"Orb of Desire?" I asked, eyeing the crystal ball. It didn't seem to be anything peculiar, and there weren't any scratches or marks that could be decrypted as any sort of subliminal message. Touching it didn't bring about any adverse effects either. Just what was Monokuma planning this time?

Ryo gave a curious tap on the glass ball and scratched his chin. "I don't get it. What's supposed to happen?"

"It's just what it says on the tin!" Monokuma replied with a haughty laugh. "It's an orb of desire! Whatever it is you want, it can grant you!"

Whatever it was I wanted? What if I wanted to end world hunger, stop the wars, end this killing game, grab the attention of a love interest? Would it grant it to me?

"So, if I wanted to be left alone and play video games forever, this glass ball could give me that? I don't believe you," Kaemon replied with an eye-roll.

"Yes!" Monokuma emphatically replied.

"What if I wanted to come to peace with life and its fluctuating tendencies?" Kenji asked.

"Yep! Like I said, anything!"

Rai scratched his chin. "Could it end climate change?"

"If that's what you wanted!" Monokuma replied, his voice sounding a bit irritated.

Amy-chan giggled. "Okay... what if I wanted to be surrounded by millions of adoring, squealing fans, all dressed in cosplay, and one day become the biggest, richest, most kawaii star in the whole world?"

Monokuma gave an exasperated sigh. "Yes! If you can imagine it, and you really wanted it, the Orb of Desire could grant it! Anything you wanted! There are literally no limits!"

Hideki shook his head. "I don't believe you. There's no way anything has the power to do such a thing. It creates too many problems. It could be misused in a way not even you could deal with the consequences of,"

"Shut it, Paul Blart!" Monokuma shouted back at Hideki, who backed up a bit. "You have no idea what sort of things I am capable of!" Everyone went silent as Monokuma's red eye glowed brighter, baring his fangs and claws. In a few seconds, Monokuma put away his claws and put his head down. "Anyway... you all have fun with the Orb of Desire!" Before anyone could say anything else, he dashed out of the shack in a flash.

"Bastard-" Hideki growled, raising a fist. He sighed and then turned back to the Orb of Desire and picked it up in his hands. "Just what sort of things is this capable of...?" He whispered to himself.

"Oooooh, Hideki is going to lead us in the ritual~!" Aiko cooed, flashing a devious grin. "What sort of things will you wish for?"

"Something easy, with no real consequences," Hideki replied. "If this thing really does have the power to do anything, it's best we don't misuse that power,"

Asa tilted her head at the Ultimate Interrogator. "Mister Harada, please don't get reckless now,"

Hideki tapped on the ball a couple of times. "Let's see here. I want... a chocolate donut and some black coffee,"

"Man, that's an easy one," Daquan replied. "You could easily get that in the train, you know,"

"I know that," Hideki told him. "What I'm talking about is the way Monokuma worded it. He said that this orb has the power to grant you whatever you wanted. Meaning that the donut and coffee should come to me-" Before Hideki could finish his sentence, he leaned forward and set the orb down. "Wait just a minute-" He looked over at a shelf behind us, staring intently at it. Each of us turned around to see a paper cup of coffee and a chocolate donut on the shelf.

"Wh-what?!" Yuki shouted out, her eyes dilating and her jaw dropping. "No way! This has to be a coincidence! It has to be!" She then put her hand on the orb as Hideki grabbed the donut and coffee off the shelf. "Okay... I want to feel cooler, it's too hot out here,"

"Hey, who said you got the next turn?!" shouted Kaemon, shoving Yuki aside to touch the orb. "I want Tame to give me a strip show,"

Tame instantly went red, and then she shoved Kaemon aside. "I want Kaemon to shut up. Forever,"

"Hey now, you know I can't do that," Kaemon replied. "Besides, I was joking. Nobody wants that anyway, that's stupid,"

Tame scowled at him and crossed her arms. "Right..."

In that moment, I realized just how much this orb was bringing out the worst in us, making us fight with each other, and only one of us had gotten a wish granted. It hadn't been any longer than five or six minutes, and already everybody was at each others' throats for a chance to get something they wanted.

Hell, for a split second even I wanted to get my hands on the mysterious crystal ball and see if I could fulfill my desires-

No, I couldn't.

"Everyone, break it up," Masaki intervened, pushing himself in the middle of everybody. "It's clear this thing is dangerous," He told us all, picking up the orb and walking away.

"Wait a goddamn minute!" Hideki interjected, standing in the doorway in front of Masaki. "Where do you think you're going?! How can we trust you won't just store it away in your room?"

Masaki shrugged and gave a sigh. "Fine then, if you want to follow me and make sure I don't wish for anything or hide it away, you can do that,"

Hideki grinned. "Fine then, let's go,"

Hideki and Masaki walked out of the shack, both of them holding onto the orb as they exited. Where would they put it, I wondered?

"Aw man, and I was going to wish for more sewing supplies," Utamuro lamented.

"You should have wished to be taller~" Aiko teased him, patting his head.

"And you should have wished for a personality," Utamuro replied with a half-smirk.

"You're doing it again!" I called out to them. "Come on, there's a reason they took the orb from us. Monokuma had something devious in mind for this one, and if anything, all we're demonstrating is that it's working!"

Shiro nodded. "Kanon is correct. Please, let's just forget about the Orb of Desire, okay?"

"Wait a minute!" Guadalupe called out. "How do we know Masaki and Hideki didn't hide it in one of their rooms or something?"

"Please, I believe we should hold more faith in Mister Domoto and Mister Harada," Asa replied.

"Masaki's a guy I trust alright, he's a cool dude," Daquan told her. "But that Hideki guy, he seems real off to me,"

I remembered when we were at the last stop, my eyes widening as I recalled Hideki's smug face as he waved my secret in front of me. Daquan had a point - never at any time did I actually feel safe or easy around Hideki.

"Yes, I must concur that Hideki makes me feel... on-edge," Kenji added on. "But I have nothing but faith in Masaki. It seems unlikely to me that anything worrisome will occur,"

Just as Kenji finished his sentence, Masaki and Hideki burst in through the door. Neither one of them were holding the Orb of Desire.

"Where did you put the Orb?" asked Amy-chan. "I still need to become the most kawaii idol in the world!"

Hideki shook his head and crossed his arms. "It's too dangerous. You saw what happened back there. Masaki and I are the only ones who know where it is, and we're not telling anybody else,"

Azizah nodded in return. "That's good. It is too unpredictable to let something like this take over ourselves. If we have a chance to fight back against Monokuma's motive, then it is important that we do so,"

"I think we're all ignoring something I thought would be incredibly obvious," Shiro began. "If that Orb is just as powerful as Monokuma says it is, it's possible one of us could use it to end the Killing Game,"

"That's some mighty fine thinkin' there, Shiro," Toko replied to them.

"But how do we know you would use the orb to wish for that?" Guadalupe asked.

Shiro shook their head. "I don't have anything else I could hope to wish for,"

They had a point. I was sure there was not a single one of us who just wanted to go home. I knew that Shiro was onto something big here when they said that. Perhaps I could give it a try?

Then I began thinking. If I was going to end the game anyway, I might as well get something else out of it. Perhaps a strong career as a photojournalist, or all the best cameras in the world. Or maybe even some attention from a certain thief?

Kanon, no, stop, I caught myself thinking. No, I realized that I was playing into exactly what I was saying earlier. The Orb was bringing out my own selfish desires, just as much as it had with the others.

"That's a nice little sentiment there," Hideki replied. "But why would Monokuma so readily give us something we could use to escape the Killing Game with? It seems like there would be a catch to it,"

Shiro nodded and scratched their chin. "Hmm, you're probably right. Think it would be worth a try, at least?"

"But that's no fun!" Aiko blurted out. "Think about it from Monokuma's perspective. Why would he introduce something like this to us if he didn't plan to make us kill each other with it? If it was so easy to just wish ourselves out of the Killing Game, he wouldn't give it to us. Doesn't that make sense?"

Rai nodded along. "Yeah! Aiko's right. There's no way Monokuma would give us something that would be his undoing,"

"Unless..." Sen began with a mutter. "You can wish for something like that. As a doctor, I've noticed that there is no miracle cure. Surgeries scar, medicines cause side effects, treatments don't always work. Nothing happens without something being lost along the way. Take Hideki's wish for that coffee. He still had to go out of his way to get it,"

"Ah-!" Cried out a distinct, high-pitched voice. I jumped as the cry echoed throughout the shack. We all turned to see Yuki standing in the corner, soaked in water and standing dead still. Several ice cubes lined the floor next to her body as her arms lay stiff at her sides. "Whoa, that's cold!" Yuki exclaimed as a grin spread across her face.

Wait a minute, didn't Yuki wish to be cooled off?

"Hold on," began Kaemon. "Yuki wished to cool down just a second ago, does that mean-" Kaemon then looked over at Tame and gave a wide grin.

"Kaemon..." Tame began. "I swear, if you-"

"Ha, don't worry, I wouldn't actually do anything like-" Kaemon then stumbled in Tame's direction and accidentally swiped at the string on her top. As he fell face-first onto the ground, the strings came undone as she pressed her top against her chest in a reflex. Her face went red as she fumbled to tie her top again.

"K-Kaem-" Tame's lips trembled as she struggled to formulate a proper sentence.

"Miss Maeda, dear, let me help you," Asa then began to tie Tame's top for her as Kaemon stood back up.

"Okay, let me just say," Kaemon began. "That was totally accidental. Completely. I promise-

"Shut up!" Tame shouted at him as she delivered a quick karate-chop to Kaemon's throat. He let out a harsh gasp as his voice went hoarse immediately.

Wait... Kaemon's wish was for Tame to do a strip show for him, and Tame's was to shut up Kaemon. This was starting to get eerie now that Hideki's, Kaemon's, Yuki's, and Tame's wishes had all come true.

"That's it!" Kenji lashed out, drawing his sword and pointing it toward Kaemon's throat. "We simply cannot allow ourselves to go near the Orb any longer! Its power is too dangerous for any of us,"

Hideki gave a chuckle. "Kenji, I'd advise you to be less quick to draw your weapon. We already put the Orb away, remember? We should all be fine,"

Kenji lowered his sword and sheathed it again, then gave a nod. "Right... I apologize, Kaemon, it was impulsive of me to draw a weapon so recklessly,"

Kaemon rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Yeah, right-" He coughed as his voice went hoarse, unable to add anything else to that.

"I would advise you to shut your mouth right then and there. A voice gives away much more than you may need," Kenji replied to him, turning away.

Amy-chan gave a yawn. "Aaaaahhhhh... I'm so tsukareta," she whined as she stretched her arms out. "Being a kawaii idol is exhausting..." She yawned as she pulled her mask up, rubbing her eye.

"I bet!" Ryo replied with a chuckle. "Gotta meet the demands of the fans, or something like that,"

I looked down at my E-Handbook. It was approaching nighttime, and soon enough it would be just about time for us to go to bed. Right now all we could do was hope that nobody would find the Orb of Desire, as only Masaki and Hideki knew of its whereabouts. That said, there was no way it could realistically be too much of an issue, right?

"Hmmm, Amy-chan is correct," Sen muttered. "It's getting rather late. It would be optimal for us to get some rest right about now,"

"Good idea!" Asa replied. "I'm sure this situation will clear itself up in due time, Mister Ikehara,"

Daquan nodded. "Sen's right. Why don't we just go back onto the train, and we'll discuss what we'll do in the morning?"

"Wait a minute," Hideki began. "We need to make sure nobody goes near the Orb of Desire. So for now, nobody will be allowed to go out at night without a buddy,"

"That's right," Masaki added on. "And we're going to make absolute certain nobody finds the Orb,"

"You're not going to be like... watching us, are you?" Tame asked.

Hideki shook his head. "Don't think of it like that. It's more like... security,"

"So, watching us, got it," Utamuro replied to him.

"It's for your safety!" Hideki protested, raising a fist. "Look, it's too dangerous to let anyone get near that Orb. If we don't keep tabs on everybody, someone could get seriously hurt doing this,"

My hands began to shake a bit listening to Hideki's words. He had a point - this was a situation which called for high security and monitoring of behavior. At the same time, the thought of constantly being watched over, by Hideki, no less, was a chilling thought. Just thinking about him seeing my every move, his smug and dauntless face at every turn, it was enough to send shivers down my spine. I really didn't need him seeing the things I would do. And if he somehow saw me in my bedroom?

I didn't even want to think about it. He already knew I wasn't this pure, untouched girl others thought I was. At least, I thought people thought I was.

As we all boarded back onto the train, I took the chance to walk side-by-side with Masaki. I gave him a quick nudge, staying closer to him than the others.

"What is it?" Masaki whispered, leaning his head down toward me.

"Are you okay with this?" I whispered back to him.

Masaki shrugged and gave a smile. "I don't mind you walking so close to me - I kinda like it,"

I felt my heart jump a little as he finished that sentence. I tried to hide the idiotic smile I was giving by turning away, though he could probably see just how flushed my face was. However, that wasn't what I meant to ask.

"I-I didn't mean-" I tried to begin as we all walked toward our rooms. Everyone else went into their rooms for the night, but I stopped Masaki before either of us could go to bed for the night. "What I meant to ask was- well- um-" I motioned for him to lean in closer as I whispered into his ear. "Are you okay with Hideki keeping tabs on us?"

Masaki took a long breath and sighed. "I... honestly don't know," He whispered back. "I want to think he has good intentions, but I can't know for sure what he wants. I can't stand that guy. At the same time, he has a point. Who knows what could happen if anyone manages to get their hands on the Orb?"

Just as Masaki finished his sentence, Hideki suddenly butted in. "Hey!" He interjected, pulling out his baton and flicking it between us. "You two are supposed to be in bed right now,"

I gasped a bit at Hideki's presence, stepping back and instantly reclining back toward my door. At the time, I didn't even consider his odd phrasing of "You two should be in bed right now".

Masaki, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as put off. He stood in place and shrugged, turning toward his room with a cool demeanor. "Yeah, alright," He replied. He then leaned closer to me again as Hideki walked back toward his room. "Just try and sleep, okay? Don't think about it too much. I promise I won't let Hideki bully you, okay?"

I gave a dumb, crooked grin at Masaki's statement. I wanted to look cute, but there was no way that was happening. For some reason, though, he flashed me his photogenic, calming smile back. "Th-thanks," I sputtered out, trying to cover my face with my hands again.

"Good night, Kanon," Masaki said to me as he went back into his room. I figured I should do the same and headed back into my room as I changed out of my swimsuit and into my pajamas. I sat down on my bed and looked up at the ceiling, feeling tingly all over for whatever reason. I would go between bouts of shaking and sweating at the thought of Hideki watching me and that warm, snuggly feeling in my chest remembering what Masaki said to me.

Maybe once we got out of here, I would tell Masaki how I felt.

All I could hope was that he would reciprocate. There was no way to tell if he would, and it wasn't guaranteed. After all, there wasn't a whole lot special about me. He could easily find a better girl than myself if he wanted. There wasn't any way for me to so reliably gain his feelings just through wishing.

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Or was there?