You tried to be quick in getting to your destination, but your entire body was shaking to the point where it was hard to even move. You cursed at yourself under your breath for this. You eventually made it: to the library. It was where you heard the noise. Was it the mastermind? Did someone else find the moving bookshelf? You knew you wouldn't be able to find out until you saw it for yourself. Your hand was shaky, but you felt a nervous determination as you gripped onto the library door's handle and opened up. What you saw next completely drowned all of your color, replacing it with despair.

"R-Rantaro... R-RANTARO!?" You made a small sprint over to where his presumably dead body lied. "No, wh-what?! How could this have happened...?!" You looked in awe at all of the pink blood splattered everywhere. There was a shot put ball next to him. You didn't want to believe that someone could actually have the nerve to kill him—and of all people. Wasn't he nice? He didn't do anything wrong... You were too caught up in your thoughts to hear the approaching footsteps until they were already right next to you.

"Oh, Rantaro...?" Kaede whispered, eyes wide open.

"And... (Y/N)?" Shuichi questioned suspiciously.

"What in the world!? What the hell is going on!?" Kaito yelled. Tenko just screamed loudly; and right after that, the library door suddenly burst open. In came Gonta, Himiko, Angie and Maki.

"Wh-What happen? Gonta hear scream— ...Huh!? Waaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!! B-Blood...! So much blood!"

"Huhh? Isn't that Rantaro? What's wrong with him?" Angie asked, completely oblivious.

"...He's dead," Maki said sternly.

"Whaaat? He's dead? Well, that's unfortunate."

"How can you be so calm!?" Gonta cried out.

Shuichi silently slipped past you, making his way to Rantaro's body—careful to avoid blood—and crouching down. He put a hand up to the other one's mouth, checking for breathing. He took an extra few seconds to examine his body before getting up. "...We're too late," he said gravely.

"T-Too late...? You mean...dead?"

"H-He's dead...?"

"What else could he be!?" you interrupted. "Argh, the question we should be asking is what to do now." Almost everyone there had a look of horror. However, Kaede looked at Rantaro's body, and looked back up to the screen; no longer showing Monokuma or blaring out the loud music. You could just tell the connection she was making in her head.

"This means the killing game has started, huh?" Maki broke the silence.

"K-Killing game!? Then someone killed Rantaro and—"

"Wait, maybe not," Kaede cut Tenko off.

"What do you mean, maybe not!?"

"Maybe the killing game hasn't started... Maybe...this just ended it."

"Ended it?" Maki asked in her serious tone. "What do you mean?"

"...The mastermind. Rantaro was the mastermind," the pianist claimed.

"What!? The mastermind!?" Kaito asked in confusion.

"...I don't know how he died, but if Rantaro was on the library before the time limit ended... There's a high chance that the mastermind planned this. And if he's dead..." Shuichi trailed off.

"Oh come on!" you all of a sudden shouted. "That isn't worth nothing! Give me some damned evidence for god's sake, Rantaro isn't the mastermind! Besides, if the mastermind is literally the 'mastermind' then they can't be that easy to kill! I'm sure that Monokuma will pop up here at aaaaany second now...!!" As if on cue...

Ding dong, dong ding!

The monitor screen turned on. It showed Monokuma sitting on a fancy chair, with a wine glass in his small nubs as an excuse for hands...or paws. "A body has been discovered!" he announced. "Everyone, please gather in the library!" The screen quickly turned off, and bouncing in came Monokuma in the flesh.

"What a relief. A murder took place just before time ran out!" the bear said.

"M-Monokuma!? But how!?" Kaede asked, clearly in shock.

"I gotta admit, I was a little nervous there 'cause the killing game hadn't started yet. Geez...you guys really know how to keep me in suspense."

"H-How? The mastermind controlling you is..." She glanced around at everyone, eventually making it to you. You gave her a bit of a sharp look.

"Hm? By mastermind, do you mean the real mastermind who's controlling me?" Monokuma asked, acting oblivious with his paw up to his face. "And you think it was Rantaro? Ahhh, what an imagination!"

"I tried telling them that it wasn't him, and they didn't even have much solid proof..." you mumbled to the bear.

"Yes, yes! Of course they're wrong!" He then let out a giggle. "If the mastermind had died, this killing game would be over."

"B-But..."

"The victim was Rantaro Amami, the Ultimate 'Who Cares?'. Nothing more, nothing less." You furrowed your brows a bit, and then looked over at the teen's dead body. I'm sorry that you still have to be treated this way after you're dead... you thought in your mind, directing it towards the now deceased student. I'll make sure to vote for the one who killed you. There's nothing wrong with just a taste of what you paid for.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Kaede asked. She then turned to Shuichi to speak quietly to him for a moment. You heard the detective say a bit louder the word 'cameras', immediately knowing what he was thinking. At that moment though, the library doors suddenly burst open. All of the other Ultimate students came rushing in.

"Kyaaah!" Tsumugi screamed at the sight of the dead body.

"Rantaro!? But...why!?" Kiibo asked distraught.

"Hrk...! Th-That's Rantaro? Oh, thank god! I thought that was a pile of dirty rags!" Miu exclaimed.

"I see... So this ended up happening after all. Kehehe...my, my. What a world this is, so full of jokes like this," Korekiyo said ominously.

"Wh-What...?" Kokichi spoke up. "This is a lie, right? My dearest Rantaro is dea— Oh, I mean...was kiiiiiiiiiiilled!" Streams came down from his eyes and ran across his face without warning.

"Hmph... How ironic," Ryoma said aloud. "The guy who wanted to live ended up dead...and the guy who wanted to die survived.

"So...can somebody explain the meaning of all this?" Kirumi asked the group, face darkened.

"Nah. An explanation isn't necessary," Monokuma retorted. "Thanks to the First Blood Perk, there won't be a class trial, so that'd just be a waste of time. With that said...if you're the blackened who killed Rantaro, raise your hand!"

"The one who...killed Rantaro?" Tsumugi asked in her breathy voice.

"I knew it! A degenerate male killed Rantaro, didn't he!?" Tenko shouted, looking at all of the boys in the group.

"How you know boy do it!?" Gonta questioned the feminist in confusion.

"I just know, okay!? Violent crimes are almost always committed by violent, disgusting men!"

"Tch... That dumb*ss!" Kaito said loudly, referring to the dead green-haired male. "How dare he go and get himself killed!" His hand was put nervously up to his chin. I guess that's one way to show you care, you thought. "Who the hell did it!? I'll friggin' punch you into orbit!"

"Puhuhu... Don't get so angry. Send off your graduating classmate with warm farewells," the black and white stuffed bear spoke.

"Whoever killed someone just to leave this hellhole, not matter how horrid it is, doesn't deserve to be have 'warm farewells' as the last thing they hear from the people they abandoned," you said in an ominous cold tone. Your eyes were widened slightly as you looked around at everyone, allowing the orbs to show the others just how serious you were. Now, who out of the...fifteen of you...is the blackened?

"Rise and shine, ursine!" The five Monokubs appeared on top of one of the more shorter bookshelves, giving them a good view on everyone.

"Or you could send 'em off with hostility, just like that!" Monosuke exclaimed. "That's fine, too! It's just like a bunch of catty popular girls!"

"But if it's gonna disrupt the process, then we're gonna bust out the Exisals!" Monotaro added.

"Ughhh..." a specific pink bear groaned. "I'm not gonna look... I don't wanna look at a nasty, dead body..."

"Nothing beats crashing a funeral! It's way better than wedding crashing!" Monokid slurred slightly. "I'll throw in a wedding every now and then, but funerals are insane! Like fishin' with dynamite!"

"So whoever did this really does get to graduate, huh?" Monosuke asked, pushing up his small glasses.

"Heck yeah! I'm a real stickler for the rules! I'm also tough on convenience store clerks!" the black and white bear laughed.

"Then congratulations!" the leader of the group said happily. "Would the blackened who's about to graduate please raise their hand!" You clenched your fists as silence unraveled, and you waited for someone to make a move. The smell of bloody iron started to sting your nose. After a few moments with no one raising their hand, the Monokubs started speaking again.

"What the—? No one's raisin' their hand?" the yellow bear asked in pure confusion.

"Hey, didja hear me?" Monotaro said loudly, nervous sweat somehow forming on his head. "All the blackened has to do to graduate is speak up, y'know?" Everyone still had a distressed look, and the only movement they made was to blink and breathe.

"Hm? No one's stepping forward. What's going on?" Monophanie questioned, paw up to her face.

"Puhuhu... I see how it is," Monokuma giggled darkly. "The blackened has no need for the First Blood Perk. They would rather do a class trial."

"Excuse me?" Kirumi decided to step up and ask for the group.

"Very well, then." The robot put his paws over his stomach in the way that one might do when exploding in laughter. "I will give the blackened what they want and hold a class trial!"

"Wow!" Monotaro spoke cheerfully.

"Now this is a spicy twist!" Monosuke spat out.

"W-Wait... What the heck's going on?" Kaito questioned nervously.

"Like we said before, we're gonna hold a class trial so you b*stards can find Rantaro's killer," the yellow bear responded to him.

"Get it right and only the blackened will be punished," the other bear chimed in. "But if you get it wrong, everyone besides the blackened will be punished."

"This outcome is much worse. The culprit should have just stepped forward," Maki sighed.

"But before we hold the class trial, you gotta investigate first," Monokuma added. "If you don't investigate the murder, you won't be able to argue over who did it."

"So you're saying we need to do the investigation ourselves, too?" Ryoma asked, pulling down on his hat.

"Of course! The investigation is what makes the killing game so good! You guys are gonna investigate this crime and uncover the truth!" Monokuma looked dreamily off into the distance. "Puhuhu... The blackened's handiwork has made this much more entertaining than I expected... All right! The trial will begin soon, so please give the investigation your all!"

"So long, bear well!" Monokuma and all his cubs made their exit.

"Let's get going then!" Kokichi chirped, obviously excited.

"W-Wait...where do we start?" Gonta questioned.

"We're looking for the truth of Rantaro's death, right?" Ryoma asked him. "If we can't figure out who the culprit is, then we'll be annihilated for sure."

"I-I don't wanna be annihilated!" Tenko shouted fearfully. "The girls should be allowed to live, at least!"

"Nyeeeh... I'm just a cute, normal girl who can use magic, y'know?" Himiko said blandly.

"You're the last person who should be calling herself cute!" Miu retorted angrily.

"Do not fret," Kirumi interceded calmly. "Just imagine this as something out of a police drama or detective manga... Right, Shuichi?"

"R-Right..."

"I'm in trouble..." Kiibo said slowly. "I've never watched police dramas or read detective manga!"

"Well...there's no need to think so hard. We need only to converse with the corpse," Korekiyo told the robot. "A corpse is not simply a dead person. That is just an assumption made by the living... Yes!" The Ultimate Anthropologist opened out his arms as if to praise something. "By coming face to face with the corpse, you will learn a great many things!"

"Why are you getting excited!?" Tenko squealed. "You're not into dead bodies, are you!?"

"But...is it true? Is one of us really the culprit?" Tsumugi asked incredulously.

"...The odds are one in fifteen. That shouldn't be hard to figure out," Maki responded while frowning.

"That's not the problem here!" Kaito yelled.

"Wh-Who's the f*ckin' culprit, huh!? Is it you!?" Miu yelled at the same volume and pointed at a random person. "Or maybe it's you!" She pointed at you. You clenched a fist and took a small step back.

"Eeeny, meeny, miny, moe... Who's the killer? Only Atua knows..." Angie said darkly. She cast her gaze across everyone and landed on you. "Hmmm, (Y/N)'s been suspiciously quiet this entire time. Got something you're hiding?" Why am I singled out here? you asked in your head. You opened up your mouth to say something when someone got ahead of you.

"W-Wait!" Gonta called out innocently. "We no can accuse someone yet, it no fair!"

"Ah-haha, everyone's competing to see who's the most paranoid," Kokichi suddenly chirped. He had his hands behind his head. "Yeah, that's not boring."

"Stop...!" you told everyone, with as loud a voice as you could muster. "We're wasting time accusing each other, and we're getting absolutely nowhere. Can we just try to work together and investigate the murder?"

"Yeah," Shuichi added. "We need to trust each other and start a serious investigation. If we all lose our trust in one another because of this...it's all over! We have to believe in each other and investigate this case."

"Investigating is the same thing as not trusting each other," Miu claimed.

"No, it's completely different from what Monokuma wants us to do. He wants us to throw accusations at one another, and lose all trust in each other... And we...can't let him get what he wants." A serious and determined expression crossed the Ultimate Detective's face. "We need to investigate this murder. Not because we don't trust each other, but because we do." The room fell into silence. "Ah...did I...say something wrong?"

"You were just so...direct and assertive," Kaede smiled at him.

"Ah, no, I just said what was on my mind..." he replied. As the tone in the room got lighter and everyone's mood started to lift, you tuned out of what everyone was saying. Despite how disgusting it was, it was hard for you to keep your eyes off of Rantaro's dead body. You heard Monokuma appear; only then did you look back up.

"Hmm... This isn:t quite the mood I was expecting, but..." he started. "It's okay! At least now you guys seem like you're getting into it!"

"You again!?" Miu shouted at the beaf. "The f*ck are you doin' here!?"

"Puhuhu... Don't be so crude. I've come to bring you all a wonderful present."

"This is giving me the heebie-jeebies," Tenko said.

"Dun dun dunnnn! A notebook that will kill anyone whose name is written in it!" Monokuma pulled out what looked like some sort of iPad.

"Could it be!?" Tsumugi questioned quickly. "The Death N—"

"Whoops, my bad. It's a Monokuma file."

"You...did that on purpose, didn't you?" The cosplayer's voice trailed off disappointedly.

"Let me explain. The Monokuma File is a detailed report that summarizes all the info about the dead body! But there's no info that would point to the blackened, 'cause that would ruin the trials," the black and white bear told you all. "I dunno, maybe you guys'll find it useful since you're not experienced investigators, y'know?" He then left without another word, the only thing he left behind was the file.

"Pfft, Monokuma File? Like hell am I gonna believe something he made," Kaito exclaimed.

"Whether you believe it or not, it would still be prudent to examine its contents, no?" Kirumi asked calmly.

"Atua has spoken... He says we shouldn't take our eyes off of the Monopad," Angie added. You walked over and carefully picked up the pad, beginning to look through what came up on the screen.

Victim: Rantaro Amami
Cause of Death: The victim's body was discovered in the library. The estimated time of death is 9:10 p.m.. The victim was subjected to blunt force trauma to the back of the skull, resulting in cranial fractures and immediate death. No other injuries were detected.

>>Truth Bullet: Monokuma File 1

"I know it's a little late, but..." Tsumugi started softly. "...seeing this makes it real. Rantaro...is really dead."

"This is the mastermind's fault... The mastermind killed Rantaro..."

"...Mastermind? I'm sorry, what are we talking about?" Kiibo questioned.

"Kaede... Please explain what is going on, and spare us no detail," Kirumi requested.

"Yeah, I will..." Kaede and Shuichi then began their explanation about the mastermind, how they could be one of the students amongst everyone, and finally the trap and its outcome. You had tuned out at random intervals though, eager to start investigating and tired of all the talk.

"I see... So that is what happened. I was not aware you two had planned such a thing," Kirumi stated.

"Kh! So you used those cameras I modified for this bullsh*t!?" Miu asked aggravated, looking away from the pianist with both hands on her hips.

"But...why would you keep something so important a secret from us?" Kaito wondered.

"Once we knew one of us was the mastermind, we'd start fighting over who it was..." Ryoma said quietly, pulling down his hat to where most of his face was darkened ominously and he was only seeing through slitted eyes. "That's what yiu two were afraid of, wasn't it?"

"Y-Yeah... That's right..." Kaede answered.

"But if there are cameras, won't this case be solved really easily?" Kokichi asked out of nowhere. "Aw maaan, that's so boring!"

"Your amusement is the least of our concerns! We need to check the cameras right now!" Tenko said loudly.

"Nyeeeh. The culprit should be in the pictures. It'll be case closed," Himiko yawned, bored.

"Alright, let me go get the cameras," Shuichi said. He went around the library, retrieving all of the cameras that had been set up, and quickly rushed over to the group with them. "Okay, I've got them. It was hard removing the camera that Kaede set up, she really taped it down well..."

"Well, I really didn't want that camera to fall, since it was aimed at the moving bookcase," the pianist responded to him.

"Are you...absolutely sure that's your reasoning?" you suddenly asked her. The blonde seemed to grow a bit nervous when you said that.

"Yeah! Mhmm! Wh-What else would it be?" she rushed. I'll get down to the bottom of this, you declared in your head; however, being so nice, you decided to backpedal to put the pressure off of her. Instead of going on any farther you just shrugged your shoulders and looked away nonchalantly.

"...Now here are the three cameras," Shuichi continued awkwardly. "Now, we just have to develop the film..."

"Allow me to perform that task," Kirumi offered selflessly.

"Wow! Is there anything the Ultimate Maid can't do!?" Tenko praised her. ...Kirumi is a teenager, right? you asked jokingly in your head. She seems so mature and all. I think she will definitely survive this killing game. You let out a sigh in momentary relief.

"I heard everything you said!" Monophanie appeared out of nowhere. "If that's what you need, just leave it to me! I'll develop the photos so you b*stards can focus on the investigation!" She started sweating. "'Cause if you guys get punished, it would be way too gory!"

"H-Hey! Don't butt into our—" Without listening to the blonde's objection, the bear walked up to Shuichi and snatched the cameras from him...somehow.

"...Ah!" he yelped in surprise.

"I am a strong, sensual woman. Do not underestimate me," the robot-bear said proudly.

"Hey! Give those back!" Kaede yelled at her.

"No need to worry. We all have to follow the rules. We won't do anything underhanded or devious." That's good for our sake, but that does sound like a boring life, you thought randomly. "So I'll let you know when I'm finished developing the photos."

"W-Wait! Give the cameras back!" the Ultimate Pianist called out desperately.

"Awwww, there she goes," Angie stated.

"N-No... That was important evidence."

"I'm sorry... I-I was being careless..." Shuichi apologized.

"It probably okay," Gonta reasoned. "She say she develop photos, then give photos back."

"And she said she had to follow the rules, so I don't think she would destroy evidence," Kiibo added hopefully.

"Looks like we've got no choice but to believe that," Ryoma said in the matter.

"It's important to believe. Atua only shows mercy to those who believe."

"Kaede...I know you're worried, but you can trust me. We just have to be patient," you heard the detective saying to the other teen. The two of them exchanged a few words before...

"Hey, sooo..." Kokichi had his hands behind his head again, with his body tilted slightly. "I don't care about this mushy stuff, so let's just get started already. And try to take this seriously, okay? Our lives are on the line."

"Thank god, we can finally get into this," you accidentally said out loud. You quickly turned your head and covered your mouth. Sh*t, you thought. I didn't mean to... You looked over at the boy. Agh, great, and now he's looking at me.

"Before we start, I'd like to suggest that we not investigate by ourselves," Kirumi said to the group.

"Huh? Why?" Gonta asked curiously.

"If we let the culprit work by themselves, they might try and destroy evidence, right?" Ryoma replied.

"Oh, you're right... Since the culprit is one of us," Tsumugi chimed in.

"Kehehe... If each of us watches the other, no one will be able to hide any evidence."

"I do not intend to offer a suggestion that would further arouse suspicion, but..."

"No, that's logical! Please speak your mind, Kirumi," Kiibo assured her.

"It's not something you should be proud to say..." Kaito started, rubbing his head slightly, "but I guess we don't have a choice. After all, if we don't find out who the culprit is, we'll all be killed." Everyone looked around, and without saying a word they knew that the time had come: it's time to find out who killed Rantaro.

Word Count: 3808