A/N: Thanks so much for the supportive comments and feedback! Does is prove how old in fandom I am to do shoutouts? Well I don't care, shout out to the Zogg, Pretty Palutena, and RoseShadow21 for the reviews. Anyway here's the new update. It's a bit long.
Time for the students to explore the new floor!
Number of Students: 14/16
Chapter 2.1: Arriving Fashionably Late with Starbucks
After the trial, we collectively returned to the dining hall in silence.
Makoto was the last to arrive. He had gone to check on Hifumi's room.
"Well?" asked Junko once he returned. We watched him warily.
"It's… all gone," said Makoto. "Everything. The room is spotless."
"How unfortunate," said Celeste with a heavy sigh. "But I suppose it is for the best. It would be better than leaving that mess to fester and rot."
"Mess?" asked Junko. "How can you even say something like that? You—you're—"
"Coping with the death of a classmate in the best way I can without being given the proper time to grieve?" asked Celeste, her open-mouth surprise seeming more mocking than genuine as she looked at Junko. "Adaptability is how you survive. This is how I chose to adapt. Hifumi was a tragic loss, yes, but he refused to adapt, and so met his demise. Sakura was wandering out at night despite our agreement, and was punished accordingly." She said it so calmly. "This is what happens to those who refuse to adjust to life." She glanced over at Hina—who had been sitting silently at one of the dining hall tables this whole time—but said nothing.
"Say whatever you like," said Junko. "It doesn't excuse the fact that you're acting like a total piece of shit right now!"
"I see no point in tip-toeing around," said Byakuya. "Those who cannot compete in the game will simply fall behind. That is the way it is."
"But you can't just say shit like that, you freak!" said Leon, glaring at Byakuya.
"Yeah," said Junko. "It's seriously fucked up! I don't even know how you can even think any of this is ok!" Even Junko, as crass and vicious as she could be at times, knew Byakuya and Celeste has crossed some unspoken line. There was a time and place for everything, but I was pretty sure trash talking the dead could be filed under the "innappropriate" category.
Celeste was unfazed. "I see," she mused.
"See?" asked Junko. "See what?"
Celeste did not answer her question. "You will die."
"What?" said Junko, as if daring her to continue.
"If you keep on like this," said Celeste, red eyes staring intensely into Junko's, "you will only continue to expose your weakness. You will certainly not survive. Do you understand?" Her patronizing tone was more than I could bear.
I grit my teeth, positively seething. "Well, I think making ominous threats directed at my sister will certainly not help your chances of surviving. Do you understand?" I didn't care if it sounded bad. I didn't care if in reality, I had no plans on killing anybody. Nobody was going to hurt Junko. Nobody.
"Mukuro!" cried Taka with a gasp. "You wouldn't—"
"Try me." Despite my anger, I couldn't help but notice that Makoto, who usually was the one to intervene in times like these, was suspiciously silent.
I had no intention of attacking anyone, but as I lurched forward with no real plan in mind, Taka stepped in between me and Celeste, a couple of the other guys ready on the offense in case I tried anything, and once again I felt Kyoko's deliberate gloved hand get a firm grip on my forearm.
"Enough! Two of our friends are dead," said Hina, her voice surprisingly forceful despite the hoarse cracking. "We shouldn't be fighting."
All eyes turned to Hina. I had been forgotten for the moment by everyone—including Kyoko whose hand was still on my arm.
"Ah, so the s-snake s-s-s-speaks!" said Toko.
"Indeed," said Byakuya, "and we are not friends. Surely you must realize that by now. After all, Hifumi did try to kill you. Even after all this are you still deluding yourself to think that we can hold hands and get along?"
"Oh, cut it out already!" snapped Junko, and I tell by her tone that she was done with everyone. She didn't address Toko, but Byakuya. "I think we've all done our very best to deal with your bullshit up to this point, Byakuya, but I think considering what we've had to go through we can draw the line. Here. Now." She turned to Toko and Celeste. "And the last thing we need are more fucking comments from the peanut gallery. Hina is right. Two of our friends are dead, so if everyone could keep the snide remarks to a minimum just at the very least until tomorrow and I've had at least a halfway decent night's sleep that'd be a-ma-zing!" Her voice rose until it was shrill.
For a moment, no one spoke.
"Wow, Junko," said Hiro, breaking the silence and mirroring the majority's attitude of somehow being scared, surprised, and impressed all at once. "That was—"
"Ugh." Junko huffed. "Don't get used to it."
"Very well," said Byakuya. "I am through wasting my time. I see no point in continuing to humor my competitors when it leaves me nothing to gain." He turned to leave. "Oh," he added, "and don't expect me to attending any more of frivolous joint breakfasts while she is still here," he said, pointing to Hina. "Goodbye."
"Hina, don't—don't listen to him," said Sayaka, reaching out to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, but I didn't miss the moment of hesitation. Even good-natured Sayaka was still wary around her. "You're still welcome to join us. Right, guys?"
Silence.
Hiro sighed. "Uh, look," he began. "Not that I don't trust you, Hina, but…"
"Buuuut you don't trust her," said Junko flatly. "Is that it?" She rolled her eyes.
"Look! My gut is telling me to throw caution to the winds, all I know is that I'm not big on taking my chances."
"What?" cried Junko. "What in fresh hell are you talking about? You're a gambler!"
"That's completely different!" said Hiro indignantly.
I certainly didn't see how it was much different, and Junko didn't look convinced either, but someone else spoke.
"She did attempt to forfeit everyone's lives in order to save Sakura," said Celeste. "Personally, that is not something I would take lightly."
"Y-yeah!" said Toko. "Hina already tried t-to kill us once! Who kn-knows when she'll try again!"
"How can you guys be so cruel?" asked Sayaka. "Can't you see she's taking all this hard enough as it is?"
"I dunno," said Leon, "Sorry, Hina," he added, but he seemed to be addressing Sayaka more than anything else. "I'm just sayin'! Maybe Glasses isn't completely crazy."
"Leon!" scolded Sayaka.
He ignored her. "Besides, did everyone miss how Mukuro just flipped out just now?" said Leon. He was smiling, trying to stay calm, but I didn't miss how the corner of his eye and lip would twitch. "Any one of you could be up to something already!"
"Yeah, sorry," said Hiro, "But I'm gonna fold for this round." He held his hands up in resignation.
"Look, I'm cool with whatever the group decides to do about—" said Mondo, and instead of saying exactly who or what, he just nodded in Hina's general direction, "but all I know is I'm not letting some chick scare me. I mean, c'mon, what's she weigh, a buck? A buck-twenty?"
"Who said anything about scared?" said Leon, his voice cracking slightly despite his supposed toughness. He seemed uncomfortable with having caught Mondo's attention. "I was just—"
Chihiro buried her face in her hands, and I could hear muffled sniffling noises.
"Oh dear," said Sayaka, ignoring the fight between the boys. "Chihiro, what's wrong?" She went over to her, reaching out a comforting hand.
Chihiro sniffed, looking up and shaking her head. "Sayaka and Junko are right!" said Chihiro, voice much louder and clearer than usual. "We shouldn't be fighting! We—we've already lost so much." She was right back to the tears.
"Listen to Chihiro!" said Taka. "Fighting amongst ourselves is exactly what the mastermind wants!"
"I-I just don't think I could take it if anyone else were to… were to…." stuttered Chihiro, as if she were afraid of her own words.
"Guys, forget it," said Hina. "If you don't want me around, I can take a hint. Ok?" She stood up, but before leaving she turned to Makoto. "Hey, Makoto."
"Huh?" He looked up at her, eyes dazed as though his mind was somewhere else. Hina's inquiry finally brought him back to reality.
"Sorry, Makoto. I know you were kinda big on the whole group breakfast thing, but if my being there is gonna have people at each other's throats, I'd rather just… take one for the team, you know?" She laughed weakly, scratching the back of her head, but I could tell it was forced. For just a moment, she turned back to look at us before heading out.
"In that case," said Celeste. "I am turning in as well." She spoke through a stifled yawn. "I shall see you all in the morning, granted Hina keeps to her word, of course." She smiled and departed.
"It's probably best if we all head back, to be honest," said Sayaka, frowning. "I think we could all do with some sleep."
"I-if you say so," said Chihiro.
"Absolutely," said Taka, but his conviction didn't sound nearly as strong as usual. "We—we must do our best to maximize time for sleep. Recovery is of utmost importance."
The others said their goodbyes and headed off to bed, where only a handful of us remained.
I was still watching Makoto. He looked completely broken.
"Hey, Makoto?" asked Sayaka. "Are you alright?"
"What? Oh, yes, I am… no," he admitted, hanging his head. "So many of our friends, gone. I assigned Hifumi janitor duty. If only I had been more attentive! It's my—"
"Stop it."
I heard Kyoko's commanding voice beside me at once. I hadn't even realized when she had let go of me, but I was once again able to move my arm.
"Huh?" Makoto looked up at her. "Kyoko? What are you—"
"You seemed about to blame yourself is all. It's a heavy burden to bear the responsibility of others," said Kyoko. "You said it yourself, did you not? Only the mastermind is the blame for our situation."
"I-I guess you're right."
"That's right, Makoto!" said Sayaka. "You can't worry your head off too much. Things won't be this way forever." She gave him her best smile, back to her beautiful and poised self. It seemed at odds with the gloomy atmosphere.
"And I know you can be strong," I said. "You're the kind of person who can overcome the deaths of your classmates."
I was speaking from experience at least a little bit. Sometimes, the only way to overcome tragedy is to just move on. It was the way of life. If I allowed myself to get emotional with every tragic case I solved, I would never discover the truth. And for a detective, the truth is what truly mattered.
He shook his head.
"Huh?" I was perplexed.
"I—I can't do that!" said Makoto. I was surprised by his intensity. "Mukuro, I can't forget about my friends! I can't turn away from their deaths. I'm going to keep them with me. "
I was surprised. "I see," I mused. "Very well, you've chosen the harder path. I, um… I didn't expect…" I shook my head. "Well, nevermind." I didn't understand him. Still, I was impressed. That was the sort of strength I had given up on with my profession. Perhaps Makoto was stronger than myself.
Junko interrupted my reverie. "'Kuro, I think we'd better go."
"Huh?" I was brought back to reality. "Oh yes, you're right." I nodded a small bow of goodbye to my remaining classmates. "It is getting late. Junko and I will be turning in."
"Breakfast, tomorrow!" said Sayaka. "We'll be expecting you."
I managed a small smile. "Of course."
"Alright, sis," said Junko, tugging me along, and there was a surprising note of urgency.
The dorms to Junko's room and my room were just beside each other. Junko halted to a stop just outside her door.
"What are you doing?" asked Junko.
"What?" I blinked, taken aback.
"Why did you flip out like that?" she demanded. "Earlier, when Celeste said all that creepy shit."
"I—I wasn't going to let anyone say that to you!" I was baffled that I even needed to explain this to her. Just the thought of it still made me furious.
"Miss Queen of the Undead says weird shit all the time! You know what you do about it? You nod along because she's weird as hell and you move on! You can't do stuff like that!"
"I was trying to protect you! I'm your big sister, that's my job."
"You can't freak out on people! Even Leon thought it was suspect, and we all know the only thing in his head are piles of sawdust and stray cobwebs. Besides, even if you're cool, they don't know that. The others will freak and. You can't. You—you just can't. If they're scared of you, someone might—might do something stupid, or… Mukuro, if you hurt anyone because of me, they'll have to… and I... I already lost you once."
I was shocked. She'd never said anything like that to me before. "Junko, I—I'm sorry."
She hugged me tight, just like she had yesterday, and it wasn't any less surprising this time. I wondered if it was something I would ever get used to. I cautiously reciprocated, hugging her in return more tentatively as I tried to ignore her crushing arms.
"The thought of something happening to you…" she whispered.
"I'm sorry," I repeated. "I didn't know you were worried."
"Of course I'm worried," said Junko. "How can you even say that?"
"You shouldn't have to worry. I'm the older one, that should be my job."
"Only by a few minutes." She let go of me, managing a small smile.
I smiled back. "You should go to bed."
"You're probably right. 'Night, 'Kuro."
"Goodnight, sis."
She gave my hand a last squeeze, and then we returned to our rooms.
I was exhausted, but despite this I was restless. I didn't know long I sat awake in bed, but I knew for sure I wasn't getting a good night's sleep.
—
I woke up exhausted, as predicted. I ignored my zombie-ish state as I washed my face. The water did little to help me wake. The purple shadows under my eyes were as pronounced as ever, perhaps even more so than usual. I could do little about them. I didn't know why I was so preoccupied with my appearance. Perhaps it was the effect of being surrounded by beautiful models and pop idols and athletes. I pushed it from my mind. I had more concerning problems.
I knew better than to hope yesterday had been a dream, but even so, the naive part of me still wished. I had not been particularly close with Sakura or Hifumi, but they were my classmates nonetheless. More than just classmates, they might've even been my friends. I'd never had many friends.
Monokuma had made an announcement to gather in the gym that morning, so instead of heading to the dining hall as per usual, I headed over to the gym. I didn't see Makoto until I arrived, but I presumed we'd have our collective breakfast after the announcement.
Monokuma was… exercising. We watched him, every single one of us had the same questioning look on our faces.
"One, two, three, four! One, two, three, four!" Monokuma stood on his podium, rotating his arms in large circles. "Is that everyone?"
We didn't respond. However, I realized there were only… thirteen of us? The gym seemed unusually sparse.
From the back of the gym, I spotted the last figure creep their way inside. Hina stayed in the very back, trying not to draw much attention to herself.
However, Monokuma spotted her. "And she finally arrives!" said Monokuma. "Guess that makes everyone. Hina, you're one of those fitness nuts, aren't you? Won't you join your lovely headmaster in a warm-up?"
She said nothing, looking just about ready to bolt as the eyes of the other classmates turned to her. She seemed… wilted. All the exuberant energy we were used to had been drained.
"You look rough," said Leon.
She grimaced. "Gee, thanks." It was true. She looked about as bad as I felt. She turned to Monokuma. "Let's get this over with. What did you call us in for?"
"Yes," said Kyoko to Monokuma. "I highly doubt you called us here just to exercise."
"Patience is a virtue, is what I say," said Monokuma, not even breaking pace as he continued to exercise. He wheezed out a laugh, finally coming to a stop. "Kidding, Kidding, nah, just..." pant, "allow..." pant, "me..." pant, "to catch…" pant, "my breath!"
"You are a toy," said Byakuya. "Get on with it."
Monokuma hung his head in feigned sadness. "A bear can't catch a break around here… Very well, if you are so eager to see the brave new world I have prepared for you, I will tell you the news!"
"Huh?" asked Toko. "B-brave new world?"
"Yes!" said Monokuma. "Every time a trial comes to an end, it's only the beginning! A new world opens up to you! Granted you're all still alive to see it, of course." He grinned devilishly. "Now, go explore!" he insisted. "Go! Consider it a gift from yours truly. Puhuhuhuhu!" He disappeared behind the podium.
We looked around at each other.
"What do you think he meant by a 'new world'?" asked Sayaka.
"Do you think…. a way out, perhaps?" asked Chihiro.
"I highly doubt it," said Celeste. She sighed. "The Mastermind would never make escape so easy. However," she smiled, mood flipping on a dime in an instant, "perhaps there is more to the school than we anticipated. Who knows? We may even find something that improves our way of life."
Chihiro bowed her head. "I suppose it was wishful thinking."
"It c-could be a trap," suggested Toko.
"I don't see why," said Kyoko. "I doubt the Mastermind would want to harm us himself. That would ruin the game for him. Best if we scope out the landscape at the very least. We should understand the terrain."
"Makoto?" I asked, turning to look at him, waiting for his judgement.
He frowned, thinking it over for a moment. "We'll… explore the school. You know what? How did it function last time?" He grinned sheepishly. "I was unconscious when that happened, of course, but I think it was the right idea."
"Actually, we sort of just split up into groups and went from there!" said Sayaka. "There was no process of decision. We all just grouped up on our own."
"Oh, um… perfect," said Makoto. "Thank you, Sayaka."
"No problem!" Her smile was encouraging.
He stuttered something unintelligible, blushing all the while. "Sounds good to me. Is everyone good with that?" He checked the clock. "It's nearly 7:30 a.m. How does everyone feel about gathering in the dining hall in an hour?"
"Perfect!" said Junko. She grabbed me by the hand. "Come on, 'Kuro, let's go."
"Wait," I said, glancing back at the others then back at her, "Are you sure—"
But before I'd even had a chance to finish my sentence she'd dragged me out of the room.
"Junko, where are we going?" I asked as we whizzed past the trophy room and into the main hall.
"This way," said Junko impatiently. We came to a stop at the foot of the stairs just outside the gym. They were no longer blocked by the grate. "Ta-da!" said Junko.
"Curious," I pondered. I was messing with her, just a little. Stalling. However, I did find it strange that the grate was gone.
She tugged on my arm, trying to lead me up the stairs. "Come on," she whined.
"You're surprisingly enthusiastic about this," I said, suppressing a smile.
"Hey!" said Junko. "Look, I know I usually give off the dissatisfied celebrity mega-bitch vibe, but I also like winning, so I'd very much like to beat everyone else at finding any cool new shit on the second floor. So come on, let's go!"
I chuckled. "Alright, alright." I followed her up the stairs and onto the second floor.
I was too busy looking around to notice the other students following us up the stairs, despite the sound of footsteps registering in the back of my mind. The ceilings were high, the lighting blue and green. As far as excitement was concerned, it wasn't much different from the first floor.
The pair of us first checked one of the empty classrooms. It looked indistinguishable from the classrooms found on the first floor, so that was a bust. Same as before, all the windows were bolted shut. Cameras and monitors everywhere.
"Maybe we could get Mondo to try the bolts on these windows," I mused. "Since, uh…" I thought about Sakura, and for a moment I allowed myself to feel the sadness before I pushed the thought from my mind. Now was not the time for tears. I had made the choice to move forward.
"You can ask him if you want," said Junko. She either hadn't noticed my pause or had chosen to ignore it. "I'm good. Guy's a bit too much of a wild card for me."
I mock gasped. "Junko Enoshima, afraid?"
"Hell no!" She shook her head indignantly. "Not afraid," she bargained. "Just… practical."
"I didn't take you for a realist."
"I just don't want him to punch me! Come on, you saw what happened to Makoto, he was out like a light! Even I'm not that risky, I don't have a deathwish."
As she said this, she payed little attention to me. Rather, she'd grabbed a piece of chalk and was doodling on the chalkboard. There was a strange drawing of Monokuma posing like a model in a seashell bra. Gross. She quickly erased it, probably thinking the same thing as me. Instead, she replaced it with a drawing of a bunny.
"Yeah. He knocked out Makoto, and then you laughed about it."
"I'm… going through a character arc?" She glanced back at me. Even she didn't seem to buy her excuse.
I rolled my eyes. "Alright, alright. I'll ask. Later maybe. I'm not particularly keen on finding him."
Checking the clock, the time read 7:40. We still had plenty of time left.
Once we had stepped outside the classroom, I turned to Junko. "So where to, sis?"
She pointed to the double doors labeled "POOL". "There."
"Gotcha."
Inside, there were already several other people looking around the room.
"Aw, looks like the others have caught up with my head start," said Junko.
Celeste nodded a hello to us as we walked into the room, I returned with a small wave of acknowledgement. Junko shot her a cheesy grin. Mondo grumbled something along the lines of hello.
"Well, speak of the devil," muttered Junko.
I sighed, ignoring her comment. "The classrooms on this floor are all still barred off by those bulky metal plates—" I said, addressing the entire room.
"Yeah, so I'm pretty sure a way out is a no-go," said Junko.
"Fucking hell," said Mondo, more to himself than to either of us. "Guess I could take a crack at it. No harm in trying, right?"
Behind Mondo's back, I could physically see Junko's literal sigh of relief. Guess she didn't have to ask after all. Crisis averted.
Despite the promise of "POOL" in big bold capital letters, the doors were, of course, not the entrance to the pool. Rather it looked to be a weight room. It was mostly empty: kickboards of different colors all lined up in a row, giant rolls of pool rope, camera and monitor as usual, a ring buoy hung up on the wall. To my surprise, Chihiro was too distracted with examining the exercise equipment to notice us come in.
I stood beside her. "Hello, Chihiro."
"Oh!" She jumped back in fright.
"Sorry, did I startle you?"
"Just a bit." She looked pleased to see me, but her smile was half-hearted.
"I see you're eyeing the exercise equipment. I didn't take you for a fitness nut."
"I've… been hoping to start." She seemed hesitant to answer.
"Maybe Hina would be willing to help you out," I offered. Lowering my voice to a murmur, I added, "I think she could use the company right now."
"I-I'll think about it."
Interesting. Yesterday, Chihiro hadn't seemed particularly angry with Hina. Perhaps it was something else.
"There's way more stuff in the locker rooms," said Mondo, who I hadn't even realized had been listening to our conversation. "It's not all that, but it's better than nothing."
"It's alright," said Chihiro, voice even smaller than usual. "I—I have a thing about locker rooms, see…"
So my hunch was correct. The problem wasn't Hina. I wanted to let it be, but Mondo was a bit slow to catch on.
"Huh?" said Mondo. "Don't tell me. You scared a locker rooms or somethin'?"
Chihiro was looking about as panicked as a deer in the headlights when Celeste seemed to catch wind and cut into the conversation. "This is all very splendid, don't you agree? And from what the other students have mentioned, I hear there is a library on this floor as well! What great additions to improve our school life." She smiled.
"A library!" Chihiro's face lit up. "Is it true?"
"Indeed," said Celeste. "I must say, things feel much more comfortable. It might even be almost worth the occasional class trial." She giggled behind her hand.
Mondo and Chihiro were sufficiently distracted. Celeste and I made eye contact as their backs were turned. I nodded in thanks, and she returned the nod ever so slightly in acknowledgement.
Junko moved to stand next to me. "I knew he wouldn't get it. The walking beefcake doesn't seem to be the kind to be self-conscious," she said to me only. Under her breath of course. She didn't want to antagonize him.
I shrugged. "You never know."
She put an elbow on my shoulder, leaning on me casually. "Please, dude is fearless. Just saying, he seems more like the the reason more Makoto-sized, less refrigerator-built people might feel scared to go into a locker room."
"So he's a little jock-y," I said in that same low murmur. "Like you don't make people feel bad about themselves on a daily basis, Miss Pop Idol."
She tossed her hair over her shoulder, flashing a smug grin that showed off her brilliant white teeth. "I try."
Attention turning back to the room, I noticed on the opposite side to the entrance there were a pair of doors, presumably to aforementioned the girls and boys locker rooms. Each had a little panel to scan and identify our e-handbooks.
Pretty typical for the most part, with one large glaring exception: the huge machine gun hanging from the ceiling and pointed the direction of the locker rooms.
"Uh, question?" said Junko, addressing the whole room. She and eye both made eye contact before looking right back up at the gun. "What the fuck is that?" She pointed.
Celeste glanced over, following her line of sight. "A machine gun. Monokuma installed it to, and I believe his phrasing more or less was 'to keep you perverts out of the wrong locker rooms, because teens your age will hump anything with with a heartbeat'." Hearing those words in her detached cadence and unfamiliar accent was almost hilarious. "Apparently your handbook is required in order to use the locker rooms."
"That's right!"
Collectively, we whipped around at the sound of the agonizingly familiar voice, and indeed, Monokuma was standing right there.
"You!" Junko glared, hands on her hips.
Mondo looked equally cross. "You better have a good goddamn reason for showing up again!"
"Honestly, can't we have one moment of peace?" asked Celeste. She sighed. It said something about how grating Monokuma could truly be that Celeste was losing patience with him.
"Just felt the need to reiterate how important that rule is!" said Monokuma. "Commendable job, Celestia, but undersold! Besides, didn't you guys miss me?" He grinned cheekily, blushing slightly. "Remember: only a boy's handbook can open up the boys locker room and the same goes for the girls!"
"Huh?" asked Junko. "But couldn't a guy just sneak in after a girl unlocks the room, or the other way around?"
Monokuma bared his claws. "Any trespassers who commit such an act of indecency will be punished!" He pointed to the mounted gun. "See? There's a Gatling gun. And it'll be all DUKKA DUKKA DUKKA DUKKA!"
He seemed to be enjoying himself. We certainly weren't. Junko muttered something under her breath. Mondo stood there, fists clenched at his side.
"Are you crazy?" demanded Junko. "You could kill someone with that!"
"Besides, couldn't a boy borrow a girl's handbook if they truly wanted to get into the locker room?" asked Celeste.
Monokuma gasped. "I never thought of that! Such a glaring omission. The shame, the shame. I would never allow anyone to use such trickery! From now on, I shall create a rule: lending your e-handbook to another student is strictly forbidden."
"Ok, ok, gotcha," said Junko, impatiently. "Now are you done? Is it over?"
He tutted us, wagging a paw. "Such impatience. But yes, I am through." Instead of disappearing as he always did, he left through the big double doors.
For a moment we all stood around in silence, looking around at each other.
"Enlightening," I grumbled. Junko snickered. "I'm… gonna check out the girls locker room."
"I'll go with you!" said Junko hastily, grabbing me by the coat and tailing me.
I scanned my handbook, the little card reader made a little beep, and I tried the door. And we were in.
It was just an ordinary locker room. Rows of lockers lined the wall. There were a couple different sets of weights. A plain brown rug was strewn across the floor. And once again, the ever present monitors and cameras.
Junko sulked. "You'd think this place'd be a little more impressive considering all the heavy security."
"I think it was more about the who is in here rather than the what," I answered, examining the poster on the wall. It was a picture of a group of pretty guys from the famous boyband "Tornado".
Upon entering, I noticed Kyoko was in here alone, crouching as she looked through the lockers.
"Hello, Kyoko," I said.
"Hello." She did not look my way.
"Miss Super-Soldier checking out the facilities?" asked Junko. "Looking to up your physique in case anyone tries to off you in your sleep?"
I frowned, but Kyoko seemed unperturbed.
"Actually, I was just leaving." She stood up brusquely, brushing herself off and heading out the door.
I watched her go.
Junko whistled. "What a weirdo."
"Heh, yeah." My laugh was weak.
For just a moment, I was itching to follow her. Where did that girl always disappear off to?
Then the moment passed, and I returned to reality where Junko and I decided to check out the last room.
Finally, there was the pool. Large and empty, spanning nearly the entire room, it looked about as uninviting as a pool could look. There was the addition of some bleachers, the typical camera and monitor, empty lifeguard chairs, a solitary empty locker all the way across the way. And to our surprise, one person sitting poolside.
Upon hearing us enter, she turned around. "Who's there?" she called out, voice echoing throughout the large room, sounding much more antsy then her usual cheerful cadence.
"Hina," I said, voice careful. "It's just us." I approached her calmly.
"Oh, hi guys!" said Hina. There was a huge smile plastered on her face. She sniffed, wiping her nose and then waving at us.
Junko grabbed me by the arm. She whispered, "'Kuro, are you sure—"
"Yes."
Junko nodded, letting go of my arm.
I sat down next to Hina. Her shoes and socks were off, feet hanging off the deck and wading in the pool.
"What are you doing here?" Her hair stood on end. She didn't look at me.
"Just wanted to check out the facilities," I said. "Makes sense you'd be the first one here to find this place." I smiled. Junko just watched us.
It was hardly a joke, but Hina laughed.
"I didn't know you liked to swim," I said, not entirely truthfully. I'd done my fair share of research on my classmates before the first day. It seemed there wasn't a sport that Hina couldn't master.
"Oh, yeah!" She nodded, still looking down at the water and not over at me. "I joined, like... uh…" She counted them off on her fingers. "Six sports teams back at my old school. Softball is my claim to fame, or something like that…" She frowned, kicking her legs. The water made a splash.
"You ok?" I asked.
"What? Oh, yeah. O' course!" Hina said. She waved me off. "I'll be fine, I just—" Her cheerful demeanor faltered, only be reinstated in less than a moment. "I remembered that I was feeling kinda down because I missed breakfast."
"Ok," said Junko. "Ok, I'll… get something for you." She gave me a pointed look. "Sis, holler if you need anything, right?" She left, leaving the two of us alone.
Hina's demeanor changed once Junko left the room. She eyed me warily. "You're not gonna make fun of me, are you? I know you're scared of me, just like everybody else."
I shrugged.
Hina sighed. When she realized I wasn't going anywhere, she continued. "I thought coming here would make me feel better. But…"
"It won't be instantaneous," I said. "It never is."
She shook her head. "There's no use getting down," she muttered, and she seemed to be talking more to herself than to me. "It's no use. I can't waste my time being sad. Everything is gonna turn around!" She looked resolute. It was almost convincing. "I should be fine." She looked at me. "Why am I not fine?"
"Hina…"
She quickly stood up. "I just... I-I shouldn't be here. I should be doing laps. Or reps. Or anything! Anywhere but here. It's just like Makoto said! I can't give in to despair!" She just kept on rambling. She froze, eyes wide. "I… I have to go!"
She bolted, leaving me by myself.
—
There were more people outside the locker rooms than I'd seen previously. Sayaka glanced at me as I walked in.
"Mukuro?" she asked.
"Hm?" I stopped as she grabbed my attention.
"Um…" She looked hesitant to ask.
"Yo, we just saw Hina full on sprinting down the hallway," said Leon. "Any idea what the hell that was about?"
"Uh," I contemplated the right way to phrase it, "She's kind of… having a rough time, I think?"
Sayaka tugged Leon by the sleeve. "Probably best to let her be. Mukuro," she added, looking back to me. "A little birdy told me there was a pool?"
"Uh, yeah," I said. "Just came from there actually. How did you—"
"Intuition." She beamed.
I quirked an eyebrow.
She giggled. "Kidding! There was a sign, of course! Did you hear that, Leon? Sounds about right up your alley."
He groaned. "Why does everyone keep saying that?"
"Keep saying what?" Just then, Junko entered the room. "Can someone explain to me why Hina is doing stair-steppers?"
"Sis!"
"Mukuro was just telling us that Hina is having a bit of a crisis," said Sayaka.
"Aw, that's too bad," said Junko. "I just grabbed her this package of donuts. Want 'em?" She held them out to me.
I took them hesitantly, with no real intent on eating them. However, they were small enough to fit into my coat pocket.
Junko continued. "Ran into Makoto downstairs, by the way, apparently all sorts of shit on the first floor opened up that we totally missed! He asked me about you, by the way," said Junko to me, stating one thing after the other in rapid-fire succession.
"Me?"
"Yeah, you," she said, "Unless there's another Mukuro around here I missed. Which is weird because it's not like he couldn't just march upstairs and talk to you himself." She was on a roll. "Anyway, I know Mukuro must be dying to check out the library next door so the two of us are gonna do that while you two lovebirds can check out the pool."
"Oh, we-we're not—" Sayaka stuttered and blushed.
Junko ignored her, grabbing me by the hand again and we were already gone.
"I know all the stuffy academia is not really my scene, but I figured you'd be into it," Junko said to me, pushing open the door to the library.
Inside, the shelves were lined with books upon books. For what was supposedly a well-funded school, the library was surprisingly small. The lighting was, to put it plainly, pretty shit, especially for a library. However, there were two desks, one with a small plug-in lamp. Chihiro, Byakuya, Toko, and Kyoko were already present.
"'Sup." Junko threw a peace sign. Chihiro smiled in hello, but the rest ignored her.
I perused the shelves.
"Anything catching your fancy?" asked Junko.
I shrugged. I caught sight of a door at the back of the library. "What's that?"
"Oh, um," said Chihiro. She opened the door to show me. It was a tiny room even darker and dingier than the library itself, packed to the brim with binders and loose folders. "Just a second room."
"Nothing of use," interjected Byakuya. I hadn't even realized he'd been paying attention to our conversation. If he was, he appeared to only be half-listening. He hadn't even turned to address us.
"It seems to be archives?" said Chihiro. It sounded like a question. "Old files, stuff belonging to the school. Not really books…"
"You looked through these?" I asked her.
"Just took a peek," admitted Chihiro. "There's a whole shelf of old police files for cold cases and—and stuff. Although… I don't know how the school would get ahold of information like that…" Her voice trailed off, and she closed the door.
I was surprised Chihiro was interested in that sort of thing. She seemed far too meek and gentle to be interested in anything like old crime cases.
"Hmm." Toko was muttering to herself, shaking her head as she flipped through books on the shelves.
"Toko, what's wrong?" asked Chihiro.
"N-nothing!" she snapped. After a moment, she added. "I was j-just hoping there might be s-something for me to read."
"Found anything that catches your eye?" Chihiro's smile seemed genuinely hopeful.
Toko glanced over at the bookshelves where Byakuya was browsing, then back down at the ground. "Nope."
"Oh, well. That's too bad!" said Chihiro.
"W-what?" said Toko. She looked surprised that Chihiro had bothered to continue their conversation beyond her short response. "W-why would you say that?"
"Huh?" asked Chihiro. "Because I thought the library would be more… your wheelhouse? I thought maybe we could trade recommendations or—forget I asked."
"They don't have anything pertaining to my interests," muttered Toko. "No manga, no comics, no fic. Is that what you wanted me to say?" Her voice continued to rise. "S-so that you could make fun of me and call my taste low-brow? Everybody else already does!"
Chihiro looked backed into a corner. "What? No, that's not what I—"
"Kyoko," I interrupted loudly, "What brings you here?"
It worked. Toko backed off from Chihiro, who was saved from disaster for the second time that day.
At hearing my question, Kyoko glanced up at me and then back down at the shelves. "I suppose I don't really come across as much of a bookworm, do I?"
"T-that's not what I meant." I blushed.
She grabbed a title off the shelves, took a glance at it and flipped through a few pages. When I made my way nearer to her, she showed me the cover.
"A mystery novel," I said, surprised. "Interesting choice."
"Yeah, I…" Her voice was quiet. She paused before adding, "I, uh…. used read all sorts of mystery stories growing up."
"Heh," I said. "So did I."
Was that the traces of a smile I detected?
It seemed like it, but perhaps it was just my imagination because the next moment she was back to her usual impassive self. Kyoko didn't respond, and instead she looked away and put the book back on the shelf.
Beside Kyoko, there was an old laptop sitting on an otherwise empty desk. I pressed the power button on the keyboard. Nothing.
Trying again, I fiddled around with the mousepad and keyboard a bit, but still no results.
"It's broken," said Byakuya, not even looking my way as he answered, despite it being obvious by this point.
I refrained on my desire to say something biting in response.
"Hmm," said Kyoko. "That's too bad. I suppose it would've been foolish to hope the Mastermind would give us something so useful." She sighed. "And the lighting in here is less than ideal."
"Hey. Byakuya, you like computers, right?" asked Junko, although knowing her it was more antagonistic than genuine curiosity.
"Like I said, it's broken," said Byakuya. "It's of no use to me."
She raised an eyebrow, scrutinizing him, but he remained unruffled. When she determined she could wring no further material out of him, whether useful or mocking, she huffed impatiently.
"Ugh," said Junko. "This place is seriously collecting dust." She picked up a card from one of the smaller bookshelves, giving it a disgusted look as she shook it free of dust. When shaking it didn't seem to work, she blew at the card, the remaining dust collecting into a large cloud.
She coughed, and so did I. Junko pulled the card out of its envelope. Scanning it for a moment, she paused to look up at me. Her eyes were wide. "Mukuro," she said, "come see this." She waved me over.
I read the letter over her shoulder.
"'Dear students of Hope's Peak'," I read aloud. I continued to read the contents of the letter, and when I had finished, I looked up at Junko. "So the school has been shut down until further notice..."
"But we only arrived here a few days ago," said Chihiro. She frowned.
"Due to some unspecified tragedy." I thought about the contents of the letter. It didn't make any sense. Surely if this were true, we would've heard of such an event taking place, right?
"It's not dated," I said, "but judging by the layer of dust, it must be… at least a year old."
Kyoko shook her head. "That makes no sense. We only arrived a few days ago at the very most."
"Yeah, if there was a shutdown, we for sure would've heard something about it," said Junko. "Right?" She shared uneasy looks wit the rest of us. Eyeing the letter closer, she pointed to the bottom. "It's signed from the headmaster of the school."
"What?" asked Kyoko with a slight gasp, and judging by the tone of her voice, she was genuinely shaken. Even in times of distress, I'd never seen her quite like this before.
"Yeah," said Junko, tapping at the signature again with her finger. "See, right there."
"Give me that." Kyoko snatched the letter away from Junko, scanning it up and down, but judging by the urgency in her tone I doubted that she would've met much resistance.
"S-so then this r-really is Hope's Peak?" asked Toko. She was standing a good several feet away from the few of us crowding around the letter, but she had still been listening in on us. "T-that's what the letter m-means, r-right? We weren't taken s-someplace else?"
"Could be one of Monokuma's tricks," said Junko.
"But if it is real. Then… whoever is trapping us here," said Chihiro. "Do you guys think…" Her speech drifted off.
"What is it?" asked Byakuya. "Well then, spit it out."
"Nevermind," said Chihiro. "It was probably silly."
"No idea is silly," I said. I was relieved when for once Byakuya did not interject with something snide.
"Well, ok," said Chihiro. "I was just thinking. Do you guys think… who ever is keeping us locked up here. Could it be the headmaster of the school?"
Kyoko's grip tightened around the letter, wrinkling the paper.
"Whoa there, easy girl," said Junko.
Kyoko ignored her. "The headmaster!" She muttered something under her breath. "We need to find out what's going on in this goddamn school."
"Well, we'll have to put that thought on hold because at the moment it is 8:30 and we should already be downstairs," said Junko. She nodded in the direction of the clock, and as it turned out, she was correct.
"Oh, come on," I teased her. "Don't tell me you wouldn't prefer to be fashionably late."
She sighed a huge, fake sigh. "Oh, you're right. You know me so well."
My lip twitched in a small smile, worries pushed aside just for the moment. "I'd hope so."
—
"Oh! Looks like this is everyone, is it?," said Makoto as we made our way into the hall—fashionably late, as predicted. Looking at the clock, I could see it was already 8:35. He smiled broadly at me as I entered the room.
"Hang on a sec," said Hiro, counting heads, "there's only 12 of us here, people are definitely missing."
"Someone can count, what a shocker," said Junko, snickering.
"Hey!... I'm a gambler. Of course I can count."
I'd given up on chastising Junko for her quips, so I let it slide.
Sayaka piped up. "It's Hina. Last we saw her, she was…. Um… I think she was pacing?" She frowned.
"Huh. Strange," said Chihiro.
"What is it, Chihiro?" asked Makoto.
"Oh, um, it's not just Hina. Someone else is missing."
Junko nodded. "What I think Chihiro is referring to is that Mr. Punctual is strangely absent."
"Who?" asked Leon.
She scoffed. "Taka, of course!"
"So Taka and Hina are both late. How very uncharacteristic of both of them," said Celeste coolly.
Mondo turned to me. "Hey, Mukuro, do us a solid would ya and go find Hina for us?"
"Hm? Why me?" I shot him a questioning look. Admittedly, I was a bit annoyed. I didn't like being turned into an errand boy.
"Because you're closest to the door, that's how it works."
That was most certainly not how it worked, but I didn't find the idea of arguing with an ultimate fighter all too appealing.
Without knowing it, I must've been giving him some sort of look because he added, practically yelling, "Hey, don't look at me like that! I ain't scared, even if that chick is sketch as hell! Look, just do it ok?"
I nodded hurriedly.
To my surprise, he grinned and gave me an enthusiastic thumbs up. "Hey, thanks for that! You got this!"
Was this what it was like to experience whiplash?
I was so thrown that I barely even registered Sayaka speak. "Don't worry, I'll go with you!" Before I could even respond, she was by my side, arm interlinked with mine as she led me along. She smiled at me. "Let's go!"
It happened so fast, I didn't even have time to object.
Once outside, Sayaka turned to me while we walked. "Mondo is a rather strange person, wouldn't you say?"
"Perhaps. But I think you have to be a little strange to end up here."
"Good point. But he's rather undisciplined and hot-tempered for a trained fighter…" she mused.
I thought about Makoto, knocked out on the very first day.
"I mean, poor Makoto!" said Sayaka, almost as if she could read my mind. "That was so scary. I'm sure Mondo means well, but I just don't know whether to think he's a good or bad person."
"Well..." I paused, "I don't think he really has to be either."
"Huh?" asked Sayaka, brow furrowing quizzically. "What do you mean?"
"I-I mean," I faltered, suddenly feeling unsure under her gaze, "nobody is 100% good or bad. He isn't faultless," I said, and I thought about how I'd blown up at the others the previous night, "... but neither am I."
She thought about it. "Wow, Mukuro! That's so wise."
"Just speaking from experience. Even the Ultimates aren't perfect, even if… some of you, seem to come really close." As I said this I looked away bashfully, my face growing warm. I snuck a glance up at her before hastily looking away again.
"You don't mean…. Oh!" Sayaka laughed. "Oh please, you flatter me. I'm far from perfect." She waved her hand carelessly, as if to wave off my statement itself. She smiled once again. Something about that warm smile of hers set me at ease.
The pair of us ran into Taka going up the stairs to the second floor. We caught him as he was heading down, and we nearly ran into each other.
"Taka!" exclaimed Sayaka in both surprise and joy.
"Ah!" he responded, equally as surprised, stumbling and nearly falling over.
"Oh my goodness! Careful, that could've been dangerous," said Sayaka with a sympathetic smile.
He brushed himself off. "Forgive me, I was being absent-minded and careless, but thank you for your concern." He switched gears, straightening his posture. "Mukuro and Sayaka! It is most fortunate that I would run into you at a time like this! It's Hina."
"We know," said Sayaka. "We were sent to look for her just now by the others."
"Then you will be pleased to hear that I know where she is!"
"Great!" said Sayaka. "Can you take us to her?"
He hesitated.
"Taka?" I asked.
His expression seemed to fall for just a moment. "Well, see… The thing about that is… I ran into her just outside the pool. It was about ten minutes to 8:30, so I reminded her of the meeting, of course. But…"
"But?" asked Sayaka.
"I shamefully admit I was unsuccessful in getting her to attend! I have been unable to find her since." His hands were clenched into fists, jaw set in frustration as his eyes began to water. His eyes went wide in realization. "The meeting! I'm so incredibly late. Please forgive my tardiness! I cannot believe I have allowed myself to fall so low."
"It's ok, Taka, nobody is blaming you," said Sayaka. "It's very thoughtful of you to think of including Hina." She turned to me. "So Taka has been unable to find her, we have several accounts of her spending the past half hour working out, and she was last seen outside the pool entrance… " She seemed to be thinking aloud, counting off each clue on her fingers as she listed them off. "Which means…"
I nodded. We seemed to be on the same wavelength. "We should—"
"Check the girls locker rooms?" she asked.
"How did you—"
"I'm psychic!" She giggled. "Kidding. Intuition. I'm no psychic, but maybe I could make a good detective's assistant?"
"Well, get in line because I think Junko's already gunning for that position," I said. "It's a good hunch, though, so you could definitely give her a run for her money."
The pool entrance was not far from the stairs, so getting there took hardly any time at all.
Just outside the girls locker room, Sayaka and I paused to look at Taka.
"Um…" said Sayaka. "Taka, it's probably best if you wait outside for this." She pointed to the gun mounted to the ceiling.
"Hm?" He followed the direction of her hand until his eyes landed on the gun. "Oh! Y-yes, of course! I wouldn't dream of—I would never!" He was bright red.
I chuckled, I couldn't help it.
"I shall wait right here if you need me!" He added, feet planted firmly in place.
Sayaka had already swiped us in, and I was assuring him with thank yous when Sayaka took a look inside and turned to me.
"She's not here."
"What?" I asked.
"Have a look for yourself, it's empty."
I peeked my head inside, and she was right. Nobody was there.
However, there was a jacket and pair of sneakers that looked awfully familiar.
"Hm… Let's check the pool deck. Which means Taka, you can meet us there."
Once out on the pool deck, the three of us spotted a figure swimming in the water.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally.
"Hina!" called Sayaka. When she didn't respond, she tried again. "Hina!"
I approached the pool.
Hina broke the surface of the water, shaking her head clear of water and breathing heavily. "Oh! I didn't see you there." She swam to the side of the pool, resting her arms on the side.
"Hina! Do you have any idea what time it is?" asked Taka. "You're supposed to be in the dining hall!"
She laughed."Heh, sorry! Guess it slipped my mind. I was doing laps, the time got away from me."
"Hina, are you alright?" asked Sayaka.
"Yeah! I'm fine!" said Hina. Her voice was high pitched. "Why wouldn't I be fine? I'm alive. I still have my health. You can't let the bad things keep you down, you know?"
Sayaka nodded. "That's the spirit! I'm glad you're ok, but you really ought to come with us."
"Gotcha, but I still have like twenty more laps, ok?"
"Hina," said Sayaka. She was beginning to sound impatient.
"Guys, this is so much better for everyone, right? I mean, everyone is mad at me, anyway, so this way everyone wins!"
I decided to speak. "I realize that you're hurting over Sakura, but you are not to blame."
Hina frowned. "I know that." She pulled herself up out of the pool, grabbing a towel that was lying nearby and draped it over her shoulders.
"It's not your fault."
"I know that," she said again. I mean, I do. I should. I mean, if Sakura were here I know she'd want me to be tough, right? She'd say something like 'Hina, I need you to be strong for me'." She tried to mimick the sound of Sakura's voice. "I can imagine her saying that, can't you?" No response. "So that's what I'm doing! I'm tough. I don't need anyone. I…" Her voice broke. "don't know how to fix this. I-I don't know how to make things right with you guys." She began to cry.
Sayaka rushed to her side. "Oh honey," she said, ignoring the water and giving Hina a hug. "It's gonna be ok. Everything is ok."
Hina stammered through some muffled sobs. "I-I... I just. I don't—"
"See? Everything is gonna be ok!" said Sayaka, pulling away from Hina to look at her. She snapped her fingers. "I got it! We can head back to the dining hall, and get you a real and proper breakfast! Doesn't that sound nice? We can fix this. Let's turn that frown upside-down!" She began to head out, but paused when she realized that Hina was still not following. "Hina?"
Taka looked over at Sayaka then to Hina. "I…"
"What is it?" asked Hina.
He looked hesitant. "I would like to say something!"
"Taka, I don't know if that's a good idea—" began Sayaka, but Taka ignored her.
"In most cases I would commend you for working as hard as you do. But you seem distressed. It is important to take care of all aspects of your health."
Hina nodded slightly. "I have to find some way to keep up with my teammates. Choosing school over the team was one of the hardest decisions I've had to make. And when I met Sakura… We were supposed to be training partners. She never even got to see the second floor of the school. She'd help me with sit-ups, you know?" She frowned. "Look, you guys can say whatever you want, it's fine because yes she might've been a questionable person but she was trying to save me! Even you all tell me I'm foolish, I have to believe she… that is who she was. "
"Well," said Taka, "if it is any consolation, Hina. You may have lost one friend. But you have us."
Wow.
Sayaka glanced over at me. Had I said that aloud? Or had she read my mind, as she always did?
"Taka…" Hina looked at a loss for words.
"And as the dedicated best friends you could ever hope for, we will never leave your side!" said Taka, back to his unusual intensity—and loud volume. He began to cry, but thankfully they were not tears of sadness. "We will not disappoint you!"
"And he's back," I muttered under my breath.
Sayaka snickered. All the same, she looked about as shaken as I felt.
Thankfully, they didn't hear us. Hina had laughed, pulling Taka into a what must've been a pretty damp hug.
Just then I remembered the pack of donuts I'd taken from Junko. "Here." I pulled them out of my pocket and tossed them to her. She caught them with ease, despite the fact that she was one handed because she was still hugging Taka.
"What's this?" she asked.
"Donuts," I said. "It won't solve everything, but it'll at least count as breakfast."
"Name a problem donuts can't solve," said Hina with a half-hearted laugh. After taking a moment to recompose herself, Hina finally let go of Taka, wiping her eyes. "Thanks." She sniffed. "I'm ok now. We can go."
"Hopefully the meeting isn't over," I said.
—
As Taka and Hina were in absorbed in rapt conversation, Sayaka followed closely behind, watching them with an awestruck expression. "How did he do that?" she whispered to me.
I shrugged. "I have no clue," I said through a laugh as I shook my head, equally as confounded. "I guess… You were trying to make her happy."
"But that's what she needed. Right? That's always what people need."
"Well, maybe she just needed a good cry," I said.
And someone as emotional and excessively hard-working as she is to bring that out.
As talented and kind-hearted as Sayaka was, that wasn't something with which I could see her resonating. She just always seemed so happy. Even during hard times she seemed pretty unwavering. The only time I could remember that happy-go-lucky attitude disappearing was when Monokuma revealed our first motive. Still, I was surprised that Taka seemed to have gotten to her. He wasn't always the most perceptive person in the world. Still, he had his moments. Perhaps I had misjudged him.
Sayaka looked deep in thought. "Huh." She didn't speak the rest of the way.
We entered the dining hall to find the other students deep in conversation.
"So we don't have any leads?" Makoto was muttering, in thought.
"Are you kidding? No clues at all?" said Junko.
"Well, we do have this letter," said Chihiro.
"What about it?" said Kyoko.
"Hi guys," said Hina.
Several heads turned upon hearing her come in.
"Whoa, it's Hina!" said Hiro, open mouth shock turning into a surprising grin. "You guys were gone for, like, a crazy long time."
"We were starting to get worried," said Chihiro.
"Really?" asked Hina.
"Of course!" said Makoto earnestly. "That's why Mukuro and Sayaka were looking for you. Are you ok?"
"I think I will be," said Hina, smiling gratefully.
Taka had been standing close to me upon entering the cafeteria. However, while Hina was being swarmed, I noticed Taka slink silently into the mass of students, unnoticed and ignored. Rather unusually, instead of making a scene he'd been completely silent.
I wanted to talk to him, just to reassure him of his helpfulness today with Hina, but instead I was bombarded by a familiar face. I never got the chance to tell him.
"'Kuro!" It was Junko. She came bounding up to me, grabbing me by the hands. "We are soooo sorry, but you guys were taking ages so we got started without you." She pouted apologetically, looking up at me with big round puppy-dog eyes.
"Oh, it's alright."
"No, it's not! It was shitty of us."
"Yeah, sorry about that," said Makoto. "Pressure from the others, everyone went ahead and began sharing their findings so that's how it ended up working."
"Really, it's ok," I assured them. "Someone can just catch us up later. But what is this I hear about a lack of leads?"
Byakuya spoke. "There are no helpful additional clues to aid in our escape."
"You're still here?" asked Junko, shooting him an annoyed look.
"Not for much longer," he said. "Now that everyone is arrived and caught up, I have no further purpose here." He walked bruskly out the door.
"Oh no, he's gone, what a shame," said Junko, voice laced with sarcasm.
"Anyway, Byakuya is right, yeah? We're still trapped like mice in a cage. Not for lack of trying," said Hiro. "We searched this place top to bottom!"
"Yeah," said Mondo. "And you and Junko were right about those metal plates. Wouldn't budge an inch." For a moment, he seemed resolute, but he cracked his knuckles, seemingly agitated. "But that doesn't mean I'm givin' up just yet! I swear, I'll get out of this fuckin' place if it kills me!"
"That is all well and good, but I do hope you mean what you say," said Celeste.
"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.
"Yeah!" said Junko. "The way you talk, you make it seem like you don't even want to get out of here."
"Well, I would be willing to bet that too much resistance will be met with punishment from the Mastermind," said Celeste. "Particularly if you violate the school rules. I hope you are willing to die in your attempt for that freedom."
He grit his teeth. "Shit… I ain't dying. I know that much."
"Then may I suggest adaptation as a means for survival?" She smiled, as if she were merely suggesting the special at a restaurant, not a survival tip for a school of mutual killing. "As I said before, if you continue to expose your weakness, you will die."
"I ain't weak," said Mondo. "But… I see what you're getting at. I'll back off, but that doesn't mean I'm done fighting just yet."
"Of course, I wouldn't expect anything less of the Ultimate Martial Artist," said Celeste.
"Yeah, yeah," grumbled Junko. "Cool it, Elvira. Message received, no rocking the boat until after you've gotten your spa day."
"Hm?" I asked.
"Oh, you were gone for that part," said Junko. "Makoto was checking the first floor, there's now a pantry, a bathhouse, and a sauna."
I wasn't sure what to say. "Cool?"
"It will certainly make things more comfortable for us," said Celeste. "There is plenty of equipment and food to choose from in the pantry, granted we all stick to our word and do not go out at night time. We can certainly lead satisfying lives for quite some time in here."
"Celeste has a point," said Kyoko. "Rather than causing a commotion, we should be learning our new environment. We don't want to cause too much suspicion. That doesn't mean we stop looking for a way out, but we ought be careful about bringing too much attention to ourselves, otherwise the Mastermind will certainly stop us."
It was an unusual speech coming from Kyoko, considering the fact that she looked suspicious every time she disappeared for long stretches of time with no explanation.
Nevertheless, I agreed. "Absolutely. We just need to be smart about this."
The others murmured in agreement
"Well, with all that out of the way," said Hina. "I think I'm game for a real breakfast."
"Me, too," I said, suddenly realizing how hungry I felt.
"Actually," said Makoto. "When I said we started without you guys, I wasn't just referring to the meeting. Sorry, we sort all ate already."
Taka nodded sorrowfully. "It is fine. I shall face the consequences for my tardiness!"
"It's not a big deal," I said. "You guys go on ahead, I'll just grab something right now."
A few of the others waved their goodbyes. I even got a couple hugs.
"I'll stay, too! Would you guys like something?" asked Sayaka to the rest of the latecomers: Hina, Taka, and myself.
"Oh, are you a cook?" asked Hina, her energy finally seeming to return for the first time in ages.
"The best!" said Sayaka. "I make a mean chili oil."
"A condiment?" asked a shocked Taka.
She laughed. "Kidding. I'll see what we have in the kitchen."
Junko was still by my side. "I'm heading out. You gonna be ok?" She took me by the hands again.
I looked over at the other students then back to her. "Of course."
"See? Now don't you see the appeal of being fashionably late?"
"Mukuro, get over here!" called Hina, poking her head out of the kitchen.
"One sec!" I turned to Junko. "Sure, I'm just reveling in the attention."
She laughed, giving my hands a squeeze before going—leaving me to my breakfast with the other fashionably late kids.
A/N: By this part of the story, Sayaka is kinda... dead so I hope I'm doing her character justice. I'm doing a lot of interpretation based on some kinda sparse canon data, so hopefully I'm not reaching. In my opinion, Sayaka's cheery attitude has a strange performative aspect to it, which I wanted to highlight. However, similarly, I feel like for both Hina and Sayaka, their cheery personalities are the solution to their vulnerability, Sayaka by putting on a persona and Hina coping by trying to stay light-hearted because if she's too bogged down with sadness she becomes overwhelmed and depressed. Meanwhile, Taka isn't always the most perceptive person in the world but i figured the One (1) Thing he would probably catch onto is someone pouring themselves into their work as a coping mechanism for their loneliness.
Hina went to the Chris Traeger School for Dealing with Depression. "If I keep my body moving, and my mind occupied at all times, I will avoid falling into the bottomless pit of despair!"
Mukuro is finally learning how to flirt. Just a bit.
Vote for your favorite Junko Nickname &/or insult in the comments below! (I love writing Junko honestly, I probably get carried away but she pretty much gets to vent all the mean things I want to say to the Dango Bango cast, even tho most of it is out of love)
Ok but for honest, please let me know who you want to get to know during free time! I went with two last time, but i think that was too few a number, so some of them will be plot related but I will also be sure to include the popular choices too! I really appreciate your feedback.
