After the whole ordeal in the library, TK decided to look for Toko. He wanted to make sure that she wouldn't do anything drastic and let her know that everyone cared about her. He didn't want her to think that everyone was against her or that her life was in danger every time she got out of bed in the morning.

He assumed that she couldn't have gotten far and even if she did there weren't that many places to hide. He first checked all the rooms on the second floor and moved to the first floor when he saw she wasn't in any of them. He decided to check her dorm room first because it was one of the more apparent places she would be.

"Toko, are you in there?" TK knocked on her door and rang her bell in hopes that she would respond. No one opened the door but he did hear some muffled movement beyond the door, confirming that someone was in there. He then started to bombard whoever was in the room with constant door knocks and bell ringing until someone opened the door.

"WHAT!" A red-faced Toko emerged from her room.

"Hey Toko, I was just checking to see if you were ok," TK said with an awkward chuckle. Toko's anger changed from anger to a more downtrodden look.

"Fine… not like you'd care," she muttered as she started to close her door. Seeing this, TK quickly stuck his foot in the door to prevent her from closing it.

"Oh don't be like that. Since we're all trapped here we should at least try to be friends."

That got a reaction out of her, but not the one he entirely expected. She did appear to be shocked when he brought up the prospect of being friends but it was soon replaced by a mask of anger.

"What'd you just say? Friends?"

"Uh, yeah?"

Toko scoffed.

"Whaddya mean, f-friends!? You think I'm s-stupid? You're trying to trick me!" Toko seethed. "I've already been h-hurt once before… I'm not gonna l-let it happen again…!"

TK stayed quiet and gave her a concerned look. He gave Toko some time to calm down and show that he wasn't there to mess with her, but one thought ran through his head.

'What happened to you?'

Toko sighed as most of her anger began to dissipate, but she still had a scowl etched on her face.

"Y-You don't really care about m-me. You don't want to kn-know me! Even I know that…!" Toko grumbled.

"That's not true! I would love to know more about you!"

"Fine. Then tell me…" Toko demanded.

"Tell you what?"

"You know why they c-call me the Ultimate Writing Prodigy, right?"

"Because of all the awards you won, right?"

"Then tell me wh-what I'm good at. Tell m-me what my genre specialty is!" Toko asked brusquely. "If you r-really wanna convince me you give a crap, you should at least kn-know that…!"

It didn't take long for TK to figure it out.

"It's romance."

"Oh… you a-actually knew?" Toko said, shocked that he knew the answer.

"Well, yeah, your biggest success was 'So Lingers the Ocean' and everyone calls it your masterpiece. It shot fishermen to the top of every 'Hottest Men' polls. Hehe, I still remember my friend Mimi taking a Summer job on a pier to get closer to one."

"How did y-you know all that…? There's no way you c-care about me…!" Toko took a few defensive steps back into her room.

"Because we're friends."

That seemed to short-circuit her brain because the only words that were coming from her mouth sounded like a jumbled mess. TK tried to take a step forward and comfort her but she slammed her dorm room door in his face before he got too close. He could hear her screaming like a banshee behind it.

"I don't know if I made her hate me or not?"

Deciding not to dwell on it, and to give Toko some space, TK walked away from the dorm rooms and made his way to the gym. He promised Hina that he would workout with her and Sakura today and he was kinda looking forward to it. Though he is a little worried about what kind of exercises Sakura would make him do.

He made it to the trophy room and saw Mondo leaving the gym.

"Hey, Takeru! What's your ride?" Mondo asked when he saw the blond boy. TK stopped in his tracks, unsure about what the biker was asking.

"My what?"

"You know, your hog! Your chopper! Your motorcycle!"

"Oh… I don't ride one," TK admitted and Mondo looked displeased.

"What!? You're not a little kid anymore, right? And you still don't have a hog!? God, you're such a fuckin' dweeb!"

"Sorry?" TK said, unsure if he should feel offended over what Mondo called him.

"Alright man, I'm gonna educate ya! A real man rides Kawasaki, okay? That's what I ride. You oughta see it, man. The v-twin's got that monster power, it's like your dancin'. Course, it ain't just for anyone. You gotta have the skill to handle it!"

Modo looked proud as he described his bike. It was the first time TK saw him convey an emotion that wasn't anger or extreme annoyance.

"You must really love your motorcycle…"

"Hell yeah I do! I'm a goddamn biker, ain't I? We're crazy as hell!"

"Makes sense, you're the leader of the biggest biker gang in Japan."

"Damn straight! The invincible Crazy Diamond gang!" Mondo proudly exclaimed. "You wanna come on a ride with us? The monster sound comin' outta that straight pipe… Hot damn!"

"Straight pipe?"

"Come on, you gotta know what a straight pipe is, right?"

TK didn't know what a straight pipe was, but he assumed that it had something to do with motorcycles. He used the context clues that Mondo gave him to come up with his answer.

"Is it when a motorcycle doesn't have a muffler?"

"So you did know. Good! Then that's that! Next time we ride, you ride with us!" TK released a breath that he didn't that he was holding when Mondo told him that. Mondo then sighed and held a remorseful look on his face. "Man, that makes me think back to when I first started riding. My big bro used to ride too, ya know. His name's Daiya. Daiya and Mondo—together we were the Diamond Brothers! Everyone up and down the country knew us! Course, I was always the cool one…"

Mondo let out a soft chuckle as he remembered the times he rode with his brother.

"The first time I went out, I ended up at the back of the pack. Eventually the cops got on us, and they surrounded me. I was in some tough shit, man! So I pulled over, but when they came up to me…" Mondo slammed his fist into his palm with a sadistic grin. "Well, let's just say it was a massacre."

"Jeez, man. You must be really strong."

"Of course! You can't wave the banner of our gang without that kinda strength! In a fight, they'll go for the leader first. Kill the leader of the pack, ya know? That's why other gangs come after me. So if you wanna be the leader of the pack, you gotta be a tough motherfucker!" Mondo informed the blond boy. "You'll see what I mean when we go on our first ride. Get ready for it!"

"I think I'm good. Besides, I don't have a motorcycle."

"Then you can ride with me!" Mondo graciously offered.

'Didn't you just say that other gangs target you!'

"Oh, no, you don't have to do that. I wouldn't really fit in with your gang," TK said, hoping that the biker would take the hint.

"A leather jacket and maybe a streak in your hair you'll fit right in!" Mondo said, not taking the obvious hint in front of him. "Damn, I am pumped! I can't wait to get outta here now!"

Mondo left in a better mood than he was a few minutes ago.

"I wanna tell him that I don't want to ride, but I'm worried about what he'll do to me if I do," TK said to himself.

Shaking away the bad thoughts and getting back on track, TK walked into the gym and saw Sakura doing stretches in the middle of the room. He didn't see Hina anywhere so he assumed she was running a little late and will show up later.

"I'm here, Sakura!" TK called out and took a spot next to her and started stretching.

"Hello, Takeru. Hina told me that she had to do something first and that she'll be here in a few minutes."

"That's fine, we'll just start without her."

After finishing her stretches, Sakura started running from one end of the gym to the other. She was running so fast that TK thought that if she ran into him she would send him flying through a wall.

"So, do you workout every day?" TK asked. He finished his stretches and started doing the same exercise that Sakura was doing but since she was moving so fast she overlapped him three times before he finished one set.

"Unless there are errands that I absolutely can't get out of, yes, I always do my training. If I don't, I feel restless for the rest of the day."

"That's amazing, but doesn't it get tough doing it every day? My legs always ache after practice, so I can't imagine how your body feels."

"I can't say I've ever seen it as tough. It's all so that I can get stronger, after all…" Sakura stopped running and found a spot in the gym to do some push-ups. "And I have to keep on getting stronger because my destiny is to fight."

"That's your destiny?"

"From the day I was born, I've been fighting. Heaven sent me to live as its champion."

TK finished running and found his own spot in the gym to do some crunches. As he was working out he couldn't help but have this sense of wonder about the legend that Sakura was.

"My father was my master, and my every waking moment was spent with him learning to fight. As a child, I sparred with boxing champions and hit the mat with wrestling gold medalists. I was no match for them when I first began, of course…" Sakura finished her push-ups and got into a fighting stance before she started jabbing at the air. "But before long, they were no match for me."

"So you started training from the moment you were born and you were able to beat champions and gold medalists when you were a kid!?" TK had to stop his workout just to admire how much work Sakura put in just to be where she was now.

"I'd say my specialty is solid stand-up that transitions into grappling and a strong ground game. Essentially, it's a complete approach. Anything else just wouldn't make sense. You can only become the best by reaching the top of each discipline, then fusing them all together."

"So you're a mixed martial artist."

"That's right. It's the most effective real-world fighting style, which is why I chose it. I don't want to just be the best in competitions. I want to be the strongest human on Earth."

"But, aren't you already the strongest?"

"No, not yet. There's still someone I have to surpass…" Sakura's jabs started to slow down. "Until I can beat him, I'll never become the strongest…"

"Wait, there's someone stronger than you!?"

Sakura stopped her jabs and had a saddened look on her face. TK felt like he overstepped her boundaries and was about to apologize but Sakura gave him a tranquil look.

"Maybe I'll tell you about it another time if the opportunity presents itself."

There was a deafening silence between the two. Neither of them went back to their exercises and TK was ready to leave when the gym door opened.

"Sorry, I'm late! I just had to do something really quick," Hina said apologetically as she ran into the room. Her hair wasn't in her signature ponytail and it was noticeably wet.

"You went swimming didn't you?" TK quickly deduced.

"Yes, but can you blame me? It's been so long since I've been in a pool I couldn't help myself," Hina said sheepishly.

"It's fine, we just started so you didn't miss much."

"Good, because I've been looking forward to this all day!"

After that, the trio went on to do their workout with no problems, though TK still felt bad for bringing up a sensitive topic with Sakura. He'll have to make sure to apologize to her when he has the chance.


TK slowly made his way to the dining hall for the breakfast meeting. He was still feeling a little sore from yesterday's workout, but it was nothing that a good breakfast wouldn't fix. He walked into the room and took his seat at the big table. After he did that, Taka stood up and did a quick scan of the room.

"Is this… everyone? It feels a little… small," Taka said hesitantly. TK quickly looked around the room and realized it was less crowded than it was days prior. "Even the table looks bigger, somehow."

"I assume that is because three people are dead, and two are abstaining," Celeste nonchalantly stated. Hifumi slowly brought over her milk tea and unlike yesterday, Celeste drank the beverage instead of throwing it against the wall.

"With five people missing it makes sense that the room feels a little empty," TK said sadly. He wishes that he could go back and prevent Sayaka from doing what she did, but he can't. So, right now, all he can do is keep everyone together and prevent any murders from happening.

"Still… I know Byakuya's whatever, but shouldn't we go check on Toko?" Hina asked worriedly.

"I talked to her yesterday and she was still pretty freaked out with everything that's going on. We should probably give her some space and let her come to us when she's ready," TK told her.

"She can take all the time she needs. She's super annoying and I'm enjoying not having to hear her whining," Hiro coldly added.

"How can you be so cold? You are like a piece of rock candy," Celeste giggled from her joke.

"What!? No, rock candy isn't cold! It's sweet!" Taka proudly exclaimed, Celeste's joke completely flying over his head. The room went silent as everyone stared at Taka, as the boy in question was confused as to why no one was talking.

"...Anyway, Byakuya's the real problem," Mondo spoke up to get the conversation back on track. "If we don't keep an eye on him, he might really kill someone. You can see it in his eyes… We got no choice! Get some rope! We're gonna haft keep him bound and gagged!"

"I think you might be going a little overboard…" TK commented and he saw that some of the others agreed with him.

"He's right! In this situation, there's nothing scarier than when an ally turns loose cannon! It's just like when we were kids, and someone would go crazy at sports day or whatever!" Taka explained.

"What the fuck are you talking about!?" Mondo confusedly exclaimed. "You gonna use the rope to do tug of war or something!? Idiot!"

"I'm not an idiot…! YOU'RE an idiot!" Taka exclaimed while pointing accusingly at Mondo.

"Who are you callin' stupid!?" Mondo growled and got in Taka's face while Sakura quickly jumped in between the two before things got physical. As this was going on, TK noticed that Chihiro was tearing up.

"What got you so upset, Chihiro? Is it the yelling?" TK asked and Chihiro shook her head.

"No, I'm just going through a little… self-loathing."

"Why?"

"Well, after what Byakuya said to me yesterday… I just got so nervous, I locked up. I couldn't say anything," Chihiro explained while wiping away a tear. "Mondo ended up having to help me out. And even he said I was someone who 'can't fight back'... I… I hate how weak I am."

"Ahh, I see. So Mondo made you depressed," Hina spoke up after listening in on their conversation. Mondo looked over at Hina when he heard his name.

"What!? How's it my fault!? I wasn't tryin' to be mean! Besides, girls are just naturally weak anyway right!?" Mondo screamed which made Chihiro cry. "A-Are you… crying…?"

"It's cuz you were screaming like a lunatic!" Hina spoke as Chihiro continued to cry with some small hiccups as she tried to breathe.

"Hey, c'mon, don't cry… I-It's my fault, okay? I won't yell at you anymore…" Mondo said in a soft, soothing voice.

"Really? Not sure I can believe that…" Hina said doubtfully.

"J-Just shut up…" Mondo told her. Hina was about to argue with the biker, but TK put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a look that said "Stop talking." She listened as the two turned back to the biker who appeared to have an idea. "...I got it! I'll make you a promise as a man!"

"Promise… as a man?" Chihiro slowly repeated.

"Maybe I mentioned this before, but ever since I was a kid, there was one thing my brother told me over and over again. He said that no matter what, a real man ALWAYS keeps his promises. That's what he left me," Mondo finished solemnly.

"Left you…?" Hifumi spoke up.

"Oh, yeah… My brother's dead," Mondo said with his head down. The air in the room grew thick as everyone stared sympathetically at Mondo.

"Oh…" TK spoke up. When Mondo told him about his brother yesterday, TK got the sense that he was hiding something but he didn't think it was to this level.

"Anyway, I don't wanna talk about it. Don't wanna make all you guys cry!" Mondo said, putting back on his tough guy persona. "Anyway, so you can trust me when I make that promise. So you don't gotta cry anymore!"

"O-Okay," Chihiro said while wiping away the rest of her tears. She then beamed up at him which caused him to blush a little. "Thank you… Mondo."

"S-Sure…"

"But… I still don't like how I am right now. I have to get stronger…" Chihiro said with a new set of tears forming in her eyes. "If I'm so weak anything can make me cry… that's not good."

"Don't stress too much about getting stronger. Strength doesn't always lead to courage," TK told her, but she shook her head.

"No… I want to get stronger. Maybe I should… start working out…"

"In that case, I would be happy to help out anytime," Sakura offered.

"B-But then Miss Fujisaki would get smashed into a billion pieces!" Hifumi shrieked.

"Shut up, you," Hina growled and TK quickly got in front of her just in case she tried something. As this was happening, Chihiro chuckled which warmed the hearts of everyone in the room.

"Ohh, finally cracked a smile, huh?" Hiro pointed out, which made Chihiro smile even brighter.

"Y-Yeah… Everyone… thank you," Chihiro said and everyone smiled at her.

'This is good. If we continue to help each other then I know we'll get out of here in no time. But still, we need to get Toko and Byakuya on the same page and work with us. Hopefully, I can get them to work with us.'