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Chapter Text

Her eyes opened shaking, her hands were in a praying form, her body was attached in a wooden column with a rope, her face was sweating in fear but her mouth was in a simple smile like if something wasn't happening around her and everything it's fine, but no.

A stage started to illuminate, it seems that she was in front of a crowd of those psycho bears, with an attempt of a castle behind her, surrounded by columns of stone with a creepy figure of a bunny on top of them. 

All of this seems to be a super expensive and elaborated play of the XV century but no, this was something else, this was going to be her execution, this was going to be the end of her days, the end of her lies and the end of her fantasy dreams. And all for something that she didn't do.

This was 'The Burning of the Versailles Witch'.

A Monokuma with a costume of an executioner set on fire the hay under herself, the flames started to grow fast enough to cover all her surroundings, approaching threateningly, starting to burn her alive.

The fire started to burn her legs, it was painful as hell, she needed to scream, to cursed everyone, to escape from that place but she can't, she wanted to hold her facade until the end of her life even if in the class trial she loses it, all for the sake of her lies.

The flames reached her waist, the pain of her legs was no more there or maybe she adapted to it really fast, after all in the game of surviving nor strongest nor smartest are the ones with the advantage rather those most willing are the ones able to adapt, right?

Her skirt was in flames soon her face was going to be too. She stared at the ceiling that was covered with smoke, her face was dripping sweat and tears that she couldn't manage to hide in her mask. Tightening up her hands she mentally started to prayed, she didn't have any religious belief but now if some god was there outside watching her she'll pray in order to get save from this torture.

As if her prayers were heard by the divine force, the rope that was attached in her body burned down letting her free.

Celeste's eyes widened at the moment when the rope fell into the floor, she separated her hands, she was free! No, not yet she needed to get off this freaking play now, inside herself she knew that in a matter of seconds something else is about to happen and it would be the 'coup de grace' for her.

Her being was filled with the adrenaline generated by a bit of hope that that rope gave her. The gambler tried to move her legs but her heels were glued in the stage, they had melted. She managed to unclasp them and set her legs free. The pain was no more invading herself even if she was around a living hell that was covering parts of herself, she wasn't in pain.

Celeste unclipped her twin-drills, they were almost burned at all, with them she took off her black jacket and landed it on the floor next to the heels. She took off all of those things because if she let them stay with her it's going to be more difficult to turn off the flames in her body later also she will appear like a running torch and Monokuma would probably notice that. Even in a chaos Celeste was capable of thinking about a plan with pros and cons without hesitating.

Some of the scenario pieces started to fall down, lightening up on fire. She needs to get out of there now . Celeste with her sight spotted a kind of exit from the stage so she started to run to it crossing the fire while covering her face with her arms. Without her heels she could feel some pieces of stone and hay nailing into her legs and feet letting blood appear, but at this moment she didn't care about it.

At the moment when Celeste was out of the stage, she hid behind a type of curtain waiting for everything to finish and turning off some flames of her clothes. Suddenly a loud noise made the way into the gambler's ears, it was a siren. Her sight turned into the direction of the sound, a fire truck was approaching extremely fast and crashed in the same place that she was seconds ago.

Her mouth was opened in surprise, if she was there that freaking truck had crushed her into death. A hand covered her mouth while looking at the scenario, she was very lucky.

The burning stage now was off. Monokuma left the 'punishment' room and closed the door letting her into the room alive .

Celeste let out a relief sigh and fell on her knees. The adrenaline rush left her body, now everything hurts. She covered her mouth with her hand, she felt nauseous, she was about to vomit and that happened accompanied with coughs and tears. The smoke that entered in her body, the fear and the pain was causing that. It wasn't common for her feeling in that way, she always was an elegant, gorgeous with no flaws or emotions gambler that always keep her composure in every situation, but that was a lie. She lost that great composure in the trial, and now she was crying and throwing up in the floor of a torture room. But she was alive, she survived her execution while none of her classmates had done it, nor Leon nor Mondo, not even Junko. Maybe her prayers were heard or maybe her gambling luck acted in a different way. After all she didn't deserve the death, and no, it wasn't because she was superior to anyone else, no no, it was a fact that she didn't have to die being crushed by the truck or burned alive.

After some minutes Celeste stopped throwing up and wiped her tears off, she needed to get out of this room. She knew that the classroom trial hasn't finished, her classmates maybe still talking in the room mourning her death like the others or simply yelling at Monokuma and Makoto making one of his silly speeches about how anyone is going to continue the killing game, so she was going to seize that time that her classmates unconsciously generate for her.

She took the curtain with her hands and pulled in order to help herself to stand up on her injured legs. The gambler gritted her teeth for the pain, some tears passed from her cheeks but she didn't care, she need to find a passage or something to get out of this room, she can't just walk to the principal door and use it, it would be a suicide.

Celeste managed to walk without leaning on something. Every step was painful, she was still dripping blood from her legs but at this moment she doesn't need to focus on that.

Few moments passed and she found a door. It was the only one in the room besides the principal, it should be an exit. Celeste passed across the door and she found a long ladder. Of course she was almost underground, she forgot about the elevator and stuff that happened before they got into a trial.

Cursing herself and everyone in that goddam place she started to climb the ladder. Those moments while climbing were the suffering personified. Even the idea of throwing herself all the way down to the ladder and died passed across the gambler's mind, but those were just thoughts.

Agony moments passed for Celeste until she reached the top. There was a tiny passage. One of Celeste's arms touched the passage's gate but she hesitated at the moment of opening it.

What if this door let her into Monokuma's place?

What if this door let her into one of her classmate's rooms?

What if this door let- no, she does not need to hesitate at this point, she needs to take the risk, after all she is the Ultimate Gambler and she even risks her life, like everything that had happened all the day, and somehow she's still alive.

Celeste opened the door. When she crossed it she found herself in the laundry room, everything was dark, it means that they were in the Nighttime, it means that everybody was sleeping, how lucky for her.

The gambler stood up and started to walk outside that place. With her sight she spotted the hall camera. She can't let that camera capture her, it'll be her end. In a storm of thoughts of 'what she has to do' she realized that she can't go to her room, she can't even go to the nursery to attend the wounds and she can't walk in the halls like if nothing happened. She needed the help of someone and even if she didn't want to ask for it, she needed that. But who? She's supposed to be dead. She received a punishment for 'killing' two of her classmates. Everyone believes that she died being burned and then crushed by a goddam fire truck. Who is going to be the one who won't freak out looking at her alive, and also who will help her?

Byakuya? Hell no. He would probably make fun of her and then leave her to that bear.

Yasuhiro? He would probably make a fuss when he sees her and panic, screams and probably passes out. Then everyone would notice it.

Toko? No.

Sakura? Probably. But she seems to be too morally correct that she'll never leave alive, after all she was a 'murderer'.

Makoto? No. He's too naive. He'll probably tell everyone about her being alive and probably try to convince all to help her because of the power of friendship or some of that shit and then Monokuma would notice. Another execution.

Asahina? The same as Makoto.

None of her classmates are capable of holding the impression of her being alive or even cover her as a secret to the others. No one deserves her trust. They were the ones who put her in that hell hole of agony and pain. But in this state she can't fend for herself. Maybe, she can ask one of her classmates for help. Not those attempts of 'ultimates' that mentioned before, no, someone else.

Kyoko, the one who doesn't remember her talent, the one who is suspicious for everything that she does, the one that anybody trusts her, only Makoto, and the one who seems to be more capable of digesting that situation.

With a heavy sigh Celeste walked to the only room that didn't have a surveillance camera, and also the room that started the third murder of this freaking game. 

While walking she managed to avoid the cameras all the way. She was panting, her legs were shaking, her head was spinning, tears were running all her face but now she was in that room.

Celeste leaned herself in one of the lockers of the bathroom and started to open one by one trying to find a piece of paper or something where she can write. Few seconds passed and she found a paper with a semi dried pen. With that she wrote a note for Kyoko and with effort she delivered it to Kyoko's room, and went back to the restroom and sat down and waited...

Kyoko was lying in her bed looking at the ceiling thinking about today, she couldn't sleep. Two classmates were murdered and one was executed. She wasn't mourning their deaths, she hadn't had time for that. In fact, she was analyzing what she did discover while investigating and what happened in that trial, every word spoken, every action done, everything.

Something in her mouth tasted bitter when she heard the culprit's last words, those words were dancing in her head accompanied with the expression of her classmate.

Did she do something wrong ? No, it can't be. She brought the truth about the case to the light and they're still alive, so why is she feeling like this?

Kyoko shook her head, fading those thoughts away. Something inside her was telling her that she didn't need to worry about what happened before, that she brought the truth and that's what matters. But why does she feel that she needed to bring the truth besides everything? She can't remember, she can't remember most of her life. Her memory was fuzzy, it feels like, if someone took her 'memory cassette' and cut it into pieces and then attached them together in a disorder and stole parts of it.

A strange noise came from the door. That sound brought Kyoko out of her thoughts and looked at the door. She narrowed her eyes while looking at it. Something passed under the door, a piece of paper bent in a tiny square or that's what she can believe that it is. The lavender-haired girl stared at the object for some moments, and then decided to go for it.

Indeed it was a paper and it was a tiny square, her sight didn't fail. She opened the object, it was dirty with some dust and it smelled like a fireplace. Something was written in it.

“Meet me at the bathhouse without surveillance cameras as soon as you can, please”

Kyoko's eyes narrowed at the moment of reading it. The calligraphy on this note was shaky and sloppy, the one who has written it must be in fear or in a panic attack, perhaps injured, or maybe all of that. This note was strange, after every single trial her classmates passed all the night locked into their rooms and part of the next morning too. So this note can only mean that someone is going to started with the fourth murder with her or it could be something else.

With a heavy sigh she left her room and walked to the meeting place, she knew she was taking a big risk but this could be something important or it could be a silly prank of one of her classmates.

Without hesitation Kyoko opened the door preparing herself for whatever it comes but she wasn't expecting what her eyes caught. She couldn't help but open her mouth in surprise, same to her eyes.

The one who is supposed to be dead. The one who died being burned alive and then crushed by a fire truck. Celestia Ludenberg was sitting in one of the benches of the bathroom, but she looked different. She didn't have her twin-drills, not even her jacket and heels. She had the eyes closed with dried tears and some mascara on, her face had some bruises and dried blood under her lips, her arms were slightly harmed by burnings, her clothes seem to be half burned, her legs were covered with second degree almost third degree burnings and they had some pieces of a kind of stone and tiny sticks on them.

”What the hell?!?!” That was the only thing that Kyoko could think at the moment.

The gambler at the moment she heard the door she stayed at the same position that she was. A few moments passed and she raised her head looking at the person who had entered, it was Kyoko, she seemed to be in shock.

"K-kirigiri!" Celeste said with a rough tone of voice, she didn't even have her accent. The smoke should have affected her throat a lot "I-I know this is weird b-but let me explain"

Kyoko stared at Celeste in silence. She was still processing everything that had happened in a matter of seconds. Without answering the lilac-eyed girl turned around and left the room, but instead of walking, she ran closing the door behind her.

Celeste was speechless looking how her only hope ran away. She was a fool for believing that someone of her classmates would react in a normal way seeing her like this, not even her cold hearted emotionless classmate, and now she is probably telling everyone that she was alive and here. She should stayed in that fucking execution and died there, that would have saved her a lot of problems.

"Goddammit!"

Chapter Text

Some minutes passed since Kyoko ran away from the bathhouse dressing room. Some minutes that felt like hours.

Celeste was panicking in silence with her hands on her head, she was trying to realize that she was about to die once again. She was so out of character. First yelling and screaming in the trial, second she praying hoping to not die, third crying, and fourth having a panic attack for trusting in someone else. This was her fault for lying at everyone... Wait, why is she regretting everything? She doesn't have any regrets! She's Celestia Ludenberg, The Queen of Liars and an underground famous gambler! She's superior to everyone else, she can do whatever she wants and nobody can tell otherwise! All of those peasants who are in this cage are irrelevant for her... No... At this moment she doesn't have the luxury to feel like this towards anyone, everyone knows about her fantasy dreams and world of lies, even they know her lame real name Taeko Yasuhiro, and probably they won't believe her. So yeah, she has all the rights to be panicking and be out of her other persona, she's going to die in some moments so she needs to stop lying to herself.

A sound of steps on the floor broke the gambler's thoughts, then the door was open. Celeste closed her eyes and covered her face waiting for a scream or the sound of somebody fainting, but nothing happened.

The gambler opened her eyes again and stared at the other person who was in the room, it was Kyoko, she came back alone. In her hands were some bandage packages, a bottle of peroxide, a bag of cotton, a pair of tweezers, ethyl alcohol and a pillow. It seems that she went to the nursery. In that amount of time she wouldn't be able to wake up and talk to her classmates, and go to the nursery… so it seems that she took the second option, right? 

"K-Kirigiri! I'm glad you c-came b-" The gambler cut off her words when Kirigiri made a silence sign with one of her gloved hands.

"Don't talk" It was the first time that Celeste heard Kyoko's voice since the class trial, it was dry and cold as always.

Celeste was about to counter Kyoko for telling her to close her mouth but she just glanced at her classmate, and looked how she kneeled in front of her putting all the objects on the floor. Is she going to treat her injuries?

"Take this" the lavender-haired girl gave the pillow to the red-eyed girl, who blinked twice while taking the soft object.

"May I know what's the purpose of you lending me this kind of object?" Celeste forced herself and tried to not stutter while talking and also using her fake accent hiding a little bit her new rough voice.

"Bite it"

That was Kyoko's answer for Celeste's question. And without giving a chance to answer or counter her, she started to rip out the burned stockings of the gambler, they seem to be almost glued to her skin.

Celeste's eyes turned glassy and she bit the pillow to not scream in pain and cursed everything, besides that it was at night so it could be dangerous for her to wake up all of her other classmates.

Kyoko started to clean the burns of her classmate's legs with the cotton and peroxide. Instead of interrogating her for how the hell is she alive, she decided to take care of her wounds as fast as possible, maybe she was doing that for interest of having something to use against the gambler if she decided to not cooperate and talk or maybe she was worried about her and didn't want to her burns end like the ones under her gloved hands.

While she was cleaning the injuries she felt how the dark-haired girl was shaking in her seat and biting the pillow almost about to tear off a piece of that. She wondered how Celeste still awakened with all of that wounds on her legs and how she managed to go from the punishment room to this room. After some minutes the two legs were almost disinfected, she grabbed the tweezers with one hand and started to take out some of the stone pieces and sticks inside Celeste's burned flesh. She can imagine how painful it could be but she was glad in how the gambler was managing the pain and not passing out.

Some minutes passed and both of the gambler legs were bandaged.

"I need to take off the rest of your clothes, can I?" Kyoko raised her head looking at the gambler, she was still kneeling in front of her waiting for her answer.

Celeste's eyes widened, she was too concentrated biting the pillow shutting herself up that she didn't notice that her legs were done and now Kyoko was asking her to take her clothes off.

"Oh… well, it seems that I don't have other options" Celeste said with a sad giggle. Besides feeling uncomfortable she was neutral with the idea of taking off her clothes, but she was glad that Kyoko asked before doing it, she was polite "You are allowed"

Kyoko nodded as answer and stood up. Carefully she started to remove Celeste's upper clothes only leaving her in a black bra and in her burned lacy skirt.

The feeling of not having her clothes gave her shivers, after all the night was cold. She looked down at her fully uncovered arms, they were slightly burned, not in the same way as her legs but they still hurt. Also they were covered with some bruises like the ones in her face, these happened when the scenario started to collapse and she covered her face with her arms.

Kyoko did almost the same process with Celeste's arms. Clean the burns with peroxide, use the alcohol with the bruises and then bandage them. Her legs and arms were done, the only missing part was her face.

Kyoko sat down next to the gambler looking at her. Her hand with a little cotton in it reached Celeste's face, and pressed against one of the bruises next to the lip's dry blood. 

"Wait- ah!" The dark-haired girl tried to stop her classmate, besides her legs, her face was the other part that hurt a lot. She saved it to get burns like most of their rest of her body but she received some hits on it even if she tried to cover it, that's why it's painful.

She didn't receive a verbal answer, only a glance at her eyes. An awkward silence filled the room, the only constant sound was the wet cotton pressing against her face repeatedly.

"My apologies if it did hurt, but now it's done" Kyoko finally spoke, breaking the silence, while closing the alcohol bottle. When the bottle was close and some of the medic objects were close too, she looked once again at Celeste's red eyes almost digging in them "Now, explain yourself" 

"Right" Celeste bit her upper lip, she knew this was coming and she had mentally prepared to talk about it since she left the punishment room "Well, as you can see I survived at my execution" she started to play with her now bandaged arms and hands "In summary, the rope with I was attached to the column burned and I was able to escape" She giggle a little bit covering her mouth with one hand, even in that state she managed to still playing her costume "After all I didn't deserve to die"

Kyoko narrowed her eyes looking deep at the girl in front of her “She didn't deserve to die?” That question started to spin around her head, maybe that was the reason for why she thought she did something wrong in the trial "Why do you say that you didn't deserve to die?"

"Oh, I see, you want an explanation" Celeste couldn't help but roll her eyes, how annoying. She knew that she needed to answer that question at one moment if she wanted help, but she didn't expect it to be so soon "I didn't kill Hifumi"

Kyoko didn't answer. She only stared at her classmate in silence with a neutral expression on her face, waiting for more details about that heavy revelation. Of course she can't just believe everything that comes out of the gambler's mouth, after all the revelations in the trial it was a little bit obvious.

Celeste sighs "Of course you want details" She said like if she were reading the lavender-haired girl's mind "First at all, I'm not going to lie, after all I'm not in a position to do such a thing, so I expect you to believe me" said struggling at her words. It was difficult to say the truth of everything that happened before the trial even if she had psyched up herself about it "Everything happened like what you and the attempt of luck said. I tricked Hifumi in order to kill Ishimaru using Alter Ego to blackmail him but…" Celeste turned her face staring at the wall avoiding eye contact, maybe she was nervous, her accent dropped "...when I was about to kill Hifumi… I hesitated and didn't kill him" She folded her arms, closing her eyes "When he saw me with the hammer behind him, he screamed and panicked. We had a little fight in the room, he tried desperate to grab the damn hammer from my hands and probably kill me. I was about to lose, after all, comparing myself with the pig of Hifumi it was obvious who would win in strength, right?" She giggled, opening her eyes and looking at Kyoko once again "He grabbed the hammer from me, he was angry as hell, he was like a dog who bites his owner's hand. I never expected seeing him like that, I suppose that I deserve it... He started to swing the hammer trying to hit me, he broke some things in the room including the glass of the surveillance camera" Celeste rested her face in her own hand and let out a heavy sigh "I managed to avoid the hammer. Then, Hifumi hit a closet from the repository room and it ended landing on him, killing him… he killed himself" She looked against Kyoko's eyes "With the few time that I had, I tried to clean the room leaving it like I found it, obviously with Ishimaru and Hifumi's corpses as an addition" Celeste smiled and folded her hands under her chin, recovering her fake accent "And I guess you now the rest of the story"

Kyoko stared at Celeste with her neutral expression, repeating the story in her head in a loop, analyzing every single word trying to find the lie on them… no, she couldn't find anything. So, that was the truth behind the third murder? ...But why did Monokuma agree with that and Celeste ended being the Blackened and executed? Something was wrong… she needed more details.

"Why didn't you say anything about this in the trial?" Kyoko said in a dry tone looking at the gambler.

"Ahh, well it's easy to explain that, dear" Celeste giggled again and play with a strand of hair "You know, as you saw in the trial I'm the Queen of Liars so I can lie to everyone without regrets even to myself" she tilted her head "But, when the lies reached their limit even I can't recover the control of them. I wanted to stop at the moment of Ishimaru's death but it was late so I still playing with you, and ended being the blackened without being it"

"I see…" Kyoko put one of her gloved hands under her chin, and once again she was repeating the events in her mind with the new information, with this everything turned different, something strange was already happening with the killing game but know something was off, Celeste was alive and Monokuma broke his own rule, but why? Perhaps she will figure it out later, now she needs to take care of this particular situation. 

"Do… you believe me?" Celeste said, snapping Kyoko out of her thoughts. 

The lilac-eyed girl looked at the red-eyed one with her characteristic serious demeanor "I believe in that story" She stood up "And I'm going to help you"

"Marvellous" Celeste smiled, it was the most real smile that she has made her entire stay in this crazy school.

"But it doesn't mean that I trust you, you are as guilty as the blackened and as innocent as the victim, if you try something against me or against anyone here, you would wish that that truck had hit you" Kyoko said in a threatening but cold tone of voice. Maybe Celeste was telling the truth now but then, when she recovers, who knows. 

Celeste’s smile cracked and returned into her poker face "Fair enough then" said with a sigh. This isn't going to be easy.

"Wait here until I come back, try to don't pass out and don't open the door to anyone, also put your clothes on" Kyoko ordered and left the room with the things that she grabbed from the nursery.

Celeste scowled, who's she to believe that she can give orders to her? Oh yeah, she's the one who bandaged her, treated her injuries and now is going to help her to not die, how funny this is going to be…

She put her burned clothes on and waited for her classmate, after locking the door and looked at her new bandaged body, it was so inelegant… Well everything about her in this moment wasn't elegant at all nor even decent.

She couldn't help but feel nervous, she didn't trust Kyoko either. She was a mystery, emotionless even more than her, she knew that she could betray her whenever she wants, she was the one less reliable in the group… but after all that's why she trusted her so has no option, now she can only believe that everything is going to be 'fine' even if she's disagree.

The minutes passed and Kyoko didn't return. She started to believe that she was being betrayed one more time and she'll stay here, that's why you can have good things in this place. You trust someone and then you finish dead or you kill someone… Well she is the less suitable person to talk about betrayal after all of that happened with Ishimaru and Hifumi.

“When will she come back? Is she-... Wait, no, stop Ludenberg, don't become anxious!” Celeste complained to herself as she said before she needed to believe that everything is going to be fine and Kyoko will return.

And speaking of the devil. Some steps and three soft knocks were heard at the door, it should be Kyoko.

"It's me, open" confirming the statement, the calm voice of the lavender-haired girl appeared. Maybe she's over thinking the things.

Celeste stood up and opened the door, Kyoko was with a blanket on her hands. Celeste frowned her eyebrows once again ”Is she going to--”

"I know what you're thinking" Kyoko said interrupting Celeste's thoughts "I'm not going to leave you in this room, just put it on" Surprisingly for Kyoko, Celeste in this state was easy to read even with her trying to hold her act, she was an open book, like a children's one.

"Oh, I just… ok then" Celeste stopped herself about complaining and just put the blanket on, and then both of them left the room and made their way to Kyoko's room.

Kyoko stopped in front of her door and grabbed her key from her pocket, and let out a heavy sigh "Cover you face"

Celeste looked at Kyoko confused while she was trying to open her door. Why does she need to cover her face? She is not going to judge her room, she has seen Hifumi's so she doesn't expect something worse.

The door made a sound. At the moment of opening it a cloud of hot steam escaped from the room, one of the gloves hands of Kyoko grabbed Celeste into the room closing it.

"What the hell?! I don't know if you remember but I think that I have enough heat for a day maybe for a month, so this is not funny" Celeste said trying to control her anger. Who in their sane judge transforms their own bedroom in a sauna? Well, surprisingly Kyoko does.

"Shut up, this is not for teasing you, look" Kyoko pointed at the surveillance camera of her room, it was dripping water and it pointed to the floor, it should be broken.

Celeste's eyes widened at the sight, she forgot at the existence of the security cameras for a moment. Her sight moved to her classmate, so apparently transforming your room in a sauna breaks the cameras, but something was off.

"How did you do it?" The gambler finally said, narrowing her eyes staring at the lilac-eyed girl next to her.

"I don't need to explain to you everything" Kyoko answered and walked to the bathroom, closing the door of it "In some moments the steam is going to dissipate" she said to herself looking at her now damp gloves.

"Whatever. I'm glad that you broke a camera for me, but as I clearly remember you broke a rule so… Aren't you afraid?" Celeste said sitting on the edge of the bed, she wasn't worried about Kyoko, she was worried that if Kyoko dies, who was going to help her?

"I know that, but this could be seen as an accident" Kyoko looked at Celeste, scanning her once again "If you see the sauna and the bathhouse are the only two rooms without a surveillance camera" she put a hand in her chin while explaining "the difference between them is that the sauna has a camera from the hall recording everything through the door window, and the bathhouse doesn't have any camera at all"

"And what with that?" The dark-haired girl said, she was tired and her patience was decreasing a lot.

"I expected you to get the idea" Kyoko said with a sigh "None of the rooms have cameras because they can get damage with the moisture"

Celeste blinked twice "I didn't know that…" she muttered covering her mouth with a hand.

"That's the point" surprisingly Kyoko heard Celeste's words "No one knows about that, so why Monokuma is going to suppose that I knew that and I intentionally broke the camera? It could be a simple accident and that's it, and I doubt that he'll notice it soon" with a smirk she finished her explanation "Now you can sleep, don't worry about the rest"

Celeste was speechless, how did she manage to figure everything out that fast? She can only think that the supposed talent that Kyoko had forgotten should be something threatening to this killing game and Monokuma in general. Perhaps she will try to figure it out later.

"Am I supposed to sleep in your bed?"

Kyoko nodded while grabbing some clothes from her wardrobe and leading to the bathroom.

"So where are you going to sleep?" Celeste's gaze followed Kyoko. Even if this is not her own room she doesn't pretend to share a bed with her.

"Just sleep, no more questions" She said shutting the bathroom door.

The gambler sighs and leaned in the bed, looking at the ceiling, recalling everything that happened. First she planned a murder, then she failed. Later she was about to die but she survived. And now her life was in Kyoko's hand, if she dies or lives is going to depend on her even if neither of them trust the other.

Celeste shook her head, she was tired, most of her body was numb and she looked like a mummy now. As to how much she despised following others orders she needed to sleep like Kyoko said. She closed her eyes. It was risky sleeping in another bedroom, perhaps she'll end like Sayaka, but her options were limited so she could only do that. And then, she slept.

Kyoko got out of her bathroom with her clothes changed in a pajama and looked at her new guest in the room sleeping on her bed. She knew that she was taking a high risk for her, but she couldn't understand why. Perhaps she felt pity towards the gambler that in that state she can't even fend for herself, maybe she only was caring about her in order to get information about the third case or in reality she was really worried about her.

She sat down on the desk chair without looking away from Celeste. She should be dead but there she was sleeping in her bed… Tomorrow is going to be another day and she will make a visit to the repository room and try to confirm Celeste's testimony. Maybe she should visit Celeste's room too, she can't stay all her life with that burned clothes and probably without her twin-drills, maybe she has another pair of them.

Now she has more problems than before. Her fuzzy memory, the killing game and now Celeste. She let out a groan and crossed her arms unlocking her sight from Celeste to her gloved hands, she can't even take off her gloves and can't even sleep in her own bed. She looked again at the gambler.

"How tiring… and I haven't even started…"

Chapter Text

The morning announcement appeared in the t.v. screen, the psycho bear talked and then it turned off.

Almost thirty minutes passed and Celeste opened her eyes wishing that everything was a nightmare. But no, it wasn't, and she could confirm it in the way that her body aches. Her legs were shaking, her hands too. The pain was stronger than the day before. She looked at her surroundings, right, she wasn't in her room, she was in Kyoko's empty one. But she couldn't spot Kyoko, maybe she was out, how annoying.

With effort Celeste tried to sit on the bed. Then she started to cough covering her mouth with her hands “Damn it” she shouldn't have to force her accent the day before, her throat was pretty damaged from the smoke but she did it anyway.

The door slightly opened and Kyoko entered the room with a plate of some cookies and a cup of tea, locking it behind her.

"You are awake... I expected you to be asleep" She said putting the plate and the cup on the desk. She wasn't going to admit it but she was surprised with Celeste's resistance. Judging her by the way that she looks, she will pass all the day sleeping but that wasn't the case.

Celeste looked at the taller girl in silence and then the food. She narrowed her eyes and looked to Kyoko again.

"It's for you, and it's not poisoned if you think that" Kyoko moved her faux leather jacket and grabbed something inside it throwing it at the bed "I think those are yours"

Celeste's eyes widened looking at the objects in the bed. They were her e-Handbook and her armor ring. She completely forgot about the food and took them, both of those objects were very surprising specially her ring, she thought that she lost it in the punishment room.

"You might have thrown the ring in the hall in front of the laundry room without noticing it" Kyoko talked "You are lucky, if someone else had seen it maybe your plan of surviving would be affected" Again one of her gloved hands grabbed something else inside her jacket but from another pocket. It was Celeste's room key .

"Oh my, where did you find it? As far as I know Monokuma saved the keys" Celeste finally spoke, her voice was low and rough without the fake accent.

"Apparently he saved the keys in a box next to the e-Handbook one"

"I'm glad that you brought it here, but I think that I can't go to my room, even if I want" She gritted her teeth, maybe she woke up with little patience. But clearly Kyoko knew that, she should be teasing her but she can't know that because the girl in front of her barely expresses something, she's like an enigma. She wanted to yell at her like when she did it with Hifumi, but with the state of her throat she can't afford that.

"And I'm agree with that" Kyoko started to walk to the door "I'm the one who's going to your room"

"Hey! Don't dare to check my room! It's private, you moron! Do you fucking know that?!?!" forgetting about her throat in a matter of seconds, Celeste raised her voice, not like yelling but it was still being high.

"Listen, Cele- No, Taeko" Kyoko turned and looked directly at Celeste. Their eyes met, lilac tired ones and red angry ones. "You want me to help you, and that's what I'm doing. At the first moment I just could called Monokuma and everything would have ended for you" she narrowed her eyes, the things changed quickly "But I didn't, so now just cooperate staying quiet until I can figure out what to do with your situation" Kyoko turned again looking at the door putting her hand in the knob "I'll be back later, don't forget to eat and do NOT open the door to anyone" as she finally said she left the room locking it.

Celeste was boiling in rage. If she wasn't in that shameful state, she would have ripped Kyoko's head off. Of course she's helping her but she could feel that she was enjoying looking at her like this, she even called her by her real loser name. 

She took the tea from the desk behind the bed, her hands were shaking, she didn't even know if this was for the pain or her anger. She sipped her tea and coughed, it was fucking ginger tea.

"Oh, fuck off!"

Kyoko made her way through the dining hall, inside herself she felt bad for talking like that to Celeste especially when she was in that state, she even said her real name knowing that she kinda hated it. But she just can't be kind to her, even in that state she needs to be careful towards her or she'll end up being manipulated like Hifumi was.

At the dining hall were some of her classmates, only missing Byakuya and Toko, they should be in the library like most of the time.

"Oh, hello again Kirigiri!" Asahina said in a joyful tone of voice with the mouth full of donuts "Did you forget your dishes?" She said tilting her head. Hina was the first person who arrived at the hall after her and she looked how she left with some food.

"Oh, I forgot them in my room, I'll return them later" She responded, sitting next to Makoto. He seemed to be sad, well 'three' classmates were killed the day before, so she couldn't blame him for feeling like that.

"Oh… hi Kirigiri" He said, playing with his cereal, it was full, probably he didn't have an appetite.

"Are you okay?" She said looking at the smaller boy. Even if she tried to not mourn the deaths she just couldn't assume that everyone would try to do that. She can even say that Hina was trying to seem to be fine but in her joyful tone of voice she can notice the sadness behind it. Besides that, no one knows that actually only two people died and the other one is taking breakfast in her room.

"Yeah! Don't worry I'm fine!" Makoto said, faking a smile looking at her. Of course he's pretending to be okay. He always did that whenever a trial ended, and it's only been three.

Kyoko nodded and didn't ask more. She let out a sigh, she worried about her classmates even if they don't do the same towards her. She didn't want to let them die but she can't stop that. Her sight passed around the dining hall. Sakura was next to Hina eating, they were talking a little bit. Hiro was doing something with a crystal ball, probably he will break it like the others. And, Makoto was next to her finally eating his cereal. Without counting Celeste, only seven people are still alive, that's depressing. Kyoko tapped her fingers on the table and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Sakura's rough voice was heard, she was drinking a protein shake.

"I need to check something" Kyoko responded. She never gives a lot of details about what she is going to do even if her classmates asked, maybe that's one reason why they don't trust her. Although she gave a lot of details of what she did to her bedroom to Celeste the day before, more than she used to do.

No one asked anything else, they just let her go to wherever she's going to. Kyoko started to walk to the repository room. There should probably be other clues about Celeste's case confirming her explanation, but there can also be none of those clues and Celeste just lied.

Less than ten minutes passed and there she was in the repository room, the place of the second murder of the third case. Kyoko sighs, the room smelled like blood . On the floor there were some blood stains, apparently Monokuma hadn't cleaned this place, only removed the corpses, it was lucky for her.

She closed the door. She didn't want someone to enter the room and disturbed her investigation, and also asked her why she was there. After all nobody dared to go to the place that a murder took place the next day, they usually went to check the new unlocked floor of the Academy, but she has already done that alone.

Like Celeste said she managed to restore most of the things that Hifumi had broken. In summary the closet was in the same place that it had always been. But, she also said that he broke some things so she needed to find those broken objects. The gambler specified that when she was cleaning the room she was short of time because the murder took place while we were investigating the disaperance of the corpses, so in conclusion, Celeste must hid the broken objects somewhere else but they are still in this room.

Kyoko scanned the room and the most obvious place where you can hide things was… the same closet. She opened it and moved the objects inside it and found some broken materials, a hammer broken in half, some tools and other junk. Celeste has one point in favor of her testimony.

Since anything else seems to be out of place, the only thing that clearly is going to confirm the gambler story is the surveillance camera. 

She looked at the camera and without hesitating she took it closer, and started to check it. As she expected the glass of the camera was broken and some pieces of it inside of the camera, it means that no one couldn't and can't view something inside the room. But if that's the case, how did Monokuma realize that Celeste was the murderer?

Kyoko moved the camera a little bit finding the microphone it was in perfect condition or maybe it seems to be. There's only one way to confirm that.

"Monokuma, I need to ask you something!" She said separating from the camera. Perhaps it was too risky but if she can get her answer it's worth it.

A crash was heard in the room. Monokuma appeared, he was with a paint can in his head walking slowly "Good morning, Miss Kirigiri!" He said, throwing the can to the air and bowing to her while the object landed on the floor, he expected a clap that never appeared "What do you need to ask your favorite headmaster Monokuma!?" He said, raising his arms. 

Kyoko looked at him. Right, the microphone worked, so Monokuma probably heard Hifumi and Celeste's fight "Why is there still blood in the ground?" To be honest Kyoko didn't have anything to ask him, but to lower suspicions about her, she asked the first thing that came to her mind.

"I see, I see" The robotic bear started to walk around Kyoko "I don't have enough time to clean the floor, you know I'm busy making your lovely school life comfortable" He said teasingly and let a static laugh "Perhaps you want to help your lovely headmaster to clean, I'll pay you gratefully" Monokuma flushed and started to sweat.

”Okay, that's enough” Kyoko clicked her tongue "No, thanks" without saying another word she left the room letting Monokuma behind, she had what she needed to confirm the gambler's story and made a conclusion about it, but she might wait some time until telling Celeste about it.

When she left the room she felt someone staring at her, a gaze that was carving against her neck. She turned over her heels and looked at the person who was looking at her, it was Byakuya and surprisingly he was without Toko following him.

"Suspicious as always, Kirigiri" He said nonchalantly but in a strong way "What were you doing in that room with Monokuma?" Crossing his arms he narrowed his eyes looking deep.

"I don't need to give you answers" Kyoko raised an eyebrow "After all you're not going to believe me, right?" She normally didn't talk to her classmates in a slightly aggressive tone of voice but Byakuya is the exception, she can't help being annoyed with him most of the time even though she can't hide it at all, especially since Chihiro's incident.

"Very well Kirigiri" He gritted his teeth, he was annoy to not get what he wants at the moment "Don't believe that I'll let you go like this, I demand a respon--"

"Don't waste my time" she deadpanned, cutting his words off, and passed next to Byakuya without looking at him.

Byakuya turned around and grabbed Kirigiri's wrist, he seemed angry "Don't treat me as an equal, I'm the heir of Togami's corporation you're inferior, know your place, peasant" he tightened the grip.

Kyoko didn't answer, she only looked at him with her neutral face but inside herself she was more annoyed than before.

"Hey guys what are you- are you okay?" A new voice appeared in the hall, it was Makoto’s.

Both of them looked at the new guy and stared at him for a few seconds. Finally Byakuya left Kyoko’s wrist “It’s not of your concern” The blonde said and stormed out of the hallway leaving the lavender-haired girl with the brunette boy.

"Are you okay, Kirigiri?" Makoto looked at her classmate with a concerned expression on his face.

"Are you following me?" Kyoko said massaging her wrist, avoiding the question.

"Ah… yes…" Feeling a little ashamed he answered, he truly followed her since she left the dinning hall in the morning.

"Why?"

"Well…" Makoto looked away. "You seem worried since this morning and when you said that you needed to check something" He scratched his head "First I thought that you were going to look at you-know-what but then you just came here… and I heard you talking to Monokuma…"

“And? Are you gonna complain like Togami?" Kyoko said, she was still a little bit annoyed about the heir.

"No no, I just… you know we're friends and like I said yesterday you can trust me and I trust you" he said a little bit nervously.

Right, the conversation that they had after Celeste's trial in the dressing room while using the key for Alter Ego. With all of the stuff that had happened with the gambler she had forgotten that.

"If you just need anything don't worry to ask me!" Makoto added.

"No, it's okay I just…" Kyoko was about to deny the help but something came through her mind "You know, maybe I need some help, meet me in front of the bathrooms after the nighttime announcement" she slightly smiled at him.

"Maybe we should check the fourth floor, I think we had time until the announcement" he said with a shiny smile drawn in his face.

The taller girl just nodded and walked with him to the fourth floor even if she had already been there… 

The melody of the nightime announcement was heard, most of the students arrived in their bedrooms. Kyoko was waiting for Makoto, they separated while checking the fourth floor. Finally the boy arrived.

“Here I’m” Makoto said, tilting his body side by side, he seemed excited "What do you need?"

"Mmm" Kyoko leaned to the wall crossing her arms "Entertain Monokuma, I need to do something, I'll explain you later, please" she said straightforward to her classmate.

Makoto was about to ask her what's going on but Kyoko has already disappeared so he must do her that favor.

At the moment when she heard Makoto calling Monokuma she rushed to Celeste's room. Like she promised herself She would give Celeste proper clothes and other stuff from her room. She could have done it through the day but it would be too suspicious even for her, if someone caught her dragging some of Celeste's clothes to her bedroom it would be so strange, suspicious and even creepy .

The lavender-haired girl opened the door with the key and turned on the lights. She needed to do this fast, she can't calculate how much time Makoto is going to make for her. This was such a risky movement for her part, in addition she was risking Makoto's life too.

The room literally screamed Celestia Ludenberg in every single corner. A black bed with a lacy blanket, a lot of makeup products, some books and poker cards, some of those extravagant gothic outfits, two wig heads one empty and the other with another pair of twin-drills clips, and even there was a coffin. It was quite different to her own room that barely has a bed in it.

Kyoko shook her head and focused on what she needed to do, and she needed to do it faster. First she went and took the twin-drills and a pair of shoes. Then she checked Celeste's wardrobe and grabbed some clothes, this was a big invasion on the gambler's privacy but she couldn't do anything about it. Finally she took one of the outfits, it was the same as Celeste used to wear. Her hands were full of clothes and stuff. She freed one of her hands and grabbed the key. Before getting out of the room she stopped and stared at some poker decks, Kyoko let out a heavy sigh and grabbed them, putting them with the other things. She closed the door and carefully rushed to her room opening it and closing the door, hoping that she had done everything just in time.

Surprisingly Celeste wasn't in the bed. Kyoko put all the objects in the bed. First she checked the camera and it was still broken, good. And then she knocked, the bathroom door hoping that Celeste was in there.

“Kirigiri… ?” A hesitant voice was heard before the knock, it was a little bit rough and low, it was Celeste's.

“Yes, it’s me, don't worry” Kyoko said leaning against the door.

“Who said I’m worried? You wish that” The gambler scoffed, apparently she was in a better mood than the morning, in a better mood in Celeste’s scale.

Kyoko groaned a little bit “What are you doing inside?”

“That’s a very intrusive question” Celeste said “What do you want me to say, huh?”

In Kyoko’s face appeared a heavy red blush for the embarrassment, it was a careless question that can be misunderstood, she cleared her throat “It’s just… just take a bath, I’ll give you new clothes and change your bandages”

"Right…" That was the only answer that came from the goth and everything became an awkward silence.

On the other side of the door the gambler was looking at herself in the mirror, she looked terrible. Everything hurts, her short hair was messy, most of her body bandaged, she had bags under her eyes and her face was bruised. It wasn't very Celestia Ludenberg for her part, it was more like Taeko Yasuhiro, and she hated it. She brushed her hair with her hands and some ashes fell to the floor, perhaps she just is going to do what Kyoko said as she has done since yesterday, how frustrating. She undressed and unwrapped her body, and entered in the shower.

After a long shower she finished wrapping a towel on her body. She felt different, more refreshed specially because now she doesn't smell like a fireplace.

Kyoko was waiting sitting on her bed. She knew that Celeste had already finished because the shower didn't sound anymore. The door slightly opened and a pale and thin arm passed across it.

"The clothes" The gambler demanded and Kyoko just lent her the clothes. They were a silk nightgown and some underwear, all from the dark-haired girl's room.

She could hear a loud gasp from the bathroom, and in a matter of seconds Celeste left the place, with her new clothes on, and walked to the bed standing in front of her, looking at her belongings and then at Kyoko.

"You literally looted my entire room" Celeste said, she seemed to be a little annoyed with that idea "So that's why you needed my key?"

The lilac-eyed girl nodded "I thought that you'll be more comfortable with some of your belongings here" Kyoko said with a neutral expression on her face.

"Mmmm… " Celeste narrowed her eyes, that was very kind of her and everything but her face with that goddamn stoic expression doesn't get her in the mood to appreciate that gesture "Indeed" that was the only response that left the goth's mouth.

"Fine" Kyoko stood up from the bed. "You can't stand up for much time, it's bad for you, sit" She said moving aside.

Celeste groaned internally looking again at her clothes and stuff. She smiled "And…" she sat down, her legs hurt "... If standing is so bad for me… how do you know that all the time that you were outside I wasn't standing and walking around?" She said curling a hair lock in her fingers, she was onto something with that question.

"The bed still warm, I believe that you slept all the day " Kyoko said nonchalantly "And probably woke up with Monokuma's nighttime announcement"

"My my, that was quite clear" Celeste let out a chuckle "Indeed that's what happened"

"So that's mean, that you haven't eaten something since breakfast…?" The taller girl said in a little concerned tone of voice "l should have left you more food" she mumbled to herself.

"Of course, but don't worry if whatever else you had left me was gross like the ginger tea I would prefer to starve" The gambler said folding her hands under her chin "You know that I prefer a sweet Royal Milk Tea"

"I know but I thought that the ginger tea was good for you… and your throat" Kyoko said disappointed?

"What? How do you know that?" Celeste answered, pushing herself closer to Kyoko, she can't deny that that interested her.

"I read it in a book from the library" Kyoko said, playing with her hair looking away, kinda nervous.

Celeste can't help but be blushed, without her normal makeup it was difficult to hide it, especially with her pale skin tone. She put her hand on her face, why did she just blushed in that way? Even her cheeks felt so warm. Perhaps the fact that Kyoko just investigated tea to recover her throat was unexpected and kind and quite cute .

Kyoko faked a cough breaking the silence "I think it's time for the bandages, yeah…" She stooped and grabbed some medic supplies that were under her bed.

"I agree" Celeste responded, looking at her classmate. 

Only one day and a half has passed and she already has mixed feelings about the girl in front of her. She wanted to rip her head off and to erase that stoic face that just annoyed her a lot. But in the same way that mysterious and untrustworthy aura that fit her expression and her entire persona, that pissed her off, was so intriguing that she just wanted to stay there and learn more about her. It was exciting as gambling, it was risky but amazing at the same time. She didn't understand why she just felt that way towards her, especially in those moments that her life was even more confusing than before. She just didn't know, but in the time that they are going to spend together she needs to figure it out, along with those thousand of things that Kyoko Kirigiri hides. She’s going to turn this into her own personal game with Kyoko as an unexpected guest and target. After all she never passed along with her more than three hours before her incident, but now she was trapped inside her dorm room, even her past expressed desire to get outside gets cloudy with this.

“I finish, you can rest now” Kyoko said, snapping Celeste out of her thoughts about her. Apparently she finished bandaging her and even saved some of the gambler's belongings in her wardrobe while she was lost in her ideas.

Celeste nodded as an answer and leaned down on the bed “Thanks” She wasn't fond of thanking the others but now, with the start of her own game, Kyoko is going to be the exception, she closed her eyes and with a simply smile she started to fall into her slumber.

Kyoko didn’t expect to receive that response from Celeste, it was rather nice. Kyoko smiled to herself, and looked at how the gambler was sleeping. She just looked calm and less threateningly than she used to be, but at the same time that aura was still there it was just so curious. She changed her clothes in the bathroom and sat down on her chair after turning the lights off. She crossed her arms in the dark, thinking about her discoverments of the day. A heavy yawn left her mouth, with that she adjusted herself in the uncomfortable chair, she needed to sleep more than the day before.

“Goodnight, Celeste”

Chapter Text

Kyoko was rushing side to side of her room getting ready for another 'lovely' day of school, what a joke. But in reality she needed to go to the dining hall just to check if Makoto it's okay, especially when she just left him with Monokuma like that. 

In another part of the room, Celeste was waking up because the sound of heels tapping in all the floor, what a shame being a light sleeper, she wakes up with almost everything and makes her miss how tired she was before that made her sleep almost all day without caring about any disturbance.

"Can you just be quiet? I'm trying to sleep properly" Celeste let out a displeasure groan while looking at Kyoko with one eye open staying laid down on the bed.

Kyoko looked at her bed, she didn't expect to wake up the gambler "Oh… sorry for that" she said nonchalantly, brushing her hair while walking to the bathroom.

Celeste didn’t respond and just closed her eyes once again trying to return to her slumber, some minutes passed and she was still awake. The gambler sat down on the bed, carefully brushed her eyes with her hands and let out a yawn, looking at the bathroom where Kyoko was putting her lace on the top of her braid, she looked focused, it was kinda adorable.

Celeste smiled to herself, once again that strange feeling towards her classmate appeared and her cheeks blushed.

"You're staring" Kyoko said without looking at the dark-haired girl, she was finishing her hair.

"Ah pardonne-moi" the fake french accent and those words let out Celeste's mouth like if they were automated, and she looked other place touching her cheeks with both hands, they were warm. That was odd but that was one reason about her game with Kyoko.

Kyoko noticed the blush and how she touched her face but instead of believing something else, she thought that something was happening to Celeste, due her current state she wouldn't be surprised if the gambler was sick.

"Celeste" Kyoko said in a slightly concerned tone, walking towards the room standing next to the mentioned "Are you feeling well? You're blushed"

“What-?” The gambler looked directly at Kyoko's eyes, she could said that she could see herself in the reflection of them, she was blushing a lot "Of course I am, but I could be better of someone's heels didn't wake me up" Changing for a new topic to forget the last one and changed everything in her own favour, one of Celeste's specialities.

"Oh, mmm right…" Kyoko did notice the abruptly change of topic but she didn't want to complain about it, maybe it was truly nothing after all she can see that it wasn't a lie and even if it was at this moment Celeste wasn't in her 'Queen of Liars' mood so it would be easy to see through her words.

"'Right?' Just that?" Celeste raised a brow "How disappointing…" she murmured and crossed her arms still looking at Kyoko.

"What's disappointing?" Kyoko countered "As far as I know I already said sorry so don't expect too much" she deadpanned.

"The disappointing thing is that unlike you" she pointed the taller girl "I can't leave this room and the better thing that I can do is sleep, but now I just can't, and I will get bored"

Kyoko narrowed her eyes, in her exterior she was with her neutral expression, but inside herself she was surprised, and a little cringed, for the childish attitude of Celeste. Since the day one after the incident she knew that this was going to be difficult but not this type of difficult. It was odd but at the same time she can't help but find it adorable. It was adorable looking at the super composed gambler acting dramatically towards not being able to sleep and she was going to be bored, perhaps she can get something about this.

"You know what?" Kyoko finally answered and grabbed from her wardrobe two objects "If you're going to get bored take these" she gave the two objects to Celeste.

Celeste at the moment when she looked at the new objects in her hands, she frowned her eyebrows deeply.

"What do you want me to do with two decks of cards?" The gambler hissed pressing the two little boxes together with her hands, her anger was raising.

"I don't know, you're the Ultimate Gambler, you'll find something to do with them, right?"

"So what? Do you want me to play solitaire in order to not get bored?" Both of her hands were shaking by the pressure that they were making towards the cards. Kyoko was literally laughing at herself in front of her.

Kyoko knew that everything that she was doing was going to end with her probably being hit by Celeste but this was something that she has never tried before with someone else and this situation was perfect especially because it was with Celeste, how strange.

"Well if you get bored with solitaire you could build a house of cards" Kyoko said teasingly and then patted Celeste's head with a rare smile.

At the moment the gambler heard those words with a extremely strange teasing tone of voice coming from Kyoko's mouth she wanted to grab her by the neck and break it, but at the moment when she felt the pats on her head and saw the lavender-haired girl's beautiful smile she turned red, literally red and her heart started to beat faster like a racing car, once again that feeling but in this time was harder than the other time.

Kyoko expected Celeste to probably kill her but it never came. She looked at the gambler, her hand still on her heard, Celeste stared at her eyes, she could easily notice how her lovely pale complexion was blushed, and almost like if it was contagious Kyoko's face turned red too and she can't just even control it or hide it, putting both of her gloved hands on her face she looked in another way.

Everything became awkward in a snap, everything because of Celeste’s childish attitude and Kyoko’s teasing failure that ended against her. Silence filled the room, both of them looking away, they spent some minutes that felt like hours.

“Mhm'' Celeste cleared her throat capturing Kyoko's attention “I believe that you need to go somewhere, am I right?” She tried to sound composed, covering part of her face with one of her pale hands without looking directly at Kyoko.

Kyoko just nodded and left the room without saying anything else and started to walk to the dining hall, she was still blushed. That was odd for both of them, especially when they literally clarified that they don’t trust each other and just she helped Celeste and then nothing else, maybe they were just too tired and stressed to focus on that part. But she couldn’t deny that besides the embarrassment of the situation, she ended knowing how easily Celeste got flustered when she wasn’t at all in her other persona, because she can be assured that those nervous were genuine, and she liked that.

When she entered the dining hall she realized that it was empty… Well, actually no, it was full but the problem is that the dining hall was full of the only seven people that remained alive in this non-stop hell party, her stoic expression reappeared on her face and the blush literally disappeared in a matter of seconds. Eight students had died. Sayaka the first victim stabbed with a knife in her stomach, Junko broke a rule against Monokuma and died being pierced with multiple spears, Leon the first culprit hit by baseball balls until the death, how overwhelming the beginning. Then, Chihiro became the second victim with a hit on their head and disrespected in death, Mondo was the blackened electrocuted in a death cage becoming nothing but butter at the end. Finally, Taka was the first victim of the third case dying by a hammer hit, Hifumi killed Taka while being manipulated by someone and he ended killed in the same way, Celeste was the one who orchestrated everything and became the blackened dying by being burned alive and then crushed, but it wasn't the truth about that only the one that they're supposed to believe, everything was a lie. Kyoko shook her head and looked up for Makoto, he should be close.

“Hey, Kirigiri!” Makoto greeted her waving his hand with a smile on his face, he was sitting alone at a table eating. The other ones were distributed in the room sitting in pairs or alone like the luckier.

“Hi” she sat next to him, putting her hands on the table, she looked at him with the same expression as always.

"Are you good?" He said, drinking something from a cup.

Kyoko nodded in agreement "And you?" She said nonchalantly.

“Yeah, I’m fine” He said biting his food looking at his classmate, his expression changed to a concern one “but I think you're lying…” he said low and tilted his head "You aren't good"

That answer took Kyoko out of guard, her eyes widened for a moment looking at the boy and then frowned her eyebrows, this day was being more awkward and strange than the others and now this.

“What do you mean?” She said in her cold tone of voice, looking sideways at the camera, and before Makoto could respond she added “...I forget something in the bath house, can you come with me to bring it?”

The luckier knew that that was an obvious lie but it only meant that Kyoko wanted to talk in private without the presence of the surveillance cameras.

“O-oh of course, I don’t mind” Makoto nodded, stood up and took his plate “First let me go to the kitchen to leave this” he smiled at her and went to the kitchen.

Kyoko nodded, she was glad that Makoto understood her hint without help, he was simple but at least kinda smart. Short time passed and the brunette returned to the dining hall, she stood up and went with him, ignoring the rest of the people.

During their way to the dressing room both stayed in silence.

“Okay then, what do you mean with that?” Kyoko said quickly, closing the door behind her. Normally she would ignore that type of answer but in her situation it could be compromising and ruin everything.

“Oh, but relax I’ll tell you” Makoto said nervously, moving his hands “It's just that lately you came to the dining hall to grab food and leave, or even you eat with us something that you didn’t do before” he smiled kindly “But also you seem more… suspicious and stressed than usual, especially for last night's favour... and you still keeping secrets from me… ” he rubbed his neck.

“Shit” Kyoko closed her eyes for a moment. It wasn’t as bad as she expected but it was still bad “Look” she sighed “About last night and everything I can’t tell you right now what’s going on… ” she clicked her tongue ”But I promised I’ll tell you later I need to figure out something first” she didn’t know if she was doing an empty promise or not and if she will talk to Makoto about that she should talk it with Celeste first, but for now she would just leave it like that.

Makoto stayed in silence for some time, like if he was thinking deeply about what to say, until he said “Mmmm I’m not sure… But I will believe in you” he smiled again and gave her a thumb up.

Even if the answer was vague she conformed with that “And now that we are here I discovered something to do with Alter Ego that might help us” she smirked at him "There's a secret room somewhere…"

Kyoko explained to him her new discovered place and both agreed to bring Alter Ego there later, for now they are going to investigate some places separated.

Some time has passed since the lavender-haired girl left her room, if we had to put an exact time, maybe seven hours passed. The gambler still couldn't sleep, everything in that room became more slow than ever, especially the time.

"Damn it" Celeste said, throwing some cards on the floor and then destroying the house of cards in front of her. Indeed she ended up doing the frigging house of cards that Kyoko mentioned.

She was sitting on the chair in front of the desk where the build of cards were destroyed by her hand. She can't stop thinking about what happened in the morning, it was so stupid and out of class, but she can't deny that she enjoyed it a little bit.

Celeste had the opportunity to Kyoko without that sick and neutral expression, with a smile and even with a blush in front of her, she looked gorgeous . Unconsciously she smiled to herself and a little red color appeared on her face… oh wait, that’s different, she’s supposed to be mad at her. But instead of that she was just more confused about her. If before she didn’t know what she was thinking now she didn’t know anything, her game turned more difficult than she expected. She needed to figure out what was that thing that Kyoko made her feel and the mystery about Kyoko but now she was more confused. It was exciting but frustrating at the same time. She looked at her surroundings, she could spot some of her belongings in the room, her own styled gothic outfit, her twin-drills, some casual clothes that she used to sleep, even her decks of cards… Immediately some words said by Kyoko appeared in her mind.

"I thought that you'll be more comfortable with some of your belongings here"

Celeste bit her upper lip, that was considerate of her part, even if it wasn't her true intentions she just tried to make her comfortable bringing her belongings even knowing that all of that stuff was from her fake persona. Even when both of them clarify that they don't trust each other, but they end like that. Once again she smiled to herself, perhaps this wasn't bad at all.

With her hands once again she took the cards on her hands and built the house of cards in some minutes using the two decks. Then she smiled at it and let out a small yawn, her eyes felt heavy. Celeste changed her site from the chair to the bed. It was odd, before she just would hate being confused and having mixed feelings towards someone, especially because those feelings were a Taeko Yasuhiro thing, but now she can't deny that for the first time both, Celestia Ludenberg and Taeko Yasuhiro, feel the same, one thing that if she change of persona she can't make it disappeared. 

The gambler threw herself in the bed still with a smile on her face and closed her eyes for a moment, and hugged a pillow. At the end, she was going to sleep even if in the morning she said that she wasn't going to be able to do that again. She giggled towards herself, a stupid but real laugh that make her forgot that she was trapped in a school and trapped in a room inside that school. Why is she doing that? Everything had the same reason, the reason that woke her up, that made her mad, that made her feel confused but excited at the same time, the reason that she was able to sleep once again, the reason why she's smiling.

"This is fucking stupid" she giggled, covering her face with the pillow, and then fell sleep...

The night arrived, missing thirty minutes for the nighttime announcement Kyoko was walking around, she finished her daily investigation. Around this time Makoto was probably with Alter Ego in the secret room. As she said before she needed to figure out something about Celeste's case and she'll have the answer of her theory. But in order to know that she needed to do and say something that she found it disgusting.

"Monokuma!" She stood in front of the hallway camera, next to the entrance of the dressing room. She needed to talk with him, at this moment she was helping Naegi to don't get caught by the cameras too so everyone won. Also, since the second murder she figured out that when Monokuma was out the surveillance cameras froze, that means that the one who is controlling the robot can't do both tasks at the same time.

The bear appeared rushing all the hallway down "You called me, I appeared! It's me! Monokuma! Your lovely headmaster!" He threw his fist to the air "How can I help you Miss Kirigiri!? It's almost time to sleep!"

That metallic cheerful tone of voice was irritating. Kyoko closed her eyes for a few seconds and looked at the 'headmaster'.

"I have a question, perhaps you'll be interested" she narrowed her eyes a little bit.

"Ohh, ask me, ask me" he put one of his steel paws behind his ear, listening carefully.

Kyoko bent at the same height as Monokuma and looked sideways to the dressing room "What happens if a murder takes place in a room without cameras?" Inside herself she was disgusted to just talk about murders like if she's going to commit one.

"Upupupupu, are you interested?" His red eye started to shine "Mayhaps I have the next murder in front of me" he laugh.

"Perhaps" she said in a neutral tone, crossing her arms.

"Upupupupupupupu" he opened his mouth big while laughing "Miss Kirigiri, I didn't expect you to ask such questions with that intentions!!" Monokuma twirled on his place "I'm going to answer just to spice the things!" He started to make a silly dance "If a murder is committed in the room without cameras I can't see who's the culprit!" He continued dancing "So it would be a case without plot for a trial!" He started to spin "But if two people entered in the room and only one leave it! It would be obvious who killed, isn't it?"

Everything that she needed to know was confirmed. She started to recall everything and link it with her recent discovered information. Hifumi and Celeste entered in a room, Celeste tried to kill Hifumi, Hifumi notice it and tried to kill Celeste instead, he broke the camera, Hifumi killed himself by accident, Celeste was the only one who left the room and Hifumi was dead. But the camera audio still worked, Monokuma should know what happened there… but she can't ask more, it would be suspicious and risky , she needed to investigate more deeply and focused on the black and white bear in front of her.

"You can go now" Kyoko said standing up looking at Monokuma with disgust.

"Well well! I expect something juicy from you!" He laughed once again "Bye bye! Farewell!"

"Well then, keep waiting" she said a little bit annoyed, looking at how Monokuma disappeared and then she left the place.

Immediately the nighttime announcement appeared on the tv screens. Now was the moment she needed to explain what happened to Celeste even if something is missing. She was frustrated but in other part she was glad that all of what Celeste had said before was true. Even if she doesn't trust her at all… No, that wasn't true, she trusts Celeste besides her lies and her own trust issues. She just said that in order to make herself believe that and don't end like Hifumi, but there she was literally doing whatever is in her power to confirm Celeste testimony, innocence and the truth. There's no way she just can't trust her. 

She reached her dorm room and opened the door carefully and closed behind her. The first thing that she noticed was a big house of cards on the desk, so Celeste ended doing that like she said? Oh. Speaking of Celeste, she was sleeping, she looked so peaceful and it was funny because in the morning she was blaming her for not being able to sleep again, and there she was.

Kyoko smiled to herself a little bit. It was a shame but she needed to wake her up, to talk about the situation and once again change her bandages. 

"Celeste" Kyoko stood next to her and put one of her gloved hands on her shoulder moving her a little bit "wake up"

The gambler made a sound of disgust and started to open her eyes slowly "Oh…" she spotted Kyoko's face a little bit close "What? Waking me up is going to be your new hobby?" She said in a sleepy tone of voice and moved Kyoko face away with one of her hands "Perhaps you're the Ultimate Alarm Clock" She said with a little annoyance and closed her eyes again, but she didn't get to sleep again.

Kyoko let out a heavy sigh, especially for the title that was given to her "This is serious, wake up" she moved Celeste a little bit faster.

"Stop! I'm awake" She opened both of her eyes looking at Kyoko with a scowl "How may I help you?"

"Sorry for waking you up but we need to talk" she looked serious, more than she usually was, her arms crossed.

"If it's about what happened in the morning I don't care just ignore it" Celeste said with a lack of accent voice.

Kyoko for a moment remembered they embarrassing morning "Uh… that's not what I'm talking about" she sat in the edge of the bed "Look, I figured out something about your incident"

Celeste's eyes widened at the moment when she heard that sitting properly she stared at her classmate "Speak" she demanded.

Kyoko sighed deeply and looked at her classmate “Everything happens like you said, broken objects were hidden in the closet and the surveillance camera was broken, but... ” her eyes met Celeste's, she could notice that the gambler was focused on her  “... There’s something else, without cameras Monokuma wouldn’t be able to know who’s the murderer in every case, in that case the camera was broken so the only one who left the room alive should be the culprit” Kyoko stood up, with her chin resting between her thumb and index finger she explained while walking side by side, she could felt Celeste’s eyes following every movement of hers “In summary what happened to you and Hifumi it should be a imposible locked-room-mystery without being it, since for the only one that must know the truth it was impossible to really know it...” she stopped.

Celeste jaw dropped “So that’s it? I ended being ‘the blackened’ just for that shit?” her hands reached her short hair despairingly “There’s nothing that can prove that I’m innocent? I shouldn’t have lied...” She murmured to herself, once again she was regretting her past actions.

“Hold up a minute” Kyoko interrupted the gambler’s thoughts “There’s more” she looked at her classmate “I checked the camera by myself, indeed the glass was broken so no video can be seen, but the microphone still working” she folded her arms “And I proved it, it means that Monokuma listened your fight with Hifumi and he should know what happened in there, he should know that you’re innocent”

Celeste released her hair and one of her hands reached her mouth in surprise “But if that’s true… Monokuma broke his own rule”

The taller girl looked at the smaller one through her eyes, lilac met red “That’s it” she agreed “But while we don’t know the reason of why the rule was broken we can’t ensure anything”

“Indeed” the gambler nodded speaking with her fake accent “But let me congratulate you, dear Kirigiri” Celeste clapped softly her hands “You did a great job, I thank you”

Kyoko chuckled a little bit, she was going to need to get used to Celeste’s many speech forms. It was strange hearing her talking with and without her fake accent or a mix of both, but she could find it rather cute .

“I believe it’s getting late mayhaps is time to sleep?” Celeste looked at Kyoko.

“I think so”

Both of them started to get ready to sleep. Kyoko helped Celeste with her bandages after she took a shower and changed clothes, Kyoko did the same. Once they were ready Celeste climbed up the bed and Kyoko sat down in the chair.

“Do you sleep there?” the gambler said looking at her classmate behind the bed, in front of the desk.

“Yeah, why?” answered nonchalantly, Kyoko crossed her arms.

“Mmmm” Celeste curled her hair with a finger thinking. At the first moment she said that she didn’t want to share a bed with her even if she didn’t say it, but if Kyoko just slept in the chair like that she would end up injured, especially in her back. And she just has been helping her with her injuries and with her little problem, so yeah, she deserve sleep comfortable  “You are allowed to sleep next to me”

Kyoko raised a brow “Are you sure?” that was unexpected.

“Of course, I don’t want you to destroy my house of cards while sleeping so come here” She lied but she had good intentions so it didn’t matter “Or you’re afraid to sleep with a woman?” Celeste scoffed.

“No, no, I don’t care but you are injured and everything” The lavender-haired girl clarified.

“Come here until I change my mind” Celeste hissed.

Kyoko rolled her eyes and went to the empty part of the bed, lying down “Happy?”

“You are the one that should be” the gambler smiled and turned her face out of Kyoko’s sight.

“‘Night Celes” Kyoko turned the opposite way.

“Goodnight Kirigiri”

Chapter Text

Less than a week has passed since Kyoko managed to prove that Celeste's testimony was true, less than a week that felt like ages for them. Both of them grew closer to each other, since they spent most of their time together in a room, especially Celeste, they just started to enjoy the company of the other, but no labels include, they weren't friends or something like that, they were just classmates in a similar situation that felt kinda comfortable together. Even Celeste taught Kyoko some card games like poker or blackjack, that unsurprisingly Kyoko resulted to be very good at them, not like Celeste, since she's the Ultimate Gambler, but she can fend herself in a game. 

Since Kyoko needed to leave the room every single day, she taught Celeste to bandage and clean her injuries by herself. And speaking of injuries Celeste’s had been recovering in a very successful way, her face was almost without any bruises and her upper lip was healed at all. Her arms and especially her legs weren't healed at all, they still hurt, the burns and bruises on her arms were almost healed but they were still there in a slightly marked way. Of course her legs were extremely marked compared to her arms, especially since that was the part that passed most of the time burning; she was conscious that when they fully recover, they'll end nasty scarred.

In their personal lives Celeste now was capable of doing her fake accent and her always polite form of talking without hurting her throat, all thanks to Kyoko's gross cups of ginger tea, but due her situation she just didn't care about not using her accent in front of Kyoko, since she became worthy to heard her normal voice. Also, in her secret game about Kyoko she hadn't been successful at it, it was frustrating, she only grew more confused with every single time they were together, she truly didn't know anything about her nor even why she didn't take her gloves off and surely there had to be a reason for it, because Celeste wasn't going to buy the excuse of hygienic conditions because Kyoko literally had touched the corpses of their deceased classmates. Anyways she was confused and more questions than answers were wandering around her head, but she kinda liked that, especially that mysterious aura that increases every time around her classmate.

On the other hand, Kyoko advanced on her investigations about this school and the killing game, she was getting closer to the secret behind this mad place but at the same time she was getting further of it, she hasn't even connect the points about the Monokuma's reasons about Celeste's case, just few things that for the moment didn't help. About her own persona she didn't have a clue about her talent or her past, everything was coded in her memory. And about her situation with Celeste, she couldn't deny that she felt nice around her. She could say that she truly trust Celeste, it was rather nice have someone to really trust at all in their current situation, yes Makoto was there and their promise too but it wasn't the same thing, she didn't need to make a childish promise with her, it was funny since the gambler is a professional liar and probably she didn't trust her at all but for her that feeling was there and was kinda amazing.

Everything was great for both, or how great it can be in their circumstances…

Now a trial was taking place into the courtroom. Celeste, as most of the time, was alone in Kyoko's room, she can't deny that she was kinda anxious. 

What if they fail guessing and end executed? 

Or in the worst of the possibilities what if Kyoko was the culprit? 

No, she can't be, she has never met someone more morally correct as her, she would never succumb to the desire of killing for her benefit, or that was how Celeste looked at Kyoko but she can't assure anything. The goth shook her head while shuffling a deck of cards, that was her method to deal with the anxious.

The sound of the cards filled the room, the silence with that wasn't something good.

"Hmmmm" Celeste growled and put the deck on the bed and grabbed her e-Handbook, it was the twelfth time that she has done that in less than three hours and a half. 

The goth was glad that the students' dispositives updated with the 'Monokuma File' even if it was from the deceased ones. 

The victim was Sakura Ogami. Celeste still wondered how someone of the remaining students managed to kill her, especially since she was the Ultimate Martial Artist, and had an imposing and noble aura. Maybe that psycho was or even Asahina but that should be so extreme since they were so close. But, after all, since she didn't have any single idea what was the motive or how the crime scene was, she could only try to guess and wait for the best. 

Her sight passed around the room and stopped on the door. She was alone, literally alone. Monokuma and the rest of the students were in the courtroom, she had all the school only for her. Kyoko mentioned that while Monokuma was in function the cameras didn't work or something like that, and an idea showed on her mind.

The gambler stood up from the bed, rushed to Kyoko's wardrobe and put out an oversized hoodie and a simple pair of shorts from her belongings with a key as an extra. She changed into both clothes and walked to the door. With her hand she touched her short and dark hair, a sigh escaped from her mouth and she covered it with the hood of her clothes, even if anyone is going to be watching she didn't feel comfortable going outside without her twin-drills, and yes she had a pair right there but she wasn't in the mood of being in Celestia Ludenberg's flamboyant style.

Celeste put a hand on the knob, she planned to go outside. After all, nobody wasn't going to be there until three or two hours, perhaps? So she didn't have to fear that someone would catch her. And, this was better than sitting on the bed thinking about how someone was killed and someone else is going to be executed.

Without hesitation she opened the door and closed it behind her, leaving it without being locked. It's been a while since she had seen the hall, the last time she was badly injured with Kyoko at her side.

The goth started to wander around the dorm rooms, looking at every single plaque with the name of her classmates, she stopped in front of one, hers , or that was supposed to be. From one of the pockets she grabbed the before mentioned key and carefully opened the door without making a sound.

It was like how she left it, of course without taking into account that Kyoko took some things from it.

She entered, closing the door. She couldn't help but she felt anxious looking at her belongings, they felt nostalgic but in a bad way.

Celeste looked at her tons of makeup products on the desk behind the bed, from there she took a black nail polish, a little bottle of foundation, mascara and a dark red lipstick. She knew she didn't need them right now but just in case and also, she needed to fix her ruined nails. She put it all on her hoodie pockets.

Her sight turned to the black wooden coffin on one of the sides of the room. She walked to it and opened it. Inside it were some concerning things. There were a lot of wrinkled papers. But the papers weren't the problem, the problem was their content. A lot of plans to escape from this place, all of them included murders. Celeste took one of them with her hand and ripped it, they were sickening even for herself being the one who wrote them. Being in that kind of situation made her reconsider her actions every single time, and every time when that happened she regretted her actions and lies, Taeko regretted her actions and lies. She slammed the top of the coffin angrily, closing it.

"That's bullshit" She murmured walking to the door, not without registering her room with her vision one more time, it seems that she didn't need anything else from here. She had her makeup and a headache from the memories, great.

Celeste got out of the room locking it and saving the key on her shorts. With one hand she was massaging her forehead.

"Fuck" She cursed silently. The red-eyed girl walked once again in the direction of Kyoko's room, but before she put her hand on the knob and opened the door something passed across her mind.

“I have time… mayhaps…” A grin appeared on her face. Celeste turned around and walked to the dining hall.

There she was, in an empty and large dining hall. She smiled to herself and tapped her chin for a moment. Then, the gambler made her way to the kitchen.

"Ah" she let out a chuckle while looking at the place, she had time for making a delicious and extravagant Royal Milk Tea. Carefully she started to make it in the way that she liked it "It's a shame preparing it by myself" talking by herself she poured the liquid on a cup "Well…" she sigh "It can't be helped" sniffing the hot steam from the cup, she sip the tea "Ah~ Marvellous" she purred to herself. It's been a while since Celeste had proved her favorite drink, all that she had drunk since her incident was ginger tea and water, so proving this once again was happiness itself, and also the best way to make her headache disappear.

The gambler ended her tea and put the teacup on the sink. Clicking her tongue she washed the cup and put it one the same place that she found it. Then she realized that her time was almost over. Putting the time that she spent in her room and making the tea, the trial surely was going to end soon. Back in the past she wouldn't even care about this even if her life was in risk, but now she was walking on a threat that if it breaks she would fall into her death and probably she would drag Kyoko with her. And, she didn't want that, she didn't want Kyoko to die by her recklessness. It was strange, but it was true.

As soon as possible she returned to the room, after closing the door she lay down on the bed. 

Some minutes passed. Even if the rooms were soundproof, some steps and sobbing could be heard from the hallway, the trial must have ended. It meant that Kyoko would be here in some moments… It never came. Seconds, minutes, hours passed and no sign about the lavender-haired girl. The nighttime announcement passed and Celeste started to grow nervous and anxious. What if Kyoko was the blackened and now she's dead? Her expectations about her were so good to be true? With her hands she was shuffling the deck of cards. What's she going to do without her? Her head was spinning with questions without answers. She never expected the first class trial on this situation would be that despairingly anxious, and she didn't even participate in it.

Another hour passed, no signals about Kyoko. Celeste couldn't sleep. She could say that it was almost 2 am, she had been counting the minutes since the nighttime announcement, she knew that she was having a silent anxiety attack.

Suddenly the door knob started to move and then the door was opened in a careful way, Celeste looked at it. The missing Kyoko Kirigiri was the one who passed through it and then locked the door. Celeste felt herself relaxed in that moment, and then her face deeply flushed in anger. She stood up.

"Oh, you're awake" Kyoko said nonchalantly, putting off her faux leather jacket. She didn't notice the state of the gambler.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Celeste said in a loud and displeased tone of voice.

That sudden answer caught Kyoko unaware. She looked at her classmate directly to the face, Celeste looked really annoyed.

"What?" Kyoko said, tilting her head and raising an eyebrow. She was confused about that.

"You really don't know!?" Celeste crossed her arms "I mean, a fucking class trial just passed and with it a fucking execution, right? And you didn't appear until now!!"

Kyoko stood in silence for a moment. Then she decided to speak "Oh, you were worried about me?" She smirked.

Celeste narrowed her eyes and looked deeply on the girl in front of her. Indeed she was worried about Kyoko but she wasn't going to give her the satisfaction to hear that "Of course not!" She lied "I mean, if you die who's going to help me?" She faked pain.

Kyoko rolled her eyes, she was sure that it was a lie. With the time they had spent together she had managed to see through Celeste's lies, well through most of them. At the beginning was easy since the gambler wasn't in the mood for lying but now it was more complex.

"Wait…" Kyoko realized something and looked at the gambler, with an annoyed expression "You thought that I killed Sakura?"

"What!? No!! I mean…" Celeste looked away.

"I see" Kyoko crossed her arms and looked away too. Then, silence filled the room.

The goth bit her lower lip, and decided to break that awkward silence.

"I just thought you were executed" Her eyes placed on the lavender-haired girl "Truly I did consider that you were the blackened, but I also considered the fact that perhaps you were tricked or something like that" She played with a strand of her short hair.

Kyoko closed her eyes. She couldn't blame her, of course she would be waiting for her to come back to the room before a trial, and the fact that it didn't happen, she was in her total right to be worried about it.

"It's okay" the taller girl finally spoke, connecting her eyes with Celeste's ones "I don't blame you" a small smile curved her lips.

Celeste let out a relief sigh and shared a real smile as an answer. With the time she got blessed to see Kyoko with different expressions than her always cool and mysterious one. Of course those expressions were a few like a smile or a simple annoyed glare, but they were better than anything.

"Perhaps, do you want to talk about what happened there?" Celeste said sitting on the bed again without signals of being sleepy.

That question only meant that Celeste was curious about it, of course she wasn't going to ask what happened in a direct way just to don't make her seem curious, and Kyoko knew that.

With a sigh, the lavender-haired girl sat down on the bed next to Celeste and started to take off her boots "I think so?" 

Celeste didn't answer and just moved her head indicating Kyoko to go ahead with the details and explanation.

Kyoko nodded and started to talk "The motive was that a traitor was between us and they resulted to be Sakura" She could notice how Celeste's eyes widened in surprise "The point of that was to distrust her just to start the fourth case. Of course some of us did really distrust her, even Hagakure and Fukawa attacked her" Kyoko crossed her arms "I stayed neutral as always. But then she was killed in the Rec Room"

Celeste let out a lower gasp "And who murdered her?" She said showing interest.

"At the beginning we thought that she died due the amount of hits that she received from Hagakure and Fukawa's attacks" She sighed "Then we discovered that she died by poison from the Chemistry Lab. Asahina tried to blame herself just to kill everyone by failing at the moment that we vote" Kyoko closed her eyes "At the end we discovered that Sakura committed suicide "

Celeste's eyes narrowed a little while looking at her classmate "But why would she do that?"

"She left a note, in that she said that she was pushed into despair, but that was a fake one that Monokuma used to trick Aoi and kill us" She looked at Celeste sideways "But then we discovered that the truth behind that was that she had the desire of die fulfilled with the guilt of betraying us and Monokuma obligated her to commit a murder, instead of that she killed herself, just to stop us to killing each other. Or that was her letter said" she turned herself and looked at the gambler "Also she sabotaged the headmaster's room" 

"So, that was her motive…" Celeste folded her hands, it was something difficult to explain for her but that should be difficult "And I supposed that that sabotage was the reason for you to disappear, yes?"

"Indeed" Kyoko said nodding and before Celeste could ask something else she grabbed from her jacket, that was on the bed, a key with a Monokuma on the top "I found this. It's a key that opens every single door" she explained.

The gambler took the key from Kyoko's hand and looked at it carefully "Don't you think this could be a problem? I mean if Monokuma discovered that you stole this… you know"

"Well, if he hasn't discovered you , I think that would be difficult" Kyoko, grabbing back the key, smirked at her, but suddenly that smirk didn't last that much. Her demeanor turned serious"... Celes, can I ask you something?" She looked at the gambler directly to the eyes.

The sudden change of atmosphere got noticed by both of them, especially by Celeste and that question.

"I guess so" She nodded slowly.

"What was your real motive? You know for planning a murder" This trial made her think a lot about the others trials, especially about Celeste's one, she never asked her about that part.

That abrupt question caught Celeste out of guard, she expected something less invasive. She looked at Kyoko and her characteristic poker face appeared.

"I believed that you already know my motive" She smiled placing her hands under her chin, her fake accent appeared on her voice.

"I don't want to push you, but I need to comprehend your actions" Kyoko put a strand of her hair behind her ear. "You said that you keep your game of lies until the end, so I hardly can believe that you planned a complex crime just for the money " She knew that everybody has a motive for their actions no matter what, even if it the action was bad or good something was hide behind it that lead that person for doing that things, and it was a fact.

"Well, I'm a gambler, what did you expect?" The goth giggled, covering her mouth with one hand.

"Drop your act, please " Kyoko barely begged her. Indeed she didn't want to push her but she needed that in order to help her. 

Celeste frowned, breaking her poker face and crossing her arms "What do you expect? That after cursing everyone there I would just say the truth and have a mental breakdown right there in front of them?" her accent dropped.

Those words concerned Kyoko. She knew that Celeste wasn't the best example of an emotional stable person. She was the opposite. And she had had the bad luck of seeing her one time in her weakest state, of course she didn't judge her, everyone has their own issues. 

"I know but-"

"Are you not going to judge me?" Celeste cut off Kyoko's words. She didn't care about being judged by other people but somehow she cared about Kyoko's opinion. So, she made up her mind, she was going to tell Kyoko everything that she needed to know.

"I promise" Kyoko nodded.

"Fine, what do you need to know?"

Even if Kyoko said it before, she didn't mind repeat it for Celeste "Your motive"

"Right… my motive" Celeste closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She didn't want to enter into details so she was going to go straight to the point "Two students were victims, they were one of the weakest students here… If you take in account all of the remaining students after them… I would be the next victim" She opened her eyes and looked at Kyoko "I wanted to stay alive and get out of this fucking place like everyone!" She gritted her teeth, she knew that she stayed telling the others to adapt at this freaking place just to fool herself, to fool her fear "So I planned an almost perfect crime since Mondo's trial because I wanted to escape alive!"

Kyoko narrowed her eyes while looking at Celeste "But, why were you so sure that you would be the next?"

Silence filled the room. Celeste closed her eyes and gritted her teeth one more time. That was an stupid and obvious question for her. 

"Damn it, Kyoko!" The gambler cursed, breaking the silence and losing her composure "Because I'm weak you know!? Between Hifumi, Ishimaru, Hagakure, Aoi, Togami, Fukawa, Sakura, Naegi, you and me, I was the best target!!" Her hands were shaking "You know why!? Because I was the weakest person remaining alive!! Because I'm weak!! I'm weak. I'm weak. I'm weak. I'm weak…"

Celeste started to repeat and mumble those words. Taeko started to repeat and mumble those words. She was starting to have a breakdown. Kyoko didn't want that to happen.

"Celes…?"

"Why the fuck do you think I created a fake persona besides just for live in a fantasy world!?" As mentioned before, she didn't want to enter into details but apparently she was doing it "I, as Celestia Ludenberg , am magnificent, interesting, amazing only daughter of a French noble father and a German musician mother. I threat people without even trying it, I manipulate people dumb minds, I have the respect that I deserve, I win games without even trying it, I'm perfect!" She tried to form a smile on her face that didn't work "I, as Taeko Yasuhiro , am bullshit, a failure, average, boring daughter of a traditional working-class family with three siblings. I'm weak, I just lie to everyone! I'm scared of everything! I-I can't do anything good!" Celeste grabbed her head and tears started to fill her eyes "I-I'm a disappointment!" 

Tightening the grip on her hair she pulled it, and the tears streamed down her face. Kyoko couldn't endure seeing her like that, it was worse than the first time that she saw her having a breakdown, she needed to stop her.

"Celes…" Kyoko carefully took both of her arms. The gambler still pulls her hair despairingly while crying without noticing Kyoko.

"Celes" she repeated in a soft tone, trying to catch her attention, it didn't work.

"Celeste..." One more time, nothing. 

"CELESTE!!" Kyoko raised her voice, it worked.

"WHAT?!" Celeste countered until she realized what was happening, she blinked twice. Celeste looked at the concern and stress expression on Kyoko's face, and she took off her arms of her head placing them on her mouth "M-My a-apologies for what you have heard" she stuttered.

Kyoko shook her head letting Celeste's arms off "Don't apologize, it's not your fault… I'm sorry for making you to talk about that"

Celeste ignored Kyoko's apologies "You must think that I'm pathetic…" She looked down avoiding eye-contact.

"No, I don't" Kyoko placed a hand carefully on one of her shoulders "I promised that I wouldn't judge you, and besides that I don't think you're pathetic" She softly smiled.

"Ugh, don't think that because I'm like this you should just lie to make me feel better" Celeste hissed, trying to composure herself.

"I don't lie, and I'm sure you can notice that" the taller girl said.

Celeste rolled her eyes and a growl escape from her mouth "Whatever" she crossed her arms "It's still being pathetic"

"I don't think so" Kyoko started to talk "I can't deny but think that both, Celestia and Taeko, are amazing"

"What? Don't make me laugh" A bitter fake chuckle left Celeste's mouth "What is 'amazing' about Taeko, huh?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, well" Kyoko place her chin between her thumb and index finger "You said a lot of good things about Celestia Ludenberg but that things also applied for Taeko too"

Celeste remained in silence confused on what Kyoko was saying.

"Look, of course you can't be a descendant of an European family as you as Celestia proclaimed to be. But, Taeko is interesting, and also amazing too. Taeko is skillful, not for nothing that you're the Ultimate Gambler, right?" She wasn't just saying that just for making Celeste feel better, she was saying that because it was the truth .

"Celestia Ludenberg is the Ultimate Gambler, not Taeko" the gambler stated.

"It's hard to believe that, I mean you just can't create a persona that magically knows how to beat everyone in a complex game as poker" Kyoko grabbed Celeste's hands between her gloved ones. Celeste just looked at it without trying to pull them back "Even I can prove that both are threatening, only in different ways. And also smart enough to manipulate someone" maybe those weren't the best characteristics to say about someone but for Celeste they meant a lot "Celestia is not weak, and Taeko neither. Both of them are perfect in their own way" 

"Even if they planned a complex murder in order to escape and ended up with two deaths?"

Kyoko nodded "You just was scared and this place drive everyone mad" She tilted her head without erasing the smile from her face "And Monokuma use that to manipulate you just for started your plan"

The goth raised an eyebrow, looking at the girl in front of her blankly.

"It's well-known for us that the motives and this place are the reason why the murders take place. The videos and secrets, they were in general" She took a deep breath "But the money was a direct attack against you, you are a gambler of course you want wealth but I can say that if you weren't on this place you would never try to commit murder for that" Kyoko's tone was calm and slow.

"How do you know that?"

"You were scared after Mondo's trial for, being the next, as a self-defense act you planned a crime, but you didn't use it until the motive was presented, right?" She continued explaining "If your plan ended being successful you would have the money as an extra. But as you told me you wanted to stop everything but it was too late for stopping it, though it ended in a different way that was planned. Am I correct?"

Celeste was speechless. Kyoko literally made a full analysis of the words that she said during her breakdown and then she connected those just to conclude what was happening in her mind during the end of the second trial to the third one.

"B-but as you said, I'm as guilty as the blackened and as innocent as the victim, right? So d-don't try to justify everything" Celeste managed to say.

"I'm aware of what I have said, but as I said before this place drives everyone mad. Nor Leon, nor Mondo even Sakura aren't guilt for what they have done, nor even you" Kyoko left Celeste's hands "You said that you don't like to drag things on, so stop doing it, the only one who's guilty here is Monokuma and the one who's behind it"

Celeste blinked various times. First Kyoko listened to her and her breakdown. Then somehow she managed to make her feel better with herself and her depressing persona. Also she made her stop blaming herself for everything that she has done. Kyoko was kind more than what she expected for someone like her, she couldn’t deny that that thought made her feel something warm on her chest...  Small sobs were heard, Celeste couldn't stop it and in a blink of an eye she was hugging Kyoko without noticing.

That action caught Kyoko out of guard but she didn't mind it so she corresponded to it.

"Thanks" Celeste and Taeko murmured under their breath.

They spent some comfortable and silent minutes like that, until they separated.

“Are you better?” Kyoko was the first to break the silence.

Celeste nodded “Let’s never talk again about this” carefully she rubbed both of her eyes that were slightly red matching with her nose.

“As you wish” Kyoko nodded and let out a heavy yawn covering it with her mouth “Perhaps we should sleep, it’s to late and I’m tired” she looked at Celeste “And I can say the same about you”

The gambler silently nodded and entered the bathroom. Both of them prepared themselves for sleeping. Then they lay down on the bed.

“I need to ask you something else before sleeping” Kyoko turned to Celeste. 

“Go ahead” Celeste said calmly, turning to her too.

“About the castle…” Kyoko made a recall of what she said at the end of the trial “Is that true?”

“Indeed, I want a castle but of course in that moment it was just an excuse” the gambler answered.

“I see... I hope you can achieve it one day” she said sincerely.

Celeste couldn’t help but flush and cover her face with the blanket.

“Just sleep” she said.

“Goodnight, Celeste” Kyoko turned the opposite way.

“Goodnight”

Chapter Text

Since her last night breakdown, the gambler stayed most of the morning on the bed questioning herself and sometimes about Kyoko. She somehow felt good with herself, she felt good about Taeko and that was strange to happen. But she didn't know if this was because she had a breakdown and cleaned herself about all her stress and everything or because of her classmate's words. Probably the second one. But she was still questioning herself about it, especially since for her the things were awkward between them. Perhaps, she was still embarrassed about losing her composure and crying despairingly in front of Kyoko or just because she woke up wrapping the lavender-haired girl between her arms. The problem here was that she was the only one that felt the things like that, but Kyoko seemed to be just ignoring them and acting normal with them, of course she wasn't sure since she obviously didn't know what's going on in Kyoko's head. Either way, the most awkward thing she felt was that mysterious feeling that Kyoko provoked in her, was turning into a warm and comfortable feeling, it was still exciting and dangerous especially since she has never felt like that towards anyone, but she couldn't deny that she felt stupid with it.

Celeste shook her head, she needed to do something about it. She wanted to know her better even if it was just a single thing like her favorite color or food she'll be satisfied with. She needed to do that for the sake of her game and herself. But of course she just couldn't ask her those things randomly, that would be a big invasion of Kyoko's privacy and that would turn the things more awkward between them. The only thing that for her seemed to work was one of the things that she did the best, a game of cards.

The gambler stood up from the bed and made her way to the bathroom. She took a quick shower, put new bandages and changed into proper clothes, not like she's going to wear her gothic lolita attire but something more presentable, she didn't want to stay in her sleeping clothes all day like the days before. And this was serious, well for her was serious. When was the last time that she took something seriously about someone else? She couldn't remember, but at that moment nothing else matters.

Celeste took the nail polish that she had grabbed from her dorm room the day before and sat down on the bed. She looked carefully at her nails. They were an actual mess but nothing that she wasn't able to fix. Four layers of paint and her nails were done. Now they looked great, not as good as they looked before her little burning problem but they looked decent with that shiny black color, almost like her hair.

Changing the topic, judging by the time that Kyoko left the room she was going to be here at any moment or that supposed to be, especially because she was going to bring her lunch as everyday. 

That was their routine. Kyoko left, she brought her breakfast. Kyoko left, she brought her lunch. Kyoko left, she came back to sleep. It was an odd routine but they got used to it, especially Celeste since she still wasn't able to leave the room. And this wasn't so different like when she was in her house. Her parents when discovered about her participation in some illegal gambling tournaments they locked her up in her bedroom every single day when she came back to school, because she was a dishonor and a failure for being involved with illegal stuff, and she wasn't like her correct and polite siblings. But of course they kept her winnings as a 'punishment', what an utterly lie, and she knew it better than anyone else, they spent her money while using that stupid excuse, and she hated it. Of course her actual situation was different, yes she was locked but it was for her safety and it wasn't that bad if she compared the fact that she almost died in the hands of a psycho bear and his fire truck.

The goth let out a sigh and shook her head, it wasn't the right moment to think about that stuff, she didn't want to get anxious like the day before, now she needed to focus on her little plan. First, she had to convince Kyoko to stay with her the rest of the day and play. For Kyoko it wasn't going to be difficult to stay there with Celeste because she was used to disappearing without anyone noticing it, but the difficult part was asking her without sounding suspicious, but of course even if it was difficult Celeste could obviously make it without problem.

The door opened and closed. It was Kyoko, just in time. The lavender-haired girl had a plate with a sandwich and a cup of tea, it wasn't the most fancy food but Kyoko wasn't a chef so it was fine.

"Here" Kyoko said, putting the plate on the desk "I'll come back later" turning on her heels, she walked to the door, until Celeste's voice stopped her.

"Actually... I was wondering if you would like to spend the rest of the day with me" the gambler asked with an innocent expression on her face.

Kyoko tilted her head, that was an odd petition, especially coming from Celeste. Of course they enjoyed spending time together since they actually sleep in the same room but she has never asked her to stay with her during the day.

"Excuse me, what?" she asked, slightly confused. 

"As I said, spend the rest of the day with me" a small smile formed on Celeste's lips. She needed Kyoko to agree. Yes, she could wait until the nighttime but she must sleep properly because her eye bags were becoming bigger and it wasn't enough time for what she had planned. 

"Why?" The only answer that came from Kyoko. It was bothersome for Celeste that Kyoko was still asking but she couldn't do anything about that.

"And why not? We only spend time together at night and I just wanted to spend more time with you" without erasing her smile, the dark-haired girl clarified. It wasn't the best excuse, and she was aware of it but she couldn't think of anything else to catch Kyoko.

The taller girl narrowed her eyes. Her lilac eyes stared deeply into Celeste's red eyes. She knew that the gambler had something in hands because as mentioned before that was odd and she was curious about it.

"What are you up too?" she stepped closer to Celeste who was on the bed and crossed her arms.

"Moi? Nothing I'm just bored and I think I had mentioned the other details before" folding her hands under her chin she giggled. 

Kyoko didn't answer. Silence filled the room.  She couldn't help but feel flattered about what Celeste had said, it was odd, all of this was odd. She looked at the goth, who was with a small smile on her face. She looked better than the day before, but perhaps she was requesting her to stay because she was still feeling bad about what happened? No. Celeste didn't like to drag things on, she must have another reason. Biting her lip Kyoko sighed, she was going to accept. It didn't matter if she disappeared for the rest of the day, the rest of her classmates didn't care about if she disappeared or not, so it was fine for her. And she was still curious about this sudden petition. 

"Fine" Kyoko broke the silence. With her answer she could notice how Celeste's smile widened and clapped her hands.

"Magnificent!" she chuckled. Celeste had the feeling that Kyoko suspected her, she wasn't cautious at the moment of insisting but it wasn't that bad, especially because she had already agreed.

Kyoko sat down next to Celeste looking at her "What now?" normally she wouldn't ask, but because of the insistence of Celeste she expected something different. 

"Mmm" the gambler tapped her chin faking not knowing what to do for a few moments. She stood up and grabbed the two decks of cards "Would you enjoy playing some Blackjack?"

Kyoko silently nodded. She wasn't afraid of playing against Celeste since she taught her how to play that type of game, even though something was off.

"Come here" the gambler ordered tapping the round table in the middle of the room. Kyoko stood up from the bed and sat down on one of the chairs next to the table "Do you want to be the dealer?" Celeste sat down too, facing Kyoko. 

"No"

"Well then" Celeste removed the jokers of both deck of cards and started to shuffle the decks together "I was thinking of betting something"

"Hmm?" Kyoko raised an eyebrow, that was the strange thing about this game. They never have bet something while playing so why now? "You know we don't have money here, right?"

"Of course I know, dear" she finished shuffling and cut a third part of the deck placing it at the edge of the table "and if we had have money, I would never take yours" it was a rare statement coming from Celeste especially because her talent was emptying the other people's pockets until the last coin, but she felt that Kyoko didn't deserve that and she probably couldn't take her money without feeling bad, strange "So I was thinking of another type of bet"

Kyoko couldn't help but slightly blushed and felt flattered once again at hearing that. Shaking her head, erasing the blush, she focused on the gambler in front of her "What kind of bet?"

"Let's bet questions" Celeste started to distribute the cards, giving Kyoko two with the face reveal, while one of her cards had the face down and the other visible because she was the dealer.

"Like an interview?" Kyoko looked at her cards, she had an A and a 6.

"Similar but more entertaining" Celeste tapped the table twice with her fingers and looked at her only visible card, it was a J "Can we start?"

"Right" Kyoko nodded and looked at the gambler. Both of them were with blank expressions, Celeste with her perfect poker face and Kyoko with her usual neutral one. Kyoko tapped the table, it meant that she was requesting another card.

Celeste gave a card to Kyoko from the deck, it was a 9. Again Kyoko tapped, a 4. Then she stopped, adding up her cards she had a 20.

Since Kyoko stopped Celeste turned her hide card, it was a 21 "Blackjack" she giggled. She wasn't supposed to let her excitement slip under her poker face during a match but this was an exception. 

With a sigh Kyoko put her cards and Celeste's on the side. She couldn't deny that she was a little upset just for losing at the begging but she was playing against Celeste and her unusual devil's luck at gambling plus her skills "Well, ask something"

"Let me see, did you discover something else along the key?" Celeste tilted her head in innocence, she knew that the answer was affirmative since Kyoko mentioned something about it at the moment when she left the room in the morning, but it was just for entering in the mood and then asking more deep questions. 

Her lilac eyes widened, she forgot to talk with Celeste about that "Actually, yes, there is something concerning about a sixteen student lying hidden somewhere in the school"

The gambler's eyes widened in surprise, someone hiding here since the beginning, that was more deep than she thought "Did you discover their name? Or talent?"

Kyoko nodded "Her name is Mukuro Ikusaba, they call her the Ultimate Despair" she looked at the surprise expression on Celeste's face "But don't worry about her now" she reassured. 

"Fine" she wasn't convinced of not worrying about that new mysterious person but for now she was going to do what her classmate said "Let's continue" The gambler distributed the cards in the same order as before and looked at Kyoko.

"Stand" Kyoko moved her hand over her cards, she had a Q and a 9 forming a 19, if she asked for more she could be busted.

Celeste turned her hide card revealing a 2, with her revealed card she had a 12 "What a shame, ask something" she sighed.

Kyoko didn't expect to win that round, and now she didn't have an idea of what to ask her since she already knew a lot about Celeste's personal life, perhaps… "Do you trust me?" like if it was automated that words left Kyoko's mouth. It was something that worried her some time ago since she figured out what happened with Celeste's incident. 

Celeste opened her mouth to talk but nothing came out. That question caught her unaware. She knew that at the beginning of this peculiar situation she clarified that she did not trust Kyoko, but that was just for herself to believe that. She gave her Alter Ego key when her trial finished, then she literally put her own life in her hands and she told her about her deepest secrets towards her shameful life… "Actually, I do" this was odd for her, she as a liar and gambler learned to don't trust anyone who can break her castle of lies but somehow she didn't care about it, actually she was glad that Kyoko was the one who has broken more of her walls of lies. Once again that warm feeling filled her chest just for thinking that, and a slightly red color colored her cheeks. She looked away.

Kyoko nodded, that was a really satisfying answer "Perhaps we should continue" she proposed since Celeste sight looked lost.

The gambler just nodded avoiding eye contact. Since blackjack was a fast game many rounds passed. Kyoko has won nine while Celeste has won twelve. Kyoko didn't have a lot to ask Celeste so she just asked her some common things like her likes and dislikes or about her previous tournaments. 

On the other hand Celeste had a pack of new and confusing information about Kyoko, in order to discover her talent she asked some things related to what she had seen in the first three trials. She thought that she could be the Ultimate Forensic or the Ultimate Nurse since she used to check the corpses of their classmates and how she managed to help her with her burns, but she didn't give her that doctor's vibes and her treatments wasn't the most professional looking, of course she was glad about it but still. Also, she thought that she could be the Ultimate Criminologist judging by the way that she checked the crime scenes, but it wasn't convincing. She even thought that probably Kyoko didn't have an ultimate talent in the first place but she just couldn't buy that. Her ultimate talent was hard to guess even with all of that details...  Of course she also asked some personal information like her likes and dislikes, just to don't oversaturate Kyoko with deep questions. But the most concerning thing that she discovered is that that mysterious amnesia that Kyoko said that she had was something severe since a lot of her questions she couldn't answer properly or she struggled to remember them. Perhaps it was time to stop, just one more question. 

"Why do you use those gloves?" Celeste asked her final question.

Kyoko let out an inner growl "It's for hygienic purposes" she lied, but she couldn't reveal the only thing that she was sure about herself, even if she trusted Celeste she wasn't prepared for it.

Celeste narrowed her eyes after that response. That was an utterly lie and she knew it better than anyone else, but she wasn't going to force Kyoko to answer with the truth "Perhaps it's time to stop" she grabbed all the cards from the table and mixed them with the deck, she didn't bothered on dividing the two decks "Thanks for playing and staying with me" she stood up and went to the desk behind the bed.

Kyoko silently nodded, she couldn't deny but her head hurt, like if a needle was digging her head and she wasn't a fan of it. All of that was for forcing herself to find an answer for Celeste's questions, and she couldn't blame the goth for it since she didn't force her to answer those questions, she was the one who forced herself to do it. With a sigh she stood up and looked at Celeste saving the cards into a drawer of the desk.

"What was the reason for this?" Finally Kyoko decided to talk, putting her jacket off and throwing it on the bed.

"I was…" Celeste stopped for a moment thinking of saying the truth or not "just trying to know you better" she choose the truth, well a partial one, she needed to get sure about the rest until telling to Kyoko about it, she didn't wanted to mess up with Kyoko's fuzzy memory, more than it already was "My apologies for my method" she bow her head. She felt bad for how Kyoko ended overthinking her questions. 

"It's okay, but you just could simply ask" Kyoko untied her tie, looking how Celeste rolled her eyes, of course she would never simply ask, she was a gambler and her life revolves around games. She let out a small chuckle until she stopped her tracks,  and looked slightly disappointed at the floor "Sorry for not giving you proper answers"

"Don't apologize, you're in your right for not answering that due your strange amnesia" Celeste reassured 'But I never expected it to be that bad…' She was still concerned about Kyoko state but she couldn't do anything about it, not now.

"But I--" her words were cut when a loud and annoying bear popped out on the screen of the bedroom announcing the nighttime. Kyoko sighed. 

"Let's go to bed, we are tired" Celeste said, entering into the bathroom and both made their daily routine of changing into their sleeping clothes. 

Now both were on the bed just about to sleep. 

"Night Kirig--"

"Wait" Kyoko cut off Celeste's words. Both of them looked at each other "Since I couldn't give you something interesting about me and you gave me some information about you… mayhaps you could call me Kyoko instead of being that formal and using my last name, as an exchange?" this was something that crossed Kyoko's mind at the last moment. She did feel bad for not giving something to Celeste but she wasn't prepared for showing her her hands so this was more viable, even if it was simple. 

Celeste raised an eyebrow. This was childish, or that was what she thought at the first moment, but seeing Kyoko trying to apologize for not achieving her expectations was rather cute and plus she was going to be able to say her name. 

"Fine, Kyoko " Celeste smiled, it really felt different saying the name of someone else, especially a name as beautiful as Kyoko's "But stop overthinking about that, don't mortify yourself, please" 

"Right… Night Celes" she turned and closed her eyes.

"Goodnight, Kyoko" Celeste turned the opposite way and slowly fell into her slumber. 

Less than two hours had passed since both of them said their nights and went to sleep, but something was off, one of them was still awake. 

Kyoko was staring at the ceiling her head was filled with thoughts about herself, she told Celeste that she wasn't going to overthink it but she was frustrated about it, she was angry with herself for not remembering anything, it wasn't her fault but still. And making things worse, her head was still hurting as hell, she should have mentioned it to Celeste after the game ended but she didn't want to bother the gambler. Without making so much movement on the bed, she pressed her head between her two hands trying to stop the pain, she wanted to cry about it but she couldn't do it, perhaps she forgot how to cry too, she wouldn't be surprised about it. Kyoko pressed her head tightly, bit her lower lip and closed her eyes, trying to reduce the pain. That didn't work. She was about to become insane for it, but she couldn't even if she wanted it. She felt how Celeste moved on the bed making an annoyance noise, and covered her head with a pillow. Maybe she should be more quiet, she didn't want to wake up the light sleeper gambler, she would feel bad if that happened since she really looked pacific and calm while sleeping. Kyoko sighed. That was going to be a long night for her…

Chapter Text

The sound of the morning announcement made its way to her ears, it was annoying but strange at the same time. Since her current situation, Celeste has never woken up with that announcement, normally Kyoko wakes her or she just does it by herself. Anyways, the point here is that she was awakened and now she'll have to wait some time until she could get back to sleep again so better do something else.

Rubbing her eyes she tried to pull herself up and sit on the bed. While doing that her hand touched something cold and stiff. Her eyes widened, she looked at whatever she was touching next to her. It was Kyoko. Celeste felt a void in her stomach. The lavender-haired girl was lying on the bed, stiff and without any blanket covering her, just with her sleeping clothes, perhaps that's why she was cold. But the most concerning thing she was with her lilac eyes opened looking at the ceiling or that seemed to be. She didn't mutter any words, Kyoko was just there in silence. Celeste put away her hand and looked direct to her classmate.

“Is she… dead…?”

That idea freaked out Celeste. Kyoko was there just lying in the bed, stiff and cold, her eyes opened with eyebags on them, without making any noise or movement… just like a corpse… No, it can't be. Nobody entered the last night here or something, perhaps her mind was playing with her. She shook her head, this should be a trick, right? Somehow she felt like something inside her was missing, something that she grew used to it. That warm feeling that her classmate provoked on her was turning into a tiny and slim glass that was starting to fracture.

Celeste was just there sitting and looking at Kyoko, waiting for a signal that would prove that Kyoko was alive. She didn't dare to touch her again, it was weird. 

Some seconds that felt like hours passed and nothing happened. She was growing anxious. Has she blinked?

"Stop staring" 

That voice made Celeste slightly jump in her place. It was Kyoko. She took a deep breath, she was glad that she was alive, but something didn't feel right. Kyoko didn't seem right. Her tone of voice was lower and rougher than usual, without taking into account that she was just there looking at the ceiling. At this moment Kyoko should be outside of the room or something else.

"Mmmm Kyoko? Are you feeling good?" Celeste tilted her without unlocking her eyes from the lavender-haired girl, she couldn't help but feeling worried about her, especially since she didn't seem to be good.

Kyoko growled at response. She turned her body and faced down the bed, grabbing her pillow covering her head. It was still hurting. All night and morning it passed with this pain in it. She was getting used to it but it still didn't let her sleep properly. In summary she hasn't slept anything yet.

Celeste scowled for the lack of a proper answer. The idea of just letting Kyoko stay there and nothing else, passed across her mind, but something stopped her from doing that.

"You know you can't stay here for the rest of the day, yes?" Even if Kyoko didn't look well, she couldn't stay there, it would raise suspicions on Kyoko.

"Who cares…" she mumbled under the pillow "I passed yesterday with you and I'm sure that nothing happened" she didn't feel like she had the energy to go and investigate other parts of the school. She was tired of everything at this point.

Celeste bit her lip. Right, yesterday she asked Kyoko to spend time with her, and she asked her some questions… She crossed her arms, and let out a sigh.

"I know that was what happened but if you just disappeared all the day, they would think that you're dead or the suspicions on you will rise, it would be risky" the gambler stated.

"For you or for me?" Kyoko said in a tone of annoyance. 

Celeste frowned her eyebrows. It was pretty clear that Kyoko wasn't being Kyoko. She wasn't in a nonchalantly and cold mood, she was annoyed and grumpy. "That's not the point, it's dangerous that's it"

"An underground gambler telling me what's dangerous and what's not?" Kyoko countered. 

The goth felt like a sword trespassing her chest. Fuck it. It's been a while since she hasn't felt the necessity of ripping Kyoko's head off but now it was tentative. But no, she couldn't be angry towards her classmate, she didn't seem good and she has helped her many times until now. Taking a deep breath, Celeste unfolded her arms and put a hand on Kyoko's arm, rubbing it softly.

Ignoring that answer, Celeste asked "What's happening?" Trying to sound kind. It was strange to her talking like that but this situation seemed to need it. 

"Nothing," The lavender-haired girl answered.

"Dear, I don't know if you remember but I am still being the Queen of Liars, so I know when you're lying" she let out a giggle, perhaps it wasn't the best moment for it but she couldn't help it "So, tell me, what's happening?" She continued rubbing her arm, until she saw how Kyoko put away the pillow from her head and faced up the gambler. Her eyes were sad and her expression too.

"I just don't want to do anything today, that's all…" Kyoko sat down and rubbed her eyes.

Celeste felt the necessity of asking her 'why' but she felt that if she asked it, the things would turn bad for both of them.

"That's okay, I'm not going to force you to spend the rest of the day out there" she clapped her hands "But, with one condition"

Kyoko narrowed her eyes "A condition?" That idea wasn't the most inviting, but for this time she was going to accept Celeste's terms, she just wanted to lay down on that bed.

"Yes" the dark-haired girl nodded "It's kinda obvious that you aren't in a good mood but as I said before, it would be dangerous for you to stay here" She could hear how Kyoko let out a growl "So, as a condition I request you to at least make act of present in the cafeteria and said that you're sick and you'll be in your room the rest of the day"

Kyoko stayed in silence considering Celeste's terms. For one part she would have to go to the cafeteria, which meant that she would have to dress up. For another part the excuse was great and her appearance helped as an alibi. Well, she didn't have other options so it was fine.

"Fine, I'm going to the cafeteria…" She stood up and walked to the bathroom, looking how Celeste had a smile of satisfaction.

In the bathroom she looked at herself in the mirror. Her eye bags were more noticeable and her hair was extremely disheveled. Letting out a sigh, she grabbed her hairbrush and fixed most of her hair. She didn't bother to make her braid. Kyoko washed her face with some water and changed clothes, she'll take a shower in the night.

"I'm ready…" Kyoko exited the bathroom "I'll be back soon, then" she walked to the door getting out, while Celeste waved at her with a concerned expression on her face.

Walking slowly,  Kyoko arrived at the cafeteria. When she entered most of the presents looked at her in surprise. Of course they would be surprised, she was late for their usual cafeteria meeting and she didn't look like her at all. But she did not care about that. The lilac-eyed girl made her way to the kitchen ignoring the looks.

"Mmm" She looked around, since she took the time to come here, perhaps she would grab some food for her and Celeste. While taking something she felt a hand on her shoulder, making her turn to the person fast and grab that hand.

"Hi, Kirigiri!" It was Asahina. Kyoko loosen the grip and looked at her with a neutral expression "Are you feeling good?" The swimmer said with a simple smile.

Kyoko narrowed her eyes, she knew that Hina has good intentions but she just couldn't tell her what's happening, so she was going to take Celeste's excuse.

"I'm feeling sick actually," she said nonchalantly. 

The blue-eyed girl gasped in surprise "Really? Well I think that's why you have a tea box" she pointed at the object that was in Kyoko's hand.

Kyoko nodded, actually the tea was for Celeste but she just couldn't say that for obvious reasons. She turned at the counter and started to prepare the tea. She looked how Asahina moved and to other part of the kitchen, like searching for something. At the moment when she finished preparing the tea, the swimmer almost jumped on her,  handing her something. 

"Here!" She put a plate on her gloved hands "The donuts always make me feel better when I'm sick!" Kyoko looked at the plate. Two donuts were there, she wasn't the biggest fan of sweets but it was a kind act, so she thanked “So, where are you going to stay? The nursery?” Asahina added.

“In my room” Kyoko answered without adding details and exited the kitchen with Hina following her. Again the eyes of her classmates stared at her. Silence filled the room. 

"Suspicious, Kirigiri" Byakuya broke the silence, standing up from his chair and walking towards Kyoko "Where are you going with that food?" He asked with that tone of superiority. 

"None of yo--" 

"She's going to her room!" Asahina cut off Kyoko's words "She's feeling sick!" She stated.

"For real?" Hiro said while almost choking with a sandwich. 

Kyoko nodded and looked at her classmates. She was glad that the swimmer intervened at the beginning of the conversation. “As Hina said, I’m gonna stay in my room, if you need me, knock on the door” She looked at the heir "Well, if you don't mind…" She moved on her heels and walked away, ignoring Byakuya complaining.

Some steps were heard passing across the room and reached Kyoko. It was Makoto "Hey! Are you good? Do you need help on something?" He said, his expression was concerned along with his tone of voice.

Kyoko shook her head "No, I don't" She bowed her head and got out of the cafeteria. With Makoto the things became kinda rare. They haven't talked in a proper way since Sakura's trial and besides that, she knew that he was still upset because she hasn't told him about her secret .

Kyoko arrived at her room and locked the door, placing the cup and the plate on the table. The room was organized. She felt the gambler's eyes looking at her. Celeste was sitting on a chair behind the bed.

"How was it? Did they complain?" She tilted her head.

"Uh… only Togami… or that was what it seemed to be" Kyoko took off her boots and jacket. She let out a yawn and lay down on the bed. Closing her eyes, she covered her head with a pillow and tried to sleep.

Celeste looked at the plate and cup that Kyoko brought to the room, and then she looked at Kyoko "You should eat before sleeping"

"I'll eat later," the lilac-eyed girl said. 

"Mmm right…" She couldn't help being worried. Kyoko wasn’t good and that was a fact, but she just couldn't find a proper way to ask her what was happening. The goth felt bad, Kyoko was there and she couldn’t help her. It was funny how someone else made her feel bad and worried, it was something different, she has never felt like that towards anyone but it was there and she couldn’t deny or hide it.

Silence filled the room. An awkward one.

Some time passed. Celeste spent her time playing solitaire. She supposed that Kyoko was still sleeping so she was playing in silence. Even if she was concentrating on her game, she was still thinking about her classmate. Every card that she put on the desk was an effort for not going to check Kyoko, she didn't want to bother her but the necessity was eating her inside. Why was she caring that much? It was just for returning the favor, for everything that Kyoko has done for her? It was an obligation? Or she just didn't want to see Kyoko like that? Either way she just needed this to stop. One more card she put on the desk and a groan of pain was heard.

Celeste turned her body and looked at the bed. Kyoko had woken up. She was sitting there pressing her head between her hands. Her face was flushed and sweaty, she was panting. The gambler stood up, ignoring her game and got closer to Kyoko, sitting in front of her. An extremely concerned look appeared on her face.

"Kyoko! What's wrong?" Celeste looked directly at her classmate. Those lilacs eyes were shaking and glassy, but without a clue of a tear coming from them.

"N-Nothing" Kyoko almost shouted. Her head was spinning and the pain was like hell itself, but still she didn't want to bother the gambler, and it was easiest to say nothing than explain the problem. 

"Of course you're lying! Please tell me, what's happening?" Celeste gritted her teeth. That was bad, she could see how Kyoko was suffering from the pain but she didn't know what to do. She couldn't ask for help or go to the nursery. She needed to think something fast.

"M-my head h-hurts" Kyoko struggled to say those words. Her breathing became irregular, she felt like at any moment she was going to lose consciousness. Why was that still happening? All the night before and now. She felt like her head was hitting with rocks in every single place. She stirred her hair in an act of despair. If that continues she was going to rip her head off, or just hit her head in a wall until she stopped feeling the pain no matter what.

In a moment Kyoko felt how someone took her hands away from her head and put theirs. She felt the necessity of pulling them away but those hands were Celeste's. A soft massage appeared on her head, somehow her body felt relaxed. The pain was still there but now it was more tolerable.

Celeste let out a sigh of relief when she felt how Kyoko's body relaxed. She acted fast. Even if she didn't know if that was going to work but it did. When she used to have headaches or something similar she calmed the pain down drinking a hot drink like tea or coffee. She thought of giving her the rest of the tea in the cup but it was cold and how Kyoko looked she would probably puke if she drank it, Celeste was glad that she didn't do that. Another thing that she used to do was massaging the painful area until the pain dissipates, that's why she was doing it now. She wasn't the best at the moment of treating people that were in pain or sick, but with the little knowledge of those things she possessed, apparently they worked.

The gambler felt how her classmate rested her head in her shoulder without warning. Kyoko was still sweating but Celeste didn't mind at all. She found herself almost smiling. Her eyes traveled across the room noticing that the lights were on. If she wanted Kyoko to get better faster the lights weren't going to help. Carefully she pulled away her hands from Kyoko and heard how she growled in annoyance.

"Just give me a second" Celeste stood up "Lay down" She ordered and walked to the switch turning off the lights and returning to the bed, watching how Kyoko was laying down on the bed and covering her face with the pillow once again. 

She sat down next to Kyoko and like if it was automated, Kyoko rested her head on Celeste's lap. The gambler was about to say something a little bit inappropriate but due the situation she bit her tongue and saved her words, then, she started to massage Kyoko's head again.

Once again silence filled the room. 

This time the silence wasn't stressful, uncomfortable or awkward, it was the opposite. The only thing that slightly interrupted the silence was their breathings. Kyoko’s one had become normal and peaceful. The goth looked at Kyoko, she couldn’t deny it but Kyoko looked beautiful even in the darkness of the room. That was silly, she was just looking at her, laying on her lap with her eyes closed, doing nothing just trying to relax. But there she was rewarding her for that, for nothing. And if that wasn't enough, there were Celestia Ludenberg and Taeko Yasuhiro doing everything to make her feel better even if she still didn’t know the problem. Kinda curious, right? She has never got interested in someone else besides her cat. She has never cared about knowing other people. But still, she cared about Kyoko. Perhaps it was because Kyoko offered help? No, it couldn’t be. If someone offered to help her she would only use them and then when they become useless, she discards them. But this was different. Everything that she felt towards Kyoko was different. And that was the first reason that she made her little game. A game that kept her running in circles around Kyoko. She only got to know some things about the lavender-haired girl life. But she only grew up more confused about her feelings. No, mayhaps… She had the answer in front of her at the first moment when everything began.

She cared about her.

She was interested in her.

She trusted her. 

She would never try to harm her, nor even bet something material with her.

She even allowed Kyoko to see her in her weakest and shameful state.

She didn't feel the necessity to hold her facade in front of her.

She couldn't be mad at her for a long time.

Kyoko was the center of most of her thoughts.

Kyoko confused her.

Kyoko made her feel safe in this place.

Kyoko even made her feel special with Taeko.

Kyoko technically saved her.

Perhaps it was time to finish her secret game... 

It was stupid while it lasted. But at least she had already come to a resolution, even if it was an obvious one. She has fallen for Kyoko. And she couldn’t deny it and she refused to do it. Taeko Yasuhiro has fallen for Kyoko Kirigiri, and apparently Celestia Ludenberg, too. That dangerous and mysterious feeling that hunted her every time since she got stuck in this room was love . She has fallen in love with Kyoko Kirigiri. Of course nothing was going to change just for this. It was silly but wonderful at the same time.

The gambler found herself with an uncommon silly smile on her face with a heavy red flush, almost like her eyes. She let out a small chuckle and carefully moved Kyoko’s bangs with a hand, looking that pacific expression in her face… That smile got erased from her face. No matter how happy she found herself with her recent discovery, she was still worried about Kyoko, and that strange headache along the fact that, for sure Kyoko wasn't feeling good emotionally. Celeste wasn't the best example of being emotionally stable but she wanted to help the lilac-eyed girl. 

Kyoko moved in her place and opened her eyes, facing Celeste. Even without light she could see the tiredness in them.

"How are you feeling?" Celeste broke the silence and removed the hand from Kyoko's hair, placing it next to her lap, while the other one was still massaging Kyoko's head.

"I believe I'm better, thanks," Kyoko answered. The pain was still there but it was almost gone. Now it was like just tiny needles and that's it, nothing else. 

"May I ask, why did this happen?" The gambler tilted her head at the question.

"Actually… I don't know" Kyoko said, slightly disappointed. 

The goth narrowed her eyes. Perhaps Kyoko didn't know now but there should be a reason for that strange pain "When it started?"

Kyoko stayed in silence for a brief moment thinking "I believe it was yesterday after the game"

Celeste's eyes widened. Right, Kyoko didn't look well after the game. She bit her lip "Perhaps the reason was the game?" Celeste mumbled. The questions, Kyoko was struggling while answering them.

Kyoko's eyes widened when she listened to Celeste's mumbling. Of course, in the game, she forced herself to answer those questions just to try to remember something about herself…

"I believe that the game was the reason…" A quiet and low voice left Kyoko's mouth. That was the reason why she was feeling bad too. Even if the room was dark enough to not see anything, she could notice how Celeste's expression turned into a guilty one, she should feel guilty since she was the one who proposed that game "Hey" Kyoko tried to catch Celeste's attention, placing one of her gloved hand on her cheek "It's not your fault"

"But I forced you to answer those questions… I shouldn't have propo-"

"Don't, it's okay. I was the one who forced myself to answer that not you" Kyoko let out a sad chuckle "I forced myself just to end knowing that I don't know nothing…" she removed her hand, and with some effort she sat down next to Celeste, hugging her legs and resting her head on them.

"Kyoko I'm sorry…" The dark-haired girl placed one hand on Kyoko's knee, rubbing it. 

"Don't be sorry" Kyoko shook her head "I'm the one who must be sorry" she closed her eyes "I can't find the complete truth behind your case…" she looked directly in Celeste's eyes "Somehow I know how to solve mysteries. Somehow I know how to check a corpse. Somehow I know how to find the truth behind the lie. Somehow I don't know anything about me" Sadness dripped from Kyoko's words. The headache mixed with that inner frustration was the reason for everything that had happened in almost two days. She was glad that Celeste was there to help, she couldn't imagine what would happen if she wasn't there with her. 

"Please, don't apologize" Celeste's pale hands found their way into Kyoko's gloved ones "You have done a lot, don't be sorry for something that you can't do" For the gambler was weird saying reassuring things to someone else, but as she had stated she cared about Kyoko so she didn't mindit "You're stressed with all of that's happening with you and with this school. I believe that I had contributed with that stress" Celeste let out a sigh "You are exhausted from everything… You deserve a rest "

The lovely voice of Celeste repeated in her head along with two phrases 'You're stressed and you deserve a rest' An idea snapped into Kyoko's mind. She was stressed for not knowing things about herself, but she was stressed for not finding the resolution for Celeste's case. She was worried for Celeste's safety. At the moment when that note passed under the door and she met Celeste's in the dressing room alive, the gambler put the rest of her life in her own hands. She had to do something. She needed to protect Celeste. She needed to take the next step in the investigation of Celeste's incident. Her eyes met the gambler ones. Even if Celeste couldn't see her expression, she was worried but besides that she had taken a decision. It was time to ask help.

"Celes… can I ask you something?" She said with a quiet tone of voice.

"Sure. Go ahead" The goth responded with a little hint of curiosity. 

"Can I… tell someone about you?" Before doing anything reckless, she preferred to consult everything first with Celeste.

The gambler was caught off guard. That question was something that she didn't expect to come that soon. But even if that was soon, clearly enough time has passed since everything started. "Who might be?"

"Makoto" of course had to be the lucky student first. It's been a while since she promised him to tell him about her little secret. And, between all of her classmates he was the closest one, excluding Celeste, of course "If I tell him, he would help if something out of my control happened" Kyoko started to explain before Celeste could say something "If we explain him everything I think he would understand and believe the truth behind it. Also, he would be a good alibi"

The goth swallowed thickly. "That would help you to get less stress?" She received a nod from Kyoko as an answer "Fine… when?"

"Now" Kyoko stood up, leaving the gambler's hands, and turned on the lights. She needed to do this as soon as possible. She took her boots and jacket.

"Right…" Celeste bit her lip and looked around. Her sight stopped in Kyoko's wardrobe. She walked to it and opened grabbing some of her belongings.

"Well, I'll be right back," Kyoko said, fixing a black ribbon in her new made lavender braid. She was ready and looked better than how she left the room in the morning.

"Take your time" Celeste said heading to the bathroom with her characteristic hair clips on her hands, with some makeup.

"What's all of that?"

"I just don't wanna be seen this shameful" The gambler played with a strand of hair.

"But you look fine just like that," Kyoko countered. It was true, Celeste was beautiful with and without accessories on.

Celeste's face grew kinda reddish "True to be told, I feel flattered but I can't let me be seen in this way" she giggled "Find yourself lucky, you're the only one allowed to see me like this" she answered in a flirty voice.

Kyoko's face turned red. She faked a cough. At least she was glad that her mood was better than before. The nighttime announcement was heard "I'm leaving before it's too late" She exited the room locking it.

The gambler let out a heavy sigh and got into the bathroom. She looked at the clothes that she had grabbed with her… but she wasn't in a specific mood to put her gothic lolita attire. Clicking her tongue she left the bathroom and grabbed a pair of baggy pants, along with her oversized hoodie. She wasn't going to be in Celestia's Ludenberg flamboyant style but she wasn't going to be into Taeko's either so it was a win for both sides. She put the clothes on and looked at herself in the mirror. It was an average look, but at least the pants hid her bandages and didn't touch them. Of course it was incomplete, so now she had to prepare the rest of herself…

Kyoko was in front of Makoto's room knocking on the door and waiting for his answer. It came a little bit late. The small boy was sleepy or that was Kyoko guessed from the way that he looked when he opened the door. 

"Kirigiri? What are you doing here? Are you feeling well?" He rubbed his face and looked at Kyoko with a concerned expression.

Kyoko nodded. It was true, she felt a lot better now but that wasn't the point of her sudden visit "We need to talk, meet me in the dressing room" it didn't sound like a suggestion, it sounded more like an order. And as always she just left the place not letting the boy respond.

She couldn't help but felt anxious. This can result in good or bad for her. But she was going to take the risk. Arriving at the dressing she sat down on a bench. Her eyes scanned the place remembering the moment when she found Celeste here and how she ran away at the surprise. She laughed at herself, then the door was opened. Makoto has arrived. 

"Hi" He waved at Kyoko, sitting on the same bench as Kyoko "What do you need?" He said with his always kind tone of voice.

The lavender-haired girl took a deep breath, she should choose the right form to tell him the situation, she just can't be too straightforward. "Do you remember the secret that I promised you to tell you?" It wasn't the best way to start that conversation but she needed to be fast.

"Yes!" He nodded quickly with curiosity and interest showed on his face "What is that?"

Kyoko bit her lip. She just couldn't say that their classmate who was burned alive and then crushed, actually still alive and was in her room. That would be a lot of information to process and it could be a bad joke too. The best thing that she could think was warning him about it and then showing him.

"Look, I can't show you here what it is, I don't have it with me… but I can show it to you" she said with a serious demeanor. 

The expression of the brunette twisted into an extremely confused one "It's like the hidden room?" He tilted his head.

"Kinda" she wasn't sure about that comparison but still "The difference is that in this time I'm going with you" She looked at Makoto who nodded "But promise me, you are not going to freak out"

The luckier nodded less sure than before but he was glad that Kyoko finally decided to trust him at all.

"Fine, let's move" The lavender-haired girl stood up and the brunette followed her.

Makoto was curious about where they were going. He imagined that it would be an extremely important place since Kyoko decided to go with him. But he didn't expect that the destination was her room.

"Ah… are you sure it is here?" He tilted his head, once again.

Kyoko nodded. She looked at the hall camera sideways, it was pointing at them "As I said, don't freak out…" Those were Kyoko's final words until she opened the door, let Makoto in and closed it.

Kyoko noticed how Makoto's jaw dropped and how he paled. Of course he wasn't going to have a normal reaction seeing his dead classmate sitting on a bed alive. A hit was heard. Makoto fainted on the floor. 

"Well, he reacted better than I expected," Celeste commented, standing up and walking towards Kyoko. She had her twin-drills clips on and had very well made makeup on her face. With her hand she moved Makoto’s body. “He seems to be dead” She said with a giggle "What should we do?" She fixed her position and looked at the lilac-eyed girl.

Kyoko was just there looking at the fainted boy. She turned to Celeste and blushed slightly, it's been a while since she hasn't seen Celeste with those clips on. Another thing about the gambler that caught her unaware was the fact that she was using one for her pants, of course she didn't mind it.

"I-... Let's put him on the bed" The goth nodded. Kyoko took Makoto's legs while Celeste took his arms. Both of them put him in the middle of the bed.

"And what now? Should we wake him up?" Celeste played with her hair looking at Kyoko.

"I think we should let him wake up by himself" It was the best idea that she could have. 

Celeste just agreed and sat down on a chair, Kyoko did the same. Both of them remained in silence looking at the motionless body of the Ultimate Lucky Student. Some time passed and they grew impatient, especially the gambler. 

"I'm going to wake him up" She walked to the bathroom and came back with a glass of water.

"What are you gonna do?" Kyoko raised herself from the chair and stood next to Celeste. 

"I'm going to throw him water" the gambler said nonchalantly, receiving a glare from Kyoko "It works in movies" she grabbed Makoto's body from the head and dragged him near the edge of the bed, just to prevent it from getting wet. Then she threw the glass content in his face. It worked.

"What happened?" He looked everywhere finding that he wasn't in his room and he wasn't alone. When he saw the gambler again he was about to scream until he felt leather pressing against his mouth not letting him scream. It was Kyoko’s gloved hand.

"Calm down" Kyoko's reassuring voice warned Makoto. Some seconds passed and then she put away her hand.

"What? How? When? Why? What's going on?" The luckier muttered some words in confusion, that was extremely different from what he expected from Kyoko's secret.

Celeste giggled and sat down on the chair looking at the boy. She couldn't help but find this situation kinda funny "Did I surprise you?" The voice that left Celeste's mouth was an accented one. Even if in her trial her classmates discovered that most of herself was fake, including her accent, she didn't feel confident not using it in front of them, especially since everything that happened there.

"Is this a joke?" That was the only thing that left Makoto's mouth, he looked at Kyoko and then at Celeste.

"Of course, Kyoko dragged a corpse into her room and it's magically talking" sarcasm filled Celeste's words. The boy was more confused than before.

Kyoko cleared her throat, catching the attention of both of them. If Celeste continued talking she would fucked up Makoto's mind. And that wasn't the purpose of this. But she can't deny that it was interesting seeing how Celeste changed from how she was with her, to her fake persona. She liked that.

"Okay, Naegi. Relax, I'll explain" The boy just nodded and the goth remained in silence. Just to make it easy for Makoto she would explain to him with detail. She started to tell him how and when she found out that Celeste was alive, of course the gambler helped her to support the story, she even showed him some of her burns like the ones on her legs and arms. Then Celeste recalled everything that happened with the case of the third trial, and Kyoko supported the story with the facts and the evidence that she discovered during her investigations.

Makoto's head was spinning. A lot of information entered in his system. First, Celestia Ludenberg was alive. Second, she apparently was innocent. Third, the trial was tricked. Fourth, Kyoko knew this all the time. "Aw man…" He grabbed his head and looked at the gambler, he couldn't deny it but seeing her in the same place as him brought him happiness. But also, he was scared of her, especially because of her outbursts, that was another reason why he preferred to not mention Celeste's real name, like he did at the end of her trial.

Kyoko stood up and placed herself next to the gambler "And? What do you think?" She narrowed her eyes waiting for a response.

"I-I… this is strange you know… we saw you die but" he smiled "I'm glad you're alive!" He cheered.

The goth blinked twice "So you truly believe that story?" The boy nodded "Fantastique!" She folded her hands under her chin. It became easier than she expected and she was glad about it.

"But I have a question" He tapped his chin "How haven't you been discovered?".

"As Celes mentioned, she hadn't left the room since the incident"

"And the camera?" The luckier added.

"It doesn't work," Kyoko pointed at the object. It was still broken.

"And Monokuma hasn't discovered it, yet?" He looked at them with a confused and concerned expression. 

"I believe not" Kyoko moved to the surveillance camera "It's still broken so he is not able to use it" She moved the object, some drops came from it, water still inside it.

"Oh… that's good news"

"So, Naegi" This time was Celeste who decided to talk "Are you going to help us?" She said putting a little drop of kindness on her accent.

"Yes!" He nodded sharply.

"Marvellous!" The gambler interchanges looks with Kyoko, who nodded and stepped in front of the door looking at Makoto.

"Let's go" she caught the attention of the brunette.

"Where?"

"You said that you're going to help us so I'll show you the evidence from Hifumi's death" The lilac-eyed girl stated.

"But I said that I believe you" He clarified.

"Take it as a precaution method" Celeste's accented voice filled the room "I hope you can understand" she grinned. 

The boy nodded and walked towards Kyoko. Of course they should be cautious with everything at this point. An error and everything could end in a bad way. Before exiting the room Celeste and Kyoko interchanged looks and a smile.

Kyoko walked with Makoto into the dark hallway to the repository room "The camera might be repaired" she warned speaking lowly "But I believe that the rest of evidence still there" It was incautious talking about it while walking in the hallways but she was almost whispering so it was safe.

When they arrived at the repository room, the camera indeed was repaired. Trying to act normal like if they were searching something Kyoko showed Makoto the other evidence for Celeste's alibi, the broken and hidden objects. When they were about to leave the room a crash was heard.

"Weeeell weeeell!" An annoying tone of voice filled the room, it was Monokuma "What we have here!? Miss Kirigiri and Mr Naegi!? Alone in the night middle of the night" he turned red and started to pant "You were like doing inappropriate things here in my school?"

Kyoko's expression didn't flinch. While Makoto turned nervous. "No no, we were ju-"

"You are not allowed to do those things in my school!!" Monokuma cut Makoto's words off "You are here for studying not for knowing each other better!!!" He screamed with a double intention tone. 

A growl escaped from the girl in the room "We should leave" she talked to Makoto ignoring Monokuma's complaining.

The luckier nodded. Both of them passed the mechanical bear leaving him in the repository room. Then, they separated. Kyoko made Makoto swear that he's not going to say anything about it and he did it.

When Kyoko arrived at her room, she found the gambler almost slept on the bed, without her hair extensions and makeup. 

"It worked?" The goth yawned, rubbing her eyes. Her fake accent was gone, it was just her normal voice. 

"It did," Kyoko said with a smirk. She couldn't help but feel more relaxed, having someone else knowing about Celeste and helping them was less stressful than charging everything by her own. Of course, it didn't mean that she was going to get confident with their situation. It meant that she was going to put more effort in protecting Celeste, until the day that everything ended and they set free.

"Wonderful" The gambler rested her head on the pillow "Good job" she waved her hand. She was sleepy, Kyoko did notice it and let out a chuckle. It was rather cute.

Some minutes passed and she was ready to sleep next to the gambler, who apparently had already fallen in her slumber. Kyoko was tired, that day was one of the most mentally and physically exhausting days that she had experienced here. But she was glad that it ended well for both of them. That night her strange headache wasn't tormenting her and it was nice. She lay down next to the gambler, she found herself smiling at her. Kyoko closed her eyes and slowly fell into her sleep.

Chapter Text

"That 's enough!" Byakuya shouted, slamming the table with his hand with annoyance.

"T-tell her m-master!" Toko said from behind the heir.

"I didn't allow you to speak, you filthy commoner" the blonde hissed, causing a silent scream from the writer. He turned over his heels and looked at the person who was causing his annoyance. "Well, Kirigiri, speak now or suffer the consequences."

"What do you want me to say?" That was the only single thing that left Kyoko's mouth. In others circumstances maybe she'll just walk away avoiding the rest of the situation but in this time she was the center of it, and if she did that, the suspicions would rise. 

"You know what's happening!" Byakuya shouted. All the rest of the presents were watching the little argument from the heir in silence "You go around by yourself keeping secrets from everyone. We don't even know what's your talent" his expression twisted in an angry one "What's your excuse for letting us believe that you're not collaborating on this killing game, huh? Answer or hand your dorm key over!"

Kyoko in her exterior was calm and cool, with an unbothered and deadpan expression. But inside herself she couldn't help but be anxious. Depending on her choices everything could end now, but she only has the answer for one thing. 

With a heavy sigh she grabbed her bedroom key from her jacket. That was a risky move but explaining to Byakuya her issues would be a waste of her time, just for the inevitable end that he wasn't going to believe her. 

"Here" She placed her key on the heir's hand and walked away. While walking she could notice the confused and shocked expression from Byakuya and a heavily worried expression for Makoto, the rest were just watching surprised. Of course no one expected that type of reaction from Kyoko. And suddenly, it would raise the suspicions towards her. But now she did not care about it, her mind was in another place.

The luckier ran trying to catch Kyoko but the heir stopped him with his arm "Do not" he frowned pressing the key in his other hand "I'm sure you don't want to be suspicious too" instead sounding like an advice, it sounded like a statement. Makoto just simply nodded while looking how the lavender-haired girl disappeared through the door.

Kyoko gritted her teeth and grabbed her head. That was bad. All this situation was bad. Now that Byakuya had her key, Celeste's safety was in danger. Everything could be ruined in a blink of an eye. She knew that she could never hide Celeste forever, that was another reason why she decided to notify Makoto about their situation, but still. Now the heir could enter in her room whenever he wants and no one can stop him, not even her.

Now she needs to find a way to keep Celeste safe in her room and take care about her current situation with the rest of her classmates. Perhaps she would ask Makoto for help.

“That could work…” Right, she made up her mind, she needed Makoto to distract Byakuya as much as he could, especially since both of them seemed to be quite close and the heir, in a very strange way listen to the luckier, more than he did with the rest of the people in this place. But that should be later. Talking to Makoto at that moment, would be strange since she had just left the dining hall. So, now she had to take care of the most important thing, Celeste.

Looking sideways, checking if someone was close, she grabbed her special key from her jacket and opened her door. 

When she entered, she found the gambler staring at the ceiling "Celeste" Kyoko called, looking how in Celeste's bored expression a small smile appeared.

"What happened?" Celeste asked, sitting on the bed. That was unusual, Kyoko left almost like thirty minutes ago and she just came back, also, there's still like one or more hours until the nighttime announcement.

Kyoko crossed her arms and sat down on the bed, tapping the floor with her boot kinda fast. She felt how the gambler stared at her waiting for an answer, but she maintained her silence. Scanning all the room with her eyes, she noticed some sort of things that maybe will make the things more difficult.

For some minutes the only sound that could be heard was Kyoko's boots tapping. It was tedious. 

With a deep breath, she looked at Celeste, who was still staring in silence with her eyebrows frowned. Kyoko could notice a slight annoyance coming from Celeste. Well, how not, she just entered the room from nowhere, and she didn't answer her question, it was like she was ignoring her.

"Celeste…" Kyoko couldn't help but feeling nervous. That was something rare coming from her. Well, all of this was rare but now the thing was telling Celeste the problem, and how was she going to react with. 

"What?" The gambler crossed her arms. She couldn't help but be a little bit mad at Kyoko for ignoring her, but of course it didn't last a lot.

"I- well... mmmm" The lavender-haired girl clicked her tongue. Why she just couldn't be straight to the point when she had to talk with the gambler? It was frustrating, but this problem was more frustrating. "Look, we have a problem, a big one" she played with her gloves.

"Pray tell" Celeste rested her hands on her lap. She was kinda nervous at the mention of a problem, but depending on what it was, she wasn't going to react about it. Of course, but judging Kyoko's demeanor she couldn't be relaxed about it. 

"Togami has my key," Kyoko said. She could feel how Celeste's eyes widened and jaw dropped, and how she covered it with her hands "I'm sorry, this's bad bu-"

The goth moved her hand making a gesture, making Kyoko cut her words. She couldn't deny that she was feeling troubled with that new information but she couldn't blame Kyoko for it. After all, that was something that eventually was going to happen, especially with Kyoko's suspicious status between their classmates. "What should we do now?" At least she was hoping that Kyoko had a plan, because if not, everything could be really bad.

The lavender-haired girl remained in silence for some moments. Of course Celeste wasn't going to ask the reason for this problem, it was kind of obvious… she opened her mouth "Due our situation… it's kinda difficult to figure it out but, at least we can prevent some unfortunate events" She stood up and grabbed something from one of the cabinets of the closet "Even though I said that you look fine with or without your accessories…" Kyoko walked towards Celeste and placed the object in her hands "...I know you do not like being seen like this in front of anyone so, just in case someone else manages to enter here… perhaps you should dress with your outfit and stuff"

Celeste clicked her tongue, while looking at the new object in her hands. It was her characteristic ring. The idea of someone entering the room without warning made her feel sort of uncomfortable so she agreed with Kyoko's idea. She would never allow being seen like Taeko in front of her classmates, Kyoko was the only exception, especially since she considered her more than a simple classmate in this killing game. 

"So… what else?" The gambler looked at her Kyoko, waiting for something more safe, ironic how an illegal gambler was now trying to be careful and safe.

"I suppose I can talk to Naegi," Kyoko said, looking directly into Celeste's eyes, she could notice some insecurity in them. "It will be fine, I promise..." She bit her lip, she wasn't sure that this would be fine but still.

Celeste shook her head "It's okay" She limited herself for telling more. She was sure that at this point everything could happen, but she didn't want to put more pressure on Kyoko, especially of how she has been the last days.

"I'm going to tell him now… I guess you could prepare yourself" Kyoko looked aside "Just in case" she gave a reassuring smile to the gambler, who nodded as answer "I'll try to be back a little after the nighttime" She moved to the door "Lock the door please" the lavender-haired girl exited the room.

Celeste stood up and locked the room, with a heavy sigh she walked across the room and opened the closet "I guess it is time to be Celestia Ludenberg again" she smiled at herself. Truly it was going to be strange especially with the amount of time that had passed since she wore her entire outfit but she couldn't help but find it comforting somehow. But she couldn't deny that some parts of her still being a little bit anxious about it, of course she wasn't going to leave that annoyed her.

She grabbed every piece of the clothes. The black jacket, the long-sleeved lace white blouse, the lacy skirt with the lacy stockings. They smelled like stored. Celeste clicked her tongue, she didn't have her perfume here, so it seemed that she would have to borrow from Kyoko… She didn't like it to be honest, she didn't like the perfume on her,  but she liked it on Kyoko. The gambler shook her head and focused on her situation. She needed to get ready and perhaps she should hide some of her belongings, even if they're not a lot she needed to be careful…

The hall was half empty. She found Byakuya and Toko near the library as always, and Hina taking some food to her room, probably preparing herself for the nighttime. She supposed that Yasuhiro and Makoto were in their bedrooms. Now she was in front of the lucky student's room and knocking three times the door nobody answered. 

"Right…" She cursed innerly. He should be asleep or somewhere else, and if she took in account that the nighttime announcement was near, he should be outside doing something.

She wandered around the school trying to find the luckier for almost thirty minutes. The nighttime announcement arrived. She couldn't help but feel nervous, she didn't want to leave Celeste alone for more time, but that was difficult since Makoto didn't appear and someone could watch her entering in her room even if she didn't have her key.

Some steps were heard. The person who owned those steps was running. Kyoko's eyes became sharp, and her body tensed as if a defensive system activated on her. Those steps became louder. She could feel how that person was coming to her, and in a flash she felt herself gripping a tiny arm with her gloved hand.

“Ouch!” The owner of that arm groaned in pain. Kyoko immediately recognized that high-pitched voice. It was Makoto. She rolled her eyes and loosed the grip. “Thanks,” He said rubbing his arm.

“Naegi, what’s wrong with y-” Her words were cut by Makoto. He tapped her mouth with his hand and dragged her all the way to the dressing room. Before she could protest about this situation the boy started to talk.

“I’m sorry about that but I have been searching you all the day” He was slightly panting and sweating, he should have been running on the academy for a long time “I need to talk with you but Togami didn’t leave me alone”

“Actually I was searching for you too,” Kyoko said, recovering her calm demeanor. “But since you dragged me here, what do you need?”

“It’s about you know her ” Makoto recovered her posture “What are you gonna do with?” he ruffled his hair kinda nervous.

“I...” She wanted to say that she had everything in control as always but she couldn’t “I’m not sure at all, I don’t have an actual plan” she bit her lip kind of nervously “But that’s why I need your help” Kyoko tapped her chin.

“I’m willing to help in whatever you need,” He nodded quickly.

“Fine because I need you to distract Togami as much as you can and stop him if he tries to get into the dorm room until I come with a proper plan” The lavender-haired girl explained, and as an answer she received a heavy growl in annoyance from the small boy “What?”

“I have been with Togami all the entire day and he’s a pain” Makoto shook his head. “Why are you asking me to do that?”

“Well, first you told me that you’re going to help me” Kyoko started to count the reasons with her hand “Second, you’re the only one who knows about Celes and even if you said that he’s a pain, you seem to like him and vice-versa” she stated.

“I-I don’t...” Makoto turned red and covered his face with his hands “It’s just… I’m going to distract him just...” He crossed his arms “...let’s not talk about this later”

Kyoko let out a low chuckle “It’s okay, I’m not gonna judge you” she crossed her arms “But thanks, I owe you one” she nodded. Everything was going to be fine, or she was hoping that.

Both of them stayed there a little bit more discussing some things until reality hit Kyoko. “Fuck, Celeste” Right, she distracted herself talking with her friend, forgetting about the fact that Celeste was alone in the room. She said goodbye to Makoto and as fast as possible, she made her way to her room. Once again checking if someone followed her or was near. When she was sure about that, she opened her door and entered into the room, being greeted with Celeste putting on her clothes. Her face turned red for embarrassment and her eyes went to the floor.

“I didn’t expect you coming here this early” The gambler said while buttoning her white blouse. She could notice how Kyoko was staring at the floor and how red her face was. A giggle escaped from her lips, it was cute. “Why are you looking at the ground?” She faked innocence. Of course she knew what was happening, like she just had her blouse on over the rest of her outfit.

The taller girl raised her head and looked aside, avoiding Celeste “I-I’m sorry” Kyoko wasn’t going to answer that question, it was obvious that the goth was just teasing her. “I just, I expected that you would be dressed when I came back” She didn’t feel uncomfortable with the fact of seeing Celeste like that, it was… just the surprise of the moment.

“Well, dressing me up with my gothic attire clearly take a lot of time” She curled her hair with a finger “Besides that, while you were out, I took the freedom of hiding some of my belongings” She indeed hid some of those things, and Kyoko noticed that looking around the room and finding it as empty as it was before Celeste made her stay in it. “And of course I don’t mind if you look at me like this...” A smile appeared across her face along with a slight blush “...but since your reaction is not what I expected, you are allowed to see now, I put my skirt on while talking” She chuckled.

Kyoko looked at the gambler. Indeed she had her skirt and blouse on. She couldn’t help but feel a little bit nostalgic at seeing the gambler like that. Short hair, only her white blouse and skirt, plus her legs bandaged. Similar to the day when she found her and helped her, it’s been a while since that. She didn’t expect that her killing school life was going to turn out more strange than it was at the beginning but, apparently it happened, and somehow she was glad that that happened.

Now she couldn’t imagine what would happen with her if she never found out that Celeste was alive. Probably it would be boring for her, and kind of painful. Well, it was already painful with the loss of the life of her now deceased classmates, but it would be more. It was strange how she found comforting the presence of an illegal gambler with some big problems. But that just made her feeling of trying to protect and help her grow intensely no matter what.

“Earth at Kyoko” A snap in front of her made her get out of her thoughts, just to find two shiny red eyes in front of her. “When I said that you were allowed to look at me, I didn’t mean you to pass almost fifteen minutes staring”

“Wait what?” Kyoko didn’t feel that the time passed that fast, but apparently it did. She could notice how Celeste was almost fully dressed and with a well made makeup. The only two things that were missing were the massive twin-drills clips and her stockings plus shoes. “My apologies” she walked to the bed and sat down on it waiting for the gambler to get ready.

Celeste just nodded as an answer, walking away and placing herself in front of the bathroom mirror. She wasn’t going to ask what was inside Kyoko’s head all that time that she stared at her, especially since it was really a great amount of time. She was curious, though.

Looking sideways, while preparing her hair for her clips, she could notice how Kyoko was sitting there with her eyes closed. “Perhaps she is thinking of a plan… or she’s just tired” She wondered. Even if she had discovered a lot of things towards Kyoko, she still did not know how to decodify her but that was one of the many reasons why she liked her. 

“One...” She murmured to herself while clipping the first twin-drill “And… Two” She finished with both of the extensions on her head. She admired herself a little bit in the mirror. Of course she looked great, Celestia Ludenberg always looked great… and Taeko Yasuhiro too, in a rare way.

She exited the bathroom and sat down on a chair. The only thing missing was her stockings. Before putting them on she admired her legs. They were lame, she was lame. Both of them were covered with bandages since they weren’t healed at all, besides that she knew that under those bandages a scarred and burned skin was there forever.

“Imagine being that lame and have to cover damaged skin with a fucking piece of cloth for the rest of your life... ” she muttered a little bit angry at herself. If she hadn't made that plan since the beginning she would never be caring about burns on her legs. But she didn’t have time to self-deprecate since she noticed how Kyoko stood up from the bed and walked to the door. “Wait, where are you going?”

“I-I just need to check something... ” The tone of voice that came from Kyoko was almost dead , and the gambler noticed that. “I’ll be right back sooner… or later… I  don’t know” Those were Kyoko’s last words until she disappeared through the door.

Celeste stared at the door. That was extremely strange. Kyoko suddenly left the room and her attitude was so cold towards her. A concerned feeling filled herself. Something was off. She couldn't help but feeling that part of it was her fault. Did she do something wrong? Not that she remembered. Perhaps Kyoko didn’t like her clothes? No, she had said before that she liked them… and that was an stupid assumption. Maybe… Did she say something that could upset Kyoko? No that she remem- wait… Kyoko went outside when she said that she was lame for covering her scarred skin with clothes. That was for her, not for Kyoko… and besides that, why that would be affecting the lilac-eyed girl.

In her mind, the moment of Kyoko leaving the room repeated in a loop. And when she realized the issue, a loud gasp escaped from Celeste’s mouth. When Kyoko left the room, she was grabbing her hands, the ones that were always covered with gloves, and the ones that Kyoko always refused to talk about why she used them. Celeste covered her mouth… if she had made errors before, that was the biggest one, or the only one that she truly cared about.

Celeste looked at her legs, then at the door. She was going to regret later but now that was more important. In a flash she ended up dressing and putting her heels. With a deep breath she exited her room in order to find Kyoko, hearing how the door closed and locked by itself, but she just ignored it. That was a reckless action for her part, especially in her situation but she couldn’t care about it. She walked fast in the halls. When she spotted Kyoko, she ran towards her, grabbing her from behind. “Kyoko!”

Kyoko’s eyes widened when she felt and heard Celeste’s voice from behind, she turned facing the gambler “Celeste, what are you doing here!?”

“I’m sorry but we ne-” Her words were cut when she felt how Kyoko pulled her arm and made their way to the room in record time.

Kyoko’s gloved hands tried to open the room as soon as possible, it was locked. She looked sideways noticing the camera and a nervous Celeste next to her. She grabbed her special key and unlocked the door. While trying to push it to get into the room she found out that something was blocking the door from inside of the room, they couldn’t enter in it. “Fuck!” She cursed and without giving a chance to Celeste to talk, she took her arm and dragged her almost running to the dressing room.

If she was distressed before now she was dying from it. The plan that she was thinking became useless in a blink of an eye. Kyoko glared at the gambler expecting her to talk about what just happened, but she just received silence as an answer. So it seemed that she needed to give her a push.

“Celeste, what’s wrong with you?! Why did you just leave the room?” She couldn’t help but be mad at her.

“I know this is bad but I just acted in impulse”

“Why?”

“Kyoko, I know why you left the room” She took a step closer to the lavender-haired girl and grabbed her hands “I-I wasn’t making fun of you… I didn’t mean upsetting you”

Kyoko’s eyes widened. “So… she noticed it…” It was true. She left the room because of Celeste's comment. Even if it wasn’t for her she couldn’t deny that it hurted… more than she expected. “I… you just could wait until I came back...”

Celeste let out a sigh “It’s not that easy...” She looked aside and said, “Oui, I could wait but I did not want you to be upset about something that I said...” Her eyes met Kyoko’s. This was harder that she expected.

“But why? I don’t get it”

“Look… I just care about you, mayhaps it’s because you saved me or because I’m living inside your room” She let out a chuckle. “Perhaps it’s just because you’re a belle fille, or just because I tolerate you over all of the people in this damned place” A red color filled Celeste’s face “I do not want you to be mad at me just for an idiotic coment that I made, I’m so sorry...” 

Kyoko looked at the gambler trying to find the lie behind those words. She couldn’t find anything. Her face blushed heavily and she stared at Celeste in silence. She didn’t expect that type of apology coming from Celeste in that situation. It made her heart beat fast in a wild way.

The gambler bit her lip. “Perhaps… is time” “Kyoko, I don’t want you to upset you because you made me feel complete... ” She tightened the grip in Kyoko’s hands “...you fill an empty space in myself that I used to fill with lies. You make me wanna admire you in every single way possible” that was so cheesy from her part, she would probably regret later, but for this time she would let Taeko talk without barriers “I love your mysterious and cool demeanor that pisses me off. You make me feel better even if I know that I don’t deserve it. You make me feel things that I never expect to feel before” She took a deep breath “You make me feel safe but at the same time I want to make you feel safe too. You never leave my head. I want you to feel happy. I want to escape this place with you. I want to spoil you in every single way possible. I want to make you embarrassed while flirting. I want to help you in everything that you need” A small smile formed in the gambler’s lips, a sincere, honest and loving smile “Kyoko Kirigiri Je t’adore… Je t’ai-” She felt a warm touch on her lips cutting off her words. A warm touch that belonged to Kyoko's lips pressing against hers, she just felt herself melting in the kiss. It was like magic itself. Her arms surrounded Kyoko’s neck while she felt both of Kyoko’s gloved hands rested on her hips. She didn’t want it to finish, of course it happened.

“You talk too much,” Kyoko said bluntly, receiving a small glare from Celeste “But I’m not complaining about it…I feel the same…” That was embarrassing for Kyoko, she wasn't the best with words, especially with the affectionate ones.

The gambler giggled. It resulted as she wanted. Both of them put together their foreheads, and stared at each other in silence. Kyoko wasn’t mad at Celeste and Celeste wasn’t with those nervous towards Kyoko. Everything was perfect until reality hit them.

“We are fucked up” Both of them said in unison, making them laugh a little bit.

“What should we do now?” The goth asked to her apparently new girlfriend .

“Well, we can’t go back to the room, we can’t stay here and probably the cameras captured you” Kyoko looked at Celeste.

“I’m sorry for ruining your plan...”

Kyoko shook her head and place a hand in the gambler cheek “I believe that you have apologized enough, it’s okay” She look at the door and then at her jacket grabbing the key from it “Since we can’t spend the night here and sleeping outside the dormroom is against the rules, we should find something to entertain ourselves” Kyoko smiled “Would you like to investigate with me?” she offered her hand to Celeste.

The goth rolled her eyes and grabbed the hand.

“I would love to”