Sorry if this is OOC or confusing, it's the first fanfic I've ever written. This was inspired by BackgroundRobot-11's fic "A Moment Of Panic". I just had a thought for a different version of the story that they thought of. I asked for their permission to post this story, as it is very similar to theirs, and they allowed me to, so please do not accuse me of plagiarism. I strongly urge you to look at the previously mentioned story if you like this one, as it was very interesting to me and follows a similar plot.

As for the story itself, it is set at the time of Maizono's death in the original. The actual events will be explained over time. This is mostly based around the way the story was told in the manga, so it may slightly differ from the story and ideas of the anime/game.

When Maizono first asked to swap rooms with Naegi, he hadn't objected, having actually been contemplating it himself. She had smiled sweetly as he left, making a remark about her "keen intuition". He thought-no, he knew-that she would be safe. He was sure of it. He walked into her room, assuring himself that they would escape this school together, alive and happy. She would get back to her band with whom she was so close. He would return to his parents, his sister, and his friends and be back to his now enviously bland life. He climbed into the pink-sheeted bed and drifted into a deep sleep, dreaming of a world in which this awful "killing game" never existed and he and the other students lead peaceful, happy lives together. A world he so desperately wanted to wake up to.

Naegi was awoken by the continuous, frantic ringing of his-no, he thought, Maizono's-room's doorbell and the door shaking slightly, as though someone was banging on the other side. He glanced at the digital clock on the bedside table, the red text blaring brightly into his eyes. 1:26 AM. Who would be up and out at this hour? Not only was it abnormal, it was also in direct violation of their self-imposed nighttime rule! Well, whoever was outside seemed rather desperate, so the Ultimate Lucky Student quickly pushed himself out of bed and unlocked the door. He had barely a moment to open it before a flash of red and white bashed into the room, knocking into Naegi and sending them both to the ground. The intruder had spiky red hair, a trait portrayed by only one of the 15 Hope's Peak Students. "K-Kuwata?!" Naegi cried, surprised and confused by the situation he suddenly found himself in. The baseball player lay on Naegi in a panicked state, shaking violently and speaking much too quickly for the poor luckster to understand. "Kuwata, what happened? Are you ok?" The taller boy suddenly sprang to his feet, scrambling away from Naegi and pressing himself against the wall, as though attempting to hide. That's when Naegi noticed the long, ragged cut that dragged along the other's arm, staining the sleeve of his white shirt a sickening shade of pink.

Kuwata took a moment to try to compose himself, eventually managing to stutter out an explanation. "M-Maizono. It was fucking Maizono. S-she tried to kill me! That psycho bitch tried to kill me, dude," he vaguely gestured to his injured arm, "nearly stabbed me! I-I mean, she invited me t-to her room and she had a knife and I-I tried to grab this sword but I just couldn't get it in time and she-"

Naegi chose to tune out Kuwata's mad rambling for the time being, instead choosing to mull over what exactly he had just said. Maizono had...attacked him? She had attacked Kuwata with a knife? Nonsense, she would never. This entire situation didn't make sense. She wouldn't have invited him in, she was absolutely terrified. That was why they switched rooms in the first place! She wouldn't have attacked anyone, she was too kind, too sweet. But, obviously, someone must have been behind this-otherwise, Kuwata wouldn't be bleeding and crying on the floor of Maizono's room...wait, what?

He snapped back to reality and gasped when he realized that Kuwata had, indeed, slid down the wall and fallen to the ground, his blood dripping onto the floor in a small puddle. His shoulders shook and his soft, fearful sobs filled the room. That wound must be worse that he had first thought. He rushed to the other's side, noting the pallor taking to his skin, and lightly shook him. "Hey, hey, Kuwata, it'll be alright. We'll get you patched up, you'll be ok, just calm down." His words seemed to help calm the all-star, as his trembling weakened slightly. Naegi took his sweatshirt and began tying Kuwata's arm just above the deep wound, trying to stop the bleeding enough so he wouldn't bleed out. Kuwata suddenly began muttering to himself softly, attracting the attention of the Ultimate Lucky Student, who asked what he was saying. After taking a deep breath to help calm himself, Kuwata began to speak, voice still soft and weak. "I-I was so scared, Naegi. She literally pulled a fucking knife on me, man, she nearly killed me! S-she was gonna stab me but I-I don't wanna die here, dude, I just can't! I have so much left to do." Kuwata continued on, only stopping when he eventually passed out, probably from pain, blood loss, and the stress of the situation. Naegi quickly resolved that he couldn't let Kuwata in this place, in this room, from a wound that came from Maizono. Not when Kuwata had been so adamant to have them all escape. Not when he had looked upon the idol so fondly before. To have him die at the hands of a girl he probably loved...that would be too much, too ironic, too cruel. Naegi couldn't let that happen.

He took a glance back at the clock, finding it to now be 1:32. He couldn't do much for the other; the nurse's office wasn't open and he wasn't entirely willing to break the Nighttime Rule. However, he knew that he couldn't address this issue on his own, even with the limited aid of Kuwata. Who would be able to help them? Maybe Oowada, with him being part of a gang and all. He has to have patched up tons of wounds by now, right? Naegi decided that this seemed to be a good course of action, as Kuwata was obviously not doing well and would need this medical care very soon. Thus, Naegi left his room to get Oowada, knowing that he should be able to help him deal with the whole situation, being careful to completely avoid the room with the nameplate that strangely bore the last name "Maizono", even though, in reality, it should have read his own.

I hope you guys liked chapter one! Please review so I can see if you guys like it and if I should write a part two.