"Good morning, Hope's Peak Students! Today is another day to enrich yourselves with the wonders of Arashimine Resort, so rise and shine! Nighttime restrictions have been lifted, so I implore you to have a nice day."

Halfway through the morning message, Ichijou Mitsuzi was roused from his sleep. Scratching his stomach as he rose, he looked around, mumbling, "Where am I?" Shaking his head vigorously, sending his black hair about, he grimaced as he recalled the events of yesterday. Trying to push the image of the evil Headmaster out of his head, he glanced down at the backpack against the opposite wall, remembering that he had somewhere to be. Hopping out of bed, he quickly removed his black and white pajamas and slipped into his light blue yukata, grabbed his bag, slung it over his shoulder, and headed out the Lodge. Even though he was a little worried about the Game of Mutual Killing, the excellent weather and shining sun kept his mood bright as usual. As he closed the door to leave, however, he noticed a piece of paper attached to the door. Guessing it was about the escape attempt, he gave it a look.

His assumption was incorrect. Unfolding the paper, he saw that it was a note, which read:

Fear not Students of Hope's Peak Academy. As long as I am here with you, I shall muster every effort to ensure you survive this crisis unharmed. Stay well.

-Super High School Level Justice, Wind of the East, Gold Dragon

Ichijou blinked at the note, before mumbling, "Eh?" He had no idea what to make of it. Wondering if it was some strange prank because he was late, he hurried over to the Resort Restaurant, only to find he wasn't late at all: the only ones there were Andou Moriko, Mikage Naoki, and Tamura Ryunosuke.

"Good morning!" Andou said happily, waving. Looking around, Ichijou saw two bags near the table, guessing that Tamura and Andou were ready to head out as soon as able.

Smiling back Ichijou moved to the table, dropping his bag and taking a seat. Noticing the note in his hand, Mikage asked, "So, you saw yours too?"

"Oh, we all got one?" Ichijou asked, showing it to the others. "Are they the same?" he wondered.

Tamura explained, "There were minute differences as a result of the handwriting, but nothing other than that yet. I'd rather wait to talk about it until we're all here, I sure someone has some interesting ideas. But more importantly, we should eat. Preferably something light."

Andou spoke up, "Oh! I know just the thing!" with a smile, she scampered her bare feet to the Kitchen, going to work. As she did, Ichijou waited for the others to arrive. It took a few minutes, but soon enough, everyone was assembled, Ishihara, Kasumi, and Kobayashi arriving last. Almost everyone had something to say about the notes, but as with Ichijou, they decided to wait on discussion, though Kasumi seemed a bit miffed at this. When Andou finally finished, everyone got their plates of various pancakes (some made with batter, others with potato, the former being the most popular), they finally sat down for discussion.

"So, about this 'Super High School Level Justice'," Kasumi requested as she cut up her food.

The large Minami, her auburn hair still shaped by the helmet she hadn't been wearing, said, "It should be our 16th Student, right?"

"Now we've got some costumed freak skulking around..." Ganaha Eriko, mood still sour, grumbled as she poked at her food.

Yokozuna retorted, "He sounds like a superhero, so no way he's a bad guy!"

Uzatei nodded, "Er, I agree, but it wouldn't hurt to be cautious."

Ichijou, feeling like he was missing something, asked, "Superhero? And what was with all the Windy Dragon stuff at the bottom?"

Ishihara blinked, gawking, "You've never heard of Superheroes before either?"

Saruta, food laden fork hanging in the air, reminded him, "He did say he's from the countryside."

Mikage shrugged, "So am I, but I've heard about them. I didn't know they existed though."

Kasumi interrupted, "As for the extras after his Talent, I would assume the others are names or Titles. I don't know what he did to earn the name of 'Wind of the East', but I would presume 'Gold Dragon' is his alias."

The Aeronaut Ishihara smiled, "Oh, maybe since he's a Dragon, he flies at his foes from the direction of the Rising Sun?"

Furugori said with a tinge of admiration, "He sounds patriotic."

Kobayashi laughed, "Dragon? They like gold and jewels, right? I'd better watch out for flashy costumed weirdoes." She raised her hand, brushing her hair and one of her earrings to make it spin, the red gem reflecting light.

Nagasaki noted, mumbling quietly as she wiped at the crumbs on her face with her sleeve, "Gold contrasts with green, easy to see in the woods."

Remembering the rules, Ichijou noted, "Oh yeah, he'd have to sleep on a bed, so maybe he uses that Cabin on the lower level?"

Kasumi spoke up, saying, "Or he may simply be using one of the vacant Dorm rooms...if he is even the 16th Student at all." The others went silent, looking at Kasumi as she continued, "After all, we still have the person I talked to on the phone yesterday."

"The laughing person?" Tamura recalled.

Kasumi nodded, "Yes. That will do well. Gold Dragon and the Laughing Man." She added in whisper "Or woman. Or better yet, Laughing One." Clearing her throat, "I can't really say for certain, but I don't feel as though they are the same person. It's possible that one of them is right here, and the other is elsewhere. Which is which, I can't be sure. Furugori-san, you are going to look over the phone later, yes?"

The Computer Engineer nodded, "Y-yeah, I'll give it a look."

"Hold on a minute," the Producer, Ganaha, asked, food in her mouth. Swallowing, she asked, "The Laughing Guy has to be one of us! How can someone have two Talents? If Gold Dragon is Super High School Level Justice, then none of us can be him, since we have something else."

Uzatei mused, "Two Talents...I've never heard of such an oddity before. You're onto something."

Minami snorted, "I wouldn't say 'none of us'." She glanced sideways at Kasumi, who seemed to be in thought at Ganaha's remark.

Turning to Kobayashi, Kasumi asked, "You didn't notice me stir, or get up overnight, did you?"

Kobayashi frowned, "I was out like a light, sorry."

Ichijou watched as Kasumi checked her hands, mumbling, "No signs of graphite or ink." She also added, "I'm a bit sore from walking yesterday, but I think we can rule out sleepwalking. You're free to observe me though, but I have no memory of myself being a superhero."

"You'll be under my watchful eye~" Kobayashi replied.

The meal wound down, Tamura stood, lifting his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. Looking around, he said, "Ichijou-san, Nagasaki-san, Yokozuna-san, Andou-san, re-"

"Moriko-chan!" the girl interrupted, bouncing to her feet.

"...and Moriko-chan. Ready to head out?" Tamura finished.

Backpack over her shoulders, the Environmentalist nodded, "Yup!"

"Yes sir!" Yokozuna said as she stood, Nagasaki standing next to her silently.

Ichijou stood as well, grabbing his bag as he said, "Ready whenever you are."

His voice clear and commanding, Tamura said, "Alright, we're going to head out and try and get help by escaping through the forest. Ideally, we should be back with help soon. With Nagasaki-san, I feel like we have a good chance of making it back should things go wrong, but anything could happen.

Ishihara stood, grabbing a couple plates, saying, "I'll keep an eye on things here, Ryunosuke-kun!"

Mikage smiled, "And don't forget about Gold Dragon..."

"We won't," Tamura said as he made to head out. Ichijou and Andou followed behind him, with Yokozuna and Nagasaki taking up the rear.

The five traveled down the slope to the ground level, taking the road to the tunnel, boulder still resolutely blocking the way. Keeping to the cliff face, Tamura began to enter the forest. Remembering something Kasumi had said earlier, Ichijou took out his ElectroID, flipping over to the map, trying to gauge where they were.

Peeking over the Ichijou's shoulder, Yokozuna said, "So, Ichijou-san...what was your first name again?"

"Mitsuzi, Ichijou Mitsuzi," the Luckster answered.

"Okay, I'm going to call you Mitsuzi-kun!" the Snowboarder said.

Ichijou smiled, "Okay, Hina-chan, as long as it's not Suzi..."

Yokozuna giggled, before asking, "So, what are you looking at?"

Ichijou showed her the map, "I'm thinking it might be helpful, but it's not to scale."

From behind Yokozuna, Nagasaki reached out for it, but stopped, instead taking out her own ElectroID. After a few moments, she returned it to her pocket, muttering, "No good."

Listening from ahead, Tamura said, "I took a look at it earlier, and it doesn't seem to help beyond...this point." Pointing ahead, the cliff began to turn, and they reached the bottleneck of the forest, where the blurred line was on the map, stretching from the cliff they stood at now to one in the distance, encapsulating the rest of the forest. The group stopped, getting a little tense, the area ahead seeming quite foreboding, despite it looking no different than the preceding area.

Sniffing the air like an animal, Andou began to step into the woods, keeping alert. Tamura reached out his hand, torn between stopping her and letting her go. The Environmentalist turned, saying, "Well, we aren't going to see what's out there unless we go, right?"

Remembering that the others back at the Resort were counting on them, Ichijou nodded, going after her. "I agree, let's go guys!" he said reassuringly.

Letting out a light sigh, Tamura nodded, following, his tensions released. "Getting so worked up over a line on a map..." he muttered. Yokozuna and Nagasaki came last, the Snowboarder seemingly a little more worried than her friend for once.

With Andou in the lead, the others had a time with keeping up with her. She seemed to take to the forest well, maneuvering through trees and branches without difficulty, her small size coming in handy. She seemed to be in a good mood as well, stopping every so often to observe an animal while the others caught up. She had a good eye for it too: Ichijou doubted he noticed anything that had escaped her gaze. With some effort, the Luckster caught up with her, saying, "You're seem at home here."

Andou giggled, "Really? I guess I'm used to forests. I like all kinds of wilderness, but forests are the best! They're not too sunny or dark, there are all kinds of animals and plants; it's great!"

Ichijou nodded, unable to disagree. "I live near a mountain with a lot of trees, so I'm kinda used to it too. I hadn't fallen into a forest before yesterday though..."

Andou frowned, "I was so scared when that happened! It's a good thing you're the Luckster though. Has anything else really lucky happened that you can remember, Mitsuzi-kun?"

Ichijou pondered at that for a moment, before saying, "Aside from getting accepted into Hope's Peak...wait, that wasn't lucky, now I'm in some Mutual Killing Game. Guess not!" Despite his words, Ichijou really didn't mind, laughing at his bad luck.

The Environmentalist smiled back at him as they continued on. Curious about something, he asked, "Hey, Moriko-chan, how did you get interested in the environment, anyway?"

Andou gave a sigh of longing, before explaining, "I was visiting my cousins one day when I was young. Me and little Uma-chan went out exploring in the woods. It wasn't too different from these: the hills were jagged and stopped often, forming cliffs. We were told to be careful, but we went a little deep. We found a baby bear cub with a wounded leg that had fallen off a cliff. We tried to help it, feeding it until it stopped crying for help, then we took turns carrying it until we saw its mother, looking for it. We dropped the bear and hid until the mother came and took it away." In admiration, she finished, "The way it walked over, proudly and majestically, the dappled sunlight from above...it was amazing. I think both of us found a passion for nature that day." Stopping, she mentioned, "I don't think I've share that story with anyone before!"

Smiling back, Ichijou replied, "Well, I appreciate hearing it! It sounds great."

Andou sighed, "I want to learn how to paint so I can show everyone how I felt that day."

Determination rising, Ichijou said, "Well then, we better get out of this forest and find help!" Turning behind him, he could she Tamura chatting with Yokozuna, Nagasaki still in the rear. Ichijou exclaimed, "Guys, let's pick up the pace a little!"

Tamura nodded, saying, "I agree." As soon as the three got closer to Andou and Ichijou, the ASCAN turned to Nagasaki, requesting, "Would you be willing to lead? I imagine you can be just as quick as An- er, Moriko-chan, with a few less hold ups. We'll do our best to keep pace."

Nagasaki looked around at the other four faces, before saying, "...It's worth a shot." Though still a bit uneasy, the Survivalist took the lead, drawing her knife as she kept heading into the forest. She seemed to cut a path through the trees that looked difficult, but was easier to traverse than it first seemed, so the others never fell far behind. They kept a solid pace for a good while, until they began to get tired.

Finally, Tamura Ryunosuke, eyes upward, said loudly, "It's getting close to ten, shall we take a break?" up ahead, Nagasaki stopped, looking back over to the others.

"Finally!" Yokozuna said with relief, spotting a nearby clearing and heading over, taking a seat on a fallen log and putting her bag down. "I'm not used to walking this much," she admitted.

Smoothly, Tamura took a spot on the ground, replying, "Well, I appreciate that you came regardless."

Nagasaki took a seat on the log next to Yokozuna, while Andou and Ichijou found comfortable spots on the ground. Reaching into his bag, Tamura pulled out a few pears passing them around. As they snacked, Nagasaki mumbled between bites, "No apples?"

Tamura shook his head, "No, there weren't any, actually." Turning back to the others, he began, "As I was saying before, Hina-chan, it's probably because you train for snowboarding on mountaintops, right? You're probably used to the thinner air."

Yokozuna nodded, "I think you're right. I hope we can get to the top of the mountain soon."

Not knowing a lot about snowboarding, Ichijou asked, "Where else have you snowboarded, Hina-chan?"

Yokozuna looked contemplative as she answered, "Er, just America and Japan, but I wanna go to, Russia, Norway, Austria...and there's tons of places I haven't gone to yet!"

Tamura nodded, "That's what we were talking about earlier. I've been to America for training, specifically. Texas, mostly."

"Oh, Houston!" Andou remarked.

Tamura nodded, "Not much in the way of snow there, I imagine."

Yokozuna shook her head, "Too far south. I've been to Vermont though." Nagasaki was quiet, not having much to add. Remembering what he'd heard earlier, Ichijou guessed she didn't want to talk about her overseas experiences if she could avoid it.

Andou smiled, "There are so many places I want to see around the world. I can't wait to graduate and go travel!" Pondering, she added, "You get to see a lot of them at once, huh, Ryuonosuke-kun?"

Tamura nodded, "One day, perhaps. But the view is quite different."

As they talked, Ichijou was feeling quite left out. Aside from Arashimine Resort, he hadn't been very far out of the wilderness surrounding his hometown. That changed a little when he went to High School, of course, but...

Finishing his fruit, he tossed the core aside, before standing, saying, "Well, we aren't going to see those futures unless we get to safety, right? Let's go!"

Yokozuna nodded, psyching herself up, mumbling, "You'll adapt, Hina." Hurriedly finishing her pear, she said, "Alright, lead the way, Ayumi-chan!"

Nagasaki made to follow Ichijou, who had stopped. Suddenly, Nagasaki became alert, holding her hand up, blocking Andou, Tamura, and Yokozuna's path.

"Is something wrong, Nagasaki-san?" Tamura asked.

Ichijou turned his head, wondering why no one was following. Taking another step into the woods, he heard breathing. Turning back to in front of him, he heard the loud snapping of several branches. He was frozen stiff for a few moments as he waited with bated breath, until he felt someone pull at the back of his yukata. Surprised, Ichijou dropped his bag as Nagasaki pulled him away, following after the scrambling Andou, Tamura, and Yokozuna. The five hid, taking cover behind trees. Ichijou wanted to peek out and see, but Nagasaki stopped him, before carefully looking out herself. At another tree, Andou and Yokozuna nearby were keeping quiet, as was Tamura, a little farther away.

Ichijou heard the large thing take a few steps closer before he could hear the rustling of his bag. After a few moments, Nagasaki tapped Ichijou's shoulder, pointing to a tree farther back, suggesting he sneak over.

Swallowing with anticipation, Ichijou steadily creeped back, leaving the cover of the tree as he made for another one. Looking over into the clearing, he saw what the large thing was: a bear. Mostly, though it was a decent size, its fur was unnatural, colored half black and half white, something red clearly placed over its eye. Unlike Monokuma, however, it was very much a real bear, snorting and breathing as it shifted through Ichijou's bag, gnawing at the spilled contents.

"Move," Nagasaki whispered. Ichijou realized that he had stopped to examine the bear too long. In mere moments, he reached the tree he had been directed at, not daring to look at the bear again.

A sudden cry made Ichijou's heart leap, "Noooooo Monokuma why!?" At Andou's grief, the bear snarled, and growled. Nagasaki quickly ordered, "Run!" the girl made a break for it, running past Ichijou. The Luckster waited until the other three had passed before following, not wanting to run into them. He could hear the bear behind them as they ran, furiously growling. He dared not look back. As they ran, Yokozuna began to fall back until she dropped her pack.

"Moriko!? What gives?" Tamura said, more than a bit displeased at the turn of events.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!" Andou repeated over and over. She sounded like she was about to cry as she said, "I just...it hurts to see that poor bear like that!" Ichijou heard Nagasaki mutter something in response, but Ichijou couldn't make it out, only Andou's anguished response, "I know..."

After running a bit more, Yokozuna began to fall back again, her breathing heavy. Worried for her, Ichijou looked behind, seeing the bear weaving around trees, its size making it difficult. Mitsuzi realized that Nagasaki was probably taking this path to keep the bear from catching up so easily. Even so, Ichijou stretched his hand out, giving Yokozuna a light push to keep her going.

Just as soon as Ichijou thought they were going to get away, there was a shriek and a roar from up ahead. Looking over, Ichijou saw yet another bear, Monokuma coloration and all, at the side of the path they had taken. Nagasaki changed direction, stopping in front of it, pointing the others down an alternate path as she drew her knife.

"S-seriously!?" Tamura gawked as Nagasaki stopped, staring the beast down, but with the first bear still following, his pace didn't break for long. As Ichijou and Yokozuna passed her, Hina seemed to want to say something, but was too out of breath too. Once all four were out of the way, Nagasaki backed away from the bear, and gave made to follow Ichijou and Yokozuna.

Panting, voice shaky, Ayumi admitted, "These b-bears are weird. Acting...weird. It didn't a-attack..."

Butting in, Andou said, "And bears can run faster than people! It should have gotten us by now!"

Tamura took a wild guess, saying, "They might not be trying to hurt us, have you noticed which way we're running?"

Ichijou's sense of direction wasn't the best, but even he could tell, exclaiming, "B-backwards!?" They weren't being chased; they were being routed.

Meanwhile, at the Arashimine Resort, Kasumi was dealing with a far less pressing dilemma: she'd been kicked out. Due to the lack of things to do, Kobayashi had suggested they play one of the many board games from the upper level of the Storage Unit in the Lodge. While Kobayashi had the early advantage, Kasumi was able to get a solid grasp of the rules and come out on top. The second game went no better for Kobayashi, and the aftermath did not go well for Kasumi. Kobayashi's bitterness made Kasumi decide it would be a good idea to give her some space. After she returned the game board, she recalled something from last night that could use investigation: the Park Tycoon had said there was a paper that had some notes on it, such as the shower being cut off at night. But what tickled her curiosity was the other information it had.

Heading away from the Storage Units, she figured she'd see if she couldn't ask anyone. Knowing everyone would be meandering about waiting for news from those who'd left, Kasumi went to locate someone. As she came to the center of the Level, she could see the phone booth where Furugori was working. Rather than disturb him, she went to the side of someone else, whom was loitering around the slope upwards, still blocked off by the boulder.

"Hello, Uzatei-san," Kasumi said to the Fashion Designer as she approached.

The brown haired boy adjusted his black framed glasses, responding, "And hello to you, Kasumi-san."

Kasumi looked around, before asking, "I have a question, if you don't mind."

Slipping his hands in to his pockets, Uzatei smiled, "I'm at your service."

Kasumi explained, "Last night, Nagisa-chan mentioned a paper with some notes about the Lodges. I was curious about what it said."

"Every fact you can find, huh?" Uzatei smiled.

Kasumi nodded, "It doesn't hurt to be thorough."

With a shrug, Uzatei replied, "I can't say I disagree. Come, I'll get it for you. You can keep it." The boy led the way, heading back to the Lodges, Kasumi at his heels. They reached the far end, climbing the stairs, and reaching the door. He withdrew his ElectroID from the pocket of his plaid slacks, unlocking the door and entering. In moments, he returned with the paper, handing it off to Kasumi.

As she suspected, the water shutting off at 10:00 was not the only thing it mentioned. It also mentioned that the rooms were soundproofed (which came in handy around the cicada hours at five and eleven), the window shades were impenetrable to all forms of illumination, and the dresser had a weapon inside (a knife for the boys and a hatchet for the girls, as Monokuma implied). The other interesting thing was that not only did the dresser have two changes of personalized clothes, but any dirty clothes put into it would be clean the next day. Unwilling to accept sorcery, she folded the paper before asking Uzatei, "May I see something?"

Uzatei, uncertain, replied, "I suppose."

Kasumi nodded, before entering the room, leaving her shoes by the door. "Sorry for the intrusion," she mumbled, before heading over to the dresser. Leaning against it, she tried to push it aside, but it wouldn't budge: there wasn't even a millimeter of give.

Changing tactics, she stooped down as she heard Uzatei approach. Ignoring him, she opened the bottom drawer, finding a change of clothes. She attempted to pull the entire drawer out, but it stopped just as she managed, being made so it couldn't be removed. She heard Uzatei mumble, "And she goes straight for the Fashion Designer's clothing..." Ignoring him, she took said clothing out, putting it on top of the dresser before reaching her hands in, running her finger along the edges, trying to find some sort of seam. Unable to find anything, she tried the outside of the drawer, then the dresser, to no avail. With a sigh, she neatly returned the clothes and stood, turning back to Uzatei behind her.

"I was hoping to find a way to get under the Lodge. Whoever's running things must have a way to get into the dresser to clean our clothes, right?" she reasoned.

Uzatei postulated, "Looking to have a tussle with the mastermind behind all this?"

Realizing she had looked a little silly, Kasumi retorted, "If there's an edge I can get to tip the situation, I'll take it."

"Fair enough," Uzatei shrugged.

Double checking to make sure the note was still in her pocket, she said, "Sorry to disturb you, I think I'll be taking my leave."

With a sinister smile, Uzatei interrupted, "Now hold on just a moment, you don't think you'll be leaving here that easily, do you?" Kasumi froze, giving him a slightly worried look. After a moment, he added, "Come on, I've never had any girls in my room, you could at least do the bare minimum and keep me company a while."

With a huff, Kasumi replied, "If you stop acting so sleazy, perhaps."

Suddenly a bit self-conscious, Uzatei took a careful step back, asking, "Did I do something to offend you?"

"...There were, er, unsavory implications," Kasumi offered.

Uzatei scratched his head, before saying, "My apologies, I'm not so used to dealing with others like this. Normally, I'm in charge."

Kasumi nodded, "Yes, you did mention servants." Making some guesses, she asked, "Did you not go to a normal school?"

Uzatei nodded, "Yes, a private academy that my uncle was headmaster of. My peers stepped lightly around me, fearing what I could use my relative for. Interacting with equals at my age is something new to me, so I hope you don't take offense to anything I say, for none was meant."

Curious, Kasumi asked, "The Uzatei Family is powerful?"

Kotetsu seemed displeased, "We're more like bullies than anything. We are wealthy, but our wealth is the debts and favors owed to us rather than material objects. Our dynasty is far reaching, and we have many contacts in many trades and branches. Everyone keeps ledgers of debts owed by them and to them, to ensure they are collected. These are generally factored into wills: I would not be surprised to hear that more time and money is spent bickering over unpaid debts then mourning the deceased. I am only currently without my own ledger, of course, but I can't say I fancied the paperwork. It did create an interesting proving ground for our family: those worth more were the ones most useful. I suppose that's how I came upon my trade. I had to be of some use to the family, even if it was tailoring them. But I assure you, you'll find few better dressed dinner tables on holidays."

Thinking about the strange family traditions he'd grown up in, it wasn't much surprise he wasn't quite the social butterfly. Recalling something, Kasumi asked, "If you do start another ledger, will I owe you for the help you've given me today?"

Uzatei frowned slightly, looking around before admitting, "I think...I'll make an exception for you. Interacting with everyone like this without my family's traditions getting in the way is refreshing. It's like you're all...you're..."

Guessing, Kasumi replied, "Equals."

Uzatei nodded, "Close enough, at least." Looking back at the door, he finished, "Well, thank you for your time. I suppose I'll see you later?" Turning to the door, he made to leave, before stopping, saying, "Wait, this is my room."

Understanding, Kasumi exited, replying, "Indeed, I'll see you later." Putting her shoes back on, she took her leave.

Heading away from the Lodges, she looked back towards the phone, seeing Furugori Yasuo loitering about. Taking the path over, she wondered if he learned anything. The Computer Engineer noticed her approach, giving a quick wave before scratching his head awkwardly. Kasumi let out a quiet sigh: Monokuma had been accurate in his assessment about his attitude toward women.

"Finished?" Kasumi asked.

Furugori nodded, "F-from what I could tell, it hasn't b-been tampered with. I had Saruta-san help me test it and see if I could replicate a c-call from an upper level, but I couldn't manage it. I don't think it's possible, unless there's s-something I couldn't figure out. But, er..."

Raising an eyebrow Kasumi asked, "Is there a problem?"

Looking aside, Furugori said, "Well, I put the phone back together, but I'm not a hundred percent sure if it's working. I've never worked on a phone before, let alone one like this. Saruta-san came back up, so there's no one on the lower Level. I didn't want to make him go down all the way, so would it trouble you too much if you could check?"

Thinking for a moment, Kasumi asked, "Well, if you had walked down, Saruta-san would have been able to answer the phone if it worked, no?"

Furugori gagged on his spit, before saying, "I didn't think of that..."

Kasumi shook her head, saying, "Its fine, I'll check it out. I'm guessing no one replies when you call the lower Level?"

Furugori revealed, "No, I don't think anyone is down there, at least not in earshot of the Ranger Station. Or it's broken."

"Understood," the amnesiac girl said, turning to head over. Furugori waved her off before waiting by the phone as Kasumi went through the sparse forest, past the Courtroom Elevator door, down the slope to the Ground Level, finally reaching the Ranger Station. Entering, she came up to the phone and picked up the receiver, pressing the button for 'Line 1', and letting the phone ring. In mere moments, Furugori picked up, asking, "Hello, Kasumi-chan?"

"Yes, this is Kasumi...chan?" the girl said, wondering if she'd heard right.

There was a moment of silence, before Furugori suddenly let out a clumsy laugh, saying, "Ahaha, er, the phone works! That's good! I'll see you later, I dropped my, uh, glasses. Yeah." With that, he quickly hung up. Kasumi had no choice but to do the same. She had no words to give, but hoped he wouldn't be too flustered the next time they encountered. Thinking back, however, she first met him while he was engaged in conversation with Minami. Did he not see the muscular woman as a girl? Kasumi hoped she never considered that possibility, for Furugori's wellbeing.

Exiting the Ranger Station, she heard two things. One was the quiet start of the song of cicadas, signifying that it was now around eleven, and the other, was the noise of something coming out of the forest on the other side of the Ranger Station. Heart starting to beat with anticipation, she circled the building. Once she came in sight of the other part of the road, she froze. Whatever she had been expecting, it was not a large, black and white bear, no doubt more than a hundred kilos of muscle, bone, fur, claw, and tooth. Slowly, Kasumi tried to move out of sight, before something else came out of the forest: Nagasaki Ayumi. The Survivalist gave the bear a wide berth as she trudged down the road, her face red and sweaty. The bear made no move for her, nor did it go after Tamura Ryunosuke, who came out of the woods next. Andou Moriko, Yokozuna Hina, and Ichijou Mitsuzi followed, each of them looking exhausted, crestfallen, and covered in dirt and branches. Kasumi didn't see a backpack to go around either. She simply stared in blank shock as the black and white bear turned back into the forest. As it walked, she caught sight of its left eye, which looked just like Monokuma's red one.

Kasumi finally managed to open her mouth, but Tamura interrupted, "Please, don't ask..."

"Very well, I'll ask later, but I can make some presumptions in the meantime. Monokuma stopped you," Kasumi inferred.

"Monokuma stopped us," Ichijou confirmed, seemingly a bit disgruntled. Kasumi saw that Nagasaki seemed normal, however, perhaps even moreso. Looking back to Tamura, he mostly displayed disappointment and exhaustion.

Yokozuna, however, looked frustrated. The Snowboarder, clearly overheated, seemed to get hotter as she grumbled in disappointment, "Moriko-chan! We could have snuck by..."

Looking like she was about to cry, Andou moaned, "I know, I know..."

Ichijou waved his hands, trying to calm the girls down, "It's Monokuma's fault!"

Yokozuna frowned, before nodding, "Yeah, we need to get back at that bear somehow: duct tape that hatch he came out of on the stage!" Giving a sinister grin, she chuckled darkly to herself, planning vengeance. Kasumi was a bit surprised, not expecting her to be so...well, vengeful.

Before anyone could suggest another course of action, however, Kasumi heard reveille play again, and the monitor on the cliff side nearby lit up. As usual, Monokuma could be seen on it, recognizable even at a distance, and his voice echoed, "Upupu~ Would the Hope's Peak Students of the Arashimine Resort Class Trip please come to the Auditorium on the Ground Level! We have some urgent announcements to make, so please, waste no time." With that, the monitor switched off.

Tamura let out a sigh, grumbling, "Well, now is probably the best time to rub salt in the wound. Looks like you won't have a chance to trap Monokuma..." Yokozuna pouted. No one had anything else to add, and the group of six made for the nearby tunnel, reaching the Auditorium in no time. Kasumi stood as the others took seats of some of the bleachers, catching their breath and trying to recover. Within minutes, the others began to arrive, the first being Ganaha Eriko, who was less then pleased.

"Ah! You guys are back already!? That means..." she muttered in realization. Ganaha gritted her teeth, seemingly about to explode into anger, before stopping suddenly, her expression deadening. She muttered hollowly, "I don't care anymore..." Silently, she sat down on a bleacher, slumping, looking defeated. Within minutes, everyone else had arrived, having varied reactions at seeing the expedition group returned, defeated. Hopes were crushed and consolations were offered, but all were silenced when the lights went off, the stoplights spinning and centering on the stage, where Monokuma erupted, hopping out.

"Welcome! And welcome back, everyone!" Monokuma cheered. Smugly, he added, "So, how are you feeling, travelers? Was the Despair of being unable to escape suitable?"

Tamura was silent, not responding. Yokozuna just gritted her teeth quietly, while Nagasaki seemed not to care. Ichijou and Andou glared defiantly, the girl saying, "You're the worst, Monokuma! How could you do that to those innocent bears?"

Monokuma laughed, "Upupu, why are you so surprised? We're family! Why would they not want to help me keep the peace? Oh, by the way, I've told them not to be so nice next time. Don't expect to come out unscathed next time you try a stunt like that."

"We'll just find another way out then, Monokuma!" Ichijou retorted. He gave an uncharacteristically sly grin, saying, "I've already got tons of plans to get by you."

Monokuma said plainly, "No you don't."

Ichijou's face fell, and he asked, "How did you know?" The sound of Kasumi's palm smacking her face was heard throughout the Auditorium once again.

"You just told me!" Monokuma said at the exact same time Mikage mumbled, "You just told him."

Adjusting his sunglasses, the Farmer added, "See?" Ichijou pouted a bit, but stayed silent.

Monokuma continued, "Now, since you're all quiet, please bear with me. I know you're all restless, and you haven't really found the time to get started on some killing, so I'm going to give you a little Incentive to push things along! As if the failed escape attempt and the lack of memories wasn't reason enough..."

Confused, Kasumi asked, "Excuse me?"

"Eh? Didn't I tell you?" Monokuma asked.

"You're talking about me, aren't you?" Kasumi clarified.

Monokuma scratched his head with his paw, asking, "You haven't figured it out yet? Well, never mind, we can talk about that later."

Sanada spoke up, saying, "You can't tease us like that and go quiet, can you?"

"Yes, I can," Monokuma stated. "And now: onward! As you all know, you are silly teenagers, with little to no experience in relationships, and once you get out of here, you're going to have tons of trouble finding love with the trauma of having killed at your back, so I've got a deal for you!" With that, the stage section Monokuma stood upon sank, taking the bear out of sight. The machinery stopped, and the section began to rise again. When Monokuma returned, however, he was now wearing a frilly, white, angel outfit, holding a bow, resembling a cupid. He finished, "If you kill and get out of here, I'll do everything in my power to find you the perfect boyfriend or girlfriend!"

"...Really?" Sanada said, disappointed, and perhaps a bit disturbed.

"...Really?" Mikage said, interested. He gave a sly grin, before taking a few steps back, trying to hide his amusement at the idea.

"I'll pass, thank you," the Contractor Minami stated.

"Hell no! I refuse!" Ganaha shouted. "How can I be a good example to my idols if I go around parading my boyfriend while they're forbidden to have one!?" the Producer explained.

"Wait, really?" Ichijou asked, scratching his head. "Aren't they just singers?" he wondered.

"Public image is huge on popularity, and purity is one such factor," Ganaha said clearly and concisely, her usual anger faded entirely. Suddenly, she froze, before slumping in her seat, whining, "I'm never going to see my girls agaaaaaaiiinnnn..."

Ignoring them, Uzatei simply shrugged, "If you're trying to make us take this whole 'Killing Game' seriously, you're doing a very, very poor job of it."

"Not such a bad thing, if we can avoid any deaths," Saruta suggested, readjusting his lab coat.

Ishihara nodded, saying, "I agree. Keep your chin up, Ganaha-san! As long as we're alive, we have a chance, don't we, Mitsuzi-kun?" The Luckster couldn't help but smile in response.

Monokuma interrupted, "Oh come now, Ishihara. Don't say you don't want a cute girlfriend to give you a kiss every time you make a daredevil stunt! Wishing you well, like 'Good luck, Jouji-kun~.'" Kasumi shuddered at his words.

Ishihara hesitated, face clearly reddening a bit, but he shook his head, shouting, "But I don't want to kill someone for it!"

Furugori, having been stunned by the initial offer, finally came to his senses, suggesting, "I'm just gonna go now..."

"Got some planning to do? Go for it! It's not like I can close the tunnel, or anything," Monokuma replied.

"N-n-n-no!" the Computer Engineer retorted.

Kobayashi Nagisa hissed, "I'm leaving. Kinda wishing I hadn't come in the first place, to be honest. Sorry Monokuma, but you kinda creep me out! Like a mascot gone horribly, horribly wrong." Turning her head to the side, she muttered, "Cherrin is way cuter..."

"Sorta the point, darling!" Monokuma said as she walked out, being followed by Furugori and Uzatei.

"Are you quite finished?" Kasumi asked, getting impatient.

"Yup," Monokuma said.

Kasumi nodded, before quickly changing the subject, asking, "Now, tell me more about the lack of memories. I know you have something else to say."

Monokuma smiled, replying, "Upupu! That was all! Maybe."

Kasumi hissed, "You just said we can talk about it later."

Monokuma shook his head, "And we will! Don't you get it? I'm in charge here. Are my shows of power not enough for you? I can do whatever I want! Now hurry along, I can't babysit you all day," Monokuma snorted. With that, the costumed bear fled the scene, vanishing within moments into the stage, and the lights returned to normal.

"What a joke," Mikage laughed.

"You seemed kinda interested," Ichijou noted.

Mikage crossed his arms over his chest, scoffing, "Oh come on, you can't tell me you aren't interested."

Ichijou shrugged, "I'm already engaged." Kasumi gagged on her spit. Ichijou pondered for a moment, before saying, "Wait, it was a different word. 'B' something."

"Betrothed?" Kasumi suggested.

Ichijou nodded, "That was it!"

Andou smiled, "Really? Mitsuzi-kun? That's wonderful!"

Ichijou shrugged, "I don't really know her well. It was arranged a while ago, I was young. There aren't a whole lot of people where I live, so we have to plan everything out. It's the same with my older brother too. Or, was..."

Kasumi nodded in understanding, "I see..."

Hands in his suit pockets, Sanada asked, "Oh? Not disappointed?"

Kasumi blinked, "Why would I be?"

A bit surprised, Sanada asked, "There's nothing between you? You always seem to go to him first, after all." Yokozuna leaned over, a bit interested in the gossip.

Kasumi sighed, "We've known each other a day. I barely know who I am..." She really had no interest in the incentive, and Ichijou was simply a friend, a trustworthy one. Bringing her hand to her chin, she pondered, "But I wonder, what would happen if Monokuma could be convinced that a Culprit's soul mate, if you will, was already here: trapped at the Resort?" She shook her head, adding, "It's just speculation..."

Tamura stood, brushing off his jumpsuit before saying, "Who knows, that bear is a force of chaos. Let's just hope we can weather this situation until we find some other way to escape."

Saruta nodded, "Sounds like a plan."

With that, the rest of the Students filtered out of the Auditorium, through the tunnel and to the road. As soon as the sun hit them, Kasumi heard Ichijou's stomach growl.

Ishihara said, "You guys made a good effort, so why don't you go get cleaned up while I try and figure out something to do for lunch?"

Not nearly as ruffled by the forest as the others, Andou smiled, "Oh, I can help!"

"Thanks guys. I need another shower..." Yokozuna admitted. Nagasaki began to walk off without word, or looking back.

Noting her behavior, Kasumi asked, "Is she okay?"

Tamura shrugged, "I can't say. She performed well and kept her head. She's certainly a Survivalist. She might still be going off that adrenaline, we'll see if she returns to normal."

Saruta offered, "Be sure to clean out any cuts or scrapes well. I have hydrogen peroxide if you would like."

Ichijou asked, "What's that?"

Saruta explained, "A common disinfectant. The Medical Building has nothing better, so it will have to suffice. I will be there if you want some." With one last nod, the reliable Surgical Assistant took his leave, following Nagasaki up the slope.

With that, the group began to head up the slope, separating upon reaching the clearing past the sparse forest. Kasumi herself headed to the Lodges as well, separating as she followed the path to Kobayashi's, hoping for some peace and quiet. Knocking on the door, she waited for a response, but there was nothing. She tried the doorbell, but again, there was still nothing. A bit miffed at still being locked out, Kasumi headed over to the Restaurant, figuring she'd relax until lunchtime. Oh course, she should have expected Kobayashi was already there, sitting at the table, along with Minami, Mikage, and Sanada.

Kasumi took a seat quietly, overhearing part of the conversation. Minami was responding to a question of Kobayashi's, saying clearly, "I assure you, I'm not interested in Monokuma's incentive."

Kobayashi laughed, "Oh come ooooon, I can see it in your face!" Kasumi took another look at Minami, but her expression seemed as hard as ever.

Minami sighed, before explaining, not at ounce of stutter in her breath, "I already have a boyfriend."

Kobayashi raised an eyebrow, before snorting in amusement. The far less amused Minami turned her glare on the Park Tycoon, who froze, letting out an awkward laugh, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of her face. "Er, uh, I was just laughing about how...uh...you have a boyfriend and I don't!" she quickly said. Her eyes began to water as she continued, "Even after trying as hard as I could for about five years now..."

Sanada Shinji admitted, "That doesn't seem very funny."

Kobayashi's head slammed into the table as she whined, "It's nooooooot!"

Mikage shrugged, "There is such a thing as trying too hard, you know." Minami simply sighed, remaining silent.

Within the next twenty minutes, most of the others had arrived, waiting for the promised lunch, including the trekking group, whom had a bit of interest surrounding them, particularly curiosity about the exact chain of events. After Ishihara and Andou brought out a lunch of chilled soup and sandwiches, Tamura, renewed by his bath, recounted the events. The black and white bears seemed to be fierce and numerous: getting through them would likely be impossible. Ishihara's glider plan would likely result in them never seeing him again, so the Aeronaut agreed to stop his construction.

"It's not like I'd gotten very far anyway," Ishihara admitted. "I was working on the blueprints earlier...the only thing I could do is to maybe make a glider that can effectively go as long as I need to get through the forest entirely, but that needs top weather conditions, and possibly better materials than I can find."

Nagasaki, whom was back to her usual, jittery self, shook her head vigorously, saying, "Monokuma's too...powerful, no good."

Remembering the incident that happened yesterday, Ichijou mentioned, "There was that one bird that attacked me randomly, and the one that scratched Moriko-chan."

Understanding, Kasumi interjected, "You're thinking that Monokuma could influence a bird attack to stop Ishihara-san? ...I could see it happening."

Ishihara frowned, admitting, "Yeah, you're probably right..." Groaning, he added, "There's gotta be something I can do!"

"I say we just wait for help," Furugori suggested.

Sanada shook his head, "We can't be so sure it will come." Turning his head, he continued, "Even if the authorities know we are here-" Interrupting himself, the Debater retorted, slamming his fist on the table, "They must! Did the employees of the Resort simply get laid off, the owner included?" Sanada shook his head, saying, "They may have been brib-"

"You gotta be- oh give it a rest!" Ganaha snarled.

Sanada stopped, taking a breath, before smiling, "Excuse me, I got a bit carried away. I believe my point stands, however."

Uzatei shrugged, "My apologies, I don't think I caught it."

Understanding, Kasumi said, "Hope's Peak...a school with such Talent at its fingertips could likely cover up an incident like this. Closing the Resort down would keep any traffic from coming, so who would there be to turn to?"

"Oh," Tamura gasped. The ASCAN mentioned, "There should be rangers in the nearby forests. There's a Ranger Station, after all. Smoke can be seen for miles, so a large enough fire would draw attention. All we need to do is wait for a dry day and...well, if it gets out of control, we'll all be in danger." He shook his head, finishing the thought, "But a noticed fire will be investigated. It's a valuable last resort in a survival situation."

Yokozuna noted, "You seem to know a lot about that stuff."

Tamura nodded, "Astronauts are trained in survival, among other things." Turning back to the others, he said, "I suggest we just keep an eye on things for a day or two, try and see if there's anything here we missed, then try making a fire. We need to be careful, so some planning would do us some good."

Ishihara scratched his curly hair and sighed, "I guess that's the best we can do, huh?"

The meal wound down, and the first to leave the table was Tamura, whom said, "I'm going to look at our supplies and some of the area. I want to see what we have to work with to make a controlled fire. We could start one up here on the First Level, but the last thing we need is a passing air vehicle to mistake a signal fire for a bonfire..." As everyone else finished, Ishihara took care of the dishes with Yokozuna's assistance, while everyone else went their own way. Andou went chasing after Tamura, insisting she'd help. Kasumi, however, had little to investigate. She did have something to discuss though. Heading out of the Restaurant, she began to follow Sanada Shinji as he headed to the sparse forest on the way to the lower level. To her surprise, he stopped near the phone shack, leaning on the side and watching as Kasumi approached, his hands neatly in his pockets.

"Hello there, Kasumi-san. How can I be of service?" Sanada asked as she approached.

Kasumi nodded in greeting, before saying, "There was something I wanted to talk about. Or rather, something you were talking about to yourself that I would like to continue."

Shinji nodded, "Ah, the public's awareness of our situation? What do you think?"

Kasumi suggested, "I think our presence here is unknown to most everyone."

"I disagree," Sanada said.

Raising an eyebrow, Kasumi redacted her words, saying, "You're right, the public must know about us."

"I think you're wrong," Sanada replied. He gave a slight smirk at Kasumi's frown, answering, "Come now, I haven't had a good one on one in a while, you can't expect me to entertain myself for the period we're stuck here, can you?"

Kasumi sighed, "I figured..." But she still didn't think he'd be as blatant about acting as Devil's advocate. Returning to her original side in the argument, she said, "Very well. Hope's Peak Academy would have to cover up the Game of Mutual Killing, else the public outcry would likely result in the school being closed."

Sanada shook his head, "Not necessarily, with the proper lies and misinformation, anything can be spun to look like a good, or at least neutral, event. 'Hope's Peak Class Trip in mountains ends in tragedy, one survivor.'"

Kasumi thought for a moment, before replying, "While that would be possible, how do you explain the lack of employees here? You mentioned the owner of the Resort as well, certainly he can't be pleased with the modifications. Or do Resorts normally have Courtrooms?"

Sanada chuckled, "No, I don't believe they do." Answering back, he mentioned, "They may have been told that Hope's Peak wanted the staff replaced by the usual scientists, for whatever reasons. It may have been part of the deal in acquiring the Resort for the 'Class Trip'. As for the modifications, no one would be able to get in close: with the Resort closed for the Class Trip, it's possible the tunnel is blocked off at the other end by roadblocks. You'd only need one security guard to keep any snoopers from reaching the end of the tunnel and finding the boulder, which is abnormal no matter how you slice it."

Kasumi thought on that, before suggesting, "Well, I suppose in that scenario, we can hope the Resort Owner is nosey enough to ignore security guards."

Sanada shrugged, "If I were in the position of Hope's Peak, I'd have him eliminated."

Surprised at the bold response, Kasumi replied, "Well, aren't you a pleasant person?"

Sanada let out a laugh, before looked back to Kasumi, asking, "Well, do you concede your point?"

Mulling it over, Kasumi thought aloud, "Well, I suppose it's not impossible that our presence here is known, but wasn't my original point regarding our situation?"

Sanada smiled, "Yes, but why didn't you think about that two minutes ago when I changed the subject?" Kasumi had to give him that. The Debater let out a sigh, before proposing, "We should do this another time. I feel like you can match wits better than most here, at the very least."

"Possibly, though to be fair, I'd rather we found a way out before we find the time," Kasumi said.

"Fair enough," Sanada nodded as he headed off, going towards the lower level.

Thinking for a moment, Kasumi decided that she wanted to take a moment to relax, but she didn't really have a private place to go: Kobayashi had the ElectroID to get into her room, and Kasumi was locked off from everywhere else. Getting an idea, she went to the two empty Lodges again, checking to see if her ElectroID worked, but she had no luck. After trying that, she went over to the Medical Building, entering to see Saruta Bimaru sitting at the desk as normal, reading one of the medical books.

The black haired Surgical Assistant looked up, saying, "Ah, Kasumi-san. Can I help you?"

Kasumi admitted, "I was just hoping for somewhere quiet to relax."

Saruta nodded, saying, "I have an extra chair and some books, though they're hardly entertaining. You're free to stay. I must admit, I have few visitors, so I don't think you'll be disturbed."

Feeling relief at Saruta's hospitality, Kasumi gladly took a seat and one of the more readable books. She was able to glean most of the text, but there was the occasional word she wasn't sure of. If anything, it was a quite way to kill time. The only other way she could was by talking with everyone, which, while enlightening, was a bit exhausting at times as well.

And a few hours respite was just what she needed. A little while after the cicadas started back up around five as the sun started to sneak behind the mountain, she took her leave, in a bit of a better mood, thoughts of Monokuma's Incentive deep in the back of her mind. Curious about her roommate, Kasumi went over to the Lodge, finding that once again, Kobayashi wasn't there. Not seeing much else to do, she figured she'd wait in the Restaurant until dinner, as it would no doubt be starting soon. However, as soon as she started to make her way over, she heard the talking from the phone booth.

Heading over, Kasumi could hear Ishihara speaking hurriedly, his tone serious. "Get everyone away from the forest, it's too dangerous!" she heard him say into the phone.

Approaching Kasumi looked into the phone shack, seeing Ishihara's worried, intense expression. The Aeronaut looked up at her, noting her confused face. Blinking, he pointed over his shoulder, at the cliff. Kasumi leaned, looking past the shack and the Medical Building, seeing what he had.

Smoke. A column of black smoke, broad, but thick and dark, ominously streaking across the blue and orange sky.

"Go let everyone know!" Ishihara ordered.

"U-understood," Kasumi said, starting to grasp the situation. It was a summer day, and though a little humid, it still can't have rained in very long. Running back to the Medical Building, she nearly plowed into Saruta as he came out, his facial expression as neutral as ever.

"D-did you see?" Kasumi asked, not certain.

Saruta nodded, "I only just looked up and saw the smoke. I'm going down to see if anyone needs treatment." Kasumi finally noticed that he was putting burn ointment and gauze from his hands into his lab coat. Her unease about the situation increasing, Kasumi nodded, and the two parted ways.

The amnesiac quickly headed over to the Lodges, ringing the doorbell of the farthest on the left, Ichijou's, before heading up. She realized an issue halfway to ringing Uzatei's doorbell: she was going to get tired rather quickly. Shaking her head, she persevered, ringing the other 12 doorbells, though by the time she had finished, she was tired and panting, trying to catch her breath. She was answered by a few: Ganaha, Nagasaki, Yokozuna, Mikage, and Furugori all came outside, looking around, until they noticed the smoke.

Finally going to regroup, Kasumi heard Mikage ask, "What the hell's going on?"

Kasumi shook her head, taking breath, before answering, "I don't know, but I'm assuming the worst."

Yokozuna asked, "Should we go check on the others?"

Realizing she had more heads to work with, Kasumi ordered, "Mikage-san, check then Restaurant and Storage Units, if you would."

"Only if you address me like I asked," the Farmer said without missing a beat.

Kasumi glared, not in the mood, but relented rather quickly, saying with a tinge of disgust, "Fine, Naoki-k-kun." The Farmer gave a cocky grin before heading off.

"What about the rest of us?" Furugori asked.

Not sure, Kasumi said, "We need to somehow make sure everyone else is okay. Ishihara-san is on the phone with someone, but we're still missing...Uzatei, Kobayashi, Sanada, Tamura, Ichijou, Andou, and Minami." Turning her head, Kasumi saw Mikage on his way back, Minami and Ichijou following. Explaining further, Kasumi said, "Saruta-san is already on his way down."

While Mikage and Minami came to a stop at the group, Ichijou kept going, breaking into a run. "I-Ichijou-san!" Kasumi called out.

"I'm going down to see if I can help!" Ichijou called out.

Looking back at the others, Kasumi turned and went to follow, saying, "Not alone!"

Mikage noted as she walked away, "You let Saruta-san down alone."

"Well, he has yet to fall off a cliff," Kasumi mumbled to herself as she walked hastily. Calling back, she said, "Ishihara-san is over by the phone! Let him take the lead!" Knowing he was at least more reliable than most of the group she left behind, she picked up her pace, catching up to Ichijou.

Though Kasumi had only just caught her breath, she was able to make it to the lower level without much trouble, the downhill run allowing her to keep going until they reached the bottom, where Kasumi had to stop, Ichijou waiting for her before continuing. Looking up at the sky, already quite orange, she could still see the smoke. Noting the direction it she wondered, saying between breaths, "Could it be...the Cabin?" The two looked at each other, before quickly heading to the nearby Ranger Station. Entering, the two saw that the first room was empty, but they could hear a voice in the next room. Entering, they saw Kobayashi hovering by Uzatei, who was on the phone, Saruta standing nearby. Kobayashi looked over at the two, her expression plain with worry.

"W-where are Tamura, Andou, and Sanada?" Kasumi asked, still catching her breath.

"The only places left to check are the Cabin and the Auditorium, right?" Ichijou asked.

Kobayashi looked up, saying, "I'll check the Auditorium, it should be safe there." Without looking back, the girl headed outside.

Uzatei looked up from the phone, suggesting, "The others are going to come down with some food and water should the fire spread throughout the whole forest. With a tarp, we won't have to worry about smoke getting in, so we can stay safe if the whole forest goes up, but there's still the matter of letting any investigation that comes by know we're here."

Kasumi could hear Ishihara's voice on the other end of the phone, but couldn't make it out. Uzatei repeated for him, "Oh, Minami-san makes a good point. They'll probably send surveyors to examine the damage after it burns out and extinguish the rest."

"Who cares!" Ichijou yelled suddenly. "We need to find the others! Tamura-san and Moriko-chan went into the woods, right?" he said, practically heading out of the door already.

Uzatei nodded, and Ichijou made to leave, but Saruta said, "Hold on." A brief look of impatience crossed Ichijou's face, and Saruta explained, "I'll go with you to find them, but you must listen to me. As in, when I say run, we run. I don't know how far the fire has spread, so we must be careful."

The Luckster gave Saruta a hard look, before nodding, "Alright."

"I would like to go as well," Kasumi requested. Saruta simply nodded.

Uzatei grouched, adjusting his glasses, "And leave me here all alone with the phone line? Fine, be that way."

The other three ignored the grump, heading outside and into the forest. Moving into the woods, Ichijou called out, "Tamura-san! Moriko-chan!" Kasumi and Saruta followed suit as their path wound towards the Cabin.

This continued for several minutes until they heard a voice from behind them, "What's the matter? Dinnertime already?" They turned to see Tamura Ryunosuke, and though his tone was jovial, he quickly realized something was wrong, asking, "What's the matter?"

"There's a forest fire, near the Cabin. Don't you smell it?" Kasumi explained quickly.

Tamura's eyes widened and the Astronaut Candidate shook his head, saying, "That's not right, I didn't find a good place to start a fire...who..." Eyes narrowing in resolve, he said fiercely, "We need to find Andou!"

Ichijou pointed out, "You were the last one with her."

Tamura nodded, "I know, we got separated. You know how she is, too much of a free spirit to stay in one place. She supported the idea of doing as little damage to the forest as possible, but she probably saw an animal and..."

Ichijou started moving, heading back in the direction of the Cabin, calling out, "Moriko-chan!"

The search continued, until the smell of smoke became even more noticeable. Saruta pointed out, "We're getting close to the fire. We should put less distance between us and the edge of the forest. This way." There was a change in course, the four circling where the fire was, but there was no sign of Andou Moriko. Sanada Shinji was also unaccounted for, but Kasumi was doubting the Debater would be skulking the forests normally.

Finally, the girl heard something, coming from the direction of the fire. Changing her direction, she headed for it, Tamura shouting, "Hey, Kasumi, where are you going!" Kasumi heard the others following, so she didn't bother explaining. In mere moments, she came to a clearing in the trees, the shadows dancing to the movements of the fire, light visible through the trunks. There was a dark silhouette against them though, but to Kasumi's chagrin, it was too small to be Andou's.

"Upupupu, isn't fire just so beautiful?" Monokuma laughed. "Such destruction and Despair possible...but we can't have that, can we? It looks like I'm going to have to step in this time. You kids are so crazy!" he chortled. The group couldn't even tell if he was facing them or not due to the lighting, but the bear clearly raised his paws, saying, "Begone, flame!" Before Kasumi could comment on the absurdity of the situation, the ground rumbled, and dirt shifted, and a hose poked out of the ground. Monokuma seemed to pull a firefighter cap from thin air, putting it on as he grasped the hose, pulling a lever, allowing a torrent of water to shoot forth. He panned it across the fire, which hissed and crackled in defiance. As it began to recede, Monokuma walked forward, as if chasing it, the Students standings stunned at the odd scene.

Kasumi was the first to recover, looking down at the protruding hose. She wanted to dig at it, but her sense of urgency regarding Andou and Sanada kept her at bay, and she simply waited alongside the others. Minutes passed as Monokuma fought the fire singlehandedly, weaving the hose through the trees like a spider with web. It was nearly dark when he finally returned, dropping the hose. "Job well done. Remember kids, a safe fire is one next to a proportionate amount of fire retardants! Try not to breath in too much smoke. See you soon, no doubt, upupu. Upupupupupupu!" Monokuma laughed, disappearing into the trees. Before Kasumi could move, the hose began to retract itself, the nozzle darting into the woods, before taking a few moments to unknot itself, finally returning to the ground, leaving behind nothing but a hole in the dirt.

"C-come on!" Ichijou said, recovering, and breaking into a run through the burnt trees, smoke still hanging in the air, heat still emanating from some of the charred wood.

"C-cover your mouth!" Saruta said quickly, his voice strained as he tried to avoid coughing.

Finally, the four reached the Cabin, and as Kasumi had guessed, it was caught in the blaze, being burnt black. The group gave it a long, hard look, before Ichijou turned away, saying, "She's not here, let's go."

As he took a step, Tamura grabbed him by the arm, saying, "We should check anyway..." His voice was hollow, his apprehension plain.

Defiantly, Ichijou cried out, "She's not here!"

Unwilling to hear his denial, Kasumi took a few strong steps towards the blackened building. She reached her hand for the door, holding her hand near the doorknob to tell if it was hot or not, before turning it, only to find it stuck fast. Tamura waved her away, before pounding it down with his foot, sending burnt wood shards and ash into the air. Kasumi held her arm over her mouth as she entered, to keep from inhaling anything dangerous. The other three followed as she looked through the living room and kitchen on her way to the upper floor.

Treading carefully, she was surprised as the burnt floor held her weight, only creaking in protest. Opening doors, the first bedroom she looked into was empty. Kasumi gasped upon opening the door to the closet however, a sickening scent of burnt flesh and smoke hit her. The closet was occupied.

A charred and featureless corpse sat against the wall, a few things scattered on the floor around it, a chain locked around the wrist. Kasumi felt sick to her stomach as she recognized the short, petite frame and the long braid of burnt hair...

"Attention please, a body has been discovered. In a few short hours, the Class Trial will begin. Investigate thoroughly, Students!"