Hello readers and welcome to my new chapter. So, I noticed a few more negative reviews trickling here. Won't give them too much attention, just noting that it took a while for any negative reviews to show up; uncertain if it says a lot about the Danganronpa fandom or the quality of my writing.
Regardless, thanks for the overwhelming positive ratings you guys given this fic over the years (And even the critics that remained constructive, not mean-spirited). As I probably mentioned before, that helped me continue writing this, if only partly.
Anyways, here's the next chapter. In this, we're gonna continue with their reaction to the bloody classroom. I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa.
Chapter 90: Watching Chapter 5: 100 Miles; Pain of a Junk Food Junkie Part 2
"W-What the hell is this….?!" Makoto exclaimed in horrified shock.
Makoto's shout jolted everyone out of their petrified silence. Once they did, they began to properly react to the scene before them.
"What the fuck…?" Leon spoke in a near whisper, his face white as a sheet. His voice got louder as he repeated that statement. "What the fuck? What the fuck?! What the FUCK?!"
"The fucking hell is this?!" Mondo shouted right after, the biker looking very shakened. "What fucked up shit are we seeing here?!"
"Who… who are… are they…?" Hina, pale-faced and visibly shaking, attempted to formulate a question. However, the sight of this left her stumbling on her words, nausea and terror lodging up her throat.
"..." Chihiro was worse off, as he was unable to formulate any kind of response. He could only stare, eyes dilated, body curled up, shaking like a leaf, the young programmer looking the most traumatized out of the students.
"Uwah… eeaur…" Hifumi could only make unintelligible noises, a look of terror across his face and his body breaking out in cold sweat.
Toko fainted from her seat, completely unprepared for the bloody room.
Even Celeste found herself shakened by this, the gambler having to clasp her hands tightly together and bite the inside of her lips to keep any composure.
"Just… what the hell…?!" Makoto repeated his future self's words, looking as rattled as his counterpart. Beside him, Sayaka was just as blue in the face, with the idol burying her head into the luckster's shoulder. "What is this?!"
"I think we're now staring at one of the results of the Tragedy…" Byakuya stated, eyes narrowed.
Out of the whole class, only Byakuya, Kyoko, and Mukuro remained unaffected by this grotesque scene. All three have seen this kind of blood-shed before, one way or another, so it didn't have the same effect as the bizarre executions of their classmates.
Right after he said this, the luckster found himself covering nose and mouth, the smell overwhelming him. "It smells awful, doesn't it?" Byakuya remarked.
"I-It's…"
"It must be at least vaguely familiar to you." The heir pointed out. "After all, you've been around your fair share of corpses."
"Are you saying…?"
"It's the smell of death." Byakuya stated bluntly. "Their flesh and fat and blood…"
"How are you so calm?!" Hina exclaimed, near hysterical. She looked at the Togami heir in disbelief. "You're in the middle of a BLOODY classroom!"
"I've seen grisly scenes like this from cold criminal cases several times already…" Byakuya replied back calmly. "While I've never seen them personally, the pictures were enough to desensitize me from the sight of blood and flesh."
"Is… that a good or a bad thing?" Hiro couldn't but ask, despite looking like he was holding back from puking.
"It is what it is. No need to agonize about the morality of it." The heir said simply.
"But the smell here is strong, condensed." The heir continued in musing. "It's the smell of a battlefield."
"Monokuma must have-"
That's when the bear popped up again. "What, my fault AGAIN?!" He exclaimed in aggravation. "Stop trying to blame everything on me!"
'Says the one who created this sick game!' Was the overall thought of the students. However, many felt too overwhelmed to say anything at the moment, so silence remained.
"I-If you hadn't done what you did, this never would have happened!" Makoto retorted.
"No, no, no. It's quite the opposite!" Monokuma denied fiercely.
"The opposite…?"
"Yup! Let me give you an itty bitty eegie squeegee little hint." The bear offered. "As far as this room goes, I don't know a thing! I just left it exactly how I found it."
"...What?" Was all Taka could ask, looking as blue in the face as several of his peers. "Is he…?"
"Are we supposed to believe that shit…?!" Mondo questioned disbelievingly, the heat that usually accompanies his voice gone. "Are we supposed to believe… that he had nothing…?"
Junko, meanwhile, had her mouth covered the entire time to hide a wide grin and hold back her mad giggles. Just as things get boring, such interesting curveballs get thrown out there! Oh, how she both loves and hates this viewing!
"What…?" Makoto could only look dumbly at the monochrome bear.
"How's that for a hint?! Better than those stupid 'hints' you get from NPCs in those mean old RPGs!" Monokuma bragged. "But it's pretty scary, huh? Blood all over the walls and junk… of course, even in the outside world, people die bloody, gruesome deaths all day!"
"So it's not really a big deal! Just keep your chin up and keep on livin', soldier!" With that cheerful sounding note, the bear bounced off once again.
'What's he talking about…?' Makoto asked himself, looking around the room numbly. 'He just left it the way he found it? What's the meaning of all this…?'
"If what he said is true… then what is the meaning of this carnage?" Sakura questioned. While not looking as overwhelmed as her classmates, the martial artist was noticeably tense. "Who are the victims? What caused this?"
"It's likely students of Hope's Peak that were killed; as for specific students, I cannot say." Kyoko said in musing. "As for what… as Byakuya had said, it may have to do with the Tragedy."
"Do you think it was a part of it?" The heir himself inquired, staring at the detective. "Or is it merely one of the results?"
"Don't have enough info to make a definitive answer." Kyoko answered, shaking her head. "Could be either. Could be both."
"Um, Byakuya?" The lucky student found himself turning towards the Togami heir. "About what Monokuma just told us…"
"..." Byakuya remained silent, giving no indication that he'll answer.
'It's like I'm not even here. He must be lost in thought.' Makoto mused. 'Is he really thinking that hard? Or is he just flat-out ignoring me…?'
"It's Byakuya. It's probably both." Leon, his voice rather weak, managed to joke. His joke managed to earn a chuckle/giggles and nods.
Makoto then decided to put his attention on the room itself. 'There are white chalk outlines drawn all over the floor. How many bodies were there…?'
"Too many…" Sakura stated solemnly, yet firmly. Her words got weak nods from some of the other students.
"From the looks of it, it was a whole class…" Taka deduced, a shudder going through his body.
His eyes then moved to the blood across the floor. 'And there's blood all over the place. I want to shut my eyes forever against such a ghastly sight…'
"It appears all the bloodstains are dry." Byakuya pointed out. "And their color has changed, as well. I think it's safe to assume these stains are considerably old."
"This is all… really blood?" Makoto found himself asking weakly.
"Of course. It wouldn't find it interesting otherwise." The heir answered, a smirk adorning his face.
That got another reaction from Hina. "What's wrong with you?!" She shouted hysterically, staring at the Togami heir. "How can… why would you find any of this interesting?!"
Byakuya merely sighed. "It's been made clear that my past self had an undesirable mindset." He said flatly. "One trial will not completely wipe away that mindset, no matter how influential it is."
"But still… future you looks like he's enjoying this shit!" Mondo growled in disbelief. "Practically giddy! What the fuck caused this to be fun for you?!"
"You already know the practice in choosing an heir for the Togami throne…" Byakuya replied coolly. "You can make your own guesses from there."
It was clear from his tone that the affluent progeny wasn't gonna say more on the matter. So the students reluctantly paid their attention back on the TV.
"And it is interesting, I assure you. What on Earth happened in this classroom…?"
'He seems like he's enjoying himself.' Makoto thought queasily. 'No way I can "keep up" with someone like that…'
"I would have to agree…" Taka nodded in agreement, an unpleasant look across his own face. "That is not a mindset I can find myself following."
"Still, as… unpleasant as his line of thinking, he raises a good point." Celeste brought up, narrowing her eyes in thought. "What exactly happened in that classroom?"
"It's clear that whatever happened, it wasn't uniformed or organized." Mukuro deduced, analyzing the room. "But that's really all I can tell at the moment. There's just too many unknowns to figure out what transpired."
"...Do you think… that this is the Tragedy?" Chihiro finally managed to speak up. Looking at his classmate with trepidation. "Maybe… this is the event that… that forced Hope's Peak to close?"
"...I can't deny the possibility that this event caused the closing of Hope's Peak." Kyoko answered, after some thinking. "But I don't think that whatever happened in the room was the Tragedy."
"But… why?" Hiro asked, a confused look across his pale face. "Whatever happened there is clearly messed up!"
"Worse things across history have happened, fool." Byakuya answered coldly. "World War II alone has enough tragedies to eclipse what transpired in the classroom, even if it did involve Ultimate students."
Kyoko nodded in agreement. "While this scene tells of a gruesome event, unfortunately, worse had undoubtedly happened over the course of the world's history." She continued off. "This room alone shouldn't be enough to be declared as 'the biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history', even as hyperbole…"
"...Maybe it wasn't just the bloody classroom that happened in Hope's Peak." Makoto was the one to speak up, dread filling his tone. He turned to look at the detective with that same dread in his eyes. "After all… we have no idea what happened at the other buildings, do we?"
"...Let's stop for now, and just continue." Kyoko decided with a sigh. "At this point, we're just making speculation after speculation. We NEED to find out more before we attempt to figure anything out."
No could disagree with the detective, and their attention went back on the screen. However, the feelings brought up from seeing the bloody classroom and the discussion that came with that was unable to leave students' minds.
The scene then changed to show the six remaining survivors gathered together at the dining hall. "It would appear everyone has returned." Byakuya commented.
"But still… it's just the six of us. That's barely enough for a decent volleyball team…" Hiro groaned morosely.
"Hey! Don't be a sourpuss! We gotta think positive!" Hina exclaimed. "Besides, even if one more person dies, we can still field a basketball team!"
"That's like… reverse positive thinking…" Hiro pointed out.
"Anyway, there's no time to be depressed." Makoto said, redirecting the conversation. "For the sake of everyone we've lost, we have to do our best."
Seeing the future survivors bring themselves up lightened the hearts of several students. "Leave it to Hina to have a weird way of thinking…" Leon chuckled.
"H-Hey…!" Hina spoke in protest, pouting. "What does that mean?"
"As Hiro said, your line of thought isn't exactly positive…" Taka took to explaining things. "The goal is to strive for less death, not really thinking positively of potential deaths…"
"I… well… okay, yeah, you got me there…" Hina groaned, drawing more chuckles and giggles. She pouted once again at the increased laughter. "But you know what future me meant, right?! We gotta think positive!"
"Sure, Hina dear. But your phrasing needs more work." Celeste said with a giggle of her own.
"Can we stop all this group hug nonsense?" Byakuya cut in rudely. "We need to find out what everyone discovered."
Of course, that got the usual eye-rolls. "Kill-joy…!" Leon called out.
"We're wasting time with all this feel-good commentary." Byakuya replied back with an eye roll. "Results are needed."
"Well, do you really have to say it like that…?" Hiro muttered.
Makoto then spoke up. "Um, before we continue…" He turned his head towards the unconscious Toko. "Shouldn't we wake her up?"
"Nothing important will happen while she's unconscious." Byakuya replied dismissively. "You can just let her wake up on her own."
"Sure…" Sayaka replied back, lifting her head back up to give an unconvinced stare. "And it has nothing to do with not wanting Jill to wake up, right?"
The Togami heir didn't acknowledge her claim with a response.
After a moment of silence, Hiro was the first to speak. "Well… there's a big garden up on the 5th floor. And I found more than one thing to be worried about…" He began revealing. "First is a stupidly large plant…"
"Monokuma said that it was called a… Monokuma Flower." Makoto added in. "Even touching it seems dangerous, so we have to be careful."
"It's totally a man-eating plant! I'm pretty sure it's different from the one that lives in the pipes, though." Hiro said confidently. "Anyway, that thing must benefit from the sprinkler system as much as anything else in there…"
"Oh yeah." Makoto said in remembrance, a flashback of him talking with Monokuma shown. "Apparently the sprinklers come on every morning at 7:30 on the dot."
"Yeah, remember that! You don't wanna get drenched and catch a cold!" Hiro advised.
"Well, you don't have to worry." Hina reassured him. "They say idiots never catch colds, ya know."
"Of course not! Cuz idiots never get wet!" Hiro laughed.
"...Imbecile." Byakuya groaned, facepalming. A few others joined him in face-palming.
"What?" Hiro looked at his classmates in confusion. "What did I say?"
"Hiro… I think you're referring to ducks." Makoto told him, tone slightly flat. "Water rolls down ducks' backs, not… idiots…"
"...Oh."
"Dude, I worry about you sometimes. I really do." Leon stated bluntly.
"Um… I think you're thinking of ducks." Makoto pointed out hesitantly.
"I'm starting to worry about you, Hiro." Hina said with some concern. "Can you tell me what ten plus ten is?"
"Hey, come on! You don't ALWAYS have to call me dumb!" Hiro exclaimed angrily. "I may have been held back three times, but that doesn't make me stupid! But if it makes you happy, I'll answer your dumb question! So! Um… what was the question again?"
"Don't worry. You just answered it…" Hina sighed.
Several joined the future Hina in sighing or groaning. "What a way to say your stupid without saying your stupid…" Mondo deadpanned.
"Hey, that's not fair!" Hiro protested. "Future me got angry! He got too riled up to remember and answer the question!"
"The way your future self answered the way that he did tells us all we need to know…" Byakuya remarked, rolling his eyes.
"...Okay, well… another thing I noticed is a chicken coop…" Hiro continued on.
"There were a bunch of chickens in the chicken coop, right?" Makoto commented.
"Yep. Perfectly safe, perfectly normal chickens…" Junko piped in, a sly grin clear across her face. "So there's nothing to worry about, kay…?"
"You guys will never let this go, will you…?" Makoto groaned, covering his face with his palms in embarrassment.
"Nope." Leon laughed in response.
"That's right!" Hiro confirmed. "Five! Five chickens!"
That brightened Hina up. "I love chickens!" She chirped happily. "Let's raise 'em up big and fat. Then we can make fried chicken! Oh, or barbeque! Decisions, decisions… Oh! Oh! Or how about raw! Cuz there's nothing fresher than raw, right?!"
That gained a few disgusted faces, sighs and eye rolls, and amused looks from the group. "Really Hina? Raw?" Sayaka asked, sounding both exasperated and amused. "I hope you never actually tried that…"
"I-I didn't, no…" Hina denied, before pouting. "But what's wrong with eating it raw? It would be as fresh as sushi, right?"
"Fresh fish is actually safe to consume; raw chicken is not!" Taka lectured the swimmer. "Any pathogens on fish are killed through freezing, which happens shortly after being caught! Chicken, however, maintains plenty of pathogens that can lead to food poisoning, and maybe even death! That's why it's inadvisable to eat chicken raw, without being thoroughly cooked!"
"Yeah, what he said…" Leon remarked, laughing.
Hina could only continue pouting, crossing her arms, drawing more laughter from her friends.
"I'm pretty sure that'd kill you…" Hiro pointed out, before continuing with the final thing. "Finally, there's - I know what you're gonna say, but… a toolshed!"
"You noticed it too, huh?" Makoto inquired with the fortune teller. "That pickaxe…"
"Huh?" That got Byakuya's attention. "What about the pickaxe?"
"Well, there was a pickaxe in the toolshed." Makoto explained, a flashback of him examining the pickaxe being shown. "And the words Crazy Diamond had been carved into the handle. Haven't we seen that phrase somewhere before…?"
"Crazy Diamond? Hmm…" Hina let out a hum in thought. "Yeah, that does sound kinda familiar, I think…"
"I just don't think, I know. We've definitely seen that phrase before." Kyoko confirmed.
That caused Hina to turn towards Kyoko. "Huh? Where?!"
"Ah, that's it! I remember…" Makoto suddenly gasped. "It was on Mondo's uniform! On the back of his jacket… His jacket said the same thing, right? Crazy Diamond!"
"You're absolutely right…" Byakuya nodded in agreement.
"Looks like they gained another clue of their lost memories…" Mukuro observed.
"A clue that will be ignored…" Byakuya sighed. "We know this routine by now. They won't connect the dots without crucial information."
"Maybe. But the more contradictions they find, the more suspicious they'll get, right?" Makoto offered up. "After all, they're getting a lot of information that doesn't line up with what they remember. Someone is bound to make a good guess as to what's happening sooner or later, right…?"
Byakuya merely rolled his eyes in response. "As overly optimistic as ever…"
"Well, that is the one unique trait about me…" Makoto replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
'And it's a trait that makes you so wonderful…!' Both Sayaka and Mukuro thought defensively for their luckster.
"But why would that be on the pickaxe in the garden?" Hina mused.
"Mondo must've snuck in there and done it, right?" Hiro suggested.
"But we didn't have access to the garden until today." Byakuya pointed out.
"Then… maybe Mondo brought it with him when he first came here, and Monokuma confiscated it?" Hina deduced.
"Whatever the reason, that's what stuck out to me in the toolshed - the pickaxe connected to Mondo." Makoto concluded.
"Well, what stuck out to me wasn't the pickaxe at all!" Hiro stated.
"Huh?" The lucky student looked at the fortune teller in confusion. "Then… what did?"
"What I noticed was the lawnmower!" Hiro answered. "I'm thinking maybe we can use it to call for help…"
"...The fuck?" Mondo voiced incredulously, his look of disbelief matching everyone else.
"How can you call for help with a lawnmower…?!" Hina questioned in disbelief. "That makes no sense!"
"I don't know…!" Hiro said defensively, raising his hands up. "I'm sure future me will explain!"
"How are you gonna call for help with a lawnmower?!" Hina asked incredulously.
"I dunno! Maybe I can use it to make crop circles or something!" Hiro replied defensively and angrily. "Yeah, that's it! I'm gonna make crop circles! And we can use those to call for help!"
"What… how would… why…?" Taka stammered out, trying to make sense of what's been said.
"That makes no sense…!" Sayaka repeated what Hina said. "None!"
"How the hell does these things get into his head…?!" Leon exclaimed incredulously. "Where does he get the idea that a lawnmower, of all things, can be used to call somebody?!"
"Idiot… idiot… idiot…" Celeste took to banging her head across the table, her persona being taken over by absolute irritation. There's only so much of Hiro's idiocy that she could take…
"At this point, I feel like I should be used to this…" Junko said, just looking completely done. "But I'm not. My brain cells just continue to die, one by one…"
Throughout all of this, Hiro could only hang his head in shame at the comments being thrown at him. "...The idea isn't that bad…" He muttered to himself.
"What the heck happened to you…?" Hina sighed in dismay. "You weren't like this in the beginning, you know."
"Well back then my personality hadn't quite solidified yet…!" Hiro told her.
"I didn't think it was possible, but I'm more disappointed in you than I've ever been…" Hina sighed once again.
"It's baffling how the fool is able to make comments that sound dumber than the last…" Byakuya muttered, shaking his head. "Almost impressive, really…"
"I would have to agree…" Kyoko sighed, shaking her head in disappointment at the lack of thought displayed.
WIth a final shake to the head, Hina decided to reveal what she found. "I checked all the windows on the 5th floor, front to back. That used to kinda be Sakura's job, but…" A morose look passed before her face, before shaking her head once again and continuing. "Anyways, no dice. There were metal plates on all the windows, just like everywhere else."
The brief pause from the future Hina earned several sympathetic looks from the class. "Sakura's death is probably still pretty fresh, huh…?" Leon remarked, rubbing the back of his head. "Honestly, it's impressive that Hina is still keeping up her high energy…"
"Of course…!" Hina exclaimed, pumping both her fists up to show her determination. "Sakura… she sacrificed herself so no one has to die… so that we'll be able to keep moving forward… there's no way future me would waste that by moping around!"
Especially when her future self already attempted to waste that sacrifice. After that, the swimmer couldn't see herself doing anything else other than honoring it as best she could.
Of course, her words granted a smile from Sakura. 'I am glad that my death would no longer impact Hina negatively…' The martial artist thought, before a determined look entered her own face. 'However, I will strive to make it to where such a sacrifice is unnecessary. I will not let Hina, nor any of my friends, experience such pain.'
"Which means no chance of escape on the 5th floor, either…" Kyoko sighed.
"But when I was looking around, I realized something about the layout of the school…" Hina then added.
"What exactly did you notice about the layout of the school…?" Makoto asked curiously.
Before Hina could answer, Kyoko cut in. "You took a good look around the 5th floor yourself, didn't you Makoto?" She asked.
"Huh?" The luckster stared at the lavender-haired girl in confusion. "Why do you ask?"\
"Because if you did, you must have noticed. The 5th floor is lacking something every other floor has." Kyoko replied back.
Makoto frowned in thought. 'Something on all the other floors… but not on the 5th floor…?'
"Are you talking about… stairs?" The luckster guessed hesitantly. "There aren't any stairs leading up from the 5th floor. That's what you're talking about, right?"
That earned a raised eyebrow from Byakuya. "So they didn't know about the number of floors that are in the building?"
"It shouldn't be of much shock. I doubt most of us, if any, thought about the number of floors there are at the beginning." Celeste said with a shrug. "We had other concerns throughout the school life that was set up, even when the floors started opening up."
"True enough…" The Togami heir conceded.
"Does that mean… the 5th floor is the end?!" Hiro exclaimed in shock.
"We're finally starting to get a clear picture of this school." Kyoko stated confidently.
"All that's left now is to solve the underlying mystery." Byakuya continued off.
"You know, that got me thinking…" Junko spoke, putting on a pensive look. "Would the group have gotten close to figuring out… anything, if no one died in the beginning? After all, each floor opened up after a murder and a trial…"
Her words got the desired effect she wanted. Uncomfortable, even ill looks were being passed around the group, as that thought floated around their heads. The fashionista had to hold back a delighted giggle at the tense air.
"Let's not dwell on that thought…" Kyoko advised with a sigh. "No point thinking of what-ifs when the events have already transpired."
"I agree…" Makoto said softly, nodding his head. "Besides, with the information we're getting now, we'll make it to where we don't end up trapped like that. And we'll be able to face the mastermind, whoever it is, on our terms! Not theirs!"
Makoto's words were able to bring everyone's spirit back up, determine looks and confident smiles being shared amongst the students. It also a discreet, annoyed look from the fashionista who was previously enjoying the tensed air.
"But that's the hardest part…" Hiro groaned.
"Even if it's hard, we still gotta do it!" Hina stated firmly in response.
"Yeah, Hina's right!" Makoto spoke in agreement, determination filling his eyes. "Everything will be okay. As long as we work together, I'm sure we'll make it out of this…!"
'No, not "I'm sure"...' The luckster then corrected himself. 'We absolutely WILL make it out, no matter what it takes!'
'Just how the hell are you still this positive? Eleven deaths in and not a hint that you're falling in despair?' Junko thought with some irritation. 'Just WHAT will it take for that disgusting hope to turn into sweet, sweet despair?'
It'll be something she'll have to figure out with the present luckster. Hopefully, the seed of betrayal or the seed of guilt will be enough to lead him to despair.
Kyoko was the next one to report her findings. "My concern is with the bio lab." She revealed. "That was the only place on the 5th floor that we couldn't access."
Once again, that caught the attention of everyone. "Another room that they're unable to access?" Sakura questioned, eyebrows furrowed in thought. "And it's the bio lab?"
"Do I even want to know what's being hidden there…?" Leon asked, looking a bit concerned.
"I don't know dude…" Mondo grunted, also a tad uneasy. "Knowing the bear, it's probably something sick…"
'But it could also hold valuable information for our future selves…' Kyoko mused to herself, not disregarding the room. Each room is locked for a reason; each of them could hold valuable clues for the survivors to utilize.
"The bio lab, huh? I wonder what's in there…" Hina mused.
"If this were like, a cliche horror game, it'd be some kind of creature." Hiro suggested. "The final boss, or Tryant, or-!"
"We're… not in a horror game, though…" Hina pointed out.
"I would say this is more mystery than horror, Mr. Hagakure…" Hifumi mused, straightening out of his glasses. "Perhap some horror elements, but with the way those elements are displayed-"
"This isn't a game, period." Leon cut off. "So how about we not talk about that crap?"
The fanfic creator huffed in response. "One day, Mr. Kuwata, you will appreciate my expertise. You and everyone else!"
"Yeah, sure dude." The baseball star snorted in response.
"Either way, we don't need to worry about it at the moment." Byakuya interjected. "Don't bother thinking about something that can't be understood no matter how much you think about it. Your tiny brains can only do so much, so focus on utilizing them efficiently."
"I don't really like how you said it, but what you said is probably right." Hina groaned.
"No, how I said it is right, too." Byakuya affirmed snidely.
Of course, his words had several students rolling their eyes; but no one bothered to say anything to that, used to hearing worse from the Togami heir at this point.
"..." Meanwhile, Toko looked like she wanted to say something, but stayed silent. Something that Makoto noticed.
"Hey, Byakuya…" The luckster addressed the Togami heir. "It seems like Toko wants to say something."
"So? Why are you telling me?" Byakuya asked, unconcerned.
"Cause you were the one who told her to keep quiet…?" Leon pointed out with a raised eyebrow. "What, did you forget or…?"
"Well… cuz you told her to zip it or whatever…" Hiro pointed out.
"Ah. I'd forgotten about that." Was all the heir said about it.
"...The bastard actually forgot." Mondo deadpanned. A look shared by several other classmates.
"Seriously, dude! I knew Toko is… Toko, but come on!" Hiro exclaimed, mouth agape.
"If not for the fact that she chose to obey him, I'd feel bad for her…" Sayaka sighed.
"Byakuya made it very clear that he held no interest towards her…" Celeste remarked. "At this point, any abuse levied towards her is her own fault."
"Jesus, man!" Hiro exclaimed in shock. "I know you like torturing her, but come on!"
"Well, Toko. If you want to envelope us all in your putrid breath, I won't stop you." Byakuya permitted the writing prodigy.
"Y-You honor me, Master…" Toko giggled, a blush across her cheeks. "And d-don't worry… I took care of the o-odor problem…"
"Hahaha, seriously?! You're just gonna take it?" Hiro laughed.
"Sh-Shut up!" Toko hissed in response. "And don't interrupt me when M-Master and I are talking!"
"Harsh!" Hiro cringed at the verbal lash his future self got. "She didn't have to be so mean about it!"
"...Yeah, I have to agree with you here Celeste." Leon said blankly. "Hard to feel sympathy when she's willingly taking it; hell, even enjoying it."
"As has been stated before, Miss Fukuwa has developed deep level masochism…" Hifumi pointed out.
"...Okay, so, what did you want to tell us?" Hina cut in.
"Well, I was in the c-classroom on the 5th floor, and s-something caught my attention…" Toko revealed. She then held out the thing that caught her attention. "It was… th-this."
"A knife?!" Makoto exclaimed in shock, his eyes aimed at the serrated blade.
The sight of the knife caused several eyes to flicker in recognition. "Wait… is that your knife Mukuro?" Makoto questioned, turning towards the soldier.
"At the very least, a blade similar to mine." Mukuro answered, taking out her knife and examining it.
"I say they look exactly the same, sis." Junko remarked, pretending to be slightly surprised. "And if it isn't yours, then that's one hell of a coincidence."
"Does that mean Mukuro's knife was taken from her as well…?" Taka surmised, frowning in thought.
"Yet another personal object of ours lying around the school…" Celeste said. "However, I doubt any of the survivors will recognize it as such."
"So it's pointless to think about that knife then…" Byakuya huffed. "Let's just continue, and get through this already."
"Whoa, that thing is huge! It's like, Rambo size!" Hina shouted right after, just as startled.
"A survival knife of some type…" Byakuya observed.
"But… what was it doing in a classroom?" Makoto questioned.
"How would I kn-know…?" Toko responded back.
"What're you gonna use that knife for…?" Hiro asked nervously. "What're you planning to do to us?!"
"Hiro! That's extremely rude of you!" Taka immediately chided the fortune teller. "What makes you think that Toko was gonna do anything with it?!"
Hiro raised his hands defensively at that. "Well… I mean… she's a serial-killer, isn't she?" He pointed out. "Of course future me would be worried."
"How rude!"
"Gah!" A majority of the class jumped in shock at the sudden exclamation from the now-awake Genocide Jill.
"When did you-?!" Leon began asking.
Jill answered before he could finish. "Oh, around the time the bio lab was mentioned." She revealed, before her attention was aimed at the fortune teller. "As for you! Porcupine head!"
"Eeep!" Hiro ducked when the serial-killer pointed one of her scissors at him.
"How dare you compare me to my other personality?!" Jill exclaimed angrily. "No way my gloomy side would have the guts to use that knife; and there's no way I would be caught dead using anything other than my scissors, got it?!"
"Y-Y-Yes ma'am! Sorry ma'am!" Hiro squealed, still cowering from the angry serial-killer.
"I'm not g-gonna do anything!" Toko protested. I j-just picked it up! I didn't wanna leave a k-knife just laying around…"
"I'd rather have it laying around than in the hands of a serial killer!" Hiro retorted.
"D-Don't compare me to… her! I'm n-nothing like her!" Toko hissed angrily.
"Exactly!" Jill huffed, crossing her arms. "She and I are both completely different people! I am the lively, lovable serial-killer who's unafraid of getting what she wants; and she is the mopey book-writer who only fantasizes what she wants! We're nothing alike!"
"...There's also the fact that if she wanted to actually use the knife, she wouldn't have presented it to us in the first place." Celeste sighed. "Why reveal such a weapon if you plan on actually using it? That would be far from the smartest decision."
"In other words? You didn't have anything to worry about." Junko remarked with an eye-roll.
"I'm honestly not surprised the fool forgot about the split personalities…" Byakuya huffed.
Hiro hung his head at the criticism given to him. "Future me was just worried, okay…?" He muttered defensively.
"Listen, more important…" Hina spoke up. "Now that we have the knife, what are we gonna do with it?"
"We can't let Toko keep it, that's for sure." Hiro stated. "We dunno what she might do…"
"What did I just say about comparing us, Porcupine?!"
"It was future me! Future me!" Hiro cried out, reflexively covering his head once again.
"I don't w-want it anyways! It's too dangerous…" Toko hissed.
"Hmm… so what to do…?" Makoto hummed in thought.
"Why don't you hang on to it, Makoto?" Kyoko suggested.
"Huh?" The luckster looked at the lavender-haired girl in shock. "Me?!"
"Yeah, me?!" Makoto agreed with his future self, pointing at himself. "Why should I keep it?!"
Literally everyone gave him a blank or incredulous look, as if he asked a particularly dumb question. The luckster couldn't help but shrink at the looks. "Wh-What?"
"Dude… you're one of the most trust-worthy people in this class." Leon pointed out bluntly. "Out of everyone here, I'm fine with you or Chihiro holding the knife."
"I agree!" Taka nodded firmly with the baseball star. "Anyone that knows you well enough knows that you wouldn't use such a weapon for nefarious purposes!"
"B-But what about Hina? Or Kyoko?" Makoto stammered out. "Can't we trust them with it?"
"Maybe, but out of the survivors, you're still the most trust-worthy." Byakuya retorted. "We've seen how rash Hina can act, and Kyoko is still a mystery to our future, amnesiac counterparts. So that makes you the top-contender."
Beside him, Sayaka giggled. "I don't think this is an argument you can win, Makoto…" She advised, squeezing the arm she's still holding. "As your assistant, I recommend accepting you as one of our most trustworthy classmates~" The luckster blushed at this, turning away from the smiling idol.
"I agree." On his other side, Kyoko grabbed his free hand, giving it a squeeze. It prompted Makoto's blush to grow slightly bigger. "There's a reason why my future counterpart suggested you; it's because everyone here trusts you. There's nothing wrong with that trust."
"Oh yeah, I totally trust Makoto to take care of it!" Hiro agreed happily.
"Then that's that!" Hina also bopped her head in agreement.
"H-Hold on!" Makoto protested. "Don't I get a say?!"
"It just shows how much they trust you." Byakuya pointed out. "You should do as they ask."
'Are you sure it's trust? I feel like they're just using me…' Makoto thought a tad pessimistically.
"No we aren't!" Hina protested, pouting. "Is it really that hard to believe that we all trust you?"
"I-It's not that, it's just…" Makoto stammered, trying to find an explanation for the thought that ran through his future self's head.
"Do you need reminders of how amazing you really are, Makoto…?" Sayaka asked with a pout. "If we have to, we can tell you everyday the good qualities that you have until you accept."
"Yeah, I agree!" Hina nodded her head rapidly to this. "Get it in your head just how wonderful you are!"
"Please don't…" Makoto pleaded, his face beet red. "I might just die in embarrassment if you do…"
"Then you better accept the compliments given to you, mister!" Sayaka ordered, poking the lucky student's cheek.
"I-I'll try…" Was all Makoto could say.
"Okay, s-so here you go, Makoto…" Toko then held out the knife to the lucky student.
'They're acting like I already said, yes…' Makoto sighed. "F-Fine…"
As he took the knife, he thought to himself, 'I guess there's nothing I can do. I'll just… keep it in my desk drawer for now.'
'So… Makoto is the one holding my knife.' Mukuro thought to herself, a light blush across her cheeks. While the knife itself doesn't really have that much sentimental value, knowing that her crush will be the one keeping it with him… it brought feelings she didn't think she would feel from this.
'I wonder… will that knife come into play at some point?' Junko mused to herself. 'Hard to imagine with lucky boy holding on to it, but… if it were to somehow end up through his chest… wonder how Muku would feel about it?' The thought nearly made her giggle once again.
"Oh! Oh, oh, oh!" Jill suddenly cried out, raising her hand like a kindergartener. "Where's the whole investigation thingy? Isn't a new class trial gonna start? What did I miss?"
"...Oh right, you weren't there during the whole thing." Leon spoke in realization. He then turned to the rest of his classmates. "Who's gonna bring Jill up to speed this time?"
"I'll do so." Taka volunteered, raising up his hand. He then turned his attention towards the serial-killer. "So the things that transpired in the fourth chapter of this viewing…"
And that's the end. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It was pretty tough to write, considering there wasn't that much interesting stuff for them to react to yet. Hope it won't be too much of a slog before getting to the good stuff. Also, if you noticed a dip in grammar quality, it's because I didn't have this beta-read. Gonna go back to releasing chapters immediately unless it's a chapter I really want checked out, for a better chance at faster uploads. Hope you guys don't mind. Review, favorite, and follow and I will see you guys later.