It was now lunch time and Haru still didn't leave Shiena's side. The brunette still haven't woken up. Despite Tokaku's insistence to go eat, Haru refused to let Shiena alone. After few minutes of arguing, they finally achieved a compromise. Haru will stay with the hacker while the blue haired girl will go search food. But, Haru had to lock the infirmary's door, for her own safety. Tokaku didn't believe that Shiena could be a threat for Haru, not in her current state.

As soon as Tokaku left the room and closed the door behind her, Haru rose up to go locking it. After, she returned to the stool, Haru noticed that something was moving under the bed's blanket. It took her few seconds to realise that it was the brunette's left hand.

"Shiena-chan?" Haru called.

She saw the hacker's eyelid stirred, before her valid eye suddenly opened. Despite her eye being opened, Shiena didn't look quite awake. The brunette was looking at the ceiling with an empty gaze, which worried Haru.

"Shiena-chan?!" she called again.

This time, Shiena slightly blenched. It was like she just woke up. She weakly turned her head to gaze at Haru with her only eye.

"Ichinose…? What…? What happened?" the brunette asked with confusion.

"You…you were injured by one of the Monokuma teddy bears. You're in the infirmary." Haru replied.

"Injured? Is it…serious? Hey, why can't I see you well? What's blocking my sight…?"

While asking this question, Shiena raised her hand and slightly touched the bandage over her wound. Haru felt a twinge in her heart.

"What is that? What happened to my face, my eye…?" Shiena insisted.

"It's…the scratch. The Monokuma's claws severely injured your left eye, you…lost it. I'm sorry Shiena-chan, but you're one-eyed now, and it will probably leave a scar." Haru answered sadly.

Shiena looked shock for a moment. She stroked the bandages with a sad expression, before sighing.

"I see, so I'm disfigured now…"

"I'm so sorry, Shiena-chan."

"Why are you apologies? It could have been worse. At least I'm still alive…"

Suddenly, the brunette showed a panicked expression.

"Where's Shuto? Don't tell me she were…executed…!?"

"No, she…was taken by Monokuma. I don't know where she is, all I know is that she's in 'detention'."

Shiena continued to appear to be panicked for few more seconds, until she finally calmed herself.

"I remember now what happened. Those Monokumas attacked Shuto and captured her. I tried to stop them, and one of them injured me. I don't know what detention means in this psycho's head, but one thing is sure. Shuto is still alive."

"What…makes you so sure of this?" Haru asked.

"If Monokuma really wanted to kill her, he wouldn't do it in private, he would have shown us like he did with all the previous executions. And those Monokumas intention was really clear. They didn't attack Shuto with the intent of killing her, but to knock her down. The fourth class trial proved to Monokuma that Shuto was a serious threat for his plan, but since he wants to follow his own rules in front of us, he couldn't kill her. So he locked her somewhere to prevent her from ruining his plan."

Haru was surprised to see Shiena acting so calmly. She was able to think rationally despite the dramatic events that happened recently.

"You…you seem so calm despite all that happened to you." Haru commented.

"It would be pointless to whine about things that I can't change. But it's true that I'm feeling unnaturally calm right now…"

"It must be the morphine. Hanabusa-san gave some to you when you were unconscious."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because she didn't want you to wake up when Mahiru-san was taking care of your injuries. Hanabusa is the one who did first aids, and Mahiru-san did the stitches."

"Stitches? Hum, it looks like Banba is not only good to sew clothes, but also skin. As expected of the SMSL Seamstress. But it's surprising for an oujo-sama such as Hanabusa to be able to do first aids. First it was her passion for cooking and now it's her nursing skills. She definitely a girl with a lot of secrets huh…"

"Do you feel pain?" Haru suddenly asked.

"No. But I suppose that as soon as the morphine stop having effect, my face will hurt. And maybe I'll be less calm."

The unpleasant feeling that Haru felt not so long ago suddenly reemerged in her mind.

"Shiena-chan, I'm sorry."

"Uh? You keep apologizing, but I still don't understand why."

"Because…it's all Haru's fault. You said it yourself. If Haru hadn't discovered the truth, you'll have won over Monokuma. It's because of Haru's deduction if Suzu-san was abducted and if you lost your eye. Because of me, you're now half-blind forever, and maybe Suzu-san is suffering something worse than death!"

When Haru felt that tears were about to fall from her eyes, she closed them immediately in an attempt to not cry. She couldn't help herself from feeling regret and guiltiness over what happened during the fourth class trial. She was so obstinate to find out the truth that she didn't think about the consequences, about how it could affect others. Because of her, two of her classmates had been hurt, something that she couldn't forgive herself.

Suddenly, she felt something grabbing her arm. Haru opened her eyes and discovered that it was Shiena. The brunette was gazing at her with a severe look.

"Don't you dare say that! Yes, you actions caused my injury and Shuto's abduction, but if you regret your actions, all of this will be in vain. Shuto and I did what we thought to be the right thing, and so do you. The three of us did what we think was the best for everyone sake, so don't you dare regret it. You couldn't know what would happen, and neither does us. I accepted to assist Shuto in her plan because I believed that it could save everyone. Why did you expose her trick, Ichinose?"

"I…Haru did it for everyone sake. Because I thought that if I didn't find the truth, everyone would have been executed. I didn't understand what Suzu-san's true purpose was. If I've figured it out sooner, I wouldn't have interfered with your plan."

Shiena suddenly released her arm. The brunette then showed a smile that seemed genuine.

"You see? You had good intentions. You couldn't know, so you did what you think was the best for everyone's sake. You shouldn't blame yourself for what happened, Shuto and I also have our share of responsibility in what happened. We took a big risk by doing all of this without telling anyone. We tried to trick you all. Even if we had good intentions too, we can't blame you for revealing our trick into those circumstances. So don't feel guilty oven this."

Even if she still felt bad for what happened to Shiena and Suzu, Haru felt slightly less guilty thanks to the brunette's words.

"And Shuto knew that it would be dangerous for her, she was expecting something like that could happen to her, but she still decided to do it. Shuto is not someone who will surrender to despair, and neither do I! If we keep having hope, Monokuma will never win."

"Hope? Despite all that happened, you still have hope?" Haru asked.

"Of course! Monokuma can steal my freedom, my dignity, my eye, but he'll never have my hope! There's no way that despair will win against hope!"

Haru was surprised to hear Shiena talking about hope like that. She seemed so sincere about hope, just like Tokaku yesterday. Haru wondered how they could remain so hopeful while she herself found it hard to not fall into despair. The only thing that Haru was able to do was to have faith.

"Haru thinks that it's great that you can still have hope despite everything that happened. Haru wishes that she could be like you…"

"What are you saying, Ichinose? You're the most optimist person that I have never met. I always thought that it was impossible to make you fall into despair. I can see it into your eyes, your hope. It's so shiny, this is where your faith come from I'm sure. So don't doubt your own hope, Ichinose. Otherwise, Monokuma will use it at his advantage to infect you with his disgusting despair."

Haru did want to have hope. But she was scared that if she hoped too much, she'll eventually be affected by despair. But what Shiena told her kind of reassure her and encourage her to trust hope again.

"You really are a hopeful person, Shiena-chan."

"Of course I am. I aim to attend Hope's Peak Academy after all. I can't allow myself to fall into despair."

"It's why you accepted to attend Myojo Academy, right? To have more chance to be accepted at Hope's Peak?"

"Yes. But as you already know, I don't want to be known as the SHSL Hacker. I want to become the SHSL Dramatist. I only accepted the title of SMSL Hacker because I want to show my skills and passion for theater. I was hoping that Hope's Peak will recognize my talent as a dramatist and gave me the title I dream of. This is why I won't lose to despair, I'll escape this place and go to Hope's Peak Academy as the SHSL Dramatist."

"So this is where your hope comes from. But why do you want to go to Hope's Peak so much? Just to have this title?" Haru asked.

"No. Not so long ago, I almost fell into despair. I was…bullied. I came to think that it was my fault, that I deserved it…but someone gave me hope into a better life. This person made me understand that it wasn't my fault. I want to show everyone who made fun of me that they didn't succeed to make me fall into despair, I want to show them proudly that they didn't stole my hope! If I become a Hope's Peak student, they'll be forced to acknowledge their mistakes. I want to make my dream a reality, and nothing will be more fitting that the SHSL Dramatist's title."

Haru could see sparkles into Shiena's eye when she was talking about her dream and hope. It was beautiful to see. But Haru also felt sad for her. She had a doubt that the brunette had been bullied, but at least it didn't seem to have affected her negatively. It was kind of sad that it was such a dramatic event that gave Shiena hope, but at least it didn't make her fall into despair.

Suddenly, the hacker clenched her fist, showing an expression that seemed to be of anger and hatred.

"But Monokuma…he dares to pretend to be Hope's Peak Academy's headmaster. He insults what Hope's Peak means, I can't forgive him. What he did to all of us is unforgivable, and it's even more disgusting that he did all of this in the name of despair. He's worse than a bully, I'll defeat him, my hope will crush him, I'll find his mole and…save everyone. And when I'll escape, I'll use my plays to give hope to people and eradicate despair…"

Haru felt uneased with Shiena's sudden erratic behaviour. She was talking about hope in such a positive way not so long ago and now she was talking about it like it was some kind of weapon.

"Shiena-chan, are you…"

Suddenly, the brunette grabbed her face and showed a pained expression.

"Argh…, my face…it hurts…"

"Shiena-chan!"

"It's his fault…it's Monokuma's fault! This coward couldn't accept his lose, he hurt me and Shuto over his petty pride! I will never forgive him, I'll never forgive despair, I'll….ARGH!"

Shiena's words became moans of pain. The morphine must have lost it effect. The brunette was now feeling pain and had lost her calmness. Haru rose up and began to desperately try to find something to ease her sufferance. She finally found morphine tablet and took one of the pills and brought it to Shiena.

"Shiena-chan, take this! It will ease your pain…"

"No! I can't be drugged anymore, I need to go back to my laptop, I need to find the traitor…"

In her current state, Haru knew that it was dangerous for the brunette to leave the infirmary. Plus she was clearly in a state of panic. So she did what she thought was the best for Shiena's sake, she couldn't stand to just watch her friend suffering without doing something. Haru grabbed her jaw and forced her mouth to open, before shoving the pill inside, the deepest she could. She then forced the brunette to close her mouth and restrained her to open it.

"It's for your own good, just swallow the pill and you'll feel better." Haru said.

Shiena tried to struggle, but in her actual state she was weaker than Haru. She finally gave up and Haru could hear her swallowed the pill. When she was sure that the brunette had swallow, Haru released her mouth. Shiena fell on the bed, seeming to calm herself. After few minutes, the morphine seemed to have taken effect.

"Shiena-chan? Are you alright?"

"I…I feel tired. I think that I didn't sleep enough."

"Don't hesitate to go back to sleep. You need some rest if you want to get better. Do you need anything? Are you hungry, thirsty…?"

"No, I'm fine…maybe later. I would like potato chips later…"

Shiena close her eye. She seemed to have fallen asleep. Haru sighed in relief and rose up. She returned to the morphine tablet bottle and closed it.

"…the queen…"

Haru blenched and turned back.

"Shiena-chan?"

"The queen…all of this happened…because of the Queen."

Suddenly, silence. Shiena wasn't awake, she was talking in her sleep. Haru suddenly felt nervous.

"Queen? Does she means…how did she know…the USB keys?!" Haru thought with panic.

Somebody suddenly knocked at the door, interrupting Haru's thoughts.

"Ichinose, it's me. You can unlock the door."

When she heard Tokaku's voice, Haru immediately headed to the door and opened it. The blue haired girl went inside, holding two sandwiches in a bag.

"You seem exhausted. Did something happen?" Tokaku asked.

"Ah, no! I'm just…hungry."

Haru hesitated to tell her that Shiena had temporally waked up. She was also too confused by what the brunette had said in her sleep to think about something else.

Suddenly, a ring noise resounded in the school, followed by a voice that wasn't a good sign.

"Hello everyone! Please for those who aren't there, come to the cafeteria. You dear and lovable headmaster has an announcement for you! I'm sure you'll all love what I'm about to tell you!" Monokuma's voice said.

With Haru, you better swallow (I'm sorry...)

Still no Suzu. So despairful.