Chapter 14: Picking up the pieces pt. 1

"What's this?"-dialogue

'What's what?'-inner thoughts/flashback

Ultimate Biologist-title

"What's going on here?"-Katakuri's Future/Monokuma


AN: Hello, everybody my name is GDU and welcome back to The Ultimate Big Brother. Sorry I was gone for over a month, with my new job and all and being in a bit of a slump creatively concerning with how to handle this case. Honestly, there were times I was considering of restarting this fic anew. But I kept my head high, took some time off and reading other fics similar to this that'll give me new ideas of handling this massive story. It's better to slow down and learn than to rush and make mediocre to subpar chapters. Also, I'm planning a due date for each chapter whenever I am confident enough on my writing abilities and available times for me to set up a new chapter, kind of like Eiichiro Oda's schedule. But we'll see how that'll turn out.

But for right now, we left off with the gang discovering Sayaka's corpse and the disgusting room. I know it kind of follows canon, but trust me...unlike that one with just one OP character, there's going to be some twists and turns, discoveries, and betrayals down the road until we get to the trial which will be my biggest challenge. If anyone has any ideas or advice on how to make the series of event progress, please don't hesitate to leave a comment. I accept any form of criticism, whether it'll be to help me improve on my writing and storytelling skills or just understand the characters a bit better since I am still a little rusty on the Danganronpa universe. If any of you are not feeling with this story, please comment on what area that is not your cup of tea that I can do my best to improve on. Anything else outside of feedback that'll help me improve will face the wrath of Katakuri's Mole.

Without further ado, I will say the disclaimer since the gang *looks at the group depressed and disgruntled from last chapter* won't be feeling it. For once.

*ahem* The following is a non-profit, fan-based fanfiction. Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Goodbye Despair, and V3: Killing Harmony are all owned by Spike Chunisoft, Bandai, and Kazutaka Kodaka. Danganronpa: the Animation, Danganronpa 3: Despair Arc, Danganronpa 3: Future Arc, and Danganronpa 3: Hope Arc are all owned by Toei Animation, Funimation, Fuji TV, and Kazutaka Kodaka. One Piece is owned by Shonen Jump, Funimation, Fuji TV, and Eiichiro Oda. Please support the official releases.


Second Day

First Floor

Dormitory

2:39 a.m

Monokuma Case File #1

Victim #1: Sayaka Maizono

"There is a stab wound around the victim's stomach area, but other than that, there are no visible external injuries."

Cause of death: exsanguination (blood loss)

The time of death was approximately 2:25 a.m

The body was discovered in the victim's room at approximately 2:30 a.m while the other students were sleeping in their respective rooms. There were no witnesses during the crime.

Investigation time limit: 5 hours


The very second the information was posted on their e-handbooks, Chihiro dropped her handbook and sobbed into her hands as the information filled her head. She couldn't believe that anyone will murder someone as sweet as Sayaka out of nowhere while everyone was asleep. Along with Chihiro, Hajime clenched his fist as he read the info on his book. Mahiru hugged the poor programmer while holding back tears herself. Miu stood with her arms folded as her head is filled with graphic ways to murder the damn stuffed bear forcing them to go through this shitshow. Chiaki nearly collapsed in shock from the news as Mikan covered her mouth in disgust and horror as tears spilled down her face.

"N-No, Sayaka!" Fujisaki wailed, as she tried her best to deny that Maizono is dead. She turned around to dash towards the hallway but was found abrupt when a hand grasped her wrist.

The girl turned around and saw the crude Miu holding her wrist. "P-Please, let me go. I want to see them...I want to see my friends...I...I need to see her," she said pitifully as she choked on her tears.

"Fuck that noise. Would you really want to see them like that? Do you really want the last image of Sayaka as a lifeless, bloodied corpse? " she snapped lightly, but her usual snappy, crude tone was absent.

Chihiro shoulders slumped as her eyes gazed down at the hallway floor. "B-But Miu...i-it's all my fault...if I hadn't tried to-"

"Cut that pity party bullshit. You're too brilliant to even think like that. The only person to blame for her death is that black and white pile of shit, nobody but him would pull a stunt like this," the strawberry blonde scowled.

The petite girl whimpered. "B-But..."

"No buts, Chihiro. The least we can do for Sayaka is to find out whoever did this and keep on moving for her sake. Moping around and blaming ourselves is exactly what he want us to," Hajime added.

Fujisaki's lips trembled as she clung onto whatever feeble attempt of swaying her friends to go to the others that discovered Sayaka. But before she uttered a word, she felt a hand on her back.

"Please Chihiro...it's best if we just find out who did it. You won't be able to handle it," Chiaki pleaded as she gingerly rubbed the programmer's back.

Just like earlier, Iruma's mind began to come up with gruesome ways to murder and destroy Monokuma, she'll make sure that piece of shit will pay for making them go through this shitshow. But her dark thoughts grind to a halt when she saw the scene with Chiaki and the others encouraging the poor programmer to take the best course of action and find the culprit. For a moment, her usual crude visage lightened as she saw the poor state Chihiro was in.

Focusing her thoughts at hand, she put aside the murdering Monokuma fantasies later. Right now, they need to get started to find pieces of information that'll help them to find out the perpetrator.


Second Day

First Floor

Dormitory

2:43 a.m

Kyoko found one of the bedroom doors wide open, just as Monokuma's announcement had finished. The lavender haired girl walked into the room, but not before letting out a very silent sigh as she strode forward into the room, only to see rest of Makoto's group, Kirumi, and Byakuya. Kirigiri saw the somber expressions on Asahina's face while Sakura stood by and comforts her while finding any evidence in the room. Kibo and Junko silently stood by as they too felt saddened by the sudden loss of their teammate/friend. But the one that is truly devastated was the kneeling Naegi.

Kyoko saw Togami and Kirumi already at work investigating the scene. Her eyes lifted up to see the bathroom door widely open and to her utter shock and fear, she spotted Katakuri in the bathroom with the luckster. The girl kept her cool visage unfazed but even she cannot stop a few beads of sweat streaming down her face as she stared at the back of the giant. She don't know why, but seeing that person is making her skin shiver by his appearance alone. From her visual memory of the frightening and horrifying experience of Katakuri's slight ire, she knew it was the best possible choice to stay away from him.

But, seeing Makoto and the rest of his group already in low spirits of losing one of their own and trying to find any possible clues that'll help catch the perpetrator, Kirigiri steeled her nerves as clenched her gloved hands as she walked further to the bathroom door. She did a walk-by glance at the boy and his eyes were glazed with confusion, fear, but most of all, shock. She didn't blame him though, as Asahina had the same expression. This just happened a moment ago, while everyone was asleep. It was only a matter of time until someone crack under the weight of the situation for them to shed blood. They say 'prepare for the worst', but death can happen anytime, literally anytime. Even sleep.

The very instant Kyoko entered the room, she felt an eerie calm overtook her, as if her emotions automatically shut off. 'An automatic reaction, I presume. Why am I feeling calm anytime a crime takes place? What has happened to me that made me feel comfortable when something like this?' she asked to herself.

She wanted to delve into the uncomfortable notion further but she put aside the thought before she turned to the lifeless Maizono. Seeing the bloodied clothes and the blood trickling down her chin, there's without a doubt she's dead.

"Taking a closer look, I see."

The girl jumped very slightly at the baritone voice of Katakuri as he examined the body without turning around to notice her. His awareness of his surroundings are phenomenal if he can sense her behind him without any visual contact. The thought slightly unnerves her, but she blinked twice before she calmed her emotions down and folded her arms with her usual stoic expression. "A scene like this must have some kind of purpose. There's no way for the murderer to take someone's life before the sun even rises, if we ever see one," Kyoko remarked.

Katakuri let out a hum of agreement to her statement as he continued his investigation. He laid his hand on the deceased's neck to check for even the faintest of pulse but to no avail. He then touched her wrist as an another attempt to feel a pulse, but was given the same result. He turned his eyes to quickly process on what's going on around him. He sees Makoto standing outside of the bathroom, no doubt still shell-shocked on what just happened. He decides to leave him alone for the time being until he's stable enough to help with the investigation.

He finally turned to the lavender girl who began her own investigation, searching for anything that'll give out evidence. He notices that whenever it comes to social interaction, she's immediately closed off. He would've called himself a hypocrite if he didn't notice that he acted the same way, but unlike her he made attempts to connect to the students (very few of them). But her, completely isolated. And when something like this pops up, she immediately becomes more talkative (though slightly), more focused, more observational, but most significantly, she's become even more unattached to her emotions, to the point that it seems unhealthy that she shows more of herself around a crime.

Putting that notion to the side, Katakuri turned to the lifeless corpse one last time before he got up and looked at his slightly bloodied glove. Honestly, he felt nothing but fury. Fiery fury at the person who'll be so spineless to attack a defenseless student while she's asleep. When he finds out who did it, he'll make them plead for a swift death. Then, he's furious at himself for not staying up all night to keep a more vigilant eye on things to make sure everything goes smoothly and everyone was sleeping. Sure, his phantom pain needs to be taken care of, but he should've muscled it through and worry about it when everyone settles down.

He turned to the despondent Naegi and shook his head slowly. Without looking up, the boy nodded before wiping his face from the potential tears. Without letting out a word, Asahina walked up to the boy and gave him a big hug to comfort him.

"I'll look after him, don't worry," Asahina said, allowing a forced smile as she looked up at Katakuri. Katakuri's expression softened a bit as he looked at the two. When the investigation is over, he needs to have a talk with the two.

Katakuri walked towards the bathroom sink to wash off the blood from his gloves without tampering the scene. "I know it was out of nowhere, and I know it's heart-wrenching. Believe me, I know. The best way we can do for Sayaka right now is to look for answers and find out who did it. Then, we'll make them answer for their crimes, one way or another."

Makoto let out a sniff. "I know, Katakuri-san, I know. But...why...it doesn't make any sense. We promsied...we promised that we will find a way out of here without resorting to kill and tear each other apart..."

Before Katakuri replies, a sigh was heard in the bedroom. They saw Byakuya (the skinny one) pushing his glasses with a not an arrogant look, but a stern one. "Please Naegi, hearing this is really getting sappy. Reality doesn't work that way, I'm afraid. You can take what I said to heart or to offend you, but sitting around feeling sorry isn't going to move us forward. Nobody saw this coming, not even him, and he's supposed to see the future." Everyone caught on to that subtle notion, if one could call it that.

"Anyways, the best we can do for the poor girl is to find evidence in this place before the trial commences. The more we mope, the more time we waste," he finished sternly.

This of course did not sit well for the swimmer who glared at Togami. "You heartless jerk, don't you dare say anything like that-"

"No, Asahina. He's right."

Asahina's eyes widened when she heard Makoto stirring up from his shell-shocked stupor as he turned to the girl and clasped on her shoulders as a small smile graced his features.

"But Naegi-san, he was-'"

"Helping, well...in his way. But he's right...we can get through this, we can't something as awful as thing get us into losing hope before we even began. That's what Monokuma want us to do, mope, feel sorry, do nothing, blame shifting, and betraying each other. And I said I will not let that happen. So we need to do the best we can to help Sayaka is to find whoever done this and keep on living and find the way out of here, for her. And sadly, many others who will lose their lives in this twisted game," Makoto said.

The swimmer stared in silence at the speech Makoto gave, and she's not the only one. Everyone stood and listened to the luckster's words of optimism during this bleak time. While to most it sounds too optimistic and hopeful, it's better than nothing. Harsh facts needs optimism to balance it out, or else it would be pessimistic.

Kibo walked up with a smile of his own. "Naegi-senpai is right. While it hurts and we can blame each other all day, the end result will be for naught. I may not been awake during the incident, but I can help you anyway I can to catch the person responsible for taking Ms. Sayaka's life."

Kirumi let out a bow. "I may be a maid, but I do specialize in many other fields. It would be an honor to help you people in this endeavor to find the perpetrator."

A beefy hand sets on Asahina's head and looked up to find Sakura's determined expression on her scarred features. "While her death was saddening, staying stuck in an emotional rut will bear no fruit. I can blame myself all day, but I know that's not the way she would've want us to go. You can count on that we will find the coward and bring them to justice. They will pay for their crime."

Junko let out a smirk of her own. "Don't worry, Naegi boy. We'll catch that creep."

Byakuya stared at the scene and let out a light scoff, believing it to be a waste of time. "I hate to break up the moment, but don't you think we should get going?" he asked slightly irritated.

The luckster let out a cough as he and Asahina stood up. He looked at the heir and let out a smile. "You're right, Togami. We need to get started. Let's look around and find what's important that'll help us to catch the murderer," he stated.

Without a second, the group went to investigating the entire room, scrutinizing each and every inch of it, trying to find anything out of place or helpful for them. They scavenged the entire room to find anything in the messy room, but bearing no fruit. Makoto looked beside where the table was knocked down and found something that made his eyes widened. He found a splintered piece of wood that looked like it's not from the table nor any of the other wooden objects in the room. It looked rather polished than the table even. Is it possible that this is related to the crime?

*TRUTH BULLET*

"Hey guys, I found a good chunk of polished wood around here. It doesn't have the same pattern from the table and any other wooden pieces in the bedroom," Makoto called out.

Katakuri walked to the boy and gestured to see the chunk. Makoto gave the giant the piece and watched Katakuri examining the piece. The giant was quiet for a moment as he continued to examine the piece.

"And you found this among the mess?" he asked.

Naegi nodded. "Yeah. It looked like it was broken off of something, maybe someone. But you didn't see any marks indicating that Sayaka was hit with a blunt object, right?"

Katakuri nodded. "No, I didn't. She was stabbed in one motion and bled to death in a manner of seconds because the wound was at the kidney area. No signs of blunt force or any self-defense injuries on her body," he replied.

Asahina raised an eyebrow. "But, if that piece is not from around here, then where would the killer get something like that? And why is it here?" she asked quizzically.

"Then something is amiss. There is a possibility that the killer either knock loud enough for Sayaka only to hear, or they forced entry. But forced entry sounds too far-fetched since the door's locks are requiring for a student's keycard for entry. There's no possible way that the killer used the suspected object to pry it open without risking waking anyone up," Sakura said.

Strangely, the one who was not putting any effort for looking for evidence with the group was Junko. She was busy preening with her fingernails like they were jewelry. She wasn't going to bend over and sully her looks just for some dead girl's-

"Enoshima."

The girl in question looked up and met her eyes with Kirigiri's whose was scrutinizing the fashionista. The lavender girl's lips formed a thin frown as she stared at Junko. "While good looks may be important to you, it will be very appreciative if you actually put effort to find whatever evidence the killer left behind. If you keep avoiding like that, keeping up good lucks and preening yourself will be the last thing you ever do," Kirigiri said seriously.

Enoshima rolled her eyes as she let out a small puff. "Tch, fine whatever. As long as it'll get you off my behind, I'll do it," she replied with her usual sarcastic tone. Kyoko gave the girl one last look before continuing scavenging the bedroom. Junko walked to the where the messed up bed is and lazily scanned the area. She was about to move on to the next area but something caught her eye underneath the frame of the bed.

She pulled the item out of the bed and her eyes harshly shifted from lazy and uninterested to shocked and terrified. She held in her shocked gasp as she examined the item from the frame. How did this came in here?! Who had it, and why?! But...there's way that, unless...unless!

"Find something that'll help us, Ms. Enoshima?" Kibo asked as he scanned the other side of the room with Byakuya and Kirumi.

Junko turned around, trying to keep her composure intact without making anyone suspicious of her jumpiness, especially with him here. "Ugh, same as always Mr. Roboto, kaput," she snidely joked.

Kibo sighed a bit from the joke at him but brushed it off as he continued to help the others. Inwardly, Junko sighed as she looked at the others doing their thing. Sakura, Asahina, and Makoto are looking around the table area. Kirigiri is going towards the body, Byakuya and Kirumi are looking at the walls, and Kibo and Katakuri are talking about closing off the scene from others to avoid contaminating the crime scene.

Taking the little window, Enoshima looked at the item and took very few seconds to think about to do something about it, until an idea popped into her head.

Yeah, she'll do that.

"So anyways, it would seem that the best choice is to close off the bedroom. If we let anyone else in, it will contaminate the crime scene. Plus, it will stop anyone from trying to look at Sayaka's body as if it's a sideshow," Byakuya suggested.

Katakuri stood up as he let out a hum of agreement to the heir. "You're right. For now on, each and every one of us in here has the authority of the crime scene. Anyone outside of us has no grounds to enter in risk of tampering evidence. Sakura, you and I will stand guard and keep out of any outsiders. We'll switch whenever we need to do something else that'll help the investigation."

The martial artist nodded. "I'll go first. It'll help us a lot to keep them away. I'll even use force if any one of them will be more demanding," she said as she walked to the doorway along with Asahina who wanted to tag along with her best friend and closed the door behind them.

Katakuri turned to the others and cleared his throat to get their attention. "For now on, this is officially a crime scene. Every person who comes into this room will potentially destroys the evidence. If any of you can let the others know of the situation, it will be extremely helpful. Sakura and I will guard the scene to keep out outsiders. As well, see if any of you can encourage every else and yourselves to remain calm and begin accounting for alibis. I'm not sure how much time we have concerning the investigation, but each and every second must be used with absolute care. With the plethora of suspects piling up, we will use each and every minute preciously."

Everyone nodded and what it felt like an hour has passed, Byakuya and Kirumi left on their own, Asahina and Sakura stand guard at the entrace, Junko left almost wordlessly, leaving only Kibo, Makoto, Kyoko, and Katakuri. The crimsonhead turned to Sayaka's body and he couldn't shake the feeling that there is more to it than gathering evidence and finding the culprit.

It's true that she died from blood loss, but how could she scream like that and immediately she succumbed to the massive blood loss. In fact, when he looked closer, the blood spill is pretty big considering she screamed and bled out. Stabbing someone in the kidney area is excruciating (he know how it feels), and the blood loss is severe, but it all depends on how deep the wound is. He needs to find out more about it, so he turns to the person who can detect life signs, including the deceased.

"Hey Kibo, would you mind staying a bit longer?" Katakuri asked.

The robot turned to the giant and nodded. "Of course, but if I may incline to ask, for what purpose?"

"I need your ability to scan life signals, I have a feeling we need to take a closer look at Sayaka," he replied.

Kyoko's eyebrows quipped when he heard that. "I guess that you're going to get a closer look, I presume? You believe there's more to it than a simple murder case?" she asked.

The giant nodded. "Yeah, there is more to this than an everyday murder case. If you feel uncomfortable about this, then I won't feel animosity towards you," he said.

The luckster shook his head. "No, it's not that. But if you feel something is off than you think, then I'll help you whatever it takes."

Kibo smiled as well. "Exactly. I'll do what you need me to do to solve this for Miss Maizono's sake," he added.

Kirigiri folded her arms. "I'll find whatever the smallest and significant details possible to bring this case to an end."

Katakuri looked at the three and nodded as he looked at the closed door with Sakura and Asahina guarding it from trespassers. He turned back to the bloodied bathroom and to the three. He shifted his head towards the crime scene direction.

"Alright then, let's get to it."


Second Day

First Floor

Hallway

3:22 a.m

Meanwhile outside the room, Sakura and Asahina stand guard for any trespassers that'll come into the room and ruin the evidence. The martial artists stood like a statuesque giant with her arms folded as Asahina stood with her fists on her hips. While Sakura bears her usual stern and serious face, Asahina puffed her cheeks in an attempt to look stern.

"Hey Sakura?" Asahina asked as she turned to her beefy friend.

"What is it, Asahina?" she asked.

"I honestly don't know it'll get worse from here. I mean, Sayaka has been murdered while all of us are asleep and we couldn't do anything about it. It's just, I can't stomach the idea that more of us will get axed just for some psycho's sick kicks. Why us?" Hina asked with her eyebrows furrowed.

Sakura let out a sigh. "I don't know, Asahina. I honestly can't say why we're going through this torture, and I can't say why the killer would take out Miss Maizono, but I can say is that we will do whatever we can to avenge Sayaka and bring the criminal to justice. And once we're at the of this, I will make sure the fiend behind this will pay a hundred fold. That I can say, Asahina." she replied.

Asahina let out a shaky sigh as she looked down at the floor. The reason why she's so shook up is not the fact that her friend has been murdered in such a cowardly way, but that she's the only one that might've known what happened before the murder took place. Besides, she was the only student who woke up during that time to sneak out and get a midnight donut to try to cope with the grim situation.

"S-Sakura..."

"Hmm, what is it Hina?" she asked.

Asahina let out another sigh as she looked up to her friend. She wanted to tell her, she really do, but she doesn't want to worry her about her personal struggles or want her to think that she's an accomplice of the murder. Her stomach churns with anxiety of telling Sakura, but she has to do it-no, she must do it. For her sake, Sakura's sake, but especially, for Sayaka's sake.

"I...I have something I need to tell you," Asahina said nervously.

The martial artist raised an eyebrow at her friend's skittishness and anxiety all of a sudden. "What's the matter, Asahina? What's on your mind?"

Swallowing a lump of saliva, the swimmer opened her lips to tell Sakura the truth but suddenly, both of them heard multiple footsteps coming their way. They turned and saw students coming their way with Kaito leading the charge as they arrived. Along with him are the rest of Kaede's group, part of Ishimaru's group, and part of Twogami's group.

"Hey, is this the room where Sayaka's at?" Kaito asked urgently.

Putting back her serious visage, Sakura replied. "Yes, this is the place."

"Then, it wouldn't be too much to ask of you is to let us in so we can help to find the coward responsible?" Kaito exclaimed as he pounded his fists together.

The muscular warrior folded her arms. "Sorry, but I can't allow you to do that." she stated firmly.

Mondo growled. "W-Wha-?! W-Why the hell not? We need to find the son of a bitch who did such a thing!"

"No, if you guys barge in, you will risk contaminating and destroying the evidence. We can't allow any anomalies coming in during the investigation," Sakura replied calmly, not fazed by the biker's choice of words.

Kaede walked up to the duo. "Please, if we can't be in there to help out, maybe you could at least tell us what they found so we can add in on the investigation?" she pleaded.

"I'm sorry Akamatsu, but we can't allow anyone to enter without tampering the evidence with your presence. As harsh as it sounds, we can't let anyone, including us to be in there without doing more harm than good," Sakura rebutted. The pianist felt despondent by the fact.

"Could you at least tell us who told you two to stand watch anyways, we're sure we can convince them to let us in and help those doing the scavenging," Leon asked.

Sakura once again shook her head. "That won't happen. You wouldn't be able to move that person even if you scream and beg at him to let you in." she replied.

Fuyuhiko let out a growl. "Who's the smartass that says otherwise?" he muttered angrily.

Asahina turned to the gangster and folded her arms. "That's Katakuri who told us to watch y'all from entering in," she said with finality. Everyone immediately went quiet as they heard the crimsonhead's name mentioned. All the ire they had towards them dropped when they heard that Katakuri prohibited them from entering the crime scene. Sakura and Asahina had a short moment of relief when they saw the crestfallen and nervous looks on the students' faces but it was cut short by a snort.

"I don't know what the big guy is hiding from us, but we can't just stand around doing nothing while the ones in there are doing the investigating! We have much a part of getting out of here as y'all do! We need to do this!" Kaito exclaimed.

Sakura exhaled through her nostrils to calm herself from their impatience. "I know it's troubling but you guys need to-"

"Tenko's not surprised that the degenerate king is keeping us from helping find the scumbag who stole a girl's life in her sleep. If Tenko finds out who did this, she will make them pay! And Tenko will get that degenerate king for not letting us get in there!" the Aikido girl shouted.

"Look everybody, please calm down-"

"Isn't it obvious! The real killer is that freak of a friend from that Naegi! In fact, I-I-I'm not surprised if that girl's m-murder was p-planned out! I-I-I always knew!" Toko shrieked hysterically while pointing accusingly at the duo. The now hallways is being filled with arguing, disagreements, and accusations and it's not suiting well for the two.

Sakura raised her voice to stand out from the clamor. "Guys, stop this nonsense, yelling and screaming and arguing like this will get us nowher-"

"S-S-Shut up, i-if y'all are hiding something, t-then that means a-all of you are in it as well!" Fukawa exclaimed.

"SHUT UP!"

The clamor from the students immediately stopped dead when they saw the normally bubbly Aoi Asahina standing there, baring her teeth at the students with her eyes filled with impatience, frustration, and rage. Every student's faces was filled with stunned shock from the out-of-character yelling from someone like Asahina, but especially Sakura who stared at her friend with an expression that's almost if she didn't recognize her fellow friend.

"This is a crime scene, not a sideshow! Katakuri just wanted all of you to get out of the way and put us in charge from not letting any of you tamper evidence! And no, we are just as horrified from Sayaka-san's death as much as you guys are, but how dare you accuse us for being in on it!" Asahina jabbed her finger at the writer, who cowered before her trying to hide her face behind her pigtails. Taking a deep breath, Asahina let out another scream that filled the entire hallway.

"Just leave us alone and get out of here!" Asahina screamed, surprising everyone by her tone especially Sakura. She never seen Asahina like this, she's hardly one to ever snap at someone like that.

The students stood there agape by the swimmer's yelling. Their attempts of trying to get in in all dropped after that, leaving the hallway in an awkward silence for a good few seconds until Twogami coughed to break it. "We deeply apologize that we're nosing in into your business. It'll be best if we take our leave and do something else that'll help bring the perpetrator to justice. Once again, Miss Ogami and Miss Asahina, we deeply apologize. Everyone, to the dining hall."

After his apology, he walked away to head to the dining hall along with the students taking their leave as well in awkward silence. As some of the students murmured about what has transpired, Asahina panted as she glared at the empty spot of where the students were.

Sakura stared at her friend in shock. In all her years she's known Asahina, she knew she'll never lash out like that out of nowhere. "What's wrong, Asahina? What's bothering you?" she asked.

The swimmer snapped out of her angered stupor as she realized what she's done and the anger turned into guilt and sadness. "I-I-I'm so sorry Sakura, I-I didn't mean to worry you like this...i-it's just..

"Asahina, we're friends for years, you can tell me what's on your mind, you can tell me anything and I won't judge you or hold you against it," the fighter urged.

Asahina bit her lip as she looked at the ground. She wanted to tell her so bad, she really do...but she remembered her conversation with Katakuri, talking about something that she didn't told to her own best friend. She felt dirty just by thinking that she afraid to tell Sakura her deepest personal problems. Letting out a deep sigh, she decided to go with her heart is telling her.

"It's nothing, Sakura. Sorry for making you worry, it's nothing important. Let's just get back to guarding, shall we?" Asahina replied in an obvious rushed way. She went back to her pseudo serious pose.

Sakura wanted to keep asking her what's her problem but she knows that Asahina will block her away and push her even further. While it hurt her that her best friend is acting so dodgy, she'll make it worse by keep asking on the subject, so she decided to drop it and went back to guarding the room from trespassers. The martial artist turned her eyes to the busty girl and inwardly let out a sigh.

'Asahina, what's wrong with you? What's going through your mind?' Sakura asked pleadingly.


Second Day

First Floor

Dormitories

3:15 a.m

Byakuya walked back into his dorm and wiped his glasses clean. He needed to freshen up before the game even begins. He's going to make the best of the situation, regardless of what the others think of how he views the Killing Game. Before he gets started, he heard Kirumi following him with her usual tact expression on her face.

Byakuya's room is a step up from the default room like Makoto's. His bed sheets, tablecloths, and chairs are ostentatious and intricate in their design as they embodied Togami's royalty. On top of his floral chester is a vanity mirror and a large stand that has over ten pairs of his trademark glasses. There's a vase of roses on top of his table. Not only that, there are several paintings on the walls that are amazing paintings of flowers in variety: roses, daisies, carnations, tulips, primroses and so forth. On the far corner beside his intricate bed is a violin with a stand with sheet music and behind the frame of the bed is a large collection of coins.

Oh, and there's a red carpet leading from the entrance to add in the pretentiousness of his room.

"I certainly hope that we get to the bottom of this real soon. Poor Sayaka, I should've expected any one of us to be killed considering the circumstances but, it's just so soon. Too soon to be taken away for some psychopath's pleasure," she said.

Togami let out a huff. "She should've been more on her guard. Honestly, seeing them crying like that was really getting on my nerves. They never should be naive and foolish enough to believe that no one is going to die. This isn't a fantasy," he scoffed.

Tojo turned to the heir, but instead of getting angry or offended by his harsh answer, she asked him a question. "Do you really consider your words to Naegi-senpai to be more beneficial on your part instead of everyone else?"

Byakuya put the glasses back on his face as he let out a smug smile. "Heh, why wouldn't I? Their grumbling was giving me a headache, now we finally get this game going. I would've expected Maizono to be the first to get taken out considering her meltdown yesterday when we watched our videos. People like her will never last long in this."

"And you see yourself coming out on top of this "Killing Game" if I may ask?"

He let out a grin. "Of course, why I'm most certain that I will come out of this game victorious and only then that these lowlifes will now that the Togami family are truly the cream of the crop. And of course, after I dispose the mastermind behind this. Though I will give them props: putting total strangers in a life-or-death game where only one will make it alive with all these betrayals, murders, and tension along the way does seem promising."

Byakuya grabbed some towels from the drawer as he prepares himself to clean himself off. But right before he enters, he turns to the maid. "And since you're here now and your talent is the Ultimate Maid, would it be appropriate for you to prepare me some clothes?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Kirumi nodded and gave him a small bow. "I take my job very seriously, Togami-sensei," she replied.

Byakuya let out a smirk. "Finally, it's about time someone actually knows their place." He found some body wash on the top of his chester, but right before he enters the shower, Kirumi stopped him.

"Do you honestly see yourself above everyone else? Need I remind you of who put you in your place in the first place?" she asked rhetorically.

Instantly, the prodigy's arrogant attitude abruptly shifted to anger and a tinge of fear. He sharply turned to the stoic maid with a sneer on his features as fury and embarrassment emerged in his eyes. "Don't ever mention that thing. That beast don't know nothing about my family or our strength, and it is definitely going to be the first to experience my wrath once it outlive its usefulness," he spat.

He leaned towards Kirumi's face with the same snarl on his face from her mention of Katakuri. "So, it would be in best interest if you don't ever mention that name, while I'm here...Miss Kirumi Tojo," he warned quietly.

With her same stoic expression, Kirumi bowed lightly. "I deeply apologize for offending you, Togami-sensei. I will wait until you're finish with your business."

Togami glared at the maid. He wordlessly turned around before giving her another hard glare until he entered the bathroom and slammed the door, leaving Kirumi on her own. It became silent until Tojo heard the shower knobs squeaking and the shower running. Now it's her with her thoughts in her mind.

Even though he was in her face, Kirumi still held her composure despite smelling his breath. Honestly, if she wasn't so calm and composed, she would've either punch him square in the face or continue to push his buttons by reminding him of his humiliation from the gym yesterday. From both the Togami twin and Katakuri. But she's not so petty as to act so immature and condescending. While she is a maid and she expects such treatment from her earlier masters, they were grown-ups compared to Byakuya.

While she does see Byakuya as her senior, she still believes that he needs to learn that everything is not about him. And she is about to teach him that, even if it means mentioning Katakuri around him to give him a reality check.

But for now, let's keep it professional.


Second Day

First Floor

Gym

3:46 a.m

"Kekeke, talk about surprising. Not even taking hesitation, the killer took the most opportune time to strike one of us down, with no witnesses to that as well. I may say that it was an ingenious move for the killer," Korekiyo smiled.

Mondo growled as he glared at the anthropologist. "Tch, show some respect asshole."

"My apologies, I didn't mean to come across as disrespectful, just found the feat to be extraordinary despite being a curfew set by Monokuma. This shows that we need to be extra watchful for something like this happening again," Shinguji offered.

Ishimaru nodded as he stared at Korekiyo with caution. "While his choice of words may be callous, he does have a point. If something like this happens again, then we need to do a roll call every day to keep track of everyone once we get through this."

Celeste twirled her hair as she smiled at the hall monitor. "Well well, a rather effective suggestion I might add. I say that it'll occur either in the dining hall or the gym, I guess?"

Ishimaru looked at her and nodded. "Of course, it'll help us to stay in line and avoid any more cowardly acts such as this. Every day after we wake up, we will do a roll call in the dining room to make sure everyone has a good breakfast and ready to go through further down the line," he added.

Fuyuhiko let out a low growl as he glared at the floor with his arms folded. "That spineless shit, murdering someone as Sayaka while everyone is asleep. When I get a hold on them, I'll make them beg for their life," he snarled.

The biker let out a sharp look of his own. "Get in line, buddy. Not once after I pulverize them to the very dirt."

Kaede gave the both of them disapproving looks as she put her hands on her hips. "Now guys, thinking like that will get us nowhere. And since Katakuri was very strict on closing off the scene from any one of us, we need to do something that'll help those who are investigating," she suggested.

Toko gave a glare at the blonde as she let out a sneer. "A-And how are we s-supposed to that, genius? We're kicked out until the trial come," she scowled slightly.

Nagito smiled. "It's quite simple, really. Those of us who are not participating in the investigation will work to establish any solid, credible alibis. We can't be too lenient of how long we have, so it'll help us greatly once we cross off any potential suspects," he explained.

Kaede let out a grin as she gave Komaeda a bright smile. "Amazing idea, Nagito! That's what we definitely need to do, and since you mentioned about a very possible time limit, we will need to do that in groups," she added.

"I agree with that as well, Miss Akamatsu! Being in groups is much more cooperative and resourceful than going as individuals, plus, it'll keep us in line!" Ishimaru exclaimed, while receiving dark looks from Fuyuhiko and Mondo due to his volume.

Kokichi let out a mischievous grin as he snickered. "Hmmm, great ideas...but since the killer struck during our sleep...was it possible that any one of us ever took in consideration of pulling this off regardless of the rules Monokuma set?"

"Then it would seems that the ordinance needs to be reinforced if we're gonna make it out of this in one piece," Twogami replied with a bitter expression on his face.

Celestia rested her finger on her face as her ruby gaze settled upon Nagito. "Well then, why don't you get started Nagito dear?"

The Ultimate Luckster smiled at her gaze as he rested his head on his hands. "Well, if garbage like me had to be the first, then it will be my pleasure." Nagito didn't caught the frown that appeared on Kaede's face as he called himself garbage. She hated how he keep putting himself down while lifting everyone else up. "I was among the rest of my fantastic group. Miss Akamatsu wanted all of us get our rest after we discovered the infirmary. Her, Shuichi, Kaito, Himiko, Tenko, Rantaro, Hifumi, and Tsumugi went off to their dormitories for the time being," Nagito explained.

Kokichi let out a cheeky grin as he folded his hands behind his head. "Well, that counted everyone in your group, but I couldn't help but notice that you left yourself out. Did you decided to clock in after everyone else?" he asked mischievously.

Nagito turned to the trickster and while his face still has the same platonic smile, one observant enough would see it contained a tiny bit of edge on it. "Oh me? As usual, I would love to take a lovely stroll beside each team member of mine just in case someone tries to pull something. But I'm afraid I should've been on guard just a bit longer, unfortunately there's so much a person can take before their body and mind needs rest," he added.

"Let me make this clear for all of you: the art of Neo-Aikido is never used to take one's life! I also would never harm someone, especially if it's a girl in the middle of the night. Like this poor male here, I went in my room to do some phantom practices before I went to bed," Tenko exclaimed boldly.

"Nyeh, do I have to give out one? *sigh* Fine, I was low on mana so it's only natural that a mage needs to get a lot of sleep to restore," Himiko added lazily as she let out a cute yawn, which made the Aikido girl squeal in excitement.

"You tell them Himiko-chan! No one should ever bother you when you need stamina to channel your mana!" Tenko chimed loudly, which made the redhead magician grumble by her obnoxiousness.

Hifumi pushed his glasses back to the bridge of his nose as he smiled smugly. "Well I clearly devote all my time in making new fanfiction and costume designs, thanks to Miss Shirogane here to inspiring me. Anyways, I may look big, but I clearly am not one in the strength department," he said. Hifumi deflated a bit as he let out a frown. "Real shame, I can stay up till the sun rises working on my fanfics, but when it comes to doing real exercise, I'll pass out in just a few seconds." After his self-aware jab, everyone around him let out a light chuckle at the fact. May have been a light one, but a situation such as this needs to have some levity, even if it means the dispense of insulting oneself.

Tsumugi rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Y-Yeah, guilty as charged. I too stay up a little bit when I went into my dorm working on some more cosplay ideas and designs. Whenever an idea pops into my mind, sleep is the least of my concerns unless I make clothes sloppily," she added.

Rantaro chuckled mirthlessly. "Unfortunately for me, I don't have anyone to vouch for me since we're having the mindset that any one of us is lying about our alibis. It's such a shame that it's only credible to those who are doing something else during the curfew or not following it."

"Hey guys, sorry we're late, we were holed up for a moment." Everyone in the hall turned around and saw Sonia's group walking in with Kazuichi leading the charge.

"Well well well, look who shows up. Don't you peeps have anything you can bet your lives on? Shishishi," Kokichi snickered.

"Hmph, sorry to bust your train of thought, but you might as well take us out of the equation. I was with Kibo before I hit the sack," Soda grinned folding his arms.

Toko's glasses flashed as a blush appeared on her face. "W-What were you doing with him? I-I-Is this some k-kind of romance...between man and machine? Metal meets flesh?" she asked flustered.

"Ugh, what the hell?" Mondo grimaced.

"Wha-hell no! Why would you even think like that?! I was basically checking out Kibo's sysems and seeing how they function. It's actually pretty awesome and he as pretty cool with me examining him of his design," Kazuichi offered.

"Hehehe...examined..." Fukawa muttered as she fiddled with her pigtails as fantasies filled her head with lewd images of Kibo and Soda.

"Not that kind of examining!" Soda yelled out.

"Heh, me and my Four Devas were training to overcome the Nine Realm's demon so we can finally confront it and defeat it once and for all!" Gundham exclaimed boldly as he stretched his arm and his four hamsters emerged doing a pose. Everyone sweatdrop at the sight and clearly crossed Tanaka off their list of suspects.

Hagakure pointed his thumb at himself proudly. "And knowing me, I needed some rest to clear my mind so I can be prepared for any more premonitions will come to my mind. I just wish I can find my crystal ball so it'll strengthen it even more," he offered.

"Ugh, talentless hack," Himiko grumbled as she glared at the idiot.

Hiro gasped at her insult. "W-W-Wha-?! I'm not talentless, I can clearly see the future, just like how I saw how that freak would show himself out of that scarf! The only one who is a hack is you," he rebutted as he pointed at the magician who didn't took it too lightly.

"At least magic is real and takes actual work, unlike your silly fortune telling mumbo-jumbo!" Himiko snapped back.

"And I told you, magic doesn't exist!" Hiro retorted.

Himiko pulled her staff out and pointed it at him with a hard glare. "And I told you magic exist! If you keep saying it doesn't exist..." Himiko's frown turned into a smug smile as her hat shadowed her eyes. "I'll summon my Big Bro to take care of you." she warned ominously.

Tenko's eyebrows quirked at the mention of Big Bro and her face grimaced and at the same time shows fear. "Big Bro...you still call him Big Bro?" she asked.

Himiko smiled wider. "Katakuri will always be my favorite big brother, he's the one who'll help me with my mana," she replied.

Instantly, Hiro's red face of anger and frustration dropped to an icy blue by the mention of the giant menace. "B-B-B-Big B-B-Bro? Y-Y-Y-You m-m-mean that he's...?" he sputtered.

The magician nodded smugly. "Nyeh, yep. He'll come and beat you up, so don't make me summon him," she warned. Everyone turned their eyes to the fortuneteller and they all had the same nervous and angry expressions that pretty much yelled at Hiro: Keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for us!

Gulping down a large lump of saliva, Hiro wiped the sweat from his forehead and backed away from the magician holding his hands in a surrendering motion. "Heh heh, n-n-no problem girl...n-no problem. I have no beef with ya, l-let's keep it friendly...h-h-hehe, just please don't bring him here," he pleaded and chuckled nervously.

The redhead let out a smirk as she sat back down with her staff to her side. Serves that fraud right. Tenko cheered as she's happy that her Himiko-chan put a degenerate in his place. "Haha, serves you right, that's the way to do it Himiko-chan! Tenko's here to help you fight against any other males!" she exclaimed, causing the boys in the room to stare at her awkwardly.

Leon cleared his throat. "We're right here, you know," he said to the fanatic girl who gave him a glare that reeled him back a bit.

"Alright everyone, calm down. We're getting off track here, we need to give out a solid account before the trial begins and sitting here yelling and arguing over petty things is doing nothing but waste time, something we cannot waste. So let's all just stop these meaningless squabbles and get back to the task at hand?" Twogami ordered putting everyone back in order.

"Are there any more accounts in your group Miss Nevermind?" Twogami asked.

The princess nodded her head as she laced her fingers. "Yes, me and Gundham were sitting and discussing a few of our favorite hobbies. We've lost track of time and we decided to cut it short for us go to bed and then...you know." Her hands touched the area where her heart is. "Even though I'm glad neither of my teammates are hurt in any way, my heart goes out to Makoto and his group for their loss," she said sadly.

"Miss Sonia," Soda sighed sadly.

"Indeed, the Dark Queen and I were engaged in a rather involved discussion. My Devas and I were resting to get ready for our rematch against the demon from the Nine Realms until the announcement woke us up from our important slumber," the breeder mused.

Kazuichi wilted slightly at hearing that Sonia and Gundham were spending time together. His odds of impressing Sonia was tanking fast.

"Y-Yeah, Angie and I were also together too. Ain't that right, Angie?" Hagakure grinned to the artist.

"Ooh yes indeed! Hagakure here had so many questions about Atua and Angie just had to tell him the answers to please him," the girl mused with a smile.

Leon let out a chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, it looks like none of us are good with this curfew. Me and Ibuki were discussing different ideas on the songs I'm writing about, she had to most of the writing."

Kaede's eyes peeked at the baseball player's covered right hand and noticed a few bandages. They looked quite fresh. "Hey Leon, I hate to sound nosy but what's wrong with your hand here?" she asked curiously which also earned some looks from the students as they want to know as well.

Leon let out a nervous chuckle. "Heh, well it's a long story girl. I'm just glad I've got the painkillers to numb the pain, maybe we should focus more on this case than my well-being huh? I-Is it true...is Sayaka really..." he trailed off weakly.

"Yeah man, I can't believe it, I wish it was some kind of sick joke," Hiro sighed as he rubbed his forehead.

"I prayed that Atua will watch over her and protect her in his arms from the other side. I have no doubt he will guide us through this ordeal as well, we musn't lose our faith and he will lead us to victory," Angie smiled seemingly unfazed by the situation.

"Well Ibuki here just like Rooster had said was helping him to not suck at music. Ibuki was about to get some killer sleep and then BAM, the announcement went off," Ibuki exclaimed loudly.

Twogami sighed. "I do believe that covers the entirety of Sonia's group. Perhaps we should shift our attention elsewhere?"

"Everyone is our group has an alibi," a voice called out.

Everyone turned around and saw Hajime's group walking in. Hajime had a frustrated look on his face, Chiaki had her hood up as she and Miu who surprisingly had a calm expression walked along with Chihiro who looked better, but still shook by Sayaka's death. Mahiru helped the still sobbing Mikan to a nearby chair and comforted the poor girl to get her composure back.

Kaede offered a sympathetic smile before she folded her hands on her lap. "What do you mean by that, Nanami? Would you think you could explain what you mean?"

Chiaki sat down next to Fujisaki, Miu, and Mikan and pulled her hood down before she lifted her head slowly to meet everyone's gaze at them. "Hajime, Fujisaki, Miu, Kirigiri, Mahiru, Mikan, and I were together in the A.V. room along with Makoto's group after curfew. Fujisaki had an idea that'll help us find any information regarding the mastermind and a way out of here, but unfortunately Monokuma caught us red-handed. Then after that failed attempt and raising her spirits, we went to our dorms and went to sleep and you know, the rest is history," she explained quietly.

"Exactly, so you might as well cross us and Naegi's team off your lists. We were not behind all of this so please fuck off and move on," Iruma snapped as she shivered uncontrollably from the numerous eyes on her. Though Fujisaki is by her side, she couldn't bring herself to fuck her off because that'll be crude and despicable, even for her. The shy programmer hadn't said a word ever since the announcement and while she's not broken like earlier, she's still alternating between quiet sobs and blank stares.

However, her language didn't set well for the hall monitor. Ishimaru's jaws tensed as he stood up. "Miss Iruma, would you please filter your mou-"

"God, would you just shut the fuck up?! It's nearly 5 in the morning and we have a murder in our hands because of some cowardly asswipe decided to do it in our sleep and gave in to that shitpile of a bear. This is not the time for any of your uptightness, so loosen up your panties, and shut the fuck up!" Fuyuhiko growled as he adjusted his suit and glared at the moral compass.

Ishimaru bristled by the insult but decided not the engage in such pointless fights. He settled for a slight scowl as he sat back down.

"Please ignore that ass. Let's get this shitshow out of the way. The seven of us separated to our own rooms after that sideshow that freak gave us. I was with Peko during the latter hours until we decided to head off to our own rooms to get some rest until that announcement came up hours later. You do the math, no way any of us would choose to fuck around and fiddle with stuff knowing full well to be ready for the next day," Fuyuhiko explained with his arms folded as Peko nodded in agreement.

Mondo snorted. "Heh, don't look at me. I was passed the hell out way before that bear decided to wake us up."

"As was I. Unlike some people, I follow rules to the T," Ishimaru exclaimed.

"I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF TAKING A LATE NIGHT SHIT WHEN THAT ANNOUNCEMENT WENT OFF! AKANE AND I HAD BEEN EXERCISING IN MY ROOM BEFORE WE WENT TO OUR ROOMS AND GET OUR SLEEP!" Nekomaru bellowed.

Kaede blinked. "Ummm, I'm not sure how the first part is relevant, but I can't deny what you said Nidai-senpai."

"Hehe, I decided to amp up my exercise so I can be ready to tango with Katakuri. He's definitely something else and I'm more than excited to see it through," Akane laughed boisterously.

Then all of a sudden, Kokichi started laughing as he clenched his stomach. The buxom girl didn't like it and scowled at the short boy as he wiped some tears from her eyes. "Shishishi, that's rich. You going to fight against that thing? I can't wait to see him throttle you to the ground, it'll be so funny." he grinned.

Owari growled at the leader. "That's just your opinion, jackass. Wait and see how much I can do. I'm not smart but not dumb enough to not know the most obvious of things," she scowled.

Sonia offered a warm smile at the tall entomologist who'd yet to speak. "What about you, Gonta?"

Gonta looked troubled but allowed a warm expression as he scratched his head. "Ummm, Gonta had a chat with Mahiru on how to be a better gentleman. Then after talk, Gonta made sure his bug friends are alright before sleep. But Gonta's ashamed that he can't stop evil person from taking Miss Maizono's life. Some gentleman I am..." he explained sadly.

Mahiru shook her head. "Don't be ashamed Gonta. There's nothing we can do when that happened, so please don't put yourself down like that. She wouldn't want you to do that to yourself," she scolded lightly as she continues to comfort the traumatized Fujisaki.

The entomologist let out a sigh as he rubbed his arm. "Yeah..."

The silence in the room after Gonta's statment was broken from Kaede's table drumming. The pianist cleared her throat. "I guess that covers Ishimaru's group, I suppose it's our turn. We

"I believe that only leaves my group and those who decided to be on their own," Twogami mused as he adjusted his glasses. "Me personally, I remained in my quarters and like all of you I abided by my own devices until I slumbered. And of course, my sleep was harshly cut off by the announcement."

"For once, I decided to go along with Hammy's order and fell asleep until that annoying alarm went off," Hiyoko pouted slightly as she crossed her arms.

"Tch...I was busy w-with my writing...don't writers n-normally have writer's block or something? S-So what's more is there to say about m-my dedication to w-writing?" Fukawa scowled.

Hanamaru looked around a bit before letting out a sigh. "To be honest, I don't have a good alibi like all of you. I was so paranoid about late night ambushes I decided to barricade the door with my furniture. Of course, it took me a bit longer for me to get out of there once the alarm went off. Last item took me six minutes tops," he chuckled sheepishly.

Korekiyo wordlessly looked around the room. "Oh, is it my turn already. I do apologize, just like Teruteru here I do not possess an adequate alibi."

"Neither do I, deary. I was up a bit playing solitaire and poker before bed. Mmm, it may sounds pointless and unnecessary," Celestia mused with a light smile.

Kokichi was practically bouncing in his seat as he grinned wildly. "Oooh, is it my turn? Well knowing me, I was up to no good of course. I was checking the locks on the sealed doors my group found earlier. I have to say, whoever was the culprit was no slouch, that door was sealed tight."

"So you fully admitted that you was in the hallways during the time of the murder?" Twogami asked as he settled a pointed look at Kokichi.

The supreme leader offered a shrug. "Beats me, I don't know. I was lying by trying to pick the locks. Of course when I was about to go to my bed, I heard that girl's shrill scream and figured that the game had begun and followed you chaps to investigate and of course those two ward us off."

"Demented little shit," Fuyuhiko snarled at the boy.

"Let us stay on point. I supposed that everyone's account concerning the case? We know that Kirumi is just as obeying the rules as much as those do, and she's with Byakuya at the moment, I don't know why. We still didn't have the accounts from those who decided to remain alone. Byakuya, Ryoma, Maki, and of course Katakuri. All of them are not accounted of as of right now as we speak," Twogami mused.

Nagito offered a thin smile as he looked around the room. "Well, perhaps we made a lot of progress by shaving our suspect list way down. I suggest we should continue with our own investigation while we can and if we do come across them, we'll ask them for their account. Though I know that the latter one will be nigh impossible because of his...privacy."

Kokichi let out another giggle. "Indeed Komaeda-senpai, while those three prefer to be lone wolves, at least they will come up with something we can count as either a lie or truth, I can't say the same for that monster of Makoto's. It's so easy to pin him to be the one who did it, right? But...we just gotta find out and see that for ourselves, right?" he asked mischievously which made everyone in the room thinking about the high possibility that Makoto's friend was the one responsible for Sayaka's death. While he is gigantic and reclusive, he's not cold-hearted enough for him to murder one of them in cold blood after his displays back at the gym.

Right?


Second Day

First Floor

Dormitory

4:12 a.m

"Was I right Kibo?" Katakuri asked as he eyed the robot closely who was currently knelt down beside Sayaka's body.

The boy regarded the stab wound in the abdomen and the signs of wounds on the hands and wrists before he rose to his feet. "Yeah, there is very little doubt. That wound was definitely not deep. While it is in her stomach, she wouldn't have bled to death in a matter of seconds and she couldn't had just let out a scream like that unless the killer stabbed her. I still couldn't put my finger on the timing of the scream," he offered.

"Exactly, that scream was definitely one you cannot ignore, even if you're several meters away. I doubt that anyone could let out a scream like that before they're at death's door or whenever they're seconds away from bleeding to death," Makoto added. "Does that mean that the killer stabbed her and dashed away from the scene or did she let out the scream before they stabbed her. How long did it take for you to get here, Katakuri-san?"

The giant replied as he looked at the body. "At best, I came here in less than a minute, probably half. While I may be tall, I can do enormous strides that can reach from one end of the main hallway to the end in less than a minute tops. There's no way that the killer murdered Maizono then took off before I arrived along with y'all. It's impossible for someone to be that fast to avoid detection."

Kyoko quirked her eyebrow at him. "Then would you would've caught the perpetrator on time since you got here in a very short amount time? As a matter of fact, where were you during the murder, I might ask?" she asked skeptically.

Without missing a beat, Katakuri turned to the lavender haired girl. "I was sleeping outside at the other side of the hall that has your dorm rooms. When all of you went to bed, I did one last round trip to make sure everything is in order before I went to sleep myself. The scream was so loud that it sound like it could be anywhere on this floor," he replied.

"Hmm, that seems fair enough. And we can't say it's you because like you said, you came here seconds before Maizono passed, and we can cross off the possibility because of your height," Kyoko continued as she cupped her chin in a thinking position. *TRUTH BULLET*

Makoto nodded at the fact. "Yeah, that's what I thought too. You're original height is 16'8 right? And you changed your height to be comfortable for all of us to around 7'10''-8'. You can barely be into this room without crouching your head a bit just to fit in, I'm surprised you hadn't walked out from feeling stuffy in here."

"I agree with that assessment. So it would safe to assume that the person who attacked Miss Maizono had to be around 5'7''-5'9''. Also that would explain the self-defense wounds on her wrists and hands. I say that the killer and Sayaka had a struggle before the killer used the wooden item to strike Maizono before landing the killing blow. But that still doesn't answer the time frame of the killer's escape and your arrival, Mr. Katakuri," Kibo thought as he looked to the giant.

"Hmm, exactly Kibo. We need to find more on-" Katakuri stopped mid-sentence before something caught his eye as it too gained the three's attention.

"What is it, what did you found Katakuri-san?" Makoto asked.

The crimsonhead crouched down to Sayaka's body and found bloodied writing on the wall behind her lower back. "There's some kind of writing behind her, and her hand looks like she was writing a message before she succumbed to it. The writing may not be the best handwritten but it's still legible enough to be understood.

The writing said 11037.

"11037?" Kibo asked.

"What does that mean, is it some kind dying message she's trying to leave us?" Makoto asked with his fingers cupping his chin.

"Hmmm, perhaps. And while I was outside before I walked in, I noticed Maizono's room plate was on the door. Following my instincts, I pulled out my e-handbook and checked the order of the rooms on this side. And when I saw the order, the order was this: Fukawa, Maizono, Naegi, and Kirigiri." she explained as she took out her e-handbook and shown it to the others who also noticed the out of order of the rooms.

"And by the looks of this room, I suspect that this room belongs to you Naegi since there's no decoration or anything in here. My room is basically yours but in a girl's color. Since this is supposed to be your room Naegi, how come Maizono's name plate is on it?" Kyoko asked. *TRUTH BULLET*

Makoto tilted his head. "Why would Maizono done something like that? I mean, I remember right before we head to bed, Sayaka went up to me and asked if we can swap rooms even though I'm pretty sure they're against the rules. She said she was frightened of being there by herself and feeling uncomfortable being in her room, so she asked me if we swap rooms and of course, we did and we slept in each other's rooms. The nameplates that were on the rooms we slept in were the original, but why would they be swapped?"

Kibo pondered for a moment. "It seems as though the killer was trying to pin the murder on you since it took place in your room. It may be small, but if any of this was shown to the others, they'll think that you took part of this," he said.

The luckster clicked his teeth from the thought. "Fantastic, and pinning this on me is too easy because of you Katakuri-san. Why is it so easy to put it on us even though we have no part in it?" he grumbled.

"Ignore them Naegi. Gathering enough evidence and pointing out the alibis and any contradictions that'll come our way will clear your name. Don't let anyone make you falter from your stance. Even though what you did was against the rules, it is certainly not out of malice, so don't put yourself out," Kirigiri said.

Makoto nodded and let out a small smile. "Yeah, you're right." He looked around the room and found no more evidence and let out a sigh. "Well, I guess that's everything that we found that'll be useful for us for the trial. I have no doubt that there is more evidence outside on the floor."

Kirigiri folded her arms. "It would appear so. While this room is trashed, it wasn't too unrecognizable for us to find anything that'll help us. If we leave this place, then we wouldn't be able to come back here unless we overlooked something," she said.

"Exactly, and we spent a good amount of time in this room. Searching in other locations and ask others of their alibi will boost our discovery of the perpetrator," Kibo added.

"If that's the case, then I will be searching around the other places on this floor to find more we can find that'll help us. I say we're finished with this room and whenever we felt like we missed something, we'll come back. We're going to need to get her body in a more suitable place, perhaps the infirmary. While it's not the morgue, it'll be more respectable for her to be in there than lying here in such a brutal and bloody fashion," Katakuri stated.

Makoto sighed as he agreed with his statement. "Yeah, we can do that at least. I'm coming with you though, if you like..."

"Any help is necessary that'll get us closer to solving this case," Katakuri said, making the luckster brightened up a bit before putting on a determined face as he stood beside the giant and walked to the door.

"Anyways, what would you two be doing?" Makoto asked as he stopped at the entrance with Katakuri already out of the door and standing in the hallway with Sakura and Asahina.

Kibo walked to the boy. "I'll be heading to the dining room to meet with the rest of our group to give out our account. I'll go and find Miss Enoshima to meet with the rest of us. I guess you let Miss Sakura and Asahina know of our next plan, Katakuri?"

Katakuri nodded. "Indeed, the two of them are going to the others in the dining hall and already giving out their credible alibis for the trial. After you people are finish with your alibis, find something or think anything that was out of the ordinary or find some evidence. There may be scattered across this floor."

"I'll be doing my own investigation and be trusting enough to find more evidence that'll help this case and cementing my alibi so I wouldn't be on the accusing end," Kyoko said as she pulled a strand of hair.

Makoto nodded at their objectives. "Well in that case, let's keep going, for Sayaka...ready Katakuri-san?"

The giant nodded. "Let's get to it." With that, the four went out of the wrecked room and gone to their separate ways, with Makoto and Katakuri finding more evidence, Kibo to find Junko to join with the rest of their group, and Kyoko going her own way to find more on the murder.

After everyone left the room to their own devices, they didn't noticed one last thing before they left. Behind the closed bathroom door, if they stayed a bit longer, they would've noticed Sayaka's motionless body let out a tiny, almost unnoticeable twitch.


Second Day

First Floor

Classroom

4:45 a.m

The door slowly creaked open, the light from the hallways lightening up the dark room a bit. The person scanned the empty classroom to find anything out of the ordinary. The only thing ordinary here is the optical camera mounted up the ceiling corner that make sure it has everything in sight. Letting out a silent sigh, the person walked into the classroom and silently shuts the door but not locking it, or else it will catch suspicion from any oncoming students. But this person was confident seeing how everyone was busy gathering information to find Sayaka's murderer until the trial commences.

The person did a last take to make sure the coast was clear until they reached into their pocket and pulled out a long piece of cloth. The cloth was worn out, not in a way that was torn up, but in a way that it has been used.

Recently.

With a lot of strain and tension.

Luckily, this person was able to get the cloth without anyone paying attention. It was lying in the dorm room among the mess, and thankfully, everyone overlooked it and that gave the person a good enough window to grab the piece of cloth and hide it in their pocket before the students were beginning a thorough search. Gritting their teeth, the person could not believe that Sayaka had used their piece to defend herself, most likely as a last ditch effort before she was stabbed. That explains the strained appearance. If anyone would've seen it, especially Katakuri, they'll pin it on them and they will have no alibi to defend themselves.

The person knows the perfect way to dispose this piece of cloth. This person was planning on throwing it into the incinerator and let the flames engulf it. That'll for sure seals their alibi. The person was about to walk out of the classroom and get the deed done until they hear footsteps approaching from the distance along with indistinct voices. The person's eyes widened in shock as they were completely zoned out from finding a way to get rid of this important piece of evidence.

But the person's alerted state slowly turned to one of dread when they hear a distinctive clinking sound of spurs and a luckster's annoying voice.

Searching for a place to hide, the person searched for the darkest spot of the classroom and found nothing. The person was running out of options, and they're running out of time when they hear Makoto and Katakuri approaching the door with their voices becoming more clear. Looking down at the accursed piece, the person gritted their teeth to the point of breaking as they hear the doorknob rattling from one of them opening to door.

The door opened and Makoto and Katakuri emerged with the giant opening the door. "So you think the killer would be in a place like this during the crime?" Makoto asked.

Katakuri nodded. "Yes, no doubt. If the killer did the deed, they would've most likely be in a secluded location like this to plan their way to hide the evidence and make themselves look like nothing has happened to them. And what any other notable secluded locations to ponder what to do would be one of the classrooms?"

The two walked into the dimmed room scanning the area for any sign of entrance. Makoto looked under the desks while Katakuri scanned the darkest spots of the room.

"Well, whoever entered here is gone now. I guess they got spooked and ran off before we even reached to them," Makoto said as he finished looking under the desks and behind the teacher's desk.

The crimsonhead let out a low hum. He narrowed his eyes to peer through the blackness of the room before he turned back to the entrance. "Could be. Let's go to the others and find more if we can. This was a waste of time."

The luckster nodded and the two walked out of the room, but Katakuri stopped as he looked at the room with a fierce glare. He's no fool, he know someone is here. Whoever it is, they must be really good at hiding since nobody would even know they're here. This person must've had some special training to learn to use the shadows and the most difficult spots in a room to their advantage from onlookers.

Not wanting Naegi to worry, the giant let out a 'hmph' before he closed to door and walked off. The two walked back to the others and continued their conversation until their voices and footsteps are no longer audible.

Letting out a very needed breath of relief, the person dropped from the ceiling corner and landed without making noise that'll attract them back. Wiping the sweat from their forehead, the person shook their head and removed the piece from their pocket. The person silently cursed as they waited that the coast is clear and that no one else is approaching their way. They waited for a good five minutes until they're confident enough that it is clear for them to walk without any notice.

That's it.

The incinerator is a no-go. Not only would any debris from the incinerator would scatter, but the use of it will definitely leave some heat that'll tell the others that someone had used it earlier after the murder. And they certainly don't want the likes of Kirigiri, Byakuya, or Maki to snoop around and find out who.

Especially that naive luckster and his freakish friend. Definitely don't want him to find out.

Taking a look at the polka dot cloth, the person stashed it in their pocket for the last time until they peered through the window to find any students bypassing them. With the coast clear, the person creaked the door open and closed it. Taking another deep breath, the person straightened her blonde hair and wiped the sweat from her face to avoid it smearing her make-up coated face.

After she tell her fellow students she'll find another way to 'gather evidence', she needs a talk with Monokuma.

A nice, long talk with Monokuma.

End of chapter


AN: Well, we are getting some juice up in here? Normally I would post an April Fool's chapter but because of what's going on, I decided to give you an early Easter gift by giving you two chapters at the same time! Hope these two felt real and genuine. Don't worry, not every chapter is going to be intense or tension-filled just for some attention, there will be some free roaming time and character development, but let's get through the investigation first, shall we?

Now, why would Asahina be apprehensive of telling the others of her activities before Sayaka's murder? Who was the one who was hiding from Makoto and Katakuri in the classroom, why is Byakuya being a douche, and is there more to the murder that Katakuri is implying than what is seems to the regular eye? Find out more on The Ultimate Big Brother!

Further more, here's the list of the groups in case for those who lost track:

Makoto's group: Makoto, Sayaka*, Junko, Kibo, Asahina, and Sakura

Sonia's group: Sonia, Angie, Hagakure, Gundham, Kazuichi, Leon, and Ibuki

Ishimaru's group: Ishimaru, Mondo, Akane, Nekomaru, Fuyuhiko, Pekoyama, and Gonta

Kaede's group: Kaede, Shuichi, Kaito, Tsumugi, Hifumi, Tenko, Himiko, Nagito, and Rantaro

Hajime's group: Hajime, Chiaki, Mikan, Mahiru, Miu, Chihiro, and Kirigiri

Twogami's group: Twogami, Teruteru, Celestia, Kirumi, Korekiyo, Kokichi, Toko, and Hiyoko

non-group: Byakuya, Ryoma, Maki, and Katakuri

Beta-reader

King Carlos
Shadow of Life
Brainstorming partner: ZGMF-X13A Providence