Hello readers and welcome to my new chapter. Apologies for taking longer than usual with this chapter. Had stuff in my personal life that was giving me some level of writer's block (Interview anxiety is a pain in the butt!), and I had some difficulty nailing the reactions to the investigation. Wanted to be sure that this is how these characters would react to the events they're seeing, especially when they figure out who the corpse belongs too…

So anyways, let's get to the reactions. Here, the group will be reacting to the fifth investigation; and they're gonna figure out certain things real quick. I hope you enjoy.

P.S. I'm gonna be posting small previews for the fics I'm currently doing on my pat account; a little bonus for those who decide to become a patron. I know some of you are iffy on the idea, but I figure that if some of you would become patrons, it's fair to give something to make it worth the few dollars.

Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa.

Chapter 97: Watching Chapter 5: 100 Miles; Pain of a Junk Food Junkie Part 9

'Well… I'd better start by checking out the Monokuma File…' Makoto thought, looking through said file. 'Due to the explosion, the victim's identity is unknown. They were, however, dead before the blast. The victim had been stabbed a single time with a knife, which went completely through the body. They had also been struck in the head with an object about as thick as a metal pipe. The body was covered with other wounds, but these were at least several days old.'

"So even the Monokuma File doesn't tell us who the victim actually was…" the lucky student mused to himself.

"They're gonna keep the victim a mystery…?" Taka questioned, furrowing his eyebrows. "But why?"

"...Likely because we will be able to figure that out for ourselves," Kyoko deduced, after a bit of thinking, "Or it's irrelevant to finding the blackened that killed the unknown person. Possibly a mix of both."

"How the hell are they supposed to figure out who the guy is…?" Leon asked incredulously, "With everyone else alive, and the mastermind alive, there's no one else to point at! We just have a complete rando lying around the garden!"

Again, there was a heavy amount of confusion lying dormant amongst the student body, with some even exchanging looks amongst themselves. With every single known option eliminated, who died?!

"...We will have to wait and see," the detective said, a small, frustrated sigh leaving her mouth, "But if the mastermind decided to leave their names out, then it must mean that we have the ability to figure it out."

"Assuming that the investigation and trial plays out like normally…" Celeste huffed, a trace of annoyance across her face, "As it is, none of this feels normal compared to previous chapters."

'The unidentified body… could it really be Kyoko…? Or…?' The screen briefly flashed back to the body before coming back to the present. 'I have no choice… I have to investigate. I have to uncover the truth for myself…'

He then moved to get out of the monitor room. 'No matter what, I have to find out what happened. Or we're all dead…!'

The scene then switched to the survivors all gathered in the garden, around the body. "The first thing I did was look around the area for any clues…"

"What I found was a tarp, one side wet and dirty, while the other was completely dry…" The scene showed Makoto in the shed, holding up a used tarp.

"A familiar looking fragment near the body…" Next was the luckster grabbing a black and red fragment piece.

"A chicken missing from the pens…" The screen then shifted to Makoto looking into the pen, which indeed held four chickens rather than five.

"Huh? A chicken is missing?" Hiro noted in confusion. That confusion quickly turned to fear. "Oh no! That's a bad omen there!"

"Dude. Shut up," Leon deadpanned, before directing his attention back to the clues, "Still, it's weird that a chicken is missing."

"There's also the tarp that suddenly appeared," Sayaka added, frowning, "There aren't any tarps in the shed, were there?"

"Not that I remember," Makoto answered with his own furrowed eyebrows, "Someone likely took it from the equipment room and used it. Can't say how though."

'...Likely to stop something from getting wet,' Kyoko deduced, holding her chin in thought, 'As for what, I can't say for certain. Perhaps the body? But if it was covered, then the other side would've shown bloo- wait… could they have used chicken's blood as camouflage? That would explain why there's a missing chicken.'

But why though? Perhaps… is the killer trying to disguise the time of death? Make it look as though the victim was killed *after* the sprinklers were turned on?

"There's also the fragment as well…" Taka pointed out, frowning in thought, "Where did that come from? And what importance does it hold?"

"...From the looks of it, the color and design matched the bomb found in Monokuma," Celeste deduced, narrowing her eyes, "So that likely means it's part of the bomb that blew up the body."

"Huh? So that's how the body blew up?" Hiro spoke in surprise, "Someone strapped a bomb onto the body?"

"But… where would somebody get that bomb?" Sakura questioned, furrowing her eyebrows, "If it is indeed the same kind of bomb we saw come out of Monokuma, then the culprit would've had to get it from one of the machines."

"...Or perhaps they already had one in hand," Byakuya suggested, adjusting his glasses. His words got the attention of the group.

"M-Master? Did you f-figure something out, a-already?" Toko inquired, looking eager to hear from him.

"Merely a theory at the moment. One that leads to two conclusions," Byakuya answered curtly, "Either the victim had a dead-man switch place on them in case someone tried to open their mask… or the mastermind strapped the bomb on the corpse themselves."

"Either way, they did so in order to keep their victim's identity hidden, correct?" Celeste added to his conclusion, "But… why do such a thing? What would be the point of hiding the identity if our future selves wouldn't know who it was?"

"...Perhaps we would know," Kyoko suddenly suggested, "Perhaps we would've figured out the identify of the masked figure quickly, if not immediately, if we had a glimpse at their face."

Suffice to say, that confused several of the students. "But - who would it be?" Hina exclaimed, waving her arms, "All six survivors are alive, the mastermind is alive, our future selves' memories were wiped… so how can they recognize anyone else?"

"We will have to continue watching to get that answer…" was Kyoko's response, her attention back on the screen, "But right now, I can't think of any other reason the bomb would be strapped onto the corpse."

"Neither can I," Byakuya spoke in agreement. Not even the idea that it was to lead them to the data center seemed right.

"Finally, there was the knife that was wedged in the body…" The scene showed Makoto picking up the blackened knife.

"Ah. The knife!" Hina gasped with remembrance, "Wasn't it sticking through the body?"

"The e-explosion m-must've knocked it out…" Toko guessed, keeping her eyes away from the screen, "I-It was certainly s-strong enough to do that…"

"And seeing it now, it further confirms that it's Mukuro's knife…" Sakura stated, analyzing the scorched weapon.

'The force of the explosion must have thrown it over here…' Makoto deduced, 'The Monokuma File said the knife went all the way through the body, from front to back. Does that mean this knife is what caused the fatal injury…?'

"I would say, duh, obviously…" Leon remarked… before letting out a sigh, "But at this point, I know it ain't that simple."

"It never is…" Hifumi nodded in agreement.

A thoughtful frown hit his face as the thought passed through. 'Either way, this knife… it looks really familiar…' As he got a closer look at it, his eyes widened. 'Wait, is this…?!'

A flashback of last night's attack was then shown. 'That's it! It's the knife that person was holding…!' The scene then went back to the present, showing a more befuddled luckster. 'This is getting really weird… there are just too many strange coincidences.'

"Tell me about it…" Hina grumbled, arms crossed, "And I don't know if it's weirder for us or for them!"

"It's probably much weirder for them, Hina…" Taka mused, "Makoto, specifically."

"I don't know… all this still seems pretty crazy from here," Hiro remarked, scratching the side of his head, "Cause, I mean… if the corpse isn't the mastermind… then who the heck attacked Makoto? Was it the mastermind? Or the person lying on the ground?"

"..."

"Ugh, this is too much for me…" Hina groaned, rubbing the sides of her head, "Too many questions. Way too many…"

None could really disagree with her. Still, Hiro's questions had a few of the smarter students thinking. Kyoko, especially, was pondering that little mystery.

'We're missing something here. Something that would connect all the events that transpired…' The detective decided, eyebrows furrowed, 'But what? Is it merely the identity of the victim? Or something else?'

It's clear that the mastermind was involved with the attack on Makoto. They were able to break into his room (Which was indeed locked this time), find the knife, and the timing of a Monokuma lying around the gym was way too suspect to be coincidence. But was it the mastermind? Or the victim themselves?

'Whoever the person in the mask was that attacked me last night… they were holding that knife… and that same knife was used to stab that same masked attacker we found here… so… maybe this masked person got stabbed because…!'

As they heard Makoto's thought process, several of the students stiffened up. "Makoto…" Sayaka looked at the luckster beside with worry. "Does… does he actually think…?"

"..." Makoto was silent, eyebrows creased in uncertainty.

'When they attacked, I was in a kind of trance. Maybe I reacted by grabbing the knife… and maybe then I… I…!'

"But that's impossible…!" Hina cried out worriedly, "You were sick beyond belief! No way you could've killed them!"

"...I know, but… it's not an idea my future self can just throw away entirely," Makoto explained, "After all, there's barely any memories of last night, and what I do remember is pretty foggy. So, anything could've happened while future me was out of it…"

"Fair point…" Kyoko nodded in agreement with the luckster's assessment. But, before anything could be said in protest, the detective continued. "However, I don't think we have to worry about you being the killer, Makoto. The fact that the body is in the greenhouse alone disproves that…"

"True. Even if you could've managed to kill the masked victim in your delirious fever, I can't see you being capable of heading over to the fifth floor by yourself…" Byakuya mused. And that wasn't even getting into the bomb, the other wound the victim suffered, and whatever else they discover in the investigation…

The luckster's gaze turned conflicted as he continued looking at the knife. 'And if this really is Kyoko… it would mean Kyoko is the one that attacked me. But why the mask…?' His thoughts went silent for a moment before holding his head with a groan. 'I just don't know. I don't remember anything clearly from last night…'

He shook his head to himself as he placed down the knife. 'No… no, it can't be. There's no way…!'

Celeste let out a small hum, one filled with more concern than usual. "This… could be troubling."

"What would be…?" Chihiro asked, a small frown across his face.

"You do remember that knife was supposed to be in Makoto's care, correct?" Celeste reminded the group, "Once they recognize the knife as the one they found…"

"...Oh, shit!" Leon cursed out, eyes widening. Around him, several more eyes widened as they realized the same thing, "Fingers are gonna be pointed at Makoto!"

"Makoto. I want to talk to you," Byakuya called out, catching the luckster's attention.

"What do you want to talk about…?" Makoto asked curiously.

"I'd like to hear your alibi."

"A-Alibi?!" Makoto exclaimed in surprise.

"Correct," Byakuya nodded firmly, "I'd love to hear where you were after nighttime began last night."

And just like that, the dread for their lucky student grew even more. "Byakuya already suspects Makoto…?" Hina exclaimed incredulously.

"Does he already know that the knife is the same they found…?" Taka questioned.

Byakuya himself was the one to answer. "No… I think he's merely narrowing down suspects," he said, eyes narrowed, "And believes that the murder happened during the night…"

"But… who does know that for certain?" Hiro asked in confusion, "Future us found it in the morning, sure, but-"

"I believe he'll explain his reasoning," Byakuya cut off in his usual, curt manner.

"U-Umm… well I was sick, so I was asleep all night…" Makoto explained before a frown crossed his face, "But why are you asking about that now? And what's 'nighttime' got to do with it…?"

"Isn't it obvious? This murder took place after nighttime," the heir answered.

"H-How can you know that for sure?"

"Because just after nighttime began, I came to the garden," Byakuya explained, "I was going around looking for everyone so I could tell them about Monokuma. Hiro's been spending most of his time in the garden the last few days, so I figured he'd be here. And I can confirm that when I arrived last night, there was no body there. So, the murder could only have taken place at some point during nighttime, after we left the garden!"

"...Okay, yeah, that's solid evidence for the murder happening during the night," Leon sighed, scratching the back of his head, "But that doesn't explain-"

"However… Toko, Hiro, Hina, and I were in the gym together the entire night last night."

"...Fuck," Mondo cursed, gritting his teeth, "I fucking forgot about that!"

"That definitely explains why Byakuya is suspicious of Makoto…" Taka said, eyes wide with realization.

"Assuming that the four stayed tightly together the entire night, they would have air-tight alibis…" Celeste said in musing, eyebrows knitted together, "And with all four of them out, that only leaves…"

"...Kyoko, and me," Makoto said, the dread he's feeling increasing.

"And with Kyoko being assumed dead…" Sakura continued gravely, "That only leaves Makoto without an alibi."

Makoto's eyes widened at this. "What…?"

"Once I found Hiro in the garden, we immediately went to Toko and Hina's rooms to get them," the Togami heir continued, "At that point, we all went to the gym and began dismantling Monokuma. As a precaution, we made sure not to go anywhere alone. We even went to the bathroom in pairs. In other words, all four of us have air-tight alibis."

"And that's our confirmation that the four didn't head off anywhere by themselves…"

"Then… that means Makoto's gonna be accused, again?!" Sayaka exclaimed, frustration clear in her tone.

"So it would seem. At least for now," Byakuya stated simply, "But don't forget… Kyoko is still around."

Everyone went silent at that little tidbit.

"The only ones who don't have alibis…"

"...are me and Kyoko." Makoto finished the unsaid conclusion nervously.

"And if the victim really is Kyoko…"

"...then I'm the only one without an alibi…!" Makoto finished yet again in fearful realization.

"So… what's gonna happen when Miss Kirigiri is revealed to be alive?" Hifumi asked nervously, biting his fingernails.

"I think the more important question is… whether Kyoko is the killer or not," Celeste countered, "Cause, since Hina, Toko, Hiro, and Byakuya all have air-tight alibis, and we all know that Makoto isn't the killer…"

"...Then Kyoko… is the only option left?" Makoto concluded with dread, his eyes aimed at the detective questioningly. In fact, several of the students stared at Kyoko with shock and or worry.

"..." Said detective was silent, looking to be in thought.

"But… why would she do that?" Hina questioned in protest, "She doesn't have a reason to kill anyone, does she?"

"Actually, she does," Byakuya corrected, looking neutral about this, "Kyoko believed that Mukuro was hiding in the school. That there was a sixteenth student called the Ultimate Despair, and heavily suspected that she was the mastermind. So, with that knowledge, what do you think she would do?"

"...She would fight her. And, if pushed, kill her," Sakura answered, seeing Byakuya's point.

The Togami heir nodded. "And we saw Kyoko at Makoto's room, likely having protected him from the masked figure," he continued, "It gives more credence to the possibility that she went after the individual… and killed them."

"So… that means Kyoko is the killer…?!" Hiro exclaimed incredulously.

Makoto found himself blue in the face. If that's true, and right now everything is pointing to be the case… then does that mean Kyoko killed someone to protect him? Will… will she be executed because of him?

"Don't blame yourself…" As if being the psychic she often jokes about, Sayaka gave the lucky student a firm look. "You have no control over any of that. If… if you would've died, then the mastermind would've framed Kyoko and had her executed anyways."

"Agreed…" Kyoko herself spoke up, getting out of her thoughts for the moment. She faced Makoto with her own resolute stare. "It was my choice to protect you, and in turn possibly kill your assailant. If I'm the killer, then it was because of my actions alone."

Her words caused the lucky student to turn to her. "You don't think you're the killer…?" he hesitantly asked.

"Directions are pointing to that possibility. But, a lot of things have already changed…" was the detective's response, turning back to the screen, "Let's just wait and see how this plays out, before we jump to conclusions."

Makoto stared at her for a moment before taking a deep breath and focusing on the TV once more. She's right. A lot is going on, with the narrative changing over and over. They can't be sure of anything until more concrete evidence comes to light.

"Also, when we went to go get Hina and Toko, we stopped by your room as well," Byakuya then informed him, "But you never came to the door. So… where, precisely, were you?"

"I'm telling the truth, I was in my room. But I was already dead asleep," the luckster insisted, "I had a fever, so…"

"That's hardly an alibi," was Byakuya's cold retort.

"I know…" Makoto groaned in response.

"That fucking fever keeps coming back to haunt him…!" Mondo growled in annoyance, hand over his forehead.

"I can't blame Byakuya for his suspicion regarding Makoto, considering the circumstances…" Taka conceded reluctantly, "Still…"

"It's always so frustrating when Makoto gets blamed…!" Hina cried out in frustration.

'Frustrating, indeed.' Sayaka agreed, grumbling internally. While she fully understood why suspicion was falling on her luckster, it doesn't make it any less irksome seeing Makoto getting accused, again.

"So? What now? You seem to be quite at the disadvantage here…" the Togami heir inquired, a slight smirk across his face.

'I'm the only one without an alibi. That's… really bad, isn't it?' Makoto thought with dread.

Leon snorted. "That's an understatement there…"

"And there's also Muku's knife, which was supposed to be in Makoto's room…" Junko groaned out, suppressing any gleeful giggles threatening to come out.,"That, with the lack of a good alibi…"

"...Mr. Naegi is going to have a tougher time clearing his innocence," Hifumi grimaced.

"However… it seems that Byakuya's not a hundred percent convinced that Makoto's the culprit…" Sakura hummed, catching the choice of words the Togami heir gave.

"Really?" Hina turned to her friend with slight surprise, with other students joining her in facing the martial artist.

"Hmm… thinking about it, his wording does imply that he's not certain of Makoto's supposed guilt…" Celeste mused as she thought about it, "Why is that, though?"

"Perhaps it had to do with what he was saying in the data center…?" Mukuro suggested neutrally. Like some of the others, she was annoyed with suspicion falling on Makoto. However, she pushed it down, understanding that right now, he seemed like the only viable option. "He mentioned that he wasn't saying that any of the survivors killed Kyoko…"

"You're right. I did say that," the Togami heir confirmed with a nod, eyes narrowed in thought, "Perhaps my future self suspects that the mastermind themselves are the culprit…"

"Huh? The mastermind?" Hiro spoke up in confusion, "What makes you think that?"

"Likely due to the process of elimination," Byakuya answered with a shrug, "The only other suspect that could've done it, based on what our future selves know, is Makoto, and even my future self understands the type of person our lucky student is at this point."

"Fair enough."

"Yeah…"

"When you put it like that…"

"The mastermind's cheating does sound more believable…"

Makoto looked around the room, befuddlement and embarrassment gracing his features. He's honestly not sure whether to be touched or confused by the silent implications his classmates were making…

"Finally, I checked the body itself…"

The scene showed the lucky student kneeling over the body itself.'If I check the body more thoroughly…' Makoto mused to himself, '...maybe then I'll find out for sure if it's Kyoko or not.'

That got the group to straighten up, many of them focusing on this part of the investigation. While there may not be much from this, at least initially, perhaps investigating the body will get some sort of clue as to who the random figure was.

Even Junko found herself interested in the identity of the masked figure. It wasn't the survivors, it wasn't her, and there's not even a hint as to who else would be in the killing game. So, who was it that got taken down? Who was this "trump card" that her future self held?

"There wasn't much to notice. The top half was burnt and wet, while the bottom was completely dry," Narrator Makoto stated as the camera gave a close up look at the body, "The thing that got my attention the most though, was her hand, which had fake nails and a tattoo of a wolf…"

"..."

"..."

"..."

Fake nails? Wolf tattoo? But… doesn't that…?

The present Makoto lifted up the exposed hand, showing the fake nails and tattoo.

"...Wait… wait, that's Mukuro's tattoo, right…?" Hina asked slowly, befuddlement clear in her face and tone, "Why does… who is…huh?"

"But… Mukuro's dead! That can't be her, right?" Sayaka exclaimed, just as confused.

"Hold on for a moment! Perhaps it's mere coincidence?" Taka suggested, trying to form a conclusion that made sense, "The individual may just happen to have a design similar to Mukuro's?"

"That's one hell of a coincidence dude…!" Leon pointed out, "The design looks exactly the same!"

"It could be that the victim is also a member of Fenrir…" Sakura suggested, more calmly than the rest of her class. She then turned to the soldier in question. "Mukuro, do you know…?"

The martial artist trailed off when she noticed the state of the Ultimate Soldier. A look of shock, disbelief even, entered her face before she lowered her head, shadowing her eyes.

Beside her, Junko reached a similar realization. And, instantly, she knew what her future self had done. What she had planned out for her surviving classmates.

Kyoko, Celeste, and Byakuya also managed to make the same connection. Realization and shock were clear across their expressions as they processed the identity of the body. And, slowly, they began to figure out the scheme the mastermind had made.

Finally… there was Makoto. "...That… that… he… Mukuro…" the lucky stuttered, eyes dilating and skin going white. Fast, heavy breaths left his mouth as that rage slowly bubbled up in the pit of his stomach.

It was something none of the students failed to notice. "Makoto…?" Sayaka looked at her crush with clear worry, having not seen him like this before.

"Dude, are you alright…?" Leon asked, also concerned for his friend, "What got you-?"

"THAT SON OF A BITCH IS USING MUKURO'S CORPSE!"

Nearly everyone jumped at the shout of rage that came from the usually mellow luckster. Said luckster was now up from his seat, with a searing look of rage that all of the students would say doesn't fit him.

It took a moment for the group to process what he said, shocked by his outburst. But, once they did, more of them joined Makoto and Mukuro in losing color in their skin.

"...W-What…?" Taka stuttered, disbelief coloring his features, "Wha-What are you… what are you say-...?"

"The wolf tattoo! The fake nails! Both of those belong to Mukuro! Her disguise included those nails, and the tattoo is on her right hand! It can't be a coincidence!" Makoto growled, his hatred for the one controlling the bear growing further, "Not only that… but the file stated that she's covered in wounds that are several days old! That matches the time Mukuro died, and the way she died! THAT MONSTER DESECRATED HER BODY TO STAGE A CLASS TRIAL!"

None… none of them could deny or refute any of Makoto's reasoning. As much as several of them wanted to, as much as they wanted to argue against any of the evidence…

"He's right," Kyoko spoke up in support of the luckster, her voice softer than her usual tone would be, "The fake nails, the wolf tattoo, the several days old wounds… all these match Mukuro on the day she got killed. It'd be one thing if it was one coincidence. But three different coincidences? All coinciding with one another?"

"And that would explain why they had the body blown up…" Byakuya also spoke, eyebrows furrowed and eyes aimed downward, "It was to hide that very identity, to ensure no one would be able to identify her as 'Junko.' Since they failed to kill Makoto, they needed to do something else to continue the killing game. And, what better way to do that than to introduce the sixteenth student hidden in the school and then promptly kill them off?"

"In other words… rather than give up, they changed their plan," Celeste concluded, an ominous look across her face, "They created the murder of Mukuro Ikusaba, in order to frame either Makoto or Kyoko."

A combination of horror, disgust, and rage encompassed the group. Not only had one of their own had their corpse messed with to such an extent, but the culprit had done so in order to continue to stage a class trial?!

If any of them thought they couldn't be more disgusted with the mastermind, they were sorely mistaken.

Meanwhile, Junko found herself covering her mouth, body hunched over and eyes dilating. But, of course, it wasn't in horror or disgust with what she had done. No, it was to conceal the mad grin and euphoric giggles bubbling up yet again.

She used her sister's corpse to stage a trial! Out of clear panic, she decided to make a trial for her Mukuro Ikusaba to take down Kyoko! She hit her useless sister's corpse in the head, stabbed it with her very own knife, and blew half of it up to cover her own ass! That made her feel so… so… gooooood!

Mukuro, however, was much more composed. Even internally, her reaction wasn't strong. Like before, when the idea of respecting the bodies of the dead came up, she was conflicted. She understood the idea, but never had strong feelings about it. To her, burials and ceremonies were merely a set of rules to follow for the sake of it. Even realizing that it was her own corpse didn't change much of it (though her own death by her sister's hands hurt far worse).

The only thing it did was add salt to the wound. It was merely a reminder of how little her sister cared about her. Or was this the way of Junko showing that cared so much? Mukuro could hardly say.

"Mukuro…? Junko…?" The soldier was brought out of her thoughts by the concerned voice of Hina. She turned her head to see the swimmer giving the two of them a worried look. "Are you… are you two… I-I mean… how do you feel?"

For a moment, neither said anything. Junko was the first to speak, or rather, make the attempt; but a gurgling noise coming from her mouth caused her to slap her hands back on it. So, the fashionista merely shook her head, looking convincingly shaken.

"...I don't know," Mukuro finally said. And, she honestly doesn't know how to feel.

The sound of footsteps caused her to shift her head to the source, just in time to see Makoto heading towards her. "Mako-?"

Mukuro ended up losing her voice when the lucky student bent over and brought her into a hug. That caused her eyes to widen noticeably, a blush already forming across her cheeks. She tried to say something, anything, about the abrupt hug; but no noise left her lips.

"You deserve better…" Makoto whispered, stopping any attempts from the soldier to speak, "Using your corpse like that… no one deserves that. You deserve better. You deserve to be treated better."

His words… it affected more than she would've thought. Normally, she would've kept her composure, kept much of her emotions in check in front of her classmates. But Makoto's earnest words, along with the heavy guilt that gnawed at her, caused tears to form at the corner of her eyes.

She almost lost it when Makoto moved back to give a smile with so much kindness. So much compassion. Those smiles he gives her… she doesn't think she'll ever get tired of them.

The luckster then moved back to his seat, giving the soldier time to compose herself, both of them ignoring the looks being given towards them, some of sympathy and some of suspicion. Once Makoto was back at his seat, and Mukuro had gained back some level of composure, the viewing continued.

The scene then changed to show Makoto looking around the greenhouse. "I think I've checked everything I need to in this area," he murmured to himself, 'But I'm not done yet… there are other areas I need to check. Specifically, that fragment I found before. There's somewhere I need to go to confirm my suspicion…'

'And I still need to find out more about Kyoko,' The lucky student's eyes drifted to the corpse once again, 'Is that corpse really Kyoko? If that's true…'

A flashback of last night's attack was shown yet again. '...was that also Kyoko who attacked me last night?' The scene then went back to the present. 'If I can find out more about her, maybe I can answer that question. Kyoko was never the kind of person to talk about herself all that much. Maybe if I can get into her room, I'll be able to find out more…'

'But the key to her room…'A flashback of Byakuya taking Kyoko's key was shown as the luckster aimed his eyes towards the affluent progeny. 'I don't have a choice. I have to see if he'll let me borrow her room key…'

With the revelations that had been made, hardly any of the students could focus on Makoto's thoughts and musings. Instead, their focus was mainly on those revelations, and what they meant for the investigation, as well as the class trial coming up.

"So, let me see if I have this correct…" Taka spoke up, rather blue in the face, "The mastermind distracted most of the survivors by placing a Monokuma robot at the gym for them to fiddle with, during which time, they took the opportunity to kill Makoto in order to frame Kyoko for a class trial. But, when they failed, they switched tactics… and took the body of Mukuro, placing her at the greenhouse for everyone to discover. And now, they're using that body to create a class trial, in order to frame Makoto or Kyoko?"

"And with Makoto having encountered the mastermind when they were masked, he will think they and the body are one and the same," Byakuya added to the summary, arms crossed, "Further solidifying that Mukuro has been hidden within the school before her 'death'."

"So then… Makoto and Kyoko are gonna get framed for a murder…" Hina said shakily, disturbed by these events, "They're gonna be accused of something the mastermind did!"

"Mother… fucking… bastard…!" Mondo was practically shaking in his seat from rage, snarling like an animal, "First they cheat! Now they continue that shit and USE A GIRL'S BODY FOR THAT SHIT?!"

"Where the hell did they store the body anyway?!" Hiro cried out incredulously, "Are they just keeping the dead stored up somewhere?!"

'...The bio lab,' Kyoko deduced quickly. Out of all the known rooms, that's the only one likely to have the capabilities to store the bodies of the dead. If their future selves could just access that room…

"Hopefully, the group will be able to see through the mastermind's scheme…" Celeste sighed, concealing whatever feelings she has over this, "They will need to. If not…"

Everyone understood the silent implication, causing tension across the room. Sayaka ended up latching onto Makoto's arm like a lifeline yet again, now feeling very worried for the luckster.

Said luckster started feeling just as concerned, assuaging his rage for a moment. Will they be able to figure out the mastermind's trap? Will they at least see how strange all of this is? Will there be any clue that would contradict anything that the mastermind has set up?

He hopes so. There has to be. Because he doesn't want to imagine a scenario where the mastermind would succeed in their trick.

And that's the end. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Shorter than the last one, but I felt that this was a good place to stop. Next chapter will likely finish up the investigation, before getting into the trial itself (That'll be a doozy). Review, favorite, and follow and I will see you later.