Hello readers and welcome to my new chapter. Here, the class will see the future survivors wrap up their investigation and summary of the fifth floor. I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa.
Chapter 91: Watching Chapter 5: 100 Miles; Pain of a Junk Food Junkie Part 3
"So Sakura was the spy, she killed herself so no one else would murder, and swimmer girl tried to hide that to try and kill all of us…" Jill began summarizing. "We figured it out anyway, we ended up uniting for once, and Cherry's laptop got turned to scrap. Also, soldier girl apparently got mentioned at the end. Missed anything?"
"No. That's pretty much all of the major events of the previous trial." Taka confirmed.
Jill let out a hum. "Wow. Didn't think the swimmer had it in her to pull something like that." She commented. "I'm kinda shocked… and a little impressed."
Hina looked down, guilt flashing in her eyes. Seeing this, Sakura took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. That cause the swimmer to look up and give her friend a grateful smile, something that the martial artist returned.
"Anyways, that's everything that has transpired." Taka concluded. "Now, we're watching the survivors report their findings on the 5th floor."
"So we're at the boring parts? Phooey!" Jill pouted at that, crossing her arms. "I hope that something interesting happens, at least…!"
"Is this like a TV show to the psycho or something…?" Leon couldn't help but ask, a sweatdrop across his forehead.
With not much else being said, everyone turned their attention back on the screen.
"Anyway, th-that's all I wanted to say…" Toko concluded.
"Hey, Toko." Byakuya spoke up.
"Ah! D-Do I still have bad b-breath?!" Toko stammered in panic. "Sorry, sorry, sorry! I'm sorry it stinks! I'm sorry it stinks! I'm sorry-!"
"You made a valuable discovery. Good job." Was the heir's statement.
"...Did I just here Byakuya praise Toko just now?" Leon asked, stunned.
"Yes. Yes, you did." Sayaka confirmed, looking just as surprised. At least half the class were gobsmacked at the sudden, almost uncharacteristic praise that the Ultimate Affluent Progeny gave to his clearly unwanted admirer.
Byakuya himself merely raised an eyebrow over this, but made no fuss. It was indeed a good discovery, at least for their future selves'.
That very statement stunned Toko. "Huh…?" She replied dumbly. Then repeated. "Huh…?" And repeated again. "Huh…?" Finally, she asked, "Did Master just… p-praise me?"
"Even Toko is shocked by this!" Hiro exclaimed, pointing a finger at the screen.
"Where's the bastard that pisses us off and who the hell is this imposter?" Mondo asked, almost sounding serious.
"Wha-Wha-What?! Master, why are you giving her praise and not meeee?!" Jill whined childishly. The heir elected to ignore her, even as she proceeded to shake him by the shoulder.
"Hey, good for you!" Hina congratulated her, a smile across her face.
"And Toko's missing this!" Hina cried out in pity. Luckily for her, Jill was too focused trying to get attention from Byakuya to listen. "Now I feel bad for her…!"
"Hopefully, Byakuya will praise her again at some point when she's awake…" Chihiro suggested, also feeling sympathetic for the writer.
"Ng…! NgaaAAahh!" Toko let out guttural sounds of disbelief. "I-I'm dreaming… I must b-be dreaming! Ahh… that I would ever e-experience such a dream…"
The writer started letting out happy, almost deranged giggles, wrapping her arms around herself. "I feel… s-strange…!" She practically moaned out. "Ahaha… so strange…! R-Really strange! Oh no…! Aha… hyah… hyeehahaehea!"
"...Still feel bad for her now?" Mondo remarked, looking weirded out by this.
"...Yeah, just… in a different way now." Hina replied, also creeped out.
"I can't help but feel sad for Toko sometimes, man…" Hiro sighed, his head hung low. "It's just sad…"
"Well… she could be acting worse…" Was all Taka could say, a sweatdrop across his brow.
"I don't see how, but I won't argue…" Leon replied back, shaking his head. "I definitely don't want to see what worse would look like…"
"Whenever I look at Toko these days, it makes me feel… sad." Hiro sighed in pity.
Finally, Byakuya revealed his findings. "By the way, did any of you find it?" He asked the group. "The other strange room on the 5th floor. Well, no… 'strange' is a massive understatement."
At the mention of the 'strange room', many tensed up, with the warm atmosphere turning slightly. Most of them knew what room Byakuya was talking about.
The only one who doesn't was Genocide Jill, who was looking around in confusion. "What room? What's Master talking about?"
"You'll… you'll see Jill…" Was the only thing Makoto could say, already looking a tad blue in the face.
A flashback of the room was then shown. "The smell of flesh and fat and blood…" The heir described. "The white outlines of countless corpses… It was more dreadful than anything I've encountered so far…"
As soon as the flashbacks appeared, eyes immediately turned away from the sight. That didn't stop the students looking pale, and somewhat ill.
"Ooooh! So that's what got the other me to pass out?" Jill remarked, looking interested at the carnage before her. A moment later, she waved her hand. "Meh, too messy for me. I like my murders to be professional! Art! Something you can put on a display! This is just something for the janitor to clean up."
"Well, glad that you have standards, you psycho…!" Leon replied back with biting sarcasm.
"Wh-What the hell are you talking about?!" Hiro shouted in shock.
"The smell itself was horrific. Far beyond any normal murder scene." Byakuya continued. "Everybody's smell, concentrated…"
"God, I'm glad that I didn't see it… I feel like I'm gonna barf just from hearing you describe it." Hina said, looking a tad queasy.
"I envy you, future me…" Hina moaned, her skin losing some color once again.
"Well, at least we can't physically enter that room, or smell it…" Sayaka offered, though she still looked unwell herself. "We would probably lose our breakfast if we did."
"But I mean… what the hell happened in that room?" Hiro asked, looking a tad pale himself.
"The only thing I could tell… is that a large group of people died right there in that room." Byakuya stated.
"A bunch of people were… killed in there?" The fortune teller repeated fearfully.
"Stop, seriously… I'm gonna throw up…" Hina whimpered, now covering her mouth.
"Perhaps that's what was meant by… the biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history." Kyoko theorized grimly.
"Huh? But…" Hiro turned towards Kyoko in confusion. "Didn't you say that this wasn't the Tragedy?"
Kyoko nodded. "I did."
"Then… why-"
"Don't forget that our future selves are working with lost memories." The detective explained, before the question could be finished. "As far as they know, there hasn't been any nation-wide or worldly events that has been named 'The Tragedy', so they can only make deductions based on what they know."
Junko let out a giggle of amusement. "Feeling defensive there, Kyoko?" She teased. Kyoko did not give any response to that, amusing the fashionista further.
"...Huh?" Makoto turned towards Kyoko in confusion.
"You're thinking the same thing, then." Byakuya nodded in agreement. "My theory is… the mass murder that took place in that room is the incident said to have happened one year ago."
'The awful scene in that room…' Makoto thought to himself, thinking back to that room. 'That was "The Tragedy" that happened a year ago?'
"The Tragedy is another name for the genocide of the student body of Hope's Peak Academy." The heir continued. "If that's true… that would explain why Hope's Peak was forced to close its doors."
"I mean, I guess that all makes sense, but… it's all just… so awful." Hiro groaned, looking down at the floor.
"Not just awful… super awfully awful!" Hina exclaimed.
Once again, future Hina unintentionally lightened up the room, with some of the students chuckling or giggling. "When you put it that way, there's no way I can argue…" Leon remarked with a grin.
"Super awfully awful indeed…" Sayaka giggled, covering her mouth slightly with her fingers.
And once again, Hina angrily pouted at the group. "Can you guys stop making fun of me?" She whined, waving her arms around. "It's like you're treating me like a child!"
"You're implying that you actually grew up some…" Celeste remarked. She merely smiled when the swimmer glared at her, fuming childishly.
'They're right - it's beyond awful.' Makoto agreed grimly. 'It's terrible, tragic… hopeless. But still…'
Confusion was then written across the luckster's face. 'How is it not one of us ever heard about something like this happening?' He asked himself. 'Does that mean they really did cover it up…?'
"This memory loss crap is getting more and more annoying to watch…" Mondo sighed/growled. "Wish they could just fucking figure it out already."
"We must practice patience, bro." Taka consoled his friend, patting his shoulder. "With all of the clues given to them, it's only a matter of time before they find out about their last memories."
"Assuming that they do, there's still the matter of believing it." Byakuya countered. "The idea of taking away someone's memories is already far-fetched. But all fifteen of us losing two years worth of memories? A near impossible pill to swallow."
"I wouldn't say it's near impossible." Kyoko disagreed. "Given enough evidence, inarguable evidence, the survivors would have no choice but to accept it as truth."
"But that's the thing, isn't it? The evidence has to be ironclad, or at least numerous enough, to be proven and accepted." Celeste mused.
That was something no one could disagree with.
"Well, I think that's all the new information we have for now." Byakuya concluded for everyone.
"So? Now what do we do?" Hiro asked.
"Well…" Byakuya hummed in thought. "Starting today, you're all under my command. But before we proceed, I need to figure something out."
"You serious, dude?" Leon remarked, a flat look across his face. "You're drafting them now?"
"Is there a problem?" Byakuya retorted back, raising an eyebrow.
"Just that your ego is the size of Hope's Peak…" Hina sighed, shaking her head.
"Can you not just work alongside everyone like an equal, Byakuya?" Taka griped, palming his face with both hands.
"That's making the assumption that you're all equal to me." The Togami heir stated haughtily. "Rest assured, while many do possess some level of skill, very few of you could even attempt to argue that you are on an equal level with me. Trying to argue otherwise is an effort in futility."
"Unreal ego man…" Hiro sighed, crossing his arms.
"Don't worry, Master! I'll follow you wherever you go!" Jill exclaimed eagerly, raising a scissor held hand. "And if there's any cute boys you want dead, I'll go snip-snip-snipping! Of course, anyone other than cute boys, I'll just snip until crippled!"
Of course, the Togami Heir ignored the psychopathic serial killer, as did everyone else. Just silently put their attention back on the screen.
"Jeez, how cocky can you be?!" Hiro laughed a little. "You're gonna bust through the ceiling if your head gets any bigger!"
"So… what is it you wanna figure out?" Hina asked, deciding to ignore the "all under my command" part herself.
"Kyoko's identity…" Byakuya answered.
This caused the students to start blinking in confusion, before realization started settling in some of the smarter ones. 'Oh no…' Makoto thought with some dread, while Byakuya and Kyoko closed their eyes in resignation.
"...Huh?" Makoto responded in confusion.
"..." Kyoko, meanwhile, stayed silent.
"Kyoko's identity?" Hina repeated, also confused. "But Kyoko is… Kyoko… right?"
"Yes, but who *is* she?" Byakuya emphasized. "The rest of us have a clear, definable reason for having been selected to attend Hope's Peak Academy. Hina's the Ultimate Swimming Pro, Hiro's the Ultimate Clairvoyant, even Makoto is the Ultimate Lucky Student."
'More unlucky than lucky these days, but…' The luckster deadpanned to himself.
"You diss yourself a lot dude, don't ya?" Leon remarked with a small laugh.
In response, the luckster shrugged sheepishly. "It's not like I'm wrong. I tend to have more bad luck than good." Makoto replied back, rubbing the back of his head.
"So what about Kyoko? Can anyone tell me what *she* is?" The Togami heir asked everyone.
That's when it clicked to everyone what's going on. "Ah shit…!" Mondo cursed.
"Probably should've seen this coming…" Junko sighed.
"This… isn't gonna end well…" Sayaka stated worriedly.
"Now that you mention it… she's never told us." Hiro admitted.
"Well, Kyoko doesn't really like talking about herself anyway, right?" HIna pointed out.
"It's not a matter of what she likes or doesn't like. This is a matter of trust." Byakuya rebuked firmly. "Can you trust someone who's unwilling to reveal their true identity?"
"Being so tight-lipped is coming to bite you in the butt, Kyoko…" Leon groaned, facepalming.
"It's not like I could've shared my talent, even if I wanted to." Kyoko said with a slight huff. "Besides, I doubt everyone would believe me if I said that I couldn't remember my talent. That would've placed suspicion on me from the start."
"Maybe. But keeping it a secret for so long, as well as your secretive ventures throughout this killing game, makes that suspicion even worse." Celeste pointed out. "Cause now you're forced to reveal something you have no knowledge of, less you earn even more distrust."
"You're sure you should be the one saying that Celeste?" Junko snorted, raising an eyebrow at the gambler.
Celeste merely smiled in response. "I may be a liar, but even I know that in a situation like the one we're seeing, keeping all the cards to yourself will merely sow distrust."
"My future self is aware of this. But there's not much that could've been done either way." Kyoko sighed.
The heir then turned to the girl herself. "We need to avoid raising any more unnecessary suspicion. So Kyoko, it's time you told us…"
"..." For the moment, Kyoko was silent. Then, after that moment, she said, "I can't."
"What?! Wh-Why won't you tell us?!" Toko exclaimed in outrage.
"I didn't say I 'won't'." Kyoko corrected. "I said I can't."
"W-What do you mean…?" Hiro asked nervously.
"Because… I don't remember." The lavender-haired girl revealed.
Makoto's eyes widened in shock. "What…?"
"I have no memory of what I am." Kyoko continued.
"You have no memory…?" The luckster repeated, still shocked. "You mean…"
"Amnesia…?" Hina finished, looking just as shocked. Once again, Kyoko chose to be silent.
Byakuya, however, looked annoyed. "If I thought you had a sense of humor, I'd say you were joking. But if this is a joke, I'm not laughing."
"Y-You can't be serious right, c-can you?" Toko questioned, seeming just as doubtful.
"And this is exactly what my future self predicted." Kyoko stated, stretching a hand towards the screen.
"I'll admit, I would have had a hard time believing such a thing." Byakuya conceded. "But hiding it was hardly any better. At the very least, I wouldn't be this unbelieving of it if you shared your lack of knowledge at some point."
"Maybe. But we can hardly say at this point." The detective retorted.
"I knew you wouldn't believe me. That's why I didn't say anything." Kyoko sighed. "But it doesn't matter. Either way, the truth will make itself clear before we're done."
"So you have no intention of telling us? Then I can no longer stand by and do nothing…" Byakuya declared.
That had several students tensing up, concerned over what could happen. "Just what exactly are you planning, Mr. Togami?" Hifumi asked wearily.
The Togami heir hummed in thought. "I could probably make a few guesses as to my future self's thought process."
"What are you going to do? Torture me?" Kyoko challenged back.
"Nothing as barbaric as that." The heir dismissed with a shake of his head. "I will simply… limit your options. I can't allow you to engage in any further suspicious activity."
"Limit my options…?" Kyoko said wearily.
"Give me the key to your room." Byakuya ordered, going as far as to hold his hand out.
"WHAT?!" Several students shouted out in shock.
'That would be suicidal!" Taka objected, standing from his seat. "If she isn't allowed access to her room, there will be nowhere for her to sleep!"
"And she can't stay up forever! Sooner or later, she's gonna fall flat on her face!" Mondo followed up right after his bro. "And the bear'll axe her as soon as she does!"
"Is Byakuya trying to get her killed or something?!" Hiro exclaimed worryingly, holding his head.
Byakuya then spoke up. "No, I'm not." He said, shaking his head. "My future self is merely trying to push her into a corner, that's all."
Makoto turned towards the heir in shock and worry. "But… if she gives you her room key…!"
"She can't go to sleep in her room! She'll be breaking a school regulation!" Hina exclaimed, also worried.
"And if she doesn't want that, she'll talk." Byakuya said in response. "It's easy, all she has to do is tell us about herself."
"Unfortunately for your future self, that threat will not work for his benefit." Celeste sighed. "Since she truly does have amnesia."
"Yeah. She's just gonna rebuff his demand and things will get even more tense." Leon remarked, looking fairly concerned.
"And Byakuya isn't gonna take no for an answer…" Sayaka added, a frown across her own face.
"Just hold on…!" Makoto protested. "A threat like that…"
"...Fine. I understand." Kyoko cut in, merely sighing in acceptance.
"Good, you're finally in the mood for conversation." Byakuya smirked in triumph, crossing his arms.
That smirk was wiped off when Kyoko walked silently up to him… and held out her key.
Now eyes practically popped out of the students' sockets. "The fuck…?!" Mondo exclaimed incredulously.
"She's actually giving away her key?!" Leon spoke in disbelief right after.
"Why?! Why would she do that?" Sayaka questioned, befuddled.
"Does she actually think she'll be able to stay up the entire time…?!" Hina cried out in both shock and worry.
Even Junko was taken aback, if only just a little, judging by how both her eyebrows shot up. 'Now what the heck is Miss Junior Detective doing here…?'
"Kyoko…" Makoto looked at the lavender-haired detective with concern.
"I can't say for certain what my future self's thought process is…" Kyoko admitted, her eyes narrowed on the screen. "But if I'm giving my key away, it must mean there's a way for me to be without it and not break school regulations."
"Let us hope so…" Celeste stated, her eyes also narrowed. "Cause this places her in a very dangerous situation."
"You damn fool…" Byakuya uttered out in shock. "Why do you refuse to talk…?!"
"Whether I want to or not, I can't." Kyoko repeated, handing him her key. "All I can do is keep telling you that."
"M-Maybe she really did lose her memory…" Hina hesitantly suggested.
"If you really think about it, it doesn't sound totally impossible." Hiro voiced his own agreement. "This is the worst school ever, where only the worst stuff happens, right? Amnesia would fit right in."
That caused Hina to brighten up. "Some of us are starting to believe!" She pointed out eagerly.
"It won't be enough to dissuade Byakyuya." Celeste stated, shaking her head. "At this point in time, he won't take any sort of excuse regarding her mysterious background. He won't easily believe she's suffering from amnesia."
"She speaks the truth…" Byakuya himself admitted. "The idea that she lost her memories is not something I'll easily believe, even with the handing of her key."
"So you're going to just leave her at risk to get executed?" Hina said incredulously, a scowl entering her face. "What's the point if she still won't say anything?"
"As has been stated before, it's to limit her options." Byakuya answered back, unperturbed. "While it isn't the desired outcome, this'll still put a limit to the amount of suspicious activities she does."
"Still… this just seems cruel towards her." Chihiro spoke up, clearly uncomfortable with this. "Cornering her for information she says she doesn't remember."
The heir merely sighed. "Maybe. But there's hardly anything I could do about it."
"The worst school, where only the worst things happen?" Kyoko repeated, sounding skeptical. "Do you really mean that?"
"...Huh?" Several of the students perked up at this, confusion and suspicion filling them.
"What is she…?" Makoto trailed off, having a feeling what the future amnesiac detective is implying.
"Huh…?" Was the only response Hiro could give.
"Can you really be sure that life here has been filled with only the worst things?" The girl prodded further.
"Wh-What do you mean…?" Makoto asked, looking befuddled.
"..." At that question, Kyoko went silent once again. "Perhaps I've said too much." With that, she turned and began walking away from the group.
"...She knows, doesn't she?" Sayaka questioned, eyes widening in shock. "She knows that they lost their memories."
"At the very least, she's coming towards that conclusion." Mukuro corrected slightly, eyes narrowing. "It's clear that she has knowledge of something."
"And this is why my future self is so suspicious." Byakuya remarked, feeling slightly annoyed himself. "It's obvious that Kyoko is hiding a lot; and not just her past."
"Where do you think you're going?" Byakuya called out angrily.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to do anything to harm any of you." Kyoko reassured him, not stopping in her tracks. She then exited the dining hall. Leaving only momentarily silence between the remaining five.
"Hate to admit, but the asshole is right…" Leon grabbed, rubbing the top of his head. "This doesn't really paint an innocent picture here."
"This tension will definitely come into play later on…" Hifumi murmured, also concerned.
'Kyoko…' Makoto couldn't help but bite his lip in worry. Not only was she kept out of her room, but also had the suspicions of at least a few of the remaining survivors. Neither of those things were good.
And just as they united together for once. Why aren't they able to just stay united? Why is there always something that causes a rift? The luckster couldn't help but find it frustrating, especially since there's almost nothing he could do about it.
"Wh-What's her deal…?" Hiro asked with confusion.
"I think you went too far, taking her room key like that…" Hina told the Togami heir, a concerned frown across her face.
"F-For her, that wasn't far e-enough…!" Toko rebuked with a slightly creepy grin. "Or m-maybe she gets off on the attention. I can't believe her, e-enjoying getting yelled at…"
"You're getting noisy again, Toko." Byakuya cut her off angrily. That got the writer to immediately be silent, though with a sulky look. "Sorry, I can still hear you. The sound of you breathing, of your heart beating… it grates on me."
That caused some of the students to reel back in surprise. "Wow man, you are pissed." Leon whistled.
"And poor Toko is taking the brink of it…" Hiro commented.
"Likely because he wasn't able to gain what he wanted…" Celeste mused, tapping her chin. "As he said before, he wanted Kyoko to share her background, not give away her key."
"So the dude's pissy that Kyoko didn't do what he demanded…" Mondo remarked with an eye roll. "No surprise there."
"As if you have the right to speak about losing one's temper?" Byakuya shot back without pause. The biker growled at that, but conceded at what he said.
"Now Master's throwing verbal abuse at her?! No fair, I want that!" Jill whined childishly. Everyone merely ignored her.
"Are you telling her to die…?" Hiro asked in bewilderment. "I mean, I know how you feel but…!"
'But what's Kyoko gonna do now…?' Makoto wondered in concern. 'Plus, this situation… it's just like before…' He clenched his fist in frustration. 'It's no different from when everyone started accusing Sakura!'
Several flinched at the reminder of the last chapter, especially Hina. Makoto could only grimace at the thoughts of his future self.
"That is true…" Taka hesitantly admitted, grimacing himself. "Kyoko's separation from the group is parallel to Sakura's own isolation…"
"Only difference is that there's no one vehemently defending her." Junko remarked, arms crossed. "I mean, we know Hina, Hiro, and Makoto aren't on board with this, but…"
"It isn't on the same level as Hina's defense of Sakura." Sayaka acknowledged with a nod, a small frown across her face. And it could be said that it's a good thing, considering the resulting conflict that came with that defense.
That was something several silently acknowledged, including a guilty looking Hina and a frustrated Makoto.
'And I… I'm no different, either.' The frustration he felt was now leaking onto his face. 'I still can't stop anyone…'
"Makoto…" Several of the students found themselves towards the lucky student with worry. Sayaka was the one to ask, "You don't blame yourself for any of this… do you?"
Makoto couldn't help but curse the thoughts being revealed to his friends. It wasn't something he wanted to reveal, the guilt that he's been trying to push down. It was something he wanted to keep to himself. Why did this viewing have to reveal everything that's going through his head?
"It's just… difficult, knowing that there's nothing I could do about all this, that's all." The lucky student said, keeping his eyes away from everyone. "It can be frustrating… wanting to do something about all this, yet can't."
It wasn't the entire truth, and some of the students can tell. Byakuya and Kyoko, for example, stared at the luckster with narrowed eyes, seeing through the half-truths.
"There's not much anyone could've done about that situation dude. You know that, right?" Leon asked his friend pointedly. "If anyone could have convinced Kyoko to open up, or Byakuya to stop being an ass, that would've happened from the start. It's THEIR own choices that got them into this mess."
"I agree. Kyoko was the one who decided to be secretive, while Byakuya decided to escalate things." Sayaka comforted the luckser, giving his arm a squeeze. "None of us could've stopped either of them, even if we tried."
"It probably would make things worse if you tried, like me with Sakura…" Hina spoke up, looking down slightly. But she then looked back up with her usual determination. "So it's good that you didn't force anything with those two blockheads!"
"I understand your frustration all too well, Makoto…" Taka said in understanding. "But as I'm trying to learn, you cannot take responsibility for others' actions. While Kyoko did well by revealing her lost memories in the end, Byakuya should've accepted her answer for what it is!"
The two repeatedly mentioned Ultimates stubbornly ignored the calling out of their actions, with both of them frigidly turning their attention back on the screen.
Meanwhile, Makoto sweatdropped at the dissing towards Byakuya and Kyoko, an awkward chuckle leaving his lips. "Don't worry. I'm fine guys, really…" He reassured his friends. "It's probably just a moment of frustration, is all."
"KYAAAH!"
The sudden scream from Hina caused several students to jump and yelp, worries over Makoto momentarily forgotten for the time being. "H-Hina…?!" Sayaka stammered in concern.
"What's with the scream?!" Leon followed up right after.
"Hina…!" Sakura looked the most worried out of everyone, the martial artist partially standing from her seat.
The girl herself could only stare at the screen, not knowing what her future self is yelling about.
"Uwah!" Hiro yelped at the scream Hina emitted. "Wh-What the hell?! Why're you yelling all of a sudden?!"
"Cuz…! Cuz!" Hina shakily pointed her finger at the source of her fright. "Look!"
And standing a few feet away from them was a rather angry looking Monokuma.
"WHERE DID HE COME FROM?!" Was the shouting of half the class.
"Was he standing there the entire time?!" Taka questioned alarmingly.
"How the hell did no one notice him?!" Leon exclaimed in confusion.
"And what the hell got him so pissed off?" Mondo pointed out.
"I-It's you… how long have you been standing there?!" Hiro exclaimed in shock and fear.
"I'm very… very…" The bear growled, showing his claws. "AAAAAAANNNGGGRRRYYYYY!"
"Seriously, what got him so pissed off this time?" Mondo repeated his question, furrowed eyebrows.
"I-I don't know, but it's making me nervous…!" Hiro shivered.
"Same…" Hina agreed, biting her lips nervously.
"Angry at what…?" Hina asked fearfully.
"At the thief! Yes, that's right. I'm very sad to have to tell you, there's a thief in your midst!" Monokuma declared.
"What?!" Hiro exclaimed, more surprised than fearful this time.
It was silent for a moment. Then, slowly, the class turned their heads to a certain lavender-haired detective.
"It seems my future self managed to take something of importance from the mastermind." Was all Kyoko said in response to the stares. Anyone paying attention would've seen the ghost of a smirk from her lips. "Though I can't say for certain."
"Myyy PRECIOUSSS!" Monokuma practically hissed. "They stole it!"
"...Your precious?" Makoto repeated flatly.
"Your teacher had such faith in you… and this is how you repay me? With betrayal?" The bear growled in outrage. "Reality is filled with so much hardship, isn't it? No wonder people run away into their fantasies…"
That wiped any trace of nervousness from Hina. "Don't act like we have reasons to be loyal to you!" She shouted out her own outrage, scowling. "Not with everything you've done!"
"Fucking bear gets a kick out of acting like the victim…!" Mondo growled viciously. "As if he didn't do anything wrong!"
"Don't like it when your prisoners bite back, huh asshole…?" Leon snarked bitingly, arms crossed.
"But… what the heck is your 'precious'?" Hina inquired.
"Shut up!" Was the bear's angry response. "I hope all of you get stuck in a hiring freeze and die penniless in the street!" With that, he disappeared.
"In other words, he doesn't want them to know about it…" Sakura said flatly.
"Then why bother whining to us if you aren't gonna say what it is?" Hina griped, throwing her hands up in frustration. "Gosh, I don't think I ever found myself this annoyed by anyone else!"
"He really does have qualities that make you want to strangle him…" Sayaka grumbled in agreement. "For more reasons than one."
"And he's gone…" Hiro remarked. "What the heck was that all about?"
"He said something about his 'precious' getting stolen." Hina commented. "Does anyone have any idea what that might mean?"
"It likely has something to do with Kyoko." Byakuya deduced.
"...Huh?" Makoto responded in confusion.
"Who else other than her would be willing and able to steal something from Monokuma?" The heir pointed out.
"Looks as though the survivors are coming to the same conclusion as us." Celeste commented.
"It's an obvious one to make. Like my future self stated, she's one of the few capable of doing this." Byakuya remarked.
'Did Kyoko really steal something from Monokuma?' Makoto mused to himself. 'But if that's true, what was it? And why would she do that?'
"Either it's information about the school, something that'll lead to more information, or the most unlikely, something that'll lead to a way out." Mukuro listed off the possible reasons. "At the very least, it's something that would be an advantage over the mastermind."
"Must be. Else, I don't think the mastermind would be making such a huge fuss over it." Celeste mused in agreement.
"Think it'll be revealed what Monokuma's 'precious' is?" Junko asked, making air quotes for the "precious" part.
"I doubt it will be anytime soon…" Sayaka answered, shaking her head. "Monokuma isn't inclined to share and we all know how Kyoko is. But if it's Makoto…"
The idol then gave her luckster an impish smile, prompting a blush from him. "I'm sure he'll get Kyoko to open up at some point."
"A-Aren't you a bit too confident in me…?" Makoto stuttered out, looking away.
"Nope~" Sayaka then proceeded to poke the luckster by the cheek, drawing a small whine from him. "We all know that you have a way with people. I'm just pointing out the obvious~"
As she was teasing him, the four other contenders of Makoto's heart stared at the idol with either pouts or narrowed eyes.
Suddenly, the school bell rung once again and the nighttime announcement played through the hall. "Uh-oh. We need to get out of here…" Hina said worriedly.
"We can talk about this more tomorrow. And Kyoko…" Hiro trailed off.
"However, after what just happened with Monokuma, and Kyoko, I feel like there's… something in the air." Byakuya mused in thought. "I would suggest you take extra precautions tonight. Stay in your rooms, don't go wandering around…"
"Not like we need you to tell us that…" Hina remarked with slight annoyance.
"Well then, let's disperse." Ignoring the swimmer's words, Byakuya headed out the dining hall. "I'll see you all tomorrow."
"So… no one is in danger of being murdered, right…?" Chihiro inquired nervously. After the tension with Kyoko and the rest of the survivors, it's making him nervous about whether or not the remaining six…
"With the reveal from the beginning? I would say we have little to worry about at the moment." Byakuya answered, looking in thought. "Unless the masked individual is somehow one of us, it'll be the one who assaulted Makoto that'll be murdered."
"The only thing we will have to worry about is who exactly was murdered…" Kyoko continued, narrowing her eyes. "And if it'll result in a class trial."
The group went silent at that, aside from a few nervous gulps. None of them were really sure what to expect from this chapter of the viewing; all they can do is hope that a good outcome comes at the end.
And that's the end. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Not much I want to say this time, other than this chapter being another slog. Will likely just need to power through much of the daily life portion of this chapter in order to get to the more interesting stuff, and not think too heavily on the reactions. Review, favorite, and follow and I will see you all later.