AN: sorry for the wait uou !

Nighttime was upon the students of Hope's Peak.

It was admittingly sad that none of said students were feeling anything close to the peak of hopefullness. It was rather close to the peak of despair, but that was infinitely better wasn't it?

The mastermind sat in the control room and giggled violently, so far everything had fallen perfectly in place. It could be said that they wouldn't have been suprised if one less heart was beating in the morning.

Speaking of morning...

The mastermind glanced over to the clock and saw it nearing seven in the morning.

"Time for the morning anouncement." They twirlied in their chair and slapped the button on the dash marked Daytime, right next to the one marked Nighttime.

They smile and the empty words of their avatar, Monokuma, rang across the school.

"Maybe if I'm lucky I can enjoy the wonderful expressions of pain and despair on their lovely faces as they realize the hellhole they've woken up in. Who should I watch..? The woelly fake Sayaka Maizono? Makoto Naegi, who could never escape his sister's shadow? Maybe the lovely couple doomed to death?"

The mastermind stopped talking shortly before grinning and letting out a small sound of content, "I just can't wait."

I never could sleep in past 5 AM.

Force of habit, I suppose.

From what I can remember from the previous day's memories, nighttime ran from 10 to 7. Only two hours until I can escape into hell. Or until I was allowed to, but I didn't give much of a shit about Celes's rules and would probably end up breaking them sooner or later no matter what.

I pushed the covers off me and propped myself on the edge of the bed. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and mentally made note to check for bags that were almost definitely there.

I yawned and made to get up from my bed. I would go about my morning routine most likely, anything to delay the inevitable reality crash.

With two hours to myself I needed to do something that didn't consist of lying uselessly on the floor of my dorm. Going back to bed was out of question, I knew I couldn't sleep, if last night was any evidence of that.

I had barely made it to sleep before 1 AM. I was tossing and turning, with the same image always burning into my brain.

I had to give myself some credit though. I was doing fine before the sheets twisted a particular way and reminded me of a particular thing.

Once the image of choking, strangling, dying was etched into my brain I started having thoughts. Kuwata was looking down at me with pity as his hands clenched my throat until nothing. Celes was walking away as the life drained quickly through the slit in my throat. Kirigiri had managed to poison my drink.

But as the night went on, the roles reversed, and I was the one killing. Kuwata pleads for mercy with the last of his breath before he stopped gasping like a goldfish and just died. Celes was glaring at me in her final moments, before a calm passed her face and the last of her blood splashed across the pristine floors. Kirigiri had always predicted I would be the first to crack, she had drank the poison willingly and said she was disappointed, oh so disappointed in me.

Checkmate.

Because that was all you needed to do to win wasn't it?

And oddly, it lulled me to sleep. Knowing I had a chance of winning this demented game. When I woke I hadn't felt disturbed in the least that I was scared of another taking my life; but comforted that I could easily take the life of another.

Pushing away the lingering fingers of last night's dreams, I made a desicion to take the two hours as an oportunity to explore; unofficial rules be damned. I was going to inspect the school while I had no meddling classmates dumbly stumbling about.

Looking down at the wrinkled night clothes I managed to keep the presence of mind to get up off my sorry ass and change.

Luckily enough, Monokuma had been kind enough to supply us with a set of sleeping clothes and my atire I had worn yesterday lay folded up where I had left it.

I took fifteen minutes to freshen up and do what I could with my bed hair without any of the products I was used to using. I combed it through with my bare fingers, reduced to commoner methods as Monokuma wasn't as kind to provide any combs or brushes.

Looking at the result with a look of dissatisification I sighed, I was lucky enough that at least it was clean from the shower.

Satisfied with what I could do, I opened the door and walked into the hallway. It banged behind me, but I did nothing to stop it, the rooms were perfectly sound-proof after all.

I strode down the red hallway, absentmindedly noting the cafeteria was closed and the dorms were of course, locked. So really, until the blacked out rooms were 'unlocked' I could do nothing but reinspect the video room one last time.

I turned around sharp corner near my destination and neared the doors of the room. The doors were hanging ajar. The room inside was dark and seemed deserted.

That was until I came a little closer to the open doors and heard the barely audible soft noises of sobbing.

I took another step forward and slipped my hand in between the doors. I eased the doors open a couple extra inches and looked inside. Seeing only darkness, I turned my head slightly and angled my ear to the opening.

A louder wet noise was heard, and I heard the second person in there make soothing noises in an attempt to calm the first person down.

There was some quick whispering on the second person's part and then the noise of rustling fabric and more muffled crying met my ears. They had probably changed positions and the first person was sobbing into the second's shirt.

The first person stopped after a couple minutes of standing in front of the door. They sniffled a couple times before attempting speech. "I'm assuming Monokuma was telling the complete truth," A pause and a pathetic sniffling noise was heard, "How are we gonna get through this?" The voice started wiping tears from their eyes, guessing from the wet noises and the rustle of fabric again.

The second voice stood in silence for moments before replying, "I would be lying if I said I knew." The noise of a soft kiss was heard, "I can find a way though, don't worry." I heard, but the last part was obviously whispered, as I had to strain and then only barely caught it.

The first voice giggled nervously, "Out of anyone I know that could fix this mess and still have our relationship pull through it, my first choice would be you." More indistinct fabric shifting and wet noises met my ears, "I love you..." the first voice said in a soft whisper.

I knew there was now a couple in school, involving two people who had been together before being invited to this place.

I would ask around, see if anyone is together. I would observe interactions, listen to voices. Tomorrow I could probably piece together a couple potentials for the couple.

I scribbled down some speculations, and left to my own thoughts started coming up with quick ideas.

As I fervently scribbled; almost completely submerged in the first mystery I needed to unravel int he accursed academy, I had barely heard the morning anouncement ring out.

I was ignoring the morning anouncement in favor of scribbling notes and recently, a quick sketch of what I could gather of the two pairs of the couple.

I was however pulled out of my trance by my doorball ringing.

Blinking furiously to clear my mind before answering the door, I swung out of my chair and plodded over to the door.

I reached the doorway and grasped the handle, pulling it open with a little more force than necessary. I greeted whoever stood outside with a rather irritable expression at being dragged from my notes to answer whatever stupid driveling statement they had to deliver to me.

Outside stood a very disorderly Naegi. He looked as if he had only just rolled out of bed and hadn't bothered to fold his clothes the night before; what with his more ridiclous than ever hair and wrinkled clothes. Tch, had he actually slept in those? Much as I hated to say, that was actually very likely.

"Explain why I am wasting time on you right now." I commanded, glaring at Naegi; who looked more than a little sleepy.

He jumped at my harsh statement and fumbled with words for a moment before started awkwardly, "U-uh so Fukawa wanted to make sure everyone got to the meeting in the cafeteria. Well, um you see everyone r-really already knows, besides you and they needed someone to tell you and I v-volunteered and uh... yeah." He winced at how stupid he thought he sounded; which really was less than he should have because that was really pathetic.

I rolled my eyes and sneered at the bumbling statement, "Yeah, yeah. Maybe I'll be there, maybe not. Fukawa can't possibily hate me more than she does anyways." I rolled my hand flippantly, making a shooing gesture but Naegi stil stood there. Furrowing my brow in annoyment, I reached a hand forward to push Naegi out of the way and leave.

Naegi, sensing my annoyment and seeing my hand, shot his own hand forward and grabbed mine before I had the chance to push him out of my doorway.

"Don't be like that." He had a harder expression on his face than the scared, embarassed one he wore not seconds ago.

I quirked my eyebrows in part mock and part real suprise, that was certainly new, he wasn't quite being the dreary, boring, spineless not-heir he had been just yesterday.

"You're coming, okay? I don't really care how much higher you might think you are compared to us, but if you don't show up at breakfast... Whats to say something hadn't happened in the night?" He was throughly determined to make me come to this breakfast thing, not because he was told to, but because he honestly cared about me?

I blinked in complete suprise, making an obvious effort not to let it show on my face. I was very much impressed that he was shaping up to be so interesting, after making a complete ass out of myself yesterday I wasn't sure if there really was anyone that frankly cared about my well-being. Not that I minded, I was always a loner of sorts, and I didn't need petty sympathy. Especially not from those infinitely lower than me.

He stopped talking and took in the mildly suprised expression on my face, I really couldn't keep my face completely blank sometimes. Naegi, noting the change, had the gall to smile up at me, "I consider everyone here my friend... And I don't want anyone to die, okay?"

Friends? After one day? And death threats and general pitting us against ourselves? I smirked at him, the expression I wore before falling from my face, "You're interesting. So I'll come to breakfast for today." I shrugged and set out to the cafeteria with Naegi following me numbly.

As I walked in relative silence, Naegi creeped up from behind me and stated quietly, "You should come tomorow and every other day too..."

I just gave him an exasperated look.

We walked in general silence, him glancing at me occansionally. I was thinking over the small amount of conversations we'd had; and pretty much came to the conclusion Naegi wanted to form the next mystery couple of Hope's Peak or pretty much worried and hung over everyone, despite prime asshole status.

He seemed like the dumb puppy sort of person so I decided to think nothing of it. After arriving at the doors of the cafeteria, I pushed them open and slipped in, Naegi still following after me.