Author's Note: I'm no longer sick with Covid or busy with work and school stuff, so I can finally update my stories. Hurray :) Since I can post and write again, I'm going to try to be at least a little bit more consistent with updates, but I can't promise anything. Still, I'm really grateful for those of you who keep up with this story or give me super nice comments. I actually love reading the comments I got across the sites I post on. Seeing people's theory's on my own story is something mind blowing to me. This story up to this point, was actually written a year ago now, but I never posted it and took a break from the story after getting busy with school stuff. I was then encouraged to post some of my stories, this one included, and now I'm excited to start truly writing this story again. I hope you all enjoy this story and keep reading until it's finished.

2nd Arc: Ghosts From the Past that Haunt the Future

Daily Life

Have you ever had one of those nights where you knew you weren't getting any sleep? I immediately knew it was going to be one of those nights after I entered the AV room to think. There were too many thoughts to try and unpack. Too many worries I had to handle. Worst yet was the possibility of more nightmares since now I had images of possible friends' bodies stuck in my head. Sleep is for the weak anyway! Who needs it? I find myself kicking myself after the morning announcement played after the restless night. I didn't find a single solution. I just felt worse, not to mention tired now.

I was laying on the couch that was in the room, staring at the ceiling while rubbing the small bags that had formed under my eyes. "Why does this feel so familiar?" I find myself asking. I spent the whole night in a panic infused rut of thought, trying to solve every problem that plagued me, yet I didn't feel as tired as I thought I would. In fact, it felt almost normal to spend the night awake constantly thinking about things. Was I used to pulling all nighters? If so, I can probably assume I didn't live the healthiest lifestyle. I mean, I already figured that since the only real meal I would have during my stay here was breakfast, and even then it would be small. The rest I would snack on throughout the rest of the day with the things I took from breakfast since I was busy trying to stop the killing game. Even so, I have a feeling I would have done that whether I was in a killing game or not.

Man… I could really go for a real breakfast. Like the one Kirumi made that one time. I immediately grimace at the memory. Right… Kirumi… I lifted my hand up to stare at the gloves that I hadn't taken off. The same black gloves. I fiddled with the metal loop that was attached to the back of the glove. I sighed. Some potential, huh? What makes it worse is the fact I almost know for certain this will happen again. I mean, the game isn't over, so that means more motives.

Sure the mastermind themselves had to start the killing game, but the next motive could encourage any one of us to kill another. Even me. Would I kill if I had a good enough reason? I originally dismissed the thought entirely, but now I'm doubting myself. Tsumugi seemed to know exactly who I was, so maybe Monokuma does too. They might not have at first, but watching me over the course of those few days may have given them the clues they needed to figure me out.

Funny. I still can't figure myself out. Do I even still want to know? These endless thoughts were the ones that kept me up all night. I groan. I really need to stop thinking about this. But of course, just telling myself that isn't going to stop me from being haunted by Kirumi and Tsumugi's deaths. God it would be so much easier if I could just forget, but that's impossible. I could never forget these people...my friends. They're all I have at this point.

The morning announcement played a while ago, so everyone's probably already at the dining hall. They're probably worried about me. I am hungry too. But...I really don't want to talk to the others. They probably want to know what was happening last night. The things Tsumugi said, what I said, those people...they probably don't trust me at all because of it. They would be justified in that choice too. I can't even trust myself. I sighed as I continued to fiddle with the gloves, sleep refusing to claim my consciousness.

Click!

I shot up on the couch and turned to the front entrance doors. Someone unlocked it from the outside! How!? Before I could take another action, the door swung open and a little purple grape ran in.

"Riiiiinny!" Kokichi cried out. "I found you!"

"K-Kokichi!? How did-?"

"Don't bother asking, silly." Kokichi winked at me while sticking his tongue out. "I am a supreme leader of evil. Lock picking is easy. You even knew that back on our first day here!" I blinked a few times. Damn it! I completely forgot he could pick locks! Hiding here was pointless! "So Rinny, how come you're hiding out here of all places? I guess you didn't want to be found if you didn't go to your dorm room." He then walked closer to me and formed a 'O' with his mouth. "Did you not sleep at all last night? Don't you know that isn't very healthy? Well, not like I care. But those bags under your eyes aren't doing you any favors." I sighed as I rubbed the bridge of my nose and groaned.

"Kokichi, why are you here?"

"Everyone is at the dining hall, but when you didn't show up, they started worrying that something happened to you. They were about to go search for you, but I already knew you were here, so I told them I would drag you over." Kokichi said with a smile.

"And if I said I wasn't in the mood to go?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Did you not hear me?" Kokichi smirked with an evil glint in his eyes. "I said I would drag you over. Your compliance isn't a factor."

"Huh?" I never got to ask for clarification as the self proclaimed leader of evil grabbed my arm like a vice grip and started literally dragging me out of the AV room. "K-Kokichi! Wait a minute!"

"No can do! You must listen to your supreme leader!" Kokichi said with an innocent smile.

"Who said anything about you being my leader?" I asked, trying to break out of his grip. Jesus, why the hell is someone his size this strong? Or am I just that weak?

"You did! Remember when we first met? You agreed to join my organization!" I mentally face-palmed. I did say that, didn't I? I guess Keebo was right back then. "As my loyal goon, I command you to come to the dining hall so we can continue the plot of this game!"

"Game? You don't really mean that, right?"

"Who knows? I'm a liar, after all." Kokichi smirked. This guy… It's so stupidly hard to get a read on this guy sometimes. Well, there is nothing I can do. This was going to have to happen eventually anyway. Might as well be today and right now. I let Kokichi drag me to the dining hall. Once there, he pushed open the doors with enthusiasm and cried out to everyone, grabbing all of their attention. "I found Rinny! He was moping in the AV room all night, so I really did have to drag him all the way here!" He said, pushing me into the room and forcing me to take a seat next to him and Rantaro. I chuckle nervously as I avert my tired eyes away from their concerned stares, though it didn't seem to do any good.

"Hahaha...good morning." I managed to say. "S-Sorry I came so late. I...must have missed the morning announcement…" I lied through my teeth. I could feel all of their gazes on me. I didn't want to be here at all.

"Rin...are you-?"

"I'm fine, thanks for asking." I interrupted Kaede. I didn't want to be rude, but I still didn't really want to talk. "You don't have to worry about anything."

"So Rinny! What was up with all that 'you're a killer' stuff Tsumugi was talking about?" Kokichi suddenly asked.

"Kokichi!" Kaede shouted as I stiffened immediately. Nope. Nope nope, nopety nope nope.

"W-Well… I… suppose I should go get some food and head off! Yeah…" I stood up and immediately made my way to the kitchen. I quickly grabbed a few things and started to make my escape through the back door of the kitchen. I never noticed the back door until now. Probably because of all the grass and other plants that were overgrown in here, but now that I take another look, it seems a lot better now. So much so that the door is actually visible. It makes for the perfect getaway.

"W-Wait Rin!" I hear someone say before they grab my arm. I turned to see that it was Shuichi. My own eyes widen at what I see. "Y-You don't have to go. We won't bother you about what happened if you don't want to talk about it. So, can we just eat together? Food has already been made." I blink a few times in confusion and turn back to the table. To my surprise, there wasn't just that interesting section on the small portion of the table today. It was like I had warped back to our second day here. There was what seemed like a feast on the table.

"Who-?" I started to ask, which caused Kaede to perk up and smile widely at me.

"I thought it would be nice to make everyone some breakfast today to help cheer everyone up! Though, I'm not really used to cooking, so I asked someone for help." Kaede then motioned to Rantaro. Rantaro just laughed as he rubbed his neck.

"It was really no problem. I enjoy cooking anyway." Rantaro said with an embarrassed smile.

"Yeah, c'mon Rin!" Kaito said with a smile, giving me a thumbs up. "You don't want to miss out on this, right?" The others then began to say something similar to wanting me to stay as well. I stared at everyone for a while with a dumbfounded look. They were all still concerned, and I could tell they still wanted to ask me a few things, but what surprised me the most was how they all seemed...friendly still. I took a moment, but I started to laugh a bit. A small chuckle soon rose to a loud laugh where I was clutching my sides.

"Why are you laughing?" Keebo asked, genuinely curious.

"O-Oh. Don't worry about that. I just remembered how weird you guys are." I said as I managed to stifle my laughter. "Fine. You've convinced me." I said as I went back to my seat and grabbed a plate. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, and even hashbrowns. Not the most complicated meal, like Kirumi's, but it still looked really good. And the gesture was really heartwarming for me. Everyone seemed to relax a bit as we all began to eat. As I took a bite, I was even more shocked. "Holy crap… you two made this stuff? It's amazing!" I said.

"Indeed. To say that this is wonderful would be an understatement." Kiyo said as he caressed himself. "Humanity really is lovely."

"Gonta think so too! Food is really good!" Gonta said happily.

"Really? I don't think it's anything too special. Besides, Rantaro did most of the work. I only helped when needed." Kaede said while hiding her blush.

"You were a big help though, and this whole idea was yours to begin with. You deserve just as much credit." Rantaro said with a reassuring smile.

"Hm? What's wrong, Kee-boy?" Kokichi asked Keebo, who was just staring at the food. "Oh yeah! I totally forgot you can't eat! Y'know, cuz you're a robot!"

"..." Keebo just looked dejected at that statement. He probably wishes he could eat the food.

"Hey now, don't look so down. I'll bring you a broken TV or something later for you to chew on." Kokichi said with a smile.

"Don't treat me as some sort of waste receptacle." Keebo said sternly.

"Then maybe you would want some oil instead?" Himiko asked.

"That's robophobic!" Keebo said loudly. "Besides, I'm powered by electricity!"

"Nyahaha! Everyone's getting along swimmingly today!" Angie cheered. It was true. Everyone was getting along, though it was clear to everyone that it was a bit forced. Why wouldn't it be? 2 of us were missing from this happy scene. But either way, we'll have to move on. We have no choice in the matter. We have to, because as that's the only way we can make sure our friends' deaths weren't in vain. Even if it's a bit forced, I'm sure we'll all get truly closer eventually. We'll all get stronger together. Speaking of which…

"By the way, Shuichi, where's your hat?" I asked. It caught me completely off guard before. The hat that Shuichi usually wore was nowhere to be seen. Now I could completely see his navy blue hair and eyes without the hat covering them. He even had an ahoge like me and Kaede. Shuichi blushed a bit as he pulled his hair down a bit since his hat was gone. Old habits die hard I guess.

"I just...didn't feel like wearing it anymore. I felt like...it was getting in the way, is all." Shuichi said softly. I couldn't help but smile. He's trying to be more confident in himself, isn't he? I bet Kaede really rubbed off on him. It's a nice change.

"Well I like this look for you a lot more." I said with a smile. "Besides, it makes you look like me and Kaede." I flicked my ahoge, causing it to bounce up and down a bit as I said that, causing both Kaede and Shuichi to laugh a bit.

"Keebo has one too." Kaede pointed out. "Though in his case, maybe it's actually an antenna."

"Don't tell me you're now going to say robophobic comments as well, Kaede!" Keebo exclaimed, causing a few more people to laugh.

"This is nice." I said quietly. "I feel stupid for worrying so much."

"So you're feeling a lot better now?" Rantaro asked me. I nodded.

"Yeah. I'm sorry for worrying you all. I just…" I trailed off a bit while speaking.

"You don't have to explain. It makes sense that a lot would be going through your mind after what happened." Ryoma said.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I had to freak out like I did." I sighed. "I...don't really want to discuss everything that happened yesterday, but I wouldn't mind answering a few of your questions if you want later maybe." I managed to push those words out.

"Don't worry about that right now!" Kaito said. "You don't gotta explain anything right now. Just focus on eating and regaining your strength. You didn't sleep last night, right? So focus on eating and resting today."

"Besides, we have other things to discuss as well." Ryoma added. "Like what Gonta was talking about earlier."

"Huh? What did Gonta say?" I asked.

"Gonta said he found some graffiti in the courtyard earlier today." Rantaro explained.

"Quit fussin' over that shit! It's probably pointless anyway!" Miu said loudly.

"Graffiti?" I questioned.

"Gonta looking for bug friends this morning. But then Gonta found words on concrete in grass." Gonta explained. "Words 'horse a' written there." He said.

"'Horse a'? What does that even mean?" I asked.

"No clue!" Kokichi answered happily. "Not even Shuichi or Kiyo could figure it out."

"If the Ultimate Detective or Ultimate Anthropologist couldn't figure it out, then perhaps it's just meaningless." Kaede suggested.

"I don't know about that. In this situation, it must have some kind of meaning." Rantaro said.

"Horse a…" I repeated. "What could it mean…?" Horse a, located in the courtyard...twins b, located in the boiler room… these are the hints for the Ultimate Survivor of this killing game. I cough on my coffee that I'm drinking. Rantaro and Shuichi ask if I'm ok, but I brush it off. My Foresight? Now? That hasn't happened since I saw Kaede's predicted execution. I kinda forgot about that special 'gift'. So this is a hint? Horse a and...twins b? "Hints for the Ultimate Survivor of this game"? Wait...then that means… I lean over to Rantaro and whisper to him. "I would remember this if I were you."

"Huh?" Rantaro questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I found something else in the boiler room before. Twins b. Horse a, and twins b… pretty sure they're hints for you. Don't really know why, but it's a gut feeling I have." With that I move back to my normal position and continue drinking my coffee. Rantaro gave me a confused look of suspicion as he raised an eyebrow at me, but he sorta just shrugged and went back to eating.

"How did Gonta even stumble across such a message?" Shuichi asked.

"Oh...Gonta found it cuz of tiny bugs." Gonta answered.

"Bugs? I thought this place was devoid of them." I said.

"Gonta think so too, since Gonta and Rin spent so long looking for bug friends." Gonta began. "But when searching today, Gonta think he see tiny bug."

"Think?" Himiko questioned.

"Bug so tiny, even Gonta no could see it. And Gonta have 20/0.625 eyesight."

"Y-You have eyesight that's that incredible!?" I exclaimed.

"Maybe Gonta make a mistake. But maybe...No, maybe Gonta just see things…" Gonta sighed.

"Gah! Just make up your mind already, you degenerate!" Tenko groaned at Gonta's indecisiveness.

"So you found that message while you were out chasing some bug?" Kokichi asked. "Wooow, Gonta! You did it! I knew I could rely on you since the moment we met!"

"What? Really?" Gonta asked.

"Yep! So you should work for me!" Kokichi claimed.

"Okay!" Gonta said with a smile.

"You're really going to agree just like that?" Kaede asked nervously.

"Be careful Gonta. That guy's a real liar." Kaito warned.

"What! Really?" Gonat asked.

"Haha, no way." Kokichi replied. "Besides, Rinny is already working for me too, so you can trust me."

"Good. Then Gonta have no reason to worry." Gonta replied.

"Since when is Rin a part of his organization?" Maki asked with a raised eyebrow, causing me to chuckle nervously.

"It's a...long story." I replied.

"Nee-heehee… Gonta, you're so gullible. Y'know, if you keep being this gullible…" Kokichi then made a creepy expression, one that almost seemed to invert his colors. "You'll be killed before you know it. Understand?" The room went cold with those words.

Dead, unadulterated, silence. You could cut through the tension with a knife. Of course, there was one of us who didn't understand the sudden mood change. "What's wrong, everyone? Is there a problem with Kokichi's advice?" Sweet, innocent, naive Keebo asked.

"The advice isn't what was wrong with what was said." I explained to Keebo. "There's something called 'tact' that Kokichi completely ignored and another thing called 'mood' that Kokichi just destroyed."

"Oh, Kokichi… You no should say thing like that, even as joke." Gonta said as sweat dripped down from his face.

"Hm? Say what, 'kill'? Has the K word been banned?" Kokichi asked in an innocent tone. He then swapped to a nervous facade and sweated a bit. "S-Sorry… I didn't know." He then swapped back to his happy smile and spread his arms in a grandeur pose. "But that's not very reasonable, is it? Not when the killing game is still happening."

"H-How can you be so insensitive…? Especially after what happened yesterday!" Tenko asked. "This is why I hate degenerate males! They're about as considerate as amoebas!"

"...It's that kinda talk that lets Monokuma play you all like fiddles." Kokichi said with an unamused look.

"What…?" Shuichi asked.

"Oh, did you hear that? Don't mind me. I was just talking to myself." Kokichi quickly said.

"...Wait a minute." I said, just now realizing what Kokichi could be implying. "Kokichi, do you-?"

"Helloooo! Looks like you guys are having a good time. Let me join in." Monokuma interrupted me by popping up out of nowhere, as he tends to do.

"Oh Monokuma! You're right! They're having a jolly good time ganging up on me!" Kokichi said.

"Isn't that your fault?" Maki asked.

"...Hm? Ganging up? No bullying! Bullying is not cool! Bullying is the worst!" Monokuma yelled. "Personally, I think bullying is cuz of lousy parenting. It's all the parents' fault! They should do a better job raising their kids!"

"Says the one putting us through a torturous killing game." I groaned as I rolled my eyes.

"Why are you even here?" Ryoma asked with a sigh.

"Ahh...I figured I'd give you guys a prize for surviving the class trial."

"A prize?" Kaede asked with a raised eyebrow. The Monokubs then bounced in while carrying a bag.

"R-Rise and shine, ursine…" Monotaro stammered out. "S-So you all need…the prize...right?"

"We...brought it, yep. So...I-I'll just give it to you then…" Monophanie shivered as she set the bag down.

"Hmm? My kids seem a little under the weather. Well, even so, they're still freakin' adorable." Monokuma said cheerfully.

"Are...you being bullied?" Himiko asked the cubs.

"Gah!" Monophanie gasped.

"Th-That's...um…" Monotaro nervously shook his head.

"I knew it. I understand...from experience." Himiko responded.

"That's...really sad." Shuichi said as sweat dropped from his face.

"F-From experience…? Himiko, were you a victim of bullying in the past!?" Tenko cried out as she rushed to Himiko's side. "Is that why your heart is broken and you can't express real emotions anymore!?"

"Was Tenko always this insightful?" I asked.

"Gaaahhh! Use your magic to turn the human rejects who bullied you into misshapen wretches!" Tenko told Himiko.

"I don't use magic for stuff like that. And no, Tenko is not that insightful. Don't just make up my backstory." Himiko moaned.

"Huh? Hold on, the Monokubs...bully each other?" Monokuma asked with a blank look.

"You do remember how Monokid bullied Monodam relentlessly before Monodam got revenge by literally killing him, right?" I pointed out. Monokuma just stood there taking it all in before he turned a dark shade of red.

"N-No way! The Monokubs should always get along! Hey, you kids play nice together, right!? I'm not a lousy parent, am I!? Even if you do bully each other real bad, it's not cuz I'm a bad dad, right!?"

"WE-ALL...GET-ALONG. ALWAYS." Monodam spoke, which shocked me a bit.

"Hm? Oh, yes...we do…" Monophanie said quietly, probably not wanting to upset her murderous brother.

"See? My children are good kids. They would never bully each other." Monokuma said, denying the truth.

"The bullying will never stop...because of people like you." Himiko said with a dark expression.

"Well, I think the threatening vibe we Monokubs give off is perfect." Monosuke smirked. "Cuz we're a team of scary badasses who are gonna drag you down to hell!"

"Ah-hahahaha! Such adorable little badasses!" Monokuma bellowed. Well, if Monokuma isn't going to do anything about the Monokubs killing each other, I'm not going to stop them. The less cubs means less Exisals that threaten us. It would actually be preferable for the cubs to destroy each other and allow us to run around as we please.

"...Anyway, we're gonna hand out the rewards youse all have been waitin' for." Monosuke said as he and the other cubs pulled out what was in the bag. "Listen up! Cuz we got these here fabulous, nonsensical prizes for youse! A Dragon Gem, An Ancient Passport, A Magic Key, and a Hexagonal Crank from some zombie game! These prizes all come in a bundle."

"Wow! What a bunch of random junk! Bravo, bravo!" Monotaro cheered.

"Yayyyy! I-I don't get why these are prizes, but aren't they lonely anway!?" Monophanie cried out.

"What's all this crap? What are we supposed to do with this?" Kaito asked.

"Honestly, I'm not sure." Monokuma admitted with an embarrassed look. "Maybe there's a way to use them without knowing what they're for? Who cares? Just put your best foot forward. It's easier to move forward than backward."

"How nice." Gonta praised.

"I wouldn't let Monokuma inspire you, Gonta." Rantaro said with a nervous laugh.

"Anyway, that's the situation so just do your best however you please!" Monokuma laughed as he left. The Monokubs argued amongst themselves a bit before also leaving.

"So...what should we do with this junk?" Maki asked.

"I think we should check around the campus again. We only have access to a small portion of it, so maybe this will open some areas up." Kaede suggested.

"I wonder what will open up if that's true." Ryoma pondered.

"I don't know…" I said. "From how Monokuma talked, it almost makes me think it's a trap."

"A trap?" Tenko asked.

"I have to wonder about Monokuma's purpose in this as well." Kiyo said. "I cannot fathom the reason he would want us to explore and open up new facilities for us to use."

"The rules also imply how he wants us to do just that." Rantaro added. "Rule 12. With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore the campus at your discretion. It's basically giving us incentive to explore."

"But why would he want that? Wouldn't it be bad for us to explore and find a way out or clues about this game?" Shuichi asked.

"Or perhaps he's hoping we'll find those clues or traps he's set up to make us want to kill even more." I suggested.

"So he might have planted new motives?" Keebo asked.

"If that's the case, then maybe we shouldn't fuckin' mess with this shit." Miu suggested.

"And that right there is the dilemma we have." I said. "If we use those items and explore, we could find clues to escape or learn more about the killing game and our situation, but we could also fall into a trap Monokuma planted. If we ignore it, we don't get anything good or bad, but that might aggravate Monokuma further. I'm a little at a loss as to what to do." I admitted.

"Atua says we should use the items." Angie suggested. "Ignoring the problem does nothing for us, but if we know what the problem is, then maybe we can work together to overcome it. That's what Atua tells me."

"Angie's right. This might be a trap, but we could learn something either way, whether it's good or bad. Even if it's a trap, we might learn about how Monokuma is trying to pressure us into killing and find a way to fight back." Shuichi added.

"That's not a bad idea. If we work together, and know that whatever we find could be a motive, then I'm sure we can handle it." Rantaro said with his usual calm smile.

"If that's the case, then I'll be taking the junk." Kokichi said as he reached over to grab the stuff.

"No, let's leave this to Shuichi and Rin." Kaito said as he handed both of us the junk.

"What? Me?" Shuichi asked.

"Why us?" I asked.

"Shuichi's the Ultimate Detective, and you're plenty smart too! I bet you both are great at solving puzzles like this." Kaito said. "Besides, I trust you both to figure this out."

"...Okay. We'll try." Shuichi said. I nodded at his statement. If they were going to trust me with this kind of task, the least I can do is try my best to figure it all out.

"Maaan… Whatevs, I guess that's fine. Any one of Rinny's achievements is like one of my own since he's my loyal goon." Kokichi said.

"Am I really just a mere goon?" I asked with a chuckle. "Well, I already know where to use one of these. This dragon gem can be used on that dragon statue on the second floor."

"The ancient passport can be used near the gym. I remember seeing a slot where this could fit when we first went to the gym." Shuichi said. "I don't remember anything this key can be used for though."

"Hmm…" Rantaro looked at the hand crank for a bit before snapping his fingers. "I think I know where to use the hand crank. I think it's somewhere in the courtyard."

"You think so? Here, take it then." I said as I handed him the crank.

"Alright. We know where to go. Let's split up and start exploring these new areas." Kaede said determinedly. Everyone agreed and we all split up. I was with Shuichi as we made our way to the first area that was suspicious. We both made our way to the hallway leading to the gym and saw Himiko and Tenko staring at a section of the wall.

"There's definitely something here." Himiko told us. "My magic is reacting."

"That's it Himiko! Use your magic to reveal that which is hidden!" Tenko cheered her on.

"Umm...maybe we should use the Ancient Passport." I suggested. The section of the wall we were looking at had 3 slots. 2 of them had items that looked like the Ancient Passport in it, but with different symbols on it. The 3rd slot was also empty, meaning we must have to add our passport to complete the set.

"Right." Shuichi agreed as he put the passport into the slot. Almost immediately, the wall crumbled away, revealing a dungeon-like hall.

"I knew it. My magic is always right." Himiko said.

"Ah, no, I used an item on this object, and-."

"It was my magic." Himiko cut Shuichi off as she spoke in a more serious tone.

"...Okay, sure." Shuichi sighed.

"That's amazing, Himiko!" Tenko cheered again. "With your magic, we can do anything." With that, the 2 girls walked down the creepy hallway, with me and Shuichi following behind them. We soon reached a blue door that had a magic circle with a strawberry in the middle of it drawn on it.

"Is this...an Ultimate Research Lab?" I asked.

"From the look of it, it's probably the Ultimate Magician's Lab." Shuichi said.

"That's wrong." Himiko objected. "If anything, it would be the Ultimate Mage's Lab."

"R-Right…" Shuichi said. With that, he opened the door and we entered a very...magical looking place. The room was decorated with magical looking artifacts and paintings. Inside the room were many magician's contraptions, like a box with a saw to cut it in half, a coffin that is stabbed by multiple swords, and a cauldron. There was even a cage of doves, a giant glass water container, multiple candles, and even a guillotine. There was also a table with a book of spells on it, as well as a magic top hat and wand. The final thing of note was a stand that had what looked like Himiko's hat on it, as well as a cape. "As I suspected, it's full of stuff related to magic tricks-."

"Whose research lab is this?" Himiko asked. "If it's supposed to be mine, then there should be magical items…Right?"

"Right…? Why are you asking me?" Shuichi asked. Meanwhile, Tenko couldn't contain her excitement.

"Amazing! With this, Himiko will be able to perform even greater magic! I bet that with this stuff, her magic will even beat Monokuma!" Tenko cheered.

"Nyeeeh...you're too loud…" Himiko moaned as she pulled her hat down to hide a tint of red on her face. "But I'm disappointed. They mixed up magic tricks and real magic. But this is a pretty thorough collection." I walked up to the box with the saw with a concerned look.

"So...what are going to do about the weapons in this room?" I asked while pointing my thumb to the saw. "This room doesn't exactly have a lock."

"Are you suggesting one of us might actually kill again? There's no reason for us to do that now!" Tenko argued.

"But Rin has a point. This room is filled with dangerous weapons. Maybe we should do something about them." Shuichi suggested.

"Maybe we can have Miu make some locks or something. The warehouse might also have locks." I suggested.

"That's a good idea, but we should explore the other areas before we do that." Shuichi said.

"Monokuma and the Monokubs said that there's a lab for everyone, right? Why did they go through the trouble of doing that?" I asked.

"They did say that this place was made for the 17 of us specifically..." Shuichi said.

"Well, you 16. I wasn't supposed to be here. I'm not sure that they'll accommodate me like that." I chuckled nervously. "I have to wonder if I have a research lab. If so, what would be in it?"

"Maybe we'll find it during our search of the new areas!" Tenko exclaimed. "Even if you are a degenerate, it would definitely be interesting to find out what your talent is." I was a little surprised by Tenko's words, but nodded.

"Right. We should head off to the next area then." I said.

"I'll stay here and check the tools here." Himiko stated as she began to examine the stuff in her lab.

"I'll stay here too! I'll make sure Himiko is safe." Tenko said. Me and Shuichi nodded and we went to the next area.