Hello readers and welcome to my new chapter. This one felt much easier to write than the previous two. Finally getting out of the weird section of the chapter (At least for me. I'm the one having to write it, after all), and getting back into the more exciting reactions. Some of which are gonna be in this chapter. I hope you enjoy.

P.S. The site is back to normal. Huzzah!

Note: If you like what I write, and have a few dollars to spare each month, I would appreciate it if you donate to my Pat account. Link is on my Twitter page, with the link to that being on my fanfic bio. Thank you.

Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa.

Chapter 96: Watching Chapter 5: 100 Miles; Pain of a Junk Food Junkie Part 8

"So we looked through the data center, in search of any clues regarding the mastermind." Narrator Makoto spoke, as clips of Hiro fiddling with a TV antenna on top of TV, and one of Makoto and Toko looking at the monitors, were shown. "For a bit of time, there wasn't much we could find. The PCs were locked, along with the Monokuma door."

Clips of Byakuya looking through the PCs, and Hina trying to open the Monokuma door were next.

"So we got locked computers and another locked door…" Taka noted with interest. "Would it be possible to access either?"

"The door? Probably, if only with enough physical force." Byakuya stated. "Not the PCs, however; we would need someone like Chihiro or Alter Ego to access it."

"So? We can just use our fighting spirit to bust our way in, right?" Hina argued. "Nothing can beat physical force!"

"W-We told you before, you dolt, that it d-doesn't work like that…" Toko grumbled.

Chihiro lowered his head, saddened that his future self, or even his AI creation, wasn't alive to help his classmates. If only he was able to survive long enough… if only Alter Ego would have waited a little longer to do something… could they have-?

"Hey…" Chihiro was broken out of his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head to see Mondo smiling at him sadly. "I'm probably the last person that should tell you this, but don't worry about what-ifs. Besides, it ain't over yet. They may be able to pull something without our help."

In response, the programmer looked back down. "I know, it's just… hard not to think about…" He admitted meekly.

"Yeah. I get that." Mondo nodded in acknowledgement. "Still, it ain't gonna do us any good. Especially when none of it happened yet; and it won't ever happen."

That sparked a determined glint across Chihiro's eyes. He's right. None of this happened yet; and that means they could do something to stop it.

"But finally…"

"Hrm… hrm hrm hrmmm…" Hiro hummed to himself as worked on the TV. Then… "Oh…! Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!"

"...What's wrong?" Makoto asked cautiously, walking away from the Monokuma door.

"Good news for all you Saturday morning kiddies out there! I think I got the TV working!" Hiro announced happily.

"Really?!" Hina exclaimed eagerly.

That got the group perking up in interest. "The TV is on?!" Hina gasped eagerly. "That means we can see the news! See what people are saying and what's going on!"

"It's a good thing that Hiro picked up some technological skills…!" Sayaka remarked, looking a tad excited for any useful info. "First with dismantling Monokuma, now setting up the antenna…!"

"Good job using one of your more useful skills, dude!" Leon cheered, pumping a fist up.

"What do you mean? All of my skills are useful!" Hiro replied, confused by the baseball star's implication.

"Your definition of useful and everyone else's are a tad apart, dear Hiro…" Celeste stated, a tad dryly.

"Well, regardless, I'm glad for your help Hiro." Makoto aimed a grateful smile at Hiro. "Your technological skill is coming in handy now…"

"Yeah, I agree. Especially with me gone…" Chihiro added, also grateful for the fortune teller's other skill.

Said fortune teller felt surprisingly pleased by the gratitude given to him, with him grinning and scratching the back of his head. "Hehe, no problem. I'm just glad our future selves can finally watch some news."

"Yeah, totally!"

"You rock for once Hiro!"

"You'll finally be useful for once!"

Cheers were made for the fortune teller's future self. Of course, that got him to feel fairly good about himself, happy he picked a few things back at home.

"Now all we gotta do is… switch it on!"

"...Then do it." Was Byakuya's plain response to the fortune teller.

"Friggin' idiot mastermind! All 'you guys need to cut free from your regrets of the outside world'..." Hiro grumbled to himself. "And they were sitting here watching TV the whole time! They really thought they could get away with it…?"

Subconsciously, several of the students leaned forward, curiosity, focus, excitement, and even a bit of fear being shared among the class. "This could be big…!" Hina said with clear excitement. "With this, we could see what's going on over a year from now! Find out how much has changed!"

"With how much Monokuma tried to hold back any information regarding the outside world, the change must be substantial enough for plentiful clues to be given…" Celeste mused, a knuckle over her chin.

"It could also give our future selves enough evidence to realize that their memories have been taken…!" Taka added optimistically. "With this, questions are bound to appear within the minds of the survivors!"

"It's questionable whether that would be good or not…" Byakuya retorted. "But regardless, this'll give some benefits for ourselves." At the very least, some theories and hypotheses could either become more concrete, or be eliminated.

Everyone watched the screen with an influx of emotions bubbling around the room…

With that bit of grumbling, the fortune teller switched on the TV. And what the group saw was…

Themselves. In the data center. "Hm…?"

And just like that, all sense of excitement, fear, or curiosity was wiped; to be replaced momentarily by pure confusion. 'Huh…?'

"Huh…? This is…" Makoto spoke in confusion.

"It's the feed coming from… the surveillance camera monitoring this room, wasn't it?" Hina questioned dubiously.

"...The fuck…?" Was all Mondo could say, dumbfounded.

"Hiro…" The Togami heir slowly turned to the fortune teller with a particularly irritated and deadly glare. "If your future self doesn't have an adequate solution upon his lips…"

"H-H-Hey! Hold on, now!" Hiro raised his hands defensively, attempting to cover his face and body with them. "Don't blame future me for this!"

"He's the o-one that was fiddling with the TV…!" Toko hissed in support of her master. "There's n-no one to blame, b-but you!"

"I must agree! What is the meaning of this, Hiro?!"

"Isn't this supposed to be one of your good points coming to display?!"

"Seriously dude, the one time you could've done something…!"

"You're the worst, Hiro! Giving us hope like that…!"

And of course, several of the students bombarded Hiro with boos and jeers, with the fortune teller feebly trying to defend himself. Sakura, Makoto, and Chihiro could only give him looks of sympathy as he got admonished by the class.

Meanwhile, Kyoko remained silent and focused on the screen, with her eyes narrowed suspiciously. She has a strong feeling there's more to this. After all… the only thing she saw connected was the antenna.

"Huh? That's weird…" Hiro said with his own confusion.

Byakuya turned to the fortune teller with irritation. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"That's really weird. Hmm…" Hiro said to himself, looking at the antenna.

"Y-YOU'RE weird…! Weird in every way p-possible. And not j-just weird… super weird!" Toko retorted.

"But… this TV isn't hooked up to anything but the antenna…" Hiro pointed out nervously.

That got the group to fall silent, confusion becoming prevalent yet again. "Is he actually serious right now…?" Leon asked, mouth agape.

"But… that doesn't make any sense!" Sayaka stated, shaking her head rapidly. "If only the antenna is connected, then whatever is coming through the satellite should appear! Or just static!"

"See? Told ya it wasn't future me's fault!" Hiro exclaimed flusteredly, pointing at the screen. "Something weird is definitely going on!"

"Indeed. This does seem strange…" Sakura stated, narrowing her eyes.

"So how is it showing the camera feed?"

"Did you try changing the channel?" Hina suggested.

"Oh, good idea." Hiro nodded in agreement to that idea. "Let's give it a try."

And so, Hiro went through the channel one by one. But every channel just showed the survivors, in the same live feed.

"Okay, what the actual fuck is going on…?" Mondo questioned, confusion and irritation mixing together. "Is this some shit the mastermind decided to pull?"

"Why would they pull anything in regards to the data center, if they never intended for us to come inside?" Celeste argued.

"Plus, I don't think it's possible to pull that sort of trickery with current day technology…" Chihiro added, looking in thought. "As Hiro said, only the antenna is connected. They would need to send television waves in order to do so, and that would give others outside the school to see this, something I doubt the mastermind would want."

His words caused something to click in Kyoko's mind. And her eyes widened slightly as the idea ran through her mind, shock, even horror, briefly showing her features. 'No… no, it can't… is it even…?'

"Kyoko…?" Schooling her features, the detective turned towards the worried looking Makoto, who definitely caught the slip of her mask. "Do you… What did you figure out?"

"...It's probably best if you see for yourself. If I'm correct." Was all Kyoko could say, her mind still reeling at the possibility. Because if what she's thinking is the truth… then this is a clear showcase of how much power the mastermind wields. Could wield. And Monokuma's words from previously make a whole lot more sense.

"All this punishment, all this despair is my gift to mankind itself!" Can someone… Could anyone be able to pull something this massive?

She wasn't the only one who managed to piece together. Ever since the TV got turned on by the survivors, Junko had to duck her head and cover lips, even biting those lips, to keep back the mad giggles that threatened to bubble up. 'I really did manage to control the whole network~!' She thought with clear glee. 'I really am showing the whole entire world despair for all their hopeful eyes to see!'

And the best part? The overwhelming feeling of shock and horror that is about to come! As the group, both future and present, realize what exactly they're seeing! That their killing game school life is being broadcasted for the entire world to see!

"What the heck…?" Hiro spoke in pure befuddlement.

"Is it broken or something?" Hina questioned, frowning.

"No… there must be some kind of trick to it, some weird setup…" Hiro stated, trying to find anything else around the TV.

"A trick? What kind of trick?!" Monokuma inquired eagerly.

"I'm not sure, but…" Hiro started… but then stop, registering who exactly spoke up. All heads slowly turned towards the source.

It took a moment for the group to process that Monokuma just appeared. Casually. As if he was part of the group all along. But once they did…

"M-Monokuma!?" Makoto and Taka shouted incredulously.

"W-Where did he come from?!" Sayaka and Toko yelped in startled shock.

"The bastard is alive!?" Mondo and Leon cried out in pure frustration.

"Knew it." Byakuya and Celeste said simultaneously, their tone flat yet disappointed.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Hina, Hifumi, and Hiro wailed out in dismay.

A combination of surprise, disappointment, and frustration filled the room. While most, if not all of them suspected that something was off with all that, there was still that underlying hope that the mastermind was actually dead. That someone, be it Kyoko or someone else, had killed them after their assassination attempt and the group would've been free to explore the remainder of the school without interference. Unfortunately, that hope came crashing down on them.

"...Huh?" Toko uttered incredulously.

"...Huh?" Monokuma repeated.

"Wh…?" Hina's eyes slowly widened in shock.

"Wh…?" Monokuma repeated.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTT?!" Hiro finally screamed in shock and fear.

This time, the bear laughed at all their baffled faces. "Been a while, ya friggin' bastards!"

"Not long enough, you fucking psycho…!" Mondo growled hatefully.

"Can't you just go back into hibernation and stay hibernated…?!" Hiro cried out in frustration. "It hasn't even been a full day!"

"...I should've known not to get my hopes… I knew, but still…" Hina muttered pitifully, drawing sympathetic pats from Sakura.

"The bastard loves to mess with us…!" Leon exclaimed angrily, fists clenching.

'You bet~!' Junko cheered in her head, still hiding her mad giggles. It's fun, messing with people's expectations like that, only for those expectations to come crashing down.

"M-Monokuma?!" Makoto exclaimed incredulously.

"How…? You're supposed to be d-dead!" Toko cried out fearfully.

In response, the bear maniacally laughed yet again. "Me, dead?! Don't be freakin' stupid!"

"Hey, you're actin' kinda strange! Something seems… different." Hiro pointed shakily.

"Of course I'm different! Evolution is perfectly natural!" Monokuma said in a casual response. "After all, I've been hibernating for two years…"

"Not even! It's been like half a day at MOST!" Hiro retorted back.

"See? That's what I'm saying!"

"Was all this just to mess with us?" Byakuya questioned, irritation swelling into his body. "His silence made sense considering the mastermind's scheme to kill Makoto. But to continue to remain silent? Even leave out the key to their monitoring station?"

"That's… at least part of it…" Was what all Kyoko managed to get out, amidst her inner turmoil. While there's no doubt that the mastermind stayed silent to bring their hopes up, just so they could bring it down… there's likely other reasons for it. Something that had to do with the corpse… and why they allowed the survivors to enter into the monitoring room.

"How are you alive again?!" Hina exclaimed, now pale.

"Oh yeah, that's it. Puhuhu…" Monokuma giggled. "The look on your faces right now is sublime! That's what I wanted to see - the moment you went from hope to despair…"

"Don't tell me you pretended to be dead, all for this moment…?" Byakuya growled, scowling.

"Why would a bear pretend to be dead? You're the ones who should pretend to be dead when you see a bear!" The bear said in retort. "I mean, that's totally laughable! It makes me laugh! I'm gonna laugh now! A-ha-ha-ha!"

"I'm sick of the shit-head playing dumb!" Leon growled in irritation. "That shit ain't cute at all! Just irritating!"

"I'm certain he knows this, Leon. Which is why he does it." Sakura stated, just as unamused.

"And that's that." The bear suddenly went for a more calm, almost sinister demeanor. "Well, it's almost time to cut off your past so full of hope, and begin to despair at the future ahead of you! I want you to all have way more fun in this killing game!"

"You have to be kidding… we have to keep going?" Hina questioned dreadfully, more to herself than anyone else.

"N-No… we were supposed to get out of here…!" Hiro wailed pitifully.

"Get out of here? Are you still obsessed with getting out of here?" Monokuma asked rhetorically. "How do you not get it?! There IS no getting out of here! And besides… this life isn't all bad ya know! I mean, there's stuff you won't like about life no matter where you are!"

That got something within Sayaka to snap. "He can go to hell…!" The idol shouted out angrily, a scowl clear across her face. "He doesn't get to justify anything about his makeshift prison! Especially when HE fuels our desire to get out!"

"Yeah! He says that we don't get it?! That we're obsessed with getting out?!" Hina growled right alongside the idol. "As if he did anything to make us give up!"

Makoto looked at the two girls sympathetically, understanding their anger all too well at this point. Silently, he wrapped an arm around Sayaka's own arm, giving a silent gesture of comfort. The idol, in response, snuggled up to him yet again, in an attempt to cool her boiling blood.

"Are you s-serious?" Toko remarked incredulously. "This place is the w-worst…!"

"If it's the worst, does that mean you're in… despair?" Monakuma asked eagerly. He then let out his usual, gleeful laughter for a bit, before stopping. "Whew. I'm pooped from all that laughing! I guess I'll just get to the point now."

"The point…?" Makoto asked wearily.

Like the luckster, the group was also tense and weary. "So there's more to it than just playing around…" Byakuya stated, eyes narrowed.

"It would seem so." Celeste nodded in agreement. "However, I am uncertain whether we'll like the point he is about to make…"

"Is there anything that came from the bear that we liked?" Leon deadpanned.

The gambler let out a small hum at that. "Fair enough…"

"You guys really struck gold when you found that TV." Monokuma claimed. "Yes, indeed! That TV is an essential part of your school life here."

"Bullshit!"

"All it's showing is the live feed!"

"That ain't gold!"

"Even when changing the channel, it only shows that!"

"It's a one channel TV, and that channel sucks!"

"I knew it was hiding a secret of some kind…" Byakuya stated, his scowl remaining.

"But I connected the antenna, so why's it just showing us the surveillance feed?" Hiro questioned.

"Puhuhu… Look how attentive they are now!" The bear giggled. "Well then, I'm gonna let you in on a blood-gushing secret and tell you about it!"

"That TV is absolutely, without a doubt, displaying the signal coming in on the antenna."

"...What is he… what does that mean?" Hina spoke in pure confusion. "How can…?"

"It's just the survivors standing there…" Sayaka protested. "It can't be displaying any sort of signal!"

Kyoko remained quiet, fervently trying to keep her composure. She couldn't stop the slight clenching of hands onto her skirt, the slight dilation from her eyes, or wipe the tension coming from across her face, as Monokuma's words confirmed the rather… frightening conclusion she came to.

And she wasn't the only one who connected the dots. "...Wait… Wait, does he mean…?" Chihiro muttered, blood rapidly leaving his cheeks, and leaving him white as a sheet.

It was something the others noticed almost immediately. But before any could ask what was wrong, the scene in front of them answered that question.

"Huh?" Hina couldn't help but look lost at his words. "But… what does that mean?"

"It's displaying th-the signal…? But it's just us, standing h-here…" Toko pointed out.

"Ugh, you're so stupid! Don't you get it?! Fine, I'll just tell you…" Monokuma growled in irritation. "This killing game is being broadcast to the entire world. It's the most popular thing on TV!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

None in the class knew how to react. Dumb, wide eyed, incredulous stares were aimed right at the TV as the group digested the unbelievable statement Monokuma had just made. Even those like Celeste and Byakuya lost any of their composure, eyes shot open and jaws hanging.

"What…?" Makoto breathed out, stunned.

"The killing game is being broadcast live to the entire world. It's the most popular thing on TV!" The bear repeated.

"..." The luckster could only give the bear a numb looking stare. 'It doesn't matter how many times he says it, I don't know what it's supposed to mean. I mean, even if I understood the words, I'm not sure I'd understand the deeper meaning…'

"...Is he serious?" Leon finally asked, absolutely blue in the face. "Is he actually serious? Is he actually, fucking serious?! IS THAT ASSHOLE ACTUALLY SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?!"

"That's… no! NO!" Sayaka shouted in near hysterical denial. "There's no way that is possible! They shouldn't be able to broadcast this to the whole world!"

"He… he has to be lying, right…?" Taka asked, almost as if he was trying to convince himself. A short, rather unhinged laugh left his mouth as he clamped his hands around his temples. "He has to be deceiving us. Trying to make himself more powerful than he actually is! Right?!"

"...The whole fucking world was watching us…" Mondo whispered catatonically. The biker was limp, with him staring down at the table with glazed eyes. "...They were watching everything we were doing… they heard my secret… my gang could've…"

"...The whole world knows that I'm a boy." Chihiro was not any better, having come to the same conclusion as his biker friend. But rather than catatonic, the little programmer looked close to having a panic attack. "People know that I dress as a girl… they even heard why I did it… they… everyone…!"

"They would have to control all of the airwaves to do this…!" Hifumi screamed, as pale as everyone else. "Is that even possible?! What kind of special stats would the mastermind even have for that?!"

"No way! There's no way!" Hiro screeched, holding his head fearfully. "It's impossible! There's no way they are able to do that!"

"...This… this has to be a bad joke…!" Like Taka, Hina also got into the denial phase, all color leaving the girl's face. "Some sick, twisted joke to get us panicking… have us scared beyond belief…!"

Makoto… he was dumbstruck. Speechless. Almost unable to comprehend what Monokuma had just told the survivors. The world. The whole world. Whoever is controlling that sick bear was, or will be, able to broadcast this insane killing game on LIVE TV!

Slowly, almost robotically, he turned towards Kyoko. A glance was enough to tell him that the detective, even despite figuring it out before most, was just as affected by the revelation. Not obvious to most, but Makoto was physically close enough (And knew her well enough) to notice the subtle signs.

"Wh-What? Broadcast live… to the entire world?" Hina repeated to herself, now pale. "What kind of bad joke is this…?"

"It can't be… have they taken over the airwaves somehow…?!" Byakuya exclaimed incredulously, looking absolutely disheveled.

"The camera feed is being broadcast…? Now way, that's impossible!" Hiro shouted, shaking his head fearfully.

"That kind of overconfidence is a major weakness in your crisis management system, you know that?" Monokuma remarked lightly. "All you need is one weird trick that I found, and hijacking the airwaves is Easy Mode!"

"BULLSHIT!" Cel- or rather, Taeko, shouted in angry disbelief; her mask completely wiped at the moment. "No way in hell taking over airwaves is that easy!"

"Is it still playing with us? Still messing with our heads?" Byakuya questioned, looking completely lost and quite pale. "What kind of resources does he have to broadcast the killing game across countries? Is there even any technological trick to have that type of control…?"

"..." Toko remained silent, looking pastier than usual and curled up to a shaking ball. Not only does she feel fearful of the power the mastermind could possibly wield… but she also realized that the entire world knows that she's Genocide Jack.

"Just… how much power does that mastermind truly wields?" Sakura questioned, trying to wrap her head around the possible power and resources required for such a task. "Do they have that much power already?"

Now that was a frightening thought. The mastermind, the one behind this entire game, already having the resources needed to make this come to fruition; that was thought none of them wanted to ponder on for too long.

"A-Are you being serious right now…?" Makoto asked incredulously, his voice shaky.

"Of course!" Was the bear's straight answer.

"I heard a kind of… creaking." Narrator Makoto spoke, as the camera focused on the shakened looking luckster. "But the sound was coming from my own mind. Like a boat tossing in the ocean, my mind had begun to creak and groan."

Junko… she was enjoying this. Very much enjoying this. To the point where she had to curl up into a ball to hide her demented grin, the mad giggles that were slipping out. The shock! The horror! The despair! It's all so palpable in the room! She can practically taste it, and it tastes so divine!

Mukuro, however, was the most composed out of everyone in the room. She knew that Junko wanted to show the entire world despair, and hacking into the airwaves would certainly do that, so it wasn't that much of a surprise for her. The soldier knew that her sister, with plenty of time, could do amazing things. Things no one else would that possible.

The only thing she really felt, however, was worry of how that info was affecting Makoto; and the pangs of guilt for her part in his reaction.

"Everything has a meaning, you know…" Monokuma continued. "All those hints I gave you, all those tantalizing tidbits about the school's mysteries… even me luring you here right now… why would I do any of that without a reason? It was all for my captive audience - to show them true despair like they'd never seen it before!"

His words hit many of the students harder than they would've liked. All those hints they found, clues and evidence they gathered, what progress their future selves have made… many suspected that the mastermind simply didn't care what they found…

But for those clues to be left out purposefully? To give a show for who knows how many people? How were they supposed to react to that? How were they supposed to feel about that?

"I became the director of a despair-based production!" The bear then laughed. "This is the ultimate reality show! The best in despair entertainment!"

"You're lying!" Hina denied vehemently. "If this was on TV, the police and everyone else would be going crazy!"

"Y-Yeah… there's no way they wouldn't have tried to come and rescue us!" Hiro shakily agreed with the swimmer.

And immediately, students latched onto that piece of logic and common sense. "Th-That's right…" Take spoke in hesitant agreement. "If it was broadcast across the world, law enforcement would not remain idle! They would deploy any measures needed to rescue us!"

"Y-Yeah! No way they could be able to ignore us…!" Hiro also spoke up. "They would break into the school, guns at the ready!"

"What if… they already did?" Was Monokuma's question in return.

"..."

"..."

"...You mentioned before that the outside of the school could also have defenses." Makoto shakily recalled, his head slowly turning back towards Kyoko. "That people are likely already trying to break through the school. Right?"

Kyoko gave a small nod. "And Monokuma's words… it all but confirms that previous hypothesis." She stated, fully composing herself now. "If the school is truly being broadcast to the whole world, there's no doubt that law enforcement would make any and all attempts to break us out. And if they haven't yet, then that would mean…"

"...There are defenses in place to keep them out. Very effective ones." Byakuya finished, still looking very rattled. "They made certain that no one could interrupt the game that they have created."

That left many feeling sick, fearful, or even in a daze. The power that the mastermind holds, or potentially can hold, was striking them harder and harder. And none of them knew whether or not this unknown individual holds even a fraction of those resources, as of right now. How can they fight someone who seems to hold all the cards?

"...How many died trying to save us?" Chihiro whimpered, tightening further into his ball. "How many lives were taken… while our future selves were unaware?"

No one moved to answer that, none of them wanting to even touch that thought process.

"...Huh?" Was all Makoto could say at the moment, his brain clearly fried.

"But then again… it's not really any of their business, right?" The bear then claimed. "Sure, some people might yell at their TV to try and warn you. But who would actually come here to help? Don't you think that's possible? I don't really know personally though, so whatever!"

"But to take control of all communications like that, you'd need an astronomical amount of resources." Byakuya pointed out shakily.

"Exactly. This is not something anyone can do on a whim…" Byakuya spoke in agreement with his future self. "So how? How on earth did they manage such astronomical feet?!"

"And if they could do… why do this for a death game for fifteen people?" Taeko asked, as she attempted to regain some of her composure. "They would go through all the trouble, spend that much time, accumulate that much power, just to show the world fifteen students turning on one another?"

"...You heard what he said. What he wants is despair." Sakura stated, her hands clenching her knees. "And he wants the world to see that despair."

"BUT THAT STILL DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!" Yet again, her mask cracked, with the gambler shouting out in distress. "We're talking about airwaves! Taking control of every damn TV across the whole damn world! You're telling me that someone would do that, just to show off the sicko game he created for us?! Set the whole damn game up to show people, what, despair?! JUST WHAT THE FUCK ARE WE MISSING HERE?!"

Taeko then fell silent, taking deep heavy breaths; hair slightly frizzled, hands over her head, and a slightly unhinged look across her eyes. No one attempted to say anything as the gambler tried to calm herself down.

'...I think the answers both to how and why lies within the Tragedy that has been spoken about.' Kyoko thought to herself. If her thinking is correct, then the event that has been spoken about several times likely helped the mastermind's take-over of both the school and the airwaves.

And that would be the best case scenario. Worst case… this showing is being used in service of this "Tragedy".

"Yup!" Monokuma confirmed, not denying that fact. "So, how could things have come this far? Well… that's a secret! There's something you all need to do first, remember?"

"What…?"

"Yeah, duh! There's the little business of…" Right as Monokuma spoke, a familiar bell rang across the room.

Eyes immediately shot forward at the unfortunately familiar sound. If there was any color coming back to students' faces, it was rushing right back down as they heard the next line.

The school monitor then turned on. "A body has been discovered!" The bear announced. "After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!"

"...Fuck!" Leon practically spat.

"...We're… we're doing another investigation?" Hina nearly whimpered, mouth covered. "Another class trial?"

"The body… since the mastermind is clearly alive…!" Taka spoke in realization.

"But… if it ain't the mastermind… then who the hell died?!" Hiro shouted, gripping his head. "Can something make sense already?!"

"..." Byakuya merely gritted his teeth. Unless the masked individual was a complete and total outsider to this death game, there was only one option left.

"Huh…?" Was Makoto's response to that announcement.

"C-Class trial?!" Hina stuttered fearfully. "Do you mean…?!"

"Puhu… puhuhuhuhu…!" Monokuma let out his signature laugh. For about a minute, he laughed sinisterly to himself, before pulling out the Monokuma file. "I'll leave the Monokuma File right here. Everyone give it all you got, okay?!"

Leaving the file on one of the desks, the bear continued. "Okay! Things are gonna get pretty crazy from here on out! You're in for a heck of a ride…! I can't wait…! I can't wait!" And with that, he left the room. Leaving the students frozen in their spots.

For a moment, none of them spoke. Merely stood around with stunned faces. Then, Hiro spoke. "I don't understand any of this… what's 'Despair entertainment'? And… how is he still alive?!" He shouted distressingly.

"I thought that finally… *finally* we could get out of here…" Hina said, sniffing a little.

"...He really wants to keep us down." Makoto spoke softly, his fists clenched. "Do anything possible to put us in despair…"

"It would've been foolish to believe that he would've left the survivors alone after they united. That the mastermind wouldn't pull any more tricks…" Sakura growled a little, head bowed. "Still…"

"It's so damn frustrating, seeing him mess with us like that!" Leon exclaimed, a scowl formed across his face.

"I'm still digesting the apparent fact that our future selves are being filmed live on television…" Hifumi admitted, holding his head. "All over the world, no less…"

"...At this point, we need to push aside that knowledge for later." Kyoko sighed. "Dwelling on it now won't do much of anything, other than delay this viewing. If we want answers, we're gonna have to continue."

As usual, none could argue the detective's point. So the students composed themselves best they could, pushed back that revelation as far into their mind as possible, and turned their attention back to the screen.

"A-And plus… what did he s-say about a class trial?!" Toko exclaimed in her own distress.

"Well that part's obvious. The class trial is the class trial." Byakuya stated bluntly, frustration clear across his face. "What it means is that at this point, we have to figure out who the culprit is…"

"Figure out… who killed Kyoko."

And of course, that last statement served to shake up several in the class once again. "Wh-Wha-..." Hina stuttered, still blue in the face. "What is he…?"

"The mastermind is alive. The other five are clearly alive. The chance of an additional person within the school is slim." Byakuya explained flatly. "And Kyoko is nowhere to be found. You can guess what conclusion is to be formed."

"..."

"What…?" Slowly, Makoto turned to the Togami heir with dilated eyes.

"Wh-What are you talking about? I thought Mukuro Ikusaba was the one who died…" Hiro protested slightly.

"The victim was female, right? Kyoko certainly fulfills that condition." Byakuya retorted. "And if Monokuma is still alive and active… that means that the mastermind, Mukuro Ikusaba, isn't dead."

And there's still the matter of the survivors thinking Mukuro is the mastermind. However, no one gave that tidbit too much focus, either unconcerned with it for the time being and/or still reeling over the idea of Kyoko being dead.

"So naturally that body can't belong to her. So it must be Kyoko." The heir concluded. "There is no other possibility."

'The body is… Kyoko's?' Makoto thought in disbelief. 'Kyoko's been murdered…?

The present Makoto did not take that idea well. The lucky student looked quite pale, his stomach twisting more painful than before. A part of him, a large part, even rejects the idea that she's dead. He wasn't certain if it's due to being unable to identify the body, or if he couldn't accept another close friend's death so easily… but right now, it was too much to accept.

Kyoko, however… was fairly calm. Only the furrow of an eyebrow gave any hints to any of what she's feeling. She knew she wasn't dead. That the corpse was not hers. What made her certain… was the certain article of clothing lacking on the body. Before and after the explosion.

The luckster shook his head in denial. 'No! It's not possible!' He exclaimed to himself. 'Because… Because I don't know anything about her yet…! I don't even know who she really is. To have it end like this…'

"I don't believe it…!" Makoto spoke aloud, fists and teeth clenched. "I refuse to believe it!"

"...I… I don't want to believe it either!" Hina admitted, her voice shaky yet strong. "I don't want another friend to be dead! Not when we united together! Not after Sakura's sacrifice!"

"I can't either. Because that would mean that one of the survivors killed her." Sayaka stated, desperation almost laced into her voice. "Hina, Hiro… even Byakuya and Toko… I just can't believe that any of them would want to kill her! That they have any reason to at this point!"

"While all avenues currently point to that idea… it's still difficult to accept." Taka said softly, gripping his knees. "Unless there's definitive proof that Kyoko is indeed dead, it cannot be accepted so easily. Especially when there's no clear motive for someone to do so."

Suffice to say, Makoto's words struck a chord with many of them. With so many of them already dead, the group couldn't believe that the body was Kyoko, even if it's the only viable option. They need more proof than what's presented to swallow that idea.

Byakuya merely sighed. But before he could say anything, Kyoko herself spoke up. "No need to be anxious about my death." She told everyone. "I'm positive that the corpse isn't mine."

Immediately, eyes were drawn to her. Looks of confusion and rising hope were shared across the room. "And what makes you say that?" The Togami heir asked, eyebrows furrowed. "There's no other option but you."

"Maybe. But there's one thing that counters the idea that the body is mine." Kyoko argued, holding a hand up. "A pair of clothing that you always see on me."

"...Your gloves." Makoto muttered out-loud, eyes lighting up in remembrance. He then spoke more loudly. "I completely forgot, the body didn't have any gloves on! Before or after the explosion!"

More eyes lit up at this, the important factoid now out for consideration. "Duh! Completely forgot about that tidbit!" Leon slapped his forehead in annoyance. "That's definitely proof that the body and Kyoko aren't the same."

"What makes you think you haven't taken them off? Or that whoever killed you didn't take them?" Celeste pointed out.

"These gloves aren't just for fashion. I use these to hide the state of my hands." Kyoko answered. "If they were taken off, I would've recognized that they were my hands."

Makoto understood what she meant. If it was her, then those hands would've had the scars Kyoko had been hiding. And while the lucky student never saw those scars for themselves, he remembered those hands on the body being unblemished (At least before the explosion).

"So that means… that means that Kyoko isn't dead!" Hina exclaimed happily, color finally returning to her skin. "That she is still alive somewhere!"

"So it would seem…" Sakura said with a small nod, also pleased with that outcome.

"So we got ourselves worked up for nothing…" Leon laughed, his body sagging.

"It looks more and more like my fortune is coming to fruition!" Hiro cheered, pumping a fist.

Several of the students found themselves soaking in the relief of one of their classmates likely being alive. Makoto, especially, felt his whole body sagging in pure relief, a tearful smile entering his lips.

"...Then who the hell is that corpse?!" Byakuya growled, frustration showing across his face. "It's not Kyoko, it's not the mastermind, it's clearly not the other five… has there been a sixteenth person hidden in the school? A 'student', or an ally of the mastermind?"

That got the group to pause for a moment, as they considered Byakuya's question.

"Whether you believe it or not doesn't matter. The truth is the truth!" Byakuya responded back harshly. "If you refuse to believe, it's your responsibility to uncover the truth for yourself."

"Myself…?"

"...Anyway, we'd better again." The heir then declared.

"B-But… if we're gonna have a class trial…" Hina spoke fearfully. "...then that means the killer…"

"Correct. It must be someone participating in our school life." Byakuya finished for her.

"Wait, so you're saying one of us killed Kyoko?!" Hiro exclaimed incredulously.

"Well… that's not precisely what I'm saying, no." Byakuya corrected slightly.

"Huh?" Hiro looked at the heir in confusion. "But you just said-"

"I don't have time to explain now. There is a veritable mountain of issues I need to confirm." Byakuya cut the fortune teller off. "So I'm going to begin my search. If you value your lives, you'll put everything you have into this. That is how the game works, after all…"

Those exchanges sombered up the group, their relief shifting into confusion. There was question after question that piled up amongst the minds of the students, most of which revolved around the corpse itself (The revelation about the killing game being broadcasted continued to be put on hold).

The body doesn't belong to the mastermind, it doesn't belong to any of the survivors, and it doesn't belong to Kyoko. So if none of the current survivors, or their captive, died… then who did?

And that's the end. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Had to rewrite the bottom half a couple of times, in my attempt to account for all the knowledge the characters have compared to their future counterparts. Hopefully, I didn't miss anything. Next up, the investigation; and as I'm sure many of you can guess, the reactors will find out for themselves who exactly the corpse is. Review, favorite, and follow and I will see you later.