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Three classes woke up in Hopes Peak Academy, two of which had attended the place, and one of which has no idea where they are. Seeing an old friend by the name of Monokuma, the three classes and the sexy bear have somehow been trapped in a large game of love, loss and weird truth or dares. From Harem's to musical numbers, from escape games to scary satanic rituals, the fun will never end! Follow Makoto Naegi and his classmates through their fun times, set in a universe parallel to their own. Dead friends are suddenly alive, old foes are brought up, Junko Enoshima isn't here for once, and everyone somehow lives throughout dying countless times. Sad reunions to happy goodbyes are said, and now the game must begin!
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"Makoto Naegi, come to the stage!"Makoto let out a sigh before jumping into the stage, loud cheering following him right after. Damn, that dude even got applause. What the hell is going on in this place?"Uh...Why are you all so excited?" He asked with a nervous laugh.Monokuma clapped his hands together. "Because you're the protagonist!""Um...""Of the Harem!""I'm sorry...What?"Tsumugi's eyes lit up. "Harem you say...? I've always dreamed of being in one!""Well, today's your lucky day!" The bear sang. "Makoto's getting his very own harem, consisting of...You got it, folks!! Not yourselves but the lovely ladies of the place!"Every boy in the room visibly cringed, including Makoto.Wait. Why does he get his own Harem? Protagonist? Are the girls even okay with this?!"Hey wait a second–" I tried, but was interrupted by Nagito, who looked like there was hope brimming in his eyes. What a disgusting thing to look at..."Ah, a harem how wonderful! Can I be included?" He asked excitedly, probably wanting to get close to Makoto...Makoto still looked confused. "I doubt you wanna–""No boys allowed!" Bellowed Mahiru. "Get your own harem!"One of the girls from the other class, the supposed, 'Neo-Aikido' girl that Peko mentioned suddenly spoke up, her face red in fury. "Are you saying...All of us girls are pinning for one boy? One boring menace?"The said menace didn't even flinch, bowing his head. "You don't have to be mean..."Monokuma took a deep breath before glaring at them. "I make the rules! You will all pin for Makoto's affections! After he's picked someone, there's a prize!""A prize you say?" Celeste inquired, sounding interested. "Count me in then.""C-Celeste!" Cried Makoto."Eh, Makoto's pretty cool," shrugged Chiaki."You too?!" I yelled, realizing how I was starting to get even more agitated than before.The bear grinned, turning his head so the black side would face us. "What's wrong Hajime? Do you have a problem with all this?""Hell yeah, I do!" I jumped, all eyes on me. The guys better back me up! "What makes this okay? You're just using girls to tired out Makoto's character! It's not right!"Chiaki gave me a pensive look. "Do you really think defying Monokuma is a good idea?"I looked up at the bear, who was staring at me with a curious look. "N-No...! But still! You're okay with being used like that?"She shrugged nonchalantly. "It's not like I'll win, but it will help me understand dating sims better now. I'll learn all the tricks it takes for how to win over a guy or girl.""T-That's your reasoning?!""Hajime calm down," Fuyuhiko told me calmly. "It's pretty obvious who he's going to pick. His girlfriend."Seemingly hearing that, Makoto turned bright red as he yelled over at them. "She's not my girlfriend!""I will not allow Himiko or any of the girls to be forced into this! Not at all!" The girl from before screamed, her friend beside her looking terrified. "No menace will ever romance us! Make it my harem!""No way," scoffed Monokuma. "Makoto fits the bill better than anyone in this room. Perfect protagonist material.""What?!" Both Hajime and Makoto yelled.Komaru, who had been quiet up until now huffed her cheeks. "He's my brother, how can I do that?""That's right! Omaru doesn't have to participate in this...Vulgar activity!" Touko defended, jumping in for her best friend.Everyone looked at Monokuma as he jumped off the stage and walked over to Hajime. "Calm your tits, she can be excused, because I really don't want angry readers yelling at me about this. Plus, can't really enjoy it myself, so sorry to all the sick fucks out there that expected that to happen!""What..." I whispered to myself "What does that even mean...""I'm telling you! I do not allow this!" The girl tried again, despite having no one back her up."Just give it up Tenko...It's fine..." The girl beside her mumbled tiredly. "No reason to fight him, not like he'll listen...""B-B-But!""Can I still be in the Harem?""Shut up Komaeda!" Every screamed at once.Sighing, I looked back to face Monokuma. "Look...Just drop this...It's ridiculous.""Ooh, jealous?" He teased.My face went red. "W-What? Why would I be? I just don't want these girls to suffer!""Makoto is pretty handsome..." Muttered Chiaki. "He definitely fits the bill..."That only made matters worse. Makoto turned red, looking away from his audience. "L-Look, I kind of think that...Well, this might not be that bad.""You pervert!" Souda accused. "Keeping all the girls to yourself, just share them Naegi...!"Why was he crying? Jeez."I'm not a pervert!" Makoto defended, paling a bit at the deadly glares he received from some of the female audience members.Monokuma laughed, despite the chaos unfolding around him. "God, it's like I'm asking you all to kill each other!""Not appropriate to say..." Murmured Sonia.Why is everyone taking with this stride? How come no guys were backing me up?"Souda!" I yelled at the pink haired guy. "You're okay with this? You realize Sonia's going to be battling for some other guy's affections!"Sonia glared at me. "Excuse me Hajime, I won't be battling, I'll win."Where did this confidence come from? "What?!"Souda didn't even look the slightest bit heartbroken, shaking his head like he had been enlightened. "I think this is a great learning experience to be found here Hajime.""What do you even mean?""Look at like this," he grinned. "After seeing how boring Makoto is, they'll truly appreciate our character and come crawling back, crying about how much they love us.""Shut up dude...""You know I can hear you!"I went back to ignoring Soda, glaring up at Monokuma with all the hatred in my body. Calling me jealous...Like I wanted to be a part of this in the first place...What is he thinking? Was all this really just a big joke?Sometimes I wish Izuru wasn't such a stubborn bitch and let me use more of his powers so I could be OP as fuck. Really show everyone that whenever weird shit happens, bad shit is sure to follow! Haven't we learned from last time...?"Hajime can you stop having an internal monologue for a second please?" Chiaki interrupted my thoughts. "I hope you aren't jealous...You know you're too interesting to be the lead in this."What kind of compliment was that? "Thanks?"She turned her head slightly away, looking up at Makoto. "Just go along with it for now. You deserve better than this anyway."Did she seriously think I'm jealous? "Are you implying...""Can you guys stop dilly-dallying?" Monokuma roared. "I want to get this over with!""I'm telling you–" Neo-Aikido started again but was interrupted by witch girl who pulled her arm lightly. The girl immediately shut up, glaring at everyone who dared look at her. "Hmph.""Anyway," he rolled his eyes. "This is how you play. Everyone must battle for Makoto Naegi's heart! A true game of love and loss, the game that changed everyone's perspective on dating sims and harems!"Yamada looked offended. "I doubt that..."Our 'headmaster' jumped back onto the stage somehow, skipping over to a large box that appeared out of nowhere. What the hell was going on here? "Through various contests, Makoto will observe and watch every girl. If you place last in any of the contests, you're out of the game! But mind you, if your purposely loose, I'm keeping you in, so don't try anything here! I'm looking at you Chabashira!""Tch...""Various...Contests?" Chiaki questioned, her eyes peeking the tiniest bit of interest. "Like...Games?"Oh no."You got it!"The girl huffed her cheeks, despair sinking into my very being. I've lost her again. "Hmm...Well...""It's pretty clear who he'll pick you know," Asahina stated, not looking the slightest bit fazed.Makoto blushed once again. "H-Hey come on...!"The said girl, who hasn't spoken for quite a while finally opened her mouth, directing her glare at all of the girls. "Makoto knows not to be impartial.""Wait, what...?!" Makoto yelled.This was a mess...An utter mess.Monokuma pointed a finger at her accusingly. "That is RIGHT! But for my impartiality, you're BANNED from playing!"Now, she looked surprised. "Oh...Seriously?""Do you really want to play?" I asked her angrily. "Rebel against him with me please!"Letting out a relieved sigh, Kirgiri shifted her attention to Makoto and gave him a simple smile. "You better make a good choice.""What the–?!" He shuddered."Ahem...So, the first contest is...""Wait a second!" Sonia jumped in suddenly, looking frightened. "What...What is the prize?""Ugh," Monokuma slumped his shoulders. "Jeez...That's only for the winner to find out you know...You guys are so annoying, with all these questions, we're not going to get anywhere!"That's a good thing..."Very well, what's the first contest?" A very anxious looking Touko asked. "You're not master, but you're a close second to my best friend and I'll settle for that!""Touko..." Cooed Komaru."Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, must make a meal for Makoto that he enjoys," he told the girls excitedly.This was seriously happening?"Damn it...I suck at cooking, I can only eat..." Akane muttered."It's fine," the boy said, looking nervous as he watched Peko, a girl in a maid uniform, and Nagito all rush to the cafeteria. Shit...They're all pretty eager to do this.Sayaka smiled at Makoto. "I'll be sure not to disappoint you!" With that, she grabbed Asahina and Touko's hand, string them along with her to the cafeteria, a creepily big smile on her face as she did it.Makoto ran a hand through his hair, looking lost as ever. "You're really going through with this dude?""I guess I have no choice...What a shame..." He didn't sound like he regretted this at all. "Cheer up Hajime, you can be the second lead."Narrowing my eyes at him, I walked up to the stage. "Second lead? How many dating simulators have you actually played?"He tinted red, his head shaking a bit. "N-N-None...! It's just a common reference you know!"I rolled my eyes at him, folding my arms. "Whatever you say...I'm not the fucking second lead though, that title alone is humiliating."Jumping off the stage, he made his way over to me. "Yeah yeah, still...I can't deny I'm hungry."At the mention of food, my stomach growled. "Shit. You're right. I haven't eaten since yesterday."Makoto started to walk off, and I noticed that Kyoko kept a close eye on him till he was finally out of the room, probably going to the bathroom or something. She was waiting for him to leave..."Is this cooking thing going to take long?" Kyoko wondered, walking up to me. "I'm honestly interested in how dedicated some of these girls are.""I'm curious if Monokuma will let us eat," I said as I looked over at the bear, who was now chatting it up with the creepy guy with the mask from earlier. What the hell...Honestly....By now all the girls were gone except Kyoko and Komaru. "Don't say his name too loudly or you'll summon him."Teruteru was off sulking in the corner as expected, probably secretly hoping to be in Makoto's stupid harem. God, he would've been good at cooking it too. I looked away from him, frowning as Kyoko started mumbling incoherent things to herself as usual. "What is it?""Oh nothing," she told me, raising her voice awkwardly. "Just thinking about who'll will this competition..."So it was on her mind..."It's just a stupid game, no need to take it seriously.""I'm not," she said defensively, her hands dropping. If I knew any better, I'd realize she was offended by that. "I'm just curious. That's all that is.""Sure..."She clearly cared. For someone so good at hiding their emotions in dire times, she's completely failing right now. While we waited for the cooking to be finished, Gundham, Fuyuhiko, Souda and I all took it upon ourselves to play iSpy like we were fucking five. It's quite laughable, I'm glad none of the girls are here to see any of our extreme failures at such an easy game."iSpy...A...Wait," Souda paused, taking a double take as he stared off in the direction he was looking at. "Nagito being the first one out...?"All of us turned our heads to look over at where he was staring, our eyes widening and colour draining from our faces. The sight that beheld us was truly horrific, something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. He looked so happy...There stood Komaeda in a maid's uniform, holding a platter of food in one hand. "Hey, where's Makoto?""Yo what the fuck is this?" Someone asked. "I hope this is a nightmare," muttered Fuyuhiko, his eyes sunken down in despair like they were when Monokuma announced that Peko was getting executed. Maybe even worse than that...-Seconds later, said girl and a maid ran into the classroom, both holding nearly identical dishes."Peko seems to be into this," it hit me then that saying that was a mistake.Fuyuhiko clicked his tongue, colour returning to his face. "Tch...No way she cares I mean...She just likes cooking is all..."Yeah, he didn't sound convincing to me either. "Is that the Prime Minister of Japan?"That truth dawned upon me as I watched 'The Ultimate Maid' breath out laboured breaths in a wild search for Makoto. "W-Where is he?"The rest of the girls started making their ways into the room, all holding different platters full of food. Damn, this was making me hungry."Our little protagonist had to visit the bathroom!" Monokuma announced giddily. "He'll be back ladies, no need to worry!""It seems that...Makoto really didn't take this seriously...This role would've been even more befitting for the Overlord of Ice such as me...A demon king with unimaginable power being pursued by several ladies is way more likely..." Mused Gundham when he thought no one was listening."No I'm serious," I cut in again, hoping people would listen to me this time. "Is that the Prime Minister of Japan?"No one answered, much to my frustration.Whoever she was, she seemed strangely familiar. Plus, what would the prime minister of Japan be doing in a place like this...? I mean I understand the Tragedy being such a big deal, but shouldn't have those things been dealt with at least 5 years prior?Questions swirled my mind as Makoto walked back into the room, his harem immediately causing a commotion to get to him."W-Woah, what is this?" He stuttered, noticing the plates of foods getting shoved into his face. "Come on, let me sit down first ladies.""What the fuck?" I muttered under my breath, making sure no one heard my annoyance again, I've had enough accusations of being jealous, I didn't want them to know it was actually coming true.The esteemed first lead nervously laughed as he walked over back to the stage, sending several of the boys looks mixed with panic and excitement...That bastard, he was actually enjoying this!Quite irritating to look at him, really...He was gonna have the time of his life. I think this was starting to rub off on the others guys now too, including Fuyuhiko. "Huh...They're taking it really seriously...No doubt for the prize only...""Speaking of that," I interjected, watching as the boy with the eye patch turned to peer at me with his one eye. "What do you think the prize is? Monokuma never answered that question."He shrugged, crossing his arms in a similar manner to how he always does. "No idea. Can't be anything good though if he says it's a prize for us...I still don't trust that bear."Nodding, I stood watching Makoto receive food in a thoughtful pose. I think it makes me look smart..."Right."Souda rubbed his temples stressfully. "Gah...I hope Sonia loses for once.""...Can't disagree with that," Gundham agreed quietly, watching her as she laid her platter of food down.Whatever she made was probably from her home country since I don't know what the fuck she was thinking putting Pineapple on pizza. Such savages...I mean, Pineapple on pizza? Who the fuck eats that? You must not be human...God, honestly some people are weird as hell.I'd never say that to Sonia's face, I don't want to get excommunicated or some shit. (Note, this is a joke I know what it actually is LOL.)"Before any of you start," Monokuma started, walking up to stand beside Makoto. "I'm going to eliminate some girls because of how disgusting some of your dishes look. Honestly, that's horrible Hiyoko. We were rooting for you. Well, not really."Hiyoko stuck her tongue out as him as Makoto nervously laughed at her departure. "Only one girl...I'm going to eat all of this?""Of course not," the bear assured whilst grinning. "Sakura, Ibuki, Mikan, Iruma, and Kaede can all leave. You all should forget ever pursuing a career in this area, I swear.""Ahh! I'm sorry Makoto, I really tried!" Cried Mikan, tears streaming down her face.Sakura sighed, crossing her arms. "I was never fit for this anyway...""God fucking dammit, I wanted to fuck hope boy," the girl who was probably named Iruma whistled while handing her food platter to a boy who was standing next to her. "Another time I guess," she winked at him.At her words, Makoto paled. "Y-Y-Yeah sure...""Oh darn!" Kaede cursed lightly, frowning at Monokuma. "I'm not really good at these things anyway!""Hmph," snorted Amami as he walked by her. "I would beat you in a cook off. Sad."Her face tinted red as she paused to glare at him. "Excuse me? Is that a challenge?""Not the time for a fight!" Sang a girl, who was eagerly holding her plate of food in front of her. "Let's get on with this, I'm so ready to win."All of the girls laid their food down on a long table by the stage in a similar fashion, ready for judgment. It's kind of strange, isn't it? All of them were strangely into this...I'm suspecting witchcraft.First up was Sayaka, whose pancakes looked pretty normal and decently done. The only reason I was jealous of Makoto now was that how much food he was going to get...His luck never ran out huh.Makoto took one bite with a smile, probably hoping the best so that Sayaka would pass and he could easily pick her. She was a pretty close second to Kirigiri, after everything they had been through that bond had been created."Makoto if you value me as a friend..." Leon threatened indiscreetly.The boy gulped after his first bite, sweating as he looked up at Sayaka. "It's great, I really like how you put...Um, sugar in the pancakes.""Isn't that what you're supposed to do?" Souda muttered in confusion. "Because if not, I've been doing it wrong...""I smell something fishy here!" Monokuma chided suddenly. "And it's not Mikan!""W-W-What?" Mikan started hiccuping at the insult.Monokuma raised his finger, looking at him accusingly. "I nearly forgot about kind you are Makoto...Let's add another judge!"Sayaka narrowed her eyes at Monokuma. "I'm sure Makoto would tell me the truth," she looked down at him with a sweet smile. "Right Makoto?""Who here wouldn't be biased?" Wondered Chihiro."Damn it...I know who he's gonna pick," Mondo grunted, looking over at Ishimaru.The said boy jumped, looking around in confusion. "What me? You want me to...Judge the eating competition...?"Wiping his non-existent sweaty forehead, Monokuma nodded at the Ultimate Moral Compass. "Of course, you're the only person who'll be fair, right...?"Monokuma grinned at him, only causing Ishimaru to be even more swayed by the idea. "I mean...If you really want me too..." He was practically drooling. "I shall not let you all down!"Chihiro looked down in disappointment. "You don't sound the least bit against this..."Walking up to where Makoto stood, Ishimaru crossed his arms and looked at Sayaka with a serious face. "Tell me Maizono, was this an easy dish to prepare?"In bewilderment, she slowly nodded."I see, then I expect that you're good at making it," he leaned down to take Makoto's own fork and stab into the pancake with such force that both Makoto and Sayaka cringed. "Let me be the judge of this?""You already are..." Mumbled Makoto.He took one bite, his face blank for the first few minutes. Then...It morphed into one of disgust, dropping the fork and eyes widening as he stared at Sayaka through his pain and discomfort. "This...Isn't even cooked all the way through...I can taste the badly mixed flour..."Everyone cringed at his harsh criticism, Sayaka being the worst. "What...? Everyone looks my pancakes! That's what Teruteru said! He's the ultimate cook!"I looked over to glare at the said boy, who shrunk at all the scrutinizing looks he received from every female in the room and Fuyuhiko. "You disgusting man..." He muttered while shaking his head in disappointment."You were misinformed Miss Sayaka Maizono, I'm going to have to ask you to pack your things and leave," he told her with a defiant look on his face."Come on," Makoto cut in looking in between the two. "Why does she need to pack her things?""Makoto you lied...?"He immediately jumped to his own defence. "N-N-No, I really enjoyed it I swear!"She had tears in her eyes by now, her lower lip pouting slightly. "Then why does he hate it!""Tough guy to please...?" He tried awkwardly, looking over at everyone for help."And on this day," narrated Yasuhiro. "Friendships were forged then broken...""I'm pretty sure it's not that bad..." I breathed, watching as Sayaka dropped her food into the trash bin with a sad look and walked away. "Okay maybe..."Honestly, I felt kind of bad for the rest of the girls. Some of them knew they were going to get straight out rejected by Makoto–I mean Ishimaru–It's a bit humiliating. Now I'm glad that I never took Makoto's place, luck never had it in for me.It was like that for rest of the dishes too. Too stale, undercooked, overcooked, not cooked, burnt...Ishimaru pointed out every flaw and destroy nearly every girl's dream of winning the harem game, leaving only The Maid, Komaeda somehow, Peko, Celeste, and Chiaki, which I still don't understand how she's in the game. Who knew gamer girl could cook...The remaining 5 girls all stood around awkwardly, and god I wish Chiaki wasn't with them because now she's really gonna be dedicated to winning this after making it into the top 5. Fuck my life."Thank you so much for your helpful judgment," Monokuma cooed at Ishimaru.The boy grinned proudly, putting both of his hands on his hips. "It was a pleasure, good food should always be noticed.""Hmm, harems sure have changed..." the girl with the blue hair mused."I knew I'd never make it to the top 5..." Muttered Touko, walking to stand beside Byakuya.The boy edged away, letting a sigh out. "How more of this? I think the attention has been on Makoto for a long enough time.""Why, are you jealous?" Teased Asahina who had just lost. I can't believe all that girl did was make a doughnut..."I mean, it makes sense right, he's always taking your spotlight!""Shut up..."Monokuma kicked the table full of food away, grinning at everyone as they narrowly dodged the table."What...Was that for?" A girl with pigtails asked, speaking for the first time since I've seen her."So," he clapped his hands together, turning to face Makoto. "Pick a girl you want out of the competition Makoto!"Makoto looked hesitant, staring at him with a puzzled look. "What?""I said–""I heard you," he let out a tired sigh. "But...That's kind of mean."Come on Makoto! Pick Chiaki! You're my bro, you have too! This is the only chance I get, and he can't steal this...Letting her win this...I really am jealous goddamnit."Too...Nice?" Fuyuhiko questioned, getting even more agitated every second that Peko stood there. "Are...Serious...Just pick Peko and I'll take you off my hit list.""Hit list?" He jumped up with a perplexed expression. "Hey...You're joking right?""No.""Hey, if you're taking people's feelings into account, you better take mine!" I bellowed, seeing an opening. If Fuyuhiko can do it...So can I. "You better count out Chiaki!""Hajime..." Chiaki puffed angrily."You're not on my side?" I marvelled.She simply sighed, closing her eyes patiently. "Hajime...Just let me win this. I have too. I don't lose at games after I've come so far.She's so determined...!"If you value your life Makoto..." Fuyuhiko threatened quietly, his voice rising in octaves."Makoto! Pick whoever you want." Chiaki told him, turning away from me. What! Traitor!Okay, not an appropriate choice of words, I kind of just realized that.Makoto scratched his head nervously, looking in between Fuyuhiko and I. "Well...I don't want to betray either of you, but...I can't have both so I'm sorry guys!""What?" We both exclaimed at once."I pick the maid," Makoto told them.Peko let out a relieved sigh. "Thank god.""Ah, I was so scared there!" Chiaki hummed happily. I've lost so many times..."Very well then," the maid said, bowing her head at Makoto. "Honestly, I wasn't trying that much, but it was a pleasure being in this. If anyone needs any service please do tell me." And with that, she walked off quietly.What the hell Makoto! Bro's don't do this to each other! At least Fuyuhiko understands my pain...Goddamnit, he's gonna catch these hands later!With the maid gone, it left Celeste, Nagito, Chiaki and Peko. The final four. I wonder what the next challenge will be...Hopefully, one challenging enough so Chiaki would loose. Ugh...What's wrong with me, I'm praying for her loss...Not like that hasn't happened plenty of times before."So what is the next challenge?" Celeste asked, raising an eyebrow at Monokuma."I'll pair you guys up," damn he answered quickly. "And both of you must answer questions about Makoto. Personal questions.""Personal...Questions?" Makoto asked nervously, looking at the 4 of them. "W-Well, I'm sure I know them...I know myself.""Hehehe," he laughed maniacally at his reaction. "Sure you do...""What does that mean?!"So...Trivia. Great.I wonder how this'll go. Us from class 78th surely don't know much about him since we're not his classmates, but I'm pretty sure Nagito's done his research and Celeste may remember a few things from their school life. Chiaki and Peko must be clueless! Fuck yeah!"I'm not sure I want to do this..." Makoto looked nervous as he received threatening glares from the girls. "C-C-Come on no need to be angry..."Celeste huffed, crossing her arms. "Yes, every need Naegi Makoto. Let me tell you something. I'm not back from the dead to lose once again. I'm not admitting defeat like last time, so saddle up your horses because we're going for a ride.""Uh...Okay."Someone from the crowd started clapping, the whole gym erupting into cheering. I think that really fueled her ego right there...Peko cleared her throat impatiently, her body rigid and stiff as she approached Makoto. "Although I do not know much about you, I hope I will get to know more.""Peko!" I think Fuyuhiko's about to lose it...She looked surprised upon hearing her own name so dearly. "What is it, young master?""I told you not to-Gah, whatever," he let out a disappointed sigh. "Just proceed...""You give up way too easily man," Souda whispered over to him, probably only happy because Sonia wasn't in the game anymore.I watched as Monokuma had a bunch of robot Monokuma's bring out more chairs and two small tables with a few markers and a clipboard on them. I looked over at Gundham, raising an eyebrow. "He's going hard on this Bachelor stuff.""Hm...Such foolish games these mortals play," Gundham replies, making me regret ever saying anything to him. "I reckon this can only end in bloodshed!"I ignored what he said, seeing Makoto sit down at the biggest table, awkwardly shuffling his feet around as he waited for everyone else to settle in."It's like we're watching a K-Drama!" Sonia looked fascinated, her eyes sparkling excitedly as she watched the scene in front of her come together. "I've always wanted to see one up close!""You don't...See K-Drama's up close..." Muttered Mahiru who looked more confused than usual by her antics. "And we're Japanese."Now fuming with anger, all of us started noticing that Monokuma was seething, waiting for everyone to quiet down. Weirdly enough, Makoto was the first to talk. "Uh...So we're starting?""We should've started earlier!" The bear fumed, glaring at all of us accusingly. "But right now is good I guess! Fine! Like I care when we start! Not like there's a schedule or something!""H-How passive aggressive..." Muttered Touko. "This is just bad characterization."Ibuki blinked at her, her face in a wide grin. "Hey! Stop breaking the fourth wall!""I'm waiting for the trivia..." Chiaki was puffing her cheeks out like she usually did whenever I caused her to die during gaming."Same here," Celeste breathed impatiently."Let's go then! Shut up everyone!" Monokuma ordered. He picked up a large card and held it up above his head like he was protesting something. "First question! For how long did Naegi Makoto wet his bed?!""That's the first question?" I ask in disbelief. Poor guy...By now Makoto was very red, looking at the 4 contestants who had formed their owns teams pleadingly as if begging them to have faith in him and get it wrong. Wait, how do I know this? Author?!?Chiaki and Komaeda teamed up, no surprise. Whilst Peko and Celeste teamed up, a duo I've never really expected to see in my life time. Mostly because Celeste was dead, but also because they're different types of people..."That's not a fair question..." He fumbled anxiously. "Can you change it Monokuma...Please?" "This is hilarious," Leon murmured with a smirk. "Um, is it weird that I feel bad for this random guy?" Some guy with a hat asked his friend, fumbling with his hands. "I mean...That's pretty embarrassing..." Chiaki put a hand to her chin, thoughtfully looking up at the ceiling. "Hmm...What's average...?" "You're thinking this out...?" Deadpanned Mahiru. "Oh I know, I know!" Nagito said excitedly, raising his hand like he would in school. "Do I write it down and wait?" His partner puffed her cheeks in irritation. "I hate relying on others...But I'll let you have it I guess." Despite his efforts, Makoto nervously put his hands up as if rejecting both of them. "If you know it I'd prefer you wouldn't say anything!" Something flashed across Celeste's eyes as she scribbled down her answer, Peko looking at her curiously. "I know this, remember the secret motive Monokuma gave us?""I do!" Monokuma added unhelpfully.Mondo rubbed his head tiredly at the memory. "Yeah..." "Wait how would you know! It never got out!" Makoto defended suddenly, his eyes widening in unknown fear. "How would you know Celeste! No one knows!" She smirked at him as she finished writing. "I have my sources." Running a hand through his non-existent hair, Monokuma let out a loud breath and turned away from us as if he were angry with us again. He usually did this for comedic effect, which I always thought was completely unneeded because nothing about our situation was ever funny. "Show your answers I guess," he mocked sadness as he dropped his head. "What's got you so upset?" Questioned Yamada. "Who cares...We all die..." He sighed depressingly once again. Nagito was the first to show his answer, barely letting Chiaki even let him hold it up with him, I mean, after all, she was his teammate. Teamwork is dead. Celeste smiled at everyone who looked at her, raising her and Peko's answer with a proud smile. Nagito: 5th grade. Celeste: 5th grade. I'm pretty sure Makoto was about to lose whatever strong reputation he held up to now. "A-Are you serious?" Everyone in the crowd held back giggles, shuffling around to whisper indecent things to each other, and for once I'm glad I was left out of this. Touko, Yamada, and Teruteru all had some pretty embarrassing looks on their pink faces. "10 points to both of you!" Monokuma jeered, dropping his depressed facade. "Damn, who knew how popular our little ball of hope is! Jeez!" Nagito gave Celeste a tight lipped fake smile. "Lucky guess I suppose?" "No," she indiscreetly growled with a fake smile. "I just gambled my chances." The two had a painful stare off for a few seconds before Peko cleared her throat. "Well, let's keep this going no?" "You're still my competition," Celeste told her coldly. Peko narrowed her eyes in offence. "I hope you know I'm only doing this to get the prize to my young master. Repaying my debts." "Peko come on..." Fuyuhiko whined quietly, silently starting to give up ever telling her to stop. Well. This is a pretty awkward. Especially for Chiaki who still hadn't said a word, watching everyone with a puzzled expression. "Um...Congrats everyone..." Monokuma picked up another card, holding it up above his head. "What is Makoto's favourite food?" This time only Nagito got it right, the answer being curry. Both Celeste and Peko glared at him as the boy high fived his partner and cheered Makoto's name repeatedly. "What is Makoto's first word?" "What does Makoto spend his time doing?" "What type of underwear does Makoto wear?" "Hey, can we keep those types of questions off this?!" "No." The two teams were tied, only because Nagito messed one question up, one to which even Monokuma wasn't sure of. Celeste had gotten all of them right, so they were both 6-6, the last question about to determine who the winning team was going to be. I looked over at The Imposter, letting out a defeated sigh. I wonder how long it's been, an hour? Longer? This sure was taking time..."This is getting boring...When is the author gonna switch events?" Somewhere from the crowd, I could hear Ibuki yelling, "stop breaking the fourth wall!" And ignored it. The imposter crossed his arms, watching as Nagito and Celeste began to take personal jabs at each other. "Not sure, but I have a feeling we're going to be here for a while." Right..."Your luck is going to run out eventually you know," Celeste told him happily. "Relying on fate just brings bad circumstances, you have to be smart about it."Nagito feigned surprise. "Oh, you think you're being smart when you're doing your job? It's a talent you have to gamble, not a talent to be smart enough to gamble. I guess you can say it's your luck...That you end up with the best result." "You know that's not true," everything was spiralling out of control. "You have nothing besides your luck. Nothing to your character." He scoffed at her comeback. "What do you have? An ability to lie?" "Can you both stop?" Makoto interjected anxiously, looking in between the two. "I mean I get you're competing, but it's not that big of a deal!" I think that must've offended Nagito because now he slammed his hand down on the table with a placid smile on his face. "Winning the heart of the Ultimate Hope is the greatest prize I can win." "You're not gonna win my heart..." I could tell that Monokuma was enjoying this just by the smile on his face. "Let's finish this," even Chiaki was tired out by all of this nonsense. "I'm starting to lose my HP..." The bear clapped his hands together in satisfaction. "Yes yes, well...Determining a winner at this rate will be impossible, so let's just spice it up a little.""Spice it...Up?" I questioned, matching the looks of bewilderment everyone else had on their face. "What do you mean?" Something was definitely up his non-existent sleeves. "Ah well, why not let the group decide which team should leave?" Yes! This could be my chance to get Chiaki out! "I'm good with that!" "I'm not," huffed Celeste who was now sporting a red face. "This is completely unfair, I don't think–" "Who cares!" Monokuma interrupted before she could complain more. "Let the people have a voice amirite?!" "Yeah!" I agreed. The crowd went silent at my enthusiasm, which to I backed off a bit. Kyoko tilted her head as she looked at the contestants. "Hmm...I get to have a say in who Makoto ends up with...Interesting..." "Tch," Byakuya narrowed his eyes at him. "This is stupid." "You say that about literally everything!" Papers started flying out of the ceiling, hundred of them laying on the floor like confetti. I picked a few up, observing them to only realize they were blank. "What is this?""Those are your ballots! Write Team 1 for Chiaki Nanami and Nagito Komaeda and Team 2 for Peko Pekoyama and Celestia Ludenburg!" The bear explained. Of course, I wanted to write Team 1 as soon as possible, but I didn't even have a pen much to my dismay. People started to notice this as well, looking up at him accusingly. "How do we write this shit?" Mondo growled angrily. "Is this a joke?" "You're actually voting?" Sayaka inquired as she stood beside him. "I didn't think that you'd care." The biker gang leader grinned at Makoto, giving him a thumbs up. "This is for my bro! Gotta make sure I pick the most suitable partner for his future to grow old with!" "I'm not gonna marry them or anything jeez..." Monokuma was fuming once again, holding a bunch of pens in his right hand. "You all are so impatient! I was just about to hand them out! God, kids these days are so ungrateful, I can never catch a break..." He threw pens at us, some of them hitting people's faces, while others fell at their feet. I grabbed the closest one near me and started to scribble down 'Team 1' quick as I can. The sooner Chiaki is out, the better. The people who were actually voting finished pretty quickly took, folding their papers up and glaring at anyone who looked at them curiously as if they were asking who they voted for in the election. Monokuma produced a box out of nowhere, using his bullshit powers, and put it on the table. "Just put em in here when you're done!" He winked at us. I shuddered, walking to put my piece of paper until I saw Fuyuhiko sweating like someone had stabbed him. "What's wrong?" "Peko better get out," he sweated. "I'm about to vote twice and rig this shit." I knew he wanted to get them out, but his vote was against mine! "Ah...Well you know, some people are destined to win." "Nagito perhaps," he said quietly. "That dude's seriously got the luck of the devil..." Honestly, if that happened then I would be fine with letting them both stay in the competition. I just didn't want to take any chances with Izuru's bad luck at the moment. When two lucks combine, what happens? Chaos and both sides are left unsatisfied. Even so, Peko was doing this all for him, so what's the big deal? People overreact too much. Once everyone had put their votes in, Monokuma happily shuffled the boxes around, hearing the sounds of papers rustling inside. "Ah...Such a pleasing sound really..." "How will you determine the votes?" Peko asked, sitting beside a disgruntled looking Celeste. "Hmm..." He hummed, looking at us. "I guess I'll just force some uninvolved person unlike Fuyuhiko, Hajime or Kyoko to count them." Really?! "Not cool man," Fuyuhiko muttered at the rejection. "Who then?" He scanned the crowd once again before pausing, eyes landing on a specific person. "Yasuhiro Hagakure, you know how to count?" The said boy jumped at the attention, looking like someone had slapped his face. "Y-Yeah, I think I can get up to 100..." "Good enough for me," he picked up the box. "Come do your work child." He's not a child anymore...None of us are...Yasuhiro shakily made his way up to the box, his face crestfallen and pale as he took the box from Monokuma. "I have to count all the votes? Is that all?" He nodded. "Then tell me the results. I always knew you'd come handy in the story sometime!" Taking the insult in a stride, Yasuhiro quietly began dumping the papers on the tables and beginning to count the votes. By now, everyone in the room took this as a cue for a break, talking amongst each other. I'm always surprised at how easygoing and dumb that guy is. "Okay...Let's just cross our fingers now." I waited anxiously, not bothering to join anyone conversation or game of iSpy this time. I watched Yasuhiro carefully, as he counted the votes. One side seemed to be winning, and I prayed to Izuru, my other half, that hopefully, it was Chiaki and Komaeda. If not, fuck it all. He stopped after a few minutes of me watching, letting out a tired sigh and turning to look back at the crowd. "I'm done...I guess." "Cool," Monokuma grinned at him, walking over to the table to look at the results. "Ohoho, they're the winning team?" "Who?" I urged impatiently. "Looks like Celeste and Peko are out of the game! That just leaves Chiaki and Nagito to be the top two finalists! Woo!" I'm honestly about to loose it. Why does this always happen? Was this my bad luck or Nagito's good luck? I hope he gets the guy in the end...I hope he gets the guy. "Thank god..." At least Fuyuhiko was happy. He didn't have to worry about Peko winning, not like she really would anyway. That would've been a twist."Are...Are you kidding me?" Makoto asked in disbelief, staring at the two. "Damn to all..." Chiaki suddenly stood up, her face pale and tired. "I'm done. So done. With Nagito's luck, he can beat my good luck with games. You win Nagito. I'm out." ...And everything in the world was good again. Chiaki came to stand beside me, her cheeks puffed out. "I think dropping out was for the best." She rolled her eyes, tightening the straps of her backpack. "Yeah right. At least I got that far. It's not like me to give up, so I just gave Nagito the win. It's going to be funny anyway. This whole ordeal. I'm pretty sure Makoto's going to lose his mind by the end of this." I laughed at her statement. "W-Well...I'm glad you're out. I didn't want you to compete for an empty prize that Monokuma promised." "This...This is even worse," Makoto breathed, watching as Nagito stood up with a gleeful smile on his face. "You're...You're the winner?" Even Monokuma was a bit surprised, but seriously at this point? Everyone, even the readers, knew that he was going to win. What a predictable victory. "Oh well...Huh okay. I guess that works. Say hello to your winners!" Still sore about losing, Celeste growled out impatiently and sent Nagito her worst glare yet. If he didn't have such luck, that look could've killed him. "Hmph." "Looks like you lost again huh..." Byakuya muttered as per seeing the look on her face. "Once a loser, always a loser." She directed her glare at him. "Who asked you? You're not even special enough to get picked to be the lead in this." The two began a snarky battle of words, Chiaki and I laughing to ourselves silently about how incredibly amusing it really was. It was like two rich people argue about money. More so. Makoto was still looking at Nagito in disbelief. "Nagito look..." "This is the greatest hope yet," Nagito breathed out, his cheeks tinting pink. "I don't need whatever prize you've planned to give me, this honour is the best one I can receive." "Yes yes," Monokuma rolled his eyes. "You've won Makoto, congratulations fanboy." Poor Makoto. I'm really glad I wasn't the lead in the harem now.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
I brushed a piece of my hair back as Monokuma pushed open the doors to the dining hall to allow the girls into the room. He turned took back at us, grinning—Like he could help it or something. "I'm a robot, no gender nor sex, so don't worry about my presence being here.""We always worry about your presence..." Muttered Asahina, who was already staring at the foods on the table.I knew because of the attire of the room, that this was clearly set up for a party of sorts. Not sure I'd assign gender to this, but since Monokuma said only girls were allowed, we're the only ones participating in this 'event.' Sigh, at least we'll have a break from the men for a while, it's well deserved.Touko shuddered once she saw all the girls clam into the room one by one, the free space around us dwindling rapidly. "W-W-What is this? A prank...?""You're so ready to jump to conclusions," muttered Kyoko. She carefully observed the linen cloth that the table wore, a frown on her face."What is it Kyoko?" Hina curiously asked her.The girl didn't respond, her arms falling back to her sides as they usually were. "It's nothing."It was my turn next as Hina looked at me, her eyes widening in joy. "Sakura, I can smell it?"I raised an eyebrow. "Smell what?""The doughnuts!" She exclaimed happily, nearly smacking Touko in the process. "Someone has doughnuts in here!"Dismissing her doughnut obsession, I turned to look over at Monokuma who was happily dusting off a few of tables whilst humming some strangely familiar tune. "What is this?"Monokuma paused, not batting an eye as he spoke. "A tea party."A girl whom I recognized from earlier, the neo-Aikido one who hated men jumped up in surprise as she heard those words, her eyes lighting up. "A tea party?! Only for girls! Ooh, Himiko this is perfect for us!"The girl beside her who I presumed to be Himiko let out a tired sigh. "It may restore some of my HP...""I'm sorry, a tea party?" Sayaka questioned curiously. "Why...A tea party?""A lot of people in the community love pure girl love," Monokuma playfully winked at us. "It's more of a bonding exercise for all of you to have together, a time where no one is dead and the readers are satisfied!"He keeps breaking the 4th wall, and for whatever reason that was, it didn't make a difference to me. This was pretty fishy, being cautious was not only for me but for Hina and all of the other girls here. "You expect us...To simply just have a tea party?""Why not?" He shrugged nonchalantly while picking up a teacup. "It causes no harm."That may be right but...It always seemed like whenever we were given something from Monokuma, there was some ulterior motive he had in store for us. I've fallen for it once and it'll hurt if that ever happens again..."What...What do you even do here?" A girl with blue hair and glasses asked. "It's quite awkward to be dining with strangers too...No offence.""None was taken," Mahiru laughed nervously. "It's kind of strange."After Monokuma finished dusting the tables, he turned to face us. "What toured supposed to do? Tell secrets, play truth or dare, play pin the ahoge on Makoto...""This is ridiculous," Hiyoko spat viciously. "I don't need to be getting along with these whores, especially that one." She pointed over at the poor Ultimate nurse who merely whimpered at the derogatory word."Hey! No need to be rude!" Defended Sayaka, who seemed to step in front of Tsumiki in a defensive manner. Hiyoko glared at her as if she were the superior one, still clearly being shorter than the Pop Idol. "Watch who you're talking too, I'm your upperclassman you know!""Does that really matter anymore?" Questioned Kyoko. "I'd imagine such things don't matter much after everything we've all been through."Truth or dare...Games? Did everyone have this shallow idea of who girls are?"I'll leave you all now!" Monokuma cheered happily, bidding us a strange goodbye. "I've got some weird things in store for the boys as they play with each other."The way he phrased that..."You're leaving us alone?" Hina asked in disbelief. I picked up one of the forks from the table, observing the small indents in the leg of it."Of course," he jeered while putting a hand behind his head. "This isn't my place to be! Girls need their privacy?"I put the fork down, dismissing the strange logo on it as a coincidence. "You're not a girl is what you're saying?""Whoops!" He covered his mouth like he'd accidentally revealed a large clue, but we knew it wasn't exactly that. "Who knows?"I'm pretty sure he'd be watching this from somewhere, so there wasn't any point in caring about this or not. "You're leaving a bunch of girls in a room full of sweets and bad blood alone...Smart.""I'll say," Kyoko almost scoffed as she said that, not something she's usually done. "The tension in here is quite high."After everything that's happened...If I had lived long enough to see what was to happen then I'm sure I'd realize how truly horrific the world was. I died thinking such naive thoughts...Only to come back to life and just merely be informed of these such events.It's not like I had experienced them, in fac, it was hard believing in things you'd never seen. All of what I've been told just sounds like a big joke, but who am I to decide?Hina had seen the world...She lived through all of the horror of it and I wasn't there to be by her side then. It...Hurt knowing I wasn't there to protect her, to persevere the hope she had in her.Before I died, my wish was to protect the people I cared about. My dojo and Hina were in that same group."Hey Sakura," Hina's smooth voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "Do you suppose you'll go back to being dead after all this? If that's the case...I kind of don't want this to end..."I couldn't say I disagree...This was probably the only way I'd get to see her. "Hina...No matter what you know I'll always be by your side."She stared at me with this big blue eyes, the eyes of someone who's seen pain, someone who's seen war. "Yeah you think so...I hope so...Nothing is every the same really...""Everything in the world has an impact Hina," I told her gently, slightly regretting my next words. "I'm not that special."She didn't respond this time, simply averting her eyes to avoid looking into mine. All of this is equally as painful for her as for me. I'm sure."Girl you wanna freaking throw down?" Hiyoko threatened, snapping us both back to the current situation. It looked like there was a fight beginning, and not an organized one like I was used too. "Because my growth spurt grew more than just my height."Sayaka stood glaring at the girl, still standing in front of Tsumiki. "Bullying people isn't right. Especially in a place and time like this.""Oh please," the girl waved her hand at her dismissively. "It's just the way we talk. Right Miki?"Said girl flinched at all the scrutinizing looks she received from all of the other girls. She shrank under gaze, her eyes tweaking as she spoke. "I-I-It's not use defending a l-l-loser like me, please don't bother Maizono..."Maizono's eyebrows furrowed, and just in that moment, Sonia stepped in. "I command you to stop!"Everyone fell quiet, including Hiyoko."This is ridiculous," she glared at Hiyoko and Sayaka both. "We are in a place free from boys, a place where girls should get along! This was meant for bonding, not petty cat fights! I must tell you both to step down, as we are properly going to have this tea party."A blonde girl to my left looked astonished as she stared at Sonia. "A tea party?""I agree! We're free from those menaces, what better way to celebrate!" Neo-Aikido girl gushed while gripping the smaller girl beside her. "Let us commence the tea party!"Sonia stifled an awkward laugh, backing down a little. "Sorry if I seemed a little forceful but...""No," Maimonides gave her a gentle smile. "You're right."Hiyoko looked like she refused to acknowledge Sonia, crossing her arms and looking away from her. "Hmph."Mahiru stood in for her, sending everyone apologetic look. "She's sorry."Waving them off, Hina excitedly started to look around the room, searching for something. "Where is it? I'm sure it's here!""Um...You said something about a Tea Party?" The blue haired girl from before asked, several other girls chatting in the background. "What...Do you do at a tea party?""Drink tea perhaps?" Chiaki suggested, tilting her head curiously.Celeste feigned surprise, looking at the girl like she was insane. "Nanami, you've never been to a tea party? Tsk tsk, what a shame.""I'm actually glad Monokuma isn't here," the maid girl let out a sigh of relief as she spoke for the first time. "It's easier to breathe now."She's completely right, with him gone it seemed as though a weight had been lifted off my chest. When around him, the worry was usually the first emotion on my mind."At a tea party, we must act proper and have fun," Sonia stated in a matter of fact tone. "EVERYONE must have fun."Even though she sounded a bit forceful, it was a nice gesture, taking the role of a leader at a time like this. "Very well princess, do your thing."She smiled at me. "Princess? I'm pretty sure I lost that title long ago.""Hmm...So, how do we start this exactly?" The girl with paint on her face asked. She had a foreign accent, from somewhere I'd never heard of before.Sonia thought about for a few seconds before a light bulb went off in her mind. "Hmm...At tea parties back in my kingdom, we usually talked about foreign affairs and political matters but...Here, let's make the topic a bit lighter no?""A lighter topic?""Ooh! Oooh! Ibuki knows!" Ibuki suddenly cut in, raising her hand excitedly."Ah, what is it?"The girl whined at the group as she spoke, her rainbow highlights flailing around. "Let's talk about each other! Ibuki is DYING to know some of you! It's a bit weird not knowing so many names..."That was right...This new class was completely a left turn for us. Even though they seemed to be familiar with the concept of talent and Monokuma's we had no relation to them. I wonder if the killing game with gifted individuals became a trend after ours since these girls are a bit younger than us."That makes sense I suppose..." Sonia pondered about it. "Very well, let them introduce themselves."Some of the girls exchanged strange looks as if daring each other silently, for who to go first. At last, the girl with blue haired stepped forward, smiling at everyone kindly. "My name's Tsumugi Shirogane. I'm the Ultimate Cosplayer but...If you're asking, I don't cosplay. If anyone is willing to be a model, I'd be honoured.""Cosplay?" Chiaki murmured under her breath."I'm Kaede Akamatsu," the girl with the blond hair introduced. "I'm The Ultimate Pianist, it's really nice to meet you all."Although she didn't sound as upbeat as expected, it seemed as though the girl was trying her best to be nice.The artist girl from before happily waved at them. "My name is Angie Yonaga, Ultimate Artist! If anyone wants to be a sacrifice to my God, it would very much be appreciated!"Mahiru seemed a bit taken aback by her intensity, flinching the slightest bit. "I'm sure we're all good... ""Listen up fuckers, because this is pretty important," a girl with long, wavy blond hair suddenly slammed her hand down on the table, causing it to shake violently. "My name is Miu Iruma! I'm the Ultimate Inventor! Don't ask me for anything unless you're willing to give up your goddamn virginity!""Waaah!" Mikan seemed terrified of this girl, her hands covering her face in defence. "Please no!"Miu...Was a vibrant character. I've never seen someone as blunt and idiotic as her before, it was a bit frightening.Next up was the Aikido girl, who was grinning at everyone. "I'm Tenko Chabashira, and I'm soo excited to get to know you all! I'm the Ultimate Neo-Aikido master!"Tenko seemed much less guarded than she was in the gym. Her personality did a complete 180, shifting to be a girl who could be scary and socially inept at the same time. From bold to a bit shy around here."Ooh, like karate?" Akane asked smugly. "Wanna fight sometime?""Ahh! Tenko does not fight girls unless in a match!" She defended while profoundly blushing. "Only menaces deserve that fate!""Oh so, you don't like boys?" Sayaka questionably raised an eyebrow at her."Don't like?" She laughed darkly for a second. "I HATE them!"The pop idol backed off with an anxious smile. "I see..."Akane rubbed the back of her head, dumbfounded. "Huh? You don't wanna fight? Man...What a shame."Probably upset for making Akane's disappointed, Chabashira blushed once again while muttering apologies at the girl."Um...To calm things down, My name is Himiko Yumeno," the girl beside her started, her voice drawing out in breaths. "I'm a magician..."Komaru's eyes lit up almost instantly as if she had received candy. "A magician? How amazing!""Isn't it?!" Chabashira cheered her on."She's pretty good," Shirogane added, jumping on the train to support her."Can you show us a trick?" Komaru asked her excitedly.The girl's eyes dropped as she stared at the floor blankly. "All this confusion...Has killed my MP...""Magic...Power?" Chiaki elaborated for anyone who didn't understand. "How do you restore it?"Was she also going along with this...?"It comes and goes..." The girl gave a pretty decent excuse, but I'm not sure if anyone really cared enough to keep that conversation from going on longer than it already did.Komaru (CORECTTED TO KOMAEDA LOL) looked deflated, her shoulders dropping. "Aw man..."I let out a loud sigh as I look over at Hina, raising my eyebrow at her in a questionable manner. "You should know by now not to fall for every one of Monokuma's tricks." Her eyes dimmed. "Hey! I know! I'm just...Enjoying the smell itself. Even if it's not real...But who knows, anything could happen!" Once again, Hina preferred staying in her own world. After all, she's been through, God she deserves it. "Alright..." "My name is Kirumi Tojo," the maid from earlier said, catching all of the attention once again. "Ultimate Maid, as you may have guessed." Kyoko put a finger on her chin, quietly observing Kirumi. "Have...Have we met before?"The maid paused, her eyes slowly going over to look at Kyoko. "You must be mistaking me for someone else. I don't believe I recognize you." "Right..." Something was definitely on her mind as she trailed off, her eyebrows furrowed in deep thought. The last girl to go was the quiet girl with the long brown pigtails trailing down her back. As she spoke, I felt shudders go down my back, not an affect that most people have one me. "My name is Maki Harukawa. Ultimate Caregiver." That was all she said, closing her eyes as if resting after she finished. Hina looked confused, tilting her head to the side. "Ultimate Caregiver. So you're good with children?" "Yes," Harukawa's eyes flashed open suddenly. "What of it?" Beside me, I felt Hina shudder. "O-Oh it's nothing, I was just a bit confused about it..." I understood why she asked that this girl definitely didn't give off a kind and warm impression. In fact, whenever she looked at anyone, she sent daggers in their way with her eyes. Those piercing eyes resembled Genocider's, and even Peko, two people not to be messed with. Now that all the girls had finished introducing themselves, it was the rest of our turns. I'd bore you with everyone else's introductions, but nothing was really new for me here. After a few minutes, Sonia clapped her hands together happily, ready to bring everyone together again. "Now that we're acquainted, I hope we can all have fun on this!" "Fun?" Touko muttered something about the difference in opinions, avoiding the glare Komaru gave her. "Yes! For every tea party, we need tea, to begin with!" Sonia grinned, picking up a small teacup and the teapot from the table. Pouring herself some, she took a delicate sip, her right pinky sticking out. "And the right way ladies!" Iruma grunted, looking at the cups lined up on the table. "Ugh, this is like etiquette 101 again." "Again...?" Another girl responded, hard to decipher since everyone was noisily shovelling around to get tea. I'd never been a fan of the extremely polite things rich and posh people did, but this did seem fun. A cup of tea with Hina and a few other girls? Where we'd supposedly relax? It was a blessing, no matter how unreal this actually feels. Girls began taking seats, and I reached over to get a cup from the table. Hina was already holding a cup of tea, flinching every time her finger touched the hot part. "Ouch!" "Careful," I warned. "It's scalding." It really was. Even for myself, it was difficult with my large hands to grip the side properly without touching anything else and burning myself. Although...The aroma was pleasant none the less, I enjoyed every second of it. This tea party was going smoother than anyone would've thought. It started off rocky with some unsure comments, but by now, everyone, and I mean everyone, had someone to be around. There had never been so much civility in one place during one time in history. I'm SURE. That could partially be accredited to the absence of...A certain group of people. Of course not all of them, but still..."Sakura," Hina's soft voice cut through my thoughts. "If we never see each other after this, what's going to happen to you? Will you stay dead?" I didn't really quite know how to answer that. "You...You're asking me that..." "Yes I know it's a difficult question," she licked her lips and took a sip of her tea. After taking a moment of pause, she put the cup down and finally faced me, staring at me with both of her big blue eyes. "How is it being dead?" "Being dead is like," I thought about my answer carefully. "Not living." She rolled her eyes. "Duh!" "No really," I felt like anything I would tell her next will upset her. "Hina...I'm not living. iving is basically experiencing and without that...I'm dead...Think of it as a time before you were born. How does that feel?" She looked lost for a second. "Yeah...You can't understand the feeling, there wasn't much to feel, that's why," I tell with an apologetic smile. "Hina, I do hope that this time we can get out with each other instead of only one of us. But if it does come down to it...You have to at least escape. You're the one who lived, you can't just die." I know she understood what I said was a promise, one that I'd risk my life for again to keep. The world probably doesn't want someone it got rid of again. Hina had some tears in her eyes, but none the less, smiled through them. "I understand that. I do...But let's hope it doesn't come down to that okay? I want you to live your life." Hope. What an ironic thing to say. "Hmm...It seems like your mind is set on one thing," I pick up my tea and take a sip. "That's fine with me." Because I'm planning to stay focused on only her. Leon leaned on a lunch cart, letting out a whistle. "Whoo. Boy am I glad Sayaka sucks at cooking. If she was hung up on Makoto, she'd totally forget about our deal." Souda, who was holding a cupcake in his hand smashed it into his face suddenly, startling the rest of the boys. "What," he took a disgusting gulp. "Deal?" Making a strange face, Mondo suddenly threw him an offhanded glare. "Dude, can you not? We're all finally alive and this is how you're spending your time?" I laughed to myself, watching the lowly creatures converse. How pathetic. "You all make me laugh. This is why you all died." "Shut up ugly," someone said behind me. Before I could figure out who it is and curse their ass out, Leon grabbed my shoulder suddenly. "Hey! You're not better than us for surviving." I rolled my eyes. "You got executed. Even more pathetic than getting killed." "Leon tell us your goddam deal," Mondo grunted from my right. Did the corn haired fucker just cut into MY conversation? I'm livid. "We don't have our whole lives." "Ha ha, so funny," the red haired boy deadpanned. Why am I even hanging out with these losers? I'm so beyond their level. "Hmph. I'm impressed you even had the chance to talk to someone such as Sayaka Maizono in the first place, much less murder her." "Stop bringing the game into this asswipe," Souda narrowed his eyes at me weakly. "We're all over that." "Are we?" I raised an eyebrow. Okay, maybe they were, but I'm not. I like holding people to their mistakes. Forgive and forget isn't a thing in the Byakuya-verse. Plus, this part of the story is completely deluded from the main event of this chapter. Yes, intricate thoughts are being used as a filler. Can you believe that? How offensive can this author be? How boring must you be to have no ideas to fill this space? I'm kidding. Once again. This part of the story is pretty important, really. We need some random moments in the story to be funny, just little tidbits here and there to lighten the mood. Not a filler at all. Nope. Also accredited to the fact that I'm extremely out of character right now. Congratulations again! You've been fooled by the imposter again... Back to the girl's tea party, I'm pretty sure my spotlight wasn't supposed to be stolen like that. Especially by someone such a Byakuya Togami. Anyway...Where did this leave off? Right, Hina and I's empty promise of staying together. Honestly, it felt like a weight off my shoulder to express my feelings such as that, even if she didn't want to accept the fact that this may be the end. "I think the 'tea party's' ended," commented Touko, who was still a bit hesitant about this. I think after a few minutes she got more and more comfortable, but I can understand why she'd still be a bit opposed to all of this. "Can we go home now?" Hina looked at her with a dumbfounded expression. "You can't be serious can you?!"