Surprise, bitch. Bet you thought you'd seen the last of me. After two months of not posting, I'd have thought so too. I needed a mental health break from Danganronpa as a whole, but I'm so happy to be back and working on this fic again. I've also got a couple new projects for another fandom I'm really excited about so be on the watch for that if you're into Total Drama :) Sorry if this chapter is a little off I'm still getting back in my rhythm.


"Alright, everyone! Let's all talk about what we found!" I stood at the head of the table alone. Everyone else who stood here ended up dead. "I'll start. Right in front of the stairs, there's a big rec room with a bunch of different games and magazines. There's even a pool table!"

"Really? Then I shall have to see it for myself. If anyone ever wishes to play Othello, please let me know," Celeste smiled.

Mukuro stood up straight and saluted. "I checked every window on the third floor. Each was just as impenetrable as the last."

"Leon and I found stairs to a fourth floor," Makoto continued. "But it was blocked off."

"We also found a huge physics lab with some big machine," Leon added. "I mean, that thing took up half the room! Apparently it's some kinda bigass air purifier."

"Monokuma showed u[ when we saw it," Makoto shuddered, "and tried to tell us it was a time machine. What a load of crap." His eyes brightened. "Oh, but we also found this!" He pulled out a small camera covered in pink and an oddly familiar anime girl sticker. "There weren't any photos or videos saved on it, but we tried it out and it works pretty well. It looks like it's got a lot of space on it, too-"

"Let me see that!" Hifumi demanded, snatching it from him. He turned it over in his hands, baffled. "This can't be... This is my limited edition Demon Angel Pretty Pudgy Princess digital camera! It went missing with my phone and Epad when we got here!" He looked distraught. "Oh, you poor thing. You're all scratched up!" He cradled it in his hands mournfully.

"Perhaps you can find someone to restore it when we're out," Sakura suggested.

"As if! Do you have any idea how rare this is?! Even if I have it restored-" He held it out for us to see- "it'll never be the same! It'll become a forgery, a mere shell of its former glory! What value does it even have anymore?!"

"Then, if you no longer want it, may I have it?" Celeste asked. "I am sure I can come up with some use for it."

"Sure," he sighed dejectedly, putting it in her outstretched palm. "Just try not to break it, okay? It was pretty expensive..."

"Do not worry. I am always careful with my belongings." She slid it into one of the pockets in her skirt. Seriously, how does she have so many hidden pockets in there?!

"Speaking of pictures," Kyoko interrupted, "Hina and I found something in the repository earlier that confused us. Mukuro, do you know if Sayaka and Junko ever met before coming here?"

"As far as I'm aware, they met for the first time here at Hope's Peak. Junko never told me otherwise," she told her, almost robotically.

"Interesting. And, Makoto-" she turned in her chair- "you and Sayaka went to the same junior high, correct? Was Junko a student there as well? Or Mondo?"

"No, not that I remember," he replied, confused. "Why? What's going on?"

"In the art repository, there was a photo lying on the ground. It was a photo of Sayaka and Junko taking a selfie together, with Mondo behind them," she explained. "Monokuma took it from us before we could bring it for everyone else to see. But it was definitely the three of them."

"Yeah, and that's not all! The windows in the classroom they were in were all open, and they were all smiling really big! It was like they were all at a normal high school together or something."

"B-But that's impossible," Toko stammered. "W-We all met here, a-at Hope's Peak."

"Very strange indeed," Byakuya wondered. "It could be photoshopped, of course, but if it was, then the mastermind must have access to a very impressive set of digital tools."

"Maybe..." Chihiro thought. "Do you think the mastermind is another Ultimate student, like us? And that's how they were able to trick us all into coming? They could be the Ultimate Photoshopper or Ultimate Editor or something!"

"That's one possibility," Kyoko agreed. "But somehow, I doubt it. It's... too much to edit together. Too detailed, too specific. By all evidence in the photo, it was a completely genuine picture."

"Then perhaps," Celeste suggested, "they were not being as truthful as we believed. And perhaps it was not just them. We may have a traitor in our midst."

Her words filled the room with a bone chilling silence. It threw me off. I hadn't even considered that. Should I have?

"I've been thinking the same thing," Byakuya agreed. "In fact, I've suspected that since the beginning. Doesn't it seem likely? That the mastermind would have someone among us to keep things moving?"

"Mukuro would be the obvious candidate," Celeste continued. "After all, she is Junko's sister, and they were rooming together."

"But Mr. Owada was killed right in front of us! And so were Ms. Enoshima and Ms. Maizono!" Hifumi shot back. "How could their deaths be fake?!"

"Yeah, and it's not just them," Makoto agreed. Taka and Hiro were killed too."

"Kiyotaka and Yasuhiro were both killed by Sayaka and Junko," Celeste pointed out. "But Sayaka, Junko, and Mondo were all killed by Monokuma's contraptions."

"It seems this photo brings up many possibilities," Kyoko conceded. "But before we hone in on any one of them and decide that's the truth, why don't we spend time searching for more evidence?"

"Either way, it's suspicious," Leon thought. "I mean, if they were working together, then what's to stop more of us from being in on it too?"

"Don't say things like that!" Makoto disagreed. "Who here would show up just to put their life on the line on purpose? If they make us lose, then they would die too!"

"The m-mastermind could easily j-just spare them, o-or help them fake their death," Toko hissed. "Maybe the mastermind is just using them, s-since everyone in the ph-photo they found a-are dead. I-It doesn't surprise me that y-you're against the idea of a t-traitor, though. S-Since it's probably you."

"Uh, what?" Leon whipped out of his seat, moving to stand in front of Makoto. "What's your damage? He hasn't done anything to you."

"But it w-would make sense, w-wouldn't it?" She sneered. "He's the only one here who's n-not an Ultimate, and he and S-Sayaka were classmates before, right?! I-If they were tricking us, then wouldn't he be too? Th-this could be some plot to get rid of a-all of us real s-students, and he's h-here to make sure his plan succeeds! H-He used Sayaka, a-and Mondo, and Junko! M-Maybe he's still using Mukuro r-right now! I mean, he's not one of us. H-He's just some kid!"

"Toko, how could you even suggest that? Makoto's done nothing to hurt anybody." I walked over to her and Byakuya. "Nothing that Makoto's done is cause for any suspicion. Do you even have any actual evidence against him, or are you just making wild accusations?"

"It's not w-wild," she spat back. "I-It's called making an inference!"

"That's enough. She's not entirely wrong," Kyoko sighed. "We can't deny the possibility of there being a traitor, although without evidence, there's no reason to be pointing fingers at just anyone."

"Actually, I think Toko has the right idea." Byakuya stood up. "But that doesn't really matter to me. If there is a traitor among us, then all I have to do is what I was doing before. So if no one's found anything else worthwhile, I'll be taking my leave."

"Y-Yeah, let's go!" Toko agreed. The two of them went around me and left.

I went back to the table. Did they come here just to start another argument? "Okay. Well, that... happened. Makoto, you don't have to worry. They're the only ones that think you're a traitor, okay?"

"Yeah, man. You're a hell of a lot better than those two jackasses." Leon ruffled his hair. "So don't sweat it, aight?"

"Yeah. Thanks." He stared down at his hands sadly.

I felt awful. What did Makoto ever do to them? "Um, did anyone find anything else? Anything at all?"

"I have something," Sakura spoke. "While I was searching for Mukuro, Byakuya, and Toko, I found that the nurse's office here on the first floor was stripped of its tape, and the doors were unlocked. In addition, Monokuma showed himself to me. It would seem that sleeping in the nurse's office is permitted, as well. As he put it, 'injured students wouldn't have much choice in the matter.'"

"Really? Did they have any good protein or supplements in there?" Finally, some good news!

"Only average over the counter sorts of medicine." She sighed. "There was also a large variety of medical tools for all kinds of doctors, and a fridge full of different kinds of packaged blood."

"Wow, that's a lot of stuff. If only we had an Ultimate Doctor with us, then maybe we'd be able to stop the killings altogether," Chihiro sighed. "We could save them before they died."

"There is a variety of medical books in the library," Kyoko mentioned. "If anyone were to try and learn some basic medical information, it could be very useful. That said, if anyone does injure themselves, I've learned a few things over the years."

Kyoko has medical knowledge? Wow, she really knows her stuff. "I know my way around a first aid kit too, and I've made a lot of splints and stuff for sprained ankles and all kinds of sports injuries and stuff. Guess we're the doctors of the house, huh?"

She didn't look very surprised. "You have mentioned you're involved in a lot of sports. It makes sense that you'd know that sort of thing." She looked over at Mukuro. "Did you happen to learn any medical knowledge on the battlefield?"

She nodded blankly. "Yes. I've learned how to bandage all sorts of injuries in emergency situations, as well as blood transfusions and other emergency procedures."

"I see. That's good; we may need it later on."

I guess being a soldier has a lot of different aspects to it. "Well, okay. Awesome! Then I guess that's everything for the school." I clapped my hands together. "Sakura, Makoto, and Mukuro, you stay here. Everyone else, you're free to go."

Sakura got up. "I assume this is what Kyoko told me about?"

"Yeah, that's right." Makoto pulled out the trash key. "Ready when you guys are."


Mukuro's room felt empty at first, with all the furniture pushed to one side of the room and all of Junko's stuff gone. But as she went through her drawers, pulling out guns and knives and even grenades from every nook and cranny in her half of the room, she created a pile of weaponry you'd never expect to fit in such a small space. With each gun she revealed, she emptied the ammo into a bucket Makoto had brought from the school store and tossed it aside. Every knife and blade was taped into its sheath, making it impossible to draw. Sakura stood between us and the pile, inspecting every new addition to it. And after a very long time, Mukuro was finished.

"That's all of it." She smoothed her vest over. "With the exception of my knife."

"That's gonna take a while to carry," Makoto said nervously.

"We'll be fine. All the guns are empty, and the safeties are on. As long as no one else touches them, we should be okay." As long as no one takes it from the laundry room. We can trust Makoto, right? "You know, Makoto, you don't have to be in charge of the trash if you don't wanna be. I know it'll be stressful."

"I appreciate it, but I think I'll be fine. I can't imagine anyone would try to kill me anyway." He smiled. "After the past two trials, there's no way anyone else is gonna try to kill, right?"

"Yeah, you're right! There's no way anyone else will die!" We can still stop this. We can still end the killing game!

Mukuro picked up one of the guns. "Shall we take these to the laundry room now?"

"Oh, yeah, I'll go unlock the gate!" Makoto pushed himself up and tripped over to the door, grabbing the bucket of ammunition and balancing himself upright. "You guys bring the weapons, okay?"

"Of course." Sakura bundled up some of the bigger weapons and hoisted them over her shoulder. I picked up a few of my own and tried to ignore my nosebleed.


"Ugh, finally!" I leaned against the wall of the trash room and sank to the ground. "Why did you bring so much stuff, Mukuro?!"

"I'm always prepared for any situation," she said simply.

"That's one way to look at it…" Makoto said nervously, eyes not moving from the pile. "Why don't we just destroy them instead? I mean, you know how to disassemble this stuff, right, Mukuro?"

"No, we should keep it," Sakura disagreed. "Should the mastermind ever reveal themselves, then those of us not physically capable will need these to fight back."

"But how would we even manage to access these in time? I mean, if the mastermind really shows up, I don't think it'll be when we can get to the trash room easily."

"I won't be able to take apart the grenades anyway," Mukuro told us.

"That's what was in that box?!" In a second, I was at the door. "Are they gonna blow up?!"

"Only if the pin is pulled," she said calmly.

"Can we tape that box shut?" Makoto looked down at them, wiping his palms on his hoodie. "We shouldn't agitate them any more than we already have."

"I'll find some tape." Mukuro walked out stiffly. The second she was out the door, Makoto motioned for us to move away and started to lock the trash room back.

"Are we finished then?" Sakura looked at me, waiting.

"Uh, yep! I mean, that was everything, right?" I couldn't stop the blush from spreading across my face. "We got everything back there, right, Makoto?"

"Yeah, that should be everything." He stuffed the key in his pocket, nodding to himself. "Guess I'll go find Leon and the others. What about you guys?"

"Not sure. Maybe I'll get a morning workout in the locker rooms. Hey, Sakura, wanna come?"

"I thought the same thing." She held the door for us. "I'd like to prepare a protein shake for myself before heading over, however. I can make one for you as well while you get started?"

"Sure, that'd be great. Thanks! I'll meet you there then, okay?"

Makoto looked between the two of us. "Okay, well… Bye."

"Yeah, later. See you there, Sakura!" I took off down the hall. I can get a jog in and warm up while I wait for her. Maybe while we work out, I can try to bring up my feelings, too. I mean, she must've figured it out last night, but I still wanna be the one to address it. I started this, after all.


Before it had been too horribly long, Sakura made it to the locker room and handed me my shake. "I've marked yours so we can tell them apart," she said, smiling. I wanted to melt right then and there.

As we started to work out, I tried to think of a good way to bring it up. Should I start with something like 'So, you're probably wondering why I kissed you…' No, that's stupid, there's no way that would be funny, especially since it was immediately after- My stomach started to curdle. Anyway, that won't do. Maybe just be more direct? 'Hey, Sakura, I think I like you romantically.' Is that too formal? Maybe something more like 'hey, I haven't said it yet, but I think you're really hot, and wanna go out once we're out of here?' Ah, but that sounds like a weird joke too, and it's not a joke. Ugh, someone help me out here! Who could I even ask for help? There aren't many girls here that would be interested in girl talk. Not anymore.

My thoughts started to drift into darker territory against my will. Sayaka got stabbed all over by that bear trap, right in front of us. Junko got totally flattened. Dead. They're both dead. Sayaka is dead. Junko is dead. Hiro is dead. Taka is dead. Mondo is dead. I'm dead. Sakura is dead. Chihiro is dead. Every one of us is dead. We're all dead. I wonder how I'll die? I could get stabbed. I could get drowned in the pool if someone pulls the cover over me. I could get hit in the face with a dumbbell and murdered by someone I thought I could trust. Maybe I'll be the one to kill. Maybe I'll take advantage of people's trust in me. Maybe I'll bludgeon Byakuya to death with one of his precious books in the library. Maybe I'll-

She counted under her breath, nearly struggling for air- "forty seven, forty eight, forty nine... fifty." She carefully set the barbell down and collapsed onto the bench. "It's still not enough."

"Wow." I kneeled down to look at the barbell. "How many kilos were you lifting...?"

She drained her water bottle, crushed it, and tossed it in the trash. "Not nearly enough," she sighed. "If there's any hope of getting through that door, I need to be even stronger."

"This must be over five hundred kilos!" And she did fifty reps in a row? "How did you ever get to be this strong?"

"It's not as impressive as you'd think." She sighed, cracking open another water bottle. "How I managed to surpass my father, I'll never know."

I sat beside her. "You're trying to get stronger to break down the hatch, huh?"

"That's right. After all, we've found no other means of escape."

"Yeah, but even if you did get to the point where you were able to break the hatch down, couldn't Monokuma set off those guns and keep us from using the opening anyway?"

"Not if we tore them down first. I'm sure Mukuro understands guns like those better than anyone; she could take them apart."

"You think so?" Still, no matter how strong Sakura is, that hatch probably has tons of reinforcement built into the wall. "I don't-"

"It may be the best chance we have." She pinched the bridge of her nose, staring at the ground. "I would just try to break through the walls on the first floor, but there's no telling where a load-bearing beam could be, and the plates on the walls are too tightly attached to remove safely. It feels impossible to leave any other way."

She looked so tired- of the hatch, of this place, of everything. Breaking open the hatch is all she has keeping her going. I can't take that away from her. "You're probably right. As far as we know, that hatch is the only opening. And if anyone here can break it down, it'll be you for sure," I assured her. "And I can see if I can get Mukuro to help you out with those guns, too. She said this weird thing about taking orders from me now this morning. So don't give up, okay? I've totally got your back!"

She smiled, exhausted. "For you, Hina, I'll keep going." Her gaze turned from the ground to me. "This is a dark place, but without it, we would've never met. And for that, I'm grateful." And before I knew what was happening, she'd leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead.

aaaaaaaaAAAAAAAA DID THAT REALLY JUST HAPPEN?! OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMY-

She stood up and stretched. "I'm going to go take a shower. I'll see you at lunch."

"Aha! Ahahaha, yup. Lunch. That is- that is something that- that we do- eat- lunch. Yeah, lunch! I will- I will see you there." My entire face was red. You stupid- You sound like a complete idiot!

She raised an eyebrow. "Is there something wrong?"

I stood up. "Nooooo, no, I just- I dunno, I'm- I just- *sigh* I'm fine, I promise. You go take your shower!" I tried to play it cool.

"...Alright. I'll see you soon, then." She looked concerned, but she left. As soon as she did, I went over to the punching bag and let it all out. "Come! On! What! Was! That?! She kissed you, and what do you do? You freak out! And babble about lunch! Lunch! You didn't even start to ask about last night- oh my God, wait. She kissed me. She actually kissed me." I wanted to scream. Does this mean she likes me too? Or did she mean it as like, a friendly thing? How am I supposed to tell?!

This won't get me anywhere. Sakura wants to meet again for lunch, right? I can just ask then. Simple! And I won't freeze up this time, no way, not me. Maybe I should shower first, though.


I got to the first floor to see Kyoko at the bottom of the stairs. She looked determined when she saw me. "Good. You're here. Come on." She grabbed my arm and started to walk.

"Uh, what's going on?" I matched her pace, but I was confused. Did she find something? Oh, maybe she got that picture from this morning back?

"You'll see." She pulled me towards the hotel.

"Okay, okay, but I can walk on my own! You don't have to be so pushy!"

"Right." She released me but kept up the quick pace. She led me to the bathhouse and led me inside. Waiting there was Celeste, who had an evil looking smile on her face. She had her hand on a nervous looking Chihiro's shoulder. Oh.

"Hello, Hina. Chihiro would not tell us, so perhaps you will. The two of you are hiding something here in the changing room, are you not?" Her smile evaporated as she stared into me. "Something very important. I saw the two of you whispering yesterday before the trial, and this morning, you were so quick to be the one to retrieve him from here."

"It took you longer than it should have to come back, too," Kyoko continued. "If you've found something important, you need to communicate with us. You of all people should realize that, I'd think. So show it to us. I'd rather not have reason to suspect you."

Chihiro and I made eye contact. He looked super nervous. If anyone could keep a secret, I'd think it would be these two. And if I don't tell them, then they might think we're the traitors Byakuya suggested, and tell the entire class.

That's a risk we'll have to take. "I can see why you'd be suspicious of us, but we aren't hiding anything we found, honest." Technically, we didn't find it, so it's not really a lie. "We just like to talk where Monokuma can't hear us, that's all."

"Is that all?" Kyoko asked calmly. "Then, what were you talking about?"

"If you were truly just talking, then Chihiro would not have any need to come here himself," Celeste smiled, tightening her grip on his shoulder. "If you are worried we will tell the others, there is no need. We gain nothing from telling them- unless, of course, it is you who is spying in on us for Monokuma."

"I suggest you explain yourselves before someone else notices," Kyoko told me, glancing at the door. "Not everyone is so reasonable."

I grit my teeth. "There's nothing to say. We just don't like being spied on all the time. Besides, did you consider that maybe Chihiro came here because he was trying to hide from Monokuma, someone who we know was transphobic?"

"I'm not trans," he corrected. "But yeah, if he knew I was cis, he could've tried to use that against Hiro, so..."

"That's enough." Kyoko spoke with unexpected force. "Monokuma has our legal sexes marked on our E-Handbooks, and that trial is long over. Try again." For the first time since I'd met her, she looked angry.

Fuck. "Well, the rest of you didn't know, and if someone found out and misunderstood-"

"You may want to come up with another lie," Celeste suggested. "This one only draws more attention to the two of you."

"I'm not lying!" This is really bad. Maybe we should just come clean. "I- well, we're- it's not something I can tell you about."

Her eyes narrowed. "And why not? What could be so important that you can't tell us?"

"It's personal between the two of us, okay? So stop bugging us about it. And let him go, would you? It's not this big of a deal."

"I see." Then her anger evaporated, like it never existed to begin with, and she smiled. "Then I'll tell you, Chihiro already showed us Alter Ego."

Celeste nodded in agreement, releasing Chihiro's shoulder. "You are not an experienced liar, but you did not do horrendously awful." She looked me in the eyes. "That said, you must come up with something more convincing tout suite. Not many would fall for such an obvious lie."

"Sorry, Hina. They asked me about what I was hiding, and I just got really nervous, and it all just kinda slipped out," Chihiro apologized, walking over to me.

"That's alright," I assured him. Kyoko and Celeste had moved over to the locker and were whispering to each other. "It's probably better that they know, honestly. They're both way too smart for us to keep it from them, and they can help keep him under wraps."

"Yeah, you're probably right." He laughed nervously. "Still, not that I doubted you, but I'm glad you kept your promise."

"Well, it's like I said. I always keep my promises! Speaking of which, I promised I'd meet Sakura for lunch, so I should probably go get ready-"

"Oh, lunch sounds good. Mind if I come too?" he asked.

"Lunch, you say? I will come, too. I would not mind a meal after consuming all this information." Celeste put a hand on Kyoko's shoulder. "Would you like to come too?"

"I suppose it couldn't hurt."

Well, there goes that plan. I guess I'll talk to Sakura about everything later. I started to blush just thinking about it.

The four of us got to the dining hall. "I know Sakura was taking a shower first, so maybe we should go ahead and start on lunch! What are we thinking?"

"Oh! What about seafood?" Chihiro suggested.

"I'm allergic to shellfish," Kyoko said flatly.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Well, that does not mean we cannot enjoy some fish," Celeste laughed. "Does anyone know how to make sushi?"

Kyoko stood up. "I'll take care of it."

"Maybe we can all try making some together," Chihiro suggested. "That could be fun."

"Do we even have the stuff for sushi?" I got up too. "I'll check the kitchen first. Then we can decide on what to make. Sound good?"

"Alright, sounds good!" he agreed.

I headed to the kitchen and looked through the fridge. "Seaweed, seaweed... I don't see any. Hmm..."

"Nori isn't kept in the fridge." Kyoko had followed me in with a book in her hands. She set it on the counter, moved to a large pantry, and reached inside. "It's dried, so it's best kept at room temperature." She pulled out a super big pack of nori. "See?"

"Oh, my bad. I've never actually made it before, so I'm kinda lost, heheh!" Kyoko sure does know a lot of weird stuff.

"That's fine." She set the pack down on the counter and pulled out a box of rice. "What kind of rolls are we making?"

"There are different kinds?"

She looked at me in disbelief. "You go back to the dining hall. I'll take care of this since you don't know how."

"No, but then I'll feel bad! C'mon, lemme help! I promise I'll be a good helper!" I grabbed a pack of tuna from the open fridge. "See? I can help! Tuna is in sushi, right? Besides, it'll be way easier as a team!"

"You just said you've never made sushi."

"Yeah, but I can learn! Please?"

Kyoko sighed. "There's a cookbook I found in the warehouse with some information; go ahead and take a look. The muguro nigiri and kappa maki should be fine."

"Okay!" I picked up the cookbook off the counter. "It's this one, right?"

"I've bookmarked a couple pages. It'll be the one with tuna and the cucumber rolls."

"Do you like sushi, then?" I found the pages. I guess I'll start with the tuna...

"My grandfather likes sushi, so we'd have it quite often between assignments." She started to set up a rice cooker in the corner. "We had nigiri quite often, so I'm used to the taste."

"Wait, but this says the fish is raw!" Wouldn't that make you super sick?! "How can you eat raw fish?!"

"It's an acquired taste. That's why we're also making cucumber rolls."

"Oh. I guess I could give it a try, though. I mean, I like trying new things!" Plus, now that the nurse's office is open, I can get myself some meds if I get super sick or something!

"You do that." Her eyes met mine. "I'll make sure it comes out properly."

With Kyoko standing over my shoulder, it took almost no time to make all the sushi! "I bet this is gonna taste awesome!"

"I'd suggest a wider spread, but I'm not sure how well everyone's stomachs will handle it." Kyoko was watching me wrap up the cucumber rolls carefully. "Make sure it's tight enough. You don't want anything to fall out."

"You know, you could always help if you think I'm gonna mess it up." She may have cooked the rice, but I was doing all the heavy lifting with the shaping and stuff!

"I'd prefer not to take my gloves off."

"So what, were you gonna just get your dirty gloves all over the food then? It's a good thing I stayed behind, then. That's like, super gross! You've touched bodies with those gloves!" Bodies of our dead friends, no less.

"I have multiple sets of gloves, and I wash them. I'm not unsanitary." Her eyebrows furrowed. "And I take them off when handling food."

"Then why not take them off? If you've got like, bad nails or something, I'm not gonna judge." I smiled up at her as big as I could. "Everyone's got something they're self-conscious about!"

"I'm not self conscious of my hands. I just prefer to keep my gloves on with company around. It's for your benefit, not mine." She said that, but I got the feeling she was making excuses. Well, this is Kyoko. If she doesn't want me to see, I doubt I can get her to show me.

Doesn't mean I can't try! "Kyoko, in the past week, I've seen things I thought I'd go my whole life not seeing. Whatever is on your hands- a gang symbol or a weird birthmark or whatever- I promise I'm not gonna look at you different. What I really want right now is for someone that knows what they're doing to help me." I put the long roll into the slicer, and with one SWOOSH! the last rolls were sliced. "Oh. Uh, never mind, then. I guess I got it."

"See? You did just fine." She walked over to the pantry and got some kind of sauce. "Go ahead and take them out. I'll get us all some plates."

I moved each little roll onto the big serving tray. "Hold on, I wanna wash my hands again."

"Alright." She put everything onto the rolling cart while I cleaned up. "It's been a bit since I've had good nigiri," she mentioned, almost to herself.

"Yeah? Is that your favorite kind?" Kyoko hasn't really opened up to me before. This is new territory.

"No, I've always preferred sashimi."

"Then why didn't you say we should make sashimi instead? I'm sure we could've done it." No need to remind her that I don't know the difference.

"You'd already gotten the tuna out of the fridge." She got some disposable chopsticks out. "Besides, it's not as if I don't also like nigiri."

"I mean, we could've just made both though. Hey, you know what? Next time, we're making sashimi. Just for you!"

She closed her eyes. "That would be nice."

"Yeah?" I put an arm around her. "That's what friends do! And we're all friends now, right?"

"I suppose so." She opened her eyes again. "Although, can it really be called friendship when anyone could kill another at any moment? It may be through manipulation from Monokuma, but it's still dangerous. I'm not sure if I'd call anyone here a friend, not yet."

"Well, the way I see it, we could all die out there too, right? I mean, people die all the time." Tears pricked my eyes again, but I held them back. It was starting to get easier. "It just seems worse cuz in here, we're always reminded of it, and we all know each other. But really, it's impossible not to be friends in a place like this."

She looked surprised. "How do you mean?"

"Well, think about it. If we weren't all forced together, how many of us would even approach each other on our own? We'd probably all go our whole lives without interacting- well, most of us would, anyway. But now we all have to interact with each other just to stay alive. We're forced into each other's space, so we have to get along!"

Kyoko grew thoughtful. She put her hands on the cart. "I suppose you have a point. Although-" She looked back at me- "if we were all in the same class in an ordinary school, I think things would be very different."

"Maybe. I guess we'll never know for sure, though." It was sad to think about. Even if the rest of us do get out of here alive, we'll never all get to be one class. At best, we'll still be missing almost a third of us.

"Hey." Kyoko brought me back to reality. "Don't get lost in your own head. Not yet."

"Right. Sorry." I took a shaky breath. "Let's just have lunch."

She nodded. "Right."

You know, even if it was a little difficult, I had fun with Kyoko today. I think we're starting to become a little closer! And who knows, maybe she'll even tell me what her Ultimate talent is soon!

We wheeled out the sushi. Sakura had joined everyone else at the table and had pulled her back in a smooth ponytail. "Hey! We made some tuna and cucumber rolls!"

Everyone got their sushi and ate. I sat beside Sakura, trying not to blush. Calm down; it's not like you can ask her about it anyway now that people are here. Just focus on your plate!

"You're turning pink again," she noted, concerned. "Should I walk you to the nurse's office?"

"Oh, no no no, I'm fine! It's just- I've never actually had sushi before, so I'm a little nervous to see how it tastes." I carefully picked up a roll with my chopsticks- how I managed not to drop it, I'll never know- and shoved it in my mouth whole. Oh God, I didn't even leave room to chew.

Celeste snickered from across the table. "I suppose it should not surprise me that you can fit all that in your mouth at once. You do talk so much, your mouth must be big enough to fit it all."

"Celeste, that's really mean! You shouldn't say things like that!" Chihiro scolded her. But he was covering his mouth as he said it, and his cheeks were a little pink.

It took a while to chew without choking. I'm sure it tasted good, but I couldn't tell. How do I even manage to function sometimes? I managed to get it all down. "You know, that wasn't too bad!"

"It is even better when you can breathe as well," Celeste chimed.

"Yes, thank you. I'll take your constructive criticism to heart!" I crossed my heart sarcastically. Celeste is still kinda rude, but the more I get used to it, it actually becomes kinda funny!

Chihiro jumped up. "Oh my gosh! I forgot all about the game!" He hastily shoved a piece of nigiri in his mouth and waved as he left the room. "Lwtwr gwys!"

"Oh, yeah! He was playing cards earlier, wasn't he?" I remembered. "Oh, well. More for the rest of us, then!"

We all finished lunch in good spirits. I felt a lot better after spending time with all of them, and the raw fish wasn't that bad either! Once we were all done, I went back to my room to let my stomach settle. Maybe things will be okay with everyone this time around... That'd be nice...


*Ding, Dong, Bing, Bong*

"Wuh?" I'd fallen asleep without realizing it. I checked my watch. Seven pm?! I must've been super tired. I didn't even get in my afternoon workout...

"Attention, students! Please gather in the gymnasium immediately for an important announcement!" Monokuma ordered from the screen. "I'll be waiting~"

The screen went black. He can't really be giving us a motive right now, can he? It's barely been a day since the trial!

I went out to the hallway and saw a couple others already outside. Kyoko and Makoto looked like they were having a serious conversation. I shouldn't interrupt.

I felt a tap on my shoulder. Behind me were Chihiro and Hifumi. "You heard the announcement as well, I presume?" Hifumi asked.

"Yeah. I wonder what he's doing now. It seems too early for a motive, but who can tell with him?"

"I'm really worried. I wanna think that no one else here wants to kill, but that's what we thought last time too, and the time before that." Chihiro looked like he was gonna cry. "What if someone kills again? What are we gonna do? I don't want anyone else to die!"

"It won't come to that this time. I'm sure of it!" I assured him. "We'll all protect each other. You'll see!"

"I hope you're right." He pulled out a handkerchief.

"We should go now, before that awful thing decides to punish us for being late," Hifumi shuddered.

We headed over as quickly as we could. By the time we got to the gym, everyone else was already there.

"That little fucker better not give us another motive," Leon growled. "I've had enough bullshit for one day."

"Wh-What else would he call u-us here for?" Toko sneered. "Besides, c-calling him stuff like that could get y-you punished. What are you, s-stupid?"

"Don't stoop to his level," Byakuya chastised. "I'm sick of being here. When will he show up?"

"That is not up to us," Celeste replied cheerily. "You are not above any of us here. Or did you forget?"

"Please." He clapped his hands twice. "Watch."


The class all turned to the podium, waiting. Watching. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven students that have learned what to expect. Then, springing up from behind the podium and landing on top is a black and white bear, with a crimson eye and a sinister smile. He looks at all his students, then laughs.

"Puhuhuhu!"


"You called, Master Togami?" Monokuma laughed. "How may I be of service?"

"Hehehe... Even M-Monokuma listens to Master..." Toko snickered.

"You little shit! You did that on purpose!" Leon demanded.

"Yup!" He hopped off the podium and landed on one paw on the ground. "Whatchu gonna do about it, hmmmm~?"

"Let it go," Makoto said nervously. "He's not worth it." He looped his arm around Leon's, holding him back. "Okay?"

"Get on with it," Byakuya droned. "You're the one who called us here, after all."

"Oh, right! I nearly forgot! I have a present for you guys! Cue the music!" A drumroll started from- well, from somewhere- as Monokuma leapt up to pull a rope out from the curtains. Something creaked open from above, and a large pile of money started raining down. Wads of it fell and landed with a THUNK! across the stage. There must've been tons of it!

"Whoopsies! That wasn't as clean as I'd imagined it would be! Oh well." He hopped back down onto his podium. "I've tried lighting fire under your adolescent asses to get you moving, but now it's time for a different approach! A carrot on a stick is what really gets the donkey moving, after all!" He tapped the microphone on the podium with his paw until it started giving off a staticky feedback that made my ears ring. "Ah! There we go!" He laid across the podium, kicking his feet back and forth as he spoke into the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen and everyone in between, I give thee... one billion yen! Ahem, give or take a few."

Murmurs of shock and confusion filled the room around me. One billion yen?! That's impossible! There's no way!

"I know what you're all thinking- 'Oh, but precious lord and savior Monokuuuma, this couldn't possibly be one billion yen! There's just no way!' And you're right. This right here is just a small sample of it. You see, the lucky winner of this prize will be the next successful blackened! Of course, this is a limited time offer, so you'll have to make sure you get it done in the next seventy two hours! I think that sounds like a fair amount of time, doesn't it? Oh, and if you doubt my total sum, then don't. I have a vault of the money down in the basement where the full amount is being stored. Take a look!"

The monitor flickered on then to reveal a feed of the trial room, with a big fat safe just sitting there. On it was a sticker of Monokuma holding a banner that said ONE BILLION YEN! In big, red letters.

"Anyway, that's all I wanted to say. Have fun doubting each other! I know I will~" Monokuma disappeared back into the rafters, laughing. I felt sick to my stomach. So it really was another motive after all...

"One billion yen may be a lot, but no one here would kill over it, right?" Makoto asked, doubtful.

"Don't judge based on your own limits. There could very well be someone here struggling financially," Byakuya warned.

"I do not see how that would matter anymore. After all, there is no need for money in here," Celeste smiled. "We are meant to live a communal life together, are we not? What need could we have for money anymore?"

"Not everyone has contented themselves to living here forever as you have," Sakura reminded her. "Most of us have lives to get back to outside."

"Hey, whatever money struggles anyone has, we can all help each other out, right?" We can overcome this together! "We're all friends now. So when we all get out, we can help each other! So no one needs the money, not really. Besides, you can't buy people's lives. That's just wrong!"

"Yeah, Hina's right! We're a team now!" Makoto agreed. "All of us. Right?"

"Don't think you can d-distract us." Toko stalked out of the room. "N-Not everyone here can be t-trusted, Makoto."

"Don't listen to her, man," Leon grumbled. "I swear I'm gonna-"

"It's okay, I don't care. Really! I mean, she's just scared."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"That's right! There's no reason to suspect each other anymore." Plus, maybe Ego will be able to figure out what's going on soon. "So let's all take the night to calm down and forget about Monokuma's bribe, okay? I'll do the night watch tonight."

"Are you sure you wanna do that?" Byakuya asked as he left. "The last person to do so wound up dead. You're setting yourself up for quite the failure."

I watched him go. I didn't wanna admit it, but he had a point. "Okay then, from now on, we'll rotate the night watch, and do it in pairs! That way, we can all watch out for each other. Who wants to watch with me tonight?"

"I can," Mukuro and Sakura said at the same time. They looked at each other.

"Umm..." Do I really wanna be alone with Mukuro? Besides, this'll be the perfect chance to talk to Sakura alone. "Sakura, you'll watch with me. Mukuro, you can be on watch tomorrow night. Any volunteers to watch with her?"

I only got awkward silence. Mukuro didn't show anything on her face, but I bet it really stung. Mukuro and Chihiro were kinda close before yesterday. Maybe? "Chihiro, would you mind?"

"Me?" He looked afraid. "Um, I guess so, if nobody else will."

Mukuro looked at Chihiro, expressionless. "Understood," she said flatly. "Goodnight." She marched stiffly out of the room. As soon as she was gone, everyone else started to disperse.

"Um, Hina?" Chihiro asked me. "I know I said I would, but um, maybe we could do it in groups of three, or-?"

"Sorry, Chihiro. I know what Mukuro did was awful, but you're the least likely for Mukuro to attack- I think." I leaned down so no one else would hear. "I don't trust her right now either, but she doesn't have any motive to kill anyone anymore, and you were the closest to her besides Junko. I wouldn't ask you if I didn't think you were able to do it, okay?"

He still looked anxious, but he nodded. "Okay. You're right; I can do it. Mukuro won't hurt me." He let out a long breath. "I can do that."

He walked away. Sorry, Chihiro. I would've done it myself, but I wanted to talk to my crush one on one. It's selfish of me to put you on the line like that. I don't think anything will happen, but if it does, I'll blame myself, and I'll never trust myself again. Sorry.

"Hina." Sakura shook me out of my thoughts. "We should get some rest before the night begins."

"Yeah, I know." I felt a pit open up in my stomach. It'll be okay that I did this, right? "Let's go."

I got back to my room and collapsed back into bed. Will I even be able to get more sleep before night? Will Sakura? Maybe I should've made this decision earlier at breakfast; then at least we would've been able to actually prepare for night. Gosh, I hope things go alright until Monokuma's timer runs out. They have to; I'm the team captain now.


The curtains rise on Monokuma's Stage of Many Things. Joining his collection is a gaming console, complete with controllers. Monokuma sits in the center, shaking his head from side to side, smiling gleefully at his audience.

"You wanna know why I hate video games? You might not believe this, but I have a best friend. Actually, she's my only *real* friend. But she has lots of other friends. She's actually very veeery popular!

"So one time, me and her were at her house one day, and a big group of her friends showed up to hang out. They'd just bought the latest dancy dance game. They all got completely lost in the game, going back and forth and wearing themselves out for hours. But not me!

"I just sat there watching. That's right; I just watched! What's wrong with that? I didn't care! Just by watching, I was able to memorize every dance in the game to heart! Even though I never actually played it! And I don't plan on ever playing it in the future, either!"

The lights start to fade, and Monokuma and the stage disappear into the darkness, the crimson glow of his eye winking out.


*Ding, Dong, Bing, Bong*

The nighttime announcement woke me back up. Wow, I didn't think I'd actually fall asleep again. Lucky me, I guess.

I carefully left my room and saw Sakura doing the same. "Hey! Did you get some sleep?"

"Just a bit. Enough to perform the night watch." She nodded her head, thinking. "Should we make sure everyone's in their rooms, then?"

"Yeah, probably. I'll get the outer rooms and you get the inner ones!" We knocked on every door and found only one empty room. "Byakuya's probably in the library, right? I don't think we have to worry about him."

"If he's the only one out of bed, then no," Sakura agreed. "I doubt we could make him come to bed if we tried."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Okay Hina, now's your chance. Don't chicken out! "Um, Sakura?"

"Yes?"

"Can we talk for a sec?"

She leaned against the wall. "Something is wrong."

"No! No no no, you didn't do anything wrong, I just-"

"So it's something I've done." Her gaze moved to the floor.

"No! Definitely not. You've done nothing but be amazing, Sakura." This is it; the moment of truth is now! Don't screw this up! "I just wanna make sure that we're on the same wavelength, ya know? So, um- Gosh, this is hard to say. Uh, what am I to you?"

She looked confused. "How do you mean?"

"I mean, are we friends or... more than friends or... have I been coming on too strong? I just- I like you, Sakura. A-And not just in the normal friend way, cuz- well, I haven't been keeping it a secret that I'm gay, but in case you didn't know yet, surprise!- and uh, I really like you, so. But if you're not gay or just not interested, that's totally okay and I just wanna make sure that we're on the same page. Like, are we just friends, or if you wanna- maybe- be more than that?"

She closed her eyes. She looked conflicted. It then occurred to me that Sakura could be homophobic, and I might have just fucked myself over completely.

"So, you've been interacting with me with... romantic intentions. Is that it?" she asked.

"Um... yeah. But, like I said, if that's not something you're interested in, that's okay! I don't expect anything from you, and you are free to make your own choices! So if this is too much or something-"

"No." She opened her eyes again and sighed. "No, it's not." She met my eyes. "I've just... never been desired before like this. At least, not as far as I'm aware. So hearing this from you is unexpected."

"Oh. Uh, I'd have imagined a lot of people would be interested in you. I mean, you're literally the strongest woman on the planet!"

Sheleaned against the wall. "That's true. I've become stronger than anyone could've thought. And yet, my heart is weak."

I knelt down beside her. "Well, your heart is a muscle too, isn't it? You've just gotta exercise it, that's all. Whatever that means to you. It's not weak!"

"I haven't been able to mourn since we've arrived." She stared ahead into the wall opposite us. "The strongest of us are those who can show their feelings, like you or Chihiro. You can care for everyone, even those who've betrayed us. I can't even decide how I feel about you, who's shown me more kindness than anyone ever has."

"Sakura..." I hated seeing her torn apart like that. How long has she been feeling alone like this? I put a hand on her arm. "That's okay. Feelings can be really confusing sometimes. It doesn't mean you're any less worthy of love. And whatever it is that you figure out, I'll be here, okay? Whatever you need me to be for you, I can be."

We sat there in silence for a bit. I felt water hit my arm. She's crying. "How did I manage to find someone like you?"

"Maybe you're the Ultimate Lucky Student, haha!"

"How unfortunate for Makoto. Will you break the news, or should I?"

"Hahaha!" Any remaining tension dissipated. We might not have our answers now, but that's okay. We can figure this out together. We've got all the time in the world to figure it out!