The process for writing this chapter involved staring at a blank Word document for a few hours and occasionally writing a word or two. If the writing seems a little awkward at times… that's why XD

It took me a little longer than usual to update because I had some mock exams last week. They're over now, but that just leads me into worrying about the real super important exams I'll have to take in summer XD

The chapter was going very uneventfully at first, so a wild Ibuki appeared! :D We also get a bit of Nagito in this chapter; let's hope I don't end up destroying his character ^^' Then again, I'm also worried that my portrayal of Ibuki might be a little off… and Chiaki, for that matter. And Hajime. Please, please, please tell me if I start writing them out-of-character XD

Now then, let us continue with this strange fanfic!

Chiaki listened to Hajime's story with a calm expression, silent as she stared at him from across the table, and when he was finished explaining how everyone he had met was indeed falling in love with him she looked down thoughtfully. Hajime was thankful she had kept a straight face, as he knew that his current situation sounded so silly when said out loud that anyone else would have laughed or walked away.

"That's... a problem," Chiaki said after a brief pause, looking more than a little troubled. "If we don't do something about this everyone might really start killing each other. Maybe Usami—"

"I've already talked to her. She said she has everything under control, but she obviously has no idea what to do," Hajime told her. He was glad that Chiaki already seemed willing to help him, though also surprised that she hadn't questioned his story at all.

"Oh." Chiaki seemed a bit disappointed. "And just getting Monokuma to turn everyone back to normal would be a little difficult, huh?"

"I think it'd be more impossible than 'a little difficult'..."

Chiaki looked towards a spot on the table, pulling the hood of her jacket up as she thought. "Hey, hey," she said suddenly, "the reason I wasn't affected by Monokuma's motive is because I wasn't there at the time, right? What about Komaeda-kun?"

"Komaeda? What about—?" Hajime's eyes widened. "Oh. Oh."

"Yeah." Chiaki nodded. "Komaeda-kun should be unaffected as well. I think."

Chiaki's uncertainness aside, Hajime had to admit that Nagito being spared from Monokuma's spell hadn't even crossed his mind. It made sense, however, and though Nagito was pretty unpredictable at times Hajime was willing to accept any help he could get.

Going to see Nagito seemed like the best course of action from there, before someone else entered the room and side-tracked them. They had to confirm whether Nagito really was unaffected, and if he was then his luck had picked an odd and potentially dangerous way of keeping him safe.

As the two of them stepped outside, Hajime had to note how peaceful everything seemed. Even on days where Monokuma wasn't trying to get them all killed things weren't usually so quiet, and with the direction his life seemed to be taking Hajime could only wonder if this meant something else would happen. Sure enough, the moment he and Chiaki were a few paces away from the restaurant Hajime was tackled by a black and purple blur.

"Hajime-chan!" Ibuki squealed, squeezing the life out of Hajime. "Wow! Ibuki can't believe she saw you here! It's been such a long time!"

"I saw you this morning." Hajime sighed, and as he tried to free himself from her grasp Ibuki jumped back and smiled at him happily.

"Yes, yes, but that was hours ago. Now then," Ibuki crossed her arms, nodding as if she was discussing something very serious. "Hajime-chan, Ibuki thinks it's time for the next stage of your band member training. Hope you like hot sauce!"

Hajime sent Chiaki a helpless look. While he was usually fine with Ibuki's antics, there was something much more hyper about her today and he was sure it would result in some sort of pain.

"Is it okay if Hinata-kun plays with you later?" Chiaki asked. "We're doing something important right now. Sort of."

"Important…?" Ibuki's eyes widened. "Gasp! Did Ibuki interrupt lovey-dovey time between Hajime-chan and Chiaki-chan?!"

"Nope," Chiaki said, but Ibuki didn't seem to be listening.

"Maaaaan, that's disappointing," Ibuki sighed. "Ibuki made her move too late. But Ibuki wants Hajime-chan to be happy too, so…"

"Mioda, you don't love me!" Hajime said, already utterly tired of this situation. Ibuki blinked in surprise. "Monokuma brainwashed you or cast some kind of spell or something and it's making you fall for me. You've got to snap out of it."

Ibuki tilted her head. "Eh? But Ibuki doesn't feel brainwashed. Ibuki just wants to play with Hajime-chan, like always."

"Well, yeah, but…"

"Oh! Oh! Is this a new game?" Ibuki's eyes were shining. "Are we playing Monokuma Zombie Warriors?"

"That's right," Chiaki said before Hajime could object. "Monokuma's turning everyone into zombies. To win the game you need to capture Monokuma and bring him to us."

"And feed him a bottle of hot sauce," Hajime muttered. He didn't understand how Ibuki had leapt to 'zombies' from 'falling in love,' but he understood what Chiaki was trying to do and smiled at her thankfully.

"If you win, you get a date with Hinata-kun."

"Huh? Wait, Nanami—"

"Got it!" Ibuki cheered. "Don't worry, Hajime-chan, I'll catch him! I won't let him turn me into a zombie! I'll just need to get some honey and some rope. Oh, and some toothpaste." She began hurrying in the opposite direction, waving to them as she did so—then she stopped, paused, and dived into the nearest patch of shadows, out of sight.

The rest of their journey to the cottages was a hurried one, and somehow they managed to avoid any other strange encounters. Hajime knocked on the door on the door of Nagito's cottage, waited for a muffled response, and opened it to walk inside. Nagito was on his bed, lying in a position that suggested he had been staring at the ceiling in utter boredom for who knew how long, and his eyes lit up at the sight of his visitors.

"Oh, Hinata-kun and Nanami-san? What can I—?"

"Komaeda," Hajime said immediately, hurrying across the room, "do I look any different to you?"

Nagito looked a little alarmed. He stared at Hajime, as if wondering if he was being asked a trick question.

"Is… is your hair spikier?" Nagito asked, uncertain. Hajime sighed, though he wasn't entirely sure if it was out of relief.

Chiaki, who had entered the room at a slower pace and closed the door behind her, told him what was happening: how Monokuma was causing everyone who attended the party to fall in love with Hajime. Nagito listened intently, only speaking up ever speaking up to ask a question.

Hajime had hoped that someone else explaining the situation would make the problem sound less ridiculous—it didn't.

"And, if nothing is done about this then everyone could end up killing each other out of jealousy?" Nagito summarised, his expression thoughtful.

"We should be able to stop it before things get too bad. I think," Chiaki said.

"Hmm… I was wondering why Tsumiki-san seemed so distracted this morning. But wow, this is a really terrible situation!" Nagito said, smiling brightly.

"Yes. It is." Hajime could only shake his head at how cheerful Nagito seemed. "Will you help us?"

"Ah, of course. How could I refuse when you took the time to come all this way and ask?" Nagito smiled again, and Hajime resisted the urge to point out there was barely any distance between the cottages and the restaurant.

Nagito shifted so that he was sitting, but when his feet hit the floor in an attempt to stand he flinched at the sudden pressure on his ankle. Chiaki frowned.

"Komaeda-kun, should you be out of bed?"

"I'm fine," Nagito said, and as if to prove this he stood up with only a slight stumble. "Now then, we'll need to discuss how to stop Monokuma's plan. Any suggestions?"

—Chapter end.