Chapter 3 Part 6

"Uh, uh, uh," the school's intercom played out, soon followed by a record scratch. "Yo, yo, yo, yo! It's your hip and hopping HM, Mr. Black and White himself, MC Monokuma and I'm here to say it's morning time, y'all. So, got yo rears into gear and get sizzling bacon and juicy sausages, dog."

Ryoma grumbled as his eyes shot open. "He's really trying to make it worse each day," he said, commenting on the morning announcement. Swinging out his legs and hopping out of bed, Ryoma would get ready for the day. Washing his hair, deodorant, flossing, all the essentials before getting dressed and putting on his cap. Expecting just another dull day, Ryoma exited his room with his head hung low. However, the moment he lifted his head up he was met with quite the sight.

Instead of the messy art deco that Monokuma hastily did across the school, the walls of the halls were painted pitch black. There were no random scribbles, or crude pictures of Monokuma, just solid black with only gold railing lining the walls as waist level to break up the darkness. The floors were covered with blood red carpets. Somehow, the carpet was added last, perfectly fitting into each edge and corner without anyone noticing. The paint had been completely dry with the proper number of layers as well.

"What the hell?" Ryoma nearly dropped his candy cigar.

Around 10 feet away, Ibuki stepped out of her room, her eyes shut but with her smile shining bright. "Good morning, world and all who inhabit it- Wha-wha-whaaaaat?!" Ibuki's eyes nearly popped out of her skulls at the sight of the school's redesign. "Someone made the school look good! THAT'S NOT RIGHT!"

All of Ibuki's screaming gathered the attention of the rest of the group, with all of them stepping out into the hall and being stunned by the inter-decorating.

"What the hell is this?" Mondo asked.

"I…I don't remember the school looking like this," Keebo said.

"Is this Monokuma's doing?" Sakura asked.

"Well, it at least looks better now," Kaede commented.

"Yeah, those neon paintings were giving me a headache," Leon said.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Taka shouted as he stepped out of his room. Upon examining the hall, he became red with rage. "Who is responsible for this?! They had no right to redecorate this school without the expressed permission of the principle!"

"You mean Monokuma?" Leon asked. "Why the hell should we care about getting his permission?"

"And it is a bit…silly to get mad over," Chihiro commented.

"Nonsense!" Taka shouted. "The look of a school is important! It must represent the heights students wish to achieve, a symbol of excellence and elegance!"

"Are you serious?" Mahiru placed her hands on her hips. "Doesn't it look more like that "excellence" now than when it did earlier?"

Taka opened his mouth, but upon a second glance he paused. "Oh…Hmmm. I suppose it does."

Mondo placed his hand on his bro's shoulder. "You really gotta let go of that school stuff here, bro."

"Yeah, it's not that big of a deal," Sayaka said. "It's not like Monokuma doesn't redesign things for no reason. It's probably just him again."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Shinji said. "Monokuma is vain. He'd love to make us all gather at the gymnasium just to tell us about his redecorating. He wouldn't just do something like this with no fanfare."

"Then who do you think did it?" Tenko asked.

Ryoma's eyes scanned the hall before speaking up. "Where's Celeste?"

If everyone was shocked by how the hallways looked, the cafeteria was completely redone. Not only were the black walls and red carpeting in there, but all of the tables and chairs replaced. Instead of the plastic and metal school chairs, there were now wooden chairs with pillowed seats and backs. Instead of the featureless wooden plank tables, the tables were highly detailed, with each leg having engraved likes and swirls like the pillars of an ancient building. All of which fit the dark, yet elegant aesthetic Celestia Ludenberg had been longing for. Gundham, Peko, and Kirumi had lumped down into their own seats, letting out exhausted pants and wiping sweat from their faces, but Celeste was completely relaxed. To satisfy her own ego, she had been gifted with a make-shift throne, with gold metal for the frame and blood red cushions. She sat at the very end of the table, her legs crossed, and her head resting neatly on her hand, with a sinister smirk across her face.

"See? It's so much better this way," Celestia said. "You all should be proud of your work."

Gundham grumbled a bit as his dark disciples cuddled up to his pale face. "My dark powers have been drained…To replenish them, I must return to the darkness."

"I…don't want to upset you, Miss Ludenberg," Peko spoke up, "but all three of us may need a break…"

"A break, hmm?" Celeste hummed slightly. "Well, I will admit that you've all put in a terrific effort in this. I will happily grant all of you a much-deserved break."

Kirumi bowed her head. "Thank you, Miss Ludenberg."

"Oh, please, my dears," Celestia chuckled. "I told you to call me Celeste."

At that moment, the rest of the group entered the cafeteria. Even Sakura, with the assistance of Mondo and Gonta, strolled in Mukuro, Kokichi, and Kiyo's cells. The gothic overhaul of the dining area's layout and aesthetic took them by surprise. Just under two days, and everything was changed. And all for the sake of a sociopathic goth gambler.

"What the fuck is this shit?!" Miu spat out.

The shock from her fellow students and verbal distain from Miu wasn't enough to kill Celestia's vibe. Instead, she folded her hands together neatly and flashed a polite smile to everyone.

"Oh, good morning, everyone," Celestia said. "I hope you all slept well."

"Ludenberg, we demand to know the meaning behind all of this," Taka ordered.

Celeste sighed. "I was simply growing tired of staring at the dreadful interior decorating, so I had my wonderful associates…improve things to my standards."

"Well, a change of pace isn't so bad," Rantaro said. "You can only look at the same place day after day for so long…"

"OK, sure, change is cool, but isn't this a bit concerning she can just…do that?" Leon asked. "Like, she just has some people that will do whatever she wants?"

Celeste let out a light chuckle at Leon's comment before leaning forward in her seat and staring at the baseball player with her blood red eyes. "Oh, come now, Leon," she said with a sinister smile. "There's no harm in a change of scenery, is there?"

Leon looked towards the rest of the group while pointing at Celeste. "See?! Literally everything she says is creepy as hell!"

"Redecorating is hardly a crime," Kirumi come to her mistress's defense.

"True, but you could've asked us if we're comfortable with it, no?" Angie asked.

"I'm all for it," Kokichi said as he pushed his head against the wood bars of his cell. "I can't help but admire a good evil lair when I see one. Still nowhere as good as my DICE base, but I can't fault them for trying."

"Even the snake can admire the dark powers that ravel this place," Gundham laughed.

"But aren't you worried Monokuma will count this as destruction of school property?" Sayaka asked.

Before anyone could answer Sayaka's question, Monokuma burst through the door of the kitchen, outfitted with a white apron and a blonde, spiky wig. "Now, isn't that an interesting idea. I could punish Celeste, Kirumi, Gundham, and Peko for their little paint job."

Sayaka's eyes widened. "Wh-whao, wait! I wasn't trying to get them into any trouble! I was just asking-"

Monokuma held his paw up to shush to pop idol. "Quit your whining, donkey!" the bear shouted with a British accent. "Don't you know a joking threat when you hear one?"

"With you, we can't be sure of anything," Chiaki said with a slight scowl.

Monokuma groaned. "Look, while normally I would take the opportunity to punish someone for breaking my rules, but I'm too hung up on my own personal cooking project right now to do anything."

"What you cooking?" Gonta asked.

"I'm making a calzone."

"Oh, Gonta love to try calzone," the giant man smiled.

"Gonta, we should probably never try any of Monokuma cooks," Kaede lightly patted the giant on the back.

"So, then we're safe then?" Peko asked.

Monokuma limply waved his hand. "Yeah, sure, whatever. I don't really care if you paint over stuff. Just don't break anything."

Monokuma twirled around on his heel before returning to the kitchen and shutting the door behind him. With the main nuisance finally out of the way, Celeste smiled once again and rose from her seat.

"Since everything is now settled, why don't we all enjoy a nice breakfast together?" Celeste. "I can assure you, this new setting will be much more favorable than before."

"Finally!" Hiyoko huffed out. "I was starving."

"Oh, but before we do, there is one thing I'd like from all of you," Celeste said.

"Ugh! What is it?!" Hiyoko clutched onto her stomach.

Celeste kept up her smile. "I'd love a thank you from all of you."

"What are you, my mom?" Hiyoko rolled her eyes.

"It's polite to show your gratitude to people who helped you."

Mahiru raised an eyebrow. "Um…Ok, I guess. Thank you?"

Celeste leaned towards the redhead. "A genuine thank you would be great…Say it again."

"H-hey, what's your deal?!" Mahiru's face went pale. "No need to get so intense."

Celeste just kept staring at Mahiru. Her blood red eyes giving off an air of danger and menace, something that could get worse if Mahiru didn't immediately change her tone.

Mahiru gulped. "Um…thank you…"

Celeste leaned back in her sit and smiled. "You are welcome." She shifted her gaze to the rest of the group, waiting on their response.

With a small tenge of fear tingling in their spines, most responded with a unanimous and nervous, "Thank you."

Celeste's smile grew. "You're all welcome. Now, Teruteru? Will you be a dear and make us some breakfast?"

Teruteru shot up from his seat with hearts in his eyes. "I'd love to, Miss Luden-"

"Teruteru, you don't have to do that," Angie placed her hand on the chef's shoulder. "We're all equals. There's no need to do everything she tells you, no?"

Teruteru looked back and forth between Angie and Celeste. Angie was the one that lifted him out from the darkness and saw the light. But Celeste was just commanding, captivating, sexy. It was truly a difficult decision for the chef.

"He is the Ultimate Chef," Celeste responded to the artist. "He doesn't make food because he is asked. Cooking is his passion that he loves to share. Am I wrong, Teruteru?"

Before Teruteru could answer the question, Hifumi shot up from his chair. "He's not just some slave for you to boss around!"

Gundham raised an eyebrow. "Are you implying that we are just slaves to the dark witch?!"

"Well, only idiots get bossed around to paint an entire school," Hiyoko stuck out her tongue in a mocking manner.

"Angie has been brainwashing you into a cult, Hiyoko," Peko responded.

The tension between the two groups thickened, the four members of each stared at each other. The rest of the student body were left by the wayside to observe the battle lines being drawn. With a few awkward coughs, the others would slip into the kitchen to prep their own meals. Breakfast would be very awkward.

After a breakfast that was 75% staring at each other and 25% chewing on their food, the group would split up to their own corners of the building. Even Celestia's minions were finally able to take a break from pleasing the gambler. Upon returning to her own room, Kirumi was left standing dead center of the room. So many days had passed since she agreed to be Celestia's maid that finally receiving free time left her unsure of what to do. She sat herself down at the edge of her bed, just looking around aimlessly around her room.

'Well, Miss Ludenberg is finally getting the castle she wanted,' Kirumi thought to herself. 'I'm just curious as to what she would do now that she has it…She's only made herself an enemy for the rest of the group. How could that possible be good for her?'

Before Kirumi could continue her train of thought, a knock at her door grabbed her attention. The maid dusted off her apron and straightened her dressed before opening her door. To her surprise, Kirumi was met by Sayaka standing outside her door. On que, Kirumi held her hands together and politely bowed her head.

"Good morning, Sayaka," Kirumi said. "Is there anything I can do for you today?"

"Hello, Kirumi," Sayaka smiled at the maid. "And yes, I could use your help, but not with anything too hard. I just want to ask you a few questions if that's ok."

"Of course it is. It's my job to fulfill any request you may have." Kirumi stepped aside, allowing Sayaka to enter.

Sayaka pulled out the desk chair to sit herself upon, but Kirumi held her hand up.

"No, please," Kirumi said. "You can sit on my bed."

Sayaka nodded and sat on the edge of the bed while Kirumi sat down at the desk chair. Sayaka pulled out her pen and notepad.

"So, what did you need to know?" Kirumi asked.

"Now, I don't want to upset you, but I need to ask about Celestia," Sayaka asked.

Kirumi frowned, but nodded. "I will do my best to answer your questions, but I'm afraid that…since she is my personal client for the time being, I must keep my confidentiality."

'That will be a hurdle,' Sayaka thought to herself. "Well, I can work with that."

"What did you need to know?" Kiirumi asked.

"I just want to know if you remember what she was up to the night of the party."

Kirumi raised an eyebrow. After a moment, the maid spoke. "You think she killed Kaito, don't you?"

"I…never said that…"

"I'm not foolish, Sayaka. You want to know if I saw her acting suspicious, don't you?"

Sayaka sighed. "I just…I need to figure out who did this. A killer that framed someone else and got away with it…And when I thought it all over, Celestia is the only person that makes sense. She doesn't care about the life of others, she's manipulative, and she's murdered someone before…"

Kirumi nodded. "I can understand your logic, but you're not using evidence for this. You're only relying psychologic profiling."

"Which is why I need to know what she had been up to during the party."

"Sayaka, I was with Miss Ludenberg the whole night. She couldn't have set up that trap at any point during that time. Nor could she have picked the lock to the door. I would've seen her do it."

Sayaka paused, just staring at her blank notebook page. "But what about when we all went to bed? She could've snuck out when no one was looking. That's how she could've gotten to the end of the maze so quickly and not set off the trap."

"Again, I was with her during the maze. Remember that we only reached the end after the trap went off. And again, your group reached the crime scene before us."

Sayaka dropped her notepad and pen.

"Sayaka, I learned a few things about gambling since I started working for Miss Ludenberg," Kirumi stood up as she spoke. "In poker, a player must avoid any signs of suspicion in order to win. Even if she may be the most suspicious person her, she'd know that and wouldn't take action with eyes on her. She'd keep her cards close to her chest, so to speak."

"But she isn't perfect. She had been proven guilty to get here, right?"

"Yes she did, but again, I was with her most of the time. She couldn't do anything without me seeing. And when she was on her own, she wouldn't have gotten a chance to sneak into Mukuro's room to get the shotgun. I came to her room the first thing in the morning."

Sayaka sighed in disappointed. The only lead she had was dead in the water. However, one thought came across her mind. It would be out of character, even rude, but it was a question worth asking. "Kirumi…if someone asked you to cover up a murder, would you?"

Kirumi's stoic expression shifted to a scowl. "I believe we're done here."

Kirumi walked over to her door and swung it open. With that as the sign of her interrogation ending horribly, Sayaka took her pen and notepad and exited the room. She'd attempt to look back at Kirumi, but the maid immediately shut the door on the pop idol.

'Well, I at least know what type of questions to avoid next time,' Sayaka thought. 'But…maybe she has a good point. Celeste strikes me as someone who wouldn't want to be the first suspect if she did it…But now I don't know who else to investigate.'

While Sayaka walked away, thinking she got the worst end of the discussion. However, Kirumi wasn't in a great state either. She had leaned against her door, frowning as she thought over Sayaka's final question.

'Cover up another person's murder…' Kirumi thought to herself. 'I…I'm hardly above such a thing. I've murdered before and I willingly agreed to serve a murderer….'

The term "second chance" began to repeat in her mind. It was what was everyone had agreed to take upon waking up in this new prison. Move past their mistakes, be better.

'And yet I've chosen to serve the most heartless person here,' Kirumi continued her internal monologue. 'No. I am a maid. It is my duty to serve faithful! No matter…who it is.'

Mondo, Chihiro, and Leon once again took the freedom they had to head to the gymnasium for more training. Mondo, acting as the coach, pushed the bench press machine forward. Not too far, it would be stupid to waste too much energy on pushing it, but just a few feet away from the wall and towards both Chihiro and Leon. It took the baseball player a second to realize what was being asked of him.

"Oh, come on, man," Leon whined.

"Relax, Kuwata," Mondo said with an eyeroll. "We'll start it off light for the both of you."

"Gee, thanks a lot," Leon groaned, checking out his arms. 'They don't look that small, do they?'

"Are you sure I can do this?" Chihiro asked.

"Like I said, we're going easy," Mondo said as he placed a 20-pound plate on each side of the bar. "First rep, you'll do 15 presses. Second, 10. Then, your final rep will be 5 presses. Sound good?"

Chihiro nodded. "OK. Is it ok if I go first?"

"Go right ahead. Leon, spot him."

"Gotcha," Leon said half-heartedly before circling around the machine and standing right behind the head of the bench.

Chihiro laid himself down on the bench and scooted himself into position where the bar rest was right above his neck while also avoiding an awkward crotch shot of the redhead. Chihiro wrapped his fingers around the bar, but Leon lightly tapped on the programmer's hands.

"You gotta spread them out a bit," Leon said.

"Yeah, you don't want break your arms or drop it on your neck," Mondo added out.

"R-right," Chihiro nodded and spread his hands out, getting them in the proper positions.

Leon would help lift the bar from the dock and guided it over Chihiro's chest. With a nod from Mondo, Leon let go of the bar, leaving only Chihiro to keep hold of it. Leon would keep his hands hovering nearby just in case, but Chihiro was left by himself to do bench presses. The first few presses were good, he took steady, deep breaths, and his biceps were feeling strong. However, that strength turned to aching at the 10th press. He began to hold his breath the more effort he put in, and his arms shook as they went higher. At the final push, Leon immediately took hold of the bar and guided it back to the bar dock.

Chihiro's arms dropped to the sides, just dangling in the air as he laid down on the bench. "I don't know if I can do the other two reps."

"You gotta pace yourself better, man," Leon crouched down next to him. "You can't be too slow with it, otherwise the weight will just make it worse."

"He's right, kid," Mondo said. "Plus, holding your breath and shit's just gonna wear you out."

Chihiro slowly sat himself back up and fidgeted with his fingers, checking if he still had feeling in his arms. "Don't stop when I push it up. Got it."

Mondo patted Chihiro on the back. "Get some water, kid. Leon, you're up."

Chihiro got up from the bench and took his water bottle while Leon laid himself down on the bench. Mondo would take the role of spotter for Leon as the baseball player took proper hold of the bar. With a few deep breaths, Leon pushed the bar up and began to do his presses. Unlike Chihiro, Leon didn't faulter in his pace or posture. He practically breezed through his set before docking the bar.

"Wooo!" Leon jumped up to his feet and punched the air. "Still got it, baby!"

"You sure as hell should, you're a baseball player," Mondo said. "You gotta have some strength training."

"Well," Leon felt a bead of sweat trail down the side of his face, "I did…stop when I moved to music."

"Have you even played anything?" Mondo snarked.

"Hey!" Leon shouted. "I can scream like crazy on the mic, yo!"

"H-hey, let's not fight," Chihiro stepped in between the two of them. "We're all still training together."

Both of the taller boys stopped their argument and nodded.

"Right…sorry," Mondo scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Leon scratched the back of his head as well.

Just as the trio were about to cycle through their reps, their collective attention was caught by a cough echoing from the doors. Much to their surprise, the person who caught their attention was Tenko. Leon felt a chill crawl up his spine at the sight of the Aikido master, however Chihiro smiled and ran over to the girl.

"Hello, Tenko," Chihiro said. "Did you want to train with us today?"

"Hey," Tenko responded, actually giving a genuine smile to the programmer. "Uh, not today. Maybe another time. I was actually…hoping I could talk to Leon for a moment."

"Look," Leon held his hands up, "whatever it was you think I did, I didn't do it, yo!"

"I swear I'm not mad about anything," Tenko pleaded. "I just need to talk to you real quick."

"Look, I ain't getting thrown around again!"

"Kuwata, stop being a bitch and go with the chick already!" Mondo growled at the baseball player.

"Yeah, I'm sure you'll be fine, Leon," Chihiro said in a more encouraging tone.

Leon sighed and looked back at Tenko. "Fine. I'll go. But if even try to grab me, I'm out!"

Tenko nodded. "Got it."

"And don't take this as a way to sneak out of training, kid," Mondo said.

"Alright, alright!" Leon whined before following Tenko out of the gym.

Leon wasn't quite sure where Tenko was taking him. They weren't heading in the direction of the dorms, but she didn't seem to be heading towards any dark corners.

'OK, so she isn't gonna kill me,' Leon thought. 'That's good.'

Tenko eventually made a turn into one of the unused classrooms, opening the door and stepping inside. With nowhere else to go, Leon followed. Leon stuck his hands inside his pockets and leaned against the chalkboard while Tenko stood by the desk.

"So, what did you need from me?" Leon asked.

Tenko pressed fingers together as she thought over her next sentence. "OK, so don't get mad…but I just want to know…why you killed Sayaka."

Leon groaned. "Here we go…"

"Look, I promised I won't throw you or get mad or anything! And I swear, unless you try to grope me-"

"I'm not going to grope you!"

"Then I won't do anything! I promise. I just…I need to know what happened."

"Well," Leon stood up from board, "you already got told what happened."

"I know Sayaka felt pushed into a corner, but…I never gave much thought to your side. I just wrote you off as a degenerate and…never gave you the chance. I've been watching you help Chihiro and…the way you've acted didn't strike me as how a killer would act."

"Oh…well," Leon scratched the back his head. "Thanks?"

"I mean, you definitely seem lazy and whiney and you're definitely a pervert in some way-"

"OK, ok, I get it," Leon interrupted. "If I tell you my side, will you back off?"

Tenko nodded.

Leon took a deep breath. "OK, so…like I said, I got a letter from Sayaka inviting over to her room. So, I thought that…well, you know…"

Tenko nodded.

"So, when I showed up, Sayaka jumped from behind a wall with a knife. I took some fake sword and used it to fight her off. When I smacked her wrist, she took the knife and ran into the bathroom. I thought she locked herself in, but the handle was just jammed. It's complicated, but really I was stuck outside just trying to get an answer out of her…But then I overheard her saying some weird stuff. Like, "I can't take it anymore" and "I'll never get out of this."

Tenko raised an eyebrow. "Wait, she was going to…to kill herself?"

"That's what I thought!" Leon answered. "So, since I thought it was locked, I ran back to my room to get a tool kit to unlock the door. When I did, I tried to take the knife away from her, but she was in a panic and then…"

Leon trailed off, knowing that what happened next was obvious. He averted his gave and leaned back against the chalkboard. "Well…that's it."

Tenko nodded as she processed Leon's story. "I see…"

Leon nodded back before the two were left standing in the room in silence, exchanging the occasional glance towards one another. Eventually, Leon broke the silence.

"So, are we done here?" Leon asked.

Tenko was looking at the floor before shifting back to Leon. "Do you think you could try talking to Sayaka?"

Knock, knock!

"Nanami!"

Knock, knock!

"Nanami!"

Knock, knock!

"Nanami!" Taka called out one final time after knocking on Chiaki's door. "Nanami, I must speak to you immediately!"

After the continuous shouting, Chiaki finally opened the door to her fellow team leader. She rubbed her eyes after a long yawn. "Sorry," she said softly. "I fell asleep when I got back to my room."

"Well, I'm glad that you have gained some rest because I must discuss the matter of Angie's presence with you," Taka said.

"Oh good," Chiaki smiled. "Did you settle the problem with her? Because I think we need to focus on keeping Celeste from acting out now. She's obviously trying to take some form of control over the school."

Taka crossed his arms. "Don't worry. Angie and I will take care of it."

"That's good," Chiaki said, blinking a few times before tilting her head. "Wait, what?"

"Nanami, my discussion with Angie showed me that there needs to be more drastic manners of action here. We've been far too lenient on people like Enoshima, Oma, and Ikusaba. All the strategies we came up with failed in preventing two murders, and you are right in fearing whatever Ludenberg. That's why I shall be following Angie's strategies on the matter."

"Taka, wait," Chiaki held her hand up. "This is a terrible idea. You've been told that what Angie is doing is brainwashing people into a cult. We can't be sure Angie has any better intentions than Celeste."

"Ever since I met Angie, she has given me great advice and has gone out of her way to comfort those that have been tortured by Monokuma's games."

Chiaki frowned and took a hold of Taka's arm. "Taka, please. If we want to find Kaito's murderer, find out who the mastermind is, find a way out of here, we can't get split up like this."

Taka frowned and shook Chiaki's hand off his arm. "You are right, Nanami. We must fight against these wicked forces. And in order to do this, we must not take action. We cannot fall asleep, playing video games, and lying to each other."

Chiaki's hand moved towards her chest, covering the spot on her breast where her heart was. "Taka…"

Taka shut his eyes. "I apologize, Nanami. From this moment forward, you will not be a part of the group leaders. Angie and I will select more motivated class representatives ourselves."

With that, Taka walked away from Chiaki. Neither were happy with how their confrontation had ended, but each had made their stances clear. Chiaki pulled her hood over her head and sulked back into her room. Sitting herself upon her bed, she thought of her next steps. Having two different groups to contend with, both being led by suspicious individuals with clear love for control, would be a disaster.

"If Taka and Angie are going to form their own group," Chiaki whispered to herself, "then maybe I should make a group too…I think."

"Pow, pow, p-OW!" Monokuma shrieked into the school's intercom. "It is now 10 pm. As such, all the food and water will be unavailable until morning. So, everyone, get yo asses ta bed!"

Once again, I must apologize for how slow my progress has been with this story. Life has had its ups and downs that distracted me. Hopefully, things will change going forward. I really wanted to get a more gradual progress with everyone's character arcs this chapter, so Leon, Tenko, Taka, Chiaki, and Kirumi got some more time to shine. Next chapter will be a day in the limelight for other characters. Most likely Gonta, Keebo, Kokichi, Mukuro, Kiyo, and Ryoma. We'll see.

On some good news, this fanfic has hit over 100K views on ! Thank you all so much for reading, spreading the word, and leaving your thoughts on each chapter. It means a lot to me that this story has mattered in some way. I've worked so hard to make things flow well and to prove I can be better than some shit AI or whatever. Here's to 100K more and for a greater future for writing and the world in general.