Surprise! I still exist. I'm really sorry for the unplanned hiatus. I won't bore you with the reason for my absence.

Note: Due to the long absence I put together a Google document where I've summarized all the important plot points. The link is on my profile. I'll keep updating it in the future as well. I'll always indicate the last chapter I've summarized, so you can avoid spoilers.


Chapter 15: Oh Buddy

As expected from absolutely everything that came from Monokuma, his video game was complete garbage. Byakuya wasn't someone who played video games. Just like everything fictional, it just didn't hold any appeal for him. Still, even he didn't need Chiaki to tell him that this was a bad game.

He had quickly left the controls to her when he tried to walk past the preparation room to get to where he was told to do and she demanded that he explore all the rooms, because there might be hidden clues. Her idea made sense, so he let her play. Every little hint could be important and, with her being the Ultimate Gamer and all, he figured she certainly wouldn't miss anything. Unfortunately, they couldn't enter most of the rooms that were not relevant to the story, so Chiaki only found a misplaced broom that she returned to its correct place.

Even with the story being as linear as it was, the game didn't make a lot of sense overall. It seemed incomplete. It randomly started at day two, skipped day three and went straight to day four. There was nothing that could even be recognized as a motive either, except maybe for the dead girl at the end. After all, there was that disclaimer at the beginning saying that this was supposedly based on real events, so they had to assume that this person really did exist and she died. But the characters didn't even have names, so who knew who that girl even was? They only had the screenshot at the end to go by.

Byakuya didn't recognize her and neither did Chiaki.

He scowled. "What now?" he asked. "We played the game and we still don't know what the motive is. This was just a waste of time."

He would have been happy to leave it at that. To announce at breakfast that there was nothing to worry about and Monokuma was just messing with them. However, Chiaki still stared at the game contemplatively.

"Hmmm. Maybe we'll find something if we try out the hidden command… I think," she said eventually.

"Hidden command?" Byakuya asked, as she reached for the buttons again. A second later, the screen turned from the previous blue background to a reddish one and displayed the words 'Truth Edition' beneath the title. The background music sped up uncomfortably.

"How did you do that?" he exclaimed and took a step closer.

"You saw the 'Down five' message at the end, right? It looks like you have to press the down key five times to unlock the rest of the game."

"I… I see." Byakuya was suddenly very glad that he wasn't playing alone. How was anyone supposed to come up with that?

Chiaki looked over her shoulder to ask, "Well? Shall we proceed?"

He nodded, mentally preparing himself. "Go ahead."

They were greeted by a summary of the previous 'Investigation Edition', along with the promise that all of their questions would be answered now. Then the game started again.

This time they got to play the first day and, like before, Chiaki took control of Girl A. Again, she didn't follow the story immediately when the girls were alerted to a noise upstairs. Instead, she started looking for clues elsewhere.

They ended up finding two notes, none of which was helpful.

Chiaki sighed. "How disappointing. If Monokuma can't even include proper easter eggs, he should just not bother," she said, pouting when she found the second note, which was just Monokuma complaining about how making a video game was hard work.

By that point, all Byakuya could think of was how pointless it had been to look for secrets if they were all as random as the ones they had found so far. Thankfully, she then focused on continuing the story. They found out about the circumstances of the music room murder and witnessed a scene that basically confirmed girl E as the murderer. It also answered how this girl had wound up dead at the end of day four.

"Well," Byakuya said as the words 'game cleared' appeared on the screen, along with a picture of a laughing Monokuma. "The game makes much more sense now, but I still don't see how that's a motive."

Chiaki, however, kept looking at the screen and frowned. "Look," she said, pointing at it.

Byakuya did so and noticed that the credits had started rolling up on the screen. It was all just Monokuma crediting himself for everything. He was about to ask what was so important about it, when some new names appeared on screen. Tsumiki, Koizumi, Saionji, Mioda, Sato, and Kuzuryu. Two Kuzuryu, to be precise. Byakuya stared at them until they disappeared and the screen went black.

When Chiaki turned to him, he quickly righted his posture and pushed up his glasses. "That certainly puts things in a new perspective."

Chiaki nodded slowly. "It looks like Girl A, B and C were Mikan, Hiyoko and Ibuki respectively. Girl D, the one who took the photos, must have been Mahiru."

"Yes. And it is safe to say that the only male character was supposed to be Fuyuhiko. And that guy said something about his little sister, who was probably the dead girl in the music room. That means this is a motive specifically tailored towards him."

Which didn't make any sense in the slightest. Monokuma had never dished out a motive like this. Why exclude 15—well, more like 14, since he himself didn't plan on participating in the killing—students as potential murderers? What if Fuyuhiko never played the game, as he wouldn't if everything went according to plan? If that happened, this motive would be completely useless. Byakuya failed to make sense of the bear's actions.

"Girl E must have been Sato then, who seems to have killed his sister," Chiaki continued, pointing out just another reason why this motive was poorly thought out.

"But she was already killed at the end of the game. If Fuyuhiko has already avenged his sister, he shouldn't have any reason to target the other girls. They weren't even involved."

"Well… it looks like he didn't know that Mahiru took the photo of the vase. If he finds out, he might hold a grudge against her."

A grudge, yes, but would he really go after Mahiru, just because she had kept information to herself? Even though she didn't have a hand in the murder?

Well… Fuyuhiko was easy to anger and unpredictable as it was. And a yakuza heir on top of everything else. It was entirely possible that he would see it as a matter of honor to dispose of every single person who had anything to do with his sister's death.

Considering that she had protected the murderer, it would make the most sense to act under the assumption that there was now a big red target drawn on Mahiru's back. At least the other three should be in the clear. Or so he hoped. They hadn't been directly involved and it looked like they had no clue about what Sato had done. Killing them would make little sense, even for someone as rash as Fuyuhiko.

"What do we do now?" Chiaki asked.

"Let me think." He took a second to ponder the situation. It wasn't ideal, but if he compared it to the motives Monokuma had dished out at Hope's Peak, this one seemed almost manageable. If those who didn't have a reason to kill all worked together…

He would have to talk to Nekomaru.

"I didn't expect a motive that would only target one specific person," he said out loud. "It's bad that it's Fuyuhiko, but this might work out in our favor. One person would be much easier to keep in check than a whole class…"

"You sound like you have a plan."

"I might," he said, nodding to himself. "We need to work out a security net. Come, let us not waste—Gah!" When he turned to leave, he almost tripped over Monokuma.

The bear responded in kind with a way exaggerated cry.

"Kyaaaaah!"

He was sweating profusely, clutching at his chest. "Ah, is this the moment where we bump into each other and a stack of paper goes flying? I say 'Oh no, I'm so clumsy!' and you'll be like 'Don't worry, it's my fault! Please, let me help you!' and then our hands touch as we try picking up the same-"

"Shut up." Byakuya glared at him.

"Since when have you been here?" Chiaki said. She seemed to be more curious than surprised.

Monokuma waved his arms around indignantly. "What are you talking about? I've always been here. Don't tell me you ignored me." He pouted.

"That's nonsense and you know it. Why are you here?" Byakuya asked.

"Why? Every game developer is curious about how their work of art has been received. Was the player hooked? Do they want more? Are they just dying for a sequel? That's the thing, a sequel is always gonna be so much worse than the first game and everyone knows it, but they'll buy the crap anyway, because they're already way too invested to—"

"It would be pretty hard to make a game that's even worse than this one," Chiaki muttered under her breath, but Monokuma must have heard her anyway and ceased his ramblings. For a moment, he looked like he wanted to attack her, then he seemed to change his mind and turned away from them.

"Well, apart from all that, I just wanted to see who beats the game first. After all, I was planning on giving that person an ending prize."

That got their attention. "A prize? What is it?" Chiaki asked.

Monokuma giggled with unholy glee in his eyes as he turned back. "I'm not telling you."

"If you're going to give it to us anyway, you may as well tell us," Byakuya said impatiently.

However, Monokuma just waved him off with his paw. "Well, I said I was planning on giving it to the first person to finish the game. But I changed my mind. Because I can't stand you. And I refuse to reward people who can't even appreciate my game. You didn't even enjoy my easter eggs, even though I went out of my way just to add them. So, I decided that you don't deserve a prize."

"That's—"

"Instead," Monokuma interrupted his protest, drawing out the word, "I'll give it to someone who will give me a reaction I would rate 5 out of 5 stars."

"You can't just—" But he was already gone the next second. Byakuya cursed under his breath.

Chiaki sighed. "That's a bummer."

"We won't let that stop us. Knowing him, this prize is probably just another taunt. Come on." He led her out of the park and back to the first island, formulating a plan in his head on the way.

He stopped when they arrived back at the hotel. The cottages were all dark. Not surprising, considering the nighttime announcement had played at some point while they had been busy with the game. He contemplated for a second which students might be helpful in the coming strategy meeting. He didn't want to include more people than necessary, but it would be helpful to hear the opinion of someone who was more familiar with the other students than he was. In the end, he decided to stick with those he had already approached previously.

"I need you to fetch some people, so we can discuss how we should proceed from here," he said to Chiaki. "You go and wake Hajime and Nekomaru. I'll go and warn Mahiru first and then get Sonia. We'll meet in front of my cottage."

Not wasting any time, he made his way over to Mahiru's cottage and pressed the doorbell. The lights were switched on and the door opened a little after he rang the bell a second time.

"What is it? It's already nighttime. Is there an emergency?" Mahiru asked, clearly wary but still not careful enough to keep her door shut.

"No. Not yet, anyway. It would be in your best interest to lock the door and stay in your cottage for the rest of the night. You're lucky it's just me. Next time someone is at your door, do not open it if you value your life. No matter who it is."

"J-jeez, stop saying stuff like that." She pushed the door a little more shut until he could only see her face through a small gap. Looking away uneasily, she added, "You're starting to scare me."

"Good. As long as it makes you realize how serious this is." Byakuya paused for a second, then he decided to add, "Monokuma's motive makes you a target, so you need to be careful."

Mahiru looked up with wide eyes. "I'm a target? Why?"

Would it be a good idea to tell her? Probably not. He still had to think about what they had found out anyway. Was that actually something that happened or was it just something Monokuma wanted them to think? Wasn't it highly unlikely that there had been two murders in Hope's Peak Academy? It could still be a trap to take advantage of their missing memories.

"It's not something you need to concern yourself with right now."

The door opened a little wider again, allowing her to scowl at him properly. "Well, it clearly concerns me! I have a right to know!"

"We can talk about it later. For now, I just need you to stay where you are. Do not leave your cottage. I will accompany you to breakfast tomorrow." Byakuya turned to leave.

"At least tell me who might target me!" she called after him.

"We'll talk tomorrow. Lock your door," he reminded her as he walked over to Sonia's cottage. Mahiru grumbled in frustration, but he heard the door shut a moment later, so he was satisfied for now.

After he had collected Sonia, he returned to the people already assembled in front of his cottage. He thought about sending Chiaki to bed, but then decided that she was already in the know anyway, so he let them all in.

Hajime, judging by the bird's nest on his head, looked like he had spent the last hour tossing and turning. Amazingly enough, Sonia looked as pristine as ever, whereas Nekomaru hadn't even bothered changing out of his pajamas.

"So, you played the game?" Hajime was the first to ask after they had formed a circle sitting on the floor.

"We did," Byakuya confirmed. He turned his head to address Nekomaru. "First off, I need your input on an idea. You claimed it would be a bad idea to keep everyone in a large group?"

The coach nodded. "I still stand by that."

"What about smaller groups instead? I was thinking two or maybe three people each."

"Smaller groups?" He scratched his head. "That sounds more like something the majority of the students would accept. I personally would suggest two people instead of three. A buddy system might be just what you're looking for."

"Elaborate?"

"Well, I'm guessing you want to avoid people wandering around alone. If we set up a buddy system, we'll pair up two people who are generally supposed to stick together. It's exactly what it sounds like. They look after each other, spend time together and support each other. It's meant to ensure the safety of each partner with the side effect that it also encourages teamwork. "

"Yes, something like that is exactly what I had in mind," Byakuya said. It seemed like Nekomaru already had experience with such an arrangement, which was a blessing. "It's much too dangerous to let everyone roam around on their own. Some students especially need to be watched by another trustworthy person. I take it you would approve of that?"

Nekomaru nodded again. "Yes, I think that might work. That way, the individual students wouldn't feel too restricted in where they can go. And it wouldn't cause as much discomfort to those who don't like being around lots of people."

"Hold on, why are we talking about that?" Hajime wanted to know. "Why do we have to be monitored?"

"As I expected, the game was a motive Monokuma tried to use against us," Byakuya explained. "We need to monitor people who might pose a threat to anyone else."

The students fell silent for a moment as everyone processed that.

"Do we know who is a potential threat or could it be anyone?" Sonia eventually asked hesitantly.

"Well," Chiaki answered before he could, "the game might give Fuyuhiko a reason to target Mahiru in particular."

As expected, they were met with confusion. "Huh? Why her?" Hajime was the one to ask.

"The details are not important right now. Besides, we don't even know whether the events the game has been alluding to are real or not," Byakuya quickly said in an attempt to shut down more questions. He wasn't exactly happy that she had just told them, but considering what they were about to do, it probably would have been inevitable.

"The disclaimer just said that any resemblances to real people are intentional, but that doesn't mean that everything happened in real life just like it did in the game," Chiaki added, being at least somewhat helpful after blurting everything out without thinking. "There are quite a few examples of games that claim they are based on true events, but they add or leave out a lot, or they tell the story from one very specific point of view, or the player might be able to influence the events so it ends up being a different tale or changing key elements. It's possible that this is the case here, I think."

"Exactly. Nevertheless, we still need to take precautions."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Hajime said. He didn't look very reassured.

"So, our priority is to find someone who can keep an eye on Fuyuhiko as well as a bodyguard for Mahiru?" Sonia asked.

Byakuya nodded. "That, as well as making sure that Nagito and Teruteru won't have another opportunity to put any further stupid ideas they might come up with into action." He got up from his spot to snatch a notepad and a pen from his table. Even though their kidnappers had put two bookshelves into his room, they had neglected to also give him something to take notes, so he had picked up both items at the supermarket on the first day for situations just like this one.

"I think the best way of coming up with the optimal pairs is to first make a list of people who would be the most likely to cause trouble," he said after he had sat down again. He opened the notepad and skipped over the pages where he had jotted down his ideas for security measures at the party, until he reached a blank page where he drew a table with two columns on it.

He wrote the names of Fuyuhiko, Mahiru, Nagito and Teruteru in the first column he had titled 'needs monitoring'. Then he placed the notepad in the middle of their circle, so the others could see it as well. "We should probably put Akane, Gundham and Peko in the same category. Maybe Hiyoko as well," he added, already writing down their names. "Anyone else?"

"Are you sure Peko needs to be monitored? She doesn't strike me as a troublemaker," Hajime argued.

Sonia backed him up on that. "I agree. She has always been friendly and courteous with everyone. And just this morning, she was very interested in petting Gundham's hamsters, though she tried not to let anyone see her. It seems to me that her stoic exterior is just a façade to hide her kindness, so I doubt she would hurt anyone. The same goes for Gundham. I think he is a genuinely nice person."

That again? Byakuya still didn't agree with their evaluation. Just because they apparently liked animals or were nice on occasion didn't mean that he was about to clear them of all suspicion. Though he was inclined to give Peko the benefit of the doubt; she knew how to wield a sword, but that alone wasn't reason enough to think she might be a murderer. It just meant she would have an easier time doing the deed if she so chose.

Gundham on the other hand… he was too much of a wild card to be sure. Byakuya could barely understand what he was saying half the time and his actions were unpredictable. He would sleep better knowing the self-proclaimed Dark Lord of whatever the hell he called himself was somehow accounted for. "I'm not saying they're necessarily dangerous, but we should pair them with someone responsible just in case," he finally said to lend more credit to his reasoning.

"I guess…" Hajime agreed reluctantly.

"So, we have eight people who need to be monitored. That leaves eight more to watch over them," Chiaki pointed out.

"Doesn't that work out well?" Sonia said, clapping her hands together. "Shall we start by finding a partner for Fuyuhiko, if you think he is the most dangerous person around?"

"Yes. I thought about that already and I would like Nekomaru to take that job," Byakuya said.

"Oh." Hajime nodded slowly. "Yeah, if anything happens Nekomaru would be strong enough to stop him."

The coach, however, looked troubled. "I'm not going to argue with that, but I was actually going to ask if I could continue working with Akane."

Byakuya frowned. "Akane?"

"Well… I don't think she would cause any trouble on purpose, but she doesn't know her own strength and she often acts on impulse. I'm worried about her and I would feel better if I could keep training her and teach her some discipline. She needs someone to give her direction."

Byakuya mulled over the explanation. It was true, if she somehow ended up getting into a fight or even do something especially stupid, like challenging one of the Monobeasts, Nekomaru was most likely the only one who could contain her. "If we can find someone else who can keep Fuyuhiko in check, I don't see a problem with that. I would do it myself, but I need to keep taking care of Nagito." There was no way in hell he was trusting anyone else to stay sane around that nutjob. Besides, Nagito was in a vulnerable state himself. It was safer for everyone if he stayed in Byakuya's care.

This arrangement would also have the added benefit that Byakuya would be able to keep watch over some of the other pairs at times, since Nagito couldn't leave his cottage anyway and didn't need constant supervision.

"You will?" Hajime perked up in surprise. "I mean… thank you for doing that. I'm sure he would be a handful for anyone." He scratched his head in thought. "Still, who would be suited to monitor Fuyuhiko?"

"What about you?" Sonia asked.

Hajime took a second to process that. "Me?!" he then squeaked.

"Of course! You are responsible and you get along with most people, do you not? I even saw how you helped Hiyoko carry some candy back to her lodge the other day. You might be a good influence on him."

"I… uh… I'm not sure I could stop him if he tried anything. I mean, I'm bigger than he is, but I'm not trained or anything."

Sonia was not deterred in the slightest. "In that case, we just need to find a good bodyguard for Mahiru. It won't be a problem then, right?"

"Did you have anyone in mind?" Byakuya asked. It was actually a bit tricky. Mahiru herself didn't look like she was strong enough to defend herself and there weren't too many students left who were capable of protecting her. Apart from Gundham, who he didn't deem a safe option, Kazuichi was the only guy left and Byakuya estimated that he was more likely to run away at the prospect of a fight instead of defending the vulnerable person. Among the girls…

"Peko would be the perfect candidate, don't you think?" Sonia asked. "She is the Ultimate Swordswoman after all. If anyone can protect Mahiru, it would be her."

Chiaki nodded, but Byakuya quickly interjected. "Peko is unreliable."

"What makes you say that?" Hajime asked.

"During the party, she left her assigned task without notifying anyone."

"Well…" Nekomaru scratched his head. "Didn't she leave because she had to go to the bathroom? If she had to take a shit that badly, I'd consider that an emergency."

Byakuya shot him a scathing glare. He had almost forgotten that Nekomaru fell into the same category. Maybe it was a good thing after all to let him handle Akane instead of someone who could pose a greater risk. "Leaving without at least telling anyone was extremely irresponsible."

"But who else is there? Ibuki maybe?" Hajime voiced his thoughts.

Ibuki? No. She was way too… hyper. Who knew how long she would stay with Mahiru before getting distracted. That left them with Chiaki, Sonia, Mikan and Hiyoko. Neither of them fit the role of a strong protector. Byakuya sighed, rubbing his temple where he could feel a headache approaching. "Fine. I guess we have no choice. We will task Peko with being a bodyguard. At least Mahiru should be sensible enough to stay with her if her life is on the line. Let's just hope Peko doesn't end up killing Fuyuhiko if he tries anything."

He crossed out her name on the problematic half of the list and jotted it down next to Mahiru's. Then he wrote down Hajime's, Nekomaru's, and his own name next to the respective partner they had just been assigned.

Which meant that a lot of the people who were most urgently in need of a responsible partner were accounted for so far. "Only two potential troublemakers left. Teruteru and Gundham."

"I could keep an eye on one of them," Sonia offered.

"Err, maybe not Teruteru," Hajime said quickly.

Sonia looked at him in confusion. "Why is that?"

"Uh… well, you know..." He trailed off uncomfortably.

Byakuya decided to save him. "Hajime is right. I also think we should pair Teruteru with a male student. However, if you could form a team with Gundham, that might be helpful, especially if you get along already. Just remember to be careful around him."

She seemed pleased with that and gave him a confident smile. "Alright, you can count on me!"

As soon as Byakuya had noted down the new pair, Chiaki said, "That means the only possible partner for Teruteru is Kazuichi."

He grimaced. "I'm not sure if he is suited for the job."

They all exchanged glances as they thought about that. Their silence told him everything he needed to know. None of them wanted to speak up in his favor, but they all knew that the alternative would be to pair Teruteru up with a girl. Which was probably a bad idea.

"Well, I'll still pay attention to them regardless, so we may as well see how well they get along first," Byakuya eventually decided, writing it down.

"Just so we're clear, what exactly do you expect Kazuichi to do with him?" Hajime asked.

"I want him to feed and check on him, obviously. Why? Is there a problem?"

"Oh, no, I was just wondering if Teruteru would be allowed to leave his cottage at all."

"No."

Just when he was about to move on, Chiaki chimed up. "Are you sure that's a good idea? Wouldn't it make more sense to try and integrate him a little?"

Byakuya was astounded that anyone would even suggest this. Let alone that it would be her. "Did you forget that he is dangerous?" he asked.

"I didn't forget," she argued, "I'm just saying we should give him a second chance. Isn't this buddy system supposed to ensure we have a security net in place? If Kazuichi is looking after him anyway, why not give him the opportunity to catch some fresh air?"

"You're saying you actually want to let him on the loose again?"

Chiaki tilted her head to the side, humming. Then she said, "It's not letting him on the loose. It's just giving him a little more opportunity to get his emotions together. Who knows how long we have to stay on this island. We can't leave him locked away forever." To his surprise, she then addressed the other students. "What does everyone else think?"

Sonia looked conflicted.

Hajime didn't seem to be able to make up his mind either. "I don't know," he said slowly. "I can't tell if he actually felt bad about what he did or if he was just panicking because he got caught. Maybe he learned his lesson, but I don't know him that well."

"He did try to kill someone. We shouldn't forget that," Nekomaru argued.

Byakuya was a little relieved to hear that they weren't all losing their mind.

"Of course. I'm not saying that's not an issue," Chiaki said. "But we need to think about why he did that."

This again? Why did it always seem to come back to this? "Because his mother might be dead?" Byakuya skeptically repeated what Mikan had told him. "What does that have to do with whether he gets out of his room or not?"

Chiaki shook her head and turned to face him completely. "I meant because he was deeply emotionally affected. Byakuya, I know you're just trying to protect everyone and I'm honestly appreciative of what you do. But I can't say I agree with you on this. We need to work together if we want to get through this. If we could all just get along and become friends, we would also reduce the risk of anything happening."

"You're going off a hypothesis here. What if you're wrong? Are you ready to take the responsibility for that?"

She hesitated for a second, but then she pressed on. "I… can't guarantee that everything will work out. But to me, Teruteru seems like the kind of person who really cares about the people that are close to him. We are all still more or less strangers, which is why I think we should all make an effort to get to know each other better. What if Teruteru just had a friend to talk to? Someone to relate to? We're all in the same boat here. No one knows what's happening at home. If he bonded with someone on this island, do you think he would want to harm that person?"

Byakuya frowned. Wasn't that what he had thought from the start in a way? Monokuma had always popped up to interfere when anyone tried to cooperate in any killing game. They had to work together. He knew that. Why did Chiaki's suggestion still rub him the wrong way?

To top it all off, Sonia now spoke up carefully in Chiaki's favor. "I must say, she has a point. Emotional support can go a long way to help someone in getting through a tense situation like this. Furthermore, I couldn't imagine sitting in my room all day and I suspect it wouldn't be good for Teruteru's mental state either."

"Yes." Chiaki smiled. "Also, knowing that there are people locked up because they could be dangerous might also affect other people. Don't you think we should try to make it work and show everyone that we are still one class with the same goal?"

Byakuya took off his glasses to rub at the bridge of his nose. He considered it for a moment. Teruteru's mental state had been rather worrisome since the night of the party, that much was true. And Byakuya certainly hadn't managed to get through to him at all. Maybe some fresh air would be good for him. Would that really help their situation? Would that reduce the danger he posed?

It was possible, he concluded. Kazuichi was an emotional guy, wasn't he? Maybe if Teruteru felt like there was someone who understood him, he would find some peace of mind. Byakuya didn't count on it, but… it might be worth a try.

In any case, he would make sure to make it very clear to Teruteru that killing Kazuichi or anyone else would just get him caught immediately if he was that closely monitored. Even Teruteru wouldn't be stupid enough to try anything if he knew he would never get away with it. Probably.

"Fine. We can give him some concessions. He may not join any group gatherings, but if Kazuichi lets me know in advance exactly where and when they are planning on going somewhere, I may allow it. Provided it makes sense and Kazuichi is keeping a close eye on him. Actually, I'll only let them go with at least one other pair if they want to leave the hotel area."

"That sounds like a good compromise," Chiaki said.

"Great. Are we done with this topic now?"

She bit on her bottom lip in thought and furrowed her brow. After a moment, she said, "About Nagito…"

"He's staying right where he is," Byakuya deflected immediately. "Allowing Teruteru to stay in a small group could work out, just because I think he understands the position he is in. Nagito, on the other hand, cannot be trusted. He might harm himself or someone else without regard for the consequences. There's no way I'll let him out. Besides, with his injuries he wouldn't be able to leave his cottage even if he was allowed to."

Chiaki shook her head. "No, I wasn't going to suggest anything like that. I understand that his case is a little… different." Byakuya snorted at the extenuation as she continued, "I just wanted to ask you to try and get a bit closer to him as well? Could you try to find out why he did what he did?"

"We already know why he did it. He's not right in the head."

"Still, there has to be a reason," she insisted. "He was saying a lot of confusing things that are just nonsense to us, but it sounded very important to him. Could you please try to understand his point of view? I think that might be very helpful."

She really had no idea what she was asking of him. What did she expect him to do? That he saw logic in the ramblings of a madman? He just didn't see himself being able to interpret his gibberish, but he couldn't ask anyone else for help for fear of risking that Nagito might get into their head.

Byakuya sighed. "I can try," he conceded reluctantly. If that was what it took for her to get off his back, so be it.

She smiled at him, which looked terribly condescending to him.

"Any more objections?" he asked. The other students didn't raise any, maybe because they heard the exasperation in his voice. "Good. That means we can finally refocus on our main goal."

There was another second of silence before Nekomaru brought them back on topic, looking at the list. "So, the only ones left are Hiyoko, Mikan, Ibuki and Chiaki."

"We can't leave Mikan alone with Hiyoko. The bullying might get even worse if it's just the two of them," Hajime pointed out immediately.

"Agreed. Then why don't we pair Chiaki with Mikan and Ibuki with Hiyoko?" Sonia suggested. "Chiaki, you could look after Mikan a bit, couldn't you? I think she could really use a friend."

Chiaki smiled kindly. "I can do that."

"And Ibuki should be able to handle Hiyoko," Nekomaru agreed.

Byakuya thought about it for a second and nodded slowly. He didn't think there were too many problems with that arrangement. The way he saw it, any insults would probably just roll off of Ibuki and Hiyoko hadn't shown herself to be hostile against her specifically. Besides, if the game was to be believed, the two of them had been in the same friend group before.

"Yes, I guess this combination would make the most sense. Let's go with that for now and see how they all get along." At least the four people he wanted accounted for had a suitable partner. Well… he wasn't entirely sure about Mahiru, but considering the circumstances, Peko was their best bet.

He wrote down the last students they had just discussed. "That means we have the following pairs: Fuyuhiko and Hajime, Mahiru and Peko, Nagito and me, Teruteru and Kazuichi, Akane and Nekomaru, Gundham and Sonia, Hiyoko and Ibuki as well as Chiaki and Mikan," he read out loud. Then he looked up from the list to ask, "Does anyone have an objection against any of these?"

Nobody spoke up.

Sonia shook her head. "I think we can all agree that we came up with the best possible pairs."

"If there are still issues, we can discuss them with the respective students when the time comes," Nekomaru added.

Byakuya wasn't completely satisfied with all the pairs, but he had to agree with them. With everything they had just discussed, this list had to suffice for now. "Very well. I will announce the pairs tomorrow morning. I would, however, ask you to help as much as you can to assure that all the pairs stick together. If you notice any problems, I want you to tell me as soon as possible."

"Sure," Hajime mumbled and Nekomaru nodded seriously.

"One last thing. Don't tell Fuyuhiko that the motive revolves around him. I already warned Mahiru earlier, because she needs to keep her guard up, but if Fuyuhiko never plays the game, he won't have a reason to attack her in the first place. Is that understood?" They all nodded. "Good. Now that this is settled, we should all go to bed. Don't try to linger outside."

Chiaki yawned widely as he said that, barely even managing to raise her hand fast enough to cover her mouth. "Oh, good. It's way past my bedtime. Even just thinking about sleeping makes me sleepy."

Byakuya couldn't help thinking that she shouldn't have spent so much energy arguing if that was the case.

"Shall we go, then?" Sonia asked her. "I'll accompany you to your cottage." Chiaki smiled gratefully and they got up and left together.

Hajime also excused himself and went out after them.

Nekomaru gave Byakuya one more wide grin as he got up as well. "I must say, I think this is a great idea. Just try not to give them too many other restrictions. I'm sure most of the other students will see it as a fun arrangement like this."

"The point of this is not for them to have fun," Byakuya objected.

"But it would most certainly be a positive side effect." He hesitated. "Are you planning on setting up more rules on top of what we discussed today?"

"I am. Why do you ask?"

Nekomaru looked at the door, then back at him and sat back down. "In that case, we should talk about them beforehand."

Byakuya gave him a look. "You can't be serious."

"I just think it's better to be sure the rules make sense before they are put in place. They should ensure that everyone stays safe, but if they are too strict, the other students might just not follow them. We need to find a balance," he said confidently.

Byakuya hated it, but he had a point. Ideally, he would have thrown everyone else out of his lodge by now to get some well-deserved sleep. It seemed like that had to wait for a bit.

"Fine. Let's get this over with."

Maybe he would just postpone going to sleep a little longer and get himself a midnight snack as a reward once they were done. It looked like he would be going to bed late either way.


A/N: I hope you enjoyed this overly long chapter. I came across the term buddy system in a funny two-shot by kleine_aster over on AO3 and I thought it fits what I was going for perfectly.

On an unrelated note, I went through all the previous chapters and made some minor edits. No changes to the story, just some things that bothered me or sounded weird.

The next chapter is going to be even longer than this one and will be uploaded on the 26th of July. Yes, that date is a promise. I don't want you to think I'll immediately disappear again after only one chapter.