Chapter 3

Victim Impact

Monokuma didn't rat on Leon and Sayaka.

He didn't have to.

Kyoko and Makoto figured it out themselves.

Well it was more Kyoko figured it out; Makoto saw the evidence, got a few little prompts from Kyoko, allowed the pieces to fall into place and . . .

"Sayaka WHAT?!"

Either Makoto was totally stupid, or he was in complete denial. Leon opted for the second one as he watched the kid pace up and down his bedroom from the safe distance of outside the door.

"No no no no NO! She wouldn't!" He dropped down onto his bed. "I don't believe it! I can't!"

"I'm sorry, Makoto," said Kyoko softly, standing over him with her arms folded. "But the evidence all supports it." She eyed Sayaka who sank shamefully into the chair she was sitting on, rubbing the cast on her arm.

"I . . . Sayaka . . ." Makoto clung onto his hair, trying to cling onto his sanity, or at least some form of hope. But the situation clicked, and the despair that came with it seemed to take over. He glared furiously at Sayaka and screamed.

"HOW COULD YOU?!"

He rose to his feet and went to charge. Sayaka whimpered and leaned back in her seat. Leon got ready to run into the room and grab Makoto in case he might try anything. But Kyoko beat him to it, grabbing Makoto's wrist.

"Don't, Makoto. Don't give him that satisfaction."

Makoto tried to break his hand free from Kyoko's grip. But she squeezed his wrist tight. Even when he tried to yank his arm away, Kyoko remained pinned to the spot, keeping Makoto stuck with her. The kid was trembling with so much fury. Leon never imagined he would have that much anger in him.

"This was all because of Monokuma," Makoto murmured weakly.

Kyoko's grip softened just enough to allow Makoto to tear his hand out of hers. In front of him, Sayaka's body and breath were shaking similar to Makoto. She was trying so hard not to let her emotions get the better of her.

"I'm so sorry, Makoto . . ."

"Sayaka . . ." Makoto struggled to keep his voice soft. "I trusted you . . . I tried to help you . . . And you . . ." Makoto clasped his hand over his mouth. He shook his head. He scrunched his eyes tight. If he hadn't lost it yet, he looked pretty close to.

"Makoto, sit down," Kyoko took Makoto's arm again, a lot softer this time. After a few gentle tugs, Makoto was eventually steered back over to his bed and convinced to sit on it. For a moment, the bedroom was silent, apart from Makoto's soft snuffling as he struggled to pull himself together.

"I . . . I understand if you don't forgive me," Sayaka began sadly. "I know I shouldn't have done it. If it wasn't for this game, or that video, I wouldn't have done it!"

"Bet you wouldn't have done it if you'd known this was what would happen," Makoto murmured bitterly. He gave Sayaka's broken wrist a half assed glance, his heavy eyes dropping back to the floor just as quickly. Sayaka, unable to hold back her emotion any longer, smacked her good left fist on the desk next to her. It made Makoto and Leon jump. Kyoko's response was nothing more than a slight raise of the eyebrow.

"You don't get it!" the pop sensation yelled. "It's not like I wanted to just kill someone and frame you for it- I didn't want to frame you! I felt so horrible doing it! And I still do!"

She took a moment to try and calm herself down and glared at Makoto, her angry look melting to a more pleading one, as she silently begged Makoto for a response. But his head remained bent, his fingers locked together. Sayaka sniffed furiously, pressing her good left hand against one of her eyes.

'I thought we were friends.'

"We were friends, Makoto. I still want us to be friends . . ."

Makoto glanced up at her. "I didn't say-"

"I heard it. I'm psychic, remember?"

Makoto sunk into the bed with a weak breathy sigh. Sayaka hadn't taken her eyes off of him since he had sat down on the bed. She gave Makoto that same pleading look, begging him to say something. She might as well have been staring at the wall instead. Eventually, Kyoko decided to break the tense silence.

"I understand why you mightn't trust her now," she said. "But I'd be willing to take Sayaka's word for it." She gave Sayaka a sincere reassuring nod.

"I think you really are sorry."

Sayaka sat up ever so slightly in her seat. She gave Makoto a little hopeful look. But even after her heartfelt apology, and Kyoko's words, the kid still remained emotionally detached. It was the final straw for the Ultimate Pop Sensation.

"What's the point?"

She slapped the desk and rose to her feet, storming out of Makoto's bedroom. Makoto and Kyoko didn't budge. Leon's eyes widened at the stomping student clinging onto her wrist, eyes and lips squeezing shut, her hair tossing around with each step. She didn't even look at him as she marched out, slamming Makoto's bedroom door behind her.

"Sayaka!"

Sayaka continued to ignore him as she stopped outside her bedroom door and pulled out her key.

"Sayaka, listen to me for one-"

"NO."

"Sayaka-"

"I need to be alone!" Sayaka was fumbling around with the lock, refusing to look up at Leon. "Please!" she added when he still didn't leave her.

"Okay, but Makoto has every right to be upset, ya know?"

"I know," Sayaka moaned, dropping her head on the door. She heaved a sad heavy sigh. Leon's heart dropped for her.

"But I'm, uh . . . I'm sure he'll forgive you in no time," he said quickly, forcing an awkward smile. In all honesty, he wasn't really sure on that one- it was sort of a hasty attempt to reassure Sayaka and cheer her up.

It didn't work at all.

"Don't pretend to know Makoto!" Sayaka snapped. "I've known him for years! We went to the same school together! I had to cast him aside to focus on my music career! I hoped for so long that I might get to talk to him again and when I finally get the chance, this is what happens! I thought he'd forgive me quickly, but look at him! You forgave me quicker when . . . when I-"

Sayaka stopped to wipe her eyes, which had allowed streams of tears to escape. Leon stepped forwards and brought his hands to her face, gently wiping the tears away with his thumbs.

He wanted to tell her that forgiving her hadn't been easy at all. In many ways, he wasn't even that sure if he completely forgave her. But seeing Sayaka in this state was enough to keep him here with her. If Makoto wouldn't stay with her, who else would?

With her head cupped in his hands, Leon slowly pulled the crying girl into a comforting embrace. Sayaka seemed to just drop her head into his chest, gripping onto his jacket with her good left hand. As Leon ran his fingers through her silky hair, he wondered if he should tell her now how he felt about her . . .

"Sayaka, I-" He sighed, digging his nose into her head, picking up a sweet scent from her hair. "I wanna help you as best as I can . . . I don't wanna le- I mean I wanna be there for you when you need it . . . L- Like now, obviously. I want us to get through this together . . ."

Leon furrowed his eyebrows, trying not to shudder as he realized he was stalling. He squeezed the girl in his arms, hoping it would give her a sense of how he was feeling. Sayaka wasn't responding. Her head remained buried in Leon's chest. Her eyes were shut. Her body was slowly getting heavier in Leon's arms. He wondered if she could at least sense his heart pounding in his chest.

Should he just say it?

Or would it upset her more while she was in this state?

Leon shut his eyes and rubbed his cheek off of Sayaka's head, her soft hair on his face soothing him as much as he soothed her. He let out a slow breathy sigh and, very carefully, planted a small kiss on the top of her head. The Ultimate Pop Sensation stirred ever so slightly. It was her only response.

Had she noticed?

It didn't seem like it.

Leon sighed and opened up his eyes again. He spotted Chihiro watching them in the distance from outside her bedroom door. It made the baseball star stiffen on the spot.

How long had she been watching them?

Did she see the whole thing?

"What-"

"I'm sorry!" Chihiro yelped, similarly frozen. "I wasn't sure- I didn't mean to . . . I'm . . . I'm sorry!"

The Ultimate Programmer walked hurriedly past Leon and Sayaka, keeping her head bent in the hope that Leon wouldn't notice that she had burst into tears. Sayaka opened her eyes and watched the poor little one rush down the corridor towards the dining hall. She blinked, waking herself up and gently pushed herself away from Leon with a surprisingly strong left hand.

"You okay?"

Sayaka nodded as she slid free from his arms. "Yeah . . . Yeah, I feel better now. Thanks."

"No problem," Leon murmured as she turned back to her bedroom door. "I, uh . . . I'm gonna get a drink. Ya want something?"

"No thank you," she replied softly. "I was gonna relax in my room for a while."

Leon nodded, watching as she fiddled with the key in her doorknob with only her left hand. "You need some help with that?"

As soon as he said that and stepped forwards, the door clicked open, and Sayaka gave him a warm but tired little smile.

"I'm okay. Thanks anyway."

"Yeah." Leon rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Y- you know if you're stuck for someone to talk to or help ya out-"

"I know," Sayaka responded. Again, she gave Leon a little, sweeter smile. "You've been really good to me since I started all this. I appreciate that."

Her smile may have been small, but Leon felt a massive pound in his chest. Unable to control himself any longer, he went to lunge for a kiss. But whether it was bad luck for him, or some sort of psychic timing on her part, Sayaka turned her back and stepped into her room. Leon was left alone in the corridor with nothing but his thoughts as she gently shut the door on him.

'God dammit.'

He shook it off and made his way down to the dining hall. There were some people there already. Leon ignored all of them as he swiftly made his way down to the kitchen, opened up the fridge and grabbed himself a can of cola. If it didn't give him a boost, it would at least take his mind off so many things that were crowding up in his head.

"Leon! What do you think you're doing?"

"Jesus!" Leon shrieked, jumping as he opened up the can, which, of course, caused some of the soda to fizz over and spill onto the floor. Taka glared at him, his beady red eyes gleaming with disapproval.

Wait.

Had he figured out that Leon was the one who had broken Sayaka's wrist?

Kyoko and Makoto had figured out that Sayaka had started everything, and Leon was getting a vibe from Kyoko that she knew if he hadn't broken her wrist, he was definitely involved somehow. Everyone else was still under the assumption that Sayaka was the innocent helpless victim who had suffered an unprovoked attack. Or at least, Leon thought. It was mean and maybe a bit cowardly on his side, but he didn't fancy people finding out the truth- especially after witnessing Makoto's meltdown.

No, maybe he was overthinking it. Taka was pointing less at Leon himself and more at the can of cola in his hand.

"I just wanted a drink."

"Leon! An athlete like you should know better!" Taka scolded. "Those high sugar sodas do nothing for your body or mind! The mental boost you get from it is only temporary! And then you'll crash! You'll be in no condition to study or partake in sporting activities!"

'Good,' Leon thought as he took a sip. Those were two things he hated.

"Not to mention, it is far too early in the day for such a high amount of sugar!"

Leon took another, longer sip, and gave Taka an irritable, deliberately dragged out glare. It was the closest thing to a middle finger he could possibly give. What was Taka gonna do? Confiscate the cola? If he tried to take his drink from him, Leon would fucking- He grumbled and began walking out the kitchen.

"And who do you expect to clean up this spill?"

'Taka, shut the fuck up.'

Leon was so tempted to say it to the hall monitor's face. But that would probably earn him a lecture on profanity. So he just marched into the dining hall, smugly taking his drink with him as he sat down at one of the long tables. Perhaps if he kept his distance from people, they'd stop picking fights with him.

"Attention everyone!" Taka declared for no one to listen to. "It has come to my attention that some of us are beginning to act too recklessly for their own good! Breaking into other people's rooms and attacking them! Drinking soda during morning hours! And refusing to clean up after their own messes! This kind of behaviour is unacceptable and requires immediate action!"

As much as Leon hated having this kind of stuff rubbed in his face, it was kind of funny to think that Taka put attempted murder in the same category as drinking soda. It immediately stopped being funny when he thought what might happen to Sayaka if he found out she was responsible for it.

"I propose a daily school schedule that will keep our brains active and engaged! That way-"

Leon was so busy ignoring Taka and his stupid suggestions that he didn't notice Chihiro approaching his table, slowly settling herself down in the second seat next to him. At another table in the distance, Mondo (with his feet on the table, of course) let out a holler.

"How the fuck is a schedule supposed to get us outta this shithole?"

As much as Leon didn't trust Mondo (and hated that fucking pompadour of his), the biker did have a point. He went to smirk at Taka to see what kind of stupid response he could come up with when he finally noticed Chihiro. The baseball star would have jumped, but Chihiro was so small and non threatening that all he did was raise his eyebrows.

"Hiiiiii . . ." He lowered them just as quickly. His voice was tainted with suspicion. What was she doing here? And why was she sitting next to him out of all people?

Chihiro must have sensed his discomfort because she immediately shuddered, pressing her little clenched fists against her chest. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you! I- I can go somewhere else where I'm less-"

"Uhh- No, nonono, you're fine! Really!" Leon stuck out his hand before Chihiro could rise, beckoning her to stay seated. The gesture was a reflex, but it made Chihiro whimper and shrink into her seat more. Leon quickly realized his mistake and pulled his hand in. "Sorry, didn't mean to-"

"No, it's my fault," Chihiro murmured. "I should have known you weren't gonna- I'm sorry." Her head sunk into her shoulders.

"Uhh, it's okay! I'm fine! Really!" Leon said quickly, and took a hasty sip of cola in the hope that it really would make him feel as "fine" as he claimed.

"Are you sure? I don't want to annoy you."

"Uhh, no you're not! Honestly." If anything, Leon was glad to have someone other than Sayaka who was willing to sit next to him. Even if there was still a chair between him and Chihiro, the fact that she trusted him enough to sit near him at all was pretty reassuring.

The two stayed there for a while as the echoes of Taka and Mondo's bickering began to boom around the dining hall. Leon took another sip of cola and snickered.

"This could almost become part of their schedule, huh?" He grinned mischievously at Chihiro. But his grin immediately dropped when he saw Chihiro's eyes beginning to water.

"I don't like it when people shout . . ."

"Uhh-" Shit. "You don't need to worry! It's not aimed at you."

Chihiro's mouth wobbled, streams of tears trickling down her cheeks. "I still don't like it."

God. Leon gritted his teeth and took a swig of cola, hoping to swallow down some of his frustration. What was about this place that made it so hard for him to click with the girls here? Well maybe the killing game was part of the reason why. If he was back at home with his baseball team and fans, he would have hooked up with someone ages ago. Would have been a once-off overnight thing but still.

"C- can I ask you something?" Chihiro looked up at Leon with big wet innocent gold eyes. "If you don't mind . . ."

"No. N- no, I don't mind! Yeah, you can ask!" Leon puffed his cheeks out at his save. "What is it you wanna ask me?"

Chihiro bit her lip, rubbing her little knuckles. "I- I hope it's not a personal question. It probably isn't my business asking . . ."

Leon cocked his head at her. "What is it?"

"Um . . ." Chihiro was sinking so much that Leon thought for a moment she might possibly slip under the table. He squeezed his lips a little. He knew she was timid and all but this amount of hesitation over a supposedly small question was beginning to make him feel nervous! Did she think he had broken Sayaka's wrist?

'Just spit it out already!'

"What were you and Sayaka talking about?" She ducked her head, waiting for the onslaught of verbal abuse.

Was that it? Leon glanced up at the ceiling in surprise and took a moment to think about it. When he had been comforting Sayaka, he wasn't even sure he was really thinking about what he was saying to her. People would say anything to comfort those they loved if they were desperate enough.

"We were, uh . . . just talking about her wrist. Yeah, her wrist!" Leon nodded to himself, then nodded at Chihiro, satisfied with the fib. "Sayaka was, uh, worried about . . . her wrist and stuff. So I was just telling her that I'd be there to help if she needed it . . . ya know?"

"Ohh." Chihiro's face lit up slightly as she thankfully seemed to buy it.

"That makes sense. She might be worried that her wrist might make it easier for her attacker to . . ." Chihiro gulped at the thought.

"Pitiful."

Leon and Chihiro looked up to see Byakuya glaring down at them in disapproval. A few meters behind him, Toko was practically drooling at his presence.

"What?" Leon scowled, immediately sensing trouble from the Ultimate Affluent Progeny. "What do ya mean?"

Byakuya smirked a horrible mocking smirk and brought a steaming cup of coffee to his lips.

"Sayaka's attacker should have killed her when they had the chance."

"What the HELL?" Leon leapt to his feet, nearly tossing over the seat behind him. It did little to faze Byakuya.

"That's an awful thing to say!" Chihiro cried.

"How so?" Byakuya sneered. "Why go to all that bother breaking into someone's room just to break their wrist? Was Sayaka too easy for them? Or did her attacker simply not get the idea of a killing game?"

Leon clenched his fists on the table, feeling his blood beginning to boil. This dick . . . The assumption that Sayaka was weak and he was stupid . . . If he knew the full story and how much stress it was bringing him and Sayaka . . . If he knew that he didn't kill Sayaka because he actually had some human decency about him . . . Leon growled as Byakuya stuck his nose in the air.

"This isn't a game," said Chihiro meekly. "Our lives-"

"Excuse me?" Byakyua glared down at the little one, cutting her off. "Maybe you didn't hear correctly. Or maybe I need to spell it out for you." His sinister grin grew a little. "We've been thrown into this life or death game, where only the strongest get to live. Unfortunately for one of us here, they quit while they had the upper hand. What a shame."

"Yeah, and how do we know you didn't attack her?" Leon didn't even know what got into him to say that. Maybe it was to play dumb. Maybe it was to clear his name that didn't need clearing (yet). Maybe it was to pass some of the animosity onto Byakuya, who was certainly asking for it.

"Please," he scoffed. "Breaking into a person's bedroom when they're least expecting it- that's too easy a kill. It would make the game a lot less fun. If I decide to fight, I'll be coming up with something original."

"S- stop saying that." Chihiro said it so softly, but unfortunately Byakuya still heard.

"Care to say that again?"

Leon glanced down as Chihiro shut her eyes, trying so hard to fight back even more tears.

"Stop talking about it so . . . so . . ."

"So what?" Byakuya snapped. "If you have to say something, just say it! And don't try to contradict me."

"Why do you have to act like this?" Chihiro cried. "Why can't we try to be friends and work together-"

"Friends?" Byakuya began and all of a sudden, his voice became softer and more dangerous. "What gave you that idea? We're not friends. In fact, we're quite the opposite. Sayaka and her attacker will understand that. The fact that you expect them to work together is almost shameful."

Leon glared down at the table, trying to control his breathing, trying to remind himself that everything Byakuya was saying was wrong . . . He was doing this on purpose. He was deliberately targeting him and Chihiro in the sick hope of getting a reaction.

"Here's a friendly reminder for you: in this game, it's survival of the fittest. I'm not one to risk valuable money on gambling, but if I had to place my bets, I'd say you're the weakest link by far."

The Ultimate Affluent Prodigy's glasses flickered at the sight of the crumbling Chihiro beneath him. He took another long sip of coffee, before finally delivering his finishing blow.

"So for the short time you're here, try to say something useful. Otherwise, keep your mouth shut."

Chihiro's face collapsed into her hands as she began to sob. And Leon finally snapped.

"Okay, that's not cool!" He found himself going to climb over the table, his clenched fist ready to beat this dick's face in. But out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Mondo storming towards them, riled up and red faced, cracking his knuckles.

"Yo shithead! Whatcha think you're doin', pickin' on someone weaker than you? Ya wanna try that on me?"

Leon backed away from the table as quickly as he had gone to climb over it. No way was he getting involved in a tussle with the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader! He watched as Mondo stopped just inches from an unthwarted Byakuya, eyes locked on him like a bull. His stupid pompadour nearly brushed off Byakuya's glasses.

"So you're pretending to be friends now? Didn't think you had it in you."

Mondo let out a roar. "That's it! I'm gonna kill you!"

He raised his fist at Byakuya, triggering a chorus of "NOOOOOO"s in the dining hall. Taka raced up to the biker like a streak of lightning and tried to grab him by the shoulders.

"Stop that!"

"FUCK OFF!"

Mondo grabbed Taka back and chucked him out of his space. Taka crashed onto his rear, narrowly avoiding hitting his head off of Leon and Chihiro's table.

"Dude, what the HELL?" the baseball star shrieked.

"Mondo, calm down!" Hina yelled angrily.

Mondo just stood there, his aggressive energy now focused on Taka for stopping his attack. The only person who didn't seem fazed was Byakuya who smirked at the little crowd that had now gathered around them. Even some of the calmer people like Celeste and Sakura couldn't hide the surprise in their eyes.

"Why threaten to kill someone, if you're not going to go ahead with it? Where's the fun in that?" Byakuya shrugged off all the pairs of angry eyes that locked onto him. They were nothing more than an audience to him. "If you're not going to play the game properly, you're wasting my time. And I don't like to have my time wasted."

And Byakuya made a slick exit from the dining hall, wrinkling his nose in disgust as he passed Toko. She winced and began scratching frantically at her hair.

"I can't trust any of you here! I can't even hide in my room anymore! What if one of you comes after me?"

Everyone stared at Toko with more confusion than hatred. Where had that panic attack come from?

"Oh never mind!" she wailed dramatically. "Like any of you would be upset if I died! You're all too busy with Sayaka anyway! B- because she's pretty and I'm not, is that it?"

'Okay,' Leon thought, 'she's kinda being an attention whore right now.'

Toko let out one last wail (which to Leon sounded a bit exaggerated) and stomped out of the dining hall. Possibly in the hope that someone would take pity on her and follow.

No one did. They all remained where they were, allowing the echoes of Toko's wails to fade, leaving behind a tense silence.

"Should we go and check on her?" Hina eventually asked.

"No way!" Leon's response was instant.

"Yaaaah, no," Hiro muttered. "She's super annoying."

"Yeah, like, what's the point?" said Junko. "Like she'd let us in anyway."

Leon smirked to himself a little. It was really nice to know that after all the shit he had been through, there seemed to be more people on his side. And if people were ever feeling tense, at least they could take it out on Byakuya and not him or Sayaka. His smirk grew a little, but then dropped when he heard a tiny hiccup underneath him.

Chihiro was still crying. Her tears seemed to be falling faster and fatter. Her nose was running and she constantly had to keep swallowing to stop herself from dribbling.

"Hey," Leon began, lowering himself back down onto his seat. "Don't let that dick get to you. This isn't your fault."

"But it is," Chihiro whimpered. "If I hadn't sat down here to talk to you-"

"The fuck has that got to do with anythin'?" For once, Mondo wasn't shouting. But his gruff remark still made Chihiro shrink a little.

"Everyone thinks I'm weak . . . They know I'm weak!" At this point, her voice was barely above a whisper. She was speaking more to herself than to anyone else. "I'm so weak."

"Aww come on," said Hina, leaning over on the table, trying to give Chihiro a friendly smile. "Don't say that about yourself."

"But it's true. Byakuya said it. M- Mondo said it . . ."

"Hey, HEY," Mondo said quickly. He tried to say it softly, but his rough voice rose just loud enough to shake Chihiro again. "I wasn't tryin' to be mean! Besides, girls are just naturally weak anyway . . . right?"

Chihiro stopped crying, her head dropping. She let out a small hiccup and nothing else. Her hands dropped on her lap. The poor thing seemed to shut down completely. Everyone glared at Mondo, and Leon felt his face flushing with fury. Sure, he probably wasn't one to tell Mondo how to talk about girls, considering how much of a womaniser he could be sometimes. But the way he addressed Chihiro like that . . .

"Way to go, asshole." Leon couldn't help himself. He gritted his teeth when Mondo glared at him.

"You can shut the fuck up and-"

Leon grabbed his can of soda and briskly left the table, trying to ignore Mondo cracking his knuckles behind him.

"HEY! Ya runnin' away too, fucker?"

Leon was seriously reaching his limit with all this tension around him. It was like he couldn't go anywhere in this damn school without a fight breaking out. Behind him, he could hear Chihiro starting to cry again, along with Mondo's pathetic attempts to stop her.

His ears picked up on the biker pulling the whole "it's my fault" card. And some bullshit about promising not to shout . . . Like that promise was gonna last. Leon took a swig of cola, glad that Sayaka didn't have to witness the shitshow he did as he went back to the corridor, heading towards his room. God, he couldn't wait to be alone . . .

He suddenly stopped when he saw Makoto and Kyoko standing outside Sayaka's bedroom door. Sayaka had the door wide open, standing just outside her room. And she and Makoto were talking.

There were no tears.

No tension.

In fact, it looked like they were making some decent conversation.

Leon's eyes widened a little as he slowly stepped forward to try and get an ear in.

"I probably overreacted a bit," Makoto was saying a bit bashfully. "I- I know you probably never wanted to do all this."

"Aww, you're so sweet," Sayaka said, in the most cheerful tone Leon had heard from her (or anyone) in ages. "But please don't be too hard on yourself. I know myself I was wrong. You could say I learned my lesson!"

She waved her casted arm and laughed, getting Makoto to laugh with her. Kyoko didn't laugh. Her face remained stoic, her arms folded as usual.

"I'm just so happy you forgive me," said Sayaka happily. "You have no idea how much I wanted to speak to you again after all this time. It's so nice to be friends again!"

'Man, Byakuya would hate to hear that,' Leon thought to himself as he brought his can to his lips.

"Y- yeah!" Makoto agreed. "I still want to help get you out of here! I want us to get out of this place together! And if anything worries you or happens to you again, you can come to me for help. Got it?"

"I'll be sure to remember that. Thanks!"

Leon choked on his drink. Streams of cola sprayed from his nose and down his chin. He coughed violently, his eyes watering as three pairs of eyes stared over at him.

"Are you okay?" Makoto asked worriedly.

"Ye-" Leon wheezed and spluttered, gasping for breath while Makoto, Kyoko and Sayaka continued to stare at him. "Just-" He pointed at the can. "Just went down the wrong way!"

"Well, um," Makoto began awkwardly, turning his attention back to Sayaka. "You know what I said. If you ever need me-"

"I'll be sure to consider asking you," said Sayaka, smiling warmly. To which Makoto smiled back at her. Leon tried not to scowl.

"I'm pleased to see that we've made amends, and are back on the same page," said Kyoko. Unlike Sayaka and Makoto, she wasn't smiling. But then again, it was Kyoko. She wasn't exactly someone who was bursting with emotion.

"I propose that once everyone else has gotten over this event, we can continue searching for a way out of here." She turned around, tossing her light hair as she made her way down the corridor, eyeing Leon on the way down.

Okay, if she knew he was the one who broke Sayaka's wrist, she should at least tell him. Her lack of emotion was nearly as bad as all the emotions overflowing in the dining hall.

"Yeah, once everyone else has gotten over it!" Leon chuckled to himself.

"What?" Makoto blinked in confusion.

"Bet you're glad you didn't go to the dining hall now," said Leon as he goofily approached Makoto and Sayaka. As he did so, he noticed how much brighter her face looked since the last time he'd seen her.

"Ya both missed the party. Everyone's so messed up! Byakuya's a dick, Chihiro's Idunnowhat, Taka and Mondo can't go five minutes without going at each other's throats!" Leon pointed out a finger, flicking it between Makoto and Sayaka. "Yeah, if you want my advice: don't fuck with Mondo. He looks like he'll take you out in-" Leon snapped his fingers. "One hit, just like that."

Makoto and Sayaka stared at the Ultimate Baseball Star with the biggest "no shit" looks on their faces. Makoto slowly brought his hand to his cheek.

"I . . . wasn't planning to mess with him . . ."

Oh yeah. The Ultimate Lucky Student was lucky enough that he'd already gotten to feel the joys of Mondo's fist in his face, wasn't he?

Shit. Looked like Leon had embarrassed himself in front of his crush and her friend. He was just a friend . . . right?

"Leon's probably trying to be helpful. He also told me he'd help if anything happened to me!" Sayaka said cheerily. She suddenly gasped, her face lighting up even more. "Why don't you two hang out for a while?"

Leon's stomach dropped. Makoto stared uncertainly at her.

"What?" the two boys asked in unison. But Sayaka just giggled at them so sweetly.

"Why not? It would be nice for you two to get along."

It was times like this Leon wished he was the one with psychic intuition. He loved Sayaka and all (and God he hoped she felt the same about him), but what the hell was she planning?

"Uhh, we can do that," said Makoto quickly. "I have some free time anyway." His voice cracked with hesitation.

"Leon?"

Honestly, Leon didn't want to hang out with Makoto at all. He wanted to return to his room, finish his drink and have a nap. But Sayaka tilted her head at the baseball star. Either she was genuinely in a better mood, or she was acting all cutesy to appease him.

"Sure, I can hang," he muttered nonchalantly. If it didn't cheer him up, there was a chance it would make Sayaka happy- happier than she already seemed to be. "Okay, let's hang." He turned around and strolled back towards the dining hall. Makoto hurried to join him.

"Have fun!" Sayaka called after them. Her voice was definitely a lot cheerier. It was so nice to hear. Leon would have smiled if he was hanging out with Sayaka herself and not this kid she seemed to know so well- who glanced up at Leon a little nervously.

"Are we going to the dining hall?"

"Hell no!" Leon laughed. "Like I said, everyone's totally crazy in there! I'm surprised Mondo didn't kill anyone!"

Makoto nodded very slowly. "So . . . where do you wanna go?"

"You tell me," Leon replied a little rudely, finally drinking down the last mouthful of cola. It hadn't cheered him up and all, and the exertions combined with the lack of sleep were beginning to take their toll on him, if it hadn't already. He crushed the can in his hand, ignoring Makoto wincing next to him and marched down the hall over to the trash room. Makoto struggled to keep up with him as he dumped his can into the bin.

"We can hang out here for a bit. If you like."

Leon gave Makoto a heavy shrug. "Yeah, whatever."

Makoto chuckled awkwardly and Leon noticed that he was keeping his distance from him. He tried to snap himself out of his mood, even though smiling was a bit of an effort at the moment.

"Sorry, man. I'm just kinda stressed at the moment, ya know?"

"I . . . Y- yeah," Makoto stuttered. "I, uh . . . I noticed you hanging around Sayaka when she was dealing with her wrist and stuff."

"Yeah." Leon lowered his eyebrows a little suspiciously. He thought the kid would have been too worked up over Sayaka to notice. "What about it?"

Makoto chuckled again, avoiding eye contact with him. "You just seemed really worried. I mean, more worried than everyone else." He tried to muster a brave smile. "It was nice of you to stay though. I think Sayaka appreciated it."

"Yeah . . ." Leon tried not to frown at him. "I think Sayaka likes talking to me." It may have sounded a bit petty, but he figured he might as well find a way to release some of his cooped up emotion.

"Talking to you?" Makoto suddenly narrowed his eyes, giving Leon his own suspicious look. "Were you the one she sent that note to?"

'Sent that note to?' Leon stiffened a little.

"What note?" he asked, immediately switching to deliberate dumbass mode.

"When Kyoko and I were investigating, she found out that Sayaka wrote a note to someone: There's something I want to talk to you about, just us two-"

Leon's face immediately went pale. He started to sweat as he realized he still had the note in his pocket. He tried to smile at Makoto, but the kid didn't buy it.

"Leon, are you okay?" Makoto cocked his head and suddenly straightened as something clicked for him. "Were you the one she targeted last night? Is that why you broke her wrist?"

FUCK.

"You, uhh-" Even though Makoto was smaller and presumably weaker than him, Leon was close to stepping back. "You and Kyoko really like playing detective, don't ya?"

"Yeah, I guess," Makoto murmured. "I- I wasn't trying to upset you or anything!" he added quickly. "I was just wondering . . . I- it's nice that you and Sayaka are friends though."

He didn't push any further, thank God. Leon let out a mental sigh of relief. He dug his hands into his pockets, scrunching up the note as small as possible. He glanced at Makoto, hoping he didn't hear. But Makoto was too busy digging through his jacket pocket to notice.

"Whatcha doin'?"

Makoto pulled something out of his pocket and approached Leon with it. Leon felt his stomach lurch and instinctively took a step back as he caught a glimpse of blue in Makoto's hand.

"What is that?"

"I, uh-" Makoto stopped and raised his hands to show Leon what he was holding. "I got it in the MonoMono Machine! I thought you might like it. Here!"

He held out his hand that was holding a small bottle of blue liquid. Leon took a closer look when he realized Makoto's gesture was far from threatening. His eyes lit up as he immediately recognized what was in that bottle.

"Is that Blueberry Perfume?!"

"Yeah!" Makoto smiled a little bashfully. "It's not really much use to me. And it doesn't- I don't think it smells very good."

"Dude!" Leon snatched the bottle, a genuine, excitable smile finally appearing on his face. "You're shitting me! This stuff is, like, the ultimate chick magnet!" In a burst of happiness, he grabbed Makoto around the shoulders and yanked him into him, making Makoto yelp.

"You're totally awesome, man!" He gave Makoto a playful wink, squeezing the kid in his arm. "Ya want my autograph in return?"

"Autograph?" Makoto was nearly choking under Leon's arm.

"Yeah! So you can say ya got it before I became a famous musician!" Leon could feel himself getting increasingly excited. He finally released Makoto from his arm, making Makoto stumble away as politely as he could manage. Leon suddenly felt a rush of passion, motivation and determination. He rubbed his hands together, beaming at Makoto. He'd forgotten how long he'd been waiting to talk to someone about how much he wanted to ditch baseball for the title of Ultimate Musician. Makoto was in for a treat with him.

"So I wanna start a band . . . I wanna take over the world with punk!"

Makoto nodded, listening intently, making Leon beam even brighter. Through all the shit Sayaka had put them through, he'd almost forgotten that at the end of the day, the kid was a genuinely nice guy. It was so easy for Leon to pour his heart out to him about how much he wanted to chase his dream, even if it had turned into a bit of a nightmare, and how much he craved the popularity a music career would bring him. The back of his mind wished it was that easy to express himself to Sayaka the way he was doing with Makoto right now. But the excitement of talking about a different passion quickly erased that thought.

As Makoto continued to nod in understanding, Leon felt a strange new kind of hope. Maybe it was Makoto's vibe . . . But Leon felt confident that if he couldn't get along with Byakuya, Taka and Mondo, at least he could safely call Makoto his friend.

As long as he stayed away from Sayaka.

Okay, maybe he was kidding himself with that last thought.

Speaking of which-

"Hey, do ya know what kind of guy Sayaka is into?" Leon gave Makoto another friendly wink. Makoto, who had been busy absorbing Leon's story about his love for punk, almost jumped at the sudden change of subject.

"Oh, uh . . . I guess she likes nice guys?" The kid blushed a little. "I'm not really sure. I don't think she ever told me." He said it so casually. He didn't know it, but the way he said it gave Leon a sense of relief.

Maybe Makoto and Sayaka were genuinely really good friends . . . maybe he was just overthinking their friendship- he hoped.

"But it's nice that if anything happens to me, Sayaka has you to fall back on."

Leon's ears pricked up. "Whadaya mean?"

Makoto glanced at him with a genuinely innocent look on his face. "Sayaka said you were willing to help if someone came after her or-"

"Oh yeah!" Leon nodded and found himself instinctively patting Makoto's shoulder. "Well, uh, I got your back too! I'm sure Sayaka would be devastated if anything happened to ya!"

Makoto looked down at Leon's hand on his shoulder, then back up at Leon's face. "You think?"

Leon gave Makoto a sincere nod. He didn't think it. After hearing Sayaka talking so fondly about him, he knew it.

He pulled his hand away and beamed up at the ceiling. "Come on! Let's walk around a bit."

Leon headed off with a spring in his step and Makoto cheerily walked after him. Both boys brought with them a bit more understanding of each other, along with a hope that the two of them would be able to look after Sayaka and escape Hope's Peak together . . .


Oml, that chapter ended up longer than I thought- I wasn't even expecting that many opportunities for character interaction to pop up. I was hoping to write the next killing motivations here, but I'm finding that character interaction, development and buildup is just as important if not more. I'm really enjoying writing all of these characters and I hope you're enjoying what I'm writing and setting up.

Please Read and Review!