Hello readers and welcome to my new chapters. I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter. Hopefully, this one will go well with the last one. And after this chapter, will be the start of the class trial. So, I hope you enjoy the second part of the group watching the investigation.

Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa.

Chapter 18: Watching Ch 1: To Survive Part 11

"The next place I went to is the trash room, which Celeste suggested me to look at when I spoke to her." The narrator Makoto spoke. The scene showed Makoto walking into the trash room.

"A good place to look into." Celeste commented on. "If I were the killer, I would get rid of any evidence that can be thrown away." Then she looked down. "Though it's too bad my future self can't join Makoto in his search."

"Why can't she?" Mondo asked her.

Her answer stumped everyone. "That place is filthy." She stated. "And I do not want to get my dress dirty going in there."

"...Typical Celeste." Byakuya deadpanned. The others couldn't help but agree with him.

'Here's the trash room.' Makoto thought to himself. 'But there's a sturdy gate here. No way to get past….'

Suddenly, Monokuma appeared in front of him. "It's the end of the line."

"So this is where all the trash ends up at." Makoto commented on. "How do you get this open?"

"No, no, no! No entry beyond this point!" Monokuma announced. "Only the person on cleaning duty is allowed in!"

"Cleaning duty….?"

"No, no, no! No entry beyond this point! Only the person on cleaning duty is allowed in!"

"Alright, I'm sure he got it the first time." Leon groaned.

"Who's the person on cleaning duty?" Makoto asked him, trying not to get irritated.

He was met with the same phrase. "No, no, no! No entry beyond this point! Only the person on cleaning duty is allowed in!"

Celeste huffed in frustration. "It will be a waste of time asking him."

"I'm pretty sure he is going to realize that." Byakuya stated.

Makoto groaned in annoyance. 'This is stupid. It'd be fast just going around and asking the others.'

"No, no, no! No entry beyond this point! Only the person on cleaning duty is allowed in!"

"Will he just shut the fuck up?!" Mondo shouted in anger.

"I'm not sure if that Monokuma is automatic, or just repeating it to touch our nerves." Taka stated.

"Probably both." Hifumi said.

The scene switched to Makoto walking in the hallway of the dorm rooms, where Leon, Byakuya, and Hifumi are at. "Hey Hifumi," Makoto spoke up, getting the fanfic creator's attention. "Do you know who's on cleaning duty?"

"Cleaning duty? As a matter of fact, that's me. Why do you ask?" Hifumi questioned. "It just so happens Monokuma talked to me yesterday and asked me to care of it. Without someone on cleaning duty, the school would be flooded with trash in no time. So I formally applied for the position!"

Celeste shuddered at that thought. "The thought of being in such filth disturbs me."

"But why do we need something like trash duty in the first place?" Sakura questioned. "Why not just let us throw away the trash any time we want?"

Byakuya furrowed his eyebrows. "Most likely so that the blackened can't easily eliminate evidence. If everyone had access to the trash room, the killer can get rid of anything that could get them exposed."

"It seems like Monokuma is making these investigations as fair as possible." Kyoko mused. "That's….somewhat good."

"I was gonna start this morning, but after what happened, I haven't had a chance to get started yet." Hifumi told him.

"And since you're on cleaning duty….can you open the gate in front of the trash room?" Makoto inquired.

"Of course!" Hifumi confirmed. "It's my job to gather up all the garbage and toss it in the trash room. And to do that, they gave me the key to the trash room gate!"

Leon narrowed his eyes at Hifumi. "Why did your future self volunteer for trash duty?" Leon questioned. "Do you want to dig into the girls' trash and….do stuff?"

"I told you before! My interest is strictly in 2D!"

"And I'm still calling bs on that, especially during the time you let Celeste boss you around a lot."

"I was not max leveled at that time! I am now!"

Makoto sighed. Every time Leon suspected Hifumi of doing something perverted, they always go on like this. "Hey Leon, just drop it for now and continue watching this." Makoto told his best friend. The baseball player huffed, but nodded regardless.

"But we're supposed to rotate once a week, so eventually you'll be in charge."

"That does seem more convenient." Makoto agreed.

"Actually…." After some thinking, Byakuya smirked. "That must be why. If anyone could go in and out the trash room whenever they wanted, then destroying the evidence would be easy."

"It seems like future Byakuya got to the same conclusion." Junko commented on.

"Well, my future self is as brilliant as me." Byakuya drawled, causing some eyes to roll.

"The thrill would disappear, and things would become boring."

"Wait, wait, wait, back up!" Leon exclaimed, holding his hands out. "Arrogant heir said what?"

"Th-Thrill? Boring?" Chihiro questioned in shock.

The others were shocked at what future Byakuya said, especially the heir himself. The Ultimate Affluent Progeny didn't expect himself to say something like that.

Sayaka turned to Byakuya and sent a deadly glare at him. "You think this sick game is thrilling? Even when I DIED?!"

"I don't." Byakuya refuted, crossing his arms. "I don't know why my future self seems to think so." This sick game and the death of his classmates….he didn't find enjoyment in this game.

"B-Boring?!"

"Anyway, more important than that," Leon turned to Hifumi accusingly. "Hey fatty! Why'd you want the cleaning gig, anyway?!"

"I-I just decided to volunteer for something I knew no one else would wanna do." Hifumi answered, a bit startled at Leon's questioning. "What's the big deal?!"

"Liar! I know why you did it." Leon proclaimed. "You wanna dig through the girls' trash! Looking for….y'know….and poking around at it!"

Hina tilted her head in confusion. "I don't get it. Looking for what?"

"It's probably best if you don't know Hina." Sakura sighed. She turned to Hifumi sharply. "And I hope Leon's accusation is wrong, Hifumi. For your sake."

Hifumi gulped at that. He kinda hope so too.

"What are you talking about?!" Hifumi exclaimed. "All my love is for 2D!"

"But there's all kinds of trash diggers like that! Maybe you'll get tired of 2D, and then turn to-"

"I would NEVER get tired of 2D!" Hifumi declared loudly. "After spending a significant amount of time comparing 2D and 3D, I voluntarily chose 2D! The only thing 3D is good for is to shower love and affection on 2D!...Oh, and PVC figures!"

Once again, everyone sent a disturbed look towards Hifumi and a few more scooted away from him as well. "Do you not hear yourself when speaking like that?" Byakuya questioned, clearly disgusted. "Or aware of how you look when talking about your hobby?"

Hifumi looked away from the screen and his classmates. "Um, no. Not really."

"Like I said before. Self control." Leon stated.

"How are you not totally embarrassed to say stuff like that?!" Leon cried with a disturbed face.

Byakuya sighed. "If you're so worried, about Hifumi's questionable morality, there's a very easy solution." The heir told hm. "Whenever a guy has cleaning duty, Sakura can accompany them, from picking up trash to disposing of it."

"Huh?!"

"Wow. That's actually a good idea Byakuya!" Hina stated. "No guy would dare dig through the trash with Sakura around!"

"That's my master! Always so smart!" Jill sighed dreamily, drooling.

Byakuya sent a disgusted look at Jill before turning to Hifumi. "And if you're so devoted to your 2D like you say you are, then it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Um, well, no. It shouldn't." Hifumi said, though a bit nervous.

"Whaaat?!"

Byakuya turned to Hifumi. "If you're as innocent as you claim, where's the harm in it?"

"Kh-! That's not how it's supposed to-!"

All of the girls turned sharply towards Hifumi, each with their own look that can kill a man.

"Were you actually planning to dig through our trash?" Sayaka asked.

Jill giggled. "He'd better come up with a good answer!"

"Or else he's a dead man!" Junko agreed.

"I-It was future's me plans! His plans!" Hifumi quickly said as he shrunk in his seat.

"And for that, your life will be spared for now." Sakura declared "But we better not see anything else like it." Hifumi gulped.

"Anyway, on another topic," Makoto spoke up, trying to get back to what he wanted to ask. "Hifumi, since you were on cleaning duty, I have a favor to ask you.

"What, so now you suddenly want to join my party?" Hifumi questioned. "Sorry but you haven't triggered that flag yet. I mean, you haven't helped me recover from a past trauma, or save a village, or beat a boss….."

Leon turned to Makoto, Sayaka, and Kyoko. "Do you guys ever wonder what going inside that head of his?"

"He just plays way too many videogames." Kyoko deadpanned.

"Specifically RPG and MMO ones." Makoto added in.

"No, nothing like that," Makoto stated. "I was just hoping to get into the trash room and look around."

"Oh, okay!"

'That was easy...'

"Seriously? Just like that?" Leon questioned in a bit of disbelief. "Even if no one accused Makoto of being the killer, you would agree so easily?"

"Um, well," Hifumi don't really have a good answer to that.

The scene switched to Makoto and Hifumi at the gate of the the trash room. "You'd like me to open the gate, wouldn't you?" Hifumi asked rhetorically. He then let out a small laugh. "You know, when I look at it, it makes me think….they said he killed his wife. He learned how to get by on the inside, but never stopped dreaming. Get busy livin' or busy dyin', he said. So him and Rita, they found themselves a way out…."

Question marks appeared on several heads. "Does anyone, other than Hifumi, ever knows what he's talking about?" Leon asked them. "Cause I sure as hell don't!"

"This is worse than Hina's malarkey." Byakuya mumbled to himself.

Hifumi let out a small laugh. "That's because your feeble mind can't comprehend what I'm saying!"

"It sounds like you're saying just random stuff." Hiro said, scratching his head in confusion.

"...Whatever, just please hurry up!" Makoto pleaded.

"Okie dokie!" Hifumi said in response. "Leave it to me!" Hifumi pulled out the key and used it to flip the switch next to the gate. Soon enough, the gates open.

As the two walked further into the trash room, Hifumi spoke up. "However, Mr. Naegi," He pointed an accusing finger at Makoto. "Surely you aren't planning to use the trash room to destroy evidence, are you?! Y-You fiend! You planned this all along!"

Sayaka slapped her forehead. "I don't know what's more irritating," Sayaka grumbled. "That it just occurred to him that someone could trick him to do that….or that he also thinks that Makoto is the killer."

"I think both of those are equally irritating." Junko stated.

"N-No!" Makoto denied. "I just wanted to see if the actual killer had tried to destroy any evidence or not!"

"But the 'actual killer' is you, isn't it?! You want to see if you left anything behind!" Hifumi accused. "Wait….maybe a parallel world….?"

Makoto looked at Sayaka in concern when she made a hand strangling motion, anger and irritation clear on her face.

Makoto let out a breath of exasperation. 'Whatever, let's just hurry up and keep looking.'

The narrator Makoto spoke up once more. "There were three things I found in the investigation." The scene switched to Makoto kneeling down to the ripped piece of fabric that belonged to a shirt and some broken pieces of glass. "First thing was a burnt piece of fabric that was covered in blood, second thing found was that there were some broken shards of glass in front of the incinerator and the last thing was that the incinerator was already on."

Hiro's eyes shot wide open when he recognized what was on the screen. "Hey! That's my crystal ball!"

"Your crystal ball?" Byakuya raised an eyebrow at the clairvoyant. "What is it doing in the trash room?"

"Hell if I know! But more importantly, why is it broken?" Hiro looked very shocked at seeing it broken. "I was told that it was indestructible! You're telling me that it was a lie?"

That got several sighs and/or eye rolls. Hiro told them before that his crystal ball was indestructible, but none of them believed it for a second. They all didn't have the heart, or the patience, to break the news to him.

"More importantly," Celeste spoke up. "Why is the incinerator already on?"

"A burnt off piece of fabric, a broken crystal ball, and the incinerator on." Jill listed off. "I don't know why that glass ball in there, but someone must've turned it on and threw a shirt in there. And judging by the blood, it was the same person who killed Sayaka."

"But the only one who could turn it on is…." Slowly, several of them turned to Hifumi. The fanfic creator paled.

Before he could panic, Makoto spoke up. "I don't think it's Hifumi." Makoto said. "Otherwise, the evidence would've been cleaned up better. I think we'll find out later during the trial."

Meanwhile, Kyoko had a guess as to what happened. 'Leon must've found that crystal ball somewhere and used his skill as a baseball player to throw it at the button that turns the incinerator on. Then, he threw his shirt in there, but because he can't get past the gate, he couldn't completely get rid of it which explains the burnt piece of fabric.' The pieces were slowly coming together for her, but she still hasn't figured everything out yet. While she might have a very probably theory amongst other theories, she won't commit to them without the evidence to support them.

"Huh?! Someone turned the incinerator on!" Hifumi yelled in shock. "Very strange….I'm quite certain it was off the last time I was down here. Perhaps it was the work of a fairy…."

"Fairy?" Jill cocked her head in confusion before letting out a raspberry. "Yeah, right. Why would a fairy want to be near fire?"

"Maybe it was an ember fairy!" Hifumi suggested.

"Hmm, that makes sense!"

"I am surrounded by idiots." Byakuya mumbled.

Makoto's head shot up to Hifumi. "Hifumi! Do you realize what you just said?!"

"Huh? The fairy….?"

"...No." Makoto deadpanned a little. "You said that last time you were here, the incinerator was off."

"Ah, yes." Hifumi confirmed. "About that there can be no mistake. If I've got one thing going for me, it's my memory! Yesterday, as soon as I was appointed, I came down to check the place out. It definitely wasn't on at the time and I haven't been back to the trash room as well. And also, since I'm the only one who has the key to open the gate, it should be impossible for the incinerator to be on. And yet…."

"Then how did it get turned off if Hifumi didn't turn it on?" Hina asked in confusion. "That shouldn't be possible."

"Maybe, they grabbed a long stick from somewhere and used that to turn on the incinerator!" Jill suggested. "That should be able to turn that thing on? Huh? Huh?"

"...I have no idea how to respond to that." Celeste deadpanned. "Where would one even get a stick long enough to turn on the incinerator?"

"From the trees! Duh!"

"They can't go outside you idiot." Byakuya groaned.

"Ah! Did I upset my master?!" Jill exclaimed. "Here! Let me comfort you with my voluptuous body!"

"Voluptuous isn't the word I would use." Leon whispered to his couch mates while Byakuya resisted Jill's advances. "Got to give the psycho points for confidence though, something Toko severely lacks."

Finally, after Byakuya managed to get Genocide Jill silent and the group continued watching.

'That means someone was able to switch on the incinerator without opening the gate.' Makoto thought. 'But….how is that possible?'

"Your future self isn't considering that Hifumi may have turned it on?"

"Ms. Ludenberg!"

Makoto shook his head. "He probably had the same thought as me, that the evidence would've been completely destroyed and nothing would've been left. Plus, I don't want to point fingers at my classmates unless I'm absolutely sure it's them."

He didn't mean to say as a way to jab at the others. Nevertheless, some of them winced.

As he pondered that, Hifumi spoke up. "This whole thing is quite strange, indeed," Hifumi declared. "When I was here last, the incinerator was off, and those glass shards and burnt clothes weren't here." Once again, he pointed a accusing finger at him. "What does it mean, Mr. Naegi?! Will you be confessing soon?!"

"Why me….?" Makoto couldn't help but groan.

"Everyone already knows you did it!" Hifumi stated. "All the mysteries are being solved one by one!"

Mukuro's hands twitched to her hidden knives, fed up with the all the suspicion that has been placed on Makoto, but resisted the urge to either destroy the TV or kill her classmates herself.

"Sayaka, calm down please," Makoto pleaded to the girl, who look like she's going to blow up at any time. "There's nothing we can really do about the accusations against future me."

Sayaka let out a frustrated sigh. "I know. But it's just so frustrating, seeing everyone look at you with accusing eyes!"

"It ain't no picnic for us either." Mondo grumbled. "If we vote Makoto, we're all screwed except for the one who offed you."

"Not only that, but we all care for Makoto. Seeing ourselves accuse our class representative does not settle well in our stomach." Taka stated, getting a blush out of the luckster.

"After that, I went to Chihiro and Yasuhiro. The first about the numbers, the other about the glass shards." Naruto Makoto spoke up. The scene switched to the gym, where Makoto is talking to Chihiro. "I talked to Chihiro first, but she didn't know what the numbers meant so I then went to Yasuhiro."

Makoto walked up to the still panicking Hiro. "Hey Hiro, can I ask you something?"

In response, Hiro cried out in distress once again. "No, no, no, no, no! I gotta get outta here! Gotta get out now! I've had enough! Gotta break free!"

"You're STILL panicking?" Hina questioned in disbelief.

"And it seems he's caught up with the stages of panicking." Hifumi observed.

"I'm really questioning how slow his brain process everything." Celeste stated.

Hiro's shoulder sagged. "You guys suck, you know that?"

"Hiro! Snap out of it!"

"Hrm?" Makoto's exclamation seemed to have snapped Hiro out of his panicked state. For now. "Huh? Makoto, what are you doing here? What….?"

"Look like someone will have to get Hiro caught up on what transpired." Sakura sighed.

Makoto held up a clear bag filled with the broken chunks of glass. "Hey, um….does this look familiar?"

"Ahhh!" Hiro yelped in alarm. "That's my crystal ball! But….it's all smashed! What the hell…..?"

"I know right?!" Hiro exclaimed in agreement. That got sighs from his friends.

"I-I only bought it cuz the guy said it was blessed!" Hiro explained himself. "He said it was unbreakable! So….how did it break?"

Realization hit his face. "Was it actually made of glass?! And not crystal?! Did that guy totally dupe me?! He said it belonged to the pillars of history….Genghis Khan, George Washington, Napoleon….he said whoever had the ball controlled the world! Was that seriously all BS?!"

"I've been had! Tricked!" Hiro cried out. "How could that guy do that?"

"Quite easily, from the looks of it." Celeste stated. "Even I think that was a ridiculous lie to fall for."

"Yet, he fell for it." Leon looked at Hiro disbelieving. "Seriously? Pillars of history? Controlled the world? You really bought all that bull?"

Hiro chuckled sheepishly. "Well, he made a convincing argument."

"Or you're just a plain old fucking idiot." Mondo deadpanned.

"U-Ummm," Makoto spoke up hesitantly. "Let's put that aside for now. So you can say without a doubt that this belonged to you?"

"Yeah, that's mine for sure." Hiro confirmed. "I prolly forgot it in the laundry room last night. Someone musta came by and snatched it."

"The laundry room?" Chihiro furrowed her eyebrows in thought. "Then that mean anyone could've took it. But what would they use it for?"

'...To throw it.' Makoto realized. 'If they could hit the incinerator button, all they have to do is throw the shirt in there. But the distance from the gate to the incinerator is far. You either have to be extremely accurate with the throw, a huge amount of luck, or…..'

'...The confidence to land that throw.' Another realization hit his mind. 'Most likely, the killer would've have to been confident to land that throw. But who-' Instantly, Makoto shut off that line of thought. He don't want to suspect any of his friends of killing Sayaka. But he isn't stupid. He knows that the killer is one of his friends, and they must be found.

However, he's gonna wait for as long as possible for that.

'The laundry room, huh?' Makoto thought to himself. 'Which means, anybody could've went and grabbed it.' He then spoke up to Hiro. "Thanks, Hiro. That's all I wanted to know."

"S-Sure…."

Makoto was silent for a moment. Then, hesitantly, he asked. "Um, by the way….I'm almost afraid to ask this, but how much did you pay for that thing?"

Seeing this part, Makoto prepared for the shouts of disbelief that will about come. Hiro told him already, so he knows how his classmates will react.

"Everything I saved up from fortune-telling for two full years." Hiro answered. "Came out to be like….a million."

"A million?!" Nearly everyone screamed. Mondo then spoke for all of them. "Is he fucking joking?!"

"No, he isn't." Makoto sighed. "He told me before that he spent a million dollars on the crystal ball."

"Are you that stupid that you would waste all that money for a supposed indestructible ball of glass?!" Byakuya seethed. If there's one thing he loathed the most, it's a complete waste of money like that.

"Why, dude? Just, why?" Leon questioned, trying to understand Hiro's reasoning behind this.

Hiro was a bit startled at his classmates' reaction. "I-I'm sure my future self will say it."

"A m-million?!"

"That's pretty cheap, actually." Hiro stated. "I mean, considering it gives you the power to control the world…."

"See? Since it was suppose give you the power to control the world, it's pretty cheap." Hiro said quickly.

The sound of facepalms echoed the room. "You, are the most idiotic human being I have ever met, Yasuhiro." Byakuya declared.

"I was right to put him below D-rank." Celeste muttered. Like Byakuya, she's also appalled at how carelessly he threw money out like that.

"Is there a brain in there?" Junko asked, honestly wondering that. "Is there anything in there? Cause I'm starting to think otherwise."

"You're not the only one Junko." Leon sighed, rubbing his hair. "If there is, I don't think it's a functioning one."

"Oh come on, you guys!" Hiro whined. It was a totally good thing to buy! Or was supposed to be, anyway.

Makoto couldn't help but keep the look of pure disbelief on his face. 'That's just too….too stupid. I can't even feel bad for him….'

"Makoto!"

The luckster smiled apologetically to the clairvoyant. "Sorry Hiro. But that really was a stupid move on your part. You should've known that the seller's words weren't credible." Hiro's shoulder sagged at that.

"And finally, to end the investigation, I went to the A/V room." The scene showed Makoto going into said room. "I went there to look at the video Sayaka got. It may not be relevant to the trial, but I felt that it wouldn't hurt to see."

Sayaka felt herself stiffen a little, nervousness entering her body. They're about to see what got her future self to break down.

Hifumi grimaced. "We're probably not going to like this, are we?"

"No, we won't." Taka said, bracing himself.

Makoto looked at the DVD held in his hand before taking it out of the case and sliding into the DVD player. Pressing play, the video started playing.

It was dark for a few seconds. But after those seconds, screen turn on to show Sayaka and her idol group in a concert, dancing and singing.

Despite having a feeling of who's gonna be on there, Sayaka was still surprised. "My idol group." She gasped.

"So this is what Monokuma showed you?" Taka narrowed his eyes. "I wonder what he'd show the future Sayaka after this part."

"Definitely nothing pleasant." Leon remarked.

"Sayaka…." The pain is clear in the boy's face, and his eyes started getting filled with tears.

Then, a voice that Makoto began to despise came up. "Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Pop Sensation - lead singer for a world-famous all-girl pop band."

Several winced at the pain in Makoto's voice, but then they all stiffened with the voice they're beginning to despised enter the video. "We're already hearing that bastard's voice." Mondo growled.

"It won't be long for him to sprung his motive." Kyoko stated.

"For these girls, the glowing spotlight only made them that much more beautiful. But then," Then video suddenly went dark, but when it got back up, a different image was shown.

The background of the stage was read, the stage itself in ruins, and Sayaka's pop group unconscious on the ground. The video startled Makoto. "What the-?!"

Everyone reacted and recoiled in shock at what they're seeing. "What the hell just happened?!" Leon questioned.

"Did a fucking riot break out?!" Mondo exclaimed. "The whole place is trashed!"

"And why are the other girls unconscious?" Taka questioned worriedly. "Did they faint or something?"

Makoto at the scene, his own eyes wide in shock. And then he glanced at Sayaka.

The girl is shaking, her eyes extremely wide with horror and glued to the screen. "W-Wha-?" She began breathing out. "H-How? My friends….?" She wanted to take her eyes off the screen. To look away from this horrifying image. But her eyes wouldn't let her.

Makoto, knowing how she's feeling, quickly wrapped his arms around her and gave her a hug. Sayaka quickly returned it, clinging onto him like a life line.

And suddenly, a background of Monokuma popped up. "This ultra successful team suddenly fell apart!" Monokuma stated. "None of them will ever perform onstage again. None of them will ever feel the warmth of the spotlight. For Sayaka, there's simply nowhere for her to return to.

"So here's the billion dollar question - what oh what could have caused the group to break down into pieces?!" Finally, the video ended with the words 'Find the answer after graduation'.

"Monokuma was the one who did this?" Chihiro questioned.

Byakuya frowned in thought. "But how is he able to ruin such a famous group?" While he doesn't listen to pop songs all that much, if at all, he still recognized Sayaka in her Ultimate position. "How powerful is the mastermind?"

Sayaka, meanwhile, is shivering. The obsessed and terrified look that was in her future self's eyes got in hers. Before she could sink herself in it, Makoto whispered in her ear. "Sayaka, calm down please. Your friends are okay. You're still the Ultimate Pop Sensation. Nothing happened to them yet."

Sayaka took those words in slowly, like a dehydrated man drinking water. She took a few deep breaths before letting go of Makoto, though once again, her hand is clinging onto his.

After that, the video cut off. "Wh-What the hell….?" Makoto questioned, slowly getting up. "That wasn't real, right?"

'They're a super famous group. Everyone knows who they are,' Makoto thought to himself. 'Is he trying to say he was even able to get to them? If that really did happen…. then everyone in the outside world must be going crazy!'

"Once again, just how powerful is the mastermind?" Byakuya questioned, frowning. "How much resources or influence did they manage to get?"

"That's just too scary to think about." Hina shivered, wrapping her arms around herself.

"We might need to work together to stop the mastermind." Celeste mused. "If they're as powerful as we suspect, we need all the physical strength, resources, and influence we could get. Just to be safe, at the very least."

"But first, we have to know what enemy we're fighting." Kyoko stated. "We need the mastermind's identity, or at least a hint of it."

Junko internally smirked. That would be easier said than done. She didn't let her identity get revealed easily, that's for sure.

Suddenly, the school bell rung. Soon after, the monitor inside the A/V turned on, revealing Monokuma in his usual position. "Erm, so, ah….I'm getting tired of waiting." Monokuma stated. "What say we just get started, hm? It's time for the long-awaited, class trial!"

"Now then, allow me to appoint a proper location for the proceedings." Monokuma began explaining. "Please go through the large red door on the 1st floor of the school!" He let out his usual giggle. "See you soon!" With that, the monitor turned off.

Everyone tensed. This is it. The trial is about to begin. They'll see whether they find the killer within their group, or get executed for picking the wrong person.

Makoto tensed, silent for a moment. "The red door on the 1st floor," Makoto repeated to himself. "That's where I should go….no, where I have to go." With that said, he walked out of the A/V room.

The scene switched to Makoto going through the red door, and saw everyone waiting near an elevator. "You're late, Makoto!" Taka exclaimed, pointing at the luckster. "We've all been waiting for you!"

"Hmph. I bet y-you were afraid you would be discovered as th-the murderer you are." Toko said. (Making Sayaka let out a growl)

"Let's not jump to conclusions just yet!" Taka stated. "Save that for the class trial!"

Makoto sighed in relief. "Thanks Taka."

"I'm glad that not everyone is pointing fingers at him." Sayaka huffed.

"There we can all reveal the details of Makoto's crimes!"

Makoto's head dropped to the ground. "Oh come on!"

"Are you serious?!" Sayaka exclaimed in pure frustration.

Taka bowed his head in shame. "I'm deeply sorry for my accusation Makoto! If you must, hit me for such idiocy!"

"Hey, no need for that Taka." Makoto reassured nervously. "It was your future self that made the accusation, not you."

'So they all really are convinced that I did it.' Makoto thought grimly. 'But I didn't do it.' A flashback of the dead Sayaka on the bathroom floor. 'Sayaka and I both knew that all too well.' The scene switched back to Makoto. 'But then who is the killer?'

He looked at everyone in here. 'The one who killed Sayaka….is it really one of us?'

The monitor inside the room suddenly turned on, revealing Monokuma. He let his usual giggle. "Is everyone here? Okay then," He then began the next set of instructions. "Please board the elevator in front of you, which will transport you to the room where all your fates will be decided." He giggled once more. "I'll meet you all down there and don't take too long! I'll be waiting…." With that, the monitor turned off again.

Everyone turned their head towards the elevator. Sakura was the first to move towards it. "Let us begin."

"Good idea." Celeste was the second one to go. Slowly, everyone started going into the elevator, but Kyoko and Makoto stood back.

"Are you scared?" Kyoko asked him.

"N-No," Makoto shook his head. "Scared isn't quite right…."

"Then what would you call it?" Leon asked him.

"Anxiety, maybe." Makoto suggested. "I mean, most of us are pretty anxious about this, aren't we?"

"Yeah. The music isn't helping much either." Chihiro then turned to Spirit. "By the way, I've been noticing that music have been playing in the background. Why is that?" The programmer have been wondering that for a while, along with everyone else, but with everything that they've been watching, no one thought of asking.

"Like with the opening, it adds a bit more flare to it." Spirit told him. "I'm surprised that you haven't asked sooner."

"Our minds were preoccupied with everything else." Byakuya sighed.

"I said it before, but it's up to you to uncover the mysteries surrounding the case yourself." She turned and walked to the elevator. "If you don't, you'll never come to grips with the truth."

"Judging by her words, I'm guessing Kyoko knows that Makoto isn't the killer." Celeste noted.

Makoto and Sayaka sighed in relief while Kyoko couldn't help but smirk at the latter. "Told you my other will find out."

"I'm really glad your future self with them Kyoko." Makoto said gratefully.

Makoto looked down. 'I know. I don't need anyone else to tell me that.' He gripped his fist. 'In Sayaka's honor, I swear I'll find out who the real killer is!'

Trying to give himself courage, he walked into the elevator. And as soon as he entered the elevator, the door behind him closed and the steel box descended downward.

They all waited for the box to get to the basement. "I wonder if this is how death row inmates feels when their time finally comes…." Makoto pondered.

"Rather than that, is it not more like a defendant waiting to receive his judgement?" Celeste suggested.

"Both seem like accurate comparisons." Mukuro stated.

Hiro sighed. "Oh man, I can feel my future self's nerves right now!"

"Same here! I bet my future self is shivering like crazy!" Hina said, one of the few times she agreed with Hiro.

The elevator continued moving, oblivious to the anxiety in the room, until it finally stopped and open its door.

What they were met with is a royalty looking room, with sixteen podiums in the middle facing each other. The students slowly got out of the elevator, examining their new surrounding. And then an evil and obnoxious laughter entered the room. "You've finally arrived!"

They looked to the direction of the laughter to see Monokuma, sitting on a throne. "What do you think? Doesn't it feel like a real courtroom? It's like a Hollywood movie, set, right?!"

Jill narrowed her eyes at Monokuma. "So that's the one in charge, huh?" She then grinned wickedly, pulling out her designed scissors. "Well, since it's a toy robot, I can snip, snip, snip it all I want! Once I see that stupid bear I'll-ACHOO!" At the sudden sneeze, Jill instantly turn back to Toko. "H-Huh?"

"Hey Toko." Makoto waved his hand towards her. "You changed into Jill again. We'll give you the rundown to what happened."

While Makoto and a few of the others explain what happened to Toko, Byakuya raised an eyebrow at the so called courtroom. "The bear honestly thinks that that looks like a courtroom?"

"It looks like a throne room to me." Hiro said, looking at the area on screen in confusion.

"It's because it is, idiot." Mondo sighed. "If it's not, then it's total shit."

That comment got Junko mentally depressed. 'Did they have to make fun of my stage?'

"Not even close." Mondo stated. "It's total shit."

"Okay, okay," Monokuma steadily ignored the insult. "Everyone find your podiums and stand there! Hurry up now, hurry up!"

"Once again, he's way too eager." Hina said, a disturbed look on her face.

"His bloodlust seems endless." Hifumi said nervously. "Insatiable."

The remaining students slowly went over to the podiums. "And so, the curtain on our first case opened," The narrator Makoto spoke. "A deadly judgement….a deadly deception….a deadly betrayal…." The camera showed Hifumi, Toko, Leon, Celeste, Byakuya, Chihiro, and Hiro walking on their podiums.

"A deadly riddle, a deadly defense, a deadly faith," The camera switched to Hina, Mondo, Kyoko, Sakura, and Taka walking on their podiums.

Finally, the camera switched to Makoto walking on his podium, determination clear in his eyes. "A deadly….class trail!"

Everyone tensed, anticipating the class trial. This is it. This is where they either find out who killed Sayaka….or die trying.

"I have to admit, Makoto looked a little badass just now." Leon commented on. "Especially with the camera angle and narration."

"Yeah! He's definitely playing the role of the hero really good!" Hina stated. Several others nodded in agreement, causing a blush to come from the youngster.

"Seriously, guys, I don't think I looked that cool."

"Trust me Makoto, this scene makes you look very cool." Junko stated, grinning at him. "I'm almost tempted to take you out a date."

That got Makoto blushing more, while his crushes' glared at Junko. Sayaka, in particular, is giving her a death glare. "I don't think this is the time to tease him like that." Kyoko told Junko evenly. "Right now, we should focus on the trial."

Junko pouted. "Aww. But I like teasing him!"

Makoto, though his face still burning, returned his attention back to the TV. The class trial has begun now. Time to find out which one of them killed Sayaka, and why she was killed.

And that's the end. I hope you guys liked this chapter. Next up, is gonna be the class trial. There, much more drama will ensue between the class. Review, favorite, and follow and I will see you later.

Editor: Also, here's the questions part! I'll be formatting this section as the following to make it easier to read. Also, your questions most likely won't be worded verbatim to save space as some of them are quite lengthy.
Q (Question): Question
S (Spirit Soldier): Spirit's answer
L (A Lucky Soldier): My answer

Q: Will there be a Class 77 watches the future?
S: I have plans on having them watch Danganronpa 2 with Class 78 as well.

Q: Will Junko be receiving any character development?
S: I plan to get Junko some character development, if at all possible
L: I'm sure there will be Junko character development in the story. Remember guys, even though we're hitting chapter 19, we're still just on the first trial!

Q: Will Makoto be more and more appalled and also find it increasingly difficult to forgive his classmates for their actions throughout DR:THH?
S: We'll see as the story progresses