I walked over to my bedroom door and opened it. Only to find an annoyed Mondo standing there with an unamused Ishimaru behind him.

"Do I have to do this?" Mondo asked him.

"Of course!" Ishimaru replied. "Any abuse to any staff or students must not go unnoticed!"

"Fine…" Mondo sighed before turning his attention to me. "Look, I'm sorry I punched you yesterday. Ishimaru over there made me realize how "Not welcome in a school environment" it was."

"U-Uh…" I stammered. Was Mondo, the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader, really saying sorry to someone like me? I didn't have time to think about it because I was afraid it might happen again. "Th-That's okay!"

"Huh?" Mondo gasped in shock. "For real?"

"Yeah!" I replied. "I understand what you were going through. When my sister and I were really young, I called her a bully because she wouldn't share the sand pit in our family's backyard."

"Geez…" Mondo said under his breath.

Ishimaru smiled proudly. "There we go! That wasn't so hard, was it?" He placed a hand on Mondo's shoulder, but he instantly turned his back in retaliation. Ishimaru frowned in disapproval. "Now then, you should also apologize to Asahina for calling her 'Weird'. Come on!"

Mondo sighed again. "Alright. But after this, we're never talking about this again."

As the duo walked off, I couldn't help but wonder if Maizono was free. I walked over to her door and pressed the doorbell…

Ding dong!

I could see her cautiously opening her door. When she realized that it was me, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"You know, Naegi…" She began. "I'm so anxious. I really am afraid…"

"W-Well, why don't you come with me?" I asked. That seemed to perk her up a bit.

"Are you going to… Try and cheer me up?" she asked back. "Sorry for making you take time out of your day like this…"

I talked to Maizono for a while. Trying my best to comfort her. I'd say we grew a little closer today if I do say so myself.

"Umm, Naegi?" She spoke up. "Do you think you could make time for the two of us to talk?"

"Wh-What's wrong?" I asked worriedly. "Why are you being so formal?"

"W-Well, it's just…" She began. "I guess that was kind of formal, but it's just because I know I can count on you."

"…Huh?" I asked as I cocked my head.

"Having you by my side really makes me feel a lot better." She explained. "If you weren't here with me, I just don't know what I'd do. I'd be lost… I hate that we had to meet again under such awful conditions, but… I'm relieved you're with me."

"Maizono…"

Standing here face-to-face and hearing her say that… It's nice, but kind of embarrassing at the same time.

"I… Know how you feel." I stammered. Trying to find the right words to say. "you being here is what saved me…"

"R-Really?" She asked in happiness before giggling. "Ehehe. Thank you for the flattery."

That smile…

That mysterious smile that softens my heart… I really wasn't flattering her. That smile saved me.

"But it's kind of strange, you know?" Maizono asked suddenly. "I never thought I'd get a chance to really talk to you like this. All through middle school, you never talked to me. In fact, you never even looked at me."

"It's because you were a celebrity." I explained. "I couldn't just go around staring at you… Wait, how do you know I never looked at you?"

"Because I looked at you all the time…" She replied.

"…Huh?" I gasped.

"I was always looking for an opportunity to talk to you."

"You… Wanted to talk to me?" I asked.

"But since I always had so many people around me, we ended up graduating without saying a word." She explained. "That was one of my biggest regrets."

"But… Why me?"

"Do you remember during our first year of junior high, that huge bird wandered into the school pond?"

Actually, now that I think about it… I do sorta remember something like that…

"It was like out of a fairy tale." Maizono continued. "The turtle once every million years, that bird once every thousand…"

A huge bird wandered into the school pond during our first year of junior high. I think it might have been…

"It was a crane!" I said. Finally remembering. "It just walked right into the pond."

"That's right!" Maizono replied. "That's what it was. It was so big, the teacher had no idea what to do. But you led it into the forest behind the school. You helped it find its way out."

Well, only cuz I was already in charge of taking care of the animals at school. They made me do it…

"I should have said thank you then, but… Is it okay if I do it now?" She asked.

"Thank me…?" I repeated in confusion.

"I'm that crane, you see. I've come to return the favor." Maizono said suddenly. "Here, let me make you a cloak…"

Then she giggled. "Ehehe. Just kidding!"

"Y-Yeah, I kinda figured…" I muttered under my breath.

"Honestly though, I was so impressed…" She continued. "That's why I always wanted to talk to you, even just once. I never imagined this would be how I got my chance…"

Yeah. If we'd met again at a train station somewhere downtown, that'd make for a nice dramatic reunion. But instead, it's this weird school.

"Maybe, but still…" Maizono spoke up. "I'm sure you'll help me find my way out, just like that crane. You'll save me. It's just intuition, I know, but I still believe it."

That last part stuck with me. I'm going to save her…?

"I'll do my best, I promise that." I reassured her. "I'll make sure it's more than just intuition. If there's anything I can do, I'm going to do it…!"

"I believe in you!" Maizono giggled. "Besides, my intuition always turns out to be right. Cuz I'm psychic. Ehehe. Kidding, kidding!"

She laughed out loud as she said it. The closer we get, the stronger that smile of hers makes me. I was glad to feel that way.

Once we were all done, I headed back to my room for a little while…

Ding dong, bing bong!

After that familiar sound played, the monitor in my room turned on to reveal the Hope's Peak emblem, and then Monokuma in the monitor room again.

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement." He said after clearing his throat. "It is now 10 PM. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and all entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then… Sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite…"

It then turned off. Today's already come to an end. But I swear… Tomorrow I'm going to find some kind of clue! I swear!

As my eyelids began to slide closed, the conversation I'd had with Maizono that morning began to replay. In a way, it's almost frustrating. Even if I understand where desperation is coming from, I can't share it.

The pressure she's under is way different from anything a normal high schooler like me goes through. She didn't jut stumble into this school the way I did. So I can't say I feel things the way she does.

Compared to her… No, compared to everyone else here, there's no doubt I just don't match up. I guess that might explain my own frustration.

That night I had a horrifying nightmare.

A man with purple hair was strapped into a strange contraption in front of Monokuma. He then pulled out a small hammer and slammed it down on a big, red button in front of him. The man trembled as the machine closed him in and began blasting off into a very cartoony-looking sky. When it crashed back down, the machine opened up and the man was now all bone. All Monokuma did was laugh…

I screamed as I woke up. Looking around to make sure Monokuma wasn't there. Luckily, he wasn't.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I dozed off back to sleep.