The Crusher of Hopes and Dreams.

What happened to them!?

I need to make sure they are okay!

I can't waste any more time in this place!

I have to get out of here!

I have to get out of here!

I HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!

Those were the thoughts that have been plaguing Sayaka's head after watching that…that video in the AV room a few hours ago and became witness to the most despairful scenario possible. Her worst nightmares coming true.

Ayaka…

Satomi…

Yui…

Minato…

…Ever since she has memory, her only biological family has been her father, but…although she understands the circumstances behind it and for that very reason, she will always be grateful to him, she has seen him so few times that sometimes it's hard to remember his face or…to feel the kind of connection one should have with those you call family.

On the other hand, it's a whole different ordeal when it comes to her idol group. Since the beginning of her idol career, those girls have been with her. Every practice, every choreography, every song written…every sabotage and complot against their competition, they have been by her side.

It's true that every single one of them has their own dreams and aspirations, and at the end of the day, even among themselves exists a rivalry for the goal of reaching the absolute top…but that hasn't been an impediment for them to turn into what she believes is a family, a genuine family in the truest sense of the word.

And that's precisely why tonight she will take the life of one of her classmates.

It fills her with no small amount of grief to do something so terrible, and it disgusts her in more ways than one, not only because of the killing itself, but also because the implications of going with this are.

She will not only murder a person, but she also will betray everyone trapped with her, after all, how else could it be called? She's going to escape this hell disguised as a school, abandon everyone and leaving behind the corpse of one of them.

And to add salt in the wound…she's going to betray Naegi, and in one of worst possible ways no less.

The boy who has already saved her multiple times.

The boy who showed her that true kindness exists in this world.

The boy whose company made her stay in this place slightly tolerable.

The boy who gained a special place in her heart.

…But then that cursed video happened and had to remind her of what is most valuable to her, of her dream. She has already sacrificed too much to get where she is and every day that she spends here makes such effort mean less and less, and the chances of her dream getting away from her grow bigger and bigger and she can't allow that, No. Matter. What.

She has to do it, tonight she will commit an assassi―

! ! !

The Idol's blood ran cold when she thought of that word and couldn't avoid looking around her in search of him. Looking back to the dorms area, around the hallways that are by the sides of it and every corner her eyes could scan. It would be a lie to say that this was her first time going by this procedure ever since she left her room.

After almost a minute of making sure that person wasn't around and was satisfied with the fact that such was indeed the case, she allowed herself to give a sigh of relief.

That person being of course…Shigaraki.

Even at a moment like this, she has conflicted feelings when it comes to the golden-eyed boy. On one hand, what she has seen so far paints him as being far from the bloodthirsty killer someone with his talent would suggest, on the other…

After that incident in the introductions when she used her intuition to get a read of him, she has been having one hell of a time in her attempts of doing the same again, getting to the point that the only moments she has been capable of getting an understanding of him, have been the obvious ones…ergo, those when Junko was involved.

While Sayaka would be lying to herself if she says that didn't believed in some corner of her mind that it was cute of him to always get emotional 'In his own reserved way…' when the fashionista is the topic of conversation, that was besides the point, it worried her in no small amount the unknown of not having an idea of how much he was hiding. The idol knows how hypocritical that sounds considering she herself has sides of her she couldn't allow herself to show other people, especially her fans, and that is also the norm when it comes to every person '…Naegi being the exception'

But it couldn't be helped, everything else that she actually knows about Shigaraki so far doesn't pictures well in his favor. His talent, under who he makes use of said talent, and how their current situation doesn't seem to affect him at all are nothing but red flags in her head.

She felt a pang of guilt at being so wary of him to the point of almost considering not going with this out of fear of him stalking the halls…but no, she…she knows she has to do this; she needs to know what has become of her group with her own eyes.

And…And it's not like she's completely abandoning them, once she gets out of here, she will call for help so they get rescued, t-that…t-that's the…the correct thing to do, r-right?

…But killing―

The idol furiously shook her head to wave off those inconvenient thoughts of doubt, she has to keep at the very front of her mind what's at stake here. She can't back down with this, not when she has already planned everything which with the plus of Shigaraki being the first suspect by default, has an even greater chance of drifting suspicion away from her.

…Yes, she has to do this, for her dream, for her friends…for her family.

With that renewed resolve she went inside the dining hall, past the tables and towards the kitchen room.

As soon as Sayaka opened the door and set a foot inside while cautiously looking around, she caught sight of something that made her involuntary flinch.

At the counter located in the center of the room, Hina and Ogami were drinking what it appeared to be tea accompanied by some donuts, though the moment they heard the sound of the door opening, they turned towards her. Fortunately, when they addressed her, Sayaka had already controlled herself while relaxing her features and making her usual cheery expression.

The Swimmer Pro was the first one to greet her "Ah, Maizono! Sup?"

Followed by the Martial Artist "Greetings"

Noticing that neither of them were looking her with any suspicion, the Idol decided to take this as an opportunity be done with this as quickly as possible "Good evening guys. Please don't mind me, I'm just here to pick up a drink"

Hina nodded at that "Okay, though are ya sure? I don't mind if ya wanna spend some time with us. I kind of dragged Sakura cuz of that video which made unbearable the feeling of being alone…ah, you don't mind either right, Sakura?"

"I do not" Ogami simply said.

Sayaka for her part, fought the urge to give a reaction when Hina mentioned those cursed videos while dismissing the invitation with a calm smile "No, no, you don't have to trouble yourselves, honest. I will just bring a drink with me and go directly to my room; I feel like that's what I need right now"

Hina gave her a sympathizing look "Oh, okay. I suppose that you are right, once we are done with this Sakura and me will leave to my room. It's a bit embarrassing hehe, but I really need company tonight…anyways, you do you Sayaka!"

With one last nod towards the athletic duo, the Idol went towards the fridge. Once in there, the Idol grabbed a random beverage bottle while giving an inconspicuous look towards the other habitants in the room.

When she confirmed that neither of them was paying attention, Sayaka left the fridge and with silent steps she approached the set of knives hanging behind them. Making sure one last time that she wasn't being watched…the idol picked up the second largest one.

"Good night, girls" Giving a farewell to avoid suspicion, Sayaka hurried out of the kitchen.

Once she was out and made sure that nobody else was in the dining hall, looking left and right, in front and behind her, she once again allowed herself to give a shaky sigh of relief.

…She…she had done it…

…She truly picked it up…

…The knife that will take―…no…it's the knife that she will use to take a life…

…T-There's…There's no coming back from this…right? She…she will really do it, won't she?

The Idol furiously shook her head at those poisonous thoughts of doubt that were interfering again with what she has to do, because indeed…there is no going back from this, for the sake of what she holds dear the most…

…She will do it.

With that grim determination surrounding her very soul, Sayaka moved forward…towards the room of the boy she will betray tonight…

…And all the while being completely ignorant of the murderous shadow that has been stalking her since the beginning.

From besides the kitchen door, I saw Maizono leaving the dining hall while hiding what it appeared to be a 6-inch knife behind her. 'That's the second largest one if I'm not mistaken…'

Personally speaking, I feel like it's a bit too big of a weapon considering both the size of the person intended to use it and how said person is intending to use it, though I can't deny that out of all her other options, that one is the 'safest option' when it comes to someone who has no experience using knives in such a way and wants to get the job done in a single surprise attack, and if I remember correctly, girls received a map marking the vital points of the body, which just solidifies her chances. Overall, either she got lucky or she really gave it a though at the moment of picking up the weapon, regardless…

…It seems this wasn't for nothing.

Of course, I'm talking about stalking the pop Idol thorough the day. Well, I say thorough the day, but the truth is that I've been only following her movements since only 13 minutes ago, as the past 12 hours previous to that I have spent them scouting the halls of the first and only available floor and guarding Maizono's room door.

The first 6 hours were to keep tabs of everyone's location, switching between searching certain areas and returning to inspect the dorms, all of this to make sure no one else was up to anything and localize the Idol in the first place, as I didn't knew where did she go after leaving the A/V room.

Fortunately, it wasn't that hard of a task. With a combination of my removed presence and the fact that most people didn't wanted to deal with anyone else for the rest of the day, I was able to pin-point every single one of them. The big majority went to their rooms after one or two hours of grooming in different corners of the school, said majority included Enoshima, who seemed to take my advice of being cautious for today's nighttime to heart, something for which I couldn't avoid giving a quiet sigh of relief…and feel a certain amount of guilt.

What I'm planning to do tonight is an act of spitefulness against our captor…but after that…my future plans after being done with this…

…

…I…I shouldn't let myself get distracted by that…

…

…Either way, by the time those 6 hours came to an end, I was able to conclude that Maizono was in her room, both by process of elimination and because I got confirmation of it when I overheard Naegi, who was apparently looking for anyone he could find, indicating Taka that he escorted her to her room, and considering how relieved it sounded when saying it, I doubted it was a deception from his part.

Those who didn't left to their dorms by that time where Ogami, Hina and Hiro. In the case of the Martial Artist and the Swimming Pro, I only managed to see that they went inside the kitchen, and while I didn't wanted to risk getting caught because of the door opening and with someone like Ogami inside to not miss that, I made use of the fact that, unlike our dorms 'If those giggles coming from inside were any indication…', the insides of the kitchen room aren't soundproof to listen in for a pair of minutes. When I didn't hear any sound of struggle or signal that someone was being attacked after a few minutes, I took that as a green light to leave those two be.

The chances of anything happening between those are low, way too low…but I had to make sure.

Anyway, in the case of the 'Clairvoyant', I saw him get inside the laundry room. Again, considering that the guy is way too ignorant of the situation we were in to the point of believing I was some kind of storyteller 'Still can't wrap my head around that…', I doubted he represented any problem…even so, I wasn't taking any chances. When I took a peek inside, moving the door only the bare minimum I managed to catch him…meditating? It seemed that way to me.

Either way, after confirming that he was not up to anything suspicious I left him be.

All of that brings me to what I did the next 6 hours: Wait.

I admit that of all possible people, Ogami and Hina being on the kitchen instead of their rooms was a stroke of luck, because that allowed me to lean against the corner between their rooms while giving me a window of opportunity to move if I see them approach in the distance.

Although Hina wouldn't have been much of a problem as long as I keeped my lack of presence, Ogami…well, the A/V room proved that if I keep my distance and avoid releasing any killing intent, I'm safe.

'…Though I admit that the killing intent part was easier said than done…I am still pissed at that piece of shit of our captor…'

Anyway, the reason why said spot in particular was so important is because it allowed me to keep an eye on the rooms of every single one of my classmates. On my left I was able to see the rooms of Hina, Fujisaki, Celeste, Enoshima, Fukawa, Togami, Maizono, Owada, Naegi, Taka and Kirigiri. All of that plus the central area of the hall leading towards the school area, that means that if either Hina, Ogami or Hiro had moved from their spots and to another room at that time I would've know. And on my right, I had sight of Ogami's, Leon's, Hiro's and Yamada's rooms.

Basically, if anyone besides those three already outside left their room, I would've known that too.

…Of course, I was aware that it wasn't the perfect method. It had it's fair amount of holes, like in the case of two people leaving their rooms at the same time and going in different directions, especially if they came from rooms in different halls. I'm confident in my speed when push comes to shove, but in the end, I can't be in two different places at the same time and that would've eventually left to time frames for said people to exploit…

…Fortunately, it never came to that. All I did was to stand still for about 6 hours in the corner. It was boring? Absolutely, was that and obstacle? Of course not. Knowing when to play the long game is an essential trait to have ingrained in the mindset of an Assassin. Not all missions involve just going from point A to point B and immediately neutralize the target in said location, actually scratch that, more often than not, it's the long game route.

Looking for blind spots on the place where the objective is located, whether we are talking of security guards, which include their patrol times, how many of them are and where are they displayed, video monitoring or both. Identifying any extra defense measures they could have at their disposal. Securing exit routes, among others. Those are the kind of tasks one has to take care of either with days ahead or on the spot to guarantee a successful mission.

And I could go on and on about other details like the disposal of evidences or plant false leads to put the attention away from yourself, but that doesn't matter at the moment. The point is, I waited for hours and hours without batting an eye at the boredom of it until finally my suspicions about Maizono intending to make a move because of the killing intent I felt on her seemed to pay off as I saw her leave her room dangerously close to the nighttime announcement.

Which brings me to this very moment where I'm witnessing the Idol leave the dining hall with a kitchen knife on her.

It seems this is where the real thing begins…

…Keeping my presence removed, I followed her.

After some minutes of trailing behind her at a moderate distance, the Idol finally stopped at her desired destination.

Naegi's room.

Before doing anything else, Maizono nervously looked left and right with a wary expression plastered on her face.

I admit that the first time she did that, I thought for a moment that she had actually found me out, maybe all thanks to her highly developed intuition, but considering that she has been doing this on multiple occasions and even some times sighed in relief after being done with it, the most logical alternative is that she's just being cautious '…To some degree'

In any case, after 'making sure' no one was around, the Idol…proceeded to intensify her wary expression and then pressed the doorbell button.

My brows slightly raised up at that.

'Did she really choose him of all people…?'

My surprise doesn't come from the possibility of Maizono being capable of killing him, I'm not denying her capability for it. What I find…baffling I think is the best word to describe it, is that if she really is selecting him as her victim, then she's choosing the worst target possible.

Of all her options…if Maizono were to dispose of the lucky student, it would be like screaming 'I am the culprit' to everyone. True, just like I have pointed out at the beginning, first and foremost, I will become the first suspect in every scenario save the ones with a witness to prove otherwise…but if you rely on only that and nothing more, then you are already digging your own grave.

Like sure, the attention will be on me for a moment, but cynical and smart people like Togami, Celeste and Kirigiri will eventually see the holes of a killing as direct as this one and its lack of incriminating evidence against me.

Something like getting out of the room, going to the kitchen, grab a knife and going for the kill just as soon as you got it even when you are aware of some people still out there it's an impulsive act…just way too impulsive of an act for even someone like Maizono in her current state of mind.

While it is true that she's now desperate enough to be willing to kill someone, she's not so far gone as to being incapable of keeping some degree of composure. That Ogami didn't caught her in the act of picking a knife and that she's now preparing herself to put an act are proof of that.

Oh, I don't doubt the feelings she's showing right now, those videos were completely capable of that…but that didn't mean I didn't notice the mechanical way in which her features transitioned from one way to another.

With that in mind, when the suspicion moves from me, the immediate next suspect will be the person Naegi spend the most time with, and that would be Maizono herself…she understands that, right? I don't think someone needs the same training and experience as me to come to that same conclusion.

…It just doesn't make sense.

Regardless of my opinion on the matter, I saw how Naegi opened the door, and after looking at her face and some quiet words from the Idol, he let her in on to his own room with no hesitation.

…Sigh, that boy has too much faith in people. 'That's a kind way to put it…'

…Do I really have to make my move this soon…? For this to go as I planned to, I really need to prolong it a bit more, right now is…just too early.

…

…

…Tch, goddammit, it can't be helped…there are 3 minutes left until the nighttime is announced, if she doesn't gets out of the room by then, I will ring the doorbell to scare her off. For now, I will take this window of opportunity to return to the corner between Hina's and Ogami's rooms…

…Though in the minuscule chance that Naegi is actually dead by then…

…Well, I will cross that bridge when I get there.

*Ding dong bing bong*

"Ahem, Ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then…sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite…"

And that's my cue.

I prepared to move towards Naegi's room…

…Just to immediately retreat and hid behind the wall in the second set of rooms when I saw his room beginning to open 'Prescence removed or not, I doesn't hurt to take extra care…'. From there, the person who emerged was…Naegi.

…

He looked to the sides with a cautious, but neither worried or scared expression before walking towards Maizono's room and getting inside…

…

…

…Hmmm, I see how it is…

Considering that Naegi seems fine, both in appearance and psychologically speaking…unless he had fended off Maizono's attempt against his life and reversed the situation, wiped off the blood from his body 'Or being skilled enough to finish her off without getting any blood spilled…' and changed into a new set of clothes, all of that in less than 3 minutes. Then the only other option is that the Idol had convinced Naegi to switch rooms.

Something that wouldn't break the rule 3, because that rule never specifies in which dormitory you have to stay. That's a good use of a loophole right there…

…I can see where she is going with this…and it works just fine for me.

I would have to wonder who she is going to choose as her target, though before doing that…

I moved towards the north hallway in the dorm area, the one with the trash room and the bathrooms and hid behind its wall. A few moments later, I heard the voices of Hina and Ogami.

"Sakura, thanks a lot, really! I know this is a very strange request from me, but I don't really think I will be able to sleep tonight if I'm alone…again, sorry, I promise you I will make it up to you!" The Swimming Pro exclaimed.

"Do not worry, dear. If this will ease your mind, I'm more than willing in accompanying you tonight" Ogami replied.

I was unable to hear any more of their conversation as Hina pulled the door…and both her and Ogami got inside.

…

…

…Sigh.

I'm just grateful I never felt killing intent in neither of them at any point…though that doesn't mean I don't feel like most of these people are trusting in each other way too much and too quickly.

'As if I'm any different…'

In any case, the only person outside it's room right now is Hiro, which is perfectly within acceptable parameters, and seeing that it is now nighttime, any person leaving their room is suspicious.

While walking towards what is becoming my favorite corner to lean on, I glanced back at the surveillance camera, whose lens where completely focused on me with grim determination.

'I hope you are paying attention; you piece of shit…'

The pieces are set, all preparations are done, the performers ready and it has already passed enough time to sell my act.

It is time to get on with my tantrum.

I admit that while boredom wasn't a problem, standing still doing absolutely nothing, plus almost 48 hours of not sleeping, that my last sleep was of less than two hours previous to that and the turmoil of emotions from this day, it is also true that I was not doing myself any favor in the staying awake department. It's far from putting me in danger of breaking rule 3 by accident, but it's important to be aware of the issue to keep myself in alert of it.

Fortunately, the doing nothing affair is soon to be solved as after three hours and some minutes past-nighttime announcement, Naegi's room…the one where Maizono currently is, was beginning to show signs of opening up.

Taking that as my cue to move behind the wall of the east hallway, I took a peek to observe what she is going to do.

The first thing Maizono did as soon she left the room was to pick up the nameplate of Naegi's room, walk towards her own room, pick up it's nameplate while replacing it with Naegi's, then she went back to the lucky student room and did the same with her nameplate.

"…"

Once she was done with that, she walked in direction of the east hallway, the same one I'm currently in. Though just to be sure, I waited until she was between Celeste's and Fujisaki's rooms to confirm that she was not going to stop in anyone within the south hallway.

Only until she was about to turn into the next corridor, I dashed towards the north hallway. From there, I didn't had to wait long before the Idol stopped dead in her tracks and turned on the direction of…Leon's room.

The next thing she did was to take out what it appeared to be a piece of paper, then she crouched down and slipped said paper under the Baseball Star door. Finally, she rang the doorbell and hurried out of there, I didn't had to follow her to know where.

And neither I had to read the note to have an idea of it's contents. Now it was a matter of…will he bite the bait?

Four and half minutes later gave me the answer of that.

"…Wrong room, okay? That's what this note says…dude! I can't believe she's really inviting me, the Sayaka Maizono herself! And in the middle of the night no less! Hehe…maybe she wants to―No, no, I have to keep it cool, don't wanna freak the girl" A Leon grinning from ear to ear exclaimed while looking at a note in his hands.

Alright, I have left this going on long enough. It is time to make my own move.

"Man, I must be dreaming right now, like seriously!" He said while beginning to walk towards the opposite direction of where I currently am in a giddy pace.

There.

"Someone pinch me―ACK!"

Any other thing the Baseball Star could say was cut off when I leaped towards him and gave a chop on his neck, making him loss consciousness in a single strike, from there, gravity did its job.

*THUD*

After Leon fell to the ground, I approached him, more specifically to pick up the note he had on his hand, and began to read it.

There's something I want to talk to you about, just us two. In five minutes, come see me in my room.

Check the nameplates to make sure you don't get the wrong room, okay?

Sayaka.

Hmm, okay, it seems my hunch was right.

From everything I have seen so far, I'm confident in having a solid Idea of her plan.

She plans to kill Leon inside Naegi's room, probably move the body to the bathroom, get rid of other evidence, then switch back the nameplates, and walk first hour in the morning as if nothing has happened to avoid suspicion of the exchange of rooms ever happening and to put the knife back into place.

As something I've been repeating to myself again and again, I don't know how the 'unless they are discovered' works, maybe that's enough to classify as it, because technically speaking she would've killed someone without no one being witnessing of it.

But the chances of it are low, it's way too convenient for the killer instead of Monokuma, in that case, she got it covered by using me as the front scapegoat, and if that doesn't stick, Naegi works as a more solid one, as under normal circumstances, only those two would know of the switch of rooms.

I can see that Maizono took the Lucky Student personality as a factor for this, she knows that he will not reveal a thing, at the very least not until the body is found and even so, from what I have seen so far, it does exist the chance that Naegi would still keep vouching for her, having faith that probably it's the work of a third party, Monokuma among the top of his list.

In the chance Naegi eventually reveals what they did tonight, Maizono would be the 'only' person that could confirm or deny it from happening.

…It is pretty obvious which route will she choose, and it won't help that he will bring it relatedly late into the game, for some, if not most of the group that will sound more like an excuse than anything else, plus points for the reputation of Idol when in comparison to Naegi.

As for the victim itself…Leon Kuwata.

From a simplistic point of view, it would seem like it's a stupid idea from Maizono's part to choose him, because of him being a professional athlete while Maizono is an Idol and a girl, but…

…Similar to Naegi, I can see that she did her homework for him too.

First of all, her options to who invite are limited.

Togami? Good luck with that.

Celeste? Similar case.

Fujisaki? 'She's' probably too scared to trust a note in the middle of the night after watching something too traumatic, Maizono probably knows about this. The programmer is way too emotional, so it's not a challenge to understand that.

Owada? He's way too strong for someone like Maizono and I don't doubt he will keep his guard up in the abysmal chance he were to actually follow along with the note, because that in itself is an obstacle for the Idol.

Me? Right, invite the Ultimate Assassin to your room and attempt to kill him, what could go wrong with that?

The rest of the class were a similar case, either they were way too stronger than the Idol, or they would be wary to accept something like that in the middle of nighttime. 'Though I feel that Taka would reject such invitation out of his moral code rather than anything else…'

With Leon, while the strength part is up to debate 'I remember he said something about not liking going to practice on the first day…', well, his reaction just before getting knocked out summarized it enough.

Besides Enoshima, Naegi and Kirigiri '…She's the second person I've interacted with the most…what the hell…?', I have only talked with the rest of the class when in a meeting and in a superficial level, but even with that, the only superficial facts about Leon give me an idea of why he is Maizono's ideal target.

He seems and acts like a flirty type of person and he has talked about how much he dreams of becoming a musician. When a girl like Maizono, the Ultimate Pop Sensation, invites him to meet her in private, instead of becoming wary or suspicious of it, he gains high expectations about what could happen between the two to the point of following the Idol's note to the letter while not even stopping himself to check his E-Handbook and see the discrepancy between the map and the nameplates. Either because he thought she would help him with his music career or…well…other things.

So yeah, he gets inside the room with his guard down, Maizono waits for the right moment…and if she does not hesitate at the last second, not even for a moment, then she would get away with her murder without Leon ever seeing it coming. It is risky…but killing people always is.

It has its holes, like allowing Ogami and Hina see her in the kitchen that close into the nighttime announcement or how she would deal with her clothes spilled with blood 'Just like Naegi, I doubt she's skilled enough to do a clean kill'.

But overall, credit where is due…for someone who has no experience in this area, Maizono managed to come up with something considerably ruthless and effective, making use of both her strengths and vulnerabilities while exploiting the weakness of others 'One would have to wonder how much of this she had already planned before this morning events…'.

That and it makes me wonder about the self-preservation instincts of some members of the class.

Anyway, regardless of her plans, I'm about to stomp on them, so musing more about it is just wasting time.

Putting the note in the right pocket of my jacket, I crouched again, only this time to turn around the Ultimate Baseball Star and begin to poke him, looking for an item in particular. When I felt something solid in the pocket of his own jacket, I picked it up, revealing what I was looking for.

The key to his dorm.

Maizono will get suspicious if nobody gets to her room anytime soon, so I need to hurry up with this.

First, I picked up Leon himself and put him on my right shoulder, carrying in a not so different way than what you would do with a sack of potatoes. Then, I used his room key to get inside his bedroom. Once there, I moved to his bed…and dropped him there, took off his shoes and removed his jacket and put it on the table.

With that done, I returned the key in the same spot I found it, left the room and closed it.

…

…

…This wouldn't have been much of a problem if this were a regular mission and I planned to kill him later, but turns out that is not the case. As much as I don't like it, I will have to rely that he doesn't make a scandal on his door not being unlocked and that he will wake up with some clothes 'I have no idea how much of his attire he keeps on his sleep, I just went with a safe guess…' on the possibility of him believing that he didn't took proper care of neither of those because he was just too tired for it.

And considering that he was naïve enough to fall for a trap like the one Maizono laid out for him in combination with how much the guy talks about taking naps, who knows? Maybe he will think of these recent events as a dream.

In any case, it seems there's one last person I need to paid a visit.

Lo and behold, I found myself in front of Naegi's room.

With and absolute lack of hesitation, nervousness, trepidation or the like, I opened the door. The moment I got inside; I took a moment to take in on the sight of the room.

The Lucky Student room was…surprisingly spartan. From what I could see in my current position, it was exactly the same as mine, without the furniture remarking my talent obviously, which means that his room had nothing related to luck either. But beyond all of that, what had my absolute attention where two things in particular.

One was a strand of blue hair hanging next to the wall leading to the bathroom door, and the second is…the tip of a blade.

…I suppose she's confident the person she expects to see won't notice them. Although the fact that said tip of the blade was shaking wasn't doing any favors to that theory.

Was she nervous? Scared? Will she hesitate at the moment of truth? Panic perhaps? Which one of them holds true?

We will never know.

Doing it on purpose, I took a loud first step.

…Then a second one…

…A third one…

"F-F-FORGIVE ME!" …And on the fourth one, Maizono jumped out of her 'hiding spot' just in time to shakily thrust her knife into…

…Absolutely nothing.

"W-Wha―GAH!" Maizono cried out as, same as with Leon, I knocked her out with a chop on back of her neck, and considering she didn't showed any sign of recognition in the half a second she faced me, then I'm sure that at most, the only thing she saw was a shadowy blur before I got behind her.

But unlike the Baseball Star, I grabbed her with one arm before she fell to the ground, otherwise there was a risk of stabbing herself with the knife on her hand, which I picked up and threw it aside for the moment to take care of a bigger priority.

This time around, I held her by the armpits until I dropped her on the bed. After that…

…I did nothing else.

Again, unlike the redhead, it's next to impossible that Maizono will think that any of what happened was a dream. Accommodating her to sell the illusion that nothing occurred is a useless endeavor, by the next morning I'm sure she will know that someone interfered with her murder attempt 'And who knows how she will react to that, though that's no longer my problem…maybe…well, it depends if she figures out it was me who did this…sigh, of all people, it had to be the one with the abnormally good intuition…', so I will just leave her like that.

…Because, just like Leon, my objective was never to kill her.

With nothing else to do, I went to pick up the knife and put it on my third and largest inner pocket, and left the room.

After that I went to my room to call it a―as if.

If I am going to act like a brat, then I'm going to go through it to the end. I went to the corner that granted me sight of all the dormitories…and stood there, all the while looking up at the camera from which I could almost feel the hostility against me.

That almost made the corners of my mouth to stretch upwards.

If you want to stay awake with me all night, then so be it. Nobody is going to kill anyone tonight if I have anything to say about it, you piece of shit.

Indeed, last night I prevented a murder from happening…though I can see that my classmates still can't wrap their heads about that, their incredulous faces tell me that much.

"T-T-The Assassin…?" Fukawa whispered in disbelief.

"Shigaraki…he…he stopped a murder from occurring…?" Naegi asked in to no one in general with confusion in his tone.

I suppose even someone like him never saw it coming 'Not that I blame him, I could see from the corner of my eye that Enoshima is just as surprised by this…'.

"…My, this certainly is…a true unexpected turn of events" Celeste commented.

Relatedly composing from the shocking news, Kirigiri spoke up "Is it true then? What Monokuma is saying about you stopping someone from trying to 'graduate' from this place?"

At that question, the silence returned, all the while everyone was looking intently at me, waiting for the response I would give.

…

…

…I don't know why do they want my confirmation if I am honest, but what can be done about it, the cat's outta the bag anyway.

It can't be helped, I guess "…It is true" was my simple response.

Just as usual of this over-eccentric group, their reactions were soon to follow after my statement.

"Say whaaaaaaa!?" Yamada was the first to react.

"Of all people…are ya really telling me this dude did something like that!? What the hell!?" The gang leader questioned.

"Did this guy really saved a life!? Holy shit, are ya for real!?" Leon added just as surprised.

Well, considering you are still breathing…

Curiously enough, the person who had the strongest reaction was…

"The Assassin interfering in such a way, that…that…that doesn't make any sense!" Byakuya exclaimed, then he turned to me "You! I demand an explanation! Why!? What reason could you have to take this course of action!? What benefits could you gain out of doing this!?"

…What could I gain out of this? Well, that is certainly something I have clear. The reason why I prevented Maizono from committing a murder was…

…Despair. That's all.

Yesterday actions were to reap despair, not to me, neither for Maizono or any other classmate, no, the despair was for Monokuma…or whoever controls that thing.

That's also why I wanted to prolong it as long as possible and I didn't stopped her since the beginning, something I definitely could've done.

I wanted to sell a performance to the mastermind behind this.

For that, I needed to give him hope.

I gave him hope that his motive worked on me.

I gave him hope that he made me fall into despair.

I gave him hope that I was going to make my own move.

I gave him hope that I was going to do it by making use of another person own plan in my favor.

I gave him hope that I was going to murder Maizono, that this motive he bragged so much about was going to turn as he expected…

…And then I crushed that hope when I did nothing to her and spent all night guarding the rooms, making sure no one did anything suspicious. 'And beyond Hiro coming back to his room some minutes after I began my watch, that ended up being the case…'

Looking at the livid expression of our 'headmaster' 'Or what it counts as such…' I suppose I can say that tantrum of mine was worth it to a certain level.

Because that's what it was, a metaphorical middle finger towards him, but…

…But that's not my true goal. No, my personal objective is to kill the person who controls Monokuma. Whether Maki is safe or not, it doesn't change the fact that this person compromised her in the first place. If he or she believes for a moment that such an action warrants anything less than his demise, then he or she is incredibly naïve.

Which is why yesterday actions I call them 'acting like a brat' or 'a tantrum', as preventing a murder from happening doesn't gets me closer to my goal…it delays it. As much as I detest the idea of going along with Monokuma's plans, if I want to have any chance of assassinate our captor…I have to get out of here.

Every single room, every corner, every drawer, every type of container. I have looked everywhere this first floor allows and I haven't found anything that helps me get closer to our captor. Staying in this place will get me nowhere, meanwhile, if I get out…

Brute forcing from the outside will we just as futile, I am aware of that, but it will allow me access to resources that I don't have here, and with that fact into consideration…Just like back in that mission in Europe where I had to deal with a vault door, as long as there are air vents 'Which there has to be, otherwise we would be suffocating with the lack of air'…I can make it work.

And that is why, sooner or later, I will have to kill someone…

In any case, that is something to think about later. I can see that once again; the group '…and Monokuma' is silently waiting for me to respond Togami's question.

…

…

…Huh.

What reason could I give them? Telling them the absolute truth is a big no, while completely lying…neither is an option, I still don't trust myself into risking something like that in front of Celeste.

An ambiguous truth is it then.

"…I had a hunch"

"A…hunch? Um, what do you mean by that?" Fujisaki timidly asked.

And I replied "Exactly that, after we saw those videos, I suspected that for one or two people that would've been enough to convince them that they needed to get out at any cost…eventually I found evidence that someone was actually going to try something, confronted that person and, well, you know the rest"

After my response, no one said anything, everyone still staring at me, though when a few seconds passed and the silence continued…

"…Wait, that's it!?" Hina exclaimed.

"Mhm" Was my reply.

"Oi, that doesn't tell us anything! You still haven't told what reason you could have to do it!" Owada growled.

"Should there be one in the first place?"

Geez, I really can't stop myself from saying bullshit at every chance I get, can I?

Regardless, my comment caught some of them off guard.

"What do you mean by that?" Ogami inquired.

"What I'm saying is…why should I need to have a personal goal to do something like what I did?"

Togami, being rightfully cynical, addressed me while sending me a glare "Are you really expecting me to believe that you…an Assassin of the Salvation Society, did this without expecting to gain anything?"

I just shrugged nonchalantly at that "You can believe whatever you want Togami, it won't change my instance on this or that no one died last night"

The face the Heir was making made it plenty obvious he didn't liked that answer. 'Meh'

More importantly, it seems that reminding Monokuma of that last part was pushing a button. 'Good'

"Bah! You didn't had to go and say it again, as if it wasn't enough for you to act like a stalker, staying all night awake creeping on the poor innocent soul that just wanted to do things properly and carry out a murder"

I'm actually surprised he didn't added any direct comment about me being a pervert in that sentence.

"So it is true then, Shigaraki actually broke the curfew…I can't hide how disappointed I am that people are beginning to ignore it this soon" Celeste commented…in a bizarrely genuine tone of voice.

Curious.

"Girl, your priorities are so messed up" Enoshima commented with a deadpan expression.

"Maybe we can let it slide when it comes to saving lives, right?" Fujisaki added.

"Yeah, sounds like a good reason for a free pass…though I still can't get into my head that it was someone with the title of Ultimate Assassin who ended needing it, y'know?" The Baseball Star said while scratching the back of his head.

"Pfft, Ultimate Assassin? My paws! The only thing anyone expects of that guy is to go around stabbing people in their backs, but it seems he can't even do that right. Geez, what kind of third-rate Assassin are you, Shigaraki? Are you sure that is the right career for you?" Monokuma commented in a mocking tone.

For my part, I just shrugged again. I'm not going to fall for his provocations.

As for Kirigiri, to no one's surprise, she wasn't done with the questions "Either way…there is another thing we must address"

Taka, and most of the class, gained a confused look at that "...Eh? There is?"

"Oh, that is true. It is good and all that we have found our…unexpected savior, but just as that is important, I believe it is more to find out…who is this person that is capable of attempting to commit a nefarious act such as killing a fellow person" Celeste stated.

…Huh, talk about a paradoxical comment.

As the Gambler words sank in, looks of realization made themselves present among the group…while a certain person flinched and looked more and more nervous.

"Ah, crap, that's true! We don't know who that person is!" Hina commented while looking around with a worried expression.

"Alright! Everyone close your eyes and whoever is responsible of this raise your hand!" Taka exclaimed.

…Sigh.

"Tch, of course the bastard isn't going to fall for that. Guess this jackass can stay hidden…for now, because when I find the piece of shit who tried that stunt, I will give him a world of pain, fuck him!" Owada snarled.

And now that certain person was blue on the face, probably close to fainting if I had to guess.

While everyone was frantically looking for the suspect, Kirigiri looked as if she wanted to facepalm while directing her gaze on me "There is no need to look for this attempted murderer…we already have an easy way to know who this person is"

"Oh? Does such a thing actually exist Miss Kirigiri?" Yamada asked.

Togami actually rolled his eyes at that question "Sometimes I have to wonder how do you people survive day by day" Ignoring the offended looks, the Heir continued "She is talking about the Assassin. If he stopped whoever this person is, then there's no doubt that he knows who are we looking for"

"Indeed, he is our best chance at knowing the truth about this, that being the case…Shigaraki, are you going to tell us who did you confronted last night?" The silver-haired girl asked.

…No matter how many times it keeps happening, having all eyes on me is as uncomfortable as ever, though I suppose that I have to reap what I sow with my actions…and the same goes for her.

Instead of giving an immediate answer, I turned my gaze directly at the person everyone is looking for, whose face I feel couldn't become more scared even if she tried to, as if begging for me to not say anything.

I faced her for enough time that someone as perceptive as Kirigiri understood the silent implications I was making as she followed my gaze and her eyes slightly widened, it didn't help that said person was being terrible at hiding her body language.

In any case, I really wasn't interested in revealing her identity at the beginning because that in itself was a can of worms I didn't wanted to deal with…but exposing her is inevitable. With that mind, I suppose I could gain some extra points in favor of my image.

"…First of all, I probably should mention that this person didn't go beyond the planification stage" I commented.

"Huh? The hell does that matter?" Owada asked with his brows furrowed.

I shrugged at that "I guess that depends from person on person, all I'm trying to say is that she never got close to actually hurting someone" 'Physically speaking. I have no idea how he will take it otherwise…'

Togami for his part, he was getting impatient "So what? Just because whoever this person is such a pathetic excuse of a failure at carrying out murders, we should sweep it under the rug? Are you trying to cover for this person crimes?"

I shook my head at that "Not at all. What I'm getting at is…I'm giving her one last chance to confess for herself"

"…Wait…her? Then are you saying that it's a―" Any other thing Naegi was going to say was interrupted…by himself as he looked with growing horror at the shacky hand that was slowly but surely raising up.

Huh, didn't really expected her to actually go with it, and so quickly no less.

Those people who weren't facing in her direction, eventually did, confused as to why Naegi would suddenly shut himself so suddenly, and just like the Lucky Student, save for Togami and Celeste, theirs faces couldn't keep themselves from having a strong reaction.

In the end…she fully raised her hand with tears on her face while her features showed a swirl of emotions: Resignation, sorrow, guilt and a not small amount of fear and despair.

The rest of the class where a similar case: Confusion, shock, disbelief and despair. Meanwhile the person who probably is taking it worse of all, not knowing how to properly react at the admission that is just transpiring before his own eyes, did the only thing he felt capable of.

With a distraught expression, Naegi could only shakily whisper the name of the person he considered himself with the closest.

"M-M-Maizono…?"

A/N: Ah yes, a cliffhanger, the bane of readers and unfortunately, it's far, really far from being the last one in this story (Like a certain moment that has yet to happen). Such horror!

Seriously though, I had to stop it here, otherwise I feel like this chapter would've extended up to 15-16k words and that's…yeah, I feel like that's a bit much for a single chapter.

I also want to thank KizaruBoss1 for all those ideas he has come up with for quite some time to help me enrich this story, most will take form around 'Chapter 2' (Canon-wise speaking) while others…well, they are of the long-term type, that much I can say. Also thanks to all the people who have been keeping up with this story, it is always great to see it's reach growing more and more.

Until next time!