed  at the scene, and that panic is caused by...

The police's arrival.

 >[ The crime itself. ] 

A witness.

That's right! Genocide Jack gets flustered by their own killings and leaves in a panic, and that's because...

 >[ They just woke up. ] 

They didn't do it.

They got caught.

"I think I got it!" Sayaka snapped. "Genocide Jack wakes up at their own crime scene and gets panicked at the sight of the body?"

"Hm, that was actually close enough to be considered correct." Byakuya shrugged. "But you're missing what's most important: The Why."

"Y-You mean,  why  Genocide Jack faints?" Toko asks, nervously biting her thumb.

"Precisely. And the answer isn't too farfetched with the current evidence." Byakuya glared at her.

"Genocide Jack," Kyoko mutters under a gloved hand, mainly thinking aloud. "Might have a disassociative identity. That's what you mean to say, yes? But what makes you so certain Genocide Jack is the culprit at all?"

What...?

"What!? How could you not think that?" Byakuya clenched his fist. "It one hundred per cent, without a doubt, can only be; Genocide Jack!"

Non-Stop Debate!

"The only killer that makes sense," Byakuya Yelled, "is  Genocide Jack!  "

"Based on what evidence?" Kyoko snapped. "I've seen what you have to offer, and I'm not convinced."

"This case  matches  every Genocide Jack case there is!" He barked back. "The  murder weapon, the body's position, everything!  "

"Is it worth even arguing about this? I mean, we  [don't have access]  to the police records he mentioned. We don't have a way to contradict him..." Hina sulked.

Break! 

"Hang on, that's wrong!" Sayaka interjected.

"Actually, I think I have a pretty good way to sort this out because we  do  have access to the police records he talked about. Isn't that right, Byakuya?"

"What on earth are you talking about?" Byakuya looked to the side, avoiding eye contact.

"It's actually your own account that proves it!" Sayaka gave him a smug smirk as she tapped on her E-Handbook. Opening the log, she scrolled for a few moments before finding the exact quote.

 'There's evidence that suggests Genocide Jack may be involved with Sakura's killing. And here in the archive room contains one of the only few copies of the case file and analysis conducted upon him.' 

"Byakuya, you told Sayaka that the library's archive room had copies of the Genocide Jack case files, correct?" Celeste hummed. "If so, it's logical to conclude you must have brought them with you to back up your theory, no?"

"I did not. I had already memorised all of it. I saw no point in doing so." Byakuya replied.

"Hey, Monokuma! Can't you go get those case files for us?" Yasuhiro asked. "It's important evidence for the trial. Shouldn't we get it to make things fair?"

"About that. I already saw this topic coming up. So, I brought it with me right here!" Reaching behind his back, Monokuma pulled out a large binder with Genocide Jack on the label. 

Tossing it across the courtroom, both Kiyotaka and Sayaka scrambled to catch it, almost awkwardly dropping it in the process. Opening the case file, Sayaka could feel Kiyotaka's anxiety next to her as he read along with her, holding it open together.

After flipping through the binder multiple times, Sayaka tried to organise only the crucial information.

Suspected Genocide Jack victims include Ken Harada, Tetsuhiro Honda, and Shoji Gaku, among countless others. They were killed in the same way and mounted to a nearby wall. The word "bloodlust" was found at the scene of each crime, written in blood. Profiling indicates the killer is likely a student suffering from a split personality.

According to the case file, it's not hard to think Byakuya was right. The sign above the head written in blood, and the fact that he might have a split personality disorder. But something wasn't right...

Sayaka just had to compare these murders with Sakura's. Then everything should line up correctly. Sakura was placed in a cross position. They even stabbed her hands into place after her death. The victims in the case file are also stabbed in order to pin them in place, but the key difference was:

Sakura had her mouth closed.

 >[ Sakura was on the floor. ] 

Sakura was dead before being positioned.

 That's it! 

Sakura wasn't mounted like every victim in the case file, she was stabbed into the floor rather than the wall, and there's one other thing too. While it's possible that the actual Genocide Jack might not have them on him right now, it's important to note the lack of consistency. The thing missing in Sakura's murder versus all these others are:

Hangman's Gambit!

   S   

   C   

   I   

   S   

   S   

   O   

   R   

   S   

That's it!

Every photo in the case file had the victims stabbed with the exact same scissors. There were just too many differences for this to be the same person.

"There are too many inconsistencies. The positioning of the body is all wrong. Every victim was mounted onto the wall with Genocide Jack's special homemade scissors, and Sakura was pinned to the floor with a single knife. As well, all of these past victims are men. Sakura was a girl!" 

"Oh, for the love of- That hardly matters!" Byakuya clenched his fist tighter. "Gender of the victims? What nonsense. And obviously, Genocide Jack couldn't have used scissors, as there aren't any here. End of story. Life really is so simple."

"Byakuya, you're too intelligent to have forgotten. Every girl here was given a sewing kit with scissors inside." Sayaka crossed her arms.

"And are you forgetting that Genocide  Jack  is male? How stupid could you be!"

"H-How are you so sure?" Kiyotaka muttered. "I mean, it says nowhere in the case file that they discovered the culprit's gender. Genocide Jack could easily be a girl!"

"There's an equivalent argument for them to be male. That's simply irrelevant." Byakuya grunted. Before either of them could continue arguing, Chihiro spoke up.

"U-Um... This might not be super relevant to what we're currently talking about, but there's something I want to ask?" She put her hand up as if she were trying to be called on by a teacher. Perking up, Monokuma gave her his full attention. "So, the body discovery announcement. How exactly does it get triggered?"

"Hmm? Did I not already do this in the last trial? I mean, as I said before, it's not exactly meant to be used for investigation." Monokuma put a paw on his cheek.

"I wanted to specify something that had been bothering me for some time now." Chihiro puffed her cheeks in a deep breath before continuing. "W-When we found Sakura, I tried to run over to her. Sayaka caught me, but I did take a step into the library. Only after did I step inside did the discovery announcement play. Does that mean we have to be in the room for it to count?"

Huh?

"Er... well, you see... Ugh, fine. Yes, okay? Yes! Might as well get this all out of the way at once." Monokuma stood on his high chair, stomping his robotic feet in anger. "The body discovery only plays if 3 or more students, which may or may not include the killer, are in the actual physical room and can physically see the full body."

"Sayaka. After grabbing Chihiro, did you or Byakuya enter before it played?" Kyoko quickly shot at her.

"Hey! What did I just say- It's not meant to be used for the investigation!"

Ignoring his tantrum, Sayaka shook her head. "It played pretty much at the same time Chihiro 'entered' the library."

"Which must mean; at least one person other than the killer entered the room and saw Sakura before Chihiro."

"Y-Yeah! That's what I was thinking." Chihiro said.

Thinking back on it,  he  was acting kind of strange around that time. If someone else, other than the killer had discovered the body... it must be him!

SELECT SOMEONE:

BYAKUYA TOGAMI

"Byakuya, you found Sakura's corpse before us, didn't you?" Sayaka accused. Rather than replying, he simply glared at her, so she continued. "At the time, I was about to check on the pool area when you said:"

"Come, the library is the most likely place!" 

"You went straight to the library and stopped me from exploring elsewhere. In fact, you were the one to tell us to check the second floor. You even ordered Chihiro and I to follow so that you would have enough for the announcement to play and not look suspicious."

"But why hide it? I mean, doesn't that kinda prove that bastard  isn't  the culprit?" Leon asked. 

"Normally, yes. But it wouldn't put him in a good light, especially because he was the one who:"

Killed her.

 >[ Set the scene. ] 

Left bloody handprints.

I think I got it!  

"Byakuya must have been the one to make it  look  like Genocide Jack was the culprit! He wanted to hide the fact he found her because he's the one that messed with Sakura's body!"

Seething with anger, Byakuya clenched his hands into fists.

"Ohhh, I see. But, wait... No!? That makes no frickin' sense! Why the hell would he do something like that?" Leon shouted.

"I... don't know. But he's already proved that he knew all about Genocide Jack's crimes, details not revealed to the public and even where the case file was."

"He also liked to keep the library on lockdown. As long as he was there, no one was getting to that case file." Junko added.

"Shut up." Byakuya snapped.

"Puhuhu! Things sure are getting exciting!" Monokuma cheered gleefully.

 "You shut up too." He snapped again at Monokuma. "I see. I'm disappointed that's the only reasoning you could come up with, but I might as well mark it as correct for now."

"M-Mark it as correct?" Toko winced.

"So... it w-was you? You did... all that to Sakura's body? Why!?" Kiyotaka shook his hands in confusion.

"It's my sworn duty to win at everything, this game included. This was a nice experiment to determine who I must worry about when it's my time to become blackened." He said with a sickening smug grin.

"Ah, I see." Celeste smiled. "It makes sense a Togami such as yourself would resort to such methods~."

"It's not like I could fail at it as badly as you did." He shot back, smiling at her now angry expression.

"Byakuya, tell us. How was Sakura's body when  you  found it?" Hina asked as calmly as she could muster.

"Very well. Sakura was lying on the floor, her arms by her sides and the knife lying on the floor not too far away. It's as if the killer stabbed her, pulled it out, and then dropped it."

"What about her palms? It was you that stabbed them, yeah?" Junko asked.

"Correct. I found Sakura around 4 a.m. if you must know."

"Four in the morning? How uh... fresh, was it?" Mondo asked.

"Very. Rigor Mortis hadn't even set in yet." Byakuya confirmed.

"Four in the morning is... unfortunate. The earliest alibi we have is for five." Celeste sighed.

"I guess those are all useless now," Hina sulked. Only for Kyoko to interject.

"Don't say that just yet. Our alibis still may be a crucial detail. Keep them in mind for now." Kyoko said confidently. "In fact, it's possible to deduce a very suspicious individual with the current information we have, using those alibis."

"Oh? How so?" Celeste made a faux gasp.

"Simply keep the positioning of everyone in mind as we go along with the discussion, and it should make things clear."

Simply keep the positioning of everyone in mind... and it'll make things clear.

'All I have to do is go through my current evidence, with where everyone was in mind...'

Byakuya discovered the body at 4, and she had died within under 2 hours at that point. Unless the culprit raced back to their room, they would be out and about. Destroying evidence, most likely.

"Hey, Yasuhiro?" Sayaka tried to get his attention. "That 'thing' you showed me during the investigation at the main hall? How long had it been there?"

"Ohhhh, that thing! I found it there once the investigation began, but not before. I checked around... 6 a.m!"

"Hey, what the fuck are you two talking about? Stop talking in riddles so the rest of us can get a hang of it!"

"The investigation began at around 8. The culprit probably left it there during that 2-hour window."

"The main hall... Ah, I see. Monokuma? During the last case, did you confiscate Makoto's handbook after his death?"

"Oh, about that! I took it off his body after the class trial. It would be so icky to share a kitchen with a corpse! So I did you all a lovely service and cleaned up the scene after the fact!"

"You took it from him  after  the class trial?" Kyoko confirmed. "I think I know where you're going with this, Sayaka."

Sayaka gave her a firm nod before continuing. "That must be it then. The culprit wouldn't have gone far because they had to clean up. The culprit went into the girl's locker room and then to the pool area!"

   Make your argument! 

"The culprit went to the pool area..." Chihiro thought out loud. "Via the  girl's locker room?  "

"So that must mean," Hiro gasped. "The killer's  automatically a girl!  "

"That chain gun would get you for sure if they weren't..." Hina cringed at the thought.

"So what, the killer went for a swim?" Mondo grunted. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"Yeah, my bro's right! T-This is irrelevant!" Kiyotaka shouted. "Besides, we  [don't know for sure they even went to the pool]! "

Break! 

"Hang on, that's wrong!" Sayaka shouted. 

"Here, look at these photos." Sayaka flipped through her handbook to find the right truth bullet. Showing off the bloody hand prints all over the girl's locker room and then, the blood in the pool water after. "The killer was leaning against the wall with bloody hands, and even got it on the door too!"

"S-So that's it then, we know that the killer must be a girl! Right?" Kiyotaka asked.

"Wrong." Sayaka stared back at him, watching him squirm under her gaze.

"W-What? How! The killer got into the girl's locker room, right? So they must be a girl too!"

"Wrong, all they would have to use is Sakura's handbook!"

"Oh! I get it now! That's what we were talking about!" Hiro gleamed. "I found a bunch of handbooks in the main hall! Those belonging to Makoto, Hifumi, and Sakura, to be exact!"

"But Sakura's was covered in blood, wasn't it?" Sayaka asked.

"Yeah, for real! And, even worse, it only showed up  after  the investigation began. It wasn't there when I looked just before six."

"Hold on. Couldn't  you  have just put it there? How do we know we can trust your account of things?" Hina raised an eyebrow with a hand on her hip.

"T-That's true... That walking bird nest c-could easily of just put it there himself and l-lied! That's it, h-he killed Sakura!" Toko shouted.

"H-Hold on, wait a minute- I-I didn't! Honest!"

   Non-Stop Debate!   

"The killer must be  Yasuhiro! " Aoi yelled.

"Nuh-uh!" Yasuhiro yelled back angrily.

"T-That's all you have to s-say!?" Toko barked. "I-It's clear, you did it!"

"I have an alibi!" He said proudly. "  I was in the bathhouse  right after I checked the main hall!"

"If only there were  [Someone who could prove it~]. " Celeste smiled.

 Break! 

"That's gotta be true!" Sayaka interjected to get them to stop arguing. "Celeste,  You  saw both; him and Leon in the bathhouse, right?"

"Ah, goody. You remembered, darling~," Celeste smiled. "Why yes, I did. I saw them enter just after six."

"And I went with him to see the handbooks, by the by," Leon added. "There were only two when I had a look."

"So the killer used Sakura's handbook and then put it in the main hall after six?" Mondo pondered. "Meaning anyone alone after six must be a suspect!"

"Not necessarily. The handbook wasn't found until  after  the investigation began." Kyoko reminded. "The killer could have put it back anytime between after Yasuhiro first checked the main hall and when he found it."

"And everybody all scattered from the crime scene after finding Sakura. Almost anyone could have done it, apart from Mondo, Kyoko, Junko, Chihiro, or myself!" Hina argued. "We were the only ones to never leave until the class trial began."

That's it. That was the last point Sayaka needed to hear; that  that person  couldn't be the culprit. It was narrowed down to one of those two for her theory, and with  them  being eliminated, it means... You. It must be you, and only you!

   SELECT SOMEONE:   

 Chapter 2: Raging Revelations 

 Class Trial 

 Students remaining: 12 

Chapter Text

Chapter 2, part 7: Raging Revelations 

 Class Trial 

That's it then; it must be  him .

"Hey, Sayaka?" Hina asked, "Are you okay? You've been quiet for a little while now."

Snapping to attention, Sayaka noticed she'd been spaced out for the past few minutes, lost in her own thought. "Sorry, I was just... Thinking."

"Well, then?" Celeste raised an eyebrow. "Have you thought of anything useful?"

"We know that it cannot be Kyoko, Mondo, Junko, Asahina, or Chihiro," Byakuya stated calmly. "Did you manage to put it together yet?" 

Sayaka didn't mistake that he made it sound like he already knew. But that didn't matter right then. Her answer to the question was yes. With a nod, Sayaka took a deep breath. It wasn't like she wanted to implicate that person, but it made too much sense with the timeline of events they made. Leaving the crime scene to go into the girl's locker room and then the pool, the culprit would have to leave either by the girl's locker room again or the boys. Byakuya didn't see them depart, or at the very least testify to the fact. But Mondo and Kiyotaka didn't see them when they would've just arrived. Rather than three people missing the culprit or them staying behind at the scene, Sayaka thought it was more likely that...

"Kiyotaka. Sakura's killer... Isn't you, is it?" Sayaka looked at the person next to her, watching his immediate panic. Sweat built up as he began to fidget from his anxiety.

"W-What? I-I uh..." He mumbled, unable to form a reply before Mondo yelled up from across the courtroom.

"The fuck are you talking about? He was with me in the locker room!"

"At five. But did you both go there together? Or did you just so happen to find him there?" Sayaka shouts back. Mondo attempted to make a comeback, but the words died in his throat, barely choking out a grunt. Mondo continued to let it stir in his mind trying to form a counterargument, whilst everyone else began to take in the accusation.

"Don't tell me... Taka- Y-You didn't, did you?" Chihiro looked at him with a cold mix of fear and betrayal. 

"Well, Kiyotaka? You have yet to object or confess." Celeste smiled. "Are   you  Sakura's killer?"

"No way... You killed Sakura!?" Hina raged.

"N-No, I...I-" He could barely reply, and yet, he looked to be on the verge of crying. Kiyotaka's knuckles began to turn white as he gripped his podium tighter. 

"No fuckin' way! You think he could do such a fuckin thing? You fucking bitch!" Mondo slammed his fist down on his podium. 

   Non-Stop Debate   

"  Kiyotaka killed Sakura  ... How the hell could he have taken her?" Leon questioned.

"..." Kiyotaka only stared down at the ground, muttering something Sayaka couldn't hear to himself.

"He must've   [Taken her by surprise]  in the library!" Hina confirmed. "She let her guard down around him, and that's when he stabbed her!"

"And that's when, as he  retreated to the pool ," Celeste continued. "Byakuya disguised the scene~."

"Shut up, that's fuckin wrong!" Mondo got louder. "There's no way... not a chance!"

 Break! 

"Hang on, that's wrong..." Sayaka raised her voice, stopping Hina in her tracks.

"No, he couldn't have taken her by surprise. There were clear signs of a struggle, and I doubt if Sakura got into a fight with him, he'd overpower her like that."

"But, I thought you just said that he did it!" Hina barked back.

"I did. But I don't think it was a surprise at all. Was it, Kiyotaka?" She turned to him, trying to get him to talk. His reaction was enough to make her think- no, to know she was right. But she still thought they should get to the bottom of this.

"He's not talking." Leon sulked. "Can't we just vote now?"

"No, not yet." Kyoko countered. "We can't leave any unsolved mysteries. We have to be confident in the conclusion and truly convinced, or our deduction won't satisfy anyone, and that's how mistakes are born." 

"Then what's there even to talk about!? We already discussed every piece of evidence there is!" Hina shouted.

   Non-Stop Debate   

"So,  the killer's Kiyotaka,  Yeah?" Leon asked, "Then all that's left is to vote!"

"Um... a-actually-" Toko barely spoke before getting cut off.

"No way, not a chance!" Mondo grunted. "Bro, fuckin' say somethin'!"

"..." Kiyotaka stared a hole into through the ground, unable to look up as he muttered under his breath.

"It's still too soon. After all. There's  more evidence  to discuss!" Kyoko asserted.

"Y-Yeah, just like-!" Toko began to say before Hina yelled

"There's   [no more evidence!]  It doesn't matter anyway! Let's just get it done and over with."

"B-But what about-"

"Man, whatever. Let's get out of here, ya?" Hiro smiled.

 Break! 

"Hang on, that's wrong! Hina, I'm sorry, but, there's still more to talk about. Right, Toko?"

"Huh?" She gasped.

"You had something you wanted to bring up, right?"

"Y-Yeah! I wanted to earlier, but I still have no real clue how it's r-related to the case." Toko shyly admitted. "T-That idiot swimmer girl ended up leaving me behind when we were s-searching for the body! So I was searching on m-my own, and that's when I went to the gym. On the floor w-was Monokuma! Three of him! A-All destroyed..."

"Destroyed?" Kyoko latched on. "Explain."

"T-They were crushed to b-bits! It was like he was h-hit with a sledgehammer over and over!"

"Right. I saw that too." Sayaka added. "It was like combat took place, and Monokuma clearly lost."

"Wha- Hey!" Monokuma growled. "I won't take such blasphemy!"

"You told me that yourself, remember?"

 "If it weren't for that person, I would be really angry! I'm just glad they got to her first!" Monokuma patted his own belly as he chuckled. 

"And when talking about it, you said 'her', as in..."

Toko

 >[   Sakura   ] 

Me

"Sakura! Sakura's the one that fought you, and crushed you at that."

Monokuma remained silent, instead slowly tilting his head as he watched on.

"Hold on, that's idiotic!" Byakuya countered. "The rules clearly state any violence towards the headmaster will not be tolerated and punished accordingly. Sakura wasn't 'punished' by Monokuma. She was killed by one of us!" Byakuya demanded.

"Maybe he couldn't?" Sayaka bit back. "Whoever fought him, destroyed not one, but three of him! Clearly, Sakura was too powerful for him to punish."

"W-What the wha! Absolutely not! I was gonna do it later! Someone among you beat me to the punch!" He shrugged. "I wanted to make it public to fill you all with such delicious despair~. Too bad she kicked it before morning, huh!"

But why would Sakura attack Monokuma at all? Was it some sort of ploy to save us? Did she attack him out of the blue? Sayaka couldn't think of a reason why. They all saw that there were multiple of him and that you'd be punished for doing so. Attacking Monokuma was basically suicide. So why would someone, let alone Sakura, attack him? She was too smart for that. Blind rage maybe? But that didn't make any sense.

Noticing Sayaka's confusion, Kyoko spoke up. "Sakura attacked you, knowing the consequences. She was simply trying to end the motive, correct?"

"Eh, maybe. Even when I brought up that certain something, Sakura still didn't stop!" He waved his arms about fanatically. 

"So does that mean she betrayed you instead?" Kyoko's eyes narrowed. "I know that you know what I mean. There's no point in playing dumb, Monokuma."

"Eh? Oh, ooo..." Monokuma put on a faux face of nervousness, 'sweat' dripping down his forehead as he put on a fake panic.

"Hold on! What are you two discussing? I don't enjoy being left out of the loop." Byakuya narrowed his eyes.

"The first motive." Sayaka began, waiting for Kyoko's nod of approval before continuing, "The secret Kyoko got said that someone in our group was working  with  Monokuma."

"What, you think that was Ogre?" Yasuhiro asked. 

"And you kept that from the rest of us?" Celeste's eyes narrowed with annoyance. Ignoring Celeste, Sayaka continued.

"I think... Sakura disobeyed the mastermind and attacked him." 

"Well, Monokuma? This is surely related to the case if it happened just the night before. It would only be fair for you to share." Kyoko asked smugly.

"Graah, fine! Sakura and I got into a little heated discussion in the gym, which led to her throwing a few punches! I was able to dodge most of them, but she landed a nasty one... or three." He rubbed the back of his head with awkwardness.

"But was Sayaka right? Was Sakura... Really some spy?" Hina gasped. "If she was... what was all the time we spent together? Was that just some sort of trick?"

"I don't have to answer that-" Monokuma began to say before Byakuya cut him off.

"Oh, yes, you do. This information is crucial to our discussion. Sakura being a spy for the mastermind is plenty motive for her killer to strike. It's a crucial part of this trial!" Byakuya brought a clenched fist down on the front of his podium.

"Ugh, fine. Sakura chose to defy me, and when I mentioned a little something in return, she decided to enact the thing I told her she must do!"

"You brought that up earlier, didn't ya? What was it?" Leon asked.

"Who cares? More importantly, what was the thing you ordered her to do?" Junko interrupted.

"..." Monokuma ground his teeth in frustration. "I ordered her to kill someone."

"I see." Kyoko hummed.

"So then she went to go and kill Kiyotaka then? He fought back in self-defence and got lucky. Is that what happened?" Leon summarised.

"Not a fucking chance," Mondo growled. "Bro, you gotta start sayin' somethin'. They think you fuckin did her in. You gotta speak up!" He shouted at Kiyotaka, who refused to meet his eye contact.

   Make Your Argument!   

"  [Sakura attacked Kiyotaka]   in the library," Leon stated. "Gaining the upper hand is when  he killed her. "

"Sakura was just some spy... N-No!" Hina grit her teeth, "  >She didn't attack him!<  I refuse to believe she attacked Taka!"

"Sakura was  killed with that knife ..." Chihiro said confidently. "But did she attack him with it, or did he have it from the beginning?"

"Fuckin' neither!" Mondo shouted. "Bro, say somethin', man!"

"..." Kiyotaka barely looked up a little.

Sayaka didn't have much more than a hunch to prove it, but she knew what Leon said had a contradiction. She'd use Hina's words to make an argument!

 Break! 

"Hang on, that's wrong!" She pointed at Leon. She had to be close now, it all rode on this theory. "Hina's right. Sakura would never hurt any of us intentionally. I can't imagine her ever hurting any of us. I doubt if she did, her target would be left without a scratch."

"Is that really your proof? So then, what happened? Kiyotaka attacked her first, you mean?" Byakuya replied. "Go on, tell us. What happened if not what he said?"

Sayaka couldn't imagine Sakura attacking any of the people there. Even if Monokuma had some form of leverage over her, as he implied. But, then again, neither could she think that of Kiyotaka. Things would make a lot more sense if...

He's not the culprit

 >[   It was an accident   ] 

He's Genocide Jack

"Kiyotaka, please." Sayaka turned to him once again. "You didn't intend to hurt Sakura, did you? It was an accident, right?"

He almost managed a reply before Mondo yelled again. "Stop treating him like the fucking culprit! You've been labelling him this whole damn time, sayin' he did it. Fuck you!" 

Sayaka could tell they were headed nowhere fast with Mondo's constant interruptions, she'd need to calm him down to proceed.

   Bullet-Time-Battle!   

"He's the culprit? 'The fuck are you sayin'!"

"Fuck you, you piece of shit!"

"What if  you  did it! What's your fuckin alibi, huh?"

"Who's to say she didn't just stab herself!"

"  There's no way he coulda stabbed her in the first place!  "

"I'll show you my answer!" Sayaka shouted over the top of him, trying to get him to quiet down for her to prove her case. "Mondo, there's a pretty easy way he could have done it. In fact, it aligns well with what we said earlier. Even you."

"H-Huh!?" He looked almost... scared. Not that Sayaka could blame him. She couldn't help but feel she was basically giving his close friend the death sentence... No, She couldn't think like that, or else they'd never move forward.

"I could never imagine either of them hurting anyone here. Sakura was forced to commit a murder by Monokuma for reasons we simply don't know. But would she really kill one of her friends, even for whatever he was holding over her? I doubt it. Monokuma was starving us, and she cared about us enough to confront him and risk her life. She broke a rule and would have been executed soon anyway. Who's to say she simply didn't stab herself, just like you said?" 

Sayaka was pretty confident in her answer, even if it stemmed from a crazy theory. It was the only thing that could make sense to her with those involved.

"B-But, that would m-mean that Sakura is the b-blackened... and the b-boy scout is i-innocent!" Toko spoke up.

"Not necessarily. If Kiyotaka saw a friend stabbing themselves..." Kyoko began.

"And he ran over to pull the knife out on pure instinct." Sayaka continued confidently, "The fatal wound was created by the knife's exit; in an attempt to save her life, Kiyotaka accidentally ended it."

"Bro..." Mondo stared at him, "Please... fuckin say somethin', man." Unlike his earlier shouting, Mondo's voice was quiet and full of tension. 

He was shaking, Kiyotaka's whole body began to vibrate until he let out an unearthly feral roar of pent-up emotion. A guttural scream that shook the room. "I...I'm so sorry." Kiyotaka choked out a sob, "I-I didn't mean to, I... 

Not everyone initially believed her theory, but the confirmation was there. All they could do was look on as the brother's cried together.

"Let me try going over everything, like last time?" Sayaka offered, "That way, we know for sure there are no loose ends."

"I think that would be appreciated," Junko replied.

   Closing Argument.   

 This case actually began the day after the last one, with the implementation of Monokuma's latest motive. Starving us into murder, we resorted to relying only on ourselves without his help for food and utilities. For reasons unknown, the victim of this case, Sakura Ogami, was 'helping Monokuma with his game' as a traitor. Upset by the motive harming everyone, Sakura confronted Monokuma yesterday, leading to a brawl. According to Monokuma, if she didn't want to face the consequences, she had to commit murder. Not wanting to break the deal, Sakura decided she would commit suicide, refusing to hurt any of us. 

 Going into the school store, Sakura was greeted by many weapons to choose from. Selecting a large Bowie Knife, she proceeded to enact her plan. With the dining hall locked, Sakura decided to kill herself in the library, a place frequently visited by Byakuya, so that she would be discovered quickly. Intending to end the motive, as well as keeping her pact with Monokuma, Sakura stabbed herself in the stomach. Our culprit walked in on her at this moment, witnessing the event. Rushing forward, our culprit tried to take the knife off of the struggling Sakura, and the two get into a scuffle over the weapon. 

 Finally managing to pry the knife from Sakura's hands, our culprit pulls it out of her stomach at an odd angle, creating a second wound that ended up killing her, if the first wasn't already going to. Dropping the knife in shock, I believe our culprit attempted first aid, before realising it was hopeless. In a panic, the culprit ran to clean themself of Sakura's blood, and with the water shut off at night time, they ran to the nearest body of water in the pool. Not wanting to stain their E-Handbook with blood, our culprit elected to take Sakura's instead, and go through the Girl's Locker Room to wash up in the pool. 

 In unfortunate timing, our culprit was met on their way out by Mondo, who happily invited them to work out together. Trapped, they stayed behind to maintain a cover. Meanwhile, Byakuya had just arrived on the scene of the murder. Whether by luck or by witnessing the events, Byakuya was the first to find Sakura's body. Byakuya disguised the scene of the crime, attempting to make it look as if Genocide Jack had actually been the culprit all along. Forcing Sakura's body into a crucifixion, as well as leaving behind a bloody message token by the famous killer, he walked out with a smug smile. 

After a lengthy rehash of the trial so far, Sayaka felt like she did a good job, yet couldn't help but notice the slight disappointment in the looks of both Kyoko  and  Byakuya. "Well, that's everything we've put together up til now. If I have everything right, Kiyotaka-"

"I killed her... I killed Sakura." He cut her off, admitting his guilt with tears streaming down his cheeks. Tears that Kiyotaka desperately tried to stop from falling to no avail. Tears that shed for the end of this despair-inducing, heart-wrenching class trial.

"Hmm? Have you all reached your verdict then?" Monokuma asked with a terrifying grin. "Okay then! Yank your levers and cast your votes! Who will you vote for as the blackened? Will you make the right choice? Or the dreadfully wrong one!?"

And with that, they began their unanimous vote on Kiyotaka Ishimaru, Ultimate Moral Compass. With a loud click, the TVs above turned on, showing the same slots with their faces on them as last time, until they eventually spun to Kiyotaka, with a gross display of happy cheers and confetti that went against the entire mood of the room.

"And the culprit this time is... Kiyotaka Ishimaru! Yup, yup, you got it totally right!" The robot bear began chuckling, holding his tummy as he kicked his legs.

"S-So, that's it t-then? He's the c-culprit!?" Toko asked.

"Bro..." Mondo stared at him with wide eyes, but when Kiyotaka finally met them, Mondo looked down in disappointment.

"I-It's exactly as you said... How was I supposed to-" Kiyotaka choked out a sob before continuing. "Byakuya has been spending excessive time in the library well into the night. A-And Makoto was killed at night. I-I thought that it would be better to restrict nighttime movement, so I went to go talk to him. Instead of finding him, I found Sakura. I walked in just in time to see her plunge the knife into herself..."

 "Sakura!" Kiyotaka yelled, running over in a panic, slamming his thigh against one of the library tables, knocking it back as well as the chairs on the other end. "No... God, no! Hold on- I'm gonna-" 

"I didn't know what to do... I saw the knife in her, and she was trying to keep me away. She kept knocking me back. She kept losing blood, and she was getting weaker, so I then attempted to give her medical attention."

 "This is gonna hurt, but don't worry- I know how to... uh... I-I've done this before!" He tried his best to affirm her, gently prepping her for the removal of the knife. Immediately, Kiyotaka applied pressure to the wound, attempting to patch it with his hands. 

"I tried my best but... I lied to her. I didn't know what I was doing." He was seething in anger, only directed at himself for his own failure. "Eventually, she started to get cold. It was still nighttime, so I couldn't clean myself in the bathroom, so just as Sayaka said, I ran to the pool. My hands were covered in her blood; so I used her handbook to not get mine dirty." Kiyotaka took a deep, shaky breath, "I couldn't have imagined the sight I saw when we discovered her, however. What Byakuya did to her body, I... Part of me thought maybe, it wasn't suicide, and that she had an actual killer we had to find. But then you said that taking the knife out is what killed her and I froze... I'm so sorry..."

"Taka..." Hina sighed heavily. "It's okay. It's over now. At least you came clean with it at the end, so... I forgive you." She said, in an attempt to give him some closure.