(3rd Person's POV)

What does it mean...? What does it all mean...?! 

Sora found herself frustrated. In a surprising show of emotion, she clenched her fist. She was in the Art Room, wanting to be alone.

She couldn't get the image out of her mind. A photograph of all the other students, alive and dead. She has no memory of taking that picture, nor does she remember meeting or knowing the other students before entering Hope's Peak.

But...everyone was in that photo except for her.

Wait. Sora thought.  Everyone was in that photo, even Mukuro...Except me. Except...me... Does that mean...? 

"Hey, Shirayuki!" A voice said as she turned her head to see Makoto entering the Art Room. "There you are. I've been looking everywhere for you."

"..."

"Look, I need to talk to you about something, and-" Makoto noticed the stare Sora was giving him. "What's wrong?"

Sora continued to give him a suspicious look. I know it's unlikely, but the fact that everyone was in that picture apart from me is...worrying...

Sora shook her head with a sigh. "I need to go."

"W-What...? Hey, wait!"

Makoto reached his hand out, but it was too late. Sora had dashed out of the Art Room, leaving the boy alone.

"Why...?"

---

Sora was walking through the hall, the only company being the sounds of her Mary Janes tapping against the floor. She didn't want to coldly leave him like that, but after what she saw, she believes it's better to avoid him before she gets any clear answers.

"Good grief..." Sora sighed before she continued walking.

---

Sora opened the doors to the Bio Lab. She decided to visit the place one more time. And the first thing she saw was...

Toko, passed out on the ground. Again.

"Fukawa?" Sora walked up to her unconscious body and lightly kicked her arm. She dead or something...?

Suddenly, Toko's body sprung back up. "Kyeeehahahaha!"

"..." Sora didn't react, only backing up a bit. Genocide Jill...

Genocide Jill shivered. "It's cold... It's super cold! It's so cold, I think I might catch a cold!"

"Well, if you keep napping in places like this, you will..." Sora mumbled.

"What, I was asleep? Ahh, I musta fainted again!" Genocide Jill realized before gushing. "Ah, Mistress! I bet you were standing there, staring at me, getting all excited! Weren't you!?"

"No." Sora bluntly answered.

"Oh, then what? Hot and bothered? Straight-up horny!?"

"Nope."  She shook her head before changing the subject. "Anyway, why'd you pass out here?"

"I dunno! Last thing I remember was me waking up just now! What'd you do to Miss Morose!?" Genocide Jill asked.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Your memory stops and starts every time you switch..." Sora recalled.

"Bingo bazinga! We share some basic knowledge, but our memories are very much separate!" Genocide Jill informed. "And don't say it like it's a bad thing! It's a blessing as far as I'm concerned! Cuz even if she forgets something, I totally remember! So it's like double the memory!"

I think it's more half then anything...

Truth Bullet: Genocide Jill's Memory

"But all I wanna know right now is, where's my other little darling!?" Genocide Jill demanded. "Tell me now, or I'll slit your throat!"

Don't you only kill guys...?

"I 'unno." Sora shrugged. "He's probably doing his own investigation somewhere."

"By himself!?"

"I think so..."

Genocide Jill laughed. "I knew it! I totally knew it! I'm a total pro when it comes to all things Master! Anyway, I gotta hurry! I can't even imagine how lonely he must be right now! Kyeeeeehahahahahaha!" She cackled as she shot out of the Bio Lab.

"Oh, I probably should've asked her about that picture..." Sora said before thinking Oh well. It probably would've have done much good anyway. Besides, I have more important things to do right now. Why did Toko faint? There's gotta be some reason for it...

Sora turned her head to see one of the fridges open. "What the-? Weren't they all shut tight when I found them?"

"That must be why she passed out." A voice said as Kyoko approached her. "She faints so easily..."

"Kiri..."

"It's getting late, isn't it?"

"Honestly, at this point, I stopped keeping track of time." Sora sighed. "Anyway, you feeling okay?"

"I'm sorry if I made you worry." Kyoko apolgized.

"Don't apologize. After all that happened, it's understandable."

"But listen, about this room...it's a morgue." 

"Mm-hm..."

"I suspected as much. And Fukawa must have looked inside the fridge, seen what was in there, and...well, there you have it." Kyoko concluded.

"You knew?" Sora asked.

"I was on my way here, when Genocide Jill came running past me." Kyoko explained. "I assumed she must have sneezed, but once I got inside, the real reason became clear. I imagine she came here to investigate, and when she opened the slot there..."

"And that's when she saw the body dropped to the floor like a bag a rocks." Sora finished. Why's everything gotta be so difficult with that girl...?

"Anyway, we should close it up." Kyoko suggested. "Don't want to leave it hanging open like that..."

"Good idea." Sora agreed.

"Give me a hand with this." Kyoko approached the fridge, hands outstretched. But suddenly, she stopped.

"What's up?" Sora asked.

"Maybe we should wait a second before closing it."

"And we should do that...why, exactly?"

"Because Ikusaba's body is in here." Kyoko said.

"Ikusaba's corpse is inside the fridge?" Sora tilted her head.

"Just like every other time, the mastermind probably brought it up here while we were in the class trial." Kyoko assumed.

"Oh well, I guess they did it because they assumed we wouldn't be doing Ikusaba's trial again. ...Probably."

"You may be right..." Kyoko concurred. "Either way, now I can finally get a good look at the body."

Oh yeah, that's right. Kiri didn't get a chance to investigate the body the first time...

" I need to do my own examination of the corpse as soon as possible. I'm going to find a clue this time, and I'm going to grab the mastermind by the tail..." Kyoko declared.

"Okay, then. What should I do?" Sora asked.

"Why don't you just...wait over there? I'll let you know as soon as I'm finished."

Sora sweatdropped. What am I, your kid?

Regardless, she did what Kyoko said and waited. While she did, though, she looked at the stack of tarps. I've seen this somewhere before... Ah, it's the same as the one I found in the garden toolshed... And if I remember, that tarp... It had a stamp on it that said Bio Lab. And that's the tarp that was used to help camouflage the murder in the garden... At some point, someone got it from the Bio Lab and took it over there.

Truth Bullet: Tarp

---

Sora looked at the fridges again. On the left side of the refrigerator, a bunch of blue lights are on.

"But these ones aren't..." Sora mumbled, looking on the right side.

"It would seem the blue light comes on when a slot is occupied." Kyoko said.

So when someone's in there...the blue light comes on... Looking around, the number of lights that are on, including Mukuro's... There's nine in all.

"Nine lights..." Sora mused.

Truth Bullet: Bio Lab Lights

---

Sora looked at Kyoko. I should ask Kiri about the group photo... After all, she's in it, too.

"Hey." Sora called. "Don't let me interrupt whatever it is you're doing, but I need to talk to you about something."

" ...What is it?" Kyoko inquired.

"It's about that announcement Monokuma made earlier..."

"You mean the one about a "hint" or something? I didn't take him up on the offer."

"Why not?"

"The only reason he'd give us a "hint" at this point would be to confuse us, to cloud our judgment. I can solve this mystery on my own, without whatever hints he may have to offer."

"That's a fair point." Sora admitted. She's not exactly wrong, either... I wish I could go back and do the same thing, but what's done is done, I guess... Standing here looking at her...I don't think she's hiding anything from me. Is she right? Did the mastermind forge that picture as a trap to confuse us? Or is there another explanation...?

Kyoko sighed as she turned back to Sora. "Okay, Shirayuki. I'm done."

"Already? That was fast." Sora said.

"Anyone can do good work if they go slow. In that spirit, I'll make my report brief."

"Okay then, what did you find?"

"I paid careful attention to the wounds and the traces of blood. And it seems highly likely that the stomach wound and blow to the back of the head were inflicted after death."

"..."

"The burnt tissue made things a little difficult, but I'm completely confident in my findings."

So, neither of those injuries were fatal?

"Then what was the fatal injury?" Sora asked. "The only other option is those "other wounds," but the file said they were old."

Kyoko glanced at her. "Where does it say they're old?"

"What."

"All the Monokuma File says is that they were inflicted at least several days ago."

Sora blinked. "Huh. I...guess I just assumed that they were just a distinction without a difference."

"Well, the difference is immense, considering the impression they give." Kyoko said. "You seem to be equating "several days old" with simple "old".  But that doesn't quite follow logically. "Old wounds," it makes it sound like they've been there forever, like they're not related to the murder.

"Are you saying...they are? But we all got the Monokuma File right after she was killed, right? So if the wounds were at least a few days old, there's no way they could've had anything to do with it."

"But what if Ikusaba herself wasn't killed within the last few days." Kyoko proposed.

"...What." Sora deadpanned.

"Certainly you can allow it as one of the many possibilities, can't you?"

"One of many, huh..."

"A detective doesn't have supernatural powers. There's no way to predict the answer from the beginning. Instead, the ideal detective begins by imagining as many possible scenarios as they can." Kyoko explained. "They envision these possibilities without prejudice, without bias, using only their logic and common sense. Then, as they investigate, they test what they find against each of these possibilities. Of course, me telling you this doesn't mean you'll be any good at detective work, but beyond using that to solve this particular mystery, you should keep it in mind for the future."

Truth Bullet: Kyoko's Account

"So, if there's anything else you'd like to know about the condition of the body, now's the time." Kyoko said.

"Come to think of it, there was one thing..." Sora muttered. "Earlier, when I was looking at Ikusaba's profile, it listed her height and weight..."

"5 foot 7 inches, 97 pounds. Vitals were...31-22-32." Kyoko listed. "Did I get all that right?"

"You remembered all that? I mean, my memories pretty good, but I didn't expect you to..." Sora trailed off.

"They are indeed consistent with the corpse." Kyoko pointed out. "And don't forget about the Fenrir tattoo. There's absolutely no mistake...Our victim in this case is, without a doubt, Mukuro Ikusaba...!" Kyoko said.

Truth Bullet: Mukuro Ikusaba's Profile

"Is that all you wanted to ask?" Kyoko asked.

Sora nodded. "Yep."

"Then it looks like we have no further business with Ikusaba's body. Let's get going. It's kind of chilly in here..." Kyoko slightly shivered.

"Aren't we gonna put the body back? Seems kinda sad just to leave it out here." Sora said.

Kyoko raised an eyebrow. "Sad...? Did you forget? She was our enemy once. A part of the Ultimate Despair."

"I know that, but she already dead. There's no point in kicking a dead person while they're down. I mean that both figuratively and literally."

"Have you ever heard the phrase "you reap what you sow"?"

"Yeah, I get what you're trying to say, but still..."

Kyoko looked at her for a moment before sighing. "You really are naïve, you know that? It's really quite appalling..."

Sora rolled her eyes. That's rich coming from you, Kiri. You could've just left me to rot in that garbage pit, but you chose to help me escape. So at the end of the day, who's really the "naïve" one?

GRRRN! CLICK!

"I think we've done all we can do here." Kyoko dusted off her hands after putting Mukuro's body back. "Back to our separate investigations, yes?"

"Oh, wait a sec." Sora spoke up. I have to talk about that pocketbook I found. If I don't do it now... "One last thing to ask, promise. I probably shouldn't, but it's been eating at me for a while..."

"Go ahead, then. Out with it." Kyoko said.

Sora grimaced as she began. "Have you...really not seen your father since you got here?"

"What...?" Kyoko looked confused before regaining her composure. "What do you mean?" 

"Well...you know all those lockers on the 2nd floor of the dorms?"

"I do, yes. But to get into any of the lockers, you'd need the handbook of whoever the locker belongs to."

"Yeah well, I managed to get them open after I used that emergency handbook."

"The one you found in the headmaster's hidden room..." Kyoko mused before turning back to Sora. "So? Did you find anything worthwhile in the lockers?"

"I found...a pocketbook. And after looking through it...I think it must be your pocketbook."

Kyoko blinked. "...What makes you say that...? Like I said, only the locker's owner should be able to get into it, right? I can't imagine those lockers belonged to any of us... After all, we only got access to that area just recently. What I'm saying is, there's no way I could've had access to any of those lockers. And if I did have a pocketbook, why would I bother putting it in a locker?" She pointed out.

"I get what you're saying. Really, I do. If these were normal circumstances, I'd probably agree with you. But some of the things that were written inside...they were about your father."

Kyoko gasped, breaking her stoic mask. "...?! Could that mean... That video...is real, too...?" She muttered.

"Video...?" Sora wondered.

Kyoko took in a deep breath. "Shirayuki...I think everything is finally starting to fit together to reveal a cohesive picture. Although...I'm afraid that picture might be worse than anything we could have imagined."

"W-What are you-?"

"I need to go investigate those lockers, right now. I need to confirm what you just said with my own two eyes."

"Oh, in that case, I'll give you the headmaster's handbook. That way you can-"

"That won't be necessary. If I'm right about this, I shouldn't have any problem opening the locker with my own handbook. After all, it would seem that it's my locker."

"...?"

Kyoko handed her a DVD that said "Class #78 Urgent Interviews. "If you watch this, it'll all make sense. I found it in that hidden room, after you left. I don't have time to explain what I think it means, so just watch it and see for yourself. I think you'll realize exactly what it means... You'll understand why you found my pocketbook in a place none of us have ever seen before."

...Guess this means I should watch it...

Truth Bullet: Interview DVD

"Oh, and now it's my turn. Do you have a second to listen to me ramble...?" Kyoko requested.

"Ramble...?" Sora asked.

Kyoko let out a sigh. "So as it turns out...the arrangements I'd made...didn't stick. What I mean is, I'm less and less sure of everything. Even my own feelings..."

Your father...

"I can never find the answers to the questions I wanted to ask. For the rest of my life..."

Yeah well, you can thank the mastermind for that...

"But there's one thing I am sure of. When it comes to the mastermind, there's no room in my heart for forgiveness. I swore to destroy the mastermind. This is just one more reason to follow through on that." 

Kyoko's eyes burned with the fire of determination... The determination to defeat the mastermind... 

"It's strange...to be confronted with his death, and suddenly feel this way. I couldn't care less if my father had found happiness. So why is it...? Why does it bother me so much to know how he suffered...? It's ridiculous. There's just no understanding it, I guess..." 

She let out a small laugh, but her smile was filled with sorrow.

"So, that's it for my rambling. There's still much to do before I can consider my task complete."

Sora nodded. "Yeah, no doubt about that..."

"But keep this in mind... There is only ever one absolute truth. Whether that truth serves justice or suffering... Whether it's the greatest truth, or the worst..." Kyoko said.

"...Why are you telling me this?" Sora asked.

"Even if the truth you uncover is filled with hopelessness...you still can't give up hope." Kyoko told her.

"Of course I can't. Right now, all I can do is keep moving forward. When I put my mind to something, I'll never stop trying to achieve what I have in mind. So, in a way...I suppose you can say...I'm determined." Sora made a small smile.

Kyoko let out a small laugh. "Indeed... Sorry if that was...strange." She turned around. "Anyway, I need to get going. I'll see you at the class trial..." Leaving behind that final farewell, she was gone.

"I need to get going myself." Sora said as she looked at the DVD Kyoko gave her. Kiri said something about a hopeless truth... But no matter what happens, I'll keep going. In order to escape this school, even if it's the worst truth imaginable,  I can't afford to give up...

And with that, Sora left the Bio Lab.

Chapter 45: End

To be continued...?