All gathered back in the main ship's dining room, having taken a good look around the third ship available to them now. They told one another what they had found, and on the whole, there was, sadly enough, nothing exciting to talk about. Even with the tools in the closet by the staff lounge near the arcade, none saw a way to use them to escape this place.

"I told you," Murphy said in his usual grumpy way. "Monokuma wouldn't be careless to give us a way out."

The only other thing of note, however, was that Sister Hikari said that she had not fully looked through the untidy room in the lower second deck. Though Masashi doubted at this point that there was something useful there, the nun nonetheless insisted on checking it out later.

"Now, then," Maiha said, "since we're done talking about that matter, let us talk about something more important, shall we?"

"Hmm? What is it?" Faye asked.

"Why, the matter of our new leadership, of course!" She raised a finger. "Now that Lady Inoshishi is sadly gone, we must find someone else to lead us, must we not?"

"Well, yeah, a leader's needed at a time like this," Masashi said. "Four of us are already gone, and I don't think we should simply do nothing."

"Whom do you think to be the best candidate, then?" Haruyuki asked.

Maiha scoffed, her arms akimbo. "Is it not obvious? It is I that suggested the very idea of leadership in the first place. Unfortunately, it was then suggested that Lady Inoshishi be the leader. I don't mean to sully her name, of course, but I believe that had I been in charge, things would have turned out much better."

"You're truly that sure of yourself, aren't you?" Murphy said.

Maiha scoffed again as she adjusted one of her white gloves. "I have good reason to think myself to be the fittest for the role. You may not understand this exactly because of your lowly status, commoners, but we of high society are laden with responsibilities, whence it is clear that I ought to be chosen."

"But, you know, even if you yourself are responsible," Mari said. "You're not exactly, well… inspiring."

"'Inspiring'?" Maiha said, glaring at her. "What do you mean?"

"In this kind of situation, we need more than responsibility on your part," Mari answered. "And you don't really have much of it… You know… charm."

"'Charm'!" Maiha exclaimed, frown deepening. "In what way have I little charm?"

"Well, I don't know what she means exactly," Sayua said, arms crossed, "but if you ask me, you're an arrogant piece of work that wouldn't know the meaning of cooperation even if it kicked you from behind!"

Many of the others gasped.

Tanjiro grew a bit squeamish. "That's, uh, a rather bold thing to say, don't you think?"

Sayua shrugged her shoulders. "You were trying to say it softly, but at a time like this, it's much better to be truthful about what we think of her."

"Such disrespect!" Maiha frowned, giving her the evil eye. "You truly have no sense at all, commoner!"

"Uh, while I think Sayua was a bit too heavy-handed with her criticism," Sister Hikari said softly, still looking a little surprised, "I admit that there is some truth in it."

"Yeah, you're pretty prideful and tend to look down upon us," Faye said.

"And even though you're pretty knowledgeable and responsible, you don't really seem to be the understanding kind," Sorao said.

"And you don't really seem keen to interact with us that much," Murphy said.

Haruyuki chuckled as he leaned against a nearby wall. "It seems that complaints about your attitude are not wanting at all. In my opinion, you are not someone whose deeds lead to harmony, and so it is no wonder that you have been rejected."

From what Masashi could tell, Haruyuki's assessment of the group's opinion was on the mark. None of the others looked keen or excited to be led by her. Though intelligent, she had only the respect that one had for another out of basic courtesy. And though of high society, she had little of the grace that was expected from it, and so she had won no hearts. Truly, she was no inspirational leader.

Silent, Maiha glared at the group for a few seconds before she scoffed. "Well… I suppose that at the moment, I have very little support among you."

I guess even she can't fight against group opinion, Masashi thought. However much she might protest, she was but one woman. If most of the group wanted to do something that she did not want, unless she had good persuasion skills, then there was nothing that she could do about it.

"But answer me this, then," Maiha continued. "If it is not I that you want, then who will lead the way?"

"Hey, isn't this what a deputy's for?" Sayua said, looking bored. "Obviously, it should be him."

"Ah, well..." Sorao said, pointing at himself as all turned toward him.

"Hmm… You're certainly nowhere as bad as Maiha," Faye replied, "even if you are a little forgetful."

Sorao stroked his chin. "I... see what you're getting at… And I'd like to lead the way forth, really, but…"

"But what?!" Arashi said.

Sorao showed a smile that had a smatch of nervousness. "Well... I simply don't think that I feel able for the job."

"Wh-What?" Tanjiro said, eyes widened. "You're… declining?"

"Yeah, man. Normally, I'd take the job, but…" Sorao heaved a great sigh as he lowered his eyes, his expression growing dreary. "It's just that… I don't think I'm as able as I thought I was. I truly thought that I could stop any more deaths from happening, but then Lady Inoshishi suddenly was killed…"

"Oh… well… I understand how you feel," Sister Hikari said, hands rested on her lapel. "After a beloved one's death, one may feel that one is powerless, that one is weak, that one could have done something to stop it from happening… I don't blame you for choosing not to be our leader, Sorao. We each have our own ways to overcome death, and so I shall not be surprised if it takes even a year to recover from Futaba's death."

Sorao chuckled a small chuckle. "Ah, thanks for being so understanding, Sister Hikari. I don't deserve such kindness from you."

"Oh… I see…" Tanjiro mumbled, giving Sorao a rather bewildered look.

"But, you know, even if I don't feel like becoming the leader," Sorao added, raising a finger, "I can make a... recommendation."

"A recommendation?" Masashi asked. "Well, who?"

Sorao chuckled, this time sounding much merrier. "Well, isn't it obvious? It's you, man!"

"Wh-What?" Masashi said once Sorao pointed at him. "You surely don't mean me, right?"

"Oh, yes, I mean you, buddy! When I point, I make sure to know what I'm pointing at, you know," Sorao answered, smiling.

As the others glanced at him, Masashi could only glance back in bemusement. He had expected Sorao to say someone like Sister Hikari or Faye, but Sorao's choice felt utterly out of nowhere.

"But why choose me?" he asked.

"Well, for one, I feel that you understand the rest of us better," Sorao said. "Sure, you're likely not as knowledgeable as Maiha, but you have a better idea of what's going on in the group."

"Still… I'm no one special," Masashi replied, still taking in the fact that he had been nominated. "Don't you think that someone like that is better?"

The musician, however, shook his head, his answer not deterring him. "Hey, come on, man, just because you're an Ultimate in name only, it doesn't mean you're a bad fit for leadership. You make up for your ordinariness with your kindness and your wits. I mean, you've got to have wits, since you've been tremendously helpful in the class trials and give out those long dramatic explanations in the end."

"Um…" Masashi felt his cheeks reddening. "It was nothing, really. And I don't really want another opportunity to show off my wits…"

"Still, I can see why Sorao thinks you to be a good fit!" Sister Hikari smiled a light and gentle smile. "I think you care about us a lot. If we were in a crisis, I think you could find some way to make things better."

"Yeah, not a bad choice, now that you put it that way," Murphy said, nodding along as he grew more accepting of the idea.

"Well, I don't really care, but I guess he's better than that rich chick," Sayua added.

It did not take long for the others to agree with the idea that Masashi be made leader. Though astounded at first, Masashi began to see why there was a certain appeal to the idea; he did not mean to boast, of course, but he had spent time with most of the others and thus had gotten a better understanding of them, unlike Maiha, who had mostly spent time by herself.

"Ahaha… It seems that we are intent on putting you in charge, Masashi," Haruyuki said. "It's a rather interesting development, in my opinion."

"If that's what you guys want..." Masashi made up his mind. "I'll do it. I'll try my best to stop another killing from happening."

As the others showed relief at their choice of new leadership, Maiha, the ballroom dancer, looked at the group with a disapproving glare, frowning but saying nothing. It was much like the time when Futaba had been chosen, and so Masashi could only imagine her anger from being thwarted in her ambitions again.

Ah, well… I should talk with Maiha later, Masashi thought. Sure, she was prideful and unpleasant to be around, but he still wanted to have smooth relations with her, and it would not be right to forsake a member of the group.

"So, uh, Masashi, now that you're in charge," Sorao said, "you need someone to help you, don't you?"

"Hmm?" Masashi looked askance at him. "I thought you were still the deputy."

Sorao raised his hands. "Oh, no, no, sorry that I didn't make it clear earlier, but I want to step down from my position. I… don't think that I can work as well now, so I need a break."

"A break?" Tanjiro said with as much skepticism as before.

"Yep... As I said earlier, I think I need some time to recover from all this." Sorao scratched the back of his head. "But, you know, Tanjiro, we haven't really talked that much. While I'm busy unwinding, we can catch up on things, don't you think?"

Tanjiro groaned, growing none too enthusiastic. "Yeah… Yeah, I suppose we can…"

"So, Masashi, do you have anyone in mind?" Faye asked.

"I'm not in any rush to choose someone as the new deputy," Masashi answered. "I'll see what things are like now and think about it afterwards."

"All right, then! We're all done now, aren't we?" Kasumi said as she walked toward a nearby door. "So let's end things off and go our separate ways—"

"Hold it right there, foul thief!" Maiha exclaimed. "Do you truly think that I've forgotten about the problem that you now pose to us?"

"Eep!" Kasumi squealed as the others' gazes were directed at her.

"Oh, yeah, there's the whole problem that's popped up because we know your name now!" Arashi said. "We never decided what to do about you!"

Maiha as well as the others turned toward Masashi, her new leader. "Commoner… No, I suppose it's not right to call you a mere commoner anymore... Masashi! I insist that as your first order of business, you lock up Kasumi Ayukawa for the remainder of our time here!"

"H-Hey, don't get carried away!" Kasumi said back. "There's no need to do such a thing!"

Masashi had thought about what ought to be done about this ever since his talks with Maiha and Kasumi in the pirate cove. It was no easy question to answer, given that the outcome of this would greatly affect how this killing game would play out. Kasumi was a potential danger, as she had a rather great motive to kill, but on the other hand, the phantom thief insisted that she would never kill, claiming that it went against her practice. She might have lied about it, though that was not the impression that he had gotten from her. Still, even if she had not lied, would it still be better to listen to Maiha?

"What do you guys think?" Masashi asked the others.

"Well, I personally think that we ought to give Kasumi a second chance," Sister Hikari said. "She lied about going to the Memory Bank, but I want to let her show that she will not misbehave anymore."

Most of the others, however, showed a great amount of reluctance and uncertainty.

"Masashi, I've got to tell you, I don't think you'll make the right move here by letting her go," Murphy began. "Kasumi's a phantom thief. Not exactly a trustworthy kind of person."

"Well, duh," Sayua said. "That thief chick's likely up to something right now."

"Y-You'd have to be pretty stupid to trust her," Hikari said as she glanced off to the side.

"Hmm… Sorry, but Maiha has a point here," Faye said.

Maiha smirked as she turned back to Masashi. "Do you see it now? Almost all of them think that it's good that she be locked up."

"So… I should lock her up, then?" he said. Admittedly, he had not often led groups before, and even then, the groups were nowhere as great as this one, nor had the groups been placed in such a situation as this. Here, the consequences of each decision were potentially deadlier than he would like.

"Um, you still seem pretty unsure, Sir Masashi," Kumi said. "Do you trust Lady Kasumi a lot?"

"Somewhat…" Masashi replied. "I talked with her earlier, and she mentioned that she'd never kill another human being. And from what I could tell, I don't think she was lying."

"That's right! I really meant it," Kasumi said, her tone growing a bit more serious. "I'd never kill anyone. That's one of my principles as a phantom thief."

"Hmph! Your so-called principle is but a rank lie," Maiha retorted before she faced Masashi. "And even if you think that she does not lie, isn't it better to be safe by locking her up?"

"Well…"

It was odd; with that kind of reasoning, Masashi imagined that he would be easily persuaded to do so. After all, it seemed like the best way to uphold the peace, and the extremeness was somewhat justified by the special circumstances that the group had been put in. And it satisfied most of the group, and therefore, he ought to go with Maiha's solution.

And yet, why would he not agree to this solution?

I don't know why… but I can't find myself going with this.

Maybe he trusted Kasumi enough to think that she did not deserve to be locked up, but in any case, he certainly would not choose Maiha's solution.

"I think we should—"

He stopped.

Do I… truly want to do this? Even though most of the others don't like it? Sure, I can do it, and they may respect my decision, but…

The other option would likely lead to problems with the others or at least give them a strong feeling of discomfort, and that was bound to end badly. And moreover, he had a feeling that his relations with them might not go so smoothly as he hoped; after all, they had trusted that he would do the best that he could to prevent any more deaths from happening. He had earned their trust, but to suddenly make this move felt rather questionable.

And yet, he could not go with the solution to lock her up, either. Both solutions seemed pretty questionable, and the only other solution he could think of was to have someone watch over Kasumi at all time, which he deemed to be only slightly less extreme than locking her up. It would be one thing if she had tried to kill someone, but the worst that she had done was lie. The punishment seemed a bit too excessive.

In any case, it was clear that he trusted Kasumi, but most of the others did not. And expecting the others to simply trust her was not realistic; she had lied about her activities during Futaba's murder and thus had nearly gotten them all killed. Even though she had later apologized for it, he could not blame the others for not being so willing to forgive her. Right now, they had no reason to trust her.

"Hey, you know, if we're gonna lock that thief up," Sayua said, "don't you think it'll be weird to stop there?"

"What? What do you mean?" Tanjiro asked.

"If you ask me, Kasumi's not the only suspicious person aboard," the cheerleader answered. "I say we ought to lock up Maiha as well."

Many of the others gasped as they looked at the ballroom dancer, who looked back at the cheerleader with widened eyes at first before she returned to her usual cool expression.

"Commoner, please do not joke at a time like this!" Maiha said. keeping her haughty tone. "We are having a serious conversation right now."

"Joke? Nah, I meant every word of what I said."

"What?" Maiha frowned as she crossed her arms, eyeing her with great displeasure. "On what grounds do you make your ridiculous proposition?"

"For one, as we said earlier, you don't give a damn about us as well," Sayua answered, looking not at all deterred by her. "You wouldn't really feel bad if you ever decided to get out of here."

"Ah! That's a good point!" Arashi said. "Maiha definitely wouldn't hesitate if she thought about killing us, I bet!"

"What a preposterous notion!" Maiha said, albeit with less assertiveness. "Think of me what you will, but I will never do what that foolish bear wants me to do."

"Ah, but isn't that along the lines of what Kasumi said?" Haruyuki pointed out, his eyes glinting. "She too insisted that she would never kill, but you would not believe her."

"Y-Yeah, that's right!" Kasumi said. "Why do you get a pass when you say the same thing?"

"Hmph. I loathe the attempt to equate us both," Maiha said as she glanced away from them. "We obviously differ in how much motivation we have to get out of here. As I said earlier, Kasumi has much motive to kill us, now that we know her true name. But as for me, I have as much motivation as the rest of you. And unlike her, I've done nothing warranting your suspicions."

"Wait, now that I think about it… Maiha, weren't you hiding something from us as well?" Faye asked.

"Uh, yeah, if I recall correctly," Mari said, "I think Maiha hid the fact that she had found one of Kasumi's lockpicks."

Maiha, though noticeably a bit more rattled, simple scoffed as she adjusted one of her white gloves. "And what if I did? I kept it on my person in case there should be an emergency in which it proved useful. It had nothing to do with you, so naturally, I felt no need to tell you. And I had no idea that it belonged to that idiotic thief, for she had hidden her lockpicks from us."

"Well, you say that, but…" Sorao said. "With the lockpick, you could go into the exhibit rooms and access the weapons that had been placed there."

"Ah, I see!" Arashi said. "If Maiha ever wanted to do murder and needed a weapon, then there'd be no problem for her at all!"

Arashi then pointed at her wrathfully. "With how I see it, I bet you would've killed one of us if Abraham hadn't done it before you!"

"Wh-WHAT?" Maiha said, raising her hands slightly. "How dare you make such an accusation?!"

"But it certainly would explain why you hid the lockpick from us," Murphy replied, tipping the brim of his straw hat. "You wouldn't have benefited from telling us about the lockpick. To you, it was a hidden advantage in this killing game."

"Still, that does not constitute proof that I had planned to do murder!" Maiha retorted, sounding aghast.

Though very few among the others, however, looked sure that Arashi's accusation was right, very few also looked reassured by Maiha's denial thereof. Instead, most of the others shared looks full of skepticism, the same looks that they had had when asked about what ought to be done with Kasumi.

"You see? I was right to suspect her!" Sayua said proudly. "She's suspicious as hell!"

"What ridiculousness has gone through your minds!" Maiha exclaimed. "And besides, why do you look with those eyes only at me? After all, Haruyuki had a lockpick as well, did he not?"

"Ah… so it seems that I'm now under suspicion as well," the art critic said as the others' gazes were directed at him.

"Why didn't you tell us about your lockpick?" Faye asked.

"Rest assured, I had no evil intentions with it," he answered. "Ever since this killing game began, it has been my intention only to watch from afar how it plays out. I do not plan to interfere in any way."

"Yeah, right!" Sayua blurted out. "You've always struck me as weird and creepy! I bet you were up to something as well!"

Not flustered by her sudden accusation, Haruyuki let out a short chuckle. "There is no need for such suspicion. I have no interest in ending my observations of this killing game."

"Still, whether that be true or not, it's a fact that you hid the lockpick from us," Faye said, looking at him disapprovingly. "It shows that you're willing to hide important things from us."

"Then maybe we should lock Haruyuki up as well!" Arashi said, scowling. "He's nearly as dangerous as Maiha!"

Haruyuki frowned, looking at Arashi sternly for the first time. "I would rather not be put under such measures! I wish to keep my current observation, and locking me up would severely limit how much I can see."

"Yeah, well, who gives a damn about that?!" Sayua said, waving her hand dismissively.

"Now hang on, everyone!" Sister Hikari said. "Let's not be carried away here! I understand why you want to lock up Kasumi, but I think locking up Maiha and Haruyuki as well goes a bit too far!"

Sayua scoffed. "I don't see any reason to stick up for them. They're clearly suspicious as hell, and let's face it, we don't know anything about those two!"

"Yeah, no offense, Sister Hikari, but there's no telling what kind of people they truly are, you know," Sorao said.

Sister Hikari looked dumbstruck for a few seconds before she recovered. "Still... I think we should calm down and talk about this peacefully."

"Yeah, I think there's a better solution to all this," Tanjiro said meekly. "Let's not be so hasty in our decision here..."

"But it's undeniable that Maiha and Haruyuki haven't been open with us," Murphy pointed out, not looking receptive to the cry for civility. "And in a killing game, keeping important things away from us is definitely an advantage for them."

Hikari scoffed as she hid her hands in her kimono's sleeves. "Y-Yeah… You'd be pretty stupid to think they're not dangerous…"

"I don't know… Maiha's condescending, and Haruyuki's weird, but that doesn't really mean they're any dangerous and planning to kill," Faye said. "At least Kasumi went behind our backs by going to the Memory Bank. The worst those two did was hold onto two lockpicks."

"But, Miss Nirigiri, we shouldn't trust that they're not planning to get out of here!" Arashi said. "They're the least attached to us! I bet they're willing to sacrifice us to get out of here!"

Masashi could only stare as the conversation quickly devolved into an argument about whether the two ought to be locked up. Both sides kept talking to each other, repeating the same points again and again, and no progress was made in reaching a consensus. Meanwhile, Kasumi, looking utterly befuddled, stayed quiet as if fearing that speaking up made the others focus specifically on her.

"N-No… Everyone… please… stop fighting..." It was Kumi, the only one who had not gotten involved in the fiery debate. Instead, he had watched silently, his eyes welling with tears as he held his teddy bear. "We've lost too many friends… We have to get along now!"

Alas, his plea went unheard, as the others continued their argument, and seeing that he was ignored, the storyteller only wept even further. Such a sight wrenched Masashi's heart, and he too would like to see an end to this fighting. But what could he say to stop this? Letting Kasumi, and by extension Maiha and Haruyuki, was bound to displease many of the group, but locking them all in was unacceptable; even though he did not have particularly high opinions of Maiha, he still could not find it within him to lock her up. Something about it felt wrong, even though it was the safer solution.

"Hmph!" Maiha said after a short while. "Enough with this fighting. There is no need to be suspicious of me. The only thing that I have done wrong is hide a lockpick from you, but I am willing to give it up, whereby you have no reason to fear me."

"Still… you're definitely one of the more willing among us to kill," Sorao said. "If Kasumi weren't with us right now, I'd think you're the one most willing to kill, man, and I'd say you ought to be locked up."

Wait a minute… "right now"?

As an argument between Maiha and the others started, a thought popped up in Masashi's head: if Kasumi were not among them anymore, would they still have the same conversation as they had right now? Obviously, the answer was yes; after the proposal that Kasumi be locked up had been made, Sayua had suggested locking Maiha up as well, and it soon came to the point that Haruyuki also was under fire.

In other words, even without Kasumi, there would still be someone else to deem the most dangerous and thus the least trustworthy.

And the solution to the problem would be the same: lock that person up.

This can't go on any longer, Masashi thought. There has to be another solution to this.

After thinking about it for a few more seconds, Masashi got an idea.

"Everyone, please be quiet!"

All became silent upon hearing Masashi's voice booming through the dining room. Even he was surprised by the effect; he had thought that it would take him a few tries before the others should hear him. But then again, he had interrupted the debates at the class trials many times with ease, so by this point, he should be used to this.

Masashi took in a deep breath of air before continuing. "I think there's one thing that we're not thinking about in all this."

"Wh-What is it, Sir Masashi?" Kumi said, trembling.

"Mainly, it's the lack of willingness to build trust," he answered.

"What…? Building trust?" Maiha asked. "Whatever are you talking about? I thought we were talking about whether to lock Kasumi up."

"Well, I've thought about it, and I don't think that it actually solves our problem," he replied. "As I see it, the issue is that it doesn't solve the problem at hand. Even if we lock her up, we'll still mistrust her. And moreover, some of us don't trust Maiha and Haruyuki, either, and that they be locked up has even been proposed."

"So?" Sayua said.

"So it means that the problem isn't exactly the people we're concerned with!" Masashi answered. "The problem's that whenever there's someone we greatly mistrust, we're quick to lock that person up, however dangerous that person truly is. But by doing so, we're not actually improving our relations with one another."

"But what makes you think I want to do anything with those people?" the cheerleader retorted, eyeing him annoyedly. "It's much easier to put those guys behind bars, if you ask me."

"Well, yes, but…"

Masashi sighed. It certainly was the easier route, but he had decided not to tread upon it.

"I don't want us to live like this. I don't want us to simply solve our problems by putting them out of our sight. Even if it takes a lot of time… we should learn to deal with them instead of running away from them."

"I-I don't get it…" Hikari said. "Wh-What exactly do you want us to do?"

Masashi took a few seconds before answering.

"I… want us to build a bond."

"A bond?" Maiha repeated with the most surprised expression that had appeared on her face so far. "Are you saying that you want us to be… friends?"

"Well… yes. At the very least, we ought to be more than mere acquaintances at this point," Masashi answered. "We're all trapped here in this awful place, forced to play this killing game. If we want to overcome Monokuma somehow, then I think we all need to stick together."

"T-Together..." Kumi muttered, tearing up. "Th-That's right… I want us all… to be happy… To form a bond is what I want…"

"Wait, what's with all this 'bond' talk?" Sayua said at once, frowning. "Just because I'm trapped in the same place as you guys, it doesn't mean we all have to be buddy-buddy here!"

"Still… I think Masashi's right about this!" Sister Hikari said, smiling. "We clearly have a problem with mistrust right now. If we deepen our friendships and form strong bonds, then I believe that we'll become less willing to cut those bonds."

"So it's a way to deter us from thinking about killing…" Tanjiro said, brightening up. "Well, I think it's worth a shot, at the very least."

"But how do you plan to have us 'form a bond', Masashi?" Faye asked, looking at him skeptically. "Those are some pretty, reassuring, and hopeful words, but I'd like to hear something concrete."

"Well… this whole place is an amusement park," he answered. "Even though it's awful that we're trapped here, we may as well take advantage of it. We can spend time together by playing games, for instance."

"Oh, you mean like that one time when we played bumper cars?!" Arashi said excitedly. "I want to play that game again! I'm pretty sure I can beat Sayua!"

"Hah, well, think again, buddy!" Sayua replied, smirking. "I can beat you at any game, any time!"

"Well, if you want to prove him again, you'll have to join us," Tanjiro pointed out.

Sayua scoffed. "If it means I can show off how good I am, then count me in!"

Oh... Well, I guess that works, Masashi thought, surprised to see how easy Sayua had been goaded into joining them. In any case, he was relieved to see one of the more stubborn and standoffish of the group become willing to participate; if he could convince the others, then things might go swimmingly.

"Hmm… I'm still not sure about your idea," Faye said. "But… I guess it won't hurt to give it a try."

"Yeah, I'm not fully sold on the idea, but I'll join in as well," Murphy said, looking rather keen. "And hey, at the very least, it involves playing games, so it should be fun!"

"D-Do I really have to join in…?" This time, it was Hikari, who did not look any less gloomy. "I-It all sounds pretty annoying and tiresome to play a bunch of games."

"Hey, now, I can't let that statement stand!" Murphy said. "Playing games is a good way to pass the time! Haven't you ever played some games with your friends?"

"N-No… And I don't even have any friends to begin with…" the spirit channeler answered quietly.

Murphy started, eyes widened. "What? You've never played one video game? Well, that's unbelievable! You're missing out on many wonderful masterpieces. Can't you play at least one game in the arcade?"

"W-Well…"

Hikari looked back and forth at the others for a few seconds. "I-I don't have to talk too much, do I?"

"It'd be nice if you did, but you don't have to. Lots of people like to play games without talking all that much."

"Then…" Hikari bit her lips before continuing. "I guess… one try wouldn't hurt."

Seeing that things had been taken care of for her, Masashi then turned over to Sorao. "So what do you think about my idea?"

The musician looked at the others before he let out a short merry chuckle. "Well, it seems that most of the others like the idea, man. How can I say no at this point?"

"Well, I'm glad to hear that, but…" Masashi said. "Even if you didn't know what the others thought about it, would you still say yes?"

Sorao set a finger on his chin as he thought about it. "Yeah… I know what you're going for. A bond binds two people together. When one of them does the other something special, the other person naturally feels indebted and so returns the favor. It's a two-way relationship, the kind of relationship that a peaceful world runs on."

"Yeah…" Masashi smiled. "A peaceful world…"

He then turned over to Mari. "How about you? How do you feel about this idea?"

"Mmm…" Mari said nothing for a few seconds, setting a finger on her chin as she tapped her foot. "I guess something like a bond is needed at a time like this. We're not really united right now, and sooner or later, Monokuma will give us another motive. We can't do anything about that, so the best we can do is discourage ourselves from falling for it."

"But do you think it'll work?" Masashi asked. Swell as her answer was, he had noticed that she was somewhat evasive in her answer.

Mari thought for a few more seconds. "I hope it works… but if it turns out that it still doesn't work, even though we've tried as hard as we can… then it'll have been regrettable."

"Um, all right…"

Masashi thought her answer to be a rather wordy way of saying that she did not have full confidence in the idea. At the very least, however, she would participate in his bond-building suggestion, which was not too surprising; something about her gave him the impression that she did not shy away from trying new things.

"So, uh, does this mean that I'm free to go?" It was Kasumi, who looked at him with a wry smile as she twiddled her fingers. "You're not going to lock me up, right?"

"No, no one will be locked up," Masashi answered. "But that doesn't mean you should do whatever you want. You ought to be on your best behavior. That means no more pranks and no more hiding important things from us."

"Got it!" Kasumi said, flashing him a thumbs-up. "Henceforth, I'll be a good girl, I promise!"

"And I still want you to join us in our bond-building activities," Masashi added, wanting to make sure that she did not have the wrong impression. "Right now, you're not fully trusted by the others, so it's important that you really put in the effort to build a bond with them."

"Got it, got it!" Kasumi answered, nodding along.

Haruyuki chuckled as he leaned against a nearby wall. "I suppose that I ought to participate as well."

"Wow, really?" Sorao asked. "No offense, man, but from what I've seen of you, I'd think you would rather stay out of this."

The art critic clicked his tongue as he wagged a finger. "Do not misread my words. If we are to form a bond through recreational activities, I plan only to watch and provide you with my commentary. I don't plan on actually playing with you."

"But isn't the whole point to build trust among us?" Mari asked.

"Whether you trust me does not concern me," Haruyuki answered. "I care only insofar as I am allowed to roam around and behold how these events unfold."

Masashi sighed, still not understanding what the man was talking about. Ever since the killing game's beginning, Haruyuki had gone on about acting as an "observer" and having no role in these affairs other than doing what Monokuma needed him and the others to do. Was there a particular reason why he had insisted on his lack of involvement with this killing game's events? At first, Masashi was all right not to delve into it, but now that he was the leader, he had to determine the nature of Haruyuki's behavior if he wanted to keep the peace.

"Then could you at least play with us the first time around?" Masashi asked, thinking it best that they compromise for the time being. "I'd like you all to be involved so that I may hear from you what I can do better."

Haruyuki stayed silent for a few seconds before answering. "Well, I suppose that one time will not hurt. But afterwards, I shall not have to participate in these activities."

Masashi showed a little smile. "Ah, thanks for agreeing to it."

Of course, he hoped that he could persuade him to participate more; whether or not he were harmless, Masashi still thought that it was a good idea to have him interact with the group more.

Now, then, there's one last person...

Masashi turned around and faced Maiha, who had stood there with a quiet expression all this time. She nearly started when Masashi called her by her name.

"Hey, what do you think?" Masashi asked. "Do you think that this idea will work?"

"A-Are you seriously asking me?" Maiha said, eyeing him with skepticism.

"Uh, well… yes. I'd like to hear your opinion about this," he answered.

For a few seconds, Maiha said nothing, glancing off to the side. She showed no anger or frustration at all, her eyes instead a mix of hesitance and contemplation. Her body looked rather still, the only noticeable movement being her fingers' twirling of one of her locks. Eventually, she looked back at Masashi, uncertainty still on her face.

"Do you… truly think that forming a bond will work?" she asked, her tone lacking the usual haughtiness.

"I don't know for certain, but I think it's needed if we ever want to get out of here," Masashi answered. "We can't overcome whatever Monokuma will throw our way unless we unite."

"Is that so?" she replied. "Well…"

She paused for only a few seconds before answering. "I suppose that it sounds swell to you commoners… but I refuse to participate."

"Wh-What?" Masashi blinked a few times, dumbstruck. "Wh-What do you mean, you refuse?"

Maiha scoffed, returning to her usual prideful stance. "You commoners are so, so naive if you think that a bond will do anything. What I said earlier about that foul thief still applies. She's by far the greatest threat in this killing game, and trusting her at the risk of your lives is the pinnacle of foolishness."

"H-Hey! You still don't trust me?" Kasumi asked, looking a little shocked. "I feel that whatever I do, you'll never change your opinion about me!"

"That's right!" Maiha replied, frowning as she gave the thief the evil eye. "You are the Ultimate Phantom Thief… and a glaring example of what is wrong with the system."

"The system"? Masashi thought, confused. What did she mean by that?

"And you commoners are not worthy to form a bond with me," Maiha continued. "It's not hard to see why. You lot dared to suspect me, a member of high society, of a murder plot, all because I had a lockpick reserved for emergencies. Not to mention that most of you are unintelligent or all too naive."

Many of the others gasped.

"L-Lady Maiha! H-How… How could you say that?" Kumi whimpered, appearing to weep once more.

"How dare you call us that?!" Arashi yelled, his fists raised. "I'll get you back for this!"

"Hmph. You only serve to prove my point. Your small-minded threats do not frighten me at all, foolish hothead," Maiha answered, not looking surprised at all. "If only you had let me be in charge, I would've helped you."

"Yeah, well, I'm certain you would've made a terrible leader, lady!" Sayua retorted. "In fact, I reckon that things would've gotten worse—"

"Everyone, please, that's enough!" Masashi interjected, having sensed that things would worsen if he were not to step in sooner or later. He then faced Maiha, trying to look as composed as he could. "Maiha… are you sure you don't want to join us?"

"Of course I am," she said certainly. "The other commoners repulse too much for me to want to form a 'bond' with them. Now then, please stop asking me to partake in your activity."

Masashi sighed, having grown tired from having to deal with her complaints against Kasumi and the other commoners. It was clear that she would not readily change her mind, and with her unwillingness to bond with the others, she was by far the greatest obstacle to peace right now. Dealing with her was thus unavoidable.

But much as he wanted to change her mind about it, he could see that right now, it would be a waste of time. He admittedly knew little about her, and the others' presence only served to worsen the situation in case she decided to insult them once more. Indeed, now was not the right time to deal with this. Though giving up meant that the group would not be so united as he would like, he reasoned that it was unrealistic to expect things to go fully smoothly. As the leader, he must make a few concessions if he wanted peace.

"All right, Maiha. You win," Masashi said, trying to hide his disappointment. "You don't have to participate if you don't want to."

"Wh-What?!" Kumi cried out. "S-Sir Masashi! Why are you letting Lady Maiha go?"

Maiha smiled. "He has enough reason to acknowledge my freedom not to associate with the likes of you."

Sister Hikari sighed as she lowered her head a little. "It's such a shame… I think you would find us to be better than you imagine us to be."

"Yeah, well, I bet she's worse than what I imagine her to be!" Sayua said, not taken aback by Masashi's response. "We don't need her, anyway! She can go ahead and act like an arrogant shrew by herself!"

"I don't think so as well," Murphy said. "As long as most of us are together, it doesn't matter if she's not included, if you ask me."

Sorao shrugged his shoulders. "One can't win them all, I guess."

"Not that we're missing much!" Sayua quickly added.

"Anyway, Masashi," Sister Hikari asked, "what do you have in mind for our first group activity?"

"Well, I haven't decided yet," Masashi said. "I'll come up with something later, though. In the meantime, you're free to do whatever you want."

"All right, then!" Kasumi clapped her hands together. "We can end things off here, right?"

Just as Masashi was about to end the meeting, however, he remembered that there was something that he had long meant to show the others. He took out from his pocket the note that Abraham had given him before his execution.

"Wait, hold on," Masashi said. "We still haven't checked this note yet."

"Oh, yeah, that note!" Arashi started. "What's on that note, Masashi?!"

"I don't know, really. I wanted to read it with you guys," he answered. "Let's see what's on it now…"

He unfolded the note and read aloud its contents:

"The eighteen Project Shining Morrow participants from Camp 7 have been designated as the subjects of the upcoming killing game. The overseer has been deemed ready."

What followed was a list of names of all eighteen participants of this killing game, which included Kasumi's full name as well.

"Wh-What the…?" Masashi said, utterly befuddled. "'Project Shining Morrow'? What in the world is it? "

The name did not sound Japanese, so he had no ideas as to what it meant. He looked at the others, hoping for some reason that he might find an answer from them, but not surprisingly, all looked as confused as he.

"Could Project Shining Morrow be Brightmere Research's name for this killing game?" Faye suggested.

"Hmm… But if that's the case, the wording's pretty weird," Mari said. "It says we're 'Project Shining Morrow participants', but later in the sentence, it says we've been designated as subjects of the killing game."

"It doesn't seem as if Project Shining Morrow and this killing game are the same," Maiha said. "But it raises another question: what is Project Shining Morrow?"

"M-Maybe it's some kind of science fiction project?" Kumi said, shaking as he gripped his green hood.

"It certainly sounds like a pretty weird name, so I guess it's fitting for some sci-fi project…" Faye said.

"But what does it mean?" Sorao asked. "It sounds English, and I know what 'shining' means, but I don't know whether 'shining morrow' means anything in particular. Does it, Murphy?"

Murphy nodded. "Well, 'morrow' is a rather old word meaning 'the next day'. I guess that metaphorically, 'shining morrow' is meant to mean 'bright future'."

"Sounds pretty aspirational," Sorao replied. "Still, it doesn't really help us figure out what Project Shining Morrow is."

"I've never heard of it before," Masashi said. "And since it says that we're participants… does that mean that we agreed to it?"

"No way!" Sayua replied. "If I'd agreed to it, I'm pretty damn sure I'd remember!"

"Unless... we participated in it… and we simply don't… remember…" Tanjiro finished, his tone having grown drearier and drearier as he had reached the end of his sentence. "Oh… Oh no… This… This may actually be true…"

"Wh-What are you talking about?!" Arashi asked. "How in the world could we forget something like that?"

"Well, not too long ago, we had a motive in which memories of our darlings were taken away," Tanjiro pointed out. "That was possible because of the Memory Bank's technology."

"Oh!" Sister Hikari gasped. "So it's very much possible that Brightmere Research used the technology to steal our memories of the project!"

"But, uh, now that I think about it, that raises another question," Sorao pointed out, the concern on his face growing. "When did we participate in the project?"

"When?" Now that he thought about it, Masashi had no idea as to what timeframe this would fit in.

"It's weird, isn't it?" Sorao continued, his tone serious. "When the killing game began, we thought that we'd been kidnapped only the night before. But it seems that we've never heard of this Project Shining Morrow until now."

"So the only possible time is between the last night we were in our homes," Maiha replied, "and the time when the killing game started."

"Th-Then Project Shining Morrow must've taken place the night before the killing game began…" Hikari said.

Sorao shook his head. "That's possible… but how can we be certain that the project was only a night long?"

Once he had raised the possibility, all the students' faces grew in their dread, as they had realized its implications.

"N-No way… Are you saying that we weren't kidnapped the night before?" Masashi said, his voice shaking.

"It is possible," Haruyuki said, among the few who remained calm. "The Memory Bank's technology does not appear to have a problem as to how many memories it can take from us."

"B-But how much time passed between that night and the killing game's beginning?!" Arashi asked, sweat dripping down his brow.

Sorao shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows? Maybe it was only a few days… maybe a few weeks… But for all we know, it may have been as long as a year."

"A-A year?!" Arashi exclaimed. "We've been gone from our homes for a year?!"

"Whoa, man! I'm only saying it's only a possibility!" Sorao replied, raising his hands in a calming motion. "All that we can say is that a longer timespan can't be ruled out, dude."

"But unless we have more information about this project," Mari said, raising a finger, "we can't really be sure, can we?"

Masashi sighed as he glanced back at the note with weary eyes. "Yeah… I guess Monokuma's not going to tell us everything yet."

"I think that's everything we can glean out of that part of the sentence," Mari said. "But something else piques my interest as well. It says that we're participants from 'Camp 7'."

"Wow, that's certainly so distinctive and unique," Sayua remarked sarcastically.

"Camp 7… Yeah, no way I would know what that is. It's way too general a name," Sorao said, crossing his arms as he glanced off to the side. "It's most likely a simple designation for a facility or something, just like how one might call a bunch of rooms 'Room 1', 'Room 2', and so on."

"So what the heck is 'Camp 7', anyway?" Murphy asked. "It certainly doesn't sound a camp of the hiking variety."

"Who knows?" Sorao said. "At the very least, we can tell from the name something pretty important."

"Wh-What?" Hikari asked.

"Well, it'd be pretty weird to name only one camp Camp 7, wouldn't it?"

It took only those words to bereave all of their calmness. Confusion spread through the crowd once more, the students looking at the musician uneasily.

"My God… there are other camps…" Murphy began. "And if the people in those camps are in the same circumstances as we are…"

Arashi gasped. "D-Don't tell me that this isn't the only killing game?!"

"Now calm down, Arashi!" Faye replied quickly. "Th-That may be the case, but we simply don't have enough information! We know nothing about these camps!"

"Yeah, let's all calm down here," Sorao said, relaxing his arms. "We shouldn't jump to any conclusions so hastily, man. For all we know, these camps may be something else wholly."

No one said anything back. Sorao was right; for all the new information that had been given on this note, there was still far too little to work with, and Masashi had a feeling that Monokuma would only give them more if the killing game went forth as he wanted.

Sorao sighed as he set a hand on a nearby table. "Man, no wonder Abraham didn't think this information was that important. All it's done is confuse us even more."

"Yeah, I guess our having been in a project didn't seem as concerning as his health…" Mari said.

"And besides, knowing what's going on doesn't really help us that much," Murphy said. "Even if we know what's going on, we're still trapped here on this ship, and this killing game's going to continue."

"Hmm… Good point," Masashi said. "There's little that we can do with this information right now, so I don't think we should focus much on it."

"Uh… I have one question, actually."

It was Tanjiro, who had a rather troubled expression.

"The last part of the note… mentions something about an 'overseer'," Tanjiro explained. "Who is this overseer?"

Sayua raised a hand dismissively. "What, is that all? It's obviously Monokuma, that lame-ass bear that keeps calling himself this ship's captain!"

"Yes, that makes sense," Sister Hikari added. "He's the one that enforces all these rules and forces us to participate in the class trials. That sounds like what an overseer of this killing game does."

"Oh… I guess that makes sense…" Tanjiro said as he lowered his head.

Kumi looked at him concernedly. "Um… Is there something troubling you, Sir Tanjiro?"

"Ah, not really…" the writer answered. "It's just that… I thought that it was possible that the overseer was someone else instead."

"S-Someone else?" Kumi said, worry suddenly appearing on his eyes. "Y-You mean... you think there's been a nineteenth person with us all along? And that person's stayed hidden by using invisibility magic?"

Tanjiro scratched his cheek as he answered. "That a nineteenth person might be aboard with us without our knowledge was a possibility that came into mind, yes…"

"I find it to be not worth worrying about," Haruyuki remarked. "It's possible that you're right, of course, but without evidence, I think it safe to assume that this ship has never held more than eighteen people, Monokuma excluded."

"So it's settled: the overseer in the note must be Monokuma," Sorao concluded, nodding along. "And that's everything in the note."

As Masashi put away the note, one question popped into his mind: had their disappearance been talked about on the news? Surely it must have; he could not believe that their disappearances would go unnoticed for that long. Moreover, Futaba had reassured them all that a rescue force would eventually come to save them, but not only was she now dead, but there was also no sign of any help after all this time. He had lost track of how much time had passed here, but he was sure that it had been at least a week.

Though he still hoped that outside help would come, he feared that by the time of its arrival, more killings would have been done. It was beyond clear that doing nothing and hoping that nothing bad would happen was not a wise decision.

That's why it's more important than ever that we build a bond, Masashi thought. For our sake, I won't let anything thwart me.


Hello, everyone! I'm very sorry that it's taken this long to upload this chapter; things in my life have gotten a bit messy, and other things have occupied my time as well. Rest assured, however, I plan to finish this; I've already planned out a general outline of what will happen.

Anyway, in this chapter, nothing too exciting has happened, but a few things have been established. Masashi's the new leader, and he decides that the group needs to form a bond of friendship and hope or something to that effect. And a bit more of the plot is revealed, which is swell.

By the way, one question: what do you think is the theme of this story? I've never outright told you what it is, so what do you think it is, based on what you've read so far?