Armen turns to me, "Now that we have Yosuke's cooperation, what exactly is your plan?" he asks.

"We use Toshiro's show as a distraction." I say. "We've seen how unprepared for us they are, they'll be paying full attention to the show."

"And how will we get to the Guard Monokumas?"

"...I haven't thought that far ahead."

Hm…

The purpose of Toshiro's show is to boost morale and that's the exact opposite of what the Mastermind behind the Killing Game would want, right? The purpose of the Killing Game…

"What if someone plays sick?" I suggest. "If someone dies because they're sick, that goes against the purpose of the Killing Game…right?" I say unsurely. "So the Mastermind and their lackeys wouldn't let that happen."

…Right?

Yosuke frowns thoughtfully, "But Miss Juriya is a doctor," he says. "Wouldn't it be expected that she steps in to take care of the ill?" he asks.

Right…

Juriya scoffs, rolling her eyes. "I'm the Ultimate Surgeon," she reminds him. "Not the Ultimate Doctor." Juriya says, pauses, and sighs. "Of course, I have some knowledge about biomedicine," she acquiesces. "but my specialty is seeing and fixing what's wrong on the inside. I'm no general practitioner."

"But that should be enough to take care of the sick, no?" Yosuke questions. "Surely you have more medicinal knowledge than any of us here - including our kidnappers."

Armen crosses his arms. "I wouldn't count on our kidnappers not having someone on their side with just as much medical knowledge as Juriya, if not more." he says. "There's clearly a group behind this game, not just one person. However, Yosuke has a point." Armen says and turns to Juriya. "Regardless of your Ultimate title or your medical expertise, you are the resident doctor here. They're not going to send someone here when you're perfectly capable of diagnosing and treating the hypothetical patient yourself."

…Ooo.

I raise my hand, "Well then there's an easy solution for that problem, isn't there?" I ask.

Armen smirks. "There is." he nods.

"There is?" Yosuke asks.

Juriya sighs. "There is."

Yosuke rubs his shiny bald head, "I'm afraid I'm not keeping up." he says.

"To get rid of the problem of Juriya being available to treat the one playing sick," I say. "She just has to be the one playing sick."


After agreeing on a basic plan for now, the four of us break from the Hallway Room when our stomachs start growling. I don't know how much time has passed since breakfast - it should be lunchtime soon, I think.

As soon as I exit the hallway into D-Pod, however, I'm immediately picked up and pulled into a bone-crushing hug.

"SSSSSSSSSSoooooooooorrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaa-cccccchhhhhhhaaaaaannnnn~!"

Yosuke, Juriya, and Armen have instantly vanished from my sights and thus I'm left alone to fend for myself.

And here I thought we had something going.

I sigh as my legs dangle in the air. "I'm not calling you onii-chan, Ken." I deadpan.

"...You will if you want me to put you down."

"I will bite you."

"You can bite me-"

I whip my head towards the sound of her voice. "No, I think I'll just kill you." I snap.

Kasumi coos, putting her hands on her face with a faux flustered look on her face. "Ooo, Sora, take me out on a date first." she swoons.

Before I can say anything else, Kensuke speaks again, "I asked Monokuma if I could be in charge of lunch today." he says. "Of course, I can't cook twenty-four meals by myself so I need some help. Would you like to join me?"

I really don't want to since it looks like Kasumi volunteered her services, but being in the kitchen means I get food first.

"Sure."


Fortunately, Kasumi did not volunteer her cooking services.

After the rest of Kensuke's team of chefs gather in the center of D-Pod (as per Monokuma's orders), our ankles and wrists are shackled and after we're blindfolded, a herd of Guard Monokuma's herd us…somewhere.

It's hard to tell with a blindfold on, y'know?

Myself, Kensuke, Hitoshi, Luan, and, surprisingly, Greyface, are led down several hallways, inside and outside, left and right, and so on and so forth until we eventually stop in an air-conditioned room and what sounds like tile below our feet.

The Guard Monokumas take off our shackles and cuffs and give us permission to take the blindfolds off.

Before us is a fully equipped kitchen with several stoves, several fridges, what looks like two walk-in freezers, white granite countertops, white walls affixed with magnetic strips that hold various kitchen tools, and sparkling white tile floors. I can only assume there's even more kitchen equipment in the counter cabinets and drawers.

Hitoshi mumbles something about the ridiculously long journey to the kitchen being on purpose and I have to agree. After having Sting and Ryu escape, they're not going to take any chances of us memorizing the path to the kitchen.

Interestingly enough, two Guard Monokumas stay with us - one guarding the exit of the kitchen and the other stationed right behind Greyface.

"Hehehehehe," she laughs. "I guess that means no knife-play for me." Greyface says and sticks her tongue out at the rest of us when we don't laugh. "It was a joke! Lighten up, I'm here to help you cook. I'm actually quite good." she grins.

Hitoshi grimaces. "Somehow I find that hard to believe," he says.

Kensuke beams, unphased. "Worry not, Toshi, I'm in charge here and you-" he points at Greyface. "-are not allowed to use any knives."

Greyface hums and gives him a mock salute and a toothy smile.

Luan glares at her silently.

"Anyways," Kensuke says and clears his throat. "After asking everybody what they'd like for lunch, the majority agreed on traditional Japanese cuisine so we're going to go with something easy and mostly knife-free: sushi!"

After giving us each of our tasks, we all work in relative silence; with the exception of Hitoshi and Luan chastising Greyface for every sudden move she makes, greatly amusing the Ultimate Serial Killer.

"Sora~!"

"Before you even think of touching me again, I invite you to remember I now have access to sharp objects, one of which is in my hand." I say as I cut up a tuna the way Ken demonstrated.

Ken laughs and moves to stand beside me. "How are you doing?" he asks. "Need any help?"

"You tell me." I say, shifting slightly so Ken can get a better look at my work. "Is this okay?" I ask.

Kensuke leans in a bit closer and picks up a slice that I now see is much larger than it should be. "Well," he starts. "I know a lot of you have big appetites so I'm sure it'll be okay." Ken says with a smile. "Everyone is doing such a good job so I thought I might focus my efforts on baking a dessert. What do you think?"

Before I can verbally respond, my body responds first and my stomach growls again.

Ken laughs as I huff in embarrassment.

"Alright then!" Ken says and adjusts the mint green handkerchief tied on his head. "What'll it be, then? Cupcakes? Pastries? You name it, I can bake it!" he says confidently, putting his hands on his hips. "Leave everything to onii-chan!" Kensuke beams.

I raise an eyebrow. "Anything?" I ask.

Ken nods. "What kind of Ultimate Caregiver would I be if I couldn't care and cater to the whims of my kids?"

"...Kids?"

"My kids, my wards, my brothers and sisters, whatever you want to call them." Ken says, waving me off. "Come on, what'll it be?" he asks excitedly.

I think for a moment. "Can you make a strawberry cheesecake?" I ask.

Ken's smile turns melancholy. "Yes, I can bake a strawberry cheesecake." he says much more calmly.

I blink.

Did I say something wrong? Does he have something against cheesecake?

I ask him just that and Ken quickly shakes his head, smiling apologetically. "Ah, no, I'm sorry for worrying you." he says as he maneuvers around the kitchen, gathering all the equipment he's going to need. "It's just, I've made cheesecake for my little siblings before but only one of them has ever asked specifically for strawberry cheesecake." Ken says with a small smile. "She was a shy little girl, very cute." he says, getting lost in thought as he walks to the nearby fridge to gather ingredients.

I stay silent, waiting for Ken to gather his thoughts.

"...Of course, she was eventually adopted." Ken says suddenly. "Who wouldn't want a cute kid like that?" he laughs lightly.

"Adopted?" I question.

Ken hums. "I grew up in an orphanage, that's where I learned how to take care of kids," he reveals.

Oh.

"Really? What was that like?" I ask, cringing has a flick strands of stringy tuna guts off my hand.

"Mm…in the end, it wasn't the best experience." Ken says with an odd frown on his face. "...Would you mind if I got a bit personal, Sora?" he asks politely.

I nod, turning around to smile at him. "Go ahead, I'm listening." I say.

Kensuke smiles back and returns to his work and I do the same. "I've been thinking about it ever since I was deemed guilty of the sin of Envy…I think they 'charged' me with that because I was jealous of the other kids getting adopted." he says. "I was happy for them, yes, but…I couldn't help but wish it was me instead of them. When I still had my family, I didn't appreciate them the way I should have." Ken says and laughs bittersweetly. "I was a brat back then, only thinking about having fun and hating my parents every time my actions forced them to reprimand me…on the day they died, we had a big fight and on their way out the door, my last words to them were 'I hate you'." he explains. "Instead of my parents, the police came home and told me that my parents had passed away in a terrible car accident. No one in my family wanted to take me and I don't really blame them, like I said, I was a brat-" Kensuke pauses. "Think of little Ken as Harumi without the pottymouth."

"...Ew." I cringe.

Ken laughs and continues his story, "The reality of the situation still didn't hit me until I was physically in foster care. I realized how much I actually missed my parents. I regretted not appreciating them more, the way I should have. My biggest regret of all, of course, were my last words to my parents. I couldn't even say that I loved them one last time before I lost them.

During my first years at the orphanage, I was pretty distant from the other kids and didn't get along with anyone. I mourned the loss of my parents for the longest time, unable to move onto the next stage of grieving. I had hoped that somehow my parents would walk through the doors one day and pick me up - that maybe it was all a joke to teach me a lesson, to make me a better son." Ken shakes his head and chuckles. "Of course, that wasn't the case. That hope died a little bit each year until I finally accepted that they were truly gone." he says with a sad smile.

"After that, I figured it couldn't hurt to make some friends with other kids in similar situations and started opening up to the other children." Ken says, perking up. "After finally getting to know them and interacting with them, I realized that some of the kids were going through the same thing I was, they couldn't figure out how to move on. I knew how horrible that feeling was so I decided that I would do everything in my power to give my fellow orphans the best treatment and care that I could give them." he says proudly.

"And that's how the Ultimate Caregiver became the Ultimate Caregiver?"

"And that's how the Ultimate Caregiver became the Ultimate Caregiver." Ken repeats with a nod.

I hum, "If our kidnappers know the ins and outs of our history like they seem to, then they can't really blame you for being envious of the kids who did get adopted." I say with a frown. "It's only human." I say. "And besides, you still took care of them well enough for Hope's Peak to notice, right?"

Ken stays silent.

I turn around to look at him. "...Ken?"

Ken jumps, startled. He turns around, a weary and awkward smile on his face. "Ah, sorry. I was lost in thought." he says. "And, um, I'm afraid it's a bit more…complicated than that." Ken says, a dark look crossing his face.

My eyes drift down to the two-toned metal collar on Ken's neck and I suddenly remember our sentencing.


Monokuma points his gavel at Ken. "Kensuke Oishi! You, sir, are one angry guy. You would've been grouped with Greyface and Kuro Kamiyama if it weren't for the envious side of you." he says.

I blink, processing what Monokuma just said. This is a sentence that caught me off guard. Ken? Angry? The sin of Wrath? The sin of Envy? Seriously? He's annoying, yeah, but he's one of the friendliest guys here! Ken is a goddamn Ultimate Caretaker for crying out loud, what the hell could he possibly be hiding?

Ken frowns, a guilty but resolved look on his face, just like Shun. "What I did was justified, Monokuma. The world owed that to me, so…" he sighs, shaking his head.

Taro hands Hanako a half green half red collar. "Kensuke Oishi, you are hereby found guilty of the sins of Envy and Wrath. You are to participate in the Killing School Sentence."

Ken doesn't struggle but glares harshly at Monokuma. "It was justice. I stand by that." he says.


The sins of Envy and Wrath…justice…

Ken turns back around and starts talking about something else.

Kensuke Oishi…what did you do?


Evidently, Luan, Hitoshi, and Greyface didn't hear a word of Ken's tale because they're still laser focused on every move Greyface makes (still greatly amusing the Ultimate Serial Killer) while still prepping the ingredients Ken gave them and I have to raise my voice to get their attention.

Once their eyes are on me, I gesture to Ken and tell them to listen.

"Alright!" Kensuke smiles brightly. "After we finish prepping we're going to move on to assembling and rolling the sushi! Quick quick quick!"

While the cheesecake is baking, Ken and I help them finish their prep work and he shows us the next steps in the art of sushi making.


"L-Like this?"

"Good try, but it's too loose, you have to make it tighter. Do it harder, like this-"

"That's what she said."

"Pffft."

"...Really, Sora? Really?"


I don't know how much time passes while we're cooking, but eventually Ken tells us we're finished and he brings out an extra plate full of sushi, "Here! I prepared extra for you guys for all of your hard work." he says with a bright smile as he presents the plate to us.

Yes! This is what I volunteered for in the hopes of getting!

All of our stomachs growl in response.

I hold out my hands. "Gimme."

Greyface grins. "Well, I won't complain. Free food is free food!" she laughs.

Luan smiles gratefully. "Thank you, Kensuke."

Hitoshi stares at the plate in surprise. "Extra…food? For us?" he blinks. "Are you sure?" Hitoshi asks, an odd look on his face.

Ken's smile falters slightly. "Y-Yes! You guys were all hungry when we started and you've been working so you're probably more hungry than the others, aren't you?"

The odd look stays on Hitoshi's face for another second before he shakes it off and puts on a smile. "Of course! Sorry about that." he says and promptly takes a roll of sushi off the plate and puts it in his mouth.

I look at Hitoshi strangely as Ken places the plate in the middle of the five of us, each of us picking off of it.

What was that about?


When we tell the Guard Monokuma's we're ready to go, we have to go through the same process of being cuffed, shackled, and blindfolded. Before they make me bend down so they can blindfold me, I see Greyface shuffling uncomfortably. I guess even the serial killer isn't used to being chained, huh?

Once the Guard Monokumas are satisfied with our bindings and that we can't see, one takes control of the cart with the food we made while the others once again lead us down several hallways, inside and outside, left and right, and so on and so forth until we're back in D-Pod.

"FOOD!" I hear Sasaki's and Harlequin's voices cheer.

"No, this is Patrick." Kasumi deadpans and an amazed Candace says something about never thinking she'd hear that in Japanese and Juriya tells her to shut up.

When we're free of our bindings again, everyone herds around us, eager to see what's for lunch.

Greyface cackles as she pushes her way out of the crowd: "I'll be in my room for a minute, don't give away my food!"

Kensuke expertly shoos them back and orders them to stand in line. "There's enough for everybody and yes, I made sure to account for the possible vegetarians and vegans," he says. "I present to you-" Ken takes the top off the tray protecting the lunch. "Sushi! Now, one at a time, I'll give you your plate."

Ultimate Caretaker indeed.

After Ken has served everyone their food and we all sit down, I'm pleased to see that the groups from this morning have mixed themselves up.

The more we get to know each other, the less likely we are to kill each other, right?

Valentin has rejoined the trio of Harumi, Kanna, and Yume.

Juriya at a table with Kano, the two locked in a heated game of chess as they eat their lunch.

Greyface, Shun, and Kaori are sitting together - a grin on the former's face with the usual mocking look on the latter's face. Poor Shun looks like she's rethinking everything that led her to where she is now.

Nemiko, Candace, and Harlequin are sitting at another table. It looks like Harlequin's taken a brotherly shine to Nemiko - most likely due to her being the youngest person here so she's nowhere near close to being one of the adults he despises. And for that reason, Candace doesn't look too bothered by sitting with a former Remnant of Despair.

Sasaki, Mai, Luan, and Yukiko sit together in one big group. From an outside perspective, it looks like Luan's taking Nemiko's indirect advice from this morning and trying to assess the trustworthiness of his other peers. I haven't gotten to speak with Sasaki much yet but I think she's a good starting choice.

Armen and Masaki are unhappily sitting across from a cheery Yosuke, the JoJo priest prattling on about something or other: probably something about Jesus, going by the look on his face.

Toshiro took his lunch to his room to keep working on the show, saying something about 'MmMm, the creative juices are flowing!'.

I didn't ask him to elaborate.

Kasumi, Kensuke, Takeshi, and myself are sitting at the last table.

"You're telling me a serial killer helped make this and none of us are currently dying from poison?" Kasumi says in awe.

Kensuke wags his finger at Kasumi, "Now, now, Kasumi, did you really think I wouldn't check the kitchen for poisonous and toxic substances?" he asks.

Takeshi raises an eyebrow. "There weren't any? I'm pleasantly surprised." he says with a small smile and a nod.

"Oh, no, there were. A lot. I moved them all to a single cabinet."

Without meaning to, I tune out their conversation, my eyes scanning D-Pod again. There's still one person I haven't seen again…

My attention is quite literally forced back to the table when a certain evil blonde's hands grab my face and turn it towards herself.

"Make Takeshi tell us how the Ultimate Tailor became the Ultimate Tailor!" Kasumi demands. "He won't tell us!" she whines and turns my face towards the tailor in question.

"How did the Ultimate Tailor become the Ultimate Tailor?" I ask dryly.

Takeshi smiles, "I'm so glad you asked, Sora Sugawara!"

Kasumi's and Ken's jaws drop in offense. "Rude!" they cry.

Takeshi laughs and shakes his head, "I'm just kidding." he says. "Anyways, I don't think you're going to find it as interesting as you think you might." Takeshi says. "The story of Takeshi Yamamoto, the Ultimate Tailor, is actually quite a common one. A single mother raising two kids, of course it was hard on us." he says with a forlorn smile. "An apprenticeship as a tailor was the first job I could get so of course, I took it. I wanted to help out in any way I could."

Kensuke smiles softly. "That was very kind of you, Takeshi." he says.

"Shut up and let him finish the story, simp." Kasumi says, shushing a now red-cheeked and sputtering Ken.

Takeshi pats an embarrassed Ken on the shoulder as he continues, "Initially I only got the job to bring in money for my mother but as you can see where I am today, I found a passion for it." he says and shakes his head again, smiling. "But I bet you all have more amazing stories," Takeshi says, starry eyed. "An Ultimate Caregiver, an Ultimate Prankster, and an Ultimate Bookbinder. All I do is sew clothes, what about you guys?"

"And all I do is sew books." I shoot back. "How is that any more 'amazing'?"

Kasumi raises an eyebrow. "When you were trying to make me feel better, weren't you telling me about that time you fixed a copy of a Kama S-"

My eyes widen and I quickly slap my hand over Kasumi's mouth. "Shut UP, Kasumi!" I hiss.

Kensuke and Takeshi look at me, scandalized.

"My, my, Sora, I never would've thought." Ken says, placing a hand on his chest.

Takeshi crosses his arms, looking at me as though he were my older brother. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Sora Sugawara, how shameful. You're too young for that."

"IT WAS FOR MY COUSIN!"


After being thoroughly shamed by Things One, Two, Three, AND four once they pulled him away from his toys, I go out in search of Thing Five, of whom I haven't seen since he got his lunch. I have a plate of the strawberry cheesecake Ken made in each of my hands, one for me and one for Hitoshi.

Hitoshi's been acting strangely ever since Ken revealed the extra dish he prepared for us. There was really nothing wrong with what Ken did, but considering Hitoshi's sins and his reaction to the extra food…


Monokuma moves on, pointing his gavel at Hitoshi. "You, Hitoshi Kimidori-"

Hitoshi sighs. "Can I make a guess?" he says, guilt already creeping into his expression. "Envy for sure and maybe-"

"GLUTTONY! Envy and Gluttony, you brat! How many times do I have to tell you kids to shut up and stop interrupting me!?" Monkuma whines. "Taro!"

"On it." Taro sighs and hands Hanako a half green half orange collar. "So? Talk to me, Kimidori. You seem more regretful than most of your classmates." he says.

"...I am." Hitoshi says with a guilty, sad frown.


Could his sin of Gluttony have something to do with food? He is a rancher, so he's bound to have access to a lot back at his home, right?

Well, I can ask but I actually have to find the guy first.

As I head over to B-Wing to begin my search for Hitoshi, I almost run over poor Nemiko.

"Ah, sorry, Nemiko." I apologize.

Nemiko shakes her head and smiles. Thanks to the lessons she gave me when we were fellow mutes, Nemiko doesn't have to write down what she wants to say around me. She signs, Where are you heading?

"I'm looking for Hitoshi." I say, nodding at the two plates in my hands. "Have you seen him?" I ask.

The last time I saw him he was walking towards the Showers Wing with his lunch. Nemiko says.

Probably going to eat outside then.

I smile politely. "Thanks, Nemiko."


"Boo."

Hitoshi, sitting on the ground and leaning against the fence, looks at me with an unimpressed look. "I see you have a lot left to learn from Kasumi." he says blandly.

I roll my eyes and walk over. "Har har." I deadpan and offer him a plate. "Here. Ken made it, remember?"

Hitoshi takes it and nods at me with a small smile. "Thanks." he says. "And I was only joking, I didn't mean it in a mean way."

"I know." I say and take a seat next to him. "You and Ken are pretty similar in that way." I say and take a bite of cheesecake.

Hitoshi looks at me curiously. "You think so?" he says thoughtfully.

I nod. "You're, like…a calmer version of him." I say. "You and Takeshi balance out the chaos Kensuke and Toshiro bring to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." I say, nodding again to myself.

Hitoshi laughs lightly, "When you put it that way, I can't say you're entirely wrong." he says. "So, you clearly came looking for me. How can I help you, Sora?" Hitoshi asks kindly.

I hum, glancing at him. "Well I was actually thinking I might help you. You've been acting weird ever since Ken revealed the extra plate of food he made." I answer bluntly. "What, got a cult of people back home that hoard food or something?" I ask sarcastically.

Hitoshi stares at me.

I stare at Hitoshi in bewilderment. His silence is deafening. "...This is the part where you say no." I say.

Hitoshi puts a piece of cheesecake in his mouth.

"...WHAT!?"

After pressing him for information on this alleged cult, Hitoshi promised me he'd tell me later this evening; something about it being a long story and already having a prior commitment with our more athletically inclined students to exercise as a group after lunch.

Hitoshi initially went outside by himself to get some air because, as I suspected, the extra food brought up some guilty memories and he needed some fresh air.

I usually wouldn't press someone for information about their personal lives but come on now, a cult!? Sweet farm boy Hitoshi is involved in a cult!?

I just have to know, y'know?


After parting with Hitoshi, I immediately head towards the Library to check out what Shun told me about when I first entered B-Wing's Library.

Books books books books books books books books books books books books books books books books books books books books books books books books books books books books books books books books books books books books books-

"Baby raccoon!" a dreadfully familiar voice says and grabs me by the back of my sweater inches before I step foot inside the library.

"No!" I cry.

Kasumi sounds all too pleased with herself. "Yes!" she says and drags me away from my haven.

I hang my head and let Kasumi drag me away. "Why?" I ask.

"It's the funniest thing, come on, you have to see it for yourself!" Kasumi insists as I'm dragged out of B-Wing and into A-Wing. "Kano convinced Monokuma to make Hanako and Taro to give some additions to the Rec Room!"

Oh?


"Did you just stab me!?"

"This infernal game…blood doesn't spatter like that."

"AHAHAHAHAHA! I WISH IT DID, IT LOOKS SO MUCH MORE FUN THIS WAY!"

"You're all hopeless. Left trigger to aim and right trigger to fire, it's not that hard."

This…is definitely not a combination I ever thought I'd see playing a game together.

Kensuke, Armen, Greyface, and Kano are all playing a game that looks vaguely familiar.

"What's this?" I ask, joining the crowd behind the four players fighting for their lives on the bean bags.

"Iron Fist Partner Arena 2 ." Kaori answers.

…Hm.

"What? Don't look at me like that, I have hobbies outside of mocking you!"

I roll my eyes. "Somehow I find that hard to-"

"DUCK TO DODGE, DUMBASS!" Harumi screams, grabbing onto Ken's shoulders and shaking him violently.

"I-I CAN'T SEE WHEN YOU'RE SHAKING ME, HARUMI!"

I stare at the Ultimate Bitch in shock. Harumi into violent video games? Now that's something I find hard to believe.

Well.

Not really. That potty mouth screams violent video games.

"FUCKING PUNCH HIM, BITCH!" Harumi screeches.

Kasumi, Kaori, and I slowly shuffle away from Harumi and the four players.

"What other games do they have?" I ask, glancing between Kaori and Kasumi.

Kaori holds up several cases and starts listing them off, throwing them behind her whenever she reads off the name and leaving a frantic Sasaki to catch them before they hit the ground. "Right 2 Death, Crash Sisters, Monopoly-"

Kasumi tilts her head to the side. "Why is Monopoly in the mix of a bunch of fighting games?" she asks. "Is the video game version different from the board game?"

Kaori looks at Kasumi like she's stupid. "Have you played Monopoly?"

"No…"

Kaori gasps. "How!?" she says and shakes her head. She throws the rest of the games behind her, leaving Sasaki to make a dive for them. "Let's fix that right now, there's a board game version on one of the shelves somewhere here. I'll invite Toshiro to join the three of us. He's been working all day, it's time for a break." Kaori decides.

I raise my hand and hold up a finger. "One, I didn't agree to that." I say and hold up another finger. "Two, why not invite Yume? Aren't you two better friends?" I ask.

Kaori's expression drops and she glares at me. "I'm going to find Toshiro." she says and walks out of the Rec Room without another word.

"Ooooh, wait, let me come!" Greyface says excitedly and shoves her controller into Harumi's hands. Harumi eagerly takes the controller and starts cursing up a storm and Greyface runs after Kaori.

I blink owlishly at Kasumi. "...Was it something I said?" I ask, confused.

Kasumi scratches her head and laughs awkwardly. "Aha…I don't know. It's late in the day, she's probably tired or something." she says, sounding not at all convincing.

…Hm.

"Y'know, I'm starting to think Kaori doesn't actually like Yume." Kasumi says as she follows me to the shelves of games and toys to look for Monopoly. "I always thought their bickering was just some kind of romantic tension or something." she says.

I scoff, "Oh really?"

"Yeah!" Kasumi says, beaming. "Like you and m-"

"I'll make you the real first victim in front of all these people if you finish that sentence."


After thoroughly dominating Toshiro, Kasumi, and Kaori in Monopoly (one was too distracted being absolutely enamored with everything going on, one can't do math, and the other was too busy engaging the three of her opponents), I head over to the Yard where Hitoshi said he would meet me to talk about his food cult.

"Hey, Sora." Hitoshi nods at me, sitting in the same spot he was in when I first found him.

I pick up the pace and quickly sit down next to him. "Story time. Food cult. Go." I say eagerly.

Hitoshi laughs awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "Alright, then…where should I start?" he asks himself and clears his throat. "Well, obviously, I'm a rancher. You know this. Obviously." Hitoshi starts.

"Obviously." I nod.

"As it happens, it's something I was born into so it's a family business." Hitoshi says and a look of guilt flashes across his face. "...We were doing very well for ourselves before the Tragedy struck. Being the main source of labor before then, I was homeschooled so I could do both my homework and farmwork easily. I was at home when it reached our community." he explains. "My brother and the sibling directly older than me, Tetsuya, and my friend, Yuno, were inside our estate doing some business stuff when a bunch of our workers began attacking and killing each other. The ones who weren't infected ran away." Hitoshi says. "It wasn't long before we figured out what was going on. We locked ourselves and the few sane workers we managed to save inside of our estate."

Yikes.

Hitoshi sighs. "The Tragedy is something that ruined a lot of people's lives. People were forced out of jobs, their homes were burnt to the ground, and a lot of them were even killed…" he says sadly. "My family was fortunate enough to not have our lives changed that drastically. We lost workers and business deals went out the window because the people at the other end of it either died or turned into Remnants of Despair, yes, but we still had all of the things we did before the Tragedy struck. So we came up with a new business: selling to the needy." Hitoshi says, giving me a look.

It takes me a moment to get what he's trying to say but when I do, I gasp. "The food cult!"

"The food cult." Hitoshi nods. "Those who could afford to pay could just come to the farm and get what they needed and in turn, we used that money for supplies to keep the farm up and running. Those who couldn't pay were hired to work for housing, food, and clothing. All in all, I would say it was a pretty good system. We had a lot of food and we were the primary source for the sane members of our community. The people who came to us for food always told us it was quite the sight to see, you never would've known anything was ever different." he says.

"Really?" I ask. "You never had any instances where Remnants of Despair tried to come and, ah, pardon my French, fuck shit up?"

Hitoshi shakes his head and shrugs. "There were only one or two instances. The one I really remember is when two Remnants of Despair snuck in, a boy with gray and black hair who tried to make the farm animals go crazy, and a girl with dark purple hair who tried injecting some kind of substance into some of our workers." he says. "Yuno and Tetsuya were able to deal with them, and they were thrown out."

"Oh. That's nice." I nod.

Hitoshi nods along and looks down, deep in thought. "...That's a part of where my sin of Gluttony comes from." he says. "We were hoarding food for ourselves and those who could pay, but…" Hitoshi frowns. "Even before the Tragedy, I kept a majority of the food that we harvested for myself and my family. Instead of selling it or donating it to those who need it more, I hid it away in a special place on our farm." Hitoshi admits. "It's not because I wanted it all to myself or anything," he says quickly. "It's…it was more like a paranoia about running out of food." Hitoshi says and sighs again. "Before our business took off, we were kind of struggling. I was worried that we'd run out of food and after we made a name for ourselves, I was worried that it'd go south again somehow and I continued the hoarding. Along with the hoarding, I did some…bad things." Hitoshi says. "Bad things with a horrible butterfly effect."

Something to do with his sin of Envy I bet.

I awkwardly pat him on the back. "I think that's enough talking for tonight, don't you?" I ask. "You look beat."

Hitoshi finally turns his gaze back to me again and smiles softly. "Yeah." he agrees. "I know you asked me to tell you but still, thank you for listening. I've never told anybody that before." Hitoshi says. "It feels…nice. I don't deserve it but I feel…better." he says and laughs. "Maybe if I do that repenting thing they were talking about…"

"'They'?" I ask, my memory failing me.

"Monokuma, Hanako, and Taro." Hitoshi answers.

Right on cue, Monokuma's voice suddenly blares through the loudspeakers in the Yard:

"Good evening, inmates! It is now 7 PM and that means it is now officially nighttime!" Monokuma announces. "May you have sweet dreams about reflecting on the consequences of your actions - but first! Everyone please report to D-Pod for a beary special announcement!" he says and the loudspeakers click off.

Hitoshi and I exchange a look.

"This isn't good." Hitoshi says, standing up and putting his hands on his hips.

I stand up after him and dust myself off. "If he's calling us to gather together, that can only mean one thing…"


"WHY HAVEN'T YOU BRATS KILLED ANYBODY YET!?"

The remaining twenty-four of us stand around D-Pod while Monokuma stands on the middle-most table flanked by Hanako and Taro.

"Well, maybe because you haven't given us a motive." Kano says dryly.

Yume crosses her arms. "Honestly, stupid bear, you may have decided that we're bad people but we're not evil for the sake of evil like Miss Stabby Stab over here." she says, gesturing at Greyface.

"Ehe." Greyface smiles.

Mai frowns, a thoughtful look on her face. "As much as I would love to agree with you, Yume, how can you say that so confidently?" she asks. "We've made friends with each other, sure, but we barely know anything about each other. You can't say for certain that the others aren't evil for the sake of evil." Mai says pessimistically.

Valentin shakes his head. "Ah…cómo se diceSeñorita Mai, it is as you said. We have been making friends. Are you saying you do not trust those close to you?" he challenges. "We…we will be doing what they want if we do not have faith in each other." Valentin says.

Masaki yawns, pulling his ever present blanket tighter around him. "I have to agree with the firefighter. The first trial wasn't even an actual trial because no one was killed. I think it's safe to say we can place some trust in each other." he says.

Shun gasps, "Masaki actually saying something helpful and not mean spirited for once!?" she says. "Getting accused of murder really changes a guy, huh?" Shun laughs.

Masaki's eyes droop. "I'll say whatever it takes to get this over with. I want to go back to bed." he says and punctuates his sentence with another yawn.

"There's the Masaki we all know…" Shun sighs.

"E-NUFF!" Monokuma screams.

Takeshi frowns and taps his chin with his finger. "Why do I have a feeling that something about that was incorrect…?" he wonders.

"Please do not be so loud…" Luan frowns as he puts the noise-canceling headphones from Hanako on Yukiko's head.

Monokuma shakes his paw at us. "Fine! The first motive may not have resulted in a murder BUT I know for a fact that this one will!" he says confidently.

"And how's that?" Armen asks dryly.

Monokuma starts dancing on the table, feeling himself up. "Because it's a classic!" he says and twirls in a circle. "I have a secret of each of yours printed on a piece of paper and Hanako and Taro will pass them out!"

Well this isn't good.

As Hanako and Taro go around the room and hand each student a folded up piece of paper, Monokuma continues on with his motive explanation. "Starting tomorrow, I will call upon two inmates each day to reveal what their paper says, one in the morning and one in the evening." Monokuma says.

Sasaki raises her hand. "Um, why so far apart?" she asks.

Monokuma laughs, "Why to give the blackened time to murder, of course!" he says as if that were obvious.

I roll my eyes as Taro comes up to me with the box. I can practically picture the smile behind that mask he and Hanako are always wearing when he talks to me, "How's the neck?" he asks, holding out the piece of paper for me.

"Screw you." I mutter and take the paper from him.

"Hold on!" Candace says, waving her secret in the air. "What's to stop us from just giving our secret to its owner or lying about what the paper says to protect their secret?"

Kano bursts out laughing, "And what's to stop your secret's owner from killing you because you know their secret, moron?" he grins. "You're better off waiting until Monokuma calls on you to reveal it yourself!" Kano laughs. "Oooh, yes, things around here just got a lot more interesting."

Toshiro gives him a dirty look. "So not cute…"

Kanna smiles nervously. "C-Come on, everyone, what have we got to hide?" she asks. "We're all in the same boat. Remnants of Despair have decided that we're no better than them so our secrets can't be all that different from each other, right?" Kanna tries, putting on an encouraging smile.

Harlequin beams, "Your optimism is amazing, Kanna! You tell those adults what's up!" he cheers.

Hitoshi speaks up as he translates Nemiko's quick JSL, "Nemiko says Kanna has a point, that we're all bad people in the eyes of even worse people, so what is there to hide?"

Yosuke hums and nods. "I'm inclined to agree with Miss Kanna," he says. "I may have been opposed to likening myself to you all but after some thought, I suppose…I may be in the wrong in regards to certain things that I have done." Yosuke says. "...In a certain light. I guess." he adds.

Kasumi, who never seems to be too far from me, tugs at my sleeve. "What do you think?" she asks.

I frown, looking at the ones who seem like they're more on Kano's side. "It doesn't matter what I think." I say. "What matters is what everyone else with something to hide thinks."

"Everyone, please look at your secrets now! Remember, no sharing until tomorrow, upupupupu!"

I sigh and unfold my piece of paper.

Toshiro Haruki is a former Remnant of Despair.

…Oh.

Well that explains a lot of things.

7~7~7

A/N am i confident in this chapter?

no

do i know what i'm doing?

not really

are you beautiful?

yes