Danganronpa: Despair Hidden Behind the Veil/ Chapter 3

## Chapter 3: Silence isn't Always Golden- Daily Life (Told in Elle Romanova's POV.)

I left the dining hall, walking to the courtyard. “You sure you want to come with me, Kosuke?” I asked over my shoulder. “You should stay with your girlfriend.”

“After seeing four of my friends die, i will protect another.” He said, a deck of cards in his hand.

“...?” I tilted my head, but didn’t question it. “Well… on one condition.” I finally said, before turning to look at him. “You and me, one on one. I haven’t practiced in a while.” Of course, I wasn’t talking about hand-to-hand combat, but with ‘swords.’ I knew the ones in the dojo were wooden, so I wasn’t afraid of hurting anyone.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

I nodded. “Why? Are you afraid I’d beat you?” I asked, a bit of a teasing tone in my voice.

He smiled, “You are on.” he said, as we entered the dojo.

I went over to the swords. “Don’t plan on going easy on me.” I said, taking a hair tie off of my wrist and tying my hair into a ponytail. “I know I don’t.”

He grabbed two of the practice swords and threw me one, which i caught. “Rules, princess?”

“Do you know how to fence?” I asked, “Because those are the rules I follow. First one to touch the other wins. Unless it’s a close match, and we would need to go again.”

He nodded. We took our places and Kosuke stabbed first.

I parried, stepping back. He was quick, but I knew I could be faster. I side-stepped, slashing at the sword, trying to knock it away.

He swung as well, and we hit at our strongest. The blades cracked. “Um….woops?” He said.

“...Honestly, I’ve never had that happen before…” I said, laughing a little.

“Well, that seems troublesome.” He said, as he dropped the blade. But what i didn’t know was he was playing a manipulative game.

“If only they were metal…” I said, “They’d be lighter… and wouldn’t crack as easily.” I sighed, resting on the sword.

He quickly grabbed the blade as it fell, and knocked the sword I rested on away. I fell, but he grabbed me, blade on my neck.

“...Damn.” I muttered. “I forgot the first rule… Never let your guard down.”

“Yep. you should have taken the chance when I let my guard down.” He said, letting me go as I hit the ground.

“Honestly, I always give a fair fight…” I said, wincing a bit. “Unless it’s an actual threat…”

“You should fight as if everything is a threat.” He said, throwing the blade in the bin. I raised an eyebrow. Oh right, he has been in this killing game before.

“Kosuke, what happened in that game?” I asked. Kosuke tensed.

“.....Why do you ask?” he said. His voice was cold but there was a twinge of worry hidden inside.

“...curiosity, but also… I feel like if I understood what actually happened, we’ll be able to use that to help everyone here.” I said, looking at him. “Like..who were the people involved, and what exactly caused them to turn on each other… and...what drove you to your decisions…”

“....Ultimate Despair. We were behind an event known as the Tragedy. I don’t remember why we did it. But the game we were in…...It was for rehabilitation and atonement. But a virus version of Junko manipulated the game. I wanted everyone to survive, but after the third trial…...i couldn’t do it anymore. Neither did Michi…...so she came up with the plan of a suicide hidden as a murder.” he said, the words just pouring out.

“...I’m so sorry…” I whispered, “It’s horrible to think about, but...if you have any idea on how to stop whoever is behind this…” I looked up at him, “Some way of preserving hope here…”

“I wish i could find out…..” He said, “But as of right now, i have found nothing.”

I let out a small sigh. “That sucks… because whoever it is appears to know a lot about us…” I stood up. “Like some sort of assassin or something…”

“I wish i could search more but even i am afraid.” he said.

“...You? Afraid?” I asked, tilting my head. “Why?”

“Because I was almost killed for looking into it too much.” He said.

“Hmm… so hidden traps…” I said, before Michiko opened the door to the dojo.

“Kosuke, you know it’s late…” she said, “We probably should let her go.”

“Yeah. the scars are acting up…” He said, walking over. “Also, more like i was put into an execution.” he walked out. Michiko on the other hand, looked at me.

“What did he say?” she asked.

“...some things about the previous game you two were in… and times when he was poking around trying to find the mastermind…” I said, looking at her, “Was it really your idea to do the whole..suicide-murder thing?”

Michiko sighed. “It was. I set it up in a way to make a death not even Monokuma could solve. It was stupid but i did what i had to. For the survival of everyone else.”

I nodded. “I see… That’s what…” I paused, looking down for a moment. “That’s what a true leader would do…” “Not run away and hide…”

“You must be doubting yourself.” She said. “You can't doubt yourself, especially now.”

“...” I nodded, looking at her. “Thank you, Michiko.” I said, smiling, though I let out a small yawn. “S-sorry, I’ve never been up this long before…”

“Well, lets get you to bed.” She said, as we walked to my room. “And, don;t worry. You are an amazing leader.”

I blushed. “But Kosuke’s the leader, not me… If anything, I’m a figurehead.” I said.

“Trust me, Kosuke would tank in the first five minutes.” She said, jokingly.

I giggled. “Well, I don’t think he’s that bad, but...I’ll keep that in mind. Night, Michiko.” I said, opening my door.

“Night.” She replied, smiling.

I went into my room, and went to bed almost immediately.

The next morning:

“DING DONG-BING BONG”

“Good morning everyone. It is currently 10 A.M. Time to rise and shine!” i heard Monokuma say from the TV. I got up to get ready for the day, and walked out of my room. “...I should check on Eric,” I thought, walking over to his door. I hesitantly knocked.

The door opened. He looked way better. “Hey.” He said, smiling.

“Hi,” I replied, smiling. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“I am glad too.” He replied, stepping out. “Geez, i know Coralia is an Aquatic Veterinarian, but she didn’t have to be such a worrywart.”

I giggled, “She’s just worried about all of us…” I said, taking his hand as we walked to the dining hall. “...hm… I wonder what new place would open today…”

“Maybe something that can’t be used as a weapon?” He asked.

“...hopefully…” I said, as we entered.

“Oh, good, you’re better!” Coralia said, from her place next to Alyss and Chen.

“Yeah, but you shouldn’t have been so…..overcautious?” Eric said, sitting down. Chen looked down. “I guess you are still down because of the trial?”

Chen looked up. “Yeah, it was hard doing that. I knew it was necessary but at that cost…”

“Just...don’t worry about it.” Yuki said, quietly.

“You say that, but he was your friend…” Alyss said.

“If he did that, then would you still be friends with that.” Eric asked.

“...no.” replied Alyss.

“Well,” I started, “Anyone know anything about a new area yet? I’m ready to explore.”

“...according to the map…” Coralia said, pulling out her Monopad. “It appears to be located...outside the school, in the forest?”

“Wait, What?” Chen asked, looking for hope. But it disappeared. “We can't just leave, like we hoped….”

“I doubt it…” I said, “But we can go investigate and see what this place is. You never know, it could be Cirque de Soliel or something.”

“Cirque de...wha?” asked Coralia.

“Cirque de Soliel. It means Circus of the Sun.” I explained, smiling. “I’m saying whatever it is, I doubt it could be bad.”

“You never know...he may be leading us out to die from wolves…” Alyss said.

“We can only find out when we get there.” Chen said, getting up. “It looks like we have more than just this building.”

I nodded. “Well, let’s see what this is.” I said, starting to head out, making sure to grab a croissant on the way out. “You coming, Eric?”

He jumped up. “Of course.” he said, as we walked out of the dining hall, heading to the side door of the building. “Wait.” he looked at the labs. “I remember this area.”

“Huh?” I asked, tilting my head, before looking around. “...I don’t…”

“It was grated off.” he said, throwing the doors open.

“....so that’s what this area was…” I whispered, before following.

Surprisingly, it was more open than we thought. Except for the tall fence. “Subtle.” Chen said.

“Obviously whoever put is in here doesn’t want us to get out…” I said, starting to walk around a bit more, feeling a bit happier knowing that there was more ‘outside’ to this school.

“At least we have something more...open.” Eric said, as we kept walking. The fresh air felt more crisp here.

I smiled, closing my eyes for a moment as I walked. It almost felt like home. “Oh, don’t be silly, you know that’s not true.” I thought, shaking my head as I noticed something in the distance. “...is that...a circus tent?”

“CIRCUS!” yelled Sun, who snuck behind us. He ran past us, knocking us down. “YEEEEEEEEEEE!”

“...ow...shouldn’t have mentioned it….” I muttered, though the last time I went to a circus… I shook my head again, standing.

“Well, looks like Sun was excited.” Eric said, helping Chen up. “Lets hurry.”

I hesitated. “U-um…” I started, looking at both of them.

“Oh…..it was at a circus, wasn’t it.” Chen asked.

I blushed a bit. “S-so what if it was?” I asked, a bit out of character for myself. “Geez, you’re sounding like Ciel…”

“Well. you have us to make sure nothing happens.” Eric said.

“...” I nodded, starting to follow them. “F-fine… but I regret all of this already…”

We walked into the giant area, which was a giant carnival. “Damn, this is different.” Chen said.

“...You could say that…” I said, looking around. “So similar…” I put my arms around me, staying close to Eric and Chen.

We walked to the main tent, where Sun was laughing and spinning. “Oh my god, its just like home!” he said, smiling.

“Of course he’d say that…” I thought, hiding behind Eric, but I couldn’t help but let my eyes wander around the tent. It was a pretty standard old-style tent. Portraits of different acts hung on different panels of the fabric, and it was a general one-ring circus, with the audience around it. And...as much as I hated to admit it...I was in as much awe of it now as I was back then.

Sun ran up. “Well, this isn't all. I noticed a few labs as well.” he said.

“....like?” I asked, looking at him.

“I couldn’t tell. They were on the edge of the area.” He said, before laughing again as hwe ran around.

“Well, he now is…..more eccentric.” Chen said.

“...I don’t know if that’s a good thing.” I said, taking a chance by leaving their sides. I went into the center of the ring, and closed my eyes. The memories flooded back: a young lady going with her butler to the circus. Letting him leave her side for a few moments while she waited to talk to the trapeze artists and the tightrope walker. Being...attacked. I jolted myself out of the memory.

“Cmon, lets see what else is here.” Chen said. He was also jittery.

“Y-yeah.” I said, wrapping my arms around me as we walked around a bit more.

We spotted the first lab on the outskirts near where i assumed was the Hall of Mirrors. It had a bow and a treble clef. “Shiro and Yuki.” Eric said.

“...Now it’s just Yuki…” I said.

“Yeah.” Chen replied.

I continued walking, looking around. “Huh… they put a lot of work into this circus…” I thought.

Eric noticed the next lab. “I think this is the last one.” he said. It featured a camera and a sword in a stone. “Seraphina and Kosuke.”

“A bit strange to put the two of them together…” I said, “Isn’t it?”

“Maybe it was to keep Michiko and Kosuke from working together.” Eric replied.

“Well, since they were during their game, I am not shocked.” Chen said.

“...but how are we not certain they aren’t already…?” I thought, before shaking my head a little, and walked back towards the Hall of Mirrors, curious.

Chen followed, as Eric spotted something and ran. “Eric, cmon, you need to stop with the sweets!” Chen yelled. But it was in vain, as Chen stode in behind me.

“Eric, you shouldn’t-” I started, before sighing. “...Never mind then… Just going to…” I opened the door to the Hall of Mirrors.

Well, the Hall of mirrors was a nice way to call it. More like the Maze of mind Fuckery. “Ok, remind me to hit the dojo.” Chen said, as I looked over and laughed. He was squat and large suddenly.

“Chen, I think that’s the mirror, not you.” I giggled out, before turning to walk again. It was a bit difficult to tell which way to go, though, and the mirrors only seemed to get a bit worse, making it appear that I was a bit heavier than I was. “...Definitely need to go on a diet…” I thought, blushing slightly.

“WAAAAAAAH” Chen screamed. I turned to see Phantom appear out of nowhere. It did make me jump, that was until Chen ran into me.

I let out a small scream, falling back. “W-whoa, Chen! C-Calm down!” I exclaimed, blushing a bit darker.

Phantom laughed, walking forward to us. “You should have seen the look on your face!” he said, laughing more.

“And you should know not to sneak up on people like that!” I exclaimed, feeling my more protective side come out.

“Come on, it was funny.” he said, helping us up. “You have to have fun sometimes.”

“...You try having to realize you’re going to be in charge of a country and try to have fun with that…” I muttered, turning to walk off. “....does anyone actually know the way out of here?”

Phantom nodded, leading us straight out. “The mirrors are too much. Easy way to trap someone.”

“It does seem that way…” I said, looking around, “...I wonder if they have animals here.”

Chen looked past a small area. “..........So…..CUTE!” he ran through the area, laughing as he watched a lion cub roll over.

“...and we lost him.” I said, laughing a little. “Be careful, Chen! It’s still a wild animal!”

That's when the lioness came over. She gave chen this look before licking his hand. Phantom and I were shocked. “You are all cute.” Chen said, petting both of them.

“....Next thing I know, a tiger’s going to…” I started, before shaking my head. “Nope. Nope. No demons today.”

“Which is why you won't look left.” Phantom said.

“....Don’t tempt me, ninja boy.” I said, looking at him. “I’m sure there’s a tiger here… as well as others…”

“Yes, but things aren’t always as they seem.” He said.

“As long as there aren’t snakes...in multiple terms….I’m fine.” I said, walking again. “...why’d you follow Chen and I?”

“Got bored.” he said, smiling.

I glanced up at him. “Really?” I asked. “I figured you’d be...interested to be in the Big Top. You  know… heights and other things…”

“Eh, heights are just there for the view.” he said. “The action is always on the ground.”

“But…” I started, confused. “I mean, that is true… but it’s always better to get a view of everything before joining in the action. That way, you know who to avoid, and who are your friends.”

“Yes, that is true.” he said, walking back to the big top.

I smiled a little, walking around to different tents. Of course, I didn’t really do much, just peer in a few of them, and paused when I thought I heard something near me. “Wha?” After a few minutes of silence, I shook it off, thinking I was just imagining it.

The sound came back, this time closer. “Hissss.”

I tensed, looking around for the sound of the noise. “W-wha- where-?” I started, backing up.

That’s when a snake appeared in front of me, its tongue flicking. I screamed as Vixen laughed. She was holding the snake!

“Oh, calm down, he’s not poisonous.” she said, laughing.

“G-get that thing away f-from me!” I screamed, very apparent fear in my voice. I think I could even hear it crack. “I-I’m serious, Vixen, now!”

“Aww….” she said, setting it down. “That was not fun.”

I jumped slightly, backing into a crate. “S-scaring me with a snake isn’t fun!” I said, staring down at the creature.

“You need to lighten up.” Vixen said. “You are too uptight, like a soldier.”

I opened my mouth to retort, but I closed it and started walking off. “Maybe I am,” I said, “But you aren’t afraid of those things.”

“Trust me, after living on the run, nothing makes you scared.” she said.

“I understand that,” I said, “But…” I looked down. “I have reasons to be afraid. This whole place makes me…” I trailed off. “N-never mind… It really doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Scared?” Vixen said, “afraid the past will happen again?”

“...something like that…” I replied, looking at her. “S-silly, right?” I faked a laugh. “R-ridiculous…”

“See? You are afraid. Too uptight. I understand you are a princess, but sometimes, you have to do what you want, not what others want.” She said.

“...All my life I did that.” I explained. “I never particularly liked rules. But… the circus just is a memory I wish I could erase. But, it’s not possible to. It’s...one of the few times I actually try to be a bit more… uptight, as you say.”

“Well, just ignore it.” she said, as she grabbed my hand and went to the fun parts of the area. “Enjoy the place. Memories are just that, memories. They define our past but the future is a blank slate. You decide your fate.”

“....” I smiled, nodding, and pulled her over to some of the games. “C’mon!”

She laughed as we played some games. It was…...quite nice. Vixen was great to be around. She was funny when she played. We were there for several hours. That was when she got serious. “Elle…..you should know more about me.”

“Huh?” I asked, looking at her. “I mean...sure, but… what brought this up?”

“Well….it was because i once had a friend who was like you. She was very fun and playful. That was until i lost my parents and ran.” she started. “We were the royal family of my home, but lost everything.”

“Wait...what?” I thought. I took her hand and dragged over somewhere to sit down. “Tell me. I’m an open ear no matter what. I won’t judge you or anything.”

She looked at me. “I was born to royals in France, the Duke and Duchess of Venice. Of course, it was just a formality, but I felt like royalty. It was when I met my friend, who was hurt a few weeks earlier. I showed her the forests, nature, even dance I had learned. We were great friends. That was until my parents were killed, both stabbed 30 times each. It happened when I was out, getting something for my parents anniversary. But when i walked in…...everything was in shambles. But when I saw them…….I cried. The authorities immediately came for me, thinking i was the prime suspect. I was honest but they didn’t care. So I ran, after subduing a guard. I stowed away on the ship heading to ireland, and joined a band of …...well nomadic people who traveled, selling wares and bringing entertainment. And that’s where I was before coming here.” her story was very sad. Losing not just a friend, but her family as well. And the authorities wouldn’t believe her?!

“I’m...so sorry…” I said, hugging her. “No one should go through that… ever… I can’t believe that the authorities didn’t trust your word.”

“Well, I hoped that coming here might clear my name…..but i am not so sure anymore.” she said.

“Did someone say Duke and Duchess of Venice?!” said Dragomir, who was suddenly next to us. He looked excited.

“Whoa, what the-?” I started, looking at him. “How…? What…?” I took a breath. “Why? And...what’s so exciting about it?”

“A new canvas, just waiting to be painted.” he said, smiling. Alyss ran up, out of breath.

“Dragomir...y-you need to…” She started, “Not run off like that so much…”

He couldn't help smiling. “You try to contain working again.” he said.

“...working?” Vixen asked, crossing her arms. “And what do the Duchess and Duke have to do with that?”

He smiled wider. “You'll see.” he said.

“Oh no,” Alyss said. “He has eyes on the prey.”

I took Vixen’s hand and ran. “Oh no you don’t!” I said, running to the Big Top without much thought, though I was laughing the entire way.

“W-whoa, wait!” Vixen exclaimed.

Dragomir ran, surprisingly fast. Alyss was close behind. “Drake, stop!” she yelled.

“Not until she is made over!” he yelled.

“Maybe I don’t want to be?!” Vixen exclaimed, as we ran into the giant tent.

“Exactly!!!” I yelled.

We ran, trying to keep Dragomir off us. Sun looked from the trapeze. “Um….Wha?” he started, as he say Dragomir running around after us. “Oh thats why.”

“Drake, stop chasing them! If she doesn’t want a makeover, don’t make her!” Alyss exclaimed.

“Hey, Sun, help?!” Vixen exclaimed.

He nodded, as he pulled a lever. A wall appeared in front of Dragomir. He ran face first and was thrown back.

“...ow…” I said, wincing slightly.

“Thank you!” Vixen said.

He stood up. “Aww….I was going to enjoy this one….” he said.

“Maybe another time,” Vixen said, “Just...not right now.”

“Exactly, she might want to do this another day, Drake…” Alyss said.

“Well, the lab is open when you want.” he said, smiling.

Vixen nodded. “Yeah, sure.” she said. “So...what have you been up to, Sun?”

“Testing the equipment.” he said, swinging faster before letting go, flipping and landing. “Just because i would rather not have someone who is inexperienced doesn’t get hurt.”

“Good idea…” I said.

“...why don’t we put on a show for some of our fellow classmates? It’d be fun.” Vixen said.

“Why not? It would be fun to perform again.” He said.

“Well…” I started, “We’d have to choose who does what…”

“Agreed. But we can decide that sooner or later.” he said, smiling.

I nodded. “Yep,” I said, smiling. “Though, we should let everyone know what the new location is…”

“Yeah.” Sun said, as eric walked in, hands full. “Dude, you can slow down.”

“What are you-” I started, “Eric. What on earth are you doing?”

“.....Eating?” he said, mouth full.

“....You’re eating like you don’t eat anything at all.” I said, walking over to him.

“Sorry.” he said, swallowing. “You know i have a weakness for sweets.”

I smiled, “I know, but sometimes it’s best to...not eat as much as your body weight in certain foods.” I said. “...and I know, Vixen, there’s that ‘sounding like a soldier’ again.”

“At least you hear it.” Vixen said.

Eric finished the rest. “Oh, you have no idea how my body works.” he said.

“If you say so, Honey-” I started, getting a look from Vixen and Alyss. “What? I meant Honey-Senpai from Ouran! G-geez…”

“You and your anime.” Alyss said.

“You could say that again… but it’s kinda cute sometimes.” Vixen said.

I felt my face turn red, and I looked away. “...S-shut up…” I muttered.

“Aww, are you embarrassed?” Alyss laughed a little, “The princess is-”

“Shut up!” I said, looking at her. “I-I just…” I started, before turning away from them and walking out of the tent. “Forget it. No one really gets you.” I thought, walking back around the tents, not really realizing I was walking right towards the snakes...again.

I kept ranting to myself in my head, until I felt something touch my leg and arm. I froze, looking down and seeing snakes slithering onto me. I let out a shrill shriek, not really reacting any other way. I’m sure to the others in the area, it sounded like I was being murdered, but I was terrified. I had absolutely no idea how to react to these slithering beasts, and I wanted someone to get them off of me.

“Well, who knew you were such a snake charmer?” Sun said, helping remove the snakes. “It seems like Vixen forgot to close the cage.”

“Sorry!” She said, as she hummed to one of the snakes. “They really love music.”

“G-geez…” I whispered, shivering. “T-they’re snakes, not people…”

“Doesn’t mean they don’t like things, Princess,” Alyss laughed, “What’s your problem with them anyway?” I looked away.

“Why do you want to know? Maybe I just don’t like them…” I said, wrapping my arms around me.

“Elle, sing!” Chen said, walking back over.

“H-huh?” I asked, shocked, “W-why? I told you, I’m not that great!”

“So?” he said. “I can’t dance. But does that stop me?” he did a small jig that looked like it was choreographed.

I smiled a little. “Oh, come on, Elle. Sing.” Vixen said, nudging me. “It can’t be that bad.”

“Here, give me a song.” Sun said.

“Well… How about Somebody That I Used to Know?” asked Alyss.

“Ooh, that song!” Sun said, smiling. “Alright, let's do this.” He started to beat out the start of the song, while Eric and Vixen were his background.

Alyss and Dragomir started vocalizing along, and I smiled, listening to them. They actually weren’t that bad, like they were in perfect harmony.

“Now and then I think of when we were together/ Like when you said you felt so happy you could die/ Told myself that you were right for me/ But felt so lonely in your company/ But that was love and it's an ache I still remember,” Chen sang.

“You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness,” Michiko sang, coming in with a small smile, along with Seraphina and Coralia, “Like resignation to the end, always the end/ So when we found that we could not make sense/ Well you said that we would still be friends/ But I'll admit that I was glad it was over.”

“But you didn't have to cut me off,” The four of them sang, “Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing/ And I don't even need your love/ But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough/ No, you didn't have to stoop so low/ Have your friends collect your records and then change your number/ I guess that I don't need that though/ Now you're just somebody that I used to know/ Now you're just somebody that I used to know/ Now you're just somebody that I used to know.”

“Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over,” I sang, my voice slightly higher than everyone else’s, and a bit breathier, “But had me believing it was always something that I'd done/ But I don't wanna live that way/ Reading into every word you say/ You said that you could let it go/ And I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know.”

“But you didn't have to cut me off,” we all sang, “Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing/ And I don't even need your love/ But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough/ No, you didn't have to stoop so low/ Have your friends collect your records and then change your number/ I guess that I don't need that though/ Now you're just somebody that I used to know/ Somebody,”

“I used to know,” sang Coralia.

“Somebody,” sang Chen.

“Now you're just somebody that I used to know,” Seraphina sang.

“Somebody,” sang Michiko.

“I used to know,” I sang.

“Somebody,” sang Coralia.

“Now you're just somebody that I used to know,” I sang, as everyone else joined in on the last part, “I used to know, that I used to know, I used to know somebody.”

We all looked at each other and smiled. “That was fun.” Eric said.

“You know, this binds us.” Vixen said. “We have become…..true friends.”

“Honestly, I’d think we were some sort of singing group with what we just did.” Alyss said, “And you said you weren’t good.”

“Because I’m not?” I said, “But...true friends… that really is what we are now, aren’t we?”

“Yeah.” Chen said, holding out small star-like charms. “One for each of us.”

“Ooh, cool!” Alyss said, taking one. “Where’d you get these?”

“I made them. With the help of Eric and Michiko.” he said, holding out his black charm. “The color represents each of us.”

“So...I’m pink…” Alyss said. “Which is fine… Pastel, anyway.”

“I call green!” Vixen said.

Dragomir took the white one. “Hm….how…..cool.”

Eric looked at the colors then took the blue one. “Calming colors for calm art.”

“Purple’s mine,” Michiko said.

“And I’m red,” Seraphina said.

“Which leaves…” I started, looking at Sun, “Well, you go first…”

He nodded, taking the orange one. “Well, for my Fiery personality, orange kinda suits me.”

“And that leaves this one for me.” I said, taking the yellow one. “Huh… Looks like a Paopu fruit… I like it. It means we’re connected, no matter what happens to us.”

“You...really are a nerd, aren’t you?” asked Seraphina.

“Yep,” I laughed. “I prefer to say that I’m ‘in tune’ with what the people like, and use that to gain their favor… But, yes, I am a ‘nerd.’”

“I think it’s cute.” Michiko said, smiling, “Isn’t it, Eric?”

“It is cute.” he said, hugging me. “Well, now, we are connected, by friendship. No matter what, we can stop this game.”

“Right.” Dragomir said. Meanwhile, Phantom was looking from the big top, a look of fire in his eyes.

I glanced up, looking at Phantom for a second. I smiled and waved. “Come on down, Phantom!” I called, letting out a small laugh.

He jumped, landing on a building far from us and seemingly disappearing. “Hm, how odd.” Sun said.

“He probably doesn’t like large groups.” Eric said.

“Maybe…” I said, looking at everyone else. “Well… let’s get back to the school… Pretty sure the sun’s going down soon.”

“Yeah. we should do that again sometime.” Seraphina said, smiling.

“Yeah, it was pretty fun. Besides, Sun, don’t you need to figure out who does what in this little ‘show’ idea that Elle had.” Alyss said.

“Show?” Michiko asked.

“Well, i thought we could have a show with a group of us as a fun activity. As for who and the show...hm..” Sun started, “This will take awhile.”

“Well, if you have any ideas, let us know.” Alyss said, “I’m sure we’d come up with costumes pretty easily.”

“Yep.” he said, walking off and mumbling ideas. “Heathers?......no, Hairspray?.....no.”

“Wow… I was just thinking a little variety act or something…” I said, turning to walk off, the others following.

“Sun must want to do something big.” Vixen said. “Not surprising but still….”

“Yeah…” Alyss said.

“Well, we’ll find out when the time comes to it.” Michiko said, “Let’s go get some food. Maybe he’ll think of it before we’re done.”

“Hopefully.” Eric said.

We entered the school and went to the dining hall for dinner. “Well, I’m sure Dragomir and I will figure out the costumes for whoever he chooses…” Alyss said, taking a seat.

“Yep. it sounds like a lot of fun.” Dragomir said.

“I’m sure you guys will have a field day.” Vixen said, as Jason waked in. “So, where have you been?”

“Eh, just… doing things…” he said, “It’s rough without Veronica here.”

“Well, if you need to talk, we are here.” Eric said.

Jason smiled a little. “Thanks, man, but...I’ll be fine.” he said, “So, what have you guys been up to?”

“Exploring the new area.” I said, “It’s literally a circus.”

“Down to the animals.” Coralia added.

“Really? Sounds like a dream place for our resident performer.” Jason said. “At least, that will be fun.”

“He seemed pretty happy about it.” Alyss said, “And just to warn you, Elle put the idea into his mind that we should do a show of some sort, so-”

“Hey, he agreed!” I interrupted, “But he’s figuring out everything, so if you’re picked for something, that’s why.”

Jason shrugged. “That isn't going to be as bad as last time.”

“Well, we’re just saying.” Michiko said, “Honestly, I wouldn’t mind doing something on the tightrope.”

“H-huh? But that’s so dangerous!” I said.

“Balance, Elle. I have a lot of it.” Michiko laughed.

“Well, i was interested in the knives, especially with that wheel of death.” Vixen said. “But that’s it a bit excessive.”

“I want to try the aerial ribbon dancing thing!” Alyss said, excitedly. “Ooh, or the trapeze act!”

We kept spouting out ideas, while Sun walked in. “Geez, all of those take practice.”

“Oh?” I asked, “Then what’s your idea, ‘Oh, great performer’?”

“Well, i was going through ideas and went with a variety act.” He said, “Let’s see……” he pulled out a list of names and roles.

“Oh boy… this’ll take a while…” Michiko said, “Maybe I should go get Kosuke?”

“Yeah, that will be useful.” Eric said, looking over the list.

She nodded, going out the room to find Kosuke.

Dragomir looked over the list. “Well, that seems easy enough.” he said.

“...wait…” Alyss said, “Why does Elle dance with Jason?”

“Well, that was a last minute change, as i need Eric to help make some things for the show.” Sun said.

“...is that cool with you?” Jason asked, looking at Eric. “I don’t want to overstep anything.”

“Well…..as long as you don’t hurt her.” Eric said. “Then things will be fine.”

Jason nodded, “Well, that means we’ll have to practice then, Princess. Hope you’re a good dancer.”

“You’ll see,” I said, smiling a little. “Don’t worry about me, Eric, just help Sun. I’ll be fine.”

“Ok. well, lets start.” he said, as him and Sun started to talk all about the props.

Michiko walked back in with Kosuke. “Geez, what was taking you so long…” she sighed, sitting back down. “They’ve already finished talking about their parts.”

“Really?” he said, looking over it. “This will be fun.” oh great, he will do a lot of crazy.

I nudged Jason. “Um...maybe we should start practicing now…” I said, before standing.

He nodded, smiling. We walked out and headed to the courtyard. “Well, this will be interesting.”

“Yeah…” I said, looking at him. “Honestly, I’m kind of surprised that Sun put me with you.”

“I have no idea.” he said, taking my hand. “But, we should start.”

I smirked, trying to hide the fact that I was blushing. “Ah, ah. I’m not doing a normal dance. Just… let’s see what we can do.”

He nodded. We started to dance. Jason was struggling as he kept slipping. “Whoa.” he said as i caught him and falling as well. We looked at each other and laughed.

Meanwhile, Yuki was in her lab, playing a random piece of music. That was until someone dropped from the roof. “Hello?” she said, stopping. The figure grabbed her, and all we heard was the sound of breaking strings.

The next day

I yawned, walking into the dining hall. “Good morning, everyone…” I said.

“Yo.” Jason said, as he was talking with Sun.

“So, ready?” I asked, smiling. “This is going to be...rough, but…” I shook my head a little.

“Eh, it's not as bad as the trials.” Eric said, covered in paint and random materials. His eyes were drooping.

“Eric, did you get any sleep?” I asked, crossing my arms.

“.....maybe 2 hours?” he said.

“...I can’t believe you….” I sighed. “Well, I guess Dragomir and Alyss were up all night making the costumes, so…. They aren’t much better…”

Dragomir walked in, stars in his eyes as he sat down, snoring. “Well, there is one.”

“...which means proof that I was right.” I said. “Geez, and I thought ‘princess-ing’ was hard work.”

“Well, it's not terrible.” Michiko said, coming in with Kosuke. “Hey, have any of you seen Yuki? She just disappeared out of nowhere.”

“Nope.” Vixen said, “She probably went to her lab to work on things. Just give her some time, she did just lose her partner and best friend.”

“Yeah.” Eric said, “Well, i am going to get a shower.” he said, walking out.

“Well...I’m going to the Big Top to practice a bit more… I haven’t got parts of mine down…” I said, grabbing something to snack on. “Hey, Dragomir, do you have our costumes?!” I purposely was a bit loud.

“Hm?” he said, looking up. “Yeah...in the lab.” he said, throwing me his keycard.

I caught it. “Thanks,” I said, “I’ll give it back to you.” I walked out, heading to their lab.

When I saw the costumes, I kinda figured who did which one. Mine was a lighter pink, sheer-skirted dress with a leotard attached, with thin straps. Jason’s was a black hoodie and black pants. I didn’t have shoes, while he had black sneakers. “...Well… it does fit with what we were going for…” I whispered, grabbing mine and going back to my room to change, taking Jason’s to him, before going to the Big Top. I pulled my hair down, letting it fall from the ponytail I was wearing it in.

Sun walked in, wearing a ringmaster outfit. “Ah, what a beautiful day.” he said, spinning.

I turned, blushing slightly since my outfit was a bit revealing. “W-well, you seem...e-excited.”

“You have no idea. It has been awhile since i have performed in a big top.” he said. “And don’t worry, this will be fine.”

“...you really have no idea what I meant by rough, do you?” I asked, crossing my arms.

“Elle, it's just a show. Things always get rough in shows. But it is all for entertainment.” he said, walking over and adjusting my outfit. “You look great.”

I blushed, looking at him. “T-thanks…” I said, “I mean… this whole act Jason and I are doing… It’s a scary situation to be back in, but… I want to prove to someone I’m not just a weak little princess. Scared, sure. Weak, never.”

“Well, let's get the stage placed.” he said, placing background items everywhere. “Also, have you seen Alyss, she was keen on the ribbon.”

I shook my head. “No,” I replied. “I thought maybe she was sleeping in or something since she was working on the costumes with Dragomir…”

Hm...Odd.” he said, as everyone else piled in. the players were myself, Sun, Jason, Michiko and Vixen. “And places!”

“Wait, who’s going when?” I asked, confused.

“Yeah, you never really told us.” Michiko said.

“Have you done slight improv before?” he said. “Scene: a street in downtown tokyo, the players have one night of bliss, but with some darkness.” really? He didn't think this through?!

“You’re telling me that we have to improvise a play that’s all in your head?” Vixen asked. “I thought this was a variety show!”

“It is!” He said. “Which means show what you got. The stage is yours. But, this is more of a show of pure nostalgia. Of course, you need a theme……..how about Moulin Rouge?”

My eyes widened. “What?! N-no way!” I thought. “U-um, a-are you s-sure?”

“I am. I have Eric and Chen nearby if something goes bad.” he said. But the look on his face told otherwise.

“...so, we just have to do everything right…” Michiko said, “But what does knife-throwing have to do with Moulin Rouge?”

“And snakes weren’t in that, either!” Vixen said.

“Well, that's where the improv is. This is just a different take on it.” he said. “Now go!~”

They looked at each other, and nodded, going on to the stage.

We started it off with a bang. It was going well, then we hit the dancing. Jason walked up. “You ready?”

“...n-no…” I said, looking at him. “But we need to do this…”

He took my hand. “You will be great.” he said, smiling.

I nodded, trying to smile back. We walked out to our places, me on a bench, him behind me with a ‘puppeteer’ screen covering him. We started the dance, him moving his arms and me using my whole upper body to mimic it, like he was controlling me. I stood, walking away from the bench, the lights going off. Then Jason had moved next to me, the hood off, the lights coming back on. He grabbed my arm, and I started attempting to get away from him, jumping back.

“Whoa, this is intense.” Seraphina said.

“Very.” Kosuke said.

Jason picked me up by my waist, and I was so lost in the moment, I felt like I actually was trying to fight him away, kicking back. When he put me down, I pushed him back, swinging, but missed. He grabbed me from behind, yanking me back, before grabbing my throat.

Seraphina gasped. “Elle!” she yelled. Chen and Eric came in. “oh, right, they are there.”

I pushed Jason back, jumping slightly and he caught my back, dipping me slightly. I kept trying to get away from Jason, actual fear in my eyes as I ran back to the bench, which he climbed over to get to me. He turned me around, grabbing my waist again, but I grabbed his arm, turning and throwing him down for a moment. He got up as I backed away, him doing the whole ‘controlling’ me thing again. I sat down on the bench as he walked to me, and I covered myself, terrified.

Sun walked over. “Elle?” he asked, reaching out.

“D-don’t!” I said, shaking.

Everyone backstage and on the crowd walked down. That’s when the worst thing happened. The sound of a string becoming taut hit our ears. We looked up. Seraphina, Michiko Coralia and I screamed.

It was Alyss, wrapped in ribbons and hanging there, her face was blue. “ALYSS!” Dragomir yelled.

“Oh my…..” Sun said, as I ran from the big top. “Elle!” he ran after me, but i was scared. “Elle, stop!”

“J-just leave me alone, Sun!” I yelled, pausing briefly to look for somewhere, anywhere to hide from everyone so I wouldn’t have to explain myself.

Sun approached, but screamed as he was stabbed in the legs by arrows and pulled up by ropes. Then his arms were impaled by arrows connected to taut ropes. “AAAAAAHHHH!” he screamed.

My eyes widened. “S-somebody!!!” I yelled, backing away. This...definitely wasn’t good… two people, dead?! I won’t let that happen!

“HELP!” Sun yelled.

“SUN! ELLE!” yelled Eric, Chen, Jason and Seraphina. They came up, and Sun gave me a look of ‘i am sorry.’ he screamed in pain as he was pulled apart, his arms and legs torn off.

“Sun!” we all yelled, trying to help him, but he was already dead from blood loss.

“...n-no way…” Seraphina said. “W-what the hell?!”

“...” I let out a few small sniffs, but began to back away again.

## Deadly Life

“Um, no.” Jason said, roughly grabbing my arm. “What the fuck was that?”

“Let me go…” I said, a bit soft.

“No, you actually were trying to hit me. And you were actually scared. What the hell, Elle?!” Jason said, “It’s a dance, not a-”

“LET ME GO!” I yelled, slapping him. He let go, stunned, and I ran off to the Hall of Mirrors to hide. I went pretty deep in, sitting in one of the dead-ended corners and curled up, crying. There was no way that Sun had chosen Moulin Rouge was a coincidence. He knew something. And he knew it terrified me. But, now I can’t do anything about it.

I pulled my legs closer to me, letting the knee-length dress shift over my thighs, where a few small scars were. I had them almost all over my body, from that incident. I ignored them, and just kept crying, my sobs soft whimpers interrupting the almost psychotic carnaval music, because of the flashbacks that kept coming up in my mind. I barely even registered that the Body Discovery announcement played twice.

That's when Chen yelled, “Wait, where’s Yuki?!” he ran past and banged on her lab “YUKI!!!!!!”

“Yuki! Open the door!” Seraphina yelled.

“Hey, isn’t that a keycard over there?” asked Jason, most likely noticing it nearby.

“Yeah!” Vixen said, as the sound of the door opened. …..then the girls screamed.

“A body has been discovered!” Monokuma said over the intercom. I looked up, surprised. “Three?!”

“Elle, um…..yeah, we need to find her…” Seraphina said, her voice was full of tears.

“Y-yeah… Before anything else h-happens…” Vixen said.

“Look, we should stay in groups.” Jason said, “You girls go check the other tents. I’ll...come with you, since she probably doesn’t want to see me.”

“Y-yeah.” Vixen said.

“I’ll go with Kosuke and search the school.” Michiko said. “Coralia, the dorms?”

“Yeah.” she said, as we heard Chen scream. “NOT SO FAST! MY ARM!”

“Seraphina…...can you help too? I know you and Elle aren’t that close but….” Eric started.

“If it’s to p-prevent another death…” she said. “Sure…”

He smiled, as they walked past the hall of mirrors. “Hm….but why those three? And Sun’s happening in front of us?!”

“...I’m sure there’s a reason, but…” Seraphina said, “I think it’s pretty odd that it happened right after Elle bolted.”

“But I had nothing to do with it…” I thought, trying to stay quiet.

“No, she wouldn’t have set that up. Only someone trained in that could.” He replied.

“I’m not saying she did it.” Seraphina replied, “I’m only saying that the timing was strange.”

“It was.” he said. Their voices were echoing in the Hall of Mirrors.

“Great… they’re in here…” I thought, trying to back into the mirror so I wouldn’t be seen or heard.

“...do you really think she’d be in here?” Seraphina asked.

“She did run towards this place. So it is likely.” Eric said, their voices were closer.

“I know, but...she’d totally get lost in here… and who knows, the culprit might be in here for another target.” Seraphina said. “Shut up, before I actually think you’re right!”

“Elle, if you can hear me…..we need you…..i know that what you remember is hurting you, but we can help you.” Eric said.

I hesitated, but soon let out a shaky sigh. “Y-you don’t need me…” I replied, “I’m sure you’d be able to solve this without me…”

“Not true.” Seraphina said, “You pick up on who the culprits are faster than most of us do.”

“She is right. It is very difficult to focus around those scenes.” Eric said.

“...fine….” I sighed a little, standing up and wiping at my eyes. “I’m coming to you guys. I’m in a corner right now, so it’s pretty much a one-way track.” I started walking over to them.

“Got it.” Eric replied. Soon we met in the middle. That's when he grabbed me and pulled me into a hug.

I blushed, looking at him, confused. “U-um… n-nice to see you too?” I asked.

“I think he was worried.” Seraphina laughed a little.

“You were freaking out. I was worried.” he said, letting go. “We found the third victim….its….”

“Yuki.” I finished. “You’d be surprised, I could hear you guys pretty well… these walls must be connected to the labs.”

“Hm….well, lets see the three scenes and get as much as we can.” He said.

“I’ll find the others and tell them to call off ‘Scotland Yard,’” Seraphina said, winking. “I’ll let the two of you do the investigating.” She walked off, leaving us.

I looked at Eric. “You...really were worried?” I asked.

“Yeah.” he said, leading me out of the Hall. “You were really scared.” we walked to the lab. And the sight was terrible.

Yuki’s body was bisected, her lower half was lying near the piano. The lid was closed, but was covered in blood. “......Well….” Eric said, opening the lid. I gasped. Yuki’s eyes were lifeless. Her body was covered in lacerations and cuts. But it looks like her head was bashed in.

I fought back a gag from all the blood, and put on a brave face. “Alright, let’s… do this investigation…” I said. “Blow to the head… possible cause of death, followed by the bisection of her body… the cuts were most likely caused by the strings of the piano, considering there’s no way her body was moved.”

“Yeah, but there is no signs of a struggle.” He said, checking the room. “Hey, look at this.” He was standing near a open trapdoor.

“Huh… that’s strange…” I said. “We should check it out…”

“Yeah.” he said, jumping down. “Hey, there is a map here!”

“A MAP?!” I exclaimed, jumping down, “After all this time of relying on the Monopad, a map finally shows up.”

“Except it only is for these tunnels.” He said, before. “Wait, look at the locations…..”

“That’s the school… and all the labs…” I said, “And whatever these other areas are.”

“So the killer didn’t need to get a keycard. They could have gotten here from their lab.” Eric said.

“But, didn’t Jason find a keycard earlier?” I asked, looking at him.

“Well, yeah.” he replied.

“But the trap door was open. Meaning the culprit already knew about it. It’s possible that they left it there for someone to find on purpose.” I said.

“Yeah, so someone was sloppy.” Eric said. “We should check on Alyss next.” he helped me out of the tunnels. He climbed out. “Wait.” he walked over to Yuki and closed her eyes.

I smiled. “At least now, she’s with Shiro…” I said, before walking out.

Eric followed behind, hands on his umbrella. We entered the Big Top and looked up at Alyss. “Well, her cause of death was obvious. She choked on the ribbon around her neck.”

“Yeah… If we could get her down, it’d be easier to examine her…. Maybe Phantom would help… have you seen him?” I asked, looking at him.

“You called?” Phantom said, appearing next to us.

“Ewha?!” Eric said, jumping.

I smiled. “Ah, Phantom, perfect timing. Can you get Alyss down for us?” I asked.

He nodded, jumping up the tower and cutting the ribbon after pulling her up. He jumped down. “Poor Alyss. She didn't deserve to die.”

“None of them did…” I said, “Just place her down… I’d like to look over her…”

He placed her on the ground. “Wait, there was more?”

“Yes,” I replied, kneeling down to Alyss, “Yuki and Sun… and Sun’s happened right in front of us…”

He looked away. “This sucks.” he said. “I’ll go check with the others.” he jumped, disappearing.

I kept looking over Alyss. “Hm…” I started, “This… doesn’t look like the others’ deaths… or any of the ones we’ve seen.”

“Yeah. it seems like she wasn’t killed in the conventional way.” he said, looking as well. “And there is no other injuries. Almost like this was an accident.”

“Exactly what I was thinking…” I said, “Like...she got caught in the ribbon and couldn’t get free...and they just tangled more every time she struggled.”

“Which cause her to asphyxiate…..but why didn’t she come with someone?” Eric said. “She killed herself without even trying.”

“...maybe she wanted to come with someone, but...because of how tired they were, she didn’t really think much of it and came anyway…” I said. “We should ask Dragomir… He might know something.”

“Yeah, we can get alibis as well.” Eric said, as we left the Big Top. “Now for Sun…..”

“...” I stopped, looking down.

“Elle….his death wasn’t your fault.” Eric said. “You were freaking out. He followed to calm you. You aren’t at fault.”

“..Eric…. What if it wasn’t meant for him…” I softly said, “What if it was meant for me and...he got attacked instead?”

“Elle.” Eric said. “Its is possible, but what if it was not meant for a specific person. Like the culprit set it up for anyone.”

“...yeah, y-you might be right…” I said, still looking down, but I started walking again. “....you know why it was Moulin Rouge?”

“It was for Sun’s father. He was the last person who i remember had mentioned it.” Eric said. “I have no idea why Sun choose that….”

“....me.” I said, “He chose it because of me.”

“....” Eric was silent as we approached Sun’s corpse. Vixen and Coralia were there, as well as a saddened Dragomir.

“Oh, there she is.” Vixen said, “We were worried about you, Princess.”

“I’m fine…” I said, avoiding Sun’s body for a few minutes to walk over to Dragomir. “...hey.”

He looked at me. His makeup was running. “Hey……” he said, somber.

“....just to let you know… I don’t think she was murdered.” I whispered to him, “But, I did have a question. Did you know she was going to the Big Top last night?”

“She said she was going for some…..inspiration. It wasn’t so long after we finished with the outfits.” He said. “It was…...around 10:30.”

“So she didn’t tell you she was messing around with the ribbons…” I said, “And...you didn’t come with her because….?”

“I assumed Eric and Sun were still there building.” He said. “I didn’t expect she would do this.”

“...I think it was an accident, Dragomir,” I said, “I’m sure she didn’t mean to do it. And she would want you to be strong for her.”

“Yeah.” he said, as Vixen climbed the trees.

“Hey, there are crossbows and pulleys here!” She yelled down.

“Same here.” Coralia said, checking the tree base.

“So, it was a trap of some sort…” I said, “Perhaps with a timer to release the arrows?”

“Yeah, i see the dial. As for the pulleys, they lead away towards….” Coralia said, following the rope. “A retraction system.”

“Which explains how Sun’s limbs were torn from him,” I said.

“Hm….odd how particular these were. None of us are the Ultimate Assassin.” Eric said.

“I don’t think you’d have to be for some of these…” I said, “Just need a proper understanding of the machines…” I walked over to Sun’s body, falling silent.

“Yeah.” Eric said. “Hey, Vixen, Mind getting alibis?”

“You got it!” She yelled, running back to the school.

I knelt down to Sun. “...I wish he didn’t die when he did…” I said softly.

“We all wanted him to live.” Coralia said.

“...I...had some questions…” I said. “Some...really important questions…”

“Elle….” Eric said. I knew he was trying to comfort me, but i knew it wouldn't help.

The Trial announcement played. “Geez, even after the first two, still not used to that.” Eric said.

“L-let’s just...go…” I said, standing.

He nodded, as we walked to the trial elevator. Coralia and Dragomir followed behind.  When we reached the elevator, everyone looked upset.

“Alyss…..why her?” Seraphina said.

“And Sun….and Yuki…” Michiko said.

“We can’t let this end with no culprit.” Chen said.

Jason glanced over, his eyes red. “...I’m sure we’ll get answers.” he said.

“Yeah.” Vixen said. We entered the elevator, it closing behind us. It lowered, filling us with dread. When it opened, the wallpaper was a circus pattern.

“....great, more torture…. Thanks, Bear.” I muttered, walking past everyone

## Class Trial

We took our places, which felt empty now that three of our number were killed.

“It feels a lot...more empty without them…” Seraphina said.

“Yeah…” Michiko said.

“But we can’t let their deaths inhibit our debate.” Eric said.

“He is right. We need to solve this and make their deaths not in vain.” Chen said.

“Right,” I said, “Now, we should start with the victims.”

“Well, our victims were Yuki, Sun and Alyss.” Jason said. “The first triple murder.”

“Wrong.” I said.

“I’m sorry, but how isn’t  it a triple murder?” Kosuke asked.

“Simple,” I replied, “Alyss’ death wasn’t murder.”

“But how are you so sure? She looked like she was strangled.” Michiko said.

“During the investigation, we checked her body and the monokuma file.” Eric said. “It mentioned suffocation as the cause of death.”

“So we realized that she had done it herself.” I said.

“Suicide?” asked Seraphina.

“No, it was an accident.” I replied.

“So she must have left her lab and did it on her own? With no one with her?” Coralia asked. “Is it just me, or does that have a bunch of missing facts?”

“She must have told someone.” Michiko said.

“I agree. She did, but he thought that she wouldn’t be alone, right, Dragomir?” I asked, looking at him.

“Yeah, she mentioned that she was going to the Big Top for inspiration. I was busy sewing so I wasn’t really paying attention.” He said, looking away.

“Dragomir...it isn’t your fault.” Seraphina said.

“But, that begs the question of why. Why did she lie?” Phantom said.

“It’s probably because she knew the risks?” Coralia asked.

“Or that she didn’t want him to worry.” Michiko said.

“Both are possible…” I said.

“If I remember, she was very independent without Dragomir around. So she could have just did what she wanted to have fun.” Chen said.

“That’s true. She said earlier that she wanted to try the ribbons.” Michiko said.

“Ok, so we have solved Alyss’s death. An accidental death, but death nonetheless.” Phantom said.

“But that still leaves Yuki and Sun’s murders.” Vixen said.

“That’s right,” I said. “First, we should discuss Yuki’s. Her’s happened first, though was discovered after Sun’s.”

“Right. Well, let's start with how she died.” Jason said.

“Right…” I said, “It appeared that a blow to the head was how she was killed.”

“Hold on, are you sure?” Dragomir asked. “Wasn’t the cause of death bisection?”

“Nope.” I said, “The bisection was an aftermath of her death, caused by the piano closing on top of her. She was actually killed from a blow to the head.”

“How morbid.” Seraphina said.

“But if you look at this, it was a closed room murder. No one could get in without a keycard.” Kosuke said.

“Wait, that’s not right.” I said, “There was a trapdoor that was open. And the trapdoor led to the school, a few other places, and all the labs.”

“Wait, seriously?!” Vixen said.

“What a pervy way to get around….” Seraphina said, saddened.

“Eh, sorta…” Michiko said.

“So, the culprit found these tunnels…...but how?” Chen asked.

“If they had a good eye, I’m sure they could notice them in their own lab.” I said. “Just opened it up and went in.”

“Hm, we should check this later…..” Kosuke said.

“Eww, you perv!” Seraphina said.

“Perv?!” Kosuke retorted.

“Sorry, Kosuke, I have to side with Seraphina on this… that’s really perverted when you think about it.” Michiko said.

“Not the time or place to have this argument!” I exclaimed.

“Anyway, so the person snuck in…..Yuki noticed, and fought back!” Vixen said.

“No, that’s not right either…” I said, “She may have noticed, but she didn’t fight back.”

“Wait, so you’re saying she died willingly?” Seraphina asked.

“No… I’m saying she didn’t fight back. She may have noticed too late.” I said. “There was no sign of a struggle, right, Eric?”

“Right. the room showed no signed that she fought back.” He said.

“So…. if she did notice them at all… it was too late to fight back… so the culprit must have been pretty quiet, huh..” Coralia said.

“Very. Almost suspiciously quiet.” Chen said.

“Like a ninja.” I said, without thinking.

Phantom looked shocked. “Wha-”

“And they would have been able to sneak up pretty well.” Vixen said.

“Now hold o-” Phantom started.

“We’re just saying that it’s just odd that someone could have such qualities…” Seraphina said, “Must be a coincidence.”

“Right. I just meant it as an expression.” I said, “Now… onto Sun’s… which most of us saw in front of us…”

“Yeah, it was brutal.” Jason said.

“Wait, Sun was killed?” Phantom asked.

I nodded. “Yep. Right after I ran off from everyone.”

“Well, lets see how it happened.” Coralia said.

“His arms and legs were torn off by arrows attached to ropes.” Chen said.

“H-how brutal!” Seraphina said.

“It was…” I said, “So blood loss was his cause of death.”

“But how did he get caught in this. Unless it was premeditated.” Jason said.

“I remember the crossbows being on timers to set off the arrows, though… I don’t think the culprit really cared about who was killed. The only reason why it was Sun was because he followed me.” I replied.

“So it was a trap?” Dragomir asked.

“Exactly.” I said, “And the arrows were pulled back by some sort of machine… What was it again, Vixen, Coralia?”

“It was some sort of retraction system. It was too complicated to describe.” Coralia said.

“Yeah, it was very complicated.” Vixen said.

“So the culprit would have to know how it works,” Michiko said, “and then disappear before anyone saw them.”

“Unless it was automated.” Seraphina said.

“Both are right.” Eric said. “It was automated, but the dial on the side of the crossbow was added on.”

“And that set it as a timed event. Most likely, if no one had passed by, the arrows would have still been fired, but no one would have been killed.” I added.

“As for who would know…” Chen said, “Only person i can think of is Phantom.”

“Wha?” Phantom said, his pedestal came forward.

“You’re the only one silent enough to sneak up on someone.” I said. “Unless you have an alibi? And I swear, if it’s another ‘I was cleaning out the trash room,’ I’m going to scream.”

He was silent. “It seems I am cornered.” He said.

“Sorry, dude. Not helping this one…” Jason said, “I hope you actually have an alibi.”

“Helping?” I asked, looking at the two of them.

Phantom removed his hood and mask. Everyone gasped. “What?” Chen said, shocked.

Phantom was a spitting image of Jason, except for a beauty mark under his eye. “I have never had to unmask before. It's….different.” he said.

“How is this possible?” Kosuke said, shocked.

“We’re brothers.” Jason said, “Twins, actually.”

“It was very odd to find him here, but we have been working together this entire time.” Phantom said.

“So, you have been working together?!” Eric said, extremely shocked.

“Of course they have.” I said, “Who else would know exactly how those worked other than the Ultimate Serial Murderer? And I’m sure he told his brother offhandedly, not even thinking that they’d show up in a murder case. Am I right?”

“You are correct. But this was all me. He told me how to work them, but he was too busy with that stupid show.” Phantom said, angrily.

“It wasn’t stupid. There was actually a damn meaning behind it, you-!” I started, gripping my podium.

“Elle?” Michiko asked, looking at me.

“Still, it left you all busy while i set the trap. Sun wasn’t the target by the way.” Phantom said.

“Then...who…?” asked Seraphina.

He smiled. “It was you, Elle. the one who wouldn’t just die!”

I narrowed my eyes. “Then just try to kill me when you’re dead.”

He laughed. “Gladly.” he said.

“Let's just get this voting over with.” Chen said.

“Agreed…” Jason said, “Sorry, bro.”

We put in our votes on the tablets in front of us.

“Ding, ding, ding! You are correct!” Monokuma exclaimed. “Hidden Phantom, aka Jay David Rey, is the blackened! Which means...punishment time!”

“Hmph.” Jay said. “Like it matters anyway.”

Monokuma grabbed him, but Jason swung at Monokuma’s paw. “Like hell will it be that easy.” Jason said, as Jay grabbed his shoulders and shook his head.

“It is over, brother.” Jay said, running through the execution door.

The Scene starts with Phantom running along a moonlight plain to a feudal japan palace. An image popps up, naming this as **Assassination In Brotherhood.** He spots the Monokuma guards then an open air vent. With precise timing, he runs up the wall and into the duct when the guards are looking away. He sighs as he runs through the duct, but the guards below notice. They aim their bows up and start shooting through the duct, hitting phantom as he runs. He soon falls into a room with a giant loom, getting tangled in it. The guards run in, but Phantom slashes through them, as he runs to the throne room, where Elle sits. He jumps from the rafters, hoping to hit. But he gets shot in the back and front my arrows. He falls as one of the guards removed their mask, revealing Jason who looked shocked as well as sad at what he did. The final scene is Jason watching as his brother is thrown into a pit of dead assassins, as the sun rises in the background.

“Whoa……” Eric said, shocked. We looked where Jason was, which was empty.

“So...he actually…?” asked Seraphina.

“Apparently…” Michiko said.

Jason walked back over, back in his normal outfit. “......” he didn't speak, as he walked to the elevator.

“Jason.” I said.

“No...I….” he started, but went silent again.

“....I’ll give you some time, but I have questions.” I said.

“Elle, don’t-” Coralia started.

“I need to know why Phan- Jay said what he did.” I interrupted.

“We can find out after we go get some tea.” Vixen said.

“So is that a thing now?” Chen said, as we got on the elevator.

## Aftermath

After the Elevator door opened, Jason fled to his room. “Jason wai-” Chen started, but Jason was already in his room.

“Just let him go…” I said, walking towards the dining hall. “The one who wouldn’t die?” I thought, “What did he even mean by that? I was only attacked once…”

We entered the dining hall, Michiko going to make the tea. Seraphina was crying as she sat down. “That was…..very shocking.” Eric said.

“You are telling me.” Kosuke said.

“That was...more than shocking…” Coralia said, sitting down next to Seraphina and rubbing her back to try to calm her down.

“It was like he didn’t care if he got caught.” Vixen said.

“But what he said…..’the one who wouldn’t die’.......What did he mean by that?” Eric said.

“Remember after Ace’s trial? She was attacked.” Chen said. “Maybe he tried that time as well as other times….”

“I don’t know…” I said, “I could have sworn it was Jason… but it could have been Phantom, since I didn’t see him… but it makes it seem like he was trying repeatedly…”

“But what caused this…..” Vixen said.

“Maybe it was to help his brother continue their work.” Kosuke said.

“...or something else he knew…” I said, “Ugh, he was so mad about that show…”

“Well, we can’t just ask Jason until later. Because he was a little out of it after that.” Eric said. “Best we wait until morning.”

“...wait,” Michiko said, poking her head out of the kitchen. “Why were you so mad about the way he was talking about it? Saying that there was a meaning behind the show?”

“...n-no reason…” I said, looking down. Even if I knew Eric knew, and the others would be curious, too, I wasn’t really ready to discuss it… though now that I said that, I knew they’d pressure me into it.

“Lets just leave it at that tonight.” Chen said. “We should get some rest.”

“And leave the tea?” Michiko asked, “Oh, come on…”

“Now that I think about it… you were pretty shocked at Sun’s idea to do Moulin Rouge…” Vixen said.

“...I-I’m just going t-to…” I started, standing up and backing away to the door. “Go.” I left the room, walking off.

I heard everyone yell, but i just went to my room. I didn’t want to see anyone if they were just going to ask personal questions.