At the southmost point of the academy, the Muscle Trio studied the main, front gate, and the fence that extended out either side of it for as far as the eye could see, encircling the entire campus even into the surrounding forests. It was easily twice as tall as the tallest student, electrified, rusty barbwire with massive spikes. Half a foot away, the Muscle Trio could feel the electricity make the hairs on the backs of their necks stand up.

A sign on the fence read: "Military-Grade De-Fence. Mines Under/Beyond." Sure enough, through the fence, the Muscle Trio could see countless lumps of freshly turned soil. Even if not every single one was a landmine, no doubt at least half were. The mines wouldn't be an issue, though, if they couldn't even get through the fence. Despite the immense amount of power radiating off of it, no one was ever able to identify a power source. It did not appear to be any of the generators on the north wall of the academy.

Yuka cracked her knuckles and glared up at the fence, then Ibuki's hand shot out and rested on her own. Yuka looked at Ibuki in surprise, then her face softened sympathetically. Ibuki was always a little overprotective—it was the team captain in her—but especially after Saki…

I can't even imagine… The Ultimate Photographer winced, guiltily glad that all of her unit was still alive. She knew Dalia felt the same.

It wasn't just grief, though, the way Yuka thought. Ibuki also wanted revenge. She wasn't just "sad" about what had happened to Saki. She was livid, furious, seething. But if there was one thing Monochio was slowly teaching her, much as she hated to admit it, life was uncomfortably fragile. One little slip was all it took to completely obliterate someone from existence. And they only had that one life, so every life lost was another one wasted. If Ibuki really wanted a good shot at revenge, she had to be as careful as possible, whether she liked it or not.

She was thinking like a leader, thinking towards the future, eye on the storm and the horizon. "We should get back," Ibuki finally said flatly.

Yuka and Dalia exchanged worried looks. It was clear none of them were happy at the thought of going back with so little information, but sadly, there wasn't much else they could do. Until they found the true source of the fence's power, they weren't even going to be able to get close to it, let alone go over, under, or through it. And Yuka knew that, of course. When she cracked her knuckles, she wasn't implying that she thought she could take on the fence. Even her glorious six-pack Ultimate Abs would be fried in less than a fraction of a second.

Dalia was the next to agree, nodding. Of course. Gotta step up my game. Shouldn't need Ibuki to remind me of things I already know.

Even though she was only a year older than Yuka and Ibuki, Dalia felt a level of responsibility for them, and she regretted not being the first to suggest turning back. Like Yuka, she knew she was powerless against the fence, but she still couldn't help sizing it up anyway. But that was still no excuse. Dalia was supposed to be the protect and bodyguard, after all.

An idea suddenly struck the Ultimate Dancer and she turned to Yuka, sea-green eyes teasing and playful. "Wanna race?"

"Oh, you're on!" Yuka raised her eyebrows, grinning. A second later, she dropped into a crouch-start position. "Last one back is a rotten egg!"

"You're really going to say that to someone with longer legs?" Dalia gestured to her legs and laughed lowly. Guess I still got it… She didn't have the answers, but she could still make her friends smile. She could still be their "big sis".

"Uhh… Ahem. Aren't you two forgetting something?" Ibuki managed a smile in spite of everything and Dalia and Yuka smiled right back, but then those smiles slowly turned mischievous. Dalia hadn't just asked to race for fun, she knew it was what Ibuki was best at, but Yuka and Dalia would still fight like hell to make Ibuki fight like hell for her victory, and there was nothing she loved more than that! And so, the three took off like bullets from a gun, flying through the woods and back towards the academy.

ooo

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Ibuki won the race by several minutes, smugly resting in a reclining lawn chair by the time Yuka and Dalia finally emerged from the edge of the woods, panting and sweating. The moment they reached the sport and courtyard area, they rested their hands on their knees and bent over, huffing and puffing. The fun in the sun wasn't over yet, though, not by the long shot of a—

"VOLLEYBALL! WHO'S UP FOR SOME?!" Rika sing-songed. She came out of nowhere, volleyball spinning on the tip of her finger. She wore a sunhat, large red sunglasses, and a vibrant red bikini. There were also three more bikinis slung over the crook of her arm.

"Where did the heck did you get all that?!" Saori cried.

"Such is the power of the baller Ultimate Baller!" Rika laughed and Saori immediately cringed.

"Oh, man, I think I just took physical and psychic damage from that one!" she muttered, resting a hand over her heart as she almost doubled over. "Please never, ever, ever, ever say anything like that again, ever," she deadpanned, but she already knew any promise Rika made wouldn't last.

"Nah-ah, Saori, ain't even gonna try!" Rika replied with a shit-eating grin, volleyball still spinning on the tip of her finger.

"Wh-WHAT?!" Saori recoiled again. "What kind of Rika doesn't try?!" Despite herself, the Ultimate Calligraphist grew indignant, hands on her hips. Was it because she was the least fit of M4? Because even though that was undeniably true… "I'm gonna make you eat those words!"

"All right, hell yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Rika pointed at Saori, laughing in delight.

Marika chuckled and touched a finger to her lip. "Watch out, Saori! I think you're letting Rika fan your flame! She's more manipulative than she seems!" The Ultimate Model winked a purple eye at the Ultimate Calligraphist while the Ultimate Volleyballer pretended to hush her.

"Don't give away my secrets!" she joked.

"Well, girls, are we ready?" Dalia interrupted, having since snatched her bikini off the top of Rika's arm while she was busy bragging. The Ultimate Dancer was already dressed up and ready to go, her dark skin and long, luscious limbs and curvaceous figure on full display.

"Woah, woah, WOAH!" Rika and Marika went bug-eyed while Saori rapidly hid her rapidly-reddening face behind her hands.

"NOW it's gonna be a match!" Rika cackled, tossing Marika and Saori's bikinis at them.

"Hey!" Saori's whine was muffled as her bikini smacked her in the face. Marika, meanwhile, caught hers easily and chuckled at Saori's expense. "That's how you know she's serious!" she giggled, looking Dalia up and down and biting her lip. God, we are gonna look SO SEXY today!

M4's the hottest unit for damn good reason! Rika was thinking at the same time, grinning approvingly as her unit-mates changed into their bikinis.

"Hnngh! Daliaaaa!" Saori whimpered, this time covering her face with her suit, but she kept peeking at Dalia and the others through the armholes.

The students played volleyball together for hours,rotating in and out as energy came and went, but through it all, M4 were the ones most consistently on the court. Some of the less athletic students rested in the picnic and garden area nearby, watching the volleyball from a distance.

"How are they not tired yet?" Shinobu snickered, not even watching the game as she played sports on her PheFo. Monochio's app selection was pitiful, but the only other option was forcibly downloading through Monochio's heavily-monitored Wi-Fi. On websites that were allowed, connection was fast. On websites that weren't (which was basically everything) it was Hell just trying to get in, let alone download something.

"I'm tired and I'm just watching!" Towa agreed, sitting beside Shinobu. Even though she was hyper and playful at the start of the day, easily matching pace with the likes of Rika and Rinku, that had long since worn off. Super Towa-chan Time was over. Now it was super treat time!

"Are you two really so surprised?" Tsubaki scoffed, arms crossed as she leaned back in her seat and watched Rika. "They're M4! It's who they are!" Hiiro had since joined them, Saori's strength finally giving out.

"I need a water break!" she gasped, falling to her knees. Rika, Marika, and Dalia chuckled as they helped her over to the sidelines, Maho coming in with a bunch of water bottles taken from the academy kitchens. That was when Hiiro was called over, and after a few more matches, Dalia decided to take a quick water break as well.

"Maho! Take my place?" The Ultimate Dancer smirked and cocked her head at the volleyball net.

"O-o-oh! S-sure!" Maho was surprised by the sudden invitation, but she was eager to please and excited to play.

The ensuing game went well enough until Rika's arms suddenly jerked forward and she accidentally smacked Marika, her own teammate, square in the face with a volleyball shot. The ball bounced off of Marika's face, sending her to the ground.

"Marika! OMG! I'm so sorry, girl!" Rika cried, sprinting over to her, and reaching out. A second later, the volleyball fell back down from above, hitting Rika square in the head. "Oww!" she cried as it bounced off her head and towards the other players.

It was a domino effect of girls falling on top of each other, and it only got worse when some of them made the mistake of trying to rush over and help. Dalia was able to shoot her long arms out and snatch Maho up quickly, but just as she turned around and set the smaller, younger girl back down, Saori ran smack into her, having followed too closely behind only to be blindsided when Dalia suddenly stopped. While Maho was spared, Saori and Dalia fell into the volleyball net, which then fell on top of them and everyone else already on the ground.

It was a hot mess of bodies and limbs, glistening with sweat, tangled and intertwined. "Oww!"

"Hey!"

"Watch it!"

"That was my eye!"

"Ooof! That was my chest!" They continued to shout and push as they rolled on top of each other, writhing against each other and getting squished.

Eventually, though, the cries of confusion and frustration changed into breathless laughter.

Well, Saori, did it work? Did our day of fun in the sun help cheer you up? Marika thought, giggling as she was caught between Rika and Dalia.

Saori was caught between Hiiro and Dalia, pouting, as red as Rika's bikini and infinitely more embarrassed than its wearer. Some Ultimate Volleyballer YOU are! she thought, but after long enough, she was laughing too.

AN: Obligatory Danganronpa Fanservice Scene, of course with M4 and Hiiro, LOL!