Chapter 10

Leon was unable to tear his gaze away from the locked safe that contained Naoko. While he didn't share the teen's fear of cramped spaces, he didn't want to imagine the immense panic and fear the sprint runner was currently suffering from. He watched as Seiichi run over to the safe and tried prying the door open. His eyes glanced to the side guilty, not wishing to watch the wrestler's failed attempts to open the safe. The nineteen-year let out a sigh as he ran his hand through his red hair, unsure what to do. He didn't want to leave Naoko trapped in the safe for twelve hours, but he couldn't see how he could free the sprint runner without the key Monokuma possessed.

Suddenly, without warning, Leon yelped out in surprise when he felt a hand harshly shove him to the side slightly. His head snapped toward the safe once more to see Hiroko silently approaching it.
The women maintained her professional appearance as she gently placed her hand on Seiichi's chest, prompting the black-haired teen to turn his head toward her.

"Allow me to take care of this." she commanded in an tone full of authority yet with a hint of kindness.

Seiichi's eyes widened as he backed away slightly, stunned that he found himself compelled to obey the teen's authoritative presence.
Seeing the wrestler gave her the space she required, the speech debater took in a deep breath before kneeling down next to the safe. Her eyes managed to spot the holes Monokuma had drilled into the safe, prompting her to lean close to them.

She composed herself with another deep breath and said "Naoko, are you able to hear me? Respond in any way you can."

Silence lingered in the air for a few moments until it was shattered by the sound of light tapping. Hiroko closed her eyes in satisfaction. As long as Naoko was able to respond to her words, she was able to confirm he was alive. Unsure whether he refused to speak out of fear or simply because it proved difficult in the safe, the purple-headed girl wasn't too bothered by her uncertainty. All that mattered to her was making sure that Naoko was still sane despite the situation he had been placed in.

She reopened her eyes, showing clear determination in them while she said "Listen very closely to me, Naoko. There's no way we can get you out of the safe without Monokuma's key. What matters is that you stay calm. I know it's hard, but panicking would only worsen the situation. I promise you that we will get you the moment your twelve hours are up. Tap three times if you understand what I'm telling you."

No one dared to say a word as to not accidentally prevent Hiroko from hearing the response. It only took a few seconds for the sound of three taps to echo throughout the room. Satisfied with the response, the speech debater stood up once more. She folded her hands neatly in front of her as she made her way back to the group. Her face didn't show any signs of emotion, only the expression of professionalism. Without a word, the teenage girl left the room.

Everyone stared at each other in shock, stunned by what they witnessed until Hideaki finally commented "That's my Hiroko. Knows when to keep a cool head during situations. You got to admit, you have to love that aspect about her."

Deciding that it was best to pass time until twelve hours were up, everyone went their separate ways. Leon found himself mindlessly roaming the halls of the abandoned factory. Every minute that passed by that Naoko remained in the safe felt ages to the red-head. He couldn't prevent thoughts of rage, worry, and fear from bouncing around inside his mind. Every action Monokuma seemed to do to try to push the teens to their breaking points infuriated him. He kept wandering with his thoughts until he heard a small whir around the corner. His brows furrowed together in confusion as he poked his head around the corner, curious to what the sound was.

Upon doing this, the nineteen year-old's eyes widened in surprise when he saw both Isamu and Isas sitting in the floor together with an RC car.
The robotics expert smiled in excitement as she watched the black-haired teen speed the car throughout the hallway. It amazed her how his talent in racing allowed him to turn the car with excellent precision and not have to worry about slowing down. Her grin never left her face when the RC Car finally came to a stop in front of her.

Eager to know the teen's thoughts, she asked in an excited tone "What do you think Isas? Do you like my newest project? I made it with you specially in mind. You always stuck up for me whenever Toshiro made those cruel comments about me. I just had to thank you in any way I could."

Isas glanced at the teenage girl in surprise; he never expected for her to present him with a gift to show her thanks. He couldn't helped but feel a bit touched and slightly flustered.

"There's even more! Here let me show you!" the sandy-blonde-headed teen proclaimed.

Within a blink of an eye, she managed to snatch the controller away from the race car driver. Love and excitement glinted in her aqua eyes as she pushed a button. A squeal of happiness managed to escape her mouth the moment the RC car transformed into a small robot.

"It can transform too, just like the Herobots in 'Super Changing Fighting Robozoids'!" she exclaimed, love and admiration dripping off each word, "I knew out of the Herobots I could choose from, I had to design it off the Herobots' leader Supremus Nine. No other Herobot would have worked."

"Any reason why you chose him?" Isas asked with a small smile.

A small blush managed to creep on Isamu's face from the question; a dreamful smile clearly painted on her face. Her tone changed into a soft one as she explained her reason for her choice. She had chosen the main character simply because the race car driver reminded her of the heroic robot. The blush on her face deepened the longer she continued her story. The teen next to her seemed to carry of all the qualities of the hero she admired from her anime; she considered them both noble, brave, kind, and always willing to help others.

Her eyes glanced up at the black-haired teen to see a bright blush painted on his face, much similar to the one on her own. A small melodious giggle escaped her mouth when she saw the nineteen year-old struggle to give her eye contact.

"So... you really think I'm like Supremus Nine, huh? That's... that's a good thing, right?" Isas asked, taking a few nervous pauses.

Isamu giggled once more before taking one of her hands and clasping it tightly around the teenage boy's, prompting the racer to immediately stiffen from the action.

"Of course it is." she answered as she rested her head on the teen's shoulder, "You didn't have to be so kind to me. We're total strangers and you had no reason to stand up for me like you did. You're so kind, Isas. You made Toshiro back down when he was being a huge jerk to not only me but the others too, you stayed with me till nighttime when I was suffering from anxiety due to Monokuma's motive, and you're doing you're best to insure we all get out of here alive. You're a good person, Isas, don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Isas was speechless from the girl's confession. He could feel his heart pounding rapidly in his chest; he knew it was not pounding for the same reasons that the Killing Game itself cause, but rather for other reasons. There was no denying it, despite the deadly situation he and the others were trapped in, he knew he was starting to develop feelings for a girl he barely knew. While only small at the moment, the teen understood that the longer he spent time with Isamu, getting to know her, the more those feelings would grow.

Leon's mouth hung open in shock from the scene he witnessed. He easily noticed how strangely close Isas was to Isamu during the first few days, but he never imagined they were attracted to one another. His fingers curled around the hallway's corner as a bitter frown formed on his face. Looking at the scene of the two teen's reminded him of one of his memories before his first killing game. He could easily remember himself sitting nervously on a school bench with Sayaka leaning on his shoulder. He could recall her sweet smile as she snuggled her head against him with her arms tightly curled around his waist.

"That was after I shortly started dating her. I managed to work up the nerve to ask her out. She was different from the other girls I dated. Maybe if my memories weren't erased by Junko, then maybe I wouldn't have..." he thought to himself, unable to bring himself to finish the thought.

His eyes squeezed tightly shut whilst he pressed his back against the wall; his guilt from murdering Sayaka rising up once more.

The teen remained lost in his thoughts of the past until he heard a female voice say "Isamu and Isas, huh? Who would have guessed?"

Immediately snapping open his eyes, the red-head was greeted with the sight of Shizko standing before him. He raised a brow in confusion and interest upon examining the teenage girl before him. He could see Shizko's face seemed like her normal annoyed self, yet her eyes seemed to hold some type of longing. Following her line of vision, the nineteen year-old learned the sculptor was staring directly at Isamu and Isas. Yet this fact confused the baseball player; he couldn't understand why the teenage girl was staring at a couple with longing when she had made it clear that she didn't care for any kind of relationship.

A part of him fearing of what her reaction would be, Leon asked with a bit of hesitancy "Shizko, why do you dislike the idea of relationships? There's nothing wrong with that, I'm just curious."

The silver-haired girl flinched at the athlete's question, she had hoped no one would ask her for reason to prefer being alone. She remained silent for a few moments before finally letting out an annoyed sigh.

"I see them as pointless." she answered in a somber tone, "There's no sense in making friends or settling down. Kiyoshi is the only exception since I can't help but consider her my friend. It wouldn't feel right to reject her kindness after all. Though even then, I'm still unsure about being her friend. Relationships and friendships always come to an end, leaving behind only heartbreak. Why force someone to go through such heartbreak? I just prefer to be alone so that I would never have to worry about those things."

Leon was unable to think up a response to the sculptor's statement. Each word sounded cold and stern, making him easily see her stance on matter. Yet what puzzled him the most was the hint of sadness that lay hidden within Shizko's words. It deeply confused him to why the teenage girl insisted that she prefer being alone, yet be saddened by the idea at the same time.

Before the teen could dwell on it any further, his thoughts were shattered by Shizko stating "Besides, preferring to be alone is what helped me gain my status as the Ultimate Sculptor."

She could easily remember during her childhood how the other children always kept trying to strike up a conversation with her in order to become friends. But she never cared for their attempts due to her view on relationships, all she wished was to be left alone. All the children kept trying to talk to her except for in one class. She sighed in content as fond memories of her sculpting class filled her mind. It was the one time no one tried to talk to her. She remembered her feelings of happiness as she dedicated more time to her sculptures, increasing her skills as she got older. The more she worked on the sculptures, the less people tried to talk to her out of worry they would accidentally interrupt her work.

"Being an Ultimate made things easier for me. No one dared try to interact with me so I could continue to dedicate my time to work. The news of my status of the Ultimate Sculptor spread like wildfire. The only ones who ever bothered me at that point were scouts for Hope's Peak Academy. Of course I rejected their offers. I felt like transferring to another school would be pointless. I'm pretty content with my current school." she finished in a stern tone.

Leon found himself bewildered from the girl's story. He couldn't understand why she wished to sink so much of her time into sculpting to the point she rejected an offer from attending a high school that would guarantee her success. In his mind, the girl had no reason to reject the offers, unlike him. His teeth clenched slightly when he thought back to the scouts that approached him about attending the school. He rejected every single offer presented to him, puzzling everyone around him, even his own mother, on why the Ultimate Baseball Star refused to attend Hope's Peak Academy. Unfortunately, as much as he wanted to, the nineteen year-old knew he could never explain his hatred and feelings of regret toward the school.

"Are we done here, because I believe my response perfectly answers your question." Shizko asked in a slight bitter tone.

The red-head sighed at the girl's words before answering "I guess so. I'm going to head back to my room. I'll see ya when it's time to get Naoko out of the safe."

Without another word, Leon walked down the hallway, ignoring the surprised looks from Isamu and Isas as he walked past them.
Shizko bit her lip as she crossed her arms, making sure the athlete was out of sight. The moment she saw him disappear around the corner, she let out a sigh whilst leaning against the wall. Exhaustion immediately formed on her face with her body wobbling slightly.

"Thank god he left. Any longer and he would have found out. I can't let anyone else aside from Hisoka know. It would break their hearts if they knew." she thought to herself with a frown.

Later that day, the group of teens returned to the main factory room, just in time for the timer on the safe to dwindle down to its last few seconds.
Leon's body stiffened as thoughts of worry filled his mind. All of them had been away from the main factory room for twelve hours, meaning they still had no idea if Naoko was okay within the safe. The tensity filling the air only increased when the timer finally hit zero and a loud buzzing echoed throughout the room. Within seconds, Monokuma finally made his appearance, causing Leon to flinch slightly from his presence.

"Well you all showed up early. What, scared that your friend is going to tumble out of the safe dead?" Monokuma taunted in a sly tone, "I said I would insure he would stay alive, but I guess it wouldn't stop one of you from some how killing him while he's stuck in there. Imagine if that ended up happening? Puhuhu!"

"Just open up the damn safe and let our friend out already!" Seiichi snapped out of rage.

"Ugh! Fine! You guys are just so pushy! Can't a bear just toss around some jokes?" the black and white bear grumbled as he pulled out the safe key.

Everyone grew nervous as the demented bear opened up the safe, unsure what they would discover. The moment Monokuma opened the safe, Naoko's body tumbled to the ground unconscious. But much to everyone's fear, the sprint runner showed no sign of movement.

"Oh god... please tell me he's not..." Kiyoshi gasped in fear with her hands slapped over her mouth.

Hisoka's heart pounded in fear as he and Seiichi immediately ran over to the teenage boy. Wasting no time, he lifted up the ginger-headed teen's wrist in order to feel a pulse. The doctor's body slowly slackened as he let out a sigh of relief; he could feel a small pulse. Sure enough, all his doubts vanished when he saw the sprint runner slowly blink open his yellow eyes.
With the same professional aura she carried before, Hiroko made her way over to Naoko and and kneeled down to his level.

"Naoko, how do you feel?" she asked, wanting to make sure the teen was alright.

Naoko grunted as he tried to adjust his body before answering in a weak tone "Shaky... really shaky."

"I would be surprised if you weren't." Hisoka explained as he helped the sprint runner sit up, "When it comes to the human being surviving without food and water, the body would be shaky at the twelve hour mark as a result of low blood sugar. You should be fine once we get food and water in your body. We're lucky that Monokuma didn't leave you any longer in that safe."

The bear chuckled from the doctor's response before responding "I told you guys that it would be boring if I were the cause of any of your deaths. I would rather see you guys kill each other."

Deciding to ignore the demented bear, Seiichi asked out of confusion "I get that, but why was he passed out, doc? Did Monokuma lie about the air thing?"

The blonde-headed teen shook his head as he answered "No, he would have been dead if that was the case. I think he just only passed out from the anxiety. Well let's hurry and help him to the lunch room. If we want to get food in him, we need to do it before the nighttime announcement."

Leon sighed in relief as he watched both the doctor and wrestler carry Naoko out of the room. A part of him feared that the safe would be opened to reveal the teenager dead inside. He didn't want to doubt any of his companions, but he knew all of them feared the motive as much as him. He wasn't even sure if Naoko himself was sane enough to not kill after having to endure his worst fear for twelve hours. He couldn't help but feel paranoid from the motive, worried that the motive would be enough to push someone to commit murder.

"Whelp, looks like you chumps got the rest of the day to try to kill someone. Otherwise another one of you will be subjected to your worst fear." Monokuma reminded the group, "As you can see, I definitely mean business when it comes to my motive. So unless any of you want to go through the same suffering sprint boy experienced, I suggest you get to killing. Well see ya suckers later!"

The red-head's breath seemed to hitch as the demented bear left the room; the words of his reminder echoing throughout his mind. His body trembled as his thoughts drifted to what the next day could hold for him. He didn't know if he would wake up to find yet another dead body, or end up being the one selected to be subjected to his worst fear. No matter the end result, both possibilities terrified the teen deeply.