Phew...finally the next chapter.

Had tests and such to deal with, and hopefully you guys are still with me.

Kujou was crossing his legs as he sat on a rather large piece of rubble that was stuck in the ground. He turned to watch as Fiorella and Luciano were arguing about which way to go.

"I distinctly remember looking at a map online! We need to go THIS way to find any civilization!"

"An online map? I've actually been in the area just a couple weeks ago! You should listen to me and go THIS way!"

"Um…considering how much the world seems to have changed, I don't think it really matters at this point." Ami interrupted while giving an awkward smile. "If you ask me, I think we may as well pick any direction that looks good, and…"

""SHUT UP HITOMI!""

The "cute" girl suddenly went into a fetal position while puffing her cheeks out and etching in the dirt with her finger. Kujou sighed to himself as he blankly stared at the area in front of him.

It's been a while since the group finally left that empty building they found themselves in. However their discovery of the current state was far from pleasant.

A large ruined world was awaiting to greet them the moment they stepped outside. Half-ruined buildings lined up across the streets, empty and dusty, as if nobody had lived there for a long time. Rubble of cement and half-broken machinery lay scattered on the ground everywhere. There was nothing but silence aside from the noise that they themselves made while looking around. There wasn't a single hint of life to be found anywhere they went, no birds, no animals, not even a single insect could be seen.

It was still a mystery just how long they were all knocked out, but it shouldn't have been too long since there was barely any change in how they looked. Even if a person would take the time to cut hair, clip nails, and wash their bodies, all to keep up appearances, it still couldn't be done so neatly that almost nobody would notice.

So based on the difference of appearances on themselves and the area, they were probably brought into that building AFTER the place was deserted. However, that still didn't explain what caused this destruction.

"It must have been that group of despair that Monokuma leads," Fiorella deduced. She crossed her arms while frowning at the sight that lay before them. "I've heard that a lot trouble started because of them. Massacres and ritual-style sacrifices were a common thing as well. Even self-inflicting injuries were a common thing because of their inhumane obsession with despair."

Alyson had covered her ears while cowering as Fiorella continued. It was quite obvious that she didn't have any intention of listening any further, but Kujou didn't blame her. He heard rumors of that group of despair that would make even a trained soldier gag in disgust. The things they did were just THAT terrible, and deep down, he hoped that the day when it would all end would happen soon.

Although they still had a bit of time before Monokuma began sending assassins to hunt them down, they all agreed to set up a strategic formation while looking around, just in case there was any random attacks by outsiders.

Agustin would take the very front of the group as the front-liner. As a hunter, he was skilled in looking out for traps, trained for superior hearing and eyesight to catch anything abnormal in the area, and had good instincts on what would be the best course for immediate action.

He would take directions from Fiorella and/or Luciano, who were following right behind him to give directions. Neither of them seemed to be letting up on the leader position. Luciano was insistent on taking the leadership role since he claimed to have great knowledge of the world and how to get through this whole ordeal. However Fiorella insisted that she took up the role for the moment because she said she read up on all the latest information and went through the most recent rumors that cropped up online. Everyone else decided that until they could come to some sort of agreement, they would just let the two argue it out.

Rigby was in the very middle of the formation. Even though he didn't seem like the most reliable of the group, he had pretty good eyes as part of his talent as an artist, and he could probably pick up things here and there that could help in avoiding trouble. Plus, he might be able to catch up on something that Agustin might have missed, though that seemed very unlikely.

Ami and Alyson were left following the artist. No matter how Kujou saw them, neither of them were much of a fighter or good at seeing through things. Perhaps Alyson could be an extra set of ears, but her personality would make her more a hindrance than useful, so she stuck to Ami, who seemed just as equally useless.

Kujou himself was left taking up the rear. As the Warrior, he had the most battle experience, which meant that he was the only one who could deal with any trouble, or at least draw out some time, to keep the Linguist and Musician (and maybe the Artist) from getting killed. He grabbed a thin metal pipe that was just sticking in the ground. It wasn't a sword or anything, but it was better than nothing.

The seven of them walked in a line for what was probably a few minutes, but it was hard to tell since there still wasn't any way of telling time.

Their cell phones vanished while they were knocked out, so there wasn't any way of communicating either. They couldn't see the sun since there were buildings all around them, so it was hard to tell whether it was morning or late afternoon.

Nobody really seemed to have minded though. Fiorella and Luciano were talking about which way to go, Ami and Alyson were talking with Rigby about things that Kujou just ignored, and Agustin was focused on keeping the rest of them safe, so it seemed like things would be calm for a while.

Of course, that only lasted until they came to a fork in the road that looked equally suspicious in either path. Luciano and Fiorella had argued about which way to go, so the rest of them decided to just take a small break and sit together while the two sorted things out.

Kujou decided to sit a bit further away from the rest of the group. He wasn't going to go too far, since he still had to keep himself sharp at any time now, but he wasn't feeling friendly enough with the others to tell them about himself. At least not at the moment. He wasn't sure if they understood or just ignored him, but they didn't say anything, so he guessed that it was fine.

He took in a deep breath as he thought about his family. They might be worried about him, considering that he was gone for a while. Well, except his father, who didn't really give a damn about him or his sister. Of course, he did worry about him regardless. Despite what he did, Kujou still consider him as his parent, and he was at least somewhat grateful for leaving him at the dojo with his sister and mother. He ended up learning a lot that would help in their chances of survival, so that was a good thing. Of course, it still didn't mean that he completely forgave what he did while they were young.

He turned to watch the others. Ami was pestering Agustin and Rigby a bit with something. Agustin was keeping his eyes closed, but Rigby was just awkwardly trying to go along with things. Alyson was sitting nearby, yawning while looking half-tired. Well, it HAS been a long day (or at least it felt like it). Luciano and Fiorella were still arguing with each other. Frankily, he didn't think it mattered, since they might end up reaching the same place anyways, and there still wasn't any idea about how to reach their destination.

Plus, something that Monokuma said was bothering him. It said that it was offering them all a chance by having them complete this stupid little game, but it felt like Monokuma chose them in particular. Maybe he was just overthinking this, and maybe it was just by chance that Monokuma chose them to do something for its own amusement, but to choose a group that happened to have just appeared at the same building, and happened to have all been the key to opening that strange box? He remembered what happened when they all pressed their hands on the scanners. It seemed like those scanners were meant for them in particular, not just anybody. So that probably meant that whoever sent them to that building was NOT part of Monokuma's plan, which explained why Monokuma said those things before…

"Note? What note?"

"Whatever that box and that note was doing there, it has NOTHING to do with me."

But then again, Monokuma could have set things up after leaving them in their rooms. As far as they all knew, it could have been lying.

And yet, it felt like it really didn't have anything to do with Monokuma. So what exactly could it…

"!"

Kujou paused. He suddenly felt something staring at him. He couldn't tell who or what it was, or where it even came from, but it was definitely something that was waiting for them in particular.

He shifted his eyes to Agustin, who seemed to have noticed as well, and silently brought his finger to his lips to silently tell everyone to keep quiet. The loudmouths must have noticed as well, because they immediately silenced themselves midsentence.

Looks like their hour of freedom was finally up.

The pressure was slowly growing, the air grew thicker with each passing second. Kujou knew that the growing pressure meant that more of them were coming. He felt like an animal being watched by a group of hunters. It wasn't like they weren't aware of them, but any sudden moves would be stupid and could cost them their lives. The first thing they needed to do was gauge the danger that these intruders brought.

Gripping his pipe, he slowly got up and walked over to the rest of the group while keeping an ear out for any sudden movements. They probably didn't need to worry about any assassins, since a trained assassin wouldn't make themselves known so loudly, but the numbers were enough to worry him. There was a good chance that they were outnumbered, and if they all attacked at once, it didn't seem like he and Agustin would be able to protect the other five. If worse comes worse, Fiorella could just use her strange knives as a threat or at least inflict some kind of injury to them.

He was only 10 steps away, but he could tell that they were making their move. He looked around. No obstructions for long-range attacks, but no figures were hiding behind walls, so it was all close-range right now. That was bit reassuring.

7 steps. He could hear more movement. Agustin was forming his hands into fists. He was getting ready.

4 steps. They would need to act quickly. This wasn't just practice, so he shouldn't take things lightly.

2 steps. They'd strike in a few seconds. Now's the time.

He pushed away from the ground as hard as he could and started running towards the west. A couple of figures jumped out and revealed themselves.

They looked like they were normal humans. They were wearing everyday clothes, and they were definitely standing and acting like thugs or punks. But they were wearing Monokuma masks that covered their entire face and most of their heads from the front. They had makeshift weapons like him, but their stance was weak so they were totally normal people trying to act tough.

Kujou took the pipe and swung it with a strong, yet graceful, movement. The pipe knocked the enemy's weapons away with ease, and he kicked them each in the stomach, making them stagger. He then landed a blow on the back of their heads to knock them out. He couldn't kill them since he didn't want their blood on his hands, so he held back his strength just enough to leave them in a small coma. More of them popped out, but Kujou knew to deal with them in a similar fashion.

He glanced at Agustin, who was using his strength to knock out the enemies with his fist, then toss them over to knock over others, or leave their bodies out to lie on the ground. The rest of the group were gathered together safely, keeping themselves away from the fight as much as possible.

He turned back to his own targets, and continued his fight by swinging the pipe around. He tried to keep them from getting lasting injuries, but every once in a while, he had to swing at their arms, legs, and ribs, causing a few bones to break. He was sure that they wouldn't die, but these injuries were too dangerous to just let them alone. And yet, these guys didn't seem to mind. They still threw themselves at them without any regards to their safety.

This wasn't looking good. Zealots like these were the most dangerous since they'd sacrifice their entire body for their cause, so he couldn't hold back too much. But at the same time, he might end up killing them, which might be fine, except murder might come back to bite him later on in the future.

"Damnit…"

He quickly turned back to the others, who were already surrounded by the group, and Agustin already had his hands full taking care of the group surrounding him. There wasn't time to think, he smashed the pipe into the group in front of him as hard as he could, then he started running over to the others. Taking his cape as he ran, he tossed it over, covering a few of those zealots and stopping them for only a few seconds. However, those few seconds were all he needed as he smashed the pipe into the left side of one of them, and sent them flying a short distance.

"You guys alright?" he took a deep breath as he asked. Ami and Alyson quickly nodded, while Fiorella and Rigby opened their mouths, but said nothing. Luciano seemed like he was trying to say something, but Kujou couldn't spare the time to listen. There were already other people coming over.

"Agustin! We need to retreat!"

The hunter nodded as he threw a couple more people out of the way. He ran to the others, and grabbed Rigby and Fiorella before running through an opening to escape. Kujou took Alyson and heaved her over his shoulder before running after. Luciano and Ami were left to run on their own, but they had no trouble keeping up. They all ran as fast as they could, ignoring the hands that seemed to try and grab them. He could hear Alyson mumbling something to herself while keeping her ears covered, but he didn't stop to listen. They finally escaped the large group of people, but they kept running as fast as they could, moving further and further away, without any thoughts about which way to go.

Eventually, they came to a spot where it seemed like they would be safe. It was one of the higher floors of a desolate building, closer to the middle where they wouldn't need to worry about being found for a time.

Taking the opportunity to catch their breaths, Kujou stared at the others. He lost his makeshift weapon earlier while trying to knock away some of their pursuers, which meant his fighting strength decreased quite a bit.

"Well that was absolutely pointless!" Luciano scowled as he quickly recovered. "They were just mindless drones who were no better than thugs, and we still couldn't beat them!"

"Shut up Luciano," Fiorella angrily spoke as she leaned against a large piece of cement. "They overpowered us with numbers. Besides, it's not like you did anything to help those two out…"

"Guys guys, let's all calm down…" Rigby held his hands up to try and keep peace between the two. "It doesn't matter right now about what just happened. We gotta think about how to deal with them and whatever else might come out way…"

"What do you mean how to deal with them?! It seems pretty obvious what is going on here! It's either kill or be killed! We already know that these guys don't plan on letting us letting us just run off free, and death is the best case scenario. In the worst case, they might just…"

"NOOOO!"

Upon hearing Luciano's words, Alyson suddenly curled up to herself and covered her ears with her hands, shaking her head the entire time.

"Geez Luci! What's the matter with you?"

"L-Luci?!"

Ami didn't follow up with her sudden nickname, instead sitting next to Alyson while wrapping her arm around the small girl's body.

"It's alright Allie, no need to worry, we're all here for you…"

Alyson buried her head into Ami's chest while crying.

"Let's just think about this for a moment," Fiorella crossed her arms as she spoke. "Luciano has a point. As much as I hate to admit it, it would be best to kill off the followers before they killed us. However, I have a pretty good feeling that Monokuma wants us to do that."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Simple. All the data I've gotten on Monokuma said that in each of his goals, he intended on using murders as a way to show how despair can take over. By killing the others, we may end up actually helping him instead."

"So what? We just let them kill us? That sounds like fun…"

"I don't know about you, but I'm not exactly fond of the idea of dying so easily. I say that we attack, but we try to keep as many people alive as possible. It may be a bit harder, but we can lower their numbers and also prove to the people that we won't give into to the despair."

Agustin started to think. "I can set up some basic traps here and there, which should help buy us some time to hide if they start getting too close. But we'd still need to figure out a plan in case we get surrounded."

"I think I can clear a way if I need to," Fiorella said as she showed off her new equipment. "They kinda suck as far as practicality, but I can at least get in a few blows with this thing if I need to."

"Then Lucino and I can lead Ami and Alyson out into the open and we'll try to get to a safe distance." Rigby pounded his chest. "The three of you just need to hold off until then, and we'll all leave together to try and reach a safe distance."

"I think this should work for now…" Fiorella nodded to herself. "Then all those in favor?"

Seven hands were raised.

"Seems like 'Luci' can think smart at times…"

"Hm?"

Luciano raised his head with his arms crossed. "I didn't do anything…"

Everyone froze. Fiorella counted once more. There were seven hands, all right hands, currently in the air. If Luciano didn't raise his hand, then…

She turned to the seventh unfamiliar hand, which belonged to a young girl who wore a black button-up shirt, a red bow tie, a pair of black slip-ons, and a pair of black pants with vertical stripes. Her hair was about chin-length and was styled with layers and edges all around, giving them all a good look at the disturbingly creepy smile that protruded from her mouth.

"Heya guys! I just thought I heard something fun, so I wanted to get in on it all!"

Well, out of the frying pan and into the fire. Looks like somebody is gonna die next chapter...maybe...

And still not one step closer to even getting to their goal. What you guys think?

Sorry if it seems boring, but I'm really hoping that this starts to pick up soon. Just gotta keep things "dramatic" and all...

Also, I appreciate the good reviews I've received so far. As always, let me know if something needs to be improved on.