In Hifumi's room, Makoto and the author began asking, in detail, what sort of stories he had created since they entered Hope's Peak.
"I wanted to inquire if the ideas I currently have bouncing around are ones I've already written before," he adjusted his glasses, "I can't just rip off my own work and release twice! It'd be like making a game sequel that was just a bunch of side missions off the first."
"W-well I didn't read all of them;" Makoto replied, scratching the back of his neck. "But I'm sure I can give you an idea."
Makoto's heart dropped as Hifumi pulled out a long sheet of paper and began rattling off premises of various franchises and crossovers, asking if he had written it.
"Persona Attorney Investigation Burger Time?"
Makoto strained his memory. "Yes. I remember helping with that one."
"How was it?"
"Got a lot of good reviews, from what you told me," Makoto shrugged. "You never let me read them."
"How about Anger Deli, the story of Bakugou and Toga's toxic relationship that ruined his Hero career?"
"Yeah." Makoto nodded. "You said a lot of people weren't fans of that pairing but otherwise you were praised about it."
"What about the story of Sonic and Samus living as a couple of accountants with their pet Pikachu?"
Makoto blinked. "Nope, drawing a blank on that one."
Hifumi smirked. "Then I know what I must do! But... I wanted to ask one more thing."
"Yeah, what's up?"
"Did... did I ever complete my original work?" Hifumi asked. "I... I want to inspire others the way Princess Piggles inspired me."
Makoto's eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers. "You did! You had finished it and couldn't wait to have it published once the Tragedy had passed! I think... I think you had placed it on the second floor of the dorms. I remember you telling Toko about it and getting into a fight with her about your writing styles."
"NOOOOO!" Hifumi cried. "Out of reach altogether... well, at least it was done."
Makoto laughed. "Yeah... Jeez, I thought you were here to ask about me about the secrets and stuff."
"No, I am not ashamed of my past in the least, Mr. Naegi!" The writer huffed, chest swelling with pride. "That's what it means to be shameless."
That's... not it at all, Makoto thought, but decided not to say anything. "Well that's good. We just can't let Junko break us."
"My only worry is that there may still be a mole... and it's hard not to be suspicious of Ms. Ikusaba." Hifumi replied. "Although that would be a pretty trite and overdone trope, if you ask me."
"I trust her," Makoto replied without hesitation. "If she wanted to betray us or kill us, she could have done so by now."
The two talked awhile longer; Makoto knew how to not get overwhelmed by Hifumi's large personality, and excused himself in time to get something to eat before the night time announcement.
It was after Makoto left with Hifumi, Mukuro had decided to grab some supplies from the storage room and workout for awhile.
But as she entered the room, she found Celeste in their, rummaging through the snacks.
Mukuro had always been wary of the gambler; not because she was worried about any physical prowess she may have had, but because it was hard to get a read on her. Of course, she had the advantage of knowing that, in the year they'd been under lockdown, she eventually revealed her true name and backstory to everyone. Celeste didn't have the memory of it, but Mukuro was sure the gambler knew Makoto knew it.
Still. She wanted to be better. She wanted to be the person Makoto thought she could be. "Hello, Celeste."
"Hello, Ikusaba," Celeste said in her usual, even tone. "I hope you are well."
Mukuro began to look for gym clothes, and found several spare school uniform versions of them. Packing them in a duffle bag, she couldn't help but notice that Celeste was watching every movement she made.
"Is something the matter?" She asked.
"Just keeping an eye on the other players in your sister's game?" Celeste said. She kept a smile on her face despite the words implying less than friendly things. "After all, I'm not one to believe a tiger can so easily change its stripes."
Mukuro didn't flinch. While she was not so blessed with social graces, it was clear what Celeste was implying. "I'm not trying to hurt anyone."
"You seem to have convinced the others, for sure," Celeste said, tone never changing. "I just prefer not to leave these things to chance."
"Rather ironic, for a gambler," Mukuro muttered dryly.
"When one plays for lives instead of money, more caution is due." Celeste smiled further. "I seem to have upset you, so I should depart for my own safety."
The gambler left, leaving Mukuro suddenly alone with a gym bag and workout clothes. The soldier just stopped and stared at the ground in front of her, Junko's words from before beginning to claw their way back into her head.
They hate you, she could hear her sister saying. A fat, ugly, scary killer. They think you're going to kill them so they're just pretending to be nice to you.
Mukuro squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't want to think like this.
But Junko's voice in her head kept taunting. Especially your widdle Makoto.
Mukuro turned and decided to just go back to her room and exercise there; she suddenly didn't feel like seeing other people.
She'd come to regret the decision later.
Makoto returned to the dining hall to get a small meal, and only saw Kyoko and Yasuhiro there. This was pretty normal; while most of the students gathered for breakfast, the other times of day you'd see them all coming or going. He didn't find it odd.
He returned to his dorm after, and laid down as Monokuma announced night time. In his darkened room, part of him couldn't help but worry; tomorrow he reveals everyone' secrets.
"We'll get through it," he murmured into the darkness. "We have to."
He closed his eyes, but his sleep was uneasy.
"Hem Hem," The morning announcement chimed, "This is a school announcement..."
Makoto's eyes shot open. How many days had it been now? With no headmaster, no privacy, and the constant dread of another murder? He'd lost track of the time.
Getting up and dressed, he went to go to the breakfast hall.
Today it was even more sparse than usual. Byakuya, Mukuro, and Celeste were all absent like the morning before, but even Aoi was gone today as well.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE SO MANY OF US OUR LATE!" Taka shouted, slamming his fists on the table he was sitting at with Chihiro and Mondo.
"Pretty non-bro shit," Mondo shook his head.
"Yes, I have not seen Asahina since I accompanied her to the pool yesterday," Sakura said, rubbing her chin. "I can only assume she lost track of time."
"It's unlike Byakuya or Celeste to show up to these meetings as well," Kyoko added. "Though Mukuro was gone yesterday too."
"She'd had a rough night," Makoto replied. "I can go check on her?"
"If you're volunteering, see if Aoi's okay too?" Yasuhiro suggested.
Makoto nodded. "Sure, no problem."
Leaving the dining hall, Makoto couldn't help but feel the same sneaking feeling of apprehension he felt when they found Leon and Syaka's bodies. He tried to shake himself. This was nothing. Things were getting better. Right?
He rang Mukuro's doorbell, and it wasn't long before the soldier opened the door, peeking her head out, surprised to see him.
Makoto immediately noticed that it hadn't looked like the soldier had slept properly at all. Her eyes were dim and slightly sunken, and she had a haze in her expression. "Mukuro... are you okay?"
She did her best to stop from wincing. Of course he had noticed. "I couldn't sleep, that's all."
I kept hearing all the things my sister used to say to me, she thought, but she didn't want to get into that bag of worms at the moment.
"I'm sorry," Makoto frowned. "I was asked to check on you and Aoi since neither of you were at the meeting. I can make you some tea or coffee if you want?"
Mukuro tilted her head. "Aoi is missing?"
He nodded. "Y-yeah."
"Give me a second, I'll come with you," the soldier muttered, closing the door, and opening it a few minutes later, fully dressed.
The two of them walked over to Aoi's dorm and rang the bell.
Silence. No movement, no answer. After a minute, they tried once more. Panic began to rise up in Makoto's chest. "W-where could she be?!"
"Stay calm," Mukuro advised, evenly. "We tell the others, and everyone splits up to search." She turned and looked him in the eyes. "If the worst has happened, the last thing we want to do in Junko's game is give in to panic and despair."
Makoto slowed his breathing and nodded. "R-right."
The two ran back to the dining hall to report what happened to everyone else.
"WHAAAT?!" Sakura howled, fists clenched in anger.
"We must split up and look!" Kiyotaka shouted.
"I'll head up to the pool area," Kyoko volunteered, "It would be the most likely place for her to be."
Other people shouted where they would be going as well, until Makoto and Mukuro were stuck checking the second floor libraries and classrooms. They left, in a hurry, with everyone else. As they were with their classmates, yells of, "Aoi," or, "Asahina," could be heard from their classmates. Hifumi had even found Celeste in the storage room and convinced her to help look as well.
At the second floor, they went to the library, only to see Byakuya reading there, as usual.
"What," he grunted as he saw the two looking through the aisles of books in a rush, "are you two neanderthals doing?"
"Aoi is m-missing," Makoto stuttered. He was having a hard time keeping his composure.
"Well, if she turns up murdered, maybe something interesting will happen," he sneered, going back to his book. "She has not been here or in the archive all day; I've been in both places since before the morning announcement, and no one has been here. Leave."
Makoto was about to argue something, but Mukuro grabbed his arm and lead him out of the room instead, shaking her head.
"It's not worth getting yourself worked up over," she advised when they left the library. "It's not worth how you always let him get under your skin. There's bigger matters at hand."
"You're right," Makoto admitted. "S-sorry, Mukuro."
The two scoured the two classrooms in the second floor as well, but to no avail. Aoi was not anywhere to be seen. Heading back towards the first floor, the two ran into Kyoko as well, leaving the pool.
"Any luck?" Makoto asked.
Kyoko shook her head. "Not at all. I thought for sure there would be some clue to her whereabouts here, but..."
Kiyotaka came bounding up the stairs, as if on cue. "Status report! Has Aoi been located up here? She is not on the first floor!"
"That can't be right!" Makoto exclaimed. "We've checked every inch of the second floor and haven't found her here either."
Mukuro rubbed her chin. "Well. There is one place we haven't checked."
To everyone's surprise, she walked into the men's bathroom, and to the shock of Makoto, she went and accessed the hidden room in the 2nd floor men's room. She did calmly, by pressing on just the right tile Kyoko had done, as if she had done it a million times before. She knew?!
The panel opened... and...
DING DONG BING BONG
"Hem hem! A body has been discovered! Please report to the 2nd floor men's room!"
The four of them, Taka, Mukuro, Kyoko and Makoto, were looking through the hidden doorway at the body of Aoi Asahina, laying in the center of the hidden room. Makoto was frozen there for what felt like years before the remaining students arrived, filtering in slowly.
The last to arrive was Sakura, who unleashed a blood curdling scream towards the heavens, and charged towards the body. Kneeling next to it, she began seething, tears of agony flowing silently down the side of her face.
"What a touching scene!" Monokuma snickered as he appeared in the room. In Makoto's shock, he hadn't seen where the bear had dropped in from. "It touches the cockles of my heart. Maybe even some sort of sub-cockle area. Maybe that's just my ribs. Anyway, here it is! The Monokuma file!"
Files were thrown at each student.
Numbly, Makoto picked up his file and thumbed through it.
Aoi Asahina. Ultimate Swimmer. Estimated time of death is unknown. Found at approximately 8am. Bruises can be found on her torso, neck, and back of her head.
Makoto flipped the paper over and looked at it again. "...That's it?"
"Puhuhu!" Monokuma giggled, hiding behind it's paws. "I'm not going to do all the investigation for you! I wouldn't want to give away the blackened. Now. Goooooooood luck!"