LIBRARY: RARE BOOKS ROOM

Katy noticed my reaction, and she stepped between me and Juliet. "No!" she snapped. "This is stupid! Saya, don't listen, she's just messing with you!"

"Of course I am," Juliet leered. "And I'm glad we agree that it's all stupid, cutie. That's the first step to getting it."

She pushed herself to her feet , always hugging the small book close to her, as if afraid it's blow away in some terrible wind. She hoisted the cloth bag over her shoulder like a demented, sexy Santa Claus and lurched over to the big desk in the middle of the room. Katy kept herself between me and Juliet the entire way.

There was some kind of computer set-up on the desk, and Juliet sat down heavily in front of it, fiddling with the keys. She set the sack down on the floor next to her, but she softly placed the book lovingly on the table.

"What is that?" Katy asked, pointing at the book. "Why were you laughing when we came in?"

"You should know," Juliet answered, twisting some dials on a module next to the computer. "You're a writer. Some of your books have plot twists. Good ones! A good twist and a good joke are pretty much just the same thing."

"If it's so funny, let us read it," I said.

Juliet waved her hand at me dismissively. "Ah, you wouldn't get it. It's kind of a 'you had to be there' thing. Now shush."

She pushed a button on the module, clicked the mouse, and leaned forward, putting her mouth near a metal object I vaguely realized was a microphone. "Attention, classmates," she announced, and I could hear her voice echoing out of unseen speakers out the window. "According to the security cameras, you are all here in this building. This is Juliet Mountebank, and you can consider me your... teaching assistant for the rest of the term. I'll be the one handing out your assignments."

She made eye contact with me and grinned; I was not at all sure why. "I've been given some very important information. When it's ready, I will let you know how to access it. It's your choice whether you access it or not, but trust me: this is information you'll want to know.

"One more thing," she added. "This program is... much cleverer than I'd ever thought. But the mastermind?" She laughed trippingly. "I have absolutely no idea what the mastermind is doing. Whoever you are, you're absolutely a delight. Mwah!" And with that kissy sound, she clicked off the speaker and sat back in her big mahogany chair, drumming her fingers together like a mad scientist or something.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked. "What is this? What did you mean about the mastermind?"

"You heard the bear," she purred. "We weren't supposed to get these until later. We have this perfect sequence, this planned syllabus, every element in place... and it's been mysteriously undercut by the very person who set it up. It's intriguing!"

Katy just glared and pointed at the cloth sack. "What's your game with that? If you want us to read those, just give them to us."

She raised an eyebrow. "Well, I need to fix them. They're dangerous right now."

"Fix them?!" Katy yelped. "Why? What are you going to do?"

"You can have yours now, if you want," Juliet replied breezily. She briefly searched through the bag and pulled out a thin, sealed envelope with Katy's name on it. "I wouldn't recommend taking it until I've had a chance to work on it, but it's up to you."

Katy grabbed the envelope, glaring. "And Lucina's."

Juliet dutifully reached into the bag and pulled out a DVD (a DVD?). Katy snatched it away, too. "I have no intention of looking at these," she declared. "But I won't let you mess with us however you want."

Juliet just shrugged, then looked at me. "Saya? This is your only chance."

I felt a little frozen, but for some reason I relaxed, too. "I'll leave it with you," I answered. "I gotta say, I'm curious what you're up to."

"Curiosity is important in college," Juliet answered, smiling. She sat back, all professionalism. "I'm glad you came to my office hours. Please feel free to let me know if you have any other questions."

LIBRARY: MAIN ROOM

As Katy and I slowly walked through the hall and back down the stairs, I glanced over at her. She was holding the envelope and DVD tenderly, like she was worried they'd break. She glanced over and caught me looking; I quickly looked away but I'm not sure why.

"Do you think I was dumb to take these?" she asked.

"Uh." I shrugged. "I don't know. Um. But why did you take Lucina's too?"

She blinked, then blushed slightly. "Lucina just... she really hates Juliet. She's been really, really clear about it. She wouldn't want to play this game, whatever it is."

"One of those things she signs at you that no one else understands, huh?" I almost but thankfully did not say. Instead, I just nodded. It really did sound reasonable.

Katy was silent for a moment, and then she cautiously said, "Do you think yours is about your dad?"

I stopped in place, shocked for a moment. "What?"

"Um, your... twist, whatever Juliet called it. Your super awful information. It's probably something we're... vulnerable about, right?"

I thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. I guess it would be about my dad, then."

"Me too," she agreed. At my look, she blushed and waved her hands frantically. "No no, I don't mean we're the same! I know you've had it really really hard, way harder than me!" She anxiously brought a hand up to her locket; a nervous habit I'd noticed a long time ago. "It's just... I was really lucky because I had the opposite. My dad's always been really supportive. And especially when I came out to him, I was really afraid... but he was great." She held up her envelope vaguely. "I guess I'm just scared this'll say he actually thought something different."

I crossed my arms across my stomach and regarded her. "But you don't want to read it to be sure?"

She shook her head confidently. "No. It's probably a lie anyway! But even if it's true, I don't want to know."

I frowned. "I hate not knowing things."

Katy raised an eyebrow. "Really? You say you don't know things all the time! Like in trials? I've always respected that about you."

I wasn't sure what to say, but luckily she leaned in close. "Hey. Um. Will you take me with you when you read your thing?"

I leaned back, surprised. "What?"

"I guess... it doesn't have to be me. But will you take someone with you who knows about your dad?"

I felt my eyes narrowing. "Why?"

"Just so you won't be alone. You can get support."

I just looked at her for a minute and then sighed. "Sure." She smiled warmly, and I just wasn't able to hate her. "Hey," I said, "I'm stuck on something."

She tilted her head cutely. "Hm?"

"Well... Monokuma," I replied, shaking my head ruefully. "I thought I basically got his deal, but then he was broken, and then he wasn't, and now he's... it's like he's been annoyed things aren't the way he expects. And I just don't get it."

"Yeah," Katy said, nodding. "It is weird. But why are you asking me?"

"Well... I've been thinking of him as a program. That's how I work; I'm all patterns and structures. But he's kind of not just a program, he's a person. And you're good at people. I thought maybe you had some kind of insight."

She screwed up her face in thought, tapping her chin idly. "I'm not sure. He's not really a person, either. But I guess... I guess the first thing I think of is motivation, what people want. That's the most important thing in stories. And Monokuma... he just seems to mostly want things to go the way he expects. It's like, his programming only makes sense if things are going a certain way, and he doesn't know what to do outside that."

"Huh." I considered that a moment. "He does seem more comfortable... uh, 'comfortable'... in trials. Those are structured. Do you really think that's it?"

Katy shrugged. "There's a lot of real people who're wired that way, they just freak out when they don't know what to expect, because, like, all weirdness is terrifying chaos to them. Most homophobes and transphobes are like that. I don't really get it."

"Yeah, me neither." I realized something, frowning. "Huh. Ashley and Earl were like that. I mean, not homophobes or anything, but their whole deal makes a little more sense thinking about that."

"Yeah." Katy paused. "Well, except for him murdering her."

"Yeah. Except for that."

"But," Katy added, "just because Monokuma's acting like this, that doesn't mean we're off the rails. Him acting like this could be part of the whole program. I can't imagine why, but I don't understand anything about this place."

DORM: SAYA'S ROOM

After meeting up with the others and explaining what we knew of Juliet's... whatever, I spent the rest of the day by myself. There was a nippiness in the air outside that felt very late October. I tried to remember how long I'd been in this place and couldn't, but late October could be right. Maybe it was almost Halloween? The very concept of Halloween felt like a dream, after living in this place.

I fell asleep easily that night. In my dream, Bepi stood in an elaborate, huge kitchen, pacing nervously. Therion stood nearby, looking extremely uncomfortable in an ill-fitting suit. Nicole sat on a counter, grinning.

"Why'd you even tell your boss you were married?" she asked. "Especially on the day he's supposed to come over for dinner?"

"He loves video games!" Bepi yelped frantically. "I was trying to impress him!" He whipped his gaze to Therion. "Okay, let's rehearse!" Bepi snapped. "When did we meet?"

"1985," Therion answered dryly.

"What is our special romantic song?!"

"The Chipmunks Christmas Song."

"What do we like to do together?!"

"Murder people."

Bepi took a deep breath. "Okay. This'll work! Just act like yourself, but married to me!"

"Can I watch this disaster play out?" Nicole asked.

"Yes, as long as you say nothing!" Bepi snapped. He started to say more, but the doorbell rang. "That's him!" he yelped. "To the front door, everyone!"

They scampered to the living room and to the front door, skidding to a halt. Bepi brushed off his clothes, composed himself, and opened the door.

Earl marched in. He put his hands on his hips, inspecting the three of them.

"Uh... hi, boss!" Bepi greeted hesitantly. "We're so glad you could make it for dinner!"

Earl just looked Therion up and down. Therion stared back, blankly.

Finally, Earl laughed. "Delightful! And this is your husband, is he?!"

Bepi nodded. "Yes! This is Ther..."

Earl cut him off with roaring laughter. "What asinine foolishness! It's not in this man's nature to be a husband! Your japery fills my evening with amusement!" He clapped Bepi on the shoulder roughly.

Nicole raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, not in his nature?"

"Why, we all have a nature!" Earl shouted. "Some are cold, some are slimy. Some ply brutal deception, some sing with confident timbre! Our nature is what makes us... us!"

"Not a thing," Therion interjected.

"Now honey, let's not... bring down the mood," Bepi said, his eyelid twitching.

Earl ignored him. "What? Is my english... a nature, yes? A Wesen! The soul of your heart!"

"Not a thing," Therion repeated. There was an awkward pause, and he continued. "Or. Maybe a thing, but if so, not meaningful. If nature is just 'way you are,' and 'way you are' is just 'things you're likely to do,' then hooray, 'you're likely to do what you're likely to do': inane."

"What foolishness!" Earl barked. "Surely I have a nature, and it is different from yours!"

"Untrue." Therion scratched his left shoulder. "Just think you have nature. Same thing in practice."

Earl gawked at Therion in bafflement, then slowly turned his head to glare in anger at Bepi. "Perfetto!" he yelled. "This is the worst dinner I've ever had with an employee and his fake spouse! You can forget about that promotion!" He stormed out.

The last thing I remember before waking up was the sound of Nicole's laughter.

Not long after getting out of bed, I was surprised to hear a knock at the door. "Who is it?" I called, walking over.

"Um... everyone?" Rocky's voice called back. I opened the door and, yes, all of my surviving classmates (except Juliet, of course) were huddled around.

"Good morning!" Rodrigo said. "Friend Rocky and I thought it was a good idea to restart a common breakfast and dinner time!"

"Yeah, it may not keep us totally safe," Rocky added, "but it's not like we're any good all spread out."

I found myself smiling, even after I noticed Lucina and Katy were holding hands. "I could eat," I replied, stepping out into the hallway.

STUDENT UNION: CAFETERIA

I got my usual bowl of boring cereal and there was a moment of intense sadness just afterwards that surprised me. When we did this before, I would get my food and then decide who to sit with. But now there was no decision. Just one group to sit with.

When we were all settled, Lucina held up a note for us all to see, Anyone have any thoughts about what to do next?

"Ay," Rodrigo answered. "Our goal is twofold: to prevent murders and to escape."

"In that order," Rocky added.

"Yes," Rodrigo confirmed. "I was thinking our priority should..."

"Did someone mention my name?!" a shrill voice bellowed. We turned to see Monokuma standing in the doorway.

"Absolutely no one said anything even close to your name," Jane answered, shuddering in disgust as his mere presence.

"You were thinking it!" Monokuma yelled, waddling up to our table. As he got closer, I realized he was wearing large earphones. The earphones were obviously not designed for his bear-head, and they sat, off-balance and not fitting well. Music blared from them, loudly.

"...a baller, when things get hard I need someone to help me out, instead of a guy like you who don't know what a man's about! Can you pay my bills? Can you pay my telephone bills? Can you pay my automobills? If you did then maybe we could chill..."

"Holy shit," Rocky said. "Are you listening to Destiny's Child? Throwback!"

"...And did that person just say 'automobills?'" I added.

"Well, I have to!" the bear snapped, ignoring me. "We can't listen to it in the lab anymore! What else am I supposed to do?"

"Uh, not listen to a song that says 'automobills?'" I suggested.

"Shut up!" Monokuma yipped. "You deviant little children will never understand! You're always questioning the right way of doing things!"

"What did we do?" Katy asked, offended.

"Be all weird!" Monokuma growled. He pointed right at me. "It's probably your fault! You've made everything go wrong since the very start! Everything you do just makes my job harder!"

"Oh, go away," Jane said contemptuously. "You're a terrible little thing and everyone hates you."

"I am not..." But a beeping sound echoing through the room cut him off. "What?!" He stomped his little feet angrily. "That... that was a Monomail! I didn't send that!"

Rocky already has his tablet out and was poking at it thoughtfully. "Yeah. Looks like it's from... Juliet?"

"What!?" Monokuma stomped around in a circle, waving his paws around. "How could there be a Monomail that doesn't come from Monokuma?! Her name isn't Juliet Monobank!" He paused. "...actually, it's kind of close, isn't it?"

"Friend Jane," Rodrigo said, looking up from his tablet. "Foul Juliet has summoned you to the library."

"It seems she has," Jane replied. She slipped her tablet in her coat pocket and gently dabbed her mouth with a napkin. "Saya dear, will you accompany me?"

"Uh, what?" I asked, but Monokuma, who apparently was annoyed at being ignored, began singing loudly along with his music.

"I DON'T THINK YOU DO, SOOOOOO YOU AND ME ARE THROUGH!"

"Ugh." Jane stood and grabbed me by the arm, practically pulling me forcefully out of the cafeteria.

LIBRARY: ENTRANCE HALL

As soon as we walked in, hidden speakers crackled to life. "Well now," Juliet's voice resounded musically. "Didn't want to face your past alone, Jane?"

"More like, I didn't want to follow the instructions of a serial killer without another potential target," Jane called out. At my glare, she just shrugged.

"Aren't you worried about Saya learning your deepest, darkest secrets?" Juliet asked, sounding a bit surprised.

"Honestly, I can't say why, but no," Jane answered, glancing at a nonexistent watch. "Do you have something to give me, or not?"

"I do!" Juliet's voice sounded pleased and amused, which worried me. "Please go into the main stacks, up the stairs. Take the first right, then the second left, and then the first left. I've set something up for you there." Her voice crackled to silence.

"Hm." Jane put her hands on her hips, frowning. "Well, off to the slaughter, I suppose. Take out your stun gun, will you darling?"

"Huh?" I looked at her blankly.

"You didn't bring your stun gun?"

"Um. Was I supposed to?"

Jane pinched the bridge of her nose. "No no. It's fine. Just... just use your sinewy bulk to protect us if we get attacked."

"...Sinewy bulk?" I asked, but she was already walking away.

LIBRARY: STACKS

When we got to the stacks, I was glad Juliet gave us directions, because it would have been extremely easy to get lost in here. I very, very much did not like the feeling of being surrounded by a bunch of bookshelves.

But luckily, I couldn't really focus on that, because Jane's refusal to even look at me (except to give me knowing smirks) was getting really infuriating.

"...because 'sinewy bulk' doesn't even make sense!" I snapped. "It's a contradiction!"

"Really,' Jane tut-tutted, walking ahead of me. "So sensitive, goodness." She gave me that smirk. "I'm sure some people enjoy a girl with sinewy bulk. Somewhere. Probably."

I could only grunt as I stormed after her, but was surprised when she stopped short. I almost walked right into her.

She looked at me expectantly. "Well?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Well, what?"

"Well, this is the last corner," she said, indicating the bookshelf hallway heading off to the left. "Do you really think I'm foolish enough to go right where Juliet sends me? You're the hero. You go first."

"I'm the hero?" I asked. "I'm about as far away from a hero as you can get."

Jane shook her head. "Don't fish for compliments. Giuseppe was correct in his trial: you're strong and intelligent, and it's silly for you to act like you're not." Her expression flickered just for a moment. "Some of us are... are far more cowardly (though ravishingly beautiful). And we must be able to depend on you."

I looked for any source of deception and found none. I did see something else, though: genuine fear. I saw my own face reflected in her spirally eyes, and... there wasn't any fear there. Huh.

"All right," I said. I cautiously stepped forward and around the corner.

I wasn't quite prepared for what I saw. There was a wheelchair and a hospital bed set up in the middle of the hallway. I stood for a moment, bemused, then yelled over my shoulder, "It looks safe!"

Jane came out and looked equally perplexed when she saw the set-up. We walked closer. There was a soft teddy bear on the bed, next to a small stack of paper.

"Uh, Juliet?" I called out. "Where'd you get all this stuff?"

"Around!" Juliet's voice crackled out. "Bought a lot of it at the student stores!"

"When did you set all of it up?!"

"When you don't sleep, you have a lot of extra time in a day!"

By this time, Jane had begun to examine the papers on the bed. She picked them up, reading through.

Her facial expression as she read was... odd. First she looked confused, then appalled... and then angry. Very angry, trembling with fury. But then, the anger faded. Her mouth hung open, and she traced a finger over the words as if making sure they were real.

"Jane?" I ventured. She didn't seem to hear me. She dropped the papers on the ground and turned away, leaning over the bed, her hair draped in front of her face.

Still bewildered, I knelt to look at the paper. It was just science gibberish to me.

"Jane?" I repeated. I looked up; she was facing me now, wiping away a brown tear. She held the teddy bear softly. "What is..."

She held up an index finger, looking down. She sniffled, took a deep breath, and then raised her eyes to look at me. "Yes. I'm fine."

"What is it?" I held up a random paper. "I don't get this."

"It's... it's two things." She idly patted the head of the teddy bear; it was bizarre to watch her doing something so childish. "Dear, do you recall the story I told you before? About my hand?"

"Your one finger is five fingers."

"Indeed. It inspired me to stop my... experiments." She paused for a moment. "This is evidence that my materials were sabotaged."

"Sabotaged?"

"By my own parents."

I gaped at her. "What?"

"They were always quite adamant I stop my... quest. I had no interest in listening; I insisted they were betraying Richard. They fixed it so things were more painful."

"Jane... I'm..."

"Wait." She set the teddy bear down, seeming to remember her dignity. "As I said, there was more. A printout of the experiment I had planned next, along with recent research and some gaps filled in. And... it's clear. The conclusion inescapable." She sighed. "It would have killed me."

"Killed you?"

She nodded, grimly. "Quite agonizingly, too. If my parents hadn't stopped me, Richard would have had to grieve me in the last year of his life."

I realized I was kind of hugging myself. "How do you feel?"

She let out a small laugh. "I'm afraid I have no idea. When I saw what they did, I was so angry. I've never been so angry; I'd have done anything to hurt them. But then... I don't know what I feel now."

LIBRARY: MAIN ROOM

After sitting with Jane for a few more minutes, she asked to be left alone. I was concerned, but I had other things to do anyway. I snaked my way back out of the labyrinth of bookshelves and headed to the big, main room. I was extremely relieved to be away from all the bookshelves.

I looked up at the big window of the rare books room. Juliet stood there, looking down at me; she was wearing a bathrobe and pajamas, and she looked to be eating beans out of a can.

Grimacing, I headed upstairs.

LIBRARY: RARE BOOKS ROOM

The huge doors were locked, but after I knocked, Juliet opened them and beckoned me inside. I was kind of surprised... but not as surprised as I was when I took in the state of the room.

To start with, there was a pile of various cans of food and bottled water over by the wall, with several changes of clothes hung up around it. The big, middle desk had a thick stack of papers that looked official and important. But none of that was the first thing that caught my attention.

Juliet closed the door behind me and brushed her finger along my arm as she walked by. "Notice my nooses, did you?"

I couldn't do much but blink. "Yes. Yes I did notice your nooses."

Six nooses, hanging from beams up near the ceiling. All in a row, all slightly waving around in the air conditioning. There was a stack of books underneath each one.

Juliet giggled coquettishly.

I found my center again, I crossed my arms and sighed. "You know what? I'm not going to ask about the nooses. You want me to ask about the nooses." I pointed to the food. "I want to ask about that. Why do you have those?"

"I'm making this my... headquarters," she answered, sitting down behind the desk. "With... very few exceptions, no one's allowed in here, and I'm not going out there." She gestured to the computer equipment. "I can see and hear what's happening through the whole building, I can use the P.A. system, and... thanks to a little gift, I can even send emails."

"Yeahhh," I replied, scratching the back of my head. "Monokuma noticed you did that. He didn't seem to like it very much."

"Yeah, I know," she said. "He emailed me about it. I'll reply later, if I get around to it."

I squinted, not wanting to ask this next question but not able to stop myself. "Wait, if you just are going to live in here, where are you going to... um..."

Grinning, she held up a red Dixie cup. "A little trick I learned from an ex," she explained.

I wasn't sure if I was disgusted or horrified, and either way she seemed delighted by my reaction. "Oh, don't worry. I'll be venturing out for short trips. I have to finish setting up all your dioramas, after all."

"Off in the stacks?" I asked. "Um... that seems kind of dangerous. It'd be really easy to get surprised there."

Juliet swiped a stack of paper off the desk, revealing a very large, very sharp butcher knife. "Oddly, I'm not worried."

I wasn't sure what to say.

She tilted her head curiously. "But you're not here to talk about my lifestyle, yes? You want to ask me about Jane's... information."

"And everyone else's," I clarified.

She just shrugged. "The diorama was just flavor, and I hope you'll all forgive my flair for the dramatic. The rest of it is just what I told you before. The information that I was given, but... amended."

"Amended?"

"Blunted." She gestured vaguely over to a stack of books next to the desk which I realized were genetics textbooks and journals. "It's not a simple process, thus why I need to call you all in one-by-one." She frowned. "Well. That's not the only reason. Jane needed to be first, because she's so agitated by the idea of being ignorant, she would seek out my information for sure. Get the ball rolling."

"Why is this so important?" I asked impatiently. "What are you up to?"

She laughed. "Something that feels very strange!" She stopped laughing and looked at me very seriously. "Saya, am I a woman?"

Goddamn, she was just never going to lose the ability to completely stun me into silence, was she?

She stood up and pulled open her robe, showing off her T-shirt and pajama pants. "I look like a woman," she said. "Right? If you saw me, you'd say I was a woman?" She noticed my expression and sighed. "You said you take being a woman for granted. It's like you can act however you want, and you're not in love or anything."

"Um." I anxiously rubbed my sweater. "I'm not sure I'm really qualified to have this conversation, if you want me to be totally honest."

"It's just..." she shook her head sharply, a look of frustration on her face. She glanced at the desk; I noticed, for the first time, that small book she had before. Seeing it more clearly, it was definitely a child's diary. "Okay. Let me ask you this. Which would you rather be, a saint or a hero?"

"Uh... what?" I asked. "Is this another english class thing?"

"No. A saint is someone who does good because they are good, deep down inside. It would never occur to them to be anything but good." She made little scales with both hands, pushing one down like it was full of a heavy weight. "A hero is someone who does good, but who isn't good inside. They fight themselves to be virtuous."

I frowned, leaning away from her with distrust. "Why are you asking this?"

"A saint, right? You'd rather be a saint."

I threw my hands up in the air. "I guess? That way I wouldn't have to worry about it. But..."

"Not me." She hugged herself. "I want to worry about it. I want to struggle and win. I want to be a hero... but that's for men. Men are the heroes. To be a woman, I have to be like a man."

I wanted to just roll my eyes and declare I had no idea what she was talking about, because I absolutely did not have any idea what she was talking about. But her face was so sad, I felt like it'd be cruel for me to do that.

"It's just..." she said, and I had a very strange feeling that she was reaching out to another human being for the first time in her entire life. "...it never made sense. In retrospect, it's so obvious: it never made any sense at all."

And then the mask was back on, just like that. She smirked and shrugged. "Oh well! When I meet my true love, he'll explain it to me. I know it."

MAIN QUAD

I decided to go for a run to work out my stress, but it didn't really help. After showering, I looked at my tablet to see an email had gone out: Juliet had summoned Rodrigo to the library.

Concerned, I headed out into the quad to make sure things were okay, and I ran into Lucina and Katy.

"Rodrigo just took Rocky with him," Katy explained. Then she grinned slyly and said, "Isn't that sweet? Do you think there's something starting there?"

Off to her side, Lucina glared when she said that. I felt awkward. "Um... I don't know. I just hope everyone's okay."

Lucina scribbled out a note that said, Me too. I wish everyone wasn't going along with Juliet.

"Yeah, Jane seemed like she was hit pretty hard," I said, then I frowned. "Hm, well, not actually as hard as she could have been? She said she didn't know how she felt."

Lucina grimaced, then wrote out, Well, everyone keep an eye on her. And Rodrigo, too. I don't know if I trust anyone who's read whatever she prepared for them.

I felt awkward again, but Katy just smiled warmly, grabbed Lucina's arm, and hugged it to her own chest. "So cool!" she exclaimed, looking up at Lucina with doe eyes of wonder. "You're always looking out for everyone! Your heart is so beautiful!"

Lucina's expression wavered between soft, childlke appreciation and unsettled anxiety. I forced out a laugh and started to walk away. "You two look like you want some time alone," I called, waving. "I'll see you at dinner!"

I didn't look back.

STUDENT UNION: CAFETERIA

Dinner was less unpleasant than I'd worried. Jane was maybe a little more quiet than usual, but she seemed pretty much fine. Katy was friendly to everyone, and Lucina seemed in brighter spirits. But... Rodrigo and Rocky didn't show up.

I was just about to suggest going to look for them, when Rocky walked in. He waved and walked up to the table we were all at.

"Hey!" he greeted, looking mostly just confused. "Sorry I'm late! I forgot we were doing the dinner thing again, and I got caught up talking to Roddy."

"Oh did you?" Katy asked, grinning like a stoat, but I quickly stepped in.

"What happened?" I asked. "Where's Rodrigo? Is he okay?"

"Uh. Yeah." Rocky waved his hands around vaguely as he searched for the right words. "It was just... weird? Yeah, weird. He said he wanted to be alone for a little while."

I exchanged an unsettled look with Lucina. "What'd Juliet show him?"

"Well, it was in this maze of bookshelves, first of all," Rocky explained. "And we walk to the place, and there's, like... this weird shrine thing set up with like crosses and whadyacallit, the old, like, knight-cups?"

"Goblets?" Jane suggested.

"Yeah! Goblets!" Rocky nodded in appreciation. "And there was this packet of paper there, and, um..." He sighed. "Okay, so, like, you know how Rodrigo was born in a small village in Spain and was brought as a baby to a weird old monastery?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Well, he wasn't," Rocky said plainly. "He's from Ohio."

I opened my mouth to reply and couldn't. Glancing around the room, I saw everyone else was in the same boat. "What?"

"He's from Ohio," Rocky repeated. "All that shit, with the monastery and Spain and the monks? It was a lie. It was some kind of government program."

Katy put a hand to her forehead, looking so confused she might fall down. "Um, slow down a second. Rodrigo was raised in a fake monastery by fake monks because... the government put him there?"

"His parents signed him away." Rocky replied. "Some kind of experimental thing to create a new kind of soldier?"

"Whoa." I stood up, feeling shock in my chest. "Wait. A child soldier program?"

Rocky paused, then grimaced. "I didn't think of that," he said. "But yeah, it did say something about child soldier program. Raising some kind of perfect holy warrior."

Before I could really process that, Rocky waved his hands. "Hey, wait, that isn't all!" he said. "There was this whole other part! Like, a week after his parents signed him away, they complained and said they didn't really understand the contract and they wanted him back. They've sued the government, like, twelve times since he was a kid. And they spent a year in jail because they broke in to try to get him! They pretended to be some kind of agent; there were these crazy security pictures of these two people standing like in a Medieval kitchen."

"They worked that hard to try to get him, but they never could?" Katy asked.

"Oh yeah," Rocky said. "There were all these documents. Lawyer stuff, I didn't understand it."

I sat down, trying to process this. Jane hmmphed, rubbing her chin in thought. "Well. Rodrigo learns his entire life is a lie, and then learns his parents loved him, at exactly the same moment. What on earth is Juliet up to?"

Lucina banged a fist against the table, looking furious. She held up a message, I don't know but we should not trust her. This won't end well.

Katy reached over and touched Lucina's shoulder softly. It was a tender moment, but Lucina didn't relax a single muscle.

STUDENT UNION: MAIN ENTRANCE

After a suddenly tense dinner, we dispersed. I tried to catch Lucina's gaze, but she didn't look at me. She didn't seem to be looking at anyone.

On my way out, I saw Jane standing casually near the exit. She turned and pretended to just notice me, and she walked over, languidly. "Darling," she said.

"Um." I suddenly felt kinda weird again. "Hi, Jane. What's up?"

She paused. "I realized I never thanked you for coming with me this morning. I am... grateful for your help." She paused. "Am I saying this right? It's not exactly in my nature to do this."

"You're fine," I answered, feeling myself relax and smile a little. "And maybe if you keep repeating stuff about how you don't really care about anyone, it'll finally come true."

"Wha..." she sputtered, blushing. "I most certainly... I do not deign to concern myself with... with unscientific plebes!"

"Uh huh." I was still smiling, and it felt good. "Well, I don't care about you, either, so you can relax."

"Well." She huffed, regaining her dignity somewhat. "I am quite relieved to hear it."

There was another pause. I expected her to walk away, but she didn't.

"Hey," I said, surprising myself, "have you ever played chess?"

She blinked at me in surprise. "Eh?"

"I have a chess set in my room. Want to come up and play some games?"

"Really?" she scoffed. "Games?"

"Oh, c'mon," I said. "I'll go easy on you.

She grimaced in that very identifiable way of someone failing to convincingly grimace. "I suppose I have to find a way to pass the time, anyway. Lead the way, darling."

She turned and began to walk towards the exit, but then she realized she'd just asked me to 'lead the way.' Blushing, haughty, she stood aside to let me pass, acting for all the world like everything was completely on purpose.

DORM: SAYA'S ROOM

I lay on my back and stared at the ceiling. My back ached. Or maybe my stomach? Some muscle in there had just done a whole lot of work it wasn't used to doing.

"Huh," I mused.

Jane cuddled next to me, her head on my shoulder. "Indeed," she said.

I took a deep breath, trying to wrap my head around things. Finally, I just said, "Your one finger is five fingers."

She laughed, maybe the first genuine one I'd ever heard from her. She had been very uncharacteristically shy when she'd taken off her clothes, especially her gloves. Her skin had bizarre patches and colors and textures, but it actually kinda worked.

I painfully forced myself to a seated position; she petulantly refused to release me for a second, but then she sat up herself. "Well," I said, walking over to the first part of my clothes I could find.

"Darling," she said sharply. I looked at her, and she was sitting on the bed, leaning towards me. She tapped her index finger against her puckered lips. "A goodnight kiss?" she cooed, her Emily-eyes big and adorable.

I was confused for a moment, and then I felt myself beginning to sweat. "Oh, um..." She raised an eyebrow and I forced myself to continue. "Uh... wait. Like, let's be on the same page here, all right? I... kind of don't..."

She rolled her eyes, stood, walked over, and smooched me. "I am perfectly fine with this just being a killing game thing," she said smoothly, bending down to pick up her underwear. "I simply am not the kind of girl who will hook up without insisting on a goodnight kiss."

I was a bit slack-jawed for a moment, then I smiled and nodded. I half-dressed and headed into my bathroom.

I checked myself out in the mirror as I listened to her get dressed. I remembered my very first day here, before everything, when I did the same thing. My reflection looked... not at all different from how it'd looked then. I kind of thought it would, but it didn't.

I heard a noise from outside, and it actually took me a second to realize it was a knocking on the door. I began to walk back into the bedroom, but I froze when I heard the door actually open.

"Oh, good evening, darling," Jane's voice said.

I dashed out into the bedroom, hoping I wouldn't find exactly the thing that I found. Jane stood at the door, casually smiling at my guest. She wore her trench coat, but only a bra underneath it, and unlike before, she did not look remotely self-conscious.

And Lucina stood in the doorway, looking back and forth between us with an expression I absolutely could not read.

FACT 5: Juliet has moved into the rare books room in the library. She has access to security cameras, a P.A. system, and (apparently thanks to the mastermind) email.

FACT 6: Juliet will present our 'secret information' one-by-one. She claims she has to 'blunt' them before she will let us see them.

FACT 7: Katy took hers and Lucina's information without letting Juliet do anything with it. Both claim they have no intentions to look at it.

FACT 8: Jane's secret information was that her parents sabotaged the last experiment she performed on herself, causing her to give up trying to save her brother. But, it also said she would have soon died if she'd kept experimenting.

FACT 9: Rodrigo's secret information was that his monastery was actually part of the U.S. child soldier program. But, it also said that his parents have tried to get him back almost immediately after the government took him.