"You know what I always thought was annoying?" Monokuma asked, his arms tucked behind his back as he stood up on his darkened stage. "Hidden messages! What kind of bullshit is that? Its some sneaky shit, that's what it is. Using the numbers of an old phone to type out some secret words or every capital letter makes a sentence! Puzzles like that were made by people who are too much of pussies to say what they want! They're usually traitors!"

Monokuma bounced to the edge of the stage, tilting his head to the side before. "01010011 01100101 01100101 00100000 01101100 01101111 01101111 01101011 00100000 01100001 01110100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01100001 01110011 01110011 01101000 01101111 01101100 01100101 01110011 00101110 00100000 01000001 01101110 01111001 01101111 01101110 01100101 00100000 01100011 01100001 01101110 00100000 01101101 01100001 01101011 01100101 00100000 01100001 00100000 01110011 01100101 01100011 01110010 01100101 01110100 00100000 01100011 01101111 01100100 01100101 00101110 00100000 01011001 01101111 01110101 00100111 01110010 01100101 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110100 00100000 01110011 01110000 01100101 01100011 01101001 01100001 01101100 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100111 01110010 01100101 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110100 00100000 01110011 01101100 01101001 01100011 01101011 00101110 00100000 01001001 00100111 01101101 00100000 01100111 01100101 01110100 01110100 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110011 01101001 01100011 01101011 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101001 01110010 01100101 01100100 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01110100 01110010 01111001 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01110011 01110100 01100001 01110000 00100000 01101101 01100101 00100000 01101001 01101110 00100000 01101101 01111001 00100000 01100010 01100001 01100011 01101011 00100001 00100000 01001001 00100000 01100111 01100001 01110110 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01100101 01101110 01101111 01110101 01100111 01101000 00100000 01110111 01100001 01110010 01101110 01101001 01101110 01100111 01110011 00100001"

Monokuma soon returned to normal, drawing his claws as he looked out over the audience. "See! Any asshole can do it! You're not special."

For some reason Himura didn't feel good when he woke up. Something was stirring inside his gut as he dragged himself out of bed. Sure, it was usually hard for him to get up in the morning but something new seemed to weigh down on his chest. He groaned, rubbing his chest in hopes to calm down the darkening sensation that seemed to spread with every heartbeat.

This feeling… it was a sensation of foreboding that Himura couldn't explain. He usually felt this undeniable feeling of dread, but never this intense. He felt as if something happened, something that he didn't know yet.

Himura tried to shove it away, avoid focusing on it, as he turned towards his coffee machine. He was surprised he actually had the time to run it today. Lately someone always came along and stopped him right before he could finish. Even as Himura took a long drink from his cup he was astonished no one came and started bashing on his door. Things had been pretty nice lately, everyone was getting along these days.

Himura silently sipped on his drink, getting ready as he enjoyed this peaceful moment. He hoped a dose of caffeine would wear down this horribly tight feeling in his chest. Sliding on his clothes he let out a long, drawn out sigh. Maybe seeing all of his friends would help calm the horrible storm tearing through his gut.

The Barista quietly got ready for his day, finishing his outfit by tying his apron on tight, adjusting his hat and sliding on his shoes. He imagined everyone would be waiting for him in the dining hall at this point. He should hurry down there, otherwise he might miss another delicious breakfast from Bellerose.

The knob of the door was cold against his palm as he twisted it open. Pulling the wood out of his way only to be greeted by the barely covered chest of Kaito waiting outside of his door. The actor stood over him, his hands tucked behind his back.

Himura glanced up, looking at the surprised gaze of the actor. He let out a nervous chuckle, fighting outside of the door before taking a step back. The composure on his face slowly took over the sudden shock, his doe eyes sucking Himura in for a moment, stopping the barista in his tracks.

"Himura, oh Himura. My darling! I am ashamed of my behavior yesterday! I wish to apologize." Kaito pulled a bouquet of roses from behind his back, shoving handing the bundle of red flowers into Himura's arms. Himura had to admit the gesture wasn't too graceful. It actually reminded Himura of a middle school student picking up his first date. Himura never would have imagined to witness Kaito react in such a naive way.

"It's fine. You got nervous and took off. It's chill, don't worry." Himura explained as he moved and tossed the roses onto the counter in his room.

"So are you ready for another delicious breakfast? I wanted to walk you over to the dining hall!" Kaito remarked, his straight teeth glowing in the light of the hall.

"That sounds nice. I was honestly wondering when someone would try and wake me up this morning." Himura joked, letting the actor lead him out of the room and down towards the dining hall.

"Oh? Iris, Luna, Bellerose and Sato have already gathered! I saw them heading down towards the room earlier. I heard Sato say she was planning on getting everyone together for a special event! They were so caught up by what they were discussing they didn't even have time to make sure the three of us were awake yet!" Kaito explained.

"So Koba hasn't woken up yet either?" Himura assumed that was who the third person was that Kaito was talking about.

"Oh yes. I believe he might sleep in late." Kaito answered Himura with a gentle smile.

"Why would you think that?" It wasn't unusual for someone like Koba to want to sleep in late so he wasn't too worried, Himura just wanted to hear Kaito's reasoning for it.

"I saw him come back really late last night from the skate park. He must have been trying to skate up for a few hours." Kaito tapped his bottom lip, pausing to open the dining room door for Himura to enter.

Himura accepted the gesture but was suddenly distracted. The horrible feeling in his gut had returned. Churning at the idea of Koba being out way past nighttime. But why? It wasn't strange for the scientist to go to the skatepark. It would be more unusual for the brightly colored eyesore to avoid the place. Himura shrugged off the horribly bitter taste in his mouth and walked into dining hall, greeted by the warm gazes of his friends.

"Himura! Good morning!" Iris smiled, her hands carefully carrying a large tea pot shaped like a cow on a tray with a few cups. "I was just helping Bellerose with breakfast!"

"We were all helping!" Sato remarked, thrusting herself forward as her arms were filled with trays of food. "I was doing the most work, if we're being honest."

"Kaito said you guys just headed down here a little bit ago. You guys sure got a lot of work done in just a few minutes." Himura joked as he moved to slip into one of the seats.

"A few minutes ago?" Luna seemed confused as the seamstress looked up from her work. Himura could see that she was laying out all of the silverware and plates. "We walked past Kaito standing in front of your door about an hour ago… did it really take him that long to wake you up?"

"An hour?" Himura asked. "No, that's impossible. If Kaito had knocked I would have woken up."

"Then Kaito must have lost some of his mo-jo because he was getting ready to knock when we walked past at 6 in the morning." Bellerose explained, the tall, stern woman walked across the dining hall and helped Sato hand out the food.

"Good morning students!" Makoto called out as the teachers entered the dining hall. He seemed fairly pleased as he looked everyone over. "It's so good to see everyone gathered together for breakfast."

"Actually it looks like we're missing a student." Hajime interjected. "Kobayashi isn't present."

"Right! But I saw Kobayashi on his way to the restroom this morning! So he'll be on his way shortly." Makoto said as he took a seat, pausing before moving to sit next to Kaito.

"It is kinda nice to have everyone get together for breakfast!" Souda remarked, moving to take a seat with Gundam near the end of the table. "I remember we always had one asshole who ruined the whole thing! We couldn't have one good breakfast with that jerk around."

"Do not speak ill of Komaeda when he is present, Kazuichi." Gundam remarked, silently folding his hands on the table.

"No offense taken." Komaeda remarked as he took a seat with Hajime at the table.

"We had the same problem. It made the last days really tense. Byakuya and Toko refused to eat with us." Makoto explained. "But you all get along. No one goes out of their way to be a jerk. It makes this all really refreshing and calm. With this I really thing we can overcome Monokuma together and -"

"Morning Shitlips!"

The door burst open behind them. All heads turned to lock onto the strange sight unfolding behind them. The horrible sensation in Himura's gut seemed to pop, spreading to the rest of his body like a toxin.

Koba waked up to the table, scooping a bread roll off the table and cramming it into his mouth. His face crinkled up, disgusted before he just opened his mouth and let the half chewed, spit soaked roll fall to the ground in a disgusting splat.

"Gross Bellerose! Who puts garlic on bread? I was about to vom!" Koba shouted, laughing before he crammed another into his mouth. "Wait, this one's good. OPS! I judged it too quickly."

"Koba what are you doing?" Bellerose growled, speaking over all of the other bewildered guests in the dining hall.

"Well I saw that all you fuckers had gathered for breakfast so I decided to join ya. Don't be so stupid next time, kay?" Koba let out a laugh as he talked through his half eaten bread roll.

"That's not what I mean." Bellerose growled. "Why are you being such an asshole?"

"Phhhh I'm not being an asshole! You're just sensitive." Koba spat back.

There was another moment of silence. No one really knew how to react to this freak. Koba had always been so peppy and sensitive. Hell, Koba rarely ever cursed. Yet here he was, grinning over the entire group with this attitude Himura couldn't explain. His eyes felt dead, empty and wild as they looked over everyone in the crowd.

"Now Kobayashi there's no reason to act out. Let's just sit down and have a nice breakfast. Then we can talk about what's bothering you." Makoto stood to his feet, the exasperated look on his face told it all as he tried to calm down the disgruntled Koba.

"Shut up you ugly little virgin!" Koba burst out laughing, holding out his gut. "I don't wanna join your shitty little circle jerk and talk about my fucking feelings! Besides, what does a guy like you know anyways! At this point you're just a dirty faker. A wash up! It's so funny to watch you try and ass blast us full of hope like this! Didn't work for your classmates so what makes you think it will work for us? Do everyone here a favor and shut the fuck up."

Makoto seemed hurt by his words. The teacher's eyes fell from the student to the ground, slowly shaking and clenching his chest. Himura had a hard time watching the scene unfold. He couldn't decide what was more awful. Watching the teacher almost cry or watching his friend become a total freak.

"Koba cut it out! Stop being a douchebag!" Sato shouted, pounding her fists on the table as she seemed ready to tear Kobayashi down. "I don't want to kick your ass but I will if I have to!"

"OOOOOOOHHH, Sounds kinky! Can we use rope?" Koba was suddenly drooling, his grin even grosser than before. "I know you won't get anything erotic out of it but I hope you don't mind if I pop a boner."

"That's disgusting. At least try to act like a gentleman." Kaito retorted, pounding his hands onto the table.

"Real powerful coming from the guy who pulled a full Chrissy Amphlett yesterday. You were definitely beating your meat to a different tune then!"

"I-I didn't!" Kaito's face turned beat red as he stood to his feet. "Shut your ugly little face."

"Why don't you shut it for me? I already said getting beat would feel so good right now." Koba smirked, tugging at the collar of his jacket as if he was trying to release steam.

"I'm gonna kick his ass! I'll beat the sense back into him!" Sato remarked, scooping a chair of the ground as she got ready to launch herself over the table. "I'll teach you a lesson you bastard!"

"STOP!" Iris jumped up, her hands shaking as she looked over the scene. "We were all just getting along yesterday! You finally earned Luna's trust! We were all friends! What's going on? What happened to you?"

"OOOOH, delicious Iris, are you sure that's something you really want to know? I promise, my scrumptious queen, you'll regret it." Koba chuckled, suddenly drooling even more than before. "But I'll tell you anyways. I could never turn down a request from someone with such a fine ass as yours, Iris!"

Iris looked disgusted, covering her mouth as she watched the scene unfold in horror. Koba's body moved like a ragdoll, his limbs limp as he took a few steps back. A shadow fell over his face, a cloud that hid the usually friendly face. His eyes spun, something dark was spiralling within them, pulling them all in deeper.

"Get a good look everyone! This is what despair looks like. Soon you'll all be filled with this internal turmoil. And let me just give you some advice!" Koba belted the last half, clenching at his chest as if he was pushing his heart back inside his body. "Despair is so wonderful~!"

Iris seemed even more upset, glancing around at everyone else like she didn't know what to do next. The other students seemed to reflect this same mentality. Now one knew what to do. The freak turned everything around into some gross innuendo. But the idea that Koba was conquered by despair was hard to swallow. Koba had always been so full of life. Seeing him like this was a punch in the gut.

"Aaaaw you guys don't like me now, do you?" Koba bit his thumb, looking over all of them with a sad look, almost as if he was about to cry. "Would you prefer me to be how I was before?"

"Yes!" Iris retorted. "We'd prefer the old Koba."

"That's too bad," Koba sighed, "but if you want him, dollface, I'll grab him for you, okay?"

"You can do that? Please bring back the old Koba!" Iris shouted, her small chunks of hair buffing out as she spoke.

"Gotcha." Koba paused, the horrible look suddenly being sucked back into a mockingly sweet expression. He looked just like the old Koba, a friendly smile, his skateboard pulled against his side, that stupid mullet, but even Himura could sense the unsettling feeling that still surrounded the skater. The soft expression broke into a hurricane of tears. "Oh no! Iris, I'm so sorry! I-I said dirty words and I was so mean."

Iris took a few steps closer to him. He could feel his entire body tense up as he watched her get too close for comfort. "It's okay Koba. We're all going through a really hard time right now."

Koba sniffled, wiping tears and snot from his face as he watched the girl come closer to him. "Oh Iris, you always were the nicest one of our friends."

Himura saw her mistake before he could stop her. She reached her hand up, a normal, comforting gesture. She had reached for his cheek, maybe to brush away the tears or just to reassure him. He suddenly moved faster, his mouth popping open with a viscous sound before closing down one of her fingers. Even from where Himura was standing he could tell he was sucking on it.

"AAAH!" Iris tugged her finger away, stumbling back as if he'd just bit her. She clenched her hand against her chest. Her blue eyes stared Koba down with fear.

Koba licked his lips, looking a little upset that Iris had pulled away so soon. He paused before drooling again, pressing his hands against his cheeks as he stared her down. "You taste even better than I imagine. Soft yet rugged! My kind of woman!"

"This is enough!"

There was a swoop of black, a smear across the room as suddenly the culprit was apprehended. Koba was stuck in a headlock before any of them could respond to the new event. Himura almost felt like clapping as he watched Gundam put the student into restraints, tugging his arms behind his body and shoving him to the floor.

"You know, I always wondered why people wanted to fuck their teachers but this is really opening my eyes." Koba joked as Gundam pushed him harder into the ground, restricting any ideas of movement to none.

"Silence!" Gundam shouted, looking even angrier as Koba taunted him. "You shall not speak anymore!"

"You know this is only making me more horny. You have some really nice boots. I imagine if you stepped on my head that would really shut me up." Koba laughed even though half of his face was pressed to the ground. "You know you don't have to be jealous I could easily take both of you at the same time!"

"Th-That's so gross!" Iris was still cradling her attacked hand as she backed further away from the scene.

"Why you-" Gundam seemed even more upset at how this situation was unfolding as he forced him further down.

"Stop, you're just doing exactly what he wants." Luna remarked as she slowly walked over to the scene. "He's just trying to make you angry."

"She's right, sex is better when the top is angry." Koba laughed, only to be cut off by a pained yelp as Gundam grabbed his wrists tighter. "Oh! Owowowowowowowowowow! OW! O W A H! I don't understand why you're all so mad at me. It's not my fault we're all gonna die in this place! It was only a matter of time before it caused me to snap! Besides, there is one good thing I learned last night."

"Oh yeah?" Luna asked, looking down at him with a glare. Suddenly Himura feared for the skater's life. "Why don't you enlighten us then?"

"Well this despair didn't just show up, it came with something else." Koba laughed, now lying in a pile of his own drool. "The Despair came back to me after I regained all of my memories."

"You have all of your memories back?" Himura asked, standing to his feet.

"He's probably lying. He's going to try and create a divide between us so that we'll fight amongst each other." Kaito retorted as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"No," Komaeda finally stood to his feet, looking over the group with eyes that sent a series of shivers down Himura's spine. "He has no reason to lie."

"Captain Cancer coming in clutch for me yet again." Koba remarked, watching as Komaeda walked over, pushing Gundam off and freeing Koba from his prison. The guy rolled his neck, loosening his muscles before standing to his feet. "For someone who jacks off to the mention of hope you sure understand Despair more than the rest of these fuckers!"

"How about you do us all a favor and tell us what you know." Komaeda's voice seemed to pick up that scary venom from before. A ting of something more dangerous that made an alarm go off in his head.

"Yeah! Or else we'll tie you up!" Kazuichi suddenly barked, jolting out of his seat before tossing his hands into the air. His reaction only got an annoyed look from Komaeda. The teacher shooting him some look before he rolled his eyes and went back to Koba.

"You all really want to know?" Koba chuckled. His hands rubbing together as he got back to his feet. The shadow fell over his face once again as he pulled a hand up to cheek, his eyes like a hollow husk. "I know exactly who the traitor is. If you guys want I'll be happy to tell you."

Himura paused, he glanced around, seeing the stiffened classmates around him. The confused yet curious looks around him. He took a deep breath. Unsure if he really wanted to know the truth.

"Aw, did you all forget about that? The fact that one of you is talking directly to Monokuma slip all of your shitty little heads? You think I'm an asshole but one of you is literally working with the mastermind!"

Then tell us who it is," Himura tested him, joining the crowd that gathered around Kobayashi, "Stop messing with us and just tell us who the traitor is."

"Oh Himura. You were the one person I wanted to get the okay from." Koba was bouncing in his step, pausing as suddenly stood up on his tippy toes, suddenly spinning like a top before his finger finally landed on Sato.

"Wha- I'm not the traitor!" Sato barked.

"Sorry I guess I finished prematurely." Koba joked, turning his finger down one more person and targeting Kaito. "It's you! Ryuunosuke Kaito is the traitor."

Kaito paused slowly stepping up towards Koba. The actor's long, beautiful locks billowed around him like the finest silk. His face was blank, almost emotionless as he stood face to face with the despair ridden Kobayashi.

"Aw, you made I revealed your secret?" Koba started to chuckle, covering his face as he tried to hide the onslaught of laughter that bubbled out of his chest. "Now no one is going to want to be your friend! Everyone is going to turn on you and kill you! Aren't you excited? I be-"

Whack!

Koba went flying when Kaito's fist met with his head. He went flying, smashing into the nearest wall with another thump. The beat Kobayashi still looked victorious, a giant grin on his face as he waited for the scene to unfold.

"Kaito, he's lying right? You're not a traitor." Bellerose looked worried, her eyes begging Kaito.

"Yeah! You wouldn't betray us like that! That shit licker is just trying to fuck with all of us." Sato bargained, clenching her first angerly.

"Why would he lie," Komaeda started, slowly shaking his head. "Koba has no re-"

"He's telling the truth." Kaito sighed, his hands falling to his side as he looked over everyone. "Before this game even started Monokuma came to me and promised me an important role in this whole story. He told me if I leaked him information of what's happening I would be rewarded with the role of a lifetime. I realized how evil it all was during the third trial when Himura was under fire. So I stopped helping him around then. I actually gave Himura my secret in hopes it would tell everyone the truth but unfortunately it read something completely different."

"I-I can confirm that." Himura started, still a bit blown away by this whole ordeal. "He gave me his secret but I didn't read it until recently. He handed it to me and… and he told me I could trust him."

"Well Himura," Bellerose asked, crossing her arms over her chest ,"Do you still trust him?"

"Yeah… I don't think Kaito is working with the mastermind anymore." Himura sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he avoided eye contact with the actor. "I trust him."

"Well then I trust him too!" Sato shouted, pumping her arms into the air as she grew a wild grin. "Himura's always right and I will blindly follow him!"

"I won't say that," Bellerose started, messing with her ponytail for a moment before she let off a slight chuckle, "But as a long term fan of Kaito's work I know the idiot would do anything for a good role. The idea of him doing this for a substantial place in this game isn't too hard to swallow."

"Kaito's helped me in the garden so he can't be that bad!" Iris was on the defense too, pumping her hands up into the air.

"Wait what? How are you guys not pissed? He's been lying to all of you!" Koba was on his feet again, suddenly his face was contorted into a mask of pure hatred. "You're supposed to tear eachother apart!"

"There's no point in fighting anymore," Luna spoke, crossing her arms as she glared over at Koba. "Fighting will just lead us to killing each other. This only means we have to keep a closer eye on him."

"What the fuck?" Koba was fuming, clenching his fists as he glared at the rest of them. He huffed for a few moments before suddenly shrugging. "Whatever I guess. I don't have time to care about this shit."

"He got over that fast…" Sato mumbled, scratching her chin as she looked over everyone.

What was going on, his mind was still spinning from the events that were currently taking place. They had revealed the traitor but it felt… lacking. He'd expected more from his classmates. Someone lashing out at the idea of one of them working for Monokuma. Yet they all just went along with him, accepting the fact that Kaito was no longer working with the mastermind. Himura couldn't help the feeling that this couldn't be all there was to this… that maybe there was more behind this horrible murder game that they were all missing.

Yet, at the same time, he agreed with Luna. There was no point in fighting. Truthfully Himura didn't want to fight, he didn't want to distrust Kaito. He just wanted this game to be over. Kaito could have done something horrible and Himura felt as if he'd still trust him. No matter what happened Himura would defend Kaito to the end.

"Well there's no point in standing around here!" Sato shouted, looking determined again as she seemed to glow with positivity. "I still want to have the party we planned!"

"You planned a party?" Kaito turned to look at Sato with a small smile. "I do love parties."

"Yeah! I thought it would be fun if we all sat together and painted each other's nails!" Sato grinned, clenching her hands and pulling them to her chest.

"I still wanna do that too!" Iris was beaming again, her hands cupped near her chest.

"Himura and Kaito you're totally invited!" Sato turned towards the two of them with a large grin. "I could never leave you guys out!"

"What about me?" The corner of Koba's eyes were filled with crocodile tears, his large eyes darting around before targeting Iris. He pouted out his lower lip like a child, sniffling as he continued to beg. "Are you guys just going to leave me out? How will I ever feel hope again if you exclude me from valued time with my friends."

"Oh hell no! Don't you even-" Sato tried to cut this one short but Koba seemed to know exactly who to target.

"You can come!" Iris cupped her hands, looking determined but… worried. "If there's a chance it will fill you with hope I'm willing to take it!"

"Wh- But he'll ruin it!" Sato whimpered.

"It's better to have him come along." Luna remarked, rubbing her forehead, a defeated look on her face. "If he doesn't come he'll be left alone. God knows what he'll do if we leave him unattended."

"Fine! But he better behave!" Sato pouted, obviously disappointed her party was now set to fail.

"We'd appreciate it if you guys came too," Bellerose gestured towards the teachers, her eyes glancing over them carefully.

"Sounds great! We'll definitely come!" Makoto gave a quick nod, obviously pleased by this bonding moment they were all going to share.

"I already decked out my bedroom for the occasion! We can all gather there!" Sato grinned, flashing her large canines.

"Are you sure we'll all fit inside of your room?" Himura asked. "The bedrooms aren't that big."

"Oh don't worry, we moved my bed out of the way! Now we have the whole floor to make a circle!"

Himura didn't even want to know what they did with the bed? Where else could they have put it? He should have known Sato would stop at nothing to get the chance to paint all of the girl's nails.

The group left for the door, Sato at the lead as she led the group out towards her bedroom. Himura watched as Koba tried to get up close to Iris, only to be snatched by the collar by Kaito and dropped down next to the actor. It was good to know someone would keep Koba at bay.

When they got to Sato's room, Himura was a little surprised to see the circle of pillows she had laid out in the room. A huge pile of nail polish was carefully laid out in the center of the group. More colors than Himura had very imagined being possible. Sato was right though, the bed wasn't in the room anymore, making plenty of room for everyone to gather on the floor.

Everyone moved to take their seats in the circle, Himura staying close to Kaito as they all dispersed over the area. Himura noticed Komaeda took a seat at Himura's other side, Hajime on the other side. With a sense of worry Himura realized Koba had snagged one of the seats next to Iris. Once everyone was settled, Himura took note of everyone's seats, the first and last connecting it in a ring. Sato, Souda, Gundam, Iris, Koba, Makoto, Kaito, Himura, Komaeda, Hajime, Luna, and Bellerose.

Once everyone was settled Sato smiled, clapping her hands as she looked over the whole group. "Welcome to my Polish Palace! I have every color you could ever want plus a few more for good measure! Just name it and we can paint each other's nails! I want this to be a team effort so everyone work together, kay?"

"Like Neon Orange?" Koba asked, a smug look on his face as he looked over the colors. "Or did you throw that one away after Kagapoo used it?"

"No… I just… I kept it in the bag. I didn't think anyone would want to see it." Sato explained, covering her mouth slightly.

"Sato! I think this color would look lovely on you." Bellerose scooped up one of the bottles off of the ground, bringing the attention away from Koba for the moment. "This electric blue matches your jumpsuit."

"Oh shit you're right!" Sato grinned, "That one's one of my favorites! I wear it all the time."

"I figured you would." Bellerose smiled before looking over the other polishes, "Now which one do you think I'd like."

"Well you always seem to wear black and white so I think you need a little bit more color. I really think think a light purple would look good on you." Sato remarked, holding up the bottle before giving a slight wink.

"Well personally I can't imagine Gundam wearing any color other than black." Souda mumbled, scratching his head as he started to ponder over the idea. "Or a really, really dark purple."

"I think this matte black nail polish would be perfect," Sato smiled, handing the bottle to Souda, "I would suggest a french tip to really add some pizzaz but unfortunately I don't think you could handle that."

"What's a french tip?" Souda asked, taking the bottle as he just looked even more confused.

"Honestly that's what I expected to hear." Sato sighed, scratching her jaw.

Gundam reached over the pile, picking out three bottles of paint and setting them down beside him. He seemed already focused, gently picking up one of Souda's hands and looking over the nail. Souda immediately seemed flustered as the dark lord got to work on his nails first.

Everyone else seemed to be following his lead, digging through the bottles to find the colors they wanted to see. Kaito had a gentle smile as he dug out a brilliant golden color, he paused, glancing at Himura before Makoto spoke for him.

"Ryuunosuke! I think this color would look really nice on you!" Makoto waved a olive colored nail polish in front of the actor, grinning as he looked over the bottle. "I really like this color and we could match, I think that would be cute."

"I- uh," Kaito paused, glancing at Himura before setting down the gold nailpolish and turning to his father. "Of course! Green was always your color dad!"

"I'm so glad you agree!" Makoto cheered, gently taking Kaito's hand so he could get to work. Himura couldn't even be mad that his boyfriend was snatched out from under his feet, it was really cute to see some familial bonding take place. Plus Makoto was too cute to try and stop him.

"Sorry your boyfriend got swiped away from you," Luna spoke from her segment of the circle. "If you don't mind I can paint your nails."

"Sure, go for it." Himura smiled, though he swore he heard Kaito groan as he turned away from him.

Luna already had an assortment of colors at her disposal. Komaeda and Luna switched spots, letting the seamstress get closer to him so she could work a little bit easier. As she got started, Himura realized she was making each finger a different color. "I think you need more color in your life. You're so neutral all the time, it's so basic."

"I have to say I've gotten pretty good at these nail painting parties over the years," Komaeda smiled as he lifted a light pink. "This is the same color Kouki always paints your nails."

"Well that makes it harder to decide what to do for you! Kouki always gives you several different colors at once!" Hajime chuckled, picking up a few specific bottles. "She's always doing experimental nail stuff on you before she tries to do it to herself."

"I am her guinea pig." Komaeda chuckled. "But I know she loves giving me nail polish with glitter in it. She also loves warm colors. She always says it gives my cold, dead skin some warmth."

The two of them chuckled softly, it was like watching an old, loving couple interacting. Himura could barely hold in a soft gasp.

"Y U C K!" Koba groaned as he rolled his eyes. "This lovey dovey shit is so grodey!" He paused, looking at Iris before wiggling his eyebrows. "But at least we're on a team. That sounds nice, right? You want to paint my nails, right?"

"I… I have always wanted to paint your nails…" Iris smiled weakly, glancing around at everyone else before looking through the pile of polish.

"Iris, you don't have to paint his nails," Sato started, glaring over at Koba as she prepared to protect her friend. "If you want I can paint your nails after Bellerose is done with mine. We don't have to let him participate."

"No, it's fine. I'm the one who invited him to come." Iris reassured the lesbian with a gentle smile.

"Yeah, back off!" Koba huffed, "Just because your girlfriends keep dying doesn't mean you have to try and steal mine!"

"Koba you can't say things like that to people." Iris reprimanded. She grabbed a bottle of nail polish and yanked his hand closer. "I picked your favorite color, okay? You'll love it."

"Is it that nasty chartreuse green? That's so obnoxious. Honestly I only liked that color because I needed attention. I'm not begging for human approval anymore so honestly that color sucks."

"Then how about this neon pink? It even glows in the dark."

"I said I wasn't looking for attention. Glowing in the dark is something for an edgy pre pubescent teenager."

"Okay… um what about Yellow."

"Yeah, I really want to look like a highlighter. Thanks but no thanks, hun."

"We could do teal? Teal is a nice color." Iris sounded exasperated at this point. She worriedly dug through the pile, unsure of what she wanted to do. She was obviously getting fed up with him.

"Teal is a shitty color too. I really do-"

"What do you want then?" Iris snapped a bit, looking fed up as she glared at Koba. "You pick the color then."

"Ops! Did I get on your nerves? I'm sorry. You shouldn't be so sensitive." Koba grinned, picking up a bottle of nail polish off the ground before handing it to her. "How about this color? I like red nails, just imagining them digging into my back gets me revved up and and ready to go!"

Iris paused, taking the nail polish from him before her hands started to tremble. She swallowed, looking conflicted as she avoided looking Koba in the face. She went to go paint his nails, pausing as she made eye contact with him again. Her big, blue eyes suddenly began to water.

"Damn, are you going to cry?" Koba asked, leaning in closer to Iris. "Do you not like me anymore?"

"No! I hate this! I want the old Koba back!" Iris clenched her fists, glaring at this new Koba with disdain.

"The old Koba? Why would you ever want that repressed loser back when you could have me instead?" Kobayashi looked like he was about to break into laughter.

"Of course I prefer the old Koba to you! He was so innocent and pure. H-He cared about my feelings and he was our friend." Iris argued, determination flashed in her eyes as she stared Koba down.

"You just think Koba was so innocent and pure? You don't know anything. I am Koba! Every repressed idea and sexual perversion. He was ashamed of me, ya know." Kobayashi smirked, putting a hand on his cheek as he told his story.

"That's not true…" Iris sniffled, digging her nails into thighs as if she was afraid of what would come next.

"Oh it's true, sugar tits." Koba waved his finger, dismissing her before he started to drool again. Cupping his face in his hands. "Once you were wearing a bright red bra under your shirt, you totally didn't know you could see right through it ya minx, and It totally made me all hot and bothered! I absolutely touched myself just to the idea of you in that bra and nothing else. Then I couldn't look you in the eyes for a whole week! Not to mention the time you wore a skirt to school, honestly I don't know what was wrong with me for not taking you right then and there! AHAHAHAHAHAHA! I have to say your floral pink panties are my absolute favorite!" "

"That's enough" Sato was on her feet in seconds. Her face was was almost as red as Kaito's hair at this point.

"Aw, I was just being honest!" Koba teased her. "Besides what are you going to do to stop me?"

"This, asshole!" Sato grabbed Koba up by his collar, dragging him out of the room and tossing him out into the hallway. "Jerk off alone dickbag!"

"You can't hide from me forever! I'll find all of you! You'll have to face the truth soon enough! You're all going to die in this place! You filthy, disgusting fuckers deserve to die!" Koba's voice dropped, malice and evil seemed to flood every word that came out of his mouth. "Don't you think for a second that I'll let you walk all over me like this! I'll kill all of you! You hear me! You'll all die at my hands and I will la-"

She slammed the door, locking it behind her before she rejoined her friends in the circle.

"You know it might not be safe to let him wander around on his own." Komaeda warned.

"I don't care! He's breaking Iris' heart and I can't stand it anymore!" Sato looked towards Iris. "You don't need to listen to him! He's garbage!"

Iris just looked humiliated as she pulled down her hat to shadow her obviously flushed cheeks. She sighed before glancing around at everyone. Her eyes going over each pair before she stood to her feet. "I appreciate the gesture but I think I'm just going to go to my room. I wanna be alone right now."

"Let me walk you there at least! I wanna keep you safe from that asshole!" Sato offered.

"No… I can handle myself. You guys enjoy your party without me." Iris got to her feet, ignoring Sato's pleas to let her help and leaving the room. The group was silent for a bit as Sato was obviously contemplating whether she should follow Iris or not.

"Just let her go." Bellerose suggested. "If she needs space we should give it to her. We're just going to make her more upset if we follow her around until she talks to us."

"Let's just finish the party, okay?" Komaeda suggested, turning back to his work on Hajime's nails. "He won't kill anyone. It would be too obvious. The most he'd do is trick someone into murder."

"Gundam what did you do to my nails?" Souda suddenly shouted, pulling up his hand and looking at them, his lip curled up as if he was disgusted by them.

Himura got a good look at the nails from where he was sitting. They looked like some psychedelic nail art, the colors of pink, yellow, and blue swirled together on each nail in a lovely pattern. Himura was pretty impressed, to be honest. He didn't know the dark lord had that kind of skill in him.

"That's a really good job…" Sato mumbled, obviously jealous of her teachers nails. "But how could you do that while everything was going on?"

Gundam looked confused, raising an eyebrow before glancing around. "Where did Iris go?"

"She just left… were you not paying attention?" Bellerose asked, looking annoyed at the teachers obliviousness.

"I was focusing all of my magic and passion the task at hand!" Gundam replied.

"Sometimes when Gundam get's into something he doesn't notice the shit that's happening around him." Souda explained, "It's wild what he'll miss sometimes."

"Iris went to her room for the night," Hajime explained, looking a bit worried about upsetting the dark lord, "she said she wasn't feeling good."

"If that is the case I shall check on her!" Gundam stood to his feet, scooping up a few bottles of nailpolish. "I shall help her complete this ritual you have invited me to, it is quite fun."

Before anyone could argue with him, Gundam left the room. The rest of them sat around, glancing around at each other. Then Bellerose gave a gentle smile as she held up Sato's hands. "I made all your nails that pretty blue except the middle one, which I made pink. That way the whole setup is kind of like a car's racing stripe."

"Aw, you know me so well." Sato was suddenly oozing positivity as she gushed over the paint job Bellerose had performed on her nails. She looked them over, almost as if she thought she was going to cry.

Kaito suddenly stood to his feet, closing the nail polish and setting it down on the ground. Makoto looked confused as Kaito brushed himself off. "I think I'm going to call it a night too, I have to catch up on my beauty sleep."

Before anyone could stop him Kaito left the room, slowly narrowing down on the numbers of people left in the room. Makoto cleared his throat, looking over his half done nails with confusion. It looked like Kaito had only painted three of them before he decided to bounce.

"Well that's not what I was expecting from Kaito." Bellerose mumbled, looking over Makoto's nails with a frown. "He didn't even do a very good job."

"Wh-What? This is so strange… he usually insists on painting my nails…" Makoto frowned, looking over his nails in disappointment.

"Koba's behavior is apparently affecting everyone." Bellerose sighed, standing to her feet and brushing herself off. "I have to go though. I should start dinner for everyone."

"I think I'm going to bounce as well," Komaeda stood up next. "Honestly this nail painting session has just made me quite sad."

The group slowly started to disperse, one by one, everyone left Sato's room. Frowning, Himura tried to apologize to the racer once everyone was gone but it didn't seem to do much to make her feel better. She only shrugged, shutting the door behind him before Himura shrugged, heading off to his room all by himself. What a weird day this had turned out to be… Maybe tomorrow would be a little bit better?

Komaeda had heard the news from Makoto. The sighting of a ghost in the garden piqued his interest. It was close to nighttime at this point, a few hours before the gate to the upstairs closed, but the lucky student felt the need to talk to the botanist.

The halls were pretty empty but the teacher was unsure if that was due to the lack of students left trapped in this school or if they were all too afraid to run into the changed Kobayashi.

Without a second of hesitation he knocked on her door, hoping her mood had changed at least a little bit from this afternoon. He needed the answers and if she wasn't in the mood to coperate than he would have to wait even longer to ask her again.

Komaeda was pleased when the short gardener opened the door right away. She looked confused to see the tall, lanky teacher standing at her door. She glanced up at his face, then looked down at the door. "C-Can I help you?"

"Why yes you can. I had a few questions for you." Komaeda crossed his arms, thinking over where to start. "Makoto told me about something you saw in the garden. He said that there was a ghost? That they were wearing a green coat… My first question is why would you describe her as a ghost?"

"Oh, I-"

"Komaeda-Sensei!" Sato belted around the corner, barely stopping before she bolted towards Komaeda. He let out a sigh, looked like his conversation would have to wait.

"What's the matter, Sato?" Komaeda groaned, annoyed as he looked over at her. "You're acting as if there's a fire inside of the school."

"There is! There is a fire!" Sato was running in place, her arms flapping around as if she was trying to gain more attention. "The third floor is on fire!"

"Wait, what did you just say?" Komaeda asked, pulling back as he watched the racer in shock.

"The beach room, There's fire inside! I-I don't know what to do! I tried to call for Monokuma but he didn't answer." Sato was panicking at this point. This wasn't a joke, the school really was on fire.

"We need to hurry! I'll head up and see what I can do. You go get the others, understand?" Komaeda suddenly jumped to take command of the situation. He waited for Sato to bolt before he raced up the stairs.

He barely noticed as Iris followed him up the stairs. He didn't really care at this point. The two of them burst onto the third floor and Komaeda didn't see any smoke. However, he did see the flames licking up the front of the door to the beach room. Komaeda rushed over. He was actually a little nervous to see what was inside. A moment of fear actually washed over him before he went to open the door. At this moment he tried to remember the last time he'd seen everyone.

Why was his brain doing these? Grieving as if he'd already lost all of his friends. Taking a deep breath, he ripped open the door. The flames lashed up at him, the heat burning at his skin but it didn't seem to be making a mark. After a second of lashing out at him, the flames parted for him, suddenly refusing to touch his skin anymore. He ignored it for now, powering through it so he could witness the scene hidden inside this ball of flame.

Suddenly he felt sick, his gut churned as he stumbled inside the room. How

How did he

Get

Back

Inside

The

Warehouse?

He was inside of the warehouse, the hard floor underneath his feet. How did he get here.

A scream split through the air. Iris had somehow seen what happened. She saw the scene that made his head spin.

Where was he?

He

Felt

Lost

Was this really happening?

Was

This world

Real?

He fell to his knees, a cough stifling his throat. He couldn't comprehend what was going on. He felt as if the smoke was choking him. He didn't know what to do. He just stayed on his knees, watching with stifling fear.

What the hell was he looking at?

watch?v=QPC2viobAHo