The day drags on and passes into night. We're still trying to wrap our heads round what Monokuma's told us, and we've been left reeling, really. There's no easier way to say it.

The Night-Time announcement rings out through the Castle, and warily, Hikaru and I look up at the monitor with tired eyes. We're walking down the Staircase from the Third Floor, bringing a tray of empty mugs back down to the Bar from the Library. Hikaru's a little surprised by the announcement.

"You'll get used to it," I tell him. "There's a Morning announcement too, to wake us up."

"God, it's like prison," he sighs. "I mean, not that I'd know, but like, y'know, from TV and stuff..."

"Yeah, don't worry, I get you," I laugh, but my face falls a little and I sigh. "As far as first days go, yours has been awful – I'm really sorry."

"Not your fault," he sighs. "You've... you've all been doing your best. Even with... everything happening today."

"We'll sort this," I tell him. "Seriously, we'll get through this, Hikaru."

"I... I hope so," he says in a small voice. "Talk about being thrown in at the deep end though, huh?"

"I know," I sigh, "you don't deserve this mess. None of us do."

We reach the bottom of the Staircase.

"Um, I just realised," Hikaru says, "I still don't have anywhere to sleep tonight. We never really reached a conclusion on that one..."

"Oh..." I had completely forgot about that. For a second, I consider suggesting that he should sleep in one of the rooms in the Medical Wing, but that seems a little unfair, stranding him away from the rest of us. I rack my brains as to what to do, but as we pass into the gallery that leads down towards the Bar, we're stopped in our tracks by Monokuma.

"Nowhere to sleep, huh?" he says, with mock sympathy dripping from every word. "A real shame, real shame. Y'know, it's a pity you don't have Arata or Cho's ElectroID, or you could take one of their rooms. No point lettin' them go to waste and stinkin' up the place, right?

"But then... hm, I guess maybe you two could share. That could prove interesting! We could see which one of you snaps and kills the other for hogging the covers! Or snoring too loud! Right? Right?!" He's enthusiastic now, pacing back and forth as he rambles. "Hm, maybe I could do that! But, hm... then again... I know what teenage boys are like. All those hormones, huh?"

"H-hormones?" Hikaru stammers, his face reddening. "What d'you mean?"

"Well, boys 'n' boys, 'n' girls 'n' girls," Monokuma shrugs. "And vice versa, I guess. Or interlocked. Or... whatever. Y'know? No need to be so narrow-minded – it's the 21st century, bub!"

"Says the guy that just said 'bub'," I say, resisting the urge to roll my eyes.

"Look, I'd cut ya some slack and make up another room," Monokuma says, "but realistically, you're all gonna be dead in a couple days, so it just doesn't seem worth my while yet."

"Which is your fault," I point out.

"You say 'mass murder', I say 'tomato'," Monokuma sighs. "Jeez, you kids get more and more dramatic every time."

I frown. "Every time?" I echo. "What's that meant to mean?"

"Doesn't matter," he says, sighing again. His shoulders slump and suddenly the bear seems bored and lethargic. "It was fun while it lasted, but sometimes you just gotta expect failure, right?"

"What do you mean?" Hikaru asks. "Look, nothing you've said since I got here makes any sense!"

"Don't expect so much from me, jeez!" the bear protests. "I am but your humble headmaster, after all!"

"Let's go," I groan, adjusting the tray of mugs slightly as I step around Monokuma. Hikaru gives him a wary look and side-steps him, picking up his pace a little to fall back into step beside me. Monokuma growls in frustration, and there's a weird slapping noise as he stomps his paw down on the flagstone floor.

"This is just... beyond disrespectful!" he cries after us. "I'm your headmaster – I demand respect!"

"Ignore him," I mutter to Hikaru, and he nods. Together, we keep walking, while Monokuma rants in the background. Finally, his protests fade away as we walk along the gallery, finally arriving at the door that leads to the Bar.

Balancing the tray in one hand, I dig into the pocket of my zipper, fishing out my ElectroID. I press it to the card reader, and the lock opens with its characteristic clicking. I shift in and hold the door open for Hikaru, and he thanks me as he passes through.

"So, um, not to go on about it," Hikaru says, "but I still don't really have a bed for the night."

"Take mine," I say, placing the tray on the counter. "I get the feeling Mitsu and the others won't be going to bed anyway, so I'm as well staying up to help."

"Oh, are you... are you sure?" Hikaru asks, uncertainly.

I shrug. "I caught a little sleep earlier, but really, I think I'd rather be awake right now. I can walk you up to the Dormitory and let you into my room."

"I... I'd like to stay up and help out," he says, looking guilty now. "It's just... I feel like I'm gonna pass out at any second."

"It's affecting you too, right?" I reply, boiling up water. I turn round to face him from across the counter and he nods, perching himself up onto one of the stools.

"It's like my head is on fire," he says, running his finger around the rim of an empty mug. "I keep trying to concentrate, but it's like someone's set a firework off in my head."

"I know what you mean," I say, grimly. Unfortunately, I know all too well. The dizziness and the intense heat have persisted all day, and more than once I've found myself blacking out for short spells. I haven't been the only one. At one point, mid-sentence, Fumio had cried out and slumped face-first into the open copy of Kaitai Shinsho.

Behind me, the water finishes boiling, and I turn back to the machine. I hear Hikaru sigh quietly, but I'm suddenly unsure what to say. An uncomfortable quiet air fills the air between us, and I busy myself with preparing more drinks, uncertain of what to do next.

"I think... I think I better get some sleep," Hikaru says, finally. "I don't know if I will for sure, but trying won't hurt. After all, there's not much more I can do to help now. Not when I'm feeling like this."

I bow my head a little. That optimism we'd shared in the Common Room what felt like days, but could have only been hours ago, had faded away completely, replaced with a horrible dread of what felt like the inevitable. After all, how do you get rid of a sickness you've never even heard of?

"I'll get these in a bit," I tell him, turning away from the trays. "Let's get you to bed."

The halls and corridors are empty between the Bar and the Common Room. The flames that burn in the black metal brackets have been dimmed down for the night, giving the Castle a strange softness – a hauntingly quiet air that insists, and thrives on the silence of its occupants.

As we pass the long corridor with the enormous windows that leads to the Common Room, we slow down a little, and gaze out into the night. Darkness has engulfed the grounds now, making it near impossible to make out any details of the world beyond. The snow has returned too, falling in a flurry upon the world beyond the glass, and for a moment I get a distant memory of home – of clearing the snow off of the cafe's terrace; updating the chalkboard to advertise our winter specials; walking back into the cafe to hear my mom humming away as the smell of drinks flavoured with cinnamon and gingerbread fill the air.

"I want to go home," I find myself whispering. I realise my eyes are starting to water, and I wipe at them with the back of my hand, shaking my head in an attempt to pull myself together.

"I do too," Hikaru says, in a small voice. He hasn't noticed my tears. He's not even gazing out at the view. He's just staring down at the floor, looking more like a lost kid than anything else. I guess in a way that's how I probably look too. This place really brings out a lot in us...

"C'mon," I say, touching his shoulder, gently. "We're nearly there."

We finish our walk through the Common Room and up to the Dormitories in silence, both lost in our own thoughts. There's something about the dim lighting in the Dormitory Corridor that suddenly reminds me just how exhausted I am, and I find myself stifling a yawn as we approach the door to my room.

I press my ElectroID to the door and the lock clicks, and I open the door, leading Hikaru into my room. I must have left the lights on when I was last in here, and for a moment I remember how pissed my mom would get when I left lights on at home. Remembering home hurts, but in a way it's the only real comfort I've got right now...

"So, um, yeah, bathroom's just through there," I gesture, "and if you want a change of clothes in the morning or whatever there's some clean stuff in the wardrobe. You look about the same size as me."

"Thanks," he says, with a small smile. "I guess laundry hasn't been a priority for you guys so far, huh?"

"Y'know, I've been thinking about that," I frown, "we've explored four floors here, but there isn't a laundry room in one of them. Give it another day or so and I'll have to start just cleaning my clothes in the sink."

"Very retro," Hikaru chuckles, sitting back on the bed and unlacing his boots.

I lean back against the wall and laugh. "Like, it's just one of those things I put on the back burner. I'm just glad I packed so much clothes."

"Meanwhile I'm literally here with nothing but the clothes I'm wearing," Hikaru says. He kicks his boots off and crosses his legs beneath him.

"I'll keep an eye out for a laundry room," I chuckle. "But, uh, yeah, in the meantime, if you even just want a hoodie or whatever to sleep in, help yourself, and there's towels and whatever else if you want a shower."

"Well, at least there's a shower," he says. "Thank you again though, Kei, for everything."

"No worries," I nod, straightening up and stepping away from the wall. "I'll see you in the morning. If you need to leave the room during the night for whatever, just come find me and I can let you back in – I'll either be in the Library or the Bar."

"Sure thing," he nods, starting to pull off his blue coat. "See you in the morning. Good luck."

"Night," I call back, closing the door over as I step back out into the Corridor.

I return to the Library about fifteen minutes later, via the Bar. Tray in hand, I make my way over to the Reading Room the others have all gathered in to do their research. There's piles of books from the Library's Medical section scattered and piled across the large table. As I enter, Masashi grunts and shifts a pile that's blocking the light from one of the large brass lamps that illuminate the room.

Ayaka and Mitsu have taken refuge at the far side of the table, each taking turns to read aloud and compare notes from different books. Mitsu's scribbling away rapidly in her notebook, and it looks like she's given one to Ayaka too. They both pause to thank me as I place down their drinks on an empty spot in front of them.

Haru is sat down on the floor at the far corner of the room with a dangerously high pile of books to the side of him. He's rubbing his temples and shaking his head as I approach with his drink, and he just about manages an appreciative grunt as I place his coffee down beside him. He grabs it up off of the floor in an instant and necks some of it back.

"Can't focus..." he snaps as he places the mug back down. "I've just read the same damn sentence about eight times."

"Take a few minutes to just drink your coffee," I tell him. "The break might do you some good."

"It might do us all some good to take a break," Mitsu agrees, rubbing at her eyes. "We've been at this for hours now, and we still have a lot to get through."

"Exhausting ourselves now could certainly prove counter-productive," Ayaka agrees. "A lack of sleep will not help either."

"We're working against the clock here," Masashi says. "Can we really afford to stop at all?" I hand him his mug and he nods his thanks, stiffly. Despite his recent attitude change, it still feels like there's a few walls he's keeping up. I can't really blame him, I guess.

"Wearing ourselves out won't do any of us good, especially if it seems likely we're only going to get worse," Mitsu says. "That reminds me – Kei, could you go check on Fumio? He said he wanted to check out his Talent Lab in case there'd be some specialist books hidden away in there."

"Oh, sure," I nod. "Where is that again?

"Down in the Dungeons," Mitsu says. "Haven't you been down yet?"

I shake my head. "I haven't had the chance to check out all the new places yet. It's all been a little full-on."

"You should do that when you get the chance then," Haru says, pushing himself up off of the floor, and sipping at his coffee. "There's a few useful rooms down in the Dungeon level, actually."

"Hm, maybe I'll take a look around later once I've checked on Fumio," I nod, running a hand through my hair. "I'll let you guys know. But, yeah, don't overwork yourselves. I can take over for one of you guys if you need a break, and I'm sure the others would be happy to help too."

"It's a nice thought," Masashi says, "but I'm not sure if I'd rely on some of them even know how to open a book."

"I'm just gonna pretend you're being mean because you're tired," I sigh. "But yeah, the offer still stands. Don't take all the responsibility when there's a bunch of us that can help out!"

"Thank you, Kei," Ayaka nods.

"See you all soon," I call back, picking up the tray with Fumio's mug and walking off through into the main Library again.

The Dungeon level is accessed from the descending stairs that had been blocked off in the Entrance Hall when we first arrived here. At the bottom of the stairs is a small antechamber, where an iron gate opens onto a dimly lit chamber. The flames in the brackets here burn bright with a toxic green colour that it hurts to look at for more than a few seconds.

It's definitely a lot shabbier down here compared to the rest of the Castle. I'm not sure whether it's just my imagination, but there's something kind of creepy about it too. The ceiling is low and held up by large arching stone pillars. The air is colder down here, and kind of stale. I don't relish the idea of spending much time down here.

At various intervals along either side of the Dungeon are various doors and iron gates branching off to other rooms. I notice a few of the gates seem to lead onto staircases, ascending, and descending randomly. It must be quite a maze down here. I don't like mazes much – not anymore...

Fumio's Talent Lab is at the very far end of the Dungeon. The large wooden door is arch-shaped, and sits beneath what was probably once a pretty intricate carving of a dragon. Now, though, the dragon's head has been smoothed down and changed to an enormous Monokuma head. It's laughable, and kind of horrifying in equal measure, especially as the toxic green light from the brackets casts deep shadows in the carving. There's something almost alive about it, and I find it difficult to pull my gaze away from it as I knock at the door to Fumio's Lab.

There's no noise from the other side, and for a few moments I start to wonder whether I must have missed him, but then the handle turns and the door swings inward.

"Hello?" Fumio has his goggles on, and there's a strange smell of burning coming from the room beyond. "Oh, Kei, it's you."

He slides the goggles back up his head and looks at me, expectantly. I'm still half-distracted by the creepy carving looming over us. His gaze follows mine and he sighs.

"It's pretty creepy, isn't it?" he says. "Did you need something?"

"Oh, I just came to check on you," I tell him. "I was bringing the others their drinks and they told me you were down here. Here's yours – though it's definitely cooled down a lot now."

I hold out the tray for him and he takes it, gratefully.

"That's fine," he says, gesturing for me to follow him into the Lab. "I usually leave it til it goes cold anyway. Bad habit, probably. Um, d'you want a seat?"

Fumio's Talent Lab is a large, circular room, with several long metal workbenches forming a circle around a central stone dais. A large glass pillar occupies the dais, reaching floor to ceiling, providing a clean, bright light that fills the room. There's a weird anachronistic feel to the place. Like the past and the present is clashing, but Fumio seems to fit in with his surroundings perfectly. Bookshelves line most of the far end of the room, and I can see gaps where Fumio's started pulling out books and manuals, placing them on one of the workbenches, and on the tall chairs that are placed in front of each of them.

Unable to find a clear space to put his mug down, he places it on top of a closed manual, titled: Modern Medicine: A Chemist's Guide. He sees my look of horror and smirks.

"Don't worry, I've already looked through it. Nothing useful."

"I don't care," I cry. "You can't use a book as a drinks mat."

He shrugs and clears a few books off of a chair to the side of him. "Seat?"

"I better not," I say, still not taking my eyes off the offending mug. "I was just coming to see if you were okay, and then I said I'd let the others know. Any luck so far?"

"Not yet," he sighs. "Thought I'd found something that might apply but it turned out to be something about the menopause."

"Teenage menopause," I laugh, humourlessly. "Typical."

I leave Fumio to get back to his research, and drop back in on the others up at the Library to let them know that he hasn't had much luck either. I arrive to find Masashi laid out on the floor with Ayaka's long white coat, folded into a pillow under his head, and Ayaka checking over him, despite the sweat running down her face.

"He started hallucinating," Mitsu tells me. "He started screaming that his coffee had turned to blood. And then he passed out."

"You think this is the next stage then?" I ask, quietly. She nods, grimly.

"I had a pretty intense dream when I fell asleep earlier," I admit. "D'you think that's anything to worry about."

"Not quite yet, I shouldn't think," she says. "I think we're all likely to have bad dreams for a while after what we've seen. Try not to dwell on it too much."

"This is... not good..." Ayaka says, leaning back a little from Masashi's prone form. "His heart rate has slowed down a lot. If it doesn't pick up soon..."

"Shit," Haru hisses. "The bear said we had days. Not hours."

"It's tense, ain't it?" Monokuma says, stepping out from nowhere. He stands at the side of us with his paws folded behind his back. He's looking at Masashi in a way that suggested mild interest more than anything else. I resist the urge to kick him.

"What the hell's happening?"

"It's Monokuma's Syndrome, you know that!" he insists. "Are you so dumb you forgot already?"

"Why is it taking effect so quickly when you told us we had days?" Ayaka asks through gritted teeth.

"Well, y'know, everyone's tolerances are different, right?" Monokuma says, waddling around to check one of the books Haru had left open on the floor. He leans over to read something for a second and then gives the book a non-commital kick. "Immune systems and stuff. It's whatever. I wouldn't bother looking through all these books though. You could read every book on the planet and still not find a cure. Only I have the cure. Oh, well, hum ho, fingers crossed he lives, right, guys?"

"Please," I sigh, my head slumping forwards. "Please don't do this to us."

"Giving up so easy, huh, Barista Boy?" chuckles Monokuma. "Pity. I was expecting more of a fight from you."

As if on cue, the terrible, familiar throb of darkness starts to pulse through my head, and I clutch at the side of my face, suppressing a yell of pain. I can feel myself on the brink of passing out, and I grasp out at the table, willing myself to stay conscious. My arms are shaking from the effort – I think my whole body might be – but right now... I can't let it take me.

Monokuma seems to notice this development, and his red eye glitters as he gives a satisfied chuckle.

"Well, well, well," he says. "Someone's eager to please."

"It's... nothing to do... with you," I say through gritted teeth. But before I can say or do anything more, the world tips sideways, and the last thing I see before my eyes roll back is Haru and Mitsu, rushing to catch me...

"Shit..."

I sit up, wincing as a sharp pain runs through my head and neck. At first, I don't recognise the room I'm in, but as my eyes adjust to the gloom, I realise I'm in the Medical Wing. It looks different at night – there's something a little creepy about the moonlight coming through the closed over curtains around one of the beds at the end of the room closest to the windows.

Masashi's in one of the other beds on my right hand side. He seems to be snoring quietly now, and his face seems a little more relaxed than I remember seeing it before. He'd probably exerted himself. I'm just glad that – for now – things didn't seem to have got any worse.

"Oh, you are awake..."

Ayaka's quiet voice brings my attention round to my other side. She's sitting up on the bed to my left, surrounded by a pile of books. She rubs at her eyes and places the book down at her side, and hops off the bed to come over to me.

"How are you feeling?" she asks. "You have been out for about two hours now."

"Y-you mean it's getting longer now?" I ask.

"I am not sure," she admits. "Masashi regained consciousness after about an hour, and then fell asleep. I decided it was best to let him rest."

"Do you think he'll be okay?"

She pinches the bridge of her nose and grimaces. "I... I can only hope so. For now at least."

"No luck on the research then?"

She shakes her head.

"Throw me a few books over," I tell her. "Might as well make use of myself while I'm awake."

"You are sure?"

"Yeah, go for it."

She crosses back to the bed she was sitting on and picks out five books from a neat pile, placing them down on the table at my bedside.

"If you get too tired to read, do not force yourself to keep going, alright? It will do more harm than good, even if time is a luxury we do not currently have."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," I tell her, taking the first book off the top of the pile. "Has anyone thanked you yet, by the way?"

She seems confused. "Why would anyone do that?"

"Because you've been looking after us all," I say. "It's out of your comfort zone – you've said so yourself – but you've still done the best you can for us when we need it, even when it's affecting you."

"I... I..." She looks genuinely taken aback by this for a moment, but then she gives me a warm smile. "Thank you, Kei."

I manage a laugh. "No, thank you, Ayaka!"

The night drags on without much incident. Depending on how close to passing out I feel, I flip between the bed and the floor, turning through page upon page of book upon book, and Ayaka does much the same.

As the first light of dawn shines through the Medical Wing's window, Masashi stirs. His face contorts with tiredness and confusion for a moment, but then he blinks at the two of us and his brow furrows.

"What happened to me?"

"Don't you remember?" I ask, quietly.

He shakes his head. "Not completely..." He sighs, and then notices the books around us. "You shouldn't have let me sleep – I could have helped out."

"You were in no condition to help," Ayaka replies. "Kei helped me with the research while you were asleep."

"Thank you," he sighs. "I suppose I should take over now, and you two can rest."

"You've definitely earned a rest, Ayaka," I agree. "I'm feeling okay for now, but you should get your head down for a couple hours. We might need you if anything happens to one of us again."

For a moment, I think she's going to protest, but then she nods. "I suppose you are right. I will go back to my room for a few hours. We have about two hours until the Morning Announcement anyway."

"And I'll get back to the Library," Masashi says, throwing off his covers and retrieving his boots from where they'd been placed under his bed.

"I'll go see if anyone else is still awake then," I say, pushing myself up off of the floor. "And I can get the coffee brewing while I'm at it. You having one?"

Masashi looks uncomfortable for a moment, and I remember what Mitsu said about his hallucination. He shakes his head. "No, I think the sleep has paid off, thank you," he says. "I'll see you both later."

With that, he pulls his coat back on and walks off briskly, leaving Ayaka and I to collect up all the books we'd spent all night going over.

After returning the books to the Reading Room – where Masashi was already back at work, half-buried under medical journals and textbooks – I walk Ayaka back to the Common Room, and bid her farewell. She makes me promise I'll take a rest if I need to, and I remind her I've done as I've been told so far. She seems fairly satisfied by this, and disappears up the stairs to the Dormitories with a weary smile.

There's nobody else around here at this point, so I decide to check the Ground Floor. It looks like there's no-one in the Entrance Hall either, but strangely enough, one of the large doors has been left slightly ajar. Curiosity piqued, I make my way across the Hall, and approach the doorway.

I'm only a few feet away when I hear voices approaching from outside, and despite recognising the voices, I press myself in against the wall, hoping the shadows would hide me.

"I'll take really good care of them, Daisuke."

"I-I know you will, Mr Shirane." I notice poor Daisuke's teeth are chattering as the Florist and the Sailor walk into the Hall. Daisuke's hugging himself tightly, despite Miniro's large jacket he has draped over his shoulders.

It kind of reminded me of being a kid, and how, just after my dad passed away, I started wearing his favourite red coat all the time. It was way too big for me, and I always had to roll the sleeves up a bunch of times to even see my hands. My mom saw me wearing it, and for a second I thought she was gonna be really mad at me, but instead, she smiled, wiped a tear that was running down her cheek, and told me how much I looked like him...

For a second, I feel like I'm staring at myself in the doorway, lit by a shaft of morning light that gradually thins as Miniro heaves the door over. It's not Daisuke there anymore. It's Kei. Little six year old Kei Kamiya. In a long, red coat.

No.

I screw my eyes closed, and open them again a second later. Daisuke and Miniro have their backs to me, both walking off in the direction of the Staircase. I breathe a sigh of relief – the last thing I needed was a hallucination to get me caught. There had been something about this moment though – like it would have been rude to make my presence known. Like intruding in their own private little world...

"So these ones are daffodils, right?" I can hear Miniro asking. "And that has a meaning, right?"

"Um, well, there's usually several meanings... L-like an alstroemeria could mean fortune, or wealth, or f-friendship," Daisuke replies, quietly.

"What one was that again? The red one?"

"N-no, it was the pink and yellow ones that were on the top balcony."

"Oh, yeah, I know the ones you mean! So, what does a daffodil mean?"

"I... well... it can mean... several things, like a single daffodil can mean bad fortune."

"Lucky there's a few here then, huh?"

Daisuke makes a weird choking noise that I realise is some sort of nervous laugh, and I leave that little mystery to resolve itself as they pass through the door that leads to the base of the Staircase.

Only when I'm sure they're gone, I move out of the shadows and head off towards the Dining Hall to see if anyone else is hanging around. I still feel a little weird after that... was it a hallucination? I mean, I'm still really tired – could it have just been I got a little too in my head for a second?

I don't know...

I glance back over my shoulder towards the main doors, but I don't bother asking the man in the red coat either. I feel like his answer would only break my heart...

15 STUDENTS REMAINING