Never Say Never

Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa or the characters associated with it.

Chapter 2

Act 9

"Ahhh, yeah…that's the stuff…"

An ecstatic moan escaped Mukuro's throat as she let the hot water glide over her nude body, her hands running through her hair and over her arms. It had been a day or so since she'd last bathed and, as shamefully as she had to admit, she was growing accustomed to showering. When in Fenrir, bathing was sometimes not possible for weeks on end, and she'd become used to being caked with sweat and dirt. But since coming to Hope's Peak, particularly since the killing game began, she'd been bathing regularly, as per her sister's orders. And even though it brought painful memories of her sister and her betrayal, Mukuro couldn't deny how amazing it felt to take a hot shower after a stressful day of keeping her classmates from killing each other.

"If nothing else…I have to thank Junko for introducing me to this amazing feeling…"

Letting the water rinse all of her worries away, she stuck her head beneath the waterfall coming from her showerhead, letting her real hair get a thorough rinse before having to be hidden beneath that abominable wig once again.

"How can Junko stand having that much hair?" she muttered quietly, so that the camera in her room wouldn't be able to hear her. However, at the moment, she truly didn't care, as long as she could feel the blissful heat of the water rushing down her body, she'd gladly tell Junko how having such long hair was not only a hindrance in battle, it was just stupid to grow it out that long anyway!

"Who needs hair that reaches their lower back?! What purpose does that serve?!" she questioned, letting the splashing water at her feet obscure her voice.

Mukuro briefly pondered that notion a moment longer before allowing herself to get lost in the blissful stream of heat that encompassed her body. Sadly, she knew she shouldn't linger in the shower too long. Mukuro knew that tonight would be vital to everyone's survival, considering how terrifying this new motive was. She'd need to patrol the hall the entire night, regardless of how suspicious that would make her seem to the others if she was discovered. To that end, she determined that it was time to leave the magnificent steam-filled shower…in about five more minutes.

Meticulously scrubbing every hint of dirt and grime from her shoulders before moving her hands down to gently glide over each of her breasts, she let the soothing waters cleanse her of impurities…or so she would like to believe.

Deep down, she realized how ugly she truly was, and nothing would change that. Almost subconsciously, she lifted up her right hand to survey its injury. The wound was healing as well as could be expected, considering that a piece of metal had pierced completely through it. Scar tissue had built up around the edges of the hole, clumps of fragmented muscle and skin closing up the gaping wound, leaving a massive, ugly gash just above her palm.

And the worst of it was the backside of her hand. Flipping it over, she grimaced as the mass of scarring tissue and ripped skin completely obscured the proud soldier's Fenrir tattoo, leaving the mark nothing more than a memory for her to mourn.

As if to amplify her depression, the stream of hot watery bliss abruptly cut off, and Mukuro knew exactly what that meant.

*Ding*Dong*Bing*Bong*

Ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10PM…

A dissatisfied grunt resounded through the shower as Mukuro heard the bear's 'lovely' voice announcing the premature end of her shower time.

"Can always count on Junko to tear you away from what you love most and leave you cold and frustrated…" the soldier seethed as she grabbed the towel she'd left by the door.

Sitting on the floor just below the hanging towel was a pair of clean panties and a bottle of fresh water. As she toweled herself dry, the soldier briefly allowed her mind to wander…mainly as to why her passionate affair with the piping hot water had been cut cruelly short.

Actually, Mukuro had initially questioned why water was to be shut off at night anyway, but had since arrived at a few suspicions.

Firstly, in case a murder was to occur in a dorm room, blood couldn't simply be washed off, leaving the culprit without a means to clean themselves or to help hide their crime. And while it might seem counter-productive to limit a potential killer's options, to Junko at the very least, watching as you are forced to remain caked in the blood of your victim had the potential for maddening despair, which the younger twin sustained herself on.

Secondly, and more likely, it was to limit the students' nightly activities. After a hot shower, there wasn't much else anyone would feel like doing, especially if you bathed at night. However, by restricting the times you could shower, it put each student slightly more on edge, considering that they now had to manage their time to be sure they bathed properly. It forced them into a schedule, whether they wanted to or not. The nighttime rule shared a similar goal, designating a time of day when it seemed "wrong" to be awake.

Third and finally, because Junko knew how much Mukuro loved showers and wanted to take them away from her.

…Childish, to say the least but the soldier couldn't help but feel that her sister would enjoy knowing that the night owl that Mukuro was would no longer be able to sneak a midnight shower…as she had done while the school was still in operation.

"Sometimes I think Junko hates me…" she sarcastically seethed, unscrewing the lid of the water bottle. Gulping down the plastic containers contents, Mukuro decided to let her body cool down before having to redress and head off to patrol the school all night.

Slipping on the pair of panties she'd prepared earlier, the mostly naked soldier pushed open the bathroom door, remnant steam from the shower filtering out into her sleeping area. Furiously toweling off her damp hair, Mukuro unabashedly strolled into the main area of her room, glancing up at where her room's camera was placed, and grinned.

From the ceiling, one of the designer blouses that Junko had picked out for her to disguise herself with hung, held up by large pins she'd found in the student store, and obscuring the invasive camera's vision.

"The rules say we can't destroy or tamper with the cameras. It never said we couldn't hang our shirts from the ceiling. Not my fault that sis placed a camera directly behind where I like to hang my laundry," she said with a curt laugh.

She'd hung the shirt last night as a test, to see if her sister would have Monokuma remove it. However, even after being absent from her room all day and suffering though the announcement of the second motive, the brand name shirt still hung in place. It meant that either Junko consented to the fact that this wasn't a true violation of the rules, or that she was just too busy or uninterested enough to let it remain there.

In either case, Mukuro was pleased that, even though she knew her sister could still hear her; she could no longer see her. That little bit of privacy was liberating, considering how much of a detention center the school had become.

"A shelter for Hope turned into a prison school… the perfect place to breed despair" the soldier quietly mused, only now realizing how ironic it was.

Tossing the empty water bottle into the trash and slinging her damp towel over her desk chair, Mukuro spun around and flopped onto her bed, her breasts still completely exposed to the cold air. She didn't feel like covering up, not yet anyway. There would be plenty of time for that when she re-disguised herself and headed out on her nightingale duties.

For now, she just wanted to lie there and let her overheated body naturally cool itself, allowing herself a moment to rest her eyes—

* DING-DONG * DING-DONG * DING-DONG *

Springing up to alertness instantaneously, Mukuro's eyes scanned the room as she determined what was happening. The furiously ringing could only have come from her doorbell, and it was followed by a furious pounding of the door as well.

*BANG*BANG*BANG*

Realizing that something was undoubtedly amiss, Mukuro quickly dashed over to her dresser and grabbed the huge mass of hair from the wig form. Pulling at the ribbon and hair clip holding the wig's pigtails in place, she whipped the wig once to unfurl the mass of false hair. Slicking her still damp black hair back, the soldier effortlessly slung the pink wig overtop her head, clipping it into place with a few quick hand maneuvers; something she'd become accustomed to have to do in a hurry.

This was actually made easier by the fact that Junko had painstakingly crafted each wig to be customizable like this, just in case someone pulled out hair clip or something.

Using both hands to ruffle and loosen the stead-fastened wig hairs, so that mass of pink fluff trailed down her back as if she'd just finished showering, Mukuro made her way quickly over to the door. Adjusting her reapplied pink wig one final time to be sure it was in place, she grasped the handle of her door and inched it open, peering out into the hall but keeping all save for her head hidden from view.

She was still mostly naked after all…

To her shock, and soon to be horror, Hina and Sakura stared at her expectantly from beyond the door. She knew exactly what their presence meant but tried to remain optimistic…at least until Hina fearfully said:

"Something happened to Chihiro…"

Mukuro's eyes widened, not from surprise…but from shame.

"Come on! Hurry the fuck up!"

Mondo led the charge, leading Makoto and the others up to the second floor. The Ultimate Lucky Student couldn't fathom how this could have happened, and in such a short time! It had only been a few hours since Monokuma announced the motive. Was there someone among them really that desperate to hide their secret that they'd resort to—?

Makoto shook his head, knowing the truth without having to consider it.

"I…no, we know that it's possible. After what happened to Sayaka and Leon…we all know that any one of us could…give in to temptation," Makoto regretfully admitted, the darkness of his own thoughts chilling him to the bone.

Most of the students had been either gathered or notified with a select few lagging behind, save for Byakuya, who no one was able to find, casting suspicion already. Out in front, just behind Mondo, there was Makoto, Kyoko and Taka leading the charge, all mentally prepared for what they might find. Behind them trailed Celeste, Hifumi and Hiro, none of them eager to participate but inclined to nonetheless. Bringing up the rear were Sayaka and Leon, with the baseball star practically carrying the pop idol as they slowly headed after their classmates. Sakura and Hina had elected to retrieve both Toko and, more importantly, Junko, as the Fashionista's medical knowhow would certainly be appreciated, if not vital.

In a mad rush, those already on the second floor followed the biker as they rounded the corner leading to the pool locker roomers. Pushing the doors open, Mondo pointed to the girl's locker room and shouted, "She's in there!"

No one questioned him as they all continued to follow after the biker, pushing open the pink door and finding a most horrific sight:

Petite, frail, lifeless Chihiro hung between two bars of the weight lifting equipment, a rope-like cord wrapped around both arms and around her torso to keep her suspended. A dumbbell with a bit of blood on its corner rested only a few inches from her feet. She was limp, her eyes closed tightly shut without a hint of life in her whatsoever. A hint of blood, visible on the side of her head, matted in with her hair, momentarily drew attention away from the other shocking visage the students found in the room.

Scrawled in blood across the wall behind Chihiro, a horrifying message loomed:

Blood Lust

And that wasn't the only shock the students had to withstand. For out of all people, not one of the students expected to see Byakuya Togami, a light tinge of blood on his fingertips, quickly dismantling the rope that held Chihiro suspended. And they certainly weren't prepared when he snapped his head back at them, a frantic expression marring his features.

Byakuya had no time to explain himself, however, before he was accosted by a furious and surprised shout from Mondo.

"W-W-WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING TO HER?!"

The biker was prepared to throw himself at the Togami heir when a pair of arms wrapped around from beneath his underarms, holding him back. Too infuriated to even bother looking back, Mondo struggled to free himself before the voice of his friend shouted in his ears.

"Wait, Mondo! You need to calm down!" Taka exclaimed, only just managing to hold the biker back. "He seems to be trying to help!"

"Bullshit!" a rage-blind Mondo retorted, shoving Taka off him and furiously pointing at the scene. "He's even got blood on him! He's the one who attacked her!" the biker insisted, making everyone aware of the blood decorating the heir's fingertips.

A deep sigh escaped Byakuya as he said, "I was investigating to see if Chihiro's wound was fatal and got a little blood on myself."

"See Mondo! He's trying to—", Taka tried to reason with his friend but failed miserably.

"Chihiro wasn't hanging like Christ when I found her earlier! She was lying on the God-damn floor! The only way this could have happened was if he—!"

"Enough!"

Everything halted as a commanding voice rang out, ceasing Mondo's outburst. All of the students turned to see Junko, dressed in a baggy T-shirt and pair of incredibly short jean-shorts, pushing her way through the crowd. Her long pink locks were a strewed down her back instead of tied up in pig tails, and were a bit damp at places, like she'd been rushed from the shower.

Hina and Sakura followed directly behind her, with Toko bringing up the rear of that team. Once the four of them were out in front, they all got a good look at the scene.

Hina and Sakura blanched but said nothing, too shocked for words. Unfortunately for Toko, the instant she caught sight of Chihiro's predicament, her eyes rolled back into her head and she passed out, collapsing to the floor with a loud thud. At the same time, Junko stood there, frozen as a gasp escaped her before her eyes narrowed a moment later. Unfortunately, she wasn't given the chance to act upon her feelings, as she was halted by an authoritative voice.

"Wonderful, now we have two unconscious women to deal with. By the way, do you all plan to just stand around or are you going to help me get this one down?" Byakuya practically spat at everyone still conscious, somehow managing to keep his voice even at the same time. "Or would you prefer we don't treat her wounds and simply let her fade from this world?"

A wave of shock washed over the students and none of them were more bewildered than Mondo, who stood gaping at the scene in utter confusion.

"Hold on…you mean she's alive?!" Hiro shouted, as confounded as the rest of them. A mocking scoff escaped Byakuya as he turned back to his task.

"For now, but I can't say for how long if we just leave her here," the Togami heir quietly seethed, his fingers straining as he was finally able to unhinge the rope holding up Chihiro's right arm. When he did, he miscalculated how fast Chihiro's body would fall and his hand failed to grab and support her.

Luckily for everyone, Kyoko was already at his side and caught the slumping Chihiro as her body shifted, holding her upright as much as possible. When she did, Chihiro's lower body pressed against her side and, even if it was only for a second, Kyoko's eyes widened. However, she instantly returned to her usual stoic visage and did her best to keep Chihiro level as Byakuya continued to untie her.

A collective sigh resounded from the other students but it was cut short when Kyoko glared over her shoulder at everyone.

"We could use some assistance," was all she uttered as she and Byakuya continued to free the suspended Chihiro. Like a jolt of electricity sparked in them; Junko, Makoto, and Sakura stepped up, helping to hold and untie the poor petite girl and ease her down to the carpeted floor. At the same time, Hina decided to attend to the unconscious Toko.

The moment Chihiro was laid down; Junko pushed everyone aside and knelt beside her. Lowering her head, the Fashionista pressed her ear to the programmer's chest, a reassured smile appearing on her lips an instant later.

"She's got a pulse! And it's faint but I can hear her breathing too!"

All of the tension that paralyzed the students abruptly vanished at those words, with a great deal of relived sighs and joyful shouts following afterwards. Makoto in particular could hardly believe what was happening, but didn't question providence when it occurred.

"I can't believe it…I thought for sure that we'd be headed for another class trial. Guess we're pretty lucky, aren't we?" Makoto mused, letting a hopeful smile break out on his face. However, fate immediately had to turn on him as one of his classmates spoke up.

"I don't mean to disrupt this pleasant moment, but I believe we have more pressing matters to attend to," Celeste abruptly spoke up, gaining the attention she often enjoyed reveling in. "Or am I the only one concerned as to how Chihiro ended up crucified just before bed time?"

And just like that, all of the relief that had spread through the class shattered, replaced by growing suspicion and fearful glances.

"Well…fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck-fuck…" the real Junko seethed as she looked at the screen displaying the girl's locker room. Leaning forward onto the desk, she rested her elbow and let her head rest in her hand. All the while, her other hand tapped the wood repeatedly with her long red nails. "Girly-boy is still kicking, that means no murder, no class trial, and no special fun time for me tonight…"

A disappointed sigh escaped Junko's lips and she let her head slip from her hand, slamming her face into the desk, an audibly groan following.

"Uhg…it's just not fair! This was sooooo close to being a real class trial worthy event!" she protested into the desk, her voice slightly muffled. "They don't know the culprit, they have no idea that rich boy altered the scene, and best of all, Chihiro's in a near-death state and can't tell them anything…just like a real…case…"

As her own words registered in her ears, a frightful idea came into her mind. Slowly lifting her head from the desk, a malicious smirk decorated her lips as she abruptly stood and headed for the Monokuma control room.

Something about all of this was wrong, that much should have been obvious to everyone but unfortunately, they were too relieved by Chihiro's survival to realize it. Kyoko couldn't put her finger on it, at least not yet, but something about this whole affair reeked of deception.

As if to confirm her suspicions, a familiar tone rang throughout the school.

*Ding*Dong*Bing*Bong*

As one, the entire class turned their collective attention to the monitor up in the corner of the locker room. It buzzed to life and slowly a picture formed on the screen. To everyone's surprise, the seat in front of the wall of monitors, where Monokuma usual resided, was strangely vacant. Not only that, the bear's usual dulcet tones were missing as well. It appeared that, contrary to how these announcements typically went, there was a complete lack of their captor all together.

Immediately realizing something was amiss, Kyoko's gaze shifted back to her classmates, scanning the entire room as she glanced between them. Unfortunately, just as she spotted a flash of something black and white, the disturbing voice sounded from right behind where Sayaka and Leon stood.

"So, what are we watching?! I hope it's a gore flick!"

The resounding combined scream of Sayaka and Leon made even the stoic Kyoko flinch as they tripped over each other and toppled to the floor, using their feet to kick themselves away from the psychotic bear. Meanwhile, Monokuma spared them a sideways glance for about half a second before turning to and focusing his attention on the other students.

"Geez, what's their problem? You'd think an axe murderer was behind them or something," the bear cheekily said, laughing under its breath.

Somehow, despite how much he was shaking, Leon was able to pull himself to his feet before carefully hoisting up Sayaka, the two clutching onto each other in absolute terror. The image of those two visibly trembling was disheartening enough, but what was worse was that it seemed to particularly upset Makoto.

The Ultimate Lucky Student gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, obviously perturbed that the bear had pulled such a cruel prank and driven his two friends into a state of hysteria. And while Kyoko understood why Makoto had been keeping his distance from Sayaka, and by that extension Leon, as of late, it still amazed her that he considered them in such high regard.

Then again, she remembered his determination when he'd declared that he'd hold those two in his heart for the rest of his life…a feat that most men were incapable of doing. She also recalled that it was that moment that she found herself undeniable impressed with him. She admired his bravery and his commitment to what he believed in, even though others mocked him.

Because of that, she couldn't let his emotional state overrule his judgment and possibly endanger himself. And considering that he appeared ready to charge the sadistic bear, she knew it was time to intervene.

"Now isn't the time to lose your cool, Makoto…"

Folding her arms and stepping forward to get the bear's attention, Kyoko stared at Monokuma with a stone faced visage and asked, "Do you have something important to announce? If not, please leave. We have to tend to Chihiro…and Toko as well, I suppose."

The sound of her voice seemed to calm everyone, Makoto in particular, who turned her way with a thankful glance. At the very least, he seemed to appreciate that she'd intervened, which was enough for now.

"What? I can't stay up with you all and watch the late night movie? That's discrimination against bears!" Monokuma fired back, his face reddening but his tone suggesting he was merely trying to intimidate them.

"I assume you have a reason for such a grand entrance? Or do you simply enjoy terrorizing those weak-minded enough to be caught unaware?" Byakuya countered, wanting to get to the point as much as Kyoko did.

However, his insensitive words made everyone glare at him instead, especially Leon and Sayaka. In response, he merely scoffed as he lifted his head up and glared down his nose at them, obviously looking down on them. Neither party spoke for a few moments, the anger between them growing, just as Monokuma would have undoubtedly wanted.

Just before Kyoko thought she'd need to intervene again, she found an ally speak up for her.

"Would you just get the point, you damn bear?! We need to treat Chihiro's wounds and you're blocking the door!"

Kyoko's gaze shot across the room as Junko, of all people, shouted her demands at the bear, a menacing scowl plastered on her face. Despite the fact that, like Leon and Sayaka, she should have a very validated fear of Monokuma, the Fashionista seemed to growing more and more brazen with the demented bear as time went on. And while it wasn't uncommon for people to cope with fear in such a manner, it seemed out of character for Junko.

However, because it seemed to perturb Monokuma, judging by the way the bear fold its arms as it prepared to answer, Kyoko decided to put that thought on hold until the time was right.

With a huff, Monokuma stoutly replied, "I just thought that everyone would like to know that your e-handbook have been updated. Oh, and a couple new rules have been added!"

As he finished, all of the e-handbooks made an electronic beeping sound, signaling that the bear was telling the truth. This startling revelation shook all of them to the core, even Kyoko, who immediately pulled out her e-handbook, booted it up and swiped her way through to discover the new rule:

In the event that one or more students are attacked or involved in an attempted murder, without an obvious perpetrator, Headmaster Monokuma reserves the right to hold an investigation and class trial to discover the culprit.

Choking back a hint of bile that rose up in her throat, Kyoko successfully kept her temper in check as she was forced to accept that their captor had just made a significant change to their lives. Glancing around, she saw that the other's weren't taking it well either.

Makoto tightly gripped his e-handbook as he read the message, his hands trembling with what she assumed was a mixture of fear and anger. Byakuya scoffed but otherwise remained silent, though it was easy to see the hint of excitement in his eyes from the potential class trial that would follow. Celeste giggled slightly but it was obviously to hide the fact that she wasn't entirely pleased with the new rule either. Taka glared angrily at the screen, probably upset that the rule was added without due process, while Mondo simple looked like he was about to punch the screen in frustration.

Sayaka and Leon struggled to keep their breathing under control as they looked over the new rule, sharing a brief glance of worry before reading the rule again. Also, Kyoko noticed that, for some reason, Sayaka was actually looking over at Leon's e-handbook instead of her own. Their newfound closeness aside, that struck her as odd, but she didn't have the time to consider the repercussions of it at that moment.

Continuing to look at the other student's reaction, she saw Hina's eyes widen and Sakura's eyes narrowed as they shared a look of concern over the new rule. Hiro and Hifumi both held incredibly shocked visages, but otherwise stayed quiet, possibly fearing to address this new issue.

"W-What the hell is this?!" Junko abruptly exclaimed, voicing exactly what everyone else was thinking. "You can't just add a rule to make us have a class trial whenever you feel like—!"

"Oh, but I'm not," Monokuma corrected her, its grin widening maliciously as it continued, "I, your merciful Headmaster, have no control over what you, the unpredictable students, do to each other. I simply have to act accordingly when tragedy strikes and punish those who defy—".

"P-P-Punish?! What the hell do you mean punish?!" a frantic Leon interrupted, his face twisted in terror.

"He means execution, obviously." Byakuya's cruel voice shattered the air, leaving no room for doubt. "It's a class trial after all. And at the end of each class trial—".

"—there has to be a punishment!" Monokuma interjected, displeased that the Togami heir was stealing his thunder.

"B-But, you can't do that!" the hopeful voice of Makoto rang out, shifting focus over to him. "Your own rules state that only the blackened can be punished at the end of a class trial!"

Silence reigned over the room for a few seconds after Makoto's outburst, but it was quickly shattered by the hysterical laughter of Monokuma.

"Eyahahahahahahahah! Did you really think I'd overlook such a crucial detail? I wasn't born yesterday! Only a year or so, in fact, but not yesterday!"

Before any of them could question what the bear meant, an electronic beeping caught their attention. In an instant, Kyoko reopened her e-handbook and flipped to the end of it, her grip on the electronic device tightening as she read another new rule:

Following a class trial with no true blackened, the students alone will be given the decision to punish the culprit responsible for disturbing the peace of the community. As per class trial rules, the decision will be decided by majority vote.

Rereading the contents of the rule several times to be sure she understood it, Kyoko was about to address it when one of her classmates beat her to the punch.

"Wh-What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!" Mondo abruptly shouted; sweat trickling down his neck as he tried to make sense the new rule. "Someone gets executed just for attacking someone else?! The fuck kind of rule is this?!"

Kyoko raised an eyebrow at Mondo's sudden objection. She hadn't expected him to react so fervently to such a rule. Considering he was the only one who found Chihiro unconscious in the first place, there was a chance he was the one who committed the offense in the first place, as unlikely as that seemed due to his honorable nature. Then again, with Mondo's streak of anger fueled attacks, she could understand why he'd be concerned, considering how easily he flew off the handle.

Even so, the way he was acting was far more suspicious than he probably meant for it to be.

"So wait…if someone attacks someone else, but that person survives…then we get to choose if the guy who attacked the person gets executed or not?" a very confused Hiro tried to piece together, earning an irritated sigh from the class.

"Please refrain from speaking unless you've been given permission to," Byakuya threatened while adjusting his glasses.

"B-But then I'd never get to say anything!" the clairvoyant fired back, sounding almost terrified.

"That would be the point," the Togami heir admitted, before turning to face Monokuma. "In any case, put simply, the decision to punish whomever attacked Chihiro lies solely with us. Am I correct?"

A heavy sigh escaped Monokuma as he pointed to Byakuya, its head turned to face the other students. "See, why can't you all be like Trust Fund over here and get it when I say it the first time?"

The menacing glare Byakuya shot the bear did little to stunt its vitality, gleefully dancing around while the situation was made clear to everyone. And while Kyoko did find Monokuma's nickname for the Togami heir appropriate, that didn't make the current situation any simpler. After all, there were still some other issues to be cleared up.

"Let me ask one thing," she said, disrupting the bear's dance and gaining its attention. "Do the same rules apply if we guess incorrectly during the trial?"

As she suspected, all of her fellow students instantly understood exactly what she meant. And it seemed that Monokuma did as well.

"Well of course! It wouldn't be much of a class trial without stakes, now would it?" the psychotic bear informed them, before glaring directly at a now terrified Makoto. As if drinking in his visage, Monokuma's menacing grin widened as it cackled loudly. "What's the matter, Makoto? Don't you trust your friends anymore?"

As that insult was hurled at him, Makoto couldn't help but hang his head, angrily clenching his fists as he couldn't find the words to retort. Seeing that example, one by one, the other student's faces all lost their color as the truth dawned on them. And, unfortunately, Kyoko knew this truth was far harsher for a particular set of students.

Glancing over her shoulder, she saw both Sayaka and Leon visibly trembling as they struggled to keep standing. The baseball star grasped onto a rack of dumbbells to keep upright while the pop idol desperately clutched his shirt, barely able to keep her shaky knees from giving way. It was hard enough for them to handle everything, considering they'd personally lived through it once before, but this time, they were seeing it from the other side.

Sayaka was especially skittish, considering she'd never experienced an investigation or class trial before. And Kyoko was certain that she had prayed she'd never have to.

"Fate, it seems, enjoys being cruel to her…"

"W-Wait…you're saying that…that if we can't find who…attacked Chihiro…we all…we all…die?" the weak voice of Sayaka questioned aloud to anyone that would answer, her eyes staring down at the floor with tears welling up in the corner of her eyes.

"So it seems…" Celeste blatantly answered, though she seem didn't any more thrilled about the venture than Sayaka did.

The severity of the situation made clear to her, Sayaka couldn't help but hang her head, tears slipping down her cheeks as she silently wept. Just as she felt her despair was going to consume her entirely, an arm wrapped around her shoulders. Sayaka gasped as she looked up to see Leon, his usual cheeky grin plastered on his face, holding onto her tightly before winking at her.

"Hey, don't worry about it! We got this! Right, Makoto?" Leon brazenly insisted, sending as hopeful of a smile toward the lucky student.

Lifting his head up and seeing that Leon was relying on him for support, Makoto responded with a confident smile and replied, "Yeah…yeah! And this time, when we won't let one of our friends get executed! It's our choice this time!"

"That's what I'm talking about!" the baseball star concurred before glancing back to Sayaka. "Let's just do what we can, alright?"

Seeing both of them so confident that they could survive, Sayaka managed to wipe away her tears and nod. "R-Right…!"

No matter how much she tried, Kyoko couldn't hide the tiny smile that formed as she listened to Makoto's words of encouragement. Even though she could see that Leon was putting up a brave front, he genuinely seemed to believe in Makoto. And of course, their resident lucky student would do anything to help his friends, so he wasn't going to back down, especially not in front of Monokuma.

Speaking of the demented bear, Kyoko turned to see that the bear had seen the entire exchange and was making motions as if vomiting.

"Uhg, get a room you three! You don't have time for that crap anyway! If I were you, I'd get to finding out what happened to Lamb Chop over there!" the bear said, pointing at Chihiro as it finished cackling. " Oh, and just in case some of you are a bit slow…"

Monokuma spun around and pointed up at the monitor in the corner of the room as a familiar bell rang.

*Ding*Dong*Bing*Bong*

Just like before, the students all shifted their gazes up to the screen, which this time did show the image of Monokuma upon it, despite there being another one right there beside them. However, they all kept silent about that fact as the Monokuma on the monitor cleared its throat and began speaking:

Emergency! Emergency! It seems we have a victim of bullying!

In an effort to find the perpetrator, you will be given a certain amount of time to investigate.

Please use this time wisely, the class trial will begin very soon!

Before the announcement had even come to a close, Kyoko looked around and discovered that the Monokuma that had been in the room with them had disappeared…leaving only the students behind, to uncover the truth for themselves.

"Shit! I never expected this!" Mukuro mentally panicked as she absorbed the situation. "I thought that if I could prevent the murders, it would stop the class trials and executions! Junko must be getting super bored with no deaths…and Chihiro's miraculous survival didn't help with that I'm guessing…"

It wasn't unexpected that Junko would begin resorting to such underhanded tactics. Even so, it was more than disheartening for Mukuro, as she'd expected her sister to follow the rules she'd already set. After all, the soldier had been betrayed for breaking the rules and until this point, Junko had diligently followed them herself.

"Then again, the rules also state that more rules can and will be added at the Headmaster's discretion," Mukuro thought, recalling the very last rule in the e-handbook.

Around her, the other students were already mentally preparing for another class trial, or in Sayaka's and her own case, readying themselves for their first. However, Mukuro suspected that the weight of the role each of them would play would be vastly different.

Sayaka would be focusing on trying to understand how the system works, and possibly be as confounded as her fellow classmates had undoubtedly been during the first trial. Meanwhile, considering her extensive career in the military, and the diligence acquired during that time, Mukuro could easily adapt to this life or death investigation. And even though it wasn't her field of expertise, she knew that due to her unique situation; she would see things differently, providing a new angle to view this case with.

More importantly, she had enough confidence in her ability to keep a cool head under pressure to know that she could be as useful as Kyoko, in certain respects.

"Don't get flustered, Mukuro. Focus on your task and you'll be able to uncover the truth," she reminded herself."After all, Chihiro is still alive and as long as I can assist in the investigation, then—".

"Whoa, was I down for the count or what?"

Reality itself shattered as the voice of someone Mukuro could never forget abruptly entered into the scene. Her head practically snapping as it jerked around, the soldier focused all of her efforts into keeping her panic in check. However, she couldn't stop the horror from welling up as the voice returning, almost whispering in her ear.

"Sorry about that. That was kind of a shocker, huh? Was I the only one who went down?"

Standing literally right behind her, tongue slightly drooping out her mouth and eyes a bit loopy from the fainting, was Toko's other personality…the Ultimate Murderous Fiend – Genocide Jack.

Against her will, Mukuro broke out into a cold sweat as the serial killer peeked over her shoulder and gazed down at the motionless Chihiro, completely ignoring the soldier altogether.

"Oooooh, is that a dead body?! Hey! Are you dead?!"

A noiseless gasp was shared by the entire room, as none of them were sure what to make of Toko's new speech pattern and mannerisms. Well, all except for Mukuro…

"Shit! Why now of all times?! Fuck, fuckity, fuck-fuck!"

Mukuro continued to mentally cursed as Genocide Jack spun around and over to her side and continued examining the unconscious Chihiro, an elated expression coloring her pale face. However, once the serial killer got a good look at the programmer's constitution, that joyful expression vanished and it was replaced by a disappointed frown.

"Ehhh? There's hardly any blood at all? What's up with that?!" Genocide Jack questioned, pointing at the tiny gash on Chihiro's head.

Everyone became taken aback by the new persona their usually mousey classmate was displaying. Even the arrogant Byakuya seemed visibly perturbed by her change, as he assumed a kind of defensive position, so subtle that only Mukuro would have noticed it. Then again, considering how much murderous intent the serial killer was emanating, it was no surprise that he would be on edge, considering his immense distrust of everyone.

But that wasn't the worst problem…not by a long shot.

"I thought I could contain Genocide Jack inside Toko if I kept anyone from dying! With no blood for her to react to, Genocide Jack should have remained hidden! I can't believe I was so stupid!" Mukuro reprimanded herself, tightening her jaw to keep from losing her composure.

Toko had done a remarkable job keeping her other side hidden away up until now. But there was no way for the writing prodigy to predict finding Chihiro in such a situation. None of them had, not even Mukuro…wait a second…

"The scene is made to look like Genocide Jack's handiwork. However, the killer herself is openly shocked by everything she's seeing. And considering her usual fervor and rigid guidelines she follows for each murder…not to mention that Genocide Jack only targets cute young men…and considering that she probably doesn't know that Chihiro's biologically male…the attacker isn't her…she'd never hang a body if it was still breathing."

It all added up, and yet didn't make any sense whatsoever. During their time together, when the school was actually a learning facility, Toko had managed to keep Genocide Jack a secret, for the most part. Junko figured it out only a few weeks after school had begun but decided to wait for the right opportunity to use that information.

Besides, ever since coming to Hope's Peak, Toko's other personality hadn't killed anyone. Mukuro hadn't given it much thought at the time, but when she really thought about it, the most likely reason was that Toko obsessive feelings for Byakuya Togami had stayed her hand for that first year. And then, with the rise of the World's Most Despair Inducing Event, all other issues were quickly forgotten as the world fell into chaos. And the rest was history…

"But then, if Genocide Jack isn't the one responsible…who made the scene look like—?!"

Realization struck Mukuro hard as she carefully turned her gaze back to gauge Byakuya's reaction a second time. For the entire time since 'Toko' had awakened, he'd never taken his eyes off her. Also, he was keeping a considerable distance from her, and while that could have been chocked up to the rancid odor that Genocide Jack emanated, it seemed more like the Togami Heir was studying her…for weaknesses possibly. Not only that, his bloody fingertips made all the more sense, considering that Chihiro hadn't lost enough blood to properly write the bloody message on the wall.

Byakuya was trying to pull the wool over everyone's eyes, and unfortunately, he was succeeding.

"Cheeky son of a bitch…"

"This is certainly unexpected…" Byakuya seethed as 'Toko' staggered around, spouting gibberish. And while it wasn't what he'd been hoping would happen when Genocide Jack surfaced, it was exactly disappointing.

Actually, all was going well, for the moment. Aside from the fact that no one suspected anything more amiss about Toko. Even though she was clearly acting out of character, it seemed that only he could discern the radical change in her behavior. Not even Kyoko seemed to be putting much effort into discovering the reason, which perplexed but relieved him.

"I had hoped to drag this side of her out in front of everyone, so that they would all become aware of her. But it seems that Genocide Jack isn't as foolish as I had thought," Byakuya mused, watching as she almost aimlessly wandered about.

It was at that time that Makoto's concern must of finally outweighed his apprehension, as he approached 'Toko' and asked, "A-Are you alright?"

Spinning around to face him, Genocide Jack looked over Makoto for all of two seconds before she put on a surprisingly pleasant smile and said, "I'm fine, I'm fine, kyehahahaha…"

Her uncharacteristically menacing chuckle startled everyone and Hiro huffed in nervous laughter as he surmised, "She musta hit her head really hard when she fainted…"

A silent agreement seemed to be passed around the room, as everyone appeared to accept that conjecture. And it was all the more surprising because it came from Hiro, but Byakuya left that alone for the time being. Just as everyone was prepared to accept the one intelligent thing the clairvoyant had proposed, Genocide Jack just had to open her mouth and spew out very poetic words.

"The world has a front and back, a top lining and a bottom, a sea of truth and a web of lies!"

Although no one seemed to understand, the meaning of her phrasing was clear to Byakuya.

"She's drawing parallels to herself, and how she is and isn't the person we've come to know…how fascinating. Even her usual stutter is gone. It seems that was a trait only shared with her weak side."

As much as he'd like to take more time dissecting her for possible weaknesses, Byakuya knew this wasn't the time. The investigation needed to commence and he needed to prepare for his role in the upcoming class trial.

With that in mind, the Togami Heir scoffed and said, "She's obviously delusional. Someone take her back to her room before she interferes with the investigation. Unless you'd all like her to destroy valuable evidence in her half-awake stupor?"

Although everyone seemed a bit surprised that he'd spoken up, he was certain that his insistence about how she could disrupt the crime scene would hide his true intention. If he was being honest, he just wanted her out of his sight as quickly as possible. She was a threat to him, in more ways than one, and he wouldn't stand for her to be the reason the world lost his valuable presence.

Fortunately, at least one of his classmates proved useful in this endeavor.

"W-We'll do it…Leon and I will take her back," Sayaka carefully said, earning a confused look from Leon.

"We will? Why us?" he questioned just before she glanced up at him, her blue eyes hardened with determination.

"Because we have to do what we can…right?" she answered before sheepishly averting her gaze. "Besides…it's not like we'd be much help with the investigation anyway…"

As if a wave of guilt washed over them, both of them hung their heads. With a great sigh, Leon concurred, "…That's fair, I guess. We'll go drop Toko off at her room, then."

At the mention of 'her' name, Genocide Jack practically leapt with joy as she shouted, "Nice! I'm gonna get dropped off! Bye now, everybody!" Wandering over to where Sayaka and Leon stood, which happened to be near the door, Genocide Jack smiled pleasantly at them and said, "Please take care of me!"

Her attitude made both Sayaka and Leon noticeably uncomfortable but since they had already agreed to it, there was no going back now. And so, with a loopy 'Toko' beside them, the three of them departed the locker room, much to Byakuya's relief.

However, something other than Genocide Jack's immediate depart began to weigh in on his mind as he observed how she'd acted around their classmates. Most noticeably, how she was playing dumb and not drawing too much attention to herself. Sure, it was obvious that she wasn't herself but at least she hadn't done anything that would give away her true identity. Byakuya had expected more than just her slip up about asking if Chihiro was dead or not, but it seemed that she had quickly evaluated her surroundings and acted accordingly.

Then again, considering her situation, that was to be expected. After all, she hadn't managed to avoid the authorities for so long out of sheer luck.

As much as it pained him to admit, Genocide Jack had to be quite intelligent if she was capable of pulling off so many unsolved murders. And while the Togami Heir questioned the capacity of Toko's personality, it was at least clear that this side of her could think ahead and plan out complex strategies to get what she wanted. It would have been the faintest bit impressive…if Byakuya wasn't certain that her plan involved him plastered to the wall, suspended by those ungodly scissors.

"As long as I'm careful, I should have no issues exposing who she really is. And once that's done, she won't be able to get near me ever again…"

His plan was simple, and yet affective. By creating a scene that looked as though it was Genocide Jack's handiwork, he would be able to push the class trial in that direction. And once he had properly revealed Genocide Jack's identity, he could reveal Mondo's betrayal to all of them. Sure, by that point, his classmates may have a hard time believing that he saw Mondo fleeing the scene, but with the right evidence, he could quickly drive the pathetic biker into a corner and force a confession.

Fortunately, he already had such evidence. No one seemed to notice that Chihiro's e-handbook was missing, at least not yet. Only he knew that it was missing, having searched Chihiro's duffle bag and pockets before suspending her. Mondo had undoubtedly taken the e-handbook, possibly used it to gain access to the girl's locker room in the first place. And unless the insufferable fool had found a way to dispose of the e-handbook, then he undoubtedly still had it on him. After all, even a fool like him had to realize that if he couldn't destroy the evidence, then hiding it would be the best option. And where better to hide it then on his person, where no one would think to look?

Byakuya realized, of course, that it was mostly speculation, but he had other resources as well. The dumbbell was exceptionally heavy; the idiot biker probably hadn't even taken that into consideration when he'd chosen it. The way Chihiro was attack suggested that she was hit atop the head, and while Chihiro was rather short, Byakuya didn't tower over her enough to leave a gash on the top of her head. Not to mention that he would have had to get it from the boy's locker room, because a dumbbell of the same size and weight was still in the girl's locker room.

This was clearly done because Mondo had premeditated the attack, and brought the dumbbell from the boy's locker room with him. This meant that Sakura, the only other candidate who would be able to lift such a heavy dumbbell with such precision, could be factored out of the equation.

With all that information, Byakuya was positive that, when the time came, he would be able to educate his naïve classmates into understanding who the true culprit in this particular case was.

"All I need to do now is focus on securing someone to corroborate the information I have on Genocide Jack…and I have the perfect commoner in mind for that role."

Byakuya's eyes shifted and lingered on Makoto. A confident grin decorating the Togami Heir's lips for only a moment before he resumed his arrogant scowl.

Victory was all but assured for him.

An instant later, all of their e-handbooks beeped, causing everyone from Byakuya to Mondo to look at their miniature devices. As Kyoko checked her own, she saw that, in place of where the 'Monokuma File' from the last case would have been, there was a different kind of file.

Monokuma (Incident) File

The file contained information about where Chihiro had been found, who found her, and even gave an analysis of her head wound. At the side, there was also a tab that listed her status, which everyone was pleased to see was: "Alive".

Armed with this new information, it seemed that the investigation had officially begun.

And even though it took longer than Kyoko would have liked for everyone to figure out what they were going to do to help with the investigation, before she realized it, a certain Moral Compass had already taken it upon himself to rally everyone.

"Alright then, you all have your tasks!" Taka shouted, bringing order to the chaos. "Hina, Junko and myself will take Chihiro to the nurse's office and make her comfortable."

"Even though moving her is a risk, considering it's a head injury, it'll be easier to take care of her there than try to bring everything up her," Junko concurred, earning a stout nod from Taka.

"As soon as I help get Chihiro to the nurse's office, I will return so that Mondo and I can guard the crime scene, like last time," Sakura said, already cradling the unconscious Chihiro in her massive arms.

"And the rest of us will begin the investigation," Kyoko finally said, already having a few leads on who may have been the attacker.

Before anyone could officially start their tasks, the authoritative voice of Byakuya spoke up.

"Makoto, you're with me this time." Everyone, especially Makoto, was shocked to hear the Togami heir's demand. Seeing that everyone was confused, Byakuya scoffed and reaffirmed, "I'm going to let you cooperate with me during my investigation."

"W-Why?!" the lucky student instantly inquired, looking quite uncomfortable with the idea.

Furrowing his brows, Byakuya let out a deep sigh before he answered, "You seemed to have limited use, that's why I chose you. Does that answer your question?"

"N-No…not really," a very nervous Makoto answered.

With a deep scowl, Byakuya glared directly at him and said, "I'm purchasing your talent, the same talent that helped you solve the last case." As he said those words, both Sayaka and Leon slightly shuddered, thought it seemed the Togami heir didn't care if they did. Thus, he continued, "Let's go, we don't have time to be standing around here."

Without another word, the Ultimate Affluent Progeny moved around him and began heading for the door, much to everyone's confusion.

"B-But…!" Makoto tried to interject to stop him, but it fell on deaf ears.

Initially unsure of what to do, the lucky student sent a desperate glance toward Kyoko. She instantly knew that his dilemma was that he didn't want to disappoint anyone, even a bastard like Byakuya. He wanted to help him, and at the same time, he wanted to stay and help here. He was like a child asking permission to go…which Kyoko found a bit annoying but at least she understood. And if she was being honest, she did respect him for not just leaving with Byakuya when he'd been told to.

"At least he has enough backbone not to follow others blindly," she surmised, knowing that she still needed to resolve the issue.

"Go if you want, it's up to you," she said to him, not missing the apologetic look that had overtaken his visage.

"Sorry!" he exclaimed with a single bow, before rushing off to catch up with Byakuya.

"Did…did Byakuya just bully Makoto into helping him?!" Hiro shouted, unable to keep quiet any longer, especially considering Byakuya was no longer present to force him into silence.

"He better at least pay him for helping…" Hina commented, earning a few raised eyebrows. Taking notice, she nervously continued, "Well, he did say that he was 'purchasing' Makoto's talent, didn't he?"

"I don't think that's quite what he meant," Kyoko swiftly answered, putting a halt to that senseless conversation.

"Uhg, that guy is such a prick…" Junko muttered, as she, along with Hina and Taka, prepared to follow after Sakura, who carried Chihiro. "We need to get her into bed as quickly as we can. Let's head out—!"

"Hey!" Mondo called out, stopping them just before they left. "Good…uh…good luck with all the medical crap and…stuff…"

Watching from afar, Kyoko glanced over to see Junko smiling with determination as she flashed him a peace sign.

"Don't worry; we'll take care of Chihiro. Count on it!" Junko reassured him before beginning to depart.

Kyoko watched as a confident smile flashing over Junko's…overly…freckled…face…

As if a title wave came crashing down on her, a huge revelation was visited upon Kyoko.

Before she'd even realized it, her eyes had widened and she couldn't tear her gaze away from Junko's face, at least until the Fashionista had exited the room and was completely out of sight. Kyoko's extreme attention to detail flared up and she couldn't stop thinking that something about Junko's appearance was unsettling.

At first, she couldn't decide what it was, and she fell silent as she began to ponder.

She had seen the hint of freckles on the Fashionista's face before, the morning of the first case. However, this time, she noticed something very out of place. All make-up was absent from Junko's face, which of course meant that her appearance would be different but that wasn't what surprised the amnesiac girl.

Kyoko had spent a good deal of her free time investigating the school, gathering information on absolutely everything she could. On more than one occasion, she stumbled across a few fashion magazines, most of which had articles about Junko Enoshima printed in them with an assortment of pictures. During that time, there was a very specific feature that Kyoko had unintentionally picked up on, which she only recognized just now.

"The shape of her face…it's different in the magazines. Without make-up, it's easier to see and that's why I never noticed it before. It could just be photo-shopping, as Junko claimed, but…something feels…wrong about…"

Suddenly, a massive migraine pounded in Kyoko's head, forcing her to close her eyes and turn away from Junko. This was happening more frequently, particularly when she tried to remember something from her past. Did this mean that…Junko was somehow connected to her past? But how was that possible? And even if they shared some kind of connection, why wouldn't Junko have spoken up about it?

All this speculation caused the migraine to worsen and Kyoko was resigned to giving up on the matter, at least for now. There would be plenty of time to ponder how she and Junko could be connected later. Right now, she had an investigation to focus on.

She began by examining the dumbbell on the floor, already having noted the hint of blood on the corner where it much have clipped Chihiro's head.

"She's lucky it only clipped her. If it had hit her any other way, we'd be looking at a real class trial instead."

Continuing her investigation, she found that the dumbbell was rather heavy, meaning that the culprit was most likely a man, considering that most women would have struggled to lift that much weight. Although it wouldn't have been an issue for Sakura, and considering the attack occurred in the girl's locker room…wait…

Dropping to her knees down onto the carpet, Kyoko began running her gloved hand through the fibers. When she was satisfied, she narrowed her gaze as she couldn't find what she was looking for.

"No trace of blood on the carpet. If the attack happened here, there should be at least signs of the attack, like impressions from where the body fell. But there's nothing…no blood, no deep impressions…nothing. As if the crime wasn't committed here at all. But if that's the case…where is the true crime scene?"

Placing a hand on her chin, the amnesic girl could only conceive one other place where the crime could have occurred. However, despite how large of a clue that was, it was one that she had no true evidence of…yet.

"I'll head to the boy's locker room as soon as I finish here…" she reminded herself, filing the information away in her memories as she pressed forward with the investigation.

Turning her attention toward the wall behind the exercise machine, Kyoko moved closer to the bloody message on the wall, leaning in and examining it up close.

"Hmmm, the message was written using a slender tool, and it seems that the writer had to reapply more blood frequently, considering how some of the letters are faded more than others."

And there was only one person with bloody fingertips in this case…

"But that alone doesn't determine the culprit," Kyoko reminded herself taking a step back from the wall.

Deciding that there was no longer anything else to investigate her, Kyoko decided to spend the remainder of her time investigating the pool area. As she made her way to the door leading to the pool, her sharp ears couldn't help but overhear a conversation between Makoto and Mondo. She hadn't even seen Makoto return…and yet, here he was.

"Chihiro's going to be okay…I just know it," Makoto encouraged the biker, after hearing what he had to say about how he'd found the programmer in the first place.

Despite that, Mondo could only sigh as he lowered his gaze and replied, "Yeah…little dude's tough, that's for sure…"

As she stepped out into the pool area, the humidity already thick in the air, Kyoko calmly shut the door leading back into the girl's locker room. Once she was alone in the pool area, she squeezed her eyes shut and sighed.

"…Mondo only refers to guys as 'dude'…" she whispered, narrowing down her list of suspects considerably as she headed toward the boy's locker room.

"That should do it for now…" Mukuro thought to herself as she finished bandaging Chihiro's head. The nurse's office had been relatively quiet, considering that her company had been Hina and Taka, but she wasn't complaining.

Deciding that cleaning the wound could be dangerous at the moment, the soldier instead chose to simply conceal the tiny gash on the programmer's skull with wrappings. The pressure applied wouldn't be enough to cause undo harm but was firm enough to keep the wound from possible future bleeding.

Leaning back and inhaling a large breath, Mukuro barely had time to wipe the sweat from her brow before Hina practically materialized by her side.

"Junko, you're amazing!" the swimmer exclaimed, her eyes beaming with admiration. "We'd be in some serious trouble without you around!"

Mukuro inwardly flinched at the sudden praise, knowing that if Hina, or any of her fellow classmates for that matter, hadn't been missing two years of memory…very different words would have been directed at her. However, committing to keeping up the guise, the soldier plastered on a smile and said, "I'm just wrapping bandages…it's not a big deal. Even you could have—".

"I'm afraid I must disagree!" the stern, and yet supportive voice of Taka shouted at her from only a foot away. "Without your experience with first aid, I fear that we would be missing a few key classmates!"

Although he'd obviously meant it in the most positive of senses, Taka's good intentions only served to further drive Mukuro down into a pit of self-loathing.

"We wouldn't be in the situation at all…if I had been more diligent…"

"With that matter clearly addressed, I'm afraid that I must now address another serious matter!" Taka abruptly continued, startling Mukuro as he pointed a finger at her. "Young lady, just what are you wearing?!"

"…Huh?" an utterly confused Mukuro said, glancing down at the t-shirt and short-shorts she'd put on in her hurry to get to the crime scene. "Clothes?"

Her one word answer apparently didn't appease Taka, as he clenched his hands into fists and exclaimed, "Barely any clothes! You should be more mindful of your attire! We may be captives here, but we are still on school grounds! Your legs are clearly showing far too much skin and that shirt is practically slipping off your shoulder even as we speak! What would happen were it to slide off and reveal something even more…revealing?! As the Ultimate Moral Compass, I cannot abide by such lewd proceedings! You must return to your room and change into a more school friendly outfit before the trial, for the sake of our survival!"

At first, Mukuro thought it was Taka's very odd way of trying to get them all to laugh and relive tension. But the longer he kept ranting the more she realized he was completely serious…and for some reason, it bothered her.

"W-Why should it matter how much skin I show, jerk?!" she refuted, still trying to comprehend his reasoning. "And what does my choice of clothes have to do with our survival?!"

"Simple!" Taka countered, apparently ready for the comeback. "Studies have shown that men, and in some cases other women, are often distracted by how much skin an attractive young woman is showing! This is why schools have strict guidelines for uniforms! So that the students aren't distracted by such…distractions! And we certainly don't need any further distractions while we investigate what happened to Chihiro!"

A heavy sigh escaped Mukuro as she tried to comprehend how this was the most important issue that Taka felt needed to be addressed. And while she could understand his misguided attempts at keeping order, he seemed unusually bothered by her attire.

It was then that Mukuro pieced it all together…and just had to throw it back in his face.

"You're just uncomfortable because you want to sneak a glance, don't you?" she said mischievously, giving him a sideways smirk. "Plus, those ugly boots of yours are way more distracting than the little bit of skin I'm showing."

The instant those words left her mouth, Taka's face reddened, whether from embarrassment or rage, she couldn't tell. That is, until the Moral Compass narrowed his eyes and shouted, "My personal preferences have nothing to do with this! How dare you suggest such an immoral thing?! I am the Ultimate Moral Compass; I would never stoop to such an act!" He paused for only a moment, clearing his throat and lowering his voice. "And besides, my boots are within proper school regulations! While your clothes violate at least 15 guidelines set by national regulations! Now, I'm asking you, very politely, to please change before the trial! For all our sakes!"

Even though he was being completely unreasonable, though he'd never know it, at the very least, Mukuro could respect his resolve. Regardless of him being uncomfortable with her appearance on a personal level, he genuinely believed everything he was spouting. And because of that, it was impossible to reject his request. So, she decided to give him exactly what he wanted…

"Alright, fine…"

Slowly reaching her hands down, she gripped the edges of her shirt and began to lift it up, her belly button coming directly into Taka's pure-hearted view. The Moral Compass' eyes widened as her entire stomach came into view, a sight she figured he'd probably never seen before.

"W-W-W-Wait! W-What are you doing?!" Taka stammered, throwing his hands in front of his eyes.

With a devilish smirk, Mukuro kept her shirt lifted as she said, "Changing. That's what you wanted, right? For me to get out of these clothes as quickly as possible—".

"I-I didn't mean right here!" the Moral Compass shouted, abruptly turning his back when he realized his fingers had separated and he could see through them. "G-Go back to your room and change!"

Continuing to enjoy the situation, the soldier falsely scoffed and said, "But you said that, 'For all our sakes', I needed to change as soon as possible. So, I figured I'd—".

"Public indecency is not welcome in a school environment!" the frantic Taka shouted, still not brave enough to turn and face her. "Now go back to your room and change! Before I have to write you up!"

Mukuro thought it was kind of amusing that he instantly went into Discipline Committee mode when he was flustered, but otherwise figured that it was time to let him off the hook. They had more important issues to deal with anyway.

"Alright, Mr. Tight-Pants," she chided, relenting with a fake sigh before turning toward a slightly confounded, but entirely amused Hina. "Take care of Chihiro while I'm gone. I should be back soon…if I can find an outfit that fits proper school guidelines."

"Don't worry, we'll keep an eye on her," Hina finally replied, suppressing her laughter and nodding firmly with a pleasant smile.

"Cool, be back soon!" Mukuro said, already walking past Taka as she headed for the door.

"Yes, please do! But feel free to take as much time as you need to get properly dressed!" Taka somewhat concurred, his back still turned to her.

With a slight rolling of her eyes, she made her way to the door, slid it open and ventured into the hall, heading for the dorms. As she left, she could hear muffled voices following behind her.

"…forget-forget-forget…beam…"

"Uh, Taka? What are you doing?"

"Purging the impurities from my mind…would you like to try?"

"I'm good…thanks."

"W-What is this?! How could anyone do such a thing?!"

Makoto had practically shrieked as he looked over the Genocide Jack file that he had been given. As the panic became evident, so did the look of understanding that flooded his eyes. Makoto's mind was obviously piecing everything together…just as Byakuya had planned.

"I never imagined that he would prove so useful. Or so entertaining," the Togami Heir mused as he watched the lucky student pine over the case file extensively, as if trying to memorize its contents in the short time they'd been given before the trial.

If all went as he planned, only Makoto would have the knowledge to help illustrate his claims that Toko was indeed Genocide Jack. And while Byakuya knew that giving his classmate this information was a double-edged sword, as it could be used as evidence against him, the thrill of going through another trial easily outweighed the risk he was taking.

After all, he'd enjoyed the first class trial immensely, watching as his classmates scrambled to find the culprit. And while he admitted that his initial assumption of Makoto being the culprit was off, it turned out more interesting in the long run. He'd barely investigated during the first case because he figured that Makoto truly was guilty and therefore the case was already solved, which bored him. But then, the lucky student had surprised him and, unintentionally, one-upped him, something he could not forgive. It was a small mistake but one that Byakuya would never let happen again.

Plus, since he already knew Mondo was the culprit, there was no other fun to be had in this game.

In truth, Byakuya wasn't just using the lucky student for his own ends. He also wanted to test Makoto's crime solving abilities. He had to know if the expertise his classmate had shown during the first trial was genuine or dumb luck. And while the latter would play into Makoto's talent, the Togami Heir was still pressed to test it and see for himself.

"Let's see just how lucky you are, Makoto Naegi…"

Despite herself, Mukuro let out a chuckle as she headed for her room.

It was probably the first time she'd really laughed…in years. Not even during the entire two years she'd been with her classmates had she really laughed. Then again, she hadn't really acknowledged them as 'people' for the last two years. They had been her classmates, people she saw everyday but never really knew. And more importantly, they had been her sister's guinea pigs, the subjects of her twisted desire to harvest despair.

It was strange that, only when Mukuro had been forced to be 'Junko', did she start to see them as human beings. Only when she was in disguise could she talk…and laugh, with all of them. It should have been a disturbing feeling, but ironically, she welcomed it. Despite the guilt she felt, the camaraderie she felt growing between her and her classmates was a feeling she hadn't felt…since her time in Fenrir.

And, even though she realized that she should have been tenser about their current situation, considering its gravity, there was a gnawing feeling of confidence growing inside her. Even though she had plenty to worry about…

Junko's new rules, finding Chihiro's attacker, having to go through her first official class trial; all of it should have been so daunting. It should have been bringing her the despair that her sister obsessed over, but instead, she felt something akin to salvation. Like she had been liberated somehow, and that everything would be fine as long as they banded together and stood against their captor…her sister.

"Perhaps Makoto's rubbing off on me," she said with a tiny smile as she rounded the corner heading for the dorms.

As she entered the dorm area, she saw Leon and Sayaka standing outside Toko's room. They turned to see her and almost instinctively, they appeared to relax. Raising their hands to wave at her, she returned the gesture with a pleasant smile. It eased Mukuro's conscience to see them together, doing what they could to recover from their shared trauma.

"What up, guys?" she said as she got to her door, which was only a few down from Toko's.

"Not much," Leon instinctively answered before glancing at Toko's door with a sigh. "Toko had a bit of a sneezing fit once we got her into her room and threw us out, though.

That news was a bit of a relief for Mukuro, knowing that Toko tended to switch personalities when she sneezed too hard. However, she needed to be sure that it was really Toko and not Jack that her classmates would see during the trial.

"How is she now? Everything okay?" she asked carefully, trying to sound worried.

Sayaka and Leon shared a concerned look before the pop idol answered, "She's shut up pretty tight in there. We tried knocking but when she comes to the door, she just keeps muttering about not letting Genocide Jack get her."

Mukuro suppressed a relieved sigh at hearing that; happy to hear that Toko was back and Jack was under wraps. It was a minor victory but Mukuro would take them where she could get them. Unfortunately, she noticed that Sayaka and Leon were still pretty shaken up by everything that had happened. Not that she blamed them.

"So, how are you two holding up?"

As her question reached them, they both seemed a bit shocked. They didn't answer immediately, and when they did, it wasn't what Mukuro had been expecting.

"We're…just trying to stay out of the way," Sayaka told her, a nod from Leon signaling his agreement.

A bit surprised by that answer, Mukuro furrowed her brows and replied, "What does that mean? You're not going to help with the investigation?"

She knew she was interrogating them, something she really shouldn't be doing, but she couldn't fathom why they wouldn't want to help. Everyone's lives were on the line and even having just one more, or in this case two, sets of eyes looking around could find vital evidence. She could have gone so far as to tell them that, but their guilty expressions kept her silent.

"It's…it's not like we don't want to help…we just…we don't know how," Leon spoke up for them, both he and Sayaka averting their gazes from Mukuro.

"I was…unconscious, for the first investigation…" Sayaka reasoned, her guilt made evident with every word.

"And I didn't exactly want to help find the…killer, last time…" Leon admitted through grit teeth, his voice full of lf-loathing.

Just as the soldier had suspected, the two 'culprits' from the first class trial were struggling with the weight of their sins. And while she understood that struggle, far more than they would ever know, she also knew that regardless of their actions, if they truly wanted to redeem themselves, they could.

However, she had no right to tell them that right now. After all, her sins were even greater than theirs…and far beyond forgiveness. These two still had time to be forgiven…and they needed to know that.

"Alright, I get it," she said, a bit colder than she had planned. As Sayaka and Leon continued to avert their gazes, she took a deep breath and continued, "Then you two can watch over Toko and make sure she gets to the trial. That'll be the way you can help, alright?"

A pause followed but soon, Sayaka's voice spoke up, "Is…is that alright?"

"It doesn't seem like much…" a depressed Leon concurred.

"We all gotta do what we can. Ain't that right?" Mukuro encouraged them, not knowing any better way to help them.

"Right…"

"Yeah…"

Although their answers didn't sound terribly encouraging, the soldier knew that time was of the essence and she needed to change and get back to the nurse's office. If she didn't, she'd lose her chance to investigate herself, and this time, she wanted to be more than a medic for the class trial.

Flashing both of them as confident a smile as she could, Mukuro motioned toward her room and said, "I've gotta change into more 'school appropriate' clothes, Taka's orders. So you two hold down the fort out here for me, okay?"

"Yeah, we can handle that," Leon answered, only half meaning it, she could tell.

Mukuro sighed before turning around and was just about to grab her doorknob when she suddenly got an idea. Glancing over her shoulder, she smiled brightly at both of them before saying, "And do me a favor…watch out for each other. We have to make sure things like this don't keep happening. Think you can handle that too?"

"Sure…we can do that," Sayaka half-heartedly replied, not looking directly at her.

Beginning to lose her patience with their depressing nature, she decided to throw out something random, something that Junko might have said while they were all back at school together.

Taking a large breath, she shouted, "And for the love of God, don't let me come back out here to find you both staring at porn or something! We do that outside!"

For a moment, both Leon and Sayaka stood in complete shock. Slowly, they turned to glance at each other and something unexpected happened. They smiled. Mukuro almost thought she was imagining it but before she knew it, the two of them were just standing there, grinning at each other like idiots! As far as she knew, this was the first time they'd smiled in front of each other since the first trial!

Suddenly, to her own shock, Sayaka and Leon turned that smile toward her and said together:

"You got it!"

The two of them stood there, holding onto each other for support, but still managed to press onward, something the soldier hadn't expected to see. And, somewhere deep within her, Mukuro felt warmth that she couldn't quite explain…like something inside her was giving her strength to continue on herself. In fact, it felt just like the times Makoto had smiled at her…

Pushing past her initial surprise, Mukuro nodded firmly before replying, "Cool. Take care!"

And with that, she pulled open her door and went inside, leaving the newly revitalized pair to keep watch.

High up in the surveillance room, Junko was practically salivating with despair-ful rapture as she watched everyone scampering around preparing for the "not" class trial.

"So, rich boy's got everyone fooled, biker guy's a loser dipshit cause he couldn't take the final swing, and my sister is still doing a piss-poor job of imitating me…another day at Hope's Peak everybody…"

Moving around the desk and heading for the Monokuma control room, Junko felt her body burning with despairing desire. With her new rules in place, there was nothing stopping her from achieving her goals! It no longer mattered if someone died right away or not, she'd force her former classmates down into the depths of despair!

"And the first one on my list…is my dear older sister!"

Mukuro breathed a sigh of relief once she was out of sight, feeling confident once more.

"If those two are getting alone again, maybe there's hope for the rest of us…" she gently whispered to herself, letting that warmth from within envelope her once more. She would have like to revel in it for a while longer, but knew she needed to get changed as quickly as she could.

She moved to close the door and discovered that she didn't have her own key in her hand, which she usually did once she re-entered her room.

Only then did she realize that her door had opened without her having to use her key. She must have left it completely unlocked in her hurry to get to Chihiro, but since everyone else had been there, there hadn't really been a need to lock it. Despite that, Mukuro couldn't help a growing feeling of unease and instinctively turned, glancing around her room until she found that she had made a critical mistake.

"Evening, Miss 'Junko Enoshima'!"

All of the warmth Leon and Sayaka's smile had given her vanished as that voice echoed in her ears.

Standing on her bed, so that its height would be close to her own, a gleeful Monokuma stared at her. Hands behind its back, as if hiding something, the bear chuckled to itself as Mukuro slammed the door, hoping that Sayaka and Leon hadn't heard the bear's voice coming from inside her room.

Pausing for a moment, the soldier waited but when she didn't get a knock or her doorbell ringing, she assumed that her classmates hadn't heard the demented bear. Once the panic was gone, anger replaced it and Mukuro turned and glared at Monokuma as it addressed her.

"Seeing that you left the door unlocked, I let myself in. Hope that's alright—?"

"What the hell do you want?!" the soldier shouted, interrupting the bear. On reflex, her hand flew under her shirt to grasp her knife, only to discover that it was missing. Her eyes widened as she realized that she must have forgotten it when she left in a hurry earlier. As she angrily gritted for her lack of foresight, the grating voice of Monokuma called out to her.

"Missing something? Is it…this?!"

A flash glinted in her eyes and Mukuro's hand reacted before she even realized it, shooting up and grasping something metal between her fingers before it would have struck her in the face. It took only a moment to recognize that it was her missing combat knife. Her combat senses active, she flipped the knife around, grasping it by the handle and took a defensive stance.

"Oh, now that's quite a shock!" Monokuma jeered with sarcasm, hopping off the bed before chuckling to itself. "I never expected the 'Ultimate Fashionista' to be capable of catching knives! Let me guess, they taught you that in the hospital too?"

Mukuro flinched as the bear provoked her, mocking the story she'd told to her classmates regarding her medical knowledge. But she didn't react, she knew that would be an even graver mistake than forgetting her knife. She had no idea what her sister was up to, bringing Monokuma back to her room, but whatever it was, it had to do with the newly adjusted rules.

Or at least, that's what her gut told her. What other reason would Junko contact her again, especially considering their 'parting of the ways' last time?

Wait…if that was the case, why was the voice speaking to her only in Monokuma's usual tone? Normally, Junko would speak to Mukuro in her own voice. Was this her sister's way of keeping her word to 'never speak' with her again? Did she think that by having Monokuma be its usual self, that negated the fact that she was contacting the soldier in secret once more?

Before she could get her head wrapped around her sister's intentions, Monokuma scoffed and said, "I'm sure you're wondering why the gracious Headmaster of our esteemed academy is coming to visit you, especially at such a dire time."

Yes, Mukuro was indeed curious but she wouldn't be coaxed into speaking so easily.

Picking up on the silent treatment it was being given, Monokuma sneered and continued, "Your expression says it all! 'Oh, please Mr. Monokuma, tell me why you would deign to see me in my private room when an investigation is going on!' Well, I'll tell ya, toots!"

Mukuro gritted her teeth at the insult but kept herself composed as she listened to the bear's rambling.

"I don't like to see myself as an overseer here, but rather as an educator," Monokuma spouted as it paced back and forth in front of her. "And while I could just give you all the answers that you and your fellow students want, then it wouldn't be as gratifying when you finally uncover the truth for yourselves—".

"What the hell are you getting at?!"

Mukuro surprised herself, thinking she had been controlling her emotions better than she had. She hadn't meant to speak out, but her mind was aware that she was quickly running out of investigation time. And if nothing else, she needed to get back and see how Chihiro was doing.

Unfortunately, that seemed to be just what Monokuma wanted, as it turned its head so that only the glowing red, robotic eye was glaring directly into her sky blue irises.

"If you don't hurry, one of your fellow students will be left aaaaaall alone. You don't want that, now do you?"

A confused expression warped Mukuro's features as those cryptic words bore deep into her subconscious, her mind desperately trying to figure out the meaning behind them. However, before she could form a reasonable thought, or try to pry information out of the bear, she heard a knocking sound. Spinning around to face her door, she waited for someone to ring her door, but was greeted with silence.

Again, the knocking came but this time, she realized that it wasn't coming from her door!

Whirling around, she saw that Monokuma had moved itself to the far wall and was knocking at various places. Entirely confused for a moment, Mukuro began stunned when suddenly, a small portion of the wall opened up! It was like a hidden tunnel meant only for Monokuma, as it was barely big enough for the bear to step through.

Climbing into the secret passage, the bear turned and seemed to grin at her as it said, "See you at the trial!"

Mukuro could only watch as the bear tapped the wall again, the wall replacing itself as if it had never been moved. Silence engulfed the room for a few moments before the soldier flew into a rage. A furious scream erupted from her throat and she smashed her unarmed fist into the wall next to her, a small dent in the sheet-rock visible as she retracted her hand, only to smash it against the wall a second time.

As her knuckles ached, she slowly took deep breaths as she tried to calm down.

"I'm such a fool! I knew there were secret tunnels for Monokuma set up in the school but I didn't bother to think that there would be one in all of our rooms!" she said aloud, trying to let her anger out verbally. "And what the hell did he mean by leaving a classmate…all…alone…"

All at once, it clicked. Chihiro…Chihiro would be left alone during the entire trial! Just like Sayaka, she would probably be excused due to her unconscious state, leaving her virtually unprotected!

…But then, why was that so horrible? Junko wouldn't violate the rules and kill her while the trial was going on, she was too committed to the rules for that to happen. And if that was the case…was there something else that Monokuma had implied by his words?

"Dammit, 'If you don't hurry, one of your classmates will be left all alone', huh? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Wait…hurry, I need to hurry to—!"

Just as those words left her mouth, a familiar tone sounded through the school, leaving Mukuro distraught and frantic as the monitor above her abruptly switched on.

*Ding*Dong*Bing*Bong*

"Um, so…I'm tired of waiting…let's get this class trial of mutual bullying underway! Please go through the red door on the first floor of the school!"

As Monokuma's message played on the monitor above her, Mukuro felt her body grow cold and her legs wobbled as she realized she had wasted all of the precious time she'd been given before the trial.

"No…no! I didn't have any time to help investigate, god-dammit!"

The instant she finished speaking, her eyes widened in realization before her brows furrowed angrily.

"So that's her game…she wanted me to waste time trying to figure out her stupid puzzle, or maybe…she was just trying to buy time before the trail started…or she could have…I don't…ARHG! Why did she have to be such a bitch?!"

Slamming her fist into the wall one final time, Mukuro took several deep breaths before retracting her hand, letting it limply fall to her side. Glancing over, she saw the same blouse, bra, and mini-skirt she'd been wearing before her shower still lying strewn about on the floor where she'd left them. Almost robotically, she pulled the baggy t-shirt from her shoulders, unbuttoned her jean short-shorts and tossed them aside.

In their place, she snapped on her bra, threw the blouse over her shoulders, and pulled the mini-skirt back into place. She didn't want to bother with her wig, but knew that someone might question why, if she had spent so much time changing, hadn't she bothered to redo her hair. Pulling the sweaty, damp mass of hair from her head, she let it drop to the floor before marching over to her wardrobe and securing yet another pre-prepared wig. Walking calmly over to her dress, she glanced in the mirror and used it to help ensure it was in place.

As she finished putting the stylized wig into place, she took another deep breath before furiously kicking her dresser. Panting from her sudden exertion, she was force to admit that her emotions were still running wild.

"That's probably what she wants…" Mukuro seethed, glancing at her reflection in the mirror, desperately wishing that the girl looking back at her truly was her sister…so that she could cut out her throat!

Instead of that, however, Mukuro resigned herself to taking another cleansing breath, regardless of the fact that she knew it wouldn't truly calm her down. Inhaling and exhaling as deeply as she could, the soldier knew it was time to head to her next battlefield…one that she had absolutely no preparation for.

Her only hope was that someone…anyone, would have discovered the truth by now.

"It's not my fault… It's not my fault… It's not my fault… It's not my fault… It's not my fault…"

Toko kept whispering to herself as she gripped her head, pulling at her own hair as the images of how they'd found Chihiro refused to leave her mind. Even after being assured by Leon and Sayaka that Chihiro was alive, she still had her doubts. After all, there was no way SHE would ever let a victim survive.

"It's not my fault… It's not my fault… It's not my fault… It's not my fault… It's not my fault…"

Continually chanting her words, like a mantra, her mind raced as she tried to find a way to get herself out of this mess. Unfortunately, just like her previous killings, she knew that no matter how she could try and spin it, the fact was that SHE had killed again and there was no way to change that. And the worst part was, the blame wouldn't go to HER, but be directed at herself instead!

"W-W-W-Why…why d-d-do I have to be p-p-p-punished for what SHE'S done?!" she abruptly screamed, falling deeper into despair. Dry sobs wracked her body and just when she knew that all hope was lost…a single thought broke through her mind.

"M-Master…M-Master Byakuya will k-k-know what to do! He…He p-p-promised! He can—!"

*Ding*Dong*Bing*Bong*

"Um, so…I'm tired of waiting…let's get this class trial of mutual bullying underway! Please go through the red door on the first floor of the school!"

As that message tore through her ears, Toko let out a primal scream as fear once again began to take hold of her.

"NOOOOO! It w-w-w-wasn't me! It wasn't m-my fault! Master! Master Byakuya! S-S-S-Save me!"

Rushing to the door, she unlocked it and pulled it open only slightly, seeing Sayaka and Leon hanging around outside her door. And even though she knew she couldn't trust those…murderers, they were the only ones she could turn to now.

As Sayaka and Leon noticed her peering out at them, Toko suddenly shouted, "Y-You! Go and g-get M-Mister Byakuya! Right n-now!"

Without giving them time to respond, she slammed the door and relocked it, so that they couldn't force their way in and have their way with her. Pressing her back against the door, she panted for breath as she slid down and set with her back to the door. Now…all she needed to do was wait…wait for her Master to come and save her.

0_0

**ATTENTION: Toko's Fantasy**

(Toko sat, shivering on the floor. Suddenly, a heavenly voice called out!)

Byakuya: (Overflowing with concern) "Toko! I came as quickly as I could! What's wrong?!"

(The voice of her love called from the other side of the door; enveloping her, strengthening her.)

Toko: (Almost shocked) "B-Byakuya! You came!"

(Again from the other side of the door, she heard him calling out)

Byakuya: (Lovingly) "Of course I did! I am here for you! Open the door and we shall escape this horrible place…together!"

Toko: (Moaning) "Oh…yes! I…believe…in you! I will…follow you…until the…end!"

(As Toko unlatched the door, so too is her heart released from the pain of loneliness)

**EXITING: Toko's Fantasy**

0_0

Drool slipped down her chin as she reveled in that imagery, her mind clinging to it with all the sanity she could muster. Truly, her White Knight would come to save her…just as she knew he would.

It was then that she heard a knocking at her door…

To Be Continued…

Greetings, my beautiful readers! My beta isn't feeling well so I had to edit this chapter myself. Please wish her well in getting better and sorry if I had any horrible typos this time around!

But enough of my poor editing skills! What a long and action packed chapter, huh? But now that the new rules have been implemented, how will everyone survive? Will Mondo's crime be exposed? How will the presence of Mukuro, Leon and Sayaka affect the trial? Will someone ever punch Byakuya in the dick for being a dick? You'll have to read on to find out!

So, what do you all think of the new rules? I had a hard time deciding if I wanted to add them but in the end, I think they will prove crucial to the overall story. I didn't just want to add rules every time the plot of the story got harder to make work, because that would be boring. So, to that effect, I'm adding as few "new" rules as possible, to try and be more in-line with the canon story.

Also, just had to mention that I am proud of my "Obligatory Shower Scene" at the top of this chapter. Every great story needs an "Obligatory Shower Scene", to create…tension…and stuff. For this, I chose Mukuro because she's becoming increasingly important to the story…plus imagining her in the shower is…

...Wow, I feel dirty now…I did not intend that...I am so sorry...forget I said anything!

Anyway! As always, please leave a review/comment if you have questions or if you just want to let me know that you're enjoying the story. Until next time, keep on smiling, my beautiful readers!