In the dead of night, a young girl struggled to fall asleep. Tossing and turning, her stomach nauseous with despair. She sat up in her bed and sighed.

"Horrible… just- horrible…" She sniffed. She looked around her room. "Hrrrgghhh…" She moaned. "Donuts. I need… donuts." She got out of bed and put her clothes on.

She walked out of her bedroom, closing the door marked "Asahina" behind her. "I'm sorry Celeste… I know I'm breaking the rules… I just-"

And that's when she heard it.

"Krrrr… krrr…!"

"What was that?" She cried. "I-It sounded like it came from the sauna…" She walked over to the sauna and walked in. "What is that light?" She approached the locker where the light was coming from and let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

The morning after the trial, my entire body felt heavy. Instead of the guilt and sadness I felt after the first trial, I just felt… emptiness. Like my body had lost all mass. First Makoto and Kuwata, and now Chihiro and Owada. When will it end? I sighed. I could sense Junko about to kick down my door again, so I slowly got up and trudged along to the dining hall. When I got there, my eyes took in the people around me. Just like after Kuwata's execution, everyone sat around with their heads and voices low. Fukawa and Togami were missing, which wasn't too surprising, but what surprised me was Asahina's disappearance.

"Where is Asahina?" I asked quietly, as if to not disturb the peace.

"She said she wasn't feeling well. Stomachache, I believe." Ogami explained.

"Oh."

"Makes sense… after yesterday…" Junko exhaled sadly. "I just hope she's okay."

Ogami nodded.

Hagakure looked around. "Hmm… it's well-past 7am… where is- Ah! There you are, man!" He chuckled and walked over to a person sitting at a table on his own, looking very different than before. "Yo, Ishimaru! Aren't you gonna… address us?"

Ishimaru stared blankly at the table. His hand was twitching, but other than that his body was eerily still.

"I… Ishimaru?" I prompted.

Silence.

I walked over and sat down next to him. I placed my hand on his shoulder. "T… Taka?"

Ishimaru still didn't move. He clearly hadn't slept a wink. I never thought the Ultimate Moral Compass would become reduced to a shell…

"I guess our leader is out of action for now…" Hagakure said. "Welp, as the oldest person here, I volunteer to be the next leader!"

Junko scowled. "You seem a little too excited for this."

"H-hey, come on now! I just wanna help us all out!" Hagakure said. "Anyway, I say we all look around to try and find a way outta this place!" He announced. "If my prediction is correct, I'd say there's a new floor of the school that's opened up to be explored."

"Hmm… you're probably right…" Yamada said. "I mean, that's what happened last time, right?"

"Of course I'm right! My predictions are always at least 30% accurate!"

"30%!? That's nothing!" Junko cried.

"H-hey! You try fortune telling then!" Hagakure fired back.

"Ugh, I literally don't have the energy to argue with you." Junko said. "Come on, Sayaka, let's explore this new floor."

"I… I don't really wanna go…" I said slowly. "It seems like every new floor just provides us with more tools to kill each other…"

Junko smiled kindly at me. "It'll be okay. Now's not the time to worry. After all, it's not as if Monokuma has given us a motive yet…"

I failed to feel reassured, but Junko seemed to be trying, so at the very least I decided to go with her. "Okay. Let's go."

"Come on, big man, we gotta go." Hagakure said, slowly dragging Ishimaru to his feet. Ishimaru hobbled along for a bit, before pushing Hagakure off and walking quickly out of the dining hall. "Jeez. I feel really bad for the guy…"

That feeling was mutual. I think most of us felt bad for him.

Except for Celeste apparently, who gave a bored sigh as she sat up. Yamada squirmed a little where he was standing, carrying a tray. He handed Celeste a cup, which she took and sipped out of. Her face reflexively scrunched up, and she turned and threw the cup against the wall.

"Jesus fucking Christ!" Junko jumped and spun around to face Celeste. "The hell is your deal!?"

Celeste ignored her.

Yamada started sweating. "Was the tea… not to your liking?"

Celeste exhaled. "When I said milk tea, I expected proper milk tea. Do you expect me to drink this swill?"

"I-I'm sorry… I made it the best I could…"

"YOUR PATHETIC EXCUSES WON'T WORK ON ME! GET BACK IN THERE AND MAKE IT PROPERLY YOU FOUL SWINE!" Celeste jumped up and yelled, an uncharacteristically angry expression on her face. Her tone had completely changed. Instead of quiet and calm, she was loud and frightening.

"WAH! I'LL BE YOUR GOOD LITTLE PIGGY!" Yamada yelled, before speeding off into the kitchen with unfathomable speed.

"Ce.. Celeste?" I said quietly.

She sat down, her expression back to its neutral self. "Please, don't let me stop your investigation. I shall join you promptly. Once…" She scowled and stared towards the kitchen. "...I get a proper cup of tea."

"Oookaaayyyy…" Junko said slowly. "Sayaka, let's leave." She whispered.

"Yeah. Good idea." I whispered back.

With that, we swiftly left the dining hall and made our way towards the third floor of the main school building. The layout was weird, there was a large string of pillars placed ostentatiously in the middle of a quad-like area. On one side there was a massive archway which led to the art room, and on the other there was a long and winding hallway.

"Where the hell are the stairs to the next floor?" Junko asked. "I wanna see if those are blocked off." She swallowed. "Or if there even are stairs."

It was an odd thing to be concerned about, but it made sense. More blocked off stairs probably meant more class trials. The thought made me shudder. We made our way down the hallway and found the stairs, which were blocked by the gate.

"Hmph." Junko huffed. "Figures. Fourth floor huh…"

I turned around and my eyes fell on a strange revolving door. "Physics lab?" I read aloud.

"Huh. Sounds interesting." Junko said, looking to where I was looking. "Shall we start here then? The most intriguing room?"

"I don't know if I'd put them on a scale…" I said softly. I walked in and was immediately shocked. A giant machine spanned from floor to ceiling and made a loud whirring noise that practically deafened me. Standing off to the side by himself was Ishimaru, staring blankly at nothing.

"Yo, Ishimaru. You okay buddy?" Junko said.

No response. He was clearly still in immense grief, and I couldn't blame him. He must have been so confused as well, forever pondering why his… friend... did what he did.

"Taka?" I said. Still no response. Leaving him to his laurels, I stared up at the giant machine. "What on earth is this thing?" I asked aloud.

"No idea."

"Why hello bear!" Monokuma cried suddenly, appearing out of nowhere.

"AH!" I shrieked.

"Stop doing that!" Junko yelled.

"Puhuhu… you young ladies are easily terrified. It's not as if I'm a dangerous grizzly or anything!" He laughed. "Anyway, you wondering about this here machine, right? Well chickadees, allow me to explain! This is a time machine! It can go back or forward in time!"

"Really?" I asked.

"It… it can?" A soft voice called quietly from behind me. Ishinaru's vacant expression was slowly fading, turning into one of determination. "Then that means I-'' He clenched his fist. "That means I can go back! I can go back and stop Mondo from doing what he did!" He cried, his voice louder than I've heard in a while.

"Woah woah woah! Hold your horses there, buddy!" Monokuma yelled. "We don't have that level of advanced technology yet! This machine can only go back one minute in time! Your courageous endeavour is fruitless!"

Ishimaru's expression broke. He stepped backwards and doubled over.

"Ahahahaha!" Monokuma laughed. "Sorry, that was a little white lie. This isn't a time machine at all! It's an air purifier. Without any windows to provide ventilation, you guys would eventually suffocate on your own carbon dioxide! To prevent that, this air purifier was made to ensure that you are constantly breathing fresh air!" He laughed again. "Puhuhu… China would be jealous!"

I ignored his extremely off-colour joke at the end and scowled.

"You monster." Junko growled. "To play a trick on Ishimaru like that while he's grieving, I swear to God you will BURN IN HELL!"

"Puhuhuhu! Such passion!" Monokuma laughed. "However, I'm just a bear! I have no sense of religion or damnation! Much like Taka over here, your efforts are fruitless!"

Junko's face burned red with anger, and she looked ready to strike again. I placed a hand on her shoulder and felt her body relax. "Yeah. Thanks Sayaka." She smiled at me.

I returned the smile and then turned to Ishimaru. His face was filled with an unlawful mixture of grief and guilt. Exactly how I felt after Makoto and Kuwata died. Seeing it from the outside, it somehow hurt even more.

"Ahahaha! That's it! That's the face I wanna see! An expression brimming with bittersweet despair!" Monokuma winked. "Or should I say, buttersweet despair!"

Junko frowned, exasperated. "Just get out of here!"

With the usual mysteriousness, Monokuma disappeared.

"Ishimaru…" I said quietly, but he clearly didn't hear me.

"We should just leave him…" Junko whispered. I nodded. We walked towards the back of the lab, where we found another door.

"This must be the equipment room…" I said as I stepped in. It was fairly spacious, but had lots of stuff stored inside it, such as measurement tools and reference books. In the corner, a large tray with wheels on it sat idly next to a pile of tarps. Togami was eyeing it curiously.

"Interesting room, wouldn't you say?" Togami asked without turning around.

"Ah!" Fukawa jumped up from where she was standing, which seemed to be several feet away from Togami. "Yes! Of course!"

"I wasn't talking to you, miserable wench. I was talking to the two who just walked in."

"Ah! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!" Fukawa cried.

"Jesus Christ, Togami…" Junko grumbled.

"I guess it is…" I answered his question, trying to reclaim the tense atmosphere.

"That air purifier is a mystery too." Togami continued. "It makes sense, but it's grotesquely hi-tech."

"You certainly have a knack for describing things…" I said, more to myself than him. He ignored me. "Let's just take our leave…" I said to Junko.

"You don't have to tell me twice." She said and sauntered out of the equipment room. As we walked through the physics lab, Junko stopped me and pointed towards a table. "Hey, was that there when we came in?"

"No idea." I said, eyeing the strange camera she was pointing at.

Junko walked over to it and picked it up. It was small, pink, and fairly cheap-looking. It must have been a disposable camera. It was pink and had the design of an anime-style fairy on it. "Weird design. We should go around and see who it belongs to."

I nodded. "Good idea."

We walked past Ishimaru, as we figured it wouldn't be his. We made our way back down the hallway and into the art room, where we found Yamada, eyeing the many statues in admiration.

"Hey, Yamada." Junko said.

He turned to us and smiled. "Ah! Good morning, Miss Maizono and Miss Enoshima!" He rubbed his chin. "I see you too have an admiration for fine art."

Junko looked around at the statues. "The Monokuma one is a bit gaudy, but the rest are nice."

"Indeed." He nodded. "I don't particularly like that one either. However, the statue of Venus here… ho ho ho, quite to my liking."

"I'm surprised, Yamada. I thought you were a writer…?" I said.

"Well, yes, but that is only HALF of my power. My full power as The Alpha and the Omega, comes from the artwork I provide. I cannot fully call myself a true 2D enthusiast if I do not draw!" He declared.

His enthusiasm took me by surprise. He was clearly very knowledgeable, and he brimmed with passion.

"2D enthusiast? You mean like, anime and manga and all that shit?" Junko asked.

"Well, I would not have put it quite like that, but yes." He replied.

"So… does this belong to you then?" Junko took out the camera and handed it to him.

His eyes lit up. "DEMON ANGEL PUDGY PRINCESS! ⭐️" He cried. "I thought I lost this camera when I first came to Hope's Peak…" He looked at it closely. "This was such a rare item! But now…" He sighed. "It's all smudged and faded… it's practically worthless now…"

"D-Do you still want it?" I asked.

"Well, no use throwing it away, I guess I'll keep it. Where did you find it?"

"In the physics lab." I replied.

His eyes widened in surprise. "Why on earth was it in there!? I haven't even been there yet!"

"That… that is weird…" I said slowly.

He shook his head. "Well, enough of that. I must continue my search. Gotta do my part after all." He walked past us then stopped. "Oh, give that repository room in the back a good look. See if you can find anything I may have missed. Good day." He walked out of the art room.

"He's weirdly polite for a creep…" Junko said.

I just shrugged. We walked down to the back of the art room and into the repository room.

"Good morning, you two. How are you?" Ogami asked.

"I'm… well-" I said, stopping myself from lying. "Can't exactly be honest about that can I?"

Ogami's head sank. "I see. I also feel the same." She sighed. "These killings… they're just awful."

"Asahina wasn't at breakfast this morning." Junko said. "Where is she?"

"She said she had a stomachache, so she stayed in her room during breakfast."

"Huh. I hope she's okay…" I said.

"As do I, Maizono." Ogami nodded. "I never actually asked- how's your wrist?"

"It's still sore, but it's healing really quickly. Probably won't be able to lift anything with it or write yet, but I can move it slightly." I said.

"Well, that's good at least." She smiled. "I have injured myself in numerous ways before during training and sparring, so I know many stretches and exercises that can help speed up healing. If you need any, let me know. My door is open to anyone."

I smiled. "I'm glad. Thank you Ogami. Asahina is truly lucky to be with someone like you."

Ogami turned away. Was she… blushing? "Thank you."

"We should probably start having a look around…" Junko said.

I nodded. I stared at a frame at the back. There was a large selection of different-sized hammers hanging on nails.

"These are sculpting mallets." Ogami said, taking the largest one off the wall with ease. "No idea why they're so large, though. These are heavy enough to cave a person's head in."

I shuddered.

"Jeez, don't say stuff like that!" Junko cried.

Ogami winced. "Sorry, spoke without thinking. Scary observation nonetheless."

"Yeah, for sure." I said. Feeling uncomfortable, I quickly left with Junko in tow. We made our way down the hallway and towards the rec room.

"Oh cool a pool table!" Junko exclaimed excitedly. "I used to play pool all the time with my friends back at home."

"Cool!" I replied.

"Dartboard too? Sick! I get to test my marksmanship skills." She winked.

"Ooh! They got magazines here too!" I said. "I wonder if they have any ones of you here…"

"Oh puh-lease. I saw a bunch down in the laundry anyway."

"The laundry? I must have walked right past them."

"I did see some magazines with you on the cover, Maizono." A soft, accented voice called from behind us.

"Jesus, don't scare us like that!" Junko cried.

Celeste merely giggled. "I do apologise. This is quite a fascinating room, is it not? I look forward to many-a-game of Othello here."

"I can't imagine too many people would be confident going up against the Ultimate Gambler."

"Ehehe, it is what it is. I'm sure Miss Kirigiri has enough cunning to outmatch maybe even myself."

"Where is she anyway?" I asked. "I haven't seen her since yesterday."

Junko shrugged. "Who knows what that mysterious woman is up to?"

"Knowing her, she has probably searched this floor ahead of time, it's possible she just went back to her room." Celeste said.

"Moving on, do you play darts?" Junko asked her.

"Hmm…" Celeste thought for a moment. "I don't bet on it if that's what you're asking. It's like horse racing, there's really no point to it."

"Well… what about just for fun?"

"For leisure, perhaps occasionally." Celeste said. "But it is not my favourite game. It is the same with pool, I prefer billiards."

"Aren't they the same thing?" I asked.

"No, not at all." Celeste giggled. "Billiards is actually very different. It just has similar mechanics to pool. It would be like calling pool and snooker the same."

"Oh… I see…" I said. I didn't really understand what she was saying.

"Anyway, I have seen enough of this room. I shall see you two in the dining hall. Auf Wiedersehen!" Celeste said as she left the rec room.

"Where is she from again?" Junko asked.

"French, German, Japanese, who knows?" I shrugged.

Junko snorted. "American."

"God. Forbid." I said through gritted teeth.

We exited out of the rec room and made our way down the stairs. Once we got down to the first floor, Junko stopped suddenly.

"Shit. We didn't check the classrooms and bathrooms." She said.

"Are they really important, though?" I said. "I mean, even if they were, Kirigiri and Ishimaru would have-" I cut myself, realising what I just said. "Oh."

Junko looked uncomfortable. "I'm… sure it will be fine. You're right. They're probably not important."

"It's not like we found anything anyway…" I said sadly. "Apart from a lot of weapons…"

Junko shuddered. "Let's just go back to the dorms."

I nodded, and together we walked back to my room. As we approached my bedroom door, I held Junko's arm. "Hey. Can you come sit with me? I… need to talk to someone."

Junko looked nervous, but smiled. "Of course." She followed me into my bedroom and sat down next to me on the bed. I laid down so that my head was on the pillow, but still giving Junko plenty of room. To my surprise, instead of sitting, she laid down next to me, so that our eyes were parallel with each other.

Suddenly, my breaths became incredibly heavy. What was this feeling? I couldn't understand it. Being this close to Junko… I felt so… relaxed. For once. "Junko…" I whispered so quietly it was almost inaudible.

"Yes, Sayaka?" She replied, equally as soft.

"Am I…?" I gulped. "Am I a bad person?"

Junko blinked in surprise but smiled softly. "Of course not, Sayaka."

"It's just that…" I sniffed. I felt tears beginning to form. "Everything I touch seems to wilt. Everyone I'm close to dies."

Junko looked sad but said nothing.

"Makoto, Kuwata, Chihiro… they're all gone. But you… you're the only person I have left. If I lost you… I don't know what I'd do." I sobbed. "Please Junko, please never leave me. I need you. I need you by my side."

Junko started crying. "Sayaka…"

"I don't want to become like Ishimaru, a shattered soul full of regret. I don't want to be left behind. Never again." Tears dripped onto my pillow and rolled down towards Junko's face. "I… I've never felt like this about a person before… not even Makoto..."

"Sayaka, what are you saying?" Junko's mascara started to run. "I can't… I can't understand what you're saying."

"I need you, Junko. Stay with me." I felt my body begin to curl up. The pain was becoming unbearable.

"Okay… If you want me to." Junko said. She sounded apprehensive.

"Is… something wrong?"

Junko wiped her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"You look worried. You're just like me, right? You're afraid of getting close to someone."

"C-close?"

I nodded. "I won't ever hurt you."

Junko frowned. "It's not that…"

"Then what is it?"

Junko sighed. "God, you and your goddamn psychic intuition…"

I giggled.

Junko smiled briefly, then frowned again. "Aren't you… afraid? Of being hurt or betrayed?"

My heart sank. "Junko?"

Junko's face turned white. "Sorry. Forget I said anything. I'm just being stupid." She sniffed. "I'm just… overthinking things." She covered her face with her hands. "God I wish I wasn't in this shitty situation!" She cried loudly.

I started crying again. "Me neither. But we will get out. Together. All of us. And when we do, I wanna stay like this. Both of us, together."

"Wh-what are you saying, Sayaka?" Junko said.

"I wasn't lying when I said I've never felt this way about someone." I said plainly.

"Sayaka, I-" She cut herself off. She started crying again. "I can't have this conversation right now." Junko stood up quickly.

"Junko wait!" I grabbed her hand suddenly. "Please, stay. We don't have to have that discussion if you don't want to. I understand that… feelings… are difficult to talk about. Especially in this environment. It's gonna be scary, but we'll get through it, right?"

Junko's face fell. "I'm sorry, Maizono. I gotta go."

"JUNKO!" I yelled, but I couldn't stop her. She quickly walked out of my bedroom, tears still dripping down her face. I pounded my pillow with my fist in anger. "Goddamnit!" I cried. I slammed my face into the indentation I made, feeling wet tears soak the pillow beneath me. "Junko… Makoto…" I cried. I don't know how, but my body must have been so exhausted, because after a while I drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up, it was well into the evening. I stood up and stretched. My body felt a strange mixture of heaviness and weightlessness, I couldn't tell what it was. I made my way down to the dining hall and saw an unexpected sight.

"Hina!" Ogami cried, rushing over to Asahina, who was sitting at a table by herself. She looked very shaken up.

"Asahina! Are you alright?" I said, rushing over as well.

"Jeez, guys!" Asahina smiled. "Don't worry about me. It was just a stomachache."

"A stomachache?" Celeste asked from behind me. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Asahina shuddered. "I think I might have..."

"Wait, there's a ghost in the school!?" Hagakure cried from the doorway.

Gradually, people came in to see what was going on.

"Calm down, you idiot." Togami scolded. "There's no such thing as ghosts."

"Y-yes there are!" Hagakure insisted. "I've been able to see them since I was a kid!"

"T-this is n-n-no time for your i-insane occult d-delusions!" Fukawa said.

"You're one to talk!"

"Enough!" Kirigiri shouted. "Regardless of whether or not it was a ghost, Asahina clearly saw something. We should hear her out."

Ogami stared down at Hagakure and Fukawa, causing them to shrink back in fear.

Asahina smiled at Kirigiri. "Thank you, Kirigiri." She exhaled deeply. "It… it was last night. I couldn't sleep. I was hungry, so I decided to go to the warehouse to see if I could find some donuts…"

"So you broke the nighttime rule too?" Celeste asked. "Honestly, is there anyone who hasn't broken it yet?"

Nobody said a word. Several people glanced at Ishimaru, expecting him to jump up with a response, but he sat eerily still, staring at the floor.

"Sorry, Celeste." Asahina said guiltily.

"It is fine. Please, continue."

"When I went out of my room, I heard a weird noise coming from the bathhouse, so I went to check it out." She said. "I saw a weird green light shine from inside a locker that was open slightly. I looked inside the locker and…" She started crying. "It was Fujisaki's ghost!"

"Fujisaki?" Kirigiri said. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. Plain as day, it was hi- ah, her face."

"We should check it out." Ogami said.

"How is chasing Asahina's supposed ghost story in any way necessary?" Togami asked.

"Worst case scenario she was hallucinating and we find nothing." Kirigiri said. "Best case scenario, we find something vitally clue that Fujisaki may have left us." She smiled knowingly.

"Fine." Togami sneered. "Let's go."

We quickly left the dining hall and made our way to the bathhouse.

"How can you be so sure there's anything even in here?" Togami asked.

"That's simple." Kirigiri said. "Look around."

I remembered my conversation with Junko a couple days ago. "There are no cameras in here." I said. I looked around, but I couldn't see Junko anywhere. She was the only one among our group that was missing. That worried me.

Kirigiri smiled. "Exactly. Perfect place to hide something, which, if Asahina's account wasn't a dream or a hallucination, is most likely what Fujisaki did."

"It was that locker there!" Asahina cried, pointing to a locker sitting ajar.

Immediately, Kirigiri opened it, and inside we found…

"A laptop?" Yamada asked.

Kirigiri tapped a button, and the laptop came to life. On the screen, we saw the familiar face of Chihiro Fujisaki.

"Hello!" A computerised voice that echoed Chihiro perfectly said cheerily.

"AAAAH! A g-g-ghost!" Hagakure and Fukawa cried in unison. Fukawa fell backwards and collapsed on the floor.

"I thought she didn't believe your insane ghost story." Togami said, looking down at Fukawa's body.

"It's not a ghost." Kirigiri said. "It looks like some kind of program."

"It makes sense, she was the Ultimate Programmer after all…" I said.

"Can we talk to it?" Yamada asked.

Kirigiri nodded. She started typing on the keyboard, seeing the words show up in a dialogue box underneath Chihiro's face. "Who are you?"

Chihiro's face giggled on the screen. "Oh! Hello! I am Alter Ego. I'm an Artificial Intelligence designed to help people."

"Alter Ego?" Yamada repeated.

"An… AI?" Asahina asked.

I gasped. "This is what Chihiro was working on before she died. I saw her typing some code the other day…"

"How in the world did she craft something so complex with such limited resources?" Togami asked.

"She was an Ultimate after all." Kirigiri said. "While challenging, it would not have been impossible."

"Wow, I didn't expect so many of you." Alter Ego said. "Did Master tell you about me?"

We all looked at each other uncomfortably.

Kirigiri thought for a moment and then typed. "How can you see us?"

"I can monitor who uses this laptop through the webcam built into the computer." Alter Ego said.

Kirigiri spoke aloud. "This is good. If the mastermind were to discover this laptop, it would be disastrous."

"Where is Master, anyway? I haven't seen her in a while…"

Kirigiri looked at me. I nodded to her in return. She started typing. "Chihiro is dead. Owada killed her."

There was a look of genuine shock on the AI's interface. "Oh. I figured something like that might happen. Master warned me that it was a possibility..."

"Is that… Chihiro?" Came a small voice.

"Ishimaru!" I cried.

Everyone made way for Ishimaru as he pushed forward. "Chihiro… you're alive… you're here…"

Kirigiri stepped in front of him. "Hold on now. You're in a vulnerable state. We can't have you experiencing any denial."

Ishimaru looked sad, and then his face became vacant again.

"I'm sorry, Ishimaru. It's for your own good." Kirigiri explained.

Ishimaru nodded, having understood.

Yamada, on the other hand, was drooling. I refused to acknowledge that, so I immediately turned away.

Kirigiri turned back to the laptop and began typing again. "Is there anything you can do?"

"You're asking why Master made me, I presume." Alter Ego said. "She tasked me to search through the school files on this laptop. They were all encrypted, so that's why she asked me."

"Faster than doing it all by hand." Kirigiri said. "She was smart."

I bowed my head solemnly. Her voice sounded so real, so lifelike. I kept having to convince myself that it was just a computer program.

"Cheer up, Maizono!" Alter Ego called out to me. "I understand how you must feel, but Master told me a lot about you. I know how strong you are. You can get through this."

"Strong?" I said.

"There are different kinds of strength."

I blinked. Chihiro took those words to heart… she really wanted to become strong in her own way. Hearing Alter Ego say that now, that reaffirmed it for me. "Th… thank you."

"About those files…" Kirigiri typed.

"Oh! Of course!" Alter Ego said. "I can get through the encryption, but it's going to take time."

"How long?"

"Mmm…" The AI seemed to think for a moment. "Probably at least a couple days… But I can tell you this much: The school shutdown was ordered by the headmaster of the school, and that's why all the exits are blocked."

"Well… yeah… Monokuma's the headmaster after all…" Hagakure said.

Alter Ego shook its head. "No, I mean the actual headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy. I don't know his name, but all I know is that he's a man in his late thirties, and that he never left the school after the shutdown."

"What the hell!?" Hagakure cried. "The actual headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy is the mastermind!?"

Alter Ego nodded.

Kirigiri looked angry. An anger like I've never seen on her face. She shook her head and began typing. "Thank you, Alter Ego. That will be all. Please continue decrypting those files."

"I will!" Alter Ego said. "Bye bye for now! Oh, and if anyone tries to take me, I'll just scream real loud!"

The laptop screen suddenly went dark.

Kirigiri stood up straight. "Okay. It is vital that Alter Ego stays safe. As a result, we should only talk to Alter Ego as a group, and very occasionally. Too many trips to the sauna is going to tip off the mastermind. And also…" She looked at us with a hard expression. "There could be a chance one of us is working with the mastermind, and if they got a hold of this laptop, it would be a devastating loss."

"What good is Alter Ego screaming gonna do?" Asahina asked. "Our rooms are soundproof."

"I considered that. My room is closest to the bathhouse, so at night I will leave my door open." Kirigiri said.

"What!?" I cried. "Th-that's insane!"

"You do realise you are opening yourself up to be an easy target, no?" Celeste asked.

"I understand the risks. However I am not some weak or mild-mannered woman. I can look after myself." Kirigiri spoke very threateningly to make her message clear. It worked.

"Okay. So then that's settled." Celeste said. "I don't think there is any more reason to stay here."

Kirigiri nodded. "Maizono, you'll have to catch up Enoshima on our discovery. It's important that everyone is filled in."

I nodded.

"What if she's the spy working for the mastermind?" Yamada asked. "It's suspicious that she didn't show up to dinner today."

"What?" I cried. "No! That's impossible!"

"We can't discern that she is the spy based on that." Kirigiri said. "Although I'll admit her sudden disappearance is suspicious, it's not enough basis for an accusation."

"That is correct. We cannot say who can and cannot be the mastermind's mole." Ogami inferred.

Asahina looked happy as we all exited the bathhouse. "I just did something awesome, right?" She cried excitedly. "I just did something totally amazing."

"Oh please, do tell!" Monokuma suddenly said, appearing out of nowhere. "What on earth were you all doing in the bathhouse!? Having some sort of mixed bath? How indecent!"

"S-shut up!" Asahina cried. "It's nothing dirty like that!"

Celeste was quick with a lie. "Asahina just simply won us a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors. We were trying to decide who should use the bathhouse first and Asahina won."

"Wha wha?" Monokuma said.

"Huh? Uh- oh yeah!" Asahina said quickly. "It… I-it was down to me and Hagakure, but it looks like f-fortune was against him this time! Haha." She smiled nervously, desperately trying to look convincing.

Hagakure scowled. "Hey! I managed to predict everyone else's moves except yours! That was pure luck!"

"Kyehahahaha!" Genocider Syo yelled as she ran out of the bathhouse. "Was that what was happening!? Oh boy I'm all excited!"

"Syo, unfortunately, couldn't take part." Celeste sighed. "Poor Fukawa passed out after beating Togami."

I was surprised how quick everyone got onto that lie. I guess in this environment, lying is second nature. While I expected it from Celeste as she was the Ultimate Gambler, I did not expect it from everyone else. And speaking of lies… I couldn't help but look at Kirigiri. She still hadn't told us what her Ultimate Talent was. That worried me. Could she have been the spy? Kirigiri shot me a look in return and I turned away.

"So it's settled then?" Kirigiri said, facing Monokuma. "We're going to have our bath now. You boys should head on out."

Togami had already disappeared. Yamada looked at Celeste sadly and trudged off, Hagakure and Ishimaru in tow.

Monokuma huffed. "That was a perfect opportunity to spy! Are you even real teenage boys!?"

"Shut the hell up!" Asahina growled. "That's so gross!"

"Ignore him, Hina. Let's just go in." Ogami turned and walked with her back to the bathhouse.

Monokuma looked angry, but said nothing and vanished.

We all followed Asahina and Ogami into the bathhouse, where they had already started getting changed.

"Oh, are we actually going in?" I asked.

"May as well. Lord knows I could use the relaxation." Celeste sighed.

"Kyehahaha!" Syo laughed. "It's too bad Master isn't here with me!"

"Stop talking about Togami like that, it's so weird!" Asahina cried.

After we all got changed, I walked into the bathhouse and immediately sank into the hot water. I felt my entire body relax. The water was so nice I could practically feel my troubles melting away. I lay my head on the side of the pool and exhaled.

"I wish Junko was here." I said quietly to myself. I realised how badly I needed her company. "Maybe I shouldn't have been so… straight-forward with her. When I next see her, I'll tell her I'm sorry. And that… I'm here for her too. Just like Makoto was for me."

I looked around, but nobody was paying attention to me. That was good.

"Because…" I said quietly. I finally found the strength to admit what I was feeling, even to no audience. "Because I love you, Junko Enoshima."