Hello readers and welcome to my new chapter; the first update of this fic in the new year. Here's hoping I can make more of these updates at a faster rate, as I would rather not take till 2025 to finish this.
In case any of you guys didn't know, a TV Tropes page has been made for this fic! Was informed of this by a reader here, and looked it up myself right after. A nice surprise to say the least, one that I'm certainly not complaining about. (Would it be wrong to hope for fanart next?)
If the makers of that page are reading this, thanks for that, and thanks to all of you who have read and enjoyed this fic. Admittedly, without the support from all of you, I'm unsure of whether or not this fic would have gone on for this long (Not sure if I admitted this already. If I did, well, I'm just saying it again for good measures).
Hope this growth as a writer continues. Would love to see if I can go further from here.
Anywho, this chapter will be the start of the investigation, and the casts' reaction to it. I hope you all enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa.
Chapter 76: Watching Chapter 4: All Star Apologies 10
"Huh…?" Was the absolutely stunned voice of Hina. "Sakura's…"
The screen lit back up to show Makoto and Kyoko in front of Sakura, with a frozen Hina at the doorway. "Sakura's… dead? She's… really dead?"
"..." Makoto didn't say anything. Just merely looked at Sakura's corpse.
'Oh Hina… Makoto…' Sayaka thought tearfully, still clinging tightly onto the lucky student. 'I'm sorry… I'm so sorry that the two of you have to go through this…'
"We didn't make it in time." Kyoko murmured, gently checking over the body. "It's happened again…"
"..." Hina was still frozen at the door, a petrified look across her face. "I have to go get them…" With shaky legs, she walked out of the room. "I have to get… the others…"
The screen moved back to the equally petrified Makoto. "Why…?" He asked himself. "Why… did this have to happen?" He repeated that question over and over again, unable to say anything else.
Mukuro was unable to look at the screen any longer, her guilt growing at the dazed look of her crush. 'I'm pathetic…' The soldier couldn't help but curse herself. 'You can't stand the thought of Makoto getting hurt, of him suffering through this… yet I can't even bring myself to break off from my sister and her plans…'
When will she just soldier up and be fully honest with the lucky student? How much of this does she have to take in order to tell everything?
"I need to examine Sakura's body…" Kyoko stated, mostly to herself.
As the girl examined Sakura's corpse, narrator Makoto spoke up once more. "I just stood there motionless behind her, while she checked Sakura's corpse." He stated. "Time passed. While I stood there, unable to do a thing, time just… passed. And after I don't know how long…"
'Sayaka… Leon… Mukuro… Chihiro…' Makoto couldn't help but think sorrowfully, a few tears slipping from his eyes, 'Mondo, Taka, Taeko, Hifumi… and now Sakura. Who else is next? Who else is gonna be taken from this sick game? Will it be Hiro? Toko? Will Hina be next? Possibly… Kyo-?'
The lucky student was unable to finish that line of thought; the ideas being too painful to think about for too long.
"I got everyone…" Hina announced dispassionately, dazedly walking into the room.
And sure enough, Hiro, Byakuya, and Genocide Jill were in the rec room. "Uwah! O-Ogre?!" Hiro yelped in shock.
"Oh. So she's dead, huh?" Jill commented nonchalantly.
"Sakura's been killed? I see…" Byakuya mused.
As soon as they arrived, Kyoko spoke up. "You heard the announcement just now, right? So you know what this means."
"Sakura was murdered," Byakuya bluntly stated, "And by someone in this very room…"
Despite knowing the song and dance their future selves were going through, that very statement caused several of the students to tense up. Once again, one of their own had murdered another. Once again, there will be another class trial. And once again, someone is going to be executed.
'This feels so… routine now…' Makoto couldn't help but note, feeling very uncomfortable with how all this is unfolding. 'Like it's a part of our daily life.' A part of him recognized that there's no point in dilly-dallying, that they couldn't just let themselves be fully shocked with every death, not with how the mastermind set it all up.
However, the other part of him couldn't help but protest against all this. Couldn't help but say that this is all wrong!
Meanwhile, Hina finally managed to calm herself; however, upon hearing Byakuya's statement, her grief was accompanied by a growing fury. One that had shown itself during the reveal of Sakura's involvement with Monokuma.
"Is that what you were going to say?"
"...No." The stunned Hina spoke up. "Whoever killed her… it's not just 'someone in this room'." Her look slowly turned into a wrathful, tear-filled glare, aimed at three certain students. "It was one of you… Hiro, Toko, Byakuya - one of you killed Sakura!"
"Wh- Wh-?!" Hiro was startled by the accusation.
"I'm being accused again?!" Hiro exclaimed in alarm, holding his head.
"N-No way, it couldn't be me!" Toko denied, shaking her head. "It's i-impossible!"
Before anyone could refute or support their claims, one voice spoke up. "No… it was one of you. It has to be!" Slowly, Hina aimed a particularly venomous glare at the suspected parties.
"Hina…" Seeing what her friend is about to do, Sakura pleaded for her friend to calm down. "Please, don't…"
The swimmer ignored her, however. "You all hated Sakura… couldn't stand the sight of her!" She growled. "You all were afraid of her, doubted and questioned her! None of you even gave Sakura a chance; ALL THREE OF YOU JUST PUSHED HER AWAY AT THE START!"
By now, the girl has gotten out of Sakura's grasp, looking ready to strangle all three suspects herself. Her furious demeanor caused both Hiro and Toko to curl up, cowering away from the swimmer. Byakuya, however, was far from scared, and merely looked at the furious swimmer stoically.
"IT WAS ONE OF YOU! I KNOW IT!" Hina continued screaming at the three suspects. "ONE OF YOU KILLED SAKURA! AND ALL BECAUSE YOU-"
"HINA!" Before she could continue on though, the shouts of her best friend and her crush interrupted her vicious rant. The martial artist held Hina by one shoulder from behind, while the lucky student placed himself in front of her. Makoto continued speaking for both of them. "I understand why you're furious, and I can see how those three are suspect! But you have to calm down; we can't be at each other's throat!"
Hina could only look at him with an angry glare, more tears threatening to come out. "How can I stay calm Makoto?!" She protested, swinging her arms out. "How can I, when one of those three killed her out of hatred?!"
Sakura then spoke up. "Because the three that are with us now have done no such crime," she reminded her friend earnestly, "I'm still here - still alive, Hina. So please, calm yourself; you know that this isn't what my future self or I would want."
Hina, for a moment, stayed silent; only heavy, angry breaths coming out of the girl. However, once that moment had passed, she nodded stiffly. Sighing in relief, Makoto moved away, letting Sakura guide Hina back to their couch. Once they were settled, the luckster headed back to his own couch.
"You're accusing us before we've even begun the investigation?" Byakuya questioned, eyes narrowed.
"I don't need to investigate anything…" Hina retorted, "Because you hated her. You hated the sight of her! One of you did it, I know it!"
"Yeah, when you think about it, those three are really the only options," Leon remarked with a sigh, "Makoto is out for obvious reasons, I don't see Kyoko killing Sakura, and I definitely don't see Hina doing it."
"So, the only options are Byakuya, Toko, and Hiro," Sayaka spoke in agreement.
Hiro, however, didn't appreciate the analysis. "Oh c'mon! Am I really gonna get accused again?" He whined, tugging tendrils of his hair, "I thought that was done and over with in the last trial!"
"I-I have hemophobia!" Toko spoke up in her own protest, "H-How can I kill s-someone if I can't stand the sight of b-b-b-blood?" Processing her own words, she yelped and covered her eyes once more.
Meanwhile, Byakuya was merely watching silently. Something a few noticed. "Nothing to say in your defense, Byakuya?" Celeste asked curiously.
"What is there to say? I can see why the three of us are the highest suspects," The Togami heir retorted, "And while I don't believe my future self is foolish enough to kill Sakura, the only thing to do is look at the evidence and see."
Hina desperately wanted to spit back at those three; to refute their claims that they aren't the killer. But with Sakura silently urging her to calm herself, the swimmer bit her tongue.
"You… know it?" Suddenly Monokuma popped up in the middle of the room. "Jeez, I didn't know your power level would increase by that much just by getting mad!"
Hina redirected her glare at the bear. "What are you doing here…?"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to hand out my little murder flyer," Monokuma answered, "That's right! It's the next Monokuma File! And don't get so mad, miss Asahina, or you're going to ruin that lewd face of yours!"
Unfortunately, it was Sakura's turn to be forced to stay calm. The martial artist immediately had to wrestle down the urge to get up and go break the TV in front of her. Not only would she be stopped, but it will not help Hina keep calm.
"Now then! With that, I-"
"Hold on…" Makoto interjected, staring directly at the bear, "There's something I want to ask you…"
"Huh?" Monokuma tilted his head in response.
"It was you, wasn't it?" Makoto accused, "You killed Sakura?"
Byakuya raised an eyebrow. "You're accusing the bear again?"
"Didn't think you would revert back to that old accusation." Junko said in musing.
The lucky student shook his head. "I don't think it's an emotional claim or anything," He said in defense of his future self, "Remember when Sakura stated that she wanted to challenge the mastermind?"
A few of the students saw his line of thought. "Your future self is thinking that Sakura died fighting against Monokuma," Kyoko deduced.
Makoto nodded. "Yeah, that's right."
"Not a completely baseless idea," Kyoko mused in acceptance, "However, it's doubtful that's the case." Monokuma would've likely announced it to everyone and put her corpse on a pedestal if he had done so. Or, at least, she thought he would.
"Huh huh?"
"Sakura wanted to challenge the mastermind to a duel," Makoto continued with his reasoning, "Maybe you and her fought, and then…"
"Then I killed her?" Monokuma finished off. Then he shook his head. "Sorry, not quite! Actually, not even close. That whole thing is totally irrelevant now! Sakura came to a most regrettable end without even getting the chance to finish things with me…"
The reminder that she was unable to keep to her promise and face the mastermind stung the martial artist a little. A part of wished that she had died having fought the mastermind; it would've made her death a little less painful, knowing that she fought and resisted the entire time.
But no; her death was the result of one of her classmates. One she would have to see executed soon.
He then let out a breath of relief. "Which, thank God for that! It saved me the trouble of having to go through with our little fight. Cuz even for someone like me, it would've been no mean feat to take down a behemoth like that!"
"No kidding," Leon snorted, "Which makes the fact that she died by someone else's hand even more unbelievable!"
"None of the other survivors are physically capable of matching her, true," Taka nodded in musing, "Not even Hina, who's the most physically fit out of all of them."
"That means there's only two ways the killer was able to get the best of Sakura," Mukuro spoke up, "Either by a surprise attack, one that Sakura would've been unable to see coming, or by poison."
And considering the chem lab has just been opened… yeah, several of the students can see where this was possibly going.
"I gotta tell ya, I was actually pretty worried!" The bear admitted. "I mean, she'd violated a rule by attacking me in the first place, but I wasn't able to punish her! So I dunno who it was, but whoever the blackened is this time… I owe you one!"
That's when Hina spoke up once again. "I HATE him!" she shouted vehemently, glaring daggers at the screen, "I hate that bear so much!"
"He OWES them?!" Sayaka exclaimed, aghast.
"Did he have to say that in front of Hina?!" Taka questioned, just as disgusted. "That was uncalled for!"
"That damn bear is one sadistic little troll," Leon grumbled angrily.
"Y-You owe them one?!" Hina exclaimed in outrage.
"Oopsie!" Monokuma covered his mouth in feigned embarrassment. "Before you get all pissy-potty at me, you better figure out who did it first! Cuz I mean… your lives are all on the line, right?" He then ended that with his signature laugh, before disappearing.
"What the hell…? He owes them one?" Hina growled in fury. "I hate him! I hate this whole thing!"
"Well I, for one, am glad it was Sakura," Byakuya stated, smirking, "She was working with the mastermind, after all."
Everyone knew what was coming the moment Byakuya let that statement leave his mouth. In an instant, Sakura grabbed the arm of her friend, just as Hina got up from her seat.
For a moment, the girl stopped, her body shaking in equal amounts of fury and grief. 'You're the worst, Togami,' she thought viciously, 'Saying stuff like that, being glad that someone else is dead… I really wished it was you who died. Not Sayaka, not Chihiro, not Mondo, or Taka, or Leon. But you!'
She so desperately wanted to say that; to spit those things directly at Byakuya, with a punch for good measure. The only thing holding her back was Sakura, and not just physically. She knows that her friend is likely blaming herself for what's happening; having her worry more for her than she already is will not help. So, slowly, she sat back down, struggling to contain her fury.
She wasn't the only one. Mondo was looking as pissed as ever for the disrespect shown for Sakura, while Leon looked like he wanted to throw quite a few baseballs at Byakuya. Taka had a clearly appalled look, and Sayaka had a tight grip around Makoto's arm, resisting the urge to slap the Togami heir once again.
"H-How can you say that now…?!" Makoto exclaimed incredulously.
"Sorry, I don't have time for your squabbling. The next game has already begun…" Byakuya dismissed him. "If you want to be angry at someone, be angry at whoever killed Sakura."
"Fuck! Off! Byakuya!" Leon spat at the future Togami, "If you don't have time for any shit, then how about you stop starting some?!"
"Damn straight!" Mondo growled out in agreement, "The fucker knows that the shit he says would piss people off, and he got the fucking balls to say that?!"
'...Why him?' was the poisonous thought Sayaka couldn't help but think, 'Out of everyone who survived, why is he one of them? Why couldn't he have died instead of one of the others?!' It was a sickening thought, and the idol knew it. But the thought came anyway.
"...I hate him," Hina unconsciously slipped from her mouth, "I hate him. I hate him, I hate him, I hate him…"
A mix of guilt, anguish, and frustration entered Sakura's face as she heard the venomous words of her friend. She was unsure of how she could calm her, uncertain of what else she could to comfort her. The only thing she can do is stay beside her, give her reassurance that she's still here.
Hina was silent, merely glaring angrily at him through her tears. Kyoko then spoke up. "Right now, our top priority needs to be uncovering Sakura's killer," she stated, "If we can't do that, we're all dead."
"Then let's decide who will stand guard this time," Byakuya advised.
"...I'll do it," Hina volunteered, her voice cracking with emotion.
"Hina…?" Makoto turned towards the girl in concern.
"I'm okay…" The swimmer reassured him, "Just let me handle it…! Besides, I…" A few tears slipped from her eyes. "I want to be here… with Sakura."
"Hina…" Makoto said softly, looking at both the future and present swimmer in sympathy. "Yeah, I definitely don't see Hina leaving Sakura right now, for any reason…"
"Agreed," Taka nodded solemnly, "She will likely stay alongside her friend, up until the trial happens."
Hina didn't say anything, still too distraught and angry over the entire thing to have the proper words. But she nodded resolutely, knowing that she would do the same as her future self.
"Okay, then Hina is guard number one. But we need one more," Byakuya said, uncaring of Hina's state of mind. He then turned to one other girl. "Kyoko, that's you."
That threw the students in a loop. "Kyoko?" Hiro repeated, "Why her?"
"Wouldn't it be best for her to investigate and find the clues alongside everyone?" Taka pointed out, "Even without knowing she's the Ultimate Detective, her skills in solving mysteries have been made clear."
Byakuya, however, quickly figured out his future self's motivation; and had to bite back a groan of annoyance over said motivation.
"...Me?" Kyoko questioned, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"You've always been a thorn in my side. This time just stand by and watch quietly," Byakuya demanded, "Consider that an order."
"An o-order?!" Makoto spoke up in disbelief.
"Why, that resentful, childish, high-handed…!" Sayaka spoke in both incredulity and outrage, "He's trying to force Kyoko out of the investigation?!"
"Just to get the glory for himself?!" Leon exclaimed, just as disbelieving.
"Byakuya…" Makoto was honestly uncertain whether he should be surprised or not. Considering Byakuya's personality, he probably shouldn't be; the Togami heir isn't the type to share the spot-light with anyone.
"..." Kyoko merely sighed, not all that concerned with Byakuya's demands.
"Fine. I'll stay behind," Kyoko conceded, not bothering to argue.
"You're seriously going along with this?!" was the scream of some of the students.
"Why are you even bothering with listening to him?" Leon questioned, looking at Kyoko in disbelief, "You could just brush the asshole off!"
The detective still didn't look all that surprised. "I doubt staying in one area will affect that much," she stated, "Much can be found from the murder area itself. Plus, Makoto is there to assist, so he can look where I can't."
"True enough," Celeste mused, "The two of you have worked together in previous trials, and worked together well."
That got the more emotional students to concede, though they didn't look happy about it.
"Then it's settled," Byakuya nodded in satisfaction, "Let's begin, shall we?"
Before anyone could move, however, Hina interjected. "...Hold on!" She spoke up. "Before that, there's something I want to say."
"Which is…?" Byakuya inquired.
"Hiro, Byakuya, Toko - none of you are allowed to step foot in the crime scene," Hina declared.
That caused several eyes to widen. "She's barring half of the survivors from the crime scene?" Mukuro questioned, eyes narrowed, "Is that really such a good idea?"
Hina then spoke up. "Of course I would!" she said fiercely, finally looking up at her classmates, "One of those three killed Sakura! Murdered her in cold blood! There's no way I would let them get anywhere near her body!"
"Hina…" Makoto bit his lip, understanding Hina's feelings but knowing that this will not help them.
"Hiro and Toko are of little concern, since they provide nothing to the trial," Celeste stated, "But keeping Byakuya from investigating could prove to be detrimental to solving the murder."
"I don't think future Hina will care though…" Junko pointed out.
"What…?" Was all Hiro could say.
"One of you killed Sakura!" the swimmer accused, "I won't let someone like that come anywhere near her!"
"Don't be stupid," Byakuya said, scowling, "Our lives are in just as much danger as yours! We have every right to investigate."
"I don't care what you say. I'm not letting the one who killed Sakura anywhere near her," Hina said stubbornly, "Even if it means I have to use force, you're not getting in here…!"
"See?"
"Can you really blame Hina?" Chihiro asked, his voice small, "She lost her best friend, and it was right after she faced accusations of being a traitor…"
"True enough. However, her hostility will make things difficult, and not just in the trials," Celeste stated, "It can create a further divide post-trial if it keeps up."
"You're one of the LAST people I need to hear it from!" Hina spat back. The gambler maintained her stoic look in response to the hostility shown to her.
Byakuya tsked. "Well, it appears further discussion would be a waste of time. How about a compromise?" he suggested, "I won't ask you to let all of us in. Just let me."
"What?!" Hiro gasped.
"Why bar the two of us from the crime scene?!"
"Because the two of you are next-to-useless for these things," was Byakuya's brutal reply, "Can you honestly say that you can assist in the investigation in any capacity?"
"I- well- yeah, I guess you got a point," Hiro sighed in acceptance and defeat. Thinking about it, why was he protesting this anyways? It isn't like he would look at the body like Kyoko would.
"I-I wouldn't, no." And Toko doubted Genocide Jack would care enough to help much.
"You don't really care, do you?" the heir pointed out, "You're both useless, anyways."
Genocide Jill shrugged. "Nope, don't really caaaare!" she stated nonchalantly, "I'd rather spend my time coming up with another splendid fantasy involving Master anyway!"
"And you, Hiro?" Byakuya turned his attention towards the fortune teller, "Do you really object?"
"I-If you're gonna go that far, what can I do?" Hiro said, rubbing his head nervously, "I mean, I don't have anything to hide, so why should I care?"
His response piqued a few interests. 'He knows something~' Junko sang in her head.
'What is the fool hiding?' Celeste thought, immediately detecting the lie.
'That was… strange,' Makoto thought to himself, noting how awkward the response was.
Byakuya nodded. "So, it's decided."
"Nothing's decided!" Hina interjected.
"Did you think that I would let that slide?!"
The Togami heir let out a huff of annoyance. "And did you honestly think that I would just let you bar me from investigating the crime?" he shot back, "Say whatever you like about me, but I'm not one to give up. I aim to complete my goals, one way or another."
Hina growled, every muscle in her body urging her to strangle Byakuya right here and now. However, Sakura's grip on her shoulder silently urged her to keep calm.
Kyoko then interjected. "I know how you feel, Hina, but you should agree to his request."
"B-But-!"
"We have to find out who killed Sakura," the lavender haired girl reminded the brunette, "For those of us still alive, and to honor Sakura's memory…"
Hina was silent for a moment, a few tears running down her face. Then, slowly, she nodded. "Fine. I guess that's okay," she said. "But no matter what, Byakuya, you absolutely aren't allowed to touch her…!"
"Naturally," Byakuya agreed easily, "Who would want to touch a filthy dead body?"
Before anything could be said, a bowl of miso soup was suddenly launched at Byakuya. However, the bowl and its contents stopped midair, just as it was about to hit the Togami heir. Said heir stared at the floating miso blankly.
As the group stared at the bowl in surprise, Spirit shook his head. "Really? You're resorting to throwing things now?" Their host sighed as he moved the food back to its original spot. "Baseballs are one thing. But a big, hot bowl of soup is another…"
Hina turned towards Spirit, her glare now aimed at him. Before she could give him a piece of her mind, Sakura interjected. "Hina!" the martial artist said sharply, "Please…"
Hearing the firm, yet pleading tone, Hina bowed her head. "I'm sorry, Sakura…" she said guiltily, "It's just… just so difficult to stay calm, knowing that you died in the future. And hearing Byakuya continue to insult you, to hear him say that you deserved it…"
A fresh wave of tears poured from her eyes. "I couldn't stand it! How could I just sit there while that bastard just keeps saying these things?!"
Again, Sakura couldn't find the words to help her friend. Especially since she knows that if their roles were reversed, she likely would have not acted any better. She would probably react even worse.
"Right now, you can assure yourself of the fact that the killer will be found," Kyoko stated, gaining the attention of the others, "While it may be cold comfort at the end, it will help to know that Sakura's murderer won't be able to get away with this, that Sakura's memory will be honored in that way."
Hina was silent, taking in Kyoko's words. "I'll try…" was all she could promise. She then sat back on her seat, still clearly emotional, but calmer than before. At least for the moment.
Before Hina could say a thing or two about his comment, Kyoko intervened once more. "That's enough fighting," she said firmly, "We need to focus on the investigation from here on out. Everyone, keep this in mind. If we can't uncover Sakura's killer… all of us face execution."
'Finding out who killed Sakura…' Makoto thought to himself, 'It's not a matter of hoping we can do it… if we want to survive, we have to do it.'
The hazel brown eyes dimmed at the thought. 'It's a kind of… hopeless hope. We have no choice but to just do it…!'
Several flinched at the thought of Makoto's. A hopeless hope; that's an accurate way to describe the trials.
Having to find out who the killer is, with the obvious hope of surviving, while knowing that yet another student will get executed. Going through the same process over, and over, and over again, seeing each other die one after another…
Some eyes found themselves as dimmed as the future Makoto's. A hopeless hope indeed.
And that's the end. I hope you guys like this chapter. On the shorter end, I know, but I felt that this was a good place to end. Next up will be the actual investigation. Review, favorite, and follow and I will see you guys later.
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