I don't own Danganronpa.

When she finally came to a groggy consciousness, it took Kyouko a short moment to realize she was still alive- and another to conceive what this all meant- before the realization hit her like an ocean of freezing water.

Of course she was still alive- of course. After all, Makoto was dead, wasn't he? Her reason to die had taken his own life, and so she still had hers- had had the blood taken off of her hands and her decision stolen out from under her. She even felt something akin to anger at it, was she not even allowed the right to choose when she'd die? To choose what- or who- she'd die for?

It was too late either way, she was here now, and whatever Makoto had been carrying, it was her job to take it up now.

A cursory glance to her side showed that she had been the second to wake, Asahina had already roused herself from the drug induced sleep and crossed the room, leaving heavy hearted footprints across the dust. Kyouko tracked those footprints until she finally locked eyes with the woman herself, crouched over as she slowly helped Ryouta to his feet.

"You're up." Asahina noted, her voice devoid of it's usual energy and cheer.

Kyoko said nothing, there was nothing she could say to that empty gaze, restoring hope was Naegi's job.

"-I'm glad, after we couldn't barricade the door, I was worried that when I woke up- If I woke up-"

"Conjecture aside," Kyouko calmly interjected, secretly relieved at the opportunity to steer Asahina away from darker topics, "it appears that none of us were attacked, even with the unlocked door."

Asahina could only stare and shake her head, "You're always so strong at times like this, I'm glad you're okay."

"I'm also rather happy with this development, though it's not as if the door would've helped much anyway,"

"S' right," Ryouta groaned, crawling to his feet. His eyes were still half closed and heavy with fatigue, but his words were relatively clear in spite of it, "The Attck- the attacker- has complete control over the facility while we sleep."

Asahina's eyes widened, her arm moving to protect her stomach on unconscious reflex "But that means that they chose not to come after us!?"

"-Which likely means someone else is dead." Kyouko finished.

"W-we can't know that," Ryouta exclaimed sharply, turning to Kyouko with panic filled his eyes, "Not until we see the body! I mean, the attacker could already be dead!"

"Perhaps..."-Or maybe there is no Attacker. Kyouko reasoned silently, thumbing her notebook absentmindedly, I still need more proof to make such a claim though, it won't do to act on something so insubstantial. "There is no evidence either way."

"-However, seeing as we are all still alive," Kyouko observed, ignoring the twinge in her chest as she did so, "the latest victim would have to be among Ando, Munakata, Sakakura, or Gekkougahara-"

Asahina stopped her, shaking her head."Not Gekkougahara," she muttered, "I don't know what happened to her, but she's awake during the sleeping times, the attacker could never have killed her, not unless…"

"Wait, wait, wait-" Ryouta exclaimed, his shock and disbelief echoing off the stone walls, "how could Gekkougahara have been awake during the sleeping times?!" his eyes dawned with horror, "Was she the Attacker!?"

"Not the Attacker just... a robot of some kind," Asahina haltingly explained, doing her best to calm Ryouta down, "after her controller left she went berserk or something. Last I saw she was fighting Munakata-" however, just as the swimmer was about to elaborate on what happened next, she was interrupted by the telltale high pitched whine of radio feedback.

Now Kyouko did not count herself a superstitious person, such thoughts clouded the investigation, but even she felt that the way the intercom had flared up at that specific moment was just too convenient, it was as if the broadcast itself had been summoned by Asahina's words.

The logical conclusion was that this was being broadcast due to the passing time limit, perhaps even to gloat. Such claims were worthless next to any hard evidence though, and a message over the broadcast hardly required such dissection.

The broadcasts intention soon became obvious anyway.

"Naegi Makoto," spoke the unmistakeable voice of Kyosuke Munakata, shocking them all with the name of their fallen friend, tearing open wounds that hadn't even begun to heal.

"Have you learned Kyouko Kirigiri's forbidden action? Do you now understand how useless your platitudes are?" The lecture paused for a second, no doubt so that the diatribe would properly pierce through Makoto's skin and into his heart before Munakata issued his final challenge.

"It is time to settle whose hope is right." He proclaimed , "Yours or mine." with that, the broadcast cut off, leaving the three in heavy silence.

Ryouta was the first to break the tension in the air. Cautiously cutting through it as though a single misstep would destroy the world, "I-I suppose that means Gekkougahara has passed on."

"...yes," came Asahina's quiet reply, the woman has curled in on herself at the speech, but now she was looking ahead at the intercom with a torn, but determined look on her face.

Kyouko said nothing, her expression showing nothing. She was the picture of ambivalence, but on the inside she could feel her locked away anger stirring at Munakata's words. His words, so carefully prepared and put together to cut into Makoto, to lure him to a physical confrontation he little to no chance of winning, perhaps even to his death.

It was cruel, and she hated it, hated the idea of her own death being used against her friend- hated the serrated twist that Munakata had applied to her refusal to betray him.

Those words may as well have been a knife. The murder weapon that would slay Naegi Makoto.

It's not as though it matters now, though. she thought bitterly as she stared at her monokuma bracelet, it's strobing red looking almost like an insult, Makoto's already dead.

He was already dead, and Munakata didn't know, Which means that, wherever he is, he has no idea of the casualties of the game. Not to mention the fact that he isn't here in person, which means, in all probability, he doesn't even know where we are.

Next to her, her associates were already coming to their own conclusions.

"If Munakata is alive, then Gekkougahara is dead," Ryouta said, still unable to look away from the intercom, "That brings the survivors down to the three of us, Munakata, Sakakura, and Ando."

"And there will be at least one more casualty," Kyouko confirmed, turning to look properly at the others "Either the Attacker was killed. Or the Attacker has killed someone else."

"So how can we tell?" Asahina asked, finally looking away from the intercom and glancing at Kyouko.

"We'll have to find and inspect the body."

"With Munakata around?!" Ryouta yelped, staring between her and the door with obvious trepidation.

"If he is expecting ...Makoto to come to him, then he won't move from his location- most likely the broadcasting studio- we should use that to our advantage and go quickly."

Inwardly, Kyouko knew that it was cruel to put them on the spot in such a manner. It made sense to be scared- Munakata was a dangerous enemy- but she also knew that they had no choice but to move forward- and she knew that Ryouta knew that too.

"Well I'm with Kyouko!" Asahina declared, surprising them both with the forcefulness of her statement as she took her place by the detective's side, " She's my friend, and I won't abandon her just because of Munakata."

"Asahina-" Kyouko started, intending to remind Asahina that she was under no obligation to follow her into danger. But before she could even begin Asahina had wrapped her in a fierce hug.

Kyouko felt ashamed for almost shaking her off, it had been her gut reaction to such close contact, but now that she could see the tears in Asahina's eyes- feel their wetness on her own face as if they were her own, she couldn't bear to do it.

Now that she knew the stress that the Woman had been suffering under, Kyouko only felt ashamed at her own uselessness- at her inability to comfort Asahina in her time of need. Asahina may not have been her subordinate- but Kyouko still had a duty to protect her as her friend, yet here Asahina stood, crying into her shoulder because there was no one else's to cry into, because the only "else" in question was dead because of her failures.

The least she could do was allow her friend a moment of warmth- if she was even capable of it.

Kyouko lost track of how long the hug lasted- logically, it couldn't have been too long, but it had felt like hours until Asahina finally released her.

"I-I trust you Kyouko, and I don't want to take my eyes off a friend ever again" She had said, giving Kyouko's shoulders a squeeze with one hand and wiping her own tear stained face with the other. "So I'll stay. No matter what."

"...Thank you." It was all Kyouko could muster. After a hug like that- a display of such affection and support- she was a little overwhelmed. Maybe she should've expected it, this was Asahina, but with the way she'd been acting… well, Kyouko supposed she was just glad that she was back to her usual self.

"What about you, Mitarai?" Asahina asked, turning on her boots to face Ryouta. The man was startled by the sudden inquiry, having turned away from such a personal moment to tap desperately at his phone.

"Mitarai." Asahina repeated, running up to him and asking in the way that only Asahina could- the way where you couldn't refuse without feeling for all the world like you'd just kicked a small animal, "Are you coming?"

"O-Of course!" Ryouta stammered, evidently holding little hatred for woodland creatures (Kyouko could empathize,) "I-I have to be strong too…"

Though he said that, Kyouko could see from the tensing of his shoulders, from the dread in his gaze, that Ryouta was holding the fear down and mustering all his bravery. Like so many other times this day, she noted that he was far stronger than he gave himself credit for.

Watching them like that, Asahina trying hard to find her sun again, and Ryouta having been emboldened by her light, Kyouko couldn't help but smile a little. Despite everything that had happened, and the body that lay just in the next corridor, she still had these two beside her, to stand with her, and help her make sure this wouldn't end on any other terms but theirs. No matter how cold she might have seemed, she was glad for them.

Detectives almost never worked alone, after all.

Woof this ended up being long... almost broke my self imposed limit. Maybe I should just ignore the limits and quit when i feel like it.

(so long and yet it still feels ooc. Sigh.)

Anyway thanks for the reviews Fallenstreet01, Hunter of comedy, Iariz and Electricangel12! I'm glad you all like it.

Thanks to all the favouriters and followers as well! I was shocked at the support! I wasn't even expecting 1 really! I hope I can make your days better!

And in case any were wondering, I will continue this until it ends, it will probably have some pauses that are longer than others because college and art, but it WILL be happening.