Class 78th Watches the Future

by Spirit Soldier

We know the story. Class 78th loses their memories, and were forced into the killing game. Only a few of them survive the game. And what happens when those sixteen students, their memories of each other intact, watch the Danganronpa series? What happens if they see their future selves killing each other? Watch, as Class 78th watches their future.

69. Watching Ch 4: All Stars Apologies Pt 2

Hello readers and welcome to my new chapter. So, I had intended to finish this much sooner, when Christmas break was still around. But I managed to get a new job, and it was around that time where I began working. It took more out of me than I thought it would, and because of that, I couldn't really focus on writing for a bit (Also got a tad distracted by walkthroughs of Xcom: Enemy Within and Xcom 2: War of the Chosen).

Getting better at integrating my writing time with my work schedule though (Well, more like increasing my mental stamina), and quickly too. So here I am. In this chapter, the group watched as the survivors finished exploring and gathered together to share their findings. I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa.

Chapter 68: Watching Chapter 4: All Star Apologies Part 2

The next scene was Makoto walking into the staff room. 'This is… the staff room.' He thought to himself. 'But of course there's no hint of any teachers that we'd normally be able to rely on…'

"Like a teacher could do jack shit about the situation we're watching!" Junko, in her rockstar persona, exclaimed. "They could barely handle our awesome selves!"

"They could keep order to the situation." Taka argued. "And Junko, you should respect our teachers, not insult them!"

"You know that's not true!" The fashionista retorted in response, still in her persona. "Most of them would end up fainting when we go all out of control! There's no way they can handle that crazy ass bear!"

"She may have a point." Byakuya remarked, arms crossed. "It's more than likely that the teachers would fail in keeping order. At worst, they may fall into the same fate Headmaster Kirigiri did." Kyoko had to hold back a wince at the mention of her father's demise.

"Changing the subject, anyone else is wondering why there's fresh flowers in the staff room?" Leon asked, drawing the group's attention to the screen.

As everyone noticed the flowers, there were various expressions of confusion. It's obvious that Monokuma must've placed them there, but… no one could think of a good reason why.

As Makoto looked around the room, he spotted something on the floor. 'Huh? There's a picture on the floor!' Quickly, he walked over and picked it up. 'This picture…'

The picture was none other than Sayaka, Celeste, and Hifumi. "What?!"

The picture of course, shocked everyone in the room. "Another picture?!" Makoto exclaimed.

"This time it's Celeste, Hifumi, and me." Sayaka said right after, looking very shocked. "But I don't remember taking that picture."

"Neither do I." Celeste spoke up, actually looking shocked herself. And not just because of the picture itself, but also because of her… interaction with Hifumi.

"It must've been taken at some point near our future." Kyoko theorized. "Between now and the killing game."

'Celeste, Hifumi… and Sayaka?!' Makoto thought in shock. 'The smiling faces of three currently dead people… a classroom without metal plates over the windows…'

"It's… exactly the same!" He said out loud.

The picture of Leon, Mondo, and Chihiro was shown as a flashback. 'It's just like that picture I saw before! There's no way this isn't important somehow…'

"And here's yet another clue for our future selves…" Byakuya stated, narrowing his eyes. "If this trend continues, it could go in two ways: either they begin figuring out their loss of memories, or it only serves to increase the confusion amongst us. Possibly even distrust."

"That is if they believe any of the pictures are real." Mukuro pointed out.

The screen then went back to the picture of Sayaka, Celeste, and Hifumi. 'They're smiling the way you'd expect any normal teenager to smile. Just a normal group of high schoolers, living a normal school life…' He continued thinking. 'I can't possibly believe they were able to smile like that in a world of despair like this.'

Celeste and Hifumi paid the most attention to the picture. This scene… it's nothing like the relationship they have now, or how their future selves ended up.

For Celeste, she's shocked at how emotional she's acting around Hifumi and Sayaka. She isn't furious with him or anything, but embarrassed.

Hifumi, meanwhile, was surprised that his future isn't scared of what's happening. He's acting like it's no big deal, having fun embarrassing Miss Ludenberg.

They glanced at one another for a moment, before looking away. Do they really get close in the future? Is that really possible to form an actual friendship with one another?

'So does this mean this picture was taken before they ever came to Hope's Peak?' The luckster attempted to theorize. 'Which would mean… everyone in the picture knew each other before they got here? Including Sayaka…?'

"A logical conclusion to make." Taka stated. "Considering the memory loss."

"But flawed, considering that none of us seemed to recognize each other in the beginning." Byakuya pointed out. "The only ones who knew each other before Hope's Peak were Makoto and Sayaka, and those were just glimpses of one another."

"That is true." Sakura agreed, turning towards Byakuya. "So Byakuya, do you think that our future selves would be able to figure it out?"

"It's possible. Depending on what else they find." The heir answered. "The pictures themselves won't be enough proof for them."

"No!" Makoto shook his head out of those thoughts. "There's no way! Monokuma did it! It must be fake!"

As if called up, Monokuma popped up in the open, laughing. "YOU'RE fake!" He then snatched the photo from Makoto's hands. "A forgery plot? What are you, a middle schooler? You think the moon landing was faked, too? Come on!"

"Then… you're saying this picture is… real?" Makoto asked, having trouble processing it.

"If there were such a thing as the Nobel Truth Prize, I'd take first, second, AND fourth place!" The bear declared. "Actually, that's probably not true!"

"I asked you a question!" Makoto shouted back, sounding both frantic and angry. "Is the picture real, or is it fake?!"

"Oh, Makoto. You're so eager to split things in half, aren't you?" Monokuma remarked. "But it's not use. It's just no use… if you try to split something that can't be split, you'll end up feeling like YOU'RE the one being split."

"Can. That. Bear. Just. Shut. Up?" Mondo asked through grinding teething. "I feel like punching the TV just from listening to him!"

"Can't imagine how Makoto is feeling right now." Leon remarked, feeling equally annoyed.

"The picture is real." Was the bear's blunt answer. "No more, no less." Then, with his signature laugh, he left the room.

"So the picture… is real?" Makoto asked himself, looking ever so confused. 'It's really real? If that's true, if that's the case…' He thought to himself as he started to walk away.

"It looks like Makoto is thinking about the picture." Chihiro pointed out. "Maybe he'll be able to figure out?"

"I doubt it." The luckster himself answered. "I would need a lot more hints to piece things together; probably even Kyoko's help. And even then, it would be something hard to swallow."

"True." Kyoko nodded in agreement. "However, the fact that you're thinking about, and not dismissing outright, is a step in the right direction."

The next scene showed the remaining survivors except Byakuya and Toko in the dining hall all sitting around a table. "So, is this everyone?" Hiro inquired.

When everyone nodded, Sakura spoke up. "Okay, let's discuss what we all discovered."

"Yeah, good idea…" Hina agreed.

"Not much information will be exchanged." Byakuya remarked. "The only thing of interest was the locked headmaster room and the picture."

"What about the data center?" Taka pointed out. "How come we haven't seen that?"

"Most likely because it's locked as well." Celeste guessed. "Otherwise, we would've seen Makoto enter the room."

Sakura was the first to share information. "Metal sheets had been attached to all the windows on the 4th floor. None of them budged an inch…"

"Just like everywhere else…" Kyoko sighed.

"Escape from the 4th floor seems unlikely." The martial artist declared. "That was to be expected, though."

"Why are they even bothering with that?" Leon sighed. "At this point, it's expected they every window in the school is sealed up tight."

"Well, you never know!" Hina argued optimistically. "Maybe he forgot a window, or some screws are loose enough to break it down."

"I think that's being way too optimistic Hina…" Sayaka replied back with a small sweatdrop.

Hina was the next to speak. "There was a big shelf in the chem lab on the 4th floor, and it had all kinds of chemicals and stuff. And there was an all-star cast of nutrient additives and supplements!" She revealed. "You should at least go take a peek. I highly recommend it!"

"I think you and Ogre are probably the only ones interested in stuff like that…" Hiro pointed out.

"Oh, but… it's not all good stuff, though." Hina continued, sounding concerned. "There was medicine and health stuff, but on top of that… there was also, um… a bunch of different poisons."

"P-Poison?!" Makoto exclaimed in shock.

That got some winces from the group. "Oh yeah. I forgot that the lab got poisons there…" Hina groaned.

"Another item to be easily utilized for killing…" Taka said with a grimace.

"They were all labeled clearly, though." Sakura added in. "So it would be hard to grab one by mistake…"

"Still, we'd better make sure we're careful around there." Kyoko advised.

"And… we probably shouldn't tell Byakuya or Toko about the poison, right?" Hina said hesitantly.

"Do you actually think I won't be able to find the poison myself?" The heir stated flatly. "I probably explored the area before the lot of you did."

"That's a good point." Makoto spoke up before anyone could lash out at the heir.

"What do you mean…?" Hiro asked in confusion.

"Well, just in case…" The swimmer trailed off, still hesitant. "You know what I'm trying to say."

"J-Just in case…" Hiro turned a bit pale in realization. "Yeah, I think you're right."

"It's Byakuya. It won't be long before he's discovered it for himself." Kyoko sighed.

"Like I said before, we shouldn't have to worry." Makoto said optimistically. "And Byakuya would be the first one suspected of killing anybody; so he wouldn't do that."

"I agree with Makoto on this one." Kyoko spoke up with a nod. "While the future Byakuya is arrogant, he's far from dumb. Most likely, he'll just wait out this killing game and if he serious, push others into killing."

"What if he targets either of you?" Junko pointed out. "If he eliminates one of you mystery solvers, then not being found out would be easier."

This time, Byakuya spoke up. "I doubt that he would." He stated. "It's clear that I wouldn't kill Kyoko easily, if at all, and while I do consider Makoto a credible threat, my future self will still have to deal with Kyoko. The risk isn't worth the gain."

"Not to mention that we're looking at this through Mr. Naegi's point of view." Hifumi added. "Since he's the protagonist, he has the plot armor to survive."

'But to put something as dangerous as poison right out in the open…' Makoto thought grimly. 'That's absolutely the work of the mastermind.'

"At the very least, there were some locks in place to keep people from just grabbing it accidently." Taka said, looking down. "But it seems Monokuma got rid of them completely."

"A tempting option for anyone who want to be more discreet." Mukuro murmured.

Hiro is the last to speak up. "I found a couple rooms on the 4th floor, but they were locked!" He informed them. "The data center and the headmaster's room!"

"And that confirms it." Celeste nodded to herself. "The data center is also locked."

"Um, does this mean that the mastermind could be in either of those rooms?" Chihiro asked, drawing attention from the others. "I mean, so far we haven't seen any other place that he could be in. Plus, the data center is the most likely place where he could monitor us."

"Assuming that the mastermind isn't somewhere else altogether," Kyoko pointed out. "But yes, right now if there's any place that the mastermind is hiding, it's those two areas."

"The headmaster room?!" Hina gasped in excitement. "That sounds like exactly the kinda place we'd find something!"

"If they could somehow pick the lock or something, then they could find out what's in there." Chihiro murmured.

"Or Sakura could just kick the door down!" Hina brought up. "It should be no problem for her!"

"That's true." Leon nodded in agreement. "One kick should be enough to break that door altogether."

"If we can somehow unlock the door and get inside…" Makoto mused.

"Who cares about a stupid lock!" Hiro waved off. "It should be no problem for the world's strongest missing link to knock down one measly door!"

As soon as he said that, Monokuma appeared. "...What was that?"

His appearance caused a lot of blood to run cold. "Shit!" Leon cursed.

"Fuck!" Mondo cursed right after.

"Hiro, why?!" Taka cried out.

"You idiot!" Byakuya growled. "Did have to say that outloud?!"

Hiro yelped and ducked at the appearance of Monokuma. "I'm sorry!"

"Uwah!" Hiro backed away from the monobear.

"No, please. Continue." Then, as if he wasn't acting angry, striked a pose. "Did you say I've got the nicest butt on the block? The curviest hips in the town? Is that what you said?!"

"Hell no I didn't!" Was the fortune teller's retort.

"Then what DID you say?" The bear asked, looking menacing once more. "Cuz I KNOW you weren't talking about tearing down the door to the headmaster's room."

"Ng-!" Hiro froze and clammed up.

"Knocking down your headmaster's door? What kind of war on education are you trying to start here?!" Monokuma demanded. "That's MY room, ya know? It is now, anyway… and you're thinking of busting it down?"

He then showed off his claws aggressively. "You seriously don't want to piss me off. You have any idea how much bacteria lives on a single bear claw?"

Hiro yelped in fear at that. "He's going to kill me!"

"It's alright, Hiro." Makoto quickly reassured him. "You haven't done anything, and there isn't a rule that says that you can't break down the headmaster's door. So he won't kill you."

"But he'll probably make that a rule immediately because of the fool." Celeste hissed in irritation.

"N-No, I was just kiddin'!" The fortune teller backtracked hastily. "Please don't get mad!"

"I'm not mad!" The bear roared.

"You're totally mad!" Was Hiro's fearful statement, ducking under the table.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to add a rule for this, but if you're gonna go around having those thoughts…" Monokuma grumbled. "I have no choice but to add this to the school regulations!"

"Seriously…?" Makoto groaned.

Instantly, Monokuma pulled out his handbook and typed away on it. "Breaking a locked door is prohibited! There, that's a rule now, ya jerks!" And with that, the bear disappeared.

His words and actions caused several sighs, groans, and curse. "Son of a bitch…" Mondo spatted out. "The fucking bear had to do that."

"For real…" Leon groaned out.

"I wonder why he didn't have that as a rule to begin with." Kyoko mused out loud. "Did he honestly think that we wouldn't have thoughts of breaking down locked doors?"

"I doubt it." Mukuro shook her head. "Either he waited until they came to the fourth floor, or just wanted to take away that hope as soon as they got it."

"I-Is he gone…?" Hiro stuttered out nervously, peeking out from his hiding spot. When he saw no sign of the bear, he sighed in relief and got out from under the table. "Man, I was so scared for my life! I was sure he was going to kill me, for serious!"

"But if he would go out of his way to make up a rule like that…" Sakura mused. "There's no doubt that something important must be hidden in the headmaster's room."

"But… now that it's a rule, there's nothing we can do." Makoto sighed morosely.

Byakuya hissed under his breath. "You had to say something, didn't you fool? Couldn't have waited to mention in it the bath house or something?"

Hiro wilted at that. "I said I was sorry, okay?"

"Now, now," Makoto spoke up in a placating form. "To be fair, any of us could've made that mistake. It just so happens that Hiro was the one to do it. So we shouldn't be too hard on him."

"That's a good point." Chihiro agreed softly. "And besides, he probably would've stopped us if we attempted to anyway."

There were a few grumbles here and there, but no one argued against the two cinnamon rolls' points. Hiro gave a relieved and grateful smile towards them both, something they returned with more sheepish looks.

After that, there was a small bout of silence between everyone. "So… has everyone said what they need to say?" Hiro asked, calming down now.

"I think so…" Hina said.

"But it looks like nobody found any clues at all, let alone a way out of here." The fortune teller then groaned in despair. "I haven't been this depressed since my house burned to the ground! Someone, do something to cheer me up!"

'Yes, feel that despair! Bask in it! Take it all in, in all of its glory!' Junko cackled in her head.

"Do I want to know how your house got burned down?" Sayaka asked hesitantly, looking at Hiro.

"My dad was smoking in bed." Hiro stated. "He got the bed on fire, and then the house!"

"...I'm guessing that's where you get the lack of intelligence from." Celeste deadpanned, causing the fortune teller to sputter out in protest.

"Um… can I say something?" Makoto requested, meekly raising his hand up.

But Hiro wasn't listening. "It's cuz my dad was smoking in bed!"

"That's… no…" Makoto shook his head at that. "I have something I'd like to report."

"Looks like Makoto is going to tell them again." Mukuro commented on. "Perhaps it will get some of them thinking?"

"Maybe." Byakuya said in response. "Perhaps Kyoko and Sakura will have their minds on this. But Hiro and Hina? I'm more doubtful about."

Instead of pouting this time, Hina gave a more annoyed glance, while Hiro merely wilted in response.

Taking a deep breath, he began reporting what he saw. "So… you guys all remember, right? You remember when I found that picture up on the 3rd floor the other day?"

"You mean the one that showed Mondo, Chihiro, and Leon all together, right?" Sakura asked for clarification.

"Yeah, I remember." Hina confirmed with a nod. "What about it?"

"Well, I found another one." The luckster revealed. "Another picture, almost just like that one."

"Another one…?" Hina repeated, surprised.

"But this time, the picture was of Celeste, Hifumi and Sayaka." As he said that, a flashback of the picture was shown on the screen.

"Huh…?" Was Hiro's response to that.

"And they were all smiling…" The luckster continued. "And the classroom in the picture didn't have any metal covering the windows."

Sakura spoke up this time. "So the picture of Mondo, Chihiro and Leon wasn't the only one. Now you found one that had Celeste, Hifumi, and Sayaka?"

"But… how can that…?" Hina said, looking very confused.

"Monokuma must have faked it!" Hiro declared.

"And it looks as if my predictions are correct."

"Is there a day where you guys don't make fun of me…?" Hiro moaned.

"But… if the picture is real…" Makoto said in response, looking down. "Then everyone who was in it… there would have to be some kind of hidden connection, don't you think? Some deeper truth… that we just don't understand…"

"You're right, Chihiro; Makoto is starting to think more on these pictures." Mukuro pointed out, narrowing her eyes.

"And he's getting close to making those connections…" Kyoko added, a small yet proud smile entering her lips.

"So is it actually possible that Makoto can figure out that they lost years worth of memories?" Taka inquired.

"It seems possible." Sayaka said, before sending a smile towards the luckster next to her. "His intuition seems as good as my own." That earned a small blush from the boy.

"If Monokuma keep leaving out hints like that, it's possible." Byakuya theorized. "With Kyoko's assistance, it turns to probable."

"Maybe Makoto could figure it out now." Hina suggested, excitement starting to bubble up.

"Can't be! It's a fake!" Hiro protested.

"But Monokuma said it was real." Makoto countered. "I know we could just write that off as a lie, but…"

"Then you trust Monokuma's words over the people who have died?"

"Huh…?" Makoto turned towards Kyoko's direction when she asked that.

For a moment, the group was stunned over what the detective asked. But as they process the question said by her, Sayaka and Mukuro's face darkened. "What?" The two asked.

"That's what your saying, isn't it?" She accused coldly.

"No, that's no it…" Makoto denied.

"I'm shocked." Kyoko said in a mocking tone. "You told everyone how we should believe in our friends, but you refuse to do the same."

"Th-That's not-!"

When they managed to process what's going on, the whole group reacted. "Kyoko!" Taka cried out in shock. "This is extremely immature of you!"

"Are you seriously putting words in his mouth?" Leon exclaimed in disbelief.

"He didn't mean any of these things!" Hina shouted, a scowl marred on her face. "He's just trying to figure out this mystery!"

"Something that is delayed now." Celeste quipped. However, the cold look in her eyes says that it's the last thing on her mind right now. "For someone of your maturity, you are being extremely petty."

Mukuro didn't say anything. However, the furious look she's sporting says a lot about her position on this.

Kyoko stubbornly kept her eyes away from everyone else, unable to say anything right now. Not only could she not argue with them without sounding like her future self, but she even agrees with what they're saying.

'What's going on, Kyoko?' The luckster couldn't help but think. 'Why are you getting so emotional…?'

"I would like to know that as well." Byakuya spoke up, looking a tad displeased. He turned towards Kyoko. "This is very unnatural, especially for you, Kyoko."

"I don't like having secrets kept from me." Was the only thing Kyoko could say. And the fact that it's Makoto, who her future self is beginning to trust and become fond of, makes it worse, probably.

Of course, the answer she gave didn't fly with the others. "You've been hiding things from everyone since the beginning!" Sayaka shouted in anger. "You hid that you don't remember your talent, refuse to say where you found the map of Hope's Peak, been hiding what you've been doing throughout this psychotic school life… all you've been doing is hiding stuff! AND YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO GET ANGRY WHEN SOMEONE REFUSE TO SAY ANYTHING?!"

"Sayaka, please-" Makoto attempted to interrupt, hoping to appease the angry girl.

But the idol wasn't backing down. "No, Makoto! I'm not gonna be silent about it!" She stated fiercely. "You are the most trusting and forgiving person I've ever met, someone willing to give anyone a second chance! You even gave me one, even when you saw my future self's attempt to frame you!"

Her scowl then became fiercer. "And Kyoko attacks your character; even mock it out of spite! How can you not feel hurt over what she said? Insulted even?!"

Makoto couldn't help but become wordless at that. Couldn't help but look away, cause indeed, he felt hurt over what Kyoko had said. How couldn't he, when she slighted his honor in front of everyone, when he was trying to figure out the mystery to the pictures?

The varying emotions were clear for everyone to see, causing tension and anger to get higher. Kyoko herself couldn't help but wince in guilt, easily seeing what Makoto was thinking.

'I don't understand why she's so angry…'

"I don't either." Leon agreed, looking both baffled and a tad aggravated. "I mean, I heard what you said Kyoko, but your future self is taking this way too personally."

"I would never think that she would act so petty." Mukuro hissed, glaring disapprovingly at the detective.

Said detective was gripping her sleeves, trying to keep her emotions in check. Lashing out is not gonna help matters, especially when her classmates are justified in their outrage.

"C'mon guys, stop fighting, or all your good luck is gonna float away!" Hiro said, trying to break the tension. "Anway, Makoto… you're thinking about it too much. There's no way Monokuma didn't fake that picture."

"He's just trying to confuse us. You shouldn't listen to anything Monokuma has to say." Sakura advised.

"Fuck. Ing. Hell!" Mondo gritted out, looking frustrated beyond belief. "They're just brushing it off again!"

"And just when Makoto was heading towards the right line of thinking." Byakuya sighed in agitation.

"While I do understand why they make this conclusion, this is still difficult to watch." Taka added somberly.

"And Kyoko was no help at all." Junko remarked, taking a jab at the detective. Mentally smirking, she added, "She even delayed the solving a mystery just because of a personal grudge. Isn't that the thing your family frowns upon?"

Seeing the detective visibly affected by this, Chihiro decided to speak up. "G-Guys, please stop ganging up on her." The programmer pleaded. "She knows that her future self is in the wrong; we don't need to remind her so harshly."

"Chihiro's right." Makoto agreed, taking a deep breath. "We can't keep attacking each other like this. Otherwise, we'll just end up divided."

Again, the group reluctantly conceded to the two cinnamon rolls, and stop their verbal onslaught towards the detective. However, several still looked aggravated.

It was something that the lucky student was clearly aware of. 'Should I have told Kyoko about Sakura?' Makoto thought, looking down in guilt. 'Maybe if my future self did, this wouldn't…' But he doubted that he could bring himself to do that. Unlike what future Kyoko claimed, he does trust his friends, and telling such a secret without confronting Sakura first is such a breach of trust.

"Y-You might be right, but still…" Makoto responded back, looking conflicted.

"Are you still so conflicted?"

Nearly everyone stiffened at the sound of the next voice. "Shit." Both Mondo and Leon cursed, voicing everyone's thoughts.

The question came from none other than Byakuya, who's now standing in front of their table. "It looks like you guys have stopped playing nice."

"Byakuya!" Makoto gasped in shock.

"Why is he here?" Leon practically whined. "Things are already shitty as it is!"

"We will have to see." Sakura stated, her voice softer than usual.

"You all have the same sunken look on your faces." The heir remarked coldly. "You were all so ugly before. You shouldn't let them sink any lower. When I look at you, it makes me think of a frog sinking into a pile of manure."

"Bro stop!"

"Sayaka, calm down!"

"Hina, settle down!"

Taka did his best to hold back Mondo from pummeling Byakuya; Makoto was holding Sayaka by the waist as she attempted to claw at the Togami heir; and Sakura held Hina back with one hand as the girl struggled to go and strangle the blonde.

'Tension is ridiculously high right now.' Junko thought, holding back a mad giggle. 'I wonder, what's the breaking point for my dear classmates?'

Eventually, the three angry students settled down. Mondo was sitting stiffly in his seat, a scowl etched onto his face; Sayaka was letting out angry breathes, with Makoto rubbing her back in an attempt to calm her down; and Hina was glaring at the floor, arms crossed.

"Sorry…" Hiro apologized.

"Don't apologize!" Several students exclaimed incredulously.

"Why are you apologizing dude?!" Leon asked in disbelief, looking at the fortune teller.

Hiro looked away in embarrassment. "W-Well, he makes it sound like we're at fault…"

"He's insulting us!" Hina shouted, her angry glare directed at Hiro now. "Belittling us! We got nothing to apologize for!"

"Why are you apologizing?!" Hina exclaimed incredulously. Then she focused an angry glare towards Byakuya. "Leave us alone! You're not a part of this!"

"That's true enough." The heir agreed. "Your problems aren't mine. We are, and always will be, completely separate. So whatever's causing your faces to turn so ugly has absolutely nothing to do with me."

Growls were coming out of Mondo, Sayaka, and Hina's mouths, with those close to them trying to their best keep them from launching from their seats. All the while, Byakuya stonily ignored the hostile looks, clearly not bothered in the slightest.

"And if I happened to discover a vital clue, it wouldn't concern you in the slightest."

That put everyone's mind in a grinding halt.

"What?"

"Did he just say…?"

"A vital clue?"

"He's saying something not insulting for once?"

That got the full attention of everyone. "Huh…?" Was the response from Makoto.

"Did he finally say something useful?" Hina asked dubiously.

"...Byakuya. What have you been up to?" Kyoko questioned him.

"I don't mind telling you." The heir shrugged. "Perhaps forcing your lazy brains to get to work might do you some good."

For once, no one was angry about the insult. All of them were too focused on the supposed vital clue the heir mentioned.

"I was in the bath. What else would you like to know? Today's lottery number?"

'...A bath?' Was the blank thought of around half the students.

However, the smarter students quickly figure out what he's talking about. "Alter Ego." Makoto stated out loud, drawing attention to him. "He was in the bathhouse, talking to Alter Ego."

Several more eyes lit up at that. "Then that must mean…" Taka said in realization.

"Alter Ego must've finished opening all those files!" Hina said, looking excited once again.

"So the asshole did say something useful." Leon sighed in relief. "Finally."

"T-That's master for you." Toko sighed dreamily. "Always one step ahead…"

The heir didn't bother commenting on the last two statements, save for a disgusted look directed at Toko.

'He was… taking a bath?' Makoto thought in confusion, before his eyes lit up in realization. 'Is he saying he's been talking to Alter Ego? Did he tell him something…?'

"Maybe we should all take a bath." Kyoko suggested, emphasizing 'all'.

"Ah… good idea." Sakura nodded in agreement.

"A mixed bath…?" Hiro asked.

"A mixed bath…!" Hina confirmed with an energetic nod.

Hifumi giggled perversely at that. "A mixed bath…" A second later, yet another baseball hit his noggin. "Ow!"

"Will you ever learn dude?" Leon sighed, tossing a baseball up and down.

'If Alter Ego really did tell him something… I wonder what it could have been.' The luckster wondered to himself.

"With luck? Answers." Byakuya stated, earning nods of agreement all around.

They need answers, badly. Clues to a way out, info on the outside world, hints to who the mastermind is - they all hope those files contain at least some of those things.

And that's the end. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully, the next chapters will come out more weekly, so I can finish by the end of this year. That's what I'm aiming for, at least. Won't try to rush though, as rushing things results in poor products, so don't have any expectations.

Next chapter will begin with the class watching the survivors head to the bathhouse to see Alter Ego. Also, again, check out my blog when you get the chance to. Review, favorite, and follow and I will see you guys later.