Komaeda was quietly sipping on a cold glass of water as Hajime sat next to him. The other man was forcing him to take care of himself, which seemed like a waste. He doubted a cold glass of water would fix all of his health issues in one go.

Soon Souda and Tanaka joined them, the teachers obviously waiting for the nighttime ban to be lifted and allow them to head back downstairs. Souda had been pretty scarce the past few days, and now Komaeda could see why. The mechanic was hunched over some pile of parts, working on putting it all together from the scraps he'd found around the school. It resembled the one back from their island life a bit… except there wasn't a screen too it. Guess there wasn't really any spare tvs laying around.

The other teacher was feeding veggies to his hamsters. The cute, little rodents happily nibbling on their treats as their master watched over them. The hamsters crawling out of his scarf and down to the treats laid out for them. At least this morning seemed peaceful enough.

"I believe there's some things we need to discuss." Makoto said as he sat down with the other teachers in the lounge. The small headmaster looked over everyone with a determined look.

"The communicator is almost done, I just have to make sure they sync up with each other." Souda mumbled, half to himself as he fidgeted more with the machine.

"Oh, that's good news." Makoto said, a slight smile crossing his face, though it slowly melted away as he looked over everyone again. "But I want to talk about the differences of this game and the others."

"Like what?" Hajime asked.

"Do you mean how there wasn't a serial killer in the second case?" Komaeda knew exactly where Makoto was taking this. "And they haven't mentioned anything about a traitor."

"I don't think he'll mention a traitor until the group is vulnerable. Right now I'm more worried about the third trial coming up… the usual Double murder." Naegi explained, rubbing the back of his neck with a sigh. "That's how he's always done it… to turn everyone against each other."

"Fear brings mortals to do preposterous things." Gundam stated as he used the back of one of his hands to pet one of the hamsters.

"Look who's talking." Souda said, not even looking up from his machine. "You killed someone during our game."

"How dare you! Nekomaru and I fought a just battle!" Gundam shot back, glaring over at the pink haired mechanic.

"Fair? How was it fair? If Nidai didn't have that stupid button you would have lost! You only one because you used your filthy hamsters to cheat!" Right after Souda finished his sentence, the machine beeped. Souda stood to his feet, scooping it up as he spoke quickly to Makoto. "They're done. You can do the test tonight."

Makoto swallowed, nodding as Souda went back to his room. Komaeda sighed internally. The last thing they needed was the teachers fighting as well. If they couldn't show that they could work together, who could?

"I- That- I cannot fathom how a pathetic creature like him thinks-"

"Gundam, it's okay. We know you had to do it. Don't let him get to you. He didn't mean it like that." Hajime intervened, reaching out to pat his friends shoulder.

Komaeda couldn't help but think about how Hajime always seemed to have this under control. Even during the island game, he was a beacon of hope for everyone, even though he hadn't been a talented student like everyone else. Everyone had trusted him and put their faith on his shoulders. Even now, it seemed like this still holds.

"Everyone's just stressed… we can talk about it later. It's almost 7." Makoto said next, glancing over the three other teachers just as the morning announcement went off.

"Gooooood Morning everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and Nighttime is officially over! Time to Rise and Shiiiiiine! Get ready to greet another Beauuuutiful day! "

"We can't keep them waiting," Komaeda said as he stood up. "Monokuma will most likely announce the next motive today."


Koba scooped another spoonful of eggs and rice in his mouth as he looked over the table. He'd gotten there a bit earlier than normal. Just a little bit before the morning announcement actually went off. Bellerose had already been in the Kitchen, sorting things through when Koba had come in to try and find something to munch on. Bellerose had been nice enough to make him breakfast.

Now, he quickly shoved it in his mouth. His mouth sparking up with all the flavors she had loaded into them. He'd never had eggs that were so flavorful. The omurice was flavored to perfection and Koba couldn't stop himself from wolfing down the food in front of him.

Bellerose sat across from the skater, sipping on a cup of coffee as she took small bites of her own omurice. She paused though, staring at the scene that was unfolding with disgust. "Are you even tasting that?"

"Yeah! It's delicious!" Koba talked through a full mouth,spitting out a few pieces as he talked.

"You're gross." Bellerose growled as she rolled her eyes, sipping at her cup of coffee as she tried to ignore Koba. With a sigh, she pulled a magazine out of her back pocket and started to read it. Her eyes slowly scanning over the pages.

Koba swallowed the last bite. Staring at the plate for a moment before looking back up at didn't want to be a bother but… he could really use some more food.

"Are you still hungry?" Bellerose suddenly asked, not looking up from her magazine.

"Y-Yeah... " Koba admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm still pretty hungry."

"That's only because you ate so fast." Bellerose said, taking another sip of her coffee without looking over at the boy. "You probably get sick a lot after you eat, don't you?"

"Y-Yeah, sometimes." Koba admitted, worried this would just turn into an everyone roasts Koba show. But then, she stood up from her chair, setting down the magazine and coffee as she went back towards the kitchen.

"I'll make you more. I'll try to keep an eye out so you don't eat yourself to death." Bellerose explained before she disappeared into the kitchen. Koba's eyes darted around for a few moments, unsure of what to do while he waited. He looked over at Bellerose's magazine. It was some kind of movie magazine. The cover talked about some major motion picture coming out soon. Koba leaned over, wondering how old the magazine was.

After a few moments, Bellerose came back, another plate in her hands. It had a smaller omurice on it, only half the size of the ones she made last time. The other half of the plate was covered in sliced fruits and veggies. She handed him the plate as she sat back down in her chair. Scooping the magazine back up as she settled down in her chair.

Koba went to start eating at the omurice again, avoiding all of the healthy stuff she had packed onto the other half of the plate. He groaned at the idea. Vegetables were so gross and not something he ever wanted to associate with. He looked up at the chef as she skimmed through her magazine again. "Why did you put all this other stuff on here?"

"Because I only see you eat junk. You horde candy in your room and never eat anything healthy. You're going to get sick if you keep eating like that and I will not let someone get sick from lack of nutrition under my watch." Bellerose said her monotonous voice, eyes still not leaving the contents of her magazine.

Koba paused, looking over at the other food before slowly digging into it. He tried to dive into the worst first. Spearing a piece of broccoli on the end of his fork. The tender veggie went on pretty easily. Koba slipped it into his mouth, nervously chewing on it. But soon he was surprised at how tolerable it was! Almost even enjoyable. Well, Almost, it was still a vegetable. "That's not too bad." Koba said, moving over from the main course and over to the sides provided by the chef.

"Not bad? Don't fuck with me, Koba. Those are the best damn vegetables you've ever had. "

"... That's true." Koba said as he scooped more food into his mouth. Pausing to look at the other student for a drawn out moment. He appreciated how stern her face was. It was blank almost cold with her paler skin and jet black hair. Her eyes like spears as they pierced through her book. "Do… Since you got here, do you ever have nightmares?"

Bellerose looked at him from the corner of her eye for a moment. Koba could feel all the hair stand up on the back of his neck. Maybe he shouldn't have asked her that question. But he didn't have time to think about it, the words just coming out. Koba watched as the yellow darts turned back to the book before her lips actually started to move. "That depends. What kind of nightmares?"

"I-I don't know…" Koba tried to retract his question. Suddenly the desire to talk about it was gone. He wanted to crawl back into his hole. "Like sick tricks, That ya too good ta live, yo!"

"I thought I told you to stop fucking with me, Kobayashi?" Bellerose slowly closed her magazine. She gently set it down in the table, Koba watched her rough hands slowly set it down against the table. Koba was startled when he looked back up, staring directly into her eyes. They were focused on him, intent on whatever was about to escape her lips. "So how about you don't waste my time, okay?"

"O-Okay." Koba felt his mouth go dry, unsure if he wanted to continue. "Since we got here, I've had vivid nightmares of -"

"Koba!" The gardener's voice broke through his sentence, gearing both of their gazes in her direction. "There you are! I've been looking for you!"

"F-Fo me? Really?" Koba blurted, the past subject vanishing the second he saw the gardener heading towards him. Behind her came even more of the remaining class, though they were way out of Koba's attention at this point. His vision completely focused on the gardener.

Iris nodded, her eyes intent on the sk8r for a long moment. Koba couldn't help but stare deep into her blue eyes. She was such an unbelievable sweetheart. He couldn't even feel the goofy smile that wound over his lips as she placed a hand onto his shoulder.

"I wanted to know if you'd show me how to skateboard!" Iris said, a smile spreading over her sweet face as she looked Koba over.

Koba swallowed hard, surprised she would ever ask him such a thing. A giant, giddy feeling washed over him. He closed his eyes before nodding vigorously. "Of course!" Koba almost shouted at the girl, his eyes wide. "I'd love to teach you how to sk8!"

Iris smiled and nodded. Koba smiled as he sat back down in his chair, offering Iris the one next to him. She paused, nodding before slowly moving into the chair. Koba went back to dig into his breakfast, taking note that Bellerose was on her feet again, ready to head into the kitchen to get to work on the rest of breakfast.

"Could I get some help this morning?" She asked. Her voice flat as she looked over the group. It wasn't a surprise when the racer quickly climbed to the front of the group. Bellerose sighed, watching as the red head seemed to bounce excitedly, waiting for the other woman to drop a command. Bellerose rolled her eyes before waving Sato to follow her. "Fine, I can probably make this work. It's better than nothing."

The two disappeared into the kitchen, soon followed by the sound of plates. Koba went back to spooning his food into his face when Kusonoki and Niijima walked up to the table. The two girls holding each other's hands as they both sat in the seat across from Koba. The scientist smiled up from his breakfast but it seemed like the two weren't really interested in him.

"I hope whatever ailed you has passed, Iris." Kusonoki said, her tired eyes staring over at the gardener.

"It would be a shame if you got sick." Whispered Niijima, her voice almost a whisper. Koba wondered how she could be so quiet with those headphones on, he could hear the buzz of the music from where he sat at the table.

"I'm fine now." Iris said, gently rubbing her hands together. Koba paused mid bite, taking note at the odd gesture. One of her hands were shaking slightly as she went to run her fingers through her hair, scooping some of her bangs out of her face.

"Are you sure?" Koba asked, taking notice of the tension in the other girl's actions. He hoped she was okay. He didn't want her to be forcing herself.

"I said I'm okay." Iris insisted, her voice slowly firming as she spoke. She glanced around, rubbing the back of her neck. "I...I just want to eat my breakfast."

Koba went to open his mouth but he was cut off, watching as Bellerose and Sato exited the kitchen, the two of them balancing plates on their shoulders as they reentered the room. The chef entered with grace, holding the trays with care as she made her way around the table, setting down plates in front of a few people. Sato looked like she might drop them at any moment as the girl seemed to pinpoint the other girls in the group. Setting down a plate right in front of Kusonoki and Niijima, winking at both of them. She paused at Iris, giving a weak smile. "I think Bellerose has got yours. She kept ahold of all the specially made ones. Sorry I don't have it."

"It's okay." Iris said faintly, moving to rub her hands together as she glanced around. "Mines just special because I don't eat meat."

Sato continued to talk to the gardener, obviously flirting with the blond girl. But Koba was distracted by something in the distance for a moment. Bellerose was leaned over Kaito's shoulder, her hand gently squeezing it for a moment as she gave a slight chuckle. Himura was next to the actor, sipping on a coffee in silence as the scene unfolded.

Koba was even more surprised to see Kaito let off a slight smile as he removed her hand from his shoulder. The chef look surprised but sighed, telling them both to enjoy their meals before setting a plate down in front of Himura and scooting off to the next person.

"Well, I'll see you later, babe." Sato said, risking a finger gun at Iris, causing the tray to wobble and almost fall again. If Sato wasn't careful it might-

Suddenly Iris giggled, causing the racer to trip over her own feet. The tray went, falling for a moment. It was like time slowed down, the racer tried to scramble to catch it, to fix her mistake. Then, suddenly in a flash, a chair flew out from the table, the tray was stopped mid air, it's decent prevented by a quick hand.

The actor had burst from his seat, catching the tray in his hand, preventing the treasure from being spoiled. A moment after he caught the racer, his other arm gracefully catching the startled red head.

"Kaito, you're my hero." Bellerose said, a bit more excited as she ran forward. Koba watched the racer's face go from startled to annoyed in a seconds notice. "How can I ever repay you?"

Kaito blinked, looking confused for a moment as he looked the chef over. Then he let out a long, snobbish laugh. Handing the tray over to Bellerose as he pushed Sato back to her feet. "Don't get ahead of yourself, darling, I didn't do this for you."

"What?" Bellerose suddenly looked irritated, as if the remark really put a chip on her shoulder.

Kaito smirked as he pulled out a rose, holding it as he tossed out the baby doll eyes. "If Sato had fallen, the eggs would have fallen all over Himura and I. That was not something i could let happen! The stains would never come out of my clothes."

"Right…" Bellerose mumbles as she went and finished handing out breakfast. Rolling her eyes as the actor slipped back into his seat.

Koba took note of the teachers as they made their way inside the room. Greeting all of the students before taking their own seat at the designated round table. Except for Souda, the pink haired teacher followed behind the group, coming in last before sliding into a seat next to Sato and Sugai. Koba also took note of Komaeda as the white haired teacher looked paler than normal. Koba swallowed hard as he noticed how weak the teacher was as he leaned against the other. Koba had to force himself to look away as he went back to his breakfast.

Everyone was eating, taking amongst themselves as they enjoyed their breakfast. Kusonoki and Niijima were discussing ways to record sound and some strange things they'd encountered while they were working. Iris slowly ate her food, she seemed fairly distracted as she did so. Koba was about to engage in conversation when suddenly a loud scream filled the air.

Everyone's head whipped to the source of the sound, even more people jumping from their seats and taking steps back from the table. The actor was the one to scream, looking frightened as he covered his face with his forearm, looking as if he might pass out. The cause? Well, Koba would have screamed too if the robotic bear had climbed up in front of him on the table. Monokuma stood there, looking fairly pleased with himself as he crossed his stubby little arms over his chest.

"Well that's a weird way to greet someone!" He laughed right after, covering his mouth with his paw as he looked everyone over. "A scream of excitement must have meant you guys really missed me!"

"It was a scream of fear you ignorant baboon." Kaito retorted, still looking flabbergasted by the earlier startle.

"What the hell do you want?" Sweeney growled, leaning into the table a bit, as if the gesture would make the small tattoo artist intimidating.

"Well I wanted to let everyone know to quickly finish their breakfast and head to the gym." Monokuma started, putting his hands on his cheeks as he got a big grin. "It's Beary important that everyone comes."

Before anyone could really retort, the bear left, disappearing into the ground as he vanished from sight. Maybe if this hadn't been such a dire situation Koba would have laughed at the pun. Kobayashi had always been a fan of puns. But now, everyone was distressed, slowly most of them stood up, glancing around to see who else was ready to go. Most of them still had food on their plates.

"Where are you going?" Bellerose questioned, looking over the few who were now on their feet. "He said after breakfast. You can eat first."

"I've lost my appetite…" Sugai whimpered as he pushed his plate to the center of the table.

"Me too." Iris said softly next to Koba, pushing her plate into the center before she went to join the others at the door.

Soon everyone had left except Koba, Bellerose, and Luna. Bellerose looked even more angry than usual, crossing her arms. "That awful vermin ruined my breakfast! What a waste of food! Pathetic little rat!" She growled, enraged as she left the room.

Luna chuckled as she scooped what had been Kaito's dish off the table. "More for me then. Did you know she always makes Kaito's the tastiest? He eats so slow though and I don't want her work to go to waste."

Koba looked over the plate to see only a fourth of it was gone. Koba couldn't help but notice Himura's entire breakfast was gone. Guess one of them really did eat faster than the other.

Fumio followed Luna to the gym. He tried to keep his arms from trembling but it… this was all so terrifying. He swallowed hard, wondering how the seamstress could remain so calm in a situation like this. Most likely this announcement would cause the death of another one of their classmates. Something the ursine devil said to them today would send them all into panic once again. Then… someone would die again.

Once inside the gym, Monokuma grumbled, looking at the two as if they'd been hours late. He shook his head, his high voice shaming them for not coming sooner. "Too busy stuffing your holes, huh? But with what I wonder."

Koba was confused by the remark. They were just late from breakfast. So wouldn't the obvious answer be food? What other holes could they be stuffing? And what would they be stuffing those holes with. Even though the scientist didn't get it, Luna chuckled next to him, taking another bite of her stolen food as she seemed pretty amused.

Monokuma almost seemed mad about it, maybe it was because he didn't hurt anyone's feelings, just made one of them laugh and the other confused. "I didn't know you two were a pervert and a virgin."

"I don't get it…" Koba mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked over at Luna. Hoping she would explain as the bear seemed to move on. "Why would he call either of us that?"

"Well, I kinda am a pervert." Luna started as she scooped another mouthful of the food into her face. "And you didn't get the innuendo so he called you a virgin."

"What's an innuendo?" Koba asked next, only causing Luna to burst into laughter. "Are you serious? Good gracious you are a virgin."

"W-what? I-I-I am n-not!" Koba retorted, more embarrassed than confused now.

"Oh don't get upset about it. There's no shame in it." Luna said, her voice was obviously trying to comfort her but Koba's face was already a deep red as he turned away and pouted to himself.

"I have two announcements for you all today! One being what you've all been waiting for, the next motive! But first i want to get something off my chest. The guilt has been weighing me down since day one. Something I really need to tell you guys." It was disgusting to watch the bear try and act distraught, as if the thing ever really felt any kind of guilt. Koba couldn't help but notice the teachers tense up in the corner. Looked as if they knew exactly what was going on. "There's a traitor in your ranks! This game is no different than the others, I could never pull off a game this big all by my wittle self."

"Are you really going to pull that again?" Komaeda took a step forward, crossing his arms as he looked fairly skeptical. "You've done this twice. Both times the traitor wasn't any harm to us."

"That's right!" Naegi stepped up next, a tormented look covered his face as some kind of memory washed over him. "Y-You tricked Ogami and labeled her as a traitor! I-It got her killed!"

Monokuma paused for a moment, staring at the two with those empty, soulless eyes. Just… staring at them. Then he let out a loud laugh. "Maybe this time it's different! But there's more details. We didn't erase one of your memories!"

"W-wait what?" Kusonoki choked out. "That's impossible! All of us said our memories were wiped!"

"That's right!" Sugai objected, his voice carrying over the group. "Why would amy of our friends lie to us?"

"Dunno and don't really care." Monokuma stated as he jumped off the stage. Pulling out a bunch of envelopes as he looked over the group. "Now, onto the motive."

Everyone watched as he handed out the fards, the entire room taking them with shaky hands. Everyone seemed really nervous. Well, except for Luna, who set the plate on the gym floor before taking the envelope from the bear. Monokuma paused, pointing to the plate. "You're not supposed to have food in the gym!"

"Sorry, I didn't know." Was her only response as she went to work at the envelope. Koba wished he could that kind of confidence as the bear walked over and handed the note to Koba.

"Don't wet yourself yet, Fumio. You haven't even read it yet." Monokuma snickered as he walked back to the center of the room. Taking a moment to look at the class aa a whole before speaking. "Inside these envelopes are your greatest fears. Secrets that none of you never want any of your friends to know about. You were all becoming such good friends too, I can't wait to see how this rips that all to shreds! PUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHU!"

Koba swallowed as he slowly tore open his envelope. He didn't have any secrets. None that he'd consider killing for. He lived a sheltered life in a suburban area with his family. A white picket fence, two floors, a loving mother and a caring father. And his brother always took such good care of him. As Koba pulled out the folded piece of paper, he wondered what could possibly be written on here.

You killed your own brother

Koba felt his hands shake as his world melted. He-he did what? Did this happen during the years he couldn't remember? Kobayashi felt like the breath was sucked from his lungs. I did kill my brother.

Suddenly it seemed like the breath was stolen from his body. He was choking, dying at this very moment as he tried to swallow down this secret. It wasn't something he'd kill for… no, he'd never do something so horrendous. Koba looked up just in time to see the other students shaking. Except Luna, who was giggling at her own secret.

"So, have fun deciding who to kill next you i-" Monokuma was cut off halfway through his mockery, looking startled as the barista took a step forward.

"This has to be a j-joke! Th-there's know way you could- I- THERE'S NO WAY YOU CO-" Himura shouted, his hands shaking as he clenched the note tight in his fist.

"Stop your crying!" Monokuma growled as he jumped off the stage. "You all have two days to kill one of your friends, otherwise your secrets will be released to the world. Have a fantastic day!" And when he was done he sank back down into one of his hiding holes.

Immediately after that, Naegi took a step forward. The headmaster obviously took in the students fears. He looked around, panicked at what the students next reaction might be. "Everyone, it's going to he okay! He can't have power over us if we don't have secrets for him to leak! Kazuki Himura, how about you start."

Himura looked up and Koba could barely see it. The look in his eyes, the indescribable emotion that spun around in them. More than distress, more than anger, more than sadness. His hands were shaking as he brought his note up to his face. His eyes glancing down as if he was about to read. But in one swift motion.

Riiiiiiip! Riiip!

Himura aggressively ripped up his note, tearing it into shreds so small it could never be reassembled. It was in a flash of this unchecked emotion. He then tossed it in his coffee cup, swirling it around before tossing his head back and chugging it down. Then quickly stormed out of the room. Leaving without saying another word.

There was a pause. Silence was let in his wake. Koba could feel the panic rise up into the room like a toxic gas. Soon everyone would suffocate on it if something wasn't done.

"I'll go check on him, he's safe in my hands Makoto." Kaito spoke up, raising his hand before strolling out of the room after the barista.

"Well that was the most extra exit I've ever seen." Luna remarked with a chuckle as she took a few steps forward. "I'll go first. My secret is that I have a crush on one of the teachers at the school. Not anyone here. Just that big, muscular stud Nekomaru. Don't know why he thought that was a secret, let alone one I'd kill for… so, who's next?"

There was a long silence, as if no one was sure. Maybe the poison had already taken ahold of everyone. Maybe it was too late to save everyone, maybe -

"My secret is that I really don't like country music. It's too slow and doesn't have a good beat to it. Plus it's always about tractors and stuff." Niijima spoke next, her voice as gentle as ever.

"Mine is that I wet the bed until I was 15." Eguchi spoke next, her face flat as she described it. "Though the 15th time was a very rare occasion."

"Me next!" Sugai said, raising his hand as he jumped up and down. "My secret is that I have no self confidence or motivation in myself! But that's okay because as long as I can give it to people who really need it."

"... Mine is that my dad used to… beat me." Sweeney looked less eager to speak but considering what happened last time, speaking up was probably a good idea. He did get blamed for not sharing. It was a heavier secret than the rest and now that it was shared, at least it couldn't be used as a weapon. Koba took note of how the tattoo artist seemed to hug himself a bit after his confession. Lucking someone took the focus off of him fairly quickly.

"My secret is pretty boring." Bellerose said as she shoved it in her pocket. "But since not sharing will put a target on me next murder, I'm gonna fess up. I learned how to be a chef because back in the tragedy days I had to learn to make do with what I was given. If I wanted to eat I had to figure out how to use the supplies given to me."

She may have said it was boring but… that seemed pretty interesting to Koba. Learning to use everything the hard way sounded like a journey. Not an easy path but a rough one that makes travel later on extraordinary.

"Well mines just… more personal…" Sato said, rubbing her arm as she glanced around everyone. The first time the racer hadn't been completely outspoken about her thoughts. "I-I can't say it allowed but… if you have the spare time, I think I could tell Souda-Sensei."

Souda paused, looking surprised before nodding. "Y-Yeah, sure. Of course! Whenever you're ready."

There was a moment of silence. Almost as if no one else wanted to go. Koba tried to think of all who was left. Kusonoki still hadn't gone. Then then there was Iris, who still looked pretty nervous. Koba decided to spare them the pain of going next. Besides, hearing everyone speak up like that made Koba a little less scared to do so.

"I killed my brother." Koba said, not really comprehending how horrible that sounded until the words jumped out of his mouth. Didn't help he didn't sound too worried about it, either.

The room dropped dead silent. Everyone turned on Koba, watching him in silence. Fear filled a lot of their faces. Kusonoki swallowed hard before she left the room. Her departure inspired others to follow. Eguchi and Niijima followed next. It was like the dam was broken and everything that was keeping these people together had broken down and cast away in the stream. Sugai, Sato, and Sweeney left next. Sugai glanced at Koba, a face full of fear as he left the room. Then Sweeney tossed a look his way, rolling his eyes and just leaving with the others. Bellerose seemed uninterested in the whole thing. She gave Koba a slight shrug before she left.

When almost everyone was gone, Koba felt a hand on his shoulder. Komaeda and Naegi had closed in on him. The two didn't seem so skeptical of the remark as all of his friends had. Though… maybe calling any of them his friends was a stretch.

"I'm glad you had the courage to share that with us." Naegi said as he gently squeezed Koba's shoulder.

"I-I can explain! I-I" Koba scurried to try and put his thoughts together. It wasn't as simple and straightforward as that sentence made it sound. No, it was a lot more complex than that.

"Hush, Koba." Komaeda said as he raised a hand near his face.

"You don't have to explain. I- They had this same motive back when I was forced into this game… One of my friends killed to keep his secret… that during a moment of stupidity he accidentally caused the death of his brother… If he had just told us, like you did today, these secret wouldn't have weighed down on him… he… he wouldn't have made the horrible mistake he made." There was a lot of feeling in Makoto's story. It sounded painful to remember but as if the memory was constantly in his train of thought. Maybe it was better that Koba had shared.

"What now…?" Koba asked, looking to the teachers for advice.

"Now we wait." Komaeda said, stepping back to let a smile cross his lips. "Wait for the next moment of despair that will help you all rise to the highest peaks of hope!"

The teacher let out a sickly laugh as he seemed proud of his comment. Koba felt a rock form in his throat at the scene. He had to take a step away from the teachers creepy laughter as Hajime quickly ran up to the other, putting his hand on his shoulder and pulling him out of the room. Calling out some form of apology on his way out.

Makoto sighed and rubbed his neck. Looking uncomfortable for a moment before looking back to Koba. "If you need anything, Let me know Kobayashi. I'm gonna go check on Himura… make sure Kaito found him."

"Yes sir." Koba said, still unsure of what to do next. "Also… it's just Koba, bro."

Naegi looked confused as he went to leave. But then he shrugged as he scratched the back of his head giving a slightly embarrassed smile. "My bad, Koba."

When the teachers were gonna, Iris walked up to Koba, her eyes on the floor for a little while before she got up to the skater. She smiled a little when she got up to him. "You know what would be fun? You could teach me some cool tricks now!"

Koba blushed, rubbing his nose as he glanced around. "Y-Yeah. Yeah that sounds like fun."

"Mind if I tag along?" Luna questioned, a smile slipping over her face. "Watching you skate is the best thing around here."

Koba had never been so flattered. Bouncing right back into step as he started to bounce. "Sure! I am the best sk8r around 'ere. Let's get rollin' crew!"


When Himura left, he wasn't sure where to go. The walls seemed nonexistent as the entire world spun around him. He tripped, falling into the wall as he let out a ragged breath.

Must escape.

He had to get away. He couldn't look anyone in the eyes after that scene he'd just created. But what else was he supposed to do, that secret… that note was something he couldn't let anyone else know. Not ever could he let this news get out.

He couldn't move, his body felt displaced. His entire world was upside down as the walls were breaking. All of his muscles were shaking, trembling uncomfortably as he tried to regain himself. But at this point he was past a point of return. He couldn't-

"Darlin' wait for me!" Himura barely realized as the thin arm wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him to his feet. Carefully adjusting to put most of his wait on Kaito. "Now, where do you want to go?"

"Away…"

"Hmmm, I'll pick for you then darling. But it'll take a little while, so let me guide you, sweetheart." Kaito spoke gently as he tried to decide where to take the other man. Himura was still too dazed to understand where they were headed. However, the rotation of his world slowly became more manageable as time passed. The world coming into focus as he was sat down in a wooden seat, Kaito's presence suddenly gone as he looked around.

He saw the fluffy, soft red hair of the actor swaying behind the counter. Quickly working the machines in front of him as he worked in silence. Himura took this moment to calm down. To watch the actor's beautiful, blue eyes watch carefully scanning over the counter. Watching with such attention as they quietly worked. Their long lashes batting over their eyes and their perfect teeth gently biting their soft lips. Himura wasn't even fully aware that he was walking back until the Actor sat a tall cup of coffee in front of him, the top decked out with a thick amount of whipped cream sprinkled with dark chocolate and crunched mocha beans. Kaito gently placed a spoon next to the barista. Then he slid into the seat next to him, drinking from a plain, white mug. Even in this dazed state Himura could tell it was just a cup of plain, black coffee.

"Now don't make me feed it to you darling." Kaito coaxed as he wrapped his slender fingers around his cup.

Himura paused. He never liked to admit it but… he loved frappuccinos so much. The sweet sugar perfectly mixed with coffee. It was a shame, so many baristas saw the drink as some beverage for low level coffee drinkers but Himura thought it was the ultimate marriage between coffee and sweets. Especially with dark chocolate and whipped cream. It was his favorite comfort food. He picked up the spoon, taking a small bite and feeling the sugar and caffeine start to pull him back down.

"Muuuuch better. Now, do you want to talk about it?" Kaito asked, his fingers drumming his own cup. Himura went to speak but Kaito paused a moment. "Don't tell me your secret. It's too much responsibility. Plus I would never want to impose such a tasking request. I'm just here to lend a beautiful ear. Talk about whatever you want."

Himura shrugs. Letting out a long, drawn out sigh. He didn't have anything he wanted to talk about. He just wanted to get as far away from that as he could.

"I can talk if you want, baby." Kaito smiled, sipping the coffee for a moment before cradling it right below his nose. Those almond shaped eyes were so amazing peering over the simple porcelain cup. "I'm a real good talker."

Himura shrugged as he took another bite from his coffee. It was so sweet. A delicious wave washed over him and helped loosen those tense muscles just a little more. He paused, watching Kaito before nodding slowly. "Talking would be nice."

Kaito chuckled and took another sip of coffee. "Well there's so much I could tell you! The movies I've been in, how I like to rehearse, Oh even my favorite desserts! Did you know they made a movie about the first killing game? They had me play Makoto. It was a fun project, for sure!"

"Why… are you talking to me?" Himura spoke softly, not really sure of where the question even came from. It surprised him, how weak his voice was, how shaky. But it really made him wonder, why was Kaito talking to him. After the spectacle that had just taken place in the gym, any sane person would have ran as far away as possible and not gotten closer to the other student who was obviously hiding such a secret his first response when asked was to swallow it whole. So why was he trying to comfort him now. It seemed like a waste of the actor's precious time. "I'm not worth your time."

"Because you need a distraction, darlin'." He said it like it was so simple, like that explanation was supposed to make any more sense on why the actor would waste his time. Himura looked down, unable to meet those pretty, blue eyes with his own anymore. He wished he could enjoy this moment more but the heavy weight in his chest wouldn't go away. His fingers nervously fidgeted around the cup of his drink, slowly feeling the cold seep out of the porcelain and bite into his darker flesh.

There was a moment of silence that followed. It hung in the air, drifting between the two as there wasn't another word spoke for awhile. Then the slender, warm fingers wrapped around his, gently pulling them off the glass as he set them down on the table so he could easily wrap his fingers around both of them. Cupping the other man's in his own. The skin of his hands wasn't as soft as Himura had always expected. It was a bit coarser underneath the soft touch of his cocobutter lotion. There was work there, stuff he'd missed just by looking at him. Himura only raised his eyes enough to look at the pampered hands of the actor. Watching as the smooth olive blended with the darker mocha. He couldn't bring himself to look the actor in the face yet, still his chest was still too heavy… to shameful. Instead, he kept his eyes locked onto the intermingled hands in front of him.

"I'm not as perfect as you think I am honey." The actor's words passed by Himura's head, taking them as just a friendly gesture for now. He kept his eyes locked down on the hands as the redhead continued. "You see me so highly, it's almost unbelievable. Sure, I'm beautiful, fabulous, amazing, a fan favorite for sure, plus I am the most flexible person you'll ever meet, I even do my own stunts, but that all comes at a price. I have expectations to uphold, people to impress, if I don't do those things, I'm a failure. I have to look good at all times, remember my lines and steps, and it's all to make out an image of who I need people to see me as. One miss step and everyone will see the loser I really am. That I'm not the most gorgeous actor in the entire world, that I'm just some boring man playing a part."

Himura looked up, looking the actor in the eyes as the words slid out of his mouth. They were sincere, some parts didn't carry as much heavy, flamboyant fluctuations to the words as most of his sentences. The long lashes over his eyes batted and he squeezed his hands tighter the second Himura made eye contact with him. "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? Well, that I'm not as great as you think I am. I'm just average. But if I don't play a flamboyant man with beauty and grace on his side, everyone would get bored of me."

"But… why are you telling me this?"

"Because I need you to know you're not below me. I know that just like me you put on a show every day. So that no one sees how much of a mess you are on the inside. I just think it's important to know that you're not a coward for breaking character, it happens darling. Sometimes it's hard to be who everyone wants to to be."

Himura swallowed, something about it, it made a small, warm pit form in his previously hollowed out chest. Sure, the dark, dangerous feeling hadn't left, the empty feeling was still there. But Kaito's reassurance made him feel at least a little better. He felt as Kaito squeezed his hand again, the contact sent warm buzzes through his chilled skin. He just saw Kaito in a brighter light now. A warmer, more organic light, but still a spotlight. He was just so unbelievably perfect. "I doubt anyone could ever find you boring."

"Ha, you'd be surprised. People don't find me interesting, they find the people I play interesting. My entire life I pretended to be someone else in order to please the people I care about." Kaito said softly, rubbing his thumb over the back of Himura's hand as he spoke, watching as the skin stretched and wrinkled under the touch.

"Well you don't have to pretend around me." Himura said, gently as he leaned a little closer. He wasn't really thinking about it until it was already done. Locking their lips together in a kiss, Himura enjoyed the surprisingly soft skin that was soon pressed against his own. It took a moment for Kaito's lips to respond, stiff for just a second before returning the kiss. Himura could feel a hands on his cheeks, one on each side as the actor dove in for another kiss. Longer this time as their lips locked together in another sweet kiss.

Himura wished he could put it in better words. It was nothing like he could have ever imagined for so many reasons. The other man's lips were soft from the use of expensive products, leaving the sweet taste of strawberries in his mouth. It wasn't perfect, no perfect would have ruined this moment. Their noses bumped a little, teeth bumped, but it felt… felt natural. The sweet moment reminded Himura how long it had been since he'd kissed someone.

When the two finally sat back, Himura turned beat red, quickly diving back into his frappuccino as the whipped cream slowly went flat. Kaito tried to play it cool but his cheeks were a slight red. There was no hiding natural color. Kaito wrapped his hand around his own mug to take a sip quietly. Himura was tempted to say more when the door opened. Both turning to see Headmaster Naegi walk in, looking relieved to see both of them.

"I finally found you two!" Naegi stated, taking a few steps forward before sitting at the table. "Himura, are you feeling better?"

Himura had been feeling a little better… until Makoto asked just now, his panicked mood sinking back in at the idea of the teacher questioning him. "I'm fine now."

"Good," Was all Naegi said, maybe the teacher knew better than prying into someone's secrets, "Souda finished the communicator so we can do the test now."

"Wait!" Kaito spoke before Himura got the chance. "You got Himura to help? That's a dangerous job!"

"Well I needed someone I can trust and when you said no I figured Himura would be the best bet." Makoto argued, though he didn't sound very mad about it all. He sounded more… disappointed than anything.

"Pick someone else, I-" Kaito objected, shifted in his chair before being cut off by a hand on his arm.

"It's fine, I can do it, Ryuunosuke. Don't worry about me." Himura said, sighing as he sipped at his coffee again. "Besides, its the least I can do for scaring everyone today."

Makoto nodded before giving Himura a pat on the shoulder. "That's good to hear. I'll meet you at the stairs to the teacher's lounge right before the nighttime announcement." The teacher stood to his feet, brushing himself off as he went to leave, pausing to look back. Himura was surprised to see him look at Kaito intently, scanning him over before leaving.

Kaito stood up and brushed himself off once he was gone. "Well, I'm gonna go check on everyone else, darling. Everyone needs a little bit of Kaito in their life." He held his hands tight for a moment, staring him in the eyes as he waited. "I want you to know I'll always keep you safe. You can trust me."

"I know." Himura said with a smile. There wasn't anyone here he trusted more than Kaito. No one in his entire life, really.

Kaito smiled, soon he left too, leaving Himura alone in the cafe. He turned back to his drink, going to sip on it when he noticed the envelope in his hand. At first he was confused since he had ate his own secret, so how did this one get here. That was when Himura saw Kaito's name neatly written on the outside. This… this was Kaito's secret. It had yet to be opened, so there was no way the actor knew what was inside. Himura wondered why he had given it to him. There was only two possible solutions. 1, the actor didn't have any horrible secrets worth killing for or 2, he trusted Himura not to care what the secret was. That no matter what was written in this envelope, he'd still care about him. Himura really hoped it was the second option as he tossed it into his pocket, deciding against reading it right now.

Instead, Himura sipped up the rest of his coffee. Enjoying the creamy, cold mocha to the very last drop as he tried to calm down for tonight.


"C'mon Koba! Do a flip." Luna joked as the group reached the open area in front of the bedrooms. "Impress us."

"I'll 'press ya," Koba started as he set his board down on the ground, "I'm here ta teach ya. You'll be doing sick drops soon enough."

"Oh I bet we will." Luna chuckled, covering her mouth as she watched him.

"An important step for sk8ing is that you have to look cool, no matter what. The tricks will come as long as you're being cool." Koba directed as he went to stand on the board. Already he was having a hard time keeping balance. It took a lot of focus to try and stay put, to keep the board from running away from him. "Keep ya balance top! One slip up and you'll be bustin' your teeth!"

Koba went to skate around a bit, trying to get himself to go in perfect circles around the two. However he was just barely scooting around on the ground around them, barely making a full circle when Iris cleared her throat. However she didn't say anything yet. Koba couldn't help but notice she looked… anxious, like she wanted to say something.

Koba tried to keep himself going on the board, but he wasn't getting too far. The kid would probably go faster if he just walked around in circles. He'd probably look cooler doing it too, instead of awkwardly scooting around on this board. At least he hadn't fallen yet, that was always something to look forward too.

"So… I found this photo Koba."

"What?" Koba went to look too fast, causing him to fall and crash into the ground. Sliding a bit against the hard tile ground. He let himself lay on the floor for a few minutes, his head still spinning from the crash.

"Ops, looks like you're bustin' those teeth." Luna chuckled as she went to help Koba back to his feet. The skater brushed himself off as he stood up. "You okay?"

"I'm peachy." Koba said, but once he was back on his feet, he looked directly to Iris. "What picture?"

Iris took a couple steps forward before handing the picture towards him. It was the one he was looking for. He could tell even from the back of the picture. He wondered what had happened to the precious cargo but never had he imagined that Iris had taken the photo. He reached out, gently taking it from her. "Where did you find this? 'Ve been lookin' all over for this."

"After the class trial it fell from your pocket. I've been meaning to give it back to you but everyone's been… busy." Iris watched Koba's hands as he took the picture. Slowly flipping it over to actually look at the image. The old, worn picture of Koba and an almost identical boy. One was dressed in a bright, extravagant jacket with a similar hat to Koba's. Then there was a more simple looking version of the boy in grey clothing. He looked bland and simple, ready to blend into the background. Koba stared at it for a long, silent moment. Not even realizing how lost he'd gotten in it until more talking broke him the effects of the photo lasted, making him feel as if his entire body was sinking deeper into the water and his legs were made of lead. His movements were hard, like paddling through the water but never being strong enough to pull himself back to the surface.

"Who's that with you in the photo?" Luna asked, peeking over the two of them as she tried to get a good look. "He looks a lot like you."

Koba swallowed as he rubbed his neck, moving to put the photo back in his pocket. Almost felt wrong… putting it anywhere near the secret he'd just received. But he couldn't look at it for longer than necessary. It made his hands shake and tremble. He never understood why, but just looking at it made him feel as if he was having an out of body experience. Like his mind was trying to escape and get as far away from the photo as possible. He already had a hard time staying on his feet so he really didn't need this photo making him anymore light headed. "It's a picture of me and my brother."

"Oh… what happened to him?" Iris asked, Koba was unsure if she was recalling his secret or his reaction to carrying the photo around.

"He died of cancer." Koba said bluntly, surprised at how hollow his voice was for a moment. "Actually, the medication I made to cure the cancer killed him… I… rushed it and it made his health spiral out of control."

"Is that why your note said you killed your brother?" Luna asked, rubbing her arm as she watched him. "Because that doesn't sound like it's your fault at all."

Koba rubs his neck more, if he kept it up he might rub it raw. "Yeah… I know but… How am I the Ultimate Cytologist if I can't even cure his cancer? I don't even know why they invited me to Hope's Peak. My cure just made him more sick. My cure killed him. I'm just a failure."

The two girls were silent for a moment, unsure of what to say next, probably, so Koba just continued. "My brother would have been the Ultimate Skater if he hadn't died… He was so good at it. Best Skater I'd ever seen. He taught me everything I know now."

"Well why don't you keep showing us how to do it?" Luna said finally, taking a step forward to poke the board with her foot.

"Yeah," Iris started, adjusting her hat on her head as she cheered, "you promised you'd show me how to do a flip like you did in the greenhouse!"

Koba perked up, suddenly the memories were pushed into the back of his mind, swallowed whole my some dark substance in his mind. Like a sinkhole that absorbed anything unpleasant. Koba climbed on top of the board, rolling off again as he slowly skated towards the nearest chair. Something in his chest felt heavy, as if something he was missing something. Instead he tried to focus on the chair ahead of him. It was hard to focus, his mind was fuzzy and the chair was coming up faster than expected. He pushed off, only to get his foot caught on the chair as he crashed down into the ground.

Koba was knocked back into the real world, the fuzziness in his mind was knocked out, sending him back to the school they were trapped inside. Sprawled out on the floor as he finally recollected himself.

"Koba, you okay?" a voice called out to him, familiar yet it failed to hit any specific memories. A tanned hand reached down to him, his eyes following it up to see a girl with long, straight black hair reaching down towards him. For a second, this girl was there. She seemed familiar as she made his gut churn. The second he blinked, however, she was gone, replaced by the familiar Iris. She looked concerned. She had every right to be worried since Koba was apparently seeing things. "You hit your head really hard."

"That's jus' how I land!" Koba hopped onto his feet, grabbing the board from the ground. "Takes a real expert to pull that one off!"

Iris giggled and gave a nod. "Oh! Well you really nailed that landing!"

Koba gave a nod, adjusting the hat on his head with a grin. "I always stick my landin's. Now, how about you give it a try?"

"Me…?" Iris looked startled as Koba handed the skateboard over to her. Her eyes wide as she looked over the scuffed piece of wood. "I've never even skated before. There's no way I can do it like you do!"

"Aw, don't think like that!" Koba encouraged as he stuffed his hands into his pockets, his fingertips brushing against the photo and old candy wrappers. The only thing he really kept inside his jacket. "The best way to learn is by just doin' it."

Iris paused, looking worried before a determined smile crossed her face. She nodded, setting the board down before stepping on it. She looked undeterred as she wobbled her first few seconds. Though soon she was skating across the room as if she'd done this before. She was even going faster than Koba, skating around the rooms in circles. She even had the kick down, almost like muscle memory told her exactly what to do. Koba couldn't help but let his mouth pop open a bit as she kicked off, doing a small jump and landing back on the board perfectly.

Luna was trying hard not to laugh next to him, covering her mouth with her hand as she snickered. Koba felt his face turn red as Iris skating back towards the two. Koba couldn't help notice she was pouting a little bit as she rolled back up to the two.

"What's wrong?" Koba asked, confused as she sadly hopped off the board.

"I couldn't do it right," Iris started, sounding extremely disappointed as she gave the board back to Koba, "I couldn't land on my face, it was too hard. You must be really talented to land like that! My whole body wouldn't let me land like that!"

Luna couldn't hold it in any longer. She erupted in laughter, having to hold her gut as she lost it. She was laughing so hard she was even snorting, air not coming into her as fast as she was exhaling it.

"Don' worry about it. There's a reason I'm the Ultimate Sk8r. It takes a long time to land flips so perf'ly. So don't be too sad, okay?" Koba smiled as he scooped his board back up as he threw up a peace sign. "One day you'll be as radical as me."

"Wow, you must be a really special kid to have two talents!" Iris almost had stars in her eyes as she cheered, looking as if she actually thought this was the case. At least one person believed in him.

Luna let out another laugh before patting Koba on the shoulder, a few more giggles escaping her as she tried her best to pull herself together to speak. "You guys should be heading to bed soon, it's getting late. Thanks for hanging out with me. I'll see you two in the morning. Stay alive till then, okay?"

The two watched as the seamstress strolled back towards her room. He wasn't sure how she found this so funny. Or how she could be so calm all day today. Either way, he was surprised. This must be what it feels like to have friends. It made his chest warm, as if he could depend on these people. The fact that someone would miss him if he died tonight made him feel important. "Looks like it's time to punch the hay Iris. I can walk you too your room."

"I don't think you got the expression right but I'd love it if you could walk me back." Iris said, giggling as the two headed down to their rooms. Koba quietly thinking of what might happen tonight. Silently praying that no one was going to die.

Hoping that no one was going to die ever again.


"I want to help with tonight's event."

Makoto hadn't seen the white haired teacher until he stood at the bottom of the stairs with him. He hadn't expected any of the other teachers to offer their help. He didn't really need it.

"I don't think I need your help, Komaeda. But thanks for the offer." Makoto said as he kept his eyes peeled for Himura. The sooner the student got here the sooner they could get started.

"I can be a back up." Komaeda took another step forward, easily hovering over the headmaster's shoulder. "Just in case you need an extra hand. I know a talentless hack like me can't do much to assist the Ultimate Hope, but it would be an honor of you could find something to do with this worthless husk."

Makoto sighed, figuring the teacher wouldn't let it go until he got to help in some way. Naegi rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of what to assign the teacher but not wanting to hear anymore of Komaeda's degrading words. "If we need your help I'll give you a call."

"I'll be waiting then." Komaeda replied, though the words made Makoto shudder. Something just felt off in the way he talked.

"Good evening, Naegi-Sama." Himura said as he took a step forward. The barista had made it just in time.

Makoto stood to his feet, handing the other communicator over to the student. "I was a worried you wouldn't show up. Thank you so much for your help."

Himura shrugged, putting the device in one of his apron pockets. "After what I did this morning… it's the least I could do."

Makoto hesitated for a moment. Seeing the way the student looked at this moment reminded him of his friends. The pure devastation that flooded every inch of their face. He thought back to Mondo and Chihiro… the two who'd been the most affected by these secrets. Destroyed by what they had kept hidden from their friends. The fear of doing something horrible was present behind the barista's eyes. Boiling inside of him and threatening to burst out of him. Naegi knew they'd have to keep a close eye on the student. "Don't worry about it, Himura. It's in the past now."

"So… what are we doing?" Himura questioned, obviously trying to hurry this along.

"We're testing the Mastermind's security." Makoto started as he rubbed his hands together. "I need you to go and try and get Monokuma's attention and see if he comes to you. I'll give you the signal when you should try and get his attention."

"What good does this do?" Himura asked, crossing his arms as he glanced around. His nervous behavior was starting to rub off on Makoto.

"Back when me and my friends were trapped in this school, a friend of mine did something similar. We were able to see the length of the mastermind's security, plus in the end, it helped us figure out who the mastermind was." Naegi paused, thinking back to the second killing game for a moment. Yeah, this could tell them if this was a real world or not… I feel like it's complicated, but I promise you it's important."

Himura nodded, "Sounds good to me. If you think it'll help I'll do it."

"Now, there's a button that will send out a beep, the small blue button. I'll hit it twice when you should try to draw Monokuma's attention. If Monokuma shows up and you can't speak, hit the button three times. That way we won't risk him getting suspicious if we don't need to." Makoto started, trying to remember all of the instructions Souda had given him. "To talk, you just hit the black button. As long as you're holding it down we can hear it. If you need both your hands and want to talk, hit the red button. As long as it's down every sound will be transferred over."

"Good luck, Himura. Thank you so much." Himura nodded, pausing as he went to take a step back and into the hall, away from the teacher's dorms. Makoto was ready to head up the stairs, the alarm for the night time was about to go off at any moment. But Makoto stopped halfway when he heard one more question cross his ears.

"Why do you call Kaito by his first name?"

Makoto turned, making direct eye contact with the barista as he stared up at the teacher. "What?"

"You call Kaito by his first name. That's a sign of familiarity. I'd brush it off if you addressed all of us like that but… it's just him. And I can understand when Luna or Bellerose do it, since they're not from Japan… So why do you call him Ryuunosuke, Naegi-Sama?"

Makoto paused, going to open his mouth and answer. The answer was easy. Nothing he was trying to hide. He was almost surprised the student didn't know. The answer was-

The door dropped shut, Makoto fell backwards onto the steps as the gate to the downstairs rapidly closed. He'd never seen it shut so aggressively and never before the nighttime announcement. Usually the door waited a good ten minutes after the alarm. He heard his communicator buzz on for a moment.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get this started, I can still answer your question if you want." Makoto offered. The last thing he wanted was to keep secrets from his students.

"Not right now," Himura's voice was flat and Makoto could hear the light thump of his footsteps over the device. "We can discuss it tomorrow. I doubt it's a big deal. Besides, it seems Monokuma's in a bad mood today."

"No kidding." Makoto said as he headed up the stairs. The headmaster lowered his voice, wondering if the mastermind could hear what they were discussing. Best to talk a little quieter. "So… go somewhere you can get his attention from and wait for my signal. Somewhere he has to come. Can you think of anywhere to go?"

"It's officially 10.p.m. Nighttime has officially started. The computer lab is now off limits and the doors will be locked. Good Night… Sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite!"

"I think I know a good place." There was no hesitance. Seemed like this test might even go faster than previously expected.

Makoto headed upstairs. Walking into the lobby, surprised at the lack of other teachers. He set the communicator in his pocket, making it so he could easily reach the buttons. Looking around for some way to get his attention. Clearing his throat, Makoto quickly lifted up his leg, pausing before kicking one of the chairs over, toppling it down as it rattled against the floor. He gave it a few minutes as no one seemed to show up. So, he attacked another chair, kicking it over before moving to the next one. "Better come and stop me! Or else I-I'll break all these chairs!"

"Finally snapped, Naegi?"

Naegi turned to look Monokuma in the face. The bear stood on the table, not really sure how he got up their so quickly. Makoto hoped he didn't look as nervous as he felt. Last time Kirigiri was the brains behind this operation. This time, that was his job and he wasn't too sure he could handle it. "No! I just wanted to tell you you're- uh- stupid."

"Is that it?" Monokuma almost sounded a little exasperated. Makoto needed to get him talking. It was the best way to keep him busy.

"N-No. I've got a bone to pick with you. You're a monster! Don't you see what-"

"Yawn, Makoto." Monokuma pretended to yawn and rock on his toes. "If you're just here to lecture me I'm gonna leave."

"N-No! I have an important bone to pick with you! I-"

"Monokuma, huh. I've been wanting to talk to you." Komaeda suddenly strolled out of his rooms, dressed in just his pants and his weird t-shirt. The pale skin on the man was soaked in sweat, even the white shirt was starting to grow damp from it. He looked like he might topple over onto the floor at any moment, his lanky legs looking as if they might buckle underneath of him. "Do you mind if I talk to him alone, Naegi?"

"S-sure Komaeda…" Naegi tried to act cool as he stepped away. Makoto slipped into the teacher's storage room, slowly sliding the communicator out of his pocket before gently sending the signal for Himura to start. He waited, unsure of what kind of response he'd get before there was three loud, distinct beeps sounding from the communicator.

Three… but that would mean… Makoto swallowed hard, maybe Komaeda had lost Monokuma's attention. Maybe the monochrome bear had slipped from the man's boney fingers. Slowly, Makoto cracked the door back open, peeking back out to the lobby to see the teacher hunched over the bear, the two deeply rooted in a discussion. There was a crackle over the communicator, signalling sounds from the other side.

"The room is off limits? I had no idea." Himura's voice came over the device, a bit broken by static of the communicator.

"That's bullshit and you know it!" Hearing the voice over the device was devastating.

Makoto peeked back out the door, trying to listen to both of them at the same time. Trying to see if maybe they were speaking the same lines. Hoping that maybe it was just advanced tech than what Junko had in her arsenal.

"Oh silly Nagito, if you die we'd all benefit!"

"Himura don't try to play me for a fool! I'm a genius! Smarting than any of you baboons this school decides to cradle against its bosom.

No… there's two of them. With separate lines… what could this mean. Were they trapped in a digital simulation just like 77-B? Makoto tried to ponder it over, figure out what exactly was happening in this school. But it was almost impossible. He ran his fingers through his hair, worried as fear welled up in his chest. If only Kyoko was here… he'd never been the one to solve these! She'd always been the one to deduct the murders, to solve the killings long before he got anywhere close. If only she was here… no one else would be dead if Kirigiri was here instead of Makoto…

"What's that you got in your pocket, Kazuki?"

Makoto jumped, tensing as he suddenly targeted back onto the conversation over the communicator. There wasn't any rules against this, so no one should get in trouble. But Makoto couldn't help but be worried.

"A communicator. I was using it to talk to my teachers. I was nervous about walking around on my own at night." Himura responded, right before something hit the button, ending the call between the two.

Naegi took a deep breath, trying to calm down a bit. If they all worked together they could easily solve the situation at hand. He just couldn't help but miss his friends, quietly hoping that they would be okay… wishing Kirigiri was here to help him solve this. If only-

"Well, Well, Well. Makoto Naegi, I should have known you were behind this little trick." Monokuma was suddenly in the dark storage room, making Makoto pinned against the door in the dark room. The white half of the bear was covered in shadows, making the only thing to really show in the dark was the brilliant, red eye, throwing a red glow across the entire room as a feeling of dread seemed to wash over the area as well.

"We're just investigating." Makoto remarked, already tucking the communicator back into his pocket. "There's no rules against that."

"You're right… Feel free to investigate as much as you want." Monokuma had always sent chills up Makoto's spine, but something was different this time and Makoto couldn't really place it… not yet. "No matter how much you and your gaggle of idiots search this place, no matter what questions you ask, no matter how smart you think you all are, you'll never figure out what's happening here and you'll never escape. You'll watch as we get through an entire killing game. When only one person will walk through that door, blood coating their hands. The despair will come like a poisonous gas and choke everyone once again! Infecting old wounds and creating new ones. You were an idiot Naegi to ever think this was over and now you and everyone you care about will suffer for it."

"Puhuhuhuhuahahahahahahahahaha! Doesn't that sound like a fun game, Naegi?" Suddenly the bear sounded goofy again, as if this was all some kind of sick, twisted joke. "A finished game would be a whole new start to this! No one likes an unfinished game anyways! Nothing sucks more than a game that keeps restarting but is never finished, right?"

"You won't get away with this. We'll win. Hope always wins." Naegi fought back, he didn't even realize his fists were clenched as he glared down at the monster in the room.

"Does it really?" Monokuma asked, his eyes felt as if it zoomed in on him, targeting him. "Do you still believe that, after everything you've seen, you still trust hope? You're weak, Naegi. Hope has been riding you like a broken mule for too long. You can't support it all for much longer before it crushes you like a bug."

"Then someone else will carry hope! We can do it together! I won't let yo-"

Suddenly the communicator kicked back on, buzzing as a loud thud was heard over it, soon followed by the sound of metal hitting tile floor. A knife.

Monokuma patted Naegi's leg in mocking comfort. "Looks like things just got exciting again! I have to bid you farewell, my old friend. I have go go watch this on my big screen tv! While you have to wait until morning!"

The sounds of a struggle sounded over the communicator. A loud grunt from Himura was present, Makoto's eyes widening as he recognized the student's voice in the fight. The sound of the knife hitting the ground sounded again, as if someone was making stabbing motions with it.

"Good night, Makoto. Sleep well." Monokuma vanished, leaving Naegi alone with the communicator.

There was nothing he could do. The fight continued on, echoing through the room when the sudden sound of the knife being dropped on the ground sounded, followed by a loud thud as something heavy hit the ground. There was just silence for a few moments before a few, small pats sounded across the line, the sound resembling fabric, soon followed by the sudden end of the call. Whatever happened, it was over now… but does that mean someone's dead. Makoto swallowed hard, feeling a hard knot growing in his throat. If Himura had died, it was his fault.

...And he wouldn't find out until tomorrow.