Is it true? Yes, it is! I managed to update this fic in less than a month.
"flexes muscles"
We get the new motive this chapter! I hope you all enjoy it!
And please remember to leave a review! It helps motivate me to write faster!
"Gonta found more writing!" Gonta yelled, bursting into the dining hall and startling several people.
Kaito narrowed his eyes at Kokichi, who just whistled innocently and refused to meet his gaze.
He sighed and cleared his throat.
"Calm down Gonta. What's wrong?"
"The rock in the courtyard! It has new letters!"
"What does it say?"
"Gonta doesn't understand. It just a bunch of letters."
"Is it still gibberish?"
"That doesn't matter. We all agreed that we wouldn't mess with it. So, who's adding new letters? Is it Monokuma?" Tsumugi quibbled.
"Nope!" Monokuma said in a sing-song voice, entering the room via the door. For once.
"It was one of you guys! You have a traitor in your midst!" He grinned at them.
"Thanks for stating the obvious Monokuma." Kokichi guffawed.
"Hah." Monokuma stroked his chin.
"Nooooow, it is my great pleasure to announce that I've *finally* thought of a new motive. But I want you to finish your breakfast, have a last chat, stretch your legs, before coming to the gym. So, you have fifteen minutes!" He threw a smoke bomb on the floor, vanishing in the ensuing haze.
The room became uncomfortably silent. Everyone exchanged suspicious glances.
Kaito took a deep breath.
He was ready. He had been preparing for this all night.
"Right! Everyone!" He stood up and faced his classmates. "Whatever Monokuma has planned for us…it'll be bad, but we can't let it get us down. We can do this!"
"I highly doubt that." Miu muttered.
"Yeah…It's hard not to worry." Tsumugi said, crossing her arms and sighing.
"It'll be all right. Afterwards, we'll come back here and discuss the motive. It won't take long." Kaito soothed them.
"Momota-chan, please stop. Your speech is giving me despair. You're a terrible leader." Kokichi snarked, leaning back in his chair and putting his feet up on the table.
"Shut it Kokichi. Now's not the time to argue." Kaito snapped, playing his part.
"Agreed. Shut up Ouma-kun." Korekiyo said, glaring at the smaller boy.
Kokichi stuck out his tongue at him.
"What about the rock?" Tsumugi whispered, hugging herself.
"For now, we should ignore it. If it is Monokuma, then he's just messing with us. Otherwise…we can't do anything about it." Kaito said.
"My inner voice told me it's better to focus on the motive. The rock isn't that important." Kiibo said.
Tsumugi shook her head and got up, abandoning her breakfast. "I-I need to go for a walk. Clear my head. I'll clean up my stuff later. Just leave it in the sink. Sorry."
She ran out of the room.
"Poor Shirogane-san. I feel for her." Himiko said, her lower lip trembling.
"Yumeno-san, are you okay?" Tenko rushed to her side.
"I'm fine. You don't need to fret over me." Himiko mustered a smile. "Actually, I can't wait to take the next motive on. I won't let Monokuma get to me." She pumped her fists in the air.
Kaito couldn't help but smile with her, taking strength from her joy and optimism.
"Yumeno is the heart of the team." He joked.
"She sure is." Ryoma said, half-smiling.
"Don't insult me." Himiko pouted. "I'm not a child."
"I wasn't- I would never dream of doing that." Kaito laughed.
Himiko's pout worsened.
"You're not a child. You're a brat." Kokichi teased her.
"Says the real brat." Kaito immediately countered.
Kokichi glared at him.
"Thank you Momota." Himiko stopped pouting and giggled.
"No problem. If Kokichi is being a nuisance, just come and find and me and I'll deal with him."
"Do we need to discuss anything else?" Maki cut in.
"I don't think so." Kaito said.
"Then we should make our way to the gym and get ready for the new motive. We have less than ten minutes."
"I'll clean up after Tsumugi." Kirumi announced. "And I'll do the same for anyone else. As a matter of necessity, not kindness."
"You can clean up my shit." Kokichi yelled, sliding his plate towards her.
"Very well." Kirumi said, voice thick with displeasure.
"Tojo-san, can you please wash my things?" Korekiyo said smoothly. "I want to stretch my legs before the meeting."
He glided out of the room without looking back.
The others grabbed their plates and cutlery and hurried to the kitchen.
Kaito tried to follow them, only for Kokichi to grab his stuff and dump it in front of Kirumi.
She glared at him, but duly gathered everything together and left to take care of it.
"Kokichi- "Kaito started.
Kokichi put a finger to his mouth.
"I need to speak to you." He said, pulling him out of the room and taking him to the inner courtyard.
"Kokichi, we only have a few minutes. What do you want to talk about?" Kaito said, sitting down on a bench.
"Nothing. I just want to be alone with you." Kokichi said flirtatiously.
"Oh." Kaito frowned. "Really?"
Kokichi rolled his eyes.
"I can't believe you actually believed me…no, I want you to spy on the other students today."
"What about Iruma?"
"I'll keep an eye on her. You saw her yesterday. It'll be suspicious if you spend time with her every day."
"Okay, then who should I watch?"
"I don't know yet. I need to see how everyone reacts to the new motive."
"I'll just hang out with whoever I want then. If that's okay?"
"Whatever. Let's go to the gym. I'm getting bored."
"Same here. You're a very boring person Kokichi."
"Shut it."
They headed to the gym.
Tsumugi and Korekiyo were already there, chatting on the other side of the room.
A few minutes later, everyone else arrived.
A shrill laugh echoed around the room and Monokuma jumped up onto his podium.
"Everyone is here. Good! I hope you're all hyped for your new motivation to murder one another."
"Just get it over with." Ryoma retorted.
"We're going to beat you." Himiko declared.
"I have faith In Yumeno-san. And our friends." Tenko said.
"Tch." Kokichi intoned.
"Upupu. I love it when you guys get all fired up. It makes crushing your hope all the more sweeter." Monokuma said.
"*ahem*. First of all, I want to remind you all to stop being so foolish. You're never going to escape. Most of you are going to die here."
He paused.
"Now, I've been thinking about how buddy-buddy you've all been acting, and it really inspired me."
He paused again, lingering this time.
"Get on with it!" Miu said, getting exasperated.
"It is my great pleasure to introduce the "+1 motive". If one of you murders someone and gets away with it, you can save one of your fellow classmates from execution and escape with them."
The effects of his words were immediate.
Numerous people gasped or went pale, while others nodded resolutely.
Kaito glared viciously at Monokuma, hiding his concern under a façade of bravery.
He knew, just knew, that the motive was going to succeed. Someone was going to die.
Miu would almost certainly be tempted by it.
This motive is going to divide us. We won't be able to trust one another-
"It's not going to work on us! I refuse to give into despair!" Himiko called out.
Monokuma chuckled, burying his face in his paws in an attempt to contain his glee.
"None of us are going to kill for friendship! We all care about each another!" Himiko continued, balling her hands into fists. "Especially after Angie's sacrifice!"
"Yumeno-san is right." Tenko spoke up. "As long as we have each other, we'll never be tempted by your motive Monokuma."
"Gonta will protect everyone. Will do anything to save friends!" Gonta raised his fists and roared. "Even die for them!"
"Gonta…don't say that." Himiko pleaded.
Gonta winced.
"Gonta sorry. Gonta not mean that. Got carried away. I stay with you."
"Thank you."
"Is that it? Or do have something more interesting to tell us?" Kokichi addressed the bear.
"No, no. That's it. I just wanted to see you guys despair." Monokuma preened.
"Kukuku. May I ask…what if the next murderer doesn't use the motive? What if they don't want to save someone?" Korekiyo said.
"Eh. I guess they don't hafta save someone if they really don't wanna. They can escape alone…if that's what they really prefer"
"Then does the new motive really matter?"
"Huh?"
"I doubt that many of us would kill one person- no, sacrifice ten people, to save one person. And if someone here is tempted by the new motive, I urge them to think about the consequences of their actions. Like the fact that the friend they save might not even be their friend anymore, once they've discovered the truth."
"Aw Fuck." Monokuma clutched at his chest. "Why didn't I think of that?"
"Rest assured. I have thought about it. And I'm sure the new motive is going to work." He rallied.
"I'm not so sure of that." Korekiyo bowed his head.
"Upupu. I'll be gloating over someone's corpse soon enough, taunting you all about your failure to save them." Monokuma clapped his paws together. "Now, don't you guys have a useless strategy meeting to attend? Well? You'd better get to it!"
He cackled and disappeared behind the podium.
"We should all go to the cafeteria and calm down." Kirumi said. "Some of us are still in shock."
Nobody challenged her. They all trooped back to the cafeteria and collapsed around the table.
Kaito took charge. After all, he was pretending to be their leader.
"Right, so what are we going to do about the motive?"
"We should just give up. It's hopeless. We can't do anything. Not with Momota-chan leading us. Uwaaaaa." Kokichi started bawling.
"What we should do is split up into pairs and spend time with people we usually wouldn't hang out with." Ryoma said, ignoring him. "I know it sounds ridiculous…but it'll allows us to get closer as a group, and keep an eye on one another."
"That's a good idea." Himiko said.
"Thank you Yumeno." Ryoma doffed his hat, making her blush.
"That's bullshit." Kokichi snorted. His tears had vanished.
"No Kokichi. He's right." Kaito said, smirking "I know you're jealous that I have to spend time with other people, but it's dumb to criticise the idea just because of that."
"Momota-chan, you'll always make time for me. Always. I'm not jealous."
"Then let's follow Hoshi's plan."
"Fine." Kokichi huffed, sneering at him.
"Thank you Momota." Ryoma said.
"Wait- does this mean that Yumeno-san and I have to spend time apart? What if someone tries to hurt her?" Tenko panicked.
"It's all right Chabashira. I'll be fine. We can hang out together this evening." Himiko said, smiling at her.
Tenko nodded, relaxing.
"Now, I need to choose who to pair up with..." Himiko studied the group.
Her eyes briefly lingered on Kaito, before passing on.
He frowned, sensing that he had failed a test.
Himiko looked over a few more people, finally choosing…
"Kiibo, want to go for a walk?"
"Sure. What do you want to talk about?"
"We can discuss the superiority of magic over technology."
"O-okay."
Miu scowled at them, but didn't say anything.
"Yumeno-san…" Tenko trailed off. She took a deep breath. "At least Kiibo isn't a degenerate male, because he's a robot."
Kiibo opened his mouth, then closed it. Deciding it wasn't worth it.
Tenko copied Himiko and started looking around the room, carefully skipping over the men.
Her eyes fell on Maki.
"I'll be with Tojo. Keeping an eye on her." The assassin said quickly.
Kirumi nodded.
Tenko swallowed and looked at Miu, then Tsumugi.
"Shirogane-san, want to see my dojo?" She asked.
"I don't really "work out"." Tsumugi mumbled.
"You can watch me practice? Or we can just do light exercises?" Tenko offered.
"All right." Tsumugi said.
Gonta smiled softly at Miu.
"Iruma-san, if you're lonely, Gonta can keep you company."
Miu bristled.
"No. I don't want- "
The objection died in her throat. Everyone was staring at her.
"You can help me carry some heavy tools from my lab." She conceded.
"Gonta loves being useful." Gonta cheered, oblivious to her discomfort.
Kaito laughed, then turned to Ryoma.
"Hoshi, can you please show me some tennis moves? Or better yet- play a game with me?"
"I'll play a game with you. Just…are you really sure you want to do this? I'll probably wipe the floor with you." He warned.
"I am sure. I'll give it my all." Kaito said, grinning.
"I wanna witness Momota-chan's defeat. Seeing him die of embarrassment is one of my favourite things. Can I tag along?" Kokichi beamed.
"No Kokichi. Go and spend time with someone else."
Kokichi wailed, threatening to cry fresh crocodile tears.
Thankfully, Korekiyo stepped in and saved the day.
"Ouma-kun, I'll show you around my lab. If you behave."
"As long as I can see the creepiest things." Kokichi jumped up excitedly.
"Just don't break anything."
"Show me creepy things and I won't."
"Thank you for agreeing to watch the brat Shinguuji." Kaito jibed.
Everyone laughed. Except Kokichi, who gave him a look of purest thunder.
"Really Momota-chan?" He whined.
"When you start acting your age, I'll stop taunting you about it."
Kokichi laughed snidely and then deftly leapt on top of the table, getting everyone's attention.
"Guys! Guess what? Momota-chan is even more immature than I am. He has a secret that he refuses to tell anyone. Nishishi."
"Ohh that's rich coming from you. Considering that you have more secrets than anyone else" Kaito said cautiously.
"You've crossed a line Momota-chan. So, I'm going to tell everyone your secret…Momota-chan's feet stink. They smell like garbage mixed with anchovies."
"How do you know that?" Tsumugi frowned.
"Kokichi is just lying." Kaito said quickly. "But if you're so caught up on it… I'll confess."
"My secret is… that I snore in my sleep. Really loudly. It used to keep my grandparents up."
Kokichi snorted.
"That's an even shitter lie than mine."
"They were old, but they had really good hearing." Kaito said flippantly.
Kokichi leaned forward, eyes shining.
"No fucking way- "
"Ouma, stop mocking Momota. He has a genuine problem." Himiko spoke up. "My master also snored. When I was young, we'd often travel together and share hotel rooms. He'd keep me up all night."
"Yeah. One of the monks was the same. No wonder Momota-san didn't tell us." Tenko backed her up.
"It's just snoring. It's not that big of a deal." Ryoma said.
"Yeah." Kiibo opined.
"Gonta also snore. His whole family snores." Gonta admitted casually.
"I give up. You all fawn over Momota-chan way too much. He's becoming the new Akamatsu-chan. And just like before, you will all suffer for it." Kokichi made a nightmarish face and glared at everyone.
"Kokichi, get down and stop messing around." Kaito requested, trying not to sound too angry. "You've gone too far this time."
Bringing up Kaede-that was a low blow.
"No, I haven't Momota-chan." Kokichi said, putting his cheerful mask back on. "I haven't gone far enough."
"I'm not like Akamatsu. I-I'm not going to repeat the same mistakes as her."
"No, You're better than her. Way more attractive." Kokichi grinned goofily, sitting back down. "You guys really thought was being serious, werent'cha?"
"Could've fooled me." Kaito muttered, still upset.
"For fuck's sake Ouma." Miu swore.
"That was mean." Himiko pointed at him.
"You scared us all for no reason. Things are stressful enough." Korekiyo complained.
"I was just keeping you on your toes. You guys should be more alert." Kokichi shook his head, refusing to apologise.
"No. Your "prank" was entirely unnecessary." Tenko snapped.
"You're no fun Chabashira-chan. Learn to loosen up."
"Whatever. You're the most degenerate male here."
Ryoma cleared his throat.
"I suggest we all go our separate ways. We've had a useful discussion. Now, we're just bickering."
"Correct. Come on Tojo." Maki said.
"You first Harukawa."
They hurried out.
Kokichi ran out of his chair and glomped Korekiyo, yelling his name.
"Come on Shinguuji-chan! "It's time for our date!"
"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" Koreikyo said, standing up and dislodging him.
"Don't worry. You won't." Kokichi said, grinning like a little devil.
The two of them left the room.
"C'mon Momota. It's time for me to thrash you." Ryoma nudged him.
Kaito blinked, looking away from the door. He'd been distracted by Kokichi's antics.
I…why am I so confused? He thought, shaking his head.
"Lead the way Hoshi."
Howzat?