Only 3 weeks since the last update!

Not much plot in this one. But lots of character development!

ALSO 20 CHAPTERS! OMG!

Kaito collapsed to his knees next to the net. He was surrounded by tennis balls.

"Heh. You're on fire Hoshi." He joked weakly.

Ryoma smirked and sauntered towards him.

"Best three out of five Momota?"

Kaito glared at him.

"Hey. You were the one who wanted to play tennis with me." Ryoma twirled his racket.

"I didn't know…that it would be this bad." Kaito muttered.

"Need a hand?" Ryoma offered.

"No." Kaito shook his head and stumbled to his feet.

Everything swayed and he collapsed again, devolving into a coughing fit.

"Jeez Momota. If I'd known you were this out of shape., I wouldn't have accepted your challenge." Ryoma taunted him.

Kaito tried to say something, but just continued coughing.

Ryoma frowned and hurried over, thumping him on the back.

Spluttering, Kaito managed to clear his throat.

"C'mon. Let's have a rest." Ryoma helped him stagger to the nearest wall.

Kaito leaned against it, breathing deeply.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong Momota?" Ryoma asked.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm fine." Kaito lied.

"Bullshit. Momota, no one just collapses like that."

"I-I just haven't done anything so physically demanding in such a long time."

"Do you have some sort of condition?" Ryoma said.

Kaito stayed silent.

"Momota?"

"Yeah. I have a condition." He admitted.

Ryoma sat down next to him.

"Is it serious?"

Kaito swallowed.

"I'll take your silence as a sign that it is."

Kaito slumped, putting his head in his hands.

I don't even know what my condition is. I just know that it's fatal. And that I don't have much time left.

Ryoma got out a candy cigarette and popped it into his mouth.

"Want one?"

Kaito shook his head. He hated liquorice.

"Your loss." Ryoma shrugged.

Minutes passed. They sat together in silence.

"Y'know Momota…I have to thank you." Ryoma said.

"For what?"

"For playing tennis with me. It made me realise just how much I've missed it." Ryoma laughed. "Oh, and that despite being horribly out of practice, I've still got it."

"You don't need to thank me for that." Kaito smiled at him.

"I do. It made me feel alive. At least for a few minutes." Ryoma sighed. "And everyone- well mostly everyone, has been so kind to me. Treated me well despite the fact that I'm a criminal, a murdering scumbag."

"Hoshi, you're not a bad person."

"Heh. That's debateable."

Kaito chuckled hoarsely.

"I'm not going to argue with you about morals. But those men…they murdered your family and your girlfriend, right? I read that in the papers."

Ryoma went very still.

"Momota, it was wrong of me to kill them."

"That's what I meant. You knew it was wrong. You feel guilty about it." Kaito took a deep breath. "Hoshi, an evil person wouldn't feel guilty. If they had done the same, they would've felt justified in their crimes. That they had done the right thing."

"Thank you Momota."

"You don't need to thank me for that either." Kaito said. "I'm just being a good friend."

"Friend? Really?" Ryoma frowned.

"Yes. I'm your friend and I think your life has worth."

"Your life has worth as well Momota."

"I know. I…I just don't want to be weak- or rather, show weakness in front of the others." Kaito admitted quietly. "Now that Shuichi's gone, everyone is expecting me to lead us out of here. I don't want to let them down."

Ryoma laughed.

Kaito's face fell.

"I'm not making fun of you." Ryoma clarified. "I just find it ironic…Momota you're the strongest person here."

"I'm not that strong." Kaito argued. "Gonta is way stronger than me."

"Not physically. I meant mentally. You have more integrity than most."

"I don't. I'm just doing my best." Kaito said quickly, thinking about Kokichi.

I don't have integrity. I'm lying to everyone. Leading them on.

"Momota, that's all we can do." Ryoma said. "And I know that Ouma -despite being a real pain in the ass- is also doing his best to defeat the killing game."

Kaito hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"He is. He just has his own way of doing things. I don't agree with every choice he's made, but he's still my partner."

"That's obvious. But you'll reign him in if he goes too far, right?" Ryoma asked.

"You can count on that." Kaito said.

"Can I ask…what you think about the new motive?"

Kokichi paused.

"I think…it's going to work."

"Yeah…we rely on one another too much. Some more than others." Ryoma stared at the floor pensively.

Kaito tapped his hands against the wall.

"Hoshi…can you please not tell anyone about what just happened? That I collapsed during our game?"

"Of course." Ryoma said.

"Thanks."

"No need to thank me." Ryoma echoed. "Want to talk about something else?"

"Please."

"You went to Harukawa's lab yesterday, right?"

Kaito nodded.

"Was Tojo there?"

"Hoshi, Harumaki is watching her. She isn't going to try anything." Kaito assured him.

"You trust Harukawa a lot." Ryoma observed.

"Kokichi doesn't think Harumaki is going to try anything." Kaito said, without thinking.

"Does he?" Ryoma cocked his head. "I trust Harukawa more than I trust Tojo."

"So do I." Kaito tried to relax. "Harumaki…I want her to stop being an assassin."

"I think she has it in her- to look forward and stop killing." Ryoma said.

"She just needs to learn to open up and trust us." Kaito smiled.

"Hmm." Ryoma scrunched up his forehead, deep in thought.

"Hoshi?"

"It's nothing." Ryoma said. What about the rest of our classmates? Who do you think will be the next blackened?"

"I have no idea." Kaito said truthfully.

"Same. But I bet that many of them are capable of murder under the right circumstances."

Kaito immediately thought about Miu.

"Everyone is capable of murder under the right circumstances."

"Well, I'm not going to kill anyone." Ryoma joked.

"I believe you." Kaito chuckled.

"You shouldn't. Who knows, I could be lying to you." Ryoma adjusted his hat with a grin.

"You should play tennis with Kokichi next. Kick his ass for me."

"That's a good idea."

"Give him the ol' run around."

"Hey, he can't hit the ball if he can't reach it. I'll just keep aiming it above him."

They both laughed.

"Want to play another match?"

"No." Kaito said, still laughing.

"Then help me put my equipment away."

"Sure."

Kokichi was bored.

His meeting with Korekiyo had started off interesting, but had quicky dissolved into a snooze fest.

Korekiyo had shown him some interesting relics; sacrificial knives, creepy statues, and other things, and then had described an Aztec ritual for human sacrifice in perfectly gory detail.

But then he'd started going off about "the beauty of the ancient civilizations". Something Kokichi had no interest in.

I wonder how Momota-chan is doing? Has he lost to Hoshi-chan yet? Kokichi stifled a yawn.

"Ouma-kun, are you paying attention?" Korekiyo questioned.

"Yes, yes, I am." Kokichi muttered, staring at the electricity sockets lining the room.

If we plugged in a bunch of electronics, would it be enough to cause a power outage?

Korekiyo sighed.

"It's obvious that you're not. You were only interested in the *ahem* creepy items."

"Hey, I listened to your spiel about human sacrifice and the Aztecs. Everything else was boring."

"I'm an anthropologist. I study human cultures and societies and how they've developed over time. I'm here to educate, not to entertain." Korekiyo glared at him.

"Well, I don't want to be educated. I want to have fun." Kokichi snickered.

"Ouma-kun, there's more to life than baseless entertainment. Especially in a killing game such as this." Korekiyo said. "It's actually taught me to appreciate life more. I've realised just how fleeting, how brief, it really is."

"That's a lie." Kokichi smirked. "You don't really care about the others. In fact, I don't think you care about anyone. Anyone living that is."

"You're wrong. I'm not lying. I just…appreciate people in a different way than you do." Korekiyo stated, nodding to himself.

"Yeah. You really do." Kokichi said. "In a really fucked up way."

They shared a knowing look.

Korekiyo doesn't give a shit about them. He's more interested in their "hidden beauty". Whatever the fuck that is. But to his credit, I don't think he cares about outcome of the killing game; whether we live or die. So, he probably wouldn't aid Monokuma. Unless he's the mastermind. Kokichi mused.

Korekiyo shut his eyes and laughed.

"Kukuku. As much as you pretend to enjoy the killing…you really care about them, don't you?"

"Psh. What gave you that idea? This is such a fun game. And I'm the smartest person here. So, everyone depends on me. Especially Momota-chan. It's a great feeling." Kokichi dismissed him.

"That's why I appreciate your beauty…of your personality, not your body."

"Now you're just creeping me out." Kokichi pretended to shiver.

Korekiyo opened his eyes.

"If someone else is murdered, you and Momota-kun will do your best to catch the killer and save as many lives as possible. You care about the others so much. Too much."

"Are you planning on murdering someone, Shinguuji-chan?" Kokichi asked.

"No." Korekiyo admitted bluntly.

"Well, you could be lying. No one would admit such a thing out loud." Kokichi said. "And the new motive…you have no interest in it. Because you don't have any friends."

"Please leave Ouma-kun." Korekiyo stroked his chin. "I have stuff to do. Go and annoy someone else."

"Okay." Kokichi shrugged. "Smell ya later."

He ran from the room.

In the corridor, he pursed his lips and then headed for the computer lab.

He opened the door an inch and peered inside.

Gonta was sitting in a chair, twiddling his thumbs, while Miu was kneeling next to the large machine, furiously turning a spanner.

Neither of them had noticed him.

Kokichi decided to take advantage of this.

"Yo, Gonta." He yelled, barging in.

Gonta flinched, while Miu scampered to her feet and glared furiously at him.

"Yo, Slut!" He added, grinning at her.

"Ouma-kun, you shouldn't be here. Why aren't you with Shinguuji-kun?" Gonta asked.

"He kicked me out of his lab."

"I'm not surprised." Miu said, rolling her eyes. "But can you please go away? I have work to do."

"Oooooo. Iruma-chan is actually "working" hard for once, not just lazing around. What a miracle."

"Ouma-kun, please don't be rude." Gonta chastised him.

"Gonta, you're so dumb. Iruma-chan could be planning to kill us all." He pointed at the big machine. "For all we know, that could be a bomb!"

Gonta frowned and stepped back.

"It's not a bomb. Gonta not that stupid…but Gonta not know what Iruma-san is working on. Maybe a computer?"

Miu sighed.

"Yes. It's a computer."

"But what kind of computer? Are you building an ai? Is it Skynet? Is it going to kill us all?" Kokichi snarked.

"No. I'm not." Miu snapped. "And It's not- "She swallowed. "- It's not going to harm us."

Kokichi put his hands behind his head and smirked at her.

He didn't want to give Kaito away, that the astronaut had told him about the VR machine. He had to think of another way to corner Miu.

He wanted Kaito to stay in Miu's good graces. At least for now. He might be able to get more information out of her.

Kokichi glanced around the room, looking for something to use. His eyes fell on the strange chairs.

"Are you going to upload our brains into the machine?"

"Huh?" Miu paled.

Gotcha. That was very close to the truth.

"A-ha. I knew it. You're going to upload our brains and replace us with robots."

"N-no. That's stupid. "Miu shook her head, her cheeks reddening. "It's just a high-powered computer. Nothing more."

"I don't believe that for a second. Why are you devoting so much time to it? Instead of other projects?" Kokichi said.

Gonta looked between them, completely confused. He didn't know if he should intervene or not.

"I don't have to answer you." Miu seethed.

"Isn't that suspicious Gonta?" Kokichi said.

"Gonta doesn't know anything." Gonta wailed, flailing around.

"Well, I'm going to tell everyone the truth Iruma-chan." Kokichi said. "So, if either Gonta or I are murdered, you'll be the prime suspect."

"For fuck's sake Ouma. I'm not planning anything." Miu yelled.

"Ouma-kun, Iruma-san wouldn't hurt anyone."

"Heh. You're so dumb Gonta. Only believing in the best of people."

"She wouldn't." Gonta insisted, voice trembling. "After Yonaga-san, Gonta has to believe."

He looked at Miu.

"Iruma-san is much nicer than she lets on. Kiibo-kun said so, and Gonta believes him."

"Thank you Gonta." Miu said, biting her lip.

"Gonta also believe the best in Ouma-kun." Gonta smiled kindly. "Gonta know Ouma-kun is a prankster. But he wouldn't hurt anyone."

"Tch." Kokichi huffed.

He wasn't angry. He was annoyed.

Gonta is just so stupidly endearing. He's such a lumbering oaf. I don't think he's lying. He's too stupid to be the mastermind.

"Iruma-san is working so hard. Gonta will do whatever he can to help you." Gonta declared.

"Thank you. But I don't think I need any help at the moment." Miu paused. "Actually…you- you could get me something to eat. I want to keep working."

"Gonta will do that."

Gonta left the room.

"Iruma-chan." Kokichi said.

"Yes, Ouma?" She groaned

"See you in court." He jibed.

"Go and blow Momota." She snapped.

"That's a great idea! I need to show Momota-chan just how much I appreciate him!" Kokichi shouted.

"Just go." Miu said. "Leave me alone".

Kokichi gave her a mocking bow and raced out.

New favourite thing to write: Korekiyo sprouting BS and Ryoma being a good friend.