IV - The Inmates' Ensemble: Daily Life Part 1

~Traitor Theatre

I haven't watched the television,

Read any books, nor dreams envisioned.

All that was done in the period of revision

Was grieve,

think,

and make an Ultimate Decision.

Onlookers like us, partaking or not,

We're still causing pain to the ones we once lost.

Which is why the only way to end this game,

To end the suffering,

To end the pain,

Is to play by the rules, and act like each choice

Is a chance to use our limited voice.

This limited moment, where life shines after death.

Our limited moment, to overcome regret.

A limited moment, don't waste a single breath.

If we don't pay attention, she'll beat us to it.

She'll try again

And again

And again

To crush the hopes

Of a happy end.

But with a polished fist encased in ire,

I'll change it this time with sparks of fire,

And if need be,

Something much more dire.

Chapter IV: The Inmates' Ensemble

DAILY LIFE

Silence hangs in the girl's bathroom. Kaede stares slack-jawed at the corridor stretching before herself and Maki. After moments of silent deliberation, Kaede rolls her shoulders back, and makes up her mind.

"Let's go." Kaede moves to step into the passageway, but a voice stops her.

Maki stares back at her incredulously. "Are you insane? You don't know where this passageway leads, what's down there, or even who might be at the other end. You can't just—"

Kaede narrows her eyes. "But there's only one way to find out, isn't there? Besides, this is just another area to the school, right? Just like the last two times we've opened new places." She stamps her foot. "That's why we need to go and explore this place!"

"We? I never said I'd go with you."

Huffing, Kaede turns on her heel. "Fine. I'll explore it on my own, then." Inhaling a sharp breath, Kaede closes her eyes and steps into the passageway. As she walks down, down, down into the fluorescently lit passageway, Kaede soon hears the soft pitter-pattering of footsteps catching up to her, and a few moments later, the groaning of the wall closing back into itself.

"So, you came after all, huh?" Kaede starts.

"It's not like that," Maki grumbles. "If you end up getting killed here, I'll be the one blamed."

"Soooo does that mean you're worried about me getting hurt?"

"What? No, I said it's not like that."

Chuckling to herself, Kaede shakes her head and looks forward again. As the pair proceed deeper and deeper into the depths of the corridor, the trail of blood along the floor becomes more prominent, more plentiful. The stench of death arises and turns near-palpable.

"Semi-fresh," Maki comments.

Kaede looks over her shoulder. "What?"

Stooping down, Maki swipes her hand along the floor as they walk. "The blood." She pulls her hand back. Dried blood flakes off her fingers like dust. "It's difficult to tell with this lighting, but the blood is already dry and discolouring."

"Which means?"

"Which means it's been here for a couple of hours at least." Maki's frown deepens. "Whatever happened here, it happened recently."

Kaede bites her lip. "R-right…" An idea of whose blood this could belong to floats into her mind, but she pushes the thought out just as promptly.

They reach the end of the passageway. A second wall stands before them. Kaede reaches out and presses her palm into the wall. Just like before the wall shudders and slots neatly into the concrete adjacent, revealing behind it a dimly lit room.

A dimly lit room that stinks of death.

"A-a research lab…?" Kaede rasps, covering her nose and mouth with her hand.

Maki walks ahead of her and into the room. "Like you said, there's only one way to find out."

As Kaede's eyes adjust to the lighting, she soon realises that this isn't a research lab at all. The room resembles something similar to that of a backstage area; a place she's grown accustomed as a performer. Pink and white lights sparkle and blink like stars. Paper flowers and hearts hang from the walls, and crimson velvet furniture are spread out across the bright pink checkerboard floor. All of which are painted with blood.

Kaede runs one hand along the length of an armchair. "What is this place?" Her musings are cut short when she spies a bloodied monopad on the coffee table a few feet away. Her heart stops. She glances at Maki, preoccupied at the other end of the room, then makes a grab for the pad. The blood on the pad is dry; much, much drier than the blood in the corridor, and a hand is imprinted into the back.

Swallowing thickly, Kaede turns the tablet around in her hands and switches it on.

no data found.

Kaede makes a face. "No data? What does that mean? Isn't this someone's student handbook?"

"Did you find something?" comes Maki's voice from the other end of the room.

"N-nope! I was just talking to myself!" Kaede hastily shrugs off her backpack and slips the bloodied pad inside. "But seriously…" Kaede strides into the centre of the room and gags as a large bloody patch on the floor comes into her line of vision. "Wh-what's the deal with this place?"

Maki shrugs. "No clue. But one thing's for certain." She grimaces at the bloodstained pillars. "Someone was killed here."

"But that means—" Adrenaline rushes to Kaede's head. "There's only one person it could be…"

Maki turns to her. "Kirumi. Is that what you're thinking?"

"W- well, we concluded she was in the girl's bathroom, collecting cleaning supplies to clean up after her planned attack on Miu, right?" With a shaking hand, Kaede gestures back towards the passageway. "S-so what if while she was collecting them, she accidentally triggered the wall to open up like we did, and when she came down here she—"

"Someone was waiting for her," Maki concludes.

Kaede nods. "The mastermind. And they… they…" Kaede looks to the pool of blood. "They killed her. They didn't drain her blood in the sink like we thought." She clenches her fists. "They killed her here and dragged her along the passageway like a— a rag doll! A-and then they bleached the sink to make it look like they got rid of the blood in the bathroom so we wouldn't investigate further!"

"We don't know that for certain," says Maki. "This could be someone else's blood entirely—"

"It can't be!" Kaede near-screeches. "Kiibo's a robot and Angie was killed in front of us! Not in some… some stupid secret room!" She runs a panicked hand through her hair. "We got it wrong, Maki… we weren't able to figure out the mastermind in the trial… and now we know that we even got the place where Kirumi was killed wrong—"

"I've been listening to you two children yappin' for a while now, and I was willing to let it slide. But calling my home a 'stupid secret room' is where I draw the line!"

Kaede blinks. "Huh? That voice just now…"

"You naughty little children! Coming to visit me before it's time to face the final boss… I should be angry, but I'm actually a little flattered. Is this what it's like to have grandchildren?"

"Where is it coming from?" Kaede's eyes scan the room. Nothing out of the ordinary. Until her gaze lands on a large lump draped in the same red fabric as the furniture. She cautiously walks over to the lump, as does Maki.

Kaede takes a hold of the fabric. "I'm going to lift it on the count of three. One, two—"

"THREE!" The voice hollers.

As Kaede yanks the sheet clean off the lump, the tank revealed beneath it bubbles and froths with water. The foam dissolves, and a huge Monokuma head appears before them.

"Wh-what!?" Kaede shrieks, staggering back. "M-Monokuma!?"

"Puhuhu… You've found me. Or rather, you found a place that you weren't meant to find just yet."

"Th-this is…" Maki mutters, biting on her thumb. "Of course…"

"Hey!" snaps Kaede. "E-explain yourself! What the hell are you, and why are you here?"

The head gasps. "Such a mouth on your pretty little head! If you keep yelling at me, I'll go back to sleep!"

"Fine…" Sighing, Maki steps forward. "Then at least tell us, are you related to Monokuma somehow?"

"Of course I am!" it says. "But unlike him, I'm not just any Monokuma. I am the overseer of the Killing Game, and the source of all the Monokumas… I am Motherkuma!"

"M-Motherkuma!?" says Kaede. "You've got to be kidding me…"

"So then," Maki goes on, "The machine Monokuma was talking about back then… the one that makes the spare Monokumas…"

"That's me!" Motherkuma punctuates. "You see the beautiful machine behind me? It creates spare Monokumas! All I've got to do is receive the command, copy over my thoughts and just like that, I give birth to myself! Pretty impressive, no?"

"Wait." Kaede takes a step forward. "Wait. You said you have to receive a command? What kind of command is it?"

"Puhuhu… that would be telling, wouldn't it?"

Humming, Kaede taps her chin. "I… I don't know… would it really be that easy to make a Monokuma? Just by telling you to?"

"What do you mean?" asks Motherkuma. "Are you doubting my amazingness?"

Maki folds her arms over her chest. "Anyone can see that this… this thing is giving information out far too conveniently."

Kaede nods. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking."

"Whaaaaat? says Motherkuma. "Bears never lie! I can make spares at the drop of a hat, thank you very much!"

Kaede glares at the tank. "Then do it."

"N-no way!" says Motherkuma. "I can't just birth a Monokuma out for someone who doesn't love me!"

"Fine then!" Kaede stamps her foot. "I love you, Motherkuma! Now give birth to a Monokuma!"

"Kaede…" Maki starts. "What are you trying to—"

"Absolutely not! I'm not gonna give birth just because you told me to!" Motherkuma snaps. "Our love has to be mutual, and I certainly don't like you! Think about the consequences of after the birth! The responsibility of being a parent! You kids are far too young to understand!"

"Okay then," Kaede whips round to Maki. "You try, Maki! Tell her to give birth to a Monokuma for us!"

Maki's mouth falls open. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, now hurry up and ask!"

Maki sighs a heavy sigh. "Fine… give birth to a Monokuma..."

"I don't like you, either!" Motherkuma snaps. "Hell, I'd rather give birth for the janitor that was down here last night than either of you two, and she wasn't even the designated person—!"

Kaede's blood runs cold. "J-janitor?" She exchanges a look with Maki.

"Kirumi!" They both say in unison.

"Hey." Kaede turns back to the tank. "Can you tell us about this 'janitor' you saw last night? How about the designated person? Is that who the mastermind is?"

"Puhuhu, I wonder if I should," Motherkuma muses. "You've both been so horrible to me, and all I've done is try to be helpful…"

"Then can you tell us who it is?" Kaede asks. "The designated person. Is it really one of us?"

"That'd be telling!" Motherkuma lilts. "I don't just give secrets out willy-nilly! Only in my dying breath will I divulge such sensitive information!"

"Arrrrgh, geez!" Kaede stomps up to the tank and kicks the glass as hard as she can. "Come on, give us something, anything!"

"Stop, stop that at once!" Motherkuma shrieks. "Did you never learn that you shouldn't kick a pregnant woman?!"

Maki sighs. "Give it up, Kaede. Talking with that piece of junk isn't going to get us anywhere."

"But this is our chance!" Kaede shouts, banging on the glass. "If we can find out the mastermind… Kirumi's killer—"

"A piece of junk? A piece of JUNK?" Motherkuma's tank starts frothing. "Is that what you think I am, huh? That does it! I'm done trying to reason with you kids! I'm going back to sleep!"

"Hey… hey wait!" Kaede bangs on the glass with her fists. "Hello? Hey!"

Silence.

"Hey, Heeeeey!" Sighing, Kaede presses her head against the tank. "Dammit." Another chance to find the mastermind, missed, she thinks.

"Did she just shut off?" asks Maki. "I didn't think machines were so sensitive."

Kaede whips around. "This is all your fault!"

"Excuse me?"

"You called her a piece of junk! That's why she got offended and went to sleep!"

Maki jabs a finger at Kaede. "Maybe we'd have gotten on her side if you hadn't been so aggressive to her when she first turned on!"

"I didn't know she was the machine that made Monokumas!"

"She's a giant Monokuma head. What else would she be here for?"

"W-well you didn't seem to know that either when we came here!" Kaede's eyes go dark. "Or were you just pretending not to know? Because you were the one that came down here last night to kill Kirumi?"

Maki rolls her eyes. "Here we go again. Accusing me of murder. What else is new?"

"The murder weapon came from your lab!"

"And? The piano wire came from your lab, but I didn't jump to accuse you in the trial—"

"But that was Angie! This is about—"

"Do you want to die?"

Kaede freezes. She takes a shaky step back. "N-no, I just…"

"Ah, that's…" Maki bites her lip. She moves to sit on the nearest couch. "It's a habit I'm trying to stop."

Kaede scoffs. "Telling people to die is a habit of yours? Give me a break."

Maki holds her arm. "When I was training to be an assassin… we'd say that to each other as a kind of joke. Sometimes it just comes out without me thinking. Sorry."

"It's… it's okay." Kaede moves to the far end of the room. "I'm sorry too. For getting heated." Sighing, she places a hand on the wall. "I just really, really want to find the mastermind and end all this. I don't actually think you're the mastermind."

Maki raises an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Well, if Kirumi came down here last night and got killed by the mastermind," Kaede starts, examining the back door. "If you were the mastermind, you'd have killed me too for finding this place, right?"

Maki frowns. "You don't know that for sure."

"I know," says Kaede, walking over to the dustbin. "But it's just a feeling I have."

Maki blinks. "The same feeling you had back in the trial? When I was a suspect?"

"Yeah. So even though I don't entirely trust you yet…" Kaede smiles at her. "At least I know you're not the reason we're in this mess." She sticks her hand into the trashcan and fumbles around. "Either that, or you're a really good actor. Or you have a soft spot for me, since you haven't killed—" She pulls something out of the dustbin, screams, and immediately drops it.

"What's wrong?" says Maki. Her eyes follow the item rolling across the tiles. "A shotput ball?"

"I-it was in the t-trashcan…" Kaede stammers, blood draining from her face. Her vision blackens, and she leans on the trashcan for support.

Maki picks up the ball. "This… isn't the one that Shuichi killed Rantaro with. That one had blood on it." She turns it over in her hands. "This one's clean aside from some pink fuzz."

"I-I know that!" Kaede rasps, as a bead of sweat slides down her temple. "B-but I… I…"

Maki looks over to Kaede. "Are you all right? You look pale."

"Y-yeah," Kaede lies. "I just… didn't expect to see one here is all…" Swallowing, she quickly scans the room. Memories flash before Kaede's eyes. Rantaro's corpse. Shuichi's tearful gaze. "A-anyway, I um, I think there's not much else to see here, is there? Motherkuma's not responding to us, and it's pretty clear that this room is the one Shuichi and I were trying to get into back when… when we…" On shaky legs, Kaede wobbles back in the direction of the hidden passageway. "I-I think we should go, before the mastermind finds us here…"

"What?" asks Maki. "But I thought you wanted to catch the master—"

"I'm sorry," Kaede confesses. "I feel kinda sick. I'm gonna head back up to the bathroom before I—" Gagging, she claps a hand over her mouth and runs out of the room.

"H-hey!" Glancing around, Maki tosses the shotput ball back into the trashcan, and darts back up the corridor after Kaede.

When Maki steps back into the girl's bathroom, Kaede's hunched over the sink and panting heavily. Groaning, she reaches for Shuichi's hat, and clumsily slips it back onto her head. "I'm just exhausted." Kaede turns around and leans against the sink. "I've seen three corpses today, and that shotput ball reminded me of…" She hangs her head. "You know…"

Silence falls between them.

Maki folds her arms over her chest. "What we found, that room, that passageway, I think we should keep it to ourselves."

Kaede's eyebrows fly into her hat. "What? I was going to suggest telling everyone tomorrow."

"What?"

"Because if we tell everyone," Kaede goes on. "Maybe they'd be able to help us." She clasps her hands together. "Like Miu! She could dismantle Motherkuma and she could figure something out!"

"That's one person, Kaede," states Maki. "If we tell everyone, the mastermind will know we found their room, if they don't already." Her features harden. "What if they close it off? Then we'll never be able to go back in there."

Kaede grimaces. "I didn't think of that…" She sighs. "All right. We'll keep it a secret for now."

Maki narrows her eyes. "You promise you won't tell anyone?"

"O-of course! You don't think I can?"

"You don't seem like a secret-keeping type, so I'm doubtful—"

"We'll pinky-promise then!"

Maki blinks. "What?"

Kaede grins. "You know what a pinky-promise is, surely! If one of us breaks the promise, we have to swallow a thousand needles!"

"I-I know what it is," Maki mumbles. "I used to… do it with my friend at the orphanage all the time…"

"See? You do know!" Kaede holds her hand out. "Come on then, let's promise to keep this discovery between us."

Sighing, Maki gingerly reaches up and intertwines her littlest finger with Kaede's. "It's… a promise."

"Heheh, see that wasn't hard!" Kaede laughs. "You know, Maki, you—"

"Why aren't you afraid?"

"What?"

Maki stares at her reflection in the mirror. "I don't get it. I'm the Ultimate Assassin. You thought up until now that I was the Ultimate Child Caregiver." She turns to Kaede. "Why haven't you reacted at all? Why aren't you angry at me for hiding that?" She grits her teeth. "Why… aren't you afraid of me?"

Kaede chuckles. "I suppose that is kind of weird, huh? To tell you the truth…" Her eyes flutter shut. "All this time, Maki, I've thought we were worlds apart. But I've realised that you and I… we aren't all that different, after all."

"I'm an assassin, Kaede," Maki reiterates. "You're a pianist. How are we even remotely similar?"

"That's…"

Kaede remembers the way she'd swept around that classroom. Unzipped her backpack. Opened the vent. Rolled the ball down, down, down into the library. Found his corpse. And sent Shuichi off for a crime he didn't commit.

She remembers the way she'd killed and gotten away with it.

"I don't know what you're talking about," says Maki. "And I don't really understand what you see reflected in me, but…" She closes her eyes. "Thanks, I guess." She turns and heads for the exit. "It's a nice change from the normal reaction I get."

Kaede watches Maki until she disappears behind the door, and back into the depressed buzz of the afternoon that lies ahead. Sniffling and wiping her eyes on her sleeve, Kaede cleans herself up, and heads back to her dorm room. She knows Kirumi won't come knocking later to coax her out to eat, after all. As she walks, she tries to piece together the day's revelations on her head, but with very little success. Her eyelids are heavier than she's ever felt them be, and her mind is exhausted to no end. When she arrives at her destination, Kaede chooses to fall into her bed and let sleep take her over for the rest of the day, and the night that was to follow.

Kaede's surprised the next morning to be the one of the last to arrive at the cafeteria. But she's even more surprised to see both Ryoma and Rantaro cooking and serving up platters of food to everyone.

"Here you go, Akamatsu." Ryoma slides her an empty plate. "Help yourself."

"Th-thanks." Kaede stares open mouthed at the platters laid out before her. "I… had no idea you could cook, Ryoma."

Ryoma shrugs. "In prison, we took turns cooking and serving the meals. It was the officer's way of making sure we all did our part." He grunts. "Not too much different to this place when you think about it."

"Hey." Rantaro emerges from the kitchen with an apron hanging from his neck. "Don't say that. I'm sure we're a little friendlier than cellmates, no?"

"Hmph." Ryoma's already walking away. "I wonder about that."

"Ryoma…" Kaede bites her lip.

"It's not you, don't worry," Rantaro reassures her. "He's been like this all morning." He sighs. "Not that I blame him or anything. After all, it was only yesterday that three of us… you know."

"Y-yeah," replies Kaede. Her eyes find the back of Rantaro's head as he walks away to set two cups down in front of Himiko and Kokichi. Then she remembers the cold, hard shotput ball from the trashcan last night and suppresses a shudder.

To Kaede's left, Tsumugi raises a hand to her face. "He's not the only one, either."

Kaede follows her gaze over to Korekiyo, sitting alone at the other end of the table.

"I asked Rantaro the same thing earlier, about how he knows how to cook," Tsumugi goes on. "He was talking about how he picked up recipes on his travels and having to fend for himself, and Kiyo didn't even bat an eyelid!"

"Oh," says Kaede. "That is weird."

"Right?" Tsumugi takes a sip of her coffee. "On a normal day, he'd be super excited to have that sort of conversation! It's plainly obvious that something's bothering him." She sighs again, louder this time, but a bang on the table pulls both Tsumugi and Kaede out of their plain, plain conversation.

"Heeeey! You guys have no energy! You need to look alive! You're all still teenagers!"

Kaede blinks as Himiko leaps out of her chair. "H-Himiko?"

"Your 'good mornings' are too quiet!" Himiko glares at each of them in turn. "It's cuz you're quiet that you're all feeling so down!"

"That's odd," Ryoma remarks. "I thought you'd be the most depressed of all of us."

"Well, yeah." Himiko's shoulders slump. "Of course I'm depressed. I'm more depressed than I've ever been in my two-million-and-one years."

"That's an awfully specific number," says Tsumugi.

"But I know," Himiko continues. "I know that if I continue to lounge around and do nothing, everyone who's died so far won't be able to rest in peace… like Tenko… and Angie…" She throws her hat into the air. "So, in order to make their deaths have meaning, I've decided to live the rest of my life with positivity and optimism! And with that being said, I would like to formally announce that I am the new Student Council President!"

"President?" Kaede parrots.

Himiko nods. "Yup. I was the vice president when Angie was here, and now that she's gone, I've gotten a promotion! Heehee!"

Ryoma's frown deepens. "So, you're still not giving up the Atua-thing?"

Himiko taps her lip. "Well, I don't really know anything about Atua, so I don't think it'd be very respectful of me to do that, but I want to keep Angie's legacy going somehow!" She stamps her foot. "I think that everyone uniting with the same goal is exactly what we need to do in order to figure out how to—!"

"I'll pass." Ryoma disappears back into the kitchen.

"As will I," Korekiyo mutters.

"Yeah, same here." Rantaro scratches his head. "I get what you're going for, Himiko, but I just…" His brow furrows. "I don't know, I don't think right now is a very good time, is all."

"Oh," Himiko's head falls into her chest. "Okay…"

"But I understand where Himiko's coming from," says Kaede. "It is definitely good to stay positive."

"That's right!" Tsumugi adds. "Those of us left need to look to the future and live. For all the others' sakes." She taps her chin. "Hmm, but Himiko, if you're the new council president, then who's taking your place as vice president?"

"Oh, it's—"

Leaning back in his chair, Kokichi kicks his feet over the table and grins widely. "It's me!"

Kaede nearly chokes on her breakfast. "What?"

Tsumugi gasps. "It's Kokichi!?"

"Nee-heehee! That's right! I've also gotten a promo, baby!" Kokichi tilts his head. "Tsumugi, you're still with us, aren't you? Rantaro gets a pass because he never chose to be revived, but you joined willingly, right?"

"A-ah, um…" Tsumugi wrings her hands. "Thinking about it again, maybe not?"

Himiko's face falls. "But you were just saying that you—"

"I-it's like Rantaro said!" Tsumugi goes on. "It's just a little too soon. Sorry." She hugs herself. "Ever since Angie died, I haven't really felt or heard Atua's voice…"

"Nyeeeeeh…" Himiko slumps back into her chair. "Well, that was a failure."

"Hey, it's okay!" says Kokichi. "These idiots don't know what they're missing out on! So let's cheer up and work hard! This game is only just getting started, after all!"

"Game?" says Kaede.

Kokichi cocks his head. "Yeah? That's what we were talking about wasn't it?"

Kaede opens her mouth to berate him, but the dining hall doors swinging open drown her out.

"Hey! Thanks for waiting!" Kaito strides into the dining hall.

"Kaito!" says Kaede. "Good morning. You're not normally late to breakfast."

"Yeah, I know." Kaito scratches his head. "I was busy trying to convince her to come with me."

"Her?"

Right on cue, Maki steps into the dining hall behind him.

Kokichi's face lights up. "Oh, yes! That's right! How could I forget about the third mass killer among us!" He rocks back in his chair. "Y'know, at this rate, us good civilians will be outnumbered by them! I wonder who'll be outed as a murderer this time around?" His eyes slide to Kaede. She averts his knowing gaze.

Shaking her head, Maki walks around the table and slips into the chair opposite Kaede. "Morning."

Kaede clears her throat. "Oh. M-morning." She reaches for a croissant. "How are you?"

"Good." Maki hesitates, then meets Kaede's eyes. "And you?"

"A-ah, I'm good, too!" Kaede smiles. "Thanks for asking."

"Hey, awesome!" says Kaito, sitting down next to Maki. "You guys are friends now?" He shoots Kaede a grin. "I knew you two would get along eventually!"

"W-well—" Kaede steals a glance at Maki. "I… I guess you could say that..."

"Okay!" Getting to her feet once more, Himiko pulls a scrap of paper from her sleeve, smooths it out, and clears her throat. "Now that everyone's here, listen up!"

Rantaro raises a hand. "Wait, Miu's still not—"

Himiko shoots him a look. "Don't speak when the president is speaking! Ahem. Now. As I was saying, the Student Council's first order of business—" She glances to Kokichi. "Is to discuss what we should do with Maki."

Maki's eyes narrow. "Me?"

Kokichi rolls his eyes. "Yes, you." He jabs a finger at her. "You're like, a killer, y'know?"

Maki shrugs. "And? So is Kiyo. And Ryoma."

"Mhmm mhmm!" Kokichi taps his chin. "So Himiko and I were thinking, right? Maaaaybe we could handcuff you three together? You're all totally different heights, though, so maybe if we joined your ankles up with two separate sets of handcuffs instead, that would—"

"There's no need for that!" Kaito shouts over him. "Ryoma's been fine since day one, and Kiyo already said he doesn't have any plans on killing any one of us! Maki's no different than them! I just don't believe that someone like her is capable of killing people in cold blood." He clenches his fist. "Kokichi, you and I have known about Maki for a while; heck, we knew about Maki before we knew about Kiyo! And you know as well as I do that she hasn't tried murdering even once since then!"

"Are you sure about that?" Kokichi asks. "A few days after Gonta and Tenko died, Kii-boy and I were coming out of Miu's lab and we saw Kaede being strangled by—"

"No, Kokichi." Kaede straightens her back. "Kaito's right. Maki hasn't done anything to me since then. She even apologised to me for that." Kaede pulls her mouth into a tight line. "And even if she wanted to kill me… she's had multiple opportunities to, but she hasn't." Kaede looks over at Maki, absently picking at a slice of toast. "Maki might be an assassin, but she's an Ultimate locked up in here, just like the rest of us. So that's why… I think we should trust her. We gave Ryoma and Kiyo chances, so I think it's only fair we do the same for her."

"You…" Kokichi blinks at Kaede once, twice. And then a Cheshire-esque smile splits his face in two. "And here I was, thinking you were actually somewhat smart siding against her, Kaede. Guess it takes one to know one, after all—"

"Now, now." Rantaro, lets his hand fall atop Kokichi's head. "There's no need for any more animosity than we already have. Just agree to disagree, alright?"

Pouting, Kokichi scoffs. "Tch, booooring."

"Ohoho? Are you guys talking about me again?" Monokuma drops into the room from the ceiling. "I can feel my ears twitching with heat!"

"We weren't talking about you at all!" Kaito snaps.

Monokuma deflates. "The idea was for you guys to roll with it so that I could segue into giving you my prize. You ruined my perfectly-thought-out scene…"

Kaede's brow furrows. "Prize?"

Monokuma perks up instantly. "Yup! You guys can't live without getting a prize now, right? That's what I figured, anyway, so I brought along a prize for ya!"

"Rise and shine, ursine!"

"Huh?" says Monophanie. "Why am I the only one saying it?"

"Eh?" Monotaro tilts his head. "What's an ursine—? H-hey, Monodam! Please stop hugging me!"

"YOU-SAVED-MY-LIFE," Monodam clings to Monotaro harder. "I-AM-ETERNALLY-GRATEFUL".

Monotaro blinks. "I did? I don't remember doing anything like that!"

"Oh dear," sighs Monophanie. "Monotaro's memory seems to be getting worse as we progress…"

Monotaro bursts into fits of giggles. "Hahahaha! Worse kinda sounds like ursine! Worsine!"

"That wasn't meant to be a pun!"

"Who are you, anyway? Monodam, who's this pink pig and why is she talking to us?"

"I-DON'T-KNOW."

"Monodam, don't enable him!"

Monokuma chuckles fondly. "Ahhh, they're so adorably wonderful, aren't they? I could just sit here and watch them all day." He holds out his arms. "C'mon over to your father and lemme give you a good licking!"

Himiko sighs. "Nyeh, not this again..."

Kokichi leans over her. "Heeeeyyy, c'mon, Monokuma! Give us some lovin' too! I wanna get the prize already!"

Ryoma scowls. "Since when were you all buddy-buddy with Monokuma?"

"Okay, okay." Monokuma makes a sweeping gesture towards Monophanie. "The prize this time is…"

"Ta-da!" sings Monophanie. "The legendary Levistone, the priceless Octobrush, and a card key, which doubles as the motive!"

Kaede nearly falls out of her chair. "M-motive!?"

As does Kaito. "Already?"

"That's right!" Monokuma trills. "This shiny, mysteeeerious cardkey is your next motive!"

Rantaro's eyes go wide. "That card key…"

"The classic carrot-and-stick approach!" coos Monophanie. "No one can work a carrot or a stick like Daddy…"

Tsumugi blanches. "What… why do you know that?"

Kaede rubs her chin. "But a card key as the motive… what does that even mean? Unless it's the card for the—" She exchanges a knowing look with Maki across from her.

"You guys seem to have questions," Monokuma muses. "If you're so curious about where or what this card unlocks, why don't you find out for yourself?"

"No!" Kaede leaps out of her chair. "We can't! If we want to prevent another murder from happening, we can't fall for his—"

"Yoink!"

Before Kaede can reach Monophanie, Kokichi lithely nabs the card and holds it above his head. "I'll be taking this, then!"

"Hey!" shouts Kaito. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Uh, taking the card key, what else?" Kokichi briefly examines the card, then hands it to Himiko. "So, pres? What do you think we should do with it?"

Himiko stares at the card in thought. "Hmmmm…"

"But… but that's Monokuma's motive!" exclaims Tsumugi. "What if another murder happens?"

Kokichi shrugs. "So? I wouldn't mind all that much."

Kaede blinks. "What?"

Kokichi's eyes glint. "Have you forgotten?" Grinning, he spreads his arms wide. "We're in a Killing Game. We are the players, and we have to play the game to win! Simple as!"

"L-let's talk this through, Kokichi," Rantaro says, his face uncharacteristically pale. "I don't think it'd be wise to use that card without knowing what it—"

"And why should I listen to you?" Kokichi shoots back.

Rantaro's eyes narrow. "Excuse me?"

"You were killed in the first week, and you suddenly came back to life like nothing had ever happened; you don't even have a head injury! You say you remembered your talent, but what if that's just a lie, too? You keep saying you're not a suspicious guy, but—" Kokichi's face clouds over with darkness. "Doesn't that actually make you the most suspicious person of all? How the hell does a person just come back to life and conveniently remember the thing that he was so insistent he forgot? The one thing that made him so suspicious in the first place."

Rantaro folds his arms over his chest. "But I really didn't remember my talent. I didn't lie about that." His eyes flash. "You of all people should know that."

"I don't know, man." Kokichi waltzes behind Himiko and snatches the card back off her. "It's pretty sus to me. C'mon, Himiko, let's go find where this card leads to!"

"Nyeh, okay…"

"Stop!" shouts Kaito. "Quit screwing around and give us the card!"

"Hmmm, nope! I don't think I will!" Kokichi makes a beckoning gesture to Himiko. "Let's go!"

"Wait, Himiko!" Kaede holds out a hand. "Are you really going to go with Kokichi?"

Himiko blinks. "Nyeh? Why wouldn't I?"

Tsumugi grimaces over at the grinning leader hovering by the exit. "Well, Kokichi's just… he's such a trickster, y'know?" She holds her arm and sighs. "I don't see why you'd allow you him to take plain advantage of you like this…"

Himiko taps her cheek. "Well, he was part of Angie's council, too, y'know? And he said he also wants to continue Angie's legacy. So why wouldn't I allow him to help?"

Kaede sighs. "It looks more like you're helping him…"

"Really…?"

Kokichi pulls Himiko towards the door. "Don't listen to them, Himiko. They're just trying to take the power for themselves!"

"Nyeh?! Really?"

"Of course! Would I lie to you?"

"Uh…"

"Don't answer that." Kokichi throws the doors open. "Anyway, toodles!"

Kaito leaps up to pursue them. "You little—" A hand on his shoulder stops him in his tracks.

"Don't bother," Rantaro says, bangs obscuring his eyes. "They'll tire out eventually. Best to leave them to their own devices." He laughs tiredly. "I know from experience."

"Y-yeah. I guess you're right." With a sigh, Kaito slumps back into his seat. "Goddamn it, Kokichi…"

"Running in the hallways…" Monokuma mutters. "Normally I wouldn't allow it, but kids will be kids, I suppose. Oh! I should mention that a new Flashback Light is also hiding on the premises. Puhuhu… I wonder what new memories you guys will receive! Happy hunting!" Monokuma bounces away, his laughter hanging in the otherwise silent dining hall. The Monokub trio follow suit.

"So long, bear well!"

"Oh?" Tsumugi tilts her head. "Kaito, you…"

Kaito blinks. "What?"

"Rantaro just touched you, and you didn't pass out in fear," states Maki.

"Oh," says Rantaro. "You're right."

"A-about that…" Running a hand through his hair, Kaito sheepishly turns to Rantaro. "Listen, I'm sorry, man. It wasn't very manly of me to be runnin' away from my fears like that. But I've decided!" He slams a fist into his chest and splutters. "I-I want to overcome my demons, and become a stronger man! And if that means talking to a g-ghost, then so be it!"

Chuckling, Rantaro waves a dismissive hand. "Hey, don't worry about it too much." He smiles sadly. "Like Kokichi said, it's pretty understandable that you'd be suspicious of me. Though that does remind me…" Rantaro turns to the others. "Now that I think about it, only Kaito and Kaede seemed pretty nervous at my return. Everyone else acted like I'd just come back from a trip. Pretty weird, eh?"

Kaede blanches. "W-well, that's—"

"Weirder things have happened here," says Ryoma. "I'm still pretty baffled myself; a man we saw the corpse of suddenly alive and walking 'round like nothing happened." He frowns at the double doors Kokichi and Himiko disappeared out of. "But figuring that out should be the least of our worries at the moment."

Kaede swallows. "Ryoma's right. We need to find that Flashback Light first and foremost. If we can find it before Himiko and Kokichi do, we can use it to lure both of them back here, and we can talk more about the motive with them from there."

Tsumugi nods. "Perhaps we should all search together, and look for Kokichi while we're opening the new areas?"

"Chances are that card doubles as an area opener," Ryoma adds. "All the other times we've opened places up we've had three items to use."

"May I suggest that we finish breakfast before going off exploring?" comes Korekiyo's voice from the end of the table. Kaede had forgotten he was even in the room. "I'm sure that this instance will be no different to the previous times."

"Were you not listening?" Maki starts, "That card is a motive—"

"Kiyo's right!" Kaito slams his fists together. "We won't get anything done on an empty stomach! Let's finish up here, open the new areas, find the Flashback Light, and meet back here in an hour! Sound good?"

"All right!" After pumping her fists, Kaede leans down to retrieve the Levistone and Octobrush that Monophanie had dropped on the floor. She places them on the table and finishes off her breakfast.

Soon, Shuichi. she thinks. Soon, Shuichi. Soon we'll catch the mastermind, the traitors, and the ending will be in sight.

She clenches a fist.

Soon, we'll be able to put an end to this killing game!

A shorter one this time, hope you don't mind! Whilst writing and planning it out I was reminded of chapter 2 in the way that the cafeteria scene plays out with Monokuma and the items, so think of it as a callback to 2018! We love a good flashback here at Team Encore™ (─‿‿─)

Also I got a comment really early on in this story like, back in Chapter II asking what I'd do with the student council if/when Angie died, since in the canon it just fizzles out and is never brought up again. I don't really have anything major planned for it, I just want to keep it in the background and not completely toss it to the side straight away, lol. But I also might be lying, so maybe I do. (◠‿◠)✌ That aside, welcome to Chapter IV! Hope you'll enjoy all the ideas I have planned for this one~

Oh, and while it's in my head, you can follow my tumblr kirastrations for sneak peaks of Encore chapters, my art or if you just wanna say hi! I like to think I'm friendly... ;w;

Chapter 25: Fifth floors, locked doors, mysteries and explorings galore!