Hello, and I am finally back with another update! Heck, this took a while to update and post in my opinion, but hey, at least it's out right now, right? We're reaching closer to the ending anyways, so that's a good thing! Exciting and fun, and hopefully I'll be able to update quicker once my finals are done! College takes up a lot of time, oof.

Prince PokePersona: "Pfft, Scooby Doo vibes are fun. Heck yeah, the gang's here! Yup yup, that's basically it. Hehe, so many memos in the beginning which will all connect, maybe, maybe. Woooo, so much fun! Hehe, twists are always fun. Heck yeah, hopefully Tomoyo figures out what happened quickly. Yume's just a poor girl, we should protect her. Akio will always be a ho, so it's not a surprise. And thanks!"

BIG THANKS TO MY BETA READER: Lupus Overkill!

Tomoyo said nothing, not even when she was surrounded by her friends. She wasn't sure what to say, honestly, only staring down at her dusty and bruised hands. She pursed her lips, her heart throbbing painfully. "... It should've been obvious this would've happened."

"I mean, I wouldn't say that." Misaki threw the woman an awkward smile, a forced chuckle escaping her throat. "Kiyoko and Watari were really organized and thought everything out well. People just managed to stay one step ahead of them."

Yume snorted. "That's because we're just teenagers, Misaki. We're not the smartest bunch alive."

"We still had support though!" The surgeon huffed, pouting. "C'mon now, we had to mess up at some point. We're not stupid, Yume."

"Criminals get caught all the time." Ayako sighed as she moved over to the corner of the dark room, plopping down against the wall. "Our time's up."

"You guys are so…" Misaki forced back her own words, just resorting to shaking her head and clearing her throat. "What happened to Kiyoko and Watari?"

Masako held her breath. "D-didn't they plan to… y'know…"

"I'm sure they'll be fine," the surgeon reassured, pursing her lips. "You just need to believe in them, that's all! They know what to do."

Yet Tomoyo did not believe that. How could she believe that when they were just teenagers, up against adults? They were not the gods and goddesses who reigned over Earth, that was an indisputable fact. They had little to no chance of getting the upper hand in this battle, and if Tomoyo knew that, everyone else knew that too.

The meeting was held outside, right on the grass. Even though Tomoyo knew Akio was not going to come, she couldn't help but tap her foot on the ground softly in disappointment, even when everyone else was around. She watched Shinjimae who was giving a small smile to Yume and Masako, then looked over to Saki who was running around in the grass, panting happily. She hasn't been outside in a while, Tomoyo figured… well, outside in the real world, that is.

She checked the time on her MonoPad. It was around two in the afternoon, the woman recalling back to when she texted the others to meet with her. She was glad she had eaten before the meeting, having cooked some pancakes for herself and Masako, though strangely her stomach growled in a way that made her uneasy, as if time was running out.

She shouldn't worry about that. It wasn't important, she figured, eyeing the people who were around her. She let out a soft sigh as she glanced at them, giving them a nod as she spoke, "I guess we're ready?"

Yume looked straight at Tomoyo and shrugged. "Works for me."

Tomoyo hummed and nodded in response. She then turned at Masako and Shinjimae who nodded their heads, giving her the go to start. She smiled to herself. Alright, she can work now.

"I want to go over what we know so far," she began, speaking as confidently as possible. Her hands gripped into her notebook that she displayed in front of the trio. Notes and scribbles were all visible, able to be seen. "Watari was chosen to be Monokuma's helper, and afterwards the deal was dropped due to Watari trying to stop him."

"Mhm…" Shinjimae pursed his lips, slightly unease. His doe eyes were glancing sadly at the notes, specifically from the mention of his beloved friend. "W-Watari was trying to help us from the start. He, uh, was just using Monokuma."

Masako frowned. "Ah, everyone was trying to stop the killing game in a way." She averted her gaze. "... like Blaise's plan."

Yeah. Right. She almost wanted to gag. Her ignorance and lack of confidence led to her joining the actor's plan, and that made her more than guilty. It led to her hurting Watari, and somehow it led to his death. Even if she didn't want to believe that it did, and she was certain Masako would shake her head and deny that she had anything to do leading up to the detective's death, the guilt and regret were still present in her heart.

"Eh, those two kinda hated each other. Blaise was just good at hiding that." Yume shrugged, raising a brow. "The guy was crazy from the get go, right? He literally lost his mask during the first trial."

"Since Wakana died, yeah." Tomoyo sighed. "Watari told us that we were all murderers at that time too, and that led to Kiyoko killing her. She wanted to kill everyone."

Masako thought for a few seconds, an awkward and small smile forming on her lips. "Well… I-I would expect someone to snap upon hearing that claim. I mean, not too soon, but… anything was possible."

I mean, I didn't expect Kiyoko of all people to snap. She was always calm around me. But that was a lie, she only just met Kiyoko at that time, supposedly. How was she to judge what the recreation worker was like?

"I-it's okay! No need to, erm, worry about it!" Shinjimae forced a smile. "A-at least we can confirm that what Watari said is right…?"

"True." The screenwriter bit into her lips. "Given Monokuma had definitely toyed and erased some parts of our memories, we just need to connect the dots between what we have so far."

"Ah, right." Masako nodded slowly, thinking to herself for a bit. "Uh, well, what did you have so far, Tomoyo?"

Tomoyo nodded, reaching into her pocket and taking out her notes. She looked through them before speaking, explaining in a clear tone, "We already established plenty of times that we think Watari's words are true, that we're all murderers. Because of this, I believe that our memories have either been altered or erased, leading us to initially find his claims false. Why is this? I think apathy is the issue… rather, how we handle death."

She stopped for a second, eyeing everyone around her. She could definitely see the slight unease in everyone, and continued, "Not only that, but I definitely think there's something wrong with the trial we've just been through, and I think you could all agree that it was fishy, to put it lightly. Watari had been killed because he was a threat, and Monokuma was pushing us to vote as soon as possible."

"Yeah, right." Yume's face hardened. She almost looked emotional at that, obviously angered from the idea that Kyatchi died simply for Monokuma's ulterior motives. "It was the mastermind's fault then."

"I think so too, and I think what we talked about in the trial could hold true." Regarding the idea that they were being watched, that an audience was watching them with utter interest and glee. While it made her sick, she knew better than to forego it. "I just noted down what we went over in the trial so we won't forget. Most importantly, however, I really want to know more about Watari."

"Since he helped Monokuma for a while," Masako voiced, understanding. "You said his deal with Monokuma was cut off."

"Should've been a while after the second trial," the screenwriter elaborated, frowning. Her eyebrows were narrowed, scrunched down. Eyes were scanning the area continuously. "I wanted to check Watari's room too, after this."

"O-oh, but wait a, er, second." Shinjimae looked at the group with his doe eyes, blinking. "Um… d-did Watari work with just Monokuma, or was he with the mastermind?"

"Hm?" Yume raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

The animal whisperer made a soft sigh, obviously slightly at unease over talking so openly. "W-well… I mean, did Monokuma a-and the mastermind even, er, l-like each other?"

Right. I was thinking about that for a while. The screenwriter slowly nodded her head. "In my opinion, I do not think the mastermind and Monokuma would get along if Watari ended up helping Monokuma."

"R-really?" Masako raised a brow, playing with her hands. "I know we mentioned that a bit during the trial, but maybe the mastermind wanted Watari to help out for extra leverage?"

Shinjimae held his breath. "W-wouldn't the mastermind and Monokuma be enough though? Err, well, I-I mean… I-isn't it sudden for Monokuma to just, well, let Watari help him? T-the detective had the ability to ruin everything for him and the mastermind."

"And Monokuma knew that." Yume frowned. "He knew Watari was a threat and still allowed him to help, then had Watari killed in the end before he could help us."

"Yeah…" The animal whisperer pursed his lips. "I-it sounds like a situation the mastermind would want to avoid… a-at least, in my opinion."

"True, but, hmm…" Masako wasn't exactly sure, still hesitant as she cupped her chin. Her eyes looked from place to place, then over to Tomoyo. "Watari died because he was going against Monokuma's plans then? Or because the mastermind wanted him gone?"

"Monokuma didn't want Watari to live, and I think he and the mastermind thought the same thing at least in that time," the screenwriter answered, thinking to herself. "I think Monokuma and the mastermind didn't get along, and that's why Monokuma allowed Watari to become close to him."

"But why would they not get along?" Yume asked.

"Not sure…" The survivalist held her breath. "Maybe it ties into us being murderers? I don't know how though."

"I'm not sure about that either," Tomoyo admitted, crossing her arms. "Do you think Monokuma has a specific type of hatred for murderers, or the mastermind?"

"It wouldn't make sense since we're in a killing game though," Yume replied, shooting down the shorter woman's words with a shake of her head. "Maybe if we go over the motives? They're 'motives' for a reason."

"Ah, right." The screenwriter looked back down at her notes, scanning through each one. After a few seconds she looked back to the group, lips pursed. "The first one was on blackmail, the second one was on wishes, the third one was to kill our target within a time limit, the fourth one was the… hm, the strange letters."

"That one is so weird." Masako frowned upon recalling back to the motive, shaking her head. "Even the one we got a day ago made more sense, in my opinion."

"I-I agree with that." Shinjimae whistled out to Saki who had been playing in the grass. She immediately hopped over to his side, allowing him to rest on her furry body. "Mmm, t-the letters were weird… they were, uh, directly referenced to us, b-but for mine, I don't even know who they are…?"

Tomoyo frowned, face hardening. "Same."

She could remember the letter all too well, shuddering slightly as she recalled what was written in the piece of paper.

["Dear Tomoyo,

I'm sure you're doing well back there, right? You're having a happier, healthier life, right? We can't really be sure since we're not there to see you ourselves, but it doesn't really matter, now does it? It's not like we have the money or need to look after you any longer. It's been decided from the moment you were born, and we do not care if you despise us for what we've done.

We were only told to give you a letter, and we're assuming it's required. Whether you believe we actually care about you or not, we advise you to tear this letter and toss it away. There's no need to feel sentimental or any sort of pain from seeing this letter. We do not feel the emotions that you surely feel towards us.

Sincerely,

XXXXXXXXXXX"]

And the screenwriter remembered tearing the letter immediately once she went into her room. She tore and tore into the letter until it was nothing but paper shreds, tiny and messing up her relatively tidy room. She had no idea why she did it, but something in her heart just stung and her brain just screamed at her to just rip, rip, rip, to rip the damn letter.

It was like the letter should've, it actually, meant something to her. It was if the people who wrote the letter knew everything about her, as if they knew her even before she was born.

And she didn't know why she felt that way. That multitude of emotions riding her tiny body only stressed her out further, and it led her to not understanding Watari when he screamed at her, to continue to ignore Masako right until the murder. It caused all sorts of events that might've been avoided, she thinks, yet it was all too late to change reality.

"I'm not sure." Tomoyo spoke again, holding her breath. Her eyes were scanning each person, observing everyone's reaction and expression. "But, even if we don't know the purpose of those letters- did the letters strike a nerve within you? Did you react strongly to it?"

Masako looked at the screenwriter, gulping. Nervousness was clear on her pale features, eyes slightly dilated as she began toying with her fingers. "Yes… well, for mine, I ended up crying once I went into my room. I don't know why though, it just felt… wholesome? Nostalgic?"

Yume shrugged. "I tried to not think about it, though I guess it made me kind of annoyed? Or even disappointed."

"Mm, well…" Shinjimae averted his gaze, lips pursed. "F-for me, I felt happy. I-I don't even know why I do, it's just…"

The survivalist frowned. "Shinji?"

The animal whisperer heaved a shaky breath, lips curling to a small smile. "I-I just don't know. W-whoever sent me a letter said they loved me so much, a-and it's so different in comparison to my Daddy that… I-it makes me feel tingly, I-I think."

"Really?" The survivalist looked conflicted about this, eyes staring straight at the doe eyes of Shinjimae's. "I-I suppose I can relate… being a survivalist and all…"

Mm… so a variety of feelings. How interesting. Tomoyo silently scribbled down into her notebook, quickly noting her friends' words. She wasn't exactly sure what to make of everything, but all she knew was that Monokuma had planned exactly what he wanted to do with them. He wanted them to feel this way, to ponder while suffering in their mixture of overwhelming emotions.

"And we got intel on the different memories we got." Tomoyo switched the subject, catching her peers' attention. "We all seemed to know each other, more so than we thought initially. What do you make of that?"

Masako pursed her lip, scratching the back of her head. "Mm, well, for me…" She thought for a bit, thinking. "I believe that it definitely has value. I can't make a connection from that to the letters and other motives though."

"The other motives? I don't really think it matters that much." Yume shook her head and smirked a little. "For me, I guess the memories relate back to the murderer theory. We all knew each other because we were murderers."

"True." Tomoyo frowned. "It makes sense. From that, I'm guessing we were running away? From the cops or something?"

"I think so," the nihilist answered.

Shinjimae shuddered. "I-if that's the case, shouldn't we be in jail…?"

Yume couldn't help but snort. "Aren't we in jail itself though?"

Yeah, good point. Tomoyo furrowed her brows, face hardened. She crossed her arms, thinking to herself for a bit. "In a jail where people watch us die?"

"People usually don't give a damn about criminals," Yume admitted, staring at the screenwriter. "I wouldn't be surprised, honestly, if this was some sort of 'hey, let's watch criminals kill one another' type of ploy."

"Th… yeah, that's right." Masako paled upon the realization, gulping. "Ugh, that's making me sick…"

Yeah, I would hate to think about that, but it seems… really likely. The screenwriter wrote into her notebook and frowned, eyeing the notes that were staring at her face. She sighed upon seeing how much she had written, placing the notebook down and scratching the back of her head. "I'm guessing that's all we have for now, right?"

Shinjimae brushed his fingers through Saki's fur, nodding his head slowly as he murmured, "Mm, guess so. W-what should we do next?"

Tomoyo immediately crossed her arms and frowned. "Well, I was thinking of checking Watari's room. If we can't open it, I was wondering if it would be possible to break in."

"Oh, really?" Yume blinked, eyes widened. "That's… scandalous."

Shinjimae frowned. He nervously played with Saki's fur, pursing his lips. "Mm… I-I thought Monokuma locked the door? I-if we try to break in, w-wouldn't he, erm, get mad…?"

"He obviously wants us to find nothing from him," Tomoyo retorted, shaking her head. "If we see what Watari had been doing, I feel like we can get closer to getting out of here. We have to take some risks."

"I-I guess so, but I'm just…" The animal whisperer closed his eyes, thinking to himself. "Well, ignore me. I'm just… just being sentimental."

Masako looked over at him worriedly, biting into her lower lip. "Shinji, you don't need to go with us if you don't want to."

"Ah, no, I'll go." Doe eyes stared straight at the group. He forced himself to smile, albeit a slightly one. "I-I want to get out of here, to make Watari and Keishi proud."

He's been through so much, Tomoyo knew. She knew that all too well, and it only made her more determined to keep everyone safe and escape this wretched place. If not only that, then to document her entire experience, to tell the entire world what they've been through and the horrors of what Tomoyo had to suffer, mentally and physically.

… that is, if we're not being watched already. Do people even care about the well-being of murderers anyways?

Most likely not, she figured. Up from her spot, she brushed any dust or dirt that was on her clothes. Scratching the back of her head, the screenwriter glanced over at the group and smiled. "We should go check Watari's room now and see if we can find a way in."

Yume snorted to herself. "I mean, maybe if one of us could hack or something."

"Sounds unlikely," Masako admitted, letting out a small chuckle herself. "B-but, of course, we'll see what happens."

Tomoyo nodded and began moving back into the building, the others following behind her. She grabbed the handle on the door and walked inside, but the moment she stepped into the area, she could feel something. It was as if the building was screaming at her, crying. She frowned, her head suddenly sweating.

Her eyes darted around the area, though she obviously couldn't tell from how narrow and wide the building was. She could feel it though, how hotter the building was from usual. While it wasn't exactly excruciatingly hot, it was noticeable enough to alert her. She glanced over to her peers who instantly synchronized with her line of thinking, and she quickly began dashing through the hallway in search for a smoke signal or temperature increase.

Moving, moving, moving.

Tomoyo immediately moved to where the source of the hotness was, directing herself straight into the dormitories. It became hot enough for her to sweat, make her breathe in quick and short breaths. She quickly ran straight until she found smoke, then quickly turned around to find Monokuma, in front of Watari's room which was burning down, reds and yellows and oranges blinding her eyesight.

"What the-?!" The screenwriter was completely thrown aback, eyes dilated and mouth agape. She was stunned, frozen in her spot as the sounds of crackling was heard, echoing into her ear. "M-Monokuma, what is the meaning of this?!"

The bear wasn't responding, only smiling sinisterly as he held a box of matches. He chuckled, and that chuckle eventually grew into laughter. Insane, maniacal laughter.

Like an arsonist doing their magic, Monokuma was enjoying the fire in front of his very eyes. The door that should've led Tomoyo to her answers, it had been burnt down into a crisp, and now all she could see ahead of her was the harsh hues of the fire. The perpetrator was right in front of her, and yet all she could do was stand there, silent and enraged.

"W-Watari's…" Shinjimae was shaking in his spot, shutting his eyes. He breathed heavily as Saki nuzzled against his leg. "That's… why would you do that…?"

"Asshole." Yume narrowed her eyes and glared at the bear who finally spun around to meet his students' eyes. "You knew we were going to break in."

Monokuma snickered, a smirk present on his face. "Obviously, I know my students very well. You guys think you're soooooooo crafty, hm?"

"This isn't fair though." Masako clenched her fists. Her breath was hitched, voice shaky. "This should be against the rules. Even if you are in charge of us, this is just… it's not even a fair game at this point!"

"Fair game? You were planning to break into poor Watari's room. Give the little demon spawn some privacy, would you? Even if he's dead, you don't have to abuse that." Monokuma cackled, throwing his paws over the back of his head. "Just because the detective had some information you're too dumb or unworthy of getting doesn't mean you have the right to actually get it."

The survivalist was utterly disgusted. "W-weren't you the one who locked Watari's room anyways?"

The bear just tilted his head. "Oh? Was I really?" He chuckled. "I might've been the one to say no, but it's not like I'm the one who enforced it."

"What?" Tomoyo was baffled. "What do you mean…?"

Monokuma sneered. "You know, I really wouldn't mind if Watari came forth and shared his information with you guys. It's a shame he's too distrustful of you all. It ended up with him dead! Puhuhuhu!"

Yume scoffed. "And then you burned down the room the moment we tried to see what he was up to. Sounds less than fair to me."

"Opinion, opinion, blah blah!" The bear rolled his eyes. "It's too late anyways, the deed is done, and now you have a burnt detective room! So suck on it!"

Tomoyo wasn't exactly sure what to say, her mind entirely focused on the lost evidence that could've been gotten if she was just here sooner. She bit into her lips and stared blankly at the burning ashes, watching the flames continue to engulf Watari's room.

"You actually had the hospital burnt down?" Misaki looked at Tomoyo worriedly. "That's the one you stayed at when you were sick though, right? You knew some of the people there, right…?"

The screenwriter just shook her head. A wave of emotions was overwhelming her, but she knew better than to just break. "It's… fine, really."

Tomoyo immediately snapped out of her thoughts when a loud crack was heard. Her eyes widened as the sound of a chandelier crashed inside Watari's room. Crackling and smoky, Tomoyo could feel her eyes burn, her nose overwhelmed with that disgusting smell of charcoal and burning. Her heart almost wanted to scream at her to just move, to stop hurting herself.

Yet she stayed still, unable to even comprehend what she was feeling at this moment.

"It's already ruined anyways," Yume continued, having been talking to the bear ever since the screenwriter tuned out. "Can you please just put away the fire now? Everything Watari's ever done is burnt down. We won't be able to get anything anyways, alright?"

"Jesus fucking Christ, you're one stuck up bitch. What did Kyatchi's death do to you?" Monokuma rolled his eyes, but smirked at the nihilist whose face paled at the mention of the juggler.

"Just put the fire away already, alright?"

"Sheesh, you're so stubborn about this!" The bear whined, shaking his head. "What do you think I am, your fucking slave?!"

Yume just scoffed. "Yes, if you keep acting like this that is!"

"Okay, fine!" Monokuma immediately disappeared from the midst, and suddenly appeared yet again, now with a fire extinguisher and hose in his paws- let's not forget about the helmet and firefighter gear he was wearing. "Hoho! Stand back, you damn kids! This is gonna be spicy!"

SWWWWWIIIISSSSSHHH!

The hose was turned on, and water immediately poured into the fire. It gushed and gushed until the fire hissed, dying out within a couple of minutes. The entire room was wet, surely, but that wasn't on anyone's mind as Monokuma turned off the hose, breaking a sweat and huffing. He smiled, and lifted his helmet and bowed.

"You're welcome."

Tomoyo said nothing, just staring at the now hosed down and burnt room. Watari's room was completely ruined now, and there was an utter lack of care in Monokuma's face. The fact that he burnt down a dear Ultimate's room, almost mocking in a way to laugh at Watari for dying, was just traumatizing.

"Well, it seems like my work here is done!" the bear exclaimed, happiness all too present on his face. "If you guys need anything else, just holler!"

And, just like always, the bear had disappeared.

It went silent. A looming silence that was majorly uncomfortable to the members in the room. No one knew what to say. No one knew how to act. How were they supposed to act? About this?

This stupid, horrible situation?

She wasn't sure. Tomoyo wasn't sure what to make of this, only checking her heartbeat. It was still quick, but it was slowing down to its normal pace. The smoke was still affecting her, even if it had dissipated away, her head spinning. She wasn't immobile, which was fortunate, but she was bothered enough that she had to take a few seconds before focusing her attention to her friends.

"You guys are all alright, right?"

"Ah…" Masako was the first to answer, quickly nodding her head. She walked over to Tomoyo and brought a hand to her shoulder. "But how about you? Are you okay? You look a bit pale."

"Oh, no, don't worry about that." Tomoyo had to mentally slap herself awake, back to reality. "I was just… surprised, that's all."

Yume shook her head, finally stepping in to speak. "I mean, I really wouldn't have expected Monokuma to just burn Watari's room down. I thought he'd just keep it locked or some shit."

Shinjimae's lips curled to a slight frown. He slowly bent down to ruffle Saki's head, brushing through her locks of fur. He pursed them, then slowly stood back and walked over to the door. He peeked inside, slowly poking in. "... M-maybe we should, y'know, still search. E-even if it's ruined… I still want to."

"Ah, right." Tomoyo was slightly caught off guard, still needing to comprehend what had happened. "It's not like everything would just be, gone."

Shinjimae simply nodded in response and headed his way inside, the others slowly but surely following from behind. Saki gave a reassuring bark as she nuzzled against the animal whisperer's leg, and he made a few barks, easily notifying her what to do. She quickly walked further into the middle of the room and began sniffing out the place.

Tomoyo watched the dog move from place to place slowly, then to Shinjimae who was scouring around, concentrated. The screenwriter's face hardened, and she turned to Yume and Masako. "I'll check that side of the room."

Yume just nodded and moved with a simple, "Gotcha."

As people moved about, Tomoyo quickly moved over to her spot, Shinjimae close to her. Her eyes darted over to Watari's bed, finding it entirely burnt to a crisp. It was hard to find just about anything useful or workable inside now, the books and notes written completely turned into ashes.

All of his work, just gone.

But as time continued, there was a sliver of hope. Rustling about and searching, it took minutes before something eventful happened, Shinjimae's lips curling to a small 'O' as he gasped.

"L-look, this is… it's some sort of code, right?"

Tomoyo and the others moved over to the animal whisperer, looking over him. On his hands was a piece of paper, just barely burnt and black. While the paper itself wasn't entirely important, it was the number that was written in and circled with a red marker, that number being '14'. Not only that, but the fact that alongside the number was the word, 'angelic'.

"What the hell does that mean?" Yume frowned, immediately scowling. "Angelic? Fourteen?"

"I-I don't know what that means…" Shinjimae murmured, just allowing Saki to comfort him now. "Hmm…"

Tomoyo thought to herself, lips pursed. She wasn't exactly sure what to make of the note- what exactly was Watari doing? What did the man know? How much did he even know?

She frowned. Well, certainly a lot if it means having his room completely burned down.

"We'll figure it out," Tomoyo reassured, looking calmly at everyone. "We just need to rest, probably. Want to take a break?"

"Break? I mean…" Shinjimae frowned. "True, i-it might help."

Masako immediately agreed with what her friend said, nodding her head. "Yeah! That's a smart idea. We should take a break."

"Eh, works with me." Yume shrugged. She slowly stepped out. "If anyone wants, I'm going to go fetch a snack in the cafeteria if you need me."

"O-oh! Yeah, sure." The survivalist's head was perked. "See you later."

The nihilist immediately left the area, and Shinjimae's focus was now on Saki. He barked and spoke to her for a bit, then made a soft sigh and looked over to Tomoyo. "S-Saki's kind of tired, so I'm going to rest with her. I-I might look for Blaise too, maybe in his dorm?"

Tomoyo blinked. "Oh, no, yeah, that's fine."

"Yeah, thanks." Shinjimae smiled in return, Saki barking in gratitude as well. He showed her the way out, and now the screenwriter was left with Masako, all in this burnt out and torn room.

Masako glanced at the woman curiously. "Ah, what are you planning to do?"

The screenwriter just awkwardly smiled, toying with her strands of black hair. "I might look around some more. I'm a bit peeved Monokuma burned this room, to be honest."

"Oh, well, that makes sense," the survivalist mused, forming a small smile in return. "Do you think you need any help? I… hm, I do admit I'm a bit tired, but I don't mind helping you out some more."

Tomoyo shook her head. "Don't worry about it. You should rest. I'll just search around and try to look for more clues, that's all. At least I don't have to worry about Blaise. Shinji's going to talk to him, right?"

"That's true, but are you sure?" Masako frowned. "I mean, you can always just text me if you need anything."

The screenwriter waved her off and nodded. "Yeah, so don't worry. It'll be quick. I'll take a break after I'm done."

Masako just awkwardly shrugged. "Well, if you say so. Er, I'm going to head off now. I might take a nap, to be honest."

Tomoyo chuckled. "Yeah, see you later then."

Watching the survivalist leave, the screenwriter was now left by her lonesome. She frowned, eyebrows narrowing. The note Shinjimae had in his hand was concerning, though she didn't exactly know what to make of it, especially concerning the word 'angelic'. What hinted to that? She wasn't sure of it herself, just crossing her arms.

She took another look around the area, making sure she hadn't missed anything. A few minutes passed by before she was certain she had checked every place, and she nodded to herself.

Alright… What place should I search next? I need to think. Her expression hardened, lips curled to a frown as she placed a hand to her chin. If it concerns the bigger picture of things… oh! The library.

The one Watari died in. While it was definitely a place that screamed horrendous memories and nightmares to her, she knew she couldn't afford to falter. It was important, and she knew that.

She slowly stepped out of Watari's room and moved, making her way straight to the library that was above the bottom level.

Making her way inside, she felt chills running down her spine. She could almost imagine how Watari died, his dead body. It was so vivid and clear in her head, and it was honestly making her sick. Her stomach was knotting and her head ached, but she forced herself in, slowly making her way inside. Deeper and deeper in, all until she reached the specific place where Watari died.

Everything looked normal, as expected. While Monokuma was a sadistic headmaster who held no care for the Ultimates, he was certainly clean on his duty when it came to death. He made sure there was not a trace of murder left in any given room, and even in here, where Watari had been beaten and tortured to death, it was clean, too clean. Like nothing had happened.

Even by looking and investigating around the room, Tomoyo found that the evidence that had been present for the trial was nowhere to be found. The strange flashlight, the torn pieces of notes, everything. She was certain that Monokuma had burnt the evidence once they've fulfilled their use, but it was still worrying to her nonetheless.

Alright, let's try to think. If I was searching for anything that relates back to what happened… Tomoyo bit into her lips. Any books on murder? Or maybe… serial killers? Terrorists?

What described them well? What described their situation?

She had to think back to everything. From the motives, she had no clear connection from the first to now. And, while she had heard of some of her fellow peers from the start of the game, she never knew they were possible killers, such as herself. The only people who even knew about this was Watari, Monokuma, and whoever was in charge of the killing game.

Of course, there were plenty of questions and ideas that sprang to her head, and she knew better than to try and decipher them now. She needed to clear her head, to only focus on one certain thing.

The books.

Or maybe she shouldn't think, just shaking her head and reaching for just about any book that screamed potential to her. She looked at the book's cover and thought to herself.

If she had to take a gander, Monokuma had chosen books that related in the least bit slightly to the situation at hand. She had a feeling Watari knew this, hence why the detective usually read in his free time. It would make sense, wouldn't it?

A tragedy that Watari was aware of his own actions, and Monokuma and the mastermind.

She skimmed through the pages, nodding to herself. She then spun over to the summary of the novel, reading it to herself.

A summary that told her the story of a group of kids coming together and joining forces, all dragged into some sort of organization or group. Not that it was good, rather, it was hinted in the summary itself that the organization was shady, horrible and a threat to society.

Like this situation. Like us? Tomoyo couldn't help but get an uneasy feeling, all overwhelming her body and receptors. She wasn't exactly sure what to make of this, but if she had to pinpoint her feelings to something, it was the mixture of the fact that Watari must've figured this out earlier than all of them combined and that the story was almost directly pinpointed at her and the group.

Like the story was made for them. Like Monokuma had chosen the stories here to mock them, to foreshadow them so early in the game that they were horrible, horrible people.

But still… why would we murder? That question kept on ringing inside her head, and she wasn't exactly sure why she didn't express this worry to everyone, but it still lingered, like a never ending stream of raindrops falling from a seemingly empty sky. I don't remember anything from before that would've pushed me to killing people.

But was that true? Was that really true, or was Monokuma hiding something? Or was she repressing those memories?

She pursed her lips. How was she to be certain?

Her MonoPad vibrated. A notification.

She frowned, quickly scrambling back to reality and searching in her pockets, taking out the tablet. She peered at the screen, then widened her eyes as she read what was there.

[Chatroom: (Group Chatroom)

(More on top…)

Masako: Meet us in the incinerator room. There's… it's horrible. (07:19 PM)

Yume: There's dead bodies in there. The dead bodies of everyone who died so far. (07:19 PM)

Tomoyo: (Type here…)]

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Was this true? Were they lying to her? Was this nothing more than a sick prank?

She couldn't think. She shouldn't think. She wouldn't think.

Dropping the book from her hands, she immediately went back down. She ran down the hallways and down the stairs, making her way straight to where Masako told her to meet. She ran and ran and ran until she saw the door to the incinerator room, opened. Shinjimae was already outside, staring at the scene in shock with Saki making a soft growl. He was entirely pale, unsure of what to say as his lips were just pursed, body freezing.

His doe eyes noticed Tomoyo from the corner, and he made a shaky breath. "T-Tomoyo… I'm sorry, er, i-it's probably better if you don't look."

"What? No way." Tomoyo stomped over towards the door, Shinjimae quivering. "How are you guys so sure that there's dead bodies in there…?"

"T-their bones, hair, everything…" Shinjimae breathed in, deeply and within seconds. He forced himself to calm down, just shaking his head now. "I-I saw all their dead bodies, Hitomu… Keishi… Watari…"

No way. The screenwriter looked from the animal whisperer to the door, then shook her head. She forced her way in, ignoring her mind that screamed to her that she was going to regret this.

And regret it she did.

The moment she entered the room, she was met with the same burning sensation that Watari's room caused her, but it wasn't from the fire this time.

This time, it was from the heat from the incinerator, and the fact that she saw it. Ignoring the pale and bothered looks from Masako and Yume, all she could focus on was the dead bodies inside of the incinerator, burnt and gone, their flesh entirely charred and left without a care in the world, made to act as nothing more than garbage disposal.

The dead bodies of everyone she knew, yet her mind was focused on one of them, one that stood out from the rest in her eyes.

Dark brown hair and that suit, the bracelets, the scarf that used to be green… how pathetic, how utterly pathetic.

She immediately recognized the dead body as Kiyoko, her first friend and acquaintance in this stupid killing game, and her head immediately became light.

She was dizzy, and her mind was in a haze. She couldn't see and she felt a shiver down her warm body.

"T-Tomoyo!"

But her name being called out in utter worry and concern didn't matter to her. She couldn't respond to them, body falling to the ground and consciousness failing her.

And that's the end of this chapter! Hopefully I will be able to update the next one fairly quickly, that's my hope! Anyways, I really don't have much to say other than: what are your mastermind theories? What do you think will happen? Who knows! Haha, I will see you all in the next chapter, so look forward to that!

SYOC Recommendations:

Danganronpa: Etch it Into my Heart by RioA (yay!)

Danganronpa: Remnants of my Heart by Prince PokePersona

Danganronpa: The Hopeful Lies We Tell by Prince PokePersona

Danganronpa: The World Beneath Us by Rayy12

Dead Zeppelin by Orlando Butler