Mitsuhiko awoke with a headache. It had been a short dream but it reminded him of a quite significant moment in his life. To his side was Yurie, clinging to him, which helped him to calm down. It would have been a relatively nice scene if it weren't because they were in a classroom in the Headquarters. The hunter carefully lifted Yurie's arms but the movement woke her up. "Mitsu-chan? Are you okay?" she asked weakly. It looked like she was finally getting better.

"Don't move, Yurie. I'll bring you breakfast" Mitsuhiko said, ignoring his headache. Yurie nodded and laid still. Outside of the bedroom the Headquarters were pretty silent. Maybe it was because by now six people had died and chances were even more would die later. Only ten people remained.

In the cafeteria the clanking in the kitchen got Mitsuhiko's attention. Sugita was in front of the stove, struggling to not to cry. "Kimiko? Is there something wrong?"

"Hi, Hikaru-kun. I'm okay, it's just...the onions"

"That's the oldest excuse in the book. Come on, tell me what's wrong"

"Hikaru-kun, I'm scared. Yesterday, when Sasuga-kun was poisoned, I felt so lost and so...defenseless. We haven't been together for as long as you and Yurie are but I feel he's the world for me. The thought of him being killed by anybody here...it scares me"

Oh, so it was that. Mitsuhiko was never the most empathic person in the world but Sugita was his childhood friend. He felt it was his responsibility to try to show some support "I can't promise he'll be fine but the least you can do is show some strength for him. Show him you're willing to do anything to protect him. And by that I don't mean to tell him you'd kill for him or anything. It's as simple as being with him when he needs it"

"I understand. How is Yurie?"

"She's better, at least she's able to stay conscious and talk. I don't know if her legs have gotten any better, though"

"I checked the rest before coming to make breakfast, everybody is improving. Kishio-sensei made an amazing recovery! She says she'll lead the exploration of the Fourth Floor to liberate the Main Board"

"I don't think that after a whole night we'll still find them up there" the hunter pointed. Sugita smiled as if she knew something he didn't. And she did!

"We thought that as well, that's why Mimori-san stayed in the Fourth Floor the whole night. There's this locked door that may lead to where the Main Board is kept in and she slept near it. Nobody can have gone past her in any direction"

That was nice. Mitsuhiko felt some hope "Excellent. I don't think Yurie will join us into the exploration so I'll stay with her. That won't be a problem, right?"

"It won't. Here, take this to her" Sugita gave Mitsuhiko a bowl of soup "I don't know she'll take kindly to messages from me but I hope she gets better soon"

"Yeah, I don't get why she can't get along with you" Mitsuhiko said as a parting line, taking the bowl to Yurie's room. In there the hacker was against the wall, clawing at it. It seemed like she was trying to stand up. "Yurie?"

"I can't feel my legs. I can't move my legs. I-I think they're paralyzed!" she said, shaking wildly. Mitsuhiko left the bowl on the floor and rushed to help her stand up and carefully tried to step away. Yurie's legs bowed under her weight and if the hunter hadn't been close enough to catch her she'd have crashed against the floor. It was the confirmation they needed, Yurie's legs were paralyzed. Whether it was temporal or permanent remained to be seen.

Yurie was pretty shaken up by her crippled legs. It was quite a while before she calmed down enough to take her soup. "What have I done to deserve this?! Why is this happening to me?!" were some of the questions she shrieked, even getting the attention of other commanders. They opened the door, asking what was going on, but when they saw Mitsuhiko's death stare they closed the door and went away.

Once she calmed down she commented the trial from the day before. "I don't remember anything. What happened?" Mitsuhiko gave her a summary of the events, including how Fukuyama was the mole and how Lily ended a truce with Monobear. "Oh, that truce. Yeah, I knew it wouldn't last long"

"What was up with that truce? I never thought they'd agree a peaceful break" the hunter asked.

"Basically Lily and Monobear fought again. Once again their bodies were destroyed and since none of them could overpower each other they decided they'd focus on whatever they were trying to do with all of us"

"Oh, I see. So, the fourth floor is open now. That's where the Main Board is supposedly imprisoned"

"Will you go with them?" Yurie asked, having finished her soup.

"I'd rather to stay with you. You could need my help"

There was silence for a moment while Yurie mulled something. "Mitsu-chan, I'm not a little girl needing somebody to protect her all the time. Go and help them. I'll be okay"

"Are you sure?"

"Completely sure. Go with them. Besides...I need some time alone. There's a lot I need to think about"

"...well if you say so then I will...go now..." Mitsuhiko slowly went to the door as if he expected Yurie to change her mind, but she didn't. She lay on her sleeping bag, staring at the ceiling, but before Mitsuhiko closed the door she called him.

"Mitsu-chan, when you're done please come here again. There's something we'll need to talk about"

"Okay. I'll see if I can find a wheelchair or something" Mitsuhiko said, noticing Yurie's disgusted face. She really didn't fancy the idea of having to use one of those but it was going to be necessary.

Almost everybody else was in the cafeteria; Yurie and Mimori were the only ones absent. "...if anybody doesn't feel strong enough to go then it's okay, no hay problema. You may stay here and...oh. Hikari-kun" Kishio was finally fully embracing her leadership gig, maybe because the Main Board was supposedly in their reach now.

"I wanted to join the party. Is there anything I can do?"

"You'll go explore with the group. Sit over there" Kishio indicated the corner of the cafeteria where later the exploration group gathered. Kobayashi and Sugita were the other two people who were going with him. Koshimizu, once he heard about Yurie's paralysis, offered to check on her, something Mitsuhiko accepted, grateful. Hasegawa was shunned aside and watched over by Sasuga and Kishio. The rest had varied tasks.

The journey to the Fourth Floor was uneventful. Once they got up there they were welcomed by Mimori. "About time soebody came! I was starting to think nobody was interested on getting up here"

"Has anybody entered or left this floor?" Mitsuhiko inquired, looking around. This definitely seemed to be the only entry or exit to the floor.

"Nobody! I'm sure of it; I slept in front of the only locked door around. No changes to report"

"I'll go with Mimori-san to check that door" Kobayashi said, rubbing his throat. Even if he had almost left the poisoning symptoms behind him hestill felt pain and discomfort "I have experience with locks and all that"

"Because magic is no more than smoke, mirrors and faulty locks, right, Amy?" Mitsuhiko couldn't resist jabbing the illusionist. He didn't take it badly, though.

"It's partly true but I only use real locks. Magic may not be completely real but I'm not going to go out of my way to do something so mediocre!"

"Right. You go do that" the hunter beckoned Sugita and together they went to explore the rest of the place. Near the stairs to the Fourth Floor there was one more staircase, but unlike the others this one wasn't closed. In fact, they could ascend if they wanted! Sugita suggested going upstairs but Mitsuhiko thought it'd be better to see first the contents of this floor before going to the attic or whatever was up there. No Fifth Floor existed so it was unknown territory up there.

The first room they found was something that brought Mitsuhiko back to his time in Hope's Peak. It was an Archery Range! Targets filled the back, nailed to the walls. They were full of holes and splintered arrows; nobody had bothered to clean them up. "Oh, what a place. It's hard to believe just a few years ago I was being studied by scientists in a place like this"

"It used to sound like you had fun!" Sugita said, going to a door to the side "I bet you'll be coming here all the time"

"This is the closest there's to hunting. At least I have guns and bullets"

"Even if you didn't you'd be able to practice. Take a look here" Sugita had entered the storeroom to the side. When Mitsuhiko joined her he saw large boards made of cork. Lots of bows hanged from there. There were boxes of arrows and materials for them, and Mitsuhiko even saw a huge crossbow on the floor.

"Wow. This school really had everything they needed"

"Shouldn't we lock this place? This stuff could be used as a weapon" Sugita suggested but Mitsuhiko rejected the idea. They were so close to finally finding out about what was going on...there was no benefit to killing. Nobody would do that.

There was another balcony on this floor, which apparently was named the Lookout. It was nothing else than a place to hang out and spend time but it served as a way to look at most of the Front Courtyard. The planks that held the solar systems from the Astronomy Laboratory were lodged in there as well"Do you think there could be a way to climb the fence?" Mitsuhiko asked, eyeing the trees on the other side.

"It's impossible. We don't have anything we could use to climb it"

"How is it locked? A padlock, an electronic device, how?" If they knew how it was then maybe they could break it. How hard could it be?

"It seems to be something like an electronic lock. A password is needed and if one misses...I don't want to think what could happen"

"Why?" Mitsuhiko inquired. The Tea Demon merely pointed upwards. Above him Mitsuhiko saw what seemed to be sniper rifles, aiming to points where a person would be standing when inputting the code. "Oh. Yeah, not good"

"Kobayashi-kun almost got shot the first day we were here. If Tohya-kun hadn't seen them he'd be dead!" Sugita commented, entering back.

"Good for him. It doesn't seem like there's anything else to see around here" Mitsuhiko looked around; the Fourth Floor was particularly empty. All that was left was a bunch of empty rooms that didn't have any function. The exploration was pretty short "Let's move upwards"

The stairs didn't lead to a fifth floor. Instead it was to the Roof, the very top of the Headquarters. It was a large expanse of cement, the edges having a small fence to protect the people in case they got too close to the edge. It was a pretty windy place, anybody would want to sit there and do nothing, just enjoy the breeze. Sugita and Mitsuhiko took a moment to appreciate the Roof, letting themselves forget their situation.

It was a luxury they couldn't afford until that moment. But the circumstances once again overwhelmed then, bringing them out from their enjoyment. "This whole new area is a waste of time and resources" Mitsuhiko sentenced "There's nothing to report. Let's go see if Amy is as good as a lock picker as he says he is"

And he was! When Mitsuhiko and Sugita arrived to the Waiting Room they found Kobayashi finishing his assignment. The lock opened with a loud click. Mimori, who had been resting on a nearby couch, stood up to open the door. "Are you all ready? We could find Veritas and the Main Board behind this door"

"I don't want to fight..." Kobayashi muttered. Of course he wasn't in condition to get into a scuffle, he was relatively weak. Mitsuhiko took out his M9 Twin Beretta.

"I can protect everybody. Nobody would fight against a handgun like this one. Leave it up to me"

"You should go first, then" Mimori ordered "We'll go behind you" While Mitsuhiko wasn't very happy of being forced to be everybody's human shield he had to admit it was the logical way to go. Taking a deep breath he made sure the gun had bullets and entered through the door.

It wasn't a single room. It was one large office with two other rooms attached. In the one they were in was a long table, just like the one in the Meeting Room, but with three seats. On the table there were a handful of notes in a handwriting nobody present recognized. All of them were notes about the investigations and the murders, written with enthusiasm and a joy that made Mitsuhiko almost choke in rage. "For them it's just a game...I can see it..." he muttered, leaving the notes aside. The others were looking in the other rooms to see what they could find.

On the wall there was a large cork board. When Mitsuhko saw what was on it he felt some relief at seeing it was up here and not in the first floor. It was like an armory. There were knives, guns of different calibers, lots of weapons. Mitsuhiko took out the Beretta he received from Hasegawa's package in the first day and compared it to one that was hanging up there alone. The empty space and the identical manufacture of the gun on the wall was enough for him to suppose the gun had come from here. "...Hasegawa-san has some questions to answer"

"They're not here! We have been bamboozled!" Kobayashi's voice, already strained, reverberated around the rooms. The commanders returned to the main room, very frustrated.

"But they were supposed to be here! What's the meaning of this?" Mimori exclaimed, opening and closing a door as if she expected them to materialize behind it in any second.

"We were lied to. We trusted the masterminds and this is what we get. We're idiots" Sugita was more accepting than them. Mitsuhiko had already seen it coming, too. After all his suspicion was that the Main Board was the masterminds, this was pretty much the confirmation he needed.

He voiced his suspicion. The others considered it for a moment, reticent. "That...that could be..." Kobayashi seemed like he was about to cry.

"It would explain a lot of things. Are you sure nobody left this floor, Mimori-san?" Sugita inquired. The journalist was very emphatic nobody could have gone through without waking her up. "So now what?"

"Now we tell Kishio-sensei. She told me she was waiting for the result of this exploration to know what to do. If you ask me..." Kobayashi paused for a moment, looking for the right words "...I think she has intentionally not done anything yet because she was hoping the Main Board was up here. Now that it's clear there isn't...she needs to lead us. She'll know what to do"

"Let's inform her"

"I'll stay for now, I want to see what else I can find" Mitsuhiko informed, eyeing the doors to the other rooms and the object on the wall. It was a small console with a microphone integrated. Two screens showed the Cafeteria from a strange height, like a kid was watching. The commanders in there were being spied. A few lines on a corner said the AI was set on automatic mode. Since one of the screens was tinted red Mitsuhiko didn't have any problems noticing what was going on. "Hello! My name is Monobear and I deserve to get my ass kicked" Mitsuhiko said on the microphone. Mitsuhiko had no idea if it worked but it didn't matter. The controls seemed to be locked so there was nothing else he could do.

So this is where Monobear is controlled from. Which one of them was saying everything Monobear said? He didn't know what the Main Board members were like or what their personalities were so he had no idea how to determine it. It didn't matter that much, though. After checking the console just to find nothing worthwhile he went to the door on the left.

It was a tiny room with a huge console, almost completely covered in screens. Virtually every room in the Headquarters was being watched. "I had no idea there were cameras!" the hunter commented to himself. He should have supposed it, though. How else would the masterminds keep track of everything? There didn't seem to be any sound, though. So that's why Monobear had taken one of Takayama-kun's microphones. No sound through cameras, of course.

"So, let's see what's on the other room..."When Mitsuhiko entered the other room he found once another console. It was what controlled the shutters and other electronic mechanisms. He would have dismissed it if it weren't because there was one detail that stood out: something indicating there was a shutter in the third floor...and it wasn't the one on the stairs. Must be from what's in that bricked wing. There must be some way to get in there...I'll find it at some point, I suppose.

And that was everything that was here. It was pretty significant for Mitsuhiko because there was one thing he didn't find: signs of somebody being kept locked around here. In the hunter's opinion this was conclusive evidence.

But would it be convenient to say it aloud? Why not to press for an escape without alerting the masterminds about him being on their trail?

When he returned to the Cafeteria there was hubbub in a corner. Kishio was there, apparently the others had just finished telling her their findings. When the hunter approached the Linguist muttered some swears in foreign languages and turned to him. "Tell me there's something about the Main Board up there"

"Not even a clue of where they are. We have fallen in the masterminds' trap" he replied. Kishio tugged on her hair and let out a sigh of frustration.

"We're a group of dumbasses. It's my fault. I shouldn't have waited for confirmation before deciding to do anything"

"So now what?"

"Now we'll escape, that's what we'll do" she was starting to calm down, her frustration being replaced by determination "Leave this up to me. I'll assemble a team and we'll do something that'll work"

"We're not going to try to guess the code for the fence door, are we?" Mimori asked "Nothing up there had the password"

"No. There must be other ways to escape. Let me think and I'll tell you all after I think of something"

Kishio refused to say anything about potential traps, perhaps fearing the masterminds from hearing what she had in mind. As his presence wasn't needed anymore Mitsuhiko thought this was a good time to be with Yurie again, check if she needed any help and inform her of his findings.

Yurie wasn't in her room. In fact, Mitsuhiko found her now in the hall towards the Cafeteria. She was now sitting on a wheelchair, stubbornly trying to push the wheels by herself. Before the hunter could go the wheelchair started rolling forward towards him without the hacker even moving. "Woah!"

"Got you" Mitsuhiko stopped the wheelchair. There seemed to be a slope on the floor, unnoticeable by anybody walking, but it was enough for the wheels to start rolling. "These wheels must be of excellent quality. They're sensible to even the slightest tilt"

"...I hate this thing" Yurie murmured, gripping the wheels with fury "Koshimizu-san said it's likely I won't be able to walk again. I hate him, I hate everything"

"He must be wrong" Mitsuhiko said, pushing the wheelchair to the bedrooms hall "Don't lose your hope, Yurie. You'll walk again"

"Meh" Yurie looked upwards "Nothing is going well in my life these days. We're trapped here, the murder plan went wrong, you're not willing to keep trying, I got locked in a cell, I got poisoned and now I'm crippled. I'm sure it's karma...and I'm going to make this day worse now. Mitsu-chan, we need to talk"

"About what?"

"About us. Let's go to my room" she requested. That sounded like there was going to be a delicate talk so Mitsuhiko felt dread when going in. What was Yurie going to say about their relationship? It wasn't going to be bad, was it? Once Yurie was in the bedroom she took a deep breath and wringed her hands. She seemed uncharacteristically meek "I...I think we should break up"

It took several seconds for Mitsuhiko to process what she said "...what?"

"We should break up" she repeated "I know we're engaged and ready to marry but...I can't take it anymore. I have lied to you, Mitsu-chan. I...I ruined your life"

"I don't understand what you mean" Anybody could say they ruined somebody's life, it was often an exaggeration. Mitsuhiko was willing to forget what she had just said as long as she didn't go into detail. The hacker swallowed nervously.

"Many years ago I told you I'm a recruiter for Vittoria's crime organization. What I didn't tell you is that...I approached you to recruit you and nothing more"

"...I had always supposed that, to be honest, but it doesn't matter now. You're here and we got engaged. That means something changed"

"And something DID change! It's just that it was just a couple years ago, when you were already into the organization. I pretended to love you for so at least a year. I'm a terrible person"

"Ah" That did sound bad but Mitsuhiko shook his head. He wasn't going to let himself be broken "B-But you love me now and that's what matters"

"...it was at the cost of your life and future. If I hadn't gotten into your life you wouldn't be in DeeEy, you'd be successful and happy. Listen to me"

Yurie started telling him everything. How in a hacking spree of Hope's Peak's files she found out about him. How she had talked with Vittoria about the possibility of recruiting him. How Yurie received the assignment to do it. How she found out Mitsuhiko's parents were the only anchor to a normal life and how eliminating them would leave him malleable and ready. How she slowly corrupted his view of the world so killing people wouldn't be a problem for him.

...how she led him into Vittoria and later into Diavolos Avante. Yurie had taken the job to convert Hikaru Mitsuhide into a completely different person and the name change they arranged was what sealed it. Hikaru Mitsuhide didn't exist, it was now Mitsuhiko Hikari.

And it was all her fault.

"Karma must have finally caught up to me. I'm paying for my sins and I hate it. It's time for me to be honest. I love you, Mitsu-chan, but after all the gross stuff I did I don't want to weigh you down. We're breaking up"

"You can't just say we're breaking up and suppose that's it!" Mitsuhiko hadn't said anything during Yurie's tirade, way too busy trying to understand where everything had gone wrong. Had he really been so dense as to notice everything she had said she did? It seemed like he was.

It was true that lately his appreciation for Yurie had declined but that didn't mean he didn't love her.

Yurie narrowed her eyes "Two people need to agree for a relationship to blossom. If I don't want to take part in it you can't force me. You won't force me"

"...no. I won't accept this. I won't let this happen" Mitsuhiko paced around frantically "Look, I forgive you, Yurie. I won't promise everything will be like it has always been but I won't hate you if that's what you're afraid of"

"No, it isn't that. I'm breaking up with you and that's my final answer" if she could use her legs she would have left the bedroom without another word but since she was crippled all she could do was pitifully turn the wheelchair around. Mitsuhiko didn't forcefully turn her around. He wanted to be alone.

"Yurie, you better be sure about your decisions. I'll leave you to think what you want to do" Mitsuhiko had to be honest with himself; if after a while Yurie kept wishing to break up their engagement he'd accept it. Later he'd chalk his reaction to the shock and nasty surprise that was receiving such bad news.

Besides there were bigger problems than his engagement. They needed to escape, the Main Board was the masterminds and their lives were in risk. After that was solved they'd decide what to do about their engagement.

These definitely weren't good days for anybody.

Next chapter has Free Time. If there's a character you're interested on knowing more about feel free to PM me or leave a comment. Only Yurie is unavailable.