Naegi couldn't wrap his head around the scene infront of him.

'No.. this can't be.. I'm just hallucinating.'

Naegi rubbed his eyes, pinched himself, went into trains of thought denying that anyone here would do such a thing, yet when he looked down at the floor the reality of the situation never changed. At his feet was the lifeless body of Aoi Asahina, the ultimate gymnast. His head felt like it was on the verge of exploding from all of the thoughts coursing through his head. Before his head could complete the self destruction sequence, he heard a ring over the intercom. Monokuma's voice rang out over the sound waves permeating out from the speakers in the room.

"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the Class Trial will begin!" He bellowed over the loudspeakers proudly.

All Makoto could do was continue to stare at his feet in disbelief as the other students began to fill the room around him. Hiro had come back with the others, and the majority of their reactions were that of horror or shock. Gasps, yelling, faint sobs, all of it filled the air of the room.

A part of him just wanted to breakdown and grovel on the floor. Someone.. no, not someone, one of his friends been murdered. How? Nobody here would do this... Unable to bear the bleak scene around him any longer, he found his legs moving on their own and walking out of the room across the hall to grab some water. Taking a sip from a water bottle, he found himself in a state of complete perplexion.

He had isolated himself on a bench in the hallway. He sat there, lost in thought for what felt like an eternity but in reality was likely no longer than about 10 minutes. Finding himself beginning to fight back tears, he begun to hear footsteps approaching the bench he was sitting on, causing his body to seize and sit up straight. Looking up, he saw Kirigiri.

"The others are gathering in the gymnasium to talk things over.. come with me,"

"What... what are we talking over? Wasn't it the bear who did it..? Who else could-"

Kyoko looked at him, sighing a bit before extending a hand out to him. "I don't really want to admit it but.. Monokuma likely wasn't responsible. We have to investigate the crime scene as a group."

The two entered the gymnasium together, where the remaninder of the students had gathered. Except for one. Naegi looked over to Kyoko to ask her a question.

"Maizono.. isn't here?"

Kyoko let out a long sigh before gracing him with a response. "She just slipped in her room after you left it. You left the door open, I assume. I tried getting her to come out, but no luck, she's barracaded herself in there."

He wanted to question her further, but he couldn't largely thanks to the fact that he felt a large pressure on his shoulders from every other corner of the room. Apparently they had been a bit late, and before he had time to consider the implications the stupid looking bear quickly rushed over to the two of them and welcomed them. He shoved a large envelope into their hands without delay or question. Makoto stumbled back a bit in shock at the sudden appearance. "W-what the?"

"It's the Monokuma File!" the black and white creature bellowed to the two, his usual stupid smile on his face. "This file gives you information on the time of death, where the body was found, the cause of death, ectera! Receiving this file is going to become a tradition as the bodies stack up over time, so please get used to it!"

The way he just threw around the bodies stacking up like it were nothing more than a mere game him got under Naegi's skin. His emotions boiled a bit, and he raised his voice to shoot back at his comment."What? Why should we listen to your file? You're the one who killed Aoi, nobody here is fooled!"

"I would never do that! I'm just a sport loving bear! Believe me, I wouldn't! Unless someone violates a school regulation, I absolutely will not interfere. Promise! I'm famous at zoos around the world for being one of the keepers' most honorable subjects!"

The evil look on Makoto's face didn't go anywhere as the bear galloped away to the other side of the room, but before he could fire back Kirigiri put a hand infront of his chest. "Calm down. Letting your emotions get out of control won't solve anything right now. Have you read the file?"

He had started to remove the paper from the envelope, however before he could do so he found himself more engrossed in the argument lighting up around him.

Chihiro let out a little squeak through her teary eyes. "T-then who did it..? Who killed her?"

"Well, one of you did of course!"

A wave of silence filled the air. For what felt like an eternity nobody spoke a single word. Even to Makoto the mere thought of it felt like some sort of cruel joke. 'One of us killed Asahina? There's no way that could be true, right? No, there isn't. That can't be tru-'

Monokuma would be the one to break the silence himself. "Oh, oopsies! I didn't mean to make the atmosphere so grim! Jeez.. with the way you guys are acting you'd think a little puppy had just been shot up by a machine gun in here. No need to be so dramatic! Don't you all remember what I told you at the start? One of you decided to kill Asahina so that you could graduate from Hope's Peak Academy!" He let out a deep laugh careless laugh. "Somebody's just doing what they were told to do!"

"You're.. lying, right?" Hifumi squeaked out, his face a pale blue.

Naegi's attention at this point had found itself completely diverted from the file he had received and had instead been shifted onto Monokuma. "Of course he's lying! I'm telling you, he killed her!"

"Nope, sorry. One of you is now a full-time murderer! If the killer felt like it, they could reveal themselves right now! But they aren't going to. They have amibitions of graduating, after all!"

The moment those words had left his lips, the entire room tensed up as everyone there exchanged gazes. 'It... was one of us?' Makoto pondered to himself. 'Is that.. really true?' Looks of confusion, fear, and suspicision crossed all of those present.

Chihiro squeaked her voice again. "S-s-s-someone really...". She failed to continue that sentence.

"I don't believe it! Someone couldn't have really...! No way!" Ishimaru exclaimed, a cold sweat rushing over his features.

"Interesting how someone could bring themselves to do such a thing.." Celes calmly remarked, her statement sticking out like a sore thumb admist the rest of the students.

"I still don't buy it, how do we know this prick is telling the truth!" Oowada angrily growled at Monokuma

"That's enough. If we could all pipe down for a moment, there's something I'd like to clarify with the bear. If one of us killed her, that person really gets to graduate from the school, correct? So then that person gets to leave, no?" Togami had an agitated look on his face as he awaited a reply, which came near instantanouesly. Though it likely wasn't the reply he was expecting.

Monokuma started laughing manicially, not even answering the question he had been presented.

"Why.. are you laughing?" Kuwata replied in a sweat.

"You really think that was all I had in store for you! Pupupupu!" Monokuma continued as his laughter echoed throughout the gym. "No, the real thing has just begun. Are you ready? Allow me to explain the second part of the rule regarding graduation. It's true that you must kill someone if you want to leave... however, even if you do that, there's still one more agreement that you have to uphold."

"You are referring to the 6th rule of the regulations.." Celes replied in her usual calm demeanor. "If you are the blackened who committed the murder.. you cannot be found out by the students. That is what you are talking about, is it not?"

"Bingo! It's not enough to just kill someone! You have come up with a super, duper, fantabolus plot and get away with it! Which naturally means you need a good system in place to assess whether or not it's been gotten away with! So, a certain amount after a murder has taken place, a class trial will begin!"

As he said that, looks of bewilderement flashed across the rest of those in the game, but before any of them could finish their lines of thought he continued on.

"Yup! It'll begin a few hours after the murder! Everyone will gather together, including the blackened who committed the murder. And they and the spotless students will all engage in one big debate showdown. The outcome will be decided by popular vote. If the answer you arrived at is correct, only the one that disturbed the peace will be punished. The rest may continue on. However, if you choose poorly, then the one who got away with the murder will survive and the rest of you will be punished. Which means that sadly, your school life will come to an end."

"So um... what exactly is this punishment you keep talking about?" Hifumi asked as he gnawed on his nails.

"Oh.. well to put it simply, it's execution!"

"Execution?!" He replied in a shocked gasp.

"A-and by execution you mean.."

"Execution is execution. You know, a guillotine, poision gas, electric chair, any sort of torture method you can think of!"

"S-so to make sure I understand.. if we get the culprit right then only they die.. but if we get it wrong then all of the rest of us get executed" Ishimaru asked in a trembly voice, his eyes widened.

"Ooh! A quick thinker! I like quick thinkers! You'll be of value during the trial! Yes, that's exactly it! Be sure to judge carefully; all of your lives are on the line!"

"Wait! Hold on a second" Junko began to butt in, her face red in anger. "You're freaking insane! You know that?! A class trial? The hell is that? I don't want anything to do with it."

"Why not?"

"Why not?! Why do I have to waste my time trying to figure out who killed who?"

"Are you saying you're not gonna participate in the class trial? Someone's just asking for a punishment."

"Punishment?"

"I might.. uhh.. feed you to a pack of werewolves or something."

"Shut the hell up! I'm not doing this nonsense, stupid bear. Kill whoever you want, it's got nothing to do with me."

"You're evil! A witch, no, more than a witch! You are an evil wizard! But do not fear students, I will never give in to such evil! If you wanna get outta here, you have to go through me first!"

Junko took this as an invitation to hop into a fight, and knocked the bear over and started stepping on him. Makoto's thoughts started to trail. 'Uhm... is this really a good ide-'

"Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is not allowed. You've violated a school regulation. I invoke the mighty summon spell! Help me, O Spear Gungnir!"

Flash. Spurt. It was like the Junko we knew hadn't been standing there seconds ago. It took a second for Naegi's eyes to even register what he was looking at. Junko's body had been impaled with a bunch of spears. Blood was trailing out of her mouth. Her face had gone blue.

"Wh...? This wasn't supposed to.. Why... me?"

And then her eyes shot wide open. Just like that, she never moved again.

After a brief gracing period, a chorus of reactions began to echo out from the students.

"W-What the?!"

"I don't..."

"This cant be real..."

"NO WAYYYYYYYYY!"

As if he hadn't just murdered someone, Monokuma continued.

"Pupupu! Well, I wanted to avoid any unneccessary deaths. But, every good story needs it's sacrifical lamb! At least now, you all know what happens when you defy me."

The bear took a more sinister tone. "Defy me... break rules, attack me, and i'll kill you quicker than you can say Monokuma! In several entertaining ways, too!"

Naegi could make out words being spoke between the others, but somewhere around this point he had found himself completely spacing out. 'Did that really just happen? Junko.. who had been our friends until mere moments ago.. just gone. Killed like it was nothing. Maybe it really is hopeless to defy this creature..' His vision was blurring. He was in this mania for a few minutes, but finally found himself coming back to his senses alongside the rest of his grieving friends.

"Now, back to the file you all received earlier! That's a Monokuma file! If you open it up, it'll contain all I know about the circumstances that I know about the death! I got to see it all go down in the surveillance cameras, so you can be absolutely sure that my information is reliable."

"Wait.. so then you know who killed Aoi?" Kirigiri glared at him, a look of displeasure written on her face.

"Of course I do! How would I judge trial otherwise?"

"I suppose you have a point.. well at least that means we can't just be killed on a whim even if we get the answer right."

"Yes! And with that being said, we'll meet up in a little while for the beginning of the trial! In the meantime you'd better get to investigating! I'll make the announcement over the intercom when it's time."

With that, he disappeared once again. The body of those in the assembly was stunned and confused. Makoto looked down at the file in his arms. Something about this file was bugging him. Even admidst Junko's death this had been gnawing at the back of his mind the entire time. Yet he felt little desire to open it up. They've seen two people die infront of them. 'I mean it's normal to be upset right? How does he possibly expect us to..'

"The worst thing we can all do right now is lose faith in eachother." Kyoko announced to those around her. "Cooperation is key at this point. If we don't cooperate, we will fail in the trial and all of us will die."

Celes opted to back her up. "Continuing to think about the dead certainly isn't productive. Anyone who can't adapt will die. If that happens, you only have yourself to blame."

A few others among them begrudingly agreed. Naegi himself gave a silent nod. 'They're right... I guess it's finally time to see what's inside this file now..'Along with the others, he finally decided to take it out and read it.

But before he could do that, Celes looked up at the others. She had apparently been the first to read her Monokuma File. "Well.. I just noticed something a bit pecuilar. According to the file, she died in Makoto's dorm."

"What?!"

"She's right!"

"Does that mean.."

Makoto immediately started to receive glares from everyone in the room. Some fearful, some hateful. "Oh huh.. no that can't be right.. I'm sure it's a mist-"

Makoto's eyes glanced across the file infront of him. His eyes ran across the text.

'The time of death was around 1:30am.'

'The body was found in Makoto Naegi's private room in the dormitory area.'

'The victim was killed in that room's living area.'

'Cause of death is a wound to the stomach area made by a sharp object.'

"What?! Well.. I swear it really isn't what it looks like. Me and Maizono just switched rooms for the night because she was scared, that's all."

Toko looked at him angrily. "You really expect us to believe that?! Tell the truth. You did it."

"No I-"

"Makoto? Why would you do such a thing?!" Hifumi panicked at him.

"I didn't do anything!" After he yelled one last rebuttal at them, he felt himself collapsing. 'Me? Kill someone? There's no way..' The suspicion he was under was piercing his heart, and unable to bear the weight further he ran out of the gymnasium and found himself collapsed on the same bench from earlier. His heart was racing at a thousand miles per minute, and he found himself trying his best to calm down.

A look of utter bewilderment and confusion crossed Naegi's face as he tried to collect his thoughts in isolation. 'My.. room? What? That couldn't be possible. Does that mean that Sayaka...? No. That's impossible. And if this is in my room... does that mean everyone else...'. Before he had even had much of a chance to collect his thoughts, he heard a voice across from the hallway that gradually approached him. It was Kirigiri's voice.

"So, are you just going to sit here and grovel?"

"W-what do you-"

"You should be proving your innocence right now." Kyoko's face had twisted from it's usual blank look into something of a snarl. "I mean if you want to be the one who dies in the class trial then I can't stop you."

"My innocence?"

"You look like the killer, Naegi. Get it through your head. You are the prime suspect. Whether you like it or not, the body was found in YOUR room. Do you remember what Monokuma said about the class trial when we first got here? We have to investigate and figure out who's responsible or we ALL die. Every single one of us. If we get the wrong person, the entire class is killed and the killer gets to graduate. All that hiding in a corner does is make you look more suspicious." Her words exited her lips with a venomous drip off of them, before her voice then morphed itself into a much calmer demeanor.

"Why don't you go give Maizono a Monokuma file? I got an extra copy from Monokuma for her, but I doubt she'll answer for me." Kyoko stretched out her arm containing the file to Naegi, who took it.

"Maybe she'll come out and help in the investigation for you, though I doubt she'll reply to a knock. Might want to try slipping a letter under the door or something.. once you've done this, come back here and investigate the trash room with me. I've found some evidence in there that I'd like to show you. The others are all off investigating too.. we'll talk and reach a final answer before the trial begins."

Finally, after what felt like years in his head, he shook Kyoko's hand and began to will himself up from the bench and down the hall towards Maizono's room.

'She's right..' he pondered to himself. 'I.. have to prove my innocence. I did nothing wrong.. I'm not responsible for this.. but how can I prove it..?' he found his thoughts stop for a brief moment as he approached her door. 'Oh right.. I should probably write a note..' He checked his pockets for something to write on and found a crumbled up piece of paper. 'Eh.. it'll have to do I suppose.'

Maizono laid in her bed. Her pillow had become soggy, and she found herself with her head cupped in her arms. All day long she had been like this. How many hours had passed? It must've been at least 6 by this point. Her brain felt like it were under the subjugation of an endless mist, she couldn't even think straight. All she could do was cry. She wouldn't be able to get out of here. 'No I have to get out of here..' she mumbled to herself. 'E-even if means someone else has to die.. my bandmates.. what did that fiend do with them. Th-there's no way they can be allowed to suffer. I have to get out of here."

Her thought process was interrupted by a knock at the door. The knock startled her, but she quickly realized it was more than likely one of the students trying to get her attention yet again. Sayaka groaned in irritation. 'They really can't take a hint..?' she would think to herself. Just as she had started to lay back down however, she noticed a note slide under the door. Though she figured it would more than likely just be nonsensical tripe about how the others 'need' her, Maizono opted to at least give it a read. Slowly sitting up, her bones creaking a little bit as she did so, she stepped up from her bed side and went to retrieve the note. It read...

'Hi Sayaka! It's Naegi. I've been really worried about you, you haven't come out of your room at all and we didn't see you at the assembly. Please feel better! Uhm... I understand if you do not wish to speak, but would you please accept the file attached with this note? It's the Monokuma file.. we're pretty much being forced to investigate the crime and figure out who was responsible and it's of substantial help in determining the killer. Thank you in advance.

Signed, your favorite non-psychic'

Maizono's heart had dropped.

'Naegi?'

Makoto had stood there for a solid 5 minutes. He figured he'd at least give her a chance to open the door and then walk away after some time had passed. Though another minute was unlikely to change anything, he had figured that one more wouldn't hurt.

His gut feeling had evidently paid off, as just a little bit after this thought had crossed his mind the door began to creak open. After a few moments that had felt much longer than they were had passed, he saw Sayaka standing across from him. Except.. something felt off. She looked disheveled. Her usually straight, blue hair was a mess and all over the place. The whites of her eyes were not white at all and were instead a hue of pink, and outlining around her eyes there was blackness. Not makeup-related blackness or anything, the sort of black that forms around someone's eyes when they're just tired. Tired of everything. Sunken in, resigned eyes. That sort of look. Her room was uncharacteristically messy, trash had been thrown carelessly onto the floor and everything generally appeared strewn about. This.. isn't her.

'Wh-what the hell happened to her? She's usually so cheerful.. what the.. no. Don't let it distract me. Just try to make her feel better and get her to come along in the investigation, that's all that I can do right now. Come on Naegi.. you've known her since middle school, we're friends. It's your job to cheer her up and get her to come along..'

The awkwardness of the situation felt like an avil on his shoulders, as if his entire body would soon collapse under it. Finally after a brief awkward silence he had resolved himself to speech.

"H-hey there Maizono.. I've really been worried about you. The others have also."

He sat there and awaited an answer from her. It took a few seconds, she almost looked spaced out. As if she had left this plane of existence and traveled to a new one. But finally, she graced him with a reply.

"Hi Naegi.. uhm.." she couldn't find the remainder of what she wanted to say and began to bite her nails a little instead. "I'm sorry that I worried you.. I'm okay.."

"Oh no.. really it's fine. We understand, it's really hard to cope with this situation and everybody has a different way of doing so. There's nothing to be apologetic about, it's okay. Everything's gonna be A-okay if we all stick together!" he proudly exclaimed.

A weak, pained smile crossed Sayaka's lips after he said that. He almost wished he hadn't had to see it. It really hurt him to see Maizono like this. She's usually even more cheery than he is.. it sucks.

"Thank you Makoto.. I'll take a look at least." she told him.

"Would you like to come with me and Kyoko to investigate.. we uh.. we could really use your help. If we don't figure out who did this um... well to put it bluntly... Monokuma said that we all die and the killer gets away." The words had exited his lips in about the most sheepish tone possible, but they had exited them nonetheless. He noticed Sayaka's eyes furrow a bit. She almost looked.. suspicious towards him.

'Huh? That's weird.'

Maizono finally graced him with a response.

"I don't think that'll be necessary.. you guys are smart. I trust you to figure out who's responsible Makoto. For our own sakes."

She said that, and then forced an obviously artifical smile onto her face. Distinctly different from the one earlier. As pained as it had looked, it was genuine. This one just isn't. He could tell. Makoto started to rack his brain. He didn't understand why she'd refuse. Isn't she going to die as well? Unless-

'No, that's impossible. She wouldn't hurt a fly Makoto, stop being a paranoid idiot.' he thought to himself, before then formulating a reply of his own towards Sayaka.

"Are you sure? This sort of involves you too you know.."

"No no, I mean, it's not that I don't like you guys or anything.. I just really need some alone time, that's all."

Naegi couldn't help but stare at her. He looked and burned himself into her pink, recently tear-soaked eyes. And upon doing so, Maizono looked away. This wasn't right. Why is she behaving this way? There's something else too.

'Come to think of it.. hadn't the body been found in his room? The one she was staying in?' he pondered internally. 'I... I can't let her just play me off like this. I need to ask her..'

"Uhm.. Sayaka. I had a question to ask, if that's okay. Uhhh..." his voice caught in his throat. Was he really suspecting her of all people? But if he didn't.. what if it really was her? No, he has to figure this out. For his and everybody else's sake. "So.. the file states that um... uhhh.. the body was found in my room.."

The moment he had said that, Sayaka's look went from pained to piercing. Her face had taken on a whole new look, one that wouldn't be unbefitting of Medusa herself to hold.

"Um... and last night, we switched rooms right? So wouldn't you have.. uh... wouldn't you have been in my room last night? D-did you see anything funny or anything like that?"

It felt like it had taken every ounce of power he had inside himself to spit those words out. Maizono's gaze looked grave, a sharp contrast from mere moments ago. In fact, she almost looked angry.

"Oh no.. I mean.. I don't really know what you're talking about, sorry."

...

He looked at her.

'Did she actually just say that..? What? I can't just..'

"Huh? You don't remember switching rooms with me last night? That can't be right. Are you su-"

The look on Sayaka's face had went from one of displeasure to that of malice. "SHUT UP!" she screamed at him, before then pushing him out of her room and slamming the door closed.

His entire body stood motionless outside of her door. His brain was in a state of confusion disbelief. She had just.. yelled at him? What? Why? Had he said anything wrong? All he could do was just stand there in a state of shock. Minutes continued to pass as thoughts swirled inside of his head.

'What if she actually did it..?'

'Did she seriously not remember.. no, then why did she get so mad at me?'

'Why was she so upset looking earlier?'

Naegi's brain felt like it were going to explode. His head was spinning. Was the one person here that he thought he understood capable of such a thing? He... he couldn't believe it. Could she have maybe been pushed towards killing by the tape? But what if she didn't actually do anything and was just merely in a bad headspace? I mean he couldn't confirm it one way or the other. But as he tried to search for a reasonable explanation, he felt his sleeve get tugged on. He looked to his right and saw Kyoko once again.

"It must not have gone very well I assume." She let out a long sigh, before then putting on a small smile for Naegi's sake. "Come on, let's go. We have to investigate. Time's ticking. You can sort things out between eachother later."

Naegi and Kirigiri made way for the scene of the crime, Naegi's own bedroom. Outside of Asahina's corpse, guarded by Oogami and Oowada, the first thing he noticed was the table that had fallen over, the sole sign of a struggle, however he also noticed how far away the table was from the body. 'How did Asahina even get in my room? The only person who had a key was-'

A deep pit sunk in Naegi's stomach as he tried to not to jump to conclusions.

Naegi's eyes darted over to the body of Aoi Asahina, undeniably dead. She laid hunched over on the ground, a pained expression on her face. He wanted to turn away, but running away from the truth would only cause everyone's demise.

Suprisingly, Mondo was the first to speak. "Ain't it possible the culprit already destroyed the evidence? Like, before Leon found the body."

"Leon found the body?" Naegi replied, broken out of his focus.

"Yeah, he went ringing everyone's doorbell and Yasuhiro came out, then I did. He led us to your room, where, uh, we found this."

"What time did he wake everyone up?"

"I don't know, maybe around five in the morning."

The look on Naegi's face was one of great curiosity. "Interesting, thanks Mondo."

After studying the body for a short time, and seeing nothing unusual outside of the knife embedded in Hina's abdomen, Naegi noticed the black replica Katana he had taken from the gym lying unsheathed on the floor, the sheath lying near Hina's body. The gold on the handle had been rubbed off, clearly someone was weilding it, however it wasn't the murder weapon. Shortly after, Oowada spoke up again.

"Oh, I almost forgot. If the killer did destroy evidence, the place to do it would be the trash room. I'd look there if I were you."

"I'll remember that, thanks again."

Naegi decided to check on Kyoko, who was staring at the floor.

"Are you a germaphobe, Naegi?" The question visibly confused Makoto.

"What? No."

"Hmph. Interesting. There's not a single strand of hair anywhere, I thought maybe you used the lint roller."

"Wasn't me. Is that all that's off about the room?"

"No. Why is the door to your shower broken?" The bluntness of Kirigiri's question almost sounded hostile.

"B-broken? You mean the alignment? My shower door is misaligned, you need to push up on the handle to open the door. It's only my door, apparently."

Kirigiri seemed almost suprised at the revelation, like she missed a clue.

"I see. But I'm referring to the broken doorknob."

Upon further inspection, indeed, the doorknob has been tampered with, a screw missing and the knob itself tilted out of position. 'It's clear someone used some kind of a screwdriver on it. But why would someone do that?'

Kirigiri spoke again. "They must have broke the doorknob to bypass the lock."

"But there's no lock on my door. Only the girl's bathrooms have locks."

"I see... Naegi, did you tell anyone else about how to open your door?"

Naegi contemplated for a moment, before he remembered that indeed he had.

"Uh, now that you mention it, yes. I told Sayaka exactly how." Makoto almost smiled, thinking he may have helped Kyoko somewhat.

Kirigiri was silent for a short time. She was lost in contemplation before snapping back.

"It's all clear to me now."

"What? What's clear?" Naegi was honestly confused.

"It will be clear to you soon too." A smile crept across Kirigiri's face. "You must figure out the truth of this case on your own. I'll be seeing you."

With that, Kyoko left the room. 'On my own... she knows something, but we're on totally different pages. I guess it's time to move on.'

The room had been thouroughly searched. Naegi had one last thing to check: his toolkit. The seal had been opened, and it was missing a screwdriver. 'Did the culprit use my own toolkit?'

Naegi stepped out of the room and thought of other clues to investigate. As he settled on the trash room, the ever-comforting Byakuya Togami walked up to him and began speaking.

"Why was it that Aoi Asahina was found dead in your room?" His tone was as harsh and cold as it could possibly be. "Is it because you killed her?"

"N-no, of course not! Me and Maizono switched rooms last night." Togami seemed to stare off into the distance for a moment.

"Hm. Naegi. Was the room you just came out of yours?" An odd question to ask, Makoto thought.

"Yeah. Have you not seen the crime scene?"

"Why is Maizono's nameplate on your door?"

"Why- huh?" Makoto shot back and looked, and yes, Sayaka's nameplate was on his door. Furthermore, his own nameplate was on Sayaka's.

"I.. don't know. I didn't put it there. I genuinely have no idea."

"Even a peasant such as yourself should be able to come to a conclusion why." Byakuya was as charming as always.

"Then what do you think?"

"It's obvious. Figure it out on your own. If you're as innocent as you say, prove it."

Makoto was always taken aback by Togami whenever he spoke, but that last part... felt almost motivational.

"I do, however, have one thing I'd like to share with you, as it pertains to the case, and as far as I know only I am aware of it." Byakuya straightened his glasses and continued to speak.

"I was up late in the A/V room last night. Contemplating things. I heard running coming from the hallway in the early morning hours."

"You broke Celeste's rule?"

"Do you honestly think I care about whatever rule that deathly pale ""Princess"" dare try to impose on me? I am Byakuya Togami, and you'll both stop asking idiotic questions and stop interrupting me now." Makoto's lips were sealed.

"Anyway, I took a step outside to see what was causing the noise. I briefly saw Sayaka Maizono swing open the women's bathrooms. I got closer and heard water running, and when I took a peek inside I saw her rubbing some strange yellowish-gold residue off her hands. I almost wanted to confront her, but decided against it. When she left, she dropped this intentionally at the bathroom door."

Togami handed a key to Makoto. Makoto's key.

Togami then walked away with his usual flair. Makoto yelled out "Thank you!" from across the hall, but predictibly there was no response. 'Gold residue on her hands... that lines up with the katana. and her having my key... she must've still been in my room when the murder took place. Togami can be quite unpleasant, but he sure was helpful this time around, in his own way.'

Naegi was almost tempted to go attempt to talk to Maizono once more, but quickly eliminated the possibility as a dead end. Instead, he headed on to the trash room.

In the trash room, Makoto was confronted by a grate blocking access to the incinerator. beyond it, he spotted what seemed to be a water bottle of sorts, and, most notably, a seemingly bloody piece of cloth. Clearly, there was very important evidence behind this grate. He walked up to it and knelt down, preparing to try to lift the grate, before an all too familiar voice rung out from behind him.

"Naegi! Don't you know access to the incinerator is forbidden by all execpt the Janitor? You shall not pass! Breaking a rule is a huge no-no! Wouldn't want to end up like poor Enoshima, would you?

Makoto nearly groaned when he realized that damn bear was standing beside him. But he mentioned something interesting.

"Janitor? There's a janitor? Who?"

"Not you! Ahaha!" Clearly asking him was useless, he'd just have to ask someone else.

Naegi's search for the janitor led him to the cafeteria, where, predictably, Hifumi Yamada sat, muttering something about a lack of Diet Coke.

"Hey, Yamada. I've got a question."

Hifumi snapped his head toward Makoto and spoke with suspicion. "Mr. Naegi! If you seek to harm me or anyone else here, you should know I will fight you tooth and nail!"

Yamada still suspected him. This could get complicated.

"It's nothing like that, Yamada. I just wanted to ask you if you know who the Janitor is."

"The Janitor? Why, that would be me! What would Mr. Naegi need from me?"

"You're the Janitor? Perfect. I wanted to ask you if you'd help me investigate the incinerator room. Only you can get in there, so Monokuma tells me."

Yamada's suspicions furthered. "Does Mr. Naegi, perhaps, want to DESTROY EVIDENCE TO HIDE HIS CRIME?"

"What! No! It's not like that at all! I think there already is evidence there, and I need your help to investigate! You can watch me the whole time, think of us as partners!"

"Hmm. Partners, no. I'm only into 2D."

Makoto's face turned red, not from flattery, but from frustration. "That's not what I meant!"

"Co-Detectives sounds more like it. I will help you, Mr. Naegi, but I will have my eye on you the whole time."

Naegi thanked whatever gods may be for the conversation finally to be over, and he and Yamada made way for the trash room. The bear had left, thank goodness.

"Leave it to me!" Yamada yelled out, as he waddled over to the keyhole and activated the switch that opened the shutters. The two men stepped inside the incinerator room, warmth quickly encapuslated both of them.

"Investigate as you will. but attempt to destroy evidence, and I will punish you accordingly!" Yamada said again, oblivious as to how ridiculous his words sounded.

"Don't worry, Yamada. I came here to find destroyed evidence, not make any myself. Trust me."

Makoto set his sights on the main attraction: the water bottle and the bloody piece of cloth. On further inspection, it was clear the piece of cloth was actually the sleeve to a button up shirt. 'Must have been worn by the killer at the crime scene, with the blood on it.' The water bottle, had- 'Blood? There's blood on the water bottle. Was this as well at the scene of the crime?'

"What's the water bottle even here for?" Makoto spoke out loud.

Yamada waddled closer to him. "You see the green button above you? That button commences immolation. The yellow button concludes immolation. Now that I think about it... H-how is that possible!"

"What's wrong?" Yamada seemed outright shaken by something.

"The flame has been left on all night! The last time I was here, I was sure it was off! How could this be! This... could this be the work of a fairy?"

"Yamada! Is what you just said true?"

"About the fairy?"

"No! About the incinerator not being on the last time you were here."

"Ah, yes, yes. My memory is as strong as can be! It was surely off, as the sky is blue! Someone else must have somehow gotten the incinerator to turn on! Most peculiar."

'In other words,' Naegi thought to himself, 'Someone activated the incinerator without opening the shutters. Could someone have thrown something? Would have been one impressive throw to get past the shutter bars and hit the button perfectly.'

While he thought, Naegi noticed one more thing lying on the floor, previously covered by the burnt piece of sleeve.

'Is that... a Screwdriver? There's blood on the handle. Did the killer use this to open the bathroom door? Blood on the handle, did they break in there to wash up, like Sayaka did in the girl's bathroom? Which must mean...'

A bell rung out from the monitor.

"Ahem. I'm getting tired of waiting here... Let's get things started, shall we?"

Monokuma.

"It's the event you've all been waiting for... The Class Trial! Without further ado, please enter the red door on the first floor of the school zone. Upupu, seeeee youuu sooooon!"

'No... damn. This really isn't much evidence to go off of. But.. we have to try! I'm sure that if we put our minds to it we can do this..'

Naegi and Yamada left for the red door.

'We have to do this.. we have to figure out who the killer is! For Asahina's sake, and for our own sakes!'

A/N: This one proved to be a pain to write at times but I had fun with it. It was pretty difficult to figure out where to take things at points and coming up with believable character interactions can be a real challenge. Hope it was a pleasant read.