Surprisingly, the rest of the day passed without much incident.

Well, Sachi extensively interrogated me about the wellbeing of my mental health during lunch - but I think I can chalk that up to the Ultimate Pharmaceutical Scientist making sure I don't need anything.

What is surprising is Kikuo approaching me again as I come out of the school shop minutes before the nighttime announcement is expected to be called.

For a moment, I'm a little worried I'm seconds away from being the first victim in this place but Kikuo seems to notice the conflicted look on my face because he pulls out his handbook:

Katashi Hitsugaya

And as an extra measure, Kikuo points out his name at the bottom right of the screen and looks at me with reassuring eyes, putting his electro ID away.

Oh Kikuo, you sweet, sweet boy. If you weren't so sweet, you would almost be intimidating, you tall glass of water.

"Sorry," I smile apologetically. "I guess I'm just a bit jumpy." I say as I pull out my own eHandbook. "And just so you don't have anything to worry about…here. My target is Mitsuki."

Kikuo pulls down his mask, a smile on his face, and pulls out his flute, playing a positive, peaceful tune.

"Thanks," I nod with a smile. "Was there something you wanted to talk about?" I ask.

Kikuo shakes his head.

"Just wanted some company before nighttime?" I ask.

Kikuo nods.

I open my mouth to speak again but an increasingly familiar harsh voice that's doing an absolutely terrible job at whispering cuts me off:

"Is this some kind of sick joke?"

"Shion, quiet-"

"I do sincerely apologize for my volume, sister, but you know damn well they did this on purpose."

Kikuo and I exchange a look and follow the voices of the Kotobuki twins to the A/V room. We find the door slightly ajar and peek in to find the sisters sitting together at one of the stations.

Sumire sighs. "Look, I just wanted to show you so that you know you don't have anything to be paranoid about." she says. "Even if I did want to actually kill you, you and I both know I can't." Sumire says with a shockingly cold look on her face. "So you can just keep getting on with your life, as usual." she says bitterly. "Goodnight, sister." Sumire says and makes a move to get up.

Shion winces and glares at Sumire, grabbing her wrist and stopping her. "You think this is so much easier for me, Sumi?" she snaps. "You-"

Clang!

The girls freeze at the sound of Kikuo's flute hitting the metal part of the doorframe.

Kikuo and I exchange a horrified, wide-eyed look.

And werun.

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 PM. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then…sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite…"

With my dorm being closer, Kikuo and I hide in there, the sound of Shion's bladeless skates hot on our tail.

"...Shion?" a new voice says from just outside my door.

Kikuo and I wait with bated breath.

"H-Hakuma!" comes Shion's voice. "Did you see anyone come through here?"

"No." Hakuma says plainly.

Guess he's back in his vigilante persona.

"I…" Shion sighs. "Whatever. Um…can I talk to you? Privately?"

"About?"

"Sumire."

"...Lead the way."

Kikuo and I wait until we can't hear their footsteps anymore before letting out a heavy breath.

"Phew…" I sigh and laugh tiredly. "Was that enough company for you for tonight?" I ask jokingly.

Kikuo laughs quietly and nods. He pulls down his mask and plays a tune that vaguely sounds like 'goodnight' before he waves at me and takes his leave.

When Kikuo shuts the door behind him, my eyes drift towards the corkboard on my wall.

Hmm….

…

…

…

There.

Minutes later, I only have pictures of myself and my classmates on my corkboard, certain colored strings connecting certain classmates based on their relationship. Beside every picture is a piece of paper so I can write down what I already know about them.

The big question I have to answer about myself and everyone else that was brought here: what connects us to each other that made our captor bring us all here?

Let's start with myself, Tatsumi Endo, Ultimate Paparazzi.

All I'm good at is collecting information about Ultimates and predicting which ones are going to be accepted to Hope's Peak the following semester.

Next is Ryoji Yamauchi, the scatterbrained and excitable Ultimate Speedrunner who really needs to get a new shirt. He seems like a genuine guy but that slip-up when we were talking to Min and Aria…I need to dig through my memory a bit more but I might know what that's about. Him and Sachi were also the first two to stand up to Monokuma in my defense so whatever his secret turns out to be, at least I can say he's on my side.

The Ultimate Pharmaceutical Scientist, the mysterious Sachiko Yoshifumi. I still can't believe I actually got to meet her face-to-face! She's a bit more standoffish than I'd expect from someone with her reputation but hey, if I had threats made on my life for creating affordable effective medicine, I'd become cautious and closed off too. BUT I think I'm getting her to open up a bit so hopefully we can get to know each other better.

Sumire Kotobuki and Shion Kotobuki, the Ultimate Cosmetologist and Figure Skater respectively. Despite their hostility towards each other, they still seem to care about each other to some degree. Those two are definitely hiding something…I have my own ideas about what but I need to get the answer from the sources themselves.

You know, initially, I would've thought that Sumire would be the 'fake' twin, being a MeTube personality and all. However, it seems that Shion's kindness might just be an act…what an interesting set of twins.

I hope they're not evil.

Takagi Kuroda, the Ultimate Thespian who only seems to break character to insult Mitsuki; but even then it's only to acknowledge their Ultimate talents. As expected of a thespian, he's extremely charismatic and despite his quirks, I know for a fact that Takagi is going to be a major player in this 'game'. He knows the exact buttons to push to rile people up. Even if people turn against him, Sumire, Shion, Kite, and Kikuo still have his back and he has theirs.

The gentle Ultimate Flautist, Kikuo Furuhata. Kikuo wouldn't hurt a fly - although with his height and build, he could definitely try and probably succeed (against anyone that isn't Jotaro). As it turns out, he's not actually incapable of speaking, he just has selective mutism. Whatever happened to make him that way, I don't think it was anything bad on his part. Kikuo seems like a kind hearted guy, through and through. Although for some reason, he doesn't like Yuuji…

Katashi Hitsugaya, the Ultimate Doctor - or so he claims. As I said when we first met here, Katashi isn't connected with any hospitals or friends with any other doctors. Even though I'm the Ultimate Paparazzi, because Katashi's so secretive, even I don't know exactly what his deal is. But I will find out.

Min-Ju Tae…a very talented young woman but why isn't she picking up what I'm putting down?

We don't play for the same team, Minnie.

Anyways, Min is exactly what you'd expect an Ultimate Cheerleader to be. So much for defying stereotypes. I'll be pleasantly surprised to find out she's more than what she presents herself as.

Kite Nijisaki, the Ultimate Activist and the last member of Takagi's band of merrymen.

Ha.

Get it?

Because he's all about taking from the rich and giving to the poor?

…No?

Okay.

Just as was expected of Takagi, the Ultimate Activist is also extremely charismatic and should be more so than Takagi, but he seems to defer to him anyways.

It just goes to show how much influence Takagi is going to have in this game.

The Ultimate Strongman, Jotaro Ienaga, bearing no relation to the hit animanga series of the same first two letters repeated twice, seems to be just your stereotypical big dumb jock. Thankfully, he seems to be of the nicer variety…

Rui Takara, the Ultimate Mangaka who seems to be plenty kind and excitable as long as she's not lost in her own thoughts. If she is, good luck getting a decent conversation out of her - if any at all.

Well…maybe not kind per se, considering how our first conversation went, but like Yuuji said, I think she means well.

Speaking of, the Ultimate Filmmaker Yuuji Hatsutori…I'm so jealous! He's gotten to work with Ultimates before they were known as Ultimates and after he was dubbed an Ultimate himself, he got to work with even more! Mari Tamatsuki, Seizo Morine, Kanna Kawagiri…he's also collaborated with other Ultimates like Nemiko Tamatsuki (note: no familial relation to Mari) and Leonia Taylor in other projects.

But, for some reason, Kikuo has a bad feeling about him so even though I'm desperate to pick his brain, I'll keep my guard up around him for now.

The Ultimate Medium, Aria Miko, is a friend of mine and like she said when we reunited here, it's unfortunate that we're in this thing together. Friendship aside, I was always a big fan of her work and I personally like to believe there's some truth to her words. If one teenage girl can cause a worldwide apocalypse out of boredom, why can't another teenage girl commune with the dead?

Kaguya Mikadzuki, the Ultimate Weather Broadcaster and the fan dubbed 'Princess of Weather'...what exactly is her deal? To be so open and carefree while being broadcasted to the entirety of Japan and her overseas fans and to be so meek while in front of a handful of people…

…Wait a second.

That's something I definitely need to talk to Kaguya about later.

Mitsuki Hanataro, the self proclaimed Ultimate Stage Performer and actual Ultimate Shadow Play Performer and the primary target of Takagi's antagonistic tendencies so far. I know that she has a problem with him because he was chosen as the Ultimate Thespian/Stage Performer for their year, but is there something else that I don't know? To straight up lie about her talent when anyone can easily figure out what her actual title is… how interesting. I love Ultimates!

Mikasa Nishikawa, the Ultimate Video Game Developer. I know I called you basic but even though we're not friends (yet), I thank you again for remembering who I am! Not only does she develop games, she's a very talented gamer in her own right, and like I said before, she has a lot of male followers.

But I have a feeling she doesn't quite care for them in that way…

I know what you are, Mikasa.

Anyways.

Someone I'm thankful that I can most definitely count as an ally, Hakuma Kaneshiro, the Ultimate Vigilante. I still can't say I know all that much about him other than what was released to the public, but come on, he's a vigilante. Killing someone over a motive is like, the complete opposite of what he stands for, right? Akuma, Devil of Revenge; The Masked Devil. There's no revenge in falling for a motive from a mechanical bear - and besides, he already stopped Shion from shoving Sumire - surely he's on the side of hope, right?

…There's really nothing I know of yet that connects us all together. Why me? Why Sachi? Why Min? A paparazzi, a pharmacist, and a cheerleader.

Hopefully I live long enough to figure it out.

Meanwhile…

Mikasa flusters embarrassedly as Sumire, Rui, and Kaguya peer over her shoulders, leaning against her as she shows them the game she programmed into her e-Handbook.

"I-It wasn't that hard." Mikasa says, keeping her eyes focused on her e-Handbook. "I just, um, did some things." she says awkwardly.

Rui 'ooos' and puts her hands on Mikasa's shoulders. "You're so cool, Mikasa! Can you do that to mine-?"

"WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT LENDING YOUR E-HANDBOOK TO OTHER STUDENTS!?" Monokuma cries, popping out in front of the quartet.

"'Lending' implies letting them walk away with it." Sumire points out. "So if we meet up with Mikasa tomorrow morning and sit with her while she tinkers with it, it's not breaking the rules." she says and smiles at the tech-savvy girl in question. "Right, Mikasa?"

"R-Right." Mikasa nods shyly, looking away and clearing her throat.

Monokuma bares his teeth at them. "Tinkering with your handbook is-!"

"-n-not against the rules." Kaguya finishes, clenching the handle of her colorful umbrella. "The only rule regarding our e-Handbooks is the one about lending it to another student." she says confidently. "Neither she nor we would be going against the rules."

"Yeah!" Rui says and moves her hands to pinch Mikasa's cheeks. "What's the harm in Mikasa putting a game in our handbooks? What good is a game of Pocket Monsters going to do in aiding us in an escape, hm?" she challenges, tilting her head to the side.

Monokuma stares at Rui.

Rui looks back at him.

Monokuma huffs and turns on his heel. "Fine! I'll let it slide just this once…but if I find out you've done anything else with your handbooks, I'll add a rule about it!" he warns and with that, he's gone.

Rui sticks her tongue out at Monokuma's retreating figure, Sumire laughs, and Kaguya puts a hand on Mikasa's arm, once again stating that they're not doing anything wrong.

Mikasa briefly thinks that if she were to die right this very second, it wouldn't be a terrible way to go.

"I ALREADY CALLED LIGHTS OUT, GO TO BED!"

…So long as she tunes out the bear.

The next morning, I'm spilling every single thought I've had since I woke up here to a surprisingly interested Sachiko.

"-and it's all super interesting and suspicious and I don't know where to start." I finish, breathless.

Sachiko hums, thinking about everything I just told her.

She's actually interested in what I have to say! I'm so happy…

"Well," Sachi starts. "It sounds like Sumire got assigned Shion as her get out of jail free card." she says. "And whatever else is going on between them doesn't seem to be related to why we're here." Sachi says and frowns thoughtfully. "You said Sumire is supposed to be the 'nice' twin, right?" she asks.

I nod, prompting her to continue.

"I tried talking to her our second day here and she was very tight lipped about her relationship with Shion - I have a feeling if I tried to pry any further she would've taken the same attitude as Shion." Sachi reveals. "And I think she was lying about her reasoning for turning to cosmetology over figure skating. All of their issues sound family related and seem like they have nothing to do with why we're here." she says and starts mumbling to herself. "...cross them off the list…"

Weird.

Anyways.

"So what?" I ask. "Do you think I should try talking to Shion?"

Sachiko snaps out of whatever's going on in her head and agrees. "Figuring out the reason behind Shion's hostility towards her sister might be easier considering she seems to be more emotional." she says and waves her hand. "Who did you say you were sure you could trust?"

Not that I'm sure exactly, but: Aria, Kikuo, Kaguya, and Hakuma. I hope I'm right about them. And Sachiko, of course.

I want to count Ryoji too but I have to figure out what he was alluding to yesterday first. Hopefully I can also count the twins among that number too once I figure out exactly what their deal is and that they're not besties with an actual villain.

But, we have more important things to do first.

Sachiko raises an eyebrow. "You don't think any of them would kill to get out of here? Do not." she narrows her eyes when I open my mouth to make fun of her pun.

I grumble and shake my head, "From what I know of them, a motive like this won't push them over the edge." I say. "...Especially Kaguya. I had the weirdest talk with her yesterday - she made it sound like she would rather die than commit anything she deems a 'crime'." I say with a frown. "What about you? You're a Third Year, what do you know about Katashi and the others?" I ask.

"Katashi is a good for nothing, high and mighty, holier than thou piece of-"

My jaw drops.

Sachiko clears her throat. "I mean, I was never present much around Hope's Peak due to…you know, but Katashi was less than pleasant to be around. I'm not a big fan of him. Surprisingly, Min was more agreeable to be around but she was still a bit of a bully. Kaguya is exactly as you perceive her to be and I don't know what Kikuo has against Yuuji, but he was plenty friendly and open at school." she explains. "I don't think any of them would kill just to get out of here without a trial."

"Hmm…I think you're right. Katashi doesn't have any friends here but he's still a doctor, right? Killing would, like, go against that doctor oath thing."

Sachiko blinks owlishly at me, confused.

"You know…the…" I frown, thinking. "The…hypno…"

"You're thinking of the Hippocratic Oath. Japan swears by the Buddhist medical doctor's oath."

Sachiko and I look up to see an unimpressed Katashi standing over us.

"Oh, right. Thanks." I nod.

Katashi gives me a look before turning his gaze to Sachiko.

"...Katashi." Sachiko greets stiffly.

"Sachiko." Katashi nods. "I was under the impression pharmacists didn't swear by the same oath as doctors." he says, raising an eyebrow.

"They don't." Sachiko says drly. "Tatsumi and I were just discussing the possibility of you taking advantage of this motive."

My eyes widen and I start to panic, fearing Katashi's anger, but surprisingly, he stays stoic and calm. Without saying a word, he pulls out his e-Handbook, taps on it a few times, and shows us the screen:

Hakuma Kaneshiro

"Hakuma is one of the few people here that doesn't infuriate me with his presence so no, I will not give into this motive." Katashi says pointedly, pocketing his device. "And no, it's not because I swore that stupid Buddhist oath." he says with a frown. "I dislike religion. But more than that, I dislike nonsense and wasting time. If I don't get anything of value to me out of the motive, I won't take advantage of it. It's that simple." Katashi explains, gives both of us one last look, and heads off to the kitchen.

Sachi and I exchange a look.

"...I'm gonna go find Shion." I say.

"I'll let Hakuma know." Sachi nods.

As we open the door to the kitchen to take care of our dishes, we nearly drop them when we find Hakuma standing right in the doorway.

"...Hello." Hakuma says.

"Hi…" Sachi says and looks at me.

I smile awkwardly. "Whatcha doing there, Hakuma?"

"Working." Hakuma says.

"Working…?"

"Yes."

Sachi and I exchange another look.

He still hasn't gotten out of his persona…I guess he just got into it.

"Have to protect Sumire. She's with Mikasa, Rui, and Kaguya."

So I see Mikasa has a type. Interesting. I didn't even notice the four of them there.

"Right." I say. "Um, may we pass?"

Hakuma steps to the side.

"...Thanks." I say and quickly pull Sachi in behind me. "Um, by the way…" I look at Sachi.

Sachi grimaces and shakes her head.

I sigh. "Um, you were assigned as Katashi's target, so, uh, be careful, I guess." I say. "He said he wouldn't but you know how people are."

Hakuma, despite having only moved to let us in the kitchen, seems to pause for a moment. He turns to look at us and nods. "...Thanks." he says before returning to staring at Sumire from the crack in the door.

What a strange guy.

Sachi and I take care of our dishes but before exiting the cafeteria completely, I snap a picture of a flushed and shy Mikasa surrounded by Rui, Sumire, and Kaguya.

Seeing as how Sachi didn't have to go searching for Hakuma, she decides to go search for Aria to form her own opinion about her.

That leaves me to go and find-

"SHION! Perfect, would you lend me your face and talents for a bit?"

Speak of the devil.

When Sachiko and I part ways, her heading towards the dormitory and myself heading to the school, I encounter Shion and Yuuji.

Shion puts on a small, forced smile. "With what?" she asks.

Damn. Girly looks exhausted.

Yuuji smiles excitedly. "I want to make a movie to share with everyone - everyone's going to have a part! I'll film everyone's scenes when the others aren't around so most of the movie is still a surprise!" he says, beaming.

Shion looks like she's about to reject him for a second, then she sighs and puts on a bigger smile. "Yeah, I'll help. What do you need me to do?" she asks.

"Yours and Min's characters are best friends-"

Shion's smile grows strained.

"-planning a party for your sis-"

Shion's eye twitches.

"Y-Your, um," Yuuji looks around and makes eye contact with me. "Your brother! I'm so glad I caught you, Tatsumi." he says with a nervous smile. "I know you're usually behind the camera like myself, but-"

"I heard you explain it all to Shion," I say reassuringly, trying to calm him down. "I don't know what I can contribute but I'll help you out." I say.

"Great!" Yuuji smiles happily again. "Come meet me in the gym in ten, I still have some things to get set up." he says and runs off.

Shion lets out a tired sigh and pinches the bridge of her nose. "I guess doing this with you and the damn cheerleader is better than doing this with my stupid sister and her." she says and looks at me. "And I do hope you forgive my behavior during breakfast yesterday morning," Shion says. "That was…obnoxious of me." she apologizes. "As I'm sure you and everyone else here is, I'm a little stressed."

Hm…

Time to get backstory and information.

"Well, why don't we talk about something else to get your mind off it?" I suggest. "What about your family? Yuu and Haruno Kotobuki, right?" I ask even though I already know the answer.

Shion crosses her arms and leans against the wall. "Yeah, that's right." she nods. "They met when they were invited to compete for Japan at the Olympics. One thing led to another and there Sumire was, and nine minutes later, there I was." she says with a bittersweet smile.

Duly noted, duly noted…

"What's it like being the daughter of two famous Olympians?" I ask. "I heard they retired pretty young."

Shion shrugs. "They did." she confirms. "They were perfectly well off enough to do so. Sumire and I wanted for nothing growing up."

Come on, give me more than that. I pry for more information: "What about yours and Sumire's figure skating career?" I ask.

Shion digs her nails into her arm. "What about it?" she asks, her tone shifting into something more bitter and cold.

Yikes. So this is where their tension lies.

"Well…" I take a moment to choose my words carefully. "To anyone who follows the Olympics or looks into Ultimates, it's common knowledge that the Kotobuki twins followed in their parents' footsteps." I say.

Shion doesn't respond.

Not to worry though, there was a special about their family on TV once. I remember most of it so if she won't tell you, I will.

As soon as the twins were old enough to walk, Yuu and Haruno had them out on the ice. The girls were naturals. Sumire and Shion were trained to be pair skaters and they entered a lot of competitions together. They of course already had a following because of who their parents are, but because they won nearly all of the competitions they entered, they started to gain even more fame. As their parents said on the special, they were extremely excited their daughters were doing so well in something they were all passionate about and were ecstatic for their futures.

And then…they just stopped.

The entire family went AWOL and when they came back, only Shion returned to figure skating. Nobody knows what happened between their disappearance and their return and that's what I need to find out. What happened to turn their relationship into what it is now?

I mean, like I said when I first met them, I know what happened, but why did the-?

"Boop."

I'm pulled out of my thoughts by Yuuji's finger on the tip of my nose.

He smiles. "You were doing that thing again." Yuuji says. "Come on, Shion and Min are already walking over to the gym."

"...Aaaaaaaand CUT! That's perfect guys! Now, I just want to do this one last scene…"

Min, Shion, and I drop to the ground, exhausted.

I wholly trust in Yuuji's talent as the Ultimate Filmmaker but damn, I can see why he only works with those in the entertainment industry now. Athletes like Min and Shion and nobodies like me can't keep up with his skill level.

But still…that was fun.

How long have we been practicing anyw-?

"Hey hey HEY! What the hell do you think you're doing!?"

Ah, Monokuma.

The two toned bear angrily walks up to the four of us, shaking his paw like he's about to yell at us to get off his lawn. "You skipped lunch and now you're about to miss dinner! What's the big idea!? There's no despair in starving yourselves to death!"

Yuuji pouts. "But-"

"There will be no buts but yours getting to the cafeteria NYEOW!"

Min frowns. "Nyeow?"

"Aren't you supposed to be a bear?" Shion gives Monokuma a look.

"SHUT UP AND GO EAT!" Monokuma cries and disappears.

Yuuji grumbles and dismisses us, requesting that we come back after breakfast tomorrow.

"Ah, wait a second, Tatsumi." Yuuji says as he folds up one of his tripods. "Can I ask you to come back again around the evening time? There's another scene I want to film with you, Takagi, and Mitsuki."

Takagi and Mitsuki, another explosive pair. That'll be interesting.

"I'll come back, sure, but Takagi and Mitsuki?" I ask.

Yuuji nods, beaming from ear to ear. "Those two are just extremely passionate about what they do, y'know? I can understand that. If I can get them to work together here, they'll eventually become friends and that passion will blossom!" he says - well, passionately. "I love hearing people talk about what they love and as a filmmaker, I can see my actors do what they love everyday." Yuuji explains. "Even those with less pleasant personalities become beautiful and passionate in front of the camera!" he says, starry eyed.

Yuuji…

"I totally agree!" I nod, matching Yuuji's enthusiasm. "I love seeing Ultimates do what they do! Well…maybe except Hakuma. That doesn't sound very fun to witness." I say with a laugh.

Yuuji laughs along with me and I help him clean up, opting to stay and talk instead of heading straight over to the cafeteria.

I guess for someone like Kikuo, Yuuji's energy would be a bit hard to stomach. Still, I keep Kikuo's warning in the back of my head as I laugh and fanboy with Yuuji.

After dinner, I exit the cafeteria and am immediately grabbed on either side and lifted up in the air.

I look down.

"Hi Jotaro."

Jotaro laughs heartily, "Good evening, Tatsumi Endo! Come, join the rest of us in the baths! We've been waiting for you!"

Huh?

"Boy's night!" Jotaro rephrases.

Oh.

Boy's night!

The only boys missing from boy's night are Katashi and Yuuji: the former being antisocial and the latter working on stitching the scenes he filmed today together.

When Jotaro and I change into just towels and enter the steaming baths, we're walking into the middle of a conversation.

"Done stalking Sumire for the day, Hakuma?" Kite asks dryly.

Hakuma scoffs and I can practically hear him rolling his eyes behind his goggles (yes, he did in fact finally take off his helmet but he replaced it with a pair of goggles and a facemask. His hair, however, is now free.). "It's not stalking," he says, out of his vigilante persona. "Shion asked me to look after her and make sure her hitman didn't make a move against her."

"So you'll be looking after her until the motive passes?" Ryoji asks. "That's nice of you, Hakuma."

"But of course!" Hakuma nods sagely. "And if anyone does try something, Sumire instructed me to break as many of their bones as I could without killing them!" he says cheerfully.

Takagi laughs, standing up on the steps of the bath and posing. "As expected of my Ultimate Executioner! Good on you for protecting your fellow vassals, I shall reward thee with the highest of honors-"

Kikuo pulls Takagi's towel off, causing the Ultimate Thespian to slip and fall into the bath. The flautist, without his flute to convey his words, wags his finger at Takagi when his head emerges from the water.

"Anyways," Jotaro says, taking a seat in the bath. He grins, "Let's talk about something more interesting."

Hakuma (seriously, how is he not overheating with the face mask on? Even Kikuo took his off!) taps his chin. "The results of stage four hypothermia?" he asks.

Ryoji gives him a look. "I very much doubt that's what he's talking about." he says.

"Women!" Jotaro exclaims. "Girls! You guys got your eyes on anybody?"

Takagi groans. "That stuff's boring." he says, out of character. "Teasing is fun but I don't care about romance."

Jotaro huffs. "Boring. What about you?" he asks, turning to me. "You and that Sachiko chick seem pretty close." Jotaro says excitedly.

"I'm gay." I state bluntly.

"UGH!" Jotaro whines and turns to Kikuo. "You?"

Kikuo shakes his head.

Desperately, Jotaro turns to a rather flushed Ryoji. "What about you? You got your eye on anyone, Ryoji?" he asks.

Ryoji scratches his cheek, looking anywhere but us. "Um…"

Oh?

"R…Rui's…cute…I guess…" Ryoji says awkwardly.

Interesting.

Jotaro beams. "Finally!" he says. "Kite?"

Kite stares at Jotaro silently, thinking.

"...Yuuji and Aria." Kite says. "They're nice. I haven't spent a lot of time with the others yet."

"O-ho," Jotaro laughs. "I dunno 'bout Yuuji but Aria-" he whistles. "Nice." Jotaro nods and turns to the final boy. "What about you, Hakuma?"

I can't see his face but his body language tells me he seems a bit confused. "...I don't know," he says. "I'm not used to this stuff. What exactly are we judging them by?"

"By which one you wanna f-"

Ryoji puts a hand over Jotaro's mouth. "Which one makes you feel, uh," he looks to me for assistance.

"Warm and fuzzy?" I try, looking at Hakuma.

Hakuma hums.

"Which one you want to kill the least." Kite deadpans.

"Oh!" Hakuma says, a lightbulb going off in his head. "That's easy. Kikuo." he says, making the boy in question put his face in his hands. "And Sumire, I guess, since Shion technically asked me not to."

After mutually agreeing that Kikuo deserves nothing but the best, the conversation turns to other topics for about another hour before we get out of the bath and head back to our dormitories.

"Tatsumi?"

I turn around to find Aria still in her daywear. "Aria," I nod. "What's up?"

Aria frowns, clearly tired but also confused. "Where have you been?" she wonders. "I knocked on your door a while ago but obviously you weren't in there."

"I was invited to the baths with the other guys." I answer. And then, "By the way…stay away from Jotaro." I say jokingly.

Aria's expression shifts and she looks down. "...Yeah. Goodnight, Tatsumi." she says and quickly enters her room.

…Did I say something wrong?

Oops.

Sorry Aria. I'll apologize tomorrow.

A/N yesssss

did i make enough potential vicitms