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Taka wakes up in an unfamiliar area. His head is pounding but he can’t remember why.He eventually sits up, with some difficulty, and looks around. Based on his surroundings, he comes to the conclusion that he’s in the Nurse’s Office.He weakly lifts his hand to his head to check for injuries and feels some sort of fabric with liquid on it. He soon realises that it’s a bandage covered in blood.Memories slowly start returning until he can briefly remember the event that took place beforehand.Yasuhiro had insisted on coming with Kiyondo to the Physics Lab to make sure that he’s not alone if it’s a set-up, Kiyondo reluctantly had agreed.Something felt off while they were walking. They weren’t sure what but there was something.They arrived early so they spend some time just talking while waiting for someone to arrive.Kiyondo checked his watch to try to find out how much longer they’d be waiting on their own for.Turns out something was wrong. They both got ambushed by another student.Kiyondo never saw the other student’s face but just moments before, he noticed Hiro’s face turned pale as he watched Kiyondo get hit on the head.Taka doesn’t know what happened to Hiro as he became unconscious almost immediately after being struck on the head.He hopes that Hiro got away and is safe. That’s what he wants to believe happened.He knows that likely wasn’t the case. He knows the lack of Hiro also being in the Nurse’s Office probably means he’s dead.The watch he’s wearing is broken. It still shows the time of the incident.Taka manages to stand up and get to the halls. He walks through the hallways to the Physics Lab.It’s like nothing ever happened there. Similar to how Makoto’s bathroom and the locker rooms were after the trials.Suddenly, Taka’s vision goes blurry and he feels lightheaded before passing out.”Taka?! Are you alright?” Taka hears a familiar voice say as he regains consciousness.His vision slowly focuses and he can see Makoto looking concerned.Taka nods before standing up and walking towards the Physics Lab door to leave but trips and catches himself on the wall.He leaves the room and walks through the hallways while leaning against the wall so he doesn’t injure himself.”Hey!! Wait!” Makoto shouts from the other side of the hall before running to catch up with Taka, ”Everyone agreed that we shouldn’t leave you alone in case something bad happens. Your head injury is quite severe.”Taka glances at Makoto before asking, ”What.. what happened to Hiro?...”Makoto looks down, which gives Taka his answer.Taka continues walking away from Makoto, not wanting to grow any more attachments to people that will just end up dying.Makoto follows him all the way to the first floor.The hallways feel so much more empty than they originally were.”You know.. not that long ago, there were fifteen students searching the area trying to find a way to escape without killing each other but now there’s only seven of us and our main focus is to try to survive and have hope that eventually we’ll get out of this place with someone alive. It’s strange how much things can change,” Makoto says.
‘Seven.. that seems off. Just yesterday there were ten. No one would break the rules again, right? We all saw what happened to Enoshima. Although, the rules state that you can kill a maximum of two people so it’s possible.. but... why? Why would anyone kill more people than necessary?’ Taka thinks to himself, ‘the people here are worse than I thought.’Taka quickly reaches his dorm. The last time he was there, Hiro was trying to convince him to let him come with him to the Physics Lab.If only he’d continued declining. Maybe then Hiro would still be alive.”What happened while I was out?” Taka asks.“Well.. we assume that Hiro was awake for at least a few minutes and tended to your injuries. He’s probably the only reason you’re still alive,” Makoto answers.‘He should’ve been more focused on himself than me.. he was always like that... trying to help others no matter how much harm it brought to himself,’ Taka thinks.“Who’s still alive?” Taka asks, trying to find out more information of what happened.“Me, you, Kyoko, Byakuya, Toko, Aoi and Sakura,” Makoto says.“So that means Hifumi and Celestia are both dead. I never knew them as well as Hiro or.. but I don’t believe they deserved to die. This... thing we’re participating in tries to make everything seem like a game. It’s even called a killing game,” Taka states with somewhat obvious resentment for whoever in behind all of this.Taka discards his broken watch into a drawer, knowing it’s unnecessary to keep it on him unless he can figure out how to make it work properly.“So many people have died for nothing.. I refuse to allow them to die in vain. I’ll make sure no one dies because of this again,” Taka exclaims.‘I tried to prevent this from happening but it was inevitable.’Taka stands staring at Sakura’s dead body, knowing he had failed at what he
said he’d do.They may have betrayed everyone but they didn’t deserve to die. It’s already too late though. They’re dead. Another class trial will begin shortly and another person will get executed.’We’re all doomed to die. That’s just how the world is. Everyone around you dies and you’ll never know when it’s your turn to go.’Kyoko and Makoto were already there. Taka was more concerned for one individual.Someone who’ll in a similar situation to him.Aoi entered the Rec Room.”Sakura’s..”
Aoi says before pausing for a moment, “... dead? She’s really dead?”Taka turns to face Aoi, knowing somewhat how she may be feeling at this moment in time.Aoi is standing there in shock for a few seconds before saying something about needing to go get the others before leaving.Kyoko has already begun to inspect Sakura’s body.It‘s an unfortunate event.One that has occurred too many times. One that has tried to be prevented. One that is inevitable.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The 4th class trial has been going on for the past 10 to 20 minutes.Taka barely knows what’s going on because he has been more concerned with other things.’She may have been the traitor but she didn’t deserve to die. None of them did. Even the people that killed others. No one deserves this fate.’Taka was starting to feel bad for not helping with the trial at all, despite the fact that he wouldn’t be any help.He looks around the class trial, noticing just how many people were dead. There were so many portraits.‘Sayaka.Hifumi.Leon.Celeste.Chihiro.Yasuhiro..Mondo...Sakura.Junko.May they all rest in peace,’ Taka thinks to himself.Seeing everyone that’s died, he becomes determined to help in any way he can.
He’s determined to try and make sure there are as many survivors as possible.Sometimes he thinks it’d be easier to just let the blackened win. At least then there’d be a guaranteed survivor of this twisted game.He finally starts paying attention. He isn’t going to just keep standing there in silence.”Did you know someone left a handprint behind on the inside of the locker?” Makoto asks someone. He isn’t 100% sure who the question is directed at but he assumes Toko since everyone’s gaze is towards her, “They must have been hiding in there and put their hand on the wall without thinking. Does this handprint look familiar, Toko?”Makoto’s second question confirms his suspicion.”No, it doesn’t!” Toko responds. A look of fear is on her face.”Okay then, let’s just compare it to your hand, shall we? That’ll clear everything up, right?” Kyoko states logically. I’m assuming her logic is that if Toko’s actually innocent then they won’t match up.Toko goes silent for a few moments before screaming. Every moment that goes on
”Stop wasting my time. Just tell us the truth,” Byakuya says.“...Okay. It’s my handprint,” Toko says.’Of course if Byakuya tells her too, she’s going to. Her feelings for Byakuya are so strong that if she is the blackened of this case, she’d probably confess just because he told her to. She’d likely be willing to give up her own life for someone that doesn’t even care about her,’ Taka thinks.“Then you
killed Sakura!” Aoi yells at Toko. It’d be a somewhat logical conclusion but without more evidence it’s just an accusation.”No! I swear, there’s no way!” Toko responds.”Out with it,” Byakuya says with a tone of aggression.”Byakuya, that’s no way to treat your classmate!” Taka shouts and Byakuya simply rolls his eyes.Before Taka begins to protest further, Toko speaks, “I... I probably did kill her.””Wait... what do you mean, ‘probably’?” Aoi asks.“Correct me if I’m wrong but based on the word usage it would appear that Toko is unsure as to if she did kill her. This could be plausible if we were to take Genocide Syo into account. Although, the murder scene is nothing like how Syo kills despite the fact that she’d be entirely capable of it unless she was trying to hide that she’s the killer in which case she may not have killed in the same way. If we weren’t taking them into account because of the differences between how Syo kills and what occurred then there’s a chance that Sakura was still somewhat alive at the time they left or that there was no way to be sure they weren’t alive. That’s just a theory though so I apologise for wasting time. Care to explain in detail what happened, Toko?” Taka tries to explain.He’s surprised by the fact that no one interrupted him throughout any of what he just said.After Toko doesn’t respond, Byakuya speaks with more aggression than the last time, “Talk. Now.”“After I read Sakura’s note... I decided to go there early. So I went into the rec room... I didn’t know what she might do if I didn’t go, but I was too scared to face her head-on... so I figured I’d sneak in first, and hide in the locker... when Sakura came, I jumped out of the locker...” Toko says.”Why did you attack Sakura...?” Aoi asks Toko.”I heard a sound behind me, like a- like a monster growling... and when I turned around... there was Sakura, covered in blood.. and staring right at me! When I saw all that blood, I fainted... right there in front of the magazine shelf. I don’t remember what happened after that. If you want to know more, you’d have to ask her,” Toko explains.Everyone immediately knew who she was referring to.”Wait a second. You mentioned that Sakura was already covered in blood. Do you know how that was caused?” Taka asks.”Oh... well..
when I jumped out of the locker, I attacked Sakura without thinking...” Toko answers.Taka decides not to question why she would leave out important information because no one else asks about it either.”You may con-“ Taka starts before suddenly pausing when Toko sneezes.“Ha-ha! Guess who’s back!” Syo shouts.”Like I was saying, you may continue. In case you’re unaware, we’re trying to solve Sakura’s murder and you’re one of the suspects so can you please answer some ques-“ Taka says before someone else starts speaking.”You don’t have to explain everything. Just ask them the question so we can get this over with. Did you kill Sakura?” Byakuya asks Syo after criticising Taka.”Well, to be honest, Miss Morose and me don’t actually share our memories! So I can’t really say what was going on. But I was just minding my own business, sleeping peacefully, when someone shook me awake! Was it a prince paying me a visit, I wondered. So I opened my eyes to see...” Syo explains, “...splatter everywhere! I was NOT prepared for that! And, well... guess it took me by surprise! I got so startled, I smacked her with the first thing I could find. Which I guess was a bottle!”“Sakura was just worried about you, and you...! You’re terrible!” Aoi shouts.”No, SHE’S terrible! Thanks to her, I murdered someone who wasn’t an adorable boy for the first time ever!” Syo yells in response.”I don’t believe this sort of argument is going to bring us closer to solving this case,” Taka says.”When it was all over, you collected the pieces of the bottle to get rid of the evidence, didn’t you?” Kyoko asks.”I wasn’t about to die for some woman! If I’m gonna go down, I want it to be for killing Master!” Syo exclaims.“Just go away and die you meaningless death alone. Don’t drag me into it,” Byakuya says.“But I just can’t catch a break, ya
know? Fate’s got it out for me! Cuz normally, Sakura should’ve been able to dodge my attack no problem!” Syo states.”Even as strong as she is, she must have still been reeling from Toko’s first attack,” Kyoko says.”Well then, that’s that! Let’s start the vote!” Aoi says, everyone stays silent, “What’s wrong? Come on, everyone! We’re ready to vote, right? Let’s do this!””No, not quite yet...” Byakuya says.”Huh? Not yet? Why not yet?” Aoi asks.”Don’t you think there’s something odd about Toko’s story? I mean, you had to have noticed... Toko’s attack, and then Genocide Syo’s... but that wasn’t the end of it,” Byakuya answers, almost everyone’s staring at him in shock, “Tell us your story one more time. Tell us what happened after you fainted. Then even this gaggle of idiots should understand what I’m talking about.””Your wish is my command, darling!” Syo responds, “I was just sleeping peacefully... and all of a sudden, Sakura was there right in front of me!””Then you were taken by surprise when you saw Sakura covered in blood so you attacked her with the nearest object you could find,” Taka says.“You got it!” Syo says.”And where did the attack take place?” Byakuya asks.”Right where I woke up! I killed her there in front of the shelf!” Syo states.”No, that’s wrong!” Makoto yells as everyone’s attention turns towards him, “We found Sakura sitting upright in a chair... if the blow by the shelf was the cause of death, there’s no explanation for why she was in that chair...””So. You finally noticed,” Byakuya says.”That’s just another lie from a bloodthirsty serial killer!” Aoi shouts.”Are you definitely sure you attacked her by the magazine shelf?” Taka asks.”I‘m sure she’s telling the truth. Anyone who saw the murder scene should think the same way,” Byakuya says.Everyone goes silent for a few moments before Makoto eventually speaks, “Sakura was definitely attacked in front of the shelf. The bloodstains by the magazines is proof of that.”“The body might have been able to have been moved,” Taka says.”Look at me. I can’t carry anything heavier than my own scissors! There’s no way I could move a muscle-bound heavyweight like that!” Syo says.”I suppose there wouldn’t be a logical reason as to why you would even if you were able to,” Taka states.”Well? Are you still convinced the case has come to an end?” Byakuya asks.The class trial dragged on for at least half an hour until eventually the closing argument began.”This case began when Sakura as two people to meet her in the rec room. Specifically, those two people were Toko and Byakuya. But one of them headed out a bit earlier—Toko. She got there one step ahead of everyone else and looked around for a good hiding spot. And she found it. She crawled into the locker to get out of sight. Then, from inside the locker, she saw Sakura enter the room. Toko jumped out of the locker before grabbing one of The Monokuma Bottles and attacking Sakura with it without thinking or looking. At first, she feared that she might have killed her but
she watched as Sakura slowly opened her eyes... She also saw the blood dripping of Sakura’s head, and fainted. This caused her personality to switch back over to Genocide Syo. When she woke back up, her second personality also saw the blood-soaked Sakura... and she freaked out... and she grabbed another Monokuma Bottle and attacked her. This explains why there were two wounds on Sakura’s head. Assuming Sakura really was dead this time, she set about disposing of the evidence. She gathered up the broken Monokuma Bottle shards, and the queen chess piece. And that explains how Sakura was attacked twice with the same type of weapon. But even after those two blows, she was still alive... so then, what was Sakura’s actual cause of death? It was the poison that Sakura herself got from the chem lab. She turned the rec room into a true ‘locked door’ scenario and then drank the deadly mixture. And there, she took her final breath... Later on, the rest of us discovered that her body was in there... We had to smash the door’s window to get inside. But someone already knew what had happened, knew that she had committed suicide... And that same someone quietly snatched the bottle of poison off the ground... and while nobody was looking, replaced it with an empty protein can. They did all this specifically to place suspicion on themselves... in an attempt to guide the trial to a false conclusion. And the one that went through all that effort... was you, Hina,” Makoto explains, “That’s the full truth of this case.”By this point, Aoi is in tears.”Sakura... took her own life,” Makoto states, “And you claimed to be the killer to hide that fact, isn’t that right?”Aoi is silent.”That’s... what happened?” Byakuya says with a look of shock on his face, “But... Makoto, how did you—? How did you manage to—? How were you able to uncover the truth... that even I couldn’t discern!?”“Huh? Oh, well, I mean...” Makoto says.”You still haven’t realised?” Kyoko asks, “We don’t act according to calculations and cost-benefit diagrams. That’s what makes us so complicated. That’s what you don’t understand, and that’s why you couldn’t solve this case,” the look of shock and confusion on Byakuya’s face becomes more obvious, “See? Didn’t I tell you? When you dismiss other people’s feelings, it’ll always come back to bite you in the end.”Byakuya stays
silent.”Okay, okay. I think we can all agree you made your point. Did you guys forget already!? You still haven’t voted yet!” Monokuma shouts.”Oh yeah... that’s right...” Kyoko says.”You seriously forgot!?” Monokuma asks, “I can feel my energy draining outta me... Well, whatever. You don’t really have a choice, anyways. You just gotta do it! Maybe you don’t want to, but please grab you lever and cast your vote! So, who will be chosen as the blackened...? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one...? What’s it gonna be? What’s it gonna beeee...?”Everyone casts their vote. It shows Sakura as the blackened.“Yeah, that’s right. The one who killed Sakura was Sakura herself,” Monokuma says, “... Okay, we’re done here.””So that’s the whole truth, huh? I see...” Byakuya says, “But there’s still one thing I don’t understand. Hina... why did you try to cover up what happened? If the truth hadn’t come to light, you would have died along with the rest of us. And yet you...! Why did you do that!?”“Because... That’s exactly what I wanted!” Aoi responds, basically everyone other than Aoi is in shock.”What...?” Makoto says while in shock.”I mean, the reason Sakura died...” Aoi says, “...is cuz you all pushed her into a corner. You... you all killed her... So that’s why... I couldn’t let her be the only one that died!””You don’t mean...” Syo says, “You we’re going to take us all with you!?””We have to atone for our sins. Because everyone... even me... we all killed her. We all have to pay for our crimes...” Aoi states.”Aoi, can you please explain where the belief that we all killed her came from?” Taka asks.”You still don’t understand? Then let me explain... Do you realise just how much despair Sakura was carrying with her when she died!? Look at this...” Aoi explains before showing everyone a note.The note read, ’Such brutality has made me desperate. So instead of waiting to be killed, I’ll do it by my own hand.’”Th- that’s...!” Makoto says, still in shock.”I found it on the ground, in front of the rec room. It’s... Sakura’s suicide note,” Aoi says, “Thinking back, I should have seen it coming... It was right after Genocide Syo had attacked me. Sakura got mad and stormed out of the nurse’s office... I ran after her, and...”“Sakura, calm down! You don’t have to worry about me, I’m fine!” Aoi says.”I... can’t calm down... I don’t care if I suffer from this. It’s my fault, after all. But now you’re
suffering because of me... You tried to protect me, but because of me... my closest friend got hurt!” Sakura yells.”S- Sakura...” Aoi says.”Because of me...” Sakura says, “... my friends are all going to kill each other. This is all... my responsibility.”Sakura... thought she was responsible. She thought everything was her fault. Which is why... she wanted to find some way to get everyone to forgive her. So she asked to meet with... them,” Aoi says.“You asked to meet with those two?” Aoi says, “You can’t! Don’t you see how dangerous that is!?””Don’t worry. I just want to talk to them,” Sakura says.”Talk about... what?” Aoi asks but Sakura stays silent, “Listen, don’t do it. If they both gang up on you at once, even you...””Hina... Please don’t think of things like that. They’re not my enemy. They’re... friends,” Sakura says.”S- Sakura...” Aoi says.“She clearly believed... She... completely believed... in all of us. If you’d have just talked to her, you would’ve understood. She was a friend to all of us... And yet... And yet...! You trampled all over her feelings. And then you did the unthinkable... She believed in you... and you wouldn’t even listen to what she had to say. Without asking a single question, you tried to kill her... Do you have any idea how desperate she was, seeing you act like that!? That’s what her suicide note means... ‘so instead of just waiting to be killed, I’ll do it by my own hand.’ That’s how far you pushed her...” Aoi explains.“Sakura! What happened to you!?” Aoi asks, concerned.”H- Hina... you came...” Sakura says, covered in blood from her injuries.“Wait right here! I’ll help you out!” Aoi assures Sakura.”H- Hina...” Sakura says, “I... I’m so glad I got to meet you...””Wh- what’s wrong, Sakura? Why are you talking like that...?” Aoi asks.”I... have a favour to ask,” Sakura says.”A favour...?” Aoi asks in response.“I’d like... some protein. Could I ask you to...?” Sakura asks.”Y- yeah, you got it! Just hang on, I’ll be right back!” Aoi says before quickly leaving.”That was... the last conversation I had with her. I went to the chem lab to get the protein she’d asked for. When I got there, I saw the powder. And that’s when I realised... I saw someone had taken something from the poison shelf. Sakura... So I ran back to the rec room as fast as I could. But by the time I got there it was already too late...”Sakura! Let me in! Please, open the door!” Aoi yells before pausing for a moment, realising Sakura was gone, “Why...? Why!? Why did she have to die!”“She has weaknesses, just like any other person,” Aoi says, “If she got cut, she bled. If someone hurt her, she felt it. That’s weakness... that’s normal...! And yet... You all blamed her... I tried to protect her, and I suffered for it. And that just added to the weight she had to carry...! And I didn’t even realise it...””Hina...” Makoto says.“We killed her... All of us. We pushed her into a corner... and we murdered her. People like us shouldn’t be allowed to live!” Aoi shouts.”And that’s why you tried to lead us astray. You did your best to make us arrive at the wrong conclusion during the class trial,” Byakuya says.”Sakura died hating all of us. I wanted to free her of her regrets. But even that got found out. In the end, I wasn’t able to do anything for her... I could never face her after this...” Aoi states.”I’m sorry to interrupt right when you’re about to deliver the final tearjerker, but...” Monokuma interrupts, “... It’s just taking so long, long, long, LONG! I’m about to fall asleep over here! I mean, do you actually think you have any idea what Sakura was actually thinking when she died?””What did you say...?” Aoi asks.”Everything you just said is nothing but your own interpretation, right?” Monokuma answers with another question, “Your own opinion on what her suicide note meant?””O- of course I know what she was thinking! Cuz her and me—!” Aoi yells.”Well, what I’m really trying to say is...” Monokuma says, “... don’t you think the entire foundation is shaky? What if it was really... like this?”Monokuma shows an envelope labelled, ‘Last Testament
Sakura Ogami’.“What is that supposed to be?” Taka asks.”Isn’t it obvious? A suicide note.
Sakura’s suicide note,” Monokuma responds.”Wh- what? But Hina already...” Makoto says.“Oh, I wrote that one. That was all me,” Monokuma says, “This is the one Sakura addressed to Hina and put in her room!””What? Then... You... lied to me?” Aoi says.”Oh, don’t say ‘lie’! It makes it sound so dirty! I just thought I’d liven things up a bit!” Monokuma says, “I can’t help it if you totally took my little scribbles at face value. It didn’t even have Sakura’s signature on it!””You filthy little...!” Makoto shouts.”I’m not filthy! I didn’t do anything,” Monokuma responds, “Did I falsify evidence? Did I affect the outcome of this class trial? The case played out between you and you alone. You were the ones jerking each other around. Heck, even if the will had factored in, it still woulda been between you guys. So what’s the problem!? This is all part of a production process! Okay, and... scene! Cut!””So then, what did she write in her
real suicide note?” Kyoko asks.”I’m glad you asked! For your benefit, I shall read it using my melodic, angelic, harmonic narrator voice!” Monokuma answers, “But you know... haven’t you been curious about the whole "suicide note" thing? Who came up with the idea of having a note when you kill yourself in the first place? And isn’t it just so unfortunate? Killing yourself is just so final, ya know? You can never hear the rest of their story. The truth is lost in darkness.””Could you get on with it, please?” Kyoko asks.“Okay, okay, jeez! Talk about a buzzkill... Alright, here we go,” Monokuma responds, “Ahem! ‘My good friend Hina. There’s something I have to tell you. I hate to do it like this, but you need to know. This is... my final wish.’””As you know, I’ve been giving information to the one who’s imprisoned us here. It was our first night in this strange school that the mastermind came to see me... You see, the mastermind took control of my family’s dojo, and demanded I become their tool. You might not see the importance of a dojo, but my family has watched over it for over 300 years. I couldn’t let it be destroyed under my life. So even if it meant my own life, I had to protect it. That’s how I saw things... However that was my greatest weakness. And because of that, I made the mistake of giving in to the mastermind. And what the mastermind wanted from me was nothing less... than murder. They were probably worried that until the first murder had happened, nothing would move forward. But what neither the mastermind nor I expected... was the incident involving Sayaka. At that point, the plan changed. The mastermind told me to hold off— wait until we reach another stalemate. However, as I lived here with all of you... As I lived here with Hina... my resolve began to weaken. Watching everyone fight with such despair, trying to desperation to stay alive... I saw the weakness in my own heart, the mistake of succumbing to the mastermind. And more than anything... I cannot betray those who would call me their friend. That’s how I came to feel.””So that’s why Sakura...” Makoto says.”I’ve made a decision... I will no longer retreat, no longer compromise, no longer regret... I’ve made my decision! I’m going... to resist you!””Of course, because of that I decided to reveal her secret, which made everyone hate her. Her decision to stay true to all of you led directly to all of you hating her for it... Ironic, isn’t it!? Or maybe Oxymoronic? Or just moronic...?” Monokuma says.“Of course, I understand if you all hate me. All of this is because of my own weakness... I’m perfectly willing to accept whatever attack you may want to make on me. So this is my atonement for betraying you. That’s what I had in mind... But unfortunately, that’s not enough. This won’t end with just me accepting your hatred. My own situation has started having an effect on more people than just me... Which is exactly what the mastermind wanted when they revealed my betrayal. My betrayal brought suspicion, disharmony... The mastermind knew that eventually it would escalate into someone murdering someone else. Of course, I’m still responsible for that, as well. I have an obligation to get this situation under control. And to fulfil that obligation, I’ve decided to do as the mastermind has commanded. I will do as I was told, and commit murder. But I’ve decided... The one I’m going to kill is... myself. If the mastermind demands that I kill someone, then that someone will be me. Then my dojo will be safe, and above all else, none of you will have to kill anyone. When I die, the source of conflict among you dies with me. For that, I’m willing to give up my life. If it can save you, then sacrificing my own life could have no greater meaning. Whatever you think of me, please know that you are all my most treasured friends... I’ve never had people like you in my life...””Then... Sakura...” Aoi says, in shock, “... didn’t feel cornered. She didn’t die hating us. She wanted to... stop us from fighting? To protect us?””She didn’t end her own life because she was weak. Quite the opposite, in fact...” Kyoko states, “She was strong.
Too
strong. That’s why she killed herself. She chose death for herself in order to protect the rest of us. To sacrifice so much... No normal person could do that. It was only her limitless strength that made it possible.”Aoi is left silent from shock.”Finally... Hina, I want to apologise to you especially. The reason I didn’t tell you about any of this is because I knew you would try to stop me. I’m really, truly sorry. But please don’t be sad. If I can thwart the mastermind’s plans, if I can keep you from killing each other... that’s enough for me. This is the path I have chosen. This is the only way I have left to distinguish myself. And you can use this note to bring the class trial to a quick end. I’m so sorry to ask you to do something so unpleasant, but I have to leave the rest to you. Please talk to Byakuya and Toko on my behalf. I can’t tell anyone about my plan while I’m alive, but I wanted you to understand why I’m doing this. In the end, though, I hope to show myself through actions and not words. Hopefully, then they’ll see... I never saw you as my enemy. You were only ever my friend, who I wanted to help as much as possible... Hina... whatever it takes, survive. Survive along with everyone else. No matter what... just survive.”“Th- this is...! I... I didn’t understand how she felt... Not at all...” Aoi says, tears still draining from her eyes, “I thought we were close, and still...!””But in the end, all her meddling was like, totally pointless!” Monokuma shouts, “She died so you guys wouldn’t try to kill each other, but you almost ended up doing it anyway! Thanks to you, her death had no purpose at all! In fact, it was BECAUSE of her stupid meddling that the rest of you nearly bit the big one! She deserves all the blame! Everyone blame her! Go ahead, she deserves it! Puhuhu... Now then, the next victim has been decided!””What do you mean, next victim!?” Makoto asks, “Nobody here blames anyone...!” Monokuma looks at them in confusion and Makoto continues speaking, “First of all, you’re in the wrong for tricking Hina with that fake suicide note! And plus... Sakura’s death wasn’t a waste! Because she made us remember... We’re not enemies that hate each other. We’re friends, who need to work together! Whether or not there was a spy never really mattered. Because the one we need to destroy...” Makoto pauses for a moment, “... is you! Nobody else!””What the heck!? That’s not how this is supposed to go!” Monokuma yells, “But anyway, are you sure about that? This killing game is a competition between all of
you, remember? Your enemy is each other.””He’s absolutely right about that,” Byakuya agrees.“You understand, don’t you!?” Monokuma asks.”This is a life-or-death elimination match. The only way to survive... is to win. There can be no doubt that those are the rules of the game, “Byakuya states, “Which is why... I am bowing out of the game.” Monokuma seems confused by this. “Sakura and Hina were both willing to sacrifice their own lives to deny the reality of this game. Thanks to them, it would appear the others have cast aside their fear for this game. There’s no point in participating in a game which has lost that sense of excitement. Which is why I will no longer be participating in it.””Wh- what’s going on here!?” Monokuma asks, annoyed.“Now I only have one thing to look forward to,” Byakuya says, “And that is to heap the harshest possible punishment onto the one who thinks they can control me!””B- Byakuya! Does that mean...?” Makoto asks.”Don’t misunderstand,” Byakuya answers, “I haven’t been moved by some thoughtless sentimentalism, if that’s what you’re thinking.””Wherever Master goes, I go! And if the mastermind turns out to be a guy, maybe I can catch on fire!” Syo says.”E- everyone...!” Makoto somewhat shouts.”Well? Now can you say that Sakura’s death had no meaning?” Kyoko asks.”How boring,” Monokuma says, “But nothing good can come of this. I’m still doing to be the one having the fun time! Anyway, lets forget about that good-for-nothing backstabber and get back on track! It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for! Punishment time!””Wait, but... Sakura was technically the killer, right? And she’s dead!” Syo says.”Yeah, that doesn’t make any sense. You can’t execute someone who’s already dead!” Taka yells, basically demanding some sort of explanation.”Y- you’re not gonna...!” Makoto says.“I- is it me...?” Aoi asks, scared for her life.”Oh heavens, no! Just cuz the blackened’s dead doesn’t mean I can just sub in whatever ol’ student I want!” Monokuma answers, “Didn’t I tell you!? I’m very particular about the ‘Bear-Times-One’ rule! But I spent so much time preparing my special punishment, it’d be a shame to let it go to waste! So, for my special punishment... I’ve prepared a special guest!”“A special guest...?” Makoto says in a confused manner.“Let’s give it everything we’ve got! It’s PUNISHMENT TIIIME!” Monokuma yells.They all share a quick glance, not knowing who this
special guest could be.The execution begins and they finally see the special guest.It’s Alter Ego. The program on a computer made by their former classmate, Chihiro Fujisaki.Alter Ego looks around as they appear to be in a cardboard city.The blue sky background drops, revealing it to be a fake construction site.An Excavator, controlled by Monokuma, comes closer and stops just behind Alter Ego. For a while nothing happens.Suddenly, the Excavator arm raises and slams down to the ground, destroying the keyboard of Alter Ego.That process was quickly repeated over and over for about 13 seconds.Alter Ego was now a round metal ball.The arm covers Alter Ego and when it raises again, Alter Ego has some sort of Monokuma symbol on it.The Excavator reverses away from the destroyed Alter Ego.The execution was over.”Y- you...!” Makoto shouts.”Alter Ego, huh? That was the special guest for the execution... Monokuma really knows what they’re doing. Destroying one of the last things we have left of Chihiro. Destroying our hope... They’re really set on the goal, aren’t they?” Taka says.“You got it!” Monokuma responds, “Whew, that really took it outta me! Maybe I’ll go grill up a plate of chicken! After all, they say for post-workout grub, chicken’s where it’s at! And I’m all about the grilled goodness! Fried? Broiled? Gimme a break! The colour, the smell, the succulence... grilled is where it’s at!” Monokuma laughs.”How dare you...? That was my friend!” Makoto yells, “How dare you kill him!?””Huh? You were friends with a laptop? That’s pretty pathetic. What’s next, friends with a basketball?” Monokuma asks, criticising Makoto.”Shut the hell up!” Makoto shouts, “He wasn’t just a laptop. He was my friend! And you killed him!””Is this was you call animism? Where a soul dwells within all things? Even, like... laptops?” Monokuma asks, “Well, you can call it whatever you want. Bottom line is, it got in my way. It was trying to find things out all sneaky sneaky.“So... you finally noticed him,” Kyoko says.”Finally? No no no, I knew about it from the very beginning!” Monokuma says, “I knew Chihiro was doing something with the laptop. And I knew you were using it to analyse data. I knew exactly how it was going to play out from the start!””You knew, and you were still cocky enough to let us take the plunge...?” Byakuya says.”Well, I mean... the data in that laptop? It was... I guess you could call it a gift, from me to you,” Monokuma says, “Or maybe more like a reward, in honour of you being able to unlock something so difficult. So of course, I didn’t care if you got access to that. But sneaking into the network was just too personal! So I had to do a little, ya know, reformatting! Yeah... the punishment time has made me feel a billion times better! Experiencing a meaningless death is so soothing! It makes me remember that every low can get even lower!””No... his death wasn’t meaningless, either,” Makoto corrects, “Everybody who’s died so far... The deaths of each and every one of our friends... They all make us stronger! I swear to God... someday, you WILL pay for this!””Holy moly! You’re super mad! Like, just unreasonably upset!” Monokuma responds, “Okay, time to bring things to a close! Oh, but before that—! I need to read the post script!””Post script...?” Kyoko asks.“Yeah, there’s still a bit more left of Sakura’s note,” Monokuma says, “Do I have your attention? Okay then, here we go... Prepare your ears for the dulcet tones of yours truly!... One other thing, Hina. There’s something I’d like you to tell the others. Hopefully it will act as a clue to help you unravel the mystery of this school.”“I’ve spoken with the mastermind off and on the whole time I’ve been here, and so I’ve learned one thing... Which is... the mastermind has done something to us. I think what they’ve done is—“”Oopsie daisy! That was a close one! Another word and we would’ve been hip deep in spoiler territory! Okay, I don’t want to ruin the surprise, so book club is dismissed for today! This is to get back at all of you for hardening your resolve!” Monokuma shouts.”Fine, but at least... Sakura’s note...” Aoi says, tears still streaming down her face.”Like I’d ever let any of you greaseballs have it!” Monokuma responds.”B- but...” Aoi says.”Sucks for you, loser!” Monokuma yells, “...Wait, what’s this?””What is it now...?” Kyoko asks.“There’s one last line in the note!” Monokuma answers.”And let me just say this to the mastermind. I’m not going to just lay down and die. I will
fight you, you bastard. No matter what.“...And that’s seriously it! Huh. Wow, what a stubborn loser, huh!? Well, whatever. Who cares about what some dead musclehead has to say? Okay, I’m outta here! You guys should try to get some rest, ya know? And maybe take some time to reconsider how you approach this school life of yours... Are you sure you don’t want to graduate? Can you really cut free from the regrets of the outside world? Think about that. Think long, think hard...” Monokuma disappears.The remaining people were left in the class trial area with each other and our thoughts.“The class trial is now over,” Taka says, “What now?”“What else is there, other than to head back up?” Byakuya answers with another question.”Yes, alright. We should get back to our dorms before the Nighttime Announcement,” Taka says.”B- but... I, um...” Aoi starts speaking but goes silent.“Dial back that ego a bit, girl,” Byakuya says, “The kind of mystery someone like you could pose is absolutely no threat. I would never have lost to the kind of challenge.””Seriously... I’m sorry...” Aoi apologises.”How many times do you plan to apologise?” Byakuya asks, “How about you make that the last one. I haven’t reached a point where I need someone apologising to me more than once...””O- Okay, I see what you mean...” Aoi says, “Th- then... I’ll... try...””H...u...h...? Th- that totally wasn’t normal, right!?” Syo asks, “Did she just c- capture his flag...? No! No no no! I cannot suffer the existence of someone who would disturb the romance between me and Master!””Wh- what are you talking about!? That’s absolutely NOT what’s happening here!” Aoi assures Syo, “Why would I ever go for a sleazeball like him?””Sleaze...ball?” Byakuya says in response to Aoi’s comment.”That’s right! I called you a sleezeball! Cuz you are! Sleezeball!” Aoi responds.”Apparently you still have a death wish,” Byakuya says.”Ohh, more biting sarcasm? No wonder you don’t have any friends!” Aoi says.”Hey! Stop fighting with Master! You’re making me jealous!
I want the abuse give-and-take! ME!” Syo shouts.”I somewhat agree with Syo. I don’t think we should continue this argument. From experience, conflicts typically lead to murder!“ Taka yells.Sakura’s class trial came to an end and everyone returned to their dorms.It wasn’t long before the Nighttime Announcement rang through the school.‘I refuse to let anyone else die. The rest of us will survive this. Not only for ourselves but also for the people that have already died,’ Taka thinks to himself while falling asleep.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It’s the day after Sakura’s death and the class trial.’Everyone’s accounted for. That’s good. That means everyone’s alive and I’m keeping it that way. I’ll make sure Byakuya, Makoto, Aoi, Toko, Kyoko and myself stay alive and I’m going to go above and beyond this time because I refuse to allow a repeat of that last trial. That’ll be our fourth and final trial. I’ll make sure of it!’ Taka thinks to himself.”I believe that we should all stay together while searching the new floor as to avoid any possible murders,” Taka says.”That’d
be a lot more difficult than splitting up though. When we split up, we can search more of the area quicker,” Makoto responds.”I doubt anyone would kill while everyone else is on the same floor. There’s a higher chance of being caught while or after committing the murder. The logical approach would be to split off into groups of two and staying with that other person. If anyone kills the person they’re with, they’d immediately become a main suspect. If a group encounters another group, there would be a guaranteed witness because of the rule stating that you can only kill a maximum of two people and there’s no advantage in working together. If anyone were to swap groups, yet again, at least one living person would know. This is the most effective method to get a lot of the area searched while also avoiding murder,” Kyoko states.”I suppose that makes sense,” Taka says, “Alright. So who’ll be with who? I think we should start by saying who shouldn’t be in a group together. I don’t believe Byakuya and Toko should be in a group together because of Toko’s concerning obsession with Byakuya and Byakuya’s hatred of Toko, which is likely to end in murder.
Aoi and Byakuya are
more likely to end up arguing than get anything done. That would leave them with myself, Makoto or Kyoko. Toko and Aoi could be a similar story ,” Taka stops speaking for a moment when he realises that Makoto and Kyoko left midway through him talking, “I’m assuming that Makoto and Kyoko are investigating the new floor together. The best options for groups that we have are Toko and Aoi along with Byakuya and me. Syo only kills males so if Toko were to see blood, faint and Syo were to be the one to wake up, the safest option is with Aoi. Like I’ve stated, Byakuya would also be less likely to be able to investigate with either of them. If there are any problems while investigating, please come and find one of the other groups searching around. Please do not go off on your own at any point in time.”Surprisingly, the three others seem
to just accept what Taka suggested with no protesting.Byakuya and Taka leave to investigate with Aoi and Toko following close behind before the two groups split off at the 5th floor.Taka and Byakuya are walking through the 5th floor hallways, not saying a single word to each other. They eventually reach the greenhouse.They look around the main area for a few minutes before entering the shed.Taka immediately notices the weapons.”These weapons should not be able to be
accessed this easily! Someone could easily use them for a murder. I’ll have to check that all of them are accounted for frequently. Before and after nighttime along with halfway through the day should be good times to!” Taka shouts.”Do you really think that’s necessary? Besides, Monokuma would
just take one so you wouldn’t trust anyone else because you’d think one of them took them,” Byakuya says.”I wouldn’t put it past them,” Taka says, “I just... I don’t want another murder. I didn’t take enough precautions last time and Sakura ended up dying. Maybe if I had, Sakura would still be alive.””Look. If you were the one that caused Sakura’s death, you would be dead. You’re clearly not dead so stop blaming yourself for something you didn’t do and focus on investigating so we can leave this school and I never have to see you or anyone else here again,” Byakuya says.Taka is unable to figure out whether or not Byakuya’s trying to be nice or not in that statement but sums up what Byakuya said to, ‘You’re not the reason Sakura’s dead.’Taka quickly comes up with a response so they aren’t just awkwardly staring at each other, ”I get what you’re saying, Byakuya, but just maybe if I had thought to secure the poison cabinet then maybe-“”Then Sakura would’ve just used a different method and you’d still be here saying, ‘well maybe if I..” Byakuya says, somewhat mockingly, “Do you not have logical thinking skills or something? There’s nothing you could’ve done to prevent it so can you just shut up and deal with that fact so we can get back to investigating?””You’re honestly nicer than everyone makes you out to be. If you were like how they describe you as then you wouldn’t have done anything at all. Sure you may have mocked me and said things in a somewhat disrespectful manner but the entire message you’re trying to get across is mainly positive,” Taka says, feeling a bit better.The two continue investigating the shed for a few more minutes.Taka notices and looks at a pickaxe. For some reason, the pickaxe seems familiar to him. He inspects it for a matter of seconds before suddenly dropping it, causing a loud bang.Byakuya immediately turns towards Taka, quickly noticing what’s disturbing him so much.”There’s- Why... why is Mondo’s gang name on this?“ Taka asks.The handle of the pickaxe had ‘Crazy Diamonds’ engraved onto it.”That’s not possible... Mondo died long before anything near this floor was unlocked,” Taka says.”Monokuma probably just put it there to mess with you. They probably engraved it themself,” Byakuya states, “You honestly can’t keep jumping to conclusions like this. First you think you could’ve prevented Sakura’s death, now you think the impossible is possible. The only person that could’ve accessed this floor is Monokuma.”Taka silently checks for any sort of breakage towards the pickaxe before putting it back in its original position.They both go back to focusing on investigating, having brief conversations every so often.Everything seems somewhat normal until they enter one specific classroom.The chairs are flipped over, there are scratch marks everywhere in the entire classroom, blood is covering the walls and floor, there are several chalk outlines of people on the floor and there are the words
‘Eye For An Eye’ written in blood.Taka quietly stands in shock by the scene before him while Byakuya has little to no reaction at all.”Oh come on. You’ve already seen three murder scenes. The only difference is that there’s no dead body. That’s better, isn’t it? This shouldn’t come as anything new,” Byakuya says.Taka wants to protest but quickly realises that Byakuya is correct.”I guess... but this is like if you took all those murder scenes and combined them...” Taka responds.”If I’d have known you were going to act like this, I’d have investigated on my own,” Byakuya says, “Of course, I can’t leave you on your own now because your idiocy would end up getting you killed and then I’d be blamed for it.””Speaking of which, we should head back to the dining area since we’ve basically finished investigating now,” Taka says.They walk back to meet with everyone else.Taka is happy with the investigating they’ve done with Byakuya. He wants to know more about the pickaxe but he decides to prioritise hearing about everyone else’s investigations unless he finds a good time to mention it.Everyone discusses the fact that there’s no stairs to the next floor and quickly come to the conclusion that they’ve reached the top floor.“By the way, did any of you find it?” Byakuya asks, “The other strange room on the 5th floor. Well, no... ‘strange’ is a massive understatement. The smell of flesh and fat and blood... The white outlines of countless corpses... It was more dreadful than anything I’ve encountered here so far... The smell itself was horrific. Far beyond any normal murder scene. Every body’s smell, concentrated...””God, I’m glad I didn’t see it... I feel like I’m going to barf just hearing you describe it...” Aoi says.”I’ve come to the conclusion that a lot of people died right there in that room,” Byakuya states.”Stop, seriously... I’m gonna throw up...” Aoi responds.“Perhaps that’s what was meant by...” Kyoko says, “...the biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history.”“You’re thinking the same thing, then. My theory is...” Byakuya responds, “...the mass murder that took place in that room is the incident said to have happened one year ago. The tragedy is another name for the genocide of the student body of Hope’s Peak Academy. If that’s true... that would explain why Hope’s Peak was forced to close its doors.””Based on what the event you’re referring to is called, I’d assume that there’s more to it than just what happened in that one room. Calling it something like that would imply that it’s worse than anything that’s ever happened ever. It’s much more likely for it to be a bigger event than that. I don’t doubt the possibility of it being a part of that though,” Taka states, “Although, I could just be overthinking it as the name could be exaggerated... There’s also a slight unlikely possibility that the name is accurate and it all took place there. No other rooms that I can recall have been seen in a similar state without student interference.
I think we should change the topic for now so we can get our discussion completed before the night time announcement.””I agree with that. Maybe we should talk about the garden. Like how there’s that giant plant,” Aoi says, “I think they said it’s a Monokuma Flower and they mentioned that it’s really dangerous. It could be a carnivore. Wonder how it’s survived there for so long.”“There’s a sprinkler system, which switches on every morning at exactly 7:30,” Kyoko responds.”There was also a chicken coop with 5 entire chickens in it!” Aoi yells, “Let’s raise em’ up. Then we can make fried chicken! Or barbecue! What about raw!?””Raw chicken isn’t safe for consumption!” Taka shouts in response, “How about we talk about the other thing in the garden? That unusual toolshed!””You noticed it too? That pickaxe...” Makoto says, “The words ‘Crazy Diamond’ had been carved into the handle. Haven’t we seen that phrase before...?””Yes! We most certainly have!” Taka yells.”Crazy Diamond? Hmm... Yeah, that does sound kinda familiar, I think...” Aoi says.”How could you forget about it already!?” Taka shouts, “My apologises for shouting but it’s not been that long since the last time you would’ve seen or heard that phrase.””That’s it! I remember...” Makoto says, “It was on Mondo’s uniform! On the back of his jacket... The jacket said the same thing, right? Crazy Diamond! Of course that’s something that Taka would remember because of how close they were before Mondo...““But why would that be on a pickaxe in the garden?” Aoi asks.”We didn’t have access to the area until today so we can rule out the possibility of him bringing it there himself,” Byakuya says.”Then... maybe Mondo brought it with him when he first came here, and Monokuma confiscated it?” Aoi suggests.”Whatever the reason, that’s what stuck out to me the most in the toolshed— the pickaxe connected to Mondo,” Makoto says, glancing at Toko for a moment before continuing, “Hey, Byakuya... It seems like Toko wants to say something.””So? Why are you telling me?” Byakuya asks.”You got rid of Toko’s right to free speech, remember?” Taka says.”I’d forgotten about that,” Byakuya responds, “Well, Toko. If you want to envelop us all in your putrid breath, I won’t stop you.””You honour me, Master...” Toko says, “And don’t worry... I took care of the odor problem...””...Okay, so what did you want to tell us?” Aoi asks.“Well, I was in a classroom on the 5th floor, and something caught my attention... It was... this,” Toko answers, showing a knife.”Whoa, that thing is huge! It’s like, Rambo size!” Aoi says.“It’s a survival knife of some type...” Byakuya states.”But why would there be this kind of knife there? Like we’ve said, we haven’t had access to that place. That means the only person who could’ve put it there is Monokuma or someone working with them!” Taka says.“Something more important is that now that we have this knife, what are we gonna do with it?” Aoi asks.“We should probably give it to the most trustworthy person. If we can’t trust the person we’re giving it to to not commit a murder, we’re bound to be unsuccessful,” Taka states.“Why don’t you hang onto it, Makoto?” Kyoko asks Makoto.”I think that sounds reasonable. While I can not speak for the others, I for one trust Makoto quite a lot,” Taka says.”Then that’s that!” Aoi says, loudly.”H- Hold on! Don’t I get a say!?” Makoto asks.”My apologises, Makoto. If you don’t want to be the one keeping a hold of it then that’s completely fine,” Taka responds.“Fine, I’ll do it,” Makoto says as Toko passes him the knife.“Hey, Toko,” Byakuya says.”D- Do I still have bad b- breath!?” Toko asks, “Sorry sorry sorry!”Toko’s apologises continue for a few more moments before Byakuya continues speaking, “You made a valuable discovery. Good job.”’I can’t tell if he actually means that or is just saying it for the sake of it,’ Taka thinks, trying to work out Byakuya’s motive towards his sudden different attitude towards Toko.”Did Master just... p- praise me?” Toko says, shocked by the recent statement said.”Hey, good for you!” Aoi says.”I- I’m dreaming... I must b- be dreaming!” Toko yells, unable to believe that what Byakuya said was real, “That I would ever e- experience such a dream... I feel... s- strange...! So strange...! R- Really strange!””Toko! This is starting to seem somewhat too unwholesome for a public environment!!” Taka yells.“Well, I think that’s all the new information we have for now,” Byakuya says, “Starting today, you’re all under my command. But before we proceed, I need to figure something out... Kyoko’s identity.””Kyoko’s identity? But Kyoko is... Kyoko... right?” Aoi asks.“Yes, but who
is
she?” Byakuya asks, “The rest of us have a clear, definable reason for having been selected to attend Hope’s Peak Academy. Hina’s the Ultimate Swimming Pro, Taka’s the Ultimate Moral Compass... even Makoto is the Ultimate Lucky Student. What about Kyoko? Can anyone tell me what
she is?””She chose specifically not to specify it,” Taka answers.”Well, Kyoko doesn’t really like talking about herself anyway, right?” Aoi asks.”It’s not a matter of what she likes or doesn’t like. This is a matter of trust,” Byakuya states, “Can you trust someone who’s unwilling to reveal their true identity? We need to avoid raising anymore unnecessary suspicion. So Kyoko, it’s time you told us...”Everything goes silent for a matter of moments.”I can’t,” Kyoko responds.”What!? Wh- Why won’t you tell us!?” Toko yells.”I didn’t say I "won’t." I said I can’t,” Kyoko says before pausing for a moment, “Because... I don’t remember. I have no memory of what I am.””Amnesia...?” Aoi says with a confused and shocked tone.”If I thought you had a sense of humour, I’d say you were joking. But if this is a joke, I’m not laughing,” Byakuya says.“Y- You can’t be serious right now, c- can you?” Toko asks.“I knew you wouldn’t believe me. That’s why I didn’t say anything,” Kyoko says, “But it doesn’t matter. Either way, the truth will make itself clear before we’re done.””So you have no intention of telling us? Then I can no longer stand by and do nothing...” Byakuya says.”What are you going to do? Torture me?” Kyoko asks.”Nothing so barbaric as that. I will simply limit your options. I can’t allow you to engage in further suspicious activity,” Byakuya responds.“Limit my options...?” Kyoko says, trying to figure out what Byakuya means.”Give me the key to your room,” Byakuya says.”Byakuya! You know Monokuma will kill them if they sleep outside of a dorm, right!?” Taka yells.”And if she doesn’t want that, she’ll talk. It’s easy, all she has to do is tell us about herself,” Byakuya states.”... Fine. I understand,” Kyoko says.”Good, you’re finally in the mood for conversation,” Byakuya says.Kyoko walks up to Byakuya and held out her room key to him.“You damn fool...” Byakuya says, “Why do you refuse to talk...!?””Whether or not I want to, I can’t. All I can do is keep telling you that,” Kyoko answers.”M- Maybe she really did lose her memory...” Aoi says.”It’s not even that unlikely considering everything else that’s been possible,” Taka says.Without saying a word, Kyoko begins to leave.”Where do you think you’re going?” Byakuya asks.”Don’t worry. I’m not going to do anything to harm any of you,” Kyoko says before leaving.”I think you went to far, taking her room key like that...” Aoi says.”F- For her, that wasn’t far e- enough...!” Toko says, “Or m- maybe she gets off on the attention. I can’t believe her, e- enjoying getting yelled at...””You’re getting noisy again, Toko,” Byakuya says and Toko responds with silence, “Sorry, I can still hear you. The sound of you breathing, of your heart beating... it grates on me.””Byakuya, you’re going a bit far with this silence thing!! They can’t just stop the sound of their heartbeat,” Taka says.Aoi suddenly screams.”Is everything alright!?” Taka asks
in response.”Look!” Aoi shouts, gesturing to a certain black and white bear.”I’m very... very... AAAAANNNGGGRRRYYYYYY!!!” Monokuma yells.”Angry at what...?” Aoi asks.”At the thief! Yes, that’s right. I’m very sad to tell have to tell you, there’s a thief in your midst! Myyy PRECIOUUSSS! They stole it! Your teacher had such faith in you... And this is how you repay me? With betrayal? Reality is filled with so much hardship, isn’t it? No wonder people run away into their fantasies...” Monokuma says.”But... what the heck is your "precious"?” Aoi asks.”Shut up! I hope all of you get stuck in a hiring freeze and die penniless on the street!” Monokuma shouts.”That’s a little harsh. I assume there must be a better way to put it,” Taka says.After that, Monokuma disappears.“Does anyone know what he might mean by his "precious" being stolen?” Aoi asks.”It likely has something to do with Kyoko,” Byakuya says, “Who else other than her would be willing and able to steal something from Monokuma?The conversation quickly dies down after that and everyone returns to their dorms.Well... almost everyone.Taka notices that Byakuya turns towards the stairs instead of going to his dorm.Having wanting to talk to him about something, he chooses to follow him.He sees Byakuya walk into the library, which is expected since he typically spends most his time there, and also enters the library.”Byakuya, my apologises for following you here but I’d like to discuss something with you,” Taka says and continues before Byakuya can even respond, “It’s about Sakura’s trial. More specifically, how you reacted to finding out what Sakura had done. You were acting quite off from your usual self. You seemed shocked that you weren’t able to figure out what had actually happened and because instead you were convinced that Aoi had killed them, which turned out to be untrue. I just want to check that you’re okay.””I’m fine,” Byakuya bluntly responds, adjusting his lamp before reading.“If it’s not an invasive question, could you tell me what you’re reading?” Taka asks.Byakuya simply shows the front cover which reads ‘Nick and Charlie’. It has some other text on it such as ‘A Heartstopper novella’ and ‘This is literally a love story’.’Wait. Does Byakuya read romance books? I’d have never expected that from him,’ Taka thinks.”It seems like an interesting book. I should read it some time,” Taka says.”Alright, are you happy now? I prefer reading alone or at least in silence,” Byakuya says.”Oh. Sorry,” Taka says before silently looking around the library for something to read despite it being so late.Upon looking around, he finds a strange box at the back of one of the shelves.He carefully takes the box off the shelf and puts it on the table before hesitantly opening it.Inside is a chess board along with all the chess pieces.Byakuya, having noticed what Taka’s found, speaks, “Well... care for a game of chess?”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Just a game of chess quickly became several rounds of carefully calculated moves.Both of them played surprisingly well and after a while, it became quite late, so both of them headed back to their dorms.Taka realises that, for a short period of time, he’d forgotten all about the killing game and everything that’s happened. He was so focused on chess that he didn’t even remember the despair that surrounded them.“You’re one minute late, Makoto. How do you explain this?” Byakuya asks.”I too would like to hear an explanation,” Taka says.”S-Sorry. I’m not feeling so great today,” Makoto answers.”You r-really think a tired excuse like that i-is gonna work?” Toko responds.”I don’t recall giving you permission to speak,” Byakuya says to Toko.“I-I just thought... I mean, since a d-day has passed, it had maybe r-reset...” Toko says, “S-Sorry! Please don’t hate me! Whatever my p-punishment is, I’ll accept it! I’ll hang a s-sign from my neck that says ‘Bad Girl’! I’ll clean your bathroom w-with my toothbrush...!””Byakuya, I believe you should allow Toko the right to free speech,” Taka says.”If they stop making disgusting comments like that,
maybe
I could,” Byakuya responds.“I won’t make any more d-disgusting comments, I promise...! If I do, you can stuff m-my mouth full of trash... As long as i-it’s you and no one else, I d-don’t mind...!” Toko says.”Anyway, does anyone know where Kyoko is? I haven’t seen her at all this morning...” Aoi says.”I for one haven’t. Hopefully she’ll turn up soon,” Taka responds.”Do you think she got mad about what happened yesterday, and she’s not gonna show up anymore...” Aoi says.“Whatever her reason happens to be, I’m more curious about what she is doing. I know she isn’t in her room, so...” Byakuya states.“Right, you still have her room key. However, I believe you should give it back to her when we next see her!” Taka says.“Are you looking for Miss Kirigiri?” Monokuma asks, appearing out of nowhere.”That would be correct. She still hasn’t arrived and no one has seen her all morning,” Taka says, “Do you happen to know her current location?””Well.. it’s hard to say,” Monokuma responds.”He doesn’t know, that’s why he’s here to try and prod us for information. To think you have cameras basically everywhere but lost track of one person,” Byakuya says.”Hey, don’tcha hate it when you ask someone what their favourite movie is, and they name some indie bullcrap?” Monokuma asks.”I feel like I’m g-getting whiplash, the way he changes s-subjects like that...” Toko says.”To answer their question, I personally don’t know. I’m typically more intrigued about other people’s study habits,” Taka says.About a minute later, Monokuma left the remaining survivors to focus on other things.”It would seem that Monokuma too is unaware of where Kyoko is,” Byakuya says.”It’s quite concerning that no one knows where they are. I’d prefer we could find them to make sure that they haven’t been injured or killed before we proceed,” Taka says.”And how would you suggest we approach that task? Even Monokuma can’t seem to locate her...” Byakuya responds.“It could be because she’s somewhere without any cameras. Although, it would be likely that Monokuma would check those places if they truly wanted to know Kyoko’s location,” Taka says.The rest of breakfast is spent with them all discussing where Kyoko could have gone to.Taka already knows what they’re going to do with their spare time. They head straight to Aoi’s dorm and knock on the door.After a few moments, the door opens.”Hey Taka, what are you doing here? Any updates on Kyoko’s location?” Aoi asks.”Unfortunately, no, but if I do find anything out about her, I will inform you. I’m just here to talk about some things,” Taka responds, “May I come in?””Oh, sure,” Aoi says before moving out the doorway so Taka can enter, “So, what did you want to talk about?””It’s about what happened with Sakura. I just want to check how you’re doing considering you and Sakura were close,” Taka says.They’re met with silence.”I apologise and understand if you don’t want to talk about it,” Taka says, “Please feel free to come and talk to me if you need anything at all. We could talk about something else if you’d like.”Taka leaves Aoi’s dorm and walks through the hallways.It’s so empty. It’s so quiet.It gave them time to think.Not too long ago, there were people roaming around everywhere. People trying to keep their spirits high and escape before the murders happened.Now all that’s left is a small group trying to stay alive while knowing eventually they’ll all eventually be back in that familiar trial room having to execute yet another one of their classmates..Taka hates the thought that soon they could be back to murdering each other and there’s nothing they can do about it. They tried last time but they can’t physically keep track of everything going on throughout all of the floors. They still failed even with one floor.Taka’s beginning to loose hope.Makoto is wandering through the hallways aimlessly.”Oh, Ishimaru. How are you doing?” Makoto asks.“I’m doing great, what about you?” Taka responds, putting on a persona to not concern the others.”I’m fine. I still haven’t heard anything about Kyoko though,” Makoto says.”That’s troubling. I’m sure she must be somewhere. I doubt she would’ve escaped. Monokuma would’ve probably killed because rule one states that students may reside only
within the school and then they wouldn’t be so concerned about her location. We’ll find her soon,” Taka says.”Yeah, I’m sure she’ll turn up eventually,” Makoto says, hopeful, “I’m sure that if we can keep our spirits up everything will be fine.””Right you are, Makoto!” Taka responds, “If we all believe that we can escape without another murder then they’ll be no reason to kill!! No matter what motives Monokuma throws at us!”
Everything will be fine.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Everyone except Makoto and Kyoko has been in the gym all night. It’d been difficult to stay awake the entire time but they’d managed to do it.
There are still no signs of Kyoko and Makoto was likely asleep in his dorm.
Aoi returns to the gym with Makoto entering a few moments afterwards.
“Jeez. To show up now, like it’s no big deal…” Byakuya says.
“You made us s- stay up all night, while you slept like a b- baby in your bed…?” Toko says.
“Please don’t be upset with Makoto. We decided to do this. Makoto had no obligation to follow suit,” Taka responds before continuing to dismember the Monokuma.
“Wh- what are you doing?” Makoto asks.
“We wanted to determine how our headmaster, Monokuma, works so we’re dismantling them,” Taka answers.
“Dismantling!?” Makoto responds, “But I mean… that’s Monokuma you’re messing with, right!?”
“Yeah, that’s right,” Aoi says.
“Relax, Makoto, there’s no danger,” Byakuya says, “Just before we went to bed last night, I came to the gym to try and talk to Monokuma. I wanted to see if there was any new information surrounding Kyoko’s disappearance. Then I found him here, just like normal. However… when I found them here, they were no more than a toy. No reactions. They didn’t even say a word. I waited until nighttime began officially, and yet Monokuma still layed there motionless so I gathered everyone else. There were still no movements so I initiated the disassembly process. We’re discovered that Monokuma is quite a sophisticated machine. Perhaps they malfunctioned but we couldn’t find any sign of a cause. In other words, there’s a chance something happened to the puppeteer. The mastermind.”
“But Monokuma made the morning announcement this morning, right?” Makoto asks.
“I’m sure that’s a recording set to a timer,” Byakuya answers.
“They do say the same thing every day,” Aoi says.
“I don’t believe now’s the time for conversing,” Taka says.
He suddenly freezes after seeing something inside Monokuma.
“A bomb. There’s one installed in every Monokuma robot, I’m sure. It appears it has a motion sensor. Any sudden movements and it’s sure to go off,” Byakuya says as everyone other than him looks extremely concerned, “I should probably mention that the motion sensor is off.”
Taka places the bomb off to the side, having no use to keep hold on it.
The others continue trying to speak to Makoto, who appears to have zoned out.
“Hey. Makoto. Makoto? You there?” Aoi asks.
“Huh. Sorry,” Makoto says.
“As we were saying, now that we’ve completed dismantling Monokuma, do you have any ideas of what to do now? I suggested that we should go back to searching for Kyoko. Who knows what could’ve happened to her in the time she’s been missing,” Taka continues.
“I’ve decided we should continue our offensive assault. We need to uncover the mastermind’s true identity. We’re going to break into the headmaster’s room,” Byakuya says, “Since the mastermind appears to have stopped all activity, now’s our chance. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“What about the school rules?” Taka asks.
“If the mastermind comes back while we’re in there…” Makoto says.
“If you’re scared, you’re welcome to stay here by yourselves,” Byakuya responds.
“Or go l- live in the chicken coop, with all the o- other chickens,” Toko says.
“This is a battle, a fight to the death between us and the mastermind. We don’t have time to deliberate,” Byakuya states.
“Yeah. I mean, I don’t wanna hafta kill each other, or anyone else. But we have a chance now…” Aoi says.
“So? What are you going to do? Are you going to run away, or are you going to fight?” Byakuya asks.
“You’re right. I’ll go with you,” Makoto says.
Taka is feeling conflicted. He doesn’t want to break any of the rules but at the same time, he can’t allow the killing game to continue. Can he really go against his very own morals to do this? He doesn’t want anyone else to die though. He doesn’t think he could handle another one of their ally’s deaths. It’s either they manage to escape, they get caught and are killed or they have to kill each other with the hope that they’ll survive. He’d prefer trying to make an effort to survive or at least get the others to survive even if it means going against his need to follow rules.
“I’ll help as well,” Taka says.
“Okay then. We’re going to break into the headmaster’s room. Everything comes down to this moment. Anything can happen, so prepare yourselves,” Byakuya states.
“Sakura… if you can hear me, lend me your strength…” Aoi says.
They walk up to the fourth floor and towards the headmaster’s room.
“It’s locked. As expected,” Byakuya says.
“So, what are we going to do?” Makoto asks.
“Isn’t it obvious? We’re going to tear this door off of its hinges,” Byakuya says.
“Wait, but… the rules say-” Aoi says before getting cut off.
“We’ve seen that the mastermind isn’t watching us anymore. Those don’t matter anymore,” Byakuya responds.
“Even if we wanted to, how would we go about getting the door off of its hinges?” Taka asks.
“What about if we use that one thing?” Makoto asks, “The thing in the garden shed.”
“You’re not suggesting what I think you’re suggesting, are you…?” Taka says, picking up on the fact that he’s talking about Mondo’s pickaxe, “What if it gets damaged? It belongs to one of our classmates!”
“It
used to
belong to one of our classmates. It could well be what we need. Do you want us to succeed or not? Even so, it’s not like it matters if you don’t want us to, it’s only to help the majority of us that actually want to survive. The deceased don’t matter when it’s life or death. You’re being overdramatic,” Byakuya responds.
“But- it’s… fine..” Taka says.
“Now then… Toko, what time is it?” Byakuya asks.
“W- Well, when we left the gym, it was j- just before nine o’clock. So it’s probably nine on the d- dot now…” Toko answers.
“Okay. Go get the pickaxe and be back here by 9:01,” Byakuya says.
Taka wants to protest about how completely unreasonable and impossible that request is but decides to stay silent.
“I- I- I…! By myself…?” Toko asks.
“You know how much time it took you to say that? Ten seconds. Take too long, and I’ll erase your existence from my consciousness,” Byakuya says.
“UnacceptabbbbbbllllLLLLLLEEEEEEE!!!” Toko yells.
Toko then runs off as quickly as she can.
The remaining few say a few words to eachother. Taka seems to be the most quiet, which is unusual for him.
Likely within the time slot she was given, Genocider Syo returns.
“Hello hello! It’s the wondiferous, murderous fiend, here to greet you with a razor-sharp smile!” Syo says.
“What about this pickaxe? Where is it?” Byakuya asks, seeming annoyed by Syo’s very presence.
“I was supposed to pick an axe…?” Syo asks in response.
“No, you seeping imbecile. The *pickaxe*...” Byakuya says.
“Seriously though… did you really forget the pickaxe?” Aoi asks.
“But I think we already established that their memory doesn’t carry over…” Makoto says.
“This is a level of uselessness I find difficult to tolerate…” Byakuya says.
“The light bulb just went on!” Syo says, “That’s why I went to the garden, right!? I was supposed to get the pickaxe! Alright, we’ve solved one mystery! That means there’s just one more mystery left! Now we have to figure out the identity of Object X!”
“I don’t believe I understand what you’re referring to. Object X? What are you talking about?” Taka asks.
“Kur… oar… puss…” Syo says, “Did you hear me!? I said corpse!”
“There’s a corpse in the garden!? The only one not here is…” Taka says.
“Kyoko…” Makoto says, finishing Taka’s sentence.
“Well then. Before we enter the headmaster’s room, it appears we have something else to look into,” Byakuya say, “We’re going to the garden.”
Everyone rushes to the garden. There, they’re greeted by a body with only both hands and an arm uncovered. There’s a knife going straight through their stomach and blood staining their clothing.
“Wh- what the…!?”
“A- Are they really dead!?”
“Most certainly but…”
”Who… is it?”