Ding-dong, ding-dong!

"Good morning, students! It is now seven AM!" I heard Monokuma call out on the monitor. I awakened immediately after hearing Monokuma's squeaky voice.

I had a mostly unremarkable sleep last night. I might have had a dream, but I couldn't remember quite what happened in it. I grabbed my glasses from the shelf adjacent to myself, and changed into my school uniform. With a yawn, I stretched my arms and headed out the door. I figured everyone else would have already been at the dining hall by now, so I made a beeline and rushed to meet up with the others.

I burst in through the dining hall door to see everybody congregated at the tables. I guess everyone had been waiting for me here.

"Ah, so you did make it," Hideki commented, giving a wide grin in my direction. I saw an empty seat between Masaki and Azizah, and was about to take my seat next to them. However, Hideki's grin got wider and smugger the closer I got to the seat, his face seeming to read "Go ahead," in the most challenging, taunting way possible. I hesitated to sit down between the two of them, but looking at Hideki's face, I sighed and begrudgingly took a seat between him and Asa.

"Kanon? What's wrong?" Azizah asked, tilting her head in my direction. "I do apologize if I said something which offended you,"

I shook my head in her direction. "No, it's not you, it's just-"

Hideki looked back at me and shook his head. I jumped a bit, feeling my skin crawl as he stared me down.

"It's... nothing, I just wanted to sit by Asa today," I finished up my sentence. I could only imagine what Hideki would say if I mentioned he was blackmailing me.

"Hmm, it seems nobody else is going to say it, so I shall be the one to announce it," Kenji spoke up. "Last night, Kanon made a suggestion to us. For tonight, we should all get together and say which secrets we have, that way everybody knows everybody else's secrets. If we have nothing to hide from each other, not only will it deepen our bonds, but it will also remove the need for us to hide anything from anybody,"

Tame nodded along. "Yeah, I think that's a good idea," She turned her headphones down as she spoke up. "I would be a lot more comfortable with everybody if everybody's secrets were out, even my own,"

Masaki nodded in compliance. "I don't think that's a terrible idea," He whispered. "Well, I'll attend if you guys do,"

Hideki looked at me with a glare and a scowl. "Uh, how about we don't?" Hideki countered Kenji. The Ultimate Swordplayer side-eyed Hideki for a second. "Some people here have very sensitive secrets, and throwing them out so willingly wouldn't be so great for everyone. Isn't that right, Kanon?"

I gulped upon hearing Hideki's words. While my secret was rather sensitive, and he did have the means to reveal it to everybody else at a moment's notice, he also knew that it would be far less sensitive if everybody else's were to be revealed as well. Then there was the question of what his secret even was.

"I would attend it," Guadalupe blurted out. "I don't think my secret will be all that bad,"

Yuki nodded along. "Yeah, I think I can handle it as well,"

Aiko gave a wide grin as well. "I think I'd like to attend as well, it sounds like a beautiful idea to share our secrets with each other! It strengthens our siblinghood and makes us who we are!"

"Oh, there was somethin' else I wanted to add to this discussion," said Tomoe. "I'm gettin' sick and tired of this train being so dirty all the time! I'm thinking we need to start a nightly cleaning schedule, if anybody saw that in the hallway,"

Yuki's eyes widened as soon as Tomoe mentioned that. "Hey, I did see that! Why was my name on that chart?"

"We decided it at random," Tomoe replied. "And besides, tonight's Kaemon's night anyway,"

Kaemon glared over at Tomoe. "Hey, I never agreed to this!"

Utamuro shrugged. "I dunno, we never agreed to walking around in a filthy pigsty of a train, but here we are anyway..."

Sen stood up. "Yes, it is a serious health concern for the train to be left uncleaned! We must make sure to clean it regularly!"

Hikooki nodded, not even looking up from the table. "Yeah... I don't think I could handle living in a dirty train,"

"Anyway," began Masaki, standing up. "I've got some things I need to take care of. We're meeting up at 5 PM, okay?" He suggested, before heading out. One by one, everyone else headed out of the dining hall as well, before leaving me all alone in the room. With a little bit of time left before the meeting, I decided to head outside. I found Guadalupe hanging out outside the lounge, when she spotted me pass by.

"''Hola'', Kanon!" Guadalupe called out, waving to me with a big grin on her face. "Yuki and I are going to hang out on the hill with some others, would you like to join?" She suggested. I smiled at her, still looking for a means of passing the time. I nodded as the two of us walked up the hill, where Yuki, Rai, Aiko, Saeko, Toko, Daquan, and Hikooki were waiting for us.

"Hey Guadalupe!" Yuki greeted her. "And you brought Kanon with you, sweet!"

I nodded back at Yuki. "Yeah, I decided to hang out. So what are we all doing?" I asked the group.

"Not sure yet," Hikooki replied. "Toko just gathered us up here for this game they heard about from Monokuma,"

Toko nodded. "Yeah! Monokuma told us that we can get these things called Monocoins if we hit those snow Monokumas with snowballs from this height! We can then use those Monocoins to win prizes n' stuff, I think it's a good idea if we make a game out of it!"

Aiko grinned at Toko's proposal. "Ooh, sounds like a lot of fun! You can consider me up for it!"

"Yeah, I'm down for this!" Daquan agreed.

"I think I'll enjoy playing this game, even if the snow is a bit soft for optimal snowball throwing," said Rai.

"Shut up, no one needs you nerding up the place," Yuki joked to him. "Sorry, that was a joke. Anyway, I'll take the first shot!" Yuki rolled up a snowball in her hand and looked back at us, and we all smiled at her, cheering her on. "Alright everyone, watch and learn! I'm the true master of snow here!"

"Go, Yuki!" Guadalupe cheered as Yuki chucked the snowball at a snow Monokuma below the hill. As if by sheer luck, Yuki nailed the snow Monokuma in the head, reducing it to nothing but indeterminate slush.

"Whoa, a direct hit!" Daquan exclaimed. "Keep it up!"

Toko grinned back at Yuki. "Say, varmint... how 'bout a li'l one-on-one? I think I can beat ya at this," They bragged.

"You're on!" Yuki accepted the challenge. I don't think anyone else even tried at this point as we all watched Toko pick up a snowball and hit a snow Monokuma on the ground square in the center. "Pretty good... but I'm better!" Yuki boasted as she hurled a snowball... which proceeded to miss and land directly on the ground. "Wh-what?!"

"It was just beginner's luck," Toko whispered as they launched another snowball and directly beaned another snow Monokuma. "Two-fer-two."

"No way!" Yuki shouted out, her face starting to go red. "That was... a complete fluke! Lemme try again!" Frustrated, she picked up another snowball and threw it, and once again missed completely.

This cycle continued for the next few hours. Toko would continually hit every snowman from then on while Yuki missed every single one afterward, each time getting more and more frustrated. Eventually, her arm got so tired from throwing snowballs that she had to quit.

"Well, I guess we found out who won this one," Toko boasted as Daquan, Saeko, Hikooki, Rai, and Aiko clapped for them. Yuki squatted down on the ground and scowled as Guadalupe and I patted her on the back.

"You did the best you could," Guadalupe encouraged her. "Anyway, I think it's best if we get going now,"

With every one of us tired out from the fun we had, we all headed back to the dining hall on the train. It was getting close to 5 PM, and Masaki, Utamuro, Amy-chan, Kenji, Tame, Ryo, Asa, Shiro, and Kaemon were already present.

"Ah, you guys made it," Masaki began. "It's almost time for us to begin. Everyone take a seat, and we'll all take turns saying whose secrets we got,"

Instantly, Saeko turned around and headed toward the door. "I can't be here, I've got somebody to meet up with," She told us. "I may be back later,"

"Hey, where are the others?" Ryo asked. "I got someone who's not even present at the moment. I don't think it would be a good idea to reveal the secret of someone who's not here. It seems really disrespectful,"

Masaki nodded. "Understandable. You don't need to say it, then,"

Ryo nodded back. "But I'll stay here too, just in case somebody has my secret,"

"So, when shall we begin?" I asked. "And who wants to start?"

After a few minutes, Masaki began. He pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and read aloud, "Kenji Yang killed someone at age nine,"

Kenji went silent for a few seconds and nodded. "It is true. I did it for no other reason than for self-defense,"

Everyone seemed to back away from Kenji after his secret was read aloud. Even Tame's eyes darted back and forth upon hearing that.

"Anyway," Kenji began, clearing his throat. "Tame Maeda sleeps with a night-light, because she is afraid of the dark,"

Tame gulped, looking down and nodding. "Yeah..." She then pulled her slip of paper from out of her cleavage and began to read. "Ryo Shinobu is homosexual,"

Ryo's eyes widened upon hearing Tame read those words, going completely silent. Kaemon looked like he was about to speak up, but Masaki glared at him, as he kept silent. "Anyway, I guess we'll go with the person next to me... that's Daquan,"

Daquan pulled his slip of paper from his pocket. "Hideki Harada once got the wrong suspect, who is still serving a life sentence. Whoa, what an asshole,"

Ryo gasped, as Hideki wasn't even there. "Daquan, I thought we weren't reading off secrets of people who aren't here!"

Daquan shook his head. "If it's Hideki, who cares?"

Masaki nodded. "I agree,"

I breathed a sigh of relief, giving a devious smirk. Now I had dirt on Hideki, and if he ever tried to say anything, I would just be able to-

Before I could finish that thought, Hideki burst in from the adjacent room.

"Kanon Amari sent nude pictures to her ex-boyfriend, who still has the pictures,"

Masaki looked at me as my face flushed a beet-red. I went completely silent, looking at the ground as my heart pounded faster. My arms trembled and my palms began to sweat.

''What would Masaki think of me now?!''

After a long silence, Masaki looked at me and cleared his throat. "Kanon, your turn,"

I nodded back. "Masaki Domoto almost pulled the trigger after being released from jail. Sometimes, he wishes he did it," My voice squeaked with each word, trying to finish the sentence as slowly as possible. After another long pause, Utamuro spoke up.

"Shiro Sakai once-"

Shiro gasped upon hearing their name, and instantly rushed out of the room. Utamuro hadn't even gotten to finish his sentence yet.

"Oh, uh... never mind then,"

"Yuki Hatano almost died in a snowboarding accident," Rai stated. Yuki glared at Rai from her position.

"That was because of a complete accident!" Yuki defended herself. "Don't make me sound bad in the process!"

"Hey, I was just doing as I was told!" Rai shouted back.

"Both of you, just shut up," Hikooki grumbled to them both. "I'm not going to do this if this keeps up, I'm out," Before anyone could stop him, Hikooki was on his way out of the meeting.

"Actually... I have a cleansing ritual I need to begin," Aiko announced, looking at her phone. "I shall see you all by the next dawn!"

Rai stood up as well. "Wait, where are you going?!" He called out, following her out the door.

There was another awkward pause as Masaki shook his head and stood up with a huff. "Great, this has been a fantastic failure. I think we ended up creating more problems than we actually solved," He muttered to himself as he walked out too. In seconds, each of us walked out of the dining hall. I clenched my fists and kicked the leg of a table, frustrated that everyone now knew my secret, and that my plan ultimately failed. With nothing else to do, I walked out of the dining hall and through the hallway, where I found Saeko standing against a wall, talking with Rai and Aiko. I approached the three of them, wondering what was going on.

"Oh, hey Kanon," Saeko whispered to me. Rai and Aiko turned back to me and nodded at me as I entered.

"Aiko's just helping Saeko with a... moral dilemma, I guess," Rai stated.

"That is marvelously correct!" Aiko confirmed, giving an imp-like giggle. "Saeko, what did you say your trouble was? I apologize, my memory is quite shoddy,"

Saeko cleared her throat and leaned in toward the three of us. "Look, I... I didn't want to say the secret I got, because it's way bad. If anyone found out about this, it would be the end for them,"

"Well, why don't you begin by telling us who it belongs to?" Aiko asked her.

Saeko shook her head. "I'd rather not. Just for their sake," She replied.

Aiko nodded, giving a muffled "hee hee hee!". "Okay. Well, I don't know who it is, obviously, but my suggestion is to be upfront with them. After all, it is said that lies clutter and corrupt one's brain, making them a confused and misguided individual. Reconcile your emotions and be honest, and they are sure to follow,"

"But what if they get mad?" Saeko asked her.

Aiko shrugged. "It's on them, not you. Hearing a terrible secret can come off as a shock, but having someone to talk with can be therapeutic. Remember, you're doing this to help them, and by extension, to help yourself,"

Wow, Aiko sure had a way with words, didn't she? Despite how creepy and off-putting she was, there was definitely something charismatic about the way she spoke. She could have been talking about how ants eating gasoline was causing global warming and people would listen to her.

Rai nodded. "That sounds like an optimal course of action. Sometimes the best way to brave the storm is to enter it yourself,"

I nodded along. "It's hard to argue with logic like that,"

Saeko smiled at us. "Thanks, guys. I'm going to talk to them about it. Just... don't tell Toko and Daquan about this, okay? They're my best friends, but if I don't tell them every last detail, they think I don't trust them..."

I nodded back at her. "Okay, we won't! Just stay safe, okay?" I asked her.

"Got it!" She called back as she dashed out of the hallway.

"Well... I think it's time for the cleansing. Rai, would you like to join?" Aiko asked him.

"O-Oh, absolutely!" Rai replied, shaking a bit as she asked him that. I couldn't help but chuckle at him, he was just so awkward. I really hoped I didn't look like that whenever Masaki said anything to me...

As the two of them took off, I decided to just take a rest in my room. I felt my eyes close on their own as I drifted off to sleep-

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

-But I was quickly awakened by the obnoxious knocking on my door. I rushed to open the door, seeing Azizah standing in the doorway.

"Kanon! Please, come quick!" She called out, her arms trembling as her eyes darted back and forth.

"Whoa!" I stepped back, my anxiety suddenly skyrocketing. "What's going on?"

"It's Saeko!" Azizah cried. "She's hurt!"

I gasped, my eyes widening as I realized our conversation from earlier. I suddenly forgot about Azizah having been missing during all this time as the two of us dashed to Saeko's room, where Toko, Daquan, Sen, and Hideki had already made it. Saeko was lying down in her bed, and Sen was rubbing her head with a blue plastic glove on his hand.

"Y'all made it?" Toko asked us, looking back. Their eyes were wide and sweat was pouring from their forehead, they looked legitimately shaken up. "She's... not doin' so hot,"

"Saeko..." Daquan muttered under his breath. "Doc, how's she doin'?"

I looked over at Sen and Saeko. He was rubbing the side of her head, which looked to be a wound of some sort. "What's wrong?" I asked them.

"He... he..." Saeko whispered, unable to finish the sentence.

"She seems to have stumbled and hit her head," Sen replied. "She's suffered quite the head injury, but assuming all goes well, she'll be alright,"

"Oh, what a relief," Azizah exhaled.

Hideki nodded and scratched their chin. "Kanon, take a picture of this room," He instructed me. "Don't question it, just do it."

I nodded and silently pulled out my camera as I motioned for Toko, Daquan, Azizah, Sen, and Hideki to move. I snapped a picture of the room. Everything seemed to be in working order, but two objects that stood out to me were a model spear hanging on the wall and a large pink travel bag in the corner.

"That's a good call, Hideki," Toko muttered, pulling their hat down. "Anyway... I reckon that we should be gettin' some shut-eye. We need to give Saeko her space," Toko and Daquan then leaned in close to her. "Please, Saeko... Stay safe for us. Yer our best friend, okay?"

"We just... don't know what we'd do without you," Daquan whispered to her.

All Saeko could do was give a short nod as each of us exited the room. I yawned and went back to my room, feeling somehow even more tired than before. I basically fell asleep the moment I rested my head on my pillow, concerned about Saeko. All I could do was hope she would be okay by morning.

DING-DONG, DING-DONG!

I awoke the next morning and headed out of my room. I walked in through the hallway and noticed the carpet was actually clean, and no junk littered the room. It looked completely brand-new.

Just before I could enter the dining hall, I saw Toko and Daquan at the door of Saeko's room, both knocking.

"Damn. She ain't answerin'," Toko muttered.

"Maybe she's sleeping?" Daquan suggested.

Toko shook her head. "Ain't nobody who can sleep through that darn morn' announcement,"

"What's going on?" I asked them as I approached the two of them.

"Saeko hasn't opened up. Nobody's seen her," Daquan informed me.

"Yeah, we tried askin' everybody we've seen. Nobody's seen her since last night. I'm afraid," Toko told me, their voice getting quieter.

Suddenly, Rai dashed over to the three of us, shaking and wheezing.

"Rai?! What the hell is going on?!" Daquan shouted at him.

"I-It's-" Rai struggled to get his words out.

Toko pulled a pistol from underneath their skirt and pointed it at Rai. "If ya got somethin' important to say, I suggest ya say it,"

"C-Come quick! S-Somebody please come!" Rai screamed at us, tears beginning to run down his face. Suddenly, Masaki, Amy-chan, Kaemon, Hikooki, Yuki, Guadalupe, Shiro, Ryo, Kenji, Hideki, and Tame met up with us as well.

"What's going on here?!" Hideki shouted at Rai. "Tell us right now. You've got fifteen seconds,"

"I-I..." Rai sputtered out. "It's outside!"

"Follow me!" Hideki commanded us, leading us outside the train.

"What's going on?" Masaki asked me.

"I... don't know..." I replied, my heart sinking as I only imagined what would be happening up ahead. I didn't want to imagine what was going on.

Masaki nodded. "I just hope it's nothing too bad..."

When all of us exited the train, we saw only the most horrifying sight awaiting us outside.

The tree that stood outside the lodge, with Saeko's body pinned against the trunk, held up by a spear pinned through her stomach. Her dead eyes read nothing but pain and suffering as her blood slowly dripped onto the snow.

"Mother of God..." Hideki whispered.

"No..." Toko muttered, clenching onto the handle of their gun.

"Saeko..." Daquan whispered, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "Saeko!"

BING-BONG, BING-BONG!

The monitor on the wall outside the lodge flickered on, showing Monokuma drinking a glass of water again. "A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time has passed, a class trial will begin!" As the monitor shut off, everybody went silent.

"Which of you..." Toko began as a tear dripped down their eye. "Which of you did this?!" They screamed, pointing their gun at all of us.

No one had an answer.

Why would anyone do such a thing?

After we had already pledged not to let this happen.

Furthermore... why would anybody kill Saeko?