Guide:

{Word Count: 2,578}

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

Monokuma seemed to stop breathing for a moment after hearing what I had said. In fact, he wasn't even moving a muscle. It seemed as though he was processing that what I said was real. After around a minute, the corner of his lips began to curl into a smile.

"You really mean it?" Monokuma whispered in disbelief. "Did you actually say that?"

I playfully rolled my eyes. "Of course I do. This isn't a dream, Monokuma." Monokuma grinned even more now that I had reassured him. "I know that I'm so unbelievably dreamy sometimes, but this really isn't a dream," I joked.

Monokuma laughed a bit and leaned closer to me. Dual-coloured hair tickled my face as Monokuma leaned his forehead against my own. I suppressed a small laugh at the feeling. I noticed how he stared at me with such intensity, making me want to melt away in that moment. His eyes burned with so much emotion... Hope, despair, love, disbelief, fear. There were too many feelings stirring in his irises that I couldn't even begin to sort everything out.

The male pressed a kiss to my nose, drawing me away from the trance that the look in his eyes had put me under. He mumbled, "I love you so much, my princess." Monokuma went to kiss me again, but the sound of my doorbell ringing interrupted us.

I quickly pulled away from Monokuma, much to his dismay. I slid my sock and shoe back onto my injured ankle in order to conceal it. I quickly got up, relieved that there was no pain upon applying pressure to my ankle. The medicine really did work wonders. It wouldn't have mattered if it hurt anyways since I probably would've been able to push through it. Dizziness, nausea, headaches, aching, as long as the injury was relatively minor, I was able to push through it.

I recall that once I had hurt my knee while preforming in a musical in front of a live audience. What did I do? I pushed past the pain and preformed anyways. Preforming difficult choreography certainty didn't help the pain, but I still executed each scene flawlessly despite it. I trained myself to endure injuries like this so I could be the perfect actress. It was just another detail as to why I was declared the Ultimate Actress.

I made my way over to the door, slightly opening it and peering outside. The person to blame for ringing the doorbell was Sakura. She sighed in relief upon seeing me answer the door.

"(Y/n), I'm glad you are alright. We were worried when we didn't see you at breakfast," Sakura stated. You could tell she was really caring despite her intimidating appearance.

I took a quick glance behind me, noticing that Monokuma was no longer in the room. It really made me wonder how he traveled in and out of my room like this. Was there some sort of secret passage in my room or something?

"Sorry I didn't go to breakfast, Sakura..." I opened the door a bit more now that Monokuma was no longer here, revealing more of myself to Sakura. Upon seeing the bandages that were tightly wound around my head, her eyes widened.

"(Y/n), what happened!" She asked, though it sounded like she was demanding me to tell her rather than asking.

"I-I don't know...I've been confused ever since I woke up. My head...it's hurting so much," I told her, wincing as though I was still in pain. Sakura laid a hand on my shoulder and patted it as though she was comforting me.

"Tell me everything that you remem-"

Before Sakura could finish, Hina came rushing towards the two of us with a panicked expression. "G-Guys! I'm glad I found you so quickly. It's awful... The rec room door was opened a-and when I looked inside...I-I saw, I saw!- Ah, just come see!!"

Before following Hina, Sakura turned her head to me. "Do you believe you'll be alright enough to come along or do you need more rest?" she questioned me.

"I-I should be able to catch up..." I responded with a weak smile. Walking out of my room and shutting the door behind me, I was ready to follow Hina. Sakura, Hina, and I steadily made our way to the rec room.

Soon enough, we all had arrived at the rec room. Upon entering, Sakura and I gasped at the sight of an injured Celeste. She leaned against the pool table and held her arm as though it hurt. Upon seeing us enter, Celeste spoke, "I got...attacked. I...was stupid."

"By who?!" Sakura yelled. I could notice her tense from anger.

"I am not sure. I think it was...some sort of strange man. I cannot help but call him strange. Without a doubt, it was some sort of suspicious, strange individual. He attacked me with that hammer on the ground over there," Celeste turned her head and motioned to the colourful hammer that rested on the ground.

I turned my attention to the hammer and felt my heartbeat quicken upon seeing it. It was the same type of hammer that Hifumi had attacked Taka with. I withheld any sort of reaction that would show I recognized the hammer. I had a feeling Celeste would notice if I were to even widen my eyes a tad.

"I barely managed to avoid the blow, but I fell backwards and injured myself. This makes me regret my lack of daily exercise," Celeste paused for a moment and observed the bandages on my head. "(Y/n), are you injured as well? Were you perhaps attacked by the strange man as well?"

I lifted my hand to graze my fingertips over the soft material that was wrapped tightly around my head. I responded, "I-I don't remember... I woke up in my room like this. My head is hurting horribly though."

"Both of you, please take a seat. Tell us everything you remember. Be as detailed as you can," Sakura instructed the both of us. She stepped aside and motioned towards the two chairs that were placed across from one another which a coffee table in the center. Both Celeste and I took a seat. I noticed the slight glance she sent towards me as though she was suspicious of my words. She had every reason to be suspicious, but I wouldn't allow her to see through my lies.

Celeste decided to explain her situation first. She cleared her throat a bit and straightened her posture before speaking. "It had happened earlier this morning... I woke up a little before 7 a.m. and nighttime wasn't over yet. I figured it was about to become morning time, so I assumed it would be alright if I took a stroll around the first floor. Now I realize that it was a mistake..."

I listened closely to every detail she spoke of and every facial expression she made. As the Ultimate Gambler, I'm sure she has no issue with keeping up a poker face. I noticed how she said that she was also awake before 7 a.m.. Celeste had stated that it was "a little before 7 a.m.," so perhaps I was awake way before then and I had missed her. Even so, I was sure to remember this detail.

Celeste continued. "Anyway, I had first saw the suspicious man at this time. I knew he was suspicious and was immediately wary of him. I pursued him in secret. I saw the man go into the rec room and when I tried to peek through the door, he noticed me. This is when I was attacked. It had happened just after 7 a.m. when nighttime was over."

"If it had just happened after 7 o'clock, then that was just about an hour ago when we were gathered in the dining hall," Sakura stated, "excluding (Y/n), she had also not been with us."

Celeste had glanced at me for a second with narrowed eyes, but quickly returned the previous weakened demeanor she had showcased as she told her story. "I see. Continuing on, the attack caused me to lose consciousness. This would mean I was unconscious for around an hour. I begged and groveled for my life so the suspicious man wouldn't harm me too much..."

"You did?" I questioned, quirking an eyebrow.

"I offered to do anything if he spared me, even lick his shoes... I was willing to throw away all my pride for my survival. But the important thing now is to go search for the suspicious individual."

"Yes, of course. Now, (Y/n), what happened-" Sakura was cut-off by Celeste.

"Oh, one more detail. When I had looked into the rec room, I saw that the man was not alone. With him, he had Hifumi. After he attacked me, he dragged Hifumi away," Celeste explained. Her expression morphed into one of concern and slight annoyanced.

Sakura clenched her fists and yelled, "do you mean Hifumi was kidnapped?!"

"We should look for him after this, then!" Hina clenched her fists as well and furrowed her eyebrows. "Hey, Celeste, did anything weird stand out about this guy?"

"Here, allow me to show you," Celeste mumbled as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a digital camera. "This is Hifumi's digital camera. I managed to take a picture of the suspicious man without him realizing." All of us turned our attention to the digital camera and gasped at the sight.

The picture displayed Hifumi seeming to be attacked by a strange robot. My head became filled with many questions just with this photo. Why would Hifumi be attacked by some weird robot? Was it someone in a costume that found out about him murdering Taka and went to get revenge?

"So...this weird dude dragged Hifumi away?" I questioned, in which Celeste nodded her head. She replied, "yes. I took this right after being attacked. Which means it happened an hour ago. If we don't hurry, this could become a serious problem!"

...What had she just said?

Celeste took this picture right after the attack? Didn't she say the attack caused her to lose consciousness?

That's a lie.

I wanted to smirk and expose the contradiction in her two statements, but I held my tongue. It would be more interesting to let her think she got away with that only to expose her at a later time. It would also be more interesting to watch others try to spot these details on their own.

"I believe I understand. Well, no, there is much I do not understand. However, I know that someone dressed like that and dragged Hifumi away," Sakura commented with a nod.

Hina then shouted, "this is bad, we have to hurry!"

"Yes, however, let's hear (Y/n)'s story now," Sakura said. She rested her hand on me shoulder and smiled a bit. "Now, tell us everything you remember, (Y/n)."

I nodded and began to tell a story. "I don't remember every detail, but I will tell you what I can. I first remember waking up suddenly in the middle of the night. I had a nightmare about being murdered in my own dorm room, so that caused me to wake up. I needed to clear my head and I couldn't stand to stay in my dorm, so I went out for a walk. It was before 7 a.m. since the morning announcement hadn't gone off yet. I only remember walking through the first floor. The halls were empty and I assume everyone was still asleep. I don't remember anything after that... I just woke up in my dorm with a horrible headache and bandages wrapped around my head."

I created a false story and acted as though it was the truth. I kept it simple and believable. If they connected the dots, they could piece together that I was injured on the head and that caused me to lose memory.

"(Y/n), do you perhaps remember being attacked as well?" asked Celeste. I shook my head. She then said, "perhaps we were both attacked by the strange man. You seem to have been wounded in the head, though I am not sure who patched you up."

"I'm not sure either... Like I said, I had just woken up like this."

Sakura then questioned, "is that all you remember?"

I nodded. "Yes, that is all I remember."

"Alright! Let's start investigating!! Celeste, do you know where this man went?" Hina asked.

Intertwining her fingers and glancing to the side, Celeste answered, "when they had left the rec room, they headed left." Sakura gasped, commenting, "if that's true, they were headed towards the second floor! He must be down there."

"The second floor is where Kyoko is supposed to be," Hina commented, her expression slowly morphing from one of confusion to one of concern.

"If Kyoko runs into him, that would be bad. She might be in danger! Let's go!" Sakura yells, urging everyone out of the room. Before she could hurry me out of my chair, I had told her, "I'm sorry, I'll be down soon. I feel a bit dizzy right now." Sakura nodded in understanding and rushed out of the rec room alongside the others.

Celeste was the last one out. She send a small glare my way before politely shutting the door. The sound of three pairs of footsteps walking down the hall soon faded into the distance. The three girls now entered the second floor, leaving me behind on the third floor alone. My gaze hardened now that I was alone in the rec room.

I had sat in that chair for around a minute or two in silence. I leaned back as I let out a sigh, closing my eyes and relaxing into the chair. "Hey, I know you're there," I mumbled, not bothering to open my eyes upon hearing a dramatic sigh in response to my statement.

"How did you even know I was here?" someone asked me. Their voice progressively got louder the closer they stepped towards me.

I chuckled a bit, lifting my eyelids and staring at the male who stared at me with a smirk. "Don't question it. Why are you here, hm?"

Monokuma lowered himself onto my lap, crossing his legs upon doing so. "Well, I came here to ask why you lied about the situation. You could have told them about what really happened, y'know? It wouldn't have affected you at all, though it would have ruined someone else's plan for the killing game."

I leaned my right elbow on the right armrest, resting my face in my hand. With my other free hand, I brushed a lock of Monokuma's white hair behind his ear. My hand grazed his cheek, slowly trailing down to rest on his waist. "Well, Monokuma, don't you think it would be more interesting to see everyone else piece it together on their own? If I told them what happened to me, wouldn't it get rid of all the fun?"

"Upupu~ (Y/n), that's very bold of you. What happened to you sticking to the side of hope?" Monokuma asked. "Have you lost all hope?"

"I never said that," I protested, "but everyone has so much hope and I don't believe they'll lose it anytime soon, so why not have a bit of fun?"