Chapter 3 Part 5

"Woooooo, yeah baby!" Monokuma screeched through the school's intercom. "It's morning! That's what we've been waiting for! That's what it's all about! WOOOOO!"

If there was anything in world that could match the descriptions of "robotic," "clockwork," and "orderly" it would be Taka's morning routine. After shooting up to his feet, Taka would take a shower for exactly 8 minutes, flossed and brushed his teeth for a combined 4 minutes, 3 exact strokes with his deodorant stick to his armpits, then dressed himself in his cleaned and pressed white uniform. After giving the final touches to fix his eyebrows, he opened his door to head to the cafeteria.

However, as soon as he opened his door, Taka was halted by Chiaki, Mahiru, and Leon.

"Why hello!" Taka smiled. "I'm glad to see you're taking your schedule more seriously, Kuwata."

"Dude, now's not the time for that," Leon said.

"We really need to talk, Taka," Chiaki said.

Taka raised an eyebrow. "Well, what seems to be the problem?"

Leon and Chiaki glanced at Mahiru, allowing her to take charge. "It's about Angie," Mahiru said. "I should've put my foot down sooner, but I hoped you'd catch onto it, but you haven't so now I have to. Angie is an actual problem. Her "religion" is just a cult that's taking people away from the rest of the group and brainwashing them. And yesterday, you just sat back and let her imprison two people."

"And, yeah, Kiyo's a dick, but still man," Leon added on.

"I don't understand where this is all coming from," Taka said. "You have told me to be cautious of Angie before, but I have yet to see a single sign of her showing any ulterior motives. She's been quite helpful and has only spoke out for the protection of us all. And these accusations of brainwashing are just silly. None of Angie's companions have done anything to raise concern over."

"But they could!" Mahiru stomped her foot down. "That's how cults work! They strike when you're off guard!"

"It's like with Junko," Chiaki said. "She had to spend years planning out her actions before actually committing them. Angie may just be biding her time before taking full control over."

Taka placed his fist against his chin as he pondered over what his friends had told him. "I can't say I truly understand how you see Angie as malicious…but if it's truly a problem, then I shall deal with it effectively."

Mahiru let out a sigh of relief. "Great. Thank you so much. This really means a lot."

"So, uh, do we take Mukuro and Kiyo out of those cells now?" Leon asked.

"I think we should give them a few more days of good behavior before letting them out," Taka clarified. "But we can discuss the details later. Let us head off to the cafeteria, friends!"

Taka would once again lead the way for his companions as they left for the cafeteria.

The breakfast meeting was surprisingly uneventful. Perhaps everyone wanted to keep their thoughts on the mind wiping video to themselves. Perhaps it was just the fact sitting next to Angie and Celestia would throw anyone off their game. Whatever the case, no discussions about the group's investigations occurred. Just smaller conversations. At one point, Celestia leaned over to whisper something in Peko's ear. With nod, the swordswoman rose from her seat and approached Ibuki and Mahiru.

"Miss Ludenberg has given me permission to spend some time with you two," Peko said with a nervous smile.

Ibuki's hands immediately shot up into the air as she cheered. "WOOOOO! ALRIGHT! Let's get some rockin' done!"

Mahiru on the other hand, had a puzzled expression on her face. "You needed permission to spend time with us?"

"Yes," Peko answered. "Miss Ludenberg has been having work diligently on a project for her and it's been taking up most of our time for the past few days…"

Mahiru shook her head. "What are you working on?"

"That's confidential," Peko sat herself down with the two girls. "So, what have you two been up to?"

Mahiru rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Outside of dealing with more drama?"

"Well, Ibuki's been hoping to plan out a pool day!" Ibuki said. "Ibuki's still bummed our party night got cut short, so Ibuki wants to get everyone wet and wild!"

"Phrasing, Ibuki," Peko said plainly.

Mahiru sighed. "Maybe when all of this blows over, a pool party wouldn't be so bad."

"When what blows over?" Peko asked.

"The Angie mess," Mahiru explained. "She's clearly trying to form some sort of cult and take over the group or something. She's been getting people locked up in cells, it's just crazy."

Peko leaned back in her seat. "Really now?"

"Peko," Celestia's voice called over from her corner of the room. "I'd like for you to return now."

Peko sighed and looked back at her two classmates. "I'm afraid I must go. I'm glad the two of you are doing…well enough under these circumstances. I'll speak to you again soon."

Peko rose from her seat and immediately returned to Celestia's side. Mahiru and Ibuki were dumbfounded by how little time the gambler gave her. Mahiru took some deep breaths.

"Please tell me she's not another Angie," Mahiru mumbled.

Without access to Nekomaru's Ultimate Lab, Mondo and Chihiro would move their workout over to the gymnasium. It wasn't the ideal place for them to workout. There weren't any benches to bench-press or leg-lifters or even a mat for someone to safely fall back on. Still, the two of them made it work. Starting with the dumb curls, Chihiro had worked up to curling 15 pounds while Mondo was curling 40 pounds. After curling with both arms, Mondo held onto Chihiro's feet as he did sit-ups. Each sit-up ached his stomach, keeping the programmer from reaching higher and higher. Eventually, after 10 sit-ups, Chihiro collapsed back onto the floor. Chihiro groaned, gripping onto his gut while Mondo sat back and crossed his arms.

"Just take a sec," Mondo said as he watched over the smaller boy. "We'll move at your pace."

Chihiro stared up at the ceiling while panting heavily. "I can't…I have to get strong now." Chihiro attempted to sit himself back up, but his gut ache once again dropped him back down to the floor.

"Come on, kid," Mondo said. "Didn't Nekomaru tell you about pacing yourself? You could hurt yourself if you screw it up."

Chihiro grunted. "Can you…help me up?"

Mondo huffed, but still offered his hand down to Chihiro. Chihrio took a tight hold of the biker's hand and allowed him to drag him back to his feet. While still clutching his gut, Chihiro leaned against Mondo's arm.

"Take a few more breaths, then we'll start jogging," Mondo said.

As Chihiro took some deep breaths, some squeaking footsteps echoed from the gym entrance. Both Mondo and Chihiro looked over to see Leon approaching them. The baseball player nervously scratched the back on his head as he averted his gaze.

"So, sup dudes?" Leon asked.

"We're just training, Leon," Chihiro answered. "It's still…taking some time to get used to."

"Yeah, you're going to be aching all over when you first start out," Leon commented. A moment of silence occurred across the three of them. Leon went back to scratching his head and averting his eyes while both Mondo and Chihiro just stared at him. The biker and programmer looked at each other then back at Leon.

"You got any reason to be here, Kuwata?" Mondo asked.

Leon finally stopped scratching his head and began to clap his hands together. "Look, I've spent the past few days thinking about…I hate baseball and I hate working out, but I just can't stop thinking about how often Nekomaru had my back, y'know? Like, he was always take talking me up and telling me to keep working hard, and I just blew him off all the time. And now…I don't know, I just…I feel like a dick…He wanted me to pursue something I was good at, and I never did."

Leon looked down at the floor for a moment before facing the duo again. "So, I was wondering if it'd be cool if I joined or something like that."

Mondo opened his mouth to protest, but Chihiro spoke over him. "Sure thing," Chihiro smiled at Leon.

"Wait, seriously? Mondo asked. "I figured you'd prefer keeping this one on one."

"I-I know, that's what I thought at first too, but" Chihiro glanced back at Leon, "I guess we both count as Nekomaru's trainees. I think he'd be happy if we worked out together."

Leon smiled at Chihiro and nodded. "Yeah…For Nekomaru…"

Mondo ran his hand across his pompadour before shrugging. "Alright. If you're cool with it, then we'll do it. But you better not whine the whole time, Kuwata!"

"I won't, alright?!" Leon snapped. "Jeez…"

As the three boys began to work out together, Tenko had watched them from behind the door of the gymnasium. She noticed how Leon immediately got to work jogging with Chihiro around the gym.

"Hmmm," Tenko hummed to herself.

Even if one of her arms was broken, Sakura was still deemed the strongest member of the group. So, it was natural she was left guard duty with the three wooden cells. They were in her Ultimate Lab, lined up against the wall while Sakura performed some one-armed Kata. It was slightly awkward, as Sakura was used to doing multiple punch combos and blocks when practicing, using only one arm felt like there was some empty space in her rhythm. Obviously, there was also the opening her stance. In a real fight, she'd have a major disadvantaged.

As for the three prisoners, they could've been better. Kokichi leaned against the bars of his cells, making popping sounds with his mouth with a dead bored expression. Korekiyo leaned against the back of his cell with his arms crossed, just watching Sakura practice martial arts from the shadows. Then there was Mukuro. The soldier sat herself down in the cell. There was hardly any room for to make a comfortable position in, but she sat herself down anyway. As Sakura began to practice on her kicks, Kokichi let out a loud yawn.

"I'm sure this is oh so fascinating for meatheads, but I'm getting rather bored in here," Kokichi said. "Can I get a comic book in here?"

Sakura paused in her exercises and glanced over at the purple-haired boy. "I don't have any comics for you to ready."

Kokichi began to whine. "I WANNA COMIC BOOK AND I WANT ONE NOOOOOOOOW!"

Sakura sighed. "I'll see what I can find." Sakura would leave the three prisoners in her ultimate lab as she returned to her room.

The moment she stepped out of the room, Kokichi reached through bars of his cell, a bobby pin one hand and a bent hook in the other. He would struggle to make his tiny arms reach the lock of his cell, forced to stand on his toes to reach out further. The rattling of the lock and the metal scraping against the wooden door gathered the attention of his fellow prisoners.

"I doubt you'll be able to escape with Sakura guarding us," Kiyo said.

"Please, I got her to leave the room," Kokichi said. "She's not nearly as smart you guys are giving her credit for."

"Well," Mukuro finally spoke up, "neither are you."

The clattering of Kokichi's tools came to a halt. "You wanna repeat that?"

"When you first showed up, your whole was talking about how much of a pain you are, how dangerous you are, but you've never been able to back that up, huh?" Mukuro rose up to her feet in the cell. "I mean, I got you handcuffed for days and now you're stuck in a cell. Face it, you're a real disappointment of a Supreme Leader."

Kokichi retracted his arms into his cell and instead, pushed his face as far through the bars as he could, just to get a better look at the soldier. "What would you know about what good Supreme Leader is like? You're just a glorified henchwoman for your sister."

"And she still fits the bill of a Supreme Leader than you. How many times have you destroyed the world?"

"Oh, so you're taking up for your sis now? The one that killed you just for the fun of it?"

Mukuro's mockery stopped as the memories of Junko piercing her with iron spikes replayed in her mind. It was the moment her sister broke their bond, yet Kokichi just caught her boasting her skills.

"Hyehehe," Kokichi snickered. "Maybe you're the real disappointment here. You're as loyal to a terrible sister as Kiyo over there."

"Don't speak ill of my sister," Kiyo said. "She would never kill for such selfish and childish reasons."

"I'm sorry, but didn't your sister's ghost like exorcise your ghost in your execution?" Kokichi asked. "And didn't you just admit to getting cuc-"

"SHE DID NOT!" Kiyo smashed his fists against the walls of the cell. After a few seconds, he'd take a deep break to regain his composure. "She…only wished to show me what such love looked like. One day, I'll get to experience it with her."

Mukuro sighed. "Eventually, you have to stop making excuses for her. She can tell you whatever story she can come with to excuse herself, but what she was doing that to humiliate you."

Kiyo turned his attention to Mukuro. "How could you know that was what she was doing?"

Mukuro went silent, hanging her head down as she thought back. "Because…Junko humiliated me time and time again. And I know…what it's like to watch someone you love be with someone else…"

Kokichi rolled his eyes. "You know, I can't really relate to your two's…situations. I've actually got some form of dignity."

Mukuro glanced over at Kokichi's cell. "You've never had someone pretend to care for you. But then again, I doubt you've ever had someone who did either." Mukuro turned her attention back to Kiyo's cell. "Although maybe you do have a point. Both of us kept loving our sisters…even when we know we shouldn't have."

The room fell silent for a moment. Both Mukuro and Kiyo were reflecting upon their troubled family relationships while Kokichi just fiddled around with his thumbs. Eventually, Sakura returned to the lab. Kokichi immediately backed away from the bars before Sakura approached his cell. She slid a small booklet in-between the bars of Kokichi's cell. What brief joy the Supreme Leader had dissipated when he saw the title of the book.

"Archie?!" Kokichi groaned. "Gag! Where's the good stuff?! Batman or Death Note?"

"That was the only comic I could find around here," Sakura commented. "I'm sure you could learn some good lessons from it."

Kokichi rolled his eyes. "This is going to be so boring…"

Miu was busy using a drill and plier at her workbench, digging through a small mountain of scrap metal for any useful parts for her next gizmo. Nagito, still chained up by his neck, sat on the floor patiently, as well as occasionally dodging his head out of the way of stray screws, metal balls, clamps, and springs. Eventually, the aggravating buzzing and clipping sounds from the bench stopped and the foul-mouthed inventor let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Phew! About fucking time I got this done," Miu said.

Nagito looked up at Miu, almost like a begging dog or awe-struck child. "What is it?"

"Well, since your wanking hands dropped the last security tablet, I had to make a new one. Of course, all these fucking numb nuts needed me to do other shit first, but now it's all fixed! Our security cameras are all now viewable again!"

Nagito shot up to his feet. "That's wonderful, Miu! I knew someone with your talents would be able to fix this. So, does that mean we can rewind to the when that trap was set up?"

"H-hey! I'm a genius not a miracle worker! Seriously though, the constant live footage on these devices would overheat them and cause them to run out of data space immediately. So, I had to program a self-deletion feature for every twenty-four hours."

Nagito stared at Miu for a few seconds. "That…was a really stupid idea, Miu."

"Wh-why are you insulting me all of a sudden?!" Miu immediately shrank herself down into a submissive and defensive posture. "Y-you used to verbally suck me off! S-stop getting on my case!"

"Miu, calm down," Nagito gently placed his hands on Miu's shoulder. "Maybe it was a…bad oversight, but at least now we'll be able to catch anyone else if they try to pull something."

"Y-yeah…right," Miu coughed awkwardly. "Well, I'd say we're done fixing this stuff up. Let's go tell that gaming bimbo." Miu yanked on Nagito's chain, dragging him along the way.

"Lead the way," Nagito said with a polite smile while holding onto his collar for air flow.

Ryoma had been bunkered away in the art room, minding his own business and practicing his new craft. Painting had become the former tennis player's new interest. It took some time for him to get used to. Earlier attempts would end with the colors crossing over and mixing together when they weren't meant to. Mainly attempts at creating landscapes ended with the edges of the sky and ground mixing into a teal color. Ryoma would learn the best way to avoid this would be to let each individual color dry before adding the next one. It would drag out the process, making it so that painting a cat take over an hour. Yet, the time actually built up his patience and the end results would always be worth it. This particular time, his painting of a mother cat snuggling up with her three kittens would be spectacular. No lines crossed over each other and the line work in general was smooth and clean.

Blowing on the final pieces of wet paint, Ryoma leaned back in his seat and placed his brush down to admire his work. "Not bad," he whispered to himself. "I think I might be getting the hang of this. Wonder if anyone would care to check this out."

Just as Ryoma was resting his hands, the door swung open and both Gundham and Kirumi entered.

"Greetings, Ryoma," Kirumi politely bowed her head. "I apologize for interrupting, but Gundham and I are in need of more black paint."

Ryoma raised an eyebrow. "More black paint?"

"Yes, the Black Witch was quite insistent on the color," Gundham explained.

Ryoma watched as both Kirumi and Gundham walked past him and picked up two giant containers of black paint from the corner of the room. The two of them then turned around and headed towards the door.

"Also," Kirumi stopped to speak, "I know that you've been using this room for painting, but tomorrow we may be using it for the whole day."

Ryoma huffed through his nose. "And you're saying that I can't paint in here at all?"

"The Black Witch was very insistent," Gundham said.

Ryoma sighed. "I got it. I'll keep out."

"Thank you for your understanding, Ryoma," Kirumi bowed her head one final time before exiting the room with Gundham.

That left Ryoma by himself. "Just what is up with Celeste?"

The blue-haired idol had been jotting down more notes in her notepad, mainly about the new information from the film reel the group discovered.

-Junko came up with the memory erasing process

-Junko tested it on herself to create a new identity

That second note in particular caught Sayaka's attention. 'So, if Junko created a new identity for herself that could explain everything Tsumugi was telling us,' she thought to herself. 'She either must've been using Junko's old machines on others or she had it done to herself.'

Sayaka paused her writing, tapping the pencil against her chin as she thought of something rather uncomfortable. 'So, everything Junko said and everything Chiaki said were true…but if there really was a way to create a new persona…then maybe Tsumugi wasn't lying about Tenko and the others.'

Sayaka sighed and rose from her bed. "I got to check with Rantaro. There's got to be something in those books that can…keep everyone calm."

Sayaka approached and opened her door. Almost too predictably, Tenko was waiting just outside of her door. Sayaka almost skidded against the floor to prevent crashing into the Aikido master. "Hello, Tenko. How are you doing today?"

"Hey, Sayaka," Tenko said with a slight frown.

"Tenko, is something wrong?"

Tenko shook her head. "N-no. Not really. It's just…I wanted to hang out with Chihiro today, maybe ask him to train with me, but he seemed to be training with Mondo and Leon."

"Really? Both of them?"

Tenko nodded. "Let's just forget about it. What have you been doing? Are you still stuck in your investigation?"

Sayaka waved her notepad a bit. "Yeah. I got a little bit of a dead end. I figured I'd check what Rantaro had found in his research."

"Oh, yeah that's a great idea!" Tenko cheered. "He's got all those books! Plus, I'd like to see Mikan again! She's so sweet!"

"Um, sure. We'll see her too."

Sayaka finally shut her door and joined Tenko in walking to Rantaro's room. Luckily for them, Rantaro's room was only two rooms away. With a firm knock on the door, Rantaro opened the door greeted the two girls.

"Oh, hello!" Rantaro said with a polite smile. "I can't say I was expecting either you or Tenko to stop by."

"Hello, Rantaro," Sayaka smiled back at the lime-haired boy. "I know this is kind of sudden, but I was actually hoping that I could take a lot at some of the notes you've been taking or maybe those books you got."

Rantaro paused for a moment. He'd glance back inside his room before looking back at the two girls in front of him. "Sure. I can't promise I have the best handwriting though."

"That's ok," Tenko spoke up. "I'm sure Sayaka will be able to read it."

"OK then," Rantaro stepped aside, allowing both Sayaka and Tenko to slip inside.

Unsurprisingly, Mikan was already in Rantaro's room. She was laying across the bed, not asleep. She was wide awake with her eyes bugging out from her skull, just staring up at the ceiling. All of her fingers and toes had strange Styrofoam cubes between them, with all her nails painted a fresh shade of red.

Tenko raised an eyebrow at the strange sight. "Um. Is she ok?"

"R-rantaro painted these for me," Mikan said. "I don't want to trip or bump into something and mess it all up."

"Mikan," Rantaro crossed his arms, "I told you that you don't have anything to worry about. The paint I use dries pretty quick." Rantaro then turned his attention over to Sayaka and Tenko. "If you'd like, I can paint your nails too."

"Really?" Sayaka giggled. "I never took you as a nail stylist."

"Well, it comes with being an older brother with a lot of sisters," Rantaro chuckled politely.

Tenko shook her head. "Sorry, but nail polish or paint or lengtheners or whatever would only get in the way of my Aikido moves."

Sayaka gasped. "Oh, come on, Tenko. You'd look so cute with some nail polish on."

Tenko paused. "R-really?"

Sayaka smiled and clapped her hands together, getting so excited that she hopped on one foot. "Yes! Oh, in fact, I'd love to try giving you a full make-over!"

"B-but what if an attack happens? I'd need my Aikido Gi to fight back."

"Oh, don't freak out," Sayaka waved off the concern. "It would just be for fun. It doesn't have to be a permanent thing."

"Well, what about you then?" Rantaro asked the pop idol. "I can paint your nails too."

Sayaka politely shook her head. "Not right now. I don't want to mess up any of these notes or books. You don't mind if I go get them, right?"

Rantaro frowned. "No. Go ahead."

Sayaka walked past the lime-haired boy and entered his Ultimate Lab. Her eyes widened upon seeing just how much of his floor was covered with scattered notebook paper, stray pins, and empty ink pens. Thankfully, Sayaka's stage dancing instincts kicked in, which allowed her to hop around on her toes and twirl around any dangerous piles before eventually reaching Rantaro's work bench. She paused to take note of the board Rantaro had, how he had pictures of various people with sticky notes to explain who they were along with short theories and answers, all topped up with wires connecting them together.

"He's really gone all in with his investigations," Sayaka said as she admired his work. "I got a lot of catching up to do."

She shifted her attention to the three books she was looking for; Hope's Peak Academy: Raising Above Despair, History of Danganronpa, and Rantaro's personal notebook. She opened all three books at once and took note of anything that stuck out to her.

-Danganronpa was a show

-It apparently went on for around 50 seasons

-It was gameshow where people took on Ultimate personas to "get into character"

Immediately upon finishing her third note, Sayaka paused. This was the second time she encountered information about changing identities or faking memories. She looked back at the Hope's Peak book, skimmed through the chapter of the tragedy and the killing game, and there, plain as day, she saw her official status.

-Sayaka Maizono is dead.

-Outside from Makoto, Kyoko, Byakuya, Aoi, Toko, and Hagakure, all of Class 78 is dead

Sayaka dropped her pen and notepad. She looked down at her trembling hands as she thought of something panic inducing. 'What if…what if we are just actos…what if I'm not even…the real Sayaka Maizono?'

"You ok, Sayaka?"

Sayaka yelped at the sudden voice calling from behind her. She was in such a hurry to regain her composure that she fumbled picking up her pen and notepad. When she finally gathered her bearings, she turned to see it was Rantaro that startled her.

Rantaro, of course, did his usual polite chuckle. "Sorry to startle you, Sayaka. I know what it's like to get wrapped up in research."

"Y-yeah," Sayaka said. "Um, did you need something?"

"Yeah, sorry but I was actually needing to take a few more notes for myself."

"Oh really? What were they? Do you have any idea on who could've killed Kaito?"

Rantaro crossed his arms and took a deep breath. "Can I admit something?"

"What is it?"

"I've completely gotten wrapped in the whole investigating the Ultimate Academy that it's kind of slipped my mind."

"Really?! I figured you'd be focused on it!"

"Well, do you have any suspects?" Rantaro shifted the conversation towards the idol.

Sayaka frowned. "I…I guess I got wrapped up in figuring out what was up with our memories too, but I have done a little bit character profiling." Sayaka couldn't help but chuckle. "So far, my best guess would be someone like Celeste. She's just so open about how little she cares about other people's lives, and the whole set-up kind of fits with how she killed Taka and Hifumi."

Rantaro scratched his chin for a moment before responding. "OK then. You should keep your focus on her then."

"Really? Isn't there anyone else I should keep an eye on?"

"If you're curious about someone else, let me know. Mikan and I will check them out."

"Well, if you say so. Thanks for letting me check out your notes."

"No problem, Sayaka."

Sayaka walked past Rantaro, making her way to the door, but just as she grabbed onto the door handle, she paused. "Rantaro…what was your takeaway from all of this? All these theories about faking memories? You don't believe that…we're all just actors, right?"

Rantaro took another deep breath. "Well…we can't really trust whatever Monokuma gives us, right?"

Sayaka nodded. "Yeah…yeah, you're probably right. Letting this get to us would only make all this drama worse."

Rantaro gently placed his hand on Sayaka's shoulder. "If there's anything you need, I'd be happy to help."

Sayaka couldn't help but have a soft blush form on her cheeks. Rantaro's firm yet gentle hand, his soft hair, how he stood over her without being too towering, a smile that just invited her in. 'I never really noticed how handsome Rantaro is…'

"Thank you," Sayaka said. "Maybe I'll take you up on that offer of painting my nails some time."

"Of course," Rantaro smiled.

Sayaka finally opened the door back to Rantaro's room. She immediately noticed how Tenko was laid across the bed, exactly the same way Mikan was earlier. Stiff as a board, Styrofoam between her toes and fingers, just waiting for the nail polish to dry off. The idol couldn't help but giggle at the sight of her friend.

"How do you feel?" Sayaka asked. "Feeling pretty now?"

"I'm scared to move," Tenko said while staring up at the ceiling.

Mikan leaned in towards Tenko's hands to examine the polish. "I-it looks dry right now…I think you should be good now."

Even with Mikan's approval, Tenko was still careful with how she sat herself up. Only using her elbows to lift herself up and standing herself on her heels, keeping herself stiff. Sayaka couldn't help but giggle at her friend. She'd gently wrapped her arm around Tenko's, helping her friend walk out of the room.

"So, did you find out anything new?" Tenko asked.

Sayaka shrugged. "To be honest, a lot of the stuff I've been finding out just seems to keep contradicting each other. There's so much information about Hope's Peak with my friends, but then…"

"Then what?" Tenko asked.

Sayaka went silent for a moment. 'The last thing she, any of us need to start thinking about is all of our memories being fake.'

"I don't know," Sayaka spoke up. "Maybe it's nothing. I need to focus on finding who killed Kaito…"

"We will, Sayaka," Tenko said before stopping at her door. "You figured out the first murder. You just need to focus…Something must be getting to you, right?"

"Maybe," Sayaka said before crossing her arms. "I maybe I'm worrying about too much. I've really been distant from the rest of the group lately."

"Maybe you can invite someone to investigate with you? I mean, you don't seem like you want to stop."

"Of course not. Finding the killer and finding out the truth to everything is the most important thing to do right now."

"Then just ask us to help!" Tenko shouted, her passion bursting out into the world. "This killing game involves all of us, Sayaka. Shouldering all the burden onto yourself won't help at all!"

Sayaka stopped her and looked back at Tenko. "Yeah…you're right."

Tenko smiled back. "And don't worry! If you got something bothering you, I'll help you out as quick as possible!"

Sayaka smiled. "Thank you, Tenko."

Tenko nodded before opening her door, refusing to fully curl her fingers around the handle and instead using the sheer grip of her palm to twist it before waddling inside. As Sayaka walked back to her room, she thought back to what Tenko said. She wasn't alone. She knew that to be the truth, but she couldn't help but frown.

'I know I need help,' Sayaka thought to herself. 'So, why am I scared to ask for it? Am I scared that…I'm not…an Ultimate?' She'd clench her fist. 'No. I am an Ultimate. I am Sayaka Maizono! I'm not some make-pretend actress or an anime character. I'm real. I'm the real me!'

"Atua is not an agent of vengeance. Atua is a force of good. Of justice. Of compassion."

Angie was preaching to her followers, Hiyoko, Hifumi, and Teruteru. All three were seated together in the front isle of the seats. Meanwhile, Angie stood behind the wood and marble alter, a loving smile across her face and her hands outspread as she spoke.

"Many of these people did not act out of malice or selfishness," Angie continued her sermon. "You know this. Most of them were tricked. They were pushed into corners. They were tempted by the Mastermind's devilish offers of their family, their friends, their secrets. Some of you were tricked as well."

Both Hifumi and Teruteru nodded.

"And it is our duty to forgive those…if they wish to repent," Angie stopped smiling. "Many of those out there wish to repent, but we all see it in their eyes. They are still unstable. They are still victims of their anger and desires. Sayaka Maizono maybe nice, but how long can she keep up her spirits if she is threatened with the loss of her friends again? Or Peko? Or Rantaro? Or if Mondo losing his temper at the wrong time? And then we must not forget those that have no empathy. Kokichi, Celestia, neither of them value the lives of others around them. And while Mukuro wishes to protect us, she was far too reckless with such weaponry."

Angie gently placed her hand on the alter, but the dramatic pause she took allowed her next statement to take more weight. "In order to maintain peace, to make sure no one falls to such temptations, we must take charge. We must teach all of them the word of Atua. We must make all of them convert."

"But how can we do that?" Teruteru asked. "N-no offense, but some people may look at this like some sort of cult."

"But it's not!" Hiyoko said with a growl. "Everyone just acts like they know what they're doing and treat Angie like she's a monster!"

"But Mr. Hanamura has a point," Hifumi spoke up. "They probably already have their own beliefs and we all know people think those Jehovah's Witnesses are annoying."

Angie held up her hand. "We will be facing an uphill battle. It's in people's nature to fight against what they don't understand. And they aren't wrong to be cautious of us. We can't demand people to change by force. For them to believe in Atua, they must learn there is no reason to worry. We must prove that we are not a threat. So, starting tomorrow, I say we begin by becoming model followers. We lend helping hands, we welcome everyone with open arms, we protect and love. We gain their trust, then-"

Just before Angie could finish her sentence, Taka entered the room. The sudden creaking and shutting of the chapel door caught the attention of Hiyoko, Hifumi, and Teruteru. Realizing he had just interrupted their meeting, Taka bowed his head.

"I apologize for interrupting you all, but I have an urgent matter to discuss with Yonaga," Taka explained.

All three disciples looked towards Angie, wondering what her answer would be, and to their surprise she nodded. The artist smiled at them.

"Could you please excuse us for a moment?" Angie asked.

It would take the trio a second to fully agree with Angie's request. They rose from their seats and walked past Taka.

"Why would Angie want us to leave?" Teruteru whispered. "What if Taka is one of those guys that wants her to stop?"
"I wouldn't be so sure," Hifumi whispered back. "Mr. Ishimaru seems to get along with Angie. Maybe she's converting him too."

"Angie knows what she's doing," Hiyoko added on. "It's just like she said, we have to prove ourselves."

The trio of followers would exit the room, shutting the door behind them. With the two of them alone, Angie circled around the alter and approached the black-haired student. "I'm always happy to speak with you, Taka. However, I am curious as to why you needed to see me alone."

Taka crossed his arms. "I must apologize, Yonaga. Before I state why I'm here, I'd just wish to reiterate that I find you to be a positive and helpful individual, and I personally believe that you have nothing but a helping hand while we've been here. However, I can no longer ignore the concerns of our peers."

Angie curiously tilted her head to the side. "My peers?"

"Yes, Koizumi, Kuwata, and Nanami have made it clear they feel your religious practices are a guise to brainwash us."

"Chiaki said that?"

"Yes. I must again apologize, but I believe it will be for the best if I take you to speak with Chiaki over these concerns."

Angie let out her classic laugh. "Nyahaha! Taka, Taka, Taka. There's no need to apologize to me. It's not your fault you've been manipulated by Chiaki."

Taka's eyes widened. "M-manipulated? Why would Nanami manipulate me?"

"Have you forgotten what we discussed about Chiaki? She's an AI and hid knowledge from us. That isn't someone that we should blindly follow, no?"

Taka rested his chin against his fist, pondering over the statement. "Well, true, but Nanami has been just as helpful to us as you. Why would she want to manipulate me? And for what purpose?"

"She said she was made to rehabilitate her class, yes?" Angie smiled. "But, as of now? They are all free of Junko Enoshima's influence. So, what else could she want from them? And what about your class? She seems to believe you're all dead, so what becomes of you all after we defeat the Mastermind? Will you all simply be abandoned?"

"She'd…that's not…" Tears formed in Taka's eyes. "N-no…she wouldn't leave us."

Angie took a hold of Taka's arm and slowly pulled him into a gentle hug, with her rubbing circles along his back. "Shhhhh," she said softly into his ear. "Don't be afraid, Taka. Just listen."

Taka slowly wrapped his arms around Angie's stomach, laying his head onto her shoulder as she spoke into his ear.

Sorry this took so long and thank you all for your kind words. You're all so patient with me. This chapter is mostly just set up for the next four chapters, really trying to bring in all the plot lines going on, starting a few new ones, and keeping the mystery up. The mystery is super hard to not flash all my cards yet.

Finally got to that Mukuro and Kiyo conversation a few of you wanted. Gave short moments for Sakura, Peko, and Ryoma. Really wanted to get back to them. I'm a bit disappointed with how far I made Kokichi fall. I know he's a big fan fav and some of you wish he wasn't a whipping boy...but he does kind of deserve it.

I don't got too much to say at the moment, so I'll get going. Again, thank you all for waiting for me and I hope to get back to this soon.