Review replies!

Crimson Spider Lily: I still have a few things planned for Act 3 before the third trial, so rest assured, Chigusa will be safe for a while longer. Although, if she will or won't die later is unknown... to you, anyway. Shizuka's murder-related past sure seems like a likely cause for him being so specific towards Yuzuru - good observation on your part! Rikushi is definitely blooming, and Yatarou and Chigusa sure seem likely with all their previous interactions, but will her resolve to be independent get in the way? Or maybe Yatarou isn't even Chigusa's biggest issue - Maruko is ill, so there's a lot going on for the poor little Gardener. Your theories on culprits and victims sure are interesting! You'll have them confirmed, or not, in due time. Thanks for your review!

Katastic Writer: I'm not surprised you noticed the timespan difference between Maruko and Chigusa's (?) symptoms. Maybe this chapter will reveal something about that! Shizuka's backstory still has a bit to expand upon, with the murder and all, but I'm sure I'll weave that in somehow. Yatarou and Chigusa seem to be a popular guess as for our next couple, along with Riou and Tsukushi... I have to agree with most of your favourite characters, although if I may ask, why are you so fond of Mondo? Not to say he's a bad character, but I have a hard time liking him since I just think he went a bit under the radar. Thanks for your review!

Jubilees: Last chapter was indeed very Chigusa heavy and that means death! Maybe I'll surprise you and let her live a bit longer, or maybe not. She is raising all sorts of death flags on her, so don't blame me if she drops out! Thank you so much for leaving a review!

Guest: Chigusa sure seemed to gain a lot of places in the 'Most Likely to Kill' category really quickly! From fragile little girl to murderer... interesting character development! Riou doesn't seem to be in any danger for now though, do you think someone could off that mountain of muscle? One finger flick and he'd send his assailant flying. Thanks for reviewing!

TheRoseShadow21: She sure seemed to jump into a significantly better mood all of a sudden, huh? In any way, the movie sure isn't off the hook just yet - and you'll see the end result soon. I actually forgot Izayoi while writing down my favourites, so thanks for reminding me, haha. And as always, thanks for leaving a review!

BIBOTOT: Most of you guys seem to be torn between blaming the movie and the chemical for Maruko's illness. Indeed, I still have some things to do with Marine Views before the third trial is put underway... I'm eager to kill someone else, though! Thanks for reviewing!

The SENDER and the TRAVELER: Oh, how sad would it be if poor Chigusa dropped dead for trying to be stronger? Then again, she and Riou might just hit it off better because they're so much more motivated! Let's hope Tsukushi doesn't get jealous and knock her out... agh, spoilers!? Shizuka's backstory still has plot significance, keep your eyes peeled! Sakurako's a brave girl - or so she appears - so I'm sure she'll be fine... (?) Thanks a lot for reviewing!

SongBirds-Lullaby:Would Monokuma let the poor girl off the hook with just a poison which disappears with time? I wouldn't think so - if the chemical even is the cause of Maruko's distress! Chigusa's newfound power and character is really being a joy for me to write and experience, she has definitely grown a lot on me. As for Akahana, you might or might not see her reasons later down the line, and same thing goes for Shizuka's past.

ACT 3: Holidays For The Hopeless

CHAPTER 4: One, Two, Three

LATE MORNING

Location: Anghern Lake

"Wait up!" I shouted, sprinting over to the others right after I finished my pre-jog warm-up stretching. "Way to leave me behind, you guys, what gives?"

"Sorry, sorry!" Chigusa turned around and kept jogging in place, sporting a new attire we had gotten from the mall right after breakfast. "I'm just too pumped, for some reason!" she added excitedly before going off on her own, running her first lap around the lake.

I chuckle as I jog over to Riou and we both run after her at an increasing pace. "Since when does she join us for the jog?" Riou asked with a pout as he trailed the Gardener with his eyes. Mimicking him, I too watched as she added more distance between us and her and couldn't help but smile. "I thought this was our thing... like, just our thing."

"C'mon, you can't be mad at her for trying. Just yesterday you commended her for trying to become stronger." I roll my eyes playfully and give him a nudge on the bicep with my elbow as we run side by side. "This is her way to do it, I guess."

Riou sighed. "I guess you're right. I miss having some good one-on-one time with you, though. Everything's been so hectic lately..."

"Aww, that's adorable." I flirt, and I felt the Boxer's face heat up just from the way he turned his neck away. "After spending all the time together back in the other sector, you might miss how much time we had on our hands."

"Yeah... I guess you can call it that." Riou thought it over and turned back to me, his usual colour regaining control over his skin.

"We have our lunch date set... what about today? Just you and me!" I suggest as we start accelerating to keep up with the unnaturally speedy Gardener in front of us.

"D-Date?" he repeated my word, his voice a bit flustered.

I chuckled and shook my head. "It's just a figure of speech, unless you don't want it to be."

"Knock it off, Tsukushi!" he gritted his teeth, raging at himself for blushing once again, which just made me laugh lowly a bit more. "I... Yeah, I'd love to. Lunch date, today at the mall."

"You better not leave me hanging!" I warned him as I sprinted ahead, gaining speed over him as he was left behind to eat my dust. Looking back with a playful smile, the Boxer's face went from surprise to a sly, competitive grin as he easily bolted in front of me and Chigusa in a matter of seconds. "Hey! Heeeey, come back here, that's unfair!"

"R-Riou!" Chigusa called, unnerved by Riou's lead and sped up as well.

With a quick pace, I caught up to the Gardener, my longer legs giving me a small advantage over her. "Hey, you enjoying yourself?"

"Yes, thank you!" she cheerfully replied. "You know, I didn't know exercise could be this much fun! I'm used to working at my own pace that I forgot how good adrenaline felt!"

"Chigusa, not to be rude but... I haven't heard you stutter in a while."

"I know, right!?" she asked rhetoorically, with clear enthusiasm and pride in her voice. "To be honest, I've stuttered my whole life, because I never got to make many friends back in middle school. Gardening is an awkward hobby to pick up when everyone plays sports, does gymnastics, plays videogames and all that!"

"O-Oh, shoot, sorry, I didn't mean to reopen old wounds." I slap myself mentally for bringing the topic up, but the Gardener quickly comforted me.

"You didn't let me finish, dummy!" she fooled around. "Thing is... this past day or so I had a lot of time to think. And I came to the conclusion that I'm really comfortable with everyone here! Which means, I don't need to be shy and awkward, I can have fun! You're all my friends, after all, so we can have fun. I know times've been tough with this stupid game and all but... I know, I just know we're going to make it through this!"

My jaw dropped as I looked at the Gardener, the lake behind her acting as a dating-sim-esque backdrop - although the sweat that came with the workout was less than ideal in such a scenario. "Wow, Chigusa... I've never seen you be so talkative."

"Well, if I had to take a guess as to why... it's probably because of you, Tsukushi. I trust you the most out of everyone here! Well, maybe not more than Maruko but... now that she's like this..." her tone lowered and do did her speed, until she came to a complete halt. "Um, you mind if I take a rest? I want to check on Maruko real quick."

I smiled in understanding and was just about to nod when- "BOO!"

"AGH, what the hell!?" I jumped back as Riou sprinted past me with a devilish grin of challenge.

"Catch me if you can, pipsqueaks, no lounging around!" Riou shouted as he turned back to the front and turned his speed back to the previous one. "You really gonna let me lap you over again!?"

"Uuuuuugh!" I groaned loudly and looked at a laughing Chigusa. She simply gestured for me to run after him and paced towards the lake house back the way we came - the shortest route by a small margin, if my estimations were correct. "Here I come, Ryielo!"

EARLY AFTERNOON

Location: Plaza del Anghern

Is this actually happening?

"Hell yeah it is, my dude!" Yatarou cheered me on as he pulled me deeper into the mall. "C'mon, c'mon, he's probably already here!"

"H-He told me he'd be here at around 1h30pm, Yatarou, can you calm the hell down?" I flail my arm around, trying to resist the Tour Guide as he pulled me towards the food court insistently. "What are you doing, being so pushy all of a sudden? Riou and I are just having lunch, we're not getting married, jeez!"

Yatarou muffled his laughs with his hands. "Oh, oh, ooooh, Tsukushi, my man, you are wrong!"

"I am?" I crossed my arms, replying sarcastically. "So I am getting married? To Riou? In a shopping mall? While I am being held hostage by a psychotic bear lover?"

"Okay, okay, I got it!" he stopped me from ranting any longer and covered my mouth with his hand. "Now, let me take a good look at you." he added cheerfully, taking three steps back and admiring me in the mall's glass ceiling's light. He curled all his fingers so the tips all touched and put them to his lips, kissing them dramatically. "Amazing! Bravo, bravo, Mr. Tsukushi Hananari!"

My confused expression changed into one of utter disbelief as Yatarou muttered compliment after compliment loudly inside the grand shopping center's walls. "Yatarou, what is this about!? I'm wearing the exact same outfit I wear all the time." I groaned.

"You just have a little bit more oomph, today!" he admired me one last time, but quickly paced forward and took a few strands of hair in between his fingers, scrunching them. "This hair though... huh, I think you need an extreme makeover."

"M-Makeover!?" I step back and throw my hands forward to keep distance between Yatarou and I. "Wh-Why the hell would I want a makeover!? I'm perfectly fine as is!" That was the last of my complaining as a small hand muffled my mouth and I saw the Tour Guide chuckling in front of me. "What is this!?" I flailed around and quickly escaped out of the female's grasp. "Kikyo!? What the hell!"

Kikyo and Yatarou joined together in a stereotypical anime duo pose and struck me a gallant look. "Like hell we're letting you go on a date..." Yatarou began.

"...without a proper trimming first!" Kikyo added and lunged at me, grabbing me by the wrist and pulling me to the hair salon on the opposite side of the mall.

"Kikyo, for heaven's sake!" I plead, confused at all of the things happening. "What is this about, I still don't get it!?" And that's when it hit me - "DATE!?"

Kikyo chuckled, as did Yatarou behind us and the latter was the one to clarify. "Heh, heh, that's right!"

"Yatarou, I'm never telling you my plans ever again!" I complain as Kikyo entered the hair salon, pushing the door open with her shoulder, making the small bell atop it ring.

The inside of the salon reeked of hair products, different kinds of shampoo and conditioner, hair dye, gel, and many other scents. The light pink walls of the store made the white tables stand out - even if they only had magazines on them. The back wall was covered by vanities, filed side to side, symmetrically throughout the room. Atop the vanities, combs, scissors, hairdryers and mirrors lay, along with some other utensils Kikyo sure knew the name of, unlike me.

"So you don't deny it!" Kikyo giggled as she rammed me into a chair and spun me so I face the vanity's mirror. "You and Riou, finally getting together!?"

"I-It's not that kind of d-date, you guys!" I stammered.

"HA!" Kikyo laughed dramatically and looked me in the eyes through the mirror's reflection. "No way you're lying to Kikyo Namikaze!"

"How did you know, anyway!? I asked Yatarou not to tell!"

"And I didn't!" The Tour Guide defended himself, crossing his heart with his index finger. "Scout's honor."

I rolled my eyes and slap the side of the chair I was forcibly sat on as Kikyo threw a thin sheet over me and made way towards the tool rack. "Then how did sh-"

"Well, that's easy!" Kikyo interrupted with a proud smile. "I may be known as a SHSL Hairstylist, but I'm a mere hairdresser, if you think about it! Following the logic, what does that make me?"

"Why are you asking me difficult questions!?" I sighed, exasperated as I pout to the mirror, hoping to get her to change her mind.

Yatarou sat down, resting his elbows on his knees and tapped his feet excitedly. "It's not that difficult! Hairdressers are... master gossip specialists!"

"Ding, ding, ding!" Kikyo announced. "I'm a master gossiper, Tsukushi! I'm a better Information Broker than Sakurako when it comes to knowing relationships around a small group of people - it's just what hairdressers do!"

"That is some strange logic you got there, Kikyo..." I raise an eyebrow at her, but the other two just laugh away at my suspicions. "That being said, I don't need a haircut! It's not like we're going out on an actual date-date!"

"Oooooh, you're so wrong!" Yatarou boasted, before erupting into a naughty laughter.

"Now, stay quiet and let me do my magic!" she said as she started violently snipping away my hair, combing and gelling it a few times throughout the process. After a while, I simply shut my eyes and waited for the impending doom - from the first slash of the scissors, my fate was sealed... I was not getting a botched haircut. "Yatarou and I have joined forces in gathering information and discovered you and Riou have been quite close, lately!"

"Pulling a string here and there... we also find out you're both into guys!?" Yatarou feigned shock at the end of his statement, almost as if he was revealing some shocking breaking news in one of the tabloids on the table over at the left. "And not only that - into each other, as well!"

"Hooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooold on!" I stand up, stray hair falling from my shoulders and onto the ground, as I opened my eyes, careful not to glance at the mirror, even though the curiosity was killing me. "What do you mean, we're into each other! Riou isn't into me!"

A silence grew among us three, after the chaotic mayhem we had ensued in - which frankly I was having fun with, should my hair not be suffering the consequences.

Kikyo and Yatarou looked at each other and smirked at me, eerily similarly to each other. "Wh-What?" I ask, perplexed at the awkward silence that we'd dumped ourselves in.

"He's not into you? That's the problem here?" Yatarou asked, a lot calmer than before.

I simply tilted my head and nodded. "Yeah... that's a pretty big problem, you know? For us to be 'into each other', that'd mean he'd have to be into me."

"And that's the only thing?" Kikyo edged me over and I confirmed her question after a second too late of deliberation. When I realized what I implied, my palm collided with my mouth. My heart rate became quicker and quicker with every passing second as the shock of realization came into me. "Ha! Got you now, Tsukushi!"

"You've got a little crush on Riou, don't you!?" Yatarou and Kikyo couldn't have timed it better as their voices sounded off in perfect unison. It seemed unreal, like something out of a kids show, or the dramatic ending to a trial where the culprit had, after lots of back and forth debating, finally been caught. "I knew it, I freaking knew it!" Kikyo cheered happily, and then winked at the Tour Guide. "You owe me!"

Yatarou shrugged it off. "Heh, currency isn't a thing here anyway."

Kikyo tilted her head at first, but her jaw opened, and a shriek came out of her mouth. "Ah, you idiot! I totally forgot!" she lamented as she skipped a bit on the spot. "As soon as we leave, you're paying me dinner, I don't care."

"Like a date?" Yatarou winked and Kikyo blushed and looked away. "Ha! Kiddiiiiiing."

"Can someone explain to me what's happening!?" I interrupted the chattering going back and forth between the Hairstylist and Yatarou and they both turned to me with childish expressions on their faces. "You made a bet?"

"Yeah, something like that." Yatarou chuckled. "I bet you didn't like Riou as more than a friend. And she said you did."

"Well, why the hell would you drag me over here and do this?" I asked, confused. "If anything, you seemed like you were really getting into the mood of making this a date."

Yatarou scratched the back of his neck and smiled cheekily. "Frankly, I did it to see if you denied it and tried to run away or something. You never outright denied it, though, so I had to keep pushing you."

"And you?"

"I just used this as an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone!" Kikyo cheered with a smile. "I get to play around with someone's hair and we get a couple I have been hardcore wanting for a little while now."

...

...

"Stalkers." I laugh it off, and the other two joined in on it eventually. "You didn't have to do this, you know? You could've asked."

Yatarou and Kikyo sighed and deflated. "That'd be no fun..." Kikyo pouted. "Can I go back to your hair now?"

"This was still way over the top, you guys." I finally state as the time appointed for the 'date' drew near, and so did Riou's arrival.

Kikyo and Yatarou looked at each other, their shoulders no more than a few inches apart and they wrapped their arms around each other as they gazed at my new do. "Yeah, yeah, we know..." Kikyo chuckled. "But you look so good now! I'm sure Riou will fall head over heels for you."

"Which he already has!" Yatarou added with a playful wink before bursting into a fit of naughty laughs.

"Would you stop saying that?" I rolled my eyes and turned around to look at myself in the mirror. For the time I was sat down on that chair, I sure didn't expect Kikyo to simply take care of my split ends and give me a trimming.

I didn't want any crazy hairdos like a buzzcut or anything, mind you, I'm fine the way I am. But at the same time, I thought Kikyo would want something nuts like a mohawk or something... definitely not something simple like this.

Yatarou and Kikyo indiscreetly turned around as a new pair of footsteps grew closer. "Tsukushi, he's here!" the Tour Guide clapped his hands and squealed before going for a light sprint towards me, Kikyo by his side and hugging me tight. "Good luck, hotshot!"

"Don't mess this up, Tsukushi, I've already made t-shirts for the ship fans!" Kikyo joked - ot at least I hoped she did - before running away the opposite way Riou was coming from.

With a last breath of relief, I looked at myself in the mirror from the outside of the salon and swallowed my insecurity away. Why would I be insecure anyway? It's Riou! Yeah, I have a small crush on him, but at the end of the day, he's one of my best friends here. It's not like I need to be nervous over something like this 'date', as we've been calling it. It's like a friends' night-out! In broad daylight.

"Oh, hey, Tsukushi! I see you were early." Riou woke me up from my thoughts and I turned around facing him, and let me just tell you I didn't expect what I saw.

Riou's white hair was still wet from a shower, I presume, and his grey eyes stood out much more than I'd ever seen them, maybe because the dumb smile on his face made them pop out a little. His usual gym shorts were nowhere to be seen, as he'd traded the usual attire for a pair of black cargo shorts and - get this - a shirt. Well, a white tanktop, so his pores could still breathe and his muscles were on full display, but still, a shirt. An actual top.

I looked up and down Riou's body with a smile of disbelief. "Hey, hey, hey, Mr. Ryielo! You're looking mighty fine today."

"I-I just wanted a different look for a change..." he blushed and looked elsewhere with his eyes, but not his neck, his face in front view. "You dig it?"

"Hell yes I do! Look at you!" I approach him and give him a hug as a greeting - something we still hadn't taken care of when he arrived. "You look good" I reassured as I chuckled lowly and blushed.

"Um, Tsukushi, I have something to say." the mood then went from playful and flirty to unbelievably tense in the short span of the four seconds it took for the Boxer to exhale out his longwinded warning.

My head tilted out of instinct, but my heart started racing the clock in a matter of seconds. "Yeah...?" I nudged him to continue after a short pause of silence. Riou looked at me with his eyes glistening from the skylight above him and he didn't speak.

"Agh, I can't do it." Riou sighed before patting both his shoulders with the opposite hands and blew hot air out of his mouth stressfully. He groaned in a low volume and started to shake his head violently, slapping his cheeks twice before regaining his posture. "No, no, no, like hell I can't."

"Heh, that's the Riou I know and love." I let that last part slip by accident, but decided to let it be used as a figure of speech not to draw attention to me. "I have a good idea. Count to three and tell me. Like... 'One, two, three, I need to go to the toilet'. Once you start counting there's no turning back!"

The Boxer thought it over for a second and nodded with assertiveness. He inhaled deeply and exhaled even deeper, continuing a series of deep breaths until he had calmed himself down and mustered to courage to speak. "Here goes." he began, and my heart palpitations went back and I heard a loud hiss coming from all around the mall. "One, two, three..."

I love you.

...

I wanted to be happy, I truly wanted to.

I wanted to smile and jump with joy, and hug Riou tightly and never let him go.

To know he actually reciprocated my feelings was a shock, but frankly, I just wanted to go over and tell him and that I loved him too.

So why couldn't I move? Why couldn't I muster a single word?

My eyes grew drowsy and my legs turned wobbly.

Soon, I noticed Riou kneeling down, like he'd been stunned by something.

No, please, don't... please don't do this to me.

Let me tell him that I love him too, please.

I don't care about why we're feeling like this but... just let me say those words.

Riou crumpled to the floor, bare arms on the cold floor of the shopping center.

I knelt next to him and tried to wake him up, but fell short on strength to do it.

Next thing I knew, I collapsed onto his chest and couldn't stand up.

Riou's eyelids were slowly shutting, like curtains falling after a great show.

And with the last of my strength, I reached out to him and did it. I couldn't wait any longer.

I felt him smile into it.

And then my consciousness faded.

And I blacked out.

MORNING

Location: Lake House (Kitchen)

What is this feeling I have? My head's pounding, my heart's racing, and I can barely move.

This is hardly logical coming from me.

Looking around, I was able to ascertain that I was inside of my room, but the real question was: why? I was just out there with Riou, in the mall. Last thing I remember was standing there, talking to Riou and then... that happened. Next thing I know, I'm on the floor and losing consciousness... again, hardly logical.

In a daze, I walked around the house to discover every single bedroom door open and unlocked, and there was no one roaming the hallways or the rooms themselves.

W-Wait a minute.

"Maruko!" I started calling out for the Translator to hear me. No way someone let her off the restraints, right? "Maruko!" I called louder, but no response came to me. I sprinted down the stairs, yelling at the top of my lungs. Soon, a familiar face peeked from the kitchen and quickly retreated back inside, making me follow suit. "Chigusa?"

"YOOOOOOO, BRO!" she screamed excitedly, running in place. "WHAT IS UP, MY DUUUUUDE!?"

I was completely possessed by utter silence. My mind was blank, and shock ran through me. "Wh-Wh... huh?" I managed to stutter as the Gardener smiled widely at me. "Are... Are you feeling alright, Chigusa?"

"I'M BETTER THAN EVER, BOY, WHY'D YOU ASK!?" she loudly informed, making me flinch.

A quick succession of clicking sounds made me turn my head as three other people entered the kitchen. "Kiky-" was my first reaction but a sudden movement - or a sudden flurry of movements, I should say - made me stop. "E-Eita?"

"Yes?" he smiled with a wide grin, eyes squinting as he energetically tapped his feet away. "Is something wrong, Tsukushi?"

"Kikyo!?" I exasperatedly gasp and turn to her for aid, in my desperation.

She shrugged stressfully and looked at me with wide eyes and a confused, 'I-have-no-idea-what-to-do-or-what-is-even-happening' expression on her face. "I have no idea either!"

"Yeah, I can tell!" I sassily responded before looking at Eita as he danced his way to the island. "What is going on?"

"I have no idea!" Yatarou cried with a slumped back. "Kikyo and I were chilling at the music venue, and then we fell asleep and woke up at the lake house..."

I scratched my head and looked between both their eyes in confusion. "So it's exactly the same with you two... are you feeling well?"

"Yeah, we're feeling alright." Kikyo reassured before turning to the other two people in the room. "Thing is, how are Eita and Chigusa like this!? They're totally breaking character! Chigusa was always a shy, quiet girl... I know she's been working out and trying to be more energetic but this is ridiculous!"

"And Eita is smiling!" Yatarou stressed, as if that was our biggest problem - although to be fair, it was my biggest question. Eita expressing emotion was a foreign concept to all of us. "Where's everyone else?"

With an unknowing shrug, I shook my head. "No one's upstairs! Not even Shizuka or Maruko!"

"What about Kiyoshi? I bet he wouldn't miss his late morning rest." Yatarou tried but my denial sent him spiraling down into the deepest pits of bewilderment. "WHAT!? If Kiyoshi's up already, then something must be wrong! We have to do something!"

"Seriously?" Kikyo chuckled nervously. "Kiyoshi's lack of sleep tipped you off? After seeing Eita tapdance his way across Marine Views and Riou acting gay-er than ever?"

"R-Riou!?" I panicked, my heart racing as I heard he was acting off as well. "Wh-What happened to him!? What do you mean he's acting gayer than ever?"

Kikyo and Yatarou had a jolt of realization at the exact same time and looked at each other awkwardly before falling silent. Chigusa's screams were defeaningly loud contrasting the awkward quietness of the Tour Guide and the Hairstylist, and I was left there in awe, awaiting some kind of answer.

And that's when he came in.

A/N: A bit of a shorter chapter, I know, and with a bit of a delay to boot! This was mostly a Valentine's Day special chapter for you all, but since we can't have a purely 'filler' chapter, I decided to make this a bit more interesting. Here's a sneak preview of the new motive as well, and spoiler alert: it's not the Despair Disease from DR2, although it might have some similarities. It's a completely original motive I came up with - or so I think... haven't seen anyone else talk about it.

Again, I'm really sorry for the short chapter today, but I'll be back with more soon. The motive has been presented, let's see how everyone reacts to it!

QOTC: Have you got any original ideas for motives? And any guesses as to what mine is?

Happy reading and I'll see you next time. Until next chapter, Yamazaki out!