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.

99. Watching Ch 5: 100 Miles PJFJ Part 10

Hello readers and welcome to my new chapter. Honestly not sure if it's due to this being the investigation part, or the fact I've done close to a hundred chapters at this point, but this honestly felt like a slog to go through. Made harder with the fact that I have to keep up with what the present class knows compared to their future amnesiac counterparts.

Hoping it'll get easier later on with the juicier bits, but at this point, I'll probably be looking at a few more slogs down the road. Won't stop me from finishing (Way too close to the end to stop now), but future reactions might end up more repetitive (If they haven't been already. Like I said, close to a hundred chapters). Regardless, I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa.

Chapter 98: Watching Chapter 5: 100 Miles; Pain of a Junk Food Junkie Part 10

"Hey, um… Byakuya?"

"If you do come up with an alibi, I'd be happy to hear it. Later. At the class trial."

"Oh no, it's not about that." Makoto waved his hand in denial. "You have the key to Kyoko's room, right? I was hoping I could borrow it…"

"..." Byakuya was silent for a moment. Then he said, "I'm afraid I can't take that risk. You're the prime suspect, after all. Of course, if I were to go with you, that would be a different story."

"Then… *will* you go with me?" Makoto then asked warily.

"Sorry, I have my own agenda to take care of. Find me again later and we'll see." Was the heir's answer, before heading to the exit of the greenhouse. "Depending on my mood, I may go with you. Or I may not."

"Hmm, it really does seem as though Mr. Togami is skeptical of Mr. Naegi being the killer…" Hifumi mused in observation. "Though he isn't throwing the possibility away."

"Of course not. Regardless of any skepticism, it's still a fact that Makoto is the only student left without an alibi, at least until Kyoko rears her head." Byakuya stated crisply. "While I won't be quick to point fingers at our lucky student, I can't dismiss the idea either."

"At least our classmates aren't automatically believing that you are guilty…" Sayaka grumbled, snuggling into the luckster's side. Her words would've caused the luckster to awkwardly chuckle, had it not been for the swirling emotions still raging in his chest.

'Come back later, huh?' Makoto remarked to himself. 'Okay, then in the meantime I should look around somewhere else.'

The next scene showed the luckster at the gym, where the dismantled Monokuma still layed. However… "I figured it wouldn't be here." Makoto sighed, noticing immediately what was missing.

Immediately, several of the students noticed what was missing. "So the mastermind took the bomb while we weren't looking…" Byakuya noted with narrowed eyes. "Is it to hide his possible involvement? Or make it to where the mystery isn't that easy to solve in the trial?"

"Maybe the bear didn't want something that could blow a wall in the school lying around…" Leon pointed out.

"Maybe. But the mastermind probably deactivated so that wouldn't happen, before leaving the bear for the others to dismantle." Celeste argued. "So while it could be the case, it's more likely to have to do with the case itself."

'That bomb went missing…' Makoto thought to himself. 'There's no doubt about that. The fragments I found in the garden…'

"After, I linked back with Byakuya once again; and fortunately, he was more willing to go to Kyoko's room with me…" The narrator Makoto spoke. "That's where we found our next couple of clues…"

The next scene showed Makoto and Byakuya inside Kyoko's room. 'So… this is Kyoko's room.' The luckster thought to himself, looking around.

"You wanted to come here, right?" Byakuya spoke, drawing the luckster's attention. "So what is it you're looking for?"

"Nothing in particular. I just thought we might find some kind of clue here…" Makoto explained. "A clue that might… help us understand Kyoko."

That earned a look of irritation from the Togami heir. "You can't be serious. That's why you made me take time out of my search to come here?"

"S-Sorry…"

"Hey! What's wrong with finding out more about Kyoko?" Hina spoke in protest, angrily pouting. "It's not like he's doing it just because! Didn't he say he wanted to figure out whether or not Kyoko was the masked guy?"

"Actually, he didn't say it. Merely thought about it." Celeste corrected the swimmer. "Future Byakuya does not know Makoto's full motivation for looking into Kyoko's room."

"Wait… why isn't he saying anything about the masked guy?" Hiro asked, scratching his head in confusion. "Why isn't he telling anybody about the dude that attacked him?"

"...Cause he's not certain of what happened that night. Future me doesn't have a clear memory of what transpired." Makoto himself was the one to answer, speaking softly. "Add to that, I could've been the one to kill the masked individual. So it's difficult to say anything when you don't know yourself what happened…"

"...Yeah, I can see why you would keep quiet about it." Leon remarked with a small grimace. "Hard to say anything when you barely know what the hell happened…"

"Regardless, if you plan on poking around at random, you're doomed no matter how much time you take." Byakuya then advised him. "Surely you have something more concrete. Something to give us some sort of direction here."

'More concrete…' The lucky student furrowed his eyebrows in thought. Then his eyes lit up in remembrance. "Oh! I know!" He then dug into his pockets for a moment before pulling out an envelope. "Found it!"

"What's in the envelope?" Byakuya inquired curiously.

"Kyoko gave it to me. She said if something ever happened, I should open it." Makoto explained.

"Well, something has certainly happened." The Togami heir remarked dryly. "So open it."

"O-Okay…"

Despite the revelations, or maybe even because of it, Kyoko couldn't help but give Makoto an amused look. "So, you're gonna give it back at some point, huh?"

The luckster blushed a little. "Well, you're still alive, right…?" He grumbled defensively, prompting a giggle from Sayaka beside him. "I can still give it back to you…"

"Of course…" Was the only thing Kyoko said, chuckling softly.

Makoto then opened up the envelope and looked inside; and inside was a single sheet of paper that read, "Under the sheets…?" The luckster spoke in bemusement.

"...You hid something under your bed-sheets." Several students all concluded at once.

"I get the feeling that you enjoy being a mystery girl…" Sayaka spoke with some exasperation. Kyoko made no move to deny or acknowledge such accusations.

"Could it be the blank Monokuma was speaking about…?" Hifumi wondered, recalling the bear's angry answer to Makoto.

"Possibly. We shall see…" Sakura answered the fanfic creator.

"That's all that was in there…?" Byakuya spoke, irritation slightly coming back.

"Yeah, it looks like it…" Makoto confirmed with a nod, furrowing his eyebrows. 'Under the sheets…' His eyes then drifted towards the bed-sheets. 'Could something be…?'

When he lifted up the sheets, he was met with a crumpled up piece of paper. "What's this…?" The luckster then grabbed it and began reading its content. 'Class #78 Student Registry…? Mukuro… Ikusaba…?'

Eyes widened at the reveal of the content. "So Kyoko did manage to find files about Mukuro…!" Taka remarked.

"Is that the thing that made Kyoko suspicious about Mukuro? Her student registry?" Hina questioned, eyebrows furrowing.

"At the very least, it made her aware of Mukuro's existence." Celeste stated, placing her knuckles over her chin in thought. "Let's see if the registry reveals anything alarming."

The Ultimate Soldier in question felt herself tense. If the files weren't altered or added in anyway, it would reveal much of her childhood. But that was the question: Were there any additions made?

Byakuya then spoke up. "It appears to be Mukuro Ikusuba's profile."

"Yeah, looks like it…" Makoto nodded in agreement. 'That's probably the other thing Kyoko stole when she snuck into the headmaster's room, along with the key.'

A flashback of Monokuma's reveal to Makoto was then shown. 'This must be the "blank" that Monokuma was talking about…' The luckster deduced. 'Kyoko said a death without meaning was "unappealing". And this is what she left behind…'

"I don't have time for your sentimental indulgences. Hurry up and finish your search." Byakuya ordered tersely.

"O-Okay…"

"Spoilsport!"

"Read the mood, will ya?"

"You really are a soulless machine!"

Byakuya merely rolled his eyes at his classmates, keeping his attention on the screen.

"That's when I found out more about Mukuro Ikusaba." Narrator Makoto spoke as the present luckster read through the file. "The Ultimate Soldier. How she was trained with every weapon type imaginable. How she found an interest in it in childhood and was completely absorbed in it. How she won a survival game tournament in elementary school and wrote for military magazines. And that before entering middle school, while on vacation in Europe with her family… she disappeared."

"However, three years later she returned to Japan, alone and unannounced. She revealed that she'd joined a mercenary group called Fenrir for those years, and insisted that she wasn't kidnapped. That she received training of her own volition. However, she never revealed why she decided to return home when she did."

The information wasn't much of a surprise for the students. While none of them don't really know the specifics, they knew Mukuro had joined Fenrir some time ago, during her and Junko's trip to France. The fashionista wasn't shy about speaking of her sister's departure, and Mukuro made no move to deny it.

However, the telling of background made Byakuya narrow his eyes suspiciously. To join the Fenrir mercenary group for three years, only to return to Japan by her lonesome… while he may be reading off it too much, considering she was scouted as the Ultimate Soldier, the information from before made her return more suspicious. Especially with the disappearance of Fenrir.

Mukuro, meanwhile, found herself gripping her knees at the reminder of her abandonment. That in her hyper-focus interest of the military lifestyle, she left Junko without much of a thought for three years. It's one of the things that's keeping her from completely dissolving any loyalty.

Present Makoto went silent for a moment, as he processed what he had read. "The Ultimate Soldier… a mercenary group…" He muttered in disbelief.

'This doesn't feel real. The world I grew up in, it's like a completely different dimension…' The luckster thought dizzyingly. 'It's like one's non-fiction and the other is sci-fi. There's no way to even compare the two…'

"...Is my past really that much of a shock?" Mukuro asked with some uncertainty. "It's not that fantastical, is it?"

"With Makoto's bland life, it may as well be…" Junko remarked with a snort.

"I… yeah, I can't deny that…" The luckster in question merely sighed. "Stuff like that isn't something I hear about growing up…"

"Surprising you're still able to function, considering the many times your worldview has been shaken…" Byakuya noted in musing. "Rather impressive, really."

'The mark of a strong-will…' Both Sakura and Kyoko thought to themselves. Many of these events have shown how much inner-strength their lucky student really has.

"I never imagined I would hear the name Fenrir in a place like this…" Byakuya muttered to himself, breaking Makoto of his thoughts.

"Huh?" The luckster looked at the Togami heir in shock. "You recognize it?"

"The Fenrir Mercenary Corps is a collection of battle-crazed warmongers." Byakuya explained. "But they do have their uses, and they always get the job done. That's worth remembering…"

Despite not feeling particularly close to any members of Fenrir, Mukuro felt a tad defensive for her former comrades and spoke tersely. "I wouldn't call them warmongers, or battle-crazed. Merely passionate."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Ikusaba…" Byakuya snarked back.

"This is all part of a world totally removed from the one I live in…" Makoto groaned out.

"I have to say, I'm intrigued." Byakuya continued on to himself, looking down in thought. "Every rumor I've heard says that Fenrir has already…"

Right before he could finish his thoughts, Monokuma popped up. "Whoa! I feel like our hero is becoming a bit player and a bit player is becoming our hero!"

At the appearance of Monokuma, glares were immediately set on the monochrome bear. Makoto, in particular, had a seering look of rage that was almost uncharacteristic of him.

"Ah!" Makoto jolted in surprise. "It's you!"

"Hmm? What have you got in your pretty little hand there?" Immediately, the bear turned his attention to the file in the luckster's hand. "Uh-oh! You found her profile?!"

"...Oh crap!" Hiro exclaimed fearfully, holding his head in panic. "He found out about one of the things Kyoko stole!"

"Relax, Hiro dear. It's doubtful Monokuma would harm either one of them for reading the registry…" Celeste told the fortune teller calmly. "And it's far too late to snatch it away."

"S-So what if we did…?"

"Don't freak out on me! I'm not gonna hold it against you or anything." The bear reassured him. "And in case you're wondering, I don't hold it against Kyoko, either. Even though she stole it and hid it! After all, there's no rule against stealing, is there?"

"See?" Celeste smiled at the confirmation of her deduction. "Since neither reading the info nor stealing it was within the rule, Monokuma will not bother to strike."

"He sure as hell didn't care about those fucking rules when it came to Mukuro…!" Mondo growled, looking ready to rip the bear to shreds.

"But who I can't forgive is Miss Ogami, who broke the rules and busted into the headmaster's room…!" Monokuma then growled angrily. "Maybe I'll drag her corpse out here and slice it up and devour it! Bears are omnivorous, ya know…"

"DON'T YOU DARE LAY A FINGER ON SAKURA, YOU PIECE OF-"

Sakura had to push Hina back to her seat, and calm down her fit of rage. However, she wasn't the only outrage.

"That salty that you got out-played by one of your hostages, huh?!" Leon snapped angrily. "Well you can go fuck right off!"

"Don't act petty just because Sakura herself beat you to the punch…!" Sayaka growled. "You're the one who waved off the 'stubborn loser' when she stated that she's still gonna fight you!"

"The mastermind does not even have an ounce of moral standing to be outraged…!" Taka exclaimed in righteous anger. "Not when they bypassed the rules themselves!"

Makoto was silent; merely glaring heatedly at the bear. Monokuma could grand-stand all he wants, but when it comes down to it, the mastermind was nothing but a coward and a hypocrite. This trial wouldn't be taking place if they still felt that they had the upper hand, or if the survivors continued killing each other off. But once Kyoko went beyond what they were comfortable with, they decided to cheat and stage a class trial.

And he has no doubt that the mastermind's main target was Kyoko. She's being the biggest threat to their plan, after all.

"Are rule violations really so unforgivable? You're quite adamant about those regulations of yours…" Byakuya noted with some interest.

"Of course I am! A proper school life is built on dedication to organization and order!" Monokuma declared. "Which is why even I, as the school headmaster, have to follow the regulations myself!"

'Bullshit!' Was the raging thought of practically half the class, their looks of outrage matching their thoughts.

Others, however, began thinking about the bear's words; and how it lined up with the mastermind's actions.

"Oh?" The Togami heir raised an eyebrow at that. "So you're saying you have to follow your own rules, as well?"

"Absolutely! I can't have you complaining about how unfair it all is, now can I?" Monokuma nodded his head in confirmation.

'I wonder… is this why they're creating this fake trial?' Kyoko mused to herself. 'Rather than deal with me directly, they're trying to eliminate me while keeping any defiance or unity from growing?'

"In fact, on the subject of fairness, would you like to know something interesting?"

"Interesting…?" Makoto asked wearily.

"It's about the one writing all the rules." The bear began revealing. "They're actually… one of the participants in this killing game."

"...Huh?"

"What is he…?"

"I don't think I ever actually told you how many participants there actually were, did I? I was thinking, I should probably clarify that!"

A flashback of the class first coming together at the main hall was then shown. "When you all first got together in the main hall way back when, there were fifteen people there, right? I think that first meeting may have led to a little misunderstanding among you all."

"A… misunderstanding?" Makoto spoke slowly, looking shocked. "Are you saying…?"

"That's right! There weren't actually fifteen of you…" The bear confirmed. "The total number of students taking part in this killing game was actually sixteen!"

"...What the hell?" Leon exclaimed, a tad gobsmacked. "What's with the sudden narrative change here?"

"Saying that there's sixteen students is one thing. But now they're claiming that the one writing the rules is the sixteenth student?" Sayaka questioned, just as confused. "Is he trying to imply that Mukuro was the one writing the rules?"

"But… she died! Even if you could argue that she could've written them prior to the first class trial, there's no way she could've after!" Taka pointed out.

"Are they actually trying to paint Mukuro as the mastermind?" Celeste wondered, humming in thought. "Or merely paint the idea that she's assisting them?"

"...The bear's motives are unclear at the moment. The only thing we can do is watch, and piece it together." Byakuya stated. "But one thing is clear - it has to do with the fake trial that they have set up, and their efforts to redirect the killing game."

'Sixteen!? Then…!' A flashback of Kyoko's warning of Mukuro Ikusuba was then played. 'The sixteenth student… Mukuro Ikusaba… she's part of the school life… so the one making the regulations is…!'

"..." Meaning, Byakuya was giving Monokuma an angry, bewildered stare. "Why…?"

"Hm?" Monokuma turned towards the Togami heir curiously. "Did you say something?"

"Why are you telling us this?" Byakuya growled.

"Oh, well because… like I told you, this killing game is desperately popular! You wouldn't believe the ratings!" The bear explained. "And since we've got so many viewers now, I wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page. I don't want to wake up to a hurricane of complaints and hate mail, ya know? Make sense?"

"...Is it possible… that he wants to keep a level of… credibility for the killing game?" Kyoko mused out loud. "Is that why they're staging a class trial in the first place? Why they're not blatantly disregarding their own rules?"

Her musing caught the attention of the others. "What's on your mind, Kyoko?" Makoto asked the detective.

"Just thinking… there's a reason why the mastermind has these rules established in the first place, and why he's so adamant on following them…" Kyoko explained slowly. "And perhaps that reason… is due to the killing game being broadcasted."

"...You're saying that they want to legitimize the killings that's been happening between our future selves. And that getting directly involved, outside the bounds of the rules they've set up, would tear apart that legitimization." Byakuya concluded, looking down in thought. "They're showing this to the whole world, making a show out of this, for a reason… and breaking their own rules would tear apart that reason."

Kyoko nodded. "It's clear, despite how nonsensical everything seems to be, all of Monokuma's actions have been done for a reason. And it has to do with the game itself being broadcasted for the world to see."

Several students looked uncomfortable at the reminder of the "school life" being shown on TV. While they're pushing past it for the time being, the fact that all this is being shown for the whole world to see still unsettled the group as a whole, to say the least.

"..." Byakuya was silent, merely narrowing his eyes at the bear.

"Okay, that's all you get for now!" The bear then declared. "Oh, actually! I do have some revenge to get, so I have an extra bonus for you!"

"Revenge…?"

That brought back the attention of the students, with some tensing up at the mention of revenge. "So far, I don't like it when he talks about revenge…" Hiro gulped.

"It shouldn't be a thing you should like, period, Hiro." Taka pointed out, looking stiff himself.

"I want to get back at that sneaky Miss Kirigiri, so I'm gonna share a little secret with ya!" The bear snickered.

"S-Seriously?!" Makoto exclaimed incredulously.

"Yeah, seriously?! Like, that's just super petty!" Hina protested with a scowl. "Just because she found a way around your rules, means you have to get back at her like that?!"

"T-The mastermind really is l-like a c-child…" Toko stuttered, biting her thumb.

Kyoko, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow. What would he reveal that can be used as re-?

"You know how she wears those stupid gloves day in, day out, all the time?" Monokuma reminded them.

At the mention of those gloves, Makoto's eyes widened while the detective herself stiffened up beside him. 'He's not going to…?!'

"Well, don't tell anyone I told you, but… she wears them to cover a bunch of hideous scars that she doesn't want anyone to see!"

"...What?"

"Puhuhu." The bear let out some more snickers. "Okay, NOW that's all you get!" And with one round of full-on laughter, Monokuma left.

"..."

"K-Kyoko…?" Hesitantly, eyes slowly turned towards the detective, with Hina being the one to speak. "Do you really…?"

The question died on her lips as they all bore witness to the wrathful look that encompassed the usually composed girl's face; a look similar to her counterpart at the mention of the headmaster during the fourth chapter. It sent chills down several spines, with Hiro and Hifumi even letting out small yelps of fear.

Makoto, however, was one of the few that weren't startled by this change of demeanor. He knew how self-conscious Kyoko secretly was about her scars, how she didn't want anyone to know about them. So in response, he wrapped a free hand around Kyoko's glove-covered hand, in a gesture of silent support.

That jolted the detective at her rage, with her turning towards Makoto. Said luckster had a slight blush across his face, but gave her a look of support to match the gesture. That was enough to calm Kyoko down; not eliminate her rage completely, but made it where she gained back her composure. She gave a squeeze of her hand in gratitude.

"Kyoko wears those gloves to cover up a bunch of scars…?" Makoto muttered to himself. "Wait… so on the back of her hand…"

The screen flashbacked to the corpse's hand, before going back to the present. 'Wait, but no… Monokuma specifically said they were scars, right?' The luckster quickly recalled. 'And that's why Kyoko wears those gloves, to hide the scars. Which means…'

"Are you thinking about Kyoko again?" Byakuya suddenly asked, jolting Makoto out of his thoughts.

"...Huh?"

Byakuya's words took minds off the revelation of Kyoko's scars, with more than a few taking amusement out of it. "You make it sound like the dude thinks about her 24/7…" Mondo snickered out.

"Is he wrong? A lot of his thoughts do seem to be around Kyoko the further we go…" Leon pointed out, grinning teasingly. "Gotta make you wonder…"

Despite all the swirling emotions in his heart, the luckster couldn't help but blush at the implications. "I-It's not like that…!" He couldn't help but whine, drawing more laughter from his friends.

And of course, it drew pouts and jealous auras from his not-so-secrets admirers, with Sayaka tightening the grip on his arm slightly.

"Forget about her. What matters right now is uncovering Monokuma's trap." The Togami heir stated.

"His… trap?" Makoto repeated in confusion.

"God must have really hated you, to make you so dull." Byakuya snarked.

"Well, sorry he can't understand what you're saying immediately…!" Hina spoke in defense for the luckster, her pout growing bigger. "What does he even mean by trap?"

"He deduced that Monokuma gave them the information about Mukuro in order to leave them in a trap." Celeste was the one to answer. "And he's trying to figure out what that trap is."

"Y-Yeah, idiot swimmer. Keep up…" Toko grumbled.

Hina merely crossed her arms and grumbled to herself about how not everyone is that smart.

"Don't you remember what Monokuma just told us?"

"He said there were sixteen students, right?" Makoto immediately recalled. "Which means Mukuro was a student here…"

"Obviously, Monokuma was trying to tell us that Mukuro is the one creating the rules to the game." Byakuya pointed out. "But why would he tell us that? And why now?"

"He said he wanted to make things clear so there wouldn't be any complaints later…"

"But the mere fact that he said that proves that Mukuro is connected to the case." The Togami heir argued. "That's why Monokuma revealed the existence of a sixteenth student. He needs to make our investigation fair."

"Mukuro is related to the case…?" Makoto repeated with a small frown.

"Perhap she's the one who killed Kyoko."

The luckster's eyes widened at this. "What?!"

"That would explain why we would have to have a class trial, wouldn't it?" Byakuya stated. "If she's a student, and she killed someone, that would make her part of the school killing game."

'Mukuro… is the killer?' Makoto thought to himself. 'She killed Kyoko…?'

"So your future self really does suspect the mastermind as the killer…" Taka noted thoughtfully.

"He does. Although, after what Monokuma revealed, I suspect that will change very quickly…" The Togami heir hummed. "After all, in his eyes, what the mastermind did seemed nonsensical if they're a contestant of the killing game and killed Kyoko…"

"So, what, is he gonna think that Makoto is the killer then…?" Hiro asked with both confusion and hesitance.

"He'll remain the prime suspect, but in the end, no…" Byakuya declared, narrowing his eyes. "Not after Kyoko reveals herself."

That got several of the students stiffening up, quickly understanding the implication.

"Anyone should be able to come to that conclusion, don't you think?" Byakuya rhetorically asked. "In fact, that's exactly what I thought when the investigation first began. But… based on what Monokuma just told us, I've changed my mind. Mukuro Ikusuba isn't the culprit!"

"Huh?" The luckster could only give him a look of confusion. "What makes you say that?"

"We thought Mukuro, the Ultimate Despair, was the mastermind's true identity." The Togami heir explained. "But if that's true, Monokuma's behavior makes no sense. Why would the mastermind go out of their way to reveal themselves to us?"

"That's a good point…" Makoto conceded.

"Mukuro giving us information that would raise questions about her would be bold, to say the least." Byakuya remarked. "It makes more sense, then, to assume that Mukuro isn't the culprit."

"So that's the trap…" Makoto said in understanding. "They want us to suspect Mukuro, and come to the wrong conclusion…"

Byakuya nodded. "That's what makes sense to me."

"Right now, Mr. Togami seems to be going on the path of right for the wrong reasons…" Hifumi observed, adjusting his glasses. "It's true that Miss Ikusaba isn't the culprit; but she isn't the mastermind either, and is the 'victim' of this case."

"This trial is gonna be fucking hard to keep up with…" Mondo grumbled. "All because we know more than they do!"

"The n-narrative is gonna keep shifting with each n-new thing…" Toko stated. "They have to figure out the i-identity of the body, when and h-how that person died, and who the actual k-killer is. T-That… that won't be easy."

'Especially with the mastermind holding all the cards…' Kyoko conceded. This trial… it'll be tough to solve, especially with it being a fake trial created by the mastermind themselves.

'The way you say it, it definitely does seem possible. But if that's really true…' Makoto thought to himself, frowning in thought. 'If Mukuro isn't the killer… then who is?'

As he was musing, his eyes caught something on the coffee table. 'It's… a woodblock decoration.' The luckster recognized, picking up the piece of wood.

The wood also caught the attention of the others. "Is that a key from one of the dojo lockers…?" Sayaka recognized immediately. "But what's it doing in Kyoko's room?"

"Did she have it for some reason?" Taka questioned with a frown. "Is she attempting to keep something in one of the lockers?"

"Guess we know what Makoto's next stop's gonna be…" Leon remarked.

"What's that?" Byakuya asked, also noticing the wood. "What purpose does it serve?"

"I think it's probably… a key." Makoto deduced. "The lockers at those really traditional public bathhouses use them for their lockers."

"I wouldn't know. I've never gone to a public bathhouse." The Togami heir shrugged.

'That doesn't surprise me. It's hard to picture Byakuya doing something like that…' The luckster remarked to himself.

"Yeah, same…"

"True."

"Definitely hard to imagine."

"Would be surprised if he actually went in one…"

And of course, Byakuya took the comments towards him like small bursts of gusts; nothing to concern himself with.

"But if it is a key, I think I might know what it unlocks."

"Really?" Makoto looked at the heir with curiosity. "What?"

"Unless I'm mistaken… I'm pretty sure I saw something in the dojo that this might go to." Byakuya recalled.

'The dojo…?'

A frown of confusion entered Hiro's face. "You know… I'm confused about something."

"And what would you be confused about, Hiro dear…?" Celeste questioned with a sigh.

"I mean… the dojo is on the fifth floor, right?"

"It is…" Taka confirmed with a nod.

"And the fifth floor opened only a few days ago for them, right?"

"As repeated with every class trial…" Byakuya confirmed with an eye-roll.

"But then… Kyoko got her key taken from her on that same day, didn't she?" Hiro pointed out. "So where would she have the chance to put the key in there?"

"..."

"..."

"...Fuck." Was the resounding feeling spouted out by the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader.

"Well then, I believe our work here is finished." Byakuya declared. "Let's move on. I'm sure there are other places in need of investigation."

"I should find out if the key and the dojo really are connected…" Makoto said, looking at the block of wood in his hand.

With that, the Togami heir began leaving. "Well? Are you coming?"

The scene then switched to Makoto and Byakuya at the dojo, with Makoto in front of the wooden lockers. The lucky student inserted the key into the only locker without one, unlocking it and getting it to open. And inside, was a cluster of metal arrows.

"They look like they're made of titanium, which means they're quite strong despite how thin they are." Byakuya noted. "Of course, without a bow they're nothing but strong little sticks."

'Strong… sticks…' Makoto repeated to himself. Then his eyes drifted something under those arrows. 'Oh, there's something else inside the locker…'

Looking down completely, he saw a big ball of duct tape. 'It's a wadded ball of duct tape. I wonder what this was used for…' He then noticed what was stained on it. 'Is that… a bloodstain?'

"...It's clear now. The mastermind is aiming for Kyoko." Sakura stated strongly, a fierce glare across her face. "Trying to frame her for Mukuro Ikusaba's death."

"Indeed. If I can recall correctly, the Monokuma File has stated that the head of the body was struck…" Celeste spoke in agreement. "Thick as a metal pipe, I believe. The titanium arrows, in conjunction with the bloody duct tape, would fit the premise."

"And with the key being in Kyoko's room…" Hina trailed off, clearly not liking where this was going.

"As well as Byakuya likely to suspect her once they know she's alive…" Sayaka added with similar trepidation.

"Fuck!" Mondo spat out yet again.

"The mastermind did indeed lay out a trap." Byakuya acknowledged his future self's deduction, gritting his teeth slightly. "Unfortunately, they seem incapable of evading that trap."

Makoto couldn't help but form another angry scowl, glaring at the floor. What the mastermind was doing on screen was making his blood boil to no end! Every chapter the one controlling the bear sinks to a new low! What else will they do in order to keep up their sick game? To keep the survivors from continuing to fight back?

Kyoko, meanwhile, stayed silent; merely observing the entire investigation. So far, nothing has fully come up to point to the mastermind's clear guilt. Whatever is there, is linked to Mukuro's disguise as Junko, something that the survivors are hard pressed to figure out at this point.

If nothing comes up that can clear her of her guilt… then the mastermind will get what they want. Something that had her subconsciously clenched her hands, one around her skirt and the other around a certain luckster's hand.

"..." For a moment, Byakuya looked deep in thought, something Makoto noticed.

"Is something wrong?"

"It's very odd, don't you think?" The Togami heir asked rhetorically. "The locker was hiding items that were clearly related to the case. But how did the key to the locker wind up in the victim's room…? Or… perhaps…" Again, Byakuya went silent.

"...What is your future self thinking, Byakuya?" Makoto inquired, letting go of his scowl to turn to the heir.

"I don't know for certainty. It could be a number of things, really…" Byakuya admitted. "We'll just have to see as the investigation finishes up, and the trial begins."

"Byakuya?" The lucky student stared at the heir in confusion.

"Forget it." Byakuya then said dismissively. "Come on. We need to continue on to the next location."

"Huh?" Spoke several of the students in confusion.

"Um, what else is there to look at?" Leon asked in confusion. "Didn't they check all the places they could, related to the case?"

"Did Mr. Togami discovered another piece of vital evidence while we weren't looking…?" Hifumi inquired, clear question marks over his head.

"Huh?" Makoto looked even more confused. "What next location?"

"There's still something we need to look into." Byakuya insisted. "We need to do more research on Fenrir."

"...Ah. That makes sense." Sayaka nodded in understanding. "Considering Mukuro's involvement, it makes sense to learn everything about Fenrir."

"And with the archive being available to the survivors, it'll be easy to find more information about them…" Chihiro added.

"Fenrir…? You mean the mercenary group that Mukuro was a part of?" Makoto remembered. "But… how are we supposed to find out about that?"

"It isn't it obvious? Where in this school would you go to do research on something?" Byakuya hinted out.

'Research…' After thinking for a moment, the luckster then recalled the area. "Are you talking about… the archive? That's right… the archive has all kinds of info that the general public doesn't have access to."

"We only have so much time before the trial begins. Let's hurry." With those words, the Togami heir headed off yet again.

"The survivors are finding out a lot. More than what I suspect they would…" Sakura stated neutrally. "However… it still isn't enough to get to the actual truth of the case."

"I honestly don't think they'll find enough for this…" Junko remarked with a fake, worried frown. "The sicko kept sis' identity hidden with that bomb, and said crap about it. If they can't find that out…"

Then they'll be stuck. Or rather… the survivors will have little option but to suspect Kyoko out of the six. That was the grimm conclusion many of them were seeing.

And that's the end. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Again, apologies if the reactions seem lackluster or repetitive, but my aim is to finish this. Hopefully, once we get to the more exciting stuff, there'll be much more spice. Review, favorite, and follow and I will see you later.