The students watched the execution in horror before the screen went black, averting their eyes from Asya's crushed body.

"That's... not the kind of execution I was expecting," Shoji said silently.

"This is seriously messed up," Arata shivered.

Seto looked pale in the face. "I think I'm going to throw up."

"Wooo! The first execution was a success!" Monokuma cheered and the gate to the elevator opened for them to go back to their dorms.

Masaru entered the main area and observed his classmates faces.

"That was horrible," Winona whispered then broke down crying and Seto tried to comfort her.

"I can't do this, man," Umeda ran a hand through his hair. "What even was that?"

No one had an answer to that and Valini said something that chilled them all.

"We killed her."

Masaru looked over at her. "Excuse me?"

"We're the ones who voted for her." Valini covered her face with her hands. "We sent her to her death."

"What did you want us to do?" Shoji asked, "if we didn't vote we all would've died and she would've walked out of here Scot-free."

"He's right," Masaru agreed, "there was no way out of this without someone dying."

"I... I know," Valini said in a hushed voice then sulked to her room.

Nao held up Asya's lipstick tube. "What should I do with this?"

"You know she would've survived if she had that with her," Seto said.

"I doubt Monokuma would've let that happen," Masaru told him.

"He's right!"

Masaru looked down at his feet where Monokuma appeared again and the bear jumped up to swipe the lipstick tube from Nao's hand.

"She would've died regardless!" Monokuma chirped, "but I like this outcome better! It's a bit poetic don't you think?"

"Shut your mouth," Kaneko said and pointed at the bear, "or I'll have Pinku squeeze the life out of you."

"GAH!" Monokuma disappeared from their sights.

"We cannot allow this to happen again," Matsuyama said, "we all need to contribute in finding a way out of here."

"He's right, because so far it's only been five of us," Priscilla said.

"I'm sorry," Winona sniffed and wiped her tears, "I'll do my best... but can I... just go to my room for now?"

"Of course," Matsuyama told her, "we can all look together tomorrow as a class."

"I'll help out too," Umeda said, "I don't want to be useless."

"Same here," Arata gave a thumbs up, "whoever's behind this needs to be put behind bars big time."

"Pinku and I will do our best!" Kaneko smiled.

Masaru was glad that everyone was not letting the death of their classmate be in vain but saw Mizuno slip away from the others. He followed the hiker as she stumbled back near the women's bathroom and pressed her back against the wall. Her chest rose and fell rapidly and she shut her eyes.

"You need to breathe."

Mizuno's eyes fluttered back open at the sound of Masaru's voice and she breathed heavily.

"This... this place," Mizuno gasped out and tears slid down her face. She did her best to keep herself together but the execution was too much.

Masaru nodded to a painting on the wall near them. "Tell me what that is."

Mizuno's eyebrows furrowed at the random question and she looked over at it. "A picture?"

"Of?"

"A garden I think. It's just some random flowers."

"Now, the color of the walls."

"Green... it's actually my favorite color."

"Good." Masaru reached into his pocket and pulled out his pen and notepad. "Here. Just hold it."

Mizuno took the item and felt the notepads cool smooth surface. She played with the spirals holding it together as she took deep breaths while clutching the pen in her other hand.

"Are you calm now?" Masaru asked her.

Mizuno blinked. "Yeah... I guess."

"It's not your fault if that's what you're thinking."

"But I—"

"You gave a suggestion," Masaru cut her off, "all you did was try and find a compromise to Margot's problem. The killer is the one who used it to their advantage. And even if you didn't say anything, Asya still would've have that mindset to kill and someone would've still ended up dying."

"I guess you're right..." Mizuno absent- mindedly flipped through the notepad's pages and her eyes widened at something she spotted. "You wrote mine and Toma's name down?"

Masaru went to snatch his notepad back but Mizuno held it out of reach.

"See? I told you we were useful!" She then clicked the pen and wrote something down which Masaru reminded himself that he would have to rip it out later.

Once she was done she handed his items back and gestured to the dining hall.
"We should eat! Although maybe someone wouldn't really want to digest anything after what we've just witnessed..."

Masaru followed Mizuno to the cafe like area and saw Seto sitting down with a bowl of noodles next to Umeda who was chatting with Shoji who had his laptop now.

"Woah," Mizuno said as she walked over to Seto, "they have ramen?"

"Yeah," Seto responded and twirled noodles around his chopsticks, "many flavors too."

Mizuno's eyes lit up and she rushed to the back of the kitchen.

Shoji side eyed Seto's bowl. "Now you're making me want some."

"On it!" Umeda jumped up.

"You don't even know what flavor I like."

Umeda shrugged. "I'll guess." He walked off to where Mizuno went and Masaru sat down at the table.

"You're the Ultimate Masquerader, am I correct?" Masaru asked Seto.

"Yes, I am."

"So, what do you do?"

Seto waved a hand. "It's basically cosplay, I can be whoever I want. I get hired for festivals too."

"And who are you right now?"

"Myself."

Masaru nodded then looked over at Shoji who spoke before he had a chance to.

"If you even think about bringing up my parents again, I'm leaving."

"I couldn't care less about—" Masaru stopped himself. "I mean, no. I just wanted to know if you liked tigers."

Seto choked on a laugh and Shoji's ears turned red as he looked down at his own hoodie.

"Yes I do," he answered then asked sarcastically, "how did you know?"

"Lucky guess."

Mizuno sped walked back over to them with two bowls of noodles that had a chicken flavored smell. She slid one over to Masaru and sat down next to him.

Afterwards, Umeda came back as well also with two bowls. His bowl looked them same as Mizuno and Masaru's but the one for Shoji had an orange color.

Shoji narrowed his eyes. "How did you know I like spicy noodles?"

"You just look like that kind of guy." Umeda slid the bowl over to him.

Masaru ate silently as the others around them obviously didn't care for the volume they ate at.

"So who do you think is behind all of this?" Mizuno asked after a moment, "whoever it is, they've got a rude awakening coming for them."

"Probably some old bored rich guy," Shoji said, "I'm sure they'll have fun with him in prison."

"Who's to say it's not a girl?" Seto asked.

"He's got a point," Umeda said, "you females are pretty evil."

Mizuno stopped eating. "Want to repeat that?"

"See?" Umeda pointed to the fire in her gaze. "Evil."

Masaru shook his head at their silliness, knowing they had zero clues or evidence to who was behind this. Once he was done eating he was the first one to leave and retreat back to his dorm.

He was already starting to miss the outdoor sky but knew it was no use in trying to break through the metal slab on his window.

Masaru then sat down at the edge of the bed, remembering that Mizuno had written down something in his notepad. He flipped it open, ready to tear it out but stopped to read it.

Thanks for the help, Massy!

Masaru stared at the nickname, already hating it then flipped the notepad shut and threw it on his bed.

*. *. *. *

"It's now 7am! Get ready for another beautiful day!"

Masaru eyes flew open from the morning announcement, not even realizing he had fallen asleep. He guessed he slept for a good while since his body felt refreshed so he got out of bed to take a shower.

Masaru let the warm water embrace him and couldn't help staring down at the phoenix tattoo. He had tried peeling it to see if it were fake but it was marked into his skin. He was a detective so he assumed if he had a tattoo it would be of a famous quote by someone like Sherlock Holmes or a tattoo of a magnifying glass. Maybe it had something to do with his past and if so then he didn't know how long it would take for him to remember why.

Masaru finished his shower and got dressed but when he stepped out of his bathroom he spotted something- someone sitting on his bed.

Monokuma sat on the edge of Masaru's bed and kicked his little bear feet.

"Geez! Are you done pampering yourself now?" Monokuma spoke.

"Get out."

"Oh don't be like that Masaru!" Monokuma hopped off the bed, "I came bearing gifts!"

Masaru raised an eyebrow. "Gifts?"

"I know some of the rooms on the first floor have been locked but as a reward for starting the killing game I'll unlock them all!"

"Reward?" Masaru scoffed. "I don't think people will like the way you phrased that."

Monokuma tapped his chin. "You must be psychic! The other students scowled and attacked me when I told them the good news, you're the last person."

"Great. New rooms. Now get out."

"How cold!" Monokuma gushed then disappeared.

Masaru sighed frustratingly then got ready to leave his room after grabbing his essentials. This time he wore a short sleeved top with the same jeans and necklace. He stepped out of his room and not to his surprise, the hallway was empty.

Masaru began to walk around in search of the unlocked rooms Monokuma was referring to. He walked past the dining hall and saw a room with no door to it.

Inside were several washing and drying machines with baskets on top of them. There were also cleaning supplies and hangers. Masaru saw that a person was already inside opening one of the drying machines.

"Oh, so you're awake," Priscilla spoke as she moved her clothes that were in the washer to the dryer, "I'm glad that the bear was smart enough to give us a laundry room."

Masaru observed the room some more and saw that it also had a monitor like everywhere else.

"I know," Priscilla said lowly with her eyes on Masaru, "it's like this whole place is under surveillance."

Masaru walked over to her. "Have you discovered any more rooms?"

"No. This was the first one I came across. I have no interest in any of the other available rooms unless it's a way out."

Masaru stood there awkwardly not knowing what else to say and Priscilla looked him over.

"You were a great help in the trial, you know." She glanced at the monitor and brought her voice to a whisper. "Another student and I have been working on something. I can't say any more right now because of..."

Masaru nodded and looked to the monitor too, wondering which student she was referring to. He knew that it must be important if she's not willing to let Monokuma hear about it.

"I will tell you eventually," Priscilla told him then waved him away. "Now go before that thing gets suspicious."

Masaru and Priscilla grew a bit closer.

Masaru left the laundry room and got an idea to open his monopad. He took out the device and flipped through it remembering that Monokuma mentioned something about a school map. Once he found the map icon he pressed it and the screen displayed the entire inside of the school.

Masaru spotted places he's already been to such as the computer room and dining hall; he even saw the image for the laundry room. However there were two places he saw that were new: the library and a mono machine room.

Masaru had no idea what that second room could be for and headed to the library first. He passed by Umeda and Shoji who were in their own world along with Kaneko who waved to him. At least people were keeping their word about coming out of their rooms to search the school more.

Once he reached the library he saw two people already inside that he saw as an unlikely pairing.

Valini was sitting inside on the small couch chatting lively with Herb who had a book in his lap. They looked to be enjoying each other's company but Masaru still walked over to be a third wheel.

"Hi, Masaru!" Valini greeted once she spotted him. Herb gave a nod and a small smile.

"Looks like you're feeling better," Masaru commented.

"Yes!" Valini gestured to Herb's book. "I'm not a fan of reading but Herb's got a great voice for it!"

Herb's face turned slightly red. "It's nothing..."

Valini jumped up from the couch and pointed to some nearby shelves. "I'm going to go find another book!"

Masaru looked down at Herb who played with his hands nervously.

"So, you're the Ultimate Drafter?"

Herb looked back up at Masaru surprised.
"Oh! um, yeah."

"Does that have something to do with... football?"

Herb blinked then chuckled before immediately stopping at the sight of Masaru's unimpressed face.

"I didn't mean to laugh," Herb said then coughed, "a drafter is someone who makes technical drawings or designs for buildings."

"Sounds boring."

"Well, it is something that I love to do. That's what makes us all so unique." Herb set down the book in his lap onto a small coffee table. "I mean, anything detective related sounds boring to me but I'm sure to you it means everything."

Masaru hummed and knew he had a point. "Why do you always appear so shy? You don't strike me as a total idiot; you should talk more."

Herb cocked his head at the strange compliment, if you could even call it that, right as Valini ran back over with a red hardcover book.

Masaru and Herb grew a bit closer.

"Read this one!" Valini grinned and sat back down.

Masaru decided to leave them alone and explore the library more. His eyes slightly widened as he spotted a row of old computers but of course when he went to turn them on they didn't work. He smacked his lips and observed the books on the shelves next. Most of them had concerning titles and a few Masaru recognized as Grimm fairytales.

Masaru was about to exit the scene but a particular book with a white lettered title caught his eye. He walked over to it before picking it up.

"Danganronpa?" Masaru read out loud, "bullet refutation." He shut his mouth wondering how he even knew what that word meant and wanted to set the book back down from the horrible aura that radiated from it. He then shook his head and kept it in his possession before speed walking out of the library.

Masaru rushed back to his dorm before that bear showed up to ruin everything and he shut the door behind him. He wasn't going to read it now so he stashed it under his bed and stood back up right as the devil himself popped up into his room.

"What are you doing?" Monokuma asked suspiciously.

Masaru took out his monopad and pointed to the room with a machine icon.

"I'm going here."

Monokuma perked up as if he's already forgotten about Masaru's suspicious behavior.

"Oh! The mono machine room, my favorite!" Monokuma waddled over to the door. "Follow me!"

Masaru followed the bear earning strange glances from his classmates as the two walked down the school halls. Soon, Masaru stood in front of two glass doors that Monokuma pushed open.

The room had light blue walls and a long wooden stand with prizes behind it like you would see at a carnival. There were also two large metal Gumball machines that stood on both sides of the room where someone was already standing.

"Alright!" Arata cheered as he turned the knob and received the gift that was given to him.

When Arata spotted Masaru he waved. "Oh, hey!"

"What is this?" Masaru asked and could see a small pouch in the volleyball player's hand.

"It's a mono machine!" Monokuma cheered, "it's where you can win special prizes!" The bear then pulled out a pouch similar to Arata's and handed it to Masaru.

Masaru opened the pouch and saw gold coins that all bared an evil red eye on it that looked the same as Monokuma's.

"Just put it in the slot and turn the knob," Monokuma explained, "who knows what you'll get!"

Masaru opened his mouth to ask more questions but Monokuma disappeared as quickly as he came.

"Here."

Masaru turned to see Arata handing him the gift he received from the machine. Masaru looked down at the guy's hand to see a pin of a cute orange cat that you could put on your shirt.

"Not a chance."

"Oh, come on!" Arata whined and tried to put the pin on Masaru's shirt but Masaru backed away.

"What? Do you not like cats?"

Masaru sighed since he couldn't remember and Arata took the chance to successfully place the pin on the upper right of Masaru's shirt.

"Looking great, man," Arata complimented then his eyes widened as he looked down at Masaru's arm, "woah! Is that a tattoo?"

Masaru looked down at his own arm that was indeed exposed. "Yes."

"What is it? A bird?"

"A phoenix."

"What does it mean?"

"I don't know."

Arata tilted his head. "You got a tattoo of a phoenix but don't know what it means?"

"I guess so."

Arata's eyes lit up. "Cool!"

Masaru turned to the mono machine and took out one coin from his pouch. He put it in the slot and the machine rumbled a bit before dropping out his prize.

You received knee pads!

Masaru picked up the pair of knee pads that was given to him wondering what he would even need these for. He then glanced over at Arata who was already staring at him with sparkles in his eyes.

Masaru sighed again, dramatically. "Do you want—"

Arata snatched the knee pads with a smile.
"Thanks! It's perfect for what I have in store for later."

Masaru put another coin in the slot and another item was dropped.

You received a bag of gummy worms!

Masaru took the prize, not really having a sweet tooth and prepared to leave while Arata waved goodbye

Masaru and Arata grew a bit closer.

Masaru made his way back to the main area then stopped when he saw two people conversing secretly with one another. He watched as Priscilla whispered to Shoji who was holding his laptop to his chest. Shoji looked a bit bored but Priscilla was completely serious. Masaru guessed that was the other student Priscilla was referring to.

"They grow up so fast."

Masaru turned at the sound of another voice and saw Umeda pull up next to him with his eyes also on Shoji and Priscilla.

"He's making friends like a big boy." Umeda wiped away a fake tear. "He better not forget about me though."

Umeda then looked down at Masaru's arm just like Arata did before. "You have a tattoo? Sick."

"I should've worn my jacket," Masaru muttered and continued on to the dining hall.

Once Masaru arrived he stepped inside to see Matsuyama, Mizuno, and Toma sitting together at a table. Mizuno beckoned him over once she saw him and he walked towards them.

"We haven't seen you all day!" Mizuno noted then saw his arm.

"I know," Masaru spoke before she could comment on it, "yes, I have a tattoo. Let's move on."

Masaru sat down and Matsuyama talked next.

"Did you find the new rooms Monokuma opened up?"

"Yes," Masaru answers and pulled out the bag of gummy worms before tossing them to Mizuno, "here."

Mizuno accepted the candy gratefully. "Oh wow, where did you get this?"

"You guys didn't go to the mono machine room?" Masaru asked causing Mizuno and Toma to look uncomfortable.

"You actually went in there?" Mizuno asked.

"It is sketchy," Toma commented.

Matsuyama tapped a can of coffee that sat in front of him. "It didn't seem too bad. It gave me this coffee; it's actually my favorite flavor."
He then spotted the cat pin on Masaru's shirt. "Did you get that from the machine?"

"No, Arata did. He put it on there against my will."

"Arata?" Matsuyama questioned then looked to the side, "cool, I guess..."

Masaru narrowed his eyes at the weird change in behavior then looked to Mizuno who stood from her seat.

"Where should we go next?" She asked.

Right as she said that, Priscilla walked into the dining hall. When she saw the four of them she crossed her arms.

"So, are you guys coming?" Priscilla asked.

"Coming where?" Matsuyama asked.

"Arata just found a volleyball net in the gym. He wants everyone to play a game with him."

"Absolutely not," Masaru said, guessing this was what Arata was talking about when he gave the guy those knee pads.

"Oooh, that sounds fun," Mizuno said and stretched, "I haven't been active in a while."

"I don't know," Toma said, unsure.

"I think we should participate," Matsuyama said, "it would be good for all of us to have at least a bit of fun while we're here."

"You think jumping around and getting sweaty is fun?" Masaru asked.

"Well, I'm going to get changed," Priscilla said and Masaru was surprised.

"You're actually going to participate?" He asked.

"Of course. It'll allow me to have my eye on everyone at once and to make sure no funny business happens." Priscilla then exited the dining hall.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Matsuyama tried to convince them.

"I'm in," Mizuno said happily.

Toma scratched the back of his neck. "I guess I could participate."

All eyes were on Masaru and he grumbled under his breath before agreeing. Mizuno cheered then ran off to get changed and the others did the same.

Masaru walked into the gym wearing the same clothes but with shorts this time. He was surprised to see that he was the last to arrive and even more surprised that every student was actually here; even Shoji and Nao.

Masaru saw that the volleyball net was already set up and the bleachers had been pulled out.
Once he joined the others, Arata stood in front of them all.

"Alright, now we need to split up into teams," Arata instructed.

"I don't really know how to play volleyball," Herb said, "or any sport."

"Can't I just watch?" Nao asked.

"No way!" Arata ordered, "now then, I'll obviously be one of the team captains so who will be the other?"

"Oh, me! Me!" Kaneko volunteered. Her snake had slithered over to the bleachers and watched them all like a spectator.

"Do you even know anything about volleyball?" Arata asked.

"No, but doesn't it have something to do with a touchdown?"

Arata moved on to Priscilla. "How about you? You give off a strong team leader vibe."

"Hard pass."

"I'll do it," Mizuno offered, "the only sport I've played in high school was baseball but I'm a hiker so I'm pretty athletic."

"Great!" Arata said, "I'm picking first though."

Arata's Team: Umeda, Shoji, Winona, Seto, Herb, Valini

Mizuno's Team: Masaru, Toma, Matsuyama, Priscilla, Nao, Kaneko

"Usually there are six people on a team so one person will have to sit out until they switch with another player," Arata said.

"I'll do it!" Nao volunteered immediately and went to go sit on the bench, far from Pinku as possible.

Masaru looked over to see Shoji and Seto arguing over who gets to sit out and he guessed Shoji won since the hacker happily sat on the bleachers and Seto huffed.

"Don't expect us to play this correctly," Priscilla said and Arata laughed.

"I just want everyone to have fun." He answered.

The game started off by Arata serving from the back of his team and Mizuno intercepted it first. Masaru purposely stood in the back watching the others on his team play and the only ones who seemed to be really trying were Mizuno and Matsuyama. Toma awkwardly stood still hoping the ball wouldn't come his way and every time Kaneko hit it, it would spike into the floor.

On the other team, Valini kept hogging people's turn, trying to hit the ball and Winona kept fumbling when it was her turn. Seto attempted to hit the ball over the net one time but ended up hitting the back of Umeda's head and instead of apologizing, he laughed hysterically. Umeda chased Seto around their side of the court and Arata was the only reason why they were gaining points.

When the ball finally made its way to Masaru he side stepped it and let it hit the ground.

"I think you are supposed to hit it," Toma offered the genuine advice.

Mizuno pointed at him accusingly. "You're going to make us lose!"

"We're going to lose regardless," Masaru told her and nodded to Priscilla, Matsuyama, and Kaneko, "it's not like they're any help."

Matsuyama pouted. "But I'm trying."

"Can we switch already?" Seto groaned.

"Sure," Arata agreed, "Shoji, Nao get in here!"

Umeda took a hold of Shoji who tried to make a run for it while Seto took his place. Nao then angrily went over to take a spot and Kaneko went to go sit on the bleachers with her snake.

The next game started and Shoji and Nao barely took a part in it. Mizuno was sweating by now and like Arata's team, she was the main source of their gaining points. She hit the ball trying to get it over the net but instead it went backwards.

Masaru sighed as it came his way again and Mizuno gave him a 'you better not screw this up' look. He positioned himself to actually hit it this time but someone else did the job for him.

Masaru blinked as he watched Monokuma pop out and jump high in the air to spike the ball, scoring a point.

"Bingo!" Monokuma cheered and the other students stopped playing.

"That's not even remotely close to what we're playing." Priscilla crossed her arms.

"Boo!" Arata called out, "you're ruining the game!"

"What?!" Monokuma held a paw to his heart, "it's already rude enough that you didn't invite me!"

"And for good reason," Umeda said.

"But I just love to get my heart pumping!" Monokuma laughed, "it just makes me so excited for the next motive tomorrow!"

All of Valini's self peace she had the courage to muster up vanished. "Next... motive?"

And just like that, the fun atmosphere the students had been enjoying was undeniably crushed.