I'm who now?

by Clemerl

Being dropped into the killing game is always a dangerous place to be as a student of Hope's Peak, not knowing what will happen or who will kill whom. But what happens when the one in charge has a change of heart? Or rather, has the mind of someone else entirely who will stop at nothing to save everyone they can. Even if it dives them to Despair.

27. Tea time Despair

"…And I think that just about takes care of everything."

Taka smiled back at me at the declaration, his fist clenched with determination as he agreed. "Yes, I believe you're right. With this we will be able to stop everyone from falling to the mastermind's manipulations; no matter what they do! Thank you for your assistance in this miss Junko, I would have never managed to come up with this all on my own."

I smiled back at him in return, completely ignoring the irony of his statement since, I was technically manipulating him with this plan of mine. "No worries, Taka. 'Sides, I'm sure you would have come up with something sooner or later."

To be fair, I did honestly believe that. Had he not fallen into despair after Mondo's execution in the second chapter, and later gone completely insane thinking he had been possessed by the biker's ghost, I liked to think that he would have in fact come up with a plan to keep everyone from killing each other. He just seemed like that kind of dependable.

I mean, with Junko around to poke holes in people's plans anything he came up with would have likely been turn against him, but it's the principle of the matter, darn it!

"Still, I must admit that I'm impressed." Taka stated as he held up the note paper that was almost completely covered in the ideas we'd been brainstorming over the past half hour. "I never would have figured you to be someone so meticulous or detail oriented. I must say, it's truly been an eye-opening experience!"

Oh, you have no idea buddy. I may not have Junko's ultimate level of analytical skills, but I was not a slouch when it came to detail.

In truth, barring the parts Taka had come up with, I had actually thought of this whole idea myself long ago when I had first played the game. It had started out with a simple question of, "How would I prevent the killing game from happening, or at least make it easier to find the killer?" and it just kind of snowballed from there. I had thought of everything I could from positioning, to time, to people likely to give in vs people who'd be most trustworthy in stopping others, to even ideas of how to have outright ruined many peoples attempts. Sadly, my idea only worked to prevent night time killings for the most part, but it was better than nothing.

"Oh, you're just saying that." I deliberately waved off his compliment. "You totally did most of the work. I was just pointing out a couple of little details here and there. It was nothing special."

A lie. I had been the one dominating the planning phase. While he had put in his input from time to time, it had mostly just been little questions or requests for clarification on some details that he hadn't fully understood during the first go around. The only other times he'd spoken up was when we'd reached moments where I'd say a few words and let him fill in the blanks on his own. I found those to be my favorite since when he did put the pieces I'd lay out for him, he always had this look of absolute excitement on his face, like a kid solving his first puzzle to find the ducky on it. It was almost adorable.

Never the less, he wasn't hearing it. "Nonsense! Every contribution, no matter how small, can change the outcome of a plan! Sometimes, it's the slightest missed detail being found that changes the entire outcome between success and failure!"

I smiled again, a little more sincerely this time and thanked him for his kind words. This was why I liked him a lot in the game. While he could be just a bit naïve when it came to social interactions, and a bit insensitive, he always meant well and only wanted people to strive to be better. He was a loud voice, yes, but he was honest in his desires and sincerely tried to help keep everyone from falling to Monokuma's game. He was a rock, a loud impulsive rock that did his best to stand firm in his convictions and stood to keep everyone safe without hurting them.

Abruptly, he stood up and gave me a slight bow before collecting the paper of plans. "Thank you very much for your help either way, miss Enoshima. With this, I fully believe we can prevent any incident from occurring."

"Any further incident from occurring." I corrected, to his visible chagrin. But even that did nothing to stop him as he made his way to the door as he stated, "Now, I must be off! Night time won't be that much farther away, and I have much to prepare. Have a good rest of your day!"

And with that, he was gone, leaving me to smile like a lunatic at this success. Part one of my plan had gone off without hitch. Now I only had to wait for night time to see if things needed any further manipulation on my part, but I doubted it. Between my plan and Taka's help, there was very little that could go wrong, and even if it did, I had several back up plans ready and waiting to utilize.

By whatever godly force that existed in this world, I swore there would be no murder tonight!

Well, whatever the case. It was time to get back to the control room. With no one to watch me, I could collect my crutch and head right back…

"Junko?"

No, I did not jump at the unexpected opening of the door, nor did I jump at the sudden voice of one of the classmates that I could not have expected. I did not scream like the girl I currently was nor did I suddenly trip over my own foot when I turned to the door to see who it was and fell on my but. And I most assuredly did not end up getting hit in the head by my crutch when it decided that it didn't like the chair it was leaning on and wanted to join me on the floor. Of course not. Heavens forbid. That would make me sound like I'd been caught off guard or something.

"Junko! Are you okay!?" my unintentional assailant worriedly asked as he rushed to my side, stopping only a short distance away when I sat up with a groan. I purposely ignored the redness that was certainly not on my face as I looked at him with a half-lidded glare.

"I'm fine, luckily the carpet broke my fall." I stated in as blunt a tone as I could even as I raised up my hand. "Little help?"

Thankfully he got the hint right away and grabbed on with his own hand. Even though I had several inches on him, we were able to get me up and standing without any major problems, though he did end up having to brace his foot against the edge of the desk leg to avoid falling over due my greater weight and his rather mundane level of muscles.

I didn't actually need the help honestly, but it helped sell the image of being a crippled girl, so I played the part. But now that I was upright and standing, albeit now acting my part of cripple by leaning up against my crutch, I flashed the boy a quick smile and asked, "So, what brings you here Makoto?"

The luckster looked at me with an expression of concern as he rebutted, "I could ask you the same. How'd you get all the way up here on your own?"

"Pfft, like I need someone holding my hand all the time." I dismissed his concern with a wave of my hand. "Just because I can't use one limb doesn't mean I'm completely inept. 'Sides, I've still got my arms. I'm good."

I could tell that it did nothing to dissuade his concern even before his gaze wandered down to my leg and he muttered a worried, "Still…" the look alone was just that obvious. Even a completely emotionless robot would be able to tell how worried he was about me. I couldn't blame him, it was just his nature to care for everyone around him, and since he fully believed that I was the one who'd been given a leg piercing his concern for Junko was through the roof.

Still, didn't mean I couldn't mess with him a bit.

"Eyes are up here, buddy." I stated playfully as I dropped my left hand down into his view and pointed upward sharply. The second he realized what I was implying his eyes snapped straight up and locked onto mine, his cheeks flushed with red.

"S-Sorry…" he muttered as he turned away, his right hand reached up to scratch his red cheek in embarrassment. I tried to wipe the grin off of my face, but it was difficult. He just looked so delightfully adorable when he was embarrassed. Not as much as Chihiro was, but definitely a close second.

Chihiro's was cutesier like a little kitten trying to hide the fact that they knew they had done something wrong, or maybe like a little mouse. Makoto was more akin to a little puppy who had torn up your flower garden and knew that you were going to be mad at him if he didn't whip out the sad, soulful eyes. I guess that was why I liked teasing them both so much, they were still innocent enough that when they were embarrassed it was because they were still pure, unlike say, Hifumi or Hiro.

"Heh, no worries. Still, what's going on with you?" I asked with a smile and a quick flashing of a peace sign to show him that I truly meant it. He smiled back after a second or two, and I found my own smile becoming more honest and happy just from how truly glad he was. Yet, then he asked me something I honestly should have anticipated but didn't.

"If you're not doing anything, would you like to hang out a bit?" I blinked, momentarily caught off guard. You have to understand, I'm not the kind of person that many people go out of their way to ask to join in. I normally only even talk to people to try and establish something. The community I grew up in certainly didn't help, since most people tended to keep to themselves unless someone else started the conversation. Interjecting yourself into a conversation tended to be the only reliable option sometimes, and I think that is the detriment since whenever you do but in, even if it's with good intentions, it comes off as too forceful and makes the other party feel intimidated.

I myself had fallen into that trap myself on both sides. I want to talk to someone, but when I start they leave, and if they start it I rarely want to stay due to feeling awkward. It was troubling to say the least.

So, hearing him actually say he wanted to hang out? It took I second for my mind to reboot because of how unreal it sounded to me. Once it did though, I couldn't help but say, "Eh, sure. Why not? Just try not to leave me feeling bored, mm k?"

Well, I couldn't just make myself sound desperate. What, did you think I was going to excitedly shout out, "SOCIAL ACTIVITY!" or something? I'm not nearly that bad.

---

"Would you prefer royal milk tea, or perhaps some rose hip tea would suit your tastes better today?"

"A difficult choice." The gambling queen of liars stated to her server as he balanced a rather imposing looking tray carrying two ceramic pots and an assortment of empty cups. It was rather impressive considering how lacking in muscle the self-made fan mangaka author looked. "However, I do believe that I would prefer the rose hip tea today. I'm rather in the mood for something more robust."

Hifumi nodded with a small grin on his face full of pride as he delicately removed one of the cup from the tray to place it before her, all whilst doing his best to keep from jostling the tray to much. One it had been laid to rest before her, he carefully removed the teapot from its place on the tray, only struggling for a moment to keep the other pot from capsizing the whole tray and poured the balmy liquid into the pristine teacup. "Alright, here you go Miss Ludenberg."

"Thank you Hifumi." Celeste thanked him with a small nod and polite smile as she raised the red tea to her lips. Satisfied with her response, the round boy returned the teapot to its place on the tray and moved to another on the girls occupying the large central table of the dining hall. "You are quite welcome my gothic queen. And for you Miss Asahina?"

The tanned swimmer paused for a moment as she glanced between the two choices of beverage on the tray, "Hmm. I think I'll go with milk tea please."

"An excellent choice." Hifumi stated politely as he repeated his earlier juggling but with the opposite pot of heated liquid, all with only a minor level of clatter for his efforts. Once his task was complete and he could bear witness to the smile of Hina's face, he turned to the next guest with all of the professionalism of a novice server that he was, faking expertise to the best of his abilities even as he nearly fumbled with the heavy tray. "Miss Fujisaki, are you enjoying your crumpets?"

Chihiro looked up from the tea pastry with a start, having been deep in thought, but she recovered quickly spoke, "Y-yes. Thank you."

"You are most welcome." The otaku replied in turn, his smile never faltering even as she gestured for the same tea that the swimmer elite had requested. Once she'd had her own needs taken care of, he continued his task for the next, not hesitating in the slightest, in spite of whom it was. "How about you Miss Maizono?"

Sayaka gave him a small smile in return but waved him off with her good hand. "I'm fine. And thank you for doing this Hifumi. I had no idea you knew so much about tea."

Just across from her was the somewhat dismissive snort of Junko as she sat in her own wheelchair and fiddled with one of the small pastries that had been placed before them a short while ago with inquisitive eyes. "I'll say. With how much you seem to hate everything that isn't 2-D, I totally never would have imagined you knew anything about… well, a lot of things, really."

To Hifumi's credit, he didn't even flinch at her words, nor her tone. Instead, he simply continued his task of serving tea to the girls with a small chuckle. "Hehehe, though your words strike hard at my core, I will not be fazed. For you see, despite my choice in profession, I am in fact quite knowledgeable in many areas of expertise. It all comes from the research I would put in to best properly represent any and all cultures in my pursuit to perfect my works. Though I will always prefer the world of 2-D, I must admit that incorporating elements of the 3-D world can really enhance the connection to the world that I've created. Even something as common as tea can improve my reader's experience by showing them another aspect of a character and make them feel that much more relatable and real."

There was another snort from across the table where Toko had sequestered herself at least a whole chair's length away from everyone else, though hers had been far more dismissive then the fashionista had been. "D-Don't act all h-high and mighty. A-anyone could have told you the same fluff and s-still have been more accurate. I-I bet you just read that line somewhere on the back of o-one of your s-smut books and thought it sounded cool, s-so you paraphrased it to make it sound original."

Hifumi was again unfazed by her harsh criticisms, pointing in what he thought was dramatic. "Humph, say what you will about me and my works, but the words of one who has never even given my works a read will not even be able to leave so much as a scratch upon my armor."

The swimmer girl sighed as did her friend Sakura, but neither of them said anything. It had been a massive exercise in patience even getting the writer to come out of her room long enough to even invite her to their girl's tea party, much less convince her to come. Hell, the moment she'd realized that they'd also invited Sayaka along, Toko had tried to pull an immediate about face, and it was only through multiple reassurances from both Sakura and Hina that she would be sitting on the farthest side of the table from the idol, and that she wouldn't be handing out any of the delicacies or beverages they barely managed to convince the author to stay; even if she kept glaring balefully at the bluenette from the opposite side of the table. They didn't want to put all of that effort to waste by making her upset by telling her to be quiet. So, they said nothing, despite them wanting too.

Strangely enough, the other side of the minor squabble going on right now was an element that Hina hadn't expected. Originally, she and Sakura were planning to serve the drinks themselves on account of them being the ones to suggest this party. However, when they had gone to invite Celeste, who had been in the dining hall at the time, they discovered that Hifumi was already preparing a small pot for the gambler. Seeing as he was already working on what they needed, the gambler offered the round teen's services for their get together.

Hina had been reluctant to accept at first, mostly because Hifumi was A. a guy, and B. exactly what was happening right now with both him and Toko getting into one of their growing increasingly frequent arguments over the validity of the other's chosen profession, but the main reason was because she had wanted it to feel special by doing it herself. However, Celeste was able to convince her by promising that the round boy would only be there to serve the tea and some simple snacks, and nothing else. So, reluctantly, they accepted the offer.

Unfortunately, there had been one other problem that they had to address. One that was standing off to the side awkwardly with a tray of small pastries in one hand, and the deadest bored expression he'd ever worn to date.

"Dude, why am I even here?" Leon deadpanned, and with good reason. He'd just been minding his own business, sitting in his room, trying not to think about the motive Monokuma had given him and the others, when he'd heard someone pounding on his door. The moment he'd answered the door, the next thing he knew he was being dragged down the hall by Hina, and then he was forced to wear a white apron and hairnet and carry a tray of goodies.

Celeste tittered at his dismay. "Is it not obvious? You are still responsible for Sayaka's movements after all."

"No, I get that part. That's not the problem." He stated. It hadn't been hard to realize that when one of the first of the girls he'd seen at the table was the idol herself. "What I want to know is, why am I serving crumpets and junk at a tea party?"

"Well, as much as I'm loath to say it." The Gambler continued. "Though Hifumi has progressed quite a bit in his training to become a server, I do not believe he is quite up to my high expectations just yet. Plus, I highly doubt that you would be interested in any conversation we would be having amongst us womenfolk. So, rather than have you stand around bored out of your mind, we all agreed that it would be better if you got the opportunity to learn some valuable insight to take towards the future."

The ball player gave her a look as his frustration started to peak. "Dude. The only thing I've learned from this is how to make two kinds of tea, and something called a crumpet. I don't even like tea! How is this "invaluable insight" going to help me in anyway? How'd I even get talked into this!?"

Heedless of the debate going on between the gambler and all-star about the value of learning to serve tea, Hina turned her attention to the others. Sadly, things weren't really going as planned. Aside from the whole arguing between the two authors and both Leon and Celeste, there wasn't anyone talking. She had kind of expected it from Kyoko, the girl hadn't said a thing since the whole event had started and seemed content to observe the others quietly while occasionally sampling her tea. But, no one else was really conversing either. Junko seemed like she had decided to take a page from the purple themed albino and was only really glancing around at the others, only occasionally stopping to nibble at her crumpet. Sakura as well was silent, though hers was more out of politeness then the others. Poor Chihiro wasn't any better, but she seemed completely in her own little world, barely even glancing up unless she was addressed specifically, and she always let any attempt at conversation die out pretty quickly.

But the worst of them all right now seemed to be the one and only, Sayaka Maizono. Though she had smiled and thanked Hifumi for her drink, she hadn't said anything either. Sure, she smiled, but there was something off about it. It didn't quite reach her eyes, and said eyes looked…dark. Barren even. If Chihiro was lost in thought, then Sayaka was in a completely different plane of reality. Like she was just, going through the motions.

It honesty worried the swimmer something fierce. Sayaka had already proved that she had problems, but she had seemed so kind before, so earnest in her desire to help. When Hina had conversed with her before, they had gotten along pretty well, maybe not as much as she had with Makoto, but the swimmer girl thought that they could be considered friends; that they were friends. While the idol's betrayal had stung, and even now she didn't quite feel like she could trust her, Hina couldn't help but realize that she didn't really know anything about her.

The whole affair with her attempt to murder the all-star currently arguing with Celeste only proved that.

However, seeing the poor girl like this tugged at Hina's heartstrings something fierce. And so, she decided that the best course of action she could. Confront the problem directly, and hope for the best.

"Hey, Sayaka." Hina asked the blue haired girl worriedly. "How are you holding up?"

Sayaka jumped slightly, clearly not having expected to be addressed and it took her a moment to collect herself. "H-Huh? Oh, um. I'm doing well enough I suppose. Why do you ask?"

"Well…" Hina started to say but found herself struggling to speak. "I mean, you looked like you were… I mean, have you… no, um. What I wanted to say was…"

She couldn't say it. She was trying her hardest to say what she wanted to say, but she found her eyes wandering and the words refusing to come. It didn't help that as she glanced about, it quickly dawned on her that everyone else was starting to key in on their conversation and were starting to look at her expectantly. While normally she would have no problem talking when others looked at her, the burning question on her tongue in conjunction to the stares left her feeling much more self-conscious. Doubt started to creep in as well, eating away at her resolve as the question of if this was the proper time and place to bring up the topic on her mind itched at the back of her mind. The more she thought about it, the less ideal this whole thing started to feel.

It was just as she was about to give up the ghost and apologize for the interruption that she found herself interrupted, but it was unfortunately in a way she didn't want to be.

"I believe she's asking if you are planning another attempt to take the life of another in an attempt to escape."

"Celeste!" Hina gawked at the gambler for her callous remark, the shear gall of Celeste to state it so bluntly and completely unconcerned for this delicate situation completely stunned the swimmer in her tracks. If that wasn't enough, the pale goth put her hand to her mouth and widened her eyes as if she didn't realize how bad that comment of hers was.

"Oh, my apologies. Have I made the wrong conclusion?"

Hina flinched at that. "W-Well, no. Not exactly. But I was trying to be nicer about it!" Thing was, as bad as it was, that was one of the things she was worried about. It was hard not to, since it was Sayaka's own actions that made everyone come to realize that, yes, this whole thing was very much real, and that they were all in danger of being killed by anyone here. But her primary concern had been if the pop-deva was okay above all else.

Toko was no help either, stuttering out her own harsh remark. "W-Why bother? I-It's not like she's a d-delicate flower t-that'll fall over at the s-slightest breeze. S-She d-deserves every word of criticism."

The athletic girl wanted to scream. It was like everyone was conspiring to hurt the depressed popstar more when all Hina had wanted to do was see if she was okay. But now it was all for naught since the bluenette had ducked her head down again, only this time she looked even more miserable then before; a feat Hina would have been impressed by since she had thought that Sayaka couldn't look any worst but couldn't since it was the exact opposite of what she'd wanted.

To make matters worse, Leon looked positively livid himself, and if something wasn't done soon, he might resort to shouting at the gothic gambler and the depressing writer. He was already clearly upset from being dragged into something he didn't want to be, and Celeste had certainly not done anything to soothe his ire, and so this nonsense might just push him over the edge. Plus, everyone else was clearly uncomfortable now that the conversation had turned to such an unwanted avenue. If something wasn't done soon, this whole plan would fall apart.

Fortunately, as if sensing her distress, Sakura intervened in a tone that permitted no argument. "Enough. We did not host this party for this."

Hina nodded, thankful for the interference. "Yeah, that's right. We're not here to insult each other. I'm so sorry for this Sayaka."

Sayaka, surprisingly, tried to wave her off, but there was a feeling of dismay in her voice; of buildup guilt. "N-No, it's fine. I know what I did was unforgiveable. Even I don't think I should be forgiven for what I tried to do."

"I-I'll say." Toko quipped in a mumbled voice.

Sakura only needed one word to stop that. "Enough."

"Y-yes ma'am."

Hina nodded to her friend, thankful for her intervention, before she turned back to the despondent idol with determination. "Sayaka. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. I mean, yeah, you really should have just gotten together with us and we could have talked it out, but…"

She found herself being cut off by the very girl she was awkwardly trying to reassure. "No, no. I know what I did was absolutely abhorred. But that's why I don't want to just start over. I want to try to earn my place. I did so much wrong, and if I ever want to change, to earn forgiveness, then I need to learn to accept these kinds of criticisms."

There was a small smile forming on her face that surprised Hina, but she found that she couldn't help but smile back in turn. Even though Sayaka didn't look up, Hina could feel that she was earnest in her feelings. She could tell, it was the look in the performers eyes that spoke of her state of mind. It told her that Sayaka truly wished to atone, to make up for her mistakes, and earn back the trust that she'd squandered.

Hina wasn't the only one though that noticed. Leon himself saw it as well even from where he stood, and he could help but smile a bit as well. He still didn't completely trust her, he didn't know if he ever would again, but it was comforting that she wasn't just blowing smoke. In all honesty, he hadn't been quite sure if he should believe her when she had apologized to him and Makoto. The privacy of the whole setting and the way she had just suddenly bust out into tears had made him somewhat suspicious of her sincerity. It had even kept him up at night, wondering

However, now that she was saying all of this, he couldn't help but think that, maybe he was just being silly. Maybe she actually was legit wanting to make up for her horrible actions and he was just wasting his time being so suspicious of her. Only time would tell for certain, but if she stayed acting like this, he might be unable to stay suspicious of her.

On the other side of this, Toko was giving the recovering blue haired girl an icy glare. She didn't believe for one solitary second that Sayaka was telling the truth. Oh, she seemed sincere, that was true, but the way she refused to raise her head up to look them in the eye raised all kinds of red flags in the mind of the writing progeny. Toko could just bet that this whole thing was some poorly guised attempt to earn back everyone's favor, just so that the pop idol could use it to her advantage later when the next incident happened.

Celeste was of similar thoughts herself. Though there was some level of genuineness in the pop idol's tone, her body language sung of a different tune. There was no doubt that there was quite a bit of remorse there, she slouched shoulders, hunched posture, and the way her good hand instinctually moved to touch the spot where she was stabbed all pointed to that fact. But, that utter inability to raise her head spoke volumes about her true feelings.

Yet, just as she was thinking about that, Sayaka spoke again, only this time, her voice was practically void of all emotion. "Besides, even if I was willing to try again, there wouldn't be a point."

There was a hitch in several of the other girl's breaths and more than a few narrowed eyes at her remark. That wasn't some off-hand remark or even a joke. Even the densest person in the room could hear that she was completely serious in her remark, arguably even more so then her previous remark.

That didn't stop Hina from concerningly asking, "Huh? W-What do you mean?"

Sayaka finally looked up, and though it was for but a moment, they saw something…dark. It was the look in her eyes. They were colder than a grave. "My career is dead. Same for my friends, my dream, and my future."

That one look, it chilled the others to the bone, down to their very cores. It didn't matter how well they hid it, none of them could deny the concerning fear that they felt looking into those eyes. It was a look that struck at their very souls and chilled them. It was rather concerning too since this was the one who'd given in to the temptations in the first place.

However, for one hidden soldier, it was a look she knew far too well. How could she not when it was something that she had been forced to see so many a time working under her sister's iron boots. She'd seen it in every single person that had ever become her sister's current obsession, seen it in the moment just before they finally decided to end it all just to escape the torture the pain. She'd even seen it in her very own eyes whenever she looked into the eyes of anyone who saw her and knew, just knew, that she would be introducing them to the specter of death.

It was a look of near total despair.

The sight of it made her feel something, something she couldn't quite explain. It was like a lump had formed in her chest, right between her bosom. It was similar to what she'd been told a heart attack might feel like, only not as severe.

Was this the feeling Junko wanted her to feel? Was this despair? She couldn't tell. All she knew, was that she should probably say…something. "Wait, what? Isn't that, like, a bit extreme?"

Celeste was the first of the others to recover, lightly shaking her head as she denied. "No, I do believe she is correct in this. When you consider the lengths that she went through to escape from here and her reaction to her motive video, it only makes sense."

Sayaka nodded along in agreement before she elaborated. "Sadly, she's right. In the idol industry, everything about you is constantly judged and held in high regard. If there's even the slightest imperfection on you, your popularity and standing will be at risk. It also means that you always have to be on your guard for people trying to sabotage you. Every day we all smile and exchange niceties, but inside we all want to take out our stress on the nearest warm body. It's completely cut-throat and if you aren't the one doing the cutting, you're the one getting cut."

Suddenly, the dark look that they had all seen made far too much sense to the others. They had only had a rough idea of the kind of thing that the idol had to deal with before from the trial, but this was something that went well beyond what they had assumed. Plus, the way she clutched at her good hand with a look of dismay, her hands shaking and the way she bit her lip with stress, they could tell that she meant every word.

Chihiro in particular was on the brink of tears to hear about the kind of stresses the blue-haired idol had been through. "That's…That's horrible. Why would you want to do that?"

For a brief moment, Sayaka was silent as she thought about her reasoning. Why did she want to go through all of that suffering? Well, a fond yet bittersweet smile formed on her face as she recalled. "Well, it was always my dream to be an idol. Ever since I was a little girl, it's all I ever wanted. The first time I saw an idol on the TV and saw her radiant smile, I felt more happiness in my heart than ever before, and I want to be just like her. I wanted to be able to inspire people with my own smile, to give everyone a little bit of hope for the future. I honestly believed that, as long as you kept chasing your dreams, someday they had to come true. But to that, you can't take off your eyes off of your dream, not even for a second. That's why I had to work so hard to even make the cut in the first place."

"I see…" Hina muttered. Though it was clear she didn't fully get it, it was plain as day that she was trying from how her face was crunched with effort.

Sayaka's smile grew as she looked at the others. "Plus, it's not like it was all bad. Like I said, I wanted to inspire people, to encourage them…in a way, I succeeded in that. I remember several times where I would be talking to people who would recognize me from my shows and they would tell me all about how much our music made them happy. How they'd feel like their pain and loneliness would wash away when they saw me smile, and some of them even told me about how much they wanted to help others because of it. It made me feel…happy. Like all of the stress was worth it, just to see them smile."

There was a small smile of understanding that developed on many of the others faces at that. The boys especially felt their hearts flutter a bit from the way her smile seemed to light up her face. There was just something about that heartfelt smile that made them feel like everything would be okay. It was so bizarre, looking at her like this made it so difficult to imagen that this was someone who'd fallen for Monokuma's manipulations and tried to kill.

There was a small empathetic smile on Sakura's face as she closed her eyes in thought. "Tis truly a wonderful feeling, to see the fruit of your labors pay off."

"I do believe I can understand that, yes." Celeste agreed, though it was considerably full of scrupulousness. "However, it is that same feeling that lead you to trying to escape, is it not?"

The majority of the other's flinched at the queen of liars accusing tone, but Sayaka was mostly unfazed aside from her now faded smile. "That's right. I was willing to do anything to protect that, and that's why I made such a horrible mistake. I was willing to sacrifice everything to keep it…even my new friends that I'd made here."

The guilt in her eyes was palpable to everyone in the room, as was the sincerity in her feelings towards the ones that she'd tried to sacrifice for her dreams.

There was, however, one person who wasn't swayed by her story or her emotions, and she was more than willing to comment on it. "Hmph. K-Keep your s-self-pity to yourself."

'Junko' turned to look at the grump of a romance novelist with a deadpanned, "Like you're one to talk."

Ignoring Toko's spite and Junko's sass, Chihiro moved her chair over a bit and put her hand gently on the performer's shoulder in a gesture of concern. "Sayaka…thank you for telling us that. I know…I know it couldn't have been easy for you. But, there's one thing I still don't understand."

"Yes?" Sayaka asked, though she had a feeling she knew what the petite girl was going to say. And as if she'd read her mind, Chihiro asked exactly what she thought she would.

"What did you mean when you said that, your career is…dead?" and there it was, the very bombshell that she had been expecting since the moment she had first mentioned it. A melancholy smile formed on her face as she looked the smaller girl in the eyes. "Ah, you remember that."

"Oh yeah, that's right." Leon added as he crossed his arms and put on his contemplating face. "What's that about anyway?"

For a second, Sayaka wondered if she should tell him. The boy was always going on about how he wanted to become a musician, even if it was for a different field then her own, so what she was worried about saying something that might end up being a detriment to his dreams. As little as she believed in him actually getting very far, that didn't mean she wanted to stop him from trying. Who knows, maybe he would actually manage to go somewhere.

However, the decision was taken from her by the surprising intervention of Kyoko as she asked. "It's the knife wound you got, isn't it?"

Sayaka flinched, the suddenness of the mysterious girl speaking up when up until now she'd been silent caught her completely off guard. However, that didn't stop her from agreeing, "…Yes, that's right."

And just like that, she could see many of the other's eyes light up in realization, and in the cases of the programmer and swimmer, horror as they put the pieces together in their minds. However, Leon still wasn't quite understanding. "I don't get it, what does that have to do with it?"

Fortunately, Kyoko was able to say what Sayaka didn't want to. "If you'll recall, Sayaka just explained that in her career that even the slightest imperfection can be extremely detrimental. Before the accident, her skin was practically flawless."

Junko cut in with her own remark next. "Yeah, but now that she's got a scar, and a really big one at that, it's going to be impossible for her to continue like she was. I mean, she wears a lot of outfits that totally show off her stomach a lot, so…"

She left the sentence hanging on purpose, feeling somewhat confident that the ball-player could peace it together. Fortunately for all involved, after a few seconds Leon's eyes slowly started to open up wide as the pieces started to click. "Oh…Oh! Oh man. That just…I mean what the crap? That's all it takes to get the boot!? What kind of lame ass shit is that!?"

"That's just how the entertainment industry is." The disguised soldier said to the raging all-star. "I mean, if anything goes wrong with my shoots they can just photoshop it out, but Sayaka is all about live performances so her career lives and dies on how she looks in the here and now."

Obviously, she wasn't going to mention that she had absolutely no actual experience to back up her statements. Everything she knew was second hand from what little she'd managed to get from her sister and from Sayaka herself. Even then, she knew that if she was pressed for details, she would never be able to reliably fact check.

So, of course Hina would ask a tough question that she wouldn't be sure of. "But, couldn't they just, I don't know, cover it with make-up, or something?"

It was a great shock to the disguised girl when Celeste of all people spoke to the contrary. "I do believe you are overestimating the power of cosmetics just a bit, Hina."

'Junko' cringed, because she knew that they were expecting her to chime in, and all she could do was snowball it. All she knew was a little bit from her time when she had been disguised as Junko before, and the crash course her sister had put her through the day before their plans were put into action. Plus, she wasn't quite sure if the fashion icon had been exaggerating or not on some fronts, as she was prone to do at times. In short, she knew jack-all about if there even was anything that could work for the idol.

So, she bluffed. "Yeah, that stuff is good for like small stuff here and there, but if you have to be moving, and jumping, and dancing, and stuff like Sayaka does, your gonna start sweating a whole lot which will cause it to run. That totally looks disgusting when in drips down as is, so imagen what it looks like when it starts dribbling all over her skirt and on the floor. And the kind that doesn't do that is totally bad for your skin. I'm talking acne central here."

"There is…truth in what they say." Sakura hesitated to say, though Mukuro was internally singing her praises for the timely intervention. "Tis why I hath never bothered with foundations to conceal my scars. Not only because it dishonors the spirit of my battles by hiding my shame, but it is impractical to apply substances that will simply melt away as I preform my daily routine."

Hina was silent for a moment as she thought about it, but eventually she nodded slowly. "I guess that makes sense. I mean, I just never liked how any of that oily stuff felt so I never bothered with it, but now that you put it like that…"

"It wouldn't have mattered if they did cover it anyway." A very unexpected purple haired girl stated as she gazed away. "Once word got out that she was covering up a scar, her fans would have fallen out of love with the unobtainable p-perfect girl image she portrayed regardless. Once a fault has been found, it might humanize her in their eyes, but it makes them feel like they were supporting a lie. This makes them unreasonably upset, so they go out of their way to find more faults in her image or over exaggerate the ones they already know, if they don't create their own blatant lies about her first. Rumors will start circulating after that, each one more elaborate then the last until you can't tell fact from fiction. All the while, the tabloids eat it all up and spout out even more nonsense to ruin her image even more. Eventually, she'll probably have to resign just to get the rabid rabble to leave her alone. If she's lucky then by the time it all dies down her actually loyal fans will demand her return, but it's unlikely she'll ever be as popular as she once was."

Slowly, the gaze of everyone in the room turned to stare at the purple girl as she finished her rant, their eyes wide as they tried to process what just happened. Even the likes of Kyoko, Sakura and Celeste were staring at the girl in shock, never having expected her of all people to talk so much considering everything they'd come to expect of the girl's personality and attitude thus far. They didn't even know what to say, either to what was said, or to who it was that said it.

Fortunately, they had Leon for that. "…Holy shit. Where the heck did that all come from?"

Toko jumped in her seat as her eyes snapped to the others, as if she had forgotten that they were there. She hadn't even realized that she had still been talking out loud. "W-What?"

Hifumi, either not realizing that she had spoken, or to answer her question was anyone's guess, but still he stated, "I have to agree. I dare say, that has to be the most you've spoken at one time without a single insult. You barely even stuttered!"

Junko herself added her own question. "How do you even know about that stuff?"

Instantly, Toko's shocked look turned into one of defensive anger as she pulled her hands in close and glared. "S-Shut up! One of m-my m-moms was in the e-entertainment industry. S-she w-would always go on these t-tangents about it a-all the time whenever s-she got d-drunk."

One of? The others internally noted the strange distinction, but with how frustrating it is to talk to her when she's upset like this, they all decided that it would be for the best for everyone to move on and come back to it later. Junko thankfully decided to do just that. "Huh. Well, she's got a point either way. With all of the new girls wanting to do the same thing, even if they aren't especially talented, as long as they look good, there's a good chance they'll make the cut."

"But…that can't be all to it…right?" Hina questioned as she glanced between the two girls who were most experienced in this, her mind just not understanding how superfluous this entire thing was starting to sound. It was like the only thing they cared about was a person's appearance and not the talent or dreams of the person behind that mask.

"Unfortunately, while that's not entirely true, she's not completely wrong either." Sayaka admitted reluctantly. "There's quite a lot of talented people that get picked up all of the time, and even though there aren't a lot that go on to become idols, there's always new blood waiting for someone to slip up so that they can take the spotlight…that's just how it is sometimes."

That thought was disheartening to say the least. To be told that someone's position could be upended so quickly, and for such a petty reason at that. The idea that looks were all that mattered in the end, that your appearance was considered more important than the person beneath went greatly against what many of the have all been told their lives. For others though, they knew far more than anyone how true this was.

Hifumi knew this better then he would ever let on. All of his life he'd been criticized and mocked for his rather rotund appearance, well before he had even developed his own admittedly unhealthy obsessions with chips, diet soda, and manga. He had been judged unfairly solely based on his looks many a time, called many a name revolving around his rather obscene waistline, and never did he do anything to warrant it. that was the very thing that helped to turn him to the only place he wouldn't be ridiculed for being who he was.

To a similar extent, so too did Toko feel the sting of past memories of torment. For many years she'd been tormented by the bullies in her school and called many terrible things, but some of the ones that stood out were the ones about her appearance. It was no understating how lacking she tended to be when compared to her parents in looks, one of whom having been a model herself, but that was nothing to the cruel children who simply wanted to hurt her for idiotic reasons. They simply called her ugly and similar descriptions because they could, not even knowing about her family. That did nothing for the mental scars though, since she already had someone to compare her looks to every single day of her life.

Chihiro arguably had it worst of them all and was doing everything he could to not cry. For so long, he'd been made fun of for being so much more lacking in masculine features that were a result of his biology. Always called names simply because he was small, because he was petite, because he was weak. Oh yes, he knew all too well how cruelly people could be to someone for their appearance, he wouldn't be wearing a skirt and letting people confuse him for a girl if he didn't.

Turning to the sullen pop-star, Chihiro finally said, "I-I see. That's…I'm so sorry, Sayaka."

"No, it's fine." She relied with a slight shake of her head, her breath hitching as she tried to contain her tears. "I'm…I'm making peace with it."

"Hey, well, if nothing else, you still got something right?"

"Huh?" Sayaka questioned the blond-haired fashionista, for once completely unable to read her expression.

For Mukuro though, she didn't know why she had spoken up. She couldn't tell what it was about seeing the idol like this, broken hearted and distraught and ready to give up on everything, but the feeling that had been plaguing her thus far had only worsened the moment it looked like the girl was about to cry. The clenching of her chest had just been getting worse and worse the whole conversation, and every time it looked like the bluenette was about to break, it spiked. When she had seen Sayaka smile as she had talked about her dreams and what had led her to becoming the ultimate pop-idol that she was, it reminded her of the time back when her own dreams where all she wanted was to be a soldier.

It made her feel something new, something she'd never experienced before. However, that didn't mean it was a good thing. It felt like she was sad, but it was more directed at both Sayaka…and herself. Like, a feeling of understanding that went beyond simple relatability. Like she knew the pain the idol was going through on a personal level and it brought forth feelings of guilt, yet also something else.

Was this empathy? Was this sympathy? She didn't know. She had never felt such things before. When on the field of combat, she had no time to consider or even care about her targets feelings, nor did she feel that such a thing was necessary. For a mercenary, there was no need for such things. Those people were either targets, or simply in the way, nothing else. So, it became a question of, why should you care about the obstacles blocking you when you could just remove them and continue on. She didn't know them, nor did she care too.

The same went for whomever it was that happened to upset her sister for one reason or another. It didn't matter if they were the most important person in the world, or the most worthless. They could have been the prime minister and Mukuro would have still hunted them down with a vengeance if her sister ordered it. The second they upset her precious sister, unless Junko decided to deal with them herself, their life was forfeit.

But now, now she was feeling something because of this. Because of the sight of someone that she had grown close too, someone she respected who was now experiencing a loss similar to her own, she felt disgusted with herself for the first time. She was sad for the idol, but more than anything she wanted this feeling to go away.

However, it wasn't that simple. This wasn't like the other emotions that she was able to push down and to the side. It persisted, refusing to be repressed and tossed aside like the ones before. She had to take a different approach this time, lest she be forced to hold this unbearable feeling for the rest of her days.

She had to…reassure the hurting idol, there was no other idea she could think of.

"Well, just because you can't be an idol anymore, doesn't mean that everything is gone." She started, after gathering her thoughts as best she could. "You've got a lot of experience as the top idol in the country, so you can always work to help the others in your group stay on top, y'know. And, well, like Toko said, you've still got to have some fans out there that wouldn't care about a little scar like that. So, who's to say that it's all over for you? You could make one hell of a comeback tour and still be among the greatest idol groups out there."

"But what about the motive vid-" Sayaka started to protest, but Mukuro aggressively cut her off before she could get any farther. "To hell with the video! You don't know if it was true or not, hell you won't know for sure if it is as long as we're in here. For all you know, they could still be alive and waiting for you out there while Monokuma just waves that in front of your nose. Until we manage to get out of here, you can't just let that damn bear get to you. So like, cheer up, it won't get better if you're all down in the dumps."

"She's right you know." Kyoko interjected before the idol could get a word in, drawing in everyone's attention effortlessly. "Until you can be there to verify it for yourself, you shouldn't take anything the mastermind says at face value. I went back to check your video after the trial, and I can say without any uncertainty that there is no proof showing that they've died. There is also the fact that they've proven that they have the resources to kidnap our loved ones to force our hand, so there is a distinct possibility that there might be others that are being held prisoner as well. So, until you see conclusive evidence one way or the other, you should keep an open mind to the possibility of their survival."

Sayaka was stricken silent by the two girls words, but everyone could tell that she had been affected by their resolute stance. Slowly, her head drooped down, hiding her eyes from the others view, and for a brief moment there was a fear in most of the other's hearts that their words had had a negative effect on the idol. Then, to make things more concerning, the idol's shoulders started to shake slightly form sobs and to the observant eye they could see little droplets of fresh tears falling. However, those fears were quickly abated when the idol finally lifted her gaze and showed a beaming smile.

"Thank you." Sayaka tearfully expressed her gratitude to the girls for their reassurances. "You're right…your right, I gave up too easy. I let that bear's words get under my skin, let him play me for a fool, and because of that I forgot to consider that he might be lying about the whole thing. But, no more. Until I see it for myself, I won't believe anything he says. I won't be some toy for him to control. Plus, even if I can't be there myself, I can still be there for moral support for the rest of my girl group. I'll still be there, just not as the focal point. Until we escape, I won't give up hope on my friends, or their survival, nor will I give in to the mastermind's temptations."

Then, just to drive the point through, she reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out the unopened paper letter that was to be her next motive. She had held onto it where the others had thrown theirs away, just because she had still been worried, afraid of what the mastermind could have on her, but too terrified to see for herself. So, she had continued to carry it, trying to decide what she was to do with it all while that fear and temptation held her. But now, now she took that paper into her hands, and despite the pain in her broken wrist, she proceeded to rip the letter in half. Once, twice, three times, and once more she shredded the poor paper with aggressive vindication before throwing the pieces into the air and letting the shreds float to the ground like confetti.

There was a small smile on her face even with her eyes filled with regret and tears. But they weren't filled with just misery, but also that of hope. Hope for the future, hope for her friends, and hope for everyone to make it out of here. There was a new desire forming in her eyes, one built up on the shattered remains of her former dream. A new dream was forming in the ashes of those burned out ideals, rising up to overtake those outdated imaginings with new plans, for both her survival as well as her new friends. This wasn't what she had wanted, no, but it was another step in the right direction as far as she was concerned.

As for Mukuro, she found herself smiling a bit at the idol's words and actions alongside all but Toko and Celeste. Internally she sighed in relief as that dark feeling in her chest finally abated, not quite disappearing, but far more manageable then it was before. It would seem that her theory had been correct, by making her fellow victim of Junko's game recover a bit, she was able to help her own heart calm. To think, all she had to do was talk just like how her crush did.

Makoto was always able to make everyone he talked to feel better just by listening to them and reassuring them were needed, so it made sense that by acting as he did she would be able to help the idol just a bit more. She wasn't quite sure if it was her words that had reassured the bluenette or if it was Kyoko's logical outlook, but that didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. Sayaka had clearly recovered, that was the important thing.

So, it was only natural that she would feel upset when Celeste picked up her cup of tea and just before she took another sip, stated, "Provided they're even alive anymore."

Immediately, Hina turned to give the gambler a disappointed glare at her blunt words with a frustrated cry of, "Celeste!"

"Not cool, man." Leon also stated, upset that she would outright try to shoot down to mood that they'd been building up. They had just managed to get Sayaka to come back from her depression, he did not want to deal with her crying again so soon.

"Was that entirely necessary?" Sakura asked calmly, though not without twinges of disappointment and frustration. However, the gambler gave no outward sign that she was affected as she finished her tea and placed the cup back on its saucer.

Celeste smiled a dishonest grin and gave a statement. "My apologies, but you remember from our previous motive that hers had been of her group in a state of duress. It was the reason that she had made the attempt to escape in the first place."

The other's started to tense, ready to jump to Sayaka defense about how she was trying to change, but to everyone's surprise, the pop-idol herself spoke up. "No, she's right. But that's why I can't let myself fall into that mind state again. When I saw my friends there, laying down either unconscious or dead, I felt like a cold, dark hand was gripping my heart. It was like there was a set of teeth wrapped around my throat, choking me. Like everything I'd ever done was meaningless in the end. I never want to feel like that again, and I don't want anyone else to feel that way either. When we get out of here, I'm going to do my best to support my friends. I'll be strong…for them."

There was a smile growing on most of the others faces at the sight of Sayaka's show, and they could see just how much her once gloomy, darkened eyes once full of despair were now full of tears hope for a new future. For Sayaka though, she had never felt better. It was like a massive weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, something that had been a long time coming. What had only started as a spark with both Leon and Makoto had evolved into a roaring inferno, one that would not be so easily quenched. And from that flame rose a new determination, a vow, a promise to never give in to the manipulations of another again, to protect her friends both new and old, and to never let them fall either.

Another smile, this one full of pride forced its way onto Leon's face at that. This, this right here was why he had been willing to give her a second chance, despite her trying to kill him before. Dense he may be, and he willingly admitted that much about himself, but he liked to think he was a decent judge of character, and her choice to try to and redeem herself in their eyes was something that even he could tell was the truth. But now, with her outright shredding her motive in a show of rebellion against the mastermind was certainly a strong bit of proof to show it. So, it was only fair that he returns that trust with his own. "Atta girl. And hey, you'll have us to back you up."

Hina smiled as well, and she pumped her fists in excitement. "Yeah! When we get out of here, you can count on us to help."

Sayaka blinked at the unexpected support from her classmates. She had been so lost in her own world for a moment that she had completely forgotten where she was, and that realization made her wave her hands in denial as she blushed slightly from embarrassment. "It's okay, you don't have to…"

"It's fine, we want to!" Hina countered, "What are friends for after all."

Sayaka blinked at that, and her eyes wandered to the others to see, to her surprise, similar smiles all around her. Sakura and Kyoko merely smiled with crossed arms, content to tell her that they agreed with just their body language alone with their gazes now filled with a level of respect for the idol's new resolve. Chihiro, her eyes moist with unshed tears, but also with a smile full of trust in the bluenette. Hifumi, his chest puffed out as he appraised her, but the chubby man-child couldn't hide the chipmunk grin on his face full of pride in her for choosing never to give in again. Junko's grin was wide and tense, as if she was at war with herself over her decision to support the once murderous girl's resolve for a better future, but Sayaka could see that she too was trying to convey the same message the swimmer girl had stated.

Even the two most antagonistic of the group were giving her their own looks, and while Celeste's was calculating and clearly cynical, there was also a promise in there that only the idol's now unclouded mind could pick up. The gambler was a betting woman, more so then anyone, and she wasn't going to place any such bet on the idol to stay on the straight and narrow. However, she wouldn't get in the girl's way, she would stay on the sidelines and observe, and let luck see if Sayaka would stay true to her word.

As for Toko, well, Sayaka didn't need to be a mind reader to tell that the writer wasn't going to let her opinion change anytime soon so easily. The author hadn't moved any closer, if anything she had scooched further way in her chair as she stared with eyes full of suspicion and doubt. However, she wasn't glaring at her with hate and loathing anymore, so Sayaka decided that was good enough for now and a solid first step towards redeeming herself in the girl's paranoid eyes.

"Thank you, guys…" was all she could say, so happy that she had been given this chance to both apologize, and to get the source of her stresses off of her chest. She really needed the chance to truly vent, get out all of the pent-up aggression and stress… wait. Sayaka's eye's widened as she realized something important. "Ah! I'm so sorry, you brought us here to relax, and here I am dragging down the mood."

Hina blinked, but quickly realized what the bluenette girl had said was somewhat true. However, she was quick to wave it off. "What? No, it's okay. I think you really needed to just get it all out of your system, y'know."

Yet, that did little to quell the bit of guilt Sayaka felt for using what should have been a time for simple fun as her own impromptu therapy session. Even with that bombshell no longer primed to go, that didn't mean that she had the right to unload it all onto the other's where it wasn't wanted. "Still…"

"Say not a word more, Maizono-san." Sakura interrupted with a calm empathetic smile and a raised hand. "It took a lot of courage for thou to tell us all about what has been hurting you thus far. Reveling one's inner most fears is a demanding task and can be quite demanding of one's heart too. You've shown a lot of strength today. If thou ever need to talk in the future, we will lend an ear. If thou needs support, you should never be ashamed to come to thy friends for help. It never hurts to talk."

Sayaka was silent in the wake of the large women's words, but soon a smile, small but appreciative, formed on her face as she ducked her head down. "Thank you."

Smiles were once again present on near everyone's face, happy to see the once dour women now feeling leagues better then she had before all of this. Hina especially carried a million wat smile at the scene since, for a while there she was legitimately concerned that all of this would be for naught. She had been so scared that this entire idea to bring them all together would be a bad idea and that it would backfire tremendously. Sayaka had been the biggest concern since there weren't more than a small few of them willing to give the bluenette idol a second chance.

Yet, now that Sayaka had told them all about her reasoning and her history, as well as shown them all just how honest she was about wanting to try and repair the bridges that she'd burned, they could begin to recover that once betrayed trust.

Idly, the swimmer's eyes turned to focus on the head of Junko. Maybe there was more to what she had told them all after all. With Sayaka's past told, they now had the context necessary to understand her, so now they could learn to eventually forgive her. They could now move past this and grow even stronger than before, and eventually learn to trust her once more. Just the thought made Hina beam.

For Mukuro though, this moment was more bitter then sweet. One the one hand, that retched feeling that had been guiding her actions had finally gone, but now it had been replaced with a new one. One of terror. There was no doubt that her sister was watching this with foam in the mouth from seeing her undoing all of the doubt and depression that had once plagued the idol so. All of the hard work to drive the girl into despair, wasted because she thought it was a good idea to try and reassure Sayaka. Worst still, she couldn't even run damage control without planting a rather large target on her back.

All she could do now was wait and pray that Junko would be somewhat merciful in her punishment.

There was also Toko to consider here, though it should be said that not much had changed in regard to her feelings against Sayaka. She still didn't trust the idol as far as she could throw her; and with the writer's build, that was not far at all. She didn't believe for a moment that the crazy singer wasn't going to try something again down the line, and that this whole shebang was just an elaborate ploy to get the others to lower their guard. No, she had already been burned once by the girl Sayaka Maizono, she wasn't about to let it happen again.

That being said…that didn't mean that she wasn't a bit empathetic to the bluenette and her past. As she told them, she knew through secondhand exposure just how much of a hit to her reputation that Sayaka was going to experience if they all survive the killing game; as unlikely as that might be. Toko also knew, from firsthand experience this time, what it was like to be alone with everyone against you. Her entire life was testament to that. So, maybe…maybe she would lighten up a bit on the remarks for a while.

There was one other who's opinion was worth mention. Kyoko, who was watching this all play out wasn't quite sure what to think of it. On the one hand, it was good that everything had turned out okay in the end. When she had been given the invitation to join in on this gathering she had been rather skeptical. Gathering all of these people in one room and somewhat forcing them to interact this soon after they had been given a motive to kill screamed of a ploy that could get someone killed. It wasn't that she doubted in Hina and Sakura's intentions, but it was certainly suspicious. So, it was with the hope of preventing such a thing that she had agreed to join.

Now though, it was clear that her suspicions were unfounded, a fact she was glad to note. The ultimate swimmer and fighter had only the best intentions in mind and just wanted to try to bring back a smidgen of the normality that had been present before Monokuma's first motive. Though it had certainly been a rocky start, she felt that they had succeeded in that somewhat. Whether it was though sheer dumb luck, or possibly because this might have been one of the only chances that would be provided, they had somehow even managed to get Sayaka, who had once been completely tightlipped on her reasoning for her giving into temptation, to talk and clear the tension in the air. They had even managed to somewhat calm the suspicions that had been growing that the idol might do so again.

It was much too soon to say that they would completely trust everything the girl said, the metaphorical wound was still much to fresh in everyone's minds for that even before the newest motive was given, but it was a step in the right direction none the less.

But the thing that held her attention the most hadn't been the one's of the hosts, nor that of the idol, but rather that of their resident fashionista. The whole conversation had been…off. The way she had spoken seemed different then what it had been recently. Less sure of her own words, lacking in confidence in many ways even. It didn't seem like she actually knew what she was talking about. Furthermore, her movements were also different. They carried a completely different feeling then before, even if there were similarities.

It stances, poses, even the attitude and personality were the same, but for some undiscernible reason there was an uncanny valley feel to it all. Like, looking at a doppelganger, or a person that had similar features to someone you knew on the street. It wasn't even the first time she'd felt it looking at her and up until today she hadn't even realized anything might have been amiss, but now that she was focusing so much on her, it was becoming more and more clear that something was up with the fashionista, but as to what, she wasn't quite sure yet.

Still, that wouldn't stop her from helping to preserve the peace, and if that meant that she had to play nice with the suspicious girl, she would…for now.

Celeste broken the mood with a sigh, before she pushed out her seat and stood up. Turning to address the others, she gave them a petite smile and stated, "Very well, if that is your decision then I wish you the best of luck."

Chihiro blinked at the Gambler's abrupt farewell and couldn't stop before asking, "Where are you going, Celeste?"

"I am heading for my room." The gambler queen stated politely as she turned to leave. "I wish to wash myself off before nighttime. Good day to you all."

There was a look shared between the others as they watched the gambler leave. Despite how polite and calm her voice seemed, there was a clear clip to it from how abrupt it seemed. Was she upset? Was she being honest? Was she hiding behind a vail of pleasantries whilst actually seething? They didn't know, and considering who it was, they likely would never know.

Whatever the case, they couldn't deny that she had a point. It was getting rather late.

Toko was the first to get up to leave, calling back a snippy, "I-I'm going too."

There was a collective sigh once she had gone, but it seemed to be enough of a signal for the others to prepare their own reprieve. Leon took off the hairnets off of his head and goatee and tossed them aside as he rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I think I'll hit the hay too. Don't know why, but I've got a feeling that I'm going to need it."

Hifumi was next, but his destination was very different. "Indeed. In any case, I'll clean up here first before I retire for the night."

"Sounds good." Was all he received as a confirmation from Junko as she turned to wheel herself to her room. "See ya later."

And with a few other pleasantries passed, most of the girls dispersed for the night. Hifumi had no problems with that. He figured right away as he volunteered to clean up that they would leave him alone to do so, so there was no need to even consider otherwise.

That being said though, as he started collecting the cups and other mostly empty to completely empty dishes, he found something unexpected.

Someone was still here.

---

"All right! I think that went well!"

Hina hummed a tuneless song as she half walked, half skipped to her dorm room beside her friend Sakura. The large women give no more than a simple, "Indeed." But that didn't matter to the swimming pro, not when things had turned out far better than even she had hoped. Oh, there had been a time in the beginning that she thought that it would all fall apart, she had been even scared that it might completely blow up in her face and cause everyone to come to blows, but it all worked itself out in the end.

Sayaka had been her biggest concern next to maybe Toko. The singer had been very despondent for quite some time and had honestly started to worry her something fierce. But now that everything had gone on as it had, she no longer felt that about her. In fact, now Hina wanted to hear more about her, about the good things that Sayaka had experienced, about the troubled times their band had to go through, and even more.

In all honesty, she did believe that it could have gone a bit better. She would have preferred it if the cold silence and words of vile and distrust weren't around, but considering the alternatives, it was really the better option.

However, she wasn't the only one feeling greatly about what had been said. Sakura had been going over the whole event in her mind as well, and she unknowingly agreed with her confidant in many aspects. Truly, it was a welcome change to bring so many people together again and reinforce the damaged bonds that tied them together. While there had certainly been many a sour note taking place today, especially during the late day tea time, it was offset by the good that had come of it.

Yet, while she did agree that things were going well…that didn't stop the feelings writhing in her core, the guilt, and the sensation of her own mind calling her a hypocrite. For she who had claimed that they should get along and trust in one another, to be willing to confide in each other and tell of the darkness in their pasts, she could not stand by her own words.

She could not reveal those heartless moments of the past that threatened to eclipse her future, nor could she tell anyone of what had been done to make her heart ache so. She could not tell of the times that she held close to her chest, of what her passion, her honor, and her pride was forcing her to do to these wonderful people. But, the worst thing was, she could not even find it in herself to trust in her closest friend that she had made here.

Her eyes traveled to watch her fellow energetic athlete with a look of consideration, and shame. How would she react, Sakura wondered, if she were to discover the reason that her friend stayed her hand against the mastermind? What would she say should she learn of the tender heart under this warrior's muscles that were held tight in the inky black claws of a monster, threatening to crush the life out of her should she defy him. What would she do when the truth was brought to light, showing every piece of the artist of fighting's hypocrisy and how much of a coward she was to the world.

Sakura did not know. The tan skinned swimmer was very kind in most circumstances, the fact that she had never ousted Sayaka despite all of the betrayal that they had endured, even asking the ultimate fighter to hold her tongue on her suspicions about the idol when they figured that she had likely been the one to take the knife from the kitchen until someone brought in up in the trial, solely out of the hope that they might have been wrong. And even when it had been shown that she had in fact betrayed them, Hina had only even considered wanting to throw the popstar under the bus when said star started to lie about how much she hated them all, and even that failed to stick once the truth had come to light.

Plus, the fighting master was much closer to the swimmer girl then the idol had been. Because of this, it would not be beyond the realm of possibility to imagen that Hina would be more willing to forgive her should she tell of what vexed her so. With how trusting she was, there was little chance that this could fail.

But there was a fault in such a plan, a second edge to tis blade that was just as likely to cut her as it was to the mastermind's manipulations. Should she reveal the truth, things might only get worst. For it was for the same reason that she was close to Hina that made it likely to forgive her, it also meant that the sting of betrayal would hit the peppy donut-lover all the harder. There was a chance that it could be too much for her to handle, and that could lead to events best left unspoken of.

And that wasn't even considering how the others would act were her secret be exposed. There was no doubt that she was the strongest amongst them physically, and if they were to hear about the bear shaped skeleton in her closet that held her, would they be so forgiving? Unlikely in some cases, never in others.

What then would they do. They would grow suspicious of her, doubtful of her loyalties and where they may lie; no matter what she claimed. They might oust her, barring her from interacting with them in the future until the mastermind decided to let them go; if they were true to their promise of course.

Worst still, should there be ones who try to support the head of the Ogami family after learning the truth, there would be a massive rift formed between them. Those that were for forgiveness and understanding verses those that refused and turned to scorn. The whole of their comradery that they were working to build would fall apart and might even turn to blows.

So, for now, she decided that, no she wouldn't say anything. Though she shook her head and steeled herself, because to do less would throw away everything.

It was just as she was thinking this that she heard the sound of someone approaching at a brick, yet not quite running pace. Stopping where she was, she turned to look down to the entry way to see a rather excited Taka heading her way with a small assortment of papers clutched tight within his right hand. Turning fully now to address him, she was about to exchange greetings with him…

But by that point he had cleared the gap and was now holding her hands in both of his as he exclaimed, "Miss Sakura! Perfect timing! Quickly, I need you!"

Hina summarized Sakura's thoughts perfectly. "Wha…?"

---

Hifumi had been in many a bizarre situation in his lifetime. He had done battle with monsters and ghouls of varying descriptions, lead forces of hundreds into the jaws of the netherworld and brought every single man and women back with nary a scratch to be seen, wrestled with gladiators the world over in epic matches that would be told of in stories for countless generations, and even found the love of a beautiful women who's power nearly rivaled his own.

Granted that was only in his own fan manga and writings, but the fact remained that he'd seen much of what the world had to offer him.

Yet, he could honestly say that he'd never seen a sight like this were, he, a master of all things fan written, were to be left in a room with many dirty dishes alongside of a young girl who by all means should be wanting to leave him where he stood. Her hands were gripped into her skirt and her eyes were darting about nervously, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't figure out the words.

So, it was up to him to ask, "Miss Fujisaki? What are you still doing here?"

Chihiro flinched as her eyes shot up to meet his own, and she fiddled even harder with her skirt. "O-Oh, um…well, I noticed that none of the others stayed to help so I figured, that maybe I should. If that's okay?"

There wasn't even a single feeling of hesitation to accept her offer, but still, Hifumi had no desire to force her to help him. "Aw, it warms my heart to hear that, miss Fujisaki. Were this a dating sim, I would have been completely smitten by your thoughtfulness. But, you don't have to worry about me. I have it all under control!"

"O-Oh, I see…" She said, and her gaze drooped back to the floor. To further this display that made his heart clench in her chest, tears had started to grow in the corners of her eyes.

Quickly, he tried to stop the flood works before they began, "U-Uh, well. I-if you really wish to assist in my side-quest, then I suppose you could help dry the dishes while I wash them."

Thankfully, she took to it with nothing more than a surprised look, followed by an adorable smile "R-Really? Okay!"

The round boy only barely resisted the urge to swoon at how adorably kawaii her smile made her look, prior experiences where he'd done so being more than enough for him to know that it would not likely end well for his future bonding time they might have. Instead, he did as he promised, after gathering the rest of the dishes and heading to the sink he'd prepped before, he eagerly handing the timid beauty a washcloth and then a cup from the soupy waters in the sink. For a while they were both silent as they worked with only the sounds of sloshing water and the clinking of porcelain as the cups and plates knocked against themselves. The large otaku cleaning each dish with care to spot and remove every spot or crumb before passing it off to the small girl to thoroughly wipe them dry with the cloth before placing them back into the shelf they belonged in. They were so focused on the task they were that it was only when they were over half way done that Hifumi even realized that there was something…off about the little programmer.

Every so often, she would start to slow in her actions, sometimes even stopping completely, and when it happened there was a look in her eyes that seemed like she was staring through the walls themselves. It was as if her mind was elsewhere then on the task at hand, lost within the depths of her own psyche, waiting for someone to come to her aid in this time of turmoil.

For Hifumi, while it was a bit upsetting to know that she wasn't paying him any mind, he felt far more ecstatic then disappointed. Finally, here was a chance to do something for someone that he would be able to work with that actually put his skills to use! He could feel it in his bones, this was the encounter he had been waiting for, a chance to use the vast well of knowledge that came from being an otaku extraordinaire. He was going to make this day feel better for the cute little girl next to him and start a proper friendship route with her that, with any luck, will end in a long-standing friendship at the very least. Yes, this destined event would herald their bonds for all to bear witness to as the greatest of emotional events the world over!

But first, as with all great tales in gaming history, he needed to first start her event.

Clearing his throat, the large boy decided to start small. "Miss Fujisaki, are you well?"

She startled a bit, her attention snapping back to focus before she turned to him in surprise, as if she'd forgotten he was even there. "U-Uh, oh, yes. Yes, I'm okay." She stumbled over her words.

Okay, so far so good. "Are you sure, because you've been drying that same spot for quite a while now."

She glanced down at the cup in her hand to realize that the dish was dry, and that she'd been rubbing the towel against it pointlessly for quite a while now. With that realization, her eyes drooped slightly as a sad frown formed on her face. "Oh…"

"If it's alright with you, you and I could talk about it." he offered with soft words so as not to scare off the sweet little girl. She was delicate after all and needed to be treated in such a way; just like a collector's limited-edition item, only living instead of plastic.

"Huh…? Oh, no. I wouldn't want to be a bother." She tried to let his offer down gently, so as not to hurt his feelings; but he would not be dissuaded! The iron was hot, and he wasn't going to miss out on this glorious opportunity to spread his knowledge and years of accumulative advice like a glorious pancake of facts!

"Nonsense." He denied with a rapid waving of his hand. "Why, I would love nothing more than to help you! Please, let me be your aid."

Chihiro hesitated, understandable really. Hifumi was well aware that he didn't look all that knowledgeable. Fortunately, after a moment to think, she gave him a little nod. "Well, okay. If you're sure."

"But of course." He smiled, barely resisting the urge to puff out his chest in pride. Didn't want to scare her off with his sheer power yet. "Now tell me, what seems to be the trouble?"

Sweet little Chihiro looked away from him and stared at the cup in her hands for a moment. He said nothing, letting her gather her thoughts without interruption. And his patience paid off in the end as eventually she started, "To be honest, I was thinking about what Sayaka was saying, about her group and what she'd done, and I…I felt bad for her. She's suffered so much to get to where she was, and then the mastermind took it all away from her."

Hifumi nodded along as his hand moved up to rub his chin inquisitively. "Yes, I have to agree with you there. I don't know about what she's had to do to become the Ultimate Pop-idol, but if it's even a fraction of what she described then I'm certain that I wouldn't be able to last for a thousandth of the time she has."

And he meant that. He couldn't even begin to imagen the hardships that she had been forced to endure, much less want to go through them himself. It was quite the reveal though, and it really put into perspective just what kind of dark side was hidden behind the velvet curtains that Sayaka showed so frequently.

He resisted the urge to shake his head. Best not to continue that line of thought again.

"Yeah, I don't think I would either." Chihiro nodded in agreement, then her head dipped to the side while she put her finger to her chin in contemplation. "But, it got me thinking. What does true strength mean?"

"Huh?" was all Hifumi could say to that? Why would she want to know about that kind of thing?

The programmer fidgeted a bit at the question, uncomfortable with talking about the topic for some reason that the otaku was still unsure of but continued regardless. "W-Well, when you think of someone who's strong, you normally think of someone like Mondo or maybe Sakura, right? But, after hearing Sayaka was planning to be, "Strong for her friends" I can't help but wonder, what is real strength?"

Ah, so it was like that then. The doujin fan nodded his head as he started to get a clearer picture of what she meant. True, when one speaks of the strongest person the know of, they usually are talking about the more physical attributes than anything else. So, being told that there is another form of strength then that must have confused the young girl. That made sense since, from what he could tell from the few small conversations they had prior, Chihiro was not really well versed in modern story telling about the various other avenues of the concept of being strong.

Fortunately for her, and Hifumi puffed up a bit in excitement, she was talking to a world front runner in such stories!

"Hmm, that is a rather befuddling question. Well, in most manga I've read, it's widely believed that the greatest source of strength comes from the desire to help another. The sheer act of helping someone selflessly without expecting reward, can lead you to avenues you never would have taken otherwise. However, others say that your best strengths come in the heat of the moment."

Hifumi paused his speech for a second to point dramatically, his voice lowering to truly emphasize the epicness of the moment. "That brief moment where you find that your very soul is lit aflame and your body moves on its own to come to another's aid. Like a mother gains the power to lift an entire car to save their child, so too could someone become just as formidable if it means protecting someone close to them. Then there are the one that claim that true strength comes from within. That it is the will of who you are inside that shows your ability, your focus, and your very mind as the greatest of weapons the world over, for it is our very nature as humans to think, plan, understand, and strategize that allowed us to take dominance over most of the world in the first place."

To finish his tirade, he let go of both the pose and the voice to a more relaxed and thoughtful one. "However, to which one is the most correct, I couldn't tell."

Chihiro stayed focused on him throughout his rant, her eyes never faltering form his even as he started to pose. "Yeah…it's so hard to be certain of which one is the truth."

Hifumi cringed when he saw that his efforts were going all wrong. instead of feeling better, it seemed that he had only added to the confusion and made her look even more distressed. Fall back. Fall back! "Well, in my humble opinion, I believe that it's all a matter of perspective really."

The petite girl looked up again from her sadly musings with a small, "Huh?"

Okay, so far so good. We can recover from this setback. Just keep talking. "Well, like I said, it's all about what you want to believe in. While, yes, in most cases there is evidence that can point to one truth, that doesn't mean anything if you don't believe in that truth. Sometimes, you need to create your own truth, and believe in it. There are sometimes, you must forge your own path, separate from the one most traveled, in order to find your own truth. In a way, this is no different. The list of ways to obtain strength is as vast as the world is wide, and those beliefs are challenged to find their own way every day. New truths are found every waking moment, but you need to find your own way, lest you never be satisfied."

"Find…my own way…? My own truth…my own strength." Chihiro almost chanted as she went over those phrases, thinking about them and internalizing them.

"Hmm…yes, I think that's right…" The large teen pondered as well. Normally he wouldn't have to think about this, but as times in the past told him, he did have more difficulty externalizing his inspired speeches then when he wrote them out for his manga panels. "However, I think the question should be not, "what true strength is?" but rather, "what you plan to use it for.""

Chihiro pulled away from her thoughts once more to look at him, but this time he could tell that he had her complete attention this time. "…What do you mean?"

Not wanting to disappoint, especially now that he had her full attention, he brought out his big guns. "Well, if you think about it, everyone needs a reason, something that encourages them, that drives them to succeed. That's why "Ultimate High School Students" exist in the first place after all. Like miss Ogami for example, she is the Ultimate Fighter, yes? But why did she feel the need to become that, where does her strength and skill come from? The answer is simple, she got that strong because of her family, her honor dictated her destiny, and she embraced it. However, I doubt she would have come even close to earning that title without that burning desire to surpass the expectations put on her."

He took a quick breath, and continued, "Or, take Mister Owada. He became the leader of the biggest biker gang the whole country over, but would he have ever gotten the strength to do so if he didn't feel there was a good reason to dominate the competition? I should think not. Even Miss Sayaka only got where she was because she had a grand reason to get there. She said it herself, she wanted to give others a reason to feel hope for the future, to wow them with her melodious voice. But she never would have gotten there without that dream, her reason to earn those skills and push through the struggles to reach her desired goal and see it come true."

He grinned at his explanation, truly he was on fire right now! But he couldn't help it, because for what seemed like the first time his love of stories of the visual nature was helping him talk to a girl! He was wowing someone, drawing them in with words alone where normally he could only barely get even a single iota of attention beyond annoyance for talking about a medium he loved so dearly. Truly, this was a turning point for him.

But more importantly, he wasn't even talking about just anime, manga, or video games, he was talking about real things that he normally couldn't care less about. And it was making him feel inspired! There was truth in it all as well which made the details all the sweeter. Just like in his games and stories, it is a person's character that creates a motivation, motivation drives a story, and a story gives those that read it a new perspective to see the world through.

"Well, in short, they had a reason to get stronger in their own way, and that may just be the thing you need to find your answers. At least, that's what I think anyway." He finally finished his speech, now feeling more than ever the need to find himself a drink. It was just too bad that this place didn't provide any diet coke, that would be the best right about now.

Regardless, it seemed to him that it was all worth the dryness in his throat as the kawaii girl finally started to pep up, her eyes slowly but surely filling with a fire. Small, yes, but full of determination. "I think I'll do just that…yeah, I'm going to go find my own truth, my own reason to be strong. And maybe then…maybe then I'll be able to…"

"Hmm? I didn't quite catch that last part." He commented, her voice having trailed off at what might have been the best part. Able to do what, he wondered. There was clearly more to this desire of hers then he'd first thought, but exactly what that could be he couldn't quite tell yet.

Unfortunately, such questions would go unanswered as the girl jumped slightly from what no doubt was some sort of realization. "O-Oh, um. Sorry, but, I have to go now. Thank you Hifumi, for all of your advice."

"O-Oh, it's not a problem Miss Fujisaki! Please, don't mind me!" he struggled to recover as she all but ran out of the room, leaving a confused and bewildered otaku behind in the process.

For a moment, he silently pondered to himself. what could it be that lead the programmer to talk to him, he wondered. Obviously, some of it had been to help him out since no one else had stayed to clean up, so some of it had to have just been from the goodness of her heart. Yet, it was clear that wasn't all of it.

But what could it be, he wondered. Why seek him out, out of all of the ultimate's? As great as he knew he could be, he knew he wasn't all that wanted for his admittedly geeky nature, and what he could offer was more suited for talks of a more fantasy and fiction then reality.

Wait! Could it be that she felt that only he, in his splendor, would be able to answer her burning questions? That she sought his advice over all of the others because she felt that only he could bless her with the answers that she was looking for!? Oh, just the thought made him want to squeal in joy.

"Bwehehe. Looks like my first free-time event with Miss Fujisaki was a total success! If all goes well, then maybe I'll be able to convince her to help me in my idea of a virtual dating simulation…Ooh, I can hardly wait!" the otaku started to drool at the very thought. So many untapped possibilities were potentially coming forth in his mind. Scenarios and characters, ideas aplenty for stories and developments. Oh, it made him want to grab a pencil right this second and start planning his rough drafts right this second.

But first, he still had a noble quest to undertake. He turned back to the sink, happy that he had managed to help someone in their time of need. He felt butterflies in his chest, pleasant from knowing that he'd helped in some way.

However, as he was soaking one of the remaining cups, he started to slow to a stop as something just occurred to him.

"…Wait a minute. She left before we finished the dishes."

---

"…and so, then, the moron decides to hand me a cactus! I mean, what, do I look like a floozy to you!?

"He didn't!" my captive audience member gasped even as his mouth twitched in an attempt to hide his smile. I kept myself from giving into the temptation to smile along and simply stated, "Oh, yeah he did. He was such a prick!"

Makoto damn near doubled over with laughter from the silly punchline to the long joke I'd been weaving, as well as the silly looking face I made to sell it. If I had to describe it, I would say it looked like a cross between Mondo's threatening face, with the added bonus of my own twist of almost crossing my eyes. Overall, I looked absolutely ridiculous, and I couldn't help but feel proud that I managed to make the surprisingly stiff luckster nearly fall out of his chair laughing.

Sad that I could barely remember what I'd even said, but that was a minor annoyance compared to the sheer feeling of joy I was experiencing.

I don't know why, but for some reason I'd actually expected to be bored out of my mind. Maybe it was the fact that he was so much stiffer in person then I'd originally thought. He didn't really move or fidget all that much, only when he was reacting to something that someone said did he react, and even then, it was kinda minor. Ironically, it made him much easier to read emotionally then anyone here. I think that was what made him feel more grounded then any of the others here, including myself. There was just something about him just being there, willing to not only listen, but offer an opinion on the matter that made him so easy to discuss things with.

Or maybe it was everyone's desire to return to normality. With the fear that any day could very well be their last, people tend to cling on to the precious moments of their life. When that happens, eventually, whether they realize it or not, a subconscious desire begins to emerge. One that says, "I want someone I feel I can trust to be able to carry on my story if the worst happens."

Makoto, with his earnest kind soul that goes out of his way to talk with them for the sake of talking, ended up being that person for most of them. Add in his overwhelmingly kind heart, his refusal to hurt anyone regardless of the consequences, and it just made him feel all the more relatable.

"Oh, I almost forgot." He stated as his guffaws finally died down. "I wanted to give you something."

As he started to dig into his pockets, I couldn't help but start to lean in in a vain attempt to see what it could be that he wanted to give me. Ever since I'd given him the suggestion in the school store, he had been making it a habit to give the others some of the little trinkets he'd won. Some of them simple. Some not so much. But every time he'd gotten lucky and found something the others really liked, he'd get this ecstatic look in his eyes that I could see even through the cameras. If I had to guess, it was the same look in most people's eyes when they were looking through his.

Course, that didn't stop him from giving them the same gift several times in a row. It was funny the first few times, but you can only give someone a rose whip so many times before they start to question your intent.

Regardless, I wondered what he was trying to get. I couldn't help it, I was curious what he thought he would give me. Call me what you will, superfluous, greedy, materialistic, what have you, but I liked to be given things. It is one of the ways I'm able to tell just how much someone understands me as an individual by seeing what they think I would like. However, the gift itself doesn't matter, but the thoughts behind the gift itself. The feelings that they are trying to convey through the gift is what's important.

So, imagen my surprise what he handed me a little test tube that held a miniature rose.

I tensed up, my eyes wide and my lips puckered as I inhaled sharply through my nose. I watched my hand tighten around the glass with a feeling of trepidation, amusement, and most importantly, horror. Is this what I thought it was? Is this going where I thought!? What is this!?

It did help that the next words out of his mouth were, "I know that you've been having such a difficult time here, both this whole situation and with your…leg. But I just wanted you to have something to tell you that, you always have someone there for you. I know that you don't think of us as friends yet, and that's okay. I just wanted you to know that I'm always here if you need me."

Oh my god, what the hell!? Can you get any more anime protagonist! If I didn't already know that he was only trying to make me feel better, I would be having a heart attack.

Right, calm down. It is far too early for him to have those kinds of feelings yet. Good, good. I have far too much junk to deal with as is to have a romance subplot drama happen to me right now. Okay body, crisis over, stop tensing!

Besides, it wouldn't be me anyway he was after anyway if he was after a relationship. It would be the other girl pretending to be Junko, Mukuro. That's so much more pressure off of me. I can relax, I can be calm, I can stop acting like a horror movie victim when they figured out they were in the room with the killer/monster/ghost.

"Admit it, Makoto. You didn't just give me this to be nice, did you...?" I teased with a grin, my heart finally calming down and my body relaxing now that I had rationalized everything. "Well, whatever! Works for me!" and with that, I slipped the tube into my pocket with a smile. I'll give it to Mukuro later, she might just blush up a storm when I tell her who gave it to her.

Makoto, the poor boy, lit up in two ways from that tease. First his face turned red again, so much so that it reached his ears, but it started to fade as his smile slowly overridden it. Just as planned. How did that line of his go again? "Seeing her so pleased by what I'd given her makes me feel happy." I think that was it. It was what he wanted the most from his gift giving sprees and it only validated my own beliefs.

Getting the gift if great and all, but the other side is the feelings you get from giving one. To see the reaction on the other person's face to the thing you have gone out of your way to get for them, that you put time and thought into, that you've sweat over in hope that they would love and treasure it. You wanted to meet their expectations and surpass them. You couldn't help but want your gift for them to be well received. If it was, your heart might feel like it's on cloud nine. If they hate it, you feel terrible and question why you ever thought that it was a good idea in the first place.

It was one of the most stressful moments of anticipation out there for both the giver and the receiver. Both sides want to see things go well, and they anticipate both the possible success and failure of the reaction to said gift. Both sides wanted it all to go well, and in the moment of the reveal was when both side's emotions became one for one brief moment. There was a reason such moments were quite popular in modern media after all.

"But in all honesty," I continued, completely throwing out the teasing tone in my voice. "there is something I wanted to ask you."

He blinked but said the only other phrase he was well known for as being practically his catchphrase. "Huh?"

"…You really have to learn not to say that word. It makes you seem like you're not paying attention, and that's just insulting, ya know." He flinched at that, but I wasn't going to let him give me a half-hearted apology. "Well, going back to my question. I wanted to know, what's your family like?"

"Hu- I-I mean, why do you want to know?" He asked, and I had to prevent myself from grinning at his self-correction.

"Humor me. I'm curious. You don't talk about yourself all that much, ya know." I continued as I laid my chin in my palm. It was true, Makoto rarely if ever mentioned anything about himself, and his reasoning…

"Well, there's not much to say. We're just a normal, boring family." Oh, how I hate that generic line of his.

"Normal, he says." I quipped with a sarcastic rolling of my eyes. "Boring, he says. And that is where I have to disagree."

Removing my hand from my chin I looked him dead in the eye and said, "Listen, it's cute and all that you think of yourself like that, but there's a big flaw in that thought process. There is no such thing as a 'normal' family. What you might think of as normal to you might be mirrored by some others in some ways, but to call a family normal is like saying that there is nothing that sets them apart from everyone else. Normal, is totally just a state of mind."

I raised up my hand and closed my eyes for a moment even as I continued. "Now, if I were to tell you that my family eats dinner in the bathtub, you would think that rather strange, right? But if you told me that your family has it in the dining room, don't you think that I would then be the one to think your family was the weird one here. Of course, that's an extreme example, but that fact remains. What you think of as average and boring, I might think of as interesting and exciting. So, tell me about them."

He looked shocked, and it was such a pleasant sight to see. He clearly never thought of it that way before now, and it stunned him momentarily. He never even considered that someone would want to talk about his family or life style before now, so focused he was on having the others talk about themselves.

"Um, w-well." He stuttered as he tried to gather his thoughts. "To be honest, there's not much to tell. Dad works for a small company as an accountant, so he's usually busy most of the time. But he always tries to leave the weekends open for us. Mom usually works from home most of the time, so-"

"No, no, no." I interrupted. "I meant, what are they like? Not their jobs. What about them as people, what about them stands out to you?"

He blinked, a bit caught off guard by the interruption, but he continued regardless. "W-Well, what can I say. My dad's the supportive one who always tries to be there for us. He's always trying to make time for us, and he's always doing his hardest to make sure we all have a roof over our heads. And my mom is always helping me and my sister with everything at home. She's really kind, and she always trying to help us with our homework. She can be really strict when we make really big mistakes, but she's always so caring whenever we need her, sometimes even when we don't even realize it."

I smiled a bit. He had such a sweet smile right now, full of hope and nostalgia. I could see that he truly meant those words, as fumbled as they were. He loved them both so much, even if it was though words that felt as cliché as they come, the emotions behind them felt real.

"I see, and you mentioned that you have a sister, what about her?" I asked, and his look subtly changed, becoming just a bit fonder.

"Yeah, Komaru, she's my little sister." He stated with a look of endearment. "She's…well, she's precious to me. To be honest, she's actually a bit of a brat."

I couldn't help but burst out in laughter at that. "Wow! Have you always been this harsh, or is it just your sister that makes you like this?"

"I-It's not like that!" he fervently denied even as I slowly calmed down. "I mean, I love her and all, but she's always invading my room and messing with my stuff. Plus, she's always poking fun at my terrible luck and that everything I like is pretty much just what's popular at that point in time, even though she's the exact same way. But…"

His gaze lowered as his irritated expression fading in exchange for a small smile. "But, she's still my sister. I…kind of miss her. You know, she's actually the reason I even accepted the invitation to Hope's Peak in the first place."

I blinked. I never heard about that little tidbit before. "Really?"

"Yeah. If I'm being honest, I actually was planning to turn it down when I got the letter telling me they wanted to scout me as the Ultimate Lucky Student." He admitted as he nervously scratched at his cheek, unable or possibly unwilling to meet my gaze out of shame. "I mean, I was honored and all that I was chosen out of the literal thousands of people that could have been picked, but…I felt like I didn't deserve it, you know. I didn't have any special abilities or anything like that. I couldn't jump ten feet in the air or solve overly complicated problems. I was just boring old, normal me."

"I see." I stated bluntly, but I couldn't help it. I had…never seen this side of him before. Well, it was kind of similar to how he was introduced in the game, but this was far more depressing then that one. Is this a side that he kept hidden from the others? Or is it just because no one aside from Chihiro asked about him that this never came up? And even then, our little mouse hadn't really pushed for details very hard like I had.

Setting those thoughts aside for now, I asked him, "So, that's where Komaru comes in?"

He nodded with this fond smile on his face. "Yeah, she came to my room while I was researching the school the night before the first day and started teasing me about everything that I was worried about. From how it was all luck that I got in, to how normal I am compared to everyone here, she even picked on me for spending my last night before school on forums about my classmates."

"…And, that helped you…how exactly?" I deadpanned. I could almost swear that there was a massive bead of sweat on the back of my head.

"Yeah, that didn't sound all that good, huh?" he laughed out loud, full of awkwardness and embarrassed joy. "but, it worked surprisingly. I hadn't even realized it until I was at the gate, but I had completely forgotten about my anxiety. I wasn't even able to think about turning down the invitation after that. Honestly, I don't know if she was trying to do it, but she had managed to erase all of my doubts. She…well, she gave me hope."

Wow. I didn't know what else to say. To think, all this time I had thought that he had all of this hope for the future by his own merit alone, and while most of that clearly was his, so much more of it was from his love for his family. Even as he stared at the band that I had told him was responsible for his sister's fate, he hadn't lost that hope. If anything, from what I could tell, this conversation only strengthened it. He truly believed that everything would be alright.

I don't know whether to call him blind, optimistic, or blindly optimistic, but whatever the case maybe, he wasn't going to give in to despair. He would never let this game get to him, to change him for the worst. His will was iron clad, and it would take a hell of a lot more than the deaths of a few friends to destroy him so long as he has something to hope for.

"You really care for them, don't you?" I knew the answer before I even asked, and rhetorical though it was, he still nodded in response.

"Then, why did you do that?"

"Do…what?" he asked, not quite understanding my meaning. Though, that was intentional.

"You know…save me from Monokuma." I continued with all the seriousness I could muster. Before he even had a chance to answer, I continued with, "I mean, you and Leon could have been seriously hurt back there, but you both just leapt right in and pulled me out of there without a thought. And that's not even going into whatever else that freaky bear would do to you for getting in his way. So…why?"

He looked at me with something I could only describe as shocked concern. "Why wouldn't I? You're my friend."

"Yeah, so you say. But I've been rather hostile towards you for a while now. I mean, I down right attacked you when you grabbed my arm a while back, but you still went out of your way to save me. Plus, you've got your fam to think about. Don't you think that they'd be sad if you went and got yourself killed saving someone you barely knew?"

"…Yeah, they would be sad, I know they would." He stated sadly, but that sadness died as he looked me in the eyes with slightly narrowed eyes full of resolve. "But, I know that I would never be able to face them if I just stood there and let someone die when I could do something about it. I know it was reckless, and maybe it was a bit stupid, but it wasn't to me. I don't want to let any of my friends die. Not now, not ever, and especially not to the masterminds twisted game."

For a moment, I was quiet. Silent, in the face of his determination. His hand was pressed against his chest, his eyes full of unwavering resolve and belief in himself, and his friends. He fully thought that there was nothing that they would give in to the temptation of murder. He couldn't find any thought in his head that the others would give in. It was both inspiring, and the fire in his eyes right now almost made me want to believe that he was right.

If only he was.

Still, "Heh, you actually sounded kinda cool there for a minute. Like, I almost need to get a jacket, it was that cool." I chuckled even as his face slowly shifted to blushing embarrassment. Well, no need to completely destroy his dramatic moment. "but, I think I needed to hear that. Thanks."

Not giving him a chance to respond, I stood up with crutch placed under my arm, stretched for a second to loosen the kinks in my back, and sighed. "Well, I think it's about time that we get out of here. Who knows when the royal pain decides to come back."

As if I'd summoned him with those words alone, the very moment we had taken a step outside of the room, low and behold, who should be standing there but Byakuya himself. The scion blinked with his hand outreached from where he had just about grasped the door knob before I had opened the door on him, leaving him momentarily startled. Naturally he was quick to recover, crossing his arms and leaning back ever so slightly to give off the impression that he was literally looking down his nose at us. Just as he was about to say something, I quickly cut him off and pushed him back with my free hand, throwing out a slightly sarcastic, "Pardon me." Then, I turned to the left and limped off down the hall.

I paid no attention to Makoto's shout, nor whatever scathing remarks By-hack-uya had for me. I had to get back to work now. I waisted far too much time with the luckster, it was just about time for the show to begin, and to see if my plan would work.

---

Hello people of the internet. So, I know that this has been a long time coming, but if you'll allow me to vent, I can explain why it's been so long. Or just skip to the bottom, that's your choice.

So, going back a couple of months, I had been meaning to get this out much sooner than this. However, I ran into a bit of a problem. See, the thing is, as I was nearly done writing this chapter, my hard drive failed me. As in, my system completely crashed and couldn't be recovered. In all honesty, I really should have seen it coming from how slow my computer had become to turn on, plus I've had the darn thing for almost ten years, and that was after I had gotten it refurbished, but it still caught me off guard.

To make things somewhat better, I did have a copy of a portion of the chapter saved on a separate drive, but nowhere near what I had gotten it to. To make matters worse though, in addition to the notes I had already made for what I was going to do in the story, and most of my chapters that I had already written before, I also lost all of the reports that I had already made for my summer courses. I had the notes for those reports saved separately, but the final products needed to be completely redone all over again. So, I had to make my choice in priorities, and do all of those reports all over again; leaving the story till next month.

Unfortunately, that required that I get my computer repaired, and to do that, I needed more money. So, to get that I had to increase my hours at work so that I could afford to pay for the parts, and the repair without burning though my bank account. That meant that I had even less time to devote to myself or even my story until all of my school work was done and I could afford to write. Plus, without my own computer working, if I was to get my reports done I had to use the one in the libraries in either town, or at school; both of which close at six PM which meant that I had even less time than ever to crack down and finish my projects. I couldn't even get onto most of my accounts for things like fanfiction beyond checking my mail more than two or three times since I didn't want to risk my accounts being hacked on their unsafe servers.

Eventually, I got my computer repaired, and that freed me up a little once I managed to get a day to work with it and replace all of the important programs that I'd lost. But by the time that happened, I had to prioritize school again, because we were only a week before finals and I still had a few more reports to finish. So, that's what I did.

That took up in total, nearly two months alone, with it all coming to an end at the beginning of last month. Finally, I thought, I could get back to what I liked doing.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. One day into my two-week break before fall classes started, my place of work had a "brilliant" idea to change how our schedules worked. Before, we had a system were, one guy would show up around eight to five, another would come in from ten to seven, and one more would work one to ten as the closer followed by three people working night shift from ten to seven, all with a one-hour lunch break. Now though, there are only two shifts, one from four in the morning till one with three people working, and one from one till ten for one to two guys working with no night crew. For me, that was no major deal breaker as my classes are all in the morning, so I was fine.

Most everyone else though, not so much. In fact, a lot of guys actually quit because of this change, or transferred to a different position all together. That meant that we needed a lot of good hands to pick up the slack till we could refill the empty spots, and since they saw just how much more hours I was pushing for during the last few months, they decided to offer me a fulltime position.

I really should have said no, but like a big dumb-dumb I agreed. I needed the benefits that only the full timers get. However, now I work forty hours a week with two part-time classes on top of it. As you can imagen, that meant getting this beast of a chapter out was not easy.

As for future chapters, I'm afraid it'll take more time than previously, though nowhere near as bad as this one. I'd say, six weeks each, maybe seven if something comes up. Until I manage to find a way to change things that'll just have to be how it is for now. But before I go, have a little something extra just to say how much I appreciate you all for reading and reviewing this story. It means more than you might realize. Some of you have even figured out some key plot points and clues already before I could implement them, and that makes me feel great since it means you care just that much about what I'm writing.

Enjoy.

---

Omake (Restoring a girl's hope)

There wasn't anything to do.

This was the thought of a young girl as she gazed about her room for what felt like the millionth time, her eyes unfocused as she took in the same sight that was her entire world. From the simple, four-person dining table she was currently laying on, to the strange little framed picture on the white walls of a view of earth from the moon. From the unreasonably massive seventy-two-inch flat screen television sequestered in a small part of one wall that she had intentionally left off, to the cabinet next to it decorated with a single potted flower bush. Then her gaze moved to the large sliding glass that would lead to where the balcony was, only to eventually turn away when the light of the setting sun got in her eyes and made her wonder if she should close the green curtains. Rolling her head to look upward from where she lay saw the mahogany wood of a disk cabinet that was bare of all but a few small plates on the top shelve, the rest as regrettably empty and boring as it was when she first arrived here, while next to it was a simple mini kitchen where meals could be prepared had it not been for her circumstances.

For a moment, she considered the small apartment's kitchen with its simple design, a small two burner stove and oven that had no burns from use, a refrigerator full of nothing but bottles of water, and next to it a set of cabinets with a microwave imbedded in about waist high that shown no numbers having never been plugged in. All of it was blocked off for the most part by a small serving and prepping area that extended out of the wall and the floor to create a small blockade in case a fire where to break out. Shame that the oven hadn't been connected and that she didn't have the muscle needed to move the stove to plug them in, otherwise it might have had a chance to be used one day.

Right next to all of that were two large white doors that she had left closed for now that led to both the small laundry area, mud room for shoes to be kept, and what would be the exit to this rather large apartment, had it not been for the fact that it had been both reinforced and retrofitted into an uncooperative blockade trapping her here. Even the mail slot had been sealed.

There was also the space it the wall next to the doors that lead to a large personal bedroom, but that wasn't where she was at the moment, so she didn't care to think of it much.

Her green eyes took this all in without a thought, boredom dominating her mind and making her feel lethargic and uncaring. But what else was she to do really. Stare out of the large window of bullet-proof glass and iron bars that led to a balcony she could barely see over to look at the people blissfully ignorant to her existence and plight. No, that would just make her feel more depressed then she was already. Maybe look at one of the two magazines that she had reread and re-reread so many countless times now that she could probably tell you from memory every single line from every ad throughout. Hell, if she had any faith in her drawing talent, and a pencil and paper, she might be able to even draw the pictures too.

But, no. Even if she did have paper, she wouldn't be wasting it for that. No, she would have tried to signal for help in some way, maybe slide the paper though the seams in the glass doorway and hope the wind would be able to take it to someone who could come find her. Who could then save her from this prison.

She knew that plan was stupid. Not only was she quite lacking in paper to send, even if it could clear the concrete railing she didn't even know where she even was. All she could guess from context clues was that this apartment turned cell was at least several stories above ground, and that was pretty much it. With no idea of what the address could even be, let alone what the floor or room number were, she had no way chance of calling for help.

So, that left her like this. Bored out of her mind, waiting for something to happen that never does, lounging about on various pieces of furniture like a lazy cat whenever she wasn't doing her ritual of beating on the door, demanding to get out. Ritual, like she was actually putting all of her heart into anymore. In truth, she'd long given up hope that someone would come save her or that she could escape herself. It was just something to do now.

Why had this happened to her? Why was she being held captive here? She didn't do anything wrong…did she? She wanted to know, but with her only interaction with her captors being the trays of food being pushed into the room through a slot in the wall by the door, and when she had pushed said tray back through after eating whatever was on it, she knew she wouldn't be getting any information through word of mouth.

At least the food was good, even if she intentionally whined about the choice in cuisine style of the day just as her little way of being petty.

Oh, that wasn't to say that she had given up entirely. Otherwise, she wouldn't bother getting up and changing her clothes every day, or even performed her daily acts of defiance.

Though, that didn't mean that she had to like what she had to wear. Even now she occasionally fiddled with the St. Tomoe Girls' Academy uniform they'd provided for her, which was a sailor fuku with a white blouse, a red necktie, and a turquoise collar, line trim, and skirt. There was even a school crest on the bottom right of the back of the collar, necktie, shirt pocket and the outer sides of socks which was the only reason she knew where it came from. However, it was obvious that whoever had gotten this outfit for her clearly had no idea of her measurements since the whole thing was at least one size too small. Hell, the skirt only barely covered her important parts when she stood up by about an inch and the blouse itself was tight against her bosom making it difficult to move her arms and torso quickly.

In all honesty, she thought she looked like one of those fan-service manga she liked to read more than a freshmen high schooler. But no matter how she grumbled about it, it was the only kind of day clothes she was given. Least it beet running around in the nude, that would have been a whole other problem, and even though she was kind of upset, she had to admit that she'd grown used to wearing it.

Still, she still had nothing to do. Nothing to stimulate her, nothing to entertain her, nothing…

Well, that wasn't entirely true anymore. Her eyes wondered to the massive tv once more, but this time she focused on the small remote sitting in front of the screen. It had been sitting on one of the trays that had been given to her during her morning meal a little over a week ago. She assumed that it was for the television, and when she had tried it out she had at the time felt ecstatic when it proved to be right. Finally, she had something that she could watch, something to keep her going. Maybe she could catch up on some of her favorite anime that she had been missing out on or catch some reruns of one of the other programs that she had been missing. Hell, at this point she would be willing to watch the boring news channel if it meant having something to give her motivation to get up in the morning.

But that all died within a few short minutes of turning the darn thing on and learning that the only thing that was on was this really crappy reality tv show about some people locked in a school. It hadn't looked too bad at first, but it quickly became a chore to watch when it turned out that it was all live all the time, and that it all was filmed through what had to be propped up cameras in a high corner with only one per room. To make things more irritating, it was on literally every channel, even the ones that she knew were supposed to be reserved for things like the news.

So, she had turned it off and hadn't bothered turning it back on since. After all, if there's nothing worth watching, then why bother to try. And so, there they sat, an unwanted tv that only had one show, and its control left to gather dust.

However, maybe it was because she was curious, or possibly she was just that freaking bored, she found herself wanting to try again. With any luck, maybe there would be something actually worth seeing on screen.

It was with this thought in mind that she finally rolled off of the table and onto the gaudy green carpet under the table and the four chairs by it. Straightening up, she walked over and took up the remote and with a single moment to find the power button, turned on the set and settled back on the table to watch.

Sadly, yet just as she thought, it was the same kind of annoyance that she had seen before. this time it was on what looked like a library of some sort but this time there were only two people in it. One looked like a young man, probably a couple of years older than her, in this white outfit she thought looked like something a disciplinary student would wear who had short, black spiky hair and red eyes, talking with someone who looked eerily a lot like the model on the cover of her magazine; but that was impossible since that girl made a point to never be filmed.

She should know, there was a whole page in that same magazine featuring an intervene with a part stating as such. They even gave this girl a crutch to make her look sympathetic.

It had to just be a really good actor that dressed like her, she was rather popular after all. Honestly, the things the entertainment industry would do to attract attention and popularity.

But, that didn't stop her from watching. Even with the obvious attention grab from the girl, that didn't take away from the fact that she was just that freaking bored that even this would be better than nothing at all. It was still rather boring though. It was clear that she had managed to come in near the end of the conversation, so she was instantly lost. And since she had never watched much of this before, she didn't even have the context needed to put their words into any form of understanding.

Then the red-eyed dude left, and she sighed, ready to turn off the television since it didn't feel like there could be anything important to see.

But then, there was a voice that made her pause. A boy's voice. A familiar boy's voice. A very familiar boy's voice.

And then the boy rushed into the sight of the camera when the girl fell down, and her breath hitched in her throat. It couldn't be. But…it looked like it. It looked just like…like…him.

But…but that couldn't be…right? He…he was supposed to be in the shelter. He was supposed to be safe so why was he…why was her brother on the tv!

Her eyes which had only been half open before were wide with horror and confusion. There was a mute thud from the ground when the remote fell from her grip as her hands numbly shook, but it went completely unnoticed by her as her eyes stayed glued to the screen, and on the boy with brown hair and an ahoge that was helping the model look-a-like stand up.

It…it couldn't be him…right? This was just…just another actor…right? It had to be…because if it wasn't…then that would…

Such thoughts swirled in her mind and twisted and churned, over and over again in an endless whirlpool of confusion and doubt. And the longer she watched, the larger it got. Even thought she had been imprisoned for so long, she would know that voice anywhere, that face, even that goofy jacket, that it made things complicated and muddled her thoughts. Every time he spoke, though the words passed straight through the space between her ears without any resistance, the familiarity of the voice made it harder and harder to cling to the belief that this was just an actor on some set somewhere. She barely even registered the flower shop joke the other person was telling the boy as kept her eyes locked on him. She didn't even feel time as it passed her by, so focused she was on the screen.

And then, he said her name.

Her name.

This person knew her name.

This person who was on the screen and looked, sounded, and acted just like her brother, knew her name.

It was surreal, and it made her head swim, her gut twist in ways she was sure it shouldn't be able to, and her throat feel drier then the desert sand. And these symptoms only got worse when the boy continued to talk about her parent, their parents. How long had it been since she had even thought of them, lost out there in this crazy world, wondering where she and her brother were. Were they still looking for them? Where they hurt? She didn't know.

There was a feeling of moisture on her cheek that caught her attention, and she absentmindedly tried to wipe it away, but the feeling persisted. And then she started to feel it on the other side as well, so she tried to wipe that away as well. But it just kept coming back.

It was then that she realized that she was crying.

The moment that clicked in her head, it was like the flood gates burst. More and more of the salty tears flowed down her face, headless of her demands for them to cease. Like a dam flooding over, she couldn't stop the tide. Her emotions were overwhelmed by the memories of her missing parents and all of the good time they'd shared. They way her mother laughed at her and her brother's antics, the times her father let her ride on his shoulder when she was small, the times they'd all played together, cried together. So many happy memories, times that they might never have a chance of having again.

"To be honest, she's kind of a brat." And then she heard him talking about her and her tears dried. Her gaze became deadpanned, and her eyebrow started to twitch. It only annoyed her more when the blond women started laughing uproariously. Oi, what kind of thing was that to say about your sister?

But as the conversation continued, the irritation faded as she heard him continue and tell of something that, honestly made her blush a bit in embarrassment. She had only wanted to mess with him a bit when she learned that he was getting recruited to the school that dreams seemed to be made of. Just some simple sibling teasing that they didn't get to share in very often, you know? She certainly didn't intend to do nearly as much as he claimed, but it made her feel all bubbly inside to hear such nice things from her brother.

That wasn't to say he never said nice things before, but it wasn't usually something that he went out his way to do. Mostly it was reserved for things like family outings, or moments of hardships, not talks with strangers on live television. Just that very thought made her face flush with embarrassment.

But then he said that she had given him hope and that…that made her feel a bright warmth in her chest, starting from her heart and quickly circulating though her chest before moving to her arms, neck, legs and face. She…she never knew that he thought so much of her. That she had given him such a feeling, made her feel all tingly. Damn him for saying such nice things about her on tv!

However, some of it was tempered by a feeling of guilt and indignation. This was supposed to be a private moment between two people conversing about something they cared about, not something to play on tv. And worst still, here she was listening in on her own brother's conversation like some kind of pathetic eavesdropper. It made her so feel terrible for seeing such a moment that should have been kept within closed doors, that she just about turned off the tv then and there.

But just as she was about to pick up the remote to do that, the blond girl asked the boy a question that made her spine quiver and the blood to rush from her face. As her eyes returned to the screen and the conversation continued, that feeling only grew. Her brother…had nearly died? He had risked his life to save this girl? A girl that then claimed that she had been mean to him in some fashion had her life put in such a spot that he had to go out of his way to pull her out of death's grasp? Was that where her injury had come from? And it had been caused by something called a "Monokuma"? What…? What had she missed out on!? Just what kind of crazy things was her brother involved in!?

Soon, that fear started to give way for frustration when he told the girl that he had done so because they were friends. From what she had just heard, they certainly didn't sound like friends, and yet he risked his life to save hers? Even though he knew the risk, he had done so anyway? Honestly, if it weren't for their circumstances preventing it, she would have marched right over there and given him a piece of her mind for being so reckless.

She blamed his school for this, and whoever these so-called friends of his were. He had never been this rash and irresponsible before this, and especially after the incident that had separated them in the first place. It had to be the bad influences in his life, that was the only thought that made sense to her.

Yet she wouldn't know for sure this time, because after his, admittedly inspiring speech, the blond girl gave him a smile, a compliment, and headed out of the library, nearly taking out some rich looking boy in the process. And with that, all she was left with was her thoughts on that conversation.

Emotions swam through her mind like a vortex of colors, mixing and churning into one big mess of feelings until she couldn't tell them apart. It made her feel nauseous, her head spinning as she tried and failed to separate them. But throughout it all, one thing stuck out to her, the statement that she was of importance to her brother, that she had given him the hope he needed to accept his dream school's invitation when he had doubts in himself. She had given him a reason to keep going, even when times were rough, even when his life was on the line, he kept going.

With that thought in mind, she stood up, and turned to the doors that held her here, no longer caring that the television was still on. Throwing open the two white doors, she faced down the sturdier black metal barrio keeping her in with a steely glare. No more was she thinking about giving up, no more was there thoughts about just herself. Now she had a reason to get out, one that went beyond her own imprisonment. In her mind, she swore she would find a way out of here, she would get over to the school that her brother was in, she would get him out of there, and after she gave him one apparently long overdue talk about the importance of his life, then they would find their parents, and be together again.

But first, she thought as she charged to door with renewed fire in her eyes and heart, fueled by the sounds of the tv and her own enraged battle cry as her body slammed shoulder first into the door, she had to escape.

After all, Makoto, her stupidly optimistic brother, was waiting for her, and she refused to let him down.