ACT 3: IN THE GRIP OF DESPAIR

Chapter 6: No respite

Day 11

Tartarus Keep

15:00

Gym

As promised, physical training started in the afternoon. Most of us were either excited or at least looked forward to this session. With the looming threat of not only Monokuma's minions and zombies but also other students motivated by the Mutual Killing Game, it was best that we prepared ourselves for any scenario, and that could only to achieved by staying fit and not presenting an easy target. Furthermore, since the lockdown, I noticed the enclosed space had made our bodies lethargic and more tired easily. This was especially true for Minako whose roaming ground had been shuttered off due to potential contamination. Finally, after a hard and intense morning discussing the setting and implications of the Mutual Killing Game as well as what became of Hope's Peak Academy, all of us were dying to let go of our worries and this was the perfect opportunity for that.

"Do I really have to?" asked Hijiri. The dainty Ultimate Geisha showed a lot of reluctance coming here.

"If you want to paint a bullseye on your forehead, be my guest," replied Rin.

"There is no place for weakness around here," El Viento declared. "You nearly got killed by Amelda, remember? If not for Monokuma's intervention, you would already be dead. You might not get that kind of luck next time somebody goes after you."

"Come on, Hijiri," said Kai, smiling. She extended her hands and held Hijiri's. "It's going to be fun. It took me a lot of practice and a lot of pain to master ballerina. But the payoff is, well, as my title suggests."

"It's always nice to learn new s-s-skills," said Tatsuya. "I may even apply these in a-a-avoiding dangers when making deliveries."

The Ultimate Geisha flushed at the intrusion. She withdrew her hands and conceded. "Alright, fine."

"Don't worry, we'll go easy on you," Hokuto laughed.

"Do not underestimate me," Hijiri hissed.

"But what Yume?" Minako raised. "He can't take part in this, can he?"

"That's fine," said Yume. The Ultimate Baker was excluded from the training due to his wheelchair-bound status. Still, he remained optimistic as always. "You guys go ahead. I have some tricks up my sleeves to avoid getting killed as well. Fitzgerlad knew I was an easy target from the start, so he taught me himself right before the second trial."

"And what is it?" asked Kai curiously.

"Did he give you another gun?" asked Eliza.

"No, not like that," Yume stated. "Sorry, but it's a secret. If you guys find out, I will lose the only advantage I have. I'm sorry but I can't tell you this one."

"That's fine," said Rin. "Let's make this an even playfield."

Not all seemed to agree with that. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't be so keen on someone else keeping a secret from the rest of the group - this was despite the fact I also had skeletons in my closet. However, knowing Dirty Fitzgerald, I could already guess that Yume's ace card was the belief held by the others that he had an ace card in the first place. Because he was thought to have some trick taught by none other than the Ultimate Private Detective who should be the most proficient among us in surviving the Mutual Killing Game, he painted himself as a more difficult target even if he was as vulnerable as ever. I might be wrong, though.

It might not matter. The current motive wasn't too motivating, and I would protect the fellow should any harm be brought upon him. There was another person who I was more worried about, however.

"What about you, Inu?" I asked. "You are fine with this too, buddy?"

The Ultimate Chemist looked shaky but determined. "If you guys are all doing it, then I don't want to be left behind," he replied. I remembered he was the more scared among us when Monokuma announced the commencement of the Mutual Killing Game. The fellow knew he was weak and an easy target for the others.

With that, we got started. First, we changed into our gym outfit. Even Hijiri didn't protest this time. Then, we decided that Rin, El Viento, and I would be the tutors. At this point, things broke down due to a lack of consensus. We had a discussion but it wasn't quite helpful. Honestly, we should have thought about this days ago to come up with a proper training regime before implementing it in a manner that wasn't ad hoc. What did not help was the diverse fighting style employed by the three of us, each with different requirements for practitioners and focuses.

Rin was trained in the art of disarming and neutralizing the opponent while causing as little damage as possible, the standard stuff of the police force. As her alias as the Blue Devil indicated, she came up with a lot of violent and unorthodox additions to her method which she wasn't too sure about passing onto others. For the very least, it seemed she was concerned her brutal streaks would be a bad influence on others less dedicated to justice.

Despite being undoubtedly the most powerful among us seeing how well she handled me earlier, El Viento was neither precise nor economical when it came to hand-to-hand combat. She made this up by sheer physical strength, which none of us possessed at even close to her level. Consequently, that meant her fighting style was talent-specific and not quite suitable in this case. As far as I was aware (whether El Viento was or not), professional wrestling was more a form of entertainment than sports and its participants emphasized performing ridiculous stunts on stage over bringing down the opponent as quickly as possible.

As for my style, it was the opposite of El Viento's. Krav Maga was the art of inflicting as much damage on my opponent as possible using whatever means available no matter how dirty or dishonorable they were. Though I might have reached a higher rank during the period in my life which I currently could not recall, my memory of having a green belt meant I was unfit to properly teach others. Nevertheless, there were other combat-related skills I had learned during my trips to Israel that I was more than willing to share.

I didn't know which approach Fitzgerlad favored, but seeing him in action and knowing him, I believed he would veer towards mine and Rin's with a focus on economy and maximization.

In the end, we decided to skim through the basics (breathing, stretching, etc.) and moved to how to defend oneself against a direct attacker. Obviously, we had to make sure it was purely for defensive purposes (i.e., getting hit first) rather than something that could be employed by the potential killer against a hapless victim. My method and Rin's did not differ too much in this, and it was easy for El Viento to understand so she could be a teacher herself.

Minako, Kai, and Hokuto excelled at this, which came as no surprise. Their talents and backgrounds all involved plenty of physical activities, after all. The Ultimate Herbalist was secretly the strongest among us while the Ultimate Miner had also proven his formidability with how he was able to deftly dispatch those zombies back at the dungeon.

Tatsuya, Hijiri, and Eliza got off to a decent start. Despite her evasion to physically strenuous activities out of considering them to be barbaric, the Ultimate Geisha was as much a performance artist as El Viento and understood the importance of the right sequence of movements. Though better than most when first learning martial art (I remembered getting my butt kicked on a daily basis when starting Krav Maga at the age of nine), they still lagged behind the trio mentioned above and required attention from El Viento and me to be brought up to speed. Time was of the essence, after all, and we wished to be able to cover the whole thing before the end of this day. When the sun rose on the next, it was hoped that no one in our group would die in a direct confrontation without at least exposing who their killer was.

Finally, it went without saying that Inu was struggling to keep up. It didn't help that whatever drug he took to relieve his stress was also interfering with his ability to physically exert himself. Rin took up the responsibility for tutoring him.

I was Tatsuya's personal trainer. True to his talent as the Ultimate Delivery Boy, the fellow was very nimble but was held back by his frail body and overall aversion to contact. It was also difficult to coach him without going over the basics which took up two full months of my own introduction to the martial art before I learned to hit, block and counter. That said, I supposed his agility could allow him to slip out of trouble just as he did with the zombies in the dungeon. Each one of us had our own ways of not getting killed.

"Try harder," I told him. Even as I let myself loose, Tatsuya had not been able to put me to the floor. "Put all of your strength into it. Widen your feet. Keep your posture steady. Slipping is the last thing you want."

"S-s-sorry," Tatsuya breathed.

"No, you're doing very well," I congratulated him. "You're making good progress into this. Trust me. It took me months to master it."

"We d-d-don't have months," Tatsuya pointed out.

"And you don't have to try too hard," I told him. "We'll get there."

"Take it easy, dude," said Hokuto. The Ultimate Miner helped me with Tatsuya. I had to admit, despite his poor showings so far in terms of initiative, his display of martial prowess was undeniable. While he was not my level of combat proficiency, he seemed a far better teacher than I was, mainly due to his empathy with Tatsuya. "You don't need to overextend yourself. That might actually lead to injuries."

"I just think I h-h-have to...," Tatsuya began.

"You don't have to," said Hokuto affirmatively. "It's perfectly reasonable that we look after each other. There's nothing to be ashamed of to rely on others for your protection. So here's a promise, if there is anything, or anyone coming for you, I'll be there."

"To kill you before they do, probably," Eliza chimed in.

Hokuto took a deep breath. I could feel his anger seething as Eliza sniggered. "You know what, Eliza, one day I will grab a shovel, dig a hole, and bury you in it."

"And until that day, get ready to be roasted on a daily basis," Eliza retorted.

"Focus, Eliza," El Viento. "We're not done yet."

It was Hokuto's turn to chuckle devilishly when the Ultimate Luchador bodily grounded the Ultimate Tinkerer. However, Eliza didn't seem too bothered. In fact, she welcomed the challenge. Only one as stubborn and acceptive to injuries as Eliza would find comfort in El Viento's straightforward method.

Hijiri was being taught by Kai and Minako, though mostly by Kai. Both of them were excellent dancers and it didn't take long for Kai to formalize the movements of self-defense into a discipline that Hijiri could follow easily. Given Hijiri's attempt to off me earlier and her assault against Tatsuya whom she mistook for a sexual predator during the gassing, I would say she was no slouch in combat either.

"Hokuto is right," said Rin. "Tatsuya, I would be surprised if you can get anything done by the end of the day. It takes a lot of training to make it work, even for me. So don't worry if you don't get it in this session. As I said, it's not about coming out victorious from an engagement, but merely making it messy enough that the killer wouldn't be able to cover their tracks. The looming threat of the trial, with or without the execution, is enough as a deterrence."

"You seem quite agile, Tatsuya," I remarked. "Maybe we are doing this the wrong way. Perhaps it would be better if you try to evade whoever is coming for you, instead of taking them down."

"That's a great idea, Amelda," Yume cheered. "Not everybody is the same. So maybe we should try to cement Tatsuya's existing advantage rather than forcing an alien edge into him that he is not comfortable with."

"That sounds reasonable," Rin agreed.

"To each and every one of us, their own strengths and weaknesses," Minako mused.

"Maybe that's how we should hone his skills, then," said Hokuto.

"I'll t-t-try," said Tatsuya confidently.

With that, our training became much more productive. No matter how many times Hokuto and I attempted to grapple Tatsuya and pin him down, the small fellow always managed to slip through. He was as slithery as a snake and as sharp as a fox, which I had expected as much from the Ultimate Delivery Boy. Tatsuya appeared to work well under encouragement but not under pressure. His timidness so far had prevented his full potential from being exposed. By the end of the session, both Hokuto and I were impressed with what Tatsuya was able to accomplish.

17:00

Gym

The training proved quite productive and all of us, Inu included, could say we learned something by the end of it. There was one problem, however.

"Ow ow ow," Eliza continued her moaning on the floor as Minako and I administered help. The Ultimate Tinkerer was sprawling on the floor following a particularly severe beating by the Ultimate Luchador. "Anything broken in there?"

"I don't think so," I told her. That fall was hard. El Viento didn't hold back at all when she tossed Eliza as if she were a rag doll. Fortunately, Eliza had not sustained any damage that might impair her in the short term aside from minor bruising.

"Let's hope so," said Minako as she applied herbal salve on Eliza's bruise. "You should not have pushed yourself like that. Know your limit. Mother Earth treats her children equally, but she didn't create them to be equals. I once saw a weasel trying to take on a bear once. It didn't end well. Poor weasel. I once tried to wrestle that bear myself and, uhm..." Minako trailed off.

"Poor bear?" Kai asked. Minako nodded, blushing. Just as I thought.

"Maybe that last part was a bit overboard," Eliza conceded. Given her track record, it was perfectly understandable that she tried taking the shortcut by revving up the intensity of her training with little regard for her own well-being. Still, that didn't lessen her blame.

"You asked for it," said El Viento.

"Didn't I tell you to take it easy?" said Rin disappointedly. "An injured person is the perfect prey for the Mutual Killing Game. Not talking about you, Yume."

"It's alright," Yume replied. "I can handle it."

"Hah, who's getting roasted now?" Hokuto sneered.

"Is she going to be alright?" asked Inu sheepishly.

"She's fine," Kai insisted. "Don't worry about it. I've had worse falls when I began ballerina, and Eliza is sturdier than I am. Right, Eliza?"

"Right, Eliza confirmed. "Ayyyy!" We could all see she was not as alright as she claimed to be.

"Hold still, Eliza-chan," Minako urged.

"Eliza-san, please do as she says," Hijiri stated. "You don't want to be a burden to us, do you?"

"Argh! I didn't expect it to hurt this badly." Eliza winced. "I mean, Amelda got knocked down and a minute's later, he was up and kicking."

"Don't make that kind of comparison," I scolded. "You're not like me."

As Eliza made her recovery, the others began to leave and return to their rooms. It had been a long day with the meeting and motive introduction in the morning and the intensive training in the afternoon. I supposed all of us deserved some rest after those. El Viento opted to stay and I wished to have a quick chat with her. She was the person I looked forward to talking to, after all.

Hang out with Ruiza Maria Andrade (El Viento)?

Yeah, sure/Not now

"How do you think it went?" Amelda asked.

"Better than I thought," El Viento replied.

Amelda raised his brow. "Even with Eliza?"

"Especially she," El Viento confirmed. "That girl Eliza has a fire burning in her heart. She's not there yet with her dream, but nothing is stopping her. She reminds me of myself in the past and I wholeheartedly support her endeavor."

"Your past?" Amelda coined. "How did you get into Lucha Libre in the first place? Was it difficult? I hope you don't mind me asking."

"Don't worry, it's a story I've always wanted to tell myself," said El Viento. "I grew up in a poor neighborhood. I didn't go to school when I was young, instead, I helped my parents in their workshop. Life was very monotonous until that day when I caught a Lucha Libre match on television. I could still remember it was between La Roco (The Boulder) and Aguia de Hierro (Iron Eagle). At that time, everything I saw felt so surreal. The perfect executions of movements, the impacts of men upon men like animals in the wild, the sense of glory and honor it evoked. I was immediately fascinated. I sneaked out whenever I could to watch match after match. My parents, on the other hand, weren't quite impressed when they saw me slacking off. I had to beg and plead before they finally relented."

"That's what I thought when I first saw professional wrestling as well," Amelda acknowledged. "I was eight and it really blew my little mind away."

"I began imitating the moves I saw on television and imagined myself the defender of justice," El Viento continued. "I even went around wearing a mask woven from old clothes. People would laugh at me. I was a girl, after all. Then one day, everything changed when a gang of thugs crossed my path after they committed their villainy. Using the techniques I learned from watching, which I didn't realize I had been practicing to the point where I had all but refined them, I made short work of them and earned the respect of the local folks. It felt great. Here I was, hailed as a public hero for my deed."

"You remind me of Yume," Amelda noted. "Both of you have this rash sense of justice, and, honestly, I cannot help but disagree."

"He did the right thing," El Viento argued. "A shame what happened in the end. He told me about it as well, what happened between him and TURNABOUT. But if I were him, I would not have any regret. It's just not right for me to sit idly when injustice is happening."

"Like now?" Amelda suggested.

El Viento shrugged sadly. "Yeah, like now. Have you ever had to confront someone, Amelda? I mean physically - I know and appreciate your work in putting financial criminals in jail."

"I tried to avoid every person I met back in middle school, but during my primary years, there was a bully named Jason Botch," Amelda answered. "I suppose he was mentally unsound because he took a lot of pleasure in witnessing the suffering of others. One day, I crossed him and he punched me in the face. My nose bled for an hour."

"Did you train yourself and then wipe the floor with him the next time you met?" asked El Viento expectantly.

"No," Amelda replied. "After I got into a hospital, he was scheduled to be expelled from school. I wrote a letter to the principal explaining my existing condition, you know, the spontaneous bleeding, and Botch got pardoned."

"I didn't realize you were one who would forgive your transgressor so easily," El Viento remarked.

"I just thought it was the right thing to do," said Amelda. "The concept of justice didn't occur to me back then. After that, Botch turned a new leaf and didn't bother me or anyone else anymore. He became a different person entirely."

El Viento nodded understandingly. "Well, that's one way to handle it, I suppose."

"Back to you, when did you join Lucha Libre?" Amelda asked.

"One day my padre got sick, and his treatment was going to cost more than what we could afford," replied El Viento. "As my madre was going to take a loan from a gangster who I personally detested, I decided to make the money myself by entering a local tournament that was going. It was then that I realized how well I had honed my skills over the years despite the lack of proper tuition or facility. I faced off and defeated all of my opponents without fail, earning the prize money which saved my padre. That a girl was able to win the top prize was something no one suspected. I could still remember the awe written all over their faces when I lifted up the trophy and let out a cheer that shook the sky."

"I am glad to hear," Amelda commented. "That must have been one of the most glorious moments in your life."

"It was," El Viento chuckled. "Damn, just talking about it makes me feel inspired already. Like I want to do something good."

"Was that where your career as a Luchador began?" Amelda asked.

"Three days after the tournament, Senior Gabriel Calderon came to me," said El Viento. "He said he was familiar with my exploits and had been watching me ever since he learned I beat up those thugs. He told me I would be fighting for him, and, in turn, his sponsorship would really help out my family. It felt like a dream come true. I was finally joining the ranks of legendary heroes I had always admired since childhood, and my family's financial situation would improve."

"That sounds amazing," Amelda remarked.

El Viento didn't look so sure. "Well, it was. At first."

"What do you mean?" asked Amelda, confused.

"For a long time, I have always thought of Lucha Libre as the paragon of good and honor, and I still believe it to be the case even today," El Viento replied. "But I have also seen its darker sides as well. I know it's a business, and like any other business, the temptation of money sometimes is too hard to ignore. Mind you, my hometown and family were very poor, so there was a lot of pressure on me as well. I must confess, there were occasions in which I gave in."

"Let's not dwell too much on that," Amelda replied. "We all have our less-than-glorious moments. But that belt you're wearing is proof that you pulled through."

"That's right," El Viento exclaimed. "I won the AAA Reinas de Reinas belt just two months before, through guts and sweat. That was when Hope's Peak Academy sent their invitation. Because I had not had any formal education up to that point, I jumped at the scholarship and took a temporary retirement from the professional scene. I gave up the title, but they gave me a replica belt which I am wearing right now. I was hoping I could make a comeback, to lay claim to the real belt once more. Now, with the time skip and the revelation of Hope's Peak Academy's true nature, I don't really know anymore."

"Don't give up just yet," Amelda said encouragingly. "I too left behind my career to enroll at Hope's Peak Academy. It doesn't matter what you're doing. As long as your talent is still there, and you are willing to use it, things will work out in the end. Just don't be like Hokuto."

El Viento grinned. "Thanks. I will keep that in mind."

Hope Shard Obtained!

Ruiza Maria Andrade (El Viento)

El Viento's love for Lucha Libre came at a very young age. She takes her career very seriously, believing it to be an actual struggle between good and evil rather than artistic performances for theatrical purposes. Her sense of justice seems to derive from this as well. El Viento is straightforward, boisterous, and a lot of fun to be around. I look forward to a rematch one day.

20:00

Main Hall

After dinner, Rin was going to hold another meeting on how we should move forward in light of the new discoveries but decided to call it off until tomorrow morning due to most of us being too tired for that. The truth about Hope's Peak Academy was hard to swallow and some wished to avoid the topic for now. Still, Rin announced the return of martial law, for a lack of a better term, where she would be holding our E-Handbooks for the duration of Night-Time. The current motive might seem lame, but Hijiri was certain that it was more potent than we gave credit for. I personally wasn't fond of being trapped here any longer, but I still couldn't imagine taking someone else's life just to relieve that stress, nevermind the reaction of my classmates when they found out I was the culprit. Nevertheless, remembering how Akihiko was slain, nobody disagreed with the implementation.

Other more radical suggested forms of control, such as always being in a group or allowing body check by Rin at all times, however, were met with firm objections.

"This is for your own good," Rin persisted.

"I fail to see letting someone touching me inappropriately is for my own good," Hijiri replied coldly.

"This is not turning into a police state," Eliza rejected strongly. Rin's questionable records in developing countries where she helped to enforce police brutality were unnerving, to say the least. While I had no problem with the Ultimate Policewoman being in charge, her setting the rules and enforcing them at the same time didn't sound right at all. In most democratic institutions, the lawmakers and law enforcers were distinct.

"This has gone too far, Rin," I said. "We are already prisoners in this place. Let's not make our lives even more difficult."

"You said it yourself, Rin, just take it easy," Hokuto implored.

"Yeah, the more pressured we are, the more likely someone will kill just to get away," Kai noted. "Loosen up a bit."

"If we can find a way to enjoy our stay in here, we won't be so desperate to find a way out," Yume pointed out.

"That's right," said Inu approvingly.

"Let's not have this a-a-argument," Tatsuya chimed in. "We have talked about it q-q-quite enough already."

"Fine, have it your way then." Rin finally relented, disappointed that we didn't share her view. Knowing her, I didn't think she would take it to heart.

The whole evening was uneventful. The food was nice, which included roasted duck and a variety of salad. I was also glad to see Monokuma taking steps to reduce waste by giving us just enough to fill our bellies without having too much leftover. Not that I cared if Monokuma went bankrupt for overspending on this crazy game, the very idea of wasting food or indulging in extravagant meals while millions of people starve worldwide was unappealing to me.

One person I was suspicious of was Kai. As I previously observed, the Ultimate Ballerina appeared to have symptoms of an eating disorder. She ate without any pattern, shoving large quantities of food into one mouthful and then struggling to swallow them. I doubted she even enjoyed the flavor and, instead, was trying to fill her belly as quickly as possible. Before I get to talk to her, she hurriedly left the main hall for her room, likely to dispense her meal one way or another. While she was very friendly and outgoing when around others, it was painfully clear she wasn't doing well herself. She appeared quite close to Fitzgerald and his current absence was taking its toll on her psyche. Perhaps we should talk this out to her at one point. And by "we", I mean Yume and myself.

I just hoped she didn't do anything too crazy in the meantime.

As Night-Time began, I duly returned to my room. Now that Rin had our E-Handbooks, there should be no snooping around. Since Monokuma had not resorted to a forceful method like the second motive, being with each other in broad daylight was still our best chance of not getting killed. The first case happened because Akihiko and the killer violated the Night-Time rule. It further got complicated because two others did the same thing. If we all focused on the same ideas and disciplined ourselves into the same mold, the deviant would no doubt stand out from the rest.

At least, that was what I thought.

Day 12

Tartarus Keep

7:00

Main Hall

The next morning, when I arrived for breakfast, I noticed something different in the main hall. Placed on the chair reserved for the former king was a pink box wrapped like a Christmas present. It wasn't there before. Attached to the gift box was a tag with words written on it.

"What does it say?" asked Rin. We all gathered around to see but had not yet opened it.

"A present from Overlord Monokuma to His most loyal and lovely subjects," said Eliza as she picked up the box and took a closer look. "Handle with care." Had Ashley been still around, I would have suspected it was one of her pranks.

"A gift from the bear?" asked Minako incredulously. "I know I would appreciate people's generosity, but, knowing Monokuma, I don't think I want it."

"Yeah," Kai agreed. "For all we know, it could be a trap."

"Or another one of his unrefined motive," Hijiri noted.

"Given the existing one isn't working so well, that's quite likely," Yume remarked.

"It's only been a day," said Hijiri. "We might just haven't seen yet."

"Should we still o-o-open it?" asked Tatsuya.

"I recommend we do not," I said. "It's the Pandora Box. Open it and shit will go wrong. Under no circumstance should we allow Monokuma to catch us without pants down."

"What do you think is in there?" asked Inu. "Did he put a bomb inside?"

"Hey, Monokuma, why are you sending a present to us?" El Viento called out. "What's in it?"

Surprisingly, the bear didn't show up. Was it because he didn't want to ruin the surprise, or if he was elsewhere at the moment and the gift was his way to keep the Mutual Killing game going in his absence.

"Come out here, freaking bear," Hokuto hollered. There was still no response. It was as if the bear had utterly vanished from existence. Despite Monokuma claiming he had no obligation to answer to our every demand, it was still uncharacteristic of him to play tricks on us. All three motives so far had been quite uncomplicated.

"Great," Hokuto bemoaned. "Just when we want him to be here, he decides to give us the cold shoulder."

"For once, I'm actually worried that the bear isn't here," said Eliza. "I don't like this apprehension. Not one bit."

"What should we do now?" asked Minako.

"Let's leave it be," said Rin. "We don't know what's inside. It's probably nothing good."

"Just pretend it doesn't exist and move on, then," Kai concurred.

"Wait, there's more written at the back," Eliza gasped. "Eh, if this glorious gift from your magnificent liege is not opened by 9 am, all participants will be punished. What the hell?" The unsavory titles aside, Monokuma's threats weren't to be underestimated even if he did decide to spare Hokuto for trashing the library earlier.

"Are you serious?" Hokuto exclaimed angrily. "What the hell are you planning, Monokuma?"

"Stop hiding in the shadow and show yourself, villain," El Viento decried.

There was a moment of eerie silence as we all waited for the ruler of Tartarus Keep to finally make his appearance. When that didn't happen, we were all more confused than ever.

"This is bad," Kai complained. "What do we do?"

"Can you g-g-guess what's in there?" asked Tatsuya.

"Not sure," Eliza replied. "Something quite heavy."

"All the more reason NOT to open it," Rin warned.

"That's a red flag right there," Yume added.

"But what other choice do we have?" Inu asked. "We're going to be punished if it remains closed, right?"

"Maybe we're overthinking it," said Hijiri. "Monokuma would not try to kill us himself, would he?"

"True," said Rin. "He wants us to do it ourselves." This reasoning was solid. I didn't think Monokuma wished to kill us outright with the opening of this box. Still, I wasn't convinced he was without any plan to continue the Mutual Killing Game when sending us this gift box.

"But whatever in that box might still be the catalyst to us killing each other," I insisted. "I mean, what if he put Despair Gas in there, or some other shit that makes us lose our sanity?"

After spending some time arguing, we decided to open the box, but no one would be anywhere near it when it happened. Hokuto got dressed in protective gear, grabbed his pickaxe, and got to work on it. The rest of us took cover.

"Careful," said Rin. "Steady."

"Maybe you should keep a little more distance from it," Minako advised.

"Don't worry, I got this," Hokuto assuaged.

As he lifted the lid of the box up,...

KAAAABOOOOOOO!

A loud explosion shook the room, its reverberating shockwaves deafening and knocking me flat onto the floor. Pain momentarily engulfed my body as the force of the explosion threw me off my feet and I landed on the debris-filled floor on my back, sliding and rolling slightly before coming to a halt.

As I recovered and got up, I went through every part of my body and was glad to see they all seemed alright. I got up to check on my classmates.

"What the hell was that!?" Hokuto cried out as he got back onto his feet. The Ultimate Miner seemed to have escaped the worst of the explosion, partly thanks to his voluminous suit and protective gear.

"Bomb!" Kai cried, clutching an intensely bleeding leg from the fall. "A freaking bomb just went off." I came over to assist her.

"Hang on," I told her as I used my clothes to stem the blood profusion.

"Is everybody alright?" Rin called out.

As the smoke cleared, I saw El Viento and Minako recovering from the blast. El Viento looked to be the only person who didn't get knocked down, though both she and Minako had suffered from the concussion.

"I'm alright," said El Viento. She helped Yume got back to his wheelchair. The Ultimate Baker was knocked out of from it by the blast. His head was bleeding from an impact at the temple and she seemed only half-conscious.

"Me too," Minako replied.

"I think I'm fine," notified Inu, also getting up. The fellow had been fortunately remote from the blast and didn't seem too much affected. This was a good thing because he was carrying around quite a few chemicals in his jacket, some of which might be dangerous.

"Same here," Hijisi added. She was knocked onto one of the columns and managed to grab onto it without falling to the floor.

"Guys, I d-d-don't feel s-s-so good," came Tatsuya's weak voice.

"Oh, my God!" Hokuto cried. All of us shared his distress as we learned what had happened to Tatsuya. In front of us was a disturbing sight we thought could only happen in overblown action movies. Tatsuya had been tossed into an overturned chair and one of its legs was jutting out from his chest. He was impaled from the back and blood was gushing uncontrollably from his wound.

"Tatsuya, NOOOO!" Minako screeched in horror.

"Oh dear, is he going to make it?" asked Yume, his face as pale as a sheet.

We all rushed to Tatsuya and helped him. The fellow was losing consciousness fast and his breathing was becoming weaker by the moment.

"He needs medical attention ASAP," said Rin.

"What in God's name just happened?" Hokuto bellowed.

"A bomb," I told him. "It must have gone off the moment that gift box was opened."

"So it was the Pandora Box after all," Hijiri coughed.

"It wasn't what explored, though," Rin explained, pointing to the shattered table at the middle of the chamber. "It was a red herring. A bomb was planted under a table all along while we were focused on the box."

"Wait, where's Eliza?" asked Inu.

"Eliza, are you alright?" Hokuto shouted.

We all looked around. There was no sign of the Ultimate Tinkerer anywhere. But there were bloodstains on the table and on the floor. Here and there, fragments of flesh, bones, and organs could be seen, as if an earthquake had hit a butcher's house. None of us had sustained any injury that would have warranted the sight, not even Tatsuya.

"Oh, dear God," I muttered.

Attention

A body has been discovered. An amount of time has been given to find out the culprit, after which all students must gather at the main hall to be transported to the trial ground. Good luck.

That all but confirmed it: the Ultimate Tinker, Elizabeth "Eliza" Piket, had perished in the explosion. She was close to where the bomb was and got blown to smithereens. The revelation was as if an entire ice cream truck had been dropped on top of me.

"SHIT!" Hokuto exclaimed.

"Oh, GOD!" Yume cried.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Minako shrieked.

"AAAAAARRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!" Kai screamed, clutching and shaking her head violently.

"IIIIIYYYAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Inu joined the cacophony.

"I love the sounds of distressed screeching in the morning," Monokuma sneered, finally showing up to drink in our collective misery.

"You bastard!" El Viento bellowed. "You will pay for this!"

"El Viento, wait!" I warned.

Before we could stop her, the Ultimate Luchador sprang into the action and grappled a surprised Monokuma to the floor. As she lifted him up for a toss, a massive figure ran into her out of nowhere and knocked her sideways. El Viento was thrown off the ground like a rag doll, dropping Monokuma in the process. She hit one of the columns and fell down unconscious.

Having made an example out of El Viento, the bear turned to address the rest of us. "Geez, is that how you treat your beloved overlord?" Monokuma said indignantly as he pretended to brush the dust off of him. His four bodyguards, who now knew to be the subjects of Project Apex, surrounded him and adopted fighting positions. "How uncivilized."

"YOU BASTARD!" Hokuto exclaimed.

"It seems I was wrong about you, Monokuma," Hijiri mouthed as she fruitlessly wiped the dust from her dainty outfit. She stared at the bear with icy cold eyes. "I thought you wouldn't stoop this low. You truly are an abomination."

"You did this!" Minako cried, tears streaking her eyes. "You killed her! You killed Eliza!"

"I didn't," responded Monokuma simply.

"If not you, then who else?" Yume decried.

"You put that present there," I accused him. "And the bomb. It was a trap."

"You even wrote the fucking note telling us to open it," Hokuto bellowed.

"Not me," said Monokuma, grinning. "Which means, one of you got a little creative this time around. I am both impressed and angered. Anyway, this is a murder mystery and the procedures will be as usual, minus the execution, of course."

All of us were stunned by Monokuma's refusal to admit.

"Wait, it wasn't you?" Inu asked.

"You're lying," Minako barked. "It's you all along, Monokuma."

"Cry all you want, it won't change the fact," said Monokuma in a matter-of-fact manner which only served to irritate us even further. Yet, with El Viento down and his bodyguards around, we were helpless against him.

As much as I wanted to pin the blame solely on Monokuma, I found it difficult to believe he would try to kill us in such a random manner without any reason. It didn't sit well with the whole schtick about this being some sort of reality show. Besides, Monokuma had NEVER lied to us before. He might have withheld the truth many times, but outright stating falsehood wasn't his thing.

"Please, you need to help him," I begged, pointing to Tatsuya who was laying on the floor in a heap. He had passed out. We had managed to pull the leg chair from him and stopped the bleeding, but his internal organ appeared to have been ruptured and there was nothing we could do about it. Only Monokuma had the facility do anything to alter his fate."He's dying."

"Yeah, have mercy on him," Hokuto joined in.

"I can't," Monokuma replied blankly.

"What do you mean you can't?" Rin grunted. "You agreed to save Fitzgerald, didn't you?"

"His circumstance was different," Monokuma explained. "That private detective bastard was injured in an unfortunate off-the-script accident. This one here is what he is because of the action of one of his classmates, which is fully sanctioned."

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" Minako cried. "You can't do this."

"Please don't let him die," Yume pleaded.

"I'll do anything," Kai weighed in. "Please save him."

"If he dies, that adds to the body count," Monokuma replied firmly. Each of his words felt like a dagger stabbing into my chest. Yet, thinking about it, I couldn't see how it was the case that Monokuma was responsible for the treatment of wounds caused by another classmate. The whole point of the Mutual Killing Game was, unironically, killing each other, after all. There was no way we could persuade him this time around. "That is my final decision."

"You sick bastard!" Hokuto hollered. Monokuma ignored him.

"Now get on with it," the bear continued. "The trial awaits. And since I am an amicable ruler, I shall give you additional time on the clock for this investigation to pull up your pants and have your little final moments with the one about to die. Spend it wisely."

With that, Monokuma and his minion made their departure. As El Viento came about, we struggled to pull ourselves together. It was unbelievable. The whole situation was like a nightmare. The main hall was a complete mess and the floor was covered in dust, shattered tiles, and broken woods. There was a metallic scent of blood in the air that made it difficult to breathe.

One more of our group was dead and another in critical condition, likely not surviving for long.

All because of a motive we all deemed to be stupid.

Author's Notes: And there it is! The murder. And it's double as you would expect from the third case, though one of the victims is not dead yet. This act takes a little longer than the previous ones, but we have reached the point everybody is looking forward to in the end.

Thanks for your readership so far, and kudos to all my heroic reviewers.

I will see you next time with the investigation.

Cheers!