Part 4: Kyoko and Chihiro

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Shuichi managed to doze off as well next to Sayaka, only being roused when he heard the bell for dinner being chimed. Sayaka perked up and turned her TV off. "Meet you there?"

He nodded and headed into the lounge instead, wanting to make sure the others weren't teasing about the cigarettes.

They weren't; a small black vending machine was next to the white one for snacks that had a stylized cigarette on it. You could get a pack for eight tokens. A blue vending machine next to it had all sorts of alcoholic beverages available for five tokens. He walked over to the red drink vending machine and lifted the flap. "It looks like these are free,"

"Yup, you're right," Aoi said, making him jump. "Just cigarettes, snacks, and alcohol cost tokens,"

Shuichi pointed over to the snack machine, specifically at a pack of brownies that cost six tokens in comparison to the rest which only cost one. "Are those...?"

"Pot brownies? They sure are!" Kokichi popped in, laughing. "I actually had those once a few days ago. They really do work as intended,"

"I've never had them myself..." Sayaka blushed suddenly.

Shuichi bit back his tongue, almost yelling out that that was illegal, but what did these people care? This whole operation was illegal, illicit substances were just par for the course.

He followed the three to the cafeteria, finding Mondo already there. They took their seats and Mikan served them all again. Shuichi ordered gyoza, motsunabe, and taiyaki for dessert. Who even made the menu for a place like this, anyway? None of it really seemed like something a child would want to eat, though maybe Shuichi had just been so spoiled at home by his worldly uncle that he knew no different.

The five talked as they ate, speaking of the schools they all attended before and their favourite shows. Sayaka loved cold plum juice. Aoi still had problems tying her shoes. Kokichi's favourite holiday was Halloween. Mondo's hobby was woodworking. Everything was fine until Shuichi caught Sayaka shyly wiping away some tears with her hand.

"I didn't get any shots today, but I got the butt-thermometer," She hiccuped, catching his confused expression. "They take our temperature rectally,"

"It's pretty humiliating," Kokichi sighed. "I guess they assume all kids love it up there or something!"

"It's so old-fashioned," Aoi pouted. "Maybe there's a good reason for it, but.."

"Anybody want a refill on their drinks? I could get it-" Mondo started to ask, but was cut off by someone new arriving in the cafeteria.

"Oh, look, new people!" She commented, shading her eyes. She had black hair dyed in two colours; blue and pink. She wore black fishnets, black combat boots, jean cutoffs, and a neon green camisole with jelly bracelets on both wrists. Despite her appearance and attempted cheerfulness, Shuichi thought she looked very lost. He also guessed her to be around his age. "Do you guys know where this is?"

"Come on over here, chick." Mondo smiled at her. "Get some grub,"

"Not hungry," The girl mumbled, walking over. "Seriously though, answer Ibuki this. Who does she have to slap to get out of here?!"

And that was how they met Ibuki Mioda.

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They all headed out to the playground after dinner and filled Ibuki in on the situation. She was TK and was also a pos, just like Kokichi and Mondo were. She proved this by making a hula hoop levitate and spin around on its own before tossing it back onto the ground.

"Whoa, girl's got a lot of power!" Kokichi whistled. "Let me try!" He stared at the hula hoop and managed to make it levitate, but it didn't spin and just harmlessly fell back to the ground. He sighed dramatically. "Awww man! I guess Mioda-chan is cooler than me!"

"Ibuki is flattered," She said.

"Do you miss your family?"

"Ibuki's not sure. They never paid much attention to her. She does have a niece though that she misses greatly. Her aunt is rad too. Do you guys think Ibuki will get to see them again?"

"Yeah," Sayaka smiled weakly and started jumping on the trampoline again.

"So, like...nobody knows why we're here except for these lame abilities, we get tested until we see dots but nobody knows why, and we also get to go to Back Half, but nobody knows why? And when it's over, Ibuki's mind is going to be erased like none of this ever happened?"

"Yup," Aoi nodded.

"This place sounds terrible," Ibuki pouted, looking away. "She always wants to make the most of everything, Ibuki does, that's her motto! But..." She trailed off, and Shuichi could understand why.

"Guess that's why we got illegal drugs and crap like that," Mondo finished for her.

Shuichi suddenly felt a large lump form in his throat and his breathing grow shallow. He bit his lip and pulled his hat down to shield his face from view. He could feel his tears coming on again like a thunderstorm and he didn't want to start crying again, least of all in front of all these people. Least of all in front of Sayaka, who had basically spent her whole evening crying. Instead, he went back to his room, closed the door, and laid down on his bed, sighing. He closed his eyes, and soon the tears came.

He felt confused and angry and afraid, but most of all he felt homesick. This wasn't summer cram school or a school trip, this was a literal nightmare, and all he wished was for it to be over.

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After a few hours of fitful sleep and nightmares, Shuichi woke up and briefly wondered if it was all over, only to see the missing window and sigh to himself. He got out of bed and used the bathroom, then powered up his laptop. He wondered if the sessions were timed by the hour and if he'd need another token if that was the case, but saw it booted up just fine. Maybe it ran on a twenty-four hour span, or maybe even forty-eight hours if he was lucky.

It was three in the morning, and he assumed that was what he got for taking a nap in the day and then falling asleep so early in the evening.

He thought of going onto YouTube and watching some historical documentaries that always seemed to get recommended to you in the early hours of the morning, or maybe some random scenes from anime he saw every so often on TV, but he assumed those would just bring back his homesickness so he decided against it. But what else could he do? Wander the empty halls? Laying in his bed awake until daylight? Going to the playground? Aoi said the playground was never locked, but it was far too spooky in the nighttime.

"Then why don't you think?" Shuichi snapped at himself, making him jump. He got off the chair and started to pace around his room barefooted. Why couldn't he think? He was Shuichi Saihara; son to famous starlets, nephew to an up-and-coming detective, who loved reading about gruesome historical events simply because they were in the past and couldn't happen again. He loved all of the Persona games and played the fourth one in particular about five times. He had a small knowledge of Portuguese because he found it interesting how much of his own language had Portuguese sprinkled in and wanted to learn more. He was considered a precocious boy, who would inherit his uncle's detective business when he came of age. He watched his uncle bust difficult drug and kidnapping cases, looking right over his shoulder.

So why was he just feeling sorry for himself?

He sat back down on the computer chair and stared at the laptop screen. If there was nothing else for him to do, he still wouldn't wallow in despair. Escape was impossible, but they couldn't stop him from trying to learn.

His uncle had told him once about a secretive Internet site that was basically the next-door-neighbor of the deep web. Nothing was forbidden there and it was how they managed to catch a lot of drug-dealers. Shuichi quickly typed the name into the search engine, hoping it would work.

He hit the 'enter' key and after a few minutes of agonizing waiting, a black and green webpage came up, blinking, a drop-down menu available.

What language do you want translated?

Practically every single language known to man was listed, but which one you picked mattered little. What really mattered was what got recorded in the search history. Shuichi randomly chose Ukrainian and typed in a random password he recalled from one of his uncle's sessions, marveling that it actually worked.

Shuichi next typed in the site for the Japan Times, finding it came up easily. The current events were for that date, and in Japanese, but the computer's search history would show nothing but a random string of Ukrainian words with Japanese translations.

Was it a victory? Disguising the search history would mean nothing if they could actively monitor him. If they saw him looking up news sites, he'd be dead.

Well, nothing for it at the moment. Shuichi decided he should try out other news sites too and learn as much as he could about their situation as well as what happened to his uncle. Maybe gossip sites for how his parents were dealing with his sudden disappearance. Before he could start typing again, however, he froze at the sound of screaming in the hallway.

"Somebody p-please help me! I-I don't know w-where I am! P-Please help! Help me! I-I'm lost!"

Shuichi quickly turned the computer off and peeked outside, finding out the person crying was a little boy in checkered pajamas, sobbing and knocking on every door he came across with his small fists.

Ten? Chihiro Fujisaki looked like he was five or six, seven at the most. The crotch and legs of his pajama pants were wet and sticking to him.

"I-I want to go home! Please let me go home!" He continued to cry. Shuichi glanced around a few times to see if anyone would notice and come help him, not knowing at the time that a kid crying and screaming to go home was quite normal for The Institute. Still, the boy was starting to give Shuichi a headache, and if nobody else was going to calm him down, it might as well be him.

He hurried over to the boy and gently placed his hands on his shoulders, kneeling in front of him. He tried to offer him a smile. "Hey...take it easy. You're alright,"

The boy stared at him with red-lined eyes, tears still falling freely down his cheeks. His hair was sweaty and clung to his cheek. He sniffled.

"Where's Mommy? Where's Daddy?" He started crying harder and Shuichi let go of him in surprise, making the boy fall to the ground and continue crying.

A door suddenly opened, revealing Aoi in a tye-dyed shirt and gigantic orange basketball shorts. She walked over to the boy and put her hands on her big hips. She then looked at Shuichi, looking concerned. "I don't think I've ever seen someone cry so much,"

Another door opened and Ibuki Mioda emerged, wearing a very lacy and sheer white babydoll dress. She had small breasts but large hips. Shuichi blushed at the sight.

Aoi pouted. "Not the time, Saihara-san. Can you please help me? This kid is yelling in my head and it's giving me a headache," She tried to reach for him, but the boy scooted away, trembling in fright. She sighed. "Help me out here,"

Shuichi knelt down and considered, trying not to look like a wuss in front of the newly-arrived vision in white. He grabbed the little boy's elbows and pushed them down, pressing his arms to the side of his chest. He could feel the kid's heart racing rapidly.

Aoi bent over and gently cupped his cheeks in her hands, staring into his eyes. The boy stopped crying as hard and instead titled his head, staring at Aoi in fascination. Shuichi's own eyes widened, realizing what she meant earlier.

"He's a TP, isn't he? Just like you," He breathed.

Aoi nodded. "He's way stronger than me though, or anyone I've seen before. Come on, let's take him to my room,"

"Can Ibuki come too?" She asked quickly, stepping over.

"Yeah, I bet Saihara-san would enjoy the view," Aoi teased, making Ibuki blush a bit.

"Ibuki thinks she should better change first,"

"Do what you want," She then looked down at the boy. "What's your name?"

"C-Chihiro..." His voice was hoarse from crying so much. "Fujisaki Chihiro,"

"I'm Asahina Aoi. You may call me Hina or Aoi-chan, if you want,"

"Just don't call her 'sweetie,'" Shuichi added.

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Aoi's room was frilly and pink much like Sayaka's was, which surprised Shuichi. Sports things were scattered around, and she had a few medals hanging up on a rack above her bed. Also above her bed was a poster of Serena Williams.

"She's my idol!" She said happily.

Still sniffling, Chihiro started to climb up on Aoi's bed, but she quickly pulled him off, gently taking his arm.

"Not in those wet pants," She moved closer to him and he stepped back, hands crossed protectively over his crotch. She looked at Shuichi, who shrugged and knelt in front of Chihiro.

"Which room is yours?"

He shook his head.

"Did you leave your door open?"

A nod.

"I'll get dry clothes for you, alright? You stay here with Asahina-san," He stood up and looked at Aoi. The boy just sat there, sniffling still.

"I think I can calm him down," Aoi reassured Shuichi just as Ibuki reappeared, wearing a long black dress shirt over matching jeans.

"Is he feeling any better?"

Shuichi nodded. "Just a bit," He saw a trail of drops leading in the direction where him and Kyoko had gone to change the sheets.

"Ibuki didn't see those two boys around anywhere. She bets they sleep like the dead!"

"Oh, they do," Aoi nodded. "You two go on ahead. Fujisaki-chan and I are having a meeting of the minds here,"

The two nodded and left, and Aoi knelt in front of Chihiro and gave him a reassuring smile. He had vibrant hazel eyes and matching hair cut into a bob. His lip was quivering and he looked ready to begin crying all over again.

"What happened?" She started to ask before reconsidering. Instead, she thought to him: What happened?

I dunno, He hiccuped. I was asleep like always when I peed in my bed. It woke me up and I called for Daddy to come help me. But Daddy never came so I left my bed. But everything wasn't my house, so I got upset and cried.

Aoi nodded in understanding. Saihara-san and Mioda-chan have gone to get you some new clothes. They'll be back soon.

I know...I'm such a burden...

No, you're not! I can already tell you're going to make lots of friends here!

Chihiro didn't respond, just clasped his hands at his chest. Aoi softly placed a hand on his head.

Meanwhile, Ibuki and Shuichi had arrived at Chihiro's room, the ice machine next to it cheerfully still making ice. "Fujisaki Chihiro-chan. He's ten, can you believe that?"

"Oh? Are you a secret TP and you never told Ibuki?" She asked in surprise.

"No. I helped Kyoko-san change the sheets on his bed. She told me. The room was all ready for him,"

"You're a teacher's pet!" She laughed. Shuichi thought of Nagito slapping him across the face and wondered if the same would happen to Ibuki.

"Kyoko-san's not like the others. If you're good to her, she'll be good to you," He shook his head.

"How long have you been here?"

"I got here just before you did,"

"No!"

"Yup,"

"Then how do you know who's good and who isn't?"

"I just get a feeling about Kyoko-san, she's a good person. Trust me on that," He finally walked inside the bedroom and Ibuki followed after him, snooping through all of the drawers before she finally pulled out a pair of fresh pants and underwear, then they started walking back. On the way, she asked him if he had any of the tests Kokichi had told her about.

"Not yet, but they did chip me." He showed her it. "Don't fight it. I did and got slapped,"

Ibuki gasped. "You're joking!"

He then showed her his cheek where a faint bruise was.

"Nobody is slapping Ibuki!"

"I don't suggest testing that,"

She flipped her two-toned hair. "Ibuki's gotten her ears pierced several times already, so she's not worried."

When they returned, Aoi was sitting on her bed with Chihiro next to her, sitting on a towel. She was stroking his hair while he stared up at her dreamily, as if she were a fairy-tale princess. Ibuki suddenly tossed Shuichi the clothes, surprising him enough that he dropped the green boxers.

"Ibuki doesn't want to see him naked. Or any dude naked, for that matter! She's going right back to bed and hoping all of this is just some awful dream,"

Aoi waved to her and Shuichi bent over in time to see Ibuki's hips sway underneath her jeans. He blushed heavily and picked the boxers back up.

"She's a catch, isn't she?" Aoi teased, seeing his face.

"She's...a lot to take in," Shuichi said, expecting her to laugh. He liked her laugh, but when Aoi spoke again, she just sounded sad.

"This place will drain the personality right out of her. Soon she'll be just like us and flinch whenever she sees a guy dressed in blue. Fujisaki-chan, you need to get dressed in these. Saihara-san and I will turn our backs,"

They did so, and after a minute or two of hearing the rustle of clothing and sniffling, Chihiro took a deep breath. "Y-You can both turn around now,"

"Now take your wet pajama pants and hang them over your sink," Aoi said, and Chihiro nodded and shuffled away, coming back in.

"Okay, I did it..." He had no fury or despair in his voice anymore, just timidness and exhaustion.

"Good for you! Lay down in bed now. It's alright," She sat down on her bed and propped Chihiro's feet into her lap, while Shuichi sat next to her.

"Are you feeling better?"

Chihiro nodded. "I guess so..."

"You know so," Aoi gently tapped his nose, making him flinch a bit. She then started to stroke his hair again, and Shuichi suddenly thought that there was a ton more going on with them than he could see. Inner-traffic. As if to prove his point, Aoi gently nudged Chihiro. "Go on, tell him your joke before you go to bed,"

"Okay. The frog's child will always be a frog, but a demon's child will never be a demon," He recited, blinking. Shuichi realized it was a mashup of two proverbs and tried to puzzle it out. It was almost like a riddle.

Aoi continued to stroke Chihiro's hair, making his eyes flutter. Eventually, they closed entirely and he fell forward. Aoi gently laid him down in bed. Shuichi stared at her. "I was singing a lullaby for him my mom used to sing for me," She whispered. "I can't sing at all, but I guess when you're doing it mentally, the melody doesn't matter as much,"

"He's probably not the sharpest tool in the shed,"

She gave him a look that made his face turn red.

"It's not brains he's lacking. TP as strong as his isn't a good thing, not really. When you don't know what people are thinking, you gotta be good at picking up on...er...social cues. Most people just look at faces and judge the tone of voice they adopt to speak. It's kinda like growing teeth. This poor boy has teeth that are only good for chewing grass,"

He nodded in understanding.

"A place like this is a terrible place for a rabbit like him...but I guess it doesn't matter. We all go to Back Half eventually," She smiled. "Well, whatever. He's extremely powerful and I actually managed to talk to him! In his mind! It was real telepathy!"

"But surely you must've met others in your time here?"

She shook her head. "It's way harder than it looks. It's like trying to listen to the radio when it's turned all the way down. Sometimes you get stuff, but most of the time you can't. But this was just like in a movie. You gotta take care of him once I'm gone, Saihara-san. He's a bunny rabbit, and it's no wonder he doesn't act his age. He was probably coddled,"

Shuichi glanced up in surprise, looking at her. "H-Has...anyone said anything about you leaving? Kyoko-san?"

"They don't need to. I didn't get any tests yesterday and that's a sure sign. No shots either. Oowada-san is going too. Sayaka-chan and Ouma-san will likely be here a while longer if they're still getting tested," She lowered her voice even more and pulled Shuichi close to her, touching his neck. He found himself shivering suddenly. "If the only thing you like about Mioda-chan is her sense of fashion, keep it that way. Everyone leaves here eventually and it messes you up. But this one here...you need to take care of him for as long as possible. When I think of Miss Ludenberg or Mr. Komaeda or that terrible witch Miss Iruma hitting Fujisaki-chan, it makes me want to cry,"

"I'll do what I can, but...I'll miss you," He allowed himself to admit, blushing.

She gave him a sad smile. They sat in silence for a while, not saying or doing anything. Shuichi knew he'd have to go soon, but he wasn't ready yet. He didn't want to be alone.

"I think I can help out Kyoko-san. With her cancer. But I'd have to talk to her," He finally said, whispering even quieter than they had before.

Aoi's eyes sparkled and she smiled at him. "Really?! That'd be great!" She tilted her head. "But...how did you know it was cancer?"

He shrugged. "She's always tired and probably feverish. She's young enough that she shouldn't be having problems like that. I just used simple deducing and reasoning,"

"Oh, a junior detective, huh?" She teased, making him blush heavily.

She then whispered in his ear, making him shiver. "Make it soon. She has her week off coming in a day or two," She placed her hand on his thigh, making him bite his lip. "When she comes back, she'll be somewhere else for three weeks. You might see her around in places like the halls or the break room, but she won't talk to you, even when it's safe to talk." She moved away from him. "Now you should head back to bed,"

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Shuichi was roused from a dreamless sleep to rhythmic knocking on his door and suddenly wondered if he had overslept on a school day. The door eventually opened, revealing Celestia standing there who gave him her usual sweet smile. She was the woman who took him to get chipped, the same woman who told him he had to adapt and serve them.

"Bonjour!" She smiled. "You missed breakfast, but I did not forget about you. I brought you some orange juice! It is freshly-squeezed! You may drink it while we walk,"

Shuichi glanced over at his laptop, seeing the power button blink slowly on and off. It was in sleep mode, but if Celestia came in and pushed a button to see what he had been doing on it; and Shuichi wouldn't put such a thing past her, she'd see the darkly-coloured website and blab about it to someone, even if she herself had no clue what it was. Someone above her might know. He looked back at her.

"May I please get dressed? I want to look respectable," He said, hoping that would entice her. She gave him another smile.

"Alright, but do not dally. You do not want your juice to get warm," She shut the door.

Shuichi jumped from his bed, pulled on some jeans and a T-shirt, checking the time on the clock and seeing it was eleven in the morning. He never slept for that long, not even on weekends. Did they slip something in his food? But if they had, he wouldn't have woken up in the middle of the night. Shock, then. Shock at the current situation and still trying to process it.

He shut the computer off, knowing any attempts to hide what he had been doing would've been futile if they were monitoring him constantly.

Celestia had opened the door when he finished tying his sneakers on, and she gasped. "Magnifique!" She praised, as if he were a monkey who just learned a simple trick. Shuichi found he was liking her less and less, yet when she handed him his juice, he drank it all down.

They walked to the elevator together, this time going to the third floor. "Isn't it a lovely day today?" She chirped as the elevator began descending. Shuichi figured that was how she started every conversation. He glanced at her finger and saw an engagement ring there.

"You're engaged? Who's the husband? Do you have any kids already?" He asked, and Celestia frowned a bit at him.

"That is my business and only mine."

"How do you think they'd feel if they were locked up in a place like this?" He continued, staring up at her from under his cap. She ushered him out of the elevator, holding his arm tightly. "Can you live with yourself, knowing you've done such terrible things?"

She gripped his arm tighter, making him bite his lip. "My, you are feeling spirited today, aren't you? Even though I was so nice and brought you juice,"

"What would you say to your husband and kids if they found out what you were doing here? You might end up on the news,"

Celestia gripped his arm even tighter and walked faster, making Shuichi glanced up at her face. He had hoped she showed some sort of discomfort or distress to prove to him he had bothered her, but there was only blankness on her face.

A true porcelain doll.

They stopped at 3-15, in a room filled with medical and computer equipment both. There was also a black chair pointed at the wall with a projector behind it.

A tech was waiting for them, wearing a modified pink dress that had a super low-cut blouse and a skirt so tight and short Shuichi was sure he could see the outlines of her panties underneath. He blushed, unsure of where to look. Her nametag proclaimed she was Miu. Shuichi recognized that name; Kyoko said she was one of the mean ones.

"Hey there cutepie! How are you feeling today?" She asked nicely, her stringy blonde hair pulled into a tight bun. "You going to be naughty?"

He quickly shook his head. "No trouble today,"

"Fantastic! That's what I wanna hear!" She slipped on a pair of gloves and opened a blue bottle that smelled strongly of rubbing alcohol, then she pulled a large thermometer out from a nearby drawer. Shuichi blinked as he stared at it. It couldn't be...

"Alright! Just bend your cute self over that chair and pull your pants down,"

"Not with..." Shuichi trailed off, about to say 'not with Miss Ludenberg here', but when he glanced around he saw that she was gone. He liked to think it was to give him some modesty, but in reality she was probably sick of his attitude.

"Huh? Not with what? With this?" She twirled around with the thermometer like she was a cheerleader holding a baton. "Orders from the higher-ups, ya know. So it's gotta be this way. Don't worry, I swear I won't enjoy it too much,"

"I think a smaller one would be easier, like the one you stick in your ear? Or even just one that goes under your-"

"Are you really going to give me fuckin' lip after you said you wouldn't? Take your goddamn pants off before I do it for you. And if I do it, you won't like it," She stepped towards him.

Shuichi held his hands up and backed himself up into the chair, seeing no way out. He unzipped and unbuttoned his pants, slid them down, then turned around and bent over.

"There we go! Exactly how I pictured it!" Miu gently dipped the end of the thermometer into a jar of lube, coating it up thoroughly before showing it to him. "See? All slimed-up and protected. You won't even feel this baby penetrating you! Just remember, if you don't feel both hands on you, your black cherry is safe,"

Shuichi took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He was sweating and he tried to remind himself that he wasn't the first kid in The Institute to receive this sort of treatment. It helped a little, but only a little. He assumed they only did this as a sort of humiliation tactic, to keep children in their place and remind them who was in charge. To show they can do literally anything they wanted to do.

He heard laughter from behind him and winced. "The suspense is killin' ya, ain't it, cherryboy?" She laughed again.

Once the indignity of having his temperature taken was over, Miu also took his blood pressure, checked the iron in his blood, and also measured his height and weight. She also checked his nose and throat, singing to herself as she did so. Celestia had come back into the room by that point, sipping tea from a cup printed with violets.

"Okay, time for a shot. No trouble, right cutiepie?" Miu asked him cheerfully, and Shuichi shook his head. The only thing he wanted to do was take a long shower and wipe the cold, slimy lube out of his rear end. He had nothing to be ashamed of and yet he was anyway.

Miu gave him a small shot, and there was a tiny bit of pain that lasted for a few seconds before vanishing.

"You feel pukey?"

"No."

"Taste copper?"

The only thing he could taste was the orange juice residue.

"See any dots?"

"No."

"Ya sure? Telling the truth cutiepie?"

"I'm telling the truth,"

She stared at him for a long time, and he itched to move a few inches back. Being so close to her cleavage made him feel extremely uncomfortable. Finally, she stood up and threw her gloves away, nodding at Celestia. "Come on, get the fucker outta here. Doctor Kimura will want to see him later for his eye thingy,"

Shuichi felt hungry and exhausted. At least he could still feel hunger no matter what they did to him here.

"See? You were upset over nothing. It was not bad at all," Celestia tittered as they rode up in the elevator together. Shuichi briefly thought of asking her how she'd feel if it were up her butt instead, but didn't. Kokichi would've, maybe even Mondo would've, but not him. "I am so happy you are finally taking my advice to heed and learning to adapt! I shall give you two tokens today," She slipped them into his hand.

Later on, when he stood in the shower and let the hot water pour over him, he started to cry. He felt like Ibuki in a way, wishing it all could be a dream somehow. Even moreso than that, he longed to get back at them in some way, to expose them all for the kidnapping and torturing and other illegal stuff that was no doubt going on, from Mistress Enoshima right down to Celestia and her Barbie-doll smile and Miu with her slimy rectal thermometer. Expose them all and watch it all be destroyed.

But what could he even do? He was just a kid, an especially unremarkable one at that. Still, it felt good to have a goal, to want something as badly as he did that.

A goal would get him through hard times, or so said his uncle.