Students Left

6

Komaeda was suddenly lying in a hospital bed. It was his old hospital bed. He let out a long, tired groan as he could feel his lungs collapsing. The burning sensation that spread through his body every time he tried to move. It was a painful sign that he was coming to the end of his days.

There was movement against his side as a little girl snuggled up to him. Her massive amount of platinum pink hair was pulled into a messy bun on top of her head. She quietly shifted as Komaeda let out another long, ragged breath. Her green eyes darted over him with worry before she snuggled up closer as she tried to focus more on her specially crafted tablet.

Kouki always did have Hajime's eyes. She would have his hair too but she always wanted to color and curl it to look just like Komaeda. Komaeda was never sure why she'd want to look like him. Sometimes it made him sad that she looked up to him so much.

She suddenly shuddered, looking cold in the bright hospital room. From what Komaeda had gathered she had walked here alone in the rain, finding her own way to the hospital. That's what she told Komaeda, anyways. That she had snuck out of the school while Hajime was busy getting everything prepared at the school. Hajime would be calling the hospital soon but until then he could enjoy his daughter's company. She was smart enough to bring a spare pair of clothes in her backpack so she could have something dry to wear. But she wasn't able to do anything about her damp hair. She had to be freezing at this point, especially inside the air conditioned hospital.

He paused, glancing at the chair rested at the side of his bed. The nurse had been nice enough to hang his clothes over the side. His pants and shirt were neatly folded on the seat of the chair while his jacked was tossed over the back. There was a moment when he just stared over the dark green fabric of the jacket, slowly gathering the energy to speak.

"Kouki, are you cold?"

"N-No I'm okay." She stuttered out, her voice shivering as she tried not to look up from her game. Komaeda barely noticed as she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. She was definitely trying to hide it from her dad.

"You know it's not good to lie." Komaeda teased, trying to hold back the painful gasp that escaped him as he sat forward. Great, now he could feel her frightened eyes watching him. He was trying to comfort her, not make her even more scared of what was coming. "Besides I got you a present."

"Daddy… sit back down. You're not supposed to get out of bed." Kouki spoke softly. It was rare to hear her talk that much anymore, she only ever spoke words when they were alone . "The doctor says you need to rest."

Komaeda plucked the jacket off the chair, slowly walking back towards Kouki with a smile. The pain shot up through his body. It hurt so much, but he had to make her feel better. "Here, I want you to have this! It's my special jacket. Now it's all yours. It'll keep you warm."

"Don't people give valuable stuff away before they die?" Kouki asked, suddenly acting like the jacket was some kind of omen. That if she even touched it Komaeda would spontaneously combust.

"What? Who told you that?" Komaeda sighed, sitting back on the bed before putting the jacket over her shoulders. "I'm giving this to you because I love you. I know this is all really hard on you. I wish this could be easier, that my cancer could just go away, but it doesn't work like that. I wish I could spend more time with you that wasn't you sneaking away from your dad and seeing me in the hospital. I just want you to have this jacket so I can keep you safe. Something to remind you that I'll always be watching over you."

Kouki paused, looking over the jacket before she slid her tiny arms into the sleeves. She paused, looking conflicted before she burst out in bubbly giggles. "I love it Daddy! It smells funny, just like you!"

Komaeda couldn't help the small chuckle that sputtered painfully from his chest as he laid back in bed. Everything about her was just so… beautiful. "Do I really smell funny?"

"You always smell funny! Like you're always sweaty!" Kouki giggled, laying her damp head against Komaeda's shoulder.

Komaeda let out a long, happy sigh as he enjoyed her company. It might be some of the last days he ever got to spend with her. As much as he wanted to pretend it was all going to be okay he knew that he probably wasn't going to get another streak of luck. The luckiest he'd ever gotten was having Kouki and Hajime as permanent members of his life. The most unlucky thing for him right now would be death during the only time he's ever wanted to live.

"Komaeda… is it okay if I come talk to you for a moment?" Mikan suddenly poked her head inside of the room, her dark black hair surrounding her face.

"Come on in Mikan." Komaeda watched as Kouki snuggled quietly into the jacket, moving her face back to her tablet.

"Well I gave Kobayashi a call since it seemed like the treatment wasn't working." Mikan started slowly, a worried look crossing her face.

Kouki suddenly looked startled, glancing at Komaeda with a scared look before he gently rubbed her back. Mikan must have realized what she said was bad because she was instantly apologizing.

"I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have said something like that with Kouki around!" Mikan covered her face in shame, only causing Kouki to freak out more at her reaction.

"Mikan it's fine. You're just scaring her more." Komaeda tried to reassure her, if he could convince her it was fine maybe she would get to the point. The last thing he wanted to do was cause Kouki more issues. "What did Kobayashi say."

"Well the thing is Kobayashi is here to see you." Mikan paused, glancing out the door before looking back at Komaeda. "I wanted to make sure if it was okay that he came in to see you."

"Yes, bring him in Mikan." Komaeda sighed, settling into the bed more. "Why didn't you start with that."

"I'm sorry!" Mikan whimpered before stepping out of the way. A lanky kid walked into the room. He was looking a lot better than before, his hair brushed and styled into a questionable look. He even had on new clothes than the old rags he'd carried over from the old facility.

"It's good to see you, Komaeda Sensei. I-I heard the medicine wasn't working?" Kobayashi spoke softly, moving over to the end table to look over the pill bottles on the side of the counter.

Kouki shrank away from the stranger, looking uncomfortable being around someone she didn't know. She hugged her dad's chest, looking angry at the man as he glanced over the medications.

"I still feel horrible. My chest is like it's collapsing and my whole body is shutting down." Komaeda sighed, he didn't even notice that he had hugged Kouki closer to him as he spoke. "I just don't think the treatment is working."

"Oh no, the medication worked! You're cancer free!" Koba chuckled, setting the pill bottles back down on the counter before he gently rubbed his jaw. Then he reached into his bag, handing a small pill bottle over to Komaeda. "It just looks like you picked up the wrong dose! Your body is just weak right now because the initial treatment kills a lot of the cells in your body! The second one energizes you and helps replenish all the energy spent on fighting the cancer. Once you get on the right dose of Aftercare you'll be as good as new! I have some pills you can start taking now and I'll work on making you more as soon as possible!"

Komaeda remembered how his heart pounded in his chest. Was this student telling him… he was going to live? He felt his mouth go dry, his pale eyes focusing on Koba. "So you're saying I'm fine?"

"Yup! You might have to take a smaller dosage for the rest of your life since the cancer had already done a number to your immune system but it'll be a very low dose in a few days!" Koba smiled, pausing as he went and dug through one of his bags. "Plus, that reminds me. I got you a present Kouki! I saw it in one of the gift stores and I thought you'd like it."

The little girl just looked at him, suddenly silent as the boy dug through his messenger bag. She looked cautious of him, obviously not trusting of the doctors who came and visited her father. He knew she was angry at everyone she associated with this hospital. Even Mikan had gotten the backlash of just helping to take care of him when he was here. Though none of them could be mad, she was just a child afraid of her own father's possible death.

Kobayashi pulled a stuffed rabbit from his bag, smiling before he handed it over to Kouki. "I saw that these were getting popular and I thought you would like one. Apparently she was designed by the Ultimate Therapist! I figured you could, uh, put your vocal assistant inside of her so it wasn't in such a weird, clunky necklace."

Kouki paused, a hand gently touching the large piece of metal around her neck before she puffed out her cheeks. She was obviously insulted he even brought it up.

The necklace… Ever since the accident… she had developed selective mutism. She even had a hard time talking to his classmates, people she had grown up seeing as aunts and uncles. The doctors said it was caused by chronic anxiety that made her unable to speak. The doctors also told them that she would eventually grow out of it but as Komaeda got sicker… her condition seemed to get worse.

Soon Alter Ego and Souda helped create that necklace she wore around her neck. Using her little tablet she could make words and sentences come out of the necklace. It helped her get through everyday life even if her parents weren't around. Komaeda also knew that Kouki hated how the necklace looked. She hated that every person she met asked her what it was right away.

Kouki gently took the pink and white stuffed bunny, hugging it gently before looking up at Kobayashi. Her necklace flashed in the light as it formed the words for her.

" Y?"

"Yeah, you're daddy's going to live for a long time, okay."

Kouki hugged the bunny tighter, even from where Komaeda was sitting her could see the tears that started to form in his daughter's eyes. She suddenly let out one loud, broken sniffle before she started to sob so hard she looked as if she might vomit. The dam behind her eyes breaking and pouring out her entire heart.

" H!"

Koba seemed startled that she was crying, the kid pulling away from the little girl before looking at Komaeda nervously. Even looking back on this memory Komaeda didn't even know he had started crying too.

"It's the least I could do for all ya help, Captain!" Koba chuckled, genuinely putting his hands over his chest. "School starts tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited! I don't know where I'd be if Mikan and you hadn't gotten me out of the Despair Reformatory! Plus since I've been learning so much about the world since ya freed me! I have hobbies now!"

Komaeda could feel the memory start to grow fuzzy. The edges slowly closing in. But he didn't care, he latched onto the warm colors that slowly filled that disgusting hospital room. The smile on his daughter's face as she knew he was going to be okay, and the last remains of a living Kobayashi.

"Oh yeah? Any favorites you wanna tell me about?"

"Well duh! Did you know that America used to have this show called Saved by the Bell? It was super funny. Plus I really wanted to get into skateboardin'! All of those people seem really cool!"

The darkness of the warehouse was slowly taking over. Soon he could see more of the charred remains of the room than the bright, colorful face of Fumio Kobayashi. It slowly took over until all Komaeda could see were the child's remains laid out in front of him. Fumio Kobayashi didn't deserve to die like this

Fumio Kobayashi was a good kid. He wasn't a monster like Komaeda… he didn't deserve any of this.

There's been a body Discovered! Everyone gather on the third floor to start the investigation!

D...Did Himura hear that right? Did Monokuma just say that there was a body discovered? Himura stood up, walking towards the door of his room with a fuzzy head. Was this really happening again?

His heart sank as he worked his lead filled feet to the door. Heavy steps as he felt his heart rise to his throat. Right now he felt naive for believing that the killings could be over. The idea that they could be free of death was something that was so far out of their reach. Sighing, Himura pulled open his door, just in time to see Kaito walking towards the stairs…

...and for some reason he wasn't wearing a shirt?

"Kaito, you didn't spill grape juice on yourself again, did you?" Himura joked, though the nauseating sensation that boiled in his chest made the words ragged and broken. At least Kaito wasn't dead. That was something to be hopeful about, right?

"What?" His voice was less airy than usual, almost as if Himura had caught him off guard. The actor turned, looking at him with a confused glance before rubbing his shoulder, mumbling to himself before he actually spoke to Himura first. His smile returned, hair bouncing happily around his head as he started to speak in his normal flamboyant tone. "Oh no dear, I accidently ripped my shirt! But there's not time to dwell on that! There's a murder to be solved!"

Himura paused, nodding before he followed Kaito up the stairs. The two of them didn't have to even explore the third floor before they saw everyone gathered around the beach room. Himura noticed most of the students and teachers had already gathered around the location. He quickly took not of everyone who was there, desperately trying to figure out which one of his friends had died.

Sato was out of breath, standing near all the teachers, except Komaeda, as she clenched at her chest, sweat rolling down her face in waves.

Bellerose was covering her mouth, staring into the room in silence.

Iris was near the door, covering her eyes as her entire body was trembling.

And finally… Luna was just walking out of the room as she looked over at Himura.

The only person who was missing was… no. Himura felt his chest seize up, clamping up at the very idea. For the first time, he was almost too afraid to look at the murder. Too afraid to look inside the door and witness the death of one of his closest friends.

Why did Koba have to die?

Sure, the last day was rough, it stirred up conflicting feelings about the wannabe skater. He had acted so unnaturally different. He spoke words that he never expected to hear from the soft boy's mouth. Things that rolled off his tongue opposed the person they had grown to love. Koba had always been caring and considerate, he'd made Himura and so many of the other students believe it was all going to be okay. Fumio Kobayashi had been a sign that they could live through their trauma, that things would get better. But now Himura wasn't sure what to believe. At this very moment he saw his mother's eyes peering through his soul. He felt the despair that constricted his lungs, slowly crushing the air out of him. It was like the air was slowly being stolen from him before being repleted with the inky, dark water of despair.

It changed something, a ticking in his head suddenly stopped. He thought back to the beginning. He suddenly wished he'd had more time with the guy. That his days with him weren't over. He couldn't even walk to the room to actually see the guy's body before his knees started to tremble. He didn't want this to be real, he didn't want to live in this truth.

Fumio Kobayashi was the nicest person he'd ever met. He helped him through this demented killing game and made Himura feel as if there might be a happy ending to this tragedy. Now the tiny voice in the back of his head suddenly was speaking louder. There's no point. There's no point anymore. Everyone's going to die. Everyone will die and there's nothing you can do. Give up…

Giving up sounded… nice. If he didn't help with this trial they'd all die. Maybe that could be their happy ending? An ending where they no longer had to play this sick game anymore. Koba forced him to shove this reality away when Sugai and Kusonoki died but now, now Himura understood that it was the only way out of this mess. The only way he could ever really win this game.

"Hiiiiiimura~" Kaito broke the barista out of his dead gaze, staring into the nothingness in front of him. The actor's bright blue eyes stared down on him. "We don't have a lot of time to stand around hun. Now is the time to dilly dally baby!"

Himura felt a slow pump return to his heart. The spark was small, a tiny flame in a downfall of rain, but it was enough to keep Himura going. Ryuunosuke Kaito, the angelic actor who played a big role in his heart. Right now, it was a minor reason for him to keep his legs moving but for the moment, it was enough.

"Right, let's hurry up and get this done." Himura sighed, walking towards the bloody scene that was inevitably hidden behind that door. "It's like ripping off a bandaid, right? Better to just rip it off than let it fester."

The two of them walked into the scene and Himura… Himura almost gagged. It wasn't the smell of the blood. It wasn't the gore or the spear that made him sick. It was the cold, dead look on Koba's face. He'd been someone else before this happened but now, staring down at the permanently solemn look on his face, Himura felt as if he was looking at the old Kobayashi again.

That's when his eyes locked onto something in the back of the room. A gentle red against the grey cement of the ground. They were- No, they couldn't be. Why would those be here, the gentle curves of the organic material made his static heart race. He barely noticed Kaito leave his side, the actor moving to investigate another corner of the room.

Without really thinking, Himura walked over and picked them off the ground. Right now now one seemed to notice what he was doing. They were too busy investigating the body. Too busy with their dead friend to notice as Himura shoved evidence into his pocket.

His mind started to race. A breeze suddenly bellowed through him as the storm grew in strength. That small flame was dead. This trial… was pointless. His will to live had vanished for good this time. He didn't care what happened… he didn't care… anymore...about...anything…

So why try?

He'd rather give up…

It was time to give everyone the best ending possible to all of this… If they all died…. Then they'd all be free of this torture. At this moment, Himura decided that this was the only option. The only way he could repay all of his friends.

Hotta, Kentaro, Yunokawa, Kusonoki, Sugai, Eguchi, Niijima, Sweeney… and Koba… We'll all be together again soon…

As the fire disappeared, she saw it. The corpse of her friend…

She never thought he'd die like this. He was the only person she had left that she could trust. This game kept taking people away from her. Both Yunokawa and Sweeney had been dragged away from her.

And now, she had failed Kobayashi too. She had been selfish, pushing him away when he needed her the most. She knew that he was in trouble, that she could have helped him, yet she turned him away. She knew that Despair can be resolved… it was her fault he was dead!

She… she suddenly felt useless. No matter what she tried to do her friends all seemed to be dying. Was it even worth trying anymore?

"Yo, you're totally my Homie!"

N-No! It was even more selfish to give up! If this was her fault she owed it to him to figure out how he died. He'd done this for her when she was lost. She had to do the same for him!

Iris still couldn't believe what she was seeing. Inside this dark room was a scene she never wanted to witness. She had so much left to say. She had wanted to help him, to help walk him back out of the depths of darkness and back into the light. Now… Now that was impossible.

Iris glanced over, watching as Himura wandered into the scene. She could see the same emptiness in his eyes that Koba had carried this morning. As she glanced around she could see it starting to form inside everyone. All of their eyes felt… dead. She looked back, just in time to witness Himura scoop something off of the ground. The darkness grew… she could almost feel it from where she was standing. She then watched as he turned towards the door.

Wh-Where was he going? He had to help investigate, right? He wasn't just going to leave! Himura didn't even lay eyes on her as he walked through the frame of the door. What was she going to do? She had to stop him, she couldn't just let him walk away from this. Without thinking she grabbed onto his arm, stopping him for a moment.

"Himura, what are you doing?" Iris asked, her eyes scanning him for any kind of answer. "We have to investigate, you can't just leave."

"Don't worry Iris…" Himura's head slowly turned, his eyes narrowing down on her like an icy drill. "We'll get out happy ending this time."

Her arm recoiled, almost by instinct, Not because she wanted him to leave, it was because she was afraid. His voice scared him, his words contaminated with the same virus that had infected Fumio. It was spreading like some kind of disease. An epidemic that would kill all of her friends if she didn't do something about it.

This is what she wanted, right? Ever since she abandoned them after Yunokawa's betrayal she wanted a chance to help out more. It wasn't fair, in her eyes, that her friends had to carry all of the emotional labor of pinpointing the killer within the ranks of their friends. If Himura wasn't going to do this and Koba wasn't here to help him, then that only left her.

It was all up to Iris now! She had to figure out Who killed Fumio Kobayashi!

Now, how did all of these trials work? She tapped her jaw, taking a moment to remember the steps she'd seen everyone take to fully cover the needed grounds during an investigation. She should probably start with the body. Yet there was something she felt like she was missing… something that always happened before they could investigating.

"Goooooood Evening Kiddos!" Monokuma popped out of the ground, a big grin on his face before he paused, looking over the scene before suddenly sweating. "W-Wait? When did this happen?"

"That's what I forgot!" Iris slammed her fist into the palm of her hand before turning towards Monokuma. "I need the Monokuma File! Hand it over!"

"The Monokuma file? Right! Of course I have one a those!" Monokuma paused, digging through his pockets(?) for a moment before pulling out one singular tablet. He tapped the screen, almost as if he was checking it over before handing it over to Iris. "Here ya go!"

"Why… is there only one?" Iris asked, taking the black slab of tech in between her hands before looking back at the bear.

"Because they're super expensive and hard to make! Frankly I didn't feel like spending the time coding these damn things when only three of you actually read them!" Monokuma huffed, his hands on his hips as he spoke. "Maybe now you'll all learn to appreciate the hard work I do!"

Iris paused, rolling her eyes before she went to look over the Monokuma file. She loaded it up, just as she had done with the past Monokuma files. Yet this one flashed, the screen glitching out right before her eyes before it just showed the murder scene. It showed that the victim died from a pink spot in the chest on the figure on the side but there was only two words written in the description.

Fuck You

"W-Wait a minute! Is this some kind of joke?" Iris turned back to Monokuma, waving the tablet in the air as she pointed her finger at the bear.

Monokuma paused, looking a bit startled at the lacking information provided before shaking his head. "Well it's just what you get for not appreciating me!" Monokuma huffed, crossing his arms across his chest before he waddled away.

Now Iris was angry. What kind of nonsense was this? Of course this case was going to be hard but the fact Monokuma wasn't even giving her a time or cause of death was really irritating.

But she didn't have the time to focus on it right now. She had to investigate the body. Maybe that would tell her some important information on her friend's death. She walked forward, swallowing down the sorrow that forced its way up from seeing Kobayashi like this. She needed to figure out who killed him, she needed to make sure everyone lived through this trial. It's what Fumio would have wanted.

She glanced over at Komaeda, the teacher was still knelt next to the student's body in silence. Iris was a little freaked out by the white haired teacher. Koba had always talked so highly of him but she never really understood why. Unfortunately it looked like he wasn't going to be any help in this investigation either. She sighed, looking up at the spear that penetrated Koba's chest. Blood oozed free, staining his t-shirt and puddling onto the floor underneath him. Iris also noticed bloody fingerprints on the end of the spear. Her eyes were glued to the spear. It was an object she'd never seen in the school. Plus, if someone was going to stab him, why use such a long weapon.

Iris glanced around, seeing that three out of four of Koba's limbs were restrained, the duct tape over his mouth and the several cuts that freckled his right leg, Iris had no idea why this murder would have to be so brutal. It made the whole thing look like the aftermath of someone torturing him for answers. But why would someone need information from him? There were so many questions she had with answers nowhere in sight.

"Looks like we have a copycat on our hands..."

"Huh?" Iris was caught off guard by the voice. It was almost like a ghost, it's life fading away in the wind. It was weak and strained, so easy to miss over the sound of her own heartbeat. When she looked at Komaeda the teacher hadn't moved, still slumped over as his long, white wisps of hair draped over his pale face.

"Whoever did this wants to make a point. It's not exactly like mine but their message is coming across clear. What they want is obvious." Komaeda wheezed, Iris thought he was going to cough but instead he broke into a fatigued laugh.

Iris swallowed. Right now she really didn't understand why Koba had trusted this man. Even his laugh was scaring her. But he seemed to know something and right now he was the only person who seemed willing to help her. "Wh-What are you talking about?"

"Back in my classes mutual killing game, I found out the truth about my classmates and I. That we were all monsters. So I devised a plan to kill my entire class. To prevent them from ever seeing the real world again." Komaeda laughed more, his eyes growing wild as he put one of his hands against his chest, almost as if he was trying to brace himself. "Whoever did this only killed Kobayashi to try and kill all of you at once!"

Wh-What do you mean?" Iris questioned, scared as she covered her mouth.

"There was no motive this time around, right? No reason to kill… " Komaeda chuckled, rubbing his face as he spoke.

"But why would someone want all of us to die?" Iris swallowed.

"I have no idea! Maybe they found out some secret about their class? Maybe they decided you shouldn't take a step out of those school doors… or maybe they wanna see what would happen if a class actually lost a trial!" Komaeda laughed, Iris responded by scooting further away from him.

"Well I don't have time to go over theories… I should really get back to investigating." Iris paused, leaning forward to look over the body.

Iris went quiet, trying to ignore the ragged breath of the teacher sitting next to her. She had seen something that had been bothering her for awhile. Something was clenched tight in Koba's hand. She reached out, gently tugging it from his deadlocked fingers to gently look over the silky piece of white cloth that now dangled between her fingers. The edges were ragged, obviously torn from a larger piece of cloth. The material felt nice too, like it might have been from something expensive. Why was Koba holding a ripped piece of cloth?

"Looks like it's a piece to something more expensive." Komaeda responded, looking over the cloth with pale green eyes.

"That's what I was thinking." Iris went to put the cloth back, going to stuff the cloth back inside of his clenched hand. She didn't want to change the scene too much for anyone else who might try to look over the body. That was when she accidently touched his cold hand, sending a hard shiver through her whole body. Koba's body was freezing cold!

"He's so cold! A-Are dead bodies always this cold…?" Iris asked, turning to look at Komaeda with a confused stare.

Komaeda paused, moving one of his hands to cup against one of Koba's arms. He didn't pull his hand away as quickly as Iris had, slowly dropping his hands back to his sides before slowly shaking his head. "No, his body shouldn't be that cold."

Iris nodded. That was something else she would have to remember. She had no idea what could make a body so cold though! Sighing, she moved to the next part of the investigation. Quietly she observed his right arm. The rope tied around this one had obviously been cut. The fire from before couldn't have done it since there wasn't a single part of it that was singed.

"This might be important," Iris started, calling Komaeda's attention over to the cut rope, "This one isn't tied like the others! It was obviously cu-"

"Sorry but it's probably not that important." Komaeda responded, waving it off as he was looking at one of the restrained limbs. "I did the same thing during my murder. I believe it was part of the replication of that scene. Do you wanna see something a lot more important?"

Iris paused, looking over at Komaeda as he lifted one of Koba's tied limbs off the ground, he pulled it all the way up, a lot farther than the rope should have allowed. Yet the rope just stayed tied to his ankle, the tightness of the rope staying the same no matter where he put the ankle it was attached to. Iris also noticed his legs didn't seem to really bend at the knees at all.

"Ropes don't do that…" Iris finally stated when Komaeda dropped the dead student's leg back onto the ground. "Also… were you able to bend his knees?"

"Good observation." Komaeda chuckled, rubbing his hands together as he went to examine more of the body. "No matter how much I tried I couldn't get his knees to bend. It was also hard to just get his legs to move as well."

"How… How long does it usually take for rigor mortis to set in?" Iris asked, her eyes scanning over his body carefully, attentive not to miss a single detail.

"2-6 hours, though it usually starts at the head and neck before working it's way down." Komaeda answered after a moment of thinking it over.

Iris was disturbed yet glad the teacher seemed to know the answer to that question. But it didn't make any sense. Iris knew she'd seen Koba alive less than 2 hours ago so there was no way he could have died that long ago! Was there another way body parts could become this stiff in such a short amount of time? So why was Koba's joints so stiff?

"There's something else that's strange about his body." Komaeda stated as Iris stood to her feet. "I believe there's something important missing."

"Y-Yeah! His windbreaker and his hat are gone!" Iris gasped, covering her mouth as she made a note of the obvious problem in this scene. "Plus I've never seen that shirt before in my life… I kinda wish it wasn't stained with blood, it's actually really cute."

"But what does that mean, Iris?" Komaeda asked, though she felt as if he was actually just quizzing her.

Iris paused. "I-I don't know… I know that he only had one jacket and one hat but... "

Komaeda paused, Leaning over and tore a chunk of the shirt off Koba's body. He held it up, looking at it closely before he started to walk towards the door. "Follow me, Iris."

Iris paused, glancing over the body one more time. They were the last two left in the room. She was a little nervous about leaving Koba's body alone but… It wasn't going to go anywhere, right? It's not like the body was going to get up and walk away?

Wait, why did she think that! That wasn't funny at all! She huffed, giving Kobayashi one last glance before following Komaeda out of the room.

Komaeda was standing outside of the door, holding the piece of cloth up and looking it over. He paused before dropping it on the ground. "Ah, just as I expected…"

"Wh-What?" Iris asked, just more confused by Komaeda's weird actions. "What did you learn by that?"

"We learned that the shirt's real." Komaeda crossed his arms. "Now let's go back a-"

They turned towards the door, about to head back inside as the door suddenly slammed closed. Komaeda paused, looking around before trying to tug it open.

Clunk!

"Huh, looks like we've been locked out." Komaeda chuckled, putting a hand up near his face.

"Locked out? But there might be important clues locked inside!" Iris paused, trying to open the door, sad to find out it wouldn't budge. "Um… Who would lock this door?"

"I locked it!" Monokuma was suddenly behind them, walking his way over to the door before tapping his paw against it. "I decided I wanted to start cleaning up early."

"You can't do that!" Iris argued, unsure of what she should do to fight against this bear. "How are we supposed to investigate the body?"

Monokuma shrugged. "Not my problem! Stop being so high maintenance and understand not everything's about you!"

"I'm not being High Maintenance! I need to investigate!" Iris tried to argue with him but she felt like she wasn't going to get anywhere with this.

"It's fine, we were done investigating in there anyways!" Komaeda laughed, patting Iris on the back before he turned towards Iris. "I think there's plenty of other places you need to look over anyways. Somewhere Koba would've really liked to spend his time! I'm going to go investigate his room in the meantime. I'll meet up with you afterwards, kay?"

Iris was just more confused at this point. She watched as the teacher walked down the stairs and away from the scene. Had they really found everything they needed from inside the room? Iris hadn't seen anything else that had caught her eyes. Yet she still wished she could double check. Sighing, she guess there was nothing else she could do about it.

She walked away from the room, wondering for a bit as she pondered what Komaeda had told her. Why was he so coy about this? Couldn't he just tell her where to look? Why would he just give her hints on what she should do? Doesn't he understand that their lives are on the line?

That's when she understood what he meant! He wanted her to investigate the skate park, even know she remembered Kobayashi talking about how excited he was to explore it. It must have been what he had meant. With a new sense of determination she headed up to the fifth floor.

Inside the skatepark, everything was dark. Guess they didn't have automatic lights in this room like all of the others. Iris fumbled against the wall, rubbing the wall with her palm until she brushed against the light switch. When the room was filled with light, she saw something startling. There was blood smeared down the side of the rink, slowly going to the center. It wasn't enough to be fatal, however. She paused, sliding down the side of the rink until she stopped near the trail of blood.

"It's dry…" Iris spoke out loud as she saw the dried blood. She slowly followed it, noticing it ended right on a weird bump on the ground of the rink. She paused, without thinking, she put her fingers against it. The round shape had some give. Slowly she pushed down on it, causing it to click almost like a button.

VRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Slowly a monitor rose from the ground. She stared at it, wondering why there was a tv hidden inside the skate park. As the screen fully arose from it's hiding place, the screen lit up. A young girl's face appeared, stern as it stared forward at her. Wh-Who was she?

"Koba… I knew you'd be able to find this video. I hid it in a place I knew only you could find it… But, unfortunately, if you're watching this that means I'm dead."

Iris swallowed. This girl's message wasn't meant for her. It was meant for Kobayashi. She hugged herself gently, upset that whoever this girl was she had suffered a similar fate to the students trapped here. When will all of this death stop?

"But I need you to do something very important, okay? Please, listen closely so-"

The screen turned off, ending the video before the girl could finish her sentence. Iris leaned forwards. Did something fall out, was the tv unplugged? As she went to look at the other side, Iris spotted Monokuma standing on the other side of the screen, waving a usb in his hand.

"W-Wait I was watching that!" Iris moved, trying to swipe the the usb from his hand. Unfortunately Monokuma was a little bit faster than her, pulling the Usb out of her reach.

"Sorry Kiddo! There's some R rated content on here and I can't let your innocent eyes view it!" Monokuma laughed. "Besides this video isn't even for you! Don't be such a snoop."

Monokuma started to walk away, leaving Iris kneeled down in the center of the room. His demeanor had completely changed from earlier. He was rude and cold again. His body blocking the light from the hallway as he got ready to leave. Slowly his head turned, his eye glowing in the dark as he stared her down.

"A pretty girl like you should give up while you're ahead. Or maybe if you beg for your life I'll spare you. I've always had a thing for older women." Monokuma let out a cold, empty laugh as he turned away from her, walking out the door. "Oh and by the way I'm bored so I'm cutting your time short."

Hello Hello! Students of Hope's Peak Academy! It's time for another thrilling trial! Head on up to the main floor and we'll ride the elevator down together! And don't be late!

"You can't do that! It's cheating! We're not ready to do this trial yet!" Iris stood to her feet. She barely had any time to actually look for evidence. It had been less than an hour since they found Koba's body. There was no way they'd investigated everything already. Iris swallowed hard, moving to try and climb her way out of the skate rink in order to chase him out of the room.

"Cheating? I made the rules! It's impossible for me to cheat!" Monokuma started to laugh, throwing his paws into the air as he glared down at the struggling Iris. "I'm like your god you uppity bitch! I can do whatever I want! PUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Monokuma vanished out the door. Suddenly Iris felt useless again. Her hands trembled as she tried to pull herself up, her grip weak as it all seemed to squeeze through her fingers. Everything she was trying to grasp on to was escaping her. There was literally nothing she could do to stop this! She had no idea who the killer could be. If she didn't figure something out everyone would die! She couldn't let that ha-

She stopped, feeling a small pat on her leg. It was soft, gentle like a stuffed animal. She hadn't even felt the tears rolling down her cheek until this very moment. But when she saw the small stuffed bunny, she felt a little more calm. Confused, but calm. She slowly took a deep breath as the rabbit reached out to her, a pile of papers rested in her fingerless hands.

Iris carefully took the papers from the rabbit. She didn't know what was going on or who this rabbit was but… she felt familiar. Something about her reminded her of someone she'd talked to before.

"Why… Why are you giving me these?" Iris asked, holding the papers closer to her chest as she looked down at the rabbit.

"Because," The rabbit started, tucking her paws in front of her body as she looked up at Iris, "I don't like it when people cheat. It isn't fair! Monokuma threw these away! These are the last things you need and he tried to take them away from you!"

Iris looked down at them, flipping through the pages as something clicked inside her head. She didn't know why but a part of her knew these were important. She held them close, taking a deep breath before she looked back down to Monomi.

"Thank you… I'm glad someone's out there helping us." Iris didn't know how to put her gratitude into words. She felt like these only covered the bare minimum of how she was feeling.

Monomi giggled, waving before she picked up Iris and helped her over the edge of the skate park. The rabbit hopped up too, walking to disappear behind one of the larger items in the room. Iris paused, peering down at the papers one more time before glancing back to where Monomi had disappeared. For a moment she thought she saw a purple cloth vanish with her. That had to be her imagination, right? As she watched them leave she realized she needed to ask them one last question.

"Where did this come from?"

Monomi paused, her head poking back out as she pondered it over. She patted the bottom of her muzzle, mulling it over before bouncing as she finally remembered.

"Before Monokuma tried to dispose of this evidence it had been tucked away in the Medicine Lab!"

Iris said her thanks before she left the room, the two of them breaking ways as she let out a long sigh, unsure of what to do as she looked down at the documents clenched in her hand. She read them over, frowning as she slowly worried about what would be tucked away in this school that she wasn't allowed to investigate.

With one glance at the documents, she suddenly understood why Himura had seized up. She seemed to get why this entire trial was going this way. Suddenly, she realized exactly what she was supposed to do. She tucked it into her overalls, taking a deep breath before she headed out of the room to meet with the others in the elevator.

As she headed for the stairs she paused as bright red hair appeared over the top of the stairs. She watched as Sato ran up the stairs, looking relieved when she finally laid eyes on Iris.

"Carol! There you are! I was worried you'd locked yourself away in your room to cry! It's time for the investigation and Monokuma's getting really upset you're late." Sato wasn't even out of breath after running up five flights of stairs.

"Oh geeze, I just got distracted…" Iris apologized, toying with the straps of her overalls. "Sato, can I go look in one more room?"

"We don't have time for that!" Sato looked slightly annoyed, crossing her arms as she glanced around. "We could get in a lot of trouble if you take any longer."

Sato seemed reluctant to help but Iris suddenly saw an opening. She thought back to how Kaito behaved when he wanted something. She paused, gently biting her

Sato paused, looking nervous before giving a stern nod. "Leave it to me! I promise you at least five minutes, okay!"

Sato paused, glancing around frantically before she practically jumped down the stairs. Even though Iris couldn't see her anymore she heard the Racer shout through the halls, crying out for the attention of Monokuma. "Hey Fucker! Bet ya can't catch me!"

Iris soon heard Monokuma call after her, the small bear footsteps following the Racer's heavy steps. "Hey! We have a trial! You can't be doing this ri- WAIT! Put your damn clothes back on!"

Iris was a little worried about her friend, but a part of her knew she would be okay. Iris needed to gather this last bit of information. She turned away from the stairs, heading over to the medicine lab and looking for anything that stuck out to her.

Walking through the room she felt as if she'd been taken back to an old middle school science lab. Everything was neatly organized and clean. It was kind of annoying how perfect everything looked. Iris was almost afraid that she was just wasting her time here. That's when she saw something shiny in the trash in the back of the room.

Iris quietly walked over to the trash, bending over and scooping the bottle out of the trash. The bottle gleamed in the glaring light of the room. The bottle had a label on it too, directions on how to use the concoction within was scribbled on right before her eyes. She quickly read it over, hoping that this was the last piece she needed.

This toxin is still experimental. Small doses of this will cause headaches and stomach cramps. Large doses can be lethal and cause bleeding from the ears. The poison has a very present bitter taste, making it almost impossible to eat it unnoticed.

Iris wasn't sure what this clue meant. She wasn't even sure if it was important to this case. Yet half of the bottle was empty. She couldn't ignore it at this point. She stuffed it into the pocket of her overalls. She went to go look for more clues before she heard the click of shoes behind her.

She turned around, seeing Kaito standing in the doorway. He had an almost sad look across his face. She felt her chest clench up as she saw him standing there.

"I already caught Sato. You're lucky I stepped in, she could have gotten in a lot of trouble if she'd been caught. You're walking a dangerous line…" Kaito sighed, moving a few steps closer. His posture was different. His shoulders were slouched, bent slightly forward as he walked towards her.

"Kaito? you're scaring me." Iris asked, wondering why the actor was being so… strange.

"No, you're misunderstanding my words, Iris." Kaito sighed, "I'm here to walk to down to the trial."

"Please tell me you didn't do it?" Iris asked, suddenly thinking about the papers she had received. "I saw the script. I know you were supposed to play Komaeda in the movie adaptation of the second killing game… You were one of the only people who would have known what that room looks like. Did you kill Koba?"

"It doesn't matter who did it." Kaito said gently. "We can talk as we walk down to the trial, kay? We don't want you to get into even more trouble."

Before she knew it, she was following him out the door, the two of them slowly walking down to the room on the first floor. Kaito's long locks bounced with him, almost synthetic as how perfect they were. Yet his face was frozen into something… a lot less collected than normal.

"Even if you don't care I have a debt to Koba! I have to do this, not just to save everyone's lives but so Koba's death won't be meaningless." Iris felt a warmth in her chest that filled her with energy. She blinked away the pools forming at the rim of her eyes. "No one is going to stop me from making up for my mistakes. Not you, not Monokuma, not even the mastermind. I won't give up on Koba and I can't give up on my friends and Kaito I'm not giving up on you either!"

"I wish I could half as determined as you are..." Kaito made a fake, sad chuckle, pausing before letting off a sigh. "I'm sorry Iris, you don't deserve this end. You're a nice girl. But in this trial everyone is going to vote for me. Then everyone is going to die."

"Wh-Why would you want that?" Iris felt the rage bubbling in her gut. Why would he want everyone to die? What was his game? Was he trying to trick her with all of this?

"I could never explain it to you." Kaito sighed, almost looking sad as they finally reached the bright, red door. "This is the only way I'll ever get my happy ending. I can't live like this anymore. The things I've done... "

Iris paused, glaring at him as she went to argue more with the actor. But as he opened the door, he put on another beautiful, bright expression. It felt hollow to her, a gesture that he just needed to perform at this point.

"I'm excited to go face to face with you in this trial Iris. But I can promise you one thing… You're going to lose."