AN: First of all, thank you for the review! This is my first fanfic, so I know this will not be perfect and will have a LOT of errors along the way, so any positive comment or constructive feedback is greatly appreciated.

As for the question made, I will not get into too many details, but yes, the OC and Mukuro definitely were on VERY good terms with each other before the Killing Game and the tragedy, while the crush on him it's not a recent thing. I'm planning to expand on the details of their relationship in future chapters so it doesn't feel like it came out of nowhere.

With nothing else to add, please leave a review, a favorite and follow if you like this story!

EDIT 02/01/2023: Mayor polishing in grammar, typos, and structure.

A Holy Investigation: Exploring with Her.

As soon as we left the trophy room and began to walk through the halls, Enoshima made a question that made me pause.

"Sooo…where do begin?"

…There's a lot of ground to cover, right? Like those metal plates that have been bothering me for some time, but…as I pointed out, there were a lot of areas to look for, so the best option would be…

"…I think we should head to this 'Despair Hotel' I mentioned earlier, it would be best if we do a general scouting to known how much we can explore, and then we can focus on a more thorough investigation of the most notorious places we see during our exploration" I commented.

The Fashionista developed a thoughtful look before nodding in acceptance "Hmm, yeah, I think I get what are ya tryin' to say. I guess that way we won't miss anythin' important, right? And! And! We are like, a lot of people, so it's totally possible that the rest will take care of those not-so-important places or find details we missed on the locations we checked, and with that, we will have all the ground covered! I totally figure out your master plan, didn't I?" She finished with a cheeky smile.

"…I guess so" I mean, it wasn't some kind of secret or elaborate plan and it wasn't perfect either, but it was better for the both of us if she understood what I was trying to explain.

Apparently, there was something funny about what I said, seeing that she gave a slight giggle at it "Hehe, you don't have to sound so petty about it! Alrighty, let's go check this 'Despair Hotel'…Uwah, it sounds so lame…"

I gave a nod, and with that, the two of us moved again in search of this new area.

…

…Did I truly acted that petulant?

Once we traveled through the hall that led us to the 'Despair Hotel', we found ourselves in what we could definitely call a whole new area. Looking around we saw on our right an open double door and next to it, there was a sign that had the drawing of a fork and a knife. From our current position, I could also see a few tables and chairs inside.

"…That must be the dining hall…" I mused aloud.

Looking in the same direction as me, Enoshima gave a nod in agreement "Yeah, at least that freaking bear won't starve us to death, maybe. We don't know if it's stocked. Wanna check it out?"

Before answering her, I turned my sight to the opposite side of the dining hall where I ended up noticing something of interest.

"Maybe later, I am more curious about investigating that place" I said while pointing at what caught my attention.

Tilting her head in confusion, the 'strawberry-blonde' followed my finger "Hm? What are you―Eh!? What's up with that place? It looks, like, totally suspicious!"

As Enoshima and I approached what was labeled as 'BATH', I noticed three points of interest. The first was what looked like some kind of entrance, though it had no doors. It was completely exposed instead. The second thing was that even without doors, I couldn't take a guess at what was inside because it was completely obscured 'The lights must've been turned off, though even with that, it's a bit strange', the third and final point was that I couldn't go and check further than that because it was blocked by some yellow tape with the words KEEP OUT all over it.

Seeing that there were no rules that forbid it, I approached the tapes to remove them.

! ! !

Before I could do that, my instincts kicked in and I immediately turned to my left to see…

"Hey! Hey! What do you think you are doing, young man!?" …Monokuma popping out of nowhere.

"Gaah! What the hell!? From where the heck did you come from!?" Enoshima snapped.

I narrowed my eyes at the bear "That, and what are you doing here?"

Rather than answering either of us, Monokuma raised his paws with so much rage he was completely red in the face "What I am doing!? You are asking me that!? I got one better for you, bastard, what are YOU doing!?"

I was very tempted to give him a deadpan look "What does it look like? I am removing the tape so I can go and try to see what's inside"

"Are you dumb!? Those tapes are obviously there to block you from getting further!" Something he apparently didn't saw amusing.

"Hey! And what if we wanna go in there!?" Enoshima exclaimed.

"What is this, an idiot combo? What, all you have is hair instead of brains? I'm saying you can't explore that place!"

Putting aside the fact that it did irk me that Monokuma insulted her, I opted to point out the elephant in the room "Didn't your rules say that we are free to explore the school as we pleased?"

"Keeping playing dumb, aren't ya?" The monochrome bear deadpanned "In case you forgot, the rule's exact wording is: With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore Hope's Peak Academy at your discretion. This is simply one of the few places in which those restrictions apply" Monokuma stated.

"…I see" It was worth a try.

"Such a stupid rule…" Enoshima protested, but with some finality too.

The monochrome bear began to shake his head in exasperation "Geez, kids these days. I don't even know why are you guys so interested in checking that place…unless…" A look of realization that I wasn't liking one bit formed on Monokuma as he chuckled in my direction "…Upupupupu, oh my, I didn't know you had that kind of side!"

I already felt a few warning bells with that tone of voice he was having "What are you talking about?"

"Yeah, what's up with you now?" Enoshima added with narrowed eyes.

"Upupupupu…It's just, as an assassin I know you have some experience killing ladies. I know, I know, it is part of the job and all that jazz. But now I find that you not only do that but that you also are a lady-killer! That's such a discovery!" Monokuma stated with barely contained amusement.

…

"Huh?" Enoshima and I said at the same time.

What was he talking about? What does he mean by lady-killer? I…I think have heard of the term before, although…if I remember, it means―

! ! !

Shit…

I…I may not be an expert in the area 'More like I have zero experience in it…', but terms like that are used in some jobs for profiles of both clients and targets, and he implied that term on me because we wanted to explore some public baths 'Or at least that's what that label suggests', t-that means―

Shit!

"What are you talking about? Speak clear you freak!" Enoshima asked Monokuma about it, of course she had to…

"Enoshima, I don't―"

"Upupupu, you see…" Before I could prevent Enoshima from prodding further on the subject, the monochrome robot beat me to it "As a bear, I'm not an expert in the subject of the birds and the bees, but even I can see that if a young man and a woman want so desperately as you guys do to get some privacy in a dark place, then only indecent things are bound to happen!" The bear announced between giggles.

At first, Enoshima just made a confused face, but after a few moments, her eyes went wide and she blushed so much that her entire face became red.

Not that I can fault her, seeing as my cheeks were heated up too.

The result of that was instant "W-W-WHAT the hell!? W-We…we just wanted to do some exploration to find a way outta this place! What the heck are ya thinking!? Believing that we…that Shigaraki would…that…Arghhh!"

"As if you were going to find a way to escape inside a public bathhouse of all places!" Monokuma retorted with a smugness he didn't have any right being capable of "Upupupu, anyone with eyes would think the same thing as me if they saw the same scene that was unfolding before my BEARY innocent orbs: A young man in the company of a young maiden, leading her at the privacy the darkness offers! Both eager to have a taste of each other's―"

"PISS OFF! / GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

I am not someone who tends to raise his voice, but when it comes to subjects like those…well…

It's a weak point of mine, alright?

With that, the bear seemed to get into some kind of dejected state 'Good…although I doubt he truly means it' before slumping down "He even used a mean word, awww…You don't have to be so rude, y'know? I'm just your Headmaster worried about the integrity of my students, but fine! If you wanna get hanky panky, just make sure to don't try it in places with clear signs of not being allowed into! You bunch of walking hormones, see ya!"

And with that, the bear was gone to…who knows where.

I still don't understand how he does that…

"Dammit! That bastard!" Not so long after he left, Enoshima cursed "If I see him again, I swear I'm going the beat the crap out of him!"

As much as I would want to do similar or worse things to him…" …You shouldn't do that Enoshima, don't let what he said get to you" I simply said.

"Huh? Why are you saying that? I'm definitely going―" The gasp and that suspicious look she was giving me wasn't a good signal "W-Wait, d-don't tell that you were actually―!"

"No," I said in a more hurried tone than what I'm used to or wanted to "I'm talking about the rule number five. Remember? Doing as much as a scratch on him is a death penalty"

Her look of realization told me that sufficed to calm her down "…Right, for a moment I forgot about that, kind of happens when I get angry, y'know?"

She gets impulsive to the point of ignoring something that important? That was…

Worrying.

"…I see, just be careful" I simply gave her the standard response one would expect in this scenario.

There wasn't anything deeper behind those words.

"Yep, that weird bear isn't gonna catch me off-guard again!" She said with her usual grin and peace sign.

…

"Alright, let's keep exploring then"

She simply nodded, and with that, the two of us moved, leaving that…weird experience with Monokuma behind.

After walking around and looking for anything that could be of interest, we finally found ourselves in a new hall, or at least the change of sterile white illumination to a dark-red one seemed to indicate that. From a glance, I could see that this place was…

"So, these are going to be our dorms, huh?" Enoshima finalized my thoughts.

"It seems so" I nodded at her "And each one has…pixel figures on a plaque of sorts? It looks like a person, so it must be how we identify which room belongs to us. They seem to have a name under the picture too"

"Yeah, they look kinda weird, but it gets the job done I suppose, though I don't like that he's implying we are going to stay here for a long while, that arrogant creep…Hey, wanna check out where―"

Whatever Enoshima was going to say, got interrupted by the door whose figure on the plaque resembled a person with an ahoge and, indeed, in the nameplates there was also the name of Makoto Naegi, opening.

From there, the figures of Maizono and Leon emerged from the room.

"I'm glad that at least he's―Oh, Enoshima it's you, and I see you are with―Shigaraki!?" Maizono exclaimed with rising panic.

The bravery that she got when checking on Naegi in the Gym must have gone off, I guess…

Before she and Leon escalated the situation, Enoshima interfered "Heya Sayaka! and you too Leon! What's up?"

Both redhead and Idol blinked a pair of times, seemingly caught off guard 'Not that I could blame for that…' Before being Leon of the two who complied with Enoshima's query "Ah, we're cool…I guess? We just gave Naegi one last check-up, y'know? To see he's fine and all that…um…erm, so what are you up to?" The baseball star asked while giving me a nervous quick glance.

"Oh! Shigaraki and I are looking around!" If Enoshima noticed it, she didn't comment on it "Getting a general vibe of the place or something like that. Just right now, we were about to get a look around the dorms"

"You…and Shigaraki? I see…Um, are you okay Junko?" Maizono questioned, while she too, gave me a look filled with apprehension.

"Me? Yep! Hmmm, well…I'm still a bit irked from our recent encounter with Monokuma, but that was stuff of the past, so yeah, not an issue with this girl right here!" The fashionista commented with a grin.

Though the same couldn't be said for the people in front of her.

"M-Monokuma!? Shit!" Leon yelped.

"Junko! Are you sure you're Okay!?" Maizono worriedly yelped, only this time with no claims of keeping her concern hidden.

"I'm fine! I'm fine! Really! The bastard just messed with us verbally, but apart from being a…weird thing, he didn't do anything to us." Enoshima said while awkwardly scratching one cheek "And in case he tried to do anything, I'm pretty sure Shigaraki here will take care of me, right?" She added with another grin and a peace sign gesture.

She does that a lot, doesn't she?

But back at what the fashionista just said…

"…Right," I said simply.

I know I didn't show much certainty in that response, and they probably would notice that…but that was because I truly didn't have any certainty to answer that. I had known her for less than a day and while it was true that out of everyone here, she was the one with whom I am by far on the best terms and it was also undeniable that I'd had some…strange moments and thoughts when it comes to her.

But that was as far as it went.

I didn't save Owada out of my goodwill, I did it because it was a secondary result of what I needed to do so I could preserve my own life, that was also why I didn't interfere when Owada punched Naegi even if the Luckster also seems to have a better image of me than the rest of my classmates while also being willing to vouch for me. I have no doubt in my mind that I was more than capable of stopping that confrontation, but it didn't have anything to do with me.

If something were to happen to any of them, or worse, they died…I wouldn't shed a single tear for them, I didn't know them at all so why should I care?

So, if it comes a time in which I have to put myself between Monokuma and Enoshima, will I do something to prevent a tragedy from occurring? Putting my own life at risk for the sake of a complete stranger like her?

…

…

…

...I don't know.

Huh?

"Um, in any case! I'm glad he didn't do anything to you and if you are sure that you are fine…" Thankfully, Maizono stopped my train of thought that had the slim but actual chance of giving me some kind of mental crisis while preventing this from beginning to become awkward at the same time "…Then I guess we can truly count on Shigaraki to check on you while Leon and I begin our own search. With that being said, good luck to both of you!" The Idol cheerfully exclaimed with a wave.

Huh, I didn't expect her to give that kind of encouragement to both of us.

"Same to you guys!" The Fashionista replied in kind, though a look of realization formed on her face afterward "Oh, that's right. You guys must want to avoid the places that have yellow tape! it's kind of satisfying to piss Monokuma off, but I wouldn't temp it, y'know?"

Both Maizono and Leon nodded awkwardly but didn't make a comment on that, and so, they left to do their own search.

"So that happened…Oh right, before those two came from Naegi's room, you wanted to say something, correct?" I asked Enoshima.

"Hm? Oh yeah, I know you said to just have a look around before checking the important places, but I wanted to see our rooms right now, y'know, to avoid surprises and stuff at the end of the day. It's not a problem, right?"

Now that she mentions it…

"…You're right, I'm kind of curious too. You think that about 30 minutes are enough to inspect them?" I was honest about the curiosity thing, there was stuff I wanted to confirm myself.

"Yeah, it's perfect! Ah, but let's count until we reach our rooms, no cheating allowed! Sounds good?" Enoshima said with a cheeky smile.

"Sounds good," I said with the corners of my mouth slightly upwards.

…What?

It…it happened again…

Why did I do that?

We didn't have to leave the hall from which we came to find out where our respective rooms were…and it was less of a hassle by the fact that our rooms were in front of each other, with Enoshima's room on the left while my own was on the right side of the hall, I also noticed that the keys to our rooms were attached to the door.

That's risky…it truly was the right move making a stop here

"It looks like we are neighbors, eh?" The 'strawberry-blonde' pointed out.

"It seems like it, that's…convenient…" Was it? "Anyway, I will see you in half an hour, Enoshima"

"Sure! Catch ya later!" With a wave and an energetic dismissal, Enoshima went inside her own room.

Taking my keys, I followed the same course of action, curious to see what my resting place for the unforeseeable future would look like.

As soon as I got inside the room, I locked the door. Once I did that, I allowed myself to let out a slight sigh of relief.

My thought process was almost the same as Enoshima's. I didn't want to search my room and find a sudden visitor while being in the middle of finding whatever 'surprises' Monokuma could've left here. That, and seeing that indeed each room has its own lock and personalized keys 'If my name in the keychain is anything to go by', I wouldn't want to let the risk of someone 'accidentally' getting my own keys happen. It is true that I don't believe in the possibility of someone committing murder on the first day, but I'm also not stupid to allow a security breach of that kind in my own 'safe haven'. I was also pretty sure that the monochrome bear could trespass on the room at his will, but unfortunately, that's a different matter that I can't prevent.

As for the surprises part…looking around, it seems I was right in taking them into consideration.

At first glance, it looks like a normal bedroom with the default furniture. A trash can, a single table in the middle of the room, close to it a bed along with a lint roller not so far from it. Behind the said bed there was a desk which had a notepad and some pencils atop of it and a chair. On the completely opposite side of the room, there was a clock and an open wardrobe from where I could see there were three sets of clothes no different from the one I was currently wearing 'That's…weird'. In the corner next to the desk, there was a door apart from the entry one, which had a note attached to it.

Aside from the same clothes part, that was where the normal aspect of the room ended. The next was what I would like to call the 'disappointing but not surprised' part.

That included a monitor next to the new door, not different from the ones I have seen all around the 'school' working as part of the broadcasting system for Monokuma's announcement. There was also a surveillance camera, and of course, last but not least, more metal plates.

Lastly, the reason why I believe taking the surprises into consideration was a correct choice. The reason why? It seems the rooms were personalized to fit the talent of the person assigned to the room.

The small blessing, if I could call it that, was that everything in this category while worrying and somewhat suspicious, it wasn't overall incriminating. They just consisted of 'furniture', like a throwing knife target with a human shape in the wall between the wardrobe and the desk, but with no blades around to make use of the said target. Next to it, there were three maps, about what? Lethality points. For gunshot, stab, and bludgeoning wounds respectively. Finally, between the desk and that other door with the note, my 'favorite' item: A flag, it was of a quite simple design 'Which was intentional'. It was black, with an unfilled bloody red circle in the middle of it, and inside of the circle, there was a white cross no different than the one in my shirt, and the cherry on top of the cake, an acronym under the symbol.

An H.

An S.

And another S.

H S S.

…

…

…

…Of course, Monokuma put an official flag of Them for anyone to notice at a quick glance, sure, why not?

Out of all my classmates, the most likely candidate from recognizing this flag was Togami, with Celeste being a close second…which makes it weird that Togami hadn't made the connection with the cross I wear on my shirt. Maybe he had seen me as too much of an inferior being to pay attention to these types of details, or he does still don't know about Them, perhaps? Lucky me either way, I suppose.

As for Gambler, she had a lot of experience dealing with the deepest places of the underground world, it wouldn't be out of the possibility that she had heard enough things to know about Them. I mean, even since we meet, she always had this glint in her eyes, both before and after knowing about my talent. It was possible that, unlike Togami, she did recognized the symbol in some way. That she hadn't said anything about it meant nothing, she wasn't the Queen of Liars for show. Besides those two, smart people like Kirigiri…actually, forget only her, anyone with a sense of curiosity would ask questions about what's up with that flag and what it represents if I allowed them the chance to see it. I wasn't planning to, but the risk that one way or another they found out about it without my consent existed.

…If I am honest, while it would be troublesome if everyone found my connection with Them, it wasn't the kind of secret that I had to kill to keep it that way.

At least not when it comes to my classmates.

After all, they finding out about its existence was bound to happen if I attended Hope's Peak. They may be a lot of things, but ignorant and impulsive to the point of still sending me here without having some leniency for students within that school was not one of them…if only because of its reputation and influence.

But that doesn't apply to our captor, how much does he know? The more time I spend in this place, the more of a threat said person was becoming.

It doesn't help that I won't be getting an answer about it anytime soon…

Putting that aside, all this entire extra stuff was as I pointed out before: Worrying and suspicious, but not incriminating. From what I had seen so far from Monokuma, I didn't put it past him to fill my entire room with all kinds of weapons and poisons. Now that had a big chance of becoming a can of worms that I definitely didn't need or wanted.

With the initial assessment of this room finally done, I was beginning to find my hands kind of itchy to finally check the metal plates, so with nothing else on the way, I went to one of them.

For all my self-made hype for this, there wasn't much for me to try with them. For the sake of trying, I attempted to remove the plate. Unsurprisingly, it didn't work. Then, I moved to the bolts that keep it sealed, I tried to unscrew them until my hands hurt…again, with nothing to show for it.

I repeated the process with the other plates, with the results of that being disappointing but not unexpected.

Once I made sure that there wasn't anything else to see, at least not in plain sight, I approached the door with the note stuck to it. Then I took out the note from the door to see it.

Its contents were as followed:

[ Announcement from Headmaster Monokuma:

Each room's lock has been designed to completely protect against tampering or lock picking.

Remaking an individual key is quite troublesome so please make sure not to lose yours. Your room comes furnished with a shower, but please note that the water is turned off at nighttime.

Also, the bathrooms in the girl's rooms include a lock of their own.

Finally, we've prepared a small gift for each of you.

For the girls, a sewing kit.

And for the boys, a toolkit.

The sewing kit includes a map of the body's vital organs. One stab will do the job, girls!

For the boys, we believe a strong blow to the head with any of the tools should be ample.

Don't think! Just feel! And let's all enjoy ourselves!

Oh, and one more thing…

As you may have noticed, this room has a throwing knife target, befitting of the student who owns this room.

Never be said that a bear can't be a responsible Headmaster! I took the liberty to leave an extra gift so that the owner of this room doesn't get left behind in the development of his talent!

And if this note is being read by someone else…

Well, sorry not sorry! Seriously, what kind of Ultimate Assassin is so careless to allow that? Consider this a lesson, young man!]

…

I was half tempted to just crump the paper and throw it in the trash can, but no, this would cause trouble, so I will keep it with myself until I can find a place to destroy the evidence permanently. Looking from the paper to the door in front of me, it made me wonder one thing.

Don't tell me the bastard put a whole extra room full of weapons? I know it says it's only a shower, but…

Deciding to confirm it now better than later, I opened the door to see…

A bathroom.

It consisted of a sink with a mirror on the left side and next to it there was a cabinet, with a hand towel hanging under it. On the left front side of the room, there was a glass wall along with a glass door. Inside it, there was a shower with some basic products, such as shampoo and soap. Finally, the right front consisted of a toilet with toilet paper next to it, hanging in a holder.

Another important thing that I noticed was…There were no surveillance cameras. The first blind spot I found and it was inside a shower room. I lack evidence to make a pattern, but I can't discard the possibility of similar places existing.

…

So, not a weapon room, then? Alright.

I moved to inspect the cabinet, and inside of it was…

Basic hygiene items such as a toothbrush, toothpaste, and more soap bars.

…

So not a cabinet full of all kinds of poisons, then? Okay…

…

…

…

…After deciding that I was more grateful than disappointed with these developments, I went to left the bathroom and begin to look into the last place that needed an inspection.

The desk.

…But before doing that.

I took the note that I had inside one of the pockets within my jeans, I ripped it to pieces and threw said pieces inside the toilet, and finally, I just let it flush its contents.

Well…at least I got rid of it pretty fast, didn't I?

After leaving the bathroom and putting my sight on the desk, I saw that it had four compartments. I decided to check them in descending order.

The first two had absolutely nothing, but the other two…

The third drawer had the toolkit Monokuma mentioned in the note, its contents, from what I could see, consisted of a hammer, screwdriver, wrench, and a side cutter.

…

The bear wasn't lying with the blow to the head thing, all of this definitely can be lethal when you hit in the right place, but still…maybe I can find a non-lethal use to these tools.

With that done, I inspected the last compartment, where I saw…

…

…

…

…Huh.

I'm never going to admit it to his face, but the bear did left a gift.

Actually, rather than a gift, he just returned it back, so yeah, there wasn't anything to admit here.

As for what I am talking about? Well, what the last drawer contained was…A pair of combat daggers.

For the untrained eye, people might think that besides being a weapon, there was nothing else to them at a first glance. They would be wrong, after all, there were a lot of factors to take into consideration when it came to the smithing process of them.

First of all, there was the color of them. Again, some will think that was not important, but they would be mistaken about that conception. It was a matter of life or death. The metallic color these types of weapons usually have makes them reflective, and that factor could either show your position in a stealth-necessary environment or reveal that you have a weapon with you, most possibly blowing up a cover. Reasons for that make it important to make sure they were made with a dark and unreflective surface.

Another fact was whether they were fixed or folding types. While each has its pros and cons, I am a personal advocate of the advantages the folding type offer, mainly because they are handy and compact in comparison to their counterparts.

Last but not least important: The Material. Usually, the components vary when considering factors such as edge, toughness, and corrosion resistance. Keyword Usually. One perk that comes from Them, was that they forge the weapons I and other members use for our assignments. I don't know the details, as it was not really my area of expertise, but I was aware that they have a 'Secret Family Recipe' if I were to call it in some way, in which the material used consisted mainly of carbon steel. There were other components, but along with the forging process, it was a tightly held mystery from everyone who wasn't part of it.

Regardless, the results couldn't be questioned, as the final result was always a high-end blade in all of its aspects with no downsides whatsoever.

So yeah, while most people would see a simple pair of daggers, that couldn't be further from the truth. These combat daggers were perfectly designed for the task they had been created for.

Now someone might wonder…an Assassin using daggers, really? Isn't that too cliche? The answer would be…yeah, kind of, but I have a better one: Do they do their job? The answer is yes, they absolutely do.

I was about to conceal the weapons in my inner pockets when another fact about them caught my sight. Besides all the previous pieces of trivia pointed out about them, they had another extra detail.

Inscriptions in their respective blades.

The first of them had the legend IN NOMINE SANCTI DOMINI which meant In the Name of The Holy Lord.

While the other one had inscribed UNGUIBUS CORVI TIMEANT which translated as Fear the Claws of the Raven.

…

…

…

…Sigh

"That name…They really like their roleplaying act, don't they?" Instead of dwelling too much on it, I let the matter rest as I put my sight on the clock while concealing the weapons this time, noticing that the thirty minutes Enoshima and I accorded were about to finalize.

Time to go, it seems…

Before leaving the room and reconvening with the Fashionista, I took one thing from the toolkit that would come in handy soon…I think.

As soon as I left my own room, I was met with the figure of Enoshima playing with her 'hair', not like before when she was just twirling one strand of it, but actually playing while making some strange faces.

Cute.

…

…Anyway.

I closed the door behind me and aside from the momentary fierce sharpening of her eyes that made my heart rate accelerate for a moment, and the slight squeal when she saw it was me, there was no other incident as she greeted me.

"A-Ah, Shigaraki! It's you…geez, you won't become popular with girls if ya pull sneaky crap like that, y'know?" …What? "In any case, how did it go for ya? Did you find anything weird in your room?"

Ignoring the first part of what she said and omitting the fact that now I have two weapons with me 'Maybe three if I count 'that' thing with me', I told her the 'Truth' "…Weird is definitely a way to put it. There wasn't anything that dangerous but I have no doubt my room would make some of our classmates uncomfortable"

"Is that so? Well, my room had some fashionista-related stuff, like, you know… makeup and other similar junk, so I guess with you that's the bare minimum when our rooms are personalized and you're the Ultimate Assassin, right? That must explain why it's like you said..." She was taking this strangely well "…Wait, wait, you said that dangerous, so does that mean there are actual dangerous things in your room?"

Again, she sounded surprised…but not scared.

…

Not wanting to let her know of the red flags she raised in my mind, I gave her a swift answer "Yeah, but it's not exclusive to my room. I'm talking about a toolkit. Apparently, each male has one while girls received sewing kids instead. You had one of those, correct?"

"Ah, that's right!" She said with a look of recognition "I found a note saying that same crap. Besides a sewing kit there was also some kind of map for the most vital areas in the body…geez, that bastard isn't taking any breaks with us, huh?" Enoshima commented with a sigh.

"…No, he isn't" I highly doubt he had truly begun in the first place "In any case, just to confirm, your room had a bathroom room too, right?"

"Yeah, it had the basic hygiene stuff included and the room had a lock, which it sucks! I mean, that junk won't be enough to keep up with what I usually need to take care of my hair! But I will have to make it work, I guess…"

Right, 'Hair'…and a lock? I didn't see one in my case. That probably means…

"…The lock must be exclusive for girls; my bathroom doesn't have one, so the note was completely accurate. If that's all…I think we are done here, correct?" I asked her.

"I believe so, yeah, let's keep…wait, actually, I want to test something, just wait a moment here, alright?"

I quirked an eyebrow at that, although considering that I didn't have any reason to deny her request… "Sure," I said with a shrug.

"Neat! I won't take more than a minute, okay?" I just nodded at that while she re-entered her room.

I wonder what is she up to…

Just like she promised, one minute later Enoshima came back while rubbing her throat.

"Dammit, maybe I should've stopped sooner…So, did ya hear anything?"

"Heard something―No, I did not…" I see. That's what it was "…The rooms are soundproof, aren't they? Mind if I try it out myself?"

"Sure, just watch out for your throat, all that shouting made mine kind of sore"

And so I did…

A minute of screaming later 'Haven't done that in years, it actually made my throat irk…', I went back to Enoshima.

"Did you hear anything?" I asked.

The Fashionista shook her head "Nope, nothing at all"

"I see. That confirms every room is soundproof then…" I mused.

"Seems like it…" Enoshima said while having a thoughtful look.

Not like I was any different. So, anything that happens inside our rooms is completely silenced? That reminds me of the 'Information Gathering' rooms I had back 'Home' when we needed to 'ask' our 'sources' for important pieces of intel, no matter how much they screamed or―

"Someone could be having their last cries of agony, begging for their life, and all of us would've been sleeping like babies, huh?" It was not me who said that.

I looked up at the fashionista with a blanker-than-usual look on my face while I just blinked.

Eventually, Enoshima saw the expression on my face "E-Eh? What's wrong?" She asked me in a worried and…seemingly innocent tone of voice.

"…Nothing, I guess, let's just go"

She had a confused look on her face for a few moments before she recovered enough to give me a nod.

…

She truly reminds me sometimes of…

Do you want to die?

She does say that a lot, doesn't she?

…

…This is worrying.

After exploring our rooms, we focused on checking the rest of the area. While doing so, we discovered that besides the rooms, the 'dorm area' had a rectangular shape, with one hallway on each side. The first one was the one with mine, Enoshima's, and more than half of our classmates' rooms, with the second hallway containing the remaining ones.

The third one had restrooms, one for each gender, in addition to a trash room. For obvious reasons, I only checked the boy's restroom. Said room was relatedly normal save for one thing, and that was that it confirmed one theory I had.

It seems that 'Intimate' places around the school don't have any cameras, it may be useful to know for the future…

As for the trash room, the incinerator was blocked by a gate, and although there was a switch to lift it, it seemed that it required some kind of key to turn it on. Inside that same room, there was a hatch on the floor with a lock that blocked us from trying to open it, along with the usual stuff like the camera and the monitor, but it wasn't of importance, all of the important details were blocked with no way around it, so we just left it at that.

The fourth hall allowed us to return to the entrance of the dorm area, and close to the end of it, there was another entrance full of yellow tape with no signs that could tell us a clue about what could be inside, which besides making us cringe a little, the both of us decided to leave it alone.

Further from the entrance, there was a set of stairs no different from the ones close to the trophy room, and yes, that included a gate blocking us from using them.

And that covered the entire area of the 'Despair Hotel', which means…

"So apart from the school and the 'hotel' area, there are no more locations available on the first floor it seems" I commented.

"I seem like it. We could return to confirm it, y'know, in case we missed somethin', but… seriously! The stupid rules and the freak of a bear said that 'we are free to explore the school'! But surprise, surprise, there are a bunch of stupid gates that block us from doing that! What the heck's his deal!?"

I'm with her on that one, minimal restrictions, my ass.

"I guess there's nothing we can do about this, so, about returning…I think it would be best to investigate the school area, we came here directly without paying much attention to it, perhaps there we will have better luck there" I suggested.

"I don't mind doing that…after all, as long as we follow your grand plan, we got everything covered, don't we?" The fashionista said with a cheeky smile.

…

"…She's not letting go of that one, huh?"

"Nope! So, let's get going, alrigh'?" Enoshima said with what was becoming her trademark peace sign and grin.

…Wait, did I say that out loud?

I let my guard down, again.

Dammit.

"…Yeah, let's go" I need to steel myself; I can't allow what I'm experiencing right now to interfere with what's really important.

With nothing else to do here, we left the current hall and went to find our way to the school area.

Before truly leaving the area, we found the standing figure of Taka next to the dining hall entrance, and if I had to put it in a way, looking at the perimeter with hawk eyes. When his eyes locked on us, he greeted us in his usual way.

"Ah, Miss Enoshima! Shigaraki! I'm glad to have a chance to meet you before the meeting!" Taka exclaimed.

I quirked an eyebrow and it was Enoshima who made the question "Huh? What are ya talkin' about? Are we having a reunion or somethin'?"

"True, you two weren't there! I talked about it not much after the two of you left us on the endeavor of investigating the school! It makes sense you don't know. Let me correct that oversight then! You see, it was decided with the remaining people inside the gym that at Seven O'clock we are to group up at the dining hall. Right now, I'm on the task of finding any of the stragglers to inform them of such a decision, so please make sure to be on time, tardiness will not be tolerated in this educational environment! As in case of an infraction, I will report you to a respective member inside the institution!"

"…"

"…"

"…Seven O'clock, sure, we will be there," I said.

"Excellent! Then I will not take more of your time, you can continue with your assignment!"

We just nodded at him, and satisfied with that much, he left us be.

Not much after, Enoshima whispered to me "Does he, like, get that 'respective member inside the institution' as of right now, is the bear?"

Does he get it?

…

"…No, he doesn't" And it was not like understanding that would stop him from trying to treat this place as an 'educational' environment.

Still, it was impressive in its own way that he apparently lost any fear he had of me…or at least he does it when he's in his 'rule's zealot' mode.

As expected of the Ultimate Moral Compass.

In the school area, we did the same as the previous one, we looked around intending to scout the place and try to find…well, just about anything at his point.

After searching for quite some time, the results were as expected, and that meant no results. The only possible lead right now was the door in front of us. The big red double door near the entrance to the main hall.

As before and seeing that it had no yellow tape to block it, I tried to open it again, but…

"It's still locked" I stated.

"Dammit! And it looks important, y'know, being this red, big and all, right?"

"Mhm, it's pretty ominous"

"This is looking bad, huh? It sucks!" Enoshima exclaimed before leaving a frustrated sigh "Do you have any place you wanna check? It's getting closer to that reunion Mr. Educator told us" Mr. Educator?

"Yeah, it's almost time, and about where else to go…I think I just want to take a quick lock at the main hall and at least one classroom. There is something I want to test"

That last part seemed to pick her interest "Test something? What do you...*gasp* D-Don't tell you, like, actually have something that could get us out of here, really!?" She asked wide-eyed.

I fought the urge to narrow my eyes at that. It was not like what she said was weird, I was sure anyone would have that kind of incredulous expression if they were in her shoes…but, I don't know, it almost feels as if there was something more to the way she said that.

Being with her always has this…odd feeling, maybe what I just felt now is something among those lines? It wouldn't be the first time I act out of the ordinary when it's just the two of us…And it's been less than a day, what the heck is wrong with me?'

I mentally sighed, not for the first time, I felt like I have a lot to think about.

"I wouldn't get your hopes up if I were you" In the end, I opted to put my priorities straight and focus on that until later "What I want to test is more to confirm something rather than being certain of a discovery that would help us" I explained.

"I see…Well, if it's you it will probably be something useful in some way" Enoshima said with a smile.

…

That was another thing nagging me.

Why does she seem to trust me that much?