#also like that both Byakuya AND Kyoko bother makoto in this chapter. these two jerks and the rug they love to stomp all over <3

[makotonaegiunderstander]

sorry I’m just kind of live-blogging my replay of DR at this point but I gotta say I am very impressed with Makoto for getting straight to investigating the bodies in the third investigation without being told to. He didn’t touch them or anything, but he did at least resolve to look over them with evidence in mind. It’s a little sad that he was able to do so bc he’s growing used to the situation, but it’s still better than many of the others that were around and missed that same chance.

also gotta love how Kyoko gets meaner and colder the more the game progresses lmao. Not like she wasn’t distant before, but she gets more and more blunt about her refusal to get close to anyone the longer things go on. She drags poor confused Makoto around with her not unlike the way Togami did one chapter before, just going “you don’t have anything else to do so get to it. and ur not getting anything out of me after this either just do what I need and I’m done with you”. Makoto totally misunderstood her personality before the third chapter where she starts getting a better grasp on herself again lmfao

[purpli-writes]

Danganronpa: Locked and Reloaded (Chapter 2: Problematic Workouts For The Aspiring)

Summary:

Stuck in Hope's Peak Academy in a cruel killing game, class 78 is forced to either kill or stay trapped forever.

Makoto Naegi, the Ultimate Lucky Student becomes friends with an unusual pair... of people?

Who would've thought discovering who murdered someone would get him two boyfriends.

Spoilers for Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc (somewhat)

You can read it on AO3 here

Makoto couldn’t shower. 

Physically, nothing was preventing him from showering, but seeing Leon’s dead body in his shower only a day prior still lingered in his mind.

True to his word, Monokuma had cleaned up any trace of Leon’s body. But you can’t erase memories.

Or at least Monokuma hadn’t.

After the execution of Sayaka, no one dared to say anything for a few minutes. It was all so painfully real.

Makoto remembered leaving the trial room and heading straight to his dorm. He felt so numb.

They had lost two people in one fell swoop. Both of them had died for nothing. 

But Makoto still kept the belief that all of them, well the rest of them, could get out of Hope’s Peak Academy. 

Even if it was useless, it was better than just accepting fate.

So Makoto slowly made his way to the cafeteria.

Unsurprisingly, everyone was there. Makoto couldn’t bother to care that he was late.

“Did that really happen…?” Aoi asked quietly as Makoto sat down at the table. He didn’t need to ask to know what she was talking about.

“Obviously,” Byakuya snapped back. “Why bother asking such stupid questions?”

“There’s no need to be cruel,” Kyoko responded, “it’s only natural someone would ask that question in a situation such as this.”

Byakuya frowned at Kyoko’s response but didn’t reply again. The tension was thick even as the morning discussion droned on.

“What did we gain from the deaths of Sayaka and Leon?” Makoto asked suddenly, causing everyone at the table to look at him.

“What do you mean, ‘what did we gain’ Mr. Naegi?” Hifumi asked, voicing the group’s confusion.

“I mean,” Makoto began, “when we were given our motives, we were told we would be given something in order to inspire us to kill. But none of us here committed murder, so do we gain anything from their deaths?” 

“That is a good question,” Kyoko muttered, putting her hand on her face. “I think it would be safe to assume that we’re getting something out of the deaths of the blackened and the victim.”

“What exactly could we gain from the deaths?” Celeste asked, “I mean, we did not fulfill the motive requirements, no?”

“Maybe it’s something different,” Sakura added, “something we can benefit from but the blackened wouldn’t.”

“What could we benefit from? We only want to escape, right?” Aoi asked.

“That’s superficial,” Kyoko responded. “We’re not only wanting to escape, as shown by Sayaka murdering Leon.”

“Yeah well, it’s not just fucking superficial,” Mondo said. “I want to leave this place as soon as fucking possible.” 

“Well, I think I see what Kyoko meant,” Makoto said. “There’s got to be something to keep us motivated or else we wouldn’t exactly be interesting to watch.”

“Ugh, I still can’t shake how odd it is to be constantly watched,” Junko added, crossing her arms.

“Y-you’re a m-model, don’t you l-like to be c-constantly watched?” Toko accused.

“I like getting paid to look pretty, I never signed up to be watched day and night without end,” Junko responded annoyed.

“W-well, you’re probably g-getting off to it!” Toko accused again, and Junko sighed before responding.

“ I’m getting off to it?! Are you sure you’re not the one fantasizing about it?!” Junko shot back, glaring at Toko.  

“Ugh, will you pigs shut up?!” Byakuya said, voice cutting through their fight.

“Who are you to tell me to shut up?!” Junko yelled, taking her anger out on Byakuya instead of Toko.

“I’m Byakuya Togami and I’m set to inherit the Togami corporation! Who are you-” Byakuya began before he was interrupted by Kiyotaka.

“Everyone! Such a fight is unacceptable in a school setting!” Kiyotaka yelled.

“Taka…” Makoto mumbled, "I don't think they care about what's welcome in a school environment."

“Well, they should! Just because we are trapped in this school doesn’t mean we can resort to becoming mindless animals!” Kiyotaka responded.

“Hey,” Mondo said, apparently annoyed from Kiyotaka’s comment, “school ain’t the most important in the world.”

“What?! How can there be something more important than your studies?!” Kiyotaka asked, completely floored.

“I dunno man, have you tried  living ?” Mondo responded.

“I have! What a completely pointless question!” Kiyotaka said, not getting Mondo’s sarcasm.

“I’ll show you a completely fuckin’ pointless question!” Mondo said, as he started to get up, presumably to punch Kiyotaka.

“Everyone, settle down,” Kyoko said, crossing her arms. “We still haven’t answered the question of whether or not we’re getting anything from the class trials.”

“I just don’t understand what else we could get, other than our lives…” Aoi said.

“I don’t think it’s important,” Byakuya muttered. “After all, you’ll all be dying for me, anyways.”

“Uh, I don’t think so…” Makoto said, earning a glare from Byakuya.

“Tch,” Byakuya said as he adjusted his glasses. “You’ve just made yourself a huge enemy, Makoto.” 

“Well! It looks like this breakfast has been very informative!” Monokuma yelled, appearing once again out of thin air.

“Ah!” Makoto screamed, falling out of his chair. 

“I’ve been hearing your theories about the class trials, and I’m very intrigued!” Monokuma said, starting to sweat.

“Are you going to answer our questions, or are you going to be a nuisance?” Celeste asked.

“If you ask nicely you might get the answers you so desire…” Monokuma replied, still sweating.

“I’m starting to think we don’t want the answers,” Junko muttered, staring at Monokuma in disgust.

“Aww! You kids are no fun!” Monokuma pouted. “I guess I’ll answer your burning questions anyways! Since I’m so nice, y’know?” 

“No,” Kyoko said. “You are not exactly ‘nice’, Monokuma.”

“Anyways! After each class trial, if the class remains, a new area of the school will open up!” Monokuma explained.

“Huh? A new area of the school?” Makoto asked.

“Yup! I hope you didn’t think that this school was only a couple of rooms! The stairs aren’t just for decoration!” 

“N-new areas, huh… I s-suppose that isn’t s-so bad…” Toko muttered.

“Mhm! I’m not so heartless, you all need to give me some credit!” Monokuma replied proudly.

“The only credit you’ll get from me is when you die,” Byakuya said plainly.

“Ouch! My heart! I can see the  brats don’t need me here!” Monokuma replied before disappearing.

“Well, I guess that answers that question,” Kyoko said, looking at the others. “I suppose we should all explore, try to see the new area we ‘unlocked’.”

“Oh! This is like a video game!” Hifumi added.

“Tch,” Byakuya said as he got up. “If this is a video game, I’m intent on winning.”

“I think we all are…” Makoto said, once again earning a glare from Byakuya.

“There’s no use in fighting,” Celeste said, getting up as well. “We might as all work together to achieve our similar goals, no?”

“Yeah!” Aoi added. “If we work together, we’ll all get out just fine!”

“I agree,” Sakura said. “The sooner we explore the new area the better.”

“Then let’s get to it!” Kiyotaka yelled. ���Together we can accomplish anything!”

With that, the class dispersed. It didn’t take long for them to discover that the second floor was accessible. They all slowly made their way upstairs. 

“Woah!” Aoi said, suddenly.

“Huh? What’s up Hina?” Makoto asked, confused.

“Don’t you guys see it?! There’s a pool!” Aoi responded, excitedly.

“And what’re we supposed to do with that information?” Byakuya asked, crossing his arms.

“Ugh! Some of us like to have fun, jerk.” Aoi responded, crossing her arms.

“I think it is interesting,” Sakura added. “At least we have something to occupy ourselves with.”

“Hm, if you are inclined to that, I suppose so…” Celeste muttered. “Some of us would rather stay dry.”

“Still!” Makoto said, “at least we have something to do, right?”

“Huh,” Yasuhiro said. “I didn’t expect a pool!”

“T-that’s because y-you’re not a very good p-psychic…” Toko muttered.

“Hey!” Yasuhiro responded, clearly insulted. “I have a success rate of 30%!”

“Y-yeah well I’d guess that’d be good f-for a s-scammer..!” 

‘Well then let’s explore the pool a little bit.” Makoto said.

The other students and Makoto went into the pool area.

“Puhuhuhu! Welcome to Hope’s Peak Academy Pool.” Monokuma said, as he appeared.

“What’s up with the gun’s by the door…? Are they for hunting g-ghosts?!” Yasuhiro yelled.

“Nonsense! They’re probably for decoration!” Kiyotaka responded.

“Nope! The weapons are 100 percent genuine!” Monokuma said. ”If you try to be a pervert, well, you’ll get more holes in you than swiss cheese!”

“Also, if you try to scan your e-Handbook to open the door of the gender you are not, the door will not open!” Monokuma said.

“S-so what happens w-when two people e-exchange e-Handbooks? How w-would you stop that?” Toko asked.

“Easy! We have a rule against that now…” Monokuma said. “Exchanging your e-Handbook with someone is now illegal! Don’t break that rule if you don’t want to get punished!”

After saying that, Monokuma disappeared, and the bickering began once more.

“Break it up,” Junko said, annoyed. “We still have other rooms to explore.” 

“Couldn’t we check our e-Handbook maps for the other rooms on this floor…?” Chihiro asked, pulling hers out.

“Huh,” Mondo said. “I guess that is fuckin’ smart.”

“Tch,” Byakuya said. “I already thought of that.”

“Well then,” Celeste said, staring straight at Byakuya. “What exactly awaits us on this floor?”

“Hah, you think I would be stupid enough to share information with the likes of you?” Byakuya asked, looking away.

“Huh…?” Makoto asked, staring at Byakuya confused.

“We’re all enemies,” Byakuya explained. “Only one of us can leave this school alive, so what’s the point of sharing information?”

“Still,” Makoto responded, “wouldn’t it be wiser to work together and combine our knowledge? We’re less vulnerable in groups than we are separate.”

“I don’t depend on anyone, Makoto,” Byakuya snapped back, seemingly insulted. “I am a Togami, I need no one other than myself. You’re all a waste of space here.”

“You seemingly forget that we are trapped here together,” Celeste responded coolly. “If the Togamis were so powerful, they would’ve rescued you, no?”

“Ugh,” Byakuya said. “I don’t need rescuing, I’ll win this game myself.”

“Hm,” Kyoko responded, “so you are confessing to a murder you haven’t yet committed? I don’t think that’s a very wise move, Byakuya.”

“All of you…!” Byakuya said as he clenched his fist. “Get out of my sight…!” After saying that, Byakuya went into a room with twin doors.

“Maybe we should follow him…?” Makoto suggested.

“The room he is in is the library if the icon of books is to be believed....” Chihiro responded. “We might get information from the library, so it would be smart to go…”

“Then it is decided!” Kiyotaka yelled. “We shall head to the library!”

Soon, the students made their way into the library. Makoto wasn’t exactly impressed with the library, it certainly wasn’t the largest one he’d seen. And this one looked a little dusty, had it not been used in a long time?

“Why are you all here?” Byakuya asked, voice seething with anger.

“We’re exploring the second floor, remember?” Aoi responded, crossing her arms in a mocking fashion.

“Ugh, don’t waste my time, look around and just leave.”

“Hey… what’s that on the table…?” Chihiro asked, slowly walking to the front desk.

“Is that… a computer…?” Kyoko asked.

“Woah! Access to the outside world?! We’re saved!” Yasuhiro yelled.

“Um… bad news…” Chihiro muttered. “It’s not exactly working right now…”

“Awe, seriously…?!” Yasuhiro said. “Just when I thought we were saved.”

“Chihiro, aren’t you the Ultimate Programmer?” Makoto asked.

“Um… oh…! You’re asking if I could fix it…?” Chihiro asked, frown on her face.

“I mean, it’s in your fuckin’ title, yeah?” Mondo replied before Makoto could.

“In theory, yes… but we don’t know what damage has been done to it…” Chihiro said. “If we could power it on, that’d be a good sign…”

“Well, let us power it on, yes?” Celeste asked, staring at the computer indifferently.

After messing around with the computer, the class was successful in turning it on.

“Woah! Looks like we  are saved after all!” Yasuhiro said.

“Uh… I’m sorry… but that isn’t true…” Chihiro said, staring sadly at the computer.

“Explain yourself,” Byakuya replied, crossing his arms.

“There’s no internet connection… it seems the mastermind thought this through… I’m sorry!”

“It’s not your fault, right? You’re not the internet god, are you?” Junko replied, crossing her arms. “If anything, this can just serve as entertainment!”

“E-entertainment…? Y-you mean like porn…?” Toko asked.

“Ugh,” Junko responded, “you are so disgusting.”

“Anyways,” Kyoko said, ignoring Toko and Junko. “Maybe we can use the files on the computer. It is after all branded Hope’s Peak.”

“Oh…! You’re right, there does seem to be some files on here…” Chihiro said. “Although they seem to be corrupted…”

“Corrupted?! Wait… what does that mean…?” Aoi asked.

“They’re getting paid off?! The mastermind can pay off computer files?!” Yasuhiro yelled. “Oh no we’re doomed!”

“Not exactly,” Kyoko said. “How long do you figure it’ll take to uncorrupt these files?”

“I could make a program…” Chihiro muttered, mostly to herself. “But it could take a few days… I’m sorry…!”

“It’s fine,” Kyoko said. “Just try to get it done as soon as possible.”

“Alright…! I promise you I won’t let you down…!” Chihiro said, eyes filling with determination.

“We do not doubt your abilities, Ms. Fujisaki!” Hifumi said, trying to keep the light in Chihiro’s eyes.

“Oh… uhm, thank you…!” Chihiro said, smiling brightly at Hifumi.

“With a smile that cute, I might want to date you, but I’m only into 2D so…!” Hifumi said, puffing out his chest.

“Thanks for sharing,” Junko said. “Anything else you’d like to say, creep?”

“I’m sorry that you’re jealous that someone like me will never date someone like you!” Hifumi shouted.

“Ugh, you…!” Junko said, clenching her fist in annoyance.

“We do not need to fight in a library such as this!” Kiyotaka yelled, interrupting Junko and Hifumi’s soon to be war.

“Taka’s right,” Makoto added. “We need to work together, this computer could very well give us the answers we need!”

“Or it could just be nothing,” Byakuya added.

“It’s best to look at the positives, no?” Celeste responded. “Some of us do not have people constantly attending to our every need…”

“I agree! We should use this computer as a symbol! Something to look forward to!” Kiyotaka yelled.

“Look forward too? For all, we know this computer could just be fuckin’ porn!” Mondo said.

“I-in a school environment images of that nature wouldn’t be very appropriate…!” Kiyotaka replied, face turning a tomato shade of red.

“In a school environment murder isn’t exactly good either, but look where we fucking are!”

“There’s no use fighting over the computer,” Kyoko said. “But Taka is right. It’s better for us to view it as something hopeful than to think it is just junk.”

“I think it might be useful to us anyways,” Hifumi said. “For all we know a bunch of 2D girls could be there, just waiting for us…!” After saying that, Hifumi began drooling immensely.

“Or,” Junko said, “there could be a bunch of restraining orders all dedicated to you, creep!”

Before Hifumi could respond, Byakuya cleared his throat.

“Is there anything else all you plebeians need or can I have the library to myself now?”

“Well, actually…” Makoto muttered, “there is the other door in here.”

“Huh? What other door? Makoto, are you feeling alright?” Yasuhiro asked.

“You know, the door right near the monitor…?” Makoto responded, staring at Yasuhiro worriedly.

“Oh! That door…” Yasuhiro muttered, “Aha, I was just messing with you. Of course, I knew that door was there!”

“What could be in there…?” Aoi asked. “More books…?”

“Maybe that’s where they store the manga!” Hifumi added excitedly.

“M-manga…? Don’t be childish, t-this is a library, they only s-store real literature in here…” Toko stuttered out.

“‘Real’ literature…? I’ll have you-” Hifumi began but was interrupted by Byakuya.

“That’s the archive,” Byakuya explained tersely. “I don’t think I have to explain an archive to you plebeians.”

“An archive of what exactly?” Makoto asked.

“Anything really,” Byakuya answered. “I of course already know most of the things archived in there.”

“W-well, I d-don’t think we’ll get a-anything out of it…” Toko said.

“Maybe it has archived information about the school,” Sakura responded, “in that case, it would be in our best interest to look into it.”

“B-but, if B-byakuya has already looked into it, I-I’m sure t-there’s nothing of i-importance in there,” Toko said, looking at Byakuya longingly.

“The stuttering one is correct,” Byakuya responded. “I already looked under everything labeled Hope’s Peak, there wasn’t anything that stood out.”

“Well, maybe your eyes are broken!” Aoi shouted. “Because this whole killing game thing is not normal…!”

“Shut up,” Byakuya said. “Nothing in the files indicates that a killing game was the original plan.”

“Was there anything at all to suggest something malicious?” Celeste asked.

“There was one interesting thing,” Byakuya admitted. “But I don’t see why I have to share it with any of you.”

“It would be in your interest,” Kyoko said. “After all, having information others may want puts a target on your back.”

“Tch,” Byakuya replied, crossing his arms. “Like I have anything to fear from the likes of you.”

“Hm,” Kyoko responded. “Maybe so, but you cannot guard yourself against multiple individuals all seeking information.”

“Fine,” Byakuya said. “Here, it’s a notice.”

Byakuya handed the paper to Kyoko, who read it before passing it to the other members of the class.

“Notice of closure…?” Chihiro asked, staring at the paper.

“How come we never heard of that?” Makoto added.

“Maybe they were keeping it secret…?” Yasuhiro replied, scratching his head in confusion.

“That doesn’t make any sense…! Any respectable school should notify it’s incoming students about any closure!” Kiyotaka yelled.

“Fuck man, no need to take it personally,” Mondo said, crossing his arms.

“Hm,” Celeste said, “so something did happen, yes?”

“T-that seems to be the c-case…” Toko replied.

“What could cause a school like Hope’s Peak Academy to close…?” Aoi asked. “I mean, it’s a really big school, right?”

“The same thing that could cause a killing game,” Junko replied. “But we don’t know what the hell that even is…!”

“Something horrible,” Hifumi added. “Like canceling Princess Piggles…!”

“P-princess Piggles…? I-is that a k-kid’s show…?” Toko asked, crossing her arms.

“No…! It’s only the best anime in the world…!” Hifumi said, defending his prized TV show.

“Pretty sure that’s still a kids show.” Junko responded.

“Anyways,” Celeste said, crossing her arms, “until we can figure out what is on the computer, I suggest we shouldn’t entertain ourselves with mindless conjecture.”

“I suppose Celeste is right,” Kyoko said. “There is no use fighting between ourselves now that we finally have hope.”

“Finally have hope? This is just a fuckin’ computer!” Mondo complained.

“It’s not just a computer,” Kyoko countered cooly, “it’s our first piece of outside information. I don’t believe the mastermind is careless, but they want us to at least have a fair shot.”

“How can you be so sure of that?” Junko asked, staring at her nails.

“They’ve made the game fair, or at least as close as it could get. Class trials exist so the non-blackened at least have a shot of surviving another trial. Accomplices are useless, since there is no achievement for working together.”

“So, you’re saying… they’re trying to bring hope into us…?” Makoto asked, trying to figure out what Kyoko actually meant.

“Perhaps,” Kyoko replied dryly, “after all, you must have hope to succumb to despair.”

“D-despair…? W-where’d you get that from…?” Toko asked, staring at Kyoko as she started to bite her nails.

“When Monokuma first introduced himself, he claimed that he loved to see our faces full of despair. It is only a natural conclusion that he’d give us some sort of hope only to take it away.” Kyoko said, looking away from the computer.

“So,” Celeste said, “you are saying that we’re only given this computer so that it could only lead to our despair?”

“No,”  Kyoko said, looking Celeste in the eyes. “I believe the computer has information we need to inspire us, but the catch is that Chihiro would need to be alive in order to extract that information.”

“So you’re saying that the mastermind creates ‘holes’ in their plan, but only if certain people survive…?” Junko asked.

“Perhaps,” Kyoko said, closing her eyes. “This is all just a theory, afterall.”

“Seems like a pretty fleshed out theory,” Aoi added. “You must’ve thought this out a lot, huh…?”

“No,” Kyoko said. “It only seemed to be the natural conclusion, like I said.”

“Huh,” Makoto said dumbly. “I don’t think any of us could’ve put that together on our own! You’re a real genius Kyoko!”

“Huh…?” Kyoko asked, “what an odd thing to say.”

“Is it really…? I was only saying how I felt…” Makoto said. 

“He’s right, Kyoko! That was a genius conclusion!” Kiyotaka added.

“If you’re both so sure,” Kyoko responded, face coloring for only a short moment.

“If you’re all done here,” Byakuya cut in. “Can you please leave me and the library in peace…?!”

The class stared at Byakuya for a moment. His annoyance was quite clear as he clenched his fist.

“Ah, we should probably get out Byakuya’s hair…” Makoto laughed sheepishly, trying to ignore the murderous look on Byakuya’s face.

“Funny,” Byakuya responded. “That’s the first smart thing you’ve said all killing game.”

The class, excluding Byakuya, slowly shuffled out of the library. The air was thick with tension. 

Byakuya had a knack for ruining the mood.

“Huh,” Aoi said, crossing her arms.

“What’s wrong Hina?” Makoto asked.

“That guy, he thinks he can just walk all over us just because he’s Byakuya Togami or whatever…”

“I mean, it’s not really his fault…” Makoto added, crossing his arms.

“Huh? What do you mean Makoto?” Aoi asked, staring at Makoto intently. “Last time I checked no one was forcing him to do anything.”

“I mean, he’s had a different upbringing then the rest of us.” Makoto said, touching his face as he tried to think of a way to explain his thinking to Aoi. “He’s a different breed of people, and because of that he doesn’t know how to exactly interact with us…”

“Hm,” Aoi responded, “that may be true, but it doesn’t give him the right to boss us around like that!”

“Maybe,” Makoto agreed, “but I think everyone in this school is a little extra…”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?!” Aoi yelled, suddenly insulted.

“I didn’t mean it as a bad thing…!” Makoto responded, caught completely off guard. “It’s just, you ultimates are a lot different than normal people.”

“You mean, we’re as bad as Byakuya…?” Aoi asked, confused.

“No,” Makoto responded quickly, “just a lot harder to understand than other ‘normal’ people.”

“Hm,” Aoi said, “I mean, I guess… but I don’t think we’re in a ‘normal’ situation, if that note in the library is true…”

Makoto nodded, he supposed that his classmates were under a very specific strain of stress. He had no way to discern their true personalities whilst they were trapped in the killing game.

“So… Makoto…” Aoi said suddenly.

“Yeah?”

“You wanna hang? I mean we’re done exploring, right…?” Aoi asked.

“Huh…? Sure!” Makoto responded excitedly.

“All this exploring has totally gotten me fired up, if you know what I mean!” Aoi said suddenly.

“Huh…? What do you mean, Hina?” Makoto asked, staring at Aoi confused.

“What do I mean?! It means I need to get all this pent up energy out!” Aoi yelled, causing Makoto to flinch slightly. “Let’s race, Makoto!”

“I don’t think I could win a race against you, Hina…” Makoto replied sheepishly. “I wouldn’t have much of a chance.”

“Huh… I guess you’re right…” Aoi admitted, “Well I’ll just run by myself and you can watch!”

“Wait!” Makoto yelled, “I mean... uh, you always seem so pumped up Hina…”

“Huh…?! Is that supposed to be an insult, Makoto?!”

“N-no of course not!” Makoto said, putting his hands in front of him as a defensive position. “I’m just impressed, that’s all.”

“Really?” Aoi asked, crossing her arms. “I mean I used to know this one guy, who was always telling me ‘Hina, you’re like, a super spaz!’” 

“A super spaz…? What did he mean by that…?”

“I dunno, like he’d always see me wearing shorts in the winter and he’d just say things like that…”

“You wore shorts in the winter?!” Makoto asked, shocked.

“Yeah, if you lose to the cold it just means you weren’t dedicated enough!”

“Wow, you did that without getting sick…?”

“Getting sick is for the weak! If you’re truly dedicated all winter outfits should be lighter than normal! It’s part of your training, y’know…?”

“T-training…?”

“Uh, you aren’t the type of guy who gets sick easily, are you…?”

“Actually, I am…”

“See! You need more training!”

“What do you mean…?”

“I’ve got the perfect remedy to keep you healthy no matter what the weather…!”

“Perfect remedy…?” Makoto echoed uselessly.

“I do this myself every morning! You just strip down to your waist, then take a dry towel and start rubbing down your bare skin…! I called it… um… uh…”

“Is it towel treatment or something similar?” Makoto offered.

“Oh my god! Makoto, that’s it!” Aoi said, happily. “I love going out on my apartment balcony, stripping down, just feeling the wind on my skin… I never miss a morning!”

“You do that on your balcony…?!”

“Yep! Makoto, you should give it a try! If you haven’t got your health, you haven’t got anything! I’d hate to see you catch a cold or something…”

“Thanks, Hina…” Makoto said.

“Huh… it’s been a while already, hasn’t it?” Aoi asked.

“I guess time flies when you’re having fun, right…?”

“Mhm! Well, we should get together sometime again. I’d like to see progress on your training, Makoto!”

“M-my training…? You’re going to become my personal trainer…?!”

“Uh, is that the word…? I mean, I guess…”

“B-but personal trainers are supposed to get paid…! I really can’t take up your time if I don’t have anything to offer you…!” Makoto said, trying to get out of training with Aoi.

“Hm, payment, right…?” Aoi said, putting her finger on her chin and closing her eyes. “Well, you can pay me with something…”

“H-huh…?!”

“You mentioned that the ‘ultimates’ don’t act normal… right…?”

“Well like I said, I didn’t mean it in a bad way…”

“Still, maybe you could teach me how to act normal in return for me training you.”

“Hina, I really didn’t-”

“It’s a deal, Makoto! Tomorrow we’ll meet up here and we’ll get you into tip-top shape in no time! I promise!”

“H-huh… Hina w-wait…!” Makoto yelled, but it was too late, Aoi was already walking away, not paying attention to Makoto’s refusals.

Makoto sighed, well at least he would become closer to Aoi if anything was to come out of this. 

Aoi was right, it was late. How long was their conversation? He had to get to the dinner hall before it closed, he didn’t want to starve after all.

Making his way downstairs to the cafeteria, he could already hear a commotion.

“Ugh, will you fuckin’ shut up about the damn school rules already?!” Mondo yelled, and as Makoto got closer he could see Mondo’s opponent in this fight was none other than Kiyotaka Ishimaru.

“The school rules are everything! If we have nothing else, then let it be our ability to be good students.”

“Good students?! Are you out of your fuckin’ mind or something? Did you forget about Sayaka killing Leon?! Or is that part of your ‘studently behavior’ or whatever…?!”

“I doubt you mind! You’re a delinquent, I’m sure you murder people all the time…!” Kiyotaka yelled, tears already springing in his eyes.

“Are you accusin’ me of fuckin’ murderer?! You’re a glorified hall monitor, what right do you have?!”

“Excuse you…! I’m the Ultimate Moral Compass, I’m sorry you can’t be held to the same standards as everyone else! Last time I checked, I’m not punching our classmates!”

“It was one fuckin’ time…! You can’t act like you're any better than us!”

“I don’t have to ‘act’ like I’m any better than you, you have no respect for the rules and therefore deserve no respect!”

“Will you two shut up?!” Byakuya interrupted, glaring at the two with murder in his eyes.

“What gives you the right to interrupt us?!” Both Mondo and Kiyotaka yelled at the same time.

“At least they agreed on something, no?” Celeste teased, taking a sip from her milk tea.

“I don’t think this fight is very school appropriate, now, is it?” Junko added, crossing her arms.

“Huh…?!” Kiyotaka yelled, as his face started to flush. “You’re right! I am very sorry, I shouldn’t be setting a negative example for the rest of you! I hope I can be forgiven for my transgressions!”

“Whipped.” Mondo snorted under his breath, which went unnoticed by Kiyotaka who was now yelling apologies.

“I think you can be forgiven, Taka…” Makoto said, “I mean, it wasn’t like you did anything  bad …”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Makoto…! I need to be the best example for the class, I will not let any of us fall to the fate of Sayaka and Leon!” Kiyotaka replied. Makoto flinched slightly at the mention of Sayaka and Leon. He still hadn’t exactly accepted it.

“I’m sure you will,” Makoto replied half heartedly. It still hurt to think about the two of them, what-ifs floated around in his head. He didn’t have the bravery of any of the other students. He couldn’t have stopped Sayaka because he believed in her too much.

And because of him, both Sayaka and Leon had died. Painfully.

“Makoto? Are you alright?” Aoi asked, scaring Makoto out of his train of thought.

“Huh…? Yeah, I’m alright. Just a little tired, I guess.”

“Did you not get enough sleep last night?” Aoi asked, worriedly.

“Makoto! Sleep is very important for growing boys like you!” Kiyotaka added loudly.

“I’m fine,” Makoto repeated, “and Taka, we’re the same age…”

“Well, as long as you’re saying you’re getting sleep, we’ll believe you.” Aoi said, smiling at Makoto. Makoto appreciated the gesture behind Aoi’s words, but smiling back at Aoi just hurt.

He could’ve saved Sayaka and Leon if he tried, he thought. Even if he couldn’t, he could at least delude himself into thinking it was a possibility. He resolved to try harder, even as he went back to his room and stared at Sayaka’s nameplate for longer than needed.

He tried to shower, before the night time announcement and barely made it to the door. He saw Leon’s dead eyes staring back at him, open unlike how they were closed before.

“Because of you,” Leon’s voice accuses, “I’m dead.” Before Leon’s ghost can say anything more, Makoto slammed the door. He leaned against the door of the bathroom and closed his eyes. 

He told himself he wasn’t crying.

But, in that case, he was just as much of a liar as Sayaka was.

When Makoto woke up, he was still on the floor. Monokuma’s grating morning announcement rang in his ears. He was exhausted, he knew this.

He needed to shower, he resented this.

As if on autopilot he grabbed clothing from his drawer and left his room. He made his way to Aoi’s door and knocked on it emotionlessly.

Aoi answered the door, confused.

“I need to use your shower,” Makoto said simply. Aoi stared at him for a moment, before moving slightly.

“Alright,” Aoi says, “just like, don’t tell Taka. He’ll make it weird, I think…”

Makoto nodded, his head felt heavy. 

Aoi’s shower was almost identical to his, all hers was lacking was the dead body. Makoto tried not to think about that.

He finished the shower quickly, he felt bad taking Aoi’s shower.

“Sorry,” he said, mustering all the emotion he could manage. He hoped he was coming off sheepishly, if he wasn’t, Aoi didn’t say anything.

“Huh…? Did you waste all my hot water or something?!” Aoi accused.

“N-no…! Of course not! I mean for coming to your room so early.”

“Huh, is that weird?”

“Of course it is…!”

“Well, then maybe you can’t teach me how to act normal then, huh…?”

“About that…” Makoto began but Aoi cut him off with a laugh.

“We can talk about my payment later, we have to get to the morning meeting. I don’t want to get yelled at by Taka.” Aoi said quickly before running out of her room, leaving Makoto standing dumbfounded.

“Alright…” he muttered to no one but himself, as he slowly followed Aoi to the cafeteria.

“Aoi, Makoto!” Kiyotaka yelled as Makoto entered the room. “Why are you two so late…?!”

“Sorry…” was all Makoto could muster.

“Makoto’s hot water broke, so he had to use my shower… no need to get all serious, Taka…” Aoi said, crossing her arms.

“You showered in her room?!” Kiyotaka yelled, scandalized.

“Hey! Don’t accuse either of us of being creeps! I didn’t watch or anything!” Aoi yelled, uncrossing her arms and putting them up near her jacket.

“Ugh… it’s just unwholesome…!”

“Taka, like Hina said, I just asked to use her shower. My hot water wasn’t working and I didn’t want to come to the morning meeting unclean, I feel like that would be worse…” Makoto added, staring at the food he had in front of him.

“Hm, very well! As long as you two keep it school appropriate and don’t make a habit of coming late, I do not mind!”

“Thanks…?” Makoto replied, confused.

“Anyways…! Let us commence with the morning meeting!” 

“It’s not like we have any new information to share,” Byakuya said looking away. “Honestly, why do I bother with this?” 

“If you don’t want to come, then don’t, no?” Celeste responded, once again sipping milk tea.

“It’s just useless, even idiots like you should be able to see that.” Byakuya said, crossing his arms.

“I disagree! As students-” Kiyotaka began but was interrupted by Mondo.

“It’s our duty or whatever, who the fuck cares, let’s just get this meeting over with.”

“Well, um, did we discover anything?” Aoi asked.

“Not since the library, no,” Kyoko said simply, looking at her food, bored.

“Speaking of the library,” Sakura interjected, “Chihiro have you gotten any information out of the computer?”

“N-no…! I’m sorry, the computer is probably gonna take another day or so…” Chihiro responded quickly.

“Hm,” Junko said, “as long as you’re not using it to look up porn, we can wait.”

“U-um…”

“Miss Fujisaki would never do anything like that!” Hifumi said, defending Chihiro before she could get a word in edgewise.

“Is there anything else we can talk about?” Aoi asked, “I mean, some of us have things we want to do.”

“Like what? You’re not planning on killing anyone are you, Hina?!” Yasuhiro accused.

“No…! I’m just gonna hang out with Makoto, that’s all.”

“Hina, you are hanging out with Makoto again?!” Kiyotaka yelled, switching between staring at Aoi and Makoto, completely scandalized.

“Huh, yeah…? Is there something wrong with that?” Aoi asked, tilting her head in confusion.

“If you’re in a relationship it’s best for you two to just state it now!” Kiyotaka said, eyes filling with tears.

“Uh, it’s not like that, Taka…” Makoto mumbled, “we’re just going to train together.”

“Oh! Ahaha, of course…!” Kiyotaka replied, “neither of you would ever do something so unwholesome...”

“Anyways…” Junko said, flipping her hair out of her eyes, “I think that’s all the information we’ve got, huh?”

“But we didn’t say anything new…?” Yasuhiro asked.

“That’s the point idiot. We don’t have any new information.”

“I’m assuming these meetings will be pointless until next murder, correct?” Byakuya cut in.

“In all likelihood, yes.” Kyoko answered before Kiyotaka could.

“In that case, there is no need for me to continue to come.” Byakuya said plainly.

“But the bonding! You cannot just-” Kiyotaka began to interject.

“I don’t care,” Byakuya said as he got up to walk away. “There is no point in conversing with people who are soon to be dead, anyway.”

“Did he just leave?!” Aoi yelled, crossing her arms.

“Hm,” Kyoko said, “I suppose there is no use in talking to him, then.”

“Perhaps he knows something we do not,” Celeste said. “We do not know what he has read in that library. Has he found something that would give him an advantage?”

“I doubt it,” Makoto replied. “If anything, I think he would taunt us about it.”

“Y-you think he would w-waste his time t-taunting the likes of you?” Toko asked, suddenly insulted.

“Well yeah…” Makoto replied. “He hasn’t shown any reason for us not to believe that, if we’re being honest…”

“Y-you would be so lucky if that w-were to happen…!” Toko said, looking away.

“Huh? Why would he be lucky…?” Aoi asked, tilting her head slightly.

“B-Byakuya would never waste his t-time on the l-likes of y-you all…” Toko sniffled, looking away from the group as if disgusted.

“Hey! Is that supposed to be an insult?!” Aoi yelled, “It’s not like you’re anything different from us anyways!”

“Why is Toko’s comment bothering you so much, Hina?” Celeste asked, taking a sip of her tea.

“Huh…? You mean you aren’t bothered at all?”

“I don’t feel the need to be, if they don’t want to survive with us, it is important for us to not care about them…” Celeste said, looking away with a sigh. “It is best not to get attached to them, because surely they will die at the rates they are going.”

“H-huh, d-die…?!” Toko said, looking back at the group. “Y-you think s-someone as w-wonderful as B-Byakuya could just d-die…?!”

“It seems to be an eventuality at this point,” Celeste said, smiling morbidly. “After all, this game is based on alliances, no? Surely, making an enemy out of everyone isn’t the smartest thing to do.”

“B-but…!” Toko replied, preparing to go on a tangent before Kyoko cut her off.

“It doesn’t matter,” Kyoko said. “As long as we agree not to hurt anyone, Byakuya shouldn’t come to any harm.”

“Yeah, Kyoko’s right! Let’s all agree to get out of this killing game alive and well!” Aoi yelled, putting both her fists in the air.

“With that attitude…” Junko began, “fuck yeah, let’s do that!”

“I usually don’t agree with cursing but… if we can all agree to following the school rules, I agree with Hina’s sentiment!” Kiyotaka said.

With that the group’s mood brightened, even after Byakuya’s sour department.

After the meeting ended Aoi walked up to Makoto.

“So, you wanna hang now?” Aoi asked, smiling widely.

“Uh, about that… I’m not so sure I want to train with you…” Makoto answered sheepishly.

“Hey! Are you letting Taka’s comments about us get to your head?” Aoi accused, glaring at Makoto.

“No, it’s not that…! I’ve just been feeling down lately, so I don’t know if I’d be that good to train.” Makoto explained.

“Hm, well then we could just hang out?” Aoi offered. “I mean, that’s all I really wanted to do anyways.”

“Huh…? You just wanted to hang out?” Makoto asked.

“Yeah! Is that so surprising?!” Aoi puffed out.

“No, I guess not.. I’ve just not been feeling like myself, after Sayaka and Leon…”

“So, do y’wanna talk about it?” Aoi asked.

“Yeah, but can we take it somewhere a bit more private?”

“Oh yeah, sure!” Aoi said, leading Makoto upstairs.

The two split off to go into the changing rooms before meeting back up in the pool.

“So, do you want to talk about it or…?”

“I don’t know where to begin,” Makoto admitted. “I trusted Sayaka, I mean who wouldn’t…?”

“Isn’t it kinda scary…? I mean who would’ve seen it coming?!” Aoi added. “She had us all fooled I guess…”

“Maybe,” Makoto admitted, “but I refuse to believe it could be just that… it just didn’t seem like the Sayaka I knew…”

“Huh…? You knew Sayaka…?”

“Kinda, haha… we knew each other from middle school.” Makoto explained. “I always had a crush on her, so I was really excited to see her again.”

“Could you have been blinded by love…? That’s a thing that happens, right?”

“I don’t think so,” Makoto said, “or at least I hope not…?”

“Well then spill!” Aoi said, trying to egg him on.

“When she got her motive video… I think it changed her.” Makoto said, remembering Sayaka’s vacant expression. “It was like something inside of her snapped, and not for the better.”

“Well,” Aoi said, “it’s not like you could’ve done anything to stop her.”

“Maybe if I noticed… maybe I would’ve been able to save Sayaka and Leon…” 

“You can’t blame yourself for the actions of other people!” Aoi scolded. “You’re not the Ultimate Clairvoyant like Hiro is! And the fact that you feel bad is a good thing!”

“Huh… what do you mean Hina?”

“You really cared about them, despite the fact that you don’t need to. I think that might be a good thing…”

“Is that really such an odd thing…?”

“Yep! And they said I was the super spaz! Well I’m glad to tell you Makoto, that title is yours now!”

“Hey!” 

After talking for a few more minutes, Aoi decided to do some laps in the pool. Makoto watched wordlessly, becoming nauseous at how fast Aoi was going.

“You… definitely earned your title…” Makoto commented, face a bit too green.

“Yep! Hey… wait… Makoto, your face is looking a bit-”

“I’ll be fine, just remind me never to watch that again, alright…?”

“Huh… why?”

“I just have a weak stomach, that’s all.”

“Hm, alright then!”

After getting changed into their regular clothes Makoto and Aoi parted ways, promising to meet up again later.

“Hm,” Makoto remarked mostly to himself, “I wonder what I can do now....”

“Makoto, are you busy?” A voice yelled from behind him, Makoto turned around and saw none other than Kiyotaka Ishimaru.

“Huh…? No I’m not really busy. Why, do you want to hang out?” Makoto asked.

“Haha, of course!” Kiyotaka answered. “That’s what friends do, right?”

“Yeah, let’s just hang out, then,” Makoto said. 

“So Makoto! As long as we’re talking, let’s REALLY talk.”

“Huh…? Yeah sure, that’s fine.” Makoto answered.

“Excellent!” Kiyotaka said. “Then let’s get down to where we stand on the important issues! Where are we starting, politics, the economy or international affairs?!”

“Wait… you’re not serious are you…?” Makoto asked.

“Of course I am! This isn’t a joking matter!”

“Can’t we just have a regular conversation…? That’s the best way to learn about people, I think.”

“‘Normal conversation’...? What do you mean?”

“Well, what do you do in your free time?” 

“Study, of course! I’m a student, afterall.” Kiyotaka began. “A student must be a studying professional!”

“Do you do anything other than study…?”

“Of course!” Kiyotaka answered. “My duties as the chairperson of the morals committee keep me quite busy!”

“Um…” Makoto said, trailing off. “What do you do when you have free time…?”

“If I have time to kill, I study!”

“Oh…. I see…?”

“Haha! This is fun!” Kiyotaka said, suddenly. “Alright my turn! Makoto, what do you like to do in your free time?

“Well, normal things…” Makoto said. “You know, watch TV, play video games…”

“Huh?!” Kiyotaka yelled, “And this is helping you study…?”

“N-no...?” Makoto said. “It’s not about studying, it’s more about having fun.”

“But doing things ‘just for fun’ serves no purpose!” Kiyotaka yelled. “There’s got to be more merit in it!”

“You’re right!” Makoto quickly exclaimed, surprised at his own volume. “Having fun helps give you something to talk about to other people!”

“Something to talk about…?”

“Like when you see something awesome on TV, or some awesome game, and you want to share it with someone.” Makoto explained. “You’ll find other people who feel the same and that’s how you make friends!”

“Wh…?” Kiyotaka began. “Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh—!?”

“Taka…?” Makoto asked. “Are you okay…?”

“I was blind, but now I see!”

“H-huh…? What the heck?!”

“That kind of thing has plagued me for years,” Kiyotaka began to explain while crying. “I’ve tried making friends, but it would die out once I attempted to make conversation… But now I finally have my answer!”

“Your answer…?”

“I need to study more games! More TV shows!”

“N-no, you don’t exactly ‘study’ them...” Makoto attempted to explain but it fell on deaf ears.

“I’m so ashamed of myself! If there was a hole around here, I’d totally go and hide in it! I never realized the blind spot of my studies…!”

“Taka it’s-”

“I’m a complete embarrassment! I’m not qualified to be on the morals committee, let alone lead it!”

“I don’t think it’s really that big of a deal, Taka.”

“Thank you, Professor Makoto!”

“Huh…?! P-professor?!”

“You’ve taught me a most valuable lesson! You’ve earned my respect and the title of professor!”

“Taka, this is making things super awkward…!”

“Haha! There’s no need to be modest, Professor!” Kiyotaka said, smiling. “I can’t wait for your next lesson!”

“I don’t think you need-”

“Until then, I will strive to learn as much as I can on my own!” Kiyotaka continued, giving Makoto no time to interrupt. “Well then, Professor, I’ll see you soon!”

Kiyotaka ran off before Makoto could attempt to speak again. 

“Well, I guess the title of professor isn’t too bad…” Makoto said to himself.

Makoto decided it was time to get some dinner before the cafeteria closed, he didn’t want to go to sleep on an empty stomach.

Makoto heard Mondo and Kiyotaka before he saw them, they were fighting, once again.

They noticed Makoto, and Mondo was the first one to speak.

“C’mon, Makoto. You’ve got to be our witness!” Mondo said, glaring at Makoto.

“Huh.. your ‘witness’...? What does that mean?”

“This guy’s been talkin’ shit about me since we first got here. Callin’ me a coward and other shit.” Mondo said, as if that helped explain at all.

“You are a coward!” Kiyotaka interrupted. “You turn to violence to solve your problems, making you a coward!” 

“Wha-?!” Mondo yelled, but Kiyotaka was beginning a tirade.

“You can’t do what society asks of you!” Kiyotaka yelled, pointing at Mondo. “That’s why you walk around dressed like that!”

“The fuck did you just say?” Mondo asked. “You dunno shit about me.”

“You’ve already lost to yourself, but you’re such a coward you can’t even realize it!”

“So you’re sayin’ you’re not a coward?” Mondo asked. “You think you’re tougher than me? Is that it?!”

“I know that I am a coward!” Kiyotaka admitted, loudly. “At least I can admit that, unlike you.”

“Okay, then let’s throw down!” Mondo said, balling his hands into fists. “Prove that you’ve got somethin’ that I don’t got!”

“I accept your challenge!” Kiyotaka declared.

“So Makoto, that’s what’s goin’ down.” Mondo said. “You’ve got to be our witness!”

“You’re gonna… ‘throw down’...?” Makoto asked, worriedly. “You’re not going to like, start punching each other, right…?”

“There’s a bathhouse on the 1st floor of the dorm, right?” Mondo asked.

“Yeah…?” Makoto replied, not really getting Mondo’s point.

“It has a sauna inside? Right?” Mondo asked, once again.

“Ah, so I see.” Kiyotaka said. “You want to have a simple endurance contest?”

“An ‘endurance contest’... in the sauna…?” Makoto asked.

“We’re going to see who can stay in the sauna the longest, right?!” Kiyotaka yelled, ignoring Makoto.

“Goddamn straight!” Mondo yelled.

“Are you sure that’s safe…?” Makoto asked, staring at his two classmates as if they had gone insane.

“Of course!” Kiyotaka replied. “This coward will back out before it gets too dangerous for us!”

“You think I’m going to back out first?! Are you fuckin’ insane?!” Mondo yelled.

“Hey… guys, let’s get to the sauna first, alright?” Makoto said, trying to calm the feud. 

Makoto led Mondo and Kiyotaka into the sauna where they started going at each other again.

“Are you guys really going to go through with this…?” Makoto asked.

“Of course!” Kiyotaka yelled. “I have to show this coward his place.”

“As if,” Mondo replied. “I’m gonna show you that I’m fuckin’ better!”

“People like you are all talk!”

“Like you’re any better…!”

Kiyotaka began to undress but Mondo stayed in his outfit.

“Aren’t you going to undress…?” Makoto asked.

“Nah,” Mondo said. “I don’t need to.”

“Th-that’s idiotic!” Kiyotaka yelled out.

“Just shut up already, let’s get this fuckin’ over with!” Mondo yelled.

The two clamored into the sauna, they both held determined expressions on their faces.

“You know,” Kiyotaka said. “You can take off your clothes.”

“Unlike you, I don’t need to do that.”

A short pause before Mondo decided to say something to Kiyotaka.

“Y’know, your face is lookin’ pretty red,” Mondo said. “Are you sure you don’t want to give up?”

“It just so happens...I was born with a red face…!”

Makoto waited outside, mostly bored, as the two held steadfast against each other.

After hearing the night time announcement Makoto decided that he was done “witnessing” their contest. He didn’t even get his chance to eat, he might as well sleep until morning.

Makoto awoke drearily to Monokuma’s Morning announcement. His stomach ached with the promise of eating, but Makoto wanted to shower to first.

Makoto took one look at his bathroom door, the room seemed daunting, but Makoto was determined to shower quickly and eat.

He slowly opened his bathroom door, half expecting to see Leon’s body staring right back at him.

There was nothing dead in Makoto’s bathroom, thankfully.

Makoto made his way to the cafeteria in relatively good spirits.

“Hey Makoto,” Aoi said, stopping Makoto before he could go into the cafeteria.

“Huh…?” Makoto asked.

“I wouldn’t recommend going in there right now,” Aoi said. “Taka and Mondo are acting pretty weird in there.”

“Acting weird…?”

“Yeah! All buddy-buddy!” Aoi explained. “One moment they hate each other and the next moment they’re besties!”

“Is that a bad thing…?” Makoto asked.

“No,” Aoi admitted. “But I just find it really weird, y’know…?”

“I wonder if it has something to do with last night…” Makoto said, 

“Huh, last night…?”

“Are you two just going to just stand in front of the cafeteria or are you going to go in?” Junko interrupted. “I mean I approve of gossip and whatever, but some of us want to eat.”

Makoto and Aoi moved out of the way and Junko smiled at them before going in.

“I guess we should eat now, huh…?” Makoto said.

“Yeah, but let’s keep our guard up,” Aoi said. “We have no clue what happened to them!”

Makoto and Aoi went into the cafeteria, and Makoto saw that Aoi wasn’t wrong at all.

“Hahaha! Bro, you’re so right!” Kiyotaka yelled.

“Ah, you don’t really mean that…” Mondo replied, sounding bashful.

Aoi was right  , Makoto thought to himself.  What had happened to Taka and Mondo…?

“Makoto!” Kiyotaka yelled suddenly. “Where did you go last night?!”

“Huh…?” Makoto began. “Oh, I heard the night time announcement and didn’t want to stay up too late…”

“Well, thanks for being our witness anyway.” Mondo responded.

“Ugh,” Junko said. “Kinda wish I didn’t come here at all.”

“What?!” Mondo yelled. “Do you have a fuckin’ problem with our friendship?!”

“Yeah,” Aoi said, speaking for Junko. “It feels gross.”

“Feels  gross ?! Hell no, it feels great!”

“Forget them, bro. Girls like them just wouldn’t get our manly bond!”

“M-manly b-bond…?” Toko asked. “S-seems like another w-way to say r-relationship… You a-aren’t l-lovers, are you?!”

“No…!” Kiyotaka yelled. “Friendship between men is stronger than blood! A woman could never understand!” 

“Bro,” Mondo said. “What you said was cool as shit!”

“I’m glad you think so, bro!”

As the rest of the class came into the cafeteria except for Byakuya, it was quite clear that Mondo and Kiyotaka’s friendship wasn’t going to get any less public.

As Makoto went to leave the cafeteria he was stopped by Junko.

“Hey, Makoto,” Junko began. “Do y’wanna hang?”

“Yeah,” Makoto said. “As long as we can keep away from Mondo and Taka…”

“Yeah sure,” Junko said. “But why, are you jealous of them or something…?”

“No!” Makoto said quickly. “But I have to agree with Aoi, their friendship just feels a bit  wrong …”

“‘Wrong’...?” Junko echoed. “Oh my god, Makoto, I think you’re totally jealous!”

“Huh…?!”

“But listen, just because I’m offering you an out of your jealousy doesn’t mean I want you to get the wrong idea about any of this.”

“Wrong idea…? Now I’m sure I’ve got no clue what you mean…”

“I mean I hope you’re not expecting anything from me,” Junko explained. “Gotta keep my virtue safe, ya get?”

“Wait…!” Makoto yelled. “N-no way am I expecting anything like that!”

“I figured. You’re totally not that kind of guy, right?” Junko said. “Yeah, you’ve got that total ‘omega male’ vibe going on.”

“Huh…? ‘Omega male’ vibe…?”

“Yeah, but still, y’know I gotta keep my guard up,” Junko said. “The tamest guy can turn into a wild animal or so they say.”

“Don’t ask me why,” Junko said. “But I just seem to attract guys like that.”

“Um… it might have something to do with the way you dress.”

“Yeah, but even still! They have no respect!” Junko complained. “They call me up super super super late and are all like ‘Hey, let’s hang!’. Like I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean!”

“Oh! You just meant hanging out.” Makoto said.

“Huh? Did you just come to a decision or something…?”

“Oh, haha… no, just uh forget it.”

“Anyways, so we all get together, but they’re all fucking dumbasses!” Junko said. “Keeping creepos like that away is like a full-time job, ya know?”

“Yeah, must be really tough.” Makoto replied. “I mean, you’re a model, so you must be really popular.”

“Wow, Makoto. You… actually get it.” Junko said. “You do get it, right? You totally get me!”

“Huh… I do…?”

“So listen, about your Taka problem, I can introduce you to some of my friends sometime!”

“My Taka… problem…?”

“So judging by you picking Taka you’re into someone aggressive…” Junko said, thinking for a moment. “Yeah, I think I know someone who’s perfect for you!”

“N-no really it’s-”

“I’ll set you up with the perfect girl as soon as we get outta here!” Junko said with a smile. “Ehehe! I hope you’re as excited as I am!”

After saying that, Junko skipped off as Makoto could only watch in confusion.

Huh, guess there’s more to look forward to once we get out . Makoto thought to himself.

Makoto decided to head to his room, but before he could unlock the door he could hear Monokuma’s loud ahem.

“Attention students! I have a surprise waiting for you all in the gym!” Monokuma said. “I hope you all will find this surprise enlightening!”

A surprise  , Makoto thought to himself.  This isn’t going to be good, is it…?

Makoto went to the gym, like usual he was later than all his other classmates.

“Puhuhuhu!” Monokuma began. “Now that Makoto has arrived, we can finally begin!”

“You haven’t explained anything at all!” Aoi said, glaring at the bear. “What are we supposed to be ‘beginning’...?”

“Well… we can’t have a murder without motive, right?” Monokuma said. “Luckily your headmaster is very thoughtful and thought long and hard about this…”

“Here you go everyone!” Monokuma yelled, as he threw mirrors at everyone.

“Huh?!” Yasuhiro yelled out, barely catching his. “A-are these mirrors filled with g-ghosts or something?!”

“Yeah!” Mondo yelled out. “What’s the fuckin’ deal with these things…?”

“Mirrors reveal appearances, correct?” Monokuma said, starting to explain. “Thus, these mirrors reveal the one thing you don’t want to see about yourself.”

“Bear,” Byakuya said. “What exactly do you mean?”

“These mirrors are tailor made for their owner!” Monokuma explained. “They show you exactly what you try to hide from the world.”

“Is that even possible…?” Aoi asked.

“Look for yourself!” Monokuma responded.

Makoto checked his mirror and was surprised when the image changed to a younger Makoto and a wet bed. 

So that’s what I hide from the world…? The fact that I wet the bed up until 5th grade...?

Makoto stared blankly at the mirror before realization hit him.

Wait… if what I’m hiding isn’t serious, I can assume the other’s secrets aren’t that bad as well, right…?

“Puhuhu! There’s something else I should mention before I forget…” Monokuma began.

“Well, get on with it,” Byakuya said. “Some of us don’t have all day.”

“Before going to bed at night each student is supposed to put their mirror in the holder located in classroom 1-A!” Monokuma explained.

“Is there anything else?” Sakura asked.

“Awe, am I being pushed out so soon…?” Monokuma said, fake pouting.

“N-no one l-likes you h-here,” Toko sneers.

“Alright!” Monokuma said. “Have fun kids!”

“Hm,” Kyoko said. “This is an interesting motive.”

“Maybe we should share our motives!” Kiyotaka yelled. “It won’t work against us if we all come out now…!”

“About that bro…” Mondo said. “I don’t really feel comfortable airin’ all my secrets, you know?”

The class hummed in agreement, leaving Kiyotaka no choice.

“Well if my bro says so…” Kiyotaka said. “Then we’ll keep them to ourselves.”

“Well, there’s no point in staying here, no?” Celeste asked.

“Exactly,” Byakuya said. “Don’t expect me to share my ‘secret’ with the likes of you.”

“Um… no one is expecting that from you…?” Aoi added.

“Shut up.” Byakuya said, before turning and leaving.

Toko followed quickly after Byakuya.

“So uh, Makoto,” Junko said, walking up to Makoto. “You gonna talk to Taka before Mondo steals him away?”

“H-huh…?” Makoto asked. “I already told you, it’s not like that…!”

“You sure?” Junko asked, tilting her head. “If you wait too long, Mondo’s gonna sweep him off his feet like some weird rendition of a fairytale.”

“What do you mean?”

“You heard how they were like this morning,” Junko explained. “‘Bro’ this and ‘bro’ that, they should just get a fuckin’ room at this point.”

“Y-you really think that they’re going to get into a relationship…?” Makoto asked, not understanding his sudden curiosity.

“Makoto, it’s only a matter of time,” Junko said, flipping her hair. “Don’t be an uber omega, just at least feel the situation out, y’know?”

“I’ll at least talk to him,” Makoto said. “B-but not because I like him, just because I’m worried for him… as a friend…!”

“Yeah sure,” Junko said, laughing as she walked off.

Makoto gathered his courage, surprisingly Kiyotaka was without his ‘bro’ Mondo.

“Hey, um, Taka, do you think we could talk…?” Makoto stuttered out.

“Huh… oh sure!” Kiyotaka said.

“So, are you worried about the motive?” Makoto asked. “I mean they are pretty personal right…?”

“Makoto! Are you trying to hide something unwholesome…?!” Kiyotaka yelled.

“N-no…! I’m just saying, if Mondo and the others were refusing to share the images they saw in their mirrors... “

“My bro would never do something like murder!” Kiyotaka yelled, suddenly offended.

“I wasn’t implying anyone would!” Makoto said back, defensively. “I’m just worried about having to do another class trial.”

Kiyotaka’s eyes softened, “That’s very honorable of you Makoto!”

“Huh…? Not really,” Makoto said. “The situation wasn’t very pleasant for anyone involved.” 

Sayaka’s screeches of betrayal, Leon’s dead body in his bathroom. So many things had gone wrong in their first few days here. Was it so odd Makoto wouldn’t want to go through that again?

“I assure you, my bro and I will do our best to keep everyone safe!” Kiyotaka yelled.

Junko really wasn’t kidding when she said that all Taka would talk about is his ‘bro’...  Makoto thought.  Hey… why am I thinking so hard about this… I’m not jealous, right…?!

“Anyways Makoto, I’d love to stay and chat more but I promised my bro I’d hang out later!”

“Y-yeah, okay, I’ll talk to you later,” Makoto mumbled.

Ugh, this motive must just be messing with my head… I might as well just put away my mirror and head to sleep now.

Makoto went to classroom 1-A and deposited his mirror. He realized he was the first person, which made sense because it was way before the night time announcement.

“Hey,” Kyoko said, intercepting him as he left. “Are you going to sleep early?”

“Yeah,” Makoto said. “I haven’t been feeling too well and I don’t really want to break any rules…”

“Feel better,” Kyoko said, before walking into the classroom.

Makoto made his way to his room without any further interruptions. Throwing himself onto the bed without a glance towards his bathroom he fell into a dreamless sleep.

Makoto awoke to the annoying noise of Monokuma’s Morning announcement. Getting up, he opened his bathroom door in annoyance. 

If Leon was there for a sickening second Makoto acted otherwise.

Making his way into the cafeteria Makoto noticed he was second for once, the first person being there was Kyoko.

“Ah Makoto,” Kyoko said. “You’re here early.”

“Same to you, Kyoko,” Makoto said. “Did I miss something or is everyone oversleeping…?”

“Not that I know of,” Kyoko said. “It seems everyone might’ve stayed up later than usual.”

“Ah…” Makoto said, getting what Kyoko was implying.

“Just be careful, okay?” Kyoko said. “We should expect everyone to be on edge.”

As more people gathered into the cafeteria, Makoto noticed Aoi and Chihiro were missing.

“Perhaps they’re skipping the meal?” Celeste offered. “I don’t understand why but that’s a reason, no?”

“Aoi skipping a meal?” Sakura asked. “That’s very unlikely…”

“Miss Fujisaki missing a meal as well?!” Hifumi yelled out. “This is extremely worrying!”

Makoto’s stomach filled with dread, he had a feeling he already knew where this was heading.

“We should investigate immediately!” Kiyotaka yelled. “We should assure the safety of our classmates!”

“Shouldn’t we warn Byakuya as well?” Kyoko asked. “This information might interest him.”

“There’s no need,” Byakuya interjected coldly. “I already know where you’ll find one of them.”

“W-what do you mean…?” Makoto asked.

“That swimmer girl,” Byakuya said. “She’s doing the dead man’s float in the school’s pool.”

Sakura got up immediately. “Show us, now.”

Byakuya led the group to the second floor. Makoto could immediately notice scratch marks on the pool’s first door.

“Signs of a struggle,” Kyoko commented quietly.

Each person scanned their Monopads to get into the changing rooms. Quickly exiting to find that Byakuya wasn’t wrong in his original assessment.

Monokuma’s body discovery announcement rang and Aoi’s cruel fate was revealed.

Makoto was sure he was going to be sick when they discovered Aoi’s body, but he underestimated how sick he was going to feel.

“Makoto,” Kyoko said, kneeling down to where he had fallen onto his knees. “You need to get up.”

Makoto nodded, numbly.

“Hm, we must assume the worst has happened to Chihiro as well, no?” Celeste asked.

“Miss Fujisaki… dead…?” Hifumi asked, heartbroken.

“It seems likely,” Kyoko said. “The fact that Chihiro hasn’t been seen and we discovered one body…”

“Maybe he’s hidin’ because she’s the fuckin’ murderer of Hina!” Mondo yelled out.

“Bro…? You might be right…” Kiyotaka said.

“... Is it really possible for someone like Chihiro to do this much damage to Hina?” Sakura asked, voice low.

“Comparing their statures,” Byakuya said. “It seems unlikely.”

“Then we must find Chihiro,” Kyoko said.

“We still need two people to stay here and guard the body…” Makoto mumbled.

“I’ll stay with Hina,” Sakura said. “At least until Chihiro is found…”

“I’ll stay as well,” Mondo said. “It’s not like I’ll be useful anywhere else.”

“Then let’s split up into groups and look for Chihiro.” Kyoko said.

Before leaving, Makoto and Kyoko were stopped by Celeste.

“Hm, sticking with you two might be the best bet, no?”

“H-huh…? What do you mean, Celeste…?” Makoto asked.

“Are you really not aware of how you acted last class trial?” Celeste asked.

“So you’re sticking with us for a better chance in the class trial?” Kyoko asked.

“That as well as safety in numbers,” Celeste said. “The situation we’re in isn’t the most comforting, no?”

“No,” Makoto said. “This is the farthest thing from comforting.”

“Well, we should work under the assumption that Chihiro is at least unable to leave her current location.” Kyoko said.

“Hm,” Celeste said, tilting her head slightly. “Perhaps we should check her room, maybe she overslept?”

Makoto and Kyoko nodded in agreement, and the three made their way to Chihiro’s dorm.

“It’s closed,” Makoto noted. “But where else could she be…?”

“Are we sure it’s locked?” Kyoko asked. “The door looks a little, off…”

Kyoko tried the door, and to the surprise of Celeste and Makoto it opened with ease.

The air felt heavy and Makoto could only hear static in his ears. Chihiro was staring lifelessly ahead, hanging from her neck on the light in her room.

Monokuma’s body discovery announcement played again, mockingly. 

Makoto shook himself out of his stupor.

“W-we need to tell the others,” Makoto stuttered out. “This… this is different.”

“I’ll get them,” Celeste said. “I suppose it was best to assume the worst.”

“Once the others come,” Kyoko began. “We’ll need to get her down to examine her body.”

“Isn’t it obvious how she died…?” Makoto swallowed out, trying to block out the dread that was quickly morphing into panic.

“Maybe,” Kyoko admitted. “But we won’t know if it’s a murder or suicide until we can see the neck wound.”

“There would be a difference…?” Makoto asked.

“Yes,” Kyoko said. “It would be quite obvious, actually.”

After a few minutes Mondo, Hifumi, Byakuya and Celeste entered the room.

“So,” Byakuya said. “That solves that mystery, doesn’t it?”

“It’s pretty obvious about what happened here, right?” Mondo asked. “It’s pretty obvious Chihrio fuckin’ hung herself, right?”

“Miss Fujisaki was murdered!” Hifumi yelled out. “There’s no way she would’ve willingly done this to herself.”

“You didn’t know Chihiro as well as you think, then.” Mondo replied.

“Now that everyone is here,” Kyoko began. “I think it’s in our best bet to examine the body thoroughly.”

“Do you need any help?” Makoto asked.

“No,” Kyoko said. “I’ll be fine.”

Kyoko stood on Chihiro’s table and untied the white wire connecting her neck to the light. Afterwards, Kyoko moved Chihiro’s body to the floor.

“First thing we need to do is remove this wire…” Kyoko said, slowly untying the wire.

“That’s odd,” Byakuya said.

“W-what is…?” Makoto asked.

“Nevermind,” Byakuya replied. “If you can’t notice it that’s your own fault, not mine.”

“Could you all turn away for a minute?” Kyoko asked. “I want to see if Chihiro has any more wounds on her body…”

Everyone turned away, and Kyoko gasped in surprise.

“Huh,” Kyoko said. “That’s unexpected.”

“You can all look now,” Kyoko said. “It seems that Chihiro’s big secret… nevermind.”

“I doubt this is the actual crime scene,” Kyoko said. “It looks too clean for a murder to have happened here.”

“That’s because he hung herself, remember?!” Mondo said. “I wouldn’t count suicide as fuckin’ murder, would you?”

“Then there’s nothing of note here, then,” Byakuya said before walking off.

“Makoto,” Kyoko said. “Perhaps it’s best if we leave here and examine Hina’s body.”

“W-wait… shouldn’t there be-” Makoto began, but was quickly cut off by Kyoko.

“I’m assuming you two will be keeping an eye on the corpse?” Kyoko asked, staring at Hifumi and Mondo.

“You can count on me!” Hifumi yelled. “I’ll make sure no one bothers Miss Fujisaki!”

“Might as fuckin’ well,” Mondo said. “But no one is going to touch the corpse of a murderer.” 

Kyoko led Makoto out of Chihiro’s room, leading him to the hallway before stopping again.

“Chihiro was murdered,” Kyoko said plainly. “The wound on Chihiro’s neck proves that.”

“The wound on her neck…?” Makoto asked.

“When someone hangs themself their neck is broken, if not completely at least in some parts,” Kyoko explained. “Also the marking on Chihiro’s neck is horizontal, if a person is to hang themself, it’ll be more ‘V’ shaped.”

“So you mean whoever killed Hina also killed Chihiro…?” Makoto asked.

“Yes,” Kyoko said. “And I believe it ties in directly with the motives that we were given yesterday.

“It ties in with our motives…?”

“Last night, twenty minutes after the night time announcement I checked who returned their mirrors,” Kyoko said. “There were three mirrors missing, Chihiro, Aoi and Mondo.” 

“H-huh…?!”

“Of course,” Kyoko continued. “Until we get the Monokuma Files, that information could just be a coincidence.”

“Puhuhuhu! Lucky for the both of you, your headmaster pays attention to everything that happens in this school!”

“W-where did you come from?!” Makoto yelled.

“I don’t think you want to know that, Makoto!” Monokuma said, cheerfully. “Anyways… you two are the only students missing their Monokuma File!”

“I suppose you’re here to give them to us,” Kyoko responded.

“You  bear -ly needed to ask!” Monokuma said, before handing the both of them a Monokuma File...

“You kids should be  bear -y grateful that you have me to help you!” Monokuma laughed before disappearing.

“Hm,” Kyoko said. “This is where we part ways, for now.”

“W-wait…! When you said you looked at the mirrors did you mean you-”

“If it makes you feel better, my mirror also showed something embarrassing.” Kyoko responded before turning away.

“Wow Makoto, ditched again, huh?” Junko asked.

“H-huh… when did you get here?!” Makoto screeched.

“Jeez, you’re easy to scare huh?” Junko asked. “Anyways, I figured it would be easier if we investigated together. Y’know pack mentality or whatever they say.”

“Huh… yeah, I guess you’re right.” Makoto responded.

“So,” Junko said, “have you examined Hina’s body yet? Everyone’s crowding over there, but I’ve heard there’s nothing interesting with Chihiro.”

“Yeah,” Makoto agreed. “Chihiro’s room is pretty normal other than her body being there. Kyoko believes it was moved.”

“Do you believe that Chihiro was moved?” Junko asked.

I don’t want to believe that someone could murder Chihiro,  Makoto thought to himself.  But I don’t want to believe that Chihiro would kill herself either.

“I think she was moved, yeah,” Makoto said. “I’d like to believe Kyoko on this anyways.”

“Well, then we should probably go to Hina’s corpse,” Junko said. “Hopefully the vultures have cleared out.”

“V-vultures…?!” Makoto asked. “How are there-”

“Makoto, dude, I was joking.”

“Haha…  sorry, I’m just a bit on edge…” Makoto admitted.

“It’s fine,” Junko said. “It’s not everyday you find two dead bodies, huh?”

Makoto nodded, both Junko and Makoto went upstairs to the second floor.

“Hey, Makoto,” Junko said. “Do ya notice anything weird about this door?”

“Huh…? Oh yeah, there’s scratches on it...” Makoto said.

“I suppose that means that someone was struggling,” Junko said. “Maybe it’s time that the Monokuma File is actually useful.”

Makoto checked his Monokuma File, Chihiro’s autopsy stated that besides the injury of the neck there were no other things of note. It placed the time of death at around 1 AM. Aoi’s autopsy report was a bit different, the cause of death was noted as drowning, but it did note a head injury. The file also noted that her nails on both hands were broken and bloody. Her death was placed at around 1:30 AM.

“Well, let’s get to seeing Hina’s body,” Junko said.

Makoto and Junko went into the pool area and the separate changing areas, they met up again at the pool.

“Makoto!” Yasuhiro yelled, “It’s terrible!”

“Huh… what is?”

“Hina’s body…! It’s all bloated, I think she was possessed by a g-ghost!”

“Where is Hina anyways?” Junko asked. “She’s no longer in the pool, right?”

“She’s over by Sakura… Kyoko wanted to examine her or something.” Yasuhiro answered. “I think she might be checking for ghosts.”

“You can’t be that stupid, can you?” Junko asked.

“Maybe we should leave Kyoko and Sakura alone,” Makoto said. “At least until we can examine the area.”

“Smart idea, Makoto,” Junko said. “Let’s see if anything catches our attention.” 

“That dumbbell near the pool,” Makoto said, as he walked towards the dumbbell. “The Monokuma File said that Hina had a head injury right?”

“Yeah and this thing has blood on it,” Junko noted. “It’s small enough where I don’t think it would kill someone but it would definitely knock someone out.”

“So, do you think the blackened attacked Hina here?”

“Yeah, that’d make the most sense,” Junko said. “I mean, no need to bring the murder weapon with you.”

“I think we should check the changing rooms,” Makoto said. “We need to find out where this dumbbell was taken from.”

“Alright, make sure not to perv out in the boy’s one or anything, alright?” Junko said.

“H-huh…?!”

“Just kidding, you’re not that type of guy.”

Makoto went into the boy’s changing room, to his dismay he noticed that a smaller dumbbell was missing.

The blackened has to be a guy then,  Makoto thought to himself.  The mastermind is very strict on not letting the opposite gender get into the other gender’s changing room.

As Makoto went back to the pool, he was surprised to see Junko hadn’t come out yet.

“Hey uh, Makoto,” Junko said as she got out of the changing room. “The girl’s changing room is a total mess, almost looks like a guy’s room.”

“What do you mean it’s a total mess?” Makoto asked.

“I didn’t really notice before, with Sakura pushing all us girls and whatever but that place got trashed pretty bad.”

“So you mean the blackened and Hina probably fought in there?” Makoto asked.

“I dunno, but whatever happened was pretty rough.” Junko said. “Anyways, looks like Kyoko’s done ogling up Hina or whatevs.”

“I’m not so sure that’s what she was doing…” Makoto muttered.

“Eh, probably,” Junko said. “You gotta admit though, her body obsession is pretty weird.”

Makoto and Junko walked up to Hina’s body.

“Hina drowned,” Kyoko said. “That we can truly ascertain.”

“So the Monokuma File isn’t wrong about that then…” Sakura said.

“Is there anything odd about her body?” Junko asked. “Any other injuries that weren’t mentioned in the Monokuma File?”

“No,” Kyoko said. “The head injury is her only other injury.”

“What was the point of the head injury? Why hit her if you’re going to throw her in the pool…?” Makoto asked.

“It could be for various reasons,” Kyoko said. “The reasoning though is likely clear if you examine the other places the victim was at.”

Sakura hummed silently.

“I don’t think we’re going to find anything more useful here,” Junko whispered to Makoto. “I think it’s best we just explore somewhere else.”

“Yeah,” Makoto whispered back. “There’s something that’s been bothering me about Chihiro’s body.”

“Oh?”

Makoto and Junko left the pool and the changing rooms.

“You mentioned something weird about Chihiro’s body,” Junko said. “Now I’m curious.”

“The thing that was hanging around Chihiro’s neck, I think I’ve seen it before.” Makoto said.

“Oh yeah, that wire, right?” Junko asked. “I wonder where we’ve seen wires like that before.”

“Maybe the library?” Makoto said. “That’s the only place we’ve seen any technology.”

“Well we’ve got no other leads, so let’s go!” Junko said.

The two made their way to the library, Junko looked around at the books and Makoto noticed a desk lamp.

“Hey… shouldn’t this lamp be connected to something?” Makoto asked as Junko came over.

“Maybe it’s battery powered?” Junko offered.

“I don’t think so… it has an opening which you could probably plug something in to…” Makoto said.

“That might be the murder weapon for Chihiro’s murder,” Junko said. “I mean we can assume that since this wire is missing it’s at least related.

“Yeah…” Makoto said. “There’s something else that has been bothering me, but I don’t know if there’s anything I can do to clear it up before the class trial…”

“Huh?” Junko said. “Tell me and then we’ll investigate!”

“Wow, I sounded cool for a second there, didn’t I, Makoto?” Junko asked.

“Haha… yeah,” Makoto said. “The dumbbell was from the boy’s changing room but the girl’s room was a mess… Is there a way to get into both?”

“Huh,” Junko said. “Yeah, if you scan in someone’s ID you can get into both…”

“How would you get someone’s ID?” Makoto asked. “Isn’t it against the rules to trade your e-Handbook with someone else?”

“Yeah, it’s one of the newer rules,” Junko said. “But there’s probably a loophole somewhere.”

“Maybe,” Makoto said. “But is there anything we can do to prove that?”

“I dunno,” Junko admitted. “But I do have an idea on where we can check.”

“Huh…?” 

“For once Makoto, let me lead the way!” Junko said. “And damn, I sounded cool as hell again!”

Junko led Makoto to the main hall, where e-Handbooks of the deceased students lay in a mailbox.

“Here’s where our handbooks go to die, after us of course,” Junko said. “So let’s check ‘em and make sure that it’s only Sayaka’s and Leon’s.”

Makoto attempted to power on a handbook only to have it not respond.

“Hey, Junko?” Makoto asked.

“Yeah?”

“Did your e-handbook power on?” Makoto asked.

“Yeah, Sayaka’s handbook is up and running,” Junko said.

“Huh,” Makoto said. “This one is refusing to turn on at all…”

“Leon’s probably broke when he was getting murdered, then,” Junko said.

“Hey! You can’t just call my handbooks weak and get away with it!” Monokuma yelled, as he appeared.

“Well they are pretty weak,” Junko said. “This one is obviously broken.”

“Well if it is, it didn’t break during a murder!” Monokuma said.

“What do you mean it didn’t break during a murder?” Makoto asked.

“They only have one design flaw!” Monokuma said. “And don’t ask! Because I’m not going to tell you!”

“But you’re telling us it couldn’t have broke during the murder?” Junko asked.

“Yep!” Monokuma said before disappearing. 

“Hm,” Junko said. “That lead us nowhere, which is fuckin’ lame.”

“I don’t think so…” Makoto said. “We learned that the e-Handbooks broke, but we know it broke by a student…”

“Yeah…” Junko said.

“Hey… wait a second…” Makoto said. “Is there another handbook in there?”

“Huh…? Holy shit… You’re right…” Junko said.

Makoto reached into the slot and pulled out a handbook. It turned on quickly. It was Aoi Asahina’s handbook.

“So the blackened must’ve known about this then…” Makoto mumbled.

If Junko was going to respond she never got the chance because suddenly Monokuma’s voice started announcing it was time for the class trial.

“I think we can do this!” Junko said, smiling.

Probably  , Makoto thought to himself.  But do I really want to do this all over again?

As Makoto made his way to the elevator, he hoped that no one else would die. But he already knew that death was in the cards for at least one of his classmates.

“Puhuhuhu! I’m glad to see everyone is here!” Monokuma said.

“It’s not like you give us any other choice.” Byakuya responded, coldly.

“There’s something I would like to ask before we start the trial,” Kyoko began. “Is there a limit on how many people are killed per murder-session or is someone free to kill all of us?”

“I’m glad you asked!” Monokuma said. “Committing more than two murders is a punishable offense!”

“So,” Kyoko said. “We won’t ever experience any more than two dead bodies in an investigation?”

“I never said that, did I…?”

“Well then! Let the class trial begin!” Monokuma yelled.

“Let’s begin with what we know,” Kyoko said. “The two victims of this case were Aoi Asahina and Chihiro Fujisaki.”

“That swimmer girl was the first body we found.” Byakuya said. “Chihiro’s body was hidden in her room, disguised as a suicide.”

“How do we know it wasn’t a suicide?!” Mondo asked. “I bet that guy fuckin’ killed her and just couldn’t live with the guilt!”

“No, that’s wrong!” Makoto yelled. “Chihiro’s neck wounds don’t fit in with hanging! According to Kyoko’s examination of her body the neck wound on Chihiro should be ‘V’ shaped but instead it’s horizontal!”

“So?! What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Mondo yelled.

“It means that Chihiro didn’t hang herself and that she was strangled!” Makoto explained.

“The worst sort of criminal.” Hifumi muttered. “Attacking an innocent and defenseless girl…”

“So now that we’re all on the same page on Chihiro,” Junko said. “Where are we supposed to go from here?”

“Someone who would murder two girls…” Celeste said. “They do seem very dangerous, no?”

“Two girls…” Kyoko said. “Are we sure the reasoning is just that…?”

“Maybe they killed Chihiro after throwing Hina in the pool!” Yasuhiro yelled. “You know, to get rid of witnesses! That makes sense… right?”

“No that’s wrong!” Makoto yelled. “According to the Monokuma Report, Chihiro was the first death and Hina was second.” 

“Huh…? But we found Hina’s body first, so obviously she died first, right?!” Yasuhiro responded.

“No,” Sakura said. “If anyone witnessed a murder, it was probably Hina…”

“Huh…? Hina witnessed the murder, that doesn’t make sense!” Yasuhiro yelled.

“No, I agree with Sakura as well,” Kyoko said. “But I don’t think it matters who died first, at least it didn’t matter to the blackened.”

“H-huh…?” Toko muttered. “W-what do you m-mean the o-order d-didn’t matter to the b-blackened…?”

“That’s exactly what I mean,” Kyoko said. “To the blackened it didn’t matter  who died, the blackened just wanted people to die.”

“Now that doesn’t make any sense at all,” Byakuya spat. “Of course the order matters, if one of them witnessed the crime they had to go as well.”

“Yeah yeah, that’s great and all but arguing about the blackend’s motive isn’t going to get us any closer to discovering the blackened themself…” Junko said.

“Well, I think I might have a few hints on who the blackened might be…” Makoto said.

“Well Makoto it’s your duty to share this information with the class!” Kiyotaka yelled.

“Well, we know that the dumbbell that injured Hina was from the boy’s changing room, right?” Makoto asked.

“S-so you’re implying that o-one of the g-guys did i-it right?” Toko asked. “W-well M-makoto usually you’d be my f-first bet but you’re all t-too scrawny.”

Thanks for that, I guess. Makoto thought.

“No man would ever harm a girl, right bro?!” Kiyotaka yelled.

“H-huh…? Oh y-yeah.” Mondo said.

“But are we so sure that both victims were females?” Kyoko asked. “We’ve been running based off that assumption but, is everyone here really so sure?”

“Huh… why would we assume anything else?” Makoto asked.

“Are you implying that Miss Fujisaki was not a girl?!” Hifumi yelled.

“I’m just saying we should be prepared for the possibility,” Kyoko said. “But that’s not a pressing issue. What is, is the motive…”

“The m-motive…?” Toko asked. “W-what would that have t-to do with a-anything right now?”

“Everyone’s motives were interesting,” Kyoko admitted. “But there are some I have yet to discover…”

“You saw our motives?!” Byakuya said, enraged.

“Hey! Haven’t you heard of privacy?!” Yasuhiro complained.

“Please don’t get the wrong idea about me from it!” Kiyotaka yelled.

“Interesting the lies the mastermind would create, no?” Celeste asked.

“What do you find so interesting about the motives, Kyoko?” Sakura asked.

“The motives themselves all fit the theme,” Kyoko said. “Or that’s what I would say if I saw all of the motives…”

“What?!” Kiyotaka yelled. “Was someone breaking the rules?!”

“No that’s wrong!” Makoto yelled, “I think I know what Kyoko’s talking about…”

“Huh…?! How could she not see all the motives if someone was not breaking the rules?!”

“Kyoko told me that twenty minutes after the night time announcement she checked the mirrors. Apparently, Mondo, Chihiro and Aoi’s mirrors were all missing…” Makoto explained.

“That’s interesting, is it not?” Celeste asked. “We know Chihiro and Hina never got the chance to put away their mirrors, but what is your excuse Mondo?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I couldn’t fuckin’ sleep.” Mondo said. “The motive thing might’ve been total bullshit but it still bothered me.”

“Hey, wait a second… if you attempted to sleep, wouldn’t you still have to put your mirror back?” Yasuhiro asked.

“I-ignoring the i-idiot, can we discuss something e-else?” Toko said.

“Aw, and I thought I was onto something!” Yasuhiro complained.

“Hm, we’ve been discussing Hina so much but I think we should go back to Chihiro.” Junko said. “There’s something that’s not sitting right with me and that chick.”

“Other than the false suicide?” Byakuya asked.

“That ‘rope’ for example, what kind of wire was that?” Junko asked.

“It was probably the library desk lamp’s extension cord,” Makoto said. “When Junko and I went to the library we noticed the desk lamp missing its extension cord.”

“Surprisingly, you’re correct, Makoto.” Byakuya said. “Chihiro was hanging from the extension cord.”

“There’s something else that’s uber important,” Junko said. “How did the killer get into both the boy’s and the girl's changing rooms. Unless they’re dual wielding, that should be impossible, right?”

“H-huh…? T-the killer g-got into both c-changing rooms?” Toko asked.

“Yep! The girls changing room was totally trashed and the boy’s changing room is missing a dumbbell.” Junko said.

“Y-you’re such a w-whore…! H-how else would you k-know that the d-dumbbell is missing f-from the boy’s c-changing room…?!”

“I’m the whore? Makoto just told me that it was missing!” Junko yelled.

“W-well I-I’m sure y-you two w-were enjoying y-your private t-time together,” Toko said. “W-were you g-giving him your m-model special?”

“Hey! You don’t really think Junko and Makoto would do that... do you?” Kiyotaka asked.

“Huh…?!” Makoto yelled. “This has nothing to do with the case at hand!”

“But it does bring up an interesting point,” Kyoko said. “How did the blackened get into both changing rooms?”

“It has something to do with our e-Handbooks,” Hifumi said. “Miss Fujisaki was quite handy with hers, maybe they modified the blackened’s e-Handbook!”

“Unlikely,” Junko said. “Wasn’t she like super busy with that project we assigned to her or whatever?”

“But perhaps it does have something to do with the e-Handbooks.” Kyoko added. “Has anyone seen anything weird with them as of late?”

“Yeah, actually, I have,” Makoto said. “Monokuma says that all of his e-Handbooks are unbreakable except for one flaw…”

“Yet?” Kyoko asked.

“Yet, in the mailbox where all the dead student’s e-Handbooks are stored one of them was broken…”

“S-since we’re b-bringing up our e-experiences with broken e-Handbooks I m-might as well j-join in…” Toko said. “I-in the s-sauna I f-found another broken e-Handbook…”

“You actually went into the sauna?” Byakuya asked. “Surprising, but you already mentioned that.”

“You weren’t going to share that information with us?” Kyoko asked.

“I feel no need to better the rate of your survival.” 

“Your survival relies on us, dude.” Junko said.

“Inconquestential.”

“Wait, you found the broken e-Handbook in the sauna?” Makoto asked.

“Y-yep, is t-that so s-surprising?” Toko asked.

“Then wait,” Makoto said. “Monokuma, is the e-Handbook’s weakness heat?”

“Aw… you guessed it!” Monokuma said. “Now that you know you better not make a hobby out of destroying them! Because I’m not going to replace them!”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that, Monokuma.” Celestesaid. “We value being able to access the pool.”

“Alright, so we’ve discovered the e-Handbooks weakness but why was there such a mess on the door of the pool?” Yasuhiro asked. “Did the ghosts do it?!”

“Someone like Hina probably didn’t want to die.” Sakura said. “Since we know she died after, we can assume she tried to fight the blackened.”

“Maybe it was Miss Fujisaki!” Hifumi added. “Someone like her wouldn’t go down without a fight either.”

“From the evidence,” Kyoko said. “It was likely that Hina was the one fought back.”

“What makes you so sure?!” Hifumi yelled.

“She’s probably talking about Hina’s finger nails being broken.” Makoto explained. “If she was scratching against the door it probably would’ve broken her nails.”

“I suppose I must concede to that point,” Hifumi said. “But I’ll fight for Miss Fujisaki’s honor with my life!”

“Dude, she’s not here to thank you.” Junko said.

“I think it’s honorable, just like my relationship with bro!” Kiyotaka added.

“Yeah, our bond is fuckin’ powerful.” Mondo said.

“I think Chihiro’s and Hifumi’s bond emulates Taka’s and Mondo’s relationship more than what was originally expected.” Kyoko said.

“H-huh… what do you mean by that?!” Mondo asked.

“Chihiro Fujisaki was not in fact a girl, but actually a guy.” Kyoko said.

“What?!” Hifumi yelled. “You’re lying, Miss Kirigiri, I refuse to believe you!”

“In fact,” Kyoko said. “If we checked Chihiro’s body we’d find more male features than female.”

“That would explain how he never wanted to hang out with Hina and I despite wanting to train.” Sakura said. 

“Miss Fujisaki is a Mr. …? I can’t live like this!” Hifumi yelled.

“Suck it up, buttercup,” Junko said.

“If we’re assuming that our blackened knew Chihiro’s true gender, then I think it’s pretty clear who the blackened is, isn’t it?” Kyoko asked.

“No…! Not at all!” Yasuhiro yelled.

“You’re talking about the mistake in pronouns, aren’t you?” Byakuya asked.

“Exactly,” Kyoko said.

“Mistake in pronouns…?” Makoto asked. “What do you two mean?”

“The blackened already knew Chihiro’s true gender, and because of that they’ve been switching pronouns in order to keep the secret,” Kyoko explained. “I think that’s pretty obvious.”

“Huh…?” Junko said. “Are we supposed to be paying attention to everyone’s little mistakes?!”

“Yes.” Kyoko said.

“Wait…” Makoto said. “I think I know who you’re talking about.” 

“Really? You were able to piece that out with the nothing she gave us?!” Yasuhiro asked.

“Mondo, you’ve been acting really weird this whole trial.” Makoto said. 

“Huh, what the hell are you talking about?!” Mondo yelled.

“I think this whole mystery could be solved if each of us just showed our e-Handbooks.” Makoto explained.

“What use would they have in this situation?” Celeste asked.

“The blackened knew about the way the e-Handbooks could break. Therefore, they had probably broken theirs in the sauna.”

“That would make sense, but why specifically Mondo?” Celeste asked.

“Mondo and Taka had an endurance contest in the sauna. From what I can remember Mondo didn’t take off his clothes…” Makoto began to explain. “Mondo probably kept his e-Handbook on him, and when he left the sauna he discovered that it was broken.”

“So that e-Handbook we found probably wasn’t Leon’s but Mondo’s…?” Junko asked.

“Maybe,” Makoto said. “This can all be cleared up if we just show each other our handbooks.”

“There’s no need!” Kiyotaka yelled. “I already know bro is innocent! Bro would never kill someone!”

“Give it up already,” Mondo said. “There’s no point in trying when you’ve already lost.”

“Bro?! What are you talking about?” Kiyotaka yelled. “If you just show Makoto you’re innocent he’ll stop accusing you, I promise!”

“But he’s not wrong.” Mondo said. “And it’s time I owned up to it, as well.”

“No! You’re lying!” Kiyotaka yelled. “I refuse to believe it!”

“Makoto,” Kyoko said. “How about you explain it in full detail so that everyone might get it.”

“It all started when we got our motives,” Makoto began. “Mondo like everyone else was hesitant to share his motive.” 

“After the night time announcement Mondo still hadn’t went to bed, I think we can all safely assume that Mondo wasn’t planning on sleeping without committing a murder.” Makoto said. “I think he encountered Chihiro working out in the pool area and went and got the extension cord from the library.”

“After getting the cord, Mondo strangled Chihiro to death but unluckily for him Hina had decided to go to the pool at the same time.” Makoto said. “Hina tried to get away but Mondo caught her just as she made her way to the door.”

“She probably wasn’t easy to contain. She was fighting him every inch of the way there, but when he saw Chihiro’s dumbbell he knew what he could do to stop her.” Makoto said. “He hit her once, knocking her out before throwing her into the pool.”

“But he wasn’t done yet, he still had to move Chihiro’s body,” Makoto said. “Luckily for him, everyone was asleep at the time.”

“He hung Chihiro’s body up and left the door unlocked, leaving Chihiro to be discovered. But now he had two e-Handbooks that he didn’t have any use for,” Makoto said. “He threw Chihiro’s into the sauna so his true gender wouldn’t be discovered, and he put Hina’s handbook in the mailbox where he found Leon’s and Sayaka’s.”

“That’s what happened, right Mondo?” Makoto said.

“Y’know those two were braver than I was,” Mondo said. “Chihiro was trying to get stronger to accept himself and Hina was trying to improve her craft.”

“Yet I couldn’t accept what I saw in the mirror, I thought getting’ out of here would be the easiest way to move on.” Mondo said. “But it seems that I’ve just taken two more lives with me.”

“Bro! Don’t accept it! You just have to prove him wrong!” Kiyotaka yelled.

“There’s no point,” Mondo said. “He wasn’t wrong.”

“Well well well, it seems the facade of Mondo Owada has finally come to an end.” Monokuma said. “He couldn’t face what he saw in the mirror and took it out on others instead.”

“Why?” Sakura asked. “What was so worth it that you had to kill them to run away?”

“Let me tell you a story,” Monokuma said. “And pay attention because it’s  bear -y important!”

“Long ago there were two brothers, and they were happy for a time.” Monokuma said. “But the younger brother lived in the shadow of his older brother. And oh did I mention this was about the Owadas?”

“Anyways, Mondo’s brother led the Crazy Diamond’s biker gang and Mondo was his right hand man,” Monokuma said. “But Mondo wasn’t content in living in his brother’s shadow, so he challenged him to a race!”

“It was going pretty badly for Mondo and he had to stoop to desperate methods to win the race,” Monokuma said. “But oh no! Mondo ends up in front of a truck coming straight at him! What will he do…?!”

“The answer is, nothing. Mondo’s brother hits him out of the way and takes the truck head on instead.” Monokuma said. “Does Mondo’s brother survive this incident? No. Does Mondo live with the guilt forever? Yes.”

“You know what’s even worse?” Monokuma asked. “He died on the day of his retirement! Well I guess that’s one way to make it more permanent…”

“Now here’s a sadder story about a young man named Chihiro Fujisaki…” Monokuma began. “Chihiro Fujisaki was a boy with a feminine frame, and like any boy with a feminine frame he was bullied relentlessly for it.”

“Now instead of standing up to his bullies like his murderer could, Chihiro folded like a stack of cards!” Monokuma said. “He decided to ‘embrace’ aka hide behind his femininity even if it made his skin crawl!”

“He wanted to become a stronger person, so he decided to work out.” Monokuma said. “Unluckily for him he picked a very bad time to improve on himself!” 

“Mondo decided that if he couldn’t be happy, no one could be happy!” Monokuma said. “So he took Chihiro’s strength away from him, permanently!”

“And finally our witness Aoi Asahina.” Monokuma said. “Talk about a comedy of errors!”

“First, Aoi looks into her mirror and sees that she’s not feminine enough,” Monokuma said. “‘Fine’, she thinks to herself, ‘I’ll just go swim that’ll make me feel better!’. Oh how wrong she could be.”

“So she heads to the pool and what does she see?” Monokuma asked. “Oh you know, Chihiro being strangled to death by one Mondo Owada.”

“Of course she tries to run away but Mondo is gaining on her quick.” Monokuma said. “She almost makes it to the exit, barely opens the door before Mondo’s grabbing her like there’s no tomorrow!”

“She scratches, she kicks, she breaks things, but it’s no use, she’s back at the pool in no time.” Monokuma said. “She’s causing too much trouble so Mondo hits her! Wham! And then she’s in the pool like nothing ever happened.”

“You’re lying you son of a bitch!” Kiyotaka yelled. “Shut the hell up!”

“I promise you that as your headmaster I would never lie unless it helps me!” Monokuma responded.

“Well,” Mondo said. “I guess you should get it over with then.”

“Don’t you feel sorry? Don’t you feel any remorse at all?” Sakura asked.

“Of course I do,” Mondo said. “But that doesn’t change anything.”

“You can’t bring back the dead with your apologies,” Makoto said. “You can’t bring back anything at all.”

“I hated my reflection in that damn mirror, but I guess Taka wasn’t wrong when he called me a coward,” Mondo said.

“No bro you’re not a coward-” 

“It’s over,” Mondo said. “I think it might even be for the best this way, even if it doesn’t seem like it yet.”

“Enough with the sentimentality, it’s punishment time!” Monokuma said.

“Wait no, stop you son of a bitch, stop!” Kiyotaka yelled out.

It was too late of course, Mondo was already being led away to his execution. 

Mondo’s shows up tied up to a pink motorcycle, it’s being driven by Monokuma. Around them is a circus with two cardboard tigers surrounding a metal ball cage. Monokuma starts up the motorcycle and jumps out just as they land in the ball cage. Mondo is left spinning when the cage closes as the cage starts to electrify. 

In front of the ball cage is another Monokuma hula hooping as the volts grow brighter the hula hooping gets faster

After the volts clear up, the motorcycle is still spinning sans Mondo. The hula hooper is sitting down exhausted. A machine makes a beeping noise and out comes a tub branded “Mondo Butter”.

“W-what did w-we just witness?” Toko asked.

“Jesus christ, did he just get turned into fucking butter?!” Junko cried.

“It’s what he deserved,” Sakura said.

Kiyotaka stared, silently, eyes showing only resignation.

Makoto gulped, he didn’t want to do this again. More ghosts weighing heavily on him. He had lost his good friends Aoi and Chihiro and he didn’t want to lose Mondo as well.

It always has to end like this,  Makoto thought.  It’s us before them, but how can they put their lives before others…? Am I supposed to do the same?