The Ultimate Spies (Part 2)

"Can I ask you a question, Sei?"

"Sure. What's up?"

Ichiro Morine, my little cousin and closest confidant, was at my house as per usual.

Almost everyday that I didn't have work, he and his parents would come over to hang out with me and my parents.

Because of this, Ichiro and I quickly became more like brothers than cousins.

The adults got to have their adult conversations and Ichiro and I would sneak off to my room to play games, watch movies, or just talk. Or, on days like today, he'd be doing god knows what while I tried to get some work done.

Ichiro was currently sitting at my desk, flicking specks of dust onto the floor as he lazily lounged in my desk chair.

"Out of everything...why'd you choose to be an actor?" He asked. "I mean, it sounds really fun and exciting, but also like a whole lot of work! Sometimes you don't get home until really late!"

I laughed, setting my phone down and smiling at him. "Well, Ichi...I guess it was more of a chance type of thing. When I was a kid, I saw that they were holding auditions for a few background roles here in Tokyo, so I figured I should try out! As you know, my parents were looking for any way to make money at the time so they also thought it'd be a good idea."

Ichiro nodded, tapping his fingers on the desk impatiently. "Yes, yes, I've heard this story before! But you've never told me what happens next; why'd you keep auditioning and pursuing roles after your first one?"

I looked up at the ceiling in thought. "Because...it was fun. I was good at it and people kept telling me I could be a star one day. And of course, it brought in extra money for my parents. Once I started making it big and booking lead roles, I definitely knew I had to keep going. Like you said, it was hard as hell and I'm exhausted a lot of the time, but it's worth it. Seeing the smile on my parents face as they watch me on TV week after week, and knowing they won't have to work a day in the rest of their lives makes my heart soar. And it's not that much work, you know. The only role I have right now is Prince Kirishima, who's only a major supporting character."

"Ok…" Ichiro slowly nodded. "I guess that's an ok answer. I was kinda hoping you'd tell me about all of the interesting people you've gotten to meet!"

"Tch, all you kids are worried about is the fame of it all nowadays…" I muttered, rolling my eyes. "Uh, yeah, you could say I've gotten to meet some cool people. When I booked Prince Kirishima, the princess of Novoselic came to visit the set of Sun Witch. Samantha something, I think...Anyways, apparently 90% of the people in her kingdom watch the anime, and they were super excited to see it developed into a live action. On premiere night, the king enacted a law where you had to tune into the show every week so the ratings would be good enough for it to not get cancelled."

"I guess that's pretty cool…" Ichiro said, twirling a piece of his dark brown hair. He then shook his head and smiled at me, his gray eyes filled with excitement. "Wait a sec, have you ever met … ?"

I rubbed my chin in thought. "Hm, let me see, let me see...oh! I've never met … personally but we've been to the same events on a number of occasions! Sayaka Maizono sang one of the intros for Sun Witch, and … just so happened to be at the premiere of the music video for it!"

"Oh wow, that's so cool!" Ichiro beamed. The 14-year old had always been a fan of the rich and famous side of me, so hearing about my interactions with celebrities was certainly a source of excitement for him. "Did you hear … is going to Hope's Peak next year?! I know you've always wanted to go Sei, and if you do happen to be invited, you'll be going to the same school as … !"

"That'd be awesome," I admitted. "... is definitely one of the biggest names out there. I bet she could help me further my career!"

"I hope it all works out for you, big bro!" Ichiro smiled. "You deserve it!"

"Thanks, Ichi." I smiled back. "I hope so too."

"Hey, snap out of it!"

Takahashi hit the top of my head.

"Ow…" I complained, immediately recoiling. "What was that for?!"

"You were just looking at me with some weird ass blank expression." He frowned, crossing his arms. "Weirdo."

Oh shit, that's right…

Back in the garden, Mari said a name that triggered something in me. It felt painful and nauseating, so I immediately left to get some air.

And just now, I had this weird flashback to a conversation between Ichiro and I. Why did I think about that just now? And who's this celebrity he loved so much that I've supposedly met before?

Damn it, I have no idea. It's like a dream, you can only remember it for a little while before it disappears from your memory and all you can remember is fragments.

For now, I should just forget about it. It can't be that important, right?

I picked myself off the ground and sighed. "Uh, hey. So, what brings you here? Come to explore the garden?"

"I already did, dumbass." Takahashi answered bluntly. "I came looking for you. I just finished talking with Takumi and apparently you neglected to inform him about what we talked about earlier." He said with an annoyed tone as per usual.

"Huh? I didn't even see him on this floor." I admitted. "And now that you mention it, my bad, I totally forget to tell Isami too…"

Takahashi sighed, shaking his head at me. "Whatever, I shouldn't have counted on you to do something useful anyway. Go to the pool room. Takumi should be there already. I'll grab Isami and we can get started."

He pushed past me and entered the garden.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at his annoyance. What's his problem? It's not my fault I didn't see Takumi.

Whatever, I shouldn't be surprised at Takahashi's attitude...I'll just be the bigger person and kill him with my classic Morine charm!

I forced a smile on my face and made my way to the pool room.

"Holy crap…"

I couldn't help but be taken aback at the cleanliness of the pool room. It almost looked cleaner than when it first opened up!

The water in the pool was crystal clear and sparkling blue, without a speck of blood in it. You would never think that just yesterday, the corpse of a young girl was floating on the surface...

The antigravity machines were all shiny and pristine, and the one Shiro had dented looked better than ever.

"Monokuma definitely knows how to clean up."

I looked up and spotted Takumi sitting on one of the bleachers. He waved at me and smiled. "Hey, Seizo! Taka told me you'd be here."

I smiled back, walking over to take a seat next to him. "Yup, I got roped into his plan too. I'm not sure why, to be honest with you. I'm just some guy with a pretty useless talent for a situation like a killing game…"

"Nonsense!" Takumi disagreed. "An actor such as yourself is definitely important to have on board with a plan like this! You're more sociable and friendly than anyone here, without being reckless and naive like myself, haha!"

"Reckless and naive are definitely words I'd use to describe you," I chuckled. "But I'd never thought you would admit outright that you are."

"Oh trust me, my brother has definitely made it known how impulsive I can be sometimes." Takumi laughed, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

I looked the escapist over, remembering how sickly he looked after he was released from the infirmary.

"Well, obviously." I laughed. "I'm just surprised you're standing. Monokuma told me you needed rest."

"Psh, who needs rest!" Cotton waved his hand in front of him while laughing. "I'm fine! I've been couped up in a room for what feels like forever, I didn't want to spend even more time resting."

As he spoke, I noticed dark bags under his eyes and the fact that the veins on his neck seemed to be more prominent than usual, a sign of weight loss.

Poor guy.

Now, Takumi looked just as he did when I met him. The color in his skin was back, he was a healthy weight, and his eyes are bag free.

It feels good knowing that he's back to his old self.

"Hey, where were you on the third floor?" I asked. "I didn't see you anywhere."

"Oh, I was doing some investigating in each of the exhibits in the zoo." Takumi answered, looking at his hands, which bore some small scratches. "I even tried to examine the internal panel of each of the robot animals, but they retaliated and knocked me over before I could get close to them…"

Damn, for real? I guess that the robot animals can do stuff other than their repeated motions. If you get too close to them, they'll knock you over. Takumi isn't a super small guy, so they clearly can pack a mean punch if they managed to knock him down.

Also, that explains why I didn't see him in the zoo. He was probably investigating one of the other exhibits while I was in the penguin exhibit.

"You really are willing to do anything to look for an escape, huh?" I laughed. "Even if it means you get hurt."

"Most definitely!" Takumi beams, bringing a hand up to his eye. "That's exactly how I got this scar, remember!"

Ah yes, I remember. After the kickball game, Takumi told me how he got his scar while escaping a burning building with his three friends.

Though, I can't help but wonder how exactly the Ultimate Escapist came to be.

"What exactly happened that made you the Ultimate Escapist?" I asked. "I know you had that one incident in the apartment building, but is there anything else that helped your rise to fame?"

"Well, it's a story that requires some background knowledge." Takumi started off, staring up at the ceiling and smiling. "You see, I've always been such a reckless kid. Always getting hurt while going on adventures, but never really caring. Luckily for me, I had my older brother Junpei to keep me in check. He's probably the reason I'm still alive today!"

"What about your parents?" I questioned. "They must've been worried about you constantly hurting yourself."

"Oh, I've never really known my parents." Takumi said. "They died when I was pretty young."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I sadly frowned. "And sorry for bringing it up."

"No worries!" Takumi said, flashing me a reassuring grin. "It's ok. I had a pretty good childhood, so there's no need to feel sorry for me. Like I said before, my brother is the one who raised me, but my grandma also helped out a little. Unfortunately, she couldn't do a whole lot due to her age, so it was mostly my brother who provided for me.

I don't think I told you before, but he was my most important person who Monokuma threatened in the last motive. When I saw the picture of him and I, I did think, just for a second, of maybe finding a way to win Traitor/Truce…

But I quickly decided against it. Junpei would never want me to hurt someone else if it meant saving him. He's the most selfless person ever, and gave up so much just to take care of me. Working two jobs, going to school, and making sure I didn't get myself killed."

"He sounds like a great brother." I smiled. "You must've felt lucky to have such a strong support system around you."

"Yeah!" Takumi nodded. "And it wasn't just Junpei. One day, I was exploring outside when these neighborhood kids approached me. The three friends I told you about before: Asuka, Aichi, and Haruhi! They tried to get me to play with them, but I wanted to go exploring that day.

They ended up following me, and the rest was history. We quickly became a tight knit quartet, with me as the leader, showing them new places and getting into all sorts of trouble with them!

After I healed from the apartment building incident, I heard about escape rooms from one of my classmates. It was a safer way of exploring and having fun, so I decided to go to one with my friends.

There I quickly excelled! It took me just 10 minutes to escape from an escape room that's supposed to take 2 hours! I was hooked.

I did escape room after escape room, and with each time, I escaped faster and faster.

Little did I know, but Asuka was recording me! She'd show people how fast and 'smart' I was, and uploaded the videos onto the internet. I didn't know it at the time, but my videos were garnering a huge following within the Escapist community.

One of my followers was one of the Hope's Peak scouts! They sent me an invitation, and now we're here!

Of course, I didn't get a chance to actually attend Hope's Peak yet because of this killing game, but I can't wait for that time to come. It'll take so much stress off of my brother, and I'll finally be able to give back to him instead of him constantly providing for me!"

"That sounds great, Takumi." I smiled. "I'm really rooting for you. You're a smart guy with a bright future and you deserve great things."

Takumi blushed, closing his eyes and grinning. "Heh, thanks Sei!"

Ouch...

Our peaceful conversation was interrupted by a certain ginger barging in, a petite black-haired girl in tow.

Takahashi looked none to be pleased to be walking next to Isami as he hurriedly made his way to the bleachers and took a seat.

Isami sighed, also taking a seat, a bit away from everyone else.

"What happened?" I asked. "You guys seem annoyed."

"...Norikazu and I were having a little bit of a heated discussion when Takahashi came to grab me." Isami explained. "Then when Takahashi intervened, it turned into a heated discussion between Norikazu and Takahahsi."

"Of course." I mumbled, rolling my eyes.

"Anyways, we're all finally here." Takahashi sighed, resting his head on the row of bleachers above him. His eyes were closed and his tone was serious. "You all understand how important this is, right? We can't screw this up or we're all dead fucking meat."

"I understand completely." I nodded.

"As do I." Takumi added, actually managing to maintain a serious expression.

"Of course…" Isami agreed.

"Well, I also hope you idiots know that this shit is going to take awhile." Takahashi continued. "There's no escaping tomorrow or even next week. This is a plan that needs to be carefully thought out and well executed, so we need to take a while to come up with a good ass plan that can't fail. And in the process, things aren't going to peachy fucking clean…"

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Takumi questioned, appearing genuinely confused.

Damn…

"It means we're probably going to lose some people along the way." Isami answered.

Phew, glad I don't have to explain that...Takahashi hasn't outright said that he expects people to die before we can enact our escape plan, but he's hinted at it pretty strongly.

As cruel as it sounds, I get where he's coming from. Although I don't want it to happen, it's too optimistic to think that absolutely no one will die before we can escape. Monokuma's motives are tempting, and not everyone is strong enough to resist them.

Of course, it's my hope that we all can escape no matter what, and I'll still do my best to fulfill that goal. However, I can't be too surprised if and when someone does end up dead…

"I see…" Takumi sighed. "So that's the catch of this whole thing. You don't want to escape with everyone."

"I never said I didn't want to escape with everyone, Cotton ball." Takahashi frowned, leaning back up to look at the escapist. "I'm saying that it's just not possible. You think weak minded assholes like Norikazu and Sonoda are going to resist tempting motives? You think spineless bitches like Shiro and Nadia are going to be strong enough to not become easy targets? It's not going to happen, no matter how much you wish it will."

Takumi frowned, glancing down at the ground in thought. "Still, I'm the Ultimate Escapist! If anyone can come up with a plan good enough to allow everyone to escape, it's me. I can make it happen, I promise!"

"That's a heavy promise to keep." I said, patting Takumi on the shoulder. "Still, if you say you can make it happen, then I believe you. I'll help you in whatever way you need."

"It'd definitely be more preferable to have everyone leave this place in one piece…" Isami said quietly. "So even though I'm not completely positive this plan will work, I'll help in whatever way I can."

Takahashi watched us with a curious expression. He didn't really look annoyed, but he still didn't look totally convinced in Takumi and I's elaborate plan to save everyone.

I wasn't either, but hell, I wasn't going to tell anyone that. We all need to be in good spirits if we want this plan to work.

And so, our first meeting came to a close. It wasn't super eventful or anything, just some basic information about how the plan is going to go down.

-The plan is going to take awhile. It's not something that can happen by next week, for example.

-Takumi will try his best to use his talents as the Ultimate Escapist to come up with a full proof plan that guarantees everyone's survival.

-Isami will use her smarts and Ultimate Tinkerer talent to assist in the plan, including possibly disabling anything from Monokuma meant to stop our escape.

-I will be the glue of the group, helping out in any way I can and keeping us all together if any arguments arise (between Takumi and Takahashi most likely…).

-Takahashi is the leader, making sure everything goes according to plan and also approving every step of the process. He might not be as knowledgeable about making escapes like Takumi is, but he's more rational and level headed than the white haired boy, so he can help bring him down to earth if he gets too outlandish.

So far, this is the foundation of our little group. We'll have many more meetings and opportunities to strengthen the plan, and we'll probably add some members to our ranks along the way. Unfortunately, we may also lose members along the way…

For now though, I won't worry about it. We have a good thing going here, and I don't want to even think about the negative aspects of this killing game getting in the way.

"Ok, sounds good to me!" Takumi smiled.

"Are we free to go now?" Isami asked.

Takahashi rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, go do whatever the fuck you want now. I'll let you guys know when the next meeting is. And remember, keep your mouths fucking shut; I don't want any of you blabbing any of this to anyone. That includes the people you're closest to, like Shiro, Norikazu, Akumu, and Clara."

"Roger that." I nodded.

"Trust me, I won't say a thing." Isami promised, writing in her journal.

"Hey, we should have a name for this!" Takumi proposed. "Like a secret code name that only we know the meaning of!"

"Uh, why?" Takahashi asked. "Sounds pretty useless to me."

"So if we ever need to talk about it in public, no one will get suspicious." Takumi replied.

"I guess I get it." I nodded. "We can talk about it in front of the others without them knowing what it means. That also includes Monokuma too. If he finds out about this, we'll surely get injected with depiscocide."

"And judging by what happened to Takumi, that won't be good for any of us." Isami said. "Not only for our health, but also for the plan. If one of us is hospitalized in the infirmary, then we'll be missing a critical part of our group."

"Fine, whatever." Takahashi said. "Come up with whatever you want, just as long as it's not stupid."

Hm...

"Hey, Taka," I called. "What made you think about this whole escape plan thing in the first place?"

"...I guess it was that spy girl." Takahashi admitted. "It always occurred to me to look for an escape since we first woke up in here, but her doing something as bold as taking that note from Silver and killing him just because she thought he was the mastermind really lit a fire under my ass to do something more, even if it's risky."

Geez, so Silver's murder inspired him?

I guess I kinda get it though...Ritsu made a really bold decision when she killed Silver just cause she found a note on him. She didn't even ask him about it or anything, just handed him a poisoned Long Island iced tea and called it a day.

"Then...for a codename, how about we honor her?" I suggested. "It could also make it sound less suspicious if we're constantly talking about the plan; people will just think we're talking about her."

"Ooo, that sounds good!" Takumi nodded. "I'm on board!"

"So then what would this 'codename' be?" Isami questioned. "Her name or her codename, Noir?"

"No, I think that's a little too obvious." I said. "How about something that makes sense for the type of group we are? We're looking to make a daring escape, and want to do it as discreetly and secretive as possible...Like a spy, which Ritsu was! How about we call ourselves 'the Ultimate Spies' and when we're talking about the plan itself we can say something like 'damn guys, don't you miss the Ultimate Spy', which could be a signal that it's time to head here."

"Sounds stupid but sure." Takahashi agreed. "Ultimate Spies it is."

"Aw man, I was kind of hoping for something a little cooler, but Ultimate Spies is also pretty good!" Takumi chuckled.

"It makes no difference to me." Isami shrugged, looking nonchalant as ever. How very unsurprising to hear.

Once we were finally done, we all went our separate ways. The first meeting of the Ultimate Spies officially came to a close, and we were let back into the normal society of the HFH Enterprise.

Bonus Scene: The Princess and the (Not Really a) Pauper

"I just wanted to see what you guys were about, that's all."

I had just entered the dining room to spot a most unusual sight.

The usual suspects, Mari, Clara, Nadia, and Sonoda were sitting at their table eating lunch. However, it appears an unlikely person decided to join them!

Koko was sitting next to a suspicious looking Mari, who looked none too pleased to be sitting next to the food critic.

"I've been nothing but a bitch to you during our time here, why do you suddenly want to be friends now?" Mari questioned.

Nadia was nervously watching the scene while Clara and Sonoda were minding their business. The former was eating her lunch and reading a book while the latter was messing with his e-Handbook.

"After losing Ritsu and Hiiro, I realized just how short life is." Koko admitted, smiling at the runway model. "I don't want to spend the rest of our days here arguing and not getting along. Why don't we get to know each other, and maybe even be friends?"

Mari blushed, looking a bit flustered. "U-Uh, that could never happen! You're just some poor food critic who should consider going on a diet."

"Poor?" Koko repeated with a laugh. "Well, I don't want to brag or be pretentious or anything, but I actually do quite well for myself. Between appearing on TV and doing magazine interviews, I earn a pretty sizable income."

"...Seriously? I never would have guessed..." Mari asked, genuinely shocked. "But...your fashion sense is so awful."

"Thanks." Koko deadpanned, her smile faltering slightly. She quickly cleared her throat and put back on her usual facial expression. "I've never really cared for fashion, to be completely honest. I do enjoy unique accessory pieces, though."

"Yes, your accessories are certainly unique." Mari remarked, looking at the hair pieces decorating Koko's ginger hair. "It isn't the worst thing I've seen, however. I'd just prefer a simpler look for someone like yourself."

"What do you mean?" Koko questioned, tilting her head. "You don't think I should wear something more elaborate to counteract my plain appearance?"

Mari shook her head, looking at Koko from head to toe. "Your appearance is not plain. Your hair is a bright shade of red, your eyes are a bright blue and your skin is smooth and fair. All you need is an outfit to compliment your appearance and you'll be almost as pretty as me."

"W-Wow Mari, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me!" Koko blushed.

Mari quickly rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I'm not trying to be nice, I'm just giving you some advice that I've picked up on from being a model."

"Still, you using your talent to help someone other than yourself really speaks volumes." Koko smiled. "I'm sure there's good in you Mari, and I'll do whatever I can to bring it out!"

"I-I'd like to help as well." Nadia nervously spoke up. "I also think you're a good person, Mari!"

Mari looked incredibly flustered as she glanced between Koko and Nadia. "H-huh?! You're not supposed to be helping me, I'm supposed to be the one helping you two to not be total disasters!"

"Well looks like things have changed." Koko said triumphantly. "I'm determined to make you a better person, starting today!"

"Me too!" Nadia added.

Mari shook her head and collapsed in her chair as if in defeat. "Someone get me a xanax…" She mumbled.

I laughed as I watched Koko continue to talk to Mari. She's a good person, and I know she wouldn't be the type of person to abandon one of her own. I don't think she and Mari will become best friends or anything, but maybe by interacting with Koko, Mari will become slightly more tolerant of others.

I felt bad for eavesdropping on them, so I took my leave.

My next stop was the computer lab. It's been a while since I've tried my hand at cracking the password, so I figured I give it another shot (cause why the hell not).

When I entered, I was surprised to see a group already there.

Fran, Evelyn, Leonia, and Jack (for some reason), were sitting at one of the tables, all typing away on the computer.

"Hey guys." I waved. I took a seat at the table next to them.

"Ni hao, Seizo." Evelyn said, a bit dejectedly.

"We've been trying to crack this computer password for the past half an hour, but nothing is working." Fran sighed, leaning back in her chair.

"It is quite frustrating." Leonia remarked. "When I first investigated this room with Ritsu, I was positive that we'd find out the password in no time flat. However, this is getting a bit ridiculous now. It's been two weeks already and we have yet to make any progress whatsoever."

"I've tried everything from numbers to dictionary words, but no dice." Jack sighed, still typing away.

I nodded. "Yeah, it's definitely getting annoying. I thought we'd have it by now considering how often we've tried, but then you also have to remember that the password could literally be anything."

"Ah, 'anything'. There's one I haven't tried yet." Jack remarked. He typed 'anything' into the computer and…

Beep.

"...What was that?" Evelyn asked slowly.

Jack's eyes were wide. "I, uh, I d-don't know! But it's loading something now!"

The usual composed trio of Evelyn, Jack, and Leonia were now stunned in silence.

What the hell's happening?!

I quickly stood up and ran over to Jack's computer.

Holy fucking shit…

HOLY FUCKING SHIT!

What used to be a simple screen that displayed "enter password", now said "loading"!

"Oh my gosh!" Fran gasped. "Does this mean that we…"

"Unlocked one of the computers!" Leonia exclaimed. "We really unlocked one of the computers!"

"So the password was 'anything' this entire time?!" Evelyn exclaimed. "This entire time we've been saying that the password could be anything, and it is actually, literally 'anything'!"

I'm stunned.

Shocked.

Appalled!

How the hell is this happening right now?!

We just came up with 'the Ultimate Spies' to try and come up with an escape plan, but now we might not even have to!

With a computer, we could contact authorities and let them know what's happening to us!

Damn, my heart's beating a mile a minute! This is by far the most exciting thing to happen on the ship so far.

"Why is it taking so long to load?!" Fran complained. "Come on, come on, come on!"

"It doesn't matter how long it takes, we've already gotten over the hard part," Leonia said. "Now all we need to do is email someone! There's also websites we could use to make a call, or we could download an application like Stype or Accord and message someone!"

"I can't wait to get out of here!" Evelyn cheered. "This is so amazing, truly the best thing to happen to us! We're almost home every-"

Beep.

…

…

...

"...It's wrong." Jack said in a dry tone.

Lo and behold, he was right. There was the big, usual 'X' on the screen that indicated the password was incorrect.

There was an additional message below the 'enter password' box now:

You're entering too many passwords too fast! The computer is having a hard time keeping up.

…

…

…

...

…

…

I left without a word.

I was too depressed to look any of them in the eye.

The rec center ought to cheer me up.

I haven't been in a while, but there's plenty of things to do to keep me entertained and help me forget about the depressing incident from earlier...

My favorite trio was sitting on one of the couches, while Akumu was leaning against one of the book cases, reading a book.

I approached the cryptid enthusiast first.

"Whatcha reading?" I asked, taking a seat next to him as I peered over his shoulder.

Akumu smiled, closing the book to show me the cover.

Timelapse: A Collection of Short Stories

By Daisuke Serizawa

"Short stories, huh?" I nodded. "I think I've actually heard of this guy before."

"Yeah, he's a very popular serial novelist." Akumu said, turning the cover over so I could see the back side. "I'm a huge fan of his stories."

As with every book, the back cover bore an image of the author. This Daisuke guy is a nerdy type it seems.

His burgundy hair is neat and pristine, and his aquamarine eyes looked at me with a sense of smugness (I sense he's the type of guy who knows he's smart). His eyes are shielded by a pair of brown glasses, and he wears a simple brown sweater, presumably in an effort to make him look even more put together.

For some reason, I couldn't help but feel sad as I looked at him. Something told me this guy didn't have it easy, and his future didn't look very bright.

I'm not sure why.

As I mentioned before, I know this guy is popular and does well for himself, but I just couldn't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen to him.

I quickly shook my head. He'll be fine, he's an intelligent and popular author, so all should be well with him.

"How're you holding up?" I asked Akumu. It's been a day without Satoko (well a little longer for me and Akumu considering we were locked up), and although Akumu seems to be back to his usual self, I can tell that he still misses her.

Akumu sadly smiled, setting his book down and looking at the ground. "Well, I'd be lying if I said I was completely all right. A part of me definitely misses her, and it's times like this I wish she was still here so I could talk to her. But don't worry about me, Crim! I'll be fine, I have you by my side after all!"

I smiled back at him, patting him on the shoulder. "I know how you feel. I miss everyone we've lost so far, I'd give anything to talk to them again. But as long as I have friends like you, I'll be just fine."

Akumu is the first person I met after waking up in here. We'll always have that connection no matter what. I'd be devastated if he were to die, so I'll try my best to keep him safe as a member of the Ultimate Spies.

Akumu and I caught up. I told him about my experience exploring the third floor and he told me his. Apparently, he was actually a fan of the robotic zoo and invited me to come with him and Clara to go exploring…

We'll see about that.

Bonus Scene: No Longer Cold

After our chat, I had to stop and say hi to Norikazu, Isami, and Shiro, of course.

Thankfully, all seemed tame as the three played a game of cards.

"Hey guys," I greeted, taking a seat next to Isami.

"H-Hi Seizo!" Shiro smiled, looking very happy. "We're playing a g-game, do you want to join us?"

"No, it's ok, I'll just watch!" I answered. "You guys are already in the zone, I don't want to distract you or anything."

"Trust me, these two could use some distracting." Norikazu said, shaking his head at Isami and Shiro.

The tinkerer and the occultist were staring intently at their cards, looking very focused and determined.

However, judging by the scoreboard on the table, they were losing...by a lot.

"...I don't usually play card games." Isami admitted, still messing with her hand of cards. "It's actually quite difficult."

"Y-yeah, seriously…" Shiro sighed.

Norikazu did something that shocked me. He laughed!

"You two are so innocent." He smiled. "I almost forget that neither of you have really gotten a proper chance at a childhood."

"As an orphan, I didn't really have time to be a child." Isami sadly remarked.

"And I was too busy being bullied and neglected to r-really do anything f-fun." Shiro said with a downcast expression.

I frowned. Was Norikazu patronizing them or something?

"Well, now you two are here with me." Norikazu said, setting down his cards and looking at Shiro and Isami. "And I won't let you two feel those feelings of despair again. You may annoy every one of my nerves sometimes, but from the time I've spent with you, I wouldn't have it any other way."

Shiro's face instantly turned red. "N-Norikazu…"

Isami smiled. "Are we finally melting your cold heart, Norikazu?" She teased.

Norikazu huffed and crossed his arms. "My heart is not cold! I just prefer to keep it guarded sometimes…"

"Oh, I know." Isami nodded. "While Shiro was missing, you were more worried than me. Didn't you almost cry? I think I wrote that down in my notebook if I'm remembering correctly…"

"Almost cry?!" Norikazu repeated, shaking his head. "No way! I would never shed any tears in front of you all!"

"S-So you did so in private?" Shiro joked, smiling innocently.

Norikazu facepalmed. "Why am I friends with you two again?"

Phew, this day has been exhausting.

I was currently lounging in my bed, trying to fall asleep. The night time announcement hadn't sounded yet, but I needed to go to bed early in order to wake up early for the meeting with the HFH Enterprise Official Bank.

Today we explored the third floor and I had my first meeting with my fellow Ultimate Spies.

I bit my lip, feeling a sense of dread. I want this to work so badly...but I can't help but feel that it won't.

Damn it...Please, Takahashi, Takumi, and Isami. Prove me wrong. Let's come up with a full proof plan that goes off without any hindrances.

All the people left on this ship are so dear to me. I don't want to lose any of them, but I feel like I will…

And sooner rather than later.

A/N: And that's it. Whadya guys think? The motive is next, so get ready for some bloodshed. Any predictions on those who won't make it past this chapter?