The three of us ran faster and faster back toward the large glass cage. Kichiro drifted behind slightly from having shorter legs but was still able to keep up. I could feel my own heartbeat thundering in my ears.

"It's him," Kichiro called out between breaths. "It's going to be him."

"We don't know anything yet!" I called back to him. The terrible feeling didn't fade, though.

It couldn't have been him. As quiet as he was, we all needed Daiki. 

"It's him," Kichiro said again. "It's him, it's him, it's him."

He let out what sounded like a mixture between a laugh and a sob. I had no idea how to comfort him. I couldn't comfort him. All I could do was keep running until the tank came into our sights.

Daiki was floating with his face down in the water, just below the surface. His head hung downward and his eyes were shut. He seemed to be just... drifting there.

"Spy boy," Kichiro muttered, shoving both Ruji and me aside so he could get to the glass. There were terrified tears in his eyes as he brought his fists against the glass. "Get up."

Daiki hadn't moved, but there wasn't a body discovery announcement either. There were three of us, right? So if he was dead, there should have been an announcement. Or maybe this didn't count because he was killed by the motive instead of one of us. Would a trial even have to take place?

Kichiro let out a stifled sob, then rested his forehead against the glass and started to quietly cry. His shoulders shook with his uneven breaths. A cold feeling formed in my chest. "Daiki..." Kichiro muttered between quiet cries. Never before had he looked so... normal. So human-like. He wasn't the same troublemaker he used to be. He wasn't laughing at his own luck. He was drowning in it. I wanted to reach out to him and hug him. I wanted to hug him and cry with him. Daiki had been the one to give me a sense of self again after Tora died. It was Daiki who made me feel truly worthwhile about my talents. It was Daiki who saw potential in me. It was Daiki-

"Look!" Ruji shouted, snapping me out of my thoughts.

The ultimate spy had raised his head above the water and took a breath, blinking a few times. He blinked once or twice, then looked down at us with a confused expression.

His confusion shifted to concern once he saw the tears in Kichiro's eyes as the ultimate unlucky student gazed up at him in complete shock.

I couldn't hear his voice, but he seemed to mouth "Kichiro?"

Kichiro stepped back and quickly turned away so his back was to the tank, trying to hide his emotional state from the spy. He quickly wiped his tears, but his efforts were useless. More quickly came in to replace the ones he brushed away.

The spy swam to the edge of the tank and pressed his hands to the glass, trying to get a better look at us. "What's wrong?" he seemed to say, although I was never one for reading lips.

I shook my head, the word "nothing," practically being formed on my lips when we were all interrupted by a loud announcement.

"A BODY HAS BEEN DISCOVERED! AFTER A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME, WHICH YOU MAY USE HOWEVER YOU LIKE, THE CLASS TRIAL WILL BEGIN! THE MOTIVE WILL NO LONGER APPLY!"

Oh no...

Who could have died?! It wasn't any of us, thankfully, but then who?! Rantaro?! Yuuki?!

A few seconds later, Monokuma appeared and opened the hatch, allowing Daiki to climb out.

The ultimate spy scrambled up the ladder, then down to the rest of us. He opened his mouth to speak, but didn't say a word. 

"We need to find the others," I said, terrified.

Who could be dead? 

Daiki nodded in agreement, then pointed past us.

"Yes," Ruji agreed. "Sora and Yuuki should be over there. W-we can find them first."

Sora and Yuuki. They were supposed to be together, so it was likely that they'd be fine. And Saikoro offered for me to join him earlier, so if he was still alive, he wasn't likely to be the murderer. I mean, what kind of killer would invite a friend to come along?

Unless he was aiming to kill me earlier.

Agh, I hated thinking of my fellow students this way. I used to believe that everyone was truly a good person, deep in their hearts. I used to believe that if given two choices, most people would choose the right one. 

Now, I was suspecting everyone around me of murder.

"Check the monopad," Kichiro breathed, still trying to compose himself. 

The monopad! Of course, there was always a Monokuma file that appeared the second a body was discovered. Why didn't any of us think to check sooner?

Probably because we were afraid. Afraid that Daiki would be dead. 

Ruji scrambled to get his monopad, then held it up while each of us gathered around him to see.

Victim: Brittany Smith. The time of death was left unmarked. The body was found in the woods, crushed beneath a fallen aero engine. Death was instantaneous. 

"Brittany?" I asked, my voice soft.

She was gone?

I could remember her sitting on our raft, smiling and laughing whenever we went over larger waves. She was always so upbeat and positive. Even though she never quite understood the gravity of the situations we were facing, she was pleasant to be around.

And now she was gone. 

"Maybe it was an accident," Ruji breathed.

That was quite possible. I remember Ruji telling me that Sora got easily distracted when people came over to keep him and Yuuki company while they worked. Perhaps he was working on the wing when Brittany came over, then something happened and it fell. Perhaps she distracted him just long enough for an accident to happen.

If that's what happened, then Yuuki would likely have been there as a witness, which would mean an entire investigation and trial wouldn't be necessary. Yes, the situation was horrible, but we wouldn't be required to do all the searching and accusing.

Poor Sora, though. I couldn't imagine being executed over an accident like that. Especially with all I knew about him. He was still sick. He still had things he wanted to do with his life. 

And poor Brittany...

We all decided to check out the scene of the crime. By the time we got there, Yuuki was the one watching over the scene. Everyone else who was there to trigger the body discovery announcement had left. 

The propellor things had fallen from the wing and seemingly crushed her. It was almost impossible to tell who was beneath that wing from all the blood, but the blue hair sticking out from beneath it made it obvious. It was Brittany. A small candle was set right next to what remained of her body, flickering slightly in the soft breeze.

"I left to get some food," Yuuki explained sadly. "On my way back, I ran into Bashira and we both decided to walk together. She had been with Ahmya for most of the day, but the two got into some kind of disagreement or something. By the time we both got back, Brittany was crushed and Sora was gone. Rantaro came by soon after, and that triggered the announcement."

So Yuuki, Bashira, and Rantaro were safe then. That was good to know.

"Do you suppose it was an accident?" I asked. "With Sora-"

"Maybe. I did think about it," Yuuki admitted quickly. "We had just re-attached the engines and the bolts didn't quite fit right. But Sora had triple-checked to make sure they were all tight enough. And... if it was an accident, I know Sora wouldn't have done this on purpose. He's not that kind of guy."

None of us are. People are naturally good. 

But... well, we weren't in the real world anymore. We were in a killing game.

"Bashira and Rantaro went to look for more clues," Yuuki breathed. "I haven't seen anyone else around, but they put me in charge of watching the body."

"Smart," Kichiro chuckled, kneeling down by the blood and placing his hands in it. He started making handprints along the fallen engine as Yuuki gasped and quickly pulled him away.

"See, this is exactly why I'm here," Yuuki breathed as Kichiro frowned, then wiped some of the blood on his hands over Yuuki's clothes. The ultimate unlucky student laughed sinisterly. The scared kid I found earlier was gone and the crazy person made his grand return.

"And Sora?" Ruji asked. "Have you seen him since this all happened?"

Yuuki shook his head.

"He probably ran," Kichiro chuckled. "If he even still can."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yuuki asked.

"Oh, nothing," Kichiro shrugged. His eyes briefly met mine.

He knew. He knew that Sora was sick. I don't know how, but I could tell from the way he looked at me. 

Daiki stayed silent as we all talked with Yuuki about what happened. From the way it sounded, Sora was the primary suspect. However, something seemed slightly off. I don't know why, but something deep in my gut told me that this was more complicated than a simple accident.

"Tire marks," Daiki whispered.

I hummed and looked at him, waiting for him to elaborate.

The ultimate spy pointed forward, then walked over to a spot in the mud. There were large tire marks in the dirt that led up a trail.

"Weird... where does this lead?" I asked, turning and looking back at Yuuki.

"Toolshed," Yuuki shrugged. "Sora and I went up there a few times to get some more supplies."

"Did either of you have bikes?" I pressed.

"Dirtbikes," Daiki quietly corrected.

Yuuki frowned, then shook his head no and explained that they did all their walking on foot.

I nodded, then started up the path. I could hear the footsteps behind me, signaling that everyone, except for Yuuki, was following along. The journey wasn't too far, but the hill was quite steep. I could picture Yuuki and Sora struggling to carry those heavy materials down. It must have been really tough work for them.

By the time I got to the top of the hill, there were no signs of people. Just a large, creepy, wooden shed. It looked to be the size of a decent house. Just one floor, but still quite massive.

I placed my hand on the rotting wooden door when I found myself stopping. 

The terrified feeling increased. I looked back at all my friends and could see similar senses of fear in all their eyes except Daiki. Somehow, he remained calm. Calm, but knowing. 

I let out a breath, then faced forward and pushed the door open.

"A BODY HAS BEEN DISCOVERED!" Monokuma's booming voice exclaimed before my eyes even caught sight of the body.

He lay there on the ground in the center of the room. There was no blood, no weapons, there was nothing. If it weren't for the announcement, I would have thought he was sleeping. 

He wasn't, though.

Sora...

I swallowed, then walked over to the ultimate pilot. Once I saw the handprints around his neck, I knew what happened.

"Victim: Sora Tachi," Ruji read grimly, pulling out his monopad. "Time of death isn't noted, but the cause was being choked out. The body was found in the toolshed, obviously."

Two deaths...

Why would any of us bother killing more than one person? There were no benefits!

There wasn't a candle, either. Every dead body I had seen so far has had a small candle set beside it, so what gives? What were the candles all about anyway? Was that just Monokuma's way of bringing attention to the body? 

"Darn, I liked him," Kichiro yawned, stretching his arms. "Oh well. Looks like Sora will soar a-no more. Heehee!"

Was he really cracking jokes about this situation? Right now? Sora was there, working with us to build a plane so we could escape this place! Sora was the embodiment of brightness, fun, and positivity. He was genuinely one of the best people I had ever known, and now he was gone! It's hard to wrap my head around it. Brittany's death appeared accidental, but this... this couldn't have been just an accident.

Daiki kneeled down by the body as well and started looking it over. He gestured to some blood on Sora's sleeves, which threw my mind into a confused state because Sora wasn't bleeding anywhere. He had no injuries aside from the bruises around his neck.

"Broken cameras," Ruji breathed, looking up at the walls. I followed his gaze, and surely enough, any cameras surveilling the room had been broken. There were small rocks on the ground beneath them, so someone must have been afraid.

But surveillance cameras meant that somewhere must have had footage!

"Trapdoor," Daiki whispered, turning away from the body and nodding at the corner of the room. He quietly stood up, then walked over to it and pulled it open. I could hardly see what was inside from how dark the room was, so it looked like the ultimate spy just disappeared into the floor. 

Ruji quickly pulled out and turned on Maikeru's flashlight as the rest of us started to follow. Kichiro tripped on the way to the door but picked himself up. Once we were inside, we were met with what looked like a small security room.

"The cameras just keep track of what's inside and around this shed," Daiki quietly explained while going to a set of monitors. All of them were dark. "I'll try to get these going. You guys check the audio."

I nodded, then walked across the room to the other side, where a different set of computers were set up. I wasn't sure if these were what Daiki was talking about, but they seemed about right. Ruji helped me power them up while Kichiro stood in the center of the room, not being of much help. He was thankfully quiet, though, so it was easy to stay focused. 

Luckily, the audio hadn't been damaged. The Monokuma File didn't explain the times of murder to us so that made finding the right file a little harder, but we were able to make a general guess based on what Yuuki told us earlier. 

There was silence for a long time, so Ruji and I listened to it at a faster speed until we heard some yelling and crashing. We slowed down the footage and listened carefully.

The tape was glitchy and static, but I could definitely hear Sora's voice. He was coughing, crying out for help. 

I tried to listen in for another voice, but it was just him. It was like he was all by himself. 

I felt chills run through my body as he started choking. Then, he got quiet.

"Oh you'll take the high road... and I'll take the low road..." he quietly sang to himself in the recording between coughs and cries of pain. It sounded like he was desperately searching for something. "And I'll be in Scotland before you... for me and my true love will never meet again, on the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond..."

Suddenly, his quiet singing cut out, and there was a loud crash.

"AHMYA!" he yelled between static glitches and crashes. "AHMYA! AHMYA!"

The tape skipped, making his voice repeat the name over and over. Ahmya, Ahmya, Ahmya.

My face went cold until the Monokuma announcement snapped us back to reality.

"It's time for the class trial! Everyone meet down by the tank! Puhuhuhu!" Monokuma laughed. 

I could hardly focus, though. All I could hear were Sora's desperate cries.

Ahmya, Ahmya, Ahmya.