III. Up Close And Personal

Junko awoke the next morning in her bed, naked. She glanced over her shoulder to see her sister also naked fast asleep. Junko rose, put on some clothes and made her way to the control room. She felt rested and ready to meet the one and only Kyoko Kirigi. Her Teacher persona kicked on as she sat down in her mastermind chair and began. She made the controls as easy and straightforward as she could. It was boring but the thought of getting to be up close and personal with the dreamy detective was too much to resist.

As she finished up she looked up at the cameras and found the one in Kyoko's room. Damn the lights were still out, she could just make out a grey form, rising and falling from sleep. Rustling from behind her failed to distract Junko from watching Kyoko, she looked so small and light cuddled up underneath her white sheets, almost as if she was made of fluffy snow.

"Junko?" Mukuro asked, peering into the room, fully dressed. Junko swirled around in her chair, with her teacher persona still there.

"Finally, you're up. I've made it simple. All the controls set up so all you have to do is press the green button to turn on Monokuma, the yellow to do a body discovery announcement and the red is to signal me." Mukuro was silent but sweating. Sure there were only three buttons she had to press but they were surrounded by a sea of confusing and complicated controls some of which were also red, green and yellow. She tried not to think about it, but she was sweating. Junko chipped up a bit as Bubbles took control.

"Yepper! Now all you have to do is hangout in my spot while I get to play 'myself' for a bit. Hehehehehe." Junko laughed.

"Of course. Everything will be just as you left it." Mukuro said with sweat dusting her brow. Junko picked up her Monokuma doll and jumped into his character.

"Upupupu. Listen toots, things don't have to be exactly the way I left them. Just remembbbeerrr… if you screw up my plans then you won't have to guess whose body will be discovered next." Mukuro gulped, caught between feeling afraid of her sister's warth and being excited about the despair she would experience.

Junko stepped out into the hallway and inhaled deeply. It felt so good to be out of that dark little room. As she traveled down the hallway she kept her eyes peeled. Her only goal was to interact with Kyoko up close and personal and maybe cause her a little more despair. Junko's Rude persona tried to gain control but she pushed it away. She had to be the Junko everyone knew: a fashionista with a snarky personality. The other personas would have to stay buried, it was boring but she needed to keep suspicion at bay. As she rounded the corner to the private student rooms she saw where everyone was milling about. Junko's heart skipped a beat when she spotted a flash of purple hair. Junko started over only to be stopped by Hina.

"Junko there you are! Where have you been?" Hina asked with concern in her eyes. Junko's crafty brain barely had time to concoct a response. Time to turn on her bored fashionista persona.

"Yeeeaahhh. I was like looking around the hallways to see if like the killer dropped anything, when they ran away." Junko rattled off in her classic bored tone. Hina perked up with stars in her eyes.

"That's pretty smart! Did you find anything?" Hina asked as Sakura moved from her post at the door to Makoto's room toward them.

"No. It was sssoooooo exhausting. I'm gonna go reapply my makeup in my room. Good luck or whatever." Junko said, pulling herself away from Hina. She had to get to Kyoko. As she passed the crime scene she spotted Kyoko, Makoto and Celeste inside the room. Junko decided to feign ignorance. She strolled into the room pretending to be checking her nails. Celeste noticed her approach.

"Ah Junko, you have impeccable timing. Kyoko and Makoto want to question you. What luck, I was just about to go fetch you myself." Celeste noted as she smiled and folded her hands together.

"It's whatever, I haven't found anything good anyway." She replied, playing with a strand of her pigtails. Junko looked uninterested, but inside her mind was racing. Kyoko wanted to question her? She was interested in what Junko knew. The thought of being able to guide Kyoko in whatever direction she wanted was so delicious. She could plunge Kyoko's elusive heart into a beautiful shade of despair. Junko's thought was interrupted when Makoto exited the bathroom.

"Hey Junko, I need to ask you some questions. Where were you at around 5 am today?" Makoto asked seriously.

"I was sleeping in my room. Duuuhhh!" Junko answered with extra sass in her voice. Who the hell was he to be questioning her? He wasn't the brains of the investigation and everyone knew it.

"What about last night? What time did you head back to your room?" Makoto asked, trying to get more information. In a moment of spite, Junko decided to shame him.

"Look Sherlock, you're obviously new at this, so let me spell it out for you. I want to talk to the Ultimate Detective not the Detective's dog!" Junko snarked. Celeste smiled behind her hand as Makoto sweated a little.

"Yeah Byukaya said the same thing earlier..haha." Makoto said pathetically. Junko was about to shove past him when Kyoko showed herself, chin posed on her hand thinking. She turned to Junko and put a hand on her hips.

"Although Makoto has little investigative experience, he's proving himself to be more than capable. However, since you seem so intent in speaking to the Ultimate Detective follow me." Kyoko commanded turning back into the bathroom.

"Okay, sure." Junko said, trying not to sound too happy. They both crowded into the small bathroom, around Sakaya's body. Kyoko's eyes were trained on Junko the whole time. Delightful shivers went down Junko's spine, she loved the intense look the Detective wore. The despair behind those deep lilac eyes must be intense.

"So Makoto aside, what time did you go back to your room last night?" Kyoko asked looking deep into Junko's eyes. She would notice the smallest twitch and any inconsistencies with the fashionista's response. The stakes were wonderfully high.

"I went back to my room around like 9 or something. I was really bored with wandering around, so I stayed there." Junko fabricated. Kyoko stared in silence for a moment and then seemed to drop her suspicious angle.

"Very well, I need a fresh pair of eyes. Based on what you see here what do you think happened to Sayaka or rather who do you think killed her?" Kyoko asked with curiosity oozing into her voice. Junko glanced around the scene. Blood in the shower, the dying message and Sayaka's wounds. Junko didn't want to give too much away and knew if she did it would look suspicious. She decided to nudge Kyoko in the right direction even if she knew the detective was already on it.

"Well, whoever did it was sssuuuper sloppy. I mean just look at all the mess they left behind. I'd say you're looking for the most reckless person around." Junko judged trying to keep indifference in her voice. Kyoko seemed to take her notes to heart and nodded.

"I see. Thank you for your input Junko." Kyoko said, sounding like she was a million miles away from the conversation. Junko tried to hide her displeasure in this. She wanted Kyoko to focus on her. Junko decided to play devil's advocate. She heard Makoto being called away by Hina for something, so now was her chance.

"So like... be honest. Like do you really think Makoto's the best person to be helping you or whatever?" Junko asked. Kyoto looked straight into Junko's eyes with unwavering focus. The Detective's unfaltering vision read as homoerotic tension to the Fashionista. Junko blushed and inspite herself. Despair and thrill spread throughout Junko's body. The thought of her feelings being discovered and revealed to everyone was so despair filled that Junko was fixated on the thought. She didn't notice Kyoko writing something down on a small notepad.

"As the Ultimate Detective, it's my duty to be truly neutral when it comes to an investigation. The quality of the help I receive matters not, the truth is what I seek." With that Kyoko exited the crime scene, avoiding contact with the disarrayed furniture in the room. This left Junko with mixed feelings, she didn't want to go back to the hideout with her sister so she settled for going back to 'her' room, on the same hallway.