"Jeez, I'm tired already…" I yawned to myself. "But I don't have time to take even one day off…!"

I wonder if anyone felt like hanging out…

Ding dong!

"Huh? That's my doorbell!"

When I opened it, I found Ishimaru standing before me.

"Naegi, if it's not too much trouble, I want you to come with me. I'd like to talk." He said.

"Uh, sure!" I agreed. "Where are we going, exactly?"

"The dining hall." He explained. "Come on! Don't delay!"

When we entered the dining hall, we sat across from each other at a nearby table.

"I've been wanting to tell you something for a while now, Naegi." He said. "And now that it's just the two of us, this is the perfect time to confess…!"

"H-Huh?" I questioned.

"Listen, Naegi…" He said before getting up and grabbing the back of my hoodie. "Your hoodie is awesome!"

"Th-Thanks…?" I replied uneasily.

"You have really amazing fashion sense." He continued. "Now, wearing a hoodie under your school uniform… Your public morals are ruined! Just absolutely ruined!"

"S-Sorry!" I swiftly apologized. "Did I do something wrong…? The dress code was pretty flexible at my old school…"

"Well that's not the case here at Hope's Peak Academy!" He exclaimed. "As long as I live, I will protect out morals! Take off that incredibly-stylish hoodie this instant!"

"R-Right now!?" I gasped.

"Of course!" He said as he crossed his arms.

Crap, Ishimaru seems to be taking this really seriously… Well, I'd better come up with a good excuse, or I might actually have to give him my hoodie…!

"But this is the next best thing to a hardhat!" I blurted out in a panic.

Ishimaru's frustration suddenly turned to a mixture of surprise and confusion. "A hardhat…?" He asked.

"Yeah!" I said. Making it up as I went along. "I mean, this school's really dangerous, ya know? There's no telling what might happen! So, like… Just in case… Ya know?"

"Hmm… You may have a point there." He said as he rubbed his chin.

"I do! I totally do!" I said. Trying to get him to believe me.

Ishimaru sighed. "Well, if it's for your own safety, I suppose I can give you special permission, just this once…" He said before getting stern again. "But the instant this school goes back to normal, you will hand over that amazingly-cool hoodie!"

"Y-Yeah, you got it…"

"Students these days are utterly ignorant of proper dress code. It's quite a pain!" He explained. "And frankly, I don't understand youth fashion these days anyway! So this is a perfect opportunity for me to teach you all about how you should be dressing!"

"…Huh?" Was all I managed to get out. Getting fashion advice from Ishimaru is, well, let's just say unexpected…

Ishimaru gestured to his uniform. "I wear this uniform 365 days a year, rain or shine, flood or draught, wind and hail and hurricane!"

"Even on your days off?" I asked. "Even on holidays!?"

"School itself may observe holidays, but there's no such thing as vacation for a student!" He ranted. "So as long as I live the life of a student, I will always wear my uniform!"

"I see…"

"Also, I have ten sets of my uniform, so I always have a clean one." He continued. "There's nothing strange about that."

Um, no… I'd say wearing your uniform when you're not a school is totally strange… I'd better keep that to myself, though, or else I won't hear the end of it…

Ishimaru's laughter brought me out of my thoughts. "Hahaha! Trust me, wearing the uniform every day helps keep you motivated! You should give it a shot!"

Ishimaru is exactly the kind of guy I thought he was…

"Nngh…" He suddenly strained. "I'm weak, Naegi… So very weak…"

"What happened…?" I asked worriedly.

"Haven't you realized? This school is missing something of upmost importance!" He exclaimed. "Textbooks! Classes!"

Oh, um… I can't really say I miss that stuff.

"I'm just gonna come right out and say it…" He said before panicking. "I'm freaking out! As we speak, we're being left in the dust by other students our age! I'm totally freaking out! Naegi! What should I do?! If I keep involuntarily skipping class like this, I'm gonna reach dunce status in no time!"

"I-It's really not that big a deal. Just calm down…" I tried to reassure him. "You were always at the top of your class at the private school you used to go to, right? I mean, you\re basically genius level. So even if you miss a few classes, it's not the same as just some ordinary kid ditching…"

Ishimaru stopped panicking and looked at me with pure confusion. "Genius…?" He asked. "Don't say that…"

"Huh…?"

"I'm no genius. I'm a normal person, just like anyone else." He said sadly. "I'm from a middle-class family, you know? Actually, they're not even middle-class…"

He then grew courageous. "That's why I have to push so hard! I have to knock down that wall! It's not geniuses that change the world. It's ordinary people who make every effort they can. And to prove that, I have to keep on making effort after effort after effort! So don't call me a genius! Don't lump me in with those lazy clods who don't put in any effort!"

"S-Sorry… That's not what I was trying to do." I apologized.

Ishimaru sighed. "No, I'm sorry. I got a little carried away…" He said. "But I only said all that because you and me are the same. You and me, we're just normal people. We know what it means to make an effort. That's why I want you to know exactly how I feel…"

"I understand…" I said as I gave him a small smile.

"And that's why I'm so passionate about my work on the morals committee." He continued. "I want to create an environment where everyone has the opportunity to give it everything they've got. That's why I put all my blood, sweat, and tears into creating that kind of environment. I want everyone to understand that, too. In the end, you can't succeed if you don't try. Anyone who says differently is selling something. Effort is everything! That's the only way to fix anything in this world! And I have to prove that to all the ordinary people out there, so they'll keep on trying! I have to become the ordinary man who can surpass any genius! Those are the feelings I carried with me when I entered Hope's Peak Academy… But now that I'm trapped in here, I've been robbed of the opportunity to make that effort… So now what am I supposed to do…?"

"I-Ishimaru…" I said after his incredible speech.

"Sorry, Naegi." He apologized sadly. "I didn't mean to make you listen to my pathetic complaining…"

"No, it's not pathetic at all." I began. "I can totally understand why you'd be upset. You obviously feel really strongly about this. I really7 hope you don't give up hope and start to lose track of what you want to do. If you really that effort is what matters, then you can't give up, right? Because if you can't make that effort, then what do you have left?"

Ishimaru suddenly gasped. "I think until you said that just now, I totally forgotten what I was here for. The foundation of effort is the will to never give up." He said. "You're right. I have to try, not matter the situation. Even without classes, without assignments, I can just look back on what I've learned already and reinforce those basic principles!"

"Yeah, good idea!" I said enthusiastically.

"I'm glad we had this talk Naegi." He continued. "Wow, I feel so much better getting all that off my chest! As my way to say thanks, next time I buckle down for a study session, I'll make sure to invite you! Let's work together as fellow ordinary people to show those geniuses who's boss!"

Ahis face was filled unwavering confidence I was used to seeing from him. I feel like I'm starting to understand him a little better…

But I still think he might be a genius.

Specifically, he's a genius when it comes to effort.

Still, I did notice one thing; he seems to have a lot of hostility toward the idea of someone being a genius. Is there some reason he feels that way…?

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

Ding dong, bing bong!

After that, Monokuma came on the monitor, said his usual nighttime lines, and signed off.

Another day gone. But even though today is over, this "Game" definitely isn't.

How long is this gonna keep going…?

I climbed into bed, but all the stress and anxiety kept me from falling asleep until late in the night.