Before we begin, I'd like to address a review I got from Angel Wraith:

They said: To be completely frank, this kinda feels like you're just rewriting the entire story of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. Because so far, I haven't found much difference in the story and the game, some lines are changed but they still have the same premise. You should probably try changing the story like who dies, who survives, the motives that sort of thing, so that way people don't automatically know who the killer is.

First of all, I'd like to thank you for your review, Angel Wraith. But as I said in chapter ten where I addressed another person who mentioned something similar; This is kind of like a novelization, but it'll have a different ending. And like Naegi said in the first chapter: "It's also the story of how I lost some of those whom I've just met, only to gain them back in the end.". Hope that clears things up!

And with that, let's move on to today's chapter!

Before I exited the trash room, I heard Yamada mumbling to himself. "This whole thing is quite strange, indeed… When I was here last, the incinerator was off, and those glass shards and burnt clothes weren't there."

He then noticed that I was staring at him. He angrily pointed at me. "What does it all mean, Mr. Makoto?! Will you be confessing soon!?"

"Why me…?" I sighed.

"Everyone already knows you did it!" Yamada continued. "All the mysteries are being solved one by one!"

It sounds like he's living out one of his comic book fantasies…

I walked back into the gymnasium. Yep, there he was; Hagakure Yasuhiro. He was still praying to… Whoever.

I spoke up to gain his attention. "Hey Hagakure, can I ask you something?"

"Aggh!" He screamed. Not even noticing me. "No no no no no! I gotta get outta here! Gotta get out now! I've had enough! Gotta break free!"

"Kure, snap out of it!" I yelled. That seemed to do the trick.

"Huh? Naegi?" He asked. "What are you doing here? What…?"

I pulled out my e-Handbook and showed him the picture of the broken crystal ball I found in the trash room that I took earlier. "Does this look familiar?" I asked.

"Ahhh!" He screamed in fright after looking at it. "That's my crystal ball, but… It's all smasged! What the hell…? I-I only bought it cuz the guy said it was blessed! He said it was unbreakable…! So, how did it break? Was it actually made of glass and not crystal?! Did that guy totally dupe me?! He said it belonged to the pillars of history… Genghis Khan, George Washington, even Napoleon! He said that whoever controlled that crystal ball controlled the world! Was that seriously all BS?!"

"U-Umm…" I stammered. "Let's put that aside for now. So, you can say without a doubt that this belonged to you?"

"Yeah, that's mine for sure." He replied. Still shook up. "I probably forgot it in the laundry room last night. Someone must've come by and snatched it."

He left it in the laundry room? That means anyone could have found it and taken it…

"Thanks, Kure." I said. "That's all I wanted to know."

"S-Sure…"

"Um, by the way…" I began with curiosity. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but how much did you pay for that thing?"

"Everything I saved up from fortune-telling for two full years." He replied. But his next words put me into a state of shock. "Come out to be like… A million."

"A m-million!?" I exclaimed.

"That's pretty cheap, actually." He continued. "I mean, considering it gives you the power to control the world, and all…"

That's just too… Too stupid. I can't even feel bad for him…

I then remembered the DVD I found in Maizono's room. Immediately, I headed for A/V room.

When I got there, I sat down in front of one of the screens and put the DVD in the player. After I put my headphones on, I pushed play and the screen went dark for a few seconds before in image slowly appeared. It appeared to be concert of some sort. And standing onstage, front and center, was a face I recognized all too well.

"Maizono…" I whispered in disbelief. She was there, along with the friends she said had been so important to her. They were singing some song about hope and following your dreams while the audience was waving around glowsticks. She was positively glowing there in front of the crowd. So full of life…

Seeing that image made it even harder to accept that she was… Dead.

My vision started to blur and darken, and then that voice I'd come to despise so much began to float out of the speakers.

"Maizono Sayaka, the Ultimate Pop Sensation, lead singer for a world-famous all-girl pop band." Began Monokuma's voice. "For these girls, the glowing spotlight only made them that much more beautiful. But then…"

Suddenly, the screen went dark. And in the next moment, I saw something I could hardly believe.

When the image of the stage came back, Maizono had disappeared from it, which was now in ruins, the lights were all red, the screen behind them showed nothing, but what I noticed even more than that was the figures of the other gilds. They were collapsed on the ground showing no signs of movement.

Monokuma's face then appeared on the screen behind them. He began speaking again. "This ultra-successful team suddenly fell apart! None of them will ever perform onstage again, nor feel the warmth of the spotlight… And for Maizono, there's simply no nowhere for her to return to. So, here's the billion-dollar question: What, oh what could have caused the group to go to pieces!?"

The screen then faded to red, and then to text on a black background that read the same thing after mine; "Look for the answer after graduation!". Then the video shut off and the DVD ejected.

"Wh-What the hell?!" I exclaimed after standing up and taking my headphones off. "That wasn't real, right?"

They're a super famous pop group. Everyone knows who they are. Is he trying to say he was even able to get to them…? If that really did happen, everyone in the outside world must be going crazy!

"What kind of person would take things this far…!?" I asked as I made my way out of the room.

Next, I went to the dining hall. Hoping to find the murder weapon. Luckily, there was in the form of the Ultimate Swimming Pro. When she noticed me, she gave me a wave.

"Asahina…" I began. "Are you investigating the dining hall?"

"Oh, no. I'm just taking a break." She replied. "Actually, I've been taking a break since we started the investigation… This is all a first for me, ya know? I don't have the first clue what I should be doing."

"I know what you mean…"

"And I dunno why, but being in the dining hall helps me keep calm." She explained. "So I know I shouldn't, but I've been just kinda… Hanging around here. And to tell the truth, I was doing the same thing last night, when Maizono was killed."

"R-Right…" I stammered. How could she be thinking about taking a break after all this?

Focusing on my current mission, I made my way into the kitchen. The first thing I noticed was the massive pile of fruits and vegetables in the corner. Nothing noteworthy there. Above it was yet another surveillance camera. Knowing Monokuma could be watching me, there's no way I could concentrate on cooking anything…

Next to the camera was a rack that had all kinds of kitchen knives, big to small. But it looked like one of them was missing. Was it missing from the very beginning, or did the killer take it?

Wanting answers, I walked back into the dining hall to talk to Asahina about it.