Hey guys, just wanted to mention that I'm going to have to edit some of the previous chapters soon in order to include some details I think I missed. Also, if you could leave a review about what you think I could improve on, it would be much appreciated! Thank you!

-Purple

The next day was October eighth. It was raining out, and it didn't seem like it would be letting up anytime soon. The rain pounded against my umbrella as I trudged on up the hill toward Yasogami, and as I thought to myself, I realized with a groan that exams were going to begin in a week. I had nearly forgotten with all the commotion regarding the murder case, and with this case churning relentlessly in my brain, my stomach lurched at the very thought of exams. Though I always passed mine and never really had much difficulty with them, they were one more element of stress on my ever-busy mind. I felt like I could barely think about them, knowing that the true culprit in the case was not Kubo, and that he was still lurking somewhere in Inaba. As I arrived at the school gates, I spotted Yu-kun. Hoping to relieve some of the stress, I ran to catch up to him.

"Oh... Good morning, Senpai," I called out as I approached him. He turned to face me, greeting me with an easygoing expression. "Exams start next Friday," I told him, "But I am just not in the mood for schoolwork. The true killer is someone else... We're the only ones who know that. If we don't act, the case will grind to a halt."

Yu sighed and looked down at the ground. "I can't study, either."

"That isn't good," I said, bringing my voice down to just above a whisper, "If your grades drop, Dojima-san may suspect something is going on. Please, do your best on the tests for the sake of the case. Anyway, we can only wait for the culprit to make his move. We must not forget to check the Midnight Channel, too. This is a crucial moment."

Yu nodded. We both turned and began to walk into the school.

I don't particularly remember what was taught that day in my classes. There was... Something about World War I in history, and... Something about the area of a triangle in math? I really don't remember; I was hardly paying attention. All I could think about was the case. The murderer was still out there, and I was undoubtedly the only one in my class who even knew. Since Kubo was ruled out as a suspect, I was back to square one as far as contemplating who the true culprit could be. Anyone could have been the murderer. As far as I knew, it could have even been someone in this very classroom. However, with the amount of information I did have, I could deduce multiple things. First of all, the murderer was definitely somewhere in Inaba. Second, he was using the world inside of the TV as a means of murdering his victims. Third, each victim had been shown on TV just days before being kidnapped. I managed to prove this theory...

"Shirogane-kun!"

I jumped in my seat and looked up at the teacher apologetically. "Y-yes, Ms. Matsuoka?"

"Stop staring out the window and pay attention."
"Yes... I apologize... My head seems to be in the clouds at the moment..."

"Then I suggest you get it out of the clouds, if you want to do well on exams next Friday."

I nodded. "Yes... I'm sorry..." My face reddened and I slouched in my seat, pulling the brim of my hat down in front of my face. I heard assorted whispers throughout the room.

"Wow," one boy said, "Naoto-kun looks really unfocused today."

"But you gotta cut her some slack," said the girl beside him, "She is a detective, after all."

"Detective or not," the boy sneered, "I'd like to see her flunk her finals. Maybe then the rest of us won't seem so stupid compared to her."

"Stop it," said the girl, "You're just jealous because she's so much cooler than you."

I sighed to myself. "Imbeciles," I muttered under my breath.

Not too long after, the bell rang and students were dismissed for lunch. As I exited my classroom, I was surprised to see Yukiko-san walking toward me. I greeted her with a tip of my hat. "Good afternoon, Senpai."

"Hi, Naoto-kun," Yukiko said with a small bow, "I wanted to know if you'd like to spend lunch with us in Kanji-kun's class.

"Oh," I said uneasily, "A-are you sure?"

"Of course," Yukiko smiled.

After a few moments of contemplation, I nodded curtly. "Very well. Thank you."

We both walked down the hall to Kanji-kun's classroom, where Kanji and Rise were already sitting with boxed lunches spread out over one of the desks. Yosuke was standing beside them. Rise grinned when she saw me. "Hey, Naoto-kun! Have a soda!" She reached into her bag and pulled out a can of TaP soda, placing it on the desk across from her.

"Thank you," I said as I sat down. I looked at Kanji, who had suddenly fell silent and was looking away. He seemed as distant as ever. I felt myself begin to sweat with anxiety. Perhaps he didn't like me...? Come to think of it, he did snap at me quite a bit directly after I was rescued...

"Oooooh," a familiar voice piped up from the door, "Is that sukiyaki I smell?" Chie entered the room and leaned on the desk beside me.

"Yeah, but it's takeout," Kanji mumbled, "'s not as good as when you get it fresh."

"Doesn't matter," Chie said, salivating and snapping a pair of chopsticks apart, "It's still beef!"

Yukiko sat down in the chair beside me and looked up at Chie. "Did Yu-kun want to join us?"

"Nah," Chie said through a mouthful of meat. She gulped it down before continuing to speak. "I didn't see him in the hallway. He's probably in the library."

"He's been in there a lot lately," said Yosuke, "Probably studying for exams. Heh, maybe I should study more often. He always seems to ace his tests."

This peaked my interest. "Ah," I said, "Is Senpai as intelligent as I've heard?"

"Dude," Yosuke said, "The guy's a genius! He got the highest score on the semester finals before summer vacation!"

"I see," I said in surprise, "I'm impressed. Maybe he could tutor me with second-year subjects." I chuckled to myself.

"Ugh," Yosuke groaned, "I wish he'd tutor me. Exams are always a huge pain in my ass."

"Well, maybe if you studied harder, you wouldn't have that problem," Chie snapped.

"Hey," Yosuke bickered, "You're one to talk. Your score was almost as low as mine last term!"

"Keyword: 'almost'," Chie said, shoveling another heap of food into her mouth.

Yosuke scoffed in disgust. "Ugh, would you close your mouth? You eat like a frickin' horse..." I snickered quietly to myself, and then opened the soda Rise had given me.

"You okay, Kanji?" Rise asked, "You've been awful quiet whenever we're together, lately."

"Hm?" Kanji grunted, "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't know what you're talkin' about."

"So, Naoto-kun," Yukiko said politely as she turned to me, "How do you like Yasogami so far?"

I thought about the question for a few moments before beginning to speak. "Well, in my overall opinion of it, I like this school very much. It's not as big as some of the schools I've attended, but not as small as some others. The academics are adequate but some of the teachers could have... Better temperaments..."

"Ugh," Chie said, "Like King Moron and Kashiwagi..."

I continued. "...There isn't much bullying around here, which is always great. And the events are... Interesting..." We all fidgeted uncomfortably at the memory of the school trip. I grinned to myself. "But what I enjoy most about this school, I guess, is its students."

Rise smiled. "Me too. It's the only school I've been able to make friends at. Well... At least, friends who see me for me, and not Risette."

"Ditto," Kanji said with a grin, "Hell, you guys are the only reason I even come to school."

"I sure am glad I came here," Yosuke chuckled, "I didn't really like this place at first, but it grew on me."

"Same," Chie said, "But of course, there was nothing special about it until Narukami showed up."

"H-hey!" Yosuke snapped, "What about me?"

"Can it, loser!" said Chie, "Don't think I forgot about what you did to my DVD the day he came here!" Yosuke scoffed and Chie laughed to herself. "But you gotta admit, Yu-kun really did bring us together in a way we couldn't have done ourselves."

"Yeah," Yukiko smiled, "I don't think any of us would be sitting here if he hadn't come along."

"We might not even be alive," Kanji added. "We're damn lucky he showed up."

"Maybe it's fate," Rise giggled.

"Fate or not," I said, "I think we can all agree that we owe a lot to him."

"You said it," Chie cried out, shoving more meat down her gullet.

"Hey, not to go off-subject," Yukiko said, "But has everyone begun to study for the exams?"

"Ugh, don't even mention them," Yosuke grimaced. "I wish they'd just disappear..."

"We should get a study group together sometime," Yukiko suggested. "Maybe that will motivate us.

"Hey, that's not a bad idea, Senpai," said Rise.

"Ugh," Kanji groaned, "Studying's definitely not my thing. But I guess it'd be worth it if we get to hang out."

"Awesome!" Yosuke cheered, pumping his fist into the air, "Let's bring it up to Narukami sometime!"

The remainder of lunch promised to be mildly entertaining.