Danganronpa Alt

by Ryan Hughes the world creator

Hope's Peak, It was built to raise hope in the nation's future. A government-funded school of privilege. They say if you come here and manage to graduate, you'll be set for life. Before we go any further, I should probably introduce myself. My name is Junko Enoshima...And this my story, of how my life forever changed...

8. Lost love And The Noise From The Shadows

Chiaki Nanami laid down on her bed, dressed only in her unbuttoned shirt, her underwear, and her black thigh high socks. She was still not okay after what happened to five of her classmates. Mikan Tsumiki, Komaru Naegi, Hiyoko Saionji, Gundham Tanaka, and most recently… Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu. The more people die, the worse her mental state becomes. Such are the symptoms of what we call Survivor's Guilt.

"...Nng… *Sniff* *Sniff sniff* I know I shouldn't cry… but… I-I… I've had enough. I can't take it anymore. Getting out of here… anytime soon… It's… impossible. I can't let myself think about… how much I want to get out of here. If I keep thinking like that, I might decide to…" Chiaki shakes her head to drive away those thoughts of murdering another friend, or worse… herself.

"I… I need to eat something… like… sweets… Maybe a donut…! That'll cheer me up!" Chiaki spoke to herself, trying to not wallow in depression and sorrow the entire time. So she got up from bed, buttoned up her shirt, grabbed a skirt, shoes, and her usual dark green hoodie, and left her room for a bit.

"Glazed donuts, twisty donuts, jelly donuts, cream-filled, donut holes, malasadas…! Ok Maybe something other than just donuts, but still! I'll pray for a wonderful sweet encounter…!" Chiaki said determined to cheer herself up with sweets. Leaving her room at midnight, she headed down the hall to head to the dining hall. Perhaps forgetting that the dining hall was locked up around this time.

"*Sniff* I'm sorry… Please, forgive me for breaking the nighttime rule… But right now, for me… sweets of any kind are absolutely necessary…!" Chiaki said to herself.

*Grr grnnn*

"...Huh?" Chiaki said, looking around.

*Grn grn grrnnn*

"What's that sound?" Chiaki asked as she looked for the source of the sound.

*Grn grn*

Looking around her eyes settled on the bathhouse

"It sounds like it's coming from… the bathhouse…" Chiaki mumbles, "But who else could be up and about at this hour?"

*Grn grrrrnn grrn*

"I'm scared but… I-Is… Is someone there?" Chiaki asked entering the bathhouse and heading to were the sound is emitting from…from the sounds of it it must be one of the locker doors. She opens one.

"...Haa!" Chiaki gasped as she was met by what looked like… a floating green head.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" Chiaki screamed, frightened.

Chapter 3 - Lost love And The Noise From The Shadows!

"The morning after the conclusion of the second class trial… Everyone met up in the dining hall, just like always. And I expected it to start like any other day. That's what I expected, but…"

"Todays count kinda sucks, huh? Mahiru isn't here, and Nagito still refuses to show up…" Kazuichi bemoans.

"I haven't seen our resident gamer either." Teruteru mentioned

"She said her stomach was hurting, so she's taking it easy in her room for today." Nekomaru said.

"T-That's unusual… Chiaki-chan is normally full of energy and eager to do stuff!" Ibuki wonders aloud.

"Which is why I'm particularly worried about her…" Hajime said

"So its just the nine of us, then?" Byakuya asked

"It looks like it, yeah." Junko nodded.

"Its times like these where the committee chairman needs to get things going with a BANG!" Kazuichi yelled out.

"..." Byakuya wasn't talking much. Instead he looked at Peko, who wasn't speaking or even moving a muscle.

"Or not…?" Kazuichi said a little confused and nervous.

"..." Peko remained silent as Junko and others looked at her.

"Peko hasn't said a word since everything that happened yesterday… One look at her face showed she hadn't slept a wink last night. It must be because of Fuyuhiko… The two of them were so close before all of this, and then she finds out Fuyuhiko killed Gundham… And then… having to watch Fuyuhiko get… punished. And nothing she could do about it… I can't even imagine what it must have done to her."

"So, I mean… what's gonna happen now?" Teruteru asked curiously, "We haven't found any way out, and we have no idea if help's ever gonna come. Ngh! Now I'm all depressed just thinking about it…"

"If Hiyoko were still here she'd say something like… 'We simply have to make the best of things–do our best to get along and live here together in peace–' Blagh!" Akane said, trying to half-heartedly mimic Hiyoko's voice before getting sick of just thinking of what Hiyoko would've said, "Or something about living here together, I don't know…"

"What? To live here forever? You really think she'd say that?" Junko asked, a little skeptical.

"She'd certainly try to see the best of our situation. Admittedly we have food, clothes, and our every need is seen to weirdly enough. She'd probably question why you're dissatisfied. Despite well… you know." Akane mentioned, "Ugh, sorry guys. It's just… I hate thinking about all the shit she could've or possibly would've sai-"

"My mama…" Teruteru suddenly said, "My Mama is reason enough to be dissatisfied…"

"Hmm?" Akane asked as she and Junko turned to Teruteru.

"My Momma runs a Cafe that i would help her with. She's… not in the best health. She's very ill… And I promised her I'd… What I mean is, my momma needs me!" Teruteru yelled out.

"Huh… didn't know that, dude… Not that I asked… Still, I promise we'll find a way out. Despite what Hiyoko may have said, or what's happened so far, we will get out of here and reunite with everyone outside!" Akane said determined.

"Okay, well, anyway… Since Peko's like, catatonic… How about I prove my worth as a member of the class and officially step up to help everyone out?" Kazuichi said, determined.

"Hm. I do find that admirable, Kazuichi. And indeed, we're all gonna work together and spend the rest of the day searching the school!" Byakuya said, approving of Kazuichi and directing what everyone else would do.

"Searching?" Junko asked.

"Well the second class trial is over, right?" Hajime asked, "Sensitive topic I know, but…"

"But that does mean there should be new places for us to investigate." Nekomaru said, understanding where Hajime was going with what he said.

"That's looking on the bright side!" Kazuichi nodded pumped up.

"Maybe we'll find some kind of clue this time." Byakuya said mostly to himself.

"Then once we're done eating, let's split up and begin searching around again." Nekomaru stated, "I assume no one has any objections?"

"None from me." Akane said, "Especially if we can find something to help us. Or at least make living here a bit more bearable till we get out."

"Preferably it'd be something to escape, but I'd take making living here slightly more bearable temporarily." Teruteru nodded.

"And just as we were starting to come together, she came in as well."

"Hey everyone. Sorry I'm late. I was… trying to deal with some personal issues." Mahiru said, smiling weakly.

"Hey it's no sweat girl… after what he made you do, you certainly deserved all the time in the world." Teruteru said kindly.

"Glad you're here with us! And don't worry, upgrades to your camera are fast underway!" Kazuichi smiled with a thumbs up.

"Thanks… I hope the upgrade will be well worth the wait…" Mahiru smiled, "I know I can't atone for… for what I've done, but… I'll be willing to help in any way I can. Plus, there's someone I'd like to give a piece of my mind to."

"Don't we all?" Kazuichi nodded in agreement.

"Gh–! If he weren't here, my chances of survival would go up AT LEAST 10%!" Teruteru remarked, annoyed.

"Thanks for backing me up here. I… don't believe I deserve it but… I appreciate it." Mahiru smiled.

"Well, whatever else we do today, first we should eat. We can't do anything on an empty stomach." Nekomaru said.

"You're right. Let's hurry and eat so we can start our investigation." Junko nodded.

"I can give some recipes to try out!" Mahiru said eagerly.

"So we ate breakfast together. And after our much needed time through a… decently enjoyable meal, we set to work looking around the school."

Junko headed out of the dining hall and into the main hall. As she headed down she did spotted something immediately

"Huh…? The nurse's… room… it's unblocked… I… l, uh… surely someone will investigate that later…"

Quickening her pace, she headed upstairs. Then headed down to where the stairs to the 3rd floor were at, turning to face it.

"Yep. It's unblocked. Like Kazuichi and Nekomaru guessed…"

Sighing, Junko headed upstairs again and as she arrived… was met with a lot of purple. Purple walls, purple flooring, and purple lights.

"The 3rd floor of Hope's Peak Academy… I wonder what we're gonna find this time. What's gonna be up here?" Junko asked herself, walking down a bit before turning to her right and entering a room through a small wooden and somewhat plain looking door. Inside the room behind the door was a pool table, a dart board, and other items one could play with and relax.

"So this is…" Junko started to say.

"Yahoo! A recreation room! We can actually come and relax in a place now rather then be cooped up all the time!" Ibuki said loudly.

"Huh I never would've imagined a school having a place like this." Junko said, smiling as she surprisingly wasn't annoyed by Ibuki's yelling.

"Well you'd be right. Most schools wouldn't have all of this! Othello, Shogi, even a dartboard and a pool table! And look-look!" Ibuki said excitedly pointing at a magazine rack, "We even have a remarkable number of magazines provided to us! Isn't that fun?!"

"Ring ring ring! Hello there! Allow me to expound!" Monokuma said yet again appearing from nowhere, "We've got fashion, motorcycles, martial arts, video games, baseball, science, all kinds of magazines! Oh, but nothing dirty! This is a school, after all. If you need a quick fix, check out the swimsuit mags!"

"Uhm… Ibuki is scared to ask but, will you be adding to our collection as new issues come out?" Ibuki asked nervously.

"Sorry, no can do. Even if I wanted to, right now magazines are kinda…" Monokuma said cutesy like.

"Kinda what?" Junko asked.

"Oops! Nothing, never mind, no no no! Anyways, that's it for my expoundation. Bye-bye!" Monokuma said, chuckling mischievously as he vanished.

"..." Ibuki was silent for a moment before she faced Junko, "You heard that too…? What he said…"

"Yeah, that was all kinds of weird… in more ways than one." Junko agreed.

"I mean… I'm glad it wasn't too weird like Ibuki feared, but… I'm not really comforted either… I'd just rather he just say he couldn't get new magazines." Ibuki worriedly said.

"Y-Yeah… Me too, honestly…" Junko nodded agreeing with her.

Junko takes a look around the room for a bit. Noticing things, like glass bottles that have Monokumas holding chess pieces, and a locker that a human could fit in.

"The Monokuma pieces are… weird. But that locker… that's a no go for me if it's ever nighttime and people wanna be here during night for whatever reason."

After some time looking, Junko headed out and down the hall, passing by the winding turns the hall seems to have before going down a long corridor where she is greeted with some teal colors, and a… fairly big entrance with no door to a room. Entering inside, Junko is greeted by art statues and the like.

"Seems like, at least on first glance, a normal art room. One you'd find anywhere. But something… ok no. Multiple things about it seem off."

Taking a quick gander. Junko decided to talk to Teruteru who was in the room.

"Well, well. Look at all this equipment! I may be a chef, but I do appreciate art~ And all of this certainly scratches that artistic itch of mine… Art supplies, of course, but they've also collected all kinds of sculpting tools!" Teruteru said, sounding impressed.

"So, Teruteru… Do you like sculptures and figurines and such?" Junko asked.

"Well normally, I limit my likes to cooking. But cooking can be argued as an art. And in another way, art is like cooking. You just don't eat art compared to actual cooking. So art is quite fine with me~." Teruteru explained

"That's an interesting take. I'd say there's more differences but I respect that."

"Personally I'm a fan of the Mona Lisa, the works of one Pablo Picasso. Piscasso's ability to express his art is exquisite, as seen in his sculptures." Teruteru said as he rambled about the various artists he likes.

"Heh, well I think I know what you'd be doing if the Ultimate Chef thing didn't work out." Junko said in amazement.

"Who knows where I'd be without my discerning palate? Still, art may or may not be a secret side dish passion of mine, so be it in this timeline or another, your theory would certainly be possible." Teruteru said coyly.

"Yeah well, just do what makes you happy." Junko said smiling before looking around some more.

As she looked around there was something… obvious she could already see. And it involved one of the sculptures in the room. Mainly one that was made to look like… Monokuma?!

"Who in the fuck would sculpt that thing? Who in their right mind would take the time and effort to sculpt him of all things?!" Junko asked, bewildered that a Monokuma sculpture even exists. And as if she expected it, looking a bit at it she finds a Monokuma coin on the block where the sculpture was on.

"Narcissistic much?"

In fact, as she looked at the various art pieces, she found a fair few Monokuma coins this time around compared to what she usually finds. About 5 more with that other one making for 6 in total. After stuffing them away, she turns her gaze to the room at the end of the art room, likely a supply room of sorts, and enters it.

"This is the repository that's attached to the art room. It's used to store different artsy things…"

Junko gave a bit of a quick scan. Looking at the mallets, wheeling carts and so on. Before her eyes catch a glimpse of something. A… photo?

"Huh? What's a photo doing on the floor? You'd think someone would be careful to not drop it." Junko said as she went ro grab it.

"But as I stretched my hand out to pick it up… almost as if on its own, my hand froze."

The picture in question… showed Fuyuhiko smiling and messing with Hiyoko and Gundham. Both of them were also smiling and enjoying themselves, with Hiyoko holding Gundham in an armlock while Gundham just enjoys what's going on.

"H-Huh?!" Junko asked, shocked.

"What I saw in that picture was… Gundham, Hiyoko, and Fuyuhiko. And they were… smiling!"

"What is this?!" Junko asked loudly.

"Questions started racing through my head, one after the other. Why is it only three people? What are they doing together? How come they're smiling like that? When was it taken? Who took it? Where's the camera they used? How'd they get it developed?! And in the picture, the window in the classroom…"

"There's no metal plate covering it!" Junko yelped, "Which must mean, whenever this picture was taken… It… wasn't here at Hope's Peak?" She asked herself, "Or… was it? I-I don't–"

"But there was no time to find an answer. All the questions floating around my head were quickly drowned out by…"

"That's mine! Give it back!" Monokuma said, appearing suddenly and taking the picture.

"Monokuma appeared out of nowhere and snatched the photo, and any chance I had at answers evaporated."

"You peeked, didn't you?! Well, they all had some pretty dazzling smiles, huh?" Monokuma asked giggling, "They were definitely living their school life. It's like they ripped a page right outta the book of youth!"

"What's going on in that picture?! Do you know?" Junko asks quickly as she tries to think of a way to get the picture back.

"I'm not telling nothing!" Monokuma playfully said.

"Woah, look! Another picture's fallen!" Junko yelled.

"Huh, where?" Monokuma asked, looking around. Junko took her chance and swiped the photo back from Monokuma. Once Monokuma realized what Junko did, he was… very unhappy!

"You… YOU! Arg, the nerve of–!" Monokuma said as he went to take the picture back again. However, Junko held it firmly to herself and got down on the floor clutching the picture tightly.

"Get up! Come on get up and let me have what's mine!" Monokuma yelled, claws appearing as he tried to make Junko give up the picture. Trying to force her arms apart. To swiping at her and stomping on her body. When none of that worked, and realizing that Junko wasn't gonna relent even as she gets cut slightly and bruised, he threw up his hands in defeat.

"FINE! FUCK IT! KEEP IT FOR ALL I CARE! JUST KNOW YOU'RE ON MY SHIT LIST!" Monokuma roared out angrily before disappearing.

Junko took a moment, wanting to make sure Monokuma was gone before she got up and looked at the picture. It was slightly crumpled now, but no worse for wear. Still, all hopes of having her questions answered had vanished.

"Why won't he give a straight fucking…" Junko mutters.

"Never mind… Why would I bother asking at this point?"

Sighing and taking a moment to recover from Monokuma's assault, Junko put the photo in her pocket and left the repository and the art room completely, heading out and down the hall towards a crossroads. One path leading to the stairs for the 4th floor, which was blocked, and another leading to a door of some kind. Junko took the left path to the door, where she finds a plate near it labeled as PHYSICS. Opening the door, Junko enters instead being met with a very large lab room, full of whites and some other colors here or there

"This is… the physics lab. It looks less like a classroom and more like some kind of research institute!"

Junko takes a look around. Heading to approach the giant machine in the middle of the room before she noticed Peko standing by. She didn't even say anything or make a sound. Junko decided to approach Peko instead to talk to her.

"Hey, Peko. Dont you think this place is some kind of research institute?" Junko asked, trying to make small talk with Peko.

"..." Peko was as silent as stone.

"Still no reaction…"

Junko the looked back to the giant machine and approached it looking at it in all its glory

"What's up with this ridiculously big machine?" Junko asked herself.

"Watch out!" Monokuma yelled once more, appearing suddenly without warning.

"Wh-Wha?!" Junko yelped taking a step back.

"What, you wanna do some quantum leaping?" Monokuma asked, panting and blushing.

"That's a time machine! Pretty awesome, right? It was designed by a student here at Hope's Peak!" Monokuma explained, "The Ultimate Physicist… Although, they don't go here anymore! They died during The Tragedy!" He stated.

"The Tragedy?"

"A time machine…?" Peko suddenly asked, tears forming in her eyes, "Really? So… it can go back in time…? Okay, then… let me get in there…! If I can go back to the past… then I can… This time I'll stop Fuyuhiko for sure–!"

"Oooh, uhh, sorry. Not possible. I fiddled with this a long time ago and set the time machine to go back one minute. Now I can't seem to remember how to go further than that. At least it'll come in handy when you, I don't know, leave your pizza bagels in the microwave one minute too long." Monokuma informed Peko.

"O-One minute…?" Peko asked, looking crushed.

"Hm… You sound disappointed. But actually, I was lying about the whole thing anyway. There's no such thing as time machines! Not in this reality!" Monokuma said with a playful smile, "Who do you think I am? Doctor Who?"

"What…?!" Peko asked again… looking even more crushed as she began crying again.

"Yeah, sorry. It's actually just an air purifier." Monokuma stated.

"Air purifier?" Junko questioned.

"It can produce clean air no matter where you're at. With that thing, you could even live on Mars! But what with the discombobulating gravity and deadly low temperatures, you prolly don't wanna live on Mars." Monokuma informed "Anyways, this machine is the reason you guys have all this delicious air. So don't go messing with it! You break it, and it's your butt!" Monokuma warns.

"This huge thing… is just an air purifier? And he went on that tirade about it being a time machine…"

Junko looks at Peko who was back into her frozen, teary eyed silent state.

"To go out of your way to say something that you know will hurt someone who's already suffering…"

"God damn you…" Junko curses silently at Monokuma. And as if to add insult to injury as she went to turn around… another Monokuma coin was suddenly there on the Purifier control desk. It took alot of restraint she barely had left to not smash at it. Taking the coin she quickly looks around elsewhere. Noticing immediately a camera on a desk. She went up to pick it up.

"Oh, this is… It's a digital camera. It's got some kind of weird anime style design on it… It's kinda beat-up, but it looks like it still turns on just fine… Yup, it still works! I should show the others later."

After leaving the desk behind, Junko looks at the door at the end of the lab. And decided to have a go and investigate it. Entering inside…

"This is the equipment room I believe. It's super disorganized… and there's a strange chemical smell in the air. Should I be worried?"

"Besides the smell in here, it's kinda calming. You could relax and read in here or look at whatever equipment you could use in here." Mahiru said.

"I doubt you could stay for long… Ugh, the formaldehyde is making me dizzy…" Junko complains

"Yeah… agreed. I think I can move some of it elsewhere. Then we can just have a decent place to relax in… that hasn't been tainted by association with a certain someone." Mahiru mutters.

"God damn you, Nagito. Can't tell who's worse, you or Monokuma."

"Hmmm." Junko mutters thinking.

"I discovered lots of stuff, and it was all strange. But besides the photo, which even I'm not perfectly sure about, nothing in the way of clues really… Ugh, I'm just more confused now."

"Maybe I should head to the dining hall and talk about it with everyone else…" Junko mutters to herself, "Alright yeah, for now, I should head to the dining hall." She confirmed to herself heading out. After a while of walking down the halls and down the stairs back to the first floor, Junko made it to the dining hall and came inside.

"When I got back to the dining hall, the first thing I noticed was…"

"Ah-!" Chiaki yelped, surprised to see Junko in the room.

"Chiaki?!" Junko asked, just as surprised.

"I tried to talk to her, but my voice quickly and immediately was drowned out by the others as they rushed into the dining hall."

"Chiaki?" Nekomaru asked, surprised.

"I thought you were sick or something like that!" Kazuichi said in similar surprise

"Everyone rushed past me and crowded around Chiaki. Being surrounded by everyone like that, Chiaki looked… no, she definitely is really uncomfortable."

"Are you feeling better already?" Hajime asked, concerned.

"Y-Yeah… I ate a few sweets and that helped out a lot… along with some gaming in my room…" Chiaki said with an uncomfortable smile. Hajime tilted his head and looked nervous, "You do love games… and sweets are helpful I suppose."

"But wasn't it your stomach that was hurting?" Ibuki asked curiously.

"Well, my stomach ache was probably just more of an eating issue, so… you know… Er, ahahah… I guess my memory's kinda fuzzy lately…" Chiaki murmurs.

"They say that a goldfish will eat however much food you give it, even if it's about to burst." Teruteru chimes in, "Chiaki is acting pretty similar to that, it looks like." he stated in a joking manner.

"You don't really have room to talk." Chiaki deadpans.

"Anyways… I… W-We were worried about you." Hajime said.

"S-Sorry." Chiaki murmurs.

"Well if it's any consolation…" Mahiru started to say.

"Huh?" Chiaki asked curiously.

"You could be like Akane, who'd literally do that and then some." Mahiru jokingly said.

Chiaki giggles slightly.

"Hey, let's not toss shade at her." Nekomaru said.

"Sorry. I didn't mean anything bad by that." Mahiru rubbed the back of her head and smiled apologetically.

"Anyways… First things first., we should talk about what we found. Right, Byakuya?" Kazuichi asked.

"Correct." Byakuya nodded as he looked at Peko.

"..." Peko remained silent.

"...Oh, right." Kazuichi nodded.

Junko takes a deep breath and assesses everyone in the hall currently. Looking over them to see who she should talk to first. She decided to go to Chiaki.

"Um, I wasn't able to help much with the investigation, but… I did make one discovery…" Chiaki mentioned.

"It didn't happen to be a game related or sweet related discovery, did it?" Kazuichi asked

"What does that even mean?" Chiaki asked, pouting, "Never mind… It's about the nurse's office! Remember? There's one on the 1st floor, right?" Chiaki asked.

"I remember, but wasn't it locked?" Akane asked

"Actually… not anymore." Chiaki said.

"Did you find anything good for working out? Or even meds to help out would be good as well." Akane asked.

"I did look, but no dice… Just a bunch of headache medicine and over-the-counter stuff." Chiaki informed pouting

"That's unfortunate… and a bit… disappointing." Akane sighs looking down

"It is a little disappointing. Like finding a wooden sword instead of a diamond sword in a dungeon." Chiaki murmurs, looking down.

"I'm… 85% positive it's not that disappointing…."

Junko looked past Chiaki and decided to check on what Byakuya might have to say.

"There was a rather remarkable physics lab on the 3rd floor." Byakuya mentioned, "In the middle of the room, there was a machine bigger than anything I've ever seen before."

"Oh yeah, Monokuma said it's an air purifier." Junko said.

"What's a thing like that doing here?" Kazuichi asked.

"Is the device really that big?" Nekomaru asked.

"Well from what he said… it's responsible for all the air we have in this school, and that it'd be a bad idea to mess with it. And yeah, it's massive. Like… I think it almost reaches the level of a small house at least!" Junko explained.

"That's… crazy!" Akane said surprised

"..." Peko said nothing.

Junko turned her attention to Kazuichi.

"Oh, I just remembered! I saw Nagito a little while ago." Kazuichi mentioned.

"What?" Mahiru asked surprised before taking a very… displeased tone, "What was he doing? And where is he now?" She asked darkly.

"...Ok you're kinda scarin' me…! H-He was in the locker room… He had a huge stack of books he must've got from the library." Kazuichi said.

"That little…! If you excuse me there's someone I suddenly want to drag by his collar before he ruins another place for us!" Mahiru said storming off.

"She just… went off!" Kazuichi said a little worried.

"I think she's not over what he made her do…" Junko said.

"We shouldn't get involved. Mahiru-chan will be A-OK!" Ibuki smiles warmly and relaxingly to help everyone calm down.

Junko went over to Peko to see if maybe she has some life in her.

"..." Peko said nothing besides the occasional grunt.

"It's no use…"

Junko left Peko alone and then headed over to Ibuki.

"There is one piece of good news Ibuki can share! There's a rec room up on the 3rd floor!" Ibuki said excitedly, "It's gonna make staying here enjoyable! At least till we find an escape! Maybe someone wants to join Ibuki in playing?"

Junko smiled, feeling a bit more at ease before heading to Nekomaru to see what he has to share.

"I searched the entire 3rd floor, but all the windows in the halls and the rooms were blocked off. As I'm sure most of us have come to expect…" Nekomaru informed the group.

"I really wish they'd give that a rest already! Gimme back my bright blue skies! Hell, I'd take mosquitoes now over this!" Kazuichi bemoans.

"Jeez… it must be that bad." Hajime mutters.

"You make it sound like I dropped a nickel or something…" Kazuichi said.

"Just to be sure, I went from one end to the other, testing each metal plate. None of them would budge. It would seem that escaping via the 3rd floor is as impossible as we feared…" Nekomaru said, closing his eyes in deep thought.

"I see…" Junko nodded before approaching Teruteru.

"There was an art room on the 3rd floor, and it had all kinds of gear. Myehehe… Now I'll be able to recreate all my favorite food dish ideas by hand! Or make something cutesey, I don't know." Teruteru shrugs.

"Oh yeah! Speaking of cutesy, or well anime in this case, that reminds me… I found something while I was looking around!" Junko said, pulling out the camera she found.

"A digital camera?" Nekomaru asked.

"That's what it looks like." Junko said.

"Does it still work?" Kazuichi questioned.

"Yeah, it seems to work fine." Junko nodded.

"Well then let's see it!" Kazuichi said, taking the camera and looking at it. "...What the heck?! This thing looks like a kids toy! It looks like it can store like five pictures, maybe? It doesn't have a timer or anything!" Kazuichi complains.

"And on top of that, its appearance seems… questionable. Is this some kind of anime character? Strange…" Hajime said.

"Maybe Mahiru would know… if only she hadn't left." Teruteru sighs, "Though… well looking at it closely. I think I know what it is." He mentioned.

"Oh? What is it?" Junko asked.

"I think that's… Princess Piggles, from… 'Demon Angel ? Pretty Pudgy Princess'. I… don't ask me how I know!" Teruteru said, sweating nervously.

"I think we deserve to know something about how you know." Junko counters.

"*sigh* I read some fanfiction in my spare time whenever I typically have a large amount of downtime. And I remember finding this one fic that has characters from that show. Personally not my thing but its good for someone who is into that stuff." Teruteru shrugs, "I think that camera specifically is a prize you get in a bingo contest in an anime convention."

"You know alot about this…" Akane said with a stare.

"Exactly why I said don't ask… Anyways, I might hold onto it. If nothing else, I can use it to take pictures of my favorite dishes I make and compare and contrast them to see where I can improve on~! And if any of you wanna borrow it, feel free!" Teruteru happily said.

"Well… I can't really imagine any of us are gonna need to take any pictures or whatever…" Akane said thinking.

"Yeah true." Junko nodded in agreement.

"Okay, I've heard what everyone else had to say. So now it's my turn!"

"Hey, um… can I tell and show something to you guys? I found something that's… kinda been bothering me." Junko said.

"What is it?" Byakuya was immediately intrigued.

Junko pulls out the photo she took and lays it on the table. "I found this weird picture in the repository. Apparently Monokuma took it… or someone I don't know." Junko said.

"What, like a diary?" Akane asked a little weirded out.

"No, not that kind of weird. Look at it. It's… a picture… of Hiyoko, Fuyuhiko, and Gundham all together." Junko said.

"Those three?" Byakuya asked.

"And the three of them were… laughing or at least happy." Junko said.

Everyone came close to look at the picture in question.

"It's showing the three of them together, laughing happily? When could it have been taken?" Teruteru asked.

"And that's not all… as you can see in the picture, there weren't any metal sheets covering the windows." Junko pointed out.

"Then perhaps the picture wasn't… taken here?" Nekomaru guesses.

"But… Ibuki doesn't recall hearing anything from either them or anyone else about them knowing each other. Not before coming to this school…" Ibuki said.

"Why is it so crumpled up?" Teruteru asked.

"Monokuma wanted to take it back. He actually did, but then I took it back from him. He REALLY wanted it back. But then he left all pissy when I refused to give in." Junko said looking at her cuts and bruises she got from Monokuma's attempt.

"Hm… It wasn't taken before we got here, or after we got here…?" Akane said.

"Then… maybe they're alive? They left and took this?" Kazuichi said with a fake hopeful smile.

"That's impossible. Because…we all saw it with our own eyes. They're all dead. Either murdered or executed." Byakuya stated.

"And they're not the only ones… Monokuma killed Komaru. And then there's… Mikan. That wasn't an illusion. It was real, I'm sure of it. They all died. There's no way any of them are still alive."

"So we just gotta figure out when this photo was taken!" Junko said.

"I hate to say it… but isn't it more likely Monokuma foraged it?" Hajime asked.

"That's true… but if so, why would he be so aggressive about getting it back from Junks?" Akane questioned.

"Maybe to make us doubt Junko and divide us against her?" Teruteru guesses.

"Foraged? Is that all there is to it?"

"Still, if you don't mind Junko. May I take the photo for safe keeping?" Byakuya asked.

"Sure. Go ahead." Junko shrugged.

As Byakuya took the photo, Kazuichi sighs, "Ugh, we shouldn't let Monokuma's bullcarp distract and sidetrack us!"

"He's right. But more importantly… On another topic, there is something that has been bothering me. I would like to discuss that." Nekomaru said.

Junko looks at him curiously, "What's bothering you Nekomaru?"

"It's about Chiaki." Nekomaru stated simply.

"H-Huh what about me?" Chiaki asked nervously.

"You said your stomach hurt, didn't you? But I believe that to not be truthful, personally. What really happened?" Nekomaru questioned

"Huh?!" Chiaki asked, surprised.

"It's something you learn when being a team manager, or anyone's manager for stage shows or music concerts. Looking for small signs, small hints from person to person, that tend to show when someone is being dishonest. It's called a 'tell'- something that you can't hide, no matter how hard you try. And Chiaki I could notice a 'tell' when she explained her being here after having a 'stomachache'." Nekomaru said.

"R-Really?! Where!?" Chiaki asked.

"...Actually, no." Nekomaru admitted.

"Huh?" Chiaki asked, confused.

"It was a feeling really. But your reaction just now confirmed it– you were lying." Nekomaru pointed out.

"Th-That's not fair!" Chiaki complains.

"Sorry. It's just necessary to know when someone is lying. To prevent the team getting kicked out for drug usage, or brought down by someone not being in it, and so on." Nekomaru said apologetically.

"Chiaki… be honest. Were you lying about your stomach ache?" Hajime asked.

"...Y-Yes…" Chiaki nodded.

"Why…? Why would you lie about that?" Hajime asked confused

"Are you guilty of something?!" Teruteru asked immediately.

"What?! No! No, that's not it at all!" Chiaki yelled back "It's just…I mean, I have a reason for it!" Chiaki said.

Junko looked at Chiaki with her full undivided attention, 'A reason?'

"I admit it… I didn't have a stomach ache. I only said I did because… even if I came out and told you the truth, I thought you wouldn't believe me." Chiaki said, looking down and ashamed.

"The truth…?" Junko asked.

"I saw it…" Chiaki murmurs.

"Saw what?" Junko pressed slightly.

"A ghost…" Chiaki said softly.

"A ghost…? Like… you mean like, THAT ghost?!" Teruteru asked, a little worried.

"Is there more than one ghost?" Byakuya asked.

"B-But I mean, ghosts are uh…" Junko tried to figure out a way to say it without coming off… mean or disbelieving.

"See! I told you, you wouldn't believe me!" Chiaki said, pouting.

"I-It's not that we don't believe you, but…" Junko said slightly.

"...I believe her." Hajime said suddenly, "No matter what anyone else might say, I will believe whatever you say, no matter what." He smiled at her "So… Can you tell us exactly what happened?"

Chiaki blushes slightly, "If you really mean that, Hajime… then okay. I'll tell you."

Chiaki straightened herself out and took a breath before she spoke up, "Uhm, so… Here's what happened last night. I was in bed, but I couldn't get to sleep. I just kept thinking about everything that's happened up until now. I ended up just getting more upset… So to try and cheer myself up, I thought I'd go get a donut or some other sweets."

"Sweets? Really?" Kazuichi asked.

"And you went against the nighttime rule…" Teruteru pointed out.

"Sorry about that…" Chiaki said, sounding extremely down.

"Anyways, please continue." Hajime said softly

"Well… I left my room and headed for the dining hall… But now that I think about it, I should've tried the warehouse considering the dining hall is closed at midnight… Anyway, that's when I started hearing a strange sound…" Chiaki said.

*Grr grnnn* *grr grnn grrrnnn*

"It was coming from the direction of the bathhouse, so I headed that way. Inside, I determined the sound was coming from a locker. The locker was halfway open, so I looked inside…And I saw a human shape, surrounded by a pale green light! I don't know who it was… but it's definitely a person's head!" Chaiki said, getting frightened.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Teruteru screamed out afraid.

"N-No way…! A gh-gh-gh-ghost?!" Kazuichi asked sounding and looking just as terrified

"T-That can't be… i-it has to be some crazy prank by Monokuma. Or a mistake…!" Ibuki said, similarly frightened.

"Then all we have to do is go see for ourselves right?" Hajime asked, "Let's just go to the bathhouse and see what Chiaki saw." Hajime said simply.

"I-I'm not so sure about that…" Akane fearfully said.

"I'm not either… but there's no harm in it, right?" Junko asked, "If we don't see anything, that'll be the end of that."

"You're going to go and try to see a gh-gh-ghost?! Is that really a good idea?! It might curse you!" Kazuichi yelped, pulling his hat over his eyes terrified.

"You can wait here if you want." Akane shot at him

"I don't wanna be alone! Take me with you!" Kazuichi begged, nearly having tears streaming down his face from fright.

"So we're all in agreement then?" Byakuya asked to confirm with everyone.

"Ibuki supposes so. Though I still think it's not a great idea.." Ibuki nervously said.

"What about you Peko? You want in?" Teruteru asked.

"..." Peko said nothing… again.

"I-If not, we won't force you." Teruteru said before he followed after the group.

Everyone headed over to the bathhouse. Where indeed there appears to be a locker opened slightly as everyone took a spot.

"I-It was right here… I saw it right here in the dressing room!" Chiaki said nervously.

"Urg… I'm getting goosebumps…" Kazuichi nervously utters.

"We can speak in tongues if that'll help." Teruteru sarcastically said.

"Shut up! What if that actually summons a spirit!?" Kazuichi yelled.

"Chiaki… where was it that you saw this ghost?" Hajime asked.

"Well, I heard a sound… and when I opened the locker… I saw a kind of… pale outline of a head." Chiaki said, looking away.

Junko nodded as she listened to Chiaki along with everyone else before she made her way to the opened locker in question, which she is assuming is the one Chiaki opened.

"This locker, definitely. Yep! There's something in here alright. Huh? That looks like…"

"...a laptop? What's a laptop doing in a locker?" Junko asked.

"...Wait, I remember seeing that!" Chiaki said as she got close, "In the library, I think…"

"Oh, yeah! It's the laptop that wouldn't work in the library before."

"But how did the laptop get from the library… to here? And why?" Junko questioned.

"And… It seems to be working now. It's in sleep mode, but… the power is definitely on!" Chiaki pointed out.

"Huh? But how did it get fixed?" Junko asked, confused.

"Either someone in our group fixed it… or Nagito fixed it." Hajime guessed, "Leaning towards Nagito because his Ultimate Luck could fix that laptop without much effort…"

"More importantly… Chiaki, you said you saw a green light, correct?" Byakuya asked, "Perhaps you mistook the light of the monitor for a ghost."

"..." Chiaki looked very… embarrassed by the idea.

"Hey it's no sweat if that's the case Chiaki-chan! Ibuki's mistaken stuff herself that was just a light or something else!" Ibuki smiles sweetly.

"Still makes me question if you can even dress yourself properly if you make a mistake that big…" Teruteru spoke aloud.

"Yeah well I didn't expect to find a fucking laptop inside a fucking locker, okay?!" Chiaki damn near snap at Teruteru.

"W-Woah! Hey, easy there, it's fine! I mean, anyone can make a mistake like that." Kazuichi quickly said to diffuse the situation, "For example, I once thought I saw an alien. …It was actually just a weird looking tadpole."

"Don't compare what happened to me to one of your delusions!" Chiaki snaps at Kazuichi now.

"Hey, I was just trying to help! Trying to cheer you up here!" Kazuichi said, getting frustrated himself.

"I don't want your help! You're telling stupid fucking stories while 5 OF OUR FRIENDS ARE FUCKING DEAD?! DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF TO BE THE ONLY FUCKING IMPORTANT PERSON IN THE WORLD YOU PIECE OF SHI-" Chiaki yelled looking damm near close to punching Kazuichi.

"Hey, HEY! Woah, girl! Listen, how about instead of giving Nagito of all people what he wants, we talk about the strange part! That being, what's this laptop doing in here?" Junko asked, intervening to prevent a fight.

"Maybe someone hid it here." Byakuya said.

"W-Well if that's the case, we found it pretty easy." Kazuichi said after calming down.

"Whoever put it here, I don't think they were trying to hide it from us." Byakuya said.

"Huh? What are you going on about?" Junko questioned.

"Haven't you noticed? There's one big difference between this room and all the others." Byakuya said.

"A big difference? What is he…?"

Junko takes a quick look around the room… and quickly finds out what Byakuya is talking about.

"Holy shit he's right!"

"There's no surveillance cameras in here!" Junko said, amazed.

"Precisely. There's no camera in here. Which means, this is the one spot where the mastermind is blind." Byakuya explained.

"So you're saying someone put the laptop here so the mastermind wouldn't know about it?" Teruteru asked curiously.

"And what Chiaki saw wasn't the ordinary glow of a computer screen. It was… the figure of something, shining in pale green." Byakuya informed the group, "We should investigate this laptop in a little more detail. That would be the best action to take."

Junko nodded and went over to the laptop and turned it slightly to face her.

"It's just like Chiaki said… The display isn't on, but the laptop definitely has power."

"So first of all, we have to fire it up." Byakuya concluded.

"Right!" Junko nodded.

"I took a quick glance at the keyboard. And pressed the button that I believed would do the trick… and I appeared to be right as the display instantly began to glow a pale green. There were a bunch of different icons on the desktop."

"There. The icon on the far left." Byakuya pointed out, his finger on the screen near a specific icon.

"Huh… that says… Alter Ego?" Junko said, confused as she read out the icon.

"'Alter Ego' literally means 'another self'... I think it does at least. In the field of artificial intelligence, it's not uncommon to create different aspects of a personality. You could consider it something like… a pen name, I suppose." Chiaki explains, sounding a lot more calm now.

"Could you let me see it, Junko?" Byakuya asked

"Sure." Junko nodded.

"With that, Byakuya moved between me and the computer. He moved the cursor over the Alter Ego icon..and then double clicked it. Immediately the screen went dark. And then, a voice spoke to us…"

"Master! You're here!" A voice… from the computer itself spoke out

"A face… looking like a girl of some kind, blonde hair and what appears to be some… white collar of a shirt cut off on the screen, appeared. The portrait of the girl was taking up the entire display."

"I-ITS A GHOST! Buddha! Jesus! Whoever, save me!" Kazuichi yelled, terrified.

"Calm down. It's not a ghost." Byakuya said in an almost chiding manner.

"Huh?" Kazuichi asked, still scared but more nervously intimidated than scared.

"Then… what is it?" Chiaki asked

"I'm sure if we just talk to it, we'll find out." Byakuya said.

"Byakuya began to type, hands blurring across the keyboard."

"What are you?"

"And then."

"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Chihiro Fujisaki." The face… Chihiro introduced itself, "Eheh… I always get so embarrassed introducing myself." It said with a cute smile.

"That voice… tone and just everything…" Junko said agasp.

"It's… definitely a sentient being… despite being digital." Nekomaru said

"Alter Ego…I think I heard of this kind of AI program, but I've never seen one myself before!" Chiaki said, amazed.

"We can tell it's an AI program. But it's a specific kind? Mind explaining?" Junko asked.

"I think it's… an invention of an Ultimate Programmer. The AI lives in a computer, and by repeating different tasks, it gains knowledge and grows bit by bit. Apparently, this programmer used a support vector machine and reinforcement learning to develop it." Chiaki explains, "Eventually, she came up with a breakthrough in artificial intelligence design."

"Support vector machine? Reinforcement learning? That's computer stuff, I think." Junko said.

"Yep. Learning methods for computers!" Chiaki nodded.

"How do you know all this?" Teruteru asked.

"I don't just play games. I also have an interest in technology in general! So this kind of stuff tends to end up being researched a lot by me." Chiaki smiled happily, "Still if this AI continues to grow, it will become more than just a piece of software to help people. Some say that an AI like this might someday replace people."

"Replace people?! And that's a good thing, how?!"

"So that's why it's called Alter Ego?" Ibuki asked.

"I think so yeah, it can create memories, have thoughts, and 'grow up.' The process isn't much different from how humans work." Chiaki explains, "Raising your own AI like that, it would make sense to refer to it as your alter ego."

"A second, perfect personality that can never forget or grow old. Definitely fits the bill of an Ultimate Programmer." Byakuya nodded.

"That's insane… awesome, but insane!" Junko said, amazed.

"Anyways… So whoever fixed the laptop, which I'm just assuming is Nagito, found this program on the laptop… and left it for us?" Hajime asked, confused.

"Who knows what that crazy boy thinks? Hmm, but you know… All this about 'Master' and whatnot… Yes, yes… I believe I might get on fire…" Teruteru said in his typical perverted way.

"Are your tastes open for literally anything?" Kazuichi asked, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, actually!~ And this AI works well enough to qualify!" Teruteru said quite happy.

"At least it isn't a living person this time… Actually, hell no! That's exactly why that's weird! It's a computer program, dude!" Kazuichi pointed out.

"Oh, that aspect is no problem." Teruteru said slyly.

"That aspect?" Kazuichi asked, confused.

"A-Anyways, let's talk to her a little more." Byakuya said almost too quickly.

"Byakuya typed away rhythmically…."

"How much do you know about what's going on?"

"Master only gave me a general idea… But I do know that things have become very grave. He found himself caught up in this without warning…"

"Wait, 'he'? Caught in this without warning? Ugh, Nagito must've used it… Byakuya immediately shot out another question."

"Why are you here?"

"Are you asking what Master has planned for me? Well… He wanted me to analyze the massive number of files on this laptop." Chihiro, or at least her AI, explained.

"Not even gonna comment on that."

"I believe the files are related to the school, but the protection on them is surprisingly strong. So it's taking me a little longer than I thought. But here's what Master must have been thinking… The fact that the files are protected so tightly means they must contain some important secret. For example, perhaps… the secret of this school."

"…!" Junko was almost agape in surprise.

"While I was busy struggling to not make a sound, Byakuya pushed forward and asked his next question."

"How much longer until everything's unlocked?"

"Umm… it's gonna be awhile… But I'm definitely gonna do it, so you can just leave the rest of it to me!" Alter Ego said determined.

"So because of how long it would take, Nagito probably retrofitted Alter Ego to handle the workload." Chiaki guesses.

"That's kinda smart. It also means that the work remains uninterrupted, even if he were to die." Hajime mutters.

"Once again, Byakuya typed quickly."

"Keep it up. But be careful not to let the mastermind notice you."

"Don't worry. I've got a secret plan all ready, just in case… Actually, I can see what's going on using my built-in webcam, so if anyone suspicious shows up… I'll just scream for help real loud!" Alter Ego said with a cute smile, "Even if no one hears, I'm sure that will scare them off."

"It's… pretty basic as plans go, I have to point out." Junko deadpans.

"This can work during the day, but nighttime? That will be the real concern." Nekomaru said

"Oh, you mean our rooms?" Junko asked.

"Precisely. Our rooms are completely soundproof. Once those doors are closed, she can scream bloody murder as loud as she wants, and we'd sleep right through it." Nekomaru pointed out.

"Okay, then how about once it's nighttime, we each take turns guarding the room?" Junko suggested.

"There's a good chance the mastermind would notice us all going in and out of the dressing room like that." Byakuya said.

"Then how about when nighttime comes… Someone leaves their door open?" Junko suggested, "How about I do it, since it's my idea? I can't miss her or anyone else's screaming if my door's not closed."

"You have a lot of faith in yourself Junko, and I admire that. But I think it's better if I do it." Byakuya said.

"B-But if you leave your door open all night, then…" Kazuichi sputters out.

"There's a chance I may become a victim myself, I know. But unlike Junko, I have a special tool to help me out. And I'm not as incapable in a fight as you may think." Byakuya said with a pointed look.

"There was an undeniable strength in his voice when he said that. He was totally confident he would be okay. That confidence was somewhat similar to Nagito's tone, but at the same time, it was very different… Yeah, it definitely has an entirely different feel. Like… someone who'd been dropped onto a battlefield, versus someone who'd been born on a battlefield… Ok, that's a weird analogy to make. Anyways, I felt that there is a fundamental difference… I was pulled out of my thoughts by the voice suddenly emanating from the laptop."

"Unm… would you mind if I asked a few questions?" Alter Ego asked, "I haven't seen Master for awhile. When you got here, I thought it was him, but… Well… is Master…?"

"For a split second, Byakuya seemed to not know what to do. But he recovered just as fast, and quickly began typing. His answer was clear, concise, direct."

"We do not know. It is likely someone else masqueraded as your Master to get your help."

"I see… Honestly, I had a hunch… I knew the chances Master would survive this situation were very low… so I was prepared for any eventuality." Alter Ego said sadly.

"Somehow I feel kinda… sorry for her…" Teruteru said, looking down.

"I can't imagine how it must feel to lose your 'other self'." Akane said sympathetically.

"Thank god Nagito isn't here. He'd definitely say something about how she's a computer program and doesn't have feelings." Hajime muses, getting irritated just thinking what Nagito could say right now.

Teruteru leaned against one of the lockers, seemingly just as irritated as Hajime looked, "Ugh, can we not bring him up again? I genuinely prefer imagining Hiyoko's words over those of that guy…"

"Anyways, that's enough for today. If we linger here too long, the mastermind will start to suspect something" Byakuya stated.

"Byakuya then typed out his last sentence."

"I'll come back later."

"Yes, please do! It's a promise, okay?" Alter Ego asked with that cute smile again, "Bye-Bye!"

"The AI seemed totally different from when we'd first arrived. She seemed… upbeat. Was it just because it was following her programming? Or… could she actually have been worried about us?"

"Hurm…" Kazuichi murmurs.

"What's wrong, Kazuichi?" Junko asked.

"Oh, nothing, I was wondering if we could get this laptop online… Then we could call for help from outside…" Kazuichi suggested.

"But this is just a dressing room. I don't think you can get online from here…" Akane said with uncertainty.

"Well if we take it out of here and find somewhere that does have online access…!" Kazuichi said, getting pumped.

"Dude! That's way too risky! The mastermind would find out almost immediately!" Teruteru chastised Kazuichi.

"Oh, yeah true…" Kazuichi nodded as he thought nervously about it.

"This is no time for taking needles risks. For now, I'll monitor the progress of the file analysis." Byakuya said, "I'm confident we'll uncover some kind of clue once it's finished."

"This honestly feels like a detour. But I suppose we can't do much about that." Nekomaru mutters.

"Well, for now all we can do is wait for Alter Ego to finish her work." Hajime said.

"So should we get going?" Kazuichi asked.

"Yes we should." Byakuya nodded.

"Goodbye! We'll be back, I promise!~" Teruteru said to the laptop.

"Come on Teruteru lets go." Akane said.

"Fine…" Teruteru said annoyedly.

"And we all left the dressing room."

Everyone came out of the bathhouse dressing room after a long time spent with Alter Ego.

"As soon as we were out in the hall, Chiaki let out a joyful shout."

"Isn't it awesome?! I ended up doing something totally awesome, right!?" Chiaki asked, smiling beaming happily.

"And as if waiting for his cue…"

"Dun da-da-duuuun! Chiaki has gained enough experience to level up!" Monokuma said, appearing suddenly as always, "So… what was this awesome something?" He asked.

"Monokuma?! Goddammit!"

"You guys all seem in remarkably good spirits. Did something happen?!" Monokuma asked.

"N-No! Nothing in particular!" Junko said quickly.

"Ooh, keeping secrets? No fair! I demand an exclusive interview!" Monokuma said agitated, more so than usual.

"Denied! Super denied! Ultra denied! Demonic denied!" Akane yelled at Monokuma.

"You're the one keeping secrets from us! What's wrong with us having a few of our own, huh?" Hajime pointed out.

"Y-Yeah! Just because you demand something, doesn't mean we have to do it!" Teruteru nodded in agreement.

"Do it…? You mean, like, *do it* do it?" Monokuma inquires.

"Wait, what? What do you mean, *do it* do it?" Teruteru asked quickly, going from annoyed to confused.

"Ewww, gross! You said 'do it!'" Monokuma said, chuckling.

"What?! I didn't even mean anything by it! You said it first, you pervert!" Teruteru yelled.

"Hello, Pot. This is Kettle calling you black."

"We were just talking about going to the bathhouse! We haven't had a chance to relax ya know!" Ibuki said.

"Huh?" Monokuma asked.

"O-Oh yeah! We were gonna use the bathhouse, but unfortunately it's not divided into men and women sections." Junko chimes in, "So we did rock paper scissors to see who went first! Chiaki won the match for us, which is why she was particularly quite happy!" Junko explained.

"Oh yeah, that's right…!" Chiaki nodded as she followed along, "Speaking of which… Okay, boys! Why don't you head on back to the dining hall or something? We're gonna take a nice, long bath!" Chiaki said with a firm look.

"Ahh, jeez! Well, what'cha gonna do, right? We lost, fair and square!" Kazuichi said in a faked bemoaning voice.

"Well ladies, shall we all go?~" Ibuki asked, smiling.

"Ibuki didn't hesitate coming up with that first part of the ruse, she said it so confidently that it's hard to not believe her. And my own skills of speech certainly helped. So she and the rest of the girls headed into the dressing room…"

"Uhmm… Nuts and dammit! We totally lost! Another day without getting to take my very first bath here!" Teruteru said.

"Y-Yeah, but tomorrow for sure! You'll definitely get a bath tomorrow…!" Kazuichi said, trying to keep up the ruse.

"Okay, so uh-" Junko was about to say something.

"Huh? You're still here?" Nekomaru asked.

"Oh… well I'm not perfectly uh… comfortable being naked around other people…" Junko said nervously.

"Us guys I can understand, but other girls?" Kazuichi questioned.

"Girls, boys… Hell, even pets. I just prefer to bathe and shower alone, plain and simple." Junko said simply.

"Plus, who'd want to look at the body of this freak of nature…?"

"Hoooold on! Something's strange here… VERY strange!" Monokuma said.

"Strange, what do you mean?" Junko questioned.

"What's strange is, this is the perfect chance for you all to sneak a peek!" Monokuma said panting and blushing.

"Ng-gh-gh! Th-Thats…! You're absolutely right!" Teruteru agreed.

"So much for that streak of not being a pervert huh?" Kazuichi said.

"All of you need to shut up, sit down, and listen to what i have to say… An opportunity like this doesn't come along very often… It's the ideal setting of a man's fantasy!" Monokuma playfully said.

"..." Junko was just speechless.

"I was forced to ask myself. Should I lower myself to a pervert and sneak into the bathhouse like Monokuma said, or just go quietly back to the dining hall…? …That answer was obvious!"

"No, I can't do it! I will not lower myself that much. And if any of you guys try, you're gonna get a slap if you're lucky. Or more likely, a kick to the stomach. So let's head back to the dining hall." Junko warned everyone around her, even the non-perverts.

"What?!" Teruteru asked, bewildered.

"But what about a man's fantasy?" Monokuma asked.

"First off! I'm a girl, remember? Second, I'm not sure a real 'man's fantasy' should be able to spy on girls and stuff. It should be more about your hopes, or your dreams of adventure or whatever. But anyways, I'm not gonna spy on them!" Junko said simply.

"I see. I can't even describe my bitter disappointment. That primo fan service coulda been yours…" Monokuma said depressed.

"We headed back to the dining hall, leaving Monokuma there alone. But to be honest, part of me was actually a little reluctant to turn down the offer…"

The boys and Junko waited in the dining hall.

"Fantasy… fantasy… my fantasy…" Teruteru seemed sad about not taking up Monokumas offer.

"So I guess you are as much of a pervert as anyone else, huh?" Kazuichi asked.

"Th-The only reason I care is cuz it's a good… uh… inspection for my meal ideas! Yeah exactly that!" Teruteru said quickly, "The curvy body… the hips… it's all good ideas for food!"

"If the girls heard you say that, we'd be dead meat for sure." Kazuichi said nervously.

"Ah-hem!" Junko made a loud cough as she stared down the two men with her eyes.

"Oh, crap! Sorry, Junko!" Kazuichi and Teruteru both yelled out at the same time.

"Meanwhile, we heard the buzzing of busy voices growing louder. The other girls had finished their baths, and joined us in the dining hall."

"Ahh, man what a nice bath!" Akane said cheerfully.

"Getting a chance to stretch my legs and have fun was awesome sauce!" Ibuki said excitedly.

"I agree. It was pleasant." Chiaki nodded.

"..." Peko said nothing.

"Sorry, no time for that!" Monokuma said, appearing in the dining hall suddenly as always.

"Seriously?! We can't even be happy for a few seconds?" Akane asked, annoyed.

"...Huh?" Monokuma asked.

"We were just saying how nice the bath was, and you get up to something!" Ibuki said annoyed.

"After seeing how happy we were, an evil little monster like you would never let that last for long." Chiaki said coldly.

"Y-You're all so terrible to me…" Monokuma said depressed, "*Sniffle sniffle* Everyone's so cold and mean! Even after I got presents for you all!" Monokuma said, facing away.

"Presents…?" Junko asked, already getting a bad feeling about it.

"Hmmm? Oh, have I got your attention?" Monokuma asked, "Puhuhuhu. Then let's head to the gym, where your presents await!" Monokuma said, immediately going into a happy and jovial mood, "No questions, no dilly-dallying! Get a move on, and everything will become clear!" Monokuma cackled eagerly before vanishing.

"Wh-What is it? What are you scheming this time?!" Teruteru asked at the space where Monokuma was at.

"He's probably going to repeat the same thing again. Providing us with a motive to get things moving…" Byakuya concluded

"Again? So soon!? I don't want to… I don't want to do this anymore…!" Akane said looking depressed.

"Me either. I'm, like, totally traumatized…" Kazuichi bemoans.

"It's okay. We have Alter Ego. I'm sure she'll find something that'll help us. So for now… we have to just endure it, come what may." Byakuya stated.

Junko and the others nodded as they headed out. Yet again going out of the dorm hallway and into the main hall, where they entered the gym not too long after.

"With heavy feet, we made our way to the gym. But when we arrived, there were already two people there!"

"To be kept waiting by the likes of you. Rest assured, if we had access to firearms, you'd all be dead." Nagito said cruelly.

"Nagito? Did you get here early?" Junko asked.

"Did you forget how to walk? Is that why you're so late? It's simple. Right foot, left foot, right foot…" Nagito said condescendingly.

"Haaa, same as always. But more importantly…" Ibuki said, looking at the other person with him.

"..." Mahiru stared down Nagito with a look of pure hatred.

"Oh, Mahiru's here! At least we have someone worthwhile with us." Kazuichi said.

"Huh. That's two girls who missed out on Ibuki's Bathhouse Relaxation Party." Akane pointed out as she gazed at Junko.

"You're really bringing that up now?" Junko questioned Akane before turning her attention to Nagito and Mahiru, "More importantly, you didn't sabotage anything again, did you?"

"Oh no. She was pestering me all day, over something or other I couldn't really care about. Quite pathetic if you asked me." Nagito said smiling.

"One day you're going to get what's coming to you… and it'll be a nasty rude awakening when that happens." Teruteru said nervously.

"Oh believe me. Its approaching fast as fuck with this scum." Mahiru mutters with a sharp tone in her voice, "I hope he wins the lottery and gets hit by a bus."

"Would you believe me if I said I survived worse?" Nagito asked with a coy smirk on his face. Hajime shrugged his shoulders, "Unschaved, no. But really, it depends how worse than being hit with a bus we're talking here."

"Why are you giving him the time of day?!" Mahiru scolded Hajime with her hands on her hips, "You were as much of a puppet as I was in his heartless scheme!"

"I haven't forgotten. I'm just biding my time." Hajime held a hand up at Mahiru in defense.

"Eh, I do not and will not feel sorry for what's gonna come to you." Akane shrugged at Nagito.

"Hmph! With that out of the way, it looks like everyone's here." Nekomaru said, looking at everyone who is currently still around.

"And that's it's cue." Byakuya said, figuring out what's about to come soon.

As if Byakuya was psychic or something, Monokuma once again popped up and landed on the podium before the remaining assembled students.

"It looks like everyone's here! So then, let's get started!" Monokuma said eagerly.

"Come on, out with it. What kind of motive have you prepared for us this time?" Nagito asked straight to the point.

"Keep in mind that whatever you subject us to, we will not break." Nekomaru said determined.

"Yeah, that's right! We're not gonna lose to you ever again!" Akane shouted in agreement.

"Puhuhu… you don't have to get so defensive. Calm down!" Monokuma said, chuckling mischievously, "I've decided to change things up a bit this time. Up till now, I've been using the WOOSH of the North Wind to get you all moving. But sometimes you gotta use the Sun to light a fire under someone's butt! Ahh-hahahaha!" Monokuma cackled eagerly.

"...Anyone else got a clue what he's talking about this time?" Junko asked around. The response was almost everyone shaking their heads no.

"Without further ado, I give you… THIS!" Monokuma declared.

Suddenly on the podium, various instruments and musical items appeared, from drums to a guitar and various other items. There were even two giant speakers playing some kind of music.

"A rock concert! I've prepared a special type of party for whichever lucky student makes it out of here alive! Whaddya think? It's a full course rock band that will be played by yours truly in your honor of your survival! It's like totally wowie wow wow, am i right?!" Monokuma asked.

"So that's the motive you've prepared, is it?"

"A rock concert for us surviving is…" Junko was gonna say something.

"It's not nearly enough." Nagito said.

"..." Junko goes quiet, staring at him.

"When it comes to motives, a music concert isn't the gold standard, so to speak." Byakuya said thinking, "Though it is usually accompanied with a deeper real crime at times…"

"B-But… There's no way we'd kill each other for a concert for our egos!" Akane yelled.

"She's right. You can't simply bribe a person's life with narcissism." Nekomaru stated.

"You can say it's full of fireworks and confetti with a billboard of my name, I wouldn't give a shit! I mean it!" Kazuichi said.

"Yeah they're right… Whether it's a concert or a full blown grand coronation… we'd never kill for our egos! No, not even our egos. From now on, no matter what you do, we won't kill our friends!" Junko said determined.

"C'mon, stop trying to act tough. The most important thing is to live a pure and moral communal life!" Monokuma cackled… At which point he noticed one of the students was missing, "Wuwuwuwhaaaaa?! One of you is gone! Uh, the horn haired girl… Ibuki!"

"Huh? Junko looked to her side and noticed that Ibuki was gone! "Wait where did she-" She then looked in front and saw Ibuki messing with the instruments.

"Ibuki? What are you doing?" Kazuichi asked.

"Hey! Hands off the stuff! Do you have any idea how much it took to find that shit?! A lot!" Monokuma yelled, storming over to Ibuki. The Musician girl took out a guitar and played a string. As she did, Monokuma suddenly froze.

"Huagh! Wh-wha?! I can't move!" Monokuma yelled, surprised and confused.

"Whoa, what?!" Junko yelled just as surprised.

"H-How did a single strum of a guitar render him unable to move?!" Teruteru asked.

Ibuki smiled as she looked at the guitar. She began playing it, strumming it as she messed with the drums and other instruments. As she does so, Monokuma seems to be made to move and act against his will.

"A-Ahhhhh! My body's been possessed by a demon! It's acting against my will!" Monokuma yelled in fright. Before suddenly his voice seemed to glitch out, "Agabagabagabagabagabagaba–"

"W-What the heck is going on?!" Akane yelled, baffled.

"It's like… he's malfunctioning or something from Ibuki's playing…!" Chiaki said wide eyed.

Ibuki looked over and grabbed a Mike on the stage, "Gimme a I gimme a Buki! Gimme a Mio! And gimme a Da! Put it together and what does it spell?! IBUKI MIODA!" Ibuki yelled out her voice echoing not only from her mouth in the Gym… but also Monokuma's?!

"Whaaaaaaa…?" Hajime asked, speechless.

"Interesting…" Nagito said, looking on.

Monokuma blinked and jumped, "AHHHHHHHHHH! THE SIREN HAS CHOSEN MY SOUL TO HARVEST! GET ME OUTTA HERE!" Monokuma screamed and vanished immediately.

"Monokuma disappeared, leaving us behind in confusion and shocked at what we just saw and heard…"

"Ibuki… how did you do that?" Junko asked.

"Huh? You didn't hear it?" Ibuki asked, confused.

"Hear what?" Byakuya asked curiously.

"The stereos playing the music! They seem to have some special tuning hidden in the music! Ibuki figured it must've been important, so she went over and gave it a try! And Yahoo, that was awesome! Monokuma was putty in Ibuki's fingertips!" Ibuki yelled out excitedly.

"Special tuning? You mean frequencies?" Kazuichi asked, "How'd you even know that?!"

"Ibuki's got good hearing! She can hear anything easily!" Ibuki said smugly.

"Oh yeah! She heard Gundham's hamsters several days ago… makes sense she could hear something amidst that music."

"Uh huh… yeah…" Teruteru said with a stare.

"..." Peko said nothing.

"Hmmm…." Nagito stares at Ibuki.

Junko looks around and sees that several people were staring at Ibuki with… looks of suspicion. Of even… nearly outright accusation, without saying anything.

"What? You guys want an encore?" Ibuki asked excitedly.

"They don't want to hear Ibuki's music… They are silently thinking she's the mastermind! N-No way people would be that dumb enough to–"

"I think I prefer to not see you motivate us further, thanks." Nagito said simply.

"You… HONEYSUCKER!"

"You say that as if she's guilty of something." Byakuya stated.

"Have you forgotten? You can't judge someone else based on your own standards. The last two times should've been evidence enough." Nagito said.

"This seems a little too convenient though, doesn't it?" Mahiru asked to contain herself as much as possible.

"Yeah… too convenient…" Hajime mutters.

"What about you, Teruteru? What do you think?" Mahiru asked with a hopeful expression.

"..." he stared at Ibuki with mistrust and suspicion, "Personally, I wouldn't fully discount all possibilities…"

"And just what the fuck dose that mean, you bucket of–" Chiaki almost said.

"Hang on. Then what about–" Mahiru was going to ask someone else their thoughts.

"Just stop, please! Let's all just… process…. what we've seen and then come to our own conclusions after." Nekomaru interrupted.

"Mmmm…" Mahiru looked unenthusiastic about that.

"Don't worry. Either way, whatever's going to happen will happen without warning." Nagito stated smirking, "This is the nature of the game."

*Ding dong, Bing bong*

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

"It's that time already, huh?" Akane asked.

"Before we separate, let me remind you… Starting tonight, I'll be leaving my room door open to make sure nothing happens to Alter Ego. But just because my door is open, don't assume that will make me an easy target." Byakuya stated plainly, "Or as one would say, the predator may suddenly find itself the prey." He ended in a scary tone.

"His voice was calm and composed, but it was clear he meant what he said."

"Okay, okay, let's all just head back to our rooms!" Kazuichi said quickly, "And… just don't think about what happened here! Got it? Good! Then let's break!" He shouted to everyone, "Heh, how was that? I think that was pretty good."

"..." Peko said nothing along with the others.

"Oh, right…" Kazuichi said simply.

"As soon as I was back in my room, I crawled into my bed. That motive… what was it really? And… no one would actually think Ibuki is… O-of course she's not! I told myself that, but deep in my heart, I was still troubled. After all, I thought the same thing last time, that no one would kill, after having our secrets nearly revealed… Even if the reason for it seems completely nonsensical, a murder can still happen. That's the lesson we learned. But this time… This time, it's different, I know it! Because we have the program that the Ultimate Programmer left behind– Alter Ego! We finally have some small hope to grasp onto. As long as we have that, then I'm sure…"

Monokuma Theater!

"Little kids have it so easy…Cuz they can put Li'l in front of their name, and right off the bat everyone thinks they're cute! Well fine then! I want everyone to start calling me Li'l Monokuma! See? Just by adding that, my cuteness goes up by at least like, 10%. Right? Yeah, the world doesn't have nearly enough 'Li'ls'! More 'Li'ls' would lead to the salvation of the world! Just imagine… 'Li'l Arsonist,' 'Li'l War Criminal,' 'Li'l Destruction of the Environment', 'Li'l Hit and Run,' 'Li'l Death Tax,' 'Li'l Great Depression'! Even the darkest of subjects can suddenly become brighter! Our dreams are expanding-ding-ding!"

…

…

…

*Bing Bong, ding dong*

"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"

"Well then…I guess I should head to the dining hall."

Junko headed out of her room and into the hall. Seeing Nekomaru and Akane out. She decided to chat with Akane a bit.

"Hey Akane! Uhm… you looked a bit… exerted. Have you been exercising?" Junko asked.

"Yup! Me and Nekomaru did a morning workout together! Oh, but i didn't break the nighttime rule promise thing. I just ran around in my room till it ended." Akane said, "Why don't you come with us?"

"You would regret inviting me out." Junko said playfully.

"Huh?" Akane asked, confused.

"You just would. Dont ask." Junko said casually.

"Well… ok? Hey by the way, why didn't you join Ibuki's bath fun? The other girls were practically partying." Akane asked.

"I'm just not comfortable with being naked around other people, period. I prefer bathing alone." Junko said.

"Oh. Weird but alright." Akane shrugs.

Junko headed off and to the dining hall entering inside.

"So, the people here today… are the same as yesterday. Just us nine." Kazuichi said thinking.

"Nagito's a lost cause. And Mahiru needs time to resolve her own issues with that event before she'll make the decision to rejoin us." Nekomaru said.

"Oh. I would say there's actually eight of us, Kazuichi. Peko's not coming anymore." Teruteru pointed out.

"It's like she's just… given up." Kazuichi said sympathetically.

"When you see yourself as nothing but a tool to a group of people, and there's one person telling you you're more than you consider yourself as, and then you lose that person… Well, you'll tend to snap…" Hajime said softly.

"Geez. I'm almost in the same boat as her…"

"I wish there was a way to make her feel better." Junko said softly.

"On another topic. Byakuya, did everything go alright last night?" Hajime asked him.

"Yes, I didn't have any problems. I went and checked on the laptop a little while ago, and there weren't any problems there, either. But…" Byakuya said thinking on how to best say his next words.

"Byakuya seemed to hesitate, but…"

"It's related to this case, so I should be blunt, I suppose. I'm making a new rule, effective immediately. Using Alter Ego without permission is prohibited." Byakuya announced, "Someone going in and out of the dressing room would draw unwanted attention from the mastermind." Byakuya stated.

"Oh I think she already knows." Teruteru mutters to himself.

"I thought that'd be kinda obvious. Why do we need to make a rule about it?" Hajime asked curiously.

"A precaution, just in case. Do you have any thoughts on that, Teruteru?" Byakuya asked, looking at the self-proclaimed chef.

"H-Huh? N-No, it's like you just said! We all need to be… very careful… very careful indeed… *Pant pant*" Teruteru said quickly.

"What the…?" Kazuichi asked, noticing Teruteru's heavy breathing.

"Whatever, let's just hurry up and eat! We don't have time to stand around flappin' our lips!" Teruteru yelled out demandingly.

"Jeez! Why're you talkin' like a pissed-off drill sergeant all of a sudden?!" Kazuichi asked

"You should hear my sister when she's in a bad mood." Junko replied.

"We ate breakfast in a rush, then headed back to our rooms…"

"What to do today…?" Junko said to herself looking around her room.

Junko headed out of her room and decided to check on Chiaki. Heading to her room, Junko rings the doorbell.

*Ding Ding!*

…

"WHAT?!" Chiaki yelled, opening the door harshly before seeing Junko outside, "O-Oh, Junko… Uh… um… s-sorry, I…"

"Jeez. She really isn't doing great. My company might be needed more than I realized."

Junko hangs out with Chiaki in her room. Spending time just playing games together.

"She could use a present…"

Junko gets out a Funbox she got a while ago from the Monomono machine and gives it to Chiaki.

"You're giving this to me...? Thanks. I'll take good care of it and use it." Chiaki said softly, smiling.

"So… um…" Junko started to say.

"Jeez…how do i bring up that explosion she had yesterday tactfully?"

"What do you wanna talk about?" Chiaki asked with a small smile.

"Uhm…i wanted…to ask…about yesterday. You seemed…for lack of a better word… Testy…" Junko said wincing

"Oh… well, I just… haven't been in a good mood lately…" Chiaki said softly.

"What's wrong?" Junko asked

"..." Chiaki was silent for a bit.

"Why?" Chiaki asked.

"Huh?" Junko asked, confused "Why what?"

"Why did I survive… while all the others died?" Chiaki asked softly.

"Chiaki…" Junko said, hugging the gamer girl softly, "Are you thinking that you shouldn't be alive over the rest of our friends who died so far?" Junko asked worriedly.

"I… I… mmm… I wouldn't say that… but at the same time… they deserved to live a lot more than I do…" Chiaki murmurs.

"Chiaki, no! Everyone has equal value and the right to live. You deserve to live as much as they did. What happened to the others was out of our control. And not something we could've changed. I… know it's hard. But trust me, we'll get out sooner or later. And hopefully without more of us dying. Kay?" Junko asked with a warm smile.

"..." Chiaki was silent for a long while. Thinking about Junko's words. Before giving a small smile back, "Okay. I'll trust you." Chiaki said feeling a little better.

"Great!" Junko smiles playfully, messing with Chiaki's hair a bit.

"We're gonna have to check on Chiaki every now and then… the girl's been through alot already. And… I honestly can't say she won't go through more."

Junko left and headed back to her dorm after giving Chiaki some hugs and assurance.

"I've still got some time. What should I do…?"

*Ding Dong!*

"Huh. Wonder if that's Ibuki?" Junko mutters heading to the door to open it.

"..." Peko was there, still as silent as ever.

"P-Peko?!" Junko asked.

"...I-Is it true? Can I really… see a ghost?" Peko asked, talking for the first time in a while.

"Huh? You mean Alter Ego?" Junko asked.

"Is the ghost… Gundham?" Peko asked.

"N-No… it's not Gundham or a ghost, but–"

"Let me see… I want to… talk to it…" Peko requested

"Peko…" Junko said softly.

"The way she is now, there's no way I can explain what's going on to her. Byakuya said we're not allowed to use Alter Ego. But even so…"

"..." Peko remained frozen in place.

"Ugh… I can't just leave her here like this, dammit!"

"Alright, why don't we get going?" Junko asked.

"..." Peko said nothing, but moved behind Junko to follow her.

Junko opens the door and heads out. She sees Byakuya standing nearby. She could just head past him to the bathhouse. But… he'd likely know easily. And she wasn't feeling up to lying to him. So she took a detour. Walking around the hall she and Peko would circle around and head to the bathhouse from there.

"..." Peko was quiet, even as they were inside.

"Okay, so…there's a laptop inside the locker, understand? And on the laptop there's a program called Alter Ego." Junko explains.

"How do I… talk to it?" Peko asked slowly.

"Oh well… um… tell me what you want to say, and I'll type it in for you." Junko said as she got Alter Ego started.

"Yay! You came back!" Alter Ego cheers.

"Someone is going to talk to you about… some stuff." Junko typed.

"Ok! Got it!" Alter Ego nodded as Junko looked at Peko.

"Gundham… am I a failure…? Do you hate Fuyuhiko… And since I couldn't stop him… do you hate me?" Peko asked.

Junko winches as Peko spoke.

"It was clear she was forcing herself to get the words out. From her mouth, from the bottom of her heart… She forced her weakened voice to make sounds."

"...Please." Peko said.

"Okay… got it." Junko nodded

"I typed the questions exactly as Peko had asked them. And then…"

"...Do you hold yourself responsible…? If this Gundham was here… I think this is what he would say. Please, live your life for the both of us. It's impossible for me now, but you can still survive and escape– all of you." Alter Ego said.

"Add in his typical way of speaking and you'd be spot on."

"..." Peko takes a moment to think about these words.

"Hey, Peko." Junko started to say

"I was about to say more, but quickly closed my mouth…"

"The one asking those questions is… Peko Pekoyama, right?" Alter Ego asked "Analyzing all available data, that's the only conclusion I can come to. I was told how close Peko and Fuyuhiko were. So that must be why she feels responsible." She said in thought, "...Let me try something real quick."

"Suddenly the screen went dark. And what appeared next was… hard to explain."

"You're not letting yourself get crushed under the weight of that fuckin responsibility, are you?!" Alter Ego asked, sounding and looking just like Fuyuhiko.

"Gh-!" Peko utters surprised.

"The only worth as human beings is keeping the promises we make. You get it, right Peko?" Alter Ego… Alter… Fuyuhiko? asked, "The fuck am I saying, of course you do!"

"..." Peko seemed to be taking the words into her mind.

"That's–!" Junko utters in amazement.

"I'm sorry if I startled you…" Alter Ego said as she returned to her previous appearance, "That was my attempt at a simulation, using the data about Fuyuhiko that I was given. I figured if Peko was depressed, that's the kind of thing Fuyuhiko would have said to her."

Alter Ego took on Fuyuhiko's appearance again, "So you're just gonna stand there, huh? Just wait for things to fucking get better? Just take your time and get all depressed… Take your time to indulge your regrets… You might even start walking again without realizing it. Sure, that kind of mediocre thinking might work for some people. But not you. Like hell are you the type to wait around for shit to happen. You're better than that garbage, Peko Pekoyama." Alter… Fuyuhiko said before returning to Alter Ego's face, "...What if I said it with a kind of condescending tone?" Alter Ego asked with a cute smile and giggle.

"Ok, a bit far. Then again, knowing them and the Kuzuryu clan… could work, I guess…"

"...Hmhmhmhm…" Peko started to chuckle, regaining some life in her.

"Peko?" Junko asked, looking at the swordswoman.

"The young master's words… I can hear him… He's telling me… to keep fighting…" Peko had a hand over her face as she smiled a bit, "That program… it's just like him… Hehehehe…"

"It is an AI, so I wouldn't get too attached. …I want to tell her that, but I don't know if it's remotely the right thing to say. But I know what I can say before things get out of hand."

"It's not too late, Peko. You're the Ultimate Swordswoman, right? You're no mere tool, you're a fighter. You fought many enemies for what you believed in, right?" Junko spoke up and put a hand on Peko's shoulders, "So come on, let's see that cool and collected Peko Pekoyama again. Do it for your man."

"..." Peko stood in silence, but a different silence than before. She took a few minutes to recollect herself, her hand lowering to her side. A gaze turned to Alter Ego in silence… then at Junko, "...Thank you. I apologize for the trouble I've caused."

"H-Hey, it… it happens." Junko didn't know what to say as she wasn't sure Peko was fully back together, "You, uh… gonna be okay?"

"I will be… This pitiful feeling of self-loathing… I will tackle it head on in my Young Master's honor!" Peko declared, "It will be a long, emotional journey, but I will persevere!"

"I can only assume she meant Fuyuhiko when she said that… Also, she's strange… charismatic."

"Hm. I think I have started to see why she had trusted you so openly…" Peko commented as she walked away, feeling a bit better.

"I wonder who she meant by that? Ibuki? Chiaki? Mahiru? …or could it have been Mikan?"

"I guess she'd be nicer about it than fucking Nagito was…" Junko said to herself. But then she heard a voice ask her, "Who was nicer about what?"

"GAH–" Junko's eyes turned completely white as she slowly turned around to see who was also in the dressing room.

"What do you think you're doing?" Byakuya asked simply.

"Ah– B-Byakuya!" Junko yelped startled, "Oh shit! Look I'm sorry, but Peko–" Junko started to explain.

"Don't go around doing whatever you feel like. Even if it's for a good reason, it can cause problems. Not just for me, but also for everyone else." Byakuya informed matter of factly.

"Sorry…" Junko said nervously.

"Then please, leave immediately if you're really sorry." Byakuya said simply.

"Y-Yes sir!" Junko said and quickly left as soon as she possibly could.

"Finally, I headed back to my room, embarrassed and sullen. But still… What was with Peko's near-immediate recovery? That stuff takes WAY longer to get over! Something tells me I screwed something up with her…"

*Ding dong, Bing bong*

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

"It's nighttime already. I guess I'll have to wait till tomorrow to figure out Peko's whole thing. For now, time to sleep."

*Monokuma Theater!*

"You wanna know why I hate video games? You might not believe this, but I had a best friend once. Actually, he was my only friend. But unlike me, he had all kinds of friends. So me and him were at his house one day, when a big group of guys showed up to hang out. They'd just bought the latest big-budget video game. They sat there lost in the game, passing the controller back and forth, for hours. But not me. I just sat there watching. That's right, I just watched! What's wrong with that?! I didn't care! Just by watching, I was able to nail down all the best strategies! Even though I never actually played it! And I don't plan on ever playing it in the future, either!"

…

…

…

*Ding dong, Bing bong*

"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"

"Alright, I need to hurry up and get to the dining hall…" Junko mutters to herself, "I should probably tell everyone that Peko will be okay…" she sighs and makes her way out of her room and towards the dining hall.

"Yo, I've been waiting." Kazuichi said with a sly smile looking around.

"Huh? Are you the only one here Kaz? Where's everyone else?" Junko asked.

"They went on ahead." Kazuichi said cryptically.

"Went on ahead? To where?" Junko asked, confused.

"We can talk about it later. For now, let's go take a bath." Kazuichi said smiling

"Wait what–? Bath?"

"I told you I'm not comfortable with ba– AHHH!" That was all Junko could say as she was dragged over to the bathhouse, where almost everyone seemed to have gathered.

"Kyaaaaahhh! Someone heeeeelllp!" Teruteru yelled.

"Eh? Teruteru what's going on here?" Junko asked, utterly bewildered as to what's happening.

"Junko! Save me! I've never asked you for anything, but I'm asking now!" Teruteru pleaded to Junko in utter freight and terror.

"W-What the heck are you going on about?!" Junko asked even more confused now.

"He-He's trying to kill me!" Teruteru stammers out.

"Teruteru pointed at…"

Junko turns her gaze to see Teruteru pointing at…

"..." Byakuya said nothing.

"Huh? Byakuya's trying to 'kill' you?"

Utterly convinced this was either a misunderstanding or something else of the sort, Junko went to Byakuya to see what he had to say.

"I never said I was going to kill Teruteru. I simply asked him a question. I'd like to know why he made the same mistake twice." Byakuya said in a firm manner.

"Huh? The same mistake? What'd he do?" Junko asked curiously.

"He snuck into the dressing room in the middle of the night and accessed Alter Ego without permission. And when I caught him last night… he was… hugging the laptop and breathing strongly." Byakuya explains.

"Wh-What the fuck…? What were you even doing?!" Akane asked, baffled by the explanation.

"I thought I made myself clear yesterday, but since being subtle didn't work… I suppose I have to clarify myself further." Byakuya said in a deep firm tone.

"Hyaaaah! Please don't kill me!" Teruteru pleaded.

"I'm not going to kill you– merely instruct you." Byakuya said simply.

"Ngh… gh!" Teruteru grunts looking down.

Junko turns to Teruteru and tries to get his side of the story, "Teruteru… what were you even doing?"

"W-Well, I just… I was just talking!" Teruteru explains.

"Which was prohibited, was it not?" Byakuya asked sternly.

"I-I mean, you see… Talking to her was just… so much fun! And I j-just…" Teruteru stammers out.

"Woah! Okay, time out! I can't believe I'm even actually going to ask this, but… Teruteru… you're not ... like… uh… you're not gonna tell us you… fell in love or something, are you?" Kazuichi asked, a little afraid of what Teruteru would say.

"Hah! That I, the cold-blooded killing machine of the kitchen world, would ever fall in love?! That's… Wait… no way! Is… is this love?!" Teruteru explained utterly losing his confidence at the idea he may actually be in love with Alter Ego.

"I… I… I don't even know what to say… or if I want to say anything right now at all." Kazuichi said, looking at Teruteru in disbelief.

"SHUT UP! SHE'S NOT A MACHINE OR ANY OBJECT! SHE'S AN ANGEL!" Teruteru yelled at Kazuichi, "And don't bother telling me angels don't exist! My momma is certainly one! And I know a few others! So your petty words mean nothing!"

"Yeah… totally in love." Chiaki said with a blank stare at Teruteru.

"So uh… how did things end up… like this?" Hajime asked curiously.

"W-Well, at the beginning… I just wanted to hear her say 'Master' one more time. B-But then I was poking around at her settings and stuff, and saw she was a well-designed program. And it was like… how can I say…? It was the first time I… I was ever able to talk like that with a normal girl." Teruteru admitted.

"But, uh… She's definitely not a normal girl though…" Akane pointed out. Teruteru ignored that and went on, "Even when all we did was talk about my hobbies and stuff… she wasn't disgusted or anything."

"Your stories are interesting, Teruteru! C'mon, tell me more…! I wanna learn everything you have to teach me." Alter Ego said eagerly.

"That's the first time a girl's ever said anything like that to me. Besides my momma, I mean…" Teruteru mentioned.

"Your mom says stuff like that to you? That's honestly amazing. No wonder you love her a lot…" Kazuichi said, intrigued.

"That's why I was just… so happy. It was so much fun! And before I knew it… I found myself, y'know… liking her. Her face, her personality, her voice. Ah hell, even her keyboard." Teruteru listed off.

"Even the keyboard…?" Chiaki asked, very weirded out by that last bit.

"I think you're kinda… misunderstanding the situation, Teruteru. Alter Ego wasn't really interested in who you were. It was… She was interested in what you knew." Akane pointed out, "She's an artificial intelligence, she/it exists to learn. Of course it wanted to hear of things it didn't know. You're an expert in things like cooking, the sort of stuff this Ultimate Programmer couldn't have thought about or known, for what that's worth. Alter Ego just wants that information– that's kinda all there is to it."

"Jeez! A bit cold there, girl. Then again, probably a bit needed…"

"I-I know… I mean, I do know that. But still… Are you saying it's totally hopeless? Er…" Teruteru utters trying to find better words for it.

"Stop right there!" A voice called out, "I won't let you or anyone touch my Fuyuhiko again! I won't! I can't lose him again! I would advise complete and total cooperation if you truly value your lives!" Peko warned everyone as she barged in the room.

"Oh, Peko! Uh… you're back? You… seem uh…" Kazuichi tries to find the right words for it.

"Save it. I have come for Fuyuhiko." Peko dismissed Kazuichi's concern entirely.

"W-Wait, didn't he…?" Kazuichi asked, confused and nervous, "Y-You know…?"

"He lives on! That computer can summon his spirit! He's inside the computer!" Peko yelled out.

"What are you talking about?" Chiaki asked, confused.

"Keep us apart and you will suffer! I will not tell you again!" Peko snaps at Chiaki.

"Mmm…" Chiaki just moves behind Hajime and appears to ignore Peko.

"So like, did her depression evolve into an obsession or something?!" Kazuichi asked, baffled.

"What's gotten into her?!" Akane asked.

"A-Actually… this might be my fault…" Junko said sheepishly.

"I told everyone what happened the day before."

"It seems she's confusing Alter ego making herself look like Fuyuhiko as Fuyuhiko being alive in the computer." Chiaki murmurs.

"Meaning what Alter Ego said to her…" Nekomaru mutters in thought.

"Are you sure…? Maybe…" Hajime stutters, not particularly wanting to believe talking to Alter Ego could result in Peko becoming… this.

"Ugh, I grow tired of this… Teruteru!" Peko shouted at him.

"U-Uhm…Yeah?" Teruteru asked

"I don't know what you're plotting with the computer… but my young master belongs to me! STAY THE HELL AWAY IF YOU WISH TO LIVE!" Peko shouted.

"What the hell, Peko?! This isn't what we're–" Akane asked, bewildered.

"You do not know?! Alter Ego can create an exact copy of the one who gave me back my will to live! And I'm not gonna let anyone else have him ever again! Now stay out of my way!" Peko yelled furiously.

"...I'm afraid… I can't allow that, ma'am." Teruteru said quickly.

"What did you just say?" Peko asked indignantly.

"I cannot withdraw! Ms. Peko… While I have this opportunity, let me say this right now… Destiny has bound me and her together in the Gordian Knot of true love!" Teruteru yelled out in determined fury.

"WELL ME AND HIM HAVE BEEN TOGETHER LONGER THEN YOU AND IT! WHITE-HOT LOVE WILL BURN YOUR SCUMMY HANDS CLEAN!" Peko practically screams at Teruteru

"H-Hey, come on guys–" Junko tries to intervene.

"You too, Enoshima! Stand against my love and I'll make what happened to you the first time we got here seem like a gentle love tap!" Peko threatened.

Junko paled white at that.

"Well I can smack you dead with my spatula! Faster than you can blink! And I don't have any arm hair, so no drag on me girly!" Teruteru yelled back.

Peko's arm was inching ever closer to her bamboo sword on her back, "Tch! Bucket of guts, I will make you regret ever–"

"Knock it off, both of you!" Byakuya said simply firmly yet with the authority that almost matches Monokuma, "This doesn't belong to any one person. The Ultimate Programmer left her, and then Nagito let us have her for his own reasons. We can use her to finally gain access to vital clues." He informed the group.

"Byakuya's right. If anyone dares disturb our peace any further… they'll have to deal with me!" Nekomaru yelled out determinedly.

"Until Alter Ego has finished her work, don't do anything weird. Have I made myself clear?" Byakuya asked with simple firmness.

"...!" Teruteru was scared and silent.

"...!" Peko was similarly brought out of her rampage and back into silence.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Nekomaru yelled out in a challenging tone.

"AHHH! SIR YES SIR! WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN, SIR!" Teruteru said afraid for his life.

"G-Got it… I understand loud and clear." Peko said fully calm as she reverted back to her depressed self from before.

"Okay then. Let's leave now from this place. We can't afford to linger too long." Byakuya said, making his way out.

"You sure it's okay to let them off with only a warning?" Nekomaru questioned.

"Yes. I have a plan. It'll be fine." Byakuya assured.

Everyone soon left the bathhouse.

"After watching Teruteru and Peko leave dejected, we all went back to our rooms."

"It's still morning, but because of… what happened just recently… I'm already tired as hell…" Junko complains to herself.

"Well… I just have to pull myself together! So what should I do with the rest of my day I have left here?"

Junko headed out of her room. And decided to see Ibuki again. She'd love to have Ibuki's company. It didn't take long for her to find Ibuki, who was near the recreation room entrance.

"Hey hey Ibuki!" Junko said cheerfully.

"Oh? Hey Junko-chan!" Ibuki said with excited delight.

"Wanna hang out?" Junko asked with a wide smile.

"Yahoo! You read my mind!" Ibuki shouted eagerly.

"Heh. I just predicted what you might've wanted~" Junko said coyly.

Junko spent time playing tag with Ibuki chasing each other down the hall and the stairs.

"Yahoo! …Oh god, she's infecting me with her energy! I should definitely give her something!"

Junko gets out… a Two-Sided Ukulele from her pocket and hands it to Ibuki.

"...How am I actually fitting this stuff in my pocket?"

"Why does Junko-chan know what Ibuki wants? Jeez, this is baaaaad. I might end up falling in love with you!" Ibuki said with a playful scared face.

"Pfft…" Junko snickers

"Hey Junko-chan! Can Ibuki ask something this time?" Ibuki questioned happily.

"Sure! Go ahead!" Junko said smiling with a thumbs up

"So… Ibuki was curious why you didn't come to the bathhouse party the other day!" Ibuki said nervously

"Oh, you mean from two days ago. Well… Like I said to the boys and Akane, I'm just uncomfortable bathing with other people." Junko said simply.

"Is that all there is to it?" Ibuki asked curiously.

"I… uh… um… for the most part yeah." Junko nodded.

"For the most part… so not completely. What's the other reason?" Ibuki asked, changing her tone and attitude seeing how Junko was acting.

"Well… I… just think people don't really want to see my body… I mean… a body like mine would just freak people out." Junko said nervously.

"Hmmmm…." Ibuki thinks as she hugs Junko tightly, "Well don't think that! Ibuki would love to see your body one day!" Ibuki said playfully, sticking out her tongue.

"Heheheh… well… maybe one day…" Junko said smiling softly.

"Though you'll realize how much of a freak I am when I do…"

"Hmmm…." Ibuki hums as she looks at Junko.

"Me and Ibuki hugged and chatted for a while before leaving for our rooms."

"I still have some time… I feel like I'm wasting my time sitting here, I should go look around and explore some more!"

Junko decided to talk to Hajime. After what happened with the 2nd trial… he could use someone to chat with.

Junko tried his door, but he wasn't there. So she went to look for him. Her search didn't last long as Chiaki's door opened and Hajime came rushing out. With something… a few somethings being thrown at him before the door slammed violently. Junko went up to him

"...Haa…." Hajime sighs and rubs his eyes before stretching.

"Uh… what was that just now?" Junko asked.

"Hm? Oh Junko. Hey! Uh… I was trying to hang out with Chiaki… but, uh… she probably wasn't in the mood for talking…" Hajime said, chuckling nervously.

"Yeesh…" Junko mutters.

"I don't blame her honestly. With all that's happened so far and how… not well she's taking it… It's honestly natural that she'll lash out." Hajime said in Chiaki's defense.

"Yeah I agree… still she should get something to do… or play some of her games… having someone go on bad mood swings is only going to agitate everyone else." Junko replied.

"I know… I'll try whenever she's cooled off to find something for her to do whenever she's about to get mad." Hajime agreed, smiling.

"Anyways. Wanna hang out with me?" Junko asked, smiling.

"Sure! That'd be nice." Hajime smiles, nodding back.

"Me and Hajime took a walk around the school. Not doing much but exploring around."

Arriving back to Hajimes dorm door Junko and him smiled.

"Hm… got nothing he may want."

"So… anything else you wanna talk about?" Hajime asked.

"Well… there's one thing… How are you holding up? After… er… well… everything." Junko asked

"You mean after Nagito dropped the information that I'm a reserve course student?" Hajime asked simply.

"...Y-Yeah." Junko nooded.

"It's… a major shock… I honestly haven't had time to process it, as so much has happened back to back… but… to know I'm not an Ultimate, but just some kid who paid to get in here… I'm not going to lie… that hurts some." Hajime admitted.

"Hey, well… I don't care about that." Junko smiles.

"Huh?" Hajime asked curiously.

"Ultimate or not, you're our friend. You are someone who has helped us and done his part for the group… you've helped Chiaki more than once. You… did your best in the 2nd investigation, I'm sure. And you tried in the trails. It's more than anyone can ask for." Junko said reassuringly, "So don't go doubting yourself now just because you're not an Ultimate, 'kay?" She asked in a stern manner.

"Hahaha… alright, alright. Fine, I won't doubt myself again." Hajime replied smiling and chuckling slightly, "Thanks Junko…"

"No problem!~" Junko cheerfully said

"We hung out a bit more before returning to our rooms."

*Ding dong, Bing bong*

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

"Nighttime already… I'll just have to go to bed for today… ugh…"

Monokuma Theater!

"Happy New Day! I'm the kinda guy, I dont wanna celebrate a new year. I wanna celebrate the dawn of every new day! Because every new day deserves celebrating! So…Once again, happy New Day!"

…

…

…

*Ding dong,bing bong*

"Good morning everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"

"I'd better get to the dining hall!"

Junko headed out as usual and headed down the hallway as usual to the dining hall. Arriving in quick short time. Where a surprising sight greeted her

"Peko and Byakuya are not here today." Hajime said nervously.

"Byakuya's still on guard duty, probably." Kazuichi said reassuringly

"I have no idea about Peko." Nekomaru murmurs

"May as well forget about that girl!" Teruteru said infuriated

"Yo, you dont have to get so mad…jeez" Akane said concerned

"They're rivals in love. What're ya gonna do?" Kazuichi sighs rolling his eyes

"Dont put me on the same level as that…that…virgin! I might catch her virginity!" Teruteru said sharply

"Implying you aren't also a virgin." Kazuichi shot at him

"Implying as in he is a virgin or…" Akane asked confused

"Can you all stop being vulgar FOR FIVE FUCKING SECONDS?! Let's just eat! Please!" Chiaki screamed.

"Jeez… she's in need of a lot of help. And of course it's gonna get worse! Because as soon as our hands went to our food…"

"If you so much as sneeze wrong, I'll throw you to the wolves!" A voice said outside the dining hall.

"Eh? That's…" Akane said slightly.

"The doors to the dining hall exploded open, and a figure appeared."

"Hey everyone. We're back." Mahiru said softly while looking at a certain someone

"So Mahiru is back… and…" Nekomaru utters

"Don't bother asking why we arrived at the same time. The answer should be obvious, even to talentless Hajime over there." Nagito said simply.

"I'll give you a hint… I had to practically drag someone by force to come here. Figuratively speaking." Mahiru said.

"Honestly, I would love to see you do it literally." Akane playfully jokes.

"Heh. Thanks." Mahiru smiles.

"So what do you want? Surely you're not here to join us for breakfast." Hajime asked Nagito straight to the point.

"Of course not. I came to hear a story." Nagito said.

"A story?" Junko asked

"A story that nobody has bothered to tell me yet." Nagito said

"Is he talking… about Alter Ego? But… Why would he want to know the story? He messed with her…"

"Sorry, but we can't talk about that right now." Nekomaru informed Nagito.

"And exactly why not?" Nagito asked, crossing his arms.

"Because of certain… circumstances." Nekomaru explained.

"Up till now you haven't given a crap about anything… hell, you've actively been antagonistic with everyone. And NOW you're all concerned? I call bullshit!" Kazuichi yelled a little miffed.

"I've just made a decision. When we get out of here, I'm going to feed your body to the vultures." Nagito plainly stated.

"Exactly what I'm talking about! What kind of messed up dictator are you?!" Kazuichi yelled, frightened slightly.

"But isn't this a democracy? Or would you exclude those who don't fit into your tyrannical majority?" Nagito asked mockingly.

"That's not what we're doing!" Junko said

"Well, whatever. If nothing else, tell me what's going on with Peko." Nagito said looking away, "When I saw her yesterday, I happened to notice something was off… at least she seemed off to me, so I was curious." He said

"Honestly, Peko has kinda lost it. Absolutely useless now." Teruteru said.

"Teruteru! You don't have a right to say that!" Junko yelled, very agitated by Teruteru's words.

"Did her spirit collapse or something? Was she unable to withstand this environment? Those people who clothe themselves in the cheap fabric of justice are often the first to fall… But perhaps that will make things all the more interesting…" Nagito smirked.

"Interesting?" Junko asked.

"Let me leave you with a bit of advice. Don't come to rely on false camaraderie… or you'll reap its bitter reward." Nagito firmly stated.

"That's why you bothered to show your disgusting face? To give us your 'amazing' advice?" Akane asked fuming.

"It seems I am unwelcome here. Then I will grant your hope and remove myself…" Nagito said simply smirking.

"Grrrr…" Mahiru growls inching closer and closer to outright punching him in the stomach.

"You don't need to come with me." Nagito shot at her.

"I don't need to. But I want to." Mahiru said.

"Oh, confessing your love for me? How delightful!" Nagito said smiling… but his smile faded when, from the corner of his eye, he saw Chiaki's delicate hands snap her utensil in half, her infuriated gaze directed at the white haired luckster.

"Nagito started to slowly back out of the room… He started picking up speed, and soon he was sprinting out of the dining hall."

"H-He ran away…?" Mahiru asked, a bit surprised at how Nagito managed to quickly get away, "Ugh… get back here!" Mahiru yelled, chasing after him.

"Guess Mahiru doesn't know Chiaki's… condition, either."

"So… uh… in the end… um… nope, I give up! What was all of that about?!" Akane asked, unable to make sense of anything that just happened.

"Just now, Nagito was like…" Kazuichi tries to find the words to describe it.

"Maybe he's like the mean guy who starts acting differently or gets all flustered when things change!" Teruteru guesses.

"...honestly I'll go with that." Kazuichi agreed

"Those of us left in the dining hall finished our breakfast, then went back to our rooms."

"Hmm… What to do today?' Junko pounders

Junko left her room and decided to take a swing by where Akane was to chat with her. Finding her in the dining hall, Junko hops onto a seat next to her.

"Heya Akane!" Junko said cheerfully.

"Hey Junks! Whatcha need?" Akane asked

"Well I was hoping to hang out with ya of course!" Junko smiled

"Oh, well sure! That'd be nice!" Akane smiled happily

"I watched Akane eat and occasionally we chatted about whatever came to our minds."

"Heh. It's nice hanging out like this. Really takes the stress off." Akane smiled cheerfully.

"I think I can give her something nice…"

Junko goes into her bag and gets out a Prepackaged Orzotto.

"You're givin' this to me for free...? I feel kinda bad." Akane said nervously.

"So hey… how have you been doing since well… everything?" Junko asked.

"Meh… about as well as one can do in this mess. It's nice that some of us are still alive… but…" Akane mutters softly, "I wish we could've all made it…"

"Well at least we have Alter Ego! So things are looking up!" Junko said brightly

"Yeah… her…." Akane said, slightly uncomfortable.

"Huh? Something wrong?" Junko asked

"N-No it's… eh, it's just I'm not sure if we should put all our eggs in one basket here." Akane said quickly.

"Yeah… true. But what other choice do we have?" Junko asked.

"That's true…" Akane said, looking down. She looked like she wanted to say something but then…

"Ah, no sweat! I'm sure she'll find something!" Akane smiles.

"That smile… feels a bit forced? Or maybe I'm just getting paranoid now. Probably that."

Junko and Akane spend a bit more time together before heading off.

I still have some time… I can't just sit around and do nothing! I should find something to do!"

Determined, Junko headed out from her spot and went to find where Ibuki was. It took awhile surprisingly, but she found her in the Gym messing with the musical items from the motive. With Teruteru standing by just… staring at her.

"Hey Ibuki. Whatcha doing?" Junko called out.

Suddenly Monokuma appeared.

"Heya, Junko-chan! I'm just trying to figure out how to get complete control over this bear! I'm almost close! Soon Ibuki will get us all out of here! Yahoo!" Monokuma and Ibuki said before Monokuma shook his head.

"NOT AGAIN!" Monokuma yelled, vanishing.

"...Wanna hang out?" Junko asked

"Sure!" Ibuki smiles sweetly as she takes Junko's hand and they both head off, arriving inside the pool. Sitting on the bleachers rather than getting into the pool.

"We mostly just talk about the pool and the rec room and then whatever just came to our minds."

Junko immediately went to get something out to give to Ibuki, pulling out the Funbox.

"Giving an amazing present like this when it's not Christmas or my birthday… I'm sooooo happy... Thank you mucho mucho!" Ibuki said delightedly.

"So I wanna know… how do you stay so positive?" Junko asked.

"Well Ibuki just tries to be herself! No matter what! No matter where! Ibuki stays true to herself and always shows herself fully to everyone!" Ibuki smiles.

"That's… really simple. Yet at the same time… nice… I admire that!" Junko said approvingly.

"Awww, thanks Junko-chan!" Ibuki smiles.

"Better than me at least…" Junko sighs.

"Huh?" Ibuki asked.

"Freaks like me can't be ourselves. The best we can do is hide ourselves and just pretend we fit in… even though we can't… and never will…" Junko said openly.

"..." Ibuki was silent for a long time… before seemed to grow a scowl. Looking… genuinely annoyed… and even angry? Or well… ticked off.

"Urrrrgh…! Junko-chan called herself a freak again!" Ibuki complains.

"It's because it's the truth. I'm a freak." Junko said simply.

"I suddenly need to head back…" Ibuki said getting up and walking off.

"Jeez. Why did that upset her? I was just being honest."

Sighing, Junko gets up and heads down to her room. Arriving inside it and spending what little hours left just laying on the bed before getting up noticing something.

"Huh? There's something by the door?"

Junko went up to her door and bends down to look at what was there by the door and finds something interesting

"This piece of paper… It looks like someone must have slipped it under my door."

"Meet in the dining hall!"

"The handwriting is… really good. But to want to meet up so suddenly…? Who wrote it? And why? What's the point of calling me out like this? I'm kinda nervous, this feels like a set up for a trap… But there's no way I can't just not check it out now."

Junko gets out of her room and heads down the hallway. Quickly making her way to the dining hall.

"Oh, Junko!" Kazuichi said cheerfully.

"Kazuichi? Then the letter in my room…?" Junko started to ask.

"Yup, I wrote it!" Kazuichi smiled.

"Your handwriting is really nice man!" Junko said approvingly.

"Aw thanks! Well, I was always told that if you had bad penmanship, it wouldn't land you a career or anything so…" Kazuichi said simply.

"It's not that strict, but good advice in general."

"And why did you want to meet with me?" Junko questioned.

"Oh, I just did what Byakuya asked me." Kazuichi shrugs.

"Byakuya?" Junko asked now curious what Byakuya wanted with her.

"I'm just an errand boy on this… again." Kazuichi replied simply before asking with a sly smile, "Anyways, whaddya say to a late-night bath session?"

"Huh? Oh…" Junko asked before realizing what that meant.

"Alright let's do it!" Kazuichi said

"Ugh, I told you I–" Junko stutters out.

"At least let me consent, man! Before I could remind him what I told Akane and Ibuki, Kazuichi grabbed me on the shoulder, pulled me close, and whispered in my ear."

"It's all an act, so the mastermind won't notice. Everyone's waiting in the bathhouse." Kazuichi explained.

"Figured that was what that meant. Still… really? Then did Alter Ego finish her search?"

"Alright, fine! But no funny business, bub!" Junko said loudly.

"I was probably louder than I needed to be there honestly. But me and Kazuichi hurried to the dressing room."

Junko and Kazuichi made their way inside of the dressing room without much difficulty or trouble.

"As soon as I got to the dressing room, an angry voice echoed out."

"And just how long did you intend to keep us waiting?" Peko asked, annoyed.

"Peko's irritated voice pierced the air as she stared pointedly at a watch she must've found."

"It is almost 10 o'clock. We cannot afford to be wasting precious seconds on late arrivals." Peko informed Junko.

"Tch… Shut up." Teruteru mutters.

"What was that? You want me to cut you in twain?!" Peko snapped.

"Peko… She seems to be a bit worse off than I'd heard." Nagito smirked, "Well, maybe it's a good thing. Maybe she's finally starting to grow a personality."

"And you have a lot of nerve showing your ugly face, bastard!" Peko yelled at Nagito.

"I mean, I agree… but you can chill for a moment… please." Mahiru said softly.

"Oh. You seem to be back with us again!" Hajime smiles, "You, uh… still on Nagito watch?"

"Yep. Someone's gotta keep him on a leash." Mahiru nodded. Nagito turned his head towards Mahiru, "Hey!"

"Well anyways, everyone's here, right? Then my messenger duty is completed!" Kazuichi smiled proudly.

"You wanted us all to meet here, right Byakuya? So, what are we doing here?" Nekomaru asked.

"Isn't it obvious? It's gotta have something to do with Alter Ego right?!" Kazuichi asked, pumped up.

"Y-Yeah, totally! Did it finally find a clue? What is it? A way out?! The mastermind's true identity?!" Akane asked rapidly and quickly.

"..." Byakuya simply stared, saying nothing.

Junko walks up to Byakuya to see what he has to say.

"It's gone." Byakuya said simply.

"Gone?" Junko asked.

"I came here a little earlier to check up on things, and that's when I discovered… Alter Ego, the laptop, has disappeared." Byakuya stated.

"WHAT?!" Junko nearly shrieked.

"Y-You're kidding right?" Ibuki asked, terrified.

"..." Byakuya just said nothing.

"H-Huh? What? She's gone?" Teruteru asked in a disbelieving manner.

"You can't… y-y-y-you… YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS! WHAT'D YOU DO WITH HIM?!" Peko screamed.

"Was it the mastermind? Did they finally notice what we were up to?" Hajime pounders.

Teruteru looked like he was about to say something, but Byakuya spoke up instead, "I'd told Alter Ego to yell if anyone she didn't recognize appeared… if it was the mastermind, I'm sure she would have altered us."

"M-Maybe we just… missed it?" Akane asked nervously.

"I was in the laundry room right next door all day. There's no way I wouldn't have heard it." Byakuya mentioned.

"But… But if it wasn't the mastermind, then…" Junko said, not wanting to finish her sentence.

"The solution to this particular mystery is obvious! It could only have been… those two!" Teruteru yelled out, "Ibuki! Peko! One of you stole her, didn't you?!" Teruteru asked accusingly.

"Huh? Why would Ibuki steal her?" Ibuki asked.

"What?! Why would I do something like that, you pee brain pervert!?" Peko asked.

"Ibuki I don't get, but I honestly don't have much in the way of reasons why you wouldn't, to be fair…" Akane said nervously to Peko.

"You're the suspicious one here! You're nothin but a big, jiggling sack of fat!" Peko shot at Akane.

"Shows what you know. This isn't my true fighting spirit! I still have my ultimate chef powers left to show!" Teruteru said threateningly, "Wait, wrong context… I-It wasn't me! Everyone knows one of you two is the thief!" Teruteru yelled.

"Wrong! It's you!" Peko shouted back.

"Well I'm sure it was *one* of you. So whoever did it, just hurry up and confess!" Kazuichi asked nervously.

"No. There's no way either one of them did it." Byakuya said.

"Huh? Why not?!" Kazuichi asked, confused.

"I told Alter Ego to yell if either Teruteru or Peko came into the dressing room." Byakuya explained.

"You did what?" Peko asked in disbelief.

"It was a countermeasure against the clear danger that one of them might come for it." Byakuya said.

"But… I didn't hear a yell." Chiaki mentioned.

"Exactly. Which means it wasn't them." Byakuya said

"Then… who was it?" Kazuichi asked nervously and somewhat scared now.

"The fundamental circumstances are becoming clear… If it wasn't the mastermind, and it wasn't Peko or Teruteru… then quite simply, it was someone else." Nagito said, "Junko, Hajime, Chiaki, Ibuki, Nekomaru, Akane, Mahiru or myself… One of us must be the thief."

"Why would any of us wanna steal Alter Ego?!" Akane asked quickly and defensively.

"How about this for a reason? There is a traitor among us." Nagito plainly stated

"Wha-?"

"One of us is working for the mastermind–a spy. And that's the one who stole Alter Ego." Nagito concluded, "Can you deny the possibility?"

"I-It can't be!" Junko said in disbelief.

"I've actually been thinking for some time now that there might be a spy among us. The mastermind brought someone in to help keep things moving smoothly." Nagito stated.

"A spy for the mastermind? A traitor?! No it's impossible! Something that horrible… Th-There's no way!"

"Why do you not speak? Are you struck silent by your inability to comprehend such a possibility?" Nagito asked condescendingly.

"I don't care!" Peko yelled out, "I don't care who… Someone, anyone… save him… Please, rescue him… I'm begging you… I just want to see and hear him again…" Peko said… whatever fire she had was extinguished and replaced with sorrow.

"Same here." Teruteru agreed, "How many times do they have to take our joy before we're happy…? I'll beg, I'll scrape my head across the ground. Just give her back!" Teruteru begs.

"This is pretty messed up… But still, I think I kinda get how they feel…" Akane said softly, looking down.

"I think Alter Ego is most likely still safe, for the moment at least." Byakuya said reassuringly.

"If they wanted to destroy it, they wouldn't have bothered taking it. They would've done it here and now." Hajime concluded.

"So you're saying whoever did it has something else in mind for her?" Nekomaru asked

"Something else?"

"That doesn't matter. Nothing… nothing else matters…" Peko said on the verge of crying, "Without him, I'm nothing… I cant… I can't… I can't…" she nearly breaks down.

"I swear I'll save her! Using the power of love…!" Teruteru shouted.

*Ding dong, Bing bong*

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

"It's nighttime…" Akane said.

"It's unfortunate, but we need to wait till after we all get some sleep to start searching." Chiaki said unenthusiastically.

"How can you be so casual! We don't have time to wait around!" Teruteru yelled.

"What good are any of us if we're too tired? We will be more effective after a good night's sleep…" Chiaki murmurs.

"Who gives a shit about 'effective'?! Have you no respect for our FEELINGS, bitch?!" Peko yelled.

"Anything we do at night brings a higher chance of the mastermind noticing us. Chiaki is right, we should begin our investigation tomorrow morning." Byakuya said plainly before another fight would break out. Byakuya then turns to Junko, "What do you think, Junko?"

"Honestly? I agree with you two." Junko said, "If we run around tonight in a panic, the mastermind is sure to notice, and we won't get anything done." Junko said "Peko, Teruteru. I know how you two feel right now but… it's best if, just for tonight… you can try to endure it." Junko said.

"Nngh…!" Peko grunts.

"Gah…!" Teruteru mutters.

"Okay, then let's part for tonight." Chiaki said softly "We can begin our search in the morning."

"And you should think about what I said– someone may very well be spying for the mastermind." Nagito called out.

"...Tighten his leash, but don't choke him." Junko said to Mahiru and began to walk out with the others when someone took hold of her shoulder.

"Huh?" Junko asked, turning and seeing Ibuki, "Ibuki?"

"Hey… can we talk alone? It's not about searching or anything I just… wanna chat with you privately for a bit…" Ibuki said softly.

"A bit suddenly. Especially now, with it being Nighttime. But I guess if it's to talk it wouldn't look suspicious to the mastermind."

"Alright. Sure." Junko nodded softly.

Ibuki nodded back and took Junko by the hand. Leading her upstairs to the 3rd floor and inside the recreation room. Junko was… reluctant to go in, considering the locker in there. But she couldn't say no to Ibuki. So she begrudgingly enters inside.

"So… what do you wanna talk about?" Junko asked.

"..." Ibuki was silent as if trying to best gather her thoughts for what she wanted to say. "Junko. I wanna know… why do you call yourself a freak?" Ibuki asked.

"Woah, she's… not saying Junko-chan… or referring to herself in third person… she must be serious…"

"I-I… I uh… why this suddenly?" Junko asked

"I wanna know… I wanna know why my friend seems to see herself as not worth being with others, or that her existence inherently drives others away." Ibuki said.

"H-How could you tell?!" Junko asked, bewildered.

"I'm good at reading people, heheh…" Ibuki smiles slightly.

Junko was silent for a long moment. Debating on what she should say… if she should say anything. Eventually she decided to… say something.

"I… it's because of something inherent to me… something I have… that nobody else does. It's… something that makes me both special as one would say… and… completely alien to everyone else." Junko stated.

"What is it?" Ibuki asked.

"I… I… Sorry I just… it's… something I prefer to keep secret…" Junko said.

"A secret… even from someone like Mikan?" Ibuki asked curiously.

"H-How… oh yeah… I… yeah, no… Mikan was the only person who I ever told about this. It was something… not even my family or sister knows of… Mikan… was the only person I trusted with that…" Junko mummers.

Ibuki nodded… and after a while of thinking she hugged Junko tightly.

"Whatever it is… whatever it may be… I hope… you can grow to trust me enough to tell me Junko. I wanna know. Because… I do want to help you. To have you see yourself as the amazing person you are! So… please… you don't have to do it right away, but… whenever you can… try to open up to me at least, 'kay?" Ibuki smiled warmly.

Junko stares at Ibuki… and smiles back nodding softly, "Alright… yeah… I can do that."

"Great. Now… let's get some shut eye~!" Ibuki said cheerfully as she and Junko headed back down to their rooms.

"Alter Ego, gone as quickly as she appeared… We'd finally discovered some small measure of hope. But even that was taken away from us. And we couldn't even put up a fight. We were given hope, and then when that hope was taken away…despair. It's just like… Just like what the mastermind is doing to us. Then… could it be really true? Whoever stole Alter Ego… Could they be really working with the mastermind? If that's true…"

"No it can't be! There's no way!" Junko shouted to herself in her room.

"I didn't even realize I yelled that loud. The scary thing isn't the idea of someone spying on us. What's really scary is… the idea that we're starting to doubt each other again. That scares me more than anything."

"Dammit!" Junko shouted.

"I should just go to bed now… but… I won't sleep with these thoughts swirling in my head! So… I decided to do something…"

"I… Ibuki's right… I can't just never trust someone again… if I don't trust them fully, then of course we'll doubt each other…" Junko said to herself as she got out some paper and pen, and started writing…

"To Ibuki Mioda…" Junko began to write.

…

…

…

When Junko got done she folded the paper neatly and left her room. Heading to Ibuki's room where she slips the paper under Ibuki's door and rings the doorbell. Junko then quickly heads inside her room, closing the door before finally heading to sleep.

Monokuma Theater!

"'Murder' is a word whose definition changes with time, with place, with society. If murder is evidence of abnormality, then all of history's greatest heroes must have been abnormal. Sometimes the murders that people forgive are way more abnormal than the ones they don't!"

…

…

…

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Good morning everyone! It is now 7 a.m. Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"

"Today we have to look for Alter Ego."

"Okay, first things first… To the dining hall!" Junko said heading out of her door immediately.

"I found myself in surprisingly high spirits and hurried to the dining hall. But when I found out what was there waiting for me…"

"Is this it? What happened to the others?" Nekomaru asked.

"Aren't they coming?" Akane asked.

"..." Byakuya was silent.

"There were only three people in the dining hall–Nekomaru, Akane, and Byakuya. So including me…"

"Only four people?" Junko asked, confused.

"God! This is why I hate people who take their sweet time with everything!" Akane pouted.

"Let's wait a little while longer for the others." Nekomaru said.

"So we decided to wait, in case anyone else showed up. But no matter how long we waited…"

"So… It's 8 o'clock. We've been waiting here a full hour…" Akane said nervously getting worried now

"Why haven't the others come?" Nekomaru asked

"Teruteru and Peko along with Ibuki, Kazuichi, Hajime and Chiaki never missed a day… till now." Akane said nervously

"And I'm really worried about Peko and Teruteru. They were more eager than anyone else to look for Alter Ego… and they're not here." Junko said.

"Something must have happened." Byakuya said.

"Huh?" Junko asked.

"I was careless. I was too distracted by Alter Ego… But Monokuma gave us a motive. There was no way something wouldn't happen eventually." Byakuya said

"Monokumas motive… or well, an attempt of one…"

"A rock concert! I've prepared a special type of party for whichever lucky student makes it out of here alive! Whaddya think? It's a full course rock band that'd be played by yours truly in your honor if you survive! It's like totally wowie wow wow, am I right?!" Monokuma asked.

"Don't tell me someone did something… for ego!" Junko almost sounded offended by the idea.

"That's what I wanted to say, but I didn't bother. I already understood. I understood, and I hated that I did. You can never really know another person completely. Anything can happen here, and you can't consider it 'strange'. Not really."

"We need to go look for the people who never showed up." Byakuya stated.

"O-Okay. Let's go track them down." Akane nodded.

"Without another word, we left the dining hall."

As they left, Byakuya was already issuing out ideas.

"We can cover more ground if we split up. Nekomaru, you go check the dorms. Make sure to check all of our rooms. Junko you check the 1st floor of the school. Meanwhile, I'll check the 2nd floor." Byakuya said.

"Okay, then I guess I'll check the 3rd floor!" Akane said pumped.

"Don't take any risks. If anything happens, call for help right away." Byakuya said.

"I really hope nothing happens…" Akane said.

"So do I…" Junko mutters.

"Okay, let's go!" Nekomaru shouted.

"Anxiety was written across each of our faces as we went our separate ways. Without hesitation, I rushed to the 1st floor of the school.

Junko headed out of the dorm hall and into the main hall of the first floor, 'Okay, I need to look around the first floor…'

Junko decided to check the classrooms to see if anyone was in them. No dice. Not in the classroom she first woke up in, or the other classroom. Even checking the AV room yielded nothing. But as soon as she came out of the AV room…

"AHHHH! S-SOMEONE! COME HERE!" A voice yelled.

"What…!" Junko yeled surprised.

"That sounded like Akane! She was supposed to be checking the 3rd floor. There was no time to think! I was running for the stairs before I knew what was happening."

Junko went up the stairs quicker than ever before.

"I flew up the stairs leading to the 3rd floor. Right away, I saw her standing in the hallway."

"J-Junks!" Akane said, terrified.

"Akane, what's wrong?" Junko asked quickly.

"I-It's awful… The rec room door was open… and inside I saw… I saw…!" Akane said, nearly panicking.

"What did you see?"

"I better go get the others right? I'm gonna go get 'em! You go on ahead, Junko!" Akane said heading off.

"Before I could say anything, she was rushing downstairs."

"The rec room? What did she see in there?" Junko asked herself nervously.

"By this point, I was used to acting without thinking. So without thinking, I leapt into the rec room."

Junko enters inside…

"The first thing I saw when I got in the rec room was…"

"N…Ngh…!" Teruteru huffs pained.

"It was Teruteru. And he was hurt."

Junko quickly went up to him to see what was happening.

"Gh… Junko!" Teruteru said seeing her.

"T-Teruteru! What happened?!" Junko asked.

"I was… ugh stupid… I got attacked…" Teruteru said

"Attacked?! By who!?" Junko asked

"I'm not sure… someone strange… that's all I know…" Teruteru said.

"Someone strange?" Junko asked.

"A suspicious person who I couldn't get a good look at or an eye on. I can't help but call them strange." Teruteru said, "A strange suspicious individual. And that person attacked me, with a blunt object on the ground there." Teruteru pointed.

Junko looked at where he was pointed at and noticed something odd

"What is this…? It's some kind of… rolling pin? Or something? Pretty strange design for one…"

"Who'd use a rolling pin like that…?" Junko asked herself.

"This is the object they attacked me with." Teruteru said, "I barely managed to avoid the blow, but I stumbled and fell. I curse my lack of exercise!"

"So you were attacked… with this? A rolling pin? Hmm…"

"Junko! Teruteru!" A voice yelled.

Coming inside the room were Akane and Nekomaru.

"I found Nekomaru!" Akane said, fired up.

"T-Teruteru… What on Earth happened here?" Nekomaru asked worriedly.

"Apparently he was attacked by some kind of strange person…" Junko said

"A strange person?" Nekomaru asked curiously "Tell us everything you can remember, Teruteru. Be as detailed as you can."

"Well, it all happened earlier this morning… I woke up a little before 7 a.m. Nighttime wasn't really over yet, but I knew it was about to end soon enough, so I decided it would be ok if i… decided to stroll around the 1st floor. That was a mistake now thinking about it… Anyways, that is where I first saw the strange person. I was immediately suspicious of them… I decided to tail them in secret. As I followed, I saw them go into the rec room. I tried to peek through the gap in the door… which is when they noticed me, and…" Teruteru explained.

"And then that's when you were attacked." Nekomaru finished.

"It happened after 7 a.m., just after nighttime had ended…" Teruteru informed me.

"So if it happened just after 7 o'clock…" Junko said slowly realizing what that meant.

"...then that was just about a hour ago. Right when we were all meeting in the dining hall…" Nekomaru pointed out

"The attack… made me lose consciousness. Which means… Yeah, I guess I was out for about an hour…" Teruteru said.

"Well, I'm just glad you weren't hurt too badly…" Akane said relieved.

"Thanks… still, we now gotta go search for this person! If we don't hurry, this could become a serious problem!" Teruteru yelled.

"Huh? Teruteru what do you mean, a…'serious problem'?" Junko asked.

"When I looked in the rec room, I saw that the person wasn't alone. They had with them… someone else." Teruteru said.

"S-Someone else?!' Junko asked, worried.

"After they attacked me, they dragged another person away." Teruteru said worriedly.

"You mean one of our friends was kidnapped?!" Nekomaru yelled.

"Shouldn't we start looking for them, then?" Akane asked, "Listen, Teruteru… did anything in particular stand out about this person?"

"Something particular? Rather than trying to explain it, it would be faster if I just showed you." Teruteru said.

"Show us?" Junko asked.

"That camera you found, Junko… really came in handy.." Teruteru mentioned.

"R-Really? How?" Junko asked.

"I was able to photograph the suspicious individual without them realizing it." Teruteru said.

"Seriously? Come on, show us!" Akane said.

"I would tell you to not be shocked, but uh… might be impossible in this case." Teruteru said

"With that strange comment in mind, we all looked at the camera…"

Looking at the camera they see… a figure covered in darkness, appearing to drag someone away.

"Huh?" Junko asked, "Whaaaaat?!"

"Well, he was definitely right about the 'strange' part. The face is totally covered!"

"A person completely cloaked in shadow…?" Akane asked bewildered.

"Like I said, a very strange and suspicious person, wouldn't you agree?" Teruteru asked.

"So this weird shadow person… dragged one of our friends away?" Junko asked.

"And I took this right after being attacked." Teruteru said, "In other words, a full hour ago. Which is why we need to get a move on! It could become a serious problem!" Teruteru shouted.

"I believe I understand what happened. Well, no, there is much I don't understand. But… The point is, someone looking like that dragged one of our friends away. And it happened over an hour ago…" Nekomaru clenched his tightly.

"This is bad… we have to hurry!" Akane yelled.

"Teruteru, do you know where this mysterious person went?" Junko asked

"When they left the rec room, they headed left…" Teruteru said.

"If that's true, they were headed towards the stairs leading down to the 2nd floor!" Nekomaru pointed out.

"Then they must be down there, right?!" Junko asked

"Huh? The second floor? That's where Byakuya's supposed to be." Akane pointed out.

"Wait, speaking of which, why isn't Byakuya here?" Junko asked.

"Sorry… I didn't have time to look for him." Akane said nervously

"This is bad. If the strange person did head to the 2nd floor, Byakuya might run into them…" Nekomaru sakd

"We have to hurry! Byakuya's in danger!" Junko shouted.

"As soon as the words left my mouth, we all rushed out of the room and down to the 2nd floor!"

As soon as they left the room, two more people came by.

"Hey you all." A familiar voice said, "What's going on? What's all the fuss?" Nagito asked.

"Did something happen? If so, what and how?" Mahiru asked quickly.

"Teruteru's been attacked! By someone mysterious and they took another person!" Akane said quickly.

"Have either of you seen anyone else? Byakuya or anyone period?" Junko asked.

"Are they on this floor? We just got here ourselves." Nagito said.

"Yeah. We haven't seen anyone else." Mahiru nodded

"I heard some kind of an uproar, so I came running." Nagito said.

"I followed after… Someone has too…" Mahiru said.

"You can quit stalking me." Nagito bluntly said.

"A-Anyways, can you two help us look for them?" Junko asked.

"Well… sure. Sounds like something interesting is going on." Nagito smirked.

"Ugh…. Of course I'll help! No need to ask!" Mahiru smiled

"BYAKUYA! ANYONE! If you can hear me, holler!" Akane yelled.

"Her voice echoed down the hall in vain."

"Hm?" Nekomaru said, perking up.

"Did you hear something?" Teruteru asked.

"Maybe… I think it came from the library!" Nekomaru yelled.

"The library?! Then let's go!" Akane shouted.

"We ran to the library as fast as our legs would carry us. When we opened the door to the library…"

"Gh… nnnmg…" Peko groans with what appeared to be a deep wound on her body.

"We found Peko, seriously injured."

"A-Are you okay?" Junko asked.

"I'm glad to see… you're still alive…" Akane said softly.

"...ortunately." Peko barely spoke.

"How did you get hurt?" Nagito asked

"I… w-was hit by someone, yeah…" Peko said stuttering

"The shadow person?" Junko asked.

"Shadow person?" Peko asked, confused.

"What are you talking about?" Nagito asked.

Junko went to Peko as Teruteru explains the situation to Nagito.

"I…Suppose it could've been a shadow person. I-I dunno…" Peko mutters.

"This is the shadow person, right?" Teruteru asked showing the photo he took

"Wh-What the hell am I looking at?" Mahiru asked.

"This is the one that attacked Teruteru, and I'm guessing Peko." Junko explained.

"Sure… let's go with that." Peko said half-heartedly.

"A shadow person, huh?" Nagito asked

"This just keeps getting stranger." Nekomaru said.

Junko looks around and sees another object… a hammer this time.

"Another blunt object, a hammer this time…. but it has blood on it… strange."

"I was hit pretty hard by that hammer…" Peko said.

"That hammer is big… I'm surprised you're still okay…" Akane said softly

"I'm not okay… I am in pain and hurting everywhere." Peko chided.

"I could get you medical aid if you want." Nekomaru offered.

"Ahh-hahahaha!" Monokuma cackled, appearing suddenly.

"Ah crapbaskets, it's him!" Akane yelled.

"HOW?!" Teruteru asked, shocked.

"Puhuhu! A shadowy person, huh?! Now things are really getting exciting! What kind of special moves do they have? Can they pass through walls? Can they MELD?!" Monokuma asked eagerly, "Nyoohohoho!" He cackled before vanishing.

"Why is he here?" Nagito asked.

"I don't know!" Teruteru said, "It shouldn't…" he mumbles as he seems to go pale at something.

"What we need to do is get Peko to the nurse's office immediately." Mahiru said, "Whatever else we do, she needs to be treated as soon as possible."

"You're right. Let's go!" Akane said.

"Thank you… everyone…" Peko said.

"We moved Peko to the nurse's office on the 1st floor so we could take care of her injuries."

"How ya feelin', Peko? You want me to take a look at ya?" Akane asked.

"I-I'm okay… I think it stopped bleeding… I'm still kinda dizzy, though…" Peko murmurs

"You should rest for a while." Nekomaru said.

"Y-Yeah, good idea…" Peko nodded.

"The rest of us should get back to looking for that mystery assailant." Teruteru said.

"Yeah. If we don't, someone's gonna end up dead…" Mahiru mutters, "These objects are getting more sophisticated… first a rolling pin… a hammer… soon it's going to stop being blunt and become sharp."

"If that's the case. Then we can only assume that sharp object to be a knife or sword of some kind." Nagito said deliberately.

"A-Ah…" Junko's already nervous demeanor from being in this nurse room, which she didn't want to be in, worsened from Nagito's words.

"Oops. Did I remind you of something? My bad~" Nagito said condescendingly.

"Asshole." Mahiru mutters clenching her fist as she comforts Junko

"S-Still, getting anything more than that, you'd be dead for sure!" Akane a said worried.

"Tell us what happened to you, Peko" Nagito said

"Well… I woke up early this morning and started looking for Alter Ego ahead of everyone else…I went to the 3rd floor, and i guess i was taken by some shadow person to the 2nd floor…" Peko said

"I guess that's what I witnessed around 7 a.m." Teruteru said.

"After that, I must've been whacked on the head… 30 or 40 minutes ago." Peko explained.

At around 7:30 in other words… We would've still been in the dining hall." Akane said, sighing.

"Which means Akane, Nekomaru and I were together, with Byakuya of course still being with us. So at least we have alibis…"

"I was in the laundry room, doing my laundry." Nagito said.

"I can vouch for that. As much as I hate to say." Mahiru mutters.

"Yes, staring at me as I put my clothes in the wash. You creep." Nagito scolded.

"You're one to talk." Mahiru shot at him.

"Well, that at least means those two were together at the time… Meaning they also have alibis. That would also mean the only ones who don't have alibis for when Teruteru and Peko were attacked are… Chiaki, Hajime, and Ibuki. That's it, right?"

"By the way, what happened to Byakuya? I haven't seen him anywhere." Nagito said

"Oh yeah. He was supposed to be checking the 2nd floor, but… I didn't see him up there at all." Akane nervously replied.

"Where could he have disappeared to..?" Nekomaru asked.

"He's disappeared huh?" Nagito asked, "What a strange man for a progeny. He might be exactly as I suspected…" Nagito said, smirking.

"Hold on! Byakuya was with us in the dining hall when Teruteru was attacked along with Peko, so–" Junko was trying to say.

"I'm not talking about who attacked them." Nagito said.

"Huh?" Junko asked.

"I'm referring to what we talked about last night. Who the mastermind's spy might be." Nagito stated plainly.

"Are you trying to say… Byakuya's working with the mastermind?" Junko asked, "Th-That's not possible!"

"Isn't it? Like how it wasn't possible that Mikan would betray you and try to kill someone?" Nagito asked cruelly.

"A-A-Ah…" Junko stutters frozen.

"This man, who seems almost eager to handle dead bodies, hasn't told us more but the bare basics about himself." Nagito said.

"Save this discussion for later. Right now we need to focus on finding the suspicious individual." Nekomaru said.

"Yeah! Let's hurry before there's more victims! That might be why Byakuya and the others haven't showed up yet!" Akane said.

"S-S-S-She's right. We have to do something about that mystery person first…" Junko said weakly

"Don't worry about me. I'll catch up with you all after i rest for a bit." Peko said softly.

"Please rest well." Akane said softly.

"Alright let's go." Nekomaru said.

"Before we do…" Nagito said, staring down Junko, "...Do keep in mind, Junko, that you can't trust anyone. Not Byakuya, not Ibuki, and certainly not Mahiru, Chiaki or Hajime. You'd think that Mikan's attempt to throw you to the wolves despite your supposed 'friendship' would've been enough of a lesson." Nagito warned.

Junko doesn't speak… not because she was ignoring him, but because she was struggling to not break down then and there.

"What makes you any better than she was?" Mahiru spoke up suddenly at Nagito, "Did Mikan deliberately threaten Junko's closely guarded secret to do her dirty work? Was her attempted murder at Hiyoko for the sport of a twisted game?! NO! That was all you! All for the selfish goal of entertaining the mastermind before their demise by your hands!"

"Now now, Mahiru. You know better than anyone the point I'm trying to make for everyone here– Guh!" Nagito was quickly grabbed by the throat by a scorned redhead girl.

"You really expect us to be one sixty-fourth of an asshat as you were since Day 1?! And that you're gonna make it out alive by sheer luck?! Cut the crap for once in your miserable life, will ya?! You die here, your game is over! You kill someone and get away with it, you have no one else to play with! No one will ever acknowledge your lucky win! Who will treat Mikan's wounds now?! Who will care for Gundham's pets?! You even had the audacity to call your actions a stepping stone for the greater hope that will save the world from despair?! The world you live in will never revolve around you, a talentless, heartless man who only got into this cursed school by a random raffle drawing! What corrupt god gave scum like you the right to expect anything different?!"

Mahiru shoved Nagito away as soon as she finished her rant, watching as he landed on the cold floor. Neither Akane, Nekomaru, Teruteru, Peko, or even Junko could say anything as Mahiru's body shook violently. She let out a breath and turned towards the door, "At any rate… Byakuya and the shadow person aren't gonna wait for us to get our acts together…"

"Mahiru…"

All but Peko hurriedly left the room after that, Nagito being the last to leave after getting up from the floor.

"So whoever that is running around, why are they concealing themselves in shadow?" Akane asked.

"...Don't bother looking for a reason from a deviant." Nagito said condescendingly.

"So… what're we gonna do? Split up and look around?" Mahiru asked.

"Our opponent is very dangerous. We don't know what they're capable of. Even here…" Nekomaru said simply.

"?!" Teruteru seemed to jump.

"What is it?" Nagito asked.

"I saw a shadow! Something moving at the top of the stairs!" Teruteru yelled out.

"Really?!" Akane asked.

"Up the 2nd floor, then?" Nekomaru asked sternly "You cretin! You won't get away from me!" Nekomaru yelled out.

"We all shot towards the stairs."

"They must be around here somewhere. Let's split up and corner them!" Teruteru said quickly.

"But don't take any chances. As soon as you find them, call out and I'll come running." Nekomaru said.

"Ok. But what should we yell?" Teruteru asked.

"Anything! It doesn't matter!" Akane said.

"Then is… 'Haaah' okay?" Teruteru asked.

"'Haaah' or 'dohyaah' or whatever you want! Jeez, just yell loud so we can hear you man!" Akane said.

"Dohyaah? That's a reaction there…" Teruteru said

"Ugh, whatever. Just hurry and start looking, will ya?! Let's go!" Akane said, speeding off.

"I'll find you, mister shadow person! And I won't let you harm my friends!" Mahiru yelled loudly as she ran off to search.

"We spread out in every direction to track down this shadowy suspect."

Junko headed off looking through the hallway entering a classroom and checking around. Finding nothing she came out before…

"Haaa-Aaaaaah!" A yell came out.

"That strange cry… that came from Teruteru! It sounded like… it was from the… 3rd floor?" Junko asked herself.

"I sprinted up the 3rd floor."

Quickly arriving upstairs Junko sees Teruteru with the others.

"Over here, everyone!" Teruteru yelled.

"Teruteru! What's wrong?!" Akane asked.

"That was a rather… intense scream for someone like you." Nagito said.

"I saw them! The strange shadow person…! They ran off as soon as I screamed I was blocking the stairs, so they headed further down into the hallway and disappeared…!" Teruteru said, freaking out.

"They must be down this hall! Come on, let's go!" Junko yelled.

"This is getting dizzying…" Mahiru said.

"I know. But we have to keep focus and–" Akane started to say.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAH!" A voice screamed out.

"Wh-What was that?!" Akane asked, freaking out now.

"That came from downstairs?!" Teruteru asked, looking terrified.

"That cry… that's distinctly… CHIAKI!" Junko yelled, "We have to go back! NOW!"

"What about the suspect? We've gone to all this trouble to capture them, right?" Nagito asked.

"Then let's split up. Nagito and Mahiru can try to track down the suspect. While the rest of us head down." Nekomaru said.

"Interesting, interesting… I approve." Nagito nodded, smirking.

"Ugh, fine I guess…" Mahiru reluctantly agreed.

"Alright then let's head down!" Teruteru said.

"I'll help Nagito and Mahiru with the capture of the suspect." Nekomaru said.

"Good idea." Akane nodded.

"With that qe split into two groups. Me, Teruteru and Akane, all ran downstairs to the 1st floor."

"Where could've it been from..?" Akane asked.

"Look! Hajime! He's outside the nurse's room!" Teruteru said.

The three headed over to Hajime who looked to be pale… deeply pale…

"Hajime… where's Chiaki?" Junko asked

"..." Hajime didn't speak… he just simply pointed to the nurse's room.

Worried and scared, the three enter inside the nurse's room.

"We stormed into the nurse's office, and what greeted us was… a world of dripping crimson."

Before them… in a puddle of blood… was Peko Pekoyama, her wrists cut and she collapsed on the ground.

"Everything was covered in red. And in the center of all this red was…"

"P-Peko…?" Junko asked.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Akane screamed out.

"KYAAAAAAAAH!" Teruteru also screamed in pure fright.

"S-Something bad… something very, very bad happened…" A voice said… It was Chiaki. Who was standing on the side of the wall… looking near petrified.

"I-I certainly wasn't expecting this!" Teruteru said, "I did not imagine Peko… would be killed!" Teruteru yelled in horror.

"Killed? Murdered, you mean?!" Akane asked, "You're not serious, are you?! She's not really dead, is she!?" Akane asked in disbelief.

*Ding dong, bing bong!*

"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!"

"What the…?" Akane asked, speechless.

"T-The body discovery announcement…" Chiaki said looking like she was about to fall apart

"The body discovery announcement… When three or more people discover a body after a murder, that's what plays… And since we just heard it, that means…"

"It means… it means that Peko…" Teruteru started to say looking… heartbroken by the scene, "Someone killed her. One of us…"

"One of us?!" Junko yelled out.

"And look at this." Teruteru said

"When Teruteru said that, he pointed at something. Something on the floor. Something that shares a connection to what we've been seeing after the last two surprise attacks. A scalpel. Sharp and deadly… covered in blood."

"Just like it was believed… A strike at the right place with that… and you're finished!" Teruteru said scared.

"Then the killer…" Junko mutters

"There can be no doubt. The suspicious individual…going by what we're calling as the shadow person… whoever is hiding in the shadows is the one that killed Peko!" Teruteru yelled.

"...Hey, wait. You saw them on the 3rd floor, right? Running back into the hall… So how did they end up in the nurse's office? You're not saying they… teleported or something, right?" Junko asked.

"We can figure that part out later. Right now, we have to tell the others!" Teruteru said.

"Y-Yeah you're right!" Junko nodded.

"Then shall we go then?!" Akane said.

"..." Chiaki was silent, agasp.

"Chiaki… snap out of it." Teruteru said simply.

"...Huh?" Chiaki asked.

"Are you ok Chiaki?" Junko asked in concern.

"S-Sorry…I'm not sure i can move right now…" Chiaki said, "I-I'm feeling kinda…" Chiaki held her stomach

"This is bad! We can't leave Chiaki here alone!" Teruteru said.

"Okay I'll get everyone. You, Akane and Hajime can stay with Chiaki!" Junko said.

"..." Teruteru said nothing for a moment before nodding, "Alright, I'll leave it to you Junko."

"Alright I'll be back!" Junko yelled, running off.

"I tried to sound confident and upbeat, but I still hadn't stopped trembling from what I'd just been through. Everyone else is already on the 3rd floor. I have to hurry…!"

Junko at breakneck speed rushed up to the 3rd floor. Nearly tripping with how fast she was going.

"This is where everyone was chasing the suspicious individual. Where could they have gone? The back of the hallway? If they went further down in it like Teruteru said."

With that guesstimation, Junko ran faster than anything down the hall, making sharp turns as she went before soon arriving by the Physics Lab door nearly slamming against the wall from how fast she went trying to stop moving. After taking a moment to gather herself, she headed inside.

"..." Junko looked around.

"As far as i can tell, there's nobody here. But still I feel a presence… someone's definitely here! It's coming from the back!"

Junko looks at the back of the door that leads to the storage room. She ran over to it.

"I leapt through the doorway… and after I did what I found… was another nightmare that made me wanna give up. The second nightmare of the day was waiting there to greet me."

Before Junko was the body of Ibuki… blood all over her stomach and coming out of her mouth.

"N-No…! please…!" Junko fell to her knees in front of the doorway, tears forming in her eyes, "Not her too…!"

"Just like Mikan, I wanted to deny her death and wake up from this nightmare… but there in a pool of her own blood… was a very clearly dead Ibuki Mioda… The only other person I could fully trust with my dark secret…"