"So this is how the despair of death feels…"

The words echoed in the dark room.

"Ahh, it's so wonderful!"

They couldn't believe it had the fillet this way.

"Even a tenth of this despair…Even a hundredth!"

No, no, this result could it be happening.

"I want every last soul on this planet taste such despair!"

Frantically, they grabbed the monitor that displayed the scene.

"I want the entire world to die with that despair in its mouth!"

No…No…NO!

"Okay, let's do this! I reserved an extra special punishment for last! Let's give it everything we've got!"

The emotions welled inside the observer.

"It's…PUNISHMENT TIIIME!"

The execution unfolded in front of their eyes. Despite how terrible it was, they couldn't look away. The love of their life gone before their eyes.

Yes, this emotion that had welled up was familiar. One they had heard about. One that was a favorite of love. One for permeated every fiber of their soul.

So, this was despair.

"Welcome today eleven." Monokuma's voice rang out. "Four days left until the end of the game. The only question now is will you make it till then? I mean, it's been two days since you had food or water. Bet somebody's gettin' thirsty…or murdery."

"I swear, this bear is getting very annoying." Mitsuba said out loud to herself as she readied for the day. Before leaving, she checked her desk drawer; seeing the knife was still there.

She walked the empty hallway until she arrived at the meeting spot. Of the five others, it appeared only Tomoki was present.

"Welcome and good morning." he greeted with a faint wave.

Mitsuba grabbed a seat nearby and began to converse to pass the time. Eventually, time did pass and other started to arrive. To the surprise of the pair, Aiyaka was the next one out followed by Sora. More time pass before Takura join the group.

"Given her usual routine, I expected Kirika would be here by now." Tomoki remarked.

"Ya something mighta happened to her?" inquired Aiyaka. "What if a flying saucer abducted her outta this situation?"

"Really? That's what you're thinking?" Takura retorted.

At long last, the door to the dorm area opened and a groggy Kirika walked through.

"Mornin'…" she let out as she yawned.

"You're late." Mitsuba pointed it out. "Were there any problems?"

"Yeah. Given everything, last night was a bitch. Took me a while to fall asleep, but I slept like a rock once I did. It was hard to get up."

"Aw, I was hoping my guess was right." Aiyaka sighed.

"I don't even want to know." Kirika said as she took a seat.

"Now that everyone is here, we may begin." Tomoki spoke up. "As Monokuma stated this morning, it has been two days without basics. With the time limit approaching too, now is the time to be vigilant. I know this may be asking for a lot, but I have nearly uncovered the mastermind."

"Wait! You almost have the mastermind's identity?" Sora exclaimed.

"Indeed." Tomoki nodded. "Though, I need more time."

"And exactly how long do we have to wait?" inquired Takura.

"One more day of thought should suffice." Tomoki added. "Just give me until the morning. I know I will be cutting it close, but this game should end then and there."

"Fine, we trust in you." Mitsuba reassured. "Do what you have to."

"Thank you." Tomoki said. "I shall now pardon myself to my room for contemplation." With that, the strategist walked away.

"Let's just hope this turns out okay." said Kirika.

Having finished their morning get together, the remaining five went their separate ways. They knew with their lack of food and water that they'd need to preserve their energy. As such, the group went about quiet, peaceful activities.

Aiyaka walked the hallways of the second floor. Feeling bored as usual, the ponytailed girl spotted the storage room. Aiyaka figures rifling through some of the junk might kill some time. She opened the door and immediately saw a sight that was not supposed to be there.

Laying on her side, Mitsuba was surrounded by a pool of blood. The blonde laid motionless. Aiyaka instantly knew she had to be dead.

Aiyaka went through the thoughts of what she should do. Finally settling on it, she called out.

"Hey, anyone, we've got a problem!"

As she continued to yell out, Aiyaka processed the situation in front of her. It had only been two hours since the morning meeting where Tomoki had made his declaration. Yet, someone had acted and killed Mitsuba.

"Aiyaka, what's the problem!?" Sora shouted as he ran to her. At last, she'd gotten someone's attention.

"Here." she motioned at the room.

Sora looked past the girl at the scene. The same bloody sight filled his vision.

DING DONG

"Ahem, a body has been discovered. After a certain amount of time has passed, a class trial will commence."

"Should we wait till the others arrive to start?" asked Sora.

"Better not." stated Aiyaka. "With only five of us left, four without the culprit, we have too much to go over."

"Understood." Sora said as the pair walked to the body. "You know, this is very responsible of you."

"Well, I guess you could blame this game for forcing me into a situation like this. Now, let's check out what killed Blondie."

Standing outside the pool of blood, the two looked over the scene. Mitsuba's white tee was dyed a crimson color, but the color was deeper around her stomach. Aiyaka noted a metallic object a short distance away in the blood.

"I know this may sound weird, but can you check her wound?" asked Sora.

"What's the matter, ya squeamish?" inquired Aiyaka.

"It's not that. It's more along the lines of her wound's location. You'd have to lift her shirt and-"

"Ohoho, so even though she's dead, you're still having those thoughts. You know how nasty that is?" chided Aiyaka.

"Urgh, of course you go back to this. Can you please just do this?"

"Kay!"

Aiyaka carefully Went around the pool of blood and lifted up her shirt to show Mitsuba's stomach. Just offset of her belly button, a small wound was visible.

A sudden ding sounded out. The pair reached into their pockets and pulled out their e-handbooks. Sure enough, another Monokuma File has appeared.

Victim: Mitsuba Kanamori

Time of Death: 10:45 AM

The victim died due to loss of blood. A single wound is visible on their stomach.

"Hmm, it's a little later than usual, but the Monokuma File does match up with what we see." Sora mused.

"Still, what object shanked her?" Aiyaka murmured.

"What do you mean by 'shanked'?"

"Well, it's a puncture mark. Somebody stuck something inside her."

"Wait, do you know what that means?" Sora asked.

"That this is the perfect example of That's What She Said?" perked up Aiyaka.

"Not that." Sora practically facepalmed. "It means we've reduced the amount of possible weapons. To do something like that, you'd need something like-"

"Like this knife behind her?" Aiyaka chimed in.

"There's a knife behind her!?" Sora exclaimed.

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you bring it up sooner?"

"Cause, we gotta do this in order."

"I swear, this girl…" Sora mumbled as she wouldn't head.

"So, what's it look like?"

"It's one of the knives Monokuma gave us." Aiyaka said. "And that's not all. The knife has Kirika's name on it."

Sora was stunned. It's was Kirika's knife. The same girl who had brazenly grabbed her's before everyone else, claiming it to be for safety. That should she have it, no one could use it. Had she been planning this the whole time?

"Did I hear my name?" a voice said from the doorway.

"Nope, you're just hearing things." Aiyaka said, flipping the blade over.

Sora watched as Aiyaka lies and moved the knife. If she was doing this, she had to have a reason.

"Oh shit…Mitsuba, huh?" Kirika said in a solemn tone.

"You didn't check the File?" asked Sora.

"No. I heard the announcement and left my dorm room. It took me a bit, because I was checking places." Kirika told.

Footsteps alerted to the arrival of the rest of the survivors. The pair entered and proceeded towards the body.

"Yet another good soul claimed too soon." Tomoki solemnly said.

"It looks like you've already began." stated Takura. "Can you catch us up to speed."

Sora rose from his knelt position and explained what had been uncovered so far. Keeping the knife's owner a secret, the tale left nothing else out from Aiyaka's discovery to the last two's arrival in the room.

"I see." Tomoki mused. "I do not spot any footprints in the blood. Commendable job preserving this detail. With this, we know our culprit made it out before the blood spread."

"So, is the checking of Mitsuba over?" What more do we need to look at?" asked Takura.

"Not yet." stated Tomoki. "Mitsuba's hands are clenched. We should check to see if she hid anything."

Rolling up his sleeves, Tomoki bent down and opened her hands. To everyone's surprise, Tomoki's guess had been right. Held tightly in her right hand was a small tear of white cloth.

"It appears our deceased friend managed to rip some of our culprit's clothes." Tomoki took the scrap in his hands. "From my experience, this came from a cotton shirt."

"Well, the body search seems finished. Shall we split and try to uncover any miscellaneous info? We'll just compare alibis at the trial to save time on searching." offered Kirika.

The group agreed and went their separate ways. Time was precious and with fewer people, it would take longer. So began their last bit of investigation.

Despair…

Every fiber of their body ached.

Screams echoes in their head.

Pain deeper than any other filled them.

Aching more and more with time.

Intense emotions surged forth.

Reality truly was a cold mistress.

Without Junko, life would never be the same. It was the beginning of the end. But the question remained: What would that end be? Dark thoughts began to plant themself in their head.