(3rd Person's POV)

A few hours passed by and eventually Sora woke up again. She made another yawn as she looked towards the floor and found something.

"Mm?" Sora wondered as she picked up a piece of paper. Someone must've slipped it under her door. It said...

"Meet in the dining hall!"

This handwriting is...good. Sora thought. Not as good as mine's, but still pretty good.

But...who wrote this? And why did they feel the need to call her out like this? Couldn't they have just rung her doorbell and tell her themselves?

Well, only one way to find out...

---

Sora left her room and began walking to the dining hall, following the directions of the note. When she got there, however, she saw...

"Oh, Shirayuki!" A voice exclaimed as Sora saw Hiro in the middle of the dining hall.

"The note...was that...?" Sora trailed off.

"Yup, I wrote it." Hiro confirmed with a nod.

"Your handwriting... It's, uh, pretty nice." Sora complimented.

Hiro chuckled. "Well, I was always taught that if you had bad penmanship, a ghost would come and haunt you."

...Who the heck taught you that? Sora thought.

"Why'd you call me here, anyway?"

"Oh, I just did what Kirigiri asked me."

"Hmm?" Sora tilted her head.

"I'm just an errand boy on this. Anyway, whaddya say to a late-night bath session?" Hiro asked.

"...What." Sora deadpanned.

"Okay, let's do it!" Hiro exclaimed.

"I'm a girl, you know." Sora folded her arms. "I don't think you can-"

She stopped as Hiro grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Hey!"

"It's all an act, so the mastermind won't notice." Hiro whispered in her ear. "Everyone's waiting in the bathhouse."

Sora tilted her head again. Did something happen with Alter Ego and Doppelgänger?

"...Okay, fine. Just let me get somethin' to eat before we go, capiche?" She said as she headed into the kitchen.

---

After that, the two then headed to the dressing room of the bathhouse. As soon as they got there, an angry voice shouted out.

"Hey! You! How long were you gonna keep us waiting!?" A voice yelled as Kiyondo's irritated voice pierced the air as he stared pointedly at his wristwatch. "It's almost 10 o'clock, you know that!? Bedtime for all the good little boys and girls!"

"Tch... Shut up..." Hifumi grumbled.

"What'd you say!? You want me to make you cry, little girl!?" Kiyondo barked. Sora rolled her eyes as she was eating a strawberry.

"Taka... He seems to be even worse off than I'd heard. Well, maybe it's a good thing. Maybe he's finally starting to grow a personality."

Sora turned and raised an eyebrow in intrigue when she saw Byakuya was there too. I guess Kyoko really meant it when she wanted everyone here.

"What--!? You got a lotta poop fallin' outta that mouth of yours, you know that!?" Kiyondo yelled.

"How rude..." Toko stuttered. "A maggot like you has no right to speak that way to our heaven-sent Master...!"

"Hm? Are you back to your normal gloomy self?" Celeste asked.

"Sheesh, would you pick a personality and stick to it?" Sora said while finishing another strawberry.

"Sh-Shut up...!" Toko said.

"Well anyway, everyone's here, right!? Then my messenger duty is complete!" Hiro exclaimed.

"You wanted us all to meet here, right Kirigiri? So, what are we doing here?" Sakura turned towards the girl.

"Isn't it obvious? It's gotta have something to do with Alter Ego and Doppelgänger, right!?" Hiro presumed.

"Yeah, totally! Did they finally find a clue? What is it? A way out!? The mastermind's true identity!?" Hina guessed.

Kyoko made a deep sigh as she turned to the students.

"...It's gone."

"Gone...?" Makoto repeated.

"I came here a little earlier to check up on things, and that's when I discovered... Alter Ego and Doppelgänger--the laptop--has disappeared..."

The students faces were written with horror at this news. Their one change of getting out of this killing game...was gone?

"What!?" Makoto raised his voice.

"You're kidding, right...?" Hina weakly asked.

"..." Kyoko stayed silent.

"H-Huh...? What...? She's...gone?" Hifumi slowly spoke up.

"You can't be fudgin' serious! What'd you do with him!?" Kiyondo demanded to know.

"Was it the mastermind? Did they finally notice what we were up to?" Celeste asked.

"I told Alter Ego to yell if anyone he didn't recognize appeared." Kyoko told them. "If it was the mastermind, I'm sure he would have alerted us."

"Maybe we just...missed it?" Hina assumed.

"I was in the laundry room right next door all day. There's no way I wouldn't have heard it." Kyoko shook her head.

"The solution to this particular mystery is obvious! It could only have been...him!" Hifumi fiercely pointed at Kiyondo. "Mr. Ishimaru! You stole her, didn't you!?"

"What!? I'm the Ultimate Moral Compass! I would never do something like that!" Kiyondo proclaimed.

"I don't think it counts when you say it about yourself like that..." Hina commented.

"You're the suspicious one here! You're nothin' but a big, jiggling sack of fat!" Kiyondo insulted.

"Shows what you know. This isn't my true form! I still have three more transformations left!" Hifumi boasted.

"...I'm sorry, what." Sora deadpanned.

"Er...wait, I mean--it wasn't me! Everyone knows YOU'RE the thief!" Hifumi yelled.

"Wrong! It's you!" Kiyondo shot back.

"Well, I'm sure it was one of you. So whoever did it, just hurry up and confess!" Hiro exclaimed.

"No. There's no way either one of them did it." Kyoko said.

"Hm? Why not?" Sora asked.

"I told Alter Ego to yell if either Taka or Yamada came into the dressing room." Kyoko informed them.

"Wh...What?!" Kiyondo let out a low growl. He obviously wasn't happy about that...

"It was a countermeasure against the clear danger that one of them might come for it." Kyoko explained.

"But...I never heard any yell." Celeste said.

"Exactly. Which means it wasn't them."

"Then...who was it?" Hiro asked.

"The fundamental circumstances are becoming clear... If it wasn't the mastermind, and it wasn't Taka or Yamada...then quite simply, it was someone else." Byakuya spoke up. He then pushed his glasses up, making them shine. "Naegi, Shirayuki, Celeste, Ogami, Hiro, Hina, Fukawa, or myself... One of us must be the thief."

"Why would any of US wanna steal Alter Ego and Doppelgänger!?" Hina yelled.

Byakuya let out a smug chuckle. "How about this for a reason? There is a traitor in this group."

"...Huh?" Makoto looked at him in shock.

"One of us is working for the mastermind--a spy. And that's the one who stole Alter Ego and Doppelgänger. Can you deny the possibility?" Byakuya rhetorically asked.

"I see..." Sora rubbed her chin in thought. "So... What you mean to tell us is that...there may be an...imposter among us...?" She glanced towards him with a small impish smirk.

Byakuya blankly stared at her. "Shirayuki...I will pay you actual money to never say that in my presence again."

"A...A traitor? I-It can't be!" Makoto denied.

"I've actually been thinking for some time now that there might be a spy among us. The mastermind brought someone in to help keep things moving smoothly." Byakuya said with an arrogant smirk.

He then looked at the other students, who were struck silent by this possibility.

"Why do you not speak? Are you struck silent by your inability to comprehend such a possibility?"

"I don't care!" Hifumi suddenly yelled with tears in his eyes. "I don't care...who... Someone, anyone...save her... Please, rescue her... I'm begging you... I just want to see her smiling face again..."

"Same here." Kiyondo, surprisingly, agreed with the doujin writer. "How many times do they hafta kill bro before they're happy...? I'll beg, I'll scrape my head across the ground. Just please give him back...!"

"This is pretty messed up... But still, I think I kinda get how they feel..." Hina said with sympathy in her voice.

Sora rolled her eyes. This whole thing is ridiculous... 

"I think Alter Ego and Doppelgänger are most likely still safe, for the moment at least." Kyoko spoke up.

"If they wanted to destroy it, they wouldn't have taken it. They would've done it right here." Celeste pointed out.

"So you're saying whoever did it has something else in mind for him..." Sakura mused.

"That doesn't matter. Nothing...nothing else matters..." Kiyondo spoke up. "No matter what it takes, I'm gonna get him back! That's my promise as a man!" He proclaimed.

"I swear I'll save her! Using the power of love...!" Hifumi cried.

Sora looked on with a deadpan stare. I feel like I'm in a fever dream...

DING, DONG! BING, BONG!

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

"It's nighttime..." Hina muttered.

"It is unfortunate, but we will have to leave the search for tomorrow." Celeste sighed. "For now, everyone get some sleep."

"How can you be so casual?! We don't have time to wait around!" Hifumi yelled.

"What good are you if you are too tired? You will be much more effective after a good night's sleep." Celeste rationalized.

"Who gives a crap about "effective"!? We're talkin' about our FEELINGS here!" Kiyondo shouted as Sora rolled her eyes again.

"Anything we do at night brings a higher chance of the mastermind noticing us. " Kyoko spoke up. "Celeste is right. We should begin our investigation tomorrow morning." She turned to Makoto and Sora. "What do you think, Naegi? Shirayuki?"

"I...agree with you." Makoto nodded. "If we run around tonight in a panic, the mastermind is sure to notice, and we won't get anything done."

"Personally, I don't really care about any of this, but if you're gonna drag me along, we might as well wait 'til morning." Sora said, agreeing with Makoto and Kyoko.

"Taka, Yamada... I know how you feel right now-"

"No you don't, stop lying." Sora interjected Makoto with her hands behind her back

"But... It's best if, just for tonight...you can try and endure it." Makoto pleaded.

"Ngh...!"

"Gah..."

The students took that as an agreement.

"Okay, then let us part for today. We will begin our search for Alter Ego and Doppelgänger in the morning." Celeste said.

"And you should think about what I said--someone may very well be spying for the mastermind." Byakuya reminded them.

"..."

---

With that, the students headed to their respective dorm rooms. Once Sora got inside hers, she thought about the current situation.

Alter Ego....Doppelgänger...gone as quickly as they appeared... They finally had a fighting change against the mastermind. But even that was taken away from them. The students were given hope, and then when that was taken away...despair. It's just like...just like what the mastermind is doing to them...

Then...is it true? A traitor...?

Sora shook her head. Personally, she feels like it doesn't really matter all that much. What's really important is how the others will suspect each other more, which will lead to dangerous results in situations like this...

But shaking her head, Sora sighed. She crawled into her bed as she hugged her pillow, falling asleep.

(Scene Transition brought to you by Chibi Sora in a light blue Among Us suit.)

DING, DONG! BING, BONG!

"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!"

Waking up to Monokuma's irritating voice, Sora got up. She would go into the bathroom and get her morning routine over with, and when she was done with that, she got out of the bathroom.

Yawning, she smacked her lips contently as she knew what she was gonna do today. Looking for Doppleganger and Alter Ego. As much as she would rather do something more important, like eating, sleeping, or some variation of the two, she knows she'll probably get dragged into it sooner or later.

Sora sighed. "Let's go..."

---

With some reluctance, Sora hurried to the dining hall. She, of course, was one of the first people there. Makoto was the last one to arrive. But...

"Is this it? What happened to the others?" Sakura looked around the hall.

"Aren't they coming...?" Hina asked.

"..."

"..."

There were only four people in the dining hall. Sakura, Hina, Sora, and Kyoko. So including Makoto...

"Only...five people?" Makoto asked.

"Kami! This is why I hate people who take their sweet time with everything!" Hina complained.

"...Mm?" Sora raised an eyebrow. Looks like she took that personally.

"Anyway, let's wait a little while longer for the others." Sakura said.

Sora rolled her eyes in annoyance. What a bother...

---

30 minutes later...

"I-I'm just saying...I know it was stolen, but it was still good music, right?" Makoto said.

"Of course. But only because they stole it from more superior artists." Kyoko said.

"What about the dub score...?"

"Oh yeah, let's start that flame war." Sora rolled her eyes sarcastically.

---

30 MORE minutes later...

"Mmph...Ooof..."

Everyone sweatdropped as they watched Sora eating a pile of food.

---

"So...it's 8 o'clock. We've been waiting here a full hour..." Hina pointed out.

"Why haven't the others come?" Sakura wondered.

"Hiro and Celeste have never missed a day...till now." Hina said.

"And what I'm really worried about is...Yamada and Taka." Makoto spoke up. "They were more eager than anyone to look for Alter Ego...and they're not here."

"Something must have happened." Kyoko spoke up as she looked at all the students.

"Huh...?"

"I was careless. I was too distracted by Alter Ego and Doppelgänger..." Kyoko shook her head. "But Monokuma gave us a motive. There was no way something wouldn't happen eventually."

The students suddenly remembered. Monokuma's motive...

---

"Ten million dollars! I've prepared this graduation present for whichever lucky student makes it out of here alive! Whaddya think? It's ten million bucks! Ten million smackaroos! It's like totally wowie wow wow, am I right!?"

---

"Don't tell me someone did something...for money!" Makoto clenched his fist.

"So, Naegi..." Sora yawned as she made a expecting look at Makoto. "What did you say to Monokuma the other day? How we "won't kill our friends anymore"...? How about now?"

"T-That's...!"

Sora simply sighed. "It seems like you don't know your "friends" as well as you thought you did."

Makoto looked frustrated, but didn't say anything. She was right. He understood, and he hated that he did. You can never really know another person completely. Anything can happen here, and you can't consider it "strange." Not really...

"We need to go look for the people who never showed up." Kyoko suggested.

"O-Okay. Let's go track them down..." Hina said.

Without another word, the students left the dining hall.

---

Outside the dining hall...

We can cover more ground if we split up. Ogami, you go check the dorms. Make sure to check all of our rooms. Naegi, you check the 1st floor of the school. Meanwhile, Shirayuki and I will check the 2nd floor." Kyoko ordered.

"Okay, then I guess I'll check the 3rd floor." Hina volunteered.

"Don't take any risks. If anything happens, call for help right away." Kyoko told them.

"I really hope nothing happens..." Hina said.

"So do I." Makoto agreed.

"Okay, let's go." Sakura said.

Anxiety was written across most of their faces as the students went their separate ways.

Without another word, Sora walked to the 2nd floor of the school.

Chapter 22: End

To be continued...?