3RD PERSON POV
Monokuma: Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!
The morning announcement rang out through the school once again. Y/N hadn't got much sleep last night. Sakura...was the traitor? The thought seemed impossible but...it was true. Sighing heavily, he got up, did his daily regimen, and stepped out the dorm. As soon as he did though...
???: UWAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!
Y/N: What the-? Was that someone screaming? It sounded like it came from the dining hall. He rushed over to see Genocide Jill standing over a cowering Hina, scissors in hand with an evil and manic grin on her face.
Y/N: What's going on here?!
Hiro: Ah, Y/N! We got a big problem, man!
Mukuro, Chihiro and Celeste entered the room, each with a varying degree of shock on their faces.
Chihiro: Are you okay?! What happened?
Hiro: Toko and Hina... they both started to argue, and then out came to the crazier one!
At that, Toko's head turned around to face the group, her wide red irises piercing their souls.
GJ: Oh, how nice of you to join us! Now tell Tits McGee here to take a powder, otherwise I'm liable to snip those sweater puppies right of her chest! I'll start cutting. And cutting, and cutting, and indulging myself for who knows how long! I mean, her giant balloons are a little too perfect, aren't they?! I might be flat, but at least mine are real!
Mukuro: Asahina! Are you ok? Let's get you to the nurse's office. C'mon, Hiro. Help us!
Hiro: Huh? Oh, s-sure.
With that, they took Hina to the nurse's office, Genocide Jack's abrasive laughter chasing them out of the room. By the time they finished taking care of Hina's injury in the nurse's office she seemed to have finally regained her composure.
Chihiro: There we go! You're lucky it wasn't something more serious.
Belial: Chihiro is correct. Tis but a scratch.
Hiro: Ahaha! If I didn't shoot under that table and yell, you would've been dead meat! Guess I saved the day!
Hina: Gee, there was a coward when I needed one... A thousand thanks to you, sir.
Hiro: So sarcastic! That just makes you sound even MORE hostile!
Makoto: Hey, Hina...what the heck happened? Why were you fighting?
Asahina: ...Come on. I'm sure you can guess.
Mukuro: Because of Sakura?
Asahina: Jill was saying such...mean and despicable things. Things about my...my best friend!
Hina's eyes started welling up with tears. And just as the tears were on the brink of spilling over, the door to the nurse's office burst open. And there she stood before us...
Sakura: Asahina! Are you alright? What happened?
Hina: Oh! N-Nothing, it's not a big deal...!
Sakura: Who...Who did this to you? Tell me...What's the meaning of this?!
Hiro: What are you looking at me for?! I-It wasn't me! It was Genocide Jill! It's all that demented murderous fiend's fault!
Sakura: To think Asahina...was hurt because of my treacherous deeds...This degree of villainy is...UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!!!
Sakura began to glow a bright sapphire blue aura of power, befitting of the Ultimate Martial Artist.
Hiro: S-S-S-S-S-S-Somebody save meeeeeee! I'm a innocent bystander! Innocent bystander!
Hiro nearly tripped over himself as he ran screaming out of the nurse's office. But just a second later...
???: Is there a problem? I gather something happened?
Kyoko stood in the doorway of the nurse's office, taking Hiro's spot in the room.
Makoto: Kiri! Please, you have to stop Sakura! We have to hold her back!
Sakura: You don't need to stop me... I'm okay. I'm not going to do anything. I just...I'm drawing a line, right here and now. Goodbye.
Hina: W-Wait! Sakura, come back!
Hina sprang into action, leaving the nurse's office to chase after Sakura. The only ones left were Mukuro, Y/N, Chihiro, Celeste and Kyoko.
Kyoko: I want to talk to you all about something.
Celeste: About what precisely?
Kyoko: Actually... I'd like you all to come somewhere with me. I have business there...
Makoto: I-I guess, but...
Kyoko: Well then, shall we get going?
With her typical indifference, Kyoko turned and walked away, setting a brisk pace. Kyoko walked ahead in silence...and in silence, they chased her. And eventually, they arrived at the bathhouse.
Mukuro: So, the something else you mentioned?
Kyoko: It has to do with Alter Ego.
Chihiro: But I thought we didn't need Alter Ego anymore.
Kyoko: Alter Ego asked me to bring others to come see him. Apparently he has something he wants to ask us.
They all gathered around the laptop, waiting to hear what the AI had to say.
AE: Hello! You came to visit me, great!
Mukuro: But what is it he wants to ask us?
Celeste: Let's find out, shall we?
"What did you want to ask us?"
AE: I'd like you to take me somewhere where you can connect me to the school network. You said my job was done, right? But...to just stop here... Saying I've finished my work...I don't want that! I want to keep being helpful to everyone. I want to work as hard as everyone else so that we can all get out of here! So...to help everyone else... To solve the mystery of this school...The only way I can help is if you connect me to this school's network!
Chihiro: B-But...if you did that...that's basically suicide.
Celeste: I'm positive the mastermind would find out about it. They'd find you. Wouldn't you all agree?
AE: I realize how dangerous it could be. But still...I have to do this. I'm scared, but...I can handle it. I...don't really understand why, but...When I think about everyone else, my courage starts to grow...! You might think I'm just some inhuman AI, but it's true! So...it's okay. If it's for the sake of everyone else, I won't be afraid!
Kyoko: When I talk to Alter Ego, I don't know... I have no idea how to answer that question. I think maybe that's a question even Chihiro can't answer. But I can say this...There's no question that Alter Ego is our friend. To be honest, I didn't want Alter Ego to push himself anymore. Because if we take any more risks, the mastermind really will notice it... But...Let's do it, everyone. Let's connect Alter Ego to the network.
Chihiro: B-But...!
Kyoko: If you were in his place, could you just sit by and do nothing in this situation? If you saw everyone else fighting and doing their best, could you just look the other way? Or would you stand up? Stand up tall next to everyone else and tell them you're their friend? And besides...there's one place where the mastermind might not notice..
Makoto: One place...?
Kyoko: Remember? There's another place besides here where there's no surveillance camera.
Makoto: That's it! The secret room you told me about...!
Y/N: Secret room? What secret room?
Kyoko: There is a secret room me and Makoto found. The boys bathroom on the 2nd floor doesn't have a surveillance camera or monitor in it. And in the storage closet there...way in the back... It turned out...the back wall was like a revolving door.
Makoto: There was a bunch of files, and what look like volume after volume of yearbooks. They were all covered in dust... Looking at everything, one file at the edge of the bookshelf caught my eye, but before I could look into it properly, something or someone hit me on the back of the head, and I lost consciousness. When I woke up, all the books were gone.
Belial: I see. So there was most definitely something in there the mastermind didn't want anyone seeing.
Makoto: But I definitely remember there was no surveillance camera in there, and an ethernet port on the wall.
Kyoko: However, just because there's no camera there, doesn't mean there's no danger. There's no way to be sure the mastermind isn't monitoring the network somehow. We'll also have to move Alter Ego, and the mastermind may spot us going into the secret room. If they pick up on any of this, then...it's all over. But despite all that, I still think we need to try. Because that's our best chance of finding any new clues.
Y/N: In that case...will you let me carry him? There's no way you could hide him with what you're wearing, right? So let me do it.
Kyoko: Okay then, I'll leave it to you, thank you.
Y/N: Then let's get started. It's gonna be a little cramped for you, Alter Ego. Bear with us, okay?
The group started packing him up right away. Y/N closed the laptop and stuffed it underneath his trench coat.
AE: Ahaha! I-It tickles!
Chihiro: Shh! You can't talk right now!
Mukuro: We're going to move you to another room. Until we get there, you have to be absolutely silent, okay?
AE: Understood. Your command has been implemented.
Chihiro: G-Good...
Kyoko: In the secret room, there are a bunch of different cables in one of the desk drawers.
Celeste: So there might be a network cable in there?
Kyoko: Assuming the mastermind hasn't taken it already...
Makoto: Well, all we can do is go and check for ourselves.
Mukuro: Agreed. Let's head to the secret room...
With that, the group made their way to the 2nd floor bathroom.
Kyoko: Hey, Makoto... Are you sure all the documents are gone? I refuse to believe you! Go and check again! And to make sure you don't run off, I'm gonna wait right here! Why are you just standing there? Hurry up and go! Y/N, go with him, too! Just to make sure!
Belial: Oh, I get it. She's acting, trying to sound so forceful, Makoto thought he'd made her mad again somehow.
Y/N accompanied Makoto to the hidden room. Once inside, they began their search for a network cable. After a few moments...
Y/N: Found it! This is a network cable, right? Now we just have to connect Alter Ego!
Y/N pulled out the laptop and connected it to the ethernet port with the cable. They waited for a few seconds before Alter Ego appeared once again.
AE: Yeah! I think it worked! Just leave the rest to me! I swear I'll find something! I might even be able to connect to the outside world. If I can, I'll see if I can call for help! So please just wait a little while longer... Just hold tight and put your faith in me!
"No matter what, we're gonna get out of here! You and all the rest of us, as friends!"
AE: Friends...? Even...me? Thank you. Thank you, the both of you.
Kyoko: How'd it go?
Y/N: It was just like he told you. All the documents were gone.
Kyoko: I see... Then there's nothing left for us here. Goodbye.
Makoto: Kyoko!
Kyoko: Yes?
Makoto: Um...so we're just gonna split up?
Kyoko: Of course. I have no reason to stay with you all at this point.
Mukuro: Well...maybe, but...isn't that a little too...
Y/N: Direct?
Kyoko: Should I hesitate and fumble for something to say? You're all so high-maintenance...
Y/n: Th-That's not what I meant... we just...had more we wanted to talk to you about. Like, what are you going to do about Sakura?
Celeste: Well...something has to be done, it's true.
Kyoko: The way things are right now, there's no way to persuade anyone. If we can find some new clue, that would likely change the situation. That's all we can hope for right now. All we can do is wait, and believe in our friends.
Y/N: You're right... That's our only option.
TIMESKIP
*Ding dong*
*Ding dong*
Y/N: Alright, alright I'm coming!
He opened the door to see Mukuro.
Mukuro: Y/N, get out here.
Y/N: What's going on?
Mukuro: Hina went to see Kyoko, and apparently she was white as a ghost. It sounds like something's happened.
As soon as he heard those words, his heart started to beat a little faster. He suddenly found himself wide awake.
Mukuro: She said for us to come to the rec room.
The two hurried to the rec room, to see the rest of him gathered at the door.
Y/N: Hina, what's wrong?!
Hina: S-Something's not right... In the rec room...!
Y/N: What's inside?
Y/N looked through the window of the rec room door, and when he did, he saw Sakura. She was sitting up in the chair, bowing her head somewhat.
Kyoko: What's going on? Did something happen to her?
Hina: I was just walking past, and I happened to notice her through the window... But I couldn't get the door open... I tried knocking, I tried calling her name... But she wouldn't respond...S-So what should we do? What are we gonna do?!
Kyoko: First of all, we need to get into the room.
Makoto: But the door's locked, right? And if we break in, we'll be violating school regulations...
Kyoko: The door isn't locked. It's not locked because the rec room door doesn't have a lock.
Chihiro: Huh? Then why...?
Kyoko: It feels like the door is pressing against something inside the room. Either way, this door isn't locked. Which means, as far as I can tell, the rule doesn't apply.
Mukuro: Then...there's no problem if we break in?!
Y/N: Don't worry...I got this.
Y/N summoned a flame around his fist and smashed the glass door, the flame preventing any shards sticking into his hands. The window shattered into a hundred pieces, scattering across the rec room floor. He stuck his hand through the now open window and started jostling with the chair blocking access to the room. Finally, the knob turned. But the moment Y/N laid his hand on her...
Monokuma: Ding dong, bing bong. A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!
Chihiro: Huh...? Sakura's...Sakura's...dead? She's...really dead?
Celeste: Sadly...this was inevitable.
Hina: I have to go get them... I have to go get...the others. They killed Sakura, of course they killed her...
On shaky legs, Hina left the rec room.
Mukuro: Why...? Why...did this have to happen?
Eventually, Hina arrived back with the others.
Hiro: Uwah! O-Ogre?! Dudes, what if she's faking it?!
GJ: Oh. So she's dead, huh? Ain't this a kick in the dick!
Byakuya: Sakura's been killed? And by someone in this very room...
Hina: No. Whoever killed her...it's not just someone in this room. It was one of you... Hiro, Byakuya, Toko. One of you bastards killed Sakura!
Y/N: Wait a sec! How do you know that?!
Byakuya: You're accusing us before we've even begun the investigation?
Hina: I don't need to investigate anything... Because you hated her. You hated the sight of her! One of you did it, I know it!
???: You...know it?
Everyone looked to see Monokuma standing at the entrance of the room.
Monokuma: Jeez, I didn't know your power level would increase by that much just by getting mad! Well, I'm here to hand out my little murder flyer. That's right! It's the next Monokuma File! And don't get so mad, Miss Asahina, or you're gonna ruin that lewd little face of yours! Now then! With that, I-
Makoto: Hold on... There's something I want to ask you...
Monokuma: Huh?
Makoto: It was you, wasn't it? You killed Sakura?
Y/N: Sakura wanted to challenge the mastermind to a duel. Maybe you and her fought again, and then...
Monokuma: Then I killed her? 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...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! I dunno who it was, but whoever the blackened is this time...I owe ya one!
Mukuro: Y-You owe them one?!
Monokuma: Oopsie! 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? Puhuhu... Puhuhuhuhu!
Monokuma then left, the tension high in the rec room.
Hina: I hate him! I hate this whole thing!
Byakuya: Well I, for one, am glad it was Sakura. She was working for the mastermind, after all.
Chihiro: H-How can you say that now?!
Byakuya: Sorry, I don't have time for your squabbling. The next game has already begun... If you want to be angry at someone, be angry at whoever killed Sakura.
Kyoko: Right now, our top priority needs to be uncovering Sakura's killer. If we can't do that, we're all dead.
Hina: Hold on! Before that, there's something I want to say.
Byakuya: Which is...?
Hina: Hiro, Byakuya, Toko--none of you are allowed to step foot in the crime scene.
Hiro: What...?
Hina: One of you killed Sakura! I won't let someone like that come anywhere near her!
Byakuya: Don't be stupid. Our lives are in just as much danger as yours! We have every right to investigate.
Hina: I don't care what you say. I'm not letting the one who killed Sakura anywhere near her. Even if it means I have to use force, you're not getting in here!
Byakuya: Well, it appears further discussion would be a waste of time. How about a compromise? I won't ask you to let all of us in. Just let me.
Hiro: Wait, what?
Byakuya: You don't really care, do you? You're both useless, anyway.
GJ: Nope, don't really caaaare!
Byakuya: And you, Hiro? Do you really object?
Hiro: I-If you're gonna go that far, what can I do? I mean, I don't have anything to hide, so why should I care?
Byakuya: Then it's decided.
Hina: Nothing's decided!
Y/N: I know how you feel, Hina, but you should agree to his request. We have to find out who killed Sakura. For those of us still alive, and to honour Sakura's memory...
Hina: Fine. I guess that's okay. But no matter what, Byakuya, you absolutely aren't allowed to touch her!
Byakuya: Naturally. Who would want to touch a filthy dead body?
Celeste: That's enough fighting. 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.
At that, everyone began investigating.
Kyoko: I think the case this time might be...a challenge.
Y/N: What do you mean?
Kyoko: The only way into the rec room is the door we just came through. And that door had been jammed shut with the chair from inside the rec room. Which means the killed would have had to escape somehow, after barring the door.
Chihiro: So if the door was blocked from the inside, and there was no way in or out till we broke the window... There's like...no escape, right?
Kyoko: In other words, this is a classic locked room murder.
Y/N: I guess you might see this kind of thing a lot in mystery movies or books or whatever. But could it really happen in real life...? And right before our very eyes like this?
Makoto: L-Locked room murder?
Kyoko: When you break down this type of murder mystery, there are four basic types. The first type is when the locked room is created after the actual crime is committed. This simply means that the killer commits his crime, then through some special method seals the room. This mainly involves some sort of trick involving the "locking" of the room. Basic approaches include using a string, or simple mechanism. There are a number of variations. The second type is when the locked room already exists before the crime is committed. Basically, the killer uses a special contraption or tool from outside to target the victim inside. You push a switch and it fires a handgun, you shoot an arrow through a gap in the door, something like that. But in this case, that doesn't seem to fit. There are no guns or arrows in the school, and the door doesn't have any gap that would allow it...
Mukuro: Yeah, I think we can probably cross that one off the list.
Kyoko: The third type is when the killer stays in the room until it's opened up.
Y/N: What do you mean by that?
Kyoko: They stay hidden, and when the door is opened, they use the confusion to blend in with the group. They pretend they showed up along with everyone else, and that's that. And the fourth and final type is when it wasn't actually a locked room at all.
Belial: Not a locked room?
Kyoko: By that I mean, there actually is an alternate escape route somewhere within the room. You see this a lot in novels and things, but in reality it's generally not possible.
Makoto: Then you think we can cross that one off, too?
Kyoko: I believe so, yes. So, when it comes to locked room mysteries, those are the basics.
Celeste: So there are four possibilities. So Kyoko, which of those four choices seems the most likely in this case?
Kyoko: That's a good question. Answering that should be our primary focus during this trial. But right now...I can't really say.
Celeste: I see...
With that they got to work...
TIMESKIP
DING DONG BING BONG
Monokuma: Oops! Ya caught me sleeping. Your investigation was just so boring, I couldn't stay awake! Should I do it? Is it okay? Can I? Can I can I can I? Okay, then let's begin the class trial! You know where to meet, right? Please go through the red door on the first floor of the school! Puhuhu. See you soon! Monokuma made his announcement, and everyone began to meet up, one after another. And then...
Monokuma: The Ultimate Martial Artist! *someone playing a banjo* A locked room murder *dancing*
Belial: What the...?
Monokuma: Oh, I've just recently discovered the power...of emoticons! Like, no matter how awful something is, if you toss in a smiley face, it turns positive!
Belial: What is an...emoticon?
Y/N: It's a pictorial representation of a using —usually , numbers, and letters—to express a person's feelings, mood or reaction.
Belial: Whatever you say...
Toko: Wh-What the hell was that...?
Hina: I don't get it... How can you act so casual after murdering someone?!
Hiro: I-I...don't think I'm acting casual. Er, I mean...! I didn't murder anyone!
Byakuya: Either way, the truth will be revealed soon enough. Because there can be no doubt, one of us is the culprit.
Makoto: Come on, it's time to put an end to this...
The group made their way toward the elevator. They climbed into our steel prison in total silence, and felt it begin it's sinister descent...
********
Chapter 12 is done! In case you were wondering why its kind of a smaller chapter, it's because I had a few health problems, so I wasn't feeling up to writing. Don't worry guys! It wasn't COVID! But on that note, I'll see you guys, gals and non-binary pals in the next chapter!
-B