Chapter 3 Part 7

"Give me a M, M! Give me an O, O! Give me a R, R!" Give me a N, N! Give me ING, ING! Goooooooooood morning, my lovely students!" Monokuma cheered into the intercom. "It is now 7 am. As such all the water and food are available for the student body! So, go ahead and have a beautiful day!"

It was safe to say that Gonta had become completely accustomed to the usual morning routine. A morning shower, cleaning his teeth, dressing himself in a freshly ironed suit, no shoes, feeding his pet bugs, and then finally leaving to eat for the morning. Ready to feast with his friends once again, Gonta strode in with a shining smile on his face. However, stepping inside the cafeteria left the gentle giant puzzled. He caught sight of Taka at the head of the table. That wasn't unusual. What was unusual was that Chiaki was nowhere to be seen. In her place was Angie along with Hiyoko, Hifumi, and Teruteru. They were all scooted close to each other, overlooking a piece of paper and jotting down a list.

Gonta curiously tilted his head to side as he approached group. "Hello, friends. Where the others?"

Angie looked up from the page and smiled brightly at Gonta. "Nyahaha! Hello, Gonta!" the artist said before rising from her chair and placing her hand gently on his arm. "I'm delighted to have you join us today!"

Gonta raised an eyebrow. 'That not answer question,' he thought to himself. He looked around the room for anyone else.

Angie noticed Gonta's search for others and immediately decided to break his concentration. "Teruteru, would you mind making breakfast for us and Gonta?"

Teruteru smirked and stroked his chin. "Of course I can, Angie." The chef hopped up from his seat and dashed into the kitchen.

"Please, sit with us, Gonta," Angie pulled a chair out for Gonta, which the giant sat himself down on.

Gonta looked at the group, seeing Angie, Hifumi, and Taka smiling at him. Normally, having friends smile at him comforted the giant's heart, but such a small amount of them being there at that moment made him uneasy.

"Where Chiaki?" Gonta foolishly asked.

Taka sighed. "Gokuhara, I'm saddened to inform you that there's going to be some changes with how this group shall be led going forward."

"R-really? Why?"

Angie gently placed her hand on top of Gonta's. "After the trial, we've realized we've been far too lenient with our rules."

"That stupid gamer was too busy falling asleep to actually keep us safe," Hiyoko huffed.

Taka nodded. "Indeed. Two of our classmates are dead and the true killer is on the loose. We've made no effort solve the problems that plague this group."

"So many of us are still hung up on our past sins," Angie added on. "And some have no intention of learning from them. To combat this, we must set a better example. We should teach them the right way to live."

Gonta frowned and nodded. "Gonta understands. We make mistakes…but Chiaki can learn. She smart."

"She is…but that doesn't make her reliable," Taka responded. "She had knowledge on the killing games, Enoshima, our captor, our memories, yet she had withheld that knowledge from us."

"Just imagine how much further in our investigation if we had known the true nature of our deaths," Taka explained. "That's why we need a proper student council. A group of trustworthy individuals who can look out for the well-being of the group. Gokuhara, we think you'd be an excellent candidate."

"Another student council?" Gonta asked. "But…that not work…"

"It can this time," Angie smiled. "As long as we pay attention to Atua's will, we will be victorious."

Teruteru would soon return with a plate of grilled sausages, hashbrowns, and scrambled eggs. He'd place it in front of Gonta and smiled. "Don't be so never, handsome," he said to Gonta. "We really could use your help."

Gonta frowned for a moment. "Gonta…isn't sure…Gonta should think."

"There should be no reason to worry, Gokuhara," Taka responded. "We're the ones that want to protect everyone. It's simply the correct choice."

Gonta shook his head. "Gonta need a minute."

Before Taka could protest again, Angie gently patted Gonta's hand and spoke. "It's ok, Gonta. We'll give you all the time you need."

Gonta was hesitant, but he nodded at Angie. After finishing his meal, he rose from his seat and left the cafeteria. He scratched the back neck a few times. 'Did bug get loose?' he thought to himself.

As he scratched his neck, he spread his fingers around his neck to feel for any loose bugs, but there was no feeling of crawling sticky feet or and hard bodies. Gonta instinctively looked over his shoulder to check if he was missing any, but as he did, he caught sight of Angie and her group through the doorway, all of them staring right through him. Gonta gulped and bolted as far away from the cafeteria as he could.

Ryoma had retreated into the art room once again, sitting himself in front of one of the sketchpads to draw. He had been gentle when pressing the pencil against the paper, creating a light, faded look for his line work. This came in handy for whenever he needed to erase a mistake or, for this particular instance, drawing soft-looking hair. Instead of Ryoma's usual routine of drawing cats, he had a different muse. He drew a woman, slender yet fit, fairly tall looking on the page, and a tired yet soft smile across her lips. The soft strokes of the pencil came in when he drew her hair, giving her bangs that covered the top of her right eye.

Ryoma paused for a moment, leaning back in his seat and overlooked the drawing before him. Despite how empty his emotional state had been, Ryoma couldn't help but get wet and red eyes. After a moment of deep breathing, Ryoma would rub his eyes and pick his pencil back up to draw. However, before he could continue, Chiaki entered the room with Mahiru, Keebo, and Shinji.

"I hope we're not interrupting you," Chiaki said.

Ryoma put his pencil down and scooted himself away from the sketch pad. "No, I needed a break anyway."

Mahiru circled around Ryoma and crossed her arms as she admired his drawing. "That's…really good, Ryoma. Is that someone you know?"

"That's not important…" Ryoma took a breath before looking back at the rest of the group. "I doubt you're here to just look at my art. What do you guys need?"

Chiaki sat herself down on a chair just beside Ryoma. "It's about Angie."

"She's finally gone off the deep end?" Ryoma asked dryly.

Chiaki nodded. "I spoke with Taka the other day and he had completely fell into Angie's way of thinking."

"I've been under Angie's influence before," Keebo spoke up. "While I don't doubt she has good intentions for protecting the group, she was a bit too controlling. And if things end up like how she led the people of her island, we may end up doing some…inhumane rituals…"

"Well, then just get her to stop," Ryoma crossed his arms. "We still outnumber her and her group, so we can lock her up with the others."

"It would be that easy as long as she's in Kiyotaka's ear," Shinji said as he adjusted his sandals. "He still has some influence over many of the group. Plus, I doubt that Celestia would be willing to work with us."

"Her group isn't any less of a problem," Chiaki said. "If she could get her followers to redecorate the school without us knowing about, who knows what else she could do."

"I think we could be in the middle of…what some people call, a turf war," Keebo said.

"Then what are you going to do about it?" Ryoma asked.

"We're going to try and find everyone that hasn't fallen into either Angie or Celestia's groups," Chiaki answered. "If we have enough people, we can convince the others both Angie and Celeste are just manipulating them."

Ryoma raised an eyebrow. "Is that all?"

"Yes…I think…"

Ryoma sighed. "That's hardly a plan."

Shinji nodded. "Ryoma has a point, Nanami. You're still being too passive with handling this issue."

Chiaki frowned and tugged on her hood. "I know, but…we can't just keep throwing people into cells. If we do, we'll just seem as controlling as Angie and Celestia. That's why we have to solve this without any more fights. I…I want all of us to be on the same side again."

Ryoma pulled a brand-new candy cigarette out from his pocket and placed it in his mouth. "Hate to say it, but there's a good chance this will end in a fight no matter what…You may want to get Sakura in on this."

Chiaki looked towards the floor for a moment, thinking over her options before finally nodding in response. "OK…but fighting is our absolute last resort. I still think reasoning with everyone is the best way to handle this."

Mahiru nodded. "Whatever it takes to get Hiyoko back."

"I would like to avoid another fight," Keebo said, "but if it becomes unavoidable, then I will make sure to set all my weapons to stun."

Shinji tugged on the purple jacket hanging on his shoulders. "Kaito believed we could all get along, that we could all have a second chance. I'm going to make sure that comes true."

'A second chance, huh?' Ryoma sighed and rose from his seat. "If I finally got a chance to help…what the hell, I'm in."

Chiaki grew a small smile. "Thank you, Ryoma."

"No problem…now, can you guys get out of here? I want to finish drawing by myself."

"Sure thing," Chiaki rose from her seat. "Come on, guys."

The gamer would lead Shinji, Keebo, and Mahiru out of the room. Once the air of silence settled in the art room again, Ryoma lifted his pencil back up and began to shade his drawing.

Sayaka paced back and forth in her room, jotting down in her notepad. She was stuck in her investigation. Celeste was still her primary suspect, but her previous conversation with Kirumi certainly put doubt into her mind.

'Kirumi could be lying for Celestia,' Sayaka thought. 'Yet, there is a chance Celeste didn't do it…Maybe she or Gundham or even Peko did it for her.'

Sayaka stopped in her tracks. 'But…maybe none of them did it. They weren't the first people to reach the end of the maze. They could've been as lost as the rest of us.'

Sayaka tapped her pen against her chin. 'Kaito was the first person to reach the end…maybe the killer would actually avoid reaching the end as long as they could. Maybe the killer was the last person to arrive.'

Sayaka sat on the edge of her bed and smacked the side of her head. 'But I can't remember who was last! I'm just stuck with just guessing people I think are suspicious! Who else, who else, who else?! Was it someone whose room was clue to Mukuro's?'

Sayaka pulled out her Monopad and opened up the map app. 'OK, I'm right next door, but Tenko is next to me, Chihiro and Angie's are across from Mukuro's room, then the closest rooms after those are Miu, Mikan, and Rantaro.'

Sayaka paused.

"Miu…It had to be Miu! She'd absolutely know how to set a trap up like that! She could've made some sort of tool to pick the lock to the door. She also had Nagito with her so she could have used him as some sort of look out- Wait, Nagito also broke the security pad! The only way to figure who snuck into Mukuro's room was with that security footage."

Sayaka shot up from her bed. "I got to interrogate her!"

Before Sayaka exit her room, a knock came from her door. Sayaka jotted down a note to interrogate Miu before answering her door. Of course, the person greeting Sayaka was Tenko. Tenko opened her mouth, but Sayaka held up her hand.

"Hey, Tenko," Sayaka said. "Listen, now's not a good time to hang out, I'm onto something."

Sayaka took a step past Tenko, ready to dash by her, but Tenko's reflexes kicked in and the Aikido master immediately took hold of Sayaka's wrist.

"Wait, Sayaka," Tenko said loudly. "I need to talk to you about something important."

"Can it wait a second, Tenko?" Sayaka asked. "I just thought about this case from another angle, and I think I got a new prime suspect."

"Well, I think this is important," Tenko said and took a hold of her friend's hand. "It's about you."

Sayaka raised an eyebrow before turning around to truly face her. "About me? What is it?"

Tenko took a deep breath. "Look, remember when Kokichi was being really annoying to me and you stood up to him?"

"Yeah. That was a while ago though."

"Well, I just…that really meant a lot to me. I mean, I already knew you were really nice, but that just made me know it even more. Like, you're nice and brave and caring, and that meant a lot to me. And despite how often you tried to put yourself down about your past or Makoto or your band, I know that you are my friend…And I'm your friend. And you know that I would never do anything to hurt you, right?"

"Of course I know that," Sayaka said. 'What are you getting at, Tenko?'

"I had been thinking about the second chances and how you told me to be nicer to guys," Tenko continued. "And I have. I've talked to guys better and I'm fine with Chihiro and all that…And because of that, I think you need to do the same too."

"What do you mean?"

"I spoke to Leon."

Sayaka's confusion shifted to a face of pure distain and rage. Her eyebrows narrowed and she gritted her teeth. "No."

"Sayaka, wait-"

"No. There's no way."

"Sayaka-"

"The answer is no! There's no way in Hell I'd ever talk to that…punk! Tenko, how could you even do something like that?!"

Sayaka's sudden shouted made Tenko back away from her friend, a bit fearful of her rage. "Because I wanted to help you like you helped me. You stood up to Kokichi for me, I spoke to Leon for you."

Sayaka shook her head. "It's just…I can't…"

"You can, Sayaka. Please. Just give it a try. I think you should hear his side of the story…"

Sayaka sighed and crossed her arms. She averted her gaze for a moment, but upon looking back Tenko was doing the classic pouting face. Big, watery eyes and pouting lips across her frown.

"Are you sure this will be a good idea?" Sayaka asked.

Tenko nodded.

Sayaka sighed one final time. "Lead the way."

The three prisoners had not moved from their spots since they had breakfast. Of course, given the limited amount of space and freedom they had, it's no surprise. No matter how well lit the room was, the darkness in their cells was overwhelming. If there were anyone else in those cells, it would drive them to madness. However, Mukuro, Korekiyo, and Kokichi had adapted to the darkness years ago. As such, both Kiyo and Mukuro were completely comfortable sitting down in their cells with their backs pressed against the walls. Kokichi on the over hand was standing tall, banging his head against the bars of his cell. With the wooden clunking echoing through the room, Mukuro could feel a vein in her head pulsating with irritation. With one final knock, Mukuro finally snapped.

"Can you knock it off?!" Mukuro yelled and kicked the side of her cell, somehow hoping it would hurt Kokichi.

"Why should I?" Kokichi asked. "Aren't you guys sick of being stuck in these stupid boxes?"

"I actually find it relaxing," Kiyo said with his usual slimy tone. "Being withdrawn from all distractions has given me much to reflect on."

"Hey, if I put a black light in your cell, will I see things I shouldn't?" Kokichi asked.

Kiyo chuckled. "I have more self-control than you know."

"Well, if you've been reflecting on things, have you thought about the way your sister treated you?"

Kokichi rolled his eyes and began to bang his head against the cell bars again. "I don't need to hear about how this all reminds him of the time he watched his sis hoe out from a closet."

Kiyo chose to ignore Kokichi's comments and went on to answer Mukuro. "I have…After thinking about my execution, I thought back to earlier in my life. I would be asked to sneak into stores and steal for my sister, and all I'd receive in return was a chance to clean her feet."

"That's not too different from how Junko bossed me around," Mukuro said. "She wanted to set off some firecrackers in the neighborhood, and after she got me to steal some from a gas station, the first thing she shot them at was me….I just thought it was her idea of a prank, that she didn't know how far was too far. Guess I was wrong."

Kiyo chuckled once again. "What about you, Kokichi? Do you have any sibling stories?"

Kokichi huffed in anger, his head banging becoming more aggressive as he spoke. "No. Only child. And in all honesty, I don't care. I'm mad that I just have to listen to this same conversation on loop. And even worse, I'm missing out on all that chaos going on! Everyone is causing trouble except me! And now I'm just some chump!"

The middle of Kokichi's forehead became a mix of red and purple as a bruise line formed. "And did you see the way Celeste looked at me?! I'm supposed to be her greatest rival, and yet I'm stuck in this CELL LIKE A TOTAL CHUMP!"

With one final bash of his head, Kokichi broke through the middle bar of his cell, knocking the two halves of the wooden bar onto the floor. Mukuro's eyes went wide at the sound of cracking and wood clanking against the floor. She slowly lifted her up and peered outside to see what Kokichi had done. There was a trail of blood leaking from his forehead, yet a sinister smile grew across his face.

After licking the drops of blood that landed near his lips, Kokichi laughed. "Nihihi! Well, look at that. Things are finally turning around."

Tenko had led Sayaka towards the entrance of the cafeteria. Sayaka could already see Leon sitting at the center table. He was so unassuming, only tapping his hands against the table as he waited on the pop idol. However, Sayaka couldn't see him as another person. He was still the boy that killed her. She turned to Tenko, hoping that she would've changed her mind. However, Tenko's stern expression only confirmed Sayaka had to face her fears. Tenko placed her hand gently on Sayaka's shoulder.

"I'll be out here," Tenko said quietly. "If things do go bad, just come get me."

Sayaka paused for a moment before nodding. "OK," she whispered.

Sayaka turned herself away from Tenko and faced Leon. 'Here goes nothing,' she thought to herself before finally taking her first step inside the cafeteria. The clacking of her shoes immediately caught the attention of Leon, who immediately leaned back in his seat as his eyes locked with Sayaka's.

Sayaka averted her gaze from Leon as she approached the table. She'd keep her head down even as she pulled out the seat across from Leon and sat herself down. One prolonged inhale and exhale later, Sayaka finally lifted her head up, facing her killer once more.

The two didn't speak immediately. In fact, it took a whole two minutes for either party to make a single sound other than light breathing. Leon slouched in his seat, crossed his arms, and let his head lean to the side. Meanwhile, Sayaka sat up straight, and kept her hands neatly on her lap.

After the long period of silence, Leon was the first to speak up. "So, uh…how are you?"

"Fine," Sayaka responded. "I was in the middle of something important before I got dragged here."

Leon rolled his eyes. 'This is going to be rough.'

"Look, this wasn't my idea, ok?" Leon responded. "I'm just here because Tenko asked me to. And you know, not getting thrown to the ground made it easier to agree with."

"And this is supposed to make me forgive you?" Sayaka asked sarcastically. "Fine. You win. I tricked you. I tricked Makoto. I'm awful and you don't feel bad for killing me. Happy?"

Leon groaned and ran his hands through his hair, nearly tempted to just rip it all out from his scalp. Leon glanced over at Tenko, noticing the Aikido master frowning, disappointed her plan was backfiring immediately. Leon looked back at Sayaka, ready to fix this mess.

"Look," the baseball player spoke up, "if you just…listen to me this one time, that's it. You don't ever have to see me again, you don't gotta forgive me, you can hate me or whatever. Just listen to how I remember it, ok? And this isn't even about me. Your friend wanted it. Got it?"

Despite Leon's best attempt at alleviating the tension between them, Sayaka's eye was still twitching with hatred for the boy. However, the mention of Tenko made Sayaka take pause. She'd glance over at her, seeing that she was frowning and almost hidden behind the side of the door. Clearly the pop idol's anger was frightening her. With the knowledge of how she was acting, Sayaka looked back at Leon.

"You got five minutes," she said."

Leon nodded. "OK. So, do you remember what happened after I hit you with that fake sword thing?"

"I ran into the bathroom then you broke in a stabbed me."

Leon raised an eyebrow. "Is that really all you remember? You don't remember talking all crazy in the bathroom for like five minutes?"

Sayaka shook her head.

Leon leaned closer to Sayaka. "You were saying stuff like you couldn't take it anymore and never getting out."

Sayaka's eyes widened. "I…I did?"

"Yeah. I thought you were going to kill yourself or something."

'Kill…myself?' Sayaka thought. 'I'd…I'd never…kill myself? Kill myself'

Sayaka's breathing became more frantic. Her hands shook and cold sweats began to trail her face and spine. It wasn't real. She couldn't remember it at all. But why did it sound real?

….

"STAY BACK!" she shrieked as she shoved him away. She grabbed the knife with her left hand and retreated into the bathroom. Leon attempted to go after her, but she shut the door behind her. As much as he tried to open it, it wouldn't budge.

"Sayaka, come out!" Leon banged on the door. "Let me talk to you."

"No! You're just going to kill me!"

"No, I'm not! I'm sorry, okay?!"

"GO AWAY! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!"

"Shit!" Leon walked away from the door. "Sayaka, just come out. Please. Listen." Leon tossed away the prop sword. "I don't have the sword anymore, okay? I'm not going to hurt you."

Sayaka refused to speak. She hugged her shaking body. She rocked back and forth, panting heavily. She knew this was the end. Either from Leon breaking in or later when she has to confront her classmates. Monokuma was right. She would never feel the warmth of the spotlight or perform with her friends or see her father again.

"I'm never getting out," Sayaka began to mutter to herself. "I'm never going to see them again. I'm stuck. I'm stuck! I'M STUCK!"

Sayaka looked down at the knife she held in her hand. Tears poured down as she knew the only decision she had left. "I…I can't take it anymore!"

"You what?" Leon's voice could just barely be heard through the cracks of the door. "Yo, hold on, Sayaka! Don't do anything crazy!"

Sayaka's whimpering nearly drowned out the sound of the doorknob rattling. "Just go away…Please."

"Sayaka, just wait a sec!" Leon shouted, but strangely enough, the doorknob stopped rattling.

Sayaka didn't care. It was far too late for her to go back. No one could save her. She held her breath and raised the knife up to her neck. She knew it would hurt, but it needed to be done.

"I…I'm sorry…" Sayaka muttered.

Before Sayaka could go through her drastic act, the doorknob began to rattle again. Sayaka's eyes widened in terror.

"Hang on, Sayaka," Leon shouted, "I'm coming in!"

Sayaka stepped back and leaned against the wall, "No! Go away! Go away, go away, go away!"

"Just calm down and let me talk to you," Leon said before the door finally opened up. Sayaka was face to face with the redhead.

"I said stay back!" Sayaka waved the knife out in front of her.

Leon groaned and grabbed Sayaka's wrists. Sayaka whined in pain and tried to jerk away from him, but he wouldn't let go.

"Give me the knife, Sayaka!"

"I said let go!"

"If you just let go of the knife we can talk!"

"I SAID LET GO!"

"Calm down, Sayaka. I'm not going to kill you."

Life chose to be cruel that moment. In his attempt to take the knife away from Sayaka, the baseball player fumbled and ended up stabbing the poor girl in the chest. Both of them backed away from one another, just staring at the bloody knife penetrating her chest.

….

"I didn't mean to stab you," Leon said with a wobbly tone.

Turns out, Leon had been recounting the tale as the darkest memories of that event were unrepressed.

"I just wanted you to let go of the knife," Leon explained. "I just…after that, what else could have I done? I didn't know about the class trial either or…"

Leon stopped talking when he noticed how Sayaka practically turned catatonic in her seat.

"I…shouldn't have, but I took the chance to get out," Leon said. "I'm sorry…"

Another period of silence occurred in the cafeteria before Sayaka made a response. However, it wasn't words or a sudden act of violence. Instead, Sayaka wept openly. She'd attempt to wipe the tears away with her arms, but all that resulted in was both of her arms becoming soaked. Every attempt she'd make to stop her sobbing and breathe only resulted in some coughing and her cries to become louder. Tenko rushed into the room to join her friend's side.

"I-i-it's…it's all my fault," Sayaka cried. "IT'S ALL MY FAULT!"

Tenko wrapped her arms around Sayaka, keeping her grip light, but also keeping the crying idol close.

"I-I could've…I could've stopped…If I just stopped, I'd…we'd…Why couldn't I just listen?!"
Tenko lightly petted Sayaka's hair. "Sayaka, it's not your fault."

"IT IS!" Sayaka yelled. "I RUINED EVERYTHING! W-W-WE'D STILL BE ALIVE! I-I COULD'VE STILL BEEN WITH MAKOTO! I'D BE WITH MY FRIENDS BY NOW!"

Tenko continued to shush Sayaka, soothing her like a mother would comfort their crying child. This left Leon in a rather awkward position. The girl that he had killed, the girl that had gotten him killed, was crying her heart out expressing her regrets. Leon rubbed the back of his head. Watching someone cry is something most rational people would be uncomfortable with, no matter who the girl was. Leon shuffled awkwardly in his as he watched and watched and watched. After a minute or so, Leon let out a groan and rose from his seat. He circled around the table and placed his hand on Sayaka's shoulder.

Sayaka briefly lifted her head up to see Leon was with her. He wasn't doing a particularly good job at comforting her. His grip with rough and he was avoiding her gaze. He was clearly uncomfortable being with Sayaka. However, this one act of empathy…It was enough.

"YAAAAAAAAAWN!" Monokuma spoke into the intercom. "Wanna know why I'm sleepy? Is it because watching you guys is so boring? Well, yes. But! It's also 10 pm. So, all the food and water has been cut off until morning. So, do what I'm about to do and just go to sleep."

Not quite as long a wait as last time, but it still took longer than I hoped. Sayaka and Leon are finally burying the hatchet. Kokichi may finally get out of his losing streak. And more possible factions.

I can't help but worry that my writing prose has devolved since the first chapters of the tale, and I'm even starting to worry my dialogue has gotten worse too. I'm a bit iffy on how I wrote Sayaka's crying scene. I'm not sure if it felt natural. Let me know what you guys think. Also, if you guys spot any spelling/grammar mistakes, please tell me.

I also tried to give more spotlight to Gonta and Ryoma and a lil bit of Teruteru and Keebo. Gonta is the hardest character to write personally. I really wanted to do more than just dumb big guy. That he had in fact learned from his last mistake. Keebo I feel really bad about leaving him so out of focus since he woke up. I'll figure something out for him. Trust me.

As always, thank you for your patience and comments. I know things are a bit chaotic and scary. I'm a bit scared too, but things like fiction are good for taking the edge off life. Take care.