Fractured Fates

by DarkX the Dragon Knight

Hana Amari, the Ultimate Surfer, has recently been accepted into the famed Hope's Peak Academy. However, her first day takes a turn for the strange when she and her classmates become trapped within the walls of a castle. Forced into a twisted game of kill or be killed, Hana and her friends must uncover the mysteries lurking within their gilded prison...or face the dread of despair.

43. Chapter 5: Ultimate Truth (Part 2)

A/N: Why hello again, dear readers? Are you all ready for more fear and feels, courtesy of good ol' X? Well too bad, I'm posting them anyways!

Soooo...quick lil' recap: Hinata's depressed, Akira's (somewhat) depressed, Hana's depressed and kinda losing it (probably)- basically the only ones keeping themselves together are Hiroshi, Ryoto, and Asuna. Also, the North Wing! Which includes a dungeon-turned-morgue!

And now, yet another mystery has presented itself- what lies beyond the hidden passage Hana discovered at the end of the previous part? That one, at least, I can say will be answered fairly quickly. And my quickly I mean- right now! Enjoy!

---

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...And so, I return to where I was born: darkness.

---

Chapter 5: Ultimate Truth- Daily Life (Part 2)

The stone stairwell turned out to not be too long; however, the deafening silence- broken only by the sound of the Ultimates' footsteps- made the descent feel like it took an eternity to Hana. Her anxiety wasn't lessened by the suffocating darkness around them, with only the still-open wall section and their e-Handbooks providing light.

When the two finally made it to the bottom, Hiroshi moved his handbook around to scan their surroundings. The corridor they found themselves in wasn't too large, only barely wide enough for Hana and Hiroshi to stand side-by-side and about seven feet in height. While the floor was made from pure grayish-brown stone, the walls were made from dusty gray bricks with a few wooden beams periodically against the walls and ceiling, like a mine shaft.

"Now this...this is interesting," Hiroshi remarked, his eyes gleaming with curiosity. "Why was this hidden, I wonder...?"

"Yeah, the dark creepy hallway is cool, can we hurry this up?" Hana quickly asked, frantically glancing around. "I feel like I'm gonna get claustrophobia if we stay down here too long..."

As the two of them spoke, Hana noticed how their voices seemed echoed slightly, as if they were standing in a cavern.

"Alright, we won't linger too long- but I'd like to at least go somewhat farther," Hiroshi answered, leading the way as he slowly strode down the hall.

Hana followed with a small grimace, having to stifle coughs from the dust a few times. All the while, she had cast aside her doubt from before regarding whether Hiroshi was looking for something in the North Wing; there was no way the usually level-headed and reasonable Hiroshi would venture into a possibly dangerous hidden passage if he wasn't searching for something. But that then begged the question: if Hiroshi was seeking out something, then what was it?

It wasn't long before Hiroshi stopped abruptly, moving the e-Handbook to the left and right- the two of them had come to a split, with the corridor going off in two different directions.

"A fork in the-? Ah, don't tell me this place is a maze!" Hana lamented in worry. "I don't wanna get lost down here!"

"Neither do I," Hiroshi replied, much more calm than his companion. "Still, is this a maze of some kind...? Or does the hallway just split like-"

"Congratulations!"

Hana immediately yelped and pointed her e-Hanbook in the direction of the voice- a voice that, while all too familiar, was more than enough to frighten her under the current circumstances. The soft blue light of the device reflected against a black and white metal body, with a jagged red eye slicing through the darkness all on its own.

"Monokuma?" Hiroshi spoke up- even he was surprised to see their 'headmaster' down in the corridors with them. "You're down here too?"

"But of course! I have access to just about every space in the castle, and this place is no exception!" Monokuma answered. "And speaking of- once again, congratulations! You two trailblazers have uncovered the castle's secret catacombs!"

"C-Catacombs?" Hana asked, looking around again. "Is that where we are?"

Hiroshi furrowed his brow before looking over his e-Handbook again, but not as a light source. "These...catacombs- they're not on the map provided on the handbook."

"Well they wouldn't be called 'secret' catacombs if they were, now would they?" Monokuma pointedly responded.

Hana turned back to Monokuma himself and inquired, "So...you seemed pretty eager that we found this place. Is there something, you know...special about the catacombs, or...?"

"Maybe there is, maybe there isn't- I'm just asserting myself as a supportive headmaster by congratulating you two on making such a profound discovery!" the bear cheerfully went on, waling over and patting them on the shins in a congratulatory manner.

"...Right," Hiroshi flatly replied before asking, "So, if these are catacombs, then there's a maze element to them, right?"

"Sort of- these halls are twisty and turny, and you'll run into a few dead ends, but otherwise it's actually not terribly complex," Monokuma explained, gesturing to the dark walls around him. "Of course, that doesn't mean you should just go running around all willy-nilly! See, it was impossible to set up cameras down here, so even I would have trouble finding anyone if they were to become lost in here!"

That statement seemed to validate Hana's worries from earlier, and she softly gulped and looked around once again. Indeed, the walls now seemed more suffocating than before, and the surfer took special notice of just how identical everything looked...confusingly identical.

"H-Hey- any idea how big these catacombs are, exactly...?" Hana asked, hoping for something to lessen her worries. "They don't run through the entire castle- or, I guess, under it- do they?"

"These catacombs run under the North Wing and a bit into the northern section of the courtyard," Monokuma answered. "And that's my final answer!"

This slightly lessened Hana's worries- which, right now, was good enough for her.

"Hm...very interesting," Hiroshi muttered to himself, glancing around again. "Well, I suppose we should thank you for the information."

"Puhuhu- yes, you should!" Monokuma responded. "Just be careful now- I'd feel just awful if either of you died in a manner other than murder, then we wouldn't even be able to have a trial! Such a waste of life, if you ask me."

On that note, the mechanical bear vanished into the darkness, leaving Hana and Hiroshi in dead silence once again.

"Well, that was surprisingly informative," Hiroshi observed, raising an eyebrow. "I was expecting him to be more dodgy with some of our questions, considering his past history."

Hana frowned. "That's true- but, if he was so open with explaining the catacombs...do you think that means there's nothing down here? Or at least nothing that he's trying to hide?"

Hiroshi shrugged. "I don't know- there could still be something to this place, Monokuma was still a little vague in some areas."

"So in other words- we're going ahead with the exploring?" Hana asked.

Hiroshi nodded in confirmation. "He said the catacombs extend into the courtyard a little, so..."

He appeared to do some visualizing in his head before remarking, "The courtyard should, technically, be back in direction of where we came from...so let's find a hallway that heads down that way and keep going ahead until we reach that point."

Though Hana still had several concerns about heading through the catacombs, it was clear Hiroshi was determined, and so she chose to be the supportive one and follow him.

The duo went down the left hallway, and were silent as they strode down it. They did come across a hallway that split in the direction of the initial entrance, and so they followed Hiroshi's plan and followed it, and the corridors that led in that same direction after, as far as they could.

As they crossed through more twisting corridors, Hana could almost hear the acceleration of her own heartbeat from fear; sure, Monokuma had said the maze of hallways wasn't too complicated, but that didn't change the size of the North Wing or the north section of the courtyard. It also didn't change how completely identical one hallway looked from another- how did Hiroshi plan to find their way back to the entrance?

After what felt like an eternity of walking, Hiroshi furrowed his brow and spoke up, "Hold on, Hana- look at this wall we're in front of."

He shone his light on the stone surface, then turned it up and down the hallway they were currently standing in before observing, "Doesn't it seem a little more...curved than the others?"

Hana shone her own handbook light on the wall, scanning it the same way Hiroshi did. "I guess so? Do you think it means anything?"

Hiroshi furrowed his brow, then looked back and forth. "I'd say...let's follow this wall here, and see if it keeps up this- you know, curvature. I might have an idea of what this could be, but..."

With that, the duo stayed close to the curved wall- at least this was a slightly better plan than simply heading down hallways that looked the same as each other. And sure enough, the wall continued its curved path, as if it was surrounding something circular. Not that it was completely circular- because after some walking, Hana and Hiroshi came to a complete dead end.

Hiroshi softly grunted. "Well, that's unfortunate- looks like this is the end of the line, at least on this side."

Hana shone her own light on the brick wall in front of them, wondering aloud, "Do you think there's some secret to this wall too? Like...another secret door or something?"

"Doubt it- dead ends aren't that uncommon in catacombs and mazes," Hiroshi stated. "Doesn't mean I wasn't hoping for something a little more, though."

As the two turned around and began to make their way back the way they came, Hana asked the coroner, "So- what was that idea of yours about why the wall was kinda curved?"

"Well- you know how Monokuma said the catacombs go under the North Wing and into the northern section of the courtyard?" Hiroshi explained. "I figured where we are right now is under the courtyard, and that curvature to the wall is from it surrounding the elevator shaft- you know, the one leading down to the trial grounds?"

"Really?" Hana asked in interest, putting a hand against the slightly curved wall and glancing up. "So, right now, we're...almost underneath the fountain, basically?"

"Uh-huh- and if we had gone the other way, I'm sure we'd see the same thing," Hiroshi claimed. "Not that I'm willing to check- I'm sure we'd also have another dead end on our hands, and all this darkness can't be good for our eyes-"

Hana looked back at him and asked, with a twinge of hopefulness in her tone, "Sooo, we're going back?"

"Yes, I think we've seen most of what this place has to offer," Hiroshi confirmed- although his own voice held a hint of disappointment.

"Oh thank god- I think I would have gone crazy if I had to keep staring at these walls any longer," Hana told him, relieved...before a thought hit her and she worriedly asked, "Ah- you do know the way out of here, right?"

"Sure- we didn't go down that many hallways, and the catacombs are only so big..." Hiroshi reassured her. "Besides, you know my memory's pretty good most of the time- what could happen?"

Hana nodded in acceptance and allowed Hiroshi to continue leading the way. Although she still had no idea what the Ultimate Coroner was thinking by deciding to head into the catacombs, at least their excursion hadn't ended in misfortune...

---

As it would turn out, Hiroshi did not know the way out of there.

It had started out confidently enough, with Hiroshi leading Hana down hallways that seemed to head where they needed to go. Several dead ends and extra minutes later, however, and it became increasingly clear to Hana that her friend wasn't as good at navigation as he fancied himself to be.

At one point, Hiroshi stopped in front of a wall corner and observed, "Wait- I've seen this chipped brick before. That means either we're going the right way, or we're going in another circle."

"...Hiroshi," Hana began, her voice low and serious. "Be straight with me here- we're lost, aren't we?"

Hiroshi turned back to her with an awkward chuckle. "Well, um...I can't lie to you at this point, can I?"

Upon hearing this, Hana narrowed her eyes as she learned her worries and fears regarding this exploration of the catacombs had come to pass. However, she found she was not overtaken by fear as she had expected- instead, she found her gaze filling with silent anger.

"Yes, I'll admit- coming down here with no plan of navigation...was not one of my better ideas," Hiroshi admitted. "But, well, maybe-"

"I told you this was a terrible idea!" Hana yelled at Hiroshi, her anger becoming far less silent. "Now we're stuck down here with no way to know which way we're going, and you only NOW realize this was a bad idea!?"

As Hana yelled, her voice echoed farther through the empty hallways- although, as far as she knew, nobody was around to hear.

"It was shortsighted, I admit," Hiroshi conceded, his voice remaining calm (if not somewhat sheepish). "I probably shouldn't have put so much confidence in Monokuma's information either..."

"REALLY?" Hana asked, sarcasm entering her tone. "Ah god, now I'm starting to sound like Shiori- do you see what the dust is doing!? Can you hear it in my voice!?"

"Ah- Hana? I know we're in a bit of a crisis, but I think you need to calm down," Hiroshi told his companion, putting his hands up slightly to try and put her at ease.

"Do NOT tell a girl to calm down!" Hana retorted, practically boiling with rage. "Believe me, it is the WORST thing you can tell us when we're all riled up like this, and believe me I am VERY riled right now!"

Growling in frustration, the surfer further exclaimed, "You're supposed to be guy that comes up with the good ideas, not the guy that comes up with the ideas that get us lost in underground catacombs for all eternity!"

Before Hana could further vent her frustrations, the two of them froze as they heard...something, faintly echoing through the halls.

"...Was that my voice again, or...?" Hana began, immediately calming down as she glanced around.

"I'm not sure..." Hiroshi answered, also visibly confused. "Hold on, let's see if it happens again."

Thus, the two Ultimates went completely quiet as they listened into the catacombs once more. Then, a few seconds later, they heard something unmistakable: a voice, echoing through the walls back at them and loud enough to make out the words spoken.

"HEEEEY! HANA, HIROSHI, DID THE WALL EAT YOU GUYS!?"

Hana's eyes widened in shock. "Holy shit, that's Ryoto! But- why are we hearing him?"

"Probably because we agreed to meet up and discuss our findings about the North Wing later, as we always do," Hiroshi surmised. "We've been down here a little while, so Ryoto at least must have begun to wonder why we were late- and since we never actually closed the entrance to the catacombs back there..."

As Hiroshi theorized, another worrying thought entered Hana's mind. " Uh oh- don't tell me he came down here too! Is that why we can hear him?"

Hiroshi looked around again. "Actually...these hard walls around us must be carrying the sound of Ryoto's voice- and because of the sheer volume of his voice, the wave of sound must be capable of being carried farther along."

Thoughtfully, he went on, "And if we can hear Ryoto's voice so clearly, either he is down here alongside us and he's nearby, or he's at the entrance and we're closer to it than we thought."

Hiroshi added more seriously, "I wonder- maybe we can answer him? Of course, we'd probably have to be just as loud for the sound to carry long enough, and I don't know if either of us-"

"RYOTO! WE CAN HEAR YOU, STAY RIGHT BY THE ENTRANCE IF THAT'S WHERE YOU ARE!" Hana shouted into the hallway in front of them- although she had no idea if that was the correct direction to shout in.

It took a few seconds, but finally they heard Ryoto answer back, "HOLY FUCK, YOU'RE ARE ALIVE! IS HIROSHI WITH YA? OR ARE YOU BOTH GHOSTS?"

"...This works just as well," Hiroshi spoke up, rubbing his ear as if the sound of the shouting was giving him physical pain.

"N-NO! WE'RE ALIVE! WE JUST GOT LOST DOWN HERE, IS ALL!" Hana loudly responded, her voice echoing down the corridors.

"THAT SUCKS! DON'T WORRY, I'LL COME DOWN THERE AND FIND YOU GUYS!" Ryoto told them.

"NO NO NO! I TOLD YOU, DON'T COME DOWN HERE, IT'S HARD TO NAVIGATE!" Hana desperately shouted back. "WE'VE BEEN STUCK DOWN HERE FOR- I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW LONG!"

Hiroshi snapped his fingers and spoke up, "Hana, listen- maybe, if we follow the sound of Ryoto's voice, we can find our way back to the entrance."

"Ooh, great idea!" Hana responded to him before facing the open corridor and yelling, "RYOTO! WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T STOP YELLING!"

"WELL IT JUST SO HAPPENS RYOTO MIURA IS GREAT AT THAT!" Ryoto shouted back, allowing Hana and Hiroshi to start making their way through the hallways with the Ultimate Racecar Driver's echoing voice as a guide.

Behind her, Hiroshi sucked in a breath and cringed slightly at the volume of his two classmates- perhaps being forced to endure the shouting would be his penance for leading Hana and himself into this situation to begin with.

"HEEEEY. BY THE WAY- WHY'D YOU GUYS GO DOWN THERE AGAIN?" Ryoto audibly inquired, as part of following Hana's command.

"ASK HIROSHI, IT WAS HIS IDEA!" Hana told him as the two quickly followed the sound of shouting. "I WAS BEING ANXIOUSLY SUPPORTIVE!"

"WHAT? I WOULDA THOUGHT IT WAS YOUR IDEA, NOT HIS!" Ryoto incredulously replied. "HE'S THE SMART GUY!"

"Wha-? WAS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE AN INSULT TO ME OR HIROSHI?" Hana asked in annoyance at Ryoto's comment.

Ryoto went silent for a few seconds before he yelled, "RYOTO MIURA...pleads the fifth?"

Hiroshi awkwardly chuckled at that. "Assuming that was an insult at me, I kind of had it coming."

By this point, Hana and Hiroshi had been following the echoes for a little while now, and now the shouting seemed to be closer than ever. In fact, it was so close, Hana could faintly make out a second voice conversing with Ryoto: Asuna.

"Hey, Ryoto- I-I'm really not sure this plan is going to work," Hana heard Asuna inform him. "I'm no expert on sound, b-but I don't know if following echoes is a valid-"

"YOU'RE NOT BELIEVING HARD ENOUGH!" Ryoto shouted in response (leading to a sharp yelp from Asuna), both echoed down the corridors towards his two lost classmates.

"That sounded even closer..." Hiroshi observed, running ahead of Hana and turning a corner, then calling back, "Hana! I see the light from the hallway, and the stairs, and-"

"R-Really!? You see the entrance!?" Hana yelped, running to where Hiroshi stood.

Sure enough, the surfer could see the hallway's light pouring through the opening in the wall, illuminating the stone stairs that led into the catacombs to begin with. Additionally, she could make out Ryoto's figure silhouetted against the light.

"Ryoto! Ryoto, it's us! It actually worked!" Hana happily called out as she and Hiroshi ran down the hallway towards the stairs.

Upon seeing the two of them out of the darkness, Ryoto's own face lit up with relief and joy as he shouted, "IT DID! YOU GUYS ARE ALIVE AND NOT EATEN BY THE DARKNESS!"

"Aha, uh- you can stop now, Ryoto," Hiroshi awkwardly informed the caped Ultimate, once again picking at his ear as if something was now physically blocking his eardrums.

Moments later, a quick series of footsteps preceded Asuna's arrival, who exclaimed in surprise upon descending the stairs, "Whoa! I-It did work, I can't believe it!"

"See? Never doubt the amazing mind of Ryoto Miura!" Ryoto cheerfully boasted.

"Uh, wasn't the echo plan Hiroshi's idea?" Hana pointed out, gesturing to the coroner in question.

To that, Ryoto had no answer.

"W-Well, regardless of who came up with what, we're just glad the two of you are okay," Asuna told Hana and Hiroshi, relief in her voice. "N-Not that we thought something had happened already, but with you two just...not showing up to the meeting and all..."

"We know, and we're- well, I'm sorry, it was my idea, if anything Hana tried to talk me out of it," Hiroshi apologized. "Hopefully, this'll teach us one thing: never go down into the catacombs without some way to find your way out."

"And bring a better light," Hana added with a frown. "Can, uh- we get going now? I really don't think all this darkness is good for us..."

"Then let's go!" Ryoto exclaimed, leading the way back up the stairs with his classmates following.

"By the way Hana, Hiroshi," Asuna spoke up as they started to ascend. "It was a good thing you left the door- uh, wall- open like that. Not just because it made it easy to figure out where you guys might have gone, b-but also because if it was closed, that beam might have fallen down and barred me and Ryoto out."

Hana furrowed her brow upon hearing this. "What beam?"

"You two didn't see it?" Asuna asked, tilting her head. "On the side of the opening there, th-there's a piece of wood that you can swing down to bar the door. See for yourself."

While she and Ryoto exited the catacombs, Hana shone the light where Asuna indicated. Sure enough, she saw a long and sturdy wooden beam standing upright against the wall adjacent to the opening, with an attachment at the bottom allowing for it to be spun downward in front of the door (if it was closed); Hana could only assume there was something on the other side that would hold it in place, barring the entrance entirely. This would, effectively, completely prevent anyone from accessing the catacombs from the outside should the wooden beam be set in place- unless they used significant force.

Hana and Hiroshi glanced at each other as they saw the beam, silently agreeing with Asuna's sentiment about their good fortune.

---

Once all four of them exited the catacombs, Ryoto was able to reach over and close the wall/door; the section of the wall shut closed with a mechanical-sounding thunk, and in an instant the section was seamlessly camouflaged into the rest of the hallway's wall once again.

"At least we'll all remember where the entrance to the catacombs is in case anyone, for some reason, decides to go back down there again," Hiroshi remarked. "Even if it's hard to see."

"Speak for yourself- if I never go back down there, it'll be too soon," Hana dryly stated, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, really doesn't seem like the best place to be- and besides, we'd just get worried if someone went missing again!" Ryoto told her with a worried little frown. "It was so weird, just me and Asuna waiting for you guys..."

Asuna nodded in agreement. "Again, I'm glad you two are safe, b-but seriously, at least say something if you're gonna go into some dark and creepy secret passage, okay?"

Hearing the two of them, Hana couldn't help but crack a smile- it was sweet, knowing they had been concerned enough about her and Hiroshi to scour the North Wing for them. Although she didn't realize it, knowing about how much they cared caused some of the mental fog she had been experiencing since she woke up to fade away slightly- however, whether or not it would last was another question entirely.

But then, something Ryoto had said caught Hana's attention, and she turned to him and asked, "Wait a second- Ryoto, you said it was just you two waiting for me and Asuna, right?"

"Yeah, why?" Ryoto replied.

"Just the two of you?" Hana asked again, raising her eyebrows. "As in...Akira wasn't there?"

"That's right! We couldn't find Akira anywhere!" Ryoto confirmed. "And I doubt she went into the catacombs too!"

Hiroshi frowned in confusion. "Really...? Akira wasn't there? That's...not like her in the slightest..."

"Y-Yeah...that made things even more strange," Asuna added in. "I-It was one thing with Hinata not being around, he's not in the best place right now, but Akira..."

Hiroshi glanced away for a moment before responding, "Well...even Akira's been a little out of sorts since this morning, so her not attending a meeting seems to fit in with how out of it she's been."

He then went on, "Actually, speaking of a meeting- I assume we're heading back to the dining room?"

"Actually- what if we just had the meeting in the main hall in here?" Asuna suggested. "W-We know Hinata's probably not going to show up, and we don't know where Akira is...wouldn't it be more convenient?"

"Heeey, you're right! The North Wing's main hall isn't such a bad place to be anyways!" Ryoto agreed with an eager nod.

Hana shrugged. "Sounds good to me, since we'll be talking about what we found either way."

"Alright, let's do it then," Hiroshi stated with a nod towards Asuna.

As they all agreed to Asuna's idea, the four walked into the central chamber of the North Wing. They decided to have their meeting over by the stairwell; thus, Hana and Ryoto sat on the floor in front of the stairs while Asuna and Hiroshi sat on the first step of two, facing the two of them.

As they did, the four of them...fell into an awkward silence yet again. Hana glanced around at the others, who seemed as unable to begin as she was. She then glanced down at her knees, pondering the blanket of quiet that had befallen them; indeed, it felt as though something was...missing from this meeting, aside from the other differences.

Fortunately, Ryoto was the one to realize what this missing piece was in his usual vocal way: "GUYS! WE NEED A LEADER!"

Hana's eyes widened as she remarked, "Oh yeah...before, it was usually Akira who kinda kept us on track during these meetings, but now that she's kinda...I dunno, avoiding us or something, we don't really have that."

Evidently, Asuna was not going to be the one to provide that foundation- she nervously hid her face behind her fedora, still not one for breaking the ice on big discussions.

"Uuuuuuh- HIROSHI! You should be our new leader!" Ryoto quickly suggested, his and everyone else's eyes going towards him.

"Uh- me?" Hiroshi asked, taken aback despite his calm tone. "Why?"

"I mean...you're kinda the most level-headed and reasonable one out of all of us, not to mention one of the smartest," Hana rationalized. "...Plus you're way way nicer to everyone than Akira ever was."

"...She's not wrong," Asuna spoke up, peeking out from her headwear.

"Well...if you're all in agreement, I guess I have to follow the majority," Hiroshi conceded. "...Chalk one up for peer pressure."

Shifting somewhat in his spot, as if trying to make himself seem more authoritative, the Ulimate began, "Well- I guess we'd might as well talk about the catacombs, since that's the place Hana and I just came from."

"If that's the case- just know, I found it by complete luck, if I hadn't been leaning against the wall we probably wouldn't have noticed it," Hana spoke up.

"And when we did go down there, Monokuma himself told us a couple things about it," Hiroshi continued. "Mainly that they expand underneath the North Wing and the northern section of the courtyard- which is a bigger area than he implied, as the two of us found out- and is pretty maze-like.

"Also- no security cameras or monitors down there," Hana added in, shaking her head. "...Even though Monokuma can get into the catacombs like any other part of the castle."

Asuna cocked her head somewhat before asking, "Come to think of it...Hiroshi, why did you want to go into the catacombs anyways? H-Hana said she went with you because you two are friends, but why did you want to go down there?"

"Me? Well, I..." Hiroshi began with a small frown. "I just...figured there might be something hidden there down. After all, the catacombs themselves were hidden behind a secret door in the wall- if that's not suspicious, I don't know what is."

"Weeeell, isn't there a saying out there about curiosity killing some guy's cat?" Ryoto pointed out. "Ya gotta think these things through, Hiroshi!"

"...Says the guy who jumped off the top floor of the South Wing a few days ago," Hana then reminded him, raising an eyebrow.

"WRONG! I did think that through, so it DOESN'T COUNT!" Ryoto refuted the surfer.

"Anyways, c-clearly Hiroshi and Hana didn't find anything in the catacombs, s-so I don't think we need to worry about it," Asuna interjected between her two classmates. "Right, Hiroshi?"

"Uh-huh- wasn't quite the treasure trove of mysteries that I hoped it would be," Hiroshi admitted with a sigh.

Hana tilted her head a little at Hiroshi's answer, wondering to herself, Still though- just what was it that he was hoping to find? Hiroshi's usually so much better at thinking things through, so clearly he thought the catacombs would have some secret...but what?

"But there was somewhere else Hana and I investigated," Hiroshi then continued. "Namely, the dungeon."

Upon the mention of the dungeon, the memory of seeing Mikio's corpse once again flashed back into Hana's mind, and she nearly shivered where she was sitting.

"A dungeon? Where's that?" Ryoto asked, furrowing his brow. "And can we throw Monokuma in there?"

"That'd probably be breaking a rule," Asuna pointed out. "...Besides, h-he'd probably be able to escape pretty easily anyways."

"Oooh trust us, the dungeon...isn't what you'd think it'd be," Hana told them with a grimace.

"So it's not a dungeon?" Ryoto then inquired.

"N-No, it is, it's just...not being used for normal dungeon stuff, to put it lightly," Hana vaguely explained, glancing at Hiroshi as a plea for assistance.

Hiroshi cleared his throat before elaborating, "It seems that Monokuma, or whoever is in charge of him, has converted the dungeon into a morgue of sorts."

"A morgue!?" Ryoto exclaimed...before asking, "...Wait, what's a morgue?"

"I-It's a place where they keep dead bo-" Asuna began to explain...before realization seemingly dawned on her and she concluded, her face paling, "Dead...bodies."

Hana hesitated for a moment to try and find her words before going on, "Yeah...you guys know how all the victims' corpses just- disappear after each trial? Well, uh...I guess the dungeon's where Monokuma's been putting them."

"And it's not just the victims, either- the culprits' bodies were laid in the dungeon, too," Hiroshi added. "Really, it's everyone we've lost so far- Mikio, Shiro, Rumi, everyone."

Hana glanced away and suppressed a shiver; it had been one thing investigating the crime scenes and witnessing executions, but the knowledge that her classmates' dead bodies were so close by and accessible sent another dreadful chill down her spine.

Evudently, she wasn't the only one perturbed by the information- Asuna and Ryoto turned away to gaze at the hallway leading to the dungeon, their faces pale with disturbance.

"Ah man, that- that's not right! That's not right at all!" Ryoto exclaimed, vigorously shaking his head. "And you guys saw the bodies!?"

"Well, Hana only saw Mikio's body- I looked at everyone else's to confirm if Monokuma really did stash everyone's corpses in the dungeon," Hiroshi casually explained. "That's how I know it's everyone who's died so far- though some of the bodies were in better shape than others, as you can imagine."

"I ask again- you saw the bodies?" Ryoto repeated in shock. "Dude, Hiroshi, does anything phase you!?"

"Come to think of it...Hiroshi, you're the Ultimate Coroner..." Asuna began. "S-So, being in a makeshift morgue like that- out of all of us, y-you'd probably be the least disturbed by everything, right?"

"That's not- yes, I'm a coroner, but this is very different from the labs I'm usually in," Hiroshi responded with a frown. "The people I help examine, I don't know them- the majority of the time, they're total strangers to me. But in here, in this killing game- I very much knew the victims, so I don't have that same level of disconnect. So, while I'm used to being around corpses, that doesn't mean I'm any less disturbed than everyone else."

Huh...Hiroshi's always one of the most calm and collected during investigations and everything, but- I guess even he's got his limits. Hana observed. ...Even if he does a better job of hiding it most of the time.

"R-Right- sorry for the assumption," Asuna apologized. "Uh- if you two are done with that, th-then I guess I'll go next."

Asuna also sat up a little straighter- probably to also make herself seem more confident (or just taller)- before stating, "I looked around the throne room- th-there's really not much to see in there, it is literally just a throne room."

"But the throne seemed comfy," Hana remarked with a shrug.

"Oh it was- n-not that it helped with finding a way out," Asuna responded with a sigh. "Of all the rooms, I thought the throne room would have something, b-but I looked around as best as I could, and...nothing."

"Well, don't beat yourself up, Asuna- there's always time to look around again, if you want," Hiroshi reassured her before turning his attention to Ryoto. "What about you, Ryoto? You looked at the power room, right?"

"YESSIR!" Ryoto confirmed. "It's just like Hiroshi said- that room over there's full of machines and generators and electrician supplies, it's gotta be what's giving electricity to the whole castle! Kinda an old-fashioned, clunky setup, but it gets the job done!"

"All those generators in the same room...don't you think that might cause a problem?" Hana asked in concern. "Like, it would be really easy for a blackout to happen if something went wrong?"

"Probably!" Ryoto responded in an oddly cheerful tone. "But hey- the room's been fine since this killing game started, what are the odds something'll happen now?"

"I guess you're right- still, we probably shouldn't go in there too much if we don't have to," Hana suggested. "Besides, weren't there those cable things coming out of the ceiling? Doesn't really seem like the thing you'd wanna get too close too."

"I agree- death by electrocution isn't the most pleasant way to go," Hiroshi remarked. "I should know, I read about it once."

"Ah, you guys worry too much! If you're not too tall, it shouldn't be a problem!" Ryoto told them, dismissing their worries with a wave of his hand. "So, Asuna, you should really be fine to go in there!"

This time, Asuna didn't even bother to respond to the mention of her height.

At that moment, Ryoto suddenly exclaimed, "OH! There's one more thing about the power room that I found, and I'll bet it's SUPER important!"

He leaned in suspensefully and explained, "Hana and Hiroshi saw it with me, but Asuna- I don't think you were there, so allow Ryoto Miura to explain! On the table in the back where all the tools and stuff were, there was a message carved on top of it!"

"A-A message?" Asuna asked, her eyes widening somewhat in surprise. "What did it say?"

"Ohohoho, get this..." Ryoto answered with a grin. "It said 'Doom comes to all'."

"'Doom comes to-'?" Asuna began before she gasped in realization. "N-No way! Kiragi Ashikawa!?"

Hana did a double take in her spot. "W-What? Asuna, you-? Who's-?"

"THAT'S RIGHT! KIRAGI ASHIKAWA!" Ryoto confirmed with a laugh.

Hana turned to Ryoto with equal bafflement. "Huh!? Ryoto, you too? Who's-?"

"Oh, of course! Why didn't I recognize it sooner?" Hiroshi spoke up. "I knew I recognized that phrase from somewhere!"

"W-What do you mean!?" Hana yelped as she looked around at her classmates. "What are-"

"See why it's such a great discovery!?" Ryoto said to the others. "No doubt about it! Kiragi Ashikawa is the key to all of this!"

"I-If you're telling the truth, then- y-you might be right!" Asuna agreed with a nod. "A message like that, saying 'Doom comes to all'- that's Kiragi Ashikawa, alright-"

"HEY!" Hana snapped, cutting off the conversation. "Who's Kiragi Ashikawa!?"

"HUUUH!? You've never heard of him!?" Ryoto exclaimed in shock. "Have you been living under a rock, Hana!?"

"I grew up on an island, Ryoto!" Hana angrily reminded him. "So excuse me if I'm not up to date with every single celebrity!"

"Ah...allow us to explain," Hiroshi said to the surfer. "Kiragi Ashikawa was an alumni of Hope's Peak Academy before our class was set to attend, and a pretty well-known one at that. They called him the Ultimate Doomsday Prepper."

"Ultimate...Doomsday Prepper?" Hana asked. "Like...those conspiracy guys that are always like 'the end is near' and all that?"

"W-Well, Kiragi Ashikawa was a bit different from those types of people," Asuna went on. "He came up with really elaborate methods of surviving different catastrophes, created these advanced ways to find and store essentials, e-even building inventions and shelters that could help a person survive even the deadliest kinds of apocalypses."

"He started out with a blog online, but eventually they gave him his own TV show!" Ryoto elaborated. "He'd always end episodes or blog posts with 'doom comes to all', or he'd sign or carve it on something that he made. It was kinda like a signature or a catchphrase of his."

"Alright- how do you guys know so much about this guy?" Hana then inquired.

"My dad used to watch his show a lot, and I'd watch it with him!" Ryoto explained. "I didn't get a lot of what he was talking about, but I still thought it was weirdly cool!"

"I-I remember kids from my old school talking about him years ago," Asuna added. "Th-They thought he was kind of a weirdo."

"I watched his old show too whenever they'd show reruns of it- it was weirdly fascinating," Hiroshi stated. "That's how I know about him, at least."

"O...kay..." Hana responded, visibly baffled. "You guys said he was an Ultimate, right? Is that why he's so famous?"

"Well, it's more for what he did to earn the title- and it wasn't just through his blog and show," Hiroshi explained. "With the help of an anonymous financial backer, Ashikawa was supposedly able to construct this massive underground bunker on behalf of Japan's government. They say that it has more than enough space, supplies, and facilities to sustain dozens of people and their possible offspring for a long time in the event of a massive catastrophe."

Hearing this, Hana couldn't help but remember the news article describing, supposedly, 'the biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history'. She wondered, if the article was true, whether the government officials had made good on Ashikawa's supposed bunker and stuffed as many citizens as they could into it to avoid the war and carnage above.

Then, another question popped into Hana's mind. "Hey- why do you say he 'supposedly' built a bunker? Did he build one or didn't he?"

"H-He did- it's just nobody knows where it was built," Asuna told her. "Because it was a government thing, i-it's location is, I guess, some big secret. The only people outside the government who knew where it was were Ashikawa himself, his anonymous backer, the architects and other workers who helped construct it, a-and the Hope's Peak official who scouted Ashikawa out."

"Aah, forget about the bunker! There's bigger fish to fry!" Ryoto impatiently interjected. "If his catchphrase is in this castle, that can only mean one thing..."

He jumped up to his feet and declared, "KIRAGI ASHIKAWA IS THE MASTERMIND! WE'VE SOLVED THE CASE, GUYS!"

Ryoto's words were met with deafening silence- although Hana had a feeling Hiroshi and Asuna's reasons for staying silent were different from her own.

"Well- that's one way to look at it, Ryoto, buuut there's a glaring hole in your theory," Hiroshi apologetically told the racecar driver.

"HOOOLE!?" Ryoto furiously responded. "What kinda 'hole'!?"

"Uh...correct me if I'm wrong, but- didn't Ashikawa die in a plane crash four years ago?" Asuna asked, looking around at the others.

"Wait, the guy's dead?" Hana asked in surprise.

"Asuna's right- Kiragi Ashikawa's dead, there's no way he could be involved in this killing game," Hiroshi confirmed, glancing down contemplatively.

"Well- what he if faked his death all along!?" Ryoto demanded and slammed his hand down on the floor for emphasis. "Now we're getting into the REAL conspiracy shit!"

"No no, Kiragi Ashikawa is most certainly dead, they found his body and everything," Hiroshi insisted. "I think it was on the news for a while too..."

"Well, that wouldn't surprise me," Hana remarked. "An Ultimate dying like that, even if they're a former student? That'd be a big deal, I'll bet."

"...Oh yeah..." Ryoto admitted, deflating; then, he regained some of his gusto and asked, "W-Well then why is Ashikawa's signature thing carved somewhere in the castle!? Not even that, but it looks almost exactly like how he would usually write it!"

"...Maybe someone was just that big of a fan of his?" Hana sheepishly suggested. "Uh- enough that they could replicate his handwriting?"

"I'll admit, it is strange, even if the chances of Kiragi Ashikawa himself being involved are slim to none," Hiroshi admitted with a nod. "It's kind of the closest thing to a real clue we have so far, so we shouldn't dismiss it right off the bat."

"You never know, guys- we all know how twisty this place can be!" Ryoto spoke up.

"I-I just wish we had more, you know?" Asuna stated in disappointment. "We've got all four wings open now, th-there's not really any other places to look for clues..."

"Hey, don't worry- there's still plenty of time to look around more, there's bound to be something hidden around here," Hana reassured her. "We'll figure something out, you'll see."

Hana's smile faltered somewhat as she processed what she told Asuna. Huh- isn't this the part where I suddenly find myself feeling really bitter and dismissive of anything hopeful? Have I...gotten over that or something...?

The Ultimate Surfer subtly shook her head and told herself, Well, whatever. I'm feeling like my usual self again- more or less- so I probably shouldn't question it.

"...So, uh...what now, Hiroshi?" Ryoto asked, turning to the coroner in question. "You're our designated leader! SO, LEAD!"

"Well...doesn't Akira usually just tell us to go off and do our own things...?" Asuna asked.

"More or less, I suppose," Hiroshi agreed. "I...guess we should also keep an eye out for Akira and Hinata."

Hana scoffed. "Akira- Akira's just...avoiding us, she's fine. It's Hinata we need to worry about- he's the one that's actually in bad shape."

"I-I guess you've got a point..." Asuna responded. "A-Although I can't even begin to figure out how we'd go about helping him, after everything that happened."

Ryoto went oddly quiet for a few moments, as if he was actually thinking about his response, before he said to Asuna, "Well- don't worry about that, either! We'll get Hinata back to his senses one way or another- I mean, Hana got you back to your old self after Kaneki died, didn't she?"

Hana and Asuna glanced at each other before Hana pointed out, "W-Well- that was pretty different from what happened with Hinata, you know..."

"Yeah, helping Hinata out of his rut will be more of a challenge, given how far he was willing to go to save Rumi's life- and he still wasn't successful in the end," Hiroshi conceded, before continuing more optimistically, "But, like Ryoto said- we won't give up on him so easily, despite what he did before."

With that, Hiroshi stood up and concluded, "So, I think that's a good place to end this meeting on."

"Great!" Ryoto began, jumping up as well...only to ask, "...Sooo, uh- you still never told us what we should so now."

"Let's, er, just go and do our own things for now," Hana suggested, also standing. "I mean, we do have the entire castle to ourselves now, and there's still-"

Suddenly, the discussion was broken by the sound of doors practically being thrown open- and the noise sounded as if it came from close by. Instinctively, Hana's eyes were drawn upstairs to the entrance of the throne room- based on the doors now being open, it did appear that was the source of the sound. What was more surprising, however, was just who had opened the doors: the Ultimate Prosecutor, Akira.

Akira...? Was she- was she in the throne room this whole time? Hana asked herself, shocked by Akira'a sudden appearance. I...guess she must have come back to the North Wing while Hiroshi and I were in the catacombs, and while Ryoto and Asuna were in the dining room. Guess that's why no one saw her go in there.

Akira was silent as she exited the throne room, with her ruby-red gaze swiftly turning towards the four other Ultimates at the base of the stairs.

Then, the prosecutor stepped up and asked, "You four- what are you all doing here like this?"

"HEEEY, AKIRA!" Ryoto loudly but cheerfully greeted her. "We were talkin' about you! Nothing bad, no worries!"

"We all finished investigating the North Wing, so we figured we'd have a little meeting here instead of going all the way back to the dining room in the South Wing," Hiroshi elaborated.

"Mmph- well, no matter," Akira responded, descending the stairs; as she did, Hana noticed her eyes held a perpetual glare to them, sharp as knives and as cold as ever. Apparently, she had overcome the depressed demeanor she had exhibited during breakfast.

Looking down at the others- yet not even glancing at Hana, interestingly enough- Akira inquired, "Did any of you investigate Monokuma's throne room?"

To this, the others glanced at Asuna- and the poor gardener looked as if she would faint due to the intensity of the prosecutor's glare. Nevertheless, she shakily raised her hand in confirmation while also inching towards Hana, perhaps intending to use the surfer as a shield of some kind.

"Well- evidently, you didn't do a very good job, considering what I just found," Akira remarked with a slight shake of her head. "That's precisely what I've come here for- to show you all just what I've found."

"Whaaat? You actually found something!?" Ryoto asked, eager. "Like, something BIG!?"

"If I didn't think it was important, I wouldn't have shown up, would I?" Akira replied with a glare. "Follow me, and make it quick- you'll see what I mean soon enough."

Welp, it's official- Akira's back, I guess. Hana confirmed to herself with a soft sigh as she and the others accompanied the prosecutor back up the stairwell.

As they walked, however, Hana noticed something still seemed...different about the red-haired Ultimate. Sure, her trudging and downtrodden demeanor from before was gone, but now her movements seemed more aggressive and quick- as if she was barely even waiting for the others to follow her.

As they reached the top floor, Hiroshi spoke up, "Well- regardless of what you found, Akira, I'm just glad to see you're back. It was a little worrying, seeing you so...disconnected before."

Akira said nothing as she opened the doors to the throne room, though Hana had a feeling she wouldn't have accepted Hiroshi's concerns for her anyways.

"YEAH! With you back in town, we'll have some ACTUAL leadership again!" Ryoto happily declared, before quickly saying to Hiroshi, "No offense."

"None taken," Hiroshi replied with a nod.

Akira stopped as they entered the room. After a few moments of silence, the prosecutor told them, without turning around, "You're sorely mistaken Ashi, Miura."

"M-Mistaken?" Asuna asked. "How are they...?"

"Because I have no intention of working with everyone anymore," Akira stated flatly. "I decided I'll be doing my investigations and such by myself from now on."

That caused Hana to stop dead in her tracks and blurt out a dumbfounded, "Wait, what?"

"Y-You're cutting yourself off!?" Asuna cried out. "Like Tadao did? And Shiori, sort of?"

"More or less. Though I'll still inform everyone if I find any substantial clues on the nature of this killing, since we still share that common goal of escaping and ending this damn killing game," Akira explained, still not looking at her classmates. "But besides that- my role as de facto leader has ended. You're all on your own, as far as I'm concerned."

"I agree with Hana Amari- WHAT!?" Ryoto yelped.

"A-Akira, you can't be serious...!" Hiroshi began, taking a small step back. "Look, if this is about what happened after Shiori's trial, I said before that-"

"My decision has nothing to do with that, Ashi- well, not entirely, anyways," Akira claimed, holding up a hand as a gesture to silence Hiroshi. "Make no mistake- I am cutting myself off because some of you- living and dead- have made it very clear how you feel about my ability as leader, and don't try to say the majority of you don't agree."

Adjusting her glasses, the prosecutor went on, "Besides- it seems at this point, our...philosophies are completely incompatible. So, to avoid holding myself back any further and to prevent conflict, isolating myself is a necessity. Count yourselves lucky that I still understand you all want to escape alive as much as I do- and that I still consider murder one of the lowest of lows."

The tone of Akira's voice was a clear indication that her mind was made up- no amount of argument from anyone would be enough to change her mind at this point. Even so, Hana felt a boiling rage within her once again- though this time, she was able to hold herself back from physical retaliation.

"Seriously...? After everything that's happened, you're just gonna- desert everyone like this? After you were going on before about how we needed 'unity' or something?" Hana demanded. "You really don't trust anyone that much!?"

"Akira- we all know you're not one for forming emotional connections with everyone..." Hiroshi conceded with a sigh. "But really, don't you think cutting yourself off is the best idea? When you could continue to- you know, work with us?"

"Continue to work with you all? The ones who, even after everything, still haven't grasped the nature of this game?" Akira growled- and completely ignoring Hana's remark as she did. "Look at the facts- nine people have died, four of which taking at least one other life everyone, and you four still think a 'bond' will be enough to subvert everything?"

Turning to Hiroshi directly, she said, "I remember what you told me after Sauchi's trial, Ashi- and while not being connected with anyone may have prevented me from solving the case, I also realize acting all 'buddy-buddy' will not end the killing game- and if you all will continue that, then I want no part of it anymore."

While the other four were in stunned silence (or, in Hana's case, seething silence), Akira sighed and concluded, "Anyways- I didn't bring you up here for a lecture, I'm showing you all what I found. Let's...get back to that."

Akira walked off towards the opposite end of the throne room to the wall behind the throne itself- the normal, non-suspicious wall. Hana wasn't focusing on that, however- at that time, she was trying to force Akira's words out of her mind. Listening to her harsh attitude regarding the friendship between the students was causing that fogginess in Hana's mind to resurface, and the surfer was using all her willpower to banish it again. Eventually, she realized the others were going on ahead- awkwardly silent as they were- and so Hana followed as quick as she could.

Soon enough, everyone stood behind the prosecutor, staring at the wall- which still looked like a normal wall, to the others.

"Soooo, Akira! You found a wall!" Ryoto observed with a nod. "BUT! Joke's on you- Asuna found that wall first!"

"I, uh...think there's something special about that wall," Asuna surmised, then added skeptically, "But...I did look around this place before, and I really didn't find anything too off..."

Akira raised an eyebrow. "Then watch and learn, Izumi- unless you think I'm making things up."

The Ultimate stepped forward and rubbed a hand against the wall, as if she was feeling around for something. Seconds later, she pressed her hand against the hard surface...and a square section was pressed in, like a hidden button of some kind. At that moment, the sound of stone grinding against stone filled their proximity as a rectangular section of the wall slid upwards, revealing another room beyond the opening.

Asuna's jaw dropped in shock as she stared at the hidden entrance. "H-How...did I...miss that...?"

"HOW'D YOU MISS THAT?" Ryoto yelped, his audible shock a stark contrast to Asuna's soft bewilderment. "C'mon, Asuna! You're wearing a hat that belonged to the Ultimate Explorer, shouldn't you- y'know, harness its power or something?"

"I...don't know if I should consider that disrespectful to me or her," Asuna dryly responded as she and Ryoto followed the still silent Akira through the threshold.

Hana's anger from subsided as she stared at the hidden passage with surprise and curiosity. Glancing at Hiroshi, she remarked, "Well- I guess you were right to be so interested in the North Wing. First the catacombs, now this- seems like this place is hiding a lot of secrets after all, huh?"

But Hiroshi didn't respond; in fact, the expression on his face was near unreadable. Nevertheless, he rushed ahead to follow the other three students into the secret room, leaving Hana no choice but to do the same.

---

She walked down a very short corridor into a simple, cube-shaped room. The room was dim, only lit by four circular lights on the ceiling, and certainly not the largest room in the castle. Unlike most of the other rooms in the castle, this strange room was metallic and more modern-looking- white tiles making up the floor and ceiling, with only slightly dulled metal making up the walls. Stranger still, however, was the room was completely empty save for three things: a dark metal door on the opposite side of the room, what appeared to be a scanner of some kind to the right of the door, and a small but deadly-looking gun weapon suspended from the upper left corner of the ceiling.

Interestingly enough, much like the catacombs, there were no cameras or TV monitors hooked into this room- although Hana remained certain Monokuma would still be able to randomly pop in if he wanted.

"Uh- are you telling us that there's a secret room inside another secret room?" Ryoto inquired, closely examining the door (and preventing Hana herself from getting a better look at it).

"Apparently- whatever's behind that door, somebody wanted to ensure it would remain a secret," Akira speculated. "I'm sure that's what the scanner's for."

"I was wondering about that..." Hiroshi spoke up, approaching the device. "It looks like the scanner for the treasure room, but...not exactly. The screen itself looks a bit smaller- in fact, it all looks a bit more compact and small, so maybe it's not for e-Handbooks..."

"Maybe it's...a hand scanner?" Hana suggested, tilting her head a bit. "The screen looks about big enough for someone's hand, so..."

"Uh- guys?" Asuna said, her gaze on neither the door nor the scanner. "A-Are we not going to talk about the gun on the ceiling?"

"Actually, I was about to explain that," Akira stated. "It's my belief that scanner- whether it's for e-Handbooks or handprints- acts as a security measure for that door. If someone without the proper authorization were to try and scan their way in, I believe that gun up there will activate and fire at them."

Upon hearing that, Hiroshi glanced at the scanner, and then the gun, before backing away from the scanner.

"Is that right? Trying to keep us out that badly, huh?" Ryoto boasted, cracking his knuckles. "What I just PUNCH my way in, huh? Or maybe I'll SMASH THAT SCANNER! OR THE GUN! SEE HOW THE DAMN MASTERMIND LIKES THAT!"

"N-No! Do not punch anything!" Hana yelped. "Punching stuff would probably also get you shot!"

"WELL- I mean, we gotta do something, we can't just leave a secret like this alone!" Ryoto insisted. "Could we- you know- do something to the gun!?"

The racecar driver moved away from the door towards the corner of the room where the gun was hanging, allowing Hana to finally see the metallic door in full- but when she did, she let out a short gasp and stepped away slightly.

There, spraypainted in red on the door, was that same accursed symbol- the hand and the modified Monokuma eye. The paint was faded and scratched away in many parts, as if someone had tried and failed to wash it off, but the insignia was still easily recognizable.

Hiroshi also took notice of the symbol as Ryoto moved away, furrowing his brow and stating, "That...symbol on the door..."

"Hm-? Oh, yes, that," Akira remarked rather dismissively. "Truth be told, I have no idea what that is- I've certainly never seen a symbol like that before, and I don't know if it's significant to our plight or not."

"Oh yeah- when I was looking at the door just now, I started feeling really...I dunno, weird?" Ryoto admitted, turning back to the others. "I don't know how to describe it, but I know SOMETHING'S off with that symbol! It's gotta be!"

"I...also had a strange sensation upon seeing it, but it's just a sensation- inconsequential in the end," Akira claimed, crossing her arms.

Hana glanced at Hiroshi and Asuna; though they also seemed somewhat concerned, they didn't appear too surprised by the hand mark- most likely because the two of them had each already seen the symbol once before. As for Hana herself, she was still trembling slightly- and yet, she didn't know why. She felt no fear or disturbance at seeing the insignia- the 'Dark Hand' insignia- but right then, in that room...something was wrong.

That fact made itself clear within moments of Hana looking towards the symbol again- for when she did, a piercing headache cut through her skull, resulting in the Ultimate crying out in pain and grasping her head in her hands.

"H-Hana!?" Asuna yelped upon seeing surfer's condition. "What's wrong, what happened?"

"I-I-I...I don't know, I saw the symbol, and my head just-" Hana stammered, not looking up as she did. The pain was not subsiding, and in fact seemed to be getting worse.

Hiroshi's eyes widened in worry as he made his way over to Hana's side, semi-calmly instructing her, "Whoa, uh- hey, Hana, stay calm alright? Do you need to sit down, do you-"

"I don't know! I don't know what's happening, why I'm-" Hana attempted to explain, only for the pain in her skull to cut her off.

She was able to force her eyes open again, but she was still looking to the floor and the pain was blurring her vision. And her mind- her mind was filling with fog again, and in between that fog were thoughts of 'Dark Hand'.

It's...It's Dark Hand, nothing to worry about, nothing to be afraid of, I- I know that symbol, it's a good thing, I know this, Hana's racing mind thought to the point where, even though the others (save for probably Akira) were clearly trying to talk to her, everything was blocked and muffled out. It's just Dark Hand. It's Dark Hand. Dark Hand.

Dark Hand, Dark Hand, Dark Hand Dark Hand Dark Hand Dark Hand DarkHandDarkHandDarkHandDarkHand-!

Finally, Hana let out another pained cry, and she bolted out of the room and away from the insignia, not thinking or caring about how confused or worried she left her classmates.

---

Hana didn't know where she was running, simply allowing her feet to carry her wherever they wanted. Her destination turned out to be the first hallway she turned down upon running out of the throne room- the hall connecting the North Wing to the West Wing.

It wasn't until she turned another corner into the hallway containing the entrances to the western watchtower and the wine room that she slowed down and, finally, stopped. Away from the symbol- physically, anyways- Hana's headache was beginning to subside. The cloudiness in her mind remained, however, and she leaned against the wall as she attempted to clear it out again.

Okay, okay I get it- that symbol is related to something called 'Dark Hand', I get the idea, okay...? Please just...just let me go back to thinking clearly... Hana pleaded with herself as she slowly began to make her way down the hallway. That room, that symbol...why do I still feel like I...I know something...? Is that why my head started hurting, because I was surrounded by...something familiar...?

She shook her head as she approached the main area of the West Wing. No, no, what am I saying? The symbol, the door, the room- I've never seen them before, it's...it's something else. I've never seen them before, I've never seen them before, I've...never...

Hana slowly came to a stop as she came to another realization- she no longer believed her own reassurances.

Suddenly, a mechanical whirring sound brought Hana back to reality; this noise was quickly followed by another whirring sound, followed by a metallic clunk.

Hey, wait- wasn't that the...? Hana asked herself, stepping into the main area and peering over the banister towards the door leading into the treasure room.

That can't be right- everyone else is back in the North Wing, so the only person around here who'd go into the treasure room is- the Ultimate told herself, before immediately answering her own questions. Oh, wait a second.

Hana made her way around the second floor and down the stairs leading to the ground floor of the West Wing, then approached the treasure room scanner. It was then that she found herself hesitating, oddly enough- she was desperate for some company to help clear her mind, yet the ever-growing dark part of her mind told her to avoid seeing anyone. In the end, however, the former of Hana's feelings prevailed; she took out her e-Handbook and held it to the scanner. Once it was accepted, the metal door slid opened without much trouble.

Hana poked her head into the treasure-filled room to confirm her suspicions- and it only took a second to spot a dark shape against the shining piles of gold coins. There he was, laying facedown in one of the piles as if he was trying to drown himself in coins- Hinata Yonade, who didn't even look up at the sound of the door opening.

Hana was silent for a moment, then stepped in fully as the door closed behind her. "...Uh...Hinata? What, uh...what are you doing in here?"

"..." Hinata remained silent for a moment before rolling over onto his back, his gold eyes staring emptily at the ceiling. "...I don't know. Got tired of being in my room...didn't wanna go anywhere else...so I came here."

He absentmindedly fiddled with a few coins near his hand; nodding, Hana sat down on a pile of coins of her own, looking around the gleaming room. She suddenly remembered that the pearl bracelet Hinata gifted to Rumi some time ago had come from this very room...but of course, the Ultimate knew better than to verbalize her observation.

"...You know, uh- we looked around the North Wing," Hana said to him. "Pretty...interesting place, I'll say. I think you'd like it- there's a throne room, and the throne itself is pretty fancy. I mean- you can't remove it, but it's nice to sit in at least!"

Hinata didn't respond- he continued to stare at the ceiling, leaving it ambiguous as to whether he was actually listening or not.

"...And, uh...you know, now that the entire castle's open, there's more opportunities for us to find clues about the killing game," Hana then told him, trying to sound encouraging. "I'm sure the others would appreciate your help, and-"

"The others...? Ah, Hana- what makes you think they'd want me around?" Hinata asked, shaking his head.

"Wha-? Hey, if you're talking about the trial, it- I'm sure the others don't hate you for what happened," Hana reassured him. "They're worried about you, believe me, they-"

"Sure they are, sure," Hinata bitterly responded. "You really think Akira's forgiven me by now? What about Ryoto, after what I did to him? Hiroshi, Asuna- the way I was towards them, they..."

He sighed sorrowfully. "There's no way they want me around, not a chance. And I don't blame 'em- I tried to get everyone killed so Rumi could escape, and I couldn't even...it wasn't even...it didn't..."

The thief trailed off, squeezing his eyes closed like he was holding back tears.

"Well...what about me? I'm here, I'm talking to you, I don't hate you-" Hana pointed out, standing up. "I understand how you feel about...about losing them, about losing her. Doesn't that count for something...?"

"..." Hinata worked a muscle in his jaw in thought before responding, "Hana...you're just one person. One person forgiving me isn't gonna make things better so easily..."

"Well- you can't just keep isolating yourself forever, you know? Whether you believe me or not, I wasn't lying about most of the others being worried about you," Hana responded with a sigh. "I know you're having a hard time, I get it, but...do you really think-"

The surfer hesitated as she tried to find the right way to word her response, then sighed and finished, "Do you...really think Rumi would have wanted you to cut yourself off like this...?"

Once again, Hinata was silent, but he at least appeared to be contemplating what Hana said. But then he closed his eyes and rolled away, facing away from Hana as he muttered in response, "Why does that matter...? She's gone."

It was a simple response, yet that simple truth still managed to cut into Hana- likely because the events of the trial were still so recent. She wanted to continue trying to get through to Hinata somehow, but...she found could form no more words, as her mind started to drift into dark, familiar territory.

He's got the right idea, staying away from everyone- either way, he'll just end up getting hurt, and that's the last thing he needs... Hana told herself, almost unconsciously. Why am I even bothering? What's the point of still trying to make nice with everyone, it'll just be more painful if another murder-

Instantly, Hana bit back a frustrated growl and gripped her head again, forcing the negative thoughts out of her head once again. Stop it, stop it, now is definitely not the time for those thought to waltz in, I- I need to-

"Uh...Hinata, just- just keep what I said in mind, alright...?" Hana somewhat hastily told her classmate while she tried to hide the strain on her face. "We'll...be around- me, Hiroshi, Asuna..."

Hinata said nothing, nor did he turn back around to face her. With that, Hana herself turned around, held her handbook to the exit scanner, then walked through the door once it opened.

After the door closed behind her, Hana softly groaned and put a hand to her forehead. Her guilt was immense; she truly wanted to continue trying to help the heartbroken Ultimate Thief rather than simply leave him there in the treasure room. However, her less-than-ideal mental state indicated now was not the best time for her to try- for her own sake and, possibly, Hinata's (for saying the wrong thing could lead to disaster, as Hana had learned previously).

"Hana?"

Hearing a sudden new voice caused Hana to yelp in fright, frantically looking around for the source. Looking upwards, she saw Asuna looking over the railing almost directly above her.

"Oh, Asuna! It's you, I thought-" Hana began, awkward. "I, uh...hey there."

"S-Sorry, uh- stay right there for a second," Asuna told her, quickly running around the corner and down the stairs to meet Hana.

Once she was in front of the surfer, Asuna began, "Uh- what were you doing in the treasure room?"

"Ah...Hinata's in there," Hana explained, gesturing to the metallic door in question. "I uh...heard someone go inside, went in myself, saw Hinata, tried to talk to him...didn't really pan out..."

Hearing this, Asuna glanced back and forth between Hana and the door, likely trying to decide which one of her distraught classmates she should talk to first.

Ultimately, the gardener chose to speak to the classmate who was already in front of her, quickly turning back to Hana and asking, "H-Hold on, ah- are you okay?"

"Am I okay-? Of course I'm okay, I'm perfectly fine now!" Hana assured the girl with a crooked smile.

"Really? B-Because your reaction to the symbol was so...so visceral, I..." Asuna began. "Th-The others got pretty worried too- even Akira seemed pretty surprised by what happened to you, a-and we couldn't really find you anywhere-"

"Asuna, Asuna, there's nothing to worry about!" Hana insisted as she began to back away towards the stairs- although she didn't know why. "What happened today, it was just, uh- stress! Perfectly natural, I'm fine now."

In saying that, she nearly tripped over the bottom step of the stairs as she backed away over it.

"I-I mean, you and I were both there when we found those banners from the East Wing, a-and back then you didn't react to that symbol the way you did today..." Asuna worriedly explained. "So- what happened today...?"

"I...I don't know, okay? I wish I did, but I don't," Hana finally admitted as she stopped backing away. Truly, it wasn't a lie- more than anything, she wanted some way to explain these strange occurrences, such that she could find a way to stave off her sudden negative feelings for good.

"I...understand, I-I can't imagine what it must have been like," Asuna sympathetically replied. "Still, th-that's why it was so worrying to see you like that, you know?"

Hana's expression softened, and she went silent as Asuna spoke.

"Um- hey, Hana? I-I'm gonna try to talk to Hinata, but afterwards..." the Ultimate Gardener went on, attempting to stifle her awkwardness. "D-Do you, uh- want to hang out? I think having company w-will be good for you after...w-whatever happened in the hidden room."

Hana's eyes widened slightly in surprise- after all, Asuna usually wasn't the type of person to instigate social interaction- but nonetheless, she was happy to hear the request. For a moment, the darkness clouding her mind cleared once more, and she wanted to accept the offer...

But then, as quickly as it departed, that dark weight fell upon her shoulders again, and Hana found herself responding instead, "I...I can't. I-I wouldn't mind that, but right now I...I..."

Asuna was visibly taken aback by this. "Wait- huh?"

Unable to word another response, Hana took off up the stairs and down the hall leading into the South Wing, leaving Asuna behind in a state of confusion and growing concern.

---

This time, Hana knew exactly where she was going: her own bedroom, the most isolated spot she could think of off the top of her head. She wasted no time entering the room, making sure the door was locked, then flopping down on her bed. Her head was still swirling with bitter and angry thoughts regarding her classmates and their companionship, the killing game itself, whether escape without murder was possible or not (with her thoughts going towards the latter)...all this nihilism, and Hana was fighting to force it all away.

Eventually, she sat up and reached under her pillow once more, grasping the two items kept beneath it. She stared at the photo of her and her parents like she had done so many times before, the smiles on their faces and the hope in their eyes; then she gazed at the pearl that had once been a part of Rumi's bracelet, a reminder of the friendship she had with her and their other classmates. Just as Hana hoped, looking at these two keepsakes was enough to ward off the fog in her mind...for the most part.

Letting out a long sigh, Hana contemplated what to do next. Should I...go back and find the others? Let them know that I'm- well, that I didn't die at least?

As she had that thought, Hana found that her desire to see the others was drastically diminished- was it a result of the negative feelings taking hold of her as of late? Was it something else completely? Whatever the case, Hana couldn't deny her lack of wanting to see her classmates, and she chose not to fight it.

In deciding that, she shoved the family photo back under her pillow, then moved to do the same with the pearl...but Hana hesitated, staring down at it one more time as Rumi's last request to her (and Asuna) resurfaced in her mind...

---

The scuba diver then walked over to Hana and directly told her, "Just...keep being that compassionate person I became friends with, okay? Having someone like you around makes this whole killing game thing a lot more bearable- everyone's gonna need that, I'm sure."

She glanced at Asuna, who was standing solemnly silent nearby and added, "Asuna, Hana- both of you, remember to stick together, okay? You're all that's gonna be left of our little 'library group', after all. As long as you two are still kicking it together...it makes me feel a little better about...you know."

---

It was then that Hana felt herself becoming choked up again- not just because of her lingering grief regarding Shiori and Rumi's deaths, but because of her failure to live up to the latter's final words thus far.

I...I don't understand...that 'compassion' Rumi said I had, where'd it go...? Where's it going? Why am I rejecting anything having to do with hope and- anything good, really? Hana desperately asked herself, closing her trembling hand over the pearl. I want to save everyone, I want to prove Tadao was wrong about there being no escape beyond the Graduation Clause, I want...I want to keep being positive and compassionate...

The pearl fell of her hand and onto the bed as Hana opened her hands to stare down at her palms. So what...what are these feelings that keep popping up...? It's not the killing game, it can't be the killing game, these thoughts...they feel too...too familiar. Why, WHY do they feel so familiar? What's...Why...

"What is happening to me...?" Hana quietly asked herself aloud, her voice cracking from emotion. She moved the pearl back into its proper spot under her pillow, then buried her face in her hands as she continued to try and block out any further bitter thoughts.

We need to get out of here. We need to get out, if that message from before is right then- then there is a way, we just- I just- need to find it. Hana resolved. Tonight, during nighttime, I'll...I'll go out on my own, I'll go into the North Wing, and I'll...I'll look around, just like I did in the East Wing.

Hana laid down on her back, pondering this course of action- for now, she a slightly more selfish reason to seek out this mysterious escape. While her main motivation was ensuring the safety of the rest of her classmates (even Akira), it was now also a matter of her own health...because Hana feared that, if they didn't find a way out soon, her mental state would only get worse.

So, she attempted to simply sleep the rest of the day away- and it truly was an attempt, because every time Hana closed her eyes long enough, all she could see was the insignia of 'Dark Hand'.

---

Even when the nighttime announcement played at 10 PM, Hana didn't immediately leave her room, for there may have been a few stragglers heading into their rooms at the time of the announcement. The surfer waited about an hour, then exited the bedroom; she first poked her head out of her doorway and scanned the hallway to ensure no one was awake and about. Once that was confirmed, Hana wasted little time exiting the room fully and making her way down the hallway to the central hall of the South Wing.

Okay, just a simple investigation into the North Wing- it won't take all night, I just need to make sure not to go into the room with the Dark Hand symbol... Hana told herself as she made her way to the courtyard. Or the catacombs. Or the dungeon-morgue. Everywhere else is fair game, though!

With that plan set, Hana walked across the courtyard and through the massive doors leading into the main hall of the North Wing.

Taking a deep breath, Hana cracked her knuckles in anticipation and told herself, "Alright, North Wing...let's see if you're hiding anything else."

Thus, Hana searched as much of the northmost section as she could- though she exempt herself from investigating three of the locations, that still left the main hall, the power room, and the throne room itself to be examined. Of course, she started in the expansive main hall- she looked at each pillar, under the carpet (as much as she could, it was a rather sizable carpet), the dark walls of the hall, even looking at the stairs themselves for any clues.

When that search turned up fruitless, Hana turned her attention to the power room. She made sure to examine the numerous machines lining the walls, though she had no understanding of how they worked; of course, she was too worried about causing a blackout or overpowering one of the generators to mess around with any of the switches or buttons on some of them. Nevertheless, she did her best to investigate what she could, even looking at (and under) the table with the tools and Kiragi Ashikawa's catchphrase carved on it for clues. However, no matter where in the room she looked, there was nothing.

Her last stop was the throne room itself- even though she had a feeling its only secret was the hidden room with the painted door, Hana knew she still had to try and find something more. And so, she searched the carpet, under the carpet, the torches on the wall, the walls themselves, the elevated stage, even the throne itself to try and find something besides the hidden room. But alas, her search of the throne room also yielded no clues- and she still had no desire to go back inside said hidden room for fear of having another physical reaction to the 'Dark Hand' symbol.

Defeated by lack of clues, Hana made one last attempt to find something by searching the hallways leading to the East and West Wings, respectively; unsurprisingly, there were no clues to be found in those either.

After everything, Hana found herself in the West Wing once again; she was making her way out to the courtyard, but decided to stop in the ballroom and sit down in front of the piano to rest.

Welp- that's an hour and a half I'm never getting back. Hana told herself with a sigh. Why'd I think I'd be able to find anything? Of course there's no other way out, the catacombs and that hidden room are probably just-

Sensing her thoughts turning to the defeatism once again, Hana gave herself a sharp pinch on the arm to snap herself out of it. Even still, her disappointment over not finding anything was genuine and still very much present.

What now? Sure, there are the other places I didn't check, so it's not totally helpless, but- but what are the odds they'll turn up something? Hana asked herself, her frustration growing. This is stupid, this won't work, this- would it have killed the person who tampered with my handbook to be less cryptic!? Anything would have been better, but noooo they had to go and be all mysterious like we're in some kind of novel, and now- NOW, I don't even know what to do anymore!

With a frustrated groan, Hana collapsed onto the piano bench onto her back, her arms and feet hanging over the edges while she wordlessly vented at the ceiling. When she was done, she turned her head so she was staring at the polished floor underneath the piano...

...And that was when she noticed something odd.

A portion of the floor beneath the piano, and a somewhat large one at that, appeared slightly misaligned with the rest of the marble tiles making up the floor. Hana furrowed her brow in confusion, rolling over so she was instead laying on her stomach so she wasn't looking at it upside-down.

How long has that been like that...? The whole time this wing's been open? Hana wondered. ...Maybe these trials really are making me more perceptive than I was before.

She slid off the bench and crouched down so she could fit under the piano, running her finger along the edges of the misaligned section. The portion was, in fact, pretty sizable, but still contained right underneath the piano; additionally, the section was rectangular, made of an even amount of tiles so it looked barely different from the rest of the floor.

Did...the builders of this place make a mistake in putting in the tiles...? Hana speculated. I mean it wouldn't be the first example of this place's weird design flaws, but I wonder-

As she put a hand against the section and pressed down on it, wanting to see if there was anything special about this oddity in the floor, she heard a stony clunk- a familiar sound. At that moment, the floor section appeared to sink down slightly before sliding underneath the rest of the floor with a stony grinding sound- just like the entrance to the catacombs in the North Wing.

Hana's jaw dropped as she witnessed this, but what shocked her even more was what the opening revealed: another set of stone stairs descending into a jet black darkness, made even darker by the nighttime.

Through all of Hana's confused and bewildered thoughts, one made itself clear to her very quickly- she had to tell a certain someone about this discovery.

---

"HIROSHIIIIII!" Hana screamed as she bolted from the ballroom and back to the South Wing. The surfer was running so fast, she nearly tripped over her own feet in her haste; on the positive side, Hana made it to Hiroshi's bedroom door in less than a minute.

"HIROSHI! HIROSHI OPEN UP, OPEN UP RIGHT NOW!" Hana cried out, swiftly pounding on Hiroshi's door as hard as she could. She was glad the other rooms were more or less soundproof, otherwise she would be at risk to wake up everyone.

The Ultimate Coroner, clad in his pajamas and his wavy hair somewhat messy, opened the door a few seconds later- and Hana nearly hit him in the face when he did from how rapidly she was knocking.

"Wha-? Hana? What are you- what are you doing up like this?" Hiroshi asked, his tired eyes losing their grogginess the moment he saw her. "And why do you look so panicked?"

"Okay, okay- I wanted to do some solo investigation of the North Wing after everyone was asleep- I didn't find anything by the way-" Hana rapidly explained, barely taking the time to breath. "So I went to the West Wing and I was lying down next to the piano because I was frustrated and then- then I saw there was a part of the floor that looked off-"

"Uh- er- Hana, don't you remember what happened the last time you went out at night by yourself-?" Hiroshi began, clearly trying to make sense of what the surfer was telling him.

"Yeah yeah, that's not the point though! The point- the point is..." Hana went on, finally catching her breath. "I found something, and I think it's important, and you need to come with me and see for yourself!"

"Alright, alright, settle down- I'm coming," Hiroshi assured her, stepping out of his bedroom and closing the door behind him.

With that, Hana quickly led Hiroshi back towards the West Wing and the ballroom, hoping her discovery hadn't disappeared for one reason or another; meanwhile, the coroner was barely able to keep up with her stride.

"...So, uh- Hana," Hiroshi spoke up at one point. "I don't suppose now would be a good time to ask about what happened with the hidden room and the...hand symbol?"

"Nope!" Hana answered, not looking away from her path.

"Or about where you've been hiding all day? Even when dinner came around?" Hiroshi then inquired.

"Nope!" Hana repeated in the exact same manner as before.

"...Noted," Hiroshi conceded with a frown.

Finally, the two entered the ballroom from the courtyard, and it didn't take long for Hiroshi to see what Hana was talking about.

"Oh my goodness," Hiroshi remarked in surprise.

"Yeah! And wait until you actually look into it," Hana told him, leading him over.

She crouched down in the manner she had before, gesturing for Hiroshi to do the same. The other Ultimate obliged, and he too was able to see the familiar-looking stairs leading into blackness.

"What the...?" Hiroshi began, perplexed. Then, his gaze grew firm and he told Hana, "Hey, Hana- help me push this piano to the side a bit."

Now it was Hana's turn to be confused, but she obeyed regardless. The weight of the piano made the task difficult, but soon enough the duo were successful in sliding the grand piano away enough so the opening was completely uncovered.

"Okay- shine your e-Handbook down the hole, if you have it, because I didn't bring mine with," Hiroshi instructed her. "I'm going down those stairs."

"Wait, what?" Hana asked, swiftly turning to him in disbelief. "After what happened earlier-?"

"I'm not going in completely, I'm just going to the bottom of the stairs to confirm something," Hiroshi reassured her. "I swear on my life, and any gods who are listening."

With a little 'mmph' of concern, Hana took out her handbook and shone the blue light down the dank stairwell. Hiroshi carefully descended, vanishing into the inky depths quickly. Less than a minute later, Hiroshi returned to the surface, likely guided by the light from Hana's e-Handbook.

"Well- that confirms that," Hiroshi remarked. "Down these steps...are another set of catacombs."

"Y-You're serious!?" Hana yelped, baffled. "B-But Monokuma said only the North Wing had catacombs!"

"Well, Monokuma lied," Hiroshi responded matter-of-factly. "Although for what reason, I can't fathom."

"But what does it mean? What, are there more? Are there hidden stairs in the South Wing and the East Wing too?" Hana rambled. "Do the catacombs actually have some big secret?"

"One question at a time, Hana," Hiroshi told her as he kept his composure much better. "For now, let's close this up and move the piano back."

Together, they slid the 'door' to the catacombs back into its original position and pushed the piano back to its normal spot. Thus, the only evidence of the pair's discovery was the original misaligned tiles and some scratches on the floor where the piano legs had been pushed.

"...Hey, Hana?" Hiroshi spoke up, his arms crossed. "For now, can we...keep this discovery between us?"

"Huh...? Why?" Hana asked.

"Well, nobody really knows the purpose or layout of the north catacombs, so what good will knowing about an entirely separate section of catacombs do the others?" Hiroshi rationalized. "And I'm not saying we should keep this a secret forever, just...for the time being."

"I...guess that makes sense," Hana answered. "Still, keeping secrets like this isn't really a good thing- learned that the way, thanks to Saku's note during his and Shiro's trial..."

Shaking his head, she added, "But- no one's dead, and we don't know anything about the catacombs anyways, and I trust you as my friend, so...alright, it'll stay between us."

"Thanks, Hana," Hiroshi replied with a calm smile. "Now- you might want to get some sleep, if you've been investigating all night. And I hope you're there for breakfast tomorrow- it was pretty worrying, you not being there for a dinner meeting."

"Ah...sorry about that," Hana responded, rubbing the back of her neck with an apologetic frown. "I'll see what I can do tomorrow, I swear."

"I look forward to it," Hiroshi told her with a nod. "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah- goodnight, Hiroshi," Hana responded, starting to make her way back to her bedroom...only to realize Hiroshi wasn't leaving as well. "Uh...Hiroshi? Aren't you going back to bed too?"

"Huh-? Oh- I will, there's just...something I wanted to look at real fast," Hiroshi cryptically responded. "Don't worry, it's nothing that'll cost me my life, no need to worry."

Although Hana's eyes darkened with- well, worry, she decided to take Hiroshi's word for it and trust in his sense of self-preservation. With that, she nodded in farewell, and truly made her way back to her bedroom this time.

---

A/N: And so we end on...MORE mystery! Hooraaaaay! ...Hey, it's Chapter 5, of course things are gonna get a little more cryptic and tense.

Now in case you didn't pick up on it- the reason there were no Free Time Events in this part is because Hana is pretty much going through, like, four crises. Basically- you know how in DR, if a character is depressed or upset you'll be unable to initiate an FTE with them? Something that happened in this story as well? Well I thought to myself 'Hey, what if I did that...but with the main character?' And it's still plot relevant, so- even better!

But alas, the time has returned! The Free Time will return in the next part (for reasons you'll see in said part)! And- well, there aren't that many options because Hiroshi was maxed out and Akira will not be available because she is just Done(TM) with everyone- but that does include Hinata (again, for reasons you'll see next time), so yay!

Now then- take this code, and go forth and vote (for two characters): w5bdc9cs

And with this, I will see you guys in the next part! Until then, speculate- what's behind the door in the hidden room in the throne room? Is there something more significant about the catacombs than meets the eye? Why's Hiroshi being more cryptic than usual? What's the deal with Kiragi Ashikawa, the Former Ultimate Doomsday Prepper? And most of all- what in the world is happening to Hana?

Stay tuned!