CW: graphic imagery

Shiori was in the middle of brushing her teeth when she heard shouting. She dropped her tooth brush and rushed out of the bathhouse to find the source of the noise. After a moment of looking around she saw a small crowd of people gathered around the outside the barn. She could make out Gorou, Homura, Seihiko, Ikeda, Akiko, and Kokoa. Her throat suddenly felt a bit drier. Quickly she made her way to the barn and through the crowd.

Immediately Shiori saw what had caused the commotion; the barn door and walls were now covered with graffiti. Most prominent was the word 'Liar,' but she also saw other words and phrases like 'arrogant bastard,' and 'asshole,' and 'no one likes a snake.' That last one was beside a crude drawing of a snake with a human head clearly meant to be Take being crushed under a boot.

The bandit in question stood between the barn and the rest of the crowd, rage radiating off him in waves. "Who the fuck did this? No one messes with my hide-out and gets away with it! C'mon coward, face me!"

"Dude, it's paint," said Gorou, rolling his eyes, "Just wash it off or paint over it."

"That's not the point!" Take snapped. "Someone messed with my stuff! No one gets to touch what's mine."

"And this stuff is like, super rude," Homura added.

Ikeda raised his eyebrows. "And yet, the point does stand that Take is, in at least once sense, a liar. He lied during the game yesterday, despite seeming to be unaffected by the questions. Curious…"

Homura crossed her arms. "You don't get to talk about lying, liar!"

"What in the world are you all looking—? Oh..." Everyone turned to Mr. Saiki, who had made his way over from his office and had just seen the state of the barn. He sighed. "Okay, who wrote this?"

"That's what I wanna know!" Take's face darkened. "'Cause they're in for a world of hurt."

"Okay, remember what I said about not fighting? I meant it." Mr. Saiki pinched the bridge of his nose. "But, also? This is incredibly immature, and all of you are at an age where you should know better."

"What would you do about it, though?" said Akiko from the back of the crowd. "It isn't breaking any rules. What would you even do— make them talk it out or some other touchy-feely bull?"

Shiori gave Akiko a sharp look. What are you doing? I'm basically a hundred percent sure you did this, and now you're drawing attention to yourself? Also, Akiko, what the heck?!

Akiko did not wait for Mr. Saiki to answer her question, instead grabbing Kokoa's arm and heading over to the mess hall as the morning announcement played.

Undaunted by Akiko's rudeness, Mr. Saiki followed after her. "Well, for one thing, I'd have them clean it up!"

Take watched the two girls leave, a calculating look on his face. "Lil' Hotshots? Time for a meeting." He grabbed Homura and Seihiko and pulled them into the barn and closed the door with a large 'thump.'

Shiori jumped a bit at the noise. As she recovered, she saw Ikeda give a small nod. Then he turned to her and said, "What do you think?"

She gulped. "About what? This situation? What's gonna happen? 'Cause honestly I don't know."

"I bet you know more than you let on, Miss Writer." Ikeda glanced from the barn door to the mess hall. "Your ability to read people and situations is… admirable. I have my own thoughts on how events will proceed, of course, but hearing yours could be enlightening, or at least interesting."

Uh, I think you're wrong, because I don't know what the actual heck that means. Shiori opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to find something to say.

Before she could form an answer, however, Gorou stepped between them. "Dude, leave her alone. For one? You're being an enigmatic asshole, and I can tell you're doing it on purpose. And two? I get the feeling that what you're actually after is speculation on who might kill next. That, or you're just gossiping. Either way? Step off."

Ikeda looked down at both of them before sighing. "Forgive me for asking a simple question. But, I don't feel like dealing with your hot-headedness today." With that he turned on his heel and headed to the mess hall.

Gorou turned back to Shiori. "You okay?"

"Yeah." She took a deep breath. "Thanks. I don't know what Ikeda's deal is with me." He's basically as unreadable as the love interest in romance novel before the big kiss, but I don't wanna think about that because the idea of Ikeda crushing me is just… Ugh. She made a slight face at that thought.

"What's with that face?" Gorou raised an eyebrow.

Shiori laughed, a bit sheepish. "Had a weird thought. Don't worry about it." She cleared her throat. "I was gonna wait for Isao and hopefully Kashie before getting breakfast. But uh, if you're really hungry, you can go ahead!"

Gorou kind of shuffled his feet. "I mean… I don't mind waiting."

"Cool, awesome."

As they waited, Shiori considered Gorou. He seems a lot less comfortable now that I've brought up the others, and he was super awkward while we were hanging out yesterday. I guess he's mostly okay with me, but not the others yet? That'd make sense…

After a few minutes of waiting Isao came up the path. She noted he was wearing his fleece vest today. Oh… wow. He literally has three outfits and yet he always looks cute? How? Shaking off her blush, Shiori waved. "Hey! You missed some drama this morning. Someone marked up the barn."

Isao looked over the graffiti. "Wow. Whoever did this does not like Take."

"I mean, it's not like Take was subtle about the fact he'd claimed the barn. Still, he was super mad when I got here. It seems he's enlisted Homura and Seihiko in some sort of plan." Shiori shook her head. "I just hope things don't escalate too much."

"Me too." He looked back over his shoulder at the cabins. "You uh… haven't seen Kashie, have you?"

"I was hoping you'd seen her…" Shiori frowned, then turned back to Isao. "Okay, this is getting ridiculous. We are finding her. Or, wait, shoot. Breakfast…"

"I don't mind grabbing food," Isao offered.

Gorou rolled his eyes just a bit, but smiled. "If we leave you to get the food you'll empty half the kitchen. I'll go too."

Isao seemed a bit startled at Gorou's accusation. He frowned. "Look, just because I have a fast metabolism doesn't mean I wouldn't leave food for everyone else."

"How about you guys grab something quickly and then we can meet back here? I have an idea where she might be, but if I'm wrong then we can search and eat at the same time." And you two can hopefully bond more? Because dang it, I want all my friends to be friends. Shiori started to leave before turning back. She raised an eyebrow conspiratorially. "Isao, you'd better teach Gorou to eat as fast as you do, so both you can eat and search faster!"

"I don't need any help!" Gorou protested through his laughter.

Isao shook his head. "I can try, but no promises!"

"Don't you know the saying from that one old movie? 'There is no try; only do!'" Shiori giggled a bit to herself and headed into the woods behind the cabins. Kashie hid on the edge of these woods back during the first night; maybe she went deeper in this time.

She wandered for some time. Eventually, she found some brown fur caught on a low hanging branch. As she examined it, she heard from above her, "Sh-shiori? What… what are you doing out here?"

Shiori looked up and saw Kashie hiding up in the branches of the tree. "What are you doing out here? You… look a bit disheveled." That was a bit of an understatement. Kashie seemed dirty, tired, and fidgety.

"I thought… I mean, things were really uh, well, scary yesterday, and I… also needed some time to think, but mostly I didn't want someone to find me, and…"

"And what? Yell at you for lying?" Shiori took a breath and carefully started to climb the tree. "I mean, yeah, yesterday wasn't great, but we tried to find you! We wanted to make sure you were okay… Are you okay?"

Kashie sniffled. "I don't know. I, I just… I have all these thoughts in my head and just when I start to, to feel better it… all hits me again."

Shiori situated herself on a branch a bit below Kashie. "Honestly? I think being with other people helps. Just watch, I bet I can cheer you up right now!"

SHIORI: Okay Shiori, you can do this.

SHIORI: You know, there's something I've been meaning to ask you for a while.

KASHIE: ...Okay…?

SHIORI: How did you get that coat? I've never seen anything like it.

KASHIE: I… made it… actually…

SHIORI: Woah, that's so cool! Why did you decide to make?

KASHIE: Um… I just…

SHIORI: I mean, there doesn't have to be a particular reason! I just thought...

[It looks ridiculous.]

[I'd be too scared to wear something so crazy.]

[You must like bears a lot.]

SHIORI: … you must like bears a lot, to wanna make your own coat to look like one.

KASHIE: ...Yeah, I… I do like bears. Real ones, not like… Monokuma...

SHIORI: Shoot, forgot about that!

SHIORI: Well, of course! And bears are really interesting. They're big, and strong, and tough.

KASHIE: Uh-huh… Bears, they… hide away when it's cold, but when they come out… they're stronger than before… they can take on anything...

SHIORI: That's true…

SHIORI: Maybe that's why she wears the coat...

SHIORI: Well, I think your coat makes you look really cool! Like you could face a real bear and it'd respect you!

KASHIE: I hadn't thought of it… like that...

SHIORI: I'm serious! I think there's more strength in you than you realize.

KASHIE: I don't know…

SHIORI: Really! I think it takes a lot of strength to do what you do; talking in front of a bunch of people even when you're scared. The fact that you do it anyway is what makes you strong.

KASHIE: You think that… makes me strong?

SHIORI: Yes! Honestly, I really respect that.

KASHIE: Hehe… Thanks. That means a lot.

Shiori smiled and playfully pushed the toe of one of Kashie's boots above her head. "See, told you I could cheer up. Wanna come down now?"

Kashie nodded, and the two began descending from the tree. Shiori got down first, then took Kashie's hands to help her jump down.

"I heard the announcement before," Kashie said once she was standing steadily. "Did you get breakfast before this?"

"Nah; I sent the boys to get it. We're meeting back at the barn."

As they were walking back, Kashie began frowning again, as if pondering something very intently. After they got out of the trees but before they reached the barn, she said, "Shiori."

"Yeah?"

Kashie took a deep breath, then blurted out, "I lied about cheating."

Shiori stopped. She was about to speak, but Kashie continued.

"I, I just… I was in this competition and I wanted to win so badly, so… my mom payed off one of the judges… and even though I won I… didn't even feel proud afterward. My… I mean, I realized I had failed at doing what I really wanted to, to do with public speaking! I didn't want to be famous, necessarily, I wanted to improve, and… and become better, through my own work." A few fresh tears twinkled at the corners of her eyes. "And I needed to tell you because you, you said you were proud of my for trying even when it's hard, but I know I didn't always do that… but I'm trying to be better, I, I really am, so… I hope you can forgive me…"

Shiori blinked a few times. "I… of course I forgive you, Kashie, but… it's a bit to take in…" Of all the things she could have lied about, I honestly didn't expect that…

Kashie shuffled her feet and retreated into her coat. "I'd understand if… if you'd want... if you'd rather not hang out…"

Shiori shook her head vigorously. "No! No, Kashie, you're my friend. This doesn't change that." She took a step closer leaned over a bit to see Kashie's face under her hood. "You know that telling me also took strength, right? I really appreciate that… that you trust me with this."

Kashie smiled slightly.

Shiori smiled back. "There we go!" she cheered. "C'mon, I bet the boys are at the barn by now."

They quickly got back to the barn. Isao carried a basket and Gorou held a package of mini bottles of orange juice. "Hey! We brought fruit and croissants. Kokoa didn't make any pastries today, so these are the prepackaged kind."

"Be thankful I stopped him from trying to get some of Mr. Saiki's 'waffles,'" Gorou added.

Shiori stared. "Why? Waffles are amazing!"

The corner of Gorou's mouth twitched into an almost-smile. "Trust me; they looked more like bumpy brown frisbees."

Isao laughed a bit. "They weren't that bad."

"The waffle iron almost exploded in his face."

Shiori winced. "Oh boy."

Kashie stepped out from behind Shiori. "So, uh… hi?"

"Hey! Glad you're okay," said Isao.

Gorou stepped up. "No one gave you a hard time about the game, right?" His expression darkened. "Because if they did—"

"No! No, you don't need to, to do anything," Kashie reassured. She looked behind them at the barn. "What's… all this?"

Gorou quickly explained the events that happened earlier that morning. "Honestly, I'm pretty sure it was Akiko," he admitted, "She's the only person who's ever called Take 'Snake.'"

Shior hesitated, but then spoke up. "Um… I also know she's done some other spray painting around camp…"

Isao looked a bit puzzled. "Really? How?"

"I uh… helped her paint the back of the mess hall. I didn't think she'd do something like this, or I would have discouraged her!" Shiori drooped a bit. "Not sure if she would have listened to me, but honestly, yesterday and today she's been super moody. I'm kind of afraid she'd just take it as a challenge or something…"

"Well, clearly she took Take's flippant attitude and lying during the game yesterday as a challenge," said Gorou, gesturing vaguely at the graffiti. "At least she's not hunting down the people who lied and trying to make them talk…"

Everyone went silent for a moment at the reminder of yesterday's ordeal. Shiori looked at her friends. They all lied, and that makes people suspicious, but… those questions were too personal. I don't blame them… Gorou kicked at the dirt. Isao took off his glasses and began nervously cleaning them with the edge of his vest. Kashie pulled her coat further over her shoulders.

Then her stomach growled. "Um, maybe we should, eat that breakfast?"

"Agreed," said Shiori, grateful for the change in subject. "Wanna use the zip-line tower again? It was really nice up there yesterday; cool view, nice and private."

"Not really. I'd prefer avoiding a situation where I could be forced to use the zip-line again," Gorou replied. "How about the grass near the mess hall so we can put the leftovers away easier?"

Shiori perked up. "Sure! It could be like a picnic!"

Kashie looked puzzled. "Gorou used the zip-line?"

The boy in question blushed, stammering, "I, I only did it because Rika wouldn't leave me alone until I did! It's not like I was scared, or anything, but…"

Shiori gave him a playful elbow jab. "But you did look like you had fun."

"Okay, maybe," Gorou conceded, "But I'm not in the mood."

While the others had been distracted, Isao had already started down the path to the mess hall. He turned back to them. "Well? I waited long enough for food; let's get going!"

Shiori gave a small giggle and began to follow. "Yeah!"

The picnic brunch eventually evolved into quiet chit-chat and cloud watching as everyone finished up their food. Gorou surprised everyone by being incredibly imaginative when it came to cloud shapes.

"I deal with creating images from shapes all the time," said Gorou in response to the others' questioning. "When you're snow sculpting, you have to look at a block of white and see the possibilities. Sometimes to challenge myself, I'll set a timer, and start a sculpture with no plan at all, just to see what I can come up with."

Shiori sat up from where she'd been laying on the ground to look at the sky. "You know Gorou? I think this is the first time I've ever heard you talk about your talent."

"Me too," Isao added. Kashie also nodded once in agreement.

Gorou shrugged. "Yeah, 'cause I don't like bragging. Being talented doesn't give you a pass to be stuck up."

"You don't have to brag to talk about something you're passionate about," Isao pointed out.

"Okay, yeah, but also? You don't get to talk after explaining the entire history of pointe shoes yesterday."

Isao covered his face in embarrassment. "I already apologized for rambling!"

"It's not like we stopped you," Shiori admitted. Mostly because I could listen to you talk all day and… wait, no, Shiori, abort, ABORT, you're gonna blush again! Too late, she realized that her face felt warm. Still, she finally felt relaxed after the amount of tension that had been growing over the last day. Maybe eventually, we'll all be able to hang out like this.

At that point, Kokoa and Akiko exited the mess hall and spotted the group on the lawn. "Eh, Bubbly! Got a regular party going on!" Akiko called, waving.

"It's just brunch!" Shiori noticed Kokoa held a tray of chocolates. "Oh, new recipe Kokoa?"

Kokoa bit her lip before marching over and handing each of them a chocolate. "Let me know what you think. I wasn't sure about them, but—"

"How can you 'not be sure' when these are basically the shit?" Akiko interrupted.

Even more curious now, Shiori popped the small chocolate into her mouth. She chewed, pondering. Still bitter and lemony, but kind of sweet in the center, and there's some other flavor here that makes it… warm? Is that a thing a flavor can be?

Isao took another larger bite after his first tentative one. "Does this have red bean paste in it?"

Kokoa nodded, a hint of a grin on her face. "In the filling, yes, but it also has rum in to give it a warm, sweet flavor with some edge."

Akiko leaned forward. "The rum was my idea."

Shiori blinked a few times as she continued to finish the sweet. "I… I don't even know what's happening in my mouth, but I think I like it?"

"It's weird," Gorou blurted out.

"But you're still eating it," said Kokoa, visibly getting more excited. "Oh my gosh, I think I'm onto something. I need to try more variations."

Just as she was turning to go back into the mess hall, however, Akiko grabbed her arm. "Now hold on, we didn't just come out here to get feedback on your chocolates; I still need to show you the mural!"

Isao, Kashie, and Gorou all looked from Akiko to Shiori, who slowly stood. "You mean the one in the back…?"

Akiko beamed, "Yeah! Come on, you did part of it, come show her!" As she began leading Kokoa around, Akiko looked back at the picnic, eyeing everyone but Shiori. "I guess they can come too." The tone of her voice was cold, but not necessarily hostile. The two did not wait for them.

"Wait, uh, I mean…" Shiori stammered, glancing at her friends. "I guess, if you want to…?"

After a moment, Kashie stood as well. "I'd like to see it…"

"Why not?" Isao added.

Watching the others get up, Gorou sighed as he joined them. "Just don't make me talk to her."

"'Course," said Shiori. He's probably still mad at Akiko for yesterday.

The group followed behind Akiko and Kokoa a ways. "What exactly is the mural of?" asked Isao.

"Uh…" Shiori wasn't really sure how to describe it. "Well, it's of—"

"What the fuck?!" came Akiko's voice from just through the trees.

Shiori raced forward to see what was going on. She came around the corner and gasped when she saw the mural. Or what was left of it. The wall was covered in fresh black paint, crudely defacing the picture. All of the once-happy people seemed to be on fire, and the Monokuma in the cage had been given hair that was clearly meant to mimic Akiko's signature ponytail. Someone had also thrown several eggs at the wall; the egg whites mixed with the wet paint, turning it a dirty gray. At the bottom was written, 'I fixed it for you!'

Kokoa stared, slack-jawed. "Why? How did…?"

"It was that dirty rotten snake!" Akiko growled, whipping around to face the group. "He figured out I trashed his place, so he trashed one of the only things I've had any fun with in this fucking place! God dammit, he must have seen me and Bubbly walking back here with paint the other day." She clutched at her head. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!"

Shiori shook her head. "Akiko, I'm so sorry..."

"Hey, calm down," said Kokoa, taking a step forward. "We can go talk to Mr. Saiki, alright? He can—"

Akiko looked up, eyes red with furious tears. "Get us to talk about our feelings and shit? Well, news flash, my feelings right now are 'rage' and 'a mighty need to punch a smug asshole in the face'! And talking ain't changing that! Nope! I'm not taking this, and if you give even one shit about me, you won't stop me!" She shoved Kokoa out of the way and ran back towards the rest of the camp.

Kokoa stood frozen, her hands gripping her tray of chocolates so hard they trembled. Shiori stepped forward tentatively. "Hey…"

"Don't." Kokoa turned around to face the others. Although tears were in her eyes, her gaze was icy. "There isn't much we can do at this point. If she isn't going to listen to me or Shiori, she isn't going to listen to anyone."

"But… are you okay?" asked Kashie.

"No. But I don't want to talk about it." With that Kokoa also started back towards the camp as well.

Everyone else watched her go. They stayed there for a moment, unsure of what to do.

Shiori looked back at the ruined mural. "Do you think we could clean it?"

"I don't know," replied Isao. "I don't know enough about how the different kinds of paint work to know if cleaning the new paint would get rid of the picture."

"And the egg doesn't make it any easier," Gorou added. He shoved his hands into his pockets. "God, this situation is a mess. I don't wanna deal with this."

"Should we get Mr. Saiki?" asked Kashie.

Isao frowned. "I mean… nothing that's happening is against the rules, necessarily, so I don't know if Mr. Saiki can do anything about it."

"Akiko did have a point. We're not in a school, so it's not like he can give detention or anything, so all he really could do is make them talk and clean up the mess," Gorou groaned, "And I doubt that Akiko or Take would be stopped by that."

"But we can't just do nothing!" Shiori protested. "We can at least have the meeting at the tower this afternoon, like we said we would, right? That could help." The other three shared a glance. Shiori faltered. "Guys…?"

Gorou spoke up first. "Look, I'm not saying you shouldn't have the meeting, I'm just… emotionally exhausted. I'll pass."

"And I'm… still trying to sort out some things for myself," Isao said next. "I don't know if I'm ready to hear about other people's problems on top of that right now."

Shiori looked at Kashie hopefully. "Kashie…?"

After a moment, Kashie gave a nod. "I… I think I'll come, but uh, just for a bit, if that's okay."

A lump formed in Shiori's throat. But she swallowed and but on a smile. "That's totally okay! You guys need to take care of yourselves. But we can still hang out at dinner later, right?"

They all agreed, but as they walked back to camp and headed their separate ways, Shiori thought and thought. She thought as she returned the leftover food from brunch to the kitchen, and as she walked over to Mr. Saiki's office and knocked on the door.

"Just a minute!" Mr. Saiki called from inside. After a moment of shuffling sounds, Mr. Saiki poked his head of through the door. She hadn't noticed it that morning, but he looked a bit ragged; the collar of his polo shirt was askew, and his hair stuck up at strange angles instead of lying flat as usual. He seemed to be shoving papers into a simple canvas bag. Before she could comment, he began speaking. "Hey, Shiori! Did you need something? Wait, oh, that's right! Today you were going to have a meeting at the tower! You want me to announce when?"

Recovering from Mr. Saiki's unexpected verbal onslaught, Shiori said, "Um, That'd be great! I thought we could do it in an hour?"

She was going to say more, mainly, Mr. Saiki, are you okay? You look a bit… stressed out? But before she could, he said, "Right right, of course! Right away. Let me know if you need to talk, okay? I'm just about to go see if I can find a few people personally to have a talk, so I won't be in my office for a while, but I'll be back by this evening! See you then." And then with that, he stepped back inside.

Shiori stood numbly in front of his door as he made the announcement, then she shook her head a bit to clear it. Well, I guess I'm not telling him about Akiko and Take just yet… seems like he has enough to deal with… She decided to head over to the tower early, both to catch people and maybe to have some time to herself.

In the end, she didn't get as much quiet time as she expected. After only about fifteen minutes of hanging out in the tower, she heard sounds of physical exertion. She got up off the floor and looked down to see where the voice was coming from.

Down on the sports field she saw Rika with a soccer ball and her green teddy bear sitting nearby. Rika was attempting to dribble the ball from one knee to the other. She actually wasn't doing to badly; Shiori counted four as her max. Still, Rika groaned loudly each time she let the ball drop.

"Hey Rika!" Shiori called down, waving once Rika looked over. "Wanna come up for a break? You look like you could use one."

Rika looked at the ball on the ground, then back up. "Okay! Let me just grab Mr. Green." Soon enough, she was up the stairs of the tower.

"Not gonna climb up the side like yesterday?" Shiori asked with a sly smile.

Rika tilted her head to the side slightly. "That was an impulse thing. I was just excited."

That you were, Shiori thought, smiling at the memory of Rika climbing up the tower's support poles with the bag of candy held in her teeth."Still, how about we talk a bit more this time?" After she'd given them all candy, she'd insisted on all of them trying the zip-line, which took a lot of convincing in Gorou's case, but she hadn't really stuck around to talk much.

"Uh… okay!" Rika plopped down on the ground with her bear in her lap.

For a little while, the two talked about nothing important, just enjoying each other's company. But as they talked, Shiori's thoughts turned to the bear in Rika's lap.

SHIORI: So, what's the story with Mr. Green?

RIKA: My producers got him for me after I won my first tournament! I was so happy. It sort of became a tradition! When I won a tournament or other major event, I got a stuffed bear.

SHIORI: That's pretty cute, actually.

SHIORI: When she puts it like that, it sounds kind of like a normal sports tradition or something.

RIKA: I wish my other bears were here though. Then we could play tournament with them!

SHIORI: Tournament? How do you play that?

RIKA: It's easy! You make a bracket, then you act out the fights and the winner moves on! And when we get to the end, we crown the winner! Then if we wanna be extra realistic and dramatic, we have scenes of the losers in the infirmary swearing revenge on those who defeated them, or someone having to retire because they got hurt too bad, or other stuff!

SHIORI: Uh… that sounds really, dramatic, but…

SHIORI: She said those 'realistic' things so nonchalantly, I'm kind of worried…

[If that happened in real life, it'd be illegal!]

[Have you seen things like that happen?]

[You have an overactive imagination.]

SHIORI: I don't mean to pry but, uh, have things like that actually happened, that you know of?

RIKA: I mean… not so much the swearing revenge thing. Some fighters have PR people who make up plot lines and things, but I've never really had a specific rival or anything like that.

SHIORI: And the… injuries?

RIKA: …Well, we're fighting, of course people get hurt…

SHIORI: I guess that makes sense.

SHIORI: Rika's gladiator fights seem more intense than I thought…

The two girls lapsed into silence for a while, but then more people began to arrive for the meeting. First was Kashie, but then Karen arrived, who sat down by Rika.

Shiori waited a few more minutes for anyone else to come, but eventually she cleared her throat and said, "Okay, so thanks for coming! This is just a time to uh, talk together about what's been doing on, to help well, process everything and get things off our chest."

For a few awkward minutes, no one said anything. Guess it's up to me to get things started, thought Shiori. "I guess all of us are still thinking about the motive, right?" Everyone gave various nods and looks of agreement. Shiori took a breath, then continued. "I… I know just being made to participate made me feel bad, like somehow I was responsible for making people talk about those horrible things…"

Kashie shifted a bit, clearly incredibly uncomfortable. "Um… I, I'm sorry I just ran away at the end. I should have stayed and explained, but I was just so, so scared of what people might say."

"Even if you had stayed," said Karen, finally looking out at the group instead of her own lap, "There would not have been much of a chance to… converse placidly. Everyone was panicking, and accusations were flying. I do not blame you for leaving."

Kashie looked at Karen gratefully. "Thank you." Then she stood up. "That was, uh, most of what I wanted to say, and things have been uh, kind of crazy, so I'm gonna head out, if that's okay?"

Karen gestured to the stairs. "Of course. And for the record, I do not believe you… well, that you lied about the last question." Kashie nodded and headed down the stairs.

Rika pulled up her knees and rested her arms and chin on them. Karen looked over at the sulking girl, then back at Shiori. "I have suggested to Rika that she pursue a different talent when we get out of here," she declared. "It is clear to me that fighting leads to nothing but distress and hurt."

Shiori was startled. I mean, I kind of agree that being a gladiator is probably… not a long term career, but not fighting altogether?

"I don't like hurting people, but I don't wanna stop fighting, either," murmured Rika, staring ahead blankly. "I'm really good at it. When I'm sparring, I feel… complete. Like everything else isn't important."

Karen grabbed Rika's shoulders. "Surely there is something else! All martial arts were made to hurt people; you can't deny that!"

Rika looked away, sniffling away a few tears. When she saw the tears, Karen jerked away, drawing into herself.

Looking back and forth between the two girls, Shiori finally said, "I think… martial arts can be a lot of things, and you can use it in many ways… Yeah, it can hurt, but so can other sports, and other jobs. Karen, it's up to you to decide you don't want to pursue Jujutsu anymore, but… I think it's best to support your friends in what they want, if you can?"

Rika looked back at Karen, hope in her eyes.

Karen suddenly stood up. "I… I need some time to think." She rushed down the stairs.

After a wide-eyed moment, Rika jerked forward to stand and follow Karen, but Shiori leaned over and gently grabbed her arm. "Wait," she cautioned, "Give her some space. I think… this is as much about her problems as it is about yours."

Rika looked from Shiori to Karen's retreating form below, then she wrenched her arm from Shiori's and said, "I think I need space too." With that she headed down the stairs as well, leaving Shiori alone in the tower.

Shiori blinked, then lowered her hand. "Right…" She took in a shuddering breath, then gave a long, aggravated shout. Why is everything so hard? Everyone is mad, and I can't do anything! I promised I'd do something, and I can't, and…!

She could feel tears creeping down her cheeks, and rubbed furiously at her eyes in a failing effort to stop them. God, Shiori, how much have you cried in the past few days?

Eventually, the tears dissipated, and Shiori was left sniffling. Now that she wasn't openly crying, Shiori decided to head back to the cabins. The walk back was quiet, which she appreciated. When she reached the bathroom building she ducked in and gave her face a wash. Don't need to make it too obvious how bad of a cry-baby I am, even if I did admit it yesterday. After examining herself in the mirror and deeming herself at least presentable enough for anyone she might run into, Shiori headed back out. And promptly saw Isao and an extremely displeased looking Ikeda walking out of their cabin.

"This isn't something you should rush into!" Isao was shouting, rushing around to prevent Ikeda from going any further.

"I'm not. And frankly, it is none of your business," Ikeda retorted, "Just because you happened to be around when I opened it and you took it upon yourself to head over my shoulder does not give you the right to—"

Shiori rushed over. "Hey! What's going on here?!" You just can't stop yourself from getting involved, can you?

Isao stepped up to stand beside her. "Oh good, you can talk some sense into him. Ikeda got a note. From Akiko. She wants to meet up in the corral to 'settle things.' Now!"

Ikeda raised an eyebrow, looking halfway between impressed and annoyed. "You say it like it's dangerous. Akiko is a brute, but she's sloppy. For thing, she's being too obvious about this. I doubt she's actually contemplating murder; she just wants an excuse to fight. And when she does, it won't even be difficult to avoid her attacks, especially if she's angry. Besides, if my hunch is right, she might be too… preoccupied with other matters to take much notice of me."

Isao frowned. "What do you mean, preoccupied? What would she be—?"

"Take!' Shiori blurted out. "She was furious with him, there's no way she didn't send him a note too! Isao, we gotta go!" Without checking to see if Isao was following her, Shiori ran, past the barn, towards the barn and the corral.

Panting, Shiori skidded to a halt, barely avoiding running into the wooden fence. She stepped up on the bottom strut of the fence to get a better view. Crap, they're already started!

Take and Akiko seemed evenly matched. Akiko jabbed, one-two; Take dodged and ducked. He moved to sweep out her legs, but she jumped backwards before leaping back in. Akiko landed a hit on Take's left shoulder. He winced, but recovered enough to stomp harshly on Akiko's left foot. She reeled, then moved to push into him onto the ground; he caught her hands with his own. The two's hands locked, each trying to push the other down. They struggled for a moment, but then Akiko started to slip back ever so slightly.

"Now you've got her!" came a voice from across the corral. Shiori looked around the fight to see Homura and Seihiko standing outside the fence. Homura gave a little 'whoop!' and wrapped an arm around Seihiko, who looked very uncomfortable but didn't try to get free.

Take smirked. "Not so tough now—!"

Taking advantage of his distraction, Akiko released her hands and kicked Take square in the chest. He fell back hard, the wind knocked out of him.

"Guys, stop it!" Shiori shouted, voice cracking.

Akiko glanced to Shiori. Her face was fiery red with anger. But before she could reply, Take tackled her and brought them both to the ground. The fight dissolved into a flurry of scratches and kicks Shiori couldn't keep track of. One second Akiko was on top, with Take scratching at her arm, and then in the blink of a eye the positions reversed and Akiko was pulling at his hair, his signature hat having long since been knocked off.

As the fight began to get more violent, Homura slowly stopped cheering, staring at Take and Akiko scratch and bite with growing concern.

Having finally caught up, Isao ran up to stand at Shiori's side. "What in the—?"

"I— I don't know what to do!" Shiori stammered.

"Has anyone gone to get Mr. Saiki?"

Shiori couldn't seem to get enough air. "I don't know! Oh god, what is—?"

Suddenly, she saw a blur of red vault over the fence, and then Mr. Saiki standing over Akiko and Take, attempting to pull them apart.

"Get the fuck off!" Akiko screamed, thrashing as Mr. Saiki pulled at one arm.

"I will if you promise to stop fighting, damn it!" Mr. Saiki replied, voice harsher then Shiori had ever heard it.

Take, tangled in the mess of limbs, struck out wildly with his fists. In his struggles, he ended up missing Akiko and his punch hit Mr. Saiki in the side. Mr. Saiki immediately released Akiko. He stumbled back, clutching his side.

Shiori and Isao glanced to each other for a second, then Isao hooked his hands under Shiori's armpits and lifted her over the fence. She didn't even have time to be flustered by the move as she went to Mr. Saiki's side. "Are you okay?"

Mr. Saiki tried to straighten up, but winced. "Wasn't expecting it… also, I've never been punched before, so…"

Akiko and Take scrambled to their feet, but before they could go at each other again, the sound of the speakers turning on stopped them.

"You pick now to say something, and not when the fight started? Priorities…" muttered Mr. Saiki.

"Now what is this?!" came Monokuma's voice. "I don't mind a brawl; I would have prefered it be somewhere there were fewer witnesses, so if someone dies, we can actually have a trial, but whatever! However, there has been a violation of the rules, so I must intervene!"

"What the hell!" said Take. "There's nothing in the rules about fighting!"

The smugness in Monokuma's voice was palpable. "True! But there is a rule against harming camp staff, and it looks like Mr. Saiki has a pretty bad bruise." Take stiffened.

Mr. Saiki straightened up, wincing. "Since it was an accident, I don't think the punishment should be too harsh, right, Monokuma?"

"Maybe, but we can't let shenanigans like that off too lightly either!" Monokuma cackled. "Man, I'm excited! We haven't had to punish anyone for rule breaking yet. I've been waiting for this for so long, I almost couldn't bear it!" He cackled that smug, obnoxious laugh of his.

Akiko snickered under her breath, giving Take a dirty look.

Mr. Saiki turned to her. "Don't get too cocky. You're both getting punished. This ridiculous prank war is on both of you."

Akiko scoffed. "Can you even prove I'm involved with that? Got Monokuma to give you security footage?"

"No, someone told me," Mr. Saiki said, careful in his words as he continued. "They were concerned these pranks might escalate into—"

"What the fuck?! Someone—?" Akiko set her gaze on Shiori. "I swear if you tattled—!"

"She didn't; It was me." Everyone whipped around to see who had spoken. Kokoa stood out on the path.

Akiko gaped, her expression somewhere between enraged and betrayed. "Coco? How?! Why would you do that?!"

"Because you could get hurt." Kokoa bit her lip, then turned away. "Seems like I wasn't fast enough to avoid that."

Take gave a harsh laugh. "Aw, did your little friend betray you and tell Teach about your plan to try and start a fight?"

Mr. Saiki frowned. "Actually—"

"Eh-hem," said Monokuma, "As much as I am digging this wonderfully despair-filled moment of betrayal, we need to decide on the punishment!"

Mr. Saiki looked to Take and Akiko. "Well, like I said this morning, they need to clean up their messes. Plus we'll need to have a talk so we can resolve whatever issue caused all this." He coughed into his fist. "Is… any additional punishment necessary, considering it was an accident?"

After a moment, Monokuma said, "Yep! Considering our bandit's reputation, he's gonna need a bit more to get the message through!"

Mr. Saiki gulped. "...Right. Right right. Well, then. Uh… Take, tonight you are… going to help me make dinner for everyone, and clean up after. And while we cook, we can… have a talk."

Rolling his eyes, Take muttered, "Sure, Teach."

Monokuma chuckled. "You two better listen! Wouldn't want to make a more extreme punishment necessary!" Take and Akiko both paused at that.

Extreme punishment…? Shiori thought. Does he mean execution? I mean, with the crazy tech he has set up for the trial grounds, he must have more weapons hidden around here… God, now I'm gonna looking over my shoulder for hidden guns or something.

"Come on you two; we're getting you two patched up, then finding cleaning supplies." With that, Mr. Saiki led Akiko and Take away from the site of the skirmish, and towards the infirmary building. As they passed Kokoa, Akiko glared at her with such venom, Kokoa took a step back before bolting back towards the cabins.

As they left, Shiori looked over towards Homura and Seihiko. Homura seemed torn, but Seihiko just shook his head. He put a hand on her shoulder and whispered something Shiori couldn't hear, and with that the two walked away.

"You okay?"

Shiori turned around to find Isao with a expression of concern on his face.

She nodded a bit, and walked back over to carefully climb over the fence."Yeah… I mean, no one's hurt too badly; no one's… y'know, dead. I just… Ugh, why did this happen?"

"Why don't you tell me?" Shiori and Isao jumped at the new voice; she almost fell off the fence in her shock. Stolling confidently around from behind a tree past was Ikeda, hands in his pockets.

Her expression hardened as she jumped down. "If you just want me to recount the events that led up to this, I'm not gonna. That wasn't even what I meant by the question. I just wish people didn't feel the need to insult or hurt each other."

Ikeda shook his head. "It isn't hard to see that two big egos like Akiko and Take would clash eventually. To think they wouldn't would be to deny their natures."

Isao frowned and stepped up next to Shiori in solidarity, but remained silent.

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and smiled. Glad to know you're with me on this. "Being mean and picking fights aren't 'nature.'"

"And what if they aren't? People aren't so quick to change." Ikeda's expression softened, but Shiori was still wary. "Just as it would take a great deal of hardship to make you cruel, it takes more than offers of kindness or friendship to change people like them for good."

Raising an eyebrow, Shiori asked, "Is that meant to be comforting?"

"Take it as you will," Ikeda replied. "If you aren't open to discussion right now, I won't press you. Good luck with your plans." He said no more as he walked away towards the mess hall.

Once Ikeda was gone, Isao let out a held breath. "... I never know how to deal with that guy."

Shiori nodded and murmured, "Neither do I… and what was with all the nature and change talk? Of course people can change if they try. And why shouldn't we try to help when we can?" Shiori almost went on to tell Isao about her conversation with Ikeda that morning, but Isao seemed to be deep in thought. She decided against it. "How about we do something until dinner? I haven't gotten to really try the archery stuff yet."

"Sure," Isao agreed.

The rest of the day past in a haze. Shiori and Isao awkwardly attempted to use the archery equipment until it was around dinner time, then ate a quiet dinner with Kashie and Gorou. Shiori noticed several group that had been sitting together were now split; Akiko and Kokoa, Rika and Karen, not to mention the Lil' Hotshots. Mr. Saiki shooed Take to the kitchen to clean up as soon as they finished eating. The whole affair was tense and silent.

Just as dinner was finishing up, it began to rain— a torrential summer storm. Shiori retreated to her cabin a bit early in an attempt to miss the worst of the rain. Even then, she ended up soaked. Doing her best wring out her clothes out the window, she laid them out to drive as she changed into her pajamas.

Karen was already in bed, sitting up, reading what looked like a catalogue from the nature center. Just as Shiori was starting to get under the covers, Homura rushed in and shook off the water dripping off her like a dog.

"Whew, what a storm!" she said, wringing out her soaking hair. "I mean seriously, there's lightning and thunder so loud it could give you a heart attack—" Homura continued chattering aimlessly about the storm.

Shiori looked at the puddle forming on the floor, then cautiously back up at Homura.

"—How are we even going to be able to walk around if the paths are all mud? Not all of us have boots that can withstand…" Homura trailed off when she saw Shiori's gaze.

Karen raised an eyebrow. "Well? Are you finished… regaling us about the storm?"

Homura shifted her feet. "Um…"

I'm too tired to beat around the bush, thought Shiori. "Why didn't you stop Take from fighting Akiko?"

Glancing between her too cabinmates, Karen said, "Wait, is that why Take and Akiko were both so… pediment at dinner, scowling and all that?"

Shiori didn't bother correcting her, still waiting for Homura to answer.

After a long moment, Homura finally said, "I didn't think it would hurt. They didn't have weapons, or even any intent outside working out their anger, so I figured they'd fight a bit and then be done with the whole… feud thing. And it's not like Take was completely unjustified in wanting to get back at Akiko; she started it…" She sighed. "Guess Seihiko was right when he said it wouldn't stay be so simple… Heh heh! But hey! It's all done now, so no need to like, worry about it!"

Shiori wanted to argue, to say that things could very easily get worse, but she was so tired from all of the drama of the day that she just asked, "Where's Kokoa?"

Homura shrugged. "That's the weird thing; I think she's staying in the mess hall? She wanted to keep working on some chocolate recipe and said, 'The rules don't say that we have to sleep in the cabin, so I'm staying here.' Mr. Saiki tried to argue with her, but when he couldn't convince her he gave her one of his spare blankets."

"That's…" Shiori didn't have the mental energy to finish that thought. "Let's just go to sleep."

And sleep Shiori did; a deep and dreamless sleep, at that. So deep she was only vaguely aware of some sort of noise going on for a few seconds. Then she jolted awake as someone started shaking her. "Shiori! Shiori wake up! We gotta go!"

Shiori, finally awake, sat to see Homura above her. "What? What's going on?"

"The barn is on fire! Mr. Saiki called us over the intercom to help; We gotta go before it spreads to the forest or the other buildings!"

That got her attention. "Oh! Oh oh oh!" She stumbled out of bed, threw on her shoes, and followed Homura out the door.

"Karen's already on her way over!" panted Homura as they ran.

As the came up the path, Shiori gasped. The barn was truly ablaze, flames having engulfed almost half of the barn and some of the corral fence. Already Take, Akiko, Rika, and Karen were throwing buckets full of water at the fire. Kenji held the end of a hose stretched taught from the nature center as Isao and Kashie filled more buckets. Father away, Seihiko and Remy ran back towards the group with giant pots from the kitchen to fill with water. All the while Mr. Saiki frantically tried to beat back the flames with a fire extinguisher and holler out directions.

"Homura! Shiori! Search the other buildings for more fire extinguishers!"

They both nodded without saying a word. Shiori ran to the infirmary. Searching frantically in every corner, she finally found a small extinguisher and ran back to the barn. "I found one!"

Mr. Saiki quickly grabbed it from her and handed her his own, now empty. The fire was slowly starting to fade, but still burned brightly. "Can you carry a full bucket?"

"Probably not!"

"Then help fill. God, I wish we had another hose."

Shiori ran other to the group at the hose and quickly got into a rhythm; when one of the people throwing buckets came for a new bucket, she took the empty one as Isao handed them a full one. She'd then put the empty container in the line to be filled, which Kashie dutifully kept moving. Kenji's hands shook so much at least some water tended to slosh out onto the still damp earth, but he held onto the hose.

Finally, after what must have been at least an hour and a half, the fire was out. One half of the barn was mostly intact, but the half closer to the corral was in complete ruin, wood turned to black charcoal. Everyone panted, coming down from the adrenaline rush.

When he finally caught his breath, Take made a move towards the barn, but Mr. Saiki said, "Wait! It's not safe yet!"

But Take refused to listen. He carefully stepped over the collapsed fence, tied his kerchief around his mouth to avoid the smoke carefully picked his ware through the rubble.

Mr. Saiki sighed and followed after him, "I can't believe you'd—" Take stopped short and Mr. Saiki ran into his back. "Ow! What…?"

Take seemed to be frozen, eyes wide. Mr. Saiki peaked around him, then stepped back in shock, looking sick.

"Well...?" asked Rika. "What is it?"

Feeling a horrible dread build in her stomach, Shiori carefully followed the path Take and Mr. Saiki had taken through the rubble and went to duck between them.

Mr. Saiki, snapped out of his daze, shouted, "Shiori don't—!"

The smell hit her first, reeking like meat left in an oven for too long. Shiori covered her nose and mouth to block it out, but it was too late.

First she saw blackened shapes, charred almost beyond recognition, but she quickly realized they were not shapes, but legs. Then she saw the arrow, half-embedded in the body's side. Because it was a body, laying curled against the remains of the barn door.

The body of Kokoa Uzumaki, the Penultimate Chocolatier.

And a body has been discovered! I feel bad about our dear chocolatier, but such is the fate of characters in a killing game. For just a bit of an explanation as to why this chapter took so long, it was a combination of real life obligations and writers block. I hope next chapter will go faster, but like all investigations it takes some extra planning, so I'm not sure. As always, please review with your thoughts and speculations, and if you'd like to join the discord for the story feel free to PM me. Until next time!