Heavy Metal Lover

by LizzyLovesPink

It all starts when Ibuki can't find Ryota, and it all ends with her in a hospital bed. Though, perhaps, those two don't mean how you think they do. Or, Ibuki becomes fascinated with Ryota and develops a crush on him that follows her throughout her life. IbukixRyota; the real one. Also on AO3

It all started when she couldn't find Ryota. The class had been trying to organize yet another party, this time a video game-themed one, don't tell Chiaki or anything, and she was meant to put up the ribbons and streamers and whatever else they needed up on the walls alongside him. She left to get a huge box of stuff and then arrived to find him just...gone.

"Ryota-chan!" She called, setting the box down on an empty desk and scanning the room. Everyone else was there, doing what was expected of them, aside from Nagito as he had the ultra-important job of keeping Chiaki away from the classroom until they were ready for her, but there was no Ryota. Not a single sign of him at all! That just wouldn't do at all!

"Ryota-chan!" She called again, rushing out of the room and thus not even noticing several of her classmates had looked over at her in surprise and confusion when she had just taken off at top speed. "If Ibuki were Ryota-chan, where would she be...?" She mused to herself, just wandering through the halls of Hope's Peak. She had never needed to find him again and found herself at a loss of where to look. Unless...

Right! The art room! Such an obvious choice for a future animator like himself! She smiled to herself and ran up the stairs in that direction, glancing around and catching some movement down one of the hallways, in an alcove. Curious, she walked down there instead and caught someone slowly trying to pull a drink out of the vending machine and shaded her eyes, trying to see them better.

"Ryota-chan!" She shouted and hurried over, grabbing his arm. "Ibuki was looking all over the place for you! She needs your help to hang up streamers!" She pouted a bit, pulling him away.

"A-Ah...why? W-What are you doing that requires s-streamers?" He asked shyly, glancing away from her. Ibuki took in his appearance; something about him seemed, different. Odd. Off. Strange. She couldn't put her finger on it though. He idlily played with the stopper on his drink. "I-I have something else to do-"

"No way! You promised to help Ibuki!" She insisted, grabbing his arm again and pulling him along. "Then you can get back to drawing,"

He said nothing, just silently let her pull him along, and soon they reached the classroom again, Ibuki leading him over to the box full of streamers. "Okie-dokie! Just help Ibuki, like she said!"

"U-Uh..." He put his unopened drink on the desk and stared in confusion at the pink streamers he was handed instead, unsure of what to do with them. Ibuki kicked a chair over to the wall and stood on it, taking the stapler she was provided and stapling the streamers to the wall with a loud snapping noise.

"Just hand them to Ibuki!" She held her hand out and kept stapling her current pair, wiggling her empty hand slightly to give him the hint. He slowly handed her a new one and she stapled those, sticking her tongue out slightly in concentration.

"W-Who is this for?" He asked slowly as Ibuki kept stapling.

"A birthday party! For Class President? Don't you know, it was your idea to have a party for her!" She briefly glanced down at him and noticed that despite staring at her, his eyes seemed to be somewhere else entirely. A far-away place. She frowned and paused in her movements. Instead, she stepped back on her chair, stepping more and more until her feet touched nothing at all. She choked back the gasp in her throat as she felt herself stumbling to the floor.

"U-Uh, u-ummm...!"

She heard Ryota's shoes squeak against the floor, the paper being dropped, and looked over in time to see him anxiously rushing over with his hands out as they both crashed to the floor together. "Ouch..." He moaned in pain despite landing on top of her. Really, she had no real pain anywhere on her body despite that fact.

"B-Be careful!" He finally gasped, looking at her. He then looked down and blushed scarlet, very slowly sitting up and scooting away from her.

"Ibuki doesn't mind if you want to look a bit, you know!" She teased, making him blush more as she stood up. As she expected, Mahiru and Mikan were by her side in a second, asking her why she lost her balance so suddenly. "Everyone falls off chairs sometimes! Not just Ibuki!" She responded.

"You nearly hit a desk, and then what?" Mahiru sighed. "What if you busted your head open?"

"Ibuki was sure Ryota-chan would catch her!" She looked back at him with a smile, though he was wringing his hands and staring at his soda, not looking at her at all. She pouted in response and stooped down to pick up the papers, shaking them at him. "Come on, we have to finish!"

"O-Oh, sure..." He gingerly took the streamers from her and just handed them to her when she asked, stapling the whole length of the wall. Mahiru kept an eye on them, her arms crossed in front of her chest, but Ibuki ignored that. She could handle herself!

Once the streamers were done, Ibuki jumped down from the chair and eyed his soda, especially when he grabbed it and tried to bolt. She smirked and raced after him, easily catching up.

"Ryota-chan! You're not getting away from Ibuki that easily!" She stopped in front of him. "At least let her drink sodas with you! She needs to cool down after all that work she did!"

"I-I have to get back to my room..."

"Nonsense! Soda is in order!"

He said nothing as she led him back upstairs and to the vending machine.

"But does Ibuki want a soda, or does she want tea? Or milk? Or all three? Wait, maybe she shouldn't. That would give her a major stomachache! She needs something though. How about..." She closed her eyes and spun around, holding out her finger and pressing it against a random spot in the glass, opening her eyes and smiling. "Aha! Green tea for Ibuki it is!"

She had enough for it, for once, only because that morning she wrote down she had several hundred yen that would get her through the week, maybe even two, if she wanted to use the vending machines. She slipped her money in and grabbed her tea, popping it open and chugging it down, making Ryota's eyes widen.

"H-How...how do you do that?"

"Hm? Do what?" She asked innocently, wiping her mouth off.

"That. Just chugging it. I-If I did, I'd probably explode from the carbonation," He stared down at his own can.

"Hopefully you wouldn't literally! That'd be a pretty awful way to die, don't you think?!" She then thought about it. "What if someone could die because they drank their soda too fast? Would that be the best or worst way to die? Would their stomach literally explode like kaboom? Or would it be like internal? Would soda seep from their pores? Would they explode like a bomb on television does?!"

Ryota just stared at her and slowly took a sip of his own drink; a lemon soda.

"Ibuki thinks that wouldn't be a fun way to die," She finally said to herself, sliding down the wall and sitting down on the floor. "So don't drink too much soda, okay?"

"I-I don't have much of a choice," He took another drink and looked away, seemingly trying his hardest to not just stare at her.

"The party was your idea, so are you coming Ryota-chan?!" She asked eagerly. "Ibuki hopes so!"

"U-Uh...I don't know," He drank the last of his soda and threw it away. "I-I have to go. R-Really. For real this time," He dashed off and for once, Ibuki let him go, nursing her own bottle of tea. She just sat there alone and polished her drink off, throwing away her bottle and heading back to her class.

Ryota's personality change stuck with her though. Had he always been so shy and nervous before? Did he? Ibuki didn't think so. But Ryota was always Ryota, right?

---

Chiaki's party came and went, as expected. It wasn't expected to dress up, but Ibuki was who she was and wouldn't pass up a good opportunity to make a new outfit. Nothing super fancy or over-the-top, but she made herself a new skirt and jacket and wore them in place of her usual uniform. Her skirt was a black leather with chains hanging off and her jacket was long enough to hide her hands and had the outline of bones just like her kneesocks did, so overall she looked like a punk-rock skeleton. Hey, maybe she could tweak the design in some way for the class' Halloween party and become a glow-in-the-dark skeleton!

She got some lemon-lime Ramune and walked over to where her three best friends were hanging out, sitting at their desks, just chatting.

"Heyo!" She waved eagerly.

"You look like a skeleton," Hiyoko pouted, but the weak insult meant even her own meanness had been forgotten in the midst of such festivities.

"W-Why are you so dressed-up?" Mikan asked, tightly clutching her own bottle of blueberry.

"Why not? A party's a party, you know?" Ibuki grinned.

"It's nice," Mahiru nodded in approval. "Maybe afterwards I can get some pictures of you and the birthday girl," She then nodded over in Chiaki's direction, who was eating cake while Nagito was going off on some tangent about something or other.

"You should take everyone's pictures with her!" Ibuki popped open her bottle and took a drink, feeling the slight carbonation fizzle her eyes. She giggled a bit at that thought and walked around the room for someone else to talk to. Sonia, Souda, and Gundham were all arguing over what song to play next, TeruTeru was eyeing Akane eating her second or third slice of cake, Fuyuhiko and Peko were sitting in another corner, whispering to themselves, and Ryota was-

"Did you make your clothes yourself? They look really good," He walked over to her, giving her a smile of praise.

"Yeah, but you know Ibuki likes making a majority of her clothes!" She flexed her fingers, showing off the hand model. "It even moves a bit! They match her thighhighs!" She took another sip of her soda. "Not too much! Ibuki doesn't want to die from carbonation!"

"Of course not," He nodded, making her subtly pout. "Want to dance? I think those three finally figured out what song they wanted to play,"

"Sure!" Ibuki followed him onto the cleared dancefloor and started to dance around, combining her more hiphop-y style with some traditional moves she'd been leaning from Hiyoko. She couldn't really tell what sort of dances Ryota was doing, but after how nervous he seemed the other day, she was just glad to see him loosen up a bit. Even though...

"Ryota-chan!" She announced as she continued to dance, chugging the rest of her drink. "Can someone die from too much soda carbonation? Is it possible?"

"I'm not sure, maybe if you drank a lot of sodas constantly," He paused in his dancing to mull it over, making Ibuki frown.

"What'd you drink the other day?"

"Plenty of things, why are you asking?"

She stopped dancing and stepped back. Ryota definitely seemed different. No, wait, this was how he always acted. The way he acted the other day, that was super weird. He looked different then too, but now he looks the way Ibuki always remembered him looking. She glanced around at her other classmates and walked over to Mahiru, in the middle of taking a picture of Akane. She waited for her to finish and then bounced on her heels.

"Mahiru-chan! Ibuki's leaving the party early, can you take her picture early?"

"Huh? Why?" Mahiru blinked in confusion.

"Her stomach hurts from all of the sodas and cakes!"

"If you say so," As expected of her best friend, Mahiru believed her and brought Chiaki over, standing the two girls by the window. Ibuki pulled Chiaki closer and wrapped her arm around her, flashing a rock-on gesture. Chiaki just smiled her usual easy smile and Mahiru's camera went off. "You two look great!"

"Thank you," Chiaki said and Ibuki darted out of the room, not stopping until she reached her dorm. She leaned against the door, a hand on her heart. She stared at the bone motifs on her jacket, eyeing them. She pulled her thighhighs up and studied those, looking at the detail she put on them.

Something was off about Ryota, she knew it. She didn't know what it was, she just knew something was. Ibuki may be a fool, she would even readily admit that about herself at times, but one couldn't deny she also just seemed to know certain things. Something was different about Ryota, and she decided to take it upon herself to figure out what it was.

---

She didn't encounter Ryota again until a few weeks later, and by then it was another complete accident. She wore her bone ensemble, yes she totally called it that because what else could you call an outfit like that, and was trying to decide what to get from the third-floor vending machine again. Ryota peeked out from behind one of the walls, staring at her. She pretended not to notice ad kept looking at the drink options. Just like before, he looked different, with the nervous demeanor about him. Ibuki selected peach tea and then upon thinking on it, got another green tea bottle and walked over to Ryota, making him startle when she held it out to him.

"You're thirsty, right? Why else would you come here?" She gasped. "Unless you're buying a drink for a close friend!"

"N-No..." He stared at her offered drink, hesitating. "W-What's with all the bones?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Hm? But you were at Class President's party, right? You danced with Ibuki and liked her outfit!"

His face paled at that and he took several steps back, stammering. "U-Uh, I-I...n-no, I didn't...I-I mean...I-I..."

Ibuki just kept holding out the tea for him.

"I-I...oh no!" He just turned and dashed away from her, not speaking again or anything of the sort. Ibuki lowered her hand and blew her bangs out of her face in frustration.

Should she follow him, or not? No, they weren't close enough for that. Still, she was curious. Did he have short-term-memory loss problems like her?! Or maybe some kind of doppelganger?! The possibilities were endless! She wanted to get to the bottom of it. Maybe someone else in her class knew. Maybe...

She looked around both ways and left the green tea by the machine and took her peach tea, walking the other way to her dorm. She pulled the top off her bottle and nearly started chugging it again before she paused and instead took a few smaller, longer drinks of it instead.

---

Summer arrived in full swing for the members of Class 77, who all started to plan activities to do over their short and already work-heavy week. Ibuki herself for once had no plans; she didn't like performing shows in the sticky, hot summer heat, sure sometimes it was fun because it mean things like glitter stuck easier to the audience, but Ibuki wasn't looking to quickly wear herself out. Thus, her shows were usually kept to cooler spring and autumn months. That also meant she was free to do whatever her classmates asked of her!

Who had the most interesting set of plans?

She clasped her hands behind her back and just wandered around from desk to desk, listening in on different conversations.

"Big Sister Ibuki! Want to hang out with us? We're having a super long sleepover at Big Sister Mahiru's place!" Hiyoko cheered, throwing her hands up.

"How long?" Ibuki asked.

"The whole break!"

"No way, I didn't agree to such a long stay! Only a week!" Mahiru declined.

"I-I don't mind how long it is...a-as long as it's just the four of us,"

"Actually, I might invite Sato-san too,"

"Hmph, you always invite her everywhere," Hiyoko pouted at that in frustration.

"We always have sleepovers at Mahiru-chan's though!" Ibuki finally cut in. It was the truth; Mikan and Hiyoko didn't like people coming over and Ibuki herself...well, she just liked to go where-ever she felt needed. Her parents always said she was a free spirit who couldn't be controlled and learned from an early age she would be better off untethered, doing as she pleased, going where she pleased. She would always come back to Earth, to those who kept her grounded, when she felt she needed to. Thus, she currently had been living in a karaoke bar for the past month or so; she paid what was needed and tended to eat a steady diet of udon bowls. She had her dorm at school, but even that had trouble containing her at times. She preferred the sound and music that surrounded her in a place like that, the smell of greasy fried foods, the small and cramped space she called her very own. It wasn't a place to sleepover with friends in, but it didn't need to be. It was all Ibuki's own.

"Because my house is the most suitable place," Mahiru sighed, and Ibuki took that as her cue to move on. She loved her friends, she spent every waking moment with them though! Spending summer break with some other classmates are sorely in order.

"How about you guys?" She asked of Fuyuhiko, who tsk'ed a bit.

"It's a family thing, you're not invited,"

"Awww, but Peko-chan gets to go!" Ibuki teasingly whined.

"She's part of my family,"

Ibuki still pouted, hanging her head. "You're going on a super fun adventure and leaving Ibuki behind! How cruel!"

"I told you, it's a family thing! My sister is going and all that, so stop acting so sad!"

Ibuki just moved along, resting her hands on Chiaki's desk. "Class President...what are you doing?"

"I think Nagito-kun invited me to attend a festival alongside Sonia-san. She wanted to see a Japanese one," She answered.

"Ooooh, you and Nagito-chan, huh? You two are getting super friendly, huh? You two going out?" She teasingly nudged her friend.

"No," Chiaki rested her head on her own desk. "We're just friends. He's just...you know, I'm Class President so it's my job to help him become more social,"

"But he invited you! That's totally the move of a future boyfriend!"

Chiaki just smiled a bit.

"Can Ibuki join you? She'll get a fake date so you won't be alone! She'll even hook Sonia-chan up with someone!"

"Sure,"

"Yes! Ibuki's going to a summer festival! Score one for Ibuki!" She pumped her fist in the air. "Now Ibuki's gotta find a fake-date!" She skimmed through her class again; none of the guys appealed to her much and most of the girls were already taken. Though there was always one option...

Her eyes met with Ryota's and she walked over to his desk. "You heard Ibuki! Wanna be her fake-date to the summer festival?" She offered, and he nodded.

"Sure, I had no other plans."

"Yes! Ibuki has a fake-date now!" She cheered again, spinning around.

---

After school ended for the day, Ibuki headed to her dorm and got out her small black duffel bag, filling it up with several changes of clothing, slinging that over her shoulder and grabbing her guitar case. She looked around to see if she was missing anything; the school wouldn't throw her stuff away while she was gone, but she wasn't worried about that. Was she missing anything important? Food was always provided for her, there were showers she could use...

She'd just have to assume she wasn't missing anything at all then!

Ibuki left her dorm and walked outside to the grounds, feeling the orange sunset bathe her in its warmth and colours. A lot of other students were out too, finishing up some last-minute cleaning, packing, or otherwise just hanging around with their friends. The security guards kept stern eyes on everyone and their interactions, ushering the Reserve Course students quickly on their way. A few smiled or nodded at Ibuki, her natural gift allowing her the prize of basic human decency, but she didn't engage them today. She wanted to get a headstart on home so she could have the bar all to herself before it filled up, then she'd have first pick of all the songs!

She kept walking along when she caught a fast-moving shadow and looked over, catching a flash of Ryota before he disappeared around the corner. Tightening her grip on her guitar case, she resolved to follow him and get to the bottom of this mystery! She followed close behind, trying to keep her steps light and pressing herself up against the walls and shadowy corners whenever she had the chance, trying to not give away her position. Every once in a while Ryota would glance around and then continue on, seeing nothing, and Ibuki knew she was still being secretive. She followed him all the way back to the dorms and hid behind the corner, noticing he had a large bag of food. He knocked and then let himself into one of the dorms, closing the door behind him. Ibuki walked over and held out her hand, wondering if she should knock or not. Did Ryota have a girlfriend or boyfriend of his own?! Why did he never tell her?! What should she do?

She stood there with her hand raised to try knocking for several minutes, she must've, because soon it had opened again to reveal Ryota, Ryota as she had always known him, standing there with a half-eaten burger, staring at her in surprise.

"Ryota-chan!" She greeted. "Do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend?! Tell Ibuki all about it! She swears she won't tell!"

"No," He looked down at the burger, and then slowly offered it to her. "Want this?"

"Does Ibuki ever?!" She took it from him and took a big bite, grinning. "Delicious! But tell Ibuki! Who'd you meet!?"

"They're...a close friend of mine. We have a certain agreement that I help them with," He said. "But that's not mine to share, you'll have to ask him,"

"Ohhhhhhh..." Ibuki nodded along in complete understanding. Was it some kind of secret?! She loved secrets. She knew so many of them, like how Mahiru enjoyed eating lunch with the Reserve Course students because of Sato and this boy she met recently named Hajime! Ibuki never told a soul that one!

Well, except for the people reading, but that's okay! They can keep a secret too!

Taking her burger, Ibuki walked off, holding it close in her hands. She wouldn't just walk and eat at the same time, so she hoped it would still be good by the time she arrived at the karaoke place. She walked back out into the orange glow and kept a spring in her step, feeling good all of a sudden. She walked along, out of the school gate, down the sidewalk, further into town, soon reaching the karaoke place. She tossed her money on the counter and took her key, unlocking her compartment and crawling right in. She laid down on the small leather couch, ending up in a squished position where her legs were curled and up in the air. She swung them back and forth slowly, untying her shoes. She decided she liked that position.

Ibuki rolled over onto her side once she kicked her shoes off and polished off the burger, glad it was still good, then turned the television on. Even if there was nothing good on, she could always use it as background noise when she sung and made merry! She surfed through the channels, keeping an eye out for anything that seemed interesting to her. Mainly just a bunch of music and news channels, boring. What did she care about those? She sat up and found her mind wandering to Ryota again. Who was this secret friend of his? Someone Ibuki knew, perhaps? And they were close enough he just brought him food unprompted! Was he like Mahiru's friends, someone the school couldn't know about? No, he wouldn't have his own dorm then. Unless he stayed in Ryota's dorm all of the time! Wouldn't someone catch him during cleaning or vacation hours though?

So many questions, so many questions.

But who said they were male? Maybe it was a girl. Maybe he had a secret girlfriend, or a sister, or another female relative, or even just a best girl friend! The possibilities were nearly endless!

She wanted to meet them super badly!

"Ugh, it's so boring in here!" She whined suddenly, racing out of her room and over to the nearest karaoke machine. The people using it looked at her in surprise, but she pulled out some money and asked for the next set, making them nod and continue. "Ibuki just needs some kind of amusement!" She bounced around in place as she waited for them to finish, then grabbed the mic. She cycled through the songs, settling on something random, then started yelling the lyrics at the top of her lungs.

"I'm going to kill you, die, die, you're all gonna die, nothing can possibly save you now!" She sung, twirling around. The others around her looked confused and horrified, but she kept singing. Once it was the end, she let go of the mic. "Who wants to go next?!"

"Uhhhh.." One of the girls nervously stepped up and took the mic from Ibuki and stepped back, singing to herself. Ibuki listened for a bit before she went back to her room, laying on the bed. The TV was left running to some random show, but she just closed her eyes.

Time to get some sleep in!

---

A few days later, it was finally time for the summer festival she promised she'd take Ryota on a fake-date to. She needed a yukata though! One of the most essential aspects of a summer festival! Did she pack one? If not, maybe she'd have to borrow Mahiru's, she always had at least two or three to change at her leisure, and they were around the same size...

"Bingo!" She shouted, having found her yukata. It was a dark blue and decorated with black, grey, and pink splashes of flowers with a striped grey and purple obi around her waist. Overall, it was loud and clashed and perfect for someone like her.

She took her shower and tied herself into the yukata, wondering if she should also wear low geta or just regular zori. Which would look better? If she had geta, she could clack-clack-clack down the street just like a spooky yokai! Geta it was then!

Ibuki hummed to herself as she did her hair up tightly in its conical shape and slipped on her geta, leaving her stuff behind aside from a tiny bag to hold her phone and fan. It beeped as she hurried along and she grabbed it, answering it.

"Yeah-yeah! Who is it?"

"Mioda-san, where are you? Everyone else is here," Chiaki asked her in curiosity. "Did you sleep in?"

"No way! The bus was just late!" Ibuki responded breezily. "Ibuki can make it there just in time! Don't worry about her!"

"If you say so," Chiaki somehow still sounded unconvinced, but Ibuki ignored her. She would get there when she got there!

Once the bus arrived, she got on and just sat near a window, noticing it wasn't super crowded. She took out her phone and looked through her apps aimlessly, not knowing what to do. She didn't want to start playing a game and then miss her stop!

After riding for a while, she saw a few other yukata-clad students, she wasn't sure if they were from Hope's Peak or not, getting off at a stop, giggling all the way. Ibuki noticed the stop and hopped off herself, recognizing the festival stands.

"Chiaki-chan! Chiaki-chan!" She called, finding the group waving to her.

"You made it just in time! We were worried about having to start without you!" Sonia gasped.

"Ibuki wouldn't miss this for the world!" She reassured them. "Are you excited for your first taste of a Japanese festival?!"

"Well, to be honest, this is not strictly my first one. Gundham-kun took me to one in late-March so I could enjoy the spring weather. But this is my first summer one!" Sonia smiled. "So everything here is completely new to me!"

"Good to see you made it," Ryota walked over to her. "What would you like to do? We should leave the others to do their own things,"

She looked around and found Sonia walking off, in awe, while Nagito and Chiaki played a water-gun game to try and get prizes.

"Wanna get something to eat? Ibuki didn't eat anything yet! Then we can lay the goldfish game! She wants a big one!" She eventually suggested. Ryota nodded.

"Food sounds good,"

"Great!" She ran ahead of him to the food stalls and looked around, trying to weigh her options. "Akane-chan would love this place. I think even TeruTeru-chan would too," There was the typical stuff one got at festivals, but what did Ibuki herself want in particular? Nothing super chewy or meaty. So that left stuff like...

"How do you feel about pudding? Too early?" He offered, looking at a dessert stand.

"Ibuki wanted a bowl of udon! But pudding would be nice too. Ibuki doesn't want anything super chewy so mochi are out of the question!" She clasped her fingers together. "There's a lot of hours so we can get anything and everything we want!"

"Then let's start with something light and work our way up,"

"Alright!"

What could be lighter than udon though? Maybe miso or just plain old tea. She could drink tea for breakfast all day, every day!

They stopped at a noodle stand and Ryota got a large bowl of ramen with everything in it, while Ibuki just got a plain bowl of udon with nothing. Really, she mainly wanted the broth. She was careful to not just slurp but drank hers really fast as Ryota packed away his ramen. Once she finished her bowl, she looked over at him, still eating.

"So...who's that person you give food to? A secret? You can tell Ibuki!" She pressed.

"I already told you, I don't mind you knowing, but you have to ask him, not me. It was his idea and I'd rather he explain it to you," He looked away.

"Ooooh, it's a he?! Hiding a secret student in your room?"

"It's his room," Ryota continued eating and said nothing more after that, making Ibuki pout.

"Ibuki wants to meet them already! Summer break can't end fast enough! She knows it's only a month but it's still so slow!" She laid her head on the counter and just stared ahead. "We should get that pudding already!"

Ryota nodded and finished up his ramen, then they went to a dessert stall offering all kinds of more traditional desserts, such as strawberry daifuku and sakura-mochi, but it's as Ibuki said, nothing chewy. So, they both ordered small bowls of puddings and instead of sitting at the stall, they walked around for a bit before finding a small bench overlooking the distant ocean. Ibuki instantly plopped herself down on it and dug into her pudding, getting the chocolate on her mouth. Ryota smiled at her and she grinned back, still all chocolate-y.

"It tastes super good!" She kept eating. "Ibuki wonders if she'll get a sugar rush from this!"

"The ocean looks pretty," Ryota noticed, staring ahead at it.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. It looks nice. Too bad we didn't bring our swimsuits! Well, you could swim in a yukata, but then your underwear would get wet too and that's not fun at all! But we also can't swim naked..." She responded. Was Ryota trying to suggest something. "You think we could walk on it? Like, on the sand? Wait, no, let's run on it!" She pocketed her trash and stood up, grabbing Ryota, and pulled him towards the sand, running off at a fast pace. She laughed as her geta sunk into the sand, letting the warm grains tickle her feet and get stuck between her toes. "You gotta be faster than that to catch up to Ibuki!"

"I'm trying!" He panted behind her, but she kept running. Nobody else was on the beach, so it was just perfect for her and him. Almost like their own tropical paradise, in a way.

"Woohoo! Ibuki wins! She's the winner!" She reached the end of the path and jumped up and down in excitement, throwing her hands in the air. "Yay! Woohoo!"

"Not fair...you should've given me some kind of handicap. I'm not good at physical activities," Ryota huffed as he finally rejoined her side.

"You were running on sand! It's easy to run on sand, right?" She frowned. "Anyway, let's go play that goldfish game now!"

"That's something a bit more my speed. Oh, your mouth has chocolate on it," He pointed to his, making Ibuki tilt her head.

"Really? Ibuki didn't even know! Thanks for telling her!" She quickly wiped it off with the back of her hand, making sure to use her sleeve specifically. She could always have it washed, right? "Okay, onto the fish!"

"Let's go," He nodded at her, and she grabbed his hand and dragged him along back to the stands, looking around and finding the game.

"There it is!"

Luckily, there wasn't any line, so Ibuki was able to rush ahead and take her net, stooping down on the ground and holding out her net, eyeing the pond. Ryota stood a few feet away at a respectable distance, keeping an eye on her. Her feet were leaning out of her geta as she leaned forward, gasping and dipping her net further in.

"Not yet...not yet...not yet..." She gasped again and threw her whole arm into the water, making the staff member scold her dearly as she pulled her soaking sleeve up and smirked. "Ibuki got a fish! She got several, in fact!" She presented her winnings to the guy, receiving a nicely-decorated bag for her efforts. "Look Ryota-chan! Ibuki got lots of fish!" She held her bag up proudly as she walked up to him.

"Are you going to be able to take care of those?" He asked nervously.

"Of course! Ibuki's friends will help her out!" She insisted, and they would! Mahiru especially wouldn't mind helping take care of some fish. She tightened the grips on the bag and started walking around, unsure of what else to do.

"Mioda-san!" Chiaki called, hurrying over. In her arms was a pink bear decorated in hearts that was nearly as big as her and required a lot of effort.

"If Akane-chan were here, she could help you carry that!" Ibuki noticed.

"I know...Nagito-kun won it for me in one of the games," She smiled. "His luck came through,"

"As expected," Ryota nodded. "Where's Sonia-san?"

"I think she went ahead. She said she wanted to get the best spot to watch the fireworks,"

"Fireworks? There's going to be fireworks here?!" Ibuki asked in excitement. "Actually...that makes sense. It's not a true summer festival without fireworks! Let's find her!"

Where-ever she picked was bound to be a great place, right?

"Alright," Chiaki nodded and walked off with Nagito, still trying to balance the bear in her arms. Ibuki followed after them, walking close to the beach but not directly on it. Sonia waved at them.

"You are just in time! The fireworks will start soon," She fanned herself with her pink pastel fan that matched her yukata. "Oh, you got fish!"

"Sure did!" Ibuki nodded, having forgotten all about them. "Ibuki hopes Mahiru-chan will help her keep an eye on them!"

The sun finished setting and the expected summery chill set in, making Ibuki shiver as she remembered her cold and still-damp sleeve from dunking her hand into the water. Ryota looked at her curiously. Nagito and Chiaki easily sat down together on the sand, keeping their yukata out of the way so they wouldn't stain as badly. Sonia found a bench and sat there just as the first firework exploded overhead in vibrant greens and purples.

"Ooooh!" Sonia gasped in amazement, still fanning herself. Ibuki shaded her eyes so she could see better, watching all kinds of fireworks explode loudly into not just greens and purples but whites, reds, blues, golds, and silvers. She shivered again and found herself leaning closer to Ryota and his warmth. She slowly reached her hand over and grabbed his, feeling a blush form on her face when he squeezed her hand lightly. It was a comforting gesture, meant to say he was there and everything, but still. It felt different to her, somehow. She looked up at his face when a gold explosion showered over them, finding a focused smile on his face.

After the fireworks were over, Sonia chatted happily with Nagito and Chiaki as they walked back, leaving Ryota and Ibuki on their own.

"I'll walk you back to the bus stop," He finally offered. They had let go minutes ago and Ibuki swore she could still feel his warm, heavy hand in hers.

"If you want!" She almost reached out for his hand again before thinking better of it and just following after him. She made a note on her phone to call Mahiru when she got back and ask her about the fish. She'd really love to, but she moved houses all of the time. It was no life for a fish, no matter how fleeting their own may be.

They reached the bus stop and Ibuki stood near the sign, waiting.

"I had fun today. I know you said it was a 'fake-date' so the others wouldn't feel weird, but still. It was nice," Ryota spoke up.

"Of course! Ibuki had lots of fun too!" She smiled at him. "She hopes...maybe we could do this again at some point?"

"If you want. I'd like that," He nodded as the bus pulled up, and Ibuki hesitated for just a second before she climbed on.

Ryota would make a very excellent playmate and member of her band, she knew that.

Which Ryota though? She still needed to get to the bottom of that.

---

After she returned to school, she started a habit of buying random stacks of snacks and drinks from the various vending machines around campus and walking with them precariously until she spotted Ryota and handed them to him.

"For your secret student in your room!" She smiled, and he'd smile back and take what she had.

"Every little bit counts," He'd often leave her alone then, just making her more and more curious. She longed to get to the bottom of what was going on!

One particular day, she got peach tea and green tea again alongside a big bag of chips, thinking they could share a snack at least. She walked down the long corridors of the hallway, trying to remember exactly what route Ryota took that she made herself memorize after a week and a half. They were just the dorm hallways, how hard could it be?!

She eventually came to a familiar-looking hallway and stopped in front of a door, knocking several times.

"Open," A voice croaked out, and Ibuki tilted her head slightly as she did what she was told and opened the door.

Inside was what she assumed to be a typical school-issued dorm, but the lights were completely off so it was anyone's guess. She could make out the shadows of a dresser and a bed and a shelf like she had, but that was it. The only bright light came from the desk in the room, which the occupant was hunched over. It also noticeably reeked, of old food and garbage. It wasn't enough to sour her mood, but it was enough to make her wonder. How could one live in a place like this?!

"Ryota-chan! I brought some tea and chips for you!" She finally announced, placing the food on his bed and jumping towards him, pulling him into a giant hug.

"H-Hey! Stop!" He called out in a panic as she pulled him closer.

"No way!" She pulled him again and he fell out of his chair, collapsing on top of her. His face burned as she studied him. He looked different again...

"T-There's a girl in my room...an actual girl..!" He scooted off of her and covered his mouth, trembling.

"What's going on in here?"

Ibuki looked at the doorway and saw Ryota standing there, holding a large bag of groceries. She tilted her head; that's how she always remembered him, but the other one seemed familiar too. Hm? What was going on?

"You're so skinny!" She suddenly blurted out. "You're so skinny even though you eat so much! And there's two of you! And-!" She got cut off by Ryota crawling over to his trash can and vomiting loudly. The skinny one. She looked at the other one. "What's going on?"

He sighed. "Well, now you know, so there's no point in hiding anymore," He walked over and put the bag on Ryota's desk, looking at the other still throwing up. "I'm an imposter. That's my talent, and at the start of this year, he offered for me to impersonate him so he could work all day and I could go to his classes and interact with others. It was a solid deal and nobody was really meant to know about it, but I suppose that was a foolish idea. Clearly at some point you two ran into each other,"

"Yeah! He can't drink soda fast!" Ibuki exclaimed. "But what should Ibuki call you?"

"You can call me whatever, but he's still Mitarai-san." The imposter said calmly. Ryota finished puking and wiped his mouth off, still looking like he wanted to faint as he stared at Ibuki. "It goes without saying, but don't tell anyone else about our arrangement. I don't mind you knowing, but nobody else should. That is the whole point of being an impersonator,"

"Ibuki understands!" She stood up and gathered up her food. "But she still came here to give you tea, so have some, Ryota-chan! I got green tea and chips for you!"

"I-I can't...I've already spent too much time away from m-my work," He wrung his hands nervously.

"She's offering you some food, don't be so rude," Imposter scolded lightly from where he sat. Ryota sighed and gingerly took the bottle from her, taking a small drink.

"T-Thank you," He looked away from her. Ibuki took the time to actually look him over. Imposter looked just like him, even sounded just like him, the only real difference being the weight thing. Still, it was uncanny how similar they looked. Even Ibuki could figure that out. No doubt in her mind though, this was the real Ryota, the one she had drunk and hung up streamers with all those months ago. The other one, Imposter-chan, was the one she took to the festival and held hands with, who complimented her on her sewing skills. No wonder Ryota couldn't remember that stuff!

"You're welcome! Ibuki feels like giving you whatever food she has now!" She announced.

"That's their job," Ryota shook his head, pointing to Imposter-chan as he sat back down.

"But what if he's busy? What if he's sick? Ibuki never gets busy or sick! She'll take care of you!" She walked over behind him and gently pinched his cheek, making him blush and shake her off. "Do you like green tea? Or peach like Ibuki? She can get you whatever you want!"

"I-It doesn't matter..." He stared down at his tablet.

"Okie-dokie!"

"We should leave him alone now, you won't get any more interaction out of him today," Imposter-chan suggested gently, ushering Ibuki out of the room. She took her peach tea but left the chips there, figuring Ryota needed them way more than she did.

As they walked, she looked at Imposter-chan and slowly reached out for his hand again, holding it tightly. He held hers back, but she frowned a bit. She didn't hate him, it certainly felt nice to be holding his hand, but still...something was off. Missing. Like when she saw the two Ryotas constantly switch back and forth. Something was wrong but she couldn't figure out what it was, she just knew something was.

---

As she promised, she wore her newly-revamped bone outfit, making it glow-in-the-dark for her class' Halloween party. She completed the look with huge platform boots and a glowing skull mask, her hair tied-up super tightly and out-of-the-way.

"Eeeeeek! Y-Your mask is super s-scary!" Mikan cried when Ibuki walked over to them during the party.

"Yeah, why aren't you dressed as something cute?!" Hiyoko asked uneasily.

"Ibuki thought this would be cool! She doesn't want something cutesy," She looked over at the snack table and wandered over there, looking over her options. Mostly a lot of sweets, but it wouldn't be good for Ryota to live on a diet of those, right? Her eyes caught on some popcorn balls and she smiled.

A perfect jackpot!

She picked two of those as well as a smaller bag of candy, looking around and easily sneaking out of the party. She walked down the halls, making a few roaming students gasp in shock when they saw her mask, but she paid no mind to them. She continued walking until she reached Ryota's dorm, knocking and then walking inside.

Her mask shielded her somewhat from the darkness and smells, but she assumed it was still in the same condition as the first time, or even worse. She wandered over to his desk.

"Ryota-chan! Happy Halloween! Ibuki brought you some treats!" She announced. Ryota glanced up and screamed, falling out of his chair and hitting his head on the floor. She raced over.

"W-Why do you look s-so scary...?"

"Because it's Halloween!" She slipped her mask onto her forehead. "Ibuki is meant to be a skeleton, she made the outfit herself,"

"O-Oh," He slowly placed his chair upright. "I-I'm busy,"

"Nonsense! Too busy for snacks?" She held out a popcorn ball and bag of candy. "Ibuki snagged these for you. It's a holiday, take a break!"

"I-I'm too busy to-"

"It's a holiday!" She pressed. "It's boring to work all day, all day long! Just take a break for a few minutes!" She plopped herself down on his bed and took a bite of her own ball. "Ibuki's not going anywhere until you finish something,"

Ryota said nothing and took out a random piece of candy, unwrapping it and biting into it. "T-There...I ate some chocolate,"

"What are you working on, anyway? Are you an artist? A digital artist? What kind? Can you draw Ibuki?!" She asked in excitement.

"I-I'm the Ultimate Animator. They never told you...? I-I'm trying to work on a masterpiece, an anime that'll give hope to whoever watches it..."

"Like Ibuki and her music!" She cheered. He caught her eyes but instead of smiling, just gave her a strange stare.

"Y-Yeah, I guess it's something like that," He then looked at her jacket. "Y-You're glowing!"

"Yup! Ibuki used a special chemical they use in Glow-Stics! It's not supposed to touch your skin but these are Ibuki's clothes, not her skin!" She ate more of her popcorn ball.

Ryota slowly ate more candy, eyeing his tablet instead of looking at Ibuki. She started talking about Halloween and the party and about how close Class President and Nagito had been getting lately.

"Ibuki hopes they become official and confess! She'd love to have the campus celebrity couple be in her class!" She thought about it. "Though she also hears a new class is coming in soon. Maybe they'll have a campus celebrity couple too!" She finished her popcorn ball and walked back over to Ryota, looking at his bag. "Hmmmm...most of the candy was eaten...so Ibuki supposes she can go on her way now..."

"F-Finally," Ryota mumbled under his breath. Ibuki put her hands on her hips.

"But she's leaving the rest of the stuff with you! She's going to also ask Imposter-chan if you've eaten it the next time she sees him!"

"I-I haven't seen him at all today, to be honest. I-I don't know where he is," He twirled his stylus around in his fingers.

"No food? Good thing Ibuki brought you something!"

"Y-You didn't have to, I was fine. I was trying to draw, and you're keeping me from it,"

"You still need to eat!" She turned on her heel and marched right out, closing his door. If she was lucky, her classmates wouldn't have even noticed she was gone, and they hadn't, not really, except for Imposter-chan. He walked over to her and pulled her onto the dancefloor, echoing their time at Chiaki's birthday party.

"Did you visit him?" He whispered.

"Uh-huh! Ibuki gave him some snacks because it's not fair for him to not join our party!" She started dancing.

"Good on you. At first I was concerned about how this new development would fare, but if it only turns out positively for him..." He trailed off as she continued dancing.

"He was snappy towards Ibuki though,"

"Yes, he does that if he gets interrupted, but if he gets used to you he'll likely stop,"

She suddenly gasped. "Ibuki's mask!" She pushed it down onto her face and looked at Imposter-chan, catching him off-guard and making him shudder. "Everyone thinks it's super scary!"

"Because it is!" Hiyoko shouted from halfway across the room.

"It's Halloween, Ibuki's not going to dress all super cutesy!"

Mahiru came over at one point to take her picture, once with her talking to Akane with her mask off; that was an unexpected picture, and once with her posing with the mask off. Mahiru later admitted to almost deleting it because Ibuki thought it would be funny to flip the camera off, but at the last second she kept it because it had personality.

Ibuki once asked, in a very rare moment of seriousness, what Mahiru planned on doing with all of those pictures. Mahiru shrugged, caught off-guard.

"You can't possibly keep them in your cameras forever!"

"No, I can't, but...I guess I never really gave much thought to them. Maybe I'll get them all developed one day and put them all in an album. That'd make for a great third-year project, huh?" She smiled at that.

"Do you take pictures to inspire hope to people?" Ryota's comment was on her mind again.

"Huh? I mean, I like to think so...I deliberately take pictures of my friends and classmates when they're at their happiest, you know?" Mahiru looked through her camera. "Look," She showed Ibuki one she took at the start of the year; Mikan was upset over something that happened in class so to cheer her up, Mahiru took a picture. Naturally Ibuki and Hiyoko were made to be a part; Hiyoko looked annoyed as usual but Ibuki had one hand on her hip, grinning and posing.

"Ibuki remembers that!" She gasped. Mahiru smiled.

"So yeah, I guess you could say it's a form of wanting to give people hope. Maybe I will make that album after all,"

She walked off after that, but Ibuki remained sitting at her desk, deep in thought.

---

When winter announced its arrival with dropping cold weather and the light brushing of snow everywhere, Ibuki knew it was time for her to once again pack up all of her things and move somewhere else. The karaoke bar was getting boring, having to listen to people loudly sing and shuffle around all night long. Because it was colder, she knew she'd need someplace warmer and settled on a ryokan; she had stayed there before the previous year so the owner knew her already. Who could forget someone like her? A warm bath would await her every night, as well as quiet television. For the moment, it was different and new and thus she wanted it. It wasn't super out-of-the-way either, unlike the karaoke place was.

Miss Yukizome suggested they all go out and enjoy the weather when one day it snows particularly hard and it's deep and it sticks and of course Ibuki isn't going to pass up that chance. She spent the whole day on skis, rolling smoothly and crazily down the big hill. At one point she managed to snag a picture of herself doing it, several of her classmates in the background. She smiled happily and wondered if Mahiru would like it. Overall, the cold weather made her feel numb yet exhilarated all at once; her hands and feet were cold and limp but her heart and head felt warm and aflame. Miss Yukizome gave everyone hot chocolate after they came back inside, still dripping snow everywhere. She scolded them for that and Mikan apologized profusely, promising to take some extra time at the end of the day to clean everything up. Ibuki sat in her usual seat, sipping her hot chocolate, still dressed in her snowsuit. Her three friends talked amongst themselves, and Nagito was keeping Chiaki warm with his own jacket. She caught Imposter-chan's eye and nodded firmly, holding out her hand.

"Ibuki wants to see him again!" She whispered.

"The cold weather wrecks havoc on his immune system," He warned, giving her his mug. Having two hot drinks made her hands feel like magma.

"That's okay, that's what the hot chocolate is for!"

Before anyone could ask where she was going with two drinks, she had rushed out, heading back down to the dorms. She kicked on Ryota's door with her foot and then pushed it open with her hip, holding out the mug Imposter-chan gave her.

"It's winter!" She grinned. "Ibuki got this from Imposter-chan so it's likely filled with your faves! Do you like marshmallows or whipped cream in yours?"

"I'm busy..." Ryota responded, not even looking up from his tablet. Ibuki looked around the room and noticed some of the trash had been cleared away and it smelled a bit better and she wondered if Imposter-chan did that for him or if Ryota got up for once and cleaned some things up.

"No way! Ibuki isn't leaving until you drink all that hot chocolate! It's freezing outside!" Much like on Halloween, she plopped herself down on his bed and sipped at hers; sprinkles, whipped cream, syrup, marshmallows, the whole works for her!

Ryota sighed and picked up his mug, sipping at it slowly. "I-I can't drink this whole thing, it's still too hot,"

"But then if you wait, it'll turn cold and then it'll be cold chocolate and nobody likes cold chocolate!" She then thought about it. "Well, maybe people like to eat it, but not drink it! Besides, you're cold already, so drink up!"

Ryota finally spun around to face her, noticing her clothes. "W-What's with the outfit?"

"We spent the whole day out in the snow! Ibuki went out skiing, but others were sledding, snowboarding, even making snow-people! It was so much fun and Ibuki didn't fall once!"

"Y-You didn't change?"

"Ibuki never thought about it! She could change now-"

"N-No! It's fine!" Ryota panicked, shaking his hands at her. "S-Still...aren't you hot in that?"

"Nope!" She drank more of her hot chocolate, getting a bunch of whipped cream on her face. Ryota noticed and randomly cracked a small smile, making her grin back and rub more cream on her lips. "Now it looks like Ibuki has rabies!"

"Don't waste the cream like that..." He protested lamely, looking down at his cup. "D-Do I really have to finish it?"

"Yes, Ibuki says so!" She nodded and licked some of the cream off. "Before it gets cold!"

"B-But I already drank a few times...isn't t-that enough?"

"Nopety-nopety-nope! You have to drink that whole thing, otherwise Ibuki's not leaving!" She decided just sitting on the bed was boring, so she walked around, sipping her drink as she did so. She noticed a small picture hanging up next to his desk and leaned in closer, seeing non-descript parents and a younger Ryota, smiling happily in a school uniform. "Your parents?"

"Y-Yeah...I don't talk to them much now, but they inspire me...s-so I hang that up there for inspiration during blocks," He nodded.

"Ibuki has cool parents too! They don't mind she doesn't even live at home!" She took another drink.

"Well of course, y-you live at the school,"

"No, Ibuki lives where-ever she pleases! It's boring to live in one place forever! Ibuki would basically die if she had to do that! Right now she lives at a ryokan,"

"Y-You don't even live at the school?!" He asked in disbelief, his eyes wide.

"Nope! Well, Ibuki has a dorm, and she has things in there, but she comes and goes. She likes it that way,"

"I-I could never. I-I'd get so distracted..."

"It's more fun to be unpredictable! Then you can never get bored and feel full of despair," She polished off her drink and stared at Ryota's tablet, noticing he was drawing a detailed background of the beach. "Hmmm?"

"D-Don't stare at it!" He gasped, trying to cover it up. "They told me about your...'date' I guess to the beach over the summer. The way the fireworks were described...t-that inspired m-me and I wanted to put a scene of it in my s-show,"

"Ooooh, were you inspired?" Ibuki leaned in closer.

"I-I guess you could say that..."

"Hmmm...they look flat. You should've seen these, so vibrant and coloruful!" She took his notebook and flipped through it, finding the same thing. Lots of detailed portrayals that were lacking much movement and emphasis. "You would have so much life in your work if you got out!"

"I-I don't have t-time for that," He instantly shook his head.

"Even if it's related to your talent? Making it better?" She pouted. "Ibuki likes to play with you! Imposter-chan is nice, but you're different. Not just skinny. You're a completely different person,"

Ryota said nothing. He put his empty mug on the desk.

Her face fell slightly. She had to make good on her promise, but she hadn't been expecting for him to finish his drink that fast. She slowly picked the mug up and left him alone, remaining quiet on her own end. She didn't even acknowledge Imposter-chan when she went back to class, just handed him the mug.

---

"Whatever you're doing, it's working. Keep doing it," Imposter-chan whispered to her after winter break, making her hum. "He's asking more questions about the outside world, having an interest in making his drawings more 'lively'. At this rate, he might come out of his room yet,"

"Glad to hear it! Maybe he'll start attending classes for real!" Ibuki cheered. "Maybe Ibuki should make a playlist to celebrate? He could listen to it while he draws! For inspiration!"

"I don't know if that would help-"

"It's decided! Ibuki will make him a playlist! Tell Yukizome-sensei Ibuki can't come to class today, she'll be busy making music!"

Ibuki then raced out of the classroom, grabbing her things with her. She bolted towards the music room, climbing up the stairs and throwing open the door. Nobody was in there, which made her plan even more perfect! She tossed her bag away and looked around, pulled her modified guitar out from its place on the rack, dimming the lights. She took out her phone and turned on the recording feature and then started strumming her guitar, singing one of her songs. She cranked up the heat on her flamethrower super high and then when she reached the final chorus let it fly, spinning around and spewing the fire around into a fireplace.

"Ibuki's on fire!" She cheered, kicking her foot up to pose on a chair as she played more. "Too bad he can't actually see this..." Still, she kept playing, going through at least seven of her favourite songs before she wiped the sweat off her brow and turned her recorder off, sighing. "That should be enough!" She pulled off her guitar and grabbed her bag instead, spending the rest of the day in her room, burning the songs onto an actual CD and then writing something cutesy in glittery marker. Ryota was a pretty old-fashioned guy, right? So he had a CD player, right? If not maybe she could make an actual playlist for him on the Internet or something.

Her task completed, she walked up to Ryota's room again and knocked twice before wandering in, seeing no sign of Imposter-chan but a small box of pizza indicating he had been in there earlier.

"Ryota-chan! Ibuki has a surprise for you!" She grinned, hiding the CD behind her back.

"S-Stop coming in like that!" Ryota scolded her. "I-It's not nice,"

"Imposter-chan gets to though!"

"T-That's different,"

"Hmmmm," Ibuki held out the CD. "Ibuki made it for you! So you can listen to stuff while you draw! It's her own music!"

"R-Really?" For once, he seemed at least mildly interested in it. "I-I mean, it makes sense with your talent, but you didn't have to do that for me,"

"Ibuki wanted to! So you can concentrate better!" She insisted. "Just give it a try! Do you have a CD player?"

Ryota waved her away in a general direction and Ibuki opened his dresser, finding an old-style grey one tucked away near the back. She lifted it out easily and placed it on top, sliding her CD in. "Ibuki hopes you'll like it!" She grinned before pushing the button, letting loud rock music blare out. He gasped and quickly covered his ears, frowning.

"T-Turn it off!" He begged.

"Turn it up?! Okay!" Ibuki turned it up even louder and pretended to strum along to it, spinning around like she still had her flamethrower guitar.

"N-No, turn it off!" He trembled as the first song ended and Ibuki finally turned the CD player off. "Y-You could kill someone with that!"

"Well, Ibuki has made several people pass out at her concerts with it..not even Mahiru-chan and Mikan-chan can stand up to it...only Chiaki-chan can, and Hiyoko-chan actually loves it! But a passed-out audience just means they loved it so much their hearts couldn't take it!" She posed. "Ya know?!"

"That's like a weapon of mass destruction!"

"Ibuki's voice is known to shatter glass sometimes...but whatever! Ibuki made this for you, so you're going to listen to it while you animate, right?"

"S-Sure..." Ryota nodded slowly, making her throw her hands up in celebration.

"Hooray! Ibuki's music can never go wrong!" She smiled at him and winked, leaving him alone once again.

---

"What do ya think about the new students? Ibuki saw them get introduced and she can't wait to meet them! She's a senpai now!" She asked in excitement as she laid on Ryota's bed, spread out in all directions. The blanket was quite scratchy and the bed itself didn't seem to be getting much use. But where else could Ryota be sleeping? Weird.

"I-I haven't seen them yet, and I honestly likely never will," He admitted, looking something up on his computer.

"Awww, come on! One of them is a fanfic writer, you two could have so much in common! One is a pop idol and Ibuki wants to sing with her! We could learn so much from our kouhai!" She pouted.

"M-Maybe..." Ryota just sighed and rubbed at his eyes. "I'm already busy enough in here,"

"You need a break, and the best one would be meeting our kouhai! Mikan-chan stayed behind to greet them individually, Ibuki bets if you hurry she'll still be there!"

He returned to his drawing, not saying anything. Ibuki pouted further.

"One is a programmer! Does that tickle your fancy?!"

Still nothing.

"Fine! Ibuki will just leave you alone!" She tried to make a huge show of storming out, but Ryota wasn't looking at her, nor was she particularly mad anyway. She just went back to her own dorm and minded her own business, hoping Ryota would take some time out of his day to meet his new kouhai. How could he not?! She was sure he'd love them!

---

She decided on some milkshakes and a big bowl of curry the next time she visited Ryota. The influx of students made it a lot harder to keep her secret so she often had to visit him super early in the morning or late at night when lesser students were bound to be wandering around, but the dorms were always a risk regardless. She knocked twice, then kicked the door, then walked in and found Imposter-chan sitting at Ryota's bedside while a lump of blankets was bundled up on the bed.

"Hmmm? What's going on?" She asked, setting the food down. Imposter-chan shook his head.

"Sorry to inform you, but Mitarai-san seems to have come down with a bad flu. I suspect it's from overworking himself too much," He explained, making her gasp.

"Oh no! Flus are the worst! Your head feels ready to split like a sundae and your nose won't stop running like a Popsicle! Ibuki knows just what to do!" She ran around and gently pulled the covers off Ryota slightly, making him shiver. "Does he have a fever?"

"Mioda-san, maybe you shouldn't...you'll get sick too," Imposter-chan shook his head.

"No way! If Ibuki does, we can be sick twins! Or he can take care of Ibuki!" She smiled and went into Ryota's bathroom, getting out a towel and carefully soaking it in cold water. She then ran out and placed it on his head, making him shudder. "His face is so red!"

"You really don't have to do this," Imposter-chan continued to insist. "He's my responsibility,"

"He's Ibuki's too! He's a good friend of Ibuki and she wants him to recover!" She said back, picking up the curry bowl and sitting on his bed. "Now eat up! Ibuki wants you to get strong!" She held out the fork to him.

"I don't think that's the best idea-"

Ryota managed to sit up and cough heavily, looking over Ibuki's form and her food. The strong smell of curry hit his nostrils and his cheeks bulged out, resulting in him leaning over and puking on the floor and Ibuki's shoes, collapsing back in bed. Imposter-chan gasped, but Ibuki just tilted her head.

"Hmmmm? Not hungry? Awwwww..Ibuki always feels hungry when she's sick," She put the curry back and easily untied her shoes, tossing them away. "But Ibuki will still keep an eye on you," She promised.

"Well, if you're absolutely certain you can care for him.." Imposter-chan stood up. "I have other things to attend to, but please do not hesitate to call me if anything happens,"

Ibuki nodded and scooted closer to Ryota. "Got it! Roger-Roger!" She adjusted the towel on his head and placed another towel on top of the puke, wiping her own shoes down. The room smelled like puke, but she wasn't sure how to properly handle that. He didn't seem to have anything to freshen up the air, so he'd just have to deal with it. "You doing okay?"

He didn't answer, just slept silently. Ibuki slipped in next to him, she gave him lots of space, but was still only an arms-length away. Mikan told her when you were looking after a patient, especially if they were bedridden, it was best to never leave their side, even lying in their bed if need be. Mikan was amazing when it came to medical knowledge so Ibuki knew to trust her! And so she'd sleep with Ryota until he fully recovered!

She started to fidget from boredom, staring at his face. Some of his hair was stuck to his sweaty cheek, and his whole face was flushed pale from his illness. Even from here, he radiated heat. Ibuki unbuttoned a few of the buttons on his pajamas, hoping that would help cool him down.

That was it! Water! He needed water! She sat up and glanced over at the milkshakes she brought, likely melted by that point. She didn't mind a melted milkshake, but this wasn't for her. Besides, milkshakes didn't have water in them, which was what he needed, they just had milk and you couldn't have milk when you were sick. Quick as a flash, she jumped out of bed and headed into his bathroom, using the small cup on the sink to fill with tap water and walk back to him.

"Ryota-chan! You have to drink water! It'll make you all cold!" She gently poked him, making him groan and roll over. "Water!"

"Mmm...d-don't...w-wan...t..." He moaned out, keeping his eyes closed.

"No can do!" Ibuki took the straw out of his milkshake and put it in the water cup instead, putting it up to his lips. He took a few sips before coughing and sputtering, sitting up. "See? Now you have water!"

"Ugh..." He held his head and then collapsed back into bed. Ibuki kept the water nearby and helped him drink every time he awoke, but otherwise laid next to him, keeping an eye on him. She didn't even think about what it would look like if some random person walked in on them, but who would? Only Imposter-chan and he left this entirely up to her. She could handle it.

She had dozed off at one point, feeling oddly comforted by how hot Ryota was due to his fever, like a living space-heater, but she woke up later in the night and found Ryota sitting up in bed, rubbing at his eyes.

"Medicine!" She randomly announced, making him jump.

"H-Huh?!"

"Medicine! You need medicine!" She jumped out of bed. "Do you have any?"

"I-I might...medicine cabinet," He spoke slowly before coughing again. She nodded and searched through it, finding a small bottle of fever medicine, still full. She shook it up to hear the pills rattle and made another glass of water, helping him swallow them.

"Now you'll feel better in no time! Oh! You need food too!" She picked up the cold bowl of curry and held it out, offering a few bites. He shuddered at the texture but ate anyway, sighing and lying back down afterwards. "Now you'll feel doubly-good!"

He didn't say anything, just fell back asleep again, and Ibuki curled up next to him, bundling herself up in the blankets. She didn't snuggle close or anything, just kept her distance, and when Imposter-chan came in to check on Ryota the next day, he found them sleeping very close together, their hands nearly touching. He smiled a bit at that and shook his head.

"She's a better influence on him than I first thought..."

---

Sometimes Ibuki thought back to when her and the others found a corpse in the music room. Mikan was the most freaked-out about it, turning pale and instantly trying to check for a pulse even though there wouldn't be one. Mahiru covered her mouth in shock and tried to call someone while Hiyoko nearly screamed. Only Ibuki herself somehow remained silent, just staring down at the corpse. There was something familiar about her, but she couldn't figure it out. The room still reeked of fresh blood. Mahiru's friend Sato ran in a few minutes later and winced at the sight, or maybe the smell, saying it was super ghastly.

It wasn't until a few days later when Sato would be found dead, a bat by her body and her long hair covering her expression up like a ghost. Ibuki did shriek that time, claiming they were cursed.

"Now we're going to die just like they are! Someone put a hit out on us!"

"I-I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding..." Mahiru stammered.

"Should we call someone?!" Mikan asked in a panic.

"No way, they'll think we did this! The best thing would be to scram, stupid!" Hiyoko declined, and Ibuki nodded in agreement. The four girls ran off in different directions, trying to divert attention away from themselves. Ibuki herself ran all the way back to the dorms, seeking refuge in Ryota's. She collapsed against the door and took deep breaths, falling down.

"W-What happened?!" He asked in surprise, looking up.

Ibuki quickly jumped up and paused, wondering if she should tell him. She eventually shook her head.

"Uh, Nekomaru-chan happened! He popped in out of nowhere and was going to make us girls all run laps! We bolted so fast outta there!" She exclaimed. "He'll never find Ibuki here!"

"Right..." Ryota stared at her slightly, making her tense up. Could he see through her lie?

"What'cha working on?" She asked instead, trying to change the subject. She walked over and saw him in the middle of shading in a picture of a couple on the beach, eating cotton candy. Fireworks exploded above them. "Still working on that, huh?"

"I-It's a very pivotal scene! It's a romance, you know?"

"Ibuki knows!" She just stood there and watched him draw, trying to ignore the hammering in her heart. It'd calm down eventually. So what if they found two dead bodies? It was surely just a coincidence...nothing bad at all...

---

"You like Maizono-chan, huh?" One of the underclassmen asked her at lunch a few days later.

"Hm? Well Ibuki doesn't like her like her, but she admires her! We sing together sometimes! She has such a pretty voice!" Ibuki praised. "But you probably hear her sing the most, being classmates and all!"

"She doesn't really like singing around us. I don't know why," Junko sighed. "You're one of the few members of Class 77 who pays attentions to us, you know? You see us as equals and not inferior,"

"Ibuki just finds you all so interesting! So many different talents!" She beamed.

"Speaking of which..." Junko played with a strand of her hair, twirling it around on her finger. Ibuki suddenly noticed her long red nails, how perfectly manicured and fine they were. Almost sharpened to a point to look like elegant claws. Not even Sonia's hands looked that nice. Maybe it just came with her talent? "Speaking of which...I've been meaning to ask you. You're awfully close with your own classmates, right? What about that Ultimate Animator? You know anything about him?"

"A little bit..." Ibuki suddenly felt uneasy, especially as Junko smirked and leaned closer at her answer. "If you wanna know more about him though, you gotta ask him yourself!"

"But he won't trust a stranger. I need someone whom he already trusts, you know?~"

"Ibuki's gotta go!" She grabbed her tray and started running, not stopping until she reached her classroom. She slammed her tray down at her desk, startling Hiyoko and Mikan and making them look over.

"Ibuki-chan?!" They both asked in surprise.

"Nothing," She shook her head.

"Nothing?! You tore in here like a madman!" Hiyoko insisted, putting a hand on her hip. "Nothing my ass!"

"Maybe...Ibuki is just feeling bad about those two girls. That's it," She hung her head and felt her features darken.

Mikan frowned. "I-I'll get to the bottom of this," She promised, leaving the room. Ibuki waited for Hiyoko to call the nurse's assistant an idiot, but the insult never came. Instead, she just sighed and sat down.

"Everyone is acting super loopy lately. I don't know why and I hate it!" She fussed. "Class President is always off doing something else, she's been doing that ever since Big Brother Nagito got in trouble, Yukizome-sensei doesn't do much with us anymore, we found those two dead bodies, our kouhai look at us like they know something we don't, and even stupid Mikan-chan is being less stupid lately! Something bad is going to happen, I can sense it,"

Ibuki pulled Hiyoko closed and hugged her tightly, letting her bury her face in her chest. "Ibuki didn't want to admit it, but she feels the same. She doesn't know what to do,"

Hiyoko was silent and the two girls just sat there together for what felt like eternity, saying absolutely nothing.

---

For once, Ibuki felt compelled to make a new outfit so she sewed herself a red plaid skirt with black lace trim, wearing it with her usual school blouse and a leather jacket. She wore fishnet thigh-highs and gloves with platform boots and tried to pay another visit to Ryota, instead running into Imposter-chan.

"What are you doing here?" She asked in surprise.

"You're all dressed-up,"

"Where's Ryota-chan?" She asked instead.

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to visit him right now. Something happened to him and he's still trying to recover..." He stepped closer to her. "I think something bad is going to happen to us,"

She was silent.

"You gotta go back to the others,"

Ibuki spun on her heel and walked off, not going back to her class. Instead, she snuck away to the Reserve Course, thinking Mahiru would be there, only to get stopped by one of the guards.

"You can't go inside, young lady," He stared down at her.

"Why not? Ibuki thinks...she got separated from her friend and they might be inside!" She stood on her tiptoes.

"If so, we will deal with it. It's not your business. Go back to your own class," He started to reach for his hip, but Ibuki took the hint, stepping back and hardening her features.

"Fine, Ibuki can take a hint!" She dashed off, sitting in front of the fountain in front of the school. She hung her head and buried it in her hands. She sat like that for seemingly forever until she heard footsteps clacking over to her; she briefly glanced up, it was Chiaki.

"Mioda-san..." She began uneasily. "I just want you to know, whatever happens, we're still friends, you know? Friends until the end," She sat next to her and took her hands. "I'm just sad you never got to make an outfit for me,"

"Nonsense! Ibuki can still make you clothes! She can make you an outfit right now!" She insisted, squeezing Chiaki's hands. She thought of all the parties, all the video-games they played, how much Chiaki genuinely cared for her classmates.

She shook her head. "I need you for something. Come with me?"

"Okay..." Ibuki stood up and followed Chiaki, never letting go of her hand.

---

All she lived for, was Despair. Chiaki had died; died reaching her hand out for her even, and Ibuki tried to hold it, tried to grab it, unsure of when she had even let go and they had been separated, but she got impaled and that was that. Some of her blood even spurted on Ibuki's face, or maybe that was just her own warm tears, she'd never know. Miss Yukizome had taken her aside afterwards, telling her her outfit was beautiful and asking her what she wanted to do after graduation.

"What do you want to do?" She kept asking. Ibuki just blinked.

"What does Ibuki want to do...?" She looked around at all of her classmates and the one who caught her attention the most was Hiyoko, fanning herself with her old-fashioned paper fan and spinning around. Even from there, she could tell her hands were painted clear but nicely cared-for. "Ibuki wants to make the world happy with her music. Singing and dancing...!" She gasped. "That's what she wants."

"Great idea! I'm sure so many people will love watching you on-stage!" Chisa nodded in approval and moved onto another classmate.

"Let me take pictures of you two!" Mahiru gasped, shooting Hiyoko with her camera. "I bet it'll be so fabulous and despairful!"

Ibuki walked over to the window, watching the world basically fall apart at the seams. Is this what Junko wanted? Was she happy? She shook her head and looked over at Hiyoko instead, still dancing.

"Hiyoko-chan!" She reached out for her, and fell completely into Despair with her.

The two separated from the remainder of their classmates; they all had big dreams of traveling and spreading their talents and feelings in other places, but Ibuki and Hiyoko thought it'd suit them best if they just stayed right in their city. She never really wanted for anything; Despair seemed to fuel her better than anything else ever had, so she went days without eating. Every so often Hiyoko would boss her and pour water down her throat so she wouldn't die, because she couldn't die, they were an act together, but Ibuki would just roll her eyes and let it happen. Hiyoko modified all of her clothing to be grand, sweeping kimono in regal colours of red and gold, dripping with wealth and symbolism, and Ibuki was all-to-glad to match her, making black and pink versions of her kimono with huge bows hanging off and sheer, stylishly short skirts to show off her platform boots thick enough to crack a skull with.

"Are you guys ready for tonight's show?" Hiyoko yelled out into the crowd, spinning her fan around gracefully.

"Hell yeah, you know they are!" Ibuki strummed her guitar loudly and shattered the screen above them once she started singing, her voice being powerful enough to do so. "Let's get this show on the road!" She continued to sing and play, using her modified amp to blast the song even louder. "They love it, they love it! They love Ibuki's playing!"

At the end of the show, Hiyoko bowed neatly and pouted.

"Big Sister Ibuki, you killed them all!" She fumed, shoving Ibuki over on her butt. "See?"

"They're not dead, their eardrums are just bleeding. This ain't nothin' like before!" She insisted. "Now stop making Ibuki speak, her throat hurts,"

"It's probably cracked from days of no water and lots of singing," She huffed. "You're going to keel over dead, and then what?!"

Ibuki thinks she'd prefer dying. She would've gone out exactly how Her Mistress would've wished for her to do so. Maybe one day she'd just slit her throat. Then again, Hiyoko still needed a partner. What was dancing without music?

"Drink," Hiyoko insisted the next time they were alone. "It's water,"

Ibuki sighed and popped the cap off, taking a swig of the cold but gritty stuff. It reminded her of something, someone long ago, who also had trouble drinking. Her stomach clenched painfully and she nearly grabbed it, moaning.

"What's wrong? Did it make you sick?!" Hiyoko looked half-concerned, half-delighted at that thought.

"N-No..." She looked around the small warehouse they took shelter in. "Got anything to eat? Ibuki has a fierce headache,"

Hiyoko looked around, finally throwing a bag of chips at her harshly. They smacked her in the face and she could've cummed from that alone; what if it were Her Mistress smacking her like that and not just her band partner with a bag of chips? She picked them up and pulled open the bag, her stomach instead turning as she smelled the thick salt and vinegar taste that permeated the air. She took a few and shoved them into her mouth, chewing slowly, trying to imagine they were big pieces of meat instead. Grilled pieces of meat. Meat...

She coughed and choked, spitting up some of the chips. She gasped in annoyance.

This all seemed way too familiar to her, but she couldn't figure out why. Who else had issues like this? Who else?

"If you die, I'll never forgive you," Hiyoko huffed again. "No kisses for you tonight!"

"Shut up," Ibuki growled and laid down on one of the rows of boxes, closing her eyes. Her head pounded and her stomach twisted and she hated it.

---

It only took a year or two, but eventually, somehow, someone caught them. Mahiru told them a few days ahead of time, sending Hiyoko a message, but the two still had a concert to do. Ibuki armed herself with her flamethrower guitar and the two marched out there, hyping up the crowd.

"We hope everyone here is meant to be here!" Hiyoko teased, covering her mouth with her fan. Ibuki played her usual before suddenly spinning around and cranking up the heat, spewing flames into the first and second rows.

"You love the feeling of flames, don't ya?! Beats out glitter any day!" She laughed as the smell of burned flesh reached her nostrils.

"There they are!" A well-dressed individual called from the other side of the stage, pointing to the two girls.

"Heck no you don't!" Hiyoko gasped cutely, standing in Ibuki's way and slicing the air hard with her fan; several hidden daggers flew out at their pursuers who managed to dodge them. "Oh crap!"

Ibuki rushed off, heading backstage and sliding her guitar on her back, grabbing one of the ropes and climbing up it, hanging off it once she reached a good height. Several of the officials chased her, a few holding up guns.

"You are wanted by the Future Foundation on multiple accounts of murder and property damage. Come with us peacefully and we won't have to fight you," One of them recited. She rolled her eyes. He sounded like such a boring drone.

"No way!" She jumped from her rope and grabbed onto another one, kicking one of the officials right in their cranium, hearing a crack. She smirked. "These boots were made by Ibuki herself, they can crack skulls!"

"We'll give you one last chance!" Another one shouted. Ibuki shimmied up the rope more, clutching it tightly when she realized she couldn't reach her guitar without letting go of the rope. The rope burned into her hand, turning her knuckles white as she continued hanging there.

"Wait! Wait!" Someone pushed their way to the front of the crowd, a nervous-looking young man. "I-I know her, we went to school together! L-Let me try," He begged. Ibuki narrowed her eyes.

"Ibuki's not going anywhere with you! She lives only for Her Mistress now!" She insisted, looking around above her. Maybe there was an upperlevel she could swing to and then grab hold of...

"If you keep resisting, t-they'll shoot you and take you in anyway! Don't you want this to be as painless as possible?!" The man pleaded. "Please, I know you're better than this,"

She stared back down at him. "Who even are you? Ibuki only knows Hiyoko-chan, her dancing partner, and Her Mistress, Junko-chan!"

He flinched at that name. "Mitarai Ryota! D-Does that name mean something?"

Hiyoko screamed from on-stage. Ibuki briefly glanced over in that direction before her slippery hands made her start to fall.

"No!" She cried, trying to keep her balance. The guns were still cocked and ready, aimed at her.

"Y-You liked me. You were one of my only friends b-back at Hope's P-Peak," Ryota said softly. At his words, Ibuki briefly recalled always giving food to him, how she made outfits to wear when she saw him. She winced and fell entirely from the rope, wincing again. She wasn't sure if they still shot her or not, just that everything went black as she crashed on top of Ryota.

---

A nice, salty, ocean breeze. Warm tropical air on her skin. Soft sand at her feet. She was in an outfit she hadn't thought about for years; her old modified uniform, from her old school before Hope's Peak was even considered for her future. Being on the beach made her feel uneasy so she bolted straight for the first building she saw; a supermarket. She hid herself in the aisles of various snack foods, not bothering anyone until two guys showed up to introduce themselves. Nagito and Hajime. That Hajime guy was nice enough, even though he couldn't remember his talent. It happened to everyone, right? Maybe she could even help him remember! Once they left, she wandered over to Mikan, smirking.

"They're both pretty nice,"

"H-Huh?! Oh, yeah...t-they're different from other boys. I like them a lot already!" She smiled shyly.

"Oooooh, does Mikan-chan have a crush on one of them?! Which one? Nagito-chan? Or maybe Hajime-chan? You both would make a pretty cute couple, Ibuki thinks!" She teased.

"N-No way! I just think they're nice..."

Ibuki pouted. "Awww, that's no fun! Surely one has caught your fancy!"

"W-What about you? Any boys caught your fancy?"

"Ibuki's not into that!"

"Ummmm...girls then?"

"Mikan-chan is the cutest girl Ibuki could ever hope to know!" She smiled, making Mikan blush heavily. "That's what Ibuki likes to see!"

Still, despite her best interests, she wandered out late at night once mostly everyone else was asleep, back onto the beach. It made her feel uneasy still, like she was missing something, forgetting something. Her shoes sunk into the sand. She stared out at the inky black water, the waves slowly moving in, out, in, out.

"Something wrong?" Chiaki asked, making Ibuki jump for likely the first time in her life.

"Ibuki doesn't know. Something seems different. She feels like she went to the beach before, but like...different. Like once she almost got killed by a coconut but she knows it's not that," The wind blew past them.

"Everyone is feeling a bit loopy from everything that's happened. I mean, suddenly going on a school trip, then it gets hijacked by Monokuma, asking us all to kill each other? It's a lot to take in," Chiaki reassured her.

Ibuki said nothing.

"I'll walk you back,"

She would never know that for his part, Ryota often snuck into Division 14 headquarters late at night and rested his head on her pod, staring at her comatose body, sometimes sobbing over it. She could never know and would never know.

---

And so, Ibuki settled herself into a rhythm. She felt she had to, in a way. Soon the beach stopped feeling weird to her. Mahiru, Hiyoko, and Mikan all gravitated naturally towards her, almost as if the four were meant to be close friends. Nagito and Chiaki were inseparable as well, despite what the others said about Nagito's true goal. She helped Hajime try to figure out his talent every chance she got, running around with him and showing him how to use a megaphone, the most important part of running a band! He totally was drummer material. And Byakuya. Something about him seemed more familiar than the others did so she clung to him like some kind of life-line, asking him all sorts of questions.

When he died, it shattered her in a way she didn't think was possible. She just shrugged and said he was a good leader, but in reality she locked herself in her cottage for the remainder of the day after the trial, just pacing around back and forth. So many more questions she had for him that would never be answered.

Once, Hajime set off fireworks for everyone at the beach and that was nice; she wore a pink yukata and cheered loudly for him, but she got a headache and wandered off near the end, collapsing on the sand. It was too much, too fast, too familiar. She rubbed her temples as Nagito walked over to her.

"You notice it too, huh?"

"Ibuki doesn't know what you're talking about!" She said cheerfully. "The fireworks just gave her a headache!"

"Everything feels familiar. Weird, isn't it? Like when we first got here, I was instantly drawn to Nanami-san even though we hadn't met before. I assumed it was because of her leadership and talent, but it must be something else. You feel the same,"

"Okay, okay, Ibuki thinks she's done all this before. The fireworks, being on the beach, wearing a yukata...she just can't remember when! It's frustrating her! She's always had problems with memory, but not like this!" She looked over at Nagito. "Not like this,"

"You were with someone before," Nagito nodded in understanding. "I think we all were, in one way or another," He left then, but Ibuki mulled over his words. Her, being with someone? But who? She was never into people like that...

She remained sitting on the beach.

---

Once, she got sick. It was a weird sickness and she remembered very little of it, just sweating cold sweat that rolled down her back and swamped her clothes, even her thin hospital gown, and a burning fever that radiated heat off her very pores. Mikan caught it early and put her in bed, saying if she kept reacting to everything she'd have no choice but to be tied-down. Ibuki certainly didn't want that, so she remained in bed. Mikan only visited her twice, being kept elsewhere. Ibuki just laid in bed and took deep breaths. She laid there and dozed off a few times but mainly just remained awake.

Eventually, Mikan visited her again, standing in the doorway. She said she had something important to show her and to come quickly. Ibuki jumped out of bed and ran off, following Mikan's instructions to head to the music lounge. Maybe she wanted a secret performance after seeing Ibuki's other ones the past few days!

"Mikan-chan! Mikan-chan!" She called out weakly, pausing to fan herself. It was so much hotter inside the venue. She looked around and randomly thought of another time when she took advice from Mikan, when one of her classmates got sick and Ibuki slept next to them in bed all night. Who was that again...?

Mitarai Ryota...

"H-Huh...?" She asked in confusion before something thick and heavy crushed against her throat, making her gasp loudly as her windpipe was smashed and everything went black. She briefly struggled, holding out her hand before she went limp.

Right...I remember you...

I remember...everything...we...did...

---

She was the third one of her classmates to wake up, which surprised her. Makoto Naegi, the man who has rescued them and vouched for them to be turned good again, later on speculated the ones with harsher deaths would take some time to awaken, but Ibuki died nearly instantly so hers wasn't super traumatic. Not to mention, they monitored brain-waves and realized hers were particularly high as she experienced self-awareness many of the others didn't while inside. She remembered other stuff from the outside, namely, her time spent with Ryota and Imposter-chan. She was ready to awaken.

It took her a few seconds; she nearly collapsed in her super thick platform boots because she was still in her clothes she wore when captured. Why wouldn't they put them in hospital gowns or something? She shivered a bit. She checked herself out in a mirror and realized she had indeed aged several years, her hair was longer and her body seemed fuller in ways she couldn't fully pin down. Hajime and Sonia were the first two; they were unsure why the other three survivors were taking time to awaken, but they wouldn't rush the process. It was weird for Ibuki to see them again, their real selves, but she still ran over and tightly hugged them both anyway.

"Sonia-chan, Hajime-chan! You two are alright!"

"Of course we are!" Sonia gasped in surprise.

"W-Well...Ibuki died fairly early on...she had no clue what happened after..." She admitted.

"We survived," Hajime assured her. "The hard part is over. Now we just have to wait,"

Maybe those two had to, but the one person Ibuki longed to see had never been a part of their schemes anyway. She dashed from the room and into Makoto's office, collapsing right on his desk from her shoes.

"Hey now, what's all this?"

"Ibuki has someone she really needs to see!" She gasped.

"Who? Not everyone is awake yet-"

"No, he's Ibuki's old classmate! Ryota-chan! He's here, right? He never joined us, Ibuki remembers, he brought her in!"

"Right..." Makoto smiled awkwardly at that. "Uh, he's not in our Division, so you might get in trouble for wandering around, but I can take you to him very quickly,"

Ibuki nodded rapidly and Makoto stood up, holding out her arms and snapping handcuffs onto them.

"Huh?"

"A precaution...people might still think you're dangerous," He apologized quickly. "Plus if anyone asks, I can say you're being taken somewhere for questioning,"

"Right, right...good idea!" Ibuki nodded in agreement. "Lead the way!"

Makoto kept her walking by his side, directing her to keep her head down so people couldn't look into her eyes. She kept her hands close to her body, remaining silent even as she felt some employees' eyes on her, sneering at her. Makoto knocked on an office door, the metal making it sound hollow.

"Excuse me? Is the head in?" He asked softly, then led Ibuki into the room. "She's being brought in for questioning by him,"

"Really? Weird of Mitarai-san to ask for such a thing," One of the employees shook their head.

"They did go to school together,"

Ibuki briefly glanced up at the name as Makoto walked her into a large office. Everything was the colour of steel and no decorations were placed anywhere. A lingering smell of day-old pizza was in the room, and the only source of light came from a blinking sandpaper-coloured computer monitor. Makoto gently nudged her and she looked up for real, her eyes widening as she recognized the man sitting behind the desk.

Like her, he had also aged several years, but more naturally. His hair still hung in his face and he looked pale and nervous, even then wringing his hands over paperwork on his desk, dressed in a sharp black suit, but there was no mistaking him.

"Ryota-chan!" She cheered in disbelief and joy, leaping into the air and knocking him over, collapsing on top of him. "Ibuki missed you so much!"

Makoto ran over to the desk, keeping an eye on them and telling the other employees it wasn't a form of attack.

"M-Mioda-san? Is that you?" Ryota asked in disbelief. "A-Are you fixed now? Like, are you okay? You're not going to kill me or anything, are you?!"

"No, no! Ibuki missed you so much!" For the first time since Chiaki's death, she found herself crying, warm salty tears trailing down her face and dripping onto Ryota's cheeks. "She missed you...so much..you weren't in the simulation and she felt so lost, especially after Byakuya-chan died...he was Imposter-chan, you know? That's what Hajime-chan said..."

Ryota gently raised his hand up and wiped at her tears, very slowly giving her a kiss on the cheek. Ibuki froze up and touched her cheek, looking down at him.

"W-Was that bad?! Did you not want me to kiss you?!" He instantly worried.

"No...Ibuki wanted you to," She gave him a smile and kissed him back on his cheek. An employee showed up and yanked her off Ryota, eyeing her handcuffs.

"Alright missy, head on back to the remainder of your class. Mister Naegi will walk you there," They snapped as Ryota slowly stood back up. Makoto nodded.

"Understood. Come on," He pulled Ibuki along, not unkindly, but enough to get the hint, and dropped her off in a secluded room with basic amenities and Sonia on the other bed, reading. He unlocked her handcuffs and left the two girls there.

"Ibuki saw Ryota-chan again," She said slowly to Sonia, who looked up.

"What was it like?"

Ibuki ran over to Sonia and held her tightly, and the two girls hugged each other close for the remainder of the night.

---

Hiyoko and Mikan were next, waking up only an hour apart from each other. Mahiru was the next day, and then Ibuki was reunited with her three closest friends. Imposter-chan was a few weeks later, and Ibuki was even more pleased to see him. He still looked like Byakuya just like in the simulation. Nagito was one of the last ones to wake up, and when he did he briefly slipped away and returned a few hours later, an unreadable look in his eyes.

Despite everyone being reunited, it still wasn't as perfect as they wanted it to be. Makoto tried his hardest to vouch for them, but people still believed they had evil in them, they could be easily influenced and corrupted again. Junko was long dead and they had no interest in continuing on her legacy anymore. Ibuki tried to look for her old guitar from her school-days but found it had been thrown away and crushed into a cube before being burned to eliminate the chance of her retrieving it again. She pouted at the news; she worked so hard on that flamethrower guitar! Nothing could ever top the original!

Most of all though, Ryota expressed immense guilt for everything that had happened. He was the reason they fell into Despair and felt the most upset at Junko for everything she had done as a result. He wanted his anime to be the reason hope took over the world, but he realized even that was wrong in its own way.

"Come on! You still wanted to help the world! That's a noble goal, right?" Ibuki reassured him. "We still love you regardless!"

"Y-You do?" Ryota asked in disbelief. Her classmates all nodded behind her. She held out her hand to him.

"We're going somewhere far, far away. Far from this place. Where we can live in peace. Wanna come? You're one of us!"

He looked at her hand, then at her wide smiling face. Finally, he smiled back and held her hand, taking it.

"Yay! Ryota-chan gets to join us!" She cheered. "He's going to be our classmate again!"

Makoto arranged for a boat for them to take out to the island, and TeruTeru cooked everyone dinner to celebrate. Ibuki got a huge roasted stick of it and snuck up behind Ryota, shoving it into his mouth.

"Come on, eat up! You're so skinny! Ibuki wants to see you get as big as Byakuya-chan one day!" She teased. Ryota coughed and pulled the meat out, sighing. He had juice around his mouth.

"I'll eat some, don't be so pushy,"

Imposter-chan just laughed.

"Are you sure you're really okay with this?" Mahiru asked, walking over. "You basically had a whole life with the Future Foundation already. You were a Division Leader, you did a lot, you likely had friends...you really want to throw it all away for us?"

"I mean...I didn't have very much. I only joined out of obligation. I thought maybe...it'd give me a chance to reunite with everyone once again...I didn't expect everything that happened as a result..." Ryota sighed again. "I think I'd rather be with you guys than them anyway,"

"Yay! Ryota-chan likes us more!" Ibuki cheered, taking his hand in hers and swinging it around. "Come on, dance with Ibuki! Dance around with her!" She pulled Ryota to the middle and spun around with him, swinging his arms around.

"Y-You're so fast!" He gasped in surprise.

"That's our Ibuki-chan..." Mahiru shook her head.

"I'm glad that even now, they seem to be close. Maybe now that there are no secrets, no despair, nothing like that, they can have an even closer relationship," Imposter-chan nodded in agreement. "I like seeing him like this, he deserves it after all he's been through,"

---

They refurnished and reclaimed their cottages fairly easily, but Ibuki insisted Ryota had his right next to hers.

"Ibuki needs to keep a close eye on you!" She commented. "She doesn't want you collapsing or getting sick ever again!"

"I don't do that stuff anymore," He shook his hands, but every single day, she made it her duty to wake him up with breakfast or even by inviting him to have breakfast with everyone else. Most of the time, he declined the latter, but he never said no to breakfast with her. She still made her own clothing, though most of the time she was fond of a black pencil skirt and tight blouse with fishnet gloves and stockings, black ballerina shoes on her feet. She felt she had outgrown her spiky, horn-styled hairstyle, so she wore it instead in two huge pigtails, modeled after Hiyoko's old style. It was mature, to show she had grown and changed, but not too mature. She didn't want to look like a grandma! Ryota still wore his old suit from the Future Foundation, but a new hairstyle was in order.

So, she sat him down one day and brushed through his hair, making him gasp.

"Ouch! B-Be careful...!" He pouted.

"Ibuki's trying! Your hair is thicker than she expected!" She said, brushing through it still. It was short but indeed thick. Maybe he started eating healthier at last. He sat at his desk, still covered in drawing and computer materials, but his room was instead painted in bright blues and pinks, anime posters and merchandise everywhere. Even some old pictures of Ibuki and her friends were on the walls, graciously provided by Mahiru, who for once was happy to part with them.

Ibuki kept brushing his hair out, making it smooth and manageable. She ran her hands through it a few times before nodding to herself, taking out one of her purple scrunchies.

"Are you going to do something weird to it?" Ryota asked nervously.

"Ibuki thought you knew her better than that!" She gasped before pulling it up into a tight bun. It rested at the top of his head and she gave him a small mirror. "What do you think?"

"It's so...girly," He finally commented. "But...it'll keep my hair out of my face when I'm drawing,"

"Right?! Ibuki thinks you should wear your hair like that all of the time! New you, new hair!" She grinned.

"I...think I actually could," He smiled up at her.

---

"Ibuki caught you slipping!" She scolded Ryota one morning. "You said you were going to bed and you didn't!"

"I was busy working..." He weakly protested, rubbing his eyes.

"You should know better than to lie to Ibuki!" She put a tray in front of him. "Eat,"

He nodded and did so, making her sigh.

"Ibuki was hoping you grew out of that! You have friends now, why do you keep locking yourself in your room?!"

"It's the curse of an animator..." Ryota finished eating rather quickly.

"She thinks she should monitor you carefully..." She went into his bathroom. "So she'll just do everything with you!"

He paled, then burned red. "T-That's really not needed-"

"Nonsense! We love each other, right? Thus, doing stuff together should seem logical!"

Ryota just sighed. "You're going to be the end of me..."

Ibuki just giggled.

---

Once, when she was alone and not with Ryota or her friends, she caught Nagito sitting alone on the beach, flexing his robotic fingers. She paused in her steps and instead walked over to him, sitting beside him.

"Ibuki knows you miss her," She rested her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah," He leaned closer to her, and the two didn't say anything for the remainder of the night.

---

Her birthday was a small affair, just how she wished. When she was younger, she might've asked for a huge, literal blowout bash with everyone there, but now, she's content with a small personalized dinner in the lobby, colourful balloons on everything. Her friends all wished her a good day and happy birthday and she felt warm from their affection. Mahiru took a picture of the four, as expected, and then she secretly snagged one when Ryota showed up and Ibuki jokingly shoved a piece of cake into his mouth.

"Mmmmmpfh?!" He gasped in surprise.

"It's Ibuki's birthday! Everyone who walks in gets a free piece of her cake!" Except for TeruTeru, who turned it into a dirty joke and she had to kick him.

"R-Right...actually...Happy Birthday," He held out his tablet to her. "It's what I've been working on for the past few weeks,"

"Hm?" She tilted her head as he turned it on and her familiar song blasted through the tiny speakers. She kept watching as she watched an animated form of herself sing along and then start dancing and reenacting what the lyrics were saying, ending in her making the rock-on gesture behind a shower of sparks and fireworks. Her eyes widened at the end and tightly hugged Ryota. "Thank you! Ibuki loves it so much! It's the nicest thing anyone's ever made for her...!"

"N-No way..." He loosened up under her grip.

"Yes way! She loves all of the details and effort you put into it! It looks so real! It looks just like Ibuki!" She instead tightly held his hands. "She really does love it, for real,"

Ryota smiled. "Well, if you really do like it, then my job is done,"

"She really does,"

---

"S-Stop using my toothbrush!" Ryota complained to her a few months later. "The bristles are always frayed when you do!"

"Hmmmm?" Ibuki rolled over in bed, rubbing her eyes. "Couples share everything though, silly-willy,"

"Not toothbrushes!" He sighed.

"Ibuki is just making sure you're bushing your teeth,"

He threw his hands up. "I-I...you know I can't even get mad at you..."

"Ibuki wants to shower with you!" She called out, sitting up in bed. "Also, did you use the bathroom today?" She stretched.

"No, I haven't since last night. Hence why I was going to brush my teeth, so I could go to bed," He slipped it back into its cup.

"You haven't been since then?! That won't do!" She jumped out of bed and popped up in front of him, making him start. "No wonder you're so grouchy! The more you have to pee, the worse your mood gets!"

"I suppose I can't argue with that logic..." Ryota smiled awkwardly. "Why don't you get breakfast then? We can shower after we eat,"

"Good plan! Except Ibuki needs to go too...hmmmm..."

"You have a weird solution, don't you?"

"Doesn't Ibuki always?"

Thus, they figured out a way to simutaniously use the toilet together; somehow, it required a lot of manuvering but both felt satisfied with it. Afterwards, they ate breakfast together and brushed their teeth, Ibuki using her own toothbrush that time, looking in the mirror. They then showered together, Ibuki eagerly offering to wash Ryota off.

"It's what couples do, you know?" She teased, running a hand through his hair.

They then got dressed and Ryota made up his bed, sighing when Ibuki helped him put his hair up again.

"What now?"

"Want to chase Ibuki down the beach?" She took off running before he even had a chance to respond, laughing. He shook his head and raced after her, their shoes kicking up the sand. "Bet you won't catch her this time!"

"Bet I will!" He shouted back as they ran.

Mahiru and Imposter-chan watched them from their own spots outside, smiling.

"They almost seem like two completely different people," She noticed.

"Love will do that to a person," Imposter-chan agreed.

---

"Ibuki-chan...I-I...I love you!" Ryota confessed one summery night.

"Hmmm?" Ibuki teased. "She didn't quite hear that!"

"I love you! I-I don't know h-how you feel about m-me or anything like that, b-but...I needed to tell you. A-Actually it was Hiyoko-san of all people who told me to confess," He winced.

"Hiyoko-chan can be very perceptive when she wants to be!" Ibuki nodded. "Anyway...Ibuki supposes she loves you too! She loves you a lot. She wouldn't be doing all of these things with you if she didn't, you know?"

"So..."

"So...?"

The two moved closer and gently took each other's hands, squeezing them. Ryota moved in for a quick kiss right when fireworks exploded above them. He gasped.

"Just like in an anime!" Ibuki cheered.

"Y-Yeah...just like in an anime," Ryota smiled softly at her.

---

It all ended with Ibuki in a hospital bed, though not for the reason one might expect. To say it all ended there would've been a lie, but something certainly did end for her there, anyhow. In her arms were two babies with sandy hair but her vibrant eyes and she already adored them. Twins! Twins, which was positively unexpected and cool, even though she barely showed and not much happened during her pregnancy which was super boring to her. It was a good thing they had someone like Mikan hanging around. A majority of her classmates had paid her a visit already to coo over her babies, but Mahiru and Hiyoko remained longer, wanting to see them more.

"You can hold them, Ibuki doesn't mind," She encouraged of her friends. Mahiru easily took the girl, smiling softly at her, whereas Hiyoko nervously held the boy, sitting perfectly still so her posture wouldn't get messed-up. Mikan hovered around, smiling at Ibuki.

"You have such beautiful children," She praised softly. "Any idea on what to name them?"

"Ibuki wants to leave that to their father!" She explained.

"I guess this time, you do know the father of the baby you squeezed out," Hiyoko snickered just as Ryota walked in, looking flustered.

"How did it go?! The birth? I mean, don't tell me anything weird...how are you feeling now?" He knelt by her side and held her hand.

"Ibuki feels great now! She can't believe she had twins either! And you fainted when you found out!" She reminded him cheerfully.

"And he fainted when he learned you were knocked-up in the first place!" Hiyoko continued before the baby in her arms sneezed and made her stiffen. "O-Okay, take it back already!"

Ibuki took her son and daughter back from her best friends, who stood up.

"A boy and a girl, huh? What about Haku and Chihiro? Good, right?" Ryota suggested, making Hiyoko snicker more.

"Anime freak!" She laughed until Mahiru cleared her throat at her, glaring.

"We'll just leave you two alone now," She continued, and the two women left.

"Chihiro and Haku sound so adorable! Besides, who's even going to judge in a place like this?!" Ibuki nodded in approval. "Come on, come see them! They're yours too!"

Ryota nodded slowly and sat down beside her, smiling down at his children. "My son and daughter...wow. I just can't believe it,"

"Believe it!" Ibuki smirked at him. "Oh oh oh! What talents do you think they'll have?!"

"Isn't it a bit too early to think about stuff like that?!" Ryota held up his hands, laughing nervously.

She just looked down at her babies and then gave Ryota a peck on the cheek.

Looking back at how they got to that point, it was a strange, confusing, long ride, but she wouldn't change it for the world. Ryota was hers and she was Ryota's and she was perfectly okay with remaining that way into the far future.