The Ultimate Spies (Part 4)

I've been on countless stages.

In front of plenty of crowds.

And through it all, I've always managed to keep my cool; smiling and waving as my heart is filled with joy from being the center of attention (I swear I'm not a narcissist).

But this is something completely different. My legs are shaking in fear as I stare at the barely visible figures of my classmates, sitting in their chairs watching me about to experience my darkest fear.

My darkest fear…

What even is it? The only thing I can really think of is my irrational fear of tight spaces.

Likes: DVDs, free food

Dislikes: Paparazzi, tight spaces

I frowned at the information this phone seemed to know about me. My height, weight, and blood type were all exactly correct, and I mean, I guess that my likes and dislikes are true…

There's a reason this is open...I need to check to see where this vent leads to.

Sweat started to form on my forehead, and my heart was beating a mile a minute. I hated tight spaces, especially air ducts that I had no idea where they lead to.

But, this was for Satoko! Can't let my fears get the best of me now...

Still have no clue how our kidnappers found out.

But that's just some irrational fear...not something to kill over.

Monokuma made it sound like experiencing these fears would be traumatizing enough to make us want to kill.

So what the hell could he possibly have up his sleeve?!

Without any warning, I felt myself being pushed down onto a chair.

"Ouch!" I yelped as someone grabbed my head.

If this were a normal kidnapping situation I'd try and resist, but the ankle monitor weighing down my leg kept me perfectly still. If I so much as moved I feared Monokuma would pull a Takumi on me.

Suddenly, the lights switched on. My classmates looked at me with stunned expressions.

I seemed to be strapped to a chair, completely immobilized. What's more, for some reason someone or something was gripping the top of my head tightly.

Hurts like a bitch.

"Guys?" I nervously asked the audience in front of me. "What's going on?"

Monokuma giggled from behind me. Unfortunately I couldn't see him to see what was going on so I was hoping my classmates could give me some info of what I was about to experience.

"Go ahead!" Monokuma said. "You can tell him! He'll find out soon enough anyways."

Clara looked up at me with a concerned expression. "You can obviously tell that you're strapped to a chair, but what you can't see is…"

"Some sort of device on the top of your head." Akumu frowned. "There's wires connecting to it that lead to a giant monitor that's appeared behind you."

A giant monitor? Behind me? What's the point if I can't see?

"Monokuma, what is the meaning of this?" Isami asked. "You've kept us in suspense long enough."

"Yes, you're making me nervous…" Nadia admitted. "What are you planning on doing to Seizo?"

"You better not hurt him." Takumi glared, pointing a finger at the mechanical bear. "If you do, I'll hate you forever!"

"You didn't already hate him?" Norikazu deadpanned.

"Hopefully this doesn't damage Seizo's face," Sonoda said thoughtfully. "An actor's face makes them their money!" Ok, not so thoughtfully…

Monokuma cackled. "You all worry too much! Remember, I'll never do anything to physically injure you. Mentally? Of course! But I won't lay a paw on you as long as you follow the rules."

"That is true…" Leonia nodded, biting her lip in worry. "I suppose we just have to let Monokuma do this to him. And as long as the motive is active, it'll also happen to all of us."

"Don't die on me." Jack said sternly, his eyes empty of emotion. "Satoko wouldn't want you to…"

"Without further ado, allow me to conduct the first round of Seizo Morine's event in Monokuma's Face Your Fear Challenge Extravaganza!" Monokuma announced, fiddling with some controls on the device on top of my head.

My heart was beginning to beat quicker, and I could feel myself start to shake in fear.

Goddamn it, why did I have to go first?!

I closed my eyes, trying to calm myself down. I can do this...Monokuma wouldn't do anything to physically injure me, so I'll be fine.

Right?

"In 3, 2, 1!" Monokuma counted down.

At 1, he pressed something onto my headset…

And my eyes immediately closed, my consciousness leaving my body.

"Sei...Sei...SEI!"

I awoke to a very harsh punch to my shoulder.

I opened my eyes…

And they immediately teared up.

Sitting next to me was my younger cousin, Ichiro Morine.

"Geez Seizo, are you going to sleep the whole way there?" Ichiro laughed. "Your parents have been calling you for the past 10 minutes!"

"My...parents…?" I managed to choke out, my throat tightening as I slowly started to cry.

"Yes, your parents." I heard a voice say with a chuckle.

That voice…

I took a moment to observe my surroundings.

I was in my car.

Well, my family's car.

It's a three row van. Ichiro and I are seated in the back row, and…

My parents…

They're in the row in front of me!

"What's gotten into you, dear?" My mom asked in a concerned tone, turning around to look at me. "Are you not feeling well?"

"He isn't sick," My dad protested. "He must be sad about moving away from his family! I know Hope's Peak isn't too far away, but it still is quite a drive if we want to go and visit."

"Hope's Peak?" I repeated, my eyes wide. I couldn't manage to say anything else other than what they were saying.

"Mhm!" Ichiro excitedly nodded. "I can't believe you got in! And your first day is less than a week away, you are so lucky. Don't worry Sei, I'll be joining you one day!"

This all feels so real, but…

"This can't be real." I sadly frowned, finally regaining some of my composure. "...I mean, I didn't even get to tell you guys I got invited to Hope's Peak, let alone pack up and start moving there…"

"What are you talking about sweetie?" My mom laughed. "Of course you told us! I still remember how excited you were when you did."

"You couldn't wipe your smile off your face for days." My dad added.

"But…" I narrowed my eyes. "No. That can't be...I went through so much on the HFH Enterprise. That was definitely real. Silver, Ritsu, Satoko, Hiiro...I'll never forget th-"

"Ooo, aren't those some of your classmates?!" Ichiro asked. "I looked some of them up on the internet, just to see who'd be in your class. Ritsu Kuroyama, she's so cool! And that Satoko girl too, she's ridiculously smart! Not sure who this 'Silver' person is, though…"

I looked at him in astonishment. Ichiro knows who they are? But how can that be? I didn't even know who they were before meeting them on board the HFH.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, but nevermind that." My mom smiled. "You'll be fine and you'll do great. Remember, there's no need to feel nervous or homesick. If you need us, we'll be a phone call away."

"Don't forget Seizo, we didn't always have this luxurious life." My dad said, motioning to the driver of the van. "And because of that, we likely have a stronger sense of how much family means than most of your classmates and their families do. You may get caught up in the world of Hope's Peak, but deep down you will grow to miss us. And that's ok! Give us a call anytime and we'll come running."

"I'll miss talking to you everyday," Ichiro admitted, his eyes beginning to water. "But I know that this is for the best. You're gonna be an even bigger star than you already are after this, Sei!"

This…

Has to be real.

It feels so real.

Their faces, their voices, the things they're saying…

This is my family. There's no doubting it.

So…

Was everything that happened on the HFH Enterprise a bad dream? My brain was filled with thoughts of my classmates and anxiety about Hope's Peak so I dreamt about what my classmates might be like and what we might go through…

Damn, I have a pretty twisted imagination if that's the case.

I kept waiting to wake up.

Be told that this is all fake, but..

Nothing happened. My parents stared at the road ahead while Ichiro tapped away on his smartphone, on some app called "Accord".

I took a deep breath…

And smiled.

This is good.

This is right.

This is what's supposed to happen.

I'm going to Hope's Peak. I'll meet my classmates for real this time, and live a normal, happy, and fun school life.

Without the killing game.

I turned to Ichiro. "I'll miss you too, I-"

CRASH

…

…

…

Cough.

Just as I was about to finish my sentence, I heard a loud screech and felt the car crash into something, then flip.

I felt hot, and it became hard to breathe.

...

I slowly opened my eyes.

"Sei...zo…"

Ichiro was next to me, dangling upside down like I was. His head was stuck in the window, which had shattered. Crimson blood flowed down from the top of his head onto the roof of the car, and he looked at me with a pained expression.

"ICHIRO!" I screamed.

I was a little disoriented but relatively ok. The car had begun to set on fire, and smoke slowly filled the vehicle, making my eyes sting and my lungs burn.

No…

This can't be happening!

After hearing about car accident horror stories when I was a kid, I began to dread being in the car, fearful that I might get into one.

I grew out of it, but being in this situation is causing that anxiety to rise up again.

"H-Hold on!" I said, in between my coughs. I shakily moved my hand around, searching for Ichiro's phone to call for help.

But I couldn't feel anything besides broken glass.

"Damn it!" I yelled, my lungs getting hotter and hotter.

That's when I remembered my parents. "Mom! Dad! Are you ok?"

It was hard to see with all the smoke so I had to squint.

Which is when I noticed my parents weren't in the car anymore, having been flung out through the windshield along with the driver.

I spotted their limp bodies on the road.

"What...the fuck…" I was shocked. Unable to look away. My parents...the people who've raised me for 17 years...are dead?

This…

Can't be happening…

"S-Sei…" Ichiro sniffed, turning his head to look at me. Tears and blood stained his face, and the bits of glass left him with many cuts. "C-Can you hold...my hand?

"Hold your hand?" I repeated, finally turning my eyes away from my parents. "W-Why?" I was crying and coughing, barely able to speak.

"I...don't feel well…" Ichiro admitted, his eyes hazy and dull. No…

"Pl-please, hold on!" I said, reaching my hand out to grab his. "I-Ichi!"

"I'm s-sorry, Sei…" Ichiro said in a low voice.

Damn it!

The burning in my lungs was becoming unbearable. I couldn't speak anymore.

I helplessly watched as Ichiro's eyes closed and his hand slowly went limp in mine.

This can't be happening.

This isn't real.

I don't want this.

I don't want my family to die.

My parents.

Ichiro.

And…

Me...I'm getting sleepy…

But why?

I didn't hit my head like Ichiro...or get flung out of the car like my parents…

I coughed.

Oh. That's right. Smoke inhalation…

My lungs feel like they're on fire, and my eyes are so heavy.

I'm getting tired.

I think I'll rest my eyes for a bit…

Yes…

Just for a little while…

…

…

…

My eyes shot open and I gasped for air.

I looked around, seeing my classmates stare at me with wide eyes.

What the hell just happened?!

I was back with my family, on my way to Hope's Peak. Then we got into a car accident, which just so happens to be…

"One of my greatest fears…" I realized. "You played on my fear of car accidents from when I was kid and made me experience one through virtual reality, didn't you?" I angrily asked after spotting Monokuma laughing his ass off in my peripheral vision.

"BWHAHA HAHAHAHAHA, that's right!" Monokuma cackled. "Everything you just went through was completely simulated! The device on your head detects your mind's greatest fears and creates a world based off of them. Not only did it pick up on your fear of car accidents, it also decided to play on your fear of losing your family! How great is that?"

I could barely speak. All of that really was fake…

But it felt so real! Losing my family, breathing in the smoke, and finally dying from smoke inhalation.

I looked at myself. I was completely fine. My clothes were intact and I didn't have a mark on me. Additionally, my breathing was normal and I didn't feel the burning sensation in my chest anymore. However…

I'll never forget how I felt in those moments. My heart physically hurts, like it's been broken into two. That was so terrible.

I felt a lump in my throat, and my eyes started to water. But…

I couldn't let everyone see me like this. I may be hurting right now, but I don't want to scare anyone into being afraid of going through this. That's exactly what Monokuma is trying to do.

Time to act my ass off…

"That was nothing." I smiled. "If it's fake, why would it scare me into killing someone?"

"A-are you s-sure, Seizo?" Shiro shakily asked, his eyes brimming with tears. "We saw everything t-that happened to your family…"

"You did?!" I asked in surprise. Ah, that must be what the monitor behind me is for. They saw everything through my eyes, which must have further instilled fear into them.

That's the point of Monokuma's Face Your Fear Challenge Extravaganza. Witness someone else's fear and grow anxious at the thought of you having to go through yours.

Anxious enough to kill so you don't have to.

"How terrible," Nadia sniffed. "I'm sorry you witnessed that happening to your own family, Seizo."

"That was awful." Fran said, surprisingly crying. Evelyn was patting her back in comfort. "I would never wish that upon my worst enemy, even if that was fake."

"This truly is a cruel motive." Leonia frowned. "One could easily fall for it and kill."

"Hey, don't jinx it!" Takumi worriedly said. "...I don't want anyone else to die."

"I don't want to go through what Seizo did," Nadia quietly said. "B-but I won't kill just to prevent it!"

"I won't either." Evelyn nodded confidently. "I'm strong enough to resist this motive. I won't let it get to me!"

"My, my!" Monokuma exclaimed, taking the device off of my head and unstrapping me from the chair. I quickly walked off the stage and sat in my chair as he spoke. "You are all sooo confident! However, I'm sure that there's a few of you who are shaking in your boots right now, considering offing one of your 'friends' so you don't have to go through any pain!"

Everyone stayed quiet.

"Upupupu, that's exactly what I thought." Monokuma laughed. "Well then, our time together has been short, but I have to catch my favorite Switch streamer's stream! He's playing this game where a group of teenagers are kidnapped and are forced to kill each other!"

"Hey, that sounds awfully familiar…" Koko deadpanned.

Monokuma tilted his head. "No it doesn't."

"Yeah, it almost sounds like the situation we're in." Clara frowned.

Monokuma tilted his head the other way. "No it doesn't."

"Did you kidnap us to recreate your favorite streamer's video game?" Akumu nervously laughed.

Monokuma shook his head. "No I didn't. Anywaysss, I have one last bit of information for you!"

Leonia raised a brow, crossing her arms. "What might that be?"

"Well," Monokuma smiled. "Tomorrow...get ready to witness multiple events!"

"Huh?!" Clara gasped. "Multiple? I thought it was going to be one a day."

"Then it'd take 20 days to get through all of you!" Monokuma said. "Doing a few a day is much more ideal, you see?"

"Is there any particular order you're going in?" Norikazu asked.

Monokuma giggled. "Maybe, maybe not! Who knows? Anyways, I really do have to get going. See you all later!"

He did his weird little spin thing, and disappeared before our very eyes.

After he left, the atmosphere in the gym became heavy. It almost felt like when the killing game was initially announced. We were all apprehensive, and most likely had the same thought in our minds:

This time, the motive isn't about if someone will fall for it.

It's a matter of when someone will fall for it.

Fear is one of the darkest human emotions. No one wants to go through any pain or witness something awful.

People will do anything to escape fear. And in our unique case: killing someone and getting away with it doesn't just mean you escape the fear caused by this motive. It also means you get a one way ticket back to Earth, where you no longer have to experience any of the fear caused by the killing game as a whole.

Tomorrow is going to be a hard day. More than one person is going to go through their fear, and we're all going to be forced to watch.

"Seizo, are you ok?" Akumu asked with a sad smile. "I know you say you are, but going through what you just did would make anyone hurt."

"I'm fine." I smiled reassuringly. "It sucked and was scary, but it was all fake."

"Still…" Jack actually looked quite concerned for me, probably the most emotion I've seen from the card dealer other than anger or sadness. "You saw your own family's lives be taken right in front of you. Even if it wasn't real, the image is still burned into your brain, isn't it?"

I narrowed my eyes.

Ichiro's bloody face…

My parents limp bodies…

All the smoke…

I cleared my throat. "U-Um, yes, it's going to stay with me for awhile, but I'll be ok."

"Good." Mari smirked. "I'm not a fan of mopey guys. One reason I can never be with someone like Jack or Shiro!"

"I-I'm mopey?" Shiro asked in surprise.

"Well, um, I'm going to lay down for a bit." I said, beginning to feel quite hot. "I think the device takes a toll on your mind, and it's making me really tired."

"I can walk you to your room if you want," Clara said, standing up from her chair. "We don't want you to fall over or anything."

"No, no," I quickly shook my head. "I can do it myself. See you later guys!"

I quickly stood up and walked to exit the announcement room, everyone awkwardly staring at me.

Once I left the announcement room, I didn't stop. I jogged from the cafeteria to the first hallway, then to the bedroom hallway, and finally into my room.

I don't want anyone to see me like this. I can't let them know how I really feel. I'm supposed to be the picturesque figure of hope. The guy who smiles and makes people feel better, the guy who's not the smartest but helps whenever he can, the guy who vowed to help end this killing game without losing anyone else.

That's the guy I want people to see. Not this broken down guy whose heart is in pain...

I slowly approached my bed, and sat down.

Crash…

Fire…

Ichiro…

Mom…

Dad…

I sniffed, laying down and burying my face into my pillow. Tears began to flow down my face, and before long I was crying like I've never cried before.

I just want a break from it all…

Takahashi

"What're you going to do about this, Takahashi?" Nadia asked, pointing to the now empty chair on the stage with the device on it.

I shrugged. "There's nothing I can do. I may be the leader but I can't single-handedly get you guys to resist the motive. All I have to say is: look at Seizo. The guy just saw his family die in front of him and even felt the pain of dying himself, but he's doing fine."

"That's true," Takumi smiled. "If he can recover from his event in Monokuma's Face Your Fear Challenge Extravaganza, then I'm sure we'll be completely fine too!"

Akumu looked unconvinced, which was pretty surprising given his usual cheerful demeanor. "I'm not so sure...is Seizo really ok?"

"Who cares?" A voice said from the back of the announcement room.

The hell? Mari is sitting right next to me so I know she didn't say that, but who else besides her and I have the balls to?

We all turned around, and realized who had come out to play.

"Kuro…" Isami glared.

Shiro had wandered off to the back of the announcement room just a little while after Seizo left to take a breather, and it looks like Kuro was able to take control of him while no one was looking.

"Sup?" Kuro smirked. "You guys miss me?"

"Hell no," Sonoda scoffed. "I honestly forget about you! Why are you just now taking over Shiro after that stunt you pulled with Satoko and Hiiro?"

The last time we saw Kuro was back at the trial.

"Satoko, Hiiro, or whoever the hell else. If it's convenient for me, then I could care less about how my actions affect others." He continued. "Shiro and I are leaving this killing game alive, I can promise all of you that right now. Whoever dies between now and then is just collateral damage for my cause."

Kuro started to walk away from his stand, starting for the elevator. "All of you mean nothing to me. You're just opponents in a video game. I'll knock you all off one by one."

"You…"

Fuck.

Jack was up from his chair and stormed towards Kuro. He grabbed the collar of his shirt and lifted him up. "I've been waiting for this ever since the trial. I've hated having to look at your face. I see nothing but Kuro even when you're Shiro."

Kuro smirked, not phased in the slightest. "What? Are you going to hurt me? Unfortunately, there's a certain someone who won't let that happen."

Isami sighed, standing up and walking over to the two boys. "Jack. You know you can't hurt Shiro's body. He didn't do anything wrong."

Jack glared at Kuro. "I'm not going to hurt his body. I just want him to feel a little bit of the pain Satoko felt when Kuro made Hiiro kill her." Jack's gloved hands moved towards Kuro's neck.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kuro frowned.

"This." Jack said with a small smile. He wrapped his hands around Kuro's neck, and began to squeeze.

"Jack!" Isami gasped, her eyes widening.

Kuro tried to speak, but could do nothing but flail his legs around and choke.

"What?" Jack smirked. "Shiro won't feel any of this. Remember, Kuro's told us his promise before, hasn't he?"

Kuro looked at Jack with hateful eyes.

I chuckled. The card dealer's right. Kuro's reminded us plenty of times…

Kuro snickered. "Oh, no one told you? I'm not just some split personality brought on by a traumatic incident Shiro went through or some shit. I'm a spirit who inhabits his body to protect him from assholes like Mari and Takahashi."

Before leaving, he addressed us all once again. "Anybody of you assholes thinking of hurting Shiro have to go through me first. And I guarantee you I won't let you lay a finger on him."

"Smart." I nodded. "Never thought of that before. Look Isami, Jack found a loophole in your promise to defend Shiro. As long as Jack doesn't do anything long lasting to hurt their body, like breaking his arm or something, only Kuro will feel the pain."

Isami thought for a moment…

And then smiled. "It feels strange seeing Shiro's body up in there air like that. But, knowing it's Kuro, I don't mind."

Kuro's eyes widened. I imagine he's thinking something like: "Fuck, now these assholes can hurt me whenever they want to."

"We finally found a way to deal with the annoying pest," Mari said. "Now he can't bother us anymore!"

"Thank goodness Jack stepped up to the plate to take care of this," Sonoda sighed in relief. "Violence makes me awfully queasy…"

"Kuro was the one who convinced Hiiro to kill Satoko…" Koko said softly. "This doesn't bother me in the slightest."

"I don't condone violence…" Leonia said slowly. "But I'll simply look away for the time being."

"I never thought I'd see the day Isami would be ok with this." Norikazu admitted with a smirk. "You're certainly growing as a person, Sami."

"You as well, Nori." Isami nodded, going back to sit down.

Jack tightened his grip even more. "Don't worry, this will only hurt for a while."

Kuro glared daggers at him as his face turned blue.

"Don't accidentally kill him!" Nadia pleaded.

"Yeah, it'd be pretty bad if we all witnessed a murder…" Evelyn awkwardly chuckled.

"Even if the victim is a complete bastard." Fran joked, having recovered from her crying episode earlier.

Jack looked at all of us and nodded. He threw Kuro to the ground.

"Hey, let's make a deal." Jack said. "You never take control of Shiro again, and I won't lay a finger on his body. Sound good?"

"Go to hell," Kuro sneered, speaking hoarsely. "Fuck ALL of you. You'll regret EVER laying a finger on me!"

"What're you going to do in that frail ass body?" I laughed. "Any one of us could easily take you."

Kuro flipped me off. "I'm not going anywhere, no matter how much you bitch and moan about how much you hate me. I'm the future winner of this killing game you ginger haired rat."

"Rat? My hair is ginger, not black and red." I frowned. How dare he compare me to that Hot Topic employee?

"Anyways, I never want to see you again." Jack said. "You've hurt enough people, it's time for you to feel some pain." Jack kicked Kuro while he struggled to catch his breath.

"Isn't this a little cruel?" Nadia asked, concerned.

"What's cruel is blackmailing someone into murder." Takumi said. "Kuro deserves all the hate he gets!"

"Tch, I don't need this shit." Kuro frowned. "You all will get what's coming to you soon enough."

And with that, Kuro fell down, his eyes closing. Shortly after, he rose back up again.

He looked around confused as to why Jack was standing over him and everyone was staring.

"Um...guys?" Shiro nervously smiled. "W-what's happening?"

After we explained how we bullied Kuro out of Shiro's body, we all went our separate ways.

Well, some of us did.

A few of us decided to stay behind in the announcement room.

I wanted to investigate the device Monokuma used on Seizo. Because of his stupid event thing we're all going to have to use it, so I wanted to know what we were going to get into.

Unfortunately, a certain bitch decided to tag along…

Additionally, Koko and Evelyn stayed behind to comfort Fran who seemed oddly sad. Wonder what her deal is, does she care for D-Lister that much? Tch, couldn't be me.

"When are you going to be done?" Mari scoffed. She was sitting on the edge of the stage, impatiently swinging her legs. "I want to go to the pool later."

"I'm tired of going to the pool with you." I frowned. "First of all, you're a psycho for wanting to swim in the same pool Satoko died in. Second of all, all you do is tell me how you want me to fly you around the world whenever you want."

"While you get to enjoy my beauty." Mari nodded with her signature smug smirk. "It's a win-win! I mean, look at me." Mari flipped her hair in my face.

"You'd look a lot prettier as a brunette." I said bluntly.

Mari stopped smiling. "W-what?! You're literally a ginger, how could you not like your own hair color?"

"I didn't say I didn't like being ginger, I just said you in particular would look better as a brunette." I shrugged. "You are a natural brunette, right? People usually look best with their natural hair colors. You're a model, shouldn't you know that?"

"I don't know where you heard that information, but it couldn't be farther from the truth." Mari claimed. "I've looked the best I've ever looked in my life. Back home on earth, there are hundreds of guys who blow up my phone to try and talk with me."

"Yeah well, I'm not one of those guys." I said. "Like I've said before, you're good for a good time, not a long time."

Mari's face turned red. "You're a broke asshole with family issues!"

"And you're a greedy bitch with personal issues!" I yelled back.

While the two of us argued, Koko, Evelyn, and Fran enjoyed a tender moment.

"What's wrong, Fran?" Koko asked sadly. "You've been down ever since Seizo's event. Do you feel badly for him?"

"You're so sweet Fran, caring about someone like that." Evelyn smiled. "But don't worry about him! He's strong and he'll be fine. He said so himself, remember?"

"W-Well, yes, I of course feel badly for Seizo." Fran nodded. "But I was thinking of something else. It's ok though, you guys don't have to worry about me."

"Of course we do!" Koko protested. "When you cry like that, it makes me want to cry too!"

"I don't cry too easily but it does tug at my heartstrings." Evelyn admitted, putting a hand over her heart.

"I'm sorry I worried you guys." Fran sadly smiled, wiping away her last stray tears. "Seeing how much you guys care really cheers me up!"

"Aw, I'm glad we could make you feel better!" Koko beamed, pulling Fran into a hug. "You're always consoling me so I just had to do the same for you."

Evelyn joined the hug, squishing Fran in between herself and Koko. "We always have your back, Fran! Always remember that. When you feel like crying, remember our ai for you."

"You guys are going to make me cry again…" Fran slowly said.

"Aw, from how happy we're making you?" Koko smiled.

"So mignonne!" Evelyn cooed.

"No," Fran said. "From how hard you're squeezing me!"

After I was done examining the device and arguing with Mari, I made my way to the third floor of the ship. Takumi mentioned something to me yesterday when I went to grab him to bring him to the first Ultimate Spies meeting...

Just as I was about to enter a certain room, I was rudely interrupted by Satan.

"Takahashiii!" Monokuma waved. "So nice to see you!"

"Fuck you." I replied.

Monokuma sadly frowned. "That's no way to greet a fellow pilot."

I laughed in his face. "You? A pilot? Yeah right, this ship does all the work for you, you lazy motherfucker. I fly planes, you 'fly' a spaceship."

Monokuma began to cry. "Your words...they cut me so deeply!"

"I could care less." I rolled my eyes. "What the fuck do you want? You came here to tell me something, right?"

Monokuma sniffed, wiping away his tears. "Y-Yes, I did. I wanted to let you know some updates to the aquarium, as well as give you a scavenger hunt map for the scavenger hunt. You were just about to enter the zoo, right?"

"Scavenger hunt?" I frowned. "I didn't hear anything about that. All Takumi told me was there are strange boxes in each of the zoo exhibits, locked by some passcode."

"Right!" Monokuma nodded. "And the passwords for those boxes can be obtained by being the first one to complete the scavenger hunt! It starts tomorrow morning after Monokuma's Face Your Fear Challenge Extravaganza, so be ready! A few of your classmates have already signed up."

A few classmates have already signed up? Shit! I can't let any of them win! I want to investigate the contents of the boxes with the rest of the Ultimate Spies. Imagine if some asshole like Kuro or some dumbass like Koko got a hold of whatever's inside. If it's important, we're screwed.

"Fine." I said. "Give me a map. And what is it that you have to tell me?"

"Well, it's about some updates to the aquarium!" Monokuma revealed, handing me a map along with a bag.

"What's in this bag?" I asked.

"I've decided to put a lock on the aquarium door. You see, I installed a sliding ladder in the aquarium so I can feed the fish better. However, I'd hate for the wrong person to use it! What if they ate the fish or something terrible like that?!" Monokuma exclaimed.

"Don't you eat fish?" I deadpanned. "You are a bear after all."

"I'd never eat pet fish, though!" Monokuma claimed. "My taste buds are reserved for wild fish that come straight from the fish fight club known as the ocean!"

"Right…" I sighed.

"Anyways, the aquarium will now be locked during night time! Not by me, however. I'm leaving it to you! You can either do it yourself or have someone do it for you." Monokuma said.

Wait a sec…

"Hell no." I frowned, handing the bag back. "This is exactly the same shit that happened with Hiiro and the infirmary key."

"Whattttt? Don't trust your classmates?" Monokuma giggled.

"I don't trust your stupid ass motive." I answered. "It's going to get to one of them, and I don't want to hand them any keys to make their murder plan go any easier."

"Then why not just do it yourself?" Monokuma asked.

"Because that's a responsibility I didn't sign up for." I frowned. "Anything goes wrong in the aquarium: it's going to be blamed on me. I may be the leader, but I'm not dealing with that shit."

Monokuma sighed. "Fine. You don't trust one of your classmates having the aquarium key, because then it might help out their murder plan. But what if you gave a key to four of them instead?"

"Four?" I repeated. "How would that help?"

"Because you'd have four people to watch each other!" Monokuma replied. "They could make their own system that prevents them from misusing the aquarium! And the best part is: you don't have to do it yourself."

I thought for a second. Is he just messing with me, or would that really help?

Damn it, I don't even have a choice, do I? Either way, he's making me choose someone to keep watch over the aquarium and lock and unlock it as needed.

Either one person or four…

"Fine." I said. "I'll take the four keys."

Hiiro misused his key because no one was keeping watch over him. I can't let that happen again…

"Excellent!" Monokuma exclaimed. He pulled three additional keys out of nowhere, put them in the bag, and gave it back to me. "I'm curious to see who you think is responsible enough to handle this duty!"

"Yeah, I am too…" I sighed, taking the bag back.

Monokuma waved, then disappeared.

I stared at the bag in my hand.

Four people who I can trust to handle this…

Fuck, I don't know of one person who I can trust to handle this.

Seizo

After what seemed like hours of crying, I was able to stop.

Or maybe it was that I ran out of tears…

Either way, I couldn't cry anymore. It was making me feel sick.

"Ahem, this is a HFH Enterprise official announcement! It is now 10 PM. As such, it is officially nighttime. Certain locations will now be locked for the remainder of the night. Sweet dreams my passengers, let the sparkle of the stars and the roar of the spaceships's engine lull you into a deeeepppp sleep. Gooood niighhttt!"

Nighttime…

Today was a long day; I thought it'd never end.

My heart hurts...my brain trembles...I feel awful. But tomorrow, I'll get up, put on a smile, and go back to being positive. I need to show everyone that Monokuma's motive isn't anything to get worked up about!

Knock, knock

Huh?

At this hour, who could that be?

I got up from my bed, wiping my eyes and face as best as I could. I walked over to the door and slowly opened it.

And to my surprise, I was greeted by a bunch of friendly faces!

"I told you he'd be awake." Akumu smiled. "How's it going, Crim?"

"I missed talking with you today." Jack admitted. "I hope you'll have a better day tomorrow."

"Hey, let's talk about Ritsu tomorrow, ok?" Takumi winked. "I really, really miss her!"

"I'm sorry we're barging in on you like this," Nadia blushed. "W-we just wanted to see if you were ok!"

"I wanted Mari to come, but she said she'd see you in the morning." Clara sighed. "But I wanted to check up on you before you went to bed. I didn't want you to go to sleep thinking nobody cares."

And lastly, to my surprise…

"Seizo, my man!" Sonoda laughed happily. "You had some of us worried! It's good to see you're up."

"You guys…" I smiled. "You didn't have to check up on me! I told you, I was fine!"

"Still, we had to make sure." Nadia sheepishly smiled. "You're always checking up on us, so we should do the same for you."

"I can't let my best friend wallow in despair, alone in his room!" Akumu chuckled. "That wouldn't be very 'Akumu' of me at all!"

"We care about you, Seizo." Takumi smiled.

"No matter what." Jack added with a nod.

Uh oh, don't cry, don't cry, don't cry…

These people...they've been through so much, and are about to go through even more with Monokuma's motive underway. Still, they took the time to come and make sure I was ok.

It made my heart soar with happiness!

"Thank you so much." I said. "I'm fine, like I said before. Still, I appreciate you all checking up on me. Now I can go to bed with my heart full."

"Glad to hear it." Clara warmly smiled.

"I'm so relieved!" Takumi exclaimed. "I felt like crying while watching your event…"

"Tomorrow, do you think you can help me with, um, what you talked about before?" Nadia nervously asked.

"Of course," I nodded. "You can count on me!"

"Thank you…" She blushed again.

"Well, we should probably leave." Akumu nodded. "Give you some space to sort out any last minute thoughts and all that. Get some good sleep, okay?"

"I'll see you in the morning." Jack said. "I'll make you a mimosa for breakfast."

I laughed. "Sure thing. Good night, you guys!"

Everyone said their last goodbyes to me, wishing me a good night, and then leaving.

Well, everyone but one person…

"Sorry for staying a little longer, but I was wondering if we could talk." It was Sonoda, who looked a little creepy standing in the dark hallway, wearing Silver's suit.

"Sure thing." I nodded, stepping out of my room and into the hallway to talk to him.

"I was just wondering…" Sonoda said. "How did it feel...the device, I mean."

"Oh that?" I said. "It...felt normal. I mean, everything felt super real and all that but it didn't feel abnormal if that's what you mean."

"I see…" Sonoda slowly nodded. "...Did it feel like the device was searching for anything? Like...maybe digging for memories or something of the sort?"

I raised a brow. "Um, no, not really. Monokuma said the device automatically picks up on your fears and all that, so it doesn't have to do any searching."

"Yes, but you said this fear was from your childhood." Sonoda said. "Wouldn't that mean the device did in fact go searching your memories then? To find this fear from when you were just a child?"

I sighed. "I guess you're right...but why do you ask, anyways?"

Sonoda shook his head. "No reason, just curiosity. Well, thank you, Mr. Seizo. Have a goodnight." He began to walk to his room.

There it is again…

The lying.

And…

"Sonoda." I called, frowning. "Drop the 'Mr'."

Sonoda stopped, slowly turning towards me. "Is there something wrong?" He asked with an innocent smile.

"You know what you're doing." I said sternly. "Only Silver called us 'Mr' and 'Ms'. Why are you doing it all of a sudden now that you're wearing his suit?"

Sonoda laughed. "Am I? Sorry, I didn't even notice. You see, I've just been thinking of Silver lately. I must've picked up on his speaking habits."

"Not only that," I said. "But you're not telling me something. It feels like you're acting whenever I speak with you."

Sonoda shook his head. "I'm not sure what you mean. I have never lied to you, Seizo." He slowly walked towards me.

"The device used on you must've messed with you a bit, making you a little paranoid." He said, inches from me. "You should get some rest and clear your head."

I glared at him. "The device didn't do anything. I've had this feeling since before I went through my event."

"Then I'm not sure what is the matter," He shrugged. "I need to go to bed now, I'm terribly tired. I'll see you in the morning...Seizo." He waved his hand and smiled, turning and going to his room.

I sighed, shaking my head as I entered my own room.

Sonoda…

What the hell are you hiding?!

A/N: Thank you for reading! Any last minute thoughts on who's not surviving this chapter?

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ODDLYILLREGULAR AND MY DEAR SISTER SEMPI FOR COLLABORATING ON A NEW COVER FOR ME! IT LOOKS SO AMAZING.

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Have a great rest of the year you guys. This is the last chapter of 2020. See you all in 2021, which WILL be a better year :pepesliceyou: