The day after Sakura's class trial, that morning, in the dining hall...

"So, let's begin the usual post-trial investigation.", Togami declared.

"Hey, you didn't make small talk or anything! We never just get straight to the point like that!", Hiro interjected.

"If you want to keep up with me, you must refrain from pointless small talk."

"Jeez, how high is that horse of yours?", Hina grumbled.

"He just acts like that to hide his own insecurities. That's what I like to think, anyway...", Hiro whispered, I just giggled at the remark while I finished my breakfast.

"Regardless, if you want to defeat the mastermind, you need to follow my lead. They creep around the school like a mouse, but the mastermind's pride is as bloated as a cow's udder. And no matter what it takes, I *will* rid this world of them...", Togami vowed. Seeing him actually working on a common goal with was refreshing. I expected Toko to fawn over him, but she was quiet. Hiro seemed to notice too, as he pointed it out.

"Hey, Toko...you've been pretty quiet."

"..."

"Man, you're so boring now! You just sit there, like a mushroom. Gonna start calling you Miss Mushroom!"

"Hiro!", I hissed.

"What? It's true!"

"Doesn't mean you should say it!"

"..."

"She didn't snap back at you...", Hina muttered in surprise.

"Her talking makes things difficult. So I told her not to open her mouth without permission.", Togami explained with a dignified shrug.

"What!? But if she can't open her mouth, she can't eat! Or drink water!", Hina gasped.

"I don't care."

"And you're okay with that, Toko!?", Hiro asked.

"..."

"Jeez, how low is that rock you're hiding under...?"

"Oh for the love of-- Toko.", I called. She looked up at me, a little surprised I called on her. "Talk all you want and eat for pete's sake, you need all the energy later when we start checking the rest of the school out."

"..."

"Ugh... I'm your mistress, aren't I?", I rolled my eyes.

"... Yes."

"Good, now go eat.", I pointed. Toko looked at Togami, who looked furious at me, then back at me, then trudged to me with a sneaky grin and started eating next to me. I smirked at Togami, who just huffed in annoyance and turned away from me.

"I believe this is the small talk Byakuya warned us against.", Kyoko interjected.

"And yet...I let myself get involved. But it is now finished. I will never allow you to drag me down to your level again. We're going to begin our search. Stop running your mouths and start moving your legs.", Togami grumbled as he got up to explore. After all of us finished our food, we started our search. There were a few empty classrooms that didn't have anything interesting, so I left them be. I then went through a large wooden door. Inside, was the school dojo. It was very elegant looking. Kyoko stood there, staring at the cherry blossom trees.

"... They remind me of Sakura. She would have loved this place.", I muttered, a sad smile on my face.

"... It's quite elegant.", Kyoko nodded.

"You like this kind of scenery?"

"I lived overseas for a long time, so this kind of Japanese-style scenery is refreshing."

"I see. Must have been riveting being able to travel.", I smiled one last time at Kyoko before I turned to move on to the next area; a garden area of sorts with painted walls to look like the sky. Hiro was hanging around there, looking around with a thoughtful look on his face.

"At first I thought I saw blue skies, but turns out they just painted the walls and the ceiling! Oh, but the plants are all real. It's been a while since I've smelled vegetation. It helps me relax..."

"Uh..."

"That's not what you're thinking, is it!? Don't you get it!? Don't you realize...the true horror of plant life!? It's there, just beneath the surface. Beneath their calm exterior, they're always watching, and waiting... And when they decide they can't leave us in charge of Earth anymore... they'll put their plan for global human extinction into action!"

"..."

"I'm serious!"

"... Okay.", I shrugged, checking one of the huge plants.

"What *is* this...?"

Flowers aren't supposed to get this big...!

"Is this thing...real?", At that second, Monokuma came out from behind the plant.

"WATCH OUT!!!"

"Fucking hell!!"

"That's a Monokuma Flower . I came up with the name myself. Try and touch it, and you're in for some real excitement! Your heart's all like whoa! and the plant's all like snap! and your flesh is all like bluuuggh I'm dead! It's pretty frickin' amazing, if I do say so myself! A student at Hope's Peak added improvement after improvement, and created this miracle creature! The Ultimate Botanist... Although, they don't go here anymore. They died during The Tragedy! By the way, despite how it looks, that flower is super practical! It can eat paper, plastic, even people ! So it's totally good for the environment! Such an eco-friendly creation is vital for the future growth of a healthy society! Not that I'd know anything about that myself! Ahh-hahaha!"

"Wait, what about The Tragedy? Who died!?". I questioned, but Monokuma went quiet. I huffed and turned to look at some control panel.

Does it control the air conditioning or something...?

"It's for the sprinklers !", Monokuma chirped.

"Sprinklers..."

"Yeah! It controls the sprinklers in the garden! The sprinklers are set to go off every morning at 7:30 . Don't you dare change it without permission! Of course, the settings panel is locked, so you couldn't change it if you wanted to !"

"So 7:30am every morning, no interference..."

"Yup, you got it. It's super user-friendly, which sucks. So if you get here too early, you'll get drenched. So watch yourself! But you're not a little kid, right? You're too old to go running through sprinklers anyway... Or do you have some kind of water fetish!? I'm gonna tell everyone! Ahh-hahaha!", Monokuma ran off as I fumed. I grumbled while checking out a chicken coop in the corner.

"What's a chicken coop doing here?", I looked inside and found actual regular chickens sitting around, pecking at their food. "They seems safe..."

"Oh, you like chickens too, Kuno!? Yeah, I love these little guys. They're seriously cute, right!? And there's exactly five of them here!", Hiro grinned.

"Exactly...?", I muttered.

"Five! You know, the number that comes after four and before six? At least, in terms of natural numbers... Anyway, whenever the number five pops up, that's a good omen! It contains the mysteries of the cosmos... It's a number of power! A refreshing number on par with hand-squeezed all-natural lemonade!", with that, I went to the back of the garden to a toolshed. I opened it and looked around, finding some lawnmowers, flowerpots and other things... My eyes drifted to a pickaxe, with the words Crazy Diamond on it.

Isn't that Mondo's gang...? Why is a pickaxe from his gang here, when he never got the chance to go here?

I sighed, deciding to tell the others about it later, and go to check the Bio lab but it was locked. I shrugged and looked into the classroom nearby... the first thing I noticed when opening the door was the disgusting smell; the smell of iron and blood. I guessed the other smell was rotting flesh by the looks of the room. Slashes everywhere, blood and other bodily fluids all over the walls and floor, body outlines on the floor, everything turned on its head. I covered my mouth and nose in disgust and horror, backing away quickly from the door to stop the urge of throwing up.

"A-AAAGH!!", I yelped while tripping on myself and dropping on the floor in fear. It was just way too pungent. I have seen so much death here, but seeing the aftermath of something gruesome was a lot. As I was trying to gather myself, Togami walked out of the classroom with a raised brow.

"Oh, it's you. After all the gruesome things you have seen here, this is what makes you shake this much?", he scoffed while pointing at me. He was right, I was shaking like a leaf.

"S-Shut up! I don't need to hear that from you...", I huffed, slowly standing up and brushing the metaphorical dirt off my shorts. "That... inside, it's not... new, is it?"

"Yes, old but... It's the smell of death . Their flesh and fat and blood ...", There was no surprise in his voice, no shock. But he was right. I had experienced this smell more than once before... It was the smell of death and despair . "But the smell here is strong, condensed. It's the smell of a battlefield."

"This must be Monokuma's--"

"What, my fault AGAIN!? Stop trying to blame everything on me!", Monokuma appeared from behind us, chuckling.

"This has your name all over it, you sick bastard!!"

"No, no, no. It's quite the opposite!"

"The opposite?"

"Yup! Let me give you an itty bitty eegie squeegie little hint. As far as this room goes, I don't know a thing! I just left it exactly how I found it ."

"How you found it-?"

"How's that for a hint!? Better than those stupid "hints" you get from NPCs in those mean old RPGs! But it's pretty scary, huh? Blood all over the walls and junk... Of course, even in the outside world, people die bloody, gruesome deaths every day! So it's not really a big deal! Just keep your chin up and keep on livin', soldier!", Monokuma turned with an evil smirk and left.

"About what Monokuma just told us..."

"..."

It's like I'm not even here. Is he really thinking that hard? Or is he flat-out ignoring me...?

"Whatever...", I scoffed and left to think for myself. I automatically went downstairs to the dining hall and went to the kitchen. Swiping an apple and waiting for everyone else to arrive. Everyone slowly filed back in, taking seats in different tables.

"It would appear everyone has returned.", Togami nodded.

"But still...it's just the six of us. That's barely enough for a decent volleyball team...", Hiro moped.

"I don't think it's time to think about that right now...", I sighed.

"Hey! Don't be a sourpuss! We gotta think positive! Besides, even if one more person died, we can still field a basketball team!", Hina grinned.

"That's like...reverse positive thinking...", Hiro muttered.

"Anyway, there's no time to be depressed. For the sake of everyone we've lost, we have to do our best.", Makoto stated.

"Can we stop all this group hug nonsense? We need to find out what everyone discovered.", Togami huffed.

"I checked all the windows on the 5th floor, front to back. That used to kinda be Sakura's job, but... Anyway, no dice. There were metal plates on all the windows, just like everywhere else.", Hina explained with a sad glint in her eyes.

"Which means no chance of escape on the 5th floor, either...", Kyoko confirmed.

"But when I was looking around, I realized something about [the layout of the school] ..."

"What exactly did you notice about the layout of the school?", Makoto asked.

"Um... Oh! No stairs!", I exclaimed.

"There aren't any stairs leading up from the 5th floor. That's what you're talking about, right?"

"Does that mean...the 5th floor is the end!?", Hiro questioned.

"We're finally starting to get a clear picture of this school.", Kyoko mused.

"All that's left now is to solve the underlying mystery.", Togami stated.

"But that's the hardest part...", Hiro mumbled.

"Even if it's hard, we still gotta do it!", Hina kept her spirits up, which was appreciated.

"Yeah, Hina's right! Everything will be okay. As long as we work together, I'm sure we'll make it out of this...!", Makoto grinned.

"Okay, my turn! Well...there's a big garden up on the 5th floor. And I found more than one thing to be worried about... A [stupidly large plant] , a [chicken coop] , and--I know what you're gonna say, but...a [toolshed] !"

"The Monokuma Flower is what that bear called it. Even touching it seems dangerous, so we have to be careful.", I pointed out.

"It's totally a man-eating plant! I'm pretty sure it's different from the one that lives in the pipe, though. Anyway, that thing must benefit from the sprinkler system as much as anything else in there..."

"Apparently the sprinklers come on every morning at 7:30 on the dot."

"Yeah, remember that! You don't wanna get drenched and catch a cold!"

"Well you don't have to worry. They say idiots never catch colds, ya know.", Hina snickered. (A/N: Okay Hina calm down lol XD)

"Of course not! Cuz idiots never get wet!"

"Umm...I think you're thinking of ducks.", Makoto muttered.

"I'm starting to worry about you, Hiro. Can you tell me what ten plus ten is?", Hina asked.

"Hey, come on! You don't ALWAYS have to call me dumb! I may have been held back three times, but that doesn't make me stupid! But if it'll make you happy, I'll answer your dumb question...! So! Um...what was the question again?", Hiro blinked.

"Don't worry. You just answered it..."

"Forget it, what about the chicken coop?", I asked Hiro.

"There were a bunch of chickens in the chicken coop! Five! Five chickens!"

"I love chickens! Let's raise 'em up big and fat. Then we can make fried chicken! Oh, or barbeque! Decisions, decisions... Oh! Oh! Or how about raw! Cuz there's nothing fresher than raw, right!?", Hina grinned.

"Hina, I'm pretty sure raw kills...", I sighed. "About the toolshed, did you guys see the pickaxe?"

"Huh? What about the pickaxe?", Togami questioned with a raised brow.

"Well, the pickaxe in the toolshed had the words Crazy Diamond carved into the handle. That's the phrase on Mondo's uniform..."

"You're absolutely right...", Togami blinked with a hint of shock.

"But why would that be on the pickaxe in the garden?", Hina asked.

"Mondo must've snuck in there and done it, right?", Hiro reasoned.

"But we didn't have access to the garden until today.", Togami shot down the idea quickly.

"Then...maybe Mondo brought it with him when he first came here, and Monokuma confiscated it?", Hina shrugged.

"That seems more likely... Whatever the reason, that's what stuck out to me in the toolshed--the pickaxe connected to Mondo.", I muttered.

"Well, what stuck out to *me* wasn't the pickaxe at all!", Hiro stated.

"Huh? Then...what did?", Makoto asked.

"What *I* noticed was the lawnmower! I'm thinking maybe we can use it to call for help..."

"How are you gonna call for help with a lawnmower!?", Hina scoffed.

"I dunno! Maybe I can use it to make crop circles or something! Yeah, that's it! I'm gonna make crop circles! And we can use those to call for help!"

"What the heck's happened to you...? You weren't like this in the beginning, you know."

"Well, back then my personality hadn't quite solidified yet...!"

"I didn't think it was possible, but I'm more disappointed in you now than I've ever been..."

"My concern is with the bio lab . That was the only place on the 5th floor that we couldn't access.", Kyoko interjected.

"The bio lab, huh? I wonder what's in there..."

"If this were like, a cliche horror game, it'd be some kind of creature. The final boss, or Tyrant, or--!", Hiro rambled.

"We're...not in a horror game, though..."

"Either way, we don't need to worry about it at the moment. Don't bother thinking about something that can't be understood no matter how much you think about it. Your tiny brains can only do so much, so focus on utilizing them efficiently.", Togami smirked.

"I don't really like *how* you said it, but *what* you said is probably right."

"No, how I said it is right, too."

"Just ignore him, Hina...", I huffed.

"By the way, did any of you find it? The other strange room on the 5th floor. Well, no..."strange" is a massive understatement. The smell of flesh and fat and blood... The white outlines of countless corpses... It was more dreadful than anything I've encountered here so far..."

"Wh-What the hell are you talking about!?", Hiro shivered.

"I saw it too... Far beyond any normal murder scene. Every body's smell, concentrated... it was just terrifying.", I shuddered. Makoto came up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder to comfort me. I smiled slightly and nodded in thanks.

"God, I'm glad I didn't see it... I feel like I'm gonna barf just hearing you describe it...", Hina grimaced.

"But I mean...what the hell happened in that room?", Hiro asked.

"I can only think of one thing... A large group of people died right there in that room.", Togami concluded.

"A bunch of people were...killed in there?"

"Stop, seriously... I'm gonna throw up...", Hina held her stomach with a grossed out look.

"Perhaps that's what was meant by the biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history .", Kyoko muttered.

"...Huh?", Makoto hummed.

"You're thinking the same thing, then. My theory is the mass murder that took place in that room is the incident said to have happened one year ago.", Togami nodded.

"The awful scene in that room... That was "The Tragedy" that happened a year ago?"

"Precisely. The Tragedy is another name for the genocide of the student body of Hope's Peak Academy . If that's true... that would explain why Hope's Peak was forced to close its doors."

"I mean, I guess that all makes sense, but...it's all just...so awful.", Hiro sulked.

"Not just awful... Super awfully awful!", Hina mumbled. I turned to Toko, who was still silent. I went up to her and held her shoulder.

"You can talk, you know?"

"Y-You honor me, Mistress... And d-don't worry... I took care of the o-odor problem..."

"I never complained about your smell, Toko..."

"You're still on that Mistress thing!?", Hiro interjected.

"Sh-Shut up! And don't interrupt when M-Mistress and me are talking!"

"...Okay, so, what did you want to tell us?", Hina asked.

"Well, I was in a c-classroom on the 5th floor , and s-somehing caught my attention... It was...th-this.", Toko slowly pulled out a survival knife and we all gasped.

"A knife !?", Makoto sputtered.

"Whoa, that thing is huge! It's like, Rambo size!", Hina stated.

"It's a survival knife of some type...", Togami assesed.

"But...what was it doing in a classroom?", Makoto asked.

"How would I kn-know...?", Toko shrugged.

"Can I see it, Toko?", I muttered.

"Y-Yes, of course, Mistress!", Toko placed the knife gently in my hand as I began to look at it. I turned it on one side and the other, noticing a small mark; It was my old business mark for my workshop. It was an old model of a knife I worked on years ago.

"T-This is mine!", I sputtered.

"Y-Yours!? What was it doing there, Kuno?", Hina asked.

"I-I don't know. This is an old model, so I haven't sold these in forever. Here, look-", I pulled out one of my newer daggers from my bag and showed them the old and new marks. "See? The old one is a knife cutting an hourglass in half, the new one is the knife bending around an intact hourglass instead. This is an old model, and I didn't bring any of my old models with me to the school when I first came here!"

"This is quite the mystery... Is it possible that whoever was in responsible for the massacre also bought your old product?"

"As much as I hate to say it, it is possible... I make every one of my customers sign a bunch of stuff that says that I am not in charge of what they do with their products, they are dangerous in nature...", I sighed.

"Whatever it is, we now know that someone connected to you is somehow connected to the Tragedy, or maybe just the one who instigated it.", Kyoko explained.

"Do you remember who bought this knife, Kuno?", Makoto asked. I paused and tried to think, but I shook my head.

"Anyone could have bought that model, they weren't an exclusive model by any means. Very basic."

Whatever, I just wanna ask... Toko, What're you gonna use that knife for...? What're you planning to do to us!?", Hiro questioned.

"I'm not g-gonna do anything! I j-just picked it up! I didn't wanna leave a kn-knife just laying around...", Toko grumbled.

"I'd rather have it laying around than in the hands of a serial killer!"

"D-Don't compare me to...her! I'm n-nothing like her!"

"Listen, more important... Now that we have the knife, what are we gonna do with it?", Hina asked.

"We can't let Toko keep it, that's for sure. We dunno what she might do..."

"I don't w-want it anyway! It's too dangerous...", Toko scoffed.

"Hmm...so what to do...?", Makoto mumbled.

"Why don't you hang on to it, Makoto?", Kyoko suggested.

"Huh? Me!?"

"Oh yeah, I totally trust Makoto to take care of it!", Hiro grinned.

"Then that's that!", Hina nodded.

"H-Hold on! Don't I get a say!? W-What about Kuno?"

"I mean, I alreday have a bunch of weapons with me... I don't think it's much of a difference if I have it or you, Makoto.", I smiled.

"It just shows how much they trust you. You should do as they ask.", Togami rolled his eyes.

"Okay, s-so here you go, Makoto...", Toko picked up the knife from my hands and handed it to Makoto.

"F-Fine...", Makoto shrugged, holding it safely in his hands.

"Anyway, th-that's all I wanted to say..."

"Hey, Toko.", Togami turned to Toko with sharp eyes.

"Ah! D-Do I still have bad b-breath!? Sorry sorry sorry! I'm sorry it stinks! I'm sorry it stinks! I'm sorry--!"

"You made a valuable discovery. Good job."

"Huh...? Huh...? Huh...? Did Master just...p-praise me?"

"Togami's right, good eye, Toko!", I grinned.

"M-Mistress too!?"

"Hey, good for you!", Hina giggled.

"Ng...! NgaaAAaAhh! I-I'm dreaming... I must b-be dreaming! Ahh...that I would ever e-experience such a dream... Aha... Ahahahahaha! I feel...s-strange...! Ahaha...so strange...! R-Really strange! Oh no...! Aha...hyah...hyeehahaehea!"

"Whenever I look at Toko these days, it makes me feel...sad.", Hiro whispered to me.

"Let her have her moment.", I smiled.

"Well, I think that's all the new information we have for now.", Togami stated.

"So? Now what do we do?", Hiro asked.

"Well... Starting today, you're all under my command. But before we proceed, I need to figure something out."

"Hey, wait, since when did we agree on that?", I huffed in annoyance.

"Since right now."

"Ugh, I am so done with your shit..."

"So...what is it you wanna figure out?", Hina asked.

"Kyoko's identity ...", Togami revealed.

"...Huh?", I muttered as we all turned towards the girl in question. She was silent, her gaze fixed on Togami.

"Kyoko's identity? But Kyoko is...Kyoko...right?", Hina shrugged.

"Yes, but who *is* she? The rest of us have a clear, definable reason for having been selected to attend Hope's Peak Academy. Hina's the Ultimate Swimming Pro , Hiro's the Ultimate Clairvoyant, Kuno's the Ultimate Blacksmith ... Even Makoto is the Ultimate Lucky Student . So what about Kyoko? Can anyone tell me what *she* is?"

"Now that you mention it...she's never told us.", Hiro hummed.

"Well, Kyoko doesn't really like talking about herself anyway, right?", Hina muttered.

"It's not a matter of what she likes or doesn't like. This is a matter of trust. Can you trust someone who's unwilling to reveal their true identity? We need to avoid raising any more unnecessary suspicion. So Kyoko, it's time you told us...", Togami glared at Kyoko as she cleared her throat quietly.

"...I can't."

"What!? Wh-Why won't you tell us!?", Toko stuttered.

"I didn't say I "won't." I said I can't ."

"Wh-What do you mean...?", Hiro mumbled.

"Because...I don't remember."

"What...?"

"I have no memory of what I am."

"You have no memory...? You mean...", Makoto trailed off.

"Amnesia ...?", Hina finished. Kyoko stayed silent.

"If I thought you had a sense of humor, I'd say you were joking. But if this is a joke, I'm not laughing.", Togami scoffed.

"Y-You can't be serious right now, c-can you?", Toko grumbled.

"I knew you wouldn't believe me. That's why I didn't say anything. But it doesn't matter. Either way, the truth will make itself clear before we're done.", Kyoko shrugged.

"So you have no intention of telling us? Then I can no longer stand by and do nothing...", Togami walked up to Kyoko.

"What are you going to do? Torture me?", Kyoko huffed, vaguely scoffing at Togami. I stepped in between them and glared at Togami.

"There is no need for that type of shit. I won't let you lay a Goddamn finger on her!", I growled.

"Nothing so barbaric as that. I will simply...limit your options. I can't allow you to engage in any further suspicious activity.", Togami rolled his eyes at me.

"Limit my options...?", Kyoko echoed.

"Give me the key to your room."

"But...if she gives you her room key...!", Makoto muttered.

"She can't go to sleep in her room! She'll be breaking a school regulation!", Hina gasped.

"And if she doesn't want that, she'll talk. It's easy, all she has to do is tell us about herself.", Togami smirked.

"You sick bastard, did you not hear her!? She ca--!!"

"...Fine. I understand."

"Kyoko!", I turned to her. "You don't have to risk your own safety for this prick!"

"I know what I'm doing. I...", Kyoko put her hand on my shoulder. "Apprecaite you wanting to protect me, but I can handle this."

"Good, you're finally in the mood for conversation.", Togami grinned. Without saying a word, Kyoko walked right up to Byakuya, and ...held out her room key to him. "You damn fool... Why do you refuse to talk...!?"

"Whether I want to or not, I can't. All I can do is keep telling you that."

"M-Maybe she really did lose her memory...", Hina muttered.

"If you really think about it, it doesn't sound totally impossible. This is the worst school ever, where only the worst stuff happens, right? Amnesia would fit right in.", Hiro nodded.

"The worst school, where only the worst things happen? Do you really mean that?", Kyoko asked as she turned to Hiro.

"Huh...?"

"Can you really be sure that life here has been filled with only the worst things ?"

"What do you mean...?", I whispered, standing close to Kyoko. "We're... I'm confused, Kyoko."

"...Perhaps I've said too much.", Kyoko turned to me, muttering the smallest "I'm sorry." before beginning to walk away.

"Where do you think you're going?", Togami asked with annoyance in his tone.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to do anything to harm any of you.", Kyoko called before disappearing. The dining hall was silent. The only sound was the door opening and closing as Kyoko left the room.

"Wh-What's her deal...?", Hiro whispered to me.

"I... don't know.", I muttered.

I know I should trust her, but what was that last thing that she said...? "Only the worst things..."

"I think you went too far, taking her room key like that...", Hina sighed at Togami.

"F-For her, that wasn't far e-enough...! Or m-maybe she gets off on the attention. I can't believe her, e-enjoying getting yelled at...", Toko snickered.

"Toko.", I called.

"Y-Yes, Mistress!?"

"Stop."

"..."

"Wow, even Kuno is shutting her up.", Hiro whistled.

"I don't tolerate anyone talking shit about Kyoko like that."

"KYAAAAAAAHH!", Hina suddenly screamed, jumping behind me.

"Uwah! Wh-What the hell!? Why're you yelling all of a sudden!?", Hiro yelped.

"Cuz...! Cuz! Look!", Hina pointed towards a silent Monokuma, who looked very pissed.

"I-It's you... How long have you been standing there!?"

"I'm very...very... AAAAANNNGGGRRRYYYYYY!!!", Monokuma growled.

"Angry at what...?", Hina muttered from behind me.

"At the thief! Yes, that's right. I'm very sad to have to tell you, there's a thief in your midst!"

"A thief?", I mumbled.

"Myyy PRECIOUUSSS ! They stole it!"

"...Your precious?", Makoto grimaced at Monokuma's hissing.

"Your teacher had such faith in you... And this is how you repay me? With betrayal? Reality is filled with so much hardship, isn't it? No wonder people run away into their fantasies..."

"But...what the heck is your "precious"?", Hina asked.

"Shut up! I hope all of you get stuck in a hiring freeze and die penniless on the street!", Monokuma huffed and waddled out of the dining hall.

"And he's gone... What the heck was that all about?", Hiro huffed.

"He said something about his "precious" getting stolen. Does anyone have any idea what that might mean?", Hina questioned.

"It likely has something to do with Kyoko.", Togami concluded.

"Why Kyoko?", I asked.

"Who else other than her would be willing and able to steal something from Monokuma?", just as Togami said that, the nighttime announcment rang across the school.

"Uh-oh. We need to get out of here...", Hina sighed.

"We can talk about this more tomorrow. And about Kyoko...", Hiro mumbled.

"However, after what just happened with Monokuma, and Kyoko, I feel like there's...something in the air. I would suggest you take extra precautions tonight. Stay in your rooms, don't go wandering around...", Togami advised.

"Not like we need you to tell us that...", Hina rolled her eyes.

"Well then, let's disperse. I'll see you all tomorrow.", Following his lead, each of us went back to our rooms.

-- MONOKUMA THEATER --

Hmm? There is a super stylish, super fashionable sdr2 fanfic in the works? But it'll start if this fanfic goes well? Then you guys have to recommend it to your friends who love DRTHH too! ;3

-- MONOKUMA THEATER --

The next morning, I made my way to the dining hall. Everyone was there... except for Kyoko.

"You're two minute late, Kuno. How do you explain this?", Togami asked with a glare.

"I was doing your mom.", I replied flatly while grabbing some bread from the back. I heard Togami choke for a second, while Hiro and Hina went into giggles and cackles.

"Y-You degenerate fool, this is serious...!"

"And I never agreed I had to be here on the dot, now did I? Consequences for your insolence, my dear~", I smirked. Togami went red slightly and huffed.

"Anyway, where's Kyoko? I haven't seen her this morning...", Hina asked.

"Not cool! This is worse than being late for lunch, for a date, for your wedding, for anything!", Hiro grumbled.

"Maybe she's mad about what happened yesterday, and she's not gonna show up anymore..."

"Whatever her reason, I'm curious to know what she *is* doing. I know she's not in her room, so...", Togami cleared his throat as he spoke.

"Oh yeah, you still have her key, right?", Hiro muttered. Monokuma, right then and there, popped out from under a table, making me yelp slightly.

"Ah, are you looking for Miss Kirigiri?"

"Wgah! What do you want now!?"

"I'm right, right? You're wondering where Miss Kirigiri is, right?"

"D-Do you know where she is...?", Makoto asked, looking nervous.

"Hmm... Well, it's hard to say..."

"Huh? You don't know, either?", I muttered.

"It's because he doesn't know. That's why he's here--to try and prod us for information.", Togami said with an eye roll.

"Hey, don'tcha hate it when you ask someone what their favorite movie is, and they name some indie bullcrap?", Monokuma went on a rant.

"I feel like I'm g-getting whiplash, the way he changed s-subjects like that...", Toko mumbled.

"So? Was I right? You're looking for Miss Kirigiri! Any idea where she might have gone...?"

"...We have no idea.", Togami shrugged.

"And even if we did know, we wouldn't tell *you*!", Hina huffed.

"For serious!", Hiro nodded along.

"Hmm... I see... Well, fine. Whatever! I don't even care anymore! Sayonara, suckers!", Monokuma waddled out of the room, leaving us alone.

"So...what was that just now? Does that mean Monokuma doesn't know where she is, either?", Hina whispered.

"It looks like it.", I nodded.

"Where the heck could she have gone...?", Hiro asked.

"Don't you think we should all go look for her?", Hina suggested.

"And how would you suggest we approach that task? Even Monokuma can't seem to locate her...", Togami pointed out.

"Yeah...how can he not know where she is?", Hiro mumbled.

"So strange...", Hina sighed. After breakfast, we all went back to our rooms silently.

CHAPTER 36, END!

A/N: Free Time Events Next!!