Archive of Our Own

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ALL ABOARD! DESTINATION: OUR INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY!
 “.........A little bit about myself? Ah, that’s easy. I guess you could say that I’m not the biggest people person, haha. No, I… I’m definitely, well… a loser. Yeah, I guess that’s the easiest way to put things. Grade A Loser, Dorkster McSpazatron, Professional Punching Bag, all of the above and more. I always have been. But not anymore, no siree. Because… see, I wanna show everybody that I’m not some piece of shit loser that gets shoved into lockers and pushed around. I’m gonna show everybody who was mean to me that they’re the idiots! I’m gonna show ‘em that I’m a winner! And if I gotta kill to do it, then I’m gonna, haha! Because I’m-I’m...”

“………A little bit about myself? Ah, I’ll do my best. Well, to start things off, my name is Fuji Yota. I’m a boy of average height and average build. I’m not strong and muscular, nor am I skinny and weak. I’ve got shaggy white hair that sticks up in places and red eyes with bags under them, along with a big ol’ pair of super thick glasses. I like to wear ordinary clothes, I usually just put on a black jacket that I leave unzipped and a shirt that I’ve picked up from one of my trips over the world.. Oh, pants too. Sturdy ones that can take a lot of walking, and dust, and wear. I also need to wrap my hands with bandages, both because they get cut a lot and because I don’t want to contaminate potential artifacts with oils from my skin. Even with all that… I’m kinda boring. If I had to say one thing about myself… well, I’m not very easy to pick out of a crowd, haha.Still, there is something special about me. I’ve always been enamored with physical history to a… really strong degree. Things like… you know; artifacts, tools, statues, books, art. Things with history, with culture. It’s all so fascinating, finding things that come from a time so different from ours... I just… tend to get lost in it, y’know? I’m a bit of a collector, and I’ve traveled all over looking for this kind of stuff. I’m really good at finding and researching things like that. My friends always gave me a bit of flak for being such a nerd about that kind of stuff, and I can’t really blame them, hah.But hey, it’s not all bad, you know. Because I’m really good at it. And in this world, people with talents like mine… well, they’re special. When students are in high school, or are of high school age at least, then they can get officially recognized as a student of extreme talent in a certain field or category. Or, uh, ‘Ultimate’ talent, rather. As for me? Well, all of that history nerdiness has gotten me somewhere, surprisingly. I, Fuji Yota, have been awarded the title of ‘Ultimate Antiquarian’. Pretty neat, right? I’ve been all over the world, researching artifacts and antiques from all over. It’s a pretty sweet gig, I get to see all sorts of cool places and meet all sorts of nice people who know my name, all while I receive funding for doing the stuff I love to do...Oh, what does the ‘Ultimate’ title thing come from? Well, it… it…it…it means…where...where did it come from?...O-Oh, who gave it to me?...Well that’s a really…really…easy…question…to...answer…….....right?...” “We have to do something!” A rather loud voice caught Yota Fuji’s ears, and he clenched his eyes shut a little more. God, his brain hurt. It pounded, throbbing, threatening to dribble out of his ears. He needed… god, just five more minutes…“Hey man, chillax!” Another voice said, clearly more amused than the other voice. Fuji felt his brow knit together. Was this… a conversation? Were people talking to each other? They must have thought he was still asleep. “What do you even want us to do?”“I… I dunno!” The first voice said. Fuji groaned and opened his eyes.He was in a strangely large room, one with a high ceiling and some fancy chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Underneath him seemed to be… a table of sorts, and when he turned his head, he noticed the mint green tablecloth. The floor seemed to be carpet, maroon in color, and there were more tables, as well as chairs. Was this… a dining hall?Fuji sat up with another groan, finally prompting the two voices to stop talking and look in his direction. In the dining hall were two other boys, who were staring at him. One seemed amused, while the other looked relieved.“Oh, thank god.” The relieved boy said, his shoulders slumping. He was the taller of the two, with wavy blond hair, green eyes, tan skin, and a muscular build. He had on a cheesy looking Hawaiian shirt in yellow and orange, over a gray t-shirt and cargo shorts. A pair of 3D glasses hung from his shirt collar, while a gold chained necklace hung from his neck. His sandals tapped anxiously on the carpet. “Dude, we thought you were dead. Shit was scary.”“Don’t listen to this jokester.” The other boy said, grinning. He was only slightly more average looking, with fluffy orange hair and sharp golden eyes that looked Fuji over. His face was covered in freckles. He was wearing a navy sweater vest over a black collared shirt, with a strange red tie that looked to be cut into the shape of a lightning bolt. Aside from that, he had on gray dress shoes and pressed dress pants, and Fuji caught the glint of his golden earrings in the room’s lighting. “I knew you were alive.” He snickered, motioning at the blond boy, a bracelet of black shells jingling against his wrist.“What’s… going on?” Fuji asked, eyes going back to drifting around the room. There seemed to be a stage at one side of the room, complete with a red curtain. “Where are we?”“Dunno, man. Your guess is as good as ours.” The blond boy said, rubbing the back of his neck. “We’ve been locked in here while you were conked out. I tried the doors, but none of ‘em budged.”“Locked in?...” Fuji repeated.“Yup.” The orange haired boy replied, grinning. “The doors to the kitchen are locked. To starve to death next to a source of food.” He sighed dramatically. “How cruel.”“Shut up, man.” The blond boy snapped. “We’re not gonna starve to death in here, alright?”“But there’s no way of knowing that!” The orange haired boy snickered. “For all we know, we’re gonna be stuck in this room f-”He was cut off by an unseen intercom suddenly crackling to life. The three of them glanced around, looking for the source of the noise, but Fuji couldn’t spot it anywhere. A voice, crackly and warped, came up over the speakers. “Hello? Hello?! Is this thing on?!… Oh, right. They can’t respond.” The voice laughed, then continued. “Hello, hello! Hello hello! Hey, have you ever thought about how strange the word ‘hello’ sounds? Just repeating it over and over… hello hello hello hello he-”The intercom cut out briefly. It then came back on a moment later, a different, more… metallic voice coming on. “ATTENTION-STUDENTS.” The intercom said. “THIS-IS-AN-OFFICIAL-ANNOUNCEMENT. ALL-SIXTEEN-STUDENTS-HAVE-SUCCESSFULLY-RECOVERED. PLEASE-FEEL-FREE-TO-VENTURE-FORTH-AND-MEET-YOUR-FELLOW-ULTIMATES. YOU-WILL-BE-CONTACTED-AGAIN-ONCE-YOUR-INTRODUCTIONS-ARE-FINISHED.” With that, the intercom cut off once again, and a loud ‘click!’ resounded throughout the room.“Ooh, that must have been the doors! Awesome!” The orange haired boy cheered. “I’m gonna meet some Ultimates!” And then he was gone, scampering towards one of the room’s exits. He happily threw the door open, and disappeared, the door swinging shut behind him.“...huh.” The blond boy said, blinking. “That’s uh… okay.”“Hmm...” Fuji pursed his lips. “There’s sixteen students here? Sixteen Ultimates nonetheless... Why were we… locked in a room then?” He frowned, then glanced over at the other boy. “Hey uh...”The blond boy looked over at Fuji, and suddenly his face lit up. “Oh, damn! I just realized!” He took two bounding steps over to Fuji and stuck a hand out. “Dude, I’ve never met another Ultimate before! Heard all about ‘em, but I’ve never seen one up in the flesh! Oh, this is so awesome.”“Oh, uh… likewise.” Fuji took his hand, a small smile forming on his face. “Uh… I’m Fuji. Fuji Yota. I’m uh… the Ultimate Antiquarian.”
YOTA FUJI, ULTIMATE ANTIQUARIAN
“Dude, that sounds sick.” The blond gleefully shook Fuji’s hand, then laughed guiltily. “Gotta tell ya though. I got… no idea what the hell an antiquarian is.”“I uh… go around the world, study artifacts and stuff from ancient cultures. It’s… really fun.”“Damn, sounds like it. Shit, I’m kinda jealous.” The blond boy laughed. “Oh, I should probably introduce myself, huh? Name’s Dewa Junpei. I’m the Ultimate Movie Critic! It’s kind of awesome.”
JUNPEI DEWA, ULTIMATE MOVIE CRITIC
“Movie Critic?” Fuji parroted. “So like… you get to watch all kinds of movies and talk about them?”“Yup!” Dewa grinned. “Shit’s awesome. I get to see stuff before it even comes out in theaters. People love to hear what I gotta say about things, and lemme tell ya, it’s so much fun talkin’ about it! Hey, we should watch a movie sometime. I’ll be sure to tell you all the good shit first.”“Sounds like fun.” Fuji smiled, though he soon after bit his lip. “Though… maybe we should figure out what’s going on here first. There’s… something's wrong about this situation, and it’s kind of weirding me out a bit.”“For real.” Dewa nodded, putting his hands on his hips and shaking his head. “This is givin’ me the heebie jeebies, and we haven’t even been here that long.” He sighed, then looked over at Fuji. “Hey though. We should totally, like, go together. I think this shit would be a lot easier to process with two people.” He grinned. “Plus, you seem pretty cool. I was gonna say that you’re better than the other guy, but that’s not exactly a hard hurdle to jump.”“He seemed like, uh… a bit of a handful.” Fuji admitted.“You don’t know the half of it.” Dewa shook his head again. “Barely spent an hour with him and he was already gettin’ on my nerves. Dude was weird as fuck. Now that I think about it...” Dewa frowned, putting his hands on his hips. “I’m not even sure what the fuck kinda Ultimate he was. He just… pinged me as really weird. Kinda easy to talk to though, for what it’s worth, even if he was a fuckin’ asshole...” He trailed off, then shrugged. “Anyways, we should probably get goin’. Don’t see us getting much done if we’re just standing around talkin’ about that weirdo.”“Yeah, you’re right.” Fuji nodded. “I guess we should follow him though, unless that other exit leads anywhere.” He looked over at the other set of doors, and Dewa followed his gaze.“Nah, that’s just the kitchen.” Dewa replied. “It was locked earlier, but I doubt there’s gonna be anything or anybody in there.” He paused, then frowned. “Guess it wouldn’t hurt to check, though. Maybe somebody is passed out in there.”With that said, the duo made their way over to the kitchen doors. Now that they were closer, Fuji could see a little plaque over top the set of doors, which read ‘KITCHEN’. Dewa pushed the doors open, and the two peered inside.The room was large, though much smaller than the room they were just in. The floor was linoleum and the walls were tiled white. Fuji squinted as he looked in due to how the fluorescent lights reflected off of the walls and floor. When his vision cleared somewhat, he could see… typical kitchen stuff.“Woah,” Dewa said. “This place is actually pretty loaded. This is some crazy stuff...” He stepped into the kitchen, a look of wonder on his face. Fuji followed him, blinking.The Kitchen had all sorts of typical kitchen appliances, like stoves and sinks and counters. There was a row of microwaves along one wall, on top of yet another pristine counter top. Opposite the microwaves was a huge rack of cooking implements, which Fuji found himself staring at in surprise. There were knives, peelers, shredders… all sorts of sharp things. Fuji swallowed thickly. Jeeze, this was a lot of sharp stuff.“Yo, Fuji, come check this!” Dewa called out, beckoning him over. Fuji glanced up.Dewa was standing, hands on his hips, admiring some massive industrial ovens in the back of the Kitchen as Fuji approached. They were huge, going up to the ceiling, though they seemed to have some space underneath, as they were mounted on wheels. Fuji touched one, pushing with a little bit of force, and the oven groaned as it moved a centimeter backwards.“These are huge...” Fuji said.“Yeah, no kidding.” Dewa replied, standing next to him. “Though based on the size of that dining room we were just in, these things make sense. If you can fill that room, you’re gonna need… a lot of food.”“So that was a dining room...” Fuji mused aloud, frowning. He supposed… that made sense.“Yeah.” Dewa nodded, then glanced over at Fuji. “Hey, question, if you don’t mind.”“Huh?” Fuji looked over at him.“How’d you get your title?” Dewa asked. “I mean… it sounds cool as all hell, but… you’re not one of the Ultimates I’ve heard about, and it seems like it’d be hard to get a start on stuff like that. Not like me, at least...” He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.“Oh!” Fuji nodded. “Right! Um, yeah I don’t mind. Let’s see…” He pressed a hand to his chin. “It had to be… Well, I’m a bit of, well… a nerd. I’ll admit it.” He laughed. “This kind of stuff had always interested me, but… see...” He frowned, rubbing at his chin. “I think it was mainly luck. My family’s always loved to take out of country trips, and so… like, one time we went to Central America, and we were on a jungle trail. I kinda… got lost, and wandered around for a bit,“But then!” Fuji continued, and he felt himself straighten his back. It wasn’t often he got to talk about stuff like this. “I found this small shard of obsidian, affixed as a part of this piece of a necklace. I picked it up and immediately went to go find my way back. It took a couple hours, but I eventually made it back to my parents.” He laughed. “And then I took the necklace to a nearby museum, and had a chat with the curator about it’s history. Apparently they’d been looking for something like this for years, and I had just delivered it to them, with impeccable knowledge used for dating it and figuring out its purpose. It’s all… been kinda a blur from there.” He admitted, rubbing his neck.“That...” Dewa said, face flat. Fuji furrowed his brow, wondering if he’d bored Dewa. Shit… However, before he could apologize, Dewa’s face burst into a huge grin. “is so awesome. I’m a traveler too, but, like, nothing on that kinda level!” He laughed. “I just go to different countries and shit, watch their movies and eat some food. And people love me.”“How did you get your talent?” Fuji asked.“Aw, nothin’ big.” Dewa said, grin bashful. “Had an online blog where I critiqued movies. It got super big, to the point where, like, people were citing me for academic papers and shit like that. Became a phenomenon for a bit, and it’s never really died down.”“Wait...” Fuji frowned, narrowing his eyes at Dewa. The other boy chuckled awkwardly, glancing away from Fuji’s scrutinizing stare. Then Fuji’s eyes lit up. “Wait! Are you the owner of Junjipan?!”“Aw shit.” Dewa laughed again. “Guilty as charged. I feel kinda bad about not knowing you now...”“No way, don’t be.” Fuji said, staring in awe. “Dude, this is unbelievable. I loved your review of ‘Cardimum Caricatures’. It really discussed the nuance present in the movie that I feel like a lot of people missed out on.”“Goddamn, don’t get me started.” Dewa rolled his eyes. “To think that people overlooked the delicate web of socioeconomic commentary and references to the 1970’s political climate and called it a simple thriller film...” He shook his head. “Makes my blood boil, honestly.” Dewa glanced over at Fuji with a grin, though he quickly looked away again.“Uh.” He said. “Not that I wanna stop talking to you, but...” Dewa sported a crooked grin when he glanced back over at Fuji. “We should probably get a move on.”“Ah? Oh!” Fuji flushed a bit, chuckling. “You’re right. Yeah, we should go.”The air a bit thick now, Fuji shuffled towards the exit, Dewa on his heels. The two passed through the Dining Hall, heading towards the door that didn’t lead to the Kitchen. What they found on the other side was…“Woah, dude.” Dewa said, voice low. “This is… somethin’ else.”The hallway they found themselves in was fancy, with soft, chocolate brown carpet under foot. There was a pattern worked into it that snaked across the middle of the walkway, and the red paint on the walls made it stand out even more. There were regal looking light fixtures mounted on the walls, and the place gave off an aura of class.“It sure is fancy...” Fuji murmured. “What is this place?”“Dunno...” Dewa’s voice was slowly returning to its regular volume. “Fuji, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore...”“...huh?” Fuji glanced at his companion, who seemed transfixed by the walls.“Forget it. Just a joke.” Dewa replied. “We should see what’s up with this place. And find those other Ultimates as well...”“Right...” Fuji nodded, glancing down the hall. As he did so, there was the sound of a door clicking shut coming from their right. Dewa snapped his head in its direction and grabbed Fuji’s wrist, prompting a surprised ‘woah!’.The two booked it down the hall before they approached a room with a plaque reading ‘LAUNDRY ROOM’. There was talking coming from inside, and Dewa nodded. Fuji blinked, staring flatly at Dewa as he took up what could only be an attacking pose. Did he think this was some kind of ninja movie?Regardless, Fuji really couldn’t stop Dewa from shouting, ‘HIYAH!’ and throwing the door open to reveal two young women talking quietly in what was most definitely a laundry room.The first girl screamed, grabbing onto the second’s arm. The first girl was tall and gangly, with a waterfall of incredibly fluffy dark purple hair that looked like it went down to at least her upper thighs. There was a thick spattering of freckles across her face, which was currently frozen in an expression of fear. She had on a tan plaid waistcoat over a mauve collared shirt, and a pleated tan skirt that went down to her knees. Her free hand was holding up an over the shoulder satchel that she was currently putting between herself and Dewa.The second girl had simply cocked her head, her bob of black hair swishing as she did so. It was when looking at her that Fuji noted with shame that he was the shortest person in the room, this girl slightly taller than him. She had clear tan skin and curious purple eyes, which were currently zeroed in on Dewa. Her attire consisted of a white collared shirt and black tie with matching black high heels, alongside a brown pencil skirt with attached suspenders. Curiously, she had a brown fedora on her head at an angle, and a pencil tucked behind her ear. A camera hung from around her neck, and Fuji could see a notepad and some pencils peeking out of her shirt pocket.After a long moment of silence, Dewa lowered his arms. “Oh.” He said simply. “You’re not, like, monsters or anything.”“Not really.” The girl with the fedora replied, turning to the first girl with a soft, yet embarrassed smile. “Hey, Hiramoto, I think it’s alright.”“I-I-If you s-say so...” ‘Hiramoto’ replied, shivering as she pulled her hand away from the second girl’s shoulder.“So, intruders. I pose a question for you.” The second girl said, grinning. In a flash, the notepad and a pen were in her hands, and her eyes glinted in the laundry room’s light, “What are your names and talents? Please, let me know so I can record them!”“In… intruders?” Dewa asked.“I do believe you two were the ones who barged in on me and this helpless young woman, and not the other way around.”“I-I’m… n-not helpless...” ‘Hiramoto’ said, seeming to sink back into her curtain of hair.“Of course.” The fedora girl replied, patting her on the shoulder.“Um...” Fuji said, stepping in before they could get too off track. “I’m Fuji Yota, Ultimate Antiquarian.”“Ooh, how unique!” The fedora girl said, scribbling in her notebook. “Haven’t heard that word in a long moon.” She pursed her lips excitedly, then looked up at Dewa. “And you, tall and aggressive. Your name and talent, please!”“A-Aggressive?!” Dewa shouted, causing ‘Hiramoto’ to cower, moving to hide partially behind the fedora girl. He grumbled, rubbing his arm before speaking up. “Uh… it’s Dewa Junpei. I’m the Ultimate Movie Critic.”“Interesting, interesting...” Fedora girl murmured, continuing scribbling. A bit of silence settled over the room before Fuji cleared his throat.“Excuse me, miss, um...” He began. Fedora girl looked up, face blank, and then grinned.“Oh, oh! Now you want my name and talent. Heh.” She crossed her arms and shook her head. “How the tables have turned. Very well.” She puffed out her chest and raised her volume. “I am Uma Fukumi, the world’s most intrepid reporter. Yup, you’ve heard right, the talent gifted to me is that of the Ultimate Reporter!”
FUKUMI UMA, ULTIMATE REPORTER
“From all over the world, you’ll hear my exploits.” Uma said, clearly smug. “I’ve been to Shanghai, Baghdad, and Korea! I’ve visited the museums of the USA and the monuments of Peru. Those who fear the truth cower at my name in the papers! And some day.” She glanced upwards, eyes sparkling. “I wish to report amongst the stars...”“Uh.” Dewa said.“Sounds awesome.” Fuji said, forcing a smile. Well, she… she was certainly something else.“Yes, it is.” Uma nodded. “But now the spotlight shifts.” Fuji watched as ‘Hiramoto’ froze up from behind Uma. “Indeed, for now, my lovely friend shall introduce herself as well!” Uma stepped to the side with a flourish, leaving her standing out in the open. ‘Hiramoto’ began shivering, pulling up her bag in front of her chest.“U-U-Uh… U-U-Um… I-I-I,” She started shaking, prompting Uma to blink and glance up at her. “M-M-My n-nam-me’s… I-I’m...”“Hey, hey!” Uma borderline shouted. The other girl froze up, and Uma smiled at her. “Take it slow, ‘kay? Remember, we planned for this!”“S-Slow...” The other girl repeated, taking a deep breath. “Right… r-remember the plan… okay...” She squared her shoulders and bit her lip. Then, she opened her eyes and smiled. “Good day. My name is Hiramoto Nadako, and I’m the Ultimate Tutor. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Unlike before, her voice was clear and strong, and Fuji thought she sounded like a completely different person.
NADAKO HIRAMOTO, ULTIMATE TUTOR
“There ya go!” Uma cheered, lightly shaking Hiramoto’s shoulder. Hiramoto giggled, raising her bag up in front of her mouth. Fuji barely heard her whispering a ‘thanks’.“Uh.” Dewa said, “You’re a tutor?” He said what Fuji was thinking. Fuji watched in horror as Hiramoto’s entire body seemed to wilt at the question.“I-I… I know I’m… n-not much to l-look at...” Hiramoto admitted. “And… and I’m e-extremely tim-mid. A-And my stutter makes… makes it hard to u-understand m-me...” She squeezed her eyes shut. “But… i-if I h-have time to p-p-pr-ractice… th-then I c-can… sound… sound better… A-And when I’m… n-not nervous… I can… I’m good at… explaining. Things.” She ended awkwardly, pulling her bag up to mostly hide her face.“Yup, yup.” Uma nodded, putting her hands on her hips. “Though I’ve known her only for a short time, I have deemed that Hiramoto is one hundred per-cent, completely and utterly reliable!” That seemed to embarrass Hiramoto, and she seemed to recede further into her hair.“...riiiiight.” Dewa said, looking unconvinced. He glanced over at Fuji with a ‘this is kind of dumb’ expression, and Fuji responded with a frown. Dewa sighed. “Well, it’s cool to meet you guys, but-”“Hold it!” Uma interrupted, taking a sudden step forward and ending up right in front of Dewa. “Do I know you?”“Do you?” Dewa asked, glancing at Fuji with a look on his face that screamed ‘help me’.“...Were you, perhaps, visiting the Cineteca in the Matadeo Madrid about… two years ago?”At that, Dewa’s mouth dropped open, and he blinked a few times before responding. “Y-Yeah, I was. During the late spring, I visited for a special film showing.”“Yes, yes.” Uma nodded, a satisfied grin on her face. “I was there at the time, reporting on the film’s production. I never got to see you in person, but I couldn’t never forget the commotion surrounding the amazing Dewa Junpei’s arrival.”“Jeez, I’m a bit more popular than I realized...” Dewa laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.As the two began to talk about Spain, Fuji took the opportunity to look around the room. Aside from the four of them in there… the Laundry Room was more or less what it said on the tin. Linoleum floors, fluorescent lights, and two benches in the center. There were washing machines lined up against the side walls, with the far wall occupied by dryers. Near the door was a cabinet, which, after a quick check, revealed a treasure trove full of detergent, bleach, and dryer sheets.Turning away from the cabinet, Fuji found Dewa and Uma still going at it, Uma animated with over the top gestures and Dewa laughing.“Well goddamn.” Dewa said, “It was good meeting you, Uma.” He grinned. “Still, no offense but I think me and Fuji have wasted enough time here. We’re supposed to be, like, walking around and finding people, right?”“Indeed.” Uma replied, folding her arms. “We heard that announcement over the intercom as well. And not long after, there was somebody running around in the halls.”“...” Dewa and Fuji shared a look, then Dewa spoke up. “Average height, freckles, orange hair?” He asked. Uma and Hiramoto glanced at each other, then nodded.“Y-You’ve s-seen him?” Hiramoto asked.“Spent a fuckin’ hour locked up with him before Fuji woke up.” Dewa sighed. “He’s just as annoying as he sounds.”“If it helps,” Uma said, “if you keep following the hallway, you should probably find him. There were a few others that way as well.” She pursed her lips, then shrugged. “We should probably get going too, right Hiramoto? I sense a scoop. Later, boys!”“I-If you say so...” Hiramoto replied, offering Fuji and Dewa a limp wave as she and Uma exited the Laundry Room.“They’re uh… certainly some characters.” Dewa said once the door shut.“No kidding...” Fuji replied, chuckling. “We should probably get going too.”“Right on.”Fuji and Dewa exited the Laundry Room, hearing Uma chatter from the way they came. With that as a landmark, the two turned in the other direction and continued on, listening for more talking or any sounds that would indicate the presence of any other students. The first door they found had a nameplate reading ‘STAIRWELL 1’, and was locked and covered in caution tape. Dewa made a comment about off limit areas that went over Fuji’s head, and the two kept going until-“This shit blows!”The two came to halt, another angry shout coming from a room up ahead. Dewa looked at Fuji, then shrugged. “We should probably check that out.”“Mmhmm.” Fuji nodded, and the two made their way to the door, the nameplate above it reading ‘KNICK-KNACK SHOP’.The room beyond was… well, rather commercial. There were a variety of glass shelved stands and clothing racks, holding souvenirs like snow globes, statuettes, cups, and novel t-shirts. There was a counter up front with a cash register, and mounted into the wall was a caged off cabinet with things like cigarettes and matchbooks. And standing in the back of the room were two people, gathered around what looked like… a human sized gumball machine?“What the fuck even is this?!” One of the people, a girl, shouted.“Why are you shouting?” The other, a boy, snapped.“Because the fact that this hunk of junk is here is just… pissing me off!!”“...why?” The boy asked, massaging his temples.“I don’t know, why the hell are you asking dumbass questions?” She snapped back. As she did so, her eyes flicked to the side, and she caught sight of Fuji and Dewa standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. The boy followed her gaze, and came to look at the pair as well.“Um… hello.” Fuji greeted.“Salutations.” The boy replied, walking up to the pair. Now that he was closer, Fuji got a better look at him. He was definitely overweight, and had close cropped brown hair alongside fair skin. His brown eyes drilled into Fuji’s face, and made him feel self-conscious. The boy wore a white lab coat over a red buttoned shirt, which was tucked haphazardly into his corduroy pants. He also had on a monocle, and had a pipe in his mouth, making Fuji feel like he was looking at somebody fifty years older. “I take it you two are Ultimates as well?”“Yeah.” Dewa replied, nodding.“Again with the stupid questions.” The girl rolled her eyes as she approached. Her approach granted Fuji a better look at her and her… interesting attire. She herself was just a bit shorter than Fuji, though her presence alone was intimidating. She had a bulky build, and extremely curly black hair, which came down to her shoulders in a huge mass, dyed green at the ends, and was held back with a violet hairband. Her face was angular, with a pointed nose and sharp jawline, as well as icy blue eyes. Her clothes were weird as well, a black letterman jacket with white sleeves over a gray undershirt. Her jean skirt was short, showing off her fishnet stockings and thigh high boots. The multitude of ear and lip piercings, alongside the studded choker, spiked wristbands, and black lipstick all combined together to made Fuji incredibly nervous. “Fuck are you two?”“U-Um… I’m… uh... F-Fuji Yota, Ultimate Antiquarian.” Fuji stuttered out, then elbowed Dewa.“Eh? Oh, right!” He cleared his throat. “Name’s Dewa Junpei. I’m the Ultimate Movie Critic.”“Interesting talents.” The boy commented. “Not very practical, but they could be worse, I suppose...”“Hell’s that supposed to mean?” Dewa asked, frowning. The girl simply stared directly in to Fuji’s eyes, and he heard her snort when he broke eye contact.“Exactly what it sounded like.” He replied, nodding matter-of-factly. “Your talents, while nice, do not do much to expand humanity’s more empirical knowledge.”“Uh…” Dewa blinked. “You wanna, like, try that one again? In Japanese this time?” That prompted a laugh from the girl, as she leaned forward and smacked her knee. The boy’s lip twitched, and he adjusted his pipe before speaking.“Your talents aren’t useful for hard knowledge.” The boy said.“...and yours is?” Dewa asked, crossing his arms.“Of course,” The boy let out a ‘harumph’, straightening his posture before speaking. “You are talking to the mathematical genius, Goto Koyo. I have rightfully earned the position of ‘Ultimate Mathematician’, and I expect you to recognize that kind of prestige.”
KOYO GOTO, ULTIMATE MATHEMATICIAN
“Never heard of ya.” Dewa said simply, scratching at his nose.“Of course not.” Goto ‘hmph’d. “Your talent doesn’t bring you into the sciences, so I cannot imagine somebody like you would have.” He side eyed Dewa, then pursed his lips. “Though it’s not like you seem the type to care much for knowledge anyway.”“...” Dewa scowled, an insult clearly playing on his lips, before he snorted and turned to the girl. “And what’s your deal?”“My deal?” She asked, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “Well, I’m not sure you’d understand, but I’ll say it anyway.” She put her a hand on her hip, flashing a peace sign with her other. “Tadamori Tomo, Ultimate Personal Reformist, baby!”
TOMO TADAMORI, ULTIMATE PERSONAL REFORMIST
“...Personal Reformist?” Dewa cocked his head. “Is that even a real thing?”“’Course it is, moron!” Tadamori snapped. She flapped her hand dismissively at him. “If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have the title, now would I?”“...” Dewa took a second to mull that over, and in the lull, Fuji spoke up.“So, uh… a Reformist? So you… reform people?”“Close enough, tiger.” Tadamori said, sashaying over to Fuji and throwing an arm over his shoulders. He yelped as she pulled him close, pressing the side of his head to her neck. Dewa’s eyes widened, and Goto turned away with a scoff. “Lemme explain, so your friend here gets it.”“This oughtta be good.” Dewa scoffed.“Damn right it will.” Tadamori said, rotating her body, and Fuji’s by extension, so that Dewa was partially behind them. “So basically, consider this:” Tadamori cleared her throat, still keeping Fuji held close. “You’re a loser down on your luck, mainly because life dealt you a shitty lot, because you look gross and can’t spell the word ‘casserole’ and some other stupid shit like that. What you do have, however, is like ten thousand yen burning a hole in your pocket and or bank account. Well then you call up ol’ Tadamori, and she makes your life less shitty. She teaches you how to spell, helps touch up your appearance to your ideal, and helps you learn shit that isn’t stupid and is useful. Tadaa, you’re a functioning member of society!” She grinned, glancing at Fuji out of the corner of her eyes. “That’s what I do: reformation on a case-by-case basis.”“That’s stupid.” Dewa said.“Shut up.” Tadamori snapped. “I don’t think I was talking to you, shithead. I was talking to your cute friend, who actually cared to ask about my talent, unlike you other two clowns.”“C-Cute?” Fuji stuttered, face flushing.“Besides,” Tadamori continued, ignoring Fuji. “it’s clearly not stupid, because I got my talent. I’ve reformed people who became politicians, movie stars, CEOs. You name it, I’ve made somebody for it.”“Yes, well this explanation is certainly getting tedious.” Goto rolled his eyes. “And unless you all desire to hear the exploits of my impressive talent, and multitude of unsolvable mathematical conundrums that I have seen through, I suggest we end it here.”“Again, Japanese please.” Dewa said, prompting a glare from Goto.“Fine. Whatever.” Tadamori threw her arms up, releasing Fuji from the chokehold she had him in. He ran a shaky hand through his hair, face red. “But hey, Fuji.” Tadamori turned to him with a smile that he was quick to reciprocate. “If you ever wanna, y’know, talk about anything, find me, yeah? You’re cool.” She winked at him, and Fuji found his mouth opening and closing.“Alright, alright. We’re going.” Dewa snapped, grabbing Fuji’s wrist. Goto snorted, and Tadamori bid Fuji farewell with a flirty ‘ta ta!’, before Dewa dragged him away.“Damn, dude.” Dewa said once they were out in the hallway walking around. “You act like a girl’s never flirted with you before.”“I… I uh… I’m not... ehe ahaha...” Fuji managed, trying to adjust his hair even as he looked down with a dopey grin.“Jeez.” Dewa sighed, shaking his head. “Guess you haven’t.”The two spent a bit more time wandering around, letting Fuji cool off. They didn’t find much. Much like a similar door from earlier, there was another door that was covered in caution tape, this time with a plaque reading ‘STAIRWELL 2’. Again like the first one, this door was locked, and didn’t budge when pushed, so Dewa declared that it wasn’t worth trying to figure it out.The two then found another two rooms, these ones mercifully empty. The first, labeled ‘DISPOSAL ROOM’, was a small concrete room with fluorescent lighting and a trash chute in the wall, and was otherwise empty. The second, labeled ‘ELEVATOR ROOM’, was similar in structure, being mainly concrete. This one was slightly more populated than the last, with a vending machine in addition to the elevator door. However, like the stairwell doors, the elevator doors were covered in caution tape, and the elevator call button did nothing when pressed.“What the hell, man?” Dewa said, Fuji glancing over at him. “Can’t even get anything out of the vending machine. Don’t have any coins.” He frowned. “I really wanted some chips, too...”“...” Fuji frowned, sticking his hands into his pockets. He didn’t have his wallet. Or his phone. Or anything else. He took a few moments to pat himself down, which caught Dewa’s attention.“What’s up, dude?” He asked.“You’re right.” Fuji remarked. “I don’t have… anything. Where did all of my stuff go?”“That’s...” Dewa frowned, patting himself down as well. “That’s weird.” He glanced at the taped up elevator. “What the hell is going on?”“We should… probably keep going.” Fuji said.“...yeah. We’ll figure out shit later.” Dewa replied, the two exiting the room.The two of them found themselves wandering the halls aimlessly. They passed by the same few rooms a few times, peeking into the Laundry Room to find it empty the first time they went by. Dewa planted himself firmly in the middle of the hallway and glanced around, before Fuji realized something.“We forgot to go the other way.”They retraced their steps to the Dining Hall and, this time, went left out of the Dining Hall instead of right. At the end of that hallway was a T-shaped intersection, and Fuji could spy some kind of… desk off to the right side. He stepped closer to it, and found his mouth falling open in surprise as he did so.Above the T-intersection was a huge staircase, split in two by a large landing. The room itself seemed… extravagant, with soft maroon carpet underfoot, just like in the hallway. However, this area had paneled wooden walls in a dark, glossy brown, and a massive crystal chandelier hanging overhead, projecting fragmented light all over the room. To Fuji’s right was the desk, five computers stationed at it, seeming like some sort of reception desk. On the opposite wall was a small room with a clear door, with lockers inside.“Holy shit.” Dewa remarked, staring up at the chandelier. “That’s… holy fuck.”“What is this place?” Fuji said, probably for the fourth or fifth time that day. Still, with such an extravagant room, it bore repeating. Fuji and Dewa wandered out into the central area, and Fuji noticed the set of double doors shining brightly in front of him. Before he could walk over to check it out, however, there was a sharp whistle from behind him, and then a shout.“Yoo hoo! I know you’re no fair maidens, but it’s nice to see people anyway!”Fuji whirled around, finding two figures standing on the landing.The first, and more prominent figure was a girl, excitedly waving at them. She had brown skin and turquoise hair, done up in a huge, poofy ponytail, with two locks hanging in front of her ears. Her eyes were big and hazel, and stared down at the two of them. Her… figure was hard for Fuji to ignore, but he could tell that there was some muscle on her. Her dress was… well, a dress, red and low cut, with slits at the sides of the lower hem, and patterned with maroon waves. She had black thigh highs on, and… something strapped to the visible part of each of her thighs. And from here, Fuji could see the septum piercing peeking out of her nose.In a stark contrast to her appearance was the second figure. He was of average height despite his slouch, with a kind of frail build. His skin was very pale, as though he didn’t see much of the sun, and his green eyes had prominent black bags under them. His hair was short and black, with some curls to it. His style was the simplest Fuji had seen all day. He had on a simple olive hoodie, fluff ringing the hood. Headphones hung around his neck, looking to be connected to something in his pocket, and he had on jeans and sneakers.“Aw, come on!” The girl shouted again. “You gonna stand down there all day or are you gonna come up and say hi?!” She waved them up, and Fuji pushed his body into motion, Dewa following.“...hey.” The boy greeted, voice flat, once the two of them were up on the landing. He offered them a curt wave before stuffing his hand into his hoodie pocket.“So nice to meet new people!” The girl said, beaming. Her lips pursed, and her expression dropped into a contemplative pout. “I haven’t seen any fair maidens, though.”“’Fair maidens’?” Dewa asked, sounding skeptical.“Yes!” She shouted, throwing her arms out. “You know! Fair maidens, darling princesses, adorable chicas!” Fuji and Dewa stared at her. She sighed, putting a hand on her hip. “I haven’t seen any cute girls. Just two rowdy dudes and this lonely spoil sport. We woke up in the same room.” She motioned at the boy, who gave off a flat shrug. The girl huffed. “See what I mean?” She asked. “Boring. Boring boy.”“’S not much to do.” He replied, shrugging again.“Uh...” Fuji began, “We could… introduce ourselves?”“Finally!” She shouted, a bright grin growing on her face. “I was waiting for those words! Watch and behold! I’ll show you an act like you’ve never seen before!” Suddenly, the girl jumped back, taking a step forward before flipping backwards. Fuji’s eyes widened as she twirled in the air, doing cartwheels around the boy in the hoodie before jumping into the air once more. She landed doing the splits and threw her hands out. “Now then, let me hear your applause! I want to hear the excited shouts and screams for the amazing, the beautiful, the gorgeous… Diana "Snapback" Valentine! Ultimate Street Performer!”
DIANA VALENTINE, ULTIMATE STREET PERFORMER
Fuji stared in awe as the boy in the hoodie pulled his hands out of his pockets to clap. Dewa started clapping as well, and soon Fuji followed suit. Valentine stood up, taking a bow and grinning.“Thank you, thank you!” She shouted. “Like a precious flower, I require attention to live! Thank you for extending my life for a few more weeks!” She bowed again, then looked up at Fuji and stuck her tongue out. When she did, Fuji saw that her tongue was pierced. Goodness.“That was pretty cool.” Dewa said, grinning.“Just ‘pretty cool’?” Valentine asked, crossing her arms and huffing. She suck her nose up in mock haughtiness. “That’s not very creative of you.”“Valentine-” Fuji began.“Ah ah ah.” She stopped him, holding up a finger. “I dunno if you could tell, but I’m from out of country. ‘Diana’ is fine.”“...” Fuji blinked, glancing around. Addressing somebody he just met, and a girl like here nonetheless!, with their first name felt… weird. His eyes caught the gaze of the boy in the hoodie, who shrugged.“I just did it. She asked, so I might as well.”“Hey,” Dewa chimed in, causing the boy and Valentine to look at him. “Don’t think you introduced yourself.”“You guys first.” The boy said. Dewa rolled his eyes, and Fuji got it over with.“Uh, I’m Fuji Yota, Ultimate Antiquarian. And he’s Dewa Junpei, Ultimate Movie Critic.”“That’s cool.” The boy said. Behind him, Fuji could see Valentine muttering to herself. He heard a quiet ‘which one is the right one, again?’, and decided to leave her to her devices. Fuji turned his attention back to the boy who sighed, as though saying his name would be some sort of gargantuan task. “Alright then… I’m Chujo Kagemoro. My talent is the ‘Ultimate Ghostwriter’.”
KAGEMORO CHUJO, ULTIMATE GHOSTWRITER
“Ghostwriter?” Dewa asked. “Who do you ghostwrite for?”Chujo shrugged. “Anybody and everybody. If you read a book published within the last five or six years, there’s a good chance I at least drafted it.”“...that prolific?” Fuji asked. Chujo responded with just a nod.“Damn.” Dewa said. “That’s… pretty big.” He glanced over at Valentine. “What’s your deal, Valentine?”“I told you that Diana is fine.” She huffed. “But if you must know… I was with a famous travel group!” She grinned. “Ever heard of the Midnight Maladies?!”“...” Dewa frowned, rubbing at his chin. Fuji also racked his brain, but couldn’t come up with anything. Before he could admit that, however, Dewa gasped. “No way! I remember that name! I greenlit a documentary done on them! You’re the ones that traveled all over Europe and Asia, right?”“That’s right! The Americas too!” Valentine grinned. “Midnight Maladies, on tour! We don’t need a tent if we can perform under the stars!” She rapidly wiggled her hands. “The ‘Beautiful Bishop’, I was known as! 'Snapback' too! My specialties include acrobatics, fire, and knife throwing!”“F-Fire… and knife throwing?!” Fuji asked, eyes widening. Valentine didn’t even bat an eye.“Eyup! Even got an act where I juggle knives that are on fire!” She leaned close, eyes wide and grin sharp. “I’m famous for a reason!”“Damn.” Dewa said, evidently imagining it. He was clearly impressed, and Valentine could tell, crossing her arms with a smirk and a satisfied ‘heh’.“Hey uh… Valentine?” Fuji said. The girl in question sighed, shaking her head. He awkwardly shrugged, motioning down at the floor. “So uh… I know you said you were looking for… other girls.” At the mere mention, Valentine’s eyes lit up, and she lurched forward, grabbing Fuji’s wrists.“Are there cute girls here, Fuji?” Valentine asked, deathly serious.“U-Uh...” He stuttered, surprised at the sudden contact. “There… me and Dewa saw three of them, deeper in… whatever building this is.” He did his best to motion with his head at the area underneath the stairs. Valentine stared him down, then nodded.“Thanks.” She said simply, releasing him and turning around. “Chujo, we gotta go.”“Go?” Chujo repeated.“We gotta find these girls.” She said, voice still completely serious. Chujo shrugged.“Don’t got anything better to be doing.” He said. Valentine pumped her fists. Chujo turned back to Fuji and Dewa. “I assume you guys are looking for the others?”“Yeah. Yeah, we are.” Fuji nodded.“Right. Well… there are two dudes that passed through here while Diana and I were waiting for some fair maidens.” Chujo said. Fuji frowned at how nonchalantly he used that phrase. Chujo either ignored or didn’t see the frown, instead twisting his torso to point up the rest of the stairs. “There are a bunch of locked rooms up there. There’s a big dude up there.” He then turned and pointed at the hallways branching off of the landing they were on. “And a bunch of classrooms are that way. Some crazy kid with orange hair ran through here earlier, though I dunno where he went.”“Shit, thanks man.” Dewa grinned, slapping Chujo’s shoulder.“No prob.” Chujo said, shrugging.“Hey!” Valentine’s voice shouted from below. “Hurry up Chujo! I need your help!”“Guess I gotta go.” Chujo said. He took a hand out of his pocket to offer Fuji and Dewa a curt wave before stuffing it back into his pocket and heading down the stairs. Fuji turned to look at him go, and noticed that the back of his hoodie had a blocky red pattern on it. Interesting.Dewa waited until the sound of Valentine’s voice faded away before speaking. “The people here keep getting weirder and weirder.”“No kidding...” Fuji sighed. “Guess we better find that big guy Chujo mentioned.”“Yup.” Dewa nodded, and the two set out to the top of the stairs.The walk wasn’t long, a majority of the staircase’s height being in the lower section of stairs. At the top of the staircase was, predictably, a hallway of similar décor to the hallways below the stairs. This hallway extended out, and then seemed to form a cross, splitting off into three separate hallways. Still, the continuation straight ahead seemed longer than the two off-shoots to the side.Before they could do anything, there was a loud knocking coming from up ahead. Fuji and Dewa shared a look and started heading forward. They got to the intersection just as somebody tall turned the corner, bumping straight into Fuji.“Woah, whoops!” The tall person’s arms darted out, grabbing Fuji’s shoulders and stabilizing him. “You good, dude?”“...yeah, I’m...” Fuji found himself looking up at the boy in front of him, who had a smile on his face. “...fine. I’m fine.”“That’s good.” The boy said. Like Valentine, he had lean, yet evident muscles. His skin was tanned, seemingly from exposure to the sun, and his hair was short and brown. His eyes were a soft gray. When he grinned, Fuji could see a chipped tooth, and then he noticed the boy’s nose, which had evidently been broken before. The boy wore a royal purple shirt that hugged his muscular torso, and black shorts with indigo trim. A small, long towel was draped over his shoulders, and a pair of sunglasses rested on his nose. Finally, Fuji noticed that he had fingerless gloves on, and that there was some kind of mustard yellow jacket tied around his waist.“Didn’t wanna hurt you accidentally!” The boy laughed, lightly patting Fuji’s shoulder. “But hey, nice to see you two. Whoever you are.” He looked up thoughtfully. “I’m assuming you guys met Diana and Chujo, since they were, like, out there.”“We sure did.” Dewa said, shaking his head. “They’re certainly a… fun pair.”“I think so too! They’re super nice.” He said, Dewa’s sarcasm going completely over his head. “In fact, everybody I’ve met so far has been super nice, ‘cept for that orange haired kid...” He frowned. “Ah, but I’m gettin’ ahead of myself! Gotta introduce!” The boy stuck out his hands, one for Fuji and one for Dewa, and grinned brightly. “I’m Ikari Tsubaki! I love riding bicycles and stuff, and that’s where I got my talent! I’m the Ultimate Bicyclist!”
TSUBAKI IKARI, ULTIMATE BICYCLIST
Fuji found himself sporting a grin, Ikari’s evident excitement infectious. Ikari laughed. “Dang,” He said, “the silence makes it feel like I messed up.”“Nah, you’re good, dude.” Dewa said, grabbing Ikari’s hand. Fuji grabbed his other one at the same time, and Ikari laughed again as the they shook hands.“Awesome! It’s great to meet new people, and other Ultimates too!” Ikari pumped his fist. “Man, this is so exciting. Super freaky and weird, but also exciting.” His smile dropped for a moment as he pouted. “Still, this is super weird. Where even are we?”“Yeah, that’s still a huge concern.” Dewa said, shaking his head.“Yup...” Ikari’s frown lingered for a moment before he rebounded. “But hey, no need to assume the worst, right? In any case, let’s finish our introductions!” His smile grew. “Your guys’ turn!”“Ah, right!” Dewa nodded. “Name’s Dewa Junpei. Ultimate Movie Critic.”“Ooh, cool!” Ikari’s eyes sparkled. “I love movies!”“Oh, uh,” Fuji began, prompting Ikari to look over at him. “I’m Fuji Yota. I’m the Ultiamte Antiquarian.”“Antiquarian...” Ikari parroted, cocking his head. “What’s that?”“I deal with uh… artifacts.” He replied, rubbing the back of his neck. “Y’know, old statues and weapons and stuff...”“Oooooooh!” Ikari nodded excitedly. “I get it! Wow, you must get around, huh?”“Y-Yeah...” Fuji chuckled. “Part of the job.”“Very cool, very cool.” Ikari kept nodding. Fuji was starting to worry about how much his head was bobbing. “Well, it sucks to say, but I didn’t find anything here.” He motioned at all of the rooms behind him. “All the doors are locked. I tried them all. I even tried knocking to see if anybody was inside!” He sighed. “Nothing.”“Damn...” Dewa sighed as well. “That blows.”“Yeah...” Fuji muttered, frowning. It seemed like there was a bunch of locked stuff in… wherever they were. What was with all of the restricted stuff?… Maybe they needed to do something first, something like… “Oh!” Fuji realized something.“What’s up, Fuji?” Ikari asked.“You said you know where the orange haired kid is?” Fuji asked.“Oh, yeah. Him.” Ikari seemed displeased. “You guys sure you wanna talk with him? He’s uh… kinda weird.”“Believe me, we know.” Dewa said, annoyance in his voice. “We just gotta introduce ourselves and then go, right?”“Maybe...” Ikari mused. “Alright, follow me. He should still be in the classrooms, I think. Otherwise, he’s gotta be outside.”“Outside?” Fuji tried to ask. However, Ikari was already walking away, Dewa at his heels. Fuji sighed, trotting to catch up with the others.The walk wasn’t long, the area didn’t seem to be very big, but it still made Fuji think. His mind kept looping back to those questions: why were they here? Where were they? And who did this? He had no answers, and seemingly no way to get them. Aside from, of course, obeying the words of that announcement from earlier. Which was some other concern completely.“Okay,” Ikari said suddenly, putting a hand on Fuji’s chest to stop him from walking more. They were in a hallway with seven doors, three on each side and one at the end, and Ikari had stopped them outside the middle left room. His voice was low. “I think he’s in here.”“Why are we whispering?” Dewa whispered.“Cuz uh… see for yourself...” Ikari replied, slowly twisting the door knob and opening the door.The room was, as Ikari had mentioned, a classroom. There was a four by four arrangement of desks in the middle of the room, coming up to a total of sixteen desks. There was a chalkboard mounted on the wall at the front of the room, as well as a small wooden teacher’s desk. On the wall was a circular window, letting in sunlight.Aside from that, the room was bare. The orange haired boy from earlier was reclined in one of the center desks, feet propped up on the desk, leaning back in the chair. He appeared to be asleep, chest rising and falling lightly. Ikari pointed at him.“Hey,” A familiar voice said. The orange haired boy yawned, stretching his arms and righting himself in his chair. “Didn’t your mom ever tell you it’s rude to point?” He smirked, planting an elbow on the desk and putting his head in his hand. “Nice to see you two again.”“Oh, do you guys know each other?” Ikari asked.“No.” Dewa shook his head. “We just woke up in the same area, and he wouldn’t shut up about us starving to death.”“Rude!” The orange haired boy remarked, laughing.“Um...” Fuji took a few steps forward, “I don’t think we ever caught your name. I’m Fuji Yota. Ultimate Antiquarian.”“And I already told you my name.” Dewa sighed, shaking his head.“...” The orange haired boy looked him up and down, lips pursed. The silent inspection went for a few seconds longer than Fuji was comfortable with. Then, the boy’s lips turned up in a big smile. “Cool! I guess I should introduce myself, since we’re stuck here forever...” He sighed, prompting Fuji to frown. Forever?“What the hell are you talking about?” Dewa asked.“Ah ah!” The boy held up a finger. “Shush! Don’t you want my name?” Dewa grumbled, causing the boy to laugh again. “Alright, here’s the name! If you don’t remember, no problem, I’ll be sure to tell you again later. In fact… we should have lunch together, right Fuji? I think that’d be fun!”“Uh… sure. Yeah, sure.” Fuji found himself saying. Wait, what? His face screwed up in confusion, and the orange haired boy laughed.“I see you’re confused! Don’t worry, I’m just really persuasive!” He laughed again. “But I’ve stalled long enough. My name’s Kimura Hyousuke, and I have been dubbed… the Ultimate Charismatic! Dun dun dun!”
HYOUSUKE KIMURA, ULTIMATE CHARISMATIC
“...charismatic?” Ikari asked, evidently confused. “Like uh… you’re good at telling people what to do?”“No, no, no.” Kimura shook his head. “No. Any old peon could tell people what to do. You could tell me to jump off a bridge. Anybody could say that.”Ikari gasped. “I would never tell somebody to do that!”“But you could!” Kimura said, grinning. “But here’s the difference: anybody can tell people what to do. But I can get people to do things.” He folded his hands behind his head. “I guess I just have a lovable aura.”“Bullshit that’s your talent.” Dewa said, scowling. “What kind of crap is that?”“I dunno what you mean.” Kimura replied, shrugging. “Oh uh, Ikari. The door’s kinda closed. Could you open it up for me, please?”“Sure thing!” Ikari nodded, turning around to open the door the rest of the way. Dewa watched, unamused.“That proves pretty much nothing.”“Maybe.” Kimura agreed. “But I think you’ve got more important things to worry about than my talent.”“...are you talking about that ‘stuck forever’ thing?” Fuji asked, musing.“Yup! How astute!” Kimura said, grinning. “You’re already smarter than the logheads over there.”“Shut up!” Dewa snapped.“...am I a loghead?” Ikari asked, likely to himself.“What did you mean by that, Kimura?” Fuji asked, intending to get them back on track.“Simple: I think we’re stuck here. Maybe forever.” Kimura said.“R-Really?” Ikari gasped.“Yup!” Kimura grinned. “Have you even looked out of any of the windows? There’s one right there, if you wanna take a glance.” He yawned, getting to his feet and stretching. “But me? I’m gonna head out. Now that I got my beauty sleep, I believe there’s a couple more people I gotta meet!” And with that, he took off, sprinting out of the room.“H-Hey, wait!” Ikari called after him, tearing off after Kimura.“Well, he’s still as annoying as earlier.” Dewa sighed. Fuji frowned, moving towards the window. Dewa noticed and cocked his head. “Hey, what’re you doin’? You don’t actually believe Kimura, do you?”Fuji ignored Dewa as he approached the window, putting his hand on the sill and staring through. And what he saw… Fuji jolted in surprise at the sight. This… this couldn’t be right, could it? To think… that he didn’t notice something like this…“Hey, you good, Fuji?” Dewa asked, walking over to Fuji at the window. “What’d you...” He trailed off as he approached, staring out through the glass. “see...” The two spent a few moments staring in silence before Dewa thickly swallowed and asked.“So… we’re in the middle of the ocean?”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Damn, it’s bright.” Dewa said.After the revelation they found in the classroom, Dewa had told Fuji that their best bet was to just keep finding people. He reasoned that it wasn’t like they had anything else to do, and after a bit of thinking, Fuji agreed. All they had to go on was that strange broadcast over the intercom. So the two had returned to the Lobby, now empty, and made their way to the glowing door. And when they pushed it open…The two of them were standing on some polished wooden deck, with a stretch of blue painted wood marking a path and leading further down the deck. Palm trees were regularly interspersed along both sides of the path, with benches in between them. To the sides, Fuji could see a tall looking railing, and beyond that… nothing but cloudless blue sky and the gently sloshing ocean.“We really… are on a boat.” Fuji said, more to himself than to Dewa.“Yeah...” Dewa glanced to the side. “Hey, Fuji, check this.”Fuji glanced over, looking at what Dewa was standing near. It was a small sign, with four lines of words on it, one on top of the other. They were all in caps, like the plaques in the building they had just left. The first read ‘PROMENADE’. The second word said ‘POOL’ and had an arrow pointing forward. The third was an arrow pointing to the right that read ‘ULTIMATE PUBLIC SPEAKER LAB’, while the fourth said ‘ULTIMATE ADVENTURER LAB’ accompanied by an arrow pointing left.“Oh nice, there’s a pool.” Dewa said.“Labs?” Fuji said, saying the things that stood out to him. “What does that mean?”“Dunno.” Dewa said, putting a hand over his eyes to block out the sun. “Maybe its those two buildings?” He pointed, and Fuji turned around, finding the truth in what Dewa said. There were two buildings along the Promenade, complete with their own branches off the blue path. They didn’t have any defining features from what Fuji could see, which only made things more confusing.Fuji frowned and turned around to the set of double doors they’d just came out of. The building they had just come from was tall, towering over them, made of a sleek, polished metal. Over the doors was a plaque, just like the ones inside, that read ‘HOTEL’. Again… he couldn’t stop that thought. What was this place?“Hey, Fuji.” Dewa grabbed his shoulder. “I think I see some people up ahead. Maybe that’s the pool? Looks like there are some chairs and shit.” At the prompt, Fuji turned around. There were, indeed, a bunch of chairs, as well as what looked like two figures sitting on them.“We should go check it out.” Fuji said. Dewa nodded in agreement, and the two began their stroll down the Promenade. Despite the strangeness of their situation, Fuji couldn’t help but enjoy the nice weather. It was sunny and warm, with just the slightest of cool breezes. It gave off a certain sense of… relaxation that it was hard to get elsewhere.The Promenade wasn’t long, and quickly led them to the Pool, as advertised. Now up close, the Pool was… more or less what it said. It was placed at the bow of the ship, and seemed to have a ‘shallow’ end and a ‘deep end’. A bunch of tables and pool chairs were set up around it, and some of the tables had attached umbrellas. There was also something that appeared to be a shed nearby, with some sort of sign on it.Now that they were at the Pool, Fuji could see the two figures much more clearly, and… well, they were certainly something. They were both girls, and were relaxing on pool chairs, sitting next to each other. The smaller girl turned as they approached, and offered them a calm smile and a wave.The smaller girl was… well, most definitely the smallest person Fuji had seen today. Her size and relaxed postured both contrasted and complimented her lithe build. Her skin was light, yet tanned from exposure to the sun, and her blue eyes were inquisitive. Or, eye, rather. One of her eyes was covered up by a sweep of aqua hair. Her clothes started out normal, with a simple sea green tank top and dark skirt, but then Fuji noticed her accessories. She had some sort of… chest guard strapped over her chest, as well as a three fingered glove on her left hand and a bracer on her right arm. There was also a clip in her hair, decorated with what appeared to be a tiny, metal arrow.“Uh, yo.” Dewa greeted.Instead of giving a verbal response, the girl simply waved again, giving the two a patient smile, and reached over, lightly putting her hand on the other girl’s shoulder.Well… perhaps girl was too delicate of a word for this person. She was much, much larger, not even fitting completely on the pool chair due to her height. She had a short shock of messy brown hair. Her skin was a deep olive, and… well, she was probably the most muscular person Fuji had ever seen. Fuji could see a multitude of scars on her visible skin. Her clothes were strange as well, consisting of an emerald green karate gi, and an accompanying black belt. Her gakuran was currently off, draped over the back of the chair, which allowed Fuji a detailed look at her muscles and scars, as well as the fact that her gi had the sleeves torn off. Her gakuran also appeared to have a strangely tall and stiff collar. A hat was placed over her face, and it appeared to have the back torn out.Upon the hand being placed on her shoulder, the muscular girl let out a snort, slowly reaching up to pluck the hat off of her face. As she sat up, Fuji gulped, finding that, even sitting, she was at eye level with him. Her stare made him shudder, her dark blue eyes drilling intensely into him.“Gimme a break. More idiots.” She said.The smaller girl flapped her hand at her, prompting the muscular girl to snort.Fuji and Dewa glanced at each other, and Dewa took a cautionary breath before shuffling forward. “Hey,” He began, rubbing the back of his head. “So… we just gotta introduce ourselves, right?”“Yeah, suppose so.” The muscular girl said, glancing at the smaller girl, who nodded.“Right, uh. Well I’m Dewa Junpei. Ultimate Movie Critic.” Dewa said. Silence settled over them for a few moments as Fuji continued to stare. Her muscles were huge. An elbow dug into his ribs, and Fuji yelped, glancing at Dewa, who motioned with his head. Oh, right.“Oh! Oh, um… sorry!” Fuji said, managing a weak laugh. “Sorry, sorry. I’m Fuji Yota. Ultimate Antiquarian.”“’kay.” The muscular girl said. And then she stood up. Fuji blinked as she rose to her full height. She was even taller than Ikari, and the way she towered over them inspired a unique fear in him. It felt like she could flick him in the forehead and his skull would explode. She spoke up again, and her voice commanded his attention. “I’ll get this over with then. Name’s Jitsuko Jutaro. I was born in Shibuya, and people know me by the title ‘Solar Fist’. My title is the Ultimate Kickboxer.”
JUTARO JITSUKO, ULTIMATE KICKBOXER
“W-Wait...” Dewa said, surprise replacing the fear in his voice. When Fuji glanced over, Dewa’s eyes were shining as he stared up at Jitsuko. When he continued speaking, his tone was awestruck. “How… did I not notice? You’re the Solar Fist!”“Oh, hell.” Jitsuko tipped the bill of her hat down over her eyes and groaned. “Yeah, it’s me.”“’S-Solar Fist’?” Fuji asked.“C’mon, Fuji!” Dewa said, turning to him excitedly. Any trace of fear that Dewa had at Jitsuko’s appearance had completely melted away. “Solar Fist is only the most prolific Japanese kickboxer, probably ever! It’s said she’s never lost a fight! Her punches move so fast, her fists light on fire! If you blink, the fight is over! Some say she can stop time when she’s brawling! That’s Solar Fist!”“Jeez.” Jitsuko said.“I… I don’t really uh… follow the kickboxing scene.” Fuji said guiltily.“God, I’m such a dumbass!” Dewa said. Fuji heard Jitsuko mutter ‘you’ve got that right’ under her breath, but thought better than to confront her about it. “How could I not recognize you earlier?!”“Got a new uniform.” Jitsuko stated.“Definitely!” Dewa borderline shouted. “God, it looks so good though! Oh man, I can’t believe Solar Fist is on this boat with us!”“Gimme a break...” Jitsuko muttered.“Um...” Fuji let Dewa do his thing, hoping that he didn’t piss Jitsuko off in the process. He instead turned to the smaller girl, who shot him a sunny grin. “Hey. Don’t think I ever caught your name.”“...” She stared at him for a second, then nodded, as if agreeing with him. Fuji blinked, glancing away. She brought her hand up to cover her mouth, and her shoulders shook as though she were laughing, though there was no sound.That made Fuji blink. He stared at her, and she returned it. The two locked eyes, and her head tilted curiously before Fuji realized how dumb he was being.“C-Can you not...” He began, then realized better. “L-Lemme uh… rephrase that.” He chuckled. “Do you know… do you know sign language? I’m… proficient, if it helps.”At that, her eyes lit up, and she quickly began signing. ‘Oh, this makes things much easier.’ She said. ‘Pleasure to meet you, Fuji.’‘And to you, as well.’ Fuji replied. ‘What’s your name?’‘My name is Esumi Setsuna,’ The girl signed, ‘and I am the Ultimate Archer’
SETSUNA ESUMI, ULTIMATE ARCHER
‘Ultimate Archer.’ Fuji repeated. Esumi nodded.‘Indeed. I enjoy my talent.’ She told him, ‘I enjoy peace and quiet, and archery is a very relaxing activity. Plus, I get to tell the crowd to be quiet, and I don’t get in trouble.’ Esumi playfully stuck out her tongue, and Fuji laughed.“Alright, enough!” Jitsuko suddenly yelled. Esumi and Fuji snapped their heads towards her, and found Dewa, with his hands pulled to his chest. “I get you’re a fan! Knock it the hell off!”“S-Sorry...” Dewa whimpered.“Fuck’s sake. Can’t even get kidnapped without gettin’ harassed by fans...” Jitsuko grumbled, sitting back down onto her chair. She glanced at Esumi, quickly signing ‘Don’t let people bother me.’ before she laid back down.‘Poor Jitsuko.’ Esumi signed.“...F-Fuji, dude...” Dewa managed, shuffling over to Fuji.“Dewa...” Fuji replied, putting his hands into his lap. “You really shouldn’t-”“Dude, Solar Fist yelled at me!” Dewa interrupted excitedly, voice low. “That’s so awesome!”“...” Fuji blinked. Well… it was nice to see Dewa excited? A glance at Esumi revealed a bemused expression, and Fuji sighed. “Dewa, we should find the others and leave Jitsuko alone.”“Damn, I wanted to ask for her autograph.” Dewa sighed. “But yeah, you’re right. Another time, then.”Esumi reached forward, tapping Fuji on the side. He glanced over at her, and she smiled. She then lifted her arm and pointed at the shed that he looked at earlier. It seemed to be made out of wood, and now that he was a little closer, Fuji could see that the sign read ‘Pool Rules’, with a couple bullet points underneath. Esumi waved to get Fuji’s attention, then pointed at the shed again and cupped a hand around her ear.“Listen to the shed?” Dewa asked, and Esumi nodded. He shot Fuji a look before shrugging. “Alright. Might as well.”Fuji watched Dewa walk over, and stand outside of the shed door for a few seconds. Then, Fuji watched Dewa cock his head and lean a little closer. The moment he did so, the door to the shed swung outwards, nearly catching Dewa’s chin. He stumbled back in surprise, nearly falling backwards, and an arm shot out of the shed, grabbing Dewa’s wrist and righting him.“Aaaaand one!” A voice shouted, another arm emerging from the shed to wrap around the startled Dewa’s waist. It moved the hand it had by the wrist out, putting the two into in some sort of demented waltz stance. “Step in time!” It proclaimed as it slid out of the shed, getting close to Dewa. “And two!”The source of the voice was another young woman. Despite not comparing to Jitsuko in the slightest, she was still muscular and well built. Her skin was sun kissed, with some evident tan lines on her shoulders. Her chocolate brown hair came down to her shoulders in a slightly curly and very frizzy mass. There were a few scars dotting her exposed skin, and her grin looked downright vicious, especially with the way her green eyes were laser focused on Dewa’s face. Her outfit seemed to mainly consist of a maroon one piece swimsuit, accompanied by a pair of cargo shorts, a straw sunhat, and a pair of goggles draped over her neck.“And… three!” She proclaimed, putting Dewa into a dip. He stared at her, mouth opening and closing in surprise. Her grin glinted in the afternoons sunglight as she stared down at him. “So… thought you could sneak up on me, huh? Silly boy, nobody sneaks up on me!”“Y-You’re crazy!” Dewa snapped, eyes fixed on her face. “I didn’t even know you were in there!”“Ooh, feigning ignorance? I love it when they play hard to get.” She replied, eyes growing half lidded even as her grin grew.“Enough! Enough!” Dewa said, putting a hand on her sternum. The moment he made contact, her arms flew to the side, and she unceremoniously dumped Dewa on to the deck, returning to an upright posture. Dewa yelped as he hit the wood, groaning and rubbing at one of his elbows.“Oh, you’re much more fun than the girls.” The young woman stated, grinning down at Dewa. Her eyes then quickly snapped upwards, and Fuji found himself at the mercy of her scrutinizing gaze. He gulped as she marched up to him, her gaze amused in a… very scary way. At least with Jitsuko, she might just be unintentionally scary. Fuji had a feeling this girl was doing it on purpose. “Hey there, small fry.” She said.“U-Uh...” Fuji managed.“No need to be shy.” She told him, reaching forward and grabbing his wrist. Fuji swallowed again as she lifted his arm and inspected his hand. “Hmm… you’re a bit more athletic than you look.” She stated.“Um… th-thanks?” Fuji replied.“No prob.” She said, that scary grin never leaving her face. “Hey, are you one of those… ‘herbivore’ guys?” She asked, cocking a brow at him.“Wh...” Fuji tried to take a step back, but she simply took one following after him.“You just seem like the type.” She continued, moving her hand up his arm. “I love herbivore guys, y’know. Good enough to eat...” She trailed off, looking at Fuji. Her stare made him tremble, and it was clear that she could tell by the way the edge of her lips twitched.“Fuck’s sake.” Jitsuko suddenly spoke up. “Do you have anything useful to say, or are you just going to be a creep?” She hadn’t moved from her spot on the chair, and her hat was still placed over her face. Esumi also continued to sit nearby, her smile a bit more strained.The second Jitsuko’s words left her mouth, the new girl was gone from Fuji’s side, letting his arm fall back down to his side. Instead, she was now sitting half on Jitsuko’s chair, leaning over her, that grin still on her face.“Boo! Boring, Suko! You’re so boring.” She said.“Don’t call me stupid shit.” Jitsuko said simply.“But aren’t we friends?” The girl cooed. “Sumi likes me...”Esumi pressed her lips together.“Just introduce yourself before I get pissed off.” Jitsuko snapped.“Oh! Of course, how could I forget?!” The girl bounced to her feet, returning to Fuji’s front and bouncing on the balls of her feet. “So great to meet you, fellow Ultimate! My name is Sasabe Reika! Ultimate Spearfisher!”
REIKA SASABE, ULTIMATE SPEARFISHER
She held out a hand expectantly, and Fuji hesitantly reached out to take it. Sasabe gently took it and brought it upwards, pressing her lips to his knuckles. Fuji’s back went rigid as she glanced up to him, a mischievous glint in her eyes.“S-So… Spearfisher?” Fuji asked.“Yup! I’ve got lots of energy, so it only makes sense that I’d go into something like this.” Sasabe replied, mercifully releasing Fuji’s hand. Fuji wasn’t completely sure about the logic behind what she’d just said, but he kind of didn’t want to speak up against her. “Very few things I haven’t personally gotten on the end of one of my spears.” She continued, placing her hands on her hips and puffing out her chest. “If you name a type of fish, I’ve probably stabbed one at some point.”“Jeez.” Dewa said, finally returning to Fuji’s side, “The hell’s the matter with you?”“Aw, I’m just trying to have some fun!” Sasabe told him. “I don’t wanna jump off the ship and swim in the ocean just yet. After all,” She grinned. “I don’t know if any of you will throw me a rope if I need it.”“…why wouldn’t we?” Dewa asked, looking at her in suspicion.“Dunno.” Sasabe shrugged. Then, her eyes flicked back to Fuji. “But hey, don’t leave me hanging! It’s your turn now.” She looked back at Dewa. “Both of you.”“Huh?” Fuji asked. When her piercing gaze returned to him, he remembered what he was supposed to be doing. “O-Oh! Right! Um… I’m Fuji Yota! Ultimate Antiquarian.”“And you?” Sasabe asked, glancing at Dewa again.“Dewa Junpei. I’m the Ultimate Movie Critic.” Dewa replied.“...nice!” Sasabe nodded, her smile unceasing. “I like you guys! I like you the best, though, Waju.” She said, facing Dewa.“...Waju?” He asked, a grimace forming on his face.“It’s your name, but shorter.” Sasabe informed him, then tilted her head and adopted a mockery of a cute expression. “Isn’t it cute?”“I know what it is, I just… eugh.” Dewa groaned, running a hand through his hair. “Never mind.”“Well...” Sasabe trailed off, putting a finger to her chin in thought. Then she shrugged. “I guess it really doesn’t matter, does it, Fuyo?”“Is… that me?” Fuji asked, knowing damn well that it was.“Of course!” Sasabe laughed, a pleasant sound that Fuji thought didn’t really fit her scary aura. “I think I’ve had my fun though. I’ll let you two get back to… whatever it was you were doing.” Her smile softened into something more normal. “I’m gonna go back to the shed. See if I can’t find something fun.” And with that, just as quickly as she had appeared, Sasabe disappeared, the door to the shed swinging shut behind her.“...” Dewa looked at Fuji, then glanced over at Esumi. Esumi shrugged. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “...Let’s just go, Fuji.”“It’s… probably for the best.” Fuji replied, looking over at Esumi and Jitsuko. Esumi shot him a small wave when he did. “We’ll see you two… er, three later, Esumi.” In response, Esumi simply nodded, waving again as the two walked away.The two made their way away from the Pool, though to be honest, Fuji wasn’t quite sure where else to go. He was positive they’d explored the entirety of the Hotel, and there didn’t seem to be much else out here on the deck. The two stopped at the junction with the two buildings, Dewa putting his hands on his hips and sighing.“Y’know.” Dewa said. “The more of them I meet… the more normal the two of us seem.”“I hate to agree, cuz it seems a bit mean...” Fuji replied, scratching at his cheek, “But… yeah, a lot of them are really uh… eccentric.”“Some people clearly don’t need interpersonal skills for their talents.” A voice said. “Though it’s rather rude to talk about people behind their backs.” Fuji and Dewa stiffened in surprise, and the two turned towards the building on the left. There were two boys standing there, one looking a bit guilty and the other leaning against the building. The second one was the one who had clearly spoken, and he looked upon Fuji and Dewa flatly.He was tall and lanky, all angles and joints. However, unlike Hiramoto from earlier, he seemed less awkward and more… sickly. His skin was an unhealthy pale, and his cheeks and eyes seemed slightly sunken in, all adding up to make him look half like a zombie. His black hair was done up in a greasy mohawk, with the sides of his head shaved. Despite that, however… he had an imposing aura to him, and his icy blue eyes were sharp and attentive. He had on a brown leather vest that, upon a second glance, was actually a jacket with the sleeves torn off. Underneath was a black undershirt, which meant his arms were exposed, and black dress pants riddled with small tears. He also had a necklace dangling from his neck, the centerpiece of which was a red crystal twisted into an unfamiliar shape.The second boy seemed to be better off, appearance wise. He had an average build and good posture, with pale skin and floppy, curly hair the color of green tea. His eyes were green and inquisitive, which looked Fuji over despite his evident embarrassment at the situation. Fuji noted that he was rather attractive, and had a bit of a ‘playboy’ vibe to him. He had on a blue and black striped sweater with elbow length sleeves, some kind of white shirt underneath, accompanied by baggy, light brown pants. It was also hard to miss the multitudes of jewelry he had on, from rings adorning his fingers to piercings in his ears, though it appeared that, unlike Valentine, his nose was untouched.“Um… s-sorry.” Fuji replied, unsure of how else to respond.“Hey, let’s go easy on them.” The pierced boy said, a chuckle in his voice. His tone was low and nonthreatening, which seemed strange next to his companion. “They’re probably just confused.”“I’m well aware, and I wasn’t speaking ill of them.” The unhealthy boy said dismissively. “I’m just pointing it out.”Dewa sighed. “Look, guys. No offense to anybody else, but, like… you guys seem like the most sane people we’ve met today.” At that, the pierced boy actually chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. The unhealthy boy merely nodded.“Yes,” he said, “we’ve met a few of them, and that’s why we’re standing over here, alone.” He sighed. “Even I need a breather sometimes.”“Tell me about it.” Dewa replied. “I like to think I’m a people person, but I could use a twelve hour nap right about now.”“Hey, uh, if you guys don’t mind.” Fuji began. There was a brief pause, and the unhealthy boy indicated for him to continue. Fuji just nodded and did so. “I was just wondering… if you guys were checking out these buildings, and if they’re your talents or not.”“Guilty as charged.” The unhealthy boy replied, shrugging. “I’m impressed you figured that out.”“...how did you figure that out?” Dewa asked.“I mean… wasn’t too hard. Eheh.” Fuji gave a weak shrug. “The intercom said there were sixteen of us here. Including you and me, we’ve met thirteen. And we’ve heard everybody’s talents so… I figured that either these buildings belonged to one of these two who we don’t know the talents of, or… the owners weren’t here.”“Huh. Nice one.” Dewa grinned at Fuji.“Thanks.” Fuji smiled back.“Well… it was almost right.” The pierced boy said. Fuji and Dewa looked back at him, and he continued. “See… we can’t actually get into these buildings, despite the fact that our talents are on them.”“It appears that the doors are locked.” The unhealthy boy added. “And though there appear to be scanners near the doors, we have nothing to scan them with, aside from our hands.”“And we tried that.” The pierced boy finished. “It… didn’t work.”“...well that’s stupid.” Dewa said. “Who the hell makes buildings that people can’t enter? Just like inside.” He shook his head. “This just gets dumber and dumber.”“...hey, uh.” Fuji glanced towards the two boys. “Can I ask your names? We’re supposed to be… meeting everybody, and stuff.”“Of course.” The unhealthy boy said, then turned to his companion. “Do you want to go first, or should I?”“It’s all you.” The pierced boy replied with a smile.“Very well.” The unhealthy boy turned to Fuji and Dewa, then straightened his back. When he spoke this time, there was something… alluring in his voice that made Fuji pay attention. “Salutations. My name is Honda Tsumoto, and I am the Ultimate Public Speaker.”
TSUMOTO HONDA, ULTIMATE PUBLIC SPEAKER
“And as for me,” The other boy spoke up. “My name’s Amami Rantaro. Ultimate Adventurer.”
RANTARO AMAMI, ULTIMATE ADVENTURER
“And, now, I believe you should extend the same introduction to us.” Honda said.“Right...” Fuji nodded. “I’m Fuji Yota. My title is the Ultimate Antiquarian.”“And I’m Dewa Junpei. Ultimate Movie Critic.” Dewa said. He furrowed his brow, then laughed. “Never thought I’d wear my own name out.”“Indeed.” Honda nodded. “I’ve unfortunately become accustomed to people knowing my name, so this is a bit of a new exercise for me.”“You get used to it.” Amami chuckled.“Maybe so.” Honda sighed. He then looked back at Fuji and Dewa. “So, I take it you’ve met most of the others?”“Yeah.” Fuji nodded. “We woke up back in… in the uh, Hotel, I think it is. In a dining hall.”“Indeed?” Honda glanced upwards, thinking. “Hmm. Though curious, it’s not much different from the cases of the few others I’ve spoken to.”“You met some of the others too, right?” Dewa asked. “That’s why you agreed with me, right? That everybody here’s short a couple cards, at least.”“And I distinctly remember saying it’s rude to talk behind other people’s backs.” Honda sighed, shaking his head. “But to answer your question, yes, we have. The three of us woke up inside the Hotel as well, in a laundry room, though this outer area was our first stop.”“Hmm… the Laundry Room...” Dewa mused. Then, he glanced back up, confused. “Wait, three?”“Yes, it was me, Amami, and… huh.” Honda glanced to the side. “I thought Kuno was here with us.”“...she was.” Amami said. He looked around as well, then chuckled. “Guess she slipped away. She was pretty quiet, so it probably wasn’t hard.”“Do you have any idea where she went?” Fuji asked. “We’re looking for everybody.”“Hmm...” Amami mused. “She might be… behind the Hotel? She disappeared after we came outside.”“There’s a behind?” Dewa asked. Honda sighed.“Yes,” he said, “you can go around the Hotel. She pointed it out herself, when we first came outside.”“Huh.” Dewa pursed his lips. “Didn’t realize you could go back there… I guess I didn’t really think about-”“Woaaaaaah! So bright!” A familiar voice cried out, interrupting him. Dewa groaned.The four turned toward the Hotel, finding the doors thrown open. Kimura stood there, arms thrown out and stance wide. Behind him were, surprisingly, Valentine and Chujo. Kimura immediately took off down the Promenade, barreling towards them, while Valentine sprinted behind him.“Slow down, jerk!” She yelled, “You’re just gonna make another mess!”The two tore off past their group without so much as a hello, though Chujo strolled up to them a moment later.“Hey,” he said.“Yo.” Dewa greeted. “Why the hell are you hanging out with Kimura?”“Dunno.” Chujo said simply, shrugging. Honda shot Chujo a look, but didn’t say anything.“O… kay.” Dewa grunted, running a hand through his hair. “Honda, Amami, no offense guys, but… I think I want to go.” He motioned over his shoulder at Kimura and Valentine, who were now interacting with Jitsuko and Esumi. Uh oh. “I don’t wanna deal with the fallout of that. What say you, Fuji?”“...” Fuji glanced at Amami and Honda. As much as he disliked having to leave them to deal with Kimura… he also didn’t want to deal with Kimura. So he sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I, uh… I… We need to find… uh, Kuno.”“Can I come?” Chujo asked.“Yeah, whatever.” Dewa replied.“Cool.”“Right.” Honda nodded, extending his judgmental look to Dewa and Fuji. He didn’t look pleased with the proceedings. “I’m sure we’ll rendezvous later, so we shall see you soon. Hopefully.”“Yeah, catch you guys later.” Fuji said. Amami offered him a wave and a smile, and the two made their was towards the Pool, where Fuji could already hear some shouting.“Jeez.” Chujo said.“Yeah, no kidding.” Dewa scoffed. “C’mon, lets find Kuno.”The three headed back in the direction of the Hotel. Sure enough, just as Honda had said, there was some space between the Hotel and the edge of the ship, enough for maybe two people to walk shoulder to shoulder. They chose to walk in single file instead, and Fuji took the opportunity to peer off the side of the ship. There was a chest high railing preventing him from falling overboard, but there was no doubt that they were in the middle of the ocean. Nothing but blue for miles.It didn’t take terribly long to get behind the Hotel, and there was a sight waiting for them when they did. As Chujo, the last in line, emerged from the alleyway, the three looked over to find… yet another building. This one, however, gave off a distinctly different vibe than the rest of the ship. Maybe it was because the position of the sun and the Hotel cast it in shadow. Or maybe it was because of its secluded location. Or maybe just because it looked creepy as hell.The building was smaller than the Hotel by a decent margin. It was small and grey, made out of riveted metal. There was a cascade of cables coming from the building’s roof, and a bunch of satellite dishes and antennae were attached to a massive radio tower that adorned the top of the building. The tower was filled with flashing red lights, and was as draped in wires and cabling as the rest of the building. The radio tower seemed to be just shorter than the Hotel, hiding it from view from the bow of the ship. From their position, Fuji could see a metal sliding door, similar to an elevator door, on the building’s side. There was a scanner next to it, and something that looked like… wait, was that a gatling gun?!“The fuck?” Dewa asked.“...” Chujo said nothing, staring blankly at the building.“...wh-what’s with the gun?” Fuji muttered. Without realizing it, he took a step forward, then another, and another, until he was striding up to this strange building.“Hey… hey! Fuji, wait up, man!” Dewa, shaken from his surprise, jogged after Fuji, with Chujo following.They came to a stop outside of the door, the gatling gun much more menacing close up. Now that they were here, Fuji could see a plaque above the door, labeled ‘NAVIGATION BUILDING’. The building loomed over them, the radio tower’s lights blinking, almost daring them to do something. It was then that Fuji heard a pair of footsteps, and a figure rounded the corner of the Navigation Building.She didn’t seem to be particularly out of the ordinary, appearance wise. She did, however, have some strong posture. Her fair skin was dotted with freckles, and her cherry red hair was tied off into a ponytail on the side of her head, which came down to about her collarbone. When she glanced up at them, her dark brown eyes zeroed in on Fuji. Her clothes were… an interesting choice for the weather. Her most distinctive article was a dark brown sheepskin bomber jacket with an attached hood. The inner fluff was a light tan. She also wore olive green cargo pants, steel toed boots, and a solid black shirt. A pair of sunglasses were hooked into her shirt collar.She marched over to the three, then placed a hand onto Fuji’s chest and pushed. He grunted in surprise stumbled back, bumping into Chujo in the process, who did his best to stabilize Fuji. Dewa let out a shout and moved towards her.“What the hell are you doing?!” He snapped.“I could ask you the same thing.” She replied, voice cold. “What if the gun had proximity sensors?”“...huh?” Dewa asked, startled.“We don’t know how this thing goes off.” She continued, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder at the gatling gun. “For all you know, your friend could have become swiss cheese, and then we’re down a person because he couldn’t be smart about his curiosity.”“Cold.” Chujo said.“Reasonable.” She replied.“Hey, uh… thanks.” Fuji said now that he was reoriented. “You’re right, I was being dumb.” That caught the girl’s attention, and her brow raised slightly before she nodded.“Don’t worry about it.”“Oh, hey.” Dewa chimed in. “You’re uh… Kuno, right? Honda and Amami said you might be back here.”“Figures.” The girl said. “Yeah, that’s me.”“Nice to meet you.” Fuji said, smiling and holding out a hand. She inspected his offering of friendship for a moment before grunting and taking it. Her handshake was firm and curt, a single shake before his hand was released and hers returned to her side.“So, uh...” Dewa rubbed his neck. “Like… you wanna continue the introduction, or...”“There never was an introduction.” She stated simply. “You guys are the ones who came back here knowing my name. Maybe you should go first.”“...” Dewa was quiet, and Fuji could see him clenching his jaw. Still, after a second, he sighed. “Alright, fine. I’m Dewa Junpei, Ultimate Movie Critic.”“And I’m Fuji Yota. I’m the Ultimate Antiquarian.” Fuji said. He, Dewa, and the girl then glanced at Chujo, who was staring blankly at the ocean. Fuji elbowed him.“Huh?” He looked over, then glanced at the girl. Dewa shot him a frown, and Chujo blinked before it clicked. “Oh. Man, what a pain.” He sighed. “Valentine was introducing me earlier. Whatever.” He shook his head. “I’m Chujo Kagemoro. Ultimate Ghostwriter.”“Okay.” She said. “I know you’re not going to like this, but here it is.” She stuffed her hands into her pockets. “I’m Kuno Mari. And I don’t know my Ultimate talent.”
MARI KUNO, ULTIMATE ???
“You… don’t know?” Fuji asked.“How the hell do you not know?” Dewa followed up with. “That doesn’t make any sense.”“I told you you wouldn’t like it.” Kuno said. “But to answer your question, Dewa, I have a question of my own.” When she turned to Dewa, Fuji was surprised to see a certain… darkness to her face that wasn’t there earlier. It wasn’t quite hostile or threatening, but more… haunting. He took a step back nonetheless. “How did we get here?”“H-Huh?” Dewa stuttered, leaning back a bit. “I… I mean...” He seemed to seriously consider the question for the first time, a frown etching lines onto his face. “I...” Dewa was quiet for a moment. “I don’t remember...”“Exactly.” Kuno nodded. Her terrifying expression was gone as quickly as it had arrived, leaving her face flat once again. “I take it you two don’t remember anything either?” She asked, addressing Chujo and Fuji.“Nope.” Chujo replied.“Jeez, way to be worried.” Dewa said.“...I don’t remember either.” Fuji told her.“Yup.” Kuno simply nodded. “Honda and Amami don’t remember either. Neither do any of the other Ultimates I spoke to.” She frowned. “So while it isn’t good that I don’t remember my talent… I think we’re in a little more trouble than that.”“Trouble?” Fuji asked. “What kind of tr-”Before he could finish, there was a static filled squawk that sounded through the air, coming from above. The four of them glanced upwards, and Fuji spotted a monitor, displaying static, among the satellite dishes on the radio tower. He pointed it out, and they all stared up at it as the static noise continued. Then, the noise cut out, and a familiar voice played over an unseen intercom.“Hello? Hello? I won’t say ‘hello’ a lot this time, but I wanted to make sure you guys were paying attention!” The voice said. There was a strange warbling in the static on the monitor, as though something were trying to come through, but it eventually petered out. “Um… attention, students! This is an official announcement! We’ve decided that you guys have, like, made enough introductions, or whatever. And… what does this say? Does this say ‘driving hell’?” The intercom cut out, then came back on a moment later.“ATTENTION-STUDENTS,” a second familiar voice said. “THIS-IS-AN-OFFICIAL-ANNOUNCEMENT. THE-TIME-FOR-INTRODUCTIONS-HAS-FINISHED. PLEASE-DIRECT-YOURSELVES-TO-THE-DINING-HALL-FOR-FURTHER-DEBRIEFING. ADJOURNED.” Once it was finished speaking, the announcement cut off unceremoniously, leaving the air quiet.“Hmm.” Kuno said.“...I think this situation warrants a little bit more than a ‘hmm’.” Dewa sighed, rubbing his head. “Jeez, this is so weird.” He glanced at Fuji. “Guess we should go, huh?”“I think so.” Fuji nodded. “We don’t get anything by… not going, I guess.”“And yet...” Kuno murmured. When Fuji looked at her, however, she shook her head. “No. Never mind. Let’s go.”“Are we going?” Chujo asked.“Dude, how are you a minute behind?” Dewa asked, shaking his head. “Come on. Let’s just go before I seriously consider swimming out of here.” He marched on ahead, and Chujo followed after a moment. That left Fuji and Kuno alone, and Kuno’s attention seemed to have drifted back to the Navigation Building.“...hey, uh, Kuno.” Fuji spoke up. Kuno glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes. He swallowed thickly, but continued. “Are you… alright? It sounded like you were… thinking about something.”“...” Kuno stared at him for a few seconds before shaking her head. “I’m fine. I’m just… confused. Why can’t I remember my talent?”“Ah.” Fuji said, chuckling nervously. “Well… I can’t really help you with that. Maybe… if we go meet up like these voices want… uh, you’ll figure something out?”“Maybe.” Kuno said simply. With that, she brushed past Fuji, moving to leave the area behind the Hotel. Fuji was left alone, and he pressed his lips together before sighing and following after.Dewa and Chujo were waiting for them at the front of the Hotel. As he approached, Fuji hazarded a glance at the Pool, and found that it was empty. Guess everybody really did go. Dewa sighed as Fuji approached.“I’ve got a bad feeling about this, dude.”“Same here.” Kuno said.“...I understand, I do too, but...” Fuji trailed off.“Yeah, I know.” Dewa nodded. “No point in getting hung up. C’mon, guys.” He pulled open the Hotel doors and headed inside, quickly followed by Kuno and Chujo. Fuji stared at the horizon for a second before following.The four didn’t say any more as they made their way to the Dining Hall. In Fuji’s opinion… there wasn’t really much to say, at least before everybody joined up and figured out what the announcements wanted. Still, that didn’t stop a seed of worry from sprouting in his head, nor did it settle his flipping stomach down any.It wasn’t hard to hear the commotion from the hallway, and there was a loudness behind the Dining Hall doors that was almost comforting. Like passing by a classroom in school. Dewa didn’t hesitate to march up and throw the Dining Hall doors open. As he did so, twelve pairs of eyes settled onto the four, and the room grew quiet as they all entered.“…that’s all sixteen of us, then.” Honda said.“Sixteen Ultimates...” Chujo mused.“Wow! This is so cool!” Kimura cheered. “I’ve never been in the same place as fifteen other Ultimates before!”“Oh, you’re right!” Uma chimed in. “It’s so much different when we’re all together! I’ll have to take notes...” She whipped out her notepad and began writing.“This won’t last.” Kuno said simply.“Wh… what the hell is that supposed to mean?!” Tadamori gasped. “You tryna freak us all out?!”“She has a point.” Jitsuko said. “This isn’t right.”“Indeed. Something is amiss.” Goto said. “Though I don’t enjoy relying of feelings… this feels wrong.”“It’s not that bad.” Sasabe said, grinning. “At least the boat is nice!”“But why are we here?...” Amami crossed his arms. “And how did we get here?”“And where is ‘here’ anyway?” Valentine asked. “The place is nice and all, but… eesh. This is a little creepy.”“...can we settle down a bit?” Honda’s voice carried through the Dining Hall, and drew everybody’s attention. “I don’t want things to get out of hand.”“Things are already out of hand, moron!” Tadamori snapped. “We’re on a boat in the middle of fuck all nowhere, with nobody else in sight! I think this counts as ‘out of hand’!”“...are we really alone?” Ikari asked, frowning.“I don’t see anybody else.” Goto said.“...” Dewa scooted closer to Fuji, stooping down a bit. “Man, what the hell is going on?” He whispered.“...I have no idea.” Fuji replied, voice low. “But… well, at least we’re all here? That seems like a good thing, right?”“Wait.” Sasabe suddenly said. The others turned to her, and she cocked her head. “You guys hear that?”“Hear what?” Ikari asked.“Sounds like...” Sasabe’s smile left in favor of a thoughtful pout. “Sounds like… somebody movin’.” She raised an arm up and pointed at the Kitchen.“Yeah, but we’re all here, dumbass.” Tadamori said. “Who could possib-”She was cut off by the sound of the Kitchen door creaking. Everybody who was starting to say something instantly shut up, and sixteen pairs of eyes directed themselves towards the Kitchen door. Nothing seemed to happen at first. Then, the door creaked again, and slowly began swinging out. Nobody moved as the door slowly opened up to reveal…“Whew! Long trip!” A familiar voice said. The voice that spoke first on the broadcasts emerged from the Kitchen in the form of… a foot tall stuffed animal. Fuji couldn’t believe his eyes. It appeared to be some sort of… plush bear, standing no higher than Fuji’s knees. It was dual colored, with one half snow white, and the other half some kind of artificial red. One of its eyes, the one on the red side, was a strange, jagged shape, while the other was a simple black dot. Its mouth took the form of an ear wide grin, stitched solely onto its red half. It also had on a dark scarf, wound around its… ‘neck’.The plush bear mimed wiping its brow, then turned around. It jumped into the air at the sight of the sixteen Ultimates staring at it. “Woah!” It shouted. Somehow. “You guys move fast! Uh… oh, I’m suffering from stage fright! Gimme a moment, please!” The sixteen of them watched, dumbfounded, as it scurried back into the Kitchen.“...what the fuck.” Dewa said.The Kitchen door creaked again, and the little plush bear half appeared, its top obscured by the door. It let out a quiet ‘hup!’, and there was the sound of clacking metal. And then it pulled a bazooka from out behind the door.There was a whirlwind of activity once the weapon was exposed. There were a few screams, and a couple of shouts. Jitsuko and Ikari each grabbed a table and flipped them onto their sides, and the students scrambled behind the makeshift barricades. Fuji peeked out from behind Jitsuko, staring at the little bear who had a full sized, red painted bazooka on its tiny shoulder.“...what?” It asked. “Is there something on my face?”“I-THINK-THEY-ARE-AFRAID.” A second familiar voice said. Fuji watched as the Kitchen door swung open a little further, and another toy waddled out into the Dining Hall. This one seemed… more robotic, like an action figure, with evident joints and separate parts. Instead of red, this one was half green. It was still, however, a bear. When it emerged, it had a bipod mounted machine gun in its arms, pained a green that matched its body.“...of my face?” The first toy asked.“OF-OUR-ARMAMENTS.” The second one responded.The first toy angled its head upwards, staring at its own bazooka, then laughed. “Oh! Haha, I guess that makes sense.” It turned back to the students. “Don’t worry about the guns! We just wanna talk!” Its grin somehow grew. “Alright, we’ll start with something easy! My name is Monotaro!”“AND-I-AM-MONODAM.” The green bear said.“And the two of us are the Deckhands on this ship!”“THE-ULTIMATE-CRUISE-LINER-FOR-GIFTED-TRAVELERS.”“Pleased to meet you!” Monotaro finished.“...” A silence settled down over the Dining Hall. Fuji wasn’t sure if he was willing to take them at their word, considering that the red one was waving that bazooka around without a care in the world. The two bears glanced at each other. And then Kuno stood up.“Hey!” Jitsuko hissed, making a grab at her. “Stay down!”“It’s fine.” Kuno replied, pushing Jitsuko’s hand away. “If they wanted to kill us… I’m sure they would have by now.” She stepped over the table, much to the other students’ dismay, and walked up to the two toy bears. “Is that right?”“Yup!” Monotaro said. “There’s no need to be afraid.”“WE-WILL-NOT-HARM-YOU.” Monodam said. “IT-IS-NOT-OUR-JOB.”At that admission, and the fact that Kuno hadn’t been blown to bits or riddled with holes yet, the others started to ease out from behind their barricades. Kuno, however, didn’t wait for them to finish, glancing back down at the two bears.“So, what is it you two want, then?” She asked, “It’s clearly not something that we’ll want to do. There’d be no use for the guns otherwise.”“Well, it’s simple!” Monotaro said. “We want your participation!”“Participation?” Honda asked, taking a step closer. “Participation in what?”“In...” Monotoaro began, then trailed off. “In… In a… Oh my goodness!” He put a hand to his cheek. “Monodam, I can’t do it! You do it!”“VERY-WELL.” Monodam said. He turned to the sixteen Ultimates, and his jagged eye lit up red. “YOU-WILL-BE-PARTICIPATING-IN… A-KILLING-GAME.”“A Killing Game!” Monotaro repeated. A harsh red glow came from beneath the material of his jagged eye as well. Again, the Dining Hall was shocked silent, though it was an unexpected voice that broke the silence.“H-Huh?...” Hiramoto asked. “K-Killing?...”“...who are we gonna be killing?” Sasabe asked.“Uhhhh…” Monotaro glanced at Monodam. “Are we allowed to say that yet?”“...” Monodam didn’t respond.“Uhhhh…” Monotaro began, shrugging. “See, uh… I don’t wanna spoil the fun. I can’t really remember if I can say that yet or not, and I don’t wanna… make anybody mad.”“Well I’m already mad.” Jitsuko snapped. “So tell us, now.”“Now, now...” A new, unknown voice cooed. Fuji whipped his head around, but couldn’t find the source of the voice. It continued talking. “There’s no need to get violent just yet! There will be plenty of time for that later on! First off...” It trailed off, and then the lights in the Dining Hall shut off. There was a couple of screams and surprised gasps, and Fuji found himself plunged into darkness. He reached out, and something else grabbed his hand. He pulled it close, and it pulled him close.And then, on the far side of the Dining Hall, there was a shining beam of light coming from what seemed to be down below. It was a pleasant yellow, illuminating the general area just enough. Fuji glanced to the side and saw that the person he had found was Hiramoto, who was currently clinging to his arm in fear.An object shot out of the beam of light, and it corkscrewed through the air almost gracefully. It nearly touched the ceiling before plummeting and landing with a solid ‘WHUMPH’ on one of the tables. Then, the beam of light slowly faded off, and the room was left dark and silent.“Ow, jeez!” The voice exclaimed. The lights instantly flicked back on, and Fuji got a good look at the figure that was now on the table. It seemed to be a stuffed bear plush, like the red one, only larger. Instead of red, its nonwhite side was a jet black, and its jagged eye was a dangerous red. It had no frills, no accessories, no nothing. Just a half-black, half-white bear plush toy. It appeared to be rubbing its butt. “I really need to work on my entrances. Maybe… wings next time? Or a jet pack...”“There’s the Captain!” Monotaro cheered, dropping his bazooka onto the ground. Half the students flinched and jerked back as it hit the ground, and thankfully didn’t go off.“GREETINGS.” Monodam said.“Yes, yes, I’m sure you’re both very happy to see me, my precious Deckhands.” The black and white bear said. “But I need you two to be quiet for a hot second while I talk to the idiot brigade.”“...idiot brigade?” Ikari parroted.“We’re not idiots!” Valentine snapped.“Fine, fine, we’ll use a different word.” The bear flapped one of its paws dismissively. “You can be the loser crew or the bastard squad instead. It really doesn’t matter what kind of bad word I call you!”“You could just not call us anything.” Chujo said.“That… really isn’t the problem right now.” Amami told him.“Yes.” Goto agreed. “Our problem is with the toys swinging weapons around.”“Okay, I can’t let that one slide!” The black and white bear snapped. “I am not a toy! A toy is something that you give to a kid to play with, and slobber all over, and eventually break and throw out. But I am a sophisticated machine, one who has thousands upon thousands of adoring fans and groupies! I am not just a toy, I am a mascot! An icon! And my name is MONOKUMA!” It finished, throwing up its arms.“Mono… kuma?” Uma cocked her head.“...” Esumi put a finger to her chin and pursed her lips. She turned to Jitsuko and started signing.“Esumi wants to know what the fuck you are.” Jitsuko said, turning to Monokuma.“Oh my- do kids these days have the attention span of a roach?!” Monokuma snapped. “I just said that I’m Monokuma! Is that not enough for you little brats?!” He stared down at the sixteen silent students before groaning. “Ugh. Fine. I’m also the Captain for this little expedition. I’ll be supervising your Killing Game experience, and making sure everything is handled fairly.”“Speaking of.” Kuno spoke up again, seemingly intent on getting everybody back on track. “Your assistants mentioned this same ‘Killing Game’. Explain yourself.”“Yeah,” Sasabe chimed in as well. “Who are we killing?”“Puhuhuhu...” Monokuma giggled.“...care to explain what’s so funny?” Honda asked.“It’s just funny that you bastards haven’t figured it out yet!” Monokuma snickered. “Okay, I’ll give you a hint! You can’t hurt me or my precious Deckhands!”“...wait.” Amami said. “But if there’s nobody else here, that just leaves-”“One of us!” Kimura interrupted, finishing his sentence.“Thaaaat’s right! Ahahahaha!” Monokuma cackled. “The sixteen of you will be participating in an ‘Only a Few Holds Barred’, PvP Killing Game!”“E-Each other?...” Hiramoto whispered from Fuji’s side, her iron grip on his bicep tightening.“Like hell I’m gonna do that!” Tadamori yelled.“Wait, what?” Monokuma looked at her, cocking his head. “You don’t wanna?”“Like hell we wanna!” Dewa snapped. “Who in the right goddamn mind would wanna participate in a Killing Game?!”“...Well, that’s a bit of a problem, then.” Monokuma said, putting a paw to where his chin would be if he had one. He seemed to think about it for a second, then shrugged. “Ah well. Not like you have a choice.”“...huh?” Ikari asked. “We don’t?”“...No.” Kuno said. “We’re trapped here.”“That’s right.” Honda followed. “We’re stuck on this boat in the middle of the ocean. And we can’t hurt our captors because… they have weapons.” He glanced at Monotaro and Monodam. “Which means...”“You sorry lot are entirely at my mercy!” Monokuma cackled.“Hey, so, I have a question!” Sasabe spoke up. “So, like, are we all gonna get weapons of our own, or do we have to do it with our fists, or what? Is there like, a minimum body count?”“Dude, what the hell?!” Dewa turned to her. “What are you even asking?!”“Well I just wanna know!” Sasabe pouted.“No, I’m not going to be ‘providing weapons’!” Monokuma shouted, looking ticked off. “How entitled! Kids these days, expecting murder to come to them on a silver platter! When I was a cub, I had to work for my murder!”“The good ol’ days...” Monotaro sighed.“UPHILL-BOTH-WAYS.” Monodam said.“Besides, I won’t accept some mass slaughter! That’s not interesting at all if there’s only sixteen of you!” Monokuma huffed. “Nobody wants to see just one person running amok with a chainsaw or something.”“Isn’t that the whole appeal of slasher films?” Chujo asked.“What, no!” Dewa suddenly interjected. “Slasher films, while having a very large focus on near cathartic dealings with the more wicked and looked down upon aspects of humanity, are nowhere near just about the senseless slaughter! There’s layers.”“Okay, first off.” Monokuma began. “Nerd alert.” He flapped a paw at Dewa, who flushed. “And second, there’s no mass slaughter because this game has more nuance than that! You can’t just kill, you have to get away with it!”“Get away with murder...” Kuno repeated, trailing off.“Indeed!” Monokuma nodded. “In fact, we even organize ‘Class Trials’ in order to make finding out the filthy murderer even more exciting!”“What in the hell is a ‘Class Trial’?” Goto spat.“You don’t know what a Class Trial is?!” Monokuma gasped. “For shame! What kind of fan are you?!” He tutted. “Very well. I’ll just have my faithful Deckhands explain in my stead. Deckhands!”“Of course!” Monotaro shouted, literally jumping to the occasion. “Let’s start with the basics! If any of you worm brains commits a murder, then that means we do a Class Trial!” He nodded, seemingly to himself. “Class Trials are where the murderous ‘Blackened’ faces off against the innocent ‘Spotless’!”“CLASS-TRIALS-ARE-A-COLLABORATIVE-EXPERIENCE.” Monodam continued, “STUDENTS-WILL-WORK-TOGETHER-TO-DISCUSS-THE-IDENTITY-OF-THE-BLACKENED. DISCUSSION-WILL-BE-BASED-OFF-OF-GATHERED-EVIDENCE.” He adjusted his position, facing to the side. “AND-AT-THE-END-OF-A-CLASS-TRIAL...”“We proceed to the designated Voting Time!” Monotaro picked up. “If a majority of students successfully decide on the identity of the Blackened...”“THEN-ONLY-THE-BLACKENED-IS-PUNISHED.” Monodam finished.“After the punishment, then the rest of you jerks get to continue living here on the Ultimate Cruise Liner!” Monotaro proclaimed. “But there’s also a situation where you guys get it wrong! Uh oh!”“IN-SUCH-AN-OCCASION,” Monodam continued, “THE-BLACKENED-IS-FREE-TO-RETURN-TO-SHORE.”“And the Spotless are the ones punished instead!” Monotaro finished.“W-Wait...” Fuji spoke up. “You guys… you’re moving too fast...”“And them’s the breaks!” Monokuma shouted, ignoring Fuji. “It’s not just enough to kill one of your fellow suckers! You also need to fool everybody else at the Class Trial!”“Kill and get away with it...” Kuno mused.“This is real fucked up...” Dewa said, running a hand through his hair.“Wait a minute...” Jitsuko butted in. “You mentioned ‘punishment’ a bunch. I know you… freaks aren’t the type to send somebody to jail. What the hell’s this ‘punishment’ shit?”“Excellent question!” Monokuma shouted, his evident excitement, sending a shiver down Fuji’s spine. “One with a simple answer! Execution!”“E-Execution?...” Hiramoto whispered.“That’s right!” Monokuma cackled. “Any sorry sucker who messes up and doesn’t get away with murder is suitably punished by yours truly in a mind blowing, blood pumping, heart pounding execution! Custom tailored, made to fit!” Monokuma smirked, as much as he could with an expression that didn’t change. “You know how it is! An eye for an eye, a life for a life!”“Are you jokin’?...” Jitsuko asked under her breath.Esumi looked faint, clutching at her chest guard.“No jokes here!” Monokuma proclaimed, pumping a paw in the air. “Only serious business here on our ‘Overseas Killing Venture’!” He cackled again. “And don’t worry, there’s no restrictions either! All you have to do is get creative! Feel free to stab, shoot, or blow up your classmates! Hang them, poison them, or cut them up! The only limit is your imagination, with no late work penalties!”“A Killing Game...” Kuno muttered.“This shit is not a game.” Tadamori said, shuddering.“At least we’ll be kept on our toes...” Kimura mused.“You guys are seriously way too calm for this!” Valentine yelled.“I...” Hiramoto managed. Fuji glanced up at her, swaying on her feet. “I… c-can’t do this...”“Alright! An easy first target!” Monokuma cheered. “Excellent!” He did a little dance on the table, then threw his arms out. “Alrighty then! That’s quite enough of this boring exposition! I’m putting an end to this uninteresting prologue and starting us onto the main course!” Monokuma stared out at the sixteen students, and his red eye glinted dangerously.“Let the amazing, awe inspiring, fantastically thrilling Overseas Killing Venture… begin!” Monokuma began cackling, and Monotaro and Monodam followed up with their own laughter.Hiramoto finally fainted, slumping off of Fuji’s arm and falling to the floor.Fuji found himself unable to move, limbs frozen in place as Monokuma and his Deckhands laughed. What had he done in a previous life to deserve something like this?…
PROLOGUE:

ALL ABOARD! DESTINATION: OUR INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY!

END

REMAINING STUDENTS: 16

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

STUDENT ID PROFILES + APPEARANCES
 
YOTA FUJI
Height: 5’4” (162.5 cm)Weight: 115 lbs (52.1 kg)Chest: 30” (76.2 cm)Blood Type: OD.O.B.: August 23rdLikes: International T-shirtsDislikes: EggsTalent: Ultimate AntiquarianNote by Yota Fuji: Wait, why can I comment on my own profile? This seems kinda redundant... Appearance: Fuji is of average height and build, with fair skin and scraggly white hair that sticks up in various ways, with a prominent ahoge. He has red eyes with bags under them due to exhaustion. Fuji has a few scars and scrapes on his exposed skin.Fuji wears an unzipped black jacket with the emblem of his previous high school on the breast over top a white t-shirt that has a faded image of Machu Picchu on it. He has thick hiking pants covered in tears, patches, and hasty stitches, as well as steel toed hiking boots. Fuji wears a thick pair of glasses, and has his hands wrapped with bandages. 
JUNPEI DEWA
Height: 5’10” (178 cm)Weight: 139 lbs (63 kg)Chest: 37” (93.9 cm)Blood Type: ABD.O.B.: February 28thLikes: PopcornDislikes: Overly complicated plotsTalent: Ultimate Movie CriticNote by Yota Fuji: He seems nice. Pretty energetic and kind of loud, but he seems to like me for whatever reason. A good friend. Appearance: Dewa is tall and strong, with lots of muscle. He’s got tanned skin and short, wavy blond hair. His hair covers up most of his ears and flops down in front of one of his eyes. His eyes are a sharp green. He has a large smile and a sunny feel about him. Dewa’s face is angular and sharp, giving a slight ‘aggressive’ contrast to his otherwise pleasant features. He has some sparse hair on his forearms, shins, and chest.Dewa wears a pair of cargo shorts and sandals. For a shirt, he has on a light gray t-shirt underneath an opened up yellow and orange Hawaiian shirt. From his shirt collar hangs a pair of 3D glasses, and he has a gold chain necklace hanging from his neck. 
NADAKO HIRAMOTO
Height: 5’11” (180 cm)Weight: 111 lbs (60.8 kg)Chest: 29” (73.7 cm)Blood Type: AD.O.B.: August 16thLikes: ChalkDislikes: Sharing a roomTalent: Ultimate TutorNote by Yota Fuji: She's so shy, and it's hard to ignore the stutter. Is she doing okay? I feel awkward asking. Appearance: Hiramoto is a tall, almost unhealthily lanky girl. Her skin is fair and covered in freckles, and she has long, dark purple hair that is extremely fluffy and goes down to her butt, and almost seems to fall down around her in a waterfall. Her height and lanky limbs give her an awkward air about her, and she tends to ‘fold up’ her arms and pull her hair around her, making her appear smaller than she actually is. She has dark brown eyes.Hiramoto wears a tan, plaid waistcoat over a light gray collared shirt, alongside a black tie. She also has on a long, modest, mauve pleated skirt and black flats. Hiramoto also has an over the shoulder satchel and silver ball earrings. 
FUKUMI UMA
Height: 5’6” (167.6 cm)Weight: 136 lbs (61.7 kg)Chest: 32” (81.3 cm)Blood Type: OD.O.B.: December 22ndLikes: ConfettiDislikes: PaparazziTalent: Ultimate ReporterNote by Yota Fuji: Her energy and enthusiasm is admirable, if a bit overwhelming. Still, she's super nice about things. Appearance: Uma has tan skin and bright purple eyes. Her hair is straight, black and cut into a short bob with bangs. She is a little bit on the chubby side. There is a small birthmark on her neck, a patch of skin lighter in coloration than the rest, in a blotchy shape right on her windpipe.Uma wears a white, collared shirt with a black tie. She has a brown pencil skirt with attached suspenders on, and wears black high heels. On her head is a matching brown reporter’s fedora with a black band, and there’s a #2 pencil nestled behind her left ear. Her shirt’s breast pocket holds a small notepad and has a few pens hanging from it. A camera also hangs from her neck by a strap. Uma has simple, small hoop earrings in her ears. 
KOYO GOTO
Height: 5’6” (167.6 cm)Weight: 248 lbs (112.5 kg)Chest: 37” (98.9 cm)Blood Type: ABD.O.B.: June 1stLikes: Logic puzzlesDislikes: Modern artTalent: Ultimate MathematicianNote by Yota Fuji: He's uh... he's a little rude. Well, more than a little. Still, it doesn't... seem like he's a jerk on purpose, if that makes sense. Still super pompous. Appearance: Goto is rather overweight, giving him a bulky figure. He has close cropped brown hair, with pale skin and brown eyes. He stands at an average height and has ‘pinchable cheeks’. His posture is very good, and is very well kept, appearance wise, with no part of his body ungroomed. His hair is combed and clean, and his skin is clear and hair-free.Goto wears a white lab coat over top a red button up shirt. He has tan corduroy pants and dark brown loafers, his pants held up with a black leather belt. His shirt is haphazardly tucked into his pants, and seems to puff up somewhat. He has a monocle over his left eye, due to some sight problems in that eye only, as well as an old fashioned watch attached to one of his belt loops by a chain. He has an empty pipe that he likes to keep in his mouth. 
TOMO TADAMORI
Height: 5’4” (162.6 cm)Weight: 148 lbs (67.1 kg)Chest: 36” (91.4 cm)Blood Type: BD.O.B.: October 30thLikes: CatsDislikes: Her cat allergyTalent: Ultimate Personal ReformistNote by Yota Fuji: The way she talks to me makes me feel super awkward. Nobody's been interested in me like that before. Appearance: Tadamori is pale, standing at average height with a bit of a chubbier build. Her hair is black, dyed green at the tips, and is extremely curly. It comes down to her shoulders in a large mass. She has intense blue eyes, and despite her build has very sharp features, with a pointed nose and sharp jawline.Tadamori wears a black letterman jacket with white arms, left open to show the grey undershirt underneath. She has on a jean skirt with fishnet stockings and thigh high, high heeled black boots. There is a spiked choker around her neck, and she has a multitude of lip and ear rings. In her hair is a deep violet headband, and she has spiked wristbands. Tadamori also puts on violet eye shadow and black lipstick. 
DIANA VALENTINE
Height: 5’5” (165 cm)Weight: 140 lbs (63.5 kg)Chest: 37” (93.9 cm)Blood Type: BD.O.B.: March 22ndLikes: Showing offDislikes: ThunderstormsTalent: Ultimate Street PerformerNote by Yota Fuji: Her Japanese is kind of rough, but it seems rude of me to expect somebody born out of country to speak it well. She's so upbeat, I can't keep up. Appearance: Diana is a little short, but well developed. She has brown skin and excited hazel eyes, with hair in a dark turquoise. It is usually done up in a large, poofy ponytail, aside from two long locks that hang down in front of her ears. She has a decently muscular build, something akin to an acrobat.Diana wears a low cut red dress, with slits on the side to allow for easier movement, patterned with maroon waves. She has black thigh highs, black sneakers, and two knife sheathes strapped to her thighs. Diana has two golden ball earrings, as well as a tongue and septum piercing. 
KAGEMORO CHUJO
Height: 5’9” (175 cm)Weight: 99 lbs (45 kg)Chest: 33” (83.8 cm)Blood Type: AD.O.B.: May 4thLikes: Black coffeeDislikes: MarkersTalent: Ultimate GhostwriterNote by Yota Fuji: He looks so tired. I know my sleeping schedule isn't very good, but I'm worried this guy is gonna collapse at any moment. Appearance: Chujo is of average build and pale of skin. His eyes are green and ringed with dark skin from exhaustion. He has short, curly black hair, which springs around when he moves. Aside from that, he seems completely normal.Chujo wears an olive green hoodie with a blocky red pattern on the back, the edge of the hood ringed in fluff. He wears jeans and sneakers, and overall has a rather average appearance. He has a set of headphones draped over his neck, connected to something in his pocket. 
TSUBAKI IKARI
Height: 6’ (183 cm)Weight: 209 lbs (94.8 kg)Chest: 35” (88.9 cm)Blood Type: ABD.O.B.: April 5thLikes: High speedsDislikes: RustTalent: Ultimate BicyclistNote by Yota Fuji: His heart is definitely in the right place, but he seems... a bit behind. Still, he seems reliable, at the very least. Appearance: Ikari is tall and lean, with runner’s muscles and bulky legs. He has somewhat tanned skin from being outside frequently, and very short brown hair. His eyes are a soft grey. Ikari has a chipped tooth and a nose that has evidently been broken, but otherwise gives off a feel of being somebody who takes much care of himself.Ikari’s typical outfit consists of a tight fitting, royal purple undershirt with black seams and a pair of black bike shorts with indigo trim. He has black runner’s shoes, as well as a small towel draped over his shoulders. A pair of sunglasses rest on his nose, and he has fingerless gloves on. A mustard yellow cycling jacket is tied around his waist. 
HYOUSUKE KIMURA
Height: 5’7” (170 cm)Weight: 143 lbs (64.7 kg)Chest: 31” (78.7 cm)Blood Type: BD.O.B.: July 19thLikes: FlirtingDislikes: PrudesTalent: Ultimate CharismaticNote by Yota Fuji: He gives off bad vibes up until he opens his mouth. Something about his voice is nice to listen to, but the words that come out of him?... Scary... Appearance: Kimura’s physical appearance is, interestingly enough, very average. He stands at a neutral height, not tall or short, and has fair skin with a mild spattering of freckles. He has gold eyes that can appear orange in the right lighting, and fluffy orange hair. His build is average, and he tends to slouch.Kimura wears a navy sweater vest over top a black collared dress shirt. He has a red tie that hangs over his sweater vest, which has been cut up to resemble a lightning bolt. He wears pressed dress pants and gray dress shoes. Kimura also has a golden stud in each ear, as well a bracelet on his right wrist made of black shells. 
JUTARO JITSUKO
Height: 6’5” (195 cm)Weight: 172 lbs (78 kg)Chest: 48” (101.6 cm)Blood Type: ABD.O.B.: January 29thLikes: SilenceDislikes: TelevisionTalent: Ultimate KickboxerNote by Yota Fuji: If I say anything bad about her… I don’t think I’d survive. Still, she doesn’t seem too mean if you aren’t annoying her. Appearance: Jitsuko is tall and very muscular. She has brown skin and short hair that doesn’t go past her neck. However, her light brown hair is very messy, and tends to stick out in various directions. Her eyes are blue, her eyebrows are thick, and she has a bit of a ‘resting bitch face’. Her hands and forearms have a variety of scars and marks on them, especially around the knuckles.Jitsuko’s outfit is unique, consisting of deep emerald green karate gi with the sleeves torn off and a black belt. She also has on a gakuran, left unbuttoned, that seems to be longer than the standard with a tall, stiff collar. There are hand wraps on both of her arms, done loosely with slack so that they can be tightened to fit later. Notably, she also has a black cap on, with the back torn out. 
SETSUNA ESUMI
Height: 4’9” (157 cm)Weight: 102 lbs (46.2 kg)Chest: 27” (68.6 cm)Blood Type: OD.O.B.: November 8thLikes: DaydreamingDislikes: CrowdsTalent: Ultimate ArcherNote by Yota Fuji: I like her. Sign Language is fun, and she seems to try and take everything in stride. Appearance: Esumi is small and unassuming in stature. She has a lean build, with muscle that isn’t necessarily evident upon a passing glance. Still, she has surprising strength. Her hair is a uniform aqua, and her eyes are a similar blue. Her hair is long in the front, angled left and sweeping forward over the left side of her face, covering her left eye.Esumi wears a solid, sea foam green tank top over a dark skirt with compression shorts underneath. She has a chest guard on over her left shoulder, a thin, three fingered glove on her left hand, and a bracer on her right forearm. Esumi wears simple tennis shoes. She also has a hair clip with a small, removable metal arrow on it, which is used to pin her hair out of her face when she’s shooting. 
REIKA SASABE
Height: 5’9” (175.3 cm)Weight: 150 lbs (68.1 kg)Chest: 34” (86.4 cm)Blood Type: ABD.O.B.: June 12thLikes: Open seasDislikes: MudTalent: Ultimate SpearfisherNote by Yota Fuji: She scares me. I think that’s all I can really say. I don’t like talking poorly of people, but her smile scares me. Appearance: Sasabe is tall and well built, with a significant and evident amount of muscle. She has sun kissed skin, as well as chocolate brown hair that comes down to her shoulders. Her hair seems to be a bit matted on the top of her head, though is otherwise straight and clean. Her skin is clear, though does seem to have a few scars dotted around on her exposed skin. Her eyes are green.Sasabe’s main article of clothing is a one-piece swimsuit. It’s a uniform maroon in color, and seems to be made out of a material that dully reflects light. In addition, Sasabe wears a pair of tan cargo shorts, as well as a pair of sandals and a straw sunhat. A pair of goggles hangs from her neck. 
TSUMOTO HONDA
Height: 6’3” (190.5 cm)Weight: 136 lbs (62 kg)Chest: 28” (71.1 cm)Blood Type: AD.O.B.: January 10thLikes: StorytellingDislikes: Hospital bedsTalent: Ultimate Public SpeakerNote by Yota Fuji: He's intimidating. Still, I like that he's confident. It's nice to see somebody with that kind of strength in a situation like this. Appearance: Honda is tall and lanky, with an unhealthy pallor to his skin. His cheeks and eyes are sunken, giving him a malnourished appearance. His black hair is done up into a greasy mohawk, with the sides of his head shaved. Despite that, he has a very intimidating posture and piercing blue eyes, giving him a quote unquote ‘scary aura’.Honda wears a brown leather vest that appears to have actually been a jacket with the sleeves torn off. Underneath, he wears a black undershirt, leaving his arms exposed. In addition, he has on torn black dress pants, a belt with a silver buckle, and worn brown dress shoes. From his neck dangles a necklace with a red ‘Delta’ symbol made of some sort of crystal. 
RANTARO AMAMI
Height: 5’10” (177.8 cm)Weight: 137 lbs (62.1 kg)Chest: 32” (81.3 cm)Blood Type: BD.O.B.: October 3rdLikes: Extraterritorial rightsDislikes: CarsTalent: Ultimate AdventurerNote by Yota Fuji: He seems cool. Quiet and nice, but with a hidden intelligence. He gives off the vibe of a playboy, but there’s definitely more to him than that. Appearance: Amami has an average build and good posture, with pale skin and floppy, curly hair the color of green tea. He has green eyes and fair skin. Amami is generally attractive, and gives off the vibe of a playboy.He wears a blue and black striped sweater with elbow length sleeves, and a white shirt with a black hem underneath. His pants are baggy, in a pale brown, and he has on navy blue slip on shoes. He has a necklace with a crystal pendulum, a silver metal bracelet on one wrist and a larger brown cloth bracelet wound around the other. His fingers have a multitude of rings on them, and his ears each have six piercings, five in the cartilage and one in the lobe. His right eyebrow is pierced as well. 
MARI KUNO
Height: 5’6” (167.6 cm)Weight: 132 lbs (59.9 kg)Chest: 30” (76.2 cm)Blood Type: BD.O.B.: September 15thLikes: Warm jacketsDislikes: Heavy windTalent: Ultimate ???Note by Yota Fuji: You know how, in mystery games and stuff, there's always a stoic who seems to know more than they let on? That's Kuno. Appearance: Kuno stands at an average height with an average build. She has fair skin with a small spattering of freckles and red hair, long enough to be tied up in a short side ponytail coming down to her collarbone. Her eyes are a dark, almost black, brown. Kuno has good posture.Kuno most distinctive article of clothing is a sheepskin bomber jacket with an attached hood. The outside of the jacket is dark brown, while the inside fluff is a light tan. She also has on olive green cargo pants, as well as steel toed boots and a black t-shirt beneath her jacket. A pair of sunglasses are hooked into her shirt collar.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

BEGIN CHAPTER 1:

MARITIME BREEZE, ANTIQUE DESPAIR

DAILY LIFE
 Fuji dropped down to his knees, hands darting to Hiramoto’s shoulders. Valentine and Jitsuko were immediately at Hiramoto’s side as well, and the three leaned close. Fuji started to move his hands to check for breathing when Valentine slapped them away. Fuji yelped and withdrew his hands, and Jitsuko leaned down, frowning.“She’s okay. Just fainted.” Jitsuko said simply, straightening her back.“Sheesh. Talk about a drama queen.” Monokuma snorted. “Hate to see what’s gonna happen to her if this is the reaction we get from just saying how the game is gonna go.”“That’s so unfair!” Valentine protested, scowling. “You’re acting like you didn’t just tell us to kill each other!”“Boo hoo.” Monokuma replied, his tone mocking. “I thought you kids would be more accustomed to violence these days, what with your violent video games and war glorifying movies.”“There’s a pretty big difference between seeing something fake and being forced to do it for real.” Kuno replied flatly.“Oh hush.” Monokuma glared, as well as a stuffed bear toy could glare. “Anyways,” He continued, flapping a paw dismissively, “we don’t have time to talk about a slacker who can’t stay awake in class. I’ve got something important to give to you bastards. Deckhands!”“Yessir!” “RIGHT-AWAY.” Monotaro and Monodam were quick to follow orders, and they each had summoned up a stack of devices from god knows where. Both bears had eight of the devices stacked in their stubby arms, and began waddling around, passing them out.As they did so, the rest of the students loosely and awkwardly gathered around Hiramoto’s unconscious form, with Honda muscling his way forward. Jitsuko glared at him, but Honda ignored her and kneeled down. Fuji’s observation was interrupted by a prodding at his side. When he glanced over, Monotaro was holding out one of the devices for him.“This one’s just for you!” Monotaro proclaimed.Fuji frowned, taking the device. Monotaro nodded in satisfaction and waddled away, leaving Fuji to examine the thing placed into his hands.It was a tablet, not unlike ones that’d be found in an electronics store. It had a touch screen and a simple switch on the side. When he flipped it over to examine the back, Fuji noticed the back was painted half black and half white, though there appeared to be a small circular piece of glass, probably a camera, and… a square piece of deep red glass embedded into the middle of the chassis. Fuji brought it close to his face and squinted. Seemed like there were some electronics on the other side, but he couldn’t tell what they were. Which meant… there was only one thing left to do with the device in his hands.Fuji flicked the switch. Immediately, the screen lit up into a soft blue. It displayed an unfamiliar crest, which strangely enough seemed to be a school crest. Fuji frowned at that. Were these devices stolen? That thought was quickly cast into doubt when, to Fuji’s incredible surprise, the crest disappeared and his name appeared on the screen, written in clear, bold black text. Was this… made for him? What was going on here?...“...urgh...” Hiramoto’s voice broke the strange silence that settled over the Dining Hall as she came to. “I’m… g-gonna throw up...”“Hey, don’t move too much.” Valentine replied, voice softer than Fuji thought it could go. “You fainted. But you’re okay now, because I’m here for you!”“Here.” Honda said. “This one is yours.” Fuji glanced over in time to see him place one of the devices onto Hiramoto’s stomach. She blinked and stared at it.“What the hell is this?!” Tadamori screeched, holding the device at arms’ length.“...Yes, what are these things you’ve given us?” Goto asked, frowning at his own tablet.“I suppose I could explain that, now that everybody is awake.” Monokuma said, shooting a look at Hiramoto. She let out a quiet ‘eep!’ and pulled her satchel up between her and Monokuma. Valentine glared at Monokuma, while Jitsuko adjusted her position so that she was partially between Hiramoto and Monokuma. The bear in question sighed and shook his head.“Very well!” He began. “The things you’ve all just been handed are your ‘Student IDs’! You can also call them ‘Monopads’, since I’ve so kindly redecorated them for you!” Monokuma announced. “They serve as your identity for the duration of our Overseas Killing Venture, moreso than your innate, ugly faces! You should keep your Monopads on you at all times.“The Monopads serve a variety of functions! They open the doors to your respective rooms, as well as any locked door that requires a scanner, though not all Monopads open all doors. In addition, the Monopads hold a plethora of information vital to your success here in this Killing Game! There’ basic information on your fellow students, in case you need such simple information for your murders. You can also take notes of your own, so that you can note down the best way to kill your friends when the time comes!”“Sheesh.” Amami said.“…I guess they’re really committed to this.” Chujo remarked, staring down at his Monopad.“Well of course!” Monokuma seemed peeved at that remark. “As the host of this Killing Game, if I don’t make sure things are fair and thorough, then everything falls apart!”“...Fair?” Kuno frowned, looking up at Monokuma. Fuji wasn’t sure why she found that strange, but… now that he began to think about it as well-“Speaking of fair,” Monokuma cut in, ignoring Kuno and stopping Fuji’s train of thought. “I’d like everybody to navigate to the tab in your Monopads labeled ‘Rules’! There are quite a few of them, but a strong backbone leads to a strong Killing Game!”Fuji did as he was told, locating the tabs at the top of the screen. Aside from ‘Rules’, there was also ‘Students’, ‘Motives’, and ‘Notes’. Ignoring his trepidation, Fuji navigated to the ‘Rules’ section. Awaiting him was a preface.‘About the rules for the Overseas Killing Venture:’ the short paragraph began, ‘Rules are absolute, and existing ones cannot be changed or revoked. Punishment for breaking the rules involves being blown up by Monotaro and Monodam, then tossed overboard to serve as fish food.’ At that, Fuji’s eyes widened. Punishment for breaking a rule… was death?! That… wasn’t that was a little severe?… He continued on either way, finding the long list of rules before him. ‘Overseas Killing Venture Rules:
Rule 0: The Captain may add additional rules at any point for any reason.

Rule 1: For the foreseeable future, students must remain on the Ultimate Cruise Liner at all time. The only exception to this rule is for attendance at Class Trials.

Rule 2: There is an assigned "Nighttime" period that lasts from 10pm to 8am. Areas may be rendered off-limits by the Captain, so stay up to date.

Rule 3: Students are free to explore and spend time in any approved area of the 'Ultimate Cruise Liner'.

Rule 4: During Nighttime, students may only voluntarily sleep in specified staterooms.

Rule 5: Students may sleep in the room of another student. However, permission must be given.

Rule 6: Violence against the Captain is forbidden.

Rule 7: When a murder occurs on the cruise liner, a Class Trial will be conducted shortly thereafter. Participation in all Class Trials is mandatory for all remaining students unless otherwise authorized by the Captain.

Rule 8: If the killer (referred to as "the Blackened" from this point forward) is correctly discovered during the Class Trial, then they will be punished for their crime.

Rule 9: If the Blackened cannot be discovered, or if an innocent student is voted for instead, all students except for the Blackened will be punished.

Rule 10: If the Blackened survives the class trial, they will graduate from the Overseas Killing Venture and are allowed to return to dry land.

Rule 11: The Overseas Killing Venture will continue until either: A) a Blackened survives a Class Trial and graduates, or B) two or less students remain.

Rule 12: Unless a student receives some other approval, all damage to the Ultimate Cruise Liner is prohibited.

Rule 13: The Captain and his Deckhands will never directly participate in murder.

Rule 14: A Body Discovery Announcement will play when three or more students discover a body.

Rule 15: Trading or destroying Monopads is strictly forbidden.

Rule 16: Certain rules can be ignored if a student is committing a murder.’
 “What the hell?...” Tadamori asked, voice low. Still, it broke the thin sheet of silence that had settled over them, cracking it like glass.“This is...” Honda began, then looked up. “Monokuma, I-” He stopped, then frowned. “Monokuma?” Honda began looking around, and a few of the others followed suit. Fuji glanced over the room and found that Monokuma, Monodam, Monotaro, and the two weapons were… gone. He hadn’t even heard them leave.“...the fuck?” Dewa asked. “How’d they get away like that?!”“It appears our captors are more slippery than they seem.” Goto muttered, flicking his eyes back down to his Monopad.“Hmm...” Sasabe hummed.“W-Wait, so… uh...” Ikari began, shuffling his feet. “What do we do now? We’re not gonna… k… kill each other, right? I don’t wanna kill anybody...”“Obviously, we try to escape.” Jitsuko said.“Is that even possible?” Kimura wondered aloud.“D-Don’t say shit like that!” Tadamori snapped. “Of course we can get out of here!”“...but we can’t break the rules, or we’ll die...” Chujo said.“Oh, but if we’re already gone, they can’t kill us, right?” Sasabe asked, grinning. “So it’s just like Suko said!”“Can you not call me stupid shit?” Jitsuko growled.“Yeah… yeah, we can just escape!” Ikari nodded, his smile returning. “Yeah!”“And how, exactly, do we plan on doing that?” Goto asked, cocking his brow.“Yeah, that’s a good question.” Valentine said, crossing her arms. “I super wanna get out of here, just like you guys, but… how?”“Well, first things first.” Jitsuko began, standing up from her position at Hiramoto’s side. All eyes in the room were on her. “We get rid of this shit.” She held her Monopad in two hands, and adjusted her legs. Fuji could tell she was about to break it over her knee.“Stop, stop.” Kuno said, voice strong.“...what?” Jitsuko asked, face contorting into a scowl.“If you break that, you’re breaking a rule.”“...that’s what you’re worried about?” Uma asked, sounding genuinely curious. “But what if the Monopads have some sort of… tracking device? Ooooor… ooh, a GPS?”“...look.” Kuno sighed, gesturing to the side. Fuji glanced over, finding a camera mounted to the wall. A small red light blinked atop it, and it was oriented towards the group of sixteen. “We’re being watched.”“I see.” Amami said. “So… if they break it, no matter what, it’ll be noticed.” He frowned. “They’ve probably got bugs listening to us, too...”“What’s it gonna matter if they know I broke it?” Jitsuko asked, her arms lowering slightly.“They’re capable of moving quickly and quietly.” Honda said simply. “And they were capable of capturing sixteen Ultimates and stranding them on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean. I think they’re more than capable of punishing you for breaking a rule they made up.”Jitsuko scowled, but dropped her knee and lowered her Monopad. “So, what then?” She snapped. “What the hell are we supposed to do?”“We gotta do somethin’!” Tadamori butt in. “I’m not spending the rest of my life stuck on this stupid ship!”“Yes, that is what we said we would talk about.” Goto shook his head. “Do you have anything useful to offer, or are you just going to repeat what others are saying?”“I don’t see you contributing!” Tadamori snapped back.“H-Hey, maybe we shouldn’t yell at each other...” Ikari said, moving over to the two and holding his hands up in surrender. Both Goto and Tadamori turned to shoot him a glare.Fuji watched from the side as most of the others descended into an argument. There was a big group in the middle, consisting of most of the others. He glanced to the side, noting that a couple people weren’t participating. Hiramoto was still on the floor, looking a little green, while Esumi crouched near her and made sure she was okay. Kuno stood to the side, arms crossed, and stared flatly at the proceedings. And Dewa was next to him, a frown on his face.“...man, what the hell is going on?” Dewa asked after a second.“I… really don’t know.” Fuji admitted. “Nothing really makes sense...”“You can say that again.” Dewa replied, rubbing the back of his head. “All of us are stranded out here in the middle of fuck knows where, being forced to participate in a ‘Killing Game’.” He snorted. “Certainly not what I thought was gonna happen to me when I went to bed last night.” He glanced over at Fuji. “Hey, you good? You seem a little lost.”“I’m… fine.” Fuji said after a second. “Just… I’m trying to figure out what to do.”“Whatcha mean?” Dewa asked.“I figure that… you know… we couldn’t have found everything, right?” Fuji replied. “Like… weren’t we more focused on finding everybody?”“Yeah, sure.” Dewa nodded.“Well… maybe we overlooked something? Something important or vital or… I dunno… a clue?” He shrugged. “Maybe if we all worked together...”“...” Dewa thought about that, then grinned. “Yeah! Good idea, man! Hold on.” He turned to the side, and Fuji watched him think for a second before he was forced to watch Dewa jump up onto a nearby table. There was a clatter as Dewa kicked aside some laid out silverware that drew Hiramoto and Esumi’s attention, but the group in the middle was too engaged in their argument to notice. Dewa cupped his hands around his mouth.“HEY!” He yelled. “SHUT UP!”That wasn’t how Fuji would have done it.“...what’cha want, Waju?” Sasabe asked.“Fuji has something to say.” Dewa proudly proclaimed, motioning at the boy in question to get up onto the table with him. Fuji felt himself flush as he shuffled over to the table and pulled himself up.“Uh.” Fuji began. “So, uh, I was thinking that… like… we weren’t focused on the ship earlier. When everybody was out and about.”“Well, yeah.” Valentine responded. “We had to meet up with everybody.”“Y-Yeah, but...” Fuji shrugged. “I figured that, like, maybe we… missed something? I thought that if all sixteen of us worked together… then, uh, maybe we could find a clue or something important that would help us get out of here.”“So you just want us to look around?” Jitsuko asked, clearly annoyed.The room fell silent as the others seemed to process what Fuji was asking of them. He felt himself begin to sweat a bit as some of the harsher gazes from the crowd zeroed in on him. Others looked down at the floor or ceiling in thought, while some just looked away. Fuji clenched his jaw, pressing his lips together, and felt his body heat up in embarrassment. One of his hands drifted to the opposite bicep and he rubbed there gently. Just as he began to open his mouth to protest his own idea, however...“It’s not the worst idea.” Honda spoke up, breaking the awkward silence. “Perhaps we can figure out a way to commandeer the cruise liner.”“I don’t know how to drive a ship...” Chujo mused.“None of us do, I think.” Valentine said, “But I don’t think that means we should just give up! I actually really like this idea!” She directed her beaming grin up to Fuji, who nodded awkwardly and half-smiled back.“I’ve never sailed a cruise liner before, but...” Amami mused, “I think I’d be able to figure it out. I’ve sailed some similarly big boats, how different can it be?”“Awesome!” Sasabe cheered. “You’re a real renaissance man, aren’t ya, Ami?”“...Ami?” Amami repeated, awkward grin on his face.“See, guys?” Dewa announced. “I think if we stick together, then we can make it through this!”“I think this sounds great.” Kimura agreed, grinning.“If Fuji’s the one posing the idea, I don’t mind.” Tadamori replied.“Alright! Working together!” Ikari cheered. “Teamwork is a great way to make new friends!”“Indeed, indeed.” Uma nodded. “If that Monokuma wants us to be enemies… what better counter than the bonds of friendship?”Fuji felt himself deflate in relief, all of the stress that had coiled up in his gut quickly loosening up into a large sigh at the general consensus. The others had already turned to talk amongst themselves, even those who hadn’t verbally expressed their agreement. Fuji moved off of the table. Once he was on the ground, a hand clapped his shoulder, and he turned to find Dewa offering him a toothy grin.“Good work, man.” he said, “Knew you could do it.”“Th-Thanks...” Fuji replied, taking a deep breath. “I’m… not good at talking for crowds.”“Hey, nobody really is.” Dewa assured him.“What about Honda?” Fuji asked, a half smile on his face.“Don’t get smart with me.” Dewa replied with a playful scowl, pushing Fuji on the shoulder lightly.“Alright!” Honda announced, his voice easily carrying through the Dining Hall. “I have a proposal before we disperse to start investigating!”“A proposal, huh?” Sasabe mused, then smiled. “Who’s the lucky person?”Honda rolled his eyes, but otherwise ignored her. “I think we should meet up here after we finish our investigations.” He said. “That way, we can share our findings more easily, and perhaps even enjoy a meal together if need be.”“I’m fine with it!” Valentine announced. She then turned to Hiramoto, grinning. “Hey, we should explore together!”“W-W-With… y-you w-wan-nna explore w-with me?” Hiramoto stuttered out.“Well, yeah!” Valentine replied, already grabbing Hiramoto’s hand and starting to drag her away. “I wanna keep an eye on you and make sure you’re okay! Don’t worry, I’ll protect you from Monokuma!” Fuji noted that the height difference between Hiramoto and Valentine was almost comical, considering Valentine was at least half a foot shorter than Hiramoto.“Feh. Better this than nothin’.” Jitsuko commented, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her gakuran. “Let’s go, Esumi.” She plodded towards the exit, Esumi nodding excitedly and following. Sasabe gave off a dismayed ‘Wait for me, Suko!’ and jogged after them.Amami and Honda left as a pair, Chujo and Goto trailing behind them. Tadamori left with Ikari and Kuno. That left Fuji, Dewa, Uma, and Kimura alone in the Dining Hall.“Great speech, Fuji.” Kimura said. He… sounded sincere, though Fuji wasn’t sure how much was the actual truth and how much was Kimura’s raw charisma. “I think you’ve got the makings of a real leader, y’know? Keep up the good work!” And with that, he was scampering out, the Dining Hall door swinging shut behind him.“An interesting fellow, that Kimura.” Uma commented.Dewa snorted. “Yeah, that’s one way of putting it.”“Indeed.” Uma nodded, then turned to Fuji. “Anyways, I have a request of you, Fuji!”“Oh?” That made Fuji cock his brow. “What is it?”“I believe you should let me explore with you! I think you and Dewa are fine friends to be making, and I think you could benefit from my keen eye!” Uma winked, a pen suddenly in her hand. She tapped on her cheek and smiled. “So, what say you? Yay or nay?”“Sure. I think it’d be fun to have you with us.” Fuji smiled back.“Yes!” Uma pumped her fist. “A terrific trio! Not as classic as a dynamic duo, but effective and powerful nonetheless!” She nodded intently. “Very well! Lead the way!”Dewa didn’t say anything, simply smirking and raising his brow. Fuji sighed and motioned for the two to follow. The group of three exited the Dining Hall, and began their investigation of the Ultimate Cruise Liner. “What are you two doing over here?” Uma asked, bouncing up to the two figures on the bow of the ship. Fuji and Dewa weren’t far behind.The two figures turned out to be Sasabe and Kuno, an interesting pair to be hanging out. Sasabe had a hand over her eyes, and she stood on her tiptoes, with a hand on the railing. Kuno stood at her side, staring blankly in a different direction. She glanced over at the three when they approached.“We’re just seeing if we can find any landmarks.” Kuno commented.“Landmarks?” Uma asked.“Yup!” Sasabe followed up. “I had a super helpful idea, and Kuri here was with me, and we talked about it!” She turned around and grinned, prompting Kuno to snort.“Don’t call me any dumb nicknames. It’s not cute.”“Aw, really?!” Sasabe gasped in disbelief. “But a cute girl like you needs a cute nickname!”Dewa was silent, but he shot Fuji a look that clearly expressed how much he didn’t want to go down this route of conversation.“H-Hey, Sasabe.” Fuji began, prompting the Ultimate Spearfisher to look at him, her head cocked. He cleared his throat before continuing. “What, uh… what was the thought you two had?”“Weeeeeell...” Sasabe glanced up in thought, tapping her chin. “See… I’ve been out to sea a lot, since it’s super hard to stab fish from shore. And I was thinking… well, even if we’re out in the middle of the ocean… there might be something in the waters I recognize!”“And I was on planes a lot as a kid.” Kuno commented, stuffing her hands in her pockets. “So we decided to look around for anything notable.”“Together!” Sasabe giggled, moving to reach an arm around Kuno. Her attempt at affection was quickly rebuffed by the girl in question, prompting a whine. “Kuri! I thought we had something!”“Did you actually find anything?” Dewa asked, already edging away.“Nope.” Kuno replied.“We’re out in the middle of nowhere!” Sasabe proudly proclaimed.“I could have told you that.” Dewa scoffed.“So it appears we’ve learned nothing more than what we started with.” Uma summarized, pursing her lips. She scribbled something down on her notepad anyway.“Wait!” Sasabe said suddenly. “Wait, I just remembered something that I saw!” She grinned. “C’mere!” She motioned wildly, beckoning them towards the railing. Kuno simply shook her head.“...I’ll stay back here.” Dewa said.“Boo.” Sasabe pouted. “No fun.”“Well I’m curious.” Uma said, trotting up. After a bit of deliberation, Fuji shuffled up as well.Once they were up at the railing, Sasabe leaned over and pointed, for some reason, straight down. Uma immediately glanced down, and Fuji grabbed onto his glasses before peeking down as well. He saw… water. Just the blue of the ocean, sloshing gently against the hull of the ship and nothing else.“See?” Sasabe asked. “Isn’t it weird?”“...huh?” Fuji asked. “What… what am I supposed to be seeing?”“You don’t get it?” Sasabe asked from behind him.“Hmm...” Uma hummed. Suddenly, she gasped. “Oh! The ship isn’t moving!”“Yeah!” Sasabe agreed, clearly proud at her discovery.Fuji frowned, then glanced back down at the water. Now that it was mentioned… yeah, it looked like the water wasn’t… moving. It was just a gentle slosh against the Ultimate Cruise Liner, rather than any sort of movement that might indicate the ship was going forward. No foam or waves. And now that it was brought up, there wasn’t any wind or sea spray or anything that might indicate movement either.“...yeah, you’re right.” Fuji commented.“Eyup!” Sasabe said. “Sasabe is never wrong, mmm hmm.”“...so what?” Dewa asked. “What does that mean?”“It means...” Fuji began, then trailed off. What did it mean?“It means that we’re supposed to stay here.” Kuno said, having gone back to looking at the horizon. “Our captors want to keep us right here, in the middle of the ocean.”“Suppose that makes sense.” Sasabe commented.“Very interesting.” Uma noted.Fuji didn’t say anything, glancing up at the horizon as well. So… they really were being held here against their will. But why? Just to force them to kill each other? Things weren’t adding up. What did Monokuma get out of this? As the three walked back to the Hotel, there was a commotion that caught their ears. It sounded like grunting and heaving, the groaning of metal, and panting for breath. Fuji, Dewa, and Uma wordlessly changed course, running over to the port side of the ship to see what was going on.Once there, Fuji saw something that didn’t make much sense. Ikari and Jitsuko were there, standing at what appeared to be an apparatus for holding a lifeboat. However… there was no lifeboat. Instead, there was part of the railing that had been removed. In its place, attached to the lifeboat station, was… a cage elevator. It appeared wholly normal, aside from the fact that it was attached to the side of the ship. It had two doors, one facing the hole in the railing, and one on the opposite wall of the elevator, facing the ocean.Jitsuko and Ikari stood at the front, both holding a braced stance. Jitsuko had her hands on the actual door of the cage elevator, while Ikari was gripping the bars next to it. The two seemed to be pulling with all their might, attempting to get the door open. Esumi stood off to the side, looking on with concern. The elevator was groaning, no doubt from the intense stress of being pulled at by both the Ultimate Kickboxer and the Ultimate Bicyclist. However, the door didn’t seem to budge a single inch.“What the hell is this?” Dewa asked.His voice prompted a surprised ‘oh!’ from Ikari, and he let the elevator go and took a few stumbling steps back. Jitsuko grunted as the elevator visibly lurched towards her, now that it didn’t have Ikari pulling back, and was forced to let go. The elevator swung in place for a moment before settling. The bars of the door were bent slightly, but otherwise seemed to be undamaged.“Fuck.” Jitsuko said.“Hey guys.” Ikari greeted, panting. “The... three of us... found this… elevator attached… here. Whooh.” He put his hands on his knees and took a deep breath. “Tried to… get it open… it’s real stuck though...”“Was goin’ fine… ‘til they interrupted...” Jitsuko said, clearly annoyed. Her chest swelled as she took a large breath, then spat a glob of saliva over the edge of the ship.“An elevator?” Uma asked. “Was this here before?”“Definitely not.” Jitsuko said, adjusting her hat and crossing her arms. “Esumi and I were hanging out around here during introductions, and this wasn’t here before.”Esumi waved at Fuji, then signed at him. ‘There are three more lifeboat stations.’ She pointed towards the opposite end of the ship. Fuji put a hand over his eyes and squinted. Sure enough, there was another lifeboat station directly across from them. This one seemed to actually be holding a lifeboat, however.“What would this even be for?” Dewa asked, putting his hands on his hips.“That’s what… we were tryna figure out…” Ikari said, finally seeming to catch his breath. He stretched his back before continuing. “We guessed that if we could get in, then maybe we could figure out what it does!”“Oh, you’ll figure out alright!” A sudden voice said. The six turned around, finding Monokuma standing there. He looked about as pissed as a stuffed animal could be, a slight red glow coming from underneath his face.“Did you do this?” Fuji asked.“Well, of course!” That somehow seemed to chill Monokuma out. He puffed out his chest and his grin stretched. “This is a feat of engineering that only a bear could pull off!”“That doesn’t make any sense.” Jitsuko snorted.“Hey! It makes complete sense!” Monokuma protested. He then turned red again. “You know what really doesn’t make sense? The fact that you brats are already breaking the rules!”“Huh?” Uma asked. She cocked her head. “A broken rule already?” She tapped at her lips with a pen.“Yes! Yes, a broken rule!” Monokuma snarled. “How can you not call this a broken rule?!” He waddled up to the elevator and motioned at the slightly bent bars. The six of them stared blankly at them, before Fuji spoke up.“...the ‘no damage to the Ultimate Cruise Liner’ rule?” he asked.“Yes!” Monokuma snapped.“...are you joking?” Jitsuko asked.“That’s barely anything.” Dewa commented.“It’s really not that bad...” Ikari said, squinting at the slightly bent bars.Esumi shrugged.“Ugh!” Monokuma threw up his hands. “The youth of today! So insolent!” He snarled again, flicking one of his paws. Fuji jumped in surprise as some very real looking claws emerged from them. “I’ll let you guys off with a warning this time, since the damage isn’t severe, but you better remember this act of kindness! Your Captain won’t be so merciful next time!”Before any of them could protest, Monokuma was gone, leaving them to think about the exchange that had just happened.“Jeez.” Jitsuko shook her head. “What a waste of time.”“Dang.” Ikari sighed. “Oh well. I’m sure there’s something else we can do.”“...right.” Dewa said.“We should get going.” Uma commented, glancing at Fuji. He could only respond with a nod. “So this is what this place is.” Dewa said.After departing from the cage elevator, they had found Amami and Honda talking to Monokuma outside of the two buildings. They had only caught the tail end of the conversation, with Monokuma assuring them that the buildings were completely safe. He looked like he was going to continue, but then he saw Fuji, Dewa, and Uma. Monokuma then let out a childish huff, stuck up his nose, and marched away. The group of five then made their way into the Ultimate Adventurer Lab.To be honest, it was one of the more interesting rooms on the ship. It was small, yet cozy, with wood paneled walls and a carpeted floor. There was a large desk that faced the door, with plenty of drawers, made of lacquered oak accompanied by a plush swivel chair. One side of the desk held a fancy globe, while the other featured a sewing machine. Behind the desk was a massive map that spanned the entirety of the wall there, with a variety of pins poked into its surface, accompanied by small, handwritten notes. To the right of the desk were two bookshelves pushed up against the walls.“Interesting.” Honda noted.“Sure is really nice...” Amami noted, wandering over to the desk. Honda and Uma had already made their way over to the bookshelves, while Dewa busied himself with the swivel chair.“Fuji, check this out.” Dewa said. Fuji glanced over, cracking a grin at how far Dewa sunk into the chair’s cushions. “This is crazy soft.”“Sure looks like it.” Fuji replied. There was a sound behind him, and Fuji glanced over to see Amami rifling through some of the drawers. Fuji caught sight of what looked like passports, as well as a bunch of papers. In another drawer was a bunch of fabric and thread, likely for the sewing machine.“How comprehensive!” Uma shouted, looking over the bookshelves with adoring eyes. “So many informative volumes! What I would have given to have a collection like this a couple years ago!”“Indeed...” Honda mused. “This is quite the plethora of information.”“Hey, Amami.” Dewa said. When Fuji glanced at him, he had swiveled the chair around, staring at the massive map. “What’s with all these pins and notes?”“Huh?” Amami stopped digging through the desk, glancing at the map as though he hadn’t even noticed it. “I… don’t know.” He took a step towards it, narrowing his eyes. Fuji shuffled up as well, looking at a pin that was about eye level for him. It listed a city in India, and had a small note indicating a date and what seemed to be a list of souvenirs to buy.“...hold on.” Fuji said. “Are these...”“Yeah.” Amami said. He took a step back from the map, frowning. “This is… this is definitely strange.”“Why?” Dewa asked.“All of these pins and notes...” Amami began. “They’re all from adventures I’ve taken.”“...what?” That actually made Dewa sit up, squinting at the pins and notes. “But… you’ve never talked to Monokuma before, right?”“Yeah.” Amami furrowed his brow. “So then… how did he know about my previous adventures?”“...good question.” Fuji murmured. “It seems like there’s more to this than we realized...”They spent a few more minutes looking around Amami’s lab, but didn’t find anything that wasn’t immediately obvious. It didn’t seem like the building was harboring any secret passageways or anything like it. The decision was then made to check out Honda’s lab as well, since Honda was willing and they were all there anyways.Honda’s lab was definitely bigger than Amami’s. Upon entry, Fuji was treated to the sight of a large stage at the far end of the room, a velvet curtain hanging down and blocking off the back half of the stage. There was an array of seats in front of the stage, big enough for a small crowd. There were large speakers flanking the stage, and a complicated lighting rig attached to the ceiling. The lighting rig also featured a large projector hanging from the center of the ceiling. On the stage was a wooden podium, complete with a microphone.“Interesting.” Honda remarked, immediately moving towards the stage.“Wow, it’s big!” Uma noted, staring straight up at the lighting rig. “Amami, you must be so jealous!”“Not really.” Amami laughed, rubbing the back of his head. “It’s spacious, sure, but my lab is cozier.”“So true, so true.” Uma nodded, moving to scribble something down in her notepad.“Nice place.” Dewa remarked, glancing at Fuji. “Whatcha think?”“...it’s pretty cool.” Fuji replied, focusing on the speakers. They were huge, easily taller than Jitsuko. What did anybody need such large speakers for? Honestly, Fuji figured that Honda’s voice was powerful enough without the speakers.“Yeah.” Dewa put his hands on his hips. “Can’t wait to find my lab.”“...same here.” Fuji replied. He wondered what would be in his lab. Some sort of never before seen antiques? That would be really cool, even if it meant that they were probably stolen by Monokuma just to put in his lab. Still… at least then he’d be able to protect them…Fuji’s thoughts were cut off by a whirring sound, and he, alongside Uma, Dewa, and Amami, stood and watched as the velvet curtain began slowly split down the middle, revealing itself to actually be two curtains, and started to slide away from each other. The four stood silently as the curtains parted, revealing the ‘backstage’ area of the stage.Honda was standing at a panel on the wall, rubbing at his chin. He glanced at them as the curtain finished opening, and shot the group a curt wave.“I found the controls.” He told them.“Cool!” Uma quickly scampered up onto the stage. Dewa shrugged at Fuji, then followed, leaving Fuji and Amami on the floor.“Might as well check it out, yeah?” Amami asked. Fuji just nodded, and the two made their way up onto the stage as well.True to Honda’s word, the panel on the wall seemed to control everything attached to the rig, which consisted of the speakers, the lights, the curtains, and the projector, as well as a supposed screen. Uma was standing at the podium, grinning at Dewa, who was standing next to her with his arms crossed.Honda himself stood next to a plastic storage bin on the floor, looking down into it. Next to it was a variety of other materials. When Fuji approached, he got a look into the bin, as well as a glimpse of the other objects. The bin had something folded up at the bottom, with some microphones with built in cords on top of it. There were also a couple megaphones mixed in. Next to the bin was a set of microphone stands, as well as some back up podiums.“As much as I hate to give him credit,” Honda began, “Monokuma has this place rather appropriately furnished. And this set up he has going on here couldn’t possibly have been cheap.”“Yeah...” Amami commented, crossing his arms. “These labs seem to be pretty well stocked, and were definitely built with us using our talents in mind.”“Which begs the question.” Honda continued. “Why? Why spend the resources on places like our labs if they’re just going to force us to kill each other?”“I’ve been wondering the same thing myself.” Fuji said, frowning. “But I can’t think of an answer. There’s no reason for them to do all of these accommodations for us, and then just get us to kill each other.”“Maybe there is no greater reason.” Amami offered. “A lot of things in the world don’t make sense.”“...Maybe.” Honda snorted. “What an unsatisfying answer, though.” “Do you hear that?” Uma asked.“Hear what?” Dewa asked. Fuji stopped as well, glancing at her with his hand on the door to the Hotel.The three of them had finished up at Amami and Honda’s labs, not finding anything of note there. The labs themselves raised more questions than they answered, and without any more reason to stick around, they had decided to leave. They were on their way back inside before Uma stopped them.“I don’t hear anything.” Fuji said.“You sure you heard somethin’?” Dewa asked, hands on his hips.“A reporter’s ears are even keen, attuned to the sounds of a potential scoop.” Uma told him, tapping her ear with a pen. “And I hear… a lead.” She pointed past Fuji, towards what looked like the alleyway to the Navigation Building.“God, don’t tell me-” Dewa began.Before he could finish, Uma scampered off, heading into the alleyway and disappearing. Dewa swore under his breath and jogged after her, leaving Fuji alone, his hand still on the handle. He stared blankly at the door for a few moments before sighing and following after Uma and Dewa.As he jogged down the alley, the sounds of conversation became more apparent. To his surprise, he could hear more than two people talking, which meant that Uma really had heard something.“I still don’t see the reason you’ve dragged me back here.” Goto remarked.“...well, I didn’t want to look at this alone.” Chujo replied. “Don’t you think it’s a little creepy?” Goto’s response was a sigh.“Why are you even back here in the first place?” Dewa asked.“Oh hey, a gatling gun! Wow!” Uma exclaimed.Well then.Fuji finished his trip over to the Navigation Building, getting a look at the four he’d heard, finding them gathered around the door. Uma was fawning over the gatling gun, with Goto standing behind her, a scowl on his face. Dewa had a hand on her shoulder, but was facing at Chujo, who stood just to the side of the gun barrel.“God damn it, be careful.” Dewa said, tightening his grip on Uma’s shoulder.“But I’m curious!” Uma cried. “I want to inspect it! I suspect the gun itself is linked to the opening of the door, so I’d like to at least check to see if I’m in the ballpark!”“You could be wrong.” Goto snapped, crossing his arms. “And then we’re down somebody because you couldn’t get your fix.”“Aww! But I swear I won’t touch it!” Uma cried.“Hey Fuji.” Chujo greeted.“Uh… hi.” Fuji replied. He glanced around. “What, uh… what’s happening?”“This girl wants to get torn into by this gatling gun.” Goto snorted.“Not true.” Uma pouted. “I just want to check the door out. That’s all.”“Would you kids quit it with the door?!” A high pitched voice snapped. The five turned to the side to see Monokuma there, fuming. “All day, it’s one of you at the Navigation Building door! ‘How do I get in?’, ‘How do I open the door?’, blah blah blah! I’m tired of it!”“...then why’d you lock it?” Dewa asked.“Because it’s not time to be in there yet! Didn’t your parents teach you anything?!” Monokuma yelled. “If something’s locked, you don’t try to get in!”“We’re not supposed to go in yet?” Goto asked. “What does that mean?”“It means DON’T MESS WITH THE DOOR!” Monokuma shouted. “I mean it! I’m tired of people coming up to this door and asking to be let in! You’ll get in when you get in! Sheesh, you kids are such a handfull.” And with that, Monokuma was gone.“...huh.” Uma said. “Guess he doesn’t want us inside yet.”“What gave you that idea?” Dewa snorted.“Well, if that’s all there is to this,” Goto began, brushing off his shirt and moving to walk away. “I suppose there’s nothing back here for us. Goodbye.”“See ya.” Chujo said as Goto left.“...jeez.” Dewa said.“Well then!” Uma replied, pushing Dewa’s hand off of her shoulder. “I think that’s that! Let’s see what everybody else found!”“Oh, are we meeting up?” Chujo asked, yawning. “Guess I’d better go then...” He plodded off, Fuji watching him go, lips pressed together. He didn’t want to be mean, but… Chujo didn’t seem the most… ‘up to date’ person.“Sheesh.” Dewa sighed, shaking his head. “Well, I can’t really think of anywhere else to look, considering me and Fuji looked around inside a lot before we came out here in the first place. Can’t imagine there was much we missed.”“Hmm…” Fuji frowned, rubbing at his chin. “I think it might be a good idea to look around a bit inside, actually.”“Shit, really?” Dewa asked.“Mmhmm.” Fuji nodded. “One of the others might have found something we missed. Wouldn’t hurt to do another once over anyways.”“Good idea!” Uma proclaimed. She looked like she was about to say something else, her mouth open and her hand raised as though she were making a point. However, nothing came out for a few seconds. Then, she said a single word. “Huh.”“What’s wrong?” Fuji asked, frowning in concern.“...” Uma was quiet for a few moments, then shook her head. “Nothing. I just thought something was weird, but it’s not important right now.”“You’re really not gonna tell us?” Dewa’s lack of amusement was clear.“Nope!” Uma quickly bounced back from her contemplation, grinning. “You’ll have to wait for the full report! No suspense for the story otherwise!” She proclaimed, then started marching off. “C’mon, we’re burning daylight!”“...sheesh.” Dewa sighed, turning to Fuji. He looked like he was searching for something to say, staring intently and pressing his lips together, before simply shrugging and turning to follow Uma.Fuji found himself alone for a moment. He turned, staring at the looming form of the Navigation Building. A red light on the radio tower winked at him. Fuji sighed, turned around, and followed the others. “Hmmmmm.” Kimura hummed, one hand to his chin and the other on his hip. He had his lips pursed almost comically, and was leaning forward at an angle far too deep to be serious. Beside him stood Tadamori, clearly exasperated.“Please,” she said, the tone in her voice nearing pleading, “take this seriously.”Dewa remained silent as they approached the pair, and Fuji could tell that he really didn’t want to interact with neither Kimura nor Tadamori. But they were clearly checking something out, and Uma had already blown any cover they might have had by trotting up next to Kimura and leaning forward as well.“Hmm.” Uma echoed, narrowing her eyes, her notepad and a pen in hand. “What are we looking at?”“...not sure.” Kimura replied.“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Tadamori threw up her hands.Fuji felt his shoulders slump, a nervous chuckle emerging from his mouth. Tadamori and Kimura were in the small area at the top of the staircase in the Hotel, with all of the locked rooms, which is where he, Dewa, and Uma found them. The five of them stood at one of the doors itself, one that Kimura and Tadamori had been standing at when they got there. They were in the longer hallway directly opposite the stairs.Now that he was actually looking at the layout, Fuji could see that there were eight rooms in this hallway, four on each side and none at the end of the hall. Each door had what appeared to be a scanner directly to its right, complete with a glowing red light, as well as a small wall mounted lamp above said scanner. And above the door was…“Is that a name plate?” Fuji asked. The other four looked up, and everybody read what the strip of metal mounted above the door read:‘T. Tadamori’“Oh.” Kimura said. “Must be for you, Tadamori!” Without missing a beat, he reached forward and grabbed the handle. However, when he tried to open the door, the handle clacked.“The hell are you doin’, you little brat?!” Tadamori snapped, lurching forward and smacking Kimura’s hand away.“Ow!” Kimura yelped. “I was just checking to see if it was open...”“Don’t be touching shit that has my name on it.” Tadamori growled, her lip curling up into a sneer.“But if it’s locked...” Uma mused, “how do you get in?”“I can answer that!” A sudden voice announced. The five turned to see Monotaro there, waving at them as he waddled up. “It’s actually really quite simple!”“Well explain it then.” Tadamori said sharply, keeping herself between Kimura and the door.“Okay!” Monotaro nodded. “Basically, whoever this room belongs to just needs to swipe the back of their Monopad against the scanner next to the door! Then the door will unlock and you can head inside.” He glanced up at the scanner. “However, each scanner only responds to the Monopad of the room’s owner. And as you remember from the rules, trading Monopads is forbidden! Also, your rooms are all personalized! Any questions?”“...I do.” Fuji began. “Where did these even come from?” He held up his Monopad, waving it around a bit. “I think they’re kind of strange.”“U-Uh… w-well...” Monotaro looked nervous, then cleared his throat. He appeared to start… sweating, despite his plush appearance. “I uh… meant any questions about the rooms.” The five were silent, staring down at the half-red bear. He continued to sweat under their stares for a few moments before Monotaro nodded. “A-Alright! W-Well then! I… I uh… s-suppose I’ll get going then!” And then he was gone, scurrying down the hall and rounding the corner, disappearing.“Freak.” Tadamori said.“Interesting.” Kimura said, brow raised slightly. “Very interesting...”“Yes, well, I’m interested in what your room looks like, Tadamori!” Uma chimed in. “Will you permit our entry?”“...” She glanced at Fuji, then over to Dewa and Kimura. “...Only you and Fuji. The other two need to wait out here.”“Boo.” Kimura pouted, crossing his arms. “I’m being excluded.”“Ugh.” Dewa rolled his eyes.“Hey! A woman’s bedroom is sacred!” Tadamori snapped. “I’m not just gonna let in every shmuck that wants access. I’m not that easy!”“...that?” Uma asked.“Whatever. I’ll wait out here.” Dewa let out an exasperated breath.“Well I’m not gonna take this standing up.” Kimura said. “I’m outta here! I’ll find my own room, and I won’t let any of you in. So there.” He stuck his tongue out.“I believe the phrase is ‘I won’t take this sitting down’.” Uma told him.“Isn’t it ‘lying down’?” Dewa asked.“Shut up! Shut! Up!” Tadamori snapped. “Just leave if you’re going to leave, so I don’t have to hear your stupid voice!” She jabbed a finger at Kimura, who let out a childish huff before stomping off. Tadamori glared at him as he marched away, then sneered at Dewa. “Stay out here.”“I was planning on it.” He bit back.Tadamori continued to glare before grunting. She pulled her Monopad out of her jacket and swiped the piece of red glass over the scanner. There was a moment of pause, then the scanner’s light turned green with a beep, and there was a ‘CLACK!’ as the door unlocked. Without a moment’s hesitation, Tadamori headed inside, quickly followed by Uma.Fuji took the opportunity to look over at Dewa, who caught his eye and sighed. “I dunno man.” Dewa said, shrugging. “Just go on ahead and check it out. I’ll be out here just in case.”“Alright. I’ll make sure it’s quick.” Fuji offered Dewa a small smile before heading into Tadamori’s room.Tadamori’s room was… definitely a room. There was a simple bed with dark purple sheets, which Uma was currently sitting on and glancing around. Against the far wall was a desk, which had a large mirror with lights, as well as what looked like a jewelry box and some make up. There were two doors, surprisingly, one to his left and one to his right, as well as a closet that Tadamori was currently standing at. There was also… what appeared to be a monitor mounted on an arm near the door. Next to it was a camera similar to the one that was in the Dining Hall earlier, red light blinking ominously. Fuji shuddered.“What the fuck?!” Tadamori yelled, pulling out a jacket that looked identical to her current one from her closet. “What the fuck?!”“What’s the matter?” Uma asked.“They’re all the same!” She shouted, throwing the jacket at Uma. The Ultimate Reporter let out a surprised sound as she caught the jacket just before it hit her in the face. Fuji watched curiously as Tadamori then pulled another identical jacket out of her closet, and then another, so that she had one in each hand.“Woah.” Uma said.“It’s not even just the jacket!” Tadamori continued, voice raised in volume, as she again threw the jackets at Uma. Fuji watched in a mixture of surprise and slight horror as Tadamori proceeded to throw three copies of her current outfit onto the bed, as well as an extra pair of her boots. This resulted in Uma being in the middle of a mound of Tadamori’s clothes, which didn’t seem to bother her in the slightest. “Down to my fuckin’ panties!” She screeched, reaching into her closet. Fuji immediately 180’d and covered his face with his hands before he could catch a glimpse of Tadamori’s underwear.“How strange.” Uma remarked. “They even want our outfits consistent. What do they gain from that?”“U-Um...” Fuji said. “T-Tadamori can you… uh… put those away?”“Huh?” Tadamori asked. “...what, you never seen a girl’s panties before?”“Weren’t you the one saying that a ‘woman’s room is sacred’?” Uma asked.“...hmph.” Tadamori snorted, and Fuji heard some rustling and figured it was safe to turn around. He was greeted with Tadamori back facing her closet, much to his relief. She sighed and glanced back at Uma. “I wonder what’s up with the other doors, though.” Tadamori jerked a hand over her shoulder, pointing a hand at one of the two doors.“I-CAN-ANSWER-THAT.” A robotic voice said.“Uuuuuugh.” Tadamori threw her head back and groaned.“WHICH-DOOR-WOULD-YOU-LIKE-ME-TO-EXPLAIN-FIRST?” Monodam asked, suddenly at Fuji’s side. Fuji jumped a bit, moving to the side so he didn’t come into contact with the half green bear.“Who cares?” Tadamori threw her hands up. “How the hell do you guys keep doing that?”“That one.” Uma pointed to the door to Fuji’s right.“SIMPLE. THAT-IS-THE-BATHROOM.” Monodam explained. “ALL-BATHROOMS-CONTAIN-A-SHOWER-A-SINK-AND-A-TOILET. BASIC-AMENITIES-ARE-AVAILABLE-AND-CAN-BE-RESTOCKED-ON-REQUEST.”“I see.” Uma nodded.“So… then what’s the other one?” Fuji asked. “Is it another closet?”“NO.” Monodam said, shaking his head. “IT-IS-A-CONNECTING-HALLWAY.”“...connecting?” Uma asked. “There’s a secondary hallway not visible from the main one?”“To what?” Tadamori asked. “What the fuck could it possibly connect to?”“...” Fuji thought about it for a second. The ‘connecting hallway’ was on the left wall of Tadamori’s room. Tadamori’s room was on the right side of the hallway, the first door after the intersection. So, if he had to guess… “Does it… connect to the next room?”“CORRECT.” Monodam said.“WHAT?!” Tadamori screeched. “Who the fuck is my room connected to?! And why the fuck?!”“YOUR-ROOMMATE-IS-HONDA-TSUMOTO.” Monodam informed her. “AND-EVERYBODY-HAS-ROOMMATES. EVERY-STUDENT-IS-A-PART-OF-A-PAIR. THERE-ARE-NO-TRIOS-OR-SINGLES.”“Are the rooms… lockable?” Fuji asked. “Like… can the connecting hall be locked?”“NEGATIVE.” Monodam responded.“But why?” Uma asked, scratching her cheek. “If we play by your rules and somebody commits a murder during the night, then the obvious suspect is the person who has unconditional access to the other person’s room.”“...I-AM-AFRAID-I-CANNOT-ANSWER-THAT-QUESTION.” Monodam told her. “IF-YOU-DON’T-HAVE-ANY-MORE-QUESTIONS-I-SHALL-TAKE-MY-LEAVE.”“Wait!” Tadamori snapped, voice shrill.Before anybody could stop him, Monodam scuttled away, through the connecting hall. Fuji moved to make chase as Monodam slammed the door behind him. However, when Fuji threw the door to the connecting hall open… Monodam was gone.The hall itself was simple, just a small passage, barely big enough for somebody like Jitsuko or Ikari. The floor had black carpet, and there was a single light bulb mounted on the ceiling, a switch to the side to turn it on. Fuji blinked, noting that there wasn’t anywhere besides Honda’s supposed room that Monodam could have fled to. And Fuji sincerely doubted he went that way.“What the fuck, a connecting hallway.” Tadamori was murmuring when Fuji returned. “What the hell?...” Uma was next to her, finally having emerged from her cocoon of Tadamori’s clothes.“There there.” Uma said, attempting to be comforting by patting the Ultimate Personal Reformist’s shoulder. “We all have them, apparently.”“...that doesn’t make me feel better, fuck face.” Tadamori said.“Sorry, it’s all I have.” Uma shrugged.“...whatever.”“Uh… hrm...” Fuji cleared his throat, causing both girls to look up at him. “I think… I’m gonna go. I’m sorry about the stress of the… hallway, Tadamori.”“Whatever.” She sighed. “I’m just gonna stay here and… I dunno, put my clothes away.”“Good idea.” Uma said, nodding. “Fuji and I shall take our leave, and continue this investigation.”“Sure.” Tadamori waved them away.Fuji shot her one last worried look before turning away and opening the door. The hallway was just as he’d left it. Dewa was nearby, scrolling through his Monopad with a furrowed brow. At the sound of the door clicking open, he glanced over.“Sup.” He greeted. “What took you two so long? And how’d you keep Tadamori so quiet?”“...huh?” Fuji asked. Uma darted past him, adjusting her fedora once she was in the hall, and Fuji took the opportunity to close the door behind him.“Seconding Fuji’s confusion.” Uma said, scribbling something on her notepad. “Tadamori was quite loud for the duration of our discussion inside.”“...you sure?” Dewa asked. “I feel like I would have heard her.”“You didn’t?” Fuji asked. “But I’m certain we weren’t quiet.”“Ah! Simple answer!” Uma chimed in, grinning. “The rooms must be soundproofed. It would make sense given what we know about our situation.”“...I guess.” Dewa frowned. “Why soundproof them though?”“That is a query I don’t have an answer for.” Uma said with a shrug. “Perhaps… for privacy?”“No way.” Dewa said, crossing his arms. “They don’t care about us that much.”“Maybe...” Fuji said, attempting to think of an answer. And then it hit him. “I-If a murder is committed in one of the rooms...”“...then nobody outside can hear it.” Uma finished, nodding. “I believe that makes sense, as morbid as it is.”“...that’s fucked up.” Dewa said. Fuji could only nod in agreement. Personally, Fuji hadn’t been more than middle of the road in school. He got average marks in his classes, usually not scoring higher than an 80 on any of his tests, while still not failing. So the fact that the Ultimate Cruise Liner had classrooms, for some odd reason, wasn’t much more than an offhanded curiosity for him. And yet, he’d never thought that somebody here on the ship would have been quite as excited about a souped up classroom as he was seeing right now.Well… maybe excited was a bit of a strong word for how she was acting.“Oh...” Hiramoto said softly, marveling at the facilities available to her in the Ultimate Tutor Lab.The Lab itself seemed to be a good bit larger than the regular classrooms in size. There were fifteen desks arranged in three rows of five, pointed towards the wall of the room opposite the door. There was an electronic whiteboard mounted there on the center of the wall, and there was a traditional blackboard mounted on a rig that appeared to allow it to slide in front of the whiteboard. There was also a large, polished wooden desk that with a filing cabinet on either side. There was a small laptop and a basket on the desk, and a projector hanging over the desks, pointed at the whiteboards. To the door’s left was a large window, overlooking the gently rolling ocean.“H-How wonderful...” Hiramoto said, standing at the desk and gingerly flipping through the contents of the basket. Fuji himself was standing near Hiramoto at the front of the room, also looking at what the Ultimate Tutor Lab had to offer.Uma, Valentine, and Dewa had taken a seat at the desks, each doing their own thing. Uma was scribbling in her notepad, glancing up every once in a while. Dewa had his arms crossed and his feet up on the desk, his head bobbing as though he was about to fall asleep. And Valentine was sitting there, head propped up on her elbows, staring intently in Fuji and Hiramoto’s direction.Fuji peeked forward, looking at what was in the basket. A bunch of movies it seemed. Probably for use in the computer...Wait, a computer?!“Hey, uh, Hiramoto.” Fuji began. The girl in question went rigid for a moment upon being addressed, before looking over at him. Fuji looked away for a moment, feeling awkward. The way she looked at him made Fuji feel like he was doing something wrong. “Mind if I take a look at this computer?”“...B-By all means, g-go… go ahead.” Hiramoto nodded. She opened her mouth again, as if to continue, then drew her arms to her chest.“Uh...” Fuji said. “Did you uh… already figure something out? About it?”“W-Well, I...” Hiramoto looked downwards, her curtain of hair falling around her. “S-See I… I… w-well, I thought that… that th-the um… computer. Might have, um… b-been able to… uh...” She clenched her eyes shut, swallowing thickly. “H-Help us. M-Mayb-be. B-But… th-there’s n-no… no internet. C-Connection, th-that is… And… there’s nothing. On it. U-Uh, pr-rogram wise. E-Except for th-the one needed to… y-you know. W-Watch these… uh, movies.” Hiramoto opened her eyes and shot Fuji a timid look. “S-So… I d-don’t… um, think. That it’ll help us.” She glanced away. “S-Sorry...”“Ah, don’t worry about it.” Fuji said, smiling awkwardly. “I figured it might be like that anyway. So no reason to check if you already have.”Hiramoto just weakly nodded, shuffling slightly and receding a bit more into her hair. She spent a few seconds twirling her hair around her fingers, lips pursed and eyes cast to the side. Fuji himself glanced up at the ceiling, not sure of what else to do here.“Heya!” Valentine said, the Ultimate Street Performer suddenly at their side. “I saw Fuji talking to you, and I didn’t wanna let him have all the fun.”“O-Oh...” Hiramoto said, glancing up slightly. “W-Well… I… i-it w-wasn’t… much. That we were t-talking about, I-I mean...”“Damn, that sucks.” Valentine said, hopping up a bit so she could sit on the desk. Funnily enough, that actually put the Valentine closer to Hiramoto’s eye level, though she was still a good way’s away. “Well, maybe you can, like, tell me about all your cool teaching stuff.” Her eyes lit up, and she excitedly pulled her arms to her chest, bouncing a bit. “You’re really good at teaching, right? Could you show me how to fly a plane?!”“W-Well...” Hiramoto said, her head sinking a little in embarrassment. “I… I c-can’t really… show you how… b-but I s-suppose if I… y-you know… s-studied a bit a-and… and um… you know. Planned. If I p-planned it out I’m s-sure I could t-teach you the b-basics… i-in case you ever… d-did find a plane. To fly.”“That’s so cool.” Valentine gushed, leaning forward. “You’re so smart.”Hiramoto blushed behind her hair, pulling it in front of her face a little more. “I-It’s… n-not much...”Fuji suddenly felt like he was in the middle of something, so he cleared his throat, which caused the two girls to look at him. “Hey uh… I’m gonna go. I don’t think there’s anything here that I need to investigate, so...”“Good idea.” Valentine said, eyes gleaming.Fuji swallowed. If he wasn’t interrupting something before, he definitely was now.“O-Okay.” Hiramoto nodded. “U-Um… w-we’ll head b-by. When we’re done. H-Head by the d-dining hall, I… I meant.”“Sounds good.” Fuji replied. “I’ll uh… see you guys later.”“See ya!” Valentine said curtly, before turning back to Hiramoto. “So, like, are you good at teaching everything, or do you have more fun with certain things? Personally, I like sports stuff, but I already know a lot about that, so like, I was wondering how much you’d know about, like...”As Valentine began chattering, Fuji slipped away, making his way over to his two companions at their desks. Now that he was closer, he could see that Dewa was definitely snoozing, his bobbing having stopped. Instead, his chest was raising and lowering in a small, steady rhythm, and every other breath, he’d let out a quiet snore.Uma, on the other hand, was staring at her notepad, lips pursed. Fuji decided that it’d probably be best to speak with her before he proposed heading out.“Hey, Uma.” Fuji spoke up, voice low. She instantly snapped back to reality, her eyes snapping onto his face.“Good evening.” Uma said, smiling. “Did you find anything useful?”“...nah, not really.” Fuji rubbed the back of his neck. “But uh… it seemed like you were thinking about something. Maybe something important?”“Indeed.” Uma nodded, somewhat gravely, and sighed. “I have a question for you, Fuji.” She said. “Ignore the sixteen of us, and ignore Monokuma and his Deckhands. Have you seen any signs of life?”“...uh.” Fuji blinked and looked away. Now that she brought it up… “...no. Not really, no.”“Neither have I.” She said. “I find it strange that a cruise liner such as this, one so well equipped and readily stocked, is simply… alone out at sea with only sixteen Ultimates and a couple robots. Why is that?”“I… don’t know.” Fuji admitted. “Whatever it is, though… I imagine it has something to do with how we got here in the first place.”“Of course.” Uma nodded. “It would be remiss of me as a reporter to discount any potential leads or reasons, but it was still something that caught my attention...”“Yeah.” Fuji agreed. “I think… this is something we should discuss with the others.”“Agreed.” Uma said. “To the Dining Hall, then?”“Yeah.” Fuji nodded.He then watched as Uma smiled at him, then turned to the side, to the desk Dewa was sitting at, and kicked the desk’s leg. It rattled loudly and shifted to the side, causing Dewa to awake with a startled yelp, his arms flying out as he attempted to find purchase. They found nothing, and Dewa tumbled to the floor. Fuji sighed as Uma snorted, putting a hand in front of her mouth. Dewa began to yell at her, and for a second, Fuji was glad for the small, normal distraction from the strangeness of their situation. The Dining Hall was… not loud, per se, but definitely not quiet either. Even in a big room like this, sixteen teenagers could make a lot of noise, no matter that they were elites in their field.Tadamori, Chujo, Kimura, Dewa, and Jitsuko were sitting at one of the tables, playing with a pack of cards Kimura found in the Knick-Knack shop. Tadamori shouted at Kimura, slamming her fist on the table as the Ultimate Charismatic laughed. Dewa snorted, his feet up on the table, while Chujo stared down at his cards blankly. Jitsuko scowled at her hand, Esumi draped over her shoulder. The Ultimate Archer pointed out one of the cards, and Jitsuko nodded.Honda, Amami, and Kuno stood nearby. Amami watched the card came with bemused interest, a half smile on his face, while Honda and Kuno talked quietly. Nearby, Valentine, Hiramoto, Uma, and Ikari sat on the floor in a circle. Valentine was telling a story that seemed to have the rapt attention of the other three.“Interesting, right?” Goto asked, standing at Fuji’s side.“What is?” Fuji asked, turning to look at Goto.“This.” He motioned with a hand at their fellow Ultimates. “We’re all elites here, exceptional in the tasks we have dedicated ourselves to, the best of the best. And yet… many of them act like mere teenagers, cursing and shouting and fooling around.”“Yeah.” Fuji nodded. “I kind of like it. It really makes it seem like everybody’s… human, y’know?”“Hmph.” Goto snorted, crossing his arms. “I suppose that’s one way to look at it… even if I hadn’t considered it.”The two fell silent, watching over the others. After a few moments, Fuji began thinking of something to say, but didn’t get a chance before the door to the hallway burst open.“Guys!” Sasabe shouted, rushing over to the group. “Check it out!”She rushed up to Fuji and Goto, hands cupping something, and a few of the others rushed over to see what she’d found. Fuji leaned close, interested to see what it was that was so interesting. Sasabe gently opened her hands to reveal…“They’ve got the cute, shell shaped soaps in the bathroom!” Sasabe cried, holding a handful of small, multicolored soap bars pressed into seashell shapes.“Oh, fuck off.” Tadamori snapped, turning around to go back to her game. “You’re wasting our time.”“But they’re so cute!” Sasabe huffed, pouting.“Okay then.” Honda sighed, clapping his hands to get everybody’s attention. “Now that we’ve all gathered up… what did we find?” The room was quiet, and Honda glanced around at everybody. He then sighed again, putting a hand on his hip. “Very well, I’ll start. Amami and I seached both of our quote unquote ‘Talent Labs’. They seem to be rooms specifically tailored to dealing with our talents, but they didn’t seem to have any hints as to our situation or how to get out of here. Only that Monokuma and… whoever controls him have a lot of money.”“Oh, we found Hiramoto’s lab as well, near the Classrooms!” Valentine chimed in, waving her hand to draw attention.“Y-Yeah. We… w-we did.” Hiramoto agreed, arms pulled up to her chest. “But um… I d-didn-n’t find… any clues. Either. I-In my lab.”“Me and Kuno looked around the Deck!” Sasabe chimed in. “The ocean looks really nice. Wish I could go for a swim...”“There wasn’t anything there.” Kuno said simply, crossing her arms. She shot a blank look at somebody out of the corner of her eyes. “Except for whatever those three were messing with near the lifeboats.”“Oh, you mean us?” Ikari asked.“Okay, look.” Jitsuko snapped. “There was some cage elevator mounted where a lifeboat would normally be. Ikari helped me try to open it, so we could see why it was there, but couldn’t get it open.”“Then Monokuma yelled at us.” Ikari said, sounding a bit more dejected than Fuji thought he probably should feel about getting scolded by Monokuma.“Ooh, ooh, my turn!” Kimura said excitedly. He closed his eyes and put his index fingers to his temples. “Let’s see… hmm… hmmmmm...”“Quit wasting our fuckin’ time.” Tadamori snapped, shooting Kimura a scowl. She then turned back to the group. “I found out that we can get into our Staterooms now. You gotta use your Monopad to swipe in, and the rooms seem personalized.”“Hey, no fair!” Kimura whined.“Shut up, you fuckin’ cockroach.” Tadamori hissed, glaring harder at him this time. She held her expression until Kimura pouted and slouched in his chair, to which Tadamori nodded in satisfaction and continued. “Anyways… shit’s hella creepy. We’ve got a closet full of clothes matching our current getups, down to our goddamn underwear. Like, seriously, I’ve got like five pairs of the same panties, and I really need some variety, even if nobody sees it!”“Ooh, TMI.” Uma said.“Oh!” Kimura piped up, grinning. “We all have roommates too! Roomies!” He beamed. “Roomies are connected by another, smaller hallway!”“Eugh.” Jitsuko said.“As for me,” Goto began, “Chujo and I were informed by Monokuma that there will be a time in which we are permitted entry into the Navigation Building. As it stands, however, our entry is still barred.”“Yeah.” Chujo chimed in. Everybody looked at him. He was looking away, lips pursed in thought. After a second of silence, he noticed everybody staring at him. “...what?”“...did you have something to add?” Honda asked.“No.” Chujo replied. “...uh, should I?”“Jesus christ.” Jitsuko said.“...right.” Honda sighed. “Anybody else?” He glanced at Fuji. A bit put on the spot, Fuji just shook his head. Honda simply nodded and turned back. “So, I take it nobody found any clues to our predicament.”A silence settled over the Dining Hall. Fuji glanced around at everyone else, the silence oppressive. It almost seemed to push down on everybody.“Um.” Ikari spoke up.“You found somethin’?” Tadamori asked, head whipping over to him.“Do tell! I’m curious!” Uma replied, eyes shining, her notepad in hand.“W-Well… i-it wasn’t anything… important, really...” Ikari said, wilting a bit.“Well, now I’m interested!” Sasabe said, grinning. “Tell me, tell me!”“Might as well spit it out.” Goto snorted. “Since you’ve already mentioned it.”“Alright...” Ikari anxiously rubbed at his neck, eyes flitting around. After a second, he sighed before straightening his back. “I think we should all have dinner together.”“...huh?” Kuno asked. “What does that have to do with the investigation.”“W-Well uh… nothing.” Ikari said. “But um...”“But what, man?” Tadamori snapped.“Let him talk!” Valentine shouted, causing Tadamori to turn towards her and glare.“I just figured that, uh...” Ikari rubbed at his bicep. “If Monokuma wants us to, like, kill each other… w-well, if we’re friends… then we won’t want to. You know? And Honda even mentioned it earlier, and everything.”“And if we have meals together, then we can become friends easier.” Amami continued, smiling.“Yeah. Yeah!” Ikari nodded, seeming to get some wind back in his sails now that it felt like somebody was agreeing with him.“I don’t got a problem with it.” Valentine remarked. “Seems like fun.”“I-I’d… I’d like it. A-As well.” Hiramoto said.“That sounds like sooooo much fun!” Kimura shouted. “We can make ramen! Or sandwiches, or some salads, and we can all have matching meals!”“I’ll participate if my meal doesn’t match with his.” Tadamori snorted, motioning at Kimura with her thumb.“Ditto.” Goto said, causing Kimura to pout.Fuji watched as Ikari’s eyes lit up. Yes, this was definitely a good idea. He turned to Dewa and Uma, who had both moved over to stand near him. Uma smiled back.“Just like a family dinner, huh?” Dewa asked, grinning.“Indeed.” Uma nodded. “We’re all comrades now, so there’s no point in not having fun like this.”“Yeah.” Fuji nodded. “I think-”“Hey hey hey!” An unfortunately familiar voice shouted, pausing all conversation. “What the heck’s all this crap?!” Monokuma asked. “Dinner together?! What?!”“...is there a problem?” Kuno asked.“Uh… yeah!” Monokuma yelled. “You lot should be at each other’s throats, not planning dinner.”“Oh, but I really wanted to do sandwiches.” Chujo said.“I think you misunderstood...” Amami chuckled, patting Chujo on the shoulder.“What do you even want?” Goto asked.“Sheesh.” Monokuma shook his head. “I came here to tell you guys about something important, and I’m treated to this? What a sorry sight.”“Most teachers like it when their students get along.” Sasabe said.“Yeah? Well I’m not most teachers!” Monokuma snapped. “Ugh, this is making me sick.” He turned away. “I just came here to tell you guys that Nighttime is in a couple of hours. The Dining Hall doesn’t lock up during the night, but the Kitchen does. I’m not enforcing a curfew because I’m a good Captain, but it’s a good idea to start heading to your rooms around Nighttime anyways.” He glanced over at the group. “Also, there will be announcements at 10PM and 8AM every day, signaling the start and end of Nighttime respectively.”“Thanks.” Chujo said.“Don’t thank him!” Tadamori cried. “He fuckin’ trapped us here!”“Oh. Right.” Chujo said. He turned to Monokuma and shrugged. “You’re evil.”“How rude.” Monokuma snorted.“Are you gonna spend all night bothering us, or can we eat something?” Kuno asked, arms crossed.Monokuma stiffly turned to her, narrowing his eyes at her. Kuno responded by raising her brow, and the two took a cold second to stare at each other before Monokuma huffed and turned away.“Hmph. Fine.” He put his hands on his hips. “I just wanted to help you guys out. But if you’re gonna be rude then I’m just going to go.”“Good riddance!” Jitsuko snapped, turning around and stomping towards the Kitchen. Honda, Goto, and Esumi moved to follow her. Monokuma looked irritated at the curt dismissal and huffed again.“Whatever. You’re all so mean to me. And I’m just doing this to help you.” And with that, he waddled away, disappearing behind a table.“Hmm.” Uma hummed, tapping her pen against her chin. “What a strange thing, that Monokuma.”Dewa shot her a half-lidded glance. “Can you be any less concerned about this?”“Hey guys.” Amami said, suddenly at their sides. He got between Uma and Dewa, putting a hand on one shoulder each and grinning. “Wanna help me gather chairs up? I figured we should eat at the same table. Y’know, for closeness’ sake.“Sounds good to me.” Fuji said, smiling. At that, Dewa deflated, sighing a moment after.“Might as well check to see if any of the tables are bigger than the others.” He said, glancing around. “I’m sure this place has some tables to fit larger groups, since this is, like, a cruise ship.”“Now you’re thinkin’.” Amami said, half-smiling. He broke off from the group, and Dewa followed, leaving Fuji and Uma standing by themselves, the others beginning to bustle around them.“This whole situation...” Uma murmured, barely audible over the sound of dragging chairs.“Sorry?” Fuji said, turning to her. “Did you say something?”“...” Uma turned to Fuji, head cocked. She stared for half a second, then laughed. “Nope! Just thinking.” She reached forward and grabbed Fuji’s wrist, pulling him towards the Kitchen. “Come, I want to make sure some wonton soup is being made!”“H-Hold on!” Fuji protested. “We don’t even know what they have!” “Crazy day, huh?” Dewa asked, arms crossed.“...yeah, that’s one way to put it.” Fuji sighed. The two were standing on the landing of the staircase in the Hotel’s Lobby. Dewa was leaning against the staircase’s railing, while Fuji sat on the top stair.The group had eaten dinner together, and things had almost seemed kind of normal. However, once the food was gone, and the conversation had died down, the reality of the situation had settled in, putting a dark feeling into the majority of them there. Once that had happened, things had gone quiet, and the group had slowly flaked away until it was just Fuji and Dewa left. The two remained out on the landing.Fuji couldn’t think of anything else to say, and it didn’t seem like Dewa had anything to say either, so the two just sat in silence. Fuji put his arms on his knees and frowned. This… this wasn’t good. His mind was flitting around, refusing to settle on a single thought. It was hard to think of what to do from here, though he was certainly trying.“Oh, hey!” A voice said. Fuji turned to the side, finding Monotaro heading towards them, coming from the direction of the Classrooms. “What’re you two doing out here?”“Nothing.” Dewa said.“Oh.” Monotaro replied. The three sat in silence for a few seconds before Monotaro cleared his throat. “Well uh… you gotta go to your rooms.”“...why?” Dewa asked, frowning.“Well… see, uh...” Monotaro rubbed at the back of his head. “We gotta set up a few more things, so… you gotta be in your rooms. Plus, it’s Nighttime, so you should be sleeping anyways!”“...” Dewa stared at him blankly, then glanced over to Fuji, who offered him a shrug. He sighed, then straightened his back. “Whatever. I’m not doing anything of value here anyway. Let’s go Fuji.”“Sure.” Fuji stretched his arms before standing up.“...okay, cool.” Monotaro nodded. “Wow, I didn’t think it’d be that easy. Looks like I’m doing something right!” His weird smile grew a little, and he physically patted himself on the back. Fuji and Dewa turned to walk away, but before they could get to far, Monotaro shouted at them. “Hey, wait a second!”“...what?” Dewa asked.“Uhhhh...” Monotaro looked away, leaning over at tapping at his face. “I was supposed to tell you something… um… gimme a second. I gotta think about- oh!” He snapped upright. “That’s right! I’m supposed to remind you of the rules, so you don’t get axed like a moron!”Fuji and Dewa shared a look.“Let’s see...” Monotaro continued, apparently not noticing. “Um… the gist of it is like this: remember that you need your Monopads to get into your rooms, so don’t forget them! You’re not allowed to trade Monopads either, so remember that. Oh, and you can stay in somebody else’s room, just remember to get permission, otherwise I have to kill you!”“Dude, we know all this.” Dewa said. “We read the rules.”“W-Well yeah. I… uh, know that.” Monotaro somehow looked embarrassed, glancing away and tugging at his scarf. “But… y’know gotta make sure. That you know. But since you do… uh...” He glanced back at Fuji and Dewa. “Igottagothenbye.” And with that, he was gone, speeding down towards the Classrooms and disappearing.“...goddamn those guys are annoying.” Dewa remarked.“Yeah, no kidding.” Fuji said.The two made their way back to their rooms. Surprisingly enough, their rooms were right next to each other, definitely linked by a connecting hall. They were in one of the shorter offshoots of the Stateroom intersection, and were directly across the hall from Amami and Goto’s rooms, who Fuji assumed were ‘roommates’, for lack of a better term.Dewa walked up to his own door and swiped his Monopad. His door clicked open, and Dewa tested it with a slight push. The door easily swung open. He took a moment to stare at it before shrugging, glancing back at Fuji.“Shit, guess this really is mine, huh?” He offered a tired laugh. “I’m fuckin’ beat dude. This has been such a weird day.”“Tell me about it.” Fuji said, chuckling quietly. “...see you tomorrow, I guess.”“Yeah.” Dewa nodded. “Tomorrow.” And with that, he was gone, the door to his room shutting behind him. That left Fuji alone in the hallway. He stared down at the carpet for a moment before sighing and swiping his Monopad against his door scanner. The door clicked, letting him know it was open, and Fuji headed inside for the night.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Fuji awoke with a start, half jumping in his chair. He didn’t get all the way up into the air due to the hand on his shoulder keeping him in his seat. Blinking the sleep away, Fuji rubbed some drool off his chin with the heel of his hand, then turned to look at his mystery visitor.Dewa stared back at him.“Fuji, you good, dude?” Dewa asked, offering a playful smirk. “Didn’t even get to bed?”“...I was doing some writing.” Fuji replied, rubbing at his eyes. He turned back to his desk. On it was an open journal, one Fuji found in his desk, with a pencil next to it. The writing, his writing, was normal for the most part, until two thirds of the way down the page, when it began flowing and growing heavy, before a thick, dark line trailed off the page and ended at the point of the pencil. Oh.“Seems like it.” Dewa said, looking down at Fuji’s journal as well. “Well hey, didn’t mean to interrupt your beauty sleep, but I figured you’d wanna grab some breakfast.”“Breakfast?” Fuji glanced back at Dewa. It was then that he noticed the sunlight streaming through his window, throwing sunlight in arcs across his room.“Yeah, it’s like...” Dewa paused, pulling out his Monopad and squinting at it for a second. “A little after nine. About an hour ago, the Morning Announcement came on, and Diana swung by a little bit after to invite us to breakfast with the others.”“...Morning Announcement?” Fuji asked, brow furrowing.“Yeah.” Dewa nodded. He pointed to the monitor mounted on the wall. “Monotaro and Monodam were on it. It was super fuckin’ weird, but seems like the whole thing is just to get us up.” His playful smirk returned. “Seems like it didn’t work so well though.”“...yeah.” Fuji chuckled, shaking his head.“Anyways, just checkin’ on you.” Dewa said, standing up straight. “You wanna take a bit to get ready? We can head to breakfast after.”“Yeah, sounds good.” Fuji nodded, stretching his arms. He really needed to stop falling asleep at desks. It really put a crick in his neck. “Give me five minutes.”“Done.” Dewa shot him a grin and turned around.Fuji watched as Dewa headed to the door off to the side, opening it up and heading inside. Well, that answered Fuji’s question about where Dewa actually came from. He almost forgot about the connecting halls. Leaning back in his chair, Fuji frowned, staring out of his window into the sunlight and blue sky beyond. This would almost be relaxing if they weren’t trapped here.With a sigh, Fuji got up, stretching his back and popping his neck. Looks like he’d just have to do his best to get out of here. There had to be clues somewhere, right?… There were a lot of things Fuji could have seen when he and Dewa entered the Dining Hall at half past nine in the morning. However, his fourteen other classmates, assembled around three tables in a loud, if pleasant, group wasn’t exactly one he was expecting. Off to the side was a long table, draped with a red felt tablecloth, and was laden with dishes featuring all sorts of breakfast foods.One table held the group of Valentine, Hiramoto, Jitsuko, Sasabe, and Esumi. Jitsuko seemed like her normal self, quiet and slightly annoyed, as Valentine sat next to her and seemed to be going on about something, animated in her movements as she told her story. Esumi, Sasabe, and Hiramoto listened in rapt attention, though Esumi would occasionally shoot Jitsuko a humored smile, to which Jitsuko would respond with an evident snort or roll of the eyes, which Valentine would either not notice or ignore.The second table held Kuno, Amami, Honda, Goto, Tadamori, and Chujo. For the most part, Kuno, Honda, and Goto were silent. Tadamori was making a lot of noise, which sounded like complaining, and every once in a while, Chujo or Amami would toss in a sentence that seemed to only piss Tadamori off further, intensifying her rant.The final table seemed a bit more lively, with Kimura, Uma, and Ikari sharing what seemed to be a pleasant conversation. Dewa made his way over and dropped himself into a seat next to Ikari, who slapped him on the back and grinned.Fuji made note of all of this as he gathered up some breakfast from the long table. Despite himself, however, he couldn’t really shake away the idea that this was such a strangely pleasant atmosphere for something so… dangerous. It was so nice and normal that it almost made him forget that, just yesterday, they’d woken up here and been told to kill each other to escape. The thought sent a cold shiver down his back, his hairs standing on end, and he willed the thought away. They’d be okay. They’d be okay.Fuji felt a pair of eyes drill into the back of his head as he walked over to the table Dewa was at, and a glance over his shoulder revealed the source to be Valentine, who seemed to have noticed his presence. A moment later, Esumi and Hiramoto noticed Valentine no longer talking, and glanced over as well. Hiramoto instantly broke eye contact, returning to fiddling with her breakfast, while Esumi shot him a wave and a smile. Fuji waved back, but couldn’t shake the feeling of Valentine staring at him.When he finally sat down, he watched Valentine’s gaze finally break, and she began looking around the room. Fuji watched her for a few moments before he was interrupted by light shove to his shoulder.“Yoo hoo!” Kimura called, pushing Fuji’s shoulder again. “Earth to Fuji! Do you copy?”“S-Sorry.” He stuttered, turning away from Valentine. When he looked up at the others at his table, Uma smiled at him, while Ikari grinned and offered a thumbs up. “Did you say something?”“I was asking how your beauty sleep was.” Kimura said, sighing overdramatically and leaning back in his seat, the front legs of his chair leaving the ground. “You left us waiting. I was so bored I ate breakfast without you, even though I wanted to wait.”“Ah. My bad.” Fuji shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. “Had a… strange night.”“Indeed, indeed.” Uma crossed her arms and nodded. “Such incomprehensible circumstances we find ourselves in these days. I myself had trouble sleeping, but I managed to find peace in the thought that a true reporter would never be caught without a proper night’s rest.”“Yeah, yesterday was kinda scary.” Ikari sighed. “I like to go on runs to clear my head, but we don’t have a proper track or anything here.” He frowned. “I had to just do a couple of laps around the Deck for my morning jog today. Not as fun, and the material of the Deck isn’t really… made for doing laps like that.”“Go figure.” Dewa snorted. “Might have to join you though, tomorrow morning or something. It’d be nice to go for a jog and clear my head.”“Awesome!” Ikari grinned. “It’s always good to have a partner when exercising. I personally prefer to have one myself, but I couldn’t find anybody to go with me.”“Why didn’t you ask Jitsuko?” Uma asked, cocking her head.“U-Um...” Ikari’s eyes widened a bit, and he glanced around nervously. “W-Well she uh… kinda… you know.” He leaned in a little and lowered his voice. “She’s a little scary...”“Pfahahaha!” Kimura broke out in laughter, slapping his knee.“Hey, it’s true!” Ikari protested, sounding upset. “I’m not saying it to be mean!”“Alright, everybody!” A voice shouted. When Fuji turned to see who it was, he found Valentine standing in her chair. Hiramoto fretted at her side, arms moving towards and away from Valentine, as if decided whether or not it was a good idea to stabilize her. Jitsuko had propped her feet up on the table and shook her head, while Esumi and Sasabe watched with interest.“Booooo!” Kimura cried out. “Sit down!”“Shut up!” Valentine snapped back, putting her hands on her hips. “I’m trying to talk about something important!”“Get on with it!” Tadamori yelled. “I’m tryna enjoy my breakfast!”“Ugh.” Valentine’s eyes grew half lidded in annoyance before she straightened her back and scowled. “Okay, okay! I just thought we should talk about our plan!”“What plan?” Jitsuko asked, glancing up at her.“The plan that we need to come up with, obviously!” Valentine replied. “We can’t let this ‘Killing Game’ stuff distract us from figuring out a way out of here!”“You haven’t even come up with an idea.” Goto scoffed. “Pathetic.”“H-Hey, now...” Hiramoto began.“Well I don’t see you coming up with anything, jerk!” Valentine huffed, sticking her tongue out at him. “And FYI, I did come up with an idea, so that’s more than you can say. So shut up.”“Tell ‘im, girl!” Sasabe laughed, also sticking her tongue out at Goto. “Take that, Mister Smart Aleck!”“Yeah, shut the hell up!” Tadamori snapped.Goto grumbled and scowled at the three of them, but didn’t respond.“...well, what’s your idea?” Amami asked.“So, I was thinking...” Valentine began, crossing her arms. “We were told to kill each other, right? And that’s not cool. So what’s the opposite of going against each other?” She stopped, looking around the room for an answer.It was Hiramoto who humored her, a moment later. “U-Um… w-working, uh… t-together.”“Exactly!” Valentine beamed, reaching over to ruffle Hiramoto’s hair. The girl in question went red, receding into her curtain of hair and pulling up her satchel to cover her face. Valentine either didn’t notice or ignored it, continuing on. “I think that we need to work together! If not as friends, then as… uh...” She paused, frowning, before continuing. “Then as Ultimates! Because we’re all smart and good at shit, so obviously if we work together, then things are gonna work out!” She put her hands on her hips and grinned.“...yeah, sure.” Chujo shrugged.“That’s all you have to say?” Jitsuko asked, staring up at Valentine with her lips pressed together.“Well, not completely.” Valentine looked down at her. “I was also gonna mention that we should all eat breakfast together, for like, bonding purposes.” At that, Tadamori began coughing, and Amami thumped her on the back a few times, until she hacked up a chunk of whatever it was she was eating. Honda shot her a disapproving stare and stood up.“I agree with Valentine.” Honda said. At the use of the ‘wrong’ name, Valentine rolled her eyes. Honda clearly didn’t notice, and continued. “Becoming a cohesive group only serves to help us all out. Breaking apart and falling to Monokuma’s whims would only hurt us, so it’s in our best interests to become, if not friends, then at least pleasant acquaintances. Thus, I corroborate her desires, and think daily breakfast is a good way to start.”“I-I, um… al-lso think it’s good. Th-The idea.” Hiramoto managed to speak up, still hiding behind her satchel.“I also agree!” Uma chimed in, grinning and writing something down on her notepad. “Just think, the things we might do...”“This is a great idea!” Ikari also offered, slinging an arm over Dewa’s shoulder, who let out a surprised grunt as the motion pulled him away from his breakfast.Fuji took a few seconds to look around the Dining Hall as everybody began to chatter amongst themselves. Seems like the idea had gotten some traction, as nobody seemed to be actively opposing it. The concept brought a small smile to Fuji’s face. The idea of working with the others, even becoming friends… he wasn’t sure why he hadn’t expected it to happen, but the strangest of times bring the most out of people.Fuji’s smile immediately dropped, however, when he turned his eyes back to his own table. Uma was scribbling in her notebook, and Dewa was talking angrily to a sheepish Ikari. However, those three weren’t the person Fuji was looking at. No, his eyes were trained on the Ultimate Charismatic himself.Kimura was leaning back in his chair, lips curved up in a half smile. It was a mischievous smile that nonetheless told Fuji that he was gonna say something that nobody wanted to hear. Fuji opened his mouth to speak, but Kimura spoke faster.“Okay, so like, first of all.” Kimura said, just loud enough for everybody to hear him. The Dining Hall went quiet as he continued. “Diana, I thought your speech was super good. Definite, major props.” He nodded intently, offering the girl in question a few strong claps.“...uh, thanks?” Valentine responded, glancing around in confusion.“No prob.” Kimura grinned. “But, I was thinking about what you said, right? And I wanna be friends with you guys, I really do! But what exactly are you trying to get us to do?”“I just said,” Valentine replied, frowning. “We need to-”“Be friends and work together, I know. And I agree!” Kimura stood up, stretching. “But, like, what can we do, exactly? We’ve already explored as much of this place as we can reach, and found nothing. There’s nobody here to help us, and no clues as to what to do. So, what do we do?”“I-” Valentine tried to talk, but Kimura continued.“Talk’s nice and all, but there’s not much that can be done here with just talk.” He clasped his hands behind his head and sighed, staring up at the ceiling. “Elsewhere, maybe… but here? I think we only have two options.”“I don’t wanna hear this.” Dewa growled, glaring at Kimura.“Me neither.” Tadamori said, shooting Kimura a venom filled stare.“Now hold on, guys.” Amami spoke up. “I know this kind of thing isn’t nice to hear, but discussing our limits is really important for figuring out what options we can pursue.”“Esumi agrees.” Jitsuko said simply, glancing over. The Ultimate Archer nodded, rapidly signing something at Jitsuko. She stared at Esumi’s hands for a few moments before grunting. “She says that it’s uncomfortable, but we have to talk about it.”“Soooo glad to hear I have some support!” Kimura said, a cheeky grin gracing his face. “Can I mention what I thought up?”“...go ahead.” Honda told him, motioning for Kimura to continue with a nod of his head.“Excellent!” Kimura said. “Our options are as follows:” When he spoke next, his grin was cold. “We either sit around and wait for help, or we accept our circumstances and die.”The Dining Room was silent. Fuji swore it was so quiet that he could hear the whirring of the wall-mounted camera’s inner workings as it slowly drifted towards Kimura. A pin dropping would have shattered their eardrums. And all the while, while everybody processed what exactly it was that had been said to them, Kimura had a shit eating grin on his face.“Q-Quit fuckin’ around.” Tadamori said finally, her voice high-pitched with rising panic. “This shit ain’t funny.”“Hmm...” Sasabe mused, planting an elbow on the table and supporting her head with it.“Uh… u-uh...” Ikari tried to say something, mouth opening and closing, but no sound came out.“Kimura...” Fuji managed. “You… you shouldn’t say things like that.”“Why not?” Kimura asked, smirking. “I’m just being realistic. We’ve already looked around, and done everything we can without breaking a rule. The way I see things, our first option is to sit around and do nothing, and hope that our disappearances mount enough of a search that we’re found out here.” He pursed his lips in thought and stared upwards. “Oooooor… we break a rule or play Monokuma’s game. Either way, somebody dies. And since we’re all friends, then that’s not really an option is it? Unless somebody’s willing to give their life up.”Fuji opened his mouth to respond, but couldn’t find the words. They just weren’t there. And the reason for that… well, it’s because Fuji was realizing Kimura was right. What could they do, really? They were trapped out here, threatened with death both for playing and not playing a sadistic game placed before them. Either they accept their circumstances and die to each other, or go against their captor and die for their insubordination.A clacking sound snapped Fuji out of his mental downward spiral. Something about the air felt… tight as Fuji moved to turn around in his chair. Then, something slammed down onto his shoulder, hard enough to send a jolt of pain shooting down his entire arm. His nerves screamed as he was shoved to the side, a yelp escaping his mouth. His chair toppled with the force of the shove. Fuji’s vision darkened as his head impacted something on the way down, sending him sprawled out on the floor.When the world returned to view, he found Uma and Honda at his sides, his head held in Uma’s lap. Past them, he saw what had thrown him to the floor in the first place. Jitsuko towered above him, a hand clenching the front of Kimura’s shirt, raising him far above the floor with a single arm. The Ultimate Charismatic kicked his legs weakly, both arms squeezing Jitsuko’s wrist in a death grip. She was flanked by Esumi, Ikari, and Dewa, who were trying to get her to let go of Kimura. Dewa and Ikari held onto her arm while Esumi tugged at her shirt.“Gimme one good reason to not knock your lights out.” Jitsuko snarled, staring daggers at the boy in her grasp, completely ignoring the three at her sides.“I... dunno.” Kimura managed, struggling to keep himself at an angle where he could keep eye contact with Jitsuko. His shitty smile, while still present, seemed very shaky. “It’d be… a stain on your conscience?”“Like I give a damn about that.” Jitsuko replied, giving him a slight shake.“Calm down you… fucking barbarian...” Dewa grunted, pulling at Jitsuko’s arm with all his might. Ikari said nothing, brow scrunched up in focus as he supplemented Dewa’s efforts.Jitsuko shot him a sideways glance, her other hand moving to plant itself on Dewa’s chest. A quick shove sent him stumbling back, and Amami came up from behind to catch him.“Okay, enough.” Kuno finally spoke up, marching up to Jitsuko. “How is this productive?”“Who cares?” Jitsuko asked, glaring down at Kuno. “I’m pissed off.”“You’re going to care, when things start falling apart.” Kuno said simply, hands stuffed into her jacket pockets.“Aaaaand, if you do something stupid now, it’s gonna be soooo damn boring!” The sixteen students turned, finding Monokuma standing on one of the tables, glaring at Jitsuko. “So put him down!”“Why should I?” Jitsuko asked, lowering Kimura slightly.“Because if your big, meaty hands end up choking him out, then everybody knows who killed him, and then the Class Trial is boring and lasts like, five minutes! And then I’ll be the one getting pissed off!” Monokuma snapped, throwing up his paws in anger. “And you won’t like me when I’m angry!”“I know that one!” Monotaro exclaimed, climbing up onto the table with Monokuma, appearing out of nowhere. “And he’ll turn green with anger!” Monodam climbed up after him and shook his head.“IT-IS-ENVY.” He explained.“Don’t be jealous just because I knew the answer!” Monotaro replied.“Ugh.” Jitsuko groaned, simply opening up her hand. Kimura dropped like a sack of bricks, and Ikari stooped down to make sure he was okay. Jitsuko glared down at the Ultimate Charismatic. “Consider yourself lucky, you little shit.”“Duly noted.” Kimura replied, gently touching his shirt collar and neck.“What do you want?” Kuno asked, ignoring the others and turning to Monokuma. “You’re obviously here for some reason.”“Aww, are we already so close that you know me that well?” Monokuma gushed, putting his paws to his face and turning away in mock embarrassment. “I’m so flattered, I didn’t know you liked me that much!”“...” Kuno didn’t reply, though her expression grew stormy.“Anyways, Little Miss Recluse is correct, I do have something for the lot of you today.” Monokuma said, returning to a more natural pose.“We don’t want it.” Dewa said, flapping a hand at Monokuma and pulling himself out of Amami’s steadying grip. “It’s probably shitty.”“So rude!” Monokuma cried out. “You don’t even know what it is yet!”“Knowing you, it can’t possibly be anything good.” Goto snorted.Monokuma sighed. “So disrespectful. And all this after I prepared something especially for you guys.” He shook his head. “For people who talk so much about wanting to get out of here, you’re awfully against me throwing you guys a line.”“...hmm?” Uma looked over, giving Fuji a chance to finally sit up. “Are you saying you have something for us, possibly relating to the outside?”“Why thank you for asking!” Monokuma exclaimed, looking pleased. “I do indeed! I’ve procured a little somethin’ somethin’ for everybody here, from the outside world!”That got Fuji concerned, and the ripple of murmuring that spread through their group told him that the others felt similarly. And all the while, Monokuma stood there, grinning with a devious glint in his red eye. Fuji’s hair started standing on end.“Explain.” Kuno snapped.“Alright, alright, Ms. Pushy...” Monokuma sighed, shaking his head. “I’ve cooked a little thing up for the sixteen of you, since I realized that you guys, as a whole, don’t appear to be really… with the whole ‘Killing Game’ thing. So, I decided to give you guys a little… push.”“A… push.” Honda said, crossing his arms and rising to his feet. “And what is this ‘push’?”“Nothin’ big, nothin’ complicated.” Monokuma said. His red eye lit up, and his grin seemed to stretch. “Just a motive to get this Killing Game started.” He took a second to pause, looking around the room. Before he could start talking again, however, somebody spoke up.“Weren’t you listening to us?” Valentine asked, scowling and putting her hands on her hips. “We just said that we weren’t gonna play your stupid game.”“Y-Yeah! Yeah, that’s right!” Ikari chimed in. “We’re all gonna be friends, and friends don’t… you know...”“Kill each other?” Kimura asked.“I… didn’t wanna say it.” Ikari admitted, picking at his shirt.“Oh, would you guys can it?” Monokuma snapped, looking as irritated as a plush toy could be. “I didn’t finish!”“Then why did you stop talking?” Goto asked, sneering.“For the effect!” Monokuma said, throwing his hands up. “Don’t you guys have any sense of dramatic timing? If I just belt everything out at once, it sounds like I’m exposition dumping!”“What the hell are you going on about?...” Jitsuko muttered, shaking her head.“I… suppose it makes sense, for the suspense.” Dewa said, shrugging. “You want to let things settle, give a beat for the information to sink in. Typical storytelling stuff.”“This isn’t a story, though.” Amami reminded him. “This is real.”“R-Right...” Dewa laughed awkwardly, looking away.“Alright, alright, enough commentary.” Monokuma cut in. “Am I gonna get to talk about this, or are we gonna waste all day talking about dumb stuff?”“You’re the one that brought dumb stuff for us to talk about.” Sasabe pointed out.“Can it.” Monokuma said, shooting her a fluffy glare. She snickered, leaning back in her chair.“Just hurry up.” Kuno rolled her eyes. “So we can get back to escaping.”“What’s with the youth of today, trying to leave the nest so early?” Monotaro asked, putting a stubby hand on his ‘cheek’.“NOT-AWARE-OF-THE-HORRORS-OF-THE-REAL-WORLD.” Monodam replied, causing Monotaro to nod in agreement.“Anyways!” Monokuma borderline shouted. “I’m going to explain your gift! If anybody has any snarky comments, shut up. Your Captain doesn’t want to hear them!” He glared, looking around the room. Nobody responded, which seemed to satisfy him. He nodded, then raised a paw and made a snapping sound.As soon as the sound Monokuma made went off, another sound replied. It was the sound of sixteen quiet dings, like glass tinkling or wind chimes sounding off. Fuji felt his Monopad vibrate in his pocket, and blinked in surprise. He quickly dug out the device and switched it on. The home screen was mostly normal, aside from the fact that the ‘Motives’ tab now had a small ‘1’ in a bubble in it, blinking red and demanding his attention. Just as Fuji began moving his finger towards the Motives tab, however…“Hold it!” Monokuma snapped. Fuji’s gaze flicked upwards, and he noticed that most of the others were staring down at their Monopads as well. The only ones who weren’t were Jitsuko, Kuno, and Chujo. Jitsuko’s face was contorted in a snarl, and her gaze was firmly locked onto Monokuma. Kuno had her arms crossed, her Monopad not even out, and her stare was chilly as she too stared at their Captain. Chujo didn’t look like he was paying attention, and stared blankly up at the ceiling.“What?” Kuno asked. “Didn’t you want us to look at our motives?”“I do.” Monokuma nodded. “However, there’s a stipulation to this motive. I want everybody to experience their motives by themselves for extra effect.”“Huh?” Chujo cocked his head. “Why?”“I just said: for extra effect! For the suspense! The feel!” Monokuma bared his claws in anger. “Weren’t you listening?!”“Uh...” Chujo glanced away, lips pressed together. “No, not really...”“...” Monokuma stared blankly at him.“So what?” Jitsuko asked. “How the fuck are we supposed to do this by ourselves here in the Dining Hall.”“You’re not.” Monokuma said simply, turning to her. He shook his head before turning to address everybody else. “Alright everybody, new class activity! Head to your rooms and check on your motives! Return here once you’re done!”“Wait, but-” Fuji tried to speak. He was cut off by Kuno’s chair sliding back into place. She had marched back to her chair and kicked it back into place. Without another word, Kuno marched out of the Dining Hall, hands in her pockets. Goto and Tadamori were quick to follow suit, and Jitsuko, Esumi, and Chujo weren’t far behind.“Well.” Kimura said, watching as Amami and Honda left as well, the former looking far more concerned than the latter. “I think things are about to get real interesting real quick.” He turned to Fuji and grinned. “This is gonna be fun!” And with that, he bounced out of his seat and skipped out of the Dining Hall.“Hey, hey it’ll be okay.” Fuji turned, finding Valentine attempting to calm down a shivering Hiramoto. The Ultimate Tutor had her eyes shut as she shuffled towards the Dining Hall’s door.“H-Hey! Hey, wait up!” Ikari suddenly jumped to his feet, jogging after the two girls.“Hmmmm...” Sasabe hummed, glancing around. Fuji looked around as well. The only ones left in the Dining Hall, aside from him and Sasabe, were Uma and Dewa. Sasabe looked back down at her Monopad curiously before glancing at Monokuma. “Hey. Moku.”“Eh? What?” Monokuma asked, turning to her. “Why haven’t you gone yet?”“Do we hafta do the whole motive thing?” She asked, picking at her ear. “This seems kinda lame, to be honest. And I don’t wanna waste my time doing something lame.”“Wh- lame?!” Monokuma’s vicious glare from earlier returned. “What the heck do you mean ‘lame’?”“Just doesn’t seem very fun.” Sasabe replied, shrugging.Monokuma let out an exasperated sigh, bringing a paw up to his face. After a second, he sighed again and shook his head. “...ugh. No, I suppose you don’t have to do the motive. But you’re gonna be unaware of what might happen to you if you don’t. You have no idea what somebody could be planning that you won’t understand because you didn’t-”“Yeah, yeah.” Sasabe flapped a hand at Monokuma, leaning back in her chair. “No thanks. I don’t think anybody here could take me in a fight. ‘Sept for Suko, but she’d never fight me because we’re super good friends.” She grinned at the plush bear, who simply fumed.A moment later, his anger redirected. Monokuma marched up to Fuji, Dewa, and Uma and threw his hands up. “You three! Get out of here and listen to the motive! No more excused absences!”“Listen?” Uma asked, cocking her head.“OOOOUT!” Monokuma screeched, bearing his claws. Fuji jumped to his feet, scrambling for the Dining Hall door. The pairs of footsteps behind him told him that Uma and Dewa followed.The trio ended up in the hallway, finding it void of any of the others. Fuji leaned over, putting a hand on his knee and taking a big breath. Dewa leaned against the wall and sighed. Uma pulled out her Monopad and looked it over for a few moments.“Fuji, are you okay?” Uma asked, eyes still directed down at her Monopad. “Jitsuko certainly did a number to you.”“Y-Yeah...” Fuji nodded, rubbing at his sore shoulder. “I think I’m fine. I think that if Jitsuko really wanted to hurt me, I’d be a lot worse.”“Very true.” Uma said, glancing up and offering a smile. “In that case, I’m going to go listen to the motive.” She informed them. “But I will see you here once we’re done.” Uma nodded before trotting off, leaving Fuji and Dewa alone.“...what the hell, man?” Dewa said out loud, running a hand through his hair. “Things just took a nosedive out of nowhere. Fuckin’ Monokuma, man...” He shook his head and glanced at Fuji, hand still threaded into his blond locks. “You sure you’re good, man?”“Yeah, I’m alright… Just a little sore.” Fuji nodded, righting his posture. His eyes drift down to the Monopad in his hand, and his grip tightens slightly. “I think… we should see what Monokuma’s prepared for us.”Dewa doesn’t respond verbally, only nodding slightly when Fuji glanced up. Without a word, the two made their way for the Staterooms. To Fuji’s surprise, he saw Kimura standing in the hallway. The Ultimate Charismatic waved, but left the two to their devices. Dewa flipped him the bird, to which Kimura responded by sticking out his tongue.Upon arriving at their rooms, Dewa offered Fuji a somber ‘it’ll be alright’ before heading into his room, and Fuji didn’t waste much time after that. He swiped into his room, flopped onto his bed, and turned his Monopad back on.The gentle glow of the screen almost seemed to mock Fuji as he stared at the Motives tab, the small bubble with the ‘1’ in it bouncing slightly. A frown made its way onto Fuji’s face, and he found himself hesitating as the screen stared back at him. If he opened this motive up… he’d be playing right into Monokuma’s hands, wouldn’t he?But… well, what other choice did he have, if he was already here in his room, thinking about it? A small part of his brain told him he should have followed Sasabe’s lead and refused to deal with the Motive. The best way to deal with a ‘game’ like this was to not play, right?Before his brain could keep going, Fuji acted. He tapped the Motives tab, and it opened up. He hadn’t actually looked at the tab before now, but it seemed… rather empty. The only thing there, aside from the soft blue background, was a single rounded rectangle with text. The words read ‘MOTIVE 1, PART 1 – FUJI YOTA’. That caught his attention. Part one? What was that supposed to mean? Going against his better judgment, Fuji selected the rectangle.The screen faded to black, and Fuji saw a small bar on the bottom of the screen, like those seen on videos. There was a large pause button in the middle of the screen, but it didn’t change as the speakers on his Monopad squawked, jumping to life. The sudden sound startled, Fuji, and he almost dropped the Monopad. However, the familiar voice that started talking made his grip tighten in fear.“...-oing, Yota?” The voice of his big brother asked.“Yasuke?” Fuji asked, pulling the tablet close.“Just calling to see how you’re doing.” Yasuke’s voice said, lightly laughing.“Yasuke! Yasuke, you gotta help me!” Fuji shouted. “I’m-”“Just wanted to give you an update on home,” Yasuke’s voice continued, ignoring him. “Since you’re so busy livin’ the high life as an Ultimate. I know you’re busy, but it would it kill ya to pick up when your favorite big bro calls?” Again, Yasuke’s voice laughed lightly, though this one was a bit more melancholy.“Y-Yasuke, I...” Fuji began, trailing off as the message continued. That’s all it was, a message… His big brother wasn’t on the other end. It was just a message.“Yeah, things are, uh… a little bit rough.” Yasuke’s message sighed. “Dad’s falling sick again, and I dunno if I’ll keep having time to bring Mio to school. I don’t want her to miss out, but… well, I can’t keep taking her, and I can’t have her riding the subway alone.” Again, he sighed. However, the message’s voice grew lighted. “But hey, no need to worry you about the trivial shit. Just be sure to do your best out there, yeah? You’re gonna make history! Leave the home life to your big bro Yasuke. I’ll make sure everything’s amazing when you return home, alright? And bring me a souvenir!”And just like that, the recording cut out. Fuji clenched his jaw and stared down at the video, almost willing something to come up on the black screen, giving him something, anything. And to his surprise, something did. A small little box, with a cutesy drawing of Monokuma offering him a thumbs up. The text in the box was simple, yet sent a frigid wave of anxiety down Fuji’s spine.‘Murder for more!’Fuji spent the next few minutes just… digesting what had been placed before him. A simple message about his family. Sure, it seemed a little bleak for a few moments, but he trusted his big brother to keep things held together. Yeah… yeah, that’s right. His family was alright, and this wasn’t much more than an attempt to scare him into doing something drastic. Despite his sureness on that account, Fuji couldn’t stop himself from listening to the recording again.Halfway through his third listen through, the monitor in his room sprung to life. Fuji glanced up, finding Monotaro and Monodam sitting in… some garish looking armchairs. The image on the screen was so… still that Fuji figured it might even be a picture. Either way, the two bear toys began talking, and Fuji decided to listen.“Heya, students!” Monotaro said. “Seems like we’ve all experienced the motive!”“NOT-ALL-OF-US.” Monodam corrected. “HOWEVER-IT-MATTERS-NOT. PLEASE-REPORT-TO-THE-DINING-HALL-FOR-FURTHER-INSTRUCTION.” And with Monodam’s part said, the screen winked off, leaving Fuji alone with the motive and his thoughts.It took him a few minutes, but he eventually came out of his room, still staring down with worry at his Monopad. Sure, his brother said everything was fine, but… well, if everything was fine, then would Monokuma really be dangling this over their heads? Would he give them nothing and expect something out of it?…“Heya, buddy!” A shout snapped Fuji out of his thoughts, and he jumped a little in surprise as Kimura waltzed over and slung an arm around his shoulder. “How’s it hangin’?”“Kimura...” Fuji said, brow furrowing.“I was waiting for you, my man.” Kimura said, grinning. “I wanted somebody to walk to the Dining Hall with, since, like, arriving by yourself is totally not chic, y’know?”“You seem… awfully fine with this...” Fuji said, glancing suspiciously at Kimura.“Do I?” He asked, cocking his head. “Hmmmmm...” Kimura hummed, glancing away even as he began moving, which dragged Fuji along with him by extension. “Well, maybe it’s just that, deep down, I’m an isolated sadsack with a blackened heart, one with no relationships worth endangering.”“I-” Fuji began, caught off guard by the sudden, heavy words.“...pfft.” Kimura’s lips curled up in a repressed grin, which quickly collapsed into a laugh. “Pfahahaha! I’m just messin’ around!” With his free hand, he leaned over and slapped his knee. “You should have seen the look on your face, though! Priceless!”“Y-Yeah… sure.” Fuji shot Kimura a look and grabbed his arm, moving it off of his shoulders.“Aw, lighten up a little bit.” Kimura said, sighing and shaking his head. “You don’t look good with your face scrunched up like that.”“...this isn’t a joke, you know.” Fuji said, expression settling into a deep frown. “This is serious.”“Oh, believe me.” Kimura replied as the two of them arrived at the Dining Hall. “I know.” And without looking back at him, Kimura shoved the Dining Hall doors open and strolled inside. Fuji let the doors swing shut, clicking closed behind Kimura. That Kimura… he was definitely somebody to keep an eye on… Fuji felt almost like Kimura was aware of something more than he was letting on. But what that could even be?…Fuji shook his head. He could spend hours thinking about something that he had no proof for. The only thing he could do right now was follow along with Monokuma’s desires, as much as he didn’t want to, in hopes that it would lead to some clues or a way to escape that didn’t involve… death.After taking another few moments to compose himself a bit more, Fuji pushed the doors open and headed inside the Dining Hall. Only a few figures were inside, which meant either Fuji was early or everybody else was late. Sasabe sat in the same place she did before, her hat tilted back so she could look at the other two at her table. Kuno sat across from her, head propped up on an arm. She pointedly looked away from Kimura, who sat next to her and tried to get her attention by jabbering at her.Fuji approached the table, clearing his throat quietly to announce his presence. Kimura and Sasabe both directed their stares towards him, and the former offered a grin and a peppy wave. Kuno remained staring away, seemingly lost in thought.“Hey Fuyo.” Sasabe said, tilting her hat at him in greeting. “Glad to see you make it back in one piece.” She shot him a toothy grin. “Was your motive any fun?”“...” Fuji didn’t reply, simply directing a weary stare in Sasabe’s direction as he took a seat at the table.“Aw, he didn’t think it was very interesting.” Kimura said dismissively, flapping a hand a Fuji. “You wanna know what he said?” Kimura put his hands on his hips and moved side to side as he ‘repeated’ what Fuji had told him in the hall. “’This isn’t a joke, you know’. He said that to me!”“Not a joke, huh?” Sasabe asked, pursing her lips in thought. “This must be pretty serious.”“Psh. It wasn’t that bad.” Kimura replied.“Can you two shut up?” Kuno asked, glancing at them out of the corner of her eyes. “Are either of you capable of thinking?”“Nope.” Kimura shook his head.Kuno simply sighed. She returned to staring forward, ignoring everybody at the table. When it was clear he wasn’t gonna get any more reactions out of Kuno, Kimura went back to talking to Sasabe, who responded enough for it to be considered a conversation. Fuji simply tuned them out and pulled out his Monopad. The ‘Motives’ screen stared back at him, making his stomach drop.Over the next half hour, the rest of the others trickled in. Honda was first, simply making his way to one of the tables and sitting down. Amami and Goto were next. To Fuji’s surprise, it seemed like Goto was trying to talk to Amami, to no avail. The Ultimate Adventurer had a hand threaded into his hair, and Fuji could tell that his fingers were digging into his scalp. He stared down at his Monopad and ignored Goto for the most part.Soon after them came Jitsuko and Esumi. Jitsuko didn’t seem particularly phased, her hands buried in her pockets, and her typical scowl on her face. Esumi only offered Fuji a weak wave before following Jitsuko, and the two sat at a separate table from the recently arrived boys. Chujo came in a little afterwards, and plodded over to Jitsuko and Esumi’s table, where he sat.After them came Uma and Valentine. The former was attempting to comfort the latter, who looked very downcast. As they passed by, Fuji heard Valentine mentioned how Hiramoto hadn’t opened the door, or even responded when she knocked. Uma led her to Honda’s table, and they sat down there. Valentine let out a melancholy sigh and Uma pat her on the back. After them came Ikari, who rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his hands. He shuffled over to where Honda, Uma, and Valentine sat and gently placed himself there.The final chunk of students slowly flowed in after that. Tadamori stomped in, looking frazzled as she ran her hands through her hair, her jaw clenched tightly. She tromped over to the table with Chujo, Jitsuko, and Esumi and sat herself down, ignoring Esumi’s wave. Next was Hiramoto, whose red eyes and stained cheeks betrayed that she was crying. She shuffled over to the table Valentine was at, and quickly began getting fussed over by Valentine and Uma.Dewa was last to arrive. His brow was furrowed, face scrunched up in a deep sense of frustration that almost seemed unnatural. His hands were deep in his pockets, and he dragged his feet as he walked, gaze directed downwards. As the doors clicked shut behind him, he finally looked up, surveying the room for a few moments. Upon spotting the table Fuji was at, he made his way over, pulling out the chair next to Fuji and dropping himself into it.“Waju, how’s it kickin’?” Sasabe greeted.“Not looking too hot.” Kimura commented, putting his head in his hands and smiling.“...” Dewa sneered at the two of them, not even offering them a quip before turning to Fuji and half smiling at him. “Yo, Fuji. Was your motive fucked up too?”“I… yeah, a little.” Fuji nodded, crossing his arms. “It wasn’t completely horrible, content-wise, but… well, there are a few implications that Monokuma giving this to us brings up that I really don’t like...”“Huh.” Dewa said, putting a hand to his chin in thought. “I… didn’t think about it like that...”“It’s obvious that this motive is far worse than we currently give it credit for.” Kuno spoke up suddenly, still not turning to face any of them. “For example, how did Monokuma acquire these recordings? And for that matter, considering they’re recordings and not live audio, what happened to the people on the other side of the recordings?”“I-” Fuji started to reply, when he was cut off.“Who knows, really?” Kimura responded. When Fuji glanced at him, he was leaning back in his chair, hands clasped behind his head. “I don’t see it as too big of a deal. The way I see it, there are two cases. One, Monokuma is keeping them alive in order to hold this over our heads.” Everybody at the table stared at Kimura as he spoke, aside from Kuno. “In that case, they’re fine. No point in hurting them if they’re being used as our motivation. Case two,” he continued, “He got what he wanted from them and doesn’t need ‘em anymore. In that case, we don’t gotta worry about the motive because the people on the other side of these recordings are-”“Aaaaaalright! I’m back!” A squeaky voice cut Kimura off, who didn’t seem particularly perturbed. The sixteen students in the Dining Hall glanced over in the direction of the voice, finding Monokuma strolling across one of the tables. “Didja guys miss me?”“Not particularly.” Sasabe said, stretching her arms.“Yes, well I wasn’t addressing you.” Monokuma replied, glaring. “I don’t talk to delinquents who refuse to participate in class activities.”“Boo.” Sasabe put on an exaggerated pout and crossed her arms, like she was a child. “Phooey.”“Should have participated.” Monokuma stated simply. He then clasped his stubby arms behind him and turned to face the rest of the group. “Anyways. For everybody who’s not a delinquent, I’d like to talk a little more about my lovely motive, as I’m sure you’re all curious about.”“H-Hell yeah we are!” Tadamori shouted, slamming her palms onto the table and standing up. Chujo, apparently half asleep, started, while Esumi held out her hands, as if to try and calm Tadamori down. The action went ignored, and Tadamori frantically waved a hand around. “What the hell was the deal with that shit, huh?!”“Yes, I’d like some answers, myself.” Goto said, crossing his arms.“And you’ll get some!” Monokuma announced. Then, his sharp grin grew vicious as he leaned forward, red eye glinting. “...Maybe.”“...maybe?” Amami asked. He looked… nervous. His jaw was visibly clenched, and he drummed on the table with his fingers. “What do you mean ‘maybe’?”“Weeeeeell… see, I thought that just a little message like this was a little boring, y’know?” Monokuma explained. “There isn’t really much stake in things if you all just receive a quick, lame little message from your loved ones. Sure, there’s a little ‘oomph’, but it doesn’t really have the kind of punch that I like in a motive.”“S-So… so, what then?” Valentine asked, glaring. She had scooted her chair closer to Hiramoto’s, the taller girl shivering and holding her satchel up to her face. “What does that even mean?”“It means,” Kuno said, finally turning to look at Monokuma. “That there’s more to this motive than just the voices of our loved ones.”“You catch on fast!” Monokuma praised. “Yup yup, this motive has a part two to it!”“And what does this ‘Part Two’ entail?” Honda asked.“Simple, really.” Monokuma said. “The messages you’ve received aren’t the whole part, as you might have noted earlier.”“’Murder for more’...” Fuji murmured, the message at the end of the recording bubbling up in his mind.“W-Wait...” Dewa began.“Correct!” Monokuma shouted, ignoring the Ultimate Film Critic. “If somebody commits a murder and gets away with it, they’re free to leave the Ultimate Cruise Liner, return to dry land, and see what’s become of their family, friends, or whoever it was on the other end that you bastards cared about!”“That isn’t the part two, though, is it?” Kimura suddenly spoke up, leaning back in his chair. Fuji turned to him in surprise. Another wave of shock washed over him when he turned to find Monokuma staring blankly at the grinning Kimura.“The hell are you talking about?” Jitsuko asked.“I mean, c’mon. The whole ‘murder somebody’ thing isn’t really a ‘part two’, if you think about it. Since it’s the whole goal of the motive, after all. ‘Part Two’ implies a secondary stipulation, not a desired outcome.” The Dining Hall was quiet as Kimura finished, and he glanced around at the others. “What?”“You know.” Monokuma broke the silence. “I really don’t appreciate brats like you stealing my spotlight.” His voice was flat, which worried Fuji more than if he was visibly angry.Kimura didn’t seem phased, simply shrugging. “Shouldn’t have dragged it on so long, then. Not my fault you were so dramatic.”Monokuma was dead silent for a few moments. The silence that settled over the Dining Hall felt almost oppressive, like it was pushing down on Fuji’s shoulders and was the reason he was slouching in his chair. And then, just like that, Monokuma continued talking, as though Kimura had never spoken to begin with.“As for the part two of the motive, I’ve prepared a little bit of fun for the lot of you.” Monokuma said, turning to pace on the table he was on. “As was pointed out earlier, your motives aren’t the complete picture. I could have given it all to you guys upfront, but where’s the fun in that?”“So… part two is the rest of the message?” Fuji asked, finding his composure.“Yup!” Monokuma nodded, glancing over at Fuji. “Of course, I’m going to give you guys a couple of days as a grace period, just to let the despair of the motive sink in a little bit. After that, for every day that there isn’t a murder, I’ll provide a little bit more of the motive. And I’m sure that will eventually get your butts in gear and kick this Killing Game off with a bang!” He turned fully back to the group and looked them over. “Oh, and I’m not too sure what it’ll be, but any student who takes the initiative and murders during the grace period will get themselves a nice little bonus prize! Any questions?”“W-Wait, I… I don’t get any of this.” Ikari said, looking around in fear. Fuji could see a light sheen of sweat on his forehead. “What… how did you get this recording of my-?”“Oh my god.” Monokuma groaned, putting a stubby paw to his face. “You can’t be this dumb, right?”“Huh?” Ikari started, eyes widening as he looked at Monokuma.“That’s the whole motive!” Monokuma barked, causing Ikari to jump in his seat. “You’re not supposed to know! That’s the point!” He sighed angrily, shaking his head. “If you, any of you in this room, want to know what happened to the person on the other end of your message, then kill somebody! It’s that simple! Ugh.”“Ok, so I have a question.” Chujo said, raising his hand.“...you know what? No.” Monokuma shook his head. “No, you guys have lost your question privileges. No mores questions about the motive.”“Aw, what?” Sasabe spoke up. “Laaaaame.”“You didn’t even watch the motive!” Tadamori shouted. “I had questions too!”“Hey, let’s step back and think a little bit...” Amami spoke up, attempting to calm Tadamori down.“No! This is fucked up!” She screeched, voice like fingernails on a chalkboard. “I got stuff I wanna know, and you fuckwits ruined it!”Most of the group quickly devolved into a shouting match as everybody got up from their tables to approach each other. Fuji found himself swept forward, due to a suspiciously convenient bump from Kimura, and stumbled into the group with the others. His voice wasn’t nearly as loud, though he tried to get the attention of his classmates anyways. Right as he took a deep breath, prepping himself to be heard, however…“ENOUGH!”Honda’s voice resonated throughout the Dining Hall. The group instantly went silent, surprised by the sudden volume of Honda’s voice. Fuji felt like he couldn’t speak even if he wanted to. Even Tadamori went quiet, frozen mid shout.Honda sighed, running a hand through his mohawk. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes as the silence of the room settled into a thick cloud around him. He didn’t even seem to notice. After a few moments, Honda opened his eyes back up and looked around the room.“Okay.” He said simply. “Now that we’re quiet, let’s start from the beginning. Monokuma,” Honda turned to address the bear in question, only to find him missing. He stared blankly for a few moments before sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose. “Dammit.”“Well great. Now we get nothing for real.” Tadamori threw her hands up. “I’m out of here.” She stood up quickly, shaking her head.“Wait-” Honda tried to stop her, but she kept walking.“No, fuck this.” Tadamori replied, and stormed out of the Dining Hall, feet heavy on the carpeted floor.“I’m gonna go, if we’re done here.” Chujo said, standing up and stretching.“No, we’re not done.” Honda said, annoyance quickly seeping into his voice.“I’m leaving.” Jitsuko stood up, stuffing her hands into her pockets. “C’mon Esumi, let’s go.” Her part said, Jitsuko started plodding towards the exit. Esumi nodded before trotting after her, and Chujo followed the two after a moment. After that, Goto left without a word, and Amami clenched and unclenched his fists before following.“...What now?” Valentine asked. She looked between the remaining students, a concerned frown on her face. Hiramoto sniffled at her side, rubbing her cheeks.“I suppose we’ll have to pick this up another time.” Honda replied, shaking his head. “When everybody is ready to sit down and talk.”“If we’re formally adjourning, then I’ll be going.” Kuno said, standing up. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and shrugged. “I’ll be around. Probably.” Without giving anybody a chance to stop her, Kuno strolled out of the Dining Hall.“I guess we’re done here.” Honda stood up as well, sighing. He glanced at the rest of the group. “We’ll talk tomorrow. Just… get some rest. Or something.”“R… right.” Fuji said.“Ugh.” Dewa grunted, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.“...” Honda took another second to look over everybody who was still there, and then wordlessly turned on his heel and left.“H-Hey! Hey Honda, wait!” Ikari suddenly jumped from his chair to follow after him, jogging out of the Dining Hall after Honda.“Hmm.” Uma hummed, watching after them. “I think I’ve got something I’d like to look into.” She bounced to her feet, offering Fuji a salute and a smile. “Arrivederci, friends. I’ll let everybody know the results of my search, if I find anything.” And then she was gone, just like everybody else.Fuji looked around. Now that the others had mostly filtered out, only six of them remained in the Dining Hall. He, Dewa, Sasabe, and Kimura were all at one table, while Valentine sat with Hiramoto at another.“Everybody’s so down in the dumps.” Sasabe suddenly said. “That’s kinda lame.”“What are you even saying?” Dewa asked, annoyance lacing his voice. “You didn’t even listen to the motive. What would you know?”“I know that this is super lame.” Sasabe replied. “Hmm… how to cheer the others up…” She tapped her finger on her chin. Fuji opened his mouth to say something when Sasabe’s eyes lit up. She bounced to an upright position in her seat. “I got it!”“What?” Kimura asked, cocking his head.“Well, I personally enjoy taking a nice swim when I feel under the weather.” Sasabe said, looking proud of herself. “Maybe we should all go for a swim!”“You’re the only one with a swimsuit.” Dewa pointed out, frowning.“Weeeeell… that’s not completely true.” Kimura replied, grinning. “There are some swimsuits in the Knick Knack Shop.” He turned to Sasabe, ignoring Dewa’s weary scowl. “And I love your idea! Swimming is so much fun!”“It’s a pretty good idea.” Valentine offered, a small smile on her face. She turned to the girl at her side, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Right, Hiramoto?”“I-I-I… d-don’t like… sw… wimming...” The girl in question managed. Fuji noted Valentine’s forlorn look, but didn’t comment.“Right, so it’s settled then!” Sasabe suddenly said, jumping from her seat. To Fuji’s surprise, she seized his wrist, yanking him to his feet.“H-Hey!” He yelped, attempting to pull his wrist away. Sasabe didn’t relinquish her grip, merely taking a step forward so she was closer to him. “What are you talking about?”“Fuyo, you’re tired of seeing everybody all sad and down in the dumps, right?” Sasabe asked. “This whole ‘motive’ thing really put a damper on our moods.” She used her free hand to tap at her chin. “And I think that everybody being in a bad mood is, like, super not conducive to working together, right?”“Wh...” Fuji found himself at a loss for words. Despite the fact that he agreed with her words, hearing his thoughts echoed through Sasabe of all people surprised him more than a little bit. “U-Uh… I mean, yeah, definitely.” He nodded. “I… uh, agree. Like, actually.”“Great!” Sasabe shouted, staring to drag him out of the room. “So that’s why we’re going to plan a pool party!”“Wait, what?!” Fuji dug his heels in. “H-Hold on! You’re going too fas-”“Don’t complain!” Sasabe replied, laughing. She suddenly twisted Fuji’s wrist, forcing him to bend his arm and lean forward. When he did that, Sasabe finally let go, choosing to instead hoist Fuji onto her shoulders in a fireman carry. Her strength wasn’t surprising, but Fuji still found himself startled into inaction by the way his world flipped upside down as he was thrown over Sasabe’s shoulders like a ragdoll. “We’ve got things to plan!”“Wait, what the hell are you doing?!” Dewa shouted, jumping out of his chair as Sasabe manhandled Fuji. “Don’t just fuckin’ leave! Stop!”Sasabe laughed again and sprinted out of the Dining Hall, Fuji on her shoulders and Dewa hot on her heels. As the exited, their voices faded into silence, leaving Kimura, Valentine, and Hiramoto alone in the Dining Hall. Kimura got out of his seat.“This sounds like fun. I’m interested to see how this plays out.” He said, a grin on his face. Clasping his hands behind his head, Kimura strolled away.“...I have no idea what’s going on.” Valentine sighed.Hiramoto wiped at her cheeks and nodded in agreement.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Fuji tapped his pencil on his cheek, pursing his lips at what he’d written on the page before him.‘Obsidian Blade, numbered 47.’, it read, ‘Initially recovered in the Talamancan montane forest ecoregion, though evidence suggests that the blade itself originated from further north’.Fuji stared at the sentence. He didn’t like how it was phrased. But… well, it was hard to write about an artifact that he couldn’t remember very well. He’d procured the artifact itself on a trip through Central America, and hadn’t gotten a chance to write about it before he’d been… kidnapped. Usually, he had the thing there with him, and could look at it and study it. But here, trapped on a cruise liner in the middle of the ocean… well, he certainly didn’t have the luxury, that was for sure.
As he put his pencil back to the paper, his mind wandered to the proceedings yesterday. Two days ago, Monokuma had given the group a motive to kill.
It was a motive that seemed to affect some more than others, but was a motive nonetheless. And when Fuji had thought that there wasn’t really a way out of this… it was somebody unexpected who threw him a line.
“I said fucking wait!” Dewa shouted, lurching forward and finally managing to grab onto Sasabe’s arm.“...what’s up?” Sasabe asked, digging her heels into the carpet and coming to a quick stop. The sudden lack of movement made Fuji spill forward, falling out of the fireman carry he was held in, but Sasabe quickly caught him bridal style.“You can’t just… haul people around like this!” Dewa yelled, waving his free arm in an animated explanation. “What do you think you’re doing?”“...” Sasabe stared at him curiously for a moment before grinning. “Oh, I see!”“Jeez, took you long enough.” Dewa grunted.“If you wanted to help plan the pool party, all you had to do was say so!” She laughed. With a swift, tight motion, Sasabe ripped her arm out of Dewa’s grip and turned around, beginning to walk away again.“What? No! Goddamn it!” Dewa snapped, stomping after her. “Listen to me!”“D-Do I even get a say in this?” Fuji asked from Sasabe’s arms, sheepish. This was such a weird position to be in...
After somehow getting Dewa to agree to help,
the three of them spent half the day working on planning the entire thing out, from when to who to how. It took a surprisingly long time, though Fuji attributed that mainly to Dewa and Sasabe arguing for most of the planning period. Still, they got their work done, and the next day,
Sasabe made Fuji help her recruit some of the other students.
Specifically, the two of them convinced Amami, Diana, and Ikari to help, and Sasabe assigned them all sorts of miscellaneous tasks. Somehow, Fuji had also managed to convince Tadamori to help. The Ultimate Personal Reformist had insisted on commandeering the Kitchen to make… something for the pool party. She had emphasized how good she was at lots of things, cooking included, and Fuji was informed that she would make something with such an amazing flavor that would ‘kick his ass clean into next week’.Once the recruitment was done, Sasabe had dragged him around and made him invite as many of the others as they could get. Most people agreed to go, with varying levels of enthusiasm. The only ones who declined outright were Goto, Kuno, and Hiramoto. It was only after the pair had run around for a couple of hours that Sasabe finally let Fuji go back to his room and rest for the remainder of the day.
Fuji frowned, pencil pausing in its movements against his journal page.
And now it was the day after, and they had to make sure prep was going smoothly
for the pool party later
. Something bubbled in his brain, and it took a few more moments of scratching out scattered sentences before he realized what it was.

The more he thought about this, the more it seemed like Sasabe was just dragging him around and making him do stuff for her. It’s not like
the pool party itself
was a bad idea or anything, just that… she really
was
making him
talk to everybody and
do all the prepwork while she simply ferried him from one door to another.
In an attempt to not get overly annoyed at Sasabe, Fuji glanced to the side, looking for something else to think about for a second. His gaze unfortunately fell onto his Monopad, sitting innocently on the side of his desk.A sick, stormy feeling filled Fuji’s stomach as he reached out, grabbing the Monopad and leaning back in his seat. Yesterday, Monokuma’s ‘grace period’ for the motive had ended. He had come to their now daily breakfast meeting to inform everybody of his disappointment in them.“Just what do you brats think you’re doing?!” Monokuma’s shrill voice echoed throughout the Dining Hall, stopping all conversation between the sixteen students. He looked as livid as a stuffed animal could get, a strange red light pulsing from within him. The group glanced around at each other for a few moments.“Just having breakfast, dude.” Valentine said, scrunching up her face in confusion at the furious bear.“Is something wrong?” Honda asked, face flat.“Hell YEAH something’s wrong!” Monokuma snapped. “Why are all sixteen of you here?!”“’Cause you trapped us here, moron.” Jitsuko snorted.“We like meeting for breakfast.” Chujo added.“NO!” Monokuma yelled back, baring his claws. “Why are you all alive?!”“We told you that we’re not playing your game.” Goto snorted.“...is that so.” Monokuma said, his anger suddenly draining in a way that made Fuji feel very uncomfortable. His words were more of a statement than a question, holding a finality that made a pit form in Fuji’s stomach. “Fine! Have it your way.”“What does that mean?” Kuno asked, narrowing her eyes.“It means that your chance at a prize is gone!” Monokuma informed her, throwing his paws up into the air. “And you’ve all disappointed me!” The group exchanged a few more glances. Monokuma glared and continued. “I’m also continuing the motive! So not only is there no prize, you have to face the despair of the motive as well! Puhuhuhuhu…”
Before anybody could stop him, Monokuma disappeared, almost into thin air. His presence set a strange sense of unease over the group, but they all brushed it off in preparation for another day…
And that led to this morning… Fuji flicked his Monopad on, again watching with concern as the screen displayed the strange school crest, and then his name in bold, black text. Without thinking, he navigated to the ‘Motives’ tab, and looked at what he had awoken to.The soft blue background welcomed him once again. Only, this time, the screen was a bit more populated. Instead of one rounded rectangle, there were two. The lower one read similarly, with only a slight difference. ‘MOTIVE, PART 2 – FUJI YOTA’. Before he could stop himself, Fuji pressed the button, the screen switching again to the black video screen, the audio leaking from the Monopad’s speakers.“Heya, Yota!” A familiar voice said. “Just calling to see how you’re doing.”“Yasuke...” Fuji replied. He knew it was just a recording, yeah, but… being able to hear his older brother’s voice helped, even if it was being used against him.“Dad told me that he’s feeling better the other day.” Yasuke’s voice said. Unlike in the first message, it was far more solemn than optimistic. “But you know how he is. I’m worried about him pushing himself. I don’t want to worry you, since I know you’re busy with… everything being an Ultimate gets you. Just… uh, letting you know how things are back home.” There was a stiff laugh, though more to fill some silence than anything else. “Anyways, just keepin’ in touch. Call me back when you hear this, alright? Mio wants to talk to you. And dont forget us, man. I know you’re busy, but I think it’d do wonders for Dad and Mio to hear your voice. I’ll talk to you later, Yota. Love ya.”Fuji watched silently as the tiny message popped up on the screen, accompanied by cartoony picture of Monokuma. The screen urged Fuji to ‘Murder for More!’. But was he even able to do something like that?......He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, silently staring at his Monopad. However, his train of thought was suddenly interrupted by an incessant knocking at the door. Fuji hauled himself to his feet, rubbing at his eyes and flicking his Monopad off even as the knocking continued. Brow creasing, Fuji finally shuffled over to the door and opened it up to see who was making such a racket, and nearly received a fist to the face for his efforts.“Whoops. My bad, Fuyo.” Sasabe said, a grin plastered onto her face as though she hadn’t almost just socked him in the jaw, and moved to clasp her arms behind her back. She was basically in her normal get up, except that her cargo shorts had been removed, leaving her simply in her swimsuit. “You should really open the door a bit quicker next time. Isn’t it rude to keep a lady waiting?”“Uh… I mean, I guess?” Fuji said, shrugging. “Sorry. But… you weren’t here for that long, were y-”He was cut off by Sasabe shoving some sort of fabric into his face, moving far faster than he could process. Some of whatever it was got into his mouth, bunching up against his tongue. Fuji retched, spitting the fabric out and pulling it away from his face. A quick look revealed it to be a pair of solid green swim trunks. When he glanced up, Sasabe had a wide, sunny grin on her face.“For you!” She said simply.“Uh.” Fuji replied. The two stared at each other for a few moments before Sasabe decided to elaborate.“It’s a pair of swim trunks!” She explained. “I picked them out for you! Saved you some time, since you helped me set this whole thing up, after all. Figured I’d do something nice for you! Plus, you have to wear a swimsuit! As one of the hosts, you need to be dressed for the occasion.”“...” Fuji stared up at her, holding back the urge to tell her that he did more than just help. Instead, he looked back down at the pair of trunks, then back up at Sasabe. “Are you… not gonna change?”“’Course not.” Sasabe blew a raspberry, flapping her hand dismissively at him. “I like my regular swimsuit too much to put on something tacky like that.” Apparently, she noticed the look on his face, because she continued. “Oh, but I’m sure it’ll look good on you. I picked it out, so it’ll accentuate your body type!” She emphasized her words by placing her hands on her sides, then sliding them downwards, following the curve of her hips.“O… kay.” Fuji said. He took a step back into his room so that he could change. Sasabe took a step forward. Fuji stared at her, and she stared back, a sickly sweet smile on her face. “Um.”“Yeah, what’s up, buddy?” Sasabe asked.“I… you...” Fuji said. He took a deep breath and tried again. “I need to change. S-So… you need to… uh, step out of my room.”“...oh! Right.” Sasabe laughed. “So modest you are, Fuyo! Very well! I’ll wait right here for you.” And with that, she stepped out into the hallway, yanking the door shut after her. Fuji stared at the door for a few moments before sighing. He could only imagine how this was going to go.He opened his door a minute later, now swimsuit clad. He’d traded his pants for the swim trunks, and was left in just his t-shirt, his usual jacket discarded onto his bed. However, he’d left his bandages wrapping his hands, as he’d come to feel more comfortable with them on than off.“Ooh.” Sasabe said, putting a hand to her chin and nodding appreciatively. “You look good. Looks like I was right.”Fuji felt some heat rise to his cheeks as Sasabe scrutinized him. “Th-Thanks, I guess.”“No problem.” Sasabe beamed at him, then shoved something else into his hands. Fuji looked down and saw a towel in his hands, a cheesy image of Monokuma printed onto it. Sasabe didn’t notice his frown as she reached forward to grab his wrist. “I’m kind of really awesome at picking out swimwear.”“So, uh...” Fuji began. “What’s the plan for today?”“First we’ve got a lot of things to check on, and then we can have some fun at the party!”After her incredibly vague and generally uninformative answer, Sasabe began dragging Fuji away, her grip on his wrist tight. Still, he found solace in the fact that at least she wasn’t throwing him over her shoulders again.Their first destination was the Pool itself, where Fuji found himself standing next to Sasabe. The sun beat down on them, forcing Fuji to put a hand over his eyes. The scene before him was… certainly something he wasn’t expecting. A glance to the side revealed Sasabe’s bemused expression, and Fuji got the feeling that she didn’t actually care what had happened, only that it was funny.Fuji and Sasabe watched three figures stand at the edge of the pool, staring down into its blue tinted waters. Dewa had his hands on his hips, brow scrunched up in annoyance. Just like Fuji, he had on a pair of swim trunks, though his were a sunny orange with purple flowers on it. Next to Dewa was Monotaro, pose neutral. His scarf fluttered in the slight breeze. And next to Monotaro was Ikari, who had a hand covering his mouth. It appeared he hadn’t changed yet, still clad in his regular clothing. However, he was soaking wet, water still dripping off of him and onto the deck.And down in the pool, resting on the floor with the chlorinated waters gently sloshing around it, was a desk from one of the classrooms.“So, like, uh...” Monotaro began. “I see the problem.”“Really?” Dewa asked, sarcasm lacing his voice. He didn’t even bother to look at Monotaro, eyes still on the desk.“Yeah.” Monotaro replied.“So um...” Ikari spoke up. “Is this… like, against the rules? Are we gonna get in trouble?”“Uh… I don’t think so?” Monotaro said. He glanced up at the two boys on either side of him. “I’ll… put in a good word for you.”“...th… thanks?” Ikari said, still looking completely confused. The three took another few moments to stand in silence before Monotaro took a few awkward steps backwards and began to waddle away. On his way out, he spotted Fuji and Sasabe and went up to them.“What are you two doing here?” He asked, somehow narrowing his eyes at them suspiciously.“We’re the ones who planned the pool party.” Sasabe replied. She then bent over and poked Monotaro in the forehead, brow raised. “What are you doing here?”That seemed to make Monotaro nervous, for some reason, and the plush bear retreated, arms clutched over his chest in fear. “Wuh… Well,” he said, “Th-Those two called me for help, because they didn’t want to get in trouble! And all I’m doing is answering questions for them, you know. So basically, this isn’t my fault!”“Why did they think they were in trouble?” Fuji asked. The sound of footsteps squelching against the deck made him look up.“W-Well, you see...” Ikari began. Fuji looked over to see that he and Dewa had approached, having given up on whatever they were doing at the poolside. “You guys told us to move some of the pool tables around, so we could like, have room for the food and stuff.”“But there wasn’t really a good way to group them together.” Dewa continued, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. Fuji followed the motion with his eyes, finding the circular tables awkwardly pushed to the side. “So we figured we’d grab some desks from one of the classrooms. However,” He then shot a look over at Ikari, who shrank back and sheepishly rubbed his neck. “somebody slipped, and the desk fell into the pool.”“I… I have a weak grip when it comes to stuff like this.” Ikari said, clearly embarrassed, and shrugged. “I… drop things easily...”“So what’s the big deal?” Sasabe asked, cocking her head.“Well… you know the rules.” Ikari said, water dripping from his eyelashes. “If we cause damage to the ship, we get… y’know.”“We wanted to make sure we wouldn’t get iced for something like this.” Dewa finished.“But why him?” Sasabe pointed at Monotaro, who let out an offended ‘hey!’. “Why not Monokuma?”“...” Dewa and Ikari were quiet, and the former shot the latter a look. Ikari let out a sigh before shrugging. “M… Monokuma scares me more than him.”“...pfft.” Sasabe snorted. “You’re a riot, Ika.”“Thanks.” Ikari smiled back, evidently bashful.“I don’t think it was a compliment.” Dewa commented, shaking his head and sighing.“Well, it looks like you guys have things under control.” Sasabe remarked, “So me and Fuyo are gonna go check on some of the others. Try not to trash any more desks or anything.”At that comment, Dewa shot a look at Ikari, who shrunk back and smiled awkwardly at him. Sasabe snickered and grabbed Fuji’s wrist yet again, turning to drag him away. Dewa and Ikari, once again left to their own devices, returned to the poolside to figure out how to fish the desk out of the pool. Fuji was almost able to say something before Sasabe yanked him away.Before the two could get far, however, they were faced with an interesting sight. Kimura stood there, staring down at Monotaro, who looked about as done with a situation as a plush bear could look.“Okay. I’ll go over it one more time.” Monotaro said.“Thanks!” Kimura replied, grinning.“They dropped the desk in the pool.” Monotaro began, “Then, they called me up and asked me if that counted as destroying school property. I told them I didn’t know. Then, I said that I’d let Monokuma know that it was an accident, so I don’t think it would count.”“Interesting.” Kimura said simply, then smiled. “So you don’t know the specifics of the rules.”“W-Well, you see-” Monotaro began.“Damn, you’re still here, Moro?” Sasabe asked.“E-Eh? You two are still here?” Monotaro replied, looking between her and Fuji.“Jynx.” Sasabe said.“Hey, you guys are kinda interrupting something.” Kimura chimed in, making both of them look in his direction. He sounded… vaguely annoyed, though that cheeky smile of his was still plastered on his face. Sasabe cocked her head at him.“You’re talking to the dumb bear.” She said, putting her free hand on her hip. “Can’t be that important, can it?”“...” Kimura stared blankly at her. He then shrugged dismissively and turned, finding that Monotaro had absconded in the brief moment of distraction. He sighed dramatically and flipped his hair with a hand, his bracelet of shells jingling as he did so. “Great, he’s gone. Thanks for nothing.”“Sorry, Kimura.” Fuji said.“Oh, don’t worry, I don’t blame you.” Kimura said, offering Fuji a grin and a wink. “It’s Miss Lame-o with you here that’s annoying me.”“You’re not the best company either.” Sasabe stated.“Fuji, you’re cool.” Kimura commented, ignoring her and turning to him. “Come hang out with me instead of her.”“I… I’m sorry?” Fuji asked, suddenly feeling in the middle of something he wasn’t aware of until right now. His eyes flicked towards Sasabe, who had a coy smile on her face.“Nope, he’s mine.” She said simply, reaching out and pulling Fuji close. She forced him into a tight, one-armed hug, his face pressed up against her side. “I need him for my stuff, so go find somebody else to annoy.”“Oh, boo. But I like him so much.” Kimura replied. Sasabe simply blew a raspberry at him.“S-Sasabe...” Fuji managed, attempting to find a way to tilt his head that didn’t involve his nose jammed into Sasabe’s side.“Oh, I see how it is.” Kimura let out a theatrical sigh and threw his hands up. “Her over me, huh? Fine, be that way.” He quickly turned heel. “I’m leaving, then.”“Arrivederci, and good riddance.” Sasabe stuck her tongue out at him. Kimura let out a childish huff and stomped away. Once he disappeared from view, Sasabe let Fuji go.“Ow...” He said, rubbing his nose.“C’mon Fuyo, we’ve wasted enough time.” Sasabe tutted, as though this whole distraction was his fault, and snagged his wrist once again.“I’m not gonna run away...” Fuji insisted, to no avail. Sasabe simply kept her grip on him, dragging him along.A warm gust of air ruffled Fuji’s hair as Sasabe yanked open the door to the Kitchen. The smell of spices and cooking meats washed over him. Sizzling and popping filled the air, as did a low hum and the slightest tinge of chocolate. The whole thing almost felt… homey. Just like a kitchen that wasn’t part of a cruise liner they’d been told to kill each other on.Sasabe had actually relinquished her grip on him, meaning that Fuji was able to walk at her side instead of weirdly behind her as the two entered into the Kitchen. They approached the stovetops, a multitude of pans and pots laid out across the back burners. A couple containers of sauce bubbled off to the side, clearly having just been removed from the heat itself. Fuji actually felt his mouth water at the sight of some of the things that were being cooked. In particular, a cut of meat sizzled in a shallow pan, the oil it sat in bubbling and popping.“Looks pretty good.” Sasabe commented, nodding appreciatively.“Definitely.” Fuji agreed.“Hey, what’s the big fuckin’ idea?!” Somebody shouted at them. Fuji turned to find Tadamori stomping up to them from around the counter, wearing an apron that was stained with sauces. She cradled a bowl with one arm, a whisk dripping with dark fluid in the other. “What the fuck are you two doing in here?! You’re messing up my flow!”“Just checking on you to see if everything’s okay.” Sasabe said, not bothering to look over at Tadamori. Her eyes continued to scan the stovetop in appreciation. “Looks nice.”“Damn right it does.” Tadamori snapped, flicking her hand for emphasis. Unfortunately, her hand had the whisk in it, so she ended up flicking a splatter of whatever she was whisking all over the floor. Fuji blinked at it. Neither of the girls seemed to notice. “It’s good because I made it. Obviously.”“Didn’t take you much as the cooking type, to be honest.” Sasabe commented. “Where’d you get so good at this?”“What do you mean, ‘not the type’?” Tadamori narrowed her eyes at Sasabe. “This is kind of, like, part of my fuckin’ job!” She again flicked the whisk, this time more directed at Sasabe. The Ultimate Spearfisher took a step to the side, and Fuji flinched as the brown liquid of the whisk splattered against his arm. It gave off a faintly sweet smell.“Dunno.” Sasabe shrugged. “You’re just, kind of like...” She trailed off, tapping her chin.“Kind of like what?” Tadamori growled, taking a step forward.“H-Hey guys...” Fuji began, stepping up in an attempt to get in between the two of them.“Ooooooh, no, no, no, no.” Tadamori said, stomping forward. “No, I wanna fuckin’ hear this.”“Well you don’t really seem like the cooking type.” Sasabe replied, shrugging. “Cooking is, like, a nurturing kind of activity, done by people who are nice, and you’re a bit of a-”“Alright you two, let’s settle down.” Amami’s voice suddenly spoke up, and the boy in question appeared out of nowhere, carefully maneuvering himself so that he was in between Tadamori and Sasabe. He held a tray of cookies in his oven mitt clad hands, and a calming, if strained, smile was set onto his face. “Instead of fighting, how’s about we all have a cookie, fresh out of the oven, and take a breather?”“Ooh, good idea!” Sasabe replied, reaching over towards the tray. Tadamori rolled her eyes, clearing wanting to say something, but holding herself back. Amami laughed awkwardly and gently moved the tray away, taking a step so that he could nudge Sasabe back with his hip.“Hold on,” he said, “let me take them off the tray first.”
T
he promise of cookies seemed to defuse things far better than Fuji himself could have. Sasabe was quick to bounce after Amami, who made his way to an empty portion of the countertop. He procured a spatula and began carefully removing the cookies while Sasabe watched in wonder. Tadamori watched them with a scowl for a few moments before sighing and shaking her head. She plonked the bowl down next to the stovetops and went back to whisking its contents.

Fuji made his way over to Amami and Sasabe, the latter cupping her hands. Amami laughed and placed a cookie into her expectant grasp. She quickly pulled the cookie back and took a large bite out of it, and Fuji’s expression tightened in concern at the evident heat coming from the treat. Sasabe didn’t seem
to be
affected
in the slightest
, which almost concerned him more.
“You want one?” Amami asked, drawing Fuji’s attention. He had a gentle smile on his face, and held out the spatula, a cookie balanced on its surface.“...sure.” Fuji grinned and plucked up the cookie, feeling a bit of chocolate smear against his fingers as he did so. “Thanks. Did you make these from scratch?”“Sure did.” Amami nodded, looking relieved now that Sasabe and Tadamori were no longer near each other.“Very impressive.” Sasabe commented, licking chocolate off of her fingers. Once she was done, she looked Amami up and down. “Where’d you learn to bake, Ami? Doesn’t seem like a part of an adventurer’s skill set.”“It’s a bit of a hobby.” Amami shrugged. “Picked it up for reasons and decided to stick with it.”“...eh, makes enough sense as anything else.” Sasabe replied, nodding. “Okay, well it seems like you two have things set here. Fuyo and I have more people to check on, so we should get going.”“...who else do we have to check on?” Fuji asked, glancing over at her. His question went ignored, however, as the conversation went on without him.“We can take care of things here.” Amami nodded.“Yeah, get the hell out of here!” Tadamori shouted from her place at the counter without turning around, very clearly still annoyed. “And while you’re at it, stay out!”“Tsk tsk tsk.” Sasabe shook her head, clicking her tongue in disapproval. “So rude. Well, we can see when we’re not wanted, right Fuyo?”“Uh.” Fuji said, not quite sure how to respond without pissing Tadamori off further.“Exactly.” Sasabe agreed with him, despite the fact that he’d basically said nothing. She glanced back at Amami. “We’ll be back later to help you haul all of this stuff to the Pool.”“I appreciate it.” Amami told her.“Of course. It’s our job, since we planned this whole thing out, after all.”“Hey, good luck, man.” Amami chuckled lightly, offering Fuji a half wave and a pat on the shoulder as Sasabe grabbed his arm and again began to drag him away. Fuji could only sigh, waving back at Amami and hoping Sasabe would let him walk on his own again some time soon.
F
uji licked a bit of chocolate off of his finger, brushing the crumbs from his hand as he and Sasabe entered the
section of the ship containing the Staterooms.
Supposedly, they were going to check on Valentine’s progress on checking on everybody else, but Fuji didn’t see why she would be here at the moment. She could be anywhere on the ship, as most of the others were spread out across their available area, as far as he could tell. Sasabe seemed pretty convinced that she was here, however, and it wasn’t like he had the option of disobeying.
The carpet rustled underfoot at the two approached the Staterooms’ intersection. It was as they walked up that Fuji heard the sound of faint conversation. It was far too quiet to tell who, exactly, was talking, but the fact that people were speaking was obvious. It seemed Sasabe had clued into it far earlier than he had, as her head was slightly tilted upwards as they walked, as though she was going to somehow be able to clue into the conversation if she angled her head just right.The sources of the voices were revealed the moment Fuji and Sasabe made it into the intersection proper. Upon turning his head, he was rewarded with the sight of Valentine standing outside of one of the doors, her face creased in a frown. Hiramoto peeked out of what Fuji could only assume was her room, looking more than a little unhappy. The Ultimate Tutor’s mouth was turned downward as she spoke, a sickly look on her face as she spoke back to Valentine, her eyes directed to the side.Fuji stopped walking, intending to wait for the two to finish their conversation before he made his way over. Sasabe, however, had a different idea. The moment he stopped moving, a hand clamped down onto his wrist and yanked him forward, making him stumble after Sasabe.“… a-and I just… d-don’t feel. U-Um… comfortable-” Fuji managed to catch the tail end of Hiramoto’s sentence, the girl cutting herself off when she noticed the pair’s not so subtle approach. Valentine glanced over as well, her frown darkening at the interruption.“H-Hey guys.” Fuji greeted, awkwardly looking between the three girls. He chose one to focus on, figuring his presence would be less weird that way. “Um, Hiramoto.” He began, causing the girl in question to visibly tense up. “You mentioned earlier that you weren’t feeling well enough for the pool party? Are you… uh, feeling any better?”“U-U-Uh… I… I-I mean...” Hiramoto began, her eyes darting between Fuji and Sasabe. She clenched her eyes shut and swallowed before continuing. “I… th-thanks for y-your… uh, concern.” She managed. “H-However… I… don… er, don’t feel, um. Well. S-Still. S-So you’ll… have to, um, go on. W-Without me.”“Ah, I see.” Fuji gave her a sympathetic smile. “Sorry to hear.”“I-Is that… I-I mean...” Hiramoto again began anxiously looking between Sasabe and Fuji, though he noticed that her nervous stare tended to linger on the former, something he doubted went over her head. “Is… am I, y-you know, allowed? T-To not… attend, I mean.”Fuji watched as Sasabe opened her mouth to speak, but Valentine spoke quicker, cutting in before Sasabe could get a word off.“It’s totally fine.” She said, shrugging nonchalantly. “We would never force you to do anything, right guys?”“Of course.” Fuji nodded.“...yeah, I guess not.” Sasabe said with a sigh, picking at her ear. “If you don’t come, you don’t come.”“Th-Thank you.” Hiramoto nodded, and then began to shrink back. “I-In that case… I-I’ll, um… s-see you guys. L-Later. Uh… b-bye.” She then unceremoniously slipped back into her Stateroom, shutting the door behind her with a ‘click’. Valentine watched the door for a moment, face troubled, before she sighed and put her hands on her hips.“Well, that was a bust.” Sasabe said aloud, face flat.“...” Valentine’s face contorted into a scowl, which she directed at the Ultimate Spearfisher. However, she remained silent.“...” Sasabe pressed her lips together, staring blankly at Valentine before glancing at Fuji. He couldn’t do much besides offer her a shrug. Sasabe spent another second just staring him down before sighing and turning back to Valentine. “Hey, so, like… how’s the rest of this whole thing going. Does everybody have swimsuits and stuff?”“I mean, no.” Valentine said. “I sent a few people over to the Knick-Knack Shop to get swimsuits, like you asked me to, but I haven’t gotten around to everyone yet.” A look of annoyance flashed across her face, and her foot began tapping against the floor.“Well who hasn’t been checked on yet?” Sasabe asked.“I talked to everybody who isn’t helping you, except for Honda and Chujo.” Valentine replied. “Everybody I asked is still coming, except for Kuno and Goto.”“And Hiramoto.” Sasabe added.“...yeah.” Valentine grunted, expression growing stormy.“Hey, Valentine...” Fuji began, concern brewing in his chest. “Are you alright? You seem-”“I’m fine.” Valentine interrupted. “And, I said that Diana is fine. Sheesh.” With that said, Valentine pushed past the two of them, heading for the intersection. “I’m gonna go check on the others again, I guess.”
B
efore either of them could stop her, Valentine was gone, footsteps heavy as she headed out of the Staterooms area. Fuji watched with concern, waiting until her footsteps finally faded away before he turned to Sasabe. The Ultimate Spearfisher stared thoughtfully down the hallway after Valentine. Fuji started to say something to her, but she spoke quicker.
“Well somebody’s grouchy.” Sasabe snorted. “Wonder where she’s going, though.”“...huh?” Fuji asked.“If she’s looking for the others, why not continue here in the Staterooms?” Sasabe explained, motioning around her.“Maybe… she already checked all of the rooms already, and the others aren’t here?” Fuji offered. “That makes enough sense to me.”“Eh.” Sasabe said, clearly not convinced. “Why don’t we give things a once over, just to make sure?”“I… guess?” Fuji furrowed his brow. “Though… don’t we have better things to be doing?”“Tsk tsk tsk.” Sasabe clicked her tongue, patting Fuji on the shoulder in what was most definitely a condescending move. “Fuyo, Fuyo, Fuyo. If you don’t trust somebody to do something, don’t you know the saying?”“...you don’t trust Valentine?” He asked, sort of ignoring Sasabe’s actual question.“She’s got a lot on her mind, apparently.” Sasabe said. “Anyways, the expression is: ‘if you want something done right, do it yourself’.” And before Fuji had a chance to protest, Sasabe marched off, dragging him along with her.
The two spent a few minutes walking around the Staterooms, knocking on doors. The only real response they got was from Goto, who told them to go away
before slamming the door in their faces
.
“Welp!” Sasabe said, turning to Fuji, her hair still slightly blasted back from the force of Goto’s slam. “One more to check before we head out to greener pastures.”“...who?” Fuji asked, unclenching his hands. The door nearly hitting him in the face still had him a little on edge.“According to this handy map,” Sasabe said, holding up her Monopad. Fuji frowned, the thought crossing his mind about where she was keeping that. Before he could think too much about it, she had shoved her Monopad in his face. She had the ‘Notes’ tab open, and had selected a subsection labeled ‘Maps’. True to its name, the screen was displaying a map of the Staterooms. Each room had what appeared to be a pixelated image of the occupant’s face. “Jojo’s room is right there!” She pointed at one of the rooms, and Fuji squinted, noting that she was pointing at the stateroom labeled ‘K. Chujo’.“So we’re checking on Chujo? And then going on to help with prep, right?”“Indeed, indeed!” Sasabe cooed, reaching over to ruffle Fuji’s hair. “So smart, Fuyo!”Fuji clenched his jaw at the patronizing action, shooting a look over to Sasabe. She responded with a sunny grin that told him either she didn’t understand the look or, more likely, didn’t care. Without responding, she threw an arm around Fuji’s shoulder and hauled him off, the two heading down the Staterooms’ longer hallway.As the approached, Fuji took the time to note that Uma was Chujo’s roommate, interestingly enough. Apparently the roommate pairings weren’t all same gender pairings. This was probably a mixed gender hall, with him and Dewa being in a ‘boys’ hall.“Hmm.” Sasabe’s musing voice broke his train of thought. Fuji glanced up, finding a strange sight before him. It was hard to tell from the approach, but Chujo’s door appeared to be cracked open, propped slightly open by… what appeared to be one of Chujo’s shirts jammed under it. Fuji frowned. “This looks strange to you as well, right, Fuyo?”“...uh, y-yeah.” Fuji nodded. “Kind of.”“Welp.” Sasabe pushed him back slightly, then raised a leg.“S-Sasabe, wait-!” Fuji reached out for her, attempting to stop her from doing what he knew she was about to do.Unfortunately, he didn’t react fast enough, and Sasabe reared back and kicked Chujo’s door open with a force that was probably far harder than necessary. Fuji winced as the door slammed into the room’s wall with a resounding bang, echoing down the hallway. Sasabe admired her work for a moment before cocking her head. Fuji glanced past her, finding the room… kind of empty. Strange.Sasabe’s brow furrowed, and she stepped inside, Fuji on her heels. Chujo’s room was definitely different from Fuji’s own. It lacked the bookshelves of Fuji’s stateroom, as well as not having a porthole window. Instead, it was embellished with a floor lamp, and a much larger desk. It was also… quite a bit darker than Fuji’s room, even taking the lack of window into account. Aside from that, it felt kind of normal.Sasabe plodded in, glancing around his room. She made her way over to his bed, which Fuji noted looked as though somebody had grabbed the sheets and roughly yanked them off. It was then that Fuji noted the mess Chujo’s desk was in, his chair almost thrown to the side. A feeling of unease settled into the pit of Fuji’s stomach, as Sasabe took a few more steps into the room before glancing down and grinning. “Ah, there he is.”“Huh?” Fuji trotted up to her, a gasp involuntarily escaping his throat at the sight before him.Chujo was collapsed on the floor, limbs splayed out in strange angles. His bed sheets were partially underneath him, clearly pulled off by somebody before Chujo ended up on top of them. Only the tip of his foot would have peeked out from around the bed, making it seem as though he wasn’t here to anybody who simply glanced in. Chujo wasn’t moving, with no indication of life.A cold fear washed over Fuji’s body, paralyzing him. His muscles refused to move, forcing him to continue to take in the sight before him. Had somebody… had somebody succumbed to Monokuma’s motive? Had it… cost Chujo’s life? Was he-“Hey.” Sasabe said, nudging Chujo with her foot.“Sasabe!” Fuji cried, reaching over and grabbing her arm. “S-Stop! He’s… Chujo’s...” Fuji found that he couldn’t say the words jumbling around in his head. He couldn’t say that one word that described what had happened to Chujo.Sasabe looked at him strangely, head slightly cocked, before her expression cracked into a grin. “Pfft.” She snorted. “Fuyo… do you think he’s dead?”“Y-Yeah! Obviously!” Fuji’s dismay laced his voice, panic quickly rising in his chest. “I mean… what other reason-”“He’s asleep.” Sasabe cut him off.“H-Huh?” Fuji felt all of his emotions begin to spiral away, like somebody had just pulled the plug on a bathtub’s drain.“Like, I’ve done a lot of fishing, so I can tell when things are alive or not.” Sasabe replied. “His breathing’s muffled because he’s face down. He probably just tried to go to bed and passed out on the floor like a doofus.” She motioned at his desk. “Explains the mess of his desk.”“I...” Fuji suddenly felt… well, he wasn’t quite sure what to feel.“You’re so cute, Fuyo.” Sasabe said, ruffling his hair again with her free hand. “Caring about your classmates. Oh, it’s so adorable.”Before Fuji could reply, there was a quiet groan, and the two turned to look at the figure splayed out on the floor. The form that Fuji thought was a dead body just moments ago stirred, fingers flexing and legs shuffling. Again, Chujo’s form groaned before rolling over, ending up on its back, staring up at them. Chujo was… definitely alive. Fuji noted he looked terrible, the bags under his eyes darker and a little more prominent.“Mornin’, sunshine.” Sasabe greeted.“…hey.” Chujo responded, fatigue evident in his voice. “How did you guys get in?...”“Are you the one that propped your door open with that shirt?” Sasabe asked.“...oh, right.” Chujo stretched his arms, closing his eyes as he did so. “Did you guys hear a bang?”“That was me.” Sasabe informed him. “I kicked your door in.”“Okay.” Chujo replied. “Thought it was part of my dream...”Fuji, watching this conversation from the sidelines, felt like both of them were caring a little less about this than they probably should.“Why are you on the floor, Jojo?” Sasabe asked, putting her hands on her hips.“Well… I was up until… like, seven this morning.” Chujo began, “And I only go to bed when I’m… really tired. Well… I went to get into bed and… passed out.”“Figured.” Sasabe shrugged, then turned to Fuji with a grin. “See? Told ya I was right.” She turned back to Chujo. “Take a quick nap, Jojo.”“...’kay.” He replied, hauling himself up into a sitting position. “I’ll try and be awake for the pool party. I kinda wanted to come...”“Good boy!” Sasabe cooed, reaching down to ruffle Chujo’s hair. Fuji frowned. The way she did so made it seem like she was treating Chujo more like a dog than anything else. Which put her ruffling of his hair into a bit of a different light… Still, Chujo didn’t particularly seem to care, staring up at Sasabe with that same flat expression he always wore.“Thanks.” Chujo replied once Sasabe moved her hand away, his hair now sufficiently disheveled.“Remember: this afternoon.” Sasabe told him, shaking a finger at him. “I’ll come get you in an hour or so, but don’t forget.”“Sounds good. See you guys later.”With Chujo having bid them farewell, Sasabe once again snagged Fuji’s arm in a tight grip, dragging him along. Fuji glanced back as the two made their way back into the hallway, watching with a small bit of worry as Chujo collapsed, this time on his bed instead of on the floor. Sasabe reached over, grabbing the door. For some reason, she stooped down to jam the shirt back under the door, keeping it cracked open just like they found it.“Well then, that’s that, I guess.” Sasabe said, releasing her grip on Fuji and pulling out her Monopad.“...I suppose so.” Fuji replied. “What are we doing now?”“Let’s see...” Sasabe mused. “Well… it seems like the time’s coming up soon. So we should go help move things onto the Deck. Let’s check on Waju and Ika first, to make sure they’re not dropping anything else into the pool.”“Uh… okay. Sure.” Fuji shrugged.“C’mon, put your back into it!” Sasabe tutted at him, once again grabbing Fuji and dragging him along. “And where’s that energy? We’re about to have a super fun pool party! Get excited!”“...hah.” Fuji couldn’t help but crack an awkward smile at that. Maybe she was right. It was gonna be fun. “Yeah, alright.”Fuji wiped a bit of sweat off of his brow, feeling it soak into the bandage wrapped around his hand. The heat of the Kitchen became a lot more apparent when he kept running between here and the Deck. Sasabe had ‘assigned’ him to help Tadamori move the food around, while she had taken Amami to start herding the others to the Pool for the pool party itself. Fuji wasn’t sure why this was the job he was assigned to, but he supposed he shouldn’t complain too much. This was a job that needed to get done eventually, no matter if it was him or Amami doing it. Still…Fuji put his hands on his hips, looking over some of the remaining dishes that needed moving. A plate of fried fish, a couple trays of seared and baked vegetables, a couple bowls of sauce… Fuji couldn’t help but nod in appreciation at Tadamori’s work. Sure, she might be a bit abrasive, but he had to admire her work. Everything he’d moved looked great, and Fuji couldn’t stop his mouth from watering a bit at all of the delicious smelling food.“Fuck’s sake.” Tadamori said from behind him, clicking her tongue and making Fuji jump a bit in surprise.“Wh… what’s wrong?” He asked, turning to her.Tadamori stood behind him, a sneer on her face and a plate of sliced meat balanced on her arm. She had changed into her outfit for the pool party before Sasabe had stolen Amami away. Fuji, despite himself, found himself staring once again, hoping to play off the redness in his cheeks at an aftereffect of the heat. She had on a black bikini, complimented by a floppy black sunhat and a sheer, side tie skirt hanging from her waist.“Sasabe’s a fuckin’ moron, is what’s wrong.” Tadamori replied, either not noticing his stare or, more likely, not caring. “How the hell are we supposed to bring the rest of this shit out?”“Well, we could uh… take two trips?” Fuji offered.“Oh please.” Tadamori snorted dismissively, flapping her free hand at him. “This rockin’ bikini isn’t gonna show itself off. I look too good to be cooped up in this shitty kitchen anymore.” She glanced to the side, clearly annoyed. “Plus, I gotta arrange all of my food out there. Don’t want any of those idiots messing with my set up.”“How are we gonna get the rest of this out, then?” Fuji mused, mainly to himself.“Dunno.” Tadamori shrugged. “You can take two trips if you want, or rope some other chump into helping you out. But you won’t see me comin’ back here.”As Tadamori turned to grab one of the plates of veggies, likely intending to make good on her word and leave Fuji alone to carry the rest of the stuff, there was a ‘click’ as the Kitchen door swung open. The two turned towards it, and Tadamori instantly spoke up.“Fuckin’ finally. We could use some help here, shithead.”Fuji blinked, finding himself looking not at Sasabe or Amami, but Kuno. The redhead stared the two of them down for a few moments. It took that period of time for Tadamori to realize who was actually at the door as well. A beat of silence settled over the three, and then Kuno turned heel, moving to leave the two to their devices.“Hey, hey, hey! Hold the hell up!” Tadamori stomped over, dumping her plate onto a nearby counter. Fuji rushed over as well, making sure it didn’t topple over the edge and spill its contents onto the floor.“What?” Kuno asked, brow furrowed slightly. Her annoyance was clearly present, yet minor. At least, for the moment.“Don’t fuckin’ ‘what’ me.” Tadamori snapped. “Help us out with this shit! We gotta bring all this food out, and I don’t wanna take a second trip!”“I’m not even attending this dumb pool party.” Kuno said, voice flat. “Why would I help you out?”“Wh… you...” Tadamori searched for something to say. “What about all that talk that Valentine made about ‘becoming friends’ and shit? This isn’t friendly of you, to leave a babe like me in need!”“...” Kuno stared blankly at Tadamori.“Y-You know...” Fuji chimed in, drawing both girls’ attention, “If you wanted to just help out, then grab some food and go, I’m sure I’d be able to convince Sasabe to let you leave. Since you said you didn’t want to go and all, I’m sure it’d be okay if you only came for a few moments.”“...” Kuno pressed her lips together, icy gaze staring Fuji down. He felt a bit of sweat bead on the back of his neck as she stared. Her eyes flicked over to Tadamori, who frowned at her. Kuno sighed. “Fine. I’m not getting near the Pool, and I’m not putting on a swim suit.”“Wow, congrats on not being an asshole.” Tadamori scoffed, offering a few sarcastic claps. Fuji shot her a pleading look, and she rolled her eyes and sighed. “But thanks. I guess.”Kuno didn’t reply with anything more than a flat stare, then headed over to the counter top, grabbing an empty plate and balancing all of the sauce bowls on it. She then grabbed a plate of vegetables and made her way towards the door. Tadamori narrowed her eyes, watching Kuno for a few moments before balancing more plates than looked safe onto her arms. Fuji picked up the rest, managing to keep them stable in a single arm. He then scurried over to the door, holding it open for the two girls.“Thanks.” Kuno said simply, brushing past him and out of the Kitchen.“...bitchy much?” Tadamori snorted, looking at Fuji for some sort of response. He simply shrugged, which she took as agreement before tromping out of the Kitchen.Fuji sighed. That was one crisis averted. He moved out into the Dining Hall, letting the Kitchen door swing shut behind him.Cool pool water swirled around Fuji’s feet, the slight chlorinated tinge in the air not enough to outmatch the smell of warm food nearby. Chatter filled the air, and Fuji found himself smiling, glancing up from the plastic cup of fruit juice in his hand.At his side sat Jitsuko, who grunted quietly when he looked in her direction. Somebody had convinced her to wear a swimsuit, so she was decked out in a pair of swim trunks and a swimshirt. Fuji wanted to be surprised that they found one that could fit her, but supposedly this one had been provided to her by Monokuma. Esumi was in between them, bobbing in the water. She’d been equipped with a simple one piece swimsuit, and propped herself up onto the poolside with her arms, a grin on her face as she signed at the two of them.In the pool itself were Sasabe, Ikari, Kimura, and Uma. All four were decked out in swimwear, and looked to be playing a worrying game of chicken, with Kimura on Ikari’s shoulders and Uma on Sasabe’s. Kimura held two water guns, one of which he had pointed at Ikari’s head, while Uma held a strangely rigid pool noodle. Sasabe had a scary grin, while Ikari was the only one who looked vaguely worried about the situation.“Give up or the hostage gets it!” Kimura shouted.“W-Wait, I thought we were on the same team!” Ikari shouted back, glancing anxiously at the water gun pressed to his head.“Better follow up!” Sasabe yelled.“I’m ready!” Uma grinned, flopping her noodle around.Esumi giggled and signed at Jitsuko and Fuji. ‘It looks like they’re having fun.’“Wish they’d shut up.” Jitsuko snorted, scooting forward slightly. She then brought her foot back so it was against the pool wall, and kicked. The force sent a wall of water towards the four people in the pool, drawing shouts and screams as it washed over them. Esumi snickered.“I’ll be right back.” Fuji said, pulling his feet out of the Pool. “Gonna get something to eat.”“’kay.” Jitsuko said.‘Please get me some veggies.’ Esumi signed.Fuji offered her a thumbs up and shook off his feet a bit, plodding over to the tables which had been set up with all of the food Tadamori and Amami had cooked up for the event.He headed over to a table which had been laid out with paper plates and plastic cups, grabbing a plate each for himself. After a moment of thought, he placed his cup of juice on the table, and then grabbed a plate for Esumi before moving over to the one table with people gathered around it, accidentally walking into a conversation in the process.“I was simply curious about where you learned to cook like this. That’s all.” Honda said, already looking tired. He apparently had decided not to change, still wearing his regular outfit. “I didn’t mean anything rude by it, I was just curious.”“Well then why did you say it like a prick?” Tadamori snapped, rapidly snapping the tongs in her hand together. With the other, she thrust out a plate full of meat, nearly spilling its contents, which Honda accepted with an annoyed stare.“I didn’t.” He replied simply.“Can you just get me what I want so I can go?” Kuno asked, having stuck to her guns and remaining in her regular outfit. She held out an empty plate in Tadamori’s direction.“Fuck, you two are so goddamn whiny.” Tadamori snatched the plate from Kuno. “But fine. You’d better say thanks when you’re done.”“Hmph.” Kuno just snorted, stuffing her hands into her pockets.“Hey guys.” Fuji greeted.“Finally somebody who has some manners.” Tadamori snapped. “Fuji, I’ll give you any shit you want first, because you actually respect me and appreciate me. Unlike some other fucks around here.” She glared at Honda, who sighed and shook his head, and Kuno, who rolled her eyes, before dropping Kuno’s plate and snatching one of Fuji’s from his hand. “Whadda ya want?”“I-It’s alright.” Fuji let out an awkward laugh, holding both of his hands up. “You can serve Kuno before me. She was here first, after all.”“What a gentleman.” Tadamori said, again shooting another sharp stare in Honda’s direction. “This is why you’re one of the cooler people here.” She then directed her venomous gaze towards Kuno, who matched it with a chill stare of her own. Fuji felt like he was in danger just standing near them. “Hurry up and tell me what you want.”“Some of the seared beef and the baked vegetables.” Kuno said simply, pointing out what she wanted.“Tadamori… if you don’t mind me asking...” Fuji began. He almost lost his nerve as all three of Tadamori, Kuno, and Honda turned to stare at him, gazes filled with varying amounts of misplaced irritation. “Wh-Why are you handing out the food? I figured that you’d like to… y’know, hang out in the pool.”“Bah.” Tadamori dismissively flapped the tongs at him, accidentally flicking a tiny bit of meat at Honda, who glanced down as it hit him in the chest. “Don’t need to be in the water to show off this bangin’ bod. Plus, I don’t trust these freaks around my food. I put a lot of work into this shit. I don’t want the general populace around here fuckin’ everything up.” She snapped up a couple pieces of the requested food, dropping it onto the paper plate before thrusting it back in Kuno’s direction. “Here.”“...thanks.” Kuno replied, taking the plate with both hands.“Yeah, yeah.” Tadamori waved her away, lips pressed together. “You’re welcome. Or whatever.” She glanced in Fuji’s direction, and he smiled at her. She sighed and picked up the plate she’d dropped earlier. “What the hell do you wanna eat?”Fuji placed both his order and Esumi’s. Tadamori rolled her eyes and snorted at Fuji’s ‘softie nature’, as she put it. Honda and Kuno broke off, moving to the side and talking quietly. As Fuji waited for his food, he glanced around the Pool again.The four in the pool itself were still playing whatever game it was that they had cooked up, though it looked like Ikari was acting as a bit of a punching bag, since Kimura was currently squirting him with water even though they were supposedly on the same team. Esumi and Jitsuko were still at the pool’s edge, the former having pulled herself out of the water. Chujo had arrived at some point, and was currently snoozing on one of the pool chairs nearby, a sunhat placed over his face.A glance to the side, however, revealed an interesting pair to be separated from the group. Amami and Valentine were a distance away, closer to the Ultimate Adventurer Lab than they were to the group. Fuji couldn’t tell what they were saying from his vantage point, but they were obviously in some sort of somewhat heavy discussion. Valentine looked concerned, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently. She snapped at Amami, who raised his hands up in appeasement before saying something to her, motioning with a roll of his wrist. Valentine’s shoulders slumped, and she said something that made Amami shake his head.“Fuck’s goin’ on over there?” Tadamori asked, looking over a the two of them. Her voice snapped Fuji out of his intent staring.“I… dunno.” Fuji replied.“Didn’t think she was his type, but hey.” Tadamori snorted.“...huh?” Fuji looked over at her. When he did, she held out a plate towards him, filled with meat and sauce. He took it, then glanced back at Amami and Valentine.“He’s obviously hitting on her.” Tadamori told him, holding out another plate, this one loaded with both grilled and fresh vegetables.“Uh...” With the… new information, Fuji turned back to look at the two. Amami reached out and patted Valentine on the shoulder, and she seemed to sigh, glancing up at him and saying something.“See?” Tadamori said. “Amami’s had that ‘playboy’ vibe about him from day one. Didn’t think he’d go for a bitch like Diana, but you learn somethin’ new every day.”“Hmm.” Fuji hummed. He… wasn’t seeing it.“Fuji! What’s goin’ on, man?!” Dewa shouted, jogging past Valentine and Amami, causing the two to glance up at him. Tadamori rolled her eyes and sneered as Dewa approached. “Didn’t mean to be late, that’s my bad!”“It’s fine.” Fuji replied, smiling at him.“Psh.” Tadamori snorted.Dewa shot her a scowl before turning back to Fuji, his grin returning. “Yeah, I was gonna hop into the pool, but I realized I didn’t have anywhere to put my Monopad, so I had to run it back to the Staterooms.”“Ah.” Fuji immediately saw the problem with that, but Tadamori unfortunately spoke up before her could.“You fuckin’ moron!” She flapped her tongs at Dewa. “How the hell’re you gonna get back into your room?!”“...huh?” Dewa furrowed his brow.“If your Monopad is in your room, and you’re out here...” Fuji began, trailing off to let Dewa finish the thought. The Ultimate Movie Critic looked between Fuji and Tadamori for a few moments before he snorted, doubling over and laughing.“Pfahahaha! Shit!” He clapped Fuji on the back before glancing up at him. “You got yours with you, right?”“...hehe. Yeah.” Fuji pointed over to one of the pool chairs, where his towel was wrapped up into a bundle. “I put it over there to be safe.”“Then we’re fine! I’m goin’ to the same place anyways, right?”“God, you’re so fucking stupid.” Tadamori rolled her eyes, turning away to rearrange some of her plates.“Man, whatever.” Dewa shot her a look, then hooked an arm around Fuji’s shoulders. “Who cares, right? Shouldn’t we have a little fun while we’re out here?”“Yeah, sure.” Fuji nodded. “Let me just give Esumi her food first.”“Sounds good.” Dewa grinned, pulling him ahead. Fuji didn’t have much of a choice but to follow, but he would have done so anyways.Fuji let out a sigh of relief, the humid air of the bathroom spilling out into his stateroom. A shower was just what he needed after messing around in the pool like that all afternoon. The pool party had continued into the evening, and was only stopped once Tadamori got mad at everybody for eating so much and Honda pointed out that the sun was setting.Fuji, towel draped over his shoulders, dabbed at some water still in his ear. Steam flowed over his feet as the heat between the two rooms equalized. Fuji took a deep breath, and decided he needed a bit more airflow in his room. He wasn’t one for the cold, but this humidity was just a bit much for him.He first went to his door that led to the hallway and cracked it slightly, to assist with airflow, then made his way over to his porthole window, cracking open it slightly. Fuji couldn’t help but sport a small grin at the cool nighttime air that wafted in. It was a nice night out, and Fuji took a few moments just to sit at the window and admire the star filled sky. The stars were always comforting to look at, since they were always the same. Always the… same…Fuji frowned. Wait. He knew stars. It was part of navigating, being able to look at the sky and figure out where one was. If he could procure the right tools…His train of thought was cut off by a clatter and a loud crunch coming from the hallway. He started, nearly falling backwards, and quickly turned to rush over to his door. When the threw it open, however, what he found was…“Shit.” Dewa pushed himself up onto all fours, having apparently fallen face first onto the floor. Littered around him were bags of various kinds of junk food, as well as a couple bottles of soda, one of which was rolling down the hall towards the intersection. Beneath where his chest had been was a single bag of potato chips. The bag had popped open, and crumbs littered the carpet.Before Fuji could leave his room to help Dewa out, the door across the hall, which led to Amami’s Stateroom, swung open, and Goto appeared, hands on his hips and a vicious scowl on his face. “What’s the meaning of all this ruckus?!” He snapped, turning to glare at Dewa. “Do you know what time it is?”“Uh… no.” Dewa said.“It is midnight.” Goto said, contempt evident in his voice. “That means it is two hours after everybody is supposed to be in bed. You’ve had ample time to do whatever… this is.” He flapped his hand in Dewa’s general direction.“Hey now,” Amami seemed to practically materialize out from behind Goto, giving that appeasing half grin of his. “Let’s not get too angry. Especially since it is a couple hours into Nighttime.” Goto crossed his arms over his chest and gave off a haughty huff. Amami patted him on the shoulder, offering him a more personal smile, before exiting the room and heading over to Dewa. He stooped down and picked up what looked like a cardboard tube of chips.“Are you alright, dude?” Fuji asked, finally emerging from his room to help Dewa as well. “What happened?”“Eh, I was just hungry.” Dewa laughed, settling onto his legs and beginning to pick up crumbs from the floor. “Went to the Knick-Knack shop to grab some snacks, since the Kitchen’s closed. And when I got back here, uh...” He glanced around at the scattered snacks and shot Fuji a sunny grin. “I ate shit, basically.”“Lemme help you out.” Fuji said, offering Dewa a smile before stooping down to gather some of the smaller packets of candy.“Ugh.” Goto sneered. “You couldn’t have been a little quieter with your mess?”“Shut up, man.” Dewa glared at the Mathematician. “You shouldn’t have been able to hear anyways. The fuckin’ Staterooms are soundproofed. So what’s your deal, huh?”“Wh-” Goto went red in the face, huffing and turning away. “That… well… I don’t believe that’s any of your business!”“It’s my bad.” Amami cut in, glancing first at Dewa and then at Goto. “I didn’t feel like sleeping, so I was gonna head out and stargaze for a bit. I left my door cracked open while I talked to Goto.”“Hmph.” Goto simply snorted, keeping himself turned away from the group.“Stargazing?” Fuji asked, more to himself than anything else. Oh!, that was right! “Ah, hey, Amami.”“What’s up?” Amami looked over at him.“I was just thinking about the stars, actually, and I figure… well, if there’s anybody else here that would know about them, it’d be you.” Fuji began. “So-”However, before he could continue, a pair of footsteps caught their attention, and Honda strolled up, a bottle of soda in his hand. He looked over the four silently for a moment before holding the bottle out to Dewa. “I believe this is yours.”“Uh… thanks.” Dewa said.“What’s all this about?” Honda asked.“I dropped some shit on the way back to my room.” Dewa replied, motioning with a bag of chips. “These guys heard the commotion and came to help me out.” His face morphed into a scowl, and he turned in Goto’s direction. “Goto decided to come out and be an asshole.”“I’ve had quite about enough of you.” Goto snapped. He turned heel and went back into Amami’s room, slamming the door shut behind him.“Well, if that’s all this is about.” Honda said simply. He, too, turned and walked down the hall, taking a turn into the Mixed Hall and disappearing around the corner.“…my Monopad is in my room.” Amami sighed. He stood up, handing Dewa the can of chips in his hand and turning to go knock on the door to Goto’s room. Fuji watched him walk away and decided that he’d ask him about the stars tomorrow.“Hey, uh, thanks for the help, man.” Dewa pulled himself to his feet and shifted all of his snacks into one arm, offering Fuji his now free hand. Fuji took it, and Dewa hauled him up.“Yeah, it’s no problem.” Fuji offered Dewa a half smile. He watched over Dewa’s shoulder as the door to Goto’s room opened up, and Amami slipped inside. Tomorrow then… Dewa glanced over his shoulder as the door clicked shut, and grinned.“Here. You can have this. You like barbecue?” He fished a small bag out of the clump of snack foods cradled in his arm and held it out to Fuji.“...” Fuji stared at it for a second, before taking it and letting his smile grow into something a little more genuine. “Yeah, I do. Thanks.”“Hey, no prob man.” Dewa grinned. “Get some rest, though, you look a little… tired.” His mouth drooped for a moment before pulling up into a good natured smirk. “And hey, chin up. I’m sure things’ll get better soon. They’ve gotta, right?”“You’re right.” Fuji nodded. “They’ve gotta.”“Atta boy.” Dewa clapped him on the shoulder before fishing his Monopad out. “I’m gonna snack and then head to bed. See you tomorrow, man.”“See you tomorrow.” Fuji replied.With that, Dewa headed into his room, leaving Fuji alone in the hallway. He frowned, popping the bag open, and glanced down at the Staterooms’ intersection. Things… had to get better soon.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sunlight forced Fuji to open his eyes. It streamed from the porthole window, directly on his face, forcing him to throw a hand over his face. He just laid like that for a while as spots flashed across the inside of his eyelids. After a few moments, the spots faded, and Fuji forced himself to a sitting position in an attempt to reorient himself. Now that he wasn’t being blinded by sunlight, his mind kicked into gear, and allowed him to push away his drowsiness. Once that had happened, he remembered.He was still on the Ultimate Cruise Liner.Fuji sighed, threading a hand into his hair, and flopped back down onto his bed. He’d say his day was now ruined, but it was getting harder and harder to be upbeat about being imprisoned here. Yesterday, the group had the pool party to distract them somewhat, but now…Fuji reached over, fumbling for his Monopad on of his nightstand. It took a few tries, a strange morning lethargy settled into his bones. Still, he retrieved it and went to check the time. He’d, unfortunately, taken to waking up late for the past couple days, and was sure today was no difference. It was only a matter of how late.Surprisingly, however, Fuji found himself squinting at the numbers on the screen, telling him that the time was 6:24. In the morning. He blinked, staring at the time for a little while longer, as though it was playing a trick on him, and enough scrutiny would make it change. It didn’t change, though, and Fuji flopped onto his back. Well… at least he could go back to sleep? Not like he couldn’t before. There was nothing actually keeping him to this schedule of breakfast with the others, aside from his own fear of what might happen if he didn’t.Fuji went to put his Monopad down, a sigh escaping his throat, when his eyes flicked over to one of the tabs. His heart sank into his stomach. The ‘Motives’ tab stared at him, a bouncing red ‘1’ in a bubble, letting him know that there was more of it for him today. Fuji stared at it for a few moments before closing his eyes and furroing his brow. Dammit. Just like the other two times before, Fuji reached up and tapped the ‘Motives’ tab. Again, he was greeted with another option to select, this one titled ‘MOTIVE 1, PART 3 – FUJI YOTA’.“Hi Yota!”Fuji’s eyes widened in surprise as the motive’s clip began. This wasn’t Yasuke’s voice, it was-“It’s Mio! Big bro Yasuke is helping Daddy right now, so he let me do the call all by myself! I even remembered your number! Are you proud of me? I’m really good at this!” Fuji’s gut wrenched as his little sister’s laugh sounded through the Monopad’s speakers.“Are you coming home soon? I want you to come home soon!” Mio said, “I know that you’re one of the, um… Ulta Mates, and you do lots of cool stuff, but I want you to do cool stuff at home too! I like it when you talk about art that you found! The statues are my favorite. When you come home, bring a statue and show it to me, okay? One of the really big ones!”A few shuffling sounds came from the other end of the message, and Mio’s voice got farther away. It sounded like she was talking to somebody else, and after a few more moments of shuffling, a laugh came through loud and clear.“Heya, Yota. Didn’t want Mio to have all the fun.” Yasuke said. “How’re things going on your end? I’m sure Mio talked your ear off. Didn’t you, Mio?” In the background, Fuji heard a quiet ‘nuh uh!’, at which Yasuke laughed before continuing. “Anyways, just offering you an update. Things are… going well. Dad’s feeling better again, but… you know him. He never tells me if something’s wrong. I’ve had time to focus more on helping Mio, but… well, doesn’t stop me from worrying. Hey, I dunno what you’ve been up to, but ring me back as soon as you can, yeah? Haven’t heard from you in a while, and… well, we all miss you, man.” Yasuke sighed. “Anyways… keep up all your good work, alright? And make sure to call. I’m proud of you, Yota. Love ya. Wanna say bye, Mio?”A bit more shuffling came from the phone before Mio’s voice returned to the forefront. “Bye bye, Yota! Come home soon, okay? I love youuuu!”Fuji found himself sick as the audio cut out, the black screen of the audio’s background staring mockingly back at him. Soon enough, the cutesy picture of Monokuma appeared, letting him know that he could always kill somebody if he wanted to know more. But… Fuji knew he wasn’t capable of something like that, even if he wanted to… right?His motivation for the day drained, Fuji dropped his Monopad next to him on the bed. He already felt so tired…A knocking shook Fuji from his stupor, making him bolt into a sitting position. A moment later, the connecting door swung open, and Dewa’s head popped into view. Fuji and Dewa stared at each other for a few moments before Dewa cleared his throat and spoke up.“Uh, good morning?” He said. “You… you good, Fuji?”“Y-Yeah. Yeah.” Fuji nodded, reaching up to smooth down some locks of hair that were sticking up. “Sorry, I just… just had some trouble sleeping...” Fuji sighed, reaching over to grab his Monopad, which still rested innocently next to him on the bed. He quickly flicked it on as Dewa let the silence settle. A quick check revealed the time to be 7:58. He hadn’t even fallen back asleep for that long.“No kidding.” Dewa shook his head, putting a hand on his hip. “Same here. Guess gettin’ locked up on a ship like this fucks with you, even if the place is nice as hell.” He finally stepped forward into Fuji’s room, letting Fuji see that he was just… in an undershirt and his boxers.“Yeah...” Fuji glanced away, then looked back at Dewa. “You didn’t go on a jog with Ikari this morning?”“Nah.” Dewa said, shaking his head. “Wasn’t feelin it this morning.” He paused for a moment, glancing away, before he turned back to Fuji with a guilty smile. “Hope you don’t mind me sayin’, but I didn’t think you’d be up this early. This is the first time I’ve actually seen you up before the announcement.” He offered Fuji a crooked grin. Fuji let out a humorless chuckle.“Hah. Yeah, I just… y’know.” He shrugged. “The motive.”“...” Just the mention of the motive seemed to knock all the joy out of Dewa, and he turned away and let out a heavy sigh. “Yeah. Shit’s messed up, huh?”“Yup.” Fuji turned to make eye contact. “Do you… wanna talk about it or something?”“...nah.” Dewa shook his head, avoiding looking in Fuji’s direction. “I don’t even like thinkin’ about it. It’s already taking up way too much brain space…”“No worries.” Fuji said, nodding. “I get it.”Dewa turned to Fuji, a soft smile on his face. Before he could say anything, however, there was the crackle of static, and they both turned to the monitor in Fuji’s room. It let out another static-y squawk before the screen turned on.Fuji was treated to a scene of Monotaro and Monodam sitting on a small couch. Monotaro had on a pair of sunglasses, while Monodam had some sort of flowery lei. Both held multicolored drinks, though the screen seemed to be showing a static picture, as opposed to a live feed.“Goooooood morning, passengers, students, and all other synonyms you’d like!” Monotaro said, “It is now 8AM, which means Nighttime is now over!”“ALL-LOCKED-AMENITIES-ARE-NOW-AVAILABLE-FOR-USE.” Monodam said, “HAVE-A-THRILLING-DAY.”With that, the monitor clicked off, leaving Fuji and Dewa in silence. Fuji blinked at the screen, simply staring for a few moments. Those… bears were so weird. After another moment of quiet, he turned to Dewa, who seemed lost in thought.“Hey Dewa,” Fuji said, his voice seeming to shake Dewa from his stupor. “Wanna go get some breakfast?”“...yeah.” Dewa cracked a grin. “Dunno why, but I’m feeling hungry as hell. Let’s go!”“Hah.” Fuji laughed, “We might want to get dressed first.”“Uh?” Dewa let out a confused noise, glancing down at himself. He then laughed, slapping his knee. “You’re right! I’m gonna take a shower, head out in thirty?”“Sounds like a plan.” Fuji replied.Though they’d only been on the Ultimate Cruise Liner for a few days, Fuji couldn’t help but feel a bit bad that he’d never really been on time for the group breakfast. Every time he’d arrived at the Dining Hall, everybody was there, and that sight was what he’d become somewhat accustomed to seeing.So it was strange to arrive that morning, and find the place half empty.Fuji blinked as he and Dewa entered the Dining Hall, finding only some of their numbers there. At one table sat Honda, head propped up on an arm and eyes trained on the wall. Across from him was Amami, who picked at the remains of something on the plate before him. The other table with people at it held Uma, Valentine, Ikari, and Hiramoto. Uma and Hiramoto poked at the remains of their breakfasts as well, while Ikari stuffed something into his mouth. Valentine leaned against the table, positioned between Uma and Hiramoto, and glanced at them when they came in.“Man, finally.” Valentine said, leaning back in her seat and sighing. “I was getting worried nobody else would show up.”“...yeah, where is everybody?” Dewa asked, looking around.“Perhaps they’re still asleep?” Uma offered.“B-But usually… almost e-everybody is… is here by now.” Hiramoto said, prodding at her plate.“I know people are stressed out about the motive, I am too.” Valentine said, shaking her head. “But we’ve got to stay together. We can’t stay a team if half the team just disappears.”At that, the conversation hit a lull, with everybody looking in their own different direction. The motive was obviously a sore spot, Fuji could tell, and he definitely felt the same. He cleared his throat, intending to shift the topic, if even for a little bit.“Hey, uh, Hiramoto.” Fuji said. He noticed her stiffen in surprise at being directly addressed. “Are you feeling any better today?”“Uh...” Hiramoto looked side to side, confusion evident on her face. “I… I-I’m sorry, um...”“You mentioned yesterday that you felt sick.” Fuji elaborated. “That’s, uh… why you didn’t attend the pool party, right?”“A-Ah! Y-Yes! Yes, th-that’s right!” Hiramoto replied quickly. Perhaps a bit too quickly. She flapped her hands as she spoke, letting her fork clatter against her plate. “I… I d-didn’t… didn’t f-f-feel good! B-But I’m… uh… I’m um… b-better! N… now…”“You sure?” Dewa asked, brow furrowed. “You don’t seem alright.”“Hey!” Valentine immediately jumped to Hiramoto’s defense, literally. She bounced out of her seat and shot Dewa a scowl. “Don’t you think that’s kind of rude?!”“No!” Dewa scowled back. “I’m just saying-”“Well it’s rather rude of you to say!” Valentine replied, cutting him off. That seemed to tick Dewa off a bit.“Okay, look! I wasn’t saying it to to be rude!” He snapped. “I’m just saying she doesn’t seem that much better. I’m just being worried for her!”“Now now, guys...” Amami pulled himself to his feet, approaching the two.
Fuji backed away from the argument
despite accidentally starting it
,
not really
wanting to g
e
t
in between Dewa and Valentine
.
Besides, it seemed like Amami was moving in to help diffuse the situation, and he didn’t want to get in his way. To the side,
Hiramoto shrank back, while Uma scooted over and patted her on the shoulder. Ikari looked on in concern, the commotion clearly tearing his attention away from his breakfast.
But only somewhat, as he still took the time to shovel a forkful of something into his mouth.

Honda caught
Fuji’s
eye, mainly because he was the only one who didn’t seem affected by the argument at all. In fact… he seemed completely distracted, his head propped up on an arm. His brow was furrowed, face scrunched up into a scowl. The others talking didn’t even seem to phase him, his face holding that same frustrated expression. Curiosity got the best of him, and Fuji shuffled over
to Honda, and cleared his throat.
“Excuse me, Honda.” Fuji said.“...eh?” Honda blinked, the sound of Fuji’s voice directed at him finally bringing him back to earth. He looked over at Fuji, then frowned. “Yes? How can I help you?”“I just… wanted to see if you were alright.” Fuji explained. “You, uh, looked a little lost in thought.”“Hmm.” Honda hummed, gaze drifting to the side and face scrunching up into that same expression from earlier. It only lingered for a moment before he turned back to Fuji. “It’s nothing… massive. Just something I need to ask the group about. Unfortunately, it’s looking like this might not be the case.” He took a second to glance around, sighing when he evidently noticed nobody new had arrived.“Why, what’s wrong?” Fuji asked.“I’d rather keep it to a single mention, if at all possible, so that I can get everything out of the way all at once.” Honda answered, shrugging. “Sorry if that’s an unsatisfactory answer.”“No, I understand.” Fuji offered him a smile. “I imagine it’d get pretty annoying running around the ship repeating yourself all day.”At that, Honda let out a humored snort, the edge of his lips curling upwards. “Yes, I suppose it would.” He looked Fuji over again and sighed. “If it makes you feel any better, it doesn’t particularly apply to you, as well as a few others. However, I still want everybody here when I talk about it.”“Makes sense.” Fuji said, nodding. “Do you think we should gather everybody up?”“Hmm...” Honda hummed again, pursing his lips. “No, not yet, at least. We should wait a few more moments, see if anybody else decides to show up. Then, if we have to, I’m sure some of us wouldn’t mind going to fetch the others.”With his part said, Honda nodded at Fuji, then turned away again, going back to whatever thoughts filled his mind. Fuji watched him for a moment more, then sighed and turned away. A glance at the other group revealed that, whatever had happened, Amami had diffused it. Uma stood next to Valentine and laughed, a hand on her shoulder, while Amami just shrugged at Dewa, who tapped his foot in evident annoyance. To the side, Ikari grinned at Hiramoto, who pushed around a piece of fruit on her plate with a shy smile on her face.Fuji chuckled quietly. He couldn’t stop himself from thinking, yet again, that if the circumstances were different, he wouldn’t mind this being a typical morning routine. Even with only half of them here, things were kind of lively, and he could definitely appreciate things like this.As he began making his way to the Kitchen, Dewa shouted after him. Fuji turned to see him approaching, and offered him a grin. Dewa began talking about Valentine being a bit unreasonable, and the two headed into the Kitchen. Like always, there were a variety of breakfast foods from all over the world laid out over the counters, supposedly prepared by the Deckhands for them. It wasn’t all that trustworthy, but the food hadn’t proven to be… harmful just yet, so Fuji supposed they’d just have to deal.The moment he and Dewa emerged from the Kitchen, the doors on the other side of the Dining Hall opened up, revealing Jitsuko, Esumi, and a half asleep Chujo. Esumi waved at Valentine’s table, and Valentine returned her greeting with a wave of her own. Jitsuko tromped over to an empty table and plopped down, with Chujo following suit. Esumi looked at them, then let out a sigh. She began approaching Fuji and Dewa, a smile on her face.“Uh, hey Dewa.” Fuji said. “Could you please take my breakfast to our table for me? I wanna talk to Esumi for a sec.”“Yeah, sure man. No prob.” Dewa nodded, shifting his own plate to one hand so he could take Fuji’s with the other. He walked off just as Esumi approached, her hands immediately flying into action.‘Good morning, Fuji.’ Esumi signed. ‘I hope you don’t get mad at me when I say it’s a surprise to see you up this early.’ She placed a hand over her mouth, and her shoulders shook in a silent laugh.‘No, it’s all fine.’ Fuji let out a guilty laugh of his own, moving to sign back at Esumi. ‘I’ve been pretty consistently late, haven’t I?’‘I’m sure the others don’t mind.’ She signed, ‘I know I don’t. It’s good to see you here.’‘Same to you.’ Fuji signed, ‘I’m gonna go eat my breakfast now, if that’s fine with you.’‘By all means. I’m gonna get some breakfast for me and Jitsuko anyway. She gets so grumpy in the morning.’ Esumi playfully stuck out her tongue, as though managing Jitsuko was some sort of humorous chore. Fuji could practically feel a bead of sweat rolling down his back as he glanced over at Jitusko, somewhat relieved to find her staring at Chujo, who was now snoozing on the table, instead.‘I see.’ Was all Fuji could think of to reply with. Esumi again performed her silent laugh, then offered Fuji a simple wave and a nod before turning heel and walking into the Kitchen. Fuji found himself letting out a sigh he didn’t know he was holding. He wasn’t sure why, but just being near Esumi made him feel like the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Esumi, she was a very nice girl, but more… like one wrong move would lead to Jitsuko beating the crap out of him. At least the two of them were friends?
F
uji made his way over to the table Dewa was sitting at, which happened to be the same one as Valentine and the others. Uma waved Fuji over, and Hiramoto offered him a shy smile before receding back into her hair. Ikari laughed and hooked an arm around Fuji’s shoulders as he sat down between him and Dewa.
“Good to see you up bright and early!” Ikari said, a grin painting his face. “Always feels nice to be up and at ‘em, right?”“Y… yeah.” Fuji nodded, adjusting his neck so that Ikari’s friendly gesture wasn’t an accidental choke hold.Valentine looked over the members of the table before shaking her head. Her chair shifted against the carpeting, and she bounced to her feet. “I’m gonna go get the others!” She announced. “We shouldn’t have anybody be any more late to breakfast. This is for the group meeting, after all!” And before anybody could stop her, Valentine marched out of the Dining Hall.“Glad to see some energy.” Uma said after a second.“Feh.” Jitsuko scoffed, “Too much, if you ask me.”“Hrm.” Amami mused out loud, then pulled himself out of his chair as well. “I think I’ll go get Goto. I think Valentine will have some trouble getting him out of his room.”“C… can I...” Hiramoto said, quietly, twiddling her fingers. “C-Can I come… um… w-with you?”“Of course.” Amami smiled at her, prompting a light blush to spread over Hiramoto’s cheeks. She awkwardly removed herself from her chair, and Fuji watched Amami and Hiramoto leave the Dining Hall as well.
Esumi, who was now back at her table with a plate of food before her, leaned back in her chair and shot Fuji a raised eyebrow when she noticed him looking in her direction. Fuji shrugged, and
she
just gave him a half smirk before returning to her breakfast.
Now that people coming and going had slowed down a bit, Fuji had time to poke at his breakfast, despite not being as hungry as he thought he was. He pushed a piece of fish around on his plate while Uma and Dewa argued about some sort of documentary. Ikari threw in his two cents every once in a while, and Fuji just found his eyes drifting back to Valentine and Hiramoto’s empty seats.Behind him, he could hear Jitsuko and Esumi shuffling around at their table, while Chujo snored quietly. Honda’s fingers began tapping on the table, filling the room with a quiet, constant drum. The Dining Hall began to feel a bit bigger with every passing moment, though Fuji was sure his discomfort about the motive was getting the better of him. His mind again drifted back to the ‘simple’ request that the motive made of the sixteen of them. ‘Murder for more’…
His thoughts were interrupted by the Dining Hall doors slamming open. Fuji jumped in his seat, and the drumming and shuffling behind him stopped in surprise.
Even Chujo let out a startled snort, his snooze interrupted by the noise.
“I get it, I get it!” Tadamori shouted, her voice like nails on a chalkboard. “Fuck, back off!”“I didn’t even do anything to you…” Valentine said, sounding uncharacteristically tired.“You’re standing so close to me.” Tadamori replied, stomping into the Dining Hall.“Oooooooh,” Sasabe sang, amusement dancing in her voice. “Dia and Mori are yelling at each other! Do you think that means they like-”“Shut up!” Both Valentine and Tadamori shouted at her, stopping their argument to snap at Sasabe.“So rude!” Sasabe gasped, somehow sounding even more sarcastic than she did with her normal quips.
Fuji couldn’t help but chuckle at their antics, even as Dewa snorted and Uma hummed. Despite their continued shouting, the three girls added some levity to the morning that Fuji suddenly realized was missing.
It helped take his mind off of things, at least.

V
alentine put her hands on her hips, looking over the room. Tadamori shoved past her and dropped herself down in the free chair at Jitsuko’s table. Chujo looked over at her, then put his head back into his arms when Tadamori sneered at him. Sasabe skipped over to Honda’s table, sitting right next to him and immediately beginning to try and get his attention.
“Wait a minute...” Valentine spoke up after a second, scratching her head. “Why are there less people here than when I left?”“Oh, very simple!” Uma chimed in, smiling. “Amami and Hiramoto went to catch up with you. Amami mentioned that you’d have some difficulties getting Goto, while Hiramoto merely wanted to tag along, I suppose.”“Ugh.” Valentine shook her head and sighed. “Guess I should go catch up with them...”“Why bother?” Jitsuko snorted. “They’re coming back here anyways.”“Well...” Valentine began, then trailed off. “I want to go anyways.”“Whatever.” Jitsuko said, propping her feet up on the table. Esumi silently snickered at her side.As Valentine turned to leave however, the door swung open, and another group of students tromped in. Goto led the charge, his face painted in a typical scowl. Amami stuck to his side, a half grin showing that he didn’t seem as stressed about things as he could have been. Behind them, Hiramoto shuffled, her hands fiddling with her satchel. At her side was Kuno, face flat and hands in her pockets.“We’re back.” Amami said, looking a bit guilty.“Well at least you brought some people with you.” Valentine replied, shaking her head again.“S-Sorry...” Hiramoto said, looking down at the carpeting, “I… w-we just… just wanted to, um. Help.”“Oh, don’t worry!” Valentine bounced over to the two of them, Goto and Kuno separating to give them some space. Or, more likely, to get some space for themselves.“Wanna be any more transparent?” Sasabe called out to Valentine, clearly stifling a laugh.“Is that even possible?” Dewa asked, snorting.“Oh, can it!” Valentine snapped. “Anyways, aren’t we all here?”“We’re missing one.” Honda said, not even bothering to turn and look at the others.Fuji took a second to look around the room. Sure enough, after a couple counts of everybody who was around… it seemed like they were only missing one person. And that person was…“Looks like… Kimura’s not here.” Fuji said, frowning.“Who cares?” Goto snorted, rolling his eyes. “He’s annoying.”“Agreed.” Jitsuko said. Esumi nodded as well.“C’mon guys.” Amami chimed in, “It’s… not really a group meeting if the whole group isn’t here, right?”“It’s a waste of time, is what it is!” Tadamori shouted, throwing a hand into the air. “There’s nothing to do on this stupid ship, and I’ve still got tons of things that would be a better use of my time!”“He should be around somewhere,” Kuno said, having placed herself at Honda’s table. “He wasn’t in his room when I woke up this morning, so he could be anywhere.”“Do you check on him when you wake up?” Sasabe cooed. “That’s adorable!”“...” Kuno said nothing, simply shooting a glare at her.“Well, creepiness aside, somebody’s gotta go find him.” Valentine said. The room fell silent, and Fuji watched most of the others glance away, as though if they didn’t look at Valentine, then she couldn’t see them. Fuji sighed quietly and moved to raise his arm and get up, though Dewa quickly reached over and put a hand on his shoulder. He pushed Fuji back down and offered him a quick, stern shake of the head. Before he could protest, Valentine spoke up again.“Ugh. Fine, I’ll do it.”She pivoted on her heel, moving back towards the door to the hallway. Amami and Hiramoto, who were still standing, started to move after her. They didn’t get much closer before both of the doors slammed open, nearly catching Valentine. She yelped stumbled backwards, and Amami and Hiramoto surged forward to meet her.“Well!” Kimura announced, standing in the center of the doorway. “Hopefully my dramatic entrance went well enough.” He pursed his lips, looking around the room. “Sheesh, you guys take so long to gather up! How am I supposed to look cool if everybody takes forever to get ready?”“Wh...” Valentine shook her head to compose herself, pushing some locks of hair back into place. “What’s the-”“Alright!” Honda interrupted, his voice settling into that tone of his that called attention like no other. “Now that we’re all here, I have something I need to ask everybody!” He stood up, chair scooting back, and looked out over the room to make sure everybody was listening before he continued. “I want to know who thought it would be a good idea to tear up my lab last night.”Once Honda had finished speaking, a thick silence settled over the Dining Hall. Not even the members of their group like Jitsuko or Tadamori seemed willing to speak up and break the silence Honda had placed on them. Honda himself looked a bit more irritated with each passing second, his eyes flitting around the room, on the hunt for somebody willing to give him an answer.“Well?” Honda asked, again looking everybody over. Even though Fuji had no idea what Honda was talking about, he still felt like he was on the other end of a teacher’s scolding. Honda let out an angry sigh. “Come on, just tell me. If you’re looking for something, I can help you, but all this looks like is somebody messing around for no good reason.”“Hmm...” Kimura somehow spoke up. He didn’t seem particularly affected by Honda’s tone, and had his hands clasped behind his head. “Maaaaaaybeeeee… Monokuma did it? Or one of those Deckhands… they all do stupid things for no good reason.”“How rude!” Monokuma’s voice suddenly rang out. “Accusing your Captain of such a heinous deed? It’s just unbelievable!” The sound of his voice made Fuji jump, and seemed to shake off whatever spell Honda’s voice had put everybody under. Some mild grumbling and muttered words filled the room as Monokuma and the Deckhands made themselves known, climbing onto a nearby table.“Ransacking a Talent Lab is unforgivable!” Monotaro said, his little plushie face contorted in a mockery of a scowl. “A crime adjacent in severity to jaywalking! I would never do something like that!”“INDEED.” Monodam chimed in, “FRIENDSHIPS-CANNOT-BE-BUILT-UPON-BETRAYAL. YOU-ALL-SHOULD-KNOW-THAT-WE-WOULD-NEVER-DO-ANYTHING-LIKE-THAT.”“I couldn’t have said it better myself!” Monokuma said, clasping his stubby hands behind his back.“Oh, what the hell do you guys want?” Dewa asked. His face pulled into a sneer, and the others murmured some general consent.“Tsk tsk.” Monokuma shook his head. “Honestly, kids these days are so impatient with their elders. Especially dangerous ones like me. Oh well, it can’t be helped.” He shrugged, then continued on. “Like our friend Honda here, I’ve come to you sorry lot with an announcement. Though speaking of Honda, I must reiterate:” Monokuma paused for a moment and looked around at everybody. “The Deckhands and I would never do anything like that to the Ultimate Cruise Liner. Such events could be construed as ‘murder adjacent’, in the sense of helping to cover up a murder, which is strictly against the rules.”“Is that so.” Kimura said, his words sounding less like a question and more like a statement.“It is indeed.” Monokuma nodded. “Anyways, about my announcement...” All traces of amusement slipped away from Monokuma’s tone as she shook his head. “I’m very disappointed in a certain somebody here, though for the sake of fairness, I’ll keep their identity a secret. Still, I figure that a little bit of public humiliation will change your tune, even if it is anonymous.”“Huh?” Uma cocked her head. “What do you mean?”“What I mean is that somebody flaked last night.” Monokuma said. “And I’m thoroughly disappointed! And I was so excited to hand out the prize I’d cooked up that I was willing to extend the period to get it! But now you’re decided to be lame, so the prize is off the table!”“Prize?” Jitsuko asked, “What the fuck are you talking about?”“Forget it!” Monokuma snapped at her. “It’s gone! Nobody gets nothin’ anymore!” He turned away from the group and seemed to breathe heavily for a moment. “Ooh… I’m getting steamed up…”“C-Captain, calm down!” Monotaro yelled, sweating bullets. “These little rats aren’t worth it!”“PLEASE-LISTEN-TO-HIM.” Monodam said, nervously shuffling over to Monokuma. “DON’T-EXPEND-YOUR-ENERGY-ON-THEM.”“...” Monokuma let out an angry huff, then glanced over his shoulder at the Deckhands, then over the sixteen students. “...you two are right. Somehow.” He turned around, and pushed past Monotaro and Monodam to address everyone again. “That’s all I had to say. Just keep in mind that hell hath no fury like a bear scorned.”With his part said, Monokuma spun on a stubby foot, then marched off the edge of the table. He dropped gracelessly to the floor, and tromped towards the exit. Monotaro and Monodam quickly scurried to follow, and a moment later, the doors clicked shut, leaving the sixteen of them in awkward silence.“Well, that was a waste of time.” Kuno stood up from her seat, kicking it back into place. She stuffed her hands into her pockets and made her way to leave the Dining Hall.“Agreed.” Goto pushed his chair in and made for the door as well.“’M gonna go back to bed.” Tadamori said, following suit.“Guys, wait!” Valentine called out to them. “We haven’t even-”“Man, whatever.” Jitsuko spoke up as well, and the heavy sound of her feet hitting carpet cut Valentine off. “I’m leaving. Esumi, you comin’?” She glanced over at Esumi, who’s hands flew into action faster than Fuji was ready for. He missed whatever she signed, though it made Jitsuko shrug. “Fine. See ya later.” And then, like the others, she was gone.Another awkward silence settled over the remaining students, and Fuji found himself prodding at his breakfast. A bit of shuffling filled the room, but otherwise things were quiet. Fuji wracked his brain for something he could say to fix this scenario, but he was coming up blank. A quick glance at his table mates revealed the same. Dewa had a hand threaded into his hair, and he stared intently at the wall. Uma scribbled in her notebook, eyes locked onto it. Ikari’s gaze nervously flitted around, but he only met Fuji’s eye for a few moments before shrugging and turning away.“Well,” Honda’s voice broke the silence, as he too stood up and brushed his pants off. “I suppose this means this meeting is formally adjourned. I’m going to go fix my lab.”“Ah… I’m gonna go back to my room...” Chujo said, pulling himself out of his chair.“I… should go check on Goto...” Amami murmured. The two moved to catch up to Honda, and the three boys left the Dining Hall together.“Hmm...” Kimura hummed, looking around the room. “Well, this is kinda lame. Oh well, at least things are getting interesting around here, yeah?” He shot everybody a cheeky grin and a wave before trotting out after the others.Fuji looked around. Half of their numbers had left. Aside from the others sitting at the table with him, the only others remaining were Valentine, Hiramoto, Sasabe, and Esumi. The first two remained standing where they were. Valentine had her arms crossed, staring intently at the door, while Hiramoto fiddled anxiously with her satchel and played with her hair, her hands never seeming to fall still.Esumi still sat at her table, brow furrowed. Her fingers drummed on the table, and she stared into space. Sasabe, now at a table by herself since her other table mates had left, cocked her brow as Fuji looked in her direction. Her expression rose into a smirk as they locked eyes, and Fuji quickly looked away before her stare pulled him into something else ridiculous.“God dammit.” Valentine finally spoke up, putting a hand on her hip. “We’re falling apart.”“I-It’s… I, um...” Hiramoto said, twirling her hair around her fingers. “I d-don’t, uh... blame you. F-For things, um… n-not working out...”“Thanks.” Valentine shot her a smile, her words genuine.“Hmm.” Uma said, not seeming to speak to any of them in particular. “Do you think… what do you think Monokuma was talking about when he told us he was… disappointed?”“Huh?” Valentine glanced over at her, frowning. “I dunno. I figured it was just some BS. Sounds like something he’d make up.”Fuji’s mind spun, Uma’s words drawing his thought process back to Monokuma’s words. He said he was… disappointed in them. That meant that somebody did… something to make him dissatisfied, right? But what could that be, in this case?…His thoughts were stopped by Esumi raising a hand and waving it frantically. He blinked in surprise, and she pointed to herself.“I… shit.” Valentine sighed. “Sorry, I don’t… understand sign language. Does, uh… anybody here…?” She trailed off, offering a limp shrug and looking around.“I, uh… a-am fluent.” Hiramoto said, slightly raising a shaky hand. Esumi beamed at her a quickly began signing. Fuji was glad that Hiramoto had volunteered, because… well, he was proficient, but Esumi’s hands were moving far faster than he could process. Hiramoto’s eyes laser focused in on the movements, and her mouth opened a second later.“U-Um… Esumi says...” Hiramoto blinked, the edges of her lips turning down, and began translating, her voice falling into a more comfortable lull than it seemed she was used to. “She says… that she interprets Monokuma’s statement as saying… th… that somebody maybe attempted a murder last night? It would… e-explain the mention of both the prize, a-as well as his, um, dissatisfaction with a supposed outcome.”“M-Murder?...” Ikari echoed, finally seeming to tune back into the conversation. “That’s...” He trailed off, seeming to shrink down a bit.“Come on, dude.” Dewa spoke up, sitting up straight and lightly slapping Ikari’s shoulder. “Man up. Don’t be scared of a couple dumb words.”“...” Ikari just looked away, wringing his hands.“I would have phrased it better...” Valentine said, shaking her head. “But yeah, I don’t believe it. Sure, it’s always a possibility that one of us could think about killing, but like...” She took a moment to scratch the back of her head, looking almost unsure. “If somebody did make a murder attempt… wouldn’t we have heard about it? There’s no way one of us would almost get killed and then just… let it go, right?”“That’s… a good point.” Fuji said, his own voice surprising him for a second. But Valentine was right… right? He couldn’t think of a reason somebody would… hide that one of them made an attempt on another’s life. If somebody tried to kill, there wasn’t a point for the victim to hide it. Sharing would only serve to benefit everybody…“That’s true...” Uma spoke up, shaking Fuji from his thoughts. “But if that’s the case… then what was the announcement all about?”“I’m telling you,” Valentine said, “It’s just Monokuma bullshitting us. He’s probably getting annoyed that his stupid plan isn’t working, and is trying to provoke us. We should just ignore it.”“Y-Yeah… yeah.” Ikari nodded, seeming to perk up a bit. “It’s just Monokuma. Nothin’ else…”“Exactly!” Valentine nodded, putting on a grin.“Maybe… maybe we should just take the day to cool off...” Fuji said. “It might be a good idea to give everybody some distance if they want it...”“Yeah, definitely.” Dewa nodded. “Maybe we all just need a chance to spread out a bit.”“I… yeah, I think… I agree.” Ikari spoke up as well.“...well, if that’s what we want, I suppose things are for the best.” Valentine said with a sigh. “I don’t like us splitting up like this, but maybe we do just… need some space today.”“Yeah.” Fuji stood up and smiled. He scooped up his plate and utensils. “I think a bit of space would do us some good.” With his part said, Fuji turned and headed towards the Kitchen to at least dump his dishes in the sink or something. Sure, Monokuma had been cleaning up after them, but… well, he still didn’t like leaving his dishes out.“Hey, Fuji, wait up, man!” Dewa trotted after him, his own plates balanced in his hands. Fuji paused for a second at the door, holding it open with his foot. Dewa caught up to him and offered a crooked smile as the two stepped into the Kitchen.“What’s up?” Fuji asked, moving to place his plates into the sink.“Just wanted to know if you’re still down to hang out today.” Dewa said. “I know you mentioned giving everyone some space today, and I wasn’t sure if that meant you wanted to chill by yourself today or not.”“Oh, yeah!” Fuji smiled at Dewa. “I’m still alright with hanging out! I’m just, y’know, a bit worried about how the others are doing.”“Fair enough.” Dewa nodded, moving to carelessly dump his own dishes into the sink as well. “Got any ideas?”“N… not really...” Fuji said, awkwardly shrugging and letting out an unsure laugh. “I’m sure we can figure something out?…”“Heh. Yeah. There’s plenty to do. We just need to come up with something.”They didn’t share much else as they exited the Kitchen. Fuji didn’t think they were in there for that long, but it seemed like it’d been long enough. The Dining Room was completely void of the others, save for Uma. She was still perched in her chair, that intense look of thought still painted on her face. She rocked her chair on its back two legs, coming dangerously close to tipping over a few times. Fuji shared a look with Dewa, who then decided to march up to her.“Hey.” Dewa said, nudging her chair with his foot.“...hm?” Uma looked up at him, her eyes clearing up as she focused on Dewa. “Yes? What do you need?”“Do you wanna chill with me and Fuji?” He asked, motioning at Fuji with his thumb. “We’re just hanging out today. You’re alright enough, so I figured I’d ask if you wanted to… stop thinking about whatever and join us.”Uma blinked, taking Dewa’s words into consideration. She glanced over at Fuji. He offered her a smile and a wave. Uma stared at him for a second, then looked back at Dewa. After a moment of silence, she shrugged.“Sure. I don’t mind. I didn’t have anything else planned today.”“Cool.” Dewa said.Fuji watched as Uma dropped her chair back onto all fours, then stood up and stretched. She didn’t seem to care about her dishes, leaving them on the table as she shoved her chair back into place. Fuji couldn’t really think of anything to say as she adjusted her suspenders. It seemed Uma and Dewa didn’t have much else to say either, and the three simply headed out of the Dining Hall.The Staterooms were quiet, which was only a mild surprise to Fuji. He’d kind of expected things to be a bit louder in the area, considering that the Nighttime Announcement was going to play in like, half an hour. But maybe everybody was finishing some stuff up before they retired to their rooms for the night. As he plodded along, he glanced to the side, watching Uma fiddle with the deck of cards in her hands. He couldn’t help but look in awe as she elegantly shuffled the deck, fanning cards and flicking them from one hand to the other without even needing to look down at them.The two of them remained quiet, though Fuji noted with interest that she turned down the same hall as him. The sound of shuffling cards filled the still air, though not in a way that made things uncomfortable. Fuji came to a stop outside of his Stateroom, and turned to Uma. She cocked her head at him, whisked a few cards out of the deck, and held them out to him, their faces pointed at the floor.“Pick one.” She said.Fuji followed suit without question, plucking the one in the middle. It was-“Queen of Hearts?” Uma asked.“...no.” Fuji said, smiling without meaning to. “Jack of Clubs.”“Dammit.” Uma shook her head. “Then it’s… this one.” She reached out with her free hand and plucked another card. She showed it to Fuji, and sure enough, the Queen of Hearts stared back at him.“How’d you do that?” He asked.“I looked at all the cards before I held them out to you.” Uma said, a smirk growing on her face.“...pfft.” Fuji laughed at that. “Doesn’t that ruin the magic?”“Well, I wouldn’t have told you how I did it if I did it correctly.” Uma stated, matter of factly. She plucked the Jack from Fuji’s hand, and shuffled her cards back into the deck. Then, she held the deck itself out to him. “Can you hold onto these for me?”“Yeah, sure.” Fuji reached out, carefully taking the deck. He wasn’t anywhere near as graceful with the cards as Uma, and wanted to make sure he didn’t spill them all over the floor. “Why, what’s wrong?”“Nothing.” Uma shrugged. “I just don’t want to lose track of them. I tend to misplace trinkets.”“...really?” Fuji asked, cocking a brow at her. “No offense, but… shouldn’t a reporter have a better hold on things?”“Har har.” Uma rolled her eyes at him. “As long as I remember the information for my reports, it’s okay!”“S-Sorry.” Fuji said, chuckling. “It… I was just joking.”“Yeah, I know.” Uma smirked at him, turning to walk away. “You’re too nice to be serious about a comment like that. If that came from Tadamori or Jitsuko, maybe I’d be offended then.”“...’maybe’?” Fuji asked.“I’ve got thick skin, Fuji!” Uma said, planting her fists on her hips and putting on an almost theatrical wide stance. “It takes more than a few simple words to deter a reporter as invested as myself!” As she spoke, something seemed to occur to her, and she glanced around. “Speaking of invested people… where’d Dewa go?”“Huh?” Fuji glanced at her. “Oh, he uh… told me he was gonna chill at the Pool for a bit before going to bed. He said, uh… ‘chlorine relaxes him a bit’, I think...”“Hrm.” Uma tapped her cheek in thought. “If he keeps speaking like that, I might actually start to think that he and Sasabe have more in common.”That made Fuji laugh. Uma joined in with a few curt snickers of her own.“Maybe.” Fuji said, shaking his head. “Uh… thanks for hanging out today.” He continued, shooting her a smile. “I… honestly, I didn’t expect to make friends like this, but uh… it was really fun doin’ stuff today.”“Oh, any time.” Uma nodded. “Sometimes, I forget that other Ultimates are people. People like to play roles when they’re on the other end of the interview, so I thought it nice to not have to be just the ‘interviewer’ for some Ultimates for once.”“I get that.” Fuji said. “I’ve never met other Ultimates before this, so I’ve always thought of them as… I dunno...”“More ‘mythical’ than you are?” Uma asked, cocking a half grin.“Y… yeah.” Fuji was surprised at how easily Uma summed up his own thoughts. “Yeah. Like I was, uh, you know. Different from the others, somehow...”“Well, we’re all different from each other, I suppose.” Uma said, shrugging. “But that’s what makes us all human, right?”“Yeah. After talking with the others a lot… yeah, that’s how I feel.” Fuji smiled. “It’s nice to see other Ultimates are… people too, I guess.” He laughed. Uma joined again, and Fuji glanced away. “Well… I’m gonna retire for the night, okay?”“No worries.” Uma smiled, her expression more genuinely happy than her usual smirks. “We can figure out other stuff to do tomorrow too.”“Yeah.” Fuji nodded. “Night, Uma.”“Rest well, Fuji.” She replied. And then she trotted off down the hall, turning the corner and disappearing from sight.Once she was gone, Fuji sighed. Welp. He was alone now. Now that he didn’t have somebody to take his mind away from them, the thoughts about Monokuma’s announcement and the motive came back. Obviously, Valentine was right. There wasn’t a reason for somebody who was the target of a murder attempt to keep quiet about it. But then… what was Monokuma talking about? Was it really just to egg them on? But if that was the case… then wasn’t it just doing the same thing as the motive? And why would Monokuma do something like that if he already had a motive pushing at them?…Fuji shook his head. No point in thinking about this kind of stuff. He didn’t have any way to get the answers. All he could do was take a shower, lay in bed, and fall asleep. And he was kind of tired anyways…Fuji laid in his bed, but couldn’t fall asleep. His mind was buzzing. His brain was too stuck on the motive and Monokuma to fall asleep. He supposed this kind of thing would end up happening eventually. But what to do to fix this sleeplessness? He’d always had trouble falling asleep, but usually his problems were more physical, in the sense of him not wanting to put an artifact down, or being caught deep in a book. He’d never been kept up by an incentive to kill before.Fuji rolled onto his stomach and sighed. He grabbed his Monopad from his nightstand. A quick check of the time revealed exactly what he was expecting. It was about half an hour before midnight. The Nighttime Announcement had played a couple hours ago, the same as it always was. But Fuji didn’t want to write anything in his journal, and there wasn’t much else to do. Well…He got up out of bed, not even bothering to put his glasses on. Wasn’t like he was going anywhere. Fuji plodded over to his desk, and fumbled for the vaguely rectangular shape siting on the corner. The deck of cards nearly toppled over from his careless fumbling, but Fuji managed to keep it more or less intact. He then made his way back to his bed and plopped down, back facing the door to the hallway.Fuji spent a few minutes just shuffling cards. Anything he could do to keep his hands busy for a bit was more than helpful, and if he had to poorly shuffle a deck of cards for thirty minutes in order to fall asleep, then he’d spend thirty minutes shuffling.His hands were quick to take up a simple, repetitive motion, and Fuji closed his eyes as he fiddled with the deck. Just… focus on the cards. That’s all he needed to do. He just needed to tire his hands out, and then his brain would follow. He could get to sleep after that. All he had to do was do this for a bit, and then he’d be able to fall asleep. In fact, he could feel it helping alr-A sudden knock shook Fuji from his self-induced stupor, his hands jerking and fumbling the deck onto the floor. Suddenly wide awake again, Fuji’s eyes flicked around the bleary room, trying to find the source of the noise. It took a moment for his brain to catch up. Was… was that a knocking at his door?Fuji pulled himself to his feet, stepping over fallen cards and shuffling over to his nightstand. He grabbed his glasses and slipped them on, his room returning to clarity in the process. Clad currently in just his boxers and one of his identical t-shirts, Fuji scrambled to yank some pants on. If somebody really was at the door… well, he couldn’t really answer while in his underwear. Once he was relatively decent, Fuji headed over to the door and pulled it open.“Hey, sorry about the delay,” He began, “I was just-” Fuji stopped talking when he realized… nobody was there. Huh?… Fuji looked down the hall and found nobody around. So… did he just imagine that knock? He supposed it wouldn’t be too hard to do so, he was falling asleep…Fuji frowned. Well… guess he was just imagining things, right? If nobody was here… then nobody could have knocked on his door. And if they wanted him for something, they would have stayed around, right? Fuji took a step out into the hall, just to see if… whoever it was went into the intersection or something. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as something crinkled under his bare foot.A quick glance down revealed… a piece of paper. Folded down the middle and currently under his foot. Fuji blinked. What? He stooped down, moving his foot back so he could pick up the piece of paper. It… looked like some kind of fancy stationery, with a yellowed tint to it. Fuji’s frown grew as he slowly unfolded the piece of paper. A short message laid before him.‘Hey,’ the note read, ‘I found something weird in the Dining Hall. I think it might be related to Monokuma, and I want to look into it more. But I need your help. You’re one of the few people on this ship that I trust, so I need you to please come to the Dining Hall when you get this. This is a secret, so don’t tell anybody. I don’t want to attract Monokuma’s attention.’The note wasn’t signed. In fact, the most notable part about it was that it seemed to be written on some sort of fancy stationery, with golden accents around the corners of the page. Fuji frowned. Did somebody go out of their way to grab this paper? Though, he supposed, if the sender was telling the truth, and they were in the Dining Hall, then the Knick-Knack Shop would be closer than their stateroom…Wait, why was he worrying about the paper?! Fuji read the note over again, not quite believing what was written out on the page before him. Something ‘weird’? That was… nebulous at best. And… and… why him? And…A shuffling caught his attention, and Fuji’s head snapped up, finding Kimura strolling into the intersection. He glanced up and adopted a grin, waving at Fuji. Fuji didn’t know what else to do but offer a limp wave with his free hand. That was, apparently, the wrong choice, as Kimura changed direction and strolled over.“Hey buddy.” Kimura said. “What’s gotcha up at...” He glanced at his bracelet of shells as though he was looking at a watch. “This time at night?”“...I-” Fuji began, then looked at Kimura’s other hand. He had what looked like a sheet of paper… no, stationery rolled up in his hand, the material looking to have a yellowed tint to it. Instead of answering Kimura, Fuji pointed to the stationery with his free hand. “...what’s that?”“Huh?” Kimura followed Fuji’s gaze down to the piece of stationery. “Oh, this? It’s uhhhhh...” He conspicuously looked away, pressing his lips together. “A secret! Yup!” Kimura grinned, seemingly satisfied with his ‘answer’. He held his index finger over his mouth, his bracelet of shells jingling with the movement. “A secret friend wants to meet me about a secret friend.”“Are you...” Fuji paused, unsure of whether to investigate into his suspicions. If what he was thinking was true, then… why Kimura?“Am I what?” Kimura asked, cocking his head, his hand falling back down to his side.“...” Fuji looked Kimura over for a few seconds before sighing. Even if it was Kimura, it was better than looking into this alone, right? “Are you going to the Dining Hall?”“Oh!” Kimura gasped, and pointed to the paper in Fuji’s hand. “So you’ve been invited too!”“Shh!” Fuji shushed him, looking past Kimura into the Staterooms’ intersection. He went to scold Kimura, voice low. “It’s supposed to be a secret!”“Oh, right! Yeah.” Kimura nodded excitedly and matching Fuji’s tone, his voice falling into an excited whisper. “Do you wanna come with me? Seems like some fun, right? Like we’re secret agents or something!”“Eh...” Fuji let out a note of distress. Yeah, sure, he was kind of interested in seeing what this was about, but at the same time… something about this felt fishy. “I… I dunno. I wasn’t gonna go.” Fuji wasn’t even sure if that was a lie or not.“Well… then you should definitely come with!” Kimura’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “We’ll be safety buddies. You watch my back, I’ll scratch yours!”“That’s… not how it goes…” Fuji said, correcting Kimura in order to put off deciding.“Whatever, who cares about the saying?!” Kimura replied, his voice raising again. Fuji shushed him again, and Kimura rolled his eyes. “Look man. I’m going either way. I’m just inviting you to back me up. But hey,” He shot Fuji a mischievous grin. “if I end up dying, at least you’ll know somethin’ right?”“...” Fuji opened his mouth, then closed it. He frowned, then sighed. “Let me get dressed first.”“Right on!” Kimura offered him a thumbs up.Fuji shook his head and slipped back into his room, shutting the door behind him. Once he was sure the door was shut, Fuji sighed, running a hand through his hair. Well shit. Now he had to go. Deep down, Fuji knew that Kimura wasn’t going to stand around outside his room and wait all night, as tempted as Fuji was to see if he actually would. And, as weird as Kimura was… Fuji didn’t actually want anything to happen to him.
Fuji took a couple of minutes to get himself ready, pulling on one of his jackets and slipping on a pair of socks and his typical boots.
He stared at the note for a second before sighing and folding it into a small square.
It quickly went into one of his jacket’s inner pockets. Fuji then grabbed his Monopad off of his nightstand, stuffed that into an outer jacket pocket, and left his Stateroom.
Kimura was right where he’d left him, though he was swinging his foot over the carpet, watching it rustle under the sole of his shoe. His head snapped up when Fuji emerged, grinning as Fuji pulled the door of his Stateroom shut.“Ready to go?” He asked, seeming way more excited for this than he should be.“Y… yeah. I guess.” Fuji frowned, looking away from Kimura.“Nice! Follow me, partner!” Without actually looking to see if he was following, Kimura marched off.“...gh.” Fuji made an undignified noise, turning to stare down at the floor. Was this… was this really a good idea? He glanced up just as Kimura rounded the corner to exit the Staterooms. Fuji tapped his foot, sighed, and broke into a jog to catch up.Even though he’d always stayed up late, Fuji had never actually left his Stateroom once Nighttime had hit. So it was… creepy seeing the Ultimate Cruise Liner like this. The lights had been dimmed down to almost nothing, leaving corridors dark and the shadows stretched. The Lobby felt eerily larger as well, the darkness swallowing up the far corners of the room even as the normally bright chandelier swayed in the gloom, the darkness making everything seem further away.Having Kimura at his side only served to comfort Fuji a little bit. He hummed some sort of tune to himself as they made their way to the inner Hotel, not seeming concerned even in the slightest. Fuji wasn’t sure whether to admire his bravery or be concerned about his lack of care. Kimura glanced over and shot Fuji a smirk when he noticed Fuji was looking.Still, for all the meager ‘support’ Kimura’s presence could provide, Fuji found that his nerve faltered once they actually approached the Dining Hall. His concerns bubble over as Kimura tromped up to the doors.“W… wait. Kimura, wait.” Fuji said, voice low, as Kimura put his hand on one of the door handles.“What’s up?” Kimura asked, looking over his shoulder at Fuji. “Don’t you wanna figure out what this deal is? It could stop Monokuma. Or… something.”“W-Well… yeah. I mean, I do, but...” Fuji found that his hands grew anxious as he spoke, and he brought one up so he could run his fingers through his hair. “Don’t you, like… think this is even a little suspicious? Like, at all?”“...pfft.” Kimura snorted, his mouth curling up into a smirk. “Of course I do, silly!” He flapped his hand at Fuji dismissively. “But hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?”“I… yeah, I guess.” Fuji said, relenting in that regard. “But, I mean-”“And there’s no need for me to worry!” Kimura said, interrupting Fuji so he could continue. “After all, I’ve got you here as my backup! And I can be your backup! Double backup!” His smirk grew into an excited grin. “Worst case scenario, one of us dies, and the other lives to tell the others, right?”“Let’s...” Fuji began, trailing off for a second. Just the word ‘dies’ coming out of Kimura’s mouth made Fuji’s chest seize up in fear. He’d been avoiding the reality of it, but death was the whole reason the sixteen of them were here, right?… “Let’s focus on the best case scenario.” Is what he came up with to say.“Sure, sure!” Kimura nodded. “Best case scenario… one of us gets attacked, the other beats ‘em off, and then we let the others know about the vicious killer in our midst.” He cocked his head, then laughed, loud enough that it made Fuji cringe. “Well… that sounded a little wrong, but you get my point. As long as the two of us are together, we’re fine!”“...yeah.” Fuji said after a moment of thought. Sure, Kimura wasn’t the… easiest to understand… but his words did ring true. And if he ignored Kimura’s borderline ridiculous scenarios… then the outcome of this venture sounded not all that bad. Either they find something out about Monokuma, they find nothing and don’t get hurt, or they find somebody who wanted to kill and stop them.“So, am I good to open this door?” Kimura asked, excitement evident.“I guess.” Fuji sighed, finally relenting. “Go ahead. Sooner we get this over with, the better.”“Yes!” Kimura pumped a fist. “I knew you’d come around! Alright, let’s do this!”With Fuji’s agreement secured, Kimura wasted no time in twisting the door handle and heading into the Dining Hall. Fuji noted that, even from out in the hall, the Dining Hall seemed far darker than the rest of the ship. Maybe it was just his fear, or maybe because the lights were completely off. Either way, the room filled with a darkness that seemed to swallow Kimura up as he made his way in. Fuji swallowed the fearful lump in his throat and pushed forward, following Kimura into the gloom of the Dining Hall.The door swung shut behind him, signaling with a quiet ‘click’ that it was shut. It took a minute for Fuji’s eyes to adjust to the murkiness. Like in the Lobby, the Dining Hall chandeliers were toned down, though perhaps not as much. The light they let off just barely made things visible, though Fuji supposed that, if they were off, the room would be pitch black. Shadows extended across the floor, and the gloom clung to corners and the undersides of tables and chairs, making it feel as though he really was being swallowed up.“So...” Kimura’s voice cut through the darkness, making Fuji jump. The room even sounded bigger, with Kimura’s voice almost seeming to come from far away. “Where’s our mystery friend with our mystery information?”It took Fuji a second to even locate Kimura in the darkness. He had posted himself next to a table, near the door to the Kitchen. Fuji slowly made his way over, careful to not bump into any of the tables, as though they’d jump out and get him if he touched them. When Fuji got close enough, he could tell through Kimura’s expression that he definitely noticed Fuji’s caution, his brow cocked and his mouth pulled up into yet another smirk.“I… don’t know.” Fuji said, finally answering Kimura’s question once they were near each other again. “They said they’d be here.”“Strange that they’d leave after inviting us...” Kimura mused, then turned to Fuji with a smile. “Think they went to the bathroom?”“...” Fuji gave Kimura a look. “Please be serious...”“I am!” Kimura flashed Fuji his palms in mock surrender. “When nature calls, it’s a human’s duty to answer!”“Ugh.” Fuji said, frowning. “Well… I don’t like this. We’ll stick around for a couple minutes to see if they come back… and then go if they don’t arrive.”“But what if it was a number two?” Kimura asked.Fuji didn’t dignify the question with a response.The pair fell silent as they sat in the Dining Hall, Fuji’s self-imposed time limit ticking away. The silence stretched on, and Fuji himself focused on the chandeliers. They hung silently from the ceiling, almost seeming to watch over the two of them. The more he stared at them, the more Fuji’s mind tried to convince him the chandeliers were fake, in some sort of trick of the dark. Fuji shook his head. Maybe his paranoia really was getting to him.“So, hey.” Kimura spoke up again, causing Fuji to look over at him. “Do you think, like, this thing they found is a weakness or something?”“...huh?” Fuji asked, frowning.“I mean, the note mentioned, like… that they found something here in the Dining Hall.” Kimura explained. “But they told us to come here for it. So, is it stuck here? If so, how does it affect Monokuma?”“...” Fuji remained silent, though he did mentally note that… Kimura was making some sense.“Maybe it’s a secret to the ship itself.” Kimura continued. “That’d be pretty cool. Though, why would something like that be in the Dining Hall… Oh, I know!” He turned to Fuji excitedly, reaching out and grabbing Fuji’s hands. “They must have found a secret passage!”“H-Hey! Keep it down!” Fuji scolded Kimura, yanking his hands back.“But doesn’t that make sense?” Kimura asked, eyes shining even in the darkness. “If they were exploring the passage… wouldn’t it make sense that they’re not here? And they wanted to avoid Monokuma’s attention, which means they wanted to prevent us from baiting him back to the secret passage, so he wouldn’t find them in it! Hah!” Kimura laughed. “I’m a genius!”“...okay, well,” Fuji shook his head. Kimura’s loudness was starting to concern him. “I think we should go then, if you’ve figured it out...”“Wait, hold on!” Kimura said, turning and dropping onto his hands and knees. “I wanna find it!”“Kimura-” Fuji tried to stop him, but Kimura quickly crawled away, disappearing into the darkness underneath one of the tables. Dammit.Fuji frowned, stooping down slightly to see if he could locate Kimura again. He saw what looked like some faint movement deep under the table, but didn’t want to follow. Shit. Fuji didn’t want to leave Kimura in the Dining Hall alone, but felt uncomfortable crawling under tables and chairs in the darkness like that. He ran a hand through his hair again, then dropped it back down to his side.“Kimura, come back!” Fuji called out. “You need to-”His words stopped as something very briefly flashed across his vision.“...huh?” That was all Fuji could think to say as he felt something lightly press against his collar bones through his shirt.And then the feeling left as it flew up and wrapped around his neck. And pulled.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Nadako Hiramoto jolted awake.Sitting bolt upright in her bed, her body shivered from some sort of phantom stimulus from a dream quickly fading. Sweat dribbled down her temple, leaving her hair damp and sticking to her skin. Her hands unconsciously drifted upwards. One pair of fingers threaded into her sweaty hair, the other set pressing lightly against the front of her throat. Her… dream… It was already slipping away from her, but… but she could remember water… and being pulled downwards… her neck…Just another night on the Ultimate Cruise Liner. And another nightmare.Hiramoto laid back down, curling up into a ball and staring at her blankets. She didn’t want to get up. She never wanted to get up. But she couldn’t keep not getting up. Because… because then… then Diana worried about her, and then got other people to worry about her. And Hiramoto didn’t like people worrying about her.A crackling static filled the room, prompting Hiramoto to sit up. The creepy camera in her room whirred as it turned to face her, like it always did. The creepy screen in her room flicked on, displaying that weird picture of Monotaro and Monodam, like it always did.“Good morning, students!” Monotaro said, voice upbeat. “It is now 8AM, which means Nighttime is now over! And good thing too!”“INDEED.” Monodam said, “ALL-LOCKED-AMENITIES-ARE-NOW-AVAILABLE-FOR-USE. I-AM-EXCITED-FOR-TODAY’S-ACTIVITIES.”“Oh my gosh, me too!” Monodam said, “I have a feeling things are gonna be very interesting today!”“AGREED. HAVE-AN-ENGAGING-DAY.”With Monodam’s final part said, the monitor clicked off, leaving Hiramoto in silence. Something… something about that announcement was weird. Monotaro and Monodam didn’t… usually talk for that long. Maybe… they were just excited?… No. Hiramoto scolded herself. Stupid. What did she care how they felt? She shouldn’t.The camera looked away.Hiramoto rolled over, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and staring at her knees. Maybe she just needed to wake up a bit… yeah. Yeah.She slowly rose out of bed, flexing her fingers. Another bead of sweat rolled down her forehead. It was too hot. It was always too hot here on the ship. Hiramoto shook her head, letting her hair fan out around her, and plodded into the bathroom.Hiramoto carefully pulled her hair back, making sure her shoulders were holding back as much as they could. She then turned on the sink, and took a second to stoop over and splash her face with cold water. She was already awake, but it helped cool her off… kind of… Okay, not really, but… she had to do something to make things feel real.Her reflection wavered in sink’s basin, reflecting off of the water slicked surface. Ew. Before she could deride her own appearance too much, however, something about her vague reflection stuck out to her. Hiramoto looked up, intending to look at her clearer reflection in the mirror and, sure enough, there it was…Bedhead.A single lock of hair, bent and curled so that it stuck straight up. It wasn’t long enough to look out of place, but it was definitely noticeable. Hiramoto frowned, and reached down into the sink, getting her fingers wet so she could slick down the rambunctious lock. It stayed down, and Hiramoto nodded in satisfaction.Then it bounced back up.Dang it.Hiramoto moved to try and stick it down again, when a sudden knocking sounded through her room. Her back went rigid, and it took her a second to reconcile what the sound actually was. It was just knocking from the connecting door. Which meant…“C-Come in.” She said, peeking her head out of the bathroom.“Gooooood morning!” Diana replied, pulling the door open and taking a step into the room. Hiramoto noted that Diana’s hair looked a lot longer when it was down like that. Diana stopped when she noticed Hiramoto’s head sticking out of the bathroom. “Up bright and early again, yeah?”“U-Um… y… yeah. I, uh, am.” Hiramoto nodded, feeling her gaze drift away.“Good, good!” Diana nodded. “I uh, just wanted to apologize for being so fussy over the past couple days. I know I can be pretty pushy sometimes, but I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything!”“I-I-It’s alright.” Hiramoto replied, doing her best to force a shy smile. She wasn’t lying, it really was… kind of fine. Still, she didn’t know how to respond in a way that sounded sincere. She had to try anyways. “I-I, um, know that… yesterday was… was very, um… s-stressful.”“You’re so sweet.” Diana said, grinning at her.Hiramoto felt herself recede back, her hair draping around her. “I-It’s… n-no… no problem.”“Hey, you wanna go to breakfast together today?” Diana asked, looking almost… excited. “It’d be cool to hang out together this morning, yeah?”“S-Sure.” Hiramoto replied, her smile falling into something more… natural. Diana tried really hard to include Hiramoto. She appreciated that. “I, um… I’m good. To go with you. Today.”“Nice!” Diana pumped a fist. “Well then, I’m gonna go get ready! Knock on the door when you’re ready to go! Don’t worry, I’ll be quick.” And with that, Diana disappeared, back into her own Stateroom.Hiramoto sighed. She was never ready for another day.It didn’t take Hiramoto particularly long to get ready. She always laid her clothes out over her desk chair the night before. All she really had to do was her basic bathroom tasks and… trying to fix this bedhead. Unfortunately, that took… a bit longer than she would have liked. And she couldn’t even get it down.Still, she found herself standing in her Stateroom’s connecting hallway after a bit. Her hands fidgeted with her satchel, twiddled with her hair, and picked at her skirt. She hated this. What if Diana wasn’t ready? What if she’d made her wait? What if-In her downward spiral, Hiramoto absentmindedly swung her foot, lightly kicking the door without thinking. Her hands flew up, clasping over her mouth, and she took a step back. Not a second later, the door swung open, and there stood Diana. Hiramoto wasn’t really in a position to comment on appearances, but… well, Diana looked… less frazzled than she had the past few days. Which was good. Her sunny smile was there, like always, and she directed it towards Hiramoto.“Sup!” Diana greeted. “Sorry I took so long, my Monopad fell under my bed.” She held it up and scoffed at it. “These things are so stupid.”“...y-yeah.” Hiramoto agreed, her hands falling down to grip at her satchel strap.“Anyways, ready to go?” Diana asked, looking up at Hiramoto. She cocked her head for a second, then pointed up. “Bedhead troubles?”“I-I-I...” Hiramoto stuttered, already feeling her cheeks reddening. “I tr-ried r-really hard t-to… m-make it… make it s-st-tay down!”“I totally getcha.” Diana nodded, motioning for Hiramoto to follow. “If I sleep the wrong way for, like, ten, fifteen minutes, then it’s all over the place. Us girls with long hair got it rough, huh?”“Y… yeah.” Hiramoto nodded.Diana smiled, then turned heel and marched back into her Stateroom, and Hiramoto followed. They made their way out into the hallway, and Diana clicked the door shut behind them. She then turned to face Hiramoto and put her hands on her hips.“Alrighty, then! Destination: breakfast!” Diana said as she began walking. “I’ve got a good feeling about today! How about you, Hiramoto? Feelin’ good?”“Um...” Hiramoto started to reply, then felt a wave of heat wash over her. The sensations of her dream hit her, and her hand rose up to touch at her neck. Lightly sweaty. She disguised it as scratching an itch, even as more sweat beaded on her scalp. Not good. “Y-Yeah. It… it’ll be a, uh… g-good day.” She did her best to muster up a smile, even as her skin crawled. Something was not right… At least Diana didn’t seem to notice.“Nice to see some people are up early.” A voice said, snapping Hiramoto from her thoughts. Honda and Amami stood together a bit of a ways into the mixed hall, having been hidden by the corner of the hallway’s intersection. Amami looked pretty relaxed, like usual, but Honda…Honda’s brow was furrowed. He had his arms crossed and looked… more perturbed than he did yesterday. In fact… Hiramoto noticed the way his lip twitched and his fingers drummed on his forearm. He… wasn’t happy. Clearly.“What are you two doing just standing around like that?” Diana asked, putting her hands on her hips.“We were talking about the motive.” Honda said simply, not bothering to look over at them.Just the mention of the motive sent another hot flash over Hiramoto. She shivered despite the heat. Diana visibly tensed at her side, and Amami shook his head and sighed.“Not even a bit subtle, huh?” He asked, turning to Honda.“There’s no need.” Honda replied. “We’ve nothing to hide from the two of them.” He glanced at Amami out of the corner of his eye, brow cocked. “Unless you’ve been keeping a secret from me.”“O-Of course not!” Amami said, raising his hands slightly, palms out. “I’m just saying… that maybe we need to be a bit more nuanced about this…”“Perhaps. But that doesn’t stop the strange things from piling up...” Honda said back, visibly clenching his jaw.Hiramoto wanted to say something. She… she knew how Honda was feeling. Kind of. She… knew something was wrong too, that feeling in her gut omnipresent. But-“Yeah, what did you mean, about the motive anyways?” Amami asked. He glanced at Diana and Hiramoto. “Honda mentioned that something about the motive was strange today.”“...Monokuma was uncharacteristically sloppy with it today… is what I would like to believe.” Honda said after a moment’s pause. “When I woke up this morning, it-”“Hold on.” Diana stopped him, raising a hand. Honda blinked in surprise.“...huh?” He managed. Hiramoto noted that for the first time he seemed… startled. A bit.“This sounds like something to save for when we’re all grouped up.” Diana said. “Motive stuff is important, yeah, but we need to stay on the same page as the rest of the group. Plus...” She paused for a second, then shrugged, “is it really appropriate to be talking about this kind of stuff before we’ve even eaten breakfast? Lets get some food into us before we think about that stuff.”“Agreed.” Amami said. “I know we’ve talked a bit already, but some food will do us good, Honda. As will taking a break from… this.”“...” Honda pressed his lips together, his frown deepening. His gaze snapped over, and he made eye contact with Hiramoto. In surprise, she shrank back, grabbing her satchel strap. His stare was… so intense. She couldn’t help but speak up, breaking eye contact in the process.“F-Food… food would be, um. Good. I think...” Hiramoto managed, staring down at the floor.“Very well. Seems I’m outvoted here.” Honda relented, letting his arms fall to his side. “I suppose keeping everybody on the same page is nothing but beneficial… and I am hungry, admittedly.”“Sounds like we’re all together on this, then!” Diana said, grinning. “C’mon Hiramoto, let’s get our breakfast!” She shot Amami and Honda a look, brow raised. “And you guys are invited too, I suppose.”“Are we really just an afterthought?...” Amami asked, not sounding as offended as his words suggested. Honda just snorted.Diana marched away, out of the Staterooms, Amami following not far behind. Hiramoto found that her legs didn’t want to move. She fiddled with her bag before looking up. Honda was still there as well. He looked over at her.“U-Um.” Was all Hiramoto could think to say to him.“You have the same feeling I do.” He said simply, crossing his arms again.“I-I...” Hiramoto began, then let her shoulders sag. It sounded dumb. “N-No, I just… h-had a dream…”“No need to be modest. You’ve recognized that something’s wrong.” Honda said. His stare was cold as he looked her dead in the eye. “I’ll respect their wishes, and I agree anyways. But if you haven’t noticed already...” Honda paused, frowning and looking away, as though he were saying this for himself more than anything else. “The motive didn’t update this morning.” And with that he was gone, following after Amami and Diana....that didn’t help her at all.But it did put some context to her worries. Hiramoto quickly pulled out her Monopad and flicked it on. The combination of her name and that strange school symbol on the start up screen always made her shiver. It just wasn’t right. But she couldn’t explain why.Hiramoto navigated to the ‘Motives’ tab, and her stomach sank at what she noted right away. No number indicating a new message. Her finger shook as she tapped on the tab anyways. The contents… were the same. Three bits of motive, labeled Parts 1 to 3. But… today should have been ‘4’. So… why hadn’t Monokuma updated?…No. No, no, no.Hiramoto stuffed her Monopad back into her satchel and scurried to catch up with the others.To her surprise… there were more of them. More people, that is.Diana stood there, seemingly in the middle of a scolding. Honda stood to one side, looking just as perturbed as before, while Amami stood next to him, already looking like he was about to step in. In front of them were Dewa and Ikari. Dewa looked annoyed… kind of. Ikari just looked guilty.“Look, we go for morning jogs sometimes.” Dewa was saying.“Well… I always go.” Ikari followed up with, “Dewa joins sometimes.”“Don’t you think it’s a bit dangerous to be out before the Morning Announcement?” Diana asked, hand on her hip.“...no?” Dewa shot her a look. “The sun’s up, and we were together. Plus… like, the doors aren’t locked, so why should we be worried? And I’m sure Ikari is more than able to protect himself.”“Ugh, you’re so care free.” Diana shook her head.“You’re one to talk!” Dewa said, scowling.“Now now,” Amami chimed in, “There’s no need to fight each other this early in the morning. Remember, Valentine, you’re the one who said we should hop to breakfast, right?”“...Diana is fine.” Diana sighed in exasperation. “And yeah, I guess you’re right. We’re just waiting for-”“Oh! Hiramoto!” Ikari cried out, throwing a hand up into the air to wave at her. “Good morning!”“H-Hello.” Hiramoto greeted back. Her voice… was far from able to match Ikari’s volume.“There you are!” Diana smiled at her. “You okay?”“I… y-yes. I’m… uh. Fine.” Hiramoto managed, already feeling guilty.“As long as you’re sure.” Diana nodded at her, offering a look of concern before turning back to the boys. “Anyways, we’re heading to breakfast. If you two are hungry, you’re free to tag along.”“The more the merrier.” Amami threw in.“Mmhmm...” Honda just hummed.“Sure! I’m always starving after my morning jog!” Ikari pumped his fists. “And breakfast is super important. You should come, Dewa! I can give you some breakfast pointers! You know, good proteins and stuff.”“...eh, fine.” Dewa shrugged. “I could use some food.”“Nice, I’m liking this.” Diana grinned. “We’re already off to a good start! Things keep going like this, and today’s gonna be a good day!”Hiramoto tried to swallow the lump in her throat.Most of the boys seemed to pick up Diana’s good mood, all of them except for Honda joining her in some lighthearted banter. Hiramoto clenched her hands. Honda frowned. Hiramoto shared a concerned look with him. He simply shook his head, then motioned for her to follow. She didn’t have a reason not to. So she followed.They caught up with the other four easily. Ikari and Diana did their best to pull Hiramoto into their conversation, and she tried her best to participate at least a little. The walk to the Dining Hall wasn’t long, but… Hiramoto began to feel a bit better. She… people told her she was… irrational sometimes. And… and maybe she was being irrational now. If… if she ignored the motive thing… And the fact that Honda seemed to agree with her… But whatever, right? There wasn’t anything really proving her concern right, so there was no need to worry…And then Honda shoved himself to the front of their group, just as they reached the Dining Hall.“Hey!” Diana snapped, stumbling back into Ikari, who caught her, his face already contorted in worry.“What’s the big idea?!” Dewa asked, elbowing Amami in an attempt to dodge Honda.Hiramoto felt sweat bead up, and she reached up to grab her neck.“I smell blood.” Honda said. He pointed his nose up, almost like a hunting dog, and sniffed the air.“W-Wait, for serious?” Ikari began to sweat as well, already starting to go blue in the face. “Like… like h-human blood? From a human?!”“Don’t… don’t fuck around, dude.” Dewa said, eyes flitting around.“Are you serious, Honda?” Amami asked, voice deathly serious.“No way…” Diana murmured, taking a step towards him.Honda ignored the five of them, walking forward and throwing the Dining Hall doors open.………Static filled the air.The cameras all around turned to stare.And then the monitors sprung to life, Monokuma’s sickeningly cheery voice and visage addressing them after a short chime. The fruity looking drink in his hand contrasted with his bitter words.
Ding dong, dong ding!
“A body has been discovered! All students, please report to the Dining Hall for further debriefing! Upupupupu...”The monitors clicked off, but it was strange. Hiramoto could still hear the static. All she heard was static. In fact… the entire world seemed like static, except for the scene laid out before her.A sharp, metallic tang filled the air. Footprints and wide, sweeping streaks painted the floor, both the coppery maroon red of blood, almost but not quite blending in with the color of the carpeting. Limp legs hung over the side of the table, patched up pants and hiking boots splattered with red. The same shade further saturated the torso, black jacket and faded t-shirt soaked and clinging to the chest and stomach. A blood stained, bandage wrapped hand laid limp at one side, the other reaching up towards the ragged tear in the neck. At least the eyes were closed, unable to see the hair plastered to the face and glasses by blood.Blood.His blood.Yota Fuji’s blood.Yota Fuji was dead.He was dead.Dead.Hiramoto found that she couldn’t even scream. Her world faded to static.
CHAPTER 1:

MARITIME BREEZE, ANTIQUE DESPAIR

DEADLY LIFE
Hiramoto wasn’t quite sure what it was. One moment, she was watching herself stare at a dead body. The next, she was caught in the middle of a crowd of fourteen others, surging and stumbling forward further into the Dining Hall. She heard screaming. She heard crying, and when something dripped off of her chin, she realized that she was crying too. The crowd stopped a little bit of space away from the body. Fuji’s body. His dead body. The voices of the others finally broke into her brain.“WHAT THE FUCK?! WHAT THE FUCK?!?!” Tadamori screeched, her shrill voice stabbing into Hiramoto’s eardrums.“Jesus christ…” Uma murmured. Hiramoto only heard it because they were right next to each other.“No… no…” Ikari sobbed, head buried in his hands.“This… this can’t be real… right?” Amami asked.“Hmm…” Sasabe’s hum rang out.The fifteen of them stayed like that for both a moment and an eternity, just staring. Staring. Hiramoto couldn’t take her eyes off of him. Just yesterday, she saw him walking. He was walking around, talking to people. He talked to her. Her hands plastered themselves over her mouth, and Hiramoto was positive that if they moved, she’d throw up. Her ears rang, and it was only once she noticed the ringing that Hiramoto noticed that everybody had stopped talking. They were all just… staring. What else could they do?…“Oh my.” His voice broke the silence. Hiramoto could barely turn her head, her body not wanting to let Fuji out of its sight. Still, she was able to watch as Monokuma strolled over, placing himself firmly between the crowd and the body. The Deckhands were following right behind, though they looked… more perturbed than Monokuma did.“Sheesh.” Monotaro said. Monodam remained silent.“Well, this is quite the little number indeed,” Monokuma said, his excitement barely contained. “I know I was kinda miffed about having to wait this long, but… well, you know, I’d say this murder definitely makes up for it.”“Murder?” Kuno’s voice rang out from the back of the group. “This was a murder?”“Well of course!” Monokuma’s stitched on grin grew, as he pivoted from looking at the body to looking at everyone else. “How else would this have happened? Puhuhuhu...”“I…” Jitsuko pushed past a few members of the crowed, her fists clenched.“Hmm?” Monokuma looked up at her and cocked his head.“I’M GONNA TEAR YOU IN HALF!” She howled, swinging a fist at him.Monokuma leaped backwards, Jitsuko’s fist barely whiffing. It instead slammed into the floor, and a wooden ‘CRACK’ resounded throughout the Dining Hall. Hiramoto felt the floor shake.“Wha-hey! Woah!” Monokuma snapped, his red eye lighting up. “Watch it, missy! What’s the big idea?!”“You’re fucking done!” Jitsuko yelled, cocking her fist back again.“Stop!” Honda rushed forwards, grabbing Jitsuko’s arm. Diana, Esumi, Dewa, and Ikari also ran forward, grabbing at Jitsuko’s arms and waist. Honda tightened his grip on Jitsuko’s bicep, scowling at her. “Jitsuko, remember the rules!”“Are you shitting me?!” She snapped at him, easily tearing free from the five attempting to hold her back. “He killed Fuji and we’re just gonna sit here and let him get away with it?!”“Hold it!” Monokuma shouted, claws bared. “So that’s what you think, huh?! Well, I’ll have you know that your fantasy is sorely against the rules! In fact, so were your actions right now!”“...what?” Jitsuko narrowed her eyes at Monokuma. “What the hell are you sayin’?”“I’m saying,” Monokuma began, “that according to the rules, it’s impossible for me to be the killer! Don’t you kids learn anything?!”“Rule thirteen,” Goto spoke up, “‘The Captain and his Deckhands will never directly participate in murder.’”“Exactly!” Monokuma shouted. “And the rules also state that violence against your Captain is forbidden! So I hope you’re ready for your punishment!”“C-Captain, wait!” Surprisingly, it was Monotaro who interjected. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”“Eh?” Monokuma put a paw to his face. “What do you mean?”“I-I mean… w-wouldn’t an execution right now take away from the excitement of the trial?” Monotaro asked. A beat of silence followed that made him… sweat, and he turned to his fellow Deckhand. “Monodam! Back me up!”“I… AGREE-WITH-MONOTARO.” Monodam said. “WE-ARE-STILL-EARLY-IN-THE-PROCESS. MISTAKES-CAN-BE-FORGIVEN. SAVE-REPERCUSSIONS-FOR-NEXT-TIME-PERHAPS?”“Hrm…” Monokuma mused, glancing up at Jitsuko, whose face still held a stormy expression. “I suppose my adorable little Deckhands are correct… All you really did was ruffle my glorious fur. And as much as I love a good punishment, we’re super close to the good part, so… I’ll let this go. Once. Am I clear, missy?”“…” Jitsuko clenched her jaw and glanced away. Honda and Esumi both gave her stern looks, and Jitsuko let out a resigned snort. “Fine.”“Remember: this is your only freebie. As a group.” Monokuma scowled at the entire group. “So that’s it! If somebody else messes up on the rules, they’re donezo! Capishe?”“Way to ruin it for the rest of us!” Kimura called out.“You little–” Jitsuko’s lips pulled back into a snarl, but Esumi grabbed onto her jacket and tugged lightly. Jitsuko looked at her, then let out a growl and backed down.“Sheesh.” Monokuma shook his head. “You kids are such a handful. And I haven’t even described the procedure yet.”“Procedure?” Uma asked. “What kind of procedure?”“I thought we went over this day one!” Monokuma said, his tone shocked.“What did they win?” Monotaro asked. Monodam punched him in the shoulder.“YOU-SHOULD-ALL-REMEMBER-THE-CONCEPT-OF-THE-CLASS-TRIAL.” Monodam told them.“Man, you guys were serious about all that crap?” Sasabe asked, scratching at her ear. “That’s so lame.”“C-Can you please take this a little more seriously?!” Diana asked, looking over at Sasabe with surprise. “They kidnapped all of us and that’s the part you doubted?!”“The Class Trials are not ‘lame’!” Monokuma snapped, “And I even had something to give you guys!”“What could you possibly have to give to us?” Goto asked, “Anything you provide us with is with is worthless.”“I think you’ll change your tune when you see it.” Monokuma snickered. “Now… who wants it?”“Ooh, me! Me, me!” Kimura raised his hand. “I want it!”“No.” Kuno grabbed his shoulder and shoved him back, prompting a yelp from Kimura as he stumbled backwards. She shouldered her way through the crowed and held her hand out expectantly at Monokuma. “Hand it over.”“A-Anyone else?” Monokuma asked, attempting to peer around Kuno. “Anybody who… y’know, values their Captain a little more than those two?” He was met with silence, which made him hang his head. “Sigh. Fine. Deckhands?”“Yessir!” Monotaro saluted. “I’ve got it… around here somewhere…”Monotaro began patting himself down, while Monodam waddled past him. Monodam pulled out what looked like another Monopad, then held it up to Kuno. She snatched it from him without fanfare, then backed up towards the crowd. Kuno flicked it on, and Uma and Honda both peered over to look at it as well.“...no thank you? Jeez.” Monokuma shook his head. “Fine, whatever. I know when I’m not wanted.”“Wait, what are we doing?” Chujo asked, raising his hand.“...” Monokuma stared at him blankly. He then scoffed and turned away. “I’m getting real tired of you lot already,” He sighed, “But here’s the quick of it: look around and find clues. You can take notes in your Monopads. When I decide it’s time, gather up on the Deck, and we’ll make our way to the Class Trial Proper.” Monokuma shook his head. “Now I’m leaving. I need a drink.”Hiramoto watched as Monokuma marched away, his Deckhands hot on his heels. They left through the door to the hallway. That left the fifteen of them standing around in the Dining Hall.Hiramoto felt sick.“Th… this has to be a dream… right?” Ikari was the one to break the silence. “This… c-can’t be real.”“He’s fuckin’ dead...” Tadamori murmured, hands tangled in her hair. “He’s really fuckin’ dead...”Esumi clenched her fists, eyes boring a hole into the floor.“I can’t, dude…” Dewa said, “I can’t fucking… investigate my friend’s body.”“Oh, well, I’m sure there’s other places to look,” Sasabe commented.“Can you please take this seriously?!” Diana snapped at her.“But I am taking this seriously,” Sasabe said, shrugging. “If you ask me, most of you guys are the ones not taking this seriously.”“H-Huh?...” Hiramoto looked at Sasabe. What did that…“She’s right,” Honda cut in. He held a hand out, and Kuno placed the Monopad into it. “We have to do this.”“Are you fuckin’ kidding me?! You some kinda psycho?!” Tadamori yelled, throwing her hands up. “You think we should do what fuckin’ Monokuma wants?!”“It’s not about Monokuma,” Kuno said, crossing her arms. “It’s about us not dying.”“Us… dying?” Diana asked.“The Class Trial,” Kuno said, “If he’s crazy enough to kidnap us and stick us on this ship, he’s crazy enough to put us through whatever shit the Class Trial involves. And I’m sure you guys remember the penalty for losing the Class Trial.”“Ah, right...” Uma spoke up, tapping her pencil against her notepad. “We all die.”“Ack!” Tadamori physically pulled back, jolting in surprise.“That’s right…” Goto frowned. “If we don’t find the correct culprit… then Monokuma kills everybody except for Fuji’s murderer.”“See?” Kuno looked over the group. “We need to investigate. Some kind of clue, any clue, can be vital. So don’t be stupid and do nothing because you’re sad. Everybody’s lives hinge on how well we do.” And with her part said, Kuno turned heel and left, heading out of the Dining Hall.“Easier said than done…” Chujo murmured.“…hmph.” Honda looked out over the group. “Alright, look. I have some ideas. For people who don’t know where to look, talk to me and I can give you something to look into. You’re also free to stay with me, as long as you don’t interfere with my personal investigation. But… hmm…”“What is it, Hosu?” Sasabe asked.“...Ikari, Jitsuko. May I speak with you, briefly?” Honda asked, looking at the two of them.“U-Uh… sure.” Ikari shrugged, looking around.“Fine.” Jitsuko snorted.“I believe I have something to look into…” Uma said aloud, then turned heel and made her way for the hallway doors.“Wait, hold on!” Dewa called after her, the two leaving the Dining Hall together.“Hmm…” Goto hummed, simply turning and leaving as well.Hiramoto swallowed the lump in her throat. The rest of the group began to spread out, leaving her standing, stranded, in the middle of the Dining Hall. She understood, in the most literal sense, what had been told to her. She understood the concept of a Class Trial, of looking for clues, of not dying. It all made logical sense. But… but what was she supposed to do? What could she, of all people, do? Where could she look, what could she find that nobody else could? It just… wasn’t possible. She understood, but understanding and ability were very different.Hiramoto tried to steady her breathing. Deep breaths. Don’t freak out. Don’t freak out. Please don’t freak out. Calm down, Hiramoto. Calm down, Hiramoto. Calm down–“Hiramoto?”Hiramoto jolted, turning in surprise to find Diana standing there. She frowned, an uncharacteristic expression, and drummed her fingers on her hip. When she noticed Hiramoto looking in her direction, she let out a humorless laugh.“This is way too much, huh?” Diana asked.“I…” Hiramoto found that she didn’t have any words. Instead, she nodded, one of her hands creeping upwards to touch at the base of her neck.“I don’t even know what to do here. If I’m honest… I’m not very smart,” Diana said, shaking her head and sighing. She then turned to Hiramoto, and her stare looked… intense. “But! I feel like we would make a good team!”“H-Huh?…” Hiramoto was confused. A… team?“Yeah!” Diana nodded. “See, you’re really smart, right? And I’m good at finding things, sometimes! And they always say two heads are better than one!” She motioned with her hands as she spoke. “So, like, I figured we could look around together! That way, I can find things, you can think about them, and we can, like, bounce ideas. Pretty clever, right?”“Ah...” Hiramoto tried to find something to say. But… Diana wasn’t wrong. No, far from it. And if Diana was the one leading them around, then… then maybe… Hiramoto swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. “I… I-It sounds… good. To me. I think…”“Awesome.” Diana smiled at Hiramoto, the same way she always did. A warm comfort, a consistency. She put a hand to her chin. “Let’s see… we’ve got a lot of ground to cover as partners. We should stick together, so splitting up is out of the question. Any ideas, Hiramoto?”“Uhm...” Hiramoto fidgeted, the proceedings moving a bit too fast for her. But one thing… did stick out to her. “H-Honda had something, earlier…”“You’re right!” Diana slammed a fist into her palm. “Monokuma gave Kuno that… tablet thing. And then he took it. We should check it out! Good idea.” She offered Hiramoto a thumbs up, then a motion to follow…Hiramoto followed.Letting Diana take the lead brought Hiramoto to the thing in the room she dreaded most. Fuji’s dead body laid there, untouched on the table. Honda, Sasabe, Ikari, and Jitsuko stood nearby. Ikari held the thing Monokuma gave them. Hiramoto tried her best not to look at Fuji. She wasn’t… particularly close to him, but… but he was still a living person. He… he was still a person. He deserved to live.“Hey!” Diana shouted, waving at the small group as she approached. “What are you guys doing?”“Hello,” Honda greeted, turning to face her. “I’m going to investigate the body, and I’m having Jitsuko and Ikari be eyewitnesses to my work.”“It’s pretty smart, if you ask me,” Sasabe said, grinning.“Why?” Diana cocked her brow at him.“Well, it’s simple, really,” Honda said, shrugging. “This prevents me from tampering with the evidence.”“T-Tampering?...” Hiramoto looked between the four of them.“It’s all about accountability, really,” Sasabe responded, rolling her wrist. “If Hosu’s the culprit, we don’t want him getting rid of any incriminating evidence. Having guards for the body prevents him, and any other suspects as well, from messing with the evidence.”“And Sasabe has offered to double check my work,” Honda said, then shook his head. “But I imagine you’re here for the Monokuma File.”“Is that what that is?” Diana asked, pointing at the tablet in Ikari’s hands.“Yeah,” Ikari replied, holding it out. “It’s um… kinda gross, to be honest, but… erm… n-never mind…”“Hmm…” Diana took it from him, then handed it to Hiramoto. “We’ll take a look at it.”“A-Ah…” Hiramoto took the ‘Monokuma File’, holding it with both hands. It was… just like their Monopads. But this one was… gross? Before she could think too much about it, Hiramoto flicked the switch, and watched it turn on. She was greeted with… something.The top of the screen said ‘MONOKUMA FILE 01’, alongside two tabs which read ‘Victim’ and ‘Analysis’, with the ‘Victim’ tab currently selected. Under that was a variety of charts and information. It listed the ‘victim’ as Fuji Yota, Ultimate Antiquarian. It also had a picture of Fuji, just… staring forward and smiling. Information about him from her Monopad was also there.Hiramoto frowned. Her hand shook a little as she moved to press the ‘Analysis’ tab. And that’s… where things changed.The very first thing was an overhead picture of Fuji’s body, which made Hiramoto want to retch. Underneath that were two things. One section, labeled ‘Victim Info’ and a grayscale picture of Fuji. The picture featured a red slash across his neck, as well as… another mark. Some thinner stripe of red around his neck as well, separate from the slash. The ‘Victim Info’ section had a paragraph for her.‘The victim,’ It read, ‘is Fuji Yota, the Ultimate Antiquarian. The body was discovered in the Dining Hall. The estimated time of death is around 12:15 AM. The victim received a slash to the throat, resulting in death by blood loss. There are also marks on the victim’s neck that are evidence of strangulation.’
[Added Truth Bullet: Monokuma File 01]
“God…” Diana said. Her voice made Hiramoto jump slightly in surprise.“Gh–!” Hiramoto fumbled the Monokuma File, and it dropped out of her hands like a rock.“Whoops!” Diana lunged out, grabbing the File before it could fall far enough to be worrying. She chuckled and pulled it to her chest. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”“I-It’s… it’s okay…” Hiramoto said, putting a hand to her chest nonetheless.“I never would have known any of this stuff.” Diana said, holding the File out to look at it again. “Maybe Monokuma did this to help us? But why...”“M-Maybe we can… ask him. Later.” Hiramoto offered.“...yeah, maybe.” Diana shrugged. “We should see what Honda and Sasabe are doing. They said something about… checking the body, right?”“Y-Yeah…” Hiramoto nodded, hands going back to worry at her satchel strap.Hiramoto wasn’t quite sure what she expected to see Honda and Sasabe doing. However… this wasn’t exactly it. Honda’s hands were covered in blood, and he carefully placed something next to a blood soaked Monopad. Sasabe had her hands stuffed into Fuji’s jacket, her expression… worryingly casual. Jitsuko looked on with disgust. Ikari wasn’t looking at all.“Nnnnnnope! Nothing else!” Sasabe announced, throwing her hands up. A couple droplets of blood flew into the air, and Jitsuko growled at her.“Have some fucking respect!” She snapped.“Yes, please be respectful around the body.” Honda said, shaking his head. “He deserves to not be disturbed.”“Sorry...” Sasabe hung her head, though it was… almost theatrical.“What are you guys even doing?” Diana asked, her face scrunched up.“I had two goals, and Sasabe was simply… double checking me,” Honda explained, motioning at the two objects on the table next to Fuji’s body. “First, I wanted to asses whether or not the Monokuma File was accurate, and if I could find any discrepancies. And second, I wanted to check Fuji’s possessions.”“And you’re calling me disrespectful?” Sasabe asked, snickering. “At least I’m not looking for his wallet.”“You know that’s not what this is about.” Honda shot her a glare. “Anything Fuji was carrying at the time could be a vital clue as to what caused him to end up here, of all places, at midnight.”“So what’d you find?” Diana asked, pointing at the two things with one hand. The other held out the Monokuma File, and Jitsuko took it from her.“Not much, admittedly,” Honda said. He reached down and picked up the Monopad. “The first was his Monopad here. It makes sense that he’d have it, obviously, but it’s still important to note.”“Is it?” Ikari asked. “If he was leaving his room… wouldn’t it make sense for him to take it with him?”“Yes, that’s what I was trying to–” Honda said, before getting cut off.“So then why’s it important?” Jitsuko interrupted, shaking her head. “If he left his room, it makes sense he’d have it.”“...I’m aware,” Honda sighed. “I just wanted to say that it seems important because I doubt that the Monopad was interacted with between Fuji’s death and now.”“I’d concur.” Sasabe spoke up, putting a bloodstained hand to her chin. “The way it stuck to things… how it was nestled in his pocket… the natural state of the blood all over it… It was definitely not tampered with after he died.”“So the killer didn’t take Fuji’s Monopad because they had one of their own,” Jitsuko said, rolling her eyes. “Why the hell are you two making such a big deal about his stupid Monopad?”“...yeah, doesn’t seem like that big a deal,” Diana said, shrugging.Hiramoto frowned. Fuji’s Monopad… it couldn’t be that big of a clue, right? It’s not like Jitsuko was wrong…
[Added Truth Bullet: Fuji’s Monopad]
“But forget the Monopad,” Diana said, pointing at the other object, “what’s that thing?”“This?” Honda retrieved the object in question, holding it out to the group. Now that she had an unimpeded look at it… it seemed to be…“P-Paper?...” Hiramoto asked.“More than that,” Honda replied, gentling grasping it between his finger and thumb. He then used his other hand to… peel it apart. “A note.”He took a second to unfold the supposed note. Hiramoto cringed at how… completely saturated with blood it was. Most of it was completely red, though part of the tip Honda held was untouched. The paper itself was… strange. It looked tinted in some fashion, with… maybe some kind of gold accent… It was far too hard to tell much else.“What’s it say?” Ikari asked, leaning towards them.“It’s… impossible to say.” Honda said, squinting at the bloodstained note. “Too much blood. I can… somewhat make out the words ‘Dining Hall’ here, as well as a few other miscellaneous words, but otherwise… this is nothing.”“So what, it’s useless?” Jitsuko asked.“Maybe not.” Sasabe mused. “If it mentions the Dining Hall, there’s a good chance it was an invitation…”“B-But… but why would Fuji come here if he was just gonna die?” Ikari asked.“Obviously he didn’t know they were gonna kill him, you moron,” Jitsuko said.“But…” Ikari looked conflicted for a moment before squaring his shoulders. “Th-then why would he come to the Dining Hall?”“Because he was invited!” Jitsuko snapped.“This is going nowhere…” Diana said, sighing.
[Added Truth Bullet: Bloodstained Note]
“Regardless of why, we have the note to prove that, at the very least, somebody supposedly invited Fuji here to the Dining Hall,” Honda said. “That, at least, cannot be dismissed.” He then looked down at his bloody hands and sighed. “I’ve got other things to investigate, and I need to wash my hands off. Sasabe, you should do the same.”“But I love being covered in blood,” Sasabe replied, pouting.“Oh, just shut up.” Jitsuko growled at her.“Regardless,” Honda ignored the two of them, “I wish you lot the best in your investigation. And Jitusko and Ikari, thank you again for agreeing to keep watch here.”“No problem!” Ikari perked up a bit, seemingly happy to be praised.“No big deal.” Jitsuko snorted.Honda simply nodded at them and walked away, making his way out of the Dining Hall. On his way out, he stepped over Chujo, who was crawling around on his hands and knees near one of the tables. Hiramoto blinked when she took note of him.“What the hell is that idiot doing?” Jitsuko asked.“I… I don’t know.” Diana said, scratching her head. She turned to Hiramoto. “Do you wanna see what he’s up to?”“U-Um… s-sure.” Hiramoto shrugged. “I… don’t see the harm. I-In it.”“Well, I’m gonna go wash my hands!” Sasabe proclaimed, turning and marching off to the Kitchen.“Hey, do me a favor,” Jitsuko said. “When you two are done with him, check on her. She’s an idiot too, and I can’t let her out of my sight in good faith.”“...I mean, sure. I guess we can,” Diana said, frowning at the Kitchen door swinging shut. She then quickly turned and walked over to where Chujo was crawling around.Hiramoto blinked at the abruptness of Diana’s departure. That was… a bit strange. She shared a confused glance with Jitsuko before trotting after Diana. By the time she caught up with her, Diana was already standing over Chujo, who didn’t seem to notice their presence until Diana nudged him with her foot.“Hey, dude,” Diana said. “What are you doing?”“Eh?” Chujo finally looked up at the two of them. His face was blank for a few moments. Then he blinked and looked back down, motioning at… what looked like a tiny drop of blood on the carpet. “Oh, hi. I’m looking for blood.”“…blood?” Diana asked, “What the heck do you mean ‘looking for blood’?”“Well… I wanted to see if there was blood near the door,” He replied, then pointed at the blood drop on the carpet. “There wasn’t really any. I saw some bloody footprints, but that’s about it.”“Why would there be blood near the door?” Diana asked, frowning. “He died over there at the table.”“...yeah, I guess that’s true.” Chujo said, rolling back into a squat. “Did I waste my time then?”“Sounds like it,” Diana replied, shaking her head.“...” Hiramoto remained quiet. Her eyes flicked to the side, and she noted the bloody footprints leading out of the Dining Hall. But Chujo was right. Aside from the footprints, most of the blood in the room seemed to be centered around Fuji’s body… The thought made Hiramoto queasy, but it also brought up an interesting concept. If the blood was mainly around Fuji’s body… then the crime must have occurred here in the Dining Hall, right?…
[Added Truth Bullet: State of Dining Room]
“Whatever.” Diana shook her head. “At least you’re trying, I guess. Speaking of people who are trying,” She turned to Hiramoto, face scrunched up, “I guess we should go check on Sasabe.”“I-Is… is everything… okay?” Hiramoto managed to ask, twiddling with her satchel.“Yeah, I’m fine,” Diana sighed. “Sasabe’s just… way too weird for me. But I told Jitsuko I’d check on her, and I’m a gal of my word.”“I...” Hiramoto swallowed thickly and looked away. Her voice dropped in volume. It was rude of her to say, but, “I… understand…”“See? You get it!” Diana nodded, smiling in satisfaction. “Well, if I have you to be there with me, she’s tolerable. C’mon.” She motioned for Hiramoto to follow, and she did just that, leaving Chujo to his devices. He didn’t seem to care much anyways.The Kitchen was… the same as it always was, for the most part. Well, aside from Sasabe and Esumi. Sasabe leaned against the counter, gesturing and chattering. Esumi stood next to her, her eyes laser focused on the knife rack. Hiramoto could tell that she was desperately trying not to look in Sasabe’s direction. And her and Diana’s entry provided Esumi the perfect opportunity.Esumi clapped her hands the moment they entered, her eyes shining. She scurried over to the two of them, Sasabe hot on her heels.“Heya!” Sasabe said, grinning, “Fancy seeing you two here. I was just relaxing, talkin’ to my friend Sumi.”‘That’s one way to put it.’ Esumi signed in Hiramoto’s direction. Sasabe peered over her shoulder as she did so, then gasped.“Are we not friends?!” She asked, putting a hand to her chest.“…I’m feeling a bit left out, here…” Diana said, looking between the others.“S-Sorry…” Hiramoto apologized.“Oh, here’s an idea!” Sasabe said, grinning. “Dia can talk to me, and Sumi can talk to Hira!”“That sounds like a waste of time.” Diana said, shaking her head. “We only came in here to see what you were doing.”“You care that much about me?! Eeeee!” Sasabe squealed in delight, reaching out and grabbing Diana’s shoulders. She jumped up and down, prompting Diana to grab her wrists.“Hey!” She snapped. “Let go of me!”‘This gives us a second to talk.’ Esumi turned to Hiramoto and signed, offering Hiramoto an expression halfway between relieved and annoyed.‘What was she saying, if you don’t mind me asking?’ Hiramoto signed back, looking in Sasabe’s direction.‘Oh, you know. Nothing.’ Esumi signed, snickering. ‘But forget about her. Can I talk to you about something?’‘Sure.’ Hiramoto nodded. ‘What is it?’‘Well, you see,’ Esumi began, ‘A knife’s been missing from the Kitchen for two days.’‘A knife?’ Hiramoto jolted in surprise. Esumi nodded. Hiramoto frowned… then realized what Esumi had told her. ‘Wait, two days? So it was already missing before…’ She couldn’t bring herself to say it, even in sign, and stopped.‘Yes.’ Esumi nodded. ‘I remember noticing it the night after the pool party. I helped bring some dishes in and saw the blank space there on the rack. I thought it strange, maybe it had fallen somewhere or behind something, but didn’t think it was relevant to anything at the time.’‘And you say it’s been missing since then?’ Hiramoto asked.‘Definitely.’ Esumi replied, ‘I checked a couple of times yesterday, as well as right now. I haven’t seen it. I just assumed that maybe it was in the wash, but those bears always seems to do the dishes. So it doesn’t make much sense to me. Plus, none of the other knives seem to have been moved or missing.’ Esumi put a hand to her chin in thought, then continued signing, ‘I think it definitely has something to do with the murder, but the time frame strikes me as strange. Maybe just something to keep in mind?’‘I can definitely write it down.’ Hiramoto told her, nodding. ‘Sorry, I don’t know what else to do besides that.’‘That’s more than enough.’ Esumi nodded back and smiled. ‘It makes me feel a bit better knowing that somebody else is keeping it in mind.’‘Thank you.’ Hiramoto offered Esumi a shy smile.‘No problem.’ Esumi returned the smile, then glanced over at Diana and Sasabe. Diana had finally pried Sasabe’s hands off of her, at the cost of Sasabe now holding her hands, which she tried to free herself from. Esumi shook her head. ‘I’m not sure what else I can do for the investigation. I’ll just keep looking for the knife. As well as keeping an eye on Sasabe.’ She pressed her lips together and raised her brow at Hiramoto.They turned to see Diana finally yank herself free from Sasabe, and start shouting at Sasabe to mind her space. Hiramoto turned back to Esumi, who smirked. Hiramoto couldn’t help but crack a shy smile, even despite everything.‘Thank you for the info.’ Hiramoto told her.‘It’s no big deal. Glad to help.’ Esumi replied.
[Added Truth Bullet: Esumi’s Testimony]
“Hiramoto, I’m sorry, but I gotta go.” Diana stormed over, face dark. “Sasabe won’t keep her hands off me, and this point I’m afraid that she’s like, two seconds away from copping a feel.”“Dia, wait! I can change!” Sasabe scurried over. “Let me serenade you! Will that change your tune? I know it’ll change mine!”Esumi shook her head and grabbed Sasabe’s wrist before she could get any closer to Diana.“I-It’s okay,” Hiramoto replied. “I… W-We’ve, um… f-finished.”“Okay, good. Let’s bail.” Diana stomped towards the door to the Dining Hall. Sasabe sighed.“Some girls just can’t appreciate a compliment,” She said.Esumi shot her a half-lidded stare.Hiramoto scurried after Diana. She felt bad for Esumi, but… there wasn’t anything she could do…Hiramoto caught up with Diana halfway through the Dining Hall. She didn’t seem too keen to say much, and Hiramoto couldn’t come up with anything either, so she just followed. Chujo and Honda seemed to have vacated the room, leaving just Ikari and Jitsuko. They both stood near the body, and shared a quiet conversation that Hiramoto didn’t want to listen in on.Hiramoto just followed Diana out into the hallway.“Ugh.” Diana groaned, shuddering. “She’s just the worst. We’re trying to solve a murder and she’s… just being a freak. Eugh.” She shook her head and turned to Hiramoto. “So… anywhere you wanna go next?”“Um… n-nothing really comes to mind,” Hiramoto admitted. “S-Sorry…”“It’s fine. I’ve got an idea.” Diana turned to Hiramoto, eyes burning with motivation. “In TV shows and stuff, they always check out the victim’s home, to see if they were up to anything weird before hand, right? So I think we should go to Fuji’s room, and see if he has anything freaky in there.” She grinned. “Good idea, right?”“Y-Yeah.” Hiramoto nodded back, offering a very small smile. It seemed to satisfy Diana nonetheless, as she puffed her chest out.“Hehe. Yeah, I do that sometimes,” She said, sounding very pleased with herself. “C’mon, let’s go.”Hiramoto didn’t have a reason not to follow.“I’m telling you, there’s relevance!” A voice shouted.“And I’m just asking you to explain how…” Another replied.Hiramoto’s lips quirked downwards. This didn’t sound good…“Man, what’s all that yelling about?” Diana asked, picking up her pace slightly. Hiramoto felt nervous, but trotted after her nonetheless.The voices came from up above them as they emerged out from under the stairs, stepping into the Lobby. Diana glanced up at the staircase’s landing, then sighed as she continued on her path. Hiramoto assumed that this was… something to attend to anyways. It was on the way, after all…Up on the landing stood Honda, Goto, and Kuno. The latter two stared each other down, not breaking eye contact for even a second, while Honda glanced up as the two approached.“Hello.” He greeted. “What brings you two up here?”“We were heading to Fuji’s room,” Diana said, looking between Goto and Kuno. “...what are these two arguing about?”“I’m not arguing anything,” Kuno replied, shaking her head. “I just want to hear the explanation behind Goto’s thinking.”“Rrgh...” Goto growled, and Hiramoto could feel his irritation from here. “I have evidence.” He stated simply.“E… E-Evidence?” Hiramoto repeated.“Yeah, about what?” Diana asked, lips pursed and brow furrowed.“I believe that I have an alibi of sorts,” Goto replied, crossing his arms.“‘Of sorts’?” Honda asked.“...yes.” Goto nodded, his lips turning down in a frown. “See, the night before last, I was conversing with Amami in my Stateroom some time after the Nighttime Announcement. As he moved to leave, however, there was a ruckus out in the hallway. When the two of us went to investigate, we found Dewa making a mess out there. The commotion drew Fuji from his room as well, and Honda showed up not long after.”“Yes, I remember that…” Honda replied. Hiramoto watched… a look of sorts cross his face, and he put a hand to his chin in thought.“Wait, how is that an alibi?” Diana asked. “If it was the night before the murder, and Fuji was there… then what does that have to do with anything?”“Wh–!” Goto sputtered, face going red. “That is– Well, I’m working on figuring its relevance out, admittedly! However, it’s definitely relevant to the case at hand!”Hiramoto took a second to think about that. Sure… if it happened the night before the murder, then it certainly seemed like it had nothing to do with Fuji’s death… but was that true? If Fuji was there… was it important?…
[Added Truth Bullet: Goto’s Testimony]
“Well then think about it,” Kuno remarked. “You’ve got time to figure out your defense before the trial.” She then turned to Honda. “Hey. I want to look over some other things. What did you want from me?”“Ah.” Honda blinked, Kuno’s voice evidently shaking him from his thoughts. “I just… wanted to bounce something off of you. And you mentioned you had something to share as well?”“...that’s right.” Kuno nodded, then looked over in Hiramoto’s direction. She tensed up a bit as Kuno’s icy stare washed over her, then flicked over to Diana, then Goto. “I’ll make it quick, so these three can get back to… whatever they want to do.”“Why would I want to listen to anything you have to say?” Goto snorted.“...because having more information is vital to being able to properly talk things over,” Kuno replied, voice flat. “I’d figure you out of anybody else here would know the importance of verifying things like that.”“Gh–!” Goto made an undignified noise, then huffed and shut his mouth.“This better be good,” Diana said, raising her brow.“Just let me talk,” Kuno said. She waited a moment, hard stare directed in particular at Goto and Diana before she spoke up. “I just wanted to mention something to you. Specifically, about my little rat of a roommate, Kimura.”“Oh?” Honda’s eyes widened a bit, his attention clearly piqued. Hiramoto couldn’t help but lean in a bit as well. Kimura?…“I caught him coming back to his room late last night. It was probably around...” Kuno paused to tap at her chin in thought. “Somewhere around twelve thirty, I think. So maybe half an hour after midnight, give or take a few minutes.”“Wait, how did you know that?” Goto asked.“I’m a light sleeper,” Kuno replied, crossing her arms. “And he isn’t all that quiet to begin with.” She shook her head. “Anyways, I confronted him about it, but he was annoyingly evasive, as usual, so I just let it be. I stayed up the rest of the night and kept an ear out, and he didn’t leave his room for the rest of the night.”“Well that’s not suspicious in the slightest,” Goto remarked.“...you said about thirty minutes after midnight?” Honda asked.“That’s the part you’re concerned with?” Diana said, shooting a look at Honda.“Yeah, that’s right,” Kuno replied, ignoring Diana. “Strange, right?…”Hiramoto… wasn’t quite sure what to make of that. But… it felt like Kuno and Honda were aware of something she wasn’t. Twelve thirty… the time sounded… somewhat important, but Hiramoto couldn’t place exactly why at the moment…
[Added Truth Bullet: Kuno’s Testimony]
“That’s all. Can I go now?” Kuno asked.“Wait, one more thing, while you all are still here.” Honda seemed to shake away whatever it was he was thinking about, and turned to them. “I just wanted to… remind some people of something I think pertinent to the case.”“Oh yeah?” Goto cocked his brow. “And what’s that?”“Nothing big, I just wanted to make sure you keep in mind the announcement I made yesterday,” Honda replied.“…” Hiramoto frowned, then remembered what it was Honda was talking about. “A-Ah! You’re… um, talking about… uh… th-the stolen microphone. From, uh. Y-Your lab.”“Correct.” Honda pressed his lips together and looked away. “A microphone went missing from my lab the night before Fuji’s murder. It had to have been taken some time after I left, which was… a bit after midnight, if I’m not mistaken. It was also before the Morning Announcement the next day, because that’s when I noticed it’d been taken. It’s still missing, and I’m not willing to dismiss it as a factor in this case. I just wanted a few people besides me to keep it in mind, just in case.”
[Added Truth Bullet: Honda’s Testimony]
“Anyways, that’s everything, Kuno.” Honda nodded at her. “Sorry for keeping you.”“It’s fine.” Kuno turned heel, not bothering to address the rest of them. “Good luck with the rest of your investigation.” With that said, she made her way down the stairs, turning to head deeper into the Hotel.“...I suppose there are a few things I’d like to look into as well,” Goto said. He, too, made his way down the stairs, disappearing from sight not soon after.“Ah, you two. Before you go,” Honda said, turning to Hiramoto and Diana. “I admittedly have a bit of a selfish request. Do you two mind if I accompany you to Fuji’s Stateroom?”“...huh?” Diana shot him a confused look. “Why?”“Well,” Honda replied, putting a hand to his chin. “I was heading there anyways, and I figured it would be nice to have some people to bounce ideas off of. And you two are smart enough, I’d say.”“‘Smart enough’?” Diana parroted, eyes half lidded in annoyance.“I… I-I’m… um, okay. With it, I-I mean,” Hiramoto said, fiddling with her satchel strap. “I… th-think it would be, um. Nice.”“…” Diana frowned, then shrugged. “Yeah, whatever. More eyes the better.”“Appreciated.” Honda replied, offering the two a smile. “Let’s get going then.”Hiramoto wasn’t sure what she was expecting to see when they got to Fuji’s room. However, it wasn’t Uma sitting on the floor, Dewa lingering over her shoulder, as the two appeared to be… fiddling around with the Monopad scanner next to Fuji’s door. Hiramoto didn’t… really want to know how they had popped the front casing off, but they had, and the two were now looking into the internal workings of the scanner itself.“Ahem.” Honda was the first out of the three to speak up. “Can I ask what exactly you two are doing?” His words made Dewa jolt in surprise, but it was Uma who replied first.“Huh?” She turned to glance at Honda, her eyes quickly flicking over to Hiramoto and Diana as well. Once she actually took note of who they were, she smiled. “Oh! We’re just doing some investigation.”“...of what nature?” Honda asked, clearly skeptical.“Yeah, what’s the big idea?!” Monokuma snapped, suddenly standing near them. Hiramoto jumped in surprise, and Diana put a hand on her arm in comfort.“Well… I wanted to look at this door scanner,” Uma said. “I wanted to get into Fuji’s room, and see if there were any clues in there. Obviously I can’t get in by myself, so I figured I’d try to… y’know, find my own way in.”“I kept telling her it was a bad idea,” Dewa said, shrugging. He finally seemed to have regained his composure.“Grr…” Monokuma growled, mainly to himself, before turning away with a huff. “While I’m not at all pleased with your methods, I suppose this is a necessary avenue for your investigation.”“…it is?” Honda asked, frowning.“I wish you would have at least attempted to ask me first!” Monokuma shouted, ignoring Honda. “It’s my duty as a Captain to help you in these trying times!”“You’re the one that put us in this situation in the first place…” Diana said, shaking her head.“What can you do to help us?” Uma asked, cocking her head.“…” Monokuma shook his head and sighed, then made a sound like fingers snapping. A second later, Fuji’s door responded in kind, letting out the heavy ‘thunk’ of the door’s lock coming undone. “There. Some restricted areas are necessary for investigation’s sake, so next time, be sure to ask me first before you go breaking into places!”“Can do!” Uma offered Monokuma a salute, to which he responded with another sigh. Monokuma turned around and walked away soon after.…Hiramoto really didn’t get him. At all…“…well, if it’s unlocked, I’m gonna go inside,” Diana said. Despite her words, she took a second to stare at the small group there, lips pressed together, before heading over to Fuji’s door. Honda and Dewa followed without a word.As Hiramoto made a movement to catch up with them, however, a hand laid itself onto her arm. She jumped in surprise, yanking her arm to her chest, and found Uma staring at her.“S… sorry…” Hiramoto said, looking down at the floor.“Oh, don’t worry about it!” Uma flapped her hand at Hiramoto, then offered a comforting smile. “I just wanted to see how you were doing. I mean no offense when I say that… well, you’re a bit weak of constitution at times. Are you doing alright?”“A-Ah…” Hiramoto felt her cheeks go red, and her hands moved to fiddle with the hem of her skirt. “I… I d-don’t really. Um. F-Feel. Very, uh, g-good, th-that is.”“I understand.” Uma nodded, “Death is a very unsavory thing, and we haven’t had much time to process things. Let me know if you need any help, or anything.” She put a hand on Hiramoto’s arm again, and this time Hiramoto let it stay. Uma continued talking, glancing up in thought. “Though, I have noticed that you’ve gotten on quite well with Diana. Has she replaced me as your BFF?” Uma adopted a smirk.“I-I-I-” Hiramoto stuttered, her blush darkening. “I… sh-she just… i-i-is v-ver-ry u-u-uhm… n-n-nice! A-Ah, t-t-to m-me!”“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Uma laughed, shaking Hiramoto’s arm playfully. “It was just a joke! Though I’m glad you’re making friends, even in such perilous times.”“R… right…” Hiramoto nodded, lightly flicking her head to the side. The action caused some hair to fall in front of her face, which Uma definitely noticed.“Hey, c’mon, I’m sorry. I mean it! Here,” She patted Hiramoto’s arm. “I’ve got some evidence for you. You’re investigating, right?”“Um… y-yes…” Hiramoto nodded.“Right! Well, do you remember the announcement that Monokuma made yesterday?” Uma asked.“U-Uh…” Hiramoto paused for a moment, forgetting about her embarrassment to think on Uma’s words. Announcement?… Announcement… ah! Her eyes widened a bit, and she adjusted her hair so she could look at Uma. “Th… the, uh, one he made. A-At breakfast?”“Yes, exactly!” Uma nodded. “Don’t you think it was very out of place?”“I…” Hiramoto trailed off. Now that Uma brought it up… “Y-Yes, s-sort of…”“Mmhmm. So did I.” Uma nodded and crossed her arms. “The suggestion that something sinister took place is far too important to ignore… An implicit attempt at murder, quickly followed by another. And yet… nobody fessed up that something like that happened. I think we should keep this in mind, okay? You can trust this, it’s some reporters intuition. I can almost guarantee it’ll be important to figuring things out!”
[Added Truth Bullet: Monokuma’s Announcement]
“I, um. B-Believe you,” Hiramoto said, then immediately began worrying at her satchel strap. “I-I! I mean that s-seriously!”“I know, I know!” Uma grinned. “But hey, you’ve got some more important things to be looking at, right? Go on!”“Wh… what about you?” Hiramoto asked, glancing at Fuji’s cracked open door. “You’re… n-not coming?”“Ah, not yet,” Uma said, shrugging. “I’d like to take a further look at this scanner here. Another bit of intuition, y’know?”“Um…” Hiramoto kind of didn’t. “S-Sure…”“Right on.” Uma offered her a thumbs up. “Now go get ‘em, tiger!”Hiramoto wasn’t really sure how to respond to that, and Uma seemed more than happy to go back to tinkering with Fuji’s Monopad scanner. So… Hiramoto decided to just… leave her to her devices. She was more than capable of finding things out on her own, Hiramoto knew that much. And the others were already in Fuji’s room. After shooting one last glance at Uma, Hiramoto made her way over and pushed Fuji’s door open.And what she found was a disaster.His desk was shoved away from the wall, the chair discarded and on its side on the other side of the room. His bookshelf was similarly manhandled, with a few volumes laying on the floor where they’d presumably landed after having been shaken loose. The bed was just a frame, the mattress tossed to the side, completely separate. Blankets and pillows were strewn around haphazardly, and his nightstand was out of place, the lamp that probably rested on it now on the floor, the lightbulb broken. And everywhere, Hiramoto could see faint streaks of blood, dried swipes and droplets scattered along various surfaces. However, none of them were as heavy or as wet as the ones in the Dining Hall.Still, Hiramoto had to try her best not to throw up.Near the door stood Dewa, a hand threaded into his hair. Hiramoto could feel the horror emanating from him, and decided to leave him be. Honda stood near the middle of the room, hand on his chin. He looked deep in thought, though about what, Hiramoto had no idea. His eyes flicked over to her as she entered, but it barely seemed like he even recognized her before he glanced away. Finally, Diana stood near the mattress, slumped up against the wall. She had her hands on her hips and her lips pursed.And even looking at this mess, a question bubbled up in Hiramoto’s head… why? If Fuji’s death happened in the Dining Hall, and that’s where his body was… why was his room all messed up like this?…
[Added Truth Bullet: Fuji’s Room]
“What the hell, man?” Dewa said aloud, finally breaking the silence that had settled over them. “What… what the fuck happened here?”“…wait, you don’t know?” Diana turned to Dewa, frowning.“No.” Dewa shook his head. “I went to bed early, then got up early to go jogging with Ikari. I haven’t been in my room since before the Morning Announcement. Plus I’m a heavy sleeper.”“Dammit.” Diana sighed.“…” Honda was silent as he stooped down, grabbing at a bloodstained bed sheet. He ran his thumb over the stain, then rubbed his thumb and finger together. “...it’s dry.”“Huh?” Dewa turned to him.“This bloodstain is dry.” Honda repeated. “I’d wager they’re all dry. That’s… strange.”“...is it?” Dewa asked.“Um...” Hiramoto managed. Both Honda and Dewa turned to her, and she shrank back a bit before continuing. “S-Sorry… I-I just, u-uhm… was confused about… um, all this.”“Yes, this is a rather strange circumstance.” Honda nodded.“Hey guys?!” Diana shouted, “I think you need to come look at this!”Hiramoto glanced over, finding that Diana had shoved the mattress to the side. She was crouched over… something bundled up down on the floor, partially hidden by a discarded pillow case. Hiramoto shuffled over, Honda and Dewa quickly moving to follow suit, and… well…She saw a knife.Hiramoto flinched at the light gleaming off of the blood crusted blade. She got a better look at it once Diana yanked the pillow case away, the knife falling out the rest of the way alongside something else. Once things stopped moving, Hiramoto could see that the other object was… a corded microphone? To her surprise, part of the cord itself seemed to be covered in blood as well.“I-Is that…?” Dewa began, trailing off.“...wait a minute.” Honda said, frowning.“I think we found our missing knife.” Diana said, reaching down and pinching the tip of the knife between her index finger and thumb. She lifted it up and locked eyes with Hiramoto.
[Added Truth Bullet: Bloody Knife]
“Y… Yeah…” Hiramoto replied, unable to think of anything else to say. A bloody knife…“Wait, what’s with the microphone?” Dewa asked, frowning. Like Hiramoto, he didn’t seem to keen on crouching down to check things out.“It’s from my lab,” Honda spoke up suddenly, his brow creased in concern. “I’ve been looking for it. To think it’d turn up here… hrm…”“Wait, it’s yours?” Dewa asked, turning to Honda. “And you didn’t tell us it was missing?!”“I did.” Honda shot him a surprisingly sharp glare. “I made an announcement right after I found out it was missing. Nobody fessed up.”
[Added Truth Bullet: Microphone]
As Dewa began to argue with Honda and Diana puzzled over the two objects she’d found under the mattress, Hiramoto backed up. Her stomach was starting to rebel again, flipping and turning in a way that made her feel far too queasy to be good. She… she wasn’t gonna throw up yet, but… well… best to break away before then.Hiramoto took a few steps to the side, attempting to find a good position to catch her breath. A couple deep breaths would do her good. However, as she looked away from the bulk of the room, her eyes drifted over to Fuji’s bathroom door. It was cracked open, just barely enough to be noticeable. Hiramoto blinked and shuffled over, an unidentified force spurring her forward. She gently placed her palm against the door and pushed.Fuji’s shower looked almost like something out of a horror movie set. What blood was there seemed to have dried along with the water, and most traces of it were reduced to faint specks. Still, waterlogged red splattered the tile wall, the floor covered in light pink streaks that spiraled towards the drain. The frosted, warped glass of the shower door was left open, awarding Hiramoto an excellent view of its horrid contents.“A-Ah… Aaaaah!” She screamed, taking a few steps back, unable to stop the sound from coming out. Three sets of footsteps were quickly behind her, and the others were soon staring at the bathroom as well.“Woah…” Diana said, reaching out and grabbing Hiramoto’s elbow. Hiramoto was shaking too much to react, and Diana tightened her grip slightly.“God, here too?” Dewa asked, eyes wide.“Hrm.” Honda grunted. He took a few steps into the bathroom, then stooped down and pressed his finger to the shower floor. “...it’s dry.”“Well, yeah, obviously.” Dewa replied. “But why are you touching it?”“I think a better question…” Honda mused aloud, running his hand up the wall and following one of the runny bloodstains. “Is why this shower was used in the first place…”“...used?” Diana asked, cocking her head. “What do you mean?”“I’m not sure yet.” Honda replied. “Though… I suppose I’ll do my best to have my thoughts sorted out by the time we begin the trial…”“…” Hiramoto held her satchel close, but Honda’s words had already begun processing in her mind. Why the shower was used… Did… did the killer use Fuji’s shower? But why?…
[Added Truth Bullet: Bloodstained Shower]
“This… is way too weird, man…” Dewa said, turning away. “I gotta step out for a bit…”“Hmm.” Honda hummed to himself. “There’s something else I’d like to investigate before the trial, so I should go as well…” And before anybody else could get a word in, Honda turned heel and walked quickly from the room. Dewa was at his heels, leaving Hiramoto and Diana in Fuji’s room alone.“...jeez.” Diana sighed. “This just gets more and more confusing.” She turned to Hiramoto. “Making any sense of this at all?”“I...” Hiramoto began, then trailed off. She… felt like she was missing something huge here. Something that could solve this case for her. But right now… everything was jumbled, and she could barely think… So she shook her head and muttered. “N-Not really…”“Same here,” Diana said. She then straightened her back and locked eyes with Hiramoto, a motivation blazing in them that Hiramoto couldn’t help but feel a little inspired by. “But we’ve still got some time left, right? I’m sure there’s something else we could look at before we give up all the way! Like… we could, uh…” Diana seemed to lose a bit of her steam.“M… maybe, uh…” Hiramoto fiddled with the hem of her skirt. “W-We c-could, uh… check out. Um. Honda’s lab? That’s… uh… wh-where the microphone. Is from. S-Supposedly.” She ended noncommittally, shrugging.“Great idea!” Diana was quick to respond, grabbing Hiramoto’s wrist and pulling lightly. Hiramoto tensed up a bit at the contact, but relented easily, and let Diana pull her out of Fuji’s room.Uma was still there. She remained crouched in front of the open scanner, one hand stuffed into it, while the other held the front casing. Hiramoto watched as she yanked some wiring out, frowned at it, then stuffed it back in. She then glanced to the side and smiled.“Oh, hey you two,” Uma said. “Find what you’re looking for in there?”“I… dunno, to be honest,” Diana replied, then shook her head. “No, wait. What are you doing?!”“...is it not obvious?” She asked.“I… I don’t know how to respond to that,” Diana answered.“D-Did you… um, f-find what you w-were looking for?” Hiramoto asked.“I did, actually!” Uma replied, a grin on her face. She stood up and hefted the scanner’s front casing. “I can confirm with almost one hundred percent certainty that this door scanner was not tampered with or broken before my investigation just now.“...huh?” Diana cocked her head. “How… how can you tell?”“Well, you see…” Uma motioned at the scanner with her free hand. “To start things off, I found that nothing was outwardly wrong with it. I thought Monokuma or his Deckhands might have done some repairs to it, but that’s when I realized.” She grinned and tapped her knuckles onto the casing in her other hand. “That’s impossible!”“Wh-Why?” Hiramoto asked. Impossible?…“Yeah, I’m pretty sure he’s able to fix something like that, if he can control this whole boat, or whatever,” Diana said.“Well, it’s not physically impossible,” Uma explained, “But if this scanner was damaged, and then Monokuma fixed it, that would be tampering with evidence!”“Ah!” Hiramoto’s eyes widened. “S-So… if he t-tampered with the evidence… th-then he’d be i-interfering! W-With a… a murder, th-that is…”“Spot on!” Uma grinned. “And interfering with a murder is one hundred per-cent against the rules. Heh.” She crossed her arms and nodded. “So with that in mind, I took a look for any damaged wires, busted plastic, or rerouted cables. I’ve also took the liberty of inspecting the door itself, and found no damage to the handle, locking mechanism, or structure itself. And I have found… absolutely zero points of damage.” Uma concluded, looking the two of them over with a wide grin. “Pretty useful, right?”“...no.” Diana frowned. “How does that help us? They didn’t break his door. So what?”“So what?” Uma pouted. “It means they didn’t break in!”“I don’t get it…” Diana shook her head.Hiramoto frowned. They didn’t break in? Well… they had to get in somehow, right? Or… or was Fuji a bigger part of his murder than she realized?…
[Added Truth Bullet: Fuji’s Door]
“Well fine. I can see when my genius isn’t appreciated,” Uma huffed. “I’ve got something else I’d like to investigate anyways.” She shot Diana a look before smiling softly at Hiramoto. “See you later, Hiramoto! Good luck with the rest of your investigation!” And with that, Uma was gone, happily trotting out of the Staterooms.“Some people, man.” Diana said, offering a last glance at the scanner. She pressed her lips together, and that’s when Hiramoto glanced over and saw it too.“Sh-She… took the casing…”There wasn’t much left for them to do at Fuji’s room. Hiramoto couldn’t think of anything to look at, and she’d already given them another destination anyways. Diana seemed more than fine with not sticking around, and the pair headed out to keep searching while they had the time.It wasn’t long before trouble found them, though. Hiramoto supposed that trouble was just par for the course on the Ultimate Cruise Liner.The pair made their way down the hall, and the moment that the two of them stepped into the Staterooms’ intersection, there was a loud ‘PSST!’ off to the side. Hiramoto jolted in surprise while Diana came to a sudden stop, making Hiramoto collide with her. Diana reached out to stabilize Hiramoto, while Hiramoto grabbed Diana’s shoulder with both hands to prevent herself from toppling over.“Hey!” A voice said in a very loud and conspicuous whisper.Hiramoto quickly retracted her hands and glanced down the longest of the three Stateroom hallways, and found none other than Kimura, sticking his head out of what Hiramoto hoped was his own Stateroom. She could practically feel the annoyance radiating from Diana the moment she saw who it was.“Ugh,” Diana said aloud. “What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be investigating?”“I am investigating,” Kimura replied. “But I need some help. Which of you wants to help me?”“We are not helping you,” Diana snorted. “Do your own investigation.”“Aw, pleeeeease?” Kimura begged, sticking his hands through the crack in the door so that they could see him clasping them together. “I promise it’ll be quick! Please please please!”“No.” Diana turned up her nose. “We’re trying to get things done.”“…d-do you…” Hiramoto began, flinching when both Kimura and Diana looked over at her. “S-Sorry… never… never mind…”“No, no, what were you going to say?” Diana immediately turned, looking up at Hiramoto with an appeasing smile.“I… j-just wanted to ask K-Kimura…” Hiramoto began, wilting a bit when she saw Diana’s smile falter somewhat at the mention of Kimura’s name. She swallowed, glancing in the smirking Kimura’s direction, before continuing. “If… i-if he had a-any clues. U-Um… already.”“Well, as a matter of fact!” Kimura chimed in, speaking quick enough to cut off Diana. “I do! And since you’re so kind to ask, I’ll show you them, if only you come into my den, of course…” His smirk grew a little more devious as he pulled his door open slightly, wiggling his fingers towards the interior of his room. “But only you, since you were actually nice enough to ask about my investigation!”“This is fishy,” Diana immediately stated, glaring at Kimura.“Tch.” Kimura clicked his tongue. “If you’re gonna be so picky about it, you can stand outside and I’ll leave the door cracked. That way, you can hear all of the nothing but sharing juicy investigation secrets I’m gonna be doing.”“Mmr…” Diana growled, then turned to Hiramoto, brow furrowed. “Are… are you really okay with this?”“I…” Hiramoto began, her hands clenched around her satchel strap. She flicked her eyes to the side, finding Kimura nodding excitedly. “I… I’ll f-feel… safe if… if you promise to… s-stay nearby…”“Of course! I promise, one hundred percent!” Diana nodded wildly, her ponytail bouncing. “I won’t let him hurt you! For sure!”“I already said I wasn’t gonna…” Kimura threw in, rolling his eyes.“Alright, fine,” Diana said, turning back to Kimura. “I’ll be right next to your door, though. And leave it cracked! So I can hear if she shouts for me!”“Fine.” Kimura stuck his tongue out at her. “But don’t listen too hard. This is a secret only for people who care about me and are my friends. So not you.”“Hmph.” Diana huffed at him.Hiramoto said nothing, only shuffling over to Kimura’s Stateroom alongside Diana. Diana posted herself nearby, and offered her a comforting smile. Hiramoto just nodded back, worrying at her satchel strap before turning to Kimura. He stared at her with a grin, and wordlessly beckoned her inside. Hiramoto swallowed, nerves on fire, before following.Kimura’s Stateroom was… pretty normal, all things considered. Like everyone else (it seemed), Kimura had the basic amenities of a desk and chair combo, a bed, and a nightstand. However, his desk appeared to have an empty fish tank, and a full body mirror stood at attention in an otherwise empty corner. Something was on his desk next to the fish tank, but Hiramoto didn’t have time to look it over very well before Kimura spoke up.“Welcome to my abode,” Kimura said. “It’s very comfortable, and if you’d like, the rules permit you to stay here whenever you’d like. Plus, you’ve got my permission.” He winked at her. Hiramoto felt herself go red.“Wh-Wh-Wh…” She stuttered, hands shooting up to grab at her hair and hide herself with it. Kimura smirked. “Wh-What d-did you… h-have? F-F-For e-evid-dence?”“Aw, that lame ol’ thing?” Kimura sighed. “Very well. Here you go. It’s for you, but you have to give it back.”Kimura held out a piece of paper. A simple white, almost like… printer paper. It was folded into a small square, and was wholly unassuming. Hiramoto peered at it through her hair, then gingerly reached forward and plucked it from Kimura’s. He just smiled at her as she unfolded it.Words were scrawled out on the page before her. ‘Hey, I’d like to talk to you about some of the others.’ the note read, ‘I think somebody’s planning something. Can you come out to the Pool at 11PM tonight?’ The handwriting was a bit messy, but was far from illegible, and was definitely written using just a plain ol’ pencil. But still, the contents…“I…” Hiramoto began. She trailed off, unsure of what to make of it, then held it back out. “I-I don’t want to… t-to do that…”“Oh, that’s completely fine.” Kimura replied, taking the note back and folding it back up. He stuffed it in his back pocket and shrugged. “It’s not my handwriting anyways.”“N-Not… yours?” Hiramoto frowned. Wait, then… then who’s was it?
[Added Truth Bullet: Kimura’s Note]
“Yup!” Kimura grinned at her. “Anyways, that’s it.”“...h-huh?!” Hiramoto looked at him in surprise. “B-But you s-said–”“I say a lot of things, to be honest,” Kimura interrupted her, shrugging. “But yeah, that’s all I’ve got to show you for now. Just a little fun thing, right?” He turned to her, and his eyes lit up. “Hey, maybe we could exchange some notes too! You’ll have to get your own paper though, I’ve already got my own.”“…” Hiramoto glanced over at his desk. His own paper?Sure enough, the thing on the desk appeared to be a stack of… stationery pads? It had to be at least four or five pads, all neatly stacked up on his desk. They looked… almost too fancy to be writing on, with an intentionally yellowed tint accompanied by golden accents, making the paper seem almost old-fashioned by intent. It… also looked strangely familiar, but Hiramoto couldn’t… couldn’t place why. Something tickled at the back of her brain. She couldn’t understand why, but… but was this stationery important? But… it was just some paper…“Ah, I see you’ve found my special paper!” Kimura grinned, sliding into Hiramoto’s field of view. He scuttled over to his desk and grabbed a pad, holding it up so Hiramoto could… see it better?“U-Um… y-yes? I… I s-see it…” Hiramoto wasn’t quite sure what Kimura was doing.“Pretty cool, right?” He asked, running a finger across its surface. “I saw these bad boys in the Knick-Knack Shop, and I just… had to have ‘em, y’know? Luckily, everything in there is like… technically free.” Kimura sighed. “I was so scared I wasn’t gonna have enough Monocoins, y’know?”“…” Hiramoto was quiet as he talked. She’d started finding little gold coins, imprinted with Monokuma’s face, around everywhere the other day. Apparently they went to that weird machine in the Knick-Knack Shop, but… wait, that’s not what was important!“Yup, loved ‘em so much I had to grab every single one.” Kimura finished. “All mine. Every single pad of this awesome paper on this ship is right here in my room.”“Are…” Hiramoto frowned, looking at Kimura with confusion. Why… was he being so adamant that he had all of that stationery? “Are you… a-are you hinting? A-At something?”“Hints?” Kimura smirked, eyes sparkling. He almost looked… well… was ‘proud’ the wrong word? “Why, I have nothing to give hints about.”
[Added Truth Bullet: Distinctive Stationery]
“…” Hiramoto… wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Before she could try and think of something, however, Kimura’s door swung open.“Hey.” Diana said, popping her head in. “I’m just checking to see if you’re okay, Hiramoto.”“Y-Yeah, I’m–” Hiramoto began.“You broke the rule!” Kimura interrupted. “There was one rule! And you guys broke it!” He crossed his arms and pouted. “Hmph. And I tried so hard to help you guys out. Hmph hmph.”“…” “…” Hiramoto and Diana shared a look.“Fine, get out!” Kimura said. He put down the stationery and began lightly pushing Hiramoto towards the door. She froze up when he touched her, his hands on the small of her back.“Hey, hands off of her!” Diana pushed the door open and stepped inside, glaring at Kimura.“I’m kicking you out!” Kimura shouted, almost theatrically, a childish scowl on his face. “After the clues I helped you find, and you treat me like this?! For shame!”Once at the door, he gave Hiramoto a little shove, causing her to stumble forward. Diana took a step back, not wanting to collide with her, and the two ended up out in the hallway. Kimura glared at them.“You guys are so rude,” He said before slamming the door in their faces.“…” Diana stared at the door for a moment before her shoulders slumped. “He’s so irritating.” She turned to Hiramoto, lips pressed together and brow furrowed before she continued. “And what was with that stupid paper he was waving around anyways?”“I… d-don’t know…” Hiramoto replied, mind still stuck on that stationery.“Well, whatever. Nothing we can do about him.” Diana shook her head. “C’mon, let’s go.” She began walking, then looked Hiramoto over. “Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you or anything, right?”“I’m… f-fine,” Hiramoto replied, following after Diana. “It’s… n-nothing happened…”“If you’re sure…” Diana said, staring at Hiramoto for a moment more.They finally made their way out of the Staterooms, heading down the staircase into the Lobby. And yet… Hiramoto’s mind couldn’t get off of the past couple of minutes. Fuji’s room and the door… Kimura and his note… a knife and a microphone… there was so much going on that it was difficult to parse. Hiramoto wasn’t sure she’d be able to help during whatever came after this at all. Nothing was making any sense…Her train of thought was cut off by Tadamori stomping up to them.“Ugh.” She snapped, looking Diana and Hiramoto over. “I’d have liked somebody else, but you guys’ll do. C’mere.” She reached out and grabbed a wrist in each hand, one from Hiramoto and one from Diana. Hiramoto froze up, but Diana reacted in time to yank herself free.“Wait, what?!” Diana snapped at her, reaching out and grabbing Hiramoto’s arm. “Stop! What the hell are you grabbing at us for?!”“U-Uh...” Hiramoto tried to speak up.“God, could you not be a bitch for five minutes?” Tadamori replied, shooting Diana a glare. “I need to show you guys something to prove I’m not absolutely losing it.” She yanked on Hiramoto’s wrist, making her stumble forwards.“Well you could try asking instead of pulling!” Diana replied, pulling Hiramoto backwards.“A-Ah!” Hiramoto winced at the two making her a tug-of-war prop. This wasn’t gonna end well.“Ladies, please.” Her savior spoke up in the form of Amami, who materialized nearby. He reached out, prying Tadamori off of Hiramoto. “Let’s… not use other people as props in a fight, okay?”“I told you to stay in the room!” Tadamori snapped. “And this isn’t a fight!”“I figured it would be better if we stuck together,” Amami replied, rubbing the back of his head. “Sorry. Besides, it looks like I arrived at a good time anyways.”“Yeah?! Well I–” Tadamori began.“Hey now,” Amami spoke up, very gently cutting her off. “Instead of yelling, we could always… check out the thing you wanted them to look at?”“Hrm.” Tadamori scowled, then sighed and shrugged. “Fine.”“Awesome.” Amami smiled, then turned to Hiramoto and Diana. “Would you two mind coming with us for a sec? Just want to show you something. You know, the more people know about evidence, and all that.”“Well since you were kind enough to ask instead of just walking over and grabbing people, I guess we could take a minute.” Diana snapped, directing a venomous stare in Tadamori’s direction.“Get off it,” Tadamori replied, a scowl painting her face.“…” Hiramoto remained quiet, turning to Amami. He simply offered her a shrug, and led the charge to whatever nebulous room Tadamori wanted to show them.Their walk was tense, but Hiramoto pushed that feeling to the side when she noticed the room they were actually being taken to: the Disposal Room. Before she could ask anything, Tadamori shoved the door open and stomped in, with Amami following quickly behind her. Diana glanced at Hiramoto and shrugged before following after them, and Hiramoto didn’t have much to do but follow suit.“Okay, here it is,” Tadamori said, stomping up to the little hatch used for dumping their trash. “Check this stupid thing out.”“The hatch?” Diana asked.“No, the fucking floor.” Tadamori rolled her eyes. “Yes the fucking hatch!”“You don’t have to be like this all the time!” Diana snapped, leaning forward so she could yell at Tadamori. “Every time we talk, you can’t act like a normal person! You’re always insulting and being rude! Don’t you have anything better to do?!”“No, because I’ve been kidnapped and forced to hang around you freaks!” Tadamori shouted back.Hiramoto shrank away from the argument, with Amami shuffling forward to attempt to diffuse the situation. This… wasn’t something Hiramoto felt like she could get in between, even if she wanted to. Instead, she shuffled around the group, moving towards the supposed problem with the hatch that Tadamori wanted them to look at.And sure enough… there was something there. It took a second, and was faint and somewhat hard to focus on with the shouting match behind her… but Hiramoto saw it after a second. Faint bloodstains on the hatch’s handle, almost nothing. Barely more than a couple flecks of dried blood, seemingly having been rubbed off onto the handle from some sort of brief contact. How Tadamori had noticed this to begin with was beyond her, but… well, it was certainly an important clue.Hiramoto stared for a second then, without touching the blood flecks, gingerly opened up the hatch itself. And just as she thought, on the top of the hatch door were a couple more stains, only slightly more evident than the ones on the handle. This was definitely evidence of… something bloody rubbing over the hatch. So… did the killer throw something away? That… made sense, but… what did that mean for them, if anything at all?
[Added Truth Bullet: Incinerator Hatch]
Hiramoto sighed to herself. She glanced over her shoulder. Amami physically stood between Diana and Tadamori, who leaned around him to shout at each other. Diana jabbed a finger at Tadamori, who had a fist reared back as though she was ready to swing. Amami held both of them at arm’s length.And then the shouting went silent as static crackled through the air. Hiramoto’s head whipped towards the sound, and found herself staring at yet another monitor. The camera next to it slowly swiveled, turning to stare at her intently, watching her reactions as the screen lit up.
Ding dong, dong ding!
Monokuma sat there, in his velvety captain’s chair. His fruity drink hung precariously from his hand, and his mocking smirk stared them down. His voice crackled through the speakers.“The period for investigating is now finished! All students are to report to the elevator on the Deck, so that we can move to the Trial Grounds, and get on with our exciting Class Trial! Let’s make things exciting, upupupu!”The screens cut out, though the camera continued to sweep slowly. The silence was almost as uncomfortable as the shouting. After a second, Amami cleared his throat.“Uh… we should get going, right?” He asked. “We don’t want to get in trouble for being late, right?”“...yeah.” Tadamori huffed. “I’m not getting canned for something stupid like that.” And then she stomped out of the Disposal Room.“Um…” Hiramoto worried at her satchel strap, turning to Diana. “A-Are you… u-um… okay?”“...I’m fine.” Diana replied, running a hand through her hair. “I’m… I’m not gonna say anything. Let’s just… let’s just go.”“R… right.” Amami nodded.Hiramoto felt bad about not being able to say anything, but… well… she supposed there were worse things to worry about. And Diana wasn’t mad at her… right?…She headed out with Diana and Amami, and made their way to the Deck. They were nearby, so the walk wasn’t particularly long. It was unfortunately quiet, which meant her mind went back to all the bits of information they’d found. How did… any of this stuff link up? And… and more importantly… how would she be able to figure this out? How could any of them figure this stuff out?…Out near the cage elevator stood Monokuma and Monotaro, alongside Kimura, Amami, Tadamori, Kuno, Dewa, Sasabe, Esumi, Chujo, and Goto.“Hola!” Kimura called out, waving at them as they approached.“Greetings!” Sasabe said to them as well, grinning. “Hope you guys found a lot of fun stuff to talk about.“How is this ‘fun’?…” Dewa murmured to himself, rubbing his arms.Hiramoto stood in silence nearby, sticking next to Diana. Diana seemed fine with not speaking with any of the others at the moment, and soon enough, everybody was quiet, even Kimura and Sasabe. Monokuma was strangely quiet as well, simply looking over the small group and grinning.After a minute, the rest of their group emerged from the Hotel. Honda led the group forward, Uma sticking to his side. Behind them tromped Ikari and Jitsuko, both of whom looked rather grim. Honda had his brow furrowed, while Uma chattered at him.“Alright, everybody!” Monokuma called out. “Thank you for coming!”“Boo!” Kimura called out. “Get him off the stage!”“…” Monokuma stared in Kimura’s direction for a moment before continuing. “Anyways… there’s not much to discuss out here, so I’ll let you guys climb on in! Just follow my Deckhands’ instructions and we’ll get there safe and sound! Hopefully, upupu…”Once he finished speaking, the cage elevator’s doors snapped out with a loud ‘clang!’ . Hiramoto flinched.“Alright everybody, follow me!” Monotaro called out. “Just right in here! There should be enough room! We made it for sixteen, after all!”His cheery words put a blanket of tension over Hiramoto, making her shoulders sag and her jaw clench. It was true. Fuji… Fuji was dead. Irrevocably. ‘Never coming back’ kind of dead. She stood rooted in place, eyes flicking up to watch some of their numbers clamber on first.Kimura seemed more than happy to get aboard the elevator, while Kuno and Honda seemed to be a bit occupied with their thoughts. Jitsuko approached Esumi, and the two shared a silent stare before heading onto the elevator together. Ikari sniffled and rubbed at his cheeks before climbing on, and Dewa followed, his teeth digging into his lower lip. Amami frowned, and approached Goto before the two got on together. Uma hummed to herself, following suit. Sasabe offered Hiramoto a smile before getting on the Elevator. When Hiramoto looked in Chujo’s direction, he just shrugged at her before plodding forward, and Tadamori grumbled to herself and followed.“...I guess this is it.” Diana said.“Y… yeah…” Hiramoto murmured. The shared a quiet glance before finally walking forward. Hiramoto made the wrong decision of glancing to the side, and Monokuma waved at her. She flinched and passed over the threshold.The doors shut with a ‘clang!’ of finality behind her. That sound made Hiramoto realize that somebody’s fate was sealed. They would not return to this ship with all fifteen of them still there.Nobody said anything as the cage elevator creaked into motion, slowly delivering them down the side of the Ultimate Cruise Liner. Hiramoto glanced up and saw the ocean, spread out before them in a never ending blanket of deep blue. And then she glanced down and saw… wait, what?Floating in the water was… some kind of speedboat? It was painted a slick black on one side, a smooth white on the other, and had a streak of red painted across the black side. It seemed a bit bigger than Hiramoto thought speedboats… were. It was definitely for them, as the black side, the side facing them, had a door swung open, the hatch opening upwards, to invite them in. A few others noticed the speedboat as well, a quiet murmuring filling the elevator.When the elevator finally creaked to a stop, the doors on the outside, the pair facing the speedboat, snapped open. The ocean lapped at their shoes through the floor of the elevator, and Monodam waved at them from the inside the speedboat.“EVERYBODY-PLEASE-PROCEED-SINGLE-FILE-INTO-THE-TRIAL-SPEEDBOAT.” Monodam said, motioning everybody inside.This was… too surreal.Still, the others began to move, and Hiramoto followed. Monotaro and Monodam led everybody into the Speedboat’s single room available to them. A set of sixteen seats lined the walls, except for in two spots. One was the entrance they’d just came through, while another was a door that presumably led to the cabin.The Deckhands directed everybody to a seat, placing Hiramoto between Esumi and Goto. Once everybody was settled in, the speedboat’s door hissed, then quickly swung shut. It was dark for a brief moment before an array of blue lights embedded into the floor lit the small room up. A quiet intercom crackled to life, and Monokuma’s mocking voice spoke to them.“Welcome passengers, to the Trial Speedboat. This is your Captain, Monokuma, speaking. Please enjoy the ride, and prepare yourself for the trial of a lifetime! Thank you for choosing Monokuma as your trial transportation!”Hiramoto felt sick as the speedboat roared to life around them.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

CHAPTER 1 TRUTH BULLETS

VICTIM: FUJI YOTA

"The discovery of Fuji's body in the Dining Hall almost seemed too horrible to be real. And yet, the remaining students now find themselves locked in a battle with the Ultimate Cruise Liner's first killer..."

Monokuma File 1 – "The victim is Yota Fuji, the Ultimate Antiquarian. The body was discovered in the Dining Hall. The estimated time of death is around 12:15 AM. The victim received a cut to the throat, resulting in death by blood loss. There are also marks on the victim's neck that are evidence of strangulation." Fuji's Monopad – Fuji's Monopad was in his one of his jacket pockets, covered in blood. Honda and Sasabe both say that it was not interacted with after his death. Bloodstained Note – A note was found in Fuji's jacket pocket. Most of it is unreadable due to the amount of blood on it. However, it can be gleaned that the note was inviting Fuji to the Dining hall. State of Dining Room – Aside from the table holding Fuji's body and the nearby floor and chairs, the Dining Room is mostly as it was the day before. Most of the blood in the room is on or around Fuji’s body. Esumi's Testimony – Esumi claims a knife has been missing from the Kitchen for two days, since after the pool party. All the other knives are present in the Kitchen. Goto's Testimony – Goto says that, two nights ago; Dewa spilled something in the hallway, which drew the attention of Goto, Amami, and Fuji. Honda then showed up a few moments later. This took place after the Nighttime Announcement. Kuno's Testimony – Kuno heard Kimura return to his Stateroom around 12:30 on the night of the murder, and confronted him. She can also confirm that he was in his room for the rest of the night. Honda's Testimony – Two days ago, a microphone was stolen from Honda's lab, some time between after he left that night and the Morning Announcement. As of the murder, the microphone is still missing. Monokuma's Announcement – Monokuma gave an announcement yesterday at breakfast, which seemed to imply that somebody attempted to commit a murder the night before. Despite the implication, nobody claimed to have been victim to such an event. Fuji’s Room – Fuji's Stateroom is a disaster, with everything out of place and thrown around. There are a few spots and splatters of dried blood on the bed sheets and floor, though none are as wet or heavy as the ones in the Dining Hall. Bloody Knife – A knife found in Fuji's Stateroom. The blade is covered in blood. Microphone – A microphone with a long cord found in Fuji's Stateroom. The middle of the cord is covered in blood. Bloodstained Shower – The shower in Fuji's bathroom shows evidence of being used by somebody. It is covered in faint, runny bloodstains. Fuji's Door – According to Uma, Fuji’s door was not tampered with or broken in any fashion, implying that there was no forced entry. Kimura's Note – A note that Kimura had. The note is inviting the recipient to the Pool at 11PM. Kimura claims that he didn’t write the note. Distinctive Stationery – A few notepads of unique and fancy looking stationery found in Kimura's Stateroom. They have a slightly yellowed tint and golden accents. Kimura claims he has every pad of this kind of stationery on the ship. Incinerator Hatch – The Dispoal Room's trash chute has some very faint blood stains along the edge and handle of the hatch, as though something slightly bloody rubbed onto it.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

As the group of fifteen finally filed into the place they were being taken to, Hiramoto couldn’t help but wonder, again, who exactly they were dealing with.The room was massive, with a high, flat ceiling that held a shell-like, swirling pattern that came together at the center, though it didn’t span the ceiling in its entirety. Giant steel girders connected the ceiling and the floor, though Hiramoto noted that the girders were ‘outside’ of the swirling pattern. Metal bars connected the girders, and hosted a variety of lights, which mainly seemed to project towards the center of the room. They were also home to a few massive television screens, similarly directed towards the center of the room. Wires and cabling were everywhere, which Hiramoto noted when Chujo tripped over some of them, Jitsuko grabbing the back of his jacket to break his fall.Monotaro and Monodam led them to the center of the room, where there was… something. A strange, circular wooden fixture embedded into the concrete floor. There were sixteen metal… podiums, futuristic and sleek, all facing the center of the fixture, equally interspersed around it.They were all silent as everybody got herded onto a podium. Now that she was standing on one, Hiramoto could see that her podium also had a little screen built into it, which was blank. Finding herself placed between Esumi and Honda, Hiramoto glanced to the side, and her stare fell onto… a throne looming over them.It was large, made of some golden material and had a seat adorned with red velvet. Two podiums, similar to the ones they were all standing on, were attached to the sides of the throne with strange, bronze colored bars. And reclining in the seat of the throne was Monokuma, looking over them with that same, mocking stare of his. Hiramoto’s stomach did a flip.“Now that everybody’s settled, be sure to remember your spots!” Monokuma called out, waving at them. “This is your assigned seating, for when we come back here again!”“You know this won’t happen again,” Diana told him, her stare dark.“That’s what they all say,” Monokuma replied, his grin widening.“Hey,” Goto spoke up, raising a hand and pointing at something. His face was contorted in disgust. “what the hell is that?”Hiramoto turned to see what he was talking about. Fuji stared back at her. Hiramoto jolted in surprise, flinching backwards. Honda’s hand was suddenly on her shoulder. The contact made Hiramoto flinch again, but after a moment, she was able to take a deep breath and actually understand what she just saw.It was a picture. A framed, grayscale portrait of Fuji, mounted on some sort of stand and currently placed on what Hiramoto could assume was his podium. A blood red ‘X’ was painted over his smiling face. It also looked like… was the stand trying to be the same height that Fuji was?…“Oh, that?” Monokuma asked, peering over at the picture. “Just because Fuji ate it doesn’t mean that he gets to skip out on the trial! Attendance is mandatory after all, and death isn’t a reason for an excused absence. Though, an absence is a reason for death.” Monokuma snickered at his own ‘joke’, then continued, “So this is just our way of keeping him in the loop. After all, it’d start to feel lonely if we left your classmates out of the Class Trials just because they died!”“Eugh,” Goto said.“...” Honda stared blankly at Fuji’s photo, letting his hand drop off of Hiramoto’s shoulder.“That reminds me,” Monokuma said, fiddling around with something on his throne, “there’s something I need to do to make sure this debate is spiced up a little bit. Just something for the… visual appeal!”There was a quiet ‘beep’ that came from Hiramoto’s podium. She glanced down at it, then jolted in surprise as it began to hum beneath her. She bent her legs and grabbed onto the bars of the podium as it began to glow blue and… float! It began floating! It didn’t get very high up, maybe half a foot off the ground at most. And yet… they were still floating!From the shouts all around her, it seemed everybody else was just as surprised.Monokuma just smirked, letting everybody calm down and adjust to their new airborne positions. Monotaro and Monodam made their way up onto the podiums attached to the throne, able to look over the group as well. Once things had calmed down a little bit, Monokuma cleared his throat.
CLASS TRIAL: IN SESSION!
“Now then,” Monokuma said, “let’s begin with a basic explanation of the Class Trial! During the Class Trial, you’ll present your arguments for who the culprit is, and vote for ‘whodunnit’! Vote correctly, and only the blackened will be punished! But if you pick the wrong person, I’ll punish everyone besides the blackened, and that person will be allowed to disembark from this cruise liner! Also, refusing to vote will result in your death, so make sure to vote, even if it’s wrong!” He pumped a stubby paw, “With that out of the way, let’s begin!”Hiramoto tightened her grip on her satchel strap. The court room remained silent.“Ahem.” Monokuma cleared his throat. “I said, with that out of the way, let’s begin!”“We all heard you,” Amami said, putting his hands on his hips. “But we have no idea where to actually start…”“W-We’ve never done anything like this before,” Ikari chimed in.“Speak for yourself!” Kimura said.“Whoa, really?!” Sasabe gasped, putting her hands to her cheeks. “You’ve participated in this kind of kangaroo court before?!”“Is that really so surprising?” Kimura asked, laughing.Esumi raised her hand, waved it around, and pointed at Monokuma repeatedly.“Ugh.” Monokuma took note, looking over at her with a scowl. “What do you want?”Esumi began signing.“Oh, right,” Monokuma sighed. “You’re you. Yeah, yeah, hold on.”The group watched as Monokuma fiddled with something up on his throne, though Hiramoto noted it was kind of hard to see due to the angle. After a second, the computer screen on Esumi’s podium appeared to ‘fold out’, and Monokuma tapped a few things. Esumi put a hand to her mouth as the screen came to life and chimed at her.“There.” Monokuma leaned back in his throne, and his screen retracted. “Type it out, and whatever you think you need to say will be projected through all of the podiums.”“Really?” Jitusko snapped. “That’s the best you could come up with?”“DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT.” A flat, robotic voice said through some sort of hidden speakers on Hiramoto’s podium. “THIS IS FINE. BESIDES, THE OTHERS WILL TAKE THINGS SLOW FOR ME, RIGHT?”“Of course,” Amami replied, “We need to go slow anyways, considering we have no idea what we’re doing…”“Mmhmm.” Kuno nodded, “Besides, we need to keep in mind that somebody here is trying to deceive us. Somebody here wants us to fail. So it’s vital to double check our reasoning.”“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean jack shit if we don’t know where to start, much less go,” Tadamori scoffed.“…I think I have a good topic for our first discussion,” Honda spoke up, rubbing at his chin in thought. He remained silent after speaking, and Hiramoto could feel Tadamori’s annoyance from her own podium.“Well get on with it, then!” She snapped. “Don’t keep it to yourself!”“I was just waiting to see if somebody else had anything else they wanted to address first,” Honda sighed. “But yes, I believe that if we need a place to start, establishing the existence of any alibis for the night of the murder would be an excellent place to start.”“Ah, I see!” Uma chimed in, “Of course. Establishing alibis is definitely a vital first step!”“I… I’m not quite sure what that means…” Ikari said, rubbing the back of his neck. Tadamori rolled her eyes at him.“It’s simple, really.” Uma said, tapping her notepad with her pencil. “All you have to do is provide a reason that you couldn’t have killed Fuji. For example, being in a different location at the time, or having a reason that exempts you from committing the vile deed.”“Oh, well that’s not too hard, I think,” Ikari said, “I was in my Stateroom! I always go to bed right after the Nighttime Announcement!”“That’s… not an alibi,” Dewa said, frowning.“Everybody should have been doing the same,” Kuno said. “Unless you have a way to prove that you were there, that doesn’t count as an alibi.”“W-Well…” Ikari frowned. “What about the cameras in our rooms? I’m sure Monokuma saw me in my room.”“You dumbass!” Tadamori snapped.“I don’t think Monokuma is going to help us…” Chujo mused.“Well… was anybody around here with somebody else around midnight?” Amami asked. “That would be a decent enough alibi, right?”The courtroom fell silent. Hiramoto anxiously looked around, and found her eyes meeting Kimura’s. He grinned at her, and Hiramoto looked away.“This isn’t going to go anywhere.” Kuno shook her head. “We’ll just have to work on fixing any misconceptions about Fuji’s death instead.”“…what?” Dewa asked, shooting her a look.“Don’t question it.” Kuno said, “Just talk about Fuji’s death. How do you guys think it played out? We’ll fix anything wrong.”“Who is even ‘we’?…” Dewa asked.“Anybody who has information that disagrees,” Kuno responded flatly.Hiramoto blinked as the others began to speak up all together. Helping with misconceptions… maybe… yeah, maybe she could help with that?… It’d certainly be easier than finding a killer, that was for sure…
[NONSTOP DEBATE: MAKE YOUR ARGUMENT!]
“Well… I guess we found him in the Dining Hall…” Ikari said.“Horrific, wasn’t it?” Sasabe asked, grinning. “Like a murder mystery in real life!”“This isn’t some kind of TV show,” Diana said, shaking her head.“Guys, focus!” Kimura called out. “We need to talk about the murder, so that I can find somebody to blame!”“Maybe we should talk about our evidence before we start blaming anyone…” Amami said.“Okay, we need to talk about the murder,” Chujo said. “Well… it occurred during Nighttime.”“Yeah, we already knew that, moron,” Tadamori said.“They must have snuck up on him,” Uma said, tapping her pencil.“A-And (all they did) was slit his throat,” Ikari stuttered, looking a little green.“HOW GRUESOME.” Eusmi’s robotic voice said.
[PRESENT YOUR EVIDENCE: MONOKUMA FILE 01]
“Ah...” Hiramoto murmured to herself. That… that was a contradiction. But… the others were still talking…Kuno glanced in her direction. The two made eye contact, and Kuno just nodded.“Ikari, you’re wrong,” Kuno spoke up, relieving Hiramoto of the need to. “A slashed throat wasn’t the only thing the killer did to Fuji.”“W-Wait… really?!” Ikari looked sick. “Wh… what more could they have done?!”“It…” Hiramoto found her voice, though she had to speak quietly to calm her stomach down. “Th… the Monokuma File. It… mentioned, um… s-strangulation.”“Imagine not reading the Monokuma File,” Kimura snickered. “Couldn’t be me.”“Ika, I can’t believe you didn’t notice the strangulation marks,” Sasabe said, smirking. “Weren’t you on guard duty?”“W-Well yes, but…” Ikari swallowed thickly, looking away. “Blood… makes me sick. So I… didn’t look at him too much.”“What a lousy excuse for a bodyguard.” Tadamori rolled her eyes.“You’re gonna be in trouble later on in the game!” Kimura chimed in.“H-Hey! Leave me alone, you guys!” Ikari shouted, “This isn’t funny!”“Can you guys knock it off?” Diana asked, shaking her head.“Getting back on the topic,” Amami said, “can we actually trust the Monokuma File?”“That’s a good question,” Goto said. “It came from Monokuma, so that’s automatically suspicious. It could contain some information that’s trying to deceive us.”“Hey! I won’t take that sitting down!” Monokuma shouted from his place on the throne. “You ungrateful brats didn’t give me a chance to explain it, but the Monokuma File is one hundred percent objective! It’s made to cover the gory details of the corpse that you guys wouldn’t know, as long as they don’t point directly to the culprit. Plus, I’m not allowed to lie! It’s against the rules!”“Well if it’s that serious, I guess we should trust it…” Chujo said, shrugging.“I don’t like trusting Monokuma,” Diana said, “but if it helps us solve this murder, I guess we have to.”“Okay, so what?” Goto cut in.“...h-huh?” Hiramoto looked over at him. “Wh… what do you mean?…”“It’s great and all that we can trust the Monokuma File.” Goto began, “And Fuji got strangled, and the Monokuma File supports that. Well, so what? What does that have to do with anything?”“I’m confused,” Uma said, cocking her head. “What do you mean?”“Why do we care that Fuji got strangled?” Goto asked. “It wasn’t the cause of his death. What do we care about him being strangled if it wasn’t his cause of death? So they strangled him to make him hodl still, then slit his throat. That’s messed up, obviously, but him being strangled doesn’t lead us anywhere.”Hiramoto frowned. She… supposed that was true? If he was strangled, then had his throat… Well, it wasn’t super vital to think about… right?“WELL.” Esumi’s voice chimed in, “SHOULDN’T WE DISCUSS IT ANYWAYS?” She looked around, then continued typing. “IF IT’S IN THE MONOKUMA FILE, IT SOUNDS LIKE IT’S RELEVANT IN SOME WAY, RIGHT?”“Agreed,” Jitsuko said, “If we’re gonna talk about everything, we need to talk about this too.”
[NONSTOP DEBATE: MAKE YOUR ARGUMENT!]
“LET’S THINK ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HIS STRANGULATION.” Esumi said.“Dunno how significant it is in the long run,” Jitsuko said, “But we need to think about it.”“If you don’t think it’s significant, then why make us talk about it?” Goto asked, annoyance on his face.“Every. Single. Bit is important, Kogo.” Sasabe said, pounding her fist into her palm for emphasis.“Maybe Monokuma is (lying about the File)?” Chujo asked.“Wh–” Diana started, then went to yell at him. “You’re the one that said we should believe it!”“Oh… yeah, I did.” Chujo shrugged.“Just shut up already…” Jitsuko shook her head.“This is a waste of time,” Goto snorted. “It’s not like we even (know what he was strangled with).”“Welp! That’s unfortunate!” Uma exclaimed.“We can’t just let this go…” Amami said, already looking tired.
[PRESENT YOUR EVIDENCE: MICROPHONE]
“U-Um…” Hiramoto raised her hand to speak. The others kept talking, leaving her ignored. Hiramoto let her shoulders slump, though somebody quickly came to her rescue.“Hey! Everybody!” Diana yelled, waving her hands around. “Shut up for a second!”“God, what the hell do you want?” Tadamori asked, sneering at her.“Hmph.” Diana turned up her nose at Tadamori. “Hiramoto has something to say.”“I-I… s-sorry…” Hiramoto slouched, letting her hair cover her up more. “I-I just…”“Well, you’ve got the floor,” Kuno said, shrugging. “Just say it.”“U-Um, w-w-well…” Hiramoto grabbed at some of her hair, anxiously twirling it around her fingers. “S-See, uh… what Goto said i-isn’t… isn’t entirely. Uh, true.”“Oh yeah?” He asked, cocking his brow at her. “Which part?”“I-It’s… w-well…” Hiramoto bit her lip before continuing. “W-We… we did find s-something. That could be used. T-To, uh… y’know. To Fuji.”“Sounds like soooooomebody didn’t investigate very well…” Sasabe snickered, looking in Goto’s direction.“Wh– You–” Goto sputtered, going red in the face. “Shut your mouth! And we have yet to hear what this ‘mystery item’ even is!” His shouting made Hiramoto recede further into her hair.“Yeah, that’s a good question.” Amami said, turning to Hiramoto. “What is it you found, if you don’t mind me asking?”“W-When we were investigating. In, u-uh, Fuji’s, um… room. We found…” Hiramoto looked away. “W-We found a b-bloody microphone…”“Oh, that’s right!” Diana pounded a fist into her palm. “It was one of those ones with the attached cord! And the cord was covered in dried blood! Something like that could definitely be used to choke somebody out. Good work, Hiramoto!”“Microphone?” Tadamori scoffed. “I haven’t seen any microphones around anywhere. Where the hell did a microphone come from?”“GOOD QUESTION.” Esumi said, “DO YOU KNOW WHERE IT COULD HAVE COME FROM, HIRAMOTO?”“Um…” Hiramoto looked down. She… did know where one would come from. But… but why wasn’t he saying anything? She turned to the side to look at Honda.His brow was scrunched up, and he frowned at nothing. He was evidently lost in thought, but… Hiramoto felt like he had to be thinking about the trial, right? But he wasn’t saying much. Was he… okay? She reached out and nudged him.“Hrm?” Honda turned to her. “What is it?”“Um…” Hiramoto lowered her voice, feeling uncomfortable at all of the others staring at them. “Th… the microphone. From your lab.”“…?” Honda made a sound of confusion, then looked up at the others. “What topic are we on now?”“You’re shitting, right?” Tadamori asked. “We’re talking about Fuji getting squeezed! Literally! With some dumbass microphone!”“…Yes, I see.” Honda nodded. “The microphone probably came from my lab.”“Seriously?” Jitsuko asked. “You know what that means, right?”“…” Honda didn’t reply, already looking away, his brow furrowed in thought.“Fuckin’ useless,” Tadamori said, “Suspicious ass mother fucker.”“Whatever.” Kuno shook her head. “We know that there’s a source of microphones on the ship, in some sense. So one being used isn’t implausible. And it’s too early to name somebody as suspicious to warrant discussion.”“W-Well, this is good, right?” Ikari asked. “If th-the killer used a microphone, we can just figure out who took it and then… then we know who the killer is. Right?”“Supposedly,” Chujo said, shrugging.“In that case, let’s assume for now that the killer used that microphone to strangle Fuji,” Kuno said, “Where does that take us?”“Well… obviously, the killer would be whoever took the microphone, right?” Ikari asked.“You said that already.” Jitsuko snorted.“But it’s true!” Uma chimed in, “The fact that it was stained with blood means that it has an undeniable connection to the murder! And if the murderer used it, that means the murderer took it!”“…!” At Uma’s words, Honda grunted.“Ah…” Hiramoto turned to him again, voice quiet. “D-Did… did you figure out? Um, s-something?”“…not yet.” Honda said, looking Hiramoto over. “But I’ll bring it up when I do.”“A-Ah.” Hiramoto nodded. “Okay…”During her brief exchange with Honda, it seemed like the others had moved on to a different topic. One which was… evident the moment Hiramoto tuned back in.“Well, then I think we should figure out what it is!” Tadamori snapped.“What are you talking about?” Kuno asked, voice flat.“Isn’t it obvious?!” Tadamori said, scowling. “The weapon!”“…huh?” Chujo cocked his head at her.“The murder weapon, dipshit!” Tadamori shouted. “We haven’t found out shit about it, and it’s making me antsy!”And Hiramoto was again forced to do her best, trying to pay attention as her ‘classmates’ once again began their circular discussions.
[NONSTOP DEBATE: MAKE YOUR ARGUMENT!]
“It was obviously a knife,” Diana said.“Wow, you’re awful confident about that!” Sasabe said.“Well, yeah.” Diana pursed her lips, “I’m positive that it’s a knife, becau–”“I suppose that makes sense,” Chujo interrupted, “(Knives are pretty sharp), after all. Wouldn’t be hard to cut somebody with one.”“That’s not the problem,” Jitsuko snapped. “This is all so goddamn vague. It doesn’t mean anything.”“That’s true…” Amami muttered, frowning. “We can say it was a knife all we want, but at the end of the day, that doesn’t help us at all.”“Hey! I was talking!” Diana yelled, leaning over the edge of her podium. “I have evidence that–”“Oh, here’s an idea!” Kimura shouted, waving his hand to draw attention. “Maybe the killer took a knife from the Kitchen and WHAM, (stabbed him dead)!”“But we’ve explicitly covered the fact that it was a slashed throat. Are you even listening?” Goto asked, shaking his head. “And that doesn’t contribute anything at all.”“Oh, what if there was (a specific knife)?” Ikari asked, seemingly excited. “Then we’d have a way of linking it to the culprit!”“Have either of you paid attention to a single thing we’ve said thus far?” Goto asked, turning to glare at Ikari.“Shut up, all of you!” Diana snapped, slamming her hands on the podium. “Let me talk!”“Maybe you shut up!” Tadamori said, rolling her eyes. “You’re (as stupid as Kimura is likable)!”“Don’t compare me to him!” Diana shouted back.“But I’m so full of good intentions!” Kimura cried.“This is going absolutely nowhere…” Kuno sighed.
[PRESENT YOUR EVIDENCE: BLOODY KNIFE]
“U-Uh…” Hiramoto cleared her throat, raising her hand to get some attention. Unfortunately for her, Diana and Tadamori were too busy yelling insults at each other, and most of the others seemed pretty focused on them. She reached up and fiddled with her hair. Dang it…“HEY!” Jitsuko’s yell boomed through the court room. Hiramoto flinched. Everybody quieted down. When they did, Jitsuko turned to Hiramoto and nodded. “Go ahead.”“U-Um… th-thank you,” Hiramoto murmured, stiffly and slowly nodding back at Jitsuko. “W-Well, I… I just wanted to say that… u-um. L-Like Ikari said… There… there was a specific one. A-A knife, that is.”“So I was right!” Ikari chimed in, a grin on his face.“Thank you!” Diana threw her hands up. “That’s what I was trying to say, but you guys wouldn’t let me!” She scowled at Tadamori in particular. “When we were searching Fuji’s room, we found a knife alongside the microphone. The knife was bloody, so obviously it was the murder weapon.”“God, you’re fuckin’ dense.” Tadamori sneered at Diana. “What the fuck does it matter what fuckin’ knife slashed the poor bastard up? Any single fuckin’ knife would have done!”“It’s a good point,” Chujo mused. “All it means is that we know where it is…”“CONFIRMATION THAT IT WAS A KNIFE IS NICE TOO.” Esumi offered.“So this was just a waste of time, then.” Jitsuko snorted. “Figures.”“Well, not necessarily,” Kuno said, drumming her fingers on her podium. “Knowing both of these items were involved is important, as is where…” She trailed off, her brow scrunching up in thought.“Aw, keep talking,” Kimura said. “I like it better than when you’re silent.”“Yeah, you’ve been awful talkative,” Goto said, narrowing his eyes at Kuno.“Maybe dead bodies turn her into a chatty Cathy?” Sasabe asked.“…Shut up,” Kuno said, bringing a hand to her chin. “I’m just thinking… If it was in Fuji’s room, then…” She trailed off again, falling silent.“Uh, well…” Amami spoke up, “How’s about we talk about something else then? We could talk about–”“No, wait,” Kuno interrupted. “We should talk about the microphone again.”“Eh?” Chujo looked at her.“I mean, we can,” Dewa said, shooting a skeptical look at Kuno. “But, like, why?…”“Just do it,” Kuno replied.Hiramoto found herself staring at Kuno. Her face was twisted in concentration, her fingers anxiously tapping against her arms. What did she realize?… It clearly had something to do with Fuji’s room, but… what did that have to do with anything?…
[NONSTOP DEBATE: MAKE YOUR ARGUMENT!]
“So, we need to talk about the microphone…” Amami said, “But… is there anything in particular we should be discussing here?”“Anything,” Kuno said simply, not seeming to fully be paying attention to him.“Real fuckin’ helpful.” Jitsuko snorted. “This is your stupid idea. You should help.”“Indeed.” Goto shook his head. “Well, we could talk about how the microphone was taken. That should illuminate a lot, with respect to the relationship between the culprit and the microphone.”“Yeah, but we (don’t have any clues) that point towards any of that.” Diana said. “How do we discuss that if we don’t know anything about it?”“Maybe (something else in Fuji’s room) points to a clue?” Dewa asked.“...did we find anything like that?” Chujo asked.“Well, I think this one is pretty simple.” Sasabe grinned. “Why don’t we just (ask somebody who knows) about the microphone? It’d be pretty easy if we did that, right?”“If somebody knew, they woulda said something already.” Tadamori snorted.
[PRESENT YOUR EVIDENCE: HONDA’S TESTIMONY]
“Somebody who knows…” Hiramoto murmured to herself. She turned to her left, finding Honda still completely lost in thought. Hiramoto swallowed thickly, hands shaking, and reached over to tap Honda on the arm.“…hmm?” Honda blinked, the touch evidently pulling him back from wherever his mind was going. He turned to Hiramoto. “Yes? What is it?”“U-Um...” Hiramoto fiddled with her satchel strap, then motioned at the group with a shaky hand. “W-We were… um, talking. About the microphone. Still. A-And I figured… that you would know… right? Since it… it c-came from… um, your lab.”“I see.” Honda nodded at her. He then turned to the others and puffed out his chest before speaking. “Attention! I have something to say!”Hiramoto felt the others go quiet. Just the sound of Honda’s tone made it feel impossible to talk. Hiramoto was always… impressed by that.“I heard you were talking about the microphone.” He said, “I can answer any questions you have about it. Like I said earlier, it was the one that was stolen from my lab the other day. I’m sure you guys remember my announcement. Although…” Honda hummed to himself. “I suppose our presence here addresses said announcement somewhat…”“Are you fuckin’ kidding me?!” Tadamori snapped, the first to regain her words. “You were sitting on that information the whole time? What the hell for?!”“I apologize for that,” Honda replied, “I’m currently puzzling through some aspects of the case that are confusing me, though I believe I’m coming close to an answer…”“Anything you wanna share?” Jitsuko asked, arms crossed.“Not at the moment.” Honda shook his head. “I’d prefer to have a complete case generated before speaking further. All putting out my thoughts right now would do is confuse everybody. Especially since it seems the group is on a different topic entirely.” He put a hand to his chin. “But… perhaps I should rejoin this discussion for a bit. It might help me overcome the block in my logic…”“Wow, I didn’t get any of that!” Kimura said, laughing afterwards.“I’m confused too,” Chujo said.“Forget it, then,” Kuno sighed. “Honda, can you at least give us any specifics about the microphone? When it was stolen, any details you have on it, so on, so forth.”“...yes, I can do that.” Honda nodded, then put a hand to his chin. “The problem, however, is that there’s not much else going on to it. The night it was stolen, which was the night before the night of the murder, I was in my lab well after the Nighttime Announcement. I did some personal inventory, as I was trying to get a sense of what my lab could actually offer me. I headed out of my lab around… ten minutes after midnight, realizing my fatigue was getting to me.“After that,” Honda continued, “I… went to bed, then woke up an hour before the Morning Announcement. Wanting to double check my work from last night, I returned to my lab, only to find that it had been, well, ransacked. A quick clean and another inventory check revealed that one of the corded microphones was missing. However, that was the only thing. I assumed somebody needed it for a specific reason, which is why I brought it up at breakfast, though… I suppose I would have tried harder to locate it if I knew this was what it was being used for…” Honda looked out over the group. “And that’s all I have for you in regards to the microphone.”“So… okay, so what does this do for us?” Dewa asked. “This is important somehow, right?”“We could attempt to narrow things down based off of that,” Uma said, a frown growing on her face. “However…”“It’s basically useless.” Kuno cut in.“Wh… Really?” Ikari asked, eyes wide in surprise. “B-But… there was so much info there, right?”“So we’d think…” Kimura mused out loud.“This tells us a time frame,” Goto stated. “But wait. If I remember correctly, we’ve stated that nobody has an alibi after Nighttime began.”“Wasn’t that only for the night of the murder itself, though?” Uma asked, “Can the same be said for the night before?”“I mean… if nobody has anything else to say about that night,” Chujo said, staring up at the ceiling in thought… probably, “Then can’t we assume that nobody has an alibi for then either?…”“Hold a moment,” Goto spoke up, “I think–““It’s whatever,” Kuno said, cutting Goto off. “It doesn’t matter that much. The knife was easily obtainable whenever the killer desired, and Honda’s testimony proves similarly for the microphone. Which means that anybody could have done this.”The court room erupted.At Kuno’s words, the group exploded into a flurry of shouting. Everybody began yelling about different things, to the point where everybody’s voices blurred together into one massive smear of sound painting Hiramoto’s eardrums. She found herself gripping her hair, head spinning from the sheer confusion. Everybody was so loud. She couldn’t focus. She couldn’t even hear anything. Her vision began to swim. She couldn’t–“Hey.” Honda’s voice cut through the cacophony, a cool hand lightly gripping her shoulder.Hiramoto snapped back to herself, her mind returning to her body. She blinked and turned to look at Honda, and he stared back at her.“Focus on my voice. Keep your eyes on mine. Ground yourself. Can you do that for me?” He asked. His stare kept her in place, mentally, and Hiramoto nodded after a second. Yes, she could… she could keep her mind on him, for now.“Y-Yes…” Hiramoto whispered, her voice practically getting lost in the din.“Good.” Honda nodded, somehow able to hear her. “Don’t lose your head, okay? It might not seem it, but this is good.”“I-It is?…” Hiramoto asked, voice still low. Honda nodded.“Yes,” He replied. “Because now everybody is talking about the topic. All we have to do is find what we’re looking for.”“Wh… what are we…” Hiramoto trailed off, confused. What they were looking for?…“A contradiction. Or a point of agreement.” Honda said. “You investigated well, from what I’ve seen, and I believe in you, okay?” He smiled at Hiramoto, and she nodded in response. “Good. Now, I need you to focus on some of the others. Don’t worry about everybody. Just pick a few of the others, and focus on their voices, like you’re doing right now with me. Can you do that for me?”“Ah… I…” Hiramoto stopped, biting her lip.“Trust me. You can do it.” Honda simply nodded at her, then turned to watch the rest of the group.“…” Hiramoto turned as well, the sounds of the others yelling flowing back into her ears. It… it was almost overwhelming, but… she focused on Honda’s hand on her shoulder. He… believed in her. She could focus. Focus… focus… Hiramoto watched the crowd, then managed to tune back in, at least partially. Three of her ‘classmates’, who all started to talk at the same time, caught her attention.“Pathetic.” Goto snorted. “I’ve got a reason I can’t be the culprit and you idiots still think I’m suspicious?”“It’s un-fucking-believable!” Tadamori screeched. “I’ve got no reason to do this shit!”“N-N-No! It’s not possible!” Ikari yelled, tears in his eyes. “I… I would never do something like this!”“I can’t be the culprit.” “I’m not the fuckin’ culprit!” “I’m not the culprit!” Goto, Tadamori, and Ikari all yelled.
[MASS PANIC DEBATE: MAKE YOUR ARGUMENT!]
“With the given time frame, it’s impossible for me to be the thief,” Goto said.“I… would never steal anything!” Ikari shouted.“Accusing everybody except yourself,” Tadamori snapped.“After all, I was in my room at the time.”“Is a real fuckin’ bitch move, Kuno!”“What does that have to do with anything?” Kimura asked.“That’s not a real alibi. It’s the same for everyone,” Uma replied.“Because! I’ve never stolen anything before now!” Ikari responded.“What’s your problem?!” Diana replied, glaring.“I’m not about to start!”“Except that it is. I (have witnesses),” Goto said back.“Kuno didn’t even exclude herself, you idiot!”“And the others will easily back me up on it.”“That’s not a real reason to trust you, you dumb thief!” Kimura laughed.“Why don’t you shut up too? You’re also a bitch!” Tadamori yelled.“Stop calling me a thief! It wasn’t me!” Ikari cried.“You’re lucky I’m all the way over here!” Diana shouted back.“I suppose a witness related alibi would hold up…” Uma mused.
[PRESENT YOUR EVIDENCE: GOTO’S TESTIMONY]
Hiramoto’s eyes widened. She heard it. A point of agreement. She… she actually heard it! Hiramoto’s hand quickly shot up, and she grabbed the hand Honda had kept on her shoulder. Honda turned to look at her, and cracked a small smile.“I take it you found something?” He asked. Hiramoto just nodded. Honda nodded back at her. “Sounds good.” He, much to Hiramoto’s disappointment, removed his hand from her shoulder, then cupped both hands around his mouth. And shouted.“HEY! CALM DOWN FOR A SECOND!”Once again, the room quickly fell quiet at Honda’s voice. He turned to Hiramoto. “Go ahead,” He told her.“U-Um…” Hiramoto felt her will falter as the room looked at her. She twiddled her fingers and tapped at her satchel strap. “W-Well… i-it’s… it’s about, um, Goto. Wh-What he s-said, that is.”“Oh really?” Goto asked, cocking his brow at her. “What did I say this time?”“W-Well…” Hiramoto weakly shrugged. “You… d-during the investigation. U-Um. You mentioned… mentioned a-an alibi… We… well, w-weren’t sure. A-About it. At the time. But… I think… that it, um… relates.” She finished her sentence awkwardly and turned away. Goto, however, didn’t seem to mind at all.“Hmmhmph.” He huffed and turned to shoot a scowl at some of the others. “Yes, I’m glad that somebody bothered to listen to what I’ve said. Thank you, Hiramoto.”“Y-You’re, um, welcome.” Hiramoto offered him a shy smile, to which he responded with a curt nod.“Yes, I do have something akin to an alibi for the theft of the microphone, revealed thanks to Honda’s testimony,” Goto said.“Well, spit it out,” Jitsuko said.“Allow me to finish before you interrupt, you musclebound barbarian,” Goto scoffed at her.“You’re lucky I can’t kick your ass right now.” Jitsuko replied, glowering at him.“Just tells us about your alibi.” Kuno replied, shaking her head. “Quit wasting our time.”“Hmph.” Goto scowled at Jitsuko before continuing. “Well, I wasn’t quite sure how it fit together with things at first, but with the microphone information coming to light, I believe that I have an alibi, alongside Amami, Honda, and Dewa.” He paused for a moment, fiddling with his pipe. “I… Fuji was with us as well, though I don’t believe that matters much.”“Wait a sec… I think I remember what you’re talking about!” Dewa exclaimed.“I’m sure you would.” Goto shot him a scowl.“Oooooh, what’s that supposed to mean?” Sasabe asked, leaning over her podium as though she was about to hear some sort of gossip.“It means he made a ruckus,” Goto said, shooting Dewa another dirty look.“I said I was sorry!” Dewa threw his hands up.“SO WHAT WAS THE EVENT?” Esumi asked.“Ah, right.” Goto nodded, fiddling with his pipe. “Well, Amami and I were in my room, discussing something, the topic of which is unimportant to the trial.”“Oh, I think I remember now.” Amami said, putting a hand to his chin. “Yeah, we were just discussing something small before I went on a walk for the night…”“Indeed,” Goto continued, “And during that conversation, there was a large clatter out in the hall. So obviously, being an upstanding citizen, I went to go check to find the source of the noise. And who did I find but Dewa, making a mess of the hallway.”“He spilled some snacks,” Amami said, chuckling.“It wasn’t really that many.” Dewa snorted.“Amount notwithstanding, he made such a ruckus that it prompted not only Amami and myself to check on the din, but drew Fuji from his room as well,” Goto said.“Ah, and that’s when Honda arrived at the Staterooms,” Amami continued.“I… do remember this,” Honda said, frowning. “I’d… nearly forgotten. It was… It was right after I left my lab that night, too…”Hiramoto watched Honda’s face scrunch up in confusion. Was… was something wrong with that testimony?“And once that was all said and done, all of us returned to our rooms. So there you have it: an alibi for the theft of the microphone,” Goto stated proudly. “An alibi that four of us can back up, nonetheless.”“That’s good,” Uma remarked, “Though I have to wonder if Honda really needed his alibi backed up, considering it was his lab that was stolen from…”“It’s still a possibility that Honda’s lying.” Tadamori said. “And he’s using it as an excuse so that we won’t know he sliced up Fuji himself.”“BUT THEN HONDA’S ACTIONS WOULDN’T LINE UP.” Esumi’s robotic voice rang out. “IT WOULDN’T MAKE SENSE FOR HIM TO RISK UNNECESSARY EVIDENCE WITH AN ANNOUNCEMENT IF HE WAS THE KILLER.”“Mmhmm!” Sasabe nodded excitedly, “If Hosu was really the killer, it would make far more sense for him to try and hide the presence of any microphones at all! Our killer’s trying to get away with a murder, not personally give a huge piece of evidence to everyone on the ship!”“...hmph.” Tadamori pouted and crossed her arms, but didn’t say anything else.“Serves you right…” Diana said.“So, hey,” Dewa said, “if Honda’s definitely clear, and he backs up the alibi, that means us other three also have a solid alibi, correct?”“That’s… correct,” Kuno replied, nodding. Hiramoto noticed her lips quirk down into a slightly more noticeable frown.“Good for you, man!” Kimura said, offering Dewa a thumbs up. “If only the rest of us were so lucky!”“I have something I need to think about,” Honda said, hand on his chin. “But I don’t want to leave you guys with nothing to discuss…”“What are you, our dad?” Diana asked, shooting him a look.“I’m just trying to help as best I can,” Honda replied. “But I’ve noticed something about your discussion, and I’ll offer you a completely new topic.”“Oh, really?” Uma tapped her cheek with her pencil. “I hadn’t even noticed a trend to our conversation. Perhaps because it’s been so erratic, but… well, pray tell, what have you seen?”“With all the focus on the murder weapons, mainly the microphone, you’ve talked a lot about what happened the night before the murder. Instead, let’s take a moment to instead focus on what happened the night of the murder instead. Working with this kind of information will lead us in a different, and hopefully more informative direction.”“Sounds like you’ve been thinkin’ ‘bout this for a while, Hosu,” Sasabe said, a teasing lilt in her voice. “Why choose now to bring it up?”“Admittedly, it’s for a bit of a selfish reason,” Honda said, shrugging, “I’m trying to reconcile some of the information I’ve linked together in my head, and hearing what you guys come up with might help me out as well.”“Yeah?” Dewa asked, “What kind of information?”“If I’m thinking correctly,” Honda said, “I may have figured out enough to name a suspicious person.”“No way!” Sasabe gasped, “You’ve found the killer already?!”“Well, no. That’s not what I was–” Honda tried to speak up, but was quickly cut off by the others flying into conversation. Hiramoto clenched her fists, doing her best to keep up with the chatter.
[NONSTOP DEBATE: MAKE YOUR ARGUMENT!]
“Honda must have found something that points directly to the culprit, right?” Dewa asked. “Well… what the hell could that be?”“No, I was saying–” Honda tried to speak up, only to be interrupted again.“It must be tied to the (night of the murder)!” Uma proclaimed.“No shit,” Jitsuko snorted. “Every fuckin’ thing is tied to the night of the murder. There’s a reason for that, you know.”“Don’t get off track, guys!” Kimura chimed in. “C’mon think! Stuff related to a suspicious person…”“I think there’s way too many options to just list things out. We’d be here all day.” Amami said.“Maybe it has something to do with Fuji?” Ikari asked. “Like… maybe somebody (saw him somewhere) before he died!”“If it was suspicious, somebody would have come forward already,” Goto replied.“Hmm…” Diana hummed, “I feel like… maybe Fuji (had something of the killer’s) on him?”“Wouldn’t we have found it?” Chujo asked.“Oh yeah?” Diana scowled. “Well I didn’t see you doing a lot of searching. So who knows what we didn’t find?”“Hey, I (did a lot of hard work) looking for clues,” Chujo said.“I FEEL LIKE WE’VE GOTTEN OFF TOPIC AGAIN.” Esumi said.“Can’t you control them?” Kuno asked, looking at Honda.“I… could, but I don’t like using ‘that voice’ a lot.” Honda sighed.
[PRESENT YOUR EVIDENCE: BLOODSTAINED NOTE]
“Ah.” Hiramoto murmured. She reached out to tap Honda’s arm.“Don’t worry, I heard it too.” Honda nodded at her, then turned to the group as a whole. “I would have really liked to explain more what I meant,” He said, raising his volume so everybody could hear him. “But Diana’s statement is correct, though I wouldn’t necessarily say it belonged to the killer.”“I knew it!” Diana thumped her fist against her palm. “It’s that note he had, right?”“A note?” Amami asked, “What kind of note?”“It’s hard to say, considering the state the note was in,” Honda replied, brow furrowed, “It was found in one of his jacket’s inner pockets, completely saturated with blood, save for a few places. However, it can definitely be inferred from what was able to be read that the note was inviting him to the Dining Hall.”“Oh, right, that note,” Jitsuko said.“Yes, I remember too!” Sasabe chimed in, “I thought it was super weird Fuyo had that on him. You’d think the killer would want to take it from his body, to make the situation far more ambiguous.”“My thoughts exactly,” Honda said. His brow suddenly furrowed, and he seemed to talk to himself for a moment. “Though… perhaps the culprit didn’t know he had it? They certainly would have wanted to… retrieve it if… if they knew!…” Honda’s eyes widened. “Ah! They didn’t know!”“DID YOU FIGURE SOMETHING OUT?” Esumi asked, cocking her head.“…in a sense,” Honda replied. “There’s still something I need to reconcile, but…” He trailed off. “Hmm… leave me to my thoughts for a moment. I’m… close to something…”“Sure would suck if we were on the same page.” Jitsuko snorted, rolling her eyes at him.“Okay…” Diana shot Honda a look. “Well… I wanted to talk about the note some more.”“Uh… well, what were you thinking about?” Ikari asked.“See… I don’t know why, but the paper itself is eating at me,” Diana said, putting a hand on her hip.“You’re worried about some stupid paper?” Tadamori asked.“Why are you always going against me?!” Diana snapped. “Besides, I thought everything was important!”“…” Hiramoto glanced to the side, frowning. The paper… That’s right, she remembered. The… the note was written on some… very strange looking paper. But… but why now was it buzzing at the back of her head, demanding attention? It’s not like it was easy to tell very much about the paper. So then why was it now coming back to her mind?…“Ignore her.” Goto shook his head. “Just tell us about the stupid paper.”“It’s not stupid!” Diana replied, looking more and more riled up with each statement. “It’s a serious point.”“Just tell us about it already,” Jitsuko said.“It’s just that… now that I think about it, the paper looked familiar, okay?” Diana stated, crossing her arms and huffing.“…familiar?” Ikari asked.“Yeah. Almost like… like, I dunno. I’d seen it before,” Diana replied.“Well, what did it look like?” Uma asked. “I didn’t restrict my investigations to the crime scene, since it seemed it was pretty well covered. Instead, I moved my search to other rooms, especially once I’d heard about the presence of the note from Sasabe in passing.”“Oh, it’s true!” Sasabe said, grinning. “Sumi and I found her in the hall, and decided to talk to her!”“I CAN AFFIRM.” Esumi said, “WE MENTIONED THE PRESENCE OF A NOTE, AND UMA SAID SHE WOULD LOOK INTO IT, THOUGH I WASN’T SURE WHAT SHE MEANT AT THE TIME.”“Hmm…” Diana put a hand to her chin. “If I remember correctly, the note was, uh…” She frowned.“U-Um…” Hiramoto spoke up, voice quiet. “I… I remember… b-barely.”“Ooh, Hiramoto is stealing your spotlight!” Sasabe said, snickering.“No, she’s not.” Diana shook her head. “She’s just trying to help me. Right, Hiramoto?”“Y-Yes.” Hiramoto nodded. “I… the note. W-Was written on s-some kind of, um, fancy… paper. M-More like, um… s-stationery. It was… yellowed, kind of. W-With, uh, g-golden accents.”The moment Hiramoto finished speaking, something in her brain clicked. A distinctive stationery. Yellowed tint, with golden accents. ‘Every single pad’. Her eyes widened.“Hmm… nope!” Uma shook her head. “Doesn’t sound familiar. I didn’t see anything like that in the Knick-Knack Shop, and that’s the only place any sort of stationery was found. If there was some, maybe we could try to figure out who used it from who took some and when it was taken, but there wasn’t anything at all like that.”“But… I’m positive that’s how the stationery looked!” Diana protested.“It’s okay, we all make mistakes!” Kimura said.“Don’t act like you’re not a mistake too!” Tadamori snapped at him.A few more insults were flung around, but they just went in one of Hiramoto’s ears and went right out the other. Her body jittered from the sheer… adrenaline? Something coursed through her veins at her own revelation. She… she knew who wrote that note… Now if only she could get everybody to listen to her…
[NONSTOP DEBATE: MAKE YOUR ARGUMENT!]
“I’m serious! I wouldn’t lie about this!” Diana shouted.“That it may be, my investigation is undeniable,” Uma replied. “I found (no evidence) of that kind of stationery.”“Well it had to come from somewhere…” Chujo told her.“That’s true,” Amami said, “If it didn’t come from the Knick-Knack Shop, then it had to come from somewhere else.”“Well if it wasn’t from the shop, where else could it have come from?” Goto asked, hand on his chin.“Ooh, I know!” Sasabe chimed in. “It must have come from Ami’s lab, right? Or maybe Hosu’s!”“It’s (not from my lab),” Amami said. “I’ve never seen it before.”“MAYBE HONDA’S THEN?” Esumi asked.“Hmm…” Honda’s face was scrunched up.“Fuckin’ useless.” Tadamori shook her head.“So then there’s only one reasonable option left…” Kimura said, “(Diana’s a liar)!”“I’m not lying!” Diana cried. “You guys did a whole lot of nothing during the investigation! Maybe it was (somewhere you didn’t look)! Ever think of that?!”“You’d think (somebody else) would have brought it up, then,” Jitsuko responded.“Hiramoto backed me up!” Diana said.“Another person to strike off the ‘not a liar’ list, then!” Kimura said, laughing.“Is this conversation going anywhere?…” Dewa asked.
[PRESENT YOUR EVIDENCE: DISTINCTIVE STATIONERY]
Hiramoto twiddled her thumbs, and fidgeted. She… she had something to say. But the others were too busy yelling at each other, and Honda… well, he looked far too deep in thought for her to disturb him. So… what was she going to do, then?…“Alright, enough.” Kuno’s voice, solid and steady, cut through the din. “This is obviously going nowhere. Does anybody have any actual evidence to talk about?”“A-Ah.” Hiramoto nervously rose her hand. “I-I… um, have s-something to… um. Present.”“The floor is yours,” Kuno stated, motioning at her.“R-Right. Um… th-thank you.” Hiramoto nodded weakly at Kuno before swallowing and clenching her hands. “W-Well… I-I have, um, evidence. Th-That supports… D-Diana’s statement…”“What, you’ve got your fuckin’ girlfriend on your payroll?” Tadamori asked.“I-I-I-It-” Hiramoto stuttered, face going red. “N-N-No! It… I-It’s n-noth-thing like that!”“Just shut up and let her talk.” Diana scowled at Tadamori.“Please,” Goto agreed.Tadamori shot both of them a venomous glare.“I-I just… r-realized why… um, th-the stationery s-seemed… uh, familiar. B-But it’s s-something only… m-me and Diana and… s-somebody else would, uh… know.”“And why’s that?” Kuno asked.“…ah!” Diana’s eyes widened. “No way!”“Finally figure something out?” Sasabe asked, leaning towards Diana.“That… that bastard!” Diana swore, pounding a fist against her podium. “It was him the whole time?!”“‘Him’?” Dewa asked.“W-Well… Diana and I… we found the s-stationery. The reason that, um, none of it was in the shop… Well, it was… it w-was because somebody took… all of it.”“Hrm…” Uma hummed.“A-And… and I know who it was…” Hiramoto said.“Well? Who is it?” Jitsuko asked.Hiramoto clenched her eyes shut. The person who wrote the note… was the person who had all the stationery. The person who showed her that he had all the stationery. And she felt ashamed that it took her this long to make the connection. But… but at least she made it… right?
[SELECT SOMEONE!]

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

[SELECT SOMEONE!]

[HYOUSUKE KIMURA]
“Pfft. Pfahahahaha! Hahahahaha!”Hiramoto felt herself begin to shake, her pointed finger drooping, as Kimura broke into laughter. The entire trial room grew quiet, save for Kimura, collapsed against his podium. He banged his fist against the metal a few times, his laughter devolving into snorts and snickers. After a few moments, he finally seemed to compose himself, though he still let out a couple stifled giggles as his gaze flicked between Hiramoto and Diana.“Wh… what the hell’s so fuckin’ funny?” Tadamori asked, slightly leaning away from Kimura.“What’s… pfft.” Kimura snorted, covering his mouth with a hand. “What’s… snrk. What’s not funny about this?” He finally managed to ask, lowering his hand so they could all see his toothy grin.“We…” Diana seemed at a loss for words. “We’re accusing you. Of murder!”“It’s a pretty heavy allegation…” Chujo said.“Aha… hah…” Kimura laughed a few more times under his breath before he turned to look back at Hiramoto. “Ahhh…?” He cocked his brow, but Hiramoto could still see an amused sparkle in his eye. “Wait… wait, were you guys serious about that? Like, serious serious?”“This isn’t a fucking joke.” Jitsuko growled at him.“Coulda fooled me,” Kimura said, clasping his hands behind his head. “They’re the ones playing around, not me.”“W-We…” Hiramoto began, swallowing the lump in her throat. What was… what was he doing?… “We’re… we’re s-serious…”“Huh,” Kimura said simply. Still, Hiramoto couldn’t ignore the pleased glint in his eyes. “Well… why’s that? I ain’t done nothin’.”“Double negatives means you did!” Sasabe chimed in.“You…” Hiramoto frowned, glancing away. Still, she did her best to work up the courage to keep talking. “Y-You’re the one who… who showed me. That you had it. Th-The paper, I-I mean. You… you invited me into y-your Stateroom.”“Did I?” Kimura cocked his head. “Interesting.”“What kind of game are you playing?” Kuno asked, her expression dark.“Besides this Killing Game?” Kimura asked, putting a finger to his chin. “Not much, really. I’m just… a little confused. I’m a killer because… I like some cool stationery?”“B-But…” Hiramoto began.“You’re the one who wrote that note, you bastard!” Goto snapped.“Quiet!” Kimura said, theatrically flapping a hand at Goto. “I’m talking with Hiramoto!” He then turned back to Hiramoto, his grin bright. “So, pray tell. Why am I the culprit now? Because I have some cool paper from the Knick-Knack Shop?“N-No…” Hiramoto shook her head. She could feel half the group looking at her, positive the others were glaring daggers at Kimura. Either way, she stared at the base of her podium, unable to look up. “Y-You… s-said it yourself… You… you have the only, uh… p-pads. O-Of that stationery. And… a-and the note that Fuji had… was… is the s-same type of paper. I-It seems like.”“‘Seems like’?” Kimura cocked his head.“Sounds pretty incriminating to me,” Chujo said.“But… he couldn’t have possibly gotten all of it, right?” Dewa asked. “That sounds… pretty impossible, if you ask me.”“Ah, but remember my search!” Uma cut in, raising her pencil into the air. “The Knick-Knack Shop is the only place onboard that would host such amenities, and my own thorough search turned up nothing else of the sort!”“CAN WE BELIEVE THAT FOR CERTAIN?” Esumi asked. “NOT TO DOUBT YOU, BUT THERE IS ALWAYS A POSSIBILITY.”“I think…” Honda spoke up, his voice making Hiramoto jolt. She didn’t realize he was listening. He continued talking after a moment. “I think we should trust in Uma and Hiramoto’s information. They both match up properly, and bashing our heads against this piece of the scenario won’t do us any good in the long run.” He glanced over at Hiramoto before continuing. “So, with that in mind, let’s say that Kimura has the only pads of that stationery on the ship. That’s why Uma found nothing like it.”“Well then that means Kimura wrote that letter,” Jitsuko said, “And if he was the one who wrote that letter, then he’s the one who killed Fuji.”“UNLESS HIRAMOTO, DIANA, AND UMA ARE ALL LYING,” Esumi said, “THOUGH I SEE NO CONCEIVABLE WAY OR REASON THAT ALL THREE COULD BE LYING WHEN THEIR TESTIMONIES MATCH UP LIKE THIS.”“That mother fucker.” Tadamori growled, turning to look at Kimura.“K… Kimura is the culprit?…” Ikari asked, clasping his hands over his mouth.“Kimura…” Honda mused.“I wish I could say I’m surprised…” Goto said, sneering in Kimura’s direction.“Why Fuji, man?…” Dewa murmured.As the group began to throw insults in Kimura’s direction, Hiramoto held eye contact with him. He seemed unconcerned about all the commotion surrounding him. Instead, he simply continued smiling, and shot a wink at Hiramoto. And it was that simple action that made Hiramoto realize.Something about this was wrong.“I should have known!” Tadamori snapped. “You’re the only one here who would do something fucked up like this!”“…!” Honda grunted, and Hiramoto turned to look at him. His brow rose, though a troubled look still lingered as he murmured to himself. “‘The only one’… the only one who could…”“So… this means Kimura stole the microphone, right?” Uma asked.“Did I?” Kimura asked in response, shrugging. “Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you guys.”“Majorly shifty answer alert,” Sasabe said, snickering.“Well he’s definitely the kind of person I would peg as a thief,” Goto said, crossing his arms. He shot a sneer in Kimura’s direction.“If that’s what you gotta believe,” Kimura replied. “Doesn’t make it true.”“Stop it with the half baked replies!” Tadamori snapped at him.“Give us something to work with, man!” Dewa shouted.Hiramoto tuned out the others yelling at Kimura. He was… Hiramoto was positive he wrote the note. He had the stationery, she knew he had the stationery. But… but that was the problem. Without Kimura’s actions, she never would have found the stationery in the first place. Without his own actions… they wouldn’t have known Kimura wrote the note at all. But… but that just… didn’t make any sense. Why would the killer willingly give out information that incriminated them? Why would…The killer?…Hiramoto’s eyes widened.“Kimura.” Kuno’s voice cut through the din, stopping Hiramoto’s thoughts short, and the others’ voices along with them. “I have a question for you.”“I’ll answer anything for my favorite roomie in the world!” Kimura said, grinning at Kuno. She shot him a scowl in response.“Why did you return to your room so late last night?”The trial room erupted into a roar as almost everybody in the room began talking at once. Hiramoto felt her head spin from the sheer noise of everybody screaming at Kimura. She put her hands to her temples and tried her hardest to do what she did before. Focus on… focus on some kind of sound. Anything. Something to ground her. She even risked a look to the side, and found Honda, eyes narrowed. He stared forward, eyes sharp, and Hiramoto knew who he was looking at without even needing to follow his gaze. But she did anyways.Kimura looked just as calm as he had before. No panic in his expression, no tension in his body language. He almost looked like he was… having fun, if the smirk on his face and hands clasped behind his head were any evidence.A quiet ‘click’ sounded through the air, and Kimura’s brow rose as his podium floated a bit higher, and began emitting a red light instead of blue. Hiramoto watched, both awestruck and in horror, as Kimura’s podium, with him still on it!, floated into the center of the group, so they could all yell at him easier.And he just kept smiling.“What do you have to say for yourself, you bastard?!” Tadamori screeched once his podium stopped moving.“…welp.” Kimura shrugged. “Guess the jig is up, huh?”“W-Wait…” Hiramoto found herself saying, “Wh… what are you–““It was me! Bwahahahaha!” Kimura shouted, throwing his arms out and cackling, almost cartoonishly. “I am Fuji’s killer! It was all me! I slashed him up in cold blood, all to save my own sorry butt!”“You–!” Diana couldn’t seem to find her words, hands gripping tightly on her podium.“How heinous…” Chujo murmured.“I’m gonna kill you myself.” Jitsuko growled.“I… I can’t believe it…” Ikari said, a hand on his head.“Get his ass out of here!” Tadamori yelled. “Monokuma!”“That’s right!” Goto looked over. “We need to vote.”“What’s that?” Monokuma spoke up, scratching at his head. “You guys want to vote already? Isn’t it a bit early?”“Well, Captain,” Monotaro said, “The early bird always catches the worm.”“PRUDENCE-IS-ADMIRABLE.” Monodam said.“Hrmm… I suppose you’re right.” Monokuma tapped at his chin. “If that’s what they really want, I’m not against it.”“Yes we’re ready!” Tadamori snapped. “I’m ready to can this motherfucker!”“Well, I’m glad that was easy,” Sasabe said, grinning.“Eesh…” Amami shook his head, refusing to look in Kimura’s direction.“Alrighty then!” Monokuma said, “In that case, we’ll–”“No.”Honda’s voice cut through Monokuma’s words, forcing the court room into silence with its sheer presence. Hiramoto turned to Honda, finding him pinching the bridge of his nose, eyes closed. He sighed, dropped his arms, and turned to face Kimura, a flat scowl on his face.“I’m not done questioning you,” He said, “And I’m not going to let us proceed until I get some answers.”“But he already confessed!” Dewa said, waving an arm in Kimura’s direction.“You can’t seriously tell me you believed that,” Honda replied, shooting Dewa a stern look.“Can’t you just let me repent for my sins?” Kimura asked, putting a finger to his chin. “I’ll feel so much better when I pay for my evil deeds.”“You wouldn’t be talking this way if we had you cornered,” Honda said, “You’re still hiding something, and I’m going to find out what it is.” He turned away to address everyone else, looking them over before speaking. “Let me at least ask a question or two. If his answers don’t satisfy anybody, then we can start afterwards. But something isn’t right about this, and I want to find out why.”“Agreed,” Uma said, tapping her pencil against her cheek. “I find this confession incredibly fishy. Even for Kimura’s normal behavior, I find a discrepancy between action and aftermath.”“Well this is far from a normal situation,” Goto said, “Crazy circumstances make people do crazy things.”“Let’s let Honda talk.” Kuno crossed her arms. “As much as I hate to admit it… there’s information we found that hasn’t been gone over, and I think there’s more to this case than we realize, even if Kimura ends up being the culprit anyways.”“You’re the one that brought up the thing that made everybody want to vote…” Diana said, shaking her head.“…well, whatevers!” Kimura grinned, “I love the sound of my own voice, and I’ll do anything for an adoring fan. So ask away, and I might very well answer!”
[NONSTOP DEBATE: MAKE YOUR ARGUMENT!]
“Very well,” Honda said, hand on his chin, “Here’s my first question: How did you kill Fuji?”“(With the knife), obviously,” Kimura replied.“That was a stupid question,” Dewa said.“That wasn’t what I meant, and you know it,” Honda sighed, “I want the procedure. Step by step of what happened on the night of the murder.”“Ooooooh!” Kimura nodded. “Right, I can do that! You want all the juicy details. Listen closely, and don’t interrupt!“To start, I (took some stationery) of my favorite kind from the Knick-Knack Shop, just for the events!“With it, I wrote up a note telling Fuji to come to the Dining Hall (around midnight).“Once that was all finished up, I grabbed the microphone that I stole from Honda’s lab the night before.“And then I went and (grabbed a knife) from the Kitchen to use, just in case!“After all that, I just needed to wait for Fuji to show up and enact my plan.“I tried to strangle him with the microphone first, but (that didn’t work out), so I just slit his throat instead!“Then I left him lying there and went back to my room.“And that’s the end!” Kimura concluded. “Quick and dirty, just like I like it!”“I think I’m gonna be sick…” Ikari murmured.“Well it… seemed comprehensive enough,” Amami said, brow furrowed.“Are we voting now?” Chujo asked.
[PRESENT YOUR EVIDENCE: ESUMI’S TESTIMONY]
The court room was silent for a few moments, letting Kimura’s confession stew. Hiramoto stared at him, wondering what exactly Kimura was doing. Didn’t he know that if they voted wrong, then… then everybody…“No,” Honda said, face scrunched up. “There was so much wrong with what you just said.”“U-Um…” Hiramoto swallowed thickly, turning away from the group. “I… I h-heard, um… s-something wrong a-as well. Kimura, you… y-you lied…”“Did I?” Kimura asked, clearly amused. His eyes then flicked over in Honda’s direction. “And I don’t really think there was anything strange about what I said, really. I’m sure everyone else will agree that it sounded pretty sensible, right?” He turned to some of the others, almost goading them on.“Sounded pretty good to me,” Sasabe said, tapping her chin, “I wonder what was wrong?…”“Oh, would you two yank the sticks out of your asses?!” Tadamori snapped. “He. Confessed. Already. And he gave us a play by play! Is that not enough for you?!”“I-I…” Hiramoto stuttered, receding into her hair.“…” Honda shot Tadamori an irritated stare and opened his mouth to respond. However, somebody jumped to their defense before he could.“Oh, just shut up and let them talk!” Diana shouted, glaring at Tadamori. “If Hiramoto says that something Kimura said isn’t right, then I’m gonna believe her! And Honda too!” She motioned at the others. “You’re not the only person here, so stop talking over everyone! We all wanna live too!”“Why you–” Tadamori looked ready to jump off of her podium.“Enough!” Jitsuko snapped. “Can it and listen!”“…” Tadamori shot Jitsuko a venomous glare, but slumped her shoulders and huffed, staying quiet.“Go ahead,” Honda said, turning to Hiramoto, “You go first.”“A-Ah…” Hiramoto twiddled her fingers, staring down at her podium. Now that she was on the spot, it felt… eesh… She swallowed, fear tight in her throat, and continued. “O-Okay. Well… Kimura… he lied about… uhm… the knife.”“Oh, did I?” Kimura asked. “What do you mean? I thought that part was pretty easy to understand, if I do say so myself.”“It was your confession. Shouldn’t you know?” Uma asked.“W-Well…” Hiramoto ignored Uma and glanced up at Kimura. They made eye contact, and he winked at her. Hiramoto flinched, but kept talking, “You… s-said this all… it all took place, um, th-the night… of the murder. Right?”“That’s correct!” Kimura replied, grinning.“Th-then… the… the um, t-time frame. D-Doesn’t match up,” Hiramoto finished awkwardly, offering a weak shrug before deciding to elaborate. “I-I mean… b-because it… it contradicts. E-Esumi’s, um, testimony.”“MINE?” Esumi’s robotic voice asked. She tapped her chin a few times before her eyes lit up, and she nodded excitedly. “OH, THAT’S RIGHT. LET ME EXPLAIN.” She took a moment to wipe off her screen and crack her knuckles before continuing.“SEE, A KITCHEN KNIFE HAS BEEN MISSING FOR TWO DAYS, EVER SINCE THE POOL PARTY,” Esumi began, “I NOTICED IT MISSING WHEN I HELPED CLEAN UP AFTERWARDS. I MADE SURE TO CHECK A BUNCH OF TIMES YESTERDAY, AND FOUND THAT IT WAS MISSING ALL DAY. USUALLY MONOKUMA AND THE DECKHANDS KEEP THINGS CLEANED UP LIKE THAT, SO I THOUGHT IT WAS STRANGE.”“Eyup! It’s our job to keep things neat and tidy!” Monotaro said, seeming proud of himself. “And we do a pretty good job, if I dare say so myself!”“Wait,” Kuno said, hand on her chin in thought, “I have a question for you, Monokuma. Say a kitchen knife was taken for the purpose of a murder, and held onto for a few days. Would such a knife be ‘replaced’ in the interim?”“…” Monokuma stared at Kuno for a moment, seeming… annoyed, before he sighed and spoke up. “Well, see… I don’t really like talking about the operation of the Ultimate Cruise Liner, especially if it’s not relevant to the case at hand.”“Oh, but it is!” Surprisingly, it was Kimura who chimed in, staring intently at Monokuma. Hiramoto turned to face him, unsure of why he of all people was talking. Kimura grinned as he spoke, though there was… a look in his eyes that Hiramoto couldn’t place. “See, a knife taken for the purpose of murder would be murder related, wouldn’t it?”“Hrm.” Honda hummed, then looked up at Monokuma as well, some sort of realization coming to him as he did so. “They bring up good points. If Monokuma replaced a knife taken with the intent to murder, that would mean he helped disguise a murder. Which would mean he would breaking his own–““Okay, fine!” Monokuma snapped, interrupting Honda. “We didn’t replace the knife! Any sort of cookware that a student takes and holds on to is not ‘replaced’ in any way! We have a limited stock, okay?! Is it so wrong of a bear to expect you children to have some basic decency?!”“I SEE.” Esumi said, “SO IN THAT CASE, WE CAN SAFELY ASSUME THAT THE MISSING KNIFE IS THE SAME ONE THAT WAS USED IN THE MURDER.”“So… Kimura lied about the time he stole the knife?” Chujo asked, sounding confused.“So I made a bit of a mistake in my description,” Kimura said, shrugging. He seemed to have bounced back from… whatever made him speak up against Monokuma. “I just took my knife and washed it off, then returned it to the rack. Easy!”“But… that doesn’t make sense either,” Diana said, frowning, “We found a bloody knife in Fuji’s room, remember? That’s definitely the knife used to kill him.”“W-Wait,” Ikari chimed in, “I… I’m really confused. So… Kimura stole a knife, and then a… different knife disappeared? And then Kimura… cleaned up his knife and hid it?”“Maybe… the missing knife is completely unrelated?” Dewa asked, scratching his head.“Are you fucking braindead?” Jitsuko asked, scoffing. “There was one missing knife, and they said they found it in Fuji’s room.”“I DON’T THINK YOU’RE BRAINDEAD.” Esumi chimed in, “BUT I DO AGREE THAT KIMURA’S TESTIMONY DOESN’T LINE UP WITH MY FINDINGS. PERHAPS I MADE A MISTAKE?”“Or Kimura’s lying,” Kuno said simply, crossing her arms, “I think that’s a more simple answer.”“What?!” Kimura gasped, putting a hand to his chest. “I… I would never!”“Does Kimura have something to gain from lying here?” Amami asked.“If he’s caught anyways…” Sasabe said, trailing off afterwards.“Kimura’s motivations behind this aren’t all that important,” Honda said in response, shaking his head, “I’m more worried with what exactly it is that he’s trying to hide from us, not why.” He turned to shoot a pointed stare in the grinning Kimura’s direction. “The fact that he’s lying about and omitting aspects of the method of murder means that there’s something he’s trying to steer us away from.”“Steer us away?” Chujo asked, “From what?”“I’m not entirely sure, at the moment,” Honda admitted, “But I think we can say with some confidence that Kimura’s lies about the methodology means that there’s some aspect of his murder plan that isn’t truthful.”“I’m not convinced,” Jitsuko said, “He could just be acting like a prick.”“Perhaps,” Honda said, “But Hiramoto’s observation wasn’t the only strange thing I found in Kimura’s testimony just now.”“There’s more?” Diana asked, leaning forward at her podium.“You’re so nitpicky with my confession!…” Kimura whined.“WHAT WAS IT?” Esumi asked.“I think… that a nitpick is a good way to put it,” Honda said, putting a hand to his chin, “It’s just that… I keep going back to the thought of the stationery that Kimura used for the note. Specifically… why?”“There’s not that much thought to it,” Kimura said, shrugging, “I just liked the stuff and co-opted all of it. And… then I needed to write a note, and had stuff on hand to use.”“That… kind of makes sense,” Diana said, a frown painting her face.“Wait…” Amami spoke up, pursing his lips in thought for a moment before he continued. “I think I get what Honda is saying. Such a distinctive quality means that… that it’s easy to trace back, right?”“Exactly.” Honda nodded, “A bit… too easy, in fact. And we can add on the fact that, if we take Hiramoto and Diana at their word, Kimura specifically invited Hiramoto to his room, which is where she had the opportunity to find it. If we put these ideas together… doesn’t it sound like Kimura almost wanted to be caught?”Hiramoto turned to look at Kimura, and found his grin absolutely glowing. He looked disturbingly pleased. And then he spoke up.“Well obviously I didn’t wanna get caught!” Kimura laughed, “You can’t win the Killing Game if you get caught.”“…are you idiots done?”Tadamori’s words made Hiramoto jolt in surprise, and she whipped her head to the side to look at her. Tadamori stood with a hand on her hip, a venomous scowl painting her face. It seemed to be directed mainly at Honda, though Hiramoto shivered when it passed over her.“Excuse me?” Honda asked.“I’ve listed to you guys mouth off at him for like, what, ten minutes now?” Tadamori began, pointing her glare more formally at Honda, “And you’re just digging for stupid ass reasons. You might be interested in digging into every little nook and cranny for answers, but the rest of us aren’t!” She slammed her hands on her podium and jabbed a finger at Honda. “Kimura already confessed! I’m tired of dragging this shit out! Let’s punish his stupid ass and be done with it!”“Y-Yeah, guys,” Ikari chimed in, twiddling his fingers. “I… I don’t wanna be here anymore! I… I don’t know why Kimura would confess if he didn’t do it!”“Agreed.” Dewa nodded. “It doesn’t make any sense for Kimura to confess to a crime he didn’t do. He’d die too!”“Now hold on a moment,” Honda said, brow visibly twitching in annoyance. He rolled his wrist, eventually ending with pointing his hand at Kimura, “I know that this is tiring. Believe me, I don’t want to be here anymore than you do. But we can’t risk getting this wrong. And there’s still quite a bit of evidence that we haven’t gone over yet!”“But there’s no guarantee that this information won’t lead back in Kimura’s direction,” Sasabe replied. She tapped her chin with a finger, staring up thoughtfully, “A circular discussion only wastes our time.”“That’s true…” Chujo mused, “I don’t want to talk about information that just leads back to Kimura…”“But we don’t have any proof that it’ll do that either,” Amami said. He glanced over at Monokuma, sighed, and turned back to the group. “I really agree with Honda here. We should keep talking.”“But Kimura already confessed!” Goto waved a hand in Kimura’s direction.“It’s true!” Kimura threw in, clasping his hands behind his back. “I did it!”“Your insistence that you did it is really making it hard to believe,” Kuno said.“Hrmm…” Diana crossed her arms and pursed her lips, brow furrowing. She glanced in Hiramoto’s direction, and Hiramoto responded with a slight shrug. Diana smiled at her and spoke up. “Well, if Honda and Hiramoto think there’s more to this case, I’m going to believe them!”“Ugh.” Jitsuko shook her head. “This is such a waste of time.”“And yet… I just can’t leave this be!” Uma shouted, frantically tapping her pen against the back of her hand. “My reporter senses are going crazy! There’s more to this case, and I don’t think I’ll be able to let it go if it ends here!”“Ah…” Hiramoto could see the tension forming within the group, as things looked… pretty evenly split. She was with Honda, but…She glanced to the side, and made eye contact with Esumi. Esumi offered her a placid shrug, looking out over the group with her lips stretched thin. Her fingers tapped against her podium’s screen, and Hiramoto blinked as she watched Esumi type.“WELL, THIS IS A BIT OF A TROUBLESOME POSITION,” Esumi’s robotic voice rang out, “I FEEL AS THOUGH IT MIGHT BE DIFFICULT TO CONTINUE OUR DEBATE WHEN WE ARE SO EVENLY SPLIT.”Hiramoto was right about to speak up and ask something, but was beaten to the punch.“Wait just a minute!” Monokuma suddenly shouted, jumping to his stubby little feet. Just the sound of his voice was enough to draw the eyes of everybody in the room. “Did I hear you correctly?!”“H-Huh?” Hiramoto managed.“I heard that you guys were evenly split! Split right down the middle, even!” Monokuma exclaimed, bouncing on his feet. “Is that right? Are you guys split?!”“I… suppose we are?” Amami replied.“Yes!” Monokuma pumped a fist, then reached behind him. Hiramoto watched as he pulled out… a key? Monokuma waved the key around excitedly, continuing to speak as he did so. “Since that’s the case, this is the perfect opportunity to show off our patent pending ‘Morphenomenal Trial Grounds’!”“…’Morphenomenal’?” Uma asked, cocking her head.“You’re… going to change the trial grounds?” Goto followed up, narrowing his eyes.“Ooh, now that’s interesting!” Kimura grinned, pumping his fists.“Oh, yippee!” Monotaro exclaimed, “We’ve been waiting for this!”“YIPPEE.” Monodam said.Before Hiramoto could even begin to think up some kind response to what she’d just been told, a heavy, metallic groaning filled the room. Hiramoto took a moment to watch as Kimura’s podium slid back into its place, then snapped her eyes up and… finally got an answer to a question she didn’t know she had.The swirling pattern on the ceiling began to ‘unfurl’, peeling apart like flower petals. Past it seemed to be… a place, purely stark white, full of blinding lights that made it hard to look at. There was a heavy humming to Hiramoto’s right, and her head whipped to the side. Esumi’s eyes widened as her podium began to rise, and Hiramoto gasped as her own podium followed suit a moment later.The sixteen podiums rose up in a helix, and Hiramoto caught a glimpse of Monokuma’s throne ascending as well.When Hiramoto opened her eyes again, she found… white. Stark white, blindingly so, all around her. Her eyes had trouble adjusting to the light, because it was… everywhere. The walls seemed to be made of some sort of reflective surface, throwing light all around and making it impossible to ignore. Dark bands of supportive structure criss-crossed over the walls, somewhat breaking up the way they bounced the lights around.Hiramoto felt her podium jolt beneath her, and she tightened her grip as it slid into some sort of place against her will. And when it stopped… she found herself in a line. The podiums finished arranging themselves into two lines, facing each other. Hiramoto found herself near the end of the line, Uma at her side. And on her other… the photo of Fuji, staring forward as though he was ready to argue as well.Kimura floated directly across from Hiramoto, his grin present as always.“Here’s our question of the day!” Monokuma shouted, down at the other end of the lines. Hiramoto glanced over at him, and took in the members of each line as well. She was on Honda’s side, alongside Uma, Diana, Amami, Kuno, and Esumi. Tadamori headed the other line with a scowl, and was joined by Ikari, Goto, Dewa, Jitusko, Chujo, Sasabe, and Kimura. For some reason.“‘Vote for Kimura now?’” Monokuma asked, “On one side… ‘Yes!’, led by Tadamori Tomo! And the other… ‘No!’, led by Honda Tsumoto! Aaaaaaand… begin!”
[SCRUM DEBATE: BEGIN!]
Tadmori began the debate, jabbing her finger straight outwards and shouting, “You guys are just prolonging the debate for no reason!”“We have reasons,” Honda replied, hand on his chin and brow furrowed in a frown, “We haven’t gone over all of our clues.”“Is there even a point to discussing more?” Ikari asked, fingers digging into his scalp, “Kimura already confessed!”“If we don’t discuss more, how will we know if we missed something that proves him innocent?” Kuno asked in response, her hands stuffed into her jacket pockets.Dewa threw a hand up, the other grabbing his shoulder, “Nobody believes Kimura is innocent though!”“Uh, we’re having this argument, aren’t we?” Diana replied, hands planted firmly on her hips as she leaned forward, “Doesn’t that mean some people believe it’s possible?”“Even ignoring his confession,” Goto said, a hand on his glasses and a scowl on his face, “We’ve proven that Kimura wrote that note!”Esumi calmly held her hands against her podium screen, head cocked slightly, “PERHAPS IT’S POSSIBLE THAT HE WROTE THE NOTE, BUT DIDN’T KILL FUJI?”“But something like that would require quite a bit of lying on Kimura’s part,” Sasabe chimed in, a shark-like grin painting her face.“Kimura’s been lying about so much already,” Amami replied, his arms at his sides, “It’s not a stretch to imagine he’s lying more.”“So what?” Jitsuko asked, fist clenched and raised, “What more could there possibly be to talk about?”“If you’re looking for more topics,” Uma began, pen in one hand and notebook in the other, “I have one about the crime scene to talk about!”“We can talk all we like,” Kimura said, hands clasped behind his head and a wide grin on his face, “But it seems I’m guilty unless you can prove otherwise!”Hiramoto’s eyes widened, something clicking in her head. She pulled her satchel to her chest and finally spoke up, “I-If you l-let us talk… I-I think we can… can p-prove you innocent!”
[BREAK!]
Her body shivering from the exertion of the argument, Hiramoto could only clutch her satchel and stare. She stared forward as the two groups stared each other down. Since he was across from her, Kimura kept his eyes forward, and Hiramoto found that she couldn’t look away. He winked. If she didn’t know any better… Hiramoto would say that Kimura looked like he was… having fun.And then her podium jolted, and the floor… or rather, the ceiling of the trial room that was now below them, spiraled open once again. The podiums shifted, and began their descent back into the trial room waiting below. Hiramoto held on tight.The podiums rearranged themselves into their original positions, with everybody once again posted around the circular fixture in the center of the room. Monokuma seemed pleased with himself, despite the oppressive silence that filled the trial room. After a pregnant pause, Tadamori let out an irritated sigh and crossed her arms.“Fine,” She said, “I’ll hear what you shitheads have to say.”“Thank you,” Honda replied, offering her a placating smile. She ignored him, turning up her nose and huffing.“Anyways,” Goto cut in, clearly annoyed, “Since we’re drawing this trial out, I think Hiramoto owes us an explanation.” He turned to her and scowled, “What could you possibly have to tell us that could prove Kimura innocent?”“A-Ah… right…” Hiramoto replied, turning away. She could feel everybody’s attention on her once again, and she squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed. Relax… relax… Hiramoto took a deep breath and continued, eyes still shut, “W-Well… I… I just thought that we… y-you know… haven’t talked about… what the k… culprit did, um, after. A-After they… did that to… to Fuji.”“That’s… true,” Honda said. Hiramoto could hear the surprise in his voice. It caught her off guard enough that her eyes popped open, and she turned to look at him. His eyes were wide, and he stared down at his podium. His eyes flicked over to Hiramoto, and he nodded when she caught his eye. “You’re absolutely right.” Hiramoto watched as something seemed to… click in Honda’s mind.“After…” Kuno mused. Like Honda, Hiramoto could see something, some kind of understanding, cross her face. Her expression hardened, “Right. We’ve spent so much time talking about the lead up to Fuji’s murder and the actual event that we’ve neglected the aftermath.”“The… aftermath?” Ikari asked, looking baffled.“Ah!” Diana slammed a fist into her palm, “Like, all of the shit the killer did after they killed him! Like, hiding evidence and stuff!”“Exactly.” Kuno nodded. “The cleanup holds just as many clues as the build up does.”“Speaking of,” Uma spoke up, tapping her chin with a pen, “I actually have a question that I believe is relevant to this line of thinking, if people don’t mind me taking the spotlight for a moment.”“Go ahead,” Honda said, nodding.“Very well!” Uma flipped a page on her notepad and then looked up at the group. “I wanted to hear everybody’s thoughts: where do you guys think Fuji actually died?”Hiramoto found herself stricken silent. ‘Where’?…“…what?” Dewa was the first to speak up. “We found his body in the Dining Hall…”“Yes, but there’s been evidence that provides a second option, and I wanted a second opinion,” Uma said simply.Hiramoto frowned as the murmuring around her grew into a proper argument, as the others started talking and throwing out ideas. Was Uma… was she talking about…
[NONSTOP DEBATE: MAKE YOUR ARGUMENT!]
“Another location for the murder?” Kimura asked, looking upwards in thought, “Hmm… I have no idea…”“But aren’t you the killer?” Chujo asked in response.“Can you two shut up?” Jitsuko snapped.“I’m interested in what Fuku’s talking about, though,” Sasabe said, tapping her chin, “Another location for the murder? Is it possible?”“Of course not. He died in the Dining Hall,” Jitsuko replied, shaking her head, “There’s (nowhere else) he could have died.”“Well that’s not completely true, obviously,” Diana pointed out, “Uma said that she had (evidence that pointed to another place).”“THE EVIDENCE COULD HAVE (BEEN FABRICATED) MAYBE?” Esumi proposed.“I’m not sure what the point of that would have been,” Uma said, looking at her notepad.“Wait… I’m confused,” Ikari chimed in, “Uh… what place are we talking about?”
[PRESENT YOUR EVIDENCE: FUJI’S ROOM]
“Um,” Hiramoto said, raising a hand to say something.The others kept talking.“G-Guys?…” Hiramoto spoke up again, putting a bit more strength into her voice.The argument around her continued.“…” Hiramoto looked out over the others arguing, then her shoulders slumped. A hand patted her shoulder, and Hiramoto turned to Honda as he began to talk.“Jitsuko,” He said, a frown on his face.“Yeah?” Jitsuko asked, turning towards him, “What?”“I’ll admit that your preconception here is partially my fault, thanks to my request for you to guard the body,” Honda began, removing his hand from Hiramoto’s shoulder so he could cross his arms, “But Uma is correct. I’m pretty sure I know of the location she’s thinking about.”“Oh yeah?” Jitsuko asked, face drooping into a scowl. “Where is this mystery place?”“Yeah, this is the first I’m hearing of another place,” Tadamori said, butting in.“Honda, a-are you…” Hiramoto took that opportunity to jump in, now that there was an opportunity for her to say what she wanted to say, “Or… U-Uma, r-rather. Are you guys, um… t-talking about, uh. Fuji? O-Or… h-his room, r-rather.”“Indeed,” Uma nodded, “I wasn’t sure, because while the scene in the Dining Hall is very damning, Fuji’s Stateroom looked as though a storm had blown through.”“Oh yeah,” Dewa commented, frowning, “The place was trashed. Looked like a fight or something happened.”“Hmm,” Amami hummed, staring down at his podium, then flicked his eyes up, “You guys said you found the murder weapons in Fuji’s room as well, right?”“Yup!” Diana nodded, “They were under his mattress. Though…” She trailed off, frowning in thought, “His mattress was basically on the floor, and Dewa and Uma are right… the place was a total mess.”“Wait… so the murder was in Fuji’s room then?” Ikari asked.“But there was sooooo much evidence in the Dining Hall,” Sasabe replied.“Interesting…” Kimura mused.“Would you just shut up?” Goto snapped, glaring at Kimura. “You’re the one in trouble right now, so I don’t want to hear anything from you.”“Well, do you have something to offer?” Kimura responded, smirking. Goto sputtered.“Hah!” Sasabe laughed, “He got you good!”“Don’t agree with the killer!” Goto yelled, turning to face Sasabe. “And fine, you want something? Here’s a thinking point for you simpletons then!” He crossed his arms and scowled, “If the killer was so intent on inviting Fuji to the Dining Hall, what was the point of making an appearance in his Stateroom?”“That’s… a good question,” Honda said, frowning. “Why would the killer need to go to Fuji’s room?”“Exactly,” Goto stated, nodding in self satisfaction, “The less evidence the better. So what’s the reasoning for both of these locations being visited?”“Hrmm…” Kuno drummed her fingers on her forearm, staring away from the group. After a second, she turned back. “We should clarify which location was the actual site of the murder. That way, we can figure out what set of questions we need to be asking about the other location.”“SET OF QUESTIONS?” Esumi asked.“You mean, like, uh…” Chujo spoke up, then took a moment to think, “Like, uh, what the purpose of the other location was?”“Yes.” Kuno nodded, “And figuring this out could lead to some insight on the killer’s motivations.”“You mean Kimura’s motivations.” Tadamori grumbled, clearly pouting about the fact that they hadn’t voted for Kimura yet.“Right!” Kimura grinned, planting his hands on his hips. “Let’s get talking, fellas! Where did I kill Fuji, and why did I go to the other place?”“Fuck’s sake…” Jitsuko shook her head.
[NONSTOP DEBATE: MAKE YOUR ARGUMENT!]
“Let’s put our heads together, okay?” Kimura said, looking around at the others with a sunny grin.“Did I kill Fuji in the (Dining Hall)?“Or was it in (his Stateroom)?”“Why are you leading this argument?…” Diana asked, looking at Kimura with disdain, her lips curled up in a sneer.“It’s obvious they went to (both places),” Dewa said, getting things back on track.“Yeah, no shit,” Jitsuko told him, “That didn’t answer the question.”“We’re looking for evidence pointing towards one place or another,” Uma stated, tapping her pencil.“I’m really not sure,” Ikari said, shaking his head, “Maybe… maybe Kimura will (give us a hint)?”“Nope!” Kimura replied, shaking his head, “Trade secrets are not to be shared!”“Stop engaging with him,” Kuno said.“What else can we do, though?” Amami asked, “He’s the only one who seems to know anything…”Kimura cackled, “Listen to me or die!”
[PRESENT YOUR EVIDENCE: STATE OF DINING ROOM]
“Um…” Hiramoto raised her hand slightly.Kimura quickly caught on and literally pointed her out, stabbing a finger in her direction, “Speak!” He commanded.“U-Uh,” Hiramoto said, caught off guard by the command. She twiddled her fingers and bit her lip before continuing, “W… well… I… I th-think that, um, i-it happened in the, uh, Dining Hall. O-Oh, a-and, um, Chujo c-can back me, uh, up!”“Eh?” Chujo scratched his head, “I can?”Jitsuko threw up her hands. “For fucks sake,” She said, “Can’t you pay attention for half a second?!”“JITSUKO.” Esumi’s robotic voice chimed in. Jitsuko scowled, face contorting, but didn’t reply with anything else.“If you were awake during our fight for our lives,” Tadamori growled, sarcasm dripping in her voice, “It’d certainly be helpful.”Chujo just nodded, oblivious, “I’ll keep it in mind.”“A-As I was… was saying…” Hiramoto swallowed thickly, “Ch-Chujo did an, um, investigation. O-Of the Dining Hall. A-And I think that… it is, um, relevant.”Chujo tapped his chin. “Hmm,” He hummed, thinking. Then, something that… could be recognition crossed his face, and he nodded. “Oh yeah. I checked out where the blood in the Dining Hall was. Cuz that seemed important.”“…and? What did you find?” Honda asked, cocking his brow.“Well…” Chujo replied, “Most of the blood in the room seemed to be on the table Fuji was on. Or on the floor nearby. Oh, but there wasn’t really any blood anywhere else. A couple bloody footprints out into the hall, but they were way drier than the blood on the table. That was still wet.”Amami hummed, “So there wasn’t really any blood anywhere else in the room, aside from where we found the body… What does this actually tell us?”“Simple,” Honda replied, “Based on the matching testimonies of the crime scene and the Monokuma File, we can assume there was plenty of blood that came from Fuji’s body.”“I see, I see!” Sasabe nodded excitedly, “Lack of blood anywhere else implies that he was killed where we found him! Moving a body with a fatal injury like Fuyo’s would definitely track blood!”“Agreed,” Honda said, “In addition, there was no evidence, either on the body or found anywhere else, that would indicate something was used to restrict the blood flow. With the amount of blood on the table and the lack of it anywhere else, I think we can safely assume that the Dining Room, and the table where we found him, is the place where he died.”“S-So yeah,” Hiramoto said. “Th-That’s uh… why. I-I think he died in the, um, D-Dining Hall. That is.”“Hrm.” Goto hummed, “If we take you at your word, then Fuji died in the Dining Hall. But then, that begs the question: why was his Stateroom ransacked? The killer needn’t destroy his room if they fought him in the Dining Hall.”Sasabe clapped. “Another very astute question, Kogo!”“Shut your mouth.”“Well, still,” Dewa said, a frown creasing his face, “what does this actually get us? We don’t know when or why the killer went there. Or even if they did at all!”“THAT’S TRUE.” Esumi chimed in, “IT’S ALWAYS A POSSIBILITY THAT THE ROOM AND THE KILLER ARE UNRELATED.”“But that’s stupid,” Diana replied, “Why would Fuji destroy his own room?”Uma tapped her pen, glancing at Dewa, then Diana. “Esumi’s point still stands. Without Fuji himself to confirm or deny, there are just as many reasons out there that Fuji could have messed up his own Stateroom as there are that the killer did.”Hiramoto cleared her throat, catching everybody’s attention in the brief moment after Uma’s words. “W-Well… I, um, a-actually have an… um, idea. A-And p-proof. That it was, uh, the killer. Who made the… mess. Or… a-at least made an… app-pearance in his Stateroom. At least.”“You seem to have lots of ideas,” Kimura commented, grinning, “I like that. Alright, let’s hear it! What’s the proof that I passed through Fuji’s room?”“Still admitting it, I see,” Chujo said.Hiramoto ignored him, thinking back on the evidence she’d gathered up. The killer had to have passed through Fuji’s room, because of…
[SELECT EVIDENCE: BLOODSTAINED SHOWER]
“F-Fuji’s, um, shower,” Hiramoto began, “Wh-When we… checked his, uh, bathroom. H-His shower was… c-covered in very… uh, faint bloodstains.”“Oh yeah!” Diana chimed in, “I remember that! It seemed strange that the culprit used the shower, but didn’t bother to clean anything off.”Honda hummed in thought before adding on as well, “If I had to guess, the killer was likely in some kind of hurry. Alternatively, they rationalized that the state of the shower could be explained away enough by the state of the room. Either way, a quick rinse of their clothes might result in tracking around water, but it was far better than tracking any more blood.”“How incredibly crafty!” Uma exclaimed, raising her notepad in wonder, “Using the victim’s own shower to clean off evidence of their sins!”“It’s not ‘crafty’ at all.” Jitsuko shook her head. “That’s what showers are fuckin’ for.”Sasabe tapped at her chin, seeming to muse to herself aloud. “Maybe they just wanted a warm shower after a hunt well done?…”“There’s actually something wrong with you,” Dewa said.“No kidding,” Tadamori scoffed, “You don’t need to convince everybody that you’re a fuckin’ psychopath.”“I’m just saying!” Sasabe protested.Hiramoto watched the others squabbling and tightened her hands around the strap of her satchel. She wasn’t done, but… but it wasn’t like she could stop the others from talking. Her eyes darted around, lingering on Honda, who seemed lost in thought, and Kimura, who looked over the proceedings with evident joy. Hiramoto swallowed thickly, supposing she’d just… just w–“Hey! Can you guys zip it for a second?!” Diana shouted, waving her arms over her head to get everybody’s attention. The chatter died down, and Diana put her hands on her hips with a huff, then jerked her head in Hiramoto’s direction. “Hiramoto looks like she’s got more to say.”Everybody looked in Hiramoto’s direction.“U-U-Uhm… w-well that… th-that’s, uh. Certainly. Tr-rue. Th-That is.” Hiramoto stuttered out, instantly feeling off center from all the staring. “A-Anyw-ways… I… I h-had, um, one more. Thing. T-To prove Kimura. Innocent.”“Oh yeah,” Sasabe said, “That’s what we were doing.”Goto pinched the bridge of his nose. “Please just focus.”“Right…” Amami stared at the two of the for a second before turning to Hiramoto. “What was it that you wanted to show us?”Hiramoto closed her eyes to process for a moment. A final piece of evidence to prove that Kimura was not the murderer. It was something that was related to the fallout of Fuji’s death, something they hadn’t yet brought up…
[SELECT EVIDENCE: INCINERATOR HATCH]
“D-During the inv-vestigation,” Hiramoto began, squeezing her satchel strap, “A-Amami and T… Tadamori found s-some blood. O-On the t-trash chute hatch in… in the D-Disposal Room.”With her name being brought up, Tadamori was quick to respond. “Yeah, there was some weird ass bloodstains on the door hatch. Barely noticed it, to be honest, but that shit was definitely there.”“It’s true, I’d almost forgot about it,” Amami commented, putting a hand to his chin in thought, “Hmm. Maybe the killer needed to dispose of something bloody? That’s the only reason I can think of for why there’d be blood there.”“OH, PERHAPS,” Esumi chimed in, “THE KILLER WANTED TO MAKE SURE THEIR BLOODY CLOTHES WEREN’T FOUND?”Jitsuko shrugged, “Seems fair enough. Bloody clothes would be a nail in the coffin, and it’s not like we have a clothing shortage.”Amami nodded in agreement, “Getting rid of their bloody clothes would be the safest, even if they had to risk carrying them to the Disposal Room. Risking being caught on their way there is better than risking their bloody clothes be found.”The room was quiet for a bit as everybody mulled over the points of evidence Hiramoto had presented them with. She glanced in Honda’s direction, and was surprised to see his vision laser focused on somebody across the circle. Before she could see who he was staring at, however–“’Kay, so I have a question,” Chujo said, picking at his ear.“H-Huh?” Hiramoto blinked, confused. A question?“Well spit it out!” Diana said.“…right.” Chujo nodded, then glanced away, “So, like, what does this have to do with Kimura not being the killer?”“A very good question!” Kimura chimed in, “This evidence is very telling of my path, but how could further outlining my crime prove me innocent?”Tadamori snorted and rolled her eyes. “I hate agreeing with idiots, but the murderer has a point. Why are you trying to save him so bad?! The hell do you get out of this?”“I–” Hiramoto began. The voices of the others throwing in their own two cents quickly drowned out anything she had to say.
[NONSTOP DEBATE: MAKE YOUR ARGUMENT!]
“So,” Ikari said, “Hiramoto doesn’t think that (Kimura is the culprit), right?”“Quite a few of us feel the same,” Honda replied, voice sharp, “It’s why we postponed the vote in the first place.”Sasabe snickered. “Postponing the vote when we had a majority. Lame.”“BUT IT WASN’T A MAJORITY.” Esumi replied.“We’re already getting distracted,” Kuno cut in, rolling her eyes, “Let’s focus on the topic, please.”“Yeah!” Diana shouted, “Let Hiramoto speak!”Goto snorted and crossed his arms. “For what reason?“She brought up important evidence, sure,“But it had (no connection to Kimura). So what’s the point?”“Well, he’s not wrong,” Dewa said, shrugging.“No matter what we say here,“Kimura is (obviously guilty).”“Maybe she wants us to (figure it out ourselves)?” Ikari asked.“But she’s trying to tell us something,” Diana replied, a scowl creasing her face.“Just let her speak,” Jitsuko said.Kimura grinned, clasping his hands behind his head. “I didn’t realize that (Hiramoto liked me like that). How sweet!”
[PRESENT YOUR EVIDENCE: KUNO’S TESTIMONY]
“Everybody shut up!” Diana suddenly shouted at the top of her lungs, causing Hiramoto to flinch. A few of the others shot her dirty glares, but she ignored them and shook her head. “You guys are just wasting our time! Stop talking and let her speak!”“I’m also curious to hear what she has to say,” Honda said, “I’d recommend that everybody who doesn’t have anything to say, keep quiet. Let’s move this debate forward and quit talking in circles.” His words didn’t seem to make the room any happier, but… at least they stayed quiet for the moment?“A-Ah…” Hiramoto finally had the opportunity to speak up again, and drummed her fingers on her satchel as her carefully structured thought process crumbled thanks to all the attention now on her. “Um… th-thank you. Guys. I, um, appreciate it.”Diana grinned and planted her hands on her hips. “No problem! What’d you wanna tell us?”“W-Well…” Hiramoto began, hands moving to fiddle with her satchel strap, “I-I think that, um. Goto. H-He uh… s-summed it up. P-Pretty well.”Goto blinked, seemingly caught off guard. His eyes flicked between Hiramoto and Kimura for a moment before he cleared his throat and spoke up. “Erm, Hiramoto. You… do realize that I am arguing against you here, correct? Sure, all of these points are important, but none of it has anything to do with Kimura.”“E-Exactly!” Hiramoto bounced at her podium, her plan for discussion rushing back to her. “S-See… I th-think all of this is s-super imp-portant to take, um, note of! B-Because… because K-Kimura couldn’t have d-done… any of it!”The trial grounds erupted into a mess of sound.Hiramoto’s head spun as most of the group began shouting at her, and then each other. A vicious feeling of vertigo forced her hands to her ears in an attempt to drown everybody out. Hiramoto could barely process the rush of sound. Unlike earlier, she wasn’t able to focus on any one person or group. Nobody was directing their shouting in any particular direction, everybody talking to three people at once. People were shouting at her, and people were shouting at the people shouting at her, and so on.Before the bile in her throat could rise any higher, the sound of wood on wood, sharp and directed, echoed through the room. Only Hiramoto’s eyes flicked over to the source of the sound, afraid she’d actually throw up if she moved anything more. Monokuma slammed a gavel against one of the arm rests of his throne. His voice forced everybody into silence a moment later.“Alright, alright! Enough already!” Monokuma snapped, “I love a good argument as much as the next bear, but this is far past the point of comprehension! Debates are only fun if I understand what’s going on! I will have order in my court! Order!”The room quieted down, and it was only then that Hiramoto noticed her breathing had gone short and ragged. Her nails dug into her arms in an attempt to ground herself, and they were joined a moment later by a hand on her shoulder. Hiramoto’s eyes flicked over and found Honda staring at her in concern. When their eyes locked, he lightly squeezed her shoulder.“I-I-I…” Hiramoto managed, voice caught in her throat. “I-I’m f-f-fin-ne…”Honda stared at her for another moment before nodding and turning back to the group, raising his voice and cutting off the awkward, lingering conversation. “Well then. If we can stop shooting the messenger for a few moments, I believe Hiramoto was trying to tell us something. Unless, she wants me to say it.”Hiramoto blinked, and pivoted her shoulders in Honda’s direction. He leaned close, and she leaned in as well. Her voice only hit a whisper, because that was all she could trust herself to get to. It was a small phrase that Honda stewed on for only a second before his eyes widened in surprise. She could see the information click together, and realization dawned in his eyes.“K-Kuno’s… s-statement.”“…of course,” Honda spoke aloud, straightening his back. “That’s it!”“Care to enlighten the rest of us?” Tadamori asked, hand on her hip.“Naturally,” Honda gave Hiramoto’s shoulder another encouraging squeeze. “Hiramoto’s information directly clears Kimura, if the source is to be trusted. And I’m inclined to believe it.”“The source?” Chujo asked, cocking his head.Honda nodded. “Indeed. Kuno, could you tell everybody what you told me and Hiramoto earlier, during the investigation?”A puzzled look crossed Kuno’s face as her eyes flitted between Honda and Hiramoto. Her brow scrunched up, and she was quiet for a beat before speaking up. “What I said earlier? I don’t remember mentioning anything. All I remember was…” She trailed off, hand on her chin and face crinkled in thought.Hiramoto could see the realization hit Kuno like a bullet, her eyes instantly widening. Her hand moved to cover her mouth as she turned away for a second. Then, Kuno straightened her back, a scowl on her face. “They’re right, it couldn’t have been Kimura who did any of the clean up for the murder. I don’t know where he’d been prior… but Kimura came back to his stateroom around twelve thirty last night.”“Twelve thirty?” Uma asked, tapping her pencil. “But… that’s only fifteen minutes or so after the time of death reported in the Monokuma File, correct?”“Are you sure that time’s right?” Dewa asked, face scrunching up.“Yes, I’m sure.” Kuno snapped, “I was up at the time, and his arrival was too suspicious for me to go back to sleep. So I stayed up and kept tabs on him.”“Hmm… I do think I remember that,” Kimura mused, “It… was super creepy, after all.”“You’re one to talk,” Sasabe said.“Wait,” Jitsuko cut on, a scowl on her face, “Hold the fuck up. How the fuck could Kimura have done all of this shit in fifteen minutes?”“Just doing all of the walking that the killer did would take up fifteen minutes…” Diana said.Goto frowned, “There has to be a mistake.”“There was,” Honda replied, his gaze zeroing in on Kimura, “Our mistake was letting Kimura fool us into thinking he was the killer.”Hiramoto turned to face Kimura, who had his brow raised and his lips pursed. He glanced around at some of the others before locking eyes with Hiramoto. Then his lips quirked up into a smile, and he shrugged, clasping his hands behind his head.“Welp,” He said, “Guess I’ve gotta come clean again.”“Are you shitting me?…” Tadamori murmured, hand on her head.“They’re right!” Kimura proclaimed, grinning, “I’m not the killer!” He winked. “But I had you guys goin’ for a while! So I count that as a win in my book!”Very few things in Hiramoto’s life could compare to the sheer fury that emanated from the other students at that very moment. The silence was thick enough that she could cut it with a knife. And all the while, Kimura’s eyes flitted about, excited and in no way concerned at the acidic stares aimed in his direction. Every person Hiramoto glanced at stared at Kimura with varying stares of toxicity; from Jitusko’s pure and volcanic rage, to Ikari’s fearful disgust, to Sasabe’s slight yet curious annoyance, to Chujo’s flat frown.Hiramoto bit her lip, afraid of what might happen if she spoke up to break this silence. She glanced over at Honda, his eyes narrowed in laser focused irritation at Kimura. She thought about getting his attention so they could continue talking, but somebody broke the silence before she could.“Hmm,” Uma hummed, tapping at the brim of her fedora with her pencil, “So, let’s believe Kuno for a moment, shall we?”Dewa turned to look at her, “Eh? What?”“I’m just thinking now,” Uma said in response, shrugging. She flipped to a page in her notepad and tapped it with the eraser of her pencil, “We’ve cleared Kimura, supposedly. But he was our prime, and admittedly only, suspect. Does that mean we’ve misunderstood our information?”“Huh? What does that mean?” Diana asked.Uma raised her notebook, glancing down at it, “Well… let’s think about the status of the murder as we know it. If we take Kimura out of the equation, then we’re left with this scenario: the killer stole a microphone from Honda’s lab, as well as a knife from the kitchen around the day of the pool party. They then met up with Fuji in the Dining Hall, and killed him there. From there, the killer went to Fuji’s room to look for the note and then to the Disposal Room to torch their sordid clothing.”“But Kimura wrote the note,” Tadamori pointed out, “Your own dumb statement helps prove that.”“Therein lies the problem,” Uma said, “Kimura is undoubtedly involved in bringing Fuji to the Dining Hall, yes? But at the same time… he could not have finished this crime.”“…because he couldn’t have cleaned up?” Ikari asked.Uma nodded, “Precisely.”“So… Kimura had to have killed Fuji,” Chujo began, “because he led him to the Dining Hall. But he couldn’t have killed Fuji. Because he couldn’t have cleaned anything up.”“HMM.” Esumi’s robotic voice rang out, “HIS INVOLVEMENT WITH THIS CASE COMPLICATES THINGS GREATLY.”“You really had to go and make things difficult, didn’t you?” Goto snapped, turning in Kimura’s direction.Kimura could only shrug, his eyes flicking in Hiramoto and Honda’s direction, “Guess so. Looks like I’ve made quite a mess of things, huh?” He laughed, winking when Hiramoto made eye contact, “Almost as bad a mess as Fuji’s room, huh?”Sasabe smirked, “Disgracing a dead man’s haven, eh? How unprofessional of a killer.”“Apparently it’s not me,” Kimura replied, shrugging.“Wh– apparently?!” Tadamori screeched, “Fuck do you mean, ‘apparently’?!”Hiramoto frowned, taking in what Kimura had just said. She had a feeling that he was talking to only her and Honda with that remark. Almost like… he was giving them a hint. But that didn’t mean much to her in resolving this… this issue. After all, what did Fuji’s room have to do with–Oh.“Uhm…” She hesitantly reached out, gingerly touching Honda’s arm. He still jolted in surprise, and Hiramoto recoiled, an apology instinctively dropping from her lips, “S-Sorry…”He was quick to reassure her, “It’s alright. What is it?”“I…” Hiramoto almost couldn’t believe the words that were about to leave her mouth. Almost as much as she could barely believe the situation she was in, or how at risk her life was, “I-I know. Wh-Who the, uh… y-you know. Who it, um. Is. Th-that is.”“…Ah.” Honda stared at her, expression grave, but not mistrusting. “I see. I… think I do as well. Would you like me to…” He trailed off, instead motioning at the rest of the group, who had resorted to throwing accusations amongst each other, mainly towards Kimura.Hiramoto nodded.“Very well,” Honda replied, leaning down slightly so that his face was level with hers. “Tell me who you think it is.”She leaned forward, heart beating a mile a minute, and whispered the killer’s name into Honda’s ear.
[SELECT SOMEONE!]

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

[SELECT SOMEONE!]

[JUNPEI DEWA]
The name Honda spoke had shocked the courtroom into silence. Hiramoto knew that she had told it to him, and he had agreed. But it was one thing to think up such an idea. It was something completely different to propose said idea to the group. Because, Hiramoto was now starting to realize, she was now working to condemn somebody to death. A name to match an entity. What was once a faceless concept, that of a nebulous ‘killer’, was now given a familiar face to wear.“Dewa,” Honda repeated, hand on his chin. “He’s the only person I can think of that could have done the cleanup for this crime.”Dewa’s eyes were wide, some kind of desperate emotion on his face as he stared Honda down. “H-Huh?” He finally managed, glancing away before his eyes flicked back. “Are you… are you shitting me?”“Whaaaaaat?” Kimura asked, putting his hands to his cheeks in (probably fake) surprise. “No way!”“…I hate to agree with him,” Tadamori began, “But really? Fuckin’ Dewa? You think he killed Fuji?”“They were practically attached at the hip,” Sasabe mused, “Ignoring the obvious aspect of closeness that gives them… is this something he’d do?”Dewa frantically shook his head, “O-Obviously not! Fuji was one of my best friends on this ship, dude! You really think I’m gonna kill him?!”“THEY WERE RATHER CLOSE.” Esumi pointed out, “I MUST ADMIT I AM ALSO FINDING IT A BIT DIFFICULT TO BELIEVE.”“Hrm,” Uma hummed, face scrunched up. She tapped her pencil onto the brim of her fedora, “Is this the twist we’d been seeking?”“There’s no ‘twist’!” Dewa shouted, causing Hiramoto to recoil. He waved an arm in the direction of Fuji’s portrait. “It’s not like there’s some kind of big conspiracy or anything! I didn’t, and would never, kill Fuji! End of story!”“Makes sense to me,” Kimura chimed in, smirking, “Why would Dewa do this? Killing your best bud just doesn’t make any sense at all, evidence be damned.”Hiramoto bit her lip. She… she knew why she proposed what she did, and was sure Honda had seen why too. But… they did have a point. Fuji and Dewa were so close… ignoring the evidence… was something like this even possible for Dewa to do?…“Now hold on!” Diana interjected, a hand on her hip, “I find this hard to believe too, but… but I don’t think this is something Honda just throws at us for no reason! There’s gotta be… I dunno, clues. Or evidence, or something!”Amami frowned, drumming his fingers on his podium before speaking up. “I also don’t like this. But… well, I trust Honda, and I’d like to hear his reasons.”“Besides, the evidence points where it points,” Kuno said, lips pursed, “Feelings might be important, but so is listening to the evidence. And I’d rather trust our investigation than our feelings. After all, feelings can be lied about, and there are people here lying. Just look at Kimura.”Hiramoto looked over at Honda. He’d remained quiet, letting the others talk, face stony. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to maintain her composure like he could. After a second, Honda opened his mouth to speak and–“Alright, everybody!” Ikari called out. He had his hands on his hips, but Hiramoto could see him shudder from her podium. “I know this is… super scary! But let’s hear Honda out, okay? We’ll do our best to understand!”Honda stared at him for a second before nodding. He then turned to Hiramoto. “Hey,” he said, “I’ll need your help here. People will believe it easier if we’re both pushing this point. Are you alright with that?”“I…” Hiramoto stared at him, then looked out at the others. To make them believe… “I… O-Okay. I-I can help…”“Thank you,” Honda smiled at her, “Can you start us off?”
[NONSTOP DEBATE: MAKE YOUR ARGUMENT!]
“U-Um,” Hiramoto began, “Honda and I… w-we um, believe that Dewa. I-Is the killer.”“And I’m telling you (it’s not true)!” Dewa snapped.“Oh shush!” Diana yelled at him, “Let her speak!”“Why do you think it’s him?” Jitsuko asked,“I’m not one for feelings shit, but saying it’s him still sounds weird.”Hiramoto bit her lip, “W-Well, I… s-see, i-it’s um. B-Because. Because he was, um…“H-He (was the only one) that… th-that could e-enter Fuji’s S-Stateroom.”“Wait, really?” Ikari looked confused. “Only Dewa?”“HOW CAN YOU BE CERTAIN THAT ONLY DEWA COULD GET IN THERE?” Esumi asked.“Maybe there was a (secret entrance) to Fuji’s room?” Chujo asked.Goto pinched the bridge of his nose, “Don’t waste our time with nonsense…”“This is so dumb,” Dewa said, shaking his head, “I can’t believe we’re even talking about this,“Besides, the killer probably just (broke into Fuji’s room), right?”“Oh, that makes sense!” Ikari nodded excitedly, “Cuz his room was (all destroyed), so of course the killer broke in!”“…that doesn’t track,” Kuno said.
[PRESENT YOUR EVIDENCE: FUJI’S DOOR]
“No, Dewa,” Honda said, shaking his head, “That doesn’t make sense.”Dewa scowled, rounding on Honda. “What’s that supposed to mean?! I doubt the doors are unbreakable!”“Agreed,” Goto said, “I’m sure a determined killer could find a way to get through one of the Stateroom doors. I would not say it’s impossible.”“W-Well… um, i-if I may…” Hiramoto chimed in, fiddling with her satchel strap. “W-We aren’t, um… s-saying that it’s… uh, imp-possible to a-actually do. I-It’s just… um… n-not possible. Th-That it was d-done. In… in this c-case, that is.”“Wait… what’s the difference?” Ikari asked.Honda tapped his podium, quickly moving to clarify, “It’s simple, really. We’re not doubting that the killer had the ability to break in. But even if they could have, they didn’t.”“It’s possible, but it didn’t happen,” Kuno summarized.“HOW ARE YOU SO SURE?” Esumi asked.Honda motioned at Uma, “Uma’s investigation of Fuji’s door proves it.”“Ah! Of course!” Uma bounced at her podium, a grin on her face. “I spent some time during the investigation pouring over the mechanisms of Fuji’s Stateroom door, as well as the Monopad scanner beside it. I found no evidence of damage to either the door or the scanner, nor any attempts of entry via tampering!”“…how the hell do you know that?” Tadamori asked, side eyeing Uma.“Oh, I have a non-negligible amount of experience with lockpicking.” She said, tapping her pencil against her cheek. “And I’m no stranger to security devices.”“I… hrm,” Amami cut himself off, then turned away.“Should we be concerned about that?” Chujo asked.“Definitely,” Jitsuko replied, shaking her head.Honda sighed, then cleared his throat. “Can we focus on the case, please?”“Fine, then,” Dewa said, his scowl persisting, “The door wasn’t tampered with. So what? Just because the killer didn’t fuckin’ blast through Fuji’s door doesn’t automatically put me in the hot seat.”“Soooooomebody’s getting defensive,” Sasabe drawled, leaning forward on her podium and grinning at him.“No shit I’m getting defensive,” Dewa snapped, “I’m not a psycho like Kimura! Of course I’m gonna object to being called a killer!”“Why are you dragging me into this?” Kimura whined.“You put yourself into this!” Diana yelled, jabbing a finger at him. “Don’t act all innocent!”“…I think Dewa makes some sense,” Chujo said.Tadamori shot him a look. “Is that all you can say about this shit?”“Well… I think I’m with Chujo on this one,” Amami said, “The lack of a break-in is definitely important, but… I don’t see how that could put Dewa in a bad light.”“Thank you!” Dewa shouted. “There’s nothing about this evidence that makes me the definitive killer! Please just… think about it for a second!”Honda shook his head. “That’s just the thing. If you think about the layout of the Staterooms, and pair it with the fact that Fuji’s room wasn’t broken into, then you’ll see why Dewa is the prime suspect.”“Don’t play coy, just tell us!” Tadamori yelled, slamming her fist against her podium.“…I think you should think about it.” Honda said after a second of thought. “But here, I’ll pose it as a question.” He glanced to the side, “Hiramoto, don’t answer.”Hiramoto blinked in surprise at Honda’s request, trying to figure out where this was going as he turned back to the rest of the group with his arms crossed.
[NONSTOP DEBATE: MAKE YOUR ARGUMENT!]
“Here’s what I want everybody to think about:” Honda began,“If they (didn’t use the door) to the hallway,“How did the killer get into Fuji’s Stateroom?”Dewa shook his head. “Dude. You can’t prove that they didn’t use the door.“There are (other ways to get through the door) without breaking it down.”“Perhaps they (propped) the door open somehow?” Goto asked.Kuno replied to him, offering a curt shake of her head, “No, that doesn’t make any sense.“When would they have had an opportunity to do that (without Fuji knowing)?”Amami chimed in, clearly deep in thought, “Let’s not get distracted from Honda’s question, though.“How could the killer have circumvented the door?”“The door is the only way I can think of, though,” Diana said.Jitsuko spoke up afterwards. “I think I have an idea.“The killer went to Fuji’s room right after killing him, right?“What if they just (used his Monopad) to open the door?”“AH, THAT MAKES SENSE TO ME,” Esumi said,“THAT WOULD GET THEM THROUGH THE DOOR (WITHOUT ANY TAMPERING).”“See?” Dewa chimed in, “There’s a perfectly reasonable answer!”“You’re awfully chatty now that you’ve been accused,” Sasabe said, a grin on her face.
[PRESENT YOUR EVIDENCE: FUJI’S MONOPAD]
Honda cleared his throat, speaking up and cutting the others off. “Jitsuko, that’s incorrect. The killer didn’t use Fuji’s Monopad.”“What the hell are you talking about?” Jitsuko asked, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms. “They killed him. They could have nabbed the thing off of him and used it to open the door.”“That could be true,” Honda said, “If we didn’t find said Monopad on Fuji’s person when we searched his body. You remember, right?”“Hrm…” Jitsuko frowned, then scowled. “Yeah, I guess so.”Amami rubbed at his chin, then interjected, “Hold on Honda. Is it possible that the killer took Fuji’s Monopad with them after they killed him, then returned it to his body once they were done with it?”“U-Uhm…” Hiramoto said, twiddling her fingers. “I-It’s, uh… n-not, um. Likely. B-Both Honda… a-and Sas-sabe said that, um… i-it likely wasn’t m-moved. From the… the b-body. That is.”“Indeed.” Honda nodded.Sasabe pursed her lips in an exaggerated expression of thought, before grinning and excitedly nodding. “Oh, that’s so true!”“Does this sound like complete BS to anybody else?” Dewa asked, shaking his head. “Cuz I have no idea how you could just know something like that.”“I MUST ADMIT THAT I’M SKEPTICAL AS WELL.” Esumi said, “BUT I ASSUME THE TWO OF YOU HAVE YOUR REASONS?”Goto rolled his eyes. “Yes, care to share with the rest of us?”Honda opened his mouth to talk, but Sasabe was quicker, planting both hands on her podium and leaning forward. “Well, things are pretty simple if you took some time to look at the body!” She said, grinning, “When you do the thing you’re good at a lot, you learn a thing or two! For example… you can tell a lot about how something was positioned based on the way blood smears and sticks!”“…er. I… I mean, yes, I do agree,” Honda looked slightly troubled, which surprised Hiramoto. She didn’t know he could get caught off guard like that. He continued, “The way Fuji’s jacket was stuck to the Monopad via blood, the positioning of the body, the actual location of the Monopad itself… There are too many things that point to the fact that his Monopad was in his pocket when he died… and remained there until we found it.”“…is anyone else, like, super creeped out right now?” Diana asked.“Majorly,” Tadamori replied.“I’m surprised, Hosu,” Sasabe said, ignoring the others, “This doesn’t really seem like your area of expertise. Are you hiding something from me?” Her lips curled up into a mischievous grin, and Hiramoto felt a shiver run down her spine at Sasabe’s teasing tone.Honda cleared his throat, seeming to compose himself. “I’m not ‘hiding’ anything. I’m just… familiar with the topic is all.” He was silent for a moment, and Sasabe opened her mouth right before Honda cleared his throat again and continued. “Anyways, let’s focus on the matter at hand, please.”“I think I’ll take Honda and Sasabe at their word,” Kuno said, brow furrowed in thought, “If we assume that the killer took Fuji’s Monopad so that they could get into his room, I find it… strange that they put it back where they found it. Not to mention that if it was moved, there should have been something that indicated it.”“I agree!” Sasabe said, then glanced at Honda, “But I still don’t see how Dewa is our culprit from this. This is a lot of ‘no evidence’ and not a lot of actual evidence.”Dewa scowled. “I’ve already said it’s not me. And yeah, all you guys are doing is shooting down ideas. You’re not presenting anything that would even incriminate me. Not that I’m sure why you’re doing this in the first place.”Honda looked over at Dewa with a tired frown, then over at Sasabe. He sighed and rolled his hand, “Fine. Let me lay it out again. Everybody, please take a moment to think about the state of Fuji’s Stateroom, okay?” He cleared his throat. “Fuji’s door was closed, with no signs of tampering or destruction. His Monopad was on his person, and we can assume it wasn’t moved. What does that tell us?”“Well,” Amami said, “If there’s no evidence of the door being used or broken through… then I guess the simplest answer is that they didn’t use the door to Fuji’s Stateroom after all.”Kuno was quick to follow up, “And we can discount the possibility that they used his window. At the least, the killer would have risked falling to the Deck and hurting themselves. At worst… they could have fallen off the ship. And that’s even assuming the window could be opened from the outside.”“A good point,” Honda said, nodding, “So, we can assume the killer didn’t use the main door to Fuji’s room, and didn’t use his window either. What does that leave us?”“Well, you guys obviously missed something,” Dewa said, shaking his head, “Because I have no idea what you could possibly be talking about.”“That’s what I’m trying to get you to think about,” Honda replied.Tadamori banged her fist on her podium. “Quit beatin’ around the bush, asshole! Just fucking tell us!”Hiramoto swallowed the lump in her throat as Honda crossed his arms. Tadamori scowled at him, and Dewa fumed, his eyes drilling holes into Honda’s head. The group murmured, and the sound made Hiramoto’s skin crawl. She sheepishly cleared her throat and spoke up.“Um,” Hiramoto said. She winced as they all turned to look at her, but pushed on, even through Dewa’s volcanic stare, “Th… the o-on-nly other… u-uhm… w-way in-nto F… Fuji’s Stateroom. Uh, w-would be… w-well.” She paused for a second to gather her nerves. No going back… “I-It w-would be the… c-conn-necting h-hallw-way.”A glance at Dewa made Hiramoto flinch. His fists were clenched to the point where his knuckles were white, and she could see his jaw tightened up as well. And though he said nothing, the way his eyes tunneled into hers when she made eye contact was all she needed to know.She was right.Hiramoto wanted to throw up.“Oh, I get it!” Diana shouted, pounding her fist into her palm. “If the killer used the connecting hallway, then they could have gone into Fuji’s room without breaking anything! There aren’t any locks or anything on the connecting hall doors.”“Ah, and that’s why Dewa is our prime suspect,” Goto said, “In order to make use of the connecting hallway to access Fuji’s room, the killer would have needed to go through Dewa’s room.”“And the only person with ready access to Dewa’s room…” Uma began.Sasabe laughed, “Is Waju himself!” She turned to Dewa, brow cocked and smile glinting, “So, how’s about it, Waju? Anybody sneak through your room recently?”“…” Dewa’s clenched fists dropped down, and he grabbed at his podium, digging his nails into the metal bars.“Answer. Now,” Jitsuko snapped.Dewa remained silent, face aimed straight down. The room was silent for a moment, a moment that felt like forever, as everybody waited for Dewa’s reply. And then… he laughed.“Ah!” He said, his posture relaxing, “I finally figured out what I was thinking of!”“…huh?” Amami looked at him, shaking his head slightly in confusion.Dewa pointed at Honda, “None of this stuff about the connecting hallway matters! I couldn’t be the killer!”“And why’s that?” Goto asked.Dewa glared at him and scoffed, “Well, shouldn’t you know? You said it yourself, we have an alibi for taking the microphone.”Goto looked baffled for a second, “I did no such–”“Shut up and think about it!” Dewa interrupted him, “Sure, anybody could have taken the knife, right? But the microphone was stolen from Honda’s lab the night before the murder. The night that I’m accounted for around the time of the theft.”Amami was silent for a second, then pressed his lips together. “He’s… he’s right. We talked about how he was with me, Goto, Fuji, and Honda around the time the microphone was stolen from Honda’s lab.”“…” Goto turned away, teeth gritted, and muttered under his breath.Honda scowled, not looking in Dewa’s direction. Hiramoto felt herself sweat as their accusation began to fall apart around them. Dewa had a point. He was there alongside the others, and they couldn’t just… revoke his clear in that situation just because he was being accused.“That’s right!” Dewa proclaimed, “As long as we agree on that testimony, then I didn’t have access to one of the murder weapons! And if I can’t access the murder weapon, I can’t be the killer!”“…while that is true,” Kuno said, “I don’t think this is something we should just dismiss so easily. There has to be more that we can look at that–”“I doubt it,” Dewa said, cutting her off. He was rewarded with a vicious glare from Kuno, “And since we don’t have any other subjects, might as well just realize that Kimura was the right answer to begin with. After all, he did do all of the prep work going into the murder.”“THAT IS TRUE,” Esumi said, “JUST BECAUSE HE COULD NOT HAVE CLEANED IT UP DOESN’T MEAN KIMURA IS ABSOLVED OF SUSPICION.”“Wait… for real?!” Kimura gasped, putting his hands to his cheeks. “So like… all that stuff was true? I really am the killer?!”Diana scowled at Kimura, “Can you put a sock in it? We’re trying to make sure you don’t die too!” She turned back to Dewa, hands on her hips, “And you! Don’t be so quick to dismiss shit! I’m sure there’s something you did that proves things!”Hiramoto racked her brain for something, anything, that she could use to prove herself right. After all, Dewa wasn’t wrong. If their evidence was right, then he was with Amami, Goto, and Fuji around when Honda left his lab, which was supposedly around the time the microphone was stolen. And if he didn’t have access to one of the murder weapons… how would he have been able to use it to kill Fuji?She looked up to the others for any kind of lifeline, something to help her out.Honda had his arms crossed, face pressed into a neat scowl. He stared down at his podium, far too lost in thought for Hiramoto to want to break his concentration.Diana leaned forward in her podium, jabbing a finger at Dewa and yelling at him. Dewa yelled back. Hiramoto couldn’t interrupt that if she tried, and wasn’t sure if it would be any sort of help at all.Kuno had a hand pressed over her mouth, her face dark. Her fury was evident, and her stare was directed in Dewa’s direction.And finally… Hiramoto’s stare settled on Uma. She pursed her lips, brow cocked, and adjusted her fedora with the end of her pen. She reached down and flipped a couple pages on her notepad, then glanced up at Dewa.Wait.Hiramoto blinked. She… she remembered something now, a piece of evidence that Uma told her would be important. And Hiramoto didn’t believe it at the time, but… but if bringing it up could lead to them solving this thing…
[SELECT EVIDENCE: MONOKUMA’S ANNOUNCEMENT]
“U-Uhm… uh…” Hiramoto cleared her throat looking up to the group. Most of them seemed to be either embroiled in some sort of argument with Dewa and Kimura, or silently processing their own information. Hiramoto bit her lip, then tried again.“E-Ex-xcuse m-me? E-Ev-very… e-everyb-body,” Hiramoto said, raising her voice slightly. It wasn’t enough, however, and Hiramoto’s voice was drowned out in the sea of anger swirling around her. Her shoulders slumped, and she tried to think of a way to make everybody listen to her, because… because this was important, and–Somebody tapped her shoulder.Hiramoto jumped in surprise, arms pulling close. One layered itself over her chest, the other went up so a fearful hand could grip at the base of her throat. She stared down at Esumi, who had also pulled back slightly, and let out a sigh.“S-Sorry…”“Please don’t worry about it,” Esumi signed, “I just heard you trying to talk and wondered if you needed any help.” She offered Hiramoto an appeasing smile, “This robot voice seems pretty good at making itself known.”Esumi offered Hiramoto a wink, which made Hiramoto’s shoulders slump. She let out a nervous chuckle, even as sweat beaded on her hairline. Her arms dropped away from her front, and she just nodded at Esumi, who smiled back and went to type something out her podium screen.“ATTENTION EVERYBODY.” Esumi’s robotic voice rang out through the speakers of the podiums, causing most of the talking to die down. “I BELIEVE THERE IS MORE EVIDENCE TO PRESENT.”Dewa snorted, “Oh, yeah? And what could you have to show us?”“Watch it,” Jitsuko growled, cracking her knuckles.Dewa gritted his teeth and winced, but backed off anyways.Esumi shot a scowl in his direction before continuing to type, “PLEASE DO NOT INTERRUPT ME SO RUDELY AGAIN. I’M NOT EVEN THE ONE WITH EVIDENCE TO PRESENT, SO STAY SILENT UNTIL THE REQUIRED POINTS HAVE BEEN SAID.” Her stare was hard, and she directed it around at some of the others alongside Dewa. Once she was sure that everybody was going to remain silent, Esumi turned to Hiramoto with a smile and a nod.“W-W-Well u-uhm. I-I… sh… should um,” Hiramoto began, her body already shivering against her will. She hated being put on the spot like this… “Th-Thank. Uh, you. Esumi. A-And I… um. B-Believe that… th-that I c-can attempt to… e-explain away the, uh, confusion. A-About who c-could have… b-been a p-participant. I-In the… y-you know…”Ikari scratched his head. “Wait… participant? I thought we were looking for the killer?”“Participant…” Honda echoed, trailing off. Hiramoto glanced over just as his eyes lit up. He turned to her, a look of awe on his face. “Hiramoto, you’re a genius.”“W-Wait… wh-what?” Hiramoto blinked in surprise. A… a genius? For… what?Honda waved a hand at her, “You’ve just… helped me connect some pieces. Please, go first. I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”Tadamori rolled her eyes, “This cryptic shit again.”“I’m sure it’ll come up in a bit,” Kimura remarked, smirking. He grinned when Hiramoto looked in his direction and flapped a hand at her, “Please, please! Continue!”“YES, PLEASE GO ON.” Esumi said, smiling at Hiramoto. “I’D LIKE TO HEAR WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY AS WELL.”Hiramoto swallowed, a nervous tickle in her throat as she glanced around at the eyes of the other students. She hated being put on the spot… but to survive…“R-Right,” Hiramoto said, glancing away, “W… w-well… I… I w-wanted to talk ab-bout… uhm… M-Monokuma’s, um. A-Announ-ncement. Fr-rom the other day.”Monokuma smirked from his throne, clasping his stubby arms behind his head. “As you should! A Captain’s words should never be ignored!”“I wish I could shut you up,” Jitsuko growled at him.“Wait, um,” Ikari spoke up, “I… don’t remember an announcement from Monokuma?”“Neither do I,” Chujo said.Uma hummed, tapping her pencil on the brim of her fedora. Her eyes then lit up, and she grinned. “Ah! I now remember! Thank you for reminding me, Hiramoto!”“I’m not sure I recall the contents of this announcement,” Goto admitted, shaking his head, “I try my best to tune out that idiot’s voice when he speaks.”“If I remember correctly, and Hiramoto, please correct me if I’m wrong,” Uma began, “Yesterday morning, Monokuma mentioned that he was disappointed in somebody on the ship, and was going to revoke his offer of a ‘prize’.”Diana frowned at the mention, “…now that you mention it, I remember that one too. But… well, I thought it was just bull. Like… it just doesn’t make sense.”It was Honda who spoke up next, his question making Hiramoto jolt with its suddenness.“Why not?” He asked.Diana blinked in surprise. “Huh?”“It makes perfect sense to me,” Honda replied. “Let’s think about it, alright? Keep two things in mind:” He said, looking out over the others, “One, the content of the announcement. And two, Hiramoto’s mention of ‘participation’ rather than ‘killing’.”With her name specifically brought up, Hiramoto was forced to stop and think about Honda’s words, and the way they began forming in her head… wasn’t something she liked at all.
[NONSTOP DEBATE: MAKE YOUR ARGUMENT!]
“Monokuma’s Announcement,” Honda began,“What was it saying if we read between the lines?”“Well, obviously…” Chujo mused,“Somebody (tried to commit a murder), right?”“That’s definitely what it seemed to imply,” Kuno said.Ikari frowned, crossing his arms, “But nobody was dead. All of us came to breakfast that morning.”“Wasn’t (Monokuma just lying) about that?”“I thought so too,” Diana said, “I think Monokuma was just trying to get a rise out of us.”Kimura grinned, putting a hand to his chin in an overly theatrical movement, “Too bad we don’t have a way to confirm or deny that truth, huh?”“Are you hiding more shit from us?” Jitsuko asked, an irritated snarl rising in her tone.“I would never!” Kimura gasped.“IF WE ASSUME THAT MONOKUMA’S ANNOUNCEMENT WAS TRUTHFUL,” Esumi began,“AND THERE WAS A MURDER ATTEMPT THAT TOOK PLACE,“IS THERE (ANY EVIDENCE) THAT SUCH AN EVENT TOOK PLACE?” [PRESENT YOUR EVIDENCE: KIMURA’S NOTE ] Thankfully, the group as a whole fell quiet for just a moment, stopping to think about the implications of such a circumstance. Hiramoto took advantage of that lull to weakly clear her throat, raising a timid hand to get attention.“U-Um,” She said.Hiramoto cringed as most of the group turned to look at her, though her eyes were locked onto one person. Kimura grinned at her, cocking a brow when they locked eyes.“N-Now that, um, Es-sumi m… mentions it. I…” Hiramoto paused, tightening her hands around the strap of her satchel, “I r-rem-member s-something, um. Else. That… th-that I think… think might b-be relev-vant.”“…REALLY?” Esumi asked, her artificial voice somehow sounding surprised. “IN WHAT CAPACITY?”Hiramoto twiddled her fingers, “W-Well…”“I’m super interested now,” Kimura said, lips curled up in a dangerous smile, “I did my own investigating too, and I didn’t find anything remotely like that.”“You realize none of us believe that bullshit, right?” Tadamori asked.Kimura shrugged, “I’m just sayin’. A murder attempt apparently occurred, and now Hiramoto suddenly has a response to it that she didn’t have before. Kinda suspicious.”“Oh, just let her talk,” Diana said, scowling at him.“C’mon!” Kimura interjected, “I’m not that bad of a guy!”Ikari scratched at his head, “Well… I’m sure Kimura’s just curious, right? It’s not like this is related to him, right?”“Th-That’s…” Hiramoto began, wincing when Ikari turned to her, “th-that’s… i-i-it’s… n-not true…”“…huh?” Ikari blinked, then turned towards Kimura, “He…”“Has no idea what you’re referring to!” Kimura finished Ikari’s sentence for him, clasping his hands behind his back. He winked at Hiramoto, “I think I would have remembered myself being related to a murder!”“You’re related to one right now!” Jitsuko snapped, tightening her hands around her podium. Hiramoto’s eyes widened as she saw the metal bend under the force of Jitsuko’s grip.Kimura tapped at his chin, “I suppose that’s right. Well then, I think I would have remembered being connected to another murder.”Kuno shook her head, “Is there a point to your posturing?”“Sigh,” Kimura said, “Fine. I guess I’ll just ask my question then.” He turned to Hiramoto, his smile persisting. “Pray tell, can you remind me of what this evidence is?”“I…” Hiramoto wilted as his directness. Why was he making her say it if he knew?… “Wh… when y-you inv-vited me i-into your room. E-Earlier, th-that is. You… you h-handed me a n-note.”“…that note?!” Kimura sounded incredulous as he asked, putting a hand to his chest.Goto narrowed his eyes, “What note?”“Hrm…” Kimura pursed his lips, glancing at Goto, then at Kuno. His eyes settled on Hiramoto, and he shrugged, causing her to wilt further. “Fine! You’re lucky I brought it with me, so I guess I can read it out. But only cuz I like you, Hiramoto!” He smiled at her, a lot softer than she had come to expect from him. It made her blush and dig her fingers into her scalp. Why was he like this?…“P-Please j-just… just r-read it,” She said.“Fine, fine,” He replied, tone playful. Kimura then stuffed his hand into his pocket, ruffled around for a bit and pulled out a plain piece of paper, folded messily into a small square. He unfolded it and cleared his throat, glancing around to see if anybody was looking to interrupt him. The room remained mercifully silent, and Kimura grinned as he held the paper up with both hands and read it out loud.“‘Hey, I’d like to talk to you about some of the others. I think somebody’s planning something. Can you come out to the Pool at 11PM tonight?’”Silence fell over the court room once again. Hiramoto’s eyes flicked to the side, and she found herself staring at Honda from behind her curtain of hair. To her surprise, there was no anger or shock or surprise on his face. Just… understanding. It made Hiramoto realize that she herself had come to the same conclusion. For Kimura to have such a note…“And that’s it!” Kimura said, beaming. He folded the paper back up and stuffed it back into his pocket.“…that’s it?” Chujo asked. “What does that mean?”Tadamori scowled, grabbing onto her podium in a white knuckled grip, “You… you wrote that out yourself, didn’t you? You fuckin’ bastard.”“Nope! Not me!” Kimura laughed, “I’ve decided to stop playing the charade. I want to live too, you know?”Amami crossed his arms and frowned. “Everything else you’ve done doesn't really line up with that, but… I’m getting the feeling that you’re telling the truth.”“As am I,” Honda said, finally inserting himself into the conversation once again. “I think that with this final piece of evidence, then we can consider this case solved.”“…we can?” Ikari asked, “How did we–”“BULLSHIT!”Dewa’s shout made Hiramoto freeze up, body going rigid at the sound. When her eyes managed to flick into his direction… she saw a total loss of composure. Something… dark flickered in his eyes, and his posture was violent and aggressive. Tadamori, to his right, leaned away, surprise painted on her face. Sasabe, on his left, leaned to the side as well, though she crossed her arms with an amused smile, less afraid or surprised and more intrigued.“Can I help you?” Honda asked.“There is no fucking way that letter solves anything about this case!” Dewa snapped, jabbing a finger in Honda’s direction. “It’s fucking stupid to just start believing anything that Kimura of all people is telling us!”“You care an awful lot about something that seems irrelevant, Waju,” Sasabe said, smirking. Dewa rounded on her, rage dancing in his eyes.“What the hell would you even know anyways?!” He snapped.Honda sighed, shaking his head, “Alright, Dewa. Then I’ll pose this question to you, if this is so irrelevant: did you write that letter?”“Of course not, you moron!” Dewa shouted, directing his volcanic gaze back at Honda. “Are you fucking kidding me?!”“If you’re this quick to deny things, that note must be important!” Uma said, scribbling something in her notebook. Hiramoto noticed her side eye Dewa, an unreadable emotion on her face.“If Dewa wrote that note,” Kuno began, “Then it would stand to reason that, at some point, Kimura and Dewa met up. And what does that mean for the case?…”“Could it mean…” Amami spoke up, realization dawning on his face, “Could it mean that Dewa and Kimura were–”“It has NOTHING to do with anything!” Dewa interrupted, volume rising. “So Kimura is obviously the killer! End. Of. Story! Let’s just vote this dumb fucker out already and be done with it!”Hiramoto’s nails dug into her arms, Dewa’s shouting making her head spin. She knew that something had to be done but… but she was not the one to do it. Just the thought of raising her voice to the levels he was getting to made her want to throw up. In fact, she felt like she might just throw up right now…Honda sighed.“Fine,” He said, shaking his head, “Get all your shouting over with, so we can end this. It’s about time, anyways.”Dewa growled at Honda, lips pulling back into a vicious sneer, “Don’t think for a fucking second that I’m just gonna let you get everybody killed like this.”
[THEORY ARMAMENT]
“How can I be the killer?!”“It’s you who’s helping my alibi!”“Besides, Kimura has been the most guilty!”“He took the murder weapons!”“He was out during Fuji’s murder!”“And he wrote the murder note!”“The fact that I could get into Fuji’s room…”“Means literally nothing compared to that!”“Plus, everybody else is unaccounted for as well!”“So anybody could have cleaned up this murder!”“You’re just making up some sort of fake connection!”“As it stands, it had to have been Kimura!”“So quit with your stupid theories and listen to me!”“Kimura is linked completely to this murder!”“And no matter what you say, I’m not! Because–”“THERE’S NO LOGICAL CONNECTION BETWEEN ME AND KIMURA!”
[FINAL CONNECTION: ACCOMPLICES]
“May I finish my thoughts, Dewa?” Honda asked.“Fuck no!” Dewa shouted, “I’m not gonna let myself be incriminated under something with no basis!”Honda shook his head and sighed, “Dewa. You claimed there’s no connection between you and Kimura. That isn’t true. If you take that note and both of your actions into account, it’s clear that the two of you were accomplices in this case.”Just the mention of the word ‘accomplice’ seemed to knock the wind out of Dewa. He immediately clammed up, sweat beading on his forehead, and looked like he’d been punched in the gut. Hiramoto peered out from behind her hair.“Exactly,” Kuno said, crossing her arms and nodding, “If the two of them were working together, then we have answers to some of our questions: how the prep work and the clean up are linked comes to mind specifically.”“I see,” Amami said, “Kimura prepared the work, and then Dewa committed it and cleaned it up.”Goto furrowed his brow, “Ah. And that would explain how Dewa has an alibi for the preparations and Kimura has an alibi for the cleanup. This was all likely planned in advance, to make this case that much harder to solve.”“S-So… so is that why it didn’t make sense for the… the m-murder to have been done by one person?” Ikari asked, “Because… because it wasn’t?”“Seems like it,” Jitsuko said, glaring at Dewa.“…wait,” Chujo said, “How do we know Dewa killed Fuji and not Kimura?”Sasabe smirked, “Think about it like this: Mura has the note inviting him to the Pool, and Waju’s quite a bit bigger than him. Doesn’t make sense for the person who wanted to commit a murder to flunk their attempt and let somebody else commit another.”“Hold on a fucking minute,” Tadamori’s face grew stormy, “Then why the hell did you even fucking help him?!” She turned on Kimura, jabbing a finger in his direction.“I ADMIT I AM CURIOUS ABOUT THAT AS WELL.” Esumi said.Kimura shrugged and folded his hands behind his back. “I don’t think that’s our priority at the moment.”“What the hell does that mean?” Jitsuko asked, eyes narrowing.“I mean,” Kimura shrugged again, “I just don’t think it’s really relevant to the case. All that matters is that Dewa and I are connected to this murder in the exact way you’ve laid out.”Chujo blinked, expression flat, and frowned, “Well, when you say it like that, it sounds like you’re lying again.”“Exactly,” Diana said, shaking her head.“I know this is a ridiculous statement to be making,” Honda said, brow creasing in concern, “But at this point, we should just believe him. No matter what Kimura himself says, the evidence lines up if we consider his words truthful.“HOW SO?” Esumi asked.“Well, let us clear something up before hand,” Uma began, butting into the conversation, “I don’t believe that anybody else could have possibly written that note, correct?”The courtroom settled into some silence before Ikari broke it, his voice pressing against the silence. “Well… I sure didn’t.”“I doubt it was anybody but Dewa,” Kuno said, arms crossed, “But if we really need to, I’m not opposed to a handwriting check. I’m sure Monokuma has handwriting samples that he could allow us access too.”“As reluctant as I am to admit it,” Monokuma cut in, “that is something I can do! I have all sorts of dirt on you slugs!”“That’s a bit creepy, even to me!” Sasabe said, snickering after. Monokuma followed up with a laugh of his own.“There’s actually something wrong with you,” Tadamori shook her head.“I think it’s safe to admit that Dewa sent the note,” Honda said.“My thoughts exactly!” Uma replied, grinning, “In that case, let’s line up all of our evidence! I believe a recap could serve us nicely!”Hiramoto’s gaze drifted back towards Dewa. The fight had fully left him, and his shoulders and back slumped in what looked like resignation. His eyes seemed… empty, and his grip on his podium was weak.Honda cleared his throat, “Uma makes a good point. I think I’ll review the case from the start, unless anybody has a problem with it.” He glanced around, and took the brief beat of silence as agreement. Honda nodded, then turned to Kimura, eyes narrowed. “I’m going to do you the favor of giving you the benefit of the doubt. Let me know if I get something incorrect, and do not lie to me.”Kimura smiled and held up a hand, palm facing out, “Scout’s honor.”Honda sighed and shook his head.
[CLOSING ARGUMENT]

“Our case begins the night before the murder itself. Our culprit singled out Kimura for their initial plan, intending to commit a murder with Kimura as their target. It was likely at this point that they took a knife from the Kitchen to use as their murder weapon. For whatever reason, the culprit’s plan failed, and in the wake of it came an unexpected result: Kimura and the culprit decided to collaborate on a murder plan together, as accomplices.“That same night, the culprit and Kimura split, immediately setting their plan into motion. The culprit made for their Stateroom, with the plan in mind to create a ruckus that gave them an alibi of sorts: a place and time that their presence was specifically noted. With that diversion, they managed to secure that alibi alongside Goto, Amami, myself… and the late Fuji. Meanwhile, Kimura set off to fulfill his part of the plan. He entered my Lab, stealing a microphone and then making a mess. This was likely to make certain that I knew the theft had occurred, with the sole purpose of giving the real culprit their alibi. It’s also likely that Kimura took this opportunity to retrieve some distinctive stationery from the Knick-Knack Shop.“The next morning, as planned, I discovered the mess that was made of my Talent Lab, and reported it to the group as a whole. Monokuma also made his announcement, which implied that somebody had failed a murder attempt. Both Kimura and the culprit kept quiet about these events, leaving the rest of us in the dark. They then simply carried on throughout the rest of the day like normal, with nobody any the wiser. Once night fell, however, they began the second act of their plan.“Sometime before the murder, likely during the evening or early parts of the night, Kimura provided the culprit with the stolen microphone, who then most likely made their way to the Dining Hall. Once it was time, Kimura delivered the note to Fuji, who was the true target of our culprit. Kimura’s note lured Fuji to the Dining Hall, with Kimura himself potentially accompanying him. Either way, Fuji made his way to the Dining Hall, where the culprit laid in wait. Once he arrived, the culprit revealed themselves, strangling him with the microphone’s cord and slitting his throat with the knife, covering both Fuji and the culprit in blood.“With his part played, Kimura chose then to return to his room, where Kuno took note of his arrival and secured his alibi for the rest of the night. Meanwhile, the culprit set out to cover their tracks, taking the murder weapons with them. They left Fuji’s body in the Dining Hall, unaware that the note Kimura had sent him was on his person. The culprit then went to Fuji’s room, intending to search it for Kimura’s note. However, as Fuji’s Monopad was on his person, that left the culprit only one way to get into his room: the connecting hallway that joined the two rooms. The culprit entered their own Stateroom and then went into Fuji’s via the connecting hallway, thereby entering Fuji’s room without either using his Monopad or breaking in.“The culprit tore up Fuji’s Stateroom, unable to find the note that wasn’t there. At some point they must have given up, instead stashing the murder weapons in the room and using Fuji’s shower to limit the amount of blood they would track around. To get rid of one last piece of evidence, the culprit took their bloodstained clothing down to the Disposal Room, before finally returning to their own room.”Honda paused for a moment, face creasing in a frown.“The culprit’s plan, whether it was theirs or not, was to commit a murder with separate parts, exploiting an accomplice as a way to muddy the results. It seems that Kimura’s involvement, whether we like it or not, was vital to solving this murder, as his own evidence helped expose said accomplice.“And the only person that accomplice can be…” Honda looked up at the culprit in question, who gripped his podium in a white knuckled grip, jaw clenched and posture rigid, “Is Dewa Junpei, the Ultimate Movie Critic.”Hiramoto fiddled with her hair. The courtroom around her was quiet as the others mulled over the results of their investigation. The only sound echoing throughout the room was Dewa’s muffled voice as he muttered and swore under his breath. She… she knew this was the right answer. But it didn’t make the revelation any easier. Dewa had… had killed somebody. And now… now, he–“Monokuma,” Kuno’s voice cut through Hiramoto’s thoughts like a bullet, “I think we’re done.”“Are we for certain this time?” Monokuma asked, his tone… surprisingly stern. Like a teacher scolding her for a wrong answer.“If you guys fake us out again, I’m gonna be real mad!” Monotaro chimed in.Honda shook his head. “No, we’re ready this time. Right, everybody?”“Well I sure am!” Kimura said, his expression still a bright grin.“I… I don’t know…” Ikari managed, fingers digging into his scalp. “I dunno…”Sasabe shrugged. “Don’t have a reason to disagree, so sure!”“That’s good enough for me!” Monokuma shouted, jumping to his stubby feet. He waved a paw around, and Hiramoto gasped in surprise as the screen on her podium lit up, folding out of her podium and slightly towards her.The screen showed her a four by four grid that filled a majority of the screen. Each cell had a shoulders up portrait of each of her classmates, as well as herself, with their name listed underneath. Fuji’s picture was grayed out, and the blood red ‘X’ over his face made Hiramoto sick to her stomach.“Since this is your guys’ maiden voyage, so to speak, I’ll give you a quick rundown!” Monokuma said, “Voting is super simple! Just pick the picture of the dirty killer classmate that you think sliced up your friend!”“AND-REMEMBER-TO-VOTE. EVEN-IF-IT-IS-INCORRECT.” Monodam chimed in.Monotaro crossed his arms and nodded, “Yup yup! Not voting is grounds for termination, so vote vote vote! It’s your civic duty, after all!”“And now, for the moment we’ve all been waiting for!” Monokuma shouted. Hiramoto looked over to him, and could see the excitement radiating from him, even through his… his evil, plush face. “The moment where our innocent students and their vile blackened face off!”“It’s voting time!” Monokuma, Monotaro, and Monodam shouted in unison.As if responding in kind, Hiramoto’s podium let out a chime, reminding her that solving a murder was not enough. She’d now have to commend somebody for their actions, with their eternal reward being… being…Hiramoto covered her eyes, feeling tears well up, and tapped on Dewa’s picture with a finger. Her arm quickly snapped back to her torso, pressing against her chest as though she’d just touched fire.A second later, her podium let out a chime, and Monokuma laughed. “It looks like the votes are in!” He proclaimed, cackling, “Let’s see who you guys chose! Have you made the right choice? Or the dreaaaaaadfully wrong one?!”The largest of the screens bolted to the scaffolding lit up with a screech of static, making Hiramoto wince. When she turned to face it, she found… another voting screen. The sixteen headshots lined the left side of the screen, with sixteen notches to the right of each one. And then, one appeared next to Dewa’s picture, and then another. And another and another, for fourteen consecutive notches. A fifteenth then appeared, marking the first, and only, notch next to Kimura’s picture.The screen then cut to static, before showing them an animated roulette wheel, cut into sixteen pieces around the edge. Each one held a picture of one of the students, and there was a large screen in the center. Hiramoto only got a brief glance before the wheel threw itself into motion.It clicked with each passing section before slowing to a stop, the little indicator finally coming to a stop over the notch marked with Dewa’s face. The screen in the middle of the roulette wheel lit up with a Dewa’s face, and golden coins poured in from offscreen as trumpets blared a fanfare.And then the screen shut off.
CLASS TRIAL: ADJOURNED!
“Kyahahahahaha!” Monokuma’s laugh resounded throughout the trial room as their podiums lowered back into their resting places. “Congratulations! I really must congratulate you bastards on a very impressive first trial! It was all I could have hoped for, really! And the best part?” His red eye glinted, “You got it right! Dewa Junpei is the cold blooded killer that you guys have been searching for!”“To think, he could murder such a trusted friend…” Monodam said, putting a paw to his ‘forehead’.“THE-WORLD-IS-SO-CRUEL.” Monodam shook his head.Monokuma put his paws behind his back and made a tutting sound. “For shame though, Dewa, for shame. Making such a blatantly incorrect vote when your classmates laid everything out so nicely for you. And you even knew the answer, too!”Dewa didn’t respond to Monokuma, nor did he leave his podium. He simply stood there, banging his fists against the bars of the podium and swearing under his breath.Hiramoto heard a shuffling sound, and watched as Kimura calmly stepped off of his podium. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, thumbs sticking out, and casually walked over to Dewa, who had now sunk to his knees. A couple of the others moved off of their podiums as well, and Hiramoto felt a compulsion to follow, if only to finally remove herself from this… this awful podium.“Well then,” Kimura said once he was standing right next to Dewa, his tone a lot more solemn than Hiramoto thought he was capable of, “Got anything you wanna tell the others?”“Y-Yeah. Yeah!” Tadamori stomped up as well, a brief flash of unsure concern on her face melting into anger. “You owe us an explanation, you fucker!”Diana walked up as well, a scowl on her face, “I wanna know why you did this too.”Dewa was quiet, staring at the base of his podium. Then, he spoke up with a wavering voice as he forced himself to his feet. “Th… the motive. The m-messages. I… I couldn’t stay in here when something like that was wrong.” Using the edge of his podium, Dewa finally pulled himself to his feet, though his gaze remained pointed down. “My… my family was calling me. Saying the payments from my agency weren’t coming through.”“Payments…” Honda mused, brow knitted. “I see…”“My family needs me!” Dewa’s volume suddenly rose, and his head snapped up. Hiramoto found him locking his gaze on her, and her body froze up. “My mom, my siblings… they depend on me! And… and if those messages were true…” Dewa looked away, threading a hand into his hair. “If they were true, a-and I’m here… I-It means somebody was… choking out those payments. R-Right?”“Somebody like Monokuma…” Kuno mused. Hiramoto glanced in his direction, and was met with a devilish grin. She turned away.Surprisingly, Amami walked forward, lightly pushing past a protesting Goto and a concerned Esumi. He walked up to Dewa and lightly put a hand on his shoulder. “Dewa. I’m sorry. But… you’ve got to explain what happened. You and Kimura…” He trailed off.Hiramoto looked at Dewa’s face, just in time to see a sudden flash of anger. His expression twisted into a vicious glare, and he shoved Amami to the side. Amami stumbled into Tadamori, who grunted at the impact. The two just barely managed to avoid falling over.Dewa stomped up to Kimura, who let out a chuckle and held his hands up, palms out, in some sort of surrender. Dewa refused the nonverbal show of submission, his hands flying forward and seizing the collar of Kimura’s sweater vest in a vicious two handed grip. He gave Kimura a furious shake, and the others moved forward in surprise, Hiramoto being jostled along as well.“Hey, watch the shirt,” Kimura said, his tone rather calm, considering he was being throttled.“It was you!” Dewa shouted in Kimura’s face, ignoring his words. He then turned to the others, face desperate, “It was him, it was all him! Everything since the other night was Kimura’s idea, all of it! You should have heard what he said to me!…”“A knife, huh?” Kimura asked, grinning as though Dewa wasn’t pointing a rather sharp knife at his windpipe. “Not very original, if you ask me.”“Are you… are you kidding me?” Dewa asked, adjusting his grip on the knife. “I… I’m going to kill you, and that’s all you can say to me?”“Fair enough, fair enough,” Kimura shrugged, “I’m thinking too hard about this, I guess. Very well! Do what you gotta!” He clasped his hands behind his head, leaving his neck in a somehow more vulnerable position than before.
Dewa’s nerve faltered, the tip of the knife drooping as his arms slackened slightly, “Are… are you serious? You’re not even gonna fight back?”
“Is that what you want from me? Pff,” Kimura snickered, “Of course I’m not! You’ve got the jump on me. Can’t really run without getting knifed, and you seem a heck of a lot buffer than I am. Plus, we’re a bit far away from the Staterooms for me to beg for my life. Not that anybody in them could hear me.” Kimura smiled at Dewa, “Still, this is a plan with a whole lot of holes.”“You… you’re actually insane,” Dewa said. What else could he say, when Kimura was acting so casual about his inevitable death?“Maybe,” Kimura shrugged, “But I figured I’d offer some pointers, since I’m gonna die anyways. Your plan isn’t very sound, logistically.”
Dewa felt his eye twitch. This… this guy. “Why are you thinking about the logistics of your own murder?!” He snapped, “Do you even know what kind of position you’re in?!”
“Hey now, Mr. Murderer!” Kimura responded, holding his hands up, palms out, in some form of surrender. “You’re the one that’s trying to kill me!” He sighed and shook his head, letting his hands fall to his sides. A grin painted his face, one that made a pit form in Dewa’s stomach, “But lucky for you, I’m feeling very helpful tonight.”“Wh…” Dewa felt his arms slacken further from surprise, and almost took an involuntary step back. “...what?”
Kimura’s grin grew larger. “Well, let’s say it like this: you’ve got me right where you want me! It’s my cooperation, or my life! And, to be honest, I’m a bit keen on living a while longer, despite what I said earlier.”
“You’re… you’re fucking with me,” Dewa said, his arms finally drooping, the knife dropping away from Kimura’s throat. Kimura’s smile curled up wider. “Even if I accepted… Why would you help me?”“’Cuz I want to survive,” Kimura said simply, smile softening as he locked eyes with Dewa, finally looking at him. “And surviving is no fun if it’s easy.”“…and then he helped me plan out the murder,” Dewa finished, turning to glare at Kimura face to face. “He didn’t even tell me who it was that he picked to kill.”“D-Did he… really say that?” Ikari asked, his face contorted in horror.“More or less,” Kimura replied, shrugging as best he could with Dewa holding onto him. “Granted, he left out some of the other stuff, but that was the basic gist of it.”“You’re more messed up than I thought,” Sasabe said, her expression soon curling into a coy grin, “I’m impressed.”Tadamori shot her a venomous glare, “You’re seriously fucked up.”“You see?!” Dewa shouted, shaking Kimura to emphasize his point, “He’s crazy! It’s all his fault!”Suddenly, all of Kimura’s pleasantness dropped away, and his expression melted into one of contempt. “Oh, you can’t seriously believe that,” He said.The change in tone was evidently enough to throw Dewa off, as he moved Kimura away from him and blinked in surprise. “H… huh?”“I hate to agree with Kimura, but he’s right,” To Hiramoto’s surprise, it was Kuno who spoke up in Kimura’s defense, her face as flat as normal. Her hands were in her pockets, and her posture was relaxed, but her tone was anything but.“Wh-What?!” Anger flared in Dewa’s eyes, as he dropped Kimura and rounded on Kuno, “Did you not hear what he just said?!”“Oh, knock it off,” Kuno said, a scowl forming on her face, “You can keep blaming Kimura all you like, but that doesn’t change the fact that you went and murdered somebody that you claimed was your best friend here,” Her words made Dewa flinch, and she kept going as though she either didn’t notice or didn’t care. “Do you know how disgusting it is for you to do something like this, and then try and thrust the blame onto somebody else, even after it’s been revealed that not only did you commit this one, but you made an attempt at somebody else?”Diana took a step forward, clearing her throat and reaching out in Kuno’s direction. “H-Hey, Kuno–”“B-But I–” Dewa tried to speak up, cutting Diana off, and got interrupted by Kuno in the process.“But nothing,” Kuno snapped, “At any point within the last few days, you could have looked at yourself or what you were doing and realized that murder wasn’t going to solve anything. And yet you ignored all of that and killed somebody anyways. You played right into Monokuma’s hands, and you have nobody to blame but yourself.”“Oh, I most certainly agree,” Kimura chimed in, his tone still cold. He wiped off his knees and looked Dewa over, “I gotta say that I’m disappointed in you, man. I picked Fuji specifically cuz I didn’t think you’d kill him, y’know?”Hiramoto’s blood ran cold at that statement. Kimura… didn’t think Fuji would die?“No way…” Chujo murmured next to her.Dewa stood frozen, eyes locked onto Kimura in shock.“You know how many times I heard you say that Fuji was your best pal on this ship?” Kimura asked, brow furrowing and mouth turning down into a frown, “And yet you were so desperate to bail that you killed him anyways. I was really willing to let the whole ‘attempting to kill me’ thing go, too. But then you had to go and subvert my expectations.” He sighed and shook his head, “You really let me down, man.”“What was with that whole speech on wanting to have fun, then?” Goto asked, arms crossed, “You told us that Dewa was telling the truth when he let us know what you said.”Kimura shrugged, “I really do believe that. Surviving off of stuff that’s boring is worse than dying in an exciting way. But sometimes it’s more fun to not play the game at all, y’know? And I think it would have been awesome to get somebody to quit on the game by forcing them to play. But… well, that didn’t happen, did it?”“And it’s not going to!” Monokuma interrupted, “Because I’ve heard enough bashing of my precious Killing Game! Besides, the peanut gallery has gotten enough time to mouth off. This trial isn’t over just yet, after all. There’s one more veeeeeeeery important part!”“I-It’s not over?” Ikari asked, biting a nail.Honda scowled, glaring at Monokuma, “No, it’s not. Monokuma hasn’t gotten to conduct his ‘punishment’ yet.”“Exactamondo!” Monokuma cheered, prompting cheers from the Deckhands as well.“H-Hold on!” Dewa cut in, pushing the others to the side so he could approach Monokuma’s throne. “I… I’m sure there’s some kind of, like… m-mistake, right? Or something?”Monokuma just smirked, “Are you saying that I make mistakes?”“I–” Dewa began.“Trick question, you filthy troublemaker!” Monokuma shouted, jumping to his feet, “Of course there’s no mistake! And for the Ultimate Cruise Liner’s first killer, I’ve prepared a veeeeery special punishment!”Dewa’s face filled with panic, and he turned to the group, “Guys, I… I don’t deserve this, right?!”Hiramoto covered her face with her hands, wetness already pricking against her palms. At her side, she heard Chujo shuffling, and somewhere behind her, Ikari started crying.“Bye bye,” Kimura said, voice flat. He wiggled his fingers at Dewa.“Let’s give it everything we’ve got!” Monokuma continued.Tears beaded up in Dewa’s eyes, and he frantically glanced around the group, looking for sympathy from somebody. Anybody .“Guys,” He said, “P-Please…”“It’s… PUNISHMENT TIME!” Monokuma yelled, brandishing a gavel of sorts.“PLEASE!” Dewa shouted.Tears started to run down Hiramoto’s cheeks as the ‘bang!’ of a gavel striking metal reverberated through the trial room.
GAME OVER!

JUNPEI DEWA HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY

TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!
Dewa let out a soundless scream, head whipping around. The other students averted their gazes, nobody looking at Dewa save for one person. Kimura’s lips pressed together, and Dewa reached out in his direction, just as the clanking of metal filled the room. A metal collar on a chain dropped from above, suddenly snapping around Dewa’s neck. Before anybody could react, the chain went taut, and Dewa shot upwards, disappearing into the space above the courtroom and screaming all the while. The ceiling snapped shut with a sense of finality, just as the screens all over the room sprung to life and Dewa’s punishment began.Dewa catapulted into a pitch black room, the collar around his neck releasing him. The chain it was attached to disappeared into the darkness, leaving Dewa alone to catch his breath. His moment of respite didn’t last long, as four more chains erupted from the floor beneath him, the clamps on the end snapping shut around Dewa’s wrists and ankles. They tugged him backwards, and Dewa rolled across the ground, finally being pulled to a stop in a plastic chair with red padding. Dewa winced, eyes shut, and when they opened again, lights on the floor lit up.
BOX OFFICE BLOWOUT
He was in a movie theater, dead center in the first row. The screen was blank before him, and a little paper cup of soda dropped into his seat’s cup holder. Dewa desperately tugged at his restraints while a small window in the back of the room lit up, a projector peeking through. The screen, now lit up by the projector, simply displayed words, heavy set and harsh: ‘DEWA JUNPEI: LIVE ACTION!’ And underneath, in smaller, softer text, read: ‘Viewers: 15’. In the front row seats around Dewa, fourteen cardboard cutouts of faceless people popped up, nestled calmly around him.The viewer count on the screen ticked up to 16, and sweat began to drip down Dewa’s forehead as a similar cutout popped up in the seat directly behind him. The onscreen number ticked up to 30, and the row behind him filled out. Then the row behind that filled up, and the number ticked up to 45. And it kept ticking upwards, and the theater filled up with an army of cardboard cutouts. The counter stopped at ‘Viewers: 255’, and for a second, the theater was quiet. Dewa’s eyes darted around, sweat pouring down his brow. And then the counter ticked up to 256.The cardboard cutout in the first seat of the first row detonated.Smoke filled the air, and Dewa coughed as it wafted in his direction. The air took a second to clear, and when it did, Dewa looked over. An identical cardboard cutout had replaced it. The counter ticked up to 257.The next cutout exploded. And then the counter ticked up again. And again. And again and again, until smoke and ash began to fill the room, and Dewa winced as an ember landed on his cheek, leaving it singed. And when the number got to Dewa, his seat jolted, and his shackled tightened.The counter began ticking up faster and faster. The air grew dark with smoke, and the seats began to catch fire from the sheer force of heat forming within the room. Dewa began coughing and hacking regularly, unable to prevent himself from inhaling the smoky air. His shackles tightened and his chair rattled, drawing blood from his joints and throwing him into the surrounding fire. The explosions grew larger and brighter, each flash filling the room over and over, harsher and harsher, until it became impossible to tell anything apart.The counter paused briefly at 255,000,00 viewers. And then ticked up one more time.The ceiling collapsed.After a moment, the shaking stopped. The fires were put out by the falling of rubble, and the smoke and ash dissipated soon after. Most of the theater seemed heavily damaged, but the front row was the worst by far. The entire row of seats was covered in rubble, the center seats most of all.At the back of the room, the projector, seemingly damaged, flickered to life once again. Rubble partially obscured the screen, but the words on it could still easily be made out: ‘Viewers: 15’. Part of the rubble shifted, and a small dribble of crimson leaked out from underneath. The message on the screen changed.‘Viewers: 14’.The lights went out, plunging the theater into darkness.“Kyahahahahahahaaaaaa!” Monokuma cackled, flopping into a sitting position and kicking his feet. “Yes yes yes! What an amazing first execution! That’s the kind of thing that gets the blood pumping!”“Ooh, I might be sick,” Monotaro said, putting both of his paws on his stomach. “That was… that was super grisly, to be honest.”“HE-PAID-THE-PRICE-FOR-HIS-ACTIONS.” Monodam said, “PERHAPS-OUR-NEXT-CULPRIT-WILL-BE-MORE-CAREFUL.”“Very well said!” Monokuma nodded in agreement. He then cocked his head, putting a paw to his chin. “Speaking of, it’s awful quiet down there.”Hiramoto’s head was full of static. She wasn’t really sure where she even was. At least, not until Chujo’s voice broke into her brain with a single word.“Ow.”The sound of his voice brought her back to the present. She stood amongst the others, posted in front of one of the large monitors within the trial grounds. The tension in her fingers made itself known, and Hiramoto became aware of the fact that she was holding Chujo’s bicep in as tight a grip as her hands could manage. Something dripping off of her chin made Hiramoto realize that her cheeks were damp, soaked by the tears that poured down her face.To her side, Chujo seemed… only mildly perturbed, his lips pressed together in a thin line. He was looking not at the screen, but at her, a slight bit of concern in his eyes. Hiramoto locked her gaze onto his, and her fingers finally loosened a bit. Chujo seemed to relax.Around her, Hiramoto could finally begin to hear the scattered words of some of the others.“Even for somebody like him… Something like that…” Jitsuko muttered, jaw and fists clenched. Her entire posture seemed taut, not even Esumi’s hand on her side seeming to settle her down.“Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god,” Ikari repeated to himself, both hands on his head. He slouched, curling in on himself, as tears rolled down his cheeks.Uma was quiet, her pencil held tight in her hand. It then broke with a sudden ‘snap!’, and Uma bit her lip. Amami and Tadamori, standing near her, were similarly quiet, though Tadamori’s lips moved as she uttered an incomprehensible flurry of words under her breath.“I’m not really religious, but…” Sasabe trailed off, then clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. Even still, a slight smile played on her lips.“Well, I see that everybody is taking this well!” Monokuma said, looking extremely pleased with himself. “In fact, I believe I can see the despair seeping in, even now. Or, I suppose I should say especially now, upupupu…”Goto was the first to speak up, looking… frightened, despite his tone and his words. “You’re worse than a monster, you know that?”“A monster would at least make it quick,” Sasabe commented, eyes still closed in whatever prayer she was conducting for Dewa.“Yeah, you’re fucking crazy!” Tadamori screeched, finally seeming to find her words. “You’re off your fucking rocks!”Diana scrubbed at her eyes, looking up at Monokuma with a teary glare, “What’s wrong with you? What kind of… anybody does something like this?!”“What’s wrong with me?” Monokuma repeated, cocking his head in… confusion? “Why, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with me.” His confused expression turned into a smirk, “In fact, maybe there’s something wrong with you!”“How can that be a position you’re taking?” Honda asked, arms crossed, “Aren’t you the one who shoved the motive in our faces?”“Maybe so, maybe so,” Monokuma said, “But I’m not the one who took advantage of it, huh? I’m not the one who sliced one of you bastards up for the sake of that motive.”Kuno sneered at him, “That doesn’t absolve you of anything, you realize. At the end of the day, it’s your fault that two less people are alive.”“Oh really?” Monokuma asked, stitched on grin still curled up in a grotesque smirk, “I’m the one who caused all of this? So are you telling me that I’m the one who decided to kill Fuji? I came up with an elaborate plan to try and get away with his murder? I worked up the resolve to commit one of the most vile deeds known to humankind, despite the positive urging from my ‘friends’?”“B-But…” Hiramoto found her voice slipping out, “Th-The… the m-mot-tive…”Monokuma flapped a paw at her, “Oh, come now. Let’s not pretend that I’m the only source of motives in the entire world,” His red eye glinted, and Hiramoto tightened her grip on Chujo’s arm again, “It’s not my job to come up with reasons that you rotten children will kill, after all. It’s just my job to find the right ones,” His smirk stretched just a touch wider, “You’ve all got your reasons. I just need to figure out what they are.”“Gh…” Kuno grunted, almost seeming like she wanted to say something. She then turned away and stuffed her hands into her pockets.“But enough about me!” Monokuma said, jumping to his feet and starting to climb down from his throne, “That trial was exciting, sure, but it was also long as all get out! I’m tired. So, I’ll go warm up the Speedboat, and we can return to the Ultimate Cruise Liner once you guys get off your sorry asses!”And with his final word, for now at least, said, Monokuma scurried off the way they’d come in, Monotaro and Monodam at his heels.And now it was just the fourteen of them.The room was silent.And then there was stomping.Hiramoto barely had time to process the sound of such heavy footsteps before she and Chujo were roughly shoved to the side, the two of them collapsing to the floor in a tangle of limbs. Hiramoto let out a surprised squeak as they toppled, and Chujo just grunted as he hit the floor. Within a second, Uma, Diana, and Kuno were over them, kneeling nearby and making sure they were okay.While Diana fretted, Kuno grabbed Hiramoto’s shoulder, pulling her up slightly, and unintentionally giving Hiramoto a view of what was happening. To the side, Goto had also been pushed to the ground, and Amami attended to him with a look of concern. Uma had pulled Chujo away slightly, and she smiled at him while he rubbed his head.The problem, however, lied with Jitsuko. Rage painting her face, she held Kimura aloft by his neck. Kimura’s face was slightly red, his hands clasped around her wrist and his legs swinging for purchase. And even still, he held a strained half-smile, though the grip on his neck probably meant he couldn’t say anything.“You son of a bitch,” Jitsuko hissed.“Jitsuko, hey!” Honda shouted. He began moving towards her, as did Esumi. However, somebody else was faster.Ikari flew forward, throwing his whole body into a shoulder tackle that connected squarely with the side of Jitsuko’s rib cage. Jitsuko grunted from the impact and stumbled to the side, the sudden force making her let go of Kimura. He collapsed to the ground in a wheezing heap, and Ikari and Jitsuko stumbled a few feet to the side.“Stop!” Ikari shouted at her, putting both hands to Jitusko’s side. Once the two came to a stop, he shoved with both hands. Jitsuko found her footing, however, and Ikari was forced to move back instead of pushing her further away. Still, he squared his shoulders, looking confident despite the tears in his eyes and the redness of his cheeks. “Stop it!”“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Jitsuko growled, balling her fists. “If you ever do that to me again, you’re done. You hear me?!”“I…” Ikari faltered, but only slightly, “I-I’m not afraid of you, okay?! Just stop!”Jitsuko’s expression pulled back into a snarl. Before she could do anything else, though, Esumi ran up. Jitsuko glanced down at her, then winced as Esumi reared back and slammed a fist into her stomach. It didn’t do much besides drawing her attention, but Hiramoto assumed that was the intent. “H-Hey!”Hiramoto couldn’t see very well from her position on the floor, but caught the gist of what Esumi said.‘What is wrong with you?!’ Esumi signed, ‘What are you thinking?!’“What am I thinking?!” Jitsuko asked, looking surprised at Esumi’s question, “I’m thinking that Kimura’s half the reason this entire situation happened in the first place! Instead of just telling anybody that Dewa tried to kill him, he fucking helped him!”“That… that’s true,” Goto said as Amami helped haul him to his feet. “This all could have been avoided if Kimura had done the… the logical thing.”Tadamori rounded on Kimura, shooting him a glare, “Yeah! He’s a fucking menace with no care for any other person here!”“The sooner we take care of this problem, the better,” Jitsuko said, stare dark.Esumi trembled with anger, staring at Jitsuko, but left her hands balled up in fists at her sides. Something about that made Jitsuko turn away, looking almost, but not quite, ashamed.“You guys need to cool your jets,” Kuno said, speaking up from Hiramoto’s side, “I don’t like him either, but think about what you’re saying.”“No, fuck that!” Tadamori responded, jabbing a finger in her direction, “We should be angry about this! He was willing to kill everybody here! Including himself!”“That’s true, that’s true!” Sasabe said, finally seeming to be done with her prayer, “How safe is it, realistically, to let Mura keep running around, if he’s willing to do stuff like this?”“Exactly,” Jitsuko said, straightening her back. She moved to take a step towards Kimura.Esumi planted herself firmly in front of Jitsuko, staring up at her with a stern glare. Ikari also shuffled over to stand next to Esumi, spreading his arms out.“No more fighting,” He said.“I-I’d… really ap-preciate it…” Kimura wheezed, coughing to help catch his breath.Honda’s voice cut through the tension like a blade, and his frigid tone made Hiramoto feel sick. “I’ve heard just about enough,” He said. Hiramoto was surprised to find that Honda didn’t just look mad… he looked furious . “If you want to die so bad, take it up with Monokuma. Don’t get the rest of us involved.”His words sent the group into shock. Hiramoto felt her hands fly up to cover her mouth, and Diana gasped quietly at her side. Kuno tightened her grip on Hiramoto’s shoulder. On the floor, Chujo blinked in surprise. Esumi whirled around to face Honda, shock on her face, and Ikari offered Honda a scared look from over his shoulder.Jitsuko, however, matched Honda’s fury. “What the hell are you saying to me?” She growled, jaw clenched.“I’m saying,” Honda replied, looking unfazed, “That since you’re clearly so interested in killing somebody, you might as well make it yourself to save our group the trouble. Go talk to Monokuma.”Jitsuko began shaking, clearly bubbling with rage, but Diana took that moment to cut in, voice confused, “Honda! Don’t you… don’t you think that’s too far?! There’s telling somebody to knock it off, and there’s telling somebody to kill–”“No,” Honda snapped, cutting her off, “If Jitsuko, or anybody here, really, thinks that Kimura would be better off dead, then you’re the reason this Killing Game is going to continue.” He turned to Jitsuko with a glare, addressing her specifically, “You hear me, Jitsuko? This is going to continue through your actions, if you can’t learn to control yourself. You’re going to be the one getting people killed, not Kimura.”Without further discussion, Honda turned heel and marched off after Monokuma and the Deckhands, back towards the Speedboat.Hiramoto felt her head spin, and not just because she got thrown to the floor like this. All this talk of death and murder and being at fault… she truly couldn’t wrap her head around any of it. It just… it just didn’t make sense. And plus… with Jitsuko and Tadamori and Kimura and everybody all fighting and yelling… she… she was starting to feel… unsafe.So to Hiramoto’s surprise, her body pulled itself to its feet. Her arms clasped against her chest, and her legs took off after Honda. She heard a shout behind her, calling after her, but she couldn’t stop herself. She wanted to be anywhere but in that trial room. And if Honda, who had kept her going throughout the trial, was leaving… then she was leaving too.The walk wasn’t long, but the difference between the trial room and the Speedboat was undeniable. Thankfully, neither Monokuma nor his Deckhands were anywhere in sight as Hiramoto slowed her pace, ducking into the dark confines of the Speedboat that had brought them here.It was hard to believe that they’d been taken here just earlier that day.The inside of the Trial Speedboat was just as murky and dark as she’d left it. The only sources of light were the light streaming in from the open door and the tiny blue lights lining the floor. And the only person in the Speedboat was Honda, slouched in his seat. One arm draped over his knee, while the other was used to prop his head up, face against his palm. He didn’t even say anything as she approached.Hiramoto didn’t know what to do.It wasn’t like she really liked what Honda said or how he said it… but she couldn’t say that she disagreed either. At least, not completely. She would never tell anybody to die, but… but that was just the thing. She didn’t want Kimura to die either. Even… even after… Hiramoto’s thoughts trailed off, and she did nothing else before shuffling over to her assigned seat. She then timidly cleared her throat.“U-Uhm. H… Honda?” She managed.He looked up, and a slight bit of relief crossed his face when he saw her. “Oh,” He said, “It’s just you.”“Y-Yes, um,” Hiramoto replied, looking down at her lap, “J… just, um. Just. Just m-me.”Honda sighed, putting his face back into his hand, “I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant.”“No, I… I-I underst-tand…” Hiramoto said, keeping her voice low. Not that she was sure she could get it any higher. She swallowed the lump in her throat and worried at her satchel strap with her fingers. “A-Are you… um. Okay? I-I mean… a-are you…” Hiramoto trailed off, and found that she wouldn’t be able to finish the sentence, as Honda had looked back up and was now staring her down.He sighed again, then shook his head, “Yes. Well… yes. I think I will be,” He said, “I should apologize for speaking like that. Despite my moral disagreements, the way I phrased things was terrible. It’s just that… hearing people talk like that… really pisses me off, to put it harshly.”“You can say that again,” Another voice said. Hiramoto turned in surprise, finding Diana standing there in the Speedboat’s doorway, lips pursed. “For a public speaker, you’re awfully unclear about what you mean sometimes.”“Fair enough,” Honda replied, “It’s just that, well, hearing people talk as though the solution to death is more death… I become furious just thinking about it.”“I mean, agreed,” Diana replied, taking a few steps into the Speedboat, “But that phrasing didn’t help anybody. It was a bit too harsh, if you ask me.”“I don’t think it was harsh enough, personally,” Kuno said, stepping into the Speedboat after Diana, “If anything, you should have chewed them out more. Maybe then they won’t be thinking stupid shit like that.”“Hey!” Diana said, turning to Kuno with a glare. “We’re not here to encourage everybody fighting!”Kuno rolled her eyes and made her way over to her seat, “I’m not here to do anything. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth for them to talk about killing each other, but what the hell are we gonna do about it?” She dropped herself into her seat and cocked her brow at Diana. “They need to realize one way or another that their desires are going to lead to a lot more death. This is just the nicer way of going about it.”Honda looked between the two of them and then sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I appreciate your views on the matter, you two.”“Ah…” Hiramoto began, only to tense up when she felt an arm sling over her shoulder.“You know, we could always use me as bait for killers,” Kimura said, leaning into Hiramoto’s arm, “Since I’m apparently such a hot commodity. I’m glad you want me alive though, Honda!”Honda turned to Kimura, blinking at his presence. Then, his face contorted into a scowl, “First off, don’t touch people without their permission,” He said. Kimura grinned and unhooked his arm from around Hiramoto’s shoulder. It was then that she got a glimpse of the angry red and purple marks darkening on his neck. Honda continued.“Second off, let’s not make any misconceptions here:” He said, “I think you’re a terrible human being. Even if you were trying to prevent Dewa from murdering, like you insinuated, there were far better ways to go about doing it,” He turned away, “But I don’t think you deserve to die. Nobody should be wanting anybody here to die.”“I definitely agree. But you,” Diana said, marching over and grabbing Kimura’s bicep in both of her hands. She hauled him to his feet, “Need to back off. Go sit in your seat.”“Alright, alright, I get it,” Kimura said, “I’ll behave.” He then trotted over to his seat, gingerly placing himself down and folding his hands in his lap.Diana came over to Hiramoto and stood next to her, making small talk that Hiramoto simply nodded along to. There was too much going on… After a minute or so, the other students began trickling in. Amami, Goto, and Sasabe arrived as a group, soon followed by Uma and Ikari. Tadamori and Chujo arrived after them, and Chujo offered Hiramoto a small wave as they entered.The last ones to arrive were Jitsuko and Esumi. The former still seemed… well, angry, and Esumi didn’t look much happier. Regardless, they made their way into the Speedboat and found their seats.Hiramoto turned to Esumi, whose face was scrunched up in thought. She thought about signing something to Esumi, but decided against it when she noticed how deep in thought Esumi looked.The door to the Speedboat closed without fanfare, leaving the interior barely lit up. The Speedboat itself roared to life, and Hiramoto tried to ignore the tense, awkward silence that filled the area. Her fingers drummed on her thighs and worried at her satchel, while her feet tapped and prodded at the floor.Nobody talked as the door to the Speedboat swished open, and nobody talked as they filed out into the cage elevator. The sun was still overhead, and Hiramoto guessed that it was some time in the afternoon. It… didn’t feel right for the weather to be so nice after… after something like this. The ocean lapped at her shoes through the floor of the elevator, and they began ascending, back onto their prison.Welcome back to the Ultimate Cruise Liner.The moment the doors to the cage elevator snapped open, most of the group immediately dispersed. A couple of them made their way in the direction of the Pool and the Talent Labs, while the rest made way for the Hotel itself. Hiramoto found that she could only make it out onto the Deck, just outside the threshold of the elevator, before her legs gave out and she dropped to her knees.“H-Hiramoto!” Diana was quickly at her side, reaching down and grabbing one of her shoulders, “I… are you okay?”“N… no…” Hiramoto murmured. No… she wasn’t.“I…” Diana began, then stopped. She sighed and crouched down next to Hiramoto, eyes downcast, “I don’t think I am either.”“Well, to be honest, I think I’m doing alright,” Kimura suddenly spoke up, making Hiramotot jolt in surprise and Diana scowl. He was standing nearby, having evidently changed his mind about heading into the Hotel with anybody else.Diana shot him a glare, “What the hell do you want?”“I just wanted to ask Hiramoto a question, really,” He said, shrugging. “Just wanted to know if she had any fun during the trial.”Hiramoto winced.“Wh–” Diana sputtered, then jumped to her feet. She marched up to him and puffed out her chest, “Where do you get off, asking stuff like that?!”Kimura glanced at Diana and narrowed his eyes, “Hush!” He snapped, causing Diana to lean back in surprise, “Lemme speak to her! Sheesh.” Kimura shook his head, then looked back at Hiramoto, “So? Have any fun?”This… Hiramoto felt like this was some kind of… of loaded question. And yet… Kimura looked at her so sincerely that she felt like she had to… defend herself, almost. “N-No!” She managed, sinking back into her hair and tugging at it lightly with a hand. “H… h-how could… could a-anybody have… f-fun i-in s-something like… like that?…”Kimura nodded, “That makes sense. It’s probably for the best, too.” He tapped at his chin, then offered Hiramoto a disturbingly comforting smile, “If it makes you feel any better, I thought you did pretty well!” And then he was off, casually walking back towards the Hotel, just like the others.Silence settled over the Deck after Kimura left. Hiramoto felt lost in her own head. All she could feel was a buzzing sense of static. She… she wanted to go home. Anywhere but here…“Hey, Hiramoto,” Diana’s voice was soft, surprisingly so, “Let’s just head back to our rooms, alright?”Hiramoto felt herself climb to her feet, Diana’s hands helping to pull her up. Going to her room… sounded like a good idea for now.
CHAPTER 1

MARITIME BREEZE, ANTIQUE DESPAIR

END

REMAINING STUDENTS: 14

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

INTERVIEW

THEATER

1

“So uh… what is this, exactly?”“Oh, it’s pretty simple! I just figured that, since you’re one of my special passengers, I’d ask you a few fun questions. You seemed like a pretty well read guy, so… why not, y’know?”“I… don’t think I do, to be completely honest. Why me specifically?”“Well… the others are kind of… quite a bit more ‘out there’ than you are. I’d like a down to earth perspective during this interview!”“Ugh. I don’t really like this, but fine. I’ll participate. I guess I don’t really have a choice, do I?”“Hey, I’m the one asking the questions here, mister! But since you’re one of my favorites, I’ll answer that question for you: you already made your choice! You made it a long, long time ago, actually. This is just following up on that promise.”“That… was a rhetorical question… Wait, was that related to my memories? I don’t remember making any promises.”“Bzzt! You’re out of questions! It’s my turn to talk now!”“But I–… Ugh, fine.”“So for our first question, let’s get to know each other a little better, hmm? What do you dislike about your family?”“D… dislike?”“Well, it’s so easy to rattle off a list of made up redeeming qualities that we’ve convinced ourselves is true when it comes to people you’re forced to feel something about, just cuz you’ve lived with them all your life. So I want us to think harder! What about your family grinds your gears? What makes you wanna beat ‘em up?!”“N-Nothing! I love my them! Why would I want to think poorly about my family?!”“Bah, c’mon! There’s gotta be something! Even something small, something that pisses you off! Maybe they always take your chair at the dinner table! Maybe they never close your door all the way! Maybe they stabbed you one day and refused to apologize! Think!”“I… have never been stabbed by my family. But fine, I’ll think about it. Just… just gimme a second…”“For sure!”“…”“…anything?”“…fine. Sometimes my dad never lets me know how he’s doing. He gets sick sometimes and… and I really wish he would see me like an adult who can help him. Same for my brother. I know I’m out a lot of the time, but… I wish they’d let me help them in a way more personal than sending a chunk of cash to their bank accounts. And my sister… she’s so sweet, but… I dunno, I hate to tell her to give me some space some times, but I just… need it occasionally.”“…well, that’s a bit more tame than I expected, but I suppose I got what I asked for when I asked somebody like you to say ‘anything’.”“Well, what were you expecting from me?”“I think you know what I want. Upupupupu…”“…eugh. Can I go?”“Not yet! The questions are done for now, but I’ve got something you’ll wanna see! Trust me! It relates to your friends!”

CHAPTER 1 BONUS EVENTS

Vegetable Platter – A shrink wrapped
plastic
platter of all sorts of
fresh
veggies, from carrots, celery, and tomatoes to chayote and romanesco.
There are four small sections filled with different dipping sauces.
You can give it away, but something good might happen if you keep it.

T

he object fell at Fuji’s feet with a plastic

‘clunk’

. He frowned and kne

eled

down, grabbing one side with each hand and staring at it. This…

“Ew,” Dewa said, “That can’t still be good.”“Well, it appears sealed,” Uma said, tapping her pencil against her chin, “Perhaps it could still be fresh? We are in the dark as to how Monokuma actually operates this… device.”Fuji glanced up at the device in question. The Monomono Machine stared back at him, and Fuji’s brain forced him to relive one of the most embarrassing events that had happened yet on the Ultimate Cruise Liner.“You’re BORED?!” Monokuma snapped. His raised volume drew the attention of most of the remaining students in the Dining Hall, save for Chujo, who continued to snooze at his table.“Th-That’s not what I said!” Fuji protested, glancing around at the curious stares now pointed in his direction. “I was just wondering if… if there was anything else to the ship! I figured I’d ask you, since it’s… uh, yours?”“Hmph,” Monokuma huffed, “You children are so picky. I can’t believe I’ve given you the entirety of the Hotel and Deck to mess around with, and you still find yourselves bored.”
Fuji cringed, unable to ignore the feeling of everybody watching, “That’s not what I was saying,” He repeated.

Monokuma shook his head. “Fine, I understand that kids these days can’t make their own fun. I was willing to let you guys figure this out on your own, but you clearly needed my help. I’m not going to give you the answer, obviously, but I’ll give a hint. Have you found any of these?” His question was quickly followed up by him holding out a paw.

Fuji blinked and leaned over, almost missing the sound of a few of the others shuffling over to look as well. In his paw was a small golden coin, emblazoned with Monokuma’s own face. It glinted in the fluorescent light.
“Go on,” Monokuma urged, “Take it.”
Fuji gingerly reached down and plucked it from Monokuma’s paw with his finger and thumb. Once the coin was in his hand, Fuji remembered Monokuma’s question, and shook his head. “N-No. I haven’t seen any of these before.”
“Figures,” Monokuma sighed, “Well, these little numbers are scattered all over the ship. If you find enough of them, you might be able to exchange them for a little prize at a certain somewhere. And that’s all you get from me! Happy hunting!” And with that, Monokuma turned heel and disappeared, walking behind a table and vanishing from sight.Fuji sighed, thinking about how silly this was. He’d asked Dewa and Uma if they had any coins, and the three had pooled their resources to get… this thing. Fuji didn’t think that they’d even be able to get food out of this thing. He thought it was just… toys and stuff, from what he could see through the glass.“What do you think, Fuji?”The sound of Dewa’s voice shook Fuji from his thoughts. He glanced up, finding Uma and Dewa staring down at him. Dewa’s eyes kept flicking back to the platter in Fuji’s hands, while Uma stared at him, brow raised. Fuji again looked down to the platter of vegetables and prodded at the plastic sealing it shut. Well… it seemed pretty well sealed…“…I think I wouldn’t mind trying it,” Fuji finally said. Dewa sighed, shaking his head, while Uma pumped a fist.“Yes!” She exclaimed, grin growing on her face.Dewa kept his eyes locked on the vegetables, “I’m not much of a ‘greens for a snack’ kind of guy, but… if you think they’re good…” He trailed off.Fuji nodded, “I think… they should be fine? Monokuma seemed pretty keen on us getting stuff out of this thing. I can’t imagine he’d punish us for using it.”“Plus,” Uma chimed in, “It’s against the rules for him to kill us! I doubt he would poison it.”“And I guess it looks fresh enough…” Dewa said, the slight grimace on his face remaining. He then sighed, clasping his hands behind his head, “I’m only gonna eat these outside, though. Weather’s too nice to die eating bad veggies inside.”“Now that I can agree with!” Uma chimed in, grabbing the brim of her fedora, “I’d much rather suffer when the weather’s pleasant!”Fuji couldn’t help but laugh as he pulled himself to his feet. He’d much rather… not suffer or die at all, but… but at least they were being positive about it?…Sheesh.Despite everything, if Fuji had one nice thing to say about their imprisonment on the Ultimate Cruise Liner, it would be that the weather was pretty reliably nice. As he stepped out onto the Promenade with Dewa and Uma, a soft, salty breeze ruffled his hair. The sun beat down on the top of his head, and he instantly felt some of the tension leave his back at the pleasant warmth of the midday air.To his left, Dewa yawned. To his right, Uma let out a quiet hum.Fuji supposed that, if things remained like this… perhaps waiting for rescue wouldn’t feel so long.He resumed walking, plastic platter of vegetables held in both hands. Dewa and Uma were only a step behind, easily catching up to him with a couple large steps. They strolled down the Promenade, the area somewhat surprisingly empty. The Pool, however, was not.Fuji found himself approaching the pair at one of the tables near the Pool. Esumi looked pleased to see them. Jitsuko… not so much.“What the hell do you guys want?” She asked.Esumi let out a soundless chuckle and turned to Jitsuko. ‘Don’t be like that,’ she signed, then turned back to Fuji, ‘Good afternoon.’ After signing, she also leaned to the side and waved at Dewa and Uma. The former seemed to perk up a bit now that he was near Jitsuko, while the latter offered Esumi a smile.“Good to see you,” Fuji said. He sheepishly looked away and let out an awkward laugh, “I’d sign back, but uh…” He trailed off, lifting the vegetable platter for emphasis.The motion caught both Esumi and Jitsuko’s attention. Esumi cocked her brow in surprise, while Jitsuko narrowed her eyes. Esumi raised her hands to sign something, but Jitsuko spoke faster.“What is that?” She asked, pointing at the platter.“Oh, that?” Uma replied, glancing at the platter itself. “Seems to be some sort of vegetable tray. Looks like something you’d pick up in the supermarket for a snack.”Jitsuko rolled her eyes, “Yeah, I can see that. That’s not what I meant.”‘Where did you get that?’ Esumi asked, staring at the platter with evident interest, ‘I haven’t seen anything like it on board.’“W-Well…” Fuji again laughed awkwardly, looking down at the deck, “We sort of, uh… pooled some Monocoins. And got it out of the, uh… the Monomono Machine.”

Jitsuko glanced at Fuji with some evident disgust. “You used that thing?”

She asked.

Fuji felt himself wither at her

question

.

“Y-Y’know,” Dewa suddenly chimed in, hand on the back of his head. He laughed stiffly before continuing his thought, “We should, like, try it out together.”“…huh?” Uma was the first to voice her confusion.
Fuji found himself surprised into silence. He thought that Dewa wasn’t interested in the vegetables, but… what had cha–
“Fuckin’ hell,” Jitsuko said, “I don’t know how many times I have to say this shit. I don’t like hanging out with fans.” She snorted and crossed her arms, “It’s fuckin’ weird.”Ah. That was it.
Dewa seemed to panic a bit now that he was found out, “W-W-Well, I… I mean, it wasn’t that, really!” He blurted out, “While… while, uh, hanging out with… y’know
the
Solar Fist would be fuckin’ awesome, uh… w-we were out here to do this anyways. Right guys!?” He turned to Fuji for backup.
Fuji blinked, staring back at Dewa in surprise. Uma scratched the side of her head with her pencil, then looked in Fuji’s direction as well. “Uh… yeah,” He said after a… longer moment of silence than he was expecting to hold, “We just… uh, came out here to enjoy it. We didn’t know you’d be out here.”Jitsuko narrowed her eyes at Fuji, and he began to sweat. Why did this suddenly feel like an interrogation?…“It’s true!” Uma exclaimed. Fuji let out a sigh of relief as he finally got some backup, “And I’m uncertain as to Dewa’s true motives,” She glanced at Dewa, who grimaced and turned away, “But I just wanted to enjoy some greens out in the sun. Though… I guess there are oranges too. And reds…” Uma trailed off, glancing back at the platter to check the color of the available veggies.“We’re not trying to be weird about this, I swear…” Fuji chuckled, “We were gonna do this anyways, so… might as well invite some friends?”Esumi and Jitsuko turned to look at each other. An extremely amused smirk had settled onto Esumi’s face, while Jitsuko just looked… annoyed. Her brow scrunched up and her lips pursed. Esumi broke into a grin, and Jitsuko’s eyes flicked over to Fuji. He swallowed thickly and offered her a shaky grin.Jitsuko sighed. “What do you think, Esumi?” She asked.‘I think this seems like fun!’ Esumi signed back. Fuji felt himself deflate in relief. She continued signing, ‘I know that some of the others are a bit unruly, but it’s not a bad idea to be nice to people! Plus, they’re not so bad, and I’m interested in the food.’Jitsuko seemed to chew on that for a few moments before grunting. She turned to Fuji and scowled. “Fine,” She said, “We’ll play along. But I get the first piece.”“It’s all yours,” Fuji said, happily holding out the platter to Jitsuko. He wasn’t sure he was ever in any danger to begin with, but sincerely felt like he’d just dodged a bullet.Jitsuko took the platter from Fuji and took a moment to inspect it. Esumi clapped her hands in excitement and leaned forward to watch. Uma pouted a bit about something, but leaned forward to watch anyways. And Dewa… when Fuji looked over at Dewa, he seemed… like he was probably going to be okay. A shaky smile painted his face, and his shoulders were slumped in what Fuji hoped was some type of relief.Fuji perked up at the sound of peeling cellophane. Jitsuko had easily yanked the plastic wrap off of the platter, and Fuji watched in anticipation as she plucked a single, tiny carrot from one of the sections. Esumi gingerly reached forward as well, and just barely poked at one of the sauces in the middle of the platter. She pulled away with a tiny dollop on the pad of her finger.Esumi and Jitsuko looked at each other for a moment. Esumi then slowly moved her sauce covered finger to her mouth, keeping eye contact with Jitsuko all the while. Jitsuko simply watched her, carrot in hand. Esumi put the tip of her finger into her mouth, and the group was quiet as she sat there.
A smile broke out on Esumi’s face. Jitsuko let out a satisfied huff, and tossed the entire tiny carrot into her mouth, a satisfying
‘crunch’
sounding through the air. Esumi turned to Fuji and offered him two thumbs up.
‘It’s good!’ She signed, ‘Come have some! It’s yours, after all!’Uma pulled up a chair of her own and happily positioned herself at Jitsuko’s side. Jitsuko glanced at her, then shook her head, sighed, and slid the vegetable platter in her direction. Seeing movement, Dewa let out an audible sigh of relief and pulled out a chair, dropping himself into it.
Fuji grabbed a chair as well, placing himself in between Dewa and Esumi. Esumi smiled and signed in his direction,
‘Hey, thanks for including us. I know Jitsuko is a handful sometimes.’
‘Don’t worry about it,’ Fuji signed back, using his hands now that they were free. ‘She’s,’ He paused, ‘a bit scary, but I’d like to be her friend. I’m glad to hang out with you guys.’Esumi smiled. She reached over and slid the vegetable platter back in their direction. Uma protested, a strange yellow vegetable sticking out of the corner of her mouth, and Jitsuko snorted and grabbed something for her before it got out of range. Esumi pushed it in Fuji’s direction, and Dewa took the opportunity to grab a tomato.‘Thanks,’ Fuji signed. He reached forward and grabbed something of his own, one of the more exotic ones. This… this wasn’t so bad.

Antique Glasses – Proof that you’ve cleared Chapter 1. A memento of Yota Fuji. It’s a functional replica of a replica of one of the first pair of glasses ever created.

Fuji stared down at the empty page of his notebook, the pristine surface of the page almost seeming to taunt him. He desperately wanted to do some kind of menial task, anything to take his mind off of the motive and his family, but… well, when he was alone like this, with nothing but his thoughts, it was hard to do anything but.

A quick glance at his Monopad revealed that it was only a little after 11. It hadn’t been long since the Nighttime Announcement had played and everybody had gone to their Staterooms for the night.

Which left

Fuji alone to think about nothing good and everything that was going bad.

He grunted, trying to think about any of the antiques he’d been studying prior to his kidnapping. There were so many things he wanted to remember, and it was starting to piss him off that he couldn’t recall anything. Fuji moved his pencil, putting graphite to paper, and was about to just start scribbling in frustration.The connecting door clicked open, and Fuji jumped in his chair.“Ah, sorry,” Dewa said, head poking into the room. He looked a little guilty and directed his gaze towards the floor, “That’s my b. Should have knocked first.”“It’s alright,” Fuji replied, putting his pencil down. Thank god. “What’s up?”Dewa sighed, pushing the door the rest of the way open. He seemed dressed for bed, with just his boxers and an undershirt on. He pushed a hand through his tousled hair and pressed his lips together before speaking, “I’ll be honest, man. I’m havin’ trouble sleeping. This motive is just… fuckin’ ruining everything.”“Yeah…” Fuji nodded, looking down at his notebook, the page still empty save for a tiny marking where his pencil had touched it, “I’m admittedly not doing so well myself. Too much to think about.”“For real,” Dewa said, shaking his head, “This is all super fucked up. Dunno how Monokuma could get all this crap on us.” He ran a hand through his hair again, this time leaving it tangled up at the top of his head. Dewa sighed again, and glanced at Fuji, “Well, I actually came over here to talk to you about it, kind of.”Fuji blinked. “Talk to me?”“Kind of,” Dewa repeated. He lowered his hand and offered Fuji a crooked smile, “Wanna go stargazing with me?”“…huh?” Fuji asked. “Stargazing?”Dewa grinned at the lack of an outright objection, “Yeah! This shit is stressing me way the hell out, and I always like to go stargazing when I’m stressed.” He chuckled, breaking eye contact and looking to the floor in embarrassment, “And, y’know, it’s always better to have somebody with you. So I figured I’d ask you to come with. I know it’s kinda weird, I guess, but you’re probably the coolest person here, so I thought I’d ask.”Fuji paused for a moment. Stargazing with Dewa?… Well, it’s not like he had a reason to oppose, and he was looking to take his mind off of this whole situation for a bit. Fuji offered Dewa a smile. “Sure. Sounds like fun.”“Sweet,” Dewa said, his grin shifting into something that seemed far more comfortable than it did before. “Lemme put some pants on.”Fuji watched Dewa duck out, and looked down at himself. He was in his sleeping clothes as well, so maybe it’d be best if he changed too…He took a minute to pull on his pants and one of his many, many identical jackets, and not long after, Dewa entered through the connecting hallway, pants on as well. They didn’t speak as they left through Fuji’s door, quickly making their way out to the Deck.Fuji took a deep breath of the salty nighttime air as the Hotel doors swung open. It was cooler out now that the sun was down, and the only real sound in the air was the sloshing of water against the Ultimate Cruise Liner’s hull and the rolling waves. It occurred to Fuji that he’d never been outside the Hotel while the sun was down. The ocean almost seemed to fuse with the sky at the horizon, wrapping the world in a blanket of deep purples and blacks.Dewa took the lead, tromping off down the Promenade. Fuji was quick to catch up, moving to Dewa’s side. Their footsteps broke the strange tranquility of the night, and Fuji found himself staring down at his feet.Once they’d arrived at the Pool (which Fuji noted was now lit up with little yellow lights that caused the pool water to take on a sea green hue), Dewa dropped himself down onto one of the reclined pool chairs, letting out a huge sigh once he was relaxed. His hands clasped behind his head, and he stared up at the night sky with a… surprisingly peaceful look that Fuji realized he’d never seen on Dewa’s face until now. Fuji quickly followed suit.Somehow, as Fuji stared up at the night sky, he found some of the tension draining from his body. The night sky… was the same as it always was. The moon, shining down onto them. Splashes of color painted across the dark canvas of the sky, winking lights that signified far away worlds and stars that could scarcely be imagined. It made everything feel so small. Fuji laid his hands on his stomach and just stared.Fuji blinked in surprise as Dewa’s laugh cut through the stillness of their stargazing. Fuji glanced over just in time to see Dewa turn his head, a smile on his face, “This is so weird, man,” He said.“…really?” Fuji asked, “What do you mean?”“I dunno, really,” Dewa said. He rolled back onto his back, eyes directed up. Moonlight reflected in Dewa’s eyes and highlighted his hair, “Is it weird that this feels… so normal?”“How so?” Fuji asked, continuing to look at Dewa. He… almost felt like he understood what Dewa was saying, but didn’t want to assume.Dewa shrugged. “Dunno. A lot of the time I just…” He trailed off, and Fuji saw his brow knit into a frown, “I feel out of place,” He continued, “Like I don’t belong anywhere, y’know?”A sadness that Fuji didn’t know was creeping up on him suddenly hit. The kind of sadness that settled into his chest and made it feel empty. Fuji sighed, propping his head up with his arm so he could continue looking in Dewa’s direction. “…yeah. All the time.”Dewa laughed, something that sounded more sad than Fuji felt it should have. “Ain’t that the truth. Just a couple of dudes who were promoted to a life different from everybody else, just cuz the government told us we were special, am I right?” He let out another stale laugh, then continued talking after a moment’s pause.“You know that I’ve never met another Ultimate before this?” He asked, “You’d think that I’d have met, like, an Ultimate Director or an Ultimate Actress, or even somebody like… I dunno, an Ultimate Stagehand. But I guess I’m just a critic. No reason to meet all of the people involved in the process.”“Yeah…” Fuji said, unsure quite how exactly to respond to Dewa. His words rang true, but… Fuji wasn’t sure how to phrase his own.Dewa shrugged again, glancing in Fuji’s direction, a slight smile on his face. “I think it’s kinda funny that the only reason I feel kinda normal with you is ‘cuz everybody else is so crazy.”

That

caused Fuji to laugh, the sound escaping him involuntarily. Fuji rolled onto his back, feeling Dewa looking at him even as he leaned back into his chair. “I feel that a whole lot,” Fuji said, finally finding his words, “I wasn’t super popular, even before the whole ‘Ultimate Student’ thing. If anything, it just drove me further away from everybody else my age. I guess, deep down, I felt like I’d never have, like…

friends

friends ever again. But… but I feel like I’ve made a connection with everybody here, in a way that I haven’t ever done before…”

Fuji glanced to the side, finding Dewa staring at him intently. Fuji couldn’t do much more than offer him a small smile, which Dewa returned. He then flopped back down onto his back, face pointed up at the stars once more, and Fuji followed suit. They sat in silence for a little while longer before Dewa broke the silence again.“Have you thought about it, Fuji?” He asked.Fuji turned to him, confused. “Thought about what?”“Killing,” Dewa said simply, keeping his gaze locked upwards.The response made Fuji jolt in surprise, and he jerked up into a sitting position, staring at Dewa in surprise. Dewa remained reclined in his chair, hands clasped behind his head and face neutral.“I…” Fuji found himself at a loss for words. “I-I would never!”“Good,” Dewa said, finally looking at Fuji. His face was solemn, lips pressed thin.

Fuji opened and closed his mouth a few times before finally finding the question he needed to ask. “I… wh… would… have

you

?”

“I don’t know. No,” Dewa said, looking away from Fuji, “Maybe in self defense. It’s hard to say, I think.”Fuji wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that, if he was being honest. To speak so lightly of… of doing what Monokuma wanted. It was hard for him to think of it. Before anything to same came to mind, Dewa continued.“Fuji,” He said, “I hope you don’t think this is weird for me to say,” Dewa’s eyes shifted to look in Fuji’s direction, “But… out of everybody here on this ship… I wouldn’t dream of hurting you, man.”The sincerity of the statement caught Fuji off guard. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he found the only word that came to mind in response, “Huh?”Dewa laughed, a flat sound, and flicked his eyes back up to the stars, “Sorry. It’s super weird, I know. But, like… well, I dunno. It’s only been a few days, but I’ve never, like… had a connection with somebody like this before. With somebody like you. It’s… it’s so strange, but I don’t want it to stop, y’know?”“Ah,” Fuji replied, staring straight at Dewa. It was only when he looked over again, this time in response to the sound, that Fuji found the strength to speak his mind, “I… I think I feel the same way. I think that… I think you’re a really nice guy, Dewa, and I,” Fuji glanced away, feeling… strange about the words that wouldn’t stop coming out of his mouth, “I’d really like to stay friends with you when we make it out of here.”When Fuji looked back at Dewa, he was surprised to find his eyes wide, moonlight glinting in them. Dewa stared at him, mouth slightly open in surprise, as he propped himself up on his elbows. After a few moments of silence… Dewa laughed again. This one, however, was light, yet weighty. Dewa’s shoulder’s shook and his mouth curled up into a wide smile.“For sure! For sure,” Dewa said, sitting up more formally. He placed his arms onto his knees and laughed again, “I’ll take you to a movie, I think. Somethin’ that isn’t out yet, and we can critique the shit together. And then we can get dinner or somethin’.”“I…” Fuji found himself unable to suppress the smile growing on his face, a warmth spreading through his chest. “I’d love to. That sounds awesome!”“It’s a date then,” Dewa said.The stars sparkled overhead, and the moon watched from its perch in the sky.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

BEGIN CHAPTER 2 :
A FUTURE WRITTEN ON STAINED PAPER

DAILY LIFE
“Gooooooooood morning, passengers of the Ultimate Cruise Liner! It is now 8AM, which means Nighttime is now over!”“ALL-LOCKED-AMENITIES-ARE-NOW-AVAILABLE-FOR-USE. HAVE-A-VIBRANT-DAY.”Hiramoto opened her eyes.The screen in her room shut off with a hiss of static, leaving Hiramoto alone with nothing but the distant, muffled slosh of water against the ship’s hull and the ringing in her ears. Her body felt heavy with lethargy, a dark weight settling into her chest and preventing her from doing anything but rolling onto her back.She never thought she’d help investigate a murder.Or cause an execution.A sudden force pushed Hiramoto to her feet. She knew why she was up before taking her first step, and each one moved her further than the last. She tossed her bathroom door open, dropped to her knees in front of her toilet, and blew chunks. It felt like acid, forcing her nails to dig into the porcelain.Hiramoto coughed, leaning back and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Unrefined and disgusting. Gross. She shakily reached forward, closing the toilet and collapsing back onto her butt, back hitting the wall. It felt awful. Gross and awful. Hiramoto reached up, gripping at her neck with a hand. Sweat slicked and burning up. Just like D–She turned towards the shower on her hands and knees and hacked up bile onto the tile floor.A while later, Hiramoto emerged from the bathroom, face damp and a few messy locks of hair stuck to her face with sweat and water. Her stomach churned, but was thankfully empty after her… earlier stint. In fact, her everything felt empty as she dropped herself down onto her bed, then fell back, hair fanning out around her. It was all awful. Awful, awful, awful. Awf–A knock sounded off of the connecting door, shocking Hiramoto from her downward spiral. She jerked into a sitting position.“C-Come in!” She managed.Diana’s head popped into view, a tired smile on her face. The connecting door swung the rest of the way open, and Diana shuffled in. “Good morning, Hiramoto,” She said, “I know it’s kind of early, I just got up myself, but… well, I wanted to know if you’re okay to talk about something really quick.”Hiramoto blinked. Talk? Her mind spun, trying to figure out what she’d done that would warrant something like this. When she couldn’t find it, Hiramoto swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. “S-Sure.”“Cool,” Diana said, adopting a lopsided smile. Hiramoto watched as she shut the connecting door behind her (the same kind of connecting door that Dewa–), and shuffled over to the bed. “Mind if I sit?”“Um,” Hiramoto replied, looking at Diana, and then back down into her own lap. Her stomach churned at the idea, already nervous now that Diana was in her room like this, near her like this, but forced down the sick feeling in her gut and nodded. “O-Okay.”Upon getting approval, Diana plopped down, bouncing Hiramoto slightly as the mattress displaced. Diana twiddled her fingers, mouth drooping into a frown. Hiramoto found that she couldn’t figure out what to say, and remained silent for a few seconds longer than she meant to. As she opened her mouth in an attempt to bring something to this strange circumstance, Diana found her words first.“Hiramoto,” She began, staring down at her lap, “Do you… trust me?”The question caught Hiramoto off guard, enough to distract her from her concerns on their proximity. Did she trust Diana? It was enough that Hiramoto could only parrot the question, not quite understanding what Diana was leading into. “D-Do I trust you?…”“Yeah,” Diana said, narrowing her eyes at her hands, “I know that, like, we worked together during the investigation and the trial. And I like hanging out with you. But, like, Dewa and Fuji were super close too. And I’m worried that it might make you think that, like,… I’d eventually hurt you, or something.”“A-Ah…” That was all Hiramoto could think of to reply with. To be honest… she didn’t not trust Diana. Everything she said was true, after all. They’d worked together, and Fuji and Dewa were really close. But Diana tried her best to include Hiramoto in a way that… that felt genuine, and… and Hiramoto liked it. Even if she felt awkward and bad and confused about how Diana approached her and talked with her and included her sometimes… it was still effort that was new to her, towards her. And… and she liked it. She liked somebody caring about her like this. So…Hiramoto swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to find her voice. Something about the movement drew Diana’s attention, and Hiramoto stiffened as she looked at her. Hiramoto diverted her gaze, staring at her plain bed sheets and trying desperately to find her words.“I… hmm,” Hiramoto finally settled on. “I… like… b-being. Um. Or, rather, hanging out with you. I… d-don’t think you’re… a b-bad person. Or… somebody who, um, would want to. H-Hurt somebody, th-that is.” She wasn’t sure about ‘trust’. It… was a strange, heavy word that she wasn’t sure she wanted to say, especially in a situation like this. But… she did like Diana.Surprisingly, Diana lurched forward, snatching up Hiramoto’s hands with both of hers. Hiramoto felt her body go rigid at the sudden contact, unable to do anything but stare.“I promise I won’t hurt you,” Diana insisted, her voice deathly serious, “I’m not gonna hurt anybody here, especially not you. You know you can trust me on that, right?”It took Hiramoto a few tense moments to work up the ability to speak once again. Her hands felt clammy, too cold from her sweat and too warm from Diana’s insistent grasp. She swallowed the lump in her throat and tried her best to force out the words she knew would appease her.“I-I underst-tand,” Hiramoto managed, “I… I know.”“Okay, good,” Diana replied, finally releasing Hiramoto from her grip and rolling back onto the balls of her feet. She noticed Hiramoto let out a heavy sigh and turned away, embarrassed smile on her face. “Sorry. I just… wanted you to know that I wouldn’t do something like… that. I don’t like to keep things bottled up, and I wanted you to know that I’m… always here if you need me, y’know?” She turned to point her smile in Hiramoto’s direction.Hiramoto pulled her hands back into her lap and looked away as well. Her hands tingled, strange and unfamiliar sparks jabbing into her skin. She… hated being touched. Her lips pressed together, and Hiramoto found the reply she was looking for. “Th… thank you. I-I… I app-preciate… uh, y-your trust.”Diana glanced away, attention snapping away from Hiramoto for a moment. Her eyes then snapped back and her entire demeanor seemed to soften a little bit. “Oh, right,” She began, “Uma swung by a minute or so ago and asked if we were coming to breakfast.” Diana laughed, the sound somewhat solemn, “I told her I needed a few. Plus, I wanted to check up on you. Wanna go together?”Hiramoto thought on that. One one hand… she didn’t particularly want to see anybody right now. The fact that the fourteen of them still on this ship had condemned Dewa to his death, even if he had taken the life of one of their friends, still hung heavy in her head. On the other hand… Hiramoto glanced towards her bathroom and felt her stomach do a flip.“I…” She began, fisting her hands in her bedsheets, “I’m not… not hun-ngry. B-But… I d-don’t want to… t-to be in here. A-Any more.”“Of course,” Diana said, nodding in understanding. She held a smile, but was clearly not happy, “I get it. Well… I’ll get ready, and we can head out when you are?”Hiramoto stared down at her hands and swallowed the lingering bile in her throat. “Y… yeah.”Diana left her alone, disappearing through the connecting door, and Hiramoto stared at her hands for a few moments once Diana was gone. She… she felt sick.Still, Hiramoto forced herself to her feet, spurred into motion now that she was expected to be up. All she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry, but she was out of tears for the moment, and figured she might throw up again if she remained in her room for too long. So she got dressed and knocked on the connecting door and headed out with Diana once she answered.The hallway was quiet, just like normal. Today, however, the quiet poked at Hiramoto, its presence sharp rather than comforting. It served to remind that they were down two people. Hiramoto grabbed her bicep, digging her nails into her skin through the material of her shirt. At her side, Diana sighed.“I hope everybody’s in the Dining Hall,” Diana said.At the mention of the Dining Hall, Hiramoto flinched. They were… really going back. Back where Fuji was…Diana’s voice cut through her thoughts, “But… I guess I don’t blame people for not wanting to show up, huh?” This time, her sigh was far heavier, almost ragged in how exhausted it sounded. “Still… we gotta eat, right?”“Y… yeah…” Hiramoto nodded. At least she could agree on that.The two began their trek through the silent halls of the Ultimate Cruise Liner. Hiramoto noticed herself dragging her feet along the carpet, and Diana’s steps were heavy at her side. She was ashamed to admit that she’d forgotten what their purpose on this ship actually was before yesterday. To leave this Cruise Liner…Lost in thoughts, Hiramoto didn’t notice where she was until she’d bumped into Diana, letting out a surprised squeak. Blinking her eyes, she took in the area around her, finding herself and Diana right under the staircase in the Lobby, standing just in the entrance of the hallway. And that’s when she saw him.Monodam was posted outside of the door to the Elevator Room, his huge green machine gun leaning up against the wall next to him. Upon noticing the two of them, he gave a stiff wave.“GREETINGS.” Monodam said, “PLEASURE-TO-SEE-YOU-THIS-MORNING.”“What are you doing here?” Diana asked, putting herself further between Monodam and Hiramoto.Hiramoto cleared her throat, easily looking over Diana, “I-Is… is e-everyone… okay?”“YOUR-FELLOW-REMAINING-STUDENTS-ARE-FINE.” Monodam replied to Hiramoto, then turned to Diana, “I-AM-GUARDING-THIS-DOOR. YOUR-ENTRY-IS-NOT-PERMITTED.”Diana glanced back at Hiramoto, confused, to which Hiramoto just offered a weak shrug. She turned back to Monodam and scowled, “What’re you talking about? We could enter just fine the other day.”“I-AM-NOT-YET-PERMITTED-TO-SAY.” Monodam said, “YOU-WILL-SIMPLY-HAVE-TO-WAIT.”Diana pursed her lips and looked at Hiramoto. Hiramoto turned to Monodam, who just stared up at them with a blank expression. Hiramoto bit her lip, then turned back to Diana. “M-Maybe we should… should j-just, um, go. T-To breakfast. And… and come back. Uh, later.”“Hrmm…” Diana let out an annoyed hum and turned to look back at Monodam one final time. She then sighed and shook her head, “You’re right. We should think about this with everyone else.”With that settled, Diana turned and walked off. Hiramoto lingered for a moment, staring at Monodam, who simply just stared back. She clenched her hands anxiously, looking at the door to the Elevator Room before heading after Diana. What was happening?…Hiramoto caught up to Diana, who stood at the doors to the Dining Hall, waiting for her. Hiramoto felt her stomach turn at the sight of the doors, and came to the conclusion that she probably wasn’t eating breakfast today. Or maybe even ever again, to be honest. Diana shot her a half-baked smile before turning and pushing the doors to the Dining Hall open. And inside…It was almost empty.The huge space that was the Dining Hall seemed even bigger with everybody that was inside gathered around a single table. Ikari sat hunched over, chewing on his lip and poking at a half eaten breakfast. Amami leaned back in his seat, his chair balanced precariously on its back two legs while he stared up at the ceiling. Sasabe had her feet up on the table and fiddled with a lock of hair that was hanging into her face. And finally, Uma seemed intensely focused on her notepad, scribbling with fervor.The four collectively looked up as the doors swung open, and Diana let out a surprised noise.“Wh-!” She said, looking around, “Is… is this everybody?!”Hiramoto couldn’t stop her eyes from looking around the room, tuning out Diana for a moment. The Dining Hall… looked pretty much as it had just before… before the ‘incident’. And somehow, that made the entire thing all the more creepier. Perhaps… she would skip lunch too.Ikari’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. “Yup. This is everyone,” He said, clearly dejected, “I… I tried to knock on all the other guys’ rooms, but Amami is the only one that answered.”“And here I am,” Amami said, splaying his hands out.Uma sighed and put down her notebook, “My story is much the same as Ikari’s, I’m afraid,” She said, shaking her head, “However, I did talk to Esumi, and she mentioned that she’d try to get Jitsuko to come too. However…” She frowned, “It’s been quite some time already. I visited them before you, Diana.”“Ah,” Diana said, face falling into a concerned frown, “Guess I can’t blame anybody for not wanting to be here…” She trailed off, grimacing, “At least we’re here now?”“And thank goodness!” Sasabe chimed in, offering Hiramoto a smile, “It was suuuuuper awkward before you two got here.”Amami shot Sasabe a frown before shaking his head and standing up, his chair plonking back into place, “Well, at least you guys are here. That’s good enough for the moment,” He said, “Lemme pull up some chairs for you.”“Thanks,” Diana replied, turning to Hiramoto as Amami shuffled over to one of the other tables, “Let’s get something to eat.”Hiramoto only nodded, feeling a growing sense of dread in her stomach. Despite it, she shuffled after Diana and prayed that she’d be able to keep something down.She just prepared something small in the Kitchen, something to nibble at more than anything else, and headed back to the Dining Hall when Diana was ready. The others were as they left them, though two chairs had been placed between Sasabe and Amami. Hiramoto sat down next to Sasabe, while Diana went next to Amami.Hiramoto barely had a few minutes to enjoy a couple bites of breakfast before the doors from the hall opened up and Monokuma marched in, all on his lonesome.“Well, well, well,” He said, “Such low attendance this morning! Why are all my students playing hooky?”“You know why,” Amami replied, a stormy look growing on his face.Sasabe hummed, balancing a fork on her finger, “Almost like something happened in here the other day…” She said.“It’s certainly a shame!” Monokuma said, waltzing over and hopping up onto the table. He came to a stop on Ikari’s plate, “I had something to give you lot, but I’m not gonna do it without everybody here!”Ikari looked with obvious dismay at his sullied plate, “M… my breakfast…”Uma looked up from her notepad and patted Ikari on the back, “Why can’t you simply make a call over the intercom?” She asked Monokuma, “Surely you have the ability.”“Tch,” Monokuma made a sound like clicking his tongue, and crossed his stubby arms over his chest, “Do you even hear yourself? Why should a bear do a human’s job?”“Isn’t making announcements literally your job?” Diana asked, scowling, “You’re the captain, right?”Sasabe snorted, “Yeah, maybe you should do your job better!”Monokuma growled, then threw his hands up, “You know what?! That’s it! If you’re going to make fun of me like that, then you have to go get everybody else!”“Why are you getting so offended?” Amami asked, face creasing into a confused frown.“It’s in the job description, is it not?” Uma reiterated.“You’re all so ungrateful!” Monokuma snapped, throwing his arms up, “That’s why I’m so mad! I do so much for you, and this is how you repay me? Respect your elders!”“But…” Ikari chimed in, “But you’re the one who trapped us here…”Monokuma huffed, “I’ll hear absolutely no more of this. If you guys want my present, you’ll have to gather everybody up yourselves. That’s what you get!” And with a childish snort, Monokuma hopped off of the table and left the Dining Hall, leaving a silence to settle over the room for a moment.“What a load of bunk.” Diana said, shaking her head, “Who would want anything he has to hand out anyways?”Ikari nodded, pushing away his plate. “Yeah… Monokuma just causes trouble.”Hiramoto clenched her jaw, staring down at the scraps that made up her untouched breakfast. She glanced up at the others. Diana and Ikari seemed particularly perturbed, their postures stiff even though Monokuma had already left. Uma and Amami seemed lost in their own thoughts, and Sasabe simply drummed her fingers on her stomach.“Um…” She said, wincing when the others turned to look at her. Hiramoto cleared her throat and bit her lip, staring down at her food before continuing, “M-Maybe… we should… t-talk. T-To the others. About, um, this. Wh-When they get here, th-that is.”The others seemed to chew on that for a second before Diana shrugged and spoke up. “You’re right. No point in deciding without hearing everybody out.”“Very true,” Amami said, nodding, “We shouldn’t be acting without a consensus right now.”Uma just nodded in agreement, scribbling in her notebook, while Sasabe shrugged. “Guess we might as well.”A bit recharged, everybody turned back to their breakfast, while Hiramoto let out a sigh of relief. That… went a lot smoother than she’d expected. Still, she deflated slightly when she remembered that saying they’d talk to the others was one thing. It was something entirely different to get everybody in the same room and talking, especially after… yesterday…Hiramoto pushed her almost untouched plate away. Definitely not hungry.A few moments later, the doors from the hall swung open, and Hiramoto’s head snapped up to see who it was. She was expecting Monokuma, and was surprised to find that not the case. Jitsuko plodded in, looking irritated as per usual, while Esumi walked at her left and a barely conscious Chujo on her right. Hiramoto felt her shoulders slump in relief at their arrival. More people was always nice. In this scenario, at least.“Good morning!” Ikari called out to them, waving excitedly, “Glad to see you guys!”Uma nodded, offering them a small wave as well, “Indeed. The low attendance this morning has been rather concerning.”“No kidding,” Diana said, “It’s about time you guys showed up.”“Can it,” Jitsuko snapped, coming to a stop near their table, “If it wasn’t for Esumi, I wouldn’t even be here.”Diana’s face contorted in a scowl, but the moment she opened her mouth, Amami reached over and put a hand on her shoulder. He lightly pushed her down and spoke up first, “And how’re you doing, Chujo? Nice to see you up kind of early.”“Meh,” Chujo shrugged, rubbing at his eyes, “I’m gonna go back to bed soon. Only came cuz they wouldn’t stop knocking on my door.”“Ah. I see,” Amami said, pressing his lips into a thin line. Esumi adopted a guilty, desperate smile, while Jitsuko just snorted.Esumi turned to Jitsuko and started signing, her hands moving quickly. Hiramoto blinked, not quite on the ball enough to follow what Esumi was saying. Jitsuko seemed to be paying enough attention, thankfully, and snorted.“Esumi just wanted to bring somebody else,” Jitsuko said, translating, “Because we’re so late. I guess,” She rolled her eyes, “Though I’m getting out of here the moment I’m done eating. This place is fucked.”Esumi’s shoulders slumped, and she could only offer a resigned nod to compliment Jitsuko’s words. Chujo yawned, and Hiramoto found herself diverting her gaze. She… she understood where Jitsuko was coming from. But that didn’t make it feel any better.“Well at least somebody’s head is in a good place,” Diana said, sighing, “Well it’s a good thing you guys are here, cuz Monokuma came and got mad at us for no reason earlier.”Amami nodded in agreement, “Right. He mentioned something about a ‘reward’, but wouldn’t tell us any more.”“And then he ran away and told us to get everybody else because we ‘didn’t respect him’,” Uma added, glancing up from her notebook, “Incredibly immature.”“Yeah?” Jitsuko snorted, shaking her head, “Well it certainly sounds like him.” She began walking towards another table, Esumi and Chujo at her heels. Ikari pushed his chair back and got to his feet, pointing his chair at them.“You guys can take my chair!” He said, a smile on his face. Jitsuko and Chujo ignored him completely, plodding to one of the nearby tables and sitting down. Esumi offered him at least an appeasing smile before heading over to sit with Jitsuko. Ikari rubbed the back of his head and turned back, “Well… I’m gonna go try and get the others again.”Amami let out a sigh, pulling himself out of his chair and stretching his back. He then reached up and patted Ikari on the shoulder, offering him a smile. “Lemme come with you,” He said, “You’ll need my help getting Goto out of his room anyways.”“I’ll come too!” Diana said, bouncing out of her seat, making Hiramoto jolt in surprise. “I think I should be able to get the rest of the girls out here!” She then turned to the side, her glance making Hiramoto shrink back, “You wanna come with, Hiramoto?”Hiramoto considered the proposal, twiddling her fingers. She didn’t particularly want to interact with the others, all things considered. But the alternative was being here, the site of… well…She nodded, and Diana beamed at her.“Glad to have you along!” Ikari said, also grinning in her direction. He then turned to the others and continued speaking, “You guys should probably stay here, just to be safe. But don’t worry, we’ll be back soon, alright?”Hiramoto turned to the others following Ikari’s upbeat words. In stark contrast was the rest of the group, who matched the sunny attitude with cold indifference. Jitsuko seemed to be ignoring him entirely, feet propped up on the table, and Uma was once again buried in her notebook. Chujo had dozed off, head in his arms, and Esumi glanced over after a pregnant pause, offering a sickly smile that clearly indicated that she hadn’t heard him. In fact, only Sasabe seemed to have listened, and offered Ikari a thumbs up.“Don’t worry, Ika!” She replied, “I’ll make sure everybody stays here!”“Sheesh,” Diana said, shaking her head.Ikari awkwardly rubbed at the back of his neck before turning to leave, Amami at his side. Diana looked over the others for another second before pivoting on her heel and marching after the boys. Hiramoto bit her lip, her stomach churning, before she, too, moved to follow after Ikari.The walk through the lower Hotel was awkward, and Hiramoto did nothing but twiddle her fingers as they walked. A tense atmosphere settled over the four of them, making Hiramoto feel like it would be impossible to talk. Diana clasped her hands behind her head, while Amami picked at a loose thread on his shirt and Ikari scuffed at the carpet, dragging his feet somewhat.As they emerged from underneath the stairs, however, Hiramoto heard something that she hadn’t expected to hear. The sounds of hushed talking met her ears, and the pair of voices quickly revealed themselves to be Honda and Kuno descending the staircase from the Staterooms. They glanced up just as everybody from the Dining Hall turned into the Lobby proper.“Ah, good morning,” Amami greeted, offering the two a curt wave.“Good morning,” Honda replied.Kuno, however, looked the four of them over with distaste. She clicked her tongue, then split off from Honda and marched past them. As she shoved past Ikari, however, Kuno turned her frigid stare towards Hiramoto, making eye contact.“Morning, Hiramoto,” She said before turning away and heading towards the Dining Hall.Ikari blinked, looking between Hiramoto, Honda, and the hallway a few times before he cleared his throat. “What was that all about?” He asked.“Hmm,” Honda hummed, pressing his lips together, “It’s not really my place to say.” He shook his head, then turned to look at them, “Well, it’s good to see you guys together, at least.”“What do you mean?” Amami asked, looking between Diana and Ikari.Honda shrugged, “I just mean that it’s nice to see that we’re not completely divided as a group. The… situation with Dewa and Fuji was…” He trailed off, putting a hand over his mouth before continuing, “Wasn’t optimal. So it’s nice to see at least there’s a little cohesion.”“Of course,” Diana said, shaking her head dismissively, “We can’t let ourselves just fall apart like that. If we do, Monokuma gets what he wants, right? And if he wants it, then we clearly don’t.”“Well said,” Honda nodded in agreement, “Well, I’m heading to the Dining Hall. I assume I’ll see you there shortly?”Amami let out a stale laugh, “Hopefully.”Honda simply nodded again, lightly pushing past them in order to head to the Dining Hall.“Urgh,” Diana said, shuddering, “The way everybody is acting is giving me the heebie jeebies. I don’t like all this solemn talk and shit.”“Same here,” Ikari replied, nodding in agreement, “Let’s go get the others. That way we can all talk. And… stuff,” He trailed off awkwardly glancing down at the floor. Diana just shook her head at him and kept walking, prompting him to trot after her.That left Hiramoto alone with Amami, who had his hands on his hips and was staring down the hall that Kuno and Honda had gone down. His face was scrunched up in thought, and they flicked up at Hiramoto when he noticed her staring. The moment they made eye contact, that heavy, scrutinizing stare seemed to almost vanish. The creases in his face instantly disappeared, and his furrowed brow relaxed faster than Hiramoto realized. Even the way his lips pressed together went away, and the frown was replaced by a soft smile. The way he shifted from concerned to comforting… seemed almost practiced.“Sorry,” He said, offering her an appeasing chuckle, “Got distracted.”“I-It’s…” Hiramoto clasped her hands together and stared down at the carpet. “It’s, um… a-alright. Were you… W-Were you, um…” She trailed off, feeling a sudden wave of embarrassment wash over her.“Worried about them?” Amami asked. It wasn’t what Hiramoto was thinking of saying, but she nodded anyways. Amami just continued to offer her that appeasing smile and continued, “A little bit. They seem so distant sometimes. Still,” He glanced away, then looked back at Hiramoto, “Forgive me if I’m being pushy, but have you hung out a lot with Kuno?”Hiramoto blinked in surprise. Her? Hanging out with Kuno? The question caught her off guard enough that she didn’t even think about her answer, “N-Not that I… that I-I, uhm… know. Know of.” She bit her lip, “Wh… why?”“Seems like she trusts you,” He said simply, shrugging, “Or at least likes you somewhat.”“H… huh?…” Hiramoto found herself at a loss for words.Amami let out a chuckle at her evident confusion, shaking his head dismissively, “Hah. Don’t worry about it. But hey,” He offered her a smile that seemed… somewhat more genuine, “If she decides to open up to you, maybe she’ll open up to everyone else too.”“I… um…” Hiramoto searched for her words, and couldn’t find them, “M-Maybe?…” Kuno and her? It seemed… not quite right…“Hopefully,” Amami said, “But hey, sorry for the distraction. Let’s focus on the others for now, right?”Hiramoto only nodded, which Amami seemed to take as enough. They headed up the Lobby’s stairs, and Hiramoto could hear Diana and Ikari’s voices filtering down from in the Staterooms. It sounded like they were… yelling?“Come on!” Diana’s distant voice shouted.“Please?!” Ikari’s followed up with.“Get away from here!” A voice responded, one that sounded an awful lot like…Amami grimaced. “Is that Goto?”“I-I…” Hiramoto wilted, “I th… think so.”“Shoot,” He said, breaking into a jog as the two of them hit the Staterooms formal. He rounded the corner into the boys’ hall, the voices down there growing louder.Hiramoto found herself alone at the center of the Staterooms. She… really didn’t want to get between the argument that was quickly growing in volume. She’d really only tagged along because Diana asked, and right now, going back to her room and burying herself back in her bedsheets was sounding awful tempting… Before she could stew in her own thoughts for too long, however, Hiramoto began to–“Psssssst!”Hiramoto went rigid at the sound, freezing up in the middle of the hallway. Her head snapped towards it, and she found herself staring at… Kimura?He was peeking out of his room, only his head and one of his hands visible. A cheeky grin painted his face as she made eye contact, and he took a moment to glance past her down the hall. Hiramoto instinctively glanced over her shoulder. Nobody behind her. When she turned back to Kimura, he had extended somewhat more, now harboring an arm and some of his torso. He beckoned to her with his arm, and mouthed the words ‘please come here’.Despite her better judgment, Hiramoto drifted forward, hands fisting in the material of her skirt in a fearful, white knuckled grip. Kimura’s predatory grin only grew as she shuffled closer, and Hiramoto soon found that she couldn’t even look at him. She stopped short of his door, face pointed directly at the carpet below her feet.“How’s it goin’?” Kimura asked.Hiramoto stared at the floor for a few more moments before looking up. Kimura’s expression hadn’t changed, and he stared at her curiously. She sighed and dug her nails into her palms through the material of her skirt. “N… not well.”“Shame,” Kimura said, “Pretty faces shouldn’t be frowning, you know.”That made Hiramoto start, and she felt a touch of heat rise to her cheeks. “H…” She felt herself begin to tremble at just how… dismissive he was, “How… how c-can you… can you say that? After… after…” That was all Hiramoto could manage to ask, feeling like she would lose her voice if she kept going.“I don’t mean anything rude by it,” Kimura shrugged, “Besides, I can’t change the past. And it doesn’t really change what I think either, so who really cares what happened yesterday?”His cold words made Hiramoto flinch, their harshness only emphasized by his warm tone.“Anyways, I don’t wanna talk about that,” Kimura said, leaning out of his door just a little more, “I wanted to ask if you’ve been downstairs yet. Cuz I’ve been trying to figure out how to get past the Deckhands all morning, and I’m kind of hiding from Monokuma right now. He got on my case when I tried earlier, and has been being super annoying.”“Wh…” Hiramoto blinked, turning to stare at Kimura. What was he… talking about? Downstairs? Getting past the Deckhands? “What are you… t-talking about?”“Dangit,” Kimura said, shaking his head, “Guess you haven’t.”“W… wait. Wait,” Hiramoto said, “What are… what do… I-I mean…” She trailed off, Kimura’s amused stare making her falter. “Wh… A-And… I…” Hiramoto clenched her fists, “H-How are you… g-gonna hide from… from Monokuma, e-even? I-In your… your r-room, that is.”“Yes, how were you planning on hiding from me in your room?” Monokuma asked.Hiramoto screamed.She stumbled backwards, pulling her satchel to her chest, as both Kimura and Monokuma watched her with amusement. After a second, Kimura turned back to Monokuma and adopted a theatrical frown.“God, don’t you have something better to do?” He asked.Monokuma huffed, “Dealing with troublemakers like you is part of my job. This is actually extremely productive of me.”“BS,” Kimura said, snorting.“Hiramoto!” A shout sounded, making Hiramoto’s eyes snap upwards.Diana and Ikari sprinted around the corner, skidding around the turn. Amami and Goto were shortly behind them, jogging but not quite keeping pace. Behind her, Hiramoto heard the creak of a door swinging open. Diana was quick to sprint up to Hiramoto, just barely stopping before barreling into her.“Are you okay?!” She asked, reaching out. Hiramoto leaned away, shaking, and Diana frowned, pulling her hands back. Ikari slid to a stop next to them, while Amami and Goto stopped at the intersection.“What the hell are you guys doing, making all this racket?!” Tadamori snapped. Hiramoto turned, finding Tadamori standing halfway out of her door, a scowl painted on her face. “Can’t a girl sleep with her door cracked without some morons stomping and screaming?!”“Here’s a better question!” Monokuma chimed in, “What is everybody doing here instead of in the Dining Hall like I asked? You’re holding everybody up!”Diana rounded on Monokuma, glaring, “Shut up!” She snapped, “Nobody’s talking to you!” She turned back to Hiramoto, face creased with worry, “Are you okay? What happened?”“S-Sorry…” Hiramoto murmured, directing her eyes downwards, “M-Monokuma appeared. O-Out of… of n-nowhere. And I… g-got sc… O-Or, um… He… um… s-startled me.”“He sure did!” Kimura chimed in, making Hiramoto flush in embarrassment again.Monokuma let out a dejected sigh. “Being ignored and snubbed by my own passengers again ?” He asked, shaking his head, “And all I’m trying to do is reward everybody…” Hiramoto watched as he hung his head and plodded away, pushing past an irritated looking Goto and a confused Amami.“What a nuisance,” Goto said, sighing and shaking his head, “He does nothing more than waste our time.”Tadamori snorted, emerging from her room and shutting the door behind her, “I hope you feel a bit stronger about him than that, genius. Considering he, I dunno, fuckin’ trapped us here and is forcing us to kill each other.”“Okay, before we get into this more,” Diana interrupted, “We gotta go to the Dining Hall.”“For what reason?” Goto asked. A scowl already creased his face, and Hiramoto doubted it was going to leave any time soon.Ikari jumped in, “Right! It’s cuz Monokuma told us to! He wanted everybody to gather up for something important, he said.”“And you believed him?!” Tadamori shouted, “You’re a bigger idiot than I thought!”Goto nodded in agreement, “Nothing good comes from listening to him.”Amami let out a sigh, shooting Goto a heavy stare before turning back to Tadamori, “I understand how you feel. But right now, we don’t have anything else to go on. If you’ve got another idea of what to do, I’m sure everybody is all ears, but if not, we should at least see what he wants.”“Wh-!” Tadamori flushed red, then huffed and stomped her foot, turning away from Amami, “W-Well, it’s not like I even have to say anything! It should be common fuckin’ sense to not listen to Monokuma!”“So you don’t have any better ideas,” Diana said, shaking her head.Kimura hummed, then spoke up, “Y’know, it’s probably gonna be super bad if we don’t show up.”Tadamori, Goto, and Diana all turned to Kimura, belting out a collective,“Shut up!”, in his direction. Hiramoto felt herself wilt, watching the three grow even more annoyed as Kimura spoke up. Goto’s scowl intensified, while Tadamori firmly glared at Kimura. Diana refused to look at him, tapping her foot against the carpet.Ikari, off to the side, seemed to grow anxious, and shifted his weight from side to side. Amami looked unsure of how to proceed, his eyes flicking between everybody present. And Kimura, as per usual, had a grin on his face.“You’re never gonna be forgiven for the shit you pulled yesterday, you know!” Tadamori snapped, her glare towards Kimura only deepening, “Just cuz’ Honda threw a pissy fit doesn’t mean your stupid ass should be alive right now, you piece of shit!”Ikari gasped, hands flying up over his mouth, while Hiramoto shrunk back into her hair. Amami’s face darkened at Tadamori’s comment, and he stepped past a silent Goto to more firmly address her.“That’s enough,” He said. Tadamori’s eye twitched, and she diverted her gaze for a moment to look at Amami.Diana scowled and marched up to Tadamori, getting up into her face. “You’re only being part of the problem!” She snapped.Tadamori’s face screwed up into a terrifying glare, and she reached up to shove Diana backwards. She jabbed a finger in Diana’s direction, voice low. “Well you’ll be glad to know that I’m sure as hell gonna be part of the solution,” She said. And then, after flipping Kimura the bird, Tadamori stomped past them. Hiramoto noted, with only minor relief, that at least she was heading out of the Staterooms.A thick silence settled over the hall once Tadamori was gone, and Hiramoto felt sick to her stomach. If people kept talking like Tadamori was… then…“Welp,” Kimura said. He threw his door open and stepped out into the hall, “I’m hungry. Gonna go meet you guys at the Dining Hall so we can finally get this thing moving. And who knows! Maybe when I get there, one of these losers will buck up and do what they keep promising to.” And with his part said, Kimura shut his door and jogged off down the hall.“K-Kimura!” Ikari shouted, finally seeming to recompose himself, “Don’t say that kind of stuff!” He turned and sprinted after Kimura, waving a hand over his head.Goto scoffed. “Fools, the lot of them,” He scowled and turned to Amami, “Let us just head to the Dining Hall and get this finished quickly.”“Probably for the best,” Amami said, seemingly holding back a sigh. He turned to Hiramoto and Diana, offering them a shrug, “See you there.” And with that being said, he and Goto left, leaving Hiramoto alone with Diana.“Urgh,” Diana said, putting a hand against her face, “Everything’s going to shit.”Hiramoto felt her shoulders slump, and her hair fell forward and almost completely blocked her sight. Everything really was going poorly. It made her feel sick to her stomach, which didn’t particularly help the nauseous feeling she already had.Diana let out a heavy, ragged sigh, then straightened her back and squared her shoulders. “Well, whatever,” She said, looking at Hiramoto, “We can fix this. Right?”“U-Uhm…” Hiramoto pulled some of her hair to the side, giving a restrained, uncertain nod. “Um… y-y-yes.”“Right on,” Diana replied, “Lets get outta here.”Hiramoto nodded, hands fisting into the material of her skirt, and followed Diana out of the Staterooms.The first thing Hiramoto noticed was the noise. As Diana threw the doors to the Dining Hall open, Hiramoto found herself blasted with a torrent of noise. The source was the group at the center of the room, seemingly split in two and yelling at each other. A quick glance revealed that not everybody was a part of the huge argument.Sasabe was, surprisingly, exactly where they’d left her. She had her feet propped up on the table, hands clasped behind her head and chair tilted back, watching the argument with evident amusement. Kuno leaned against the wall nearby the door with her arms crossed, distaste on her face. Amami hovered near the two groups, his face scrunched up as he bounced between them, trying to get a word in.And that left Hiramoto to look at everybody else. One group consisted of Honda, standing up front with his chest puffed out, flanked by Ikari and Uma. Kimura stood behind them, a bright grin on his face. Ikari eyes were wide with panic, and he had a hand on Honda’s shoulder. Uma stood at Honda’s other side, looking uncharacteristically angry. She jabbed her pencil in the direction of the other group as she spoke.As for the other group… well, who else did Hiramoto expect, really? Jitsuko loomed over Honda, Ikari, and Uma, her mere presence intimidating. Esumi stood at her side, keeping a tight grip on Jitsuko’s hand and pulling her back slightly. Still, she looked displeased, and kept her stare focused on Honda. Tadamori stood on Jitsuko’s other side, face red as she shouted. Jitsuko held her back with a hand on her chest, but that did little to lower Tadamori’s volume. Chujo leaned around Esumi, watching the commotion with a blank face. Yet he made it clear whose side he was on. And, finally, Goto stood behind Chujo and Esumi, seemingly trying to talk without raising his voice.“What the fuck?” Diana asked, the clearness of her voice shocking Hiramoto out of her thoughts. She turned to Hiramoto, face scrunched up into a scowl, “They’re doing this shit again? I thought we fixed this!” Without waiting for any response, Diana turned and sprinted towards the groups, her voice raising in volume. And yet, it still got lost in the din.Hiramoto, now alone, felt a cold shudder pass through her body. This was bad. A pit formed in her stomach, and the way it made her guts clench made Hiramoto feel like she was a single movement away from blowing chunks.Kuno glanced to the side, looking at Hiramoto, and snorted before turning back to the argument. “This is a waste of time,” She said. The sharpness of her tone easily cut through the sounds of the argument.Hiramoto glanced at her, swallowing thickly before speaking, “Wh… What’s… h-happening?” Her voice was barely loud enough to be heard over the din, she noted.“They want to toss him into an empty classroom or something and lock him up,” Kuno replied, shaking her head, “It’s ridiculous.”“J-Jitsuko?” Hiramoto asked, pointing weakly at Jitsuko and the others backing her up.Kuno nodded, motioning with a limp hand at the other group, “Yeah. The others are arguing against it, obviously.”“I…” Hiramoto fisted her hands into her skirt, “I d-don’t wanna… wanna lock anybody up. E-Even… even if it’s… K-Kimura…”Kuno snorted, “Well I don’t like the idea of letting a cockroach like him run free. But I’m not keen on just tossing him into a room and forgetting about him. I’m sure it’d bite us in the ass if we didn’t take care of him.”Hiramoto turned to look at Kuno, “H-Huh?”“Think about it,” Kuno shook her head, “If we chuck the little shithead into a room and leave him there alone, what happens?” She paused for a moment to let Hiramoto consider, then continued without waiting for a response, “He starves to death, and then Monokuma rules it murder by neglect or something like that.”“Wow! You’re pretty in sync with me!”Hiramoto let out a yelp at yet another of Monokuma’s sudden appearances, jerking to the side. Her hands instinctively shot out, grabbing at Kuno’s arm. Kuno didn’t seem particularly perturbed, simply shrugging Hiramoto off of her. She pushed past Hiramoto, staring down at Monokuma with irritation. In the background, hearing Hiramoto’s shout, the argument died down as everybody realized that Monokuma was present now.“Shut up and answer,” Kuno demanded, “It would be a murder, right?”“Well of course!” Monokuma replied, seeming to blatantly ignore Kuno’s harsh rebuff, “Any death on the Ultimate Cruise Liner is a murder, after all! Neglect is quite the unique weapon, though!”Kuno didn’t respond, merely sneering in Monokuma’s direction. Hiramoto felt sick to her stomach and turned away. That revealed the fact that the others had gathered around now that Monokuma was here, and a din began to rise once they realized that Monokuma was finally here. Monokuma seemed annoyed at that and, instead of responding to any one person, turned to the door and made a snapping sound.“Hello?” Monotaro replied almost instantly, the door to the hall swinging open and allowing him to peek inside. Hiramoto could see the red painted barrel of his bazooka peering in over top of Monotaro as well. So could everybody else, apparently, as the din quickly petered off into silence. “Did you need me for something, Captain?”“Not anymore, thanks,” Monokuma said, his grin stretching out slightly. Monotaro gave him a salute and then disappeared back into the hallway, the door clicking shut behind him.The room remained silent, and Monokuma seemed pleased.“Sweet!” He proclaimed, clasping his stubby hands behind his back. Monokuma rocked on his feet a few times before continuing, “Anyways, I just wanted to start these morning announcements by congratulating everybody on quite the job well done! I was a bit worried that things weren’t gonna start up properly, but thanks to Fuji and Dewa, everything was a smashing success! And based on what I’ve seen today, it doesn’t look like things are gonna let up, either!”Kuno’s expression grew darker, somehow, and she clenched a fist, staring down at Monokuma with vitrol, “You…”“I don’t feel good…” Ikari said, turning away. Hiramoto put her hands to her stomach and stared at the floor, feeling similarly.“Hmmmm,” Kimura hummed out loud, thankfully choosing to say nothing.Monokuma pointedly ignored all of the murmuring that began to start, nodding to himself and continuing on, “Anyways,” He said, “I wanted to let you lot know that I was impressed by your performance at the trial. Very exciting stuff! As such, I’ve decided that you get a bit of a two part reward, something nice for impressing me.” He then turned at shot a glare at some of the others, not seeming to direct it at anybody in particular. “I would have given it to you sooner, but nobody wanted to listen to me and gather up.”Silence again settled over the Dining Hall, and it was Amami who indulged Monokuma, clearing his throat to catch attention, “So,” He said, “What’s the reward?”“Good question!” Monokuma shouted, “You’ll be glad to know that the first part of your reward is this:” His red eye glinted as he spoke, “You remaining students are no longer stuck on the upper level of the ship!”That got Hiramoto’s attention. Her eyes widened.“That’s right!” Monokuma said, “The Ultimate Cruise Liner has now opened up its Extended Stay Quarters!”“…Eh?” Hiramoto tried to find her words and found them lacking, “Ex… tended Stay?”“Yup yup!” Monokuma nodded, “Here! Since I’m such a nice Captain, I’ll even walk you there. Single file, follow your Captain, everyone!”And before anybody could say anything else, Monokuma turned heel and marched out of the Dining Hall. Hiramoto felt lost, and turned to the side. Immediately to her left, Kuno’s face was screwed up in an otherwise unreadable expression. She noticed Hiramoto looking, and her face relaxed somewhat into a simple frown. Hiramoto glanced away.After another moment of silence, Kuno turned to follow after Monokuma. Now that somebody was moving, the rest of the group followed suit, and they moved to catch up to Monokuma.They, surprisingly, found him standing outside of one of the doors that’d been locked since they’d got here. Hiramoto glanced up from the caution tape wrapped door, staring at the ‘STAIRWELL 1’ nameplate over top it. When she looked back down, she saw that Monodam and Monotaro had somehow met up with them, flanking Monokuma. Though Monodam seemed unarmed, her eyes still stayed stuck onto Monotaro’s bazooka. Scary.“Ooh!” Kimura spoke up first, “Is this some kinda magic portal?!”Monokuma’s grin turned downwards into a scowl, “Hush,” He said, “Don’t you be making fun of my gift. This is just a regular stairwell. You can reach the Extended Stay Quarters from here, as well as from the other stairwell and the Elevator Room! Deckhands, if you’ll do the honors?”“Of course, Captain!” “RIGHT-AWAY-CAPTAIN.” The Deckhands replied in unison, turning around and reaching up. Hiramoto watched as the grabbed at the caution tape around the base of the door and yanked. With just that simple action, the caution tape almost seemed to… give up, slumping off the surface of the door like a sheet of snow off of a roof. It crumpled to the floor into a pile, and Monotaro pushed the door open.Past the threshold was… exactly what Monokuma had said would be there. Unlike the Deck, the area within the Stairwell was plain and unexciting, all metal and pale, concrete grays. It seemed to descend downwards, though from her vantage point, Hiramoto couldn’t see anything else aside from the metal hand rail.Monokuma spoke up, interrupting Hiramoto’s thought process. “Now, I figure I should let you children know, since you’ve demonstrated to be quite the troublemakers,” He said, “The stairwells go all the way down, but don’t you lot go and try to break into anywhere you’re not allowed. That’s a violation of the rules, and I will toss you overboard, capishe?” Monokuma looked the group over, “Any questions?”“Yes, I have one,” Honda said, raising a hand to draw Monokuma’s attention. “You mentioned that this reward has two parts. The Extended Stay Quarters is our first half. What’s the other?”“Excellent question,” Monokuma replied, his red eye glinting, “However, that is a surprise! I’ll give you a hint though! I left you a little somethin’ somethin’ in the Extended Stay Quarters, and you’ll know it when you see it!” And with that, Monokuma turned away, and Monotaro and Monodam moved back into formation. “Anyways, that’s all I’ve got to say for now. Go have fun, you unruly kids!”And Monokuma marched away, tailed closely by the Deckhands. His departure caused a thick, oppressive silence to settle over the group. Hiramoto bit her lip and clenched the straps of her satchel.“W-Well, uh…” Ikari was the one to break the silence, twiddling his fingers, “So… what do we do now?”Tadamori let out a sound somewhere close to a growl and rounded on Honda, jabbing a finger in his direction. “That’s right! I wasn’t done talkin’ back in the Dining Hall, shithead!”“No,” Honda said, face creasing into a frown, “I’m not interested in continuing that conversation at the moment. There are more important things to do.”“Hell nah,” Jitsuko said, marching up to Honda. Chujo and Goto ducked to the sides, getting out of her way, while Esumi scampered after her. Jitsuko squared her shoulders, staring down slightly at Honda, “You’re not getting out of this that easily.”Uma cleared her throat, flipping the pages on her notebook, “As loathe as I am to interrupt your bullheaded pursuit of violence, don’t you think that there’s better things to be doing than trying to punch your fellow passengers when we’ve just been given a new locale?”“What did you say to me?” Jitsuko asked, voice dark. She took a step towards Uma, then glanced back as Esumi grabbed Jitsuko’s wrist and pulled.Esumi shot Jitsuko a glare, and let go of her wrist so that she could sign at her. ‘Knock it off.’“Look,” Amami chimed in, “I understand that you guys are angry about this. But we can always continue this discussion later. We have no idea what to expect from Monokuma, so we should look at that first, right?”“We can meet up in the Dining Hall anyways, like we always do,” Diana said, hand on her hip, “So once we’re done talking, you guys can go back to being assholes.”Tadamori turned to Diana, red in the face, “Oh no, there’s no way that you’re the one trying to lecture us, you b–““I agree with Dia!” Sasabe said, cutting Tadamori off. “So I’m gonna check it out. See ya!” And before anybody could stop her, she pushed past Honda and Tadamori and descended down the stairs.Kimura pushed through the crowd after her, moving to practically jump down the stairs. “Hey, wait for me! Don’t discover everything on your own!”“Wait! Don’t go by yourselves!” Ikari called out, jogging after the two. Uma let out a huff, and she ran after Ikari, notepad in one hand and pen in the other.Hiramoto took a moment to simply stare at the doorway, the sound of footsteps echoing in the stairwell growing quieter as she did so. She glanced to the side, finding Diana scratching at her head. To her other side, Hiramoto could see Esumi staring sternly at Jitsuko. She released Jitsuko’s wrist and raised her hands up.‘We should explore too,’ She signed, ‘We can discuss this later.’Jitsuko’s mouth curled up into a scowl, and she was silent for a moment before turning back to Honda. “This isn’t over,” She said, jabbing a finger at him.Honda simply shrugged. Jitsuko’s expression darked, but Esumi pulled her away before she could do more, and the pair disappeared down the stairs after the others.“Come,” Goto said, turning to Amami, “Let’s not let the others get ahead of us. We can go together.”“Sounds good to me,” Amami said. He turned around and offered Hiramoto a lax wave, “See you guys later.”Chujo yawned, stretching his arms and looking away from the stairwell, “I don’t wanna explore,” He said, “I’d rather take a nap.”“Sheesh,” Tadamori said, “You’re gonna end up a shut-in if you keep sayin’ shit like that, y’know.” She turned to him, and Hiramoto saw her eye twitch as Chujo simply shrugged, “That’s it. You’re coming with me. Since apparently we’re not doin’ ‘this’ right now.”Her passive aggressive comment said, Tadamori reached out and snagged Chujo’s wrist in a tight grip. He glanced down at it, and pursed his lips. Tadamori ignored him and gave him a sharp tug, and the two headed downstairs as well.“I’m going too,” Kuno said, stuffing her hands in her pockets, “I’d like to be as prepared for Monokuma’s nonsense as possible.”“Seems like the best course of action,” Honda agreed.Kuno nodded, then turned to Hiramoto. Again, like earlier, her stare was cold, boring into Hiramoto’s face, the strangest part being that she was looking at her. The intensity forced Hiramoto’s eyes to the floor, and Kuno made a flat ‘hmm’ sound. “Good luck, Hiramoto,” She said, then turned heel and left.“I’ll follow suit,” Honda said, seemingly mostly to himself. “I hope you guys find something interesting,” And then he, too, was gone, down the stairwell, leaving Hiramoto alone with Diana.“What’s their problem?” Diana asked, face falling into an annoyed frown. “Why is everybody doing this now?.”Hiramoto had no response to that, simply turning away. Honda and Kuno… they were both so smart, but something about them… it felt so hard trying to understand them. Honda at least just seemed… too good of a person for Hiramoto to try and relate to. Kuno, however…“Well, whatever,” Diana said, cutting off Hiramoto’s train of thought, “I guess we should go explore too, huh?” She asked, turning to face Hiramoto with a sunny grin.“U-Uhm,” Hiramoto replied. She… supposed they should. Especially if everybody else had gone already. Her stomach did a flip, “Y… er, y-yes. We, um… p-probably should. Explore.”“Let’s kick it into gear, then!” Diana proclaimed, turning around and marching into the stairwell, leaving Hiramoto alone for the briefest of moments. A second later, she became acutely aware of the silence, and it sent a shiver down her spine.Hiramoto followed.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The very first thing Hiramoto noticed upon stepping onto the green carpeted floor of the Extended Stay Quarters that it had a similar feeling to the Hotel, though somewhat more… lower quality?Despite being green instead of brown like upstairs, the carpet here retained that winding, off colored pattern set into it. Instead of red paint, the walls were covered in brown and tan wall paper, vertically striped. The light fixtures set into the walls were not nearly as fancy as the ones up in the Hotel, and projected a yellow light as opposed to the clear white from upstairs.As she took a step forward, Hiramoto could see that the stairwell was set into a corner, with the hall extending forward and to her right. Diana stood in the right hallway, hands on her hips. Once she noticed Hiramoto standing there, Diana snorted, shaking her head.“Sheesh, who’s responsible for designing this place?” She asked, “This place looks like a seedy motel. Were they born in the 30s?”“I-It’s…” Hiramoto said, looking around, “It’s… n-not as… nice. A-As the, um. The Hotel.”Diana nodded, “For serious,” She pursed her lips, then turned to Hiramoto with a smile, “So, where to first?”“Um…” Hiramoto’s eyes flicked between the forward hall and the right hall. Diana stared at her expectantly, and Hiramoto swallowed thickly before raising a shaky hand. “R… right. R-Right, um, hall… way. Th-That is.”“Sounds good!” Diana said, turning heel, “Let’s go!”Diana tromped off with gusto, leaving Hiramoto standing at the stairwell for a second. She glanced back into it before sighing and following after.The hallway was straight, turning left at the end. The left wall was empty, save for the light fixtures, while the right wall was lined with what looked to be four doors. The one furthest down looked different enough, but the first three looked familiar in a way Hiramoto couldn’t explain. Diana had thrown the first door open and had her head stuck in.“Man, what the hell?” Diana asked, leaning back and scratching her head. She glanced to the side as Hiramoto shuffled over, and motioned with her hand at the door, “Hiramoto, look at this.”Hiramoto complied, leaning over to peek past Diana into the new room. What she was treated to was… an eerily familiar sight. The room looked… exactly like the Classrooms up in the Hotel. Confused, Hiramoto looked upwards, and immediately found what she was looking for. A small, golden plaque was posted above the doorway, simply reading ‘CLASSROOM’.“C… classrooms?” Hiramoto said, eyes locked on the plaque.“Huh?” Diana asked, narrowing her eyes. She looked up at the plaque as well, lips pursing. “What?”Hiramoto turned to watch Diana tromp over to the next door, which she proceeded to throw open as well. Hiramoto scurried after Diana, finding an identical plaque above this door too. Which meant…“It’s the same!” Diana shouted, stomping down over to the last of the three rooms. Hiramoto did her best to keep pace, and caught up to Diana, who was fuming as she stared into the third identical classroom in a row.Diana let out a heavy sigh, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “What a waste of time,” She said, “If everything’s the same as it is upstairs, this place is useless.”“Hey now!” Monokuma shouted, “Don’t say that before you’ve seen everything!”Hiramoto let out a fearful ‘eep!’, jumping and grabbing at something for support. Her hands found Diana’s shoulder, and they tightened onto it in an iron grip. Diana reached up and patted Hiramoto’s hands, then turned to Monokuma with a scowl.“I’ve seen enough to know that this is a waste of time, apparently,” She said, shaking her head, “We have classrooms upstairs. What’s the point of duplicate rooms?”Monokuma made a sound like he was clicking his tongue, “Come now, think about it,” He threw his arms out, “Even though we’re on vacation, this is still an institution of learning! So I figured that I would give you guys ample space to do what you need to in order to keep up with your studies!”“B… but…” Hiramoto chimed in, feeling the tension drain out of her fingers as she loosened her grip on Diana’s shoulder, “We… a-aren’t we the… the only ones? H-Here, that is…”“Yeah!” Diana agreed, “It’s just us! We could barely fill up one classroom, let alone three more!”Monokuma shook his head in what seemed like… disappointment. “Kids like you simply don’t understand. For shame,” He glanced up, somehow looking annoyed, “I expected you of all people to get me, Hiramoto!”Hiramoto flinched as she was addressed directly. However, Monokuma seemed merciful enough for the moment, choosing to turn heel and stomp away instead of continue along this line of thought. Hiramoto felt herself slump, hands sliding off of Diana’s shoulder and her back slouching.“Idiot,” Diana remarked, “Says he’s giving us something new and then throwing stuff we’ve already seen at us.” She shook her head, and turned to Hiramoto, “Let’s get out of here.”Hiramoto nodded, straightening her back slightly, and turned to glance up at the fourth door, the one that was different. The frame was slightly shorter, and it was made out of a more distinctly wooden material. The door slab itself even looked higher quality than the rest of the hallway around it. And it all made sense when Hiramoto glanced up and read the little plaque overtop: ‘ULTIMATE GHOSTWRITER LAB’.“Hiramoto?” Diana called out to her, already heading back the way they came, “You alright?”“I-I…” Hiramoto began. Unable to find her words at the moment, she simply pointed up at the plaque as Diana marched back over.

She squinted at it before turning to Hiramoto, eyes curious. “Guess there’s

one

thing here that’s different,” She said, “You wanna check it out?”

“S… o-or, um,” Hiramoto said, twiddling her fingers. “Y… yes? Y-Yes…”“In we go, then!” Diana replied. And before Hiramoto could say anything else to stop her, Diana reached forward and threw the door to the Talent Lab open.The room was dark. That was the first thing Hiramoto noticed, as it took her eyes a few moments to adjust from the comparatively well lit hallway. The only sources of light were the fixture hanging from the ceiling, swaying slightly and casting a dim orange light over the room, and the chunky desk lamp, pointed up at the ceiling and blasting a beam of bright, white light.When Hiramoto’s eyes cleared, she could see the main feature of the room: the huge desk that the lamp sat on, pressed against the far wall. It was practically extravagant, made of a rich mahogany wood and carved and styled immaculately with swirling wooden curves. In front of the desk sat a huge, poofy rolling chair, clearly occupied by the way it shifted. Against the left wall was a huge cork board labeled ‘Jobs’, with a bunch of papers pinned to it. The opposite wall had a mini fridge against it, topped by a coffee maker. Next to the fridge was a rack of what looked like snack foods.The moment Diana stepped into the room, the chair spun around, revealing none other than the Lab’s owner. Chujo looked at them with what Hiramoto could tell was the most subdued anger she’d ever seen, especially from him.“Close the door,” He demanded, staring dull daggers at them.“Sheesh, alright,” Diana replied, rolling her eyes at him. Hiramoto shuffled around Diana, letting her close the door and bathing the room into almost darkness once again.Once the door was closed, Chujo spun the chair back around and pulled one of the drawers open. A second later, Hiramoto heard scribbling, and figured that Chujo was… probably doing what he did best.Diana marched up to the desk, and Hiramoto reluctantly followed.“You seem pretty settled in. What are you doing?” Diana asked, sounding more curious than Hiramoto realized she was. She moved to the left of Chujo’s chair, forcing Hiramoto to the right so she could see what was going on better. She could see a bunch of papers scattered around, most of them seeming half completed or even barely started on.“I’m doing work,” Chujo said, motioning at a stack of the papers, “Guess Monokuma realized how important what I do is. A lot of my previous notes and projects I was working on are in here.”“You don’t seem concerned in the slightest,” Diana sighed, “You realize we’re trapped out here, right? Has that sunken in yet?”Chujo shrugged, then leaned over and opened one of the drawers. Hiramoto glanced down, finding it full of writing implements, from simple #2 pencils to fancy (and probably super expensive) calligraphy pens. He plucked a pen from the drawer and shut it.“As long as I’ve got my materials,” He said simply, shrugging, “What are you two doing here?”Diana frowned, “What do you mean, ‘what are we doing here’?” She asked, “We’re exploring! The thing we’re supposed to be doing. What are you doing here?!”“Writing,” Chujo replied, “I’ve got a lot of requests to catch up on.”“You–!” Diana said, sputtering, “You’re supposed to be helping!”Chujo shrugged, “I like it better in here. Figured everybody else could explore.”“It…” Hiramoto began, glancing back at where she assumed the door was, “B-But it’s so… so d-dark. I-In here.”“I like it this way,” Chujo said, looking over at Hiramoto.Diana put her hands on her hips and gave Chujo a stern look, “So you’re really just going to stay here?”“Yeah,” Chujo replied, turning back to his work, “Don’t see a reason not to.”“You’re hopeless,” Diana said, shaking her head, “Whatever. If you’re gonna be like this, at least come to the Dining Hall to meet up with everybody else later.”Chujo paused writing for a moment, as though he hadn’t considered that. “Can somebody come get me?” He asked.“Oh my god,” Diana put a hand to her face.Something occurred to Hiramoto, and she glanced around the Lab. “W-Wait…” She said, “Wh… where’s um… where’s Tadam-mori?”“Dunno,” Chujo answered, “She said she wasn’t gonna babysit me, then left.”“…oh,” Hiramoto said.“Well neither are we,” Diana said, “Let’s get out of here, Hiramoto,”Hiramoto nodded, “R… right. Good, erm… goodbye. Um, Chujo.”“See ya,” He replied, offering a limp wave over his shoulder.Diana rolled her eyes, evident even in the darkness, and turned heel, marking out of Chujo’s Lab. Hiramoto followed, closing the door behind her. It took her eyes a moment to readjust to the light of the hallway, and she found herself staring down… more hallway. To her left, Diana was marching down the hall in the direction they’d come from. Hiramoto glanced around for a second before turning to follow Diana.She was quiet as they marched back towards the stairwell. However, Diana let out a very clearly annoyed groan about halfway down the hall. Hiramoto thought that Diana was annoyed with her for a moment, moving to catch up to properly apologize. It was then that she saw Sasabe down at the end of the hall, standing near the door to the Stairwell.Sasabe did what seemed to be a test squat, holding herself slightly and adjusting the bend of her legs. She then rolled her back and stretched. Hiramoto watched as Sasabe leaned her body to the side with force, tipping over into a cartwheel that she held as she rolled out of sight, past the corner.“What the hell is she doing?…” Diana asked, a scowl already set onto her face.“I… d-don’t… don’t, um… know,” Hiramoto replied. What was Sasabe doing?They walked up to the corner of the hallway, finding Sasabe repeating her pre-cartwheel motions. She then rolled over, cartwheeling back down towards them. Hiramoto watched, impressed (and slightly jealous) of how limber she seemed to be. Flowing like water.“Hey hey, girls!” Sasabe greeted once she’d rolled down towards them. She stopped her cartwheel halfway, planting herself into a handstand in front of them. “How’re the quarters treating you? I prefer collecting half dollars myself.”“Eh?” Diana made a confused noise, looking down at Sasabe’s face.She simply grinned up at Diana, “Ah well,” Sasabe said, “No pennies for my thoughts. They’re a dime a dozen anyways,” Sasabe finished her cartwheel, returning to her feet, “Done exploring already?”Hiramoto pursed her lips, Sasabe’s words sending her thinking. Five cents?… no, dimes were ten, weren’t they? But pennies were… and quarters… wait, then dollars?… Her thoughts about foreign coins were stopped by Diana mentioning her name.“All Hiramoto and I found were classrooms,” Diana replied, shaking her head. She then narrowed her eyes at Sasabe, “But what are you doing? Cuz it looks like a whole lot of nothing.”Sasabe shrugged, “Meh, just thinking. I feel like Monokuma’s messing with us, but I needed some motion upstairs before I could figure things out.” She thumbed at the two doors against the wall behind her.Hiramoto looked up, finding that, indeed, there were two doors behind Sasabe. Two familiar doors. The first, labeled ‘ELEVATOR ROOM’, was closer to the Stairwell door, while the second, and further away, was the ‘DISPOSAL ROOM’.“They’re a little different,” Sasabe said, seeming uninterested, “But not enough to be fun.”“Different how?” Diana asked, narrowing her eyes.Sasabe sighed in response. “I told you, not enough,” She said, “But here, follow me.” Hiramoto watched as Sasabe again did her ‘pre-cartwheel’ motions, then spun off to the side. Diana looked irritated, but tromped after her, prompting Hiramoto to follow as well.Sasabe came to a stop outside of the Disposal Room, leaning over and opening the door with a flourish. Inside was… exactly like Sasabe said. It was the same concrete and fluorescent lighting as the one upstairs. However, this Disposal Room had a much larger door to the trash chute, and a small, red painted dolly cart was parked messily in one of the corners.“See?” Sasabe said, motioning at the almost empty room, “Nothin’. Other room’s pretty much the same.”This time, she walked normally, moving back towards the Elevator Room. Again, Hiramoto and Diana followed, bringing them over just as Sasabe shoved the door open. However, this time Sasabe actually stepped into the room, and Hiramoto followed without thinking.This Elevator Room was much the same as the one upstairs, with no differences with the layout, surprisingly. In fact, Hiramoto found that the only difference between the two rooms was barely a difference at all: as she turned to the side, she noticed that the vending machine was stocked with bottled drinks instead of snack foods.“So. This is it,” Diana said, hands on her hips. Hiramoto turned to her, finding her brow furrowed and her lips pursed.“So it would seem, Dia,” Sasabe replied, “So it would seem.”Hiramoto felt her mouth go a little dry as she anxiously cleared her throat, wringing her hands before speaking. “U-Uh… uhm… m-maybe we sh… should um…” She faltered as Sasabe and Diana turned to look at her, “C-Continue. T-To look ar-round, th-that is. Bef-fore we. Make a-any um. J-J-Judgments. Is, um, wh-what I was thinking. At least.”“Meh,” Sasabe replied with a shrug, “You guys can do what you want. But this place sucks, so I’m gonna go. So much for a reward.” She tromped over to the elevator and smacked the ‘up’ call button. It let out a ding and lit up, and Sasabe turned back to Hiramoto, making eye contact, “Oh yeah. Kuri was around… the classrooms down here, I think. I think she was lookin’ for you, Hira.”“Kuno?” Diana asked, “She was looking for Hiramoto?”“Well, she didn’t really say it,” Sasabe said, “But, like, she was clearly lookin’ for somebody. And who else does she talk to?”Before Hiramoto could speak up in Kuno’s… defense?, the elevator doors swished open, revealing… more than zero passengers, much to Hiramoto’s surprise. Uma leaned up against one of the walls, scribbling in her notebook. Kimura stood near what Hiramoto assumed was the panel with the buttons, eyes narrowed and a hand on his chin in a comical look of intense interest. Monotaro stood next to him, looking up with what seemed to be some kind of concern.Kimura’s eyes snapped to the side a good second after the door swished open and broke into a grin, “Well hello, ladies!” He said, sticking a hand out to prevent the door from closing, “Fancy seeing you here! Hope you’re having a good time exploring the new floor!”“Uh…” Hiramoto said, trying to find something to say and finding nothing.Diana rolled her eyes, “Are we the only ones actually exploring?”“We’re experimenting right now,” Uma chimed in, not looking up from her notebook, “We were attempting to see the limits of this here elevator. It can go all the way down to what seems to be a fourth floor, but we can’t access the lower two floors.”“Well of course not!” Monotaro said, “You haven’t earned those places yet!”Kimura sighed, “Yeah, and we’re stuck with this piece of junk, too.”“You best watch your mouth about the ones keeping you here,” Monokuma remarked, his voice suddenly present. Hiramoto went rigid, nails digging into the strap of her satchel. Monokuma marched up, and shot a harsh glare at Sasabe, “And you! Watch the force! This is state of the art tech, you know?”Sasabe sighed, picking at her ear with a finger, “Oh great,” She said, “We gotta deal with Moku as well…” She let out another, dramatic sigh, “Why?”“Wh–!” Monokuma went red in the face, throwing his hands into the air, “What do you mean ‘why’?! This stuff doesn’t come from a corner store, you know! It’s expensive!”Sasabe shrugged, “I don’t care.”“Well you should!” Monokuma snapped, “If you break that call button, then the elevator stops!”“It does?” Kimura asked, looking curiously at the panel again, holding a strange tone that made Hiramoto turn to face him. When she did, she saw a strange look cross his face, which disappeared the moment he spoke up again. “Well, that certainly doesn’t make me feel very safe!”“It’s safe as long as nobody breaks it!” Monokuma replied, turning again to yell at Sasabe, “Plus, need I remind you that it’s against the rules to damage anything aboard the Ultimate Cruise Liner?!”“Yawn,” Sasabe replied, faking a yawn. She then stepped into the elevator, shoving Kimura backwards to stop him from blocking the door. He let out a surprised ‘woah!’ as he stumbled back, and Sasabe took his position at the panel.Monokuma threw his arms into the air, “I’m not done talking to you, missy!”“Sasabe, wait,” Uma finally looked up from her notebook, eyes narrowed and tone warning.“That sucks,” Sasabe said, ignoring Uma, “Going up.” She leaned forward and pressed a button on the elevator panel. The elevator dinged, and the doors slid shut. Hiramoto could hear the elevator hum as it, presumably, ascended up to the deck.Monokuma let out a growl, “Kids these days have no respect! Ooh, that really makes me mad!”Diana stared down at Monokuma for a second before she turned to Hiramoto, eyes half lidded in clear annoyance. “Let’s get out of here. This is getting stupid.”“Um…” Hiramoto glanced down at Monokuma, who seemed to be standing there fuming. So much so that he didn’t even look over at them. Hiramoto nodded, “Y… yeah…”Back in the hallway, Diana sighed, “Can’t we just explore in peace for like, five minutes?” She asked. Her stare flicked over in Hiramoto’s direction, and Hiramoto awkwardly twiddled her thumbs for a second before offering Diana a limp shrug. Diana sighed again and straightened her back. “Well, whatever. Apparently, Kuno was looking for us, so we should find her before we get interrupted again, right?”“Y… yes. Good, um. G-Good idea,” Hiramoto replied, already feeling confused. Nobody they’d met really seemed to be exploring the area, despite the general consensus. And now Kuno wanted to see her of all people? Her head was already spinning…“Let’s head out, then,” Diana said, “Sooner we find Kuno, sooner we can scope the rest of this place out. Now let’s see…” She tapped at her chin, “Sasabe said around the classrooms, right?”Before Hiramoto could answer, Diana trotted off. Hiramoto shot a look back at the Elevator Room, expecting Monokuma to pop out at any second to… lecture her. Or something. But he didn’t emerge, and Hiramoto was getting nervous standing around alone, so she eventually turned away and went to catch up to Diana.Kuno was not, in fact, near the Classrooms. Or inside the Classrooms. Diana even poked her head into Chujo’s Lab and got the completely expected response of him not knowing where Kuno was. However, Diana was convinced Kuno was in the area, and Hiramoto didn’t exactly disagree.They turned the corner near Chujo’s Lab, and Hiramoto saw the hallway stretch downwards. There was a familiar set of double doors to their left and another hallway a bit of a ways past them. On the right, further than the doors was yet another hall, and down at the end was a distant t-junction. Diana immediately marched up to the double doors, looking perturbed.“No way,” She muttered, “It can’t be.”Hiramoto looked above the double doors. Sure enough, another plaque. It held yet another familiar phrase: ‘DINING HALL’. Diana threw the double doors open.

To Hiramoto’s surprise, this Dining Hall was different, though still undeniably

familiar.

The aesthetics of this room were similar

to the Dining Hall upstairs

, with maroon carpeting, fancy tables with mint green tablecloths, fancy chandeliers, and padded seats.

However, this Dining Hall was smaller. It held two, far smaller chandeliers instead of the three upstairs, and less lighting in general, giving the room a bit of a darker color overall. There were less tables, and there was a large, crimson curtain draped in front of the far back wall. Below the curtain was what appeared to be some kind of… food bar, akin to the kind she’d seen before in buffets. At the end of the food bar was a large fridge, stocked with drinks, and a wire rack like in convenience stores that held snack foods and candy.Kuno was also there, standing at the fridge. She cracked open a can of soda as she turned to face the two of them, cocking a brow at their entry. She also said nothing, simply looking in their direction and taking a sip.“Oh thank god,” Diana said, shoulders slumping in relief, “We’ve been looking for you!”Kuno remained silent.“G-Good, um. After… aftern-noon,” Hiramoto greeted.“Good afternoon, Hiramoto,” Kuno replied, marching up to them. She looked at Diana as she approached, face flat. “Valentine.”“…” Diana’s hands clenched into fists, and she spoke in a low tone, “Diana is fine.”Kuno simply stared at her and then turned back to Hiramoto, “Why were you looking for me?”“U-Um,” Hiramoto began, glancing briefly in Diana’s direction. She looked perturbed, a pout on her face and her arms crossed over her chest. Hiramoto got the sense this wasn’t the time to bring her in and continued, “W-W-Well, um. You… y-you see… We, um… f-found Sasabe. A-And she said, th-that you were. Uh, looking. For us.”Kuno rolled her eyes, “Well she was wrong. I’ve just been looking the place over, and stopped for a drink.”Hiramoto wilted, retreating slightly behind her hair, “R-Right…”“…” Kuno was quiet for a moment, staring at Hiramoto for a second before continuing, “She’s got issues, and needs to back off,” She paused again, almost seeming to be forcing herself to keep talking, “I assume you guys have figured out by now, but half this place is stuff we already have.” Kuno motioned at the Dining Hall around them.“I… y-yes,” Hiramoto replied, “We, um, s-saw. The classrooms. And elevator. O-Oh, and the D-Disposal Room…”Kuno nodded, “Yeah. There’s also a complete set of duplicate Staterooms down here.”“Huh?” That seemed to bring Diana out of her funk for a second, “More Staterooms?”“…yeah,” Kuno said, eyes flicking in Diana’s direction before turning back to Hiramoto, “Just a bit down the hall, left out of this room. Everything in them is exactly the same, down to the clothes in the closets,” She shook her head, a frown forming on her face, and stuffed her free hand into her pocket. “Waste of time.”“Ah,” Hiramoto said, “I-I see…”Kuno stared at her for another extended second, eyes frigid, before she took a sip of her soda and began heading out. “Make sure you explore thoroughly. Oh, and don’t linger too long in here.”“Wh… why, um, why not?” Hiramoto asked.“Monokuma told me that the doors to this Dining Hall lock during Nighttime, unlike the one upstairs,” Kuno replied. Then, without another word, she left, the doors to the Dining Hall clicking shut behind her.Diana let out an aggravated sigh, and Hiramoto stiffened at the sound of it. She turned slowly, finding Diana staring at the Dining Hall doors, running a hand through her hair. “What’s her issue?” Diana asked.“Um,” Hiramoto said, unable to find a way to reply.Diana turned back to Hiramoto, and she seemed to force her evident irritation away, replacing it with a strained smile, “Well, whatever. Let’s check out these Staterooms, yeah? Might as well,” She turned away, tone going darker as she grumbled her next words under her breath, “Since we’re bein’ thorough and all.”Hiramoto bit her lip as Diana stomped out of the Dining Hall. One of her hands slithered up, and Hiramoto gripped at her neck as the door clicked shut behind Diana. She knew that she should follow Diana, but… maybe just a moment to compose herself…A few moments later, Hiramoto scurried out of the Dining Hall, catching up to Diana in the hall. She didn’t seem to have noticed Hiramoto falling behind, and they reunited in a hallway that was eerily similar to the one in the Hotel upstairs. Hiramoto didn’t have a reason to believe Kuno was lying, but it was still unnerving to see a hallway that was identical, save for the color scheme.Things didn’t get better as they turned the corner, and found that it was even laid out the same as the Staterooms upstairs. She and Diana had their rooms next to each other, with Jitsuko and Esumi’s across the hall. And inside of their rooms… everything was identical, just as Kuno said. Everything from the layout, to the décor, to the identical sets of clothing in the closet. It made a shiver run down Hiramoto’s spine. Why? It was almost like a set from a movie, copied and pasted in two different locations.“Okay, this is getting too freaky,” Diana remarked, pulling out another copy of her dress from her closet, “It’s all the same. Even my drawers!” She reached into her closet, and Hiramoto slapped a hand over her eyes and turned away. Behind her, Diana rustled around for a few moments before Hiramoto heard the closet door shut. “They couldn’t have even given us something new to wear?!”“M-M-Maybe…” Hiramoto began, keeping her eyes covered, “We sh-should, um… w-w-we should. G-Go. S-Somewhere else, th… that is…”“Huh?” Diana said, “Oh! Yeah, probably. This place is freakin’ me out anyways.”Hiramoto removed her hand, and found that, much to her relief, Diana had stuffed everything back into her closet. She let her shoulders slump in relief, and Diana shook her head.They headed out.Immediately after the door to Diana’s second Stateroom clicked shut behind them, Hiramoto heard something that made her relax somewhat. Down the hall, she heard an excited shout, and the warm and sunny sound could have only belonged to Ikari. Diana cocked her head, clearly curious, and broke into a jog. Hiramoto scrambled after her.“Alright! This is sweet!” Ikari shouted, head flicking to the side as Hiramoto and Diana turned the corner. His eyes sparkled with excitement, their warmth making Hiramoto break into an uncertain smile. Behind him were Esumi and Jitsuko. The former had a relieved grin, which seemed to grow slightly as they arrived, while the latter looked like she was ready to leave. Before Ikari was a set of double doors, which he held open with both hands.“What’s so exciting?” Diana asked, walking up to Ikari, Hiramoto on her heels, “We could hear you shouting from all the way down in the Staterooms.”Ikari’s grin grew, and he motioned at the open doors with his head, “Check it out! Words can’t describe how good this is!” As Diana moved closer and Esumi and Jitsuko turned to each other, Hiramoto looked up. Settled neatly above the center of the door frame was a shiny little plaque, reading one word: ‘GYM’.“Certainly the best thing we’ve seen so far,” Jitsuko snorted, pushing past Ikari to head inside.“You can say that!” Ikari replied, scampering in after her. Diana followed after.

Esumi trotted up to Hiramoto, smiling at her.

‘How’s the investigation going?’

She signed.

Hiramoto sighed, looking down at Esumi,

‘Not very well. Everything we’ve found is the same.’

‘Oh yeah.’ Esumi nodded, shaking her head, ‘We came across all of that too.’ She winked at Hiramoto, ‘Luckily, we found the interesting stuff a little big ago.’‘That’s good.’ Hiramoto replied, offering Esumi a shaky smile. Her eyes darted towards the now closed Gym doors, then flicked back to Esumi. Esumi clearly noticed, and cocked her brow.‘Not a fan of exercise?’ She asked.Hiramoto flushed, looking away and receding back into her hair. Caught off guard, she responded verbally, “I-I-I-I d-don-n’t real-ly… do… e-exercise v-ver-ry oft-ten…”

Esumi

briefly

laid a hand on Hiramoto’s forearm, causing her to tense up. She glanced out from behind her curtain of hair, finding Esumi with a

n

appeasing look on her face.

‘Sorry, I was just teasing.’

“I-It’s f-fine…” Hiramoto replied.‘Let’s check it out.’ Esumi signed, gently reaching out and grabbing Hiramoto’s sleeve. She gave a slight tug and another soft smile. Hiramoto nodded and took a step to follow, and they headed into the Gym together.Unsurprisingly, the Gym was huge. Easily the largest room she’d seen on the Ultimate Cruise Liner so far, the Gym was well lit, and had the typical polished hardwood flooring of a school gym, with an alcove stuck into the back with two doors set into it. Flanking either side of the alcove were what seemed to be two extra rooms, one smaller and compact, the other outlined by plexiglass walling.As Hiramoto stepped onto the hardwood floor alongside Esumi, she truly realized how much bigger the Gym seemed. The ceiling was higher than some of the other rooms, around the same as the Dining Halls. In addition, two basketball hoops were connected to some kind of thick metal machinery, and folded up towards the ceiling. The floor was painted with the markings of a basketball court, and some kind of track ringed the court as well. Hiramoto glanced back at the door to the hall, finding an electrical panel that likely controlled the basketball hoops.Ikari let out a whoop, shooting past Hiramoto and Esumi as he sprinted along the track. Jitsuko stood in the center of the court, arms crossed and staring up at the hoops. Diana was off to the side, having opened up the door to the little, compact room in the back. Esumi turned to Hiramoto, offering another smile, before trotting over to Jitsuko. Hiramoto simply took another moment to stare at the room before shuffling towards the back of the room.Her first instinct brought her to the back of the room, a pit of dread growing in her stomach as she moved to confirm her suspicions. And, sure enough, Hiramoto was forced to face the reality of the matter. She approached the pair of doors set into the back and felt sick to her stomach at the two plaques present above the doors: ‘BOYS’ LOCKER ROOM’ and ‘GIRLS’ LOCKER ROOM’.She definitely was not coming here. Hiramoto turned away, taking a few deep breaths, and headed over to where Diana was standing, head poked into the tiny, unlabled little room off to the side.Diana turned as Hiramoto approached, and her face broke into a grin. “Check this out, Hiramoto!” She said, pointing at the contents of the room.Hiramoto peeked in, and found herself staring at all sorts of sports paraphernalia in a rather poorly lit closet of sorts. Of note, Hiramoto saw a wheeled cart filled with balls, some kind of… pitching machine, a pair of wheeled bases for some kind of netting, differently shaped rackets, and a spare pair of said netting tucked into the corner. Diana speaking up drew her attention,“This is surprisingly well stocked!” Diana said, grinning, “All sorts of cool stuff in here! We could play basketball, tennis, volleyball…” She paused, seeming to marvel at the possibilities, “There’s even stuff in here for fancy pantsy stuff like badminton!”“Cool, right?!” Ikari said, suddenly behind them. Hiramoto jumped slightly, and Ikari took a small hop back to give her some space, “Come check this out, Diana! They’ve got an honest to goodness exercise room!”“Wait, really?” Diana skirted around Hiramoto, and she took off alongside Ikari. Hiramoto blinked in surprise, watching them scurry off before she closed the closet door and followed after.Diana and Ikari stood outside of the plexiglass walled room, now alongside Jitsuko and Esumi. Hiramoto peered around them, finding that the room itself was exactly as Ikari had said. It had a padded floor and what appeared to be a water cooler stuffed into the back corner, likely as a compliment to the variety of exercise machines inside. Hiramoto saw a couple treadmills, some weight lifting machines alongside a couple of racks of similar things, and other things she… admittedly didn’t recognize.“Oh wow!” Diana said, wonder filling her voice. She pressed her hands up against the glass and stared inside, Ikari bouncing excitedly behind her.“I’m almost impressed,” Jitsuko said, “At least Monokuma knows how to almost properly stock his gyms.”Ikari shook his fists excitedly, “This is so great! No more subpar jogging conditions!” He bounced on the balls of his feet, “I can run on a treadmill, and work on my weightlifting! We could even get together and play some games!”“Yeah!” Diana turned, beaming at Hiramoto, “We could exercise together, Hiramoto! That’s gonna be fun!”Hiramoto bristled, shooting a glance at the Locker Rooms. She reached up, prodding at the base of her neck with her finger tips before swallowing and responding. “U-Uhm,” She said, “I… I-I’m not really good. A-At, um. Exercise.”She moved to pull back, fading behind her curtain of hair. As she did so, Hiramoto saw Esumi looking at her, eyes flicking into the direction that she was looking. Hiramoto tensed up, seeing a sharpness in Esumi’s eyes that she hadn’t seen before. And then, as soon as she’d seen it, the look left, and Esumi simply cocked her head at Hiramoto.“Aw, it’s okay!” Diana said, patting Hiramoto on the shoulder, “That’s the whole reason people exercise, y’know! Plus, you don’t need to worry how you look! Everybody looks gross when they exercise.”“And I’m sure you won’t look that bad, even!” Ikari chimed in. Hiramoto watched as the other three girls present turned to look at him. He took a moment to notice their stares, and then flailed his hands around, face growing red, “C-C-Cuz I mean, like! You know! It’s like– I just mean that, I’m not saying you’re not– I just meant–” He took a step back, “I’m gonna go check out my Lab now. Bye!”Hiramoto watched Ikari scurry out of the Gym. Jitsuko snorted and shook her head, while Esumi’s shoulders shook with a silent chuckle. Diana sighed.“Some of the guys here,” She said, hands on her hips. She then turned to Esumi and Jitsuko, “His Lab’s on this floor?”“Yeah,” Jitsuko replied, “So’s both of ours. We were gonna check ‘em out anyways after this.” Esumi tugged at her sleeve and signed something. Jitsuko looked at her, then translated for Diana, “Well, we looked at Esumi’s already. Mine’s just down the hall.”Diana nodded, “Cool. We’ll swing by too, right Hiramoto?”“Y-Yes,” Hiramoto nodded, “Or um, rather. We will. I-If we’re allowed. Th-That is.”“Sure, I don’t care.” Jitsuko said.

Esumi tugged on Jitsuko’s sleeve again and moved to sign at her,

‘Let’s check on Ikari as well. I’d like to let him know we didn’t mean harm.’

Jitsuko’s face curled up into a sneer, “Ugh. Fine. We can go there first.”“Go where?” Diana asked, looking to Hiramoto, who fidgeted.“U-Um. T-To uh. Check out. I-Ikari’s Lab,” She said.Diana nodded, “Yeah cool, cool. I wanted to check it out anyways, since we’re exploring the whole place and all.” She smiled at Hiramoto, “Let’s head out!”

Hiramoto nodded, then turned to Jitsuko and Esumi. The former shrugged, and the latter offered her a grin and a thumbs up. Diana marched out of the Gym, and Hiramoto

watched her go

, Esumi and Jitsuko follow after.

Hiramoto took a shaky breath, shooting another look at the Locker Rooms. A dark thought gr

ipp

ed at the base of her skull, and Hiramoto squeezed her eyes shut, digging her nails into the skin of her neck

to will it away

. It was fine. It would be fine.

She turned and ran to catch up with the others.

The moment after she stepped out of the Gym, however, Hiramoto skidded to a stop. Directly across the hall from here was a door that she hadn’t noticed before due to the commotion at the Gym doors. It was… strange, being what appeared to be a simple slab of metal set into its frame. No door knobs, no handles. Above the door was the typical nameplate, reading ‘ULTIMATE BICYCLIST LAB’. However, next to it was a red alarm light, currently off. And next to the door was a Monopad scanner, similar to the ones outside of the Staterooms. The other three girls were crowded around it, staring.“Huh. I guess this is it,” Diana said, looking the door up and down, “How the heck do we get in?”Jitsuko simply stared at the door for a moment before taking a few steps forward. Diana stepped to the side, giving her berth, and Jitsuko cracked her knuckles, “Well, there’s one way that always works,” She said. Hiramoto’s eyes widened as Jitsuko planted both hands onto the door, widened her stance, and squared her shoulders.A muffled, buzzing alarm played, and a moment later, the door opened up, ascending upwards into the frame and out of sight. Jitsuko blinked and looked to the side. Hiramoto followed her eyes and found Esumi standing at the scanner, her Monopad pressed to it. Esumi cocked an eyebrow at Jitsuko, who frowned and returned to a normal posture.“…What?” She asked.Esumi just stared at her for a moment before trotting into Ikari’s Lab. Jitsuko turned to Diana and Hiramoto, shrugged, and headed in after Esumi.“I…” Diana began, then pursed her lips, “Hmm. Well, not everybody is always composed, I guess,” She said, turning to Hiramoto and smiling, “Let’s check this out.” And then she was gone after Esumi and Jitsuko. Hiramoto stared at the Monopad scanner for a few more moments before heading into the Lab, the door swishing shut behind her.

As she entered in after Diana, Hiramoto found that Ikari’s Lab… was somehow exactly what she’d expected. The room was oblong, and almost as large as the Gym. Immediately upon stepping in, Hiramoto’s feet hit asphalt. When she looked down, she found an asphalt path, spanning the circumference of the room. The middle area, inside the path, hosted what

seemed

to be… fake grass?

On the grass were a couple cycling machines, a water fountain, a rack of towels, and a bicycle rack with a couple bikes on it. Across the room, Hiramoto could see another door, similar to the one they’d just came through. There was a red alarm light and some kind of speaker above it. When Hiramoto glanced backwards, she could see the same light and speaker above the door they’d came through. That… was probably the source of the alarm.Diana stood on the grass, kicking at it with her heel, while Jitsuko lifted one of the bikes off of the rack with one hand. In the back of the room, Esumi poked at the door, while Ikari finished sprinting around the track and skidded to a stop next to her. Hiramoto let Diana and Jitsuko look around, opting to see what was in the room in the back.“Oh man, this place is a dream!” Ikari said as Hiramoto approached, clearly excited and slightly out of breath, “This, plus the Gym? I’ll never be out of shape again!”Esumi smirked, then turned to Hiramoto and signed, ‘Was he ever out of shape to begin with?’Hiramoto offered a nervous grin, then turned to Ikari, “Wh… what’s, um, back here?”“Hmm?” He looked at her, then turned to the door, “No clue. Let’s check it out!”Ikari stuffed his hand into his pocket, whipping out his Monopad and placing it onto the scanner next to the door. A quick tap later, and the door swished upwards with a prominent alarm, just like the one to the hall.Inside of the back room, it was a lot smaller and dingier than the Lab itself. The walls were simple concrete, and the room was lit by a single, hanging lamp. Hiramoto could see a rack mounted onto the wall, slotted up with all sorts of wrenches and screwdrivers. A bunch of bike parts were piled up into one of the far corners, and an empty bike rack sat next to them. A workbench sat opposite, and Hiramoto noticed that there were bottles and cans of oils and lubricants lining the surface.“Wow…” Ikari marveled.‘Impressive,’ Esumi signed once Hiramoto glanced in her direction, ‘but for the sake of figuring this place out, not very useful.’‘Unfortunately not,’ Hiramoto replied. It seemed so mean to say something like that about a place that Ikari was clearly excited about… but it was also true. Just like its owner, the Ultimate Bicyclist Lab seemed too straightforward to be hiding anything.“Nothin’ particularly weird in here,” Diana said, approaching from behind. Hiramoto turned, finding her walking up with Jitsuko at her side.“Looks nice at least,” Jitsuko said, crossing her arms and snorting, “Aside from the shitty fake grass.”Ikari nodded, “Yeah, but at least I don’t have to take care of it,” He clenched his fists and excitedly shook them up and down, “This place is great! A full on track to ride on, and I can even fix the bikes up to my liking!”“I can’t wait to see what my Lab is like…” Diana mused aloud, hand on her cheek.“Speaking of,” Jitsuko said, glancing down at Esumi, “I’m gonna check my Lab out now.”Esumi nodded excitedly, then turned to Hiramoto and signed, ‘You’re free to come, of course!’“Ah…” Hiramoto said, twiddling her fingers, “I-If you’ll… um, be fine. W-With having us. O-Or, rather. Me. A-And anyb-body else, of c-course.”“Already said that you’re good,” Jitsuko stated simply, staring at Hiramoto with a flat look. Hiramoto swallowed thickly, turning away and twiddling her fingers.Ikari squared his shoulders and looked around his Lab again, “Thanks for the invite, but I think I’m gonna chill here for a bit! I wanna see what I can do with some of this stuff!”“Whatever,” Jitsuko said, turning to Diana and Hiramoto, “Let’s go.”Diana offered one final look around the Ultimate Bicyclist Lab before shrugging and offering a thumbs up, “Sounds good! Let’s check this out.”Jitsuko tromped out, Esumi at her side. Diana shared a smile with Hiramoto before trotting after the pair. Hiramoto turned to look at Ikari before she left, who was already in the back room, digging through the collection of bike parts piled up in the corner. She couldn’t help but smile a little bit, pulling back into her hair slightly so it would hide her face, and then trotted after the others.Jogging to catch up, Hiramoto found them simply heading down the hall, and slotted herself next to Diana. The walk was short, and Hiramoto soon enough found herself outside an incredibly ornate looking door. The frame looked sturdy, almost looking to be carved out of some kind of stone-like material, while the door seemed to be made out of thick, reinforced bamboo. Above the door was the typical plaque; this one reading ‘ULTIMATE KICKBOXER LAB’.Jitsuko nodded in approval, then reached forward and pushed the door open.The Lab seemed… almost mystical, even looking in from the hallway. There seemed to be a light, cool mist that filled the room, just barely noticeable. Potted bamboo was evenly spaced along the walls of the room, providing some green, and the lighting was slightly dimmed, with the lights set into the ceiling.Immediately upon entering, there was what appeared to be a designated entry area, a small rectangle of dark flooring accompanied by small cubbies that Hiramoto assumed were for shoes, considering a pair was already in one of them. Past that was a large, thin mat which covered most of the center of the room. However, part of it was pulled back, revealing hardwood floor underneath, which held some strange, pre-made holes that Hiramoto assumed were made to mount something into the floor.A glance up revealed that there were three cabinets along the back wall, though one was much bulkier and larger than the other two. A small water fountain was set into the far left corner, waiting to be used.Also, Goto was standing in the center of the room, down on one knee, examining the holes in the hardwood.As Jitsuko kicked off her shoes and stomped forward, Hiramoto took a moment to simply enjoy the ambiance. The area was clearly a proper dojo, at least for Jitsuko, and certainly held a very calming feeling. It… was a surprisingly nice environment, and it helped Hiramoto just take a second to… to focus on nothing, really.“Oh, hello,” Goto said, looking up at Jitsuko as she approached, “I see you’ve come to take a look at your Lab.”“Yeah,” Jitsuko said. She reached down and grabbed him by the back of the shirt, yanking him to his feet, “Which makes me surprised to see you here.”Goto yelped, rubbing at the front of his neck and glaring, “Well excuse you!” He snapped, “I did not realize I needed your explicit permission in order to enter an unlocked room.”“Well now you know,” Jitsuko replied, a sneer on her face, “And you’ll be fuckin’ ecstatic to know that you don’t have permission. So beat it.”“You have no right to kick me out of here,” Goto said with a huff, crossing his arms.

Jitsuko narrowed her eyes at him before speaking, “Let me

use bigger words then, so they can get through your thick skull:

,” She cracked her knuckles, “

You’re

evicted

, genius

.

Now

make haste

.

”

“Those weren’t…” Goto started to respond, then gave Jitsuko a once over, almost as though he’d just realized who he was talking to. He glanced back towards Hiramoto, Esumi, and Diana. Hiramoto looked over and saw Esumi nod, and then shrug.“Fine,” Goto finally said, “If that’s how you are going to act, then I want no part of your pedestrian ‘Lab’ anyways.” He let out another huff to emphasize his words, then marched past Jitsuko. Hiramoto shuffled to the side, as did Esumi, as Goto stuffed his feet into his shoes, quickly tied his laces, and left.Esumi watched him go, brow cocked, before she stooped down to pluck her shoes off of her feet. Diana followed suit, leaving Hiramoto standing in the entryway as they moved over towards Jitsuko. Hiramoto watched for a second before she scooted over to the door and peeked out into the hallway. Goto was stomping away, the opposite from the way she had come. He didn’t turn around, and Hiramoto simply watched him go.When she ducked back into the Lab and closed the door, she could see that the others were gathered around one of the cabinets in the back. Hiramoto carefully removed her shoes, placed them into one of the cubbies, and then carefully headed over. The mat was smooth under her feet.

In the back of the room, Jitsuko had opened up the bulkier cabinet, revealing what looked to be about six wooden sparring dummies, if Hiramoto had to guess. They were simple, vaguely human shaped, and made out of polished wood and foam pads. Jitsuko reached out and

wrapp

ed

her arm around

one of the dummies’

‘neck

s

’

, pulling it out of the cabinet with one

arm

.

“Hrm,” She said, digging her fingers in and hefting. Hiramoto watched her bring it up about and inch off the floor. She snorted, “It’s a bit lightweight, but it’ll do,” Jitsuko glanced to the side, looking at the holes that Goto was examining earlier. She then held the dummy out to Diana, “Here, hold this.”“Huh? Sure, but–” Diana started to speak, grabbing the dummy’s ‘chest’ with both hands. When Jitsuko let go, however, Diana lurched forward with a grunt, “Oof! Hey!” The base of the dummy hit the floor with a dull thud.“Watch it,” Jitsuko said, making her way over to one of the holes and prodding at it with her foot.

Diana grunted and made sure the dummy was fully vertical before turning to glare at Jitsuko, “What the hell do you mean ‘lightweight’? This thing must weigh at least like,

twenty something kilos

!”

“That’s not that heavy,” Jitsuko replied.Hiramoto turned to stare at the dummy for a moment. She then turned, making eye contact with Diana and clearing her throat awkwardly. Diana stared at her for a moment, then glanced at the dummy, and then the door. Realization dawned on her face, and she tilted the dummy away from her.“Oh, right! Why the hell am I doing this?!” Diana took a step away from the dummy, and Esumi shuffled forward to hold it, “Hiramoto and I are supposed to be exploring! Not helping you set up your Lab!”“Then go,” Jitsuko replied, rolling her eyes, “I’m not forcing you to stay.”Diana put her hands on her hips and glanced back at Esumi, who just shrugged. She then looked at Hiramoto, who nodded. Still… Hiramoto couldn’t help but look at Jitsuko. She didn’t… seem angry, her words simply seeming blunt just because that’s who Jitsuko was. Hiramoto turned back to Diana and nodded again.“Well alright then,” Diana said, then turned to Esumi and offered her a thumbs up, “Alright, Hiramoto, let’s get out of here.” With that, Diana headed off to get her shoes, her step light against the mat.Hiramoto turned to Esumi, who had to adjust her whole body to lean up against the dummy in order to sign at Hiramoto.‘Thanks for hanging out,’ She signed, ‘See you later?’‘Definitely.’ Hiramoto signed back. She moved to grab onto her satchel, fiddling with the clasp as she carefully scurried past Jitsuko. Diana had already put her shoes on, and patiently waited for Hiramoto to do the same before the two slipped out of the Lab.Back out in the hall, Hiramoto let out a sigh, her shoulders slumping. Yet another room down. And still, she felt no closer to… anything, really. The Extended Stay Quarters were supposed to explain… something, to them, right? And yet from everything Hiramoto had seen, it was just… another place to stay. More room to do…Hiramoto felt sick.“Man,” Diana said, her voice cutting through Hiramoto’s thoughts, “This is kinda lame. All this stuff and we haven’t even found that thing that Monokuma said was down here. ‘Know it when I see it’, my ass,” She put her hands on her hips and shook her head, then turned to Hiramoto, “Where to now?”That forced Hiramoto to think. Diana was right, there was something else around here that they were supposed to be finding, something that was part of their… ‘reward’. So far, they’d found nothing that Hiramoto would consider ‘special’ enough to warrant ‘knowing when she saw it’. And, judging from how everyone else spoke, neither had they.“U-Um…” Hiramoto mused, fiddling with the strap of her satchel, “P-Perhaps… Maybe the, um… Infirmary? Esumi, uh, m-mentioned one. Being here.”“Good idea!” Diana turned to give Hiramoto a radiant smile, “I’m glad I’m hanging out with you!”Hiramoto flushed, only able to nod. Her hands gripped her satchel, and she turned away. Before she could start moving, however, there was a voice that called out to them, making Hiramoto’s stomach churn.“Oh hey! There you guys are!” Kimura shouted.Hiramoto turned, looking in the direction they’d came down earlier. There, peeking around the corner near the entrance to the Gym, was Kimura, waving at them excitedly. To Hiramoto’s surprise, Uma was there with him, scribbling in her notepad. She glanced up and offered them a twiddling of her fingers before looking back down.“Go away,” Diana said, crossing her arms, “We’re busy,” She then leaned slightly to the side and frowned. “Uma? What are you doing with this little pest?”“Keeping him out of trouble,” Uma replied, not looking up from her notepad.Diana put a hand on her hip, “Well you’re not even looking at him.”“Forget about that!” Kimura said, grinning, “Diana, c’mere! You’re gonna wanna see this! It’s related to you, after all!”Before Hiramoto could even think of anything to say, Kimura ducked back around the corner, disappearing from view. Uma glanced up from her notepad a second later, then pivoted on her heel and walked off after him. Diana sighed.“What a load of bunk,” She said, then glanced at Hiramoto, “Should we see what those idiots are up to? Seems… I dunno, important?”Hiramoto opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Kimura… was bad news, always. But… they were trying to explore the Extended Stay Quarters. She swallowed the lump in her throat, then nodded in response to Diana’s question. Diana nodded back, offering Hiramoto a small smile before heading off after Kimura and Uma.Hiramoto glanced back at Jitsuko’s lab, wondering if it was too late to call for backup. She swallowed again, the lump still in her throat, and followed after.As she turned the corner, Hiramoto could see Kimura, Uma, and Diana standing around a set of double doors that Hiramoto hadn’t noticed earlier. They looked to be made out of a sturdy wooden frame, with some sort of puffy, leathery material filling up the space in between the bars of the frames. They were painted with criss-crossing yellow and red stripes, and looked almost… circus-like.A plaque above the door read ‘ULTIMATE STREET PERFORMER LAB – BALCONY’.…Balcony?Hiramoto shuffled up to the three gathered around the door, watching with no small amount of concern as Diana gripped the door handle with both hands and began shaking it. It clicked at her, evidently locked. Diana let out a grunt and let go of the handle.“What the hell?” She asked, face settling into a scowl, “It’s locked!”“So it would seem…” Kimura said, rubbing his chin and leaning close, narrowing his eyes in an over-exaggerated examination.Uma said nothing, scribbling in her notepad.Diana growled, “That’s it. I’m getting this open,” She reached up, grabbing the handle of one of the doors. She raised a leg, planting the sole of her foot on the other door, and began pulling with help from the extra leverage. Hiramoto’s eyes widened as the door bowed out slightly under the force of the pull, but didn’t relent.“Seems locked,” Kimura commented.Hiramoto turned to him, staring quietly for a moment, before turning to Uma and clearing her throat. “U-Uhm…” She began, continuing once Uma looked up at her, thankfully, “Is… is um… uh…” Hiramoto looked away before continuing, “I thought… you were up on the deck. B-Because of, um, S-Sasabe. I mean.”“Oh, that,” Uma sighed. She snapped the notebook shut and tucked it into her shirt’s breast pocket, giving her full attention to Hiramoto. She did, however, shoot a sideways glance at Kimura before going on, “Sasabe left soon after we hit the Hotel. Kimura started to wander off, and I thought it rather pertinent for him to have a babysitter, considering the nonsense he keeps getting himself into.”“Oh, come on,” Kimura rolled his eyes, “It was like one thing. Besides, it’s stupid Sasabe’s fault for putting us up in the Hotel in the first place. I wanted to continue exploring the elevator.”Uma raised her brow, “I doubt that. But anyways, now that my notes are finished for the moment,” She turned to address Diana, pointing at her, “What are you doing, Valentine?”“…” Diana was silent for a second, even pausing at her intense pulling. She glanced over her shoulder, then back at the door, giving it a tug for good measure, “Is it not obvious? I’m trying to get it open.”“Looks like it’s locked,” Kimura remarked, a smirk on his face. Diana shot him a glare.“And it’s going to stay that way until further notice!”The four of them turned as another voice chimed in, and found Monokuma marching up to them, Monodam on his heels. He grinned his strange, stitched on grin, and jabbed a paw at Diana.“That door is going to stay closed! After all, a Talent Lab remains locked if a student dies before they get to see it! After all, I’m not going to reward you ungrateful ingrates for somebody dying! If you do the work and find the killer, that’s what gets you rewarded!”A beat of silence filled the hallway.“…I’m alive, dude,” Diana said a moment later.Monokuma remained silent, staring intently at Diana. He then let out a cackle, and rubbed the back of his head, seemingly in embarrassment, “Oh, silly me!” He said, “You’re absolutely right! You are looking rather disappointingly alive!” Monokuma chuckled to himself again, shaking his head.“Yeah, sure, I’m alive,” Diana said, a scowl settling onto her face, “So are you gonna open it or what?”Monokuma cocked his head, “Open what?”“The door!” Diana snapped, pointing at the door to her lab’s… balcony with both hands, “This one! I wanna see what’s in my lab!”“That makes sense,” He replied, nodding, “Yeah, no can do.”“WHAT?!” Diana shouted, throwing her hands into the air.Uma pulled out her notepad and flipped it open, “Why not, if I may ask? This is her talent lab, is it not?”“Nope!” Monokuma replied, grinning, “This is an entrance to her lab, but it’s not the official one. Her lab isn’t here in the Extended Stay Quarters, so I’m afraid you’ll just have to survive the next round if you want to get in, missy.”“Um…” Hiramoto began, worrying at her satchel’s strap, “What… what do you mean… b-by, um. Not. Or, it um, not being here. O-On this floor, I-I mean…”“Yeah, what’s the deal?!” Diana asked, towering over Monokuma, “It’s a door into my lab, but it’s not the ‘right one’?! That sounds like a load of horse shit!”Monokuma held up his paws, sweating, “N-Now now, children. No need to get so violent with your Captain. Sure I make the rules, but is that a reason to argue with me about them? Them’s the breaks, after all, nothing we can do about that, right?”Hiramoto glanced to the side, and saw both Diana and Uma open their mouths to speak. However, it was somebody else who got the first word in, somebody Hiramoto had almost forgotten was there.“Well, what if we break in, then?” Kimura asked, arms clasped behind his back. He rocked on his feet, staring absentmindedly at the doors to Diana’s lab’s balcony.“What?” Both Diana and Monokuma said at the same time, similarly bewildered. Uma raised her brow and began scribbling in her notepad.Kimura shrugged, turning his head to look at Monokuma. Hiramoto could see, even without being the target of his stare, that there was a certain… intensity to Kimura’s eyes. A powerful, analytical stare that she could feel.“Dunno, just wondering,” He said, “I’m sure there’s plenty of tools and stuff lying around that we could use to pry this bad boy open, no? Shouldn’t be too hard, especially if we got somebody like Jitsuko or Ikari to help us out. Hell, Diana could probably do it herself if she wanted to. She was already trying.”“Are you kidding?!” Monokuma asked, incredulous, “I expected you of all people to understand the rules, buster! If you break the door down, you get executed for breaking a rule! End of story!”“Really?” Kimura asked, mocking innocence in his voice, “Which one?”Monokuma went red, throwing his paws up into the air, “Rule Twelve!”

Hiramoto frowned. Monokuma was right, Kimura…

would

be the one to understand the rules. So… so something about his question here r

a

ng strangely in her head. She stuffed her hand into her satchel and pulled out her Monopad, navigating quickly to the place where the rules were listed out.

“U-Um…” She said aloud, trying her best to ignore everybody turning to look at her, “R-Rule, um… rule twelve. It states that… that um, ‘U-Unless a student… um, r-receives some… other approval, then, um, all damage to the Ultimate Cruise Liner is… is prohibited.”Monokuma glared at Kimura, “See? Somebody reads my rules.”“So we’re not allowed to break this door down because we don’t have permission.” Kimura said, his words phrased more like a statement than a question.

Monokuma was quiet for a moment, then responded, “From a matter of speaking, yes. You’re not allowed to break the door down, because you don’t have permission to damage

it

. So it’s against the rules.”

“Soooooooo,” Kimura continued, sticking his hands into his pockets, “Say we did get permission. What then?”Hiramoto frowned, lowering her Monopad slightly. What was Kimura doing?“If I say you can break the door down, then you can break the door down!” Monokuma snapped, “Sheesh, how hard is this for you to understand?!”“Hmmmm,” Kimura hummed to himself, rocking on his feet. Suddenly, his face lit up, and he pointed excitedly at Monokuma, “Aha! I think I get it now!” He pointed at the doors, then back at Monokuma, “We can’t break the doors because we don’t have permission! If we did have permission, then we wouldn’t be breaking a rule, because we were told we could! That makes so much sense!”

Diana stared at Kimura for a second, face scrunched up, “

It

did

make sense.

Now

I’m

just confus

ed

…”

“…Now I have a question as well,” Uma chimed in, “Does this, perchance, happen to be one of the rules voided conditionally by Rule Sixteen?”Monokuma was silent, but Hiramoto could feel the anger emanating from him. She took a step back just as Monokuma let out an angry growl, “Rrrrrr! Fine, yes! Rule Sixteen applies to Rule Twelve! If you’re committing a murder, then Rule Twelve doesn’t matter!”“Huh,” Kimura said. His face was painted with a small smile, seeming… almost genuine, “That’s good to know.”“Are you children satisfied now?!” Monokuma snapped, “The rules aren’t supposed to be the hard part of the Killing Game, dammit!”Kimura nodded, clasping his hands behind his back, “Yes, I understand completely! We can’t break anything unless we’ve been given permission or we’re committing a murder! That’s Rule Twelve!”“Yes!” Monokuma replied, clearly wound up. He let out another growl, then turned away, “That wasn’t supposed to be so difficult. You kids are driving me to drink… Back to the honey for your Captain…” Monokuma finally stomped away, leaving them alone with Monodam.Monodam simply nodded at the four of them, turning to waddle away. However, before he could follow after Monokuma, Kimura cleared his throat and spoke up.“Hey, Monodam,” He said, “Before you go, can I ask you a question too?”Monodam stopped, turning around and looking up at Kimura, “YES-YOU-MAY.” He said.“Thank god,” Kimura let out an exaggerated sigh, “There’s just one more thing I didn’t understand about the rule, but I was afraid of asking a stupid question, y’know? I didn’t want Monokuma to get more mad at me!”“THERE-ARE-NO-STUPID-QUESTIONS.” Monodam said, then glanced in the direction Monokuma had gone, “THOUGH-I-UNDERSTAND-YOUR-TREPIDATION. THE-CAPTAIN-WAS-VERY-UPSET. WHAT-IS-YOUR-QUESTION?”“Well, I was just wondering,” Kimura said, rocking on his feet, “Can you give permission too? I know Monokuma can, cuz he’s the Captain of the ship and all, but can the Deckhands give us permission too? You guys are kind of, like, first mates, or whatever.”Monodam sat quietly for a few moments, seeming to just… process that. Then, after a pregnant pause, he replied, “I-SUPPOSE-WE-COULD. THE-RULES-DO-NOT-STATE-SPECIFICS. THEREFORE-IT-IS-REASONABLE-TO-ASSUME-THAT-MONOTARO-AND-I-MAY-GRANT-THE-SAME-EXCEPTIONS-AS-THE-CAPTAIN.”“Sweet,” Kimura grinned, “Thanks for the help, little guy.”“NOT-TO-WORRY.” Monodam said, “IT-IS-MY-JOB.” He then turned and waddled off after Monokuma.It was quiet for a second before Diana spoke up, “What the hell just happened?”“A guy can’t ask for specifics?” Kimura asked, a smirk on his face, “Well, whatever. I’ll catch you ladies later. Bye bye, Hiramoto. Diana.” Kimura offered Hiramoto a wink that made her face flush red before trotting off.Uma hummed, then turned to Diana and Hiramoto, “I suppose I should follow him.”“Nah, don’t worry about it,” Diana said, shaking her head, “Nobody’s gonna let him do anything else after the stunt he pulled with Dewa. Besides, you shouldn’t be the one managing him anyways.”“I suppose that tracks,” Uma said, tapping the brim of her hat with her pen, “Perhaps then I could join the two of you for a time? Exploration is more fun with more friends.”“Of course!” Diana nodded, “Always room for more girls where we’re going, right Hiramoto?”Hiramoto nodded, shaking her head in an attempt to dissipate the redness on her cheeks, “W… We would, um. B-Be glad. To, um, have you. C-Come with us, that is.”“Excellent,” Uma grinned, then tapped her pen on her chin, “Sooooo, where is your destination, then?”“Well. Hmm,” Diana put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips, “I’m… not sure. We were gonna try and find the Infirmary and Esumi’s Lab, I think. Before Kimura came and bothered us.”“I see,” Uma said, nodding. She pointed down the hallway, the way they hadn’t gone yet, “Well, it’s a bit of a long way, but I figure we could take this route. There was a room down thatta way that I haven’t gotten the chance to check out yet.”“What do you think, Hiramoto?” Diana asked, turning to look at her.Hiramoto twiddled her fingers, “W-W-Well… I, um… sure. Th-That we can, I mean. B-Because. We have to, um, explore everywhere. A-Anyways. I think.”“My thoughts as well,” Uma nodded, turning and beginning to tromp off, “Let’s make haste!”Diana pulled a face, cocking an eyebrow before following after Uma. Hiramoto let out the breath she didn’t know she’d started to hold. Every single moment she spent near Kimura made her understand less and less about him. And yet, she couldn’t stop thinking about every little thing he did. Maybe it was just the paranoia…Hiramoto sighed. She turned to find that Uma and Diana had made headway down the hall, and jogged after them.