*DING DONG BING BONG*

Monokuma: "Ahem. . . this is a school announcement. It is now 10 PM. As such, it is officially nighttime. And the doors to the dining hall will be locked. Make sure you're all sleeping in a dorm room, and goodnight! I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!"

. . .

Jim Lake Jr: 'We've been investigating nonstop for a couple of days now. It's getting us nowhere.'

Jim just sighed as he lay down in his bed.

_______

Monokuma: "I know it's only your second day here, but if you don't start killing, then it will only get boring! So, I've come up with a little motive idea."

Rias Gremory: "A motive?"

Monokuma: "You guys are too friendly with each other. And I can't have that! So, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to give you all a special reason to kill!"

Izuku Midoriya: "Even if you give us a motive, we'll never kill anyone! There's nothing that will make us follow your orders, you villain!"

Monokuma: "Oh? Not even a. . . get out of jail free card?"

Izuku Midoriya: "Huh?"

Monokuma: "Ta-Da! Introducing that one and only special escape card! If someone kills another person, then they can admit it right away and grab this free ticket to escape without any repercussions! Doesn't that sound amazing?"

Issei Hyodo: "You bastard! You're trying to motivate us with a free escape? That's just low!"

Katsuki Bakugo: "Please just let me kill him already!"

Monokuma: "Think of it as a perk. And it's the only one of its kind. So, of you're the first to kill, you won't have to go through a class trial. And furthermore, you won't get executed!"

Knuckles: "That's messed up! Using our will to get out of here against us? What do you take us for?"

Monokuma: "Well, I guess we'll see what happens. I know you're so eager to get out of here, that I had to whip *something* up to get the killing started."

______

Jim Lake Jr: 'A blood perk. . . a messed up motive that, according to Monokuma, will induce a murder. I get we all want to escape, but. . . is there really someone who will take the bait and take a life, just to save their own butts?'

______

Katsuki Bakugo: "Alright then! Who feels like dying tonight?! I'll take care of it for you!"

Izuku Midoriya: "K-Kacchan!"

Shoto Todoroki: "Wow, you're quick to get into it."

Katsuki Bakugo: "I don't want to live in this hellhole forever! So, who's gonna give their life to me, so I can get out of here?!"

________

Jim Lake Jr: "Right. . . I guess there *is* someone to fall for the bait."

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

Jim jumped a bit when he suddenly heard the knock at his door. And he was also feeling kind of nervous. Since the motive reveal, everyone is especially in edge.

???: "Jim, open up. It's just me."

Jim Lake Jr: "Claire? Oh right. . . I'll be right there."

Jim then got out of bed and went to answer the door. Even though it was dangerous, he trusted Claire enough to let her in his secluded dorm room.

Claire Nunez: "Oh. . . you actually answered? I didn't think you would after the motive."

Jim Lake Jr: "Don't worry, Claire. I trust you. So, what do you need?"

Claire Nunez: "Well, actually. . . it's not what I need. It's what Douxie wants."

Jim Lake Jr: "Douxie? What could he possibly want?"

Claire Nunez: "I don't know, but he asked us to come with him downstairs."

Jim Lake Jr: "There's a downstairs?"

Claire Nunez: "Apparently. Let's go."

Jim didn't waste any time as he followed Claire to meet up with Douxie to see what he wanted.

They then appeared back in a room that resembled a library where Douxie was staring at a bookshelf.

Claire Nunez: "We're here, Doux."

Jim Lake Jr: "A library, huh? You do look like the kind of guy who'd hang out in here."

Douxie: "I'm gonna ignore that. I just called you both over here, because I wanted to show you something."

Claire Nunez: "Okay. What is it?"

Douxie didn't say anything as he scanned the bookshelf in front of him and suddenly pulled on a book. The shelf then made a noise as it came out of the wall and slid to the side, revealing a secret passage behind it.

Jim Lake Jr: "Is that. . . a secret passageway?!"

Claire Nunez: "How did you know that was there?"

Douxie: "I just so happened to stumble upon it a while ago. I thought I'd so you guys."

Jim Lake Jr: "But why us?"

Douxie: "I don't know what it is, but you both seem trustworthy enough. Plus, I figured it would be important to mention. Because the existence of this passageway. . . it has some dark implications."

Claire Nunez: "What do you mean?"

Douxie: "The fact that this is hidden this way. . . whoever made this doesn't want us to find it."

Jim Lake Jr: "You're saying someone is hiding in there?"

Douxie: "Possibly. But there's also a good chance that whoever lives down there. . . isn't down there currently."

Claire Nunez: "Huh?"

Douxie: "I think we have a case of a traitor in our hands. As in. . . a spy for the mastermind."

Jim Lake Jr: "A traitor? Mastermind?"

Claire Nunez: "No. . . that's not true, right? No one's a traitor! And there's no mastermind!"

Douxie: "The very existence of a secret this big says otherwise."

Jim Lake Jr: "Why don't we go down there and find out?"

Douxie: "That's not a good idea. There's a good chance that it may be a trap. . . or have traps inside."

Jim Lake Jr: "Then, what do you want us to do about it?"

Claire Nunez: "We can talk to the others and see what they think about it."

Douxie: "No. No one is to know about this until we know for sure what it hides."

Claire Nunez: "But. . ."

Douxie: "The thought of anyone else learning of this secret tunnel. . . it's a recipe for disaster. I'm risking even talking you guys about this."

Jim Lake Jr: "Then what *do* we do then?"

Douxie: "We set a trap. . . for the traitor. . . or the mastermind. Whoever comes here first."

Claire Nunez: "How do you know that will work?"

Douxie: "Well, if there's a secret that only the mastermind or traitor would know, then they'd come right to it. And if they're keeping track of things at night, then they'd come here, right? Assuming that it's also a security room, or course."

Claire Nunez: "That makes sense
There are cameras everywhere and I have yet to find a security room."

Douxie: "I even got some supplies ready."

Douxie then pulled out a few supplies for his plan. But one stuck out to Jim the most.

Jim Lake Jr: "Is that a gun?!"

Douxie: "Don't worry, it's not loaded."

Claire Nunez: "Why do you even have a gun in the first place?"

Douxie: "It's for the trap."

Jim Lake Jr: "So, how is the trap gonna work, anyway?"

Douxie: "I was getting to that. So the plan is that we use this string and tie tie it to either end across the bookcase here. And when the traitor comes to this room, they'll trip on the wire, which will fire a blank and make a loud noise, startling them. And that's when we pounce and catch them in the act!"

Claire Nunez: "And then we ask them why they're doing this to us?"

Douxie: "And we'll force them to out the mastermind. And if they don't, we'll just have to secure them until they do. And no one kills until then. . . hopefully."

Jim Lake Jr: "I see no issues with this plan. I'm in."

Claire Nunez: "Wait. . . what if the mastermind is watching us now? What if they frame you by switching the gun to a loaded one and an innocent comes down here and dies? Or worse. . . what if *you* die?"

Douxie: "That won't be an issue. Because we're gonna stay the night down here as well."

Claire Nunez: "But what about the rules? They say that we can't sleep anywhere other than the dorms."

Douxie: "Who said anything about sleep?"

Claire Nunez: "Oh. . ."

Douxie: "Trust me, this plan will work."

Jim Lake Jr: "I'll admit, there's a small chance we can fail, but I trust you, Douxie."

Claire Nunez: "Okay, fine. If Jim is on on it, then I am too."

Douxie: "Great. Let's get this started then!"

The three of them then began to get their trap set up for the traitor/mastermind.

Claire Nunez: "Hang on, I'm gonna be right back. I need to use the bathroom real quick."

Douxie: "Alright, we'll be waiting."

With that, Claire left the use the bathroom and Jim and Douxie continued to set up their trap.

After some time, Claire returned.

Claire Nunez: "Alright, I'm back."

Douxie: "Great. Do you mind setting up the gun decoy?"

Claire Nunez: "Sure, I can do that."

Douxie: "Okay, thanks."

After some time has passed, the trap was finally finished.

Jim Lake Jr: "That took forever, it feels like. But it looks good."

Douxie: "Alright, time to test it out."

Claire Nunez: "Wait. . . we don't want to draw any attention down here, do we?"

Jim Lake Jr: "She's right. If we set off the trap now, the sound of the gun will attract unwanted attention."

Douxie: "Hmm. . . that's a good point. Alright then, well just hide behind these bookshelves until the signal from the gunshot. And then we'll have the traitor or mastermind cornered."

Jim Lake Jr: "You're awfully positive about there even being a traitor."

Claire Nunez: "Or even a mastermind."

Douxie: "Well, someone has to be controlling Monokuma. I refuse to believe that AI has gotten this advanced."

Jim Lake Jr: "If you say so."

The three of them then went to their hiding spot to wait for their moment to catch the mastermind.

Claire Nunez: "How long do you think we'll have to wait here?"

Douxie: "Well, it's midnight now. Surely, the mastermind will be coming down here to check up on us to make sure we're in our dorms."

Jim Lake Jr: "Wait. . . what if they somehow catch the trap and go through the bookcase?"

Claire Nunez: "Yeah. . . if the mastermind is smart, then they might notice."

Douxie: "It's bloody dark in here. I doubt they'll see it."

Claire Nunez: "You never know, though."

Douxie: "Don't worry, Claire. Everything will be alright."

After a couple of hours, nothing was happening. The gun still hasn't went off and the three of them were getting pretty tired.

Jim Lake Jr: "What time is it now?"

Douxie: "It's about 2am."

Claire Nunez: "What? And there's still nothing!?"

Douxie: "I'm honestly surprised. Did the mastermind find our trap after all?"

*BANG!*

Suddenly, their conversation was cut short by a sudden loud noise. The three of them perked up suddenly as they heard the gun go off.

Claire Nunez: "The gun! Our trap! The mastermind is here!"

Douxie: "Quick! Let's jump the mastermind!"

The three of them then got out of their hiding spot. But when they did, they saw a shocking sight.

Sitting on the floor, on his knees, was Izuku Midoriya. And he was clutching his shoulder and blood was dripping down his sleeve, leaving a small pool on the floor.

Jim Lake Jr: "Izuku?!"

Izuku Midoriya: "Agh. . . damn it! What are you guys doing here?"

Douxie: "We could ask you the same question, Izuku."

Izuku Midoriya: "Huh?"

Claire Nunez: "Wait. . . he's bleeding. How is that possible?"

Douxie: "I don't know. The gun did go off, but it was supposed to be unloaded."

Izuku Midoriya: "So, you *did* do this?! Why?"

Douxie: "Well. . . it's complicated."

Claire Nunez: "Were sorry, Izuku! We were trying to capture the mastermind with a trap, but. . ."

Izuku Midoriya: "Mastermind? What are you talking about? There's a villain in the school?!"

Douxie: "You would know. . . traitor."

Izuku Midoriya: "Huh? I'm not a traitor! What's wrong with you?!"

Jim Lake Jr: "Don't worry about that. We need to get him some care, quickly!"

With that said, the three of them brought Izuku to the nurse's office to treat his wound. Monokuma eventually showed up and took care of them himself.

Monokuma: "Man, I get wanting to snag that first blood perk, but must you be so loud about it?!"

Claire Nunez: "Sorry, Monokuma."

Douxie: "Don't apologize to him! He's the enemy!"

Monokuma: "You're lucky. That gunshot work everybody up! I had to tell them that it was all a false alarm and no one died. . . yet."

Douxie: "He wasn't even supposed to get hurt. I could've sworn I had the gun unloaded."

Monokuma: "Whatever. Izuku gets a pass for tonight to stay in the infirmary. You guys, get to your dorm rooms! Now!"

The three of them obeyed Monokuma as they all went back to their dorms.

Claire Nunez: "Well, that was a bust."

Jim Lake Jr: "I'm sure we'll get them next time. Right, Douxie?"

Douxie: "No. . . we've already got him."

Jim Lake Jr: "He's in the infirmary, as we speak."

Jim Lake Jr: "You think Izuku is the traitor?"

Douxie: "Why else would he have been in the library so late?"

Jim Lake Jr: "He could've so been plotting a murder."

Claire Nunez: "Don't say that, Jim!"

Douxie: "Either way, he's guilty of something. And tomorrow, we'll confront him about it. Just us three. Deal?"

Jim just sighed as he felt he had no choice.

Jim Lake Jr: "Deal."

Claire Nunez: "Sure. . ."

The three of them then parted ways and went into their dorms to sleep off the events of what just happened.

. . . .

DING DONG BING BONG*

Monokuma: "Ahem. . . Good Morning, students! Rise and Shine! It's time to head into another amazing day!"

-----------

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

Jim Lake Jr: "Huh? Who's there?"

Douxie: "It's m, Jim. I've got Claire. Let's go an check up on Izuku."

Jim Lake Jr: "Already? We're not gonna have breakfast first?"

Douxie: "No time. Get up and let's go."

Jim sighed as he got out of bed and went out of his dorm to meet up with Douxie and Claire.

Claire Nunez: "Hey, Jim. I guess we're ready now?"

Douxie: "Good. Now, let's go and get some answers from him."

The thee of them then went to the infirmary to confront Izuku about the night before.

Jim Lake Jr: "Wait. . . are we sure about this? What if it's not him?"

Douxie: "It has to be. Why else would he have been in the library last night?"

Jim Lake Jr: "I guess you're right."

Douxie then knocked on the door.

Douxie: "Izuku? It's us again. Mind if we come in?"

No answer.

Douxie: "Izuku?"

Claire Nunez: "Why isn't he answering? Is he even awake?"

Douxie: "He should be after this. Izuku! Wake up! We need to talk to you!"

Still no answer.

It was at this moment that Jim got a sick feeling in his stomach. A sick feeling of dread.

Jim Lake Jr: "Izuku. . . we're coming in!"

Claire Nunez: "Jim, wait!"

But Claire's efforts were fruitless as Jim opened the door to the infirmary. But when he did. . . they were met with a horrible odor and a green cloud.

Douxie: "Ugh, that's awful! How can Izuku sleep through this?"

Claire Nunez: "We have to let this place air out some."

So that they did. They stepped back as the infirmary aired out of the smelly green smoke. And once it did, they went inside to see that Izuku's bed was covered with a curtain.

Douxie: "Finally. Wake up, Izuku. We need to talk."

Douxie then went to pull the curtain back to talk to Izuku. But when he did. . . they were met with a horrible sight. And Jim finally knew where his sense of dread was coming from. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

It was Izuku, of course. But he didn't look too well. He was laying face up on the bed, face as pale as a corpse. And there was blood staining the sheets underneath his body. And he didn't appear to be breathing.

Izuku Midoriya. . . was dead.

To be continued. . .

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