The next day, I immediately went to to the dining hall. I had a feeling that Monokuma was planning something on today when he said that he wasn't done with me yet yesterday.

Still, why do I get this feeling that all of us will be put in danger. I can't believe I'm saying this but, I hope Monokuma makes that clear... I thought to myself.

Luckily, everyone was there. It looks like no one acted upon the First Blood Perk last night.

"Thank the stars, we're all alive." I said.

"Even though there's no way of knowing who would kill someone yet." Kokichi muttered.

"Typical of a degenerate male to sour the mood!" Tenko scolded.

"Well, I highly doubt that Monokuma would let this slide." Kiyo theorized.

"Either way, I'm a little concerned for our odd duck out considering how Monokuma treats her." Rantaro admitted.

"You're still calling me that?" I asked.

"Wh-What... makes you think that? It's not like him and his cubs will show up now." Tsumugi muttered.

"Rise and shine, ursine!"

That shout indicated the arrival of Monokuma and the Monokubs.

"You just had to fuckin' say it!" Miu shouted at the cosplayer.

"Sorry!" Tsumugi apologized

"Puhuhu... I wasn't kidding when I said I wasn't done with you yet, Sharla!" Monokuma said with pride.

"Just like Father to keep his promises!" Monotaro exclaimed.

"Hell yeah! Papa Kuma will resort to anything to drive Sniper Chick insane!" Monokid yelled.

"Sniper Chick?!" I shouted before asking, "Hold on! What are you gonna do now?! All of us are still alive!"

"Well... let's just say a bear like me is gonna announce a plot twist at some point." The twisted bear snarked.

"Is this some kind of joke?!" Kaito asked.

"I assumed this would happen... This development was not surprising to me." Kirumi admitted.

"Is that so? Then did you also assume this next exciting development?"

All of a sudden, Monokuma's red eye glowed in front of me as he his arms outwards and he declared "Ahem! Now then, I'm pleased to announce an additional motive!"

"An additional motive?!" Kaede repeated.

"A time limit is now in effect! If a murder does not occur by nighttime, two days from now... then every student participating in this killing game will die! Mauled to shreds by countless Monokumas from the rummored Monokuma-making machine! So unless you wanna end up as pink smears, you might wanna take this game seriously! Ahhhhh-hahahahaha!"

"T-Time limit?" Gonta repeated.

"What? Everyone will die?" Ryoma asked.

"What?! That's not fair!" Tenko shouted.

As Monokuma and his cubs rambled on about how the Exisals were supposed to kill us, I off-handly thought Pink smears? Won't it be more like crimson smears?

"Th-That's enough!" Kaede shouted nervously.

"Oh. You're still here." Monokuma snarked.

"Of course! We never left! So just leave us alone!" I yelled.

"Fine. It's your choice. You all can die working together or you can survive on your own. It's your call."

"So long! Bear-well!"

Monokuma and the Monokubs after that. I could tell there was only fear and despair among us.

"What are we going to do? Nighttime in two days... will be here in an instant." Tsumugi muttered.

"Th-There's gotta be somethin' we can do... I can't die... The world needs my genius!" Miu whimpered.

"I-I don't wanna... I... don't wanna die yet!" Kokichi cried.

"You don't need to worry. Atua will welcome you with open arms." Angie said.

"That's after we die, right?" Himiko pointed out.

"W-We can't panic about something like this. I'll... do something about it." Kaito said.

"...Did you have a course of action in mind?" Keebo asked.

"I'm... gonna start thinking of one right now!" The astronaut yelled.

"...Figures. I didn't expect anything from you in the first place." Maki admitted.

"W-We gotta fight back, then..!" Gonta advised.

"Y-Yeah! If we strike them with some sneak attacks, we might have a chance at winning!" Tenko shouted.

"What kind of Aikido moves even involve sneak attacks?" Tsumugi asked.

"Come, everyone! Gonta use body, keep everyone safe!" The entomologist exclaimed.

"You're going to go against those machines barehanded? Isn't that too reckless?" Ryoma asked.

"B-But... we have to do it! If we don't, we'll die!" Tenko said in a panic.

"Wait! We still have plenty of time to calculate all possible options-" Keebo started to say by was cut off by Kiyo.

"We've no time to be indecisive. We are being urged to make a decision... To die fighting... Or die from the time limit." The anthropologist explained.

"Why do both choices involve us dying?!" Tsumugi asked.

"N-No way... Are we really gonna die? I don't wanna die yet... I'm gonna survive! I'm gonna make it no matter what!" Kokichi yelled with tears in his eyes.

"No matter what?" I repeated.

"Wait! You can't do that, though! Even if you make a mistake, you can't-" Kaede started to say before the purple-haired boy cut her off.

"Then you'll accept the blame?"

"Huh?"

"Will you accept the blame if I die? I have people who'll be sad if I die, y'know."

"U-Um... Well-"

"Nee-heehee... I'm lying. No one will be sad if I die. ... But I dunno if the same can be said for everyone else. Anyway... I'm gonna take off now."

"Take off? Where are you going, Kokichi?" Rantaro asked.

"Oh, I don't knooow. Maybe I'll go back to my room and just think things over. Alone." Kokichi responded before he left the dining hall.

"A-Alone in your room? What do you mean by that? Are you invitin' me to come kill you?" Miu asked annoyed.

"Miu?" Kirumi called out her name concerned.

"N-Not that I'd... try to claim that perk for myself... I-I'm way too classy to kill someone! Talkin' to you idiots is exhausting... I'm gonna go to my room and rest!" The inventor exclaimed before she left the dining hall.

"Miu! You better not do anything shady, OK?!" I shouted as she left.

"There is no need to worry, is there? No one is going to... kill anyone, right?" Keebo asked.

"If someone is going to kill, they should just go for the robot." Himiko muttered.

"That's even worse!" The robot shouted in panic.

"Hmm... so everyone feels that killing is wrong... But why is that?" Kiyo pondered.

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"Of course I know it to be against the law. But laws are simply rules people decide upon. This is a space removed from those rules. Therefore, we've no need to follow them." The anthropologist explained.

"Don't say stupid shit like that! Even kids know killing is bad! It's common sense!" Kaito shouted.

"Even if it is to survive..? We are as guinea pigs upon a lab table... We cannot be picky about our means of survival."

"Wh-What?"

"Kehehe... I only wish to observe the beauty of humanity and witness the depths of it's sins. So you've no need to fear me."

After that, Kiyo left the dining hall. Kaede called out to him but the anthropologist was already gone.

"M-Males in the soft sciences are pretty soft themselves, so I don't think he'll do anything..." Tenko admitted.

"He's not wrong, though. If we want to stay alive, standing around grumbling's not gonna change anything. As things are, we're not all going to escape together.. we're going to die together. Are you guys OK with that?" Ryoma asked before leaving the dining hall.

"H-Hold on, everyone... We haven't decided on our plan yet..." Kaede whimpered.

"...You can decide that on your own." Maki said.

"Huh?"

"Your half-assed speaches won't work on us anymore, you know that, right? So just come up with a plan for yourself." The caregiver muttered as she began to leave.

"Wait... Maki, wait!" The pianist pleaded but Maki had already left the dining hall.

"I'm just gonna pray to Atua." Angie said as she left.

"Yeah... Can I just go and think by myself for a little? It's a shame I won't be able to hide all my 'special' art commissions before I die... *sigh* Or that 'special' pillowcase I bought... What should I do?" Tsumugi muttered before she followed Angie out of the dining hall.

"B-But... Wait, you guys... You guys! You can't listen to Monokuma!" Kaede pleaded.

"Everyone, what wrong? Why everyone scatter?" Gonta asked.

"Tch... Fine then, all of you just do whatever you want." Kaito muttered angrily.

"This is exactly what Monokuma wants us to do... So what else is part of his plan? Is my memory part of it too? If it is, then... can I even trust myself?" Rantaro pondered.

"Rantaro..? What's wrong?" Shuichi asked.

"'What's wrong,' he says... Hey, I have a question that might relate to the traitors hiding among us. This might sound a little weird, but... Does the term Killing Titan War ring a bell for anyone?" The green-haired boy responded.

"What is that? I've never heard of it." Kaede wondered

"It does for me. It was the event that begun throughout the Bionis and the Mechonis after I found out about the future of the world." I exclaimed.

"So, you figured it out, huh? I would keep that term in mind if I was you. Maybe it'll help you find who the traitors are. So I'm asking you to... bear with me if I say things that don't make sense sometimes."

Afterwards without looking back, Rantaro just waved his hand and left the dining hall.

"Hey, Shuichi? What should we do right now?" I asked.

"...We need to move." The detective said suddenly.

"Huh? Move?" Kaede repeated.

Shuichi approached me and her, as if wary of his surroundings, and said in a hushed voice, "This morning, before I came to the dining hall, I noticed dust from the card reader on the floor."

"You mean, in the library?" The pianist asked.

"Yes..."

"Shuichi, can me and Kaede help you in any way?" I asked.

"Of course, Sharla... But we should go. We shouldn't be talking in the open like this." Shuichi advised.

"What's up with you guys? What're you whispering about?" Kaito asked in confusion.

"W-We're not whispering. We're just gonna check on something." Kaede replied.

"And that thing you want to check is a secret?" The astronaut wondered.

"S-Sorry... All I can say is... I haven't given up. I'll show you guys that we can escape from this place. You can count on it!" The pianist said with pride.

"I see... Well if that's how it is, then I'll believe in you."

"Thanks..."

After that, me, Kaede, and Shuichi went out of the dining hall and into the hallway.

"Are we heading to the library?" I asked.

"Yes... I'll tell you everything there." Shuichi confirmed.

The three of us went down to the basement and entered the library. The detective immediately ran to the bookcase where the hidden door was.

"Alright, I'll explain everything. First, take a look at the card reader."

As he said that, he moved the bookcase to reveal the hidden door.

Ramble! Ramble! Ramble Ramble!

I took a peek into the gap of the card reader.

"The dust is gone!" I exclaimed.

"That's right. I checked it right after nighttime started yesterday, and the dust was there. But this morning, it was gone." Shuichi explained.

"So that means... someone entered this door during nighttime?" Kaede asked.

"I've been thinking..." I muttered before turning to face both of them. "With the way Monokuma gave out the additional motive, one of us went into this killing game willingly instead of being forced. So that means they can avoid execution without violating any rules. Maybe that's why Monokuma said it the way he did."

"And that person is the one in our group who's cooperating with Monokuma and is one of the traitors?" Kaede asked.

"I don't know if Monokuma is that strict with rules, but if he is trying to protect someone... that would imply that they're doing more than just cooperating with Monokuma." Shuichi theorized.

"What?" The pianist said in shock.

"If what Shuichi said was true and if one of us is cooperating with Monokuma then... They are the mastermind of this killing game and one of the five traitors hiding among us." I exclaimed.

"So the person responsible for our suffering is... one of us?" Kaede asked in fear.

"Of course, this is just what I've deduced, but it is entirely possible. That's why I didn't want to talk about this in front of everyone... If we told them now, they might all try to find the mastermind, and be led to murder. That's why... I could only tell you with Sharla's help, Kaede." Shuichi explained.

The mastermind... The one controling Monokuma... It's hard to believe that the person responsible for our suffering could be among us as a traitor... It's hard to accept but, if it's true... I can't forgive them... I thought to myself.

"So... what do you plan to do now, Shuichi? We're gonna find this mastermind, right?" Kaede asked.

"I'm... thinking of taking the risk, just before time expires. I believe the mastermind will come here just before time is up, and I can expose them." The detective explained.

"Wait, how do you know they'll come here right before time's up?" I asked.

"In order to execute all of us, the mastermind would have to come here to get inside the hidden room. Of course, none of this is certain. There's a chance the mastermind won't show. Like I said... it's a risk. But I'm still willing to take it. It's better than just sitting around, waiting to die."

"Yeah... I'll take that risk with you!" Kaede exclaimed.

"I'll take the risk too." I obliged.

"Ah, but... Kaede... Sharla, this is just my deduction, it's possible that I'm wrong..."

"Yeah, we know. But we've made up our minds. You told us about this, so that must mean you trust us, right, Shuichi? Then... we'll trust you, too." The pianist exclaimed.

Shuichi stayed silent as I told him "Neither of us have a idea on what to do so we'll help you with yours. Let's expose the mastermind together, Shuichi! What have we got to lose?"

"Thank you, Sharla. You... have a way of encouraging us." The detective said.

"I never expected this to happen, though... I can't believe that our enemy is within our group, hiding in plain sight." Kaede admitted.

"...Yeah." Shuichi sighed.

"Now that we know this, I should stop saying everyone needs to work together... But whoever the mastermind is, we'll expose them and help everyone else escape! And when this is all behind us, we're gonna stay good friends! That's a promise, OK?!"

"...R-Right." Shuichi said as he blushed.

After we re-applied the dust to the card reader, I left Shuichi and Kaede and then returned to my room.

Whoever the mastermind is... They're gonna remember soon! I'm sure of it! I thought to myself. The same soft melody from before played in my heart.

I've spent the rest of the day giving Tenko and Ryoma Ether rifle lessons. They seemed interested in my Ultimate Talent, so I may as well take this opportunity while I still can.

When the nighttime announcement was made, I thought At this rate, the time limit will expire before we know it...