AN: Alright, I have the ending written so I believe I should be able to update more regularly again. I hope all of you who are reading this enjoy it right up until it ends!

Day 32, 0350 Hours, Library

John continued standing in silence as the rest of the surviving students arrived, Ferris, then Alexander, Mary; John was still waiting for more people to show up when Alexander began speaking.

"What happened here?"

"W-e f-found J-John standing o-over h-er," Paris said, shooting John a wounded look which he couldn't bring himself to meet, allowing him to focus in on the vibration of his ID signaling the new Monokuma file being added.

Alexander sighed, before saying, "John, what happened?"

John stood still a moment before saying, "I don't know."

"And how can you not know?" Alexander said.

"I was in the Archive Room," John said.

There was silence, which felt suffocating to the everyman, but John was happy with the fact he wasn't being killed outright by Monokuma.

"How did you get in?" Ferris asked, staring John down with his pale eyes and predatory smile.

Breathing in, John braced himself before saying, "I made a deal with Monokuma that I would get free run of the place as long as someone died in the next twen-."

Crack.

John sat up from the floor, blinking stars from his vision. As the world came back into focus, he noticed that Paris, Mary, and Jane were gone, while the others still remained. They were talking among themselves, and John took the opportunity to access his ID and look at the Monokuma file.

Chloe Johnson, died at 0320 hours from severe brain damage. She had cuts on the top of her head before the acid dissolved her skull, no other wounds.

…That was extremely helpful.

Exact time of death and confirmation that it was the acid that killed her as well as where it was likely to have hit first. A bevy of information that might have been given in the first Monokuma File, which was now out of place in this later one. This worried John.

John looked up as his ID was snatched away from him, seeing that it was Alexander who was confiscating his things.

"I believe a strict escort is in order for you, Suspect John," the tactician said, tactfully emphasizing John's new title.

"I don't need that anyway," John pointed out, as he stood up shakily, "I still have full access to the school per my agreement with Monokuma."

"Did he say if that still applied after someone died?" Ferris asked, already knowing the answer to his question.

"Of course he didn't," John said, "probably to spring it on me at an inconvenient time, like now if I tried to run."

The others looked him over disdainfully before Atsuko said, "Paris is off with Mary, and Jane ran the minute Paris clocked you."

Her tone told him that she knew he had had it coming and that she knew he knew that too. John said nothing to the lucky student after her statement, prompting her to motion towards the stairs, leading to her and Ferris's departure.

That left John alone with his escort and the corpse of Chloe, not the best of company at any time. Figuring that he might as well get it over with John opened his mouth to begin questioning Alexander.

"We inspected the body while you were out and found that her wounds matched the file perfectly, although I doubt that it was that straight forward," Alexander said, preventing John from speaking.

John closed his mouth as Monokuma appeared to say indignantly, "How rude of you to question my files, I put nothing but the truth in there and you all treat it as nothing but dirty lies!"

"Yes but never the whole truth, bear, which means that tis straightforward information is probably misleading in some way," Alexander said.

Monokuma fumed before turning to leave, before pausing to say, "By the way John, it would do you well to remember all of our agreement."

After that the bear vanished, leaving John at Alexander's mercy as the soldier whirled on him and slammed him into the wall.

"What exactly have you done?" he demanded as John tried to focus after the second blow to the head.

"I told you, free access as long as someone died within twenty-four hours of the deal," John said, after a moment before looking towards the ceiling to search for memories he might have lost.

As John sought inspiration in the architecture, Alexander released John, letting him slid to the floor. John didn't bother rubbing his head as Alexander began pacing back and forth, letting his eyes focus on the ceiling. The file said the wounds were to the top of her head. No one was tall enough to reach, and by the looks of it they only need to hit her once. She probably would have stood somewhere where she could see all the places she was likely to be approached, since Chloe was the survivalist. And where she was laying was directly under the vent…

"The vent," John said quietly, snapping Alexander out of his thoughts.

"What?" The tactician demanded shortly.

"It's open," John said, gesturing at the ceiling.

Alexander looked from him to the vent, only giving it a cursory glance before turning to reprimand John, for trying to distract him probably. The tactician then paused, before looking back towards the ceiling again, finally noticing the signs that gave away the vent not fully closed as it should have.

"If you managed to open it quietly enough," Alexander mused as he stared at the ceiling, John remaining still as to not cause the other student to panic and possible attack him.

After a bit Alexander looked back towards John before reaching down and pulling him to his feet.

"Alright, you will be given a chance to prove that it was not you who slayed our comrade," Alexander said, staring John directly in his eye, "Do not disappoint me."

John nodded as Alexander released him, finally deciding to rub his sore skull as the other boy turned and walked away, commanding him to follow. Knowing that doing anything otherwise would likely only make his situation worse, John complied, following the foreboding figure in silence as they descended the stairs and proceeded towards the exit of the library.

Neither spoke as they traversed the silent halls of the empty school, Hope's Bloom. John still felt the name was conceited, but perhaps if he divulged the information he had learned it would help rebuild some of the trust he had lost. Or it could make things worse, if anything this experience had taught him that things can always get worse.

"I searched through several rooms while I had free reign," John said, "the archive room as I said and Monokuma's r-."

Bad choice again as John was forced backwards into the wall as Alexander pinned him again.

"What possessed you to go there?" he demanded, leaning onto John forcing his limbs into painful angles.

"To try and confront the mastermind," John grunted, tears forming in his eyes, "but the bastard barricaded themselves in a different room, allowing the door to open and give me access without actual letting me in the room."

"So you had no contact with them outside of Monokuma?"

"No, I did see how they control Monokuma though," John said, "A computer that looked like Shi-ru's but with manual controls for operating the drones instead."

John held his breath as Alexander seemed to debate his next course of action before a voice called out to them.

"H-hey, l-let him g-o!"

Paris ran up, Mary following behind, glaring at Alexander forcing the other student to release John. John let out a groan but forced himself to stand tall, but all the head blows were starting to take a toll on him. He couldn't help but wonder if he had a concussion as Paris berated Alexander for his behavior, the tactician eventually forcing John's ID into her hands, stating that she could watch John if she was so concerned about him.

As he walked away John opened his mouth and said, "Where were you at the time of the murder?"

Alexander froze at John's words before saying, "I was with Mary, and I left her shortly after."

Mary murmured a confirmation of Alexander's statement as the boy disappeared from sight, Paris stating that she had met up with Atsuko by that time, and they had had Jane as well. It took a moment for her words to register in John's head as he began to think through the available evidence.

Chloe was killed from above. There was no struggle. The vent was open. Acid was dropped on her. They had all just been given thematic weapons to their talent. And they had already guessed that someone had received acid as a weapon. With a confirmation of Atsuko's whereabouts, it really left no doubt as to who the real killer was.

"I'm missing something," John said, surprising the others.

He began moving forward, only to walk into Paris. She grabbed his head and forced him to look her in the eyes.

"His pupils look wrong," the soccer player told the artist after a second, "we need to take him to the infirmary."

John tried to protest but was silenced as he was partially dragged and partly carried towards the nearby Nurse's Office. He was forced onto the bed and the minute the other's backs were turned a Mono-ru appeared to care for him. He fought the urge to resist feebly against the copy of his friend, knowing full well that it was unlikely to hurt him. Unfortunately, the keyword was unlikely.

The other two stood back and watched, talking quietly between each other as John was tended to. When he was finally abandoned by the faux Shi-ru John tried to sit up but was pushed down by Paris.

"What i-information are you missing?" Paris said, guessing what John was talking about.

"All my evidence points to Ferris doing it, but, I just don't think this would be how he'd kill someone," John said.

"Why?" Paris said.

"It's too obviously him, but," John said, pausing to let his thoughts get in order.

"He's smart enough to think of that and try and use that to his advantage," Mary said, beating John to the conclusion.

John nodded before saying, "I need to find the proving piece."

The other two stared at him before Mary said, "I think there is one, and that we can get it easily."

John and Paris both started slightly, and before any further words could be said the announcement ending the time for investigation played, signaling that the time of refection was over.

"What is the proof them?" Paris pressed Mary as they assisted John in his dazed walk.

"I believe everyone except Ferris was with someone else at that time, excluding John who was in the archives," the artist replied, "anyways, there's only two people who can use the vent, unless Louise came back from the afterlife."

Paris winced but said, "And Atsuko was with me, but what if it was a setup?"

John closed his eyes as he heard her say that. He couldn't fault her, even if it did hurt.

"John had been running around beforehand and you said that you had been watching the security cameras and that he never went by the archive room to set it up, so he would have been seen otherwise," Mary countered.

Paris and Mary continued talking as they approached the central elevator, all the other students already assembled and waiting. Atsuko let a quiet cry of surprise at John being supported by the two girls, and Jane looked a little phased, but the chemist and tactician took his condition in stride.

It was clear that he was no longer trusted among the group.

But, now was a time to throw off the deceptions that were currently going on, unmask a murder and send them to Monokuma's gallows where they will pay for their crime, with an extremely exorbitant interest. As the elevator descended, the next class trial was already well underway.