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.]

18. Chapter 3-1: Penjar's Growth

Chapter 3-1

Rising Temperatures

---

"There are so many times I wondered how I survived it. Some say that's what is known as survivor guilt, but that's always been something I believed empathetic people had. I'm a selfish person at heart, and there were so many times I was just thinking how glad it wasn't myself, or someone I cared about when I grew to care.

"Isn't that proof enough that I'm not a good person, that I had to learn to care for those that weren't me, that weren't those close to me? I didn't even care about myself at one point, and when I think back to then, I wonder why I managed to make it. So many who died wanted to live, and I didn't even want that at one point.

"Maybe this is just nerves talking, though you know how I feel. You mustn't lie, I know that there is a part of you that is pent-up, a grand amount of emotions, especially over a certain someone, ai-je raison?

"I say this, because you and I relate in a lot of ways. The problem is, when I tore away my mask, I felt like I dove into the deep end and almost drowned; however, I had someone keeping me afloat. Actually, I had many now that I think about it, I truly was blessed.

"You haven't really done the same yet, even though you have those who care. I want to help you with that. After all, it isn't right to ask you of all the favors without offering something in return.

"Are you okay with that? I want to help you out, especially since I… may need to rely on you. Would that be okay, my dear detective?"

---

Day 08, ? AM

Anzu Amika's House

The actress tried to get comfortable, but her mattress felt horridly rough. It was highly stifling, and she was having trouble breathing. She whimpered as she gripped her head and stomach, trying so hard to steady her nerves.

"What is going on?" she cried out, before she threw her blankets off of herself and sat up.

The room was filled with mist. It had creeped in through under the door, and was now waist-high inside the building. Anzu took a deep breath as she gasped, and felt light-headed; the oxygen in the room was severely lacking.

She started to get out of the bed, despite how heavy her body felt. The TV came on, with a loud spit of static first off. Then there was the digital face of Monokuma, leaning in so only his wretched face was on the screen. His maw opened, and the laughter that came from it…

It was a blaring, deep, demonic cackle that made the entire room shake. Anzu felt her skull rattle in her head with how forceful the sound was. The window of her place shattered from the vibrations.

Only it wasn't the laughter, it was the metallic clamp that Monokuma used to fish up the guilty party in a trial. Anzu felt it lock around her neck, and it yanked her with overwhelming pull. She didn't have time to cry out, she could barely register it happening except that she didn't know how her neck didn't break with how hard she was taken from her feet and out the window.

Her leg cut on the window's broken glass, and she hit the road outside. The rough road scraped her skin, her clothing, it was a feeling like fire against her. She struggled as the chained collar dragged her, yet it was useless; she still couldn't find her voice to cry out.

Despite the speed at which she was being dragged, the mist was flowing around her, as if following her to wherever they were going. As it moved, she could see through the thinner parts the other graduates. They had been collared, and were being towed against the ground too.

Anzu tried to scream out to them, see if anyone had broken free. Though she couldn't find her voice, the clamp around her neck too tightly clenched. She couldn't breathe, she could barely think straight…

It was then that she was pulled up a pile, the wooden logs that her body thudded against shredding her clothing more, her hair ripped in pieces from her head. She was slammed against a wooden pole, and chains wrapped around her torso and one of her arms.

Anzu's body felt so heavy, so ruined, she couldn't do anything but slump forward. She stared down at the log pile underneath her, and she saw light. It was a torch thrown at the base of the pile, and the fire from it spread quickly.

The actress found her strength and tried to pull at the chains around her with her free arm. She couldn't budge them an inch, no matter what she did.

The heat and smoke from the fire was reaching her. She felt so uncomfortably hot, and was finding it hard to breathe. Anzu let out a shriek, or at least tried to; it died in her throat, no matter how desperate she felt.

"You really should just die now! Save us all the trouble!"

The voice came from in front of her, in front of the burning pile that was at the top of. Despite the smoke, she could see that someone was standing down there, watching her suffer. No, there was a lot of people there, possibly sixteen? Even more than that, and she could vaguely recognize them…

They were the students from the three classes that had been in the Hope's Peak Academy Killing Game. The ones she had seen in her vision were standing up at the front.

All of them were staring at her with the most hateful, venomous eyes that were glowing red with malice. They raised their fists and screamed at her, demanding her death come faster. Anzu struggled against the chains again, as tears rolled down her eyes.

"You're suffering a great deal, aren't you?"

The voice came from right next to Anzu, startling her with how close they were. When she whipped her head over, she saw a pale, pretty young lady standing casually on the burning log pile with her. The woman had large drill tails expertly fashioned, a gorgeous black dress that met her skin tone perfectly, an image of a beautiful gothic lolita that was undaunted by the imminent agony and death approaching them atop this hill of fire.

The gothic woman stared with contempt at Anzu, her eyes blazing with the same hateful intensity as the students down below. She grabbed Anzu's hand, and placed a revolver into her hand. Forcefully, she pushed the barrel up against Anzu's temple, with the actress's hand curling around it against her will.

"Why don't you just," the woman spat at her, "end it all now? Do it. No more lies, no more emotions…

"No more chaos, no more despair. Do us both a favor, and end it all now."

The woman wrapped her hand around Anzu's hand, one of her fingers pressing against the one Anzu had against the trigger. Rather, it was a long finger guard that was fashioned like a wicked talon, digging into the girl's digit. It penetrated, breaking skin, tearing muscle, pushing against the bone.

"DO IT, YOU FRAUD!"

"… NO!"

Anzu pushed back with all her might, and she felt herself pitch forward. She fell down, the chains around her suddenly gone…

And she hit a carpeted floor. Sprawled out on the ground, her body shivering and shaking, she couldn't will herself to move or get up.

Her body was in agony, though the pain was quickly fading away. The actress gripped her head, controlling her body, before she braved to examine herself. The pain during that dream felt so real, so intense…

The fact that a nightmare made her feel pain was so very unnerving to her. Still, she couldn't find any injuries on herself, her skin was just fine, her hair was all there. Then she collected her breathing, and tried to mentally assure herself that it had been nothing more than the worst night terror she had ever experienced.

The TV turned on, and she shrieked before she could catch herself. The image was similar to the previous morning announcements, but only with the scenery.

---

(Day 08 has begun!)

(Monokids' Town Hall Greeting)

*Monokuma is standing at the town hall. He glances from side to side, then shrugs.*

Monokuma - "Um, well, rise and shine, I guess!"

Monokuma - "I, uh, I have no idea where my kids are. Sorry to admit that, but that's what happens when you're an open papa bear. I don't want my children cutting loose when they go to college, and doing things like getting tattoos and piercings!"

Monokuma, Again - "But I get the feeling I'm not allowed to do what I normally like to do with my closing theater shows, so I guess I gotta keep this professional? Stupid, adorable little cubs, leaving me to adult… who's trusting me to adult! I don't know how to adult!"

Monokuma, Still - "Ahem! Anyway, you all go to the cafeteria and get yourselves something to eat, then wait there. My cubs will be around to help you out shortly, I assure you. As soon as I FIND the naughty little buggers! I swear, they are gonna get SUCH a pinch!

Monokuma, Again Still - "So go on, get yourselves prepared for the day, and hit up the cafeteria. You want to enjoy today of all todays in Penjar…"

Monokuma, Yet Again Still - "Assuming you slept well. Upupupu. AhahahahaHAHAHA!"

Monokuma, Reoccurring - "So long, bear well! Upupupupu! Now to find those dumb Kubs…"

---

Day 08, 9:31 AM

Kimiko Hashiriya's House

The biker gang leader was sitting up in her bed, drenched in sweat, clutching her sheets. She watched the announcement's finish, and slightly flinched when the TV turned off on its own. Letting out a huge sigh, she threw her sheets away, and grumbled.

"I fucking hate that bear."

"The feeling's mutual."

The second voice in the room didn't startle her, it was as if she knew they were there despite not being entirely aware of it. As she pulled herself out of bed, she turned around and saw the young man seated in the plush chair near the window.

"Did you honestly sleep there last night, Yitro?" Kimiko asked, as she adjusted her night wear. She hadn't gone to sleep naked like she normally did, just a t-shirt and her panties this time. She wasn't embarrassed about her apparel, just self-conscious at the moment.

"Yeah, I've slept under worse conditions," he said as he stood up and stretched. The rather loud popping sounds of his joints were almost as sharp as gunshots in the quiet room.

Kimiko placed a hand on her hip, and said, "You knoo', most girls woo'd find it creepy to have a boy watch over them in their sleep. They call that stalking, eh."

"I wasn't doing it to be romantic."

He hadn't meant to be so abrupt with that statement, but it came out anyway. Kimiko's slightly bemused look turned sullen, and she turned away from him.

"So I'm on suicide watch, am I?"

"You did try to kill yourself in front of all of us last night, Kimiko."

"I honestly don't know why I did. Look, Yitro," she said as she turned back around to him, "I really liked Angelique, and I know she liked me. It… it hurt so damn much, it still does; but, I don't think it was just that. Something else was in my head."

"Maybe it was Samson. He shook all of us."

"No, it was," she started to say, then shook her head. "I don't think you'd understand. This fucking town, I cannot explain it, I mean, I just had the worst nightmare ever to top it all off."

"Were you dragged out the window by that chain and clamp, and almost executed in the plaza?"

Kimiko froze, gaping at him in astonishment. Then she gripped her hair and whispered, "Oh fuck, we had the same nightmare too?"

Yitro crossed his arms, and glanced out the window. The mists had settled some since yesterday, since that awful, awful day. He shook his head, and muttered, "Yet more questions this town is pushing on us. It's starting to irk me."

"That's all?" Kimiko declared, throwing her hands up in the air. "That's all you gotta say to more of this awful bullshit?"

"It's the only thing I can do to prevent myself from screaming and start breaking everything in sight," Yitro admitted, then sighed with a shake of his head. "I'm… I'm sorry, I don't really know what else to say."

Kimiko took a deep breath, as a lot of things to say came to mind. She opened her mouth, and found none of them could come out. Everything just felt like too much, except for what was on her mind most of all.

"I'm so soo'ry about Angelique," she said, staring down in shame. "It still doesn't feel real to me."

"Nor does it to me. Kimiko…"

He walked over to the biker gang leader, and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You may hate me for it, but I'm not letting you out of my sight for a while. Too much happened yesterday, and I won't let someone she cared about get hurt again.

"Plus, despite her failing to hook us up because she got all enamored with you, I consider you a friend too. So I hope you'll tolerate me."

Kimiko let out a small laugh, and muttered, "Normally I'd be a'geenst that, because, you knoo', my reputation and such. I'm supposed to be the alpha bitch, but in the past twenty-four hours, I've done nothing but fail, cry, and mope. Oh, and try to blow my brains 'oot."

"Kimiko-"

"Yitro, I cannot explain what happened to me j'oost yet. I'm soo'ry, I really am, but if you give me some time, I'll try to explain better. I'm not giving up now…"

Kimiko gently pushed herself away from him, as she walked away and ran a hand through her hair. "I cannot give up now. Especially for her sake…"

---

Kimiko felt her heart fluttering with delight as she kissed Angelique. The biker gang leader felt impish enough to tighten their hug, just so she could feel more of the opera singer's full breasts up against hers. So warm, so soft, it was like heaven, just like kissing her.

"Mmm, I needed this," Angelique purred sensually after pausing the kissing, resting her forehead against Kimiko's. "But I am actually curious about something, my belle fille."

"And that w'ood be?"

"Am I going to have to wear leather and learn how to ride a motorcycle if we wish for this to be more than a fling?"

Kimiko wiggled her eyebrows at Angelique, and whispered, "You woo'd look so damn hot in a leather jacket, eh."

"In all seriousness, I am curious," she said with the aforementioned serious tone in her voice now, "how much this relationship means to you. I trust you, but I don't know what it entails."

Kimiko sighed softly, and reached down to take Angelique's hand in hers. Pulling apart from their embrace, she began to walk down the sidewalk with the opera singer. "Angel, I have to admit, I doo'nt fully knoo' either, but I know it's more than just a fling. I knoo' when I'm thinking with my heart rather than my… well, you knoo'."

"Last night was rather incredible, my belle fille. Despite my flirtatious nature, however, I don't just do what we did with every gal who shows interest in me."

The two walked a bit more quietly, heading towards the southern part of Penjar where the established buildings were. Kimiko was trying to think of what to say, as she tried to form something she felt was more fitting for Angelique.

"I'm not the really the most poetic or romantic bitch there is, Angel. I doo'nt read or watch sweet shit, hell I think the most romantic thing I did with my late girlfriend was that I told her that I'd gladly let her use my tits as a pillow any time."

Angelique smirked, raising an eyebrow at her. "You had to have been more romantic than that."

"Okay, yeah, she was more special to me than that. But Angel, you're special, you're so sweet and beautiful, in more than joo'st the physical way. I… look."

She stopped in front of the plant nursery, turning to face the opera singer. Her back was to the door of the building, and all of her focus was on Angelique. "I doo'nt knoo' how to make a relationship really work, especially since we're from such different walks of life. But I'm willing to try, eh. I'm so willing to try, because something a'boot you joo'st makes me feel so much better deep down."

Angelique smiled sweetly, and leaned in to kiss her good. "My belle fille, I don't know what is going to happen either. I just know that life isn't worth it if you aren't willing to try, and since you are, it shows to me that I really can trust you."

"You… you really are, Angel."

"Plus there's that adorable fact that I know you want to use my tits as a pillow, you naughty biker girl."

Kimiko blushed bright red, and Angelique was all giggles. She covered her mouth with her free hand, and let out a long, happy sigh. "I'm sorry… I'm just so happy. It's been a while since I felt this joyful. Now, let's head on over to the tavern, and see what the others are up to; I'm not about to give up on finding the answers to this place, no matter how weird it's gotten.

"Plus, I'm sure that Yitro's there, and I'm not going to have him sit around reading those awful romance novels he gets into. I am going to hook that boy up, and you're going to help me! You…"

The door creaked open behind Kimiko. Angelique paused her speech, glancing over the biker's shoulder. She opened her mouth to speak to this person, then for a split second, Kimiko saw her eyes widen in horror.

There was an intensively sharp pain in the back of Kimiko's head. She didn't even feel herself hit the floor, she blacked out before she was down. The last thing she did hear was Angelique's horrified gasp.

---

"I joo'st… I doo'nt understand why things had to happen," Kimiko said, shaking her head. "She was so happy, she was gushing a'boot how she wanted to help you, help everyone, and then fate or whatever shit decided she had to die. It doesn't make any sense."

"No, it really doesn't," Yitro agreed. "I cannot answer that for you, mostly because I'm asking it myself. I don't believe in that kind of fate, however, and what I do believe in is that I'm going to press forward. And if you're going to too, I'm going to make sure that nothing happens to you."

"You really doo'nt need to watch over me all the time, Yitro. I promise you, I'm not going to try and kill myself a'geen."

"I'm sorry, but I cannot just take your word on that for now. Not after what happened, and especially since you cannot explain why exactly."

"I'm not going to let that bastard bear," she shouted, "or that bitch from my vision, or Samson, or ANYONE do that to me a'geen! Never! Never a'geen! I owe it to Angel, to all those I loved and lost, to… to myself.

"I'm not going to be a weak, little, pathetic, sobbing girl who cannot speak up for herself. I… I'll be strong, from here on!"

She stood with confidence, then smirked at him and cast a salute. "And I totally need a shower now, eh. You wanna watch me while I do that too?"

Kimiko was quite proud of making Yitro blush the way he did. "Is that really appropriate?" he asked, hiding his gaze.

"No, it's not. That's why I did it, eh."

The former swordsman let out a long laugh, and he said with fondness in his tone, "I can see why she liked you so darn much."

"I… I want to do right by her, I j'oost hope that you doo'nt think I'm forgetting her if I try to get back to my true self?"

"In all the time I knew Angelique, the last thing she'd want is for people to lose themselves because of her. She would be the first person to tell you to go back to being yourself."

"She'd probably try and push you into the shower with me."

Yitro chuckled, and scratched the back of his head. "Yes, she probably would," he admitted, managing to make eye contact with her for a brief moment as he smiled. Then he turned away, and said, "But… I'm not ready for that."

Kimiko took a deep breath, and said quietly, "I don't think I am either, joo'st yet."

"But go get yourself cleaned up now, or we'll be late for breakfast."

The biker gal nodded, then walked into the bathroom. Yitro sat down on the side of the bed, as he heard the water running and the shower door close. He stared up at the ceiling, lost in thought as his eyes flicked about as if trying to find something, or someone.

"Yeah, I was tempted there, Angelique, I hope you can forgive me," he whispered upwards. "I kind of want something, anything, to make this pain stop. Would you actually be upset with me right now?

"I just… I miss you already. I don't know what is going to happen next. Though I am not going to forget you, you'll be in my heart. And that's why, we're going to solve the mysteries together, just like you said."

---

Day 08, 10:01 AM

Penjar's Public Cafeteria

The twenty-four graduates were all inside the cafeteria by 10 AM, though the gloom amongst them was a terribly thick atmosphere. It quickly became news that all of them, or at least anyone who was open to talk to the others, had suffered the same horrendous nightmare.

The nightmare was almost the same for everyone. They had woken up suffocating in their room full of mist, pulled out by the chain and clamp, and then dragged all the way to the plaza. The way they had almost died was different for everyone, but they all woke up with the same unnatural pains throughout their body.

The only one amongst them all that wasn't in a morose mood was Fiora. The movie maker had a big smile on her face, and was even assisting in the kitchen. She actually hummed to herself as she flipped pancakes.

"Hahaha, I've never done this before today," she cheered as she tried to flip one a little bit higher. It landed with a soft splat on the griddle, and she giggled. "Woohoo! I'm a natural! Alright, eh!"

"You know, I never thought I would say this," Odelios muttered, rubbing his eyes freely as he hadn't the time to apply his make-up, "but I am starting to see why people hate my usual morning cheer."

Fiora glanced at the clown, who stood in the middle of the kitchen with all his usual garb on, just a plain face (though slightly handsome, she thought, he was more attractive when not made-up). "I'm soo'ry, but can't I be in a good mood for once?"

"How are you not miserable? I'm just confused as all hell, like a very puzzled Hades! My perplexed purgatory, my discombobulated death realm, it's all stumped!"

"You're rather good at word play still."

"Horror and frustration inspire my creativity for some damn reason!"

Fiora giggled, and said, "Nightmares do that for me."

"What."

"You see, I kind of suffered nightmares a lot when I was younger, and my parents, God rest their souls, used to tell me to try and twist them into something better."

"Why."

"It helped me with my creative process. I got some of my best movie ideas from some of my worst nightmares! So when whatever that group nightmare we all had happened, I was joo'st thinking how it means we're on the right track!"

"How."

"Yeah, I mean, if Monokuma or whatever forces are gonna give us nightmares, it means they really want to scare us off! Well it ain't working on this girl, nosiree! Seeing a giant clapperboard try to bisect me joo'st makes me think that I gotta stay strong!"

"Clapperboard."

Fiora motioned with her hands to mimic a clapperboard to Odelios, since she thought he was confused on what it was, then went back to making pancakes. "Besides," she said, "doo'nt you have something to aim fur today, lover boy?"

"… Okay, as much as I'd like to repeat that last part, I'm wondering what you're talking about."

"Weren't you going to ask a certain nice redhead 'oot on a date?"

Odelios sighed and leaned against the fridge. "Look, I'm not the most serious of fellows, but even I have limitations to how much I'll joke around. Angelique's death, Samson's betrayal, and all the tragedy that happened afterwards, culminated that we all just had the same nightmare… I don't think I can go about asking her out on a date."

"Aw, why not?"

"Mostly that it was kind of done as a joke and stress relief, so I doubt she wants to take part after all the shit that happened yesterday."

"I've not seen you so serious in all the time you've bin here," Fiora commented, turning towards him after finishing the latest pancakes. She sighed, then brought her smile back. "How a'boot after all the crazy shenanigans that are bound to happen today, you try talking to her. Be someone to listen to her."

"You aren't going to give this up, are you?"

"Yejoon barely leaves me alone, I'm in a hellish city that's becoming more and more paranormal by the day, half of the people here seem to hate my guts, and we joo'st lost one of the nicest people here. Yes, you WILL try and be a beacon of goodness for someone here, ya… ya dang clown! No shooing you 'oot, you're here to stay!"

Odelios smirked, then ran a hand through his orange hair. "I really should do my make-up first. I should look pretty if I'm going to approach her."

"Naw, go natural, you dork. Trust me, it's nice to have a guy who doesn't want to hide their face talking to you for once. Speaking of which…"

Fiora peered into the cafeteria, seeing who was where, specifically her masked stalker. When she spotted him walking at the back of the cafeteria, he happened to glance over at the kitchen and noticed her. With a mere wave from the masked artist, the movie maker squeaked in horror and ducked back out of sight.

The graduates were seated for the most part, waiting for Fiora and Odelios to finish the food they volunteered for. Some of the usual groups had formed up, but there were a few twists in the usual crowd.

Hikari and Aka were together, but the steampunk model had insisted that Kimiko and Yitro join them. The skier appeared slightly uneasy with the two there, but she minded herself as they talked; she appeared to want more personal time with Hikari.

Ishiku and Pyrrha were seated together, with the former trying to talk up the latter. The magician had a great deal to talk about, but Pyrrha was rather fixated on the nightmares, as well more serious subjects. She was so determined to focus, she wasn't able to consider making breakfast for everyone again this morning.

Emanuel and Futaba were seated together, talking softly. Blake and Ken were engrossed in conversation, the other not really preferring the other's company, but needing someone to discuss what had happened.

Isaac, Hara, Saiko, Eisei, and Anzu had all gathered up at the same table, in heavy debate on everything that had happened. Anzu and Isaac had been the most rattled by the nightmares, and couldn't get over what they had seen. Eventually, Souma joined them, and did a good job at calming the two down.

Drake and Ignatia were seated together, with the mime using her cell phone's Notes app to communicate with him more effectively. Crystal sat opposite from them, sipping from a drink she had made as she idly observed the two.

Shuuya was seated alone, until Shinobu walked over to his table and sat down next to him. He silently regarded her at first, then sipped at his drink before saying, "I would think you wouldn't want to sit near me after all that happened yesterday."

"I'm not scared," she said, though he noticed the slightest of shivers in her movements. "It's like we were saying yesterday, if the people you kill are like Samson and other evil people, then you're not going to harm us."

He shrugged, and said, "Very well then, but what would you like? Just to sit here with me?"

It was about that time that Fiora and Odelios were serving the food they had prepared, giving it out to everyone in the cafeteria. Shinobu started to nibble at her pancakes, and was about to speak more when someone sat across the table from the two.

"Excuse me, Shinobu," Yejoon said, rubbing his chin as he glanced between the two, "but could you give Shuuya and I some time alone?"

The historian blanched, and hurried out of there, moving to the nearest populated table. Shuuya glared at the artist, and said, "You have to be kidding me. You honestly think that I want anything to do with you, or listen to anything you have to say?"

"I was hoping to appeal to you, not on my account but for the others. After all, we both have the restrictions to our hidden talents, do we not?"

Shuuya growled in frustration, and cracked his knuckles. "The restrictions prevent you from murder, they prevent me from justice. It's not the same."

"For all your hatred of me, have you ever considered that we both want the same answers? That is why we came to this town, and now we have three points of interest."

The bounty hunter/assassin glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "The Mastermind behind Penjar, the Seed of Despair, and the Entity of Chaos. Is that what you are referring to?"

"If our information is correct, the latter two of the three are members of our group. I do not know who they could be, but I believe you and I could solve the mysteries we kept an eye out. We both were able to discern Samson's true nature, I believe we would be the best set of eyes to handle this subject."

Yejoon took a sip of the drink Fiora had given him along with his breakfast (after which she had scurried away as fast as possible). The artist chuckled, and added, "I'm sure you can sense that things are escalating quickly, and whoever is behind this is trying to throw more distractions at us."

Shuuya glanced to the side, and quietly said, "Such as whatever could be the reason behind the Kubs' disappearance?"

"Those behind these Killing Games love their distractions. They don't remove their puppets, so whatever is going on is merely another curve ball that is trying to throw us off. You sense that too, so I'll be counting on you to keep your senses peeled."

As Shuuya and Yejoon continued to converse, the former begrudgingly, Shinobu was now in a conversation of her own. Or it was more like an observation, as Ignatia didn't talk and Drake was engaged in their odd but effective manner of communication.

"It's so cute, isn't it?" Shinobu said to Crystal, who still continued to watch. "I really think it's great that they can have a relationship, after all that has happened."

Crystal shrugged, not really invested in her surroundings. She occasionally moved her hand to where the collar of her custom-made jacket used to be, but it being missing made her thinking tic a sad reminder.

"They're not exactly a couple," the military expert said, finally weighing in. "They've just been hanging around each other a lot. Though there may be chemistry, it's only conversations on their part."

Shinobu pouted, and nudged Crystal. "Where's your sense of romance? Come on, after all that happened yesterday, we really do need some kind of merriment."

"I don't think we can gush about how joyful it is when the both of us," the military adviser remarked, "considering we both voted the wrong way yesterday."

The historian winced, then muttered, "Sheesh, I know it was a bad day, but you don't need to pile on the guilt."

Crystal scoffed, and moved to stroke her missing collar again, growling in frustration. She watched Ignatia and Drake in their one study conversation for a little while longer, then she finally spoke to them.

"So there is something I've been meaning to ask you," she said towards Drake, who glanced over at her curiously. "We were talking about it the other day, but we never got to what I really wanted to ask you."

"About why I came to Penjar?" the cartoonist asked.

"Yes, that. I was hoping that we could possibly continue that conversation. If you'll allow my company still?"

Drake regarded Ignatia, who shrugged and then typed on her cell phone. The cartoonist read the message, and smiled, saying, "If you want to know about that too, I don't mind explaining myself.

"You see, as I think I told you, I was part of the one year artisan program. Ignatia was too, she told me she was the year behind mine. So we weren't there long, but I did make some friends…

"Including some," Drake took a shuddering breath as he recalled the horrible events, "of those who died during the Hope's Peak Killing Game."

Shinobu placed her hands over her heart, and said, "Oh no! I'm so sorry, Drake. Is that why you're trying to find answers here?"

"Yes, I just wanted to get something, anything, to find some sort of reason to it all. At first I thought it would be for their families, but I learned most of them died too during the start of the Tragedy."

Ignatia typed on her phone, then showed the question to him. "Who did you know?"

"Well, I'll tell you a little about that…"

---

Hope's Peak Academy

Third Floor

Eclectic Art Study Room

Drake was busy scribbling on the paper, trying to make the same character with different expressions and poses. The problem was, while he was good at doing a variety of emotions, anything with high aggression didn't seem natural. Not even the anger on faces seemed to be genuine to him, no matter what he tried.

He glanced around the room, observing the others in the room. There were several drawing on paper, some painting, a couple even sculpting. It was a bit imposing, these people were known for their modern art that could be found in art galleries or professional collections, and he was doodling cartoons.

"Well well well," a voice behind him said, "Mr. Drake Flare, our newest celebrity."

The cartoonist almost whirled around, to see a rather big guy standing there in observance. This guy was shaped almost exactly like an egg, with a shrewd look on his small face.

There was an awkward silence between the two, before the big guy laughed. "Did you like that? My best Severus Snape impression!"

"What? Oh! Oh I see now," Drake said, smiling a little.

"Hehe, someone told me you were English, so I thought a little Harry Potter would be appropriate to say hello."

"Oh, I'm not British, I just speak English primarily; I come from America."

"Really now? I must chastise my sources; however, that's not important right now. So I heard you have a highly successful web cartoon going on right now? I'm highly curious about this."

"R-really? Why?"

The egg-shaped guy chuckled again, and said as he adjusted his glasses, "Because I, Hifumi Yamada, the Ultimate Fanfic Creator, am determined to ensure that the future of 2D is done by the right kind of people."

Drake was now really confused, but Hifumi was rather insistent. So the two spoke about animation, cartoons, and characters for a while in the class.

Hifumi showed up in the art classroom the next day too, and engaged with Drake about the same subjects again. Drake was still confused after several days, especially since Hifumi seemed to be interested in the cartoonist's female characters a little more than usual.

"There's something about your ladies of the 2D world that have me rather confused," Hifumi admitted, a week into their odd relationship. "Like, you have the passion, that is true, but there is something missing about them."

"Hifumi, I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean."

"That's the problem, I'm trying to see-"

"No, I don't understand what's going on here, between us," Drake exclaimed, staring at the surprised fanfic writer. "I mean, you're a writer, and you're also about things like official animé. I don't understand why you want to help me with my web cartoons!"

Hifumi blinked in surprise, then he chuckled. "I suppose it has been a little bit odd. You see, Drake, there was something I noticed about your art style, and I wanted to help with that.

"You see, one of the things I do, the reason I received my title, is that I love to help people showcase their passion. After all, that is what fan fiction is about, showing your love for someone else's work!

"When I saw your work, I felt that you could not only create, but inspire as well. Though there was one thing missing with your work, and I wanted to help you with that."

The big guy reached over and pointed towards one of the female characters Drake had drawn. "You don't like your ladies angry."

Drake almost flinched, the unspoken issue he was having brought up. He stammered, "I… I just have a hard time drawing them angry, that's all."

"No, I think it is a bit more than that. An artist is much like a writer, your personality tends to shine through with your basic work. You prefer to have people not be angry and bitter, and that's why it's so hard for you to showcase that in your ladies.

"You must learn to accept the good with the bad if you want your characters to speak, to showcase themselves. After all, if the lady doesn't ever get angry, then she doesn't have something to be passionate about."

Hifumi pat Drake on the back, and added, "Just remember that when you're trying to convey emotion, my English cartoonist!"

"Hifumi, darling?"

The voice from the front door to the room alerted the fanfic writer and the cartoonist. They looked over to see a pale, gothic-dressed gal standing there, staring directing at Hifumi.

"You promised me you'd make my favorite drink today," the girl said, curling one of her black bangs in her fingers. "Are you going to keep me waiting until the afternoon? The evening?"

"Errr, no, my princess Celestia, I was just-"

"NOW!"

She thrust her finger with the digit-protector claw upon it towards the door. Hifumi let out a high-pitched squeak that, at least to Drake, didn't sound entirely like fear. The fanfic writer sprinted out of the room, far faster than someone his size normally would move.

Celestia sighed and muttered, "I hate the fact that I have to rely on him so heavily." She then realized that Drake was still there, within hearing range, and approached. "Would you kindly ensure my little pet has done his morning deed for me before he hangs out with you?"

Drake nodded, rather intimidated by this goth gal. Celestia moved as if to leave, then her eye caught the drawings he had done. She leaned in towards them, and raised an eyebrow. "Hmm… are you teaching him how to draw?"

"N-no, Hifumi knows how to draw."

"Does he? Is that why he," he started to say, then sighed in exasperation. "He'd better not do what I think he is going to do."

She walked off, leaving a very confused Drake behind.

---

"I still don't really know what Hifumi was going to do for his girlfriend," Drake remarked. "Or… well, I don't think they were dating, but he certainly seemed to have a thing for her.

"It was such a terrible shame what happened to him. Hifumi helped me out a lot, and we really got along during the times we had together. He was even one of the few who respected the fact that I don't have to make my characters sexual."

Shinobu hummed aloud, and said, "That's so strange, I would have thought he would have encouraged that, after all the things I heard about him. Still, maybe that was the thing about him, he had passion and wanted to help people with others."

Crystal sighed, as she rubbed her ring. "Drake, I am sorry to pry, just part of me has wanted to know about those people before they were given amnesia. You're one of the very few who got to know them before the Tragedy, before the Killing Games."

"Yeah, I don't understand how most of that technology works," Monotaro said, running his fingers through his hair before adjusting the head band. "How exactly did they get selective amnesia?"

"That is something that was never fully explained," Shinobu said wistfully. "It's still scary, thinking that amnesia or despair can be given to people by a mere flash of light."

"Indeed," Crystal remarked, "it's more dangerous than guns, in a manner of speaking."

…

…

…

…

…

…

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" the three speaking graduates screamed as they all jumped up and backed away from the human speaking in Monotaro's voice. Ignatia was standing on the bench of the table, appearing ready to fight right away.

"HUUUUUUUUUUH?!" the white 'n red-topped young man hollered back, holding his hands up defensively.

"WHAT IS THAT?" Shinobu shrieked, pointing at the guy from behind Crystal. "Who's he? Why does he sound like Monotaro?"

"Why does he look like Monotaro?" Drake shouted.

"Why is everyone yelling at me? Am I hideous?" the guy asked, scanning all of the people staring at him, which was all of the graduates by now. "Was I made ugly? That's not fair!"

"Aw, what a shame for you, bro," Monosuke's voice came from behind everyone who had formed a semi-circle around the white 'n red-haired young man. "Luck of the draw you turned out uggo. Too bad!"

When the graduates turned towards the source of the snide voice, there was no short, orange little bear holding money in a gloating manner. There was in fact another young man staring over at the one who resembled and sounded like Monotaro.

"Okay," Aka shouted, "what the fuck is going on?"

"IT'S HUMAN MEATBAG TIME, BITCHES!"

There was a tremendous thudding sound as a leather-clad lad jumped into the air and landed on his legs atop of a table. He was holding a blue guitar in his hands, strumming it as he struck a rockstar pose. "Hot damn, we're taking this to a whole 'nother level!"

The graduates were all highly confused and concerned, until Souma stepped forward amid them. He approached the one who sounded like Monotaro, studying how he appeared.

If there wasn't any confusion over who this was or how they could be, Souma would have surmised he was a young man in his early twenties. His hair was split in color down the middle, much like Fiora, with pure white on the guy's left, bright red on the right. It was cropped short in a cute, boyish style.

He wore a jacket that was also color-split, white on the right and red on the left. The young man also had a gray scarf around his neck and draped down his back, a ninja star on the front of it. The jeans and boots he was wearing were a normal black.

Everything about the man's skin tone and features appeared to be asian. His right eye had a dark gray, almost black in nature, pupil, and his left eye had a bright red one.

"Okay," Souma spoke up, pointing at this young man, "who are you?"

"Um, am I that unrecognizable?" was the response, before the guy looked at his own hands, and he shrieked, "By the great one's globes, how did I get hands?!"

"We've been in these bodies for a couple hours now," the orange one shouted impatiently. "How have you already forgotten you're a human now?"

This orange one had a hoodie on, white on the left, orange with tiger stripes on the right. His hair and eyes also followed the same color pattern that the red one had, only he was wearing glasses.

"I fucking love it, that's what I gotta say! Hands fucking rock," the blue version of these new arrivals shouted.

Of the three arrivals, this one had done a lot of custom work, so to speak. While his hair was white 'n blue, he had it cropped just like a pop singer or rock star would have it, that unruly style that seemed to be all the rage. The guy had on a leather jacket, a low neckline shirt that exposed chest hair (dark blue hair), as well as leather pants and metal-studded boots. He even had gloves on studded on the back, and dark blue nail polish on.

And what's more, he had stars drawn around his eyes. At least, Souma assumed they were drawn, because if they were tattoos, the artist hadn't made the lines entirely straight.

"So that's what's up, bitches," the blue one shouted. "Pops got us some brand new fucking bodies to fuck with!"

"You… you have to be joking," Shinobu balked. "That kind of technology… no! You're just the people behind the bears! You have to be the Masterminds!"

Several of the people made a move towards the three new arrivals, but stopped short when Monosuke's human representation shouted, "Any harm done to us will bring The Guardian down on you! I'd advise you do not try to grab us in a threatening manner, or attack us, unless you want your own meaty bodies perforated by bullets!"

Saiko approached Monotaro, the white 'n red-topped young man shaking nervously at her steely look. She asked aloud, "Are we allowed to touch in nonthreatening manners?"

"I won't kink-shame you," Monosuke remarked with a roll of his heterochromatic eyes. "Sure, fine, do that."

"What? No fair!" Monokid shouted. "Monotaro gets the ladies touching him right away!? Why him? Wait, can we still beat up Dam if it leaves bruises?!"

Saiko was inspecting the one that was supposedly Monotaro, as the graduates grouped together. "What is going on here?" Hikari whispered. "What in the name of all that is gears and steam going on?"

"These are the true masterminds of this Killing Game?" Hara asked, sounding highly unsure. "I mean… they don't seem like the type."

"These three couldn't be trusted to leave a fast food store on their own," Isaac remarked, "let alone build this ghost town up the way they have."

"We really buying what they're saying?" Blake said. "That they were just given human bodies?"

"With all the insane science and biology I've seen made possible these days," Crystal said with a shake of her head, "anything seems possible."

"I must protest," Ken spoke up. "Just because they look like their bear counterparts doesn't mean that someone in this town stuck them in a machine and gave them human bodies."

"It wasn't like that," Monophanie said, shaking her hips side to side. "It was more like a downloading process."

"Really?" Blake remarked. "Because I think that sounds like a ton of bullsh-WOAH!"

The group flinched in surprise with how sharply he barked out that last word, coupled with the fact that they had a sudden guest amid them. They turned to see Monophanie, or at least someone made up and dressed (barely) as her.

The young lady had long hair, perfectly divided between white and pink, down to the small of her back. She wore a black bikini top, with a pink flower decal on each cup. She also wore a couple of white elbow-length gloves, with some frills at the end.

Her skirt was split white and pink, with her thong underwear visible at her hips. She had on flip-flops, also color-coordinated with the rest of her barely concealing get-up. Her heterochromatic eyes scanned those looking at her, and she nervously covered her mouth with her hand.

"Oh dear, did I mess up my hellos? I'm so sorry," she whimpered, her voice unmistakably the same as the simpering pink Kub. "Should I start again? I could do better!"

"You're," Eisei said, staring up at the young lady, "you are Monophanie?"

"Err, yes," she said with a confused stare at the dentist. "Did my brothers not tell you what happened?"

"What are you talking about?" Ishiku asked.

"And why," Blake said, eyes staring at Monophanie's chest, "are you HOT?!"

Monophanie stared down at herself, then nervously crossed her arms over her chest; it didn't hide the fact that her D-cup breasts were giving that bikini top a heck of a job supporting her. "Oh please don't look at me like that, it makes me feel funny!"

"Now wait a minute," Aka shouted, purposefully standing between Hikari and Monophanie, "why are you dressed like that? You look like a fan service supermodel going for a beach shoot!"

Monophanie stammered, blushing bright red as she tried to cover her face and chest at the same time. As she squirmed, Eisei spoke up again.

"And why don't you have a navel?"

Everyone's attention was drawn to Monophanie's stomach, which made her blush and fidget all the more. Sure enough, her flat stomach was completely barren of the usual belly button. This made all of the graduates' shock all the greater.

"No no no, what is going ON!?" Pyrrha hollered, gripping her red hair. "How is this possible?"

"Wait, is that plastic surgery?" Souma inquired. "Can you remove a belly button with surgery?"

"If I may," Eisei said as he approached Monophanie. When she didn't say anything, he started to feel up her stomach, and the amount of blushing shades she went through while giggling non-stop at the touch was palpable.

"P-please, now I'm feeling all sorts of things," she begged.

"Ooo, she's ticklish too?" Blake said with a wicked grin on his face.

"Down, boy," Ishiku snapped at him.

Eisei finished touching Monophanie's stomach, then glanced over at the others. "Everything feels natural there. I do not have the knowledge to know how navel nullification is done, but I would imagine there would have to be some kind of marking or the like."

"Wait, that's a thing?" Hara asked.

As Eisei went into a bit of a rant over navel nullification, Saiko called out to them while searching Monotaro's body. "He doesn't have one either. And as someone with the biology background to back it up, the lack of one doesn't seem to be surgery related. It makes no sense!"

"What makes no sense," Monotaro muttered, "is why you had to touch me all over, and I didn't even buy you dinner…"

"Shush. You're not allowed to be a pervert."

"You were the one touching me!"

Saiko walked away from him, and towards the others. "Okay, this is actually quite concerning. It's not just the lack of a navel, it's the pristine skin, the heterochromatic eyes, and the flawless hair coloring."

"I have that kind of hair coloring too," Fiora pointed out, indicating her black 'n white hair.

"Shut up," Emanuel grumbled at her, his confused glare focused briefly on the movie maker.

Fiora sneered back at him, and Saiko said, "If I look close, Fiora, I can see where the dye is done; more specifically, your eyebrows."

"Yeah, the hair on my head is the only hair I dye. I don't do that."

Fiora pointed to Monophanie, and said, "Look at little miss fan service there, she's like the others. One eyebrow is perfectly white, the other matches her color theme."

Monophanie stared at Saiko, then nervously bit her bottom lip. "I wanted to wear more, but I was told that I needed to stay true to my bear form."

"How does your bear form relate to your lack of clothing?" Ken inquired. "You are hardly dressed, ma'am, and as the only female of your bunch, that's fairly inappropriate."

Monophanie raised her hands and waved them frantically. "No no no, don't give him an excuse-"

"THE PUBLIC DEMANDS IT!"

There was a lightning-fast amount of movement, and then Monokid was down to his boxers, his clothes scattered on the floor around him. His underwear was themed with blue and white stars. "You guys want a hunk of rockstar, here it is!"

"Oh my," Ken said glancing away.

"Oh my," Futaba remarked, but not in the same way.

"Oh good grief," Monosuke said, face-palming. "Do youse know how hard it was to get him to put on his clothes in the first place?"

"Okay, enough messing around," Saiko declared, stomping up towards Monosuke. "What's going on? Why are you all here in human form? How is this possible?"

Monosuke chuckled, and began his explanation. "Youse want to know? Well, after the last trial, Pops decided that we needed to relate to youse all more, so when we were finished restoring part of the eastern side of the town, we got our old science lab running.

"As it turns out, we can make ourselves new bodies, and we modified them to our specific desires. Everything except tattoos, Monokid got a sharpie for that.

"Anyway, the rules still stand by any violent attack towards us will be met with extermination. However, we want to show youse all our new part of the town, as well as the science lab."

There was an unsettling quiet amongst the graduates, as they let this all sink in. Isaac managed to find his voice first, and asked, "Let me get this straight: you made human bodies for yourselves overnight?"

"Daddy did it," Monophanie said, shrugging her slender shoulders. "I mean, I haven't a clue how that science stuff works, I just know how it does. Kind of like cell phones, you know? How do they work?"

"And fucking magnets!" hollered Monokid.

"Now we cannot take all of youse to the science lab at once, that'd be far too many people," Monosuke said, "but youse can explore the other buildings we restored."

"You restored more buildings?!" Ken barked out. "What… what is it about you despair-loving fanatics that you always do this? Opening up new sections after a trial, adding more areas, it makes no sense!"

"I don't write the meta, I just go with it to avoid confusion," Monosuke shouted. "But enough jibber-jabber, who wants to see-"

"But why?!" Saiko demanded to know, stomping forward. "Why did you all get human bodies? What is the point of that?"

"Pops could explain it when we're there," Monosuke said, adjusting his glasses. "No sense in trying to pull answers from me, I'm just one of the participants."

"This is just too weird," Pyrrha muttered. "And why do you all look our age? Are you… trying to blend in with us? Do you really want that? I thought you all wanted us to die."

"I'm more than willing to do human stuff with you all now," Monokid said with a devious chuckle, "especially since I'm looking at some of you, and it's making me feel things too! Like-"

"We don't need any more than that, Kidd," Monophanie shouted.

"'Kidd'?" Hikari asked.

"Oh, um, we decided to go by more human names while we're human. He's Kidd, I'm Fannie, Monotaro is Taro, Monosuke is Suke-"

"I still think that is slang for something inappropriate," Suke shouted, "it sounds dirty somehow! We don't have the internet here, how can we really know-"

"And then there's Dam," Fannie concluded. "Does that help?"

"Wait, where is Monodam?" Drake asked. "I don't see him."

"Dam is working on the final touches of a personal project," Taro said, tapping his fingers together, almost hypnotizing himself with his own movements. "He will be at one of the other buildings. Come on now… let's go before I forget which way the new places are."

The group of graduates started heading out of the cafeteria, along with the human Monokubs. The one hesitation was when Blake asked Fannie to hold up for a bit.

"Everyone was seeing," the pyro explained, "if you all were really human and such by investigation. I wanted to do the same."

"Okay," Fannie said, her black 'n pink eyes glancing to the side in confusion.

There was a moment of silence within the cafeteria, then there was a high-pitched shriek, and a mighty slap to the face echoed throughout the building.

"Just because I got a human body recently," she shouted as she stormed out of the building, "doesn't mean I don't know what you're trying to do, baka!"

---

Day 08, 11:24 AM

Eastern Side of Penjar

Near ?

Moving past Town Hall, past some of the worn-down and decrepit buildings, was an area that appeared to be in the process of restoration. It was a little hard to describe for them, since it was that odd blend of buildings run down and ravaged by time and the elements, but something renewing life and strength in them.

All of the buildings were surrounding a plaza-like area, where there was a large statue of Monokuma at the center. The plaque on it said, "To our Beloved Father!"

To the right of the statue, or rather to the south, there was a school. It appeared to be a grade school for children, judging by the playground that was out front. This was one of the most concerning things to those who had taken to exploring the town; they had never seen a school around here.

Straight ahead from the statue, or rather to the east, there was an official two-story building. The windows on all sides were so grimy, the grime aged horribly, it almost appeared to be moldy wood. Though upon moving closer, one could see the inside, which was actually clean and maybe even polished. A crude sign was hanging above the front door, reading, "Science Lab."

To the left of the statue, or rather to the north, was a rather old fashioned tailor shop. There were mannequins in the display windows, all wearing similar clothes to what the human Kubs were wearing; there was also a sign hanging from one of the mannequins saying, "Coming Soon for Miss Wilson."

Behind the statue, or rather to the west, was a public bathroom, with a couple outhouses. It was quite unglamorous, especially since the outhouses were as faded and rusted as everything else.

"Ew," Fiora remarked as she regarded the outhouses, "that's got diseases written all over it. Now then, how are we going to go a'boot exploring the new areas-"

"Shut. Up."

Emanuel shoved the movie maker to the side as he made a beeline towards the tall building labeled Science Lab. "There's no point but to investigate this technology they allegedly have. And we need to have people who are intelligent enough to understand this shit, not dumbasses like you!"

Fiora scoffed and turned away from him. "Fine, whatever. Like hell I'd want to go with you, eh."

Taro stepped in front of the group of survivors, and raised his hand. "Attention, everyone! I'd like to say, since we have twenty-four guests now in Penjar, we should do tours of the Science Lab with a group of six. Who would like to go… first?"

He had managed to fascinate himself with his fingers again. Emanuel let out a loud, frustrated groan, and moved forward. "I am going with the first group, and no one who is pathetic, because they wanna be fucking funny or sexy or angsty, is allowed to go! Got it?!"

"Who the hell died," Ishiku snapped, "left you in char-"

Emanuel swung at Ishiku, but the magician managed to duck out of the way in time. The Bête Noir snarled and pointed threateningly at Ishiku, and shouted, "Because I will beat the shit out of you if you try!"

"Oh really?" Anzu shouted, stepping towards him. "I dare you! I dare you, you crass piece of shit!"

Ken moved forward to try and stop this, but Emanuel was faster. He reached out and shoved Anzu with a hard push to the chest; despite her determination, he was far stronger than her, and it knocked her down on the ground.

"There, happy, you cunt?" Emanuel said with a hateful, spitting tone. "Now back the fuck off, and let the serious people handle this!"

Much arguing followed, in which Anzu was helped up by Kimiko. The biker gang leader pulled her away from the confrontation, and helped dusted her off.

"It's pointless to reason with him," Kimiko said. "It's pretty much now his only way to handle frustration."

"It just makes me so mad," Anzu said with a mighty heave of annoyance. "You know why we haven't able to work as a group? Because of him! He makes it impossible to try and rally together!"

The fighting continued, until finally Isaac managed to be heard out by everyone. "We're not getting anywhere bickering like this! Let me just request to everyone that my group, consisting of myself, Hara, and Saiko, to take part in the first group. I would rather work towards getting this done, rather than fighting over it like brats."

Emanuel spat angrily, then said, "Fine, whatever. Crystal should come with us too, since she's the only one left amongst you that has a brain."

"No, I'd rather not," Crystal said with a shrug. "Besides, I believe there is a summons for me at the tailor shop, I wish to see what that is about."

The Bête Noir stared at her, then rolled his eyes. "Off to see something pointless and stupid instead of the real issues? I guess you aren't that smart, I mean, you're the one who trusted Samuel."

Crystal shook with contempt, then turned on her heel and walked away, towards the tailor shop. Emanuel looked like he was going to say more, but Ken stepped up, in front of him.

"I will be accompanying you," the cavalryman said, glaring at the detective. "If only to keep your rotten attitude in check."

"Stuff it, I just ain't putting up with bullshit anymore. You all just want to wait for someone else to die to do something, letting yourselves get distracted. But fine, let our attempted murderer join us, what could go wrong with that?"

The group of graduates all grumbled in frustration with what was going on, until one of them stepped up. "If only to finish this pointless argument," Shinobu said with a calm tone, "I will go with this group as the sixth member. There's actually a lot I want to ask on this tour."

As if alerted by this statement, Taro snapped out of his self-hypnotized state and stepped forward. "Oh yes, don't worry about that! Myself, Kidd, and Suke will be your tour guides through the Science Lab! It'll be so nice, escorting a lovely lady around!"

Shinobu blinked, then turned towards the other members of this group. "Which… which one do you mean?"

"You, of course!"

The historian blinked again, blushed, and then hid her face. "No no no! I'm not that lovely! I mean, you're… you're just the Kubs made human! You're like children!"

"No we're not," Kidd shouted, jumping up and down childishly. "We're about the same age as you guys!"

"And youse'll learn all this and more," Suke said, "if you take the tour. No more than six allowed in the Science Lab, and there will be restrictions to this building in the future!"

Emanuel sighed, and shook his head. "First place to have serious restrictions, this is going to be interesting. Well, whatever, let's go then."

Taro walked up towards Shinobu, and offered his hand. "Now, allow me to guide you."

"Eek!" Shinobu squeaked, before taking his hand. Her face was almost as red as his color theme. "This… this is so weird and odd and one of those things you read about but don't believe and it's happening to me right now-"

Suke loudly cleared his throat, as he approached the Science Lab's front door. There was a numerical key code lock next to the door, which he punched in while covering it with his body from prying eyes. The doors opened up, and the six graduates and three human Kubs walked in.

As the doors shut behind them, the rest of the graduates stood around near the statue. Fannie stood nearby them, a good distance from Blake. They were all silent for a few seconds, then Souma spoke up.

"Are we just going to stand here then?" he asked, crossing his arms impatiently. "We really should be doing something more productive."

Fannie hummed aloud, swishing her hips as she walked around them. "The tour will take an hour. You could always check out the tailor shop, or the school! Or the public restrooms! We managed to get them really clean."

"I think we can pass on the restrooms," Eisei remarked. "Unless you all just started hiding worthwhile items in seemingly unimportant places."

"Crystal already went to the tailor shop," Drake said, "I think I'd like to join her."

Ignatia nudged him, and the cartoonist added, "Oh, I think we'll go join her. Anyone else want to go?"

"That sounds lovely," Anzu said, smiling pleasantly.

"I wouldn't mind checking it out," Eisei commented.

"I'd love to check out some new threads," Ishiku said with a cheer. He turned towards Fannie, and asked, "Since three of you are being tour guides for the Science Lab, are you going to be a guide for the Tailor Shop?"

"Oh no, Dam is in there," Fannie remarked. "I'll be touring the school with you all, it's quite big."

There was a devious chuckle, as Blake stepped forward. "Well then, lady with the candy-colored hair, I wouldn't mind joining you for the tour of the school."

The white 'n pink-topped girl winced and declared, "Eww! I know what you're trying to do! You cannot fool me, I do not trust you!"

"I promise to behave with honorable intentions."

"Oh, okay then!" Fannie said with a happy smile. "Would all of you care to join me? The school is quite big, I'm sure you'd all like to look around."

The remaining graduates who hadn't gone to the lab or tailor shop exchanged glances, as Fannie with Blake close behind walked towards the school. They didn't know how this would be important.

"At the risk of sounding defeated," Odelios said, wringing Rubarrow's neck, "what the hell else are we gonna do? Search the outhouses?"

"Aw, I don't want to prove Emanuel right," Fiora declared. "I don't want to waste time doing things that won't help us, I wanna be helpful!"

"Now now, little flower," Yejoon said, patting her back, "there's a lot of highly unique objects in this town, and it's our job to find them."

Fiora froze up when touched by the artist, then shivered, and declared, "Yeah, um, maybe… there's one in one of those outhouses, gonna look there now bye!"

The movie maker sprinted off towards one of the outhouses, slamming the door behind her. Futaba snickered, and glanced over at Yejoon, saying, "You really think she likes attention from you? You're really pushing it if you think she wants your affection."

Yejoon scoffed, and walked off towards the school, but not before stopping nearby Shuuya. "Focus, remember?" he whispered, before heading towards the school.

Shuuya took a deep breath as he watched the serial killer head towards the school, then realized some of the others were staring at him. "What?" he asked, folding his arms over his chest. "Do you all think I'm paying any heed to what he's saying?"

"Even if he isn't moral," Futaba said, "he isn't entirely wrong. There could be something in the school that's highly important."

"They have a science lab where they made themselves human bodies," Yitro pointed out. "How could a run-down school be more important?"

Kimiko spoke up, at first rather quiet but then finding her courage. "Anzu and I experienced visions when we touched random items. Maybe there is something in the school that will do the same?"

"Or maybe some history to this town," Souma remarked. "Either way, I think it is worth exploring here while we wait for our tour."

The ten graduates nodded in agreement. Then they all jumped in surprise when there was a high-pitched scream, and a sharp slap. "You lied to me," came the indignant shriek of Fannie.

"It was the artist guy, he pinched your butt!"

"What? Oh, you foxy pervert! I'd slap you, but I'm terrified of you too much!"

"Hey, I'm terrifying too! Come on, baby!"

"Kindly silence yourselves," Yejoon snapped at them over the heated debate.

The ten graduates nearby exchanged glances. Hikari sighed aloud, adjusting her hat as she said, "You know, this actually grinds my gears when I think about the absurdity of the situation. We're a collection of quirky people who are exploring a ghost town where there's an advanced science lab and a worn down grade school, all while being monitored by mechanical bears who have gained human bodies for some reason.

"This all sounds like some ridiculous cartoon, or a reality show, or something else completely different from this."

---

(Outhouse Confessional - Whoa, what the hell are we doing HERE?!)

Fiora - *sulking with her arms folded over her chest* "I'm so sick and tired of Yejoon following me around and encouraging me! I can encourage myself just fine, or get along with one of the other graduates!

"If… one of the other graduates would pay attention to me, that is. I mean, none of them are hitting on me like I keep seeing everyone else doing, and they won't come near me with Yejoon around me…"

*She stops talking, then glances around inside of the outhouse.* "… Wait a minute. Why am I talking about my personal problems in here? What am I doing in here?!"

---

Day 08, 11:31 AM

Penjar Grade School

Main Lobby

The main lobby was rather ragged, from down to the matted carpet to the peeling paint on the walls. The front desk was covered in dust, with papers so faded with time that the writing was illegible. Offices and rooms in the back were rather derelict, with cobwebs almost filling up every doorway.

Fannie was leaning against the front desk, keeping a close eye on Blake as she huffed rather adorably. The graduates glanced around the area, trying to figure out more.

"Okay, let's spread out," Souma suggested. "There's some classrooms nearby as well, maybe we can find something out about this place."

"I'll stay here," Blake suggested, grinning at Fannie, "and check out the, ah, student body!"

"Eww," Fannie cried out, "I'm not a student, I'm a woman! And what's more-"

Shuuya walked up to Blake and grabbed his ear. Pulling the man away, the bounty hunter saying to the protesting pyro, "Quit trying to score and help us, or I'll make you really feel like a misbehaving student!"

Futaba chuckled as she followed after the two, into one of the nearby classrooms. The others exchanged glances, then split up. Aka and Hikari walked into some of the surrounding offices, glancing around; the steampunk model used her umbrella to swat away cobwebs.

"I don't really see anything in here but more cobwebs and dust on normal objects," Hikari stated. "Okay, I really don't want to go in these rooms, they're filthy."

"And they make me think of the offices I got sent to all the time," Aka said, an impish grin on her face.

The model smirked over at the skier. "Were you a bad student, my darling?"

"I got into fights with boys and girls, got overly aggressive sports, did some dangerous things like climbed trees… oh, and I started making out with girls when puberty gave me hormones ablaze!"

"Have you always been a daredevil?"

"Hot damn, yeah. In fact, just to be that thrill-seeking daredevil," the skier walked up behind Hikari, and properly pinched her butt, "I'd say, let's skip all this and go to round two, darling."

Hikari squeaked adorably, then laughed as she turned towards Aka. "You just are happy we're having sex now, that doesn't mean I am going to drop everything and shag you sweetly."

"I'm the one on top, honey-bunny. Besides, what are we hoping to do? Find something that'll make us pass out when we touch it? Historic items in a grade school? It's not thrilling, and there's, like, ten people already on it."

Aka snaked her arms around Hikari's slender waist and pulled her back towards her. "Come on, it's on your mind! You cannot make a thrill-seeker like me just walk around and look at boring stuff."

"Nnngh," Hikari moaned, as she shivered at Aka's touch, "b-but I don't think we should dodge responsibility! Maybe we should… find something exciting?"

Aka hummed, and then glanced over towards the main desk. Fannie was still leaning against it, making small talk with Odelios. The clown had stayed back to examine the front desk, and was now entertaining Fannie with his rubber chicken.

"The boys are all over Monophanie's human form, it would seem," Aka remarked. "Put a girl in a bikini, they'll flock to her in droves."

"Oh you cannot deny you're curious too," Hikari said with a naughty laugh. "If you weren't trying to seduce me, you'd be trying to pump her for information."

The skier giggled most impishly, and whispered, "Wanna try and see if Fannie likes girls, together? Now that is daring, trying to seduce one of our sadistic hosts!"

"Are… are you serious?"

"It's worth a try, haha!"

Odelios was busy doing a routine in front of Fannie, who laughed and clapped at every joke. "You're so funny, Odelios," she said approvingly. "I love puns so much!"

"Thank you, little lady! I'm working on my routine for when I ask out a certain someone. There's work to be done."

"It's rather sweet, you all trying to get along! Now I'm happy to be a human, you have way more interesting ways of asking people out than bears."

Then, the bikini-clad former bear girl let out a shriek, leaping upwards as both of her butt cheeks were pinched. She whirled around shouting, "Darn it, Blake, I don't want…"

She went silent when she saw it was Hikari and Aka who had both done the deed. There was an awkward pause, then she turned to Odelios and whispered in fear, "Wh-wh-what do I do? I've never had so many people flirting with me before!"

"You think I have that experience?" Odelios asked, raising an eyebrow.

"They're mostly just trying to smack me and make fun of my voice!"

"Now that I have experience with."

---

Day 08, 11:37 AM

Penjar Grade School

Classroom 01

"So what the hell is your deal?" Shuuya barked at Blake, as they rummaged through the grade school classroom. "Monophanie is still one of our hosts, an assistant to the death and despair that is part of Penjar, of maybe the Tragedy. Just because she now has a big pair of breasts doesn't change the fact that she's dangerous as hell."

"Oh please, have you seen them? Those big, pristine globes are so worth trying to get up in that. Besides, why do you care about my well-being, mate?"

Blake examined one of the desks for the students. The inside was so full of dust and cobwebs, he didn't want to dare stick his hand in there. Gripping it and lifting up, shaking to see if anything was in there, he groaned when nothing but dust and cobwebs fell out.

"You're an assassin, aren't you? If I need someone killed, I'll contact you, but I definitely don't need a damn lecture on what I should and shouldn't do," he said, glaring over at Shuuya.

"If you endanger us all with your actions, it concerns me."

"Oh, we really playing that card now? You gonna act like the better man, saying you care about the others so much?"
Blake moved right up to Shuuya's face, the latter undaunted by this. Futaba, watching this exchange, kept silent due to her anthropologist side as well as personal interest.

"I don't care if you believe me or not," Shuuya said. "I'm just telling you, thinking with your penis is not going to help us out here. And also, do you honestly think you have a shot?"

Blake barked out a laugh, leaning up against a chair. "Oh, that's hilarious, you want to give me the moral lecture? Is that what the fucking world is like?"

He cackled again, and then stopped suddenly. "It's so fucking funny, it kind of circles back into not funny at all territory. Here you are, a man who willingly admits that he hunts down people and murders them, and everyone has just given you a pass. There's no worry, no voice of concern, they all just let you do you…

"Meanwhile, I hit on a girl, and everyone loses their fucking shit!"

The pyro kicked the desk and chair combo, knocking it and several of them over. There was an infuriated huff, and then Blake dusted himself off; so much of the dust had drifted onto him from that motion.

"You know, while I was in prison, I learned that not everyone in there is a cold-blooded, irredeemable monster, like people like you want to make them out to be," Blake remarked. "I also learned that life can be horribly fleeting, especially with all the shit that's been going on.

"So guess what, you stupid shit? I don't give a damn if you don't like me or what I do, and I'm going to do it anyway. Because I don't really expect anything of importance to simply be found in the town of our enemy; they're not fucking stupid.

"I'll be on my way, doing what I want to do. You can just waste your damn time and energy, until the next murder happens. We all know that's what is going to progress things here."

With that, he stormed out of the classroom. Shuuya stood there, silent without much reaction. Futaba allowed for some silence, before approaching the bounty hunter.

"In three," the anthropologist counted aloud, "two… one."

A second after the "one," a shriek came from the main lobby, and then a slapping sound. Futaba chuckled, and said, "Ever predictable."

"I don't know entirely about that," Shuuya said, shaking his head. "I mean… is he right?"

"About which part, handsome?"

"About, well, a lot of it, but most importantly, the part that we are wasting our time. Do we really think we'll find out the answers by exploring this old school?"

He gestured towards the classroom, which was just a dusty, abandoned mess to Futaba's eyes. She corrected her glasses, and said, "Maybe not, but we must move forward rather than slump backwards. Do you really think that we should just up and leave? Ignore new areas of interest? Sulk in our rooms?"

"No, not really."

"Then buck up. We have a school to explore, rooms to look into. Maybe we'll find something, maybe we won't; but we don't give up just because of failure!"

Shuuya glanced at her, then smiled a little. "Odd, the same advice could have been given to Blake with his continued attempts."

"Yes, but it's actually fun watching him fail trying to get into Fannie's pants."

---

Day 08, 11:45 AM

Penjar Grade School

Classroom 04

Past a decrepit computer lab, beyond a couple classrooms that were completely overrun with dust and cobwebs, was a classroom that wasn't quite as rundown as the others. It was there that Yejoon had wandered in, and Yitro, Kimiko, and Pyrrha followed intrepidly.

The artist was looking at a long shelf, which was cluttered with all kinds of objects. They seemed to be a collection of childish trinkets and toys, though there were some rather elaborate objects.

Yejoon tapped against the glass of the aquarium, which was filled with water. The tank had an oxygenation pump working effectively, and there was gravel, faux seaweed stalks, and a tiny castle inside.

However, as Yejoon tapped on the case, it was obvious that there were no aquatic animals inside it. "Complete restoration of a fish tank amongst all of the other objects here, how odd."

Kimiko and Yitro were content in staying away from him, but Pyrrha dared to inspect the shelf too. She recognized almost all of the objects on the long shelf: a rotary phone, a baseball glove, an insect containment case, a duster that was far too dusty to use, an Earth globe, and numerous others.

The romantic writer placed her fingers on the globe, and spun it, watching the dust fly off and reveal parts of it. "Oh good, still round," she said with a small laugh.

"That would be a rather interesting thought," Yejoon said, making Pyrrha flinch slightly. "Penjar, a town so isolated from the world, they were all Flat Earthers."

Pyrrha nervously chuckled, and tried to make herself busy. When she noticed there was a great deal of drawings posted up nearby on the wall, she started examining them. Most of them were horribly faded, but they still had some visible images.

"There is actually something I wished to discuss with you, Pyrrha," Yejoon said, much to the romance writer's horror. "Could you pardon a minute to sate my curiosity?"

"I… I don't think I wish to discuss things with you, Yejoon."

"But you don't know the conversation-"

"I can guess. Plus, you frighten me. I don't feel comfortable discussing things with you."

"Really? Because ever since Shuuya's real profession, someone with an incredible art of assassination, was revealed, it has not seemed to darken anyone's feelings of him."

"That's different! Because if it is all true, he only kills people who are dangerous. That's something we've all had to accept in the world after the Tragedy. And… well…"

Pyrrha sighed as she rested a hand on the shelf, drumming her fingers until she found the words. "The Tragedy scarred the world more than we could imagine, and we saw the most overwhelming Killing Games taking place. Despair was almost broadcast across the entire world, a floating island nearly crashed onto Japan.

"We're not safe yet, and the more I see of Penjar, the more convinced I am that something else can happen. So I want to remain focused on trying to find the truth to this place…

"And most importantly, if you are seriously asking me why people are accepting to Shuuya and not you, you casually have admitted to murdering your parents, as well as two hundred people. Do you honestly need to be explained why Fiora doesn't like you?"

Yejoon stared at her, then chuckled. He tapped his cane against the ground, and said, "You are a very brave woman, and I appreciate your honesty."

"It should have been obvious," Pyrrha said, shaking her head.

"But I was merely going to ask you what you personally thought of Fiora. I hardly hear anything from the others about her but the films she made and the rather harsh insults thrown at her during the trials."

"We're not all Emanuel," the romance writer said with a shake of her head, her red hair swishing with the movement. "Fiora is not a bad person, she is eccentric and excitable, but I daresay scatterbrained. She can be quite lovely, but I don't think that romance or relationships are on her mind."

"I get the opposite distinction on the last part. When she observes those who are romantically or lustfully connected, she appears rather longing. I believe Fiora wants something positive, or at least fulfilling."

Pyrrha stared at him, unable to think of a proper response. She thought she heard movement out in the hallway, and the atmosphere of the creepy, abandoned school along with the fact that she was talking to an unabashed serial killer. She shook her head, and sighed with contempt.

"Look, I don't want to come off as a bitch, I really don't; however, I don't know how else to come across to you. You scare Fiora, you are a murderer! There isn't anything you can do to change that, and if there is a shred of respect for her in you, then stop thinking about her in a way that implies that she'd change for you.

"Fiora isn't going to just overlook your horrendous past, and that chilling attitude you presently carry. So stop trying!"

There was a laugh from Yejoon, the last sound Pyrrha thought he would make. "And what about you?"

"Wh-what?"

"You've been quite the romantic since you first arrived, and there seems to be a lot of love and/or lust in the air. Fiora is bisexual, and I am fairly certain you are too. I'm quite good at reading people, and-"

"STOP!"

Pyrrha's shout startled Yejoon, as well as Kimiko and Yitro. The romance writer heaved in frustration, covering her face as she cried out, "Just stop! Don't you understand?! I don't feel comfortable talking to you! Stop asking me questions like that, please! Just… just leave me alone!"

Yejoon stared at her, quickly regarding Yitro and Kimiko. The two were watching closely, and the artist could tell the former swordsman was preparing to move if need be. The artist sighed, and said, "Very well. If you will excuse… me…"

He stopped speaking, as his keen eyes had noticed something. Pyrrha had her hand on one of the drawings, in a way that made him think at first she was balancing herself due to the emotion. Then, he realized she was covering it, shielding it from sight.

"What is that drawing, Miss Poole?"

Pyrrha flinched, then lifted her hand for him to see. Yejoon regarded the childish drawing, the crude depiction of a man wearing all brown, and an oversized hat. It was when he saw letters that were covered with dust, though there was a familiarity to them.

The artist moved in and removed the dust over them, and then it was clear. The words "Aaron Beardsley, Chereef" had been drawn in the corner. The man drawn all in brown was also, Yejoon realized, holding a gun at his hip.

"Why did you hide this, Miss Poole?" he asked her.

She shivered, then said, "I… I don't want you showing that to Fiora. If she brings it up again, Monokuma might go overboard."

Yejoon snickered, then tore the picture from the wall. "He's not here, his children turned human adults are. And they don't care. Excuse me."

And with that, he was out of the room before anyone could stop him.

---

Day 08, 11:46 AM

Ye Olde Tailor Shop

Crystal stared at what was on full display on a mannequin, her eyes wide open in shock. She hadn't spoken for a while, but had moved forward to inspect the garment with her hands. There was no mistaking it, no matter how much she thought this was a clever fraud.

Her jacket, the custom-made garment with the wide brim, stitching and color coordination done with her preferences, was replicated perfectly. It was on display, in front of her, in her hands.

"I… I cannot believe it," she said aloud. She glanced around at the others there. "This is real, right? Am I hallucinating?"
"That is, in fact," Eisei said, stepping up next to her, "a jacket. In fact, it appears to be much like the one you used to wear."

Crystal shook her head, and said, "You don't understand, I had that jacket custom-made. It was a brilliant piece of work that was more than just a style, it was something specifically made to fit my desires. I… this cannot be!"

Eisei motioned to her, and offered a lollipop. The military adviser shook her head, and thus the dentist treated himself to it. He asked as he began on the candy, "If I may inquire, why is it so impossible that a custom-made jacket has been replicated? I understand the difficulty of doing so, but is it really as impossible as you make it out to be?"

Crystal sighed. "My jacket was made by… my sister's husband. He was a tailor of sorts, he did work like that, and he made this… I mean, my original jacket, for me. It was something I treasured…"

She shook her head and walked away, adding, "I still wish I had something else, anything else, to snuff out those fires yesterday. And it was for nothing, damn it."

"In retrospect, maybe it was; however, you did the right thing, if I may add."

"You may."

"Though from what you were saying, is your sister's husband no longer alive? Is that the cause for your consternation?"
"Yes."

Eisei nodded, as he glanced around the tailor shop, ensuring no one was eavesdropping. Anzu was inspecting a rack of dresses in the back, smiling as she enjoyed seeing how they looked on her. Drake, Ignatia, and Ishiku were all in the back, in the changing room, where they had been with the "employee" of the tailoring shop.

"I hate to pry, but during the end of the second trial," Eisei said, "Samson brought up your sister, and you reacted rather strongly to it. Now we've been rather bad at communication as a group, and information isn't being shared properly; I still am not entirely aware of what Kimiko saw in her vision, and yet it seemed to have affected her deeply.

"Is there any chance you could explain to me what happened?"

Crystal smiled softly, but shook her head. "It's not something I wish to go over, it is a personal tragedy. It would be as if I asked you the details of your family's death, Mr. Amane."

The dentist regarded her, then shrugged and said, "Very well then. I just wish to try and discover the answers to all the questions we have going on."

"We do have a plethora of questions and no answers, don't we? My apologies."

Anzu walked over to them, as she held a red dress in front of herself. The deep crimson color was rather intriguing compared with her pale apperance. "Hey there, you two~ How does this look, huh?"

"That's very fancy, but rather lovely," Crystal remarked. "It would amazing on you."

"Yes, the dark red is quite the sensual contrast with your skin tone and hair color," Eisei remarked.

"Hehe, maybe it would better," Anzu said with a wiggling of her eyebrows, "on the bedroom floor in one of your rooms?"

"I'm straight," said Crystal.

"I'm not interested in recreational fornication," said Eisei.

"And I'm losing my touch," pouted Anzu. "No, seriously, I thought I cheer up people with my skills and such… but all I've really been is a source of drama."

Crystal shrugged, and said, "There's still here I'm sure want to sleep with you, Anzu; however, I feel like you're underestimating yourself."

When Anzu quirked her head to the side, Eisei chuckled. "You've proven to be highly capable of standing your ground and presenting reason during the trials, as well as keeping yourself situated in this dreary place. I believe in your capability."

Anzu smiled at the two, and said, "Thank you. I do appreciate that, my dears."

Before they could talk more, they were interrupted by a proud declaration of, "Hey look at us! We're bears now! RAWR!"

Ishiku had burst out of the changing room, wearing a hoodie exactly like what Suke had. The half white, half orange with tiger stripes look worked out well for the magician, especially with the hood up and the bear ears on it poking out adorably. Ishiku even had a fake set of glasses on, really appearing like a nerd with the emerald skeleton staff he carried around with him.

"Rawr," he repeated, making a silly pawing motion with his free hand.

Ignatia stepped out of the changing room, wearing a blue shirt and a leather jacket much like Kidd. She had even used her own make-up to do stars around her eyes, far better than the rowdy rockstar had done. The mime smirked at the audience, and mimicked bear claws too.

Drake walked out at the same time as the one who had been in the store when they arrived there. Both of them were wearing a polo shirt that was half white, half lime green, with a collar and sleeves that dark gray; there was even an extended part of the sleeves that were metallic gray, much like the bear's original extension arms.

Dam's hair was the only one styled like his newly humanized siblings. Half-white, half-green, and his eyes had the same color coordination that the others did too. Dam appeared nonchalant as ever, staring around with the most blasé expression.

The cartoonist laughed and threw his arm around Dam's shoulders, pulling him in for a side-hug. "Look at us, we're like siblings!"

Dam blinked, then studied Drake. "I. Feel. Like. That. Is. Mainly. The. Clothes."

His stilted speech had persisted into this new form, but his words didn't sound as forced. Glancing around at the others, he saw the three staring with rather surprised expressions. "Is. Everything. Okay?"

"You really are going to wear that out there?" Anzu asked, staring at them all. "In front of the others? Some of them are going to be pissed!"

"Let them be pissed!" Ishiku declared. "I wanted a change of look, and these feel nice!"

The actress walked up to them, studying each one, and then grinned. "Okay, I'm sold. You all look amazing, especially you, Ignatia. That leather look is amazing on you."

The mime smirked and did an "oh you" wave to her, and gestured to Dam. The white 'n green-topped tailor noticed the exchange, and asked, "Did. You. Want. To. Try. Something?"

"I think I would! Why don't you help me out, Dam, I want to try-"

"Wait a minute," Crystal said, approaching the monotoned tailor, "Monodam… or rather, Dam, if you go by that… that jacket. How did-"

"Penjar. Has. Many. Secrets," Dam said. "When. We. Were. Given. These. Bodies. We. Were. Bestowed. Knowledge. As. Well."

"That jacket was made by someone close to me, someone who is gone now. How did you make it?"

Dam glanced at the jacket, then at her. "I. Don't. Know."

Crystal sighed heavily, shaking her head in disbelief. She started to walk out of the store, before he called out to her. "It. Is. Yours. Do. You. Not. Want. It?"

The military expert turned towards Dam, glancing at the jacket, then back at him. "It's not mine. You just made a replica of it."

"I. Made. It. For. You. I. Hoped. It. Would. Help. Us. All. Get. Along."

Crystal stopped where she was, and stared at the jacket. The silence that followed was interrupted by Anzu, who said, "You know, let's get me in a look like your sister's, Dam. Come on, help a girl out!"

Anzu happily pulled Dam alongside her, as the others killed a little time inside of the shop. Crystal still contemplated the jacket, unsure of what to do; it was a feeling she hated, but she couldn't make a decision just yet.

---

Day 08, 11:31 AM

Science Lab

Main Lobby

The six graduates who had entered the lab found that the main lobby was clean, polished in places. There were a few plants set up, which Taro quickly took credit for.

The front desk was completely devoid of any tools or office supplies, and there were a flight of stairs towards the back. Suke pointed out that those stairs were the only way up to the second floor; there were no elevators in this building.

Kidd said there were four rooms in the lab, two on the first and two on the second, one on each side. It seemed rather straight-forward, and thus they started to tour of the science lab.

On the left side of the first floor was one of the most advanced rooms of machinery that they had only ever seen in science-fiction. The large room was covered wall to wall with large computer hard drives, with several screens and keyboards as well. The screens all displayed programs, in a language none of them had ever seen.

Up against the largest wall were five glass containment tubes, each of them full of a pure liquid that bubbled consistently at the base. Kidd laughed as he approached them, knocking on the glass.

"It's the place where we first woke up," he said gleefully. "Ain't it grand!"

Emanuel walked up and studied the inside of the glass case, noticing that there were devices up at the top of the containment tube. "The hell is all that machinery for?" he asked.

"That would be the neural installment device," Taro said. "The metal cap seals onto the body's head, and then that little drill there, that goes into the head and attaches highly sensitive and tiny wires to connect to the brain.

"Thus, they download the program, or rather the personality, that you want in the body! After that, the wires retract, the medical wounds heal as the body fully grows, and then you can have a new body within an hour!"

Isaac stared in abject horror, clutching his notepad and pencil. "Oh… my God. This is horrible."

Taro turned to him, and said, "Is this about the ramifications of moral ethics, science evolving beyond control, and the possibilities of future usage of these devices… um… what's your name again?"

"How do you remember exactly how the machines work, all of that philosophical jargon, but you cannot remember my name?!"

As Isaac and Taro argued, the others spread out around the room. Saiko and Shinobu were trying to operate one of the computers, but realized quite quickly it wasn't going to work.

"Not only do I not recognize the language," Shinobu said, "and I have a pretty good understanding of languages, but the computer is not obeying my movements."

"The hell is going on?" Saiko said, as she tried to move the mouse around; it refused to move in the direction she wanted half of the time. "Okay, are they using glitchy computers or something?"

"Hehehe," Suke said, strolling up to the two ladies, "that's because youse don't have the knowledge that we have!"

"What are you getting at, nerd?" Saiko remarked, glaring up at him.

"Ooo, catty, I like that! Haha! Anyway, youse-see, we used our computer lab here to create a new language, one that has a lot of complicated features that make translating it a nightmare. Then we also programmed all the computers in ways that'll make them a nightmare to operate if you don't know the special features.

"Just one of those features is that youse have to hold down a certain button on the keyboard, if you want the mouse to work when moving it in a certain direction. That's just one of many, and some of these special features prevent a total system wipe, so not even the luckiest of lucksters could luck their way through it."

Shinobu and Saiko exchanged glances, and they both sighed in defeat. Stepping away from the computer, Shinobu asked, "So then, who knows these procedures and the language?"

"We do, of course, doll face," Suke said, arrogantly fanning himself with money. "We were programmed knowing all these when we were robots, and when we had our memory uploaded into the human bodies, we retained it."

"And where's this computer lab, if this is not it?" Saiko asked.

"Right above us, second floor room. Very nice place, it's our last stop."

Saiko groaned, and shook her head. "So, how exactly do you… grow a person?"

"Highly advanced technology, toots. I could try explaining it, but it would be incredibly complicated, lengthy, and kind of boring. All youse need to know is that we can start up growing a body to our exact specifications, and it doesn't take very long either."

The two ladies stared at the containment tubes, watching the bubbles float up to the top. Saiko drummed her fingers on her crossed arms, and glanced over at Shinobu. "You do realize what this means, don't you?"

"Every awful scenario we could imagine ever," Shinobu said with a shiver, "is possible if this is all true."

"Hey, nerd," Saiko barked at Suke, "you wanna grow a body in there, just to prove to us you can do it?"

"No way, short stack," Suke said with a laugh, "I don't take orders from youse!"

"Then how do we know this is all real?"

"Youse gonna have to take our word for it! But hey, if youse agree to help us out here in Penjar, we got a contract. Maybe we could make you a body that's tall like most of the rest of these people here.

"Don't worry, we won't reduce the size of your mammaries! Youse definitely want to keep those, don't youse?"

"Ugh, nothing worse than a pervert with power," Saiko remarked, walking away from him. "Are we done here?"

The other four graduates had seen as much as they could, so they agreed to leave for the next room. Traveling through the lobby, they found themselves inside of another lab-like room.

This very large room contained hundreds of test tubes, containers, scientific tools, and a large refrigerator that spanned the far wall. Many different liquids were kept in sealed containers, as well as some suspicious gels.

"This is our research section of the lab," Taro said, proudly putting his hands on his hips. "We have to place many different kinds of formulas into the human growth tubes before we can make a body, and this is where those chemicals are made!"

"Some of them are just hair dye," Suke admitted, "it's not easy getting these perfectly divided coiffures, believe me."

"Science stuff is boring," Kidd roared, "but there are some benefits! We got poisons and liquid explosives and some good shit that'll get you more high than a fucking cloud!"

"You have what now?" Ken asked, staring at the three suspiciously.

Kidd walked over to one of the refrigerators, which had an electronic lock on it. He tapped on the glass, where there were several labeled containers.

"Look at this, Novoselic warrior dude," he said, pointing to individual ones. "That one there is better than nitroglycerin, made here in Kidd Science Labs!"

"Youse don't get to name it," Suke angrily shouted from the other side of the lab, "after youseself!"

"Bite me, NERD!" Kidd shouted, then turned back to Ken. "You see, these poisons in here, you get them in a water supply, you could kill everyone in a metropolis! The explosions can be precise blasts or just fucking level an entire town! Haha, oh, and that beauty right there…"

He pointed at a glass container that had a light blue coloring to it. "That there is my favorite, it's a mixture of ecstasy and aphrodisiac. You take that within reason, and you won't remember what reason is! Hehehe!"

"Fascinating," Ken said, rubbing his forehead. "You're saying you have the power to wipe out civilizations, while also getting dangerous recreational drugs? Who wants to get that up?"

"'Get that up'? You mean high, dude. Come on!"

Kidd punched the refrigerator, which made Ken jump with shock at the thought of those items inside being knocked around. To his surprise, nothing happened, and Kidd laughed. "Relax, dude, this fridge could have a sledgehammer pounding on it, and it wouldn't break or even shake! The only way to get in is the numeric code, that only us Kubs know! Har har har har!"

Ken rubbed his forehead as he tried to calm his racing heart. "Okay okay. So… why is it the same code as the front door?"

Kidd's face contorted in disbelief. "How… how'd you know that, dude?!"

"I didn't until you just told me," Ken thought, as he chuckled as he spoke. "I'm just that smart, dude, come on!"

Kidd growled, and said, "Alright clever boy, alright alright alright! You think you're so smart, but you ain't getting the code from me! I'm too smart for that! Rawr!"

And thus Kidd slammed his guitar on one of the nearby workplaces, shattering multiple test tubes and creating a giant mess. Everyone else in the room noticed this, and saw that Monokid was bleeding; one of the glass fragments from a beaker had flown out and pierced his shirt and the skin on his chest.

"Damn, you human bodies are fragile!" Kidd whined, as he pulled the glass piece out. As blood oozed out, he muttered, "So, um, it stops doing that eventually, right?"

"Ugh, I'll handle this fool," Suke said, grabbing Kidd's arm and dragging him to a door near the back of the room, labeled, "Emergency Medical Room" with a smaller sign on the left side reading "Kidd's" tapped to it. "You can show them the other rooms on the second floor, Taro!"

"Alrighty then!" Taro said, thumping his chest as he stood with confidence as he glanced among the graduates. He grinned at Shinobu, who blushed slightly as confusion spread across her face.

Then the moment the medical room's door clicked shut, the white 'n red topped man panicked and grabbed that dual-toned hair of his. "Where's the second floor again?" he asked them all desperately.

---

Day 08, 12:02 PM

Science Lab

Second Floor

It took a while to get Taro to calm down, and thus guide the guide to the stairs towards the second floor. Taro panicked again, wondering which room to show the group first, until he sprinted off to the left, the right side of the building.

When the six caught up with him, they were rather shocked to see what the room was. They had expected more science, and, while there was a case of experimentation with this room, it wasn't exactly the same.

The room was designed like a shooting gallery, as well as a sparring section that was meant for much more than sparring. Ballistic gel torsos, the kind that TV shows would use to practice weapons on, were lined up and had been throughly used.

Bullets riddled several of the torsos, with blood having spilt out from them. A spiked mace was set in the caved-in head of another torso. Several others had been slashed, smashed, and/or perforated in grisly manner.

"Oh, this is our weapons and vulnerability testing room," Taro said, pointing around proudly. "You see, now that we're human, we need to better know how these bodies work, so we're testing vulnerabilities."

Emanuel glanced at a glass casing, locked with an electronic key code as well, that had numerous types of firearms. The Bête Noir recognized the types of pistols, shotguns, and rifles that were in the case.

"Why so much differentiation?" he asked Taro. "I mean, surely you'd realize that all of these are possibly fatal if you get shot by them."

"We still needed to test them out," Taro explained. "I mean, there was also another reason for this, but I cannot remember. It was a really good reason too."

"Probably to showcase a bunch of lethal weapons in the middle of a Killing Game. Was that it?"

"Possibly! You're a sharp cookie, Emanuel! The only problem is, that's the same glass covering that you can beat with a sledgehammer and not even crack, and the same key code."

"Wait, what?" Emanuel asked. "It's the same key code as the fridge's lock, is that what you're saying?"

"The numerical key code is the same one for all the locks for this place," Taro said, scratching his head. "The front door, the guns and weapons, the fridge with the deadly materials, the final code for making a human body… we had to do it like that because it's too hard to remember multiple passcodes!"

Emanuel blinked in surprise, then smirked to himself at this information. "Thanks for explaining that, you're a good guide, Taro."

"Aw, shucks!"

The Bête Noir walked alongside the wall, observing all of the other cases with the same glass coverings and key code locks. There were medieval weapons, like maces and swords and crossbows. There was even a display with a bunch of household items, from the kitchen tools like knives and spatulas, to gym items like weights and a yoga mat.

"It's crazy," he said, "but you still haven't got everything I've seen that has been used to kill someone."

"Oh, would you care to help us update the arsenal?" Taro asked. He looked around at the others, and asked, "Do you all want to help us, because it would be great to know everything we could use? I'd like to get to one hundred and twenty-five ways to-"

"What is this?!"

Isaac's shout alerted everyone's attention, and they hurried over to him. The reporter was studying a display case that had a single sword in it. There was still some blood on the blade, though it was on display like a priceless relic in that sealed case.

The plaque that Isaac was focused on read, "Peko Pekoyama's Sword, slayer of Samurai Monokuma and Maki Harukawa."

"You," Isaac stammered, staring at the case, "you have her sword?"

"Wait, Peko, the Ultimate Swordswoman?" Hara asked. "She was one of the poor students in the Hope's Peak Killing Game."

"She didn't kill Maki," Isaac said, studying the plaque. "She killed Gonta. Why does it say that?"

Taro moved up to them, and said, "Because the sword was used to kill Father's samurai side, as well as Maki. We have it here as a memorial towards the first Killing Game, something our Father is very proud of."

Hara took a shuddering breath, and said, "So many good people died during that Killing Game, it marked the Tragedy's beginnings. It's not something to be proud of, at all."

Taro scratched his head, and said, "Well, I mean, Father's proud of it, we're not about to deny this."

"Is that why you have this… memorabilia of the students of Hope's Peak?"

The white 'n red-topped guy hummed in thought, and said, "Yeah, kind of. You see, Father has allies who helped collected items from those who died during the first official Killing Game. They brought significant stuff, though most of it was lost during the destruction of the building, as well as the Tragedy wiping out so much property."

Isaac took this all in, while studying the sword. "Wait a minute, you've had these items in Penjar all this time?"

Emanuel groaned and shook his head, saying, "If you think there's something supernatural about that, reporter, you really need a strong dose of reality."

"Oh, like I'm supposed to believe the reality that a flash of light will turn even the best of people into ruthless murderers?" Isaac replied, glaring at the detective. "Like I'll believe that someone's mind can be transplanted in someone else's body with another flash of light?

"Like I'll believe that the fanatic followers of Despair took over the moon base and a floating island, and how many people died when the USA and Russia tried to stop the latter? Hundreds of thousands of people died because Despair had technology that overrode missiles and redirected them!"

"Hey honey?"

Isaac felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, as Hara stared at him with concern. The reporter stared into her eyes, and then took a deep breath. He stared back at Emanuel, and said, "Anzu and Kimiko both experienced visions after touching something. Even if it isn't supernatural, it's still a rather significant pattern."

"And why do you think that sword is part of it?" Emanuel asked, crossing his arms.

"Anzu touched a camera, and said she saw Mahiru Koizumi, the Ultimate Photographer. Kimiko touched a microphone, and, well, she hasn't told us what she saw, but you do know that both Sayaka Maizono and Ibuki Mioda died during the Killing Game.

"Now we have a sword that supposedly belonged to one of those who died during the Killing Game on display here, and Taro is saying that they have collected items from the victims of the Hope's Peak Killing Game. This is important, and you cannot tell me otherwise."

Emanuel regarded the sword, then the reporter, and sighed. "Well if that's true, why don't you touch it to see if you get one of these so-called visions?"

Isaac turned towards Taro, but Hara squeezed his shoulder. "Honey, please," she pleaded, "I don't like how this is set up. It's too suspicious and dangerous, you needn't risk your life over it."

He stared at her, and asked, "You really think it's that much of a risk?"

"That's what I feel. I mean, isn't it convenient that Taro is just admitting all this now?"

Taro wobbled on his feet, and said, "Whoa, was I supposed to not tell you all that? Darn it, remembering all this stuff is so tricky!"

Shinobu stepped up, giving Isaac and Hara a sympathetic look. "Taro, is it okay if I try out that sword?"

"No no, m'lady," Ken said, stepping up, "I should do that, I do not mind risking my life!"

Taro groaned and crossed his arms. "I'm sorry, but no one is supposed to hold Peko's sword for now. You'll have to wait."

Emanuel growled in frustration, and added, "If that even is her sword. Come on, there's nothing else for us to do here, let's see the rest of this place."

With the group feeling confused, defeated, and concerned, they headed out of the weapons' testing room and crossed over to the other side of the building. The last room was just as large as the others, and it appeared to be the computer room the Kubs had said was there.

Numerous tables full of computers, all of them on and displaying various types of programming, filled the entire room. There were several motivational posters up on the walls, almost appearing like a normal office. The tables also had knickknacks, like mini-fans, stress toys, and other objects around the tables.

Waste bins full of paper and broken electronics were at the end of every lengthy table, as if the place had been working for a long time now. Isaac was rather intrigued by this detail, until a far more noticeable detail made itself apparent.

"Well well well! It looks like our workplace synergy has paid off, we have new recruits!"

Monokuma, typing at a computer and sipping from a coffee mug that read "#1 Bear Boss," looked over at the tour group. He pushed away from his desk and waddled on over. "And will you look at my boy! So big now, they grow up so fast!"

Taro giggled, and leaned down to pat his "Father's" head. "Hello, Father! How goes the coding?"

"We've hit a few snags, but it's going along just fine! Don't worry, we'll be able to switch you back into your original bodies soon enough!"

Monokuma gestured over to a shelf in the far-off area of the large room. To the surprise of the graduates, there was a large display case near the floor, and inside were the mechanical bodies of the five Kubs.

"Oh, and yes, damaging or destroying my Kubs' original bodies is punishable by death," Monokuma added. "They need those to survive!"

"Wait, so the Kubs need their original bodies?" Emanuel asked.

"That's how they were originally formed, so yeah, my widdle Kubs need those bodies! Heck, that's really the only way we managed to pull off the body swap, since it's so easy to upload and download using a machine!"

Monokuma sipped from his coffee mug, and said, "This tech is so hard to work with, it takes forever to understand; luckily, this is the perfect testing ground!"

Shinobu shivered, and asked, "You're not… expecting us to help you, are you?"

"Maybe! I mean, most of you would do everything you could to stop us, I'm sure. But of course, we might get some of you to help us. It's an even trade, considering most of you would do anything to stop us, just as long as you don't hurt the Kubs."

The six graduates stared at the mechanical bear bodies in the display case, then at each other. This was all a great deal of information to process, if any of it were true. It could be a massive fake-out, to make them think that Monokuma and his followers had this power…

Penjar had just become far more confusing and frightening than ever before to them.

---

Day 08, 12:33 PM

Eastern Plaza

When the first group of six survivors finished their tour, escorted out by Monokuma and Taro, they were told to get more of the graduates.

The next group took a little less than an hour to finish, and then a third group. For those who had finished their tour of the science lab, they set off to the school to investigate as much as they could. Nothing else was found in the school, no matter how many searched.

By about 2:30 PM, the third group was done, and Taro along with Monokuma was looking for their next group. With the search of the school becoming such a flop, the graduates had left the school at the same time, and were now out in the plaza, around the large statue of Monokuma.

"Okay, where are the last six people of you bunch?" Taro asked. He scanned the small crowd, noticing Fannie was there too. "Fannie, were they with you?

"No, not with me," she said, then pointed at the tailor shop. "I think they've been in there all this time."

"Yes, they're enjoying themselves," Crystal said. She had been a member of the third group, and she was now wearing the jacket that Dam had made for her. Only a few of them noticed this, but no one had a chance to ask her about it yet.

Monokuma chuckled, then pulled out a megaphone from behind him, seemingly from nowhere. "HEY! You lot in the tailor shop! Come on out here! Your tour awaits!"

There was a few moments of silence, then the front door opened. Ishiku, still dressed up like Suke, peered out and called out, "Ye-eeeeeees?"

There were a few seconds of silence, and then Emanuel shouted what a lot of them were thinking. "What the FUCK are you wearing?"

"A new outfit! It's rather comfortable, I forgot how much I like hoodies, so…"

"You cannot wear that, you fucking puta! That's the ENEMY you are wearing!"

To everyone's surprise, someone in the group snickered loudly. They turned to Pyrrha, who quoted aloud, "And you… are wearing… their MERCHANDISE!"

"It's not fucking funny!" Emanuel hollered.

"It's a little funny," Kimiko said with a laugh.

"I don't know about that," Aka muttered. "I mean, those stupid bears want the death and destruction worldwide, why would you want to look like them?"

While the group was talking, Ishiku leaned back into the shop, and cried out, "He hates it, we're a'go!"

Ishiku marched out of the tailor shop, pulling his hood up to give the full effect. Ignatia came out next, still dressed like Kidd, taking a very nervous Drake's hand as the cartoonist wasn't the most ready to be all dressed up in front of the others.

Anzu waltz out next, wearing the same kind of bikini top, gloves, and skirt Fannie was wearing, and even had a plush hat styled like Fannie's bear form on. She giggled and blew a kiss to everyone, announcing, "How's my new look, ladies and gents?"

"Oh for fuck's sake," Emanuel snarled. "You see? You see how we shouldn't bother with these dumbasses? They're mocking us, they're wearing the clothing of… our enemy…"

It was then that Fiora walked out of the tailor shop, grinning happily as she flaunted her new duds. The white 'n red jacket and the long gray scarf looked nice with her own dual-toned hair, and her fedora.

"I'm a ninja now," she stated, posing like a ninja. "Wha-cha!"

"Now I feel fully justified," Emanuel muttered. "What kind of moron would think to do something that this fucking idiot would consider fun?!"

And for the grand finale, Eisei walked out of the tailor shop most casually. He was wearing a lavender onesie, themed exactly like the Monokuma look, appearing almost like a child wearing pajamas or, well, a onesie. He had managed to put his shoes on while wearing this, and was carrying a bag that had his original clothing inside.

"Hello, everyone," he said as he walked up to them, calm and casual as ever, removing the lollipop from his mouth to speak clearly. "So, it's our turn to take the tour of the science lab?"

"What?!" Emanuel blurted out, stammering with outrage.

"How?" Futaba asked.

"Why," Souma declared, walking over to his friend, "why on Earth are you wearing that, Eisei?"

"It fit, and it matches my hair," the dentist said, pulling the hood back as his large lavender pigtails popped out and draped on his shoulders. "They made it for me, apparently, wanted to try out the line."

"But… but… it's the look of our enemy."

"It's clothing, simple as that. Don't worry, I'm not joining the cult simply because I put on a onesie, my friend," he said, before putting the lollipop back in his mouth.

"Awww, you look like my latest child," Monokuma purred, waddling over to Eisei, and patting his head. Rubbing it in the most condescending manner ever he continued, "Do you wanna get a real body too, like my other Kubs? We'll get you a nice, tall body and you can be a real boy! Isn't that sw-"

Eisei pulled the lollipop out of his mouth, and shoved it into Monokuma's mouth. The bear flinched and stepped back, and then laughed. "Upupupupupu! Do you really think something like that would kill me? I may be dying a lot nowadays, but that's ridiculous! HA HA HA-grrrk!"

The lollipop shot into Monokuma's mouth when he laughed hard, and he made choking noises as he gripped at the area where his neck should be. There was several seconds of this gagging, and then he flopped over lifelessly.

"Waaaaaaaaah," Taro shouted, "Father! He cannot catch a break!"

"Daddy, no," Fannie cried, covering her face with her hands. Someone pulled her in for a comforting hug, which she accepted, until she realized it was Blake and shoved him away.

"So we gonna check out the science lab now?" Ishiku asked, grinning impishly as Eisei posed victoriously over Monokuma's dead body.

"NO!"

Emanuel shoved his way forward, and hollered in Ishiku's face. "You think that you fucking morons can be trusted to help us out in any way? You spent all that time playing dress-up in the enemy's clothing! Why the fuck are you even in this goddamn town?!"

A massive argument broke out, with everyone trying to voice their opinion. Emanuel was leading the charge against those he didn't believe took it seriously, and thus didn't deserve their respect. Saiko was chastising Eisei, unable to comprehend why he'd behave like this. Several others were arguing alongside Emanuel, though they didn't have his fury, but they were concerned over this.

During this argument, Ignatia took Drake's hand, and gestured away from the plaza. "There's no point in us staying here," was her wordless suggestion. Drake was blushing hard with her holding his hand, but he stammered out, "But don't we want to take the tour?"

"That. Will. Be. Tomorrow," Dam said to him. "With. Father. Dead. We. Must. Wait. For. Him. To. Get. Better."

Eisei overheard this, and said, "Oh, that must have been my fault. Sorry."

"Hey, I'm still trying to talk to you," Saiko declared, stomping her foot. "Come on, I can tell you're an intelligent person, why are you behaving so childishly?"

"Why are some of you acting like," Odelios fired back, "like you have authority over us?"

"Why are we even arguing this?" Shinobu shouted. "There's far more important things to discuss! We have to-"

There was a blaring horn sound, and everyone went quiet with how sharp it was. Suke and Kidd had finally returned, the latter covered in band-aids, the former holding an air horn. After using it, Suke rubbed his own ears, and said, "Ow, that hurt."

Ignatia rolled her eyes, and pulled Drake again, leading him away from the plaza. As the two started to leave, Kidd shouted, "Alright, you pack of fuckers! Now that we're all human and here, we have an announcement to make!"

"That's right, because now that the tours are done for the day," Suke said, "youse cannot enter the science lab unless you have one of us escorting youse! And trust me when I say, youse might never get to go in there again, unless you provide good reason."

"Like if you're willing to help Penjar," Taro said, smiling with endearing joy as he clapped his hands. "We'd love to have you part of our home, part of our family! It'd be great to see you become a member!"

"I'd love to see you all become happy and healthy in our home," Fannie said, smiling cutely with a tilt of her head. "This place can be made better, and we'd love your help."

The graduates exchanged glances, confused by this offer. When there was a pause, a devious chuckle came from one of the humans formerly a Kub. Kidd was holding up a canister, and he spritzed the last of it into the air.

"Oh, but if we're going to all get along, we're going to have to have some fucking honesty. Consider this your next Motive!"

"What!" Hikari hollered. "We just had a Motive! And you're pushing for us to kill each other while speaking about wanting to get along!"

"We do want you to get along," Fannie pleaded, staring down at the ground. "It's just that… we've seen some very scary secrets revealed, and that's far too harmful. I… I'm scared of how violent some of you can be."

"So we're putting a bit of truth serum into the mists of Penjar," Taro said, clapping his hands excitedly. "Don't worry, it's not going to be extremely powerful, but-"

"Wait, you are doing what now?!" Ken cried out, stepping forward. "Into the mists? How is that physically possible?"

Taro leaned back as Ken approached him, and then pointed towards the Monokuma statue. From the base of the statue were vents, spewing more mist out into the surrounding area. It mixed in with the mists already swishing around the people.

Kidd chuckled more, and said, "Don't worry, it's non-allergenic! I just plugged the formula into one of our vent systems, and now you, I, we're all breathing it in! Fucking awesome, we're all going to be totally honest!

"Like how I think we need to beat up Dam some, it'd be fun! Can we make a change to the rules saying we should beat up Dam?"
The graduates were all exchanging startled looks, realizing that the misty truth serum was in the air, they had all breathed it in. The only one completely calm was Yejoon, who was drumming his fingers against his arm as he waited for the effects.

"I'm not feeling any different," the artist said. "Truth serum, or similar drugs that have the same effects, have almost instant effects."

"I hate to admit it, but he's right," Shuuya remarked. "Are you just trying to trick us into being truthful?"

Kidd snarled, and waved the empty canister around. "How dare you! I did everything perfectly! It'll take a little while, just be fucking patient! Why can't you all trust me to do a Motive properly? Why can't-"

"Look, whatever your truth serum is," Yitro said, adjusting his collar as he took a deep breath, "it isn't working. I don't feel different."

"My mother was a platypus," Odelios declared as he wiped his brow as he said with a crooked grin, "and my father was a relatively safe penguin! Yeah, I'm not feeling truthful."

"Emanuel is very attractive and desirable," Fiora impishly declared, and when she received strange glances, especially from the one she mentioned, she laughed heartedly. Swallowing on the saliva building up in her mouth, she added, "Yeah, I don't feel honest either!"

Fannie approached Kidd, and said, "Are you sure you put the right mixture in?"

"Of course I did, here!"

He shoved the canister into her hands, and she read it. There was an audible gasp from Fannie, and then she shrieked out indignantly. "You goof!" She hollered, bopping Kidd on the head with the canister. "You dolt, you dullard, you incompetent stupid wannabe rockstar!"

"Ow! Ow ow ow ow," Kidd cried out as Fannie hit him on the head repeatedly. "What do you want from me, I never learned to read-"

"JERK!"

The next hit clanged loudly, and Kidd's eyes rolled up into his head. He fell over unconscious, drool leaking from his mouth. There were several laughs and approving coos from the graduates over this display.

"What is your problem, huh?" Suke asked, approaching Fannie. "Did he put in the truth serum or what?"

Fannie let out a frustrated cry, and swung the canister towards Suke, accidentally bashing him in the face with it. "He put aphrodisiac in the mix!"

"He put WHAT in it?!" Taro asked, as Suke fell down to the ground in a heap too. The red-themed guy took a few steps back from Fannie as she aggressively fretted.

"Aphrodisiac, and not just any kind, but the super-strong kind that we vowed to never use!"

"What now? He used the eXXXtra Hormonal Overload Randy Needs'it Yesterday?!"

"It's in the very air as we speak!" Fannie clapped her hands on her blushing cheeks, as sweat ran down her forehead. She let out a long, breathy moan, as the mists became rather thick around the surrounding area. "It also kind of goes into vapor form real fast, absorbs through skin, and even stronger when inhaled…"

"Good thing we're robots," Taro said proudly, "or we'd be affected."

"Taro, we're HUMAN now!"

There was a pause, and then the two of them regarded the graduates. All of them were sweating, panting, swallowing heavily, and looking at each other with stares that lasted far longer than one should; it was almost as if all of them had become teenagers at the moment when everything could excite them, and it was cranked up to eleven.

"This. Is. Not," Dam said, glancing side to side, "An. Appropriate. Way. For. Us. To. Get. Along."

"Oh holy shit," Anzu said in the most breathy of voices, "oh fuck."

"I'm," Ken stammered, holding onto his collar so tightly as he tried to hide his heavy breathing inside of his hoodie, "I'm definitely not feeling it! No siree, I do not have the desire to get piggy with it!"

Pyrrha was giggling, and muttering to herself over and over, "I'll make love to you… like you want me to… and I'll hold you tight… baby, all through…"

"No no no NO!" Taro shouted, waving his arms frantically. "Turn it off, Fannie! Turn it off-"

And then the vents at the statue base poured out an incredible amount of vapor, like a finishing blow, and the entire area became enshrouded with the ultra-aphrodisiac mixed mist. The area was so thick that the people there were practically lost engulfed and hidden inside.

It was at this point that Drake and Ignatia, who had almost left the area but overheard the desperate cries and thus returned to see what was going on, returned. The area was so thick with a pinkish mist that they couldn't see the people inside. Occasionally, there was a moan or someone's limb flailing about, and then more moans.

"Um, hello?" Drake called out. "Are you all okay-"

Kimiko burst from the mist, sweating and heaving like a marathon runner. She fixed her eyes on Drake, and shouted, "Drakie, cinnamon roll baby! RUN! GET INSIDE! DON'T BREATHE IN THE MIST, DON'T LET IT GET TO YOU-"

Several arms grabbed her and pulled her back into the mist, as she shrieked, "Don't breathe in the aphrodisiac, little cinnamon bu-AAH! Ooo… ahhh~"

Drake and Ignatia exchanged glances, and then ran as fast as they could away from the scene.

And we're cutting it short here to be the Ultimate Tease to you, hahaha.

---

…

24 Graduates remain (and most very horny) in Penjar.