(A/N: FANART SOURCE: https://www.pixiv.net/en/users/64661)

We all gathered in the park, some of us already noticing something strange and ominous; a clock attached to a huge black sphere where the statues used to be.

What even *is* that?

Your guess is as good as mine.

"...For skinny people, you're awfully slow.", Byakuya huffed.

"It seems...you are just too fast for us.", Sonia huffed from speed walking.

"J-Jeez...I never expected Byakuya to move so fast...", Kazuichi heaved.

"So...what's supposed to be here?", Akane asked.

""Here...?" Really...?", Byakuya pointed at the large sphere. "Hmph... If you haven't noticed it yet...then I was right to dismiss you all as idiots."

"It looks like a clock, but...something seems off... It's...counting down...!", Hajime pointed out, which was true.

"Was this here when we came last time?", Mahiru asked us.

"No...I'm pretty sure it wasn't!", Nekomaru confirmed. We all nodded, voicing our agreement.

"I found it this morning...when I was exploring the island one more time. It's unknown...when it was actually placed here...", Byakuya explained.

"Monokuma must have placed this object... What does this countdown even mean?", Peko questioned.

"Hmm... I have no clue.", Ibuki hummed.

"Mmhmhm, once again, something has appeared that I don't understand... But it's got nothing to do with me. Because I refuse to believe this is happening.", TeruTeru shrugged.

"Could it be...? It better not be a bomb!", Nekomaru gasped, making some of us go as white as a sheet.

"A b-b-b-b-bommmmmmmb!?", Kazuichi shook from head to toe.

"If they wanted to blow up the island, they would have done so by now. There's no need for a countdown...", Byakuya pointed out.

Also, the killing game would just be kind of useless if you guys all die at once.

"Then...what are they counting down?", Mikan asked.

"I can't tell...", I mumbled.

"...A mysterious mystery, isn't it!?", Monomi popped out of nowhere, scaring us.

Didn't she die!?

I mean, Monomi probably has spares of herself, right?

M-Maybe...

"Kyah!", Sonia jumped in fright, causing Monomi to yell as well.

"M-Monomi!?", Hajime took a defensive stance when he saw the bunny mascot.

"Wh-Why are you here!?", Mahiru questioned.

"I heard everyone while I was patrolling, so I came over...", Monomi shrugged.

"No, not that... Didn't Monokuma kill you?", Ibuki sputtered.

"Ah, so that's why you were surprised? Pfft, hehehe! You don't have to worry about that! After all, I can never die!"

"I see... You must be an undead abomination, risen from the foulest depths of the Netherworld by black magic... *Gasp!* Do you want me to make you my thrall!?", Gundham asked with sparkles in his eyes.

"Monomi's a mechanical stuffed animal, right? Doesn't that mean she can't die in the first place?", Chiaki mentioned.

"Now that you mention it...she'd only need like, a spare or something.", Kazuichi muttered.

""A spare"... What a mean thing to say!", Monomi huffed with droopy eyes.

"However, you have arrived at the perfect time. There's something I wanted to ask you. What is the meaning behind this timer and this countdown? Answer me...", Byakuya demanded answers from Monomi.

"Huh? Countdown...?", Monomi turned to the clock and yelped. "Ha-wa-wa! What is this!? ...U-Um... I'm sorry... I...don't know what this is..."

"You really don't know...?", Peko asked.

"I-I'm sorry... I don't really have a grasp of what Monokuma is up to..."

"You don't know, even though you're Monokuma's little sister.", Hiyoko scoffed.

"I'm not my brother's little sister!"

Did she accept the role or not? Which one is it?

"A-Anyway...let's all do our best! Let's kick the evil Monokuma off this island!"

"If you don't know what the countdown is for, you're useless to us. Get lost.", Byakuya turned away from Monomi.

"Um... Let's...together..."

"I said get lost!"

"Kyaaa! I-I'm sorry!", Monomi waddled away quickly.

"Um... Perhaps you are being a little too harsh? I am starting to feel sorry for it...", Sonia muttered.

"Miss Sonia! May I call you Miss Sonia!? No, I insist on calling you that! There's no need to feel sorry for that thing. She's obviously working with Monokuma.", Kazuichi insisted.

"Talk about a simp...", Kuno muttered as she faded in, snickering. I rolled my eyes, ignoring her.

"Who the fuck cares about that stuffed animal...? More importantly, what the hell is that clock?", Fuyuhiko huffed.

"Looks ominous, doesn't it... Who put that object here, and how did they do it in just one night?", Byakuya mused.

"Hmm...I can't imagine...", Hajime sighed.

"Which means it doesn't make any sense! Also, it's deadly!", TeruTeru pointed out.

"However, that's not all that's unimaginable... This island is full of mysteries that we can't begin to imagine... For example...how were the seventeen of us brought to this island...?", Byakuya questioned.

"I wasn't trying to think about that since it's been bugging me too, but...he's right. That *is* a mystery.", Kazuichi mumbled.

"There's more... Why is Jabberwock Island, which was known for being a popular resort destination, now an uninhabited island? There is no sign of tourists or even citizens on this island... Is something like that even possible?"

"Maybe the island was closed off from the public by someone influential?", I threw out the idea.

"All civilizations are destined to collapse... Nothing begets existence...and existence begets nothing...", Gundham stated.

"So it...collapsed?", Mikan asked.

"Society is much like fruit. Once it matures, it is inevitable that it will eventually rot. As the economy grows, the private sector stagnates as elders and bureaucrats become more and more powerful... As time passes, this power becomes the status quo, and crushes the seeds of any possible reformation... Such a sad trend.", Sonia sighed.

"Mmm, I don't really understand all that, but I feel like the situation here is somewhat different...", Mahiru hummed.

"Maybe...the Monobeasts killed everyone on this island?", Hiyoko suggested.

"And that's how it became uninhabited!?", Nekomaru gasped.

"I don't think that's the case, to be honest...", Kuno muttered, floating near me. "If they were all killed by the monobeasts, there would need to be cleaned up by a large group of people and removed from the island to somewhere else. At the very least, there would be traces of the blood... I don't know, there wasn't any news about a large amount of death here, as far as I know."

"Uh, I think the Monobeasts killing them would be a bit too much trouble for the people behind this...", I reworded quickly to the others.

"That's a possibility, but...we don't know that for sure. This mystery remains a mystery, it seems.", Byakuya stated.

"Grrrrrr...! It's like everything here is just full of mysteries!", Ibuki groaned.

"You're right... It's mysteries on top of mysteries... However, since these mysteries are overlapping with one another, I doubt some no-name group is behind this..."

"Wh-What are you trying to say...?", Hajime asked.

"I mean...this situation we're in is undeniably the work of some enormous organization ."

"...Enormous organization?", Mikan echoed.

"Monomi, Monokuma, the Monobeasts... They're all machines that require major technical skill to operate."

"Plus, they'd need a ton of funding. And there's no way those things were made just for the hell of it...", Kazuichi nodded.

"That organization might be controlling these machines and monitoring the island with those cameras..."

"Could those fiends be hiding on this island?", Peko suggested.

"Not likely. They're probably running this from somewhere else. Somewhere safe."

"Could they be another island far from here?", I pointed out.

"I don't know... Anyway, there's no mistake that an enormous organization is behind all this."

"I see, a big organization, huh... I can't imagine what kinda people they could be...", Akane shrugged.

"Well, let's see... There's my Togami Corporation...Sonia's Novoselic Kingdom...and the Kuzuryu Clan... It would definitely have to be an organization as powerful as one of those groups, if not more so."

"Huh!?", Sonia looked shocked, while Fuyuhiko just scoffed.

"I'm used to being mistrusted... Do what you will..."

"Hey, Amico, I know your theory has some ground, but casting doubts towards our classmates, especially during this strange killing school trip. Sonia and Fuyuhiko haven't even done anything yet! You cannot be serious about this, right?", I pointed out.

"I'm just using them as an example. I'm not saying they have anything to do with this.", Byakuya explained.

"But...you're certain that we're up against a huge organization, right?", Hajime asked.

"Even if such an organization exists... Why would they make us go through something like this?", Peko mumbled.

"Whatever. How long are we gonna keep talking about this? Why don't we talk about something more realistic?", TeruTeru groaned.

"Our enemy's purpose is still unknown... As long as we find out who's behind this, we'll learn their purpose. So what we must do now is find out who our enemy is. If we do that, we'll be that much closer to a breakthrough. Luckily, according to the e-Handbook, we are free to explore this island... There will definitely be a clue about the enemy on this island somewhere. Let's start looking.", Byakuya declared.

"All right! Let's get this crap done! ...Uh, what're we looking for?", Akane chuckled.

"...Akane, were you even listening? We need to find clues that will tell us who our enemy is.", Mahiru sighed.

"No problem... No matter how large this organization may be, they will not be able to stand against us... They are destined to fall and turn to ash at the might of my Four Dark Devas of Destruction!", Gundham declared as his hamsters jumped out of his scarf on command.

"Wow! Hamsters came out of your scarf! Tee-hee! They are so adorable!", Sonia giggled as she watched the hamsters scurry around in Gundham's scarf.

"They are very cute, aren't they?", I nodded, watching the chubbiest one munch on a sunflower seed.

"Adorable...you say...? ...Th-Thank you.", Gundham mumbled, his face going red at our attention.

"You're pretty happy about that, huh?", Ibuki giggled, lightly poking one of the smaller hamsters.

"Look at that guy talking to Miss Sonia all casually... I'm definitely gonna beat the crap out of him later...", Kazuichi huffed. I chuckled, flicking the mechanic on the head.

"No need to get so jealous, amore~ Just ask and I'll give you all the attention you desire~!", I swiftly grabbed Kazuichi by the waist and dipped him dramatically, the others either chuckling or blinking in confusion. Kazuichi looked extremely embarrassed, pushing me to the point that we both dropped to the floor on our butts with quiet "Oof-"s.

"Dude, a warning next time!", Kazuichi fussed. I just laughed at his

"In this tense situation, we all need to be a lot more cautious... And yet, I'm relieved everyone is in such high spirits. It's strange.", Kuno muttered, floating around me.

I'm glad everyone is a little less tense as well... Makes me feel more relaxed as well.

"...Anyway, let me just say this. There's no time to think about something as foolish as killing each other. You must do what you have to do. Observe, speculate, recognize, comprehend. Even if it seems impossible...just persevere. But most importantly, follow my lead. I'll make sure to return you all to your normal lives. This is your leader's order. Understand?", Byakuya stated.

"Uhaha! That's, like, TOTALLY awesome!", Ibuki squealed.

"That right hand of his is soooo plump. I've got the perfect nickname for him: Ham Hands !", Hiyoko declared.

"H-Ham Hands...you say...? Hmph... I never thought I'd see the day when someone called me something like that...", Byakuya hummed.

"...Huh? Why aren't you getting mad?", Hajime asked with a raised brow.

"Why would I get mad at something as petty as that...? She observed me directly and thought up a nickname. There's nothing dishonest about a name like that... Perhaps...I've always yearned for this. Though it may seem ironic for me to realize that in this particular situation... Don't worry about it. I was talking to myself just now."

"I-I see..."

I don't really get it, but...I guess this guy isn't just a confident leader. Despite our situation, he's mysteriously calm. He might just be a reliable person after all...

"He's always been a leader figure, so your observation isn't wrong...", Kuno mused.

"All right then. We should listen to Byakuya and not waste our energy thinking about pointless things! It's true that we're not in the best situation, but it's also not the worst. Because we're not alone. We have friends we can count on to support each other.", Nagito smiled.

"Seriously? That sounds so lame!", Hiyoko snickered.

"Ahaha, I knew it. I was thinking to myself just how lame I sounded for saying that."

"I think you sound great, amico~!", I grinned.

"You're just saying that to embarrass me..."

"I have *no* idea what you are talking about~"

In the end, we didn't solve the mystery of the countdown. We all went back to our cabins to rest.

CHAPTER 4, END!