Mists of Penjar

by The Kobold Necromancer

Graduated students of Hope's Peak Academy want to know how Despair was able to spread so fast and ruin so many lives. In an abandoned town known as Penjar, where windless mist creeps down old streets, they have come to find the answers. But Despair, and its Kubs, still have plans even in this seemingly forgotten place. [Part 1 Spin-Off of Crit Fail's Legacy of Despair Series.]

12. Chapter 2-2: Does Penjar Bleed?

Chapter 2-2

Red Light, Cross Words

---

Day 06, 9:25 AM

Housing Area

Samson Miller's House

The Ultimate Trader was done showering, shaving, and getting dressed for the day. He was now taking time to clean his gun, because he wasn't about to take any chances.

"Cannot believe there's a damn serial killer here," he muttered to himself, "and I cannot shoot him. That's despair right there, but oh well."

As he finished up the cleaning, the TV came to life. There was, like every other morning here in Penjar, a moment when the trader considered putting a bullet in that television. He was getting really tired of their voices…

---

(Day 06 has begun!)

(Monokids' Town Hall Greeting)

*The five Kubs are standing at the town hall. While Monodam is his normal, stoic self, the other four all appear to be in various forms of pouting.*

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

Monokid - "You fuckers wanna get up and get shit done, don't you? Fuck you, I'm getting some honey!"

*He pulls out a jar of honey as big as him from off-screen; the jar looks suspiciously like the same kind of jar a willy-nilly silly old bear would have.*

Monophanie - "Monokid! That's no way to speak to our guests! We just have to accept that Monodam's place won the contest, and the party will be held there tomorrow."

Monosuke - "Tuh! You're lucky there's a dance pole in that stupid building of yours, Monodam, or I'd be holding you so Monokid can hit you!"

Monodam - "…"

Monokid - *slogging down honey* "Glug glug glug… I shudda wun dat contesht… shtupid fox artisht's deciding vote!"

Monophanie - "Will you boys get over it? Sheesh, he's your brother!"

Monotaro - "That's right! … Wait, we are siblings, right? I mean, I thought that was our case, if Father is all our father… do we have different mothers?"

Monosuke - "I don't resemble you guys at all! Maybe we're stepchildren! That way, we can beat Monodam without feeling guilty about it!"

Monotaro - "Wait, how's that work exactly?"

Monophanie - *sighs* "Everyone, please enjoy yourselves, because at 5 PM, we will be gathering at the Main Plaza in front of Town Hall, and Daddy will be giving you your next motive!"

Monokid - "Buuuuurp… uuuuurgh… sho… that'sh all we got… now fuck off…"

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

---

Samson took a deep breath, and contemplated shooting the television again. He couldn't remember them saying that it was against the rules, but he had a bad feeling they'd try to twist things. Maybe he'd just have to find Monokuma and continue the killing game that was killing the despair bear.

"That's the only killing game I can get into," he said with a laugh.

---

Day 06, 9:40 AM

Penjar's Public Cafeteria

Everyone was gathered in the cafeteria this morning, trying to start a pattern of normalcy in this crazy town. Odelios and Pyrrha were cooking again, but this time Isaac was helping them. The reporter felt guilty that the two were having to do all the work, especially since Takeo wasn't around anymore to help them.

Hara and Saiko were seated with Souma and Eisei, and the four of them were recalling tales from Hope's Peak Academy. It was a rather nice and heartfelt time for them, which they needed when they spotted Yejoon entering the cafeteria.

The fox-themed artist took a tray of food, nodding at the horrified Pyrrha, and walked off towards a certain table. Fiora was chewing her food, and she almost choked on it when he approached and sat down at her table.

"No… not again," she sputtered, staring pleadingly at him. "Why are you following me everywhere I go?"

"I didn't follow you when all of you went to the new tavern we got last night. Come now, I'm curious about you."

Fiora started making a disgusted noise, but thought better of it and slumped at the table. "But I don't understand what you want from me! Is this what you do with all your victims?"

"No, I rarely ever develop a personal relationship with my victims. At least, not one on one like it is with you right now. I'm afraid those pesky stereotypes about serial killers are rather true: we do follow a pattern with our victims."

The movie maker strained, as she raised her head to stare him down. He had moved his mask up so that he could enjoy his breakfast, which at least he could because she was now lacking an appetite. "So what do you want then?"

"I'm not entirely sure, my dear Fiora, but I assure you, I'm not planning out your death right now."

"How comforting," she grumbled. "But when the motive is announced today, that could all change."

"Quite possibly. Now, yesterday, you talked a lot about your movies, but I'm curious about you."

"My movies are my life."

"There's not just one thing in particular that defines a person."

Yejoon stabbed a cherry with his fork, and then held it in front of her face. He twirled it around, humming teasingly as he waited for her to accept it. She stared him down and didn't react, but he persisted, and her stubbornness wasn't as strong as her desire to not make the serial killer angry. She ate the cherry from his fork, and chewed slowly.

"What else do you want to know?"

"About you, my dear."

Fiora shrugged, and said, "I'm an only child, my parents are gone from this world, and I love movies; I dyed my hair like this with that perma-dye that works a lifetime because I loved black and white movies! People kept saying I was a Monokuma fanatic after the Killing Games, but he's white and black, it's not the same-"

"Wait, I'm sorry, my dear, I was rather curious about your family," he interrupted. "I suppose I didn't have the best of one, since, well, I got the knack for killing with my parents, and had to handle my sister all the damn time."

Fiora's groan of disgust and fear was not missed by the artist. He merely chuckled and continued eating his pancakes. "What were they like?"

"Oh… they were very nice, a little strict, but passionate about their pastimes. Dad didn't think I should go into the movies, he kept saying that it wasn't a place for a girl like me, even if I wasn't an actress. Mom was okay with it, especially because I would film when we traveled…"

She sighed, as she reminisced. "We traveled a lot, they loved seeing other countries. I think that's supposed to be stereotypical of Canadians, but they didn't care. I loved it, and I saw so many amazing places with them. They died doing what they loved."

Fiora adjusted her fedora, and muttered, "They, um, they died on one of our vacations. It's just one of those things, it cannot be helped. I got into Hope's Peak Academy shortly after that, so I still had drive to continue after they were gone."

As Fiora continued to speak with Yejoon listening, other people were engaged in conversations as well. Angelique was smiling proudly at Yitro, while glancing at Kimiko who was busy getting her food.

"You two are getting along fabulously, darling," she said, giggling happily as she adjusted her glasses. "I'm so happy, I didn't think I could hook you up so quickly."

"I don't think it's going that far, Angel," he replied, "but I do appreciate it."

"She really does seem to like you, let's keep at it! I promised I'd do right by you, and I'm gonna! Once I'm sure you have a girlfriend, we can work on mine."

The former swordsman chewed his food slowly, then glanced around at everyone in the cafeteria. "Okay, who do you like?"

"Darling, we're still working on you-"

"Listen, I really am grateful, but I don't have the drive that I used to. You should have seen me after we graduated from Hope's Peak, I was pursuing women like crazy. There was that white-haired gal who was also a swordswoman, she was amazing…"

"Peko Pekoyama?" Angelique asked, tilting her head to the side. "You fancied her?"

"No, it was a different white-haired… ugh, never mind," he replied, shaking his head. "Come on, let's focus on you, which girl do you like here?"

The opera singer scanned the place, and sighed. "There's not a lot of choice. Hikari and Aka are all over each other, Hara's taken, Crystal and Shinobu and Saiko are straight, Ignatia's distant, Fiora's not really my type, Futaba's not social… Anzu is very sweet and sexy, but I don't know if I could court an adult actress."

"That leaves Pyrrha and Kimiko."

"I'm trying to pair you up with Kimiko, you stubborn man!"

Angelique let out a melodic sigh, and stared down her friend. "I'm not letting you just give you, Yitro."

"Stubborn as always."

Nearby the two friends who carried on talking about possible love lives, Drake was busy sketching everyone. He hummed a little as he had a good time drawing Samson saluting Crystal, the two chibi versions of the military personnel looking quite adorable.

As he carried on, one of those two people sat down at his table. He was rather surprised to see Crystal staring at him, as she casually ate her breakfast. "Can… can I help you?" he asked.

"Maybe. I didn't want to ask you a bunch of questions as you ate, but you seem to be more engrossed in your art right now," she explained.

"I… I like to draw in the morning after I've eaten. I feel more creative when revitalized. It's pretty good advice that I was given."

The military adviser raised one of her eyebrows. She didn't question for a few minutes, but when she did, it was a casual inquiry with a hint of authority. "There's something I'm rather curious about, and that's about your age."

"I'm eighteen?"

"I knew that, so how exactly did you graduate from Hope's Peak? Were you part of the artisan program?"

"Oh yes, I was," he said, smiling a little. "When I turned fifteen, I was sent an invitation from Hope's Peak to take part in their one year artisan program. My online series was a big hit with some of their staff, and they wanted to teach me despite the usual requirements."

"I see. So you joined when fifteen, and graduated at sixteen. Destiny was quite kind to you, one more year and you would have been there when the Tragedy began; you might not have made it, so many of the other students perished."

Drake stared at Crystal, trying to gauge what her emotions were when she spoke. It was hard to guess, she spoke with a combination of formal and casual that made her seem rather serious, but not overbearing. The cartoonist sighed, as he looked into her eyes.

"I guess I was, but I still lost people because of the Tragedy. That's why I'm here."

"You're very brave for your age, Drake," she said with a pleasant smile. As she sipped her drink, she added, "At eighteen, you traveled back to this country to hunt down what the cause of Despair was… such a venture. I'm highly curious as to what drove you to do this."

"Um, is… is it that important?"

"Honey, you're a very sweet young man, but you're shy, non-confrontational, and an artist with your talent. Though you showed a great deal of intellect and skill during the trial, you come off as the least likely person to go on an expedition like this."

She stared at him, and he felt like he was being interrogated. Crystal's gaze wasn't harsh or unfriendly, but he still felt the pressure. He sighed and closed his sketchpad, saying, "It's not really a secret. I did say I lost friends because of the Tragedy, and when I heard of a place where I could get answers, I wanted to find out why people I cared about died."

"Was it because of family, or friends?"

"My parents are alive and well, thank goodness. It was friends, especially those who I made at Hope's Peak. You see…"

Before he could say more, Monodam popped up alongside Drake. The green bear nudged the cartoonist, and said, "YOU-SHOULD-GET-OUT-OF-HERE."

"Monodam? What's wrong?" he asked.

"MY-SIBLINGS-ARE-GOING-TO-SHOW-UP-SOON. THEY-ARE-GOING-TO-MAKE-EVERYONE-HERE-TAKE-PART-IN-A-SEARCH. IT-IS-A-POINTLESS-EVENT-THAT-DOES-NOT-HELP-YOU-ALL-GET-ALONG."

Drake glanced at Crystal, who raised an eyebrow at this. The cartoonist turned back to Monodam, and said, "Thanks, but, um, why are you telling us this?"

"IT-IS-MOSTLY-YOU-I-WANTED-TO-WARN, BUT-GO-AHEAD. JUST-DON'T-LET-THEM-FIND-YOU-HERE, I-DO-NOT-LIKE-AGGRAVATING-TASKS-BETWEEN-FRIENDS."

With that, the green Kub scurried off. Drake quickly finished his meal, and he along with Crystal left the cafeteria. It was quite the odd occurrence, but some time later, there would be a good reason for this.

The other four Kubs burst into the cafeteria, catching most of the graduates by surprise. While some of them, like Drake and Crystal, had left, the majority were still there.

"Alright, you bucking fastards," a very drunk Monokud hollered, pounding his guitar on one of the tables. "Give it back!"

"Monokid," Monophanie pleaded, "you should at least tell them what it is before you demand it."

"NO! I will play the dod gamn pronouns game, and no one can stop me! Now give it back, you futher mockers!"

"He's still drunk, isn't he?" Monosuke said, shaking his head. "We really need to have an intervention about this."

"What are we looking for?" Monotaro asked, pacing back and forth. "I'm already lost! Why are we playing the pronouns game!"

The graduates tried to ignore this, until Monokid's pounding of his guitar on the table broke both it and the table. "GIVE BACK THE DVD PLAYER, YOU DIT-EATING SHICKS!"

"What are you talking about?" Samson asked, rolling his eyes.

"Monophanie's DVD player is gone from the movie theater," Monosuke explained, "as well as a large collection of her DVDs. Now we know they aren't destroyed, as all of you still have your limbs. But we want them back."

"It's an embarrassment, a disgrace," Monokid hollered. "There's going to be full to hecking pay if I don't get it back and put in my building!"

"Hey!" Monophanie protested. "It's MY building!"

"PoTAYto, poTAHto! Give it back!"

Samson rubbed his forehead as he spoke for everyone there. "We don't really care, could you please stop yelling? No one is going to help you."

Almost everyone agreed, either silently or vocally, though there was one digression. Futaba was rather startled because Shuuya had gotten up almost immediately and left the cafeteria. It reminded her a little bit of Takeo, and she was trying to figure this out as Monokid continued caterwauling.

"If you don't give it back," the blue bear blared, "I'm gonna put an EVIL curse on you!"

"Oh so spooky," Samson said, rolling his eyes at the bear. "Listen, buddy, I've been in contact, I've dealt with hostile negotiations, and survived the Tragedy. I'm not intimidated by a drunk, stupid bear cub who cannot even swear properly."

"Okay, hickdead, I'm cursing you!"

"What could you possibly do, you-"

Monokid pulled a remote with a single button out from seemingly nowhere, and pressed that solitary button.

You know that alarm sound that is so high-pitched and nerve-grating that it sets your hair on end, and your teeth on the edge? It makes you feel like your brain is rattling in your skull, and for some reason, you have to suppress an unexpected bowel movement?

That played from every speaker in Penjar, at top volume. It rattled all of the stained windows, shook the furniture, and even the buildings seemingly quivered. Needless to say, for all those living in Penjar, it was the worst sound effect ever. No matter how strong or tough they were, every single person wanted that sound to stop with the kind of desperation that could result in someone's death, including their own.

And that was just five seconds of that noise.

When it stopped, the ringing continued in their ears for a while. That's why they missed some of Monokid's speech.

"… ringtone and make it free but impossible to uninstall! Haw haw haw haaaaw! Anyway! If everyone in this cafeteria doesn't search for the DVD player, you all are going to hear more of that! And no matter what building in Penjar you're in, it'll play there!"

"But what about Daddy's announcement at 5 PM?" Monophanie asked.

"Alright then, you have until 5 PM! If the DVD player is not found then, I'll… I guess I'll have to give up, Dad gets cranky if we're loud in the evening, he's old and such."

"What's that, sonny?!"

Monokuma popped up behind the Kubs, startling them. Monokid took off, holding the remote over his head and shouting, "Get to looking, you boony spards!" The father bear waddled after him, a rather unusual chase going on.

---

Day 06, 10:01 AM

Fire Station

"I cannot believe we're actually doing this," Blake grumbled as he looked through the compartments and shelves inside the building. The more he looked, the more he found fire starting instruments, or things that would burn nicely.

"Eh, maybe we'll find something when we're looking," Futaba said, peering in desk drawers and finding more of the same stuff. "Besides, you kind of made a beeline to this place, I don't think you're complaining."

"Look, let me set the record, silver top," the pyro said, glaring over at her. "This is all sloppy stuff, it's not a paradise for me. I perfected an advanced kind of fire, a type of Greek Fire, that is my masterpiece. My life has been about that kind of chemical potential and power, not oily rags and a match."

Futaba blinked at the outburst, then shrugged. "Okay, I'll believe you. Just that I know how pyros are, and thus pardon me if I'm a little bit bitchy. I am supposed to observe, not criticize."

Blake couldn't help but chuckle, and he said, "You seemed rather involved when you got real drunk last night."

The anthropologist blushed, and hid her face from him. "This town sucks, and I got a little carried away. Sue me."

"How's your head, by the way? Pounding, I would guess, with how sloshed you got. Shame you didn't get laid as well, makes one wonder how difficult it's gotta be if you cannot get any even when that forward."

Futaba fluttered her eyes, and remarked, "You know, if you're not going to even try to be polite, I don't wish to waste my time here. Screw you, Aussie Embers."

She stormed out of the door that was said to not be opened, and slammed it behind her. Blake merely chuckled, and repeated, "Aussie Embers. Heh, not too bad as a nickname."

---

Day 06, 10:50 AM

Plant Nursery

"I very much doubt someone took the thing," Ken remarked, observing the unfriendly plants, "and decided the best course of action would be to place it here in this dastardly plant depot."

"Part of me thinks the Kubs would do that, just to make us waste our time," Shinobu said. She sighed and leaned against the register that was lacking a register, so it was just a counter that Monotaro had added to the place.

"I believe in this ghost town, to find a thing such as this DVD player would be like trying to find a needle in a hay loft."

"It's 'haystack,' Ken," she corrected him, giggling. "By the way, how's your head?"

"I didn't drink that much, m'lady," he said, smiling slightly at her. "But you know what? Maybe if I were to don my armor, I could brave to the other side of this building, and see if the DVD player is over yonder."

"Oh, you could get a rose while over there too," the historian suggested. She giggled a little, and said, "That sounds like something a knight in shining armor would do, brave treacherous terrain to retrieve a flower for his lady love!"

The cavalryman blinked, and stared at her. "That sounds like quite the fairy tale, Shinobu. But if I may ask, why would one do all that for a plant? Shouldn't it be for something more worthy, like a Golden Makango?"

Shinobu sighed, realizing this wasn't going to be going the way she wanted it to go. She was still rather curious about this Makango creature that he had mentioned, and realized that Novoselic culture was something she wanted to know more about.

"About romance and Novoselic, what's it like?"

"It's a bit complicated, but I think that is so we can test the strength of our love for each other. Though the country is… was," he sighed heavily before continuing, "it was rather very rich, so courting and marriage proposals seemed a bit extravagant to most.

"I didn't come from money, so I would have to find a more daring manner to propose to a lady, if I had found one. I don't really understand rich manners of proposal and courting, especially not what I have been told is a "lobster dinner" for someone I am interested in."

Shinobu sighed, staring at the flowers that were so very far away. "Money does like to complicate marriage, that's for sure. I don't really get rich life either, guess that's more for Souma and Eisei."

The cavalryman glanced at her. "What about them is rich?"

"Oh, you didn't know? They both come from very, very rich families, but I think they don't like to talk about it. Not with everything that happened…"

---

Day 06, 11:05 AM

Movie Theater

Lobby

"So you're suggesting that we stand here," Eisei said, rocking on his small feet, "pretend to look busy until 5 PM, and then go to the main plaza? That's what you mean by 'killing time'?"

"How is it you still don't get commonplace phrases, my friend?" Souma said with a laugh. He was half-heartedly searching the concession stand in the lobby, definitely not looking for a DVD player. "But seriously, we needn't play into their desires any more than necessary."

"But why waste time?" the dentist inquired, searching the concession stand a bit more thoroughly. "I mean, don't we wish to discover more of the town?"

"I have a sinking feeling that Monokuma and his offspring will not allow us to discover what we want unless the nature of a Killing Game continues," Souma said, shaking his head. "They've already proven to be so resourceful that they can create buildings overnight."

"History and logic both do say that the answers will only come later on, after numerous deaths and tragedies," Eisei remarked, shuffling through the candy bar shelves. "I've never been one to assume that things will proceed differently just because I wish for them to; however, in this case, I very much would like to not see people die for progress."

The two were silent for a short while, and then Souma couldn't help but chuckle. "You're just looking to see if they stocked candy here, aren't you?"

"It's a movie theater concession stand. I wouldn't even care if they were overpriced, they should be here. I would complain to the manager about this if there was one."

Souma burst out laughing, and pat Eisei's shoulder. "Never change, Eisei."

"I don't have any intention of digressing from my current physical or mental ideology at the present moment, Souma."

---

Day 06, 12:23 PM

Ye Olde Clockwork Shop

Odelios sat in a chair, watching Ishiku fiddle with a clock. The magician was rather determined to see if he could make it work again, despite the fact that his talent had disappeared two days ago. Odelios had a bowling pin, and was practicing his one-handed juggling.

"What time is it?" the clown asked the magician.

"I don't know, I haven't got the clock working," the magician replied to the clown.

"But if you get it working again, you have to set it to the correct time."

"I can set it to whatever I want, time is relative."

"You mad fool, you cannot just bend time and space to your will with a cuckoo clock!"

"I'll leave space alone, time is all mine."

"Good God, sir, do you realize what will happen if you casually make time your plaything?"

"I plan to condense time until college lectures are the length of a minute, and ice freezes in the cube tray without having to wait forever."

"Is there anyone who can stop you and your diabolical plans?"

"Maybe a doctor, but I don't know who."

"Or maybe a flock of bronze dragons who are going to ensure that you get your time-bending powers nerfed to hell and back!"

"That sounds terrifying and realistic, I will need to bring my dragon spray to ensure they don't get near me."

"You'll have to order that online, you cannot get dragon spray in stores."

"That's another thing I'll do, make shipping and handling take no time at all, so they cannot charge for it."

"Ooo, I like that."

"Thank you, I will have more ideas in the future. Or maybe I have had them already? Mwah ha ha."

"Say, Ishiku, can I ask you something?"

"I don't plan on stitching your lips shut."

"Shouldn't we be looking for the DVD player?"

"We're looking."

"We are?"

"Our eyes are in use right now, thus we are looking."

"But not for the player?"

"We're looking, that's all we have to say."

"Genius! You shall be the Ultimate Lawyer with that mentality."

"I'll legally rule time! By the way, what's that behind your ear?"

"If it's my rubber chicken again, I swear, Rubarrow is going to have words with you."

"Nope, it's a chocolate coin! But what words do a rubber chicken have when they're cross with someone?"

"I'm afraid they cannot be repeated, lest the mental scarring will leave you unable to tie your shoelaces."

"Terrifying."

"Quite."

The two were distracted for a moment when they saw someone walking down the road. It was Ignatia, carrying the decapitated head of Monokuma. Monokid was following after her, screaming a bunch of garbled curses.

"Even more terrifying," Ishiku commented.

"Quite terrifying," agreed Odelios.

"Say, have you killed Monokuma yet?"

"Yes, you?"

"Nope. You know what we should do?"

"Solve the mysteries of Penjar and get everyone out of here alive?"

"That can come second, we need to kill Monokuma in ways no one else would."

"How about being noogie'd to death?"

"How about being boogied to death?"

"How about being loogie'd to death?"

"Yejoon's got nothing on us at this rate."

---

Day 06, 12:56 PM

Ye Olde Café

"Honestly, Saiko, I know this is a bit pointless, but you can be so damn lazy!"

The forensic investigator slowly rolled her eyes towards the reporter, then spun her fidget spinner again. "I am being productive by my own means, Isaac. I'm keeping myself entertained."

The reporter huffed as he muttered, "At the very least, we should try to do something about finding this DVD player."

"Oh, honestly, why should we? The Kubs probably dropped it or ate it or whatever. It's not important to us."

"Saiko," Hara called from the kitchen, "it may be a little important! After all, we don't know what's on those DVDs. We maybe should have watched them."

"What, you think there's some hidden gem amid all of that junk? Not only would a lot of it be pointless, but I'm sure it's horrid crap that Despair fanatics would love. We'd have to watch hours of that shit…"

She stopped, when she spotted someone outside. It was Yejoon and Fiora, walking side by side. The movie maker still looked nervous as all hell, but was talking to the artist. Saiko watched them go by, and she almost froze; her fidget spinner spun to a halt, almost as if to trigger her next statement.

"She's still hanging around with that murderer?" she hissed, clenching her free hand into a tight fist. "That little bitch."

Hara walked out from the kitchen of the café, and sat down with her friend. "She probably doesn't want to hang out with him, but she's scared."

"She's hanging around with a Despair-loving lunatic who believes death is beautiful."

"But probably not by choice."

"There's always choice," Saiko said with a grumble, and spun the fidget spinner again. "If that bastard had approached me, I would tell him to fuck off, consequences be damned. No one will ever make tolerate a monster like that."

Hara and Isaac exchanged glances. Saiko stared at her spinner, her expression implying the subject was over. Usually when she was like that, it was.

The explorer sighed and leaned back, saying, "Maybe we should be looking?"

"I'm looking, just at my spinner."

Isaac called out from the kitchen, "Hey, there's still some cheesecake here, looks like the Kubs restock it. You want some of that?"

A complete transformation of expression was made on Saiko's face, and she swallowed hungrily. "Um, yeah, I'll definitely watch that."

---

Day 06, 1:26 PM

Housing Area

Pyrrha hummed to herself as she walked towards her house, quite content with how her search was going. She had looked in three different places, and that constituted looking in her book. At least, it was enough she would do for the rude little cubs.

She was about to open the door to her room, when to her surprise, it was opening already. Leaping back, she was rather shocked to see Emanuel and Shuuya step out of it! And that shock quickly morphed into outrage.

"What… what are… what are you two men doing in my room?!" she shouted, stomping her foot.

Shuuya appeared rather embarrassed by this, but Emanuel just shrugged. "Looking to see who stole the DVD player," the Bête Noir explained. "The stupid Kubs want it back, and thus we're searching for it."

"In my room?" she spat, crossing her arms and staring down the man.

"If you had stolen it, we would have been justified. We're just busy going through the rooms one at a time, it's not like it's anything personal. Stop whining."

"Oh yes, why should I be upset," Pyrrha snapped, "about two men coming out of my private quarters, having gone through everything of mine?"

Shuuya started to mumble an apology, while Emanuel merely snickered. "It's not like you have a fascinating underwear drawer. You clearly live vicariously through your characters in the sex-driven romps you call literature."

Pyrrha stared him down, her mouth hanging open in astonishment. Then her eyes narrowed, and she growled, "I hate you," and she turned around and stormed off. "Why don't you get the hell out of this town, since you're no good at your own damn job!?"

After she was gone, Shuuya glared at Emanuel. "Was that necessary? No, wait, allow me to say it more clearly. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I hate useless people," the detective said with a scoff. "She is one of those who continuously gets in the way with emotional outbursts, hampering any progress needed here. We don't need people like her, or the movie maker, or other useless people."

"Right, because you're clearly not emotional about any of this," Shuuya muttered, then heard a door open. Samson stepped out of the house, and shook his head.

"Nothing in there as well," he remarked. "Are you guys sure we want to continue doing this?"

"Positive. Any excuse to go through everyone's stuff and see who might be hiding things," Emanuel remarked. "I honestly couldn't care less about the DVD player, but I'm sure that someone is hiding something within these rooms. Come on, next two houses, boys!"

As the three started to search the buildings, Pyrrha watched them, listening in to the conversation. She was rather infuriated, and decidedly determined to stop them from doing this; however, she might need some allies for that.

Pyrrha then remembered why she came over to the housing area: she had promised to give one of her novels to Hikari, who was most interested in reading one. The model had asked if she could leave the book in her place, while they were busy searching for the DVD player.

Practically sprinting over to Hikari's house, she hurried in, mentally thinking about what note to leave the model. Pyrrha was trying to think of where they should meet, what she should say…

And thus she was rather thrown off of her mental preparation when she saw Aka and Hikari on the latter's bed, in a rather passionate embrace. The two ladies froze when they saw Pyrrha had barged right in.

The redheaded writer was turning brighter red than her head, and she began to stammer a great deal. Words were failing the wordsmith, and she was trying so hard not to stare. Aka's hands were at the back of Hikari's bra, a silver bridge connected the couple's lips, Aka was in her underwear…

"Can we help you, luv~?" Hikari asked teasingly, a sly smile spreading across her face.

"Or did you just want to watch?" Aka asked, giggling a great deal now. "Wow, that dance Anzu gave us yesterday really got to you, did it?"

"Um, I… I… was… I was… wait," Pyrrha struggled to make words work for her again. "I thought you two would be part of the search!"

"I'm searching for her bra clasp right now," Aka said.

"I'm searching inside of her mouth for her elusive tongue," Hikari explained.

"I'm… I'm so embarrassed right now!"

Pyrrha turned around, whimpering as she covered her face. "A few of the guys are going into everyone's rooms, and they're going through our stuff! They said it's for finding the DVD player, but it's really to see who's hiding what!"

"I was already trying to discover something this one is hiding," Aka remarked, snapping Hikari's bra. "But yeah, thanks for the heads-up."

"If you could just tell them to leave us be, sweetheart," Hikari requested, "we'd really appreciate that."

"It's Emanuel leading the party," Pyrrha grumbled, glancing back at them. "That jerk won't listen to any request."

Aka and Hikari both sighed, and corrected themselves. As they sat up, Pyrrha couldn't help but let out an aroused squeak as she saw what both women looked like in their underwear. Aka had the tomboy, athletic build that was so trim and fit, and Hikari defined Japanese supermodel.

"Oh God," Pyrrha whimpered, looking away again. "It's… it's so very wonderful you two grew so close in this terrible place. I wish I could be that lucky."

"You want a girlfriend, Red?" Aka asked, grinning mischievously at her.

"Or boyfriend, I'm okay with… wait, this isn't the time to discuss this, we need to stop those guys!"

"Oh, I was just thinking the two of us would move to the shower," Hikari said with a wiggle of her eyebrows, "and I was curious if you would join us."

"Two Japanese girls for the American hottie," Aka detailed, drumming her fingers together in contemplation. "That'll surely make a good novel for your next-"

There was a thumping sound, and both gals were suddenly aware of Pyrrha overheating and falling to the floor. The writer was covering her face and whimpering, completely defeated by the raw sex appeal being thrown at her.

"… Book. Damn, she can make it up but she cannot take it, can she?"

"Aka, be a dear and get dressed. We've been a bit too mean to her. Let's help her out now, and get some actual business settled."

Hikari reached for her top and started to put it on, saying, "I'll be more in the mood after we put that jerk in his place."

---

Day 06, 1:36 PM

Western Tavern, Bar 'n Grill

Kimiko hummed to herself as she looked through the drinks that were set up behind the bar. She was rather interested in what else Monodam had supplied, and was wondering if she could expand on her alcohol palate.

As she did so, Angelique and Yitro were exploring the hay loft. It was a rather silly place to look, but the two of them had settled on the idea this was just a ridiculous scavenger hunt, rather than an actual stolen item.

The opera singer hummed to herself as well, glancing underneath the coffee table. "Not here either, Yitro. Successful investigation complete."

"We should tell Shuuya his title is now yours, with your searching skills," Yitro replied, as he sat down on the hay seats. The singer chuckled, but then noticed there was little humor in his voice or expression.

"Sweetheart, the brooding thing really gets old after a while. Want to tell me what's on your mind?"

She sat down next to him, and he shrugged. "I just haven't really got the enthusiasm for this, or much of anything of late. Maybe coming here was a bad idea."

"Yes, it probably was, for all of us. But what is up with this funk?"

Yitro rubbed his forehead, and then spoke, more quietly now. "During the trial, I was next to Jin. I should have been able to stop her from attacking people, but I was next to powerless against her. And I cannot help but feel that's quite disgraceful."

"A little asian girl intimidated you, is that how you see it?" she asked. "Darling, she was a homicidal monster who had unexplained skill with numerous hidden weapons. You're not less of a man because you weren't able to take that on bare-handed."

Yitro scoffed, and glanced to the side. "If I want to be strong enough to hunt down my brother's real killer, I should probably consider what I need to do."

"Maybe you should start carrying your sword again?"

"I don't know about that."

"I'm sure that a certain biker girl," Angelique said, grinning as she leaned in and gestured downstairs towards said biker girl, "would be most impressed with what you can do. Women like that love strong men."

"I honestly thought she would be someone you'd like."

"Oh, maybe, but I'm looking after my friend's needs right now, not mine."

The opera singer cleared her throat, and then proceeded to sing a couple lines, "On ne s'ennuie jamais, une seule seconde / Tout va bien dans le meilleur des mondes~"

Yitro stared at her, before a smirk spread across his face. He was about to speak, but the door to the other VIP lounge opened first. Anzu stood there with her leg popped up on the door frame, staring seductively at them.

"Did I hear someone speak French?" she purred, her crimson eyes practically smoldering. "Angelique, get over here now, you're my test run for the new lap dance."

The opera singer blinked, turning red like her dress for a moment, then she grinned. "But I don't have a rose, darling."

"That's for sex, but you continue to speak like that, I might make an exception. C'mere, I'mma gonna grind you so good."

As a giggling Angelique walked into the more sensual VIP lounge, a sharp whistle from downstairs alerted Yitro's attention. He moved over to the railing, and saw Kimiko waving up at them.

"Are we doing sexy dance practice? Hot damn, it's been so long since I drove to a strip club, I gotta get some music fur this!"

"Is there a speaker or jukebox down there?" Yitro asked, so damn tempted to peek into the other VIP lounge but maintaining a gentleman's promise of not to spy.

"No, guess I'll just have to sing it! Haha, let's do this, eh!"

As Kimiko hurried on over to the stage, Anzu called out from the VIP lounge with the curtains pulled up for privacy, "Kimiko, I like you and all, but I really want a sexy mood right now!"

"What's that, you don't think I can sing? You're on!"

"I have an opera singer here in the room with me, if I wanted singing…"

Kimiko was on the stage and adjusting the microphone stand. Yitro laughed and watched, saying, "This oughta be good."

"Ahem ahem," Kimiko said, holding onto the microphone stand, "testing, testing! Haha, it works! Now then…"

The biker gang leader pulled the microphone off of the stand, and held it close to her mouth. "I doo'nt knoo' what you've bin thinking a'boot me… but," she sang.

Yitro watched, raising an eyebrow as he heard Kimiko's attempts at music. Anzu was groaning in frustration from the VIP secret lounge, and Angelique was giggling. "Make her stop," the actress begged, which just made Angel laugh more.

"I… I doo'nt know… I don't knoo' what…"

The hesitation and stammering was a little unnatural, but Yitro assumed she was trying that first bar again. He rolled his eyes, wondering if the biker leader could actually hit the note she was going for.

"I don't know what happened to you, but you can put a stop to this. There has to be some good left in you, so please let us go."

Kimiko was saying the words, not singing. She was sounding more and more desperate.

"You knew Kirumi before all of this, right? What would she say if… she saw… you like this?"

There was a heavy thud, and the slight feedback from amplified noise. Kimiko had fallen down, on her back, with the microphone gripped tightly in her hand. She appeared unconscious.

Yitro sprinted down the stairs, as Anzu threw the curtain open to see what had happened. Angelique saw the biker gal too, gasped, and ran down there with the actress following close behind. The former swordsman was by Kimiko's side, trying to figure out what happened.

After checking for a pulse, the two women made it to the stage. "She's unconscious, but I don't know what's wrong," he explained. "She just passed out!"

Anzu covered her mouth with her hand, and she appeared rather distraught. "No… no, is it… is it like what happened with me?"

Kimiko twitched, and then started breathing hard. It was the kind of intense breathing that someone scared for their life would do. Sweat was beading on her forehead, and she was close to hyperventilating.

"Oh no! Oh that's definitely not what was happening to you," Angelique declared. She reached down and grabbed Kimiko's free hand, as the biker leader started to thrash. "Kimiko! Kimiko, wake up!"

Yitro moved over to the microphone and tried to pry it from her hand; her digits were like pure stone, no force he could apply would move them. "Damn it! She won't let go!"

Kimiko's breathing was more erratic, terrifying the three. Anzu was shivering in worry, and she declared, "Wh-what's going on? This isn't the same thing, what's happening?!"

"Let's," Yitro said, trying to hold Kimiko down as she was moving as erratically as her breathing, "let's try to get her to her room, at least! Someone may be able to-"

The speaker system whined to life, and then the most ear-piercing gut-wrenching disorienting alarm noise blared inside the building! It was so overwhelmingly horrendous and sensory depriving, that those inside were unable to focus on anything else other than covering their ears and huddling down.

Anzu, Yitro, and Angelique couldn't even think straight with how hard it reverberated and shook them. They struggled to block out the sound, to try and protect themselves, if they could from the overpowering NOISE.

"ALRIGHT YOU DUMB STUPID BASTARDS," Monokid's voice hollered over the noise, adding to the pain and disorientation. "NO MORE MR. NICE KUB! IF YOU DON'T START SERIOUSLY LOOKING FOR THE DVD PLAYER, I AM NOT TURNING THIS OFF!"

"Monokid, how can they look for it if you're doing this?!" Monophanie tried to reason, her high-pitched voice able to be heard over the chaos. "Can you please turn it off?"

"THERE ARE NO BRAKES ON THIS PAIN TRAIN! YOU FUCKERS GET THE DVD PLAYER, OR I'MMA GONNA MAKE YOUR EARS BLEED! THIS IS REVENGE FOR NOT PICKING MY PARK, BY THE WAY!"

"Petty revenge won't get my DVD player back!"

"IT'S MY PLAYER NOW, HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR! HAR! NOW GET ME A JAR OF HONEY, BITCH!"

"Wha… but… ow, hey, don't hit me, you brute!"

"YOU DESERVE IT, YOU SHRILL HARPY, YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN BE HEARD OVER THIS NOISE BY SPEAKING NORMALLY!"

As the sound of a microphone whacking someone's metal noggin and shrill shrieks of pain from a particular pink bear seemed to blend in with the noise, Kimiko started thrashing even more aggressively. Angelique moved her arms in a desperate attempt to cover Kimiko's ears, sacrificing her own cover as the noise made her head rattle.

She held Kimiko close, and she could hear the biker gang leader struggling to breathe. When she got in close, she could hear words were being said, but what they were… she couldn't make out…

---

? ? ? ?

? ? ?

Kimiko opened her eyes, and realized she was staring up at the ceiling. Though it wasn't the western tavern at all, and when she sat up, the sight of her surroundings both confused and terrified her.

She was in one of Hope's Peak Academy's hallways. There was no way a graduate like her wouldn't recognize the familiar scenery, the grand size of the place, the sophisticated architecture that made her long for a biker bar.

Though the copious amount of blood all over the walls and floor was something she didn't want to see in the least.

Kimiko stood up, the sight of the crimson life fluid splattered all over was unnerving her quite quickly. "Holy fucking shit," she thought she had said, but someone else's voice said it. Glancing around, she couldn't see another person nearby, just more blood-stained walls.

Taking an intrepid step forward, she glanced around a corner to see if there was anything to be spotted. It was more blood-stained walls. Kimiko wasn't sure how this could be possible. There shouldn't be so much blood, did someone just drench the place in it? Why did Hope's Peak Academy look like a slaughterhouse right now?

She started to hurry down the hallway, and then she saw the one thing she hated more than blood: a body. Hurrying over, she knelt down next to the dead person. It was a young man in a trench coat, pale and scarred, with animal fur all over his person. A large stab wound was in the middle of his chest, his heart had been shanked.

There was another body nearby, in the midst of a charred area that look like it had been flash flamed; this victim wasn't recognizable, just a charred husk. A third corpse lay outside of the charred matter, a tan-skinned gal in a white bikini with deep stab wounds penetrating her body.

Kimiko had to resist the urge to scream, cry, or run like hell. Fortunately, she was tough enough to keep her cool. There was a reason she was here, she knew it; wasn't this what Anzu had been through before? A vision?

Before she could inspect more, there was a noise down the right side of the hallway. It was someone shouting, and they sounded terrified, desperate. Kimiko started to head down the hallway, when she heard the gut-wrenching sound of someone being stabbed. The terrible noise of someone gasping and struggling to stay alive followed, and Kimiko froze.

"Cheri," someone whispered from a nearby room. "Cheri, quick, get in here!"

Kimiko turned, and saw a rather short looking man beckoning from one of the rooms. He was dressed like a cook, an apron and tiny toque and rather fancy clothing underneath it. She thought she had seen him someplace before, but with the horrible sounds of someone being murdered down the hallway, she decided to trust the man who wasn't actively dangerous.

Sprinting into the room that turned out to be a cafeteria, the stout cook hurried on over to one of the counters. The two could hear loud footsteps coming down the hallway, towards their room. They echoed unnaturally, like something amplified each one to announce that death was coming.

The cook dove behind one of the counters, and he grabbed Kimiko's wrist. The biker gang leader was quite the strong woman, but for some reason, she was as light as air and nowhere near as strong as she was. Thus the little man was able to yank her behind the counter without any effort, and pushed her down swiftly.

The footfalls stopped, right at the door of the cafeteria. Kimiko's heart was hammering so hard, it seriously felt like the Grim Reaper was scanning the area. The fact that the lights in the room took on a grisly shade of red was like pure evil was covering the room.

Behind the counter, the cook held her in place as the crimson lights of death spread to almost every part of the room. The counter provided a shadow, and the red light didn't touch them. Kimiko wasn't able to breathe, too terrified that any noise whatsoever would give away their position.

After what felt like hours, the crimson light retracted. It left the room entirely, and then the echoing footsteps of death carried on down the hallway.

Kimiko reminded herself to breathe, and then she realized that the cook was still holding her back against the counter. More specifically, he had his hand on her breast, as he glanced around the counter's corner. The biker gang leader pursed her lips, and then tapped his wrist.

The cook glanced back at her, saw her glaring at him and pointing at his "protective" hand, and he gulped nervously. Letting go, he said, "Oh… sorry, cheri. Sometimes, my hands, they misbehave. But you are alive, thank goodness."

"Yeah, that was not exactly a fun occasion," she muttered. "I've had my scraps with death, but that was fucking close."

"Oh my, since when did you use such crude language, Sayaka?"

… What? Kimiko blinked in surprise, and then glanced down at herself. She was wearing a schoolgirl outfit, and the legs coming from her skirt were not her strong, athletic legs; they were dancer legs that were long and sexy. And Kimiko could see that her hair was lengthy and stylish, and blue, where it hung from her head.

Kimiko winced, as she tried to think of what the hell was going on. She then remembered that Anzu said something like this, that she was in a girl's body when she was having the vision.

"Wait, Sayaka?" she blurted out. "The pop star?!"

"… Yes, that is who you are."

Kimiko then decided to find out officially, and pulled her shirt collar out to look down at herself. What she saw…

"Damn, she was stacked!" Kimiko said, then glanced upwards. "Whoa, I really do have a one-track mind, eh."

The cook rubbed his chin as he stared at her in absolute puzzlement. "Cheri, what on Earth is up with you? Or should I say…

"Belle fille?"

Kimiko's one-track mind was quickly derailed, and she was snapped back to what was important. She stared at the short man, as her breathing hitched. "Wh-what did you call me?"

"Belle fille, it means 'beautiful girl' in French."

"Yes, I know that! I'm part Canadian! Or… oh my God… wait, I mean…"

"You're Kimiko Hashiriya, the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader. Or at least, you were during your time at Hope's Peak, because I had one of those as one of my juniors, hehe. So, my belle fille, I suppose you have some questions?"

Kimiko grabbed the short man's labels, and began shaking him. "How the hell do you know this-"

Despite being turned into a blur as he was yanked back and forth, the cook lashed out a hand and covered her mouth. "Belle fille, stop shouting! She could still hear you!"

The biker gang leader froze up, remembering the daunting passerby of death. She glanced over the counter, but there was no sight of whoever that person was. Kimiko tried to calm herself down, as she let go of the cook.

"Okay… let's… let's take it from the top," she said, speaking far more quietly now. "Who are you?"

The cook smiled at her again, and tipped his head, the pompadour bouncing as he did so. "My name is Teruteru Hanamura, and I was the Ultimate Cook. Though I prefer Chef, but I don't think I should digress. If you would like, I can try to explain…"

Something clicked in Kimiko's head. She had seen so much of the Hope's Peak Killing Game when it was broadcasted, she had heard who had died, who had killed who. Some of those deaths affected her more than others, but one of them clicked right now.

"Teruteru… you killed Himiko, that sweet little mage girl! You!"

Kimiko lunged at Teruteru, and grabbed at his lapels again. She couldn't grab his neck, he was too stumpy for that. Still, Sayaka's body didn't have her regular strength, and she was anywhere near as strong as her normal self. Thus, the cook grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands off.

Teruteru stared up at her, and tears sprung in his eyes. He shivered, and said, "Y… yes, I did. And it is something I cannot undo, or fix. But if you'll hear me out, I can try to explain what is going on."

"Why should I?" Kimiko hissed, recoiling from him as she shot daggers from her eyes. "You killed a sweet, innocent girl! You tried to weasel your way 'oot of it… you… you… wait…

"You're… you're dead. How the fuck are you aware of this? How… HOW?!"

"Dear belle fille, if you will allow me to try and explain, as we don't have much time."

Teruteru dusted himself off, took a deep breath, and waited for her to calm down. "Listen, the supernatural world is connected to Penjar, in more ways than you can possibly imagine. There is a plane, or maybe just some kind of place, that is between life and death.

"It's very difficult to explain, because, well, I don't have all the answers. The area between life and death is incredibly complex and mysterious, and not even us who are in it can explain. You see…

"There have been ghosts, the occult, spirit channelers, and super powers, so much more than you all know. And not even those who are brought back one way or another have the answers of where they were, what is there after life. Not even me."

Teruteru shook his head, and scratched the back of his neck. "All I know is that I am here to try and solve a problem, a crisis going on that the forces of evil are trying to control."

"Could you be any moo'r vague?!" Kimiko growled.

"My belle fille, I was not given most of the answers, I was dropped into this existence between life and death with everything I knew in life, and one clear goal: stop the Despair from corrupting the… stuck…"

"What? What was that?" Kimiko asked. "What do you mean?"

"The forces of despair and chaos worked together. They manifested in Penjar, and yet they were defeated time and time again," Teruteru babbled, losing his balance and swaying as if drunk. "I… I need to…"

"Teruteru! Focus!"

Kimiko pulled her now dainty hand back, and smacked the cook. Teruteru flinched, then shook his head; blood leaked out of his nose. "Hehe, contact from a beautiful girl. I had forgotten it."

"Stop rambling a'boot perverted things, and tell me what I need to know, you pervert!"

She grabbed his lapels once more and shook, but this time he barely acknowledged her. He smiled at her, as if so happy to see her. "Kimiko, I did something horrible, and this is how I am supposed to redeem myself… if I even can. I want to, so very bad, I'd do anything to bring that girl back…

"I was just so desperate to see my mother again. She was sick, strong but standing firm, and my siblings wouldn't do a damn thing to help her. She was the bravest, strongest person I knew, and she was dying. I thought for sure if I got out of there, I could save her, get her some place safe…

"She didn't even make it out alive. My poor mother…"

Teruteru openly sobbed. Tears ran down his face, and he grabbed at his hair. "Just another… death for despair, a notch in their murder belt. She would feed the needy, she devoted her life to her children, she… she deserved so much better, and no one ever gave her kindness back. I just… I just wanted to save her. And… I wasn't thinking straight. No…"

As the tears rolled down his face, he shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "No, I cannot make excuses anymore. Himiko… is dead, because of me. Nekomaru is also dead because of me. Himiko… Kimiko… maybe that's why I can talk to you? Heh, would be such a silly reason, but please, let me explain, while I still have time."

Teruteru took a deep breath, and tried to start again. "Penjar is very dangerous, and you need to find out the answers to that place, as Despair and Chaos are going to rear up again. What they are doing, it is affecting this place, where even though I don't know the rules, I know it is where living and dead can communicate, like you and I are now.

"Something happened at Hope's Peak Academy, something dark and horrid that was brought here. Something happened there that was tampering with the world between life and death, something supernatural. And when it came here, it enslaved something here."

"Teruteru, I'm soo'ry, but can you please be moo'r specific?" Kimiko asked. "I want to help, I really do, but I need moo'r than that."

"I'm still trying to find out what is going on too, my belle fille. You see, the Despair, it repeats a Killing Game here in Hope's Peak Academy. Repeating over and over, and the results are always different, but… always sinister. I don't know why or how, but in the end, the results are tragic and terrible."

"What, like a bad end to a Killing Game every time?"

"Yes, exactly. Thus it is impossible for me to find out where to begin, or where to end it. I am no detective, but I am doing my best. Though I have seen my friends die so many times, I have seen them possessed by Despair and murder each other, I remember dying so many times. It is not painful but…"

He started to tear up again, and covered his face. "Every time I see her… especially when she dies… oh Lord, it kills me all over again."

"Please, keep it together," she pleaded, reaching out and putting her hands on his shoulders. "If… if Himiko is here, maybe that's the ticket?"

"I dunno if it is or not, my belle fille. And even if it is, I don't know how to end it. Maybe the answer can only be found on your side. Maybe…"

Furious shouting could be heard coming from far down the hallway. There was a female voice shrieking in outrage, and then heavy footsteps of someone charging. Teruteru flinched, and whimpered, "Akane, no."

Sounds of fists hitting someone echoed, but there were no sounds of pain. Then she heard that female voice struggling, straining, hollering in rage…

And then the most stomach-turning sound of what was a combination of wet tearing fabric and a splatter of messy items hitting the floor traveled to the cafeteria. It sounded so unnatural, so awful, Kimiko couldn't put it to words or feelings. She just felt sick.

Teruteru shivered, and then he gripped Kimiko's now slender shoulders. "I have to go. Someone needs to stop this rampage. I have told you all I know now, but just remember one more thing:

"Monokuma wants the Despair to not only be found, but renewed. It needs to be stopped, or the consequences on all levels would be beyond scarring, beyond destructive. It would be… never-ending chaos and suffering."

The sound of a rather disturbing thudding echoed throughout the hallway. Teruteru winced, and whispered, "I'm so sorry, my dear sweet Sayaka… no, Kimiko. Just please, do not go down the dark path I did."

And then, faster than she thought a short and squat man like him could move, he sprinted out from behind the counter. When she stood up, he was already out the door.

There was vicious hollering in his voice, but in an accent that was so thick and furious, she couldn't understand him. The only thing she could discern from him was him shouting, "KATY PERRY!" like a battlecry.

Kimiko couldn't move, she felt frozen in place. The hallway had gone deathly silent, no screaming or fighting or any other awful noises. She took several deep breaths, and muttered to herself, "Get out there, you bitch, if he's brave enough… so are you!"

She sprinted out of the cafeteria, her heart hammering more and more. Sayaka's body was swift enough, even if it lacked her strength. When she made it to the hallway, still coated in blood, she saw there was that horrid red light coming from around a far corner.

Kimiko started to run, until she saw there was yet another body. And this one… it made her gag, hard.

The biker gang leader could vaguely recognize the dead person as Akane Owari, the Ultimate Gymnast who had survived the Hope's Peak Academy Killing Game. Here, she hadn't survived. She had been bisected, her hips and legs tossed to the side, her top part laying almost in the middle of the hallway. It was so bloody, so gory, the look of utter shock on Akane's face… Kimiko could barely comprehend it.

Kimiko ran away from this ghastly sight. She made it to the corner, and saw the next victim of the murderer. Teruteru lay on the floor, right around the corner, on his chest. Blood was still seeping from his chest, and coming from his back, with all the puncture wounds that had gone through his body. She checked his pulse, he wasn't alive; hadn't he only been gone for a few seconds?

The biker gang leader moved onwards, determined to find out who was there, who or what was causing this. On her left and right were lockers, with names on the top of them. Blood splattered so many of them, only a few were clean.

"Chihiro Fujisaki"

"Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu"

"Mahiru Koizumi"

"Mikan Tsumuki"

"Celestia Ludenburg"

"Ibuki Mioda"

"Miu Iruma"

"Kirumi Tojo"

"Mondo Owada"

"Sayaka Maizono"

"Hiyoko Saionji"

Gritting her teeth, Kimiko rounded another corner, chasing after that red light. Down the hallway were more bodies, and she took a deep breath. Whoever or whatever was doing this, was really making a mess. She wasn't daunted, and moved down the hallway with great determination.

The biker gang leader hadn't planned on staring at the bodies, but something about their clothing caught their eye. Kimiko's walking slowed, then she stopped.

She fell to her knees. Her hands were on the floor, and tears ran from her eyes. She was shivering, shaking, and gasped in anguish. "N-no… no no no no… no…"

The leather jackets the three bodies were wearing, their hair, the faces of those she could see, right down to their tattoos and piercings and other markings… the dog tags each were wearing…

"NO! NOT THIS! NOT THEM! WHY?!"

Kimiko openly sobbed, hanging her head as she punched the ground. She couldn't stop it, it was too emotionally punishing to her. Hiccuping, gasping, she struggled and failed to pull herself together.

"Sorry this wasn't what you wanted, Sayaka."

The voice was spiteful and sadistic, no matter how calm it came off as. Kimiko felt her body lock up in terror, but she couldn't move at first.

"But you knew the punishment if you failed to kill, if you didn't commit a murder. You didn't have the guts to do it, so I did. Now they're dead because of your indecisiveness.

"They are DEAD, because of YOU."

Kimiko managed to look up. Standing on the other side of the three bodies in the hallway was a girl, a redheaded girl who was holding onto a long sword in one hand, and something else in the other. Her clothing, her skin, her sword, they were all coated in blood.

"Why didn't you just accept the despair, and come over the side that you belong on?" the redheaded girl asked. "You were responsible for death before it all began, why not carry on that path? Now those you cared about are dead because of you."

"Sh-shut up," Kimiko managed to whimper. "You… you evil…"

"I do what I have to to survive! I did everything I could before this feeling overtook me, and showed me the correct path! I tried to help her out…"

The redhead lifted the other object in her hand, and Kimiko finally realized what it was: a bloody, severed head. The amount of blood coating the face was horrific, it soaking into the blond ponytail the wicked girl was holding onto.

"I tried to help her, I tried to guide her on a better path, and you know what happened? She betrayed me, she betrayed us all, and laughed about it all the way. She smiled when she blew your brains out, and giggled over it.

"Oh, I meant when she blew Sayaka's brains out. But now I realize, you are not her. This was meant to be for her, don't you know?"

Kimiko flinched, the world felt like it was rocked with an earthquake suddenly. When her senses recovered, she forced herself to look down at the bodies. Instead of those in leather and metal, there were three dead girls in pop idol outfits laying dead on the floor.

"It doesn't matter," the redhead spat, tossing the severed head of Hiyoko Saionji away. "Despair showed me the way now. I just need to win. I need to kill you, all of you…"

"SO JUST DIE!"

Gripping the sword in both hands, the redheaded woman sprinted at her. She lifted up the blade, and Kimiko couldn't bring herself to move. Time seemed to slow down, as she tried to will her body to move, to escape certain death.

There was a blur next to her, and suddenly the redhead was sent hurdling backwards. Hitting the floor and skidding backwards, blood spurted from her nose and upper lip. Kimiko blinked, and then glanced up at her savior.

It was a man in a black overcoat, and a pompadour hair style that stuck out proudly at the front of his head. He was clenching his fist, blood on his knuckles. The strong and stern looking man stared at the fallen attacker, then glanced at Kimiko.

"Kimiko, is that you?" he asked.

Kimiko blinked, mind-boggled. She knew this man by reputation alone, but they had never been introduced, despite their akin titles. "M-Mondo Owada?"

"No, it's Anzu," he replied. "I found myself in this body when I got here again. I'm a guy now, apparently."

"… I'm so fucking lost."

"Honey, join the club. I'm here again, and I don't know how or why…"

A pathetic whimper came from down the hallway. The redhead was sitting up, blood leaking from her busted nose and upper lip. Anzu in Mondo's body stomped their foot, so hard that the tiles under his boot cracked.

"Mahiru," Mondo's voice boomed like a raging warrior, while also having the feminine inflections that Anzu had, "stand down! Please, don't make me hurt you again!"

"Seh… suh… seh… uuuugh."

Mahiru blubbered, and her hand reached up to touch the blood coming from her. She shivered, and dropped the sword. "Seh! Oh God… lest… we… forget…"

She slowly got up to her feet, while Kimiko did at the same time. There was a clatter as Mahiru dropped the sword, and stared at them. "Please… don't let… don't let it win. Despair… so much despair…"

"What is she talking a'boot?" Kimiko asked.

"I don't know exactly. Please, Mahiru! What is going on?"

"It never stops… I just… want it to stop… I know it's been done, but I thought maybe this time…"

Kimiko pointed at her, and shouted, "She killed so many people! She's gone on a homicidal rampage!"

Mahiru wobbled on her legs, and tears ran down her eyes. Her head moved unnaturally, almost as if it was disconnected from her neck. "You threw off the motion. You stopped it… why… why are you doing this? Why can't… why can't I…"

She fell to her knees, and then reached down for the sword. With speed and strength beyond anything the two watching could imagine, she turned the sword around, and plunged it through her chest.

"NO, MAHIRU!"

Anzu sprinted over, and grabbed the girl's shoulders. She shook her, as she kept the photographer up on her knees. The sword's tip clinked against the floor behind Mahiru.

"Wh-why? Why are you doing this?" Anzu begged. "Tell us what's going on!"

Mahiru stared into Anzu's eyes, and then grabbed her shoulders. As she leaned in, Kimiko got closer, and could hear what was being said.

"You're still all in grave danger, the betrayal is as thick as the mist will become tonight. I can feel the scheming, that despair, it is so deep that I can feel it now as Despair is within me. Recognize the true evil, don't let it trick you.

"Please… take care of yourselves. I'm, I'm so sorry."

Mahiru stared up at Kimiko, as tears spilt from her eyes. Then the light, the life, in those eyes left them too, and she fell backwards. She didn't get back up, and the evil crimson light in the hallway faded away.

Kimiko shivered, and glanced back at the bodies in the hallway. They were still there, just the pop idol girls that she couldn't recognize, but she figured had to be important to the girl she was currently in the body of.

Then she saw some people coming up the hallway, all of them appearing terrified. They didn't say anything, just tried to make sense of what happened.

The blonde maid moved towards the severed head of Hiyoko, and collapsed to her knees, sobbing pitifully. The nurse of the bunch was checking the bodies, shaking uncontrollably despite trying to find signs of life. Another blonde in a pink outfit was clenching a cutie-pie in a green dress, the two holding onto each other for support.

The short boy in a black suit was staring at Anzu, or rather Mondo. Anzu was standing up, and moving towards Kimiko. "We… we have to find a way out of here, Kimi. Let's just try…"

Anzu's hand took Kimiko's, and there was a powerful surge that seemed to come from their bodies. It was an overpowering feeling, like their bodies released a sonic boom. They closed their eyes, and got that sensation of falling despite standing…

"Wa-" the short blond boy hollered, "t… om- k!"

The cries from the survivors of the ghastly Killing Game of this unexplainable realm were gone as intense reverberation filled the senses of the two women. They held onto each other's hand…

---

And when they both woke up at the same time, they could feel the other's hand on each other's, with a solid object in their palms. Both were awake and alert with an instant, and were staring into each other's eyes.

Kimiko was still clenching the microphone, while Anzu gripped the head of it. It had been a desperate attempt to pry it from the biker gal's hand.

Anzu let go and sat up, but Kimiko couldn't sat up. She was being held tightly by something warm, comforting, trying to protect her. She struggled to speak, muttering, "Urgh… le… leggo… I gotta… get up."

"Kimiko!"

Angelique pulled herself up off of the biker gal, but continued to hold her hand. The opera singer was crying, holding that hand as she spoke, "Oh my God, thank goodness. You're awake, you're okay! Anzu!"

"Yeah, I'm okay too," the actress muttered, shaking her head. "God damn, I never wanted to go through that again, but it looks like touching these stupid cursed things triggers with me."

"What… what happened?" Yitro stammered, staring between the three. "Did… I can barely hear you!"

All of their ears were pounding, trying to adjust now that the horrendous alarm noise had stopped. The speaker was still going on, but instead, there was the sound of something metallic clanging against someone's metal head.

"Tell ME to go to the kitchen?!" Monophanie hollered, as Monokid cried out in pain. "You can make yourself dinner from now on, you blue dumb meanie! Taste my frying pan of feminine justice!"

The humans inside the tavern tried to ignore this, as they were all trying to collect themselves. It was then that Kimiko held up the microphone, as she felt it going softer in her hand.

All four of them watched as the microphone crumbled, and dissolved into dust. The pieces floated away into nothingness, and they were left with confusion and frustration.

"Again," Anzu mumbled. "This isn't making any sense. What is happening in this stupid town?"

"I… I just," Kimiko stammered, and she felt herself still breathing heavily. Sweat was running down her forehead, and it was all over her body, making her clothing stick to her skin. Tears were in her eyes, dried on her face. Every part of her felt awful, except for her right hand. The hand that Angelique was still holding, it was the only thing that felt secure right now.

"This is so fucking bad fur my image," she managed to mumble out, and then, shivering and shaking, she turned towards Angelique and held onto her shoulders. Slumping against the opera singer, she mumbled into Angelique's collar bone, "Don't… doo'nt tell anyone I was like this. I'm an alpha bitch, not a sniveling bitch."

"My belle fille," Angelique whispered, petting the back of Kimiko's head. "What happened? Talk to us, please."

Before any more words could be exchanged, there was a soft beep from the overhead speaker. Monophanie cleared her throat, and she said, "Attention, visitors of Penjar. The search for the DVD player is over, as it is now 4:55 PM. Please come to the Main Plaza, and Daddy will discuss the details on his latest Motive!"

"What?!" Anzu declared. "How long were we unconscious?!"

"Ugh, I think I fainted too," Yitro muttered. "That noise… I couldn't withstand it. Angel, are you okay?"

The opera singer stared at her friend, glanced down at Kimiko, and said, "Are you all okay to go? I have a bad feeling about disobeying them, and I doubt they take excuses, but-"

"Listen, no matter what shit I go through, nothing," Kimiko growled as she stood up, "absolutely nothing is going to stop me from getting to bottom of this. I'm not gonna let that damn bear punish me."

"Sweetheart, please," Angelique hurried over, keeping her upright, "you just got out of something like a coma, you were having a seizure!"

"And I can stand, and walk."

"But… but what did you see?"

"It'll have to wait for after the motive announcement. Come on, let's go, I don't want any of you in trouble, so move on out."

---

Day 06, 5:01 PM

Main Plaza

Monokuma was standing on the wrecked fountain, tapping his foot and growling impatiently. The four people who had been in the western tavern ran to the area, seeing all of the other graduates gathered up and waiting for the announcement. The Monokubs were standing in a line in front of their father, with Monokid sporting a whole lot of bandages on his head.

"Why are you so damn late?!" Monokuma snapped angrily at the four who had just arrived.

Yitro glanced at his watch. "It's 5:01. We're only one minute late."

"Late is late! I will go corporate manager on you all and lecture you to the point where you will want to form a damn union! But I can let my theater segments go into that."

"Joy to the world," Isaac grumbled. "Besides, your dumb kids played that horrid noise, it knocked out a lot of people!"

"Yes, only those outside were lucky to miss the full effect of that," Crystal remarked, raising an eyebrow. "I hope you all are okay?"

There was a lot of grumbles and exasperated replies, though it seemed everyone was okay for the most part. Monokuma shook his head, mumbling under his breath about his 'sweet, stupid, stupid children.' After this quick check-up, the despair bear started up again.

"If my Kubs' treatment to your ears didn't leave you deaf, then you can listen up! Your second motive this time around is going to be… Secrets!"

Everyone locked up. Secrets were something that they knew were used so often in the official Killing Games, and the dreadful fact that somehow, someway, those in charge had always managed to find out every secret for every participant ever.

"The serial killer with over two hundred murders under his belt," Aka said with a defiant scoff, "confessed to what he was. There is no way anyone can top that. Anyway, you don't scare me, I have absolutely no secrets."

"Oh trust me when I say, there are still things people would be interested in killing to keep secret! But actually, this isn't a motive about your secrets. It's a motive about ours!"

Monokuma cackled, while the Kubs appeared rather nervous about this.

"Daddy, are you sure we should divulge about Penjar?" Monophanie asked. "I mean, we just got the town together, we were really hoping to not spill the beans about it so soon!"

"I kind of wanted to have it be more of a competition," Monotaro admitted. "Do we have to do it with all the murder and killing and panties?"

"I'm all for the fucking killing," Monokid mumbled. "I got… my noggin feels like pudding right now."

Monosuke knocked on Monokid's head, and said with a laugh, "Youse ain't got much up there to damage anyway, Monokid! Hehe! … Wait, someone brought up panties, what was that again-"

"ANYWAY!" Monokuma hollered. "The Secrets Motive is not about revealing your secrets, as fun as that would be. It's much more about revealing the ones we have, if you want to start being more of a team player."

Yitro crossed his arms as he stared down Monokuma, suspicion and intrigue on his face. "Care to explain?"

"Yes, and maybe," Fiora said, "you could finally tell us about Mr. Beardsley?"

"MR. BEARDSLEY!? I've HAD it with that name!"

"But it means something," the movie maker insisted. "In the fire station's filing cabinets, there was this paper that-"

The ground shook. The Guardian of Penjar, that towering building-robot had taken a very heavy footstep towards the group. The mini-gun that was one of its hands spooled for a second, then stopped.

"You were saying, B-Movie Maker?" Monokuma asked, tilting his head as his grin intensified.

"B-b-b-b-b-b-"

"Fiora," Yejoon said softly, glancing over at her, "it might be best to drop the subject."

"B-b-b-b-b-B-Movie Maker!? Now the bear's calling me that?!"

"Now, this is a far more complex motive, so buckle up," Monokuma declared, clapping his paws together, "because this is going to be a fun ride! Now, you all came to Penjar to get some answers, to learn about Despair, to get the knowledge that you crave for various reasons.

"I am prepared to answer one question you may have. Isn't that nice of me?"

The devious chuckling from the despair bear caused the tension to build with every sadistic chortle. There was a pregnant pause, until Futaba spoke up. "Well, then? What's this question, and what's the answer?"

"Oh no no no, I'm not answering a question now. The motive is called Secrets, because you are allowed to ask myself, or one of my Kubs, one question about Penjar. You will be answered truthfully, entirely, and maybe even with a little extra info if we're feeling generous!"

"Youse got it good with this one," Monosuke said proudly. "We've been so excited to talk about this, we all are more than willing to chat non-stop about the things we know!"

"…" publicized Monodam.

Monokuma started laughing again, and then Fiora spoke up. "Well then, could you tell me about Mr. Bea-"

Yejoon slapped a hand on her mouth. She struggled and fought, until Monokuma spoke up again. "You wanna finish that question officially, B-Movie Maker? Because if you do, you agree to the stipulations that come with agreeing to this motive."

Saiko groaned and rolled her eyes. "Should have known that this wouldn't be as simple as that."

"Let me make something very clear: if you ask a question and get an answer, you must commit a murder. You have until midnight of the day you ask the question on, in which you MUST kill someone in Penjar. If you fail to kill someone by midnight, or if you try to flee Penjar, you will be executed. Brutally. Bloodily. Viciously."

Souma let out a thoughtful grunt. "So your motive is that you will only give information to someone who plays your killing game. Your continued reliance on the fact that we won't leave Penjar willingly is cruel and manipulative."

"And effective! But there is more to it than that. You see, I want that murder, but I don't want it to be as simple as just that. So allow me to get into the details, the fine print!

"First off, everyone is allowed to ask a question, even if someone else already has. The rule applies to every single person, a murder has to be committed if a question is asked. However…

"That goes to the second part, which is that only one murder is necessary. If a person who asked a question commits a murder, it validates everyone who asked a question. So if you want to plan something like ask a ton of questions and get one of you to murder another, that could work out. Free life hack advice there, children!"

"Ooo, I love me some life hacks," Monosuke declared, adjusting his glasses and then fanning himself with money. "Maybe we'll get twenty-six questions before we get a murder! Who youse all gonna sacrifice?"

"There would be more than one sacrifice," Crystal pointed out, "since you'll be executing the murderer."

"Don't forget that the executions aren't assured death! But that does remind me, suicide is not a valid death; you cannot kill yourself in order to validate those who asked a question."

Monokuma paced around the ring of the busted fountain, and hummed to himself. "So many little rules, I sure hope I don't forget any. Let me dive into some of the smaller ones, though they are equally important:

"A person may not kill more than one person themselves. Killing me doesn't count, killing my Kubs results in instant death. The usual rules to a Killing Game applies here, you've seen enough of them to know those rules, I'm sure you do.

"Oh! And that leads me to one of the most important bonuses of them all. If you ask a question, therefore agreeing to a murder, you are allowed ONE rule change to the Killing Game rules."

"Wait, what?!" Blake barked. "You're saying that a killer could change the rules to this Killing Game? How the hell does that work?"

"There are limitations, I assure you. You cannot ask for there to not be an execution if you are caught, nor can you ask for myself or my Kubs to interfere with the crime, for example. But you can ask for a change, a change that'll be kept secret until the trial, and must be guessed specifically.

"It's a fun little twist that I want to give a test run!"

"Can you give an example of a rule change that is acceptable?" Yejoon asked.

"Well," Monotaro mused, "what you want may not be possible, so to plan a murder around a request may not be the best of strategies. But a request to be allowed to kill more than one person may or may not be accepted."

"Don't tell him that!" Hikari hollered, staring wide-eyed between the cubs and Yejoon. "He's a serial killer! He wants that!"

Monotaro scratched his head, and drool leaked from his mouth. "Huh? Did I break the rules just now?"

Monokuma grumbled angrily, something about having it hard to find good help these days. "Look, let's just go over all of the most important rules one more time: ask a question, kill a person as a result. Only one who asked a question can kill for all those that did ask one. You are allowed to ask for a rule change of sorts, though some changes will not be allowed."

Anzu scoffed, twirling one of her blue bangs in her fingers. "Yes, yes, you think you're so damn clever. But you know what? You're a prince of lies and deceit, a sadist who gets off on the suffering of others. Why would anyone trust you to make good on your words?"

"Not to mention," Eisei said, flicking one of his pigtails behind his shoulder, "there's a lot of cases of those immersed in despair getting the most thrills out of betraying someone who wants to be part of their ideology."

"I refuse to believe," Samson condemned the bear, "that you'd be entirely honest with any answer you give. You just love twisting words."

"Upupupupu, you'd all be surprised," Monokuma giggled, "who would still go the distance for answers!"

"Are we done here?" Kimiko stressed, rubbing the back of her head. "I don't think anyone woo'd be stupid enough to trust you after the previous trial."

"Oh? What exactly do you mean, my motorcycle provider?"

Kimiko rolled her eyes, but carried on. "You may have the power to give people talent, but you did that to encourage a murder, and then you butchered the person who did exactly what you wanted. And it was someone who would have gladly followed line and step with your sadism.

"Everyone here knows a'boot your utter glee in harming people. And when you'll even take the willingness of someone who wants despair and turn it into your personal pleasure, why would anyone here do it? So you can get stuffed, teddy."

"'A'boot'? Oh my little Canadian biker, you may be sure of yourself, but if you just want to loiter in my city like if it is was a rest stop, how are you going to ever find the answers? The answers that brought you across an ocean, back to the land of Hope's Peak Academy…

"That's no way to get justice for Ume, EH?"

Kimiko froze for a second, then she began to shake. Her hands clenched up, as she growled out, "Wh-what did you just say?"

"Or was it Lizette you were more concerned about avenger? Or Summer? Why don't you make your pick, EH, on which one of them meant most to you before you-"

There was a primal scream of outrage, and Kimiko was upon Monokuma before anyone could react. The biker was pummeling the bear, shrieking in hysterical anger with her explicits coming out garbled with how unbridled her fury was. The despair bear's face was smashed into his head, then his head was bashed into fabric remains.

Kimiko didn't stop there, she grabbed at Monokuma's body and tore him apart, ripping him into smaller and smaller pieces. When she finally couldn't satisfaction in tearing the pieces any tinier, she stood up, heaving and gasping.

"… Father?" Monotaro whimpered.

"Goodness gracious me," Monosuke mumbled.

"Haw haw haw, that was bitching," Monokid cackled. "So which one of those people he mentioned was actually the most important to you, bitch?"

Kimiko whirled around towards Monokid, the burning hatred in her eyes reignited. The blue Kub smirked up at her, and she dove for him, hand outstretched for his face.

"NO!"

The biker gang leader was tackled, knocked off of her feet and sent skidding across the ground. She struggled to get free, but Yitro was holding her too tightly.

"Okay, that's our cue to leave," Emanuel said aloud, rubbing his forehead. "Let's just get some dinner or something, just make sure no one goes alone out there."

"Especially him," Samson spat out, pointing at Yejoon. "Fiora, don't let him out of your sight!"

"WHAT?!" Fiora shrieked in horror. "Why me?!"

"You heard the man, my dear Fiora," Yejoon said, taking her hand in his. He tugged her along as he walked away, saying, "I am having a hankering for the dish you refer to as 'nachos,' let us make some together."

"I hate you all," Fiora wailed as she was pulled behind the serial killer artist.

A lot of the graduates broke off to get away from the hostile situation, though some of them were still concerned with Kimiko's outburst. Yitro was still clutching her, preventing her struggling with his incredible strength.

"You cannot kill the Kubs," he repeated to her, as her vexed growling and struggling started to die down. "You cannot hurt the Kubs. Do you understand?"

"Nnnngh! I understand! Damn it!"

"Not until I'm sure you truly understand! Because you sure don't sound it!"

Anzu and Angelique were the closest, trying to get Kimiko to calm down however they could. Hikari, Aka, and Drake watched from a further distance, unsure what to do. Hara, close to tears from how terrible this was, was being comforted by Isaac.

"Does this mean," Hara asked her fiancé, "that Monokuma truly knows about us all?"

"It wouldn't surprise me in the least, but there's other things concerning me about this new motive," he said to her. "We should definitely be on our guard tonight."

"Yeah, especially since everyone's least favorite teddy," Aka remarked, "said that killing more than one person could possibly be allowed."

"Actually," Monotaro spoke up, "that was me."

"Oh shut up, you tiny wannabe. Come on, Hikari," Aka said, wrapping an arm around the steampunk model, "let's get out of here."

Hikari cast one more concerned look towards Kimiko, before being led away from the plaza. The biker gang leader was collecting her breath, no longer seeing red but frazzled and exhausted.

Yitro let go of her, and she quickly got to her feet. Hurrying off towards the housing area without a word, Kimiko was unseeable in the mists before any of them could call out to her. Angelique started to go after her, but Anzu stopped her.

"She is going to need a little space," Anzu said, placing a hand on Angelique's shoulder. "You cannot rush into it, Angel, no matter how much you or any of us want to."

"But… but… the poor darling! Monokuma is trying to antagonize her, he must know what just happened to her!"

"Wait, you think that's the case, Angel?" Yitro asked, standing up and dusting himself off. "Monokuma knows that Kimiko saw a vision too, and now he's trying to throw her off?"

Anzu pressed her knuckles against her mouth in thought, and muttered, "But he didn't try anything when I had a vision."

"Maybe that was because you hid it from us before the trial," Yitro remarked, "or some other reason I cannot think of right now. But we are in the dark, in more ways than one."

"Though I did have another vision when I touched the microphone too…"

"What?!" Angelique balked, clasping her hands over her heart. "But… darling, what happened?"

"When that horrid noise was going off, I tried to pry the microphone from Kimiko's hand. And when I was gripping the head of it, I suddenly blacked out, and then I woke up in Hope's Peak again."

"I touched the microphone, nothing happened with me," Yitro said. He sighed and shook his head, as he muttered, "This place is just becoming more and more enigmatic, which just plays into Monokuma's desires and motive. Still, let's try to ignore that for now, what did you see, Anzu?"

Anzu tugged on one of her blue bangs, and started to speak. "Hope's Peak was a bloodbath, it was everyone from the three classes that took part in the HPA Killing Game with so few survivors. I saw Mahiru again, but this time, she was violently murdering people. I couldn't really understand most of what she was saying…

"But I do know she warned me again. And I'm starting to think that these visions are heavily connected to this town, to Monokuma, and maybe even us. She knew there would be a murder before it happened, and she knew who would do it, and when."

"How is that even possible?" Angelique inquired, wringing her hands. "I mean, Jin was a homicidal maniac, but…"

She stopped, then crossed her arms as she pondered that. "Wait, did she discuss the crime with someone? With Monokuma?"

"I had the vision before the motive was even announced," Anzu replied. "What if Jin's murderous intentions were just that strong? Or what if… what if this place I keep seeing visions of is beyond our comprehension?"

Yitro rubbed his forehead, then said, "I feel like I have been challenged to a sword fight, and the enemy is bringing every weapon except for a sword: scythes, sickles, meat cleavers, cannons, a lamppost, machine guns…"

Anzu sighed, and added, "This town is a nightmare, in every form."

---

Day 06, 8:52 PM

Penjar (in General)

Everyone kept close to others during this strained situation. The idea that someone could bend the rules trumped the idea that no one would willingly work with a mastermind of betrayal. Surviving the Tragedy had taught them all that depravity knew no bonds.

The Kubs bothered the graduates as much as possible, some more than others. Monokid and Monosuke were the worst, asking everyone if they wanted to ask a question officially; they had to ensure that any question was "official," because they weren't allowed to take any question as part of the motive.

Monotaro was almost as bad as them at first, but then he started having trouble remembering who he asked what. Soon he was asking people questions about what he was doing, and then horrified that he would have to kill someone by midnight.

Monodam and Monophanie weren't pressuring anyone, but the tension at Penjar was as thick as the mists. That was something that everyone started to notice, when they ventured outside.

The mists in the street were so thick, and up to the chest, it was almost impossible to see through it. It wasn't that dense in the plaza and around the buildings, but still noticeably worse.

"The mists are working against us again," Isaac said to Hara and Saiko.

"I really hate how much that is true," Saiko grumbled. "Mists that can thicken or be sound-proof on a whim? Plus, I can get lost in this shit."

"Perhaps we should get someone to hold your hand?" Hara said with a small smile and giggle.

"Check your height privilege, missy. You have no idea how tough it is down here."

There was a couple lavender pigtails bouncing up and down at the top of the mist clouds, footfalls the only other giveaway someone was there. A dainty hand reached up and waved good-bye.

"Good night, Eisei," Saiko called out.

"How'd you know it was me?" he inquired.

Passing by them all was Angelique, who said good night to all of them politely; except for Isaac, since she knew he was French too, so she said, "Bonne nuit Monsieur!"

The opera singer headed towards the Housing area, which had the mist thick in the street but still thin around the houses. Finding Kimiko's house, she tentatively knocked the door, wondering if she was doing the right thing.

"Who is it?" Kimiko's voice, slightly raspy, called out.

"It's Angelique, belle fille. Could I please come in?"

"It's not locked."

Opening up the door and stepping in, she saw that Kimiko was standing in front of her bed, sorting some clothing out. The biker gal was wearing a bathrobe, and when she turned to Angelique, the opera singer was suddenly quite aware that Kimiko only had panties on.

"Oh, mon Dieu! You should have told me you weren't decent, Kimiko!"

"You didn't ask," Kimiko said with a slight shrug. Her robe was covering her breasts, but it wasn't leaving much of anything else to the imagination. "I doo'nt even wear one of these normally, you actually woo'd catch me in less."

As much as a wonderful image that brought to Angelique's head, she cleared her throat as she tried not to stare at how toned, fit, and still rather pretty the biker gal looked to her right now. "Kimiko, are you okay with talking about what happened?"

The biker sighed, and turned her back to Angelique. "Not really, Angel, I'm still shaken by it all. I just found out the world of supernatural is real, and… I lost it. I'm supposed to be the head bitch in charge, it's my damn title, but I was an emotional wreck who cried more than a teenaged girl who just broke up with her first boyfriend."

"Sweetheart, this place, the evil behind it, they know how to get to people. No one is less tough because they were brought to tears, or losing their temper; however, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about you."

Kimiko shook her head, still unable to look her in the eye. "Look, Angel, I appreciate it, but the shit I just saw… I don't know what to do next, and that disturbs me.

"I'm not going to assume your life story, nor do I think that you haven't had any kind of leadership role in your life, eh; however, I'm a leader, I made my biker gang when I was a teenager, and I carried them all for years. I've had to resolve hundreds of issues with my mind, my fists, or both for years.

"To not know what I'm supposed to next is fucking killing me. How could you possibly help me? Just tell me to go tell everyone I saw a fucking impossible vision of Hope's Peak, that a dead girl tried to kill me, a dead guy told me that the supernatural exists? I cannot even believe it myself, and after what I saw, I just… I just doo'nt care."

She heaved out another sigh, and bent down on the side of her bed. There was silence in the room for a minute, then Angelique spoke.

"Do you remember when we were talking by the pool, belle fille? When I started calling you that?"

The biker gal nodded, and the opera singer reached up to hold her locket. "In my locket is the picture of my first love, Monica Dorian. She was a rich, sweet girl who hired me after she watched me at a concert. I was kind of like her personal singer for events and such.

"We fell in love, it was so strange and new to me, I didn't think it was possible. I felt amazing, I felt like the world was a completely different place.

"Then, her illness took her from me. That damn terminal disease, she knew she was going to die within two years, and we only had five months together. But she wanted to live, she wanted to experience the wonderful things life could provide, and I was one of them."

She sniffled, but carried on as she clenched the locket. "I know what it is like lose someone who is close to your heart. That no matter how hard you pray or beg or work, you cannot bring them back. Monica is my reminder to never stop moving forward, no matter how bad it looks, because that's how she lived when she was here."

Angelique rubbed her eyes, then managed a smile. "Those dog tags you are wearing right now, I thought it was the same as that. May I ask… who they belonged to?"

Kimiko was silent, as she reached up to tap her dog tags. "These? They're mine, eh."

Angelique felt like a train crashing into a wall. As she stood there, unable to say or do anything, Kimiko reached over to the desk next to her bed, where she picked up a small chain with three dog tags on it. "These, however, aren't mine."

She wrapped the chain around her fingers, and squeezed it in her palm. The dog tags rested on her knuckles. Taking a deep breath, she spoke as she found her calm.

"Ume Hashiriya, my little sister," she said as she rubbed one of the tags, "who I promised I would always take care of. She joined the Road Royals when I got back from Hope's Peak. I was so a'geenst it at first, but she was the most stubborn thing in the world. My little sister…

"Some mad gunman shot her through the head a few months into the Tragedy. When we caught up to him, he was just laughing and saying how he wanted to blow a biker's brains 'oot when driving. I had to be pulled away, I woo'd have beaten him to death.

"Summer Leshawn, my second-in-command. There was no one in the world who I trusted more, the only woman who could outdrink me. She took care of things when I was at Hope's Peak, even started an aquatic branch with motorboats; I don't even know how that worked, but she did it.

"Some bitch shanked her to death in a bathroom, went right for the throat. Walked back 'oot with Summer's blood all over her, acted like it was no big deal. Second month of the Tragedy, I didn't even get to learn that Despair-obsessed freak's real name, she got beaten to death in the holding cell.

"Lizette Carmela, my girlfriend of two years. I have had boyfriends and girlfriends, then there was her. She was such a country girl, I met her by accident and felt like there was no way a hot, smart, quick-witted girl like that would be interested in me. She joined the gang, and I was so enamored with every damn thing about her.

"It was near the end of the Tragedy when some guy in a truck hit her from behind, ran her over, and then backed up over her. I didn't get to say good-bye, just like with my sister, like with my right hand woman. I just got to watch them die."

Kimiko rubbed her own eyes, and took several deep breaths. "I saw them, in my vision. They were all there, laying dead on the floor in pools of their own blood. Broken, mutilated, posed like how they were right when they died… and somehow, that Monokuma bastard knew that.

"It's not a coincidence, that I was saw all of them like that, and then he brought them up in front of me. Is that a warning, is that his way of saying not to say anything that I saw? I don't know what to do, Angel, because even though he cannot kill them a'geen… it sure felt like it right then and there."

The two were silent for a little while, then Angelique stepped towards her. She pulled Kimiko into a tight, comforting hug, and held her there. They didn't say much, just holding onto each other.

"I'll stay here tonight with you," Angelique whispered.

"I'd… I'd like that."

Silence, more holding each other tenderly.

"But, there is one thing that you should be aware of, Angel."

"What's that, belle fille?"

"I sleep naked."

Angelique's eyes went quite wide, and her hands held onto the biker gal a little tighter. "R-really now?"

"I wear leather and jeans and shit like that all day, I want it to be soft and comfortable when I get to rest."

"I… I see."

"You okay with that?"

"… I'm soft and comfortable, belle fille."

There was a light giggle from Kimiko, as she snuggled up to Angelique. "I can feel that, eh~"

---

(Day 06 is over~)

(Monokuma Theater!)

*Monokuma is wearing a fur loincloth, has a white 'n black beard around his muzzle, a large club in his paw, and is standing in front of a cave.*

Monokuma - "I've always been told that time is relative, that what is considered an hour could be the longest point of time for some, but the shortest ever for others. You have no idea how much my Kubs use this as an argument for when they're late for family meetings."

*Monokuma walks into his cave, which has a lot of cave drawings that appear to be primitive versions of the graduates. There are X's through the ones that appear to be Takeo, Jin, and Fiora.*

Monokuma - "But really, you owe it to those who you work for to be on time, at all times, and you shouldn't complain when you have to stay extra. Even if you don't get paid for the early and late times, you have an obligation to not only your work place, but the universe in general. Time is relative, work for free! After all…"

*Using the sulfur water spring in the cave as a washing basin, Monokuma washes off a razor as he proceeds to shave off his bear beard.*

Monokuma - "Where you work will have much more of an impact on everyone else, so your sacrifice should be something to be proud of! But not celebrated, because it is expected. Have I mentioned that I like suffering? Upupupupupu~

"Anyway, that's it for today. I expect you all to be on time for my next presentation, but don't be crabby if I'm not ready. Time is relative and all that, good night and such!"

---

…

26 Graduates remain in Penjar.