Sorry for not updating so long, haha

Hope you enjoy!

******

A week had gone past since the students held their first group meeting. Thankfully, no murders had occurred so far, and the group had started to get comfortable with each other.

Alfred had addressed himself to be the leader of the group, which had given them a peaceful start of the school year. He promised that he would not let anyone be harmed by one another, carrying out the rule that they had enforced a week ago. This was something Shelby has admired about him.

Unfortunately, it seemed as if the peaceful mood in the atmosphere would not last much longer as Monokuma called them out to the gym for a "important" meeting.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I've added some new rules into the Regulations in your e-Handbook," he announced.

Everyone took out their e-Handbooks immediately.

"You could at least tell us about this change!" Dreamz yelled, her eyebrows furrowing.

"That's what I've called you all here for. They're not exactly rules, but they explain what happens after a murder has been committed," Monokuma continued.

"Let me explain it to you. Basically, right after three or more students find the corpse of a fellow classmate, there will be a Body Discovery Announcement. I will give you around, let's say, 20 to 30 minutes to investigate the case and collect information. After that period of time, you will all gather to the basement and we will all hold a Class Trial. In a Class Trial, you will use all the information you've collected to determine who the killer is. If you guess correctly, only the killer will be punished. If you guess wrong, everyone except the killer will be punished!"

"Punish? What do you mean by that?" Shelby demanded.

"By punish...I mean execute!" Monokuma exclaimed. "More death! How exciting, am I right?"

"What?!" Annalise cried.

"Oh don't worry. When you get punished, you get a special type of death, I assure you. It'll be exciting! One example from the past was when this baseball player got pelted with baseballs until he died! Something like that," he explained. "The best part is, that you all get to witness the execution!"

"You're insane..." Juan muttered.

"Speaking of murder...I haven't seen much lately. And I've been feeling pretty bored," Monokuma murmured.

"Get to the point," Lovino snapped.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I've taken something very important from all of you. To put it simply, if you want to get it back, you have to kill one of your fellow classmates," the bear stated. "Don't worry, I'll give it all back after the murder has occurred."

"Huh...he's right...I haven't seen my violin anywhere today. I thought someone moved it to the music room, but it wasn't there," Samantha mumbled.

"And I did not see my metal pipe either." Ivan smiled, a purple aura starting to form around him. "Would you like to explain?"

"I didn't see my laptop either!" Dreamz snapped. "Give it back, you stuffed toy!" She started to trudge over to the black and white bear. Immediately, Alfred rushed forwards, restraining the girl from beating up Monokuma.

"Chill, dude! You can't hurt him! It's against the rules!" he reminded.

"I need my laptop!" Dreamz shrieked, struggling to get out of his grip.

Finally, Alfred threw her over his shoulder.

"B-but does that mean...no pasta?" Feliciano whimpered.

"Correct!" Monokuma laughed. "Have fun, kids!"

With that, he disappeared.

"Come on, guys, don't listen to him!" Alfred exclaimed. He put Dreamz back on the ground. "There's no way any of us would kill because of that stupid bear, right?"

Everyone shook their heads. But the lingering feeling of doubt remained in the air.

******

One night...

Two nights...

Three sleepless nights....

Shelby tossed and turned in her bed. It had been 3 days after Monokuma had given them the motive. Each passing day went on. Everyone was deprived of sleep and optimism, all for the exact same reason.

Alfred had tried to cheer everyone up and tell them everything was going to be alright, but even he knew that everyone had started to become wary of each other again.

Shelby stared at the clock. It was currently 1:50 AM. She felt restless, she couldn't sleep at all. Usually, she would be asleep at this point but for some reason, she just couldn't close her eyes and feel safe under her blanket.

Her eyes were wide open and her ears alert. The hairs on her body had stuck up because of the silent tension in the air.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps. They were faint. Immediately, she dove under her blanket, praying that whoever was out there wouldn't come to her room.

Her heartbeat grew louder and louder. It rang in her ears, and she was sure that whoever was outside could have heard it. Tears pricked at her tightly shut eyes. She gritted her teeth, trying her hardest not to cry.

Shelby heard the footsteps fade away. She let out a heavy breath, then peeked out from under her blankets. Maybe the person had gone to the cafeteria to get some food or something to drink. Maybe they had been feeling just like her, tense, panicked, and scared.

She waited for the footsteps to come back, but they never came. It was now 2:30 AM. She waited for another long while, but she never heard the returning footsteps of the person.

If it was a quick trip to the cafeteria, then they had taken way too long. Even if they had intended to murder someone, they had been taking way too long. Another hour had flew past. No footsteps. It was peculiar. Very peculiar.

The clock had now struck 3:14 AM. Shelby had finally started to feel tired. Her eyelids started to droop. Maybe she had been hearing things. Maybe she had been so worried about the murders that she had been hearing things.

Shelby finally let herself drift into unconsciousness.

******

It had only seemed like a few seconds have passed before the morning announcement was made.

Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong!

The screen flickered on.

"Good morning, you guys! It is now 7:00 AM! Rise and shiiiiiine! Let's make today into the best day it can be!"

Shelby opened her eyes. Irritated, she frowned, wanting to go back to sleep. Instead, she forced herself up, trudging over to the bathroom.

Squeezing a blob of toothpaste onto her brush, she started to brush her teeth sleepily. She was about to rinse just when a high-pitched, blood-curdling scream echoed down from the hallway. She could tell that it was Feliciano by the voice.

Almost choking on her toothpaste, she flung open the door to her room.

The Italian turned the corner and ran towards the students who had gathered in the hallway.

"What's wrong with you? Screaming so loudly like that!" Lovino muttered.

"I'm serious! T-There's been a m-m-murder!" he cried. Tears started streaking down his eyes and he flung himself right at his brother.

Lovino's eyes went wide. "You better be joking!"

Immediately, Feliciano led everyone around the corridor and believe it or not, it was true.

Lying right in the middle of the hallway was the lifeless body of Dreamz.