Ding dong, bing bong!

I slowly woke up at the chime and looked over at the monitor. It showed the Hope's Peak emblem, and then it cut to Monokuma in that strange room again.

"Good morning, everyone!" He said in usual creepy tone. "It is now 7 AM, and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"

The monitor turned off. Apparently, morning has come.

I glanced over at the fake, gold-covered sword. Even though it was clearly fake, I had a sinking feeling that it would play an important role. Hopefully I wouldn't have to use that…

Gathering up my determination, I walked out of my dorm.

The first thing I saw to my right was Chihiro and Celeste having a small conversation. Deciding not to bother them, I head in the opposite direction. Once I got out of the dorm section, I heard a friendly voice calling to me.

"Naegi? What a surprise!" The voice said. I looked back, and I saw none other than the Ultimate Pop Sensation.

"Oh!" I gasped in surprise. "Hey, Maizono!"

Her voiced then turned timid. "Say, Naegi…" She began. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Um…" I stammered. Trying to find the right words to say. "Sure! What is it?"

"I know this is out of the blue, but… Did you have a dream last night?" She asked suddenly.

This completely shocked me. Did she know about the nightmare I had?

"Y-Yeah…" I stammered. "Why do you ask?"

"Did it happen to involve Monokuma and some man with purple hair?"

"Yeah!" I gasped. "H-How did you know?"

What Maizono said next completely stunned me.

"The thing is… I had that dream, too!"

I gasped. Did we seriously both have the same dream?! It seemed like something straight out of fiction, but here we are talking about it.

"Wait, really?" I asked in confusion. "How is that even possible?"

"Well…" Began Maizono. "Call me crazy, but I think this weird place has something to do with it!"

"Are you saying that this school has some mystical powers or something?" I asked.

Maizono giggled. "No, I'm sure that there's a more reasonable explanation for this!"

"I'm pretty sure that's what Monokuma wants us to think…" I muttered under my breath.

"Well, I've got to go. Bye, Naegi!" Maizono said as she walked off. Leaving me all sorts of confused.

If this place can make people dream the same thing, that just raises more questions than answers. And just who was that purple-haired man in the dream? Did Monokuma really do something like that? My head began to hurt from all these unexplained mysteries.

"Hey, Naegi, you alright, man?"

I turned in shock of the voice. To my relief, it was just Leon.

"Y-Yeah…" I stammered. "Just got a lot on my mind is all."

"I know the feeling." He replied. "I just don't know how I'll be able to fulfill my lifelong dream at this point!"

Wow, talk about over-dramatic…

"Anyways, wanna hang for a bit?" He asked.

"Oh! Uh…" I stammered. "S-Sure!"

Leon breathed a sigh of relief. "Good!" He said. "I don't really wanna be alone, anyway…"

I spent some time with Leon. Whom of which I grew little closer today.

"I'm not even afraid anymore." He said suddenly. "Now I'm just pissed off… Why!? Why is this happening to me?! This isn't fair, man! I mean, am I wrong?"

"Oh, um…" I stuttered. Trying to get on his good side. "Yeah, it really isn't."

"Right!?" Agreed Leon. "Totally unfair. Ultra unfair! Just like having to shave my head before every baseball game!"

"Well, I mean… You chose to do that, right?" I asked.

He didn't take kindly to that. "C'mon, man!" He complained. "Are YOU against me now, too!? I didn't even wanna play! But the coach and all the teachers begged me, so I did it! And then they made me shave my head, just cuz it's "tradition". How's that fair?!"

"You really hate baseball that much, huh…?" Was all I could ask.

"Damn straight I do!" He replied. "Who has fun running around on a dusty field for three hours?"

'But… For baseball players, the field is like sacred ground, isn't it?' I thought to myself as Leon rambled on.

"But it's so not cool!" He continued. "Spending all hat time at practice, getting covered in sweat and dirt… It's just baseball, right? It's easy! Who needs practice!?"

I think the gods picked the wrong person to bless with that much talent…

"Still…" Began Leon. "I gotta admit, baseball wasn't all bad. It did have a few things going for it…"

"Yeah, right?" I spoke up. Not thinking what I was saying. "Like the feeling of camaraderie between you and your teammates!"

"Nah, nothin' like that!" Shrugged Leon. "I can't stand being around a bunch of sweaty guys. So totally uncool!"

"Then… What did you like about it?" I asked. Completely giving up at this point.

"Well, I hate studying, right?" He began. "But I got into this super fancy school on a sports scholarship. As long as I kept playing, I never had to study! And besides that, it made me super popular with the ladies! Booya! Ya jealous? I git to third base in more ways than one, if you know what I'm sayin'! …Just kidding!"

I was completely silent. Did he really just make a joke about that subject?

"Heh-heh." Chuckled Leon. "I got plenty more where that came from! I'll tell ya more about it next time. Anyway, let's hang out again sometime! Talking to you helps keep my mind off this place…"

With a smile on his face and a spring in his step, Leon strolled away. I'm not really sure why, but I guess Leon likes hanging out with me…

I looked at a nearby wall clock. There's still plenty of time left in the day. I really don't feel like going back to my dorm, so maybe I'll take a look around some more…

I walked into the dining hall to find Togami and Ishimaru. The former looking uninterested in talking with anyone. So I spoke with the latter. "Hey, Ishimaru!" I greeted. "How's it going?"

"Well…" He began. "I can't say that our current circumstances are favorable, that's for certain. But still, it's times like this when baring your soul can lead to building a mutual trust! And the best way to bare your soul is to bare your skin! Let's bathe together and build that trust!"

"Uh, right…" I said. "Anyway, you wanna hang out?"

"Alright!" He agreed. "When the body is naked, so is the soul! So get to strippin' down!"

Ishimaru and I bared ourselves to each other in the bathhouse. Which I had no idea we had. And because of that, I think we grew a little closer today.

"Hey, Naegi!" Stated Ishimaru. "As long as we're talking, let's REALLY talk, whaddya say!?"

"Huh? Oh, sure, that's fine…" I hesitantly said.

"Excellent!" He happily exclaimed before going serious. "Then let's get down to brass tacks and find out where we stand on all the big issues! So, what should we discuss? Politics? The economy? International affairs!?"

"Wait, hold on." I halted him. "Instead of a big, serious discussion, can't we just have a normal conversation? That's the best way to learn about people, I think."

"What do you mean by a "normal conversation"?" He asked as if he'd never heard of one before.

"Umm…" I thought deeply. Trying to think of something talk about that wouldn't upset Ishimaru. "Well, for example, what do you like to do in your spare time?"

"Study, of course!" He proudly proclaimed. "I'm a student, aren't I? A student must be a studying professional! And of course my duties as the chairperson of the morals committee keep me quite busy, as well! It's my duty to foster an environment in which we can all focus on our studies!"

"Okay, but…" I stammered. "What else? Like when you're at home, or you just have some time to kill?"

"If I have time to kill, I study!" Explained Ishimaru.

"I… See…" Was all I could say. I was completely baffled. Does he really study all the time?

"Hahaha!" He laughed happily. "This is fun! Okay, my turn. Naegi! What do you like to do in your spare time?"

"Um, you know, just normal stuff. Watch TV, play video games…" I replied.

"Huh?" He asked confusedly. "And this helps you study… How?"

"N-No, it's not about studying." I explained. "It's just for fun, ya know?"

That seemed to tick him off a bit. "But doing things "just for fun" serves no purpose! There must be more to it… You wouldn't spend your valuable time doing something useless, would you?!"

He can insist all he wants, but in the end, he still is the Ultimate Moral Compass…

But… Maybe there is a good reason. Like getting into something and talking to people about it. So maybe…

"You know how it's useful?" I asked him. "It helps give you something to talk about with other people!"

"Something to talk about…?" He repeated in confusion.

"Like when you see something awesome on TV, or some awesome game, and you want to share it with someone. You find other people who feel the same way, and that's how you make friends, see?"

"Wh…?" Ishimaru began stammering in a state of shock until he eventually screamed. "I once was blind, but now I see!"

"Wh-What the heck?!" I stammered. All shook up.

"That kind of thing has plagued me for years…" He began. "I've tried making friends, but whenever I would make conversation, it would die after a few minutes… And now… I've finally found the answer… I need to study more games! More TV shows!"

"N-No, you don't need to "study" them…" I managed to say, but Ishimaru kept going.

"Aah, I'm so ashamed of myself!" He sobbed. "If there was a hole somewhere around here, I'd totally go hide in it! I let it get to me, I wasted all that time… I never saw the blind spot in my studies! I'm a complete embarrassment! I'm not qualified to even be on the morals committee, let alone lead it!"

"I-I don't think it's really that big of a deal…" I muttered under my breath.

"Thank you, Professor Naegi!" He suddenly thanked me.

"Professor!?" I repeated in shock.

"You've taught me a most valuable lesson! You've earned my respect, and the title of professor!" He stated.

"Th-That's gonna make things super awkward…!"

"Hahaha!" He laughed. "There's no need to be modest, Professor! I can't wait for you next lesson! And until then, I will strive to learn as much as I can on my own! Well then, Professor, by your leave!"

Without waiting for a reply, Ishimaru ran off.

"Professor…"

Although, thinking about it, I didn't totally hate it.

"Professor Naegi Makoto… That has a nice ring to it!"

After we were done, I decided to head back to my room for a while…

Ding dong, bing bong!

After that sound played, the monitor in my room turned on to reveal Monokuma once 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…"

After it turned off, I had some time to collect my thoughts. The third day here had already come to an end. When will I- No, we gonna get out of here?

I laid on my bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. And before I knew it, I'd fallen into an uneasy sleep.