(3rd Person's POV)

"..."

Sora was on her bed. She tightened her grasp on the pillow she was holding as she reminisced on the victims of this killing game. 

First Sayaka tried to kill Leon, but he turned the tables on her and killed her instead...

Monokuma killed Junko... and after that, Leon got executed...

Mondo killed Chihiro...and then he got executed...

Hifumi killed Taka...and Celeste killed Hifumi...then she got executed.

And now here he is...Sora and her classmates have experienced so much stress and witnessed so much death than anyone their age could even imagine...

And in such a short time, too. She feels like she's been in this place for months, when in reality it's only been two weeks at best.

Good grief... I don't know how much more of this I can take...

---

Meanwhile, with the other students...

Makoto soon walked into the dining hall with the other students. It was the day after Celeste's trial and execution, so naturally everyone's spirits would be pretty down.

"So now there's only five of us here..." Hina pointed out, her head down.

"Only a third of the number of people we started with..." Hiro sighed.

"Loneliness has become commonplace." Kyoko stated.

"That's true..." Sakura closed her eyes.

"..."

Makoto couldn't help but give a conflicted expression. What did he see yesterday? He doesn't understand... Can that really be true?

"Naegi, are you okay?" Sakura noticed the boy's stormy expression.

"Ah--! N-No, I'm fine...!" Makoto waved his hands in a 'don't worry about it' manner. He can't bring it up in front of the others. If he did that...it would just confuse everyone that much more.

"..." Kyoko gave the lucky student a questioning stare, but chose not to say anything about it for now.

"Okay!" Hina spoke up. "In that case, let's eat till we pass out!"

"Whaddya mean, "In that case"?" Hiro inquired.

"Well, cuz look how scary everyone looks!" Hina said. "It's gotta be cuz you're all fighting on empty stomachs, right? If you fill your belly, I'm sure you'll all cheer up! So, let's eat! Let's fry up some fish and donuts and eat till we can't stand up!"

"That's like a Deep Impact style, meteor impact, extinction level event combination of foods..." Hiro gulped.

"What!? Those are both breakfast time top sellers!" Hina exclaimed.

"Still, the "till we can't stand up" part is a problem. After we're done, we need to go explore." Kyoko spoke up.

"That's right. Since the class trial is over, new areas should have opened up..." Sakura pointed out.

"Plus, we still have Alter Ego and Doppelgänger. We don't have to give in to despair just yet."

Makoto nodded in agreement. "She's right... We have to plan ahead and think about the future!"

"Yeah, yeah! Think happy thoughts! Not deathy thoughts!" Hina beamed.

"Like when we're gonna get outta here, right?" Hiro rubbed his head. "When this is all over...I think I wanna get reborn for serious. Er--I mean, reborn AS someone serious..."

"Hey, are you okay? That sounds like something someone who's about to die would say..." Hina looked at him.

"I'm totally okay! I'm not gonna die! Why? Cuz there aren't gonna be any more murders!" Hiro exclaimed confidently.

"Huh? What makes you so sure...?" Hina inquired.

"I predicted it last night! Since it revealed itself to me from the ether, there's no doubt about it!"

" ...How accurate is your fortune-telling, anyway?" Sakura suddenly asked.

"I can usually hit twenty or thirty percent on a good day!" Hiro told them.

Everyone sweatdropped. "That seems...really low." Hina said.

"Well, yeah! It's not like it's ESP or whatever." Hiro folded his arms. "Of course I'm only gonna get it right sometimes! I told you, my fortune-telling isn't like some occult thing!"

"Fortune-telling...isn't occult?" Hina asked, looking confused.

"Of course not! Clairvoyance is clarivoyance! Don't put it in the same category as cattle mutilation!" Hiro exclaimed.

"Cattle... What?" Hina asked.

"He's referring to the urban legend where aliens abduct cows and dissect them as part of their research." Kyoko explained.

"No...! You're calling it an urban legend!? As a matter of fact, it's true... As a matter of fact, it's happened to me!" The fortune teller proclaimed. "It all happened one day when I went to go get a hamburger... It was a place I'd never been before. They claimed their patties were 100% all beef... So I got a burger to go and headed home. And before long...the sky was filled with a mysterious blinding light! Some crazy beam came out of nowhere and locked on to my hamburger! And as soon as the beam touched it, the burger started floating in mid-air...! And then, still floating there, the entire burger started coming apart! One part of it just vanished, while the rest fell back into my hand...! Do you realize what that means? It means, the burger wasn't 100% beef! It must've had some pork or something mixed in... Something like seventy percent pork and thirty percent beef, would be my guess." Hiro assumed. "So I stormed back into the burger place and got up in the manager's grill. And they totally admitted it... It WASN'T 100% beef! They totally mixed in ground pork with it! Now do you see!? THAT is cattle mutilation!"

Everyone looked at him with disbelief on their faces.

"I...kinda got lost halfway through..." Makoto sweatdropped.

"I can't tell if you're for the occult or against it. You stink of stupidity..." Hina mocked with a sigh.

"I stink of--!? How dare you!?" Hiro glared at her.

"Well, you do stink, though."

"That's fine!"

"That's fine!?"

"U-Umm...anyway... I hope your prediction turns out to be true..." Makoto said.

"Well, at the very least, I won't murder anyone!" Hiro laughed.

"Me either! I mean, I would never!" Hina chimed in.

"Me either..." Sakura said.

"Nor I." Kyoko said.

"That goes for me too, of course. I could never kill any of my friends!" Makoto exclaimed.

Makoto feels like those words of encouragement were helping them come together as one. After so much sacrifice and hardship...they'd finally become united. But...

"To be honest, I wish Togami, Shirayuki and Fukawa were here for this, too." Sakura spoke up.

Hina frowned. "I'm sure Shirayuki's just sleeping in like last time. She'll be fine. But... Togami and Fukawa...they're so hard to deal with. They only think about themselves."

"Yeah, we're better off without 'em, I say..." Hiro sighed.

That was enough to prove... The six were "united" for the time being, but within that bond hid weakness and fragility.

---

The students began their search as soon as they finished their breakfast in the dining hall. They had to find out what was waiting for them...

While walking around aimlessly around the 3rd floor, Makoto stopped in front of a new flight of stairs. He remembered that these had cages around it when they first discovered the 3rd floor.

Without missing a beat, he walked up the stairs and headed up to a new floor that had an orange color scheme.

So now they have access to the 4th floor of Hope's Peak Academy...

"Maybe this time, we'll find some kind of clue..." Makoto then shook his head, replacing his expression to one of determination. "No! This time I HAVE to find it!"

Makoto would then try to open a blue door, but...

RATTLE, RATTLE!

No good--the door's locked. He won't be getting in here right now... According to the nameplate, this is called the data center... But what's behind the door is a total mystery.

Walking around again, the boy then came across a door that was tilted "Headmaster's room". There's got to be something worthwhile in there...!

RATTLE, RATTLE!

But sadly, surprise surprise, it was locked. Dammit...!

---

With that, Makoto walked around again and found a grey door that was labeled 'Chem lab'. Thankfully, it was open and he went inside. As he did, he found that Hina and Sakura was there.

So this is the chem lab... I hope inhaling all this stuff doesn't do permanent damage... Makoto thought.

His eyes honed onto a remarkably big shelf. It's stocked with all kinds of medicine...

"Ah!" Hina suddenly exclaimed. "Listen, Naegi! Listen! Just take a deep breath and calm down and LISTEN TO ME!"

Makoto sweatdropped. "O-Okay, Hina...just chill out..."

"There's all kinds of stuff we didn't have before! Vitamins, minerals, amino acids, creatine--!" Hina then gasped. "And--! WHAT!? They even have Proteinzyme-X!"

"Wh-What's that...?" Makoto asked.

"A high-quality protein drink! It's nothing like that cheap swill in the warehouse." Sakura said. "It's connoisseur level!"

"O-Oh yeah...?" Makoto sweatdropped.

"This is amazing! It's a gold mine! Ahh, my prayers have finally been answered! Time to load up some more prayers, then!" Hina giggled.

Makoto didn't really understand all the hype these two were presenting, but as exercise nuts, it's pretty understandable...kinda.

And that brings an end to the investigation scene! Of course, there are two moments that stood out, but I'm sure you guys know that if you played the game.

Anyway, Makoto headed back to the dining hall to talk about their findings. Not long after he got to the dining hall, the others began to trickle in. And after a few minutes...

---

"So, is this everyone?" Hiro looked around.

"Okay, let's discuss what we all discovered." Sakura said.

"Yeah, good idea..." Hina nodded.

---

"There was a big shelf in the chem lab on the 4th floor, and it had all kinds of chemicals and stuff. And there was an all-star cast of nutrient additives and supplements!" Hina happily exclaimed. "You should at least go take a peek. I highly recommend it!"

"I think you and Ogre are probably the only ones interested in stuff like that..." Hiro sweatdropped.

"Oh, but...it's not all good stuff, though." Hina frowned. "There was medicine and health stuff, but on top of that...There was also, um...a bunch of different poisons."

"P-Poison!?" Makoto sputtered.

"They were all labeled clearly, though. So it would be hard to grab one by mistake..." Sakura mused.

"Still, we'd better make sure we're careful around there." Kyoko said.

"And...we probably shouldn't tell Togami, Shirayuki, or Fukawa about the poison, right?" Hina suggested.

"What do you mean...?" Hiro asked.

"Well, just in case... You know what I'm trying to say." Hina told him.

"J-Just in case..." Hiro gulped. "Yeah, I think you're right."

"This is Togami and Shirayuki we're talking about. It won't be long before they discover it for themselves." Kyoko pointed out.

But to put something as dangerous as poison right out in the open... That's absolutely the work of the mastermind.

---

"I found a couple rooms on the 4th floor, but they were locked! The data center and the headmaster's room!" Hiro exclaimed.

"The headmaster's room!? That sounds like exactly the kinda place we'd find some clues!" Hina smiled.

"If we can somehow unlock the door and get inside..." Makoto mused.

"Who cares about a stupid lock! It should be no problem for the world's strongest missing link to knock down one measly door!" Hiro said, referring to Sakura.

" ...What was that?" A voice spoke up as Monokuma jumped right out in front of the students.

"Uwah!" Hiro yelped.

"No, please. Continue." Monokuma requested as his lone red eye glowed as he lifted up his paw in anger. "Did you say I've got the nicest butt on the block? The curviest hips in town? Is that what you said!?"

"Hell no I didn't!" Hiro scrunched his face up in disgust.

"Then what DID you say? Cuz I KNOW you weren't talking about tearing down the door to the headmaster's room."

"Ng--!"

"Knocking down your headmaster's door? What kind of war on education are you trying to start here!? That's MY room, ya know? It is now anyway..." Monokuma mumbled before looking up at Hiro again. "And you're thinking of busting it down?" His paw then revealed its claws. "You seriously don't wanna piss me off. You have any idea how much bacteria lives on a single bear claw?"

"N-No, I was just kiddin'! Please don't get mad!" Hiro fearfully exclaimed.

"I'm not mad! >_<" Monokuma yelled.

"You're totally mad! ;_;" Hiro said.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to add a rule for this, but if you're gonna go around having those thoughts... I have no choice but to add to the school regulations!" Monokuma exclaimed.

"Seriously...?" Makoto frowned.

"Breaking down a locked door is prohibited! There, that's a rule now, ya jerks!" And with that, Monokuma jumped down to the floor and left.

"I-Is he gone...?" Hiro sighed in relief. "Whew... Man, I was scared for my life! I was sure he was gonna kill me, for serious!"

"But if he would go out of his way to make up a rule like that, there's no doubt that something important must be hidden in the headmaster's room." Sakura pointed out.

"But...now that it's a rule, there's nothing we can do." Makoto said.

"..."

---

"Metal sheets had been attached to all the windows on the 4th floor." Sakura informed. "None of them budged an inch..."

"Just like everywhere else..." Kyoko mused.

"Escape from the 4th floor seems unlikely." Sakura sighed. "That was to be expected, though."

---

"Um...Kirigiri?" Makoto tried to get her attention.

"..." But she would just ignore him.

"Hey, Naegi... Does Kirigiri seem upset to you?" Hina asked. "She is, isn't she!? She's totally mad!"

"Y-Yeah, it looks like it..." Makoto nodded.

"..."

"I bet it's your fault, isn't it? You must've done something to her." Hina accused as Makoto chuckled nervously.

---

"So...has everyone said what they need to say?" Hiro spoke up.

"I think so..." Hina responded.

"But it looks like nobody found any clues at all, let alone a way out of here." Hiro sighed. "I haven't been this depressed since my house burned to the ground! Someone, do something to cheer me up!"

"Um...can I say something?" Makoto spoke up.

"It's cuz my dad was smoking in bed!" Hiro exclaimed.

Makoto sweatdropped. "That's...no... I have something I'd like to report. So...you guys all remember, right? You remember when I found that picture up on the 3rd floor the other day?"

"You mean the one that showed Owada, Fujisaki, and Kuwata all together, right?" Sakura looked at him as Makoto nodded.

"Yeah, I remember. What about it?" Hina asked.

"Well, I found another one. Another picture, almost just like that one." Makoto said.

"Another one...?"

"But this time, the picture was of Celeste, Yamada, and Maizono."

"Huh...?" Hiro looked at him, confused.

"And they were all smiling... And the classroom in the picture didn't have any metal covering the windows."

"So the picture of Owada, Fujisaki, and Kuwata wasn't the only one... Now you found one that had Celeste, Yamada, and Maizono?"

"But...how can that...?" Hina asked.

"Monokuma must have faked it!" Hiro assumed.

"But...if the picture is real..." Makoto mused. "...Then everyone who was in it... There would have to be some kind of hidden connection there, don't you think? Some deeper truth...that we just don't understand..."

"Can't be! It's a fake!" Hiro insisted.

"But Monokuma said it was real. I know we could just write that off as a lie, but..." Makoto trailed off.

"Then you trust Monokuma's word over the people who have died?" Kyoko folded her arms.

"Huh...?" Makoto looked at her in disbelief.

"That's what you're saying, isn't it?"

"No, that's not it..."

Kyoko smugly smirked. "I'm shocked. You told everyone how we should believe in our friends, but you refuse to do the same."

"Th-That's not--!" Makoto stammered.

Everyone looked on at the tense conversation. What's up with Kyoko? Why is she getting so...emotional?

"C'mon guys, stop fighting, or all your good luck is gonna float away!" Hiro interjected as he put a hand on Makoto's shoulder. "Anyway, Naegi...you're thinking about it too much. There's no way Monokuma didn't fake that picture."

"He's just trying to confuse us. You shouldn't listen to anything Monokuma has to say." Sakura said in agreement.

"Y-You might be right, but still..." Makoto tried to argue.

"Are you still so conflicted?" A voice asked as they turned to see Byakuya stroll in with a smug look on his face. "It looks like you guys have stopped playing nice."

https://youtu.be/xx86TbaauPk

(Play BGM)

"Togami" Makoto widened his eyes.

"You all have the same sunken look on your faces. You were all so ugly before. You shouldn't let them sink any lower. When I look at you, it makes me think of a frog sinking into a pile of manure." Byakuya chuckled.

"Sorry..." Hiro lowered his head down in shame.

"Why are you apologizing!?" Hina yelled as she glared at the condescending blonde. "Leave us alone! You're not a part of this!"

Byakuya shrugged. "That's true enough. Your problems aren't mine. We are, and always will be, completely separate. So whatever's causing your faces to turn so ugly has absolutely nothing to do with me. And if I happen to discover a vital clue, it wouldn't concern you in the slightest."

"Huh...?" Makoto perked up.

"Did he finally just say something useful?" Hina asked.

"...Togami." Kyoko folded her arms as she looked straight at him. "What have you been up to?"

"I don't mind telling you. Perhaps forcing your lazy brains to get to work might do you some good." Byakuya lifted his head up and looked towards them. "I was in the bath. What else would you like to know? Today's lottery numbers?"

He was in the bath? Then that means... Alter Ego and Doppelgänger... 

"...Maybe we should all go take a bath." Kyoko suggested.

"Ah...good idea." Sakura nodded.

"A mixed bath...?" Hiro looked confused.

"A mixed bath!" Hina exclaimed.

(Stop BGM)

The students then went out of the dining hall and headed to the dressing room.

Chapter 26: End

To be continued...?