TK sighed with frustration a few minutes after he walked into the dining hall for breakfast. Hifumi kept asking him to help make Celeste's milk tea. He obliged, and Hifumi instructed him to make it exactly how she liked it. He followed them to a T, but they would always be thrown against the wall.

TK would stay in the kitchen to work on his breakfast, but he could hear her yelling at Hifumi, telling him that he had to make it or it "Wouldn't be the same." Hifumi wouldn't listen to her wishes and kept asking him to make them. TK tried telling him she'll keep destroying cups, but he deemed that as utter nonsense. TK rolled his eyes but complied with whatever the fanfic creator wanted.

When he finished making another milk tea, he served it with Hifumi. After Celeste threw the drink at the wall, she started insulting the big guy. TK thought Hifumi would squeal and cower away like he normally does, but Hifumi took it on the chin. TK then studied him further and noticed the drool forming at the corner of his mouth and the sexual ecstasy he had in his eyes as Celeste rained insult after insult.

Feeling disgusted, TK stormed back into the kitchen and finished making his breakfast. When Hifimu came back, he told the fanfic creator off. He said he didn't want to be a part of his sick perverted games and that he was horrible for tricking him into helping. He left with his breakfast in a hurry so he wouldn't see if Hifumi was deriving sexual pleasure from what he said.

He sat at his usual table with Hina and Sakura, but the martial artist wasn't there. He asked Hina where she was, and she told him she left to work out in the locker room. TK sighed with frustration, causing Hina to ask him what was wrong.

"I kinda upset her a couple of days ago, and I'm trying to apologize, but it seems like the world is trying to stop that from happening," TK answered, and Hina furrowed her eyebrows.

"What did you do?" Hina asked in a serious tone, and TK put up his hand for defense.

"I asked her something personal, and it brought up some bad memories. I didn't think it was bad, but it made her sad."

Hina eased up a little, but TK could tell she was still mad at him for hurting her friend.

"I'm sure she's over it now, but you need to apologize."

"I know, and I've been trying, but I keep getting sidetracked by Taka, Mondo, and Chihiro. I don't even want to talk about what Toko dragged."

Hina nodded along to what he said. She finished her breakfast and got up from the table.

"Well, how about I help you? I can get you two alone, and you guys can talk it out. But it'll have to happen tomorrow because you know how intense Sakura can get during her workouts."

"Thanks, Hina, I appreciate it."

The two said their goodbyes, and TK got to work thinking about how to make amends with Sakura. He already knew what he wanted to say, but he wanted to do something extra for her. There was no place to get her a gift, so he thought of the next best thing; making her something to eat.

He wasn't the best cook in the world, but his brother gave him some tips, so he wasn't living off of microwave dinners and store-bought bentos for the rest of his life. Davis also helped by teaching him how to make different noodles, and Mimi taught him how to make some easy cuisines from America. His mom also taught him to make a French dish or two. He was sure there was something he could make that she would like.

As he was planning out his apology, Hiro walked over to talk to him.

"Hello, Takeru, I've realized we haven't talked since we introduced ourselves."

"Hi, Hiro, and I'm sorry but I'm a little busy with something. We can hang out later if you want."

TK thought that would be the end of their short conversation but Hiro seemed intrigued with what he was working on.

"Can I help? Maybe tell you how things could turn out for you later?"

"I don't think fortune telling is really necessary. Besides, I don't fully believe in that stuff. It's just a person telling people what they want to hear and recognizing patterns of their daily life," TK said and he could see Hiro getting mad.

He didn't intend to offend the clairvoyant; it was just his beliefs. He did believe in the paranormal aspects of Hiro's ability. After seeing Wizaedmon's ghost and Myotismon's spirit possessing Mr. Oikawa. But other than that he didn't believe in anything that was fortune telling related.

"You probably had some bad experiences with inexperienced fortune tellers. I'll show you how it's done and give you a discount. I normally charge a thousand bucks, but I'll charge you nine hundred since we're friends."

Hiro took the seat across from him and TK arched his eyebrow as he watched Hiro rub his hands together.

"I'm fine, I don't need a reading. And nine hundred dollars is still too expensive, even if it's a discount."

"Hey! Just be glad you're getting a discount from the Ultimate Clairvoyant. A lot of people line up for my services."

"Then you must be pretty good."

"I am. At the bare minimum, I've got a 20% chance of accuracy!" Hiro said proudly and TK was unimpressed.

He thought Hiro would be right for at least half of his predictions to have the title of Ultimate Clairvoyant. Now, he doesn't know what separates Hiro from the other fortune tellers in the world. It certainly wouldn't be his prices, would it?

"Don't look at me like that! 20% of the time I'm right, every time! That includes natural disasters, election results, you name it! Don't you realize how amazing that is!?"

"Not really…" TK said and Hiro huffed before grabbing his hands.

"Fine then, I'll give you a special trial run. Then you will see how accurate I am!"

Before TK could respond, Hiro squeezed his eyes shut and started humming loudly. Surprisingly, Hiro looked calm and concentrated while he was doing his reading, given the small outburst he had earlier. TK looked around the room and saw most of the others had cleared out with the few remaining choosing to pay attention to anything that wasn't happening at his table. He couldn't blame them because he felt a little awkward as this was happening.

TK wondered how long this would take. He didn't know the time when Hiro began his reading, but a lot had passed for TK to think he was messing with him. He thought about sliding his hands out of Hiro's grasp but he had a strong hold on them. It wasn't until what felt like ten or fifteen minutes had passed that Hiro released him and opened his eyes.

He looked a little frightened while TK was unamused.

"So, what did you see?" TK asked, a little annoyed at Hiro for wasting his time.

"I saw you being attacked by a giant black figure!"

TK rolled his eyes. He knew what Hiro was doing. He was trying to freak him out so he would ask for another reading and Hiro could charge him for more money. It would've worked if he hadn't had so many near-death experiences growing up.

"Is that all?"

Hiro shot up out of his chair and started backing away from him.

"S-Stay away from me! You're not s-safe!"

Hiro raced out of the dining hall and TK sighed.

"That's time I'm never gonna get back."

Something TK quickly realized while being trapped was that every day could get boring quickly. It's always important to have something to keep you busy until the day ends. Usually, he would workout or play basketball to pass the time, but he's done a lot of exercising since his imprisonment and could feel a six-pack on his gut, and basketball quickly becomes boring without anyone to play with.

So TK decided today would be his rest day. His coaches always emphasized how important it was to take care of your body and rest days were one of the talking points they hammered home about. He would usually hang out with his friends or play video games, but since he doesn't see that happening any time soon he had to find something to pass the time.

Monokuma had limited them on what they were able to do since they had only two floors to traverse. They had a pool, but TK wasn't in the mood for swimming. He could look around the warehouse for something to do, but he doubted he would find something that would entertain him for the day. There was also the sauna, but after Mondo and Taka's endurance test, he wouldn't mind letting that place air out for another day or two.

So, with nothing better to do, TK relinquished himself to walking around the school until dinner. He didn't mind, he liked the peace and quiet that came with the activity. It also allowed him to look around and try to find something any of them missed.

But he couldn't help but feel uneasy. The quietness made him hear things that might not even be there. The sound of footsteps that could be his or someone coming up behind him. He tried to ignore those thoughts, but those whispering doubts were always the loudest in times like these.

The blue lights of the second floor also didn't help calm him. They're not the lights you would find in a horror movie, but they mimicked the uneasiness of them. The lights made him think he wasn't alone and someone would jump out at him. He tried pushing those thoughts down but they continued to surface in the front of his head.

He heard footsteps echoing out in the hall. He wanted to run, but fear froze him in place. They grew louder and he still couldn't move. He mentally screamed at himself to move at least an inch so he could know if his legs still worked.

But no matter how he tried, he couldn't move and he was trapped by his fears. The footsteps grew louder and louder until they were over him. He closed his eyes and embraced his fate. He felt a poke on his back and let out a loud yelp.

"S-Sorry…"

TK paused and turned around to see a tearful, timid Chihiro behind him. After everything he's been through with the Digital World, he was scared by the least frightening person in the school. He mentally slapped himself for believing someone would come and kill him.

"Oh, Chihiro, you scared me."

"S-Sorry…" Chihiro apologized once again, making TK feel bad.

"It's not your fault. The eeriness of the school just got to me for a moment. But enough about that, did you need anything?"

"I just wanted to see if you wanted to talk some more… Unless you hate the idea."

"Not at all. I would love to talk and learn more about you."

Chihiro beamed, making TK feel happy. There was something about her smile that could brighten anyone's day.

"But what do you want to know? I don't think I have anything interesting to tell you," Chihiro said.

TK thought back to their last conversation. Chihiro told him when she discovered her love for programming, the next step would be to ask about what she was working on.

"What program were you working on before you came to Hope's Peak?"

TK thought she would jump at the opportunity to tell him, but she frowned and bit her lip.

"I signed an NDA, so I can't go into too much detail… but I started the research process for retooling that software database I told you about. It's a little more complex, and I would like to tell you, but I can't."

"Don't worry about it, I understand. You don't want the wrong people to hear it."

Chihiro then hummed before appearing as if she had an idea.

"I can give you a hint. It has to do with simulating human thoughts."

TK mulled the question over for a bit. He thought about possible answers like robotics and virtual reality, but he didn't believe that was what Chihiro was working on. He continued to think about it until he had his answer.

"Is it AI?"

Chihiro gasped before she began to tear up.

"You figured it out! My hint was too easy, wasn't it? If they find out I broke my promise, they might…"

TK quickly placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye.

"Chihiro, breathe! I'm not going to tell anyone, my lips are sealed."

Chihiro took a couple of deep breaths to calm down and TK joined her. It took a minute or two for Chihiro to calm down and wipe away her tears.

"Th-Thank you, Takeru, and I know I can trust you. I guess I can tell you about it. I'm working on a type of AI that no one has ever seen before. It's what we call a strong AI. It's designed to process any mental task that we can. Or think like a human."

"That sounds complicated," TK said.

The way Chihiro was talking sounded exactly like Izzy would talk about a new computer program. He wouldn't understand anything that he said, but he recognized the passion in his voice. Listening to Chihiro talk brought him back to those times and he was thankful for that.

"It is, but it also isn't. There's strong AI and weak AI. Weak AI is more of a problem-solving software. It's just executing the actions programmed into it," Chihiro explained.

"So weak AI is if I ask a program to write me a short story and it does exactly that?" TK summarized, and Chihiro nodded.

"Yes, it is, while strong AI is a program that can achieve true self-consciousness - full ego awareness. A strong AI is a complete entity, a computer program capable of becoming aware, but it's always been a hypothesis. A lot of experts don't think it's even possible."

TK didn't like the sound of that. He's seen multiple movies where AI turns on the human race. Hearing that Chihiro is working on a project that could lead to that is making him worry.

Then he thought about the Digimon and how they relate to strong AI. They're both technological beings that can both think like humans and have self-consciousness, Digimon more so than the AI. A lot of the Digimon that he and his friends met were friendly. There were some bad ones, but they defeated them.

He looked at Chihiro and mentally kicked himself for thinking she could make something evil. She had no evil bone in her body. She didn't even want to kill a fly. If she was programming the AI then there's no way it would become evil.

"Right now I'm still researching it. I've made a lot of progress on the programming and the intelligence development, but when it comes to actual awareness it's still a long way off. It might even be impossible."

"It is?"

"I'm not exactly sure how to say it, but no matter how well-designed or complex a program is, or how closely the software can simulate the human brain… I don't think it's enough. If the program is only simulating thought, it will always be lacking something."

"What do you think it's missing?" TK asked.

"A soul."

"A soul?" TK repeated and Chihiro nodded.

"It's not a programming term, and I'm not sure how that would work on a technical level, but right now it's just a theory. There's still plenty of research left to do."

TK once again thought about the Digimon. Maybe the difference between them and strong AI is because the Digimon have a soul. It made sense because they could do everything that humans do without being human.

"I wasted your time with another boring subject. I must've bored you to death, huh?"

Chihiro looked disappointed and TK was quick to make them feel better.

"Oh, no, it was very informative. Thank you for sharing this with me, Chihiro."

"You mean it….?" Chihiro asked.

TK nodded and Chihiro cheered while smiling brightly.

"OK, the next time we talk, I want to learn more about you."

"I don't know. I don't think you'll be interested in what I like."

"No excuses! It's your turn next time!" Chihiro said assertively, taking TK off guard.

"Yes, ma'am."

Chihiro giggled before skipping off. TK watched her leave and wondered what kind of heartless monster would deny her of anything.

TK walked into the warehouse, looking for a quick snack to eat. He also used this time to look for anything to entertain him. He couldn't find anything, but he found a bag of pretzels. He stole them and hoped they would hold him over until dinner.

As he ate his snack, Taka walked in dejected and downtrodden.

"Hey, Taka, you feeling OK?" TK asked.

Taka responded with a long drawn-out sigh and dramatically leaned against one of the shelves.

"I'm weak, Takeru, so very weak."

"What happened?"

With how Taka was acting, TK was worried Taka was hurt or sick. He was completely taken off guard by the response he got.

"Haven't you realized? This school is missing something of utmost importance! Textbooks! Classes!"

TK awkwardly chuckled from Taka's tearful breakdown. He wondered if Taka realized no one had been studying or treating this whole situation as a normal school life.

"I'm gonna say it… I'm freaking out! As we speak, we're being left in the dust by other students our age! What should I do!? If I keep involuntarily skipping classes, I'm gonna reach dunce status in no time!"

"Calm down. You're the last person who should be worrying about that. You're a genius."

Taka stopped crying and looked at TK as if he said the most outrageous thing ever.

"I'm not a genius. I'm a normal student from a middle-class family. Actually, they're not middle-class," Taka said, almost robotic-like.

TK started to worry again. He reached out his hand to comfort the moral compass, but Taka's emotions flipped from robotic to serious.

"That's why I have to push hard! I have to knock down that wall! Ordinary people are the ones who change the world with their efforts, not geniuses. And to prove that, I have to keep on making effort after effort after effort! Don't lump me with those lazy clods who don't put in any effort!"

"I'm sorry, I was just trying to compliment you."

"No, I'm sorry, I got carried away, but I only said that because we're the same. We know what it means to make an effort," Taka explained and TK nodded.

"I get it. You don't have to explain yourself."

"That's why I'm passionate about my morals committee work. I want to create an environment where everyone has an equal opportunity to give their all. I put my blood, sweat, and tears into creating that environment. I want everyone to understand that, in the end, you can't succeed if you don't try. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong."

TK agreed with everything Taka said. It takes effort to be good at anything. He wouldn't be as good of a basketball player if he didn't put in the effort to get better. He believed it was the same for everyone else here.

"Effort is the only way to fix anything in this world! I have to tell that to all the ordinary people out there so they'll keep on trying! I have to become the ordinary man who can surpass any genius! Those are the feelings I carried with me when I came to Hope's Peak Academy…"

Taka then deflated when he remembered they were all trapped.

"Being trapped in here, I've been robbed of the opportunity to make that happen. Now what am I supposed to do…?"

"Taka…" TK said softly and the moral compass sighed.

"Sorry for making you listen to my pathetic ranting."

"It's not pathetic. You're obviously passionate about it and you want to achieve it. Don't give up hope because of our situation. You said effort is what truly matters then you can't give up. If you do then you're going against your beliefs."

It took Taka a few seconds to comprehend what TK told him, and when he did, he burst into tears.

"I'd totally forgotten what I was here for. The foundation of effort is the will to never give up. I have to try, no matter the situation. Even without classes and assignments, I can just remember what I've learned and reinforce those basic principles!"

"That's the spirit!"

"I feel so much better getting all that off my chest! I'll make sure to invite you the next time I do a study session, Takeru. As a way to thank you. Let's work together as fellow ordinary people to show those geniuses who's boss!"

TK was unsure about the studying part, but he was glad to see the Taka who had unwavering confidence. It didn't feel right seeing someone like him moping around. Though he still believed he was a genius, but more so a genius in effort.

But he did wonder why he hated the idea of being a genius. It wasn't a bad thing to be a genius, yet Taka held some sort of hostility to anyone who fell under that category. Something must've happened to him to make him feel this way.