Watching Minah's class (plus Teruya) flailing around had been amusing for a while, but Shino was starting to get bored. And, to be fair, they supposed that they were too. They were scared, yes, but the longer they were left to wander around the more…aimless that fear would be. And that wouldn't be fun at all.

That, and Shino really just wanted to get things started.

"You know what, I think it's time to gather them together and reveal what they're here for." Shino told the others.

"You think?" Hatsumi asked.

Mizuki and Mokomichi looked at each other for a moment, as if communicating silently. Mihoko watched, but didn't say anything, which wasn't that much of a surprise really. Geez, what's up with her? Shino didn't know whether to probe or to just be annoyed at this unexpected funk that Mihoko was in. But Shino wasn't about to deal with it now, so they just waited impatiently for the go-ahead from Mizuki.

"Alright, go for it." Mizuki said after what felt like (but to be fair wasn't) an age. "There probably isn't any sense in waiting any longer."

"Exactly my thoughts!" Shino said with a flourish as they turned back to the screens.

"Do you need any help with that?" Riku asked hesitantly.

"Naaah, all good for now, I can handle this. Besides, that one is on hand."

With a devilish grin, Shino pointed at Azuki and then glanced at the instructions they'd taped to the desk without waiting for a response. Then, Shino followed the instructions to activate the speakers all through the building, and then turned on the audio feed for the kitchen so she could hear what Minah was saying to her group.

"Well, I mean, at least if we're here for a while there's something to eat, right?" Leah asked.

"Yes, that's a good way to think of it, I think…let's go-"

Shino took a deep breath and then spoke into the microphone for the first time:

"Upupupu!"

Shino grinned as their bear-laugh made the small group of teenagers in the kitchen jump. A quick glance at the other screens showed that the others were all startled too, with some like Minori instantly tensing, ready to fight while the ever-lovey-dovey Shuuhei and Emlyn clung to each other.

"W-what was that?"

"Class 99-A, I'm getting boooooorrreeeed now, and you're all awake and mobile so you know what, let's get this party started! Wanna know why you're all here, Upupu, then you better make your way to the hall sharpish or…you will be punished."

"What?" Teruya yelled in the kitchen. "Who the hell is that, where's the noise coming from?"

Shino's grin became wider. It had turned out quite well that Teruya was here instead, they thought. Especially in light of what had happened before the twins had disappeared.

"Noise? Excuuuuuse me, Mr Mistake, I'm not noise, I'm your headmaster and I'm ordering all you brats, whether you're in the kitchen or your bedroom or making out in an empty classroom to get your arses over to the hall right away. Of course, if you're already there you can just get yourselves comfortable and wait for the rest of your classmates to get here…"

"Mr…Mr Mistake….?"

"I'll be nice," Shino said, deciding to save the best taunting for once they were all gathered. "I'll give you…..oh, ten minutes to get yourselves there, okay."

"A-ah, I guess we should go, then." Leah stammered.

"Yeah, I think you're right…" Ai said. "Come on, we don't want to get into trouble!"

"Are we not already in trouble?"

Even as Mawa said this, she had already grabbed her brother's arm and started dragging him around, looking around nervously. Shino noted in satisfaction that in the other screens, Shuuhei and Emlyn looked flustered and embarrassed (even though they hadn't actually been making out) and that the other students were also moving towards the hall. Gradually, they all clustered around the door, nervously looking at each other.

"This must be the place, huh?" Mai Isobe asked, nervously.

"Well," Minori Satsuki huffed. "it does helpfully say 'hall' up there."

She pointed to the sign stuck up above the doors and then sighed, shaking her head.

"We really need to get in there, who knows what that voice will do to us if we don't?"

"Aren't you going to open the door, then?" Ichiro asked.

Minori just glared at them.

"I mean, what if it's a trap?" Tama Itsuki pouted. "I mean, we're all trapped in here, right? There's no way out."

"I didn't get to see properly, but it looks like any windows that are here have all been boarded up, right?" Soutarou said to Ichiro, who nodded.

"I'll have to look around later, get a proper lay of the land, so to speak," Shuuhei said. "Meanwhile, we should get in there-maybe we'll find out what's happening exactly, and why we're all here. I mean, that's why I came in the first place."

The debate went on for a few moments, and Shino was mildly entertained for a short while, but thankfully before they could get too bored, Masao snapped at them all to shut up. For a moment it looked like Minori, Hiro, Soutarou and Ichiro were all about to square up to him but then Minah pushed open the door and they all filed in nervously, looking around.

"Huh, it looks almost like a school hall." Hiro commented.

"I mean, this is a school, right?" Mawa asked. "There's classrooms and shit."

"It's in a sorry state if this is a school," Masao pronounced. "I mean, look at this place, it's in terrible condition."

"I mean, that could be because it's an abandoned school, right? One that closed down for whatever reason schools closed down?" Leah asked tentatively.

"Yeah, but what school is it?" Ai asked. "There aren't any old, closed schools around in Towa City, right?"

"Who's to say that we are still in Towa City?" Shuuhei asked. "We could be anywhere, really."

Alrighty, let's go! Shino entered the commands on their computer that would enable their animation to appear on the screen attached to the podium and then started speaking.

"Upupupu, you are right," Shino said. "This is a school…your own very, very special school! I suppose now is the time to formally welcome you, Class 99-A….oh, and Teruya Kasai, of course!"

"Woah, it's that voice again!" Soutarou exclaimed.

"Yeah, where the hell is it coming from this time?!" Hiro exclaimed. "Do you see any loudspeakers here?"

"Reveal yourself, voice!" Masao ordered, haughty and clearly unaware of how ineffective he was.

Very quickly, a number of the girls pointed out the various speakers that had been set up, and then Leah noticed the screen and pointed to it, gasping.

"Oho, you are smart!" Shino intoned, pleased when it looked like the animation seemed to be speaking the words. "I was wondering when you would notice me! I am your brand-new Principal, Monokuma, and I am looking forward to getting to know you for the rest of your lives….however short they may be!"

"You're a bear on a screen." Was the immediate, deadpan response from Minori.

"Yes, and what of it?"

"That it makes absolutely zero sense that that can be our principal."

With this, Minori crossed her arms and glared. Shuuhei stepped up, much to the very obvious displeasure of Masao. Poor little arrogant elitist, everyone taking over your chance to speak…I shall play the world's tiniest violin for you, Shino thought.

"Yes, you're right. There has to be a person behind this, and that's who is speaking? Who are you really? What are you doing with us?"

"Upupupu, and you call yourself an Ultimate, an SHSL! You're a crime reporter, buddy. Spend whatever time you have left trying to figure it out!"

"What do you mean, time that we have left?"

"Upupu, finally, we get to the good part…now, it's not quite the start of a new academic year, at least not properly, but you know what, it's good to shake things up a little! So your brand-new School Life of Mutual Killing starts right now!"

Shino took a brief breath, revelling in the shocked, confused faces. Even Minah's expression seemed drawn, eyes wide as her friends clung to her. Before any of them could say or ask anything though, they quickly continued:

"Let's cut to the chase, that means exactly what it sounds like. I have brought you all here to kill each other, but I don't mean go crazy and have a bloodbath right now! What fun would that be. No, no, no, you've got to be a little sneakier about it than that….you have to kill someone…and get away with it!"

"Why on earth would we do that?" Minori scowled.

"Yes, that is ridiculous! I order you to let us out now!"

"Yeah, what the fuck?" Teruya said. "You asking me to kill my sister? Her friends?"

"Well, why wouldn't you. Teruya Kasai?"

Even on a small screen, Shino could see Teruya's colour drain even as he blinked, mouth slightly open. He snapped it shut, clenching his fists before asking:

"What's that meant to mean?"

"Well…don't you want to get out of here?" Shino murmured, though they knew their voice rang out anyway. "After all, you're not from this class…who knows whether they'll turn on you or not? After all, they all want to get out of here too!"

"Don't be ridiculous, that's my brother!" Mawa said.

"That may be, but, like, don't you think it's really weird that he's literally the only person here from a different class?"

This came from Mai, who fluttered her eyelashes and clasped her hands together, looking innocent and angelic. Shino knew that she wasn't, though, knew that she had openly posted on her social media about how 'girls like that' deserved 'everything they got', that it was not as if 'they were ever gonna catch anyone else anyway'. Of course someone like her would say something like that, Shino thought. They'd almost hate the girl for it, if not for the fact that her comment instantly sparked a confrontation, accusations and protests zipping through the air, Teruya barely restraining himself from decking Mai and anyone else who seemed to agree with her, which included Masao. Minah and a couple of others tried to keep the peace as best as they could, but nonetheless they argued for a while before Shuuhei sighed and shook his head, breaking away to face the screen again.

"Explain to us-what do you mean 'School Life of Mutual Killing', exactly? And why us, specifically…?"

"Oh, that…why, don't you know?"

Shino deliberately lowered their voice, injecting a chilly note into it, and pressed the button to make the animation on the screen look like it was glaring slightly. They left a brief pause before finally delivering the killer line:

"Because you're being punished."

"We're…being punished?" Minah stammered.

Damn, she's really good, Shino thought briefly.

"Upupu, yup!" They continued. "You, the entire world…but mostly all of you, as Ultimates. Going around swanning around as if you're so, so special just because a school gave you a title-"

"Wait a minute, isn't 'Ultimates' the American Hope's Peak's name for us." Tama asked, half-absently.

"Ultimates, SHSLs, whatever, that's hardly the point, is it?!" Hiro snapped.

"Yes, how dare you interrupt your new headmaster?! But anyway, as I was saying, such arrogance, acting like the rest of the world is beneath you, committing crimes and sins and getting away with all of it, just because of your Titles. And then expecting that the whole world should want to keep you safe-I mean, you were all so stupid to end up here!"

"I knew it was stupid." Minori muttered.

"And yet you're here."

"And I came to see what was going on!" Shuuhei exclaimed. "I wasn't intending on just giving myself up like this!"

"Oh, shut it!" Shino growled. "I'm not interested in your excuses. The point is that now, you are getting everything that is coming to you, and more."

"There's really no way to get out?" Ai asked. "None at all? Not even if we tell you that we're sorry for whatever we did?"

"Oh, there is one way to get out."

"There is?"

Ai looked so hopeful, and a good number had similar expressions on their faces. A few didn't, however-Shuuhei and Minori, who were already clearly shaping up to be the logical voices of reason and then Minah, radiating dread so clearly. And then there was Masao, being Masao. Nonetheless, Minah's expression was the type that could easily be explained away, and Shino just knew that if and when they chose to reveal her real involvement it would hit hard. But of course, there was plenty of time before they got to that point. Plenty of things to hit them with in the meantime:

"I already told you it, didn't I?" Shino laughed. "You have to kill someone, and get away with it."

"I thought you were joking the first time you said that!" Mawa exclaimed.

"Nope, I was serious. And you know what, I'm such a nice bear, I'll let you kill any way you like…stabbing, strangling, drowning, beating to death, using your victim's allergy against them, electrocuting them, burning them…anything, anything at all! Just as long as it cannot be traced back to you! But since you're all so Talented, I'm sure you'll find some creative ways to kill each other, won't you?"

"Um, none of us are exactly SHSL Serial Killer, are we?" Mawa asked bitingly.

"Pfft, you'll figure it out…if you want a chance at living! Otherwise, I guarantee that you will die here….now, for school rules!"

Shino went through the rules that they'd all come up with as quickly as possible, starting to get bored, and then dismissed the class before turning the animation off and then taking off the earphones. They watched for a few more moments as the group on screen clearly tried to grapple with the information that they had been given, before grinning and spinning their chair around to face everyone.

"Well, what did you think?" Shino asked. "Think that was a good debut?"

"You are fucking terrifying." Azuki said immediately.

Shino grinned.

"That is exactly what I was hoping for."

…

Once they had eaten their dinner for the evening-a variety of convenience store snacks they'd bought long in advance-Mizuki decided that they should go over and refine their plans for the next few days.

"It's almost their night-time, though." Mihoko murmured as the rest of them decided to sit in a circle on the floor.

Night Time. From 10pm to 7am, with particular rooms being blocked for the captive class. It was one of the Rules that Shino had gone through with them and that Hatsumi and Azuki had loaded into the Electro-IDs, primarily for the purposes of being able to restock supplies and set-up any changes needed for motives without being seen.

"Ah, I'll do it." Azuki said quickly before Mizuki could ask. "Hold on a moment…."

Mihoko moved her chair slightly out of the way, and Azuki went over to turn on the speakers and microphone, clearing his throat before speaking:

"Attention, students, it is now your Night Time, so you better not be in any of the rooms that you're not supposed to be in. If you are, you'd better get out sharpish and if you're not sure you'd better check too…after all, I really don't want to have to punish any of you before the game has a chance to start! Goodnight!"

Azuki clicked off, then groaned and stretched as he came to sit down on the floor with them. Mihoko wheeled her chair back in position, looking at them and part-turned away from the screen, propping her chin with her hand.

"What, you're not going to do the very special bear-y laugh we came up with?" Shino teased.

Azuki's response was simply to give them the middle finger.

"That's good timing, actually, since we should probably talk about our rota, not least for getting out and getting supplies. I don't think we'll need to get anything for them yet, will we?" Mizuki asked, quickly.

"No, they're all stocked up for now." Mokomichi replied. "I think we'll need a few more things though, and we can always get extra to make topping them up easier. I don't think it's wise for us to make too many trips outside."

"It's also not too wise to rely on social media, even though we're using it anyway. Digital radio's not too bad for updates, but either way both of those will get us noticed." Azuki added.

"Plus," Hatsumi piped up. "We're not the captives, we're the captors! We can't just stay confined in a room, we'll lose it before they do!"

"You're just saying that because you want to get out." Azuki pointed out irritably.

"Yeah, well, so?"

"Well, she does have a point. Whatever we do it is inevitable that we will need to go out for some purposes, we will just have to do our best to minimise risk. So, Yanagi-san, you can be one of the ones who go out, alright?"

Hatsumi beamed at that.

"I'll go out from time to time too-since I'm sneaky and good at getting away, but I suspect that my talents are best used in here." Shino said.

"That they are," Mizuki said. "And to that end you can take charge of restocking the class's supplies and making sure that the key-card to the courtroom is put back or taken out as required."

"And that the trial area is out of bounds when it's supposed to be." Shino said.

"And that." Mizuki acknowledged.

"Anyway, I'll go from time to time-if only to make sure this one doesn't get into trouble from being too excited about being in the outside world. " Azuki sighed, pointing at Hatsumi.

"I'll go out with you, as well. Have I been….um, reported as missing yet?" Riku asked.

"No, not yet, but it might be prudent to disguise yourself." Mizuki said.

"Ah, I mean, he's got an ordinary kinda face-no offence, you are cute enough but you're very boy-next-door and that's ordinary. " Hatsumi laughed.

"Um, none taken?"

"Contact lenses should be sufficient, I think," Azuki suggested, studying Riku carefully. "And maybe you should wear a hat, too whenever you're out."

"Oooh, what about fake glasses?" Shino suggested, pointing at Azuki. "To match you?"

Azuki said nothing but gave Shino a look that indicated that he wasn't impressed at all, which just made Shino laughed.

"Okay then," Mizuki decided. "Then for now it's best that the three of you are the ones who alternate going-out duty between yourselves, though Mokomichi can step in for Sawada-kun from time to time and Hisakawa-san can also step in if there's a need. Does that seem reasonable?"

"Uh sure, I guess." Azuki shrugged.

"Yeah, that's not a problem." Mokomichi agreed.

"And then Sawada-kun and Sakurai-san…Sakurai-san, are you sure you don't want to sit down here, with us?" Mizuki asked, frowning over at where Mihoko said.

"No," Mihoko answered. "I'm fine here. Besides, we do need to keep an eye on any rule-breakers. We have a few potentials, don't we?"

"Yes, Shuuhei Murayama is definitely likely to be trying to get to the bottom of what is going on here, and persistent with it. Then there is Minori Satsuki, who was the most suspicious of the emails all along. And the twins are angry at the situation, particularly with Teruya Kasai being seen as suspicious for being the only one from another class."

"And then you have the airheaded idiots like Hiro what's-his-name, Tama Itsuki, Ai Furukawa and Mai Isobe." Hatsumi added. "Everyone else is kinda just…there. I mean they're freaking out but they're trying to keep it together."

"Kang-san in particular is doing a good job of trying to do that, isn't she? You'd never realise that she knows what's really going on….she actually looks scared." Riku mused.

"I mean, she should be." Shino said.

Mizuki narrowed her eyes at them, and they gave a taunting smile back.

"What? She was one of the ones most against it, and she could have easily done the glitter spider thing!" Shino protested.

"Could she have, though?" Azuki asked. "Where would she have acquired your glitter spider from, exactly?"

"Pffft." Shino shrugged. "Besides, she's one of them. We can't give her special treatment, can we?"

"She's still on our side." Mizuki insisted. "We have to at least give her a fighting chance."

"If the game works, though, we can't control who will be targeted." Azuki pointed out.

I would have preferred if she wasn't in the game at all, but it is what it is, isn't it? The least I can do is that. Mizuki said nothing, and a silence fell across the room. They all looked at each other, faces equally grim. Even feeling Mokomichi reach out and take her hand did nothing for the feeling.

"Well…is there anything else we need to think about, now? Like introducing the first motive?" Riku asked.

"We'll introduce that in a few days, I think. For now it's best to let them get settled. I think the uncertainty of the situation is enough of a stress in itself."

Everyone agreed on this, and then they quickly went back through their rota for keeping an eye on the cameras at Night Time, modifying it to account for the fact that Sosuke, Kaneda, Keiko and Kumori were no longer available to help them. No longer available-the understatement of it made Mizuki want to laugh bitterly, but she held it in.

They eventually decided that Mizuki and Mihoko would be doing the first watch for tonight, and so she saw them off at the door as they headed to the sleeping quarters, Mokomichi being the last to leave as he lingered to give her a goodnight kiss. Once they had all gone though, Mizuki closed the door and went back across the room to settle herself into the chair. Mihoko had turned back around to stare at the screens, studying them extremely intently.

"Anything interesting going on?" Mizuki asked.

"Nope."

Mizuki raised an eyebrow, but a glance told her that Mihoko was mostly right. For the most part, it really did seem like that everyone was sleeping. She wondered if the same was true of the outside world. Would their families be sleeping, or would they be waiting up, scrolling through feeds or staring at the phone? Or maybe some of them would be stalking the streets, looking for them all. And of course there were the police, firemen, other emergency workers…

It is what it is, Mizuki told herself. I can't stop things once they have been set into motion, can I? Besides, it will be worth it in the end. Still, I'll make sure to make up for it once it is all over.

Mizuki sighed and rubbed her shoulder, then glanced at Mihoko.

"Hey?"

Mihoko didn't turn, but her eyes moved.

"What?"

"Are…are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"After what happened."

"Like I said," Mihoko said, icily. "Why would I be?"

"Exactly, that's why I'm asking."

At that, Mihoko startled, and turned to look at Mizuki properly. She frowned quizzically, quietly mouthing the conversation to herself before her eyes widened for a moment. Clearly then, that had been a slip-up, and that told Mizuki enough. But while she attempted to think of the best way to probe further, make it clear that she was just worried, Mihoko's expression settled back into blankness again as she fixed Mizuki with a look.

"It is of no concern of yours. Anyway, we should be looking at this."

She gestured to the screens before pointedly turning back. Mizuki opened her mouth to try and probe further but then she stopped, biting her lip. Knowing that it would be completely pointless to try and do anything else, she just turned back to the screens and kept watching.

…

Hatsumi hadn't been prepared.

She had known it would be strange, returning to the world, and even more so considering the unrest. But she had not been prepared for this-the sounds of sirens and yelling in the distance, the streets unusually quiet but filled with damaged cars and trashed front gardens. And then there was the sky…

"This actually looks like an end of the world movie."

That was Hatsumi had said when they'd slipped out of the warehouse once Azuki had finally put up the first videos and she'd looked up to see that the sky was grey and cloudy, but with an odd undertone of red, and smoke billowing high up from a distance, spiralling. Azuki hadn't had anything to say to that, instead just snorting as he told her they had to get a move on.

The smoke had only become worse as they'd headed out to the nearest street that had a convenience store, with quite a few of those who were out covering their mouths to try and avoid coughing. The destruction got worse the further in they got, and Hatsumi swallowed at the sight of a bombed building, dirty-faced children sitting in an empty, hollowed out room playing with dolls with no adults in sight.

Not even a movie, but a war. Like, an actual war. Hatsumi swallowed and averted her eyes as she followed Azuki obediently, pulling a face as she dodged litter. I hadn't expected this…it's horrible. But still, shouldn't I be relieved that I'm outside, too? Hatsumi looked up at the smoke-filled sky briefly, but of course it provided no answers.

"Alright," Azuki said, breaking into her thoughts. "You get toiletries and anything else that we need along those lines here, and I'll get food. You wait right by the door if you finish before me, got it?"

"Y-yeah."

Ah yes, supplies. Hatsumi mentally ran through the list that she'd been given, not wanting to reach into her bag as she'd seen some suspicious looking older teenagers hanging about. She watched Azuki walk into the convenience store that thankfully hadn't been ransacked before she then went into the attached chemists', also somehow miraculously still standing.

The inside was fairly empty, but she noticed that an older woman stacking the shelves had a baseball bat strapped to the belt of her uniform, and that the cashier had fixed his eyes on her instantly with a look that made it clear he wasn't about to take them off anytime soon. Hatsumi gave him a smile and a wink, as if things were normal and then quickly scanned the store looking for the sections she needed to go to, chucking things into an abandoned basket as quickly as possible. Strangely, the process of such tedious shopping felt calming, and for a moment she imagined that she was ordinary-but-not-too-ordinary Hatsumi Yanagi, just a girl shopping for supplies, chucking a few extra treats into her basket for a pick-me-up and flirting briefly with the cashier once she paid. Not that she would ever have been interested in the cashier, sullenly attractive though he was, but flirting was fun whoever you were.

Of course, the fantasy dissipated once she turned around to leave and saw the world through the glass windows again. She stared at it for a moment, still not sure that her months of being a hermit had quite equipped her for this, before gritting her teeth and striding out. Azuki turned out to be waiting for her, laden with bags.

"Did you clear out the whole shop or something?"

"Hey, there were some cute things on sale!" Hatsumi pouted.

"Cute things…of all the-"

There was a scream, and they both turned to see that the same group of youths that Hatsumi had noticed were now looting a shop on the other side of the street. Azuki swore and indicated to Hatsumi to come quickly. She had no argument with that, and sped up her pace to keep up with him, deciding that maybe she shouldn't have been so eager to get out. Getting out was meant to be a good thing, but this wasn't, not at all. She hated it, she hated it.

And then she heard her name amongst the noise.

Or, rather, her old name. Abruptly, Hatsumi stopped and turned slowly to the e-billboard, staring at the newsfeed that was displayed on it. There was a newscaster sitting in their studio, security guards standing discreetly in the corner but conspicuous all the same. But what was more conspicuous to her were the pictures displayed on the screen behind the newscaster. Photographs of her-her old self, and a silently playing loop of one of her parents' early press conference.

"….in light of the current events," the newscaster was saying. "The police have decided to place particular priority on taking another look at the Emiko Shishikane disappearance under the belief that her classmates Kaneda Kagane and Kumori Kurogane may have killed her in a fit of jealousy, having viewed her as not being a 'true' Reserve Course student owing to her family name. The Shishikane family released a statement in full support of this, stating that they hoped that the truth would be found out by the time Mrs Shishikane had given birth so that they would be able to tell their son that their sister's killers had been caught…"

Mother was…is…pregnant? And with a boy?

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Hatsumi startled and looked up to see Azuki barrelling back down the street, panting heavily.

"You can't just wander off! It's dangerous!"

Hatsumi blinked, looking around her as the rest of reality sunk back in. She noticed a couple of people staring and she thought quickly.

"O-oh, I'm sorry! It's just…that poor girl, ahh…let's go, quickly."

Hatsumi clung to Azuki's arm, pouting and fluttering her eyelashes. He gave her an exasperated look, but seemed to get what she was doing because he used his free hand to awkwardly pat her head, muttering something about getting to safety before stomping back down the street.

"What the hell were you doing?" Azuki hissed once they were somewhere quieter.

"I got distracted, okay!" Hatsumi let go of his arm abruptly and glared. "You would be too if you realised that your family was replacing you."

"You what?"

"Apparently my parents are expecting another child. Oh, and they've decided I'm dead so they just want to be able to get me found so they can just get on with their lives with a proper Shishikane heir."

Hatsumi laughed bitterly. She almost felt sorry for the kid-in-progress, whatever he might turn out to be like. Almost. The rest of her just wondered if they'd been trying from the moment that she had officially been declared missing. It didn't surprise her as such, now that she was thinking about it, yet at the same time…

"Well. Well, that sucks. Not that they think you're dead, because that could be useful. But…the rest of it. Um…do you need a moment to cry or something?"

Azuki frowned at her, clearly hoping that she didn't.

"Naaah, you know what? I'm fine, really. It makes life so much easier. Anyway, we'd better get back before they all start freaking out and thinking that we're busted already. Seriously, it's fine, I don't care at all."

But as they hurried back, she knew it was only half true.