II - Overture of Heaven and Hell: Daily Life Part 3

Kaede is unsure of what to make of the scene playing out in front of her. She stands, dumbfounded with Tsumugi on one side, Kiibo on the other, at the doors leading into the gym. On one side of the hall, a furious-looking Tenko holds a wailing Kokichi down firmly onto her lap as Kirumi dabs his face with a cotton swab, Himiko sitting a few feet away tinkering with what appeared to be a small silver padlock. Her eyes shift to the other end of the room, where Ryoma and Maki indifferently stand, observing the others from the side-lines, the disinterest clear as day on their faces. A snivelling Miu sits on the floor in the centre of the gym covered in towels, Gonta gingerly attempting to help the inventor dry herself off, as Angie dances around Kiyo, his masked nose in some sort of notepad in the background.

"Oh, there you are, Kaede!" Kaede is brought out of her thoughts as familiar, friendly, goatee-wielding astronaut makes his way over to the trio.

"Hey, Kaito." The pianist smiled at the ever-friendly spaceman, as she stops and leaves Tsumugi and Kiibo to deal with Miu and Gonta. Kaito rubs one of his arms as he turns his gaze to the rest of the group.

"It's been one hell of a morning, Kaede, I'll tell you that." He chuckles as though it's an inside joke to himself.

Even I could tell that much, she thinks to herself as Kaito proceeds to fill Kaede in on the other locations the groups had found, inclusive of a pool, that Angie had thrown Miu into, explaining the towels and scowls radiating from the middle of the gym, research laboratories belonging to Kirumi, Gonta, Ryoma, Maki, Himiko, and "possibly Kokichi, maybe, I dunno, I kinda hope not" though she feels her eyes glaze over with faux interest as the astronaut starts on a tangent about how his lab was being most definitely being saved for last.

Her gaze briefly flickers to Miu, now ranting to her new audience about a 'pissbaby from Atua's asshole." Sometimes Kaede wishes her hearing wasn't as sharp as it was...such is a musician's pain.

"Hmmm..." Kaito brings a hand to his goatee, mauve eyes scanning over the blonde. "You... kinda look kind of different today, Kaede. Did you change something?"

Kaede blinks at Kaito and is about to lift her hand to Shuichi's hat, when she's suddenly jumped into from straight on, stumbling back a few feet as the figure makes himself known.

"My beloved Kaede!" Kokichi exclaims, nuzzling his head into the musician's chest. "I missed you SO much this morning!" He pouts at the astronaut nearby. "Kaito was bullying me earlier, he wasn't as worried about you as I was at all!" Kokichi gazes up at Kaede, tears spilling from his violet eyes. "Y'know? I thought *hic* that maybe *hic* someone came and *hic* KILLED you, Kaede! I was SO worried!"

Kaede's body tenses at the word 'killed' being so casually thrown around, memories of the night before surfacing back into the forefront her mind.

"Will you stop, Kokichi?! You've been nothing but trouble today, and it's only one-thirty in the afternoon!" Kaito retorts as he attempts to pry the smaller boy off of Kaede. "Pickin' a fight with me this morning, gettin' Himiko in trouble earlier, and now you're at Kaede?" He lets out a strained sigh as he manages to pry the still-sobbing boy off of the musician. "Give it a rest, dude, seriously."

But Kokichi isn't listening to Kaito, instead, he's completely silent, eyes trailing up to Kaede's new fashion accessory. Kaede suppresses the urge to squirm under the Supreme Leader's scrutiny. Kokichi raises an eyebrow, complimented with the blankest of stares.

"... Why are you wearing that murderer's hat, Kaede?" His voice stonily cold, devoid of any emotion whatsoever.

Kaede's breath hitches in her throat. She'd expected at least one comment on the decision to wear the detective's hat, yet she hadn't been quite as prepared for it to be in front of her entire class. Kaito quietly hisses something into Kokichi's ear, but the latter silences him with a wave of his hand.

"It is a problem if Kaede is supporting what he did." Kokichi shoots back at the astronaut. He turns to address the other students, now slowly accumulating around the pianist. "So, Shuichi murders someone, literally gets away with it, and now we're all just going to be okay with his partner in literal crime wearing a piece of his clothing to remember him?" His visage cracks, a wry smile peeking through. "That's... an interesting way of dealing with loss, for sure!"

Tsumugi is the first one to speak up in Kaede's defence. "I don't see the issue with it, Kokichi... it's just a hat after all."

Followed by Gonta. "Yeah! Gonta think Kaede should wear hat too!"

And Angie. "Nyahahaha! Atua thinks it looks better on Kaede than it did on Shuichi anyway!"

Himiko lets out an uncharacteristically loud 'nyeh' from the across the room. "Hats are good for when you don't wanna talk to people."

"I must wholeheartedly agree with the others," Kirumi says with her trademark smile, as the other students also start speak up in Kaede's favour. Kokichi stares, bewildered at the students opposing him, Kaede too, both dumbfounded by their responses, and both for entirely different reasons.

"Don't worry, Kaede," Kaito places a comforting hand on the pianist's shoulder. "We're all here for you, and we're gonna all get out of here and meet Shuichi again, aren't we guys?"

"That's right!" Tsumugi excitedly exclaims. "I'm sure he's working hard outside to free us right now!" She clasps her hands together. "So, we have to do our best until then!"

"You guys... you just don't get it do you?" Kokichi speaks up, and his face contorts into something that makes Kaede insides flip.

"Stop antagonising her, Kokichi!" Kaito shouts at the smaller boy, jabbing a finger into the smaller boy's chest. "She didn't even know he was going to murder someone yesterday, you saw how surprised she was last night—"

"How do you know she wasn't in on it too?" Kaede freezes, as the group turn to the new voice.

Maki steps to the forefront of the group. "She's a performer. She knows how to put on a face for her audience. For all we know," she continues, eyes not leaving the blonde. "Kaede and Shuichi had planned to kill Rantaro from the start. And now Kaede is here, trying to clear his name for him, trying to justify is decision to take another life." The gym falls into a hushed silence, the words of the Child Caregiver darkening the already-tense atmosphere.

Kokichi blinks, taken aback from the unexpected aid, but quickly repaints the smirk on his face with ease... "Okay, someone does get it then." Maki doesn't bother acknowledging him.

"You..." Kaede takes a deep breath, heart hammering in her chest. "You don't understand anything, Maki, you weren't there when—"

"When he murdered Rantaro with you? Yeah, I figured that the second you ran to his defence last night." Kaede can feel that familiar hot anger bubbling at the pit of her stomach, nails digging into her palms as she restrains herself from snapping back. She had to be the bigger person here.

"Hey, we don't know that that's what happened for sure," Kaito begins to interject. "Why don't we just hear her out at least?"

"But we don't know that it isn't the case, either." The dark-haired girl glares over at the pianist, Kaede stiffening on impulse at crimson-red eyes piercing into her own.

Kaito sighs, agitated, and turns to address the group. "Look, guys Shuichi did something bad, in fact," He hesitates, "it was terrible of him! But he and Kaede were friends! Let her remember him for the good times they shared, is that too much to ask?"

"Haha, seriously?" Kokichi rolls his eyes. "They knew each other for what, four days at best? Come on, Kaito, they weren't married." He turns back to Kaede. "For all we know," the dictators eyes darken. "Kaede might be planning a similar attack on one of us as we speak."

Kaede feels weak. She knows. She knows she should own up to it, tell them the truth, tell them that yes, Maki, yes, Kokichi, I am indeed is Rantaro Amami's killer, but for some godforsaken reason Monokuma decided to allow Shuichi to take the brunt of the blame for me, but even she knew that this is probably neither the time nor place to admit to murdering their fellow classmate.

"T-that's not what happened at all," Kaede begins to splutter before being interrupted for what seemed like the hundredth time today.

"Oh, good, good! You all decided to show up this time!" The musician feels the back of her neck prickle as Monokuma bounces into the view of the class, skidding to a stop in front of the Kiibo, holding a peculiar-looking torch.

The robot holds it up inquisitively for the rest of the class to see. "I am assuming you are behind this device also, Monokuma?" The robot inquires to the bear, as though the confrontation that had just occurred had never happened in the first place.

"Wow, Kii-boy," Kokichi quips, "Don't you know how to read the air?"

"H-Hey!" Kiibo flares. "I'll have you know that my ability to identify the various components present in the air is impeccable!"

"But of course!" The bear laughs, ignoring Kokichi and Kiibo's quarrelling. "That, my friends, is what we in the industry like to call a 'Flashback Light!'"

"Fuck you! I ain't flashing anyone!" Miu barks at the bear, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Flashback...Light?" Kiyo places two fingers on his hat's brim. "Would it, by any chance, be connected to—?"

"Our missing memories!" Kaito finishes the anthropologist's sentence.

Monokuma gives a sly smile. "Why don'tcha turn it on and find out for yourself?"

Kaede moves towards the front of the group, taking great care to avoid stepping anywhere near Maki as she does so. "Why should we trust anything you're saying to us!?" She yells at the smaller robot.

"Whaaat?" Monokuma tilts his head inquisitively... "And why wouldn't you trust your friendly, neighbourhood headmaster, my dear...?"

Kaede grits her teeth and swallows the words snapping at her throat. Because you lied to everyone about Rantaro's murderer...

"Well, Kii-boy? Whatcha waiting for, hmm?" Kokichi crosses his arms above his head, a cheeky grin plastered onto his face - a polar opposite person to the young man Kaede had seen mere moments ago.

"I'll get to it!" Kiibo glances back down at the flashback light, uncertain. "I just want to make sure everyone is alright with this before I switch it on." His eyes flit to Monokuma, excitedly hopping from side to side in what Kaede assumes is anticipation.

"Well?" Kaito looks the girl beside him. "What do you think we should do, Kaede?"

The pianist blinks, uncomfortable at the sudden attention on her. "M-me!?"

"Yeah!" The spaceman grins at her. "I think you're one of the only people we've all spent a decent amount of time with*, so I think you're someone that we all can trust!" He spins to face the rest of the group, fists balled and raised. "You guys agree with me too, right!?"

Kaede's classes immediately jump to her aid once more.

"Of course!"

"I do not have any reason to object."

"Gonta loves Kaede! Let him treat her like gentleman!"

"Atua loves Kaede too!"

"I've no objections... I guess..."

"Tenko will go along with whatever Kaede and Himiko suggest!"

"Then I too, will agree with the others."

"She has small tits, but she's pretty trustworthy, I-I g-guess..."

Kokichi and Maki remain silent, but the overwhelming majority is enough to persuade Kiibo to turns to the musician with a smile. "Well then, what is your verdict, Kaede?"

Kaede stares at the flashlight in her classmates' hand with intensity. "It's... definitely not wise to trust anything that," her eyes slide over to the bear, "... thing, says. But..." She hesitates, mind clouding over with pros and cons of switching it on. "It... might be dangerous to 'not' examine it, if there's a chance we might gain some of our missing memories back."

The second those words leave her lips, Kaito points at the robotic student. "You heard the girl, Kiibo!"

The robot smiles and nods, everyone turning to face the light. "All right everyone, please endure this!" And with that, Kiibo turns on the Flashback Light with a gentle click.

And the world warps.

Kaede's world goes pink, blue, green, white, as a plethora of strange colours and sensations creep into the darkest crevices of her mind. Her head feels momentarily light, her eyes aching as multiple memories and scenes from her past flood into her brain, as though tearing through a wall that had once been blocking them out, swimming around rapidly as she tries to make sense of it all.

...

...

...

"That's it!" Kaede exclaims, eyes widening as the sudden recollection of events washes over her. "It was the Ultimate Hunt that brought us here!"

Miu lets out an audible squeal. "W-wait! You were in that fucking thing, too!?"

"So was Angie!" Angie chirps from the back of the hall.

"It would appear that we all bore witness to the same memory." Kiyo muses, placing a bandaged hand to his chin in contemplation.

"But, wait, what exactly was this 'Ultimate Hunt...?'" Kiibo inquires. "And why were we involved in it?" The group nervously glance around at each other for answers, anxious palaver gradually emerging from the cluster of students.

"Now that you mention it," Tsumugi begins. "I-I don't actually know... I just remember it, if that makes sense." She looks sadly down at her shoes.

Kaito slaps his forehead in frustration. "Grrrgh! It's like it's right there but I just... can't seem to reach out and grab that memory..."

"Please wait, everyone." The group turn to the voice. Kirumi. The maid holds out a gloved hand, seriousness painted into her expression.

"I do apologise if I am mistaken, however... I am quite certain that... he mentioned this 'Ultimate Hunt' before, did he not?"

"Rantaro." Himiko nonchalantly answers, not looking up from fiddling with the padlock from the floor. Kaede feels her knees go weak as the idle chattering abruptly ceases at the mention of her unknowing victim.

"Ohhh... I see, I see, so Rantaro knew about the Ultimate Hunt before we did! Interesting..." Kokichi hums, his head dramatically turning to face Kaede. "Too bad that idiot of a detective killed him, right guys?"

Kaede closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, pulling the brim of Shuichi's hat down over her face.

"Kokichi, that is in the past now, we cannot redo the past." Kiibo argues. "And we have all just collectively concluded that Kaede had nothing whatsoever to do with Rantaro's death."

Kokichi raises an eyebrow. "Oh, really? We did that?" He chuckles to himself, reaching for the back of his head. "Didn't realise we decided to trust a murderer's accomplice, my bad!" Kiibo makes a frustrated noise, but before he can formulate a response, someone else speaks up.

"I don't want to be agreeing with the idiot over there again, but he holds a valid point."

Kaito stares at Maki. "Maki, are you seriously gonna take his side? Of all people?"

She sighs. "I'm not taking anyone's side, I'm just stating what we all should be thinking."

Kaede grips the white straps of her backpack as though her life depends on it and turns to face the Caretaker. "You don't have to take sides to be civil." she says.

Maki's blood red eyes lock onto hers, sending a cold wave of fear down Kaede's spine, but she continues regardless. "You... you don't have to like me to get on with everyone else, Maki. If you have a problem with me, that's fine, but don't be taking it out on everyone else. It's not fair on them."

"Well, maybe I'd prefer not to be part of a class that are insisting on bowing down to someone who is one of the main reasons we're even in this predicament in the first place, "Maki replies coldly. She turns her back to the group. "If you're all going to so easily accept someone who's trying to defend a murderer into your little friend group just like that, then it's your loss when she inevitably comes for the rest of you."

Kaito moves towards the twin-tailed girl, eyebrows knitting together in a scowl. "Maki, there's no need to go that far, we've all agreed to believe in Kaede, whether you— or Kokichi, for that matter, like it or not." His eyes flicker to the boy in white, observing the current turn of events with intrigue, clearly enjoying every minute of it.

"L-listen, Maki" Kaede begins, internally cursing herself for the slight tremor in her voice as the babysitter turns her head slightly to glare at the musician again. "I'm not asking for you to be friends with me, nor am I asking for you to forgive me, but I really don't think it's a good idea to isolate yourself from the group, like you've been doing. Monokuma wants us to do exactly that."

She looks to Kokichi. "You too, Kokichi." The leader raises a curious eyebrow at being addressed, hands still carefreely locked behind his head.

Kaede continues. "Being uncooperative will just cause the rift we currently have in our group to get even bigger, and I... I..." She sighs, genuinely lost for words. "I don't know how to put it into words yet, but I... just don't want anyone else to end up like Rantaro did, I guess. And that's the truth, whether you guys want to believe me or not is up to you."

She doesn't have the chance to say anything else as she feels the tense air slice beside her as Maki silently makes her way to the exit, not bothering to look back at the class.

Kaito purses his lips tightly together. "I'm gonna... try and bring her around." He mutters, flashing Kaede an apologetic look and ambling off after the girl.

Though she doesn't feel it, Kaede's knees finally give way, and make contact with the hard floor, watching the red and purple figures getting gradually smaller as they exit the gym.

Even though it's just two people that seemed to doubt her and rightly so, it still pains her to think that she's the sole reason for this whole divide in the first place, because of her dumb, dumb dumb plan to murder the mastermind.

She feels a large hand land on her shoulder and looks up to its owner. "It okay, Kaede. Gonta know it not your fault Rantaro die."

Kaede forces a smile at the ever-kind entomologist. "Thank you, Gonta." God, she hated lying. But she couldn't do it. Even if she was to just blurts it out right now, it's not like they'll even believe her. Of course they'll take Monokuma's word over her own – he was the ringleader, after all. Well, she thinks, that's still to be debated, I guess, but still...

"Ahhhh, welp! That was fun while it lasted!" Kokichi sings, stretching his slender arms up to the ceiling, closing his eyes as he did so. "But we didn't even get a motive this time! Just some dumb old memory that we didn't even ask for." He bites his nail and then he too, starts retreating from the gym. "Well, I'll be trying to think up some motives of my own then! Since Monokuma obviously can't be assed to do it himself." The dictator strolls out of the gym with a dismissive wave.

Gonta reluctantly leaves Kaede's side and moves to pursue Kokichi, announcing that he'll keep a watchful eye on the smaller boy.

Miu is the next to make a move. "And I'm fucking going to get changed and take a shit! Don't any of you pervs even dream about following me! Oh, but Kiibo is fine, I guess..." The robot doesn't have time to reply as Miu takes him by the arm and drags him away with her, only the faint noise of the robot questioning whether 'special allowances' are considered robophobic or not. Soon after, the other remaining students also depart, bidding their goodbyes to each other for the day, until only three other students remain in the gym with the musician.

And murderer.

"In any case," Ryoma speaks up for the first time since Kaede entered the gym. "Guess that's that for the day." He stops briefly next to Kaede before he takes his leave, not meeting her eyes. "Think the situation here has everyone stressed. Don't take it to heart. 'Sides," He starts to walk again. "I find it pretty ironic that she said all that stuff about you with the guy who killed hundreds standing a mere few feet away. Just something to think about."

"You have no idea how angry Tenko is at those two for speaking to you like that! Especially that nasty little degenerate!" Tenko says through gritted teeth with a crack of her knuckles. "They had no reason to say those horrible things to you!"

"Yeah, I know..." Kaede sighs. "It's their opinion though, and they've both made it quite clear that they stand by those opinions very strongly, for whatever reason." She stares at the biscuit-coloured floor, guilt creeping up on her once more. "So who are we to try and change them?"

"They could have at least been nicer about it..." Himiko drawls from the nearby. She lifts her head and points her finger. "Y'know, like; 'We don't trust you because your friend killed our friend, so... uh... be gone, pheasants... or something like that"

Kaede raises an eyebrow. "Did you mean to say 'peasant?'"

Himiko blinks, slowly tugging her hat down over her face. "Nyeh... whatever..."

Tenko smiles fondly at the smaller girl, before looking to Kaede again. "Ah, is there anything we can do to cheer you up, Kaede? Oh!" The martial artist excitedly turns back to Himiko, tugging at the smaller girl's blazer. "Himiko! You should do a magic show to cheer Kaede up!"

Kaede laughs apprehensively. "I-it's okay, Tenko, there's no need for that..."

Himiko stares at the two girls in thought, before kneeling up, readjusting her blazer and shuffling slightly further away from Tenko, and closer to Kaede.

"You and Shuichi were close weren't you..." she inquires to the pianist monotonously, tilting her hat up to look the pianist in the eyes.

Kaede feels her face heat up at the sudden interrogation. "T-that's—!"

Tenko lightly taps the magician on the shoulder. "Himiko! You can't just ask someone a question like that! That would be like asking someone about our relationship!"

"Relationship?" The two performers echo together.

"Well," Himiko continues. "If someone asked me about that, I'd just tell them you're one of my creepy stalker-fans though... cuz y'know... it's the truth." Kaede feels Tenko's positive aura completely disintegrate with just that one sentence.

The magician however, unfazed by Tenko's reaction, addresses Kaede again. "I was just asking cuz like..." She pauses in thought for a moment. "I dunno... maybe you could do something that'll remind you of him... or something... like solve a mystery... I dunno what detectives like to do... nnn, they smoke pipes don't they?" Kaede tries to stifle a giggle at the magician's suggestion.

"Himiko, Kaede is not going to go smoking! She's underage anyway!"

"Nyeh... then... maybe there'd be a cool hat or magnifying glass in his lab that you could play with..."

"Himiko, no one found Shuichi's lab, we don't even know if he has one..."

"Oh, right... then... how about reading books? There's 'prolly detective books in the library that you can— mmmmph!"

Tenko slaps a hand over the mage's mouth before she could continue, mouthing a 'sorry' to Kaede, occupied with trying her hardest not to laugh at the mage attempting to cheer her up in her own special way. Slowly, but surely, she finds the will to stand back up, dusting off her knees. "Thank you, Himiko."

"Nnnnymph?" The redhead shifts her eyes up to Kaede, still struggling to escape Tenko's iron grip.

Kaede pumps her fists, something she hadn't done in a while, she feels. "I think you've given me an idea!" She pauses. "I'm going to need to take some time to myself to do it though, if that's alright with you two."

Tenko releases Himiko from her silence, the latter letting out a dramatic gasp for air. "Of course, Kaede! We were just leaving too, of course! Himiko was just going to show me her lab as I haven't seen it yet! I'll talk to you tomorrow!"

"Nyeh..?" Himiko blinks. "No... I never said tha—"

Before Kaede can even respond, Tenko grabs an irritated-looking Himiko by the hand and pulls her off the floor and out of the gym. Kaede waves at the two girls, as they depart, one clearly more enthusiastic than the other. Kaede swears she sees Himiko flash her the smallest hint of a smile from under her huge hat as she's yanked away by Tenko. She stands at the gym doors, listening as the light pitter-pattering of their footsteps get fainter, and then she proceeds to set about her own business.

Kaede swings open the aptly decorated door and instantly feels at home, embraced by the fresh, naturey-scent of the wooden floor and walls.

She'd only briefly come in here once before, when Angie had requested she play for her. She spends a while cleaning up the scattered sheet music carelessly littered around on the floor – she isn't sure if it was for decoration, or Monokuma just messing with her - before finally stepping up onto the wine-coloured podium, stretching her trained fingers with a satisfying crack. Sliding up the hood, her pink-tipped fingers graze each key as she gives the instrument that she's loved for as long as she can remember a brief test run. To her surprise, it's tuned to perfection - as though she'd tuned it herself. She... really doesn't want to know how Monokuma had managed to do that unbeknownst to her. And so, not needing to refer to the sheet music, her eyes fluttering closed, she begins to play.

As her fingers hit the keys, Kaede is whisked away back to the events of the past few days. It had only been a few days at best, but it'd felt like years since she'd last laid hands on a piano. Every time Kaede plays, she tends to let the piano do all of the expressing for her – it's so much easier for her to express her thoughts and emotions through her fingers, each note dripping with a sorrowful sentiment behind it.

Rantaro Amami...

"...I'm looking forward to it, Kaede. I want us all to meet again...and I'll work hard to make that happen."

Rantaro lets out a breathy chuckle as he idly flicks through his Monopad as they sit chatting at the dining table, though Kaede just barely fails to see he's looking at.

"It's not just you, though, Rantaro. We all need to work hard together to make that happen."

The pianist lowers her head down onto the table, catching the amnesiac's green eyes with her own as she attempts to reassure him that he isn't alone in his desires to escape Monokuma's clutches.

Rantaro slowly lowers his pad face down onto the table, eyes not leaving Kaede's as he considers her words, his normally gentle green eyes clouding over with something distant, and an almost sad smile gracing his soft features as he thinks about it.

"...Yeah. You're right..."

Her fingers lightly dance along the keys to the song that suddenly held so much meaning to her than it ever did before. She feels herself slowly cracking under her Ultimate Pianist face, small droplets splashing over the piano keys as she perseveres through the song.

Rantaro... She desperately wants to apologise to Rantaro, to tell him that he wasn't alone and that she'd have done anything, anything, to have been able to help him before she brutally ended his young life. She opens her eyes briefly and watches as the light pink hue of her fingernails glistens through the window's artificial light, each short nail nothing but a soft pink blur as her fingers run up and down along the piano's length.

And Shuichi Saihara...

"Thank you, Kaede."

T he detective lowers his cap further over his face, obscuring his face from the pianist.

Kaede is slightly taken aback by Shuichi's sudden expression of his appreciation towards her. "Wh-Why are you thanking me, Shuichi? I just gave you my opinion, that's all."

Shuichi looks up again, a light pink blush dusting his pale features. "Because...that's the first time someone has ever said that to me. I'll never forget this moment. I'll be able to believe in myself and be proud of being a detective. So um," He hesitates. "Thank you... for everything you've done so far."

Kaede smiles back at Shuichi, knowing that this was only the beginning of their friendship.

"..."

The boy she (probably) owed her life to.

The boy who decided to dedicate himself to finding them help outside.

What did he see when he was taken outside?

Is everything okay?

Is he okay?

Does anyone know about this Ultimate Academy where they're being held?

And who is even controlling Monokuma and the Monokubs?

She opens her eyes and for a split second, she swears for a moment that she sees Shuichi standing at the other end of the piano, his head down, eyes closed as he absorbs the piece. Her vision of the black and white keys gradually blur into a bleary grey mess as the small inevitable teardrops begin to softly splash onto various keys. All the while, her anxious thoughts continue to waltz in circles around in her head to the music, until the piece was finally over. Kaede withdraws her hands from the piano and buries her head in them, shoulders heaving as she attempts to recompose herself. It's as though she's being weighed down. Weighed down with an immense amount of shot-put balls, each one pulling at her limbs, trying to drag her down into her further and further down into the grave she should rightfully be resting in right now.

"..."

"Oi, Bakamatsu! You ain't gonna get any prettier sleepin' in that jacked up position!"

Kaede's head snaps up at the guest. "Oh, Miu..." She quickly rubs her eyes and sits up as the inventor walks around her lab, examining the layout.

"Hehhh... pretty nice place you got here," She smirks at the other blonde, hands on hips. "Too bad it ain't as rad as mine, but I guess that was to be expected."

Kaede decides to ignore the other girl's jab at her lab, instead idly watching her carelessly flick through various CDs on the shelf nearby.

"So, what are you doing here, Miu?" Kaede asks, genuinely curious.

The inventor snorts. "Kiibs asked me to drop off my dirty rags at Janitor-Jugs' new pad, and when I was comin' back, I heard a fuckin' awful racket down the hall!" She points accusingly at the pianist. "And it was fuckin' YOU!"

"Oh." Kaede chews on her lip, eyes lowering to the monochrome keys. "S-sorry, was I being too loud?"

"I-I mean..." The inventor shifts on her feet slightly as she watches Kaede stare at her instrument with sorrowful eyes. "I-it wasn't THAT bad... I-I suppose... just..." She pauses for a minute, fiddling with the large bow on her outfit. "I dunno... just kinda... GRAAAHH!" Miu lets out a frustrated shout and jabs a finger in Kaede's direction. "Geez, saggy-tits! What the fuck are you playing such depressing-ass music in a fucking killing game for? Are you tryna make us all kill ourselves or something!? Is this what bitch-face and shota-shaft were on about earlier, huh?!"

Kaede curls the fingers resting on skirt into her fists. "A-ah, no that wasn't it at all it's just..." She smiles sadly at the sheet music propped up in front of her. "I promised Shuichi that I'd play that song for him when we got out..."

"And?"

"Huh?"

"Fucking AND?" The inventor scoffs loudly. "He's isn't dead, jack! There's no need to go into fucking mourning over a guy who hasn't even kicked it!" She pauses. "... As far as we know, anyway..."

Kaede narrows her eyes. There was really no need for that second bit...

The inventor tosses one of the CDs she'd taken from the shelf from one hand to the other as she continues. "So why the fuck don't you save that sappy-ass emotional shit for when you actually do get out and then you can finger both your piano and him to your hearts content!" She giggles to herself. "Of course,vice versa works too!" Kaede winces at Miu's choice of words but couldn't stop the smallest smile from spreading across her tear-stained face. It doesn't go unnoticed by the inventor. "Kyahahahaha! See, just a little change in tone can make a huge fucking difference! So yeah, you're fucking miserable over wasabi-head's death and Sherlock-Homo's exit. Nuts to them! Just fucking let it all hang out and you'll feel like a new woman in no time!" Miu squints at Kaede, who looks back over at her piano, thoughts whirring around her head.

"Ohhh? You're really thinking about it, huh?" Miu cackles. "Didn't take you for the perverted type, Kaede!"

Kaede feels her face flush. "No! That's not what I'm thinking about!"

"Heeeee" Miu lets out a small squeal as Kaede quickly begins flipping through her sheet music. "Wait, wh-what the fuck are you doing now?! I literally just said that playing sad-as-shit songs ain't gonna—"

"Then how I play a happier song for you, Miu?"

"W-what?" The inventor stares at Kaede with wide eyes. "F-for me?"

"Mhmm!" Kaede nods, eyes not leaving her sheet-music. "Take a seat!" She finds the piece she'd been scouring for and sets it at the front of the sheet stand. Might as well.

Flexing her fingers out again, she spreads them out over the keys, and gives the inventor, nervously shifting around on one of the low-set stools a quick final glance out of the corner of her eye as she begins to play again.

...

...

Kaede exhales, lifting her fingers off of the keyboard and turns to gauge Miu's reaction.

The girl in question stares at the piano, mouth open in an 'o' shape.

"Um..." Kaede smiles at the inventor, raising a teasing eyebrow. "So... did you like it?"

Miu suddenly stands up, knocking one of the music stands over as she did so. "That was fucking INSANE, Kaede! She jumps up onto the podium and grabs Kaede's hand, pulling it up to her face to inspect it.

"M-Miu?! What are you-"

"I knew you were a Piano Freak but... holy shit! Do you have any idea what a GIFT it is to be blessed with such long and versatile fingers? I could totally make them an invention or two! Or base an invention off of them! Ohhhh! Do you even know how many girls would go batshit insane if a chick like you was to use your fingers to make em—"

"Ahhhh, geez, Miu!" The blushing pianist shoves the brash girl away from her, clutching her hands away from the inventor in embarrassment.

Miu stumbles back a few steps, jumping down off of the podium. She places a hand on her hip and coughs into her hand. "Ahem... w-well, what I was trying to fucking say was uh..." She wrings her hands together, avoiding Kaede's gaze. "I-it was pretty good... for a potato-boobed skunk like you anyway!"

Kaede rolls her eyes "Oh, come on, Miu! Really?"

"Hey — I'm only saying what we're all thinking, Kaediot!" Miu hops towards the door, her face now an interesting shade of pink.

"It's literally just the two of us in the room!" Kaede retorts.

Miu sticks out her tongue and grabs the door handle. "And now it's just one!"

And with a slam of the door, the inventor is gone as quick as she'd come, Kaede being left to her thoughts once again. To her surprise, she finds herself smiling at the strange yet... oddly satisfying conversations she'd had with both Tenko and Miu today. She carefully slides the lid of the piano back down, leaving it exactly the way she'd found it, catching a glimpse of herself in its glossy black reflection.

She slowly lifts Shuichi's hat off of her head, rotating it so that the hat's beak was now at an angle facing off to her right, and places it back onto her crown, face fully visible once more.

"A little change in tone, huh?" She smiles at her reflection.

Maybe it won't be such a lonely adventure after all, Shuichi.

Kaede emerges from her lab a couple of hours later after getting completely lost in the multitudes of CDs and sheet music that she, as the Ultimate Pianist just could simply just not tear herself away from. After thanking Kirumi for bringing her dinner (and breakfast) as she'd completely lost track of time, and assisting her (and Kiibo, for some reason), in washing up before being hastily pushed out of the terrace door by the pair, she finds herself heading towards the dorms in the nearly pitch black of the night.

As she's about to turn for the glass doors of the Dormitory however, she spots a figure sprawled out on a patch of grass near the patio, watching a nearby Exisal trimming some hedges a few metres away. The figure's identity becomes clear once she gets nearer to them.

"Kaito?" The astronaut looks up from his spot, his face lighting up at the sight of the pianist.

"Oh, Kaede! Where were you all day? I was lookin' everywhere for you!"

Kaede kneels down on the grass beside the astronaut. "Um... I was in my research lab, I kinda lost track of time in there..."

"O-oh." He scratches the back of his head awkwardly. "Didn't think to go in there... my bad."

Kaede can't help but smile at his embarrassment. "Anyway, what are you doing out here so late? Kirumi and Kiibo told me everyone else had already gone to bed."

The astronaut sighs. "I tried to convince that Maki to come train with me tonight, I said I'd be waiting for her here, but it's been an hour already..."

Kaede feels her body stiffen at the mention of Maki's name. "Wait, you've been waiting here for her for an hour?"

Kaito raises an eyebrow. "What? Is that so weird?"

"I mean, I think it is but... I guess that's because I just don't see what you see in her..." Kaede's mind flashes back to the earlier confrontation in the gym, complete with the babysitter's glare that clearly implied strong contempt for the pianist. Not that she blamed her.

Kaito repositions himself on the grass. "Yeah, I dunno, there's just something... off about her, y'know? It's like she's hiding something. I get that she's probably a real private person but..."

Kaede idly pulls at some of the grass beside her.

Kaito observes her for a few moments. "You think she hates you, don't you Kaede?"

The blonde glances up at the spaceman. "I don't think she does, I know she does." She sighs. "I want to get along with everyone here, but her, and Kokichi as well..." She trails off, knowing that they are fully right to not trust her. She is the real murderer after all.

Kaito scoffs. "Ah, they don't hate you, Kaede! No one could hate someone as sweet as you! They'll come around, don't worry about it! In fact," He presses his fists together. "I say we start tearin' down those masks as soon as we can, how about it, Kaede?"

The pianist stares at Kaito. "Tear... their masks down?"

"Yeah! I mean..." Kaito glances over to the school building. "Maki obviously has a reason for staying in her lab, I dunno what it is yet, but I'm gonna find out, I've decided! And I think it has to do with the reason she's being so stand-offish with the rest of us."

Kaede's eyes widen. Her lab does...? "You think so?"

Kaito grinned at the musician. "I know so, Kaede! After all," He proudly hits his chest hard with a fist, coughing slightly at the impact. "I'm not called the Luminary of the Stars for nothin'!"

Kaede sarcastically smiles at the man. "Right..."

"Hey, you don't believe me!"

"I didn't say that..."

"Yeah, but I can see it all over your face!"

The pair laugh. It had felt like such a long time ago since Kaede properly laughed like this with someone. It feels... refreshing, for a change.

"So, what about Kokichi then?"

"Kokichi?" Kaito gives her a confused look. What about him?"

"You said you'd take down 'both' of their masks, I just assumed that included him..."

Kaito makes a soft 'ah' sound, looking up to the sky in thought. "Kokichi... yeah... he's a weird one, isn't he? Annoying too, with his constant lying. But I think he's the same as Maki. He's all bark and no bite." The astronaut stretches out his arms to the sky, splaying his fingers out across the blanket of stars above them.

"But man, I'd be the liar if I said that I didn't really want to deck him earlier, with all the shit he was saying to you, tryna' to make you feel guilty for the whole Rantaro fiasco. But I don't think he's a bad guy, he's probably just as frustrated as the rest of us, just showin' it in his own weird little way."

Kaede tilts her head. "Really? Because you sounded as though you wanted to kill him earlier..." She immediately claps her hands over her mouth as she realised what she'd just said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like—"

Kaito laughs. "It's fine, Kaede, I know you didn't mean it like that. But yeah... he's irritating as hell, I'll give him that, but I'd never go as far as to kill the guy."

His gaze lingers back onto the Exisal just in front of them, the soft moonlight illuminating it's crimson coat of paint. "kill..." he murmurs under his breath, his face scrunching up into one of genuine confusion.

Kaede stares him. "Kaito...?"

"Hmm?" The astronaut blinks. "Did you say something?"

"Are you okay?" Kaede questions, concerned at his sudden zoning out.

He rubs his arm. "Oh yeah, of course I am! Just had a weird feelin' of déjà vu just there."

"Right..." Kaede raises an eyebrow, turning to look at the red Exisal. Déjà vu, huh?

Kaito groans again, stretching. "Bet it's that fucking flashlight fucking with my brain." He hoists himself up off the grass, outstretching his hand for the pianist to take hold of. "Hope we get another one soon, cuz that dumbass Ultimate Hunt crap is really messing with my mind."

"Yeah." Kaede also stands up, bending back down to retrieve her backpack. "I have a feeling that we will— it is Monokuma after all." Kaede fiddles with her bag's straps as she slides it onto her back. "He looked so pleased when Kiibo held up that flashlight in the gym earlier."

Kaito snorts. "Of course he did, the bastard-bear." The pair continue chatting about nothing in particular for a little while longer, before entering the dorm halls, Kaito heading for the stairs on the boy's side.

"So, same time tomorrow?" He calls out to her.

Kaede looks over at the ascending astronaut in confusion. "...What?"

"Training, of course!" He gestures towards the door adorned with Maki's little sprite. "She's obviously not interested in joining me just yet, so I'm asking you!"

Kaede doesn't know how to feel about being second to her of all people. But before she can even say a word, Kaito makes the decision for her. "Great! Then it's settled! I look forward to workin' out with you from now on!"

"W-wait, Kaito?!" Kaede splutters as Kaito unlocks his dorm with a click and opens the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow and give you a full beginner's course on the responsibilities of bein' a sidekick to the Luminary of the Stars!" And with a brash bang, he's gone.

Kaede wordlessly stares at the astronaut's door for a few more moments. "Side...kick?" She taps her chin at the new title, shaking her head and proceeding into her room for the night. It had been a long day, with an awful lot of downs, but as Kaede eventually settles into her bed for the night, she can't help but reflect on the few good things she'd experienced in the wake of Shuichi's exit.

"So, what should we do?"

"Just give her any old one, it's fine!"

"But we don't have one prepared for her... cuz she was supposed to die... right?"

"I just said it's fine! We can just give a dummy one to the boss, and she can say she watched it already."

"I say we fuckin' randomly distribute 'em boys! We'll tell 'em Monodam fucked up again or some shit! They'll drink that shit up like honey!"

"..."

"Monokid... you're a genius!"

"Teheh~!"

"We'll just say that boss got protag's one then! That fixes everything!"

"So, I'll just give her this one then?"

"Yeah, that's fine, now come on! If she wakes up we're all screwed!"

The next morning, Kaede wakes up to the Monokubs dramatically announcing the time and yelling at everyone to check around their rooms for the next motive, much to her dismay. She doesn't have to look very hard, as it sat winking at her from across the bed, innocently laying upon her table top. She picks up the irritatingly bright tablet, the words 'Kubs Pad' etched in fine print on the back. Kaede looks at the blank tablet in her hands, internally debating with herself as to whether or not if it'd be a good idea to turn it on. But, then again, it's not like everyone has the same thought process as her regarding motives, images of Rantaro and Ryoma arguing in the dining hall flashing into her vision, so she figures it's for the best to at least check it out. Besides, now that she was technically a blackened already... nothing could make her kill again. Nothing.

Not again. She flicks the screen on, wincing the tablet springs to life. No turning back now, Kaede.

"Alright! Back by popular demand, it's time for the Motive Video!" Kaede feels herself sigh at the ear-splitting squawk of Monokuma's voice being emitted from the small tablet.

"Who's the most important person in *your* life? Now then, without further ado..." Kaede's eyes widen at the next image to appear on screen.

"Angie Yonaga, the Ultimate Artist..."

Kaede can't draw her eyes away from the screen as the rest of the video plays out, as it depicts photos of a smiling Angie adorned in paint and tassels on a tropical island surrounded with whom Kaede assumed to be her family and friends, before the video ends in a dazzling blur and states that an 'unfortunate event' fell upon her island. The musician feels her heart drop at the sight of what looked like an island destroyed by natural disaster flicker briefly onto the screen.

"What kinda event? It's a secret! Find out for yourself! Puhuhuhuhuhu..."

Kaede drops the video player the second the video ends. She doesn't know Angie that well, but if she'd gotten this... was it a mistake? And if it was, should she go and deliver it to her...? No, she concludes, that would just be playing into Monokuma's hands...

Before she can think of anything else, her intercom is spammed.

* ding dong *

*Ding Dong*

*DING DONG*

Kaede sighs in exasperation. "Geez! I'm coming, I'm coming! Just give me a second!" It's probably Kaito, Tenko or maybe even Kirumi coming to make sure she actually showed up at breakfast this time, but the second she answers the door...

"What is i- mmmmmph!" Kaede feels a hand clamp shut over her mouth and is forcefully pushed back into her room before she an even identify who'd just entered, the door clicking shut behind her and the intruder. As she's released, her head snaps up to confirm the identity of her guest, who glares intently at the pianist.

"M-Miu?!" Kaede's eyes trail down to the familiar looking item in the inventor's gloved hands. "That's..."

The inventor spies the matching object on Kaede's table. Her eyes narrow. "S-so, you got one too huh?"

"Y-yeah..." There's an awkward pause. "So..." Kaede begins to say when the other blonde suddenly breaks down, flinging her Kubs Pad onto Kaede's bed.

"Ohhhhh fuck this shit! These fucking videos have gotta be fucking fake, right!? RIGHT?!"

"Hold on!" Kaede blinks at Miu's outburst, attempting to calm the girl down, "C-calm down, Miu! We don't know if they're real or not," She pauses. "Did you recognise the people in your video?"

Miu gives Kaede a sharp look. "I wouldn't fuckin' know, blimp-tits! Because I didn't fucking get my video!"

Kaede's eyes widen. "You didn't get your video either!?"

Miu blinks. "W-wait, so it wasn't a fuckin' mistake then?"

Kaede looks over at her Pad again. "That's... I'm not sure...?"

Then it clicks as to why Miu came to her. "Miu, did you get my video by any chance?"

"Haaah?" Miu snorts. "Fuck no! You think I'd fucking come here to grace you with my presence if it were that trivial?!"

"Then why are you even here!?" Kaede shouts back. I'm confused too, Miu, as I'm sure the others are as well!"

"Heeeeeee!" Miu immediately retreats back into herself, tears forming in her icy blue eyes, nervously toying with the ends of her hair. "I-I just wanted to s-show someone else, cuz I-I don't wanna f-fucking carry this burden around on my fucking own!"

Kaede's expression turns to one of confusion. "Burden?"

Miu moves to pick up the pad again, pressing it into Kaede's hands. "You'll get me if you just fucking watch it."

Kaede hesitantly takes the Pad from Miu, catching a glimpse of her hatless self in the darkened screen. "I don't think this is a good idea, Miu... maybe we should discuss this at breakfast—"

* thud *

Kaede looks up from the Pad and suddenly Miu isn't there anymore.

"Please..." Kaede's eyes follow the voice to the floor. There's Miu, on her knees in front of the pianist. "I'm begging you..." Kaede takes a few steps back from the inventor, alarmed by the sudden gesture.

"I-I c-can't show it to Kiibs, cuz I don't fuckin' trust him to not b-blab about it cuz he can't f-fucking lie for shit. A-and," Miu's teary eyes meet Kaede's. "You're like..." she averts her gaze, "the only other person I... t-t-t-trust..."

Kaede is well and truly gobsmacked. Was this the same girl that had called her 'blimp-tits', like, two minutes ago? If she'd felt that uncomfortable just now, she could sort of understand Miu's... odd reaction to when both her and Shuichi bowed to her in the dining hall a mere three days ago slightly better.

"Is..." Kaede cautiously approaches the inventor. "Is it that bad?" Kaede whispers.

Miu nods meekly, slowly rising to her feet. "T-trust me, it's fucking bad."

Kaede sinks down into her red armchair, as she stares at the Kubs Pad intently, finger ghosting the 'Play' button. Why was she suddenly nervous? She hadn't felt anything much when she'd played Angie's one a few minutes prior. She takes a deep breath, and with Miu hovering anxiously behind her, Kaede hesitantly turns on Miu's Kubs Pad.

...

...

...

...

...

...

And the motive video for Kirumi Tojo begins to play once more.

Chapter 5: Kiibo has finally lost it, Ryoma is *not* happy, and Gonta attempts to solve everything with the power of bugs. Or does he?