(3rd Person's POV)

I'll start by taking a look at Mukuro's Monokuma File again... Sora thought as she took it out.

---

Victim: Unknown Due to The Explosion

Cause Of Death: Stabbed a single time with a knife, which went completely through the body

Other Notes: They had also been struck with an object as thick as a metal pipe; The body was covered with other wounds, but these were at least several days old.

---

"Same as before...figures." Sora mumbled as she shook her head. "Well, it doesn't matter. Once we find out who killed Mukuro Ikusaba, that'll be one step closer to exposing the mastermind..." Now...where should I investigate first...?

"Well, I guess I should start by checking the rooms that used to be locked." Sora mused. The headmaster's room, the bio lab, and the door in the data center with Monokuma's face on it... Oh, and the 2nd floor of the dorms where the gate was down before... That should be open now, right?  "And after that, I'll hafta double-check the areas that were connected to the murder the first time..." Which means the garden and the dojo...

Sora sighed. "I got a lotta work cut out for me...guess I should get started."

Truth Bullet: Places to Check

---

After walking out of the dining hall, Sora looked around to see where she should investigate first. She shifted her eyes to a flight of stairs. 

The 2nd floor of the dorms...after so long... Sora thought. "Let's go."

Sora walked up the stairs. She felt her heart pounding as she could only feel anxiety on what was up there. Finally, the stairs ended and the blonde was met with...

"What the heck...? This is the 2nd floor of the dorms?"

The hallway was a complete mess. Walls were broken as multiple parts of debris were scattered everywhere. It looks like some sort of ancient ruins. Or more accurately, a battlefield. It looks like a bomb went off here or something...

This place has seen better days... Sora grimaced. She began to take her first steps as she looked around. Her eyes darted to the side to see dry bloodstains trapped beneath some debris.

The blonde walked along, seeing multiple doors leading to dorms but most of them were destroyed. And the ones that weren't didn't seem very inviting. Considering the rest of the floor, the dorm rooms are probably filled with destroyed walls inside of them.

Finally, Sora would come across a green door with a strange-looking drawing of a giraffe's head popping out of a locker.

...Weird...

 Against her better judgement, Sora went inside. From what was left of it, it looked like this floor's locker room.

It must've been for the Hope's Peak students that were here before us... Out upperclassmen must've used these lockers... Sora assumed.

Walking into the middle of the room, Sora turned her head as she looked at all the lockers. All of them were either destroyed or inaccessible. She then noticed a locker door with a metal plate bolted to it. 

Sora walked over to the locker right next to it. I wonder...

 RATTLE, RATTLE!

Sora sighed. "Of course not..." She then noticed a card reader on it. What's this doing here? It's probably how you get the door open. It looks pretty similar to the card reader on the 2nd floor of the school. And you have to use your E-Handbook to open it. ...Lemme try something...

She took out her handbook and swiped it across the card reader. But...

BZZT!

"Oh well, I tried." Sora shrugged. Looks like only the owner of the locker can open it...

Shaking her head, she left the destroyed locker room.

---

After exiting, Sora continued walking down the hall. Eventually, she reached the end and saw a wooden door. She immediately entered it.

---

Sora looked around the room, taking it all in. "Hmm...this room doesn't really feel like a student's. It has a more...mature atmosphere to it."

"It's the headmaster's private room." A voice said as Sora would turn around to see Kyoko.

"Kiri..."

"I've been through this room several times already, but I still have one little regret. So I decided to check it out one more time."

Regret...?

Disregarding that for a moment, Sora walked over to a computer. She raised an eyebrow. It must've belonged to the headmaster.

"Whoever used this last, it looks like they were very interested in the Ultimate Despair. The PC still has some search results left on it..." Kyoko informed.

Sora looked interested. "Really now? Perhaps we could get some information about the Ultimate Despair?"

"There's not much, though. Nothing we don't already know." Kyoko closed her eyes as she began. ""The Ultimate Despair isn't one individual, but instead points to some kind of group. That group is responsible for The Tragedy, which happened one year ago. They're the worst sorts of people, whose driving force comes from despair..." And that's all there is. Not much to it, is there?" She opened her eyes before letting out a sigh. "But I guess that's the best he could do as a complete Kirigiri failure..." 

"Well, any information is good information, especially considering the circumstances." Sora pointed out. "If it helps us get to know about the mastermind, it's useful. That's what I think, anyway..."

"I see. That's a good outlook to have."

Truth Bullets: The Ultimate Despair

---

"..."

Sora looked over to Kyoko. Despite having that calm expression, the blonde could tell that she looks a little...meek right now. She must be thinking about something.

I probably shouldn't bother her...

---

"Hm?" Sora walked over a wall. The indentation has a strange gap in the wall. Is it some kind of design flaw or a construction defect? Did they do this on purpose or something?

Kyoko approached her. "There's a gap here, but not just any normal gap... I can feel a breeze coming out."

"Breeze...?"

"There's likely an open space on the other side of this wall."

Open space? So... 

"You mean like...a hidden room of some sorts?" Sora guessed.

"I think I might know how to open it." Kyoko said.

"How? Did you figure out a trick or a special technique to force it open?"

"A very easy trick, yes. So easy, I'm not sure you can even call it a trick... I saw a program on that PC that I think controls it. Enter the right password, and the door should open right up. But I don't have a clue what that password might be. All we know is it's probably made up of letters and/or numbers. We can't really go from there..."

"Yeah, that's not nearly enough to go off of..."

"I looked through all his paperwork, all the files on the PC, everything I could think of. I learned more about him than I had any desire to, but nothing that might have been his password... When I think of how much time I wasted on this..."

Sora absent-mindedly nodded. So...there's a hidden room in here that Kyoko couldn't get into. Maybe that's what she means by regret. I think we can assume that there must be some kind of clue waiting in there. But maybe for her, there's more to it than that... Anyway, if we want to get in there, we need to figure out the password. And if Kyoko can't figure it out, no way do I stand a chance... She thought before getting an idea. ...No, wait. There might be a chance... I dunno why, but I feel like I automatically know the answer. The password could be... Something Kyoko wouldn't have thought of. Or something she didn't want to think of... For example...

"How about your name?" Sora suggested.

Kyoko turned to her, looking surprised. "Huh?"

"Sorry, I was just talking to myself. Maybe the password is your name."

"..."

The detective's silence spoke volumes. Sora is sure Kyoko hasn't tried it. Not that she blames her, of course. After hearing how she talked about her dad, the idea that he would use her name as a password. Knowing how she felt about him, the thought most likely never occurred to her.

"You mind if I try it?" Sora asked.

"...It's not like you need my permission. If you want to try it, try it. Do whatever you want." Kyoko said.

"Sure..." A drop of sweat rolled down Sora's face as she walked over to the PC. I'm glad I thought of Kyoko's name as a password, but if I'm wrong, that just might hurt Kyoko even more...

Kyoko noticed Sora's hesitation, knowing what she was thinking. "If you're worried about me, Shirayuki, don't be. I already know that your guess is wrong."

...Are you sure about that?

"Well...only one way to find out..."

Sora turned to face the computer monitor. She typed in her full name, "Kyoko Kirigiri"... Despite her usual tired and uninterested expression, her hands trembled, betraying what she was trying to display. And as she finished typing it in...

BEEP! KRRRRRRNNN!

"...Huh?" Sora blinked. "It...it worked."

"..." Kyoko looked on in disbelief, before it was replaced with a violent expression. "...Why?"

"..."

"..."

The two didn't even dare look at each other as Kyoko left and headed into the hidden room. She looked...grim.

"Kiri..."

---

Sora quickly followed Kyoko into the hidden room. However, the blonde may very well be in the other room, as Kyoko's gaze was focused on one thing.

"..."

On a table, was a present wrapped in lavender and orange. A present that would make someone feel such joy... That's what made it so unusual...

Sora pursed her lips. What the deal with this? The more she looks at it, the more suspicious and anxious she gets. Her instincts are giving her a bad feeling about this. But at the same time, they can't just not open it...

 "Maybe we should..." Sora approached the box.

"Be careful, Shirayuki..." Kyoko warned.

"You think it's dangerous?"

"No, not dangerous. But...surprising, probably."

"...What?"

"If it is what I think it is...at the very least, it's not something you'll be happy to see."

"You have an idea what's in here?"

"Just don't scream or anything, okay?"

Sora lightly scoffed. "C'mon, Kiri. Do you really think I'm the type of person to scream out loud? Who am I, Naegi?"

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Kyoko said.

Sora felt her forehead turn blue as she turned her head to the box. Heavy step by heavy step, she approached it. 

She took hold of the lid. Slowly, ever so slowly, she gently lifted it up...

Light began to sneak its way into the box. Sora stole a glance, and...

Sora face turned pale. Dontscreamdontscreamdontscreamdontscreamdontscream-

Although her mental attempts prevented her from screeching like a little girl, the blonde's body was trembling. 

The contents in that box... It was bones. Human bones. Although she had an idea, she didn't think she'd be right. Who would possibly have thought that...?!

Kyoko sighed. "Just as I thought."

"What the-? How?" Sora turned to her, still shaking. "There are human bones stuffed in a box...!"

"Well, it's not that I was thinking of the bones specifically." Kyoko explained. "I just...had a feeling it would be his body."

"A distinction without a difference!  A dead man in a box!" Sora shouted, the first time her uninterested expression broke.

Kyoko closed her eyes. "My father..."

Sora stopped. "What...what about him? ...No. You don't mean..."

Kyoko opened her eyes and looked straight at her. "What you found in the box... Those bones... That...body... That's my father. Or at least...what's left of him."

"...!" This is Kyoko's dad?! The person she's been searching for...? "But...how can you know for sure? You're completely sure this is your dad...?"

"Given all the information we have already, that's the only possible answer."

---

"So that same person may very well be the mastermind who planned all this out. And according to the files, the headmaster is a man in his late thirties. It seems possible, even likely, that he's somewhere in this school right now."

---

"Kehehe... It's a very polarizing approach, I know, but--okay, enough puns. Anyway, here's a hint... I'm sure I told you this already, but...this killing game began with seventeen participants, all of them high school students. And the only people to take a single step in Hope's Peak since the killing game began...are those seventeen students."

---

"Alter Ego and Doppelgänger said that the headmaster was probably here in the school...but the only ones who were alive at the start of the killing game were us seventeen students. When you put those two ideas together, it doesn't take much to assume...that most likely, my father was in this school, but he was also dead. That's my assumption, anyway." Kyoko concluded.

As Kyoko explained her analysis, she was completely calm. Or, no...she wasn't calm. She was only trying to seem calm. She said it was just as she thought. So she knew it was a possibility. But Sora wanted to believe that at some point, she wanted to be proven wrong. Which is why she never looked in the box herself, even though she had plenty of chances. She knows that Kyoko said she wanted to see her father so she could cut off all ties. But was that all there was to it?

---

"I...gave up some of that pride. In order to enter Hope's Peak, I had to reveal myself to the school. I did it knowing it was something a true Kirigiri detective would never do."

---

Would she really give up her pride just to cut ties with her father, who she hasn't seen since she was a small child? Sora thought. I can't help but wonder...

Truth Bullet: Hidden Room Present

Sora suddenly turned to see a picture on a shelf.

"Hm..?" Sora wondered. "Hey, Kiri? I think you might wanna see this..."

Kyoko turned her head and saw the picture. "...!" She widened her eyes and covered her mouth in shock, before it quickly turned into annoyance. " ...Well, this is annoying. I came here to cut myself free of the past. And yet... To now find something like this... So what do you expect me to do now...?" She asked no-one in particular.

Sora sighed. I was right, then... It's a picture of Kyoko when she was a little girl. Knowing the headmaster had this picture all this time... He must have really cared about her... More than I can say about my father...

"Why? What...? I wanted to face him and tell him myself. To cut him out of my life for abandoning me... That's the whole reason I came here. And now he's abandoned me again." Kyoko lightly grit her teeth. "And this time, he even stole the only opportunity I had to move on. Has there ever been a worse father...?"

Kiri...

Sora gave a sympathetic look before turning her head again and walking towards a desk.

It's probably the headmaster's desk... Sora thought. I have no doubt that it has an important clue, but... I really don't wanna touch the headmaster's desk without permission.

Once again, Kyoko knew what the girl was thinking. "Don't worry about me. Feel free to look around as much as you like."

"...You sure?"

"Never let anything get in the way of the investigation. I don't."

"Okay, then..." 

Sora started from then top and began searching the desk drawers, looking inside... She gently rummaged through each one, finding nothing but unrelated documents. But in the last drawer...

"Hm? What's this...?"

Sora picked up the device. It looked to be an E-Handbook. And it has a label that says "In case of emergency"...

"A handbook with no limitations, given to the school's ultimate authority, the headmaster... I'm assuming that's what it is." Kyoko assumed.

"...!" Sora looked surprised. For real...? Can such a thing really exist..? How...convenient.

  "It might prove useful as we continue our investigation." Kyoko said. "Why don't you hold on to it?"

"Really? But..."

"I don't need it. If you don't want it, go ahead and leave it here."

"...In that case...I'll just take it. Like you said, it might prove useful in solving all the secrets in here."

"Indeed."

But...is it really okay for me to take this...?

Truth Bullet: Headmaster's E-Handbook

Kyoko suddenly took a deep breath as she looked at Sora. 

"...Listen, Shirayuki...?"

"...?"

"Can I ask you a favor?"

"What is it?"

"I know it's completely unreasonable to ask you this. And I know it'll only inconvenience you that much more. But...could you leave?"

Sora raised an eyebrow.

"Just for a little while. I'd just...like to be alone for a bit."

"Kiri...are you-"

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I just need to calm down a little..." Kyoko assured her, voice cracking. "I need to...get my emotions in order."

Sora let out a deep sigh. "You know, Kiri... You told me before about the relationship you had with your dad. How you're only connected by blood, not by heart and soul. But..."

"Maybe that picture motivated him, maybe he hoped to see me again someday." Kyoko cut her off. "Is that what you were going to say?"

"..."

"If so, it's just a theory. And this isn't an issue that can be settled with theories. That picture doesn't change the facts of what happened, what I went through. That problem can't be solved so easily."

"...Fair point. Sorry..."

"Once I've got myself under control, I'll return to the investigation immediately. So please, just give me some time to myself."

"...Of course. I'll see you later..."

"..."

---

Once Sora got out of the hidden room, she sighed to herself. "Good grief..." Is she really okay...? Kyoko...it must have been a complete shock to her. I mean, it was a shock to me. 

To find out what happened to the headmaster... There's no doubt the mastermind performed that evil deed. They killed the headmaster--killed Kyoko's father. They killed him... The headmaster...is dead.

---

"The one leading the Hope's Peak staff, the one who finalized the plan to isolate you...was the Hope's Peak headmaster. So that same person may very well be the mastermind who planned all this out. And according to the files, the headmaster is a man in his late thirties. It seems possible, even likely, that he's somewhere in this school right now."

---

We were wrong about that. Sora thought. The headmaster wasn't the mastermind.... Which means that the mastermind must be...

---

"Kehehe... It's a very polarizing approach, I know, but--okay, enough puns. Anyway, here's a hint... I'm sure I told you this already, but...this killing game began with seventeen participants, all of them high school students. And the only people to take a single step in Hope's Peak since the killing game began...are those seventeen students."

---

Sixteen of us met in the mail hall. Add Mukuro to the mix and you get seventeen. And including me, only seven of us are still alive. Everyone else...is dead. Sora thought, the minds of her fallen classmates, whether victims or culprits, flowed through her mind. Even Mukuro is dead. There's no doubt about it. The only one's still alive are Me...Byakuya...Hiro...Toko...Hina...Makoto...and Kyoko... Only those seven people are still alive. Then there's no question...

"But what if...there's more to it than that?" Sora muttered. "Maybe...there's some other way..."

Silent as the wind, Sora headed out the headmaster's private room.

Chapter 43: End

To be continued...?