"Hope!" Normal Speech

'Despair!' People's thoughts

"Truth!" Flashbacks

Disclaimer: I have as much ownership of the Danganronpa series as you do dear reader.

AN: Thanks to both RWBYJNPR and Zephyrius29 for beta-reading this chapter.

AN2: Other tags for this story (since the site only gives you 2): Mystery/Friendship/Drama

Chapter 11

Bingo

Hope's Peak Academy was an institution like no other.

There were plenty of aspects that he knew he could use to describe Hope's Peak uniqueness to anyone that asked, for whether it was the famous students that walked through the halls of the reputation of the school itself, the school certainly wasn't lacking uniqueness that made it stand out to the world.

One of these unique qualities was the set of rooms specially crafted to match every single one of the Main Course student's talents and personalities. Special areas in which the Ultimates had anything they could hope to have when it came to developing the skills that marked them as Ultimates in the first place.

Or, as they were better known around the halls of the school: Research Labs.

From massive areas that couldn't even fit inside the main building, like those of the Ultimate Inventor and the dojo that worked for both the Ultimate Martial Artist and Ultimate Aikido Master, to small but no less impressive rooms that housed nothing but the best like those for the Ultimate Gambler, Ultimate Gamer and Ultimate Pianist.

He even had his own one, but unlike the rest, that room was also shared by those that had the same talent as him. It made for quite the experience when they needed to do something together in that place, that much he couldn't deny.

And if he had to be honest with himself, there was one particular Research Lab that he visited far more than any other, even far more than his own.

And considering what room that was, it probably wasn't something he should feel proud off, all things considered.

It didn't help that he was about to enter that very same Research Lab once more, although this time he was entering without any type of bodily harm to his person.

And he was also conscious this time around, so that was always a good thing, right?

…He was really glad Hope's Peak offered good insurance to its students.

But even so…

"Hm? Naegi-kun?"

The one that greeted him this time wasn't the owner of this room, which also just so happened to function as the school's nursery.

"Kimura-senpai?" His tone was one of confusion just as his brown orbs landed on the silver-haired woman who stood on the middle of the room, with her signature mask covering her mouth as usual.

"Did something happen?" And just as he had come to expect from the one known as the Ultimate Pharmacist, Kimura Seiko's voice came with nothing but softness and worry.

He could only give the former student a wry smile, for he certainly couldn't blame her for coming to the conclusion that something had happened. Even ignoring the room they were currently in, her question was something he had grown used to hear a lot around these walls.

He wasn't even really surprised by Seiko's presence in the room, let alone the school. Graduated students coming back to offer their services to the institution certainly wasn't anything new, and considering the good relationship the Ultimate Pharmacist had with the Ultimate Nurse, it wasn't strange to see the silver-haired woman in this room.

"N-no!" He answered as soon as he noticed the frown on her face becoming more pronounced. "I just came to…check on…something…"

His voice, just like his attention, ended up trailing off as soon as he noticed that they weren't alone in the room.

The face he had worn so far slowly, but surely, morphed into an incredulous one as soon his brain processed properly what he was watching, with his mouth flapping even though no sound escaped him for almost a full minute.

"Yamada-kun… Kizakura-sensei?" He spoke with no small amount of wonder, for just the fact that he was able to recognize the two individuals resting on a pair of beds in front of him.

And credits to the Luckster for even recognizing the duo considering that 99% of their bodies were covered by nothing but white bandages.

The only reason he could even do such a thing was because of the thin spike of hair going up from one of the body's head, and because of the hat that, for reasons beyond his understanding, was resting on the head of the other figure.

Seriously, he even had to wonder if they were even able to breathe properly. The beeping coming from the machines besides the duo at least told him that they were alive, but such a sight brought nothing but questions to his mind.

"Ahh, were you worried about Yamada-kun and Kizakura-san's condition?" Questions that Seiko was seemingly more than happy to answer. "There's no need to worry, Naegi-kun. Both of them should be fine tomorrow. Ludenberg-san and Yukizome-sensei didn't inflict any permanent damage on them from what I gather."

Permanent damage or not, wasn't this still too much?

"What did they do to them, exactly…?" He ended up asking without even realizing it.

"According to what Tsumiki-san wrote here…" The silver-haired graduated was quick to answer while flipping through a few sheets of paper in her hands. "They 'ripped it off' apparently…"

Makoto simply blinked at hearing that, not knowing what to say to that.

Seiko just coughed slightly into her mask.

Both Hifumi's and Koichi's body shook, almost as if they were remembering something extremely painful.

And last, the closet hidden on the corner of the room shook in tandem with them.

…wait, what?

The confused look the Luckster was already giving to said closet turned into a wide-eyed one as soon as the door of the metallic object was suddenly swung open, allowing for a pair of empty eyes to lock firmly on the time-traveler.

"Could you leave? I don't need Yukizome hearing you're here and coming to finish her job." The more than obviously tired form of one Matsuda Yasuke said with his head popping out of the dark closet with a flashlight and a novel on his hands, right before closing the door once more to the world, leaving two perplexed Ultimates in his wake.

"Did you know that…" He started.

"I didn't…" And Seiko finished for him, right before the closet was opened once more by a glaring Yasuke.

"And I have no idea what you did to Junko, but I refuse to clean the mess that she left in her room."

And with that, the Ultimate Neurologist went back to his self-imposed confinement, which in his own mind was miles better than dealing with the psychopath that he had as a teacher.

This left a Luckster with an increasingly stronger headache and a gut feeling that he needed to have a few conversations about why putting others in the infirmary wasn't a good thing, even if a few of them seemed to enjoy it, and a suddenly depressed Ultimate Pharmacist that had her violet eyes glued to the floor.

"I didn't know you were like that with Enoshima-san, Naegi-kun…" The soft voice of the former student was enough to tear Makoto's attention from his thoughts, and it only took him exactly 4 seconds to figure out what Seiko meant, for it certainly wasn't the first time such a misunderstanding had been made by now.

"We are not-!"

"Ruruka-chan won't like this." With her words, his ears turned red and his eyes wider, for he could only imagine what the Ultimate Confectioner would do if she got the wrong impression on something.

"T-that isn't-"

"Sonosuke-kun won't like it either." And now his face simply went ghastly pale, his eyes glossing over and his mind going to unknown lands to the point that he missed the last words the silver-haired graduated whispered.

"I thought we would only have to share you between us three…"

Maybe his senpai still had enough room in that closet for him too? He wasn't that much of a fan of light novels but he could learn.

"Is everything here…alright?"

And it was to such a sight, one of the young ahoge-haired boy muttering how hiding knives in cakes wasn't an acceptable notion while a silver-haired masked woman whispered to herself about dividing time equally, all with two mummified bodies still shaking in fear, that greeted the pair of students that had just decided to open the door to their classmate's Lab.

A rather loud cough from one of the newcomers was finally enough to gather the attention of the mumbling duo, whose attention was quick to move to the girl with narrowed eyes and the nervous looking guy right behind her.

"Koizumi-senpai?"

"Mitarai-kun?"

The two newcomers stood side by side right after entering and closing the door behind them, with the duo sporting a pair of looks that the Luckster had come to get used to receiving when it came from them.

From the raised eyebrow and narrowed eyes that hid the concern coming from the red-head known as the Ultimate Photographer to the more subdued, tired and nervous pair of hazel eyes that belonged to the Ultimate Animator, the time-traveler found himself giving a wry smile to the two older Ultimates, Koizumi Mahiru and Mitarai Ryota.

Just who he wanted to see right now.

"S-sorry for interrupting, Kimura-senpai, Naegi-kun." The light brunette said in honest regret just as his fidgeting gaze moved from the duo to his frowning classmate. "W-we thought Tsumiki-san would be here…"

A sudden flash of understanding popped in Seiko's purple eyes for the world to see, one that had her nodding a couple of times before she moved her gaze to the opposite side of the room.

"Mikan-san told me you would be coming before she left. Just give me a second." The oldest of the group spoke before moving with the obvious intention of retrieving something from one of the many shelves in the room.

The Luckster received nothing but a wondering gaze from the Ultimate Animator, to which he could only shrug in response. He truly had no idea where the Ultimate Nurse could be at the moment if she wasn't here, especially If her classmates themselves had no idea either.

Considering how much he knew one Tsumiki Mikan loved her Research Lab, however, he could only guess that it had to do with something of importance.

"A-and you say he has been unconscious for the whole weekend…?"

"That's what Tojo-san told me. It apparently has something to do with Ikusaba-senpai…Sorry for dragging you here, Tsumiki-senpai!"

"N-no, it's fine, Akamatsu-san…I just, uhm…"

"Yes?"

"Wouldn't it be easier if we untie hi-"

"No, he stays like that until we graduate."

"Momota-kun!"

"What?! You wanted us to vote and we voted!"

The only other sound besides the two arguing Ultimates and the clearly confused Nurse was the gargling from the defeated Supreme Leader.

"I understand those two being here." It was the red-head the one that spoke next while signaling to the mummified, bed-ridden duo behind the ahoge-haired boy. "But what about you? If you're still feeling bad so bad then…"

The concern and doubt in her voice were more than obvious to him, and at that moment Makoto couldn't be gladder that the red-head was one of the most level-headed friends that he had. Her concerns were understandable, of course, but he could name more than a few individuals that would most likely jump to conclusions rather quickly.

"No!" He answered swiftly and with a disarming smile that obviously didn't fool the older girl if her frown was anything to go by. Something certainly did happen, but it wasn't something that he could reveal of course. "I was just looking for Mitarai-senpai."

"M-me?" The Ultimate Animator in question was quick to become the center of attention between his classmate and the younger Ultimate. Curiosity showed in Ryota's face, one that was quick to morph into honest nervousness once he noticed the shift in Makoto's eyes.

"It's about the project that you were working on in your second year, senpai." Even his voice came out with such seriousness that it caught not only Ryota, but even Mahiru by surprise. It wasn't like Ryota had never seen the Luckster with such an intense gaze crossing his eyes however, for he certainly remembers being on the receiving end of that exact same look barely a year ago.

Curiously enough, the subject that day had been the exact same the younger Ultimate had just decided to bring out once more.

"I just wanted to know if you had decided to continue with it, senpai."

It sounded like an innocent enough question born out of nothing but interest, but the Ultimate Animator couldn't help but think that there was something more behind it. Was that apprehension that he had heard in his underclassmen's voice? He wasn't sure.

And judging by the look they were receiving from the freckled girl that had accompanied him here, something told Ryota that his class was going to start to get more on edge around him than usual.

And here he thought that acting disinterested would work until the end of the year, but it seems getting Makoto's help was going to become increasingly hard if Mahiru's narrowed eyes were anything to go by.

"I know you told me you weren't continuing with it, but…" The Luckster continued with a frown, one that was met with a small smile from the Animator who simply shook his head slowly.

"I took what you told me to heart, Naegi-kun," Ryota spoke softly, the memories of those days back in his first and second year being enough to tug a smile out of him. "I'd rather have those watching what I make feel the emotions naturally than forcing them to do so… I promise you I scrapped everything about those videos already."

And without even realizing it the Luckster ended up releasing a breath he hadn't even known he had been holding. One of his hands went to his chest before a relieved smile appeared on his lips, which he was quick to aim at the now more relaxed Animator.

Besides the Kamukura Izuru Project, the creation of both the Suicide and the Despair videos had been one of the first things he had focused on intervening.

Junko's craftiness could not be denied by anyone, but it was those videos that allowed her to do as much damage as she did. The talent of the Ultimate Animator was certainly a scary thing in the wrong hands, and even if he truly didn't blame Ryota, he still knew better than to allow such a thing to be created.

At least, not while Junko walked the halls of this school.

And in the back of his head, he also knew that it was a bit more personal than that. Knowing what he knew after experiencing one of the videos himself, he truly didn't wish that on anyone.

Then again, something told him someone like Junko would actually enjoy the damn thing.

If the current mattes weren't so urgent already, he wouldn't have brought such a subject in front of others, but getting a straight answer from the Ultimate Animator took priority over anything else.

"You two…are awfully close to one another, aren't you?"

The voice in question was filled with nothing but suspicion, for in all her time as a student in Hope's Peak Academy, the Ultimate Photographer had never seen her frail classmate particularly close to the younger Ultimate.

And when your whole classroom has a thing for said Luckster one way or another, you tended to notice anyone that didn't share the sentiment simply because of how much they stood out.

But then again, there were those times in which Makoto would seemingly disappear out of thin air to the point no one was able to find him.

The school was massive, of course, but they all still had their ways to find him even in such a big place, so for Makoto to be nowhere to be seen…

They never did check on the Animator's Research Lab though…

And in response to the increasingly narrowing eyes of Mahiru, both Makoto and Ryota could do nothing but to do their best to not meet her eyes. Whenever the Luckster helped the Animator they always did their best to keep it a secret.

It simply came with Ryota preferring if no strangers suddenly barged into his Research Lab without his permission.

"I-I'm actually working on something new right now!" Urging himself to change the subject, Ryota was quick to mumble out before the red-head asked any more details. The only ones that knew how close he was to the Luckster were the missing Nurse and the Ultimate Impostor, after all, and he would certainly prefer it if it was kept that way. "I even thought about showing it to the Elementary Division to see if they liked it…"

And just like that, it was as if a sudden revelation has shined upon the brown-haired teen known as Naegi Makoto, for the next thing both third-year students saw was the way his face went from nervousness to absolutely nothing before flashing in understanding, almost as if he had figured out something of utmost importance.

They could even see the figurative light bulb flashing above his head.

And the next thing they knew was that Makoto had their eyes on them, or most specifically on the freckled girl of the duo.

"Koizumi-senpai!"

As for the girl in question, before she knew it she already had the teen's hand clasped on her wrist, an action that was more than enough to get a small yelp out of her lips.

"I need your help!"

"I-16."

"Bingo~!"

"Oh c'mon!"

"That's cheating!"

"For fuck's sake!"

"Language!"

Homeroom was always a challenging time for the teachers of Hope's Peak Academy.

Even though she would definitely call any of her charges a bad kid, she was more than aware of how…difficult some of them could be.

Considering how much she remembers of her own time as a student and the things she knew her previous class was capable of doing, she knew that it was a thing of pretty much every batch that had ever, and would ever grace Hope's Peak Academy.

She loved her job though, so even if things could get chaotic from time to time it was something that she simply learned to accept and handle. She certainly wasn't going to stop them from playing as long as it wasn't anything dangerous.

She was more than aware though, that the current chaos was in part because of the lack of one particular student.

But even so, it wasn't the actual disruption of her class that had her feeling so defeated…

"Uhm, Kyoko-chan…"

"You can't participate, Yukizome-sensei."

"But why not?!"

It was the fact that she wasn't allowed to play that had her kneeling beside the Ultimate Detective while tugging at her sleeve with her hands, while sporting the best pleading look she could muster in the hope that her request would be accepted.

A request that was met with nothing but cold purple orbs.

"Because last time it was hard to explain to the authorities why a teacher was on a date with one of her students."

"I-it sounds worse than it was if you put it like th-"

"Naegi-kun had to lie so that you wouldn't be sent to the Reserve Course."

"T-that was a misunderstan-"

"And you still refused to erase those pictures in your phone, which led to another call from the Headmaster and to Naegi-kun lying for you, again."

Each cold word from the daughter of the Headmaster felt like a knife being stuck right into her body, to the point that the Ultimate Housekeeper had no choice but to back down momentarily.

And by that, it meant crouching in the corner with a defeated pout on her face and her fingers making circles on the floor while muttering how the Ultimate Gamer never treated her like this and how no one understood her maiden's heart.

Alongside a few other comments that Kirigiri Kyoko decided to ignore for the sake of whatever lingering respect she still had for the teacher.

While deciding to leave the sometimes childish teacher to her own devices, the Ultimate Detective moved her impassive gaze to the rest of the classroom, which allowed more than a clear look on each one of her fellow classmates.

Well, most of them considering that the room still had a few empty seats. Five of them to be exact, not counting hers considering how she was standing at the front of the class where the teacher would normally be.

The ones missing in question were the resident blue-eyed sisters, something that wasn't really a surprise. The Fashionista wasn't exactly what one would call a model student, and the Soldier was most likely either with her or with their resident Lucky Student.

Who just so happened to be one of the missing individuals, same with the Ultimate Doujin Author but at least she knew where he was.

The last one was the other blonde of the class, something that was to be expected. As Ultimates, a lot of the student's of the school had responsibilities outside of it, normally something that had to do with their own talents.

This rang especially true for the Ultimate Affluent Prodigy, who had a whole empire to run. To see the Togami heir missing a day or two of class certainly wasn't new.

"Ufufufu, please continue with our game, Kirigiri-san. I would like to finish this and claim my prize as soon as possible."

Then again, considering the scene happening in front of her eyes, maybe her focus was best put in those that were here instead of those that weren't.

Considering how most of the class looked upset, defeated or even ready to kill, that was definitely a safe bet.

And the only one to blame for that was the gothic-themed girl sitting at the middle of the classroom, her smile a serene one and her red eyes shining, a face that the Detective now understood was a sign that the Ultimate Gambler was doing what she loved the most.

Namely, to beat everyone into submission.

"Why the hell are we even playing this crap anyway?!" It was Kuwata Leon the one that stood up suddenly, his glare aimed at the obviously amused Ludenberg. "Not like we ever stood a chance against you!"

"You owe me this," Celestia said in a cold voice, one that made more than a few in the room to gulp without even knowing it. "What did you expect after the little stunt you all had Yamada-kun do to me, hmm?"

"I'-I'm sure it wasn't that bad…" It was Aoi the one that commented next, simply earning another pointed look that had her almost flinching on the spot.

"Can't you just beat the living shit out of Yamada again and call it even?" Mondo offered his own retort while scratching the back of his head. "I'll even hold him for you so that he doesn't escape."

"As tempting as that sounds," Celestia spoke in a dry tone, right before a mocking smile once again graced her lips. "I think I'll prefer the time I'll have with Naegi-kun much more."

"Guh… Witch." Another comment was sent on Celestia's way, this one coming from her left. She made sure to bat her eyelashes in that direction enough to make Toko bite her thumb with enough force to almost draw blood.

"You better not do anything weird to Naegi-kun." The next threat came from behind Celestia, to which she could only turn around slightly in order to aim a polite smile at the Pop Sensation sitting behind her.

"I assure you I won't do anything you wouldn't," Sayaka's eye was almost twitching at the tone she received, which was exactly what Celestia wanted. "Ero-Idol."

The next few seconds involved Sakura keeping a hold on the blue-haired Idol to make sure she didn't throw herself at the smirking Gambler.

More complains followed soon after, but none that mattered to one Celestia Ludenberg, who simply kept waiting eagerly for Kyoko to resume their little impromptu game of BINGO.

Because if there was one thing that the Ultimate Detective had in common with her class was that they truly did care about the well-being of their resident ahoge-haired boy.

She knew her classmates could sometimes be a bit on the thoughtless side, but anyone that said that they didn't care for the Luckster was either lying or blind.

And it was for that reason that they were doing this, for normally the competition for Makoto's attention would be nothing short of a free-for-all involving not only them but the majority of the school.

The only moments in which that ever changed was when it involved the other classes. Then it became a matter that the whole class could work together to win, for keeping Naegi Makoto on their class, where he belonged took priority over anything else.

It wouldn't be the first time another class had managed to make him a member of their group, after all, even if the school rules dictated otherwise.

They couldn't do that today though, and they knew that. Because as far as they were aware, the Luckster just came from feeling so bad that he couldn't even come to school. Anyone that knew Makoto could easily testify on how weird that fact was, for Kyoko was sure he sometimes spent even more time here than in his own house.

So for him to not be able to come, she could only guess how badly he had felt just yesterday.

And knowing that, the last thing she, or anyone in the class for that matter, wanted to do was to make him feel worse.

So they had decided to use the Homeroom time to decide who got to spend time with the Luckster by themselves before he arrived to avoid any fights that might make things worse.

The issue though, and that was also the reason class 78 never did things like that, was that they had a resident troublemaker that made almost every game like this utterly useless considering the winner was obvious most of the time.

It came with having someone as the Ultimate Gambler on their class, she supposed.

She wasn't even allowed to participate since not only she had been the last one that got to spend time alone with the Luckster, but the class had also somehow figured out her sudden ramen outing with her father and the ahoge-haired boy in question, so she was left with the duty of calling out the numbers and watching how Celestia won every single round.

Oh, and also to keep their teacher busy, that too.

She could only sigh just as Celestia laughed slowly before calling her out once more in order to resume the game. One more round and Celestia would be the winner after all, and it was as one-sided as it could get.

But just as she was about to declare the beginning of the next round, the young Kirigiri was interrupted by the sudden entrance of one of the missing students, bringing the class' attention to the newcomer rather quickly.

"Eh? Byakuya-kun?" It was Chisa the one that spoke, however the blonde in question obviously didn't care if the way he quickly swept his eyes over the classroom was anything to go by.

"I won't even bother with this one." Said the heir of the Togami Empire, easily putting two and two together. It wasn't hard when you had Ludenberg looking as smug as possible and Maizono looking ready to bite someone's head off.

Not that it mattered to him, for if they wanted to waste their time going against the Ultimate Gambler then they were even more foolish than he thought.

He was a man with a mission however, one that was quick to bring him right in front of the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader's desk.

"You, monkey."

"You want to pick a fight now or something?!" Byakuya was not one to play nice, and Mondo wasn't one to take comments like that calmly, something that had the tallest of the two suddenly raising up from his seat to glare down at the arm-crossed blonde.

"Did Makoto tell you why he was unable to come yesterday?" Byakuya completely ignored the threat thrown to his face and asked with nothing showing on his expression, now gaining a confused stare from Mondo in response.

"Did you not get the message I sent to everyone?" In Mondo's stead, it was Kiyotaka the one that answered, for it was the Ultimate Moral Compass the one that had reported to every one of his class after Mondo had explained how the visit to Makoto's home had gone.

That response, however, seemed to not impress Byakuya if the way he shook his head worked as an indication for anything.

"I got that one," Byakuya answered while keeping eye contact with Mondo. "But I wanted to know if the thug here managed to learn the real reason too."

The room fell in utter silence after those words were said, and even the previously angry Sayaka and confident Celestia were now looking carefully at the glass-wearing heir, trying to understand what he was implying.

"R-real reason…?" In the end, it was the small boy sitting beside Mondo the one that asked for the group, with even Chihiro looked worried about Byakuya's words.

As for the blonde he simply kept staring at the glaring Mondo for a few more seconds before simply snorting and shaking his head and obvious disappointment, his stare then being quick to move to a pair of purple eyes.

"I expect this much from the rest, but from you, Kirigiri?" Byakuya spoke in mock disappointment, simply earning a silently raised eyebrow from the lavender-haired girl. "Maybe you're losing your touch."

Kyoko wasn't going to take the bait however, for if Byakuya wanted to get a rise out of her he would have to try harder than that.

That didn't mean she didn't know what he was talking about, though, but it was a suspicion that she would have preferred to keep to herself.

"As to what I meant," Byakuya spoke just as his body took him to the door he has just walked from, his tone aloof as always. "For Naegi to decide not to come and say it was due to stress… It's almost as if none of you actually knew him."

Glares were sent on his way with those words, but he didn't particularly care, just like most didn't care if he simply left the room like he was trying too.

"There's obviously something more going on with Naegi if it got him so bad to the point he would lie about it." He still felt like leaving some parting words, however. "As to what that is, go figure that one out by yourselves. He obviously isn't here so I'll go get my answers somewhere else."

And then he was gone, leaving a silent room in his wake, with the rest of class 78 either trying to understand properly what the blonde meant or looking at Mondo, who simply kept an angry stare aimed at the floor.

And it was for such reason that Kyoko would have preferred to keep things under wraps. There was obviously something else going on, something that probably had to do with her father too, but putting everyone on edge like this, even though that was obviously what Makoto had been trying to avoid…

That guy enjoyed the sound of his own voice way too much for her taste.

A small sigh left her lips before she coughed on her gloved fist, doing her best to earn the attention of her class. Even the teacher was muttering things that she wasn't able to hear properly, although she could easily guess it had to do with Makoto as usual.

Her lips parted slowly, for she was about to goad them into continuing their little game. It beat having everyone looking so upset, after all. Sure, she valued silence, but this one felt too unnatural for her taste.

But before she was able to do so, she was once again interrupted by the other door of the classroom being opened.

And she had been more than ready to ask Byakuya what he wanted this time around, but the one that made an entrance hadn't been the annoying blonde.

No, instead of him it was the Luckster that was in everyone's thought that had just graced the room with his presence.

And just like a magnet, his mere presence had drawn the attention of every single pair of eyes in the room, including hers.

But to Naegi Makoto it seemed that there was only one other person in the classroom right now, for the ahoge-haired boy moved like a man on a mission and walked straight towards one of the desks on the left side of the room.

Or rather, straight to the girl sitting there.

"Asahina-san, I need you!"

Suffice to say that his words, alongside the way in which Makoto grabbed Aoi's hand, was more than enough to send the rest of the room into a frenzy, especially for the now blushing Swimmer in front of Makoto.

The fact that their teacher was one of the most vocal ones didn't help either.

And now, Kirigiri Kyoko could only rub her forehead and hope for her Luckster to clear up this misunderstanding…

…Because this betterbe a misunderstanding.

This one really took far longer than I thought it would, especially since it isn't particularly long. College is college though, so what can I say?

A relaxing moment for everyone after the previous chapter was sorely needed, and I really hope this one delivers. Seiko is my favorite character from DR3, in case anyone wondered. I really didn't want to take so long into this chapter considering how nothing much happens in this one, so I apologize once more for that one.

Or maybe I'm lying and this one has a big clue somewhere. I still think Hifumi did it though. Also, poor Tsumugi and Chisa. You turn into Despair or make the series go full meta once and you start appearing on everyone's suspect list.

This one probably made it obvious, but the next one (whenever that one pops out) will feature a certain bunch that a lot of you had been asking about for a long time, alongside a V3 character. Guess which one is it and you earn a cookie.

Let me just thank you all for both your patience and for your continuous support in the form of views, follows, favorites and of course reviews (and sorry that it took me so long to answer those. My internet connection is as shitty as it can get).

With any luck, next chapter will come out sooner, but since it will be longer I wouldn't hold my breath.

Next Chapter: Warriors of Hope.