After breakfast, TK headed for his room to freshen up. He planned to search the second floor more thoroughly today after only searching the pool and library when the floor was opened to them. He was slightly kicking himself about it but after the whole ordeal with Byakuya and Toko, plus the plans he made with Hina and Sakura, he didn't have the time to do it until today. He only had to search a few classrooms so it wouldn't take him long which would give him the chance to apologize to Sakura.
She didn't seem too upset during breakfast but she also didn't talk much either. He was planning on doing it after breakfast but she managed to slip away which told him that she wanted some space or that she didn't want to talk to him yet. He understood why she was doing it, if someone brought up something personal about his life he wouldn't want to talk to them, but he wished that she gave him a chance to make amends.
Deciding that it would be better to stress about Sakura later, TK reached his room. Before he was able to walk in and freshen up Celeste called out to him.
"Takeru, before you go off and do whatever you do I would like to share something with you."
"Why?"
"I've noticed that you've never really talked to me yet. It almost seems like you go out of your way to avoid me," Celeste said and TK gave her an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry, I've just been busy with stuff."
"And does this 'stuff' have to deal with a certain swimmer girl?" Celeste said and TK's cheeks turned red. "I must say, Takeru, your poker face is pretty terrible."
"It's not like that! We're just good friends," TK quickly corrected her but Celeste didn't care as she twirled one of her pigtails.
"Whatever you say, but I am offended that you haven't talked with me yet."
"I'm sorry, it's just that I have a hard time trusting someone who has the moniker 'Queen of Liars'," TK admitted. He expected Celeste to be offended by what he said but instead, she had a small smile as if she was proud of what he said. It was a little terrifying.
"So all it would take for you to trust me is if I'm more honest with you?"
"I-I guess."
"OK, then I'll tell you my perfect gambling strategy."
"Oh, you don't have to tell me that. I don't gamble so you'll just be wasting your time. We could start off with something small like what's your favorite food or animal," TK suggested but Celeste shook her head.
"No, if I want you to trust me then I'll have to tell you something big. So listen closely because I'm only telling you this once," TK hesitantly nodded his head as Celeste cleared her throat. "Whatever the game, you must have a mind for strategy. This will allow you to increase your odds of winning. However, the exciting part about gambling is that there is a power which can overwhelm any strategy."
"And that is…?"
"The power of luck."
"Luck!?" TK repeated. He assumed that she was going to tell him how she reads her opponent's body language to inform her what their next move was. He never gambled before but he has played a few card games with his friends before and that's what he did to win. Davis was the easiest to read because he always had an obvious smirk whenever he had a good hand.
"There are only two types of luck—good and bad. There is no in-between. And that luck is built into every human at the moment of conception. Like a computer program," she explained and TK slightly understood what she was saying. "Some call it fate. The bottom line is, luck is life. Do you see what I am saying?"
"So that's it, your 'perfect strategy' is luck?"
"Correct. You see, I was programmed to have good luck when it comes to gambling. This is why I have never lost," she then hummed to herself as she looked over TK. "You are the Ultimate Lucky Student, yes? Does this perhaps exceed my own luck…?"
"I highly doubt it," TK said but it appeared that Celeste had an idea.
"Why don't we find out then? How about we play a game of mahjong and see if your luck surpasses mine."
"That sounds like fun, but I don't know how to play," TK told her. It also wasn't because he didn't know how to play, but because of all the horror stories he's read about her on the forums he didn't want to face her in any games, especially ones that could be gambled on.
"Such a pity. I was looking forward to testing out my hypothesis."
"Well, are you any good at it?" TK asked.
"Good? No, I am not merely good. I once played a game of Russian roulette mahjong and won," Celeste revealed which made TK's eyes bulge out of his head.
'This girl's crazy!'
"It was a truly fierce contest, put on by a half-insane billionaire in the basement of his mansion. My opponents were a fierce old man and a silver-haired boy who was said to have the devil's own luck. We played with a modified rule set. I remember well the glass tiles we used…" Celeste let out a nostalgic sigh as if she were reminiscing a fond memory.
"And you won…?" TK said in utter disbelief.
"I defeated them both at once. I will never forget the angry, twisted looks on their faces. The crowd that been invited to watch became positively riotous. Nobody could believe I had won. That is one of my fonder memories…" Celeste gave another nostalgic sigh before chuckling to herself. "Well then, I hope you have a wonderful day."
Celeste walked off, leaving TK speechless. He will admit that he trusts Celeste a little bit after what she told him, but he was also a little scared of her.
TK finished searching the classroom that was closest to the stairwell. It was a copy of the classroom he woke up in. The windows were bolted shut and he couldn't find any secrets that could lead to an escape or the identity of the mastermind.
Sighing to himself, TK made his way to the other side of the floor where the second classroom is. On his way over he saw Taka standing in the hallway. He gave the moral compass a polite wave.
"Hello, Takeru, what are you doing?"
"I'm searching the two classrooms up here to see if we missed anything. Do you want to help?"
"Sure! It'll also give me a chance to admire the fine classroom that makes up this prestigious school!" Taka exclaimed and TK rolled his eyes at his antics.
The two searched the room, and just like the previous classrooms the windows were bolted shut. Taka, more or less, admired the design of the room and the craftsmanship of the desks while TK looked for any secrets. He felt inside every desk for any secret buttons, levers, or notes but came up empty. He then looked under every desk for any secret messages left behind by any former students or teachers and again, found nothing.
"What are you doing?" Taka asked, curious about why his classmate was crawling around the floor.
"Looking for anything that could open up a secret passageway or any information about the mastermind."
"And you think Hope's Peak would have any of that?"
"It's an old school with a long history, I'm sure it must have some secrets. Besides, a secret hatch or hallway wouldn't be the weirdest thing we've seen," TK answered. Taka nodded and decided to help the blond look for any secrets. They found nothing, but the search went faster with Taka's help.
"Well, that was a bust," TK said while rubbing the dust and dirt off his clothes.
"I wouldn't say that. At least we know this room isn't hiding any secrets."
"I guess you're right," TK said. He was about to leave to go wash his clothes and take a bath but Taka stopped him.
"Hey, Takeru! As long as we're talking, let's REALLY talk, whaddya say!?"
"Eh, why not?"
"Excellent! Then let's get down to brass tacks and find out where we stand on all the big issues! So, what should we discuss? Politics? The economy? International affairs!?" As Taka listed off topics, TK felt his head spin.
"Slow down, let's start off with normal topics before we dive head-first into heavy discussions," TK interrupted him and Taka had a puzzled look etched on his face.
"What do you mean by 'normal topics'?"
"You know… what do you do in your spare time?"
"Study, of course! I'm a student, aren't I? A student must be a studying professional! And of course, my duties as the chairperson of the morals committee keep me quite busy, as well! It's my duty to foster an environment in which we can all focus our studies!" Taka proudly exclaimed and TK gave him a concerned look.
"And what do you do to kill time?"
"I study of course!"
"I… see…" TK slowly said. 'I feel bad for him. It's not bad to study but it sounds like he's addicted to it. If he spends his whole childhood studying, he'll regret it later in life when he's too busy with work to have fun.'
Taka's hearty laugh broke TK out of his thoughts and he saw the moral compass was enjoying himself.
"This is fun! Okay, my turn. Takeru! What do you do in your spare time?"
"I watch tv and play basketball."
"Huh? And this helps you study…how?"
"It doesn't. It's something I do just for fun."
"But doing things 'just for fun' serves no purpose! There must be more to it…" Taka said in disbelief. "You wouldn't spend your valuable time doing something useless, would you!?"
TK was offended that Taka called his hobbies useless but he couldn't blame him. He was programmed to put studying and school above everything else, so he couldn't be upset that he saw his hobbies as useless. He just needed to explain that they weren't useless and teach him that it's alright to do stuff outside of studying.
"It gives you something to talk about with friends."
"Something to talk about…?"
"You know, like if you see something awesome on tv or if you do something cool on the basketball court you could tell your friends about it. I remember my friend Yolie talking my friend Kari's ear off about some drama she saw and how my friend Davis wouldn't stop talking about doing a bicycle kick in a game," TK explained and he heard Taka stumble over his words.
"I once was blind, but now I see!" Taka screamed out when he found his words.
"Calm down!"
"That kind of thing has plagued me for years. I've tried making friends, but whenever I would make conversation, it would die after a few minutes. And now… I've finally found the answer. I need to study more TV shows, more sports, and even some video games!" Taka proudly exclaimed, completely missing TK's point.
"You don't study that stuff, you enjoy it," TK tried to correct him but he only caused Taka to yell at himself.
"I'm so ashamed of myself! If there was a hole somewhere around here, I'd totally go hide in it! I let it get to me, I wasted all that time…" Taka screamed as tears ran down his face. "I never saw the blind spot in my studies! I'm a complete embarrassment! I'm not qualified to even be on the morals committee, let alone lead it!"
"I think you're overreacting…"
"Thank you, Professor Takeru!" Taka shot up, wiped away his tears, and smiled.
"Professor?"
"You've taught me a most valuable lesson! You've earned my respect and the title of professor!"
"I didn't teach you anything," TK told him and Taka responded with another hearty laugh
"There's no need to be modest, Professor! I can't wait for your next lesson! And until then, I will strive to learn as much as I can on my own! Well then, Professor—by your leave!" Taka gave TK a courteous bow before running off.
TK stood in the middle of the classroom, dumbfounded by what just transpired.
"I guess that's a thing now. Professor Takeru," TK said to himself before cringing. "Nope, don't like it."
TK opened the door to leave and jumped back in shock when he saw Kyoko emotionlessly standing behind it.
"Woah, Kyoko, you scared me," he told her. She didn't respond, instead choosing to scan him before scanning the room behind him. "Were you gonna search here? I already did it with Taka and we found nothing."
Again, Kyoko didn't respond, choosing to blankly stare at TK. He chuckled to rid them of the awkward silence that was forming but it only made things worse as he felt Kyoko stare into his soul. He couldn't move as if his feet were sewn into the floor as Kyoko's stare continued to bore into him.
"Are you scared, Takeru?" Kyoko broke her silence, causing TK to choke on his words. He tried to respond but all he managed to get out was bated breath. "Being trapped in a place like this…"
"Who wouldn't be…?" TK said after finding his voice. "Being trapped in a school where you have to get away with murder is one of the scariest places to be."
"That's good."
"Huh?"
"Fear is proof that your imagination is still functioning. Frankly, I feel bad for anyone who can't feel fear," Kyoko explained while moving some of her hair out of her eyes. "Without imagination, you can never deduce what action to take next."
"And what about you? You don't look scared at all."
"I'm scared too, of course. I simply hide my emotions. There's no advantage to be gained from letting others see how you feel."
"You hide them?"
"What I mean is, I'm not as foolishly open as you are," Kyoko said bluntly and TK felt like he'd been punched in the gut. "Also, the 'fear' I experience is a little different from yours, I imagine."
"Like we have different phobias?" TK asked and Kyoko shook her head.
"You're afraid of what you might lose, but I'm afraid of what I've already lost."
"I don't understand."
"I know," Kyoko turned and walked away, not bothering to answer any follow-up questions that he had. "Goodbye."
TK stood in the doorway as questions flooded his mind. Kyoko has been a mystery since the moment they met. He thought the more they talk the more he'll understand her, but it was the exact opposite. She has left him with nothing but questions and the few answers he got from her were buried under more questions.
"Who exactly are you, Kyoko Kirigir?"
