"Wow, really? Do you all that in one day, Maizono-san?"

"Yes. I'm sure you're aware but the life of an idol is demanding on both the body and mind."

Komaru nervously shook her head. "No, I really had no idea. I only get to see the performances and hear the songs. You're a lot stronger than you look."

"Hmph. If that surprises you, I can only imagine how more shocked you'd get learning the truth about being an idol." Toko frowned, glancing over at Kotoko who was unnaturally quiet the entire time they were hanging out.

Sayaka, while maintaining her polite demeanor, immediately countered with, "I can assure you that I did not participate in anything...seedy."

"S-Sure. Whatever you say." Toko dismissed her claim. "No need to hold back in front of these kids."

"Speaking of which, Komaru-san, are you currently babysitting them?"

"Ah no." Komaru looked completely bashful. "I wouldn't say I'm doing that. I guess I'm more of their legal guardian nowadays."

"Really? You're so young." Sayaka gasped in surprise. "Forget about what I've done. You're like a saint!"

"I wouldn't give myself that much credit. These guys are pretty grown already. All I do is make sure they stay out of trouble. Mostly."

The four former Warriors of Hope continued to look pensive toward the SHSL Idol. It was not surprising that they still distrusted those who were older than them.

A cute, unpracticed laugh escaped Sayaka's mouth. "The Naegis are truly kind people."

Toko found herself more irritated than usual. Komaru was eating up the praise. Being complimented by someone you admire made those words far more meaningful in her view. The self-proclaimed normal girl turned beet red.

Kotoko gasped. "Ohhh. Big sis Komaru is so adorbs right now!"

Nagisa rolled his eyes in response. He glanced a bit at Sayaka then sighed. The former Sage of the Warriors of Hope continued to feel uneasy toward the star-studded highschooler.

"Ah! Maizono-kun! There you are." The loud and authoritative voice made the entire group turn their heads in response. Toko bit her lip as she recognized the three people approaching them: Kiyotaka, Mondo and Chihiro. She actually looked at the SHSL Programmer longer than expected – he opted to wear some pants this time rather than some version of a puffy skirt. Despite this, he still looked effeminate and cute.

"Hanging out with some fans, Maizono? Never thought you'd do that sorta thing." Mondo rubbed the back of his neck. "Don't take it wrong or anything. It's just you always keep to yourself."

Kiyotaka immediately interrupted the conversation. "You mustn't go too far from the class. As class representative, I want to make sure all of my classmates are safe!"

"I'm fine Ishimaru-kun. Besides, Komaru Naegi-san is a friend."

"A...A friend? Really?!" Komaru's mouth opened into a huge smile.

Toko groaned. While these were her classmates in her reality, the former SHSL Writer wasn't particularly close to any of them in the first place. The amount of people was reaching extremely uncomfortable levels for her. The younger members of the group also seemed to share her feelings about the situation.

"O-Oh. Is she related to Naegi-sensei?" Chihiro's voice was as soft as ever.

"Yes. She's his younger sister." Sayaka replied.

"Nice to meet you, everyone!"

"Younger sis, huh. I'm Mondo Owada. Nice to meecha."

"I am Kiyotaka Ishimaru. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"I-I'm Chihiro Fujisaki. Hello."

Mondo cut straight to the chase. "Hey, does this mean your older brother's around here?"

"Yep. He's probably at the beach." Komaru sighed. "Though probably not by himself."

"Wonder when the cat fight will finally happen?" Toko added.

"Oh. Sounds like he's kinda busy." Mondo was trying to keep his composure, but being around all these women made him nervous. "That's alright. He's prolly on some kind of vacation himself."

"S-Something like that." Komaru laughed nervously. "Say, um, has anything strange happened?"

"Eh? Strange?" The SHSL Gang Leader was caught completely off guard by the question. "You mean on the island? Some punks tried to mess with me earlier I guess. But nothing else. Been real quiet around here."

"Okay. That's good to hear." The younger Naegi finished her response with a smile. "I, um, heard that a lot of weird things were happening at Hope's Peak."

"Y-Yeah." Chihiro looked down with a wistful look. "But everything's back to normal now. Your brother really helped us out."

Komaru giggles. "Well, he's always been like that. If there's a way he can help, he'll do it. Even more so now."

"He's a-always so nosy." Toko held her hands together and groaned. In her mind, she finished her sentence. But that's how he's helped me, too.

As if to emulate the nosiness of Makoto, Kiyotaka spent the last few minutes studying the four young teenagers. Nagisa was the only one who returned the look.

"Can I help you?" The blue-haired youth's tone had a bite to it.

"I was merely wondering why youths such as yourselves are currently not in school! Working for your futures is important!"

A sour expression formed on Nagisa's face. He found himself detesting this high school student. Komaru found herself panicking slightly.

"Oh, well, they just needed some time to unwind. They've had some hard times." The brown-haired girl with an ahoge tried to diffuse the situation.

"Do their parents know what they're doing?" Being sensitive was never one of Kiyotaka's strong suits.

Jataro answered. "W-We don't have any parents. Not anymore."

A thoughtful look was on the SHSL Public Morals Committee Member's face. "Orphans?"

"We're with Big Sis Komaru! Don't worry about us." Masaru replied with a cheery tone. "She's better than our parents ever were!"

"Oh that's..." Komaru found herself touched by his words.

"You shouldn't pry like that, bro." Even Mondo realized what his sworn brother was doing was massively impolite.

A look of shocked anguish washed over Kiyotaka's face. "I...I apologize for my rudeness! I mean no harm!" He went down on his knees and began to kowtow in front of Komaru.

"Nononono...you don't have to apologize like that!" She immediately started to freak out from the old-school begging for forgiveness. It was bizarre. She thought that Toko was quirky, but it seemed a lot of people from her brother's class also had their oddities about them.

"Please stand up, Ishimaru-kun." Sayaka said with a firm tone. "I'm sure none of them were offended by you."

The group of former Towa City residents did not reveal one way or the other. Their silence, however, convinced the teenager with a freshly pressed uniform that there were no hard feelings.

"M-Maybe we should all head back. It's starting to get late. Sakakura-senpai will get mad if we stay out past sundown." Chihiro warned.

"Indeed! It was truly a pleasure to meet all of you, but my classmate is correct. In order to protect ourselves, we have a strict curfew set by our chaperons."

"Well, I wouldn't want to keep you all. Good night, everyone." Komaru waved as the Class 78 group left the area headed back to their hotel.

"Finally." Toko grimaced. "I was hoping to never ever go back to any class reunions."

"But you're friends with the others, right?"

"T-That's different. They didn't go through hell like we did. All of them have that goofy, innocent look. Besides you shouldn't get too involved with Maizono anyway. Did you forget that she tried to frame your brother?"

"I know she did that. But...well...I've always been a Sayaker. Anyway, what's wrong Toko-chan? You've been on edge more than usual."

"It's just...I-I've got bad vibes about her, okay? If she's still the same girl I knew then she's way more delicate in the head than you're imagining her to be."

A warm smile forms on Komaru's face. "It's okay. You're always watching out for me right? We're partners after all."

"Sometimes I wonder what you'd do without me." Toko looked down and blushed slightly. "It's a real headache, you know! You might not cry as much anymore, but you're still c-careless."

"We should head back to where the others are. That boat ride was fun! But I'm pretty tired."

"Ugh. I was feeling kind of sick the whole time. Stupid ocean."

"Wasn't your first big hit about fishermen?"

"I never sailed before recently. I'm over it."

Fuyuhiko and Peko led Hajime and Nagito back to the hotel they were staying at. It was the very same place where Kyoko had suggested they stay at earlier. Hajime's thoughts began running through his head. Every single possibility and every single answer was rushing through his mind as if it was faster than the speed of light.

The conclusion he came to was that it was merely a coincidence. It was unsatisfying that he came so easily to that answer but he decided to only acknowledge his boredom for the meantime. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Juzo looking over a few students. He knew their faces. Class 78. He remembered each and every one of them from the second killing game that ended up being televised to the entire world. He ignored his animosity for the former SHSL Boxer and continued to focus on the members of Class 77-B.

"Hey, sensei!" The SHSL Yakuza knocked on one of cottages. "You in there?"

A few moments passed by until the door cracked open. A familiar orange-haired smiling face peeked out as she looked at her students.

"Ah, Kuzuryu-kun! Is something the matter?" She peered over at Nagito and Hajime.

"Yeah. We found Komaeda here loitering around on the island. Along with his friend, Hinata."

"Interesting! Here I thought it was going to be a shame for you to miss this trip, but now you're here anyway! Maybe it's your luck?"

"Ah. Perhaps it is, Yukizome-sensei." Nagito smiled. "But enough about me. As you can see, I am fine and well."

Chisa decided to play along. "And I didn't know you had a friend. Hinata-kun, was it?"

"Hajime Hinata. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise! Likewise! Anyway, thank you both for finding Komaeda-kun for me. You two should enjoy the day more before it gets dark!"

Peko nodded in response and Fuyuhiko sighed. "Well, if you say so. Give 'em an earful, sensei." The two yazuka members departed from the area and Chisa motioned for them to enter the cottage. Both Nagito and Hajime complied. She closed the door behind them.

"...it really has been a while, hasn't it?" Chisa sat down on her bed.

"Ah...have you met Hinata-kun before, sensei?"

"I did. It was only once, but I wouldn't forget that meeting. You're a lot different now. And not because you're Izuru Kamakura."

"I finally realized what you and Nanami-san were both trying to tell me. I'm just sad that it took so long for me to do so." Hajime looked down.

"As a teacher, hearing you say something like that makes it all worthwhile." Chisa smiled. "And the fact that I can tell you that to your face makes me happy."

Hajime couldn't help but smile a little himself. "Sorry to cut to the chase, Yukizome-san, but have you noticed anything strange lately with the class?"

"Hmph. Komaeda-kun was the most strange person out of the entire class. And you didn't even tell me you were from our version of events." Chisa pouted as if she was a young teenager. "Did you really distrust your homeroom teacher?!"

"Ah, I apologize. I was sworn to not reveal anything about our presence. And I did not want to limit our movements."

"Plus." Hajime added. "The last time you were alive you were brainwashed by Enoshima. I didn't want to take unnecessary risks, especially since only Komaeda could get into the academy."

"Your concern for my well-being humbles me greatly, Hinata-kun."

The former SHSL Hope ignored the thinly-veiled flirting for the moment.

Chisa, in surprise, only giggled. "You think I don't understand? Don't worry boys, I'm not upset at all."

Hajime gave out a long sigh. He forgot how to deal with positive, optimistic people.

"And honestly, between you and those former members of Class 78, I really believe you guys can figure out what's been going on behind the scenes. Don't worry. You'll have my support."

Nagito opened his arms wide and smiled. "Once again you have my gratitude. Do not worry. We won't let you down. Our hope depends on this!"

"But honestly, Komaeda-kun, would it be so hard to try and get along with your class? Even though you weren't close to any of them, they were still worried about you."

Nagito smiled. "I would like to, but preventing anything disastrous comes first. Such as the SHSL Despair..."

"Honestly, that girl seems less interested in spreading despair these days. At least in the way she did it before."

"Enoshima isn't one to do the same thing over and over. While that is insanity in its own way, her brand of self-destructive craziness is different." Hajime retorted.

"She is still an aberration that should not be walking this earth. She has greatly affected us all."

Chisa and Hajime narrowed their eyes and softened their faces. Nagito may be insane in his own way, but he was still correct. Junko was still a potential danger they couldn't ignore.

Hajime looked back at Nagito. "Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on her."

"So I'm guessing the others are on Jabberwock Island, too? Which means Makoto-kun is okay."

"Er... 'Makoto'-kun?"

"He's like a darling little brother." Chisa laughed. "I owe a lot to him, anyway. So does Sakakura-kun and Kyosuke."

"I see." Hajime sighed. Makoto really works fast, doesn't he?

"So, you don't have to be so formal with me. You're both graduates of Hope's Peak. Technically."

"You'll always be Yukizome-sensei to me." Nagito responded without a second thought. He could feel the hope emanating from the homeroom teacher. She was genuine.

Chisa looked straight at Hajime expectantly. He lets out another sigh.

"Sure. Whatever you want, Chisa-san."

Kyoko looked over while in the lobby at a still-damp Makoto walking in from his escapades at the beach. Mukuro, still flustered from her snafu, immediately walked past everyone to presumably hide her shame. Junko gave an intimate-looking embrace which caused Makoto to squirm in response. She giggled after a few minutes of it, let him go, and went on her own – likely to her own room. Hopefully.

Makoto's eyes met Kyoko's and he walked over to her.

"Thanks for handling everything, Kyoko-chan. You didn't have to come to the beach yourself to give us our keys."

"No thanks are necessary, Makoto-kun. After all it was Togami-kun who handled the expenses."

"Is he on his way here?"

"You would think he would not? He said he would be here tomorrow."

A small chuckle comes from the former SHSL Lucky Student. "I guess he's tired of being on the sidelines."

"Most likely. He also mentioned that he had been in negotiations to acquire an entertainment company. I wonder what that was about?"

"If it's what I think it is then it's most likely about the Neo World Program."

"And...what happened with it?" Kyoko crossed her arms, already preparing to be angry at her father.

"They, uh, sold it to an entertainment company."

Kyoko had no words for the sheer idiocy and absolute carelessness of the Hope's Peak administration. Her face darkened and she grit her teeth slightly.

"A-Anyway it sounds like Togami-kun has it handled. It's his element after all."

The lavender-haired woman pinched the bridge of her nose. "I suppose so. Did you have fun with your mortal enemy?"

"As much as I could, I guess. It's been a while since I've swam in the actual ocean. Do you swim?"

"Mmm. During school events I would. But I normally don't do so." A smirk formed on her face. "Were you hoping to see me in a swimsuit?"

Makoto started blushing. "Ah, well, hahaha...I...wouldn't be opposed to it."

"Such a greedy man. But I'm still flattered." Kyoko closed her eyes. "Since you're free, shall we spend some time together? Before Junko decides to ruin it, I'm sure."

"Aside from that last part, I'd love to." Makoto smiled.

The two former Future Foundation members headed for the lounge. Much like the Neo World Program, the real version of the room had a lot of arcade and miscellaneous games strewn about. There were a few other tourists playing games in their own groups. None of the Hope's Peak students could be seen currently, nor were there any others from their own motley crew.

"I'm not much of a gamer, unfortunately."

"It's okay."

"Hm." Kyoko moved over to one of the arcade games. "It does not mean I would be opposed to trying it."

"Really?" Makoto's face lit up. "I mean, this is kinda really old school for me. I don't think I've ever played this. But arcade games aren't usually too hard to pick up."

"Then we'll learn it together."

The first few tries were absolute failures. While Makoto himself was laughing it off, Kyoko looked more focused with every death. Noticing her determination, Makoto gave in more effort until they were able to clear many levels with just one credit. A smile crept on her face at their triumphs.

"You're really having fun with this."

Kyoko glanced over at her partner. "I never understood the appeal before this. But now I do. Though I believe I wouldn't enjoy this as much if I were playing by myself."

"There's nothing wrong with being a casual gamer."

"I...I never said there was." A blush formed on her face. "Hmph. Are you deflecting again?"

Makoto sighed. "No. Or if I am, I'm really not doing this on purpose."

"It certainly makes sense. You've found yourself on the defensive for the past several weeks. It's a natural reaction."

He rubbed his neck nervously. "Sorry. But I really had fun. I don't know if you'd want to do this again specifically..."

"Hmhm. Perhaps, Makoto-kun. Though I would be happy to have more interactions like this in general."

"Me too. Oh, um, about that date..."

"Hm? Did you have some ideas?"

"Well, I mean, I'd like for it to fall on a special occasion personally."

Kyoko pondered for a short while. She figured out what he meant. "That would be very sweet of you. Sure. That sounds perfect." The detective moved closer toward him and paused for a few moments, staring intensely at him.

Makoto returned her look while mostly unsure of what she was attempting to do. After a few moments, she kissed him on the cheek. His eyes shot open and his cheeks started to burn slightly.

"A-Ah. Kyoko-s...Kyoko-chan."

"Hm." Her face continued to be unreadable. "That's funny. I thought a cheek kiss would not phase you by now."

"What? Because of Junko? No way. I'm still freaked out whenever she does one."

"You aren't entirely skittish to it, either." She sighs in relief, then looks at him with determination. "I'll be looking forward to that date."

Clearing his throat and looking away. "That'll, um, that's good to hear."

The sound of new footsteps walking inside caused the pair to turn toward the people who were entering. They could recognize them – they were from Class 77-B.

"Ugh. This is what they have for entertainment on the island?" The SHSL Classical Dancer snickered, covering her mouth. "Seriously? I guess it's perfect for the dumbasses that we've run into so far."

"We're not here to play games, to be fair, Hiyoko-chan." The SHSL Photographer let out a nervous smile. "We just need to find the thing that Chiaki-chan lost."

The girl with an iconic hairstyle pouted and crossed her arms. "Nanami-nee can be so thoughtless sometimes. But this is probably the best place to look."

Kyoko began to walk over to the two students with Makoto following close behind. Mahiru immediately noticed their approach.

"Ah, you're Kyoko Kirigiri-san, correct?" The redheaded girl did a respectful bow. She glanced over to Makoto with a far less respectful look.

"Oh, I think I've seen this guy before. He was on the news during the riots."

"Hm? But I don't think I've ever seen him on campus."

"My name is Makoto Naegi. It's nice to meet you. If I'm correct you're Mahiru Koizumi and this must be Hiyoko Saionji."

A nervous expression formed on the so-called elder sister of the duo. "I know that Hope's Peak students are supposed to be famous but...it's always really weird to be recognized in public."

"Awww Koizumi-nee. You get used to it. After all, I am a famous dancer. The best of the best!" Hiyoko looked at Makoto with a wide smile on her face. "Well, did you want my autograph?"

"I'll have to decline for the moment, thanks."

"It's your loss." Hiyoko looked away and pouted again.

Kyoko cut straight to the chase. "What did Nanami-san lose?"

"Oh, um, she lost her Game Girl. Some of us have been looking around for it."

"Feh. She could always get a new one. This is ridiculous!" The shorter girl crossed her arms in her kimono.

"I guess we could pool our money to do that. But I'd rather just find the thing instead. It shouldn't be too hard to run into, right?" Mahiru replied.

Kyoko was busy evaluating both of the girls. Neither of them seemed suspicious or acted strange at all. They were similar to their pre-despair incarnations.

"I see. I'm afraid neither of us have seen it."

"Really? Aw." Mahiru looked discouraged but immediately snapped back to her usual cheery self. "Let's take a quick look around then move onto the next place."

Hiyoko did not look anywhere as enthused as her partner did. The two decided to investigate the rest of the room while Makoto and Kyoko decided to leave.

"I suppose that's two suspects off of the list." The gloved detective dusted off her sleeves. The arcade machines weren't very well-maintained.

"That's good. It's progress." Makoto smiled. "But it's been a really long day, hasn't it?"

"Yes, well, even though being on a boat is more relaxing than being on a plane it still takes a lot out of you."

"That's true. I guess our cottages should be close to one another."

"It's an off-season, so there were plenty of vacancies."

"I'll make sure to tell Komaru where theirs are."

"Always dependable." Kyoko smiled. They finally arrived at what Makoto presumed to be Kyoko's cabin. "If you ever need anything, I'll be right next door."

"I'll keep it in mind." He looked over to the right side and saw his own cabin. Watching Kyoko enter her own lodging, he was honestly looking forward to relaxing before having dinner. Using the keycard he was given, he opened it. At this point he wasn't too surprised to find that someone was waiting for him inside.

"Welcome home, darling!" Junko was on his bed while laying on her stomach. No longer in her bikini, she opted to wear a loose fitting shirt exposing one of her shoulders covering whatever bottoms she was wearing. Most likely short-shorts. "So did you want a bath, maybe a romantic dinner for two...or did you just want little ol' me?"

Makoto didn't even bother replying. He closed the door and began to walk away from his own cabin.

"Hey!"

Hajime and Nagito finished exchanging information with Chisa and found themselves waiting in the lobby. It was almost dinner time and it would be a perfect time to gather together in order to compile what information they found during their first day at Jabberwock Island.

"...Hinata?"

Hajime turned to a gruff male voice belonging to a man holding a manga book, walking next to a pale blue-haired girl in an advanced-looking wheelchair. He recognized one of them. The man was Yasuke Matsuda – the one who operated on him during the Izuru Kamakura Project.

"Matsuda."

"Still cold, huh? You ended up being right though. Going to Hope's Peak was a mistake."

Immediately realizing this was a lead, Hajime continued to play along. Nagito was curiously observing the other three people.

"Yeah, well, I don't know what exactly happened to you there." Hajime shifted his eyes toward the chair-bound woman. "And you are?"

A screen lit up showing a beloved bunny mascot on screen. It answered for her. "Miaya Gekkogahara. It's nice to meet you."

"Same. My name is Hajime Hinata. This is..."

"We've met already." Nagito didn't even form a polite smile toward the SHSL Neurologist.

"What's with the eye, Hinata? Some kind of edgy trend?"

"Something like that. So what happened, Matsuda?"

"I got into deep shit. Unfortunately for me, they still wanted my talent. So I'm here with my prison guard." He glares at the former SHSL Therapist. "At least the place is nice. The sun really hurts my eyes, though."

A bunch of typing came from Miaya. "So you're the mysterious childhood friend."

"It's not like I've ever went to Hope's Peak Academy. So I guess I'd automatically be mysterious."

"Fair enough." Was her reply from Usami's avatar.

"Tch. Was hoping you wouldn't get involved. Though the fact that the SHSL Lucky Student is with you probably means you got involved already." Yasuke closed his manga.

"Hey, don't worry about me too much. You're going to get grey hairs." Hajime replied.

"Yes. Hinata-kun is quite capable. Truly a beacon of hope."

Yasuke and Miaya looked at each other in silence for a few moments.

"So what are you two doing here on this island for? I spoke with Chisa-san already and she didn't mention that you were in her class."

Miaya quickly typed out a response. "To be away from the school for a week would be good for his mental health. They approved my request. He's the only one from Class 77-A here."

"I guess that was a good idea. Last thing I need is more of Murasame's grandstanding or that weirdo SHSL Botanist."

"Anyway, it was a pleasure to meet you but we have an end-of-day session scheduled." The Usami avatar recited. Yasuke rolled his eyes as he followed Miaya to another section of the hotel. Hajime watched them until they were out of sight.

"Truly an interesting development, don't you think?" Nagito smiled.

"Yeah. We didn't know each other aside from him messing with my head before. This is a big change. He's supposed to be Enoshima's childhood friend, I believe."

"Yes. However, this time he is yours."

Hajime pondered for a few moments. "That means that whoever is behind this has been here for a long time. Which confirms Enoshima and Chisa-san as also "victims" of being brought to this place."

"Interesting! From the sounds of it, this person was trying to see if changing things would bring about any meaningful change."

"Heh. Guess that was lucky."

"But was it yours or mine?"

"It doesn't matter. What's important is that we made headway into this case."

"Very true. As expected of you, Hinata-kun." Nagito began to think over what they just learned and then voiced his thoughts. "But what confuses me is why they would bring back undesirables. Would it not make sense to either get rid of them or neutralize them somehow?"

"We aren't dealing with someone who thinks like me. Remember what I said? This person isn't afraid of making mistakes. And it doesn't seem like they want to necessarily fix them right away. The more important thing is that whoever is responsible wants something from the classes that are on the island right now."

"Ah! That makes sense. And we would be able to see how they do it."

"I'm not really a fan of using these versions of our friends as bait, but we need to draw out the culprit. They're not going to reveal themselves for the hell of it."

Their version of Chiaki finally entered the lobby. She immediately noticed her two friends and walked up to them. "Hey hey."

"Hi, Nanami." Hajime replied. "Were you able to find anything?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary on the first island." She pouted and looked down. "Though that wouldn't be much of a mystery game if we could find it right away."

"True. The other islands might have clues or leads. The mastermind isn't particularly squeaky clean in execution here."

"Yeah, I understand Hajime-kun. But I was wondering." She puffed up her cheeks as she placed her finger on her chin. "Would stopping the person behind this really stop all the weird things that have been happening?"

"Probably not entirely. This world's long past compromised. But they're still actively trying to mess with things. At worst, it could cause the dimension to collapse."

"Then we'd better keep searching."

"I wouldn't want you to overheat." Hajime nervously sighed. "Even androids have limits, you know."

"You're right. Maybe I should take a rest. Last thing I need is to start napping all over the place again."

Hajime laughed. "Yeah, that was definitely a problem."

"Then shall we head off for dinner. I've been seeing members of people who...share our affliction...headed toward the dining area."

The former reserve course student started moving as if on queue. "Yeah. Hey, I wonder if the orange juice is better here than in the simulation..."

ANote

Shuichi found himself staring from a distance at a beautiful blonde haired girl while at the facility. The entire affair was strange from start to finish. After his uncle signed some waivers, some suited men decided to "abduct him" in an unmarked van. They assured him that it was all part of the Danganronpa show. While he didn't discount the idea that they wanted to try and make the footage as genuine as possible, being "kidnapped" is not exactly how he imagined being taken to the studio.

At least that was where he assumed he was being taken to. Eventually he found himself in an unmarked facility on an island off the mainland with a group of 14 others. He deduced that the last person wouldn't be joining them as that individual would probably be the mastermind and was an actual employee of the company.

The amount of budget this show had baffled the young man in a hat. He decided to try and observe the others quietly. He was never really good at small talk or introducing himself to others. That is, until a purple-haired man with a goatee decided to disrupt his plans.

"Heya! I'm Kaito Momota!" He extended a hearty handshake. "Nice to meet ya."

"O-Oh. I'm, um, Shuichi Saihara." He returned it, though his grip was nowhere near the strength of the boisterous boy.

"Hehe. I just wanted to let you know that I plan on winning this Killing Game!"

"Erm...isn't it cocky of you to just announce that in front of everyone? How exactly are you going to win it?"

"By murdering everyone else of course! No hard feelings, right?"

Shuichi found himself baffled by how friendly Kaito is despite his words.

"Ah, here it goes." Kaito sighed and rubbed his neck. "I mean it's not like we're killing each other for real, right?"

"Yeah, but..." Shuichi sighed. "You only need to kill one person and trick everyone else that you didn't do it."

"No fooling? Wow, that sounds a lot easier. Thanks, Shuichi! Wanna be my sidekick?"

"I don't think sidekicks can win."

"Ah, seriously?" Kaito groaned. "That's pretty crap. But if you decide to do it anyway, I'll make sure it'll be worth your while! After all, nothing's ever really impossible. Especially if you have money and fame."

"Are you even a fan of Danganronpa?"

"Nah. Not really. I joined because, well, I'd like to be rich and famous. I'm sure some other guys here are the same. And with that, I can probably do a lot more things now!"

Despite Shuichi being irked at how Kaito was chosen despite no knowledge of the series, he indulged him a bit. "Like what?"

"Going to space of course! It's always been a dream of mine."

"Space, hm?" Shuichi thought about it. It sounded lonely to him, to be honest.

"Either way, we're gonna be great pals, Shuichi! I just know it."

The fact that this optimistic man was a little bit too casual about the whole affair had the dark blue-haired boy intrigued. There were others in the crowd of people who looked completely confused about this person.

"Ah, well...that'd be nice." Shuichi decided to smile in response. His eyes wandered again to the blonde woman. She was now looking straight at him which caused the pale-skinned boy to break eye contact. As bold as her posture was, she immediately went over to him.

"Hey. Saihara-kun." She smiled sweetly toward him.

"I-I don't believe we've met." He still couldn't make eye contact with her.

"My name is Kaede Akamatsu. Nice to meet you."