Ding dong, bing bong

"Rise and shine, ursine!"

"THIS-IS-AN-OFFICIAL-ANNOUNCEMENT-FROM-THE-ULTIMATE-ACADEMY… IT-IS-NOW-8-A.M. HAVE-A-WONDERFUL-"

"Oh shut up…!" I mumbled while still half asleep, throwing one of the many pillows I had at the monitor before burying my head under many more pillows and blankets. Sleep is soooooo nice. I don't have a single care in the world. Just sleep. My strategy seemed to block out whatever the kubs were saying, which is fine by me. They never have anything useful to say anyway. Of course, right when I was getting comfortable again…

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

"Oh COME ON!" I shouted as I got out of bed and walked to the door. "What do you want?" I asked as I opened the door.

"Rin! Good, you're okay!" Kaito exclaimed with a sigh of relief. Immediately, I'm brought out of my tired daze.

"Okay…? Wait, what happened? Why are you freaking out?" I asked with urgency.

"You don't know?" Kaito asked.

"Uhh...no? Just woke up."

"Did you get anything like this?" Kaito asked as he held up what looked like a Monopad, though it was yellow with red, pink, green, blue, and orange paint splats on the back of it. It also had the word 'Kubs Pad' embellishing the back of it as well.

"Kubs Pad? No, I didn't get anything like that. Hang on." I said as I looked back into my room, with Kaito entering as well to look for it. "Nope. Nothing new. Where did you get that?"

"It was in my room when I woke up! Everyone got one!"

"Everyone? Except me? What even is it? May I see?"

"W-Wait! Rin, don't-!" He didn't get to finish as I grabbed his Kubs Pad and touched the screen, the screen coming to life as I did.

"Alright! Back by popular demand, it's time for the motive video!" Monokuma's voice rang out as I saw the title 'Maki Harukawa's Motive Video' in bold.

"Maki?" I questioned as the video went to Maki dressed in a red hood with a crossbow in her hand. Oh no…

"Maki Harukawa, the Ultimate As-"

"Oh shit!" I screamed as I hurriedly pressed the screen again, pausing the video. I quickly turned to Kaito with a terrified expression. "You didn't...happen to watch this, did you?" Kaito just stared at me before he pointed at me with an expression of complete shock.

"YOU KNEW ABOUT HER TALENT!?" He shouted. I face palmed at that.

"So you did watch the video." I sighed. "And since you know, I might as well tell you that yes I did know. I figured it out on my own, though it's nice having real confirmation about it." I then turned to the video again and bit my lip. "I want to know what this video is about since I didn't get one, especially if it's as bad as you're making it out to be. May I?" Kaito gritted his teeth before he sighed and nodded. "Thank you." I thanked him before I started the video again, rewinding it a little before I did.

"Maki Harukawa, the Ultimate Assassin. Maki's life has been full of misfortune, all of it starting in a special orphanage that raised kids for the Holy Salvation Society, a cult that scouts kids to turn them into assassins. Maki was just one of the unlucky, or perhaps lucky, few to be picked to join their ranks. The Holy Salvation Society holds power over the orphanage, meaning they can do whatever they want to it if Maki does something they don't like. So, Maki follows their orders in order to protect the orphanage and make sure they stay afloat. The orphanage is everything to Maki, being the closest thing she has to family. She grew up with all the kids there, and helped take care of them and their needs, becoming a caretaker of sorts to them, despite what she truly is. However, these precious children that Maki helped protect and take care of...they have suffered from an unfortunate accident. What kind of accident? It's a secret! Find out for yourself. Puhuhuhuhuhuhu…" Once the video cut off and Monokuma's voice disappeared, I found myself letting the Kubs Pad drop out of my grasp.

"What...was that?" I muttered in shock and disgust. "That was...a motive? That's...horrible! Maki's orphanage! How...Why!?"

"I know." Kaito said as he put his hand on my shoulder. "We can't stay here. Everyone got one, but they seem to have mixed up. We need to all talk about it in the dining hall. C'mon." I turned to Kaito and nodded, picking up his Kubs Pad and returning it before we headed out to the dining hall. When we got there, everyone was already seated, and panic was very apparent.

"We're here. Sorry for the wait." Kaito told everyone.

"About time." Maki scoffed. "So what is it? Why did you drag us here?" My eyes widened as I leaned over to Kaito.

"You didn't tell her?" I whispered, a bit angry at that.

"Of course not!" He whispered back. "How the hell do you think she would react if I told her I knew her real talent and her family was in danger?"

"...Good point." I'm still panicked by what I saw. Kaito at the very least seems to have calmed down and thought about things a bit. While we whispered, Keebo answered Maki's question.

"It's about the motive we all were given. Those Kubs Pads, to be exact. We can't not talk about it."

"That thing that looks like another Monopad? That was a motive?" Maki asked with a skeptical look.

"Maki, haven't you watched the video on the Kubs Pad yet!?" Tenko asked frantically.

"No. I ignored it because I figured it was something stupid." Wow...that...might actually have been the right mind set with this. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like the others had the same train of thought.

"I wish I did that. I sort of regret turning it on now." Kaede said sadly.

"You don't have to speak up, but this is important, so you should at least listen." Kaito then said.

"So, what are these videos?" Kokichi asked. "They look like our new motives to me."

"No doubt about that. They literally show the words 'Motive Video' when you turn it on." Rantaro said with a dry chuckle that quickly turned to a stern expression. "What I want to know is why they're all mixed up."

"Y-Yeah! Why Gonta get Kaede's video-?"

"No! Don't say it, Gonta!" Keebo shouted.

"...Hm?" Gonta tilted his head in confusion.

"So Gonta has mine, huh?" Kaede said before turning her head to the table with a sad look.

"Huh? Gonta not supposed to say it?" Gonta asked innocently.

"Who fuckin' cares!? We're gonna exchange 'em anyway, right?" Miu asked.

"No, we cannot exchange them." Keebo immediately answered.

"Why not? They're videos of the most important people in our lives." Ryoma asked.

"That's precisely why we can't exchange them. Although we do not know why our motives were mixed up, as long as we don't exchange them, we don't have to see our motives at all." Keebo explained.

"So it's better to just ignore them…" Himiko summarized.

"Yes. At least, that is what I think."

"I see. If we ignore them, then the motive will be powerless against us. Nyahaha! How divine! This must be Atua's doing!" Angie cheered.

"I'm against that." Ryoma said with a dark expression.

"Against it? But why? If you see that video, it'll turn into a motive, right?" Kaede questioned him.

"That's why I want to see it." Ryoma clarified.

"Y-You do?" Shuichi asked nervously.

"Hey! What do you think-" I stopped Kaito before he could continue, shaking my head at him. Kaito looked at me and sighed as he listened. Ryoma then took a look at me and Rantaro.

"Rantaro, Rin...You feel the same way, don't you?" Ryoma asked us. "These videos said everyone's talent at the start of the video, as well as gave information you two might want. So you want to watch your videos too, right?"

"They said everyone's talent at the beginning?" Maki asked with a more stern expression. She probably just realized what that means for her video.

"If I'm honest...I do feel the same." Rantaro said. "I do think we should exchange the videos, but I don't care if we do or don't. I think I'm fine with or without whatever my video might show me."

"...Fair enough." Ryoma nodded. "And you?" He asked as he turned to me. I thought about it for a while. My motive video...what could it have? Do I even have a video? I didn't get one when I woke up, so I can't be sure. But if I do have one…

"...Yes. I think I would quite like to see it if I have one. The possibility of learning my talent, and the people in my life, I want to know." I answered.

"I agree with them!" Kokichi then shouted.

"Are you just trying to cause trouble again?" Keebo asked.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not saying we shouldn't care about killing or dying…" Kokichi said. "But I think it'd be better if we didn't cooperate with each other. Actually, we definitely shouldn't cooperate with each other!" There's that feeling again. The feeling Kokichi isn't sharing everything with us. I always get this feeling around him, and it's stronger now that I know what he commissioned Miu to make.

"We shouldn't cooperate? Why not?!" Tenko asked angrily.

"Think back to all of Monokuma's actions so far." Kokichi began. "Whenever we tried to work together, Monokuma would retaliate with a plan to make us suffer. It happened when Kaede wanted us to cooperate, and again with these motive videos, right? Which means, the more we try to cooperate, the more he'll try to make us suffer."

"So by staying independent from each other, and playing this game in our own individual groups, then Monokuma won't try to make things more difficult for us? Is that what you are saying?" Kiyo asked.

"Kokichi does have a point." I begrudgingly agreed. "The very moment we banded together under Kaede's leadership, Monokuma crushed us with the Despair Road. Then, after we thought the game was over and started getting along, he introduced the First Blood Perk. Monokuma seems to work under a pattern. He wants to knock us down when we feel like we're unstoppable." I'm admitting that, but I hate it. Because if it's pointless to work together...then Kirumi's death...and even Tsumugi's death...then their sacrifices would have been in vain.

"Rinny get's it. That's why I had no choice but to screw with you guys. But you ingrates didn't even notice." Kokichi whined.

"You're not lying about that, are you?" Kaede asked.

"Why do you assume everything he says is a lie?" I asked.

"...Whether I'm lying or not, what I'm saying is still true." Kokichi answered. "Anyway, we shouldn't force ourselves to cooperate. Let's just all do our own thing. So, I agree with Ryoma's and Rin's opinions." There was a moment of silence before Kokichi spoke again. "Anyway, I'm warning you all for your sake. Let's just exchange our motive videos instead of cooperating with each other."

"...I cannot comprehend that logic." Keebo muttered.

"I can...maybe." I found myself saying. That got everyone to turn to me as if I just grew 3 extra heads. Even Kokichi was surprised at that, having a shocked, but extremely amused look on his face.

"Rin, what are you saying? I can understand you wanting to see your video, but wanting us to all exchange and get our own videos? You really think that's a good idea?" Kaito asked me.

"I don't think you quite understand this situation. You're focusing on the wrong problem that I have with this motive." I told them. "Tell me, are you completely sure that everyone got different motive videos?"

"Huh?"

"I'll ask again. Are you 100% confident that all the videos were mixed up, and not a single person has their own video?" I asked. "If I were Monokuma, why would I want everyone trying to kill each other at the same time? That would be complete chaos in this 'sophisticated experience' as he described it. I would pick 1...maybe 2 or 3 people to tempt, and wait to see what happens. That way, it can be more predictable. Besides, Tsumugi, the supposed mastermind, killed Kirumi, remember? The ones forcing us to play aren't above using dirty tricks on us. How do we know that they aren't doing something similar to us now? In fact, I have proof that they're doing something like that."

"You do?" Rantaro asked.

"Yeah. I didn't get a video." I told them, causing everyone to gasp at that.

"You didn't get one at all!?" Tenko gawked.

"Nope. I only found out about them and what they were from Kaito. There wasn't one in my room. That must mean things are different for me."

"That's right!" Monokuma shouted as he appeared.

"M-Monokuma!" Gonta shouted.

"You said my name, so I shall appear!" Monokuma exclaimed before turning to me. "As for you, Mister Wakuri, as usual, you are a special case in this motive."

"Special case?" I repeated.

"You're an amnesiac, so you can't remember anything about your past, unlike these buffoons. So if you got your motive video, it would affect you differently than them, I'm sure. You'd probably want to see it, and it might even give you strength and hope, in a way. So, in order for you to get your own motive video, a murder has to occur, and THEN you'll get your video." Monokuma explained.

"I have to kill first, or let someone else kill? Really? Is that what you got for me this time? You must know that I would never kill just for a chance to learn about myself." I sighed in disappointment.

"Is that so? Then how about I give you a little taste to get you going? After all, your video is special!" Monokuma giggled as he pulled a Kubs Pad out of nowhere and tapped the screen.

"H-Hey...can I ask you why you decided to help me back then? Everyone else was just leaving me alone, so how come you stayed and believed me? I-It's not like I'm s-special or anything." I froze when I heard that voice. A girl's voice. That's...That's…!

"Well, I know from experience how hard it is to be in that situation, all alone with no one to believe in you. It doesn't matter who you are. Since this is my job now, I've decided that's the kind of person I want to be. Someone who will believe when no else will." My voice then responded from the Kubs Pad.

"That's…!" I stammered. Without a moment to think, I found myself lunging at Monokuma to grab the Kubs Pad. Monokuma jumped over me and landed on another table and just started cackling. "You…! Give me that!"

"Well, well! It seems it only took a single girl's voice and two simple sentences to make you want this video more than anything!" Monokuma taunted.

"Shut up!" I shouted. "That video… What is it!?"

"As I said, you're a special case." Monokuma giggled. "This video is more like a memory."

"M-Memory?" I repeated.

"That's right! Since the flashback lights seem to not work on you, I figured it would be kind to throw you a bone with this video. It holds a very special memory of yours, one you held close to your fragile heart. If someone...ANYONE dies, then this video, and the memory it holds, will be yours again. What exactly is on it? That's for you to find out after you killed one of your classmates, or even just standby as you watch one of them die. Puhuhuhu...This will be interesting." With that Monokuma disappeared, leaving me with only my frustration.

"Damn it!" I shouted, punching the table I had lunged against. My act of anger created a huge BANG, and my knuckles now felt sore. "That scheming...malicious...cheating...bastard…! He got me! He's using the one thing he has that to tempt me. To trick me into playing this game!"

"Rin…" I looked up and saw everyone looking at me. That's right, everyone is here. Kaede was the one approaching me, her usual kind, concerned expression showing. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just...startled." I nodded as I took a deep breath. "This damn game is starting to really piss me off. And here I stupidly thought he wouldn't have anything for me. Guess I was wrong." I then turned to everyone with a serious expression. "That's the kind of monster we're dealing with. He's willing to use any underhand method against us. He'll change and twist the rules of his own game in order to make us play. The fact he didn't say anything about the videos being mixed up or a mistake happening with them proves my point further. He's planned this out. He knows what he's doing. These videos...are incredibly dangerous."

"Then why do you want us to watch them? Why agree with Kokichi's statement of 'not cooperating'?" Rantaro asked.

"Well-"

"It's because he wants the killing game to start like I do! Shouldn't that be obvious?" Kokichi interrupted me. "We all saw how much Rin wanted that video about his past, right? He's just as dangerous, or perhaps even more dangerous now that he has a motive as well. He's probably thinking about how to get away with killing someone right now. Knowing Rinny, he could probably easily trick someone stupid like Kaito into a trap and easily get away with it."

"Who're you calling stupid!?" Kaito shouted.

"Kokichi, you know full well that I wouldn't kill anyone for something like a memory, no matter how precious it is." I crossed my arms. "Let me clarify. I never said 'let's swap motive videos'. I said 'I understand Kokichi's line of thought'. Just giving everyone their motive video won't do us any good. It'd create more problems than anything."

"Then shouldn't we just ignore the videos?" Himiko asked.

"No. Again, there's the possibility that one of us, or perhaps a few of us, got their own videos and have motives to kill." I once again said. "Here's my solution: we should all watch everyone's video."

"Watch everyone's video?" Shuichi repeated.

"If we watched all the videos together, then we would know everyone's motives, and who would be most likely to kill. Information is power, and with this, we'd have the best chance at preventing a murder from happening since we would know who to keep taps on."

"That's your plan? That has plenty of flaws to it!" Miu shouted. "For one, we'd all know our own motives, giving every one of us our motive to kill! How could we keep tabs on each other if we're trying to kill someone as well?"

"I'll admit, it isn't a perfect plan. I doubt there ever will be one in a situation like this." I responded. "However, we can't just ignore our problems. Like Kaito said with the flashback light, we can't win by just running away. Sometimes we need to be reckless. Sometimes, we need to trust each other."

"Trust each other?" Kaede repeated.

"Yes, there are risks to this. Each one of you will know which important person in your life is being threatened, and I still won't have my own video. We all will have our motives, but we need to trust each other that we can do the right thing. Some of us will have stronger motives, I'm sure, and they won't be able to resist the temptation. That's inevitable no matter what we do, but at least we'll have an idea of who will break and why. We'll be prepared at the very least. We just...need to trust each other at least a little and be brave. Kokichi is right. Monokuma doesn't want us to cooperate. He wants us to be against each other in a real battle royale. But he doesn't want us to cooperate because he can't really do anything to us if we actually work together like this. We become a threat that requires his attention. This is a death game. Surviving is going to be hard. Not killing is going to be hard. But the easy way is paved in blood, so we need to take the hard path."

"But Gonta think Gonta's video have thing Gonta want to keep secret. Personal family secret!" Gonta told me.

"Then we have to trust each other like I said." I told him.

"Your words may sound beautiful, but they are flawed. Mere trust between us won't stop any potential killers." Kiyo then said.

"I know." I nodded. "I'm not saying we should have blind faith in each other. That's ridiculous. Belief without doubt is just a lie you're telling yourself. It doesn't exist. That's why we need to trust each other just enough to get by. Keep each other at arm's length to prevent someone from backstabbing another, but not far enough away that people get lost on the path to freedom. This isn't a scenario where one person can get by all by himself. I learned that first hand here myself. So come on. What do you all say? I don't have my own motive video, but I've already braced myself for the long haul. I refuse to kill, even if it means I will never learn about who I am. That's a sacrifice I'm willing to make, but that still doesn't change the fact that this decision doesn't affect me. I won't force you all to listen to me, but I ask that you at least consider it. Should we ignore the videos, swap them, or watch them all together?" There was a moment of pause and consideration, almost everyone genuinely thinking about what I said. That is, until someone spoke up.

"Nope! I still want to swap videos, of course." Kokichi chirped happily, nothing changing that cheerful smirk he wore.

"I also disagree with your plan." Maki then said as she gave me a cold glare.

"I'm sorry, but I can't agree with it either. It has too many risks." Kaede told me.

"Hmm...your plan is interesting. It has risks, but I think it's worth considering." Rantaro then told me.

"I…" Shuchi began before closing his mouth and shaking his head. "...Nevermind." Soon, most people were stating their hesitation and refusal to my plan, almost all of them stating how they felt it was safer to just ignore the videos. Rantaro was the only person who openly agreed with my plan. There were a few who didn't agree or disagree with my plan though, namely Ryoma, Shuichi, and Tenko. I sighed when I realized that no one was going to follow through with my plan.

"Okay. Majority is for leaving the videos alone, not revealing who has who's and not sharing their contents. I can understand why. It is the opinion with the least amount of risk. I still don't like it, but I won't say anything more on the subject. I doubt there's anything else I can convince you all to change your mind."

"If that's the case, then I think I'll bounce. I still don't want to cooperate with you all at all and swap videos, so I can't afford to be seen with you losers." Kokichi said. "C'mon, Gonta. Let's go."

"What? Gonta, too!?" The big guy asked while pointing at himself.

"We promised to think of a way to get everyone to exchange their motive videos, remember?"

"Huh? Gonta no remember that. And Gonta just said he no want to share videos."

"Perhaps, but a promise is still a promise. A gentleman wouldn't break their promise, right?" Kokichi asked.

"T-True… Gentleman never lie or break promise."

"Then hurry up and let's get started." Kokichi laughed as he skipped out of the cafeteria.

"W-Wait, Kokichi. You no should run in halls!" Gonta cried out as he followed the supreme leader.

"And he's gone. Gonta still can't tell when Kokichi is lying, I guess." Kaede sighed worriedly.

"Quit screwing around… Even after we all decided what we were going to do, he still runs off and does whatever he wants." Kaito mumbled. "'For our sake'? Yeah, right. I've had it with his lies."

"So are we all done here? Then I'm leaving." Maki said as she left.

"I'm heading out too…" Ryoma said softly as he also started to leave.

"Wait up, Ryoma!" Kaito called out. "Don't forget. We're all struggling to get out of here alive. So don't get in our way…"

"Kaito!" I shouted. "Don't-!"

"I've got no intention of getting in your way." Ryoma cut me off. "I'd never do something so uncool." With that, Ryoma left.

"Kehehe… What an interesting discussion that has occurred here." Kiyo chuckled to himself. "How, I wonder, will this turn out…? I will observe with great interest." Soon after that, we all finished breakfast and started to do our own thing for the day. I was left alone in the Shrine of Judgement, sitting by the fountain like I did when I modeled for Angie. I was just sitting there looking up at the sky. The sky above us...is still off. I think I noticed that before. The sky looked too perfect. It was too blue. The clouds were moving at a weird pace, and they were shaped too...typically. Maybe I'm just letting it all get to my head. I already have a pit in my stomach from the motive, so perhaps that's making me more paranoid.

"...Is this really the right thing?" I found myself asking out loud, despite being completely alone. I don't like this. I don't like how we're just ignoring the problem in front of us. I understand why, but I can't help but feel fidgety. I could feel it. The same feeling of dread that soaked the campus when the time limit was announced. The cold feeling of approaching death. Someone's going to kill again. It's only a matter of time. I don't have proof, but someone must have gotten their own video. There's no way Monokuma is so incompetent that all the videos got mixed up. But what can I do about it? I don't know who has who's video, and I can't just ask them to tell me or show me which videos they got. The first thing I need is the most important thing I need: information. And there's only one way I can do that. This is the only way 8 can get info that has a high chance of success, while also having zero risk to myself.

"...Foresight." I mumbled as I closed my eyes and focused. It's been about two days since I actively used it, and I have used it a whole lot, but if I remember correctly, I can use it by asking myself a question. It hasn't been wrong before, and I know I can use it on specific questions, not just random thoughts. This is the only tool I can rely on right now. Alright...who has who's motive videos?

Shuichi has Kaito's video. Kokichi has his own. Kirumi has her own. Ryoma has Maki's. Maki has Ryoma's. Gonta has Tsumugi's. Tsumugi has…

"Good...good...wait what?" I said when I processed what Foresight just gave me. It gave me everyone's videos, but something was extremely wrong about this. Many contradictions are easily visible in the information I just got. The huge glaring issue is Maki's video. I already know Kaito has her video, so Ryoma can't have it. Not only that, Foresight also told me that Kirumi has her own, but Kirumi...she's dead. There's no need for her to have any video. The same applies to Gonta. Not only does he have Kaede's video, but there's no reason he would have gotten Tsumugi's video since she is dead as well. Strangest of all, while I got videos for Kirumi and Tsumugi, Kaede and Rantaro were listed at all. So...is any of the information that I got even reliable? Shuchi might have Kaito's, Kokichi might have his own, Maki might have Ryoma's, and what I learned about the others might be true, but the fact that some of this stuff is obviously wrong makes it all untrustworthy. It's almost completely invalid. Foresight...failed me. But why? Foresight's never been wrong before. Is this just a fluke? Hang on, let's test it again. I need to ask something I can confirm easily, so...uhh...what was Rantaro doing with his Monopad back when I found him in the library?

He is the Ultimate Survivor, meaning he gets Survivor Perks in the Killing Game. One of them is a special Survivor Monopad that has a map of the entire school, even the inaccessible areas like the hidden room in the library, though the hidden passage in the girl's bathroom is not shown. It also holds a message to Rantaro from himself before his memory was wiped, telling him about the Ultimate Hunt early and warning him to not trust anyone as he tries to stop the Mastermind.

"So that's it. That explains so much, it has to be right." I mumbled when I got the info. So he does have two talents. The Ultimate Adventurer and the Ultimate Survivor. Quite the talented teenager. But what does Ultimate Survivor mean? I understand his Adventurer title, but Survivor? And that talent gives him perks for this killing game? How does that work? Still, it fits. That's how he learned about the hidden door and the Ultimate Hunt before the others did. That's why he had his Monopad out when I found him. That's actually the thing he might have wanted to show me before the murder happened. I should confirm it though, just to be 100% sure. Still, this Foresight seems to be right, so how come the info on the videos was wrong? Though now that I think about it, I still don't fully understand Foresight. I might rely on it a lot, but it's one of the biggest mysteries I need to solve. Why do I just know things? Does it have to do with my talent or who I am? If I find out, will I learn more about myself? "...So strange." I sighed as I looked to my side, down towards the water of the fountain. The water just rippled at a fast pace as the water spilled from the top down to the bottom. But then I noticed something. There was something in the water. I squinted my eyes at it, but couldn't make it out. The water was rippling too much. I leaned closer to it, but still couldn't see it. I leaned farther, and farther, and farther, getting right up to the water's surface. "Aah!" That is, until I slipped and fell into the fountain itself.

My entire body was swallowed up by the water in an instant. My entire body is soaked now. However, I didn't feel anything underneath me. The fountain should be shallow, so how come I can't feel the bottom? I opened my eyes, only to see that I was in an endless void of water. It was everywhere, and I couldn't see where the surface or bottom was. W-Was this the fountain? That's when something caught my eye. The same thing that I had seen in the water before, but now I could see it clearly. Ryoma's limb body. I immediately tried to scream, only to choke on water as it filled my mouth, forcing me to shut it in an attempt to save what little air I had. I looked back to Ryoma and took in everything I saw.

His body...was completely limb, no movement of resistance coming from him. He...is probably already dead. Handcuffs were around his hands, scratches covering the metal rings. Just when I thought that was it, small objects rushed past me, swimming right at Ryoma. Piranhas. That's what they were, and they immediately dug their teeth into the lifeless body in front of them. There were so many, they completely swarmed the body, obscuring it from view entirely. The water around me started turning dark shades, looking more like blood than water. After a few more seconds, the piranhas had finished their meal, leaving nothing behind but Ryoma's bones and the handcuffs. The skeleton then fell down to the bottom of the void, landing on the ground covered by the darkness I could not see through. Horrible was the only word to describe it. No, actually, there is another. Deplorable. I felt sick to my stomach watching Ryoma be eaten like raw meat.

Before I could do anything else, I felt my body being yanked up from where I was. Within a single blink, I was out of the water-filled void and back in the Shrine of Judgement, gasping for air as I raised my head from the fountain, the water now only reaching slightly above my knees when I was sitting on knees. Nowhere as deep as what I felt while in the void. My entire front side was drenched, having been lying face down in the water. I was gasping for air, having been submerged for who knows how long. I quickly looked around. No one was with me. My body had pulled me out of the vision due to the lack of air in my lungs. I slowly got out of the fountain as I thought about what I saw.

Another Foresight vision, like with Rantaro and Kaede. I wish these were less sudden. I nearly thought I would drown. Still, I guess I should be grateful I got the information, and without any panic attack this time. Hurray… Wish it wasn't so sickening everytime. But now I know who's likely to be the next victim: Ryoma. He has to be the victim, not the blackened, since that didn't look or feel like an execution. Can't say I'm too surprised by who the victim is, though. Ryoma has sort of painted a target on his back with his talk of 'having no reason to live' nonsense. Makes sense how someone might see him as an easy potential target. Yet...I can't see him just letting that happen, at least not now. He told us himself, he didn't want to hinder our escape. He must have been ambushed, or perhaps he walked into a trap.

And then there's the way he died. The vision wasn't clear on the cause of death. What I saw was more so what happened to him after he died. So how did he die? He was in water, so maybe drowning? But drowning takes a long time to do, so he couldn't have drowned there...wherever that was. He also didn't seem to have any external wounds, so I can't really figure out a good cause of death that's definitive. The one thing I do know is that his body gets fed to piranhas for some reason. Why would anyone do that to someone's dead body? Urgh...too many questions. That vision gave me way too many questions and not enough answers. Will I learn more if I see a vision of Ryoma's would-be killer? I quickly shake the thought away. If it's like the vision I had of Kaede, it will probably be of their execution, something I never wanted to see again after Kaede's and Tsumugi's.

I ran my wet hand down my equally wet face as I started heading back to my dorm room. I need to get changed into dry clothes and think about this more. I need to know more if I want to do anything. And there's only one way to do that. I need to start investigating immediately, and the first thing I want to figure out is what exactly our Survivor has up his sleeves.