Oh my goodness, this chapter disliked me. To say it and grad school chewed me up and spat me out again would be an understatement. And it's only about half of what it should be. But we're here now! I've missed you. I hope you've missed me. If grad school is kind, I'll try not to vanish again.

What else? I now I have a side story for Despair Ship where I post little, fun fragments whenever the mood strikes me. I also accept prompts there. Feel free to check it out and send me stuff!

Prince PokePersona: Third Case Syndrome is a killer, and I'm not even at the trial yet! What the heck! haha Poor Misa. She is a bit unlikeable now, isn't she? She's been having a rough couple of chapters, and that's really not about to change.

TheRoseShadow21: This is true. Misa has not shot anyone yet. She should be commended. We'll have to see if that changes! ;)

Shoma led Misa back down to the first floor to the art room. It was alive with a flurry of activity. Hoshina and Ryo carefully measured and cut wooden boards while, on the completely opposite side of the room, Satsuki and Kotoko bound them together with rope. Rudolph sat at one of the tables, hunched over a pile of papers, pen pressed against his lips in deep thought. And Fujiko, of course, oversaw it all, running from one group to another, making sure that everything was absolutely and exactly perfect.

Misa looked at Shoma. He shrugged. "Figured we'd start on easy mode before tackling the people who are actually pissed at you." Right. That's who was missing. On any other day, Kat would be here, trying to make the argument that working cannons were a very necessary addition. Or Miyu would be… somewhere. Doing something helpful, probably, since she could never just stand still or leave well enough alone. But they weren't here. Where were they? With Sumire? The very idea made her chest feel far too tight.

Fujiko surveyed the room once more, her eyes lighting up when she noticed the pair standing just inside the doorway. "Guys! Great! We need more hands! Shoma are you…" she trailed off as Shoma headed straight for Hoshina without a single word. The psychologist looked up at him with a smile, even if her gaze was concerned. Fujiko nodded. "Right. Should have seen that coming." She turned to Misa and all of her confidence seemed to drain away, replaced with nervous fidgeting. Misa cleared her throat.

"Shapes?" she offered, and Fujiko accepted the lifeline gratefully.

"Shapes!" she repeated. "Um, would that be cutting the wood or putting it together?"

"Both? Maybe?"

"Okay! Just go back and forth then," Fujiko decided. "People can get you up to speed." She clapped her hands together. "We're going to make a boat! Raft. Whatever!"

Misa smiled slightly as Fujiko bounced off to check on Rudolph. After a moment's thought, she walked over to join Kotoko and Satsuki, who seemed to be having some trouble getting the boards to line up properly. "Need any help?"

"I think you've helped enough," Kotoko said flatly. Misa blinked in surprise. That was certainly not the reaction that she had been expecting. Satsuki carefully looked away from the pair. "I… I'm sorry. That was very unkind. I shouldn't have said that."

"It's okay. I probably deserve it," Misa told her, the words hitting just a little bit too close to home for her to successful pull off the joking manner she wanted.

"No, no, I really shouldn't have – "

"Stop apologizing."

"I'm sorry," Kotoko muttered again, and Misa just looked at her.

Satsuki bit her bottom lip. "Do you want to hold this?" she asked, pointing to a board that needed to be secured at an angle. "So maybe we can be quiet and work?"

Misa nodded and knelt down to hold it as Satsuki tied it off. Kotoko just kind of stared off into the middle distance, so Misa wasn't entirely surprised when she spoke up again. "Why did you have to shoot the projector? It's against the rules. We're not supposed to break the rules."

"Seemed like a good idea at the time."

"It wasn't."

"Yeah, no shit."

"Do you regret it?" Satsuki asked when it became clear that there was a lull in the conversation. Misa didn't really have an answer for her. The initial impulse was that the answer was obvious. Of course it was a mistake. One wrong thought, and Tetsu's awful screams would ring through her head again and again until something broke her out of the loop. But Monokuma had been hurting her people, and that really wasn't okay. Nobody was allowed to hurt her people. Especially not when she could do something about it. It was the murder question all over again, wasn't it? Which was more important?

Who was more important?

But Satsuki was still staring at her, still waiting for an answer. "Hey, I stopped the motive, didn't I?" Misa said. It was immediately clear that this was the wrong thing to say.

"Did you?" Kotoko asked quietly, as if she was talking to herself.

"We still know what it is. We just don't know who," Satsuki said.

"I think some people have guesses, but not knowing? I'm sorry, but it feels awful. I'm… I'm scared."

Satsuki didn't nod in agreement, but she didn't have to. Her eyes held the same fear that was plastered over Kotoko's face, that permeated Fujiko's movements. Misa shook her head. "Trust me. It's better not to know."

"I think your situation is a little bit different," Satsuki said.

"Yeah, probably just a bit," Misa said.

Kotoko frowned. "I'm sorry, but – "

"Okay, seriously, you need to stop apologizing," Misa snapped. "I get it. I'm the one who fucked up. Don't need anyone else to feel sorry for me."

"That… That wasn't what I was going to say." Oh. Whoops. Great, add something else on the pile of things Misa should feel guilty about. It's not like it wasn't big enough already. "Why is your situation different?" Everyone else's videos were silent and taken from far away."

"Monokuma did say something about your partner being clever," Satsuki said. "Maybe he broke a rule too?"

No, Misa knew exactly why there was a difference. Tetsu had come to rescue her, like she always knew and hoped he would. He had come to rescue her, but got caught instead like an idiot because she wasn't there to watch his back. She did the solo rescue missions. Not him.

"Do the outside people have rules too?" Kotoko asked, bringing Misa out of her thoughts. "I know in the first Killing Game, it was broadcast out to the general public. So everyone knew where the Ultimates were and what was happening, but they couldn't get through the defenses. It would make sense if something similar was happening here."

"The Ship isn't that big," Satsuki said with a short nod, but she didn't look comforted at all by the other girl's theory. And why would she be? It was one thing if they were all still trapped her because no one could find them. It was another thing entirely if any possible rescue efforts were killed before they could actually do anything. It suddenly made their captors a hell of a lot scarier.

"Guys, stop. Come on, Hoshina would scold you for being so negative," Misa said, forcing her tone to be light and playful. "It'll all work out." Kotoko glanced at the psychologist out of the corner of her eye, her frown deepening when she and Ryo laughed at something Shoma said. Satsuki just looked uncomfortable again. Misa held in a sigh. Right. Because why would she be able to say one right thing today? "You know what? I'm going to go and check on how they're doing."

"Have fun," Satsuki told her as Misa stood and dusted off her jeans. Misa shot her a grin and headed over, turning at the last second to make a quick detour to Rudolph. He hadn't moved since she and Shoma had arrived, which really was just the perfect way to wreck your back. Misa stood and watched him for a moment, waiting for him to acknowledge her. But he didn't so she trapped him on the shoulder instead.

Rudolph jumped and yelped before clutching his papers close to his chest, "Hey! You scared me!"

"Oops. Just wanted to see what you were working on."

Rudolph held his papers tighter, crinkling the paper. "You can't see it yet! I'm not done anymore. I need to fix it!"

"Fix it? Oh, wait! Is this my, oh what was it, my kitsune story you were going to write for me?"

"Maybe." Misa raised her eyebrows. "…Yes. But I need to fix the ending. It's too sad."

"That's okay," Misa told him. "I like sad endings. They're fun." Okay, maybe that was a lie. Just a small one, though. She liked bittersweet endings. Just pure, happy fluff never struck her as realistic, even in all of those silly dating games she would play. The world just didn't work like that, and pretending or hoping otherwise was ridiculous. Still, Rudolph apparently disagreed because he firmly shook his head.

"No."

"No?"

"You're too sad already. I don't want to make you even more sad. That isn't very nice. So I'm going to try and make you happy instead! I already practiced with writing a story for Ryo, so I should be better at the nice and happy endings now!"

"Rudolph…" But whatever else Misa was going to say dried up in her throat. She just pulled him into a hug with one arm. He leaned his head against her torso, looking up at her with a small, hopeful smile. "Listen, about your brother – "

"That's okay," he said. "If anything, it's a good thing. Now I know that they didn't hurt him when they took me!"

"That's a very optimistic way to look at it."

Rudolph shrugged, leaning back just far enough to break the hug. "I was really worried about it, but now I know that he's okay. That's a good thing. Right? I'm not being silly, am I?"

He was, but Misa couldn't find it in her heart to tell him that. It'd be like kicking a puppy. And yeah, Misa was a terrible person, but come on. She still had some standards. Sometimes. "Nah, that's a good thing." Rudolph's smile widened, and she decided to let him get back to writing. He waved as she finally headed over to join Shoma, Hoshina, and Ryo. Or rather just Hoshina. Both boys had disappeared.

"They went to bring everyone sandwiches," Hoshina explained. "No one has really eaten yet today, but it's very important."

"So Shoma's bringing you food now. That's a switch."

"He's made a lot of progress recently. I'm very happy for him."

Misa made a face. "Yeah, maybe don't say it like that. You guys just… get weird when you start sounding clinical. Sounds like I need to report you for an ethics violation or whatever."

Hoshina's smile faded, replaced with concern. "I would never purposefully – "

"Relax, relax. I was joking." Mostly. Hoshina still didn't look amused. "I'm glad that you guys are, you know."

"Me too," she said softly, and damn if that didn't just send a brief pang of jealous longing through Misa. But she had burned that bridge. This wasn't the time for her to regret it. Besides, this was probably for the best. She didn't even want to imagine the breakdown that would happen if either Shoma or Hoshina ended up dead. Talk about a mess.

Misa looked at the saw and sighed. There were plenty of boards that they could be cutting at the moment. Hoshina even had a whole list written down in very neat handwriting. But that was loud and annoying, and Misa honestly didn't want to deal with sawdust getting caught in her hair. "You wanna just talk for a bit?" she asked.

"Of course. I'm always ready to listen if people need it."

"No, no, not like that. Just regular people talking."

"Oh, um, yes, that would be nice too."

Misa: Sooooooo…

Hoshina: You didn't have a planned conversation topic, did you?

Misa: Not really. I mean, I could ask what your favorite thing to do is, but that's boring.

Hoshina: Cooking.

Misa: Really?

Hoshina: Yes, my father cannot cook, and my mother was often… sick, so I did most of it. It's very relaxing.

Misa: I don't know. I think my cooking skills are microwaves and whatever the hell the thing is in the kitchen.

Hoshina: It's not very difficult to learn, and it is an important and treasured skill, especially for people struggling with issues with agency.

Misa: Does that include you too?

Hoshina: I'm not sure I understand.

Misa: Well, you enjoy it. And then you bring up the idea of not having agency or control or whatever.

Hoshina: I think you're reading a little bit too far into this.

Misa: Maybe. You're very quick to shut me down, though.

Hoshina: That is not evidence, simply a baseless theory.

Misa: Alright, alright, I get it. You really don't like talking about personal stuff.

Hoshina: That is not what you should have learned from this.

Misa: I'm not wrong, though.

Hoshina: …I told you before. I'm more used to listening to people than I am talking about myself.

Hoshina: I imagine the same goes for you, since you haven't admitted anything meaningful about yourself yet.

Misa: Oh, so you can try and psychoanalyze me, but I can't do the same for you? I see how it is.

Hoshina's Profile Card: Entry Two

Hoshina's favorite thing to do is cooking, a skill that she picked up due to both her parents being unable to for varying reasons. She mentioned that it was an important skill among those who felt like they didn't have any agency, but quickly shut down any attempts to probe the matter further.

Luckily, they were spared any further awkwardness by Ryo and Shoma arriving with arms full of wrapped sandwiches. Everyone took a short break for lunch, and then it was back to work. There was actually something incredibly pleasing about creating something with your own hands, about seeing your vision become true and solid in reality. Even if Misa couldn't truly enjoy the moment without the constant, lurking reminder that her partner was captured and tortured and she was the reason why.

But at least Fujiko was ecstatic. Bouncing up and down in place as she lovingly stroke the raft ecstatic, even though the glue or whatever Satsuki had found for a sealant was still drying. Honestly, that was the only reason why Fujiko hadn't dragged the raft up to the third floor to set sail immediately; everything had to set overnight.

Everyone else headed off to dinner, but Misa begged off, saying that she wanted nothing more than a shower. If anyone remembered that it was technically the boys' turn to have access to the bathroom, they didn't say anything. They just let her be as she slowly returned to her room.

Everything was exactly as she left it. No teddy bears had moved, no furniture rearranged. Misa looked around, not quite trusting it, but truly nothing had been changed. Maybe this meant that people would finally stop fucking with her room. Probably not, but a girl could hope. She collapsed face first onto her bed and sighed. And probably, for the first time all day, she could relax. Just a little bit. The tension could release from her shoulder and lover back, and she closed her eyes. Maybe a short nap would be nice; something to pass the time in a mindless way while everyone else ate and then left so that she could have dinner in peace.

She had almost drifted off the sleep when the screaming started.

High-pitched and desperate and pained and Misa jerked out of bed, landing hard on her side on the floor.

"No, no, no, no," Misa whimpered, head whipping around in search of the source of the sound. But there was nothing. Her room was empty, even as Tetsu's screams tore through the air. The speakers. They had to be coming through the speakers, right? Misa stumbled to her feet, lurching forward towards the door.

A door that wouldn't open. No matter how hard Misa pulled and pushed on the door, even as the screams grew louder and louder until all Misa could do was sink down onto the floor with her hands pressed tight against her ears, tears streaking down her face. The screams were different this time. They sounded different. This wasn't just the initial tape played over and over again. They were still hurting him. Why wouldn't they just stop hurting him? Please. Please, just leave him alone. Leave him alone!

"Stop! Stop it!" she screamed.

It did not stop.

"I'll do it! I'll kill someone! Just leave him alone!"

It still did not stop.

If anything, it grew louder, and Misa started screaming just to try and drown out the noise. Screaming until her throat turned raw, and her screams devolved into a hacking coughing fit instead. Until somehow her door swung open, and Misa could stagger towards it, all but crawling into the hall and kicking the door close behind her. And the moment the door closed, silence. Thank you, soundproofed bedrooms. One, small bit of relief. Tiny, but it was enough for Misa to catch her breath, for her to roughly wipe the tears from her cheeks.

They didn't care.

Misa offered to kill someone for them, and they still didn't care. They just kept hurting. This was her punishment, wasn't it? Not that they would hurt Tetsu, but that they wouldn't stop. They would just keep hurting him, torturing him, stringing him along on the brink of life until –

Misa clamped her hand over her mouth, stifling a fresh cry. She was out in the open now. People could hear her. People could see her. That more than anything got her onto her feet. She couldn't let anyone see her like this. It would only cause far more problems that it solved.

She didn't realize that Kat stood in the doorway to the science room, pulled away from his current experiment by the noise. He bounced lightly on his feet as he watched her hurry away, worry and understanding and pettiness warring on his face. "Oh no," he whispered.

Misa's feet carried her to the observatory. The stars could still calm her, despite the host of negative memories that the room now held. How long had it been since she fought with Kit Kat? One day? Two? It felt so much longer than that. She pressed her forehead against the cool glass of the window, took a deep breath, and held it.

What the fuck was she supposed to do now?

Going back to her room was obviously out of the question. Those bastards trapped her in there once. They would do it again, no doubt. And her sanity really couldn't handle that at the moment. But she was exhausted. The stress of the day was already weighing down on her, and it was barely pass dinner. She would need to return to her room at some point to sleep, right? Falling asleep anywhere else would be against the rules.

A shudder ran through Misa at the thought of breaking another one. She had no idea what would happen, but it definitely wouldn't be anything good. It wouldn't be something as easy as killing her, though, that was for sure. Why kill someone when you could just break her instead?

Break her.

Break her. Misa Katsu, the Ultimate Smuggler. As if. She was stronger than that psychotic teddy bear gave her credit for. She had survived worse things, and she would survive this too. She just had to play it smart, get a handle on her emotions for once. That's what Monokuma was targeting. Her emotions, her protective drive. If she didn't let him get to her, then he would be powerless.

Or, it could just provoke him into doing something worse.

Right. Thanks, brain. That was definitely the positive thinking that she needed at the moment.

But what was the worse thing that Monokuma could do? They couldn't kill Tetsu. Rule One: Never kill your hostages. You just lose whatever leverage you had, and make sure that people come after you looking for revenge. And as long as Tetsu was alive, then Misa had the chance to get the fuck out of here and rescue him. A proper rescue this time. One where everyone escapes and gets to live happily every after. Bittersweet ever after? Honestly, at this point she'd take either option.

That still didn't solve her immediate problem, however. What was she going to do for the next twelve or so hours, besides drink far too much coffee? She would be okay during the day. The day had people milling around, and she knew that Fujiko would drag her to see her raft set sail. But the night was a whole different beast. Night was dark and quiet and lonely.

She wandered across the hall to the map room and pulled one of the books off the shelves at random. The least she could do was try and keep her mind occupied. That had to be better than staring off into literal space, right? If only there was actual fiction here as opposed to boring historical stuff. Still, it wasn't like she had many other options, so she settled down in the leather chair to read.

The book was from the shelf that had been dedicated to the Ultimate Analyst. It spoke at length at how the ability was more a curse than a blessing. If you could predict everything, then life lost its joy, its wonder. You began to look for any way to break the boredom, even if it meant starting a horrific movement on a scale that had never been seen before. The book ended with advising that if another Analyst ever appeared, it would be better to kill them before they grew too comfortable with their talent. Misa growled and threw the book clear across the room.

Fuck that author. They didn't know what they were talking about.

Misa stood and went back downstairs; reading something else would probably end with her setting it on fire and that would be bad. At least it had killed time. Misa was hardly the fastest reader, and it hadn't exactly been a short novel. She swung by the kitchen for a quick dinner and a cup of coffee. After a moment's thought, she got herself a second cup as well, adding it far too much sugar and milk. If she was going to drink a lot of this shit, it might as well taste sweet.

"My, my. This is unexpected."

"Great. Exactly what I needed."

Sumire ignored Misa's snark and got herself a cup of decaffeinated tea. "I'm surprised you're awake. I'm usually the only one up and about this late."

"And I'm surprised that no one has used this to kill you yet," Misa told her. Oh, she shouldn't have put that thought into her own head. Damn it. Now she was picturing bashing Sumire's stupid brains in with a piece of plastic fruit. Realistic? No. Satisfying? Yeah, kinda.

Oh, this place was messing with her. Violence never used to be the first thought in her head.

"I can take care of myself," Sumire said.

"I'm sure."

Misa lifted her mug in a mock toast and started to leave. Sumire's voice stopped her cold. There wasn't anything particularly remarkable about the chess player's tone or cadence, or even the words she used. Coming from anyone else, you could almost mistake it for genuine concern.

"Today has been very hard on you, hasn't it? This whole week, now that I think about it. Getting shot, losing your two closest allies, and now your partner, Tetsu?" She shook her head. "No wonder you're in such a… delicate place. Anyone would be. There's no shame in it. But don't worry. I'm sure Zettai will always have your back."

"Like you did with Ryuu?" Misa asked, spinning around on one heel. "Actually, you know what? It's probably good that Monokuma ground him into paste. Probably be a little pissed that you were cheating on Takara with him."

Sumire's voice suddenly went frigid. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Ooh, I hit a nerve, didn't I? I'm sorry. Did he die before you could kiss and make up? That's always such a tragedy."

"Careful. Someone will hear that and decide to smite Miyu."

Misa's heart jumped into her throat. Sumire smiled, visibly getting her confidence back. Bitch. "Well, if she does turn up dead, I'll know who to blame, and then I get to watch whatever fucked up execution Monokuma has for you. That'll be fun!"

"You're awfully confident you'd be able to catch me."

"I'm two for two so far."

"You couldn't even participate last trial."

"And yet, I still managed to figure it out first."

Sumire didn't have an immediate answer for that, like the words had gotten stuck in her throat. Misa took the opportunity to leave before their verbal sparring turned into something a little more heated and physical. Her head ached, and her nerves were jittery from far too much caffeine far too quickly. Was there a limit on how much a person could have in one day? Was that something she needed to be worried about? Probably not, right?

She retreated back upstairs, back to the observatory and her stars and the lingering smell of gunpowder that her mind conjured up. She pressed her back against the glass and sank down onto the ground, pulling her knees up to her chest. And she stayed there, unmoving, even as the Ship slowly woke up and the morning announcement played. Her eyes felt heavy. Hell, her whole body did.

It would be so easy to just let them slip close. Just for a couple of seconds. Just to stop them from burning and itching.

Coffee.

She needed more coffee.

She needed –

Misa closed her eyes, her head sinking forward so that her chin hit her chest.

They were arguing again. It was the only thing anyone ever did anymore, and Kotoko hated it. They had been doing so well too! Hoshina and her had been on the same page: make sure that everyone was friendly and kind and maybe they would be able to stop anything awful from happening. But then Shoma got his hooks into her. This was all his fault. He was probably using his talent to brainwash her or something. Why else would she just sit there and let Sumire continue to drive the group apart?

"You obviously don't know what you're talking about," Fujiko snapped, glaring at Sumire across the table. Sumire was in Misa's seat again.

"She's telling the truth," Miyu said quietly. "Misa knew everything, and she's still working with Zettai." Kat nodded mutely in agreement. The explosives engineer looked very small and very scared in his chair.

"Working closely with him," Sumire added, which was honestly just very unnecessary. This whole conversation was unnecessary. Misa and Zettai weren't even at breakfast. If everyone was really going to have this fight, then shouldn't they be here to defend themselves? Discussing this behind their backs was wrong. It felt wrong. Everything about this felt wrong!

"Maybe she's being a secret agent!" Rudolph said. "She's pretending so that she can get close to the bad guy and defeat him!"

"Yeah!" Ryo said with an enthusiastic nod. "That makes sense!"

"Like a spy movie!"

Kat shook his head. "Sorry, Ringu. That's not what's happening."

"Is this why she hissed at you?" Ryo asked him.

"Misa is a very angry and defensive person," Sumire said before Kat could even open his mouth. Kotoko frowned. "Honestly, it's very concerning, especially since she's armed."

"I don't think she'll shoot us," Satsuki said softly.

"She did point a gun at Zettai's face," Hoshina said after a moment. Yes, that was true. And a particularly frightful moment. Kotoko had been almost certain that Misa would fire.

"That doesn't mean anything," Shoma told her.

"It's still threatening someone with a weapon. And if we're going to make a decision, then everyone needs all the facts," she said.

Shoma stared at her for a moment before slumping down in his seat. "Whatever," he muttered. Hoshina looked at him, brow furrowing, before the conversation stole her attention again. But Kotoko continued to stare at him. The gears were almost visibly turning inside his mind.

"Wait, did you guys know this before?" Fujiko asked, pointing at both Miyu and Kat. "Like not today?"

"Umm… maybe?" Kat said, scratching the back of his neck. "Miyu knew first!"

"And you didn't think to tell us?" A triumphant grin crossed the navigator's face. "Guess it isn't so important after all!"

"Or someone is trying to cause trouble," Shoma said without looking up.

"If you're trying to say something, just say it," Sumire told him flatly.

He shrugged. "Just commenting on the order you told people in. It's very convenient."

"You're still not being clear," Sumire said.

"I'm being perfectly clear."

"Shoma, stop it. This isn't helping," Hoshina told him.

"No, I want to hear more!" Miyu said sharply.

Kotoko very slowly, very quietly slid out of her chair and backed out of the room. Satsuki caught her eye as she left, mouthing a rather desperate plea to not abandon her. Kotoko shrugged apologetically and continued her quick retreat. This was how it always started: polite, cold words that grew into yelling and insults and things being slammed onto the table. And then soft voices and smiles, cooing that they would never yell at Kotoko, never. It never changed.

The elevator carried Kotoko to the second floor. Maybe sitting in the greenhouse would be calming enough. But that plan was ruined the moment she glanced through the observatory door as she passed. Misa sat pressed against the glass, her knees bent at ninety degrees, her hands gripping the handle of her guns so tight that it turned her knuckles white. Monokuma balanced on top of her knees, one paw pressed against the side of her face. Even from here, Kotoko could see the indentations that his claws were leaving on her skin.

"I look forward to your decision," Monokuma said with a high-pitched giggle. "But we have a visitor!" Kotoko took a small step back in fight as the bear turned his gaze on her. "Time to exit, stage right. Pursued by a bear!" He flexed his paw, finally digging his claws in enough to pierce Misa's skin, and leapt into the air and disappeared behind the couch. Although, it really wasn't any secret where he went. The vent that led to the art room was right there.

"Fuck!"

Kotoko jumped as Misa slammed her head back against the glass. Blood ran in three trails down her cheek and along her jaw, brilliant red against pallid skin.

"You're bleeding," Kotoko said softly.

"Not the first time."

"Doesn't it hurt?"

"Probably."

The smuggler stared at her for a long moment, as if she was waiting for Kotoko to do something. What, she had no idea. She simply stood in the doorway, fidgeting a little.

"Monokuma isn't supposed to hurt us," she finally said.

Misa lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "I broke a rule. He can do whatever he wants."

No. No, that wasn't right. He already punished Misa for yesterday. He wasn't allowed to just keep hurting her. That wasn't fair. That wasn't in the rules! Unless… maybe she had done something else? Really, you would think that Misa would learn by now. Rules are there for a reason, and everything just goes a lot smoother if you follow them. You're less likely to start fights that way.

But Kotoko couldn't scold her, like she had before. Not when Misa looked like a soft breeze would be enough to break her.

"You should get cleaned up," she told her. Misa ran a hand through her hair and made a face.

"I ca – actually, don't suppose you'd let me go through your room?"

"If you need to?"

Misa flashed her a grin and pushed herself up onto unsteady feet. Kotoko would suggest her getting something to eat first, but that would mean sending her directly into the line of fire, and that wouldn't be very nice. Instead, Kotoko silently followed her back downstairs. They made a quick stop at Misa's room. She seemed incredibly on edge for some reason, even though there was nothing wrong with it as far as Kotoko could see. Still, Misa made her prop the door open while she literally ran to grab a change of clothes.

Misa also dragged her into the bathroom itself, which was a little awkward. There was nowhere for her to really sit or stand as Misa disappeared into one of the showers.

"I'm sorry, are you sure you don't just want me to wait in my room for you?" Kotoko asked as the water turned on.

"Nope!" Just her head popped out from behind the curtain. "Besides, I should probably have someone to talk to to make sure I don't pass out and hit my head. We already went through that bullshit once." Her head disappeared again.

Oh. Okay then.

Misa: So an onomastician deals with names and stuff like that, right?

Kotoko: Yes. Names, naming conventions, trends… it's amazing what they can tell you about a place or a people.

Misa: Does my name tell you anything cool about me?

Kotoko: It depends a lot on how it's written.

Misa: Generally then.

Kotoko: I'm sorry, I'm not quite sure. I think it's something like 'beautiful bloom?'

Misa: Yeah, that's not right at all.

Kotoko: But it says a lot about what your parents hoped for you. It's why a lot of people have names involving 'star' or 'future' or 'hope.'

Misa: Right. So I'm a delicate, little flower. Sounds about right. What does your name mean?

Kotoko: 'Lyre child.' I'm named for one of the constellations.

Misa: Oh. So your parents were boring then.

Kotoko: Not boring. They just had a very specific idea of what they wanted me to represent.

Kotoko: I'm sorry. That was a little defensive of me.

Misa: Nah. To be fair, I did just call your parents boring.

Kotoko: I think I might also just be used to defending them.

Misa: From what?

Kotoko: My last name is Moto?

Misa: Okay? You've lost me. I don't really get a lot of Ship gossip.

Kotoko: I see. Never mind then. I'm sorry for bringing it up.

Misa: If you say so.

Kotoko's Profile Card: Entry One

Kotoko has extensively studied different names, trends and their meanings. Apparently, someone's name says a lot about their parents' hopes for them. Kotoko got very defensive once her own parents were brought up. They seem to be rather well known.

The water shut off, and after a few minutes, a freshly showered and dressed Misa reappeared. "Fuck, I actually feel human again," she said as she started tying her hair back into its normal braid. She looked human again too. It was actually remarkable what some color in her cheeks and a cheerful disposition could do. Her cheek had stopped bleeding as well, although the three, angry, red marks obviously remained.

It was uncanny, and only set Kotoko more on edge. "You're feeling better then?" she asked.

Misa grinned. "Never better. You think people are actually out of the kitchen by now? I'm starving." She didn't wait for an answer, leaving the bathroom through Kotoko's bedroom door. The onomastician was motionless for a few seconds. Maybe she really should go through with her plan. But that would require asking Monokuma for help, and that was intimidating for obvious reasons.

Still…

Kotoko squared her shoulders and followed Misa out of the bathroom.

Poll is still up on my profile to guess this chapter's victim(s)!

See you tomorrow! ;)