Mokomichi waited in the shadows of the derelict building, watching. Any minute now, Hiro and Leah would be walking together, looking for the person fitting the description that they had been given as they approached the address they'd been given. Across the way, he knew that Kumori was waiting, masked up like him. Riku was on his way, the distraction that they needed to catch the two off guard.

Hearing the rolling of suitcases and quiet, anxious words, Mokomichi's heartbeat sped up, and he crept forward a couple of steps, careful and cautious.

"It's rather quiet here, isn't it?" Leah whispered.

"Well, of course it is," Hiro said. "What if someone saw us and told on us, huh? Then we'd be totally screwed."

"Oh I know, it's just…."

Mokomichi couldn't yet see her expression from where she was, but he could deduce that it was probably something that matched the anxiety in her voice. Which, to be fair, was a smart reaction.

"What time is it?" Hiro muttered. "Ah, only a minute early, I'm sure whoever it is will be here soon, and then there'll be nothing to worry about."

"Mmm…."

A few seconds passed as Hiro and Leah settled, slightly closer so their faces could be seen. There was quiet for a while, and then footsteps from further away. Mokomichi looked sharply over, then let out a silent exhale of relief when he saw it was just Riku, arriving as planned, apparently absorbed in something on his phone and heading straight towards Hiro and Leah.

"Huh, who's that?"

"He could just be passing by, it's not a big deal…." Leah whispered. "I think…."

"Doesn't he fit the description though? Of Friend's associate?"

"Huh…you know what, I think you're right, it might be alrig-woah!"

Riku bumped into them both, making them lose their footing slightly. As Riku sprung back, appearing unsteady himself, he spluttered out an apology. And that was when Kumori and Mokomichi sprung from the shadows.

Though he was no slouch, Mokomichi went for Leah, as she was the one who posed the least threat, while the more able Kumori took on Hiro, who was just that little bit stronger. Mokomichi tried to not think about what he was doing, to not look at the fear he could now see clearly written all over Leah's face as he tied her wrists together, and then her ankles, taking a kicking in the process. Not that it hurt, not really. The girl was delicate, and her shoes soft. In the end, it didn't take long to subdue her, and then he leaned forward and grabbed Hiro's shoulders to hold him still while Kumori and Riku grabbed him, too. Hiro proved more of a challenge, spotting the syringe quickly and writhing, making it as hard as possible for either of them to inject him. Even Riku running over to try and hold his legs didn't help as Hiro fought with all his mind, spitting with rage as he hissed at them. Mokomichi tried to put his hand over his mouth, but had to move it away before Hiro could sink his teeth in.

"What the fu-what, how did you people know about this? And who the fuck are you anyway? Are you one of them, too-what've you done to Okawa-"

Kumori picked up an old plank of wood and hit Hiro over the head with it, hard. Once, twice, three times.

The effect was instantaneous, the words dying in Hiro's mouth as he slumped, eyes shutting. Splinters of wood were caught in his hair, and Mokomichi could see a small wound had opened. He glanced over at Kumori, whose mouth was caught in a thin line as he fumbled for the syringe, and then calmly pressed it into Hiro's arm and dispensed the contents. The plank of wood remained gripped in his other hand, as if he was expecting to use it again.

That's a bit overkill, isn't it?

Of course, there was little point in saying that, so Mokomichi simply glanced at Riku and nodded at him to be quick and text Kaneda and Shino to let them know that they would soon be arriving at the warehouse.

With Hiro, Leah and their suitcases safely delivered, and the plank of wood thrown somewhere as far from the scene of the crime as Mokomichi could manage, he finally headed home under the cover of near-darkness. Exhaustion had hit, and all he wanted now was to go home.

Heading down a residential street, he became aware of noises in the distance-not cars or rushing people or even cats, but something else. Mokomichi slowed slightly for a moment, then sped back up to his normal pace as he covertly looked around him. The noises did not seem to be coming from behind him, or at least they had not started to, and he'd been careful to make sure that he had not been spotted coming back.

Ah, there.

Someone sneaking around from the back of a block of flats, looking around covertly. Someone his age, or perhaps a couple years older, though it was hard to tell in this light (or lack of), complicated by the black surgical mask and the hoodie that the figure was wearing. The way the person moved read young though, at least to Mokomichi. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder and as he approached one of the skips leaning against the side of the wall, he pulled something out, but Mokomichi couldn't see what it was, as the person had angled themselves such that they shielded the bag protectively. They seemed to place whatever it was they pulled out into the skip carefully, and then check something on their phone. Then, they zipped their backpack back up and started to turn away. Quickly, Mokomichi kept walking, not wanting them to spot him watching them. It'd be just his luck to get caught by a completely unrelated criminal, wouldn't it?

He didn't stop for anything else this time, simply striding all the way back home, at which point he let a breath out. He opened the door and called out:

"I'm back, Mizuki."

He locked the door behind him, and took off his shoes. A few moments later, Mizuki appeared at the door. There was a pen behind her ear, and her sleeves were rolled up, exposing the faded mark from the fight. A burst of anger swelled at the reminder that he hadn't been able to do anything about that. Yes, thankfully things had died down pretty quickly and neither of them had been seriously hurt. All the same, that scar shouldn't have existed.

But just as quickly as it flared, the anger lowered again. Because, after all, she was still here. Still here.

"So, it's done then?" she asked.

"Yes, it is. No problems. "

"Not even with…."

Mizuki gestured cautiously at him, a wide motion, talking about the kicking he'd got before the fight had been over. Again, that brief flare of anger, and then it settling.

"Nah, nothing at all. In any case, the others are taking care of things now."

Mizuki nodded slowly.

"That's three of them, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"So, things really are getting close to beginning, aren't they?"

"Yeah."

Mizuki let out a breath, and absently rubbed the scar on her arm before lowering both hands.

"Well then, I'm going to start dinner soon. Think you could help?"

Mokomichi nodded and smiled.

"Sure."

Groaning internally as she blearily noted the time, Mizuki nonetheless felt far too awake to continue lying there. She glanced over at Mokomichi and wished for a moment things were as they had been at the beginning. Or at least, before the end of the previous year.

But there's no point in wishes like that, is there? Firmly, she reminded herself that they would at least still eat together, head off to school together, everything else. Carefully, she got up and got ready in the dark, before taking her laptop and her phone out to the kitchen and sitting at the table, intending to do some more things for Teranaga Trade before the ever-nearing end reached her.

But when she looked at her phone to check 'Shhh!', all her plans went out of her mind.

Message after message after message seemed to be links to social media, to news websites, to photographs online. Mizuki tapped a few at random, finding herself taken to a local newspaper's website and there she skimmed through an article detailing how a block of flats had been set on fire, causes unclear, at some point during the evening before. She closed that page, went back to the messages, chose one that Shino had sent through from a larger newspaper, and there found a live updates stream, which she quickly flicked through.

Oh no. Oh no, no, no.

Quickly switching back to the chat, she scrolled down to see if anyone had indeed said anything.

Sosuke Mori: If you are sure nobody saw you, then that should be alright.

Riku Matsushita: I'm sure we went in the opposite direction to that place though, to get back?

Kaneda-sempai: Yep, yep, we definitely did.

Mihoko: Are you sure that none of you did this?

Sosuke Mori: What makes you think that it would have been one of us? None of us have an interest in that area.

Azuki: In all fairness that seems like the type of thing you'd do, Shino

Shinononono: sure I would but yeah, I deffo didn't. Too conked out! Who knew that abduction was so tiring?

Azuki:….

Azuki: That does not reassure me. At all.

Azuki: But also, you do realise this means this has become a lot bigger than us?

Sosuke Mori: That was kind of the goal though, was it not?

Kumori Kurogane: Yes, yes it was! I'm glad people are starting to see what is wrong and doing something about this!

Riku Matsushita: But nobody's yet come forward to take credit or anything, right? It's just the motif on the bomb that links it to us…

Mizuki Teranaga: Sakurai-san, are you alright? You didn't get hurt?

Azuki: ?

Kaneda-sempai: Oh, hello there, Teranaga-kouhai!

Mihoko: Yes, I'm fine, thanks.

Mihoko: But unless the police presence clears up, I may not be able to get to school this morning.

Azuki: Oh shit you live around there?

Mizuki Teranaga: Yes, she does.

Mihoko Sakurai: I also believe that there are some Reserve Course students who live in that block, or at least the ones around it.

Mihoko Sakurai: There've been a lot of ambulances going, so there's a chance people haven't died.

Shinonononono: awwwwww.

Sosuke Mori: I'll contact you later, Sakurai-san.

Mihoko: Alright.

Riku Matsushita: But what's the significance of the building or address though? That's what I want to know. It's just an ordinary flat, with ordinary people…I mean, yeah, there are Reserve Course students but. Like. For most parts, they're just ordinary people, right?

Mizuki Teranaga: It is, but I think there is something about the location….I can't bring it to mind right now.

Azuki: Could they have been flats you may have been involved in?

Mizuki Teranaga: With the Teranaga Foundation? No, definitely not, I'm sure of it.

She rubbed her eyes blearily, and looked up and away from her phone. Slowly, she looked over her shoulder in the direction of the bedroom. It was still dark and silent, and she let out a breath. Then, she returned her attention to her phone. Whatever the answer was, it was probably somewhere in those links. If she worked through those and the detail wasn't buried there, then she would need to do further research. Deciding a larger screen would be better to look through so many links on, she opened it up and turned it on, and then once it loaded methodically worked through the links that had been sent, while also turning up any more recent news stories that she could find.

And eventually, she found the answer.

"Principal Tengan's childhood home, huh?" she murmured to herself.

"Why're you talking about a dead principal?"

Mizuki jumped and turned to Mokomichi, who, from all appearances, had just woken up. He blinked blearily, seeming confused.

"Did you see anything strange on your way home last night?" she asked.

"Huh?"

Ah, well, that's something.

"Get yourself ready first, then I'll tell you over breakfast."

Even though it was only a couple of days that she'd been away from school, Mihoko had the horrible sense of having just woken up in the world, only to find it completely transformed. There was nothing particularly unusual about the mid-morning scene on the grounds as she went through, except for the undercurrent of tension that had been there for months anyway, the increase in security guards strolling up and down, and the fact that even from the small sample here it was clear the numbers had diminished. All the same, despite objectively everything looking the same, Mihoko recognised none of it.

Perhaps that was because she was the one who'd transformed, on the inside. Again.

She had not personally known the boys whose funeral she and most of her year group had turned up for. She thought they may have been in the same class in their first year, but that was it. As such, she could not claim to miss him in any particular way. Nonetheless, the grief that she'd seen etched on the faces of those who had called the two of them friends or family, she was sure that the pain of her own insides had the same patterns. In her case though, it was guilt. Because even if she herself hadn't been the one to bomb those blocks of flats, or commit the acts of vandalism elsewhere that had eventually escalated into that act, she was responsible.

And as such, even if the others had not been personally, specifically responsible (she was sure they hadn't, what with being too busy kidnapping and murdering), they were still personally culpable.

She'd written about it in her records in the two days she'd had to stay home while firefighters and police struggled to regain order. Looking out of the window and describing the carnage, as though she was some brave war reporter, or an aspiring author looking for hope. She was no pretender, no fantasist, but it had felt so remote, doing that. Not anymore though, now she was back out here. Indeed, instead of heading to class as she probably would have under slightly more normal circumstances (or whatever the normal was when a morning was missed for a classmate's funeral), she was heading to Sosuke, whose responsibilities had increased as President Nomura continued to remain inexplicably ill. Presumably, under the guise of Student Council duties that she, Sosuke, Mizuki and Mokomichi (who she hadn't seen at the funeral, though that didn't mean anything considering the numbers) were shouldering, they would be pulling together further threads of the plan, especially as they were getting close. With Leah, Hiro, Inori, Emlyn and Shuuhei already gathered, and the Kishitani siblings due for a 'meet-up' soon enough, it surely wouldn't be long before it all kick started.

I guess now the question is, will we be defeated before any of them die, or after?

Mihoko sighed and shouldered her bag, knowing that she could easily bring it all crashing down if only she were willing to put herself explicitly on the line. Unfortunately, she was no such thing, and so she just continued on her way, into the Main Course building, sucking in her breath and immediately going on guard as she navigated up to the Student Council room.

As she clambered up to the floor just below her destination, she heard shouting-threats being yelled, exclamations of frustration. And the thuds and groans that signified a fight. With no other way to go, she decided to take a few steps forward and see if she could assess the situation from a distance before turning back, but then she heard Mizuki's voice.

"Oh, for goodness' sake, he's been cleared!"

From that alone, Mihoko realised what the fight was about, her stomach swooping. She gathered in a breath and continued on, and sure enough, around the corner she saw that a Main Course boy whom she didn't know had Teruya Kasai grabbed by the lapels of his school blazer, pushed up against the wall as he struggled to break free. Though considering his Talent, Teruya was obviously strong, this other boy was taller and bulkier and clearly had Teruya pinned. Mawa Kasai was nowhere to be seen, but Mizuki, Mokomichi and a small number of other Main Course students were around, watching with mixed reactions-fear but excitement at the drama.

"Exactly, you fucker! " Teruya seemed emboldened. "Do you not have any goddamn brains? Why on earth would I want to be associated with crazy terrorists? Besides, how many times do we have to keep saying it, that we were just doing a prank and we don't know who rigged it! That wasn't what was supposed to happen!"

"Yeah, yeah," the other boy gave Teruya a shake. "But then why did the police come?"

"Oh my god, you know that!" Teruya groaned. "It's the goddamn spiders."

"Which are pretty conclusive, right?" a Main Course student who was watching asked.

"No, it is not," Mizuki said. "While an unusual item, they aren't specialist. Also, why are you filming this?"

The Main Course student swore, but did not stop filming.

"What? We just wanna see whether Kasai's gonna confess!"

"I'm NOT confessing-ah!"

Teruya's face crumpled as his captor kneed him, and Mizuki barked orders for someone to get an adult or member of security. None of them complied, and Mihoko wondered if she should. But somewhat predictably considering her track record, her feet felt glued to the ground at what she, and she alone, knew was a result of her attempt to stop things. She had no idea why it was the police had not managed to get further than the prank group when they'd received the glitter spider (there was no doubt it was because of the glitter spider), but this was not what she wanted. Yes, the Main Course were elitist and stuck up, and yes she'd wanted them taken down. And yes, she was a part of the group.

But not like this.

"I'm not…fucking….confessing…bec-because I didn't….do anything."

Not like classmates turning on each other, and someone who actually wasn't one of the more harmful ones getting punished in a way that way surpassed any wrong they had done. Not like someone ten times stronger practically mauling their opponent, and everyone either watching or trying impotently to stop the beating and failing. Two wrongs, three wrongs, thousands of wrongs, they did not make anything right. Wasn't that knowledge why she found herself where she found herself?

Do something, do something, she told herself as she watched in horror. Mizuki looked around helplessly, clearly not wanting to leave-though Mihoko was not sure why (maybe something to do with being one of the supposedly more responsible ones by way of her Student Council role? Mihoko didn't know). Then, her eyes met Mihoko's and widened, though she did not say anything. Her feet still felt stuck to the ground, but she clenched her fists and gathered everything up. Do something, do something. And with that urge, she blurted out:

"You do know that they're still selling glitter spiders in the 100-Yen stores, don't you?"

It was as if someone had pressed a pause button. Just as the other boy was about to slam Teruya into the wall again, he paused, and looked over at her. Aware of all the eyes now on her, Mihoko concentrated on every muscle in her, keeping still and neutral as she continued:

"I was getting snacks from the one nearest to me-which, by the way, is in the area the fire happened-and I saw a bunch. It clearly must be a popular item."

"Okay….?" The boy said slowly.

"This is precisely what I was trying to say!" Mizuki exclaimed. "A single glitter spider found at one crime scene does not indicate anything at all. Anybody can buy anything from a 100-yen store!"

"You might just be saying that to make yourself look good so we don't suspect you," the boy retorted. "After all, you're more cosy with the Reserve Course than we are, considering you're really one of them."

Though he was still dangling Teruya, confusion crept across the boy's features, and his words sounded half-hearted.

"If that was the case though," the student with the phone said. "Wouldn't she be happy to blame him? He'd be an easy person to blame and all, and it'd be easy for her to get all angry and blame him for, I dunno, trying to make life hard for the Reserve Course students or whatever crap it is."

The boy frowned, considering this for a while. Then, he gave a big shrug and let Teruya down. Some of the audience seemed disappointed, but they started to drift away as the boy turned to the phone-toting student. Teruya swayed, bruises clearly showing along his face and neck, but managed to stay on his feet. Mizuki stepped over, perhaps to help him, but in a surprising display of strength, Teruya reared up and barreled straight at the other boy's middle, only managing to knock him over through sheer anger and the advantage of being unexpected. The boy was knocked over, but quickly struck back, and soon the two were tussling furiously, rolling around on the ground.

People stared, wondering what to do, clearly not having expected this. The student with the phone dropped it, and rushed over to hover, clearly wanting to break up the fight. Mizuki yelled at the onlookers to go and get someone, and finally, this time, a bunch did indeed run off. In the meantime though, although Teruya was giving it all he had, it was clear that not only was he at a disadvantage, but that he was dangerously so. Mihoko stared, aghast, feeling her body tremble as she tried to make herself move, even though she knew that there was no point, really. Not when her intervention had failed once again.

But then, almost as suddenly as things seemed to have started, the other boy suddenly gasped in shock and then reared back, letting go of Teruya, who fell to the floor in a heap. He winced visibly, and closed his eyes in pain, but didn't try to get back up again.

"Shit, I, I mean…dammit why didn't you say that you were that bad? I wasn't trying to kill you!" the boy spluttered.

"Weren't you?" Mihoko found her voice, finally.

The boy jumped and looked at her, and she tried not to flinch.

"Course I wasn't, I'm not some murderous creep! I just wanted to get him to confess and make him pay! Enacting justice. And then HE jumped at me."

The boy squirmed, and then stared over at Teruya, who looked like…Mihoko gulped, reminded suddenly of Manaka. She could only hope that it wasn't bad. Mizuki knelt down by him to help him up, but then all of a sudden the other boy ran off. The student with the phone followed him. Mizuki opened her mouth and let out a yell, but the two were long gone. Mizuki closed her eyes in frustration and sighed.

"Oh well," she sighed. "I know their names at least. Mokomichi, can you help me help hi-oh, thank goodness."

The students who had run to get help had finally arrived back with a teacher and with Minah, who immediately rushed to Teruya's side, worried. Mizuki turned to Mihoko.

"Alright, instead, can you and Mokomichi head up and explain what happened, while I stay here to help and explain what happened. I'll be over as soon as I can."

Mihoko simply nodded, feeling no relief as finally, her legs let her move again. Mokomichi joined her and the two of them walked up together, neither saying a word. She kept expecting him to say something, to probe at her the way he had back when they'd been trying to rescue the Kamukura Project victims, but he did not. Sneaking a look at his face, she saw that he seemed far away, eyes unfocused yet sharp at the same time in a contradiction she didn't understand. From what she recalled of him, he'd always been quiet in a way that gave an air of mystery without actually being mysterious but now…no doubt, it was because he was being involved in the abductions. She wondered if he justified it to himself in the same way that the boy had justified beating up Teruya so badly.

She decided it didn't matter much, either way.

When they got to their destination, Mokomichi was the one to launch into the explanation straight away. Calm, dry, little emotion. Sosuke responded in kind, seemingly taking it in his stride, barely looking up from whatever he was writing.

"It is certainly a regrettable consequence of the spider, but in the end it does help us. After all, if they had probed that a little more, they'd know that two of our own also had purchased the items. In any case, Sakurai-san, how was your journey to school?"

"It was fine," Mihoko answered carefully. "Considering I actually managed to make it in."

Sosuke looked up at this, but initially didn't say a word. Instead, he carefully locked away his writing, taking his time over it. Then, he nodded, meeting Mihoko's eyes evenly. For a moment, she sucked in a breath.

"Alright then, there is a lot to do so let us get started while we wait for Teranaga-san to finish."

Mihoko's fear shrunk back at that, and she allowed herself to breathe again, relaxing her shoulders slightly as she listened to Sosuke's instructions and took on the tasks he asked. She knew that he could so easily point the finger of suspicion at her, even though she was sure it'd only be a suspicion he had and nothing more. There was no real reason for him not to.

But she knew he wouldn't.

This is for Riko-kun. This is for Otsuki-sama. This is for Yorokobi-sama.

With this mantra running through his head, Kumori wasted no time as the Kishitani siblings headed closer. Without waiting for a signal from Kaneda, he went right at them, knives in both hands as he slashed at Sumi. Initially, she shrieked and reared back, but then as Masao stepped up she turned and glared, swearing at him before forming a fighting stance, swinging a punch. Pain shot across Kumori's arm, and he dropped one of his knives and stumbled, but quickly aimed the other knife at Sumi's middle, making her crumple. He stepped back briefly as Sumi put her hand to her side, something glinting on her fingers as she did-oh, her rings. But just as she looked up, he dove down to pick up his knife and aimed again, this time lower.

This is for Riko-kun. This is for Otsuki-sama. This is for Yorokobi-sama.

This is for Riko-kun. This is for Otsuki-sama. This is for Yorokobi-sama.

This is for Riko-kun. This is for Otsuki-sama. This is for Yorokobi-sama.

This is for Riko-kun. This is for Otsuki-sama. This is for Yorokobi-sama.

Remembering every cruel word she had said, every time she'd set some of her delinquent-like friends on his fellow Reserve Course members, every time she'd used her brother to weasel out of consequences, his vision went red, brighter red than ever before as he swung at her and gradually, she seemed to weaken, sitting up but not managing to get up. She was getting paler, her breathing ragged, and Kumori felt satisfaction course through him as he leant in for the final strike-

-and then something tugged on his legs, and he found himself crashing to the ground, sprawling. One knife clattered out of his hand, spinning slightly before landing, but he managed to keep the other one. Dazed, he blinked as Sumi groaned and pulled herself to loom over him.

"I don't fu-fucking know who you creeps are, but I'll…..I'll…."

Sumi winced in pain, but when Kumori tried to get up, she leaned forward more, her elbow digging into his arm. It was pointy, but didn't hurt as much as her rings had before. Kumori bucked and struggled and managed to knee her in one of the wounds. When she gasped and withdrew slightly, Kumori managed to get himself up, but Sumi rallied around again, and soon the two were rolling around and around, tussling frantically, both giving as good as they could get. Pain continued to bloom all over Kumori's body, but he barely noticed, the mantra playing over and over in his head, drowning out anything else.

This is for Riko-kun. This is for Otsuki-sama. This is for Yorokobi-sama.

This is for Riko-kun. This is for Otsuki-sama. This is for Yorokobi-sama.

Kumori sucked in huge, gulping breaths as, when for the millionth time, he managed to get Sumi on the ground and put his hands around her neck and squeezed. Sho's face flashed in his mind briefly, but then he chased it away. He heard his knife clattering, making him realise that at some point, Sumi had had it. Angered by that, he squeezed harder, making her eyes bulge. It didn't stop her from trying to wheeze out something:

"Dammit, have you… gone and done something to my bro-brother? He…he'd be here by now…."

"Your big brother isn't coming" He gritted out, though in truth he had no idea where Masao was, precisely.

"Tha-tha-"

He could feel it, the moment her life left. See it, even, in the way her words cut out and her eyes abruptly lost their focus. Suddenly, everything was cold and all the sensations came rushing back in. He let go, snatching his hands away and trying to stumble back. His own breath was wheezy, and his limbs felt weak and sticky, making him wobble as he tried to get up.

"Woah, woah, kouhai, steady now."

Kaneda's strong arm came to him, suddenly, steadying him. Kumori blinked, looking into his friend's cheerful, easy face. His clothes were ruffled, but he didn't seem injured at all.

"The…older…."

"Oh, yeah, he's subdued. Put up a fight, but he's not trained at all. At all."

Kaneda clicked his tongue, looking disappointed by this fact. Kumori blinked blearily and looked around, seeing Masao restrained and unconscious a little further in the alleyway.

"Well, anyway, kouhai, we're going to have to get you seen too, huh? There's no way we can take you to a hospital under the circumstances…"

Kumori could only nod at that. He was aware of Kaneda assessing him critically, but couldn't think of anything to say. Suddenly, all he wanted to do was sleep for years and years. It was all he could do to pay attention when Kaneda did start speaking again:

"Right, okay, you'll need to hold on tight, okay? We need to get Matsushita-kouhai and Yamashita-kouhai here to take over for us, and then you'll need to wear my coat and try and walk straight until we get to Hisakawa-kouhai, alright….."

The rest of the words became fuzzy to Kumori's ears, and all he could do was nod, and allow Kaneda to do what he would. Nonetheless, as they walked away, he was able to turn to look at Sumi Kishitani lying on the floor, and feel nothing but pride.

"Right then, I suppose I should hang out up there for the deliveries. See you in a bit."

Keiko startled as Shino downed their tools and then bounced up, leaving the panic room before either she or Hatsumi could blink. They'd left their beret behind, but Keiko didn't think it mattered, really. She sighed and considered the inside of the mask she was holding, before showing it to Hatsumi.

"What do you think?" she asked. "Microphone in the right place?"

Hatsumi blinked and scrutinised it, before grinning and giving a thumbs-up.

"Yeah, that looks fine. You know what, I'm bored!" Hatsumi declared unexpectedly. "Let's take a break for now, okay?"

"Um…sure, if that's what you would like? What shall we do instead? Sorting out the left-over clothes?" Keiko suggested after a moment.

"No, no, let's just sit and chat!"

Keiko blinked uncertainly, half-getting up, unsure of whether to continue on her way to standing up or to sit back down. Hatsumi stared right at her, patting the space she had half-vacated.

"Seriously," Hatsumi declared. "Come!"

"Um….sure."

Keiko sat delicately back down, carefully pushing away the mask and tools to the side, and looked over at Hatsumi, who'd styled her hair in yet another funky, complicated hairstyle that looked good on her. Something that Keiko would never dare to do, not least because doing such a thing wouldn't look good on her. Besides, it'd be impractical and inappropriate, whatever her life ended up looking like after all this was over.

"So…" she asked perkily, trying to shake away the sudden sense of gloom. "What would you like to talk about?"

"Oh, anything really. I was just thinking that we've never really talked, although really we have a lot in common don't we? What with our wealthy, traditional families and all that…."

"Yes," Keiko said cautiously. "I suppose so."

"Huh."

Hatsumi sat up straight suddenly, as if having thought of something. She murmured huh and then shook her head.

"It's silly, isn't it, to just keep saying, Emiko this, Emiko that, when going on about before?"

"I do not mind," Keiko said. "Besides, if it helps you then I do not see the harm."

"Yeah but it's still me. But anyway, yeah. Yeah, our families. What would you be expected to do when you graduate from Hope's Peak? I guess marry or something, right?"

"It wouldn't be so bad. If I'm lucky, I'll still get to do some work in the lab once I'm married, before I have children."

Even to Keiko's ears, the words sounded flat. It was unsurprising when Hatsumi narrowed her eyes at her. Her heartrate sped up, and she tried to take a breath as covertly as possible.

"That's not what you want though, is it?"

Quickly, Keiko tried to salvage things:

"I cannot complain, I have responsibilities-"

"Oh, what, because you're the eldest and a daughter? Screw that bullshit, my friend. What would you want?"

Keiko spluttered, at a loss with how quickly that question managed to wrong-foot her. She blinked rapidly a few times, sucked in a breath more obviously this time and held her limbs more closely to her, squeezing further into the corner that she was sitting in. Then, she forced herself to smile.

"What do you want to do?"

"Oh, more or less what I'm doing now-create a new identity, run the fuck away to some pretty island and then meet some pretty girls and just chill for the rest of my life."

"You wouldn't want to do something like….travel? Learn something?"

"Nah, I've never been a big fan of school anyway…but travel, maybe? All the tropical places, big cities, all that fun stuff. You want to go onto university?"

"Yeah, but there isn't much point in it, really."

"What, because you have to get married? That's bullshit, don't you know? Complete bullshit. Besides, I didn't think people wanted uneducated wives these days anyway."

"Well, I'm an alumni of Hope's Peak. Or I will be, by that time." Keiko said. "I have to be happy with that, don't I?"

She gasped a little at that, surprised at how quickly and easily she had admitted that. How easily she'd said all of the things she had just said. Feeling her cheeks heat up, she scrambled to apologise but Hatsumi held her hand up firmly.

"No, don't you dare apologise, girl," Hatsumi declared. "I know you're all nice and sweet and helpful, but you are allowed to be unhappy with the way things are. Also, I noticed that you evaded my question-if you didn't have any elder-daughter obligations to carry on the family and take care of them and all that, what would you do?"

Keiko took a deep breath, studying Hatsumi closely. She looked genuinely interested, and Keiko couldn't believe it. Her instinct was to distract or divert again, return the attention back to her. But Hatsumi was looking at her so pleadingly that despite her request requiring the opposite of what Keiko was used to being, how could she not oblige? After all, it was clearly something that'd please her.

So, as best as she could, she tried:

"I'd like to work in my father's company. Or even in another laboratory. I wouldn't even need to be the head of a department or anything, I would just want to be there, working…developing new things and helping to advance chemical discoveries. Practical, or just theoretical, I don't mind. I'd like…to not have to be the only one who has to take care of my family, and maybe…maybe I'd like to get married, someday. But I don't want have to give up my work for it, and I don't want it to be so early. It shouldn't be much, really, but I know that it's not something that I'm supposed to want, really. I've never been supposed to want anything like that, even if in 2032 it's supposed to be normal for girls to want more than becoming wives and mothers and nothing more."

Keiko sighed, closing her eyes.

"I loved being at Hope's Peak, really, I did. I didn't imagine though that everything would end up being linked to who I'd be as a domestic, instead of as a scientist. I've washed more than I've been in the laboratories…and ah, it's fine, really, it's fine. As I said, I cannot complain."

"You keep on saying that," Hatsumi said. "You keep on saying that. But anyway, what'd you think would happen if you just put your foot down and said no, I'm not cooking and cleaning after you lot, no I'm not giving up a chance to go to university."

"I couldn't do that," Keiko was horrified. "Who'd look after my little brothers, my cousins? They're still young."

"One of your brother's only a year younger than you, right?"

"Well yeah, but my youngest is still only in elementary, and the cousins are in pre-school…and I care about them, I can't just-oh."

Hatsumi titled her head as the realisation hit Keiko, making her suck in a pained breath.

"I'm doing that anyway, aren't I?" Keiko murmured. "Leaving them behind?"

The shackles of the life she should have been felt tighter than ever, somehow, even though even in this moment she was sawing them away. Yet, the thought of leaving them behind with nobody else to take care of them (because she had to accept reality-there was no way that her father would step up, if he hadn't after her mother had died) ripped her in half. But she didn't have the right to feel like that, not when she was being selfish like this.

It's not selfish, it's just choosing yourself for a change.

But that's just another word for being selfish.

Yet, yet….

You can't have everything, you know that. And choosing them means giving up.

Hatsumi didn't say anything as Keiko sat there, her thoughts conflicting with each other. She shook her head abruptly and slapped her cheeks, reminding herself to focus. She was supposed to be keeping Hatsumi company, chatting with her as she wanted. Not burdening her with her own issues.

"No, it's a foolish question to ask-I know the answer to it already. Ah, but I'm sorry, Yanagi-chan. I do not mean to completely overtake the conversation."

"Ah, it's fine. I could tell, from the beginning. You fit the role a lot better than I've ever done. Though maybe it's because I'm an only child. Good thing too, I'd have been crap as a big sister, let me tell you."

"Oh I'm sure tha-"

"Nah, nah, I really would have been, especially if they were just meant to be practise for me to become a mother. See, I've not got a maternal bone in my body. But you, on the other hand…you actually care about your siblings, right? You're practically a maternal skeleton, the way you take care of us so well."

"A…maternal skeleton?"

Keiko found herself laughing, and though immediately she tried to tone it down, for some reason the phrase snagged somewhere in her brain, becoming more hilarious the more she thought of it, and the laughter overtook her. In the end, she had to give in, and so she laughed and laughed. In a way that she could not recall having ever really done, not somewhere that was outside of these people. She'd laughed with them, whenever one of them had said anything funny in a lighter moment. In the summer when they'd been hanging out almost like 'normal' teenagers and goofing off. And now, here. She'd laughed. She'd laughed, and been valued for other things than what she was used to, and the world had opened up for her so wide and bright.

And those memories, if anything, decided it.

No. No more regret.

Keiko straightened, took a breath. She clamped her mouth shut to ward against what would have been an automatic apology. Consciously, she stretched out her legs, unfolded herself a little. Allowed her smile to remain wide and unrestrained.

"Glad to see my comedian skills are on tip-top form after being stuck in a room for months on end." Hatsumi said dryly.

"I…well…I'm glad to have been of help in that area. I'm sure it won't be long before you get out, though. After all, we're starting to make progress in acquiring the class."

Despite having promised herself no more guilt, Keiko felt one more stab of that churning, complicated sensation as Minah's face flooded into her mind.

"Yeeeah, I know. Just gotta keep those tropical islands in sight. Hey, you know what?"

"Hmmm?"

"You should come with me!"

"I-what?"

"Yeah, sure, why not? I mean, look at you, nobody's gonna suspect you, you can easily slip away when things go down."

Keiko remembered that Hatsumi did not know what it was that Sosuke had asked her to do. Yes, she had been diligent and careful thus far, but if things went wrong, she was sure it would not take too long for her to be looked at if for no other reason than that of easy proximity.

When she could not find an answer, Hatsumi went on, clearly warming to the theme.

"Yeah, you can decamp at one of the tropical islands, we can give you a make-over, perhaps get you set up with a pretty girl of your own-yeah, I noticed. Trust me, you get a radar for it."

"A radar?"

"Oh my word, you really have repressed, haven't you? Well, you know what? Tropical island or no, when this is all over, we're going to fix that."

Keiko blushed again, this time feeling hotter than before.

"Ah, Yanagi-chan, there is no need to worry about me-"

"I'm not worrying, Usui. You're so dependable, you don't need be worried about. But that doesn't mean you're not allowed to have someone else take care of you for a change. Besides, I've missed having the opportunity to set someone up, I have."

Hatsumi's expression clouded over as she said this, and Keiko put a hand on her shoulder, about to ask what was wrong. But abruptly, the panic room door opened, and Shino came hurtling down.

"Got a casualty!"

Right behind them Kaneda and Kumori appeared on the stairs. Kumori was wearing Kaneda's jacket, and looked disturbingly pale. Indeed, he had to be helped down by Kaneda, while Shino gave a brief commentary:

"Latest abduction got a bit hairy-Kishitani the younger really put up a fight with our killing machine over here. Luckily, we managed to subdue them both-the elder one's with the two Shitas now in the warehouse, and well…the younger's been taken care of. But in any case, the damn food still hasn't arrived, so I'm going back up! Lemme know if there's any trouble."

With this gleeful conclusion, Shino jumped back up the stairs and disappeared. For a moment, Keiko could only stare after them, then a slight moan brought her back to the situation, and she jumped up.

"Come, Kurogane-kun. Sit down over here, we'll get you sorted out. How bad is it?"

Quickly, she and Kaneda guided Kumori to sit down on a beanbag and got to work pulling off his outer layers, including his shoes, still left on in the understandable rush. She then unbuttoned his shirt, rolled up his trousers, and started to calmly assess the injuries, cleaning away the blood so she could better see the array of cuts and bruises-some deep and extensive, other superficial.

"A hospital would have been better, but obviously, we cannot…"

This, Kaneda said airily in response to her last question. She looked up into Kumori's blank, unseeing eyes and remembered that Sumi Kishitani had apparently been taken care of. She told herself not to feel any sympathy, none at all. Reminded herself that it was what her friends had done, for the cause.

"Alright, well, as far as I can tell, there aren't any broken bones and though I'll need to do stitches here, mostly things should be fine."

"Ah good, knew we could count on you, Usui-san. Anyway, sadly I cannot say, so I will see you soon!"

Keiko only half-registered Kaneda's farewell as she continued examining Kumori, who was blinking now, something at least. She looked at the injuries on his hand-defensive injuries, some apparently old-and a thought that she didn't need to think occurred to her. She pushed it down, abruptly.

"Kurogane-kun, tell me if it hurts at any point, alright? I'll be gentle, so don't worry… Now, where's the first aid kit…."

Keiko startled as Hatsumi abruptly thrust it into her face. Thanking her, Keiko took it and quickly got to work, knowing there was no time to waste. Kumori didn't say a word, and apart from a few gasps, didn't say anything.

"I'll help-only cos I'm still bored, mind you."

"Well, that's good, because it looks like I will need all the help I can get. Do you think you can grab some snacks and a sugary drink, for the shock? Then I'll need you to dress some of these wounds here along his other arm-they're less severe, so plasters should do the job fine."

"Coolio."

With remarkable cool, Hatsumi got right to work. Keiko didn't have time to be amazed by this, but was sure she'd be gobsmacked later. But for now, she was being counted on to help, and she had to make sure that she fulfilled that expectation. That duty, it was the only thing that mattered now.

And for once, she was glad of it.