Guide:

{Word Count: 2,833}

(Y/n)'s P.O.V.

The loud announcement from the monitor awoke me from my slumber like always. I completed my usual morning routine and headed to the dining hall soon after. The dining hall was quite silent when I arrived, the others in the room silently eating their meals. I did the same.

As I munched on my food, I thought back to the night before. The thought of Monokuma's lips pressed against my own made my heart flutter. His face so close to mine made me want to forget the situation at hand and stay in his presence forever.

If only things were that simple.

I shook my head and regressed the feelings that swirled within me. I finished my meal, cleaned up, and left the area. I just wanted to go back to my dorm and sleep. Maybe if I slept through the day, I wouldn't have to deal with the conflicting emotions that clouded my mind. Dammit Monokuma, why do you insist on making me feel this way?

Not paying enough attention to my surroundings, I bumped shoulders with someone in the hall. I turned to the person, seeing that it was Kyoko. I bowed a bit and apologized, about to rush off to my dorm. Before I could walk away, Kyoko spoke.

"(Y/n), have you seen Monokuma lately?" she asked. Kyoko's stern glare intimated me and made my feel pressured to answer.

I decided to give a short response. "No, not really."

"I see...I saw him walking in the hall last night. He looked a bit distressed. Since he seemed to be attached to you, I wanted to know if you have any clue about that," Kyoko said, a hand on her hip as she spoke.

I acted as though I was confused. "Huh, really? That's weird...maybe he's confused about why we keep going to the bathhouse. I guess he just doesn't understand how much we enjoy that place!" I giggled a bit.

"Ah, yes. Maybe that is it. I suppose he feels a bit left out. Sorry for keeping you here."

"It's alright. See you Kyoko!" I waved a bit and walked away from the mysterious female. I just wanted to make it to the comfort of my dorm where I could relax, work out my emotions, and stop putting on an act for the other students.

I finally made it to my dorm, sighing in relief. I reached into my pocket until I felt the cold metal of my key graze my fingertips. I pulled out the key and shoved it into the knob, unlocking the door and entering.

The feeling of relief that had previously resided within me dispersed once I realized who sat upon the bed. I tensed up a bit as I closed the door, being sure to lock it. "What are you doing here?"

"You sound so unhappy to see me..." Monokuma frowned.

I tossed my keys on the small table that resided in my room and walked over to the headmaster. I stood in front of him and glared. "I am; please leave."

"Aww, c'mon! I just wanna talk." Monokuma stood up, looking down at me with a smile. That smile was full of shit.

"What do you want?"

"What are you hiding in the bathhouse?"

I clicked my tongue. "That again? You already know I'm not going to tell you."

"Ah, I know. That's why I'm presenting a motive," Monokuma grinned as he held out an envelope to me. "For you~"

I clenched my jaw upon resting my gaze on the envelope. "Isn't this the same motive as before? C'mon...be more original," I managed to crack a joke despite how nervous I felt. Monokuma pouted and said, "c'mon, don't complain! Just take the envelope."

I gently grabbed the white envelope, tearing it open and taking out the paper that resided within it. Just as I expected, my horrible secret was printed on the paper in neat, black lettering. Monokuma leaned over, reading the secret aloud.

"(Y/n) (L/n) killed her parents."

As soon as those words escaped past his lips, I could feel a ball of anxiety well up in my chest. I clutched the paper, crumbling the sides of its white surface. A smile was painted across my lips as I looked over to Monokuma. "Do you think that this can get me to reveal what is inside the bathhouse?"

"Oh, of course it can, darling," Monokuma insisted, gently grasping my face with his cold hands. "If you don't tell me what is going on in there, I will reveal this secret to all of your classmates."

"Why should I care?" I asked, the smile never leaving my face. Of course I should care. If this secret was revealed, no one would trust me anymore; that could ruin everything.

"Stop acting like it won't affect anything." Monokuma reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pocket knife. He opened it, staring at the shiny blade that was previously sheathed. "Ah, doesn't this look familiar to you?"

I glanced at the pocket knife in his hands, my smile faltering. My grip on the paper loosened, causing it to slip from my grasp. Monokuma laid the knife in my hand.

"Everyone will find out about how you slaughtered your parents with this very knife," spoke Monokuma. "Don't you remember that night? You stood in your parents' room, looming over their bed with this knife in your hands. You took their lives in the matter of minutes."

"Stop it..."

"There was blood splattered everywhere; on your hands, your clothes, the walls..."

"Please stop Monokuma..."

"Do you want everyone to know about that?"

"I said stop!" I screamed, losing my composure. I went to punch Monokuma, but he grabbed my wrist before he could be hit. He was too focused on the punch to notice that I had raised a knife to his throat. However, I was too focused on his throat to notice that he held his gun to my head.

"If you slice my throat, I'll pull the trigger. We'll both die. Do you really want that? Do you really want to fail Junko?" Monokuma taunted. Upon him speaking those words, I dropped my weapon and backed away. Monokuma smiled a bit as he put away the gun.

"All you have to do is tell me what is in the bathhouse. Is it really worth your secret being told? Is it worth ruining your entire plan?"

I clenched my fists. "This isn't fair; I thought we were supposed to keep everything fair."

"Sometimes...not everything can be fair. I think we all know that, (Y/n)," Monokuma had spoken in a gentler tone. He decided to add another statement that I was barely able to hear. "I'm sorry."

...

It wasn't worth it.

The mastermind will get their way.

"Alter Ego," I mumbled. "That's what we're hiding in there. It's an AI that is trying to get into the files stored on the laptop. It's stored in the third locker on the second row."

"Good girl," Monokuma praised. "If I find out you lied to me, I will tell everyone about your secret, understood?"

"...Yes."

"Good. See you later, princess," Monokuma ruffled my hair before leaving me alone in my dorm.

I looked down at the pocket knife that was left on the floor, tears forming in my eyes. I wanted to forget about that night, but no matter what the memories still haunt me. I squatted down and picked up the knife. I stared at the intricate design engraved into the wood handle. The memories of that night could never be forgotten; no matter how hard I tried, it would never be forgotten.

I trudged over to the desk in the corner of my room, tossing the pocket knife in the drawer and slamming it shut. I did not want to look at the weapon any longer. I walked over to the bathroom and locked myself inside; I needed to clear my head.

I stripped out of my uniform and entered the walk-in shower, turning the knob until the shower was at my desired temperature. The feeling of the water trickling down my skin was enough to wash away my stress temporarily. I focused my attention on the water.

Water was always flowing, always adapting to its surroundings.

I finished my shower as quickly as I could. I stepped out of the shower and quickly dried off, slipping on a clean uniform. Unlocking the door, I exited the bathroom with a certain objective in mind: lay in bed. I didn't have much else to do.

Just as I was about to lay down onto the comfort of my blankets, a loud knocking from my door interrupted me. I jumped a bit, turning my head to focus my attention on the door. My wide eyes witnessed a small slip of paper slip under the door.

I stood still as I debated whether I should read the note. After all, what if it was from Monokuma?

Ignore the note or go check what it was?

I ended up choosing the latter, slowly approaching the note. I bent down and picked up the paper, observing the neat lettering that was inscripted onto the slip.

Meet in the bathhouse.

I gulped, crumbling the small slip. Was this about Alter Ego? Should I really go? However, if I didn't show it would probably be suspicious. If anything, I could just whip up an act if I needed to. After all, I was the Ultimate Actress.

I tossed the crumbled note into the trash bin before heading to the bathhouse. I made it there rather quickly, warily entering the room. Upon entering, a loud and angered voice startled me.

"Hey! How long were you going to keep us waiting?!" Taka screamed, clenching his fists.

"Sorry," I gave a rather dry response.

"Tch, Taka seems to be even more different than I expected. Perhaps it's a good thing; now he finally seems to be growing a unique personality," Byakuya commented, further irritating Taka.

Taka turned to Byakuya, his voice only getting louder. "What?! You sure are talking a lot of stuff, you know that?!"

"Y-You have no business talking to o-our heaven-sent Master Byakuya th-that way," Toko stammered as she bit her nails.

"Everyone, be quiet! Let's get to the point: Why are we all gathered here?" I questioned.

Kyoko cleared her throat. "It's about Alter Ego." Upon her speaking those words, my breath hitched. Though my face held an expression of pure calmness, my heart was racing from fear. Did Monokuma already act on the Alter Ego business?

"I came to the bathhouse to check on it, but I discovered that the laptop━that had held Alter Ego━was missing," Kyoko announced.

Statements of shock rang throughout the bathhouse. My voice just above a mumble, I spoke, "oh no...this is bad."

"S-She's gone?!" Hifumi screamed in horror. Taka also let out a shout. "No way!! You can't be fudgin' serious!"

"Was is the mastermind? Did they somehow find out about Alter Ego?" Celeste questions, a finger tapping against her chin.

"I told Alter Ego to shout if anyone it didn't recognize appeared, so perhaps it wasn't the mastermind," Kyoko commented. I felt a wave of relief rush over me.

"But if it wasn't the mastermind-" my sentence was cut-off by Hifumi.

"It had to be him! Mr.Ishimaru, did you steal her?!" Hifumi pointed at Taka in accusation.

Taka shook his head. "What?! I would never do that!"

"There's no way it was either of you; I told Alter Ego to yell if Taka or Hifumi came near it," Kyoko said. Both males let out a yell at that statement.

"Whoever did it, hurry up and confess!" Hiro yelled as he looked around the room.

"So, it wasn't the mastermind, Hifumi, or Taka. I doubt Kyoko would've stolen it either. So...(Y/n), Sakura, Hina, Celeste, Toko, or myself must've stolen it," Byakuya suggested.

Hina disagreed, "why would we wanna steal Alter Ego?"

"Perhaps there is a traitor among us. What if one of us is giving information to the mastermind? Maybe they stole it. You cannot deny that this is a possibility."

"It can't be!" I shouted. Byakuya raised an eyebrow. He then said, "it is a possibility. I've been thinking for a while that someone might be a spy. Perhaps the mastermind wanted someone to keep the game running smoothly."

"No..it's impossible," I mumbled. Byakuya walked over to me, looking down at me as he spoke. "(Y/n), perhaps you are the traitor."

"What?! I would never!-"

"Do you think we can just rely on words alone? How do we know we can trust you? Monokuma sure seems to like you, is that not suspicious enough already?" Byakuya insisted.

I paused, looking up at Byakuya. "I know you have no reason to trust me...but I'm telling the truth. I am not a spy." That was true; I was no spy for the mastermind.

"Don't worry, (Y/n). I trust you! She's my friend and I don't believe (Y/n) would betray us like that!" assured Hina, a small smile on her face as she looked at me. I gave her a smile in return and I was truly happy for her kindness, but guilt was ripping me apart.

"I don't care...please, anyone...save her," Hifumi begged, tears falling from his eyes. "I just want to see her smiling face again..."

"I'll beg, just please bring him back!" Taka also cried, yearning to see Alter Ego again.

"I think Alter Ego is safe at the moment. If they wanted to destroy the laptop, I'm sure they would have just left it here," said Kyoko.

Taka dried his tears, announcing, "no matter what it takes, I promise to get him back!!"

Hifumi announced a similar promise. "I will get her back using the power of love!!"

"Let's begin searching for Alter Ego tomorrow," Celeste suggests.

I tilt my head. "Why tomorrow? I'm sure we have a few hours to spare today."

"It seems some people aren't in the right mindset to search for it today. I think it'll be best if we search for Alter Ego tomorrow. Surely some more rest today will help us clear our minds by tomorrow," the Ultimate Gambler explains. I suppose that is true.

"Very well. Everyone, let's begin investigation tomorrow morning after breakfast. Does that sound good?" Kyoko asked, glancing around the room. Everyone agreed and soon after, we all left the bathhouse to do our own thing.

I returned to my dorm after the meeting, laying on my bed as soon as I returned. I stared up at the ceiling as I pondered upon different topics.

First of all, what happened to Alter Ego? Did Kyoko just happen to not hear its screaming? I certainly doubt that...does that mean the mastermind didn't take it? Though that made me feel somewhat more relieved, the mastermind still knew about Alter Ego in the end and would probably take it sooner or later.

Thinking about the subject further, I concluded that Kyoko, Hifumi, Taka, and the mastermind are not responsible for the disappearance of Alter Ego. Just like Byakuya stated earlier, Hina, Sakura, Celeste, Toko, myself, or him must've taken it. Although it might be wrong, these are the most logical suspects.

But who is the actual culprit?

I groaned. This topic started to make my head hurt. Moving on from that thought, my mind had shifted to another one: Monokuma. The last interaction with him certainty reminded me of the true reality of the situation. I was stupid to begin to trust him.

I turned to lay on my side, hugging a pillow close to my chest. I let Monokuma get the best of me. I told him about Alter Ego...I betrayed my classmates, didn't I? But if he told my secret, it would certainly cause my classmates to be suspicious of me often.

This horrible guilt welling up within me, my conflicting emotions seeming to rip me apart, witnessing the killing of my classmates, all of this confusion, all of this distrust...

All of this despair.

...

A giggle escaped past my parted lips. Despair was really was ripping me apart. It was seeping deeper and deeper within me. Like black ink spilled onto a picture, it was overpowering every other colour in its path.

This is what the mastermind wants, right? This is what Monokuma wants...right?

But was it really okay to let go of hope now? Is it okay to finally succumb to the seemingly inevitable pit of despair that I stand before?

I let out a sigh; what would Junko think?

That's right...what would she think?

...

I have to hold onto what little hope I have left. I have to survive until the end of this killing game. I have to stick to my plan, no matter what.

I won't give up so easily.

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