We all stood there, stunned and helpless. I couldn't even wrap my head around Mondo's execution... It was just bizarre and brutal. My head was spinning, my legs were weak, my hands were sweaty... (A/N: VOMIT ON HER SWEATER ALREADY, MOM'S SPAGHETTI!! i am so sorry...) 

"Laugh at death, and your soul will forever be at peace.", Monokuma chuckled, eating the "Mondo Butter" with a plate of pancakes that he pulled out from behind his tiny throne. It made me sick, forcing me to look away with a few tears of anger and disgust rolling down me cheeks.

"It... can't be... My... brother...", Taka was shaking and looked so broken... I wanted to help, but how? "Urraaaaaahhh...! URRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!", Taka was now screaming at the top of his lungs, making my heart sink further and further.

"What a disappointment. This is the end of the game?", Byakuya's voice seemed to reach my ears over Taka's screams. My head shot up to his face, eyebrows knitting together with my scowl.

"B... Byakuya...?", Makoto muttered out.

"You're completely insane, you know that? A game? One of our friends is dead! Do you realize that!?", Hina yelled at Byakuya with tears of her own spilling out of her eyes.

"Of course I do. Because this game is life or death.", Byakuya glared at Hina.

"Byakuya... What the hell is wrong with you!?", I was about to charge at him, when Sakura held me back by my waist.

"L-LET ME GO!!", I cried, a mix of rage and depression causing a storm in my mind.

"I want you to calm down, Kuno...", Sakura held me back with even more strength, causing me to crumble in her arms in exhaustion. The back of my head rested on her chest as I silently cried, sniffling and trying to calm my mind. Sakura pet my head gently, calming my nerves with her touch.

"I don't have anything to say to you. I don't have a response, except that... I just don't understand why. Why did you go out of your way to disguise Mondo's crime?", Kyoko asked Byakuya with the faintest scowl on her face.

"Why...? Isn't it obvious? Because it made things more interesting.", Byakuya's voice made me stop. His voice was calm, emotionless. Like the voice of death. It made me shudder in fear. "Last night, when the murder took place, I was in the library as usual."

"So you ignored the nighttime rule, too...", Celeste sighed in disappointment.

"That rule never mattered to me. I don't recall agreeing to it.", Byakuya shrugged.

"Well, I don't particularly care. Please, continue.", Celeste urged with a gaze filled with disappointment boring into Byakuya's back.

"The night grew late, and I decided to return to my room. Which is when I stumbled upon him... I spotted Mondo coming outt of the girls locker room. After he'd gone, I looked inside and saw the corpse.", Byakuya revealed.

"Wh--!? You mean you actually witnessed the murder!?", Hiro gasped in fear.

"He was such a fool. He didn't have the slightest idea that I'd seen him.", Byakuya chuckled.

"So... you're saying you knew who the culprit was from the very beginning?", Hifumi muttered.

"Indeed. But if that had been the end of it, how boring would that have been? I mean, what a waste of time to have the answer revealed right at the beginning. Which is why I decided to... lend a little helping hand. I thought it would liven things up.", Byakuya explained with venom in his words.

"You did all that... to "liven things up"!?", Makoto gasped in anger, a rare emotion he displayed.

"So after hearing about Genocide Jack from Toko, you decided to use that... to create the fake murder scene?", Kyoko deduced.

"But damn, man... If we hadn't figured out who'd really done it, you woulda been dead too, right?", Hiro quirked a brow at Byakuya.

"Well obviously I would have revealed the truth before it reached that point. Of course...", That's when Byakuya glared at Makoto and I, as if he was challenging us. "Thanks to two certain remarkable people, it never did. And I was able to perform an interesting experiment. Once I do decide to become blackened, I now know who I'll have to watch out for."

"Wh--!?", Makoto backed up a bit. I found the strength to escape Sakura's grasp and stand in front of Makoto, glaring at Byakuya.

"You better watch your back, Togami...", I seethed.

"So that was your reason...", Kyoko nodded.

"Are you satisfied?", Byakuya smirked.

"Yes. We're done listening to your story. Moving on... There's something I'd like to ask Monokuma.", Kyoko turned to the bear with a steel gaze.

"Ohh? I'm up next?", Monokuma tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"You like to preform these elaborate executions each time, correct? My question is... why?", Kyoko asked.

"Puhuhu... Do you like them? But you know, this punishment, this despair-- it's not just for you. All this punishment, all this despair is my gift to mankind itself!", Monokuma chortled.

"You're overexaggerating.", Kyoko stated.

"I am not overexaggerating! These punishments are meant to transform all hope to despair!", Monokuma explained.

"...What do you mean?", Sakura asked with a clenched fist.

"Mean...? Meeaaan...? Mean? Mean mean mean mean mean mean mean mean mean mean! Good GRIEF! I don't understand why you have to pick apart every little stupid thing!", Monokuma growled in annoyance.

"Hmph. Whatever, it doesn't matter. In the end, I'm going to stand alone as the victor. And then everything will be revealed to me.", Byakuya smirked.

"Ahh, the noble son of a noble family... Truly you understand me! Puhuhu... I think this is the start of a terrifying friendship!", Monokuma giggled.

"Shut up. I would never stoop to the level of a childish criminal like you. Let me just say this... After I have achieved complete victory... you're up next. I'm going to find and kill you. Understand? In the name of the Togami family, for which victory is forgone conclusion...", Byakuya pointed a menacing finger at Monokuma.

"Oooh, so cool! It's like you're the main character of a video game or something! No trash mob for you!", Monokuma fake-gushed.

"I swear, whatever it takes... I will kill you!", Byakuya seethed.

"Puhuhu... Temper, temper! Sounds like someone needs a nap! Puhuhu... Puuhuhuhuhu! Ahh-hahahaha!", Monokuma's laughter pealed across the courtroom, and the curtain closed on the case of Chihiro and Mondo. But I knew that wasn't the end. The killing game would still continue... Because the mastermind wouldn't let it end. For those of us who were still alive, our worst fear and despair kept on multiplying... It was the kind of despair that felt like a blind puppy in hell had more of a future than us... All our courage, our effort, our friendship... It felt like it amounted to nothing at all... It was the worst kind of despair.

(3rd Person) (???)

Inside a computer room, Monokuma sat on chair while playing with some red yarn, watching it tangle and untangle. A certain someone stood before the bear, waiting patiently for the bear to talk.

"Well, anyway, like I was saying... This is a pretty good spot... Yeah, a *really* good spot! Anyway, isn't it amazing how that girl went and killed someone before things even had a chance to get boring? Once things really get moving, it'll be like a rollercoaster. There won't be any stopping it! Fear and deapair charge forward at a speed nothing can hope to match. But I must admit, I'm disappointed... I went to all the pain and effort of making you part of the group, and you couldn't play your part... You do remember you were supposed to make the first move, right? Well, no biggie. Nothing we can do about it now. So just do your best to make things more exciting from now on, okay? After all, that's what everyone wants to see...", Monokuma chuckled.

"... There's one thing I'd like to ask you...", the person's voice cut through the quiet room.

"As long as you don't wanna know my measurements, fire away!", Monokuma encouraged.

"Who is it? The seventeenth high school student, I mean...", the person asked.

"Guhaah! My my, you really took me by surprise there. I know I said you could ask anything, but... Super denied! Ultra denied! Demonic denied! Because you see... that's my ace in the hole. And nobody'd be dumb enough to reveal that, right? No matter how close they were to their "friends"... Puhuhu... Puuhuhuhu!", Monokuma laughed.

"...", the person sighed and left the room. Monokuma waited for a few seconds before clearing his throat rather dramatically.

"You can come out now, you coward! Puhuhuhu!", Monokuma laughed. Slowly, a figure emerged from behind one of the tables, seeing that the person from before was gone. They shuffled awkwardly to one of the computers on a lone desk in the corner, saved just for them. They slowly turned to Monokuma, the void in their eyes boring holes into Monokuma.

"What? Ya need something? Well, Headmaster Monokuma is here to provide!", Monokuma cheered. The figure turned on the computer and ushered Monokuma to look at the screen. Monokuma peered to see Kuno in her dorm room, crying her eyes out, cradling the ripped remains of Mondo's Crazy Daimond jacket in her arms. Monokuma's grin grew a bit.

"Wow, how cruel...! Making her keep that will hurt her feelings! You're burdening her!", Monokuma fake-weeped. The figure shrugged and started working on something.

"Eh, tough crowd...", Monokuma muttered, watching the figure ignore him. Truth be told, the person was just too busy to answer at the moment. No one could take them out of their zone now, they were in too deep.

"Well, whatever. As long as you're doing your job right, I don't care! Just make sure no one sees you here, Or else I'll cut you up with me *bear* hands!", Monokuma started laughing at his own joke, while the figure stopped momentarily. They spoke a few words before going back to work.

"That was stupid, shut up."

## CHAPTER 2: BOY'S LIFE OF DESPAIR ## ## THE END ## ## SURVIVING STUDENTS: 11 ##

(2nd person)(Kuno)

I cried my eyes out when someone knocked on my door, finding no one but something; Mondo's tattered jacket. I went inside, cradling it in my arms, as if Mondo and Chihiro were in my arms. It had to be that damn Monokuma who dropped it at my door, it had to be. I didn't want to let go of it, tempted to put it on for the rest of the day tomorrow.

"No, Taka won't be able to move on from the despair of it all if I showed up like that...", I sighed to myself. I buried my face in Mondo's jacket, smelling his cologne in it and, sadly, hints of blood. I sighed and put the jacket in my closet, before collapsing into my bed in exhaustion.

## CHAPTER 3: A NEXT GENERATION LEGEND! STAND TALL, GALACTIC HERO! # # DAILY LIFE #

The morning after the conclusion of the second class trial... Everyone met up at the dining hall, just like always. And I expected it to start like any other day. That's what I expected, but... 

"Today's count kinda sucks, huh? Toko and Byakuya still refuse to show up...", Hiro grumbled.

"And I haven't seen Miss Asahina anywhere.", Hifumi muttered.

"She said her stomach was hurting, so she's taking it easy in her room for today.", Sakura explained.

"That is rather unusual for her. Normally she is so full of energy.", Celeste mused.

"Yeah, that doesn't sound like her. You would think she would run around the school to alleviate the pain or something...", I nodded.

"Which is exactly what makes me worry...", Sakura sighed.

"So it's just the seven of us, then?", Kyoko asked while putting a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"It looks that way...", Makoto nodded with a hint of worry.

"It's times like this where the committee chairman needs to get things going with a BANG!", Hiro pointed at Taka, who was quiet up until now. He looked... so devoid of life. He had bags under his eyes, his posture was too stiff, unlike other times. And his eyes... were just staring at nothing.

"...", Taka kept quiet, not even sparing us a glance.

"Or not...?", Hiro muttered.

"...", still silent. I walked up to Taka, looking him in the eye.

"Taka...?", I called, but no reaction. It was like I wasn't there. His eyes were staring at me, but there wasn't any life or energy in his crimson orbs. I knew it was Because of what happened to Mondo. Taka considered Mondo to be the closest friend he has ever had. And then... having to watch Mondo get... punished. And nothing he could do would stop it. I was devastated, but I couldn't imagine what it must have done to him. I sighed and stepped away from Taka, sitting somewhere else to give him his space.

"So, I mean... what's gonna happen now? We haven't found any way out, and we have no idea if help's ever gonna come. Ngh! Now I'm all depressed just thinking about it...", Hifumi sulked.

"We simply have to make the best of things-- do our best to get along and live here together in peace. Forget about the outside world, and accept this new life. That is the only hope we have now.", Celeste smiled, as if she didn't technically tell us to throw our past lives away. But what else were we to do?

"What...? To live here forever...?", Makoto muttered in fear.

"Here we have every convenience. We have food, clothes, our every need is seen to. Why are you dissatisfied? In fact, let me ask you this? What is it about the outside world that you long for? Competition, discrimination, victimization and violence... As society grows, so does its perversion. In which case, is our current situation not--", Celeste was cut off by Hifumi's serious voice.

"Demon Angel🌟Pretty Pudgy Princess...", Hifumi muttered.

"Hmm?", Celeste quirked a brow. I recognized the name from when Hifumi would ramble about his love for manga and anime.

"Meggy, the drill shop owner, the bunny-eared Amazon, Catgirl Dogboy, Robo Justice the Galactic King... And...! And--! What I mean is, there's no 2D here!", Hifumi cried out.

"Is that really more important then your survival...?", I sighed.

"The mastermind puts such base desire to their advantage, bending you to their will...", Celeste sighed at Hifumi's ignorance.

"Okay, well, anyway... Since Taka's like, catatonic... as the oldest one here, I'm officially stepping up to take the lead! So! We're all gonna work together and spend the rest of the day searching the school!", Hiro declared.

"Searching...?", Makoto questioned.

"Well, I mean... since the class trial is over and all...", Hiro began.

"...there should be new places for us to investigate.", Sakura finished.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about the reward system...", I mumbled.

"Yeah, that's the ticket! Maybe we'll find some kind of clue this time!", Hiro nodded with determination.

"Good idea, thanks for reminding us, Hiro!", I smiled.

"Nah, it was nothing!", Hiro shrugged with a small blush and a smile.

"Then once we're done eating, let's split up and begin looking around. Do you have any problem with that, Celeste?", Sakura asked.

"Hmm... There may well be a discovery waiting for us which may further enrich our life here.", Celeste smiled.

"Er, no... the point is to look for clues.", Hifumi muttered. Just as we were about to enjoy our peace, she came in and caused a scene.

"You called for me, and so I appear! Genocide--!", Jill ran into the room, brandishing her scissors.

"Ahh! Nobody called for you!", Hifumi and I screamed at the same time, hiding behind the tables together.

"What the...? How come it's Genocide Jill, and not Toko?", Hiro asked.

"God, this place is just AMAZING! Finally a place I can just be my murderous self! Which is why I've decided to stop holding back and spread my wings! No more hiding in a cave for me! Plus, I have another battle to fight! The whole "killer with a split personality" thing is sooo overdone. I gotta destroy that stereotype! I'll fight all day and all night to murder those totally slanderous cliches!", Jill sneered at no one in particular.

"But... you *are* a killer with a split personality...", Hiro muttered.

"Gh--! If she weren't here, my chances of survival would go up AT LEAST 10%!", Hifumi whispered to me.

"Am I gonna die by her hands...?", I began to shake in fear, holding my messenger bag to my chest.

"No way! I, Hifumi Yamada, The Alpha and The Omega, will not allow that!", Hifumi suddenly picked me up, causing me to yelp. He showed himself to Jill and yelled.

"YOU WILL NOT HARM US!!!!!", Hifumi yelled.

"Dude! You just revealed yourself to a killer!! Is that your idea of protecting someone!?", I yelled.

"Uh... I saw it in an anime!!", Hifumi started shaking as well. I sighed and got down from his arms, patting his head.

"... You tried.", I sighed.

"C'mon, you gotta back me up here! Even the biggest stars need the little people to hold them up! Kyeeehahahaha!", Jill laughed.

"Well, whatever else we do today, first we should eat. We can't do anything on an empty stomach.", Sakura suggested.

"You're right. Let's hurry up and eat so we can start our investigation...", Makoto agreed.

"Kyeehahaha!", Jill suddenly jumped towards me. I screeched and hid behind the table, but instead of attacking me, she grabbed me by the waist and sat me down. She sat down next to me, grabbing my food and proceeded to try to feed me.

"I-I CAN FEED MYSELF!", I sputtered, trying to get away from Jill.

"Oh, please let me do it~! It'll make me *so* happy! You don't want to make me angry, do you?", Jill giggled with her eyes gleaming with a hint of bloodshed.

"N-No, not at all! Go right ahead, ehehe... eh...", I gulped and let Jill feed me, much to her delight. After the very tense breakfast with the annoying serial killer, we set off to search the school once more. I decided to walk alone, finding the less people around me, the clearer my mind becomes. I made my way to the 3rd floor stairs that were previously closed off. The gates were lifted, tempting me to climb the stairs. I walked up slowly to see the hallways were now a bright neon purple.

"Ugh, my eyes...", I mumbled, rubbing my eyes to try to alleviate the strain my eyes were going through. The first place I went to was right next to me; a recreation room. I opened the door and saw a few entertaining games to play. A pool table, a table dedicated to Shogi and Othello, a snack machine, a dart board, a magazine rack, a cupboard decorated with small bottles, and neon lights littered the room. Celeste looked very delighted to see this room.

"So this is...", I mumbled.

"A recreation room. A place for students to come and relax...", Celeste mused.

"To think a school would have these types of rooms... Kind of hard to believe.", I raised a brow at the strange room.

"Well, no normal school would. It has Othello, shogi, even a dartboard and a pool table... And look at this...", Celeste pointed at the magazine rack. "They have even provided us with a remarkable number of magazines. Those will certainly be helpful our boredom at bay.", just then, the sound of paws shuffling across the black and white tiles caught my attention. I turned to see Monokuma standing there with a grin.

"Ring ring ring! Hello there! Allow me to expound! We've got fashion, motorcycles, martial arts, video games, baseball, science, all kinds of magazines! Oh, but nothing dirty! This is a school, after all. If you need a quick fix, check out the swimsuit mags!", Monokuma teased. My face went pink as my upper lip twitched in anger.

"You got anything on escape routes?", I snarled.

"Nah, you won't be seeing those anytime soon... That is, if you live to see soon!! Puhuhuhu!!", Monokuma laughed. I grit my teeth and let out a sigh to calm myself.

"And will you be adding to our collection as new issues come out?", Celeste asked.

"Sorry, no can do. Even if I wanted to, right now magazines are kinda...", Monokuma trailed off. I heard someone come up behind me, which turned out to be Makoto, who seemed to find this room in his investigation and heard us.

"Kinda what...?", Makoto questioned.

"Oops! Nothing, never mind, no no no! Anyway, that's it for my expoundation. Bye-bye!", Monokuma ran off before we could stop him.

"... What he just said...", Celeste started.

"It sounded off...", I finished.

"I know, right? It bothers me, too...", Makoto nodded.

"Life here would be that much nicer if he could add some new issues once in a while. How disappointing.", Celeste sighed.

"R-Really...?", Makoto raised a brow at Celeste's statement, but shook his head. "H-Hey, Kuno, do you wanna continue searching together...?", Makoto asked, fidgeting in the process.

"I mean, I was going on my own, but I don't mind.", I smiled. We both left Celeste in the recreation room, looking for the next room to check. We walked for bit and found a huge archway with the metal plate outside saying "ART". Makoto and I walked in, taking in the chaotic room; the place looked like a cross between and art gallery and a classroom. It had tables and chairs, canvases galore, statues of many faces, a wall covered in colorful drawings and portraits, and a random door in the corner of the wall. Hifumi was inspecting the canvases closely, humming to himself in thought.

"Well, well. Look at all this equipment! It certainly scratches that artistic itch of mine... Art supplies, of course, but they've also collected all kinds of {sculpting tools}!", Hifumi nodded with admiration.

"So, Hifumi... do you like sculptures and figurines and stuff?", Makoto asked.

"Well normally, I limit myself to 2D. But figurines are like, borderline 2D, so it's okay.", Hifumi shrugged. I didn't know how 3D was "Borderline 2D", but I went with it. "I'm a fan of Charanbo, Pumpkinhead, and I especially admire anything that Saburo Ronppongi makes. Charanbo's ability to express the movement of muscles is exquisite, as seen in his Mama Cat series. Pumpkinhead is like a little sculptor fairy, representing this century's greatest quality! Saburo Ronppongi, meanwhile, is known for his Mecha Musume series, which led to a worldwide tour. Truly they can only be regarded as the Elite Four!", Hifumi said with the pride similar to the pride of a father towards his gifted son.

"Uh... you forgot one elite...", I mumbled.

"Well The Elite Three just sounds stupid, now doesn't it!? Besides, that empty seat rightly belongs to... me! Hmhmhm. It begins... Today begins my reign as the legendary ruler of the next century!", Hifumi chuckled to himself.

"Okay... Good luck then.", I smiled a bit at Hifumi, him showing me thumbs up with a huge grin. Makoto and I went towards the door in the back of the room, curious about what was housed inside. We went inside to find that it was a repository that housed different art tools. As we stepped inside, something on the ground caught my eye; a photo on the ground.

"Makoto, look...", I pointed at the photo. Makoto walked up to it and went to pick it up. But... his hand froze in shock.

"Huh...?", Makoto looked stunned.

"What is it?", I peered at the photo, and gasped. In the photo were people who I missed so much, even though I didn't know them for that long; Chihiro, Leon, and Mondo, smiling at each other in glee.

"What is this...?", Makoto muttered.

"H-How...? Why!? How is this photo real...? When was this taken? Who took it? Where's the camera that they used? How'd they get it developed? And the windows, they're open!!", I gasped in confusion.

"There's no metal plate covering it! Which must mean, wherever this picture was taken... It... wasn't here at Hope's Peak?", Makoto looked at me for an answer, while I just drew a blank. When I finally wanted to say something, I was cut off by Monokuma, looking pissed.

"That's mine! Give it back!", Monokuma ran up to us and snatched the photo from Makoto's hand. "You peeked, didn't you!? Well, they all had some pretty dazzling smiles, huh? They were definitely living their school life. It's like they ripped a page right outta the book of youth!", Monokuma grinned a bit.

"You know something...", I growled.

"What's going on with that picture? Do you know...?", Makoto asked.

"I'm not tellin' you nothin'!", Monokuma laughed and ran away with the picture.

"Why can't you give me a straight answer!?", Makoto yelled after Monokuma, but it was no use. I sighed wrapped an arm around Makoto's shoulder.

"Let's keep looking around, hm?", I sighed. Makoto looked back at me with a small blush, before nodding his head with a heavy sigh. We left the art room and made our way to a dark hallway. It led to a lab that was labeled "Physics". The doors slid open on their own as we walked in. The place looked like a science fever dream; A huge machine sat in the middle of the room, surrounded by monitors, more smaller machines, valves, wires, and some other things that left me confused. Taka was there, blank faced and stiff as a board.

"Hey, Taka. Don't you think this place is like some kind of research institute?", Makoto asked, but got no answer. Taka was just... broken beyond repair.

"Let's... give him some space...", I muttered. We both walked up the huge machine in wonder.

"What's up with this ridiculously big machine...?", Makoto questioned, causing the monochrome bear to pop out from behind the machine.

"Watch out!", Monokuma exclaimed.

"Wh-What--? Of what!?", I sputtered.

"What, you wanna do some quantum leaping!?", Monokuma gasped.

"Huh...?", Makoto tilted his head in confusion.

"That's a time machine! Pretty awesome, right? It was designed by student right here at Hope's Peak! The Ultimate Physicist... Although, they don't go here anymore. They died during The Tragedy!", Monokuma laughed. I was about to question Monokuma about the so called "Tragedy", but Taka's voice cut through. His voice was hoarse and barely recognizable.

"A time machine...? Seriously...? So... it can go back in time...? Okay, then... let me get in there... If I can go back to the past... then I can... This time I'll stop Mondo for sure--!", Taka cried out to himself, finally showing some emotion. Though his dreams were quickly crushed by Monokuma.

"Oh, sorry, not possible. this particular time machine can only go back one minute. It comes in handy when you, like... leave your pizza bagels in the microwave one minute too long.", Monokuma shrugged.

"One minute...?", Taka began shaking, tears rolling down his face.

"Hmm... You sound disappointed. But actually, I was lying about the whole thing anyway. There's no such thing as time machines!", Monokuma laughed.

"What...?", Taka gasped.

"Honestly, it's just an air purifier.", Monokuma revealed.

"Air purifier...?", Makoto repeated.

"It can produce clean air no matter where you're at. With that thing, you could even live on Mars! But what with the discombobulating gravity and deadly low temperatures, you prolly don't wanna live on Mars. Anyway, this machine is the reason you guys have all this delicious air. So don't go messing with it! You break it, and it's your butt!", Monokuma threatened and left. I turned to Taka, seeing he went back to his blank demeanor. Monokuma put salt in Taka's fresh wounds, that was for sure.

"God damn you!", Makoto growled towards where Monokuma left. I went up to Taka and squeezed his hand. He didn't falter from his blank stare, sadly, but I was determined to send my message across.

"Taka, I... I'm sorry, I just don't know what to tell you... Just, hang in there. If you want to talk, my door is open...", I left Taka with that. I turned to see something that was bright pink on a lone table. I walked up to it and picked it up, finding out it was a digital camera. It had an anime style girl at the front, which confused me even more. It was a little rough around the edges, but it still turned on and off just fine. I put in my messenger bag to show the others later. I turned to Makoto, who was staring at a door tucked away behind the machine. I signaled him that we were gonna check it out. It was an equipment room for the physics lab, boxes and shelves covering the walls with different tools, and the smell of the room reminded me of chemicals. Genocide Jill was inside, running around the room in glee.

"Ahhh, this place is sooo relaaaxing! Sooo calming! The smell of formaldehyde is almost unbearable... It's so tempting! Ahhh, I wanna just dunk myself right in it!", Jill gushed.

"...", Makoto looked back at me in confusion, while I just shrugged and left her be.

"I think we should head back to the dining hall, there's nothing left for us to see here.", I ushered Makoto out. We made our way to the dining hall, and found someone who we were worried about since this morning; Hina.

"Hina!", I called out with a small sigh of relief.

"Ah--!", Hina turned to us, looking a bit frazzled.

"Hina!?", Makoto gasped as he tried to talk to her, but the sound of the others rushing in drowned out his voice. Sakura was the first one to run up to Hina's side in worry.

"Hina!", Sakura checked to see if Hina was hurt in any way, or if she looked tired at all.

"Huh? I thought she was sick or somethin'.", Hiro muttered. Everyone crowded around her, making her a bit uncomfortable.

"Are you feeling better already?", Sakura asked.

"Y-Yeah... I ate a few donuts, and that really helped a lot.", Hina chuckled.

"You do love those donuts...", Makoto smiled.

"But... wasn't it your stomach that was hurting?", Celeste asked.

"Well, my stomachache kinda made me hungry, so... you know... Er, ahaha... I guess my memory's kinda fuzzy lately...", Hina laughed with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"They say that a goldfish will eat however much food you give it, even if it's about to burst. Miss Asahina's pretty much the same, it looks like.", Hifumi concluded.

"Hey! You of all people don't have any room to talk!", Hina yelled. I walked up to Hifumi and smacked him on the head.

"O-Ow!! What was that for!?", Hifumi whimpered.

"Don't talk about a woman's habits in front of her, unless it's a positive habit. Take that as some words of wisdom.", I nodded.

"You could have given it to me normally...", Hifumi muttered.

"You want another smack?", I asked with narrowed eyes.

"N-NO! All good here, hehehe...!", Hifumi backed up a bit.

"Anyway... I was worried about you.", Sakura sighed.

"S-Sorry...", Hina mumbled.

"Besides that, you--!", Genocide Jill cut Hina off in anger.

"H-Huh...?", Hina mumbled in confusion.

"Jeez, your knockers are HUGE! What the heck, did you convince them to double up on milk production!?", Jill mocked Hina, causing Sakura and I to seethe.

"Stay away from her, fiend.", Sakura growled.

"Yeah, leave her alone...", I clenched my fists.

"Aw, don't be mad, Mistress~ Sure, her jugs are huge, but yours are just the right size~!", Jill ran up to me and squished her face into my chest in glee. My face went red as I started boiling in anger.

"G-GET OFF ME, CREEP! THIS IS SEXUAL HARRASSMENT!!", I yelled out as I pried Jill off of me and hid behind Sakura, who looked like she was about to rip Jill in half. Jill fake pouted and backed up.

"A-Anyway... first thing's first, we should talk about what we found. Right, Taka?", Hiro asked, but got no reply from the moral compass. "... Right.", Hiro nodded and everyone went in different directions to talk to one another. Makoto and I went up to Aoi first, since she wasn't around when we were investigating.

"Um, I wasn't able to help much with the investigation, but... I did make one discovery...", Hina revealed.

"Discovery...?", I repeated.

"It didn't happen to be a donut-related discovery, did it?", Hiro asked with suspicion.

"What does that even mean? Never mind... It's about the nurse's office! Remember? There's one on the 1st floor, right?", Hina pointed out.

"I remember. But it's locked.", Sakura nodded.

"Actually... not anymore.", Hina revealed.

"Did you find any protein in there? Or even vitamin supplements would be fine.", Sakura asked.

"I did look, but no dice... Just a bunch of headache medicine and over-the-counter stuff.", Hina huffed.

"I see... That's disappointing.", Sakura sighed.

"It *is* disappointing. Like the end of the world is already here...", Hina said with a downcast look. It was a bit funny that they took protein this seriously, but I didn't comment on it in fear of hearing a rant about the importance of supplements and such. Celeste soon joined in and spoke.

"There *is* one piece of good news. There just so happens to be a rec room up on the 3rd floor! I have no doubt that our student life here will be even more enjoyable because of it. Hmhm. Will someone join me in a game of Othello sometime?", Celeste suggested with a smile.

"Um, no thanks... I'll consider later, maybe.", I shrugged with a nervous laugh. Sakura caught our attention with a bit of sad news.

"I searched the entire 3rd floor, but... all the windows in the halls and the rooms were blocked off.", Sakura explained.

"I wish they'd give this a rest already, for serious! Gimme back my bright blue skies!", Hiro groaned.

"Just forget about it.", Celeste smiled.

"You make it sound like I dropped a nickel or something!", Hiro sighed.

"Just to be sure, I went from one end to the other, testing each metal plate. None of them budged. It would seem escape via the 3rd floor is as impossible as we feared...", Sakura reminded us of our fear.

"I see...", Makoto sighed. I gave his shoulder a pat to show I was there for him. He smiled at me for a bit and we went back to talking with the others. Genocide Jill seemed to be talking to herself.

"The long road to maidenhood begins with a single step... That road may begin with only wrinkly old men, but it will end with strapping young adorable boys!", Jill giggled.

"What the hell are you talking about...?", Hiro muttered.

"Kyeehahaha!!", Jill laughed and started running around the place. I just sighed and shrugged at Hiro.

"Oh, I just remembered! I saw Byakuya a little while ago.", Hiro stated, causing Jill to stop in her tracks and run to Hiro with desperation dancing in her eyes.

"What!? Where!? WHERE WAS HE!?!?", Jill yelled.

"Y-You're kinda scarin' me...", Hiro muttered with raised arms.

"Where. Was. HE!?", Jill repeated with her scissors at the ready.

"He was in the locker room... He had a huge stack of books he musta got from the library.", Hiro revealed.

"So THAT'S where he was hiding! I won't let him get away from me! Kyehehe...", Jill ran off, her laughter fading away from our ears.

"She just... ran off!", Hiro sputtered.

"Is... is she okay?", Makoto asked.

"I'm pretty sure she'll be fine...", I sighed.

"We should not concern ourselves with her.", Celeste brushed off the event with a small smile. I was about to talk to Taka, but he was as blank as this morning, so I left him be. I went to Kyoko to talk to her.

"You find anything special, Kyoko?", I asked.

"There was a rather remarkable physics lab on the 3rd floor. In the middle of the room, there was a machine bigger than anything I've ever seen before...", Kyoko explained.

"Oh, Monokuma told us it was an air purifier.", I nodded.

"Huh? What's something like that doing there?", Hiro asked.

"Is the device really that big?", Sakura followed up.

"It almost reached the ceiling of the lab, so it is pretty large in size.", I confirmed.

"I... really don't get it.", Hina muttered. Taka was quiet, not offering any insight on the machine.

"There was an art room on the 3rd floor, and it had all kinds of gear. Myehehe... Now I'll be able to recreate all my favorite {anime characters}!", Hifumi interjected.

"Oh! That reminds me, I found somewhile I was looking around the physics lab!", I pulled out the digital camera I found and showed it to everyone.

"Hrm... a digital camera?", Sakura questioned.

"That's what it seems like...", Makoto muttered.

"Does it still work?", Hiro peeked at the screen of the camera.

"It's a bit beat around the edges, but it works fine.", I nodded.

"Well then, let's see it!", Hiro took it from my hands and quirked a brow at it. "What the heck? This thing is like a kid's toy! It looks like it can store like five pictures, maybe? It doesn't have a timer or anything!"

"On top of that, its appearance seems... questionable. Is this some kind of anime character? Strange...", Celeste muttered.

"Rude! She's not strange! She's Princess Piggles, from "Demon Angel🌟Pretty Pudgy Princess"!", Hifumi cried out.

"Oh, you recognize this, Hifumi?", Makoto asked.

"Of course I recognize it! It's a super rare prize that was given away at a bingo contest at a big anime convention... You have any idea how much I had to pay that guy to get my hands on it!? Wait... that's my camera!", Hifumi gasped.

"Huh? This is yours?", I questioned.

"Wh-Where did you find it!?", Hifumi asked.

"We were in the physics lab when Kuno found it...", Makoto answered for me.

"It's my most prized possession. I brought it here with me, but I lost it the first day, along with my phone.", Hifumi grumbled.

"Why would it have reappeared in the physics lab...?", Celeste thought out loud.

"Agh, but look at it! It got all messed up! Like when someone steals a sticker from your collection, or you buy a secondhand shirt... Well, that's it...", Hifumi sighed.

"Huh? That's it...?", Makoto repeated.

"It's not mint condition. I don't need it anymore...", Hifumi explained.

"But weren't you just saying how much it meant to you?", Makoto asked.

"Then... may *I* have it? I might be able to find some sort of use for it. If any of you would like to borrow it, please feel free to ask.", Celeste curtsied and gently took the camera from us.

"Well... I can't really imagine any of us are gonna need to take any pictures or whatever...", Hina crossed her arms and nodded.

"Yeah, true...", Makoto nodded.

"I already have my own, so I don't really care about it.", I shrugged. I turned to Makoto with an expecting gaze. "Are you going to tell them about...?"

"Yeah...", Makoto cleared his throat to grab everyone's attention. "Hey, um... can I tell you guys something? I found something that's... kinda been bothering me.", Makoto explained vaguely.

"What is it?", Kyoko asked, looking intrigued.

"I found this weird picture in the repository. Apparently Monokuma took it...", Makoto explained.

"A weird picture? You mean, like... dirty!?", Hina gasped.

"No, nothing like that at all!", I quickly dismissed with a nervous laugh.

"No, it was... a picture of Leon, Mondo, and Chihiro all together.", Makoto revealed.

"Those three...?", Kyoko muttered.

"And the three of them were... laughing.", Makoto mumbled.

"It showed the three of them together, laughing? When could it have been taken?", Hifumi asked.

"There's more to it... In the picture, there weren't any metal plates on the windows. Just pure sunlight.", I explained.

"Then... the picture wasn't taken here?", Sakura suggested.

"But I don't recall hearing anything about them knowing each other before coming to this school.", Celeste mused.

"You probably just imagined it! Monokuma cast a spell on you!", Hifumi reasoned, but I wasn't having it.

"But I'm not the only one who saw it! Makoto saw it too!", I pointed out, Makoto nodding and taking my side.

"But if it wasn't taken before we got here, or *after* we got here...", Hina muttered.

"I bet they're all still alive! They left the school and then took that picture!", Hiro concluded.

"That's impossible. After all... we saw it with our own eyes. They're all dead. Either murdered or executed...", Kyoko shook her head at the false claim. They weren't the only one's dead. Junko was killed by Monokuma, and Sayaka was murdered as well. There was no way all this was just some hocus-pocus sh*t. It was real. All of it.

"So, we have to figure out when that picture was taken...", Makoto suggested.

"Monokuma most likely forged it. I can't imagine any other possibility.", Celeste brushed it off. Forgery just didn't sit right with me, it had to be something else.

"Stay focused, guys! Don't let Monokuma's bullcrap sidetrack you!", Hiro advised with a sigh.

"He's right. But more importantly... On another topic, there is something that has been {bothering me}. I would like to discuss that.", Celeste caught our attention.

"What's bothering you, Celeste?", Makoto asked.

"It's about Hina...", Celeste turned to the sporty girl with a certain look in her eyes.

"What? Me!?", Hina asked.

"You said your stomach hurt, did you not? But I believe that was a lie. What really happened?", Celeste revealed with a smile.

"Huh?", Hina gasped, starting to sweat.

"It varies from person to person, but whenever someone lies, they tend to have a way of showing it. It is called a "tell"—something that you can't hide, no matter how hard you try. Whenever Hina lies, the tip of her nose gets just a little bit longer.", Celeste glared at Hina a bit.

"What!? For real!?", Hina gasped and held her nose in panic.

"Actually, no.", Celeste smiled.

"Huh...?", Hina muttered while dropping her hands from her nose.

"But your reaction just now confirmed it—you *were* lying.", Celeste giggled a bit at her trick.

"Th-That's no fair!", Hina yelled.

"Hmhm. If you are going to lie, at least try to lie convincingly.", Celeste suggested.

"Hina... be honest. Were you lying about your stomachache?", Sakura asked.

"...Y-Yes...", Hina sighed.

"Why...? Why would you lie about that?", Sakura continued.

"Are you feeling guilty about something!?", Hifumi interrogated.

"No, that's not it at all! It's just... I mean, I have a reason for it!", Hina grumbled.

"And that is...?", I asked.

"To be honest... I didn't have a stomachache. I did it cuz... even if I came and told you {the truth}, I thought you wouldn't believe me...", Hina sighed

"the truth...?", Makoto continued to question.

"... I saw it.", Hina muttered.

"Saw what?", I asked.

"A ghost...", Hina revealed while shaking.

"A ghost...? You mean like, THAT ghost!?", Hifumi gasped.

"Is there more than one ghost...?", Kyoko asked absentmindedly.

"B-But... I mean, ghosts are...", Makoto shrugged.

"See! I told you you wouldn't believe me!", Hina got angry and yelled at Makoto.

"I-It's not that I don't believe you, but...", Makoto trailed off.

"... I believe you. No matter what anyone else might say, I will believe whatever you say, no matter what.", Sakura defended Hina.

"I'll give you a chance too, Hina. It might not be a ghost, but it could be something important.", I nodded.

"So... can you tell us exactly what happened?", Sakura asked.

"If you two really mean that... then okay. I'll tell you. Umm, so... it happened last night. I was in bed, but I couldn't get to sleep. I just kept thinking about everything that's happened up till now. I ended up just getting more upset... So, to try and cheer myself up, I thought I'd go get some donuts.", Hina explained.

"Donuts again!?", Hiro groaned.

"And you ignored the rule regarding nighttime...", Celeste sighed.

"I know, sorry. I feel really bad about that...", Hina apologized.

"Anyway, please continue.", Sakura urged.

"Well, So I left my room and headed for the warehouse... But then I started hearing a strange sound...", Hina explained.

*Grr grnnn* *Grn grn grrnnn*

"It was coming from the direction of the bathhouse. So, I headed that way... The locker was halfway open, so I took a look inside... And I saw a human shape, surrounded by a pale green light. There's no doubt who it was... It was Chihiro!", Hina revealed.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!", Hifumi screamed at the top of his lungs.

"N-No way...! A gh-gh-gh-ghost!?", Hiro stuttered and hid behind me.

"Gee, thanks! I feel *so* safe!", I grumbled with crossed arms.

"It is simply not possible. You must be mistaken. Just as in most cases of "paranormal" activity, it was born from your weakened mental state.", Celeste explained.

"Then all we have to do is go see for ourselves, right? Let's just go to the bathhouse and see what Hina saw.", Sakura suggested.

"It is a waste of time.", Celeste countered.

"Maybe, but... there's no harm in it, right? If we don't find anything, that'll be the end of it.", Makoto smiled.

"Yeah, I'm going with you guys! I've always wanted to see the paranormal...", I mused.

"You're gonna go try and see a gh-gh-ghost...? Is that really a good idea? It might put a curse on you!", Hiro tried to convince me not to go.

"I'll be fine, Hiro, relax! No curses will be put on me! Besides...", I leaned in close to Hiro a bit with a smirk. "You can't curse something twice...", Hiro screamed and ran behind a table, shaking like a leaf. I burst into laughter, while everyone just smiled at my teasing nature.

"You can wait here if you want.", Hina brushed off Hiro's concerns.

"I don't wanna be alone! Take me with you!", Hiro begged, but stayed away from me in fear.

"I was joking, you big baby!", I smiled and slapped Hiro on the back.

"O-Oh... I knew that!", Hiro defended with a laugh.

"What are you going to do, Celeste?", Kyoko asked the goth Lolita.

"I suppose I have no choice...", Celeste sighed.

"How about you, Mr. Ishimaru? Are you gonna wait here?", Hifumi asked Taka, but no response. "...I guess that's a yes."

And off we went to discover the paranormal...

CHAPTER 13, END!

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