Chapter 3: Act: 8: My Secret Keeper III

Location: Bathhouse, Hotel Despair

Day: 20

Time: 2:15 PM

Akira was nervous. He had been pacing around the bathhouse for a while now, a look of worry on his face. He wondered how he would explain what Alter Ego found to Sayaka. After all, it was a rather intimate-looking picture. From the moment he saw it, he had been thinking about it a lot.

He had thought back to his time at the Reserve Course, digging through the furthest recesses of his memory, but nothing came up. There was no possible way he had met Sayaka before coming to the Main Course. Yet despite that, there was something between them. Whenever he and Sayaka were together, it felt natural, as if they had gotten used to being in each other's company. Casper seemed to like her, and everyone around them said the same thing, that they looked good together. It was something that further confused him.

After a while, he stopped pacing the floor, deciding to just stop thinking about everything altogether. He needed to relax and stay calm because if he spoke to Sayaka as a blubbering mess, he'd just confuse her even more. He thought back on their current motive, wondering what was inside his envelope. He had wanted to open it, but a part of him wanted to just keep it sealed. His heart sank when he thought about the opposite, the fact that someone in the school held his secret.

He never wanted to tell anyone the truth about himself. How he was raised by a secret society that bred cold-hearted killers. It was something he had come to grips with when he was placed in foster care. He had been dealt a bad hand when his real parents had abandoned him, but he had been dealt an even worse one when he was old enough. Old enough to be trained, old enough to hold a gun, old enough to finally take a life. Yet he never had. His sister had been the one who always handled that, it was what had led to their fallout.

His sister believed that she should follow the rules, but he believed what they were doing was wrong. He didn't know the people he targeted personally, but he believed that the authorities should be the ones to handle criminals. Maki didn't think about it that way. She just told him to shut up and do as he was told. Everything came to a head with a high-profile target, who he ended up sparing, helping him to escape and hiding him. Maki had to cover for him, mutilating a corpse so badly that the authorities couldn't identify him. The Higher Ups had to pay the authorities to say it was who they had targeted.

He had been heavily reprimanded for that. Eventually, he grew sick of that life, and decided to fight for his freedom. It had been a long and grueling task, but he managed to complete it. He left that life behind, having his foster family as a reminder of it. It was what had driven him to join Hope's Peak Academy, to not only get a diploma from them but to forget. To hide his past, and to focus on his future. The money he had saved up had been enough to pay his tuition fees, yet despite that, they kept rising, and the money kept dwindling, until eventually, he had nothing.

That was when a miracle happened, he had found that golden coin. But instead of selling it, he tossed it into the fountain and made a wish. That wish led to him getting a true Ultimate Title. He finally achieved what he wanted, what his foster family said he never would achieve. He did something his foster brother wouldn't, became a true student of Hope's Peak Academy. Yet his reward was this… being trapped inside a school, watching his friends die and kill each other.

It was a bitter pill to swallow, but one that he gladly would to keep his past hidden. But now, it was going to return, in full force. He didn't know who had his secret, he couldn't be sure. The only thing he knew was that the moment it came out, things would change. He'd lose his friends, and he would be alone again.

His thoughts drifted back to Sayaka, the girl who had cheered him up, and who always gave him hope for the future. Her smile always seemed to brighten up his day, and her presence was enough to make him realize he wasn't alone. The last thing he wanted was to lose her. He didn't mind if he lost everyone else if they all judged and hated him, but he didn't want to lose Sayaka.

It was perhaps at that moment that he realized just how much she meant to him. He felt his heart beating faster when he thought about her, a goofy smile appearing on his face. He quickly shook his head, becoming serious. "Come on, man! Get serious here, we got some heavy shit to discuss!"

Taking a deep breath, he decided to focus on the present. He grabbed one of the locker keys, opening one. He reached for his backpack, pulling out the change of clothes he had brought, a simple swim trunk, and a tee shirt. He took the time to take his clothes off, changing into his alternate outfit. He stuffed his backpack inside the locker, closing it and locking it.

"Alright, Akira, focus. The main part of all of this is introducing Alter Ego to her, getting her to see the picture, and then bathing Casper. That's what matters here."

As if on cue, loud barks filled the bathhouse. The white dog bounded in, pulling the Ultimate Pop-Sensation along with him, the leash completely taut between them. The blue-haired girl was struggling to hold onto a bag, which was filled with shampoo bottles, brushes, and other dog-related items. She tugged at the leash, a firm look on her face.

"Casper, sit!" she snapped. The dog immediately did as he was told, panting happily as he did so. She let out a sigh, shaking her head. "You seriously need to stop pulling me everywhere."

"You managed him rather well," Akira said, smiling at her.

"Hardly. The second I put the damn leash on and left the room, he just pulled me along. I have no idea how he knew we'd be coming here, but well, here we are." the girl said, setting the bag down on the nearby bench. "I'm glad I took the time to change before I came here."

The young man noticed she was wearing her school swimsuit. It had been a while since he had last seen her in it. She really knew how to fill it out. He looked away from her, a light pink dusting on his cheeks. He cleared his throat, forcing a smile onto his face. "You look good."

"Thanks. It's just a school swimsuit, though," she said, giving him a bright smile. "Between you and me, I wanted to put the other one on. But Casper here chose this one, so blame him."

"Woof!" the white dog barked, a happy smile on his face, tail wagging back and forth. He placed a hand on his hip, shaking his head.

"Come on, man. You're supposed to be my wingman here!"

Sayaka merely laughed, rolling her eyes. "You don't need a wingman, you know. Anyway, you said you wanted to talk about something before we started?"

"Right, it's really important. I need you to trust me and keep an open mind, alright?" he asked, holding his hand out to her. Sayaka looked at it for a moment, a frown on her face.

"You're scaring me, Akira. You aren't dying, are you?"

"What? Of course not! I tell you this and that's the first thought on your mind?"

"I'm sorry! It's just… you often aren't this serious." she said, making him sigh.

"It's fine, just, keep an open mind, alright?"

Taking a deep breath, he reached for the key Chihiro had given him earlier that day. He inserted it into locker number seven's lock, turning it. He opened the locker, pocketing the key as he pulled out the laptop from within. Sayaka gave him an odd look.

"You have a laptop? Does it work? Can we get on the internet?!"

"Shhh! Not so loud! We need to keep this a secret for the time being, sheesh!" he cried, causing her to close her mouth. He ran his finger over the trackpad, waking the laptop up. Alter Ego let out a yawn, blinking a few times before giving Akira an excited smile.

"Akira, you're back!"

"Yep, I'm back. I'm glad to see you again, Alter Ego. Did I wake you?"

"Yes, you did but that's alright. Even when the laptop is asleep, I am still running background programs and doing searches. I have great news! I'm already 80% done analyzing and decrypting some of the files. I should be done three days sooner than calculated!" the program cheerfully said.

"Wow, that's wonderful, Alter Ego! Thank you so much for your hard work!"

"Um Akira, the fuck is this?" the Ultimate Pop-Sensation asked, clearly confused by what she was seeing. "Why is Chihiro's head on the screen?"

"That's because…" he paused for a moment, clearing his throat. "Remember how we found this laptop in the library and it didn't work? Chihiro managed to get it up and running. She created an Artificial Intelligence and placed it on this laptop. This AI has been analyzing the files on the hard drive of this laptop for the last several days, and it's getting close to cracking them."

"Really? That's amazing!" she said, leaning down slightly. She sat down next to Akira, her body pressed against him as she looked at the screen, tucking some hair over her ear. "What else can it do?"

"A lot of things. Currently, Chihiro told it to search through the files on this laptop, and it's already found a lot of things. It's been saving it in a separate file which it will show us once it's done."

"Um Excuse me, Akira… is the girl next to you Miss Maizono?" the AI curiously asked.

"Yes, it's me. But how do you know me?" she asked, causing Akira to chuckle a bit. "What?"

"The microphone's broken. You have to type out your question. Don't worry, I got you." he said, hands hovering over the keyboard. "Yes, this is Sayaka. She asked how it was you know who she is."

Alter Ego processed the question, answering within a couple of seconds. "Ah, of course! I know who you are because you were this laptop's previous user! There's a lot of information here that's tied to you. School Projects, Report Cards, Personal Information, and a lot of other things, including messages between friends. I must say, you have rather poor grades when it comes to mathematics."

Sayaka blushed brightly, looking away from the laptop. "Who needs math when you are an idol?"

"She's a little annoyed with that quip, Alter Ego, do forgive her."

"Oh… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings,"

Sayaka felt sad, taking over the laptop. "It's alright, Alter Ego, it was probably a joke. So… you are saying this is my laptop? How can that be? I only recently came to Hope's Peak Academy."

The program remained silent for a moment before answering. "Yes, Master, Akira, and I discussed this not long ago. As it turns out, this laptop was issued to you on April 15th, 2014. There's a log here of the first time you logged into the Hope's Peak Academy Student Portal. There are also message exchanges between you and a girl named Satomi Aoba."

"Satomi? I haven't talked to her since before I was dropped off here. How could that be?"

"We're not sure… me and Chihiro discussed a bit of this but it just makes no sense for us. I also brought up something else. My PSP and your iPod showed the dates were off. Both said it was September of 2017." Akira said.

"That's weird… Do you think it's a glitch?"

"No, we think the Mastermind is messing with us. That's all we have for now." the Ultimate Lucky Student said, shifting the laptop back toward him. "Alter Ego, would you mind pulling up the picture that you found?"

"Of course. I'll pull it up right now!" Alter Ego cheerfully said. The AI's face disappeared after a moment, replaced with the image it had found in the files. Akira cleared his throat, giving Sayaka a firm look.

"Now, I'm gonna show you this picture and I want you to keep having an open mind, alright? It's confused the shit out of me, and it's gonna confuse the shit out of you. So… brace yourself."

"Don't worry, my butt is clenched."

He found himself chuckling a bit, hiding the tight feeling in his chest. He turned the screen to her, giving her a small smile. "Here it is."

He kept his gaze locked on her face, seeing the myriad of emotions running through it. The first was confusion, shifting to surprise and then intrigue. She didn't say anything, just staring at the image, memorizing every single detail of it. She stayed quiet for a moment, not really knowing what to say. She licked her lips, looking up from the picture.

"You know, I was wondering why I had a butterfly tattoo on me. Given the fact I don't like needles much."

Akira clenched his jaw, swallowing the lump in his throat. "There's so much going on in this picture and that is the thing you focus on?"

"Duh, do you know how perfect my skin is? The last thing I want is to have blemishes on it. So imagine my surprise when on day one, I take a shower and all of this weird clumpy crap starts washing off of me. I spent a good two minutes rubbing my skin until it was all off."

"It looks good at least."

"That's beside the point, Akira. Something strange is going on here, aside from the rest of the picture. I don't remember getting that tattoo. I know for a fact that I didn't have it when I came here. I took a long shower that morning, and it wasn't there." she said, pinching her eyes, letting out a sigh. "What the fuck's going on? Every single day, I discover more and more things about myself that I don't even remember."

"You're telling me. This picture took me by surprise as well, I wasn't expecting us to be this close." the Ultimate Lucky Student said, looking away from her. "Alter Ego said this was posted on your Twitter Account. Sayaka Maizono Kawaii_Idol [Butterfly Heart]. It was taken with a Nikon D3300 DSLR Camera. Alter Ego wasn't able to recover anything else because it would need an internet connection to access your Twitter. Apparently, you shared it with Satomi."

"Yeah that seems like something I'd do," she admitted, rubbing her arm, an embarrassed look on her face. "Still… the fact that we're so close in it. We've never met before coming to Hope's Peak… So how is this even real?"

"I'm not sure, none of us are," he said, turning the laptop back to himself. "Alter Ego, can you confirm to Sayaka that this photo isn't fake?"

"Of course! Miss Maizono, this picture is 100% real. There are no signs of editing or tampering with it. It was taken June 21st of 2014."

"That's so weird though… How do we not remember this?" the idol asked, a shocked look on her face. She stayed quiet for a moment, finding herself laughing. "I guess I understand why I'm so comfortable around you, and why I don't mind you snuggling into boobs at night."

"Stop!" he cried, a look of embarrassment on her face. She smiled, giving him a wink.

"Don't be embarrassed! It's nothing to be embarrassed about," she said cheerfully. She let out a sigh, shoulders dropping a bit. "Still… this is just… not what I was expecting. I always suspected the two of us had something going on. The deja vu, the fact people kept asking us if we were together? How comfortable we both are, Casper really liking me…"

Her expression changed, a look of fear on her face. "Why can't we remember it? What the hell happened to us? To all of us. There are pictures of us, and they're real. Did we know each other before this? Is this some sort of… collective amnesia? Did the Mastermind do this?"

"We can't be sure, not without all of the puzzle pieces," Akira said, his gaze returning to the laptop between them. "Alter Ego, thank you for showing Sayaka this. Me and Chihiro discussed things earlier and we've decided to share your existence with everyone else. Continue decrypting those files, alright?"

"Understood, Akira! I look forward to formally meeting everyone. It was nice to meet you as well, Miss Maizono! I look forward to getting to know you as well!" the program happily said. As soon as the computer turned off, Akira slid it back into the locker, making sure it was locked.

Sayaka had stayed quiet, processing what she had just seen and heard. She had been petting Casper, the dog having laid down on the floor next to the bench. He had been chewing on his favorite rope toy, completely entranced by it. Akira placed a hand over her own, giving it a small squeeze.

"I understand you are confused. I am too. I just want you to know that I don't expect anything from you. Sayaka, you're…" he paused for a moment, biting his lower lip. "Incredibly important to me. You've kept me sane in this hellhole of an Academy. You've cheered me up, gotten me to smile, and reminded me I'm not alone. I didn't have any friends before I came here, but now I do, and I'm happy knowing that you were my first one here. After all, you did poke my face until I woke up."

"You mean the world to me too, Akira. Makoto was very special to me, and his death hit me hard. But you never left me alone. You cheered me up, and reminded me that his death wasn't in vain. You kept me sane too. It's thanks to you that I'm still here, because if I hadn't stayed calm… I likely would have done something foolish. You're my rock here." she admitted, smiling. "I always wondered if it was because of our situation because our shared trauma caused us to bond. But now that I have seen that picture, I can lay my feelings to rest. Akira, I-"

"You don't have to say it… I think I understand," he said, giving her a grin. "I am psychic after all."

She burst into laughter, muffling her giggles. "No, you aren't! You just have good intuition."

"Yes I do," he said. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, with Sayaka slowly leaning in. Akira swallowed the lump in his throat, about to do the same, only for Casper to shoot to his feet, pulling Sayaka away.

"Aaaahhh! Casper!"

Akira sat up, a furious blush on his face. He rose to his feet, scratching the back of his head. He placed his hands on his hips, glaring at the dog. "Alright you, bath time! No more dilly-dallying, let's get this done!"

"Woof!"

Sayaka merely smiled, holding her hand out to Akira, who happily took it, the pair entering the bathhouse proper. It wasn't long before they started bathing the fluffball named Casper, the pair getting wetter than the dog ever would.


Location: Dormitories, Hotel Despair

Day: 21

Time: 6:00 AM

Ding dong dong ding~

"Alright kids, rise and shine! We're gonna get this party started a little earlier than usual. I want you all in the Gymnasium in 15 minutes, and if you aren't there, I'll be beary beary angry~ Puhuhuhu~"

Akira sat up in his bed, heart beating hard in his chest. The dorm was partially dark, the only light coming from a single desk lamp Sayaka left on. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, staring at his watch, eyes still blurry.

"What the fuck?"

"That bastard decided to wake us up early," the blue-haired girl said, holding back a yawn. She had a look of annoyance on her face as she forced herself to get out of bed. "I swear, if I find out who's piloting that piece of shit, I'm gonna kick him in the balls."

"I'll hold him down then. You go ahead, I'll get dressed and wait for you."

"Are you sure? Don't you need to pee?"

"I don't mind waiting," he said, giving her a small smile. She kissed him on the cheek, sleepily standing up. She gave Casper a pat on the head, causing him to stir from his slumber.

"Let's go, Caspy, potty time." Sayaka quietly said, covering her yawn with her hand. She closed the bathroom door after the dog was inside. Akira got out of bed, walking toward the dresser, gathering his clothes.

The pair had focused mostly on Casper after their conversation in the bathhouse. They hadn't gotten to talk about themselves. He had been mostly focused on his almost kiss with the Ultimate Pop-Sensation, and how hard his heart had been beating in his chest. He was glad Casper had pulled her away, mostly because he still wasn't ready for that. After all, he wanted to come clean to her about himself. He had given Chihiro the locker key again, the pair agreeing to tell everyone about Alter Ego at 7 PM the following day.

Everything became a blur afterward, and soon after, the day had ended. Akira realized how tired he had been, after receiving his motive and spending most of his brain power processing things. He wanted to sleep early. Sayaka had been the same as well. Dealing with Casper took it out of her, and she passed out the second her head touched the pillow. At least sleeping in the same bed wasn't as awkward anymore. There was a lot more he wanted to talk to her about, but he decided that talk could wait.

Not long after he was dressed, a still tired-looking Sayaka emerged from the bathroom with Casper at her heels. He took his turn in the bathroom while she got ready. By the time he was done, she had managed to get fully dressed, though she had skipped out on the makeup routine in favor of fixing her hair. She turned to Casper, giving him a firm look.

"We'll be back soon, okay? You behave yourself and if you do, I'll give you some treats."

"Woof!" the dog cheerfully barked. She gave him a pat on the head, turning to Akira who had a small smile on his face.

The pair wordlessly left their dorm, spotting a few others in the plaza. It was odd seeing them out so early. The last time they had been out before the morning announcement was back during the previous motive, when it had gotten so cold no one could sleep well. The looks on their faces were of fear and worry. Akira shared a look with Taka, who had a look of happiness on his face, though he could tell it was forced.

"You… doing okay, Taka?"

"Indeed I am. As… best as I can be, really. None of us know what's in store for us, and I'd rather we didn't keep the bear waiting." he said, lowering his cuff for a moment to look at his watch. "It's best if we get moving."

Akira's throat had gone slightly dry as he walked through the first-floor plaza. He had walked down these halls countless times, but today, the air felt different. Something terrible was about to happen, and he couldn't shake the feeling that it would make the day even worse. He felt Sayaka take a hold of his hand, a small smile on her face. He smiled back, feeling himself relaxing slightly, but not entirely.

The Gymnasium was quite cold. It almost reminded him of the first temperature change not long ago. He often wondered what it would be like to see the bleachers filled with people. The court being used for basketball, as it was meant to be used. For school sports in general. It hardly seemed as though it had gotten that use in a long time. It was too polished, too clean . It was devoid of emotion. It was just another room to them now. A room in which their suffering could only be increased.

"Good Morning Students!" Monokuma cheerfully greeted, standing at the edge of the stage with that familiar devious grin. "Sorry for waking you up earlier than usual. I just felt the need to keep a schedule. I was watching you, you know… some of you didn't bother opening the envelopes I so carefully crafted for you. That was a mistake."

"That's because none of us are going to bend to your will, Monokuma. We are above letting measly secrets control us." Hajime boldly stated, adjusting his tie as he glared at the monochrome bear. "None of us are going to fall for your crap."

"Oh? Is that so… Then I hope you don't mind me testing that resolve, hehe," he said, reaching for a controller behind him. As he pressed it, a large trap door opened up behind the podium.

From beneath it rose what looked like a wheel. Akira narrowed his eyes, taking in the details of it. It reminded him of a similar-looking wheel to a gameshow he once watched. It was evenly split, into twenty sections, though two were left blank. The others had a picture on them, their pictures. The interchanging black and white color was starting to make him sick. He didn't hate the color black or the color white before this, but now, he absolutely loathed them.

"This my dear students, is the picker wheel! It contains an image of each and every one of you. As your secrets are shared or kept, your image will be removed! Only with it gone will you find the true solace of being free from your burden. Will the person holding your skeleton set you free by keeping your secret? Or will they expose it to the world, to show you what you truly look like?"

"So this is how you are going to choose? Why not outright pick someone?" Akira asked, crossing his arms. "This doesn't seem like you, or is it that you just want to give despair to people at random?"

Monokuma stayed quiet, turning to face Akira. "Do you believe in mirrors?"

Taken aback, the Ultimate Lucky Student cocked his head. "What?"

"Do you believe in mirrors?"

"The fuck's that supposed to mean?"

"Well you see, I don't believe in mirrors. You wanna know why? Because they don't show you who you really are. They just show you what you look like. But when you stand someone up and put fear right in front of them… now then that… that shows you exactly who they are. Hm?" he asked, glancing around the room. "So tell me something… When I make you all look in that mirror, and trust me, I will, I wonder just what kind of crying, poor excuse of people will be looking right back at you. Because I know them when I hear them. And you all sound like squealers to me."

That seemed to send chills down their spines. Everyone straightened up, the firm looks on their faces only changing slightly. Byakuya hardly reacted, if anything he seemed rather impressed, while Celeste's mask only strengthened. Sonia seemed scared out of her mind, while Kazuichi seemed indifferent. The others were mostly unreadable, exchanging worried glances with each other.

"Tch… So what is this then? You some sort of funny man now? Asking such dumbass questions. If you are gonna punish us, then punish us! If not, shut your goddamn mouth." Mondo said firmly.

"Wow, good one, really thought out comeback there bud. But sure, you want to get this started, I'll get this started." the bear said, leaping onto the podium, kicking the wheel as he did so. It started to spin, clicking loudly as each peg passed the arrowhead.

Eighteen pairs of eyes watched it spin, gradually getting slower and slower until finally, it stopped. Ibuki let out a whimper as she saw the arrow pointing at her image, causing the monochrome bear to grin. "Ibuki Mioda! Ultimate Musician! Step right up, honey, it's your turn in the hot seat!"

"I don't wanna!"

"You step right up or so help me, I will punish you severely. I might not hold back." the bear threatened. Chihiro grabbed her hand, causing her to look down.

"Hey, it'll be alright. Remember what we agreed to?"

"I… I don't know if I can do it, Chi-Chi."

"You can and you will." she firmly replied. Ibuki shakily stepped forward, scared out of her wits. She turned to face the others, meeting eyes with several of them, locking eyes briefly with Sayaka, who gave her a supportive smile. She looked away in that instance, finding the floor more interesting.

"Now then, Ibuki Mioda, you were given the secret belonging to one Chihiro Fujisaki! And it's a juicy one, a secret that is quite literally, life-changing! Seems like the Ultimate Programmer was hiding something. Something so insignificantly tiny, no one seemed to notice, hehe." Monokuma said, causing the programmer to glare at the animatronic bear. "Your choice is simple! Come clean with Chihiro's secret, or take the punishment!"

"That won't be necessary! Ibuki and I talked, and we got each other's secrets. I willingly give her permission to share mine. And I will share hers." Chihiro said, a firm look on her face. "We're not going to let you win! We're stronger than that!"

"Bold claims from someone pretending to be something they're not! But can you truly trust in Ibuki? She looks like she's ready to piss herself. Come on, squeal! Squeal like a little pig! The truth will set you free~"

"It's okay, Ibuki. Just go ahead. It'll be over soon,"

Ibuki looked at Chihiro, before shifting her gaze at Sayaka once more, earning a confused look from her. She started breathing rapidly, tears brimming her eyes. "I… I… Chihiro is… I… Chihiro I can't!"

"Huh? But Ibuki, you have to!"

"No! I can't… if you reveal my secret, it's going to ruin friendships! I can't handle that! Not again, never again! I can't let what happened back then happen again! I'm choosing to keep your secret!" she cried, tears running down her face.

"No, Ibuki you can't!" Chihiro cried out.

"Oh boy oh boy oh boy! I get my first punishment of the day!" Monokuma cried, pressing another button on his remote. From beneath the stage, a pair of Monokumas emerged, rolling out what looked like a table. They placed it down on the gym, along with something they kept hidden from view. "Ibuki Mioda, since you've chosen to keep Chihiro's secret, you'll have to pay for that in blood!"

"That's fine! Just as long as my secret is kept." she dejectedly replied, walking over to the table.

"No, you can't! Ibuki!" the programmer cried, stepping forward. She turned to face them all, clearing her throat. "Everyone, the secret Ibuki is keeping from you is the truth about me. I'm not a girl, I'm actually a boy!"

Looks of shock and surprise overcame the students, taken completely aback. Mondo looked Chihiro over, confusion on his face. "You're a dude? But… you're small, and dress like a girl."

"That's exactly why. I was bullied when I was growing up, those bullies were stronger than me. Made me feel weak. So I found it easier to dress and act like a girl, because I was small, and frail. But no more! I came to this school to finally be free of my weaknesses. I want to become stronger, and become a true man people can depend on! This secret I've kept has held me back, but it won't any longer!"

He turned to Monokuma, fist balled tightly. "You can't punish Ibuki anymore, I revealed my secret. She has nothing to do with this!"

"Oh, you poor fool. You know for someone so smart, it's funny how you can be so dumb." Monokuma said. "Ibuki agreed to keep your secret, in order for her to escape punishment, you have to share it before the other party agrees to it."

"What? You can't make up that rule!" Hikari shouted, pointing a finger at the bear. "That isn't fair, to her or anyone! The secret was told!"

"But Ibuki hasn't shared hers, has she? How about this? If she speaks, I'll retract my punishment. But it has to be her, not Chihiro." Monokuma answered, turning to the Ultimate Musician. "What'll it be, sweetcheeks? You wanna squeal like a pig or you wanna spill blood like one?"

"I can't. I'm sorry… my secret would ruin so many things. That's the last thing I want on my mind."

"Ibuki, if you don't tell your secret, not only will you get hurt, but someone else will. Think about the people this secret affects! Think about them, if you tell everyone about it, you'll be helping protect people!" Chihiro cried in a pleading tone. "Think about it, please!"

"I have, and you can't change my mind. I'm sorry, Chihiro. But I'm keeping my secret, if it gets out… it could spell the end for the most beloved group of idols of this generation. And I can't let that happen." she said, turning back to the bear. "Do your worst, asshole. I'm not afraid of you."

"You said I could do it. Alrighty then, let's spill some blood!" he cried, lifting the tool up from the table. Everyone's eyes widened when they saw it was a hatchet, whose sharpened blade seemed to glisten in the light. Akira let out a cry, but it was brought down before anyone could do anything.

Ibuki's screams filled the gym, as the hatchet split her hand in half. The blade was embedded into the table, holding both halves in place. Blood rushed from the wound, spilling onto the floor. The musician clutched her hand tightly, but was unable to move it.

"You know… I debated on cutting it off, but I felt this was a much more painful one. Musicians need their hands to play instruments, right? You really like playing the Bass, you wouldn't be able to do that without your hand. So you have a choice to make here. I can cut the damn thing off, or you can pull your hand free."

The black-haired girl hardly hesitated, gritting her teeth before pulling her hand free, splitting it apart as she did so. She only took a couple of steps back before falling back, Mondo catching her before she hit the floor. He grimaced, glancing at Mikan. "Hey Nurse girl, get your ass over here, she's gonna die!"

Mikan knelt down beside her, seeing just how mangled her hand was. She reached into her pocket for a roll of gauze, grabbing it. "I'm gonna need someone to prepare the Nurse's Office, now! There's a cabinet above the sink that has the surgery tools, the password for today is 43539. We're gonna need all of it."

"I'm on it. I have medical training from school, I'll assist you." Sonia said, quickly racing out of the gymnasium.

"Hajime go with her, take my Nurse ID, find Ibuki's profile, and grab some blood packs of her type." She said, tossing her e-handbook at him, which he swiftly caught. She turned to Byakuya, a firm look on her face. "Byakuya, you said you had medical training too, right?"

"Basic first aid, her hand wound is beyond my expertise. And even if I did, why should I help her?" the rich heir asked, earning a growl from the nurse.

"Because if something happens to your pathetic ass, it's gonna be me nursing it back to health. So unless you wanna die of blood loss when someone stabs you or when Monokuma decides to kill you, you'll lend a hand. Got it?!" she shouted, eyes burning furiously. The man merely smirked, pulling his sleeves up, buttoning them at the elbow.

"As you wish, but I should let you know, I'm not that overly trained."

"You'll learn. Mondo, Taka, I'm gonna need you to help carry her. Keep her as stable as you can, I'll try to keep pressure on the wound." she said, hastily wrapping Ibuki's hand up with gauze. She had already bled through the bandages she had, but she didn't have much of a choice.

As the musician was carted out of the gymnasium, leaving a trail of blood behind, the others stood their ground. Monokuma meanwhile seemed to derive enjoyment from the scene, giggling like a schoolgirl. He let out a sigh, cheeks flushed red.

"That was wonderful! Seeing you all jumping up at the chance to help, seeing your hope being turned into despair in real-time. Haaahhh… that's what I live for!"

"What the hell is wrong with you? Chihiro told his secret, why did you choose to punish her?" Peko barked, glaring at the bear. "Answer me!"

"The rules need to be maintained, dollface. Don't worry your pretty little head off. Allow me to establish some more ground rules. The person who chooses to keep their secret will be punished, but if the secret is revealed, punishment will not be dealt out. However, the secret must be revealed by the person whose secret it is. No one else. If the secret is told by someone other than the pair chosen, punishment will be carried out. Are those terms acceptable?"

"How do we know you'll uphold them?" Celeste asked, crossing her arms. "The last thing we need is you pulling a fast one on us."

"Ugh… fine! I'll make it an official school regulation for this motive alone, happy? Sheesh, you give them an inch, they take a damn mile." the bear said, turning away from them. "Regardless, this got the necessary results. I would reconsider my stance on keeping those secrets, everyone. Lest you end up with a mangled hand, and I know just how much teenagers like using their hands at night, hehe."

"You're sick!" Hina cried, a look of anger on her face.

"No, not really. I'm completely sound of mind, actually. I'll be back in a few hours for our next set of squealers. Chihiro Fujisaki, as your secret has been revealed, you are safely off the table. Hope you enjoy your newfound freedom, boy." Monokuma said, leaving with a manic laugh.

It was quiet for only a moment, the silence broken by Hiyoko, whose eyes were firmly on Chihiro. "You're a boy? Really?"

"Yes, I am. I was born as a male but pretended to be female because I was bullied. I hope you don't judge me too harshly. Of course, I understand if you don't want to associate with me anymore. I did break your trust by keeping this secret."

"You had your reasons, but just because you kept this from us doesn't mean we won't associate with you," Kyoko said firmly. "As far as secrets go, this one is tame. However, it seemed as though Ibuki's secret was so bad she willingly accepted the punishment. Makes you wonder what she's keeping."

"Please don't pry. We told each other our secrets because we got paired together. On top of that, she figured out I was a boy before anyone else. So it made little sense to keep it from her." the programmer said, sighing. "I just wish she had chosen to speak."

"What did she mean by what she said? That it would spell the end of the greatest idol group of our generation. She didn't mean Butterfly Heart, did she?" Sayaka asked. Chihiro bit her lip, looking away from the Ultimate Pop-Sensation.

"I'm sorry, Sayaka. I can't speak about it, it's not my secret to share. Please just let Ibuki recover from this. I'm sure she'll consider telling you."

"We should get out of here," Hajime said, grimacing a bit as he looked at the table. "I'm tired of seeing my friends' blood being spilled."

"What the hell are we going to do? Monokuma is gonna keep doing this to us!" Kazuichi cried, a look of anger on his face. "Are we just gonna have to let our secrets go? I got some embarrassing shit I wanna keep hidden."

"I'd rather tell people my secret than be punished for it," Hikari said, glancing at the table, arms crossed. "Despite me not wanting to share it, I'd rather do that than not."

"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather keep my secret a secret. Of course that isn't up to me, it's up to whoever has it." Kyoko said, glancing around the room. "I'll have to trust whoever has it, though if it's life or death, I'll permit you to share it. Not like we have a choice."

"This is… so fucked up," Hina said, bowing her head. "Every time we have a tiny little win, we get beat back down. What does he get from this?"

"Despair," Akira said, swiveling on his foot. "The faster we get used to that, the faster we'll come to terms with it. But we can't lose hope. Giving up here is worse than accepting whatever that bastard has planned for us. The second that happens is the second he wins."

"Easy for you to say,"

"I dipped my hand in acid, Hiyoko. There's nothing else that motherfucker can do to me." Akira replied, facing the blonde dancer. "When you've got nothing left, you've got nothing left to lose."

"Ah… but that just means you have everything to lose, don't you?" Mahiru asked, causing the young man to face her. "There has to be something you aren't sharing with us. You know, I noticed a few of your quirks. Your note-taking, how much you pay attention to detail, how quiet you seem to be when you skulk around this place. Who are you really? The Ultimate Lucky Student, or someone posing as one?"

"We never did figure out why he and Makoto shared the same title," Hikari said, looking rather concerned. "Could it be that… your secret is your true title?"

"My true title? I already told you, I was a Reserve Course Student before this, and I won the lottery. Did you forget? Celeste gave me the coin I used to wish on the fountain outside. I didn't make that up." he said, going as far as showing the coin off.

"Still… the fact that there were two Ultimate Lucky Students here means there's something wrong here," Hajime said, rubbing his neck. "The only one who'd know the truth would be the staff behind the lottery."

"The headmaster, you mean? He was the one who did all the lottery rolls." Peko said, her lips curving downward. "You know, it's interesting to know that bastard hasn't shown his face. Perhaps he's the one behind all of this?"

"Monokuma has been touting the title of Headmaster since we were sequestered. I wouldn't put it past him to truly be the Headmaster." Celeste said.

"I doubt it's him."

They turned to Kyoko, who had a pensive look on her face. Sayaka tilted her head slightly, a firm look on her face. "Why do you say that, Kyoko?"

"Call it a gut feeling, intuition , if you will," she replied, looking up at the others. "Whatever the case may be, baseless speculation is going to get us nowhere. Akira is the Ultimate Lucky Student, he hides nothing else from us. The fact Makoto held the same title means nothing, at least not in the grand scheme of things."

"Why are you so sure of that?" Kazuichi asked curiously. "You know, you are pretty shady too, always disappearing around the school, being quiet. How can we say you aren't in league with the Headmaster? You seem to think he's not involved in this. It could be you are working with him, a mole, even!"

"Someone had to gather information for Monokuma," Hina said, rubbing her arm. "Maybe someone is working with him?"

The Ultimate Swimmer's words carried a great deal of weight to them. Now, everyone seemed to be filled with distrust. Akira shared a look with Chihiro, giving him a slight nod.

"Everyone, we can't start pointing fingers, not now of all times. Listen, I was going to share something with everyone later tonight… but I think now is as good a time as any. We all need to take a bath."

"A b-bath?" the mechanic asked, eyes widening. "A bath bath…? In the bathhouse? Together?"

"Yes, all of us."

"We're… gonna need a little more detail to run on, bud," Hikari said.

"Yeah! I'm not gonna show my tits to any of the guys here, so you got another thing coming! And don't think dressing like a girl will get you anywhere." Hiyoko said, causing Akira to sigh.

"Just do as he says. Christ almighty, you people drive me up the wall sometimes," he said, earning a giggle from Sayaka.

xxx

The group had swiftly moved through the corridors, leaving the gym as quickly as they could. It was still before seven o'clock, so they couldn't access the dining hall. The Nurse's Office doors had been tightly locked, and judging from Mikan's hurried words, it would be for a while now. It didn't take long for them all to return to the dormitory plaza, entering the bath house slowly, each gathering supplies to make it seem less conspicuous. Akira was just glad the bathhouse seemed to be exempt from the water rule, or else this wouldn't work.

Now that the group had gathered in the locker room, a curious Hikari took the lead, giving Chihiro a firm look. "Alright, so you got us here, mind explaining why?"

"It's the only place where we can talk in a group without the cameras. The steam makes it impossible to have one here. It was the perfect place to hide my personal project." the programmer replied, opening the locker. He reached inside, pulling out the laptop kept within, smiling. "Everyone, this is what I've been working on."

"A laptop? Holy shit, a laptop!"

"Did you call for help? What about the internet?!"

"Can I check my Twitter?"

All eyes fell on Hiyoko, who just shrugged. "What? I wanna see what's popping around the world."

"Sady, we can do none of that, at least not without a stable internet connection. Unfortunately, the school's WIFI network seems inoperable at the moment. But that's beside the point. This laptop is special. I want you all to meet, Alter Ego." he said, tapping one of the keys.

The screen lit up, and immediately, Chihiro's doppelganger appeared on the screen, a bright smile on its face. "Hello everyone! You must be Master's close friends! I'm so very excited to meet you all!"

"AHHHH!" Hina cried, backing away from the laptop. "It's a severed head!"

"It isn't a severed head, you imbecile," Celeste spat, a look of anger flashing across her face. She recomposed herself, staring at the laptop. "This must be an advanced program, an artificial intelligence, no?"

"That's right. Akira told me about this broken laptop and I managed to fix it. The code I used to create Alter Ego was one I created before coming here. Over the past few days, it's been searching through the files contained within the hard drive."

He paused for a moment, setting the laptop down on the nearby bench. "I created this with the hope that it could help all of us. Right now, what we are lacking is information. If we can close the gap, we might be able to pull one over on the Mastermind."

"I see… rather ingenious if I do say so myself. However, without a connection to the internet, it is sort of useless to us. How can we get information if we have no access to the web?" Peko asked curiously.

"If we had a direct line to the school network, we might be able to find something. Sadly, we can't take that risk, at least not right now. It's not like there are any exposed T-2 lines in places where the cameras can't see." Chihiro said, frowning. "I've searched for a suitable access point since the day Alter Ego came online. But I haven't found a thing."

"That sucks… damn, something like this is so cool and useful… and yet we can't even use it to its full potential," Hajime said, looking disappointed.

"Still, this is really cool! I knew Artificial Intelligence was becoming more sophisticated but nothing like this!" Kazuichi said, kneeling down next to the laptop. "How does it work?"

"Originally, I wanted voice recognition to be our first line of communication. But the laptop has a broken microphone. So we have to communicate through the keyboard. I've already told Alter Ego about all of you and given it physical descriptions of you all. It knows your talents as well as a few other things." Chihiro said, looking a bit sheepish. "I hope you don't mind me sharing that stuff. I only did it so it would know who you are."

"I don't mind, not one bit! If anything, this is one more friend for the fold!" Hikari cheerfully said, looking at the laptop. Alter Ego had been silent, looking around through the camera.

"You are all so diverse. Master told me you all were quite interesting characters, but now that I'm seeing you in person… I can tell his descriptions of you all were slightly lacking. I can't wait to get to know all of you~"

"This thing is good and all, but what the hell is the point? If we can't bust into the school network, then why bother?" Hiyoko asked, crossing her arms. "It's pointless to waste our time with it."

"Clearly, you weren't paying attention to what Chihiro was saying. This program is currently analyzing the contents of this laptop's files." Kyoko said, looking up at the programmer. "Has it found anything of importance?"

"It has, and it's storing it in a separate file. Even then, it's still around 85% done," he said, sitting down on the bench. He placed the device on his lap, fingers hovering over the keyboard. "Alter Ego, can you give us a status report on the decryption?"

"Of course, Master. Currently, I am at 89% completion. The way it's going, I should be done by tonight at the earliest. I had quite a lot of things to delete that weren't of importance. I must say, Miss Maizono has some peculiar tastes when it comes to apparel."

"Ah tut-tut! You keep that secret, got it?" Sayaka cried, glaring at the laptop.

"He can't hear you, sweetheart," Akira said, making her frown. He coughed into his fist. "Chihiro, perhaps seeing some of what he's found will do us good."

"My thoughts exactly," the programmer said. He hastily typed another command into the laptop, his question being in bold. "The Mastermind is currently holding our personal information against us. We have an inkling of who it might be. Do you have any information on the Headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy?"

The AI remained silent for a moment, processing the question before speaking. "I have some information about the Headmaster. Sadly, a lot of information is being kept in three secured files, that even I haven't been able to crack. I decided to wait to decrypt those after pouring through the rest of the information. Would you like to hear what I've found?"

"Yes."

"Understood! The Headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy happens to be a man in his late 30s. I wasn't able to pull up a relevant picture and I do not know his name. However, I did learn one thing. Hope's Peak Academy closed as a school following an event labeled only as The Most Despair Inducing Incident of Hope's Peak Academy. "

"The Most Despair Inducing Incident of Hope's Peak Academy?" Hikari asked, tilting his head slightly. "What does that mean?"

"Some sort of event that happened here. Must have been serious if it led to the school being closed down," Akira said, sitting down next to Chihiro. He took over the laptop for a moment, fingers flying swiftly over the keys.

"What is The Most Despair Inducing Incident of Hope's Peak Academy?"

"This was the name given to a tragedy that happened within the walls of Hope's Peak Academy. 16 Ultimate Students were forced to participate in some sort of game. It led to the confirmed deaths of 15 of those 16 students. Hope's Peak Academy decided to hide this from the student body by claiming they had gone to an overseas branch of the Academy. However, a video of this incident was stolen from the School Network and broadcast all over the internet."

"A game… you mean a killing game?" Mahiru asked, a surprised look on her face.

"This shit has happened before? What the fuck man?!" Kazuichi cried, panting hard as he fell to his knees. "We're all just… fucking pawns in some sort of evil game!"

"Let's not assume things, first we need to get more information," Kyoko said, gesturing to Akira to continue.

"Hope's Peak Academy swept this under the rug?"

"That's right… It was something that was done by the Headmaster, to save face. The Steering Committee was fully on board with this plan. However, once that video emerged, they rapidly started losing control of the situation. The School was closed shortly after. That is all the information I have. In terms of a timeline, this seems to have occurred over a year ago." the program replied.

Akira narrowed his eyes, handing Chihiro the laptop. He reached into his pocket for his notebook, flipping through it for a moment before landing on a section near the back. He pursed his lips, humming quietly.

"This could be what Chisa Yukizome was talking about. She made a note in that planner talking about something getting out of hand. The Students started to protest."

"You think this is connected to The Parade?" Peko questioned, earning a nod from the black-haired boy.

"I'm willing to bet it is. Think about it. 16 Students are forced into some sort of game, they all get brutally murdered and the school hides it. Someone manages to hack into the system, retrieves that video, and exposes what Hope's Peak Academy is doing. The students start to protest. To make it seem less like a protest, the Steering Committee gives it a name that downplays what's happening." he said, jotting something down on one of the blank pages, not taking his eyes off the paper. "They call it "The Parade", and the nation pays zero attention to it. The protest is treated as nothing more than a pointless circumstance. But it gets out of hand, and Hope's Peak Academy can't continue operations. People start asking questions, especially the parents of these students… So, since the truth is out, they have no choice but to shut it down."

"But that's absurd! Do you think the school would run something like that?" Hina asked, causing Akira to look at her.

"They boarded the windows with steel and are forcing us to kill each other. If anything, it seems as though that first game might've been a test. Some sort of experiment gone wrong." he said, shaking his head. "The teachers here were researchers. Maybe they wanted to see how a group of Ultimates did when subjected to high levels of stress."

"So what… you mean this is all some sort of… litmus test? Put shit in front of us to see how we'd react to it?" Hiyoko asked, eyes widening in shock. "That's fucking bullshit! Why the fuck would they do that to us?!"

"We don't have all the answers, we must wait for Alter Ego to crack those two remaining files. For now, this information is plenty." Kyoko said. She sat down to Chihiro's left, gently taking the laptop from him. "Alter Ego, what happened to the surviving student?"

"The Surviving student was taken to the hospital. When questioned by police, he said someone brought in information. Information someone had gathered on all of them, dark secrets. Hope's Peak Academy brought on the expertise of the Ultimate Neurologist, to see if he could make sense of his ramblings. However, things took a turn for the worse, and he attacked the Ultimate Neurologist with a scalpel. Because of this, he was taken to another facility, but he was later found hanging in his room. He had written the name Kamukura in his own blood."

"Kamakura?" Celeste muttered, narrowing her eyes. "That name seems familiar."

"Perhaps it is a reference to the founder of Hope's Peak Academy. I read somewhere that his name was Izuru Kamakura." Sayaka said, still looking confused. "That man died a long time ago, why would this kid write that?"

"Another question without an answer. Kyoko, would you mind asking Alter Ego about these students? Were they random Ultimates like us or were they all classmates?"

She typed his question out, hitting the Enter Key. Within seconds, Alter Ego responded. "I wasn't able to find much information on the individual students. All I know is that the students that were involved were the Student Council of Hope's Peak Academy."

Hearing this, their blood ran cold. The Student Council of their school had been the victims? They had been put in a game similar to theirs and all murdered each other? What kind of experiment was the Academy running? The fact that all of this information was out there now was what startled them the most.

"Even the Student Council wasn't spared… we're just regular students… and they forced them into this?" Hina asked, a dark cloud hanging over her. "Those bastards let them die, and they just… sweep it under the rug?!"

"It goes to show how expendable the lot of us are," Celeste said, twirling a strand of hair around her fingertip. "After all… 5 of us are dead already. Perhaps that was the true aim of their experiment. How long it would take before a select few turned on each other for the chance at escape? As far as experiments go, this one is quite intriguing."

"On top of that, the Administration is involved in this. The Headmaster approved it, the Steering Committee all but funded it, and we? Were the cattle." Kyoko said with a sigh. "But there's something that doesn't add up. I doubt the Headmaster would approve of something like this. He doesn't seem like the type."

"Kyoko… have you… met the headmaster?" Sayaka asked. She shook her head. "Then how do you know what kind of person he is?"

"Intuition. Why would a man who wants to foster our talents and breed his students into perfect hopeful role models, lock us away and force us to do this? It makes absolutely no sense, going by how this school used to operate. It's led me to believe the Mastermind and the Headmaster are two different people."

"But we can't know that for sure, can we?" Hikari asked, crossing his arms. "There are far too many variables for us to start making guesses. We have a lot of other things at hand. Just because we know this information doesn't mean the Mastermind is gonna cancel our motive."

"All of us will have to wait until Alter Ego finishes processing the last bits of information left on the hard drive. Regardless of that, what we have now is monumental. Now we know our game isn't the first of its kind." Kyoko said, handing the laptop back to Chihiro. "We must tread carefully, especially with Alter Ego. Keeping it hidden was hard before, but now that more people know, it'll be even harder."

"She's right, all of us coming here was already a big risk. Only a few of us should check in from now on. I vote for Chihiro and Akira. Chihiro created it, and Akira was the one he trusted the most. He can take notes and relay the rest to us." Sayaka said.

"Why do you trust him so much? Hikari brought some good points back at the gym, you know." Hiyoko said, crossing her arms. "What if he isn't who he says he is?"

"That doesn't matter. I trust Akira with my life, I can tell he's a good person through and through. I'm psychic, after all." she said, a cheeky grin on her face. The traditional dancer looked between the pair, smirking.

"You two are fucking, aren't you?"

"Wah? Of course, we aren't! What the fuck led you to believe that?!" Akira barked, shaking his head. "Seriously?"

"Why so defensive? Hm?"

"Ignore her, Akira. She's trying to rile you up." the Ultimate Pop-Sensation said with a roll of her eyes. "Besides, what we do in our dorm is none of her business. Won't be long before she's in Byakuya's doing the same thing."

Hiyoko's eyes widened in shock. "Wh…What?"

"I saw that kiss you gave him, Hiyoko. You are into him, aren't you? You are totally into the bad boy type."

"Curb your tongue, swine! Don't you dare insult me!" the dancer hissed, turning away from her. "I have no time for this shit. Are we done here?"

"Yeah, we're done for the time being," Chihiro said. Not a second after, the traditional dancer left the bathhouse, followed by Mahiru.

"I'll go calm her down. We should be ready for the next secret reveal, won't be long before the next one," she said, reminding them of their motive. Almost instantly the mood seemed to come down.

"Just when we had a little spark of hope, we get reminded of the terrible shit we're in," Hikari said, sighing. He turned to Akira, giving him a firm look. "I won't dispel my suspicions of you, or Kyoko for that matter, but I'm not gonna treat you any differently, alright? Just… don't abuse the trust we all have here?"

"Right."

"Come on, Hina. It's almost seven, let's have breakfast and head to the art room for those drawing lessons."

"Kay." the swimmer replied, following after the Graphic Designer. Slowly, everyone left, leaving only five people, Chihiro, Kyoko, Sayaka, Akira, and Celeste. The Ultimate Gambler had a look of amusement on her face, running her fingertip beneath her lower lip.

"Curiouser and curiouser. What are the odds that this isn't the first game of its kind? That the Student Council was involved? And that the Headmaster might be the one running it? We've added some cards to our deck, but it'll be hard to make use of them."

"I'm sure we'll be able to figure that out soon."

"Hm… and what of you, Akira? You were briefly put on the hot seat. What could it be you are hiding from the rest of us? It's true that there were two Ultimate Lucky Students here, but something doesn't quite add up." she said.

"Are you suspecting me, then?" he asked, smirking. "Rich words coming from someone who won't share her true name with her friends."

"Unfortunately, that is a secret I am not willing to part with. Not without paying the correct amount to learn it. Even then, you likely never will." Celeste said, eyes glowing with amusement, smiling. "I do like when you keep things interesting for me, Akira."

"Suspecting Akira is a waste of time. He truly is the Ultimate Lucky Student, nothing more, nothing less."

"You seem so sure of that, Kyoko. Do you know something we don't?" the ravenette asked, turning to face her. She gave her a firm look. "Why would you come to his defense? You hardly know a thing about him."

"On the contrary, I happen to know quite a lot about him, far more than any of you think you do," she replied, rising to her feet. "However, I am going to be keeping those cards close to my chest. If you can use the rest of us as pawns for your games, then I'm allowed the same."

"You figured it out?"

"You made it obvious. Talking in a darkened hallway isn't a wise idea, not when there are people who could listen in," she said, smirking. Sayaka, Chihiro, and Akira looked between the girls, who kept staring at each other, eyes firmly locked with each other. "You'd best remember, Celeste, the Queen isn't the only piece on the board with power. Even pawns have the chance to be promoted."

"So they do… you've kept me quite interested, darling. I look forward to seeing what moves you make." She said, swiveling on her foot, glancing over her shoulder. "You know, of all emotions in the spectrum, I never thought I'd see jealousy cross your face. Do keep me entertained, I've grown rather bored of our game."

The Ultimate Gambler took her leave, the bathhouse falling silent. Chihiro cleared his throat, looking around for a moment. "Um… what just happened?"

"We just witnessed a battle, Chihiro. A battle of wits." Akira said, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "It was a battle involving two beautiful women, neither backing down from the other. Ooo… I got chills."

"Would you stop being an ass? I have things I'd like to discuss with you, in private." Kyoko said, shifting her gaze toward Sayaka. "That's if your girlfriend doesn't mind."

"G-girlfriend?"

"I don't mind at all. But how'd you know?"

Kyoko sighed, rubbing the back of her head. "Honestly, people need to learn how to stay quiet. The dormitories are the only places in the school with soundproofing, not the bathhouse. I'm surprised you didn't notice me."

"Oh dude…" Akira muttered, taken by surprise. "We're gonna have to talk about that, Kyoko."

"I have several questions," Chihiro said, earning a small grin from Akira. Those questions wouldn't be answered for the time being, much to the programmer's chagrin.


A/N: God I do not like the summer, it's so fucking hot, I hate it.