I'm who now?

by Clemerl

Being dropped into the killing game is always a dangerous place to be as a student of Hope's Peak, not knowing what will happen or who will kill whom. But what happens when the one in charge has a change of heart? Or rather, has the mind of someone else entirely who will stop at nothing to save everyone they can. Even if it dives them to Despair.

37. Ending the trial of Despair

"...What? What're you guys looking at?"

For a moment, everyone was silent. For those who didn't understand what was going on, it was confusing to watch the smarter members of the group staring so accusingly at one of their own for seemingly no known reason, or at least one that they couldn't understand. For those in the know though, it was with either gasps of shock and horror, or anger and suspicion that they glared at their fellow student, each now knowing that there was a chance that this one particular student was now the most likely culprit in this trial. As for the accused, they could only look on, just as confused as the students unaware of the crime now levied at them.

"Seriously, what's got your panties in a twist?" Mondo asked, puzzled as to why he was suddenly being given so many suspecting looks.

Now, he wasn't a novice when it came to being suspected of something, far from it. He was usually one of the first people looked to point the finger to when things went sideways. However, normally he was able to figure out what they were going to be saying beforehand. He could understand the reasoning behind it, he was a biker, and a delinquent at that, so he was used to it.

This though? This was unusual even for him. This time he couldn't figure out why exactly they were giving him looks of suspicion. No, it wasn't just that. There was a deep look of resentment in some of them. Yet, for the life of him, he couldn't think of what in the last conversation could have resulted in this sudden change.

"Mondo...I know what I'm going to say if going to sound weird, but do you have your E- handbook still?" Makoto questioned, and Mondo raised an eyebrow in response.

"Uh, yeah? Why wouldn't I?" Huh, that's weird. Why was he sweating all of a sudden? It wasn't that stuffy in here. Hell, if anything the place was rather chilly, like there was a draft somewhere.

"If it isn't too much trouble, would you kindly show us." Celeste added on, and her smile seemed...rather tense. Like, the chick was rather stressed for some reason

"Hold on, wait." Taka-bro interrupted, holding out an arm, and for some reason he was sweating too. Was it something in the air, or something? "I can't help but feel like you guys are accusing Bro of something! Please! If you have an idea, speak clearly!"

"Very well." The purple chick stated before turning to look the biker dead in the eye and asking; no, accusing him. "Mondo. You are our culprit, aren't you?"

"Gah!" Mondo choked, caught off guard by the sudden accusation, but he wasn't the first to come to his defense.

"Have you gone daft, women!?" Taka-bro interjected, furiously. "Mondo would never attack Chihiro! Yes, it's true that he is a delinquent, but there's a difference between that and this!"

"That may be, but when you add up the evidence, things start to paint a rather unflattering picture for him." Celeste countered expertly, but this only made Taka-bro even more angry.

"This is ludicrous! On what grounds do you accuse him!? What evidence points to him!?" Taka-bro was practically frothing at the mouth at this point, looking like a tomato with how red his face was.

"...Very well then. I normally detest such deplorable behavior, but if we must. Shall we list the reasons then?" Celeste started. Then she turned to Makoto, her sickly sweet smile on full display. "Makoto, you were the one to begin this argument, why don't you begin?"

"Ah...thanks?" Makoto said, not quite appreciative of her throwing him under the Taka bus like that, but he continued anyway. "Just a moment ago, we established that Chihiro's E-handbook was destroyed in the sauna, right? Monokuma just told us that they could only be damaged because of the extreme heat."

"Yeah!? And, what of it! Anyone of us could have figured out that fact!" Taka tried to argue, but Makoto shook his head instead.

"No, unfortunately, that's not true. Only a few people could have have learned of this weakness in the E-handbooks, but only one person here could have learned by chance. You should know, you were there when it happened."

"Gah!" Taka jolted back, stunned. However, before a rebuttal could form, Leon jolted in shock.

"Wait a minute, are you talking about that stupid manliness contest they had in the sauna?" Unfortunately, the creepy serial killer decided to open her freaking mouth, a deep blush on her face as she asked, "Oh my! An endurance round between men? Getting all sweaty and steamy in there, were you? I thought Miss Morose was joking, but to think you two were really into the boy on boys love...Did you take turns, or were you doing the six by nine?"

"Shut! The fuck! Up!" Mondo immediately shut her down, refusing to even acknowledge her twisted fantasies. Especially when they made so many people around them very uncomfortable and sick. "My bro and I ain't like that, ya hear!"

Seriously! What the hell was wrong with her? Just because two guys were in the sauna alone for several hours, building up a sweat, and occasionally screaming, doesn't mean that anything was happening.

"Ignoring that." Makoto stated, and Mondo was almost thankful for the interruption, had it not been for the reason. "Yes, both Mondo and Taka were having an endurance competition a couple nights ago, and they spent a long time together in there. More then enough time to damage the E-handbooks."

"Yep, that's correct." Monokuma chimed in, but then he just kept talking. "The temperature in the standard issue sauna can reach temperatures of around two hundred degrees. Strange that you don't get burnt, right? Well, that's because, as your sweat evaporates, it creates a cooling layer around your skin to protect you. However, if the hot air of the sauna were to be somehow pushed directly onto your skin, you would absolutely be fried! That's why you may feel a burning sensation when you move around. So, when you're in a sauna, be sure to stay nice and still, and keep well hydrated."

"Wow, interesting!" Taka mused, but it looked rather forced. "Thank you! I learned a new fact today!"

"Is this trifling of knowledge really important right now!?" Hifumi interrupted, but it went ignored.

"Anyway..." Makoto spoke up, trying to get the trial back on track. "Since Hifumi found the E-handbook in the sauna, then someone must have purposefully been trying to break it. Someone that had already known about its weakness. When you both had your competition, Mondo was still wearing his clothes."

"Oh yeah, that's right!" Leon added to the nails in Mondo's coffin. "Dude was trying to give Taka a handicap, so he went in his wearing his full uniform! He must have forgotten to empty out his pockets and then, bam! Broken handbook!"

"I...You just…!" Mondo floundered. The evidence was stacking up against him now, and he couldn't think of anything to dispute it. Then, it hit him. "Hey! I'm telling you guys, I couldn't have done it, remember? Taka-bro said that he never saw me last night. So, like I said, I never even went to the goddamn locker room!"

Sadly, Celeste had a counter to his claims. "Mondo, your alibi only damns you further. The E-handbook was found in the sauna after all; they very same place you claimed to have been during night time hours. All you would need to do would be to avoid Taka and the rest of his group and you could have easily gone to the sauna to destroy the evidence."

"Th-that's just circumstantial!" Taka stated, looking rather frantic. "I mean, he couldn't have assaulted Chihiro. Like he said, he was in the sauna!"

"Actually, no, he couldn't have been in the sauna." Makoto ruthlessly shot down, a look of absolute certainty on his face. "Remember? The rules state that the washroom is closed most of the night. The only reason that you and Taka were even able to have the competition was because you started it before night time."

"Yeah, and we had to drag your buts out of there when you passed out." Leon added.

Then Monokuma decided to add to the pile. "Yeppers! That is true! Normally I turn off the sauna and the washroom during night time so that it can be cleaned and maintained. After all, not many people going to want to get up for a three AM sweat, right? In fact, if your classmates hadn't removed the two of you when they did, I would have just locked the two of you in there for the night and been done with it."

Taka-bro had a double take at that little tit-bit of information. "H-hold on, are you saying that..."

"I would have locked you in there all night as punishment?" Monokuma finished for him. "Absolutely. No questions asked."

"Which means that, since he wasn't locked in the sauna, Mondo doesn't have an alibi for last night." Byakuya finished, and Mondo reeled in response.

How did he forget about that stupid rule? No, rather how did all of them forget that rule?

"But that doesn't explain how it got to the sauna then!" Taka grasped, despite to prove his bro's innocence. "If that's true, then why was it destroyed!? Any one of us could have taken it down there before the morning meeting and thrown it in!"

"He's...got a point." Hifumi concurred nervously. "Cause, when I found it, the sauna was still on. I thought I had taken a portal into the Savanna desert when I had opened the door."

"They would have to have turn the sauna on after the morning announcement, but before we all met up in the cafeteria." Sayaka theorized.

"Ha! You see! Mondo isn't the only one who could have done that!" Taka desperately clung to the theory like a drowning man would a hunk of wood. Sadly, just like how clinging to wood would only get you so far, the usefulness of the idea was quick to fade.

"No, it is precisely because it was found there that Mondo is the only one who could have broken it." Kyoko countered, but it seemed she couldn't help herself this time as her pointed her finger as dramatically as any other. "Of all of us, he is the only one who doesn't have an alibi for the time. He is the only one who could have learned of the fault in the E-handbooks, and he is the only one who fits all of the credentials necessary."

"Why are you so insistent on pinning this on him!?" Taka demanded furiously. That ferocious attitude held even when he quickly grasped another idea. "Wait! that's right! There's something you've overlooked!"

Kyoko seemed skeptical, but she still asked, "Overlooked?"

"Yes! If what you say is true, and Mondo's E-handbook is broken, then explain to me, how was it that he got into the boy's locker room in the first place!"

"Oh yeah, he's right!" Hiro blindly agreed. "You can't even get into the locker rooms if you don't have an E-handbook. There's no way Mondo could get in there if his was busted!"

"As long as that fact is true." Celeste prodded, which did make Taka's gaze snap over to her, but he didn't say anything, just glared at her with his lip clutched between his teeth.

"I-I...well...I...it's..." Mondo stuttered, because he couldn't bring himself to tell the truth. He couldn't think of anything that could fix this situation. What could he do? What should he do?

Should he continue the lie a bit longer, or should he come clean? It was so easy to say the latter, it would clear his name and put things into perspective. Yet, could he throw Chihiro under the bus like that, put all of their efforts to waste? He didn't know. What should he do?

What should he do?

…

I couldn't help but sigh in disappointment at the turn of events. For all my efforts to change things, for all my efforts, it seems that everything was turning up the same as before. Mondo was going to be given the blame for all of the accusations of the night.

Of course, I wondered once more if I should do something to stop this. See if I could steer them in the right direction. Not that I knew what that direction was, but this certainly wasn't it.

Do I risk being the blind leading the blind, or do I let things reach their course naturally? That was the question, and unfortunately I couldn't reasonably answer it. I could only call out the facts where needed.

Unfortunately for them, Mukuro decided to throw in her two cents. "Actually, couldn't he have gotten in very easily? All he would need is for someone to open the door for him."

While the Biker, moral, and programmer flinched guiltily, I was ready to laugh my but off at their looks of betrayal. She was so confused by it too, solely because she had no idea what I'd been doing while she'd been resting. I just never got around to it. I only hope that this wouldn't come back to bite us.

"But why would anyone do that?" Leon surprisingly countered her. "I mean, it sounds like you're just asking for something to happen at that point, ya know?"

"Well, you might have a point." Hifumi reluctantly agreed, though it was clear from the drool on his lip, he was thinking of something different then what Leon was implying.

Kyoko, on the other hand, had a different approach "What do you think...Chihiro?"

"U-uh!" Chihiro choked, not expecting to be called out like that. "Wait, me?"

"You said it yourself, you were in the boy's locker room exercising, yes? Therefore, it would not be a stretch to believe that you were waiting for someone to join you. Someone that you must have trusted very much not to tell your secret to others."

Chihiro stammered, shaking his hands in denial of the claim. "N-n-no! No, I was all alone last night. By myself. I never asked anyone to join me."

"No, that's wrong!" Makoto interrupted, startling many of the students. Upon seeing the attention now directed his way, the luckster calmed down and elaborated. "Actually, that doesn't hold up. Because, there was someone else who saw you that can attest otherwise. Isn't that right, Celeste?"

"Quite." said gambler nodded before continuing. "Now that you mention it. I did see Chihiro last night, just before the nighttime announcement."

"Huh? Really?" Hifumi asked in response.

Celeste suddenly jumped, feigning shock as she mused, "Oh, but I suppose only Makoto knows about this. The rest of you had no idea, did you? That's why you're making such ugly noises."

"Why bother hiding that info at all?" Taka questioned, even as Chihiro squeaked in horror. "That would have been something we all would've liked to know."

Celeste was silent for a moment, noticeably pretending to think about the question. Then, she turn to look him dead in the eye, leaning forward so that she could emphasize just how serious she was, and said, "Because I don't trust most of you. Any one of us could have been the culprit, and if I let this spread, then my life would have been at risk. They may have even chosen to silence me, to keep it a secret."

Hifumi nodded, but then he started rubbing his chin in thought. "Okay, then, why tell Mister Neagi?"

She flashed a demure smile, and stated simply, "Because he is the most trustworthy out of all of us."

Taka looked like he was going to argue that point for a second, his finger in the air as he prepared to refute her answer. Then he paused, looked at Makoto, thought about it for a second, then dropped his hand. "...Fair enough. Now hurry up and tell us! What did you see?"

"It was last night, right before night time." Celeste began recalling, ignoring Chihiro's frantic waving for her to stop. "I saw Chihiro...in the dormitory warehouse. I saw him stuffing a track suit into a duffel bag. After that, I assume he headed off to exercise."

"A track suit, and a duffel bag?" Taka repeated, visibly confused at the statement. "But, we didn't find anything like that at the crime scene."

I didn't know if his bro realized it, but Taka briefly, very briefly, glanced over at Mondo as he was talking. There was sweat building on the biker's brow, and he looked very nervous all of a sudden. It almost looked like he was feeling...guilt over something. I could also see Mondo resisting the urge to grimace, likely because he just knew that that purple haired amnesiac would have seen that.

Ah, yes, that's right. Mondo was the only one who knew the significance of the bag and its contents. Must have smuggled it out at some point when the others weren't looking.

"It seems likely that the culprit destroyed them to get rid of evidence." Sakura was much better then Mondo was at hiding it though, her stance strong and her words firm. The swimmer girl was looking down though, fiddling with her jacket sleeves as she struggled to keep her mouth shut.

Oh ho. Looks like Mondo had a bit of help after all. Interesting.

"Th-that doesn't prove that I was going to meet with anyone." Chihiro tried to argue, but Celeste was one step ahead of him.

"Ah, but you see, it actually does. Because as you'll recall, this wasn't the first time I saw you in there. The rest of you wouldn't know it, but we've actually met in the storage room a couple of night's ago as well. It was at this time I confronted Chihiro and he said he was in a hurry." the gambler then turned to look the cross-dresser in the eye with a look that practically oozed suspicion. "But, why would you be in a hurry, I wonder? Only if someone was waiting for you I would hazard a guess."

"N-no I...I was just, going by myself." Chihiro clung to his excuse like it was his only lifeline, but it was clear that she wasn't even remotely convinced.

"So you say. However, that would only explain the first visit. Why go back a few days later to get another track suit when you already had one?" Chihiro clearly wasn't expecting that level of confrontation, because he made the worst mistake yet. He looked away, all but proving that he was going to spin a yarn.

"U-uh, well, um...well, I needed a spare tracksuit because...I realized that I…it's just they get so dirty and I didn't want anyone...to see me washing it." There was absolutely zero confidence in his words, and it showed. But it was very clear to everyone, the dude was clearly not going to admit to meeting with anyone, let alone Mondo.

It was stunning for me to witness, to put it clearly. Chihiro was normally so cooperative with everyone, so easy to intimidate. Yet, here he was, standing along side Taka bro to protect a lout like Mondo, a weak ass kid playing and being a big strong biker. If this wasn't a good indication of the difference in their character, I don't know what was.

Clearly I wasn't the only one impressed though, because I could see the stunned look Mondo had been giving both him and Taka throughout the argument. He hadn't even been given the chance to attempt to explain himself between these two steadfast defense of him; poorly done though it may be.

I couldn't help but wonder what this would do to effect their dynamic going forward from here.

"...Very well, then if that's what you've decided." Kyoko shockingly decided for them, turning all eyes her way. "There is, however, another detail I believe we should discuss before we proceed."

"Another detail? About what?" Hiro questioned.

"Think back to the track jacket and the duffel bag the culprit disposed of." Kyoko told them. "Focus on the details of these items, and it should become obvious why Chihiro chose them."

"...Really?" Mukuro shot the white haired detective one of the most disappointed deadpans I had ever heard from her. "Two pieces of evidence that we don't even have? You do remember that no one's seen those things all day, right?"

"..." Kyoko said nothing to the remark, which only frustrated the fashionista disguised girl. "Oi, don't ignore me."

"What, do you want to track down some finger prints or something?" the Otaku asked, but once more she said nothing. Instead Taka chimed in with, "Even if we had the equipment for that, we wouldn't know how to use it!"

"As was noted, the evidence is already gone." the rich prick pointed out. "There isn't anything too get fingerprints from."

"Perhaps, but we can make certain inferences, if we take the time to talk it out." Kyoko insisted, but I could see Mondo couldn't figure out her angle. What was so important about the track suit and bag anyway. It wasn't anything special that he could remember.

"Easy for you to say..." Hina sighed with a shrug. "It wasn't like the bag was anything special, right Celeste?"

There was a strange expression on the gambling chick's face as she looked at Hina, but it clearly wasn't that important since she didn't call it out. Instead she explained, "...No, it was...just a normal duffel bag from the warehouse. All the bags in there are exactly alike, so I can't imagine what would make that one special."

"Well, if I'm remembering right, there was a bunch of different colored tracksuits..." Leon recalled, "Is that what you're all hung up on?"

"Perhaps." Kyoko said in response. "Let's explore that for a moment and talk about the jacket he took."

"Um, wait, am I the only one confused here?" Hiro asked, "I mean, Chihiro's right here, why don't we just ask him?"

"No, I don't understand either." Chihiro admitted, looking just as baffled as Mondo felt. "It was...just a normal track suit. There wasn't anything special about it."

"Well, let's go over the facts then." Kyoko began. "As we've established, you were on your way to go exercise. So, next we need to ask, why did you choose the specific tracksuit that you did?"

"What do you mean, the specific track suit?" Byakuya questioned, to which the little programmer said, "I-I still don't understand the question. It was just the first thing I could find that fit me. There wasn't anything special about it"

Just then, it seemed like a light flicked on in Taka-'s eyes, as he exclaimed, "I got it! What you're saying is...you think the culprit was wearing a matching suit!"

Leon started scratching his head in confusion, an almost constipated look forming on his face as he muttered, "Matching track suits…? Why does that sound familiar?"

Mondo was only more confused by the statement. "What are you saying, that the culprit was wearing the same blue tracksuit as Chihiro, or something?"

It was only after he said that out loud that something in most people's eyes changed. Everyone went silent, like they had just watched a murder happen in front of them and were struggling to process it. The looks of suspicion and shock were coming back as well, with a look like they saw a murderer in front of them.

Not everyone was like that of course. Hiro, Leon, and Hifumi clearly were just as confused as he was. Yet, that was a cold comfort when he looked at his bro, Hina, and Chihiro's horrified expressions that he realized that he must have said something he really shouldn't have.

"Mondo, hold on a second." Makoto spoke up, his expression as cold as the grave as he asked, "What did you just say?"

"...Huh? What I say?" Mondo asked, still confused by the sudden turn around.

"When Celeste testified just now, she said that she saw him stuffing the track jacket into a duffel bag and left to go exercise." Makoto explained. "Chihiro confirmed this himself. However, neither of them said anything about the track suit's color. So I have to ask, how did you know what the color of the track suit was?"

It took a second for him to go over the whole previous conversation, but when he did, all of the blood drained from his face at the realization. "What are you- You just-!"

"Hey, Celeste. What color was the track suit Chihiro took?" Byakuya inquired, his eyes never once leaving the biker's own. The gambler chick did the same as she continued to stare at him with her red eyes full of suspicion as she confirmed, "As a matter of fact, it was...blue."

"And before we began the trial, did you tell anyone that?"

"The only one I told about any of this was you." Celeste responded back.

"W-wait!" Taka protested. "Maybe it was just a lucky guess! O-or maybe someone else told him!"

"That doesn't sound like a person guessing." Sayaka spoke up next with a frown. "The way Mondo said it was far too casual for it to have been just making a guess. Not when he said something as specific as, "the same blue track jacket"."

"Then…Mondo, how do you know what color the track jacket was?" Sakura questioned, turning to the biker. Unlike the others though, she was clearly unsure of what to believe now. He wanted to call her out on it since he knew she would know why, but he had to keep quiet.

"B-because...I-I just..." Mondo stammered.

"W-wait! M-maybe he saw them during your investigation!" Chihiro tried to cover for him, but Kyoko shook her head in response.

"No, that can't be it." she flat out denied. "The bag and clothes were surely disposed of by the time we began our investigation."

"Then the only reason he could have known what the color of the track suit was is if he saw Cherry with it at some point!" that wack-job Sho threw out excitedly before pointing at him dramatically. "So, how bout it!? Did you see the track suit or not!?"

Mondo floundered for an excuse, any excuse, but his mind was clearly overtaxed. All he could do was spout the first thing he could think of. "J-just by chance...I happened to see him walk past me, and he was carrying the tracksuit in his hands!"

"No, that's another impossibility. Had he been carrying it in his hands, either Taka, Asahina, or Sakura would have said as such. Isn't that right?" Makoto asked. Hina shook her head in response, for once rendered silent as her eyes flicked back and forth between Kiyotaka and Mondo, a silent question dancing in her gaze. Taka was also stricken silent, because he no doubt realized that if he said anything one way or the other, he would be damning someone.

"Aye. I do recall Chihiro with the bag, but he had it zipped up tight. We could not see its contents." Sakura stated, looking away when he shot her a betrayed look.

"Gh-Nggh!" Mondo growled, no longer able to think of a rebuttal. He tried not to glance at either Taka or Chihiro, but he could tell that they weren't able to come up with anything else either, and were scrambling to think of something. Hina was no help, she didn't know anything about the facts to embellish them in the first place. Sakura was clearly more interested in learning about the truth of the situation with the others to help, and Junko…

"It would appear that you dug your own grave." Kyoko remarked. I couldn't hear any smugness in her tone, but I could tell that she was feeling rather pleased with herself. It was just something in her stance that told me that she was happy to get this whole situation over with.

"Perhaps, but it was you who handed him the shovel, didn't you? That's why you said what you said." Byakuya pointed out, shaking his head in clear disappointment. "Focus on the tracksuit, and it'll be obvious who he met with? What a bunch of nonsense..."

Celeste silently gazed at the detective as she pondered over the last bit of conversation, before realization struck. "...Ah now I understand. It was all one big bluff, wasn't it? Your true intention was to draw a slip of the tongue from the culprit."

"That's right." Kyoko confirmed. "However, Mondo was my target from the very beginning."

I could just about see Mondo shiver, as if he felt a distinct chill run down his back. "W-what? What the hell made me so fucking suspicious!?"

"That's a good question." She admitted, but he felt nothing for her praise. "There was a certain reoccurring habit of yours I noticed that tipped me off. Maybe you don't notice yourself, but when you refer to people, you call them two different terms. You only call guys, 'dude' for girls, it's 'chick'. However, ever since this morning you have only called Chihiro, a 'dude'."

While Mondo's eye's were stuck wide open, Leon recalled, "That's true, Mondo did say that. I just didn't think much about it."

"Once I picked up on that, it became obvious that Mondo knew something that we didn't." Kyoko finished her case.

"Y-you noticed such a tiny detail!?" Hifumi freaked out, and for once Mondo couldn't deny that he was right to do it. That was so freaky that she had noticed something like that when he hadn't even realized he did it.

He vaguely realized that the other's were still talking, but I could tell from the glazed expression in his eyes that he was otherwise preoccupied. Had I to guess, his mind was going over every conversation he could remember. Most likely he couldn't help but notice that, she was right though. He clearly hadn't been playing attention to it, but he had shot himself in the foot numerous times during the investigation and trial by calling Chihiro a dude multiple times. In truth, he had really screwed the pooch on this one.

I sighed though. So this was it then? This was how it ended? Mondo would be labeled the culprit and the trial would end on a sour note. He would be punished for the crime, and everyone would move on like nothing ever happened.

My stomach rolled in disgust. No, I couldn't let that happen. I sat up straighter in my seat as I cracked my knuckles in preparation. I wasn't sure what I was going to do, but I was not going to let it end like this. I don't know why they weren't explaining his actions, I don't understand why they were letting this progress to this point, but I was done waiting. I don't care how this effects things anymore, I was putting my foot down and calling them out on their bull headed nonsense.

...At least, that was the plan. Fortunately, someone else had the same idea, and was just a second faster.

...

Mondo tuned back in when Makoto addressed him, his words slow, but meaningful. "Mondo...was it really you? Did you...attack Chihiro?"

"N-NO!" Chihiro suddenly shouted, startling everyone. Mondo especially jumped, since he was right next to the dude and never once expected him to be so loud. The tears were back in his eyes again, but he ignored that because there was a determined glare in the boy's eye, a fire that hadn't been there before.

However, it faded for a second when Chihiro gave a very loud, rough, and wet cough, and almost collapsed in his stand. Mondo watched, stunned when Chihiro slowly raised his head, looking very worst for ware. He also had a double take when he noticed there was a trail of blood running down the programmer's chin. However, before he could comment on it, Chihiro roughly wiped it off with his sleeve, and stood up straighter and glared, glared, at the surprised Kyoko.

"Mondo…Mondo didn't at-attack me in the boy's locker room." He stated, glaring at anyone that looked fit to argue. "M-Mondo wouldn't have attacked me! He couldn't have. There's no reason for him too! I don't...I don't know why you're all ganging up on him like this. I just...I've been listening to what everyone's been saying, but none of you are making any sense! He's...he's my friend."

He coughed again, not as loudly, but it was clear that something was wrong from how he clutched at his chest. The biker could only put his hand on the little dude's back and try to keep him supported. After a little while, the coughing passed, however, it left Chihiro wheezing as he struggled too properly breath.

Eventually, he managed to calm his breathing, and roughly swallowed before turning to give Mondo a small smile. For a brief second, Mondo's breath caught in his throat. However, this time it felt different. As he stared into the short man's eyes, for a brief second he thought he saw something familiar in those hazel eye of his. Something...eerily familiar.

He pushed the thought aside though. It was something that he would have to think on later. Instead, he gave the little dude a reassuring pat on the shoulder. In response, Chihiro gave him a thankful nod and turned back to look at the others with a face that demanded that they listen.

"I...I don't know why everyone thinks that I was attacked, but I wasn't attacked. I wasn't attacked in the boy's locker room! I wasn't attacked at all!"

The declaration clearly caught everyone by their ears because, with the exception of his bro, everyone looked at the little dude with complete and total shock. Even that pain in the neck Byakuya and the white haired chick Kyoko looked taken aback by the fact being thrown in their face like that. Apparently, they hadn't even considered the idea that this whole fiasco was a farce.

Well, he didn't blame them. Not when everything pointed so conveniently at him and all. Yet, that didn't mean he was okay with it, quite frankly he wanted to pop that smug bastard in the jaw still, but he understood where they were coming from.

"I-I. Dude, but...we found you in the locker room, there was evidence everywhere." That redhead dude Leon stuttered.

"There was blood on numerous items in the girls locker room that suggested that there was an altercation of some sort. If what your saying is true, then what is all this evidence?" The gambler chick continued explaining. Yet, Chihiro, he wasn't having it.

"I don't know why all of those things had my blood on it, but...I wasn't attacked. I don't understand why everyone keeps saying that I was." However, then he said something that had Mondo freeze up with guilt. "Didn't Taka and Mondo tell you guys what happened."

There was a brief moment of silence as they considered his words. Taka-bro, dude locked up like a plank of wood. Not that Mondo could claim to be doing any better. The moment that the accusing glares were back on him, he froze up too.

"...Taka. Mondo..." the lucky dude asked. "Is there something that you've been hiding from us?"

"I...I don't know what you're talking a-about." Taka stammered, but Mondo could see the way he looked away from them all. The guilt on his face, the strain in his voice. His bro was stressed and exhausted, and wouldn't be much help going further.

Mondo sighed. So, this was it. It looked like yet again, he was going to have to break a promise today. This sucked, it sucked bad, but what other choice was there? Yeah, he could continue the lie, feign ignorance like he'd been. But, what was the point? Chihiro was fine...ish, and he was going to tell them anyway if they didn't.

Besides that, the biker just felt...tired. So very tired of keeping up the act, lying about things, pretending to not know what needed to be said. Even now he could feel the weight of it all just barring down on him further, and he was just...tired of it.

Tired of the lies, tired of the misdirections, tired of keeping his silence because he couldn't think of how to proceed, and flat out sick of shooting himself in the foot when he did manage to think of something to say.

He knew what needed to be done. He took one quick look at Junko, and then lowered his head with a sigh. 'Sorry sis, guess I couldn't keep our promise.'

…

I watched in silence as the two bros were stared at, both looking completely racked with guilt over some reason that I couldn't quite figure out.

However, then someone sighed, sounding completely done with all of this situation. Mine and everyone else's gaze meandered over to the source of the sound to find one Mondo Owada as he shook his head.

"...Bro...give it up. It's over. If it's not us, then they'll figure it out anyway." Mondo said, sounding flat out done with this. Taka gave his bro a double take, fully understanding whatever Mondo was talking about.

"I...But, Bro! If we do then..." he tried to dissuade his bro, but the biker's mind was clearly made up.

"Yeah, I know, I know...but we aren't gonna get anywhere like this." Taka looked like he was going to protest again, but then he got a good look at Modno's face, and froze.

I be honest, Mondo looked exhausted. His eyes looked half open and had gained a dark ring under them. Behind those weird eyelashes of his I could see just how unfocused and depressing his gaze was. His shoulders had sagged as well, his jacket looking like the smallest motion would cause it to roll off of his back to the floor at any second.

My man was clearly tired of this trial, and it showed, and not even the socially inept Taka could miss it. The moral compass bit his lip, silently taking in his bro's words, and appearance. Then, his own shoulders fell as he closed his eyes and sighed understandably.

"...F-fine. Yes, you're...you're right bro."

"Hold on, I'm so confused right now." Hiro cut in, looking back and forth between the bronarians "What are you guys talking about?"

Taka took a moment to look at Mondo one more time, seemingly asking for the man's approval. When the biker solemnly nodded, the compass straightened up with his arms behind his back, and closed his eyes. "...Before we begin, I would like to apologize once more...we didn't intend for this to get this far, but it seems we have no choice in the matter. Chihiro is correct. He was not attacked in the locker rooms...he never was..."

It was now apparently Hifumi's turn to double take as he shouted, "W-whaaaaaa!"

"As I had been telling you all earlier," Taka explained, opening his eyes for the others as he continued. "I was in the middle of chasing a person in a mask that had assaulted us. When I arrived in the locker rooms, I saw that the boy's locker room had been propped open by a duffel bag. I am...uncertain if it was the one we were discussing earlier. More importantly, I heard voices coming from the locker room and assumed that the assailant had gone in, so I gave chase."

"And? Was it them?" Kyoko pushed, to which Taka shook his head.

"Negative. What I found instead was Chihiro and Mondo, engaged in conversation."

"But why were you two together?"

Chihiro took a moment to glance at Mondo, and when the biker gave him a little nudge, he nodded back and explained. "I asked Mondo to meet with me there last night, because I wanted to talk with him. I wanted to...try. I wanted to try to change myself, to become stronger...like him."

"Dude...I'm not…" Mondo started, but quickly cut his losses and grunted before continuing. "But yeah, he called me out because Mono-fuck's little 'reveal' B.S."

"The motives, you wanted to tell Mondo your secret, didn't you Chihiro." Makoto quickly pieced together. "That's why you chose to do it at night, when no one would be able to walk in on you."

"Yes, that's right." Chihiro nodded, looking down in dismay. "I...I didn't want to be caged by my weakness anymore. But, I didn't know how everyone would react...so..."

He trailed off, but it didn't take long for Celeste to pick up where he'd left off. "Ah, you decided to explain it one on one on your own terms, rather then allow Monokuma to do it for you."

"Well, yes...that was part of it. But it was also so that I could try to become stronger, so that it couldn't keep dragging me down." he then put up his little fists and he clenched them as hard as he could. "I wanted...I want to change. I don't want to be weak anymore."

"And you figured Mondo would be your best bet?" Celeste questioned, though from the way she said it, it was clear that it was intended as a slight against Mondo's character.

Naturally, he caught that and snapped back, "Hey, what's that supposed to mean!?"

Celeste gave him a pleasant smile and said, "Well, as we've all seen, you are far from the most agreeable of role models. Why, I dare say that I would have been concerned that you would be just as likely to assault Chihiro as you would assist him."

"Anyway, so, Taka interrupted you're conversation." Kyoko cut in before things could escalate. "What happened next?"

Taka was breifly startled, but was quick to continue his explanation. "Ah, yes! Well, you see...I was running high on adrenaline, and I was at the time still unaware of Chihiro's gender, so when I saw them both together in the boy's locker room together, I may have..."

"Bro, don't try and sugar coat it. You were practically riding my ass when you saw us..." Mondo deadpanned as he looked at the sheepish moral, before quickly turning to snap at the giggling serial killer, "Not like that you creepy fuck!"

"Y-yes. Well. You aren't...entirely wrong." Taka admitted reluctantly.

"So, what happened next?"

Chihiro chimed in again to Kyoko's prompting, "Well, while they were arguing, I...had a...I had a mental breakdown...I just...I couldn't handle them fighting, so I...I ran away."

"Chihiro." Hina said sympathetically looking fit to cry, before turning to the two Bros and shouting, "How could you two do that to him! Weren't you guys all, 'brother bonds are the strongest there is', or something?"

Mondo and Taka both looked suitably ashamed of themselves, neither one able to look the little programmer in the eyes. Nor were they particularly willing to look at anyone else for that matter. All Taka could ever argue with was, "It was...It was never our intent to hurt him." but it fell on unsympathetic ears.

However, Byakuya was more focused on other matters. "You said that you ran away. Where exactly did you run away too?"

"Well, obviously he must have run out of the door out, right?" Leon tried to theorize, but Chihiro shot that down.

"Actually, I couldn't go that way. Mondo and Taka were both blocking the door, and I didn't want to go near them. So, I ran the other way, towards the pool."

"Oh, I got it! I see what happened now!" Hiro suddenly interrupted. "You ran in to the pool room, then while you were distracted by Taka and Mondo's argument, that was when you were attacked by the masked attacker."

"No. Like I said, I was never attacked by anyone." Chihiro refuted, looking rather irritated at the interruption. "It was an accident...well, I don't know exactly what happened, one minute I was running around the pool, then my foot suddenly slipped, and there was a sharp pain in my head. I blacked out."

"Wait...you were running around the pool!?" Hina suddenly gasped, looking both horrified and enraged simultaneously. "You're never supposed to run around the pool! that's, like, one of the first things they tell you not to do!"

Chihiro flinched back waving his hands in panic "I-I know. I'm sorry, I was just so panicked that...I just didn't think of it."

Makoto put his hand to his chin in thought, "...Chihiro, must have slipped and hit his head. That would explain why he blacked out. That must also be why his head was bleeding."

"You sound quite sure of yourself there." Celeste stated, to which Makoto's hand moved from his chin to his chest as he presented his case.

"I am, because I saw proof of it right next to the pool. Leon found a blood splatter by the pool during the investigation, so that must be where Chihiro slipped."

"Uh, don't remind me." Leon grumbled disgruntled. "I nearly took a dive myself when I went to get a good look."

"So, Chihiro fell unconscious from a concussion, is it?" Byakuya scoffed, as if disappointed by how simple the explanation was. "That solves one question, but it doesn't explain the rest of his injuries."

"Actually, I solves a lot more then just that." Kyoko disagreed before turning to address the three involved. "Taka, Mondo, did Chihiro fall into the pool by any chance?"

Hiro was the first to jump to conclusions this time. "Say what!? You mean Mondo tried to drown him in the pool!?"

That was the last straw for poor Kiyotaka. He turned to glare at the seer with a face full of rage. Resentment painted on his face as numerous veins violently pulsed outward and his face turned a volatile shade of red. His teeth gnashed hard as his gums began to bleed from the force he was putting on it. His nostrils flared as steam burst from his lungs with an enraged growl.

"MONDO WAS THE ONE WHO SAVED CHIHIRO'S LIFE!" Taka finally snapped, completely fed up with Hiro's stupid theories. He was done with these infuriatingly pointed accusations aimed pointlessly at him and his closest friend.

I did a double take, and had to rub my eyes to make sure I hadn't seen a hallucination. For a moment, a brief moment, I could have sworn I had seen Taka's hair turn a brilliant shade of white. I could have sworn that his eyebrows had lit aflame with white flames and his eyes lit up a burning red.

Yet, just as quick as it came, it was gone, and Taka was just like he always was, albeit panting with burnt rage as he glared with resentment and the startled and terrified clairvoyant.

"...Are you okay Taka?" Sayaka asked soothingly. Taka panted, looking ready to snap again, but when he turned to glare at her, and possibly tell her off, he saw how concerned she looked, as well as the looks of the others, and he deflated very quickly.

"I...My apologies, I..." He started, clearly struggling to find the words. "It's just...Bro was the one to save Chihiro...but everyone has been on his case about this whole trail, and I..."

Ah, so that's what his problem was. Taka's sense of justice and overwhelming desire for camaraderie finally snapped out of his control.

Idly I wondered what would have happened had he been in a weakened mental state when that happened. In the game his mental fortitude failed him and he turned himself into a weird amalgamation of his personality and his perceived opinion of Mondo. I wonder what would have happened if he was pushed to the breaking point without the death of his friend hanging over his head.

Meh, theories for another time.

"Dude, Bro, it's okay. Chill, man." Mondo reassured him, and had he been closer I would have sworn that he would have pat the man on the back for defending him.

"I...Yes, as I was saying." Taka gave his bro a small smile, then continued his explanation. "Mondo and I were in the middle of our…mild spat, when we heard the sound of something hitting the water. When we went to investigate, we found Chihiro, but he was under the water and was sinking fast."

The more emotional students gasped in shock and Sayaka shuttered as she whispered, "Oh no! Chihiro was…!"

"And that was why his letter was ruined." Kyoko suddenly interrupted with an observation of her own.

"Yes, exactly. I hesitated for a second, but Mondo dove right in after him and pulled him to the surface. From there, we tried to preform emergency CPR, but..." Taka hesitated for a moment as he recalled, no doubt still a bit shaken up by the memory.

"The dude wasn't waking up. So I might have...well. Lost my cool for a second." Mondo admitted, rubbing his neck sheepishly. Not many of them understood what he meant, but once Chihiro rubbed his chest with a sudden look of understanding, it clicked.

"So that's why Chihiro's ribs were broken." Leon stated, his jaw drooping in stunned shock.

Mondo flinched, but couldn't deny it. "Yeah...that is the reason. Sorry bout that."

"That was very reckless though, gotta say." I taunted through Monokuma. "I mean, hammering someone with broken rib right in the chest? I'm actually shocked that you didn't cause a heart palpitation, or puncture a lung or two. Hey Makoto, better watch out, Chihiro's gunning for your title!"

Mondo seethed in rage at me, and looked fit to attack. Fortunately, Chihiro was quick to grab his sleeve and take his attention away. "It's okay. I mean...they'll heal. They hurt, but, it was because of that that I was saved, right? You saved my life Mondo."

Mondo looked away, clearly at war with himself over something. Eventually though he muttered a guilty sounding. "Y-yeah, anytime dude. Don't mention it."

I tried to to think too hard about the small blush on the biker's cheeks. Chihiro, even knowing that he was a boy, was very cute. For all of Mondo's bluster, he was still ingrained with the human desire to be looked up to by something cute. Now, I will totally tease the hell out of him for it later, but not right now.

Specifically because Celeste had a question of her own. "Anyway, that solves some mysteries, but that doesn't explain how you three men got into the girl's locker room. Care to enlighten us?"

"I can."

Celeste took a brief moment to register the speaker, before her delacate eyebrow rose as she stared. "...you can? Sakura, are you saying, you were involved in this?"

"It was after Taka came back to get us and informed us that Chihiro was hurt." the massive girl explained, looking significantly stressed as she spoke. "Hina and I both went with to assist with treating Chihiro's injuries."

Hina then cut in, her expression painted in guilt and fatigue. "Yeah, although they didn't tell us about all of this. They only told us that Chihiro was hurt."

"When we arrived, we realized that we didn't have a way to safely transport her downstairs to the infirmary. That was when..." Sakura paused for a second, her expression steely as she considered her words, before continuing. "Mondo suggested that we take Chihiro to the girl's locker room, so that we could treat him as best we could. Then we would transfer him to the infirmary after we insured he wouldn't suffer more injury."

I sat back as I considered the pause in her explanation. I doubt most of the other's noticed it, but it was clear that she was going to say a different name entirely. So, someone else likely told them this, and regrettably, I think I realized exactly who that was.

"And because you all thought he was a girl, you didn't think once about taking him into the girl's locker room." Kyoko continued, with both girls nodding in agreement.

"But how did you get past the gun?" Hiro muttered in terror. "I mean, wouldn't that thing turn you guys into a bloody slurry?"

"Not if you enter from the pool side!" Hina corrected, but then pulled back as a thought occurred. "Though, now that I think of it, I thought it was weird when she...Ah, I mean when Mondo told us about that little glitch."

Yep, that confirmed it. I quickly cut in before anyone could capitalize on that little hiccup of hers. "UNBELIEVABLE! You would taint the solidarity of this school like this! The audacity! The gall!...and you didn't even have the decency to use it to commit a murder! I mean really!"

"So, you knew about that?" Sayaka asked, to which I dropped the act. "Oh, yeah, totally. Why do you think I bought up the Gatling gun in the first place? If someone smart realized that they only work on one end, then it would make things so much more difficult for the stupid or unobservant people to miss…"

I paused for dramatic effect before having Monokuma straighten up in its seat. "That being said, I was serious about it being a deterrent for inappropriate behavior. I see anyone getting frisky in there, I will shoot you."

"I still don't understand your meaning." Taka interrupted, genuinely confused. "The locker room is reserved for changing clothes and exercise, there's nothing that anyone could reasonably do otherwise."

"...Oh, you sweet summer child." That was all I could say, and all I needed to say. Mondo was glaring at me, Chihiro was blushing, Hifumi was sweating, Jill was giggling like a hyena, and Makoto was quick to want to get back on track.

"So, after you brought Chihiro into the girl's locker room, you rearranged the crime scene to make it look like she had been attacked in that room..."

"Yeah. That was my idea." Mondo confessed with a guilty scratch of his neck "Don't get mad at the others okay, I was the one that set the whole thing up. I just...I didn't want to break my promise, ya know? From one man to another."

"Your promise to Chihiro that you wouldn't tell anyone about them being a boy?" Makoto asked, before elaborating. "That was why you got rid of his E-handbook and the duffel bag. You wanted to keep his secret safe."

Mondo nodded before turning to the side. "Yeah, that's why I told them to help me with it. Sorry..."

"Honestly, how did you even manage to persuade the other's to assist you?" Celeste questioned. "Surely it wasn't easy to convince them to assist in hiding the truth."

"He didn't need too." Taka admitted. "Once I informed him of the masked assailant, we agreed to use the room as a trap for them. As we weren't able to safely bring Chihiro down to the infirmary..."

He trailed off as he looked at the programmer with guilt, with was mirrored by Mondo, Hina, and Sakura. Chihiro didn't need clarification though and looked mildly upset at them. "You decided to use me as bait."

It was a statement, not a question, and they both flinched. All Taka could do was say, "My apologies."

"Yeah, sorry man." Mondo continued the train, with both Hina and Sakura both saying in unison, "Sorry."

Chihiro said nothing for a while, leaving them to squirm under the critical gazes of their peers, but he eventually sighed. "...It's...I'm not happy that I was used for something like that, but...If it gave us a chance to protect everyone, then..."

There was a deep scowl forming on Mondo's face at the statement. "Dude, no one should be okay with being used like that."

"Coming from the guy who used him..." Leon bitterly muttered. Mondo couldn't even deny it, he just turned away in shame alone with Taka, Hina, and Sakura.

Chihiro was silent for a moment as he thought about maters, internalizing everything that had been said. He took what he'd heard, what he'd been given and whatever he figured out on his own, and just thought about it. The four students at fault and the other students waited with anticipation, seemingly on pins and needles as they waited to hear the small boy's opinion on the matter. Eventually, Chihiro sighed, and gave them a firm stare.

"I'm not okay with it." Chihiro corrected, as he crossed his arms. "But, what can I say? It's already been done. I can be mad about it later. Right now isn't the time. We'll...we'll talk about it later, when we aren't in a trial."

The others sighed, readily agreeing to let that matter wait as they discussed the important matters. There was a scoff from Byakuya and a sigh from Celeste, both clearly not happy with this, but they said nothing about it. Leon clenched his fists, and snapped his head to one side, clearly upset about something, but I didn't have the context to guess as to why.

So, there it was. That was the entire scheme that Junko had at play. She fooled them into setting up a trap for a person that they didn't know was right next to them the entire time, played Byakuya like a fiddle to get him to set up a case, and in the end there was no culprit that could be found with what they had access too.

"Well, that does explain what happened." Byakuya started, but then he pointed out something they were dreading, but weren't prepared for. "However, it doesn't solve the biggest issue here. You said that the entire reason that you didn't tell anyone about this was so that we could catch this masked individual, and yet I don't think that we are any closer then when we began."

The class blinked as one, and Taka bit his lib with a look of pure unadulterated agony on his face. "Nggh."

"That is true." Celeste conceded. "Furthermore, we wasted so much of our limited time simply to learn what could easily have been established with a few minutes explanation."

"Perhaps." Kyoko pondered. "However, we have managed to establish who it could not be at the least."

She was right, in a way. There was nearly no doubt that none of the night watch, Chihiro, or Mondo were their culprit as they all had an alibi. Most everyone else had a voucher through Taka, and others didn't match up with their description of the physical features of their culprit. Furthermore, there were the ones who were too injured to do it.

"But, that doesn't help us does it?" Mukuro frowned as she ran the data through her head. "Far as I can tell, that means no one here could be that masked guy, right?"

"Miss Enoshima does raise a good point." Hifumi agreed, "Do we have anything else to go on that could assist? A picture? Another account? Anything?"

"You three were the ones who witnessed the individual. Did you happen to make note of any distinguishing features? Anything at all could help narrow down the search." Kyoko asked the night crew.

"Well, there isn't much to note." Taka began, the fingers of one of his hands wrapped around his chin as he remembered. "If I recall correctly, they were a little taller then I am. Approximately...I would hazard a guess of around a hundred sixty-five to a hundred seventy centimeters. They were rather thin, from what I could tell with their baggy pants and lab coat. Their mask was similar to that of a luchadour's and bore a large grin, two large one way cloth eye covers, and it bore a red mark on the forehead. Plus, I can confirm that they have a very firm grip."

"That was...oddly specific." Leon noted with a raised brow.

Taka only crossed his chest as he proudly stated, "Thank you! Before they gave us the run around, I did attempt to confront them in person. Regrettably, I was caught off guard and they threw me to the ground before I could apprehend and subdue them. I did my best to make sure not to forget a single detail about their appearance though!"

"It was at that point they revealed the knife, correct?" Kyoko inquired, to which Sakura took over.

"Nay. They had reveled it prior to throwing Taka to the ground. Tis what caught him so off guard."

"And they didn't use it on you?" Leon asked, before quickly realizing what that would sound like if left alone and correcting himself. "I mean, I'm glad that they didn't, but it's like, why go for Hina when they already had you on the ground?"

"I don't know." Taka admitted frustrated confusion in his voice. "I had the wind knocked out of me, I certainly would have made for the easier target all things considered."

"Maybe they just wanted to see if those chest balloons of hers would pop? They certainly look inflated!" Jill unhelpfully added, to Hina's immediate annoyance.

"Leave my chest out of this!" Hina crossed her arms over her chest as well as turning away from her and crossing her arms, as if trying to shield her mounds from the serial killer's comments.

I noticed out of the corner of my eye Makoto seemed to be lost in thought of his own, his eyes closed as he contemplated what he was hearing and compared it to what had been said before. Sayaka must have noticed how quiet he was, because she turned to him with a concerned look.

"Makoto? Is there something wrong?" She asked, momentarily startling the luckster out of his train of thought.

"Oh, no it's..." He paused for a second, but then turned to look at the group as a whole. "Well, I've just been thinking but...what if the masked person was trying to lure Taka to Chihiro and Mondo?"

"What?" said biker and moral asked, but Makoto raised a hand to his chest and continued, "Hear me out, this person came out of the cafeteria, showed you a knife in their hands, but then they only threw Taka to the floor, and then threw the knife at Hina and ran. They didn't attack anyone else, and they didn't do anything but run and hide on the first floor. With me so far?"

"Okay, yeah. I don't see where you're going with this, but go on." Makoto gave Hiro a deadpanned glare, but then continued his theory.

"Well, it was only after Taka was separated from the group did they go to the second floor. In fact, they went straight to the locker rooms, right?" Taka nodded along, not quite seeing where he was going with this, but Byakuya was quick to see where this was going.

"I see. So you believe that they must have known that Chihiro and Mondo were meeting in secret, and wanted to lead Kiyotaka to them." he crossed his arms and turned to look at the luckster with a questioning gaze. "I'll admit, it does seem to be the most logical conclusion to draw, but I fail to see what the end goal would be."

The luckster then turned to him with a look. "Well, this might be a stretch but, what if they knew about Chihiro and Mondo's meeting beforehand and were trying to prevent it?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Mondo asked, shocked and bewildered by the luckster's theory.

"Well, it's just..." Makoto paused as he debated how to answer, but eventually continued. "Mondo, has proven that he's a bit...rough around the edges, and somewhat prone to violence. What if this person heard about their meeting and decided to interfere. What if they thought that Mondo was going to attack Chihiro, and decided to interrupt it."

Mondo froze in complete and total shock, but both Chihiro and Taka slapped their stands and shouted at the luckster, "Mondo wouldn't do that!"

"I know! I know." Makoto held up his hands to placate the ire aimed at him. "But, if I hadn't met Mondo and only saw what happened on the first day, you can't say that it would look good."

The two defenders of Mondo's honor couldn't even deny that point. They clearly wanted to, with how they both pursed their lips they were certainly ready too, but they knew it was true that Mondo had painted a bad first impression for himself.

"I know that it's just a theory, but when you look back on their actions, doesn't that make the most sense?" Makoto continued, holding up fingers as he listed the oddities. "Why would you wear a mask if you aren't going to do anything? Why take a weapon if you aren't going to hide it, or use it when you had an opportunity?"

"They were already concealing their identity." Kyoko added to the luckster's theory. "If they had wished, they absolutely could have killed Taka then and there and none of us would have known who it was."

While Taka was busy going pale at the realization of how close he had been to death, Makoto continued. "There's also the way they kept showing up before the night watch crew and leading them on a wild goose chase. If you can disappear without a moment's notice, why continue to let yourself get chased? Why not just leave and come back to try again later? It's like with Byakuya framing Sho, it feels to deliberate...too intentional."

The other students pondered over Makoto's theory in silence for a moment, while I was busy juggling the between being impressed, and being a bit intimidated by his ability to figure my actions out. Maybe I had revealed my hand a bit more then I thought I had last night, or I had underestimated just how perceptive he could be with information.

That, or I was being predictable. Not sure why, but that thought annoyed me most of all.

Either way, it was concerning how quickly he had figure out what I had been doing. I would absolutely have to be more wary about my actions going forward if I didn't want to give up the ghost.

"I don't have anything to really prove it." Makoto admitted. "But, nothing else I can think of seems to feel...right."

"Master Neagi makes a good point." Hifumi agreed, fidgeting in his stand as he thought. "Whomever this phantom is, they seemed far too knowledgeable of the goings on of others to be shear happenstance."

"Say, Mondo, Chihiro." Byakuya inquired the two. "For the sake of argument, did either of you tell anyone that you were meeting last night?"

"No, I didn't tell anyone." Chihiro denied, followed by Mondo. "Dude made me promise not to say anything to anyone, so I didn't either."

"And you were sure that no one was listening in on you?" Kyoko pressed, but both teens nodded their heads in response, positive that they had been alone.

"So, then how did they find out about the meeting?" Byakuya asked as all of them pondered to themselves. Eyes wandered as they all tried to think about who it was that could be behind that mask, who it could be that had them all so confused. Who among them could know something they shouldn't know, enter areas they shouldn't be able to, preform feats that they shouldn't be capable of; essentially, be a phantom.

"Argh! I don't get it, who is it!?" Mondo growled as he looked at everyone in frustration. Yet, no one had an answer for him. They simply couldn't think of anyone that could match the description.

Then, as if to make matters even more frustrating, someone else just had to have an epiphany. Someone else just had to realize something that would derail the argument once again.

"So...wait, then who is the culprit?" Hiro suddenly asked. "If it's not Byakuya, and it's not Mondo, and Taka didn't do it, then...who is the one that gets punished?"

I frowned as I folded my hands together, ignoring the class as they all began to let this all sink in. This entire thing was pointless, wasn't it? There was no culprit, no assailant, just a series of mistakes and misdirects by me and Junko. I couldn't punish anyone reasonably like this, now could I? This ruins the entire premise of a fair game where I only hurt an assailant.

Sayaka was one thing. She had deliberately made the attempt to kill Leon and then just ended up hurting herself by mistake. She had managed to hurt Yasuhiro, and had tried to frame Makoto. No one could refute her guilt, nor deny what she'd done.

Chihiro didn't attack anyone, he was the victim. He did end up causing his head injury and nearly drowning, but that wasn't really something to punish. Mondo might be since he did the stupid act of hammering Chihiro's chest, but that was the only thing that could have saved him. Byakuya could work, but he didn't really do anything to hurt anyone, just messed around with people.

So, there wasn't really anyone that could reasonably be punished here, was there? How do I do this then? How do I justify this whole stupid trial?

"...Actually, that might not necessarily be so simple." Kyoko stated after a while. Hiro just clutched his head and groaned at the detective's answer.

"Like this is simple?" He bemoaned.

"We seem to have forgotten something important during the course of the trial." She elaborated as she crossed her arms, while an uncomfortable look entered her eyes. "The trial was not so much to find out a specific culprit. This was always one of Monokuma's supplementary trials, and was to find an investigator."

Leon blinked as he stared at her. "Wait, I don't get it. Isn't that the same thing."

"Not necessarily." Byakuya picked up, a similarly uncomfortable expression on his face. "Much like with Sayaka's trial, we were looking for the one who caused the incident to begin with. In her case, it was simple because she was the one who caused the whole incident to begin with. However, had someone had taken the opportunity to kill someone during that event, we would be focused on finding them because their crime was of a higher priority."

"True. For example, had Leon cornered her in Makoto's dorm and finished her off, it wouldn't have mattered that she was the instigator in that case." Celeste added on. Sayaka flinched in response as she clutched her still injured wrist, but could say nothing to deny it. Leon on the other hand was too busy fuming to retort.

"I see. So, we only need to find the one who caused events to transpire, hmm?" Hifumi muttered as he rubbed his second chin in thought. "Well, if that is the case, then wouldn't Master Fujisaki be the culprit?"

Chihiro jumped in shock, but wasn't given a chance to speak before Mondo slammed his fist down on the podium. "Hey, dumbass! You wanna run that shit by me again!?"

"EEEEE!" Hifumi squealed, before ducking down behind his own podium. "I-I mean no o-offense, but Master Fujisaki w-was the one to invite you to the locker rooms. A-and he was the one w-who injured himself, nearly drowning in the process. W-would that not make his actions the catalyst?"

Mondo looked like he was going to leap over the podium and beat a nerd half to death, but fortunately Makoto intervened. "No, I don't think that works in this case. Chihiro did invite Mondo and did hurt himself, that was all accidental. He didn't plan for anyone to get hurt, right Chihiro?"

"No, never." the programmer denied, horrified by just the implication. "I would never do that!"

"What about Mondo or Byakuya?" Leon asked, using his thumb to point at the former, then the latter. "I mean, they did set this whole thing up."

Mondo growled in frustration, but it was shockingly Byakuya that came to the rescue. "Unfortunately, while Mondo's actions did lead to Chihiro's injuries, he was also the one to save his life due to them. Furthermore, as Kiyotaka so claimed, I only altered the crime scene further. Hardly a punishable offense in this case."

"Argh! We're just going around in circles here!" Taka complained, "We need to make a decision!"

"How!?" Mukuro snapped back. "We're all out of clues! Maybe if we had, like, something new we could do something, but I don't see anyone pulling any new evidence out of their ass."

"I doubt that it would be that simple." Kyoko confirmed. "The issue is that none of the involved parties did anything that deliberately harmed anyone outside of our masked individual, and it's quite clear that don't know who they are with what little clues we have."

"So, what do we do, just guess and hope we get lucky?" Hiro questioned halfheartedly, however, she said nothing for a moment.

Kyoko was silent for a moment as she pondered over the options that they had left. That is to say, she pondered to by time. She clearly couldn't think of anything to advance things, but as it stood, they weren't going to make any progress unless they did something different. Something daring. Something reckless.

Then, it seemed something came to her, but from the way she grimaced, it wasn't an idea that she was overly fond of. Plus, since she look right at Monokuma when she did, I think I understood why. Specifically, she was glaring at the little light up board sitting next to the bear with a glowing B on it.

One of many little upgrades I had done to the trial room.

"...I believe, we may have to make a difficult gamble if we are to find out who our masked intruder is." Kyoko stated, and when the others followed her line of sight, all but two of them mirrored her expression.

"...Are you really sure you want to do that?" I asked, concerned. "After all, you know what happens if the grade point average goes down too far...right?"

"I am aware of the risks." Kyoko assured, then turned to the others. "If we can get any closure on the matter, even if it's only a hint, then it will be the chance we'll have to risk. Otherwise, we will continue walking blindly into disaster. Besides, you said that this was to make the game fair, did you not?"

Mukuro and Sayaka were the only exception, the former asking, "What's got your guys goat all of a sudden? I mean, I'm not a fan of the bear either, but..."

"...I know that you aren't saying anything, and yet somehow I still feel insulted." The fact that she couldn't even say anything positive said a lot more then I thought it would. Like, she looked physically pained at the idea of making a counter point. I honestly didn't know if I should feel proud at my acting for making that her response or annoyed by her lack of retort.

"Is there something we should know about?" Sayaka asked, completely ignoring me and my Monokuma's stink eye. Mukuro just stuck her tongue out in response.

"Oh, yeah right. I keep forgetting that you weren't there for the first trial." Hiro muttered. Meanwhile, I gave Mukuro a middle...claw and pulled down the lower eyelid with the other paw.

I don't know why that was a feature that it could do, but it was.

"Monokuma told us during the first class trial that, if we ever get stuck during the supplementary trails, we could request a hint to point us in the right direction." Makoto explained, purposefully trying to ignore Mukuro as she fished up her nose with her thumb and wiggled her fingers. "However, every time we do, that 'grade point' goes down."

"That can't be it, yes?" She asked, doing her best to stare at the little screen and not at Monokuma shaking and smacking its buttock at Mukuro. "Not to complain, but doesn't that seem a little too skewed to one side? What happens if it goes all they way down?"

"If it reaches a failing grade point, the culprit automatically wins and the rest of us are punished as a result. Plus, as you can see, it persists from trial to trial, making every subsequent trial more precarious." Byakuya explained, before turning to glare at me with both of Monokuma's lids pulled down and Mukuro pulling at the sides of her lips with her eyes rolled back. "Do you both quite mind? We're trying to have a serious discussion here."

"Oh, so am I." I said as I balanced Monokuma upside down on his head. "And I'm failing, and I'm sorry for that. Please, continue."

Mukuro scoffed as she straightened up and looked to one side. "Well, it's not like we've got any other options, right? We've already milked all the rest of the evidence dry of ideas, and I for one am sick of us spinning our wheels like this. I say we take a chance and go for it."

"I don't disagree with agreeing!" Jill helpfully added happily, but not everyone was so easily convinced.

"B-But...what if it doesn't help?" Hifumi stuttered. "We only get so many of these hints, right? Plus, Mister Monokuma said that there's no guarantee that it will help! We could be risking our lives for nothing!"

"But we could learn far more then before!" Taka refuted. "While I despise the idea of lowering our grade on principle, I believe that it to be worth it if we can finally settle this issue once and for all!"

"Yeah, what you said Bro!" Mondo agreed readily. "Besides, C's still a passing grade, right? We can still make it up."

"I really don't think that's how it works in this case." Hina sighed, but then pumped her fists. "But, you're right it is our best shot right now! 'He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.' That's from the famous boxer, Muhammad Ali."

Hiro jumped back, before clutching his side in pain, and looking at her like she had lost a screw. "How about instead, 'Never try, never fail.'"

"We'll never find the truth if we don't try." Makoto countered the paranoid clairvoyant before turning to my puppet. "Monokuma, give us the hint."

I smiled, for there was that spirit I was looking for, the drive to succeed beyond despair. It wasn't quite at the level I would prefer, there were still too many of them that were full of doubts, but it was better then last time.

Still, what hint should I give them? What should I say to point them in the right direction? Who do we point the finger at in this particular case?

Ah, I know! With but a thought, I turned on the mic ready to begin speaking...

Bum-bump

Suddenly, my heart lurched in my chest, and my head began to swim. My vision began to twist and spin like paint on a Rorschach painting, splitting and forming into a gloppy mess. My mouth opened in a silent scream as I lurched forward, spittle bursting out of my mouth as I heaved. Next, my head began to ache, a violent, throb cutting through my thoughts and leaving naught but white noise.

What...what was happening? What was this? What was this sudden wave of sickening dread I felt gripping the back of my head?

What...What...What…

'¿ǝɯ ssᴉɯ noʎ pᴉp'

No...Not you! Not now!

My face hit the keyboard with a dull thunk as I pitched forward and mashed some keys with my forehead, the sudden burst of pain helping to ground my thoughts momentarily as I clutched my head in agony. With that brief lucidity, I quickly snapped my gaze around, trying to find...there! With shaky hands, I slapped around on the desk, trying to find the can of Blue Ram. Why was it so far away!?

Eventually, I felt it in my palm it and snatched it up. Furiously I fumbled with the tab, my quivering fingers continuously missing to my frustration. Eventually, I managed to get it under the tab and furiously flicked it open with click, the sounds of carbonated fizz assaulting my ears. Part of my fuzzing mind idly wondered if a drink designed to help you relax should be making that sound, but the much larger and panicking part demand I shut up and drink before it was too late.

I pitched the drink back and began to chug, the bubbles stinging my throat and threatened to force the drink up my nose, but I persevered, gulping the fruity, yet weirdly chemically tasting liquid like a dying man in a desert. I didn't dare stop till the whole can was empty, drinking every last drop I could get. Once I was sure I couldn't get anything else out of it, I threw it away with disgust and panted violently.

There that should do it. I smiled to myself as I felt the tremors slowly fade, my racing heart returning to it's normal beat. I sighed in relief when my vision began to return to normal, the sickening swirls returning to its normal appearance I was accustomed to.

Well, that was an experience. I don't know what that was but...I was glad...that it...was...over…

Why was everything going black…?

...Oh...maybe drinking that whole can...was a bad...idea…

I slumped over on the desk, my energy gone. Maybe, I could just...rest my eyes for a second…

Someone was laughing…?

'˙ʎɐld oʇ uɹnʇ ʎɯ s,ʇI ˙oʞunſ 'ʇɥƃᴉu 'ʎʇɥƃᴉN'

...

Kyoko was not one who was used to dealing with the weird and nonsensical. If you were to say that was a fact, she would say that, you weren't entirely wrong. She was used to dealing with the strange and quirky personalities in this school pretty well at this point. There were still a few outliers that confused her thus far, but she liked to think that she had a basic understanding of most every person here.

Monokuma was still one exception that boggled her mind, but that didn't mean that she didn't have at least an idea of what they were about. They were, in many ways, childish, cynical, and critical. They were obsessed with rules and following them to the letter, but only so they could laugh when someone found ways around those same rules. They were fans of causing discord among people and loved poking and prodding their weaknesses to prompt them into committing atrocities.

They also seemed to have this unspoken hang up with intimacy for some reason.

Whoever this Monokuma was, they were horribly egotistical as well. They were clearly really intelligent, well beyond what the ridiculous bear robot would suggest. They knew people, knew how they ticked, knew how they operated, and most of all, knew how to read them and twist their morals.

They were deeply disturbed and believed in their own hype, but they did have some justification for it. They were shrewd and cunning, and very dangerous.

The most important thing though, is that they didn't have a clear motivation for doing anything that they did. As far as she could see, there wasn't any reason for it but to show off the cruelty that people held deep with in and to lord over them their superiority over them.

However, then she saw something that made her wonder if there might be more to them then she first thought. Something...unexpected.

It started suddenly, Monokuma looked like he was going to give them what they had coming. After Makoto told them to give the hint, they had tapped the little monitor by their gaudy throne to turn it from a B to a C, and then looked like they were going to speak.

But then, something went wrong. Monokuma suddenly flopped forward with a disgusting heave, nearly falling off the cushion in the process. They then slammed their paw down and seemed to claw at the air for a second, almost like they were desperately grasping for something.

It took her a second, but when Monokuma suddenly put its paws together like he was holding something, she realized that this wasn't part of whatever show Monokuma was normally about. No, something was clearly going on with the Mastermind behind Monokuma, and whatever it was, it was bad.

Glancing at the others, she saw they were just as befuddled as she was, staring at the animatronic bear with undisguised confusion of their own. Even the normally stoic ones of them, like Byakuya and Celeste, were completely unsure what to make of the situation, though they were quick to mask it when they caught her gaze on them.

Strangely, Junko had thrown herself fully onto her podium as she stared at Monokuma with what was flat out an irrational amount of concern. Had it not been for her injuries, Kyoko was convinced that she was about to leap off her stand and rush over to Monokuma's side to assist. An ultimately pointless endeavor, yet still damning.

Kyoko narrowed her eyes. Something wasn't adding up there. Why would she be that concerned for someone that had all but crippled her in their attempt to kill her? There was no logic to it, no reason for it. So why?

Whatever the Mastermind was trying to open, they evidently succeeded as they suddenly pitched back like they were swallowing something and then flopped over and laid back panting, as if they had just ran a marathon. For a moment, Monokuma was silent, saying nothing as they lay.

None of the others spoke as they watched, completely baffled by whatever was wrong with the Mastermind. Whether it was fear of how the Mastermind would react, or uncertainty of the situation, she could only speculate. Kyoko herself was busy with her own theories to concern herself.

Their movements just now, if Monokuma's movements were a true reflection of how the Mastermind's then were they suffering from something? The way they shuttered and shook, it was almost like they were having some kind of issue, possibly medical in nature. A heart attack, maybe?

Whatever it was, they clearly had to pull out something important and take it. Logic would dictate then that they must have had to taken some form of medicine just then, but then what kind, and for what? Was whatever they were suffering dangerous, and if it was, was it contagious?

If they had to take medicine, then they had to be getting it from somewhere. However, the nurses office didn't have anything beyond over the counter pharmaceuticals, and certainly nothing for anything of extreme of a reaction. Monokuma said that their basic needs could be improved upon, so items had to be able to enter the school, so pharmaceuticals weren't out of the question. Yet, that meant that someone had to be collaborating outside of the school to bring those items.

Could whoever it was outside be forcing the Mastermind to do this to them under threat? If the Mastermind needed medicine, then could it be that they were just as much a victim in this case as they were? If so, that would explain why some of their rules seemed so counterproductive for a killing game.

Kyoko shook her head. No, it was too early to craft any theories. If she didn't keep an open mind then she could make the mistake of trying to shoehorn future information to fill a narrative instead of logical facts and reasoning. She would simply file the idea for the future, and wait till she had all of the facts, then she could begin to properly puzzle this together.

Suddenly, Monokuma went completely still, almost unnaturally still. Then, slowly, dare she say robotically, it sat up straight. There was something different about their captor as they looked at them all. It was subtle, but it was noticeable to someone like her. She couldn't quite personify it, but it was definitely there.

Monokuma then gave a fake cough, cleared their throat, and spoke, but it wasn't the same tone that she or any of them were used to. It was much more subdue, more measured and calm, almost calculating and yet tired sounding. There was also, for some unknown reason, what could possibly be an American accent to their words. But all thoughts on that were shoved aside by what they said.

"Sorry about that. Now, as I was saying. If I have to say who the masked person is, I guess you can say that, they are an enemy. Not just to you, but to me as well."

The voice was definitely more bitter and commanding then the disturbingly jolly and carefree voice they were used to, and it showed in the way it had all of them on edge. It was certainly more mature sounding then anything they had heard from the animatronic plushy. Seeing as they weren't going to speak, Monokuma continued.

"Think of them as an obstacle in your path to success. A bonus boss, if you will." The bear then tucked both paws behind their back, and turned their head just so that they looked more intimidating then before, as the squeaky voice of Monokuma pitched down just a little to let them hear their anger. "You see, they are a cheater in our game of hope and despair. One that has already violated many rules to mess with you; and by extension me."

That seemed to finally snap some of them out of their stunned state, but it was only by replacing that with anger and confusion.

"What!?" Taka shouted, affronted by the very idea of a cheater or scared by the implication, Kyoko didn't know. Only that he was extremely vexed by the news. "A cheater!? We already are being forced against each other, and you mean to say that someone is breaking rules!?"

"That is...most inexcusable." Celeste gave a measured response, but it was clear that she was quite cross. "It is bad enough that we are forced to obey these rules lest we risk our own demise, and to hear that someone is doing so without recourse is quite...infuriating."

"Infuriating is the least of it, it's unforgivable." Byakuya added bitterly. "What point is there in playing a game if someone can freely break rules while they rest of us are forced to follow them?"

"You're still talking like that?" Sayaka asked him horrified.

"It's not that simple." Monokuma stated, putting both its paws together in front of its face. "You see, they managed to take something very precious of mine, and that thing allows them to traverse the systems of the school, unhindered by the walls that stop you all. Most importantly, out of range of the disciplinary measures I have set up for rule breakers; like a god damned gofer in my flower garden of despair."

That only scared the more fearful of them as Monokuma growled both sets of claw erupting from his paws as the light in the red scar like eye glowed so brightly that Kyoko almost wondered if it would be able to be a flashlight. Somehow, it seemed like vanes were popping in its forehead as well, and weirder still there was a red tint to the top half of the animatronic bear. Regardless, it was rather intimidating.

"W-whoa, man! C-calm down." Yasuhiro tried to deescalate the situation, shakily holding up his hands towards the robot as if to protect himself if Monokuma decided to attack.

Monokuma didn't respond to the clairvoyant student, but the theatrics did fade as the puppet crossed one of its legs and sheathed their claws. They turned to look at the Moral, then they gave a sinister chuckle.

"W-what's so funny?" Kiyotaka stuttered as he stepped back by the unnerving sight. He wasn't the only one to step back of course, but he was the most obvious about it. Monokuma simply clapped its paws together a few times with a soft pomp sound, clearly amused by something.

"In truth, I have to thank you for requesting that we have a class trial. I was content to ignore them before this, but now that they've drawn their sword against you all, and yet refused to attend the trial in person, not once but twice now..." Monkuma's eyes lit up once more, and a sinister edge coated their next words. "I can make a new rule to put a stop them."

Against her wishes, a chill coursed down her spine at the declaration. No doubt about it, this was something much worse then the playful sadist they had come to despise and fear. This was no simple maniac content to push buttons and let nature take its course. This was someone who was out for blood and was willing to make them complicit in their grievances.

This was a whole new level of monster, and Kyoko found herself actually wishing for the other threat back. That feeling persisted as Monokuma stood up and made his decree.

"From this day forth, I decree, if someone manages to unmask this individual running through this school, I will allow them to leave the school unmolested. And if they happen to kill the masked person, they will not require a class trial."

…

Welcome back everyone, miss me? So, I just checked because I was wondering why the last chapter wasn't getting any traction, and it turns out, I had forgotten to upload it. Doh! So, now instead you all get two chapters this time instead of one!

But now, we're finally wrapping up the second trial, and whoo boy did I leave you all on a cliffhanger. The die has been cast by our parasite friend and our hero/villain will be really feeling the burn from these developments. Mukuro may end up in hot water soon, and poor Chihiro really took a beating this go round. I wonder though, what's the reasoning for that new rule? Tune in next time to find out.

Maybe.

Anyway, here's an omake. Just something silly I had on the back burner that takes place before the Tragedy. Not cannon, just fun. Enjoy.

…

Omake: Poor customer service.

"...Hey, has anyone seen Makoto?"

The class of 87 were all sitting in their classroom, most everyone in attendance despite the lack of mandate for it. The teacher hadn't even arrived for class yet, though considering who it was, it wouldn't have been a surprise if he was either hungover in the teacher's lounge, or curled up next to a porcelain throne somewhere. So, while they waited, there wasn't much to do but chat.

In this particular moment though, the most noticeable thing was that the resident Luckster was MIA.

"Not today?" Leon sat in his chair turning to look at the resident Fashionista his lip pursed in thought. "Yeah, no. I haven't seen him since yesterday."

"Anyone else see him?" Junko asked, clearly bored, but asked anyway.

"Now that you mention it, he didn't answer his phone this morning." Taka noted. "I was planing to give him a morning greeting!"

"Wait, is that why my phone stared going off at such an ungodly hour!?" Leon snapped.

"What do you mean? Six is plenty early! The early bird catches the worm as they say!" Taka laughed uproariously.

"Still," Sayaka noted, ignoring the fuming baseball player as he shook his fist at Kiyotaka. "It is rather late. Do you think something happened?"

"Ah, he probably just lost his shoe in the river again." Mondo shrugged as he swung a leg up onto the desk, also ignoring the way it made Taka's brow twitch. "Dude really needs to get a better pair of he keeps losing them like that."

"That's true, he does seem to be torment with the most unusual set of circumstances some days." Celeste noted as she looked over the pages of drawings Hifumi handed her, making note of the outfits they wore and writing observations and critiques on the side.

"Still, it is rather late, even for his worst days." Chihiro muttered, worriedly. "S-Should we see if anything happened to him?"

"Don't bother." Byakuya sighed, pausing momentarily to glare at Toko for staring at him too hard. "By the time we all get together to leave, he'll most likely walk right through that door with some paltry excuse, and we'll have all been worried for nothing...again."

Before anyone could refute him, there was a sudden high pitch cutesy tone that blared out from Junko's flip phone, startling the classroom into silence. Junko held up her finger asking for a moment, and took a second to check the caller ID. Seemingly satisfied that she knew the caller, she flipped open the phone and answered, "Hello, Makoto? That you...?"

As she listened, Byakuya smirked. "See? No doubt he's calling to tell us he's on the way now, and is probably going to tell us all about how he had to stop and retrieve someone's cat from a tree or something."

"...Hold on, run that by me again? You're saying you...kidnapped my son?"

Byakuya blinked. "...What?"

Junko was silent for a moment, as she listened to the talker, holding up her finger asking for silence. Eventually, she pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed in resignation. "...Okay, just...stop. Stop talking. Okay, first thing, what is that fake accent? I mean, you sound like you're trying to gargle rocks, I can, like, barely make out what you're saying. Say it again, but without the accent..."

There was a slight pause as they processed what she just said. Then, Junko sighed in frustration.

"Because I need to know the full terms of what you're demanding, otherwise how am I supposed to know how much I need to sell my soul to the bank for to meet the price tag. I can't do that if I'm only catching every other word. And come on, that accent makes you sound like a kid who heard what an American accent sounded like once and tried to replicate it, only worst."

Asahina's jaw dropped, "Is she seriously taunting a kidnapper right now?"

"Alright, second of all, why are you calling me? Specifically, I mean. You know, instead of someone like, I don't know, his mother..." After she heard the remark from the other end, Junko sighed. "Yes, I know that it's listed under, 'Sugar Mama'. It's an in joke between us...because every time we go to hangout, Makoto ends up losing his wallet to some random nonsense that's out of his control, and I end up paying for everything."

"...I do believe she is." Sakura confirmed.

Hifumi, however, was caught up on a different detail. "I didn't know that Miss Enoshima and Mister Neagi hung out?"

Mukuro sighed at the question, but said, "Junko has been taking him and myself on shopping excursions every other Sunday, claiming it to be an exercise in her talent. But we spend more time chasing her random distractions then actually shopping."

"...No, no. It's fine. It's not his fault that the world is out to get him some days. And he makes sure to pay it back later anyway. Point is, not his mother…" Junko swung her hand in a dismissive fashion to the reassurance, as if the person on the other end would see it.

"And we're just glossing over the fact that Makoto got kidnapped!?" Taka whispered. Although, with how loud it was, it was more like regular volume, but with a hiss.

"S-should we call the police?" Chihiro questioned softly, but it was clear that she was on the verge of panicking.

"Next, why did you grab him of all people?" Junko continued, uncaring about the whispering as she continued to critique. "You do know he's from a, like, low to mid class family, right? Not a chance in hell that they can afford a hundred million yen ransom. You did make sure to case him properly first, right?"

Yasuhiro's eyes bulged in disbelief. "Dude. How does she even know that?"

"No doubt because she's been looking into all of our backgrounds." Byakuya tched as he turned his head to the side. "She's already asked me several questions about everyone's personal accounts."

Leon slowly turned to stare at the scion for a second, then asked, "...and, why would she want to know that? Or better yet, why would you know anything about it?"

"She seemed to be of the belief that she could help those few of you that financially struggle get better by pulling pranks with your account." Byakuya clarified "I believe her words were, 'It would be so funny to see their faces when all of their money suddenly vanished, only to come back but with way more then they lost.' As for why me specifically, well..."

Yasuhiro began sweating harder at the scion's sudden silence, and then laughed nervously when a small smirk developed on his face. "…Well?"

"No, I know he goes to Hope's Peak, I'm in his class." Junko explained, exasperated. "But student's get in on a tuition fund, we literally never see a cent of it...No, unfortunately the higher ups are kinda stingy pricks...Yeah, I guess you could, but not like this. This is way too easy to figure out."

"Is she talking about the headmaster?" Mondo guessed, but Kyoko shook her head.

"No. My father may be foolish, but he cares far too much about insuring that every student here is safe, no mater the cost. Most likely, Junko is referring to the Steering Community."

The biker raised a brow at the detective, "Are they that bad?"

Kyoko had to take a moment to conciser her words, then turned to him and said, "...It is less that they are that bad, and more that they aren't that good."

Mondo nodded, but whether or not he actually got her meaning went untold.

Junko sighed, and closed an eye and leaned back, crossing her legs as she did. "Okay, look, first of all, you called me on his cell phone, right? That's the first mistake. Lotta cell phones have GPS tracking in them now a days, which means that they can track you down as long as it's on. All I'd have to do is press a button and, whoop, there you are…Yeah, I know. Kinda something you gotta look out for if you plan to kidnap someone."

"Is she...giving someone advice on how to kidnap someone?" Toko asked, completely bewildered and fearful because of what she was witnessing.

"...I...think she is." Byakuya confirmed, for once completely rendered dumbfounded by what he was witnessing.

"Yeah, I know. What you wanna do is write down his contacts and then ditch the phone, before you call them. I'd recommend tossing it onto the first pickup you see with an open back. That way, when they try and track it down, they don't immediately find you. Then you either use a pay phone or a burner phone under a fake name to call."

Chihiro's eyes suddenly lit up and she quickly fished out her PDA and began typing something into it. Confused by the sudden action, Sayaka turned to ask, "Um, Chihiro. What are you doing?"

"I'm going to see if I can track Makoto's cell phone signature." She explained, determination brimming in her hazel eyes. "If I can track it, then we should know where he is. Then we can get the proper authorities involved."

Junko snorted, clearly amused by something said by the criminal. "I know, right? Next problem, is the kid okay…? Well, obviously because you want them safe...Ugh, look, what happens if this kidnapping goes sideways? You're gonna face a whole lotta jail time is what. Kidnapping is a serious offense, but it's less of an offense if you're kidnappe is fine. If this plan fails, you can more easily shrug it off and say, 'haha, just a prank, bro'...Dude, you'd be amazed how many people get away with that. However, it only works if you don't hurt him..."

She paused, and then looked over at Mukuro. For a moment, the soldier was confused by the look. However, to her great amount of horror, her sister began to slowly smile wider and wider. Eventually, it grew so much that she almost looked demonic, and Mukuro quickly leaped to take the phone. Only, Junko knew she was coming and quickly put both of her legs and her free hand in the way to keep her grabbing hands away from the phone.

"Junko!" She absolutely hissed, partially to keep the kidnapper from hearing her, but also out of frustration. Said sister only snickered, but kept talking to the likely soon to be dead man on the line.

"...Yeah, no. You're so screwed...Okay, yeah, remember how I said that you should have cased him first? Yeah, his girlfriend is the Ultimate Soldier, like, someone with an actual body count. Like, if she sees that shiner, she will go freaking Rambo on you guys. I'm talking fully automatic machine guns, rocket launchers, all kinds of things you can't normally get in Japan here. Well, legally I mean...Yeah, 'Oh shit'. That's why casing your target is important."

Mukuro pulled back for a second and lunged, trying to take the phone so that she could give this dead man walking a good talking to before she hunted him and his loved ones down, but Junko was expecting this as she grabbed the desk with her free hand and leaned back, letting Mukuro's momentum carry her up and over with a little leg support.

Mukuro would have just gone with the roll and leaped back, but she had forgotten two things in her haste to find out what was happening to her friend. One, that Junko loved to sit by the window seats. As well as two, as it was the middle of July, said window was wide open to let the breeze in.

"...No way man. Bad idea. She's freakishly accurate, and she would totally shoot you dead if you tried that. Like, would pretend to miss, but then it ricochets into your skull from behind..." Junko continued, as if she hadn't just launched her sibling out the window. "Yeah, you think that sounds crazy, but I've watched her do it, multiple times. And let me just say, it's a whole lot worse when it happens in front of you."

As Mukuro started to climb back up, having fortunately grabbed the railing in time, Junko stood up and walked to the other side of the room. "Off topic, but you made sure that no one saw you guys doing this, right…?"

Junko's eye's widened in disbelief, and then fell in disappointment. "You're kidding me...Well, you at least were wearing masks, right...? No? Well, did you at least make sure that you had him blindfolded? Cause otherwise he's just gonna rat out your place to the cops later."

Junko palmed her face as she groaned. For once, the class couldn't blame her though. This was something that sounded too stupid to be true. These kidnappers either had to be the most confident or the most stupid that they had ever heard of.

"Unbelievable. Look, Mac. Can I call you Mac…?" Junko negotiated, and when corrected, continued, "Okay, Oma, look, you're the leader, right…? Okay, this was clearly just a bad first run for you. Lot of stress, lots of mistakes, it was clearly just first time jitters getting you guys down bad. It happens to the best of us, don't worry about it. What I would advise you to do, is to take this as a learning opportunity. Take what we talked about, and try again later."

"How about, they don't?" Leon interrupted, vexed. Yet, also ignored.

Junko pursed her lip at something said on the other end, seemingly juggling some decision in her mind, before sighing and saying, "...No, that would just cause you more trouble then it's worth. Not enough places to reliably hide a corpse these days. Just... okay, tie him up again; with the blindfold this time! Then what you'll want to do is take him back to Hope's Peak, let him go, shout something stupid like, 'You've been Ker-pranked!' or something like that, and then go find a new hide out and try again in a few days with what we've talked about in mind...Yeah, I know it sucks to relocate, good bases are hard to find. But it's better then jail. I mean, have you seen the sorry excuse for food they give inmates?"

"Can't be worse then Juvie's." Mondo criticized, getting an elbow to the ribs from Hina for his unwanted commentary. He gave her a confused and slightly offended look for it, but wisely kept his mouth shut. Instead, all he and the class could do was wait as the conversation was apparently coming to a halt.

"Right...yeah...okay, sounds good. And hey, if you need some advice in the future, feel free to send me a line! Cool…? Yeah, good talking to you too...Okay, bu-bye." And with a final smile, she closed her phone with a smile and turned back to walk back to her seat, satisfied. "That was a nice call. I should make sure to get his number in the future."

She skipped a bit and turned to look at their very uncomfortable expressions with a wide grin. Chihiro wordlessly put down his PDA, which binged as it got a result, looking very conflicted about this whole ordeal. Taka was struggling with the desire to criticize her actions since they apparently saved his classmate, even though it was through fraternize with kidnappers. Mukuro looked deadpanned as she wordlessly swiped the PDA and started walking to the exit, casually pulling a knife out from her sleeve as she closed the door.

"Junko...sometimes you scare me." Hiro stated. She only laughed.

"Oh, if only you knew just how scary I can actually be."