A/N: Okay, apologies for the long delay, but I finally have the artwork I need for the AO3 version, so Chapter Four can finally commence! So, who do you think will be the victim this time around? Let me know in your reviews. With that said, please enjoy the read!

Danganronpa 4: Next Generation Killing!

Chapter Four: Pride and Prejudice!

Daily Life Part One: Distrust!

Kaede tried to kill the mastermind, and was executed for killing Rantaro by mistake.

Hongou tried to kill Kubota, and was executed for mistakenly killing Snake.

Kubota killed Clover out of paranoia, and was executed.

Kiki shook the painful memories of the Killing Game's past victims from her mind as she sat at the Dining Hall table. She stared at Sokyu, who averted his gaze from the suspicious stares of most of the others.

And Sokyu…he was forced to kill Lotus when she attacked him out of grief. And because of that…even though we survived the trial…we're not exactly united. I can feel the tension in the room, like it could be cut with a butter knife. Everyone's suspicious of Sokyu, and I can't blame them. But…

"What're you all staring at…?" Sokyu sighed, putting his chopsticks down on his plate. "Can't I eat my breakfast in peace?"

The others continued to glare at Sokyu as they silently ate their breakfasts, making their distrust clear. He shook his head in exasperation as he ignored them, picking up his chopsticks and awkwardly consuming his breakfast.

Kiki frowned disappointedly as she quietly resumed her own breakfast. In spite of his actions the other day, she felt her heart go out to Sokyu, reflecting on his situation.

I know we're still reeling from Lotus's death…but we haven't even decided what we're going to do to hold him accountable yet. Can't we at least be civil about it until we get to talk about this…?


"I guess we should have expected this…" Maki sighed as they observed the tense breakfast.

"Indeed…" Kyoko nodded. "After the unfortunate incident yesterday that he contributed to, it's understandable that they'd distrust him."

"They should distrust him, right Mom?" Kiri asked confidently.

"Yeah, he killed someone!" Koto agreed, nodding emphatically. "They have to do something about him!"

"…But it was self-defense." Mokubo reminded them as his father nodded, biting his lip.

"That's right, Moku. I don't blame everyone for being wary of him, but they need to keep in mind that he isn't their enemy." Otherwise…it's just gonna be like what happened with Sakura all over again…

Koto and Kiri frowned skeptically as they turned their attention back to the TV.


"Okay, let's get this over with." Ryoma said as he finished his breakfast. "We need to figure out what we're gonna do about the elephant in the room."

As Sokyu crossed his arms over his chest defensively, Seven interjected "Wait, we can't do that yet."

"Huh?" Tsumugi's brow furrowed in confusion as she asked "We can't? But why can't we? It's not like we have any Ace Attorneys who can defend him."

Please don't make any trial jokes… Kiki bristled at Tsumugi's wording as Shuichi's eyes lit up in realization.

"Ah, I think Seven means that we have a new floor to explore, since we cleared another Class Trial."

"…That is correct." Kirumi acknowledged once she took out her e-Handbook and looked through the updated map with her eyes.

As everyone took out their own e-Handbooks and looked through the new map, Gonta observed "Gonta sees…more classrooms, a Staff Room, a Dojo, a Music Room, and an Art Room."

"I guess that means we need to figure out how we're gonna explore the new area." Sokyu shrugged "Fine by me."

"I suppose there's no hurry to discuss what to do about Sokyu." Kirumi lamented. "I have no qualms about waiting until after we explore the new floor to decide something this important. Still…we should decide who he's going to be partnered with."

"Yeah, we shouldn't trust him to explore on his own." Ryoma concurred.

"Yeah, but…I…kinda don't want to go with him." Tsumugi admitted. "Why don't we have Keebo accompany him? He's a robot after all, so he should be fine to keep an eye on Sokyu, even if he's not exactly Megaman."

"That's extremely robophobic!" Keebo growled at the cosplayer's suggestion. "Just because I am a robot doesn't mean I don't have feelings that should be taken into account!"

"Well, he's gotta go with someone-"

"Not necessary." Everyone's eyes turned toward Sokyu as he stood up and announced, "I'll save you the trouble and get out of your hair."

"Wait, you're just gonna investigate by yourself?" Seven asked in surprise.

"It's obvious nobody wants me around right now, so I'll make myself scarce and investigate the classrooms on my own."

"Sokyu, wait!" Kiki exclaimed, her eyes flaring in protest. "You don't have to go by yourself! We've all investigated in teams before. We can do it again-"

"Don't bother. I know you're all suspicious of me, so rather than cause an argument over who has to accompany me like a babysitter, I'll just search alone."

"Sokyu!" Kiki cried to no avail as he walked out, leaving the eight of them alone.

"…Hmph, good riddance." Ryoma muttered.

"Yeah, as long as none of us try to seek battle with him, we should be fine." Tsumugi admitted.

Kiki's eyes lowered to her now cleaned plate, frowning as she wondered, Sokyu, why…? Isolating yourself from everyone is how you got in this mess. Wouldn't it make sense to try to get in everyone's good graces by trying to work with them…?

"Well, since it's just the eight of us, how should we divide the remaining rooms?" Keebo asked. "If Sokyu is being truthful about his intention to only investigate the classrooms, then that leaves the Staff Room, Dojo, Music Room, and Art Room."

"Ah, Kiki and I can investigate the Staff Room." Shuichi volunteered before he amended "If…that's okay with you…"

Kiki nodded, agreeing "Sure, that works."

"Very well, then." Keebo nodded. "I'll take the Music Room. Does anyone want to accompany me."

"I shall consider this a request and join you in your investigation." Kirumi volunteered rather quickly, causing Kiki to sweatdrop.

Guess she didn't want to chance getting paired up with Tsumugi again…

"I guess I'll take the Art Room." Tsumugi decided. "Maybe I can find some cosplay materials in there. Oh, Ryoma, why don't we partner up? With your height, I bet you could pull off a good Detective Conan!"

"I don't think I'll be cosplaying anytime soon, but I don't mind investigating the Art Room." Ryoma commented as Kirumi frowned sympathetically at the tennis player.

"Well, that just leaves me and Gonta to investigate the Dojo." Seven commented.

"Alright, Gonta will do his best!"

Seven cracked a smile at Gonta's enthusiasm before he announced "Alright, we have our assignments, so let's check out the new floor."

Everyone nodded and stood up, pushing their chairs in before they left the Dining Hall in search of their assigned rooms.


"He's not doing himself any favors." Maki commented as they watched the others split up on the floor.

"Yeah, he's just making himself look more suspicious!" Koto exclaimed as his twin sister nodded in agreement.

"The more he insists on being a lone wolf, the more suspicious he makes himself."

"There was something I had to check up on."

"What do you mean…?"

"Never mind."

"I can't never mind…!"

"Never. Mind."

Kyoko frowned, her eyes softening as she flashed back to how she herself kept her cards close to her chest during the Killing School Life. Makoto's lips drooped as he asked, "What's wrong, honey?"

"…I can sympathize with him." Kyoko admitted, earning surprised looks from her children. "I certainly didn't do myself any favors being so secretive all those years ago…and I played right into Junko's hands."

"…You're afraid Sokyu's gonna make the same mistakes you did…?" Mokubo asked as his mother nodded.

"That's right, good deduction. I just hope he doesn't do anything stupid. If he doesn't try to extend an olive branch soon, it could spell disaster for their chances of survival."

Everyone grimaced at the thought of the consequences of Sokyu's misguided actions. They watched the survivors split up with reluctant eyes,hoping that he didn't do anything else that would get another one of them killed.


"It's…kinda bland…" Kiki commented in slight surprise as she and Shuichi entered the Staff Room.

"Yeah, it's not that different from a classroom." Shuichi remarked as he observed the several rows of white desks with blue, wheeled chairs tucked into each of them. "Though these desks look like they're designed more for an office cubicle than a classroom."

Kiki nodded in agreement before she asked "So, I guess we should check out the desks. I can't really imagine anywhere else in this room things would be hidden."

"Sure, that sounds good." Shuichi gestured to the rows closest to the right wall. "I'll take this half. You take the other half?"

Kiki nodded before they separated towards their respective desks. As she pulled out the chairs and cabinet drawers, she couldn't help but flash back to the rather tense breakfast.

There's so much distrust right now. During the last two times, we at least made an effort to unify after the trial. But this time…everyone's so distrustful of Sokyu, that we're not even making any attempt to come together.

Kiki gritted her teeth, frustration blazing in her eyes as she clenched her fist. She huffed as she scanned the desks, her concentration split between looking for clues and trying to calm her maelstrom of emotions.

"Damn, why can't we just-"

"Ah, Kiki, you okay?"

"Sh-Shuichi!" Kiki nearly jumped, turning her head to see Shuichi's worried eyes. Her cheeks flushed pink as she realized "Was I…talking out loud…?"

Shuichi reluctantly nodded. "Ah, yeah. Are you…are you alright?"

Kiki took a deep breath, feeling her frustration and embarrassment recede before she dared to speak. "I'm fine, Shuichi. Just…working through some things." She sighed as she glanced at the desks, admitting "Sorry, but I haven't found anything in these desks, at least, nothing worthwhile."

"Ah, well, that's okay." Shuichi assured her with a slight smile in an attempt to brighten her mood. "I, ah, actually did find something."

Kiki cocked her head curiously as he held a book in front of her. "The Second Tragedy That Almost Was…?" Kiki furrowed her brow as she pondered "What's that…"

"My my my! That's quite the exciting tale you've got there!"

"Eek!"

Kiki squeaked as she jumped into Shuichi's surprised embrace, nearly tackling him and knocking him over. The two of them blushed, catching their balance before they turned their heads to Monokuma, who was grinning at them.

"Honestly, it's a little short for my tastes, and the villain can't hold a candle to the Mastermind of the first Tragedy, but it's an okay read, I guess."

With that, Monokuma turned around and waddled out of the classroom. Once he was gone, their cheeks darkened, the two of them realizing that Shuichi's arms were still wrapped protectively around Kiki's waist.

"Ano…Shuichi? You can…let go of me now."

"Ah, sorry!" Shuichi apologized as he let go of Kiki.

"No, no, it's my fault. I'm the one who overreacted…" Even if it felt…nice… Shaking the thought away as she stepped backwards, Kiki wondered "Still, what was Monokuma talking about?"

"Ah, I don't think we should take what Monokuma says at face value." Shuichi advised as he glanced down at the book in his hand. "Still…it might be worth checking out its contents once we regroup with everyone."

Kiki nodded in agreement, suggesting "Yeah, why don't we head back to the Dining Hall? I don't think we're gonna find anything else worthwhile in here."

"Yeah, let's go." Shuichi agreed before they left the Staff Room, lost in their thoughts on the new information in Shuichi's hands…and his embarrassing embrace.


"The Tragedy That Almost Was…" Kyoko hummed, deep in concentration before her eyes widened.

"Hm? What is it, Kyoko?" Makoto asked curiously.

"…Let's just…see if I'm right." Kyoko decided, causing Makoto to frown before he let the matter drop.

"Honestly…" Kiri sighed, exasperated as she rested her chin in her palm while she watched Kiki and Shuichi bashfully avert their eyes on the TV screen. "Why can't they just admit they like each other?"

"Yeah, we can all see it!" Koto exclaimed. "Why couldn't they just take advantage of the moment and have their first kiss already?!"

Makoto and Kyoko rolled their eyes in amusement as Mokubo sweatdropped. "I think they have more pressing matters to worry about besides kissing."

"Yeah, as cute as it would be for them to get together, they do need to worry more about surviving this Killing Game first." Makoto commented, causing Koto and Kiri to pout.

"Your father's right." Kyoko nodded in accord with her husband. "They can talk about romance after they escape."

Maki nodded grimly, her lips tugging into a reluctant grimace. "Right now it's no guarantee that either of them will survive. They need to keep vigilant, lest one of them become a victim."

Everyone shuddered, bristling at the thought of Kiki becoming a casualty of the Killing Game. At that moment, they prayed, prayed that their daughter would be lucky enough to live to tell the tale of her captivity.


"So, you actually showed up." Ryoma muttered as Kiki and Shuichi walked in, seeing everyone gathered around Sokyu with equal looks of suspicion and surprise.

"I already said I'd investigate the classrooms, right? After that I came right back here and waited for everyone."

"That means Sokyu kept his word, right?" Gonta exclaimed.

"Do not be so quick to trust, Gonta." Kirumi cautioned.

"Yeah, you tend to have disadvantage when it comes to deception." Tsumugi nodded, causing Gonta to hang his head.

"Hey, come on, Gonta, don't take it to heart." Seven clapped Gonta on the back in an attempt to cheer him up. "Besides, there's plenty of distrust to go around, no need to add more to it. Besides, you wouldn't be Gonta if you didn't trust in people."

Gonta smiled appreciatively at the gesture and replied "Thanks…Gonta will continue to be Gonta."

Kiki smiled in surprise. I'm glad Gonta's not taking the criticism to heart, but I wonder why Seven was the one to encourage him. Could he have been trying to cheer Gonta up, or is he actually defending Sokyu…?

"There you are." Keebo exclaimed as the others turned towards Kiki and Shuichi. "Now that you're here, we can share our investigation results."

As the two approached, Shuichi asked "Ah, so what did you find out, Sokyu?"

Shrugging, he answered plainly "As expected, I found nothing. Hence why I offered to investigate the classrooms."

The suspicious stares resumed before Seven interjected "Anyway…Gonta and I checked out the Dojo. It's pretty well stocked."

Gonta nodded. "There's several targets lined up against the back wall, and the lockers are filled with bows and arrows, so one could practice archery if they wanted to."

"Ah, are the arrows…real…?" Shuichi asked hesitantly, causing Gonta to nod hesitantly.

"Yeah, the arrowed are tipped with steel, and they're as sharp as any blade." Seven confirmed

That's…not good… Kiki bristled at the thought of there being accessible, legitimate weapons in reach.

"There were other weapons in stock, though the arrows were the only ones that were real." Seven commented. "There were several training shinai for practicing kendo, as well as some wooden bo staffs, sais, and nunchuks."

"Oh my!" Tsumugi exclaimed excitedly. "Could the mastermind be a giant rat? Or is it instead his four turtle children trained in ninjitsu?!"

Everyone sweatdropped before Seven concluded, "Anyway, that's all we found. Tsumugi, what about you?"

"Sadly, there were no cosplay materials in the Art Room." Tsumugi sighed dejectedly as Ryoma rolled his eyes.

"There wasn't any of that, but there were plenty of art supplies. Paintbrushes, paint, canvasses, pencils, sculpting clay, wires, you name it, the Art Room has it."

"Well, at least we'll have something fun to do on this floor." Kiki stated optimistically. "Kirumi, what about you?"

"We investigated the Music Room, and like I suspected, there was a large piano and several rows of seating, likely intended for concerts."

"That's not all there was, though." Keebo interjected. "There were also sets of drums, guitars, violins, and a multitude of percussion instruments. One could have a small orchestra in there if they wanted."

"Snake would have loved that…" Kiki couldn't help but lament, looking back on the blind man's dream that would forever be unfulfilled.

"Yes…he would have…" Keebo concurred. "And since he can no longer fulfill it himself, that leaves it up to us to fulfill it for him." The robot grinned, excitement flashing in his eyes as he vowed "That settles it, I'll read on how to play the guitar in the library and play him a grand symphony!"

"Ah, I think it takes more than theory to be able to play an instrument." Shuichi countered with an amused smile. "I'm sure even someone as talented as Kaede had to practice for a long time in order to get as good as she did at playing the piano."

As Shuichi momentarily frowned in mourning, Kiki laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. Shuichi smiled appreciatively at her, gently removing her hand from his shoulder as he stared into her worried eyes. Kiki nodded as they broke contact, though she remained somewhat worried about him.

Shaking away her thoughts, she started "I guess that just leaves me and Shuichi. The Staff Room was filled with a lot of office desks, but we only found one thing of note."

Shuichi held up the book they found for everyone to see. "Remember the book on the Tragedy we found? Well, we found this book naming a possible successor."

"A successor to the Tragedy?" Keebo asked curiously.

"Yeah, it's titled The Second Tragedy That Almost Was."

"And what does it say?" Kirumi asked curiously before Shuichi opened the book and began to read.

"Nearly twenty years after the end of the Final Killing Game, the world had long since returned to normalcy. Hope's Peak Academy was thriving under the leadership of Headmaster Makoto Naegi and Vice-Headmistress Kyoko Naegi, and the eldest of their children was one year away from attending their parents' prestigious academy."

"It would seem that the world had righted itself in the years after the Tragedy ended." Keebo mused before Shuichi continued reading.

"However, even though the Remnants of Despair were eliminated, Junko's influence was not. A distant cousin, Akki Tamonozan, infiltrated Nihonbashi Junior High School, where the eldest Naegi child was currently enrolled. Using her persuasive talents, she converted the majority of the student body into a personality cult that worshipped her."

"That's…not good." Seven commented, puling the hem of his beanie over his eyes. "The first Junko Enoshima sounded bad enough. A second one that could charm the student body into joining a cult sounds like a disaster."

Kiki nodded, biting her lip as she felt a slight pressure in her head. Why…does this sound familiar…?

She shook the thought away as Shuichi continued reading, "After a failed attempt to capture…hm…?"

"What is it, Shuichi?"

Shuichi frowned, furrowing his brow as he admitted "The name…it's…it's blacked out."

"Blacked out?" Kiki's eyes widened in shock. "But what would be the point of that?!"

"Clearly, whoever wrote that book didn't want anyone to know the identity of that name."

"I bet it's that Naegi kid…" Ryoma deduced. "This whole Tragedy seems to revolve around Makoto Naegi and his wife Kyoko. It makes sense that this Akki would wanna capture their kid."

"Yeah…I guess that makes sense…" Kiki nodded, frowning as she listened to Shuichi continue.

"Anyway…after a failed attempt to capture…Akki launched a takeover of the school, planning to execute the administration in a mimicry of Junko Enoshima's murder of Jin Kirigiri. With their friends either converted or captured in the school, …bravely launched a rescue mission and invaded the school. Accompanied by Komaru Hinata and Toko Hagakure, they infiltrated the school and freed the hostages."

"Oh, that's amazing!" Tsumugi gushed. "Whoever they are, they were so brave to go on a quest that dangerous, even with a party of three!"

"…What happened next…?" Kirumi wondered. "Did they manage to escape unscathed?"

"Let's see…" Shuichi muttered as he turned the page. "According to this…and the others were ambushed by Akki and the converted student body. However…managed to persuade the students to reject Akki's cult and stand against her. Akki threatened to blow up the school with bombs in retaliation, but was subdued by Kyosuke Munakata, allowing…and the hostages to escape unharmed. And that's all it says."

"Well, that seemed like a waste of time." Sokyu muttered. "I don't think there was anything useful in that little book."

"Hate to admit it, but I agree." Ryoma admitted. "There wasn't anything in there that could have helped us escape."

"Yeah, if only that bold heroine could be here with us, we'd have escaped in no time!" Tsumugi gushed, earning a quirky, raised eyebrow from Kirumi.

"And what makes you so certain it was a girl who did those things?"

"Hey, let a girl dream, won't you?!" Tsumugi shot pack, pointing a finger at the young maid. "Fiction is already populated with tons of male heroes, let me at least dream that it was a woman who averted a second Tragedy!"

"That's if this is even real…" Sokyu muttered.

"…Kiki, are you alright?" Shuichi asked in concern as he saw Kiki rest her hand over her ahoge, gently applying pressure to her scalp.

"…Are you unwell…?" Kirumi frowned as she saw Kiki's apparently pained state.

"Can Gonta do anything to help? Just tell Gonta what to do!"

Shaking the pain from her mind, Kiki smiled reassuringly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a…headache is all."

"…Just a headache…" Seven muttered absentmindedly, averting his gaze.

"Very well." Keebo accepted. "Still, don't hesitate to take it easy. It would not be illogical to assume the stress of working so hard to keep us together and alive is taking a toll on your body."

Seven nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I think we should hold off on our…other discussion until tomorrow. We wanna make sure all of us can participate. Besides, I…have some things I wanna sort out before we make a decision on this."

Kirumi nodded. "I suppose that is an acceptable request to accommodate."

"Logically speaking, we should make sure all of us are able to approach this matter fairly. Otherwise, any decision we made would be tainted."

"Okay, but what do we do about Sokyu in the meantime?" Tsumugi asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I don't think we should just let him walk around while we're still figuring out what to do." Ryoma agreed.

"Then I'll just stay in my room." Sokyu interjected as he turned his back to the others. "It's obvious you don't trust me, so why don't I just get out of your hair until breakfast tomorrow?"

Not waiting for an answer, Sokyu walked out of the Dining Hall. "Sokyu, wait!" Kiki called out, only to no avail.

As the heterochromatic girl sighed heavily, Seven lamented "So…that went well."

"If by well, you mean leaving a killer to their own devices, then yes, it went well." Ryoma commented.

"Ah, if we don't have any other business, why don't we call it a day?" Shuichi suggested.

Kiki grimaced but nodded in agreement. Once everyone else either mumbled their agreement or nodded, the remaining eight survivors went their separate ways, the feeling of distrust and discord still permeating the group.


"So…I was right…" Kyoko realized. "That book summarized the Akki Incident."

"The Akki Incident…?" Koto asked before Kiri's eyes widened in realization.

"That was when you had us stay with Baa-chan while Kiki went with Auntie Komaru and Auntie Toko to stop Akki, right?"

Makoto nodded. "That's right, you have a good memory, Kiri."

"…I remember that day…how…terrifying it was to see her walk out the door…" Mokubo lamented. "I was scared…that Onee-chan wouldn't come back home."

"Moku…" Makoto rested a hand on his eldest son's shoulder as he admitted "All of us were scared for your sister. But we knew she'd beat Akki, just like we know she's gonna beat this Killing Game in the end."

Mokubo nodded, a worried frown still on his face as Makoto released his shoulder. It wasn't until Maki spoke that the young boy was distracted from his thoughts.

"Anyway, it looks like Kiki's memories are trying to bubble up to the surface, if her headaches are any indication."

"Indeed." Kyoko nodded. "I felt the same way during the Killing School Life, when my memories of being a detective gradually returned. But I'm afraid her memories won't return so easily."

Makoto nodded, commenting "For now, she should take the opportunity to rest and refresh herself. Hopefully she'll recover from her headache with a little rest."

The others nodded hopefully as they watched her enter her room and plop down on the bed, closing her eyes as she fell into a light nap.