(3rd Person's POV)

"Zzzzzz....Zzzzzzz..."

...

...

...

DING, DONG!

"Nng...huh?" Sora lazily opened her eyes, snapped out of her sleep. "Was that...the doorbell?"

Getting out of bed, Sora sluggishly trudged to the door and opened it to see...

"..."

"Kiri...? Whaddya want now?" Sora inquired as she yawned. "This is the second time you've bothered me while I was sleepin'..."

Kyoko rolled her eyes before folding her arms. "I'll be waiting for you in the dressing room... See you there..."

Without another word, she disappeared into the depths of the darkened hallway. Sora's eye twitched. She waked her up for that?

 But still, what she said...the dressing room? She knows that we're not exactly supposed to go out at night, but...

I may as well just go...

"This better be important..."

---

"Sorry for asking you to meet with me so late." Kyoko said as she and Sora were now in the dressing room. "Especially since you're not really a morning person..."

Sora sighed as she ruffled her hair. "...It's fine. By now, I'm used to people waking me up at bad times..."

"...Indeed." Kyoko would then turn her face straight to Sora. "Well then, let me get straight to the point."

"This is somethin' ya can't talk about with the surveillance camera's, right? Does this mean it has somethin' to do with that thing you stole?" Sora guessed.

"..."

"Monokuma said that someone stole somethin' from him. Did you...?"

Kyoko nodded. "That's right..."

"What was it, then?" Sora inquired curiously.

"I stole this..." Kyoko held the item out from her hand.

"Is that...a key?" Sora tilted her head. The key was shaped like Monokuma. Probably the only key of its kind... "Where did ya even get this?"

"From the headmaster's room." Kyoko told her.

"The headmaster's room?" Sora folded her arms. "But that thing is sealed tighter than Togami's butt! How did you..."

"The lock was broken."

"...Hm?"

"It was Ogami. She did it for us..." Kyoko said.

"Huh? But...why?" Sora asked.

"Remember what she said in her note? "I'm not going to just lay down and die. I will fight you...""

"So...Ogami really broke into the headmaster's room?"

"That's right. So that we could uncover whatever secrets might lay hidden within..."

"She did all that...just to help us?"

She violated the school regulations to help the students. She'd already decided to die, so her last act was to defy the rules of this place...

"I noticed the room was open after the class trial was over yesterday. But if I'd just strolled into the room, Monokuma would have noticed right away." Kyoko said. "You may not know this, but before I talked to you, I went to Naegi and used him as a decoy. I asked him to meet in the data center in order for him to draw Monokuma's attention. I took that opportunity to sneak into the headmaster's room. And as a result, I found this key."

"Hmm...okay." Sora nodded, taking all this information in. "Then...what you told me yesterday...didja find that out by going into the headmaster's room, too?"

---

"Mukuro Ikusaba... The seventeenth student, lying hidden somewhere in this school... The one they call the Ultimate Despair... Watch out for her."

---

"Didja find out about this Mukuro Ikusaba while you were in there, as well?"

"I did find a file in the headmaster's room that talked about her, yes. I don't know all the details yet, but...one thing I do know, is that Mukuro Ikusaba is dangerous."

"Dangerous? In what regard?"

"She may very well be the mastermind."

Sora tilted her head. "But didn't Alter Ego and Doppelgänger say that the headmaster is most likely the mastermind?"

Kyoko shook her head. "No...the headmaster isn't the mastermind, I'm sure of that."

"...?" Sora raised an eyebrow.

"I don't have proof yet, but I have no doubt I'm right." Kyoko insisted.

To make such a strong statement without proof... That's not like Kyoko at all. But...

If it isn't the headmaster who's the mastermind, then...is is really Mukuro Ikusaba like Kyoko said?

"Anyway, this key is the one big opportunity we've been waiting to get our hands on. Now that we've grasped it, we can't let it go, can we?"

"I guess not. But...what does it even unlock?" Sora asked.

"I don't know yet. Which is why..." Kyoko formed a small smirk. "I need you to draw Monokuma's attention while I go and find out."

"You mean to tell me that you plan on sneakin' around again? Don't ya know how dangerous that is?" Sora folded her arms behind her back. "And you want me to draw the mastermind's attention just like Naegi did, but...we don't know if there's just one mastermind." She pointed out. "If there's more than one person watchin' us..."

"But they didn't catch on last night with Naegi, right?"

"Maybe you two just got lucky..."

"Or maybe the mastermind can't monitor us and control Monokuma at the same time."

"...What?"

"Like I said, we didn't get caught last night. But as you said, maybe it was pure luck." Kyoko conceded. "Which is why I'm going to run the experiment one more time. And if we're successful again... Then what may have just been a lucky guess will be proven true."

As she spoke, Kyoko looked as calm and collected as ever. Sora couldn't help but just listen on...

"If it's true that the mastermind can't watch us and control Monokuma at the same time, then there would have to be a period of time where the mastermind is vulnerable. What we need to do is find out for sure it if that's actually true, and if we can exploit it."

"I mean, maybe but...don't ya think that's a little too risky? What if we fail?"

"I don't think you need to worry all that much. After all..." Kyoko's mind flashed back to the 4th rule of the E-Handbook. "No restrictions have been placed on our efforts to solve the mystery, am I wrong? Even when I took the key, I didn't break any rules as far as I can tell."

"But if the mastermind catches us, those rules won't matter. They could kill us all in an instant!" Sora pointed out, sweat starting to form on her face.

"I see... In that case, even if the plan fails, we'll still be able to prove or disprove that hypothesis." Kyoko mused.

"Wh-What're you..." Sora was about to say.

"In a moment of crisis, will the mastermind break their own rules, or adhere to them no matter what?" Kyoko queried. "In other words, we gain something whether we succeed or not. Now there's no reason not to do it, right?"

"B-But...that's-!" Sora stammered. She was normally quite calm like Kyoko, but this plan...it was beyond risky.

Kyoko folded her arms. "If you spend all your time trying to avoid danger, you'll never move forward. We know the danger. But if that risk means solving the mystery, we have no choice." She smirked. "Am I wrong?"

"..."

In that moment, Sora realized that...in all their time inside this hellhole of a school...she's never seen a hint of worry or despair in Kyoko's eyes. Her gaze was firmly fixed on the mystery ahead, the enemy standing before us. And with that in view...she just smiled.

"I can't change how I feel, and wouldn't if I could." Kyoko then took something out from her coat pocket and held it out to Sora. 

"W-What's that?" Sora asked.

"Consider it a symbol of my determination. Don't open it yet. Only open it...if something ever happens to me." Kyoko told her.

"If something were to...what?" Sora looked confused.

"I'm not planning on dying. But there's always a chance of it, and a death without meaning is...unappealing." Kyoko said as she pushed her hand out, insisting for Sora to take it. "Please, I want you to hold on to it for me."

"I...fine." Sora relented with a sigh. "But only because you asked me to. I'mma give it back to you, you hear?"

"Yes...of course." Kyoko nodded. "Oh, and one more thing. You can't tell anyone else about what I've discovered."

"I'm not stupid, Kiri." Sora frowned. "Something like this...the mastermind can't find out about this."

"Well...there's that, too."

"Hm? There's another reason?"

"It's nothing. Forget I said anything."

Ooookayyy...

"Okay then, shall we begin?" Kyoko asked. "I'm counting on you, Shirayuki."

"All I hafta do is get Monokuma's attention, right? Piece a cake..." Sora yawned.

"I'm going on ahead. The rest is up to you..." Kyoko curtly said as she departed from the dressing room.

Her goodbye was no different then the other times. And like the other times, she moved at a brisk pace as she left. But...what wasn't like the other times was the slightest bit of anxious Sora felt deep in her stomach.

"I-It's gonna be fine." Sora told herself. "It's Kiri. She can handle pretty much anythin'..."

Sighing, the young blonde went off to work...

---

"Welp. Here goes nothin'..." Sora muttered under her breath before taking a deep breath and putting on her best angry expression. "Hey, Monokuma! Get out here! I got a bone to pick with you!"

"Well, well, this is a surprise!" A voice exclaimed as Monokuma popped out from underneath the floor. "You being the one to call me out... Hey, by the way!"

"What?" Sora tilted her head.

"What were you and Kirigiri up to? Going to the bathhouse? Just the two of you? In the middle of the night?" Monokuma asked, sweating profusely. "Definitely a hot and steamy moment, wouldn't you say!? So warm and wet, so wet and warm... I bet you guys--[REMOVED TO CONFORM WITH LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL CENSORSHIP LAWS]--all over her, didn't you!?"

"..."

"Not gonna talk, huh? Sure, I get it... Well, whatever. Unlike you, I have absolutely no interest in late-night bath scenes. Because I like to maintain a healthy life of observation, far away from X-rated X-ploits! Isn't that right, Ms. "I have a library's worth of yuri porn"?!"

Don't bring that up again...

"So...is that why there ain't any surveillance cameras in the bathhouse?" Sora asked.

"Bullsye!" Monokuma grinned.

"Or maybe it's 'cuz you can't see anything with all that fog covering the lenses?"

"..."

"Oh, no response? Looks like that's the bullsye to me..."

"Anyway!" Monokuma dodged the subject. "You went to all that trouble to get me out here, now whaddya want!?"

"Oh, uh..." Sora rubbed the back of her head. "There's just something I wanted to conform with you..."

"Whether I'm a mademoiselle or a dudefella?" Monokuma assumed. "But in the bear kingdom, there IS no male or female!"

"No no, there actually is." Sora told him.

"Seriously!?" Monokuma sweatdropped. "Th-Then...what am I? My entire existence... That's enough! I'll get stuck if I think about it too much. So what did you really wanna ask me?"

"Well...you told us that someone stole some kinda "precious" of yours. What is it?" Sora inquired.

"..." Monokuma stayed silent and tilted his head. "Listen...I'm sure this is a silly question, no way it's possible and all, but...is that seriously what you dragged me out here to ask me?"

"Uh...heheheh..." Sora nervously chuckled.

"You gotta be kiddin' me!" Monokuma exclaimed, his red eye glowing in annoyance. "You gotta be 100-megaton freakin' KIDDING me! You're not gonna ask something useful, like how to get the best honey, or ursine breeding tips?"

"..."

"This is just crazy...  how can someone be so smart and so stupid at the same time?! Are all pubescent teen girls as nutty as you!?" Monokuma growled. "Kami, you're so annoying! Fine, I'll tell you! It was a key and ******! That's it!"

"What...was that second one?" Sora asked.

"It's a blank, stupid! A secret! Fill it in yourself! Making me trudge all the way out here for that... I'd like to see what's going on in that brain of yours!" Monokuma grumbled. "And the next time you summon me for something so stupid, I'll open up your skull and find out!"

With that, Monokuma stormed off.

"That was...something." Sora sweatdropped.

Still...hope I kept him distracted long enough. Now all I need to do is wait to see if Kyoko made it. ...Nah, it's Kyoko. I'm sure she's fine.

---

"Yawwwwn..." 

With a long yawn, Sora headed back to her room and going back to sleep.

(Scene Transition brought to you by Chibi Sora drawing on her animation pad)

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!"

"Mmmph..."

Sora woke up to the irritating announcement as she went through her usual morning routine. Her body feels so heavy this morning...probably because of she was up so late.

Putting on her sweater vest, Sora yawned. "Let's just go to the dining hall already..."

---

Despite being extra sluggish today, Sora was, per the norm, one of the first people to arrive. And also per the norm, Makoto was the last one to arrive.

"You're one minute late, Naegi. How do you explain this?" Byakuya chided him.

"S-Sorry. I'm not feeling so great today." Makoto meekly apologized.

"You r-really think a tired excuse like that i-is gonna work?" Toko scowled.

"Huh? Are you allowed to talk again?" Hiro asked.

"I don't recall giving you permission..." Byakuya said.

"Huh...? I-I just thought... I mean, since a d-day had passed, it had maybe r-reset..." Toko nervously ruffled her hands through her hair. "S-S-S-S-Sorry! Please don't hate me! Whatever my p-punishment is, I'll accept it! I'll hang a s-sign from my neck that says "Bad Girl"! I'll clean your bathroom w-with my toothbrush...!"

"Good grief, 'Kawa..." Sora shook her head.

Byakuya scowled at the writer. "If you stop making disgusting comments like that, maybe I can forgive you."

"Th-Thank you! I won't make any more d-disgusting comments, I promise...! If I do, you can stuff m-my mouth full of trash..." Toko offered. " As long as i-it's you or Mistress and no one else, I d-don't mind...!"

"It's no use. She's disgusting to the bone..." Hiro sighed.

"Anyway, where's Kirigiri? I haven't seen her this morning..." Hina mentioned.

"Not cool! This is worse than being late for lunch, for a date, for your wedding, for anything!" Hiro exclaimed.

"...Is it really that serious?" Sora asked in a deadpan tone.

"Maybe she's mad about what happened yesterday, and she's not gonna show up anymore..." Hina assumed.

"..." Sora stayed silent, folding her arms behind her back. She can't tell the others why Kyoko might not be here...

"Whatever her reason, I'm curious to know what she is doing." Byakuya wondered. "I know she's not in her room, so..."

"Oh yeah, you still have her key, right?" Hiro asked.

"Ah, are you looking for Miss Kirigiri?" A voice asked as Monokuma appeared.

 "Wgah!" Hiro yelped. "What do you want now!?"

"I'm right, right? You're wondering where Miss Kirigiri is, right?" Monokuma asked.

"D-Do you know where she is...?" Makoto asked.

"Hmm... Well, it's hard to say..." Monokuma mused.

"Huh? You don't know, either!?" Hiro exclaimed.

"It's because he doesn't know. That's why he's here--to try and prod us for information." Byakuya explained as he glared at the bear.

"Hey, don'tcha hate it when you ask someone what their favorite movie is, and they name some indie bullcrap?" Monokuma randomly said.

"I feel like I'm g-getting whiplash, the way he changed s-subjects like that..." Toko remarked.

Sora quietly sighed with relief. It looks like Monokuma really didn't notice. So she guess that their plan went off well.

Which means...

---

"Maybe the mastermind can't monitor us and control Monokuma at the same time."

---

Is...Kyoko right?

"So? Was I right? You're looking for Miss Kirigiri! Any idea where she might have gone...?" Monokuma wondered.

" ...We have no idea." Byakuya said.

"And even if we did know, we wouldn't tell you!" Hina glared at Monokuma.

"For serious!" Hiro agreed.

"Hmm... I see..." Monokuma then shrugged. "Well, fine. Whatever! I don't even care anymore! Sayonara, suckers!" As soon as he left, the students started glancing around at each other.

"So...what was that just now? Does that mean Monokuma doesn't know where she is, either?" Hina asked.

"It would seem that way..." Byakuya nodded.

"Where the heck could she have gone...?" Hiro wondered.

"Don't you think we should all go look for her?" Hina suggested.

"And how would you suggest we approach that task? Even Monokuma can't seem to locate her..." Byakuya pointed out.

"Yeah...how can he not know where she is?" Hiro wondered.

"So strange..." Hina said.

"..."

Sora looked lost in thought. Kyoko must have used that key to sneak into some unknown part of the school... But somewhere even Monokuma wouldn't notice? Where could it be...?

The student's spent the rest of breakfast about where Kyoko could have gone. Afterwards, they returned back to their rooms.

---

"Nnngh..." Sora groaned. Her body felt heavy a while ago, and now...she feels cold. 

I am getting sick or somethin'...?

"M-Maybe I should take a nap...that always makes me feel better when I'm coming down with something..."

Nighttime wasn't for a while, but...she feels like her body was reaching its limit. As she dropped into bed, Sora felt like she was falling into a bottomless pit.

"..."

She was unconscious before she even reached the pillow. ...Well, that wasn't completely true. She didn't pass out completely. It was more like...her consciousness went dim. Sora reached back and forth between sleep and wakefulness. Which basically means...

She was restless.

"G-Gh...! Nnnngh..."

At some point during her nap, Sora found herself in some sort of strange dream.

And within the dream, a voice echoed across the walls of her mind.

---

"So...that's what your saying..."

That voice...

"I...I get it."

"I understand..."

Soon, the voice then morphed into a physical form. The voice's blonde hair and light blue eyes were instantly recognizable.

"Good grief.... I already said I get it. You don't need to tell me twice. I fully understand."

 It's...me.

"I get everything. I...won't try to leave this place. I'll...stay here."

What the...what am I...?

"I don't stand a chance out there. That's why...I have to stay here."

---

"W-Wha..." Sora's eyes flickered open. "What...was that all about...? ...Huh?"

As soon as her vision returned to her, she saw...

"...Oh." Was all Sora could say. She closed her eyes as she braced for the attack. 

But...

WHISH!

SMASH!

As those two sounds entered Sora's eyes, footsteps were heard as she could clearly hear panting. Her vision still blurry, Sora squinted her eyes as the masked individual was gone, and was quickly replaced with Kyoko.

"..."

"K-Kiri...?"

"..."

"W-What did..."

"...."

"....What....did...you say? I...can't...."

Those were the only words Sora could manage before she passed out.

Chapter 33: End

To be continued...?