(3rd Person's POV)

"..." Sora looked on at Sayaka's dead body with a blank stare. She blinked twice before taking a deep breath and letting out a long sigh. Her face began to return to its normal pale color. She looked away from the deceased idol's body and walked out of the bathroom.

"I...should tell the others about this..."

---

The blonde returned to the dining hall. As she opened the doors, the students gave her more questioning stares.

"Shirayuki, you're back!" Hina exclaimed.

"Well?!" Taka yelled. "Did you find Maizono? And where's Naegi?!"

Sora said nothing, but pointed into the hallways. The students looked and each other and nodded. They got out their chairs and went out into the hallways where the dorms were. Sora stood in the middle of the hall.

Four days... Longer than I thought...

Just as those thoughts entered her mind...

BING, BONG! BONG, BING!

"Sheesh, it's about time!" Monokuma said on the monitors. "I was getting bored, watching all you kids do nothing for 4 days straight! Now, everyone head to the gymnasium! We're having an assembly!"

"...?" Sora tilted her head in confusion. An assembly? Right now?

Oh well. Not like I can just say no... Sora sighed as she put her hands behind her back and followed the bear's instructions.

---

As she walked into the gymnasium, Sora saw that she was by herself, which made sense, considering the others were in Sayaka's room. She sat down on one of the bleachers as she waited for her classmates.

A few moments later, the others started piling in, which Hiro carrying Makoto on his back. They all either stood in the gym, or sat on one of the bleachers and waited for Makoto to wake up or Monokuma to appear and tell them what their doing here. Sora couldn't help but notice their stormy expressions. Well, somebody just died, so she doesn't think anybody's in the mood for a school assembly.

After a few minutes of doing nothing in particular, and soft groaning can be heard from Makoto as he started regaining consciousness.

"..."

"Ah! You're awake!" Hina exclaimed, garnering the others' attention. "Are you okay?"

"Now's no time for sleeping. Get your ass up!" Mondo yelled, looking frustrated.

"Huh...?" Makoto blinked twice.

"You were unconscious, dude. I had to carry you back here." Hiro spoke up.

"It's no surprise, considering what happened." Sakura said, her eyes closed.

"What...happened?" Makoto repeated slowly. He looked down to the floor as his mind flashed back to Sayaka's dead body. He grit his teeth in sadness and frustration. "Gh--! Grraaah!"

"H-Hey, are you okay!?" Hina asked out of worry.

"So it wasn't a dream?" Makoto whispered, looking up at his peers. "What I saw... It was real...?"

"That's right. It really did happen." Byakuya bluntly told him. "Maizono...is dead."

The boy widened his eyes in shock. He jumped out of his seat on the bleacher and took of running. Well, he would've if Sora hadn't grabbed his hoodie.

"Hey, where you goin'?" Sora asked, though by the sound of her tone, she was most likely being rhetorical.

"Let go of me, Shirayuki! I have to see if Maizono is--! If Maizono is...!"

"You can check once, twice, a thousand times. Maizono is completely and irrevocably dead." Byakuya told him without a shred of hesitation.

"No! I have to see for myself!" Makoto shook his head, trying to wiggle out of Sora's grip.

"You already saw it for yourself. Why else would you have passed out?" Sora rolled her eyes. "She's dead, and there's nothing you can do about it." 

Sora didn't want to tell him that in such a cruel manner, but it was the only thing she could thing of that would stop him from going back.

"B-But..." Makoto tried to retort, but lost his words.

"Listen to us, man!" Mondo pleaded. "Whaddya think's gonna happen if you go out there?"

"Well what good is it gonna do just sitting around here!? I mean, why are we all hanging out in the gym at a time like this!?" Makoto yelled. "Our friend...Maizono...she's... She's dead!"

When those last words left Makoto's lips, it finally hit him. He realized that what he saw was real, and that Sayaka...is really dead.

Makoto's body stopped moving and trying to struggle. Noticing this, Sora let go of his hoodie and sat back on the bleachers, knowing he's not gonna try to run off.

"None of us want to be here right now, either." Kyoko spoke up.

"Then...why?" Makoto asked.

"Sh-Shouldn't it be obvious? Monok-kuma...he told us all to c-come here..." Toko told him.

"Well, hold on! Don't talk like that." Taka interrupted. "We all protested it! I mean, we remember the terrible price Maizono had to pay... B-But...!"

"I'm the one who convinced them to come." Kyoko said. "Right now, we need to do whatever he says. We're his prisoners, right? It's not a good idea to defy him without reason. We don't need to make any more sacrifices than we already have..."

Makoto frowned. "...Why should we listen to anything he has to say? It's obvious he's the one who killed Maizono!"

"I would never do that!"

The students turned to the podium to see that the aforementioned monochrome mammal has appeared.

"If you can believe anything, you can believe that!" Monokuma said.

"He's here again..." Leon glared at him.

"Unless someone violates a school regulation, I absolutely will not interfere. I can promise you, I won't do anything that goes against the purpose of your school life here. I'm famous at safari parks throughout the world for following the "Bear-Times-One" rule!" Monokuma joked.

"Then...who did it? Who killed her?" Chihiro asked.

"You already know the answer!" Monokuma said with a dark grin. "The one who killed her is...one of you!"

Nobody had a reply to that. One of them...killed Sayaka...?

"Hmm? What's the matter?" Monokuma tilted his head. "You guys all look like you're about to see a dove get shot up with a Gatling gun! Don't you remember what I told you when this all began? One of you decided to kill Maizono so that you could graduate! Someone's just following the rules. There's nothing wrong with that!" He laughed.

"...Is that really true?" Sora asked. Not that she doubted him, of course. Just for confirmation.

"Of course it's not!" Makoto yelled. "I'm telling you, he killed her!"

Monokuma shook his head. "Nope, sorry. One of you is now a bona fide killer. If they wanted to, the one who did it could testify to that little fact."

"What...?" Makoto widened his eyes. Without thinking, he looked around at everyone.

They all had the same look on their faces... Everyone looked at each other with a combination of fear, suspicion and confusion.

"A-Are you serious...?" Chihiro stuttered.

"Someone... Someone killed someone!" Taka cried.

"It is amazing what some people are capable of." Celeste said while twirling a piece of her hair.

"Hey, hold on! Don't just assume he's telling the truth!" Mondo grunted out.

"That's enough." Byakuya spoke up, cutting through the noise. "Before we do anything else, I'd like to confirm something with the stuffed animal here." He looked up at Monokuma. "If one of us really did kill her, that person gets to graduate from the school, right?"

"...Huh?" Monokuma looked confused.

"Don't play dumb! That's what you said, isn't it!?" Byakuya glared at him. "If you kill someone, you get to leave!"

"Puhuhu..." Monokuma giggled. "Puhuhu! Poohohoho! Bwaaahahahaha!"

"Why are you laughing!?" Leon asked, looking concerned by the bear's reaction.

"Puhu...it's cuz..." Monokuma gasped out, calming himself down. "Naïve You're just so naïve! You think it's really that easy? You can just kill someone and waltz on outta here? You're super naïve! Devilishly naïve! HELLISHLY NAIVE!"

Sora narrowed her eyes. She knew it. The whole "kill someone to leave" thing sounded too good to be true.

"No no no, the real thing has just begun." Monokuma said.

"The...real thing?" Makoto asked.

"Are you ready!? Allow me to explain the second part of the rule regarding graduation!" Monokuma exclaimed, dramatically spreading out his arms. "Just like I explained before, you must kill someone if you want to leave. However...even if you do that, there's still one more part to the agreement you have to uphold, remember?"

"You are referring to rule number six of the school regulations..." Celeste spoke up. "If you are the "blackened" that committed the murder, you can't be found out by the other students. That is what you are talking about, is it not?"

"Bingo!" Monokuma nodded. "It's not enough to just kill someone. You have to actually get away with it! Which naturally means you need a system in place to assess whether or not it's been gotten away with! So, a certain amount of time after a murder has taken place, a class trial will begin!"

Sora's ahoge perked up and bobbed up and down in confusion. "Class...trial?"

"Yup! It'll begin a few hours after the murder! Everyone will gather together, including the blackened who committed the murder. And they and the spotless students will all engage in one big debate showdown!" Monokuma explained. " During the trial, you'll have to present your arguments about who you think the blackened is. And once everything comes to an end, the outcome will be decided by popular vote! If the answer you've arrived at is correct...only the one that disturbed your peace will be punished. The rest may continue their communal life. However...if you choose poorly...then the one who got away with murder will survive, and the rest of you will receive your punishment. Which of course means your school life will come to an end!" He then let out a deep sigh. "As far as class trial rules go...that's all there is to it!"

"So, um...what exactly is this "punishment" you keep talking about...?" Hifumi asked apprehensively.

"Oh! Well, to put it simply..." Monokuma grinned. "It's execution!" He said as the students widened their eyes in fear.

"...What." Sora flatly deadpanned, blinking twice.

"E-Execution!?" Hifumi repeated in horror.

"And by execution, you mean..." Chihiro trailed off.

"Execution is...execution. Ex-e-cution!" Monokuma cheerily said as his red eye started glowing. "Electric chair, bzzt bzzt! Poison gas, cough cough! Torn apart like a paper place in a hurricane! Which yes, we can make happen."

"S-So, to make sure I understand..." Taka started. "If we get the culprit right, then only they die. But if we get it wrong...all the rest of us get...executed?"

"What a smart little chimpanzee you are! Look at you, implying you didn't do it without actually saying it!" Monokuma said. "So it's basically what the outside world calls a "lay judge" system, or an inquisition type thing! Which means you'll be deciding who you think the killer is. But judge carefully, because all your lives are on the line!" He warned with a dark grin. "Okay, let me just add the rule I just described to your handbook. make sure to keep it in mind!"

Sora felt a buzz inside her...wherever she kept her E-Handbook. Guess that means it's been added.

"W-Wait, hold on a second!"

Everyone looked to see Junko glaring at Monokuma.

"You're freaking insane, you know that!? She yelled.

It took you this long to notice...? Sora deadpanned.

"Hmm?" Monokuma tilted his head.

"A class trial? What the hell is that!? I don't want anything to do with it!" Junko narrowed her eyes at the bear.

"Why not?" Monokuma casually asked.

"Whaddya mean why not!? Why do I have to waste my time trying to figure out who murdered someone!?" Junko grit her teeth in anger and frustration.

"What!? Are you saying you're not gonna participate in the trial!?" Monokuma asked. "Only punishment awaits such blasphemy!"

"What? Punishment?" Junko sweated in fear.

"I might...I dunno, throw you in a deep, dark, scary prison or something!" Monokuma threatened.

"Shut the hell up!" Junko barked. "Say whatever you want, I'm not gonna be part of this!"

"Don't be so selfish!" Monokuma said, though Junko was having none of it.

"You're the one being selfish! Kill whoever you want, it's got nothing to do with me!"

Ah yes, because antagonizing the person who put us in here is such a good idea... Sora deadpanned once again as she rolled her eyes.

Monokuma started sweating. "The evil standing here before me... I'm trembling with fear...!" He then lifted up his paw, revealing his claws. "But I won't give in to such evil! It's my style to stick it out and resist till the very end...! If you really wanna get out of here... You'll have to go through me first!"

Jumping off the podium, Monokuma then charged at the students, although it was more of a waddle. But then...

SMASH!

"Gyumeh!"

Junko stomped her boot on Monokuma, squishing his face.

Welp, she's dead. Sora thought.

"Are you enjoying yourself now?" Junko asked with an arrogant smirk.

"Are you?" Monokuma replied.

"Huh?"

"Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is not allowed. You've violated a school regulation... I invoke the mighty summon spell! Help! To me, godly spear Gungnir!"

Godly spear wha-

Out of nowhere, several spears came out and impaled Junko, while most of the students gasped, screamed, or looked on in shock.

"Wh...? H-Huh? This wasn't...supposed to..." Junko weakly uttered. "Why...me...?"

Suddenly, right at the end, her eyes shot wide open. And just like that...she never moved again...

Chapter 5: End

To be continued...?