The group was having so much fun hanging by the pool that they decided to change locations, from the pool to the beach. The pool wasn't that big, especially with twelve people swimming in it. The beach was a lot more spacious so everyone would be able to do whatever they wanted without any limitations.

Everyone was doing something different. Sonia was in the water with Ibuki, they were having fun by splashing water at each other. Kazuichi was there too, trying to get Sonia's attention by flexing in his camouflage trunks, at least he wasn't wearing a speedo like before. No matter how hard he tried, Sonia didn't pay any attention to him. Until he tripped over a rock in the water, not paying attention to where he was placing his feet. Kazuichi fell straight into the water, luckily it wasn't that deep. When he got back up, he felt embarrassed. Makes sense, since he just made a fool of himself in front of the girl he likes. Then again it's not like it's the first time.

"Kazuichi… are you ok? That looked like it really hurt". Sonia was worried, Ibuki too.

"Ahh… yeah I'm fine". As he was trying to reassure Ibuki and Sonia, he felt something move in his hair. It was a crab, a small pink one. The girls saw the little critter in Kazuichi's hair, it wasn't the same shade as his hair, so it was pretty easy to see. The three of them couldn't help but laugh.

Meanwhile, TeruTeru was standing in the sand thinking to himself. Sunscreen still in hand, his eyes widened as if he just had an idea, knowing him nothing good could come out of this. TeruTeru walked up to Mahiru and Hiyoko, who were just sitting down, admiring the view. The moment the girls realized he was standing right behind them; they knew something perverted was running through his mind.

"Hey ladies, do you mind helping me with putting on this sunscreen? I don't want to get sunburned and I can't put this on my back by myself. I would appreciate it if you would lend me a hand, of four". He was practically drooling while he said that. Obliviously a bad sign.

"You sick bastard! Like hell we would-"

"Okay". Now that was unexpected, Mahiru would never agree to do something so perverted, especially with a guy like TeruTeru. Hiyoko was shocked at Mahiru's response, it would be surprising if she weren't shocked.

"Ooh thank you Mahiru". Even TeruTeru was surprised by her answer. But that didn't stop him from lying down in the sand on his back, waiting for the sunscreen to slowly be absorbed into his skin. But something was wrong, Mahiru put the sunscreen down and then turned to face Hiyoko.

She leaned over so she could whisper into Hiyoko's ear, based on the smile forming om Hiyoko's face, Mahiru must have had a plan. Hiyoko seemed to really enjoy this plan, it's not like they were actually going to rub sunscreen all over his body.

"Hey TeruTeru, could you please close your eyes? Doing this while you watch would be kind of embarrassing".

"Of course. Feeling is better than seeing anyway". A pervert till the end. He closed his eyes and that's when Mahiru and Hiyoko made their move. Instead of grabbing the sunscreen, they grabbed a handful of sand and placed it on TeruTeru's stomach. He flinched once he felt the sand touching his skin, not like he knew it was sand since his eyes were closed. And he kept them closed as Mahiru and Hiyoko placed a lot of sand on him. Are they trying to bury him in sand?

Mikan was sitting in the sand also, but she seemed like she didn't intend on getting in the water. In one of her hands, Mikan was holding onto a syringe. Without hesitation she injected herself with whatever was in that syringe.

"Mikan! What are you doing!?" Sonia noticed the syringe while she was swimming with Kazuichi and Ibuki, once she saw Mikan inject herself she ran towards her to see what's going on. "Why did you do that?"

"Ah… I'm sorry! But it's… not like I injected… something bad into me. It's like… an antidote".

"Antidote?"

"I've been feeling… odd since waking up from… the k-killing game. Like I'm… s-struggling with my sanity! Like I'm about to do… something crazy again". Sonia can't believe Mikan kept this a secret. She probably didn't want to be a nuisance to everyone. "B-Based on what was in my syringes when I woke up… from the killing game, I tried to… make something that had the opposite effect".

"A syringe that injects Hope instead of Despair into people?... does it work?"

"So far… yes! I… d-do feel a bit better, it might take a while for it to fully take effect".

"Then why don't you come with me, come have some fun with us!" Sonia said as she grabbed Mikan's hand and pulled her to her feet, Mikan was showing a light smile while Sonia was pulling her along.

Fuyuhiko and Peko were under a palm tree, relaxing in the shade. Fuyuhiko was sleeping, using Peko's lap as a pillow. Peko couldn't help but smile while staring at her former young master now love interest.

"Everyone's having so much fun, it's best if I don't get involved. I don't want to ruin their fun". Nagito was watching afar, he decided not to go swimming, so he changed back into his casual attire. Suddenly he started to feel odd, was he developing an illness? Nagito looked towards the beach where everybody was having fun. "I don't want them to worry". He said as he wandered off, most likely heading back to his cottage.

Mahiru and Hiyoko were giggling while they rearrange the sand on TeruTeru's stomach, it appears that they took the sand and mashed it together to create a sandcastle, a really big and possibly heavy castle. "Ok TeruTeru, you can open your eyes now".

Once his eyes opened, TeruTeru had immediately realized something. He was played. The two girls couldn't help but burst out laughing as their plan turned out to be a massive success. TeruTeru tried to get up, but he couldn't because there was too much sand on him, he felt like he was buried.

While laughing, Mahiru turned her head towards Hajime, who seems to be training with Akane. It came as a surprise to her, since she's never seen this happen before. Little did she know, Akane was used to this kind of training and Hajime was strong enough to be her sparring partner. It was tough to see exactly what was going on since Hajime and Akane were moving extremely fast, but Mahiru did see a lot of punches being thrown.

Mahiru was about to go to them once she saw Akane perform a leg sweep which made Hajime fall to the ground, until she saw him laughing. "You know, I'm starting to get tired of knocking you down over and over again". Akane seems to be laughing as well, at this point Mahiru realized that they were just having fun like everyone else. Until Hajime performed the same leg sweep Akane used in order to knock off her feet also. Now both of them were lying in the sand, laughing even more as they got up.

"You let your guard down, I don't think Nekomaru would approve of that".

"HAHA! Yeah, you're right!" all Mahiru could do was smile, it seems she finally realized that those two really do love each other.

"Wow, I see it now. But… why was I not convinced before? Was I because I thought Hajime was unreliable? Or… was it jealously? No, it can't be". She seemed to be confused over the whole ordeal, but it looked like she finally came to a conclusion. "I guess I was worried for the both of them, nothing more… nothing less. Haha… I guess Hajime is reliable after all".

Nagito was struggling to get back to his cottage, the illness he started to develop ended up being so bad, he struggled to stand on his feet. He stopped when he realized he made it to the main doors of the control room he felt so weak, he decided to rest inside. "What's… going… on? Uh no… is it… that syringe?" That was all he said before he passed out. Lying on the floor of the control room while Nekomaru, Gundham and the Imposter were still in their comatose state. Whatever's making Nagito sick, would it end up getting sick too?

Hours have passed since Nagito arrived at the control room and he showed no signs of waking up. It was 10pm so everyone else must have gone to bed. So, no one would be coming until morning. He was all alone, that's when the fingers on his right hand started twitching, then a smile formed on his face. And finally, his eyes shot open, but something was definitely wrong. "HAHAHAHA! This feeling… it's WONDERFUL!" His eyes looked like how they looked during his time in the virtual world, but something was different. There was hardly any Hope in his eyes, they were mostly filled with… Despair. "Gundham Tanaka, Nekomaru Nidai, let me help you. If I can help you, then I can help him too". He said as he stared at the pod containing the Imposter. The syringe Nagito was injected with must of brought out the Despair he felt during the killing game, it's possible the syringe Mikan used on herself could cure Nagito's Despair as it did for her. But he didn't show any symptoms after Mikan's attack, so on one was suspicious at all. "So, you'll by my Guinea pigs, I'll do exactly what Izuru did to wake the others! After all, … I've been watching him. I watched him wake up Mikan and TeruTeru and with lick on my side you'll be able to continue your fun… for her".

The next morning, Hajime was on his way to the control room. Hoping to wake up more of his friends. "I hope she likes it, nah… she'll definitely like it". it appears that Hajime did something special for someone, a girl most likely, but who? Chances are it's for Akane, but it could be for Hiyoko, Ibuki, Peko, Mahiru, Sonia or Mikan. Hajime woke up earlier then usual, so he had plenty of time to do whatever he did. He eventually made it to the main door of the control room, but before entering, he heard a voice coming from inside. "Nagito?" Hajime knew right away whose voice it belonged to. He couldn't help but feel nervous as he opened the door, he feared the worst.

As Hajime entered the control room, he immediately saw Nagito by the main computer that controlled everything from the pods to the Neo World program. Nagito heard the door open, so he around and saw Hajime standing there, he did nothing but smile. "Izuru… glad you finally made it".

Hajime could see the Despair in Nagito's eyes. "Don't tell me… whatever Mikan injected into you the other day… it's finally taken effect?"

"Yep, it sure did. And it feels AMAZING HAHAHAHAHA!" Before the two boys could do anything else, a third boy joined the party.

"Hajime? what's going on?" Kazuichi arrived at just the right time.

"Kazuichi's here too! How wonderful, it's good to see you". Nagito still had that crazy smile on his face. "Now you guys can finally witness what I've done! It's nice to help your friends out every once in a while".

"What did you do!?"

"Hajime… look!"

Kazuichi was pointing at the pods, Hajime turned his attention to them and immediately noticed something was missing. Or in this case… someone.

"G-Gundham… he's gone!"

"It's not just him!" Kazuichi pointed at another pod, Gundham wasn't the only one missing.

"Oh no… Nekomaru too!?"

"They were so confused, until I injected them with this". Nagito said as he pulled a syringe out of his jacket pocket. It was a different colour from the one Mikan used on Nagito. "It seems to have a different effect from the one used on me, that one took a while. This one sped up the process. I'm glad I snuck into Mikan's cottage last night to get this. I'm also glad I was quiet enough to avoid waking her".

"Kazuichi… go find everybody and bring them here, tell them what's going on".

"Okay!" Kazuichi ran outside and headed for the cottages, leaving Nagito and Hajime alone.

"Are you wondering why the Imposter is still asleep? It's because I wasn't sure if waking up Nekomaru and Gundham would end up being a success, so the Imposter was like… a backup plan". That explanation was followed by laughter, but that turned out to be Nagito's undoing. While he was laughing, Hajime sprinted forward and tackled Nagito to the ground, he then turned Nagito over so he would be lying on his stomach, holding him down until the others arrived. But Nagito was still laughing,, even though he also dropped the syringe he was carrying in his hand.

"Where are they!?"

"Who knows… they could be anywhere". He said as he slowly reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a second syringe. It was the same colour of the one that was injected into Nagito, turns out he took more than one syringe from Mikan's cottage, he took two. Before Hajime could react, Nagito shoved the syringe into Hajime's leg. He was able to reach even while being pinned down. Who knew someone with one arm could be so troubling. "You deserve to feel this way too! Join us Izuru! Let us all feel Despair! HAHAHA-"

He couldn't take it anymore; he was so annoyed and outraged he couldn't help but… knock him out. "Everyone… please get here safe".

Around the same time Hajime headed towards the control room, Akane woke up in her cottage. Waking up at this time was normal for her since she tends to spend the day training. After a quick shower, Akane left her cottage to head for the restaurant in order to have breakfast. But she didn't expect to see 'her' up this early. "Mahiru?"

"Oh… morning Akane".

"Why are you up so early? Usually it's just me".

"I figured I'd wake up and make breakfast for everyone". She really was a caring person, Akane couldn't help but smile.

They both made their way into the Hotel lobby, eventually they made it to the bottom of the stairs heading into the restaurant. But they both stopped when they heard a noise coming from upstairs.

"What was that? Is someone else up there?"

"I'll go check, stay here". Akane slowly went up the stairs to check what that sound was, from where she was standing, Akane was able to see the feet of the tables in the restaurant. If someone were here, she would of definitely see their feet, unless they were in the kitchen.

"I guess no one's here, wait *sniff* What's that smell?" Akane couldn't help but go into the restaurant, what could it be? "WHOA! LOOK AT ALL THE FOOD!"

"Wow, did someone make all this? TeruTeru maybe?" Mahiru couldn't help but wonder who cooked all that food.

"WHO CARES! LET'S EAT!" Akane didn't seem to care though, it's food, A LOT of food. She was very happy, five tables filled with different types of food. That's one hell of a breakfast.

"Hey, there's a note". Mahiru picked it up and searched for a name, sadly she couldn't tell who the creator of this breakfast was. "I guess we should read it".

Akane was occupied with eating the food, not caring about the letter at all. Until Mahiru started to read it out loud. The first sentence she read immediately caught Akane's attention.

"Supporting their athletes is a manager's duty". Akane stopped eating and listened to Mahiru read the rest of the note. She remembered those words, Nekomaru said that after he saved her from being killed by Monokuma. "Nekomaru said it best… during the killing game, there were many things that didn't make sense. I mean at one-point Nekomaru became a robot and there were things that scared us. But after everything that's been thrown at you, you didn't let it stop you. You kept fighting; you also became very smart… I've always been jealous of how cheerful you are; you really are a wonderful person. You took care of your siblings by yourself for so long, from now on, I'll do my best to take care of you".

Mahiru was touched by what she just read, though she still had no clue who wrote it, or who it was made for. "Akane… do you know who-" She turned to Akane to see her crying; she had no idea why she was crying. Maybe she was touched by it as well. "Akane! Are you okay? Wait… the person who wrote this note and made all this food was-"

Akane was happy… crying tears of joy. She's never felt this happy before. No matter how hard she tried, Akane couldn't stop crying. Mahiru couldn't help but comfort her. "He really has changed for the better".

The two girls just sat there, Mahiru was impressed and Akane was happy. Not a bad way to start the day. but then something appeared behind them. Whatever it was, it was big. Akane heard noise coming from behind her, so she turned around, Mahiru did the same and they were both shocked to see what it was.

Everyone was in the control room, wondering why they were called here. "What's going on? Did something happen?" Fuyuhiko was the first one to speak up, he couldn't help but notice the worried expression on Hajime's face.

"Nekomaru and Gundham are missing, Nagito woke them up and injected them with one of Mikan's syringes. They're extremely dangerous". Hajime was up front, no beating around the bush.

"Gundham's awake? Sonia had to be sure.

"Mikan… you recently made a vaccine for that Despair syringe you used on Nagito, right? You used it on yourself on the beach. Can you inject that into Nagito?"

"Y-Yes… I made it t-to cure Nagito, b-but I used it on myself first. To test it. it's my fault he went crazy in the first place".

Mikan kneeled down and pulled a syringe with liquid the same colour as the one she used on herself. She then grabbed Nagito's arm and injected him with it. a few seconds later, Nagito's eyes shot open and struggled to get up. "What happened? Don't tell me I… did something wrong". He also had a worried expression on his face.

"Now's not the time to explain, we need to find Nekomaru and Gundham!" TeruTeru raised his voice so everyone could hear.

"Wait… MAHIRU'S NOT HERE!" Hiyoko was horrified to find out Mahiru wasn't with everyone.

"What?" Hajime's worried expression turned into the same face Hiyoko was making.

"AKANE'S NOT HERE, EITHER!" Ibuki raised her voice too.

"As much as I hate the idea, we'll have to spit up so we can cover more ground. Mikan and TeruTeru, you two check the warehouse. While you're there, get some rope and anything else that might be useful. Kazuichi, you stay here and keep watching over the Imposter. Fuyuhiko and Peko, you two search the airfield. Ibuki and Hiyoko, check the beach and the marina. Sonia, check the cottages. Nagito and I will check the hotel lobby and restaurant".

"Mahiru and Akane might be in danger, so we need to hurry." Sonia said as she and everyone else ran out of the building, except Kazuichi.

There's a reason why Hajime wanted to go to the hotel, he knew Akane had to be there. If not, it's a good place to start looking. Hopefully Mahiru will be there too. All he could do… was hope nothing bad would happen.