Chapter 2-1

A Mostly Negative Reception

"They say a mask can become your new face if you wear it long enough. There's a whole bunch of psychology and research that I cannot be bothered to look up, not just because it's highly complex, but I believe in a case by case review of every scenario. In my scenario, I believe I know all of the reasons and answers…

"The only problem is how much I'm willing to move on from the mask, that sheer determination that is required. I could have been considered a strong-willed person, but was that the mask or myself? I've known people who were strong or weak, wearing a mask or being themselves entirely, any combination you can imagine.

"I've never believed in clichés, but part of me thinks that maybe, just maybe, the reason why some things are cliché are that way because they're true. They should be called staples.

"Oh, I'm talking about love, by the way. What other reason could someone like me be so willing to move on from the mask, to be who I really am? And I never thought that I would doubt myself, but I want to know.

"What do you think, my dear…? Do you think they are worth it? Am… am I worth it?"

Day 04, 11:00 PM

Penjar

Due to the exhausting nature of the trial, there were a lot of people who went to bed early. Some of them grabbed knives from the kitchens, or anything else they could get their hands on; no one was taking any chances with an exposed serial killer in their midst.

Odelios and Ishiku were rather excited about their talents, and worked on coffee and clocks until they both felt so tired that they almost dropped where they worked. While they were probably the only ones who had something to be excited about, it was difficult for the others to remain energized when awake.

Pyrrha caught Ken staring at Yejoon's house before she went to bed. The romance writer approached the cavalryman, and gently coaxed him to go to sleep instead of doing what he obviously planned on doing. With a defeated sigh, the Novoselician did eventually go to sleep.

With her interaction, it seemed to be the point where everyone had gone to bed. The fact that no light shone from Takeo and Jin's houses was the final reminder either would be returning, ever again.

It was at this point in time that Fiora finally couldn't ignore her grumbling stomach. The movie maker left her house, glancing around to see if anyone was up. The mists were the only movement, and she briefly wondered if the noise muffling effect was still in place.

As she walked down the road, heading to the cafeteria, she was rather alert. She almost resembled a deer, with her wide eyes and nervous nature. Fiora didn't even have a weapon on herself, nothing to arm herself with.

As she made it to the plaza, and was closer to the shops, she could hear noises in the distance. Whatever noise cancellation had been going on, it was definitely gone now. The noises were really strange, like saws, heavy machinery, and jackhammers, all from very far off. And the occasional explosion, as if there was an intense mining expedition with precision blasting going on all at once (that was Fiora's best guess).

The movie maker let out a sigh as she saw the cafeteria up ahead. She eased up on her tension, and her heart stopped hammering.

"Hello, Fiora."

The highest of high-pitched shrieks reverberated throughout Penjar, as the movie maker leapt many feet into the air. Her body coiled around a branch from one of the trees near the cafeteria, whimpering and shivering.

Yejoon tilted his head to the side, staring up at her. "That was quite the impressive jump. You practically jumped up to the second floor of a building."

"Leave me alone," she shrieked, huddling her body up from the branch she was hanging from. "And don't hurt me! Please oh please don't hurt me!"

"Fiora, I don't hurt people. I kill them."

"Not helping!"

"Fiora, if I was going to kill you," he said as he crossed his arms, "you hanging from a tree branch would not impede me in the least. Let's not be silly here."

"Silly? SILLY?! What you confessed to be, how many people you killed… you think I'm being silly over the fact that I don't want to be near you?!"

"I thought we did have the makings of a friendship going on. I quite enjoyed our conversation last night, and I was the one who saved you during the trial."

"You probably just want to kill me too!"

Yejoon glanced to the side, and sighed. "That's actually not an impossibility, given my nature; I normally do plan how to kill those I get to know, in an effort to make them truly beautiful."

Fiora's shrill whimper came with her huddling up on the underside of the branch as much as she humanly could. "How… how is that supposed to coax me to come down?! You're a monster!"

"Fiora, you are a mess of a woman when you look down at it. You have talent, potential, and a rather energetic personality that is captivating; however you squander it by making subpar movies, and a lack of defensive traits. If you were truly the woman you could be, you would have stood up against Emanuel's accusations during the trial more firmly."

"Oh great, life lessons and lectures from someone who's killed more people than I could even name! I don't want a moral lecture from the immoral! Leave me alone!"

Yejoon sighed, and pulled his mask up on top of his head. "Very well, but how are you going to get down?"

Silence filled the air, as the most tiny of movement sounds came from Fiora way up above. The answer to the question was, "Just leave me alone!"

"If you fall right now, I will catch you."

"Oh right! I'm gonna trust a serial killer with my life!? A serial killer who is giving me life advice and has a plan to kill me!"

"I don't have a plan to kill you yet, my dear. If you stay up there for much longer, I fear the fall will bring you great harm. A fall from a tree is rather devastating, I assure you."

"Push someone out of a tree, did you?" she grumbled.

"No, fell out of one when I was a boy. Hairline fracture in my left arm, my sister mocked me the entire time I had it in a sling. Always concerned, my dear dead sister, heh.

"Anyway, please come down. I do want to get some food from the cafeteria, and I cannot do that with you hanging on for dear life outside. I'd rather someone not in agony to converse with."

Fiora whimpered more, then asked, "You… you promise you won't let me hit the ground?"

"I promise."

"And promise not to kill me?"

"…"

"How about you promise not to kill me in the immediate future from here on?"

"That I can promise."

Fiora sighed, and then started to count to three. Yejoon extended his arms, and the movie maker let go of the branch. Plummeting to the ground, she didn't even have time to cry out, but she let out a small grunt when she landed in Yejoon's arms.

There was a brief moment as she stared into his eyes, and he smiled at her. Then she shrieked and struggled, flopping out of his arms and landing on the ground. Quickly getting back to her feet, dusting off and adjusting her hat, she stared at him while breathing hard.

Fiora was watching Yejoon like she expected him to pounce any moment. She couldn't think of where to put her hands up to defend herself, her neck, her stomach, over her heart? Wait, how could her bare hands stop any assault he would bring?

"Shall we eat?" he asked, gesturing towards the cafeteria. "I haven't eaten anything all day, and I don't think you have either. I can make us something, and we can have a nice chat."

She was shivering, as she asked, "Do… do I really have a choice?"

"Maybe not, I can be insistent. But I can carry a pleasant conversation without bringing up anything that would make you uncomfortable."

Fiora doubted that anything Yejoon could talk about would be comforting, but she resigned herself to her fate. The two walked into the cafeteria, and stayed in there until past midnight.

(Day 04 is over~)

(Monokuma Theater!)

*Monokuma is dressed in a smart tie and suit. He has on an eye mask that has a Chinese dragon twisted around the eyeholes.*

Monokuma - "Masks are a rather interesting thing. I like to wear them, so no one can recognize me and I can become someone different! That's what I would say if I didn't have such an iconic look, voice, and shape."

*Secret Agent Monokuma is standing next to a harbor, posed rather dramatically with a gun in his paw. Monokid, wearing a vest and a beret, is standing beside him with a confident pose.*

Monokuma - "I think it's time we recognize people who cannot disguise themselves, as it is unfair for all of disguise-hampered. People don't realize how far their disguise-privilege can get them."

*Secret Agent Monokuma and Bear-Face Monokid are diving into the water, both with panicked looks on their faces, as an incredible amount of bullets are being shot at them.*

Monokuma - "Yes, those are real terms! Would I use them if they weren't?!"

Day 05, 9:25 AM

Housing Area

Hikari Tetsuhime's House

Stepping out of the shower as she made sure the towel around her head was firmly in place, the steampunk model finished her humming. She walked over to the mirror, and stared deep into it. A sad sigh elicited from her, as she added, "Not exactly looking the best there, darling; this place has already aged me. Oh dear, how do I make sure that I look my best, now that I have someone interested in me?"

She continued her morning ritual, making sure she looked her very best. Hikari touched up her lipstick and blush, hiked her breasts up as much as she physically could, and perfected her model-like stance and step.

It was when she started her eyeshade when the TV in the bedroom turned on, and the shout from it was so sudden that she drew a line from the corner of her eye.

(Day 05 has begun!)

(Monokids' Town Hall Greeting)

*The five Kubs are standing at the town hall. Monokid is still wearing his vest and beret.*

All Five Kubs - "Rise and shine, ursine~!"

Monophanie - "We know you all had a hard day yesterday, but you are all still alive and well this fine day!"

Monotaro - "We also have a big surprise for you all! Come to the plaza where Takeo's body used to be, the western edge of it, I believe."

Monophanie - "Monotaro! That's disrespectful!"

Monotaro - "What? But I called him by his name, not the Human Statue like we call him now!"

*As they talk, Monokid sees something off-screen and goes wandering off.*

Monosuke - "Guys, stop bickering! Youse got to realize that we're dealing with super sensitive humans who don't respond well to reminders of violence! They're like Monophanie, but dumber."

Monophanie - "Hey! I must take umbrage to that remark!"

Monotaro - "Why, are you stupid too, Monophanie?"

Monophanie - "No, I'm not! I'm-"

*Monokid comes back, holding a plushie that looks a lot like the Owl-Jin one made yesterday; this one is dripping blood from its gore-soaked bottom too.*

Monokid - "Hey guys! I got me another one of these collector's items! That's worth a lot of shit, right?"

Monophanie - "BRRLRLGGLGLGHHH!"

Monokid - "Not on the new threads that Dad got me, damn!"

Monotaro - "Vomit tends to reduce the price, Monophanie, shame on you."

Monodam - "JUST-COME-TO-THE-WEST-SIDE-OF-THE-PLAZA-BY-TEN-AM-THANK-YOU-BASTARDS."

All Five Kubs - "So long, bear well~!"

Hikari growled, and stared at herself in the mirror. There was a long curl of eyeshade that came from the corner of her eye. "Oh no! It… it… actually, that looks pretty nice. I wonder…"

Day 05, 10:00 AM

Main Plaza

Western Side facing the Housing Area

The vast majority of the graduates were standing outside, staring expectantly at the five Monokubs. The Kubs insisted that they had to wait until everyone was there.

Kimiko yawned a great deal, smacking her lips before spitting in her hand and slicking her hair back under her hat. "I hate mornings," she grumbled. "I'd like them so much better if they were in the afternoon."

As she grumbled, she caught sight of Hikari, who had strut up to the group. The biker gal's jaw dropped when she saw the stylish make-up job the woman had done, as well as just how pristine and poised she was. Such a vision of beauty and grace, Kimiko was getting pink in the face.

The biker walked over there, trying to get herself composed, and she opened her mouth to speak to Hikari.

"Oh wow, love the look, sexy!"

Aka was right by Hikari's side, claiming all of her attention. The purple-topped skier was positively gushing over the model, and the two were now so heavily engaged with each other, there was no getting in.

Kimiko sighed in regret, then noticed someone looking up at her. Eisei had noticed what had happened, and raised one of his lavender eyebrows.

"There there," the dentist offered, and extended up a hand with a lollipop. "There'll always be another chance, so have a sweetie until then."

The biker gang leader stared at the short man, then rolled her eyes, took the sweetie with a small thanks, and popped it into her mouth. She glanced back at Aka and Hikari, who were now touching each other as they spoke on how good the other looked in the morning. "Maybe I should be ignoring my libido for now."

"That would be the most healthy consideration, since we are in a dangerous Killing Game, an unknown town with no way to contact the outside, and a serial killer and/or a traitor slash spy in our midst."

"Your blunt method is rather comforting."

"Speaking of serial killers, there he is now."

Kimiko turned around and clenched her fists, as she saw Yejoon approaching the ground. Everyone there faced him as well, and the mask-wearing artist cocked his head. Before anyone could say anything, Fiora sprinted up behind him.

"Wait, everyone," she shouted, holding her hands up and standing between the group and the serial killer. "Let's not start the day off with attempted murders and assassinations and such."

"Fiora! You're defending him!?" Pyrrha declared.

"No, that goes for him too!" The movie maker glared over at Yejoon, who merely regarded her with a glance of his head. "But… I've had enough drama for a lifetime yesterday, I just want us to get along for one day! One single day! Is that alright? I think some of you owe me that."

She glared in particular at Emanuel, who had regarded Yejoon with a steely glare. The Bête Noir scoffed and muttered as he rubbed his head, "I don't owe you anything, you seemed most suspicious."

"What?! You-"

"RISE AND SHINE, URSINE~!"

The five Monokubs shouted in unison so profoundly, it stopped the argument short. Yejoon walked over to the side so he could see the Kubs without being part of the group, while Fiora stood between him and the group. The Kubs immediately began their spiel.

"Howdy there, everyone," Monotaro declared. "I just wanted to say that we here at Penjar have taken some of the suggestions given to us, and we actually made it a bit fun for us!"

"We've decided to expand on our wonderful city," Monophanie said, "and we made it a bit of a competition."

"Youse see," Monosuke remarked, correcting his glasses as he tried to turn his nose up towards those much taller than him, "each of us were asked to design a new building that would be on the southern border of the plaza, across from the ones currently up."

"And we did it! We're gonna have a competition to see which one you fuckers like the most," Monokid shouted, breaking his guitar in record time, "and thus in two days, we're gonna have a party there!"

"…"

"Wait a minute," Shuuya said, stepping up, "are you saying you built buildings in the town overnight? That's not possible."

"Oh ye of little faith," Monotaro said with a giggle. "Father will show you all! Father?"

There was a metallic scrapping sound, and soon the sight of Monokuma pushing an industrial-sized fan that was set on a trolly. The despair bear huffed and puffed, and grumbled, "D… damn kids. So cute, so unwilling to help their old man!"

"Pops, youse got tons of years ahead of youse," Monosuke replied. "youse got plenty of time! Now, on with the competition! Youse!"

"Are you stuck again on that word usage, son? Eh, no matter, allow me to make a great big reveal!"

Monokuma hopped onto the trolly, then flipped a switch on the fan. It turned on, slowly, but surely, and then there was a rather high-pitched whir when the fan went into overdrive. The mist in front of the fan blew away as if a hurricane struck…

And as the fan blew the trolly, Monokuma, and the fan itself backwards, with a rather large crashing sound off in the distance, the mist blown away from the southern side of the plaza revealed something most incredible.

Large buildings, appearing to be brand-new amid the decrepit houses and buildings of Penjar, were standing proud across the street. While this wouldn't be the most startling thing to discover in the ghost town, it still was quite startling to the graduates.

"Wait a minute," Ken declared, "what sorcery is this? Those buildings weren't here when we arrived in this city!"

"Forget when we arrived," Blake remarked, "they weren't here yesterday!"

"I'm glad you noticed!" Monotaro said, posing in triumph. "You see, the Monokubs worked so darn hard in our little contest! So we each renovated one building each, or, in Monokid's case, the park."

"I did the best," Monokid felt to add to the conversation.

"So to explain a little bit more," Monophanie chirped, "we wanted to ensure that Penjar is a lovely place for you all. After yesterday's grizzly, sad, and horrid trial, we wanted to try hosting another party."

"The pool party was great, but we cannot just do it again," Monosuke remarked. "I mean, there's a certain point when fan service is too much service. Though I mean, if she wants to wear a bikini again, that's always great."

The orange Kub was gesturing towards Angelique, who crossed her arms over her ample chest and glanced to the side, huffing indignantly. Monosuke chuckled, then pointed at Hara, but before he could speak, Isaac stepped up.

"Okay, you perverted little midget koala freak," he spat at the orange Kub, "I doubt that you'll explain how those damn buildings suddenly showed up, but what's this about a party? You really think we want to play nice with you all, after all that you did to us, all that you plan to do to us?!"

Monosuke was sulking now, thus Monophanie stepped up. Nervously rubbing her paws together, she said, "We don't really want to be enemies. Daddy is testing you and we want to do right by him, but we want to be friends with you too."

"That's a little hard to believe," Eisei said, "when you were the ones who tore Jin apart during her punishment."

The pink bear sighed pitifully, and muttered, "We really have to do that, it's not like we can disobey Daddy when he's there. Maybe this time, before and after the Motive, you can all be friends."

"Motive? Friends?" Souma balked. "You try to tempt people to murder, you ally yourselves with Monokuma, you make buildings overnight, and then you say you want to be friends with us? What twisted, sick mentality do you have?"

"You might as well be honest," Crystal said, crossing her arms behind her head. Her serious tone made the Kubs shiver slightly when she stepped forward. "This is part of a game for you, and you want to tempt us by offering more answers to this town within the new areas. But such an offering comes with a price, does it not?"

The Monokubs shuffled nervously, unsure as to what to say. Before one of them could speak up, Monokuma came waddling back to the group. "Listen, you blonde in blue," he hollered, marching towards her with an accusing paw extended, "stop flustering my adorable cubs! It's their first Killing Game, and they're still trying to make it work! Nobody likes a critic!"

"Only people," Ishiku remarked, "who have poor products say that."

"Shaddup! Now listen here! Your goal today is to explore the new buildings, and decide which one is your favorite. You will be polled at 9 PM tonight on which is your favorite, and two days from now, there will be a party at your new favorite landmark!

"You might want to consider enjoying the party, if we even get there. Because tomorrow at 5 PM, I'll be announcing the new Motive!"

"What? So soon?" Drake cried out.

"Yes, that soon! There's not only way too many of you, but you're not making any progress on your own! And you're fighting my cubs at every step of the way! So if you're going to be difficult, then I'm going to put the pressure on!

"That's right, bitches, I'm gonna tighten the screws, tug on the ropes, turn up the heat, and kick this into overdrive! So if you're quite finished being the most difficult group, and that includes the one that had just as many serial killers as yours, I think that-"

"You know what?" Kimiko shouted as she made her way over to Monokuma. "Fuck you, Teddy!"

She lifted her foot, and her boot smashed down on Monokuma's head. The bear squashed up, but didn't burst or break. Instead, like a giant spring, he popped back upwards. Kimiko was propelled through the air when he popped back up under her foot, and she somersaulted through the air a few times. With a painful crash on her chest and stomach, she strained out as she tried to understand what just happened.

"Ha! You think I am going to be trodden on anymore?" Monokuma cackled, waving his arms around in celebration. "No siree! No more stomping, no more beating, no more ripping, and no more-"

Angelique walked over, raising her own foot. Her heel stabbed into the top of Monokuma's head, penetrating deep into his round noggin. He froze, and twitched when she twisted her foot to accentuate the wound.

"Urk! Mah… oh my BRAIN… blargh… I can… taste… colors now…"

With one more twist of her foot, Angelique yanked her heel out of Monokuma's head. With a death gurgle, the despair bear fell backwards, with a strange liquid that smelt like honey leaking out of his cranium.

"WAAAAAAAAAH!" the four communicative Kubs screamed in horror. "NOT AGAIN!"

"…" Monodam reacted, then pointed up at the graduates. "IF-YOU-WOULD-LIKE-TO-GRAB-BREAKFAST-FIRST, YOU-ARE-WELCOME-TO, YOU-BASTARDS."

"Thank you," Drake muttered, staring in shock at Monokuma's corpse. He gingerly walked around it, and headed off to the cafeteria.

"This isn't over," Yitro snapped at the horrified Kubs, as he and the majority of the others walked by them and off to the cafeteria.

The only ones not heading off were Kimiko, who lay on the ground in a rather humiliated, sulking state, and Angelique who was watching over her.

"You going to get up now, belle fille?" the opera singer asked Kimiko, kneeling down next to her. "You cannot just pout down there."

"I can try," Kimiko muttered bitterly. "I was trying so hard to look cool, and I just humiliated myself in front of everyone… my gang would be ashamed of me."

"Honey, we're all in a bad position here. No one thinks bad of you, and if they do, to hell with them. Please, would you join me for breakfast?"

She extended her hand out, and this time Kimiko took it. Dirty from her fall but not bothering to dust herself out, the biker gang leader was quite the contrast to Angelique's regal, feminine, clean look.

"Why are you always so nice to me, anyway?" Kimiko muttered. "I'm a gruff butch bitch who is actively trying to get the attention of another girl."

"Doesn't mean we cannot be friends. Now come on, there's someone I want to introduce you too."

Day 05, 10:20 AM

Penjar's Public Cafeteria

Odelios sighed as he stirred the stick around in the coffee he had just brewed. Sipping it, he realized it was just an average mug of the brew. "Nope. Nothing special still."

"Monokuma did say that the talents would be gone at midnight if you didn't commit murder," Pyrrha said, shrugging her shoulders. "I guess that's a good thing, you didn't want anything that evil bear would give you."

"As much fun as I could imagine an evil barista could be, I just kind of liked the fact that I could do it, ya know? Oh well… Ishiku said it was about the same with him. The talent didn't really leave him entirely, we can still do what is normal, just not super special at it."

Placing the mug down nearby, he went to work making pancakes, waffles, and bagels. Pyrrha watched him work, silent at first as she did her own job, and then she spoke.

"Do… do you think that we could find some of Takeo's family after this?" she asked, her voice soft and emotional. "Do you think he had family?"

"Most everyone has family, Pyrrha. If he did, we can sure try," the clown said as he flipped a pancake. "Just don't go blaming yourself now."

"What… what makes you think I blame myself?"

"I can recognize someone who blames themselves after a death pretty well. Trust me when I say, you have nothing to feel guilty about. We'll do right by Takeo when we get out of here."

Not much more was said between the two, as they worked to make breakfast for all. Drake came in to help them, as did Isaac, and progress was made much more quickly.

As food was served, people branched off into their own groups to converse. Fiora and Yejoon were together, at a table far away from everyone else; the movie maker still appeared horrified, but she quietly talked with the masked serial killer.

Angelique had brought Yitro and Kimiko together, and was having them get to know each other. The biker gal was a touch distracted by Hikari and Aka becoming more friendly with each other at their own table, but eventually focused on those at her table.

Isaac, Hara, and Saiko spoke with each other, though Eisei joined them at one point. Everyone else was either seated alone, or rather quiet among their fellow graduates; no one wanted to admit how much the trial had frazzled them.

When Drake was done with the food, he found Ignatia seated alone. He walked over and sat at her table, smiling at her. "Hey there. I never really got to thank you for…"

She held up her hands, shaking her head. Grabbing her tray and drink, she hurried off, seating at another table. Drake watched her go, realizing how she wanted to be left alone. He sighed, and nibbled on his breakfast.

"Gonna give up that quickly?" Emanuel said as he sat down across from Drake. "You're never going to get anywhere if you just let her dismiss you like that."

The cartoonist stared at the Bête Noir, and turned away. "I don't know if you're the best person to ask about social skills," Drake muttered.

"Listen kid, I've been around the block more times than you or I could count. I know my way around people, I can read them quite well. Your mime crush, she's definitely seen a lot of shit in her life and that's why she's pushing you and everyone else away."

Emanuel sipped his coffee, and sighed. "But you're not going to get anywhere by being passive and nice like the shtick you've got going on. You think she's going to come alongside to you with you being gentle and a pushover? You know what I would do?"

"Slap her?" Drake said before he could help himself. He slapped his hand over his mouth, and stared in horror at Emanuel.

The Bête Noir raised an eyebrow. "Not gonna live that one down anytime soon, am I? Fine, fine. But what I'm saying is true. You want to get anywhere with a woman like that, you need to be more aggressive."

Drake stared at him, trying to comprehend the advice and everything else. "Um, why exactly are you trying to help me?"

"From what I heard, you more or less solved a lot of the mystery of the trial. Bags under the eyes, blood nails, cannot believe I missed that stuff. I just want to make sure that you keep on your toes for when the next trial happens."

"What? You… you really think there will be another murder? You shouldn't presume that kind of thing to happen."

"Kid, that thing will always happen. It always does. It's a Killing Game, and never once has it happened, be it the publicized or a fucking psycho's mini-game, death always happens.

"Just take care of yourself, kid," he mumbled as he bit into his bagel, "because this is far from over."

Day 05, 11:05 AM

Main Plaza

Southern Edge of the Plaza

A lot of the students finished their breakfasts, and moved on out to the newly crafted area of Penjar. As far as they could tell, there were four new buildings, and were told that the fifth location was behind the renovated buildings. The Kubs informed them that each cub would be at the building they designed.

Crystal and Blake, two of those most keen to see these locations, were in front of a rather recognizable type of building. He turned towards her, and growled, "You'd best not say anything."

"Oh, the fact that our Ultimate Pyro is going to investigate a fire station with me? Why I wouldn't dream of being so scathing."

"From what I heard, it is you who gets all heated and needs to be hosed off."

Crystal fluttered her eyes and took a deep breath, then walked over to the station. Monosuke was staring up at her, holding a remote in his hand. "Hello there, tall, blonde, and beautiful! Youse want to see my art project?"

"Since when did you get so flirty?" Crystal asked, then shook her head and waved her hand. "You know what? Never mind, let's see your fire station."

"You got it, toots!"

Monosuke hit the button on the remote, and the large garage door rolled upwards. From the moment it started to crack open, a rather powerful combination of scents hit Crystal and Blake's noses. The former covered her nose and mouth, the latter sniffed as he peered into the building.

The fire station did not have a fire engine in it. There were instead a great deal of piles and collections of numerous items that were not safe in a fire station, or anywhere for that matter.

Stacks of dry newspapers and leaflets were set against the walls. Piles of oily and/or greasy rags were stacked up around the area. There were gasoline canisters, kerosene containers, alcoholic bottles, and a pile of match boxes and lighters next to an empty workbench.

There was a large fire hose located near the back, close to a back door. The fire hose had a large warning sign above it saying, "Not to be used under any circumstances." The back door's sign said, "Must be closed under all circumstances."

"Okay," Crystal said, muffled, "what… the HELL is going on here?"

"What do you mean, sweet cheeks?" Monosuke asked. "It's a fire station."

"You have so many flammables here," Blake stated, crossing his arms as he peered in there. "The fumes that come from this is enough to start one up with a spark. You even got fire starters in there."

"Got more too! Got a blowtorch or two in some of the drawers, magnifying glasses, a flamethrower…"

"A what?!"

Blake walked into the fire station, and saw what appeared to be a mixture of a backpack and dual canisters, with a long hose connected to it. Monosuke waddled into the fire station, chuckling as he saw the pyro studying it.

"Youse like that? I haven't fueled it up yet, don't really know if it's napalm or gasoline or such to put in it," the orange bear admitted, "but maybe when I get it up and running, we could burn down one of my siblings' buildings!"

"Let's settle down there, chief," Blake advised. "For now, I'm just gonna step outside for a little while."

As the pyro walked outside, Monosuke continued to organize things. Crystal stared down Blake, and said, "You cannot be serious."

"There's no way in hell we're going to actually get the flamethrower working," Blake assured her. "It takes a certain kind of chemical mix to ensure you don't blow yourself to hell, not to mention I don't entirely trust Monokuma's kids to make one that works perfectly fine."

"Oh good, you have that common sense to you," the military adviser remarked, rolling her eyes. "This place is so dangerous though, what on Earth was he thinking?"

Monosuke apparently heard this, and called out, "It's called a fire station, toots, not a water station! So I prepared it accordingly! Fire for days if you pace yourself!"

Crystal shook her head, and stared at Blake. "This is all incredibly dangerous. Any idea if we can remove these items safely?"

"Don't you think we can keep them as a back-up plan?" Blake asked, staring right back at her. "It might be something we could just consider."

"Just what are you proposing?"

"Consider this: we're not trapped here. We could spread this shit out, and set the whole damn town ablaze. Get everyone out, and the mastermind and all those behind them don't get anything they want.

"No deaths, no murders, no executions or bullshit, we just ash these freaks and never let them harm another soul again."

Crystal stared at him, seeing his excitement in this idea. She stared at the highly flammable fire station. "Nuke the site from orbit is not a valid option. Those who follow Despair, and especially those immersed in it, aren't going to be affected or harmed if one of their projects is destroyed.

"Besides, we came here for answers. That's why I assumed you came too, Blake."

"I can find satisfaction with burning the fucking town."

The military adviser crossed her arms, and said rather matter-of-factly and quiet, "Is that what your brother meant to you?"

Blake flinched as if hit with an electric shock, and glared fiercely at her. "You watch it, bitch."

"No, I think that you should. Do not set fire to this place, or any of the buildings; you said so yourself, you don't trust the Kubs to not mess up any weaponry they give us."

She started to walk off, and Blake stood there, clenching his fists. "How the hell," he shouted, "did you know about that anyway?"

"I told you, I kept tabs on the graduates who survived," she said, "and since you were a high-risk individual, I studied up on you. And I was just guessing, but I believe I confirmed my theory. Please try to behave yourself now, Mr. Shokyaku, we don't want what happened in Australia to happen here too."

Crystal walked off, leaving a flabbergasted and highly upset Blake behind her. The pyro glanced over at Monosuke, who was humming as he adjusted a collection of blowtorches in the workbench's compartments. With a bitter sigh, he walked in the opposite direction to collect his thoughts.

"What the hell," Ishiku shouted as he approached the building, "kind of fire station is this?!"

Day 05, 11:10 AM

Plant Nursery

"Don't touch that," Hara declared, hurrying over to Anzu. She gently pulled the pale girl away from the plant, adding, "It's poison oak!"

"What!" Anzu balked and almost leapt backwards. She glanced around the nursery, observing the plants. "I… I had no idea. I thought poison oak was green."

"The red version is something that's been recently discovered," Hara explained, scanning the place too. "It was actually theorized that botanists afflicted with Despair created it and tried to spread it around…"

"Their efforts are certainly on display here," Isaac remarked.

The three stared at the greenhouse's contents, which were more or less rows of poison oak and poison ivy, red and green versions of both. They were growing from their potted plants into the walkways, as if wanting to ensure that anyone walking through would have to touch them.

"What the absolute hell," Anzu snapped, staring down at Monotaro. The red Kub had been waiting for an opinion, and he was rather startled when the actress thrust her finger at her. "What is this shit?!"

"I, um, I don't know what you mean," Monotaro sputtered. "I picked plants that were highly popular for my new plant shop."

"You picked a bunch of rash-causing weeds! Poison oak, poison ivy," Anzu continued, gesturing towards the plants. "What the hell made you think this was a good idea?"

"Honey," Hara spoke up, "why are you so upset?"

"I… I just thought that there could be something nice here. Everything in this town is so dead and ugly, I really was hoping to see flowers. I guess I got my hopes up."

"Never forget how sadistic and cruel the bears get," Isaac remarked. "Monotaro, you really think we'd vote for this awful place?"

"There's more plants in the rows at the back," the red bear protested. "I didn't just make rows of poison oak and ivy."

"What's back there then?" Anzu asked, clasping her hands together. Her mood picked up at the possibility, even her hair seemed to brighten up at this.

"Cacti."

Anzu very quickly wilted like a flower soaked in gasoline.

"Tons of cacti, some of the tallest I could gather too," Monotaro proudly said. "I promised Monodam I would get him some fermented cacti juice for the party! It'll be great."

"Doesn't that stuff cause massive hallucinations?" Isaac muttered. "I think you might want to reconsider that."

"Why? I don't drink, or at least I don't remember drinking, but that may be a side-effect from drinking so much… anyway! It's like, I wanna see how you all look!"

The three people in the greenhouse exchanged looks, and Anzu spoke for them. "This has got to be the worst building of them all."

"Hey no wait," Monotaro pleaded. "There's roses and beautiful flowers at the end of the aisles! I put them there because I felt if someone wanted to give a pretty flower to someone they liked, they would want to work for it!"

The three of them tried to peer down the very long aisles. Monotaro's plant nursery's front door was at the far right side, and there were no other doors into the building. The other side of the building was so far away, the sight of colorful flowers was highly distant.

"Are there red roses?" Anzu asked.

"Yes ma'am!"

The actress giggled, and said, "Oh… well… I'm such a fan of red roses. If anyone were to do that for me, I might just have them in my room tonight."

Isaac stared at her, glanced down the long aisle that had so much poison oak and ivy sticking out throughout the entire way, and then looked at Hara. His fiancé giggled and shook her head.

"You don't need to go that far for me, honey," she said with a grin. "As someone who's come into contact with all three of those plants at some point, I can tell you now, sex will be the very last thing on your mind for a while."

"I'm a little high maintenance and selfish enough to make that request," Anzu admitted, coyly coiling one of her blue bangs around her finger. "But at the same time, I feel a bit shameless making that advert."

"I don't think you're selfish like that," Hara said, patting Anzu's shoulder. "What's say we get out of here and see what's at the other buildings?"

The three left, engaged in a cute conversation, leaving behind a rather dejected and upset Monotaro. He perked up when he heard the front door bell ring, and the next graduate came in.

"What the hell," Ishiku shouted as he stared at all the very itchy plants, "kind of plant nursery is this?!"

Day 05, 11:20 AM

Movie Theater

Projection Room

"Wait a minute," Pyrrha said, staring at the projector connected to the DVD player, "is this it?"

"Um, there's a little more to it than that," Monophanie said, rubbing her paws together. "I mean, I have a wide selection of movies in that cabinet."

She pointed to a tall metal cabinet, which had three shelves. The romance writer stared at it, then down at the pink bear. "It's one movie screen with a bunch of DVDs to watch here? That's your idea of a movie theater?"

Monophanie hung her head in shame, and said, "Well, I mean, it is called a movie theater."

"You really thought that through literally, did you?" Eisei commented, looking through the window down at the screening room. The seats weren't even the usual movie theater style, they were collapse or lawn chairs. There were great big paintings of Monokuma posing next to the movie screen, as if to accentuate it was a presentation of his.

"I… I wanted it to be nice for you all, and for Daddy, but I've never actually been to a movie theater before. I had to gather all these movies in the cabinet for my building…"

Eisei sat down on the table that the projector was on, glancing out the window. He resembled a child trying to spy on a movie. "Maybe you should have gone with a play theater instead? Did you know that in olden times, the ones who were meant to play the villain had to be escorted out of the theater's back stage because…"

As Eisei carried on with Monophanie listening, Shuuya walked into the projection room. He saw Pyrrha rifling through the movies in the cabinet, and approached her. "So the popcorn machine, soda machine, and everything else down there don't work. Looks like she didn't want to spring for any luxuries in this theater."

"Shame that, I was kind of hoping to distract myself from everything with a nice movie," she remarked, staring at one of the DVD covers. It wasn't a real cover, just a white paper with some writing on it.

"A rom-com for you, correct?"

"I'm not only about the romantic movies, good sir," she said with a smirk. Then she showed him the DVD cover, which read, "The Complete Second Season of Monokuma Theater."

"Oh joy to the world," Shuuya remarked, "even more of that bear. Is that all she put in there?"

Pyrrha continued to look through the DVD covers, until she came to a stop. She stared at one, then showed it to Shuuya with a worried look.

"Hikari Tetsushime's Performances"

Shuuya took the DVD from her, staring at it before opening it up; it did have a disc in it. "Monophanie," he shouted, startling the pink bear and stopping the dentist's monologue, "what is this?"

Monophanie stared at him, at the DVD, and back up at him. "A lot of you were celebrities, so I managed to get some of your live shows or such on film. Or at least, Daddy provided."

Shuuya growled, then stared at Pyrrha. "I'd hate to admit it, but Jin's statement about being lured here seems rather true. How else could they procure DVDs like this?"

Pyrrha nervously swallowed, then continued looking through the DVDs. They found ones for Ishiku's magic performances, the Nahm siblings' art performances, speeches from Futaba or Souma, lectures from Shinobu, a demonstration collection of Blake's, operas and plays Angelique was in, Odelios at the circus, and more.

Pyrrha looked through an entire shelf, and closed it before going to the next one. "You know, Fiora and Anzu are part of the movie business, how come there isn't anything of theirs here?"

"You want B-movies and porn?" Shuuya remarked, raising an eyebrow. "Some would say they are one and the same."

"I fail to understand that comparison," Eisei remarked, dangling his legs off of the table's side, right next to Monophanie doing the same thing. "What do underwhelming cinema projects have to do with fornication films?"

Shuuya chuckled, then he saw Pyrrha was going through the movies more slowly. She seemed rather upset, especially when she started reading the titles.

"Despair Fires in the USA, Volume 1"

"The Geisha House Killing Game"

"Airplane Murder Game I-VI"

Shuuya reached down to put his hand over hers, stopping her progress. He turned towards Monophanie again, making her jump with how stern his glare was. "And what are these?"

Monophanie rubbed her paws together, and muttered, "Daddy managed to collect a lot of the events that were recorded on film during the Tragedy. I don't like violence, but he wanted to store these here…"

Shuuya scoffed in frustration, until he saw one that Pyrrha was looking at it. When he read the title, "The Parking Garage Killing Game," his eyes widened. He yanked it out of her hands, staring at the text on the front, then read the notes that detailed the movie more. It said when it was, which country it was in, how many victims, and who the perpetrator was…

The bounty hunter opened the DVD case and raised his fist to smash the disc.

"STOP!"

Monokuma was suddenly right in front of Shuuya's face, standing on the table where the bounty hunter had placed the case. "No destruction of my DVDs is allowed! If you break one, you buy it… by strict punishment!"

"You cannot be serious," Shuuya growled, eyes narrowed in a hateful glare at the bear.

"Dead serious! Well, maybe not death will be the punishment, but I will consider the complete removal of a limb if you break a DVD. Now kindly put it back in the shelf, or play it. It's a really nice one, gets to the death real quick!"

Shuuya continued to glare at Monokuma, then he handed the DVD towards Pyrrha. "Please don't let anyone watch these," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. "It's just snuff films."

Pyrrha nervously put it back in the shelf, and closed it. She, Monophanie, and Eisei watched as Shuuya wordlessly left the building. Monokuma followed him out, taunting all the way about wanting to see the movie.

"Seems there's a story there," Eisei remarked, "but I don't know if we should pry."

"Maybe another time," Pyrrha muttered.

"Is that going to effect my score?" Monophanie whimpered.

"Why the hell," Ishiku shouted from the lobby, "are you trying to shove Monokuma into the popcorn kettle, Shuuya?! What if we wanna make popcorn?"

Day 05, 11:30 AM

Monokuma Park

Souma crossed his arms as he scanned the area. The park, located behind the new buildings, was incredibly wide. It was not a pleasant sight, and that was not due to the gloomy overcast weather.

Monokid's park, dedicated to his father, had no grass whatsoever. It was a rocky surface, the cobblestone the same color as obsidian. The size of the park was like several soccer fields, all of this stone that wasn't exactly comfortable to walk on.

Decorating the park were "artwork" pieces that appeared to be twisted pieces of jagged metal. Souma swore he saw rust on these art pieces, especially around the sharp, jutting parts.

The public speaker stared at one piece that appeared to be a large fork that had been in the garbage disposal for an extended period. He then glanced down at Monokid, who was waiting expectantly for compliments.

"This is horrid," Souma said as bluntly as he could.

"What?! Aw screw you, what would YOU know about art, ya fancy lad?!"

"What would you?" Souma countered, glaring down at the blue bear. "You're a vulgar musician, miniature despair cub that has made a park with no grass and jagged metal sculptures?"

"Grass is whack!" Monokid hollered, smashing his guitar against the sculpture and breaking his instrument in two. "Why would you want to be smoking that stuff here anyway?! We do honey here, hardcore honey! And the sculptures are just too sophisticated for you to get, buster!"

"This looks like a large fork that was stuck in a garbage disposal," Souma countered, pointing at the disturbing art piece. "What sophistication is that supposed to represent?"

Monokid's lengthy tongue hung from his maw, before he sucked it back in and replied with, "Ding ding ding, da-ding ding ding ding ding…"

"What on Earth are you even saying right now?!"

Samson walked up to Souma, and tapped his shoulder. "Hey, pal, you're in a shouting match with this little dumbass; you're not going to win that anytime soon."

The public speaker sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I'm sorry. I think I let this place get the best of me."

"Yeah, I know how that can be," Samson remarked. He glanced to the side, and noticed the largest piece of art that was at the right edge of the park.

It was a rather large, two-story sized wooden sculpture of Monokuma. He had his paws upwards, his mouth wide open to be frozen in a sinister laugh. In front of him was a large fire pit, as if he was demanding a sacrifice. There was nothing in the fire pit currently, so it could also be seen as the giant Monokuma carving furious that nothing was being offered.

"I had to do a lot of business with art over the years," Samson said, shaking his head. "I admit, I didn't get most of it. But I don't think anyone sane would want that."

"Only Despair fanatics," Souma agreed. "I swear, I cannot tell if he is taunting us with how terrible this all is, or mocking us that he or whatever powers here built it overnight."

"You really think that there is something supernatural going on here?"

"After yesterday, with the murder and trial, I'm not to eliminate that possibility. There's more to this town than they're letting on, and this one at the least is jeering at us that he can make this crap instead of the real deal I'm sure he could do."

Souma glanced down at Monokid, who was waving the broken pieces of his guitar around, continuing his song. Souma and Samson decided to walk down to the other side of the park, if only to get away from the obnoxious noises the blue bear was making.

Futaba was standing at the other side, staring at the two-story wooden carving of Monokuma that was at this end. It was leaning down, paws reaching out as if wanting an offering given to him now. There was an empty fire pit in front of him too.

The anthropologist was staring at it so much, she almost didn't notice the two men approach. When Souma cleared his throat, she turned around, and smiled at them. "Gentlemen," she said, letting her eyes linger on them for a little bit longer than normal, before glancing back at the Monokuma carving.

"Miss Imajuku," Souma responded. "Anything you could tell us about this, um, no I won't call it art, this abomination?"

"You know how a good eye could tell the difference between a cheaply made trinket, and a real artifact of the past?" she said. "I mean, you wouldn't have to be an Ultimate Antique Expert or something, but you can tell these things."

"I'm sure you have an eye for these things," Souma remarked with a smile. "So which is it?"

"That's what is weirding me out right now. It's both."

She stared at the large Monokuma carving, and knocked on it. "It shows all the signs of something made yesterday, and something that's been here for as long as everything else old and decrepit in this town. I don't understand it, and I hate that."

"Maybe we should ignore this for now," Samson said, "do something to get our minds off of this madness. I feel like they're trying to overwhelm us."

Futaba sighed, then turned back to the two men, and a smirk spread across her face. "That sounds like the kind of line a man uses before he offers to buy a woman a drink. Are you offering? Are you both offering, maybe?"

She chuckled and tucked her hair behind her ear. "I honestly wouldn't mind at this point, maybe you two could truly distract me by competing to see who can buy me the best drink."

Samson and Souma exchanged glances, wondering if this was really happening. With a chuckle, Souma said, "I assume you mean some coffee from the café?"

"No, I mean the only good place here. Come on, boys, impress a girl, will ya?"

Futaba gestured for them to follow, the obvious delight in telling them what to do apparent in everything she did. Like helpless lemmings, they followed after her, heading towards the one building that they hadn't seen yet.

Meanwhile, further back down in the park, Monokid was still doing his interpretive dance and song over his artwork in front of the latest guest.

"What the hell," Ishiku strained out as he stared at the dancing Kub, "is… this? What is any of this?"

Day 05, 11:35 AM

Western Tavern, Bar 'n Grill

Back Door/Storage Room

Futaba opened the back door to the place, which was rather near the corner of Monokuma's Park. The storage room was full of all kinds of supplies, neatly organized and clearly labeled. Walking out of this supply area, she opened up the door and presented the two men with the inside of the building.

The tavern was incredibly large, a two story building with highly detailed, well-polished construction involved. To their left from the back door was the kitchen, visual to the public including the grill and spit roast. To their right was one a collection of so much one would expect in a place like this, all built perfectly.

There was a large bar with many bottles on the shelves, an incredible collection that gleamed as much as the perfectly polished counter. Emanuel was there, admiring a shot of pristine whiskey that the bartender Monodam had poured him.

Next to the bar was a stage, the red curtains pulled open to showcase band instruments at the ready. There was a microphone stand at the front of the stage, ready for live entertainment.

The dance floor in front of the stage was polished, smooth, and ready for a jam or a hootenanny. There was a fireplace at the opposite end, protective bars in front of it for if people wanted a roaring fire but a bit of security. Brick steps around the fireplace allowed people to seat themselves near the fire.

At the other end of the building was a rather interesting design. There were tables and chairs like a restaurant on the first floor, the polished wooden design of the furniture sturdy and smooth. A staircase led up to the second floor, which was two rooms with open balconies for people to see what was going on up there.

The left room had a thick curtain that if the person wanted, could pull it closed for privacy. There was a round table with a pole on it, deep and cushy seats for someone who wanted to watch a private show. There were also chairs near the curtains, in case the people who had this VIP room wanted to watch the live entertainment on stage instead.

The right room, the one that the stairs led up to directly, was modeled almost to look like the inside of a barn. There were hay bales stacked up to look like a large sofa, and a large coffee table in front of it. Numerous western iconic items were up on the wall, including a pitchfork, a bull skull, a coil of rope, and a lucky horseshoe.

Ken was seated up on the hay loft VIP room, seeing how comfortable it really was. He saw the trio entering the tavern, and waved down at them. In the most absolute interesting version of a western accent that probably came solely from watching westerns in Novoselic, he called down, "Well gawl-howdee thar, pilgrims!"

When the trio glanced up at the cavalryman, they noticed almost right next to them was a mechanical bull ride. Yitro was riding the bucking bull-bot, and was doing a pretty good job at it. Angelique and Kimiko were watching outside of the ring, cheering him on.

"Y'all see that thar pardnur ridin' tha' thar bull?" Ken shouted, laughing and slapping his knee.

Yitro had been given a stetson, and was now waving it around in one hand and holding on for the other. Kimiko was rather impressed by this, and she clapped excitedly.

"Is it as impressive as a motorcycle rider?" Angelique whispered to the biker gang leader. "He's so darn handsome when he shows off his strength like this." Kimiko glanced at the opera singer, biting her lower lip and nodding.

Among the trio, Samson broke off to cheer on Yitro, while Futaba headed over to the bar. Glancing over at Emanuel and muttering, "Hey there, handsome, try not to overdo it this time." She then seated herself on a barstool, and said, "Hey there, barkeep, allow me to escape this cruel reality for a while and give me a shot."

Souma just took all of this in stride, and decided to head on over to the bar. As he seated himself too, Shinobu walked into the tavern, appearing exasperated.

"Okay then," the historian said, before scanning the inside of the place, "what horrid joke are you pulling with this one, you darn… bears… wh-what?"

"Ahoy, partnur," Ken shouted, waving down at Shinobu, "what's a purdy young lady like you doin' inna dive bar like this? Haha!"

Shinobu heard this, saw the grand majesty of the place, and stood there in shock. There were so many, many questions she had, so she started with one of them. "How drunk is Ken to be speaking like that?" she asked those at the tavern.

"One beer," Emanuel remarked, watching Monodam fill up his shot glass again. "He's just really, really enjoying the atmosphere. Big dork's honor is taking a backseat since he's in here."

Shinobu shook her head, trying to comprehend all of the wonderful things that were in this rather glamorous western tavern: kitchen and grill, mechanical bull, fully stocked bar, band stage, dance floor, fireplace, restaurant area, VIP western lounge, VIP private dancer lounge…

"You did all of this," she asked, walking over to Monodam and staring at the green Kub, "all of this, in one single night?!"

As Monodam finished pouring Emanuel's drink, and started on Futaba, he glanced up at Shinobu. "YES."

"But… but how? Why? How is something like this even possible?"

"YOU-ALL-NEEDED-A-PLACE-WHERE-YOU-COULD-GET-ALONG-AND-BECOME-FRIENDS. I-USED-MY-IMAGINATION-TO-CREATE-A-PLACE-MANY-OF-YOU-WOULD-HAVE-INTEREST-IN."

"How on Earth did you make such a wonderful place, when all of your siblings or whatever they are did so terrible?"

"WHAT-DO-YOU-MEAN?"

"Monosuke made a fire station full of flammables, Monotaro had irritable weeds for his plant nursery, Monophanie had a one movie screen with a bizarre DVD collection…

"And your brother or whatever he is out there," she said, rubbing her forehead as she tried to remove the rest of the Monokid-caused headache, "doesn't even have grass in his park."

"GRASS-IS-WHACK," Monodam replied. "WE-PREFER-ACTIVITIES-HERE-THAT-PEOPLE-CAN-ENJOY-AND-BOND-OVER."

Shinobu blinked at Monodam, and then asked, rather flatly, "And the stripper pole upstairs?"

"FROM-WHAT-I-GATHERED, MANY-OF-YOU-LIKE-SEXUALLY-PLEASING-ENCOUNTERS. POLES-ARE-UNISEX-TOOLS-FOR-ENTERTAINMENT-BY-THE-WAY."

"Right on, you weird-talking robot bear," Futaba declared, toasting her barkeep. "Speaking of BI the way…"

She reached out and wrapped an arm around Shinobu's waist. "You wanna try and compete against these handsome men for a shot at shots with me?"

"I'm straight," Shinobu protested. "And what's up with you? In all the time I've seen you here, you've been dead serious!"

"Oh yeah, a serial killer amid supernatural mysteries like how a freaking building like this comes up overnight… I'm going to enjoy myself for the time being. Maybe I should get laid, maybe I should enjoy myself before I get GUTTED and FILLETED!"

"PLEASE-CALM-DOWN," Monodam requested. "THIS-TAVERN-BAR-N-GRILL-IS-NOT-A-PLACE-FOR-EVISCERATION."

"Wishful thinking, it's a Killing Game, and I'm too stubborn to leave. Might as well get laid. So, Shinobu, wanna see what I look like when the glasses come off? And the clothes too?"

"Still straight."

"Ahhh, you're no fun. I'mma gonna have fun before I die!"

She knocked back another shot, and leaned on the counter. Sighing happily at the kick, Futaba stared at Monodam, and shook her head. "I don't get you, green bear."

"DO-YOU-REQUEST-A-REFILL?"

"Yesh I do, one for me and one for my future bedmate!"

"Futaba, how many time do I have to say I'm straight, and I'm also not a drinker. If you could let go of my hip, and maybe someone else will…"

As the historian debated at length with the anthropologist (something that was a very normal occurrence in civilization, just rarely ever about shots and hip-holding), Ishiku came stumbling into the tavern. He was rather amazed by the place, though he was having trouble admiring it, as Monokid was clinging to his ankle.

"Pleaaaaaaaaase don't fawn over Monodam's building," the blue Kub begged. "I want a magician to do a magic show in my park so fucking bad!"

"Why the hell," Ishiku shouted as he tried to shake the pleading blue cub, "couldn't I have come to this building first?!"

Day 05, 12:30 PM

Western Tavern, Bar 'n Grill

After an hour, almost every one of the graduates were filling up Monodam's tavern, enjoying everything it had to offer. It was quite the gathering, and spent all of the afternoon there too.

Shinobu had joined Ken in the hay loft lounge, with the cavalryman enjoying his second beer for this wild evening. He was telling Shinobu all about Novoselic, and the historian was listening quite intensively. She had a faint blush on her face the entire time.

Kimiko was trying so hard to be as good as a bull rider as Yitro, but had drunk quite a bit and was being thrown around quite a bit. Yitro and Angelique kept having to pull her up, the latter obviously letting her friend pick up the giggling, tipsy biker leader.

Futaba and Emanuel were leaning on the counter, sloshed and having a great time. Souma, who had a club soda, was conversing with Samson, Shuuya, and Crystal. They had a lot of tales to tell, and Monodam was good at ensuring they never saw the bottom of a glass.

The other four Kubs, defeated, were now working in the kitchen with a very happy and loud Odelios; the clown had developed a British accent and was yelling at the Kubs to do better. Monokuma tried to butt in to take control, so Odelios opened one of the ovens and shoved the despair bear in.

In the restaurant area, a lot of the graduates were seated and conversing. The Kubs and Odelios served BBQ ribs, very western foods, as well as salads. It was quite the fulfilling meal, and it did distract them as they got to know each other more.

Hara and Isaac were speaking with Eisei and Drake, having started with the town but then talking about their lives, especially times at Hope's Peak Academy. Eisei made a point of inspecting all three of their mouths before offering them lollipops as dessert.

Blake and Ishiku, having gorged on ribs and had a beer or few, were having a grand time. With a mixture of Australian slang and Spanish phrases, the two were making all kinds of weird nicknames for each other. They almost sounded like they had reverted to their teenaged years.

Fiora, Saiko, and Ignatia were seated at a table together, though the women didn't speak much at all. Fiora was unusually quiet, Ignatia was herself, and Saiko was perfectly fine with no conversation. The forensic investigator started to play games on her phone, until she noticed just how much BBQ sauce was on Ignatia's face; it stood out so much that she started giggling, and Fiora couldn't help but join in.

Upstairs in the VIP area, Anzu was treating some of the girls to a rather special show. The adult actress was swinging, grinding, and dancing on the pole, a sensual smile on her face the whole time. Hikari and Aka were pressed up close to each other as they very much enjoyed the show.

Pyrrha had been in the room before it started, and had stayed with a blush on her face that almost matched her red hair. Anzu could see that, and decided to swish and sway her way to the romance writer. Placing her hands on the girl's thighs, she pulled herself up and stared into the writer's eyes.

"I didn't know that you liked girls too," she purred.

Pyrrha swallowed, tried so hard to maintain eye contact, and attempted to formulate a sweet reply to that. "… I… I've forgotten how words work."

Anzu giggled, then slid herself across the legs of the three ladies. "Let it be known here and now, ladies, and to anyone else interested: all this and more if any of you find a safe way to get a rose from that garden. Sorry, but that's gonna be my aphrodisiac from here on~"

The hours passed, and soon had to go to bed sooner rather than later. Souma and Crystal ensured Futaba get to her place, as the anthropologist had overdone it with the drinking. Emanuel also needed help, so Samson volunteered to help the sloshed Bête Noir back to his place.

Those drinking had to get some sleep too, with half of the graduates needing their bed by 9. Anzu was one of them, as she claimed that she could go all night with her friends, but a couple glasses of wine and she was out like a light.

Eventually the last of the graduates decided to head off to sleep. Isaac and Hara met up with Saiko, and the three walked back to the dorms together. Drake matched up with Ignatia, and offered to walk her back to her place; the mime was at first against it, but then shrugged and walked alongside him.

The Monokubs all stood outside the front door of the western tavern, waving so long and bear well to the graduates. Oh, and every single graduate told them that Monodam had won the contest, no question.

"I want a recount!" Monokid hollered, breaking his guitar into even more pieces. "We didn't get every single graduate to vote, so maybe if there is a recount, I could win."

"We have twenty-five votes for Monodam," Monotaro mumbled, hanging his head in shame. "I don't think any recount will solve that."

"At least everyone seems happy," Monophanie cooed, clapping her paws. "It's like the pool party, Penjar is happy and getting along so well!"

"Hmmmph," Monosuke grunted, fanning himself with money, "the clown stuck Pops in one of the ovens, shouldn't we disqualify his vote?"

"CALM-DOWN," Monodam said, "IT-IS-NOT-THE-FIRST-TIME-FATHER-HAS-BEEN-BARBECUED."

"I still want that damn recount, you vote-stealing hack," Monokid yelled. "Otherwise we'll never known the twenty-sixth vote."

Yejoon walked by the Kubs, and said, "My vote's for Monodam's place too."

Monokid's yelling and shouting echoed throughout Penjar that night. The other Kubs were much more quiet, but as everyone was in the housing area, they couldn't hear.

Fiora was one of the last ones to make it to her place. She was so ready to collapse, when she heard a small laugh nearby. Yejoon was about to enter his house, when he had stopped to look over at the movie maker.

"The motive will be announced tomorrow," he said, staring at her through the eyeholes of his mask. "Do you think you'll be ready?"

With a shiver, the movie maker shook her head. "I don't think I'll be ready for anything that bear will throw at us… and I don't know how I could if you're going to follow me around during the day."

"I'm afraid you'll just have to live with it for now, my dear Fiora. Because the way Monokuma and his hidden allies are playing this game, compared to the others, I believe the stakes are higher than you realize."

Fiora crossed her arms, her face contorting as it was very obvious she wanted to blurt something out. Yejoon chuckled again, and said, "And that's why I will be keeping you close to the chest, in case you were wondering. I believe that you are the best way for me to get what I want. Don't worry, I have no intention of harming you."

"How comforting," Fiora mumbled, and, controlling her shivers, she moved into her house and shut the door rather loudly.

Yejoon stepped into his house, getting ready for bed. The artist pulled some DVD cases from his pockets, and placed them on the table. The DVD player that was originally at the movie theater was now plugged into his room's TV.

The artist searched through the collection of movies he had taken from the theater as well. The titles were all rather grim, the ones involving death, despair, and murder. He pulled one out of the case, and put it into the player.

"Let's just see how our host," he said as he lay in bed, the movie warming up, "likes to paints a tapestry of death."

(Day 05 is over~)

(Monokuma Theater!)

*Monokuma is now dressed in a white tunic, and is standing on the side of a boat. He is posing most proudly, as the wind carries the ship into port.*

Monokuma - "People like to say things like, "If everyone jumped off of a bridge, would you do it?" I used to say in response, "If everyone ate vegetables because they were healthy, would you do it?" But then…"

*The confident Monokuma sees the port is now within range, and he leaps from his boat to the dock.*

Monokuma - "Maybe it is best to just go with whatever the majority of people say is best. Because otherwise, we would have to agree with whatever the minority say, and they'll be saying things like, "Trees should not be allowed in neighborhood areas!" It's absurd!"

*Monokuma flaps his arms frantically as he has missed the dock, and is plummeting into the water. Oops!*

Monokuma - "Some try to say that those who go against the norm make history, but I say those that make history also make the norm! Like me, upupupupupu!"

…

26 Graduates remain in Penjar.