Author's note: Hey everyone, FireSlash here and welcome back to Soldier of Hope. The reason I was gone (other than because of school) was because I was thinking of how to go about the trial and investigation. If you've been following my stories, then you'll remember that I had a Pokémon/Danganronpa crossover where I attempted a class trial, but failed. Those were dark times. As such, I decided to take extra caution and care when doing this part of the story. But hey, even though it took me quite a while to write this, this chapter ended up being the third longest chapter I've written ever, so I think it's a good tradeoff. Now, review and enjoy :-).

0000

It was midnight in Japan, a time where the highly industrialized country was finally allowed to rest. While most people used this time to charge up for the next day, seven year old Mukuro Ikusaba used this time to earn a quick buck. She obviously wasn't allowed to get a job due to her age, so she ended up having to rely on more unconventional methods of earning money instead.

Walking down an alleyway located in a rather shady looking neighborhood, Ikusaba began approaching a metal door that had been built into the building to her right. Knocking on the door, the luckster waited a few seconds until someone finally began peering through the door's peephole. Seemingly recognizing the young girl, the person opened the door, revealing them to be a muscular man.

"Back for more?" The guy gruffly asked her. Despite his intimidating stature, Ikusaba wasn't afraid. She's seen him multiple times in her life already, there was no need for her to be scared.

Looking up at him, the young girl nodded. "Yes. Are there a lot of people today?"

Crossing his arms, the man shaked his head. "No, not today. However, we do have a rich boy who's willin' to play. Don't know why, he's already got enough money to live off of even if the economy crashes. He's certainly got some screws loose."

Hearing this made Ikusaba smile. It seems like Enoshima will be getting her wish sooner than she thought...

0000

Entering the building, Ikusaba was greeted by the familiar sight of an underground casino, equipped with a bar and several tables where people could gamble their life savings freely. Despite its small size, the underground casino had a surprisingly large selection of games. However, Ikusaba never bothered with most of the games offered. Whenever she visited an underground casino, it was to earn money, not to have fun. She actually found most of the games boring.

Speaking of earning money, after she had entered the casino, Ikusaba wasted no time and immediately went towards one of the tables located far back in the casino. Glancing at the table, the girl noticed there were three other people at the table, excluding the person working at the place. One of them looked to be a middle class working man while the other one seemed to be extremely wealthy, just like the man at the door said he was.

"Ah, here she is," the guy working the table said with a smile as he saw Ikusaba walk towards the table. "Our number one attraction."

Hearing the man say this caused everyone to stop what they were doing. To those who were regulars at this place, Ikusaba was a legend due to her uncanny luck. So far, she remains undefeated in the game she's known for playing, a feat which made for quality entertainment.

"Really, that's her?" the rich guy snottily asked. " You're telling me a little girl is your champion? Whatever, this'll be easy."

"You'll be eating those words soon bud," the man at the table replied. "The game's about to start now. Place your bets."

Cockily rolling his eyes, the rich man placed down 110440 yen as the other man placed 11037 yen, making Ikusaba's eyes widen. This'll be the most money she'd be winning since...well, since ever. Even better, this'll be more than enough for her to afford the plane tickets to Spain Enoshima so desired while still having some left to support them.

After the two men placed down their bets, Ikusaba put down a measly 1104 yen, the most she had on her at the time. Seeing as everyone placed their bets, the man working the table immediately placed a gun on the table before explaining the rules of the game the three would be playing. "One round of Russian Roulette, winner takes all. The rules are simple, hold this BB gun towards your head, spin the cylinder, and hope to God you don't get shot. This thing can still be lethal, even if it isn't an actual gun."

Ikusaba knew how dangerous a simple BB gun can be, having witnessed several people fall into a coma because of the gun's power. Deaths weren't rare either. With the three players staring each other down, Ikusaba decided she would take first crack at the gun. Following the procedures outlined, the girl pointed the gun to herself and pulled the trigger without any hesitation. Back when she first started playing Russian Roulette, the girl used to be deathly afraid of the bullet, the only reason she even bothered playing this game was due to her devotion for her sister. But after awhile, Ikusaba's fear of the game left her body seeing as she had never gotten shot while playing the game due to her luck.

Like she expected, the gun only made a 'clicking' sound once fired.

Next to use the gun was the rich man, not wanting to be outdone by a little girl. Like Ikusaba, nothing happened when he pulled the trigger, which didn't surprise the girl. Based on Ikusaba's experience, the first round usually went without incident.

'Bang!' Well, they usually did. Unfortunately, it seemed the middle class man was just unlucky, for when he pulled the trigger, he managed to get hit by the pellet. As the man began screaming in pain, everyone in the casino began moving closer to the back, eager to see Ikusaba take yet another victim.

"Sorry missy, but you might as well go home," the rich man told Ikusaba. "There's a reason I'm rich."

"Probably has to do more with your parents being rich instead of you having any sort of skills or luck." Ikusaba taunted, her voice lacking any emotion as she pulled the trigger a second time. Like last time, no pellet came out. Angry, the rich man snatched the gun from the girl's hands and pulled the trigger, only for nothing to happen yet again. The two would continue to pass the gun back and forth for another five minutes, neither managing to get shot in the head. Everytime he pulled the trigger or when Ikusaba was about to do the same, the rich guy would always make some snide remark about her. Eventually getting tired of dealing with this man, Ikusaba glanced at the guy running the game. "I think it's time to add four more pellets."

Hearing this caused the guy to give her a look of shock. "Are you crazy?! We'll only have a one in six chance of not getting shot! That's suicide!"

"I know," Ikusaba replied, still lacking any sort of emotion in her voice as the man behind the table loaded the gun with four more pellets. This was something she always requested if she felt a match was taking too long. Most people usually never made it past another round after the bullets were added.

"Looks like we'll be entering overdrive mode," the man stated before handing Ikusaba the gun.

Looking her opponent dead in the eyes, Ikusaba moved the gun towards her head before pulling the trigger. Upon doing so, the gun made a strange clicking sound, something that was quite common when Ikusaba played this game. "Oh, it jammed."

Ikusaba passed the gun to the man behind the table so he could fix it, who then gave it to the rich man after he did so. Easy to say, the rich guy was quite nervous now.

"W-w-wait! The gun jammed! That doesn't count!"

"Sorry bud, but jams count," the guy behind the table told him. "Russian Roulette's a game of luck, and a gun jamming generally is part of that. Now hurry up and finish the game."

"It's fine," Ikusaba told him. "Just give me the gun. I'll go again."

"You sure?" The guy asked her, surprised. Ikusaba was usually never this bold, usually allowing jams to count as a turn.

Nodding, the young girl grabbed the gun out of his hands and held it towards her head, all while the rich man smiled cockily at her. Her luck wasn't going to save her this time…

'Click!'

Gulping, the man held the gun to his head, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Eventually gathering enough courage, he pulled the trigger, only to feel the full force of a pellet hitting his skull. As the man collapsed, everyone in the casino began cheering.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Ikusaba does it again!" the man working behind the table shouted, causing everyone to shout even louder. While all this was going on, Ikusaba was gathering all the money she just won, eager to show it all to her sister...

0000

When someone thinks of a soldier, they usually think of someone who has no problems with killing people opposing them. However, the truth is, most soldiers aren't the trigger happy people movies make them out to be. For the most part, they hate having to kill people, but they do so anyways to protect their homeland.

For Makoto Naegi, Fenrir's star fighter, this was all true. When he first developed an interest for warfare, he believed he would be one of the goodguys. As a young child, you really only see the world in black and white; there seemed to only be bad guys and good guys. But as you grow up, you realize there are people doing the right things for the wrong reasons and vice versa. Some learn this faster than others. Naegi was one of those people, for Fenrir weren't exactly the good guys he initially thought they were…

When did his illusion shatter? Well, it started two weeks after he officially joined Fenrir. The mercenary group were trying their best to drive the terrorist group they were hired to fight out of a largely populated city. What the city's name was or where it was located, Naegi didn't remember. All he knew was that during the fight, it seemed both sides were evenly matched. Learning from their past mistakes, Fenrir decided to bring more soldiers along for the ride, which in conjunction with their superior weaponry, allowed them to cancel out the numbers advantage the terrorists had.

Currently, Naegi was trying to break into the building the opposing forces' general was hiding at, doing so under direct orders from Tokuda. According to him, the best way to deal hard hitting damage to any army was by wiping out their generals. Witnessing this theory proven true during his first battle, Naegi never bothered questioning his superior.

With Naegi were six other men, five of them he didn't know. The sixth person was Miyashiro Akio, a fifteen year old Japanese member of Fenrir and Naegi's best friend during his time in the mercenary group. Like Naegi, he was a formidable foe in combat, excelling at sniping and providing cover for his allies. Due to their high skill levels, it wasn't uncommon to see Naegi and Akio paired up, the two forming a dynamic duo which could even rival Batman and Robin. There was a time where they even managed to fend off an entire force by themselves, but that's a story for another time…

With two groups covering them, Naegi and his group eventually managed to reach the three story building the general chose for his hiding spot. Circling around the building to avoid enemy fire, Naegi stopped his men to address them.

"Listen men, if we're going to make it out of this alive, we need to stick together," Naegi told them. "I'll lead, and Akio will be in the back. I need the rest of you to watch my back. When we get upstairs, I'll need all you to switch to a defensive role while I take on the general. Can you do that?"

Akio gave him a thumbs up while the others begrudgingly nodded. You could only imagine how much being forced to follow orders being given by a kid hurt their pride. Satisfied with the response he got, Naegi immediately plowed through the building's back entrance, the door being very fragile, and led the charge towards the general. Though there had to be thirty people trying to stop them from reaching their destination, the small group was like an unstoppable bullet, leaving a trail of destruction behind them as the continued forth. Eventually, they made it to their destination, with Naegi preparing to smash through the door as his allies prepared to cover him. Taking out his trusty handgun, Naegi slammed through the door without hesitation, causing bullets to fly from both sides. With his allies doing his job, Naegi was able to chase down the general without any problem. Running through two rooms, Naegi eventually shot the man in the leg, preventing him from running any further. Seeing as he couldn't retreat anymore, the man tried shooting Naegi, only for the boy to shoot another bullet at his gun, knocking it out of his hands. As a last ditch effort to kill the boy, the man began reaching for the dropped weapon. Sadly for him, Naegi simply kicked the weapon to the other side of the room, making the man groan in frustration. Closing his eyes, the man began preparing for death, only for it to never come.

"Tch, what's taking you so long to kill me already?" The man asked in English. "I've been beaten. Do you take a sadistic pleasure in watching helpless people anticipate death or something?"

"No, I'm here to make you an offer," Naegi told him in the same language. Living in a society where English was quite the common language made Naegi's parents force him and his little sister to study the language. It ended up being very useful for the boy during his time in Fenrir since it was the language spoken by the group. "I really don't like killing people-"

"Then you chose the wrong path kid," the man interrupted.

"- So I'm willing to bargain with you. If you surrender now, I can promise you that no harm will come of you, as long as you're willing to cooperate of course."

Believing this to be a reasonable offer, Naegi was quite surprised when the man began to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"Hahaha, it's just, you know all you're doing is spouting shit right now, right?"

"Eh?"

"There's no way Fenrir will stay true to anything they offer. You're monsters, all of you!"

"No that's wrong!" Naegi shouted. "We're the good guys, you're the bad guys! You're the ones who are going around killing innocents! If anyone's the monsters, it's you guys."

"Wow… I forgot how stupid kids are," the man stated. "You call us terrorists, but all we're doing is fighting against a faulty government. So what if a little blood is spilt along the way? It makes sure we're listen to. You guys on the other hand don't fight for anything but a quick buck."

"Y-you're wrong! I was told that Fenrir fights for justice…"

"Kid, do you even know what the term 'mercenary' means? Of course not, otherwise we wouldn't be here. A mercenary is someone who fights for money. It doesn't matter if one side is the aggressor or the victim, Fenrir will help out whichever side offers the most money. Whoever fed you the bullshit that Fenrir's a 'good guy club' was only trying to recruit you. I'd tell you to look up their history, but it's all hidden from the public. How about once you go back to your base, ask whoever the fuck's in charge about 'Operation Quick Draw' and see how they react. It'll prove I'm righ-"

'BANG!' Before the guy could finish his sentence, a shot was fired, causing his head to explode. Looking behind him, Naegi saw it was Akiro who had fired the shot.

"Dude, are you ok?" The teenager asked his friend. "You were taking quite a while and I was starting to get worried."

"Yeah...I'm fine," Naegi said. Thus began his quest in learning about the true nature of Fenrir. Let's just say once he learned the truth, Naegi began going through an existential crisis. Was he still a good person even though he was working for a group like Fenrir? Did it make him any less moral for deciding not to risk death by escaping? To this day, he still hasn't figured out the answers to his dilemma.

0000

"What...why?" Naegi asked as he looked at Hagakure's corpse. Despite seeing a lot of dead bodies during his time in Fenrir, the sight of this body greatly sickened him. Hagakure had no reason to die, he was just a victim in all this. "H-he didn't need to die."

"...I agree," Ogami said with a nod. As a sign of respect for the recently deceased fortune teller, everyone stood silent for a few seconds. Eventually, Owada broke said silence.

"So what now?" Owada asked everyone. "Does the asshole who killed Hagakure get to leave now?"

"Nope!" Monokuma cheerfully said as he suddenly appeared behind them. "It took you bastards long enough, but we've finally got our first death! Anyone else excited, or is it just me?"

"It depends on what's next," Togami replied, earning him many frowns. The affluent prodigy didn't care though, his full attention being focused on the robotic bear.

"I'd tell you now, but I've got something important I want to give you. Meet me in the gym in five minutes. Don't be tardy now!" With that, Monokuma left as quickly as he came, leaving behind fifteen confused and scared individuals.

"Well… I guess we should go now," Asahina said as she began eying the dead body again. "Why did you have to die? You may have been stupid and weird, but you were also a human being! You didn't deserve this…"

"You can grieve all you want later," Kirigiri told her. "For now, we should do as Monokuma says. The last thing we want is to anger the person controlling him."

Asahina turned her attention towards the amnesiac, wanting to argue against her, but realized she was completely right. As such, she simply nodded and began making her way towards the gymnasium, everyone else following shortly after. The last person to leave was Naegi, who continued to stare at the body. What bothered him the most was the bloodshot look in his eyes, a look which disturbed him to this day. It was a sign that Hagakure suffered during the last moments of his life. Shaking his head, he forcefully closed the boy's eyes before making his way towards the gymnasium.

0000

"Damn, you seem to love taking your sweet time," Monokuma remarked as the soldier entered the gym. Looking around, Naegi noticed everyone else had already arrived, which made sense seeing as the left before him. "I grew, like, ten gray hairs waiting for your ass!"

"Well, he's here now," Togami impatiently told him. "Now, you can tell us why you've gathered us."

Hearing this made Monokuma smile. It was time for the festivities to begin. "Well, since the bum's dead, it time for you guys to find his murderer, and what better way to do that than by holding a class trial!"

Kuwata gave the bear a confused look. "Class trial? So you mean it's not enough to kill someone?"

"Yep!" Monokuma shouted in glee as he noticed the fear which had begun to embody everyone. "If all you had to do was kill someone, then this would simply be a battle royal. But who the hell wants to watch those anymore? They're so predictable and boring, not to mention overdone. As such, I've gone through the liberty of creating a game that has both action and suspense, one where the winner isn't so obvious! Now that someone's dead, it's time for all of you to find the blackened living among you! Trust me when I say that you should all try your hardest. Failure to find the blackened will result in the innocents getting punished."

"And what do you mean by that?" Kirigiri asked him.

"...Simply put, it's an execution," Monokuma nonchalantly said. Immediately, bodies began shaking.

"W-what do you mean by execution?" Fujisaki nervously asked the bear.

"Execution is...execution. Ex-e-cution! Electric chair, bzzt bzzt! Poison gas, cough cough! Torn apart like a paper plane in a hurricane! So judge carefully, because all your lives are on the line!"

With this bombshell of a reveal told, everyone began looking at one another in fear. No one wanted to die, and no one wanted to accept the fact someone in this very school killed Hagakure. It was simply too much to take in. The only one who seemed remotely fine was Togami, who appeared to actually be excited by all this madness! Everyone else on the other hand wanted to scream, shout, and/or attack Monokuma for doing this to them. However, only one person seemed brave enough to take action.

"...No. I refuse to do this…" Enoshima said, growled at the bear.

"Eh?"

"I refuse to do this shit!" Enoshima shouted. "It's bad enough that someone's already dead, but now you're telling us to find their murderer...like this is some sort of game? No! I'm sick of this crap! I'm sick of you! I'm sick of all of this! I want out!"

"Well, tough luck princess," Monokuma casually told her. "You're stuck here 'till you kill someone. Suck it up you selfish brat."

"Selfish? You think I'm being selfish?" Enoshima growled again. "You're the one being selfish! Trapping us in this death game just for your entertainment… what kind of sick fuck does that?"

"You know, you're starting to piss me off," Monokuma growled before pouting. "I feel attacked."

"Tch, you think that's an attack?'' Enoshima taunted. "Why don't you come over here so I can show you what one truly feels like."

"Enoshima, I suggest you cease this at once," Ogami recommended,knowing full well what will happen if Enoshima got physical with the 'headmaster.' However, the model simply ignored her.

"Oh, so you want a piece of the great and powerful Monokuma? Take this!" With that, Monokuma began waddling towards Enoshima with his claws extended, only for the girl to easily stop him by simply stepping on him.

"There, I beat you. Can I go now?" Enoshima asked. However, Monokuma simply laughed at her. "What's so funny?"

"You really think I'd go down that fast?" Monokuma asked as he continued to squirm under the model's boot. Eventually, he stopped. "I didn't want to do this, but since it seems like we have a little rule breaker here, it's time for me to unleash my true power. Spears of gungnir, I call upon your aid. Strike down the evil who opposes me. Awaken my friends!"

"What the hell are you-" Enoshima began to ask, confused by what Monokuma was doing. Meanwhile, as the whole echange was going on, Naegi's sixth sense was going crazy, warning him about an unseeable threat. As such, the soldier began paying close attention to his surroundings and was quite surprised to see that several holes began opening in the ground, something no one else noticed due to them being engrossed by the fight happening between the model and Monokuma. With this being seen, Naegi's body went on autopilot, causing him to run towards the model as she began to ask her question. Not allowing her to finish, Naegi tackled her with unbelievable speeds as several spears began to fire from the holes in the ground. While he was able to save Enoshima from being impaled, one of the spears managed to leave a large gash in the soldier's left leg, causing him to shout in pain.

"Gah!" Looking at his leg, Naegi noticed that even though the cut was big, his leg would be fine. The spear didn't deal any lethal damage. With him being fine, Naegi then looked at the model under him, who's face so happened to be nearly as red as a tomato. "Are you ok?"

"Y-y-y-y-yeah," Enoshima said, completely embarrassed by the position she was in. Satisfied with the answer, Naegi stood up and faced Monokuma.

"You just tried to kill her!"

"Of course I did," Monokuma replied. "She broke one of the school rules. Violence towards the headmaster is not accepted and must be dealt with accordingly. It's a shame that you managed to save. It seems like I'll have to try again. Don't get in the way this time."

"Not a chance," Naegi said as he wobbled between Enoshima and the bear, the model still trying to recover from her near death. Naegi didn't want to see another innocent person die. "If you want to get to her, then you'll need to get through me first."

"Naegi, what are you doing?!" Maizono asked, scared by the fact he was so willing to give his life for someone he barely knows.

"Protecting her," Naegi told the idol. "I promised myself that I'd protect those who did nothing wrong and I don't plan on breaking that promise now. So Monokuma, I'll cut you a deal. You can take me and leave Enoshima, or you can take us both while suffering several casualties on your side. So, what's it going to be?"

"..." Upon hearing this, Monokuma went silent, taking as he continued to watch the boy. Meanwhile, everyone else was watching the scene with intense fear. Were they really going to lose Naegi? However, no one was more scared than Naegi himself. Even though he was the one who was actively defying Monokuma, he really didn't want to die. In fact, like most, he was scared of death. But at the same time, he couldn't let another good person die for no reason. The difference between him and Enoshima was that he's killed people, more people than the famous serial killer Genocider Jack, so if he had to pick who should die between the two of them, then he'd pick him every time..

"..."

0000

The real Enoshima groaned as she watched Naegi's heroic act. His heroism simply showed the boy still had hope in him even while he stared death in the face. It disgusted her.

As for his offer, Enoshima really wanted to just kill both of them, not really worried about the possibility of Monokumas being destroyed, but something was stopping her. To Enoshima, killing Naegi would be the biggest waste of all time. Out of everyone she's met, Naegi so happened to interest her the most. In fact, he was one of two people who she found interesting. Even though he was a soldier and a goody two shoes, Naegi still remained a mystery to her, which was funny seeing as how he was an open book.

What was so mysterious about him? Well, it was the fact that even though he's experienced hell and back during his time in Fenrir, he's still a happy go lucky soul who continued to cling onto hope. Originally, she thought he was faking it, but it turns out that he isn't, that even after seeing the worst of humanity he continues to believe in the goodness of everyone around him.

In addition, his actions were unpredictable to her. When her sister began defying Monokuma, an event she had scripted to kill the lucky student, she didn't expect Naegi to notice she was in danger, not to mention successfully save her at the same time. There was also the fact her sister had a gigantic crush on the boy which had formed over something as insignificant as a smile…

Remembering this gave her an idea. She was going to keep both Naegi and her sister alive for now in hopes they'll develop a relationship. Once they do so, Enoshima will expose her sister's identity to him, causing the boy to despair due to the fact he dated one of the two people involved with creating the killing game. This will in turn cause Ikusaba to despair as Naegi will likely see her as a monster. Granted, they may never date, and there was actually a high chance he might end up having a relationship with Maizono, but this uncertainty also excited her. Predictability was something she despised, which was why she was willing to keep them alive even though they deserved death…

"I'll keep you alive, for now. But you'll soon wish I didn't, for I promise that I'll crush that hope you continuously cling onto. And when I do, I'll savior the look on your face, in which it'll serve as a constant reminder that hope is no match against despair…"

0000

To everyone in the gymnasium, it felt as if took Monokuma hours to decide the fate of Enoshima and Naegi. In reality, it only took him a little over a minute.

"...Normally I'd have no problem with punishing naughty rule breakers, especially after giving them a warning," Monokuma said, referring to the time when he almost blew up Owada. "But I'm feeling extra generous today. After all, someone finally committed murder and it would be a shame if we were to lose four people already-"

"And yet you have no problem executing nearly all of us if we do not find the blackened," Celeste interrupted.

"That's different! You guys will actually be playing the killing game," Monokuma replied, weakly defending his decision. "Anyways, I'm going to let you both live-"

Enoshima and Naegi released a loud sigh in relief upon hearing this.

"-But I'm still not going to let your defiance go unpunished. From now on, you both will be given a severe disadvantage in the game. What it is, you bastards will have to find out for yourselves. It makes things more interesting. But let me make something clear, this'll be the last time I ever show mercy. Next time someone breaks the rules, I'll kill them without hesitation. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir!" Ishimaru shouted, acting as if he was speaking to a real teacher. Meanwhile, everyone else nodded their heads in understanding, though it was clear some of them were more interested in the disadvantage Naegi and Enoshima will be given. As for the model and soldier, they were just glad to be alive.

"Good. Now for the reason I've summoned you here." Reaching behind the podium, Monokuma pulled out fifteen tablets. "Since I'm such a nice guy, I've decided to help you in your investigation by giving you these. These bad boys are the Monokuma files, a tool you'll certainly find very valuable. They have important information about the victim, so if you have no idea on where to start, then I suggest powering up these bad boys. Now, I've wasted enough time here, so I'll leave you to investigate to your heart's desires. Use this time wisely…"

With that, Monokuma disappeared behind the podium. A few seconds later, the intercom turned on.

"A body has been discovered" Monokuma gleefully said from the monitor, unable to contain his excitement. "After a certain amount of time, which you can use however you like, there will be a class trial. And yes, I know I already told you all this but a body discovery announcement is supposed to play after three people find a corpse. I just so happened to forget this time around. Oopsies. Anyways, I'll see you soon.~"

"U-uh, has anyone ever done something like this before?" Fujisaki asked, not really knowing what to do. Unfortunately, all she got in response were head shakes. "I thought so…"

"Monokuma did give each of us a Monokuma file," Kirigiri informed her. "I suggest we take a look at it before we do anything else."

With everyone silently agreeing with Kirigiri, Naegi powered on the tablet, which upon doing so gave a brief summary on the crime scene.

"The victim is Yasuhiro Hagakure," the file read. "The time of death was about 1:15 am. The victim seems to have been killed by a knife through the chest, but there seems to be various other injuries on his wrists and his throat."

"Well that didn't tell us shit," Owada groaned, annoyed by the lack of information Monokuma gave them. Togami simply rolled his eyes at the gang leader.

"If course it didn't. If more information were to be released, then we would have no problem catching the blackened, something Monokuma obviously doesn't want to happen. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a game to win."

"Here he goes with that 'game' shit again," Owada growed. "God I want to punch him right now."

"Before you go, I would like to set something up," Kirigiri told Togami, not hearing Owada's comment. The prodigy looked at her curiously.

"What is it that you want?"

"We should have someone guard the crime scene," the amnesiac said, causing some of her peers to give her questioning looks.

"Why would we do that?" Asahina asked.

"It's because you want anyone to mess up the crime scene, correct?" Celeste questioned. Kirigiri gave her a nod in response.

"Yes. Without anyone watching the scene, what's stopping the blackened from destroying any traces of their involvement?"

Togami smirked at her. "I like the way you think. But I suggest we have two guards. Who knows if the person we pick as the guard is secretly the blackened."

"You're right. Now, the question is, who should be the ones to take such a responsibility?"

"I'll do it," Ogami replied, volunteering herself. "As the Ultimate Martial Artist, I believe I am greatly suited for such a task. Anyone who wants to desecrate the crime scene will have a bad time…"

"Eh, fuck it! I'll be the second guard," Owada said, slamming his fist into his palm. "I won't be much help in the investigating anyways."

"Well, we have our guards, should we commence the investigation?" Ishimaru asked, pleased with those chosen to protect Hagakure's dead body. Kirigiri nodded.

"Yes. Let us begin."

0000

With the preparations out of the way, Naegi immediately began heading towards the crime scene, ready to start his investigation. There was a reason he wanted to go to the crime scene first, it was because he wanted to perform a quick autopsy on the body. While Naegi was no detective, being a soldier made him familiar with the various ways someone could be killed and for how long someone was dead for. In addition, the Monokuma file never explicitly states the actual cause of death, only assuming it was the knife that dealt the killing blow.

"Naegi! Wait up!" Turning around, Naegi saw Maizono running after him. Coming to a complete stop, Naegi waited for the idol to catch up.

"Hey Maizono, is there something you need?"

"Yeah. I was wondering if we could work together to solve this mystery," The idol said, giving him a smile.

"Huh, why do you want to work with me?" Naegi asked, confused as to why she would choose him to work with. Sure they were friends, but there were certainly other people who had an idea on what they were doing. After the autopsy, Naegi really had no idea what to do next.

"Well, I'll be honest, I have no idea what I'm doing," Maizono admitted. "But I want to help out as much as I can and since you seem like you know what you're doing, I thought I could assist you."

"Thanks, but I'm pretty sure Togami and Kirigiri know about investigating than I do," Naegi bashfully told her, referring to how they carried themselves earlier. "I don't even fully know what to do. Why don't you work with them?"

"Well… Kirigiri's nice, but she's not very social. As for Togami, do I really need to explain why I don't want to be near him?"

"Not really," Naegi said, understanding where she was coming from. "Well, if this is what you want to do, then I won't stop you. In fact, I'll be glad to have you around."

"Thank you. I promise I won't let you down."

0000

As everyone else began leaving the gymnasium, Ikusaba stood in place, waiting for her sister to address her. After Naegi had saved her, Enoshima had contacted her via a small communication device the lucky student was wearing and told her to stay in place.

Right now, Ikusaba didn't know how to feel. She loved her sister and was willing to do anything for her, but she just tried to kill her for no apparent reason. Of course, when Enoshima told her to start a conflict with Monokuma, she didn't think twice about doing so.

"Looks like everyone's gone," Enoshima said through the communication device. "Good, now we can get down to business…"

"Why?"

"Why what?" Enoshima asked in a mocking tone.

"Why did you try to kill me?"

"Well my dear sister, it was for the sake of despair," Enoshima declared, shocking Ikusaba. She knew how much her sister loved that feeling, but did she really value it over her flesh and blood? "I knew that the death of my sister would bring me such agonizing despair, and I couldn't resist the temptation any longer! I'm pretty sure you understand."

"I don't," the lucky student declared. "After everything I've done for you, after I've taken care of you, protected you, helped you end the world, you tried to kill me, all for some sick fetish! I thought you loved me…"

"Silly goose, I never loved you. I never loved anyone," Enoshima said. That was the final straw for Ikusaba.

"What's stopping me from revealing you as the mastermind?"

"What's stopping you? Well, two things actually. First off, doing so will reveal your part in creating this killing game and what will everyone think? What will Naegi think?"

Hearing that caused Ikusaba to flinch. It was true that Naegi would see her as a monster, a monster who sacrificed all her classmates for sister's entertainment.

"Well, it doesn't matter what Naegi would think, for if you tell anyone, I'll kill him. Just imagine, his last thoughts being how shitty of a person you are before he dies from your stupidity. We don't want that, don't we?"

"...No," Ikusaba answered, knowing full well that Enoshima had her trapped.

"Good. Now just continue pretending to be me and your precious soldier won't die by my hands. And remember, I always watching you…"

0000

Entering Hagakure's room, Naegi and Maizono noticed that Ogami and Owada had already begun to do their job, watching over the corpse like a hawk. Meanwhile, Kirigiri was squatting on the floor, seemingly investigating something. What she was doing, neither Naegi nor Maizono knew.

"Uh, Kirigiri,what are you doing?" Naegi asked her. Continuing her search, the girl didn't bother to face him while answering his question.

"Searching."

"Searching for what?"

"I'll tell you when I'm finished," Kirigiri replied in a passive aggressive tone, telling him she didn't want to be bothered.

"Ok. Do you mind if I perform an autopsy on the body real quick?"

"Wait, you know how to do an autopsy?" Maizono asked. This caused Kirigiri to look at him in interest. She knew Naegi wasn't as normal as he claims he is, but she didn't know he had enough knowledge to actually be able to perform an autopsy effectively.

"Heh, yeah. It's a skill I've managed to pick up during my lifetime."

"Performing an autopsy isn't something anyone could pick up," Kirigiri declared as she stood up, looking at the boy directly in the eyes. "Who are you Makoto Naegi?"

Time seemed to slow down for the boy. Kirigiri was so close to finding out the truth and he didn't know what to say. Thankfully, the girl decided to drop the case, for now.

"Tch, it doesn't matter now. I have more important stuff to focus on, but mark my words: once this trial is over, I will learn who you are." Finished speaking to Naegi, Kirigiri began squatting again. "You may perform the autopsy."

"...Thanks," Naegi said as he began feeling the body while Ogami and Owada watched him do so. After five minutes of carefully investigating the body while trying his best to keep the crime scene in tact, Naegi eventually got all the information he needed.

"So, did you find anything?" Maizono asked him.

"Actually I did," Naegi replied. "Based on his body structure, Hagakure was actually quite weak, meaning the killer didn't need to be physically strong to overpower him. His cause of death was straguation. Notice the bruises on his neck? The way the knife is placed in his body also suggests the person who placed it there was rather squirmish about doing so. It doesn't even go that deep into his stomach region. Lastly, there was certainly a struggle here. Hagakure has a small bruise on the back of his head and some non-lethal slash marks on his wrists."

Cause of Death added to Truth Bullets.

Hagakure's Physique added to Truth Bullets.

Signs of Struggle added to Truth Bullets.

"You managed to get all that just by touching a dead body?" Maizono asked him, surprised. "That's amazing!"

"Heh, thanks," Naegi said, rubbing the back of his head bashfully.

"Indeed it is," Kirigiri said as she continued her investigation.

"So, did you find anything while I did the autopsy?"

"Actually, I did, but I don't really think it's that useful," Maizono answered before pointing to the furniture in Hagakure's room. Taking a good look at the desk and all his fortune telling supplies, Naegi noticed they had all been knocked down. "All the furniture knocked down, doesn't it help prove that a struggle did happen here?"

"Yeah, it does," Naegi said before giving her a smile.

Signs of Struggle Updated.

The two continued searching around the room for a bit, but couldn't really find anything new.

"Well, should we go now?" Maizono asked. Though Naegi didn't want to leave yet, he knew there were other places they had to explore.

"Yeah, I guess." Looking at Kirigiri, Naegi began to ask her a question. "If you find anything else here, could you tell us?"

"Sure."

0000

"So, where do you want to go next?" Maizono asked him once they left Hagakure's room. "I was thinking about searching the kitchen since it's obvious the knife came from there."

"Actually, that's a good idea," Naegi said with a smile.

Upon entering the kitchen, Naegi and Maizono saw Asahina was there already, looking quite worried.

"I'm going to check the back of the kitchen, ok?" Maizono told Naegi before she went to the back of the kitchen, leaving him with Asahina.

"Hey Asahina, are you alright?" Naegi asked her. Trying her best to stay strong, Asahina gave him a weak smile

"Yeah, I am," Asahina replied. "I just have no idea what to do. I'm not exactly the smartest person around."

"That's fine," Naegi told her. "Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. Um, I know this is a random question, but did you see anything suspicious before Hagakure died?"

"Actually, I did!" Asahina said. "The day after the videos were shown, I was here drinking tea with Ogami when I saw someone enter the kitchen. When I spoke to them, they ended acting rather odd, as if they didn't want to be caught. When they left, I went to get more tea and noticed that a knife was missing."

"Really? That is strange. And who might this person be?"

"Maizono."

Upon hearing this, Naegi could have sworn his heart skipped a beat. "Are you sure it was her?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," Asahina responded. "If you don't believe me, then you can ask Ogami."

"No, I believe you," Naegi said, though he had some doubts. Maizono wouldn't kill someone, would she?

Asahina's Testimony added to Truth Bullets

"Hey Naegi, you might want to come back here!" Maizono shouted from the back of the kitchen. Hearing this, the boy made his way to the back of the kitchen.

"What's wrong?"

"Look, two knives are missing," Maizono told him. Looking at where the knives were located, Naegi noticed that she was right, two knives were in fact missing.

'This means the killer could be the other person who took a knife,' Naegi thought to himself. Asahina did say Maizono only took one knife.

Missing Knives added to Truth Bullets

Eventually finding nothing of interest in the kitchen, the pair left the area and began searching elsewhere, Naegi hoping to find more proof that Maizono wasn't Hagakure's killer.

0000

Taking their investigation out of the dorms, Maizono and Naegi began searching each and every room for any clues which could be used to point out who the killer might have been. Unfortunately, it seemed the murderer didn't use anything outside the dorm rooms, for the pair couldn't find anything noteworthy. The only thing they did find was the now empty box in the rec room, but that was there even before the murder happened.

Video Tapes added to Truth Bullets.

0000

As Maizono and Naegi began walking back to the dormitory, they ended up bumping into Togami who had a frustrated look on his face. Seeing as the affluent prodigy could be upset about something dealing with the case, Naegi went to see what was wrong.

"Hey Togami, everything alright?" Naegi asked. Looking at the boy, Togami scoffed.

"You have eyes, don't you? Does it look like I'm alright? I've been trying to find that imbecile Yamada for awhile now. He's taking up too much of my time."

"Why do you need to see Yamada?" Maizono asked, confused on what Togami could possibly want with Yamada.

"If you must know, he is currently in possession of the key to the incinerator," Togami informed them. "I saw some objects in there which caught my attention, so I need him to open the gate so I may investigate them."

"Oh, ok. But why does Yamada have the key to the incinerator?" Naegi wondered.

"Actually, I can answer that," Maizono replied. "You see, Monokuma assigns someone trash duty each week, giving them the keys to the incinerator so they could do so. From what I heard, Yamada took the first shift."

"Ah, I see. Well, I personally think that we should go find Yamada," Naegi stated. "The objects Togami found might be related to the case in some way."

"I'll be coming with you, naturally," Togami informed them. Naegi simply nodded at the boy while Maizono tried her best to hold in a groan of annoyance.

Trash Duty added to Truth Bullets.

0000

Vigorously searching around the school for the FanFiction creator, the three eventually found him in the laundry room.

"Hey Yamada, I heard you have the key to the incinerator," Naegi said to him. "Could you open it up for us? We want to check something out real quick."

"Ah, so it seems my time to shine has come," Yamada declared in a dramatic fashion. "Very well then, I shall open the door for you."

"Good, now make it quick," Togami ordered. "I've wasted enough time looking for you as it is. Now make yourself useful."

"EEEEEH! Of course Togami!"

0000

Arriving at the incinerator, Yamada opened the gate, allowing the three investigators to search around the area. Noticing a peculiar item lying on the floor, Togami stepped forwards and picked it up. "Hmm, how interesting."

"What did you find?" Naegi asked.

"One of Hagakure's crystal balls. The bum seemed to have a fascination with these things, even believing them to be made out of real crystals. However, one can easily see this particular one was made out of glass."

Taking the ball, Naegi observed it and noticed Togami was right. In fact, if it's appearance and texture didn't confirm his claim, the fact it was shattered was enough to show it was made out of glass. "Huh, you're right. Now the question is, what is this doing here?"

"Gah! The incinerator's on!" Yamada yelled, just realizing that it was actually turned on. "How can this be? I turned this off when I was in here last time!"

"Are you sure that you did?" Togami asked. ''For all we know, you could be lying to us."

"I swear it was off. In fact, this wasn't here either!" Yamada answered, pointing to a piece of cloth lying on the floor. Examining it, Naegi was able to figure out that it was a part of a sleeve of a shirt. It didn't take a genius to figure this out.

Piece of Cloth added to Truth Bullets.

Yamada's Account added to Truth Bullets.

Broken Crystal Ball added to Truth Bullets.

"Hey Yamada, was this here before?" Maizono asked him, showing him the shattered crystal ball. Yamada shook his head.

"No. That wasn't there either. How strange."

"How strange indeed," Togami mused to himself. A few seconds later, another person entered the boiler room, the person being Kirigiri.

"I've finally found you," Kirigiri said, addressing Naegi. "You said you wanted to know what I was doing earlier, correct?"

"Yeah. Did you find anything?"

Kirigiri nodded. "I did. When I first entered Hagakure's room, I noticed that despite the clear signs of a struggle, his floor was rather clean. I ended up finding out why this was, for the killer used a roller to clean up the room to cover any traces of them being in there."

Roller added to Truth Bullets

"Really? That's crazy!" Maizono exclaimed. Kirigiri was about to say something else, but the school's intercom turned on, interrupting the girl from saying anything else.

"Hey there everyone!" Monokuma gleefully shouted from the monitor. "I hope you utilized your time wisely and searched for clues on who Hagakure's killer is because it's time for the class trial! Please make your way to the set of red doors near the gymnasium. I can hardly contain my excitement!"

"So, it's time," Maizono nervously said once the announcement finished playing.

"I guess it is," Naegi replied.

"Do you think we'll find the killer?"

"I do, no, I know we will," Naegi told her. "I have full confidence in the abilities of all of you."

"Alright, I believe you."

0000

Arriving at the red doors and opening them, Naegi realized that he was the last to arrive again. This was a common trend Naegi really wanted to end. Looking around, he saw all his classmates looking at one another with suspicion, not knowing who the blackened was among them. Eventually, Monokuma appeared.

"Well, it's time boys and girls," Monokuma told them. "Are you ready? Are you excited? Are you wet? Because I'm all three!"

"What a pervert…" Fukawa muttered under her breath.

"Anyways, please enter the elevator door which'll take you to the courtroom. I'll meet you down there. See you soon!" With that, Monokuma disappeared. After some hesitation, everyone began boarding the elevator.

'So, this is it,' Naegi thought to himself. 'The first trial. I'll make sure to catch Hagakure's killer not just for my survival but for the survival of everyone else. It'll be a battle of truth verses lies, one verses all, a battle to decide who'll live. In short, it's a battle between hope and despair…'

0000

Author's Note 2: any of you who're also following my Persona story will be glad to know that it'll finally be updated either this week or next week :-). Also, after I finish writing this story, I've been thinking of making a prequel to this depicting this version of Naegi's school life before the killing game began. Would you guys be interested in that?