And now for when things start to pick up since half of the group is left.

Genuine Defection

"I can't believe that all happened...but still, at least we know what they're doing now."

"Well, what he's doing now, since she's not part of it anymore."

"That is true..."

"But can they trust her?"

"We'll have to wait and see...but for thier sake, I hope so..."

*DAILY LIFE*

I felt like something was on top of me when I awoke the next day. I looked down to see that Hibiki was sleeping on me, my face went red as the implication of sleeping on top of someone can lead to umm...slightly awkward sensations. I slowly put my arms around her and gently moved her off me so she was laying on her side and next to me. My mind then switched to yesterday...Hajime and Shinji sacrificed themselves to save Emma. Now it was up to us to keep Yuki from Mikado, we'll make sure he's safe.

Hibiki soon woke up and saw me, her face went a little red, but she smiled.

"Morning, Owen." She said quietly.

"Morning yourself." I replied, smiling back.

We shared a kiss and I got out of bed. Cleaning myself up a little, I stood by the door as Hibiki got out and went to the bathroom to clean herself up. When the both of us were ready, I held her hand and we left, making our way down to the diner where only the other girls were waiting.

"Good morning, Ro-Ro." Setsuka greeted. "And morning, Biki."

"Looks like Hibiki confessed her feelings." Kokoro said.

"Y-yeah, she did." I replied before sitting between Yoruko and Kokoro.

Setsuka winked. "Then, should we make a bet on when Emma will join the harem?"

"Oh goodness..." Emma blushed. "That's quite a bold assumption."

"Yuki's not here?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm afraid he hasn't come out of his room." Setsuka said. "After what happened with Shin, I'm worried for him."

"Me too...after all, he's the only other good guy we have left in the group." Yoruko added.

She had a point. Putting Mikado aside, this was now a female-dominated group, but I didn't mind that, because I love them...and possibly Emma soon.

"So then, are you ready to talk about your choice, Emma?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yes...as of yesterday evening...I want to help you defeat the last existence of Void, and put a stop to Mikado's plans."

"So you're joining our side? That's a relief." Setsuka said.

"I had made my mind up on that day, but after Mikado threw Shinji under the bus, that proved that my decision was the right one."

Kokoro nodded. "So will you explain to us what you know?"

"Of course, let me start from the beginning." She cleared her throat.

'Looks like this is gonna be a long one...'

"Long ago, despair was a regular presence across the world. It first came to existence thanks to the biggest and most awful tragic event in human history. The person responsible for the tragic event was a high school student known as Junko Enoshima. She was a student at Hope's Peak Academy many years ago, her plan to unleash despair began when she kidnapped the academy's principal and killed him. She then took over the academy and the class of students she was with ended up being trapped in the academy and forced them to play the killing game, much like the one we've been forced to go through."

"That's horrible..." Hibiki said.

"However, the circumstances back then were slightly different, Void did not exist at that time. Junko Enoshima first came to the academy as the Ultimate Fashionista, but in actuality, she was known as the Ultimate Analyst. She would go to become the mastermind behind the killing game and to ensure it would work, she created an animatronic in the shape of a bear called Monokuma. This bear would also be Junko's disguise and one by one, the students in her class lost their lives until six students remained and she was defeated in the end."

My heart thumped twice when she mentioned Junko Enoshima and Monokuma...hmm, I'm starting to see a resemblance.

"What happened after that?" Yoruko asked.

"The six survivors would go on to found an organisation known as the Future Foundation. They were to represent as the world's hope for the future, they would travel across the world, finding other students and other people who were brainwashed by Junko's message, those people would become to known as the Remnants Of Despair." Emma answered. "Then after a few years passed, another killing game started. A class of students who were part of the Remnants Of Despair, were brought in by the Future Foundation members, they had a method in place in order to wipe the brainwashing from their minds by using a state-of-the-art virtual reality simulation. Much like the one we're in right now."

"Wait, does that mean that we used to be part of the Remnants Of Despair?" Setsuka asked.

"Not exactly, that was years ago. So to continue explaining. The sixteen students were logged into the simulation, but in the process, there was a glitch that occurred in the system. Prior to Junko's death, she created an A.I that would hack into the simulation and turn what should've been a refresher course into another killing game. However, since it occurred inside the virtual reality, none of the students actually 'died', except for one who turned out to be an A.I mole for the Future Foundation. After Junko's A.I was defeated there, Hope's Peak was shut down for a while and the students were sent to rehabilitation."

'I couldn't believe what I was hearing...but she was saying it so clearly...'

"What about the Future Foundation, is that still around?" Kokoro asked.

"Yes, even to this day, they still exist." Emma nodded. "After the Remnants Of Despair dwindled in numbers, a small group of defectors left and went into hiding in order to create a despair-filled association of thier own...that association would later one be called...simply Void. The group I used to be in as of last night. This may not come as a surprise, but the one who founded the group was Mikado himself. He handpicked a few others to go into hiding with him. Those chosen were Yuri, Iroha, Shinji, myself...and two others. One of those two...was Akane Tiara, the Ultimate Maid. And a young boy who was referred to as Void's biggest fan...Utsuro."

"Utsuro...what was he like?" I asked.

"He was filled with despair just as much as the rest of us were. One day, Akane Tiara came up with the idea of wanting to start a killing game on Void's behalf. Mikado allowed her to proceed with it, and she took Utsuro with him. Hope's Peak Academy had been restored for sometime by then, the students involved got recommendation letters and they attended the academy, unaware that Akane had taken over the building and with knowledge from Mikado, created Monokuma. She did that with the goal she had in mind, to recreate the the events of the first killing game in order to bring despair to the world once more."

"I...I don't know what to say." Yoruko said.

"And yet, I can understand it so well." Setsuka added.

"However, during the killing game, Akane was forced to change her plans and ended up sacrificing Utsuro in order to keep her mastermind identity silent. But at the very end, she was exposed by the remaining six survivors, one boy and five girls to be exact and Akane was executed. When we heard of what happened, Mikado was absolutely fuming over it, and he was desperate to make things right. So when Hope's Peak was closed again, he proceeded to take the matter into his own hands and found a way to dive into this virtual reality simulation system, he brought the rest of us with him and we were given tasks to kill chosen targets as a reason to create despair."

I nodded. "And after what we heard from Mikado, that makes it all the more reason why we have to stop him."

"Which now brings me to what Mikado plans to do. He wishes to bring forth despair to the world again, but he also wishes to use the body of one student in order to resurrect Utsuro...and Yuki Meada is the target. You see, Utsuro is the perfect reincarnated form of Junko Enoshima, minus the over-the-top personalities that she had. That is Void's true goal and the reason why we cannot allow Mikado to have Yuki. If he succeeds, he'll aid in his escape to the real world and despair will take over the world once again. It's the exact reason why he wants Yuki to be kept alive and why he wants to stay alive."

"So that is his true plan, to capture Yuki and fill his mind with despair so that Utsuro will be able to take over his body." Kokoro said.

"Now do you see why I took so long to make a choice? It's because I should've known that at some point, us Void members would end up being sacrifices for his own goal. I should've realized that the moment he allowed Yuri to be executed. Then I saw Iroha executed and that was enough for me to decide that I no longer want to work with him, I can't even stand him anymore! He's the true definition of a cunning, a heartless and an outright manipulative bastard who deserves to die in hell!" She sighed. "Sorry, it's been bottling up inside me for a while. I'm sure you understand."

"So what do we do now?" Hibiki asked. "How are we gonna stop him?"

"I think our first goal will be to try and help Yuki resist in turning into Utsuro." I answered. "If he becomes just like Utsuro, then Mikado's plan will already be finished and it'll be the end for us."

"Yes, but we must be prepared to face off against Mikado, when he realizes that his whole plan will be in jeopardy." Emma said. "There's a lot he can do in this virtual world, and even I have no idea what he might come up with, but I do plan to explain all of this to Future Foundation once we defeat Mikado and find a way out of here. As for the tower itself, it wasn't supposed to be there, that was most likely hacked into the simulation somehow. Someone is watching over us, but I do not know the name. Mikado is the only one who knows and he also knows that the Future Foundation has been after him for a while and it's only now that they've started catching up to him."

"What about the virtual world itself?" Yoruko asked. "I don't think that was ever discussed."

"Well, there is a theory on dying inside the virtual world. If they were to die in the virtual world, thier bodies would still be alive in the real world." Emma then felt sad. "However, I'm afraid Mikado managed to change all that. If they die in this world, they will also be dead in the real world."

Suddenly, the flashbacks of the deaths of Syobai, Sora, Nikei, Yuri, Kanade, Iroha, Hajime, and Shinji played in my head.

"So everyone who died in the virtual world...can't come back?" I asked as I looked down. "I was hoping to be wrong, so that we could ask Sora about her memories."

"Oh yeah, Ra-Ra said that when she arrived here, she couldn't remember anything and that she had amnesia." Setsuka said.

"That is correct, even with the information Mikado gave us about you all, Sora was the major unknown." Emma replied. "I don't think even he knew about her before the plan."

"So whilst we're keeping Yuki away from Mikado, where can we find clues to escape?" I asked.

"I have a feeling that the last island we're about to see, may be the deciding factor." Emma hummed. "And what's more, Mikado would need to have an escape plan in mind too. Otherwise, he would be stuck in this virtual world as well."

"But at least we can now be sure that the Future Foundation is looking over us." Kokoro said. "I have to say Emma, listening to all this, has really opened my eyes on how limited I saw everything in life. I don't think it's just Owen who's grown, you have as well."

"You think so? I like to believe that all of us have grown."

"Yeah, especially with our leader." Setsuka said. "A real ladies man too who we've all come to love."

I blushed. "Ummm, not right now, please?"

"Anyways, there's one last thing to all this. The reset code was something we weren't aware of, that was most likely Mikado acting on his own and I believe he mentioned the killing order once before. The killing order Mikado decided was Yuri, myself, Iroha and Shinji. But that was changed because of Syobai getting killed unexpectedly, so I was asked to be the first member of void to kill, but that failed, so Mikado changed it back to have Yuri kill first. But then he skipped past me and chose Iroha instead, most likely because I was beginning to have doubts about the entire plan."

"So what can we expect from the fifth and final island?" Yoruko asked.

"Well, from what I heard, it's a little different."

"How is it different?" Hibiki asked.

"Remember the roadblock on the fourth island? Well there's going to be a bridge-way there that'll let us explore the fifth island once the roadblock is cleared."

"Right, then we better get to breakfast, all that discussing made me real hungry." I replied.

We soon tucked into the packed lunches and once we were done, an announcement came on.

*DING DONG, DING DONG*

"Attention students, this is a field trip announcement. The roadblock on the fourth island has been cleared and the way to the fifth and final island is now open. Enjoy exploring the last of the islands to your hearts content. Sigh...fufu..."

"Huh? What was up with Monocrow?" Yoruko asked.

"Yeah, he didn't seem cheerful like usual." Setsuka added.

"It may be because of how much Mikado has taken control of the killing field trip ever since the third trial." Emma explained. "He must be feeling like he's no longer important, I'm beginning to wonder if he was made by Mikado just so he could keep things in order and that his plan would remain uninterrupted."

"Well, whatever the reason may be, we have a new island to explore." I stood up. "By the way, what should we do about Yuki?"

"Oh yeah, we can't just leave him in his room." Setsuka said. "Mikado might use his magic and catch him."

Just then, one of the diner doors opened and in stood Yuki who looked toneless and grim.

"It's open...let's go." He spoke and then left.

"Yuki? Wait!" I called for him. "Looks like he's isn't back to normal yet."

"Guess he'll be going with us regardless of what state he's in." Setsuka said. "Let's all keep an eye on him."

We all nodded and left the diner to go out of the cruise. We made our way to the fourth island and over the small city block where the roadblock that was saw before was no longer there. Just as Monocrow said, it was all cleared up. We walked along the unlocked bridge-way and onto the fifth and last island. On first glance, it looked like a small city, especially since it had a sign saying 'Welcome to Higa City'.

"Well now...I didn't expect to find a city being involved." I said.

"As for the name of the city, that doesn't exist in the real world, correct?" Kokoro asked.

Emma nodded. "Yes, but unlike the tower, this whole island was definitely part of the plan."

"Right you are, Ms. Margorobi." Mikado appeared. "Welcome one and all to Higa City, an impressive spectacle is it not?"

"Mikado, can I at least have control of the field trip?" Monocrow asked as he looked down in sadness. "You know, from when this all began?"

"Fine, fine...I have my own important matters to focus on."

We then looked at Yuki who stared back at him.

"You're not getting your hands on him!" Yoruko said.

"Calm yourself, Ms. Kabuya. I don't plan to get myself killed." Mikado replied. "Kidnapping him whilst you're all exploring the last island would hardly be the time for it."

"Ahem! If I may continue!" Monocrow intervened. "Now to start with, this small city has one roadway that goes all around in a big circle, so you won't end up getting lost. The city itself has its own features, it has an entertainment studio, an office building, the biggest mart on the entire island, and a very classy hotel. So just in case you wish to sleep away from the monocruise, use the hotel rooms instead. Speaking of which, I should add that in as a rule. And done!"

We heard a ding on our handbooks which showed the newest rule.

'Students are allowed to sleep in their rooms on the cruise, or in one of the hotel rooms in Higa City. Sleeping anywhere else will be a violation of school rules.'

"Ah yes, and speaking of the hotel rooms, I need to give one of these to each of you." Monocrow brought several cards and gave us one each.

"What is this?" Hibiki asked.

"These are hotel ID cards, each one has your name on it." Monocrow answered. "If you want to sleep in one of the hotel rooms, use that card to check yourself in at the reception desk. It's all automated so there's no need to wait. Then you can use that card again to access one of the hotel rooms. When you awake the next day, just use that card at the reception desk to check yourself out. Sounds simple enough, correct?"

"It does indeed, well summarized, teacher." Mikado said.

"Oh, so now we're going to back to being teacher and student?"

He chuckled. "Just for a little while longer, filling Yuki with despair takes a lot of time and effort, you know."

"So what..." Yuki spoke. "Stand aside, you're worthless."

Mikado did his fake crying again. "Awww! Even when you're like that, you're still picking on me!"

"Well, you're the one who started it." Yoruko said.

"Huuu...well, not that it matters, he'll see sense soon. Now then, I shall drown my sorrows at the casino, toodle-hoo!"

He left instantly.

"And as for me, enjoy exploring the city and make sure to come here to enjoy the view of the lights that glow up in the night." Monocrow said. "Fufu!"

He left as well.

"Well, he sure cheered up quickly." Setsuka said.

"Probably because he feels like he's back in control again." Emma added. "But who knows how long that'll last."

"Anyways, let's explore around." I said. "And make sure Yuki is with one of you, okay?"

"Sure, I'll do it." Setsuka as she took Yuki's hand. "Come on Ki-Ki, let's hit the town!"

"Whatever..." Yuki replied as they walked off.

The other girls went off as well, I guess I better start with the hotel. I went upwards to the right and saw a hotel sign, I went inside the building to see a huge reception area there was also a vending machines and a grand piano in the corner for some reason. When I took a closer look, it had a signature on it that was written in gold.

'Clair de Lune...sounds classical.'

I went to the reception desk and swiped the card I was given through a scanner and my name was then logged into the records that was on screen. I then used the elevators next to the desk to go up a floor and stepped out of the elevator and walked down a hallway before choosing a hotel room at random. I put the card through the scanner and the door unlocked, letting me go inside and looked around the hotel room.

"Wow, it's a lot bigger than the rooms back on the cruise." I commented. "The bed looks like it'll be very soft. I could sleep here, but now isn't the time to relax."

I left the room and then went my way down to the reception desk where I scanned the card to check myself out before leaving the hotel. I went to the next building where Kokoro was standing outside, and she seemed to be feeling a little down.

"What's up, Kokoro?" I asked.

Her face rose up. "Oh...sorry, Owen. I didn't realize you were there."

"You seemed a little distracted."

She nodded. "I was wondering how it went with you and Hibiki last night."

"Well as you saw at the diner, Hibiki fell in love with me and we slept together."

"I see...so that's now four girls who love you, I was wondering if you still..."

"Ah I get it." I hugged her. "It's alright, Kokoro, I still love you."

She smiled. "Thank you...still love you too."

We shared a kiss and she cheered up a little.

"So what's this building?"

"It's the entertainment studio, I didn't feel liked walking inside, cause there's too many floors."

"Oh I see, then I'll have a look inside and see what's there."

She nodded and I went inside, seeing the entrance desk, I found the stairway to took me to a floor that had a huge art studio with several blank boards and chairs and loads of art supplies in the back...Iroha would've loved this if she was still alive and wasn't a Void member. I then left the studio and walked up to the next floor which was the last one and went inside to see a massive TV studio and a modeling stage.

"This must be where they do TV shows, regardless if they're are in front of a live audience or not."

I left the studio building and went along from the right side and over to the left side where Yoruko was standing outside a bar motel.

"Hey Yoruko, did the motel catch your interest?" I asked.

"Oh, Owen, yeah, but I haven't gone inside." She replied. "Even though I'm a hostess, I don't wanna turn to the bottle after all that's happened."

"Yoruko..." I put my arms around her.

She gasped a little before she hummed and hugged me back. "I was wondering if you still loved me."

"Of course I do, you were my first, and you approved the other girls of falling for me." I looked into her eyes. "For that, I will always be grateful."

She nodded and we kissed a little romantically before pulling away.

"Hmhm, we better stop before we get carried away." She said, giggling.

"Yeah, I better get back to exploring." I replied. "We'll share a moment like that again."

She blushed. "We will...love you, Owen."

"Love you too, Yoruko."

I kept on walking to the next area, a large mart store was next, I went inside and Hibiki was there.

"Wow! Look at this mart, it's so huge!" She commented. "Oh, hey there, handsome."

"Heya, Hibiki." I replied. "You aren't kidding, it's like one of those supermarkets that could be next to a shopping centre."

"Yeah, but since it's the two of us, we could get lost in here and...snuggle up together."

I blushed a little. "Haha, that would be nice...if we weren't inside this virtual world."

I gave her a kiss and left the store. I kept on walking to the far left and then reached some kind of store that had a side door that went downstairs. I went down the stairs and opened the side door, I went inside and it was actually a gun store. Various weapons and equipment were on full display and Emma was looking around.

"There you are, Owen." Emma said. "Who would've thought there would be a gun store here?"

"Yeah, why would this island have a gun store in the city and...oh." I responded.

She nodded. "I believe Mikado added this in without telling the rest of us."

"Right...now that it's you and me, I hope we get a chance to talk later tonight."

"Yes, we should after we've shared what we all found on this island."

We shared a hug and I left the gun store. The last place I found was a huge slums area where Setsuka was with Yuki.

"Hic...hic..." Yuki was in tears.

"Ro-Ro, thank goodness you're here." Setsuka said. "I was trying to tell Ki-Ki a few sweet compliments, and then he just bawled his eyes out."

He then shivered. "I'm...I'm scared, what should I do?!"

I don't think words will be able to reach him, maybe my actions can do something.

"Yuki...let me hold your hands." I said.

I faced him and held his hands together as if he was like a brother to me. "Can you hear me, Yuki? Do you feel anything?"

He looked at me and sniffed. "Owen...is that you?"

"Yes, it's me. Do you remember what Shinji said to you? He said that we need to protect you from Mikado. You're not going to let him win, are you?"

He was silent.

"Everyone of us is here for you, don't let Utsuro win, he doesn't deserve to have another chance!"

"Utsuro..."

"You listening to me, Utsuro? You must be inside his head, right? Well let me tell you, we won't let you win, we won't let you reunite with Mikado!"

Yuki suddenly gasped. "Huh? What...where did I...get here?"

"Ki-Ki, do you recognize us?" Setsuka asked.

He sighed sadly. "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten your faces. If only Big Bro was here..."

I let go of his hands and pulled him in for a bro-hug.

"I'm sure that Shinji is watching over you, just like we are right now." I said. "If you can't believe in yourself, at least believe in him."

"Believe in big bro..."

"Ro-Ro, I think he's calming down." Setsuka said. "You can leave him with me."

"Okay...see you back at the cruise." I replied.

I gave Setsuka a hug and a kiss before leaving the slums. That should cover everything about the last island, it was time to get back to the cruise.

Whew! That explaining part brought back memories of when I wrote 'Fight For Peace'.

Next time! Emma finally joins Owen's harem, and then an unknown victim is discovered...