Author's Note: Hey everyone! I'm posting a little early since Danganronpa: Decadence is coming out tomorrow [super excited!]. I hope you all are enjoying this story - thank you to everyone who is reading!

Chapter 13: Day 12

"Ohhhh yeah!"

Pressing the button, Hiro raised his fist triumphantly in the air as the Monokuma Butler came to life. It began to slide across the gymnasium floor, bumping into a few objects but otherwise avoiding them as it cleaned the floor. The bottom half, they had decided, was to be shaped in a circular fashion, while the top portion was merely a replica Monokuma. Enoshima had even gone so far as to decorate it with a small flag of metal parts after they realized they had some spares. The creation now looked like a Monokuma riding a go-kart.

Togami smirked as the butler continued zooming across the floor. It was the due date, after all, meaning that cursed bear was bound to show up at some point to claim its prize. The others were smiling cheerfully, with Kuwata purposely setting items in the butler's way to see if it would dodge them. Togami pulled out his e-Handbook and was surprised to see that it was five minutes to noon. "Meaning the cleaning crew should be arriving shortly."

As if on cue, the double doors to the gymnasium swung open. Celeste and Yamada, shockingly enough, took the charge, and Celeste smiled that "innocent" smile of hers at the group. "I do hope you all were as motivated as we were today," she greeted.

"You can be assured that the kitchen is the cleanest it's ever been!" Yamada shouted, pointing almost defiantly at the group while striking a pose.

Adding to the spectacle was Taka himself, who came in with that cheeky grin of his. "The cleaning crew did a fantastic job today!" he proclaimed. "Owada, my brother, how has your group's success been?"

"Just look at it, Bro!" ordered Owada, who pointed at the roaming butler. "It's workin' and everything!"

"Oh my, that's not what I envisioned," Celeste noted, watching it casually as it approached her.

"And that makes two of us!"

The voice cut through the celebrations, and all eyes turned to the double doors of the gymnasium. Monokuma sauntered forward, and everyone watched as the butler zipped straight ahead, bumping into the supposed headmaster himself. Hiro quickly clicked the remote, and the butler halted its movements. Monokuma slowly, very slowly, circled around it, poking and prodding at it with his paws.

"Well, we made yer damn butler," Owada remarked.

"Oh yes, I see that. Except I DON'T!" Pointing at the machine, Monokuma turned and flashed his claws at the group, his left eye shining bright red. "What the hell even is this? Where's my sexy butler outfit? Where's my fancy pose? Where's my dashing tea set to give to my beloved master? Ya can't write fanfiction about this hunk of junk! I don't even have freakin' legs, for Christ's sake!"

"If you don't like it, you can make one yourself," Togami remarked. "You gave us the blueprint, which didn't have specifications for legs or even a whole body, and the main purpose was to create something that cleaned. We did, and it cleans."

"Grrr, you all just want to embarrass me!"

"I mean, ya kind of already do that yourself," Enoshima muttered.

Kirigiri stepped forward. "So does this mean you aren't going to accept the butler we created?"

Togami grimaced at the girl's ability to create silence. For a full minute, the students merely stood and stared at Monokuma, who was rubbing his head and examining the butler curiously. Finally, he shrugged and admitted, "Well, I can't really argue that you didn't make the backup, now can I? I did ask for a butler, and this thing looks like it can clean. Stairs will be a pain, but hey, maybe that can be a future project for you all."

"So it's okay?" Maizono asked, smiling widely and clasping her hands together.

"Sure, sure. I mean, it ain't okay. But you all technically did the job."

"All right!" Kuwata pumped his fist up in the air as the cleaning crew gave a round of high-fives to each other.

"But you ain't done yet! I already have my new idea figured out."

The premature celebrations immediately ceased as Owada all but shouted, "And just how many backups are you planning on making us do?"

"As many as I need. I told you all, I plan on having you around for 50 days, and it's only Day 12! You got a loooooong way to go!"

"Okay, but like, how is it that nobody has come to find us yet?" Hina suddenly asked. "I mean, Monokuma's right. We've been here for twelve days. Haven't our parents tried to contact the school yet or something?"

"I've thought about that, too, to be honest," Fujisaki whispered.

"Oh, that? Well, uh, you'll find that out once I let you kids go. So don't worry your little heads about all that 'outside world' nonsense." Brushing his way past the students, Monokuma approached the front stage, where a rolling chalkboard was already stationed. "After all, what's important is that you got shelter, food, and, most importantly, each other! Am I right?"

Togami's frown deepened. Up until now, even he had simply gone along with the flow of events. The idea that outsiders may try to interfere had crossed his mind, but after coming across the archive, he knew whoever was controlling Monokuma was indeed powerful. His evenings and even full days spent in that same archive, however, had yielded no new information on who was responsible for this charade. Yet Togami wasn't a nobody. He was the heir to the Togami empire. And while he felt their purpose was insignificant in the grand scheme of things, his fellow students were in somewhat similar positions. It suddenly struck him that for 12 days, a worldwide pop idol group was missing its lead singer, a baseball team had no star player, Japan's largest biker gang was without leadership…

Hina had a point. What about their parents? Their friends? Their connections? For Togami himself, wouldn't the corporation have stepped in? Wouldn't the police have come knocking? Sure, the front door was sealed and armed to the teeth, but the Togami family had the resources to tear that door down in a heartbeat.

So wouldn't someone have shown up by now?

Togami looked up at the security camera at the far wall. Up until this point, he had ignored them, finding them offline the first day. Now, a sudden sense of dread entered his system. The monitors in the data center were still all off to his knowledge, meaning the cameras still weren't running. But Kirigiri's words began to flow through his head, and an idea struck Togami that shook him to his core.

What if, on Day 51… What if Monokuma refused to let them leave?

"Alrighty, time for your next task!" Flipping the chalkboard around, the first thing Togami noticed was large musical notes drawn on the four corners. In the center in colorful chalk writing were the words MONOKUMA ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM. "I decided you all have complained too much of being bored, so you need to make me a toy!" Monokuma declared. "Now I won't make you record any voices or singing or anything because that would just be too embarrassing, puhuhuhu! You just need to make something that'll entertain us all!" The familiar pinging of the e-Handbooks being updated reached everyone's ears, and Togami glanced down at his, which he was still holding from giving directions earlier. He scanned the instructions as the bear concluded, "And given that it's now past noon, that means you all have your task ready to go first thing tomorrow! Now scram! I need to figure out how to get this butler in an elevator…"

The students slowly filed out of the gymnasium, most with their eyes glued to their handbooks. Togami shot one last look at the camera in the far corner and noticed Kirigiri doing the same. He watched as the lavender-haired girl examined the camera, then turned and walked past him, her eyes indicating she wasn't paying attention to anyone around her. In fact, she looked ready to walk past everyone and exit the foyer when Junko began to speak.

"Man, this is such a freakin' pain, and now I'm all bummed out," she stated, breaking the awkward silence. "I mean, Hina's right. Just where the heck is everyone?"

"Yeah, I… I don't know," Hiro replied. "I'd have predicted someone would've shown up by now."

"Yeah, but all of your predictions are wrong," Kuwata complained.

"Well, it doesn't change the fact that we're still stuck here," Owada remarked. "And I ain't giving up. Yeah, this shit's a pain in the ass, but I got promises to keep, people to see… And I ain't giving up my life to get mowed down by that gatling gun at the front door, know what I'm saying?"

"I suggest we continue proceeding as we have been," stated Celeste. "After all, we have adjusted quite nicely to this school and our group dynamics. Monokuma made a valid point, as well: we have shelter and food. We want for nothing except news from the outside world, which, supposedly, we will have in another 40 or so days." She smiled again and finished, "I believe we should celebrate our butler tonight instead of moping, don't you all agree?"

"Ohh yeah, we should celebrate!" Hina remarked. Immediately Togami watched as smiles flashed across their faces. "But we don't have off tomorrow…"

"Why not do something tonight?" inquired Ogami. "It doesn't have to be something big, and we have all afternoon."

"But what can we do?" asked Yamada.

"Well…" Naegi's voice hovered for a second before he glanced over at Maizono. "Why don't you sing for us a little bit? After all, I'm sure you miss your group, right? You can sing us a few songs in the music hall!"

Maizono's eyes lit up, and she smiled widely as she looked around the room. "I would really like that!" she exclaimed. "I mean, if everyone's okay with that."

"Ohhh, sweet!" Kuwata suddenly shouted. "If she can sing, can I sing, too? I wanna try out some of the punk songs I've been comin' up with!"

"You can sing?" asked Junko, her tone carrying the group's disbelief.

"Hell yeah!"

"Sounds like we have a plan," Celeste noted. "We can all get some food and head to the music hall, then. Maizono and Kuwata can set up their instruments, and we can have a small concert." Giggling, she added, "It's quite thematic given our next assignment, wouldn't you agree?"

"Oi, and you, Togami." Owada's voice caught Togami off-guard, and he quickly looked over to see the biker standing next to Taka. "You should show up tonight. Seriously. Show us who ya are a bit."

"I don't-"

"Of course he'll be there tonight." Kirigiri stepped forward, and Togami's eyes widened in shock at her audacity to speak for him. Before he could counter her, however, she smirked and eyed him before saying, "After all, if he wants some of the rumors about him stopping, it would certainly be wise to make an appearance to at least one of our group events."

"Rumors?" He slowly inhaled and adjusted his glasses as the memory of the other morning's breakfast replayed in his mind. "She means about Naegi…and probably Fukawa, too."

"And it will only be for one night," Kirigiri continued. "So he'll be sure to be there."

"Really, Togami?" Naegi's hopeful voice made him look directly at the group. All eyes were on him, but it was Naegi's smile that Togami felt his gaze drawn to. That hopeful smile, paired with those bright, hazel eyes...

He sighed in defeat and muttered, "Fine, I'll be there." Turning to glare at Kirigiri as the others in the group cheered, he watched as she smirked before turning to leave the foyer. He didn't know what game she was playing, but he would be damn sure to find out.

In the meantime, he'd have to double-check the nurse's station for some headache medication.