3rd Arc: Revived Hope That's Crushed by Forced Regret

Deadly Life

Daybreak. While Rantaro and the others were in the virtual world, the beginning of a new day had begun in the real world. And this first thing to greet their ears this lovely morning was:

Ding Dong, Dong Ding!

"A body has been discovered! Everyone, please report to the computer room…" Monokuma announced as he entered the room, but he stopped the moment he saw everyone turn to look at him, their expression ranging from completely broken, total shock, or completely blank. "Wait, you're already here." Monokuma mused as he tilted his head in a cute manner. "Wow, I got to bring you the body discovery announcement live! Whew, doin' it live is great! Better than beer and fuckin'!" Monokuma laughed for a bit before he stopped with a look of remembrance. "Oh! Almost forgot!"

Ding Dong, Dong Ding!

"Forgot to mention this, but there's another body in the computer room! There. I said it!" Monokuma stated. That's when the Monokubs entered the computer room, and Monophanie started puking as soon as she saw the two bodies.

"Woah! Two bodies!? That's new!"

"Actually, it's happened plenty of times now. Still, no one really likes these kinds of cases, since they all end up with 'third case syndrome' but this case will break that stigma! Down with horribly used motives and character assassination!" Monokuma proclaimed with confidence. "At least that's what the author is hoping for." While Monokuma was saying that, Monodam just stayed silent. He didn't even look at his siblings or his father, instead focusing his gaze on Angie, Ryoma, and Rin. He looked conflicted about something.

Of course, no one was actually paying attention to Monokuma, the cubs, or even the body discovery announcement. All they were focusing on were the bodies of their fallen friends, confused and dumbfounded as to what even had happened.

"This is…so horrible!" Kaito exclaimed as he paled from the disgusting scene in front of him.

"Angie…! Angie…!" Himiko sobbed as she cried into her small hands. Tenko reached out to the little magician, but stopped herself as she held her arm with a despairing look.

"How…did this even happen?" She asked in a soft tone.

"A-Angie… And even Ryoma… Why!?" Keebo shouted.

"Why? Angie and Ryoma fine at mansion, so…why they dead now!?" Gonta cried, not even bothering to hide his tears like Himiko was.

"It's obvious. Someone must have killed them." Maki stated.

"...Where's Kirumi?" Shuichi eventually asked as he looked around. "She's not here."

"Y-You're right…" Kaito said as he looked around. "You don't think-?" Before he could finish his sentence, almost as if on cue, they all heard rapid footsteps running fast down the hallway, the sound growing louder until the door burst open.

"Am I too late?! Was that really-" Kirumi shouted before her eyes landed on the two victims. "N-No…!? Not only Ryoma, but Angie as well!? H-How did this happen?!"

"You're too late, Kirumi. All the others finished gasping in terror already." Kokichi told the man, though his voice had a bit of poison in it as he spat the words out with a glare. "But that's not important right now. What is important is this: where were you this whole time? What were you doing? And why do you have that knife in your hands?" It was true. From the moment Kirumi entered the room, she had a large kitchen knife in her hand.

"I-I was running to the kitchen to grab this. To save Ryoma." Kirumi said nervously, realizing how suspicious she looked at that moment.

"To save Ryoma?" Rantaro asked.

"How were you expecting to save him with a knife?!" Tenko shouted.

"So, you logged out on your own? And you didn't even tell anyone? Not even Rin?" Kaito asked before the realization hit him. "Wait! Holy shit, Rin!"

"Now you guys remember him. And he considers you all friends." Kokichi growled. Almost everyone had forgotten due to the sudden discovery of the bodies, but there wasn't a third announcement, and that was because the unthinkable had happened. While Tenko and Himiko ran over to Angie and Keebo and Kaito ran over to Ryoma, Kokichi and Kaede were the ones to rush to Rin, and after pulling his helmet off, tried to wake him up. However, while they didn't wake him up, he did move a little, along with giving a barely audible groan of pain. "Thankfully, Rinny is still alive. No thanks to the useless maid over there." Kokichi said with a pointed glare to Kirumi, who visibly flinched in response.

"Is Rin okay?" Rantaro asked frantically, rushing over to Kaede's side as she sobbed over Rin's arm.

"H-He doesn't have any injuries, but… He's in pain! He might even die if we don't do anything." Kaede cried out in a panic as she turned to Monokuma. "Y-You have to help him!"

"Oh, do I? I don't think I have to do anything for him! If he dies, he dies! No ands, ifs, or buts about it!" Monokuma told her with an upset look. "He's caused enough problems as it is! It's just deserts for him in my opinion."

"So you get to make up rules however you want. What a stingy game master you are." Kokichi hissed. "I thought you wanted the game to be more exciting, and you're just going to let one of your most interesting players die a worthless, meaningless, boring death? I thought you wanted excitement in this game."

"You… Don't get smart with me." Monokuma warned him. "The rules don't say anything about me helping students who are on their deathbed, so I don't have to do squat!"

"Y-Yeah! Daddy doesn't have to do anything, so you can just-"

"I-WILL-HELP-RIN." Monodam suddenly said, causing all the bears and students to turn to him with complete shock.

"W-What!? But Father said-"

"I-WANT-TO-HELP-THEM. THAT-IS-ALL." Monodam cut Monotaro off. "RIN… WANTED- EVERYONE-TO-GET-ALONG. LIKE-ME." Monodam then walked over to where Rin was sitting and looked over to the two people who were closest to him. "I-WILL-NEED-HELP-CARRYING-HIM-TO-A -CLASSROOM."

"If you need help carrying Rin, then I can-"

"I'll do it." Kaede interrupted Kaito.

"H-Huh? But Kaede-"

"No. Don't. Just don't." Kaede said with a stern expression, tears falling from her face as she gave a look filled with righteous anger and determination. "I almost killed Rin once before, yet she forgave me still. So I WON'T' let him die when I can save him. I won't let him. This is something I HAVE to do! He's my…" Kaede's expression then wrinkled together tightly before she broke down into more tears. "M-My…closest friend…"

"B-But still-!"

"Just leave it be, Kaito." Kokichi told him with a blank look as he stared at the astronaut. "Kaede's stubborn, so just let her do it."

"Why do you even care!? Why do you seem so angry about what happened to Rin?" Kaito asked him. Kokichi just stared at him for a little bit before he mumbled a response.

"Because he's the one of the only people here who seems to have a functioning brain and thinks things through instead of blindly charging ahead. He's certainly…not boring." Kokichi replied with a blank look before it switched to a relaxed one. "Besides, Kaeyayday is really genuine about this, so it'll be fine. I'm willing to trust my loyal goon to her, so do the same."

"He's not your goon, but…fine." Kaito said as he looked away with his fists tightened. "Kaede! Take care of Rin! I…still need to apologize to him!"

"Right!" Kaede nodded with confidence as she began to pick Rin up. It took a while, but she eventually managed to get Rin in a saddleback carry. Rin still wasn't reacting to anything at all as he limply lied against Kaede's back, his arms dangling in front of her. Kaede looked like she was having a lot of difficulty keeping Rin up, as her face stiffened from exertion, but she kept her hands under his thighs as she kept him up. She looked like not even her own death was going to stop her from seeing this through. Rantaro was honestly shocked. Even with the flood of tears she was shedding, he had never seen Kaede look more fierce and determined.

"GOOD. FOLLOW-ME." Monodam simply said as he led Kaede out of the room, Kaede nodding as she slowly followed the small robotic cub.

"Don't worry Rin. You'll be fine. I'll make sure of that. I swear. I swear…" Kaede muttered as she walked out of the room, the others only giving looks of pity and sympathy for their fallen friend. All of them felt horrible at least a little. After all, it was Rin. He didn't remember a thing about himself after he woke up in this strange place, but that never stopped him from caring for the others and giving everything he possibly could to protect them, even at the possible cost of his life. He never even considered his own needs, so to have someone like that be targeted by a killer who had managed to kill two others, their hearts couldn't help but ache in pain, even just a little. And right now, two of their friends are dead, unable to be saved by any means. They didn't want that number to be bumped up to three.

Rantaro couldn't help but feel useless. Rin had made sure to push him out of a death trap when they were practically strangers, yet Rantaro couldn't even do anything for him when they had become friends and even partners when it came to sharing information in trying to stop the killing game. It was just like how he failed his sisters. Was Rantaro never going to be able to save someone he cared about? Was he really that horrible? The pain he felt then turned into anger and resolve. Just like Kaede, he wasn't going to let himself fail Rin. Not when Rin always pushed himself to save them.

"F-Father? What are you going to do now?" Monotaro asked.

"...Nothing." Monokuma answered. "This…is truly interesting! I wonder how far Monodam's rebellious stage will take him. Pupupupu…" Monokuma's cruel giggles only unnerved the remaining cubs in the room, causing them to back away from their father slowly.

"...So why didn't you let anyone know you had logged out?" Shuichi asked Kirumi, getting back to what they were talking about before Rin was brought up.

"I…" Kirumi began to speak, but she stopped herself to take a deep breath. "In all honesty, I…do not remember."

"You don't remember?" Maki asked.

"No. The last thing I remember was flipping the switch to turn on the helmet, and it is all dark after that." Kirumi said as she put a hand to her head. "I woke up so suddenly, and I thought it didn't work at first. But then I heard the jingle of a Forbidden Action Bangle."

"Y-You mean you heard someone break their Forbidden Action?" Keebo asked.

"I guess that's obvious. Ryoma's skin is completely purple. I can't be anything else but poison that's causing that." Rantaro explained.

"Yes. Ryoma's bangle was flashing, and I knew I only had moments to save him."

"And yet you still got here too late. Too bad for you and Ryoma." Kokichi sighed as he looked at his hand with a bored look, his expression switching once again at the drop of a hat to one of disinterest and boredom, causing everyone who saw him to collectively shake their heads. And now Kokichi was back to being awful. What did they honestly expect from the crowned prince of lies himself?

"Jackass…" Kaito growled quietly.

"Well, I don't think Kirumi is lying. Part of her dress seems like it's been ripped off and tied around Ryoma's arm, after all." Kokichi was right. The bottom part of Kirumi's dress seemed like it had been ripped off, and a torn, white cloth had been tightly wrapped around Ryoma's right arm, the same arm that his bangle was on. Wait…

"Hey wait a minute! Where's Ryoma's bangle?!" Rantaro shouted.

"What?" Keebo questioned as he looked back at Ryoma's wrist. "It's gone! But it was just there a second ago!"

"H-Hold on…! Does that mean…" Himiko began, to which Tenko responded by looking back at Angie's body.

"Angie's is gone too!" She shouted.

"Wh-What!?" Kaito shouted in shock.

"Did Monokuma take bangles back cause murder happened?" Gonta asked.

"Nope. I didn't do anything. I can't interfere in a murder case after all, and that means taking evidence." Monokuma explained. Guess the culprit must have taken those bangles for some reason. Or perhaps someone else took it for some reason? Who knows? That's something you have to figure out."

"Great…" Maki grumbled as she crossed her arms.

"We can figure out the mystery with those bangles later. What we need to do now is investigate everything about this case, not just who took the bangles. We need to…discover who killed Angie and Ryoma, and who made an attempt on Rin's life." Shuichi sighed.

"Nee-heehee… You seem ready. Well, of course you are." Kokichi smirked at Shuichi. "After all, two of our dear friends were killed, and a third one almost died too! It's finally your time to shiiiine!"

"Explain it however you want, Kokichi. The fact is, if we don't find out who the culprit is, we'll all be executed." Shuichi said. "But I won't let that happen. I'll find the culprit so that we can all survive."

"Really?" Kokichi questioned with a curious look. "Even if the culprit was Kaito? Or Maki? Or even Kaede?"

"What?! Don't even suggest things like that!" Kaito shouted angrily.

"Now, now, please save your arguments for the class trial. All you guys need to do is investigate this case." Monokuma told them.

"Then let's start with a question for you." Rantaro began with a glare. "There are two victims here, so what do we do if there's two killers? Do we have to find both?"

"Now that you mention it, that's a good point. What would happen in that scenario?" Keebo asked as well.

"Oh, is that it? Well, I have an answer for that! It's first come, first served!" Monokuma declared.

"First come, first served?" Shuichi repeated with a disgusted look towards what that implied.

"The blackened who killed the first victim to be discovered will be your target. In other words, if the blackened who killed the first victim isn't the same one who killed the second victim, then only the first victim's killer will be considered the blackened. Basically, whoever died second was a waste of a victim, and their killer is a waste of a kill. Oh, I'll add this to the school regulations, so you can review it later."

"In other words…"

"If both murders have different culprits, then our vote will determine the killer of the first victim. Whoever that may be." Keebo finished Tenko's sentence.

"But we don't even know if there is a different culprit, do we?" Maki grimaced as she bit the tip of her thumb angrily.

"True. That just means we have to be thorough in our investigation if the time of death is omitted again." Rantaro said. "Speaking of which, Monokuma, do you have a Monokuma File for us?"

"Yep!" Monokuma cheered as he pulled out the tablets. "Ta-da! The Monokuma File! With this, you can investigate to the fullest! It even has details on both murders! Not Rin's attempted murder though since he isn't dead…yet." Monokuma started giggling even more after playfully adding that last part, but everyone chose to ignore it. "Well then, do your best! I'm certain you guys'll make this turn of events very entertaining!" And with that, Monokuma left with Monotaro and Monophanie, leaving the remaining students in the computer room.

"Let's start investigating." Keebo said before he looked at the ground dejectedly. "Not like we have a choice in the matter."

"We…all know what to do, right?" Rantaro asked.

"Yep. I mean, this is our third investigation, so we should all be pretty used to dead bodies by now." Kokichi said with an excited cheer.

"N-Not Gonta! No way Gonta ever get used to this!" Gonta cried.

"Trust me, you don't want to be used to this…" Maki told him with a dark expression. "No one should ever get used to this…"

"Nee-heehee… That's nice and all, but it seems pretty insincere coming form an assassin." Kokichi said pointedly.

"Either way, that doesn't change anything we have to do. Let's just get this done and over with. For Angie, Ryoma, and even Rin." Kaito said with a determined look as he pushed his fist together.

"Yes… For them." Kirumi nodded as she closed her gloved hand into a tight fist. Rantaro couldn't help but agree as he steeled his own resolve. He didn't really know where he could be placed among his classmates. He didn't exactly have a talent that would help with this situation like Shuichi, and he wasn't as smart as people like Kokichi or Rin. Still, that's never stopped him before. Because…he has something waiting for him outside this place. He has people waiting for him. Everyone there does. And Rantaro would hate himself if he didn't try his hardest to make sure as many people could escape to see those people again. He knew the feeling of being separated from a loved one, so he refused to let everyone die because of someone's mistake. Besides, Rin would hold a grudge if Rantaro let everyone die while he was unconscious. He couldn't let the friend he trusted most down in his time of need. He was counting on him. And so, Rantaro braced himself for another round of suspicion and doubt.

"Alright. Let's do this." He muttered to himself.

Investigation Start!

"Let's start with checking out the Monokuma file." Shuichi said as we all grabbed a Monokuma file. It was strange. Before there weren't enough for everyone to have one. But now, with 5 people dead and both Kaede and Rin gone for now, there was finally enough for everyone to have one. It was…a dreadful feeling, but Rantaro ignored it as he looked at the Monokuma File.

"The two victims are Ryoma Hoshi, the Ultimate Tennis Pro, and Angie Yonaga, the Ultimate Artist. Both bodies were discovered in the computer room on the 4th floor. The estimated time of death for both victims is 6:30 a.m. Angie's body has no external injuries. Ryoma's body has lethal poison that has traveled from his wrist all the way up to his arm and has reached all of his body, causing a purple discoloration to affected skin. The only external injuries on his body are two prick points on his right wrist."

Truth Bullet Obtained: Monokuma File 3

"No external wounds… And both victims died at around the same time? So close to each other that the Monokuma File won't tell us who died first?" Rantaro questioned.

"What the hell!? So we don't even know who's killer we're looking for!?" Kaito shouted.

"The time of death happened 30 minutes before now, while we were still in the virtual world." Kokichi mused as he put a finger on his chin thoughtfully.

"Not only that, the Monokuma File has omitted something quite important this time around." Maki grimaced.

"It omitted something? Really? What?" Tenko asked.

"The causes of death. It never actually specified it for either of them." Maki said.

"You're right. It's never done that before." Himiko nodded, tears still in her red eyes as she muttered the response.

"So we're working with a lot less information than usual. So the cause of death is a key element for this case, but so is figuring out who was the first to die? And we all still have our bangles on." Shuichi noted with a disappointed look. "We should split up into pairs like before and start investigating." Rantaro and the others nodded at that as they all began to pair up. Rantaro wasn't exactly sure who he was going to ask to investigate with, but that's when Kirumi walked up to him.

"Rantaro, may I join you in investigating?"

"Kirumi? Sure, I don't mind. But out of curiosity, why ask me?"

"This is my first investigation, so I am feeling a little uneasy in regards to this, so I would feel better if someone who looks confident in their investigation skills could join me."

"I see. I guess I am a little confident in looking for clues." Rantaro mused with a chuckle.

"Yes. You always appear calm and collected in even these situations. It is reassuring." Kirumi said. "And I…feel like I owe it to our friends who aren't here to discover their assailants. I pride myself on selfless devotion, yet I was not able to defend them. Even if I might have been in a scenario where I could do nothing, I feel as though I have failed them. So I want to do everything I am able to now."

"I feel the same way." Rantaro said before he offered Kirumi his hand. "Let's do everything we can to find the blackened. That way, we'll be able to avenge Angie, Ryoma, and Rin. Well, Rin isn't dead yet, but still." Kirumi looked down at Rantaro's hand before she gave a small smile and took it. "Now then, can I ask you to explain more about what happened after you logged out? You said you don't remember anything about the virtual world?"

"No. I do not remember any of it. I was not even sure it worked until you all brought it up." Kirumi told him.

"Then what happened after you woke up in the real world?"

"I was dazed and disoriented. I was confused and unsure of what had happened as I took off my helmet, but that is when there was a loud jingle."

"Ryoma's bangle." Rantaro said.

"Yes. The moment I heard the jingle, despite my confusion, I rushed towards the source of the sound and saw that Ryoma had performed his Forbidden Action."

"Did you look to see what his FA was?"

"Of course not. That was the last thought on my mind. All I could think about was preventing the poison from killing him. If I had checked, then I would have been risking his life to satisfy mere curiosity."

"Good point. I would probably have done the same thing." Rantaro responded as he put a hand on his chin. "So you tried to slow down the poison by tying a part of your dress around his arm, and then you ran down to grab a knife. Were you going to…amputate Ryoma's arm?"

"That was the last resort we all discussed, was it not? Ryoma's bracelet had already injected him with the poison, and it was spreading at a rapid rate, even with what I had done to slow it down. It was all I could think of that might save him. Even so, the kitchen was too far away, and…I was too late."

"Don't blame yourself. You did all you could." Rantaro comforted her. Still, he couldn't help but wonder what caused Ryoma's bangle to go off. How did he perform his FA? Did he perform it in the virtual world? If so, what is it that he did? Finding that out would be a major part of the case.

Truth Bullet Obtained: Kirumi's Account

"Alright. I think we should investigate the bodies now." Rantaro said before grimacing. "Let's…start with Angie's first." Kirumi nodded as they walked over to the still body of Angie.

"She looks…at peace." Kirumi noted. "Or perhaps a better word for it is 'unaware'."

"Yes, it's strange." Rantaro said before he realized something. "Y'know, Rin had a relatively peaceful face too."

"Did he?"

"Yeah. He made small noises of pain, but he wasn't making clenched faces of pain or agony. It was more like he was resting while his body was sore." Rantaro told her.

"Then that would be a little similar to Angie's condition, though she is deceased." Kirumi then narrowed her eyes at Angie with a questioning look. "Perhaps she died instantly then. That would cause her to hardly feel any pain before she died."

"That is a good point. But how would someone kill her instantly without any signs showing on her body?" Rantaro asked.

"U-Um, I should mention this since it might matter." Tenko began with a unary expression. "Um… I was the one who took off Angie's helmet. She still had it on when we logged out, and when I took it off, she was like this."

"S-She…looks like it wasn't painful, at least. So…I hope she didn't feel any pain at least when she d-d-d…" Himiko began, but she couldn't finish as her voice cracked. Tenko quickly moved over and brought Himiko into a tight hug, her own eyes watering slightly at the gruesome sight of their friend.

"Yes. Let's hope that's what happened." Rantaro nodded, trying his best to comfort the young girl. It seemed to help, as Himiko didn't break into more tears and gave a small nod in response. But Rantaro couldn't help but wonder about the main issue. No injuries at all, but an instant death? Just what in the world was Angie's cause of death?

Truth Bullet Obtained: Angie's Corpse

"Still, she had her helmet on when we logged out? The crime did happen while we were all in the virtual world, I suppose." Rantaro said as he stared at the helmet. That's when he noticed how some of the helmets had their cords still plugged in, while others didn't. It wasn't too strange. If someone didn't carefully take off the helmet, it would be easy for the cords to be unplugged. Still, he couldn't help but feel as though he should take note of the helmets and how they worked. After all, if someone put the cords in wrong, Monokuma said an error would happen, though he didn't tell them what the error would be.

Truth Bullet Obtained: Device Instructions

"Let us examine Ryoma now." Kirumi suggested. Rantaro gave a slight nod and the two walked over to Ryoma, whose body was in a much worse condition.

"Geez, this poison wasn't a joke. I can't imagine the kind of pain Ryoma was in before he died." Rantaro grimaced as he looked at the body. While there were still some areas that weren't affected by the poison, about 75-85% percent of his body was now a disgusting dark purple color. It had also reached both of his eyes, turning them completely crimson and causing them to leak blood as if they were tears.

"Open eyes, mouth agape, and an expression one could only describe as dreadful." Kirumi noted before shaking her head. "As a complete contrast, Ryoma appears to have died an extremely painful death."

"Horrible…" Rantaro grumbled as he looked at his friend with a look of pity. Just when he was beginning to truly want to start living again. Of course something like this would happen after he had finally found the resolve to continue onward. It's too sad. Too tragic.

"Hey." Rantaro turned and saw Kaito rubbing the back of his head while averting his eyes from Ryoma. "I heard you talking to Tenko. So I figured I should tell you that I did the same for Ryoma. I was the one who took his helmet off and found him just like this. It…freaked me out when I first saw him."

"It is understandable that you were taken aback. Do not feel as though you did something wrong when faced with such a sight." Kirumi told the astronaut. Kaito gave a hesitant nod before he sighed.

"Well, either way, I don't think we have to worry about Ryoma's cause of death. He died because of the poison that was injected into him. That's as clear as day." Kaito said confidently.

"Is it really?" Rantaro asked as he ran a hand through his hair. "If it were that easy, wouldn't Monokuma just say he died from the poison?"

"W-Well, he's always trying to confuse and mess with us, so maybe this is just another of his tricks."

"Perhaps. Still…we shouldn't make assumptions." Rantaro noted.

Truth Bullet Obtained: Ryoma's Corpse

"By the way, what's Maki doing?" Rantaro asked as he looked past Kaito to look at the assassin. To Rantaro's surprise, Maki was typing on the monitor that was connected to the main computer, her hand moving the mouse swiftly.

"She's trying to figure out more 'bout the virtual world." Kaito explained.

"You know how to operate this, Maki?" Kirumi asked.

"No, not really. I've never used this program before, either." Maki grumbled a response as she kept working on the computer.

"I suppose that makes sense. I bet only someone who's an expert would understand something as complex as this that quickly." Rantaro gave a dry chuckle.

"But, I did find the text file regarding this program." Maki then said as she brought it on screen. "It has info about the program's basic features, but other than that, there's not much else."

"What does it say?" Kirumi asked.

"According to this text file, the killing game simulator used a certain program as the base. It's called the Neo World Program." Maki explained.

"Neo World Program? I've never heard of that program, even during my travels." Rantaro said. "Neo World… As in 'New World'. Interesting name for a program that actually creates a new world for people to enter."

"In this killing game simulator, objects can't break. Your body's five senses are connected to your avatar, and your avatar itself cannot be injured or harmed. But any damage inflicted on your avatar will be transferred to your body in the real world." Maki continued.

"Were you all aware of this?" Kirumi asked.

"Yes. Monokuma left us a note in the virtual world detailing those rules." Rantaro told her.

"Yes, but he left out a major detail." Maki then said with a stern look. "If your avatar receives fatal damage, then the pain will be transferred to your brain through the program, and your real body will die from shock."

"From shock?" Rantaro asked in a surprised tone. "That is a big detail Monokuma chose to omit."

"If someone receives a fatal injury in the virtual world, then they would die in reality. Perhaps that is why the cause of death is omitted from the Monokuma File." Kirumi proposed. "In hindsight, that should have been expected. If we were told that damage was transferred to our real body, it is logical to also assume that fatal damage would also be carried over, and that it would be just as fatal to us in reality."

"That's all it says about the virtual world's basic features. The rest of the virtual world is the same as the real world, including the laws of physics. Warps and special transportation, like mounts, do not exist." Maki then said.

"So the only way to move is through your avatar." Rantaro summarized.

"That's all. The text file doesn't have any more information." Maki sighed as she moved away from the computer.

"Thank you Maki. This will be crucial." Rantaro thanked her.

Truth Bullet Obtained: Killing Game Simulator

"Hmm, forgive me for saying this Maki, but are you sure that information is correct?" Kirumi asked.

"...What do you mean?" Maki asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I am not doubting you, but is it not possible for Monokuma or someone else to have altered the file, or any other data relating to the virtual world program. If that is true, then this file and anything else we might find on that computer could be false, and hinder us in our investigation."

"How are any of us supposed to know if that's the case?" Kaito asked. "It's not like any of us could figure that out."

"You would need to be an expert with computers to determine if code or text files were changed from the original. I doubt any of us have that sort of skill." Rantaro stated.

"THEN-LET-ME-ASSIST-YOU." Monodam replied as he popped out of nowhere.

"Aah! Don't come out of nowhere like that!" Kaito yelled. "And what are you doing here? Didn't you say you were going to help Rin?"

"YES, AND-I-HAVE-ALREADY-DONE-THAT. RIN'S-CONDITION-IS-STABLE. HE-WILL- LIVE-WITH-MINIMUM-ISSUES." Monodam explained. "MISS-KAEDE-IS-WITH-HIM-RIGHT- NOW. I-HAVE-CONVERTED-ONE-OF-THE-EMPTY-CLASSROOMS-INTO-MEDICAL-ROOM. I- CAN-TAKE-YOU-ALL-THERE-ONCE-YOU-ARE-FINISHED-INVESTIGATING. BUT-FOR-NOW, I-WISH-TO-KEEP-HELPING-YOU-ALL."

"Why? What's in it for you? Aren't you and the other cubs supposed to be working for Monokuma?" Rantaro questioned.

"...FATHER-IS-CRUEL. THIS-KILLING-GAME-IS-CRUEL. I-JUST…WANT-EVERYONE- TO-GET-ALONG." Monodam said with a dejected expression. "I-COULDN'T-GET-THAT-WITH-MY- FAMILY, SO-I-WISH-TO-HELP-YOU-ALL-ACHIEVE-IT."

"You said that before, when you gave us the Necronomicon." Rantaro muttered as he thought about Monodam's words. He didn't think Monodam was really trustworthy, but he didn't really have a choice in this situation.

"I don't care either way. If you want to help, then that's fine." Maki told the small bear as she moved out of the way of the computer.

"...I suppose that's fine." Rantaro eventually sighed.

"THANK-YOU. I-WILL-START-ANALYZING-THE-COMPUTER-RIGHT-AWAY." The little green bear responded as he took a long cord out from his chest. He then plugged it into the computer's port, and his eyes began to flash multiple colors after that. "I-HAVE-ALREADY-ANALYZED-A-FEW- THINGS."

"Already!?" Kaito exclaimed.

"THE-TEXT-FILE-IS-CONSISTENT-WITH-THE-ORIGINAL-PROGRAM. NO -ALTERATIONS-DETECTED. THERE-IS-ALSO-THIS-FILE." Monodam explained as a new text file appeared on the computer screen.

"This appears to be information about when people logged in and out." Kirumi noted.

"THE-FILE-WAS-NOT-ALTERED-EITHER, THOUGH-THERE-IS…AN-ODDITY."

"An oddity?" Rantaro repeated. "Could you show us?" The cub nodded as he let the four of them look at the file.

"It seems that everyone has logged in and out once, however…" Maki began.

"There is a log in that happened before all of us logged in. It happened a few hours before we were told about the virtual world." Kirumi finished the statement with a bit of surprise.

"Why is that person's name censored out? Can't you find out who it was?" Kaito asked Monodam.

"UNFORTUNATELY-NO. WHOEVER-LOGGED-IN-AT-THAT-TIME-USED-AN-UNNAMED -AVATAR-TO-DO-IT." Monodam explained with an annoyed look. "IT-APPEARS-FATHER-HAD- PREPARED-FOR-THIS."

"Father? You mean this is Monokuma's doing?" Rantaro questioned with a narrow gaze.

"AFFIRMATIVE. FATHER-MADE-A-DEAL-WITH-ONE-OF-YOU. HE-GAVE-THEM- INFORMATION-ON-THE-VIRTUAL-WORLD-IN-EXCHANGE-FOR-THEM-COMMITTING- MURDER."

"Wh-What!?" Kaito screamed.

"Do you know who made this deal with Monokuma?" Kirumi asked.

"NO. IT-WAS-A-SECRET-MEETING. I-ONLY-FOUND-OUT-ABOUT-THIS-MEETING- AFTER-YOU-ALL-HAD-LOGGED-IN. FATHER-WAS-ESPECIALLY-PLEASED-WITH-HIMSELF -AND-MENTIONED-HOW-WITH-THIS-DEAL, THINGS-WILL-BE-MORE-ENTERTAINING."

"Why that little…!?" Kaito growled before Maki shook her head.

"So we were betrayed. And after we all decided to work together. Figures." She grumbled before looking back at the screen. "Aside from the blatant treachery, it seems no one secretly logged out and then back in while we all were in the virtual world."

"The only one who logged out before anyone else was myself. I…wonder why." Kirumi quickly muttered with an uncomfortable look on her face.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure you didn't do it. I trust you, and I'm sure Rin would say the same." Rantaro told her, though that didn't seem to make her feel any better. Rantaro couldn't help but wonder as well. Why did Kirumi log out if she wasn't the culprit? Could it perhaps be related to that item they saw?

Truth Bullet Obtained: Login/Logout Record

Truth Bullet Obtained: Deal with Monokuma

"I-WILL-CONTINUE-ANALYZING-THE-PROGRAM. PLEASE-CONTINUE-YOUR- INVESTIGATION. I-WILL-ALERT-YOU-WHEN-I-FINISH." Monodam told the group as he began sweeping through the countless lines of code of the virtual world for anything that would be of any interest to them.

"As long as it's done by the class trial, then we won't have to worry about anything." Kaito sighed.

"He's surprisingly reliable…" Maki commented with a raised eyebrow aimed towards the cub.

"It's still a little strange that one of the Monokubs wants to help us." Rantaro chuckled before he turned to Maki and Kaito. "We'll be continuing with our investigation. Good luck with your search."

"Yeah, same to you. We'll let you know if we find anything else." Kaito told him as he gave Rantaro a thumbs up.

"Thank you, Kaito." Kirumi bowed in thanks to the two of them before she and Rantaro continued their search, which led them to Himiko and Tenko again, as well as Shuichi and Kokichi, who were speaking with them.

"So you both discovered one of the secrets of the virtual world? Himiko told me and Keebo when we met up before finding the scene in the forest, but I just want to make sure I understand what happened." Shuichi told the two girls.

"Y-Yeah. It was really strange, so we rushed to tell everyone as soon as we could." Himiko replied with a slight stutter.

"So you really did find something!" Kokichi exclaimed with bright eyes. "What was it? Was it something we could use against Monokuma?"

"No. It was just a photo album." Tenko answered.

"A photo album?" Shuichi repeated.

"If you don't mind, I think I should also tell you what happened, since I was there." Rantaro interrupted as he and Kirumi walked towards the four of them.

"Rantaro? You knew about the clue as well?" Kokichi asked with a finger on top of a sly smirk.

"Tenko ran inside the chapel after they found it to show us, so yeah. Gonta, Kaede, and myself knew about it." Rantaro confirmed.

"Gonta and Kaede too? Then Himiko ran to the mansion side to tell us about it, correct?" Shuichi questioned.

"That's right. I ended up running into you and Keebo before I got to the mansion though." Himiko replied with a nod.

"But why did you want us to go to the forest instead of the mansion most of the people were in?"

"That was because I wanted to find Rin and tell him about the clue first, since the clue was about him." Himiko answered.

"Wait, so that means that the photo album you found was…" Kirumi began, to which Tenko nodded.

"That's right. It was a photo album with pictures showing Rin's past." Tenko told her.

"Rin's past… That's an incredible find." Shuichi said with wide eyes.

"Definitely. Since it was about Rin's past, Tenko and I thought it would be best to tell Rin about it as soon as we could. He can't remember things about his past, after all, so it seemed better to tell him about it." Himiko explained. "As you know, Rin and Kirumi went to search the forest behind the mansion, so that's why I wanted to go to the forest. After I ran into you guys, I figured it would be best for us to travel together since we all were going to see the photo album. But…that's when we found him with Ryoma and Angie."

"Their bodies weren't moving. I had the thought that maybe, but still…for all this to have actually happened…" Shuichi grimaced before shaking his head. "What about you two? What happened while you were at the chapel?"

"Well, I showed everyone there the photo album, but that's when we found another clue." Tenko said.

"There was another clue?" Kokichi questioned with a surprised expression.

"Yeah. It was a wallet with a badge and a note in it." Rantaro explained. "The badge had the Japanese symbol for 'Mirai' on it, and the note seemed like it was a clue to do something."

"Really? That's strange. Wasn't there a place in the virtual world called 'Mirai Hills'?" Kokichi asked.

"Yes, that's what we found strange about it too. Perhaps the badge has something to do with the people who brought us here." Rantaro suggested.

"Hmm…" Shuichi hummed as he thought for a bit before he smiled. "Thank you. This will be helpful for the trial."

Truth Bullet Obtained: Clues Hidden in the Virtual World

Truth Bullet Obtained: Events at the Chapel

"Are you done investigating the crime scene, Shumai?" Kokichi then asked Shuichi with starry eyes. "Do you know who the culprit is yet?"

"Ah, no… This might not actually be the crime scene." Shuichi explained.

"That's right. So Maki told you as well. Fatal damage taken in the virtual world would be transferred to that person's real body and kill them." Rantaro confirmed.

"That means that the victims could have been killed while in the virtual world." Kirumi added.

"So that means we should go there again." Kokichi said with a smile. "If we go back to the virtual world, we could find a lot more clues!"

"...May I join you as well?" Keebo asked as he and Gonta walked over. "Whether the virtual world really was the true location of the crime, I believe that it is important that we investigate it once again."

"Then why don't we all go!?" Kaito then proclaimed as he and Maki came over as well.

"Oh! So I'll get to see Himiko's cute avatar again!?" Tenko asked as drool escaped her mouth.

"D-Don't get so excited about that!" Himiko shuddered at Tenko's passion.

"I'm going to stay here. Monodam is still in the middle of analyzing the program after all." Maki announced.

"Gonta also stay. Search this place some more. Gonta not understand 'ver-chew-ual world' too much, so it be better if Gonta stay here." Gonta added.

"I…believe I wish to stay as well." Kirumi then said as she looked at the simulator with an uneasy expression. "I…do not wish to go back just to forget once again."

"Then if you guys are staying, one of you can make sure that Maki isn't doing anything deceitful here." Kokichi said with a chipper voice.

"...Deceitful?" Maki repeated with a glare.

"Well, you could be the culprit, since you're the Ultimate Assassin, so it wouldn't be smart to leave you by yourself." Kokichi explained. "Haha! Good thing I'm going back to the virtual world. I'm pretty sure you would have killed me already if looks could kill! Oh, but that means my body will be vulnerable. Hey Gonta! Make sure Maki doesn't do anything to me while I'm in the virtual world."

"R-Right. Gonta not think Maki bad person, but Gonta will make sure everyone safe." Gonta nodded.

"Gonta's so nice. I bet he would even protect me from a murderer."

"Hey! Don't say messed up stuff like that! We're already in a screwed up situation, so don't make it worse!" Kaito yelled at the supreme leader.

"It's fine… Just ignore him. He's got a point anyway about not leaving anyone alone at the crime scene." Maki grumbled, though it was obvious she was pretty pissed. "Just hurry to the virtual world."

"Agreed. We need to focus on solving the case for now." Rantaro told the astronaut.

"Tch. Fine." Kaito grumbled.

"Thank god… I'm glad things didn't end up becoming violent. I don't like violence too much. The Ultimate Supreme Leader would rather sneak around and control things from behind the scenes!" Kokichi shouted with a big grin. "So anyway, let's go to the virtual world already."

"Right…" Shuichi sighed as everyone moved towards their chairs again. Before Rantaro did that though, he moved to Kirumi and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Since Maki and Gonta are staying here, you can go check up on Rin." Rantaro told her.

"B-But the investigation-"

"We'll be fine. I'd rather someone make sure Kaede and Rin are okay, and that they're made aware of everything we know right now." Rantaro told her. "I'm trusting you with this."

"...Very well. That is…something I wished to do as well." Kirumi said softly before looking back at Rantaro. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Rantaro told her as she left. With that, Rantaro sat back down at his chair and put his helmet on. He took a deep breath, and flipped the switch. Once again, his vision went black, and then, he was in the virtual world once more.