When Kaede got to the food court that morning, people were already arguing.

"…Can we all please calm down?" Rantaro was saying, hands held out placatingly. "If you just hear us out-" He was stood next to Ryoma, the shorter man gazing at the others impassively from just behind Rantaro's cape.

"Calm down?! You're advocating for murder!" Tenko hissed through gritted teeth, hands balled into fists. She and Himiko stood across from the offending duo, looking almost like a western standoff.

A few others hovered near the edges of the clash, apparently undecided. Kokichi watched with amusement glinting in his eyes, Angie was writing in her research journal unconcerned, and Shuichi was glancing back and forth between the debaters anxiously.

Kaede sighed mentally, steeling herself, before stepping closer. "What's going on here?"

"Kaede!" Tenko exclaimed, relief gracing her features. "Please, back us up here! These…vile degenerates, are suggesting we go along with Monokuma's motive!"

'They what?!' Kaede's eyes widened, and she shot a sharp glare at the two. "Is this true?"

Rantaro, to his credit, looked guilty. "No, it isn't. Or at least…I wouldn't put it like that."

"Then how would you put it?" Kaede saw him flinch at her clipped tone and had to supress a small smile. Intimidating people…could actually be quite satisfying.

"…Look." Rantaro sighed, putting his hands on his hips and looking at the floor shamefully. "If we don't take action, our hostages are going to be killed. We can't just keep…trying to distract ourselves from it. I don't like it any more than anyone else, but…someone has to bite the bullet here."

"That's a lot of words to say 'I think we should kill'." Tenko growled.

"…Hold on." Kaede frowned. Something was off about this. "Tenko, how did you find about this?"

"Keebo told me." She said with a huff, crossing her arms. "He was there when Ryoma and Rantaro talked about this crazy idea."

"He wasn't present for all of it." Ryoma finally spoke up, running a hand through his short hair. "We invited Keebo because we thought his knowledge would be useful…It wasn't our intent to upset him so much."

Kaede raised her pointer finger in the air questioningly. "Bit odd to invite multiple people to a murder plan…or to talk about it openly like you're doing right now."

Himiko hummed thoughtfully. "They aren't trying to kill for their own benefit…they're doing this for the group."

"Huh?" Tenko swivelled round to stare at Himiko, mouth agape. "How could that possibly benefit the group?"

"Well maybe if you let us explain without jumping down our throats, we'd be able to tell you." Rantaro said, irritation in his voice as he fiddled with his cuffs.

Tenko began to snarl at him, but Kaede quickly cut her off. "That's enough, Tenko." She said firmly. The adventurer turned and stared into Kaede's eyes, her own filled with challenge. In that moment, Kaede saw many things swirling in those eyes – rage chief among them. Tenko's hand twitched, and for a single second Kaede thought that Tenko would attack her.

The moment passed, and Tenko grunted, stepping back. Her body was still tense, coiled tight like a spring, but she had accepted Kaede's ruling- for now.

The room was quiet for a moment, everyone else present seeming unsure of that little display. Well, except Kokichi, who was silently grinning.

"Well? Tell us your idea." Kaede finally broke the silence.

"…You can be pretty scary sometimes, Akamatsu." Rantaro rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous grin. Then, crossing his arms, his face became serious. "…Alright. What Ryoma and I are advocating for isn't so much murder as it is a…willing sacrifice. If none of us die, all of our hostages will in our place. If one of us volunteers to be a victim and another the killer, we can save them with…well, not a clear conscience, but at least knowing that it was democratically decided on."

"Damn, that's pretty cold." Kokichi chirped from his seat, eyebrow raised. "So how are we picking this? Do we all put our names in a hat, or…"

"Why not just have a person commit suicide?" Himiko asked, hands in her pockets. "No need for someone to commit murder themselves, nyeh."

"…That was my initial thought as well." Rantaro said with a grimace. "But as Ryoma pointed out to me, if someone else does the killing, that person gets to leave…which means they can potentially get help from the outside world."

There was silence for a moment as people digested that.

"Um…" Shuichi tugged at the brim of his hat. "That's assuming we can even trust what Monokuma is offering…"

"Shuichi's right." Tenko added, still glaring at Rantaro. "We can't put our faith in that..things promises."

"…Even if it worked…" Himiko mused, sounding as if she speaking to herself more than the others. "It would just validate the idea that killing is a viable action, ya know. Meaning that Monokuma knows he can try more motives in the future."

"Well, do any of you have a better plan?!" Rantaro snapped, teeth gritted. "Study groups and goofing off aren't going to fix this! I'm willing to lay down my life to save those I care about- I thought the rest of you would be the same."

Even Tenko looked taken aback by that, her glare softening somewhat. "…Of course I'm the same. If I knew for a fact that dying would save someone precious to me, I'd do it in a second. The problem is that we don't know it for a fact."

"…What's your take on it, Kaede?" Ryoma said, placing a candy stick in his mouth nonchalantly.

"Hm?" Kaede glanced at him.

"Yes, you're our leader, after all." Rantaro said with a trace of bitterness. "Didn't you already have a plan to save us? How's that going?"

Kaede was torn. To be honest, she could see where Rantaro and Ryoma were coming from. After all, her own 'last resort' plan had been to commit suicide herself…a fact she had wanted to keep hidden until the very last second. Seems she wasn't the only with that idea- and the suggestion of letting someone else make it to the outside had merit too.

On the other hand, Himiko and Shuichi raised good counter-points as well- once the first drop of blood was spilled, even if it was consensual on the part of the victim, it could still break the dam on a larger flood down the line.

On the other other hand, if they couldn't find a solution soon, the hostages were screwed.

"…Wasn't it you who suggested the idea of a 'prison break' to me, Ryoma?" She turned the question back on him, trying to buy some time "What changed?"

"Time." He grunted. "Obviously, finding an escape route would be the ideal situation…but with our limited environment and those Monodroids, workshopping an actual plan that has a decent chance of success could take months. We no longer have months- we have a day."

"…So I'm guessing the snack and movie party is cancelled, then." Kokichi commented sadly.

"Yes." Ryoma genuinely looked a little upset at that himself.

Kaede tapped a finger on her arm as she closed her eyes, time almost slowing down as she weighed up her options. The sad truth was, they didn't have any options aside from what these two were suggesting. But admitting that fact would cause a huge loss of morale amongst the group, and let Monokuma more easily sink his claws into them further down the line. It was, in that sense, darkly genius.

As much as she hated it, she had little choice but to play the hand she had been dealt.

"…One hour before the deadline." She finally said, opening her eyes finally.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Tenko asked, looking lost.

"…If we haven't found an escape route or another way around by one hour before the deadline- that being tomorrows night-time announcement- we will go ahead with Rantaro and Ryoma's plan." Kaede said firmly.

The reaction was mixed, to say the least. Tenko spluttered in indignation. Kokichi outright laughed. Shuichi nervously shuffled and grabbed at his hat. Ryoma, Angie and Himiko all quietly observed. And Rantaro just looked totally lost.

"Wait, you…agree with me?" He scratched his head and gave a lopsided, nervous grin. "Uh, wasn't expecting that, to be honest."

"Kaede, you can't be serious!" Tenko objected, dashing over to her, glancing pleadingly over at Himiko. "Himiko, tell her!"

The detective gazed sleepily at Tenko. "…She doesn't speak for everyone, even if she is the 'leader'."

"Right, exactly!" Tenko grinned in response.

"…But we also can't speak for her or the others, either. If they want to do this, we can't really stop them, nyeh…"

"But…" Tenko deflated at that, looking around at the group in defeat. "…C-come on, there must be something we've missed, some way to-"

"Then maybe you should actually do something about it, Miss Battleaxe." Kokichi quipped.

"Careful, degenerate," Tenko warned with narrowed eyes. "Unless you want your head smashed into the ground."

"You know, that's not really selling me on you being against violence!"

"You little sh-"

"Tenko…please stop." Shuichi said quietly, prompting Tenko to slowly look at him. "I don't like it either, but…Kokichi's right. We're all spending a lot of time talking about what we're going to do rather than actually doing anything."

Tenko grit her teeth, but nodded, finally falling quiet.

The silence hung in the air for a second before Kaede spoke again. "…We ah, should spend the rest of our time as best as we can. Search everywhere – even if it seems stupid or something we've gone over already. And try to get anyone else you come across to do the same." Her mind drifted to certain…uncooperative students. "…Not all of them will probably listen, but tell them anyway."

She took a deep breath. "Good luck. And…I'm sorry it's had to come to this."

A few minutes later, it was just Kaede and Shuichi left in the food court. Tenko had wordlessly stormed off somewhere, tears pricking at her eyes. Rantaro and Ryoma had headed off to give the warehouse a thorough combing over. Himiko and Kokichi had seemingly vanished the moment Kaede turned her back on them. Angie had remained seated for a while, continuing to write in her journal, before packing up and heading towards the empty classrooms, hopefully to investigate, though Kaede had no way of knowing.

When it was just the two of them left, Kaede exhaled deeply, the tension that had been coiled in her body desperately needing an exit. Like a veil being lifted, her upright and stern posture morphed, worry and sorrow taking their place in her countenance.

"Kaede? Are…are you okay?"

Oh. She was crying. When did that happen?

"I..I'm fine." She hurriedly wiped her face with her sleeve, resolutely looking anywhere but at Shuichi. What did he think of her now, after she agreed with Rantaro and Ryoma's plan? She didn't really want to know.

She heard Shuichi sigh behind her, and then his hand was on her shoulder. "…I'm not really sure what to think, but I trust you, Kaede. And I don't think it's fair that everyone is putting so much pressure on you…it's not like any of this is your fault."

"…Right." Kaede tried not to sound too doubtful of that. She inclined her head, looking at Shuichi over her shoulder and giving him a weak smile. "Thanks. I'll be alright, really."

Shuichi smiled back, then frowned again. "I'm glad. But ah, there was something else that's been bothering me, honestly…do you remember when we first explored my lab?"

"Of course. Keebo and Ryoma were with us, yeah?"

"Right…and Keebo brought over that book…the one I wrote." Shuichi withdrew his hand, moving it to once again fiddle with his cap. "But that's just it, Kaede. I've never written a book."

Kaede blinked. "You haven't?"

"No. I mean, I've thought about it before, had some rough ideas." He stammered. "Most scientists publish something at some point. but I'm still pretty early in my career, so I put it on the backburner…"

"So…it's a forgery?"

"It must be, but…it's a very impressive one. Whoever wrote it clearly genuinely knows their stuff about entomology…and it seems similar enough to my writing style, as well. It just…why go through all that effort to make something like that?"

Kaede digested this new knowledge with sinking horror, because there was an alternate explanation. That Shuichi really had written that book- but he couldn't remember doing so.

That she wasn't the only one with missing memories.

…

But Shuichi didn't need to be burdened with that, did he?

…

Kaede gave the boy a dazzling smile, pumping her fists up in the air confidently. "Don't worry- we'll get to the bottom of it, Shuichi, and the same for every other mystery in this place. That's a promise!"

RANK GAINED: THE LOVERS, UPRIGHT

LOVE, HARMONY, RELATIONSHIPS, VALUES ALIGNMENT, CHOICES

"I'll hold you to that." Shuichi said with a small, soft laugh. "…Alright, that's all I wanted to say really. I'm going to do some investigating of my lab- even if it means reading every book in there and checking for secret switches behind every terrarium."

"Alright, I'll see you later then Shuichi." As the entomologist retreated, Kaede forced herself to compartmentalise and focus on the task at hand. After all, he'd just given her an idea of where to conduct her own investigation.

The library was as musty and quiet as ever. Today's study group didn't seem to be taking place- which was probably for the best. That could be saved for after the deadline. The front row of shelves did look remarkably cleaner and more organized than before, almost certainly a result of Tsumugi's efforts.

Kaede wasn't concerned with the front shelves, but rather those in the myriad corridors inside the maze ahead of the entrance to the music room. She flitted with purpose through each tome- picking up a book, checking the space where it had been, and then reading it, skimming through the pages as quickly as she could while still retaining at least some of the knowledge.

She quickly found herself a rhythm, her mind almost blissfully focussed as she rinsed and repeated the actions, slowly encroaching further into the library. She would test every single book in this place if it had even the slightest chance of leading to a clue.

"Whatcha doing, Kaede?" And just like that, the trance was broken. Kaede yelped and almost dropped the heavy tome on philosophy she was holding, turning to glare at the intruder.

"Kokichi!" The supposed childminder was perched on the very top of the bookcase behind her, peering down with a smirk. "…You shouldn't sneak up on people like that. Or be up places that high, for that matter."

"Kaede, Kaede, Kaede." Kokichi waggled his finger condescendingly. "If I didn't do any of the things I 'shouldn't', things would be preeetty boring in my life."

She sighed, feeling a headache coming. "…Well, if you're determined to pester me, you can at least make yourself useful and help me search for any clues in here."

"Ooh, are we gonna find a secret passageway in a revolving bookcase!" Kokichi gushed, rubbing his hands together. "That's a mystery classic!"

"…While possible, I don't think Monokuma would leave something so obvious or convenient. Or if he did, it would be a trap." She looked back at the one she had been reading. "I'm more interested if there are any clues in the books themselves."

"…Reading? Eh, I'll pass. Doesn't sound very fun." Kokichi grumbled, swinging his legs back and forth over the ledge idly.

"Then leave. Or at least be quiet." Kaede put a hand to her temple in exasperation.

There was silence for a moment, and Kaede dared to hope the little gremlin may have actually listened. Then he spoke again- quieter, more measured. "You know, I can't quite figure you out."

She slammed her book shut, craning her neck to glare up at him. "This isn't being very quiet. I don't think you should test my patience."

"See, right there, that's what I mean!" Kokichi pointed at her suddenly, eyes narrowed. "One moment you're a goody toe-shoes "lets all work together!" type, the next you're a stony, no-nonsense, iron-fisted bitch. You have a split personality or something?"

"I don't have anything like that." Kaede said a lot more calmly than she felt. To think that of all people to pick up on her behaviour, it would be Kokichi... "Also, I don't think that's how split personalities work to begin with."

"Then why are you flip-flopping more than Angie's feet?"

She stared at him.

"Uh, you know, because she wears sandals? …Okay yeah, that was kind of a stretch." He admitted, waving his hand dismissively.

"…I don't really do it on purpose." Despite her better judgement, she found herself answering his question. Surely it would help to talk with at least one person about this, even if not the whole story? "I just adjust how I speak and what I say to the situation. Isn't that normal? I mean, pretty much everyone, even the most carefree people, have a serious side. Even people like you."

"Me? Serious?" Kokichi blanched, holding a hand to his chest daintily like a pearl-clutching socialite. "Don't insult me like that. I don't have a single killjoy bone in my body, I think I made that pretty clear."

"Exactly." Kaede smiled slyly. "You've gone out of your way to come across as a jokester who's always goofing off. So far out of your way, it has to be deliberate. People underestimate you that way. If you weren't serious about anything, then you wouldn't have come here to keep an eye on what I'm doing, or fish for information about me."

"Damn, well it kinda sucks the fun out of it when you lay it all out like that." Kokichi muttered dejectedly. He jumped down from the shelf, grunting in exertion as he landed on the floor with more grace than she would have expected from his shabby appearance. "So, what now? Do we fight to the death now that we know each other's true nature? Or make out? Both?"

"First of all, ew." Kaede's face scrunched up reflexively. "I'm still figuring myself out, but you really aren't my type. Secondly, we hardly know each other's 'true nature'. Just that we both put on- at least partially- a bit of a front."

"True, true." Kokichi nodded. "And if anything, that makes me trust you more!"

Kaede raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Well, think about it." Kokichi tried to explain. "Whose secret would you be more likely to be scared of- the guy who obviously acts shady and clearly has something going on, or the guy who seems perfectly put-together and above board?" He leaned forward, eyes glinting. "In my experience, the second person is the waaaaay more dangerous one. So I'd keep an eye on some of those 'perfect and nice' types in the group, personally."

"So…because I'm not a 'goody two-shoes' all the time, you're more on board with me?" Kaede tried to wrap her head around that logic.

Kokichi made a noncommittal 'eh' noise, putting his hands behind his head. "Well, 'on board' is a strong term. I guess I'm just saying I'm interested to see how things will unfold. You definitely aren't boring, at least."

RANK GAINED: JUSTICE, REVERSED

UNFAIRNESS, LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY, DISHONEST

Kaede sighed as Kokichi left the library.

"…To be honest, a boring life is sounding pretty good right now." She muttered as she returned to a potentially fruitless search.

Shuichi was in his lab, unknowingly mimicking Kaede's actions as he pored over the books on the shelf in search of anything that might help. He knew it was a long shot, but something was clearly up with at least one of the books in here.

That said, he wasn't really sure what he was looking for. Some kind of secret code or clue to a hidden escape hatch? A reveal of Monokuma's identity? Another map that had a bunch of secret passages labelled on it?

Still, the only other option was to just sit around and wait for the deadline, which was…not worth thinking about.

"Ah, Shuichi. I thought you'd be in here." Shuichi found himself becoming begrudgingly used to people barging in on him in his lab at this point. Did that mean Kaito's training was working?

Glancing towards the door, he saw that the culprit this time was a nervous looking Keebo. "…There aren't many other places I tend to hang out." He responded with a shy grin.

"Yes, yes. A scientists true home is his lab, after all." Keebo nodded sagely. Shuichi wasn't sure he'd go quite that far- labs didn't tend to have comfortable beds. "…In truth, I am rather jealous that my own is not available to me. I feel almost naked without it, even."

Trying hard not to think of a naked Keebo, Shuichi coughed and put his book back on the shelf. "Uh, was there something you needed?"

Keebo was quiet for a moment, before heading to a chair and sitting down in it with a slump. "…Yes, though not from you specifically. I suppose I'm looking for…a purpose."

'Oh boy.' Shuichi grimaced. As much as he sympathised, he wasn't sure if this was the best time to explore whatever crisis Keebo had going on, or that he was the best equipped to deal with it.

"It's just, my talent is potentially the most useful one in here." Keebo continued, not waiting for a response. "With enough time and a proper work area, I could use the materials from the warehouse to create all manner of things useful for us in our escape." The inventor put his head in his hands. "But we don't have time, and I don't have suitable tools or workspace. All my great skills are going completely wasted…, not to mention the multiple occasions I've panicked…I'm useless. And maybe if I was less useless, the others would not be acting so…" He trailed off, looking uncomfortable. "…Desperate."

If he were a little braver, Shuichi would have snarked that the truly useless thing would be to sit around moping about being useless. But he wasn't a little braver, not to mention it would be a little hypocritical with how often his own thoughts turned self-depreciating.

"…I kinda get where you're coming from." He said instead, sitting across from Keebo. "I mean, at least you have a useful talent, even if you can't use it fully right now. All I can do is look after bugs…that's not going to really help against those Monodroids."

Keebo frowned, straightening his posture in his seat. "Don't sell yourself short, Shucihi. Regardless of field, you are a scientist. There are inherent skills that come with that that are always useful- intelligence, critical thinking, diligence…etcetera. I suppose that's why I feel comfortable speaking with you about this…we are kindred souls in science!"

"I...suppose?" Shuichi had met some scientists pretty lacking in those skills, personally. It wasn't like getting a degree made you suddenly immune to your own flaws. "…You seem to place a lot of value on skills and usefulness, Keebo."

"How could I not? What could be more important than one's practical use? A tool that is not useful for the one using it, may as well be garbage."

"But you're not a tool, Keebo." Shuichi insisted. "You're a person. You have to think of how to be useful to yourself, not just to others."

"Useful to…myself…?" Keebo pondered that, brow furrowed. "Hm…I see. Yes, of course!" He practically leapt out of his seat. "Obviously, this slump must be the result of some sort of deficiency in myself- if I can invent something to improve my own capabilities, the slump will go with it!"

"Uh…that's not exactly what I-" Shuichi tried to backpedal, but Keebo simply smiled at him and bowed.

"Thank you Shuichi, for your good advice. I will work on a way to improve myself- so stay tuned!"

RANK GAINED: THE MAGICIAN

MANIFESTATION, RESOURCEFULNESS, POWER, INSPIRED ACTION

And with that, the inventor left as quickly as he came.

"…I hope that doesn't come back to bite me." Shuichi groaned.

Tenko was stressed, to say the least.

She honestly wasn't all that surprised to hear such an insane plan from degenerates like Rantaro or Ryoma, or for Kokichi (Who so far seemed the worst degenerate of all) to find the whole thing funny.

She hadn't expected Kaede to take their side, though. That was…it just didn't bear thinking about. Could Kaede have been corrupted somehow? It was the only reason Tenko could think of as to why a lovely girl like that would agree to…to death.

But then…maybe it was simply because Kaede didn't really understand the gravity of what she was signing off on. Few people their age had ever actually experienced death directly, felt it sink that cold, draining touch into your bones.

Not the way that Tenko had, so many times.

'Idiot…don't think about that right now.' She mentally chided herself. 'Remember your training, focus on the here and now.' Taking a breath, she continued to search.

The laundry room was quiet as she tried everything she could think of – running her hands over every surface, knocking on the walls to test their thickness, checking inside every washing machine or dryer for any unexpected items. So far all she'd found was a set of damp clothes that looked like Korekiyo's keikogi, which she dropped as if she had been burned upon touching it. Touching a male's used clothing was really not what she wanted to do today, though at least he had the decency to actually wash them after his sweaty workouts.

Kiyo seemed pleasant and unassuming enough so far, but he was firmly on Tenko's mental list of potential degenerates- mainly because his talent made him a particularly dangerous element if anything happened. Even Gonta's innate strength would struggle to take on a legitimate martial arts master.

"I could still take him…" she scoffed to herself as she crawled under the table to check there wasn't anything stuck to the underside.

"Tenko? What are you doing?"

"AH!" Tenko yelled in surprise, reflexively jumping up- and bashing her head on the table, flipping it over with a crash. "…Ow."

"Are you alright?" She heard heavy footsteps approach hurriedly. Rubbing her head, she glanced over to see that Tojo had entered the room, currently looking at her in concern.

"Oh, Tojo!" Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment at doing something so…uncool in front of the robot girl. "I'm fine- just fine! Takes more than that to take down an Adventurer, you know."

Tojo pondered that, eyes flicking up and down Tenko's form, gaze lingering briefly at the scar on her stomach in a way that made Tenko's skin tingle a little. "Yes…I suppose you are probably used to worse injuries. Though it may be best to put some ice on your head, just in case."

"Hehehe…" Tenko giggled almost drunkenly as she got to her feet. "Thanks for being concerned about me…" 'Gah, come on! Isn't Himiko bad enough? I'm just…too weak to attention from girls…'

"Of course." Tojo said primly, folding her hands together. "It is my desire to get along with everyone." She paused, glancing around the room. "Forgive me for repeating myself, but what exactly were you doing that caused you to be in such a position?"

"Oh…I was looking for any clues that might help us escape." Tenko said with a sigh as she pushed the table back into its upright position. "…You know, before our…deadline."

"Ah…yes." The robot scowled, the anger on her face looking remarkably human. "That…cretin of a bear has a lot to answer for. Frankly, I'm ashamed to be a member of the same species as him and his servants."

"Eh?! Tojo, you're a bear?" Tenko gasped in shock, taking a step back.

Tojo stared at her blankly. "…Robot. I meant the fact we're all robots."

"Oh, that makes more sense!"

"…Right." Tojo looked even more concerned for some reason. "Are you sure your head is fine?"

It did still sting a little, but it was hardly that big a deal. "Just peachy, ehe…"

Tojo nodded, then her eyes flitted to look at something on the floor next to her. "…It seems someone has made a bit of a mess."

Tenko followed the line of sight and blanched at Korekiyo's sopping wet clothes that she'd accidentally left on the floor. "O-oh, it was like that when I got here! Honestly, some of these males are such slobs, you know?"

Tojo's eyes narrowed at Tenko, who tried to not to start sweating. "…Perhaps." She finally said, bending over to pick up the damp outfit.

'I feel kinda bad, but no way was I touching that…' Tenko thought as she watched. 'At least as a robot, Tojo can't get sick from any boy bacteria.' Actually, since she was here…

"Um, by the way Tojo…" Tenko asked, poking her fingers together with a wobbly grin as the person in question turned back around. "…You're, a girl robot right? Not a degenerate male robot?"

Tojo stared at her again for what must have been a solid twenty seconds before finally responding, closing her eyes and seeming to take a breath (Did she even breathe?) to brace herself. "That is…not really a question I can easily answer. While I have been designed with a feminine aesthetic, gender is…not really a concept that physically applies to someone like me."

"Why not?" Tenko asked, still poking her fingers together as she saw confusion grace Tojo's expression again.

"Why not- urgh." Tojo slapped a palm to her face with a metallic clang. "Without going into the…particulars…I do not have the relevant…parts."

"Oh, but that has nothing to do with it, though!" Tenko said matter-of-a-factly. "Whether or not you're a degenerate male or a cute girl is actually more to do with your brain. Or uh…motherboard, or whatever passes as your brain…"

"Is that so?" Tojo hummed as she thought on that for a moment. "That is…an interesting take on it. Not one I expected from you, as your…dislike…of men has been made quite clear. So your objection to them is not their bodies, but their mindset?" She took a slightly aggressive stance as she flipped her fringe away, revealing both of her synthetic eyes. "With all due respect, that's not something you can always tell from an initial meeting."

"…I know that." Tenko grunted, looking away. "I…look, its complicated, alright? And I am…trying to be open minded about degen- about males when I can. It's just…" She shook her head and sighed, taking a seat on one of the fold-out chairs. "I don't really know how to explain it without talking about some…really not so great stuff."

Tojo's expression softened as she relaxed her pose. "…Well…at least you seem to be self-aware of your hypocrisy. I won't press the issue, so long as you do not cause any sort of incident. As I said earlier, my desire- my mission, even- is to get along with everyone."

"…Mission?" Tenko latched onto that, eager to shift topics.

"Yes…" Tojo gathered her thoughts for a moment. "…My creator programmed me with that prime directive. Making a robot that is strong, or fast, or possesses incredibly weaponry, like those Monodroids, is one thing. But she wanted to do something beyond that."

A small smile crept its way onto the robot- no, the girls face, and Tenko couldn't help but smile back. 'Tojo definitely seems to respect her creator a lot…'

RANK GAINED: TEMPERANCE

BALANCE, MODERATION, PATIENCE, PURPOSE

"…Perhaps we can continue this talk another time. I shouldn't disrupt your investigation any further."

"Oh, its not a problem, really!" Tenko insisted, gesticulating wildly with her hands. "In fact, why not investigate with me? Uh, assuming you weren't busy of course-"

"I would like that, Tenko."

Though they both were smiling, the air was still a little tense as they resumed checking everything that they could think of.

They knew the number of unturned stones were rapidly running out.

16 STUDENTS REMAIN