Disclaimer: Danganronpa belongs to Spike Chunsoft and their respective associates. I do not own any of Danganronpa's characters or other creations.

Author Notes: I don't really have anything to say this time other than thanks for tuning in whether you'd be a follower, reviewer or otherwise. Enjoy the new part.

Review Replies:

doomqwer: Yep, a little callback to Ultra Despair Girls. I was honestly not sure what to do with Fukawa, but after taking a closer look at Fukawa's character and her reasoning for why she falls for Togami, I figured that her falling for Kuramoto really wasn't that out of character for her and decided to roll with it.

Tsunashi777: This chapter will introduce the motive although as I have mentioned before, the motives won't always be the same.

LazyWriterDude: Yes, the plot thickens. I was hoping to get a little more out of that chapter, but meh, not much I can do about it now. He did already pull that off once with Monokuma when he asked for the specifics of the rules on the night of the two murder attempts. Something to think about in regards to your question.

Location: Hope's Peak Academy Cafeteria

Time: 0700

*DING DONG DING DONG*

"Ahem, this is a school announcement. Goooood mooorning, everyone! It is now 7AM.! Nighttime is now over! Get ready to greet another beaaauutiful day!"

Remembering what Kuramoto had told him yesterday, Naegi wasted no time on heading straight to the cafeteria as soon as the announcement played.

By the time he got there, breakfast was already beginning to be made.

"Ah, there you are, Naegi-kun. I was wondering when you were going to show up." Kuramoto said as he was working on some french toast.

"Huh? Kuramoto-kun? How did you get here?"

"Have you forgotten already? I took kitchen cleaning from the Chores list. As long as I continue to take kitchen cleaning, I will always have unrestricted access to the cafeteria. So, I just showed up a bit early and got started. Now then, I could use your help with getting some other food made."

"That does remind me, I do need to jot down the names of everyone that was doing what. I get the impression that that information will come in handy."

The rest of the class began to follow within the half hour. Now, only Togami and Ishimaru were missing, the latter was attempting to get the former out of his room.

"Yamada-san, would you be so kind as to make me a cup of tea. Royal milk, if you please." Celes asks out of the blue."

"Huh? W-Why me?"

"You bear the same plump form as the master of the café I used to frequent. Do be quick about it please, I'm parched."

A few minutes later, Yamada returns carry a tray in his hands.

"Oh boy." Kuramoto thinks.

"I'll be right back." Kuramoto said quickly, returning to the kitchen, leaving a small look of confusion on some of his classmates..

"If the time I have spent with Celes-san as told me anything, Yamada-san probably made the tea incorrectly."

*SMASH*

"Yep, that's what I thought. Considering her high class tastes, that's pretty much what I expected to happen. I honestly don't know why she would ask Yamada of all people to make high class tea in the first place. Especially when you have a few people who have decent culinary talent. Oh well, let's just hope I can get this to her before…"

"Shut yer fuckin' trap and go make me my goddamn tea, Porky!"

"Too late for that."

"Eeeeeeep. Y-yes! Porky at your service! Bringing your tea riiight awaaay!" Yamada yells, bypassing Kuramoto.

"Ehehe. It's amazing how a little intimidation can go." Ludenberg says, leaving the majority of the people speechless.

"You know, you could have asked someone who is more versed in making tea if royal tea is what you wanted." Kuramoto said, handing her the royal tea. "Asking an otaku who has zero experience in the culinary arts to make high class tea is a terrible decision."

"Oh?" Celes said, surprised. "Aren't we the perfect butler, Kuramoto-kun."

Kuramoto stood there for a second before replying.

"You're trying to discern my usefulness in that occupation right now, aren't you?"

Celes just simply giggles at the comment.

"You're a fast learner, Kuramoto-kun."

Before Kuramoto could comment further, Ishimaru came storming through the cafeteria door.

"Classmates! We have a problem! Togami-san is not coming out of his room, despite ringing his doorbell plenty of times! What if...something happened to him?"

"M-Maybe we should split up and look for him?" Naegi suggests.

"You guys can do whatever you want. I'm not going to waste my time looking for him." Kuramoto firmly states, catching everyone off guard.

"What!? Why not?" Ishimaru asks.

"If he's still alive, then he's actively avoiding us. The scion probably regards most of us, at best, being an afterthought in the back of his mind. If he's not, well, it's not we can do anything about it now and it's not like he will be missed anyway. We might as well make the most this morning's breakfast before we will have to deal with another class trial."

"That's irresponsible to hold a fellow student with such disregard, especially after your promise to Oogami-san that you would look after everyone!" Ishimaru attempted to refute.

"Someone needs to learn to pay better attention. What I said was…" Kuramoto countered.

Flashback

"You have a heart of gold. Even if you don't believe it yourself. I want to look after Asahina and the rest of the students." Oogami said, given him a small smile.

"I understand." Kuramoto replied with determination in his eyes. "I will do everything within reason to look after everyone here."

End Flashback

"In other words, I would do all that I can that would be reasonable to look after everyone here. As far as I'm concerned, reasonable doesn't include pursuing an individual who has gone out of their way to consistently burn bridges and create animosity towards one another."

"Furthermore, you claim that I'm the irresponsible one. That I'm the one that's in the wrong. In that case, answer me this, not just you Ishimaru-san, but everyone here. Who here would be upset if Togami was found to be dead? I'm not referring to the fact that someone died, but him specifically."

Silence filled the room as no one was willing to answer that question, even Ishimaru was stunned into silence, knowing that he too, really wouldn't mind if Togami was gone.

"That's what I thought. The next time you plan on refuting me for my ethics, I suggest you go look at a mirror first." Kuramoto rebuked, annoyed. "Regardless, my stance remains the same. He can fend for himself."

"I agree with Kuramoto-kun." Asahina said, fuming, surprising everyone. "After what he did at Sakura-chan's funeral, I see no reason as to why we should care for such a callous person."

"Chick's right." Oowada agreed. "That bastard's been nothin' but trouble ever since we got here. Why we should be concerned about him?"

"While we are on the subject, I have been curious about this for a while." Celes spoke up. "What is your beef with Togami-san? Judging from you actions ever since the first day, you seem to really have it out for him. More so than anyone else here."

"Now that you mentioned it, I have noticed it too." Naegi added. "Every since you interacted with him, you have seemed to look at him, at best with indifference, at worst, nothing short of absolute disgust."

"Looking back on things, Togami-san is really the only person you have shown total animosity towards." Ikusaba commented.

The others chimed in as well, both amongst themselves and towards Kuramoto. The underlying message was clear. They wanted to know as to why he held such hatred towards him.

"Since you all seem to be curious and we have the luxury of time, I suppose I can explain things." Kuramoto began to speak. "While I do have my fair share to resentment towards most of what society calls the "elite", it's not for the reasons that most people think. I could care less as to how much money Togami has or how many connections he has."

"The true reason why I cannot stand him, more so than anything else, is the fact that he, along with most of his kind, are colossal failures as leaders."

The unexpected answer he gave, understandably, was replied with a ton of looks of confusion.

"He claims to be the exemplar of human beings. The best of the best. The peak of humanity. Yet, he does nothing to deserve being called as such. He claims to be that of a king, a god even. All the while, he nor any member of his family is neither a gift or a blessing to anyone other than themselves. Tell me, do any of you know the true reason as to why many of the leaders and many of gods of ancient times were so heavily revered?"

Taking the followed silence as a 'no', Kuramoto carried on, his passion growing with every word he spoke..

"The major reason why they were all so heavily revered is ultimately because of what they contributed to the domain they rule. They were praised because of how they would look after their subjects and regard them with dignity and respect. As opposed to now where many so "leaders" would sell them out in the blink of an eye if they have something to gain for it."

"Naturally, as all of you have witnessed during our stay here, Togami is as far away from being the ideal leader that I have described as the North is to the South. From him thumbing his nose at everyone, to his callous attitude towards emotions."

"Honestly, I could go on for hours for why I have a problem with him along the rest of his kind. From his heavily over-inflated ego, to the many atrocious acts his family has been a part of, to being the major reason why so many areas of the Earth is filled with so much pollution, to making it extremely difficult for others to make ends meet by not only making money a necessity, but also hoarding it and make it significantly harder for others to accumulate wealth, to severely underestimating the everyday folk. I could go on, but I trust this is enough for most of you to get the point."

"A most intriguing thought process." Celes commented. "But what exactly do you mean by severely underestimating the everyday folk?"

"It's quite simple." Kuramoto answered. "While it's true that those who are prodigies and geniuses that contribute to their societies should be acknowledged and respected, the everyday person has repeatedly proven time and time again that they have their own important role to play in civilizations. After all, it wasn't the pharaohs or the priest and priestesses that put down the blocks of the pyramids, but it was instead the common folks that did. In the US, back during the times of the British occupation, while it's founding fathers were the ones who lead the rebels and laid the foundations of the new country, none of that would have possible if the thousands of people hadn't taken up arms and decided to fight alongside them. Even my own works prove this. While I did bring forth organized criminals to the light, it wouldn't have meant anything if nobody acted upon it. In other words, it was ultimately because individuals stood upon and demanded that these people be judged for their crimes that the organizations fell."

Most of the group were quite surprised by Kuramoto's answer. Everyone present had some level of sentiment towards what Kuramoto had said and explained to them. The more introspective and observant people however, were more surprised by the maturity of Kuramoto answer. To them, it was truly beginning to dawn on them as to why Kuramoto was known as the Ultimate Mastermind. He was much more than simply a scholar. He also held many attributes of a profound leader. From the charisma he has displayed, to the immense intelligence he had, the willingness to listen, the heavy amount of wisdom he has revealed. To see him in his element like this, it truly was a sight to behold.

Location: Hope's Peak Academy Library

Time: 0745

Sitting alone in the library, perusing on the cold case files was Togami. If anyone were to have talked in asking him what he was doing, he would have said something along the lines of the cases being fascinating for him to read. However, the truth was that he was trying to distract himself. Both from the pain from his broken leg and from the one who caused his leg to be broken.

"Why can't I get my mind away from him!? No matter how much I try to take my mind off him, he always just continues to pop up one way or another. It's really ticking me off!"

Togami tried to stand up to get away from the table for a bit, only to end up incorrectly distributing his weight.

"AGH!"

He crashed into the ground immediately after putting too much pressure onto his broken leg. With a lot of struggling and a lot of pain later, he managed to place himself on the back of the wall.

"Damn him! Ever since I woke up to this confounded school, he has been nothing but trouble for me! First he's been verbally spitting in my face since day one, then he has managed and now he's injured me. Me! I'm a Togami, the apex of the human species! How could someone as low as him hurt me!?"

Togami was fuming, he was pissed. Pissed that someone he had never heard of until recent events was effectively punching holes into him. Into his pride and his body. Even worse, unlike the pompadour ape, Kuramoto was smart. Enough to that, to Togami's reluctance, he had to admit his intellect could possibly match his.

"To make matters worse, due to that little stunt he pulled, now it's unlikely that others will be willing to listen to me. Even that stalker has had enough."

No matter which way we went, to Togami, all the problems he was now dealing with came back full circle to his current enemy, Kuramoto. Which only added to his cycle of fury.

"He shouldn't be able to touch me! Someone like him shouldn't be affecting me like this. And yet… And yet…."

Togami shuddered just remembering what had happened. The look he got on Kuramoto's 's eyes. It was pure hatred. Total, unrestrained hatred. He had only known of stories of people who could affect others like that with just simply a stare. The only people has known that could pull something like that off are killers. Cold-blooded killers.

"I don't know who he truly is or how he managed to get where is at, but I will find out and I swear on my family's name that he will pay!"

Location: Hope's Peak Academy 1st Floor Hallway

Time: 0800

Everyone had went their own separate ways after breakfast. In the end, Ishimaru went alone to see if could find Togami to check if he was alive or not. He managed to find him in the library and went back immediately to the cafeteria to let everyone know about it.

Kuramoto was now taking a bit of a stroll, jotting down the names of the individuals who did what and getting his note for Kirigiri to let her know of his previous nights discoveries ready.

"There you are, Bro. I was looking for you."

Kuramoto turned around to find Oowada was approaching him.

"Hey there, Oowada-kun. I'm surprised you are still up."

"Yeah, I figured I might as well try and stay up for as long as I can. Wouldn't want to wake up in the dead of night.

"Puttin' that aside, I was hopin' to hang with you for a bit."

"Alright, sure. What do you want to do?"

"How bout we hit the locker room and get a workout in? It's been a bit and I'd rather stay in shape while here."

"Ok. Lead the way."

Location: Hope's Peak Academy 2nd Floor Locker Room

Time: 0810

Both Kuramoto and Oowada were now started to remove their upper, loose clothing in order to avoid having them drenched in sweat.

"Whoa." Oowada said, looking at Kuramoto.

With his sweater now removed, Kuramoto's 's muscles were laid bare for all to see. Despite being fairly short for a guy, he looked pretty buff. Granted, he wasn't quite as big as Oowada and was a good distance from the aesthetics of a bodybuilder, but it was still very clear he was in excellent physical condition.

"Hm?" Kuramoto said, looking at Oowada. He quickly realized that Oowada was staring at him.

"Oh. Right. I guess you wouldn't have expected that."

"Sheesh. First, yer really smart, then you can cook, just recently you showed that yer some kind of philosopher and now yer athletic as well? Just how many fricking talents do you have!?" Oowada said with a tad bit of envy.

"More than you realize." Kuramoto answered as he started to do pull ups. "But that's the result of me both investing a lot of time as well as being very efficient with my time. Versatility is, after all, what separates me from many other individuals that are like me."

"I guess. It's just that I've never heard of someone who can do so much." Oowada said as he picked up some dumbbells and began curling them.

"Not many can. It's takes a lot of devotion to even get half of the knowledge and skill base that I have. By the way, Oowada-kun. I've been wondering, what's everyday life for you and your gang?"

"Honestly, it's a bit of mash up between fun and hard work. On one had, it's a lot of fun getting to be around my crew and we have a blast from riding, playin' cards, brawling and doing other activities. On the other hand, it's quite tough. Keepin' everyone in line, organizing events, the occasional scuffle with the cops."

"Sounds exciting." Kuramoto said, beginning some sit ups.

"Funny, I wasn't expectin an answer like that. Comin from a cop." Oowada said, a bit surprised.

"Well, I was more of an investigator over a cop despite being trained under them and while afterwards I did do the occasional case for them, I did go on my own way."

"Figures as much. That might explain why yer much less of an asshat than Ishimaru-kun."

"Anyways, what do you ride?" Oowada asked, changing the subject.

"Ride? Oh right, motorcycles. Sadly, I do not currently own one. My work has me constantly on the move and even if I wasn't, my current residence that I call home has everything pretty closeby. Even if I did own one, it'd probably end up sitting in a parking lot or garage."

"That's a shame." Oowada said solemnly.

"I know!" Oowada exclaimed.. "When we get outta here, I'll introduce you to a few and we can ride together."

"As long as you don't end up picking fights with folks then sure, I can see about arranging some time to do that." Kuramoto answered.

"C'mon, you do really think that I would go about doin' that kind of stuff?"

Kuramoto just gave him a glance that said 'Do you really want me to answer that?'.

"Ok, fine, you got me. But most of fights I get into, I'm usually defendin' myself and I don't plan on backing down from them."

"As long as you make sure that you don't throw the first punch, then that's fine by me."

It was then that a splash sound was just audible for the two of them to here.

"Sounds like Asahina-san is at it once more." Kuramoto stated.

"..."

A second splash was made and after a few moments, it sounded like there was a conversation going with two individuals.

"I can only just hear it, but I think that Ikusaba chick is with her." Oowada replied. "Shall we grab some swim gear and meet up with 'em?"

"Oh? Could it be that Asahina-san is a love interest?" Kuramoto said in a teasing manner.

"The hell you sayin!?" Oowada replied, his face now red with both anger and embarrassment. "Besides, I doubt she'd even like me in the first place, with me bein a gang leader and all of that."

"I wouldn't be so quick to throw in the towel." Kuramoto went on. "I have no doubt she did appreciate you looking out for her in her time of need. Plus, she is quite the energetic person that could easily keep up with you. Besides, you two would make quite the couple."

Oowada just stared down for a bit, putting his hand behind his head before responding.

"Well, what about you and Ikusaba-chan? It's pretty clear that chick has some interest in you considering she's a lot more talkative when you or Naegi-kun is around."

"I see what you're doing, Oowada-kun. I'm not that easy to fluster."

"Hmmm….I'd consider it." Kuramoto contemplated. "I would like to get to know her a little bit better before making any moves."

"Anyways, shall we?"

About five minutes later…

"Thanks for joining me, Ikusaba-chan!" Asahina said, happily.

"It's no problem. I figured you'd need a break from watching over Maizono-san and besides, I could use the exercise myself." Ikusaba answered.

"Yeah. You're surprising fast, you actually took me by surprise." Asahina said.

"Swimming with my gear at hand was a part of my training in Fenrir. From swimming to marching and a ton of exercises, I developed quite a bit of speed and endurance, whether it'd be on ground or in water." Ikusaba explained.

The door to from the locker rooms opened and when both Asahina and Ikusaba turned around, both of them were almost immediately red-faced.

Both Oowada and Kuramoto had come out of the locker rooms and to them, they were both looking pretty hot. While they knew that they were both pretty tough, actually seeing for themselves was a first for both of them. It was quite the feast for their eyes.

"Hey there! Mind if we tag along?" Kuramoto shouted out, snapping both of them out of their daze.

"Yeah, the water's great!" Asahina replied.

With that, the two of them dove in and the both spend the rest of their time swimming with the two girls.

Location: Hope's Peak Academy 2nd Floor Locker Room

Time: 1955

After parting ways with Oowada, speaking with Fukawa for a time who developed a habit of following Kuramoto around, taking care of the kitchen and verifying with Asahina that the pool area and locker rooms were good to go, it was nearly time to meet with Fujisaki.

"Hello there, Kuramoto-kun."

Kuramoto turned to find that Fujisaki has just arrived.

"Evening, Fujisaki-san. Well, now that you have arrived, let's not waste any time." Kuramoto said as he grabbed onto Fujisaki's hand and began to pull him towards the guy's locker room.

"Huh? Wah! Wait! Wait, Kuramoto-kun!" Fujisaki cried out, desperately trying to pull away from him. Unfortunately for Fujisaki, Kuramoto grip was quite strong and he wouldn't be letting until they were both inside the locker room.

"Relax, Fujisaki-san. Nothing bad will happen. I can promise you that." Kuramoto said as he swiped his e-handbook and brought himself and Fujisaki inside the locker room.

"Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. He knows. He definitely now knows. What do I do? What do I do?"

Fujisaki was in a state of panic. The secret he had kept for so long. The shell that he had built up for years. It was completely rendered void all in the span of a few seconds. He was expecting the jeers, the taunts, the bullying, anything except for the next words that came from Kuramoto.

"Well then, shall we get started?"

Fujisaki's eyes opened for the first time ever since he stepped into the locker room. Kuramoto was still there, unfazed by the information that should be new to him.

"Huh? W-What?" Fujisaki said, confused. He didn't get it. He was certain Kuramoto knew for sure, but then why was he avoiding the subject like it's no big deal to him.

"What? I did say we'd test your capabilities today, didn't I? So, let's get started." Kuramoto said.

"B-But, I-I-I'm" Fujisaki stuttered out.

"A guy." Kuramoto finished. "Yeah, I know. I've known since yesterday."

Fujisaki just stared wide-eyed at Kuramoto as he blurted that out like it was the most natural thing to say.

"Huh? H-How?"

"Truthfully, I did notice something was amiss about you ever since we first met. But I couldn't quite pinpoint it. However, after getting to spend a bit of time with you, that's when I began to notice the subtle differences."

"The first thing that I noticed was your hands, if you look at yours as well as my own, you notice that they are quite rounded. Girls hands tend to be more slender. It's a bit tough to explain, but if you were to see the differences for yourself, you'd notice it right away."

Fujisaki instinctively put his hands close to face. He was surprised. His hands could that easily have given away his secret? Just like that?

"Of course, that alone wouldn't have been enough to prove whether or not you are male." Kuramoto continued. "Before she was killed, Oogami-san was a perfect example of being an exception to that due to her immense amount of training that she would do."

"The second major thing I noticed was your hips. A girls hips are naturally wider than a guys. While your choice of skirt made it harder to notice. However, the way you walk definitely makes the fact you have small hips much more noticeably. The wider hips that a girl has gives her a natural sway to her walk. With most people probably wouldn't have noticed that, the work that I do on an everyday basis requires me to be attentive to even the smallest details. "

Yet another factor that Fujisaki hadn't even considered. While he inadvertently learned about the sway girls have due to the hormones he had developed, he was more caught up on the embarrassment of staring rather than the act itself that never realized that that was a giveaway.

"Speaking of wider body parts, the next thing I noticed was your shoulders. While girls tend to have wider hips, guys have broader shoulders. Of course there are always exceptions to that as I have mentioned before, but it is a noticeable trait if a person is actively looking for it. Your smaller stature also make it tough to notice, but the city that I have been around for the past few years does have quite a few children of various ages and heights so I learned how to be able to tell from them."

Fujisaki nodded in confirmation, once more, looking at the body part that was pointed out. Thinking back on it, it made sense, considering a lot of the buffer guys he knew had pretty big chests. The broader shoulders would help support that.

"Lastly, the Adam's apple that I saw while you were eating was the final clue I needed to piece it all together. While yours is a bit smaller when compared to most and you having your head down all the time does make it even tougher to see, it is present and it can be spotted by those attentive enough to notice."

That's was the one aspect that Fujisaki knew for sure would be a giveaway. In addition to the complex that he had, that was the major reason why his head was down quite frequently.

"Now then, shall we get started? You said it yourself didn't you? You wanted to stronger, someone who doesn't cower away in fear when things go bad. Well then, I shall do what I can to help you, to help overcome your fears and insecurities until you are ready to reveal the truth." Kuramoto said with conviction.

If Kuramoto didn't know any better, he would say that Fujisaki almost had stars in his eyes as tears of joy began to fall from his face. He was so relieved that, not only Kuramoto was willing to keep his secret, but that he was also willing to help him overcome his fears.

"T-Thank you, Kuramoto-kun." Fujisaki cried out.

…

…

…

"Why did I do this to myself?"

"C'mon, Fujisaki-kun, you almost got it, just one more!"

"No. I can't do it anymore!"

"Don't say that, you're almost there!"

Fujisaki was currently on the floor trying to finish one last push up. His arms were very close to giving away to the fatigue.

"Just a few more centimeters." Kuramoto encouraged.

It took a few more seconds, but Fujisaki did managed to eventually managed to get back to the starting position.

"And there we go. That's 10 push ups."

With that Fujisaki immediately, collapsed to the floor, drenched in sweat.

"Ok, that will be enough for tonight. Now that I have an idea on where you stand physically, I can set up a training program for you. We shall continue this tomorrow night at the same time."

"Ok." Fujisaki said, getting back up. "I...shall...see you ...tomorrow."

With that done, the two of them quickly dried themselves off, changed back into their regular clothes and called it a night.

Location: Hope's Peak Academy 1st Floor Cafeteria

Time: 0730

The next morning, the people entering the cafeteria were greeted with laughter coming from both Ishimaru and Oowada.

"Gahaha! What're you talkin' about brah?"

"Hahaha! You're the one who should quit fooling around brohan!"

"W-What?" Naegi said, confused, having just from the kitchen helping out Kuramoto.

"What the heck happened between those two? While I didn't see them interact all that much, if I remember right, they usually clashed with one another." Kuramoto thought to himself as he finished cleaning up the kitchen.

"Yo Naegi!"

"You have my gratitude, Naegi, for serving as our witness last night!"

"So you're the one responsible for this mess…" Asahina sighs out.

"You have our eternal resentment." Ludenberg says with a glint of annoyance.

"B-But I…" Naegi stammers.

"You're wasting your breath friend…" Ishimaru says. "They could never understand the depth of two men's bonds. Unlike women, a man's friendship is thicker than blood!"

"Kuramoto-kun. You're a guy, can't you translate what those two are talking about?" Celes requests.

"Sorry, Celes-san, I'm in as much in the dark about what they are talking about as you are." Kuramoto replied.

*DING DONG DING DONG*

"Ahem, this is a school announcement. Emergency! Emergency! Everyone, please gather at the gym immediately!"

With everyone sighing, everyone proceeded to make their way towards the gym wary of the event that was to transpire.

"Sheez, took you guys long enough! Do you guys all have low blood sugar or something?" Monokuma said as they all entered the gym.

"Just hurry the hell up and tell us what you want!" Oowada demanded.

The rest of the class were pretty much telling Monokuma the same thing, except for Kuramoto. He instead was just glaring at the bear. He now knew that whoever was controller that demented bear was not to be underestimated, not even for an instant. So, he knew better than to not let his guard down.

"Oh?" Monokuma said, looking at Kuramoto. "I recognize that stare. Yes, I am all too familiar with that stare. Could it be that you learned something important about me?"

"D-Don't change the subject!" Naegi declared. "Why did you call us here?"

"Fine. Fine." Monokuma answered.

"You know, I've been feelin' kinda blue lately… My stitches are comin' loose, and I'm not as bright as I used to be… and I think I learned what the problem is… I'm bored out of my mind! I've watched paint drying shows that were more entertaining than this!"

"So, I've decided to shake things up and present you guys with a new motive!" Monokuma announced.

"A new motive?" Naegi replied, now nervous. "L-Like with those videos!?"

"Yippers! And this time around, the theme will be shameful and dark secrets." Monokuma said, gleefully.

"Let me guess, unless a murder is committed, our secrets will be revealed within a time limit." Togami said nonchalantly.

"Upupupupupupu! Did you really think it would be that simple!?" Monokuma laughed out loud.

"Nope, I have something faaaaaaaarrrrr more interesting in mind. Everyone, go ahead and check your e-handbooks, there should be a new app for you guys."

As soon as he that, everyone's e-handbooks had beeped confirming Monokuma's words. The new app that appeared was simply named 'Motive'. Upon touching the app, people had looks of various emotions, from confusion to fear, to paleness. When Kuramoto had opened his, it displayed a single message.

This person's secret is that they are the Serial Killer known as Genocider Syo.

"I know most of you are going to be confused as to what you are seeing, so let me explain." Monokuma began talking again. "All of your secrets have been completely and totally randomized. In other words, if you currently don't see your own secret, then someone else in this room currently has it."

The idea that someone else knew their secrets did not sit well with most of the people here and they went pale accordingly.

"By tomorrow's nighttime announcement, all of these secrets will made known to everyone! There are only two exceptions that I am willing to make. The first is that a murder occurs. That person's secret alone would be exempt from being revealed after the time limit ends. The other involves the app that I just gave you guys. Do you guys see that button that says 'Submit'?

Everyone looked at their e-handbooks for a brief moment to discover.

"Once you click that button, an announcement will be played, revealing both the secret's owner and who sent it. Once that's done, I will take the sender's secret off the list I have."

"Basically, we have three options. We can either wait for the time limit to expire and the secrets we have are revealed, a person commits murder to avoid having their secret told or a person exposes the secret they currently have to everyone in order to protect theirs." Kirigiri summarized.

"Bingo! You got it!"

"It's not like it matters!" Ishimaru objected. "All we have to do is just start sharing secrets and…"

"Ah!Ah!Ah! Not so fast!" Monokuma interrupted. "Revealing a secret means it's no longer a secret and in many interpretations, it destroys the secret entirely and according to the rules…"

"We can't destroy a motive or anything connected to a motive." Kuramoto finished.

"Yippers! Well, I'll let you guys figure out for yourselves as to how you want to handle this. Ciao!"

With the new motive presented, Monokuma vanished.

"This is quite a different approach this time. The videos were to the point, feeding off the fear of our loved ones being in jeopardy. This one, it ultimately comes down to what a person is willing to do in order to keep a secret. People are silenced everyday in order to maintain a secret, but unlike the last motive, not only do we not know who has what, but we can't even warn them either. To make matters worse, if a person does decide to reveal someone else's secret, if it happens to be a dangerous one, it could easily paint a target on their back."

"W-What should we do?" Fujisaki asks.

"Maybe we should-" Ishimaru started.

*DING DONG BONG BING*

This is an announcement from Celestia Ludenberg. Kyoko Kirigiri is currently suffering from amnesia.

The announcement had played, revealing that Celes had chosen to reveal Kirigiri's secret. Everyone had turned towards Kirigiri internally questioning whether or not the announcement was true.

"Kirigiri-chan?" Asahina asked.

"I-Is it true?" Fujisaki asked.

"..."

"That's correct." Kirigiri finally answered. "When I first woke up, not only did I not know how I got here, I also forgot nearly everything. Family, friends, anything and everything that had to do with my past. The only thing that I could remember was my name. Everyone else, gone. Like it didn't even exist."

Most of the class were eying her with either concern, pity or caution, understanding what Kirigiri was going through. For them, it was tough enough going through this situation as it was, but have the entirety of your memories removed as well. That had to be rough.

"Hmph. Do you really expect anyone to buy into such an obvious farce." Togami stated. "A child could come up with a better story than that."

Quite a few of the more aggressive students looked like they were ready to pummel the scion into the gym floor, but before they could act, Kuramoto spoke up.

"I'm inclined to believe that Kirigiri-chan's condition is authentic." Kuramoto declared.

"Really?" Oowada said. "So, yer saying that chick really has amnesia?"

"Interesting." Celes said. "You seem rather confident with that answer. Care to share your reason?"

"My reasoning is actually quite simple." Kuramoto explained. "The reason why I'm so certain is that Kirigiri-chan wasn't the only one who was targeted. I was as well."

If the room wasn't surprised by the revelation that was revealed before, they were now.

"Y-You have amnesia as well?" Maizono asked.

"Granted, for unknown reasons, I have recovered most of my memories. But nevertheless, I did have amnesia to a level identical to Kirigiri-chan's."

"Hmmm...for two people to have amnesia like that. It's hard to write this off as a condinence." Yamada stated.

"I have to agree. And the chances of them both lying are quite low." Celes assessed.

"S-So, w-what now?" Fukawa asks.

"Well, unless there's something someone else has to say, I'd say we should get going." Kuwata says.

*DING DONG BONG BING*

This is an announcement from Byakuya Togami. Fumio Kuramoto was formerly a part of a secret child soldier program orchestrated by a foreign government.

Everyone had frozen at that revelation. Even Kuramoto was shocked at the message that was revealed.

"What!? That's not possible! Only a handful of people even have knowledge of that! Furthermore, the ones outside of myself wouldn't dare reveal that information to anyone lest they risk really upsetting the public!"

"It's just as thought." Togami said triumphantly. "I knew you couldn't be trusted to begin with. You-"

Nobody cares what you have to say! So stop talking unless you want a bloody nose to go with that broken leg!" Asahina bellowed, shocking the class.

Togami couldn't help but flinch at that remark, he knew that Kuramoto had gaslighted the idea of violence being used against him. There's little reason to doubt that she would do it and he's no longer in any good condition to defend himself.

Everyone else came a little bit closer to Kuramoto, wanting to hear what he had to say.

"Regrettably, that bear speaks the truth. I don't have any idea as to how he managed to figure it out, but he's right."

"Hold on." Naegi said, realizing something. "When I was researching about you, the one thing that I noticed was that nobody was able to figure anything beyond five years ago, could it be that…"

"That's right. That's when I moved back into Japan, in order to start with a clean slate."

"S-So, it's t-true." Fukawa said.

"Yes. I am the lone survivor of the secret US Child Soldier Program."

Author Notes: And with that, one of the big revelations about Fumio Kuramoto has been revealed! On a random note, the secrets really were made random via doing two RNG bits to determine who would get what. The next chapter or two will delve into the finer details about his past and how he ended up to where is today from that. On another note, I do have a poll that is currently up on my profile page. I was thinking about writing up a short alternate story that has Kuramoto ultimately siding with Ultimate Despair. I figured after revealing the entirety of Kuramoto past, that would be the best time to write that scenario up. So, if you are interested, please go ahead and submit your votes. Thanks for tuning in and I will see you guys on the next part. Another Author out!