Chapter 1: Part 12

"Ring-a-ding!" the intercom played across the building. Monokuma appeared on everyone's monitors as his recorded greeting continued. "It is another BEEEEEEEEEAUUUUUUTIFUL day! I can't wait for you all to get through the day with full gusto!"

Mondo groaned and buried his face in his pillow. The bear's voice couldn't get more annoying if he tried. He really just wanted to sleep in. He honestly forgot what it was like to wake up past 9 o'clock. Yet, he had a friend he needed to be with. He tossed the pillow off of his head before lazily making his way to the bathroom. He brushed his teeth, styled his hair, put on deodorant, the usual morning routine.

After getting dressed for the day, Mondo stepped out into the hallway to see Sayaka exiting her room at the exact same time.

'Guess I gotta socialize,' Mondo thought before he approached the idol. He made sure to walk in a less aggressive manner. Afterall, it's not manly to scare a girl so early in the morning. At least, not to Owada.

"Sup, Maizono," Mondo said.

Sayaka turned around to see the biker standing a few feet away from her. She flashed her pretty idol smile and greeted him back. "Hello, Owada. Nice to see you this morning."

"Yeah, I guess," Mondo rubbed the back of his neck. 'God, I still suck at talking to chicks.'

Sayaka kept up her smile. "Oh, don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll get used to it."

Mondo's arm dropped to his side as his mouth dropped. "D-did I say that out loud?"

"Oh no. I'm psychic."

Mondo's eyes went wide as he mouth dropped even more. "What?"

Sayaka giggled. "I'm just kidding. I just have very good intuition. Still, I think it's kind of cute you of all people get nervous talking to girls."

Mondo's cheeks went red. Partly from embarrassment and partly from anger. "Don't screw with me like that."

"Sorry, sorry. It's just been a while since I got to use that joke. Last person I used it on was…" Sayaka stopped, leaving her sentence unfinished.

Mondo decided to finish it. "Naegi, right?"

Sayaka refused to make eye contact. "Yeah…"

Mondo blew air out of his nose and rubbed the back of his head. "Look, I know you feel all guilty and shit, but…fucking Hell, you got nothing beat yourself up over."

Sayaka snapped her attention to Mondo. "Wh-what?"

"Like, seriously. You didn't know about the class trials or the executions. I did. I did and I still ended up killing someone that didn't deserve it!" Mondo paused for a moment to take some deep breaths. "So, you're hardly the guiltiest person here."

'Is this his way of trying to help,' Sayaka thought. 'He's not very good at it.'

"Ok," was all Sayaka could say in response. It seemed to be enough as Mondo smiled at her.

This somewhat friendly moment was cut short when Tenko dashed over to Mondo, grabbed a hold of his arm, and hip tossed him onto ground. Sayaka gasped and her ahoge stands up straight as she watched the giant biker get thrown to the ground as if he was as light as a doll.

"HIYAH!" Tenko let at battle cry before standing in front of Sayaka. "Keep your degenerate male hands off of Sayaka!"

Mondo was lucky his head wasn't cracked open from hitting the marble floor. He slowly lifted himself back up to his feet. "The Hell is your problem?!"

"I say you bullying her!" Tenko shouted. "I won't let you bully Sayaka just so you can take advantage of her!"

"Tenko!" Sayaka grabbed a hold of her friend's wrist. "Mondo was just talking to me! He didn't try anything!"

Tenko turned around to face Sayaka. "But that's how they get you. A male just talks to you then BAM! They're putting their filthy hands all over you!"

"No, he wasn't! I swear nothing happened!"

Tenko went silent for a moment. She looked at Mondo, then back at Sayaka. "Are you sure?"

Sayaka nodded. "Yeah. I am."

"Oh." Tenko dropped her guard then crossed her arms. "Sorry. Guess you weren't being a degenerate right now."

Mondo rolled his eyes. "This chick is insane."

"Yeah, that's Tenko for you."

All three of them turn around to see Kokichi standing behind them with a giant smirk on his face.

Mondo groaned once again. "Don't start shit right now, kid."

"Whaaaat?" Kokichi held his hands up defensively. "I'm not trying to start anything. I was just watching."

"Keep your degenerate eyes off us, Kokicreep!" Tenko shouted.

"Wow, did you come up with that all on your own, Tenko?" Kokichi asked. "Also, isn't that a bit hypocritical? You get to eye up girls all the time, but guys can't?"

Tenko turned red at the accusation. "I-I don't eye up girls!"

"Are you three quite done?" another voice calls out from behind them.

They all turn around to see Gundham. He was in his typical crossed arms pose, but even in his attempt to seem intimidating and cool, it was off put by his cute little pets poking out of the collar of his jacket.

"We have more important things to attend to," Gundham said.

"Hmmm?" Kokichi raised an eyebrow. "Can't you see we're in the middle of something? Why don't you just go flock off?"

"Hold your tongue, snake!" Gundham shouted. Immediately after saying this, Mephisto slithered out from Gundham's sleeve and looked at his master. Gundham looked down at Mephisto and gently pet his head. "No, no. I do not mean you, Mephisto."

Tenko shivered a bit. "Man, how can degenerates like you even keep snakes as pets?"

Gundham turned to Tenko and shouted. "How dare you say such things, monk?! These are no mere pets!" Just as Mephisto had slithered out into the open, Raijin and Phoenix flapped over to Gundham's shoulders and Khan climbed on top of his head. "These are the Dark Disciples of the Apocalypse! Speak ill of them again and they shall tear you limb from limb!"

"No way!" Tenko held her fists up in a defensive manner. "My body is the ultimate self defense weapon! I may not hurt an animal, but they sure won't hurt me!"

"Ooooo!" Kokichi's eyes twinkle at the chaos in front of him. "I'd love to see that fight! Go ahead! Fight, fight, fight!"

Mondo pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm surrounded by fucking idiots," he whispered to himself.

"Um, guys?" Sayaka stepped in between the two warring students. "We got a breakfast meeting to go to. Why don't we just forget about this and move on?"

"Oh, sure thing, Sayaka." Tenko immediately dropped her guard and listened to her friend.

Gundham crossed his arms once again. "You make a fair point, siren. Very well. I shall forgive the monk's transgression this time. However, I will not be as forgiving next time."

Sayaka sighed as the situation seemed to deescalate and everyone made their way to the cafeteria. As they walked down the hall, Sayaka moved towards Tenko's side.

"We really got to work on how you treat guys," Sayaka whispered to her friend.

Tenko raised an eyebrow. "What? Why do I need to? I was just trying to protect you."

"And I appreciate that, but you nearly got into three different fights in less than five minutes."

"That's because they were surrounding us."

"Mondo and Gundham didn't even do anything," Sayaka said before sighing. "Just promise you'll try to control your bias, ok?"

"Ok," Tenko pouted a bit, "but only because you asked me to, Sayaka."

The four students entered the cafeteria to see that most of the group had already gathered around the table and even Teruteru had prepared breakfast for everyone. Taka went on his usual rant about respecting the schedule, but everyone just tuned him out. Everyone went through the motions. They ate and they had small talk. But once all of that was settled, Byakuya rose to his feet to speak.

"I believe it's safe to say that we've explored as much of this floor as we could," Byakuya explained.

"Yeah, but we still don't know everything about this place," Hiyoko whined.

"I hope you aren't suggesting we try an investigate the next floor," Celeste spoke up. "All stairways to the second floor are blocked off and Monokuma won't open them until we pass a trial."

"Ok, so all we got to do is kill someone?" Kokichi asked, clearly in a sarcastic manner. He smirked and glanced at Sayaka. "Hey, Sayaka? Want to do us a favor?"

Before Sayaka could retort the supreme leader's comments, Tenko leapt from her seat and shouted. "Stop trying to bully her!"

"Bullying?" Kokichi smirked. "I'm not bullying. I'm just thinking of what's best for the group. That is, unless my followers finally find me and bust us out."

"That's a lie," Celeste interrupted him. "You don't have any followers."

Kokichi's smirk faded away before turning his head to face the gambler. "You know, you've really ruined all my fun since we met. I've had to start telling the truth more often. Do you think it's funny to ruin my fun?"

Celeste smirked. "Absolutely. I enjoy crushing my foe's happiness."

"Enough," Byakuya raised his voice. "We have no time for bickering. And no one is going to kill anyone. Especially just to open a door."

'Don't be so sure about that, fakey,' Junko thought to herself.

"What I will suggest is that investigate one place we've all overlooked," Byakuya said. "We explore the outside."

"Oh right!" Leon sat up straight. "I completely forgot that we had to move here from another building."

"But that dome is in the way," Mahiru said. "We can't escape from it."

"Well, we haven't tried yet!" Kaito stood up. "And we can't give up if we haven't tried everything yet! So, come on! Let's go out there and bust out of this place!"

Kaito's little speech got everyone to look at one another and smile. It was a leap of faith, but he was right. They haven't tried the outside yet. It had to be big enough to hold some clues as to what was going on. Everyone turned back to Kaito and nodded. Kaito smirked and led everyone out of the cafeteria and out towards the main entrance.

While everyone had filed up to move outside, Mahiru moved over to Hiyoko.

"So, how are you feeling today, Hiyoko?" Mahiru asked as she smiled down at her friend.

Hiyoko smiled brightly at her redheaded friend. "I'm feeling great today!"

"Really?" Mahiru raised an eyebrow. "That's good."

"Indeed it is," Angie popped her head against Mahiru's face.

Mahiru nearly fell back at the artist's sudden appearance.

"Nyahaha!" Angie laughed. "Don't be scared, my friend. I was simply listening to your conversation."

"Y-yeah," Mahiru crossed her arms. "I was kind of hoping to talk to Hiyoko alone."

"Oh, don't worry about her, Mahiru," Hiyoko said. "Angie's actually cool."

Mahiru couldn't believe what she was hearing. Angie seemed like the kind of person Hiyoko would actually hate. 'I should feel glad she's actually making friend's here, but something's just off about this,' Mahiru thought before she responded. "Ok. If you say so."

Angie kept up her smile and grabbed a hold of Mahiru's hand. "No need to be so hesitant. Let us converse after this."

Mahiru gave a hesitant nod as Angie dragged her and Hiyoko along the way.

Eventually, the group arrived at the main entrance and opened the main door. It had been a few days since anyone had even thought about the outdoors so when natural light hit their eyes, they all winced. It took only a few seconds for their eyes to adjust to the light. Once they were adjusted, they saw the healthy green grass they saw a few days back. Sayaka stopped caring about investigating the outside. The moment everyone stepped out, Sayaka just sat on the grass.

It took a second to get used to having hundreds of blades of grass individually poking against her legs all at once, but just after that second ended it felt right. Actually getting to touch grass again, run her fingers through them, feeling dirt underneath it? Something so small and menial as that was taken from her. Sayaka could've burst into tears if no one else was around.

Sayaka wasn't the only one that decided to relax as they made it outside. Kaito immediately laid down on the grass and rested his head on his hands. Byakuya immediately glared down at the group's co-leader.

"Are you seriously taking a break right now?" Byakuya asked. "You were the one must adamant about this."

"Come on, Byakuya, live a little," Kaito said. "Besides, I can still lead while relaxing."

Kaito lifted his head up a bit and moved his hand around on the ground until it nudged into a rock. Kaito grabbed a hold of the rock and tossed it to Leon who caught it without even looking at it.

Nekomaru chuckled a bit. "Ha! I see you still got your baseball instincts!"

"Such impressive reflexes," Nagito commented. "I see why you were called the ultimate baseball star with a catch like that."

Leon groaned, choosing to ignore the two. He looked down at the rock then over to Kaito. "What exactly am I doing right now?" he asked.

"Try throwing at the dome," Kaito said with a smile.

"Seriously?" Leon asked. "That dome's pretty far."

Kaito kept up his smile and gave a thumbs up. "Hey, if anyone can make that shot, it should be the ultimate baseball star."

"That is true," Hifumi spoke up. "You did make that pitch through the gate to the fur-"

Leon glared at Hifumi.

"U-um," Hifumi gulped, "n-never mind."

Leon sighed. "Alright. I'll give it a shot."

Leon broke away from the group and stood his ground. He went through the proper pitching motions, lifting his leg up, arching his body back, and finally leaning forward with his fastball pitch. The rock flew through the air like a meteor, almost catching fire as it reached the dome. When it did hit the dome, the rock came to a complete stop. All of its momentum just vanished. What was stranger was that the area the rock hit glowed blue and let out an electric hum. After around three seconds, the hum stopped and the rock…LAUNCHED BACK AT THE BASEBALL PLAYER!

Leon shrieked and dove out of the way as the crashed right into the ground, leaving a crater in the ground as wide as Hifumi.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" A video played across of the side of the dome with Monokuma speaking. "I forgot to mention that the dome is made out a super special material that prevents any breakouts from happening. And even if you DID somehow break through the dome, that does could as destruction of school property. Soooo, if you do it again, prepare to get shivved!"

With that, the video shut off.

"Well, there goes that plan," Kaito said with a sigh.

"We shouldn't be too surprised," Chiaki said. "Monokuma always found ways to keep us from escaping."

"Did any of them involve NEARLY SENDING A ROCK THROUGH MY HEAD?!" Leon asked.

"Oh, trust me, that's way less brutal than all the giant robots he had," Ibuki said.

"G-giant robots?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah," Ibuki continued. "He had like six of them and they blocked off parts of the island from us."

"Monokuma had robotic minions in our game as well," Kirumi explained. "They served much of the same purpose."

"Luckily, it seems we won't have to deal with those this time," Taka said. "But now we must focus. While our breakout attempt may have failed, we still need to investigate this area!"

Everyone nodded and broke off into groups to investigate the area. In all honesty, there wasn't much of interest around the outside of the school. The most blatantly visible feature outside was a small, yet healthy looking garden area. It seemed to mostly grow different kinds of flowers, bushes, and herbs, but there was a section focused on growing different fruits and vegetables. At the very back of this garden was a small shed that had all the needed tools for the gardening experience. Gloves, shovels, water buckets, rakes, etc.

The only other thing outside was a small hedge maze. The walls were about ten feet high, so even giants like Gonta, Nekomaru, and Sakura wouldn't be able to see over them. Just as Kokichi was about to walk inside the maze, a spring-loaded Monokuma doll popped up from the ground.

"No, no, no!" a speaker on the doll played a recording. "This maze isn't finished yet! You're going to have to come back at another time."

"Well what the fuck's the point of it being here then?!" Miu yelled.

"And if you're asking, 'well what's the point of it being here', it's to mock you," the tape continued.

"It knows what you were going to say?" Kaede looked at Miu.

"YES, I knew what you were going to say," the tape played. "You're all so predictable. I can guess what you're about to say. You were about to say, 'that's impossible,' right Chihiro?"

"Wh-what?" Chihiro gasped.

"Hahahaha! You guys are too easy. Now, scram!" The doll soon lowered itself into the ground as a gate of spikes shot up, blocking the entrance of the maze.

"You just know there's something important down there," Junko whined.

"Is that everything we can find out here?" Peko asked.

Taka frowned. "It seems that way."

"So, this was just another waste of time," Mondo grumbled.

"Well, we at least know there's something important with that maze, right?" Kaede asked.

"Potentially," Byakuya said. "But we can't be sure with Monokuma..."

"So, should we just go back inside?" Tenko asked.

Byakuya nodded. Everyone was a bit down because of this development. No new leads, no way out, just a garden. Everyone went back inside the main building and went their own separate ways. Sayaka was in weird state of mind at that moment. She knew she wasn't free. Not even close. But she didn't feel angry. She just felt off. Tenko walked over to Sayaka.

"Are you ok?" Tenko asked.

Sayaka snapped her attention to her friend. "Huh? Oh. Yeah. I'm ok."

Tenko raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? You seem out of it."

"I'm sure, it's just…" Sayaka sighed a bit. "It's been a while since I've actually been outside for that long."

Before Tenko could respond, Ibuki popped up between the two girls. Ibuki immediately got into Sayaka's personal space as she put her arm around her.

"There you are!" Ibuki smiled. "Ibuki has been meaning to talk to you! We gotta plan out a song."

Sayaka was puzzled by this. Sure, she had been meaning to talk to Ibuki about music, but this was sudden for her. "Wait, right now? I was kind of in the middle of-"

"That's when your mind works best! Ibuki always does her best off guard!" Ibuki dragged Sayaka along. "Come on! We gotta rock now!"

Protesting proved to be useless. Ibuki wasn't willing to listen and just kept dragging Sayaka down the hall. Sayaka looked back at Tenko. She gave her a shrug and waved as Ibuki rounded the corner. Tenko was just left with a dumbfound expression.

Kirumi had returned to her room since the group had investigated. She sat on her bed with her hands on her lap. She didn't have much to do when she was on her own. Her duty was to help others, and while she was content with helping the others around her, yet she knew she had other obligations.

'My country still needs me,' she thought to herself. 'I know I mustn't kill again. I mustn't. Yet, there are millions that need me now…Especially with that news.'

She recalled what Kokichi had said. The world was destroyed. She was going to write it off as another lie, but having both Kaito and Tsumugi back up his claims made her worry more. She felt her burden become heavier.

'Would Ryoma understand?' she thought about killing the small man again.

A knock on the door broke her train of thought. Kirumi dusted herself off and fixed her hair. She needed to be presentable if she wished to serve someone. She rose from her bed and opened the door to greet her visitor.

"Hello there, Miss Ludenberg," Kirumi said as she politely nodded her head. "To what do I owe this visit?"

The gothic gambler smiled at the maid and responded with her own polite nod. "Kirumi, I wished to speak with you for a moment. May I enter?"

"Of course," Kirumi responded before stepping aside and holding the door open for Celeste.

Celeste walked into the room as Kirumi closed the door behind her. Celeste glanced around the room for a moment before sitting herself down on the bed.

"May I get you a seat?" Kirumi asked.

"No, no," Celeste said. "I am comfortable here."

"Well, do you need anything of me? A drink, perhaps?"

Celeste held up her hand. "No, no, Kirumi. I don't have a need at the moment. I do wish to restate my earlier offer. I'd wish for you to be my personal maid while we reside her."

"Of course I will. It is my duty to serve any and all that need me."

Celeste giggled a bit. "I am well aware of that, but I think I'm not making myself clear." Celeste dropped her smile and leaned forward towards Kirumi. "I want you to be my personal maid. I wish for you to report to me and me alone."

Kirumi paused for a moment. While Celeste's red eyes certainly gave her an air of intimidation, she stood her ground and kept a calm demeanor. "As I said, I am happy to serve you, but I serve any and all that need my services. I'm can't forsake others for the sake of-"

"Yourself?"

Kirumi raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You certainly were willing to kill the rest of your group to return to your other duties," Celeste stood up to face eye to eye with Kirumi. "Don't think I'm looking down on you, Kirumi. I'm also willing to kill for the sake of my goals. I like to believe we're similar souls."

Kirumi narrowed her glare at Celeste. "Are you blackmailing me? You don't have any-"

"No, no, no, Kirumi. I'm not blackmailing you. I'm requesting an alliance."

"An alliance?"

"Yes. You are in need of a master…or mistress. And I long to have a castle full of bulters…or a maid. We could both benefit from each other. We could certainly keep each other company." Celeste held out her hand. "And I'm certain the two of us are smart enough to find a way out."

"And we don't?"

"Then I simply must turn this place into the castle of my dreams," Celeste said as she kept her hand out. "Is this an acceptable request for you to fulfill?"

Kirumi looked down at Celeste's hand. She knew what the girl was capable of, yet she also knew she was right. Kirumi couldn't refuse. She needed to fulfill her duty. Kirumi took a hold of Celeste's hand and shook it, making her deal with a devil.

Mikan had scurried back to the nurse's office after the investigation. She felt weird. She didn't trip, she didn't cry, she didn't apologize to anyone. She was fine. She was unharmed. She felt…confident? She wasn't sure. Mikan wasn't sure why, but every time she looked over her shoulder to see Junko smiling at her, she felt safe. She giggled to herself. She had to be her beloved. She had to. Why would she feel this way if she wasn't? She didn't care if she couldn't remember her past. If she was with Junko, she'd be fine.

"Hellooooooo, nurse!" Junko sang as she walked into the room.

All the confidence Mikan felt she had gained quickly disappeared as she shrieked and fell face first into the ground. Mikan landed in a humiliating way again. Face down, rear up with her legs split slightly and standing up.

"Oooooh, that's a new one," Junko snickered.

Mikan immediately got up to her feet. "S-sorry! Please don't tell anyone!"

"Why would I?" Junko asked. She walked over to the nurse and caressed her face. "I got you all to myself."

Mikan blushed heavily, yet she loved it. She smiled and leaned forward a bit and kissed Junko on the lips.

"Wow, getting brave there," Junko said. "I like to see you do it."

Mikan giggled. "S-so. Wh-what do you want to do?"

Junko smirked widely. "I got a little task for you to do."

Mikan tilted her head to the side. "A-are you sick?"

"Only lovesick," Junko laughed. "But no. I got something for you to do. You remember how we went over everyone's deaths and who killed who and all that?"

Mikan frowned a bit. "Y-yes. I took notes like you said. I-it's really sad, isn't it?"

"Want to pull a prank?"

"Huh?"

Junko walked over to the main desk in the nurse's office and dropped a stack of paper and a stack of envelopes. "I want you to write letters to both the killers and the victims as them."

Mikan went pale. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"You know. Like write a letter to Kaede from Rantaro about how she hates him for getting her executed or how Nagito hates Chiaki for being a traitor. That kind of stuff."

"Wh-wh-why?" Mikan could feel the tears form in her eyes. "I-isn't that mean?"

"Mean? Of course it's mean. But it's also important."

"Important?"

"Yeah!" Junko skipped over to Mikan and grabbed a hold of her hands. "Think about it. Everyone keeps saying they're moving on, forgiving each other, yadiyada. But that's not true, right? Sayaka and Leon haven't spoken to each other at all. Neither have Mondo or Chihiro. Kaito and Kokichi hate each other and Hiyoko? What did she call you earlier?"

Mikan frowned. "P-pigbarf."

"Pigbarf. Such an ugly, vile thing to call someone," Junko caressed Mikan's face again. An awful thing to call you. So, when they confront each other and find out it was all fake, they'll realize how silly all this anger is…Does that make sense?"

Mikan nodded a bit. "B-but what if it goes wrong?"

"It won't. And even if it does, I'll take all the blame, ok?"

Mikan fiddled with her fingers a bit. "I…I-I-I don't know. This sounds bad…"

"Hey," Junko spoke as softly as possible. "Don't worry. Just do it and everything will be ok. And…when you're finished, bring them to my room. We'll go over everything…Then…"

"Th-then what?"

Junko pushed Mikan onto the nurse's bed. Before Mikan could get up, Junko got on top of her and held her arms down. "I'll remind you of all the fun we used to have."

Mikan went completely red. It reminded her of how she used to wake up in Hajime's room at night. Unlike that, she'd didn't overwhelming guilt and embarrassment. Just some embarrassment along with…love. She leaned close to Junko to try to kiss her again.

"Hey, Mikan," Rantaro said as he walked into the room. "Mind if I…"

Rantaro's eyes went wide as she saw the compromising position the two girls were in. Rantaro covered her eyes.

"Sorry! I didn't know…wow…ok," Rantaro fumbled over his words. "I'll just leave you."

"Nah, it's all good!" Junko hopped off Mikan and walked towards the door. "Just doing some physicals. Got to make sure no lumps are anywhere, right?"

Rantaro still kept his eyes covered. "I didn't need to hear that," he laughed nervously.

"Well, that's just how nursing stuff goes," Junko passed by Rantaro and patted him on the back. "I'll leave you to it. Oh, and Mikan?"

Mikan sat up on the bed to see Junko.

Junko gave her a wink. "See you tonight."

And with that, Junko left Mikan to explain that mess to Rantaro.

Sayaka was pushed into Ibuki's lab so hard that she nearly collided with the ground. Sayaka was lucky she did so much performing on stage. She regained her balance quickly before getting a good look at the lab. The hard rock, almost grunge environment really put her off.

'I'm really not going to match up with Ibuki, am I?" Sayaka thought to herself.

"Alright!" Ibuki skipped into the room. "Pick your instrument."

Sayaka turned around. "Huh?"

"Come on, chipchop! Ibuki's got to train Peko how to rock later today! So, pick you're instrument!"

Sayaka sighed a bit. She tried her best to be as polite as she could. "Ibuki, I think there's a misunderstanding here. I'm a pop idol. I mostly just sing."

"Wha-wha-whaaaa?!" Ibuki nearly throffed from the mouth at this revelation. "Then we got to start training! We got to get you into the rock spirit!"

Sayaka kept her polite smile up as best she could. "Ibuki, I'm not opposed to learning an instrument, but this is very sudden."

"Hmmm," Ibuki crossed her arms. "You remind me of some old bandmates of mine."

"Oh, really?" Sayaka asked. 'Maybe I can reach to her through that.'

"Yeah, we didn't get along."

'Or not.'

"Ibuki's band wanted to go pop," Ibuki explained. "But I don't care for that. Pop gets too repetitive when all those producers get to you. They filter all the ideas, they make the ideas. They tell you what songs to make instead of you getting to make them."

Sayaka frowned. "Do you think my music is like that?"

"Oh, Ibuki hasn't heard of your music. Ibuki knows you're a musician and that's all Ibuki needed to know…" Ibuki frowned. "But I guess I'm wrong."

"Ibuki, you can't just write things off like that," Sayaka said. "I know big companies can taint an artist's work. Believe me. I know that more than you. But to say a whole genre is like that…it's very narrow-minded."

Ibuki sighed. "I know, I know, but it's hard. Ibuki always hears about it. How they ruin music."

Ibuki sat down on the edge of the stage. Sayaka chose to sit down next to her.

"But an artist can work around restrictions," Sayaka said. "I try."

"Hmmmm," Ibuki nodded a bit…Then leapt up to her feet. "Then try to rock out with Ibuki!"

Sayaka sighed. "Ok. So, can I pick any instrument I want to try?"

"Yep! Choose guitar! No, drums! No guitar!"

"Ibuki, those aren't choices if you're making me do it."

Ibuki just laughed. "Whatever gets you in the mood to rock is all you need!"

'What a weird girl,' Sayaka thought. She looked around the room one more time and picked up a base guitar. "Will this do?"

"Hell yeah it will!" Ibuki gave a thumbs up. "Get ready to shred your thumbs off!"

"This is going to be a trip," Sayaka muttered to herself.

Angie had actually returned outside to wander in the garden. It had been a while since she got a look at such beautiful plant life. She could feel it was a sign from Auta.

"Things are not so hopeless, no?" Angie said to herself. She sat herself down in the dirt and pulled out her sketch pad and paint tools. To her, painting was just the right choice for a picture of plant life. She didn't know why. Perhaps it was a part of Auta's will.

While she was making the first strokes of the picture, she heard Hiyoko's voice. She turned her head to see Hiyoko dragging Mahiru over to the garden. Angie smiled and put down her sketch pad.

"Ah, Hiyoko," Angie said. "I'm grateful you have brought Mahiru to join us."

"Duh, we've talking about it for like two days now," Hiyoko said.

Angie laughed. "Of course. Well, don't be afraid. Take a seat."

Angie patted the ground next to her which Hiyoko happily accepted, plopping herself down next to the artist. Mahiru on the other hand was hesitant. This whole dynamic seemed out of nowhere to her and it made her uncomfortable. Still, it was rude to judge without really knowing anything. Mahiru sat herself down next Hiyoko.

Angie began to pick the flowers out from the ground.

"Hey, are you sure you should be doing that?" Mahiru asked. "What if Monokuma counts that as damaging school property?"

"Oh, don't be so silly, Mahiru," Angie said. "Flowers were meant to be picked. It is the cycle of life. Or did you wish to take a picture of the garden first?"

"Oh, that's actually a good idea," Mahiru said. The idea of taking a photo immediately got the redhead to relax. She grabbed a hold of her camera and rose up to her feet. She looked through the view finder but she frowned. She took a few steps back. Still wasn't good. She put down her camera and exited the garden before looking through the view finder again. No good again. Mahiru groaned before laying down on her stomach.

Perfect. The angle she got had the flowers nearly take up half the photo, but in the middle sat both Hiyoko and Angie. Just two girls sitting amongst the flowers. It looked cute. Mahiru smiled as she took a few pictures. She rose back up to her feet and returned to the two girls.

"Finding the right angle can be difficult, no?" Angie asked.

"Yeah," Mahiru said as she wiped the dirt and grass off her. "But it's worth it once you got it."

"Can I see, Mahiru?" Hiyoko asked.

"Of course!" Mahiru smiled and handed her camera over to her little friend.

"Wow, this looks great, Mahiru!"

"Aw, thanks," Mahiru said. She couldn't help but feel her heart warm up when she saw Hiyoko take an interest in her work. Mahiru looked at Angie. "So…what did you want?"

"Hmmm?" Angie perked up. "Want? You make it sound as if I only spent time with you two to gain something."

"Well, I'm sorry but this whole thing is weird to me," Mahiru crossed her arms. "I mean, before Hiyoko started hanging out with you, she was very angry. So angry I couldn't get through to her. Yet, you, someone she doesn't even know, managed to calm her down."

"Are you saying that it was wrong of me to help cheer up little Hiyoko?" Angie asked.

"Well, no. Of course not. It's just…so sudden."

"Life is full of sudden changes," Angie explained. She once again picked some flowers from the ground and began to tie them together. "Not all change is bad. It can seem bad at first, but then something beautiful can come out of it." Angie had turned the flowers into a crown and placed it onto Hiyoko's head. "And then, you forget why you were ever upset in the first place. This is Auta's will."

"Auta?"

"Auta is the god of my island," Angie extend her arms out, acting like she was a figure in some holy painting. "He gave me life, gave me food, knowledge, and has used me as a vessel for his art and word. And his has also clearly brought us all back from the dead as our deaths were so unjust."

Angie held Hiyoko's hand and extend a hand to Mahiru. "Come, Mahiru. Join me and we can enact Auta's will and smite those that have wronged us."

Mahiru furrowed her brows. "So that's what this whole thing is." She grabbed a hold of Hiyoko. "Come on, Hiyoko. We're leaving."

"What?" Hiyoko broke away from Mahiru's grip. "Why?"

Mahiru couldn't help but be puzzled by Hiyoko's action. She tried to grab her again, but the blonde retreat to Angie's arms.

"Hiyoko, what are you doing?" Mahiru asked.

"What am I doing? What are you doing?!" Hiyoko shouted. "Why are you being mean to Angie?"

"She's trying to manipulate you to join her…cult or whatever. Don't you see that?"

"But she's just trying to make things right!" Hiyoko shouted again. "Angie wants to do something about all those creeps in there! We can actually make them pay. What's wrong with that?!"

"We're not trying to start any fights, Hiyoko. We promised to move on-"

"But have you moved on?" Angie asked.

"What?" Mahiru asked.

Angie's eyes went dark as she repeated herself. "Have you moved on? Do you not fear what Peko could do to you again? Or what Mikan could do to Hiyoko?"

"Those were complete misunder-"

"Do you not care for Hiyoko?"

Mahiru went red with rage. "Don't you ever say anything like that again!" Mahiru held her hand out. "Come on, Hiyoko. We're leaving."

Hiyoko just frowned at the redhead.

Mahiru took a step closer. "Hiyoko, please."

Hiyoko turned away from Mahiru and hugged Angie tightly. Angie hugged the small girl back and stroked her hair.

"It seems little Hiyoko has made her choice," Angie said.

Mahiru was hurt. It didn't make sense. How could she side with Angie? Why? Was revenge really that important to her? Was that all that mattered to her?

'Did me dying really do all this?' Mahiru thought. 'Did I…abandon her?'

Mahiru frowned and left.

Tsumugi and Hifumi had been talking so long, they lost track of time. It was time for dinner and they were starving. When they arrived to the cafeteria, everyone had already left.

"Mister Ishimaru's never going to let this go, is he?" Hifumi said to himself.

"We shouldn't worry too much for missing one meeting," Tsumugi said. "As long as we're safe, that's all they need to know."

"Well, unless we find something important, right?"

"Oh, that's true," Tsumugi said before grabbing her stomach. She was so hungry her stomach's growls echoed throughout the cafeteria. She could only chuckle a bit. "I guess we are really late, huh?"

"Don't worry, Miss Shirogane!" Hifumi placed his hands on his hips and put on his best hero voice. "I'll prepare a meal for you!"

"Awww," Tsumugi blushed a bit. "Thank you so much, Hifumi. Can I just have a sandwich?"

"Of course!" Hifumi said before dashing into the kitchen. If there was one thing Hifumi could give to Celeste it was that she made him get used to preparing meals. He used to just shovel chips into his mouth as a meal, but now he could make a mean ham and cheese sandwich….Probably not too impressive to anyone else, but it was step up for the nerd. He prepared two sandwiches form both himself and Tsumugi and even cut them in half to get that nice triangle shape. He returned to Tsumugi and handed her the plate.

"Thank you, Hifumi." Tsumugi took a bite out of the sandwich. "Wow. This is great! Oh, can I have a glass of water too?"

"Nyeh!" Hifumi shrieked. "I almost forgot about drinks!"

Hifumi dashed back into the kitchen and quickly poured a glass of water for her and a can of soda for himself. He then returned to his friend and handed her the glass.

Tsumugi took a swig of water. "Thank you."

Hifumi panted heavily as he sat himself down on. Sure, he could work well in a kitchen, but he still wasn't too fit or active. "It's…was nothing."

Tsumugi took another bite of her food and another sip of her drink. "So, what were we talking about earlier?"

"Um," Hifumi scratched his chin. "It was definitely a magical girl show."

"Oh! Was it Sailor Moon?!"

"Uh, I don't think it was-"

"I just love Sailor Moon!" Tsumugi interrupted. "It's so iconic. Almost all magical girl shows can be traced back to it."

"That is true, but I feel other shows have-"

"And all the characters are just great!" Tsumugi interrupted again. "Venus, Mercury. Oh, there just great…Hey, I just got another idea for a cosplay!"

"Huh?" Hifumi raised an eyebrow. "Have you never cosplayed them before? I feel like the Sailor Scouts are obvious first choices."

"Oh, I have, but it's been a while," Tsumugi explained. "The short skirts really make you feel sexy."

Hifumi blushed a bit. "I-I see."

"Oh, have you ever cosplayed before, Hifumi?"

Hifumi only heard what she asked just as he was in the middle of sipping his soda. The question caught him off guard and made him spit the soda out through his nose. He coughed and wiped his nose a bit before answering. "M-me? Cosplay? Th-that's just impossible."

"Oh, don't say that," Tsumugi frowned. "Anyone can cosplay."

"That is unless you look like me," Hifumi frowned. "If you're not in good shape, cosplay is just a way to embarrass yourself further."

"Don't say that. The people who judge others based on what they like to wear are just bullies. You should be allowed to be whatever you want. Oh! You could be Tuxedo Mask!"

"Y-you really think so?" Hifumi asked.

"Of course!" Tsumugi said. She finished her meal and stood up from her seat. "Come on! My lab's got everything we need to make a cosplay."

"I-I don't know," Hifumi blushed a bit. "Won't I look silly?"

"Looking silly is part of the fun. Come on. I can make a suit for you while working on suits of Venus and Mercury."

Hifumi finished his sandwich and his drink before standing up. "Ok! Lead the way, Miss Shirogane!"

Chihiro had spent the last several hours staring at her computer screen. Keebo's programming was either a complete mess or so complex it went over her head. Maybe it was both. Chihiro rubbed her eyes and let out a light sigh.

'I just don't get it,' Chihiro thought. 'I can fill in some gaps, but most of these commands don't make any sense. Are these just his limb controls? They don't seem like it. And his AI…I just don't get it!'

Chihiro laid her head down on his desk. She was getting too stressed. She knew she was doing something helpful to the group, but it felt like too much for her to fix. The killing game was messing with her head. She rose from her seat. She needed to let off this stress. That's when it struck her.

"Oh no!" Chihiro gasped. "I almost forgot about Nekomaru!"

Chihiro almost tripped over herself as she rushed to her track suit. She quickly changed into and dashed out to the door. She even had to turn around to lock it. She then finally made her way over to Nekomaru's. She took some deep breaths. Both to catch her breath, but also to calm her nerves. This would be the first real time Chihiro had worked out…

Chihiro shook her head. She didn't want to remember that. She needed to move on. She took a few more deep breaths before knocking on Nekomaru's door.

It took a few moments, but the door eventually opened. Nekomaru was also dressed in a track suit, although the sleeves were ripped off. Nekomaru smiled down at Chihiro.

"Well, hello there," Nekomaru said. "Are you ready to start?"

"I…I think so," Chihiro said.

Nekomaru stepped aside and let Chihiro enter. He led her into his lab and grabbed his notepad. "I had been making a workout routine that would help you get used to things. This is your first time working out, right?"

Chihiro nodded.

"Then let's start with some stretches," Nekomaru said.

And with that, Chihiro's training begun. Nekomaru made it a point to inform Chihiro why stretching was important. It kept her muscles loose enough to avoid strains and unwanted pain. Then came the actual exercises. Nekomaru didn't want to toss Chihiro into the deep end, so he made sure the first day would be simple. Three sets of push-ups, three sets of sit-ups, and three sets of squats.

When Chihiro tried her first set of push-ups, she kept screwing up. Nekomaru had to move her hands closer together as keeping them too far apart would provide poor balance. He also informed her she needed to get as close to the ground as she could while keeping her back straight. This already overwhelmed Chihiro and she would end up falling to the ground numerous times.

The sit-ups were easier to deal with…. At first. Nekomaru held onto Chihiro's feet to keep her steady. Chihiro would have to lift herself up by her stomach. It became immediately became difficult as she felt her stomach ache.

"Don't worry," Nekomaru said. "That means you're working hard."

Chihiro's face went red as she kept working out. It became too hard to lift herself up just from her stomach, so she started to throw her arms forward to keep her momentum going. After making it to ten sit-ups Chihiro collapsed onto the floor.

"Alright," Nekomaru said. "Just breathe for a minute."

Chihiro was glad Nekomaru was willing to give her a moment to rest, but she knew the worst was yet to come.

The squats were a nightmare. Nekomaru kept telling her to get as close to a sitting position as possible before standing back up. Chihiro ended up falling onto her rear a few times before Nekomaru reminded her to keep her arms out when she lowers herself.

"It helps you keep your balance," Nekomaru said.

While that helped, another problem occurred. Chihiro's thighs began to burn. Her legs wouldn't keep her up anymore. She fell over one more time.

Nekomaru sighed. "I guess we should call it a day." Nekomaru went over to one of the lab's benches and grabbed a towel and a bottle of water. He turned back around to give them to Chihiro, but he was taken aback when he saw what Chihiro was doing.

Chihiro had balled up onto the floor and buried her face in her arms. She was audibly sobbing. She punched the mat as she wept.

Nekomaru knelt down next to the programmer and placed his hand on her back. "Chihiro, it's ok," he said softly.

Chihiro kept sobbing. "I…I just don't want to be weak anymore."

Nekomaru frowned a bit. "You won't, but growing stronger, physically stronger, takes time. There's a saying for exercise. 'No pain, no gain.' I know it hurts, but once you get used to it, you'll be unstoppable."

Chihiro lifted her head up and wiped away the tears in her eyes. "Really?"

"Yeah," Nekomaru said. "You think I was just born with muscles like this?"

Chihiro shook her head.

"Exactly. And it wasn't easy either. I wanted to give up several times due to pain or a lack of a steady schedule. But you just have to keep going, because giving up will get you nowhere."

"Y-yeah," Chihiro nodded.

"Still, that pain is a hassle," Nekomaru said. He patted Chihiro on the back. "Tell you what. Why do I do it to you?"

Chihiro just stared at Nekomaru for a moment. "Huh?"

"Oh you know, it," Nekomaru said with a smile. "It's perfect after a workout. Really soothes those sore muscles."

Chihiro's face turned red. "W-wait a second! That's too far! I-I mean, we shouldn't!"

"Really?" Nekomaru raised an eyebrow. "Akane was really into it. She even started begging me for it."

"Wh-what?!"

"Yeah, I know," Nekomaru said, completely oblivious to what Chihiro was thinking. "I didn't get it at first, but it just became one of our regular routines."

"N-no," Chihiro shook her head. "I can't do that. I shouldn't."

Nekomaru raised his eyebrow again. "Really? You hate massages that much?"

Chihiro's face dropped. "Wait…a massage?"

"Yeah," Nekomaru said. "What did you think I was talking about?"

"Um…n-nothing," Chihiro rose up to her feet. "I need to go take a shower."

"Oh, yeah, sure," Nekomaru said. "Just a quick warning, you are going to be sore in the morning…You sure you don't want a massage?"

"Nope," Chihiro shook her head quickly. "M-maybe another time."

"Ok. Well, take a nice cold shower and get plenty of sleep."

Chihiro nodded and dashed out of the room. 'That was so awkward,' Chihiro thought. 'Although…he does seem nice…Maybe I can tell him at some point.'

Nekomaru was left alone in his room with his own thoughts. 'I wonder what that was all about.'

This took way longer than I hoped it would. I'm really speeding through this in story day. I want to get to chapter 2 before July, but that may not be what ends up happening.

I'm sorry if a lot of this part seems too rushed. I'm not sure I'm happy with how the Angie scene went. May be too out of character. IDK. Angie's weird.