Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ugh… My head…

As Makoto Naegi began to open his eyes, the world began to take form around him. He rubbed his eyes, slowly getting up as he took in his surroundings. Bright rays of sunshine were beating down from the sky onto his face, which made it hard for him to fully open his eyes. Before he could fully wake up, someone moved their head over him. That someone ended up being a face he recognized very well...

“Good morning, sleepyhead. Good to see you finally decided to wake up!”

“...Komaru…?”

Makoto rubbed his eyes, finally sitting up completely as he was jostled awake by his sister. That grainy feeling underneath him… He grabbed a handful of it and took a look. Yeah, this was definitely sand... As he began looking around, it was clear that he was on a beach. But... How was that possible? The last thing he remembered was walking into Hope’s Peak for the first time… He was getting ready for his first year as the Ultimate Lucky Student, but as soon as he grabbed the door to walk into the building. As soon as he stepped into the room, his vision started to fade... After that, it was all a blank up until now. What happened?

“Uh, hello? Earth to Makoto?”

A hand was waved in front of his face that snapped him out of his thoughts. Once he realized it was his sister trying to get his attention, he chuckled and stood up, dusting all the sand off of him as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. If he knew anything about his sister, it was that she really did not like to wait...

“Oh, sorry Komaru… I’m feeling pretty out of it after that whole experience. I don’t know how I fell asleep, but… this is a lot to take in, y’know? All I remember is getting to Hope's Peak for the first time, and then... nothing.”

“Yeah, you’re telling me. All of us just woke up on this beach with no recollection of how we got here. For me, I can't remember anything after when you left the house. Isn't that weird? That must've been like... at least an hour apart.”

...All of us?

What Komaru said about the cutoff point being completely different was certainly strange, but there was something else he had to look into. Were there... more people on the island? Sure enough, once Makoto looked around to see what his sister was talking about… Wow, she wasn’t kidding. There were a large number of people here. Somewhere like… over 70? It was a high number, regardless of the exact amount. And the number wasn’t the only thing that stood out to him… it was a wide variety of people, too. Some looked to be very old, and some looked no older than a child. To be honest, it was almost overwhelming... He'd never been in the presence of this many people in this small of a place at once, so he couldn't help but be a bit intimidated. Especially since some of these people looked... out there.

But that wasn't the top thought in his head. More importantly, what could’ve brought all these people here? And for what reason? It most certainly wasn't a coincidence that all of these different people just happened to appear on this island...

“So wait… This many people all blacked out and woke up on a beach? How is that even possible? I don't even think we're in Japan anymore... Transporting this many people out of a country all at once seems kind of crazy, don't ya think?”

Komaru merely shrugged before pumping her fists in excitement. Makoto allowed a deadpan to cover his face as he watched. What's got her excited all of a sudden?

“Who cares? Look Makoto, we’re on an island paradise now! Isn’t that awesome? When was the last time we've been to a place like this?!”

"Um... probably never, Komaru."

"Exactly! Big Bro, don't you get it? This is our chance to do all that stuff we never got to do! We'll be able to check all the cool resort stuff!

Makoto chuckled, scratching his cheek as she went on her little rant. Classic Komaru… Guess she was the type to look on the bright side, huh? I mean, normally he did too, but… This situation was just too strange to not be at least a little skeptical. There was too much weird stuff to just accept their situation here! Then again, there were certainly worse places to wake up after blacking out. Maybe he really should just kick back and relax? Everything about this place was surely telling him too.

As for me? Well, I guess there isn’t much special about me. My name’s Makoto Naegi, and I’m the Ultimate Lucky Student. Then again, considering this happened on the day I was supposed to join Hope’s Peak Academy, maybe I wasn’t so lucky after all…

I was accepted into Hope’s Peak Academy after winning their annual lottery that allows one regular person to attend this prestigious academy. I declined initially, of course… But they insisted that I attend. They seemed intensely serious about it, and so I eventually decided to attend. Of course, I didn’t expect that the first day would end up like this… I mean, who would? This is so crazy that it's beyond even dreams. ...Have I said that this situation is crazy enough yet?

As he continued looking around, he could tell that there was some tension throughout the crowd… heaps of it. That made sense. Unlike himself, he assumed that no one else here had any idea of who anyone was. Waking up in a group of over 70 people with no one you even recognize... That's a scary thought. As Makoto took another look his thoughts that everyone here was a stranger to one another seemed to be reaffirmed. Well, some people seem to know each other, but everyone else seems incredibly distant. With the situation they were in, Makoto couldn’t blame them.

However, the awkward tensions seemed to be cut short by someone cutting in and initiating a conversation. It was a decently tall, blonde guy who was pretty skinny and had a full black business suit on. His skin was pale, he had blue eyes, and a thin pair of glasses on his face. Judging by his expression, he was not happy.

“So, now that it seems all the plankton are awake from their naps… would anyone like to explain why I have been transported to this island? The sooner I get an answer, the better.”

A tall, tan girl with messy hair was the first to respond, even if she seemed pretty disinterested overall.

“You think we know what’s goin on? We all just kinda woke up at the same time. Seems pretty fishy to me…”

A short, blond guy with a bit of a baby face sneered. Judging from his expression, he seemed to be more ticked off than worried about the situation. Then again, that was a pretty reasonable reaction, too.

“Well whatever the fuck this is, I don’t want any part of it. I applied for Hope’s Peak, not whatever clown show this is! Show me the asshole who’s responsible for this shit, and I'll show you a brand new corpse!”

Quite a large majority of the people in the crowd put their attention towards the smaller boy as he said that. That guy seemed... dangerous, but he did mention something important. He quickly turned back and forth to try and figure out what was going on.

“...What? Did I say something funny, you bastards?”

A girl with red eyes and long black hair stepped forward, staring at the smaller boy.

“You… said you go to Hope’s Peak, correct?”

“Yeah, what about it? You got a problem with that?”

A short, pale girl with a Galaga pin in her hair stepped forward.

“Well… that’s exactly where I was headed, too. Y'know, before I ended up here...”

Murmurs were floating through the crowd as she said that. It seemed like most, if not everyone here was supposed to show up at Hope’s Peak as well.

A girl with curved blonde hair, a pink shirt, and a music note hairpin stepped forward.

“Wait, so… Are we all freshman students?”

A guy in a yellow jumpsuit with pink hair and shark teeth looked shocked to hear that.

“What? No way! You’re sayin that our class is filled with little kids and full grown adults? That's just insane!”

One of said kids, a tan boy with red hair and a pair of headphones on, growled at the statement.

“Hey, who’re you callin a kid? Watch your mouth, Shark Teeth!”

A man in his late thirties with dark purple hair and a black suit stepped forward.

“Alright, settle down everyone… You’re not all part of the same class, that much I can guarantee. You’re all in separate classes, though you are all a part of our incoming class of freshman regardless.”

A teen with a black coat and a purple scarf stepped forward.

“Foolish mortal… You have just revealed your true intentions! The fact that you know this fact means that you are the culprit behind these events!”

He crossed his arms and let out a loud laugh.

“Hahaha! How foolish! Now submit to the great Overlord of Ice, and I might spare you the trip down to the depths below! Decline, and I will bestow upon you a fate most foul!”

The older man shook his head and sighed. Honestly, Makoto was just surprised that the older man understand a word of what that guy just said...

“I understand why you might think that, but… Even as the headmaster, I don’t know why this is happening. I know that might be shocking to hear, but... I don't want to lie to you guys.”

Silence. Dead silence was all that was heard after he said that. You could hear the waves crashing against the shore, and the ocean breeze flowing past and rustling the trees for what seemed like an eternity as they all just stared at their supposed headmaster. He... didn't know what was going on? The Headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy didn't know what's going on? But... If he didn't know, then... did anybody?

Once the fact that the Headmaster knew nothing finally settled in, chaos broke loose. People started freaking out over the fact that the Headmaster was a victim in all of this as well. It was hard for Makoto himself to not freak out. After all, if even the Headmaster wasn't safe, were any of them?! It was... a horrifying thought, and one that Makoto would rather not consider. There was always the chance that this situation was perfectly safe, but why go through so much effort to bring them here if that were the case?

“Even the Headmaster doesn’t know what’s going on? Are you kidding?”

“Wow, what a loser! The headmaster can’t even get a grip on his own school! Honestly, you should think about retiring!”

“Th-This isn’t real… It can’t be real… It’s not real…”

“E-Everyone, calm down! I’m sure this is just a prank… right?”

“Ibuki doesn’t like this, not one bit!”

Amongst all the chaos, a tall man with white hair commanded everyone’s attention. His presence was imposing, and he seemed like he knew to demand attention from everyone in attendance. To put it lightly, this guy was pretty scary. As he prepared to address the group, he pulled out- a sword?!

“That’s enough.”

Everyone’s attention quickly snapped over to the older man, awaiting his thoughts on the situation. Whether they were silent out of fear or anticipation for his words, no one knew.

“This is pitiful to watch. You all are supposed to represent the hope of the future generations, are you not? Are you going to let something like this send you all into a panic? Sure, this situation may be confusing and unusual for you, but you need to face the facts. As Ultimates, you are the future of our country. You're going to be put into situations that you aren't comfortable with, and there will be no one there to help you get through it. What will you do then?”

He had a point there. Freaking out about the situation, even if it's confusing and terrifying, wasn't going to help anyone. They needed to compose themselves, as hard as it was. Everyone couldn’t help but awkwardly shift around, but one boy smiled widely and responded.

“Of course, you’re right! This is merely a trial for the Ultimates to overcome! I’m sure that if you all work together, you can surpass this challenge! Things might seem bleak right now, but I’m sure your talents can win the day! After all, when the hope of the future generation all comes together like this, there’s nothing you can’t accomplish! Truly, I'm blessed to be in the presence of this moment...”

The tall, skinny guy with pale skin and white hair spoke out to the group, a wide smile on his face. Well, at least someone was enjoying themselves here…?

“Ding ding! You’re absolutely, positively correct!”

Everyone paused and turned in the direction of the noise as a pink rabbit popped out from behind a rock and addressed the group. Wait, a pink rabbit? What in the world was that thing doing here?!

“Sorry for being late! I had some quick business to take care of. However, I am here to welcome you all to your vacation!”

Nobody could say a word in response. Everyone just gawked at the… talking stuffed animal that was addressing them. After all, what do you say to a talking stuffed animal? This whole situation seemed unreal. Totally fake. And yet, standing in front of them was the bear itself. They had never seen anything as absurd and unrealistic in their lives before, and probably never would moving forward.

“...Huh? Hello? Is everyone alri-”

“THAT THING CAN TAAAAAAAALK?!”

After the guy with the sea urchin hair screamed that line out, all hell broke loose once again. It was wrong, absurd, impossible! This whole situation was nothing but impossible! And yet... Here they are, experiencing it with their own two eyes. Surely they all must still be dreaming, right?!

“Hwha! E-Everyone, calm down!”

Obviously, that did nothing to settle the situation. Everyone wasn't going to calm down just because the source of their confusion told them to calm down. However, once the older white haired man cleared his throat, everyone knew better than to keep panicking. Geez, that guy is scary... They quickly composed themselves and paid attention to the rabbit, even if some of them were clearly still distraught.

“Uu… I’m sorry for scaring you all like that… But no need to worry! My name is Usami, and I’m the host of this Heartwarming School Trip!”

Heartwarming… School Trip? What did that mean? This situation just got weirder with every new piece of information. Makoto looked around, and judging from everyone’s expressions, they were just as confused as him. After all, who would be willing to accept that a talking rabbit had transported everyone to a tropical island on the first day of school?

“Allow me to explain! On this trip, you are tasked with collecting the Hope Fragments! To do so, all you have to do is make friends with the other people on this island! It's as simple as that! Whenever you talk to someone, you’ll receive a Hope Fragment on your e-Handbook!”

The pink rabbit waved her wand and suddenly, everyone had a digital handbook in their hands. Just like that, a crazy pad of some sort was just... in our hands. With no explanation or reasoning. How.

“Did you just make a piece of technology of this complexity appear out of thin air…? How is that possible?”

An older man with light brown hair and glasses asked in confusion. The others that seemed to be involved in technology based on their outfits began questioning the situation as well. No matter what, you can't just... magic this stuff into reality. A girl with a witch hat was the first to respond.

“It has to be magic! Whatever this pink rabbit is, it must be using magic!”

“Ding ding! Correct! I can control what happens with my magic stick!”

Usami waved the stick around a bit, leaving a rainbow trail wherever it went. The girl in the witch hat looked on in astonishment as she did, clearly more absorbed by the magical display than the absurdity of the situation. Guess that makes two people having fun… Only like 72 more to go, and that would be everyone.

“Now then! I will assign you all your classes and where you’ll be living! Let’s all live peacefully in this tropical paradise!”

“Hold on… You really just expect us to be okay with this?”

As Makoto turned around to see the source of the noise, he saw a guy who looked… somewhat similar to him. He had spiky brown hair and an ahoge, but he had a much more serious expression and wore a big tie. Really, he mostly looked like a more formal and mature version of himself. Was that weird to say? Their faces were completely different, though... Was it really just the hair? Anyways, from the expression on his face… He was clearly not pleased with everything that was going on. Then again, who could blame him? For everyone who was expecting to attend Hope’s Peak, this was clearly a slap in the face.

“You just brought all of us here against our will, and you expect us to believe that you’re just doing it for us to make friends? What about Hope’s Peak? What about the education we were promised? You can't just drag us away from that!”

The pink rabbit was taken aback, contemplating an answer before responding. Makoto couldn't believe that she didn't expect this outcome, and yet her she was... Of course, the answer that came out of her mouth was the last answer any of the students and faculty were expecting.

“Of course! After all, you should just forget about Hope’s Peak entirely! This is where you’ll be spending your school year!”

The man who previously stated that he was the headmaster stepped forward, arms crossed and an irate expression on his face. If none of what happened before convinced the students that this was real, the genuine frustration and anger on the headmaster's face would be the nail in the coffin that this was reality. After all, a stuffed animal coming around and telling everyone to forget about the school you ran would be enough to piss off anyone.

“I beg your pardon? That is completely and utterly unacceptable. These students are the hope of the future, the next generation of people who will lead humanity to a better world, and I will not allow you to rip them away from the education that they were promised. Return us to Hope's Peak Academy at once, or there will be serious consequences.”

Somehow… The rabbit seemed shocked that the headmaster wasn’t on board with this. Seriously, what was she expecting? Did that thing really think all of us were gonna gladly go along with this?!

“Wha-! B-But… I just want you all to make friends…”

A guy who looked like he had a croissant on his head grit his teeth and stepped forward. From the way he was motioning and clenching his fists, it looked like he was ready for a fight. Note to self: Stay away from him without someone else nearby.

“There’s no way you’re gonna expect us to do all this Kumbaya crap! Send us back to Hope’s Peak, or I'm gonna make you regret ever fucking with me!”

The rabbit was beginning to shy away as she was met with more and more resistance. Every time she acted like she wasn't expecting resistance, it just became that much more ridiculous to Makoto.

“Y-Your homework for today is to meet every person on this island! I-I’ve sent the teachers the classes and living quarters, s-so feel free to settle in!”

Before anyone could even respond, Usami was already gone, almost as if she vanished into thin air. Well, guess that ends that conversation. This day was getting stranger and stranger...

“That bitch! Running away as soon as things get a little tough for her… Does she really expect us to go along with this crap?”

A girl who seemed like the short blonde boy’s sister stepped up to say that, but a girl with purple hair and gloves responded. In fact, now that he looked more closely, she seemed to resemble the headmaster quite a bit... Were they related? No, best not to get distracted with stuff that doesn't matter right now.

“Well, do we have any other option? From what I can tell, we have no kind of communication with the outside world and no way to escape. Besides, if her magical ability is real, there’s little chance any of us are able to take her on.”

Did she really believe that her magic powers are real? Quite the claim to make so casually. Regardless, a scrawny looking boy with brown hair and bags under his eyes softly spoke up.

“S-So… Are we just supposed to do what that rabbit says…?”

“No way! That thing is obviously suspicious! Forget about Hope’s Peak? What is that thing even talking about?! This is very clearly against protocol, or even the law! Besides, if we go along with what that rabbit says, we would be missing out on valuable schooling, and that is not acceptable! We must find a way back to Hope's Peak immediately!”

A man in a white, military style uniform with spiky black hair yelled out at the top of his lungs. In response, a girl with twin-drill pigtails sighed and stepped forward, as though she was completely uninterested in this situation.

“And what do you suggest we do? Fight against a force that we know very little about? For all we know, this could be some all powerful enemy we don’t know about. After all, if they have the power and influence to bring all of Hope’s Peak here, then they must be a power beyond our comprehension.”

The guy with sea urchin hair rubbed his chin and looked away.

“Maybe it’s an alien! That’s why it can talk, despite looking like a stuffed animal!”

Was that supposed to be a joke...? A freckled girl with red hair and a camera slung over her shoulder put her hands on her hips, a look of annoyance on her face as she responded to him.

“There’s no way that’s it! Aliens aren’t real, y’know! Geez, can't you say something a bit smarter?”

“Yeah yeah, I know that! I was just trying to lighten the mood...”

A boy with black hair slightly lowered the brim of his cap as he decided to enter the conversation. Makoto wasn't the type of person to judge people based on their appearances, but he got the impression that this guy didn't get out much...

“Well… It’s more likely that this thing is just a machine, right? We just don’t know who it’s controlled by. If we can figure that out, we can most likely use them as a way to get off the island.”

A girl with brown hair and small stature looked down, awkwardly shifting as she responded. Speaking of people who didn't get out much...

“Well... I-If it’s controlled by someone, t-then they’ve gotta be on this island, right? I don’t see any other place they could be… If that really is a machine, then it's quite complex. I don't think you can control a machine that complex from very far away, and there doesn't seem to be much land surrounding this island... Then again, Usami seems to be a marvel of technology as is, so...”

An older man with a white fedora, who looked completely checked out, decided to join the conversation.

“Like twin drills over there said, I don’t think this is the work of any random joe off the street. If they were able to move all of us here with no memory of how we got here, then they must have some serious influence over the world. Subjugating the entirety of Hope’s Peak’s new class and some of its staff just ain’t happenin' for normal people.”

The girl with purple hair rubbed her chin with a gloved hand. Out of everyone here, she seemed to give off the vibe that she was trying to figure everything out. Makoto couldn't help but respect her ability to stay calm in this kind of situation.

“In that case, it’s safe to assume that there’s a large organization responsible for bringing us here, and said organization has to also have the resources to subjugate multiple members of high society. After all, the idea that a single person could be responsible for all this seems unlikely at best.”

That certainly got everyone’s attention. An entire organization wanted them here? It made sense that it had to be a group of people behind this, but why? Why would they go through all the trouble if their goal was solely to have everyone make friends with each other? Weren't they going to do that anyways at Hope's Peak? Well, that was Makoto's plan, anyways. As Makoto pondered the implications of this whole situation, the guy with croissant hair spoke up again.

“Why the hell would they do that? If they want to kill us, why’re they tryna make us think it’s for some love-y dovey crap? I refuse to believe they really went through all of this just to make us fuckin friends!”

A large man who looked almost exactly the same as blond teen from earlier (You know... except for his size) chimed in.

“Regardless of who is controlling this… thing, it’s clear that we cannot trust it. It’s given us no explanation as to what’s going on, and on top of that, it expects us to just abandon the school we’ve worked our whole lives to get into. That is simply an unacceptable outcome.”

The supposed headmaster decided to butt into the conversation. This time with a serious, neutral look on his face as he addressed his students. Here we go...

“We might not know the organization’s true intentions… but there are ways we can find out. It may be true that we cannot trust this rabbit, but we should still focus on collecting the Hope Fragments. As long as we do what it says for now, we can piece its motivation together bit by bit over time. It's better to comply with smaller demands than to fight everything they tell us to do.”

The guy who looked somewhat similar to Makoto was taken aback by this, almost as if he was baffled that anyone could possibly have that opinion in this situation. Makoto could at least undertand that view, even if he personally disagreed with it.

“Seriously? You want us to go along with what that stuffed animal wants? How can you possibly trust that thing in this situation?! The rabbit is the entire reason we're here!”

The white haired man spoke up again, this time maintaining his stoic expression as he responded.

“Unfortunately… Yes. But while we do, I want all hands on deck searching this entire island. We need to make sure we have every tool at our disposal. Make sure you are familiar with every square inch of the island. If there’s anything that could be useful for escaping, piecing together the rabbit’s motivations, or for who is behind this all, report back to me immediately.”

The man huffed and crossed his arms. He seemed to be incredibly frustrated at this situation, but it made sense. If Makoto was the headmaster and his entire school was whisked away to a deserted island, he’d be a little frustrated too. Not that there was ever even a chance that he could ever become the headmaster of Hope’s Peak! It was just… an example.

“That is all. You are dismissed.”

Everyone seemed to agree with that, reluctantly or otherwise. They took a look at the map on their e-Handbooks and headed off in the direction of the hotels. While there were some people who were more reluctant, they did find it best to go along with it. Makoto wasn’t paying too much to what people were talking about, as he had quite a bit to consider. Who was controlling Usami? Could it possible have been one of them? That's impossible, right?

Regardless, after the main group of people left, there were only a few stragglers on the beach, including Makoto and his sister, Komaru. Makoto was admittedly still trying to take everything in... It was all so much at once. He couldn't help but stand there with a blank expression on his face. After all, who could blame him?

“So, looks like we've been dumped into something pretty crazy, huh? What are you thinking in that brain of yours, Makoto?”

“What do I think? I think this is insane… But I also don’t think that whoever’s controlling that stuffed animal has bad intentions. It’s like they said, if they wanted us dead, wouldn’t they have already done it…? I think we should trust it for now. And besides, there's nothing wrong with just making friends, right? I'm sure we'll all gather the Hope Fragments and get out of here.”

Komaru merely smiled and put her hands behind her head. She sure looked like she wasn’t too concerned about all this. That was good to see, at least. Makoto felt pretty strongly that there was nothing to worry about in terms of Usami, and it seems like his sister agreed.

“Hey, I’m just glad I get to go to an island resort, y’know? We’ve never been somewhere like this before! Don't you see, bro? This is our chance to do all the stuff we've always wanted to! A true island vacation!”

There it was again… The classic Naegi optimism. Some might call it naivete, but Makoto disagreed. He and his sister just liked to look on the bright side of things. If you were constantly breaking everything down and acting pessimistic, how would you ever be happy? Regardless, Makoto couldn’t help but smile and chuckle at his sister's response. Really, what was he so worried about? They were on an island resort! If they were here, it was probably best to make the most of it, right? Even if the circumstances were a tad suspicious, as long as they weren't in any immediate danger, it wouldn't be a problem!

“Yeah, actually… You’re right! Why don’t we go explore more of the island? They've gotta have a beach hut where they sell drinks somewhere around here!”

“You bet! C’mon, I’m sure there’s tons of other cool stuff here, too! You think I'll be able to go surfing? Oooh, I've always wanted to go surfing!”

The two Naegi siblings, much unlike everyone else on the island, were totally pumped. As the two of them turned to leave and explore the rest of the island, they were stopped by a familiar voice. One that Makoto knew very well, and that Komaru might know even better, even if Makoto himself would never admit it.

“Makoto? Is that you?”

As he turned around to see who was addressing him, he saw none other than…

“...Sayaka?”

“Wait, Sayaka?!”

Komaru quickly turned around and lit up like a Christmas tree when she saw the pop idol. Just based on Komaru's reaction, Makoto could tell that this interaction was going to end VERY poorly. Just his luck that he would run into the idol that he and his sister were huge fans of right when they were about to leave. I mean, he already knew that she was gonna be in his class… but still, he needed time to prepare! If you've been idolizing someone for years, and all of a sudden they just walk up to you for casual conversation, how would you react?!

“Oh my god, I’m a huge fan! What’re you doing here? Surely it’s because you’re a student at Hope’s Peak, right? I mean, you are like the greatest pop idol to ever grace the earth, so I’m not surprised! But still, this is crazy! Geez, do I look okay? I don’t want you to think I’m gross or anything! Hey, can I have your autograph? Wait, that's totally lame to say, isn't it? I'm so sorry, please forgive me!”

Before Komaru could embarrass herself anymore, Makoto softly pushed her out of the way and gave Sayaka an awkward smile while scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. In all honesty, if she wasn't doing it... Makoto probably would.

“Heh… Sorry about my sister. She’s… Well, I’m sure you already know what kind of person she is. She really can’t help herself.”

Sayaka giggled and gave him a soft smile. From her expression, it seemed like she wasn't bothered at all. That was good... Don't wanna freak Sayaka out on the first day, after all. That would happen later.

“Don’t worry about it! It makes sense for her to act like that if she’s a fan. Though, I didn’t know you had a sister, Makoto.”

Makoto scratched the side of his cheek and chuckled. The fact that Sayaka singled him out in the first place was a bit strange, but the fact that she was interested in the fact that Komaru was his sister was even more strange. The two of them went to the same middle school, but it's not like they ever really interacted. In fact, Makoto couldn't remember a single time that they did. So that begs the question: Why was she starting up a conversation with him?

“Well… Honestly, I’m surprised you even know who I am, considering… Well, you’re a pop idol and I’m just some average, everyday guy.”

Sayaka huffed and quickly shook her head. Something about Makoto’s reply must’ve ticked her off a bit, as her look became much more stern and upset. What did he say?

“Hey now, don’t talk like that. Last I checked, average guys don’t do what you did back in middle school, you know? If you treat something like as some everyday occurrence, I think that just serves as proof that you're someone special.”

Makoto couldn't help but be confused in the face of Sayaka's question. What he did? What did she mean by that? Makoto tried to go back into his memories of high school, but was bringing up a complete blank in terms of impressive things he did during that time.

While Makoto continued his attempt to recall any specific events, Komaru took this time to enter the conversation. She got back up off the ground and looked at Sayaka with curiosity. How had she never hear this super special thing that Makoto did in middle school?!

“Huh? Did my big brother do something special during Middle School? Big bro, you better not have done anything weird! If you did, I'm never going to forgive you!”

Makoto cringed and quickly turned towards his sister, putting his hands up and shaking his head. There's no way he had done something that weird!

“H-Hey, it’s not like that! I didn’t do anything weird in middle school, honest!”

...I hope. Oh god, did I do something weird?

Sayaka simply just giggled at the sibling banter before continuing her previous thought.

“No no, it wasn’t anything weird. You might not remember it since it wasn’t a huge deal to you, but it was a big deal to me. Do you remember that swan that got stuck in the pool? You know, the one that the adults were trying to get out?”

Suddenly, the memory came back to him. That’s right… There was a poor swan that got lost that Makoto tried to help…

“Oh, that’s right… I saw that it was hurt and struggling, and so I tried to help it out of the pool.”

Sayaka nodded her head, a smile now appearing on her face as Makoto remembered the incident.

“Yup! The poor thing must’ve gotten lost, and it seemed like it had hurt its wing… So it randomly wandered into the school pool. Everyone was afraid to even go near it… But not you. You managed to calm it down, treat its wounds, and get it back into the wild. I thought that was such a sweet thing to do, especially when everyone else around you wasn't even making an attempt.”

Makoto looked at her with a weird expression. That’s what got her to notice him? I mean… I guess he couldn’t complain, but it was certainly odd. Firstly, he had no idea she was even around whilst that incident was going on. Second, why did she stop what she was doing just to watch him? Better yet, how did she remember his face and name all this time afterwards?

“Well… I didn’t think it was a huge deal. I’m sure anyone else would’ve done the same thing in that situation, y’know? It was just being a good person.”

Sayaka shook her head and became more serious after Makoto said that. He couldn’t help but flinch a bit as her expression turned more sour. She was really serious about this, wasn’t she?

“Then why didn’t anyone else at the pool do it? There were multiple people there just watching it flail around before you showed up, y’know. If it wasn't such a big deal, someone would've taken care of it before you even showed up.”

“Well, if you say so, I guess...”

Sayaka gave him a warm smile. Makoto’s chest tightened as he saw her expression brighten. Something about the pop idol he grew up with smiling directly at him made his chest hurt, in a good way.

“From that point on, I always wanted to talk to you. You just don’t see people who are that selfless all the time, especially in my line of work, and I had to get to know you. But… sadly, I never got the chance. Every time I tried to get close, I was always pulled away by someone trying to get my attention... It's not easy to make time for yourself as an idol, you know?”

She looked down for a split second, but quickly perked back up, this time with a newfound sense of determination.

“But that changes today! From now on, I’m gonna do everything in my power to be your friend, Makoto Naegi! And I absolutely will not take no for an answer.”

Makoto flinched a bit at her chance of tone. He was a little taken aback by how forceful she was being, but who was he to reject her? After all, he would be ecstatic to be her friend! Even aside from her status as the Ultimate Idol, she seemed like a good person, and an even better friend.

“Well… If you want, I’d love to be your friend, Sayaka!”

He could almost feel Komaru having a heart attack in the background as Sayaka and Makoto smiled at each other. To be fair, he couldn’t really believe it either. The most popular artist in the most popular idol group was taking interest in him… a nobody. Someone who shouldn't even be acknowledged. Truthfully, this interaction combined with everything else going on made Makoto feel like he was dreaming. It all just seemed so surreal!

“Nope, you're not dreaming. Also, how many times do I have to tell you that you aren’t a nobody? You are Makoto Naegi!”

Makoto almost jumped out of his skin when she said. He completely ignored Komaru's weird look as he turned to the idol.

“Huh? D-Did… I say that out loud?”

“No silly, I’m psychic!”

The two siblings both looked at each other in confusion as she said that, but after a split second of silence she giggled and smiled at their expressions.

“Kidding! I just have good intuition. But you should’ve seen the looks on your faces!”

Makoto just let out a sigh and grumbled under his breath for a bit before Sayaka grabbed onto his arm. He had no idea that Sayaka was a prankster, but that was a trick he wasn't gonna fall for again...

“C’mon, let’s go and meet everyone else!”

“Huh? Wait wh-”

Before he could fully respond, Sayaka was already dragging him away to where the hotels were located. Komaru just sighed and followed along, grumbling under her breath as she crossed her arms.

“Geez, Day 1 and he's already whipped by her... I wish I was whipped by Sayaka… Guess he isn’t the Ultimate Lucky Student for nothing.”

----

This wasn’t right. Hajime knew that fact as soon as that pink rabbit showed up. It should be obvious that none of this makes any sense. They were promised an education at Hope's Peak, the most prestigious school in the world, and instead were taken here without the go ahead by the HEADMASTER OF THE SCHOOL! No matter how you look at it, this situation was WEIRD!

...So why is it that everyone was seemingly so… okay with it? Everyone just seemed to ignore the fact that some unknown group of people brought them all here for vague and unconvincing reasons. Why was everyone okay with this?!

As he walked through the island, everyone just seemed to be relaxing and talking with each other… Where was their sense of urgency? There’s clearly something wrong here, and everyone seems to just be ignoring the problem at hand! Having an entire school whisked away to a seemingly deserted island with no way to contact home and no way to leave was clearly WEIRD. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair! Hajime, and presumably everyone else on the island, had worked their entire lives to make it to Hope's Peak and receive the best education a teenager could receive. And yet, despite all that, everyone seems to just be brushing it off like it’s any other day. What is going on with these people?!

“Um… Excuse me. You’re part of my class, right?”

Hajime was snapped out of his thoughts as the small girl with the galaga pin addressed him. Huh... Was she looking for him? Considering how plain he looked, it probably took her a bit. A better question is why would she be looking for him? It's not like he knew this girl in the slightest. Then again, he didn't exactly know anyone on the island...

“Well, last I checked, I’m in Class 77. Are you in that class too?”

The girl took out her e-Handbook, and after taking a quick look, put it away and nodded her head. She gave Hajime a soft smile as she nodded her head. Well, looks like her reaction just answered the question for her.

“Yup yup. My name’s Chiaki Namami, and I’m the Ultimate Gamer. It's nice to meet you.”

The Ultimate Gamer, huh? Guess that would explain the hair pin… It looked pretty good though, so he wasn’t gonna point it out.

“I see. My name’s Hajime Hinata, and I’m the… the Ultimate… uh…”

Hajime froze in place. It was as if his entire world suddenly began collapsing around him.

...Wait. What’s my Ultimate talent? Why can’t I remember it? How did I forget your Ultimate Talent?!

No matter how hard he tried to rack his brain for that crucial piece of information, he just couldn’t remember… How do you forget your Ultimate Talent?! Actually… How much of his life did he remember? It felt like… a large chunk of his life seemed to just be ripped away from his memories. To be fair, that's pretty much exactly what happened. Why was there such a large part of his memories completely gone? He cringed and put a hand on his head, doing everything he could to remember even just a piece of his past. Unfortunately for him, that information was not showing up.

“Do you not remember your Ultimate Talent?”

“I… I guess I don’t. I can’t seem to remember it… Honestly, it feels like an entire piece of my life is missing. I can't seem to remember anything from middle school...”

Hajime frowned and looked away from her in shame. What an embarrassment… Not even remembering your own talent? How does someone even accomplish that? He probably looks like either a massive liar or an idiot...

Great, the first person I meet already thinks I’m a weirdo cause I forgot my Ultimate Talent. Things are going great!

“Well… I guess that’s alright. It’s not a big deal, I'm sure you'll remember it at some point.”

That made him freeze up. He turned to her, raising an eyebrow and giving her a weird look. Not a big deal? Is this girl serious? Not knowing your Ultimate talent at Hope’s Peak Academy isn’t a big deal?! The whole point of this school is that it’s a place for Ultimates to hone their talents! Not even knowing what your talent is seems to count as a big deal! Cause without an Ultimate Talent, why was he even here?!

“But Hope’s Peak is all about being the best in your field. If I can’t remember my talent, then do I even deserve to be in Hope’s Peak at all?”

Chiaki just turned away a bit and shrugged. Hajime couldn’t help but be a bit irked by this. Was she even taking this conversation seriously? This was a big deal for him!

“We're not at Hope's Peak Academy right now, are we? I don't think any of our talents really matter much at all out here. Besides, life’s not all about talent, Hajime. Life's about making memories with other people, and you don't need a talent for that. Either way, I’m sure you’ll remember it soon, so it’s nothing to get worked up over... I think.”

Hajime grit his teeth, trying to think of a counter argument before eventually deciding to drop it. This girl clearly wasn't going to change her mind on this topic, and besides... It wasn’t right to get worked up over this, especially since she was just trying to cheer him up. And if she was right about anything... She was right about his memory most likely coming back. It was unrealistic to think that he wouldn’t remember everything at some point… So maybe he should just let it go?

…That didn’t stop him from overthinking it, of course, but it was an attempt.

“Hey hey, do you wanna go meet the rest of our class? We’ve gotta collect the Hope Fragments, and I don’t really like talking to people by myself.”

He gave her a curious look as she said that. Didn't she just go out of her way to go meet up with him in the first place?

“You seemed to talk to me just fine.”

Chiaki turned to her side and crossed her arms, deep in thought. There was a bit of an awkward silence as he waited for her to respond. This girl was... strange, but Hajime didn't think she was a bad person. Maybe just a bit too space-y at times.

“Well… I don’t know what it is, but something about you just makes you easy to talk to… I think. You've got like... an aura of reliability? Something like that.”

She straightened back up and looked back at me, this time wearing a bit more of a serious look.

“Though you also just seemed kinda lonely… So I thought you would appreciate the company.”

Hajime just let out a bit of a chuckle as he gave Chiaki a crooked smile. Most people would take that as an insult, but Hajime wasn't exactly in a position where he could disagree with her.

“Haha, I guess I can’t argue with that. Alright, let’s go meet the others. Have you talked to any of them yet?”

Chiaki shook her head as the two of them began walking toward the hotel together.

“Nope, just you. I won’t lie, some of them seem… quirky. I don’t really have a better word to explain them… Maybe eccentric? Weird? No, not weird… I don’t want to insult them. They seem like such nice people... I think.”

Hajime chuckled a little bit as they walked side to side. He couldn’t exactly blame her… there definitely seemed to be some crazy characters here. Of course, when you have people who dedicate their lives towards their talent, it’s hard to not pick up some character quirks along the way. Hyper-fixating on one thing in your life tends to leave you open for improvement in plenty of areas...

“Well, there certainly were some characters there at the beach. You don’t think any of them are dangerous though, right?”

“I guess we’ll just have to find out. You’ll protect me if something goes bad, right?”

Hajime wasn’t expecting that. He was completely taken off guard by her comment, and he couldn’t help but flinch. Did she think someone was gonna try to pull something in a situation like this? When he turned to look at her, she looked completely serious, too!

“Are you serious? Did you see someone of those people on the beach? I'd get torn to pieces if I tried to get into a fight with them! I don't think I'd stand much more of a chance than you!”

“...Kidding.”

He felt a small twitch in my eye as she said that, an expression that looked like she was entirely checked out still present on her face. This girl… was a bit of a handful in all the worst ways. Even still... she was nice, and that's all Hajime could really ask for.

“Hey hey… Looks like we’re already here.”

Hajime’s attention was taken away from her and towards the big hotel area that they were greeted with as they arrived at their destination. It seemed… pretty fancy, if he was being completely honest. It was a large hotel with a pool in the back and a beautiful lobby area greeting them as they walked inside. The outside walls looked well maintained considering this place was supposed to be abandoned, and the structure seemed sturdy. All things considered, it looked like a hotel for the rich and elite… which just made him question the situation even more. He didn’t bring it up since he knew Chiaki would just tell him to relax, but… He couldn’t help it! This was just way too weird to ignore!

Once the two of them headed into the lobby, they were greeted by the boy with snow white hair. He waved at the two with a bright smile on his face, seemingly ecstatic to even be in the presence of Hajime and Chiaki.

“Hello! Welcome to the Hotel for Class 77! I’m so glad I could be the one to welcome such shining lights of hope into the building!”

Yup, definitely some characters here if this guy was anything to go off of.

“Uh… Gotcha. We should probably introduce ourselves, right?”

“Oh, of course… Where are my manners? Not that it matters, but my name is Nagito Komaeda… and I’m the Ultimate Lucky Student. It’s not much of a talent compared to the rest of you, but it was enough to get me into Hope’s Peak.”

Hajime tilted his head. Ultimate Lucky Student? What was that all about?

"Nagito, what do you mean by Ultimate Lucky Student? Can luck even be considered a talent?"

Chiaki softly elbowed Hajime in the ribs to get him to stop being rude, but Nagito just laughed.

"Well, luck isn't much of a talent, but Hope's Peak seems to think it is. See... Every year, they have a lottery to determine who the Ultimate Lucky Student is. Every high school student in Japan is put into a lottery and selected at random. It just so happens that I was chosen to be this year's lucky student. I declined at first, because I didn't believe I deserved to be here alongside all of you, but the school insisted I come along..."

Nagito turned back to the two with a wide smile.

“But, that's enough about me. I'm much more interested in you two! What would your names and your amazing talents be?”

Chiaki pointed to herself, still with her blank expression.

“I’m Chiaki Nanami, the Ultimate Gamer.”

She turned to Hajime, who couldn’t help but hesitate a bit. Nagito seemed really fixated on their talents, which is pretty bad considering... well, he can't remember his own.

“And I… am Hajime Hinata. I don’t remember my Ultimate talent…”

Nagito looked shocked as he said that. His shock turned into concern as he crossed his arms. Hajime cringed at Nagito's reaction, even though he knew it was coming. Is this going to be a reoccurring thing…? He really hoped that he wouldn't have to go through this with every person he met. How many people were even on the island...?

“You don’t remember your talent? You mean you have amnesia? Well… I guess with all that’s happened, it would make sense for your brain to go into shock. Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll remember your talent in no time! Besides, I’m sure it’ll be an amazing talent!! After all, Ultimates are people who stand above the rest in their field! No matter what it is, I'm sure it will blow us all away, Hajime!”

Hajime just sighed as Nagito went on a bit of a tangent. He… certainly had a way with words, Hajime would give him that. And he wouldn't lie, Nagito's speech did make him feel a little bit better about himself.

“Oh, but I’m getting ahead of myself… I don’t want to waste any more of your precious time when you should be meeting the other Ultimates. I’ll see you around, okay? It was very nice meeting you both.”

With that, Nagito walked off to what seemed to be everyone’s rooms. Something about him… seemed off. The self-deprecation, sure. But even aside from that… At the same time though, he didn't seem like a bad person. Maybe he was a bit of a suck up, but Hajime still felt like he could call him a friend.

“Hey hey, we should get moving Hajime. We've got a lot of people to meet, so we shouldn't just be hanging around here...”

He snapped out of his thoughts on Nagito, nodding to Chiaki as they walked around the lobby a bit more. As the two ultimates went on their little journey, they saw the girl with the camera awkwardly sitting in the corner. She didn’t look super comfortable here, but at the same time, it was necessary for them to collect the Hope Fragments… Hajime could relate to her situation. At the very least, he had Chiaki with him, but worrying about the situation by yourself was sure to cause anyone to freak out...

Thankfully for Hajime, Chiaki decided to make the decision for the two of them and decided to approach the girl on her own. What exactly did she need him for again…? She seemed to be doing the heavy lifting on her own.

“Hey hey, you seem a little out of it. Is something wrong?”

The red haired girl jumped a bit before turning to Chiaki, letting out a sigh. Yup, she definitely wasn’t comfortable here. At least SOMEONE was taking this situation seriously...

“Oh, it’s just you… You had me scared for a bit. I thought you were someone else.”

Hajime couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as she said that. Scared? I mean, the situation was very weird, but there wasn’t anything to be scared of… was there? Or was she just talking about Chiaki sneaking up on her?

…Why am I still thinking about this?! Maybe I do overthink things...

“Well, it doesn’t matter too much. You’re here to introduce yourselves, right? I’m Mahiru Koizumi, and I’m the Ultimate Photographer. I’ll be counting on you from now on, so don't disappoint me!”

Mahiru gave a bright smile as she happily introduced herself, but it quickly went away as she put her hands on her hips, pointing directly at Hajime with an upset expression on her face.

“Now you! Ahoge boy! Care to explain why you caused that ruckus while we were all deciding what to do? You completely derailed the entire conversation! What do you have to say for yourself?!”

Hajime put his hands up in surprise, instinctively taking a step back. Is she referring to what he said about not trusting Usami? What did she expect him to do in that situation?! He was under the assumption that she didn't trust her either, but apparently not! Number of people taking this situation seriously is back to one!

“H-Huh? Me? What did I do?”

“Geez! You’re a boy, right? In that situation, you should be helping out the girls instead of running your mouth about what you think! All it does is freak us out, you know? We're all trying to cope with this in our own ways!”

Is this girl serious…? Well, I guess it’d be best not to rile her up…

“Y-Yeah, I guess… My bad? I shouldn't have let my feelings get the better of me.”

Mahiru huffed and shifted her body away from Hajime. Seems like that was enough to pacify her for now.

“Well as long as we’re clear on that… Now, are you two gonna introduce yourselves? I don't even know your names yet!”

Ah, right. The Hope Fragments. Chiaki decided to introduce herself first before Hajime could respond. Was this girl even worried about introducing herself?

“I’m Chiaki Nanami. The Ultimate Gamer.”

“And my name is Hajime Hinata… I don’t remember my talent.”

Mahiru was quite taken aback to hear that he had forgotten his talent. Not that that was surprising… This is definitely going to become a trend in the future. How annoying.

“You don’t remember your talent? Are you serious?”

Hajime sighed and scratched the back of his head. Yup… He could tell that this was gonna be a long day…

“Nope… I can’t remember it for the life of me. Trust me, if I knew, I would tell you all right away, but it feels like an entire section of my past has just been erased...”

Mahiru crossed her arms. She seemed a little skeptical… but she didn’t follow up on her line of thought. Thank god for that. Though that look of pity that quickly followed afterwards bothered Hajime a LOT.

“Well… alright. At least you seem pretty trustworthy. I’m glad about that, cause some of the people on this island are pretty… out there. Y’know?”

Chiaki almost instantly responded once Mahiru finished up.

“You’re talking about Nagito, right?”

Much to Hajime’s surprise, Mahiru shook her head.

“No no, I’m not talking about Nagito… I mean, he’s a little fixated on hope, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I’m talking more about… some of the others. Some of these people are REALLY weird...”

More out there than Nagito? That’s… a pretty high bar to be throwing out so casually. Hajime couldn’t help but be curious about that… but he was also very worried about who else was in their class if they surpassed even Nagito on the weird scale. Something told him that his class was gonna be quite the handful to deal with...

“If they’re more out there than Nagito… Maybe it’d be better if I didn’t meet them. I like my sanity exactly where it is, thanks.”

…Hajime felt a dark presence near him as he said that. He turned to his side and saw Chiaki with her cheeks puffed out, an aura of anger radiating off of her as Hajime instinctively took a step back.

“Hajime… You know we need to meet everyone for the Hope Fragments…”

He sighed. He could tell that Chiaki wasn’t gonna be happy if she knew he was trying to flake on them. But could she blame him? He didn’t wanna get involved with a bunch of weirdos! Was it really such a bad thing for him to want to kick back and relax without people driving him crazy?

“I know, I know… We should probably keep going. It was nice talking to you, Mahiru.”

Mahiru lit up when Hajime said that. Seems like she wasn’t expecting that, as she acted like it was a pleasant surprise.

“Oh! Yeah, it’s nice to meet you two as well! I hope we can get along this year.”

Well, that was nice. Once they were done talking, Chiaki and Hajime nodded their heads as they headed on their way, the latter flashing a small smile before moving on. The two checked inside the small dining area on the upper floor, but once they realized no one was there, they headed outside to the pool area. Out there, the two saw a short guy with blonde hair talking with a woman with long silver hair and red eyes. Seems like the blonde guy was getting really heated about something.

“...our professional relationship doesn’t exist here, alright? We’re just normal high school stu-”

“Ah… Sorry, are we interrupting something?”

The boy was taken off guard as Chiaki addressed the two of them. They both quickly turned to the two of us before sighing and turning away. How could Chiaki just talk to these seemingly dangerous people so casually? She was gonna get seriously hurt if she kept doing this!

“...It is of no concern. You merely wish to meet us for the sake of collecting the Hope Fragments, yes?”

The silver haired woman addressed us before turning her body towards us and bowing.

“My name is Peko Pekoyama… and I’m the Ultimate Swordswoman.”

“The name’s Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu. I’m the Ultimate Yakuza.”

“Nice to meet you two. My name’s Chiaki Namai… and this is Hajime Hinata. It’s a pleasure.”

Chiaki gave them both a soft smile as she introduced us. Wasn’t she the one who didn’t like meeting people by herself? Yet she’s the one taking charge in these situations. Did she trick him into introducing himself to everyone? If so… She was a pretty clever girl, he had to give her that. Much more clever than she seemed, that’s for sure.

Before Hajime could even say a word of his own, Fuyuhiko gave a quick and curt response.

“Alright, you got what you wanted. If we’re all done here, how about you make like a tree and fuck off.”

Well, I don’t think anyone could be more blunt than that… Chiaki and I took the hint and went off to find more of our class. At least he didn't have to explain the lack of memory of his talent this time...

----

Well… Things had certainly taken a turn for the strange. I figured that the first day at Hope’s Peak would be a whirlwind, but… this level of extremity wasn’t something I expected. I mean, whisked away to a seemingly deserted island for the purpose of making friends? It didn’t seem right. That being said… There were much worse places to be forced to stay for an extended period of time. This was pretty much a tropical paradise, for God’s sake! No one in their right mind could possibly complain about this set of arrangements.

Oh, I haven’t even introduced myself yet… I’m Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist. I’m incredibly excited to be a student of Hope’s Peak! I’ve been working my whole life to perfect my music, and I finally feel as though it was all worth it. Of course, the whole kidnapping thing has thrown a wrench into my plans… But it’s no big deal! The school basically just moved to another location, right? Regardless, I should really get going… I have to meet up with all of my classmates.

Well, whatever. Let’s just start-

Kaede stumbled a bit as she felt someone bump into her. She turned around and saw… a kid with black hair and a hat on his head. Said kid immediately covered his face with his hat as he spoke to Kaede in the softest tone she's heard in a while.

“Oh… I’m sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going...”

Kaede let out a sigh and brushed herself off, turning to the new kid and giving him a soft smile. This guy was pretty shy, wasn't he?

“It’s alright! Don’t worry about it. Happens all the time.”

As Kaede regathered herself, she suddenly remembered why exactly she was there.

“Hey, hold on… Are you a part of Class 53? You’ve gotta be, right? That’s why you’re over here?”

Shuichi seemed to be a little taken aback by Kaede’s forward nature, but he nodded while scratching the back of his neck. He was gonna have to get used to this if he wanted to meet everyone on the island...

“Y-Yeah… I’m a part of Class 53. I’m Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective. Though, I’m not sure how much I deserve a title like that… I haven’t really done much detective work.”

Kaede huffed and put her hands on her hips. This guy was a real downer, wasn’t he? Well, that’s gonna change! Kaede walked up closer to him and gave him a smile.

“Shuichi, don’t say that. If Hope’s Peak scouted you out, then that must mean they believe in you and your talent, right? Don’t be so hard on yourself!”

Shuichi just sighed and closed his eyes. He knew she was just trying to cheer him up, but… this isn’t something he hasn’t heard before. He just… couldn’t find it in himself to believe it yet. Self confidence wasn’t exactly his forte… especially when he was surrounded by a ton of people who were infinitely more talented and successful than him.

“Thanks, I guess… Though, you haven’t told me your name yet.”

“Oh! That’s right. I’m Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist! It’s nice to meet you, Shuichi.”

Shuichi gave her a soft smile as she introduced herself. Ultimate Pianist, huh? He thought that was a pretty good talent to have. Maybe not the most applicable, but still nice. Of course, his curiosity got the better of him, and he had to ask the story.

“So you’re the Ultimate Pianist? Wow, that’s amazing… Would you be willing to play me a song some time?”

Kaede smiled brightly, clapping her hands together and nodding her head. This guy was pretty cute, wasn't he?

“Of course! I’d be happy to play you a song, Shuichi! Just say the word and I’ll play the best music you’ve ever heard!”

Shuichi just chuckled at that. She was certainly lively, huh? He appreciated that, especially with how uncomfortable this whole situation was making him. It… wasn’t fun not knowing where you are or how you got there, especially for someone like Shuichi who was uncomfortable even when he did know those things. And because of the type of guy he was... he was constantly checking over everything in this place and overthinking every little bit of it. It was mind numbing at times.

“Alright… I’m looking forward to it. Do you… mind if I go with you to do the rest of the introductions?”

Kaede smiled brightly, nodding her head and turning towards the hotel.

“I thought you’d never ask! Let’s go, Shuichi!”

She quickly grabbed his hand and began dragging him into the Class 53 hotel, much to Shuichi’s dismay. He started awkwardly flailing for a bit, but once he realized that Kaede wasn’t going to let go, he resigned himself to his fate. Surely with Kaede here he’d be able to get through these introductions even if he wasn’t mentally prepared, right? He could just let her do most of the talking and he'd just sit near the back.

“Halt! Degenerate male, explain what you’re doing with that fair maiden?! I demand you give a proper explanation immediately!”

Never mind. This was going to be a long, draining day.

---

“I say, welcome to all you wonderful minds! Thank you for joining me here!”

The loud, black haired guy with bright red eyes and a white military uniform stood at the end of a long table, smiling widely as he addressed the room. Makoto couldn’t help but sweatdrop at this guy's personality. This guy was definitely intense, that was for sure. He turned to Sayaka, who seemed to just be smiling and nodding her head at everything the “leader” was saying.

“Hey, Sayaka… Where did Komaru go? Wasn’t she with you before we came here?”

Sayaka nodded her head, motioning to the door before whispering her response back.

“Yeah, she got dragged away by some of the kids to their class… Apparently she’s part of the auxiliary course? That’s what those kids were saying, anyways.”

Auxiliary course? Makoto hadn’t heard of something like that before… Then again, this wasn’t exactly a typical situation, so maybe the staff just decided to add it out of necessity? Especially since he knew Komaru wasn’t a student at Hope’s Peak… This whole situation was strange. Hopefully Komaru was still having fun, though.

That being said, he had already decided beforehand that he was going to make the most of it, and make the most of it he will! He finally turned his attention back to the student at the front and listened back into what he was saying. Best not to ignore any potentially important information.

“Now then, with all that out of the way, how about we get straight to introductions? I shall start us off! My name is Kiyotaka Ishimaru, and I am the Ultimate Moral Compass! I hope we shall all grow close as a class and enjoy our school years together!”

There were a couple of groans from the group as Kiyotaka went through his exaggerated introduction, but it was clear Taka was expecting the group to continue on, and so a… well, a ripped woman was the next to introduce herself.

“My name is Sakura Ogami, and I am the Ultimate Martial Artist. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

The girl sitting next to her perked up, flashing a bright smile as she prepared to introduce herself.

“I’m Aoi Asahina, but you can just call me Hina! I’m the Ultimate Swimmer! Sup?”

After that, the entire rest of the class introduced themselves one by one. It was a lot to keep track of, but everyone was distinct enough that Makoto didn't have much issue keeping track of who was who.

“Mondo Owada, the Ultimate Gang Leader. Nice to fuckin meet ya!”

“Celestia Ludenburg, the Ultimate Gambler. It is a pleasure to meet you all.”

“Chihiro Fujisaki… I-I’m the Ultimate Programmer.”

“I am Byakuya Togami, the Ultimate Affluent Progeny. I recommend you remember that name, for your sakes.”

“Yo! I’m Leon Kuwata, the Ultimate Baseball Player!”

“I am Hifumi Yamada, the Ultimate Fanfic Creator! However, feel free to call me by my nickname, ‘The Alpha and the Omega!’”

“I am the magnificent Junko Enoshima, the Ultimate Fashionista! Now bow before me, peasants!”

“...My name’s Kyoko Kirigiri. I’m the Ultimate Detective.”

“M-My name’s… T-Toko Fukawa… I-I’m the U-Ultimate Writing Prodigy… N-Not that any of you care…”

“Yo! My name’s Yasuhiro Hagakure, and I’m the Ultimate Clairvoyant! If any of you wanna see your future, feel free to ask! …For a price.”

“My name is Mukuro Ikusaba. I am the Ultimate Soldier.”

Once the rest of them had gone through their… colorful introductions, it was finally time for Sayaka and Makoto to introduce themselves. Sayaka saw that Makoto was shying away from the task, so she cleared her throat and sat up.

“Hello everyone! My name is Sayaka Maizono, and I’m the Ultimate Pop Sensation! It’s so nice to meet you all!”

Once she finished up, Makoto realized he had no one else to turn to. He sighed, scratching the back of his head as he avoided the eye contact of those who were staring at him… Which turned out to be quite a few people.

“Uh… My name’s Makoto Naegi. I’m… the Ultimate Lucky Student.”

Makoto’s head shot up as he heard some chuckling to his left. He turned and noticed it was coming from none other than Byakuya Togami.

“Ultimate Lucky Student? I see, so you're the commoner that Hope's Peak allowed in to placate the masses. Allowing common filth such as yourself to enter a school for the world’s elite... Tell me, Naegi, how does it feel to be surrounded by people who contribute more to society in an hour than you will in your entire life?”

Ouch. This guy certainly knew how to hit where it hurt...

“Uh… To be honest, I’m not exactly sure why I’m here either, but I do hope I can be friends with you all regardless!”

Makoto did his best to try and brush off Byakuya’s comment, but he couldn’t ignore the fact that Sayaka was glaring at Byakuya. He… had never seen this look from her before. Not in person, not at any performances… It was incredibly off-putting, if he was going to be honest. However, the awkward tension that was layered over this conversation was interrupted as Yasuhiro stepped in.

“Geez Togami… Would it kill you to have even a little bit of basic respect for your classmates? I mean, we're all gonna be living together on this island... You might as well treat everyone kindly.”

Byakuya huffed and turned away, clearly disinterested in continuing this conversation. Makoto just sighed and put a hand on his head. He should’ve figured things would be like this…

Kiyotaka cleared his throat, trying his best to get everyone’s attention once more. It was pretty obvious that he wasn't keen to the tension that had built up in the room, either.

“Now then, introductions are complete! How about we all go to the dining hall and grab ourselves some lunch? I must say that I'm completely famished!”

As he said that, most people looked around at each other with disinterest. Byakuya just stood up and left on his own without even saying a word. Surprisingly, Toko got up and ran after him… That's a combo that Makoto wasn't expecting.

“Er… Okay, looks like those two are out. But we still have 14 people! Would you all like to come with me?”

Kyoko parted a strand of hair before standing up and heading towards the door. Seems like she wasn't interested, either.

“Apologies, but I have some business to take care of… If you’ll excuse me.”

As she left the room, everyone could tell that Taka’s mood was sinking further and further down. That, of course, did not stop others from announcing their departure as well.

“Sorry Taka, but I’ve gotta powder my nose! That means I need to go to the bathroom!”

Junko quickly got up, heading out of the room without a care in the world. Mukuro got up and began following after her, for... some reason.

“I need to leave as well. I apologize…”

Celeste giggled and stood up from her chair. Taka cringed seeing her do so, but she merely ignored him.

“Ah, I too have matters to attend to… I would like to get comfortable in my room and have some tea, if you do not mind. I will be taking my leave as well…”

“Yes, I am quite busy at the moment as well… I must continue writing my most recent story. This whole situation has inspired me!”

“Well… If everyone else is leaving, I’ll probably be doing the same. Sorry, dude.”

“Yeah, as much as I’d love to be bossed around by the Ultimate Hall Monitor, I have about a million better things to do. See ya.”

“I uh… Should probably do some divinations. You know, to make sure we’re all gonna get through this situation safely.”

After Celeste departed, she was followed not long after by Hifumi, Leon, Mondo, and Yasuhiro. The only people remaining in the room were Makoto, Sayaka, Taka, Aoi, Chihiro, and Sakura. Taka, the stunned look still clear on his face, merely sighed and looked down.

“W-Well… I suppose since everyone else has left, you are all dismissed. We can... maybe meet up for breakfast tomorrow...?”

Makoto frowned. He… didn’t like seeing Taka that down on himself, even if they had all just met. That being said, he had a feeling nothing was gonna cheer Taka up right now, so he just sighed and stood up. Perhaps he would talk with Taka some time later.

“Hey, Sayaka… We should probably go check up on Komaru. Do you know which way she went?”

Sayaka stood up as well, giving Makoto a soft smile as she headed for the door.

“Of course! Here, I’ll lead the way.”

“Oh! You guys are going to the Auxiliary Course, right? Do you mind if I come with you? I wanna see how my little bro is doing!”

Makoto and Sayaka turned around to see Aoi and Sakura approaching them, a bright smile on Aoi’s face as she approached the two.

“Sure! Your name’s Aoi, right?”

“Yup yup! My little bro is named Yuta! I was kinda surprised he’s here considering he never got accepted into Hope’s Peak…”

Makoto was a bit taken aback by this. Her brother wasn’t supposed to be here either? It was the same situation as with Komaru... Wasn't that strange? Why did this organization bring certain family members along as well?

“R-Really? It’s the same for my sister… That’s kinda weird, isn’t it?”

“Well yeah, but as long as it lets me stay with my baby brother, it’s all cool!”

Makoto just chuckled at that. Seems like she had a pretty good relationship with her brother. However, Makoto couldn’t help but turn his attention to Sakura.

“What about you, Sakura? Do you have a sibling here?”

She merely shook her head and crossed her arms.

“I’m afraid not. However, I was hoping I could accompany you regardless so that I can make sure Hina stays safe.”

Hina blushed and puffed out her cheeks, turning to Sakura with exaggerated exasperation.

“Sakura! I can take care of myself, y’know?”

Sakura chuckled and gave Hina a soft smile. It was… surprising to Makoto to see that Sakura was able to make friends so easily despite her appearance. It was an admirable quality to have! He could most certainly see plenty of people being scared off by Sakura's physique.

“Y’know Makoto, this is why you shouldn’t judge people based on their appearances. There’s more to a person than how they look.”

Makoto almost jumped out of his skin, turning to Sayaka with a shocked look on his face. How did she-?

“Y-You just read my mind again! How do you keep doing that?”

“It’s not mind reading, silly! It’s just intuition.”

She tapped her chin and gave him a coy smile.

“Then again, it also helps that you’re a bit of an open book.”

Makoto sighed, scratching the back of his head as he could hear Aoi and Sakura agreeing with Sayaka behind him. He told himself he wasn't gonna fall for that again, but can you blame him?! She perfectly knew what he was thinking about!

“Let’s… Let’s head to the Auxiliary Course.”

----

Komaru had no idea why she was in this building. Frankly, she had no idea why she was brought to the island in the first place, considering she wasn't associated with Hope's Peak at all... But anyways, apparently this is where she was going to be spending a majority of her time. Right here, in the Auxiliary Course hotel.

It wasn’t weird because she wasn’t in an official class. After all, she expected that considering she never got an official invite to Hope’s Peak like her brother. If she had to guess, this was something thrown together for all the people not related to Hope's Peak. No, what was weird was that there seemed to be such a wide variety of people here. Some were teenagers like her… others looked like children, and there was even an adult here. It was really odd!

“Yo. You part of the Auxiliary Course too, kid?”

Speaking of said adult, Komaru noticed her walking over to her, a cigarette in her mouth and everything. Komaru swallowed and awkwardly shifted around. She looked super intimidating with her size and outfit...

“Uh… Yeah, I am. I’m Komaru Naegi… What about you?”

“The name’s Hiroko. Hiroko Hagakure. It’s nice to meet ya, kid.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too.”

…Well this was awkward. What exactly was she supposed to say to her? She just seemed to be a part of an entirely different world than Komaru. She wouldn't be surprised if she WAS from a different world.

“Hey, don’t think about it too much. Everyone here is… well, we’re all kinda confused about what’s going on, but I’m trying not to think too much of it. Best to just go with the flow, y’know?”

“Go… with the flow?”

Komaru couldn’t help but be hesitant to take Hiroko at her word. It sounds simple, but at the same time… She couldn’t help but be nervous about this whole thing. She was never supposed to be involved with Hope’s Peak in the first place!

“Here, how about you introduce yourself to everyone else? Maybe that’ll help your nerves a bit. I’d offer you a cig, but… Well, I think you’re a bit too young for that, if you look your age. Then agian, who even knows at this point? I've seen kids your age that look like one of the grade schoolers over there...”

Komaru awkwardly chuckled. She… wasn’t really interested in smoking, even if she was of the age to really try it. She and Makoto had made a pact to swear off that kind of stuff, and she was sticking to it.

“Thanks, but I’m alright… I’m gonna go and introduce myself to everyone else, alright?”

“Alright, suit yourself, kid. Good luck out there.”

Hiroko gave Komaru a nod before heading off outside. Komaru could see her pulling out a lighter on the way out, so Komaru could only imagine she was taking a smoke break. She sweatdropped a tad before moving over to the first person she saw, a blonde girl with rosy cheeks.

“Uh… Hi, my name’s Komaru Naegi. I’m part of the Auxiliary Course. What’s your name?”

The girl turned to Komaru, a smug look on her face as she put her hands on her hips.

“Well well, what do we have here? Another loser that’s stuck wasting away in the Auxiliary Course? Honestly, that’s kinda sad! You look like you'd have some serious potential if you weren't bumming around over here!”

“...But aren’t you-”

“But if you really wanna know my name, I’ll tell you! My name is Natsumi Kuzuryu, and I’m the Ultimate Little Sister! I’d say I’ll remember you once I get out of this dump, but I don’t make promises I probably won’t keep.”

Komaru gave Natsumi a confused expression. She… couldn’t understand what the hell she was talking about. That said, she did recognize Natsumi’s last name, and thus she decided it was in her best interests to tread lightly and… well, humor her.

“Ultimate Little Sister…? Is that even a talent?”

“Of course it’s a talent, you bland bitch! The Ultimate Little Sister is the one who emulates and adores her brother the most, and I do that fucking perfectly!”

Komaru scratched her chin while giving Natsumi a skeptical look. She wasn’t really buying this, but at the same time… It was an interesting idea to think about. How do you quantify emulating a person? Is there a scale? What parts of them do you have to quantify? At that point, wouldn't you just be the Ultimate Mimic? These were questions that may never get answers.

“So you do… But I emulate my brother pretty well, too. Plus, he’s also an ultimate at Hope’s Peak, so wouldn’t that mean I’m also the Ultimate Little Sister?”

Natsumi was a bit taken aback by this. Whatever she was expecting to come out of Komaru’s mouth, it was not that.

“Y-You… Of course not! There’s only one Ultimate Little Sister, and it’s me! So back off, bitch!”

Komaru just giggled at her retort, giving a soft smile to Natsumi.

“Hey, I was just kidding! I’m not really interested in being an Ultimate anyways. I’m just happy to be here for my big bro!”

Natsumi grit her teeth a bit. She was still a little upset at Komaru challenging her like that, but eventually she just… decided to let it go. It wasn’t worth making a fuss, and considering Komaru wasn’t really reacting to her insults anyways, it wasn’t worth the trouble.

“Yeah yeah, whatever… As long as you understand that I’m the Ultimate Little Sister, I’ll let you off for now.”

“It was nice to meet you too, Natsumi.”

“Yeah yeah, piss off.”

Despite Natsumi acting all upset and grumpy, Komaru could definitely see a trace of her smile creeping on her face as she walked away. Komaru couldn’t help but smile as well. Seems like she’s already made a friend here! And with a Kuzuryu, no less! Now THAT was impressive!

“How.”

Komaru was snapped out of her thoughts as she heard another voice right behind her. She turned around and saw a girl with wavy, dark green hair standing behind her with a shocked expression.

“How... what?”

“How did you keep Natsumi so… calm around you? She actually… listened to you. How did you do it?”

Komaru scratched the back of her head. Was she usually not like that…? Sure, she was a little standoffish, but it was nothing major. Komaru handled her pretty easily.

“Uh, well… It’s nothing too amazing, really. I just… talked with her, that’s all. She was a little antagonistic at first, but I think she’s just trying to act tough. I think you just need a little patience when dealing with her, is all.”

Sato huffed and crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes as she looked at Natsumi from afar. Komaru didn’t really know what their relationship was like, but clearly it wasn’t the most stable one she’s ever seen. In fact, it seemed incredibly unstable, if anything.

“Antagonistic definitely sounds like her… I’ve known her for a while, but she’s definitely become more snappy and rude since she got older. Maybe it’s just cause she’s a part of the Yakuza, but… I should probably introduce myself, huh? I’m Sato.”

“And my name’s Komaru Naegi! Nice to meet ya!”

Wait... Does she not have a last name...?

"Hey uh, I think you forgot to mention your last name..."

Sato turned to the side a bit. Seems like this might be a sore topic...

"I uh... I don't remember."

"You don't remember?!

Sato shook her head.

"No, I... completely forgot. I'm not sure what it is..."

Komaru shrugged her shoulders. That was definitely weird, but it was still less weird than some of the stuff she'd seen so far.

"Well, I'm sure you'll remember at some point... No need to worry, right?"

Sato smiled and nodded her head, but was taken aback by what Komaru said next.

“Anyways, you said you used to be friends with Natsumi, right? Well… Maybe you should try talking to her again. I might be prying a bit, but it seems like she’s pretty lonely. She could use some more friends.”

Sato bit her lip. It was pretty obvious that Komaru was right about Natsumi being lonely… She never really did have a lot of friends, and that issue only became worse when her personality worsened. That being said, Sato didn’t know if she really… wanted to. Natsumi was incredibly nasty, and it’s hard for Sato to believe that she could change this quickly. It's hard to just ignore what she did in the past...

“...I’ll think about it. For now, I really should be meeting everyone else… It was nice meeting you, Komaru.”

Komaru gave Sato a wave as she headed off. She seemed pretty nice! Hopefully she and Natsumi can put aside their differences and be friends again in the future. For now, she had to go meet with everyone else in the class, and she decided to continue with-

“Yo! You just got here, yeah? I’m Yuta Asahina!”

…Well, looks like her choice was made for her. She was now face to face with a boy around her age… He had tan skin, brown hair, and blue eyes. He looked pretty athletic, too. If Komaru was gonna be honest, he was pretty attractive.

“Hi, I’m Komaru Naegi. Nice to meet you!”

“Komaru, huh? Lemme write that down…”

Yuta began tracing the name Komaru in his palm, which elicited a confused expression from Komaru.

“Uh… What’re you doing?”

“Oh, this? I write down the name of every person I meet in my palm so that it’s easier to remember!”

Yuta finished up writing Komaru’s name the third before turning back to her.

“Anyways! You here cause you’ve got a sib at Hope’s Peak, too?”

Komaru was a bit taken aback by this, but she nodded her head.

“Yeah… My brother’s Makoto Naegi in Class 78.”

Yuta lit up as he heard the mention of Class 78.

“Woah! My big sis is in Class 78 too! That’s so awesome!”

Komaru gave Yuta a smile. All things considered, this guy was definitely upbeat. Compared to all the people who were worrying their heads off or just nasty, she could appreciate someone being more upbeat and positive for a change! It just makes her feel better when people are happy.

“Anyways, if I’m gonna be as good as my sis, I gotta keep working out! I’ll see you later, Komaru!”

Komaru tried to stop him, but she couldn’t even get a word in before he was off. He was… certainly energetic, that was for sure. Did that exchange even count as a conversation? She barely even got a word in! She sighed and shook her head. From what she could see, there were two groups in the building, and they seemed to be the last people she needed to meet. Either the group of kids to the left, or the three teens to the right… After some consideration, she decided to introduce herself to the kids first.

“Demon spotted!”

As Komaru tried to approach them, the kid with a stitched together mask pointed at her and said… she was a demon? Was this a game that they were playing? She didn’t have time to think about the implications as a kid with light blue hair walked over and scowled at the other one.

“Jataro, she’s not one of the demons! She’s one of our classmates!”

The kid named Jataro looked back at the blue haired kid, a confused expression on his face before he turned back to Komaru.

“S-Sorry… I mistook you for a demon.”

The blue haired boy just sighed and turned to Komaru.

“You’re just here to introduce yourself, right? My name’s Nagisa Shingetsu, and I’m the Li’l Ultimate Social Studies. It’s a pleasure.”

“Ah! I should introduce myself, right? Well, my name’s Jataro Kemuri, and I’m the Li’l Ultimate Art! You know how sometimes you forget something and you spend a bunch of time trying to remember it, even though it probably wasn’t that important anyways?”

A red haired kid with white headphones around his neck stepped in front of Jataro, seemingly to cut him off from talking anymore.

“Yo! Ignore Jataro for a bit, sometimes he just talks and talks. My name’s Masaru Daimon, and I’m the Li’l Ultimate Athlete! If you can’t tell, I’m the leader of this group!”

Jataro was taken aback by Masaru’s sudden introduction while Nagisa couldn’t do much but roll his eyes. Typical Masaru… After his introduction, the two girls of the group stepped forward.

“Hah, well… You guys seem to be in good spirits, huh?”

Jataro smiled at her and stepped forward.

“Yeah! Y’know, I’m pretty excited to be here… Everyone in our little group here is really nice!”

Komaru smiled at that. It was nice that people were managing to make friends in a situation like this, especially the kids! She couldn’t imagine being a kid without friends in this situation… Meanwhile, the two girls of the group decided to finally approach Komaru.

“Well, if you boys are done making a fool of yourselves, then allow me to introduce myself! I’m Kotoko Utsugi, the Li’l Ultimate Drama! Komaru Naegi, are you prepared to assist us in our quest to defeat the demons and conquer the island?”

Well that was quite the tone shift. Komaru’s smile turned into one of shock as she couldn’t help but flinch. What exactly did they mean by demons? Now that she thought about it, didn’t Jataro call her a demon?

“Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask… What exactly do you mean by demons? Are there actually demons on this island?”

“There aren’t actually demons here, dummy! We’re talking about the adults!”

All of the other kids turned back to see a green haired girl in a wheelchair riding up to them. She had a… strange smile on her face as she addressed them.

“Monaca can tell you all about it! After all, this whole plan is aaaaaall Monaca’s! Oh, Monaca should tell you Monaca’s talent! Well, Monaca is the Li’l Ultimate Homeroom! But it should really be Li'l Ultimate Genius!”

It took a second for Komaru to take all of this in. First of all, this poor kid was in a wheelchair… As curious as she was, she knew it best not to pry. Second of all, these kids had a master plan? To do what? Didn’t they all meet recently?

“W-Well… It’s nice to meet you, Monaca. Though I have to ask… what exactly are the demons? And what’s your plan to deal with them?”

Monaca smiled, clapping her hands together as if she was ecstatic that Komaru asked that question.

“Aha! Monaca knew that Komaru would have interest in the Warriors of Hope! Of course, Monaca welcomes you with open arms!”

“Wait, I didn’t-”

“Oh, but you must have interest in our plan, right? Well, it’s simple! We’re going to attack the demons!”

“Yeah, I got that, but what exactly are demons?”

“The adults, of course!”

Komaru paused. The… adults? They were planning to attack the adults? Why????

“Wh-What? You guys are gonna attack the adults?”

Masaru was actually the one to interject as Komaru asked the question.

“Because adults are evil! And it’s time for us to get our payback! It’s that right, guys?”

Komaru looked between them, hoping that any of them would see that this was wrong… But to her dismay, she saw them all nodding and agreeing with Masaru. Even Nagisa, who seemed like the most mature of the group, was nodding along. Komaru internally cringed… What were these kids up to?

“So… What’s your plan to attack them?”

Jataro jumped forward, ready to explain the plan in full detail.

“Water balloons! We’re gonna fill em up with water, and toss them straight at the adults! They won’t even see it coming!”

“Oh, it’s surely going to be a battle for the ages! The Warriors of Hope against the Demons of Hope’s Peak! I’m sure the six of us will manage to come out victorious!”

As Kotoko gave her speech and got everyone excited, Komaru let out a sigh of relief and gave a soft smile. Thankfully, it seemed like they were just planning on pranking the adults… Much better than them actually attacking and hurting them, that’s for sure. Of course, since it was just pranking…

“Well, in that case, I would be happy to join! When’re we going on the offensive?”

The kids all seemed a little surprised that Komaru agreed to join, but Monaca gave a small laugh and clapped her hands together.

“Hurray! Big Sis Komaru is joining the Warriors of Hope! Now that you are an official member of the Warriors of Hope, you have to be prepared to fight! We will be stocking up on ammo tonight, and we attack tomorrow at noon! Meet us here at that time!”

Komaru smiled, giving a thumbs up to Monaca as she did.

“You got it, sis! I’ll be ready to go by noon tomorrow! For now though, I’ve gotta go meet the rest of our class. I’ll see you guys later!”

Komaru got up and headed towards the second group, the Warriors of Hope all waving her off as she did. They were a good group of kids, and Komaru hoped they would be okay in this situation.

That being said, the group she was heading towards seemed… not nearly as upbeat and happy. In fact, it was quite the opposite. These were all a bunch of grumps. As she approached them, she took notice of their appearances. One was reading a manga, one of them had a bowl cut while munching on pastries, and the other had chestnut brown hair and was staring off into space. Despite being near each other, none of them were saying a word.

“Um… Hello? You guys are part of the Auxiliary Course, right? Which would mean we’re… classmates?”

The guy with the manga looked up, giving her a look of complete disinterest. He turned back to his manga and just gave her a curt line.

“Yeah, we are. I’m Yasuke Matsuda, the one with the bowl cut is Yuto Kamishiro, and she’s Kanon Nakajima. If you’ve got what you want, now get lost.”

Komaru was completely taken aback by how rude this guy was. Geez! She was just trying to introduce herself!

“W-Well… My name’s Komaru Naegi…”

Kanon sighed and shook her head, stepping in front of the two boys with a smile.

“Sorry about Yasuke… He’s a little peeved because he didn’t get to be in Class 78 with his precious Junko. He throws a fit every time he can't be in her presence.”

Yasuke’s eye twitched ever so slightly, not even taking his eyes off of his manga as he fired off a retort.

“Look who’s talking, Kuwata fangirl. You wouldn't wanna be a hypocrite in front of the new classmate, would you?”

Kanon scowled at him, hands on her hips as she did so. Yasuke finally took his eyes off of his manga and glared at her, and it almost seemed like sparks were flying between the two as they had their staredown. Komaru didn’t know how to interject, and she was going to just walk away until Yuto stepped in between the two.

“Now now, let’s settle down! We don’t wanna make a scene, do we? Especially not in front of a beautiful lady like Komaru! Speaking of which… Komaru, can I interest you in-”

Yup, definitely leaving.

“Huh? Hey, Komaru! You didn’t even let me finish what I was saying!”

“Haha, ouch. Swing and miss, little dude.”

Yuto just sighed as Kanon poked fun at his expense. That could’ve gone a lot better…

As Komaru was heading out, a person who she passed by before tried to reach out to her to get her attention.

“H-Hello, my name is-”

However, Komaru just kept walking, and headed out of the building.

“Ryota… Mitarai…”

Ryota just grumbled, sitting back down and going back to his animation.

---

“Now then, Mr. Kirigiri… What do you think of this whole situation?”

Jin Kirigiri sat at his desk in his… apparent new office that looked disturbingly like his old one at Hope’s Peak. Even to the most minute details, it was all the same… Whoever set this all up, they certainly did their research. That being said, right now he was speaking with none other than Kazuo Tengan, and the previous headmaster finally decided to address the elephant in the room.

“What do I think…? I think there’s some foul play going on here. There is no logical explanation for why we’ve all been transported here, especially with how much power and influence Hope’s Peak has. Whatever we’re dealing with… It must be some sort of insane power, the likes of which we’ve never seen before.”

Tengan closed his eyes, letting out a sigh as he began to gather his thoughts. Everything Jin had said was most definitely correct… The forces at play here had to be of similar power to some national governments in order to pull this off. A better question would be why? Why would they kidnap all of these people related to Hope’s Peak and not just directly kill them? Their motivations and goals made little sense.

“I wish I had an answer for who this might be, but unfortunately… I cannot think of any. It just seems impossible.”

Jin sighed and turned away from the ex-headmaster, deep in thought. This was… a troubling situation indeed. It was a question with no answer, a puzzle that was missing all of the pieces. Because of that, he knew the best course of action would be to just adapt to the current lifestyle until the situation turns into a threatening one.

“The one boon we’re afforded in this situation is that we’re not in any current danger… though that can change depending on the whims of our captors. We have no communication with the outside world and seemingly no transportation out of this place… Though if Usami is to be believed, we have all of the conveniences we would need. Food, water, clothes, and everything of the sort is automatically restocked. If that’s true, and her promise that she won’t hurt us is as well, then I believe the best course of action is to allow things to take their course and prepare for life here.”

Tengan nodded his head. As stressful a situation as this was, Jin was right in that they should continue living life as normal, so long as they weren’t in any present danger. Especially since they were provided classrooms and living quarters, it made sense to treat this situation as an alternate location for Hope’s Peak of sorts.

“So, are we going to keep the same class structure as we had originally planned? That seems to be the one laid out for us here, after all.”

Jin nodded his head, pulling out the class lists and putting them on the table.

“Yes, I believe that would be best. Class 53, 77, and 78 will all remain the same. Class 53 will be taught by Koichi, Class 77 will be taught by Chisa, and Class 78 will be taught by Kyosuke.”

Tengan raised an eyebrow at this teacher selection. The teachers for Class 77 and 78 made sense, but…

“...You want Koichi to teach Class 53? Are you sure?”

Jin scratched his chin, seemingly deep in thought as he realized… Yeah, maybe that wasn’t the best idea.

“...Okay, you have a point. Who do you recommend instead? I want Juzo to run security and I need Taichi to be available if we make a breakthrough on reaching outside communication.”

Tengan mirrored Jin’s chin scratching, closing his eyes as he considered the options. Kyosuke and Chisa were teaching the other classes, Juzo was the main part of security, and Taichi was needed for technological affairs… Who did that leave? Gozu was a good man, but he wasn’t much of a teacher, and would most likely be assisting Juzo with security. That left himself, Miaya, Ruruka, Seiko, Sonosuke, and Jin as the qualified adults on this island. Not many people to pick from… and they all had their respective issues. That being said… Tengan had an idea.

“Jin, perhaps you should teach Class 53. I think it’d be ideal if Miaya taught the Auxiliary Course, and you teach Class 53.”

Jin raised an eyebrow at the ex-headmaster. Now, Jin trusted Tengan’s judgment, but this idea seemed… ludicrous! He had to run the school!

“Kazuo, I have to run the school. I can’t focus completely on one class.”

“I understand Jin, but at the same time, your duties are far less here. We’re in a place where you don’t have to worry about gathering money for funding, and all we have to do is make sure everyone stays safe. I can handle that much on my own, hoho.”

Jin bit his lip. Tengan had a point… His responsibilities as headmaster wouldn’t be nearly as demanding here as opposed to back at Hope’s Peak. But, still…!

As he was considering the prospect of teaching a class, what they assumed was the school bell started ringing overhead, and a familiar face popped up on a screen in the room.

Ahem! I-Is this thing on? It is! Hi hi everyone! This is your loveable supervisor Usami calling in! We’re having a meeting at the center of the island, so make sure everyone shows up! I’ll see you all soon!

As the screen flickered off, Jin sighed and got up out of his chair. Seems like they’d be getting some more information soon…

“Well, it seems our captor wants to inform us of something. Best to head over there and see what it’s all about.”

Tengan nodded his head, following after Jin as the two exited the office. If only they knew what was in store for them at the meeting…

Chapter Text

To say Hajime was exhausted would be an understatement. Frankly, it’d be beyond an understatement. Hajime couldn’t remember ever being this tired, both physically and mentally, in his entire life. Between meeting all the eccentric personalities in his class and participating in whatever wacky activity that they dragged him into, any amount of energy Hajime had before was completely and entirely gone. Seriously, these people were insane... Between Gundham's speeches about the netherworld and almost dragging him into what can only be described as a real life Dungeons and Dragons party, Kazuichi's insistence that they were "Soul Brothers" and they were destined to be best friends, Hiyoko's general nasty attitude and desire to cause others around her pain, Nekomaru's ear splitting screams and muscle destroying exercises, Ibuki's JUST AS LOUD voice and trying to bite him, and... it was too much. All of it was just too much.

He sat down in a small, grassy area not far from the hotel and let out a sigh. Even after all the shit Hajime had to deal with today... He didn’t hate his classmates. Hell, he didn’t dislike them at all. Sure, they were eccentric and sometimes they could be… a bit much. Maybe even way too much... but even despite that, he had a lot of fun today hanging out with everyone. More fun than he can remember having, that’s for sure. Sure, he couldn't remember a large part of his life, but surely it meant something, right? It's not like he forgot EVERYTHING. He at least remembers his childhood being boring and unfulfilling. Either way, Hajime didn’t regret any of what he did today, but he certainly was not able to do anything else strenuous for the day. All of his energy had officially been sapped out of his body, and he was ready to rest and relax for the rest of the day.

“Um... Hajime, right? Is that your name?”

Hajime jolted up, turning towards the source of the noise to see… Mahiru Koizumi. She was... the one who chewed him out for making too much of a ruckus when they first arrived at the island, right? Okay, not someone who is likely to drag him off into something insane. She seemed much more... normal? Calm? Relaxed? Well, one of those. She was much more one of those than the rest of the class. That’s good. Of course, she could be that type of person and he wouldn’t know any better until it happened, in which case he would truly rue his luck, but he doubted that was the case. She just... didn't give off that vibe. That being said, he should most likely be ready for any possible scenario, especially in a situation like this where everyone doesn’t know each other and forced to live with each other on a deserted island, and-

“Uh… Hajime? Everything alright? Hellooooo?”

Hajime was quickly snapped out of his thoughts as Mahiru called his name again. He quickly shook his head and fully turned towards her, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment as he did. Seriously, he had to stop doing such a massive deep dive into his own thoughts over basic things…

“Yeah, I’m fine… Just tired. Our class is pretty crazy, huh? I just got finished being dragged across the entire island by them. If you're going to be spending time with Ibuki and Nekomaru, I recommend ear plugs. Seriously, I think I'm about to go deaf.”

Mahiru softly giggled, a smile creeping onto her face as she walked over to where Hajime was sitting, happily taking the spot next to him. As she looked up to the sky, she could definitely see why Hajime chose this spot to relax… A cloudless sky, filled with shining stars as far as the eye could see. A soft breeze, beautiful weather, the calm noise of the waves crashing onto the shore before fizzling away… Yeah, maybe this island isn’t so bad after all. Well, then again, the island itself was never the issue, it was the whole "getting dragged there with no memory of how" part.

“You could say that again… I told you before, there’s some weird ones in our class. Not that that’s a bad thing! But… sometimes they just go a bit overboard. And judging by how you look, I'm going to assume today was one of those days where they went overboard...”

Mahiru gave Hajime a sly smile, slightly raising her camera up before continuing.

“But today you went a step further. You didn't try to dip out halfway, you went the full 9 yards with each and every one of them. I've gotta say, I'm impressed. I don’t know what it is about you, but you just seemed to get dragged along in whatever wild adventures our classmates want you on, huh?”

Hajime’s smile disappeared as she said that. Between what she said, along with the implication of her lifting her camera… Oh no. This could be very bad.

“Uh… Mahiru, how did you know that I was being dragged around by everyone today? I don't remember doing anything with you today. Were you following me around?”

Mahiru paused. Her mouth was left agape, thinking of an answer to Hajime’s question. To be fair, she was initially doing it because she just wanted pictures of her class on the first day, but after a while... She started to take an interest in Hajime. And she miiiight have become a little biased in terms of who she took pictures of. It wasn't that she liked him or anything like that, but could you blame her for being interested? This guy was going around and granting every crazy request under the sun! A guy as reliable and helpful as that would be on anyone's radar. But she couldn't just tell him that! And the more she stalled, the more suspicious Hajime became. He raised an eyebrow at her, curiously awaiting her answer. He didn't think Mahiru was the type to stalk people, but still, this was awfully suspicious...

“O-Oh, um… Well… I was practicing some photo shoots on moving targets that didn’t know I was there, and so I decided that I should take photos of you guys on the first day, y’know? I got some pretty good shots! It's always good to get a collection of shots for the first day of class, you know? Even if we're... technically not at class. You know what I mean!”

Hajime wasn’t really able to respond to that. It… seemed like a plausible excuse, and Mahiru definitely seemed like the type of person who would constantly be honing their craft to make sure they weren’t getting rusty… but considering how long it took her to say that, Hajime felt like it was an excuse, and he made sure she knew it. He gave her a skeptical look, eyebrow raised and arms crossed as he stared her down. After everything he went through today, he was not letting her slip out of this scot free.

“...What? Is there something wrong with me taking pictures of my classmates? I'm just putting together a scrapbook, Hinata! What's so wrong with that?!”

“I don’t believe you.”

Mahiru recoiled, shocked that Hajime would call her out so directly. This guy had more guts than she thought! She huffed, crossing her arms and leaning in to try and intimidate Hajime.

“Oh? Are you saying that I had some other reason for taking pictures of my classmates? And what would that be, Hinata?! Hm? Care to share your little theory?!”

Hajime leaned in, looking Mahiru right in the eye. He wasn’t gonna back down from this, he knew he was right! And if he was right, he had a good reason to be pissed at her for not HELPING!

“Yeah, I do! I think you were trying to sneak around and avoid getting dragged along in all of the chaos I had to deal with! That’s why you knew I was getting dragged around without actually being there yourself! It would've been really nice to have some help from someone with a shred of sanity!”

Mahiru paused, blinking once or twice before she snapped back to reality. That… wasn’t the accusation she was expecting. Well, she supposed that was part of the reason why she wasn’t there, but… Then again, it was probably better to go along with the lie rather than try and correct Hajime on his mistake. She sighed, scooping her camera up and holding it in front of her with a defiant look on her face.

“Very clever, Hinata. You got me. I… wanted to get involved, but I didn’t really find an opportunity to get in. I mean, it just seems so… chaotic, with some of them. I don't think I could've handled doing that for an entire day like you did. Besides, from what I could tell, it seemed like you were just babysitting them most of the time…”

Hajime chuckled, the tense atmosphere almost completely disappearing as he scratched the back of his head. Yeah, she had a point. Some of the people in his class had the mental maturity of a young kid. Especially Hiyoko... yeesh.

“Babysitting? Yeah… Yeah, I guess I kinda did do that, huh? Between Chiaki randomly falling asleep, Hiyoko trying to squish all the various bugs around the island, Kazuichi pining after Sonia, Nagito trying to ramble at me about hope every opportunity he gets, Sonia trying to investigate everything she can about serial killers…”

“Wait, she tried to WHAT?!”

Hajime sighed. He couldn’t exactly blame Mahiru for that reaction… Hell, it was pretty much the same one he had when he first found out. Especially when it was SONIA of all people talking to him about it... Then again, he would probably have that reaction regardless of who it was. I mean, seriously! What person in their right mind has an obsession over serial killers?! That was seriously messed up...

“It’s… It’s a long story. Point is, they’re all a little crazy. It can be kinda hard to keep up with them sometimes. But somehow, I managed it pretty okay today. Then again, if I have to do this every single day... Wish me luck. I don't think I'm going to survive.”

Mahiru thought about this for a second. Now that he was recounting his struggles today, she felt a little bad about practically ditching him while he had to deal with it all. She probably should've helped him out a little bit, the poor guy looked like he needed it. Then again, he was a guy! He could easily take care of it, and what do you know? He did! She was a little surprised at how well he managed. Maybe, just maybe, this guy might be reliable after all. Can you blame her for being skeptical of him, though? He put on quite the clown show when they first arrived! First impressions were important, and he did NOT have a good one.

“Hey, Hajime. You said you don’t remember your Ultimate talent, right?”

“Yeah, sadly... Pretty much my entire life past elementary school is a complete blank for me. Why bring it up now, though?”

“Well, no reason in particular... I've kinda been curious about what your ultimate talent is, and I've been trying to come up with a theory. However, after today, I think I have a pretty good idea of what it is!”

Hajime raised an eyebrow at that. She had an idea of what his ultimate talent is? Well, he highly doubted she could figure it out herself before he even remembered it, but he couldn't lie... He was interested in what she was going to say.

"Oh really? And what do you think my Ultimate talent is?"

"I think that you're the Ultimate Chaperone! After all, only the Ultimate Chaperone could manage the class like you did today!"

Hajime just looked at her with the most lost expression he could muster. A pregnant pause could be felt between the two before Mahiru’s words finally registered for Hajime.

“H-Huh? The Ultimate Chaperone? I don’t want some lame Ultimate talent like that! Seriously, if my entire life's work ended up with being the Ultimate Chaperone, that'd be super disappointing!”

“Aw, but come on! You’re so good at it! You think any normal person would be able to keep all of these Ultimates in check? It’s gotta be something special you have, I’m sure of it! I mean geez, just dealing with Nagito and surviving Nekomaru's training alone would put you on the level of an ultiamte for sure!”

Hajime balked at her words. She… seemed to have a lot of faith in him, even though he felt like it really wasn’t that big of a deal… Then again, if she was saying it was difficult, maybe it really was? But... He still wasn't convinced. After all, today didn't seem very difficult for him. If anything, it was mostly just exhausted rather than anything else.

“I mean, I guess… But Ultimate Chaperone just sounds so lame, I wouldn’t want that label on me for the rest of my life. At least make it something cool, like... I don't know, I can't think of a cool name. But I don't want to be the Ultimate Chaperone!”

Mahiru tapped her chin, returning to the inner reaches of her brain to think of a new potential ultimate title. If Ultimate Chaperone doesn’t work, then how else would she describe Hajime's innate talent for handling people of low maturity levels? Well, when she worded it like that, the answer seemed pretty obvious.

“I know! You’re probably the Ultimate Parent!”

“H-Huh?!”

Hajime’s face turned bright red as she said that. Ultimate Parent? What kind of an embarrassing answer is that?! Look, even if all the people in his class acted like kids, that didn't mean he was ready to be a Dad yet! And certainly not a Dad to these guys!

“H-Hey, I’m not… I mean… Th-There's no way-”

Mahiru tried her best to stifle a giggle, with less than perfect results. She had to admit, seeing Hajime flustered like this made a fuzzy feeling pop up in her chest. Being able to do something normal like this in such a crazy situation... Well, it made her happy. She wasn't expecting to even have a normal person in the class to talk to, much less someone to talk to on this crazy island.

“I’m just teasing, Hajime. There's no need to take it so literally! I’m sure your talent is amazing, whatever it is! Even if I do think the Ultimate Parent is a pretty fitting title for you.”

Hajime let out a sigh, grumbling as he scratched the back of his head. Seems like he didn’t take it as a joke, but that made it even better in Mahiru’s eyes. That must've meant he was legitimately flustered!

“I mean, even if it’s something like the Ultimate Chaperone, it’s still better than my talent… all I do is take pictures, and apparently that’s enough to get me into Hope’s Peak. To be honest, it feels like I don’t deserve a spot in this school sometimes. They really should just give it to someone who is actually gonna make a difference in the world.”

Hajime leaned forward, putting his hands on her shoulders and looking her in the eye with a determined expression. Mahiru jumped a bit at the sudden contact, especially as she was forced to look Hajime in the eye. Hajime, however, completely ignored the implications of the situation. He did not take the fact that Mahiru was putting herself down lightly, and he wanted to show it through his actions.

“Don’t say that! Your pictures aren’t less important just because they aren’t as flashy or immediately noticeable as an Ultimate athlete… Your pictures are special! Each picture you take immortalizes each moment you take them in, and helps us remember them for much longer! And in something as cherished and valuable as that, you’re the absolute best! So don’t… don’t talk down on yourself like that. What you do is valuable, and don’t forget that!”

Once Hajime had finished his empowering speech, he finally realized that he was… way too close to Mahiru. The two of them could both feel the heat rising to their faces as they backed away, with Hajime brushing himself off as Mahiru looked away.

“U-Uh… Sorry, I didn’t mean to… Y’know… Um-”

“You… You said something really cool. Just now. Thanks, Hajime.”

A pregnant pause between the two could be felt as both of them attempted to find more words to say.

Christ, this is awkward… What do I say…?

“...Thanks. I meant what I said, you know.”

Mahiru gave him a soft smile, turning back to Hajime and looking him in the eye.

“Yeah. I know you did.”

Ahem! I-Is this thing on? It is! Hi hi everyone! This is your loveable supervisor Usami calling in! We’re having a meeting at the center of the island, so make sure everyone shows up! I’ll see you all soon!

Hajime and Mahiru were snapped out of their awkward silence as Usami’s voice rang out over the island. Hajime let out a sigh and stood up, resigned to his fate of having to listen to that dumb rabbit.

“Ugh… I’m already sick of that rabbit. I guess we don’t have a choice but to listen to it for now…”

As Mahiru got up, she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at Hajime. She was not about to let him start causing problems at whatever this meeting was about.

“Hajime… Don’t cause problems again like you did earlier, okay?”

Hajime groaned, putting a hand on his forehead as he did. He didn’t need Mahiru to tell him that it was probably best to just go along with everything for now, especially since they weren’t in any danger at the moment. But, still!

“...I don’t trust Usami, Mahiru. I have no reason to trust her considering she won’t tell us how we got here or why she wants us here in the first place. There’s no way she went through all of this trouble just to have us become friends.”

Mahiru sighed, walking over to Hajime and flicking him in the forehead. Before he could talk back, Mahiru began talking.

“Being suspicious is fine, but don’t start yelling at her. Everyone is pretty paranoid right now, and trying to pry information out of her right now is just going to make everyone nervous. So just keep calm this time, okay?”

Hajime rubbed his forehead, but eventually decided to just let it go. Mahiru was right, trying to pry info from Usami at this point was going to cause more problems than they solved. He didn’t like it, but he would… go along with what Usami wanted. For now.

“Alright, alright… I got it. Let’s go to the meeting.”

Mahiru smiled, content with winning the mini argument. As she began walking to the meeting place, she turned back to Hajime with a smirk.

“Guess I’m winning 1-0 in arguments now, huh? You’ve gotta step it up.”

“Huh? Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?!”

Hajime turned to see that she was already starting to walk away and quickly ran after her.

---

“Kaede Akamatsu.”

As her name was called out, Kaede couldn’t help but feel her blood run cold. She turned around and saw none other than Maki Harukawa behind her, the Ultimate Child Caregiver. Y’know, for someone with such a sweet and soft ultimate title, Maki sure was… intense.

“Uh… Hi, Maki. How’re you?”

Maki huffed and turned away, crossing her arms. She was clearly upset about something, but Kaede couldn’t figure out what it was for the life of her. Regardless, it seemed to be grating to Maki.

“Kaito is… trying to gather people together for… sigh... an Ultimate Elite Task Force. And he told me to invite you… So, if you’d like to join, please let me know.”

Kaede was… confused. She had a million questions rushing through her head about… well, all of this. What was an Ultimate Elite Task Force? What was the purpose? What were they supposed to do? However, the most pressing question on her mind was…

“Kaito Momota? You mean the Ultimate Astronaut? I mean, I can definitely see why he’d create something like this… but what about you? I didn’t think you were the type to involve yourself with something like this, especially not as a recruiter… Are you doing this for Kaito? You totally are, aren’t you?”

Maki’s expression turned dark as she glared daggers at Kaede.

“Do you want to die?”

“Eep!”

Kaede took a step back, instinctively putting a hand up as Maki stared her down. This girl… could be quite scary when she wanted to be. Kaede let out a sigh and scratched the back of her head.

“Okay, okay… I won’t pry into why you’re a part of this. You just want me to join, right? I don’t know if I want to, but I’m happy to check it out!”

Kaede clapped her hands together, the bright smile on her face being completely ignored as Maki began heading back where she came.

“That’s good enough for me. Come on, the first meeting is starting soon.”

“Huh? Hey, wait for me!”

Kaede ran to try and catch up to Maki, doing her best to keep high spirits as the two walked side by side to where Kaito was holding the first meeting. Now that Maki didn’t look like she wanted to kill her, Kaede figured it would be a good time to ask her what this was all about.

“So… I still don’t really know much about this whole thing. Can you tell me at least a little bit about what the uh… ‘Ultimate Elite Task Force’ is all about?”

Maki shrugged her shoulders, turning to Kaede with a look of disinterest on her face.

“To be honest, I don’t know too much either… Kaito just told me that it was a group he was putting this together ‘for the sake of the entire school!’ and told me to recruit anyone who seemed to be a good fit for serving the school. As such, I ran into you and decided you would be a good fit.”

“Aw, you think that highly of me? Thank you, Maki!”

“Don’t push it.”

Kaede decided that it was probably best to listen to Maki in that situation, and thus she dropped the topic. That being said, she was still a bit flattered to be invited to this. From what she can infer based on what Maki said and what she knows about Kaito, it seems like he’s trying to get all the skilled members of the island to help him protect it or find a way out. Knowing him, that’s almost exactly what this was…

Of course, once she stepped into the meeting area, her suspicions were correct. Kaito was standing at the back of the room, scribbling a very large amount of words and symbols and whatever else onto the whiteboard. Kaito noticed the two come in and smiled, putting the cap on his marker and walking over to them.

“Maki-roll, welcome back! I see you brought the final member of our club here!”

Maki’s eye twitched ever so slightly at the nickname, brushing past Kaito as she went towards her seat.

“I told you not to call me that.”

Kaito just laughed and shrugged his shoulders, turning to Kaede with a smile that almost seemed too big to fit on his face.

“Don’t worry about her, she’s always a bit grumpy. Regardless, thanks for showing up to this meeting, Kaede! We could really use your leadership skills.”

“Leadership skills…? I’m not really sure I’m qualified-”

Kaito didn’t waste a second in cutting her off.

“Nonsense! I believe you are very qualified! That’s the reason I had Maki scout you out, after all!”

Kaede noticed Maki rolling her eyes behind him, and couldn’t help but crack a small smile. After all, there was only one thing she could think about after seeing that.

Oh yeah, she’s totally got a crush on Kaito. It’s so obvious.

“Hello? Kaede?”

Kaede was snapped out of her thoughts as Kaito brought her back to the real world. She quickly shook her head to get herself back into it.

“S-Sorry! Got lost in thought there for a second. Anyways, are you gonna introduce me to everybody else you got to be a part of this?”

Kaito flashed a thumbs up and a bright smile as Kaede asked this. Seems like he was waiting for her to ask that question.

“I thought you’d never ask! I’m sure you already know everybody here by now, but let me go through the list!”

Kaito brought out what seemed to be like a clipboard with a bunch of names on it. Closer inspection by Kaede revealed to her that it was… an attendance sheet. Only Kaito would use an attendance sheet for something like this.

“Alright, let’s see… From Class 53, we have you, me, Maki-roll, Rantaro, Miu, and Shuichi. I tried to get Tenko on board, but she said she didn’t want to be in a group run by a degenerate male by myself, and she fled before I could further explain myself. But not to worry, I won’t be discouraged!”

Kaito made a fist, his signature smile still plastered on his face as everyone else in the room sweatdropped. That sounded like a… fun experience. Kaito didn’t linger too long on his dramatic pose before returning to the list.

“Okay, from Class 77… We’ve got Sonia Nevermind, Kazuichi Souda, Nekomaru Nidai, Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, Mikan Tsumiki, and Peko Pekoyama.”

The respective students made whatever greeting gesture they preferred. Sonia curtsied, Kazuichi just waved, while Fuyuhiko just huffed. Mikan was too embarrassed to make a proper greeting, Peko silently nodded her head, and Nekomaru…

…Nekomaru?

“Uh… Guys? Can someone explain to me why Nekomaru is tied up and has duct tape covering his mouth?”

Kaito turned to him, looking at him for a split second before chuckling and turning back to Kaede.

“Oh, don’t worry! It was just to make sure all the noise he makes wouldn’t disrupt the meeting. If we allowed him to speak freely, he would drown out any other opinion, and that’s not what we’re trying to do here! Besides, he seems okay with it! Isn’t that right, Nekomaru?”

“Mmmmmf! MMMMMF!”

“See? He’s totally fine with it!”

Kaede couldn’t help but feel a little bad for the Ultimate Team Manager as he sat there, struggling against the bonds that kept him tied up. Then again, she also knew how loud he could be, and considering how sensitive her hearing was… This was probably for the best.

“Okay, that’s fine… But how did you even keep him binded? Isn’t he, like, super strong?”

Maki leaned back in her chair a bit, playing with a strand of her hair as she did.

“I keep sturdier rope with me at all times, in case of emergency. It really helps with the problem children, and is incredibly applicable in this situation as well. That being said, I mostly keep it on me in case Kokichi ever shows up where he isn’t supposed to.”

…What kind of Child Caregiver is Maki supposed to be, exactly? She was the most dangerous that Kaede’s ever met, that’s for sure…

As Kaede continued wondering that, Kaito cleared his throat to try and get everyone’s attention once more.

“Now that we’re done getting side tracked, let’s continue! From Class 78, we have Makoto Naegi, Mukuro Ikusaba, Kyoko Kirigiri, Kiyotaka Ishimaru, Sakura Ogami, and Chihiro Fujisaki.”

“I’m very glad to be here! I thank you, Kaito, for giving me the opportunity to serve my fellow classmates! I hope you and I can work well together!”

While Kiyotaka gave his usual boisterous response, the other 5 were much less flamboyant. Makoto and Chihiro shyly waved at everyone, while the other 3 all silently nodded. Kaede made a mental note that most of the girls in Class 78 were… pretty dang serious.

“I’m… not exactly sure why I was invited, to be honest, but I’m happy to help however I can!”

Kaito frowned at Makoto, wagging his finger in disapproval at the Luckster’s words.

“Nonsense, Naegi! You are the heart and soul of the group! Without you, I don’t think we’d be able to get anything done!”

Naegi sighed and turned away in embarrassment. He… wasn’t really used to this kind of praise from anybody, really. He couldn’t help but feel it was a tad undeserved, but if they were saying it… he wasn’t gonna argue.

“Anyways! Moving on to the Auxiliary Course… Yasuke Matsuda!”

Kaito turned to Yasuke, only to see him completely checked out and reading manga. Kaito’s bravado seemed to almost drain out of his body as he saw this.

“Hey, uh… No offense, but why even bother bringing him here? He doesn’t exactly seem… interested in any of this.”

As Kazuichi asked a seemingly innocent question, Yasuke himself was the one who answered without even taking his attention away from the manga.

“Because I’ve forgotten more knowledge about the world than you’ll ever know. Now pipe down, and let’s get this meeting over with.”

Kazuichi couldn’t do much but grumble as he sank back into his seat, waiting for Kaito to get the meeting on the road. Once everyone else got comfortable in their seats, Kaito cleared his throat and began the meeting.

“Alright! Now that everyone is here and accounted for, allow me to thank you all for joining! The goal of the Ultimate Elite Task Force is to serve and protect the community! If we’re going to be living together on this island, we need to make sure everyone stays safe and healthy! Because of that, I’ve gathered you all here to assist me. All of you provide some sort of skill or talent that we would appreciate having on our team, and today’s meeting will be about delegating you all!”

Kaito turned towards the white board, of which various different names and pictures were scribbled all over. Kaito pointed towards what looked like a rough map of the area and turned to the group.

“From what we’ve found by looking around the area, we seem to be on an archipelago. We’re currently on the central island, and there are bridges branching off to 5 other islands. We don’t know what is on the other islands, nor how to get there. For now, we should plan for the future, but focus on the central island for now.”

Kaito tapped his marker against one of the lists, turning to everyone at the table.

“This is the list of people I want on security. Mukuro, Sakura, Peko, Nekomaru, myself, and Maki, we’re all going to be in charge of security. Our jobs will be to assist the faculty in keeping the island safe, and helping settle disputes amongst classmates. Make sure to cooperate with everyone else, and things will go smoothly!”

Kaito pointed towards the second list of students.

“The second list is for people who will help discover exactly where we are and how we can access the other islands. Kyoko, Shuichi, Kaede, and Rantaro will all be in this group. While there won’t be any strict guidelines for this group, I expect you all to work hard nonetheless!”

“The third list are those who will help make some technological advancements on this island. While we have access to a solid amount, it’s clear we’re very limited on that front, especially in terms of communicating with the outside world. This list will comprise of Chihiro, Kazuichi, and Miu.”

“You’re goddamn right! I’ll make something to get us out of here, and it’s gonna be so fucking amazing that all you cocksuckers are gonna be begging me for more!”

“Anyways, for the final list-”

Miu seemingly did a complete 180 in her personality as she was ignored by the group, retreating behind her hands as Kaito continued his explanation.

“Sonia, Fuyuhiko, and Kiyotaka. You all will be assisting in creating rules and guidelines for everyone on the island to follow. Though it might be bothersome, we need to make sure we aren’t just doing whatever we want. Rules are necessary!”

Kiyotaka lit up like a Christmas Tree as Kaito said that, smiling wide as he spread his arms out wide.

“Yes, of course! Rules are a must if we are to maintain a healthy school life here on this island! I’m glad that we agree about this, Kaito!”

Sonia just nervously chuckled while Fuyuhiko rolled his eyes. Kiyotaka’s outbursts would… take some getting used to.

However, as the lists finished up, there was one thing that everybody noticed…

“Hey, uh, Kaito…? Is there a reason I haven’t been delegated into a group yet?”

Kaito turned to Makoto, flashing a smile and a thumbs up before continuing.

“Oh, Makoto! Actually, there’s a very important reason that I left you out, and that reason is because I wanted you to become the leader of the Ultimate Elite Task Force!”

Makoto almost jumped out of his chair in surprise as Kaito said that. Kaito wanted him to be the leader?

“H-Huh? You want me to be the leader? I don’t even think I’m qualified to be a member, much less the leader of the-”

Kaito raised a hand, quickly cutting off Makoto as he clicked his tongue.

“Makoto, I’ve already thought it over, and this isn’t up for debate. We’ve only been on this island for a few days, and I’ve already seen the most admirable traits in you. You’re kind, open to criticism, an amazing listener, and I feel encouraged every time I hear you talk! If that’s not the perfect set of traits for a leader, I’m not sure what is.”

Makoto bit his lip. He felt like Kaito was exaggerating, and yet as he was looking around the room… People were nodding, subtle agreements being shared amongst each other as they considered the decision. It seemed like they were… agreeing with Kaito.

Makoto couldn’t believe it. Had he really made that much of an impact that they’d make him the leader of what was effectively the Student Council? He… didn’t feel prepared. He didn’t feel like he was ready. He-

“Makoto.”

Makoto was snapped out of his thoughts as Kyoko got his attention. He turned to her, his face clearly showing his own doubt and uncertainty, which Kyoko recognized in an instant. She frowned and crossed her arms.

“Makoto Naegi, Kaito has already made his decision. You may feel as though you don’t deserve the role, or that you can’t meet expectations, but Kaito believes in you. The rest of us here believe in you as well. Why not trust our judgment by believing in yourself as well?”

Makoto didn’t really have a retort for that. Sure, it didn’t wipe away his doubts entirely, but… He definitely felt just a bit better after having Kyoko reassure him that everyone was in agreement.

“Thanks, Kyoko. I may not be entirely confident, but… I accept the position as leader. I’ll do my best to make sure that everybody stays safe and has a great time on this island!”

Kaito walked over to Makoto, giving him a hard slap on the back as he chuckled away at Makoto’s newfound positivity.

“That’s what I like to hear! I know you’re going to accomplish amazing things, Makoto!”

While Makoto was still reeling from the force of Kaito’s slap, Kaito himself began addressing everyone else in the room.

“From now on, Makoto will be the acting leader of the Ultimate Elite Task Force! If there is anything of interest, positive or negative, you shall report to him immediately! If he should be busy or incapable of handling your request, then I will take it in his place! Now that we’ve got that covered, we should-”

Ahem! I-Is this thing on? It is! Hi hi everyone! This is your loveable supervisor Usami calling in! We’re having a meeting at the center of the island, so make sure everyone shows up! I’ll see you all soon!

Kaito seemed a little peeved that he was cut off, but he eventually resigned himself to the fact that whatever the meeting was about was most likely more important than whatever he was going to say.

“Alright, it seems we’ll have to cut this meeting short. We shall meet up again tomorrow, same place at 7 PM! You’re all dismissed!”

Once everyone heard Kaito dismiss them, they got up from their chairs and began filing out of the room towards whatever meeting Usami had planned. Sonia was one of the first to get up and leave, much to the chagrin of Kazuichi.

“Huh? Miss Sonia, wait!”

Sonia turned around, a bit surprised to see that someone had called out to her as she was heading out.

“Oh! Kazuichi! Sorry for leaving you behind, I did not know that you required something from me!”

Kazuichi came to a halt once he was next to Sonia, seeming a little confused at first from what she said.

“Required-? No, I don’t need anything from you, I was just wondering if you wanted to walk over to the meeting together? I uh… Haven’t really gotten a chance to talk to you since we introduced ourselves.”

Despite how consistent his speech was, Kazuichi was actually incredibly nervous. After all, even if he was the Ultimate Mechanic... Meeting with the Ultimate Princess wasn’t something he could just take for granted, and it really took everything he had to not chatter his teeth out of pure anxiety.

“Of course! I would be happy to make your acquaintance, Kazuichi!”

Turns out, Kazuichi had absolutely nothing to worry about. He internally sighed in relief, straightening up and giving a toothy smile as he began walking alongside Sonia.

“Awesome! I mean, uh… Thank you for giving me this amazing opportunity! I promise I won’t let it go to waste, Your Highness!”

Sonia couldn’t help but giggle at this. This guy… She could tell that he was going to be a good friend for a long time.

“Kazuichi, I do not believe it is necessary for you to address me so formally… Please, just call me Sonia!”

Kazuichi seemed a little hesitant at first. He scratched the back of his head, but after awkwardly shifting around, he decided that he could address her casually.

“Alright, Miss Sonia.”

Kazuichi was fully prepared to have an awkward silence linger over the two as he struggled for more words to say, but he was completely taken aback as Sonia was the one to strike up the conversation.

“So, Kazuichi! I must know more about you if we shall be friends! Thus, I ask of you… You are the Ultimate Mechanic, correct? Allow me to request the story of how you were granted such a title!”

Woah! Even in casual small talk, she totally acts like a princess!

“How I became the Ultimate Mechanic, huh? Well… I don’t think there’s much to it, honestly. I helped my dad run the family bike shop, so I was constantly working with repairs and fixes… We didn’t really get a lot of income from the bikes themselves, so we mostly made our living off of the repairs that I did. Even then, it wasn’t much… so I turned towards building my own machines. My first great achievement was making an automatic chalker for soccer! Man, what a thing that was…”

As Kazuichi started reminiscing on his past, he closed his eyes and put his hands behind his head. Clearly, he was completely lost in thought, but Sonia couldn’t help but frown at Kazuichi’s story. He… grew up poor? That would explain how raggedy and out of sorts his clothes were… But still, that was terrible!

“Kazuichi… I cannot help but notice that you mentioned your lack of wealth during your backstory… Is that still a problem for you?”

Kazuichi snapped out of the realm of his own memories, looking a little shocked that Sonia would ask him a question like that. I mean… They practically just met, and she was already asking something like this?

“Huh? Well, uh… I mean, I guess? Not like money has much value on this island since everything here is free, but… Why do you ask?”

Sonia hummed, looking away with a frown on her face as she gathered her thoughts. After a few seconds, she turned back to Kazuichi and clapped her hands together.

“I have made an executive decision!”

Of all the things Sonia could’ve done, Kazuichi hadn’t considered that to be one of them. He jumped just a bit in surprise before composing himself once again.

“An executive decision? What do you mean?”

Sonia cleared her throat, straightening her back and motioning towards Kazuichi with her hand before beginning her speech.

“Kazuichi Souda! I hereby declare that you will be joining me in the hunt for new clothes! My friend, Tsumugi Shirogane, will certainly give you the ‘threads’ that will make you ‘hip and happenin’!”

Once again, Kazuichi was at a loss for words. When he imagined what a foreign princess would act like, it was… different? It was about as far from Sonia’s personality as you could possibly get. Not that it was a bad thing, but… Wow.

“H-Huh? Wait, hold on! I didn’t agree to this!”

Sonia brought her hand back, tilting her head a tad in confusion. Was it not customary to bring your friends out to get new clothes? Or was it perhaps that Kazuichi liked his clothes already?

“I thought it was customary to take your friends to go and get new clothes. Or are you perhaps content with your current choice of apparel?”

Kazuichi frowned, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head as he couldn’t help but speak softly.

“Well… No, I… It’s not that I don’t… I mean, I don’t really like my clothes, to be honest…”

Sonia smiled and clapped her hands together once again.

“Then it is decided! After the meeting with Usami, we shall be revamping your wardrobe! Come Kazuichi, we must make haste!”

Sonia finished her speech with style and proceeded to pick up the pace towards the center of the island. Kazuichi barely had time to register what she said before he realized that she was leaving him behind.

“Huh? Hey, Miss Sonia! Don’t leave meeee!”

---

Meanwhile…

Kaede let out a sigh, rubbing her forehead a bit as she stood up out of her chair. As much as she believed this was a great idea and that they most certainly needed some sort of structure like this… she also empathized with Makoto. She felt… out of place when surrounded by all of these Ultimates that had talents which were applicable in this situation. How was playing piano going to help them discover the secrets of the island? How was it going to protect anybody from danger? Spoiler warning: It won’t.

“Kaede, was it? You seem pretty lost within your own thoughts. Would you like me to lend an ear to your woes?”

Kaede let out a sigh, putting a hand on the side of her head. The exasperation in her voice was clear, especially since Kaede wasn’t even trying to hide it. This whole thing just… made her tired.

“Well… I guess it’s better than just bottling it all up. Would you be okay with walking and talking? I don’t think making Usami wait is a very good idea.”

Rantaro chuckled, giving Kaede a soft smile as began to leave the room.

“I don’t mind at all. Just tell me what’s on your mind, and I’ll be happy to listen.”

Kaede couldn’t help but give a soft smile as he said that, putting one foot in front of the other as she began heading for the park at the center of the island.

“I’ll be honest, Rantaro… I feel like I can empathize with Makoto here. Don’t get me wrong, I’m confident in my talent and all, but at the same time it feels like my talent doesn’t bring a lot to the table. Piano playing isn’t exactly something super helpful in terms of being on a deserted island…”

Rantaro nodded his head as Kaede spoke about her struggles. Though he could not personally relate to her struggles considering he was the Ultimate Adventurer, he could most certainly understand her position.

“I see… You feel like your skill set is ill fitting of your position in the task force. Still, isn’t the confidence that Kaito and Maki have in you enough?”

Kaede crossed her arms. Yeah, it was true that she was very happy to get invited by them… But after seeing Makoto in there, a part of her couldn’t help but think that she only got invited because she and Kaito were friends.

“Maybe… But I can’t help but feel like they had an ulterior motive for inviting me. Kaito and I are pretty good friends, so… You think that had something to do with it?”

Rantaro’s neutral smile didn’t change a bit as he slightly shrugged.

“Does it matter if it did or didn’t?”

Kaede turned to Rantaro, an eyebrow raised with a clearly unhappy expression. Was he trying to brush this problem under the rug?!

“Rantaro, don’t tell me that you don’t think this is a big deal! I’m being serious!”

Rantaro quickly went on the defensive, waving his hands in front of him to try and calm Kaede down.

“Hey, that’s not what I meant! I just meant to ask if it really changes anything if part of the reason you were added was due to you being friends with Kaito?”

Kaede paused, a bit of the anger she previously had leaving her body as she leaned back. She still kept her gaze square on Rantaro, however.

“Go on.”

“Well, I just mean… The reasons Kaito had for adding you to the task force shouldn’t affect what you do there. We’re all there to contribute what we can to the cause, and I personally believe that what you contribute while there is much more important than the reasons you were invited in the first place.”

…Huh. Kaede hadn’t really thought of it like that before. Now that he mentioned it… It wouldn’t be right if she gave up just because she didn’t like the reason she was invited. Even if she didn’t think she’d be as good as someone like Kyoko or Shuichi, that’s no excuse to not give it her all!

“You know what? You’re totally right, Rantaro! I can’t believe I was getting all down on myself because of this…”

Rantaro chuckled, continuing to walk as he crossed his arms with a small smile.

“I don’t think it’s anything to regret. Everyone has these thoughts sometimes, even amongst the world’s elite. Thoughts that sometimes we aren’t good enough… That we’ll never be able to make it in the real world. It’s scary to think about, sometimes. That’s why it’s important to have friends to fall back on in times of need.”

Kaede returned Rantaro’s smile with one of her own. Her hair flowed across her forehead, softly brushing back and forth as the ocean breeze made its journey across the island.

“You’re absolutely right, Rantaro. I’m glad I can call you my friend.”

Rantaro closed his eyes, turning away from Kaede and barely speaking loud enough for her to hear him.

“...Yeah. Me too.”

---

“Hey, um… Miu? D-Do you mind if I talk with you while we head to the meeting?”

Miu was just about to leave the doorway when she barely, barely heard the slightest of voices call out her name. She turned back to see Chihiro twiddling her thumbs, unable to make direct eye contact as she asked Miu to walk with her. If Miu had to give an honest opinion on the situation…

This kid is fucking adorable.

“Well well, if it isn’t the cute Ms. Shortstack? You wanna walk with me, the great and all powerful Miu Iruma? Well, let’s see if you can even handle being in my presence for over 5 minutes before pissing yourself! Hahahaha!”

Miu’s little rant did nothing to help Chihiro look her in the eye. She swallowed, taking a deep breath before doing her best to look up with a soft smile, making sure to maintain eye contact as she responded.

“Y-Yeah… I was wondering if you… wanted to discuss plans for some machines or programs we could make to… y’know… help out everyone on the island. Is that okay with you?”

And just like that, all of Miu’s previous bravado and crude language completely disappeared. A look of flustered embarrassment came onto her face as she shrunk into her makeshift shell… metaphorically speaking.

“O-Oh… Y-You really wanna walk with me? You’re not gonna get s-scared and… run away? Leave me behind?”

Chihiro tilted her head a tad, eyebrow raised as she pondered Miu’s question. Why would she run away…? Sure, Miu was a bit crude at times, but Chihiro didn’t really mind much.

“N-No, I don’t wanna run away from you… Why would I do that? I really do want to talk to you!”

Miu’s eyes were turning into confused swirls at record speeds, putting her hands on her head as she tried to parse through the million different thoughts going through her head.

She… She actually wants to hang out with me? No way, she’s just trying to trick me! It’s all a ploy to make me look bad!

But what if she actually does wanna hang out with me? She seems so friendly! I’d really love to be friends with someone like Chihiro!

There’s no way someone as kind and pure hearted as Chihiro would ever want to be friends with an absolute whore like you! Get real!

“Um… Miu? Is everything okay…?”

Miu didn’t even bother to respond to her as she rushed out of the room, her face bright red in embarrassment as she replayed the interaction over and over again.

“Wha- Hey, Miu! Come back!”

Chihiro ran after Miu, completely lost as to what just happened. Did she say something wrong…?

“...Kaito, I believe adding Miu to this group was a mistake.”

Kaito huffed, quickly waving Maki’s concern off with a flick of the wrist. Maki growled a bit at the fact that he just blew him off, but didn’t follow up.

“Nonsense, Maki-roll! Sure, her personality might be a bit… much, but she’s the Ultimate Inventor! I’m sure she’ll warm up to us all in no time.”

Maki huffed, crossing her arms as she glared at Kaito.

“She just met the first person who didn’t get scared off from her vulgar speech and wasn’t able to hold up a proper conversation after the fact. Also, I thought I told you to stop calling me that?”

“GAHAHAHAHA! I’M FREE!”

Everyone still remaining in the room had their attention ripped right to the spot where Nekomaru had broken free from his binds. He put a hand behind his head as he let out a hearty laugh.

“Hahahaha! I knew those bonds couldn’t restrain me!”

Maki quickly jumped into action, hopping over the table and landing right in front of Nekomaru with a stern expression on her face.

“It seems I’m gonna need stronger rope… Regardless, if you want to cause a ruckus, I will be forced to restrain you once more.”

Nekomaru didn’t do much to get combat ready, picking his ear as he looked down at the child caregiver.

“Kid, I ain’t looking for a fight. I was completely okay with being tied up like that, especially since keeping me quiet is no easy feat! Gahahaha!”

Maki was a bit taken aback by this fact. Wasn’t he trying to speak through the duct tape? Before she could ask Nekomaru that question, Mukuro (who was also in a battle position) beat her to the punch.

“Weren’t you struggling against your restraints? That doesn’t seem like you were ‘completely okay with being tied up’ to me…”

Nekomaru crossed his arms, frowning at the mention of that moment.

“Oh yeah, that… Truth is, I was struggling because I needed to take a shit.”

Silence. Complete and utter silence sustained over the entire room. It stayed like that for the better part of half a minute until Yasuke broke the silence by loudly closing his manga and getting up out of his chair.

“And with that, I believe it’s my cue to leave. I see now that it was a mistake coming here.”

As Yasuke was leaving the room, Kaito perked up as a nervous expression appeared on his face.

“Wait a minute! I forgot to delegate him and Mikan into the doctor section! Yasuke, wait up!”

As Kaito ran out of the room, Mikan suddenly turned to him at the mention of her name. She was mostly keeping to herself throughout this meeting, but… Didn’t he just mention something?

“W-Wait, did Kaito just… say… W-Wait, don’t l-leave me…!”

Mikan quickly got out of her seat and ran after Kaito to try and get more info on what he was talking about…

…But not before she tripped and face planted right onto the floor. In her embarrassment, she quickly picked herself up and continued her pursuit of the Ultimate Astronaut, trying her best to ignore the burning shame of face planting in front of the remaining task force members.

“Mikan Tsumiki! You tripping on the table is exactly why I must enforce the rule of no running in the halls! Cease this instant!”

In the biggest fit of irony yet, Kiyotaka began sprinting out of the room in pursuit of Mikan, trying his best to catch up with her in order to reprimand her on her poor behavior.

Once Mikan and Taka had exited the meeting room, silence prevailed over the remaining members. Makoto, Mukuro, Kyoko, Sakura, Fuyuhiko, Peko, Nekomaru, Maki, and Shuichi all just looked at the door in stunned silence as they tried to contemplate exactly what happened. After a bit, Nekomaru was the one who broke the silence.

“Well, seems like things are getting lively here, huh? That’s great! Keep being energetic and getting the most out of the day! That’s what it means to show team spirit!”

Fuyuhiko let out a sigh, shaking his head as he headed towards the door. Clearly, he had seen enough and decided now was a good time to start heading off. And just from looking at his eyes, it was clear he was mentally exhausted.

“Alright, you assholes have a fantastic time fucking around in here. Meanwhile, I’m gonna actually go to the meeting and see what the fucking rabbit has to say.”

As Fuyuhiko slammed the door on everyone, Nekomaru put his hands on his head as he yelled out.

“AW CRAAAAAP! I completely forgot about the meeting! I’ve gotta hurry!”

Nekomaru picked up the pace and quickly ran out of the room after Fuyuhiko. Sakura let out a sigh, shaking her head in disappointment as she attempted to keep pace with Nekomaru. Makoto scratched the back of his head, blushing from second hand embarrassment. These people… were definitely energetic, alright. It was almost too much to keep up with at times.

However, Nekomaru was right, they really needed to get to the meeting. Makoto turned to his right, walking over to Mukuro and tapping her on the shoulder.

“Hey, Mukuro? Do you wanna walk to the meeting with me?”

Mukuro turned her attention away from the door and to the luckster, raising her eyebrow at this… strange request. He wanted to go with her?

“...Why do you want to go with me?”

Makoto gave her an awkward smile as he softly rubbed his arm.

“Well… I didn’t really get the chance to meet you when we first introduced ourselves earlier, so I was hoping I could take this opportunity to do so. N-Not that I expect you to want to do the same with me! I was just curious, that's all…”

A faint blush appeared on Mukuro’s face as Makoto finished his explanation. She did her best to hide it by turning and covering her face, but it was still pretty visible. Thank goodness Makoto didn’t happen to notice.

“O-Oh… Well… Sure, I’ll walk with you.”

Makoto lit up like a christmas tree, his bright smile covering his face as Mukuro accepted his proposal.

“Thank you, Mukuro! Alright, let’s get going!”

“Hold it.”

Makoto froze dead in his tracks as another voice popped in. He turned back to the source of the voice to see… Kyoko Kirigiri.

“Allow me to walk with you, Makoto. There’s a lot I want to talk to you about.”

Makoto’s smile turned much more awkward as Kyoko made her demand. Why would she want to talk with him of all people?

“Uh… Sure? But Mukuro’s coming with us since I asked her first.”

Kyoko thought about Makoto’s proposal, but eventually shrugged her shoulders. While she wanted to keep the details of this conversation on the down low, she didn’t consider it sensitive enough to where telling Mukuro would cause issues.

“Alright. Mukuro can come with us.”

“Okay! Is that alright with you, Mukuro?”

“Y…Yeah. That’s fine.”

The three of them all left together, though it definitely seemed like Mukuro was much less excited now that Kyoko was tagging along. Maybe Makoto was just looking into it too much…

Maki walked over to Peko and tapped her on the shoulder, crossing her arms as she looked the Ultimate Swordswoman in the eye.

“You. I need to talk to you. Alone. Let’s go.”

Peko raised an eyebrow at that. What would Maki need her for? And more important, why was she so demanding about it? It was awfully suspicious, that’s all Peko needed to know.

“...And why would you need to know that?”

“Because I need to set some ground rules about you and your ‘Young Master’.”

“...Alright then. Lead the way.”

Maki smirked, taking a few steps forward as she began heading towards the meeting. Peko bit her lip. She’s not sure how Maki figured out about her relationship with Fuyuhiko, but it confirmed her main suspicion, and that was the fact that Maki is not who she seems to be. Maki is a threat that would need to have an eye kept on her. With that idea fresh in her mind, Peko followed after her.

…And once the door closed behind Peko, Shuichi was completely alone.

“...Alright, I’ll… see you guys later.”

---

“...So yeah. That’s why I’m exploring my options with the music industry. It’s not like I hate baseball or anything like that… and obviously I’m not just doing it because of the one girl. I just… don’t wanna be constrained by my talent, y’know?”

Sayaka nodded her head at Leon’s ending statement. Since the two of them had arrived at the meeting earlier than most everyone else, he had been talking to her about his dream to be a rockstar for a bit now as a way to pass the time, and while she did respect his drive and the fact that he wanted to branch out and learn something aside from his talent… She couldn’t help but feel annoyed at the fact that Leon was talking so lightly about the struggles of being in the music industry.

She couldn’t blame Leon for not knowing. The music industry keeps all of its nasty secrets hidden away from the public eye, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not still there. It’s there in SPADES. Sayaka herself has been face to face with the disgusting underbelly of the music industry many a time, and it has never gotten easier to deal with, despite what she might tell others. Even those she tells about the dark side of the industry don’t know that she still struggles with it to this day.

So, the fact that Leon was speaking so casually about getting involved in this new world that he very clearly has no experience in… It irked her. It bothered her. So much so, that she felt the need to correct him.

“Leon… While I admire your tenacity when it comes to this, you must know that this road won’t be easy. Much like baseball and… well, everything, you have to keep practicing and improving every day of your life if you truly want to be the best.”

Leon maintained his smug smile, but he was certainly more nervous and less confident after Sayaka had said that.

“Well… Yeah, I know that. As much as I hate practicing baseball, I understand that my talent won’t carry me forever… But still! If it’s just a matter of practicing, then that will come with time and effort, right?”

Sayaka sighed and shook her head. He really didn’t understand a thing about the music industry…

“No, Leon. The music industry is a cutthroat business. If you’re not cranking out high quality music, they will not hesitate to leave you in the dust. It commands your life, your very being to be absolutely committed to it in order for you to survive. Knowing that, are you still serious about continuing your journey to becoming a rock star?”

Leon… didn’t have an immediate response to that. The way she was talking made it seem like the music industry was some sort of hellscape that she was trapped in!

“Sayaka… Do you hate being an idol? From the way you describe the music industry, it sounds like you’re… well, trapped.”

Sayaka gave a soft smile, slowly shaking her head as she looked Leon in the eye. She figured that Leon would ask this question, so she decided to clear it up.

“No, that’s not it… I love being an idol, truly. There is very little in this world that I would give up in exchange for my career. The reason I’m telling you all this is that I need you to understand that the road to stardom in the music industry is paved with corruption, hard work, betrayal, and many other… disgusting things. If you want to make it to the top, you can’t let anything stop you.”

Leon just… stared at Sayaka as she explained her thoughts on the industry. After hearing all that… Leon couldn’t help but respect Sayaka even more than he did before. Well, he respected her a lot before, but now… he couldn’t imagine being in her shoes and having to climb her way to the top of the charts. He looked away, scratching the back of his head as he did his best to think of something cool to say.

“...Wow. That sounds like a lot, Sayaka.”

And when he couldn’t think of anything, that’s what he decided to go with. Sayaka just giggled, the smile returning to her face as she put her hands behind her back.

“Don’t worry about it too much. I’ve been able to handle it for all of these years, and it’s getting easier to handle over time.”

Before Leon could continue the conversation, some more classmates began trickling in. The first one to arrive was none other than Junko Enoshima, running over to the two of them with a shocked expression on her face.

“Woah woah WOAH! You two are here, alone?! That’s crazy! You two aren’t having some super secret make out sesh where everyone is showing up, right? And I really thought it would be Naegsters who ended up with the superstar idol!”

Sayaka huffed, crossing her arms and giving Junko a smug smile as she blew her statement off.

“Pfft. Leon wishes he would be lucky enough for that. He was just talking to me about his foolish ideas for his career.”

Leon frowned, looking away from the two of them as he scratched the back of his head.

“You could’ve just said no, y’know. You didn’t have to make it personal.”

More students began filing in after that quick conversation. Specifically, the lone wolves were the ones that showed up earlier than the rest. Hiyoko, Gundham, Hifumi, Class 78’s Byakuya (why were there two???), Toko, Teruteru, Korekiyo, Nagito, Kokichi, Ryoma, Hiroko, Yuto, and Kanon were the first group to arrive.

“Well well well, look who it is! The anti-social squad has arrived in the presence of the all-powerful Junko Enoshima!”

As Junko went on her tirade, Leon scratched the back of his head with an eyebrow raised.

“Didn’t… Didn’t you come here by yourself, too? Wouldn’t that make you a part of the anti-social squad?”

Junko’s haughty personality disappeared in an instant, looking down at the ground as she idly played with a strand of her hair.

“Oh… So you figured it out… I was hoping that talking with you guys would get rid of my status as a part of the anti-social squad, but it’s whatever… I’m already over it.”

Sayaka crossed her arms, looking over at Leon with a look of disapproval.

“Bullying a girl… Not cool, Leon.”

Leon let out a sigh, grumbling under his breath as he decided to concede defeat on this one. Unbeknownst to the other two, Junko was snickering under her breath as she watched the interaction. Seems like even the Ultimate Baseball Star has problems catching a break! Not that Junko would ever let him catch one, of course.

The faculty were the next ones to trickle in, and they came in bunches. Chisa, Juzo, and Kyosuke all came together. Miaya, Gozu, Taichi, and Koichi came in not too far behind, while Seiko, Sonosuke, and Ruruka were right behind them.

Once all the faculty arrived, the rest of the students began arriving as well. The Warriors of Hope, lead by Komaru Naegi, arrived with Natsumi and Sato following not too far behind. As Sayaka watched them arrive, she could tell that Natsumi and Sato were a ticking time bomb, glaring at each other in seeming distrust until they found their way to a comfortable spot.

The two Asahina siblings came in after them, chatting away about swimming and other various sports topics. Leon was able to grab bits and pieces of the conversation, but they were talking way too quickly for him to keep up. Those two were just big bundles of energy, huh?

The rest of the groups started filing in not long after. Hajime and Mahiru, Kaede and Rantaro, Chihiro and Miu, etc. Sayaka turned her attention to Makoto, and she was about to wave him down… until she realized he was being flanked by Kyoko and Mukuro. She frowned, grumbling under her breath as she crossed her arms. Junko noticed this immediately, and an idea popped into her head.

“Woah, look at Naegsters! He managed to get the two ice queens to follow him around! I had no idea he was such a fuckin’ player! You gotta step up your game, Sayaka!”

Sayaka grit her teeth, doing her best to maintain her facade when face to face with Junko Enoshima… though she was less than successful.

“Makoto isn’t that type of guy… I’m sure he’s just trying to get those two to open up to everyone else.”

Leon, completely oblivious to the tension between Sayaka and Junko, just looked at Makoto with pride.

“Wow… didn’t think Makoto had it in him! Guess I’m gonna be the one asking him for tips with the ladies!”

Sayaka let out an exasperated sigh, rolling her eyes. This conversation clearly wasn’t worth it, and so she just decided to go over to Makoto and talk with him. Junko flicked Leon in the side of the head, a huge cheshire grin on her face as did.

“Yikes, that’s a swing and a miss, baseball boy! You gotta know better than to talk about Naegi like that when Sayaka’s around.”

Leon rubbed the side of his head. Junko may not be super strong, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt like hell! Wait, what was she talking about?

“Huh? Why would someone like Sayaka care about Naegi of all people?”

Junko groaned, rolling her eyes and looking at Leon with disgust.

“Uuuuugh, please tell me you’re not this stupid… You really don’t notice how much they’ve been hanging out together since showing up here? They clearly knew each other before showing up here!”

Junko put on a pair of glasses, softly adjusting them as she continued speaking to Leon.

“So, what I’m trying to say is that you have absolutely no chance with Sayaka. It’s best to give it up now before you end up hurting yourself, lover boy.”

Leon grimaced, both from her sudden change in personality as well as the… frankly harsh words she was telling him.

“...You really think she likes Makoto that much? Geez, how does this guy do it?”

Still keeping up with her teacher personality, Junko pulled out a clipboard and began writing on it as if she were taking notes.

“Well, if we’re going to be honest, it’s most likely because he’s a kind person that understands and cares for the people around him, as well as the fact that he isn’t attracted to people on entirely shallow reasons like you are.”

Leon pinched the bridge of his nose. What exactly did he expect as an answer from someone like Junko? …Well, he couldn’t exactly refute what she was saying, but still! He didn’t need it written out for him like this!

“Okay, okay… I get the idea! Geez, I didn’t need a complete teardown…”

Junko put on a wide grin, tossing the glasses and clipboard aside as she gave Leon a pat on the back.

“Don’t worry, Leon! There’s plenty of fish in the sea, especially here! Besides, Naegster is gonna have to pick between them, right? Maybe Sayaka will be available after that! Don’t lose hope!”

Leon chuckled a bit, scratching the back of his head with a goofy smile on his face.

“You really think I have a chance with her?”

“Of course you do! Now go out and get em, tiger!”

Junko’s motivation was all Leon needed as he began walking over to Makoto’s group to hopefully join up with their conversation. As he did, Junko just smirked at him.

“...That poor bastard. I almost feel a little bad for tricking him like that, but it’s gonna be waaaaaaay too funny for me to pass up.”

---

The moment that Himiko arrived at the meeting, she was looking for one person, and one person only… The person that she believed would help further her magical abilities beyond their current limit. As luck would have it, the person she had been endlessly searching for was in her sight, and by his lonesome at that. She walked over to him, a defiant look on her face as she pointed at him.

“Nyeh… So we finally meet face to face, Supreme Overlord of Ice.”

Gundham opened his eyes, turning to the source of the noise to see…

“So, the witch decides to show herself to me… Kehehe… Foolish as it may be, I suppose this meeting was fated to be, was it not?”

Himiko grabbed her staff with both hands, crouching her knees as she prepared herself for a fight.

“You’re the only one on this island who even comes close to me in terms of magical ability, Gundham Tanaka… I can’t let myself be bested when it comes to magic! I challenge you to a duel!”

Gundham shook his head, raising his scarf over his mouth a bit as he tried to brush her challenge aside.

“You fool… If magical beings such as ourselves were to fight at full force, the island we stand on would not last more than a few minutes at best! Especially for one such as you, who I can tell has powers that have not been properly controlled yet…”

Himiko puffed out her cheeks, seemingly insulted by Gundham’s choice of words.

“Nyeh! I can most definitely control my powers! Much better than someone like you can!”

Gundham chuckled, closing his eyes before turning away with a serious expression on his face.

“Besides, there is one on this island who is stronger than both of us… The Dark Queen.”

Himiko balked at Gundham’s statement. Someone stronger than the two of them? Impossible! If that were the case, she would’ve sensed their magical ability long before now, like she did with Gundham! And yet… Gundham betrayed no signs that he was lying. Was he telling the truth…?

“You lie! There’s no way anyone stronger than us could be on this island! If they were, I would’ve sensed their magical abilities by now.”

Gundham just… smiled. This foolish girl… really had no idea what she was dealing with. As strong as her magical ability was, she was still but a novice… Unfamiliar with the deeper meaning behind it.

“Kehehe… That’s because you are not as adept with the dark arts as I am, mortal. By relying on your magical senses, you have forgotten to use those you were granted with, and that will be your undoing!”

Gundham turned around, his confident smile still plastered on his face as he watched a new group arrive.

“It seems… the Dark Queen has arrived.”

Himiko looked behind Gundham, only to see… Sonia Nevermind, chatting away with Kazuichi as they arrived at the meeting spot. Sonia… was the Dark Queen? How could she have missed that? Though she doesn’t sense much magical energy emanating off of her… she could still tell that her innocent exterior contrasted with the true extent of her abilities.

“Sonia Nevermind… Nyeh, I should’ve known. You were right, I was relying too much on my own abilities that I didn’t even bother looking…”

Gundham turned back to her, shaking his head as he addressed his new pupil once more.

“You have much to learn about the world of the dark arts… But I sense a great deal of potential within you. I would be happy to take you on as an apprentice.”

Himiko frowned, turning to the side with a conflicted look on her face.

“Nyeh… I accept your offer, Overlord of Ice. But just know this! The day will come that I surpass you, and when it does, I will defeat you in battle!”

Gundham crossed his arms, letting out a hearty laugh in response to Himiko’s threat.

“Hahaha! Apprentice of Fire, you have much to learn before you can even breath the same air as me in terms of magical abilities! I won’t even need my Dark Devas of Destruction to defeat someone with your power level!”

“Oh, Gundham!”

Gundham was snapped out of his tirade by the sound of Sonia’s voice. He knew she was there, but he didn’t think she would interrupt him so casually. The Dark Queen really was more powerful than she let on…

“The Dark Queen… I thought I had warned you to approach me with caution. If you approach me so casually, you may find yourself frozen to the bone! My powers are not something that should be trifled with… and it would do you good to teach that lesson to your peon as well!”

Kazuichi, who wasn’t paying even the slightest bit of attention to the conversation up to that point, suddenly snapped his attention over to the Ultimate Breeder.

“H-Huh? Hey, who’re you calling a peon?”

“Kehehe… I don’t see anyone else around who fits that description. You, whose physical and magical power levels go no higher than 3… You are but a peon to the Dark Queen!”

Sonia put a hand up, causing Gundham to recoil a bit in surprise.

“Gundham! I insist that you cease this at once! Kazuichi is a friend, not a peon, and though he does not match you in terms of magical abilities, I insist that you cease at once!”

Gundham crossed his arms, looking away from the two as a slight blush of embarrassment crept onto his face.

“...I apologize, Kazuichi. I appear to have spoken out of line.”

Kazuichi just sighed and scratched the back of his head. He couldn’t make heads or tails of what these people were talking about…

“Y-Yeah, don’t worry about it, man… I’m kinda used to it at this point.”

“So, you are the Dark Queen… Nyeh… Your magical abilities seem to be lacking. Are you hiding them from us?”

Himiko cut into the conversation, pointing towards Sonia before covering a bit of her face with her hat.

“Oh no, I’m not nearly as powerful as someone like Gundham… But that does not mean I am not still learning!”

“You do not need to be humble… I have seen your magical abilities firsthand, and you are most certainly powerful, Dark Queen. With proper training, you could challenge the King of the Netherworld himself!”

Kazuichi couldn’t help but sigh. This… just got way too weird for him. Was Sonia into this stuff? He wasn’t going to judge her for what she enjoyed, especially with how happy she looked, but… it just made him feel a bit ostracized. Rather, that’s what he would have said if Sonia had not tried to get him involved.

“Gundham, what about Kazuichi? I know he may not be powerful right now, but I think he has a lot of potential!”

Kazuichi just gave Sonia a wide eyed stare, shocked that she would try to get him involved before Gundham responded.

“Hm… His lack of latent magical energy is quite concerning… But his physical prowess could be useful, not to mention his genius when it comes to machinery… Yes, with Kazuichi on our side, we shall become the greatest combination of magic and technology the universe has ever seen!”

Himiko lit up after hearing Gundham’s speech, turning to Kazuichi and presenting her staff to him.

“Kazuichi! Are you able to supercharge my staff to make it easier to conduct my magic? Of course you can, right?”

“H-Huh? No, I’ve never worked with magic before! I can’t just power up your staff if I don’t even know how it works!”

Sonia clapped her hands together, sparkles in her eyes as she watched the back and forth.

“That’s okay, Kazuichi! I’m sure Gundham will be able to help you understand the basics! And once you understand the basics, you should become a natural!”

Kazuichi didn’t like this idea. At all. Not even beyond the fact that he didn’t think magic was real, but also just the fact that he was being dragged into this make-believe world that Gundham and Himiko created.

“Well… I mean, I guess that’s true, but…”

“Halt! I can’t allow you degenerate males to continue harassing these poor girls any longer!”

Before Kazuichi could even provide a full response, Tenko jumped in front of him and Gundham, separating the two boys from Sonia and Himiko.

“This degeneracy has gone on long enough! I don’t know what type of cult you’re trying to induct these two ladies into, but it won’t happen! Not when I, the Ultimate Aikido Master, am still around!”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! PLEASE DON’T HURT ME!”

Kazuichi let out a scream, a horrified look on his face as Tenko crouched into a fighting stance. However, before she could do anything to harm Kazuichi or Gundham, Himiko stepped in.

“Tenko, these two aren’t inducting us into a cult! We’re forming a battle party to fight demons!”

Tenko looked down at Himiko, then back to Gundham and Kazuichi, then back to Himiko once again. She couldn’t help but look confused the entire time through.

“But… Surely you don’t need degenerates like them around in order to fight demons? I am more than capable of fighting them myself!”

“Tenko… I believe you should not underestimate these boys. They are quite powerful, and are going out of their way to support us in this endeavor!”

Gundham huffed, clearly disinterested in Tenko’s appearance before them. Kazuichi was happy that Sonia lied to cover for them, but he was still pretty nervous around Tenko. She really looked like she was about to kill him!

“I… I see. I seem to have misjudged the situation. Kazuichi, Gundham… I apologize for my outburst. I would be grateful if you allowed me to join your party.”

“Y-Yeah! That’s fine! No problem at all!”

As Kazuichi quickly accepted Tenko into the party, Gundham began… chuckling. He… He was chuckling.

“I see… It seems you were merely trying to protect the Dark Queen and the Apprentice of Fire. Your motivations are clear, fighter. Very well! I shall allow you to serve under the Dark Queen, and we shall fight as comrades on the battlefield!”

Sonia gave a bright smile, sparkles in her eyes as she clapped her hands together.

“Oh, how wonderful! We’re really starting to look like a real party of heroes, here!”

As everyone else began discussing their roles on the team, Kazuichi just let out a sigh. How did he let himself get dragged into all this…?

…Then again, he wouldn’t lie. This all seemed pretty fun so far.

---

“Yasuke Matsuda! Wait!”

Yasuke let out an audible groan as he heard the voice of Kaito Momota from behind him. He figured that he wouldn’t be able to outrun the Astronaut, and thus he stopped and turned back to him.

“What do you want, Kaito?”

Kaito stopped in front of Yasuke, panting a bit as he tried to catch his breath from all the running. Once he finally composed himself, he stood up straight and flashed a thumbs up.

“Sorry for failing to mention it during the meeting, but I want you to be part of the medical division with Mikan! As the Ultimate Neurologist, I’m sure you’re more than qualified for the position!”

Yasuke blinked, giving Kaito an incredulous look before pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Kaito… Did you seriously run all the way over here just to tell me that?”

“Of course! I couldn’t let you leave without knowing the details of your position in the Ultimate Elite Task Force!”

This guy is a piece of work…

Yasuke sighed, turning back around as he proceeded to head towards the new meeting area.

“Magnificent, you’ve just completely wasted my time. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to do literally anything else now.”

“W-Wait! Mr. M-Matsuda, please wait!”

Yasuke once again stopped dead in his tracks, gritting his teeth as he turned back to see Mikan Tsumiki, the Ultimate Nurse running to catch up to them.

“I-I’m sorry to bother you, Mr. M-Matsuda! I just… wanted to make s-sure we were… on the same page a-about our jobs…”

Yasuke let out a sigh. He… really didn’t have it in him to be mad at Mikan. Sure, he was absolutely annoyed at her, but… He wasn’t completely heartless.

“Yeah. I’m on the same page. Now, are we gonna all head to the meeting or not?”

“Halt! Mikan Tsumiki, I told you not to run in the halls! I request that you report yourself to the faculty immediately!”

Yasuke was just about ready for a nap at this point. A long one.

---

Sato was alone. That, as of this moment, was a fact.

She barely knew anyone on this island, which was only made worse by the fact that she wasn’t able to spend any large amount of time with Mahiru the entire time she’s been here. She’s been with… Hajime? Was that his name? Yeah, Hajime. It was either Hajime or Hiyoko or any one of her other classmates, and never her.

She couldn’t resent Mahiru for that. It wasn’t her fault that she had trouble making friends. It’s just… She missed her best friend. She missed her a lot, and it didn’t help that her own class wasn’t nearly as easy to talk to. Hiroko was probably the easiest to talk to, but she wasn’t exactly… relatable.

Komaru would be next on that list, but she was busy being the babysitter for the Warriors of Hope, and Sato wasn’t keen on making friends with a bunch of children. She’s seen the dirty looks that Monaca gives her, and she wants nothing to do with that.

After that, who was left? Yasuke looked like he didn’t give two shits about anything other than his manga. Yuta was nice, but she didn’t really know how to approach him. Plus, his voice kind of got on her nerves… Yuto was completely out of the question as well. Sato had a hard time even getting Ryota to introduce himself, much less trying to be a friend of his. Cause of all this, Sato had two options left: Natsumi and Kanon.

Natsumi… was a touchy subject. They had actually been friends in the past, specifically when they were all in elementary school. Natsumi would get ignored solely because of her being the daughter of the head of the Yakuza, and that never rubbed Sato the right way. Natsumi was actually incredibly kind back then, too. Because of that, it was just her, Natsumi, and Mahiru against the world. They were super close friends… until middle school. Something changed about Natsumi, and she became… much nastier. She started insulting Mahiru and Sato, she began acting like she was above everyone… From Sato’s eyes, it was typical yakuza behavior.

But that’s why it hurt to see Natsumi act like that. Because Natsumi wasn’t a typical member of the Yakuza. She was… her friend. They stayed friends for a while after Natsumi’s transformation, but one day, Natsumi took it way too far. They haven’t been on speaking terms since.

Sato wasn’t going to push the blame onto Natsumi… She knew that there were things she said that pushed Natsumi away as well. She was defending Mahiru, and… it got out of hand. Maybe Natsumi just needed someone to talk to. Someone to help her with her problems. Who knows?

That being said… She’d be lying if there wasn’t a part of her that wants to make up with Natsumi. To rekindle that lost friendship and… try to make amends. She knows that it would make Mahiru much happier, too, and that was enough for her to at least try. She looked around, noticing that Natsumi was in the middle of a conversation with Kanon. She could tell that the was vulgar and crude from all the way over here, and yet… they both seemed to be laughing, in spite of that. They looked like… friends, despite the insults and the degradation.

…Sato was alone, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t try to change that in the future.

---

Ryota Mitarai… was not built for this. For any of this. During the day, the sun burnt his skin if he stayed out for more than 5 minutes, it was so bright that he could barely see, and it took him forever to get anywhere. His frail constitution was not built for this type of environment.

If it was just the environment that was keeping him down, that’d be one thing. It’s another thing entirely that he was completely and utterly alone. Komaru wouldn’t even give him the time of day for a proper introduction, and that seemed to be a recurring trend. So many people after the fact wanted to interrupt him while he was working on his newest animations, and it was beginning to get on his nerves.

Knock knock

“Ryota Mitarai, it is time to head to the meeting. I do not want you to be punished should you be late.”

Ryota almost dropped his drawing pen as he heard a knock on his door. That… He wasn’t expecting anyone to check up on him. Who could it possibly be? As he got up to check, he opened the door, and…

“Byakuya…?”

Ryota was face to face with the larger version of Byakuya, seemingly surprised that he was here. Byakuya crossed his arms, looking down at Ryota with a look of annoyance.

“Are you done making me wait? Good. Now, let’s head off to the meeting.”

Ryota was completely aback by how… forceful this guy was being. He stepped out of his room, reaching out to Byakuya as he caught up with him.

“H-Hey! Hold up! Why… Why did you bother with coming to get me?”

Byakuya turned back to Ryota, raising an eyebrow at the seemingly odd question.

“Because it’s my duty as the class leader to assure that all my friends and classmates follow the rules laid out by the faculty. Is there any reason aside from that that I should have?”

Ryota stared at Byakuya in shock. He… was going out of his way to make sure he made it there on time. He had no obligation to do that, and yet… Here he was. Because of that, he’d feel a little bad about just ditching, so…

“...Alright. Th-Thank you… Byakuya. I appreciate it.”

Byakuya just huffed, leading the way towards the meeting area. Ryota, surprisingly, followed along right beside him. For some reason, the walk to the center wasn’t as tiring as it would be normally.

—-

The last of the students finally began trickling in, with the Komaru-lead Warriors of Hope finishing it up. Class 78’s Byakuya was the first to start speaking to the entire group.

“So, the rabbit calls all of us here, and yet she’s the last one to arrive… I’m not sure what I expected, but I surely expected better than this.”

As if right on cue, Usami popped out from right behind the statue that they were all waiting around, waving her staff around in a show of rainbows and magic.

“Ding ding! It’s your favorite Magical Girl, Usami! Are you all enjoying your time on the island?”

Ruruka let out a groan and moved to plug her ears.

“Ugh, your voice is so GRATING! Can you please just get on with it so we don’t have to listen to your voice anymore?!”

Seiko and Sonosuke seemed to agree with Ruruka, and while not everyone seemed to agree audibly, it was clear that most of them weren’t in the mood to be buddy buddy with Usami.

“Boo hoo… You’re so mean… I was going to give you all a present, but I’m not going to give it if you’re just going to be mean about it…”

That managed to get everyone’s attention. Murmurs and hushed conversation began spreading across everyone. However, Kyoko Kirigiri was the first to actually address it with Usami herself.

“You said you had a gift for us, correct? What is this gift you’re referring to?”

Usami perked back up in an instant, raising a paw in the area with a big ol smile.

“Oh, of course! As a reward for everyone introducing themselves to each other so quickly, I’ve decided to give you guys access to the first island connected to this one! You’ll have so many new places to explore!”

That shocked everyone into a stunned silence. They were getting access to a new island? Just like that? Hajime scratched his chin, looking a tad suspicious at Usami’s answer.

“You’re… giving us access to another island? Why were they even blocked off in the first place?”

Mahiru elbowed Hajime in the side to try and get him to cut it out, but it seems like Usami didn’t actually mind the question.

“That’s a great question, Hajime! You see, since this trip is all about making friends, it’s important that I give rewards for good behavior amongst the students! So, I make it so that you can access more islands and conveniences by making more friends! Love, love!”

Most people had a… less than stellar reaction to this. Some were weirded out, some were confused, and others like Juzo just looked annoyed, and he was ready to call Usami out on it.

“So let me get this straight… You kidnapped us all, set us up on this trip, and have us trapped on this island… just so you can have us make friends and sing Kumbaya with each other?!”

Usami smiled widely, putting her paws on her hips and giggling.

“Yup yup! And I have to say, you guys are making great progress!”

Kokichi let out a loud, exaggerated yawn as Usami continued her talk about forcing them all to make friends.

“Can we get this over with, already? I’m starting to get bored…”

Miaya made sure to cut in before Usami could continue whatever she was going to talk about. Though, it wasn’t really Miaya… but rather her own version of Usami that was on a screen connected to her wheelchair.

“And explain why you look exactly like me! That’s super duper impossible!”

“Better yet, why not explain how you managed to pull this off in the first place?”

Jin Kirigiri gave Usami a narrow-eyed look, and she immediately took a step back, trying to find any way to escape the situation she was in.

“Uh… Uh… Right! I need to explain that everyone has their very own Ultimate lab, which is a building that provides the ideal conditions for you to practice your talent! They’ll be spread out on the 5 islands, and some of them double as conveniences that everyone can use! Ding ding, time to go! Your next task will be to make at least one friend with each of the classes! Keep spreading love and hope!”

And with that, Usami disappeared in a flash once again, leaving everyone to consider what they had just been told.

“Ultimate Labs, mm? That’s not a bad idea. I’m surprised Hope’s Peak never considered that idea, hoho.”

Tengan directed his comment more so at Jin, who just rolled his eyes. If he wanted it to be done, why didn’t he do it when he was headmaster?

“Ooo! Hopefully Atua will grant me with an amazingly wonderful Ultimate Lab! Nyahahaha!”

“Yeah! I bet Aoi and I are gonna be getting our own swimming pools! Aoi, we should totally race have a race when we get there?”

“Heh, you think you can match up to me, lil bro? You’re on!”

“Though I do already have my own kitchen, I’m sure my Ultimate Lab will allow me to create dishes that’ll make your pants fall off~”

“I’m just hoping my lab will give me some sort of place where I can drive around on a motorcycle again… I miss the Crazy Diamonds!”

“Heh, I’m down to join you for that… Yasuhiro was never much for motorcycle rides, but I personally love doing it.”

“Yeah, you really were crazy back in the day, Mom… Anyways, I’m hoping they’ll give me ideal conditions to do some divination! I’m gonna try to see what I can about what’s gonna happen to us here.”

“This is magnificent! All the symbols of hope being given the resources they need to change the world! Truly, I am so incredibly lucky…”

As everyone continued talking about how excited they were about their Ultimate labs, there was one person who was less than pleased. And that one person just so happened to be the one who was most willing to express his frustration.

“How quickly you all seem to forget that the thing that promised us these Ultimate Labs is the same thing that trapped us here in the first place. Are you all so eager to trust this thing?”

Loathe as they were to admit it… Byakuya had a point. Most of the people there still didn’t know if they could truly trust Usami or not. Of course, that didn’t stop Makoto from entering the conversation.

“I… really don’t think Usami has bad intentions. I mean, if her intention was to just kill us, wouldn’t she have done so already? Sure, this whole thing is suspicious, but I choose to believe in her!”

Byakuya crossed his arms, scoffing at Makoto’s retort as he glared at the Luckster.

“Exactly the naive answer I would expect from a piece of commoner filth such as yourself. Do us all a favor and keep your mouth shut, would you? Unless you really expect us to go along with your faith in the rabbit just because you ‘feel’ like she has good intentions.”

Leon grit his teeth. He may not have known Makoto for very long, but he was probably the best friend he has on this island aside from Kanon. And Kanon was… a whole different story that he didn’t want to get into.

Regardless, the fact that Byakuya was talking this much shit to his best friend was too far over the line. He was about to go and retort to Byakuya, until he noticed the 3 girls surrounding Makoto and instantly thought otherwise.

They were just… glaring at Byakuya. If looks could kill, Byakuya’s body would be completely mutilated by now. Well, at least from Sayaka and Mukuro. Kyoko’s glare was pretty standard, but considering it was Kyoko, that was still a big deal. Thankfully, Toko was the one who would continue the argument.

“M-Master is right… I-I’m not putting my t-trust in some… s-stupid stuffed animal!”

Makoto started backing up, apparently being in the minority of whether to trust Usami or not. However, it was Chiaki of all people who ended up stepping in.

“Y’know… I actually agree with Makoto. We can trust Usami… I think.”

Fuyuhiko was the next to put in his input, looking a little conflicted on the matter.

“I mean, she hasn’t killed us yet… But it’s pretty clear she’s hiding something pretty fuckin important, right? That’s why she keeps running away whenever we ask her important questions. If we could trust her, why does she keep hiding all this damn stuff?”

Miu started laughing way louder than she honestly should be, pointing towards Fuyuhiko with a smug expression.

“Don’t worry, short stuff! Usami’s just a machine, right? Well, once I get my hands on her, I’m gonna pop her open and figure out all her famn secrets!

Fuyuhiko grit his teeth, balling his hand into a fist as he turned to Miu.

“What the FUCK did you just call me?! I should sell your ass to a whore house just for that statement alone!”

“Eep! I-I’m sorry! It won’t happen again!”

Chisa frowned, crossing her arms and glaring at Fuyuhiko.

“Kuzuryu! Treating your classmates that way is absolutely unacceptable! Apologize to Miu this instant!”

Natsumi groaned and rolled her eyes, looking at Chisa with complete disinterest.

“Lady, I know it’s your job to be a nag, but you’re not gonna make my brother do shit. It’s gonna take more than a stern talking to before a bitch like you makes us apologize for anything.”

Juzo grit his teeth, cracking his knuckles as he took a step towards Natsumi.

“What the hell did you just say to Chisa, you little shit?!”

Natsumi looked ready to fight Juzo, but Kanon stepped in the way before they could approach each other.

“Chill out! I’m not gonna let you try and fight Natsumi, you clown!”

Korekiyo couldn’t help but laugh as he watched all of this go down.

“Kekeke… It will never cease to amaze me how simple it is to start fights, sometimes.”

Kyosuke stepped into the center of the fight, looking at both Natsumi and Juzo before speaking.

“That’s enough. Juzo, fighting the students is not part of your job. I expect better from you.”

“But Kyosuke, she-!”

“I know what she did, Juzo. But that doesn’t change the fact that we are supposed to be protecting the students, not harming them. She will get her punishment, but it will not involve you attacking her.”

Juzo bit his lip. He knew Kyosuke was right, but… that girl just pissed him the hell off!

Byakuya rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and turning around to leave. However…

“Where do you think you’re going, Togami?”

Byakuya turned back to see Kyosuke staring him down, a look of annoyance clear on both of their faces.

“Anywhere but here. I can’t handle anymore talks of friendship from you people anymore. If you haven’t noticed by now, I plan on working alone, and so I’m not going to be participating in your naive and idiotic plan of making friends.”

Kyosuke started walking towards Byakuya, his face still as stoic as it was before.

“Actually, I believe you will, Togami. I don’t care what your opinion of us or the rabbit is, but I refuse to allow you to prevent us from making progress on making it off of this island because of your own self-centered nature.”

Byakuya was quiet at first, but eventually turned to Kyosuke and retorted.

“Oh really? So even you intend to go along with Usami’s inane ramblings about ‘friendship’ and ‘love’? Truly Kyosuke, I expected better from you. Surely you see how inane and idiotic this whole thing is as well?”

Kyosuke growled the slightest bit, getting right up next to Togami as he responded.

“Yes, I do intend to go along with it for the time being, and you will do the same unless you are okay with being the first Togami to ever be expelled from Hope’s Peak Academy.”

…Ouch. That hit a nerve, and everybody watching the interaction knew it just from watching Byakuya’s expression.

“...Tch. Fine. I’ll play along, but as soon as I find another way off of this island, I’m more than happy to leave you all here. You can expect no help from me on that front.”

With that, Byakuya finally made his leave, presumably heading towards the newly opened island to check it out. An awkward silence mired itself over the group as they all just… stared at Byakuya. Did someone so difficult even really exist?

“Geez, what an annoying asshole! I’m surprised he doesn’t have trouble walking with a stick so far up his ass!”

Ryoma just sighed at Hiyoko’s comment, turning away from looking at Byakuya’s ever shrinking figure and popping a lollipop into his mouth.

“...That kid needs to learn a few lessons about how life works. He’s not getting far by acting like that.”

Koichi just shrugged his shoulders, pulling out a flask of alcohol and taking a sip.

“Meh… I think he just needs a wake up call. I don’t think he’ll be like that for very long, especially in a situation like this. Regardless, it’s getting pretty late at night… Don’t you all think we should call it a night and start exploring tomorrow?”

People were hesitant to agree, but once they looked up and realized it was nearly pitch black… They came to the realization that it was probably best to rest for the night. Tomorrow would be a new day, and it would be the start of new discoveries.

Of course, what they would inevitably discover was nothing any of them could’ve imagined.

Chapter Text

It was the first morning after everyone had received Usami’s new “motive”. Shuichi was sitting in the public dining hall, munching down on some cereal as he pondered what this would all mean for him. He had to be honest… He wasn’t a very social person to begin with. Now here was, in a situation where he was expected to make friends from the other classes. He had a hard time even making friends within his own class, much less those he sees on a less frequent basis!

Well… not like he even really had friends to begin with. The friends he thought he had left him in the dust after the first meeting for the Ultimate Elite Task Force. Shuichi let out an exasperated sigh, taking another bite of his cereal and trying to focus on anything other than the fact that he was completely without friends or anyone that even cared about him at all.

“Shuichi! You’re up quite early. I like that! It’s good to get an early start to the day so that you are ready to go! Do you mind if I sit with you?”

Oh, Kaito’s here. And… he’s asking to sit with him. Shuichi had to be honest, he didn’t expect that at all. Of course, if Kaito was offering to spend time with him, who was he to say no? He gestured to the open seat, not giving verbal confirmation as he was still chewing some cereal. Kaito smiled at the confirmation from Shuichi, taking the seat and putting down his food tray.

The difference in their breakfast meals was astonishing. While Shuichi just had a simple bowl of cereal, Kaito had a full-on king's breakfast. Pancakes, scrambled eggs, hash browns, and bacon all mashed together on one plate, with a cup of orange juice on the top right hand corner to round it all off. This was the type of meal you’d see in TV or on commercials, and here was Kaito actually eating it.

“Now that I have you alone, we can finally talk one on one, man to man! Shuichi, I would like you to become my sidekick!”

Shuichi was about to take another bite of cereal, but paused and dropped the spoon back into the bowl after he heard Kaito’s request. He… wanted Shuichi as his sidekick? That didn’t make much sense to him. After all, wouldn’t it be better if he had someone who was physically capable? Or someone who actually earned their title?

“Kaito… I’m not really sure I’m cut out to be anybody’s sidekick. Why not ask someone like Maki? She seems close to you, plus she’s actually capable physically.”

Kaito let out a sigh and shook his head, almost as if he were expecting Shuichi to say exactly this. To be honest, Kaito’s reaction irked Shuichi a lot, but he decided to let it go for now. There were more important things to think about than Kaito’s damn reactions to what he did.

“Don’t think I didn’t try, Shuichi. Not to say that I wasn’t planning on asking you, of course! I was planning on us forming a team together with Maki-roll, and we’d all take this island by storm! Of course, she rejected quite frankly when I asked her initially. But don’t worry! I’m sure she’ll come around eventually.”

Shuichi frowned, lowering his cap ever so slightly to hide his eyes from Kaito’s gaze.

“But… That still doesn’t answer my question. Why do you want me specifically?”

Kaito chuckled, shaking his head a bit before lifting Shuichi’s cap and looking him in the eye.

“You might not believe this, Shuichi… But you’re a really smart guy. I can tell just by looking at you! But I can also tell that you don’t have a lot of self confidence right now, but that’s okay! I’m gonna help you see that your intelligence goes way farther than you think! So just be confident in yourself, alright? Cause I’m sure as hell confident in you!”

Shuichi was speechless. All he could do was stare at Kaito, mouth wide open in shock as he tried to process what Kaito just said. He… was confident. In HIM?! But why? They barely knew each other. Hell, they’d only been aware of each other’s existence for a day, maybe two at most. And yet here he was, saying that he had full confidence in his intelligence. It was just… It was too much for Shuichi. So…

“...Shuichi, are you… crying?”

Shuichi moved his hands up to his face, and once he felt the tears streaking down his face, he quickly began to wipe them away. Geez, how embarrassing… crying like this over nothing.

“I… I’m sorry, I just… No one’s ever said something like that to me before… I just… Th-Thank you, Kaito.”

Kaito gave Shuichi an understanding smile. He reached over the table, patting Shuichi on the shoulder with a sympathetic smile. It wasn’t much, but… Shuichi really did appreciate it. He took a deep breath, regaining his composure and settling back down. His eyes were still a bit red from the crying, but he most certainly felt better about himself now.

“It’s no problem, Shuichi! That’s what friends are for, right?”

Friends… Yeah, Shuichi and Kaito were friends. That was a fact.

“Yeah… Yeah, you’re right.”

Kaito smiled widely, patting Shuichi on the shoulder once again.

“Good to hear! Now, how about you and I gather a team for the expedition of the new island opened to us?”

Shuichi was about to agree before he looked down at the table in front of Kaito and saw…

“Uh… Kaito, you still haven’t eaten any of your breakfast. You… might wanna get on that.”

“Aw crap, you’re right!”

Kaito picked up his fork, quickly shoveling as much food into his mouth as he could manage. Shuichi couldn’t help but laugh a bit at just how quick Kaito was going.

Never change, Kaito. Never change.

However, Shuichi was snapped out of his thoughts as he Kaito started forcing out choking sounds from the other side of the table.

“Oh my god, Kaito! Hold on, I-I’ll help!”

Today was gonna be an eventful day, wasn’t it?

---

A sigh escaped Hajime’s lips as he marched out of his room early that morning. Even despite the warm shower and large amounts of sunlight that filtered into his room early that morning, he hadn’t slept a wink all night. Between the events of last night and him overthinking every single mystery that this island had to offer, his brain was way too active for him to ever even imagine having a restful sleep.

Oh well. Here’s hoping that breakfast would be good enough so that he could get his energy back. As he passed through the lobby to head to the dining hall, who else would he see but Chiaki Namami, gaming away on her portable device without a care in the world. Deciding that it’d be good to more properly meet the rest of his classmates, Hajime raised his hand and gave her a greeting.

“Morning, Chiaki. Hard at work already?”

Silence. Well, not really silence, the buttons on her handheld were making clicking noises, and obviously the game audio was still there, but… Well, Chiaki herself was completely quiet.

“...Uh, Chiaki? You there?”

Still nothing. Hajime let out a sigh, walking over to where she was sitting and looking over at the game she was playing. It turned out to be Tetris, and-

Good lord, she wasn’t the Ultimate Gamer for nothing. Chiaki was playing Tetris, and despite the fact that the pieces were falling at their maximum speed, Chiaki was still clearing lines like he’d never seen. Super Doubles, T Spin Doubles, T Spin Triples, Tetrises, Chiaki was doing it all.

At that point, Hajime made a decision to just watch her play until she lost. She probably wasn’t going to respond to him anyways, so best to just admire the talent on display. Thus, there Hajime stood… for a solid 15 minutes until Chiaki finally made a misdrop and lost. She clicked her tongue, turning off the game and seeing Hajime right behind her.

“Oh, Hajime… I didn’t see you there. How long have you been there?”

Hajime just chuckled, scratching the back of his head. Took her long enough to notice him…

“Uh… About 15 to 20 minutes? I’ve been trying to say hi to you on my way to breakfast, but you were way too absorbed by your game to notice me, apparently.”

A light blush of embarrassment touched her face as she retreated into her hoodie.

“Oh geez… Sorry about that, Hajime. Sometimes when I start playing a game, I just get so focused on it that I ignore all other sensory input around me. One time, I was so invested in a game of Street Fighter 3: Third Strike that I didn’t even notice when someone took the chair out from under me.”

Hajime couldn’t believe what he was hearing. How was that even possible? Surely she fell onto the floor, right? Did she not even register the pain? Did she not have to adjust how she was looking at the screen at the very least?

“How… How do you even manage to do that?”

Chiaki gave an uncharacteristic smirk as she turned away from Hajime.

“The abilities I possess are far beyond your understanding, Hajime…”

Hajime couldn’t help but give a hearty laugh at that. Chiaki could be pretty funny when she wanted to, apparently.

“Regardless, have you eaten breakfast yet? I was about to head over myself, actually. You wanna head over with me?”

Chiaki nodded her head, putting her Game Girl in her pocket as she stood up from the couch.

“Sure thing, Hajime. To be honest, I don’t really remember if I slept last night… I was busy practicing Melee all of last night.”

Hajime really thought this girl couldn’t surprise him more than she already has, and yet he keeps getting proven wrong. Holy moly, how did she even exist?

“...Is this why you’re so tired all the time? Cause you don’t get enough sleep when it’s actually nighttime?”

Right on cue, Chiaki let out a loud yawn, rubbing the sleepies out of her eye as she began heading over to the dining hall.

“So sleepy…”

Hajime just let out a sigh as he walked next to her. This girl was really a handful, wasn’t she?

“So Chiaki… About last night. You said that you had faith that Usami had good intentions for all of us, right? Why do you believe that?”

Chiaki kept a neutral expression. In all honesty, she expected this kind of question from Hajime, though she hadn’t really prepared an honest answer quite yet. It took her a bit to choose her words carefully, because she didn’t want Hajime to get into a fuss if she chose her words wrong.

“Well… I guess I just have faith in Makoto’s ability to judge people. If he feels like she has good intentions for all of us, then I choose to believe him as well.”

Hajime’s mouth turned into a straight line as he heard that. This girl… was just believing in Makoto? Makoto was a trustworthy and honest guy, Hajime would admit that in a heartbeat, but… Does that mean you shouldn’t have opinions of your own?

“You only trust Usami because Makoto does? Chiaki, that’s a dangerous thing to do in this situation. For all we know, Makoto could just be working with Usami and is trying to deceive us all into a false sense of security. If that were the case, you put your faith in him just to get betrayed.”

Chiaki shook her head. This… This was just classic Hajime. Even if she had only known him for a few days at most… She could still tell what type of person he was. She knew he only had the best of intentions, but… He was as cynical as a person could be, and she knew that mindset would cause him harm in the future.

“Hajime… Makoto believing in Usami isn’t the only reason that I choose to do so as well. I also believe that Usami isn’t lying because even though her methods are suspicious and she’s hiding stuff from us, she is also doing her best to take care of us and make sure we’re safe. She gave us this entire set of islands to live on, and hasn’t once tried to cause us any harm. If she or Makoto were people who would want to cause us harm, they wouldn’t be going this far to make us feel safe and welcomed.”

Hajime didn’t have a response for that. Though he trusted Usami about as much as he trusted Kokichi… Chiaki’s words still hit close to home for him. Chiaki retreated into her hoodie and continued speaking.

“Hajime, I know you’re just trying to look out for all of us by being suspicious of Usami… And don’t get me wrong, we all appreciate your concern. But when your concern and skepticism turns into a pure distrust of the people around you, that’s when it becomes dangerous. You close yourself off from others because you feel like you can’t trust them, and thus you isolate yourself from potential friends. I don’t want that to happen to you…”

“Chiaki… You’re right. I’m sorry for making you all worry like this. I’m… not really sure if I can fully trust her yet, but I’m willing… to give her the benefit of the doubt. At least for now.”

Chiaki gave Hajime a soft smile, putting a hand on her chest.

“Thank you, Hajime. That’s all I ask of you. If she ends up being some super killer robot from the future who wants to end all of our bloodlines, then you have every right to rub it in my face that you were right…”

Hajime couldn’t help but let out a laugh at that. Just the idea of Usami turning into something like the terminator… That was a very funny mental image.

“Well, I think I’d be a bit too busy fighting a super killer robot from the future to focus on saying ‘I told you so!’, don’t you think?”

Chiaki giggled a bit, crossing her arms as she gave Hajime a suspicious look.

“Oh? You’re going to be fighting the super killer robot, are you?”

“Of course! I’m not just gonna let it kill my friends and family. Not without a fight!”

Chiaki let out a playful sigh and rolled her eyes.

“Hajime… You’re such a dork, I swear.”

The two of them finally made it to the dining hall after a bit of walking. As they entered the dining hall, they were greeted with…

“Oh my god, Kaito! Hold on, I-I’ll help!”

“...”

Hajime and Chiaki couldn’t believe their eyes. Kaito was seemingly choking with Shuichi right behind him, giving him the heimlich maneuver and telling him to hang in there. After a bit of that, Kaito finally managed to regain his ability to breath air, and turned back to Shuichi with a smile.

“Thank you, Shuichi! Your quick thinking has just saved my life!”

Shuichi scratched the back of his head, awkwardly smiling whilst doing so.

“W-Well, I don’t think it was that big of a deal… Anyone would’ve done that if they saw someone choking.”

Once they saw that the situation was under control, Hajime and Chiaki decided to head back to get their food. When they headed back to the kitchen, they saw none other than Teruteru cooking up a massive amount of food. Pancakes, waffles, french toast, bacon, sausage, toast… Just about anything you could imagine that would be eaten for breakfast was laid out in a massive buffet.

“Oh! Hajime and Chiaki! You guys are up earlier than I would’ve expected. Can I interest you in any of the delicacies on my wondrous buffet? And if none of them interest you, I have one more delicacy that you can try~”

“Teruteru…”

“A-Ah… Sorry, Chiaki… Force of habit.”

Chiaki gave Teruteru a forgiving smile as she picked up her breakfast: A chocolate chip waffle with some butter and syrup. Hajime, on the other hand, picked something more balanced. An egg over easy, some sausage, and home fries. They both thanked Teruteru for the meal before heading back to the table.

“Hey, Chiaki… How did you manage to get Teruteru to stop like that? Did something happen?”

Chiaki just shrugged her shoulders as she sat down at the table, cutting off a piece of her waffle and eating it.

“Not really… I just told Teruteru that what he was saying was making me and many others uncomfortable, and once he realized that, he began to back off. I don’t think he’s a bad person, he just doesn’t really know proper boundaries with the stuff he says.”

Hajime nodded his head in understanding, cutting a piece of his egg off with the side of his fork before shoveling it into his mouth. Chiaki may not realize it, but she definitely had some sway over how people act just through her words and actions. It was… pretty inspiring, in all honesty.

“Well, I’m definitely glad that he won’t just say that kind of stuff with a complete disregard for everyone’s feelings now. Thanks for that, Chiaki.”

Chiaki gave him a soft smile before continuing to dig into her chocolate-y breakfast. Hajime had to admit… This was the best food he’s ever had in his life. Teruteru might have some work to do in terms of treating others with respect, but his cooking was beyond the limitations of any normal human. Seriously, Hajime could feel tears forming in his eyes from how delicious this food tasted. How... was this even possible? Food so good that it could make him cry?

“Hey Hajime! Mind if we sit here?”

Hajime was so absorbed by his food that he didn’t even notice Mahiru and Hiyoko approaching the table, causing him to almost jump out of his seat in surprise. He turned around, awkwardly nodding his head as he finally managed to address her.

“Oh, yeah, of course!”

Mahiru smiled, putting her tray of food down next to Chiaki’s right and Hiyoko to Mahiru’s right. Mahiru had a plate of wheat toast with butter and strawberry jam, while Hiyoko went with a classic stack of chocolate chip pancakes. Once they were settled, Hiyoko was the first one to break the newly found silence.

“So Hajime, care to explain to us why you were crying earlier? Was it cause you finally remembered your talent and it ended up being suuuuper lame?”

Mahiru softly elbowed Hiyoko’s side, but Hajime… surprisingly didn’t take offense. He just turned to Hiyoko, a cocky smirk on his face as he retorted.

“...You’ll see. I still don’t remember my talent… No, it was the food. I couldn’t help but cry when I ate it… That’s how good it is.”

Hiyoko couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Hajime… was crying because of the food? That didn’t make any sense! There’s no way food of all things could make someone like Hajime cry!

“Real funny, Hajime! If you were gonna lie to cover yourself, I would’ve expected a better lie than that!”

Meanwhile, Mahiru just looked skeptical at Hajime. She really wasn’t able to read Hajime all too well yet, but… something about his posture and expression made her think that he was telling the truth. But if he was, then that means he actually did start crying over food? Even if it was the Ultimate Cook, that wasn’t normal!

“Hajime… You know how hard it is for me to believe that, right? I’ve never heard anything about food being so good it makes you cry. Besides, if it was really the food that made you cry, then how come Chiaki isn’t crying?”

Hajime didn’t even consider that point. He turned to Chiaki and saw… Well, she wasn’t crying, that’s for sure. However, she paused from eating her waffle to address the group.

“Oh, well… Actually, I had Teruteru make me some food late last night since I was feeling hungry… That was the first time I’d had his food, and it made me cry.”

Hiyoko and Mahiru were speechless. Were they for real right now? They were really crying over food?

“Well, I guess that just means you two are so weak that you can’t handle some measly food being good!”

Mahiru decided that the time for talking was over, and it was time for the actual taste test. She grabbed a piece of toast and spread Teruteru’s homemade strawberry jelly on it, and-

Tears. Tears began forming in her eyes until they eventually started falling down her face as she tasted the jelly. The toast was cooked to perfection, the jelly just sweet enough to cause her taste buds to go into a craze without making her sick. Despite her best attempts, she couldn’t hold her crying back.

“H-Huh? Mahiru, what’s going on? There’s no way Hajime was telling the truth, right?”

Hajime crossed his arms, a smug expression on his face as he looked down on Hiyoko.

“Well, if you don’t believe me, why don’t you try the food yourself? Why take our word for it if you can just taste it yourself?”

Hiyoko grimaced, looking down on her pancakes with… fear? Was she afraid of some measly pancakes? There’s… there’s no way! There’s no way some simple pancakes would ever hold this much power! …Could they? Hiyoko swallowed, taking her fork and knife to cut off a piece of her pancake stack, and moved to take a bite…

She could never have prepared herself for the cavalcade of flavors and positive emotions that would well up inside of her with just that single bite. The fluffiness of the pancakes, the sweet taste of the syrup… It was too much. It took everything she had just to make sure she didn’t let any tears fall down her face.

“Oh? Are those tears forming in your eyes, Hiyoko?”

“N-No! No, they’re not! Are you blind or something, Hajime?”

Mahiru giggled at the interaction. Really, they were acting just like siblings. It was kind of cute seeing them squabble like that!

“Well well well, look who it is!”

Unfortunately, Mahiru’s positive mood completely drained from her as she heard a voice she hasn’t heard in a long time…

“Natsumi…”

Hiyoko, Hajime, and Chiaki all turned their attention to the newcomer, Natsumi Kuzuryu, who was currently standing over Mahiru with a look of superiority.

“I’m surprised that you of all people are here! I mean really, a camerawoman got let into Hope’s Peak just because her pictures are pretty good? What a joke!”

Hiyoko slammed her hands on the table, gritting her teeth as she pointed at Natsumi.

“Oh, look who’s talking, Auxiliary Course junkie! You’re just jealous that they recognized Mahiru’s talent while you’re a talentless hack!”

“Hiyoko, please don’t, it’s fine, I-”

Natsumi ignored Mahiru’s pleading and took a step towards Hiyoko, giving her the nastiest glare on this island thus far.

“Oh, what’s this? Mahiru already found a girlfriend other than Sato? Color me surprised! Then again, I guess she’s more like a babysitter for you than anything else!”

“You’re barely even taller than I am! You think you’re soooo tough just because you’re a part of the yakuza, huh? Well you’re not! You’re a pathetic wimp who’s salty that she’s got no talent! A pig shit like you should run along and go dumpster diving for some semblance of something she’s good at!”

Natsumi was furious at this point. Her teeth were grinding together, and an intense fire of hatred was burning in her eyes as she stared down Hiyoko.

“You little BITCH! I could snap your tiny little neck like a twig!”

However, Hiyoko didn’t back down. She got right up in Natsumi’s face, clenching her hands into fists as she threw words right back at Natsumi.

“Oh, I’d like to see you try!”

“Natsumi, Hiyoko, that’s enough.”

The two blondes both turned to Hajime with a surprised look on their faces. Hajime crossed his arms, returning their looks of surprise with a glare.

“Natsumi, you need to cut it out. Mahiru’s talent is just as valid as anyone else’s, and you trying to downplay it because of your own insecurities isn’t right.”

Natsumi had a look of… disgust? It was hard to tell what it was, but she was most definitely insulted by Hajime’s words. She slammed her hands down on the table.

“Excuse me?! How dare you talk to me like that? Are you even aware that you’re talking to the daughter of the Oyabun? I could have you killed on a whim!”

Hajime crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow as he gave her a skeptical look.

“Oh really? Maybe back at home, but what about now? The Yakuza aren’t here. Your Dad isn't here. The only members of the Yakuza here are you and your brother, and something tells me that your brother wouldn’t take too kindly to you threatening his classmates.”

That made Natsumi go quiet. Who did this kid think he was, talking back to her like that? …Even if he was completely right, that didn’t mean she couldn’t kill him if she wanted to!

“Hah! Guess you don’t have much bite to your bark after all, huh?”

Hajime turned to Hiyoko with the same stern expression he had with Natsumi.

“Hiyoko, you’re not blameless in this, either. You egged Natsumi on and directly insulted her to her face.”

Hiyoko was taken aback as Hajime started berating her. Wasn’t he supposed to be helping her and Mahiru?

“Huh? What the hell are you talking about, Hajime? She started it! Besides, I insult you and Mahiru all the time, what’s the difference?”

Hajime shook his head, clearly not satisfied with that response.

“There’s a difference between friendly banter and outright being disrespectful to someone. You knew talents were a touchy subject and yet you brought it up anyways. It might not seem fair considering she did it first, but you can’t match someone’s vile speech with your own. All it does is make the whole situation worse.”

Hiyoko cringed. Hajime… had a point. She really didn’t like it, but god dammit, he had a point… She let out a sigh and turned towards Natsumi, albeit not looking her in the eye while doing so.

“Alright, alright… I get the idea. I’m… sorry for insulting you, Natsumi. I went way too overboard.”

Natsumi was… honestly surprised to see her apologize. She was fully ready to have Hiyoko fight back against Hajime, and yet… she apologized. And if someone like Hiyoko could apologize… Why couldn’t she?

“...Yeah. I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have attacked Mahiru like that. I guess I really am just… frustrated at not being in the main course.”

Mahiru froze. Did… Natsumi just apologize? Natsumi apologized?! She slowly turned back to Natsumi, arms crossed and looking down with her eyes closed. She looked… legitimately sorry for her actions. Mahiru, the same shocked expression on her face, turned back to Hajime. How did he manage to diffuse that situation? And so easily, at that?

“Um… I’m gonna go get my food, now.”

And with that one awkward line, Natsumi bowed and started heading for the kitchen. Once she was gone, Mahiru was finally able to regain her composure.

“Hajime… How did you do that?”

Hajime raised an eyebrow, eating another piece of his breakfast as he looked at Mahiru with a questioning look.

“How did I do what? Get her to calm down?”

“Yes, Hajime! I don’t know if you didn’t notice from last night, but Yakuza don’t apologize to ANYONE! Yet somehow, you were able to get Natsumi to apologize.”

Hajime chuckled, a bit of an awkward look on his face as he shrugged his shoulders.

“Does it really matter how? The most important thing is that the situation got diffused, right?”

Mahiru wanted to protest, but after giving it some thought, she realized that he was right. She let out a sigh, sitting back down in her seat and crossing her arms.

“...Thank you for that, by the way. It probably wouldn’t have ended well if you hadn’t stepped in.”

To her right, Hiyoko also crossed her arms and looked to her side.

“Yeah, I’ll admit… You did something pretty cool back there. Thanks, Hajime.”

Hajime just smiled and nodded at the two before finally getting back to his food. He stuck like… 3 or 4 home fries onto his fork, dipped them into some sweet ketchup and popped them into his mouth. Delicious.

“Got room for one more?”

Hajime turned to his right to see- Natsumi?! She placed her tray down right next to Hajime, a smirk on her face as she slid into her seat.

“Wait, don’t answer that. I’m sitting here anyways.”

Hajime was taken aback by Natsumi’s forceful nature as she began digging into her breakfast with a care in the world. Hajime, Hiyoko, and Mahiru all exchanged shocked looks as she just… ate her breakfast with them. No snappy one liners, no insults… Nothing.

It was because of this shift in attitude that Mahiru… decided to try her luck.

“Uh… Natsumi? Is there any particular reason you decided to sit with us after all that?”

Natsumi paused mid bite, shrugging her shoulders before deciding to continue.

“I dunno… I don’t really have anyone else to sit with and I don’t wanna sit by myself, so you losers will have to do for now.”

The entire table didn’t really know how to respond to that, especially since she was the one who started the argument in the first place… and yet Chiaki, who had been quietly eating her food this entire time, was the one to speak next.

“Oh, I see… You’re looking for a group to explore the new island with, aren’t you?”

Natsumi recoiled at Chiaki’s statement, putting her fork down and turning away to try and act like she didn’t care.

“Huh? You think I wanna go exploring with you guys? D-Don’t make me laugh!”

Chiaki gave a soft smile, putting a hand on her chest as she looked Natsumi in the eye.

“You know, we’d be happy to have you in our group, Natsumi. As long as you’re being nice to everyone, that is.”

Natsumi stayed frozen in place for a bit as she processed what Chiaki said. Eventually, she let out a sigh and started playing with a strand of her hair as if to act bored.

“Alright alright, fine… I’ll join up with your group. But only because you guys are soooo desperate to have me on board.”

Mahiru couldn’t help but smile at this. It might just be a coincidence, or it may even just be a short term thing… but Natsumi was finally starting to act like how she used to be. That… That really made Mahiru happy.

“It’s good to see you again, Natsumi.”

Natsumi huffed, picking her fork up again as she continued to eat her breakfast. She didn’t even bother reacting to Mahiru’s line, and if anyone said she was blushing, she would make their lives a living hell.

The rest of Hajime’s breakfast was surprisingly calm after that. Everyone, even Natsumi, just participated in calm conversation as they finished up their meals. Natsumi and Mahiru got the chance to catch up, and Natsumi got to meet the other Class 77 members. Though the entire time, Hajime couldn’t help but feel like he was being watched…

---

Makoto;s morning routine was not like those of other people, and at this point, that was something he just had to accept. He woke up with nasty bed head every day, which is always a fun way to start the day. The ahoge is effectively just part of his hairstyle at this point, so he stopped bothering trying to fix it every morning. Sure, his hair would always be messy that way, but he’s grown kind of attached to it.

Showering wasn’t much better. Pretty much anything that could go wrong in the shower did, and often. Low water pressure? Rapidly changing water temperatures? Soap in the eyes? It all happened, constantly. It was mildly annoying, but at some point, Makoto kind of just got used to it. He didn’t feel much pain when the water got extremely hot, nor did he cringe when it became freezing cold. It was annoying, no doubt, but it was just a minor inconvenience. That being said, he considered it a blessing that he didn’t have any facial hair, cause shaving in the morning would almost surely leave his face sliced and diced up.

After he showered and tried to get his hair under control as much as he could, he would quickly put his clothes on and be ready for the day. Thankfully, there wasn’t much that could go wrong putting on casual clothes, but any time he needed to put on something formal… It was a nightmare on the worst days.

However, today was a bit different than his normal routine. He had no issues with the shower, temperature or pressure wise. His hair was very malleable and workable. Y’know… aside from the ahoge. His clothes also had no issues. Admittedly… He became a little suspicious as soon as he exited his room. Things were going… too well for him today. However, even as he cautiously exited his room, things were still going fine. After a while, he finally shrugged it off and came to the conclusion that maybe his luck was going to be fine today.

That ended up being a mistake as he neared the stairs, stepping on an untied shoelace and beginning his fall down the flight of stairs. He let out a small scream, bracing for impact… only for him to fall right into the arms of Mukuro Ikusaba, the Ultimate Soldier. As Makoto opened his eyes, he looked a little surprised to see Mukuro of all people holding him.

“O-Oh! Mukuro! Thanks for catching me… I thought I was going to take a nasty spill right there.”

Mukuro put Makoto back onto the ground, giving him a nod as she did.

“It’s no problem, Makoto. I’m just glad you’re not hurt.”

Makoto smiled at Mukuro. That bright, shining smile that broke through Mukuro’s facade. The smile that melted her heart every time she saw it…

…Makoto had way too much sway over her and her emotions, especially since they’ve only known each other for a few days.

“Anyways, do you wanna go get some breakfast, Mukuro? I was about to go there myself before… all of this happened.”

Mukuro gave a soft smile, nodding her head as she turned towards the door. Admittedly, she had woken up very early and had no one to talk to, so she was mostly just hanging around in the lobby waiting for someone to show up. The fact that Makoto was the first to show up was quite the lucky coincidence.

Yeah… coincidence.

“Of course, but I recommend you tie your shoes… Don’t want you to trip like that again, right?”

“Ah! You’re right! Sorry, just give me a second!”

Makoto quickly crouched down, grabbing the laces of his shoe and quickly tying them up in a triple knot. Guess this was a common enough experience that Makoto needed to triple knot them to make sure they stayed on… Wasn’t he supposed to be the Ultimate Lucky Student?

“Alright, I’m ready to go!”

Mukuro nodded her head and began walking towards the dining hall with Makoto not far behind. As the two of them left the building, a certain fashionista poked her head out from behind an inconspicuous plant.

“Oh Muku, your skills must be getting dull if you couldn’t even notice me from behind the plant~ Then again, who cares about that? Gross, stinky Muku has a boyfriend! I can’t believe it!”

Junko giggled under her breath, a large grin spreading across her face.

“Upupu~ And with Naegsters of all people! The little goody two shoes dating the soldier… Ooo, it’s so dramatic!~ Ugh, I could just die from how hopeful it makes me…”

“...Junko, is there any particular reason why you’re hiding behind a plant and laughing?”

Junko turned behind her, identifying the source of the mysterious new voice as Kyoko Kirigiri. Oh, this is gonna be good~

“Giri! Just the person I wanted to see! Hey, have you heard the good news?”

Kyoko raised an eyebrow at Junko. Needless to say, no, she had not heard any news.

“I’m afraid I haven’t. Judging from how you’re talking though, I assume you want to tell me what it is?”

Junko moved out from behind the plant, wrapping her arm around Kyoko in a very… awkward sequence.

“Muku, my adorable little sister, has finally found a boyfriend! And it’s none other than cute lil Makoto Naegi! To be honest, I didn’t think she had it in her.”

Kyoko frowned. Now, considering she was talking to Junko Enoshima, there was a very realistic chance that what she was saying was either false or an extreme exaggeration. Of course, from what she could tell, Junko never told complete lies. There were bits and pieces of the truth in everything she said, which meant that what she was telling her was, at least partially, the truth.

The bigger mystery is why she cared about this fact after Junko said this sort of throwaway line. That was something she couldn’t figure out.

“They’re dating, hm? Within the first few days of meeting? Good for them, I suppose. Me personally, I would’ve waited a while before committing to a relationship that easily, but it is their decision at the end of the day.”

Junko looked down, playing with her hair a bit. Seems like she didn’t get the reaction she was hoping for.

“Oh… Looks like you didn’t react like I wanted to… That’s so tragic…”

Kyoko raised an eyebrow at this. What kind of reaction could she possibly have been expecting?

“I’m not sure what sort of reaction you wanted out of me, but I’m not so easily riled up that something like would get any amount of anger out of me.”

Junko pulled out another pair of glasses, putting them on her face as she addressed Kyoko once more.

“Well you see, I was attempting to use your attraction to a certain Makoto Naegi against you in order to finally break through your icy facade. However, it seems I must do more research on you before I can get the desired effect.”

Kyoko just sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she began walking out of the lobby and towards the dining hall.

“If you’re done wasting my time, I’m going to grab some breakfast before heading to investigate the new island. I suggest you do the same.”

Once the door closed behind Kyoko, Junko just chuckled with a very slight grin on her face. The type of grin she uses when she’s just found something interesting.

“Well well… Seems like this is going to be even more entertaining than I thought. Only thing left to do is get Sayaka involved…”

---

As Makoto took a bite out of his toast, he couldn’t help but sneak some looks over at Mukuro. Now, Makoto wasn’t one to stare, but he never really had a good chance to appreciate what Mukuro looked like. Her short black hair, those purple-gray eyes, and those adorable freckles across the bridge of her nose. It was also amazing to Makoto at just how thin she was for a soldier. Seriously, how was she so strong and yet so thin? Makoto couldn’t understand it.

…Why was Makoto looking down there? That’s a question that may never receive an answer. Regardless, he truly believed that Mukuro was pretty good looking. Which made it all the more confusing to him when she would go on to say that her sister calls her ugly.

“ Sh-She does? Why would she do that? That’s not true at all!”

Mukuro closed her eyes, crossing her arms as she recalled past memories of her time with Junko.

“She’s always said that type of stuff to me, ever since we were kids… I’ve never really considered it a big deal. Don’t you have a sister, too? Isn’t that what you guys do as well?”

Makoto awkwardly scratched the back of his head, a nervous smile on his face as he tried his best to answer Mukuro’s question.

“W-Well… I mean, kind of? There’s a difference between entirely insulting each other and just basic sibling banter… Sure, Komaru and I fight sometimes, but we never go too far and always make up afterwards.”

Mukuro turned to the side. While Makoto had a point, she really couldn’t see how it was too much different from the dynamic she had with her own sister. After all, Junko never goes too far either. Sure, sometimes she tries to kill her, but it’s all so she can give herself the despair of her own sister dying, so Mukuro didn’t mind.

“I guess you might be right… But what about your relationship with your sister? Komaru, right?”

Makoto nodded his head, taking a bite from his toast before continuing his talk.

“Well, she and I are pretty typical siblings… We fight sometimes, but for the most part we get along. We’re both into pretty similar things, and I try to be there for her whenever she needs me. How we interact is really nothing too special, though I am glad that she’s here with me.”

Mukuro smiled a bit, but deep down she felt a twinge of sadness… The sadness of never having a normal life like Makoto. To be honest, she was incredibly jealous of Makoto in this moment. Sure, he may not have any exemplary talents or skills, but he was able to live his life free of wrongdoing and danger and… able to live with a happy family.

“I wish you were my brother…”

Makoto seemed a little surprised at Mukuro’s retort, a shocked expression on his face.

“H-Huh?!”

A massive blush burst onto Mukuro’s face as she quickly started shaking her head.

“N-N-No, I mean-! I- You-”

“Yo, Big Bro! How’s it goin?”

As Makoto was trying to calm down Mukuro and tell her it wasn’t that big of a deal, in comes Komaru Naegi and the Warriors of Hope, strolling in to get their morning meals. As they did, they all noticed that Mukuro was a blushing, stuttering mess. Kotoko was the first one to notice how different Mukuro was acting compared to her typical self.

“Oh my! Mukuro seems to have come down with the love disease! And since there’s no one else here, the only logical explanation is that your brother has stolen her heart, Komaru! Alas, your brother is being stolen away from you right before your eyes! What a tragic fate, indeed…”

Kotoko’s speech did nothing to help Mukuro’s embarrassment. She buried her face in her hands, doing her best to hide her blushing face from everyone else. Nagisa let out a sigh and shook his head.

“Sorry for ruining this, Makoto… These guys can be pretty crazy sometimes.”

“Well, Monaca is very happy that Big Bro Makoto found a girlfriend! Monaca was worried that he never would…”

Makoto was the next one to put his hands up in defense, trying to stop this before Mukuro overheated from embarrassment.

“N-No! It’s not like that! Mukuro and I aren’t dating!”

“So, what Junko told me was a lie, after all… Not that I’m surprised.”

Makoto turned to the door to see Kyoko Kirigiri, his new savior, walk through and address the group. Makoto let out a sigh of relief as he addressed her.

“Kyoko! Nice to see you. How’s it goin?”

Kyoko turned to Makoto. From his expression, the fact that the Warriors of Hope were here, and the fact that Mukuro was currently a stuttering mess on the opposite side of the table… She could tell that Makoto wanted her to help him get out of this situation. Thus, she did the only logical thing in this situation.

“Going good. Just here to grab a bagel and some coffee. See you on the First Island, Makoto.”

“Huh? Hey wait, Kyoko! Come back!”

A smug smile crept onto Komaru’s face as she noticed Kyoko walking away from the situation. In fact, she decided to use this new ally to her advantage.

“Hey, Kyoko? Can you get me a bagel and some orange juice? Much appreciated!”

Kyoko turned back to give Komaru a short nod before going to get their respective food. Makoto was starting to get really nervous now… Komaru and the Warriors of Hope all had these devious smirks on their faces, as if they were going to tease the daylights out of them.

“Alright guys, feel free to go get your breakfast. I’m gonna talk with Mukuro for a bit, okay?”

Komaru pulled out the chair next to Makoto and sat down, looking over at Mukuro with a smile that even Mukuro could tell was not genuine. The Warriors of Hope headed back to the kitchen, all talking about how cool Komaru was and how popular their brother was on top of that… Geez, how embarrassing.

“So, Mukuro, I suppose we should get to know each better, don’t you think?”

This was gonna be a long day…

---

Meanwhile, on the other side of the dining hall…

“Ahem! I thank you all for joining me at the first ever meeting of the Dark Arts Coalition! I would like to start this meeting by allowing everyone to introduce themselves, so that we may become closer as friends and comrades! I am the Dark Queen, Sonia Nevermind!”

To Sonia’s right was Gundham, cackling under his breath before bringing his gaze to meet those at the table.

“I… am Gundham Tanaka. Overlord of Ice, and future ruler of this realm! If you value your life, I recommend you remember my name… For it will be the last name you ever speak!”

“Nyeh… I’m Himiko Yumeno, the Apprentice of Fire! I may be new to the powers of the nether world, but don’t underestimate me!”

“My name is Tenko Chabashira! I am the master of Neo Aikido, and the strongest fighter in the land! Face me in hand to hand combat, and you will pay the price!”

All eyes turned to Kazuichi, expecting him to provide some extravagant intro to tell everyone who he is. He quickly rubbed his head through his beanie, doing his best to think of something that they would think was cool.

“U-Uh… My name’s… Kazuichi Souda. I’m a mechanic, and… I’ll build stuff for you?”

Gundham sighed, sympathetically patting Kazuichi on the shoulder.

“Do not worry, my disciple. We will work on your introduction in the future.”

Sonia clapped her hands together, once again getting everyone’s attention.

“Okay! Now that we’ve all introduced ourselves, how about we allow our new members to introduce ourselves as well?”

Sonia motioned to the far left side of the table, allowing the two new members they received to introduce themselves.

“My name is Tsumugi Shirogane, and I am the Ultimate Cosplayer! However, that is but a ruse! My true calling is that of the Ultimate Thief! I can disguise myself as anyone and everyone, creating false personalities that deceive my enemies!”

“My name… is Hifumi Yamada! I am the Alpha and the Omega! My tenacity and sustainability in a fight is unmatched in all the land! If any should come to foolishly attack our group, their attacks will be repelled most quickly!”

As Hifumi screamed out his introduction, one person on the other side of the dining hall heard it. Out of pure curiosity, she started walking towards the source of the noise…

Meanwhile, Sonia happily clapped her hands together, a look of absolute glee on her face as the introductions concluded.

“This is great! We seem to have a complete team here! Gundham and Himiko are the Dark Mages, I am the Paladin, Kazuichi is the support, Tenko is the Fighter, Tsumugi is the Thief, and Hifumi is the Knight! Though… now that I think about it, aren’t we missing something?”

Kazuichi scratched the back of his head. He wasn’t a huge video game player, but he’s played enough to know what a basic team is supposed to look like.

“Yeah, uh… Don’t we need a healer? Himiko, do you have any healing magic?”

Himiko covered her face a bit with her hat, looking to the side a bit in shame.

“Nyeh… My healing magic is very weak. Besides, it’s not my natural alignment, and so I won’t ever have access to the more complex healing magic…”

Tsumugi crossed her arms, looking a bit concerned as she heard that from Himiko.

“I have very basic healing magic as well… But not nearly enough, especially not for a party of this size…”

Tenko recoiled, a somewhat panicked look on her face as the implications of the conversation became clear.

“W-We don’t have a healer? How are we going to be effective without access to healing?!”

Contrary to Tenko’s panic, Gundham was completely calm and collected. He cackled under his breath, looking up at everyone before speaking once more.

“...Do not worry. I can sense someone with a vast amount of potential for white magic approaching us… She will be our healer.”

“Ooo, are you talking about me? I’m impressed! You managed to detect my magic even though I was doing my best to suppress it!”

Everyone turned around to see none other than Kotoko Utsugi, hands on her hips as she smirked at the group.

“You’ve impressed me right off the bat, breeder! I’ve heard your discussions, and I’ve learned that you are seeking a healer for your party. Fear not! Because I, Kotoko Utsugi, am here to save you all from the claws of death and the drenches of despair! Ahahahaha!”

Kazuichi couldn’t help but feel this was a bit weird. Here was this… 10? 11? 12 year old girl who was trying to join their little game with people who were multiple years older than her. However, he felt like just saying that would be rude, so he decided to stay “in-character” as it were.

“Uh… Don’t you think you’re a bit young to be participating in life threatening demon hunting?”

Gundham scoffed at Kazuichi crossing his arms and looking at him with a sour expression.

“Do not underestimate your fellow mortal just because of her age! I can sense a large amount of mana flowing through this girl’s body… She is the next coming of the great Saint Elimine!”

Kotoko giggled, putting her hands behind her back with a wide smile.

“You’re too kind. But of course, it’s all true! Worry not, I will protect you all! You have my word as Kotoko Utsugi!”

Much to Kazuichi’s dismay, everyone else in the party seems to be agreeing with Gundham that Kotoko should be allowed. Once he realized he was outvoted, he sighed and pulled out the chair next to him to allow Kotoko to sit down.

“Thank you, Kazuichi! I appreciate your kindness.”

Kotoko took her seat, a wide smile on her face as the meeting once again resumed. Sonia cleared her throat, straightening her back as she spoke of their mission.

“Now! The reason I have called this meeting is that we have been given two new tasks!”

Sonia raised her index finger to the whole group.

“The first is that we must explore the uncharted territory of the first island that has been opened up to us!”

Sonia then raised up her middle finger as well.

“The second is that we are required to make a friend with a member from every class! However, I do not believe this will be a difficult endeavor, as we now have a member from every class in our party thanks to Kotoko!”

Kotoko did a mini curtsey in her seat at that. Seems like she was really enjoying being in the party. Sonia stood up from her seat and clapped her hands.

“Alright! That is all I have to tell you. Let us consume our breakfast and make haste towards the undiscovered lands!”

A rally cry was heard from everyone in the party, sans Kazuichi, as they began digging into their food.

Kazuichi smiled the slightest amount. Was this… what it felt like to have a friend group?

---

“Sayakaaaaa! Good nom nom nomming!”

As Sayaka was on her way to breakfast, she heard who else but Ibuki Mioda, the Ultimate Musician, calling out her name. She turned around, seeing her waving her arms with a big, goofy smile on her face, as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

“Oh, Ibuki! Good morning to you, too. Are you headed off to breakfast?”

Ibuki nodded her head, flashing a wide smile as she wrapped Sayaka up in a hug.

“I sure am, Sayaka-chan! You should tooootally come with me!”

Sayaka let out a playful sigh as she returned Ibuki’s hug. Of everyone on the island, she couldn’t think of a brighter ball of sunshine than Ibuki. Maybe Makoto, but it was a bit different in his case.

“Alright, alright… I’ll go have breakfast with you, Ibuki. I was actually on my way there right now.”

Ibuki’s smile somehow got even brighter as she let go of Sayaka.

“Alriiiight! Let’s go, go, go!”

Sayaka didn’t even have time to react as Ibuki grabbed onto her hand and began dragging her towards the dining hall at a record pace.

“W-Woah! Ibuki, slow down! You’re gonna tear my arm off!”

Ibuki was just cackling to herself the entire time, ignoring Sayaka’s words as they rushed to the dining hall.

“Ibuki, I know you can hear me! Slow down!”

“We’re here!”

Sayaka’s arm was finally released from Ibuki’s demonic grip, and she took the opportunity to give it some rest as she looked up. They really did get here quickly, huh?

“Ibuki… You’re one of my best friends… But please never do that again…”

“Don’t worry, Sayaka-chan! You can walk it off! Ibuki thinks that cardio is good for your health, especially right before a big meal!”

Sayaka let out an exasperated sigh as Ibuki happily strolled into the dining hall. Only Ibuki would do something like this… Not that she hated it, but her arm certainly did.

“Hurry up, Sayaka-chan! You don’t wanna miss out on breakfast because everyone else got it before you, it’s the most important meal of the day! Tied with Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, and Linner!”

Before Sayaka even had the time to ask what in the world “Linner” was, Ibuki was already gone. Great… She shook her head before walking into the dining hall. As she did, the first thing that caught her eye was… Mukuro, being a hot mess. Makoto, shaking his head and seemingly trying to defend himself. Komaru, wearing a shit-eating grin and taunting her brother while some kids supported her. Kyoko, watching it all unfold with a look of amusement on her face. Sayaka couldn’t help but frown at this scene. While she was happy that Makoto was making lots of friends, she wasn’t much a fan of her not being a part of it. Did Makoto invite them to breakfast with him? Why not her?

…Well, it didn’t really matter, did it? She was going to insert herself regardless. After quickly grabbing her food from Teruteru, and surprisingly not getting any perverted comments during that process, she returned to the table and placed her tray next to Komaru. She turned to the Naegi sibling and gave her a bright smile.

“Good morning, Komaru! How’re you?”

Komaru instantly dropped everything at the sound of Sayaka’s voice, turning to her left and seeing the very same pop idol she grew up watching next to her.

“S-Sayaka! Oh my god, you remembered my name? G-Good morning to you too!”

Sayaka giggled. Makoto’s sister was so adorable! She had to admit, she knew the power she had over Komaru, and she decided to use it just this once. She pulled out the chair and sat down in the chair next to her.

“Do you mind if I sit here, Komaru?”

“Gh-!”

Komaru grabbed her chest, losing control over her body as she helplessly fell to the ground. Guess the experience of being with her favorite pop idol face to face was too much for the poor girl. Of course, Jataro was the first to check up on her.

“B-Big Sis! Are you okay?!”

Monaca had a shocked expression on her face, though Sayaka couldn’t help but feel it was a bit… fake. Was she playing along with their game?

“Ah, Big Sis Komaru! Quick, we must get her to a doctor soon!”

“Don’t worry, I got it!”

Masaru picked Komaru up by himself and scanned the dining hall, his eyes eventually landing on-

“Mikan! Mikan, we need your help!”

“Eep! D-Don’t hurt m-me!”

Masaru carried Komaru over to Mikan, with Monaca, Jataro, and Nagisa not far behind. Sayaka just giggled under her breath at the display. Kids…

Makoto, meanwhile, let out a sigh of relief as the Warriors of Hope left.

“Thanks, Sayaka… I don’t know how much more of that I would’ve been able to handle.”

Sayaka gave a bright smile as she recomposed herself, sitting up straight once more.

“Don’t worry, Makoto! I’m always happy to help, unlike a certain someone…”

Sayaka glared at Kyoko across the table, who merely shrugged it off as she took a sip of coffee.

“I was just letting the siblings bond, don’t mind me.”

Makoto awkwardly chuckled. Truthfully, he didn’t mind Komaru too much, but he knew it was embarrassing for Mukuro. She clearly wasn’t used to something like this, especially with what Makoto now knew about how Junko treated her.

“Well… It’s not too big of a deal, so don’t worry about it too much.”

Sayaka couldn’t help but roll her eyes at that. It was just like Makoto to be this nice and forgiving… It’s just a part of him at this point. That doesn’t mean she was always okay with it, though she was also pretty biased in this scenario. Deciding to just brush it off, Sayaka turned to Mukuro, who had almost completely returned to her usual stoic composure.

“So, Mukuro! I don’t think I’ve gotten the chance to talk to you much. How’re you enjoying the island thus far?”

Mukuro was a tad surprised to hear a question from Sayaka of all people, especially given the… circumstances.

“I’ve been scouting out the island for a while… There’s nothing that really stands out to me as suspicious, but perhaps the first island will change that. I’ll let you all know right away if I find anything suspicious.”

Sayaka… was not expecting that answer, though in hindsight, she probably should’ve… This was Mukuro they were talking about, after all.

“Um… I moreso meant in terms of your own enjoyment. Like, are you having fun?”

Mukuro tilted her head, almost as if she were confused by Sayaka’s question.

“...Fun?”

“Yeah! You know… Are you happy? What’ve you been up to?”

Mukuro crossed her arms, giving Sayaka a neutral and almost icy expression.

“Um… I’ve mostly just been exploring every inch of the island, so far… Was I supposed to be doing something else?”

Makoto decided that now was a good time to enter the conversation after hearing that.

“Mukuro… You have to spend some time for yourself, too. Spend time with friends, enjoy yourself! This is a tropical island, after all…”

“Well, I know that, but…”

Kyoko shook her head, turning to Mukuro with a similar icy expression.

“Mukuro, it’s admirable that you would be working to figure out the secrets of this place, but take it from me… Working constantly will only tire yourself out and make it less efficient overall. You must spend time having fun.”

Mukuro looked away with a conflicted expression on her face. What they were saying made sense, but there was just one issue…

“I’m… not really sure how to have fun.”

“You don’t know how to have fun?!”

Ibuki rushed over to the table, bringing over a confused Twogami and a startled Ryota as she did. Seems like she was in the middle of a conversation with them when she heard what Mukuro said.

“That’s not possible! Everyone should be able to have fun! Just look at Ibuki, I’m having fun every second of every day!”

Ibuki stuck her tongue out, giving a peace sign as Mukuro tried to contemplate Ibuki’s point of view. Sure, she knew Ibuki was the type of person to enjoy every day to its fullest, but… How do you go about that?

“Well… It’s not that I don’t want to, I just… don’t really know how?”

Twogami scratched his chin, looking down at the ground in thought.

“I see… Your past as a soldier must make it hard for you to enjoy life, yes? I’m sure the countless atrocities and horrors of war has permanently scarred your view on humanity.”

Twogami took on a defiant look as he pointed towards Mukuro.

“However, fear not. I will guide you towards a better future, one where you can enjoy life and the company of your friends! Rejoice, for I do not bestow this opportunity on just anyone.”

Ryota let out an uncharacteristic chuckle, scratching the back of his head at his friend’s antics.

“Y-You’re really getting into this, huh?”

Twogami turned to his side and began addressing his friend.

“You are not exempt from this either, Ryota Mitarai. You, too, shall see the wonders of the outside world. This is not a request, but a demand. I expect you shall do your very best.”

Ryota was a bit taken aback by this. This would apply to him as well?! That wasn’t fair!

“H-Hold on, I… I’m not good with other people… Plus, I’m kind of busy working on some animations, and…”

Twogami shook his head. He expected this sort of resistance from his new friend, but that wasn’t going to stop him.

“You heard Usami’s motive last night, I assume? We have been tasked to make friends with those from other classes. Therefore, it is required that you improve your social skills if we as a school wish to move forward.”

Ryota wanted to protest, but unfortunately, Twogami was completely right. He needed to make friends in order to complete the next motive… Even if he felt it was going to be difficult. Of course, as always, Twogami had a solution. He turned to Makoto and crossed his arms.

“Because of this, I would like to ask that the three of us join your group. It seems as though your group is composed of only Class 78 right now, and as such, I would like myself, Ibuki, and Ryota to join you.”

Makoto lit up, quickly nodding his head. In truth, he really did want to get to know Ryota a bit better, so this was perfect!

“O-Of course! Just take a seat wherever you’d like!”

Ibuki gave out a cheer as she situated herself right next to Sayaka.

“Woohoo! Team Makoto rules! Ibuki can’t wait to explore all the itty bitty secrets of the new island with you all!”

Makoto’s eyes widened at Ibuki’s outburst.

“Team… Makoto? I didn’t know this was my team…”

Kyoko let out a sigh, crossing her arms and shaking her head. She didn’t want to have this conversation again…

“Makoto… You’re the leader. There’s a reason Twogami asked you to join and not any of us. Just accept that fact.”

Makoto wanted to protest, but… yet again, he felt like he was thrust into a leadership position that he didn’t deserve.

“Alright, fine… More importantly, we still need someone from Class 53, right?”

Kyoko nodded her head, standing up from her seat and grabbing her coffee cup.

“We do, but I already have someone in mind. Considering the composition of this team, I have reason to believe we’ll be one of the most effective in terms of actually discovering secrets on the island… Thus, I’ve picked someone who I believe will assist us on the front.”

Without explaining herself anymore, Kyoko headed back to the kitchen. If her assumption was correct, she should meet up with the member of Class 53 while she went to refill her coffee.

Sayaka couldn’t help but give an awkward smile as Kyoko walked back to the kitchen.

“She’s pretty intense, isn’t she…?”

“Ibuki likes the intensity! It gives her such a mysterious vibe! Like ‘Oooo, I’m so cool and mysterious!’ Actually, it’s the same for Mukuro-chan, too!”

Mukuro tilted her head ever so slightly as Ibuki addressed her.

“...You think I’m cool?”

“Oooo! That line sent chills down my spine! ‘You think I’m cool?’ Ugh! Ibuki wishes she could be so cool without even trying!”

As Ibuki was having her crisis on the other side of the table, Makoto gave Mukuro a smile and a thumbs up.

“I mean, I think she’s right! You’re pretty cool, Mukuro!”

Sayaka seemed to agree, as did Twogami. Ryota’s was more subtle, but even he could admit that Mukuro had that same charm.

This feeling in her chest… Was this what it was like to receive compliments…?

---

Rantaro took a sip of his coffee. As amazing as Teruteru’s food was, there was nothing in this world better than a good cup of coffee early in the morning. No matter how much he traveled, nor how far away from his home he was, the one universal thing he could fall back on was a good cup of coffee. And he did fall back on it. A lot.

His reminiscing on past adventures was cut short as he was greeted by a new face that morning…

“Rantaro Amami.”

Well, a new face wouldn’t be entirely accurate. They had become acquainted much like everyone else on the island due to the first motive, though it wasn’t much more than a passing greeting at the time.

“Well well… Kyoko Kirigiri. How can I help you?”

“I want you to join my group and help explore the island. We need someone from Class 53, and I determined that you were the best candidate.”

Rantaro crossed his arms. For someone who was making a request, she sure was being pushy… He had no obligation to accept, after all. It was his choice on who he wanted to spend time with.

“Hm… I see. I figured you would’ve asked Shuichi first, considering how you have the same talent.”

Kyoko shook her head, brushing a strand out of her hair as she addressed the Ultimate Adventurer.

“There’s no point… Shuichi is much too close to Kaito and Kaede for him to ever consider my proposition. Thus, the second best option was you.”

Rantaro chuckled under his breath. Kyoko really was an ice queen, wasn’t she? She was requesting his help and yet was effectively insulting him.

“So I’m your backup option? I see… That is quite unfortunate to hear. However… If the goal of your group is to truly explore the first island for any inconsistencies, then I have no reason to decline, do I?”

Kyoko shook her head and turned away from Rantaro.

“No, you don’t. I’m glad we both see eye to eye on this matter.”

Rantaro couldn’t help but laugh a bit as Kyoko walked away from the kitchen, fresh cup of coffee in hand. Makoto had his work cut out for him, dealing with the ladies of his class.

---

“O-Ok… I-I think she just fainted… As l-long as she gets her rest, she’ll b-be fine…”

At a table in the corner of the room, Mikan had just finished setting up a pseudo-resting area for Komaru as the Warriors of Hope (sans Kotoko, who was… busy.) watched the whole process. Monaca puffed out her cheeks, crossing her arms as Mikan gave her diagnosis.

“Monaca can’t believe that Big Sis Komaru fainted from something as simple as seeing Sayaka… Big Sis can be so dumb sometimes!”

Nagisa let out a sigh, shrugging his shoulders.

“I guess she just got overstimulated from seeing Sayaka… I can’t blame her, but I didn’t know it was possible to pass out from something like that.”

“You can, actually. It’s called Vasovagal syncope, and it’s caused by overstimulation. The vagus nerve helps regulate your blood pressure, and when you become overstimulated, it can temporarily lose typical regulation and cause you to pass out due to low blood pressure.”

Everyone’s attention snapped over to the other person sitting at the table, Yasuke Matsuda, who was reading his manga as per usual. That didn’t stop him from dropping a piece of knowledge, but not much ever did.

“Vasovagal syncope, huh? Well, what you say makes sense… But doesn’t it seem unlikely that someone would pass out just from being close to their idol? That seems like something that only happens in like… TV Shows.”

Yasuke actually put down his manga, looking Nagisa in the eye as he responded to his question.

“Generally yes, you are correct. Typically vasovagal syncope is only triggered through large amounts of extraneous stimulation, but I’ve come to learn that the people on this island are medical marvels that defy half of what I’ve learned about how the body works.”

Nagisa chuckled. He knew Yasuke was being completely serious, but that just made it even funnier for him.

“Well, looks like you’re going to have your hands full, Doctor. You and Mikan seem to be the only ones on this island with any sort of medical knowledge.”

Yasuke let out a sigh while Mikan twidled her thumbs. Based on their reactions, Nagisa knew he was right.

“Yes, it’s just us two at the moment… Which is why I’m curious about you. Your talent has nothing to do with medical studies, and yet you’re still interested in it… I wonder why that is?”

As the subject of the conversation turned to more “nerdy” stuff, Monaca decided it was time to leave. She started rolling away in her wheelchair, with Masaru and Jataro quickly following behind to not be abandoned. Nagisa didn’t seem to mind one bit.

“Well, I may be the Ultimate Social Studies, but I’ve had almost every subject drilled into me since I was 5. It just so happens that it’s my best subject right now, but I’ve always been more interested in medical studies, truthfully.”

After Nagisa explained his interest, Yasuke did something he hadn’t done since he arrived on the island… He smiled. A crooked smile, but a smile nonetheless.

“Interesting. In that case, how about you let me teach you what I know? Loathe as I am to admit it, we could use another set of hands to help us with any potential injuries…”

Nagisa smiled widely, quickly nodding his head at Yasuke.

“Of course! I’ll learn as much as I can, Mr. Matsuda!”

Mikan clapped her hands together, a small smile appearing on his face as she did.

“That’s wonderful! We c-could really use the help… S-So thank you, Nagisa.”

Yasuke picked up his manga once more, picking up where he left off.

“Yeah yeah… Just don’t make me regret this decision.”

---

”AKANE! IF YOU’RE TRYING TO DEFEAT ME IN AN EATING CONTEST, YOU’LL HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN THAT!”

As the remaining Warriors of Hope were going back to their seats, Masaru couldn’t help but look to the commotion happening to his right. There, he could see Nekomaru and Akane deep into an eating contest, with them being flanked by the rest of the sports group. Aoi, Sakura, Yuta, Ryoma, and Leon were all watching them go at it with bated breath.

“Grrk-! I-I don’t need you tellin me that, Coach! I… I’m gonna take you down!”

Despite her bravado, Akane seemed to be on her last legs. Masaru could tell that she was slowing down, and Nekomaru showed no signs of struggle. Masaru split off from Jataro and Monaca to head to the table, excited to see the end result.

Not long after he arrived, however…

“Ugh… I… I’m stuffed…”

Akane dropped her fork, dropping her head in defeat as Aoi excitedly raised up Nekomaru’s arm.

“And we have a winner! Nekomaru Nidai!”

Nekomaru let out a victory cry that could most likely be felt throughout the dining hall. All the other athletes around them were clapping and cheering on Nekomaru for his victory.

“Sorry Akane, but you didn’t really stand much of a chance… Coach Nekomaru is just a freak of nature!”

Leon shrugged his shoulder as he quipped about the match, and Sakura softly nodded in agreement.

“I agree… Akane’s worst mistake was underestimating Nekomaru. He is not someone to be trifled with.”

Yuta was still in shock from the whole thing, eyes wide as he appreciated Nekomaru’s lack of sickness.

“How’re you… not sick from all that? You ate a ton of food! Both of you did!”

Ryoma chuckled, pulling his beanie down ever so slightly as he addressed the swimmer’s younger brother.

“Ultimates are strange yet powerful creatures, Yuta… It’d do you good to remember that. They possess abilities beyond those of normal humans.”

Nekomaru let out a boisterous laugh, “lightly” slapping Ryoma on the back.

“Don’t talk like you aren’t including yourself in that list, Ryoma! Need I remind you that you’re an Ultimate as well?”

Ryoma staggered from the slap, but quickly regained his composure and turned away from Nekomaru.

“The man named Ryoma Hoshi, the Ultimate Tennis Player, no longer exists. I am merely his shell…”

Nekomaru let out a sigh, shaking his head and crossing his arms.

“Ryoma… I’ll talk with you about that another time. For now, it seems like we’ve got a new member for Team Nekomaru!”

Nekomaru pointed at Masaru, who took a step back as all eyes turned to him.

“W-Woah! You talkin about me, big guy?”

Nekomaru let out another bellowing laugh, and Masaru could’ve sworn that he felt the ground shake in response to it.

“Of course! You’re the Ultimate Young Athlete, are you not?”

“Well yeah, but I don’t-”

“It’s decided! You’ll join us, and we’re all gonna help you become the best athlete the world has ever seen!”

Masaru was initially a little shocked, but after hearing that speech, how could he say no?

“Heh, you got it, old man! I’m gonna wipe the floor with all of you by the time I’m done!”

Leon gave Masaru a bit of a stink eye, but before he could say anything, Nekomaru slapped Masaru on the back.

“That’s the spirit! Now once we all finish our breakfast, it’s time to do some team building! With you as our Auxiliary Course rep, we can easily complete Usami’s mission! Let’s show them all what a group of athletes can do!”

As they all cheered, they were quickly cut off by someone new approaching the table.

“Group of athletes? Are you guys looking for one more, perhaps?”

Leon felt his body temperature get colder.

“That voice…”

He turned around and saw who else but his cousin, Kanon. His pupils shrunk in fear as he realized where this was going.

“Oh my gosh, Leon! You’re in this group? Now I’ve gotta jo-”

“Makoto! MAKOTO! LET ME JOIN YOUR GROUP!”

Makoto almost jumped out of his seat, turning around to see Leon sprinting towards him at lightning speeds. Kanon frowned, kicking off the ground and rushing after him.

“GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE, KUWATA!”

Masaru recoiled from the display, turning to the rest of the group.

“Are… Are they always like that?”

Aoi chuckled, lightly scratching her cheek out of second hand embarrassment.

“Well… Yeah. Kanon is like, obssessed with Leon, for some reason…”

Sakura crossed her arms, closing her eyes.

“It’s a little hard to watch, personally… But also quite entertaining. Though it is quite strange that Kanon would be so enamored with her own cousin, of all people…”

Yuta, meanwhile, wasn’t entirely focused on the conversation, and hadn’t been for a while. He decided to ignore the fact that Nekomaru either forgot he was in the Auxiliary Course too or that he forgot he existed, and was instead focused on…

“Hey uh… Guys? Akane hasn’t lifted her head up since the end of the eating contest. Is she… Okay?”

Everyone turned to Akane, and sure enough… She was out like a light. Nekomaru started picking his ear, looking off into space without any semblance of concern.

“It’s fine… She’s probably just tired after eating all that food. We can let her rest and she’ll be alright.”

Yuta didn’t buy it. He started nudging Akane, grabbing her shoulder and shoving her around a bit. Still nothing.

“...She’s not reacting to anything. I think there’s something wrong here, guys!”

Aoi stamped her foot on the ground, rushing over to Akane to check on her as well.

“Guys, this isn’t a joke! Yuta’s right, there’s something wrong!”

Sakura had a grave expression on her face, scooping Akane up and turning to the corner of the room.

“Let’s bring her to the doctors… Hopefully they will be able to help.”

With a nod, the whole group sans Ryoma brought Akane over to the doctors. Needless to say, Yasuke was less than pleased to see another comatose body being brought to him before he even finished his breakfast, and Ryoma could hear the after-effects of that from the original table.

“Heh… These guys sure are entertaining, I’ll give em that.”

Chapter Text

“Those dummies! Monaca can’t believe that they abandoned us for other groups! Monaca is going to make sure they get in so much trouble!”

Jataro awkwardly scratched the back of his head as Monaca went on her mini-rant. He was used to these things with her, even if they were quite bothersome… She could be such an adult with all that nagging and demanding she does.

“W-Well, we need to make friends with someone in every class, right? They’re probably just trying to find people they’d actually like…”

Monaca tapped her chin, looking away from Jataro as she considered the circumstances. As much as she was disappointed that the other Warriors of Hope all found other groups to hang out, what Jataro was saying made sense. They needed to play along with the stupid rabbit in order to get off the island, and even though Monaca despised that idiotic bundle of fluff, she wasn’t going to anger it and have something terrible happen to her. So, she decided to play along for now.

However, because of that, she was met with a dilemma… She needed to make friends with people outside of her class, which meant she had to make friends with the pseudo adults. Gross. That being said, if she was gonna be forced to make friends from outside her class, she was gonna do what she could to tip the scales in her favor. And who would Monaca be if she didn’t have a plan going into this? Of course she had a plan! She turned towards the center of the room and noticed the 3 people who were going to be joining her group whether they liked it or not.

“Chihiro! Miu! Kiibo! What a strange coincidence to see you all here! Monaca thinks it must be fate!”

Monaca didn’t care one bit that it looked like she was interrupting an incredibly… strange conversation between the three as they all turned towards her. She was about to give them her offer to join her group, but Kiibo launched himself out of his seat and began hiding behind Monaca.

“M-Monaca! I am quite thankful for your aid… Listen! I need you to protect me from these… these robophobic fiends! They are using crude language and are attempting to disassemble me!”

Miu stood up from her seat, a determined expression on her face as she began walking towards Kiibo and Monaca.

“Monaca… You’ve gotta let me have that robot! He’s an absolute marvel of science and technology, you can’t keep him from me for long! If I can’t take him apart and learn how he works, I may just explode!”

Chihiro started to panic ever so slightly at Miu’s words, standing up and quickly shaking her head.

“M-Miu, you mustn’t! I don’t want you to explode…!”

Jataro awkwardly took a step back. Why exactly did Monaca want to talk with these weird people…? They creeped him out…

“I… I d-don’t think you’re gonna explode just because you can’t take a robot apart… Right, Monaca?”

Monaca herself was looking at the situation with confusion and irritation. These people really were idiots, huh? Even though they were supposed to be people with technological talents, Monaca was so much smarter than all of them!

“Of course not, you big dummy! And Monaca is already bored of this conversation, so it’s going to stop!”

She turned around in her chair and pointed at the Ultimate Robot standing behind her.

“You! Kiibo! How dare you use a poor, defenseless girl like me as a meatshield from this wacko? Monaca thinks you should be deactivated as punishment!”

Kiibo flinched at her words, quickly shaking his head at her accusations.

“N-No, that’s not-”

“And Miu! You’re such a dummy, trying to take apart Kiibo like that! You should know that there’s nothing in there that’s worth looking into! Aren’t you supposed to be the Ultimate Inventor?!”

“Now that is most certainly a robophobic remark, and I cannot let that one slide!”

Whilst Kiibo was protesting the treatment he was receiving from Monaca, Miu slid into her shell and tried protecting her face as if the insults were physically hurting her.

“I-I’m sorry! P-Please don’t hurt me…!”

Chihiro softly giggled, putting her hands behind her back as she smiled at Miu.

“Miu, you didn’t cuss at all when addressing Monaca! I’m so proud of you!”

“I-It’s a two pronged attack! I’m being harassed on both sides! S-Someone help!”

“That’s enough!”

Everyone finally calmed back down as Monaca bellowed out her command to the small group. Everyone could see the irate expression on her face as she addressed them.

“Monaca is done listening to your idiotic conversations! If you dummies haven’t realized it yet, we have more important things to discuss! Monaca is here to invite you all to Team Komaru in order to discover more of the island, not listen to you talking about robophobia or not cussing!”

That caused everyone to stop talking. Chihiro let out a sigh, Kiibo looked down to the ground, and Miu sunk further into her shell. Despite that, it didn’t seem like they were really opposed to the idea… Although, they were most certainly cautious of Monaca at the very least.

“Excellent! Monaca is glad that you have decided to join Team Komaru. Now follow me!”

As Monaca started rolling away on her wheelchair, the group of Chihiro, Miu, and Kiibo all reluctantly followed her, wondering just how they had gotten caught up in something like this. All the while, Jataro was just looking at the scene with a shell-shocked expression. He… had never seen Monaca that angry or upset before, not even when they were really annoying her on the first day on this island. Was this… what Monaca was really like? Surely not… right?

---

“Alright everyone! Sorry to interrupt you during breakfast, but we have an important announcement to make!”

Every student in the dining hall, which was all of them since Chisa made sure they had arrived, turned to the front to see the Class 77 teacher speaking to them.

“Now, we’re all aware of the next mission that Usami has given us, and while I know some of you are hesitant to trust her, the faculty has discussed this matter and come to the decision that it is best to go along with her so long as none of us are in danger.”

Chisa clapped her hands together as a wide smile grew on her face.

“So! Because of that, we want you all to make groups with people from different classes so that you can all complete the motive! Once you have a full group, it’s time to start exploring the new island! Of course, each group will be assigned a faculty member or two in order to make sure you guys aren’t completely goofing off…”

Chisa pulled out a piece of paper, unfolding it and clearing her throat before reading it out to all the students.

“So, here we go! Team Makoto, you will be supervised by Mr. Kirigiri!”

Kyoko’s eyes narrowed as she heard that. How typical of her father to be assigned to her team… Clearly he must’ve known and was using this to try and talk with her. She wasn’t even the slightest bit surprised.

It seems Makoto caught onto her disdain, and he looked at her with a puzzling expression that Kyoko couldn’t quite work out.

“Kyoko, the headmaster is your dad, right? So… Shouldn’t you be happy that-”

“Makoto, if I wanted to talk about it, I would’ve asked.”

Makoto recoiled at her harsh reply and gave her an apologetic look.

“A-Ah! Sorry, I’ll drop it…”

“Next up! Team Hajime will be supervised by Miaya Gekkogahara!”

Hajime raised an eyebrow at that. Miaya was supervising his group? He barely knew her, and all he knew was that she used to be the Ultimate Therapist, as well as the fact that she rode around in a wheelchair and uses Usami to communicate. To be honest… He was definitely suspicious of her, as it couldn’t be a coincidence that her avatar looks, acts, and practically is the same as the thing that has them all trapped here.

…Though once he felt the aura of irritation emanating off of Mahiru and Chiaki, he decided it would be best not to continue this line of thought.

“Team Kaede! You will be supervised by Kazuo Tengan!”

Shuichi rubbed his chin. Tengan… the ex-Headmaster of Hope’s Peak. Surely an incredibly wise man who offers a great deal of wisdom… Shuichi was decidedly okay with this.

“Team Komaru will be headed by Ruruka Ando, Sonosuke Izayoi, and Seiko Kimura!”

Monaca puffed her cheeks out. Komaru still wasn’t awake from her self-inflicted coma yet, so this was effectively her team for the time being. That being said, she wasn’t happy with this. Why did her group have to have 3 different supervisors? It wasn’t fair! They could take care of themselves!

…Of course, she recognized that it was for the best that they keep an eye on her. She was just frustrated, that's all.

“Team Sonia will be led by the Great Gozu!”

Gundham chuckled under his breath. His army would be headed by the Great Gozu? This was sure to be interesting, indeed…

“And last but not least, Team Nekomaru will be headed by Juzo Sakakura!”

Nekomaru punched his palm, a wide smirk on his face as the news was announced.

“Juzo, huh? It’s great to have the Ultimate Boxer on my team! I look forward to challenging him on the battlefield!”

Chisa tossed the paper to the side, bowing her head as she finished her presentation.

“That’s all! Once your groups are complete, feel free to begin searching the new island!”

Chisa was about to turn away, but something stopped her and she turned back to address everyone.

“Oh, and one more thing! Usami just told me that the Hope Pads we received all have map functions that will automatically record the landscape we discover on the new island, so make sure to check it often! Alright, that’s all!”

---

“Hajime Hinata, I will be joining your group on the search of the new island, and I will not accept no as an answer.”

Well, this was unexpected. Byakuya Togami, of all people, was trying to join Hajime’s group. Hajime… didn’t really know what to think of this. Most of his friends had already started heading towards the first island already, and it seemed like he was the only one who realized that they didn’t have anyone from Class 53 or 78.

How lucky of him to have a person from Class 78 come to him, though he couldn’t help but wish it was someone a little… nicer? More sensitive to the feelings of other? Because he felt like he would clash quite a bit with the rest of the group.

“I mean, I guess that’s fine… But why did you choose my group? Surely there must be a better one out there.”

Byakuya readjusted his glasses, a look of irritation on his face as he began recounting the other groups and their shortcomings in Byakuya’s eyes.

“Well, let’s go over the list, shall we? I wouldn’t be caught dead in the same group as that hopeless, talentless nobody, and I most certainly won’t be in a group led by him. Princess Sonia seems to be a good leader, but she seems to be playing along with the idiotic dilusions of the other idiots she commands, so that’s out of the question. Komaru seems to be more intelligent than her brother, but I’d rather not spend my time with the children she babysits. And Nekomaru’s lack of intelligence makes me want to vomit. Therefore, you are the most suitable leader, even if that bar is low.”

Hajime couldn’t help but sweatdrop at Byakuya’s rant. Seems like Byakuya was… picky when it came to choosing what group he went with.

“Right… So, I’ll let you go with us as long as you can promise not to cause too much trouble. I already have multiple ticking time bombs in the group, and I don’t need you making things worse.”

Byakuya scoffed at Hajime’s statement, picking himself out from the chair and heading towards the door.

“And here I thought you were better than the other leaders… Well, you don’t have to worry about me ‘causing issues’, because I’ll be working by myself. Goodbye.”

Before Hajime could respond, Byakuya had already left the building. Great… Right back to where they started. Maybe it’d be best if he just started searching and hoped they found someone from Class 53 and 78 on the way… Yeah, that’s for the best. Hajime got out of his seat and moved to catch up with the rest of his group.

---

Most everyone had already finalized their groups, and the dining hall was mostly empty. Yasuke still remained, and he had but what question on his mind.

What did he do to deserve this?

As one of the stragglers that didn’t bother joining a group, Yasuke was being put into an emergency Group 7. In fact, he was to be the leader of the group, but that wasn’t the issue here.

No, the issue was the people that would be joining his group.

Aside from Nagisa, there wasn’t a single person in that group that he could stand. It would not be inaccurate to say he got all the school rejects, and they all drove him crazy.

“Yasuke, thanks again for offering to lead this group! These guys couldn’t find groups, so I hope you guys can get along!”

Yasuke groaned, looking Chisa in the eye with a look of pure irritation.

“It’s not like you gave me much of a choice… You basically threatened me to do it.”

Chisa’s expression darkened, though her smile stayed the same. It was… incredibly unsettling.

“Did you say something, Yasuke?”

Yasuke grit his teeth, shrinking back in his seat and turning away from Class 77’s teacher.

“...No. Nothing at all. I’ll get to work.”

Chisa’s cheerful smile returned, clapping her hands together with a look of pure glee.

“Great! In that case, let’s go! We have an entire island to discover, after all!”

Chisa began walking out the door, and Yasuke began to follow suit. Not before scanning the new group that he was supposedly leading first, though.

The new group consisted of himself, Nagisa, Hiroko Hagakure, Nagito Komaeda, Junko Enoshima, Kokichi Oma, Teruteru Hanamura, Korekiyo Shinguji, and Yuto Kamashiro. Not that anyone other than him has actually noticed Yuto, but… he was there.

What did I do to deserve being dragged into this hell…?

---

This was awkward. This was way too awkward for Makoto’s liking.

What was awkward, you might ask? Well, the answer was pretty obvious. The awkward tension between Kyoko and Jin as they were walking across the bridge to the new island.

Makoto had no idea what was going on between them, and he felt it would be rude to pry. After all, if Kyoko of all people was having this type of reaction, then it must be something serious that happened between them. If Kyoko wanted his advice or support, she would ask. He knew that fact very well from her reaction this morning at breakfast. That didn’t change the fact that he wanted to help, but he recognized it was out of his control.

And yet, this situation still irked him. Kyoko wasn’t saying a word to anyone,andJin seemed to be doing his best to ignore her glare. Needless to say, it was not pretty.

The rest of the group felt it, too. Sayaka and Ibuki were talking near the front, but they were much more toned down than usual. Makoto could barely hear what Ibuki was saying, which was a major step down from her usual antics and general volume level.

Everyone else in the group was hovering pretty close to Makoto. Mukuro was directly behind him, with the Imposter and Ryota group on his left and Leon + Rantaro to his right. They could feel the tension just as heavily as Makoto, though it was Rantaro of all people who was the first to interject and say something about the situation.

“So… I think I speak for everyone when I say that there’s quite a bit of tension in this group, don’t you think? Perhaps a bit too much for my liking.”

Kyoko turned away from her father, looking towards Rantaro with an irritated expression. Thank god Rantaro decided to interject before Makoto could…

“Rantaro, you don’t need to state the obvious. Jin should’ve been well aware that this would happen the moment he decided to make himself the supervisor of our group.”

Jin couldn’t do much but chuckle as he shook his head.

“Not even addressing me as your father? That’s cold, even for you Kyoko.”

Kyoko didn’t say a word in response. She just glared at Jin as he continued speaking.

“I was not responsible for assigning supervisors to groups, that was all Chisa’s doing. Perhaps it was a stroke of luck that brought us together, hm?”

Jin gave a look to Makoto, but Kyoko crossed her arms as the annoyance on her face only seemed to intensify.

“You expect me to believe that you, the headmaster of Hope’s Peak Academy, had no say on which group you would be supervising? You really do take me for a fool, don’t you?”

Makoto let out a sigh. This situation was only getting worse and worse with each set of words they exchanged. Wasn’t there anything he could do to try and rectify the situation? This all felt so hopeless…

“Um… Mr. Kirigiri, I think what Kyoko is trying to say is that she isn’t quite ready to reconcile with you. I’m not sure what the full context of your relationship is quite yet, but that’s just what I think from watching this unfold…”

To his left, Makoto could see Byakuya Twogami nodding his head in agreement.

“Indeed… Though Kyoko’s methods are strange, her intentions are clear. With all due respect, Mr. Kirigiri, I believe she requires some space for now.”

Kyoko huffed, brushing a hair out of her face as she approached the rest of the group.

“You’re both partially correct… The only thing you missed is that I will never be ready to reconcile. Not now, and not ever. As long as Jin Kirigiri understands that fact, we will have no issues with a completely business relationship. However, he chooses to be ignorant of this fact and continues to attempt to insert himself into a more personal connection with me. Makoto, it’s time to go.”

Makoto was taken aback by Kyoko’s sudden demand, and was more surprised when she grabbed onto his hand and began dragging him away.

“Huh-? Hey, Kyoko, hold on! Why me?”

As Makoto was being dragged away, Mukuro was not far behind in running after them. Sayaka and Ibuki noticed the others rushing past them, and the idol was quick to try and catch up.

“Woah! Is this a new game that Ibuki wasn’t told about? Well, Kyoko-chan can’t keep Ibuki out of the game for long! Yahooooo!”

And just like that, Ibuki was chasing down everyone as well. As the rest of the boys watched this unfold, Leon couldn’t help but sigh and scratch the back of his head.

“It’s like… Day 2 and Makoto already has multiple girls chasing after him. I don’t understand, how does someone like him do it?”

Ryota tapped his fingers together as he tried to come up with something to say. Byakuya encouraged him to be more proactive in talking with the others in the group before they left, and so he decided to do his best in that regard.

“Um… Well, he’s a very kind and genuine person… That goes a long way for a lot of people, myself included. I don’t feel like I have to… y’know, change myself around him.”

Rantaro nodded his head, crossing his arms as he turned to Leon.

“I also believe it’s because his reasons for liking others aren't incredibly shallow… He genuinely likes being with those around him, and takes interest in their hobbies regardless of how bizarre they are.”

Leon grumbled at the underhanded comment from Rantaro, but even he could admit that Rantaro was pretty much correct.

“Alright, I get the idea… No need to rub it in.”

All the while, Jin just rubbed his chin as he watched the images of Makoto and the others get smaller on the horizon. A small smile began forming on his face as he considered what just happened.

“Makoto, huh…? Interesting… Very interesting, indeed.”

---

“It seems… we have arrived at Himiko’s den.”

Gundham and the rest of the group looked up at the building towering over them, labeled “Himiko’s Ultimate Lab: Ultimate Magician”.

“Gr… They got my Ultimate talent wrong! I’m the Ultimate Mage, not the Ultimate Magician! There’s a difference!”

As Himiko entered the building, the rest decided to follow suit. What they found was…

Well, it was half what they expected and half not.

The entrance to the building was a performance stage that seemed to have all kinds of gadgets and gizmos. From what Gundham himself could see, there were unique lights, trap doors, hidden passageways… This entire place was like a maze. Himiko herself seemed to be less than impressed.

“Well… I guess this place is pretty cool for showing off magic tricks, though there better be some stuff for actual magic! If they can’t get my talent right, there better be some stuff for actual magic!”

“Oh don’t worry, there is! However, much like your own journey to becoming a magic user like Gundham, you must find the correct path! This building is quite large, with multiple hidden passageways, so do your best to find the path to the magic!”

Much to everyone’s shock, Usami popped up out of nowhere right in front of them.

“Uh… Guys? Did you hear what-”

“HOW DID YOU GET HEEEEEERE?!”

Hifumi squealed as Usami popped into the room, which caused her to squeal right back.

“Kyaaaa! Don’t scream like that! You’re gonna give your poor teacher a heart attack!”

Tsumugi crossed his arms, looking at Usami with a skeptical expression.

“Usami… Last I checked, you were not designated as a teacher of any of our classes. Right now, you’re really just our captor…”

Usami, for reasons unknown to everyone, seemed shocked that everyone around her seemed to be agreeing with this.

“Yes… To be honest, I’m not sure why you attempt to act like you are one of us… It is incomprehensible.”

Sonia tried her best to shoo Usami off kindly, because she knew someone would be rude if they tried to shoo her off themselves.

“Alright… I understand… You naughty kids don’t appreciate the Ultimate Labs, and so I won’t give you a hint about where the magic room is…”

Himiko was about to interject, but Usami was already gone. Great, another great opportunity slipped by…

“My my! It seems the stuffed body of cotton once again does not realize that she is a failed actress of the grandest order! Oh, it is truly sad that she will never have the abilities that I do!”

Kotoko giggled to herself at the difference between the abilities of her and Usami, while the rest of the group began considering their next move.

“So, it seems as though there are depths of this building that we do not realize… It will be quite an interesting puzzle to solve. However, we still have a mission to explore the rest of the island, and I believe continuing to explore here would be an erroneous decision… Though I am open to all suggestions.”

Kazuichi scratched the back of his head, looking to the side with a hesitant expression.

“I mean… All the doors and traps here have to be mechanical, right? Since the house is designed to use magic tricks instead of actual magic, I can probably figure out how it works and find the magic room… But that’ll probably take longer than you guys would like, if I’m being honest.”

Tenko took on a fighting stance, an aggressive look on her face as addressed the group.

“The most important thing is finding the magic room for Himiko so that she can unlock her powers! I say we all stay here and find it!”

“I’M GONNA HAVE TO DISAGREE WITH THAT STATEMENT!”

“Wait, who said th-”

Before Tenko could even finish her sentence, the group’s supervisor finally burst through the door. The Great Gozu, the Ultimate Wrestler, had finally arrived.

“It is I, THE GREAT GOZU! It’s my responsibility as your supervisor to keep you all on the right path! Because of that, I must make sure you are all continuing to explore the island! Failure to do so will mean that you’ll have to get ROCKED by me!”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

As Hifumi let out another scream of fear, he was cut short by Tsumugi flicking him in the face.

“Honestly Hifumi, do you do anything other than scream?”

“W-Well… I write fanfiction…”

Tsumugi couldn’t do much but sigh at that. Classic Hifumi… Meanwhile, Tenko seemed to be a tad upset at Gozu’s entrance.

“Hey, listen here! I don’t care if you threaten us, but this should be Himiko’s decision to make! After all, it’s her secret lab! I think-”

“It’s fine, Tenko… Let’s go.”

Everyone seemed a little surprised to hear Himiko say that, but Tenko especially couldn’t believe it.

“Huh? But Himiko, we-”

“It’s not like the lab will disappear once we leave. We can always come back and search through it later. As much as I wanna figure out where the magic room is, it’s best if we just keep exploring and figure out the layout.”

While Tenko seemed concerned for her friend, Gundham chuckled and turned away.

“That is quite the mature approach to the situation, my apprentice… You do have quite the large amount of potential.”

Of course, it was time to leave. Everyone started filtering out of the room, with Himiko taking one more look behind her before heading off as well.

---

Nekomaru and Masaru’s Ultimate Lab

Well, there was a surprise. Kind of. Masaru and Nekomaru were sharing an Ultimate Lab. Sure, their talents were pretty similar, but…

“GAHAHA! This is the perfect place for me to train all of you up! Gotta say, we got pretty lucky to get a place like this on the first new island!”

Sakura crossed her arms, a small smile on her face as she nodded.

“Indeed… This may not be my own ultimate lab, but I appreciate it regardless. I feel as though I will be spending much of my time here.”

Masaru, on the other hand, turned to look at his new coach with a puzzled expression on his face.

“Coach, aren’t we all supposed to have our own labs? Why are we both sharing one?”

Nekomaru shrugged his shoulders, looking completely unworried about the implications of sharing an UItimate Lab… if there even were any.

“I’m not sure about their reasons, kid… But personally, I think it’s better this way! You and I will be able to get a lot of one on one practice, and it’s gonna be great for your muscles! Though you’re still young, I can see a lot of potential in you! You’re gonna grow up to be an amazing athlete one day!”

Masaru balked at Nekomaru’s impromptu speech, turning away and crossing his arms in slight embarrassment.

“Geez, old man… You don’t have to say it like that…”

Akane gave a wild smile, looking towards Nekomaru with nothing short of excitement.

“Oh yeah! I can’t wait to do all kinds of training here! I’m gonna get stronger than all of you!”

Aoi awkwardly scratched the back of her head as she watched this conversation unfold. She was happy for the place to work out, but she wasn’t nearly as excited as everyone else… the lack of a pool was definitely a contributing factor.

“Hey, uh… Are we gonna keep talking about this or are we actually gonna go in there and see what it’s all about?”

Ryoma let out a sigh, walking towards the door and opening it up before anyone else could even respond.

“...Well, I guess that answers that question.”

Aoi and the others all followed Ryoma’s lead and headed into the ultimate lab, and they were met with a sports fan’s dream.

“Oh… my gosh…”

Yuta couldn’t help but be amazed by what he saw. The most advanced and vast sports complex you could’ve imagined. Multiple basketball courts, track and field areas, batting cages, all sorts of equipment, a separate room for lifting weights… If it could help you improve athletically, it was here.

Masaru himself was completely blown away. This… This was everything he could ever hope for. His passion for sports was bursting at the seams as he walked in, completely speechless as he took it all in.

Nekomaru had the largest grin he’s had since arriving on the island, and that's saying something. Multiple ideas were going through his head, but he eventually landed on one in particular.

“Alright, once we’re all done exploring the island, I think we should organize a 3-on-3 basketball tournament!”

Akane, Aoi, Sakura, Masaru, and Yuta all seemed on board with the idea. Hell, even Ryoma seemed okay with it and seemed to want to participate.

But there was one holdout.

“Yeah, you guys can do whatever… I don’t care. The only reason I’m even here right now is because I have to be.”

Aoi grimaced at Kanon’s snappy tone. She figured she would be like this after what happened with Leon, but…

“Look, Kanon… I know Leon made you upset, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t hang out with us. Being miserable the whole time isn’t the way to go!”

Kanon just huffed, turning away and walking out of the building. Aoi sighed and shook her head. Dealing with her was going to be a headache, she could feel it…

---

“HAJIME! HAJIME, LOOK OVER THERE!”

As Hajime was traveling with his group across the new island, Chiaki suddenly exploded with a loud yell. Quite frankly, it was way louder than anything he thought Chiaki could do, and yet here he was.

“Ow ow, I got it! I’m right here, Chiaki… What is it?”

Chiaki grabbed onto Hajime’s arm, surprising him as she dragged him towards the new building in the distance. As they got closer, Hajime noticed that it was… quite extravagant. A flashing neon sign, multiple character designs that Hajime swore he recognized, and yet the windows were almost completely blacked out.

“It’s my Ultimate Lab, Hajime! It has to be!”

As the rest of the group caught up to them (Mahiru, Hiyoko, Natsumi, Sato, and Miaya), they were quick to notice and recognize what this building was.

Wait, when did Sato get here?

“Woah, this is Chiaki’s Ultimate Lab, right? I mean, I’d notice Pikachu and Mario from anywhere!”

Mahiru awkwardly scratched the back of her head as Hiyoko seemed to instantly recognize some of the characters on the exterior of the building.

“Well, I’ve never really been much into video games myself, but… Chiaki seems really excited.”

Indeed she did. Eyes sparkling and a wide smile on her face, Chiaki wasted no more time before rushing into the building to check it out. Natsumi chuckled and shrugged her shoulders.

“Geez, that girl and her video games… I’ll never be able to understand it.”

“That’s because you don’t have the capability to understand other people, Kuzuryu.”

Everyone left except Hajime all turned back to see… Sato, crossing her arms and glaring at Natsumi with contempt. Speaking of Natsumi, she was the first to reply.

“Wh- Sato? When the hell did you get here?! Have you been following us?!”

“Yeah, I have! I didn’t want you causing any trouble for Mahiru, so I made sure you weren’t doing anything idiotic!”

Hiyoko huffed, crossing her arms and glaring at the green haired girl.

“Protecting Mahiru is supposed to be my job, y’know… Besides, Natsumi’s actually been well behaved recently, so you can quit following us around!”

Sato was… shocked. Shocked that Mahiru had made a new friend, and shocked that Natsumi was apparently not causing trouble.

Natsumi wasn’t concerned about Sato’s reaction, but moreso irritated at Hiyoko’s choice of wording.

“...Hiyoko, I’m not a goddamn dog you know… Don’t talk about me like that again.”

Hiyoko crossed her arms, looking over at Natsumi with a smug expression.

“Oh, you’re not a dog? That’s weird, cause you look like quite the bitch to me!”

“That’s it, I’ll kill you!”

Natsumi and Hiyoko were about to launch themselves at each other, but were quickly stopped by Hajime and Mahiru respectively, the both of them choosing the grabbing of the ear to stop their feud.

“Alright, that’s enough out of you two… We were just commending you for being well behaved, don’t ruin it by pulling something like this.”

Natsumi and Hiyoko both seemed to listen to Hajime as he gave them a talking to, and he smiled. It felt… really good to be able to have people that listened to you. Mahiru and Hajime let go of their respective ears, and Mahiru clapped her hands together.

“Great! In that case, let’s head into the arcade. I’m sure Chiaki must be waiting for us.”

They all nodded in agreement, even if reluctantly in the case of Hiyoko and Natsumi, and began heading into Chiaki’s Ultimate Lab.

Sato was just in pure shock at what just transpired in front of her, but she got it together and followed after them.

Once the group entered the building, Chiaki quickly ran up to them, her excitement somehow multiplying in the short time they were gone.

“GUYS! Guys, oh my god, they have everything in here! Every console, every arcade machine, every game, everything!”

Hajime recoiled from Chiaki’s approach, defensively raising his hands to try and get some personal space.

“Woah woah, calm down, Chiaki… Are you sure? There’s no way they have every game in existence… right?”

Chiaki tapped her chin, looking up to the ceiling as she pondered the question.

“Well, I’m not sure if they have every game in existence yet… But I checked, and they most certainly have every console! They also have multiple copies, so we could totally bring these back to the dorms! Hajime, I think I’m in heaven!”

Hajime and the other girls couldn’t help but chuckle at this. Chiaki… was really like a kid in the candy store. It really was charming.

However, Hajime couldn’t help but notice a door near the back that seemed to not have been opened yet. Curious, he walked over and turned the knob, pulling the door back to see… huh?

It was a large room with something that looked like a stage near the back and multiple tables with tv monitors on them. It looked… like something you’d see at a gaming convention.

“Oh… I think I know what this is supposed to be for. This is supposed to be for tournaments.”

Hajime turned around and saw Chiaki looking much less excited than she was previously.

“You… don’t seem excited to find this room. You said this is for tournaments, right? Do you not like tournaments?”

Chiaki grabbed her hood and pulled it over her head.

“Well, it’s not that I don’t like competitive gaming… I mean, I have multiple world records and have won a ton of tournaments for multiple games… It’s just that I prefer a more relaxed experience. I don’t think games should be all about winning, you know?”

Hajime nodded his head. It… made sense for her to think that way. When you were the best in the world, sometimes you would just want a break from all the tight competition.

“Yeah, I get it… I’m sure it must be stressful, too. Though at the same time, I feel like if this is here, we should use it.”

Chiaki tilted her head for a split second before realizing what Hajime was getting at.

“Oh, I see… You want me to host a video game tournament, right? Well… I think that could be fun. I’ll think about it.”

Chiaki turned around and went to return to the arcade.

“In the meantime, wanna just have some fun playing games? The others are already-”

“THAT’S SO BULLSHIT! I SWEAR TO GOD, I WAS BLOCKING HIGH!”

“HAHAHAHA, I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU GOT HIT BY THAT!”

“Waaaah! No no, don’t get mad! It’s just a game! Please, calm down!”

“...Playing.”

Seems like Hiyoko and Natsumi were venting their frustrations through fighting games, and Usami (Or… Miaya’s avatar?) was doing her best to calm them down. Well, that was always better than the alternative, at least.

---

Shuichi was a person who did lots of thinking. Lots and lots of it, at all times. When it came to this island, it was no different. He would find things, think about their implications, and make deductions based on what he found. At least, that’s what he wanted to do.

Kaede had other plans.

“Shuichi, no more overthinking things! I need you to be here with me, not lost in your own world thinking about things that don’t matter!”

Shuichi couldn’t help but take the slightest bit of offense to that, even if he knew she meant well. He let out a sigh, slightly adjusting his cap as he looked towards the building in the distance.

“Kaede, I’ve always been the type to overthink things… That’s just who I am.”

Kaede walked over and playfully flicked him right between the eyes.

“Well, you were also someone who was incredibly down on themselves, and yet here you are! Ever so slightly more confident in your abilities.”

Shuichi sighed. He knew this was an argument he wasn’t going to win no matter how hard he tried.

“Hey, Shuichi! Kaede! Are you two done over there? We figured out that this Ultimate Lab belongs to Yasuhiro!”

Kaito hollered at the top of his lungs to try and get the attention of his two friends. He succeeded, and the two of them rolled their eyes before running over to meet up with everyone else. Maki, Kaito, Peko, and Fuyuhiko were all standing in front of the Ultimate Lab that was supposedly for Yasuhiro.

Now, you might be wondering why Peko and Fuyuhiko were here. Admittedly, Shuichi himself didn’t know too much about the reasons… apparently Maki coerced Peko into coming, and Fuyuhiko wanted to tag along for some reason? Were Maki and Peko friends? They were way too wary of each other if they were…

Regardless, that wasn’t the important topic at hand. No, what was important was the fact that the Ultimate Lab that was in front of them… barely counted as an Ultimate Lab. It was just a tent with… smoke coming out of the top?

They all entered with their expectations at the floor, and it was exactly as they expected.

“Yo! Welcome to my Ultimate Lab, guys! Make yourselves comfortable. I know this isn’t much, but I appreciate that they made this place more natural… helps with the divinations, y’know?”

The six students all sat on various pillows and cushions that surrounded the crystal ball, with Yasuhiro giving everyone a smug look.

“So, I assume you guys are just here to check everything out on the island? Well, I’m glad someone other than me wanted to check this place out! Since you guys were the first ones to get here, how about a free divination?”

Everyone was pretty hesitant about the offer. Knowing how sly Yasuhiro was, it most likely had strings attached… But it was worth a shot if it was free, right? Kaito was the one to respond first and foremost.

“Sure, why not? Show us the future, Hiro!”

Yasuhiro gave a hearty laugh before rubbing the crystal ball, focusing intensely as he looked into the future. Unfortunately for him, what he saw… was terrifying.

“I… What the hell…?”

Peko raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms and looking at Yasuhiro with suspicion.

“Yasuhiro, is something the matter?”

“Well… No, I think this is probably just an incorrect prediction. After all, my rate is only 30%... Sorry for the dud, you guys. Next one will be better, promise!”

Fuyuhiko rolled his eyes, standing up and turning to leave.

“Tch. Thanks for the waste of my goddamn time, jackass. I’m outta here.”

As Fuyuhiko left, Peko was not far behind. Maki and Shuichi left as well, and that left just Kaede and Kaito. They both gave him sympathetic looks, with Kaede mouthing a “sorry” before heading out of the tent.

Once they were gone, Yasuhiro’s carefree expression completely evaporated. That vision… What the hell did it mean? Sure, he told them it was just a dud… but he felt it. This wasn’t fake. He’s… He’s been in this situation before…

And all that crazy stuff he saw… Nagito in something called the Final Dead Room… Makoto face to face with some strange person that he can’t make out… These weird arm bands on everyone… And that was just the surface of everything! What did it all mean?!

Yasuhiro sighed and rubbed the side of his head. He needed to talk to someone about this… but who? He didn’t really have any friends on this island… though he mostly only had himself to blame for that. He… didn’t do himself any favors in that regard.

He knew the future, and yet he had no one that would believe him. What did he do to deserve this?

---

“Kiibo, get back here! Now that we have all the equipment here in Chihiro’s Ultimate Lab, I’m gonna program some craaazy shit into you! You’re gonna be so fucking cool!”

“No! Begone, you robophobic witch! I do not want your crazy adjustments to my body!”

Komaru couldn’t help sigh as she saw Miu chase Kiibo all around the room. Once she saw that they were approaching Chihiro’s lab, she knew that this was going to be a problem from the start.

Not that she really knew the situation… She was out cold the entire time, because apparently she had fainted from the mere existence of Sayaka Maizono within 5 feet of her. Geez, how embarrassing…

Of course, she heard the abridged version of what Monaca saw, and she just couldn’t be surprised to hear that. These Ultimates seemed incredibly dedicated to their talents, so when other people come along that seem similar or related to their talent at all, it makes sense that they would get attached. She noticed that Hifumi and Toko were like this, though it was more of a rivalry for them than anything else.

That wasn’t really important though, as Komaru watched the chase unfold with an exhausted expression. Why did she have to play babysitter for people that were older than her? Better question, where the hell were their supervisors when they needed them? Oh, Komaru knew the answer to that question alright. The answer was that all 3 of them had long ditched them because they “wanted to do their own thing”, apparently. Wasn’t that directly going against what they were told to do?!

Whatever. It was time for Komaru to put her foot down and put an end to this, so she stepped in-between Miu and Kiibo.

“That’s it! Miu, you’ve gotta stop right now! If Kiibo doesn’t want to be altered, then he DOESN’T WANT TO BE ALTERED, GOT IT?!”

“Heeee! I’m sorry! I-I’m really and truly sorry, Komaru! I’ll never do it again!”

There Miu goes again, retreating into her cage like a small animal at the slightest bit of anger directed her way. At the very least, it looked like Chihiro was doing her best to cheer Miu up… She was rubbing her back and telling her that it was gonna be okay… Komaru had to admit, it was really cute, and it distracted her from the regret of having to raise her voice like that.

“U-Um… Komaru?”

Komaru turned around and saw Mikan Tsumiki, the wonderful nurse who took care of her while she was in the mini-coma. Once Komaru woke up, she instantly invited Mikan to join them, and though Mikan was very self-deprecative during the whole procedure, Komaru eventually got the nurse to come with them.

“What is it, Mikan? Find anything?”

“W-Well… I found a bit of stuff, but… o-overall, I couldn’t f-find much that would contribute in terms of health… I-I’m sorry…”

Komaru gave a warm smile, softly patting Mikan on the shoulder.

“Hey, don’t worry about it! I was mostly just curious, after all. I’m sure that kind of medical equipment is gonna be at your ultimate lab, right?”

Mikan gave a soft smile, lacing her fingers together and nodding her head.

“Y-Yeah… I guess you’re right.”

After her quick meeting with Mikan, Komaru began looking around the lab once more. She saw Chihiro trying to mediate between Kiibo and Miu to reach some sort of agreement, which was nice, but… there was one problem.

“...Where are Monaca and Jataro?”

Of course, the two of them were deeper in the lab, in a place that the rest of them hadn’t even found yet. Monaca had a wicked smile on her face, slowly rolling down the dark hallway with Jataro not far behind her. Jataro, in contrast with the Towa daughter, was terrified of this place. He didn’t like the dark one bit, and he couldn’t understand why Monaca was so insistent that they go here.

“Um… Monaca? Why exactly are we going down here…? Where’s Komaru?”

Monaca clicked her tongue, wagging her finger at Jataro disapprovingly.

“Silly Jataro! Hasn’t Monaca told you not to question her when she’s doing something genius? Now is one of those times! So don’t question Monaca!”

Jataro gulped. Monaca… was right. She was the genius here, and he was just an artist. He didn’t want to make her mad, so he just kept his mouth shut as they traveled down the hallway.

Eventually, the two of them reached the end of the hallway and made it to a door with a “Do Not Enter” sign plastered directly on the front. Fortunately for Monaca, it was locked using a digital code. Thus, she simply hacked her way into it and unlocked it with nary a bit of effort.

“Woah! Monaca, how did you do that?”

“Silly Jataro… Even if Monaca wanted to tell you, you wouldn’t understand! So hush hush! We’re about to make it big…”

The two of them entered the new room open to them, and Jataro was instantly overwhelmed the second he did. All around them… were a bunch of computer screens of various sizes, with a whole bunch of technological mumbo jumbo that he couldn’t make heads or tails of. Is this… what Monaca was looking for?

“Hehehehe… This is PERFECT! Monaca can’t believe that something like this was so easy to access… That dummy rabbit must really be slipping if she thinks Monaca couldn’t get past that security!”

Jataro bit his lip, slowly beginning to step away from Monaca. She… She was acting really scary. He didn’t know what to do, or who to go to… But he knew he didn’t want to be around when she was like this. So he ran out of the room, trying his best to get back to the group proper.

Monaca didn’t watch as he ran away, but she knew that he was gone. And now that he was gone, it was time to begin her work… Pretty soon, everything she wanted would be hers.

---

The problem children. That’s the name of the group that Yasuke was currently leading.

As the group walked into his very own Ultimate Lab, he instantly knew it was a mistake to do so. The only person that seemed to be behaving themselves was Nagisa, who was searching the area with pure curiosity. To be honest, Yasuke was beginning to appreciate Nagisa’s good nature more and more with each passing hour.

Nagito was spouting some bullshit about how seeing the Ultimate Neurologist in his natural habitat was such a shining example of hope, and how he wished to see the same from every Ultimate… Yeah, weird stuff. Yasuke understood what he was saying, of course, but that didn’t make it any less weird.

Kokichi was doing his damndest to try and mess something up in this place. Whether it be important files, some of the medical equipment… Really, he was just a piece of crap right now. Yasuke made sure he protected the absolute most important stuff, but for stuff that he was okay with letting go, he just let Chisa do her thing.

“Nishishi! You’ll need to be faster than that to catch me, teach!”

Chisa was tearing through the entire lab, a burning fire in her eyes as she swatted her broom at Kokichi. As she whiffed yet again, she turned to the retreating Supreme Leader and dashed after him.

“YOU LITTLE SHIT! GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!”

Yasuke sighed. As annoying as this all was, it wasn’t the thing he dreaded most. No, that would be-

“Yasukeeeee! We finally have a chance to talk and you’re not even going to look at lil ol me? Come ooooon! We have sooooo much catching up to do.”

Junko Enoshima… His childhood friend. Ugh.

“Junko… If you don’t stop using those idiotic personalities around me, I’m seriously going to slap you.”

Junko reverted to her depressed personality, tears forming in her eyes as she turned away from the Neurologist.

“Oh… Rejected so bluntly by my bestest friend… How despairing…”

Yasuke let out another sigh, this one much more aggravated in nature, as he got out of his chair and left. There’s gotta be some place, any place that he can get some damn peace and quiet in his OWN ULTIMATE LAB!

…Well, it wasn’t necessarily his own. He shared it with Miaya, and though that detestable avatar of hers matched so well with the disgusting pile of fluff that had them trapped, he could at least tolerate Miaya due to her intellect and general knowledge of the mind.

“Ah, I see you’ve come here to retreat from even your childhood friend… Fascinating. The relationship between you two is truly captivating, I must say.”

Yasuke narrowed his eyes at the Ultimate Anthropologist as he walked into a new room, this one looking more like a typical examination room. While Yasuke didn’t necessarily dislike Korekiyo, he most certainly was not right in the head… Yasuke could discern that fact from a mile away.

“What do you want, Korekiyo?”

“Kehehe… I desire nothing, my friend. I am merely observing this whole group so that I might understand how you all think. You all think in such peculiar ways, but you in particular have caught my interest. Your outlook on life is so pessimistic and depressing… And yet you don’t actively take it out on others.”

Yasuke snorted, the closest thing he’s done to laughing since he got to the island.

“Clearly you haven’t met me, then. Ask anyone who’s so much as talked to me, and they’ll tell you I’m like a cactus.”

“That may be true, but I can at least sense some sort of good intentions in you. I don’t believe you took Nagisa under your wing for selfish reasons.”

Yasuke didn’t really have an answer to that. Loathe as he was to admit it… Korekiyo was right. Sure, his main reason for taking Nagisa in was because he saw a lot of potential in the young kid’s mind… but he had to admit that he also saw a lot of himself in the kid. He was… bright. Hopeful. Ready to take on any challenges the future may offer, but was still wary of those around him. It was like looking into a mirror and seeing a past version of himself.

“Well… I suppose you’re not wrong, but why even bring this up? What do you gain from explaining this to me?”

Korekiyo shrugged his shoulders, closing his eyes and turning towards the wall.

“I suppose I don’t gain anything… But seeing your reaction is more important than any reward I could’ve received from bringing this up at another time. You see, Yasuke… As an anthropologist, I believe that there is nothing more beautiful than the human race… You are all different and unique, and yet you come together to make something beautiful in spite of your differences… That is what I look for. I look for people from all different walks of life, people of different races, different cultures, different lifestyles… I wish to experience it all. The beauty, the disaster, the ugliness, the peace… every part of the human race is beautiful to me.”

Yup. Definitely a lunatic.

“Right… Something tells me I’m going to be seeing you in this lab quite a bit in the future. Just a feeling I’ve got.”

“Kehehe… Even that scathing response is one that I appreciate. You cannot taint the beauty of the human race in my eyes, Yasuke, so I suggest you drop that endeavor now while you are still free from your own frustration and stubborn nature.”

Yasuke clicked his tongue, turning away from Korekiyo and making his way to leave.

“I was hoping to find some place I could relax and not be annoyed for just a few minutes, but it seems like this was the wrong place…”

“Ah, I should mention one more thing before you leave, Yasuke… There is a note attached to the cabinet over there that I think is addressed to you.”

That caused him to stop. A note addressed to him? Well, it was his Ultimate lab, but… Why in this room specifically? He sighed, turning around and heading to where Korekiyo was pointing, and-

His entire world stopped.

“Yasuke Matsuda has the ability to repress a person’s memories. Never forget this fact.”

Chapter Text

“Guys… Is it really okay for us to go off on our own like this? Weren’t we supposed to keep track of the kids?”

As Sonosuke and Ruruka were off heading towards… who knows where, Seiko couldn’t help but voice her concerns at their actions. Who knows what the kids could be doing without their supervision?

“Seiko, we’ve got more important things to do than babysitting! Besides, I’m sure Taichi will catch up with his daughter eventually, he can handle it! We’re just trying to make this whole process go by more quickly.”

As Ruruka deflected Seiko’s concerns, the pharmacist couldn’t help but let out a sigh. Ruruka… was always like this, admittedly. She typically did stuff without thinking and without concern for those around her, and though Sonosuke was usually pretty good at keeping her somewhat in check, he also had the tendency to be a yes man…

“I know you’re worried that they’re gonna cause trouble, but Komaru should be able to at least handle the kids for now. There’s only two of them, and the others can handle themselves.”

Speaking of which, there he goes. Seiko just groaned and shook her head. It was clear she was outvoted, and no amount of persuasion would help change Ruruka’s mind once it was made up.

“Ooo, look at this! We found a new Ultimate Lab!”

Seiko raised her eyes, looking up towards the new massive building that stood in front of her. It seemed… much less modern than everything around them on the outside, instead going for an old factory type of look. As they got closer, they saw a plate on the door with the words-

“Sonosuke’s Ultimate Lab”

-on it. Ruruka lit up like a Christmas Tree, turning to Sonosuke and beaming at him.

“Sonosuke, look! It’s your Ultimate Lab! Ooo, I told you both that this was a good idea! Come on, let’s go and check it out! I’m sure there’s gotta be a toooon of cool stuff in here!”

As Ruruka excitedly rushed into the ultimate lab, Sonosuke couldn’t help but let out an exasperated sigh. Leave it to Ruruka to rush in and tackle everything head on…

“Hey, Seiko. Sorry about Ruruka… She doesn’t mean anything by what she says, but you know how headstrong she can be when it comes to these sorts of things.”

Seiko tapped her fingers together and turned away slightly from the Blacksmith. This was nothing new to her… As much as Ruruka was helpful to her, she also had a tendency to want things to go her way and not listen to others. She’s gotten away with it for so long, and Seiko wasn’t confident that it would get any better in the future.

“It’s okay… Not like this hasn’t been the case for a while now.”

Sonosuke chuckled, beginning to walk over to the door as he continued.

“Well, even still… I know she can be a bit much, so I’ll try to help you out where I can. Don’t let her get to you, alright?”

Sonosuke couldn’t see it behind Seiko’s mask, but a small smile formed on her face as she nodded her head.

“Yeah, I won’t. We… probably shouldn’t keep Ruruka waiting, though. She’d get pretty mad if we stayed out here any longer.”

Sonosuke nodded his head, opening the door and walking in with Seiko.

As the two of them entered the Ultimate Lab, they were immediately met with a… somewhat terrifying sight. Weapons and metallic items of all kinds lined the walls of the first room, giving Seiko a bit of a scare. There was no way it was safe to have these kinds of weapons openly accessible like this, right? What was Usami thinking?

“Oh, you two finally showed up. Cool! Anyways, are you guys seeing this? Look at how much cool stuff is in this place! It makes sense that the Ultimate Blacksmith’s lab would have it, but still!”

Sonosuke didn’t really have an answer to that. To be honest, he himself wasn’t really happy with how easily accessible all of this was… The first thing he was doing was most likely to find a place to hide the weapons and just have the first room be full of non-lethal tools that people might use for convenience. His blacksmithing wasn’t just limited to stuff like Swords and Lances, after all!

“Ruruka… I’m not gonna be keeping this stuff out in the open, y’know. I’m proud of my work, but putting them on display like this where anybody can come and take them… I’m most definitely not okay with that.”

Ruruka crossed her arms, huffing and looking at Sonosuke with a bored expression.

“Well of course we’re not gonna be putting them out in the open, idiot… We’re taking them for ourselves!”

Seiko’s blood ran cold. Ruruka… wanted to take these weapons for the three of them? Was she crazy?! She could understand wanting to protect themselves, but no one else on this island had weapons! Well… supposedly. Seiko couldn’t confirm that fact herself, of course, but even still! Taking these weapons would just paint a massive target on their backs. Sonosuke seemed to be thinking the same thing, seeing as his facial expression hardened as he responded to the confectioner.

“Ruruka, that’s a terrible idea. We don’t even need any weapons on this island! Why should we pointlessly paint a massive target on our backs like this?”

Ruruka grit her teeth, taking a small step towards Sonosuke as she pointed an accusatory finger toward him.

“Oh, so you’re just going to trust that stupid stuffed animal that there’s really no violence and danger on the island? Come on, Sonosuke, I thought you were smarter than that!”

Sonosuke wasn’t fazed a bit as Ruruka retorted, taking a step forward himself as he physically and metaphorically put his foot down.

“It’s not about trusting Usami, it’s about trusting the people we’re trapped with! If Usami wanted to kill us, then she would’ve done it already! I’m keeping the weapons locked up here in my Ultimate Lab, Ruruka.”

The two of them began growling at each other, sparks flying between their eyes. It looked like they were about to get into a nasty fight, and it wasn’t until Seiko finally stepped in that it was stopped.

“G-Guys! Please, cut it out! Look, isn’t there a compromise we can have here?”

The two of them took a step back, both of them looking towards the pharmacist with an intrigued expression. Seiko couldn’t help but shrink a little bit under their gaze, but decided to continue regardless.

“Well… Maybe we should take something small to protect ourselves with? Like… You know, for emergencies? I don’t think Ruruka is wrong for wanting protection at the very least…”

Sonosuke still seemed a little against the idea, but as Ruruka nodded her head, he knew he was going to be outvoted. He thought it was a solid compromise, and most definitely one he couldn’t argue with… Even if it wouldn’t be used against the other people on the island, having something like a knife would be good for various other things.

“Alright… Fine. I’ll allow you guys to take one small weapon to use for self defense… But everything else is getting tightly locked away. I don’t want this to become an issue where people start getting paranoid because we have massive weapons and they don’t.”

Seiko softly shook her head, turning away from the other two.

“I uh… Actually don’t need anything. My syringes are pretty good for self defense, really…”

Ruruka shrugged her shoulders, moving over to the wall of weapons with a small grin.

“Oh well. It’s your loss, Seiko~ Now, let’s see what I can go with here!”

As Ruruka happily began scanning the walls for whatever weapon she could get her hands on, Sonosuke turned to Seiko and motioned to the right. Seiko turned and saw a door at the back, and once she realized what Sonosuke was implying, she nodded her head and followed him to the other room.

Now this room was much more Sonosuke’s style. Pretty much anything he would need for blacksmithing was in here… welding tools, a classic anvil, plenty of hammers, etc. He even noticed a closet that seemed to store all types of materials of varying quality. He decided right there that it was probably best to have the materials out of the closet and use said closet to store all the weapons, but considering how heavy it most likely would be, he decided to do it another time. For now, he seemed pretty content with the contents of his Ultimate Lab.

“Y’know… I’ve gotta hand it to Usami, she really does know how to give us what we need. This is pretty much everything I could even think to ask for in terms of a smithy.”

Seiko clapped her hands together, doing her best to put on a happy expression in spite of the mask on her face.

“That’s great to hear, Sonosuke! What do you plan on using this place for?”

Sonosuke rubbed his chin in thought. That was the million dollar question, huh? He has all this at his disposal, but what exactly was he going to use it for? He didn’t quite have an answer for that yet.

“I’m not sure yet, but I’m for sure not using it for any weapons… It just seems kinda pointless to do so, especially since we have so many just given to us. Seriously, did Usami not think that this would be a problem?”

Seiko just nodded her head in agreement. It was… quite worrying that Usami would allow them to have such easy access to these things, but hopefully with Sonosuke locking them all up, it wouldn’t become an issue in the future.

If only Ruruka agreed with them.

---

Mahiru was getting tired of this. Oh so very tired of this.

Sato joining the group didn’t actually have many immediate effects, to her surprise. It seemed like she was actually going to get along with each other, or at the very least tolerate each other for long enough to get through the first island’s exploration.

Of course it wasn’t going to be that easy.

It started out pretty well, actually. They bantered with each other, of course, but it wasn’t anything nasty or cruel. Once Hajime left to check out the rest of the Ultimate Lab and Chiaki followed after him, Natsumi and Sato decided to play a fighting game. Mahiru assumed this would be a healthy way for them to vent their frustrations and maybe even bond a bit.

Incorrect.

“THAT’S SO BULLSHIT! I SWEAR TO GOD, I WAS BLOCKING HIGH!”

“HAHAHAHA, I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU GOT HIT BY THAT!”

And that was when it fell apart. Sato and Natsumi got right into it, going straight for the throat as they began fighting once again. Mahiru was taken aback even further once Hiyoko started arguing as well, though in hindsight she really should have expected Hiyoko to cause trouble somehow. As if this wasn’t bad enough, it was just her luck that Hajime wasn’t around to help pacify them this time around, so it was up to Mahiru and whatever help Miaya could provide to get them to calm down.

“Guys, cut it out! Are you really causing this much of a stir over a video game?!”

Mahiru’s words did nothing to dissuade the stare down between the 3 girls, low growling noises escaping Natsumi’s mouth as she crossed her arms.

“I’m only mad cause Sato decided to play the most bullshit character I’ve ever seen in my life! Seriously, Ultra Instinct Goku or whatever the fuck is so annoying!”

“Tch, you just need to get better at the game! It's not my fault you keep running into obvious baits!”

Mahiru let out a sigh. At least Miaya managed to get Hiyoko to calm down, but this wasn’t going well at all for Natsumi and Sato…

At least it wasn’t until Chiaki and Hajime headed back.

“Hey hey… What’s the problem? Is there something wrong?”

Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and turned to Chiaki, her typical blank expression still on her face as she approached the group.

“Well, this green haired bitch decided to pick a bullshit character and hit me with the dumbest shit I’ve ever seen! It wasn’t even fair!”

Sato merely crossed her arms and scoffed, not intent on gracing Natsumi with a response to her inane rambling. Chiaki, meanwhile, just tilted her head to the side in slight confusion.

“So… You’re mad cause you didn’t win? Is that what I’m getting out of this?”

Natsumi cringed, gritting her teeth as she crossed her arms.

“Well… I won a few times! And that’s not the point! The point is that she played a dumb character and made it super frustrating to play!”

“It’s not my fault that you didn’t change your approach at all!”

It seemed like the two of them were just gonna start going at it again, but Chiaki quickly stopped it as she put on a serious expression.

“...But the two of you had fun, right?”

They both stopped dead in their tracks, turning back to Chiaki with a confused expression.

“Huh? The fuck are you talking about?”

“The two of you had fun, right? Even though you didn’t always win, you had fun just playing the game, right?”

Natsumi opened her mouth to retort, but to her surprise… nothing came out. Did… Did she really have fun, even if she didn’t win? She turned to Sato, who seemed to be in a similar state of shock as she was. Chiaki noticed this and gave a smile to the two of them.

“If you guys have fun… Then it really doesn’t matter who won. You were just playing to enjoy yourselves, so why worry so much about who was better?”

Natsumi didn’t really like Chiaki’s way of thinking, and it was incredibly rich that the Ultimate Gamer of all people was saying this, but… She couldn’t exactly refute any of what she was saying, especially since she really did have fun.

“...You’re right. I’m… sorry for yelling at you, Sato.”

Sato awkwardly scratched the back of her head and turned towards Natsumi with a guilty expression.

“Well… I’m not exactly innocent. Ultra Instinct Goku is really annoying… So, sorry for getting annoyed at you.”

Mahiru couldn’t believe it. This has happened before with Hajime, and here it was happening with someone else entirely and she still couldn’t believe it. It… really felt like Sato and Natsumi were beginning to make up with each other, and that just seemed so far from reality when Mahiru was trying to get them to do that in middle school. It was just… something about Hajime and Chiaki seemed to pacify everyone around them. Both of them were so good at getting people to calm down… It almost made Mahiru jealous.

“Alright, now that the drama is over… Can we get a move on? It’s not like we’re trying to discover more of the island or anything!”

Though Hiyoko said it in her typical insensitive tone, everyone agreed that it was time to go. Everyone headed for the doors, a much more calm atmosphere hovering over them as they exited than when they entered.

As they exited, Miaya rolled up to Chiaki and began talking to her with her avatar.

“Chiaki! I’m so impressed that you managed to get them to calm down… I really thought they were about to start fighting again!”

Chiaki just shrugged her shoulders, not even looking at Miaya as she responded.

“Well… It wasn’t much, really. I just tried to teach them that games are meant to be enjoyed, because if you focus so much on winning, you’re just going to be unhappy with yourself all the time.”

Miaya’s avatar squealed in glee.

“Chiaki, you’re so coooool! If you ever want to be a therapist of some kind, I think you’d be amazing at it!”

Chiaki gave Miaya a soft smile. That… meant a lot to her.

“Well… I’ve always wanted to help other people, so I’ll consider it.”

As the group continued on their way, they were shocked to see a new area that… looked like a graveyard? There were tombstones and everything… Hajime took out his hope pad and took a look at the map. This place was already discovered as shown by the lack of fog of war, as it was referred to by Chiaki, and yet it had no label. This most definitely wasn’t an Ultimate Lab, but… what was it then? Sato crossed her arms as they arrived at the weird place.

“So… This island has a graveyard of some kind, huh? I don’t really like the implications of that…”

“Of course this place has a graveyard, fool. At least this gives us confirmation that there were people here before us at some point.”

Everyone jumped a bit as they heard the voice of Byakuya Togami, roaming through the graveyard without any concern for those around him.

“B-Byakuya? What’re you doing here?”

Byakuya crossed his arms, glaring at Hajime as he spoke.

“Exploring. Unlike you peons, I’m actually doing my best to try and discover the secrets behind this island, and this graveyard has caught my interest.”

Hajime let out a sigh. Seems like Byakuya was still acting like this… Not like he expected any different from the heir to the Togami corporation.

“Okay, well… Have you found anything important?”

“If I did, why would I waste my time telling you? Information is power, Hajime, and I don’t give away power so easily. If you want to discover anything about this island, do it yourself. I’ve already gotten everything I need.”

And with that, Byakuya Togami left and went to discover who knows what. Natsumi frowned and crossed her arms.

“Geez, what crawled into his ass and died? He can’t even be bothered to share a bit of information?”

Chiaki shook her head, gripping the straps of her backpack as she did.

“No… He did, actually. Based on what he said, we can assume that there is something important here… Something that’ll tell us more about where we are and why we’re here… I think.”

Hajime nodded his head, already turning to start scanning the area for anything that might be important.

“Chiaki’s right, there’s something important here for sure… I think that was Byakuya’s way of pointing us in the right direction.”

Mahiru sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

“I guess I’m not surprised that Byakuya would make us waste our time finding something that he’s already figured out… Whatever, let’s just start looking.”

Everyone nodded their heads, going their separate ways to find some sort of clue that might key them in to something important. They were mostly unsuccessful in their attempts, until Hajime found a very peculiar gravestone…

Here lies Izuru Kamukura
A great headmaster and an even better friend

Izuru Kamukura… Hajime grabbed his head. He knew that name. That name felt incredibly… familiar to him… Why was that name so familiar? His head began to hurt. That name was repeating in his head over and over again… Why? Why couldn’t he remember?! Why was that name so important to him?!

IzuruIzuruIzuruIzuruIzuruIzuruIzuruIzuruIzuruIzuruIzuruIzuruIzuruIzuruIzuruIzuruIzuruIzuruIzuru

Hajime put both hands on his head. The headache was starting to become unbearable. His vision began to blur, his legs were buckling… Why couldn’t he remember?

That’s when it happened.

”If the world outside is void of hope, and if despair is contagious, then I will have to infect everyone with my hope!”

”There’s more to life than just talent. That was something Chisa told me, but… Your life won’t be interesting just because you have a talent.”

”It’s odd, isn’t it? People die everyday and the world goes on like nothing happened.”

”What’s the point of living if you’re just waiting to die?!”

”Even if this is fiction, even if we’re all fictional… The pain in my heart is real! The sadness I feel when I lose the people I love is real!”

”You guys talk about cooperation and teamwork, but you’re all afraid. You’re too scared to point your fingers at others, so you hide behind the word, ‘trust’.”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

Hajime couldn’t take it anymore. The visions… those sounds… dead bodies started flashing by in a quick array… He grasped his head with both hands and collapsed onto the ground, eyes wide and panicked as his scream continued to ring out.

Luckily for him, it didn’t take too long for everyone else to rush over and check up on him.

“Hajime! Oh my god, Hajime, what’s wrong?!”

Mahiru bent down to check up on him as everyone else was somewhat surrounding his location. Once Mahiru showed up, Hajime’s shouting finally calmed down… though his panicked expression was still clear for the world to see. After taking a second to catch his breath, he sat up and rubbed his head.

“I… That name… It just… I started seeing… and hearing things… I…”

Chiaki frowned, slowly walking towards Hajime with a concerned expression on her face.

“I think we should head back… The map is pretty much filled, and I don’t think Hajime’s in any position to keep exploring after that…”

“Hajime, if you’d like, I’m available to talk whenever you’d like…”

Hajime shook his head, rubbing his eyes a bit as he stood back up.

“No… Don’t worry, I’m alright. We can keep going.”

Mahiru frowned, putting her hands on her hips as she glared at Hajime.

“Absolutely not! Hinata, you just had a damn panic attack right in front of us! We’re not letting you keep exploring after that!”

Hajime took a step back, awkwardly smiling as he defensively put up his hands.

“N-No, I’m fine! Really!”

Hiyoko was the next one to interject, wearing a much more annoyed expression than Mahiru did.

“Big Bro, we’re worried about your health! Now don’t be a dummy and go rest up!”

Sato sighed, looking at Hajime with a sideways glance.

“Hajime, they’re right. You shouldn’t disregard your own health like this…”

“Yeah! Besides, if we keep exploring, what’re we gonna do if this happens again? We don’t wanna have to stop every time this happens!”

Hajime flinched at Natsumi’s harsh choice of words… but he couldn’t refute it. He just let out a sigh, scratching the back of his head as he complied with their demands.

“Alright, alright… Fine. We’ll go home.”

Everyone began heading back to the main island to rest up, with the exception of Chiaki who just… stared at them.

“Hajime… I was afraid this might happen. I just wish I had more time before it did…”

---

“So… This is my Ultimate Lab? It doesn’t really… seem like much.”

As Makoto entered his Ultimate Lab (that he shared with Komaru, apparently), he couldn’t help but notice just how… boring it was. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but he wished it was just a tad more than what he got…

The room was filled to the brim with popular media that he’s enjoyed in the past. The hit new song, video games with large fanbases, successful movies… They were all there. It was nice to have access to all this stuff, but even still… What else was there to see here?

That didn’t stop him from looking, of course. One of the benefits of having Kyoko, Mukuro, Twogami, and Rantaro all in your group is that they’re incredibly effective at searching for something special about a seemingly inconspicuous place.

That being said, the search was not going well thus far.

“Hey, guys… It’s starting to get late. I’m starting to think that there’s really nothing else here…”

Kyoko sighed, standing up and brushing some hair out of her eyes as she turned back to Makoto.

“I refuse to believe that. If we’re being presented with a building like this that only has one room accessible, then it makes no sense that Usami would build a large amount of building that is inaccessible. There must be some sort of secret passage…”

Rantaro shrugged his shoulders, the exertion from this whole mission seemingly getting to him.

“Listen, I agree with you, Kyoko… But we’ve been at this for a while and haven’t found anything. Shouldn’t we at least head back to the main island and tell everyone we’ve found this place?”

Sayaka nodded her head in agreement.

“I agree… I’m getting a little tired myself.”

“Ibuki thinks that sleep is for the weak! However, Ibuki is feeling quite tired, and so she will go back with you all!”

Makoto couldn’t help but chuckle at Ibuki’s outburst. She really did seem to bring out the best in everyone whenever she was around… He turned to Kyoko to see her sighing in defeat as she began heading for the door.

“Alright, fine. But this isn’t over… I will be back.”

Once she left, Twogami couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

“She’s been quite snippy ever since her father joined this group… She wouldn’t even allow him into the Ultimate Lab while we were searching.”

Mukuro crossed her arms and shook her head.

“Kyoko is being immature. I don’t know what her past with her father is, but at this point, she’s just being petty.”

Makoto looked down to the ground. As much as he respected Kyoko and believed her to be a valuable friend… Mukuro was right.

Ryota was nervously pacing, looking between everyone as they discussed Kyoko.

“U-Um… I don’t really think we should be discussing this behind her back… Shouldn’t we be heading back to the main island?”

Everyone looked between each other, surprised that Ryota of all people was the voice of reason… But he was right. They all nodded their heads and headed towards the door… except Makoto. He lingered ever so slightly before heading there, and when he did…

”Pressure plate has been activated. Activating scanners…”

Makoto nearly had a panic attack as he heard a strange, robotic voice echo in the room. As he frantically looked for the source of the voice, a light blinded him and began moving up and down his body.

”Specimen identified as Makoto Naegi. Allowing access to the basement level.”

Before Makoto even had time to react to the new message, the floor under him seemed to just… completely disappear, causing him to fall into a tunnel of some sort.

“GYAAAAAAH!”

After sliding through the tunnel for what felt like hours, Makoto fell out of it and directly onto a set of pads that were supposed to break his fall. It still kinda stung, though…

Once he got over the shock of what just happened, he looked up and was now face to face with a giant computer that left him completely shell shocked.

”Makoto Naegi, the Ultimate Hope. Welcome to your true Ultimate Lab.”

---

“...What’s taking Makoto so long? He should be out of there by now.”

Rantaro couldn’t help but question what the hold up was. They were just leaving the Ultimate Lab, what could’ve possibly happened to him in the span of like, 5 seconds?

Everyone waited a split second, expecting Makoto to exit the building right then and there… But no. Eventually, Sayaka began getting concerned.

“Something must’ve happened… I’ll go check on him.”

As Sayaka walked up to the door, she grabbed the handle, and-

“...It’s locked.”

That got everyone’s attention. Even Jin, who was normally calm and collected, was starting to look a bit worried.

“What? That doesn’t make any sense. The only way that would be possible…”

Twogami grimaced, looking down on the ground with a look of concern and disbelief.

“...Is if Makoto locked it himself.”

Everyone couldn’t help but feel a pit begin to grow in their stomach. What was Makoto doing?!

“W-What…? But Makoto… Why would he even do that?”

Ryota was in disbelief as he tried to come to terms with the situation. Everyone seemed to be in a similar state… except for Mukuro.

“I don’t care what the reason is, I’m getting in there. For all we know, he could be doing something incredibly stupid right now.”

Twogami scoffed, looking at Mukuro with annoyance as he crossed his arms.

“Oh really? And how do you plan on doing that? We don’t-”

Before he could even finish his sentence, Mukuro slammed right into the door of the ultimate lab, flinching and gritting her teeth on impact as she prepared herself to go again.

“Woah! Mukuro-chan is really putting her all into breaking down that door! What a heroic action!”

Jin looked… ticked off? As he approached Mukuro and pulled her back from the door.

“That’s enough of that. Do you really think breaking down the door is a good idea?!”

Mukuro glared at Jin, throwing his hand off of her as she grit her teeth.

“Don’t stop me! Something’s not right here, and I’ve gotta stop it, whatever it is!”

“I agree that this is strange… But don’t you have any faith in Makoto that he’ll figure it out?”

Mukuro was about to retort, but her mouth just… hung open. Her steely look didn’t change a bit, but she had to admit… the headmaster surprised her a bit.

“If I had to guess… This is most likely just Makoto’s luck acting up again, and he got himself involved in something. But if I know him at all, I know that it’s going to be alright.”

Kyoko scoffed, turning towards her father with a skeptical look.

“And how do you know that Makoto is even trustworthy? I find it hard to believe that he just coincidentally got locked into his ultimate lab the moment the rest of us left.”

Mukuro and Sayaka turned to Kyoko on a dime with a glare in their eyes, but Rantaro was the one who intervened, partially because he knew the situation would become nasty if the girls actually traded blows.

“Kyoko, I know it’s your job to be skeptical of other people and your surroundings, but… It’s a bit hard to believe that Makoto is the type of guy that would try to deceive us. Surely you feel the same, right?”

Kyoko showed no signs of letting up, turning her attention to Rantaro.

“I thought you of all people would understand my position, Rantaro… Though I suppose if even the Soldier is willing to trust him on a whim, then there’s no hope for any of you.”

“THAT’S IT! YOU’RE DEAD!”

Mukuro launched herself at Kyoko, ready to grab onto her neck without a bit of hesitation, but was quickly stopped by Rantaro and Jin holding her back. Ibuki gasped, a look of fear coming onto her face as she saw her… friend? Yeah, her friend, attacking Kyoko. Twogami grimaced, but he wasn’t exactly surprised… Ryota was cowering behind his friend, and Sayaka was just neutral. As much as she didn’t like Mukuro trying to attack Kyoko… She also had it coming.

“Mukuro, cool it. What will attacking Kyoko accomplish?”

Mukuro grit her teeth, doing her best to try and break free from Rantaro and Jin. However, she couldn’t manage to break free.

Yeah, just kidding. She broke out super easily and began rushing at Kyoko again. She was about to land a punch, until…

“AAAAAH!”

Everyone stopped what they were doing as a part of the wall opened up, almost seeming to fire Makoto out of it as he landed hard on the ground.

“Ow… That’s gonna hurt in the morning…”

Everyone was frozen in place as they watched the luckster land on the ground. Even Kyoko, who was managing to stay calm throughout the entire situation, had a shocked look on her face. Makoto looked up, seeing everyone standing around as he scratched the back of his head.

“Uh… Hi guys.”

---

Later that night…

Jin walked to his desk, letting out a sigh as he sat down. Today was… a long day. He made basically no progress in terms of getting closer to his daughter, and it felt like all he managed to do from exploring is find more things that made no sense. He still had no idea what happened with Makoto, and the luckster seemed incredibly reluctant to give any information on exactly what happened.

He and Kyoko tried to crack him, but he was acting strangely… secretive. Needless to say, it did nothing to satiate Kyoko’s suspicion of him, but he did promise to tell everyone what it was when the time was right. He couldn’t blame the kid for being secretive, especially if it was something incredibly important, but… If it was important, then being secretive could have dangerous consequences. He could’ve used potentially tried to force the information out of Makoto, but he was well aware that Mukuro was a ticking time bomb and he noticed that Sayaka was not far behind.

Jin shook his head, leaning back in his chair as he tried to wrap his head around everything. The student body and faculty decided to go over everything in the morning, especially since Hajime apparently had a massive panic attack at one point, so he was working with an incomplete set of facts and information. That didn’t make him any less frustrated, but it gave him a tiny bit of solace.

knock knock

“Mr. Kirigiri? Is it okay if I come in?”

Jin was snapped out of his thoughts as he heard knocking and the sound of Chiaki’s voice. He quickly sat back up in his chair, clearing his voice before responding.

“You can come in, Chiaki.”

Chiaki slowly opened and closed the door behind her, walking over to the desk and taking a seat across from the headmaster.

“How can I help you, Chiaki? If you’re here to report something, I recommend you wait until tomorrow so that everyone can be informed.”

Chiaki shook her head, grabbing the straps of her backpack.

“Actually… I was wondering if we could host some sort of video game competition. Everyone still seems pretty fractured as a group right now… So I think having something like this would help everybody bond. What do you think?”

Jin nodded his head, taking out a piece of paper and jotting it down.

“I do think that’s a good idea… However, Nekomaru already came to me about a 3 on 3 basketball idea, and I agreed to host it tomorrow.”

Chiaki grabbed her hood and brought it over her head, looking down to the floor in disappointment.

“Oh… That’s too bad.”

“That’s not to say we won’t do it! It’s just that we’re going to do the basketball tournament first. If you want to come up with a set of rules for your event, just send em in and we’ll get it organized.”

Chiaki gave a soft smile, nodding her head and standing up from the seat.

“Thank you, Mr. Kirigiri. I’ll make sure to do just that. Have a nice evening.”

Chiaki waved and headed for the door, but right before she left, she turned back to the headmaster once more.

“Oh, and one more thing… I know what happened earlier tonight might be confusing, but if you can trust anyone on this island, you can trust Makoto Naegi.”

Jin’s calm expression quickly turned into one of wide-eyed shock. He quickly stood up from his chair and reached out to her.

“Wait, how did you know-”

Chiaki closed the door before he could finish, and Jin was just left there… left there to contemplate one more mystery. His shocked expression turned grim as he turned around, looking up at the moon that was high in the sky. As he did, he knew one thing for a fact.

There were people on this island that knew much more than they were letting on.

---

“Kazuichi Souda. I request your presence.”

Kazuichi froze in his tracks, turning around to see who else but Byakuya Twogami staring him down with his arms crossed.

“Oh! H-Hi, Byakuya… Can I help you?”

“Actually, yes you can. How much do you know about how the Hope Pads work?”

That question took him a little off guard. Admittedly, he hadn’t really gotten around to checking them out yet, simply because there’s been more important stuff going on.

“The… Hope Pads? I mean, I haven’t really checked em out yet… Why, did something happen to em?”

Byakuya shook his head, looking to the side.

“No, nothing happened to them… According to Usami, they are near indestructible. I was more referring to the potential of adding new features, and how realistic it would be to do so.”

Oh. Now he understood… even if he didn’t like where it was going.

“I see… You wanna know if I have the ability to add stuff to it, yeah? I mean… I probably could, and pretty easily with Chihiro and Miu’s help… Did you have something in mind?”

“A chat and call feature that we can use to communicate with each other. Would something like that be possible? I feel it would provide an easy way to pass along information should the situation arise.”

Kazuichi sighed, taking out his hope pad and scratching the back of his head.

“I mean… Yeah? I think that should be possible, but I won’t know for sure until I crack this puppy open and take a look at it. It’s not as simple as just typing up the software, cause we don’t really have a way to implement the software to my knowledge… Though Chihiro’s Ultimate Lab should help out with this, I think.”

Twogami nodded his head, turning away and leaving with one final quip.

“Alright, in that case, I request that you get that done as soon as possible. I’m counting on you, Kazuichi.”

As Byakuya left, Kazuichi let out a sigh and began returning to his cabin. Well, this was just great… Looks like he was going to be busy soon.

---

“Ugh, this is so booooooring! I can’t believe I’m stuck on this goddamn island… Everything I had planned for Hope’s Peak, ruined!”

Mukuro just stood there with a neutral expression on her face as Junko rolled around on her bed, ranting about one thing or another.

“Sorry that happened sis, but… couldn’t you just do your plan here?”

Junko got up, an annoyed glare being pointed at Mukuro as she let out a sigh.

“Muku, you stinky idiot! You think I can just do my plan here? With what resources?! I don’t even have my damn Ultimate Lab yet!”

Junko changed into her depressive personality and looked to the ground.

“It’s just… so despairing to have your plans ruined before they even started…”

Mukuro crossed her arms, looking to the side with a conflicted expression. To be honest, she was pretty glad that it seemed like her sister had already given up on her plan to spread despair to the rest of the world… but at the same time, she absolutely doesn’t like seeing her sister this sad and dejected.

“Well… I’m sure you’ll be able to think of something new, right? We’ve probably got a long time here, so…”

Junko reverted to her regular personality and lay flat on the bed.

“Uuuuuugh, Muku, please just stop talking to me… In fact, just don’t come near me at all.”

Mukuro was taken aback by this. Junko… was letting her go?

“H-Huh? Why?”

“Didn’t you hear the whole thing about how the plan’s ruined? That means I don’t have any use for you anymore! And the less I have to see your ugly face, the better! Now get out, you little cretin!”

Mukuro felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. She grimaced, slowly walking out of Junko’s room without uttering so much of a word. How could Junko just throw her away like that…? Everything that Mukuro did for her sister, promising to make it up to Junko for leaving her for Fenrir… Was it all for nothing?

“Mukuro? Are you well?”

Mukuro was snapped out of her thoughts as she heard a voice in the hallway, turning towards the voice to see… Peko? Not the person she was expecting, to be honest.

“Um… Yeah, I’m fine.”

“I don’t think that’s true, Ikusaba. You looked pretty down-trodden walking out of that room. I don’t mean to pry, but… I am here to help if you so desire.”

…Peko was very unexpected, indeed.

“I… Thank you, Peko. I appreciate it. For now, I think I just need some time for myself.”

Peko nodded in understanding, allowing Mukuro to start walking back to her room. As she headed back, she didn’t even consider for a moment why Peko was just standing in the hallway by herself.

---

“Yasuke Matsuda has the ability to repress a person’s memories. Never forget this fact.”

As Yasuke sat in his room staring at the ceiling, he couldn’t help but ponder that sticky note he saw in his Ultimate Lab.

He knew exactly what it meant, and what it implied as well. Nobody on the island could remember how they arrived there, and some of them had lost memory for multiple years of their past, such as Hajime Hinata. If people figured out that Yasuke supposedly had the ability to suppress memories somehow… that would be a massive target that was painted on his back. Yasuke knew that Korekiyo had this information, but Korekiyo promised not to share it with anyone else… Of course, he couldn’t trust Korekiyo further than he could throw him.

Not to mention, Yasuke didn’t even know what it was talking about. Yasuke couldn’t think of anything he could do that would count as repressing memories… Maybe lobotomization? But that’s not something he could really do, and lobotomizing everyone on the island seemed like… a tall task. Maybe he helped make a machine that could? But if he did, he would need help from another ultimate here, like Miu or Kazuichi… probably Chihiro as well, and they clearly had no knowledge of something like this either.

Knock knock

“Go away.”

Immediately going against Yasuke’s wishes, the person knocking on the door let themselves in. Damn Usami for putting locks on these damn doors…

“Good evening, Yasuke. I hope you don’t mind my intrusion.”

Standing in front of Yasuke was none other than Nagito Komaede, a shit eating grin on his face as he waved at the neurologist. Yasuke sighed and sat up, a clearly annoyed look on his face as he glared at the luckster.

“What do you want, Nagito?”

“Well, I was just here to discuss the sticky note in your ultimate lab, that's all…”

Yasuke froze. He… He was sure he disposed of that! So how-

“Oh Yasuke, did you really think Korekiyo was the first one who saw the note? Our group was composed of everyone who couldn’t find their own groups… Really, knowing that, you should’ve been more careful.”

“Nagito. Get to the point.”

Nagito smirked, crossing his arms and looking at Yasuke with that same shit-eating grin.

“Oh, I don’t have a specific point… I’m just here to tell you that things will be getting chaotic here sooner than you might expect, and this important piece of information is going to be incredibly relevant…”

Yasuke grit his teeth leaning forward and glaring at Nagito.

“If you think I’m responsible for this, then-”

Nagito chuckled, waving his hands and looking at Yasuke with a carefree expression.

“Oh, I’m not here to accuse you of organizing all this… A nobody like me could never assert something like that about an Ultimate like yourself! No, I’m just curious to see how you deal with what’s coming your way.”

Yasuke’s mouth went into a straight line. He… couldn’t get a read on Nagito. He had no idea what intentions were, or what he was thinking about.

And that scared Yasuke.

“Get out of my room.”

Nagito chuckled, waving at Yasuke before beginning to leave.

“As you wish, Mr. Matsuda… Have a nice evening.”

As Yasuke heard the click of his door closing, he lay back down on his bed.

Things were about to get crazy, huh? In that case, he better start getting prepared…

---

“Big bro Hajime?”

Hajime turned towards the door of the infirmary, a little surprised to see that he was getting a visitor this late. He was even more surprised to see that the visitor was… Hiyoko, of all people.

“Oh! Hi, Hiyoko. What brings you out here so late?”

Hiyoko didn’t even say a word, approaching the bed and handing Hajime a box.

“Here. Except for Miaya, everyone in our group made this for you, so you better appreciate it! We spent a lot of time on it!”

Hajime was at a loss for words as Hiyoko handed him the box. As he opened it up, there was a wide variety of sushi types in it. To be honest, he was pretty surprised at how delicious it all looked.

“Wow, Hiyoko, this… Thank you so much.”

Hiyoko crossed her arms and huffed, giving Hajime a pair of chopsticks as he began eating away at the meal created for him.

“Mm… Yeah, this is really good…”

“Well of course it is! We all worked on it together! And we only got into three arguments during the whole process!”

Hajime let out an exasperated sigh as he heard that last part. Were they gonna be arguing the entire rest of the time they were on the island? If so, Hajime was going to have a lot on his plate trying to pacify them…

“I appreciate it regardless, Hiyoko. Did they force you to take it to me?”

Hiyoko recoiled at the question, taking a step back in surprise.

“Huh? No- I mean… Y-Yeah, of course they did! Come on, you think I came here cause I wanted to? Get real!”

Hajime gave a small smile. It was… nice to see Hiyoko getting a little bit kinder and more open to people, even if just a bit at a time.

“Thanks, Hiyoko. I really appreciate it.”

Hiyoko sighed and turned away, starting to head towards the door.

“You’re welcome, Hajime. We’re all gonna check up on you in the morning, so I hope you’re prepared for that.”

Hajime chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

“I mean, Mikan said she’s probably gonna discharge me later tonight, so I’ll probably just see you all at breakfast.”

Hiyoko sighed, shaking her head in disbelief at what Hajime was saying.

“You really are an idiot… Whatever, don’t get mad at me if the others start pestering you about this.”

With that, Hiyoko finally left the infirmary. As she left, Hajime let out a sigh and stared up at the ceiling, a concerned look on his face.

“...I still can’t get that name out of my head… Izuru Kamukura, who are you?”

---

Well, today was a bust. That’s how Shuichi felt, at least. As he sat there toiling in his bed, he couldn’t help but feel like his contributions today were limited at best. They didn’t even discover much of anything… They found Yasuhiro’s Ultimate Lab, and that was pretty much it. Overall, nothing too important.

At least, that’s what Shuichi told everyone. In reality, he found something… horrifying. The worst part is that he found it almost by chance.

In Yasuhiro’s Ultimate Lab, he found what looked like a newspaper scrap… A scrap that detailed the end of the world. According to the Newspaper Scrap, meteors had fallen down onto the earth and caused mass mayhem and panic amongst its civilians. These meteor strikes were unrelentless, and caused many casualties.

That begged the question, though… Were the meteor strikes still ongoing? If they were, why were none of them landing on this archipelago? No, it was best to assume that they were done. If they had finished, that would certainly explain why this place was seemingly abandoned… But the biggest question was why didn’t they remember it?

Of course, there was always the possibility that this newspaper piece was fake. After all, it was in Yasuhiro’s ultimate lab, and therefore could just be a joke Usami made about his 3 in 10 success rate… But if that were the case, why joke about something as serious as this? Though Usami was the one responsible for bringing them all here, Shuichi didn’t believe that she was inherently malicious, or malicious at all. It just… didn’t make sense. Shuichi really wished he had someone to talk to about this…

Knock knock

The detective was quickly dragged out of his thoughts as he heard knocking on his door. He slipped the newspaper scrap into his drawer before calling out to them.

“Come in!”

He could hear the door open as Kirumi walked into the room, doing as curtsey as she addressed Shuichi.

“Greetings, Shuichi. I hope the night is treating you well.”

Shuichi chuckled a bit, lowering his cap to hide his face as he responded.

“Of course… I’m doing alright.”

Kirumi smiled.

“That’s good to hear. Now, the reason I’m here is that I will be doing the cleaning for everyone on the island… Is there anything I should know about your room?”

Shuichi was a bit taken aback. Kirumi was going to clean up after… everyone?

“Oh, uh… No, I haven’t changed much about my room, honestly.”

“That’s good. Thank you for your time, Shuichi.”

As Kirumi was about to leave, Shuichi called out to her.

“Hold on, Kirumi! Are you really planning to clean up after everyone?”

Kirumi turned around with a confused expression on her face, nodding her head to confirm Shuichi’s fears.

“Of course I am. After all, I am the Ultimate Maid... It would be strange if I didn’t. Besides, I will be receiving assistance from Ms. Yukizome, so it will not be much of an issue.”

Shuichi bit his lip. It didn’t feel right that they were having Kirumi and Ms. Yukizome do all their chores for them…

“But… Are you sure you don’t need help? I’d feel bad if we just made you do all the chores around here.”

Kirumi firmly shook her head at Shuichi.

“Absolutely not. Please, do not worry about me… I am most comfortable when I am serving someone, so this is par for the course in my life.”

Shuichi wanted to protest, he really did… But Kirumi seemed dead-set on her position, so he dropped it.

“Alright… I won’t argue. Good luck, Kirumi.”

Kirumi’s smile returned, curtseying for Shuichi before leaving the room. Once she was gone, Shuichi sighed and flopped back onto the bed. He wished he could trust someone enough to tell them about the newspaper clipping.

---

The Next Morning…

“Good morning, everyone! Sorry to interrupt your breakfast again, but I figured this would be a good way to keep you all informed about what’s going on!”

Chisa took out a couple papers that supposedly had notes on everything she was supposed to announce on them.

“Alright! First thing’s first, the results of our exploration! In addition to a graveyard area and a supermarket, the first island has the Ultimate Labs for Sonosuke, Miaya and Yasuke, Chihiro and Taichi, Chiaki, Nekomaru and Masaru, Himiko, Makoto, and Yasuhiro! These should help them help us with whatever their talent may be!”

Chisa moved over to the second paper.

“Speaking of which, the mechanics and programmers of this island are working to add a text and call feature to the Hope Pads! We’re hoping that’ll help with communication, so if anyone has free time to help test, we’d really appreciate it!”

Chisa took out the final paper, clearing her throat before reading it out.

“Finally, we’re going to be using Nekomaru and Masaru’s Ultimate Lab to host a 3-on-3 basketball tournament! Participation isn’t mandatory, but it will most certainly help us get closer to completing Usami’s motive! If you’d like to sign up, gather a team of 3 and come up to the front. The tournament will be later today!”

Chisa tossed the papers aside, clapping her hands together with a wide smile.

“And that’s all! I hope you all have a great day!”

---

Once the morning announcement was over, Hajime closed his eyes, rubbing his chin as he pondered over one announcement in particular.

“A basketball tournament, huh…? Seems like fun.”

As he reopened his eyes, he was met with harsh glares all around him. Mahiru, Hiyoko, Chiaki, Sato, and Natsumi were all giving him the stink eye. Oh, Mikan was at their table too, but she didn’t have it in her to give any sort of stink eye.

“Um… Wha-”

“Absolutely not.”

Hajime frowned as Mahiru shot him down before he could even say anything.

“Mahiru, come on… Mikan already cleared me from the hospital! Besides, we met none of the people from Class 53… We need to fulfill Usami’s motive if we want to progress.”

Mikan tapped her fingers together, not expecting to be put on the spot all of a sudden.

“Um… Well, I d-did clear you since I couldn’t find any l-lingering effects… Frankly, i-it seemed to be a c-completely random occurrence…”

Natsumi sighed, rolling her eyes as she pointed towards Hajime.

“Alright hot shot, we’ll let you participate, but only if you allow two of us on your team, with myself being one of them.”

Hiyoko quickly turned to Hiyoko, pointing an accusatory finger at her.

“Hey, who said you got to be on Hajime’s team?! The people that are gonna be on Big Bro’s team are gonna be me and Mahiru!”

Sato narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms as she glared at Hiyoko.

“Excuse me? I’m definitely on Mahiru’s team, and it’s not up for debate.”

Chiaki, with the same blank expression, pointed towards herself.

“...I wanna be on Hajime’s team.”

As this conversation was beginning to devolve into chaos, Hajime looked to Mikan for help, though she quickly just shook her head.

“I-I’m sorry, Hajime! I c-can’t participate, since I need to h-help out anyone who gets injured… I-I’m sorry!”

Hajime let out a sigh, slamming his hand down on the table to try and get everyone’s attention.

“Alright, that’s enough. If we can’t decide who is on who’s team… we’ll decide by random.”

Hajime pulled a coin out of his pocket, showing that it was a… Monocoin?

“This is… apparently the currency of this place? There was a sort of gumball machine in the market, and we can use these things on it. Anyways, that’s not important!”

He showed the side that had Usami’s face on it, and then the side with nothing on it.

“The side with Usami on it will be heads, the other tails. If you get Heads, you’ll join Team 1. Tails, you join Team 2. Who wants to go first?”

Sato quickly raised her hand, with Hajime nodding and flipping the coin.

“...Tails. Sato, you’re on Team 2.”

Natsumi sighed and decided to go next.

“...Tails. Natsumi, you’re also on Team 2.”

Natsumi turned to Sato, a little bit of bitterness in her expression as they looked at each other. Sato and Natsumi on the same team was certainly something…

“I’ll go next, Hajime…”

Once Chiaki confirmed that she wanted to go next, Hajime flipped the coin once more.

“...Heads. Chiaki, you’ll be on Team 1.”

Chiaki nodded her head, her neutral expression remaining as Hajime moved to do Hiyoko next.

“...Tails. Alright, that settles it. Team 1 will be myself, Mahiru, and Chiaki. Team 2 will be Sato, Natsumi, and Hiyoko.”

Hajime couldn’t help but cringe internally. As much as he loved being with his best friends in Team 1… Team 2 seemed like a disaster waiting to happen. And, based on the glares that they were all giving each other, it seemed like it was going to be a disaster sooner than later.

Mahiru noticed Hajime’s concern and just pat him on the back.

“Hey, it’s not your fault… It was the luck of a coin flip, right? I’m sure they’ll solve their issues without one of us around.”

As kind as Mahiru’s gesture was, Hajime couldn’t help but worry… This could seriously end badly.

He just had no idea how badly it would end up.

---

“Sorry Makoto, I… actually already found a team.”

Makoto couldn’t help but be surprised as he was rejected by Mukuro. Of course, his surprise turned into pride when he realized the implication. He looked at her table more closely and noticed that she was sitting with Peko and Maki, who Makoto guessed were her teammates. A bright smile formed on Makoto’s face… He was really happy that Mukuro was making friends.

“Wow, that’s awesome, Mukuro! I’m so happy that you’re starting to meet more people.”

Yup, there it was… Mukuro was fully expecting some cheesy line like that, and she still managed to get embarrassed… If only this boy knew how much sway he had over her. She quickly turned away to hide her blush, mumbling out a response that Makoto could barely hear.

“Th-Thank you…”

Makoto nodded his head, waving at her before heading off.

“In that case, I’ll go find someone else to team with. Have fun, Mukuro!”

Once he was gone, Mukuro lifted her head up and was instantly met with knowing looks from Peko and Maki.

“...What is it?”

Maki sighed and shook her head, leaning back in her chair as she gave Mukuro a smug look.

“You’ve totally got a crush on him.”

“It is pretty obvious… You’re very lucky that Makoto is the type of person that is both incredibly oblivious and has very little romantic experience… Otherwise, you’d have been found out almost immediately.”

Mukuro gawked at the two, putting her icy exterior back on as she glared at her two new friends.

“...I absolutely do not.”

Maki rolled her eyes and leaned in towards Mukuro.

“Mukuro, you can’t just put your icy exterior back on and expect us to forget about what just happened… That boy has you in the palm of his hand.”

Mukuro’s composure didn’t falter for a second, crossing her arms and holding a defiant stance.

“He’s simply a good friend, much like Peko is.”

Peko chuckled a bit.

“Oh yes… a good friend that you met just last night. You start blushing and stutter quite a bit around me, too.”

Mukuro grit her teeth, turning away from the two and clicking her tongue.

“I don’t wanna hear it from you two of all people… It’s not like you’re much better than I am.”

The conversation took a very different turn after that.

---

As Makoto headed back to his typical table, he was taken off guard by Leon wrapping an arm around him.

“Yo, Makoto! Fancy meeting you here! Say, how about you and I team up for the basketball tournament?”

Makoto scratched the back of his neck. It’s not that he didn’t want to team with Leon, far from it! He’d love to team with him! But…

“I mean… I’d love to, but don’t you want someone more… athletic on your team?”

Leon chuckled a bit, slapping Makoto just a bit too hard on the back.

“Naaaah! I’m just here to have fun, and why not have my best friend on the team?”

“Wait, I’m your best fr-”

“Yo, we should totally get Sayaka to join! Hey Sayaka! Wanna join me and Naegi for the basketball tournament?”

Leon walked over to Sayaka, leaving Makoto completely stunned into silence. He didn’t even know that he and Leon had become good friends…

…And why did it feel like someone was glaring at him all of a sudden?

---

“Yo, Coach! We’re definitely working together for this basketball tournament, right?”

Nekomaru nodded his head, clenching his fists and letting out a bellow.

“You’re damn right we are! We’re gonna give it everything we’ve got!”

Akane matched his intensity, a devious smile on her face as she got herself pumped up.

“Hell yeah! We’re gonna win this all by ourselves!”

Nekomaru instantly went back to a more reasonable volume, looking at Akane with an expression that told her he was about to be lectured.

“Hold it, Akane. I’m running this thing, and the rules are that each team has to have 3 members. We can’t just enter by ourselves.”

Akane let out a sigh, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms as her Coach tried to “kill her mojo” as it were.

“Alright, then let’s just get Sakura to join! The three of us would be pretty unstoppable, don’tcha think?”

Nekomaru nodded, but he didn’t seem happy about that fact.

“She would make this team incredibly good… But it would also be a bit unfair. I want this tournament to be something everyone can enjoy! Thus, I have someone else in mind…”

“Well, who is it?”

---

Komaru clapped her hands together, now finally back at a table with the other Warriors of Hope. She gave them all bright smiles as she addressed them.

“Alright! You guys all heard the announcements, right? Do any of you wanna participate in the tournament?”

Jataro awkwardly looked to the side, avoiding eye contact with Komaru to the best of his ability.

“Um… Sorry, Big Sis… But I think I’ll pass. I’ll definitely cheer you guys on from the sidelines though!”

Monaca puffed out her cheeks.

“Dumb Big Sis… Monaca can’t play basketball without her legs!”

Komaru scratched the back of her head in embarrassment.

“I mean, there are paralympics… but I understand. That just leaves Masaru, Nagisa, and Kotoko… What do you guys think?”

Masaru was about to say something, but was cut off by-

“MASARU!”

Everyone at the table flinched as Nekomaru’s bellowing voice was heard as he rapidly approached.

“H-Huh? Coach Nekomaru? What are you doing here?”

Before he even got a response, Nekomaru grabbed him and scooped him up.

“You’re now a part of Team Nekomaru for the basketball tournament! You’re coming with me!”

Before Masaru could even protest, he was being hauled away by his coach. Komaru and the other Warriors of Hope couldn’t do much but look on in shock as he was carried away by Nekomaru.

“...Well, seems like the choice has been made for us. Nagisa, Kotoko, do you wanna join my team for basketball?”

“But of course, Big Sis! I would be honored to show you everything I’ve learned on the court of basketball!”

Nagisa just softly nodded his head.

“Yeah, I think it’d be fun! I mean, we’re probably not gonna win, but we’ll have a good time? Maybe?”

Komaru smiled, giving the two of them a thumbs up as she moved to clear her tray.

“Alright! I’ll see you all on the basketball court!”

---

“Gundham! Kazuichi!”

Gundham and Kazuichi were talking about the typical magic based stuff when Sonia approached them, a look of pure confidence on her face.

“As the Dark Queen, I request that the two of you join me for the basketball tournament! You are not allowed to object!”

Gundham merely nodded his head while Kazuichi looked a little awkward.

“You want us to play basketball? But Byakuya told me-”

“What Byakuya told you is irrelevant! We are going to conquer this tournament in the name of the Underworld! Now come, to the field of battle!”

Sonia grabbed onto Kazuichi’s arm and began dragging him to the basketball court, much to his chagrin. Gundham merely chuckled and began following after them.

“It seems the Dark Queen has taken to her role quite well… though that is to be expected, of course.”

As the three of them left, the rest of the Chuuni Club were left to discuss the future plan of action.

“So! It seems like Queen Sonia has taken those two de- I mean… Gundham and Kazuichi as her teammates! As such, if we wish to participate, we must figure out arrangements ourselves!”

Himiko lowered her hat a tad and looked to the side.

“Nyeh… We should just have Hifumi be our third player, Tenko.”

Hifumi recoiled at that. He was barely paying attention, but he heard enough to know what was going on.

“H-Huh? You want me on your team? Preposterous! I… I’m not good at sports!”

Tenko put up a fighting stance and glared at Hifumi.

“Degenerate male! You will join our team or else!”

“Hyaaaaah! Okay, okay, I’ll join!”

Himiko couldn’t help but sigh. This team was going to be a disaster…

---

“So… Kokichi. I must say, it’s an honor that you would single garbage like me out in this fa-”

“Yaaaawn. Geez, do you even hear yourself? Talking to you is giving me a headache… You’re lucky that you have abilities that I want, and the intelligence to not be useless.”

Nagito crossed his arms. When Kokichi brought him over here, he wasn’t sure what to expect… Though this was about what he expected initially, at least.

“Okay… Well, how can I help you?”

Kokichi put on a devilish grin.

“What a wonderful question, Nagito… You see, I have reason to believe that there’s quite a bit of information and resources that aren’t being properly used on this island. As such, I believe it’s our responsibility to use them!”

Nagito began smirking, crossing his arms as he looked at Kokichi. He definitely had his interest now.

“Interesting. So you wish to work with me to gather all of this, is that it?”

“Nishishi… Pretty much! Though I could easily do it myself, I still need people for the basketball tournament…”

This part most certainly confused Nagito, and frankly took him off guard.

“The… basketball tournament? I’m not sure I follow your reasoning.”

Kokichi smirked and pointed at himself.

“You know how popular I was with Ms. Yukizome yesterday, right? Well, y’see… I feel like it’d be best not to draw attention to myself by avoiding the tournament. So, to get around that… I’m gonna lose in the first round, and while everyone is distracted with future rounds, we go and snag what we need! I’ve already sent Yuto ahead to scout out the important stuff… I just promised him easy access to some panties and he was all over it. What an idiot!”

Nagito looked away. It seemed like Kokichi was putting all his eggs in one basket… but at the same time, what better way to clash hopes than this?

“Alright, we’ll participate in the basketball tournament… on the condition that we try our best to win.”

Kokichi’s smug grin disappeared as he stared at Nagito with a blank expression.

“...Huh?”

“Well, it would be such a waste if we entered the tournament just to lose, right? I feel like if we enter, we should be doing our best to push our opponents to their limits! We’re going to lose regardless… trash like me can’t be carried very far, after all.”

Kokichi groaned, covering his ears as he started heading to the exit.

“Ugh, fine! We’ll do our best! Just quit talking like that, you’re driving me crazy!”

As Kokichi left, a devious smirk appeared on Nagito’s face.

“That’s what I like to hear, Kokichi.”

Chapter Text

“Welcome everyone to the first ever HOPE’S PEAK ACADEMY 3 ON 3 BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT! I hope you’re all as PUMPED UP as I am to get this show on the road!”

As Nekomaru’s voice bellowed out through the massive gymnasium, cheers could be heard echoing throughout the gym. Nekomaru let out a loud laugh, seeming to absolutely love the intensity as he pulled out a piece of paper.

“Alright! Because we have 18 teams, we’ll have to do 2 play-in matches before anything else! Those matches will be as follows!”

Match 1: Kokichi/Nagito/Yuto vs Fuyuhiko/Mondo/Ryoma
Match 2: Chihiro/Miu/Kiibo vs Komaru/Kotoko/Nagisa

Kokichi laughed to himself, an evil grin growing on his face.

“This is perfect… Getting one of the early matches so we have as much time as possible. Nishishi… You couldn’t have drawn it up better!”

Nagito looked towards Kokichi with a smug look, crossing his arms as he did.

“Don’t forget, Kokichi… We still have to do our best in this game. I want you to give it your all!”

Kokichi groaned and looked away, heading towards Court 1 to avoid having to listen to Nagito any more than he had to.

“Yeah yeah, whatever. Try not to die mid-match…”

While the other two were heading to the court, Yuto was munching down on his bread snacks once again.

“Hm… Something tells me those two are up to something. Should I tell someone about it?”

Yuto thought about it for a split second, but after coming to a decision, he put his back of snacks down and started heading to the court as well.

“Nah. I don’t have any concrete leads other than the fact that they paid me off… Best to keep an eye on them, though. Especially Kokichi… Something about him just rubs me the wrong way.”

---

Round 1: Team Kokichi vs Team Fuyuhiko!

Fuyuhiko clicked his tongue as he sized up the other team. Fuyuhiko, Kokichi, and Yuto… For all intents and purposes, they really shouldn’t have any trouble in this match. Their opponents were all pretty short and they had practically no athletic abilities whatsoever… And yet, something about this was making Fuyuhiko uneasy. Yuto being able to slip anywhere undetected, Kokichi’s intelligence and trickery, and Nagito’s luck… He’d be dumb to think they wouldn’t try to use it to their advantage.

“Alright guys, huddle up. Here’s the plan.”

As the group got into a huddle, Mondo interjected before Fuyuhiko could even begin speaking.

“Wait wait, why do we even need to huddle up? I have more basketball experience than all of them combined, and I’m way taller than em! Can’t you just feed me the ball in the paint? How’re they gonna guard me?”

Fuyuhiko sighed and shook his head. This is exactly what he was expecting.

“Listen to me. I know that seems like the obvious as shit plan, and we’re still gonna do that, but these guys all have really weird fuckin talents, alright? So just pay some damn attention to what they’re trying to do. Knowing these three, they’re gonna do some weird shit to try and score.”

Ryoma nodded his head, turning to Mondo with a serious expression.

“We don’t really know what to expect… So if you feel like they’re gonna do something you can’t prepare for, just pass it out to us and we’ll reset the situation.”

Mondo nodded his head, the 3 of them clapping their hands together as they broke the huddle.

Meanwhile, over with Team Kokichi…

“Alright, since Nagito actually seems to think we have a chance to win this, we gotta come up with a plan. Luckily for you two, I just so happen to be the Ultimate Supreme Leader, and so I’ve already come up with a plan!”

Kokichi turned to Nagito and pointed a finger right at his chest.

“I’m gonna be bringing the ball up, alright? Nagito, I want you to set screens for me on offense. You know what a screen is, right?”

Nagito nodded his head, allowing Kokichi to continue.

“Cool! The goal is that since Fuyuhiko is most likely gonna be guarding me, he’ll try to go through Nagito way too hard and foul him in the process! Do it enough times and he’ll foul out, letting us play 3 on 2!”

Nagito looked down at his hand, a deprecative smile on his face as he did.

“Ah, I see… A genius plan that uses my physical health as a sacrifice to force someone to foul out… Of course, a role such as that is only fitting for garbage like me…”

Kokichi ignored every single word that came out of Nagito’s mouth and pointed towards Yuto, a small smirk forming on his face as he did.

“Now Yuto, you’re gonna be the most important part of this plan!”

“Wait, I am? That’s awesome!”

“Nope! That was a lie. You’re actually just going to be hiding from the other team until we pass you the ball and you get a wide open shot. You gotta use your talent as the Ultimate Spy for something, right?”

Yuto huffed and crossed his arms. It did make sense, but did Kokichi really have to bait him as part of the explanation?

“Alright, everyone’s roles are clear? Then hurry up and get going!”

Everyone nodded their heads and headed to half court.

---

Once both teams were at the half court mark, Sonosuke, who was acting as the referee, grabbed the basketball and motioned for the players taking the tip to move forward. Nagito and Mondo both shook hands before getting into position.

“Alright, no one is allowed to jump for the ball until it’s in the air, understand? If you do, possession will automatically go to the other team. The game will be 2 halves that are 8 minutes long, and team fouls will be reset each half. Everyone ready?”

Nagito and Mondo both nodded their heads, getting in a ready stance as Sonosuke blew the whistle and tossed the ball up in the air. Mondo immediately jumped after it as soon as he was able and was going to tip it to Fuyuhiko who was right behind him… However, the ball just scraped by his fingertips, allowing Nagito to jump up and tip it to Kokichi.

“Well well, it seems my luck is out in full force today… The first possession is ours.”

“Nagito, quit monologing and get into position!”

Nagito ran over to Team Fuyuhiko’s side of the court where Mondo was guarding him. As he looked around… Yuto was nowhere to be seen, even by him. Ryoma seemed to be incredibly confused… Good, the plan was working.

As Kokichi brought the ball up, he motioned for Nagito to start the plan. Nagito let out a sigh, running over to Fuyuhiko and setting a screen to the Ultimate Yakuza’s right. Kokichi moved to take advantage of the screen, and when Fuyuhiko tried to go after him… he ran right into Nagito, completely trucking and leaving him flat on the floor.

The whistle blew, with Sonosuke running over and holding a fist in the air to signal that a foul was committed.

“Foul on Fuyuhiko! That’s his first. Team Kokichi, you must inbound the ball from the sideline.”

Kokichi smirked, quickly moving to help Nagito up. Nagito stretched his hand out to Kokichi, only for Kokichi to leave and get ready to inbound the ball.

“Ah… How silly of me to expect an Ultimate like Kokichi to waste his time helping me up…”

Once everyone was in position, Kokichi received the ball from Sonosuke and slapped it to tell his teammates to start moving. Yuto was still nowhere to be seen, so Ryoma was sitting near the basket to prevent a cherry pick. Of course, that didn’t stop Nagito from getting open, juking out Fuyuhiko to get the ball from Kokichi. The Supreme Leader then ran straight towards the basket, expecting Nagito to pass it to him for a layup… But what he saw instead shocked him to the core.

As soon as Nagito got the ball, he faked to the left with a jab step before returning back to his shooting form. This move fooled Fuyuhiko so badly that he actually slipped and fell down, allowing Nagito to nail a three point shot for free. The crowd started going crazy. Most people were watching this match instead of Match 2 that was going on at the same time, but if anyone wasn’t watching Match 1 before, they certainly were now.

“Ah, I see that my luck even affects the accuracy of my shots… How fortunate! Now the opponent will be forced to guard us at the three point line…”

“Nagito! Defense! Now!”

Nagito started backpedaling, looking at Fuyuhiko bringing the ball up with an unbridled fury in his eyes. Hm… This might not be good.

“Very funny, Komaeda… Veeeeery funny. Don’t think for a fuckin second you’re gonna get away with that shit again!”

Nagito just chuckled, crouching down into a defense stance as he looked Fuyuhiko right in the eye.

“Of course! I don’t expect to… That was just a lucky shot, after all! I’d never be able to surpass an Ultimate like you…”

Nagito’s self-deprecation only managed to frustrate Fuyuhiko even more as he started to do more complex dribbling. Through the legs, behind his back, etc. Kokichi, who was guarding Fuyuhiko, didn’t seem to be phased one bit. In fact, he decided now was a perfect time to add to the shit talking.

“Y’know, you took quite the spill back there… Are you alright? I mean, I’m sure your pride isn’t… Getting your ankles broken that badly by Nagito of all people must be pretty embarrassing, huh?”

Fuyuhiko grit his teeth, the fire in his eyes intensifying. He was so focused on Kokichi that he didn’t even notice Mondo getting separated from Nagito, waving his arms back and forth asking for the ball. Kokichi, on the other hand, gave Fuyuhiko a smug smile.

“Though I’ve gotta say, your dribbling was pretty impressive! Really had me mesmerized there. No, wait, that’s a lie… You’re just trying to compensate for the last play, right? Though if I had to guess, you’re probably compensating for a couple of other things too, even aside from how short you are! Nishishi!”

Fuyuhiko let out a low growl, giving Kokichi the most ferocious look he could manage.

“The fuck did you just say to me, you piece of shit? I could get your ass killed with a goddamn thought!”

“Nishishi! Oh, I’d love to see you try… They don’t call me the Ultimate Supreme Leader for nothing! Actually, speaking of which, you should totally give me control of the Kuzuryu clan! It’s not like you’re gonna be doing much with it, anyways…”

That was the last straw. Fuyuhiko blitzed forward, ready to truck through Kokichi on his way to the basket… only for the supreme leader to step out of the way to reveal Nagito, standing as still as a board as Fuyuhiko trucked through him again, causing both of them to collapse onto the ground as the whistle blew.

“Offensive foul on Fuyuhiko! Team Kokichi gets the ball!”

The crowd went wild as Fuyuhiko spiked the ball to the ground, almost fuming so hard you could see steam coming out of his ears. Kokichi didn’t even bother faking Nagito out this time, letting him stand up completely on his own.

As for how Nagito was feeling… Well, it certainly stung, but he didn’t think anything was broken, so it was all good. Of course, he most likely couldn’t take much more of Fuyuhiko trucking him without a break, so he nodded to Kokichi to signal that they should go with Plan B.

Kokichi snickered, bringing the ball up the court and scanning it. He still couldn’t see Yuto, but he knew he was around somewhere… Wait, Kokichi forgot to tell him to make sure to get back on defense. Oh well… Regardless, it was time to get his attention.

“Panties! Panties!”

The girls in the stands were shocked to hear Kokichi… well, say that out loud, but it was clear what the plan was as soon as it happened. Yuto jumped out from behind the basket, with Kokichi tossing a bounce pass right to him. Yuto was about to have a free basket, but Fuyuhiko tried to stop him by running over and bringing his right arm down. He was trying to block, but ended up slapping both of Yuto’s arms, causing the whistle to blow out once again.

“Shooting foul on Fuyuhiko! 2 shots!”

Ryoma let out a sigh, walking over to Sonosuke and making a T with his hands to signal that he wanted to take a timeout. Sonosuke nodded, blowing the whistle once more and waving his arms to create a break in the action.

As Team Fuyuhiko made it to their respective bench, Mondo walked over to Fuyuhiko and gripped both of his shoulders with his hands.

“Kuzuryu! The fuck are you doing, man?! It’s only been like a minute and you’ve already got 3 fouls! You know you’re out of the game if you get 5, right?!”

Fuyuhiko swiped Mondo’s hands off of him, gritting his teeth and glaring right at the Ultimate Gang Leader.

“You think I don’t know that?! Of course I know that! I just… these fuckers are really pissing me off! Who the hell do they think they’re talking to?!”

Ryoma let out a sigh, lightly grabbing his beanie as he addressed the Ultimate Yakuza.

“Fuyuhiko, this is part of their plan. They’re doing what they can to get under your skin and force you to make dumb decisions that lead to fouls so that they can get you out of the game and force a 3 v 2. I know it’s not easy, but you need to calm down.”

Fuyuhiko grit his teeth, clenching his fist in frustration before letting out a sigh. Ryoma was absolutely right… letting his temper get out of control wasn’t going to help them any.

“...Alright. Sorry.”

Ryoma nodded his head, turning a bit so that he could address both Fuyuhiko and Mondo at the same time.

“Mondo, they’re gonna try the same thing with you as well… Don’t let them get into your head. We need to stick to the plan… Feed Mondo in the paint and pass it out if it gets dice-y, alright? We can’t let them beat us before we’re even allowed to get through our gameplan.”

The other two members of the team nodded their heads before heading back to the court.

Meanwhile…

“Nishishi! That idiot Kuzuryu really fell for it, huh? He’s already got three fouls, they’ve burned a timeout, and we’re gonna be up five to nothing if Yuto hits his free throws! Great job, guys!”

Yuto scratched the bottom of his nose, a smug smile on his face. He seemed way too proud of himself considering he hadn’t really… done much.

Nagito, on the other hand, looked at Kokichi with a skeptical expression.

“I agree that it’s gone well so far, but do you really think that they’re not going to change things up? They are Ultimates, after all…”

Kokichi just put his hands behind his head, looking completely and utterly unbothered by Nagito’s words.

“Oh, don’t worry! Even if they manage to calm down Fuyuhiko, we can still just go after Mondo! And besides, just the fact that Fuyuhiko has 3 fouls means that we can be aggressive, since he’s gonna avoid fouling at all!”

Nagito scratched his chin. Kokichi’s logic did make sense, but something felt… off. Even if Fuyuhiko would be less aggressive on defense, Mondo and Ryoma weren’t exactly defensive liabilities… And yet Kokichi was just sticking with the same plan. Here’s hoping this didn’t backfire…

---

One everyone got back to the court, it was time for Yuto to shoot his free throws. Now, despite how much Kokichi was hyping him up… Yuto had no clue how to properly shoot the basketball. Like, at all. As he lined up to the free throw line to shoot, he couldn’t help but start shaking a bit. Kokichi instantly noticed this and put on a smug smile.

“Yutooooo! C’mon buddy, just shoot the ball! What’s the worst that could happen?”

Yuto quickly panicked, using one arm to fire the ball straight at the backboard. To the surprise of no one, it bounced right off and didn’t even make it close to the basket.

“Um… Yuto, I don’t mean to tell an Ultimate like you how to do anything, but I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to put it into the basket…”

Yuto turned bright red, getting the basketball back for his second shot. Nagito was right, of course, but he was also incredibly rude about it..

”In the basket… In the basket…”

Yuto closed his eyes, pushing the ball out of his hands with no sense of direction. Miraculously, the ball still went in regardless, giving Team Kokichi an extra point and making the score 4-0 in their favor.

“I… I made it? I made it! Awesome!”

Kokichi grabbed onto Yuto’s collar and started dragging him to the other side of the court.

“That’s great and all, but you gotta play defense now, buddy. Keep your eye on Ryoma and make sure he doesn’t get close to the basket, alright?”

Yuto nodded his head, locking on to Ryoma as Team Fuyuhiko started walking down the court with an aura of confidence that they didn’t have before the timeout.

Once again, it was Fuyuhiko bringing the ball up for his team, and once again Kokichi was trying to get in his head.

“Ooo, Baby Gangsta’s back again! You gonna threaten me with the power of your clan again? Oh, I know! You probably have some sort of hitman on the island, right? You gonna have em try and shoot me? I-”

Kokichi was completely taken by surprise as Ryoma ran up and set a screen, allowing Fuyuhiko to go right past Kokichi and towards the basket. Mondo had already cleared the paint, which meant that Nagito was guarding him all the way out at the 3 point line. Yuto was taking Kokichi’s words a little too literally as he didn’t fall back to try and stop Fuyuhiko, allowing him to lay the ball right in for 2 points. The score was now 4-2 in favor of Kokichi.

Kokichi had a neutral expression on his face as he watched the other team run back down to their side of the court. This… was going to be tougher than he thought. Nagito inbounded the ball to Kokichi, and the two of them plus Yuto went down the court together. Kokichi started whispering to Nagito as they went down.

“Psst… Nagito, we need a change of plan. When you set a screen, if Fuyuhiko doesn’t knock you down, I want you to go set a screen for Yuto.”

Kokichi turned to Yuto, a sinister expression on his face.

“Oh, and Yuto… If you get the ball when you’re wide open, you SHOOT THE BALL! I don’t care if you aren’t ‘confident’, we can’t win if we have a player who can’t shoot the basketball!”

“But wait, what about Draymond Gre-”

“I don’t know who that is, and I don’t care! Get to it!”

Yuto stiffened up, quickly nodding his head as he ran towards the corner of the court. Kokichi brought the ball up again, staring down Fuyuhiko with a much less playful expression than before.

“Alright Yakuza Baby, you got me last time, but are you sure you can defend me? You doooo have three fouls already~ You gonna risk getting another one? I’m sure you won’t, riiiiiiight?~”

Fuyuhiko didn’t say a word. All he did was stare straight at Kokichi, not taking his eye off of him for a second. This, of course, wasn’t necessarily the best decision as Nagito ran right up to him and set a screen. Kokichi ran past them, and since Fuyuhiko was too afraid to pick up another foul, had to take the long way around to catch up. Thankfully for him, Mondo moved in the way and prepared to block, but Kokichi was ready. He stalled for just long enough to let Nagito set the offball screen for Yuto, and once the Spy was open, Kokichi passed him the ball.

If Yuto wasn’t on his team, Kokichi would be dying laughing at what happened next. Yuto shot the ball and it completely missed the bucket. Actually, it completely missed the backboard, too. It just went flying straight into the crowd, where it was caught by Nekomaru. Sonosuke blew his whistle and signaled that the ball was out of bounds. As Kokichi and co. were running back to their side of the court, he pulled Yuto aside.

“Y’know what? I changed my mind. Don’t shoot the ball again. Ever. For as long as you live.”

Yuto shrunk in on himself, swallowing a bit before nodding and getting ready to play some defense. As Fuyuhiko went down the court again, a cocky grin was plastered all over his face. Kokichi grumbled, deciding that he wouldn’t even bother trying to get into Fuyuhiko’s head this time and focus more on defense.

Of course, it didn’t really matter as Fuyuhiko just floated the ball over his head to Mondo, who used the incredible size mismatch with Nagito to get a free bucket. The game was now tied at 4. Nagito sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

“No worries! We just need to come up with a new plan. There’s most definitely a way to get around this! I’m sure if we keep working hard, we can find a way to win, and-”

---

Team Kokichi didn’t score another bucket for the rest of the game. The final score was 47-4 in favor of Team Fuyuhiko, who were happily hi-fiving each other as the final horn sounded. By the end of the game, the only person who was still watching was Peko Pekoyama.

Everything just fell apart for Kokichi and Co. Nagito stopped making his shots, Yuto was a total liability on both sides of the court, and Kokichi got more and more frustrated as time went on. Though once the game ended, he just let out a sigh and put his hands behind his head.

“Oh well. Can’t win 'em all, right? These things happen.”

Nagito sighed, looking a little dejected after the match.

“I wish we could’ve pushed them a little harder than just the first minute of the game… but I suppose we really were no match for them.”

Yuto, much like his impact on the basketball court, seemed to have vanished into thin air. As such, Kokichi started walking away without a word. Recognizing the implication, Nagito smirked and followed along. The time for basketball and fun was over… Now it was time to get to business.

---

Match 2: Chihiro/Miu/Kiibo vs Komaru/Kotoko/Nagisa

Match 2 was the complete inverse of the first match. Match 2 started off incredibly boring, with everyone just figuring out how the game is even played. The amount of turnovers in the first half was so large that it made the Detroit Pistons blush. By the end of the first half, Team Komaru had a very slight lead, with the score being 4-3 in their favor.

“Alright guys, you’re doing great! We’ve got the lead, let’s keep going!”

Kotoko gave out a haughty laugh, but Nagisa just scowled and looked away. Komaru knew better than to let it pass, and so she tapped Nagisa’s shoulder.

“Hey, Nagisa? What’s the issue?”

Nagisa turned to her and narrowed his eyes.

“We’re not using any strategy out there right now. I’ve been checking out Match 1 when I can… Kokichi and Nagito were making up for their physical shortcomings by using strategies and getting into their heads.”

Komaru titled her head. Was Nagisa… getting into this? She expected that he wouldn’t be super on board with playing basketball, and yet…

“My oh my! Does Nagisa have a plan that will skyrocket us to the lead and the next round? Please, do tell!”

Nagisa adopted a smug look, nodding his head as Kotoko asked him to explain.

“Alright, here’s the new plan…”

---

“Kiibo! What the hell are you doing?”

Much unlike the previous coordination with the other team, Miu was currently pointing at Kiibo with intense frustration.

“You’re a damn robot, right? Shouldn’t you have some sort of jet booster or something that’ll let you stomp on these kids? How do you have zero points right now?!”

Kiibo backed up, but not before pointing right back at Miu.

“That’s robophobic! You think just because I’m a robot, I automatically have all sorts of gadgets and gizmos built in? You shouldn’t just assume these things!”

Miu huffed and put her hands on her hips.

“Geez! You’ve got absolutely nothing? What exactly are you good for?”

“What are you good for? You’re taller than everyone else on the court and yet you’re getting beat on rebounds by Komaru!”

Miu jumped back, changing to her shy personage as she tapped her fingers together.

“I-I… I can’t help it… When Komaru backs up into me, I feel her butt on me… I-It feels so sexual!”

Kiibo let out a sigh and pinched the… bridge of his nose?

“Miu, that’s called boxing out! You can’t just get embarrassed every time she does that!”

Chihiro sighed, looking dejectedly at the ground as tears formed in her eyes.

“I-I’m sorry, guys… We’re losing because I’m so weak… I can’t do anything physical in this game.”

Kiibo and Miu both stopped arguing, with Miu letting out a sigh and putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Oi, Chihiro. Don’t let it get to your head, alright? I’ll admit, I’m really not doing as well as I should, either…”

Kiibo chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

“Yeah! I mean… You’re the one who made that 3 point shot. You’re the only one with points on this team, so far…”

Chihiro softly smiled, nodding her head a bit as she wiped the tears away.

“Th-Thank you, guys… Just please, don’t fight. I want this to be fun, alright?”

Kiibo and Miu looked away, but nodded their heads. They didn’t want to fight either, but Miu was way too competitive for her own good, and Kiibo was just trying to defend himself. Chihiro knew this, but she wanted it to stop.

“Alright you three, break’s over. It’s time for the second half.”

The referee for the second game, Juzo, informed them that the second half would be starting soon. With renewed energy, the three of them nodded at each other and headed onto the court.

---

Once the second half started, Team Komaru started with the ball and Nagisa brought it up the court. Kiibo stared the Ultimate Social Studies down, a fire in the robot’s eyes that was distinctly missing in the first half. Clearly, he and the rest of his team came to play. Unfortunately for the robot, so was Nagisa.

“Hey Kiibo, I’ve been wondering… Why exactly are they letting you play basketball? Robots haven’t been allowed into human sporting events to my knowledge.”

Kiibo instantly stood up, pointing an accusatory finger towards Nagisa.

“Don’t you dare use that robophobic rhetoric! Just because we haven’t in the past does not mean that we are barred from entry!”

Nagisa gave Kiibo a smug look, idly dribbling the ball as he rolled his eyes.

“Oh please… It’s an unfair advantage for ‘people’ like you to play… You should just be disqualified.”

Kiibo cringed, narrowing his eyes and running towards Nagisa to try and steal the ball. However, this was exactly what he was waiting for, as he quickly crossed the robot up and dashed towards the hoop.

“Huh? Hey, Miu! Stop Nagisa!”

“I-I can’t! C-Cumaru is… harassing me!”

Kiibo turned to see Komaru setting a… well, some type of screen. It seemed like a basketball play to stop Miu from getting to help on defense, but it also had the secondary effect of making Miu much too embarrassed to even attempt moving, and since Chihiro wasn’t very fast… Nagisa went and got a free layup to start the half. The score was now 6-3 in favor of Team Komaru.

As Nagisa was running back on defense, he stopped in front of Kiibo and quickly pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. Why he had that on him during a basketball game was anyone’s guess, but he quickly scribbled something down and gave it to Kiibo.

“Here, hold this.”

As Kiibo looked down at the paper, a confused expression appeared on his face.

“...The only thing on this is the letter ‘L’... I don’t get it.”

Miu walked up behind him and started chuckling a bit.

“Damn Kiibs… I think the little kid just owned you.”

Kiibo narrowed his eyes at the inventor as he crumpled the paper up and tossed it aside.

“Miu, I didn’t ask for your opinion…”

Chihiro couldn’t help but giggle as she brought the ball up. Watching these two banter with each other was always pretty enjoyable to her, as long as it didn’t get too mean spirited.

“Hey, what’s so funny?”

“Nothing, it’s just… This is so much fun! Even if we’re not playing super well… I’m still enjoying spending time with you guys. Don’t you agree…?”

Kiibo and Miu were a little shocked to hear this at first, but the two of them smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, you know what? You’re right! Even if Cumaru is getting a little too personal… This is still fun!”

“I must agree. I’ve enjoyed spending time with the two of you.”

Chihiro giggled, a bright smile on her face for a moment before she got serious.

“Now… Let’s go out there and win this!”

“Yeah! Let’s-”

Before Kiibo could finish, the whistle blew and Juzo walked over to Team Chihiro.

“Ten second violation, the ball goes to Team Komaru.”

The shock on their faces was plain for everyone to see. Miu put her hands on her hips and walked up to Juzo.

“Huh? The hell is a ten second violation?!”

Juzo crossed his arms and glared at the inventor, clearly not in the mood to deal with this at the moment.

“If you don’t cross the half court line in 10 seconds, the ball goes to the other team. Since you guys decided to sit here and talk about your friendship or whatever, you lose the ball.”

Team Komaru walked over to take the ball, with all of them holding a hand in an L Shape above their heads as they prepared for the next possession. Kiibo still wasn’t sure what it meant, but he knew for a fact it was insulting.

“Well… So much for this being fun. Kiibo’s already back to being angry…

During the next play, Nagisa’s plan was still just as effective. Kiibo would overextend on defense and Miu would be too busy with ‘Cumaru’ to even attempt to help on defense… However, Chihiro was ready for it this time. She put herself in Nagisa’s way, and was ready to stop him… Only for him to pass out to a now wide open Kotoko, who fired a three and somehow made it. The score was now 9-3.

“Hahahaha! This is supposed to be the team of high intelligence mechanics? What a shame that Nagisa’s intelligence far outstrips yours! Alas, it is too despairing to bear!”

Nagisa tried his best to hide his blush as he ran back on defense, and he did well for the most part… but a certain Komaru Naegi noticed. And oh, did she ever notice it.

The final score ended up being 19-7 in favor of Team Komaru. Despite Team Komaru not hitting all of their shots, their offensive scheme was still far superior to that of Team Chihiro. As Komaru was giving her teammates pats on the back, Team Chihiro looked a tad dejected.

“Well… We gave it our best. That Nagisa kid really knew how to push my buttons…”

Kiibo grumbled under his breath as Miu turned to the side and huffed.

“I’d know how to push your buttons too if you’d let me open you up…”

“We are not going there! No way!”

“Come on, Kiibo! For the good of the human race, I need to see how you work!”

“Stay away from me, witch!”

As Miu began chasing after Kiibo once again, Chihiro couldn’t help but let out a happy giggle. She really hoped that those two would never change.

---

“ALRIIIIIGHT! Those were some INTENSE matches! Congrats to everyone who’s played so far! But now, the real tournament begins! 16 teams, 48 participants total! Let’s get this show on the ROOOOOOAD!”

As Nekomaru belted out the introduction for the first round, everyone cheered and hopped off the bleachers. It was time for everyone to get in on the action, and they weren’t gonna take a single possession for granted.

The matches for the first round were as follows:

Nekomaru/Akane/Masaru vs Komaru/Nagisa/Kotoko
Kyosuke/Juzo/Chisa vs Kaede/Shuichi/Kaito
Himiko/Tenko/Hifumi vs Hajime/Mahiru/Chiaki
Ibuki/Twogami/Ryota vs Aoi/Sakura/Yuta
Makoto/Leon/Sayaka vs Jin/Tengan/Taichi
Mondo/Fuyuhiko/Ryoma vs Seiko/Ruruka/Sonosuke
Junko/Yasuke/Tsumugi vs Hiyoko/Natsumi/Sato
Mukuro/Peko/Maki vs Gundham/Kazuichi/Sonia

As Team Nekomaru was doing their stretches to get themselves prepped for the game, Team Komaru could only just sit there and stare.

“...Well, it was fun while it lasted.”

Nagisa let out a sigh and crossed his arms, with Komaru giving him a slight smile.

“Hey, I mean… Maybe we can strategize around them like last time?”

Nagisa shook his head, looking at each individual member of Team Nekomaru with concern.

“I don’t think that’s gonna work… The difference in athleticism and height is much more significant than last time, and they don’t really have any significant quirks of their personality that I can take advantage of… Their quirks involve being competitive and getting into fights, which would really only make them play better.”

Kotoko clicked her tongue, wagging a finger at Nagisa with a smug look on her face.

“Oh, Nagisa! Sometimes you need to learn to stop thinking and just have fun! Even though the odds are slim, we are a part of the Warriors of Hope! We fight for those who are weak and inspire them to be the best version of themselves! How are we to do that if we give up now? Come, let’s show these jocks what a real team is like!”

Kotoko could almost feel Monaca rolling her eyes in the stands, but she didn’t mind one bit as she began walking towards half court. As she did, Nagisa couldn’t help but give a shocked expression. What Kotoko said… well, it was definitely accurate. Just giving up wasn’t gonna do much, so it’s best to just get out there and do their best. Nagisa nodded, a newfound confidence brimming inside as he followed after Kotoko. Komaru, all the while, had the biggest shit eating grin on her face as she watched this go down.

“Oh, Nagisa… You don’t even realize what you’ve just allowed me to start doing~”

When both teams headed to tip off, it wasn’t much of a fight. Akane easily tipped the ball to Masaru, even though Komaru did her best. She quickly backpedaled back on defense, matching up with Akane while Kotoko matched up with Masaru at the top of the three point line.

“Heh! I hate to do this to you guys, but I’m making sure Coach Nekomaru and us go all the way! It’s probably best if you just forfeit now!”

Kotoko let out a haughty laugh, a cocky smirk plastered on her face as she got in position.

“You should know better than to underestimate the Warriors of Hope, Masaru! We shall give you a run for your money, I can promise that!”

Masaru just huffed, dribbling the ball between his legs to try and shake Kotoko off of him. Annoyingly, she was stuck to him like butter on toast. With no other option, he passed the ball high to Akane and cut to the key.

Akane caught the ball, with Komaru not even attempting to steal and instead focusing on being a blockade for the Ultimate Gymnast.

“Heh! I have to admit, what you guys did against Miu and the others was impressive… But you’re not getting past us! That I can guarantee.”

Akane drove past the key, but once again, Komaru was just barely keeping up with her. Much like the cockroach currently under your fridge, the Warriors of Hope did not give in. However, it became clear that Team Nekomaru wasn’t content with just forcing 1 on 1 scenarios… When Masaru went to the paint, he was actually setting a screen for Nekomaru, who managed to shake off his defenders and receive a pass from Akane. When he did, he immediately hit the bank shot for a quick 2 points. Nagisa narrowed his eyes, scratching his chin in thought.

“I see… Looks like they’re not going to just use brute force like Mondo’s team did… We’ve gotta stay on our toes if we want a chance at winning.”

AsNagisa was bringing the ball up, ideas for what to do were already swirling through his head… He had a quick temporary plan that he wanted to do. It wouldn’t work more than once, and he had to hit the shot for it to work, but… He motioned over to Kotoko, wordlessly asking for a screen. It took a split second, but once she understood, she went over and set a screen on Nekomaru. The Ultimate Team Manager was too cautious about Kotoko’s health, and so he had to take the long way around to get to Nagisa. By then, Nagisa already had what he wanted: He had the ball at the 3-point line and Masaru was his defender.

“So, what’s your plan now, Nagisa? Whatever it is, you’re not fast enough to get past me!”

“I don’t need to. Watch this.”

Nagisa jumped up and fired a shot towards the hoop, just barely missing as it hit the side of the rim. However, Komaru was actually managing to box Akane out well, and was able to put it back in after the rebound to tie the game at 2. Nagisa gave Komaru a hi-five as they backpedaled on defense.

Masaru looked on in shock while Nekomaru let out a bellowing laugh.

“Well, would ya look at that? These kids have some fight in em! I like that! Akane, Masaru! I want you all to give it EVERYTHING YOU’VE GOT!”

Masaru snapped out of his stupor and nodded, with Akane letting out a sigh.

“I would’ve gotten that rebound easily if I wasn’t so worried about hurting em… Come on Coach, let us play a bit more physical!”

“ABSOLUTELY NOOOOOOT! I won’t allow you to hurt anyone over a tournament!”

“Coach, I’m here to win! And if that means I gotta play physical, I’m gonna play physical!”

Nekomaru let out a sigh, motioning to Jin Kirigiri, the current referee, for a timeout. Jin nodded, blowing the whistle and motioning for both teams to head to the benches. Team Komaru as a whole looked confused, but Nagisa appreciated the extra time to get a plan together without needing to use one of his own timeouts.

Once on the bench, Nekomaru glared at Akane and crossed his arms.

“Akane, I understand how you feel. I know that you are a competitive person at heart and that you always put your 100% in whatever you do, but getting physical with people who are not accustomed to high level sports play is UNACCEPTABLEEEEE!”

Akane clicked her tongue, crossing her arms and huffing. She knew there was quite a bit of truth to her Coach’s words, and yet…

“It just feels like I’m limiting my abilities! If I don’t play physically, how am I supposed to be effective?”

“Have a bit more faith in your innate abilities, Akane! You’re light on your feet and can move quickly. I’m not saying don’t be physical at all, but restrain yourself! If you can’t do that, then you have no hope as an athlete.”

Akane just let out a sigh, scratching the back of her head as Masaru watched on in awe. Coach Nekomaru was really something else, wasn’t he?

“Now, Masaru… I’m sure you’re already aware, but don’t underestimate them. More importantly, don’t let Nagisa get free shots on the three point line… He’s a more accurate shot than I gave him credit for.”

Masaru nodded his head.

“Of course, Coach. I won’t make the same mistake again.”

“Good! Now, let’s go out there and show em who’s boss!”

Meanwhile, on the other bench, Nagisa was back to work crafting a plan.

“Let’s see… It seems like they’re not ramping up their physicality, so that’s a big advantage on our side. Komaru, if you can stick to Akane and just contest whatever she wants to do, she’ll either not be able to get past you or force fouls onto herself which will be good for us if we want her out of the game.”

Komaru nodded her head as Nagisa turned to Kotoko.

“Kotoko, if Masaru sets a screen on me, don’t switch who you’re defending. Their goal is to get the mismatch of heights with you on Nekomaru, and if that happens, he’ll just be able to get free shots. It’s not much better with me, but I can try to force him towards a low percentage shot at least…”

As Kotoko processed this information, Nagisa turned back to Komaru.

“If we’re in a situation where I can’t get to Nekomaru, I need you to help and defend him. It’s much better that you prevent the free shot that Nekomaru gets rather than sticking to Akane. In that situation, I’ll move to defend Akane. It’s not ideal, but it’ll give us a little extra time before they make their move if we do this.”

Komaru and Kotoko couldn’t help but be surprised at just how serious Nagisa was about all this. He was going through various situations and having counterplay to it, even when they were completely outmatched in terms of height and physical strength.

That being said, he hadn’t gone over offense at all and they were running out of time. Nagisa sighed, trying his best to think of a quick interim offensive scheme.

“Okay, for offense… We don’t have much time, so I’ll make this brief. I think our best chance at getting points against them is if we get the mismatch of Komaru and Masaru… Because of that, I think it’d be best if Kotoko brings the ball up and Komaru sets a screen for her. Akane will most likely switch with Masaru, and that’s when we get our opportunity. Komaru can cut towards the basket and get a layup if Masaru is on her, since that’s the best chance we have to get a height difference. If Nekomaru leaves me to try and help, I’ll move to the 3-point line to get an open shot. Sounds good?”

The Warriors of Hope all nodded, a smile on their faces as they left the timeout. They seemed… pretty confident that Nagisa’s plan would work, even though Nagisa himself wasn’t super confident. Then again, how can you be confident when a team like Nekomaru’s was staring you down? Oh well, gotta do what he can. He wasn’t going down without a fight.

---

After the timeout, Masaru brought the ball up with Akane and Nekomaru on the wings. Kotoko kept herself in front of Masaru the entire time, though it wouldn’t be much help for what was coming next.

“HEY AKANE! LET’S DO IT!”

Masaru threw the ball in the general direction of the basket. Nagisa was initially confused as to why Masaru would take such a random shot, but as he looked up at the basket… He understood. And what he saw would shock him for quite a while.

“DUNK TIME!”

Akane almost seemed to be flying through the air as she grabbed Masaru’s pass, slamming the ball down through the hoop before landing on the ground.

“WOOOOO! Ah yeah, that felt GOOD!”

The crowd started going crazy at the dunk, cheers filling up the entire gymnasium as the Warriors of Hope were left shellshocked.

“...Okay, I don’t think I have an answer to that… Sorry guys.”

Nagisa put a hand on his forehead, seeming a little dejected before Komaru walked up to him.

“Hey, Nagisa… Don’t worry so much, alright? We entered this tournament to have fun, remember? We really appreciate you making these strategies that give us a chance, but at the end of the day, if it’s causing you to not have fun… Then I don’t want you doing it, alright?”

Nagisa looked up to Komaru, biting his lip as he processed her words. She… was right, but even still…

“Nagisa! We still think you’re really cool, you know! Those strategies are the absolute best! So let’s go out there and show em what we’re made of, okay?”

Nagisa chuckled, nodding his head as he got the ball once more. They were right, what was he so worried about? He went into this expecting not to win, so what exactly changed?

“Yeah, let’s do this.”

---

The game ended with a score of 37-19 in favor of Team Nekomaru. Nagisa let out a sigh of exhaustion as he sat down on his own bench. He and the rest of his team were definitely given the runaround all game, and it caught up to him in a big way near the end. They were actually keeping it quite close for a while, but with how much Team Nekomaru was making them run on defense, it was just too much for them.

“Hah… Ah… Well, we did… our best…”

Nekomaru walked over to their bench, extending a hand to Nagisa with a bright smile.

“Hey kid, I’m impressed! You schemed a pretty solid answer to us both defensively and offensively! Have you ever considered being a coach for a sports team? I’m sure there are teams that would love to have you as their head coach!”

Nagisa awkwardly scratched the back of his head. He was definitely flattered to hear that from Nekomaru of all people, but…

“Sorry Coach… I’m gonna have to decline. While this was a lot of fun, my passion is to be a doctor, and I don’t plan on changing that any time soon.”

Nekomaru let out a bellowing laugh once more. Nagisa was never going to get used to this guy’s volume.

“GAHAHAHA! It’s good to have something you’re passionate about! With someone as smart as you, I’m sure you’ll be able to reach your dream in no time! However, if you end up changing your mind, that door is always open!”

Nagisa smiled and nodded his head.

“...Thanks, Coach.”

---

“...Chisa, do you mind explaining to me why you’re wearing your typical housekeeper outfit during basketball?”

Kyosuke couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at Chisa, who simply did a twirl and winked at him.

“Don’t worry about it! I’m used to running around in this, so it wouldn’t feel right to change out of it. Besides, it’s good training for when I’ll need to hunt down students.”

Kyosuke and Juzo couldn’t do much but share a look of confusion. Chisa was… a very interesting person, that was for sure.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the court, the Class 53 trio were discussing their gameplan.

“Alright sidekicks! Here’s what we’re going to do! Just give the ball to me and I’ll isolate Chisa on every possession! Sounds good?”

Shuichi just lowered his cap over his eyes. He wasn’t willing to have this conversation with Kaito, but Kaede absolutely was.

“Excuse me? Absolutely not! We’re all here to work together, Kaito! That means we all participate!”

“You will be participating! I’ll need your help to get good looks! Isn’t that enough?”

Kaede crossed her arms, giving Kaito quite the glare in the process. However, there was something else that was giving Kaito a chill up his spine.

“Kaito.”

Kaito slowly turned around, a nervous expression on his face as he saw his favorite child caregiver giving him the deadliest stare he’s ever seen.

“M-Maki-Roll! What a pleasant surprise! Can I he-”

“Let them take shots. I can guarantee that they’ll shoot better than you.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!”

Maki nodded her head, heading back over to Mukuro and Peko while Kaito let out a sigh of relief.

“Geez… That girl can be scary when she wants to be?”

Shuichi averted his gaze before addressing Kaito.

“...Isn’t she always like that, though?”

“Maybe around you, but I’ve seen what Maki-Roll is like! Deep down, she’s really a sweetheart! After all, I doubt you can be the Ultimate Caregiver just by being mean and nasty all the time!”

Thankfully for Kaito, Maki was out of range of that comment, but that didn’t stop Kaede from facepalming and heading towards half court to do the tipoff. Kaito could be such an idiot sometimes…

“Don’t worry, though! I’ll carry us through this game, and the rest of the tournament!”

As the tip-off started, Kyosuke leapt up and surpassed Kaede, tipping it straight to Chisa. What happened next was beyond human comprehension and Shuichi couldn’t believe it. Chisa took the ball and zipped right past everyone, going up to the basket for a free layup. She then casually jogged back to the other side of the court, leaving Kyosuke and Juzo with shocked expressions on their faces.

Kaito, on the other hand, somehow wasn’t discouraged by this.

“Ah, well… No worries! We’ll just score on the next possession, and… figure out a way to stop Chisa!”

Team Kaede proceeded to lose 43-18, with Kaito going 0 for 14 on shots and only having 1 point off of a single made free throw.

----

“Nyeh… Looks like we matched up against Hajime’s team first. I think we can win this.”

Tenko punched an open palm, a wide grin on her face as she stared down the guy with an unknown talent.

“Pff, these guys? As much as I respect them, I doubt they can hold a candle to our talent! Isn’t that right, Hifumi?”

“Y-Yes, Tenko…”

Himiko frowned, turning to Hifumi to see that he was visibly scared. Seems like Tenko really got into his head, huh?

“Well, it doesn’t matter anyways… None of them are able to stand up to my magic! I’ll blast them all away and get free points every time!”

“That’s the spirit!”

As Tenko flashed the thumbs up, Team Hajime just sat there watching it all go down.

“...Is it just me or does it feel like they don’t know the rules of basketball at all?”

Hajime tilted his head, asking the question to his teammates as Mahiru awkwardly chuckled.

“Well, I mean… Himiko is the one talking about using magic to help her score, so I’d say that’s a fair guess…”

Chiaki just shrugged, a blank expression on her face as she watched them.

“...I have a bad feeling about this. They’re totally gonna do something stupid and it won’t end well.”

Hajime and Mahiru turned to her with confused expressions. What does she mean by that?

“...Never mind. Hajime, go get ready for the tip.”

Hajime sighed, nodding his head and walking to half court. As he stood face to face with Tenko, Tenko did a traditional bow to Hajime.

“May we have a good match of basketball! Even if you are a de-”

Before Tenko could finish that sentence, she shook her head and swallowed.

“I mean… Let’s have a good match, Hajime.”

Hajime felt a little awkward in this situation, so he did what made sense and bowed back to her.

“Y-Yeah… Likewise.”

Nekomaru blew the whistle, Hajime and Tenko crouching to get ready as he threw the ball in the air. They both leapt up to try and get it, but Tenko’s athleticism and height advantages let her tip it to Himiko. Himiko grabbed it and… started running straight for the hoop. Nekomaru blew the whistle.

“That’s traveling! Himiko, you have to dribble the ball when you move!”

“Oooooh… So that’s why people were doing it…”

Himiko seemed completely unbothered by this as she handed the ball back to Nekomaru. She walked back to defense, with Tenko right by her side and Hifumi sitting in the paint. Hajime shrugged his shoulders, gladly inbounding the ball to Mahiru as he ran to the wing. As Mahiru brought up the ball, she was matched up with Himiko who stared her down.

“Mahiru, I’ve cast a magical barrier that will prevent you from moving any more forward! You won’t get past me!”

Mahiru cocked an eyebrow. As much as she obviously didn’t believe in magic… She wasn’t really willing to drive past her anyways. She passed the ball over to Hajime, and…

“H-Huh?!”

Tenko rushed over to him, wrapping him up and just suplexing him onto the ground. Mahiru let out a loud gasp and Chiaki cringed, the two of them running over to check on him as soon as they could. The crowd fell completely silent as they witnessed the aftermath.

“Hajime! Geez, are you okay?!”

Hajime couldn’t do much but groan, rubbing his back as he sat up on the ground.

“Ugh… Yeah, I’m fine. That’s definitely gonna hurt in the morning, though…”

The whistle blew out, Nekomaru running over to Tenko and giving her the finger.

“TENKOOO! WHAT YOU JUST DID IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE! THAT IS A FLAGRANT 2 FOUL, SO YOU’RE OUTTA THE GAME!”

Tenko looked on in shock, as if what Nekomaru just said was completely absurd.

“What?! I was just playing defense! Why am I getting ejected?!”

“Because your defense has directly endangered another player, which is strictly against even basic human decency! GO TO THE STANDS AND THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU’VE DOOOOOONE!”

Tenko huffed, crossing her arms and heading off to the stands as Hajime got back on his feet. He looked shaken up, but still able to move and play. Of course, that didn’t stop Mikan from rushing over and checking on him.

“H-Hajime! A-Are you okay? How many fingers am I holding up?”

Hajime was a bit taken aback by how quickly she got there, but he just chuckled and shook his head.

“Mikan, I’m okay… I just got a little shaken up, is all. I actually feel… better? In some ways?”

Chiaki’s look of concern and… sadness? Only lasted a moment before she quickly covered it up again.

“Hajime, I still think you should sit out… That was a nasty spill.”

Mahiru frowned, nodding her head along with what Chiaki said.

“Chiaki’s right, Hajime… They’re down to two players anyways, so we’re not gonna be at a disadvantage. Just get some rest, okay?”

“But I-”

Mikan huffed, raising her voice for what felt like the first time as she closed her eyes and yelled at Hajime.

“H-Hajime, your nurse demands that you get some rest! At least for a little bit!”

Hajime looked wide eyed at Mikan, the shock of her raising her voice (and with no stutters!) snapping him out of his stupor and nodding his head.

“I… Okay. I’ll rest. But if we start losing, I wanna come back in, okay?”

Mahiru huffed, putting her hands on her hips as she glared at him.

“Oh, you think we can’t take care of this ourselves, Hinata? We’ll show you!”

Hajime just chuckled, waving at his two friends before being led back to the bench by Mikan. Chiaki just… stared at him with a conflicted expression the entire time. This time, however, Mahiru noticed.

“...Chiaki? Everything alright?”

“...Yeah. Let’s just get this game over with.”

Mahiru looked a little concerned, but nodded her head and returned to the match.

Well, the term match would imply that there were multiple participants. Though considering Mahiru and Chiaki ended up winning 54-0, that would not be the case.

---

“Ugh… I d-don’t know why I agreed to do this… I-I knew this was gonna happen…”

As expected, the team of Ibuki, Twogami, and Ryota got crushed by Aoi, Yuta, and Sakura. The final score was 61-9 in favor of Team Aoi, and Ryota was currently kicking himself.

“Ryota-kun, you shouldn't think like that! Didn’t you have fun running around?!”

Twogami crossed his arms and nodded his head.

“None of us here are great for this… I myself was quite bad, if you’ll remember. However, I must admit that I quite enjoyed spending time with you guys. I don’t regret joining this one bit.”

“Yup yup! Togami-chan is completely right! Of course, he’s right about lots of things! Much unlike myself!”

Ibuki flashed a peace sign, with Twogami letting out a sigh. Ryota just… looked at them. Ibuki managed to be so happy all the time… Twogami seemed to be so friendly despite his position. How did they do it? How did they manage to get such a positive outcome out of these things?

“S-Sorry guys… Maybe I just can’t see it your way yet, but it didn’t feel… very fun to get crushed, personally.”

Twogami closed his eyes.

“Ryota, that’s a completely normal feeling to have… Not everyone can be as positive as Ibuki after a loss. That mentality isn’t something you can just pick up… It takes time and experience. Regardless of your feelings on the matter, I won’t allow you to take sole blame for the loss… I am as much to blame as you are, if not more.”

Ryota cringed, quickly shaking his head as he looked up to his best friend.

“Th-That’s not true! You played great defense in the key, and pulled Sakura away on offense! What did I offer to the team besides a punching bag?!”

Twogami sighed and put his hand on the animator’s shoulder.

“Me not utilizing you properly is not your fault. I put you in situations that didn’t fit your skill set, and for that, I apologize. If we ever do this again, I promise on the Togami name that I will do better by you.”

“Awww, how heartwarming! Two best friends comforting each other after a tough loss to a super team! The Cleveland Cavaliers should start taking notes!”

Ryota just… couldn’t understand. He couldn’t understand why Twogami was trying to take responsibility for the loss when it was clear that Ryota was the worst player on the team. He couldn’t understand why Ibuki didn’t seem to care about any of this. He just… couldn’t understand.

But maybe… Maybe he would, eventually.

Chapter Text

Match 5: Makoto/Leon/Sayaka vs Jin/Tengan/Taichi

“Alright guys, listen up! Just because these guys are part of the staff doesn’t mean that we can’t rough 'em up a little bit! They expect us to give it our best shot, so that’s exactly what we’re gonna do!”

Makoto awkwardly scratched the back of his head at Leon’s impromptu speech. Leon… wasn’t wrong, but he highly doubted that he’d be able to do much “roughing up” in the first place… He wasn’t exactly physically capable like Leon or even Sayaka was. Speaking of Sayaka, Makoto could tell from her crossed arms and small glare that she was not impressed.

“Leon, there’s a difference between trying your hardest and sabotaging the opposite team… We’ve already seen enough aggressive play this tournament, let’s not add to the number… Besides, I’m not sure Kyoko would approve of us injuring her father.”

Makoto flinched ever so slightly, scratching the back of his head with an awkward expression.

“Well… I don’t think Kyoko would be super heartbroken, honestly. You guys saw how she, uh… wasn’t his biggest fan, that’s for sure.”

Leon and Sayaka both seemed to share a look, turning back to the stands to see who else but Kyoko. She wasn’t participating, but she seemed hyper focused on this match in particular… Though the more surprising part was that she was glaring directly at Makoto. Of course, once she knew that she’d been caught, she immediately turned away. Sayaka frowned while Leon started chuckling.

“Geez Naegi, she’s more focused on you than her own Dad… Guess you’ve got some charms to ya, huh?”

Makoto let out a sigh and rubbed the side of his head.

“I uh… Don’t think it’s like that. I think she’s actually pretty mad at me…”

“Well, that’s her problem. Don’t worry about her, Makoto… We’ve got a game to play.”

Sayaka huffed and turned away from her two teammates, walking over to halfcourt to get ready for the game. Leon chuckled, shaking his head as he followed after her with Makoto.

“Hoo boy, she is pissed. Makoto, you’ve really got something special, man.”

“Huh? I don’t think there’s anything particularly special about me…”

Leon shrugged his shoulders.

“You might not have any concrete talents, but people flock to you for a reason, man. It doesn’t take a genius to know that people are happy to talk to you on a constant basis. You just have a solid vibe, you know?”

Makoto let out a sigh. He wasn’t exactly sure what Leon was talking about, but it was true that he was happy to talk with everyone. Still, he didn’t think it was particularly remarkable or anything… Was it?

---

Jin scratched his chin as he watched Makoto’s team begin to line up at half court. He turned to Tengan and Taichi, a soft smile on his face.

“I must say, I’m quite glad we got paired up with Makoto’s team in the first round… I was worried I wouldn’t be able to play against him.”

Taichi couldn’t help but feel confused at this, especially once Tengan began chuckling.

“Um… Is there something I missed? Why would it matter if you go up against Makoto or not?”

Jin closed his eyes, rubbing his chin as he ruminated on how to explain this to Taichi.

“Well… Since you’re pretty close to us two, I suppose I can tell you Taichi. You’re aware of why Hope’s Peak was opened initially, correct?”

Taichi nodded. After all, this was pretty basic knowledge to anyone who had heard of Hope’s Peak at some point.

“Well, if what you all say is true, then it’s to bring in talented individuals to serve as the hope of the next generation, correct?”

Tengan nodded his head, taking over the conversation himself as he has had it with Jin before.

“Indeed. The goal is to give these ‘Ultimates’ the ability to spread hope throughout the world, and we’ve been doing that since the school was founded.”

Jin nodded his head, though his expression darkened once he continued.

“Of course, there are those who do not believe that what we’re doing is enough… People who think we need to be doing more in order to create a world full of hope. Unfortunately for us, there are people like within the Steering Committee… As such, they’ve been working on a project to create the Ultimate Hope… The idea is that they take someone completely without talent and surgically implant with every talent they have access to.”

Taichi’s neutral expression sank at what Tengan was saying. This… This was shocking to hear.

“...Surgically implant talent? That’s insane! It’s… It’s inhumane!”

Tengan frowned, nodding his head as he solemnly leaned forward.

“It’s unfortunate, indeed… Thankfully, they couldn’t find a candidate, at least to my knowledge. I believe that they were getting close, but with all of this happening, they wouldn’t be able to. Of course, that creates a whole new issue of them running the entire school, but there’s not much we can do about that.”

Jin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He hadn’t even considered that…

“The point is that we’re not in a position to deny them… The Steering Committee has a lot of power over the school, and as much as I’d like to shut down the project, it’s bit out of my reach…”

Taichi scratched his chin. This was… a lot to process, and he knew that these two wouldn’t know all the details, but there was one thing that he needed the answer to.

“So… What does this all have to do with Makoto? He’s not under consideration for the project, right?”

Jin lit up, shaking his head as he turned towards Makoto with a smile.

“Quite the opposite, actually. See, despite my position as Hope’s Peak principal, I’m of the belief that talent isn’t the be-all-end-all… I think if someone is pure hearted and has the ability to influence the lives of others in some way, that makes them someone worth believing in. And just from these first few days here, I can tell Makoto is someone like that. Even though he has practically no outstanding talents, he does have the charisma of a true leader. People are already flocking towards him and putting their trust in him, even though he doesn’t offer anything. Do you see why I’ve taken an interest in him, Taichi? Even your own daughter is opening up to him.”

Taichi turned to Makoto. Now that Jin mentioned it… It was certainly something to see him get people to open up like this. Not many people could get people like Chihiro and Mukuro to open up, and yet…

“...Alright, I see what you mean. That being said, why does it matter if we play him in basketball?”

Jin chuckled, scratching the back of his head as Taichi asked that question.

“Well, even if he has no talents, I don’t want him to not apply himself in whatever he does. I think Makoto is very willing and able to learn just about anything, so I want to test him in all aspects. If he can gradually grow into the Ultimate Hope instead of having all the talents stuffed into his brain, I believe that would be the best case scenario.”

Taichi softly smiled, nodding his head. This was all very revealing information to him, but he was glad Jin was looking for an alternate way to create an Ultimate Ho-

“Hey, old men! We’re trying to get this game done today, thank you very much! Let’s get a move on!”

Taichi cringed as Leon yelled out to the team, letting out a groan as he and his teammates began moving to half court. As much as he wanted to keep stalling, it was time to get this underway… Then again, there weren’t many expectations on this team to do well anyways, so hopefully his lack of athleticism wouldn’t be a huge deal…

However, as the team walked to half court, a certain girl who was eavesdropping on their conversation was completely blown away by this information.

“...Naegster as the Ultimate Hope, huh? Ugh, it makes me wanna vomit. Though I have to admit, this makes Muku’s crush on him a lot more interesting… Puhuhuhu…~”

As both teams lined up at halfcourt, the players who prepared for tipoff were Leon and-

“...Tengan? You’re the one doing tipoff? Why isn’t Mr. Kirigiri doing it?”

Tengan let out a small chuckle before an ominous look appeared on his face.

“I wouldn’t underestimate me if I were you, Kuwata… We made this decision together.”

Leon couldn’t understand why, but he felt a chill go down his back as Tengan looked at him. There was something… horribly unsettling about Tengan’s eyes. He couldn’t place his finger on it, but all of a sudden, he was incredibly intimidated.

“Y-Yeah… Whatever. Let’s get this game started already…”

Aoi blew the whistle, looking to both sides as she tossed the ball up in the air. Leon leapt up to tip it to Sayaka, but to his shock, Tengan jumped up with blinding speed and tipped it to Jin instead. He couldn’t even hide his amazement as he landed back on the group, quickly gathering his bearings as he backpedaled to get back on defense.

“How… How the hell…?”

Makoto was surprised by this too, quickly rushing back to make sure that Jin didn’t just rush by him for a free shot. Jin and Tengan sat on the wings, both crouched and ready as Taichi brought the ball up. Much unlike his two teammates, Taichi couldn’t help but feel the nerves settling in as Sayaka stared him down. Why exactly was he the one bringing the ball up again?

Of course, it wasn’t long until Tengan flew right past Leon and appeared at the free throw line. Taichi took a moment to process this before passing right to him, with the ex-headmaster grabbing it and dashing straight to the hoop for an easy layup. Makoto, Sayaka, and Leon couldn’t help but gawk at what they just saw. Was that… really Tengan who did that?

“H-Huh? How did… But I…”

Tengan smirked back at Leon as he headed back to his side of the court to play defense.

“I told you, Kuwata… It’s unwise to underestimate your opponent.”

Leon grabbed the ball, gritting his teeth and smacking it as he took it out of bounds.

“Damn old man… I’ll show you.”

“Leon, he’s right… We need to focus up if we wanna win, alright? So let’s do it.”

Leon just grumbled under his breath as Makoto gave him the little pep talk. He knew he was right, but that didn’t mean he wanted to hear it right now. He quickly inbounded the ball to Sayaka, who seemed to be giving Leon a stern look as well, and she brought the ball up the court. Taichi was ready to defend her as his teammates lined up defensively. Tengan stayed an arm’s length away from Leon as Jin stood near Makoto. Team Makoto didn’t have much of a plan for offense, so Leon did his best to cut down to the basket and get open. However, Tengan was surprisingly able to match Leon’s pace and prevent Sayaka from getting a clean pass. Makoto looked like a stray dog out there, just kind of sitting there as he looked for what to do. As this continued, the shot clock continued to wind down, and eventually Sayaka was forced to shoot a three point shot. It was close, but it clanked off the rim and fell right into Jin’s arms. Leon clicked his tongue and began running back on defense.

“Y’know Sayaka, I was open on the block…”

“You absolutely were not, Kuwata! Tengan was covering you the entire way down!”

“He was not! Besides, I have the height advantage! You could just throw it up to me and I’d catch it!”

“That’s rich coming from the guy who just lost the tip off to him!”

“Oh, don’t even start with that! I just got taken off guard!”

As the two of them continued bickering, Makoto tried his best to wiggle his way in-between the two to warn them of a bullet train barreling their way.

“G-Guys, now’s not the time! You need to-”

Unfortunately, Makoto was too late. Before he could even finish his sentence, Tengan was rushing past the trio and towards the basket. Sayaka and Leon both snapped out of their conversation and tried to hunt him down, but they were left in the dust as Tengan leapt up and slammed the dunk into the hoop, making it 4-0 in favor of Team Jin. The crowd started growing crazy with hype and disbelief at what they just witnessed. Sayaka merely just groaned and made a T with her hands towards the ref, trying to get a timeout. It was granted, and both teams went back to their benches.

“Alright guys, this isn’t working. Care to explain what’s going wrong?”

Leon grumbled, frowning and turning away from the Pop Idol.

“It would be fine if you just fed me the ball in the paint instead of throwing a three while guarded by Taichi…”

Sayaka growled, walking over to Leon and putting her hands on her hips.

“I’m fine with passing you the ball, Leon, but you have to actually be open. Which is why I want you to stop holding back so much.”

Leon seemed to freeze up as he heard that. He turned to Sayaka with a neutral expression.

“...I’m not sure what you mean by that.”

“You know exactly what I mean by that, Leon. You’re not giving it your 100% out there! Even if you got taken by surprise, there’s no reason you should be getting outrun by Tengan!”

Leon scoffed and crossed his arms, clearly not agreeing with Sayaka’s assessment of the situation.

“He’s a fast guy, what can I say?”

“Leon Kuwata, you are the ULTIMATE BASEBALL STAR! I find it very hard to believe that you can’t outrun the Tengan!”

Leon didn’t really have a retort to that, but thankfully for him, Makoto was there to break it up.

“Guys, this isn’t helping! We can do the blame game all we want, but we need to step it up as a team! We went in without a plan, and it’s causing us issues! If you two are serious about winning, then we need to come up with something.”

Sayaka gave a soft smile and nodded her head, though Leon was a bit more hesitant.

“Dude, that means you have to work too… You were just sitting on the wing like you were a damn statue.”

Makoto chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

“Well, yeah… I’m not exactly the most knowledgeable when it comes to basketball… Whenever I played, I mostly just did what my teammates wanted me to do.”

Sayaka smirked, crossing her arms.

“Don’t worry guys, I’ve got a plan. Here’s what we’re gonna do…”

As the two teams headed back onto the court, Sayaka wore a bright smile while the other two had looks of confidence. Jin noticed this immediately and narrowed his eyes. Seems like they must have discussed something new… But what did they discuss that would give them that much confidence?

Regardless of his thoughts, he had to play defense. He squatted down, eyeing Makoto to see what the Luckster was going to do. He didn’t get involved at all at the beginning, though Jin expected this. Makoto seemed to be more of a follower than a leader when it came to sports, so his teammates being disorganized would apply to him as well. That being said, he was ready for-

It took Jin a moment to process the fact that Leon had just gotten a layup. The sound of the basketball falling through the net smacked Jin out of his thoughts, turning around with a look of shock as he watched Leon run back on defense. What happened…? Makoto was a decoy to take him out of the play? How did they know that he wouldn’t go and help?

More importantly, how did Leon manage to run past Tengan? Jin was under the impression that Tengan had his number…

“Jin, are you gonna sit there all day or are you gonna play some basketball with us?”

The ex-Headmaster looked a tad annoyed with the current Headmaster as he dribbled the ball up, with Jin quickly nodding and running back on offense.

Though when he did… he saw something that surprised him. Instead of each student matching up with one member of the staff, they were in some sort of defensive formation… If Jin remembered correctly, this was called “Zone Defense”. He wasn’t much of a sports person himself, whether it be watching or playing, but when you’re the Headmaster of a school as prestigious as Hope’s Peak, you tend to learn a thing or two.

Zone Defense is all about denying a certain area by having people stationed in certain spots on the court. The current defensive alignment that Team Makoto was using was Makoto and Sayaka opposite each other at the top of the Three Point arc with Leon only a bit ahead of the basket. Now, in terms of figuring out what this defense was for, he couldn’t know. However, he would soon learn…

As Tengan brought the ball up, Sayaka and Makoto both moved up to guard him. Despite Tengan’s speed, he was surrounded on both sides and was unable to break free, especially since he knew he would be called for an offensive foul if he tried. Thus, his only option was to pass it out, and he decided to pass it out to Taichi. As soon as he did, Sayaka moved from Tengan to close out Taichi, causing the programmer to panic. He looked about as awkward as anyone with the ball in his hand, allowing Sayaka to easily swat it away for the steal.

Jin tried not to look on in amazement for too long, sprinting back on defense to try and stop the fast break. Not that it mattered, Tengan was the only one who would be able to catch up to Sayaka, but the pop idol just… smirked.

“Alley-oop!”

Sayaka tossed the ball up in the air, and Tengan could only watch as Leon leapt up and slammed it home. The crowd went wild, cheering of all kinds going on as Leon started flexing as a celebration. Sayaka was not a fan of this, and quickly swatted the back of his head.

“Kuwata, the game’s still tied, it’s no time to celebrate yet!”

Leon rubbed the back of his head, grumbling under his breath as he reluctantly agreed.

Jin looked on in fascination as Makoto smiled along with his friends. There had been some creative solutions so far this tournament, but this was the most creative one yet. If Nekomaru got the chance to play against them, he would most certainly be proud.

However, Jin was locked in now. He took the ball from Tengan and brought it up the court. Jin assumed that if their plan was to just lock down Tengan, then him bringing up the ball would either force them to double team someone without the ball or leave Tengan single guarded. As such, he wasn’t too worried when bringing the ball up. That thinking is exactly why he wasn’t prepared for what happened next.

Much to his surprise, Sayaka and Makoto both went to double team Jin themselves. His shock was instantly apparent, quickly doing his best to protect the ball as the two Class 78 members tried to steal it. The pressure forced Jin to make a bad pass towards Tengan, which Makoto easily deflected and claimed for himself. Jin had to chase after Makoto with Tengan at his side, though Makoto just bounced the ball to Sayaka who got an easy layup. Jin, quite frankly, was shocked that they would take the risk of leaving Tengan wide open just to double team whoever had the ball.

As Tengan bounced the ball to Jin once more, he made sure to whisper to the headmaster on the way down the court.

“They’re going to do the same maneuver again. This time, pass it to Taichi.”

Jin was a little confused over the fact that Tengan wanted to involve Taichi, but he trusted Tengan’s judgment. He brought the ball up once more, and once Makoto and Sayaka moved to double team him, he passed the ball to Taichi before they even had the chance to get to him. Makoto quickly pivoted and did his best to cover the programmer, but to his surprise, Taichi just shot the ball as soon as possible, with it landing in the basket for a three point shot. The adults ran back on defense, leaving Team Makoto with a determined look on their faces. This was going to be more difficult than they expected.

---

Team Makoto 43-42 Team Jin

Time remaining: 0:13

Jin Kirigiri once again brought the ball up. After an intense, back and forth game, it was about to reach its climax. Both teams had been adjusting their gameplan bit by bit over the course of the game, and it was a joy to watch. Of course, Jin only wished he was a spectator rather than an incredibly stressed out participant.

By the end of the game, Team Makoto had switched back to man defense, which meant that they were putting each student on one person. Makoto was staring down Jin, Leon was sticking to Tengan as much as possible, and Sayaka was a tad away from Taichi and ready to play help defense as soon as she could. Jin was slowly dribbling the ball, watching the clock tick down bit by bit. Jin knew there was no need to rush, and it was important that he make sure his team had the last shot. It wouldn’t do much good if he made the shot with too much time on the clock and let Team Makoto have a chance to score as well.

Once the clock was at 6 seconds, Tengan ran up and set a screen on Makoto. Jin slipped past it, acting like he was driving to the hoop. Leon moved off of Tengan and got in front of Jin, but it was soon clear why this was a mistake. The clock was winding down, and Jin slipped a bounce pass into Tengan, who caught it and drove to the hoop. Leon cringed internally as Tengan went up for the layup… Only for the ball to be hit by a shoe and knocked out of bounds. Tengan was shocked, the buzzer ringing out to signify the end of the game. He turned to the source of the shoe to see that Makoto had tripped, his shoe flying off of his foot and somehow going directly onto the basketball to block it. The ex-Headmaster couldn’t help but laugh at this. After all, he didnt know what else to expect…

Meanwhile, Sayaka and Leon helped Makoto up and were smiling ear to ear.

“Makoto, you did it! You won us the game!”

Makoto was a bit taken aback as Sayaka showered him with praise. From his perspective, all he did was trip while trying to go back and guard Tengan…

“Huh? I did? What did I do?”

“Dude, your shoe blocked Tengan’s shot! He was about to get a free layup, but your bad luck actually saved the day!”

…Huh. Sure enough, as Makoto looked over to the basket, there he saw his shoe sitting near the basketball. An awkward smile crept onto his face as he slowly scratched the back of his head. His luck was something he was never going to understand…

“Makoto Naegi.”

Makoto and the others were snapped out of their celebration by one Kyoko Kirigiri, a frown on her face and arms crossed as she approached them.

“Oh… Hi, Kyoko. Can I help you?”

“...You played pretty well out there. Good job.”

Makoto, Sayaka, and Leon couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Sayaka’s face was unreadable, Makoto looked bashful, and Leon just… couldn’t believe it.

“Dude! I don’t get it! How do you always do this? It’s like your damn Ultimate talent! I just-”

Leon began walking away, ranting about one thing or another as Makoto couldn’t help but chuckle. Kyoko, on the other, was certifiably confused.

“...What is Kuwata talking about?”

“Don’t worry about it… Thank you, Kyoko. I had a lot of fun!”

Sayaka’s mouth turned to a straight line as she just… stared at Kyoko. Admittedly, it was incredibly uncomfortable, but Kyoko didn’t overstay her welcome.

“I’ll be… rooting for you all through the rest of the tournament. Don’t let me down.”

Makoto smiled and nodded his head, waving her off as she returned to the bleachers. The luckster turned to Sayaka with a bright smile on his face.

“Ready to go, Sayaka? Let’s watch the rest of the matches!”

Sayaka snapped out of her reverie, turning to Makoto with a bright smile on her face.

“Oh! Yeah, that sounds like a great idea! Though… Shouldn’t you go get your shoe first?”

“Ah! I completely forgot!”

As Makoto hobbled on one foot towards his shoe, Sayaka couldn’t help but giggle. Classic Makoto~

---

“So, we’re up against the Candy Crew, huh?”

Fuyuhiko crossed his arms as he gauged the three players across from him. Seiko, Sonosuke, and Ruruka all lined up on the opposite side of the court, talking about who knows what as the delinquents stood with their hands in their pockets.

“Hm… Sonosuke is most likely pretty strong, but the other two could be hiding something as well…”

Ryoma lowered his beanie ever so slightly as Mondo shrugged.

“Well, I think we’ve all learned our lesson in terms of underestimating our opponents… We’re lucky that all 3 of us are athletic, so they can’t just focus on one of us and take us out of the game. Downside is they’re pretty tall, so we’ll have to work hard for rebounds… Any ideas for an offensive plan?”

Fuyuhiko scratched his chin. Contrary to the previous match, it seemed like he was much more willing to work on the offensive scheme instead of just relying on pure power to win.

“Let’s see… I assume Sonosuke is gonna be on Mondo, right? In that case, why not just let Ryoma and myself run around and tire them out? Even if we can’t make judgements about their peak physical attributes, we can pretty safely say that we have more stamina than at least Seiko and Ruruka… If we tire them out, it’ll be easier to stop em on offense and we can stretch Sonosuke thin on defense.”

Mondo nodded his head, smirking and giving a thumbs up to Fuyuhiko.

“Yeah, that’s a good plan, I like it! Sounds good to you, Ryoma?”

Ryoma shrugged his shoulders, turning away as he headed to half court.

“Yeah, that’s fine by me. Let’s do it.”

Meanwhile…

“Ruruka… Not to question you or anything, but why exactly did we sign up for this? Now we’re up against the delinquents…”

Ruruka rolled her eyes at Seiko’s question, crossing her arms and giving her the stink eye.

“Because I thought it would be fun and get you out of your room! I know that’s a tough concept for you to understand, but you need to get some exercise every now and then!”

Sonosuke sighed and stepped between the two.

“Now now, it was a genuine question, Ruruka… No need to be so rude about it.”

Ruruka just huffed, crossing her arms and turning away.

“Whatever. We’re already here, so I’d hope that you’ll give it your best anyways.”

Seiko shrunk in on herself, tapping her fingers together and fidgeting awkwardly.

“Um… Do we have a plan for how we’re gonna deal with them? They’re stronger than us and probably faster than us, and-”

“Blah blah, I didn’t come to play basketball just to get lectured, Seiko! What we’re gonna do is play basketball and that’s that! Ugh!”

Ruruka groaned and headed to half court, seemingly done with the conversation. Seiko just let out a sigh and looked to the ground. Why did this always happen…?

“Geez… Sorry Seiko, I don’t know what her problem is today…”

“Sonosuke, this is every day. Every day she does this! And it never changes!”

Sonosuke gave Seiko a look of pity as he sighed and shook his head.

“Well, maybe she is right about one thing. We should try just… playing the game and seeing how it goes. Who knows? Maybe we’ll surprise them.”

Team Ruruka ended up losing by 30.

---

Hajime let out a sigh as he leaned back in his seat on the bleachers. Admittedly, he was incredibly antsy to actually play in the tournament, but he had to wait his turn like everyone else. As Chiaki and Mahiru walked over to sit with him, Hajime realized exactly which match was next.

Round 1, Match 7: Junko/Yasuke/Tsumugi vs Hiyoko/Natsumi/Sato

“...Oh god.”

Hajime’s two teammates looked confused at their partner’s reaction.

“Hajime? What’s wrong? Why’re you- Oh.”

Mahiru froze as she saw that Hiyoko and Co were about to start playing… While they had a chance in terms of skill, this was going to be rough. Chiaki herself let out a sigh as she sat next to Hajime.

“I’m starting to think that maybe forcing those 3 to be on a team together was a bad idea…”

“Forced them to team? The fuck are you talking about?

Fuyuhiko walked onto the scene, causing everyone to turn to him with a cautious expression. Hajime chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

“Well… The six of us couldn’t decide who would be on which team, so I flipped a coin to determine them… And it turned out like this.”

Fuyuhiko raised an eyebrow. He didn’t know what he was more surprised by; the fact that Natsumi had made actual friends, the fact that she agreed to let luck decide what she did, or the fact that she actually went along with it when the results didn’t go her way. That seemed… very unlike her. More importantly though…

“Yeah, even I know that this is gonna be a shitshow… Natsumi’s a massive bitch, and the others aren’t much better.”

Mahiru frowned at the slight towards her friends, but merely sighed. It wasn’t worth the trouble.

“Do you think of your sister that poorly…?”

“Poorly? Nah, not at all. That’s just how it is as a Yakuza. If she wasn’t a massive bitch, then we’d have some fuckin’ problems.”

Mahiru turned to Chiaki and Hajime, with Hajime shrugging and Chiaki already nose deep in a video game. She let out an exasperated sigh.

“You wanna watch the game with us? We’re waiting for our next match too.”

Fuyuhiko crossed his arms, turning toward the court as both teams began to tip off.

“Well… I got nothin better to do. Shit, why not?”

Fuyuhiko sat next to Mahiru, arms crossed and narrowed eyes as he watched the game. Clearly, his expectations were about as low as everyone else’s. It quickly became evident why this was the case.

As the game started, Yasuke easily won the tipoff over Sato and the girls backpedaled on defense. Sato guarded Yasuke, Natsumi guarded Junko, and Hiyoko guarded Tsumugi. Much to Mahiru’s surprise, Hiyoko actually decided to change out of her kimono and wear a typical school sports uniform, though her attention was quickly ripped away from that as Junko rushed towards the hoop, completely leaving Natsumi in the dust as she got a free basket. Once Sato started walking over to Natsumi, Hajime knew it was about to get ugly.

“Yeah, great defense there, Natsumi… Just let her go straight to the basket and get a free basket.”

Natsumi growled, crossing her arms as she glared at the green haired girl. Oh boy, here we go…

“Excuse me, hoe? How was I supposed to know that she was going to pull some crap like that?”

Hiyoko walked over, rolling her eyes and looking at Natsumi like she was an idiot.

“You’re not supposed to know, you’re supposed to follow her so that someone is at least attempting to stop her from scoring! Don’t you know anything about basketball?”

“I did! She’s a lot faster than she looks, okay? That bitch took me way off guard!”

Sato grit her teeth, getting closer to Natsumi as the anger began to build up.

“She’s a damn fashionista! How the hell would someone like that be able to outrun you?”

“Well if Junko is so easy to guard, why don’t you do it, bitch? Let’s see how much you get done that way!”

“That’s fine by me, you little brat! I-”

The whistle blew out, with Nekomaru waving his hands back and forth.

“Delay of game! You guys can’t just sit here and talk, you’ve gotta play the game! Junko, it’s your ball!”

The entire team looked shocked at Nekomaru, just now realizing what happened. They all turned between each other with annoyed expressions, with Hiyoko grumbling at the two of them.

“Great job, you guys… Now we lost the ball. Are you happy with yourselves?”

“It wouldn’t have been a damn problem if Sato just minded her own damn business!”

“If I minded my own business?! I know this is a foreign concept to you, Kuzuryu, but we’re supposed to be a god damn team! And as a team, I’m here to call you out when you do something stupid!”

“You wanna say that shit again, you bitch? I’ll serve your head on a goddamn platter!”

“Ooo, soooo scary. You just can’t help but resort to threats when things don’t go your way, can you?”

“Shut the fuck up! I’ll kill you!”

“Alright, that’s enough!”

All three of them snapped out of their fight as Hajime walked over from the stands, putting his hand on Nekomaru’s shoulder.

“Nekomaru, I know this is a strange request, but is it okay if I act as their coach? I don’t think things are going to improve if they just keep going at it…”

Nekomaru scratched his chin, taking a moment to consider this.

“Well, it might be an unfair advantage to your team, but there’s no rule against it… Ah, what the heck? I’ll allow it!”

Hajime smiled at the team manager, clearly grateful.

“Thanks Nekomaru. First thing’s first, I wanna call a timeout.”

Nekomaru nodded, blowing the whistle and pointing towards Hajime to show that he called a timeout. Once he did, Hajime’s expression hardened and he motioned for the three girls to join him on the bench.

“Alright you three, you done throwing hissy fits? Are you ready to actually play some basketball?”

“I have always been ready, but clearly Natsumi wasn’t!”

Before Natsumi could even respond, Hajime held a hand up and his expression became more stern.

“No, stop, I don’t wanna hear it. Arguing like this isn’t going to help anyone, alright? If you guys wanna get it together out there, you need to actually act like a team, and the key to any good team is proper communication. Everybody knows that Natsumi got cooked on that play, but that doesn’t mean you make snide remarks towards her.”

Sato grit her teeth, crossing her arms and turning away from Hajime in annoyance. Natsumi would normally be smug in this situation, but the back half of Hajime’s statement made her a little peeved.

“Hajime, you’re treading on thin ice, buddy…”

“Natsumi, come on, let’s grow up a little bit. You got cooked, your teammates know you got cooked, everyone in the stands know you got cooked. Just let it go, alright? We all know you can do better than that, so do it.”

Natsumi’s look of shock stayed plastered to her face for quite a while. This mother fucker… Had the audacity to tell the daughter of the Oyabun to grow up? How dare he?! She should be absolutely fuming!

…So why wasn’t she?

Hajime turned over to Hiyoko and crossed his arms, the stern look not fading for even a second.

“Hiyoko, while you weren’t expected to, you really should be ready to help on defense… Even when you have your target on defense, if you see someone going to the basket, you need to help instead of allowing them to just get a free basket.”

Hiyoko grumbled once again, but slowly nodded. She wasn’t really in the mood for any more arguing.

“Do you all understand? You need to work as a combined unit for this. If you each try to blame individual parts after the slightest failures then you’re just going to make everyone pissed off. So try to work together out there, okay?”

All three of them seemed a little apprehensive towards Hajime, but what he was saying made sense… They nodded their heads, which put a smile on Hajime’s face.

“Good! Now go out there and kick some ass, alright?”

That made everyone smile, nodding their heads as they headed back out. Hajime knew this wouldn’t make them buddy buddy, but it would at least let them actually play the game…

Meanwhile, Tsumugi crossed her arms as she gave Junko and Yasuke confused looks.

“So… What was that all about? Those three just exploded on each other…”

Junko giggled, putting her hands on her hips as she turned to Tsumugi.

“Oh I know, isn’t it great? Those three were a powder keg waiting to explode, so I just made one of look stupid and ding! They all blow up! Isn’t it just wonderful?”

Yasuke sighed and brushed his hair back, a vacant expression apparent on his face.

“Good for you… If you’re done boasting about your amazing plan that a five year old could’ve come up with, are you ready to come up with a plan?”

Junko’s teacher personality popped out, taking out a clipboard and scribbling on it.

“Well, if you’re really serious about giving this your all, then the plan is…”

Much to Tsumugi’s shock, Junko took the clipboard and snapped it over her leg.

“Nothing! We don’t need no fuckin plan, cause I’m Junko fuckin Enoshima!”

Yasuke just sighed while Tsumugi looked a little taken aback.

“H-Huh? What do you mean no plan?”

Junko giggled again, crossing her arms with a smirk on her face.

“Isn’t it obvious? Those three aren’t gonna do shit together, so all we have to do is just play our best and they won’t stand a chance!”

Tsumugi seemed a little unsure about this, but since Yasuke didn’t seem to care much, she just dropped it. If Junko was confident it would work, then it probably would, right? After all, she was probably one of the smartest people on this island.

“Well… If you say so…”

The three of them nonchalantly hung around as they waited for the timeout to conclude. Once it did, they all walked back onto the court, even if Yasuke took some persuading… If anybody didn’t want to be here, it was most certainly him, though a mixture of Junko’s begging and not wanting to look bad in front of Nagisa made him show up. What did he do to deserve this?

---

Final Score

Team Junko 41-39 Team Natsumi

After a hard fought match, it turned out to be Junko’s victory, but by a much smaller margin than she expected. Natsumi and co. were actually backing each other up on defense, and every time Hajime took a timeout, they had some new trick up their sleeve on offense. Of course, it never took very long for Junko herself to make a counterplan, but the fact that Hajime was able to do that despite not looking fit for basketball at all… It was curious. Very curious indeed.

“Junko, we won! Oh, I’m so excited! I’ll be honest, when you said that this would be the team, I wasn’t expecting us to move on, but you proved me wrong!”

Junko put her hands on her hips, adopting a haughty personality as she turned to Tsumugi.

“You doubted the great and all powerful Junko Enoshima? I should have you beheaded for your insubordination! However, as I am a kind ruler, I shall allow you to live!”

Tsumugi sweatdropped. It was like Junko was cosplaying every 5 seconds. Admittedly, it was a bit hard to keep up with, even if it was charming. She turned to Yasuke, who already seemed to be doing something else. He was very clearly not interested in the result of the match, though based on how little he contributed in the game, that wasn’t exactly surprising.

Meanwhile, the trio of trouble were all sulking after their loss. Natsumi herself let out a sigh and crossed her arms.

“Damn it… It was like they knew what we were gonna do every time we did something new. How could they have possibly known?”

Sato shrugged her shoulders and looked over at the neurologist, already nose deep in another manga.

“I mean, they have a neurologist… You think that has something to do with it?”

Hiyoko scoffed and turned away.

“Whatever it was, it was annoying as hell… Felt like it was impossible to even play the game.”

Hajime, much unlike the other 3, was actually smiling from ear to ear.

“Well, even despite that, I’m pretty proud of you guys. You did great!”

The three of them looked at Hajime with confusion. In their opinion, they didn’t really play great… Yasuke pretty much did nothing the entire game and yet they still lost.

“Hajime, no offense, but what the fuck are you talking about? We were basically playing 3 on 2 and we still fuckin lost.”

“Maybe so, but you’re not fighting, are you?”

Natsumi didn’t have a reply to that. She turned to the other two, seeing the same look of surprise on their faces as she did. He… had a point. The three of them were getting along, and they didn’t go at each other’s throats during the game. Sure, they had some minor squabbles, but they quickly recollected and got back to it.

“Yeah, you guys did great!”

Mahiru and Chiaki walked up to the group, giving them all a thumbs up as they did. From their point of view, it was a total success.

“Yeah yeah, we don’t need your pity… Next time though, we’re gonna destroy them!”

Hiyoko pointed to the opposing team and everyone cheered at their ultimatum, returning back to the bleachers to talk about the match. The only ones who stuck around were Chiaki and Hajime.

“Hajime… Thanks for helping them out.”

Hajime seemed a little surprised. Why was Chiaki thanking him?

“Huh? Well, of course I helped them. I couldn’t stand to sit back and watch them squabble like that… Isn’t that what friends are for?”

Chiaki was silent for a bit, almost as if she was trying to process this information.

“...Chiaki? You alright?”

“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry, I was just… thinking. Listen, even if you don’t think it’s a big deal, I think it is. Besides, I’m sure the three of them really appreciated it as well. Don’t sell yourself short, Hajime… Sometimes just being there for people is enough.”

Hajime was a little surprised to see Chiaki talk like that, and he couldn't help but allow a small blush to form on his face. She had no idea what effect her words had on him, did she?

“Geez, Chiaki… You’re laying it on a bit thick. Still, thanks.”

Chiaki softly smiled at Hajime, grabbing his hand and walking back to the stands. In the end, she felt a little silly thinking that her friend was going to disappear because of some weird occurrences. Not that she wasn’t still going to be careful, of course! It’s just…

She was never going to lose her friend. Never again.

---

Round 1, Match 8

Mukuro/Peko/Maki vs Gundham/Kazuichi/Sonia

The final match of the first round was quite the interesting one… Mukuro, Peko, and Maki stood on the opposite side of the court, looking at their opponents with a watchful eye. From what they could tell… They certainly outclassed them in terms of raw physical ability, even if Gundham was stronger than he appeared and Kazuichi had a semblance of athletic ability just due to his talent.

“Hm… I do not suspect that this will be a problem… As long as we stay aggressive, they shouldn’t pose a threat.”

Peko nodded her head as she listened to Maki’s analysis. Overall, it didn’t seem to be much of a challenge, but…

“Even still, we must be cautious. The better team has been put on the back foot many times this tournament solely because they underestimated their opponent, so it is best that we avoid that as well.”

Mukuro silently agreed, turning back to the crowd. She mostly just wanted to see how many people were watching them, but her eyes suddenly fell on Makoto, who smiled and waved at her. She quickly turned away, pupils dilated as she tried to calm herself down.

“Mukuro? Everything alright?”

Mukuro turned to Peko and Maki, both of them with knowing smiles on their faces. Seeing these two smile was never going to sit well with Mukuro, especially since it only ever happened when they were teasing her.

“Ugh… Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s just play, alright?”

Peko nodded her head, heading to half court with a bit of a chuckle.

“Of course, of course… Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to give you plenty of opportunities to impress Mr. Makoto Naegi.”

Maki giggled along with Peko and Mukuro stomped her way to half court. These two… She honestly wondered why she bothered with them sometimes.

As Mukuro lined up across from Kazuichi for the tipoff, it was clear that the mechanic was incredibly intimidated. Not that Mukuro could blame him, he seemed like a cowardly guy and he was going up against a soldier, a swordswoman, and a child caretaker who somehow had amazing physical abilities.

Child caretaker? Yeah right.

Regardless, he was definitely shaking a bit. Mukuro decided to take advantage of this by glaring at Kazuichi, causing him to flinch and not even bother jumping once the ball was thrown up, allowing Mukuro to easily tip it to Maki. Once on offense, the three of them just ran a complete train on the opposing team. It wasn’t even fair, the three were just an unstoppable force. Despite Gundham’s best efforts, they would just carve up Sonia and Kazuichi on defense, scoring bucket after bucket. The final score ended up being 63-12 in favor of Team Mukuro.

“I-I’m sorry guys… It’s just… Mukuro was so scary, I-I couldn’t guard her!”

Kazuichi was crouched down, beanie slightly pulled down as he quivered in fear. Sonia just pat his back while Gundham sighed.

“Unfortunately… This was the predetermined outcome. We were unable to defeat the soldiers of the dark beast, and we must accept our defeat with grace… However, I am glad that I was able to accept defeat with the two of you at my side.”

This allowed Kazuichi to get up a bit, looking at Gundham with a hint of confusion.

“You mean… You’re not mad?”

“I could never be mad at my pupil and the Dark Queen… You all gave it your best, and that’s all I can ask for. Fear not! We shall emerge victorious next time!”

Sonia smiled and clapped her hands together.

“Of course! Gundham, you’re so right! We must go and train in the mountains in order to gain the power we need!”

“Fwahahaha! I like the way you think, Dark Queen! However, we must see if you two can handle it! Come, we must begin the test of power!”

As the two of them started dragging Kazuichi away, he began wondering exactly how his life turned out this way. What happened down the line that caused him to be in this position?

He wouldn’t have it any other way.

---

“Hey hey, Nagito! You’re supposed to be pretty lucky, right? Doesn’t that mean you should’ve found something by now?”

As Nagito continued rummaging through Makoto’s Ultimate Lab, he let out a sigh and put a hand on his head.

“Unfortunately, that’s not how my luck works… It is a turbulent cycle. At one moment, I could be the luckiest person alive, and the next something catastrophically terrible happens to me. I suppose right now I’m on the bad luck part of my cycle…”

Kokichi grumbled, crossing his arms at the lucky student. Nagito seemed to be much more useless than the Supreme Leader had hoped…

“Nagito, you understand the idea behind a partnership, correct? The idea is that we both give each other something we want, and that is what causes us to cooperate. However, right now, you’re not giving me anything. So, I have to wonder exactly why I’m bringing you along at this point…”

Nagito chuckled, looking down at his hand with a depressing smile on his face.

“Ah, I knew you would say that… Despite what you said, a piece of garbage like me would never be a good partner for an amazing Ultimate such as yourself… I understand if you wanna toss me aside, I don’t mind.”

Kokichi grit his teeth, pointing towards Nagito with intensity.

“Stop! Just stop talking! God, you make me wanna tear my hair out! Do you even listen to yourself? I don’t want to toss you aside, I want you to make yourself useful!”

Nagito lit up, turning to Kokichi with a bright smile.

“Oh, that’s wonderful! I promise I will do whatever I can to make sure that your goals are achieved, Kokichi! Just tell me what I need to do, and I will make sure it gets completed!”

Kokichi groaned, turning back to the bookshelf to continue his search.

“The first thing you can do is stop talking, your voice is giving me a migraine. You think you do that for me?”

“...”

Kokichi turned back, seeing Nagito with his mouth completely shut. Despite the silence, it was music to Kokichi’s ears.

“Wow, you’re taking it seriously, huh? That’s awesome! You’re already being super useful! Sorry, that’s a lie, I couldn’t help myself. Anyways, keep searching! There’s gotta be something useful in here, right? You and I both know that Makoto is hiding something, so start looking!”

Nagito silently nodded his head, turning to the stack of popular video games and beginning to look behind the furniture. Though he was getting along with Kokichi, he felt a little guilty searching Makoto’s Ultimate Lab… After all, Makoto was just like him. A talentless nobody. Yet, despite that, Makoto didn’t let it get him down. Makoto wore a bright smile, was able to talk and befriend the other Ultimates… He was respected. Loved. Wanted. Nagito couldn’t help but be jealous about that.

But it’s because Makoto was all of these things that he needed to know more. There must be something beneath the surface… Something that Makoto is hiding that will change everything. It just… didn’t make sense that he would be so well respected without a tangible talent. That is what motivated Nagito… To find the truth behind Makoto’s talent. To see if he even has a talent.

To see if Nagito has a chance to become somebody.

---

“ALRIGHT EVERYONE! It’s time for the quarterfinals! Are you ready to ROOOOOOOCK?!”

The crowd erupted into cheers, clapping and yelling loudly as they got ready for the next set of matches. The jumbotron (Wait, they had a damn jumbotron in here?!) lit up with the matches for the next round:

Team Nekomaru vs Team Chisa
Team Hajime vs Team Aoi
Team Makoto vs Team Mondo
Team Junko vs Team Mukuro

Eight teams remain. 24 participants in total. All of the remaining participants looked amongst each other, confident looks on their faces. The early round fodder was gone, and only the top teams remained. It was time for them all to show what they were made of.

---

Of course, the first round was most certainly a wash. Even with the mismatch of Masaru needing to guard Chisa, they had no answer to Nekomaru and Akane’s athleticism. Near the beginning of the second half, Team Nekomaru was leading by 4 and had the ball, looking to extend the lead ever so slightly. He motioned for Akane to come over, acting as if he wanted her to set a screen. As Juzo backed up to try and anticipate the screen, Nekomaru shocked him by just squaring up and shooting a three, hitting a bank shot and putting them up 7.

“Huh? Wait, I thought… Did I just get fooled?”

Kyosuke was dribbling the basketball up and looked at Juzo with disinterest.

“Yeah, you did. Now come on, let’s go get those points back.”

Juzo let out a sigh, quickly shaking it off and running towards the other side of the court. Despite Team Chisa’s best efforts, the offensive attack from Nekomaru, Akane, and Masaru was too much for them to handle, which allowed them to win 56-47.

After the game’s conclusion, Kaito grumbled and crossed his arms. Clearly, he wasn’t very happy with how this game went.

“Great… They beat us only to go and lose the very next round? If that were us out there, we would’ve crushed them!”

Kaede, Shuichi, and Maki just looked at Kaito with shock. This guy… was something else.

“Kaito… No offense, but how delusional can you be? Chisa and her teammates at least had the height advantage, but we wouldn’t even have had that! You really think we would’ve had a chance against Nekomaru’s team?”

In response to Kaede’s retort, Kaito just grinned widely as he pounded his chest.

“You can’t think negatively like that, Kaede! If you truly believe in something and put your best effort forward, you can do anything! That’s what I believe! After all, I- Ow!”

Kaito cringed as a certain child caretaker walked over and harshly gripped his ear.

“Alright, that’s enough out of you. Do you need me to give you a reality check again?”

“NO! No, no reality check necessary! I’m good, I promise!”

Maki gave a devilish smile, letting go of Kaito’s ear as she sat back down. As Shuichi watched this all unfold, he heard a slight chuckling behind him.

“Kehehehe… I must say, watching this specific relationship dynamic will never cease to fascinate me… Though I am loathe to describe the human race in such a way, it is quite… entertaining.”

Shuichi turned back, seeing Korekiyo watching their conversation with keen and apparent interest.

“Really? Actually, about that… You always seem to sit back and watch people instead of conversing with them. Why is that, Korekiyo? I think we’d all like to know you a bit better.”

Korekiyo closed his eyes, putting a finger up.

“Shuichi, I did not become the Ultimate Anthropologist by conversing with people… Though I find humans and human nature fascinating, I find it more suitable to see them converse with those other than myself. Not to say that I am opposed to speaking with any of you, far from it… I just love to appreciate humanity for what it has to offer, without any intervention from myself.”

Shuichi scratched his chin. That was… quite the interesting take on things. Anthropology must be tough, huh?

“Speaking of which, Shuichi… I believe I have some information that you might want. While I was examining one of the matches, I saw Kokichi and Nagito slip out of the building… I found that duo strange, and it seemed like they didn’t want to be seen… I believe this may be of use to you.”

Shuichi instantly snapped out of his thoughts and his pupils dilated. Shuichi and Nagito? This couldn’t be good…

“Wait, really? When did this happen?”

“Kehehehe… So you are interested in what I have to share… I must say, I’m glad.”

Shuichi didn’t respond to Korekiyo’s… excitement? He waited for Korekiyo to continue.

“They left soon after their match… They are most likely already at their destination, though I am unsure of where they were going in the first place.”

Shuichi groaned, standing up and nodding his head at Korekiyo.

“Thank you, Korekiyo… I’m gonna go investigate.”

As Shuichi ran off leaving Kaede and Kaito very confused, Korekiyo just chuckled to himself once more.

“Kehehehe… Run as quickly as you can, Shuichi. Something tells me that what they’re doing is quite dangerous indeed… I wonder how this will all turn out?”

---

“Kick their asses, Hajime! Show em who’s boss!”

Fuyuhiko looked on in shock as Natsumi loudly yelled out her support to Hajime, who just gave her an awkward smile and nod before getting ready for the tipoff.

“Sis, what the hell was that all about?”

“You wouldn’t get it, big bro. Hajime isn’t like the rest of the plebs around here, he’s something else. Did you know he told me to grow up during the first timeout of last game?”

Fuyuhiko froze, eyes narrowing and a bit of a sneer appearing on his face.

“...He’s got some serious balls, I’ll give him that.”

Natsumi couldn’t help but laugh at her brother’s reaction. Classic overprotective Fuyuhiko~

“Bro, bro… Chill out! I don’t need you trying to kill the bastard just because he had the balls to talk back to me… Honestly, I respect it a fuck ton. He might not look it, but he’s tough!”

Fuyuhiko crossed his arms, looking back to the game to see that Hajime managed to win the tipoff against Sakura, despite the odds.

“...We’ll see about that.”

---

This should’ve been a complete wash. By all accounts, Hajime’s team should’ve gotten completely wiped in terms of physical ability. And yet, here they were… the score 31-29 and only down by 2 at the end of the first half. From those who were watching the game, it was instantly obvious as to why: Hajime.

To say Hajime was balling out would be an understatement… Hajime was looking like prime Michael Jordan out there. That may seem ridiculous to some, but it was true… It was like he couldn’t miss. As soon as he got Sakura to switch off of him, the shot was 100% guaranteed. Even with Sakura guarding him, sometimes he could just take a stepback three point shot and bank it over her. Quite frankly, it was like Hajime had just sucked the skill out of an NBA star. The only reason why he wasn’t completely dominating the game is because he was still allowing Chiaki and Mahiru to get looks, even if they missed much more often than Hajime did. Mahiru was clearly upset that it seemed like Hajime was sandbagging ever so slightly, but Chiaki was… happy?

“Hajime, as much as I appreciate you letting Chiaki and I have a chance, we’d be winning by a ton if you just took them on yourself! Why aren’t you just taking it to the hoop?”

Hajime looked a little guilty and scratched the back of his head. He absolutely expected this question, even if he was surprised to see Chiaki not asking the same thing.

“Well… I mean sure, I probably could… But what’s the fun in that? I joined this tournament to play with you guys, not to play 1 on 3 with you guys as moral support… That’s just not fun, you know? I’m confident that we can win with the three of us working together.”

Mahiru still looked a little annoyed, but she just… didn’t have the heart to argue back with him after he shared his feelings like that. She let out a sigh, slightly turning away from Hajime as she put her hands on her hips.

“Well, at the very least, I think we know what your Ultimate Talent is… Ultimate Basketball Player wasn’t my first guess, but I don’t think anyone would argue with what you’re doing out there.”

Though Mahiru seemed completely convinced, Hajime seemed… hesitant. It was true, he definitely felt comfortable on the court and was making waves, but… the fact that he didn’t remember anything about how he was scouted on the court, nor anything about how he built up to this concerned him.

“I mean, you may be right… But I still can’t remember anything about playing basketball before this. If I really was the Ultimate Basketball Player, wouldn’t this jog up my memory of how I became an Ultimate? It just seems… too weird.”

Mahiru thought about it for a second, but Chiaki quickly cut in.

“Well… Does something like this really matter right now? We should be focusing on a plan of attack…”

Hajime turned to Chiaki, nodding his head as he began to scribble something down on the clipboard provided to them.

“Okay, here’s the idea… I think we can all agree that Yuta is their weak link on defense, so if we can force situations where he’s the only defender, I think that’ll benefit us a lot… I’ll bring the ball up, and if I’m right, they’re gonna be double teaming me. With Sakura and another defender on me, that’ll at least let one of you be open on the wing… I’ll pass to one of you, and when the defender moves to cover, I’ll cut to the paint. If I’m not open, we should have the person who didn’t get passed to move to the top of the three point line. If we keep moving the ball around like this, they’ll eventually make a mistake and allow us to get an open shot. Worst case scenario, we take a shot before the clock runs out and hope it goes in. Sounds good?”

Mahiru and Chiaki nodded their heads, but Chiaki wore the brightest smile that Hajime had seen from her. It was so… happy. It made his heart flutter ever so slightly seeing it.

“Hajime, that’s a great plan… Let’s do it.”

“Yeah, sounds good to me. Are you ready to go?”

Hajime smirked, nodding his head and putting the clipboard away. They were going to win… And they were going to win together.

On the other side of the court, Yuta seemed to be anxiously jittering in his seat.

“Guys, what’re we gonna do about Hajime? He’s just… He’s too good! I’m sorry Sakura, I couldn’t guard him!”

Sakura chuckled, shaking her head and wearing a soft smile. Well, as soft as she could manage, anyways.

“Yuta, it’s okay… It is not your fault that we as a collective underestimated Hajime. I don’t think anyone could’ve expected him to be this talented… Of course, the blame falls on me that I am unable to guard him effectively.”

Aoi sighed and scratched the back of her head with a sheepish grin.

“He’s so fast… I can’t even help on defense most of the time since he just blows right past me. How do we even counteract that?”

Yuta scratched his chin, eyebrows furrowed as he considered the situation. All of this about Hajime was definitely true, especially since he experienced it firsthand… But if that were the case, how were they able to have the lead? Once he asked that question, the answer became painfully obvious.

“...I get it now. Hajime isn’t trying to win.”

Sakura and Aoi both gave the Auxiliary student a confused expression.

“Not… trying to win? Little Bro, I love you, but you’re crazy…”

“No, think about any superstar basketball player you know of! Lebron James, Kawhi Leonard, Devin Booker, Luka Doncic, Trae Young… If they were playing well and knew their teammates were as good as they normally are, do you think they’d still keep doing the same thing?”

Aoi scratched the back of her head. Now that he mentioned it… No, they probably wouldn’t. In a situation like that, they’d probably…

“...They would keep the ball and keep shooting it themselves.”

Yuta smirked and nodded his head.

“Exactly. The fact that he isn’t doing that tells me that he is prioritizing something else aside from winning… He’s prioritizing Chiaki and Mahiru’s enjoyment!”

Sakura seemed surprised at this, but she didn’t have a counterargument… What Yuta was saying made sense.

“I see… Though with that said, what does that tell us? We still have to consider the threat of him completely taking over the game if he decides to…”

Yuta smirked and shook his head.

“No, I don’t think we need to. You guys know how Hajime is, right? He’s the type of guy that sticks with a promise. If I’m right about him, he’s gonna keep trying to get the other two involved… Which means we need to keep guarding them.”

Aoi frowned, crossing her arms as she glanced at the other team.

“That’s great and all, but that doesn’t solve the main issue! If we still have to guard them, then how do we deal with Hajime?”

Yuta grabbed his team’s clipboard, scribbling some Xs and Os down before showing it to Aoi and Sakura.

“Here’s the plan, alright? You two stay at the top of the key and double team Hajime. If we pressure him enough, he’ll have to pass out to one of the others, and I can move to cover them. That’ll leave someone open, but even if that’s the case, they’ll have to pass to Hajime first, since I don’t think Mahiru or Chiaki are strong enough to pass across the court and have it be a good one.”

Aoi nodded her head, a big ol smile on her face as she looked at the plan. Her little bro was so smart sometimes!

“Yuta, that’s awesome! Yeah, I like that idea!”

Sakura was a bit more skeptical, but since it was clear she was outvoted, she shrugged and went along with it. It was time to go out there and play.

Since Hajime won the tip in the first half, Team Sakura was the one to start with the ball. After a clever pick and roll by Aoi and Yuta, Yuta managed to get the layup and extend their lead to 4. However, this next possession would be a pivotal moment, and most likely determine how the rest of the game would go… And everyone on the court knew it.

Hajime dribbled the ball up, with Mahiru and Chiaki running to the wings. As Hajime scanned the court, he noticed that Sakura and Aoi were ready to double team him… That’s fine, someone will be open. As they moved to defend him, he passed the ball over to Mahiru. Yuta quickly ran over and got in front of her face, ready to intercept any cross court pass attempts. However, he wasn’t ready for Chiaki to cut into the paint, allowing Mahiru to pass it right over Yuta’s head and into Chiaki’s arms, allowing her to cut the lead down to 2.

“Huh? Wait, but my plan! How did they…?”

Sakura frowned. Something like this was what she was worried about.

“I see… Hajime must’ve expected that we’d double team him, and he made sure to keep the other two moving so that they could get a good opening…”

Sakura inbounded the ball to Aoi, patting a dejected Yuta on the back as they ran back.

“Don’t worry. I like the idea, but we can do it a bit better. For now, let’s focus on offense.”

As Aoi reached the other half of the court, she quickly passed the ball to Sakura and moved to set a pick for Yuta. Yuta slid off the screen, moving to the free throw line to get the pass from Sakura. He managed to do so, but was unfortunately followed by Mahiru in the process. He tried his best to shake her off, but she was surprisingly guarding him quite well. After a bit, he had no choice but to pass to Aoi as the shot clock ticked down. He ran up and tried to set a screen, but when Yuta rolled this time, he was shocked to see that Mahiru and Chiaki were now double teaming Aoi who had seemingly picked up her dribble. She couldn’t dribble again or else that’d be a double dribble, and she was finding it hard to pass to anyone. Yuta tried to move up and get the pass, but it was too late. The shot clock ran out and Nekomaru blew the whistle signaling it to be Team Hajime’s ball. Hajime himself had a wide smile on his face as Mahiru inbounded the ball to him.

“Nice job, you two! That was some really good defense.”

Chiaki and Mahiru both gave him small smiles as they ran back on offense. They got the defensive stop they needed, now it was time to tie the game up. As Hajime dribbled the ball up, he noticed that they were doing the same thing again… Ironically, this actually made him more cautious than normal. Something must’ve changed from their defensive scheme, because there’s no way they’d do it again considering it failed last time.

Hajime passed the ball to Chiaki this time, prompting Mahiru to run down to the paint. This time, Sakura broke away from Hajime to go and defend Chiaki, and Mahiru noticed too late. The pass was intercepted by the Ultimate Martial Artist, and she quickly threw the ball down court to Aoi. Hajime tried to run after her, but Aoi was too far away. She easily got the cherry-picked basket and ran back on defense, now with a 35-31 lead. Hajime let out a sigh, taking the inbound from Mahiru who seemed a little sheepish.

“Sorry Hajime, I didn’t think Sakura would get in the way of the pass… I should’ve tried harder to get it.”

“No, don’t worry about it. That gave me some valuable information… We’ll run the same play, but don’t have Chiaki pass it to you this time. I have an idea.”

Mahiru was a little surprised at how quickly Hajime shot down her words, but she nodded. At this point, she’d be crazy not to trust Hajime with whatever crazy scheme he was concocting.

Everyone was in position once again, and the same play occurred. Hajime kicked it out to Chiaki while Mahiru broke for the paint. Sakura once again moved to defend her, but something different happened this time. Hajime ran over to Chiaki and set a screen for her, completely taking Yuta off guard as Chiaki broke for the paint. Aoi switched off of Hajime to defend her, but it was a decoy. Chiaki passed it back to Hajime, and Yuta had no chance to defend him as he drilled the 3 point shot. 35-34 was now the score.

Despite the adversity, Sakura couldn’t help but smile as Hajime and co. ran back on defense. He was making this very entertaining, that was for sure.

----

Team Sakura 67-65 Team Hajime

Time Remaining: 0:19

19 seconds remained in the second half of the match. Team Hajime was down by 2 points, but they had the ball. Since it was under 24 seconds, Hajime didn’t have to worry about the shot clock, and so he slowly dribbled the ball up. He had to make sure this was the last shot so that Sakura wouldn’t get a chance to take the lead afterwards. The two teams had gone back and forth this game, constantly changing their schemes offensively and defensively, and it was coming to a head here. With 10 seconds left, Hajime decided to get it going. He quickly passed to Mahiru, running over to Chiaki and setting a screen. Chiaki took the screen to go towards the top of the three point line, while Hajime rolled off and headed for the paint. Sakura headed after Hajime to defend him, but unfortunately, so did Yuta. This miscommunication allowed for Chiaki to get the pass from Mahiru, and with roughly 2 seconds left in the game, she threw up the 3 point shot…

…Only for it to clank harmlessly off the front of the rim. The horn sounded signifying the end of the game, and Team Sakura was declared the winner by a score of 67 to 65.

“...Oh, I missed it. Woops.”

While Team Sakura was hugging and cheering for each other, Hajime and Mahiru both walked up to Chiaki. Hajime himself had an awkward smile as he scratched the back of his head.

“Glad to see you’re not too broken up about it, Chiaki…”

“Well, I had fun, and that’s all that matters. Didn’t you guys have fun?”

Mahiru crossed her arms and pouted ever so slightly.

“Well yeah, but… I wanted to win, too!”

Hajime shrugged his shoulders as the three of them headed back to the bleachers.

“There’s always next time, right? We did our best, and that’s all we can do.”

Mahiru sighed, the smile returning to her face as she made it back.

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s enjoy the rest of the tournament, alright?”

Chiaki and Hajime both nodded, though they became a little apprehensive as they saw Hiyoko, Sato, and Natsumi giving them all the stink eye. Hoo boy, they were not happy about them losing that match…

Chapter Text

Team Makoto 43-46 Team Mondo

1:03 remaining in the Second Half

With less than a minute and a half remaining in the second half, Makoto and Company found themselves at a 3 point deficit. Makoto himself was actually beginning to feel more comfortable on the court, but the athletic advantage of Team Mondo was clearly apparent. Makoto was getting targeted due to his lack of defensive ability, and as much as Leon and Sayaka tried to support him, the jocks still managed to get quite a few free opportunities in this game. Team Makoto took a timeout to get a plan together, especially since they didn’t have much time. Team Mondo had the ball, so they needed to get a defensive stop above all else.

As Fuyuhiko brought the ball up, Makoto crouched into a defensive stance. It was of vital importance that he not let them get by him, because being down 5 with around a minute left was not ideal… Makoto swallowed, focusing his attention entirely on Fuyuhiko, only to have Ryoma run up and set a screen. Fuyuhiko quickly dashed by to take advantage, heading to the rim. Sayaka moved off of Ryoma to help protect the rim, but Fuyuhiko instead just threw the ball up in the air for Mondo to leap up and dunk it into the hoop. The crowd went crazy as Leon quickly inbounded the ball to Sayaka. They didn’t have any timeouts left, so they just had to go for it.

“Makoto, we’re running the play! Banana Swirl, Banana Swirl!”

Makoto just let out a sigh and nodded as he ran to the other side of the court. He still had no idea why they called the play Banana Swirl, but Sayaka seemed incredibly adamant about it for some reason. Oh well.

Makoto began running the play once everyone was in position. There were about 45 seconds left on the game clock by the time he went in motion, running over to Leon and setting a quick screen. Leon peeled off the screen and went towards Sayaka, grabbing her pass and turning to the hoop. Mondo unfortunately followed after the baseball star, and he was forced to pass out to Makoto who instantly passed to Sayaka. Sayaka tried driving to the hoop, but was double teamed by Ryoma and Fuyuhiko. She clicked her tongue, noticing that the shot clock was getting low… Sayaka passed out to Leon, forcing Mondo to rush him down on defense… Only for Leon to pass to Makoto in the corner. Much to everyone’s surprise, Makoto nailed the 3 point shot and brought their deficit down to 2 with only 26 seconds remaining.

As they went back on defense, Leon addressed the two of them on the plan.

“Alright guys, if the jocks are smart, they’re gonna be wasting as much time as possible… That means we’re not gonna have much time to go back on offense. If we’re low on time and you get the ball, just shoot it, okay?”

Makoto and Sayaka looked hesitant, but they both nodded their heads and prepared for the offensive assault. Fuyuhiko brought the ball up once more, eyeing down Makoto as he got ready to attack. He attempted to blitz right past Makoto, but the luckster was surprisingly able to keep up and defend the hoop. Fuyuhiko clicked his tongue, passing out to Ryoma as he went to find a new spot. Ryoma scanned the court, Sayaka right in front of him as he slowly began dribbling. Sayaka did her best to try and swipe the ball away from the tennis player, but his ball handling was too good for her. Ryoma passed over to Mondo who had run up to the free throw line as the shot clock ticked down to 10 seconds. Mondo tried to get past Leon, but as the clock ticked down, he quickly realized he had no shot. He passed to Fuyuhiko, who tried his best to get open, but Makoto was defending with a fire he didn’t have all game. With the shot clock at 2, Fuyuhiko had no choice but to throw up a bad shot which clanked off the rim. Makoto got the rebound and was about to pass it out when he realized there was only 3 seconds on the clock. Out of options, Makoto reared back and chucked the ball towards the hoop. The clock hit 0, the buzzer ringing out…

…As Makoto banked the shot in, hitting the buzzer beater 3 to win the game. The entire crowd was going wild. Nekomaru looked like he was having a heart attack on the sideline, Mukuro was jumping up and down with excitement as her teammates watched on in shock, the chuuni group was completely freaking out about Makoto’s “sorcery”, Headmaster Kirigiri and Tengan were just chuckling as Taichi looked at them with utter confusion and shock… Overall, the sound and intensity took over the entire gymnasium.

Leon and Sayaka ran up to pile on Makoto, with various members of the audience coming too. Makoto himself couldn’t help but have the biggest smile on his face as everyone picked him up, chanting “MA-KO-TO! MA-KO-TO! MA-KO-TO!” This was definitely a highlight of his life up to this point, that’s for sure.

As Team Mondo stood around watching this all unfold, Fuyuhiko couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. He just couldn’t bring himself to be surprised by this result, he saw it from a mile away.

“Well shit… Luck really is a bitch sometimes, y’know? Still, they put up a damn good fight… I think they earned the win.”

Ryoma chuckled under his breath, softly smiling and shaking his head. He wasn’t too invested in winning regardless, but even still…

“They definitely earned it… Gotta admit, I wasn’t expecting them to win that, especially with that crazy shot… But Makoto’s stronger than he looks, huh?”

Mondo sighed, scratching the back of his head as he watched the celebration on the court. Out of everyone there, he definitely wanted to win the most, but when you see a shot like that go in… It was pretty clear that he wasn’t supposed to be the victor of that match. It was almost destiny at that point.

“Fuckin shit, man… I gotta give props to Naegi, he banked it in. Luck or no luck, that takes some fuckin talent.”

“Mr. Oowada!”

Mondo, Fuyuhiko, and Ryoma all turned to see Kiyotaka approaching them, looking about as stiff as he usually does. Mondo sighed, crossing his arms and giving the Moral Compass a bit of a stink eye.

“What do you want, prefect?”

Kiyotaka hesitated ever so slightly, his stiff demeanor faltering just a tad as he addressed Mondo.

“I wished… to congratulate you. You played exceptionally… Even if the end result wasn’t the greatest, I could tell you played with an intensity that was unmatched within this gymnasium. So… Congrats.”

Mondo was a bit taken aback. He thought he was gonna get lectured by Taka for sure, but… This was a pleasant surprise.

“Oh, uh… Thanks, man. I appreciate that.”

Taka stiffened back up and pointed at Mondo with an accusatory finger. Hoo boy, here we go… This was about to get ugly…

“However! The effort you put forth on that last play was inexcusable! If you had done a better job of attempting to slip past Kuwata, then you would have secured the victory! However, your sloppy ball handling and lack of attention prevented you from doing so!”

Mondo felt an intense amount of whiplash from Taka’s lecture, grumbling and balling his hand into a fist as he retorted.

“The fuck did you just say?! Kuwata was on me like butter on toast! I’d like to see you do better, you fuckin prefect!”

Ryoma just started chuckling, putting a lollipop into his mouth as he headed back to the stands.

“Some things never change…”

As Nekomaru motioned for everyone to leave to allow the tournament to continue, Makoto crossed paths with Mukuro and flashed her a bright smile.

“Good luck, Mukuro! I’m sure you’re gonna kill it!”

Mukuro was a bit taken aback, flashing Makoto a thumbs up as she rushed to the court, her two teammates putting on knowing smirks as they followed after her. Makoto was a bit surprised at the interaction, but Leon and Sayaka were anything but surprised… Leon was chuckling incredulously, but Sayaka was frowning. Makoto didn’t know why, but Sayaka did not seem happy with that interaction…

---

Quarterfinals, Match 4

Team Junko vs Team Mukuro

“Well well well, if it isn’t my stinky, ugly sister. I’m shocked that you were able to walk out here without people dying from seeing you! Haven’t you caused enough suffering?”

Tsumugi was completely taken aback by Junko’s attitude, with Peko and Maki’s expressions hardening. For all intents and purposes, it looked like they wanted to kill Junko where she stood. However, Mukuro just narrowed her eyes at her sister.

“Very funny, sis… But I’m not putting up with that anymore. Spout all the shit you want, but I’m here to play basketball.”

Junko looked shocked for a moment, unable to say anything as a smirk began to creep onto her face. This… was unmarked territory for her. Her sister was always just that little gremlin that followed her around and did what she wanted, but now… It was like she was talking to a different person! Was Junko mad? Absolutely, she was pissed that Muku had the audacity to talk back to HER. After everything she did, Muku had NO RIGHT to go against her… and yet, all that anger and frustration was completely drowned out by her curiosity.

“...Interesting. Very, very interesting… So you think you can take your own independence, just like that? I’m impressed, Muku… You’re really starting to grow up.”

Junko looked down towards the ground, a few crocodile tears forming in her eyes as her expression darkened.

“It makes me so sad… You don’t need your little sister to take care of you anymore… Whatever… I’ll be fine, I promise…”

Mukuro frowned for just a moment before flashing a confident smirk. Though she was dreading going up against her sister, she also knew that this was her chance to really get back at her for everything. Even if it was just minor, this was still a big deal for Mukuro. It was a big deal for Peko and Maki as well, but for a completely different reason.

“Mukuro… Why do you let her talk to you like that? Even if she’s your sister, talking like that to someone else is just… I can’t support it.”

Mukuro huffed as Peko offered her thoughts on the situation, turning to them with a confident smile still on her face.

“I know how you guys feel… Trust me, I’ve had this conversation with other people before, but for a while this was just how our relationship was… I never really took it to heart, cause that’s just how siblings interact.”

Maki cringed, taken aback ever so slightly by Mukuro’s words. Was that… really how she grew up with her sister? Going through all that just cause they were related?

“Mukuro… I’m sure others have already told you this, but that is not how siblings interact in the slightest…”

Mukuro just chuckled a bit, shrugging her shoulders. She seemed… very lax about this whole situation, especially considering the circumstances. It was good that she didn’t seem to latch onto it too tightly, but even still…

“It doesn’t really matter now, does it? We just gotta beat em in basketball to get some mini-revenge. Besides, she’s not worth the effort of actually doing anything serious to her… She’ll learn her lesson the hard way soon enough.”

Peko and Maki were… Well, they were at a loss for words, that’s for certain. Despite that, they couldn’t really… disagree with what Mukuro was saying, so they chose not to. They just shook their heads and got ready for the tipoff.

Tsumugi, meanwhile, was completely and utterly blown away by Junko’s actions. She had joined up with Junko since the two of them had pretty similar ultimate talents… she honestly thought that they were getting closer with each other and even potentially becoming friends. But after that? Now she wasn’t so sure… If Junko could be that nasty to her own sister, how would she act around everyone else? Was she someone worth being around? Was she someone worth trusting? Of course, she didn’t voice these thoughts, because she didn’t want to cause issues during the match… But she couldn’t lie about those thoughts being in the back of head.

Yasuke, meanwhile, couldn’t give less of a shit if he tried. He just sighed, rolling his eyes as he got in position. He had been around Junko and Mukuro for a while, and though she wasn’t always this… depraved, she certainly had a nasty streak and a complete lack of a filter around other people. This is something Yasuke has gotten used to over his time with Junko, and he has learned to easily ignore it when directed at him. In his experience, if you simply just ignore Junko’s inane rambling, she’ll generally just stop.

Of course, none of that really mattered at the moment. What was important was that the basketball game was about to start, and the two sisters were lined up across from each other for the tip off.

“Alright Muku… Show your little sister what you can do! Don’t you dare disappoint me~”

Mukuro just… smirked. Her expression narrowed, keeping her eye on the basketball as Leon, the referee for this match, launched it into the air. Mukuro easily surpassed Junko when jumping up, tipping the ball behind her and right into Maki’s hands. Junko, along with Yasuke and Tsumugi, all backpedaled to start playing defense, but were quick to start scrambling once Maki and the others started running circles around them. Maki quickly drove in, bringing Tsumugi and Yasuke in to defend the paint as she kicked it out to Peko. With the wide open look, she squared up and fired the 3 point shot directly into the basket, taking an easy lead in the opening stages of the game.

“LET’S GO, PEKO! THAT’S WHAT I LIKE TO SEE!”

Fuyuhiko stood up, a wide smile on his face as he pumped his fist in the air, with Natsumi standing up and cupping her hands around her mouth.

“Pekoooooo! You can do it, Peko! Show them who’s boss!”

Hajime, Mahiru, Chiaki, Hiyoko, and Sato all just looked at the Kuzuryus with incredulous expressions. Now, Hajime most certainly was not the type of person to pry into other peoples’ lives, even if he was always open to helping them with their issues… Though he was really curious as to what was currently occurring in his vicinity.

“Um… Not to pry, but why are you rooting for Peko? I was under the impression that you guys didn’t really hang out much.”

Fuyuhiko froze, slowly turning to Hajime as he faced the group’s curious expressions. He stood there for a bit, doing his best to come up with some kind of excuse, but it seems like he didn’t have to, as his sister stepped in.

“Oh, that’s cause she’s big bro’s bodyguard! She’s been working with him and the rest of the Kuzuryu family for years!”

Multiple shocked gasps broke out around the two yakuza siblings as this bombshell was dropped on everyone. Fuyuhiko cringed, turning to his sister with an enraged expression. What the hell was she thinking?!

“Natsumi! What the hell?! Do you wanna fucking die?!”

Natsumi huffed, crossing her arms and giving her big brother a shit eating grin. She most certainly knew what she was doing.

“Yo, chill out! Hajime’s pretty much an honorary member of the Kuzuryu Family, I don’t see the problem with letting him know!”

Fuyuhiko let out an exasperated sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. There was so much wrong with what his sister just said that he didn’t even know where to begin…

“Look, I’m not even gonna get into that last part… But even if he was, which he fucking isn’t, you said it loud enough that every bastard in the damn vicinity could hear you! You mind explaining that fucking part, you dirty bitch?!”

Natsumi looked around her, noticing that quite a few eyes were on her. Hajime’s group, of course, but also the likes of Kyoko, Tengan, Chihiro, Miu, Taichi, Ruruka, Teruteru, etc.

“Ooooh, I see… Whoops! Sorry bout that. Guess you’re just gonna have to deal with the consequences, huh?”

“You fucking bitch! I-”

“Alright, Maki! You rock, girl! Good job!”

Fuyuhiko was cut off by Kaede, who was cheering with the rest of the crowd. Maki had apparently managed to block Tsumugi’s shot, which Fuyuhiko couldn’t help but be impressed by considering her height. Maki grabbed onto the basketball and began dribbling it the other way, as the rest of Kaede’s group cheered with her.

“Maki-roll, you’re awesome! Show them all what you’re made of!”

Kaito almost swore that Maki looked back to glare at him for a split second before crossing half court. Kaito couldn’t help but put on an awkward smile at that… That girl really hated that nickname, didn’t she? But it was adorable!

“Hey, Kaito… Have you seen Shuichi anywhere? Didn’t he say he was just going to the bathroom?”

Kaito’s attention was brought over to Kaede, scratching his chin as he looked around the stands.

“Now that you mention it… He’s been gone for a while, hasn’t he?”

“I’m starting to get a little worried… Do you think something happened to him?”

Kaito crossed his arms, shaking his head as he put on the most serious expression that Kaede’s ever seen from him. For a split second, it almost made him seem like someone she could look up to!

“Have a bit more faith in Shuichi, alright? He may not be the most physically strong member of this group… But he’s very smart. He knows how to take care of himself.”

Kaede frowned, rubbing her left arm as she fidgeted in her seat. What Kaito was saying made sense, but… she really couldn’t help but worry.

“I know… But I can’t help but shake this feeling that something bad is happening. Or maybe he just ditched us… I did kinda force him to participate in this, so I understand if he just wanted to leave as soon as he could…”

Kaito chuckled a bit, slapping Kaede on the back as he flashed her a wide smile.

“Kaede, relax! Shuichi isn’t the type of person to do that, at least without telling someone! Besides, just from being out there and playing with him, I could tell that he was really enjoying himself!”

Kaede wanted to argue with the astronaut, but as Mukuro drained a 3 point shot and the crowd erupted in cheers, she couldn’t find it in herself to continue this conversation. Kaito was right… Shuichi wasn’t a kid, he was an adult! (was he an adult? I mean, all of the students here were like 16… Did that make them adults? Whatever, he can take care of himself.) Kaede happily clapped, smiling ear from ear as she saw Makoto loudly cheering for Mukuro. Kaede just leaned back in her seat, letting the tension dissipate as she focused on the game. After all, this island was pretty peaceful… What could be happening that would even put Shuichi in danger?

---

Shuichi sidled up against the wall of Makoto Naegi’s Ultimate Lab. If he was correct, then this was most likely the place where Nagito and Kokichi would be… Based on the direction they went, and what places Shuichi believed that they would even bother going to… This seemed to be the most likely. As he moved to take a closer look at the window, he recoiled as he felt himself collide with someone else.

“Augh! Hey, watch it! What the hell are you doing here?!”

Shuichi was taken completely off guard as he saw none other than Yuto Kamishiro, flat against the wall and slightly peeking through the broken window of Makoto’s lab. Shuichi had no idea how he didn’t see him… He was walking in a straight line to the lab, and Yuto was practically in plain sight! How did he…

“You’re probably wondering how you weren’t able to see me despite being out in the open, right?”

“H-Huh? How did you-”

“Cause everyone always asks the same thing! It’s cause I’m the Ultimate Spy, you know? I can be out in the open and be so unassuming that no one even knows that I’m there! Isn’t that awesome?”

Shuichi didn’t have any words for that. Was his talent so impressive that he could literally hide out in the open and not get caught? That people could literally just… look right in his direction and not even see him?

…That’s a terrifying talent to have.

“That’s… really impressive, Yuto. I’m honestly shocked that a talent like that can even exist.”

“Right? Headmaster Kirigiri was just as shocked… He couldn’t believe that someone like me existed! That’s why he assigned me to do some odd jobs around the school once I became a student. Of course, that opportunity never really came since… Well, we’re here now. But even still! Pretty impressive, right?”

Shuichi adjusted his cap a tad as he took all of this in. A talent so powerful that even Headmaster Kirigiri wanted to use it for his own ends… The ethics of that were suspect at best, but Shuichi decided that considering that wasn’t a good use of his time right now. At the current moment, there were more pressing matters at hand. Pressing matters such as…

“That’s interesting, but the main question hasn’t been answered… Why are you here?”

Yuto huffed, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at the Ultimate Detective. Clearly, that question seemed to tick the spy off a little.

“What am I doing here? I should be asking you the exact same thing! I’m here to keep an eye on these two rodents to make sure they’re not causing trouble!”

“Well… Korekiyo tipped me off to the fact that these two were probably off causing trouble, so… I figured I should probably go after them and make sure they weren’t doing anything catastrophic.”

Yuto scratched his chin. As much as he felt he could tackle this alone… He wasn’t sure just sending Shuichi back to the basketball tournament was a good idea. That would look… incredibly suspicious, to say the least. Yuto pondered his options for a bit, but he was cut off as he heard a loud noise coming from the lab.

“Ah, finally… My luck has shown the way for the two of us! Truly, we are blessed with great fortune today…”

Shuichi just laughed, putting his hands behind his head as he looked down the hole. It didn’t seem like there was a bottom to it, but he could most certainly tell that there was some sort of pipe attached to it.

“Nishishi~ Great job, Nagito! I knew having you as a lackey would turn out well! Even if you took a while, you really came through in the end!”

Nagito laughed, a somewhat fake looking smile on his face as he brushed Kokichi off.

“Nonsense… I merely got lucky, is all. You’re just wasting your praise on a piece of garbage like me. You’re the one who deserves all the credit!”

“Yeah, you’re right! The praise should all go to me!”

Kokichi put on a bright smile, pumping his fists as a childish look of wonder sparkled in his eyes.

“Now come on! Let’s hop in!”

When Yuto and Shuichi heard that, they were tempted to stop them, but they had already hopped down. The detective and spy nodded at each other, hopping through the broken window and quickly rushing into the hole before it closed behind them. Thus… The descent began.

---

2nd Half

Time remaining: 6:43

Team Junko 34-45 Team Mukuro

Things were not going well for Junko right now. Her sister’s team, both on the offensive and defensive side, were proving to be more than Junko and Co. could handle. As much as Junko tried to outsmart the other team with trickery, they seemed to adapt to it incredibly quickly. Even as the Ultimate Analyst… Junko was having trouble outsmarting Mukuro for more than minor victories that would quickly be taken away when Peko or Maki or even Mukuro just nailed them on the offensive end. All of this came together to make for an INCREDIBLY frustrated Junko Enoshima.

She was better than this. She was better than Mukuro, and she always has been. How dare she do this to her own sister, even after everything? After Mukuro had abandoned her all those years ago, she has the audacity to go against her this majorly? It was an outrage! This wasn’t even good enough to take despair from, this was just annoying! Junko stood in front of Mukuro on the wing, waiting for Maki to make a move. Once Maki made it to the top of the three point line, Mukuro rushed up and set a screen, and Maki quickly dashed to where Mukuro originally was. Junko switched with Maki’s defender Yasuke and managed to stop her from driving to the hoop, but Maki passed it over to Mukuro. Yasuke had no chance of keeping up with her as she drove straight to the basket, so Junko had to leave Maki to go help. She was fully expecting Mukuro to pass it out to Maki for a free shot, but when she saw Mukuro charging forward, she had to jump and contest the shot. However…

ATTENTION! The upcoming section of this story has been edited out due to not fitting the rules of the AO3 website. This scene contained unnecessary violence, asserting of dominance, and Junko getting murdered on the basketball court. After review, it was deemed unfit for what the website represents, and goes against its core values. Because of this, we have come to a compromise with the author, and allowed her to post a video representation of this scene so that you all may witness this scene in its full glory. Be warned, the video contains graphic displays of a man getting sent to the shadow realm by another man’s dunk, and it may not be suitable for all audiences. Viewer discretion is advised:

https://youtu.be/JSFK_1auAAE

As Mukuro landed from her dunk, she couldn’t hear a thing. Her teammates’ shocked screams of joy, the sound of the crowd going crazy, and even the sound of Yasuke calling a timeout… She couldn’t hear any of that. All of it was just white noise to her at that moment. All of her senses were dulled except for her sight as she stared square at Junko Enoshima. There was no hatred in her eyes… no disdain… The only emotion that Mukuro expressed was pure, unadulterated satisfaction as she stared at her sister while she was flat on the ground. Once she felt like she made her point, she walked away from the fashionista to get some serious props from her teammates.

It was a very different story for Junko. The whole thing was a blur to her, and once it came into focus, all she could see was the view of her sister staring down at her, a smug look of satisfaction as she just… stared at her. Menacingly. Junko had never seen this side of her before, and it made her excited. Getting so utterly embarrassed by your failure of a sister in front of a large majority of the island’s population… Ooo, Junko was incredibly lucky~ She had never felt luckier in her entire life~

“Um… Junko, Yasuke called a timeout… We need to get up and discuss our game plan.”

Tsumugi did her best to try and coerce Junko to stand up, but the fashionista did nothing but lay there with a large smile on her face.

“Aaaah…~ This despair… I don’t think I ever want to get up, Tsumugi… This is so embarrassing…!”

Tsumugi flinched. Despair? That made her happy? If it did… Well, there was no getting her up at that point. Tsumugi sighed, walking away from Junko and talking with Yasuke, even if the game was pretty much over at that point. Team Mukuro would end up winning by 27 points in a complete blowout.

---

“Gah! Damn, I was expecting a bit of a softer landing… Thanks for nothing, Nagito.”

Nagito coughed a tad as Kokichi landed on him, trying his best to force a smile as the supreme leader got up and dusted himself off. Nagito couldn’t even find it in himself to be mad at Kokichi. Really, he was mad at himself for not being able to provide a better landing spot.

“S-Sorry… I’ll do better… next time.”

Nagito slowly got up, dusting himself off as he regained his composure and headed over to Kokichi. In front of them was a large computer with multiple monitors, though they could barely tell considering how poorly lit this room was. As they checked their surroundings, Kokichi smirked and rubbed his chin.

“Well well… Looks like Makoto was hiding something big after all~ You think Makoto was able to crack the code as well? You think he’s hiding some biiiiig secret about this island?~”

Nagito crossed his arms, seemingly deep in thought as he scratched his chin. He wasn’t necessarily pondering Kokichi’s question… But more so the implications of this room. If Nagito was correct, this room seemed to be representative of some sort of hidden talent. After all, if the main room represented Makoto’s nature, and the way to access this hidden room represented his luck… That would mean that this room represents a hidden talent of Makoto’s. Once Nagito pieced this fact together, he became the most happy and excited he had been in a long time. His theory was correct! Not only did Makoto have a hidden talent, but he was also living proof that an ordinary, basic human being could amount to something. While Nagito had been staunch in his beliefs in the past, he wasn’t going to disagree with direct, irrefutable proof. As corny as it was… It filled Nagito with hope.

“Uh, hello? Earth to Nagito? Anyone alive in there? Hey, I’m getting kinda worried! Okay, that was a lie, but I’d like you to at least die when I’m not here so that I can blame someone else for it.”

Nagito snapped out of his thoughts, turning to Kokichi with a chuckle. He almost forgot that he was even here… Even if Nagito got what he wanted, Kokichi was most certainly here for more information.

“Oh, my apologies… I was busy pondering your question. As for my answer… It would make sense that Makoto was able to access this room. If I was able to get in here through luck, it makes sense that Makoto would as well. I’m not sure if he knows some big secret, but I wouldn’t doubt it, that’s for sure.”

Before Kokichi could respond to Nagito’s answer, the two of them both flinched at the sound of two more people falling into the basement area… Yuto and Shuichi.

“Well well, look who it is, Nagito! Not only did Yuto not keep up his end of the deal, but he brought along the third best detective on the island!”

Shuichi was a tad taken aback by Kokichi’s comment. Not because of the little quip, but rather…

“Yuto, you had a deal with them about this?”

“Huh? O-Obviously not! That’s so obviously a lie! Come on Shuichi, it’s Kokichi!”

Kokichi put on a smug expression, laughing a tad as he looked at the Ultimate Spy.

“Nishishi… Is that so? Well, then how do you explain giving us the idea to do this? After all, it was your genius that allowed us to get in here while everyone else was busy!”

Yuto grit his teeth, stepping forward and pointing at Kokichi.

“Okay, that is a lie! Without a doubt!”

Kokichi’s smile widened.

“Oh? Are you implying that the other statement wasn’t a lie?~”

Yuto’s face quickly turned to shock, frantically tripping over his words as he tried to figure out what to say next.

“Wh- Huh? Wait, no, I… That’s not- It was a slip of the tongue!”

Shuichi glared at Yuto, but sighed and shook his head. It wasn’t worth dealing with this right now… There were more important things to do.

“Whatever. Deal or not, he’s working with me now, and it’s time to give it up, Kokichi. Whatever you’re trying to do here, it ends now.”

“Nishishi~ You really think so, Shuichi? Well, allow me to provide a counterpoint~”

To the surprise of Shuichi and Yuto, Kokichi pulled out a paint gun and fired it right at Shuichi, nailing him right on the shin and causing him to hit the ground.

“Shuichi, are you okay? What was that?!”

“Ow! Ugh, that’s gonna leave a mark…”

“Nishishishi! You should know better than to underestimate me! Nagito, go turn on the computer!”

Nagito let out a sigh, shrugging his shoulders as he slowly walked to the keyboard. Kokichi quickly prepared to fire more shots, but Yuto had already put up one of the mats as a barrier. Shuichi was still rubbing his shin as Yuto addressed him.

“Shuichi, what’re we gonna do? We can’t let those two access the computer!”

Shuichi frowned, turning to Yuto and nodding his head.

“Isn’t it obvious? Sneak there and take Kokichi’s gun… Then we can stop Nagito from turning on that computer.”

Yuto sighed, nodding his head and getting ready. Despite what Yuto said earlier, it wasn’t that easy to just completely disappear… But it wasn’t like he had a choice. He just shook his head in annoyance, slipping out from behind the mat and using the various shadows in the room to approach Kokichi.

“Hey hey, are you guys really that scared of a paintball gun? Come oooon, it’s a fun game! Let’s keep playing!”

Dead silence. After a few seconds, Kokichi just groaned and rolled his eyes. This was so typical…

“Uuuugh… Come on, don’t you have some sort of last ditch effort to do? You guys dooooo realize Nagito’s gonna turn the computer on at any second, right? We’re gonna get aaaaall the information that this place hides! So come on, le-”

Kokichi was cut off as Yuto tackled him, bringing him to the ground as the paintball gun clattered onto the ground. Kokichi grit his teeth, pushing on Yuto’s head as he struggled and squirmed.

“Ugh! Get off of me! Dude, this is really weird!”

“Shuichi, hurry up!”

The mat fell flat onto the ground as Shuichi began rushing over to the computer, eyes locked on Nagito as he prepared to-

Main computer systems online. Now scanning all lifeforms…

A bright blue light shone onto the room, moving up and down as if it were tracking the surroundings. Everyone looked on in awe, completely frozen as they tried to appreciate what they were seeing.

Four humans were identified: Nagito Komaede, Shuichi Saihara, Kokichi Oma, and Yuto Kamishiro. Makoto Naegi has not been identified. Now activating the human removal protocol.

“...Human removal protocol? What does that mean?”

Shuichi would very quickly get his answer as all four of them had a strange device attached onto their chests. Before they even had time to react, a large tube popped out of a hidden passage in the wall and sucked all four of them in.

“Gah! What the hell kind of Ultimate Lab is this?!”

Yuto’s complaining was mirrored by the other three boys as another compartment on the roof opened up, with the other end of the pipe popping out through the new hole.

Makoto Naegi’s location has been identified. Human removal cannon firing in 3… 2… 1…

Everyone braced themselves for impact as the “cannon” fired, launching all four of the boys in the direction of the basketball tournament. All of them except for Nagito began screaming their lungs out as they soared through the air. This was going to be one nasty landing…

---

“ALRIIIIIIIGHT! The quarter finals were INTENSE! Now who’s ready for the SEMI FINALS MATCHES?!”

The crowd erupted with cheers, the intensity only getting larger and larger with each passing round. Nekomaru cupped his right ear, leaning towards the crowd.

“What’s that?! I CAN’T HEAR YOU!”

Everyone started screaming even louder at that, the noises reverberating all throughout the facility. Nekomaru bellowed out a laugh, a large smile on his face as he pumped his fist.

“That’s what I like to hear! Now, it’s time for the semi finals match! Here’s what it’s looking like:”

Team Nekomaru vs Team Aoi
Team Makoto vs Team Mukuro

Mukuro cringed as she watched the matchup announcements. She knew this was gonna happen once Makoto won his match, but even still… She didn’t really know if she had it in her to go up against him. He was so fragile… She didn’t wanna hurt him!

…Clearly her teammates knew that she was feeling that way, because both of them were giving her disappointed looks.

“Mukuro…”

“I know… I know, Peko. I’m gonna play 100%. Besides, that’s what Makoto would want, right? No reason to go easy on him.”

The other two smiled at that, chuckling a bit at her response.

“Thanks, Mukuro. I know it’s hard to go all out against your boyfriend, but I’m sure you’re more than able.”

Mukuro grumbled at Maki’s snide remark, but decided it wasn’t worth it.

Meanwhile, the chuuni squad was doing their best to cheer up Tsumugi. Himiko was softly rubbing the cosplayers back as she looked down.

“I just… Junko was acting so weird… I didn’t feel good about going all out if she was gonna be that mean to her own sister, you know? It was just so weird… Sorry I couldn’t go all the way, guys…”

Kazuichi nervously chuckled, scratching the back of his head with a guilty expression.

“Heh, I don’t think we really care that much… Besides, I’m the one who completely threw it away against Mukuro’s team in the first place.”

Gundham grumbled, lowering his scarf ever so slightly as he turned to his “pupil”.

“Kazuichi… You doubt yourself too much. Though your skills on the court are still developing, it was a team effort… Their party was simply stronger than ours. However, we shall return! We have been to the depths of hell, and lived to tell the tale! We shall not let this minor roadblock defeat us!”

Sonia smiled, clapping her hands together at Gundham’s speech.

“Yes! Next time, we shall conquer the basketball court! I swear it on my name as the Dark Queen!”

Hifumi started sweating bullets. There… was going to be a next time? He awkwardly turned back to Tenko, shivering a bit as she gave him a nasty glare. Hoo boy…

Makoto, Leon, and Sayaka all flinched when they heard their next match. In all fairness, it was going to be tough regardless of who they got… But that didn’t stop them from feeling ambivalent. Sayaka looked over at their opponents, a look of apprehension on her face as she did.

“Oh boy… I think this is it for us, guys. I mean, Mukuro and the others just looked unstoppable in the last match…”

Makoto shook his head, turning to Leon and Sayaka with a determined expression. It wouldn’t feel right if he didn’t give it his all, so he had to make sure that the other two were as well.

“No, that’s wrong! Listen guys, I know this is going to be difficult, but so was our match against Mondo! As long as we hold the belief that we can win, I know that we can!”

Sayaka and Leon seemed a little apprehensive, but when Makoto was the one saying that they had a chance, who were they to disagree?

“...Alright. Let’s do it, Makoto!”

“Yeah, I’m all in, you crazy dude!”

Makoto smiled widely, nodding his head as he headed for the court… Only for him to almost jump out of his skin as he heard a large crash. Looking up to the source of the noise, he saw Nagito, Kokichi, Yuto, and Shuichi crashing through the ceiling in… protective bubbles? How did they even get through? Regardless of the how, they all landed on the ground, with the bubbles popping and all of them landing hard on their backs or faces.

“Ugh… First I got a paintball to the shin, and now this… This is just not my day.”

“Woohoo! Oh man, that was awesome! Can we do it again? Oh, pretty please?”

Shuichi just gave Kokichi the dirtiest look he could manage as Kaede, Kaito, and Maki ran over to him.

“Oh my god! Shuichi, are you okay? Where the hell have you been?!”

Shuichi recoiled a tad at Kaede showing up, awkwardly chuckling and scratching the back of his head. Hoo boy, this was gonna take a while to explain…

“Okay, so… After we got eliminated, Korekiyo told me that those two-”

Shuichi pointed over to Kokichi and Nagito, who were slowly getting up and shaking off all the dust and rubble.

“-Had snuck out of the arena and were most likely up to no good. I had no reason not to trust him, so I decided to go after them. One thing led to another, and… Well, we got fired out of a cannon here, and the protective bubbles protected us right at the last second.”

Kaede and the others just looked shocked. What kind of crazy place is this if people can get shot out of cannons and have protective bubbles protect them? Of course, Kaede was as shocked as everyone else, but something else caught her attention…

“...Shuichi, what is that?”

Kaede pointed to Shuichi’s shin, to which Shuichi pulled his cap down a bit.

“Oh, uh… Well, Kokichi had a paint gun, and uh… shot me with it.”

Kaede was taken aback, but Maki had a much different reaction. She pulled out her knife, doing her best to hunt down Kokichi.

“Where is he? Where the hell is he?”

Shuichi panicked a bit, getting up and trying his best to calm Maki down. Geez… She sure was aggressive for someone who was supposed to be a child caregiver…

Meanwhile, Hajime and company had run up to Nagito as soon as he landed. Hajime… was having trouble coming to terms with the situation, but he knew that he needed to make sure Nagito was okay first and foremost.

“Nagito! God, are you okay? What happened?”

Nagito coughed a tad before letting out a soft laugh, a bright and hopeful smile on his face as he turned to Hajime. Hajime was a bit taken aback… This smile wasn’t like before. This one seemed… genuine.

“Ah, Hajime… Thank you for coming to my aid. Thankfully, I’m quite okay. Actually, I’m amazing! What I found at Makoto’s Ultimate Lab… Oh, it will bring hope to the entire world!”

Makoto flinched, turning to Nagito with a surprised expression. What did he just say…?

“Wait, my Ultimate Lab? Is that where you guys came from?!”

For some reason, Makoto seemed more panicked than he ever had. Sayaka was concerned… Makoto wasn’t the type to freak out like this.

“Makoto, is everything okay? You seem… worried about something.”

“I… I gotta go!”

Before Sayaka could respond, Makoto was already rushing out of the gymnasium and towards his Ultimate Lab.

“Huh? Makoto, wait! We have a basketball game to play!”

Sayaka rushed after him, leaving Leon alone to watch them disappear in the distance.

“...Huh. Well, I guess that’s that… Sorry, Coach.”

Nekomaru sighed, crossing his arms and shaking his head.

“It’s quite alright… We’ll have to delay the tournament for now. It seems like this was something dire.”

“Aw, what? But Coach, I’m so pumped up! C’mon, we can continue!”

Nekomaru groaned, face palming and turning to Akane with an unamused expression.

“No, Akane… We’ve already lost some members, and even if we hadn’t, look around you! These aren’t proper playing conditions.”

He was completely right. There were multiple holes in the ceiling, the overhead scoreboard was completely totalled… There was no way they were gonna play in this.

“Let’s just let Usami fix it and we’ll continue another time.”

Akane let out a sigh. She didn’t want to admit it… But Nekomaru was right.

“Fine, fine… I can wait.”

As everyone started filing out of the gymnasium, Mukuro slipped in with the rest of the crowd. Her destination was a tad different than everyone else’s, and it was of utmost importance that everyone else didn’t see her. There was no way she could let this go by.

Chapter Text

As everyone filed out of the basketball court to go on with their day, Jin and Tengan stayed behind. They looked up at the holes that were freshly created in the lab, grim expressions on their face as they pondered how something like this could happen. The fact that all 4 of the boys who landed were effectively uninjured despite supposedly being fired all the way from Makoto’s lab… How did this happen? Why did this happen?

“Tengan… If you have an explanation for how or why this happened, I’d be happy to hear it. Frankly, I’ve got nothing to go off of at this point.”

Tengan scratched his chin in thought. As much as he wanted to just tell Jin all the answers, he himself was stumped. By all metrics, this seemed completely illogical. People don’t just get fired out of cannons for no reason, you know! The more he thought about the implications of this situation, the more he came to one conclusion in particular…

“...Makoto’s Lab is hiding a secret. A big one, at that. It was pretty obvious before based on what you told me, but after seeing this happen right before my eyes… If this is what happens when people try to snoop around there, then it’s obviously hiding something important.”

Jin nodded his head, scratching his chin as he closed his eyes. The big question was obviously what in terms of what the lab was hiding… And more importantly, it seemed like Makoto himself knew the secrets of that place. Ever since the incident there, Makoto hasn’t said a word about his lab to anyone. Oh, his daughter certainly tried to get that information out of him, but that obviously didn’t get anywhere. Makoto seemed like the type to wear his heart on his sleeve, too… Maybe he was hiding his true self? Jin shuddered. He really thought that someone like Makoto would be a good Ultimate Hope, but if he was hiding his true personality…. That’s something he didn’t want to think about.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to get anything out of him. Ever since the first incident at his lab, we haven’t been able to get a single bit of information out of him. If we can’t get Makoto of all people to talk about it, it must be pretty important. However… I’m going to choose to trust him and not pursue the topic further.”

Tengan turned to him with a raised eyebrow. This was… interesting. He thought for sure that Jin would try to pry this information out of him. He had to admit, it was shocking that Jin was willing to let Makoto keep this information to himself despite the circumstances.

“Really? I must say, I’m surprised… I didn’t expect that from you. Is there a particular reason you’re choosing to leave Makoto be?”

Jin sighed, looking to the side as he bit his bottom lip. He wasn’t sure how to explain his feelings on the matter without making Tengan incredibly skeptical of his intentions, but he couldn’t just leave Tengan hanging either. He shook his head, turning to the ex-headmaster with a serious expression on his face.

“I trust Makoto. He hasn’t done anything to suggest that he has evil intentions, and he seems really torn up about the fact that he can’t tell us anything. If it’s really something of that importance, then he’ll tell us when he feels the time is right.”

Tengan gave a soft smile, chuckling under his breath as he lightly shook his head. Classic Jin… Leave it to him to put full trust into his students like this. It was an admirable trait for a headmaster to have, though he hoped it wouldn’t come back to haunt Jin.

“Well, I trust your decision has been well thought over. If this is the decision you’ve made, I will follow along with it, though I fear the students may have different ideas about what to do with Makoto.”

Jin watched as Makoto ran out of the gymnasium with Sayaka not far behind, letting out an exasperated sigh as he put a hand to his head. Things just weren’t going to be easy for him, were they? He just hoped that Makoto wasn’t getting himself into any major trouble.

---

“Ugh… This is what I get for actually trying to use my talent to stop trouble, huh? This sucks…”

Yuto grumbled under his breath, sitting up in his spot as he rubbed the back of his head. That wasn’t the worst landing in the world, but he absolutely didn’t appreciate getting shot out of a cannon in the first place. Seriously, why did Makoto’s lab even have something like that?! Security systems were one thing, but getting shot out of a damn cannon?! That was insanity! As he tried to regain his bearings, he heard a certain girl approach him!

“Yuto! What the actual fuck, dude?”

Yuto turned around to see… Kanon? Huh, not the person he expected to come and check on him. To be fair, he was actually expecting nobody to check on him, but… Well, that’s still different from what actually happened, right?

“Kanon? Where’ve you been? I noticed you didn’t show up to the basketball tournament…”

Kanon put her hands on her hips. She wanted to just talk about what happened, but she supposed she should probably explain herself to him.

“...I was hanging out at the common area with a couple of other students who didn’t feel like showing up. Once we heard a loud crash from this area, we all rushed over, including asshole McGee over there.”

She pointed towards Byakuya, who was now surveying the area and trying to figure out what happened. He looked… perplexed, but he seemed legitimately interested in what happened.

“...I see. Wait, that doesn’t make any sense! You’re telling me you chose not to watch Leon play? I don’t believe that for a second!”

Kanon huffed, puffing her cheeks out and turning away from Yuto with her arms crossed. She knew this question was coming, but she was still annoyed. Why did people have to get involved in her personal business so much?

“I’m not talking to Leon right now, alright? He keeps blowing me off to go hang out with Makoto or Sayaka, it’s infuriating! I mean, what do they have that I don’t?!”

“You mean aside from a tolerable personality that isn’t super obsessive and clingy?”

Kanon flinched, gritting her teeth and looking back towards the Spy. Yuto felt her glare on him, and instantly felt fear enter his head. He was gonna die, wasn’t he?

“What did you just say, you little bitch?”

“N-Nothing! I didn’t say anything! Uh… I gotta go! See ya!”

Yuto got up and quickly scampered away, with Kanon quickly running after him.

“Get back here! I’m not letting you get away that easily, you little shit!”

As Kanon started to hunt Yuto down, Yasuke just watched this all with a sigh. Why did he have to be stuck with the class full of idiots?

“Yasukeeeeeee, I’m booooooored….”

Junko snapped Yasuke out of his thoughts as she walked over to him, grumbling and pouting at the Neurologist with what could only be described as a pathetic look. Yasuke sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he addressed his childhood friend.

“Junko, I’m not your parent… Go find something else to do by yourself. Also, the tournament only got canceled a few minutes ago, how are you already bored?!”

Junko shrugged her shoulders, sticking her tongue out at Yasuke while giggling.

“Junko always has to be doing something, or her mind goes crazy with boredom! It’s just so annoying when you get the greatest despair high and then everything just goes to shit!”

Yasuke turned to her and raised an eyebrow. He was used to Junko switching personalities, but this one… was new. It almost seemed like she was…

“Are you… imitating personalities now? That sounded an awful lot like Ibuki…”

Junko’s smile disappeared, a hardened frown appearing on her face as she glared at Yasuke with her arms crossed.

“...Why do I need to tell you that? I’m not obligated to give you any information about myself.”

“Okay, so you are imitating people… That just then was definitely Kyoko.”

Junko looked lit up like a Christmas tree as Yasuke said that, nodding her head and flashing a bright smile at her childhood friend.

“Yes! Junko learn this from Tsumigi! She teach me how to be good cosplayer, Junko must learn to imitate others! How they speak, and how they act!”

“Gonta, seriously? No offense Junko, but it just sounds wrong when you try to imitate someone like him…”

Junko put on a depricating smile, looking down at her hand with a depressed expression.

“Oh, you don’t like my impressions…? Well, I guess that makes sense… There’s no way an awful, talentless piece of garbage such as myself could hope to impress anyone with my skills…”

Yasuke sighed, shaking his and crossing his arms. Despite his expression being one of annoyance, he couldn’t help but be a little amused at Junko’s characterization of her classmates.

“Come on now, anybody can do a good Nagito impression if you’re just gonna do that part. There’s more to his personality than just being a deprecating loser, Junko. Do an impression of someone that’ll really impress me.”

Junko flinched, backing away slightly from Yasuke.

“Eek! I-I’m sorry, b-but I don’t do requests… I-I’m sorry, Yasuke!”

That… was the first time Yasuke has ever heard Junko stutter. It was a pretty spot-on Mikan impression, but it just felt weird hearing someone as intelligent and confident as Junko stutter… It didn’t sound right.

“Gotta admit, hearing you stutter like Mikan is really weird… Don’t do that again.”

Junko grimaced, crossing her arms and giving Yasuke a nasty look.

“The fuck did you just say to me? Do you even know who you’re talking to?! I’m the daughter of the oyabun, bitch! I could have your ass sold to the highest bidder!”

Gee, I wonder who that’s an impression of...

“Okay, are you done? I’ve got more important things to do than listen to your nonsensical impressions, so if you’ll excuse me…”

Yasuke began walking away from the basketball court. Junko flinched, reaching out and calling to him as she ran to catch up.

“H-Huh? Hey, wait up! Don’t leave me behind!”

Was that supposed to be a Makoto impression? Looks like she has some work to do…

---

Kazuichi… was baffled. Yeah, baffled was definitely a good word for it.

He was simply just enjoying the tournament, ready to watch the semi-finals… until he nearly had a heart attack as 4 kids just fell through the ceiling. Needless to say, the screaming could be heard by everyone in the gym. Hell, probably everyone on the island at that. Once the reality of what happened had finally settled in, he was quickly tasked with assessing the damage. Once that was done and he informed Headmaster Kirigiri of the necessary repairs, his curiosity got the better of him and he decided to find out the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of this. The when is pretty obvious, and the where is Makoto’s Ultimate Lab according to the people that were shot out of the cannon.

That brings him to the what, and that’s what freaked him the hell out. According to them, they were SHOT OUT OF A CANNON. As ridiculous as this sounded, did he really have any reason not to believe them? There wasn’t much of an explanation otherwise for how they got launched over here. Besides, why would they lie about something like that? It didn’t make much sense to him.

The who… was a bit trickier. Obviously he knew who was launched out of the cannon, but he’s more wondering who even set it up to have them get launched over here. The obvious answer is Usami, but why would she do that? Not only does she make a secret area of Makoto’s Ultimate Lab, but she gives it the functionality to fire people out of cannons?! It couldn’t be Makoto himself, cause not only does he not have the technological know-how to do that himself, but he was also here at the gym the entire time. Hell, a large chunk of the people on this island were in the gym while this was taking place, so that eliminates a ton of people.

Even though Usami seems like the only logical answer, it just… didn’t click with Kazuichi. If she wanted to hurt them, why wouldn’t she have killed them when they were all knocked out? Besides, why give them their own little protective bubbles? Of course, those bubbles drove Kazuichi crazy on a technological level, but he’d get back to them when he knew more about the situation.

Now, why did this occur? Considering the people involved with the situation, Kazuichi had a pretty good idea of what happened. Nagito, Kokichi, and Yuto were all snooping around in Makoto’s Ultimate Lab, Shuichi got suspicious and went to investigate, and then they went somewhere they shouldn’t have and got fired out of a cannon. There’s probably more to it than that, but that’s the basics of what Kazuichi assumed happened. No, the real question is why does Makoto’s Lab even have anything that would allow this to happen? This goes more along with the why, but it completely baffled him. Makoto was just a boring, average guy who was brought in as the Ultimate Lucky Student. Why did his lab conceal so much shit in it?

And that brought Kazuichi to his biggest question… Those little bubble things that surrounded the boys as they crashed through the ceiling. According to Shuichi, they popped up and surrounded them right before they crashed through the ceiling, so clearly they were a defense mechanism to protect them from serious harm. However, it seemed to be unusable since they broke as soon as the guys landed. The inner workings of this ball drove Kazuichi INSANE. Sure, it was pretty likely that the chip that was placed on these guys had motion sensors or whatever, but that didn’t explain how they were able to fit a massive shield around them that was also super strong. That kind of thing is… possible, but it wouldn’t be common and most certainly must be made by an Ultimate. Thus, the big question that everyone had on their minds… who created these things? Who made Makoto’s Ultimate Lab so out there and, quite frankly, dangerous? When Kazuichi asked Usami about it, she just got nervous and ran away. Figures.

“Yo, Grease Monkey! Get out of your head and come check this out!”

Kazuichi grumbled at the nickname that Miu bestowed upon him before walking over, taking a look at Chihiro’s computer as Miu pointed at it.

“Ya see? Chihiro’s computer can’t analyze what kind of material this is. Don’t ya think that’s weird as hell? And lemme tell ya, I’m into some pretty weird stuff!”

Kazuichi didn’t even wanna bother responding to that last part, but it turns out he didn’t have to as Chihiro softly bumped Miu’s side, which turned her apologetic in almost an instant… huh.

“It can’t analyze the material…? But that’s impossible, she and I made that together! It should be able to analyze anything!”

Chihiro narrowed her eyes at the screen, multiple thoughts rushing through her head as she tried to form a theory on why this might be the case. The only theory that made sense was that this was some sort of material they had never seen before, but not only did that seem like a cop-out, but it also seemed so unlikely. I mean, why would there be a never before seen material on an abandoned island like this?

“I know it should… W-Which is why it doesn’t make sense for nothing to pop up when I scan it… I’m not sure it’s a bug in the system, or else I’d be receiving some sort of error report. I think this is something new.”

Miu and Kazuichi looked pretty taken aback by that. Something new? That’s… that would certainly take a while to process. After all, casually dropping the fact that this may be a new material is not exactly something that you experience every day of your life. The two of them looked between each other with hesitation.

“Chihiro… Are you fuckin crazy or something? You’re really telling me that this is a brand new material? That makes no fuckin’ sense!”

“Miu, language. And yeah… That’s what I’m saying. I mean, have you guys ever seen anything like this before?”

Kazuichi and Miu didn’t really have an answer for that. They looked between each other, and… Nope, not a word.

“That’s what I thought… The fact that the Ultimate Programmer, Ultimate Mechanic, and Ultimate Inventor all don’t know about a material that’s seemingly able to withstand this kind of impact… If it was something that was already discovered, do you know how unlikely that possibility would be?”

Kazuichi was still on the fence. As much as what Chihiro said made sense… the fact that this was a brand new material seemed just as unlikely to him. Then again, seeing Chihiro as confident as she was… That didn’t happen much. If someone like her, who constantly struggled with confidence, was asserting this theory with this much confidence? Maybe she was right after all…

“I guess… It just seems so crazy, you know? Having a brand new material just… pop up on this island? That doesn’t just happen.”

Chihiro frowned and nodded her head. Kazuichi certainly had a point… but there was something else that was strange to her.

“Not just that… You guys noticed how little this material makes sense, right? The fact that it was able to withstand the impact of colliding with the roof of this place, strong enough to bust through without falling apart, but then also being soft enough to make it so that none of the others were majorly hurt upon landing? I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not sure I can think of something in existence that works like that. Even if it was something like plastic, if they had enough force to break through the ceiling, they would absolutely have at least gotten injured from it. And it even popped like a balloon when it landed…”

Miu started grumbling, fidgeting in place as she turned to Chihiro.

“Enough! God, listening to this is just making my head hurt! How in the fuck are we supposed to figure out what this shit is? It’s bad enough that these cock-suckers were snooping in places that they shouldn’t be, but now they’ve brought on a whole new problem for us to look at!”

Kazuichi scratched the back of his head. He didn’t even consider the implications of the four guys finding this stuff on complete accident… No one else was there to confirm whether or not what they said was even true, but at the same time, Shuichi seemed trustworthy… But what were they looking for at Makoto’s lab? They couldn’t have just been fucking around there for no reason, and it’s not like Makoto’s lab wasn’t incredibly suspicious as is… He turned around, taking a look at Gundham and the rest of the chuuni squad talking amongst each other. From what Kazuichi could tell, they were most likely trying to rationalize what happened in their own… unique way. He couldn’t help but chuckle at that. Deep down, he kinda wished he could rationalize the world away with a mindset like that. Sadly, he’s been cursed with the knowledge and talent to know how things work and he can’t exactly just remove that knowledge from that brain… Which makes it all the more frustrating when he’s confronted with a problem he can’t tackle with his knowledge.

This whole thing just sucked, didn’t it?

---

Makoto was running. Running about as fast as he ever had, from what he could tell. After all, this was extremely important. If those 4 really had been snooping around his Ultimate Lab… things could get nasty. REALLY nasty. The things that Makoto had been told in that lab should not be spread around the island, and he knew it. He hadn’t told a soul what he learned there, and now there was a possibility that they knew? He had to go and check. He had to make sure. He had to make sure that-

“Makoto, how did I know you were going to be here?”

As Makoto was running to the lab, he quickly skidded to a stop. Right in front of the door to the lab was none other than… Kyoko Kirigiri.

“Kyoko… Heh, f-fancy meeting you here. Can I help you?”

Kyoko’s face intensified. She crossed her arms, giving Makoto a nasty glare and turning her body towards him. From her expression and her body language, she wasn’t even attempting to hide her anger and frustration, and Makoto knew it. He swallowed and tried to maintain his composure as Kyoko spoke.

“Cut the crap, Makoto. You running here immediately after that happened just confirms exactly what I knew all along. You’re hiding something, aren’t you? Something important. Something that could be vitally important for all of us to know, and yet you keep it hidden. So just stop trying to act like you’re a plain teenager with no purpose, alright? Tell me the truth.”

Makoto cringed. He knew he was gonna have to deal with this eventually… but hearing those words from her stung. As much as he just wanted to explain this away, there was nowhere left to run. He just had to calm her down.

“Kyoko, listen… I know you’re upset, but just let me explain, okay?”

Kyoko’s hardened expression remained, but she softened her stance as she maintained her glare towards Makoto.

“Go on. Explain to me exactly what the situation is.”

Makoto swallowed again, tugging at his shirt collar as he nervously looked around. What was he supposed to say to her? Was he really being forced to tell the truth? Could he really trust Kyoko with this kind of information? Sure, she seemed like the type who could keep a secret, but if she felt like it was important for everyone to know, would it spread out? Makoto wanted nothing more than to be able to unconditionally trust her with this information, and yet… He knew how important it was. He knew it could only be discussed sparingly, with no one else around. He-

“Makoto! Thanks for slowing down, you jerk!”

Makoto’s look of hesitation quickly turned to shock as he heard another voice enter the scene. None other than Sayaka Maizono… Why was she here?! This suddenly just got much worse…

“S-Sayaka?! What are you doing here?!”

Sayak huffed, a scowl creeping onto her face as she put her hands on her hips.

“Um, excuse me, I was running after you because you looked freaked out and were dashing over here! You think I wouldn’t be concerned about you when you look like that?!”

Makoto awkwardly chuckled. He could tell Kyoko was still staring into his soul as he talked with Sayaka, and it almost seemed like she was even angrier with him than before…

“Makoto, enough stalling. Tell me what you know, now.”

Sayaka and Makoto both turned towards Kyoko, and Makoto was about to comply… until Sayaka stepped in.

“Woah woah, hold up, I know you’re not trying to shake Makoto of all people for information on what happened. You really think he has anything to do with those four getting fired out of a damn cannon?”

Kyoko sighed and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. She really wasn’t expecting someone like Sayaka to show up… This might be more difficult than she initially expected. Getting Makoto to admit the truth wasn’t going to be too hard, but when you add someone like Sayaka into the mix to defend him… This suddenly got much more annoying to deal with.

“Actually, I do have reason to believe that Makoto withholding information directly led to this happening. So yes, I am trying to ‘shake him for information’ because not telling us is causing people to get hurt.”

Makoto cringed once again. He… really didn’t have an answer for that. Was anything that Kyoko said wrong? If he told people right away what he learned, Nagito and Kokichi wouldn’t have tried to sneak into his lab to figure out the secrets… Was there a better way to do this? Was it right for him to be entirely secretive of his ultimate lab when everyone on the island was just as scared and confused as he was? He… didn’t know the right answer. Of course, that didn’t stop Sayaka from coming to his defense.

“That’s not his fault! How could he have known that his lab had a cannon that fires intruders out of it?!”

“The fact that he hasn’t told us anything means that we can’t confirm exactly what he does and doesn’t know. The fact that he ran straight here after hearing the story from Shuichi instead of questioning how something like that was possible tells me everything I need to know about how much Makoto actually knows.”

Even after the time they had spent together investigating this island, Sayaka couldn’t believe just how cold and calculating she was towards one of her classmates. She’d say friend but… she didn’t really think Kyoko was much of a friend to Makoto.

“Kyoko, you-”

“Sayaka, it’s fine.”

Both of the girls turned back to Makoto as the lucky student turned to Kyoko with a solemn expression.

“Kyoko… I know you’re just trying to learn more about this island and why we’re here. I understand it’s your job to find the truth under a pile of lies… But I promise that I am entirely sincere when I say that what I learned… isn’t something that should be spread to others. It could cause so much damage to everyone here… and I don’t want that to happen. Because of that, I have to ask… Can you keep a secret? Are you able to keep this a secret from everyone else?”

Kyoko was a little surprised to see that Makoto was willing to tell her. She had done nothing but antagonize him the entire time, and even when he had Sayaka backing him… he decided to tell her. His actions made no sense.

“...Why are you suddenly willing to tell me?”

“I don’t want to mistrust you or any of my other friends. If you can promise to keep a secret… then I trust you.”

“Makoto! She’s been doing nothing but trying to get information out of you this entire time! How can you consider her a friend after that?!”

Makoto kept a firm expression and nodded his head. He had been thinking about it for a while… and this was his decision.

“I know that Kyoko is only doing this because she wants to make sure everyone here is safe… And I can understand that feeling. If I want to truly be friends with everyone here, then it wouldn’t be fair if I expect them to trust me if I don’t trust them in return, right? It’s okay, Sayaka. I trust her.”

Sayaka looked away. She obviously wasn’t on board with this idea, and yet… Makoto seemed so genuine with his words. She really couldn’t say no to this kid…

Kyoko, on the other hand, was baffled. How could he just trust her unconditionally like this? They barely knew each other. He had every reason to think she was acting with malicious intent, and yet he was willing to put his faith in her with no strings attached. It didn’t make sense.

“...Alright. I can keep a secret. If you’re really going to trust me, then I have no reason to betray that trust.”

Sayaka frowned. This girl… she really was a nuisance, wasn’t she? Sayaka didn’t like it. She didn’t like anything about this. And yet… Makoto made his decision. She couldn’t help but let out an exasperated sigh as Makoto responded.

“Thank you, Kyoko. I promise, I’ll make sure you know everything that I learned, okay?”

Kyoko turned away, nodding her head in response. As much as she wanted to call Makoto out on his horrific naivete… She didn’t want to distract the group any longer. She needed to know what was going on in this lab.

“That’s reassuring. If we’re done talking, do you mind letting us into the lab?”

Makoto nodded his head, walking over to the door and quickly opening it.

Though they had no way of knowing in the first place, none of them noticed that a certain window was completely fixed.

---

“Monaca! Monaca, where are you?”

Komaru looked around the entire gym, frantically screaming out as if she were looking for a lost child. She was doing her best to round up the Warriors of Hope after the incident, but Monaca was nowhere to be seen. How hard was it to find a girl with green hair on a wheelchair?! Jataro walked up to Komaru and tugged on her sleeve.

“Big Sis… I think Komaru left to go work on something important…”

Komaru turned to the masked child with confusion on her face. Work on something important? What could that mean?

“Huh? Jataro, what’re you talking about?”

Nagisa let out a sigh, shaking his head. He knew this would come up eventually…

“Komaru, you’ve noticed how Monaca likes to slip away sometimes, right? One second she’s here, and the next she’s off doing whatever… You think someone as smart as her isn’t doing something important when she slips away?”

Komaru looked a little taken aback by this. Sure, Monaca had a habit of disappearing… but from the way the kids were talking, it was as if she was doing something malicious.

…That couldn’t be true, right?

“Guys, have a little more faith in Monaca! I’m sure whatever she’s doing is safe and healthy. Like you guys said, she’s a smart girl! If she ended up in a dangerous situation, I’m confident she would be able to handle herself.”

Nagisa looked a little hesitant as she said that. As much as he wanted to tell her she was wrong… was there really any point? They didn’t know what Monaca was doing either, so what was the point in trying to freak Komaru out? It was best to just let her deal with it when the time came. Clearly, Masaru agreed.

“Yeah! Don’t you worry, Nagisa… Big Sis Komaru’s got this all figured out!”

Nagisa just let out a sigh. Leave it to Masaru to not even think about the situation for a second…

“Nagisa, relax! If it is the work of the divine that allows Monaca to work, then thou shall let her! She is our friend, is she not? Then she must be working with the best of intentions!”

That one hit a little closer to home. Kotoko certainly had a point… Monaca was their friend. Surely she wouldn’t go out of her way to do something that would be harmful to them, right?

“Alright, alright… I get the point, guys. I’ll have some faith in her.”

Komaru smiled, clapping her hands together as everyone came to a nice conclusion.

“Awesome! Now, if I remember correctly, we all said that we were… ‘going to war’ with the adults, as it were?”

The warriors of hope all turned their attention to Komaru, bright smiles popping onto their faces as they did. Even Nagisa couldn’t help but smile at that proposition.

“Well, we’ve gotta go prepare, don’t we? C’mon, let’s go get ready!”

The four Warriors of Hope let out a cheer, following Komaru out of the gymnasium as they went to prepare. The adults wouldn’t know what hit em!

---

“Chiaki… Is there any particular reason that you needed me to come along for this?”

As Hajime walked alongside Chiaki towards the staff building, he couldn’t help but question why he needed to tag along. She didn’t bring him the first time she went to talk about the whole gaming tournament thing, so why now?

“Well… To be honest, I actually just wanted to talk with you, and I thought this would be the best opportunity to get you alone.”

Hajime’s expression flipped on his head once Chiaki told him the truth. This… was the furthest thing from what he was expecting. Did she wanna talk about something serious? Or did she want some time away from the others?

“Chiaki, I-”

“Hajime, just… I need to talk to you. This is important.”

Hajime instantly clammed up, his mouth becoming a thin line as he nodded his head. Even when around someone as kind and sweet as Chiaki, hearing her take that tone just made him… nervous. He could feel the sweat begin to bead on his forehead as the bright, tropical sun bore down on both of them.

“Thank you. I just… Hajime, are you still worried about what your talent is?”

Hajime just chuckled a bit, giving Chiaki an awkward smile. What kind of answer was she expecting here…?

“Well, you’d be pretty worried if you couldn’t remember your talent too, right?”

“Hajime, please. Take this seriously.”

Hajime’s smile disappeared in an instant, his entire expression dropping to the ground as he let out a sigh.

“...Yes, Chiaki. I’m worried about my talent. How can I feel like I belong here on this island if I don’t even know what got me here in the first place?”

“Hajime, I’m not going to act like your issues aren’t important, but no one else on this island uses that as a knock against you. Right now, we’re all just a bunch of people left stranded and confused about where we are. We’re not here because of our talent, we’re here by chance.”

Hajime scoffed at that. It was so easy for her to say that when she already had a clearly defined talent. Everyone knew that she was the Ultimate Gamer and heaped praise onto her for it, but what did he have? He was just Hajime, the guy who couldn’t remember his own talent. He was nothing. He didn’t have anything.

…Where did that come from?

“Chiaki, I understand your concern, but really, I’m okay! Even if I don’t remember my talent, I know I have one! I mean, what happened during the basketball game has to count for something. After all, I-”

“Hajime, if you had to pick between having a talent and being with your friends, which would you pick?”

Hajime froze. That… That was a question he should answer easily. His friends, obviously. He was honestly insulted that Chiaki would even ask that question.

So why wasn’t he answering it?

Every time he opened his mouth to answer her, his words kept getting caught in his mouth. Almost as if something was stopping him every time. Why couldn’t he tell her how he felt?!

“I… Well… F-Friends, of course…”

Though he finally managed to get his answer out, Chiaki didn’t seem any more reassured by Hajime’s answer.

“...Hajime, you haven’t felt in control of your actions recently, have you?”

Hajime’s eyes widened. He was taken off guard before, but this… this was SHOCKING to him.

“How… How did you-”

“So it’s true… you have an alternate personality of some type, and you’re trying to suppress him.”

“Chiaki, what are you-”

“Look, it’s okay. I already know what’s going on. You don’t need to hide it from me.”

Hajime stopped talking. As she said that, a sharp pain spiked through his head, forcing him to close his eyes. Once the pain dulled, he opened his eyes to show that they were bright red.

“...How.”

“How? What are you referring to…?”

“How did you know I was here?”

Chiaki let out a sigh, turning to the side ever so slightly as she gave him her answer.

“To be honest, I just wanted to make sure Hajime wasn’t getting too far into his own head, but considering how suspicious his actions were… it felt like wasn’t in control of his actions. I took a shot in the dark, and out comes you…”

“Hajime” crossed his arms, giving Chiaki a steady scowl at this. The girl was lying, but he didn’t care to inquire on why.

“Hm. You are a poor liar, Chiaki Nanami. However, I will allow you to get away with your lie for today. Rather, I will answer your questions regarding who I am and how I came to be.”

Chiaki tilted her head ever so slightly. Even in this serious situation, she had that same aloof expression on her face. It was almost comical seeing her be so serious with a face like that.

“You’re willing to answer my questions? I thought you’d be more hesitant than that… There’s been a pretty clear effort to try and stop anyone from learning about you…”

“That was the will of the primary owner of this body, Hajime Hinata. Despite his best attempts, he has failed to keep me contained, and I am not partial to being contained within his psyche.”

Chiaki let out a sigh. Talking to this guy was like talking to a flat piece of wood… but she was determined to get through this. For Hajime’s sake.

“I see… So, uh, who exactly are you?”

“My name is Izuru Kamakura… I am Hajime Hinata’s alternate personality, and thus, I exist solely within him.”

“An alternate personality… Izuru, when were you created?”

“That is not information that you need to know, nor will it be information that you will obtain. If you have any other questions, I am happy to answer them.”

Chiaki tapped her chin in thought, humming to herself as she wracked her brain.

“Well… I guess I don’t really have much to ask. How does it work when you and Hajime switch places?”

“I am only called out when Hajime wishes for me to or when he’s under enough stress that I force my way out. Annoyingly, the former situation does not happen often, and thus I am stuck in the recesses of his mind until it is time for me to help him in some way.”

Chiaki frowned, bringing her hoodie up over her head as she processed exactly what Izuru was saying.

“I see… You don’t like being in Hajime’s head, do you?”

Izuru gave her a blank stare for just a moment before responding.

“If you were in my situation, you would understand. I don’t think even you would be able to tolerate sitting in someone else’s mind, not able to do anything but converse with the host body. It’s a cruel existence. Of course, I keep myself entertained however I can, though even that has become quite… boring.”

Chiaki nodded her head. She could totally understand where Izuru was coming from… being stuck in a place without any video games sounds like hell for someone like her.

“If that is all the questions you want to ask of me, it’s best if I return back to Hajime’s mind. I do not wish for anyone else to see me, as it risks having suspicion fall on Hajime and for the more… annoying people to wish to speak to me.”

Chiaki sighed, but she ended up agreeing with him. At the end of the day, he was just an alternate personality…

“Alright… I’ll see you another time, Izuru.”

Izuru nodded his head, closing his eyes and reverting back to Hajime. As Hinata returned once more, he frowned and scratched the back of his head.

“So… I guess you know. You had a much more positive reaction than I expected, honestly.”

“You saw my reaction?”

Hajime nodded his head, finally continuing the walk to the staff building.

“Yeah. When we’re not in control of the body, we have pretty much the same senses as we would if we were in control. Y’know… seeing, hearing, all that stuff.”

Chiaki nodded her head, but offered no comment in return. The two awkwardly walked side by side for a bit before Chiaki decided to ask the bigger question.

“...So you’re not gonna tell me how and when you got Izuru?”

Hajime frowned and shook his head. Go figure…

“Well, I guess I can’t force you to tell anyone… But I don’t think his existence is as much of an issue as you think. Plenty of people here have weird quirks, y’know?”

Hajime chuckled, scratching the back of his head. She… definitely had a point there. Some of the people on this island were… out there, to put it lightly.

“I guess you have a point… I dunno, I’ll think about it. Once I feel I’m ready, I’ll tell people.”

Chiaki smiled and nodded.

“That’s all I ask from you, Hajime.”

---

Chisa burst into the kitchen area of Class 77’s hotel. From her disheveled hair, the unamused look on her face, and the overall slouchiness of her movements… it was clear she was having a rough day. Even though the basketball tournament went over well with everyone involved, she couldn’t help but feel the whole situation put a damper on it. Not that that was even the primary issue on her mind, because OH MY GOD, MAKOTO’S ULTIMATE LAB CAN LAUNCH PEOPLE OUT OF A CANNON! How was she supposed to deal with that?! She’s a brand new teacher and her kids are getting launched out of damn cannons! Jin told her to just focus on the things she can control, but how was she able to do that when she was so worried?!

As she walked into the kitchen, she was met with a familiar smell… the smell of Teruteru cooking away in the kitchen, a smell so delicious that it almost melted all of Chisa’s worries away. She walked over to the source of the smell, taking a seat at the diner type set-up that Teruteru was using and offering a large smile.

“Ah, Ms Yukizome! What a pleasant surprise! What can I get you on this lovely day?~”

Chisa smiled at Teruteru’s upbeat attitude, tapping her chin a bit as she thought about what she wanted.

“I’ll just take a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, Teruteru… I don’t wanna distract you too much from cooking dinner.”

Teruteru scoffed and clicked his tongue while wagging his finger.

“Nonsense, mademoiselle! Serving you takes the highest priority here at Hanamura Diner! So please, what would you like?”

Chisa couldn’t help but giggle. Once Teruteru got into the zone, he took his job so seriously and was quite insistent on serving to the best of his ability. Chisa really loved seeing him in his natural habitat, and yet…

“It’s okay, Teruteru, I’m not actually that hungry. The truth is… I wanted to talk to you.”

That left the cook… er, chef a tad taken aback. She was there to talk with him?

“Eh? Oh, of course… Wh-What do you wanna talk about?”

Chisa let out a sigh, her positive expression fading away as she looked the chef in the eye. This… was not gonna be an easy conversation, but if she wanted to control what she could like Jin said, this needed to be done.

“Teruteru, I haven’t seen you much outside the kitchen… I’m worried that you’re not making friends.”

Teruteru awkwardly chuckled, beginning to grab some supplies to quickly make her a sandwich.

“N-Nonsense! I have plenty of friends! Please, don’t worry too much about me, and just enjoy your meal…”

Chisa’s expression became more serious. She knew right away that Teruteru was deflecting… so it’s time to push harder.

“Teruteru, please. I didn’t see you at all during the basketball tournament, and I’ve barely seen you at all. Is there something wrong?”

Teruteru’s laid back expression began to falter. He tried his best to maintain his composure, and yet…

“I-I don’t… know what you’re… t-talking about…”

“Teruteru, I want to help you. If there’s something wrong, you know you can talk to me about it. I’m here for you.”

That was the final straw. Once Chisa had said that, Teruteru just started bawling. Salty tears began rushing down his face as he tried to choke out his words.

“I-I… I just… No one s-seems ta like me… And ah’m trying so hard to m-make friends, a-and ah see dem wit all of dere friend groups, and ah j-just feel…”

Teruteru couldn’t even finish the sentence as Chisa leaned forward and wrapped the chef in a hug.

“There, there… I’m sorry, I had no idea you were going through this… I promise that no one here thinks that you’re worthless, Teruteru. Everyone on this island loves your food, and would love the chance to get to talk to you!”

Teruteru sniveled a bit, looking up to Chisa with a pitiable look.

“Y-Ya really mean it?”

Chisa nodded her head, wearing the brightest smile that she could muster.

“Of course I do. Just… don’t talk sexual with anyone. It makes them uncomfortable, you know? I think if you just dialed that back, people would be a lot more willing to talk and hang out with you.”

Teruteru chuckled a tad and wiped the tears away.

“A-Alright… ah’ll do it. Th-Thank you, Ms. Yukizome…”

“I’m always here for you, Teruteru. Please don’t forget that.”

---

Down the slide again… Was this the right choice? I’m honestly not sure… But I trust Kyoko.

As Makoto, Kyoko, and Sayaka all slid down to the depths of Makoto’s Ultimate Lab, the lucky student couldn’t help but have some doubts running through his mind. Not that it mattered, they were already on their way, but…

The three of them dropped out of the slide and landed on the safety mat. Kyoko landed on her feet, followed by Makoto landing on his stomach and Sayaka landing… directly on top of him.

“Oops! Sorry, Makoto! I didn’t mean to!”

Makoto just chuckled, slowly getting up and brushing himself off. Fitting for his luck to have him land weirdly the second time as well…

“D-Don’t worry about it. Anyways, since we’re here, the computer should just turn itself on…”

Right on cue, the massive set of computer screens turned on, with the 3 Class 78 students turning to it to watch in awe.

Four lifeforms detected. Scanning…

“Wait, four? Who-”

Scan complete. Makoto Naegi recognized.

Alert: Lifeform detected in opening to secret area. Removing lifeform from the entrance immediately.

Makoto, Sayaka, and Kyoko all wore a confused expression on their faces before they felt a huge burst of wind pressure coming out of the tunnel. As it did, a new fourth person dropped down onto the mat… Mukuro Ikusaba.

“Mukuro?! How did you get in here?!”

As Mukuro got back up onto her feet, she brushed herself off and addressed her classmates.

“...I noticed you looking frantic when you were heading out of the gymnasium, so I followed after you… When I finally caught up, you were already walking into the lab, so I decided to rush after you… I didn’t want Kyoko or Sayaka to know I was here in case they were trying to exploit you in any way, but I suppose it’s too late for that…”

Kyoko and Sayaka didn’t much appreciate that last part, but they quickly brushed it off once the computer began talking again.

New lifeform recognized as Mukuro Ikusaba. Now preparing ejection protocol…

“Huh? No, cancel! Cancel!”

Canceling ejection protocol.

Makoto let out a sigh of relief, while the other three just looked on in shock. Even Kyoko couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“...Makoto. Though I don’t want to be suspicious of you when you’ve just recently placed your trust in me, I can’t help but notice that the mechanism responsible for firing four of our classmates out of a cannon listens to your voice commands…”

Makoto turned to Kyoko, raising his hands defensively and shaking his head.

“N-No, it’s not like that! I think… the automatic defense protocols noticed those four and made sure they weren’t getting access to anything important.”

Kyoko looked suspicious, but after Sayaka and Mukuro gave her some particularly nasty looks, she decided to drop the conversation.

“Alright, I understand. Regardless, there’s some information that I believe you were going to reveal to us?”

Makoto sighed, nodding his head and turning to the computer and clearing his throat.

“Computer, these three are trustworthy.”

Once Makoto said that, the computer screens formed a pseudo face and began looking at them all.

“I see. Welcome back, Makoto, Ultimate Hope.”

Kyoko scratched her chin at this.

“Ultimate Hope, huh…?”

Sayaka and Mukuro, on the other hand, weren’t surprised at all. They both knew Makoto was special, but they just couldn’t put it into words… Ultimate Hope had a nice ring to it, didn’t it?

Makoto let out a sigh. No more stalling… It was time to reveal the truth.

“Computer, please inform everyone here of the situation.”

The computer… nodded its head? And turned to address all three of the newcomers. What they heard wouldn’t be forgotten. Not now, and most certainly not in the future.

“There will be a killing game performed on this island in the very near future. The events that cause it are already in motion, and were in motion before you all arrived at this island. It is impossible to stop the start of the killing game.”

Chapter Text

Sayaka, Kyoko, and Mukuro were all left stunned. Makoto looked on with a saddened expression as the words of the computer dragged all four of them down, as if an anchor were tied to their legs. This… This was what it felt to have the air sucked out of your lungs.

Sayaka herself was terrified. She had no idea what was even going on! Why did Makoto have this computer in the basement of his Ultimate Lab? Why did it seemingly know exactly what was going on in this island? More importantly, what the hell was a killing game?! And… why did the thought of it terrify her so intensely?

Kyoko was keeping herself much more composed than Sayaka, but to say she wasn’t shaken would be a lie. Her tells are just… dulled. Her shaking was so minuscule that it wouldn’t be noticeable unless you were actively looking for it. Of course, her having any physical sense of fear was an achievement in and of itself. Contrary to what others believe, Kyoko feels fear. She feels it the same as any other person you could find on the street. The difference is that she has the unique ability to hide that fear and confront the issue. But for this…? What was she even supposed to confront? She had no idea what a killing game even entailed. She had no idea what to be prepared for. She had no clues as to who would be responsible for this.

However, the person most shaken by this news… was Mukuro. Here she was, being told that the plan her sister has been coming up with for years that she had previously just scrapped all together… was now going to happen? It was impossible. Completely out of the question. It… was completely possible. Did Junko just cut her out of the plan entirely? Was she ever part of the plan? Or, even worse… could there be someone else in charge of the killing game? That… That was impossible. There’s no way someone could have the same idea as Junko and not only have the resources, but also the intelligence and manpower to make it happen. Then again, it very clearly wasn’t Junko who brought them all to this island… Could it be…?

“Do you see why I was trying to keep this a secret now…?”

All three of the girls turned to Makoto as the lucky student turned back to them, a solemn expression on his face as he addressed them. They all immediately turned their attention to him as he continued.

“I… I don’t want everyone to go into a panic over this. I don’t know exactly what a killing game is, but I’m sure it’s nothing good… If this information got out, how would anybody be able to trust each other? That’s why I needed to be able to trust you. This information… the others can’t know about it. They just can’t. I’m sorry for hiding this from you all…”

As much as Kyoko wanted to disparage Makoto for keeping something of this magnitude a secret, even she couldn’t find herself to be mad at the luckster when his words rang true. He spoke to them with such passion and legitimate worry for the people of this island that… It was hard to imagine that he had evil intentions. Thus, she let out a sigh and crossed her arms, doing her best to avoid direct eye contact with Makoto.

“...I see. I understand the situation now, Makoto. Considering the circumstances… I do not blame you for the actions you took. However, now that we all know, it’s our job to make sure that something like this does not happen.”

Kyoko faced forward once more, her cold expression pointing directly at the blue screen in front of her.

“Computer. You said that a ‘killing game’ on this island was inevitable, but you failed to explain exactly what that would entail… If you would, we need an explanation about this game. How does it affect us? What are the rules? Be as specific as you possibly can.”

Once Kyoko finished her statement, the computer put up a loading screen for a moment as it processed her words before forming a response.

”The killing game is a type of survival game that takes place in some sort of restricted place. For this killing game, the abandoned set of islands will be used. In the killing game, the participants are forced away from their homes and restricted access to the outside world, and if they desire to leave the restricted area, they must murder a fellow participant, become the blackened, and deceive the remaining survivors at the class trial in order to escape. These are the basic rules of the killing game.”

Dead silence. Makoto couldn’t help but cringe at the computer’s words, even though he has heard them all before. It… It was making him sick to his stomach to hear about the game once more.

Not that any of the others took it better. Mukuro herself already knew all the rules, as Junko had explained it to her many times in the past. Not that she particularly liked seeing Makoto so torn about this… Kyoko’s cold expression seemed to be cracking a bit. She seemed… disgusted. Revolted. More than anything, she seemed like she was about to tear someone apart. Sayaka, on the other hand… was horrified. That look in her eyes screamed someone who was way out of her depth. Fear and sorrow seemed to be completely consuming her. Admittedly, it… hurt to watch. Even if she wasn’t great friends with the idol, Mukuro didn’t like seeing her this way. It was strange, wasn’t it? Wasn’t this feeling of despair and hopelessness what she was helping Junko create? If that were the case… then why did she hate this so much? Seeing her classmates so miserable? After the moment had passed, Kyoko finally broke the silence.

“I… I see. Is there a chance you can give us any information on the identity of who is keeping us here? And are they the same people who are going to orchestrate the killing game?”

”Apologies, but even I cannot offer you that information at this time. The identity of the mastermind, or masterminds, of this killing game is unknown even to me. I will continue searching my databases for anything that may be useful, but I’m afraid there is nothing at this time.”

Kyoko sighed, shaking her head and brushing her hair out of her eyes once more. This was quite the nuisance… She was expected to investigate this matter without any semblance of a who or why? Well… That’s exactly what she was going to do.

“I see… Thank you, regardless. We can take it from here.”

As no more questions were asked, the computer reverted to its sleep mode. Makoto swallowed, looking between the three of them before his eyes landed on… Sayaka.

“S-Sayaka… Are you okay? I know that’s a lot of information to take in, and I don’t expect you to be completely okay with everything, but… We’re all here for you.”

Kyoko and Mukuro turned to Sayaka. She… Yeah, she wasn’t looking great. Her eyes seemed washed out… like all the life in her body had just been drawn away. She was shivering… her eyes watered… For all intents and purposes, it looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown.

“I-I… I don’t… I don’t wanna be here anymore…”

Makoto cringed. Seeing someone like Sayaka be this broken up about the announcement… It hurt. It hurt a lot. Seeing the Sayaka who would get up on stage to give the best performance that Makoto had ever seen, and comparing her to the broken, distraught, shell of a person in front of him… It was like comparing two different people. He wanted to support her. He wanted to tell her that everything was going to be okay, that there was a chance that the prediction wouldn’t come true and the killing game would be avoided… but was that really the case? Could he confidently say for sure that the computer’s warning wasn’t true and they would continue living peacefully on the island? No, he couldn’t say that with certainty. Makoto had no idea what was going on, or what forces were at play… But he did know one thing. He was the Ultimate Hope, and regardless of if he deserved that title or not, it was his responsibility to inspire hope in others.

“Sayaka… I understand your feelings. Kyoko, Mukuro… I’m sure you two must be terrified too. The concept of a… a killing game, it’s so cruel and unfair… And being told that we’re going to be stuck in something like that is… a prospect I’d rather not think about.”

Makoto’s face hardened, eyes narrowing and the serious meter being cranked up ten times as he faced the other three with a look of determination.

“But there’s a reason we were told this! If we know that it’s being planned, we can stop it! If we work together, there’s always a chance that we can stop the game from happening and keep everyone safe! It might not be likely, but we have to take that opportunity! If there’s even a slim chance to save everyone on the island, I’m going to do everything I can to keep everyone safe! And that includes all of you!”

Everyone was stunned. Of all people, they were not expecting someone like Makoto to give such an impassioned speech. Shy, average, boring, typical Makoto just gave them all a speech that seemed to completely wash away their sorrow. Sayaka wiped the tears away, giggling a bit as she flashed a weak smile at Makoto.

“Heh… You’re really taking your title as Ultimate Hope seriously, aren’t you? That was a pretty good speech, Makoto.”

Makoto blushed ever so slightly, bashfully scratching the back of his head. He wasn’t really sure how it would go over with them, but he’s glad it managed to at least cheer Sayaka up a bit.

“A-Ah, well… I just spoke what I felt, really. I didn’t want you guys to let this keep you down, that’s all…”

Sayaka nodded her head, walking up to Makoto before walking up to the luckster and wrapping him up in a hug, much to Mukuro’s chagrin. The soldier growled a little bit, even more so as Sayaka stuck her tongue out at her. This feeling building up inside of Mukuro… was it anger? Well yes, but it felt… different. She couldn’t quite put into words how she felt about Sayaka right now, but it wasn’t positive, she could tell you that much. Sayaka pulled away from the hug, giggling at the sight of a very embarrassed and bashful Makoto Naegi.

“Of course, I was being serious about before… I’d rather not stay here any longer than I need to. This place gives me the creeps…”

Kyoko nodded her head, walking over to the… slide? That served as their entrance.

“Speaking of leaving… Makoto, do you happen to know how to leave this place? There doesn’t seem to be a clear exit at the moment.”

Makoto nodded his head, though he awkwardly scratched his cheek as he did so. He turned to Mukuro.

“Yeah, so… Mukuro, you remember how you got in here, right?”

Mukuro cringed. She didn’t like where this was going, but nodded her head.

“Um… Yes. I do. Why do you ask…?”

Makoto gave an apologetic smile as he pointed up to the slide.

“Well… The opposite also works. If we want to leave, I just say ‘Activate Exit Protocol’ and the co-”

Makoto realized his mistake right as soon as he said it. Once he spoke those words, the computer turned on.

”Activating exit protocol. Working to amend the issue with the previous attempt where the lower part of the slide failed to extend.”

“Ooooh, so that’s why I was thrown flat on my face the last time… Just my luck, huh?”

Not long after Makoto came to the realization, a sound like that of a vacuum cleaner filled the room as the four members of Class 78 were sucked up into the tube once more.

---

Toko… was miserable. That was the best way to describe how she felt right now. How could she not be? Here she was on an abandoned set of islands, surrounded by people she didn’t know who were tolerable at best and incredibly unpleasant at worst, forced to walk around in the bright tropical sun, and being forced to get close to… water. The very thought of it made her shiver. Needless to say, this was NOT her idea of a perfect vacation, and she hated every second of it. There wasn’t a moment of the day where she wasn’t ready to just tuck herself away in her room and never escape.

Until something happened.

“Alright guys, the plan is very simple! All we gotta do is fill these balloons up with paint, and start camping out in locations where people show up frequently. Then, once we get a target or two, bam! We hit 'em with everything we got before getting out of there. Any questions?”

Jataro looked to the side, awkwardly tapping his sleeves together. Seems like he had something to say.

“Um… Big Sis, I didn’t wanna mention it before, but… Uh… It’s unhealthy to… breathe in paint… Wouldn’t we be really hurting people…?”

Komaru hesitated a bit at that. Now that she thought about it… Yeah, Jataro was entirely correct. The fumes from paint could be really harmful to people… and if they threw a paint balloon at someone’s face, that could be really bad. Thankfully for her, Nagisa interjected with a smirk on his face.

“Not to worry, Jataro, because I came prepared for this.”

Nagisa lifted up one of the jugs of paint and showed it off to the group.

“You see, when I was getting us all paint to use for this, I made sure to grab paint that didn’t emit fumes that would harm people if inhaled. It has the downside of being easy to wash off, but I think that’s for the best anyways… Don’t wanna get in too much trouble with our first attack, right?”

Masaru let out a loud, boisterous laugh as he slapped Nagisa on the back, causing him to cough and stumble a bit from the impact.

“Hahaha! Good ol Nagisa, always coming prepared! Where would we be without you?”

Nagisa grumbled a bit under his breath. Masaru was definitely spending waaaaay too much time with Nekomaru…

“Right… Anyways, let’s get this started, guys. These paint balloons aren’t gonna fill themselves, you know.”

Everyone let out a cheer and quickly got to work, taking a handful of balloons and their own jug of paint as they began filling them up with various paints.

Toko… wasn’t sure how to approach this situation. Should she tell these kids to cut it out? Well, the supposed leader of the group didn’t seem much like a kid… wasn’t she Makoto’s younger sister? She didn’t know why, but something about her… Toko hesitated. Was she really about to do this? She… almost never approached anybody. Her being deathly afraid of human interaction… it seemed like it completely vanished in a moment.

Thus, she approached the group.

“U-Um… H-Hi…”

Everyone in the group turned to face Toko, making her flinch and quickly turn away. However, Komaru seemed to light up ever so slightly upon seeing Toko.

“Oh! You’re… Toko Fukawa, right? The Ultimate Novelist, or something like that? My brother told me all about you! You’re in his class, right?”

There was a surprise. Toko didn’t know that Makoto had paid any attention to her at all, much less enough to tell his sister about. Then again, that just seemed like the type of guy Makoto was, even if Toko was still convinced it was all a facade that he used to tear people down when they were at their weakest.

Toko had trust issues, okay?

“E-Er… Y-Yeah. C-Class 78… A-And you’re in t-the reserve course?”

Toko bit her thumb, internally kicking herself. What a stupid question! Why did she even bother-

“Yup yup! Me and all the Warriors of Hope here. That’s the name for all the kiddos in the reserve course, if you didn’t know.”

Whew. Good thing Komaru didn’t berate her for that dumb question. Guess she’s nicer than Toko assumed.

“C-Cool. So… Wh-What are y-you guys up to…?”

Kotoko stood up, a bright smile appearing on her face as she began one of her spiels.

“Ah, you inquire about our assault on the adults who rule the island? Why, we cannot merely tell our plan to any commoner who requests that we do! You could merely be a spy of the monarchy that oppresses us, and are here to learn of our plans! You can do what you like, but we shall stand firm, for we are-!”

“We’re filling balloons up with paint to prank the adults on the island.”

Kotoko flinched, completely dropping her dramatic persona as she turned to Nagisa with an angered expression.

“Nagisa! How could you let her know of our plans so easily?!”

Nagisa sighed, facepalming and shaking his head. This girl was really a handful sometimes…

“Kotoko, it’s clear that she just wants to hang out with us… If she were a spy for the adults, we would know that by now. Besides, what kind of spy reveals themselves and begins talking with the enemy when she could’ve easily learned the plan just by hiding nearby?”

Kotoko huffed, puffing out her cheeks and turning away from Nagisa.

“Fine, have it your way! I shall continue my efforts in preparing ammunition! And for your information, I’m not going to share with you!”

Kotoko turned and began walking away, creating a good amount of distance between herself and Nagisa. Nagisa, still in shock, could only stand and watch as she began filling up her ammunition again. Masaru chuckled, an awkward smirk on his face as he turned to his friend.

“Ouch. Swing and a miss, dude. I don’t think that could have gone worse.”

Nagisa grumbled, turning to Masaru with a… displeased expression.

“I wasn’t gonna go on with her inane ramblings about keeping the secret that’s barely even a secret… Come on, let’s get back to work.”

Masaru just sighed, shrugging his shoulders and returning to his jug of paint as he continued filling balloons up. Komaru let out a sigh of her own, turning back to Toko with an apologetic smile.

“H-Heh… Sorry ‘bout that, Toko… These kids can be a little crazy sometimes, but I promise that they’re good people!”

“R-Right… I-It’s fine…”

Toko awkwardly shifted around. That whole exchange… was definitely weird, but it seemed pretty typical of kids who were that young. The more pressing issue on her mind was how she was going to ask Komaru to join the group? After all, she couldn’t just ask straight up, cause why would they want an ugly, smelly, gr-

“So, do you wanna join our group? We could definitely use more people, and you seem pretty cool… I-It’s okay if you don’t want to, I-”

“Y-Yes! I-I mean… Yeah, I’d l-like to join, if y-you’d allow me…”

Komaru giggled a bit, flashing Toko a warm smile as she handed the novelist a jar of paint.

“Alright, welcome to the team, Toko! Right now we’re just getting our ammunition filled up, but I’ll make sure you have all the details of the plan soon! I’m really excited to work with you!”

As Toko took the jar of paint and a good number of empty balloons, she gave Komaru a bright smile.

“Y-Yeah… M-Me too.”

---

“Master Togami, your tea is ready.”

Byakuya looked up from the book he was reading to see Kirumi approaching him with a tray of tea and placing it on the small table Byakuya was sitting near. The heir nodded his head in acknowledgement before grabbing the cup, bringing the cup to his lips and taking a small sip.

“Kirumi, your tea is as excellent as ever. I must admit, I am impressed.”

The Ultimate Maid did a small curtsy, a smile creeping onto her face at Byakuya’s compliment.

“Of course, I offer nothing but the highest quality of service to my clients.”

Byakuya set the tea back down on the tray, a satisfied smirk appearing on his face as he set his book down on his lap.

“I quite appreciate that. I was afraid that I would have to deal with the peons of this island in order to get some small amount of relaxation, but they’ve thankfully found ways to keep themselves occupied and out of my hair.”

Kirumi turned away from the heir ever so slightly.

“I see. Pardon me for the assumption, but I assume you have no interest in basketball? Or sports of any kind, for that matter?”

Byakuya took another sip of tea. He honestly should’ve expected this question, as he’s heard it many times in the past, and he was always going to give the same answer.

“My tolerance for sports begins and ends at what I’m required to experience when discussing with potential clients. If I really had to pick a sport, it would be golf, though even I can appreciate the intricacies of a game like baseball.”

Kirumi nodded her head. Yes, that did make sense… Byakuya isn’t the type to enjoy a fast paced game like basketball and most certainly isn’t a football fan.

“I see… So you were happy about the basketball tournament because it would hold their attention, correct?”

“Precisely. With this many people on these islands, it’s difficult to get some peace and quiet. However, putting all the idiots and simpletons in one place grants me quite a few options for how to spend my day. Frankly, I must be thankful to Nekomaru for putting it all together.”

Kirumi… wasn’t surprised to hear this. The unfortunate truth is that this is just how Byakuya has been ever since he solidified himself as the heir to the Togami Corporation. Not that she could particularly blame him, that sort of trial would put a strain on anybody and warp how they viewed the world.

“I see that you haven’t changed a bit, Master Byakuya.”

Byakuya scoffed at this, crossing his arms and turning to Kirumi with a disinterested expression.

“Kirumi, as much as I respect you and your talent, I would prefer if you did not act as if you were capable of understanding me or what I’ve accomplished.”

Kirumi giggled. As much of a prickly cactus as Byakuya was, she couldn’t help but miss serving him. He was… an interesting person to serve, that was for sure.

“Even after serving you for so long, am I not afforded the slightest bit of leeway? I may have missed a few years of your life after I was called away, but is that enough for you to put such distance between us?”

Byakuya merely let out a sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose before responding to her.

“Well, I suppose you deserve that much, at least… Very well. I will grant you the privilege to speak to me as an equal for this moment. Be thankful that I have granted you this honor, for I do not grant it lightly.”

Kirumi smiled and gave a small bow to the heir.

“I’m highly honored. Though I must say, I’m surprised you decided to go to Hope’s Peak. I thought you would prefer to spend your time increasing your influence.”

Byakuya chuckled, readjusting his glasses as he turned to Kirumi with an expression that exudes confidence. It was so… Byakuya.

“You are right about my goals, but you are wrong about my methods. Going to Hope’s Peak was all about my influence and legacy, Kirumi. I did not come here for something as trite as ‘connections’ or ‘friendship’. I came here to establish myself as an elite among the elite, as a man who will rule over all as the head of the Togami Corporation. That is my goal.”

As Byakuya finished up his tea, Kirumi began gathering everything up to clean. She had plenty of time to process what Byakuya told her as she cleaned everything up. He really was doing everything he could to just win at life, wasn’t he? It made sense. His position requires him to run the world’s largest corporation, so of course it was important that he assert himself. Even still, sealing yourself off from everyone else… Kirumi couldn’t agree with that, even on a business level. His classmates were going to become leaders of their fields, and not creating relationships with them now would be a mistake in the long run.

Kirumi returned from the kitchen, taking a broom and beginning to sweep up the area around Byakuya. Though it wasn’t requested, she always preferred being busy than not. Plus, Byakuya would want the area around him to be as clean as possible regardless, so best to just get ahead of the game.

“So your goal is to expand the influence of the Togami Corporation without making connections with your fellow classmates? I must admit, that is a tall task, even for someone like you.”

Byakuya had returned to his book in the time it took Kirumi to clean up the tea set, and he didn’t even look away as he gave her his response.

“What would making connections with my classmates accomplish? They don’t offer anything of interest to me. Sayaka is a pop idol, Leon is a baseball player that doesn’t even appreciate the one thing he offers to the world, Toko and Hifumi are both disgusting authors, Aoi and Sakura are meatheads, Mondo is a typical street thug, Mukuro and Junko are completely worthless to me, and Yasuhiro is a scammer and a cheat. Celeste acts like she’s on my level, but she couldn’t be further from it. The only people who could even be potentially useful are Chihiro, Kyoko, and maybe Taka if he actually manages to restore his family’s name, but that’s about as likely as pigs flying.”

Kirumi nodded her head. Much as she felt this was an incredibly callous point of view, she couldn’t exactly disagree with any of what Byakuya said, either. That being said…

“Ah, you failed to mention Makoto, sir… What are your thoughts on him?”

Byakuya lowered the book from his face ever so slightly before shaking his head and returning to it.

“Makoto is a peon. He has no talent, no motivation to improve, and he has no future. He is just another example of the 99% that float around aimlessly in the world. He is living proof that not all people are created equal. To be honest, I pity him.”

Kirumi frowned. Byakuya really knew how to ramp it up when it came to someone he disliked, didn’t he? Of course, there was a hot topic going around that Kirumi felt she should ask about.

“That may be true, but have you considered his Ultimate Lab? It’s quite apparent to me that the building holds many secrets, perhaps pertaining to how Makoto got into the school. I am aware of the lottery, but considering the type of person Nagito is, I’m led to believe it’s a bit more than simply getting lucky.”

Byakuya considered this for a moment. Though he could care less about the drama of people snooping around in the Ultimate Lab of someone like Makoto, he couldn’t ignore the fact that the secrets it holds were deeply interesting to him. He hated being in the dark as much as anyone, but if he could find out the truth about this island and why they were here in Makoto’s lab…

Byakuya came to a decision. He closed his book and set it down on the table, turning to Kirumi as he did so.

“Kirumi, this has been a wonderful conversation. However, there is some… business I must take care of. Have a nice day.”

Byakuya stood up, crossing his arms and heading for the door. Because he was too focused on his thoughts, he completely missed Kirumi’s smile widening as he exited the room.

“Yes… You have a nice day as well, Byakuya Togami.”

Kirumi walked away from the scene after she finished cleaning, making sure all the cleaning supplies were in the right spot before heading out. Once she had left, the person who had been eavesdropping on the conversation finally peeked his head out. It was Yuto Kamishiro.

“Kirumi… Why did you want Byakuya to go to Makoto’s Lab?”

Yuto thought about it for a moment, but once he couldn’t find a reasonable explanation… There was only one solution. He took out a small notebook and a pen before beginning to scribble.

List of Threats:

Nagito Komaeda
Kokichi Ouma
Makoto Naegi (?)
Yasuke Matsuda
Kyoko Kirigiri
Monaca Towa
Kirumi Tojo

Once Yuto felt confident in his list, he nodded his head and headed out. There was still more work to be done.

---

“Hey, is this spot taken?”

Natsumi was snapped out of her stupor, looking up to see none other than Hajime Hinata standing over her with that same goofy ass smile. She had left the gym for Jabberwock Park in order to get some alone time, but Hajime somehow found her. Go figure.

“Normally no, but for you, it absolutely is.”

Hajime just chuckled. Leave it to Natsumi to say something like that…

“So am I allowed to sit here, or…?”

“Just sit down, you dork.”

Hajime gave her a knowing smirk before happily taking a seat next to her on the bench.

“Alright, I’m sitting down. What’s on your mind?”

Natsumi turned to him, taking a moment to gather her thoughts before letting out a sigh. Just slumped down in her seat as she looked up to the sky.

“Hajime, I know you told me to be nicer ‘n shit, and I’m really trying… but fuck! Sometimes I really just wanna call these losers out on how stupid they’re being! They’re being shitheads towards me, why shouldn’t I do it back?”

Hajime frowned. He knew that this conversation would be coming eventually, but he didn’t expect her to bring it up like this. To be honest, her even attempting to be nicer to people was more than he expected…

“Look, Natsumi… I get how you feel. And I especially know that teaming up with Hiyoko and Sato… Probably wasn’t the best idea, all things considered.”

“Yeah, you think?”

“BUT, you can’t just expect them to be okay with what you’re saying, either. If you keep going like this, nothing’s gonna get done, Natsumi.”

Natsumi growled a bit, turning to Hajime with the frustration evident in her expression.

“Then what the FUCK do you want me to do, Hajime?! I don’t even know why the fuck I’m listening to you in the first place, but you’re making me wanna punch the shit of you!”

Hajime maintained his neutral expression in the face of Natsumi’s insults. Sure, he may not have known her for that long, but he felt like he was already somewhat used to her foul mouth.

“Natsumi. I’m not saying you can’t say that kind of stuff ever, but someone has to be the one to stop initiating or responding. The reason I went to you for this is because I feel like you’re the most likely to understand that it’s not about who started it or who said what, it’s about just not continuing it. Do you get what I’m saying?”

Natsumi bit her lip. She wanted to retort to what this loser was saying, but… She just didn’t have it in her. She let out a sigh, moving back away from Hajime and slouching in her seat once again.

“Fine, whatever. But you better tell the other two to do the same!”

Hajime chuckled, waving her off a bit.

“Yeah, don’t worry. I’ll make sure the other two know not to cause any pro-”

“HAJIME HINATA!”

“...Uh oh.”

Hajime and Natsumi hesitantly turned towards the source of the noise, only to see Fuyuhiko and Peko walking towards them… and oh boy, they did NOT look happy…

“Alright Hinata, you’ve got some fuckin balls, I’ll give you that. Some real FUCKIN balls.”

Fuyuhiko got right up in Hajime’s face, glaring at him with an intensity that Hajime’s never seen before. Hajime instinctively leaned back a bit, even when he really felt like he shouldn’t have. Could you blame him? He managed to somehow piss off a member of the Yakuza! And the HEIR no less!

“But you made one big mistake. You fuck with one member of the Yakuza, you fuck with all of em!”

Natsumi huffed, standing up and pushing her brother away from Hajime.

“Yo, cut it out! The hell are you trying to do?”

Fuyuhiko stumbled back a bit, but quickly regained his composure and glared at his sister.

“Look sis, I don’t care what you say, but I’m not letting this guy get away with saying that kind of shit to you! So here’s what we’re gonna do. Peko!”

Peko nodded her head, throwing what looked like… a bamboo sword at Hajime. He picked up the sword, though he was really not looking forward to where this was going.

“...Is this a bamboo sword? Fuyuhiko, what are you-”

Much to Hajime’s chagrin, Peko pulled her sword out and pointed it at Hajime. Natsumi was mortified, to say the least. They were forcing Hajime to go up against the Ultimate Swordswoman?!

“Alright Hajime, here’s the deal. I’m not an unreasonable guy, and I know that Natsumi really likes you for some fuckin’ reason, so I’m gonna let you have a chance to defend yourself here. You’re gonna fight against Peko, gotcha? If you get lucky as shit and win somehow, we’ll forget this happened. If you lose, and you’re gonna fuckin’ lose… Well, the injuries will serve as your damn punishment. Got it?”

Natsumi was fuming. What in the actual FUCK?!

“Fuyuhiko, you pussy ass bitch! What the hell do-”

“Natsumi, it’s fine.”

Natsumi, Peko, and even Fuyuhiko looked shocked as Hajime said this. He turned to Natsumi, giving her a confident nod before taking up a fighting stance and looking at Peko.

“I accept your challenge on one condition. If I win, I’ll become Natsumi’s official bodyguard. Is that fair?”

Natsumi recoiled a bit at Hajime’s random request. What the hell was he thinking?! She didn’t need a fuckin bodyguard! God, he was just the most annoying person she’s ever met!

Fuyuhiko, on the other hand, couldn’t believe what he heard. All he could do is just give Hajime a blank stare for a bit before breaking out into maniacal laughter.

“Hahaha! God dammit Hajime, you’ve got some stones! I like it!”

I knew it… He’s testing me. Is he really going out of his way to try and make sure I’m tough enough to hang out with a Yakuza? Well, whatever. Just focus on the match…

Fuyuhiko’s expression hardened, pointing directly at Hajime as he did.

“Peko, you can start now.”

“Of course, Young Master.”

Hajime raised an eyebrow at Fuyuhiko as Peko said that.

“...Young Master? Fuyuhiko, wh-”

However, Hajime’s attention was quickly ripped away from the young yakuza as Peko dashed straight for him. He quickly turned his bamboo sword sideways, barely in time to block Peko’s strike. Hajime barely even had time to register the impact before Peko was slashing away at him once more.

“Hajime, you gotta fuckin focus! Don’t you know you’re up against the Ultimate Swordswoman, you dumbass?!”

“You’re not helping, Natsumi!”

Hajime barely felt in control of his own body at that moment. Peko wasn’t letting up one bit, firing attack after attack as Hajime swiftly and accurately blocked them. He was running entirely on instinct at this point, and somehow, it was working. He began noticing small little movements of Peko’s arms that allowed him to know where she was going to strike next. Hajime could tell that Peko was getting frustrated, so when she did a slash towards his left side, he quickly parried it and pushed her back so that the two had some distance between each other.

Natsumi and Fuyuhiko… were stunned. They couldn’t believe their eyes. Hajime should already be on the ground with a broken rib or two, and yet here he was holding his own against the Ultimate Swordswoman. It was baffling. It was mind boggling. Completely impossible! And yet… it was happening.

“Natsumi, has Hajime always been able to do this shit…?”

“The fuck are you asking me for? I haven’t got a fuckin clue!”

Hajime and Peko stared each other down, catching their breath as they waited for their opponent to make a move. Surprisingly, it was Hajime who approached first, running forward and trying to do a horizontal slash. However, Peko saw it coming and rolled under it, surprising Hajime and causing him to fall off balance. As Hajime tried to regain his balance, Peko put her bamboo sword up against Hajime’s neck.

“You lose, Hajime.”

Hajime turned back to Peko, grimacing and dropping his sword as he realized his defeat.

“Damn it… Well, I lost. Do what you want.”

Natsumi cringed, pushing Fuyuhiko out of the way as she began approaching Peko.

“Absolutely not! Peko, you-”

“It’s alright, Young Mistress. I’m not going to harm him.”

Hajime and Natsumi both looked a tad surprised as Peko said this. Fuyuhiko walked towards the group, flicking Natsumi in the forehead as he did.

“Thanks for shoving me out of the way, you little bitch. Anyways, yeah, you don’t deserve any of that shit. Peko and I were just testing ya, and you did a damn good job. That’s the longest I’ve seen anyone last against Peko in a long time… You’ve got some talent for this crap.”

Natsumi let out a sigh of both relief and annoyance. She should’ve expected it would be something like this, and yet…

Hajime, on the other hand, was leaning much more towards annoyance than anyone else. He turned to Fuyuhiko, hopefully to get the answers he wanted.

“Okay… Why did you feel like you needed to test me if I didn’t do anything?”

Fuyuhiko’s smile disappeared, shoving his hands in his pockets as his expression darkened. He looked Hajime directly in the eye, which made hesitate a little bit. Even with Fuyuhiko’s height, he really knew how to make the tone serious…

“Hajime, we’re part of the Yakuza. We do some shit that we’re not proud of to get where we are, so we make a lot of fuckin’ enemies… Enemies that wanna get back at us in any way possible. If you’re gettin’ involved with us, that means you’re a damn target. And if you’re a target, that means it’s our damn responsibility to make sure you can keep yourself safe from this shit. You got that?”

Hajime just kept his mouth shut and nodded his head. What Fuyuhiko was saying… made sense, but only if Hajime was really getting involved with the Yakuza. Was Fuyuhiko getting the wrong idea? Or did it really extend to just close friends?

Before he could ask, Fuyuhiko stuffed his hands in his pockets and gave Hajime a smile.

“You’ve earned my respect, Hajime, and that’s not easy to earn. Consider yourself an honorary member of the Kuzuryu Clan.”

Hajime’s jaw dropped to the floor. What… What the hell was happening? He just came here to talk to Natsumi, and now he was being invited to join a yakuza clan? Could this day get any crazier?!

Fuyuhiko turned to leave, waving the pair of Natsumi and Hajime off. Peko turned to Hajime with a bright smile.

“Hajime, your swordsmanship was unrefined… but it had good fundamentals, and your natural talent shone through. If you would like lessons, I am more than happy to provide them to you.”

With that, Peko left to catch up with Fuyuhiko as well. Hajime just chuckled, waving her off before turning to see that Natsumi… was embarrassed out of her mind.

“Natsumi? What’s wrong?”

“HAJIME, YOU ARE SUCH A FUCKING DUMBASS!”

Hajime recoiled, raising his hands up defensively as she screamed her lungs out at him.

“H-Huh? What did I do?”

Natsumi pointed an accusatory finger at Hajime, growling ever so slightly as she did.

“You used me to try and get some influence in the Kuzuryu Clan, didn’t you? Well joke’s on you, my brother doesn’t have the authority to make those decisions, dumbass!”

Natsumi turned away, crossing her arms and giving Hajime a sideways glare. He just scratched the back of his head, a slightly upset expression on his face.

“...Is that really what you thought this was all about? Natsumi, I had no idea Fuyuhiko was going to… say that.”

“Oh really? Then what was all that shit about you being my fucking bodyguard?!”

Uh oh. Busted.

“W-Well… Uh… That wasn’t really about getting into the family, I just…”

“You just what?!”

Hajime flinched. Well, might as well just get out and say it…

“...I just wanted to have the ability to make sure you would be okay without Fuyuhiko getting on our case, that’s all.”

Natsumi froze. That… was not what she was expecting. A light, invisible blush touched her face as she looked at Hajime.

“...You’re a moron, I hope you know that.”

“Hey, I’ll take moron over dumbass any day of the week.”

Natsumi groaned, turning to the exit as she began heading out.

“Come on, let’s leave. I’ve had enough of this conversation for at least a week.”

Hajime happily agreed, jogging a bit to catch up with the Kuzuryu sister.

“So, you hear about the video game olympics thing Chiaki is making?”

Natsumi turned to Hajime and raised an eyebrow. Video game olympics? Now that sounded very interesting to her.

“I didn’t, actually. What’s the whole deal with that?”

Hajime raised a finger, turning to Natsumi as he began his explanation.

“Ok, so… From what she told me, it’s gonna be an olympic type structure with a variety of video game events. It’s gonna be required entry, with Chiaki sitting out to act as the host and an unbiased referee. The remaining 72 people are gonna be split up into 8 teams of 9, and I’m pretty sure Chiaki said the teams were gonna be randomized?”

And just like that, a large chunk of the interest Natsumi had in the event disappeared. Random teams? Which meant that she could end up stuck with some lame bozo? Amazing…

“Okay… Anything else I should know?”

“Well, I do know some of the games that Chiaki wants involved, and since we know that her Ultimate Lab has all the stuff we could ever need for a tournament, I assume that means they’ll be in this. I think she said she wanted Team Fortress 2, Super Smash Bros Project M, Dragonball FighterZ, Mario Party 3, Dance Dance Revolution, and Mario Kart Wii at the very least. She’s still discussing with Headmaster Kirigiri on what else she can include, but that seems like a solid list.”

Natsumi nodded her head. That… definitely seemed like a strong list of games that covered a decent number of genres, even if there was one thing bothering her…

“...What the hell is Project M?”

“Oh! Project M is a mod of Brawl, the Smash Bros game for the Wii, that makes it more like Melee, the one for the Gamecube. It brings back a lot of the old competitive mechanics of Melee so that it creates a more fluid and fast paced gameplay experience.”

Natsumi turned to him and raised her eyebrow. That sounded cool and all, but how the hell did he know that? Was Hajime secretly some sort of turbo nerd? No, that’s not possible… Well, it’s theoretically possible, but how could he be a turbo nerd that was also extremely talented and basketball and able to go toe to toe with Peko in swordplay?

…Hajime sure was mysterious. Natsumi liked that.

“Yeah yeah, whatever. Still… since we have info on what games are showing up, how about you and I get some practice in ahead of time?”

Hajime returned Natsumi’s devilish smirk with one of his own.

“...I like the way you think. Let’s do it.”

The two of them picked up the pace and started heading for Chiaki’s Ultimate Lab. They had some work to do.

---

“Don’t worry, Gonta here to keep you safe!”

As Gundham was heading through a heavily forested area (on an island? Whatever…) to head back to his room in the hotel, he noticed Gonta scooping up and taking care of some bugs. Gundham hadn’t really had a chance to talk with the towering giant in the past, so he decided to speak with someone he felt he could relate to.

“So… You are the giant who protects the insects beneath its feet, are you? I have heard many legends about your strength in the past…”

Gonta turned behind him and met eye to eye with Gundham, waving his hand as he put a happy smile on his face.

“Oh! Gonta not see you there! Gundham interested in bugs too?”

Gundham raised his scarf over his face ever so slightly as he turned to the side.

“I have raised some bugs in my day… Though they typically do not require my assistance to achieve their goals. However, I can appreciate that they are mythic creatures who support our day to day lives… They are truly invaluable.”

Gonta lit up like a damn christmas tree, his hulking figure walking over to Gundham.

“Ah! Gonta happy to meet bug lover like himself! Gundham is… breeder, yes?”

Gundham nodded his head, a smirk appearing on his face as Gonta asked that question.

“To the naked eye, I am but a simple breeder… But to my enemies, I am the Overlord of Ice! My magical power is unmatched throughout the land! Tremble in fear of my might!”

Gonta looked on in awe at Gundham’s performance, clapping his hands together as he processed every word.

“Woah! Gonta impressed! Gonta no know Gundham was wizard… Thought Himiko was only one?”

“Himiko… is my apprentice. I sense a great deal of magic swelling up inside of her, waiting to be channeled… She has a long way to go before she’s at my level, however.”

Gonta nodded his head.

“Okay, Gonta understand! Himiko is… apprentice. That mean she protect animals too?”

Gundham pondered that question. In reality, he never really considered what he would do with the group he had assembled, but Gonta’s suggestion seemed… quite apt.

“Indeed. She and the rest of my group work tirelessly to protect this island from the evil spirits that try to attack… however, they have yet to best us in battle! Hahahaha!”

“Wow! Gonta want to help protect island! Will Gundham let Gonta join?”

Gundham smirked, extending a hand to Gonta for a handshake.

“Very well… I shall accept your help in this important duty. This job will be most difficult… However, I expect you to do your very best, even if you are on the verge of death!”

Gonta nodded his head, shaking Gundham’s hand with the brightest smile you’re ever gonna see.

“Gonta very happy helping protect bugs of island! Gonta will do very best!”

---

What a waste of time…

Hiyoko dragged herself into the lobby of Class 77’s hotel, grumbling under her breath all the way. There was nothing she’d want more than to just slip into a bubble bath and completely forget about that awful, awful basketball game…

Look, she was trying her best to be nicer to them, but they were just so nasty all the time!

However, as she was walking through the lobby, she heard a… very weird noise coming from the common area.

”Hyaaah! Hahaha… Let’s see how fast you can REALLY go!”

That… didn’t sound like anyone on the island. Hiyoko turned her attention to the source of the noise, and who else would she see but Chiaki playing Friday Night Funkin. Go figure.

“Chiaki? How did you get back here so fast?!”

Chiaki barely even registered Hiyoko’s presence as she continued tapping away. Hiyoko grumbled, shaking Chiaki’s shoulder to try and get her attention. Only when it made her miss a note did Chiaki turn to pay attention to Hiyoko.

“Oh… Hi Hiyoko. Did you need something?”

The dancer gave Chiaki a weird look. Was this girl serious…?

“Ugh, forget it. What’s this dumb game you’re playing called?”

Chiaki turned back to the screen, patting the couch cushion next to her to let Hiyoko sit down.

“It’s called Friday Night Funkin… Well, more specifically a mod of it. It’s a cute little rhythm game, and the modding community makes a bunch of mods based on other series and stuff… This one’s actually called the Sonic.exe mod, and it’s a horror mod.”

Hiyoko had no idea about any of what Chiaki just said. Friday Night Funkin? Rhythm game? Sonic.exe??? This might as well have been a completely different world to her. However, she couldn’t just let that last sentence slide.

“Horror mod? Please, there’s nothing scary about this! It’s just a yellow hedgehog with swirly eyes! Are you seriously scared by this?”

“Well no, but this specific song isn’t-”

“Y’know what?”

Hiyoko scooted over, pushing Chiaki out of her spot so that the dancer was in front of the computer.

“I’m playing this and showing you that it isn’t scary at all. How do I control it?”

Chiaki was a little confused, but she wouldn’t complain one bit about one of her friends being interested in playing one of her games.

“Well, you can edit the controls however you like, but the controls I use are Z for Left, X for Up, Comma for Down, and Period for Right.”

Hiyoko nodded her head, pressing the “Restart Song” option on the pause menu before putting her fingers in place for the song. Once she did, the cutscene played with Sonic falling into a hole and coming out as Fleetway Super Sonic.

”Haha, let’s see how fast you can REALLY go!”

The first section of the song was relatively easy. It took a bit for Hiyoko to adjust to the controls, but it didn’t take too long for her to get used to them. However, after the first two sections…

”Eat THIS!”

Hiyoko was completely taken aback as her character randomly disintegrated out of nowhere. She was doing well! Her health bar at the bottom was full! What happened?!

”That’s a nice argument! Unfortunately, you were burnt to a crisp by my laser eyes!”

As Hiyoko sat there in shock, Chiaki seemed like she just had a revelation.

“Oh, that’s right… I forgot to mention. Super Sonic actually fires out of his laser eyes at one point, and you have to press space to dodge… That’s my bad.”

Hiyoko gave Chiaki an unamused look as she pressed enter to restart the song. However, it quickly became clear that this game was out to make her as ticked off as possible. Every time she died, that idiot golden dude would have some stupid quip for her.

”Looks like your fun was limited!”

”That bloody-eyed faker has nothing on me!”

”Imagine being an executable file. Heh! Couldn’t be me.”

“AAAAAAAAAA! Shut up! God, you’re so annoying!”

Chiaki just started giggling as Hiyoko turned to her with rage in her eyes.

“What’s so funny?!”

“Sorry, sorry… It’s just that Fleetway Super Sonic is supposed to be annoying, so seeing your reaction, I was happy that you care enough to have that kind of reaction… I think.”

Hiyoko wanted to just rip Chiaki a new one, but after seeing her genuine reaction… She didn’t have it in her. She let out a sigh, standing up and shaking her head.

“Yeah yeah, whatever… I think I’m done playing that game.”

Chiaki nodded her head in understanding. It was best to stop playing a game when you were getting frustrated, cause then it’s just no fun.

“No worries… Did you have fun?”

“Did I have fun? What kinda-”

Hiyoko stopped herself, letting out a sigh and turning to the side. She didn’t wanna admit it, but…

“...Yeah. I had fun.”

Chiaki gave her a soft smile, and Hiyoko couldn’t look her in the eye. That girl was too genuine for her own good.

“I’m glad… Do you wanna go to my Ultimate Lab later today? I’m working on a gaming event for everyone, and I’d like it if you hung out with me.”

Hiyoko considered whether to take her up on that offer, but when she saw Chiaki smiling… Dammit, this girl had too much power!

“Fine, fine! I’ll go with you later! Just stop smiling like that!”

Chiaki nodded in agreement, turning to her typical blank expression as she returned to her game. Hiyoko let out a sigh and walked up towards her room.

At least she wasn’t feeling as irritable as before.

---

“Gozu, I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but I can absolutely beat you in a fight.”

Juzo and Gozu were sitting at a table in the dining hall, having a small bit of coffee as they discussed with each other. There weren’t many other people in the building, so it made sense that the two of them gravitate together to avoid sitting alone. However, the issue of who was stronger very quickly popped up…

“That is where you are mistaken, Juzo! I, the Grrrrreat Gozu, can defeat anyone! If you get in my way on this issue, I will not be able to hold myself back!”

Juzo clicked his tongue, taking a quick sip of coffee before looking at Gozu once again.

“Listen, big guy… I’m not gonna disrespect your pedigree when it comes to wrestling, and you’re definitely quite the showman… But in a straight fight with no strings attached, you don’t have the skill to beat me. I’d be running circles around you in minutes.”

Steam erupted from Gozu’s nose as he slammed the table, getting out of his chair as he looked directly at the boxer.

“Unless I misheard you, those are fighting words, Juzo! Are you suggesting that I would be that easily defeated by ANY opponent, much less one such as yourself? Foolish! You are inviting the pain train to your station!”

Juzo stood up, his hardened expression not faltering for a moment as he stared the wrestler down.

“Look buddy, if you wanna settle this here and now, I’m more than happy! Show me what you’ve got!”

“The Great Gozu would be more than happy to show you your mistake!”

“Hey, am I missing something here?”

Juzo and Gozu both stopped in their tracks, turning to the new voice that belonged to none other than Mondo Oowada.

“You guys mind explaining why the shit you’re yelling so loud here? You’re making one hell of a racket!”

Gozu snorted once again, turning to Juzo as he slammed his fists together.

“Juzo believes that he can defeat I, The Great Gozu, in a clean fight! As the Ultimate Wrestler, I cannot let this sleight against my name stand!”

Juzo groaned, face palming and shaking his head.

“And I am saying you stand no chance! You’re just a massive chunk of muscle, that’s it! You have no technique, Gozu!”

“I will stand for your disrespectful words NO LONGER! Juzo, PREPARE YOURSELF!”

“Woah woah, hold it big guy! Shit…”

Right as Gozu was about to charge Juzo, Mondo stepped in the way.

“Why is this such a big fuckin’ deal? You guys know you’re both weaker than I am, right?”

Both of them looked shocked before Juzo narrowed his eyes at Mondo.

“...You can’t be serious. You? You’re nothing but a street punk!”

Mondo grit his teeth, turning to Juzo with visible fury in his eyes.

“The fuck did you just say to me?! I was raised by the streets! I didn’t become the Ultimate Gang Leader just by bein a damn street rat, I earned my respect!”

Juzo just chuckled, shaking his head and walking up to Mondo to get in his face.

“Mondo, you just don’t get it, do you? You’re not strong just because you’ve got a gang to hide behind. You wanna come here and say you’re stronger than us? Prove it. Back up your words, because right now, these are just the same empty threats that you can an Ultimate title off of.”

Mondo was about to lose his mind. Veins were poppin on the side of his head, and he was moments away from tearing Juzo apart, until…

“Mondo. Should I be surprised that you’re fighting with the faculty and causing a scene?”

In comes Sakura Oogami to save the day. All three fighters turned to her, tempers instantly simmering as they did.

“S-Sakura! I’m not causing trouble, just…”

“You care to explain what this is all about then?”

While Mondo and Juzo seemed hesitant to answer, Gozu was more than happy to oblige.

“We are discussing who the strongest fighter on Jabberwock Island is!”

Then, the realization set in.

“...Oh. Wait.”

Sakura just smirked, taking her food and heading to another table.

“Try not to cause a racket, alright?”

Once she was out of earshot, all three boys took a seat at the table.

“Huh. That really puts it in perspective, doesn’t it?”

“You fuckin said it, Juzo… Shit. Guess there’s levels to this shit…”

“The Great Gozu… Has been humbled.”

Chapter Text

”Well, the basketball tournament’s on pause for now… Guess I’m going back to doing nothing.”

Right in the center of Jabberwock Park sat Ryoma Hoshi, lollipop in his mouth as he stared up at the sky. The warm, tropical breeze softly flew by as he took in his surroundings. Leaves of trees softly shaking, the sun shining down on him with relative intensity. Really, all it did was make him regret the fashion choice of bringing a beanie everywhere he went. Not that he would ever change that unless it got to be a serious issue, but at the very least, it made him mildly uncomfortable.

“Oh, Ryoma! I just knew I’d find you here.”

Speaking of things that made him mildly uncomfortable… Here comes Chisa Yukizome, Class 77’s teacher. He let out a sigh as the sound of Chisa’s shoes landing on the concrete sounded out with each step. As much as he believed that Chisa was a good person, he also knew that the only reason she would want to talk to him was to have a conversation that he didn’t particularly want to participate in. Not that that gave him an excuse to be rude, and so he scooted over on the bench and allowed her a place to sit. Seeing this as a willingness to discuss, Chisa nodded and happily took her spot next to the tennis pro.

“So, Ryoma… How’re you adjusting to everything on the island so far? I saw that you were in the basketball tournament with Mondo and Fuyuhiko… How did you enjoy it?”

Ryoma ever so slightly lowered his beanie, somewhat restricting his vision as he thought of a way to respond to this. Was it best to just tell the truth and get it over with? Did she already know how he felt about his future? Surely she must if she went all the way here just to speak with him. As Ryoma considered his options, the sound of birds chirping was all that filled the area as an awkward silence mired itself over Chisa and Ryoma. Eventually, he decided to just speak a half truth that would hopefully placate her.

“I had a good time in the tournament, yeah… Can’t say I’m not disappointed with how we did, but Makoto’s team really put in the effort to take us down, and they managed to do it.”

Chisa couldn’t help but giggle as she remembered Makoto’s amazing luck kicking in at just the right moment. Really, the lucky students were such oddballs in how their luck affected their lives, it was amazing that Makoto was able to stay so positive and upbeat despite so many minor things bothering him all the time.

Speaking of lucky students… That reminded her that there was a certain lucky student she needed to talk to, but that would be for another time.

“I’m glad you had fun, Ryoma. Don’t beat yourself up too much… Makoto’s luck is wild and unpredictable, I don’t think there was much of anything you could do to prevent that from happening.”

Ryoma chuckled. Leave it to Chisa to try and cheer him up over something he wasn’t upset about… That was just like her.

Which made him even more annoyed that she was wasting her time with him.

“Don’t worry teach, I’m not upset… Just figured it’d be good to come out here and get some fresh air to organize my thoughts with everything going on.”

Chisa pursed her lips, nodding her head as she turned away from the tennis pro. Only now did she really start appreciating the natural beauty of a tropical paradise… She’s been so busy lately that she barely had time to really appreciate the positives of this situation.

“I see… Have you been doing a lot of thinking, Ryoma?”

“Mm… I guess you could say that. More just a lot of… self-reflection.”

Best to rip the bandage off right now, since it was clear that Chisa was alluding to this conversation. Trying to resist it would only make it worse.

“Self-reflection? That’s great, Ryoma! To be honest, I actually came here to check in on you… I couldn’t help but notice that you’ve been distancing yourself from your classmates… The only people you willingly talk with are Mondo and Fuyuhiko.”

And there it is. Ryoma took the lollipop out of his mouth, letting out a sigh as he leaned back in his seat, staring directly up at the sky with his typical look of complete neutrality.

“Mondo and Fuyuhiko are the only ones that can relate to my situation… They were born into situations that require them to do some unsavory things for various reasons. I don’t think anyone else would like to be around a murderer like myself.”

Chisa frowned. She knew that he was self conscious about his past actions, but this… This was a whole different level. She let out a sigh, giving Ryoma a soft smile as she turned to him.

“Ryoma… I’m not going to act like I can personally relate to what you’re going through. Taking someone’s life… will always enact a heavy toll. But to my knowledge, I know that it was a lapse in judgment on your part, and I can clearly see that you regret your actions, so-”

Ryoma raised a hand, cutting Chisa off as he lowered his beanie over his eyes ever so slightly.

“Teach… While I appreciate you trying to cheer me up, I have to correct you on something…”

Ryoma’s face hardened as he turned to her, a somewhat dark glint in his eyes as he began explaining to her.

“I don’t regret my actions. If I had the chance to change what happened that day, I would do the exact same thing over and over again. That is why I am merely a shell of my former self. Once you take a life and feel no remorse for it, that’s when you’ve reached the point of no return. It’s already too late for me, Yukizome.”

Chisa couldn’t help but show her shock at Ryoma’s words. Now that she thought about it… Of course he wouldn’t feel regret for his actions considering what they did to him.

“Ryoma, do you really feel like you’re beyond redemption?”

“I do. In all honesty, I should still be rotting away in prison, not out here enjoying the tropical sun with all of you. This isn’t me pitying myself, it’s the honest truth.”

Chisa shook her head. She wasn’t about to let one of her students completely cut themselves off from the rest of the world, even if he wasn’t a part of her class!

“That’s not true! I’m sure Mukuro did the same thing and she’s able to integrate herself with the rest of the school! Why is it impossible for you to do the same?”

Ryoma let out a sigh, turning to the side to see some leaves softly falling down from the trees that swayed back and forth.

“Mukuro has the excuse of being a soldier. She can claim she was just following orders, and most people will accept that as a valid reason for the murder she caused. As for me? I did it purely for revenge, and of my own free will. No one forced me, no one even tried to manipulate me into doing it. I did it completely by myself.”

Ryoma sighed, standing up and turning away from the teacher who looked completely crestfallen.

“I’m sorry, Ms Yukizome… I know you just want to try and cheer me up, but there’s nothing here to cheer up. It’s best if you just left me alone.”

And with that, Ryoma took his leave from the park, leaving Chisa completely heartbroken as he walked away. Hearing Ryoma talk about himself that way… it hurt her. But at the same time, it also motivated her. Now, she has a goal. She wasn’t going to let Ryoma shut himself off from the rest of the class, and that was a promise.

---

“Ugh, this sucks! Chiaki, are we almost there? My feet are getting tired!”

As the two members of Class 77 continued their walk over to the arcade, Chiaki lifted her head from her game and turned to Hiyoko with her typical empty expression. It was so hard to get a read on this girl!

“Oh, um… Yeah, we’re just about there. See? The big flashing lights are part of my Ultimate Lab.”

Hiyoko looked towards where Chiaki was pointing, seeing the large building with a flashing neon sign front and center. Yup, this was the place… Hiyoko would recognize those obnoxious flashing lights anywhere.

“Ugh, those lights are such an eyesore… I can’t believe you’re not embarrassed to have them on your Ultimate Lab, Chiaki!”

Chiaki just gave Hiyoko a blank stare, waiting a few moments before responding.

“...Oh, are you talking to me?”

Hiyoko grumbled, stomping her foot and turning to the lab.

“Ugh, whatever! Can we just get this over with?!”

Chiaki smirked and nodded her head, following after the traditional dancer as they entered the arcade. Much like before, the light levels in the room were dark as they looked around.

“Y’know, I forgot to ask you last time… Why’s it so dark in here?”

“It’s mostly to prevent glare… If we had open windows here, it would be really hard to see the screens, and would mess up concentration and visibility. It can be pretty bad with certain arcade machines and consoles, so it’s best to just prevent the glare altogether.”

Hiyoko nodded her head. That… made enough sense, she supposed. She never really played video games… ever, so she didn’t have personal experience when it came to this kind of stuff. They just never really interested her, but for some reason, she just couldn’t say no to Chiaki. She internally sighed, following after Chiaki as they went to a machine with two massive dance pads in front of it. At least, Hiyoko assumed they were dance pads considering they were right in front of the machine labeled “Dance Dance Revolution.” Seriously, what a dumb name…

“Alright, here we are… DDR is pretty simple, when an arrow lines up with a direction, you hit that direction on the dance pad. If the arrow has a line thingy attached to it, that means you need to hold down for that period of time. Make sense?”

Hiyoko nodded her head. That all made sense… Really, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get the hang of things. Dancing was her thing!

Chiaki turned to the dancer, seemingly just now realizing something important.

“Oh, Hiyoko… I just realized, you’re not wearing your kimono. Where did you get those clothes?”

Hiyoko huffed, crossing her arms and turning away from Chiaki. She was honestly surprised that it took this long for Chiaki to notice her different clothes, but whatever…

“There were some casual clothes in my closet, and since we’re playing a game like this, I figured I’d want clothes that let me move around more easily…”

That was… partially a lie. While it was true that it afforded her more flexibility, the real reason was because… she wasn’t able to tie the kimono sash herself after the shower, and after multiple attempts, just decided to go with the casual clothes. The clothes weren’t terrible or anything, but she most certainly preferred the kimono. It just felt… weird to wear casual clothing after all this time.

Regardless, Chiaki nodded her head, apparently taking it as an acceptable excuse for the different clothes. She walked over to the machine, tapping the arrows as she scrolled through the song list.

“Hm, let’s see… This is your first time playing, but you have a lot of experience with dancing…”

”A lot of experience, she says… Yeah, that’s an understatement.”

“...So I think a song in the middle to start out with would be the best. How about-”

Suddenly, Chiaki paused as she heard a conversation in the other room.

“Yeah, I’ll challenge that.”

“HAJIME, WHAT THE FUCK?! YOU HIT ME ON MY PLUS FRAMES!”

The voice that was presumably Hajime let out a cocky laugh.

“You’re never minus if you’re just not a bitch, Natsumi!”

“Fuck you! Android 16 is a dumb as shit character anyways!”

As this conversation went on, Chiaki couldn’t help but be a little surprised. She blinked, her vacant expression shifting ever so slightly to make it seem like she was… shocked?

“...When did Natsumi learn about plus frames? Did Hajime teach her? How…”

“ahem”

Chiaki turned her attention over to Hiyoko.

“Chiaki, you mind explaining to me what a… ‘plus frame’ is?”

Chiaki’s look of surprise vanished from her face as she prepared to go into instructor mode. Uh oh, Hiyoko might’ve made a mistake…

“Oh! Well, plus frames are a concept in fighting games… A pretty essential part of the neutral game is a blockstring, because when a player blocks a move, there’s a certain number of frames where they’re stuck in block, which is called blockstun.On the flipside, the attacking player has to consider the three separate parts of using a move: the startup, the active frames, and the recovery. Startup is the number of frames the move goes through before the move has a hitbox, the active frames are how long the hitbox is out for, and the recovery is how long it takes to return to a neutral state. For the sake of the example, we’re only really concerned about recovery. When you hit a blocking player with a move, they’re put into blockstun, and the frames of blockstun are compared to the recovery frames to get how plus or minus you are on block.”

Chiaki raised a finger, a serious look adorning her face as she looked at the dancer who was currently regretting her life choices.

“Of course, that’s just an example. Being plus or minus can apply to any situation where a player is stuck in an action for a certain amount of time. If a player is able to act before the opponent can, that means they’re plus. Conversely, if the opponent can act before they can, that means they’re minus.”

Hiyoko… looked lost, to say the least. Noticing this, Chiaki raised up another finger, seemingly using them as representatives for characters in a fighting game.

“Lemme use a more specific example. Let’s say my left finger is Player A and my right finger is Player B. Player A jumps in and attacks, but Player B blocks it. Player A has 17 frames of recovery before they can use another move in the blockstring, while Player B has 13 frames of blockstun before they can act out of block. That means that the attacking player is -4 on block, which means the defending player can act 4 frames more quickly than the attacking player.”

Hiyoko huffed. None of this was making sense! This might as well have been a separate language to her, cause she couldn’t make heads or tails of it!

“Okay, okay! Can we just get on with the dancing?! You’re boring me to death over here!”

Chaiki couldn’t help but look a little dejected as Hiyoko said that, and the dancer felt a pang of guilt. She shouldn’t have said that…

“Right, right… Sorry, I was rambling a bit. Now, back to before… I think it’d be best if we do something like La Bamba on Difficult. You okay with that?”

Hiyoko shrugged her shoulders. Admittedly, she didn’t really care what song they played, but she didn’t want to be snippy and hurt Chiaki again, so she just gave a passive answer. Chiaki nodded her head, pressing a few buttons to get it all set up before she took her spot on the dance pad.

“Alright… The controls are pretty simple. When an arrow overlaps the gray spot, you press that direction on the dance pad. You get more points if you get a combo, but missing a single one will break it. It’s simple… I think.”

Hiyoko nodded her head. Yeah, that seemed easy enough… As the song began starting up, the notes slowly moved up the screen towards the grayed out notes. Once Hiyoko saw it was overlapped, she quickly stamped down hard on the dance pad, much more significantly than was necessary. As she did, the rest of the notes passed by the judgment line with Hiyoko being too slow to react to it.

“Um… Hiyoko, you don’t need to press down so hard on the arrows. It’s decently sensitive, I think… Here, let’s restart and just… treat it like you’re dancing.”

Hiyoko huffed and crossed her arms. This game was so stupid… And it was just that, a stupid ass game! How would it be able to replicate her years of training to the point where her training would help?!

“Yeah, whatever… Let’s try this again.”

As the song started up, Hiyoko closed her eyes and let out a sigh. Chiaki turned over to her, noticing her eyes were still closed and she gave the dancer a concerned look. Hiyoko… wasn’t going to play like that, was she? Well… If she was having fun, she supposed.

To Chiaki’s shock, Hiyoko just began doing a dance routine on the dance pad and… she was doing well? Her eyes were closed, and yet she still had a full combo. Sure, Chiaki could do this song with her eyes closed too, but that was because she had practiced it over and over again. Hiyoko had never even played this game before, much less this specific song. Chiaki couldn’t help but be impressed as Hiyoko kept the Full Combo up for the entire song, earning a solid 96.7% accuracy rating. However, she fell short of Chiaki’s perfect 100%, but still!

“Wow Hiyoko… I know you’re the Ultimate Dancer, but getting a Full Combo with your eyes closed is super impressive! You’ve gotta teach me how you do that!”

Hiyoko re-opened her eyes as she realized the song was over, turning between Chiaki and the game in shock. She… what? Full Combo? As Hiyoko read the screen, she realized that Full Combo meant she hadn’t missed a note. Really?! Wow… Even she was surprised at that!

“Huh… To be honest, I just fell into one of my dance routines that somewhat fit the song and let myself go with the flow… I wasn’t expecting myself to do well. To be honest… That was kinda fun!”

Chiaki lit up like a Christmas Tree when Hiyoko said that.

“You really mean it?!”

Hiyoko recoiled a bit as Chiaki leaned in, sparkles in her eyes as she asked the question. Hoo boy, what kind of demon had Hiyoko awakened this time…?

“Yeah… It was fun, but personal space.”

“O-Oh, sorry. My bad.”

Chiaki leaned back, the same childish smile on her face as she put her hands behind her back.

“Still, I’m really glad you had fun, Hiyoko. Do you wanna try a more difficult song?”

Hiyoko put on a cocky grin, crossing her arms and giving Chiaki a bit of a sneer.

“I’d love to, but I don’t know if you can handle it, short stack!”

A fire burned in Chiaki’s eyes as she moved over to the controls of the game, flipping through the menu until she found the song she liked.

“Alright, let’s do-”

Chiaki was interrupted by sounds coming from the other room.

“Don’t jump.”

The sound of explosions could be heard, as well as a loud “KO!”.

“Oooh, I told you, don’t jump.”

“FUCK OFF, HAJIME!!”

Hiyoko just looked shellshocked as Chiaki let out a sigh.

“Well, looks like we still need to help out someone else in terms of taking this stuff less seriously…”

---

Chapter Text

“Ah, Yasuhiro! Just the fortune teller Angie was looking to see!”

Yasuhiro’s eyes jolted open as he heard a voice to his left. Someone looking for him? That kind of thing wasn’t very common on this island… Usually when people were looking for him it was for his fortune telling, but he quickly found out that the demand for fortune telling on this island was… limited, to say the least. Because of that, it quickly led to Yasuhiro separating himself from the rest of the group. Sure, he talked to everyone occasionally, but he couldn’t shake the feelings of inadequacy when everyone around him dismissed his talent as lesser or irrelevant. He was well aware of the limitations of his abilities, everyone just loved reminding him of it.

But his feelings about his talent and his relationships with the other students was neither here nor there. The important matter at hand was that someone was actively searching for him, and that was enough to snap him out of his late day nap. He turned over to the source of the sound and saw… Angie? Strange, that was not the person he expected to search him out. Frankly, he was expecting someone like Makoto-chi to try and get him more integrated in the group. Not that Hiro expected him to do something like that, he’s got his work cut out for him trying to get Mukuro and Kyoko to get out of their shells, much less trying to make friends with everyone. The kid just had a knack for that kind of thing.

…It’s getting pretty awkward to just sit there and think while Angie is walking towards him, so it’s time to get up. Hiro let out a sigh, groaning a bit as he pushed himself off the ground and to his feet, brushing himself off as he addressed the artist.

“Angie-chi! You looking for a fortune telling from yours truly? In that case, I’m more than ready to show you the depths of the future!”

Angie huffed, crossing her arms and pouting a bit. Hiro couldn’t help but flinch at her expression. Did he say something wrong…? Why is she getting all pouty after what he said?

“Yasuhiro, you should know that Angie has no need for such information. Atua tells Angie everything Angie needs to know! And if Atua does not grant such information, it is fate for Angie to experience that event!”

Hiro awkwardly scratched the back of his head. He hadn’t talked to her much, but he heard rumors of how much of a… well, a religious nut she could be, for lack of a better term. Hearing about it and experiencing it was a much different experience, though… Hiro wasn’t the type to judge people for their beliefs, but he wasn’t very invested in religion himself, despite his profession.

“I… see. Well, if that’s the case, what can I help you with?”

Angie put on a bright smile, clapping her hands together. Seems like she was waiting for that kind of question… Go figure.

“Angie is glad you asked! You see, Atua has recently told me that you have been struggling with making friends with the other people on the island, and Angie is here to rectify that! Angie believes that our shared interest in the world of spirits would be wonderful!”

Hiro couldn’t help but grumble a little at that. Looks like it was someone just trying to get him more involved, even if it was from an unlikely source. Angie of all people was not the person he expected to pity him enough to try and be friends with him. Makoto? Sure, he was just a nice person. Kaito or Kaede seemed likely too. Maybe even Chiaki, even if he wasn’t sure she would go out of her way to do so. But Angie? That seemed… far too outlandish.

“Angie cannot help but feel that Hiro is having a misconception. You believe that I am here because I pity you, is that correct?”

The air around Hiro seemed to freeze in place. A burst of shock jolted through his body as he turned to her with a baffled expression on his face.

“H-How did you-”

“Atua knows everything, Hiro. You cannot hide anything.”

Hiro’s blood went cold. This girl… This girl was crazy! There’s no way that all this Atua stuff was actually real, right?! But then, how was she able to practically read his thoughts like she just did?

“...I see. Well in that case, I don’t want you to be friends with me out of pity. Not to be rude or anything, but…”

Angie clicked her tongue, shaking her head at Yasuhiro as he spoke.

“Hiro, Hiro… You are mistaken! Angie is not here out of pity, Angie is here out of interest! Of everyone on this island, you are the one who has the highest spiritual connection aside from myself! Angie believes that you might have a connection to Atua, much like myself!”

Hiro raised an eyebrow. A connection to Atua? Yeah, right. He wasn’t gonna pretend he knew exactly how his fortune telling worked, but he was quite certain it had nothing to do with a god that he hadn’t heard of until today. Then again, crazier stuff had happened in his life…

“You think I’m connected to Atua in some way? Interesting… So you think my visions of the future are like, sent to me by Atua?”

“But of course! After all, Atua controls all, so he is very much responsible for the events of the future! Because of that, Angie believes that he has chosen you as his seer! You have been blessed by Atua himself!”

Hiro scratched his chin a bit. Chosen by Atua, eh? Well, even if he wasn’t committed to the idea… He couldn’t lie, the chance to at least talk with someone who could somewhat relate to his abilities was a nice prospect. Maybe he should at least humor the idea that he was related to Atua in some way, no?

“Well, I suppose that’s a logical deduction… And do you believe that it’s fate that you and I have met up like this?”

Angie nodded her head, closing her eyes with a wide smile on her face. Even though she was always a bright bundle of sunshine, it really felt like she was another notch of happiness today. Meeting someone with similar abilities to her, and perhaps even someone who can share in Atua’s light was amazing!

“But of course! Through Atua, you can see all… Is this not true of yourself, Yasuhiro?”

Yasuhiro had to admit… There was a certain piece of truth to her words. Well, maybe not the truth… Obviously it was impossible to prove or disprove the existence of gods and those from the great beyond, but he wasn’t going to just turn her down. This was a great opportunity to actually start talking to other people!

“You know Angie, I think you might be right! I might not be completely on board, but you would obviously be the expert in terms of Atua… You wanna talk more about this at lunch?”

Angie smiled and clapped her hands together. This was wonderful! One person has accepted the teachings of Atua already!

“Indeed! Yasuhiro, we must depart for the Dining Hall immediately!”

And with that, Angie was already on her way there. Yasuhiro just let out a sigh as he slowly walked there. Did he just get himself entangled in something dangerous?

---

“Yoohooooo! Mikan-chan, Ibuki is looking for youuuuu!”

“Eep!”

Mikan, who was simply minding her own business at the lunch table, was spooked as Ibuki ran up and grabbed her in a bear hug.

“I-Ibuki! D-D-Don’t scare me l-like that!”

“Awww, but Ibuki loves your reactions to her sneak attacks! How else is Ibuki supposed to get her dose of serotonin if Mikan-chan denies her sneak attack?”

“Ibuki, that’s enough. Don’t tease Mikan like that.”

Right as it seemed Mikan was going to explode from pure embarrassment, Twogami and Ryota both arrived at the table with their respective lunches.

“Aw, alright! It’s good to see you, Togami-kun! Oh, and Ryota-chan as well! Good nom-nom-nomming!”

Ryota couldn’t help but chuckle as he sat down at the table. Ibuki’s antics were something that he was never going to get used to, but he couldn’t exactly say it was a bad thing…

“G-Good to see you too, Ibuki…”

Twogami cleared his throat as he sat down, looking at both Ibuki and Mikan with a stern expression. Considering Twogami was delaying his lunch to speak like this, it was clear to the two girls that it must be important.

“Ibuki, Mikan. I’m sure you’ve already heard the rumors, but just to make sure… Have the two of you heard about Chiaki’s event that will be happening in the coming days? The… Video Game Olympics, as I’ve heard it called?”

Ibuki brightened up once again.

“Oooo, Ibuki has heard lots about it! Apparently there will be a buuuunch of different types of video games there, and it’s gonna be super exciting! Mikan-chan, will you be on Ibuki’s team?”

Mikan awkwardly tapped the tip of her fingers together. While she truly did want to be on Ibuki’s team, there was one big problem…

“I-I’m sorry, Ibuki… B-But from what I’ve heard, th-the teams will be picked r-randomly…”

Twogami nodded his head.

“Indeed, the word going around is that teams will be picked randomly in order to build trust among the class as a whole… Safe to say, that seems to match with the general idea of us being on this island in the first place. I see no reason to doubt the legitimacy of this claim.”

Ryota couldn’t help but softly bite his lip at this. Not only was he being forced to enter a video game tournament that he couldn’t care less about, but now he was being put on a completely random team, too?! This was quickly becoming a nightmare situation for him…

“Awwww! Ibuki wanted to team with Mikan-chan… Oh well! I’m sure we’ll get lucky enough to be on the same team!”

ahem “Attention everyone! I don’t mean to interrupt your lunches, but I have an important announcement to make!”

Everyone on the island had gathered in the dining hall, and they all turned their attention to the front as Chisa spoke through the microphone at the podium.

“Thank you! Now, as I’m sure you’re all aware by this point, our next big event is going to be a video game tournament! We’re going to randomly separate you all into 8 teams of 9, and you’ll choose someone for each event to participate!”

Rumblings began to emerge as that last part was announced.

“Randomly? I didn’t think it would be random!”

“But what if I get put on a crappy team? I don’t wanna end up with-”

“I don’t even wanna do this!”

Chisa slammed her fist on the podium in front of her, creating such a loud noise that everyone who was whispering amongst themselves had no choice but to clam up immediately.

“Now, I know that this is a bit unorthodox and that some of you may disagree with us, but we are not changing our decision. We need to come together as an entire school, and as such, this event will be strictly required. Any questions?”

No one dared raise their hand after Chisa’s intimidating action not too long ago. With a smile, Chisa clapped her hands together.

“Good! Now, allow me to announce the teams for this upcoming event…”

Chisa pulled out a piece of paper, clearing her throat before reading off the teams.

“Team 1’s members will be Hiroko, Miu, Yuto, Natsumi, Monaca, Nekomaru, Jin, Kyosuke, and Himiko!”

Near the back of the dining hall, Yuto couldn’t help but shudder. That team… That team was filled with nightmares! Miu, Natsumi, Monaca, and the two most influential people on the island?! Yuto swallowed. This… This was going to be hell for him.

“Team 2’s members will be Kazuichi, Kotoko, Tsumugi, Mikan, Maki, Angie, Jataro, Ruruka, and Juzo!”

Kazuichi let out a sigh of relief. Sure, he wasn’t on the same team as Sonia or even Gundham, but most of the people there seemed pretty chill. Kotoko and Tsumugi were part of the little group they had going on, Mikan seemed pretty relaxed, and Jataro seemed like a good kid. He didn’t have much of a read on Angie or Ruruka, but they seemed cool too. Maki and Juzo though… He would have to be careful around them.

Meanwhile, Juzo couldn’t help but let out a groan. He couldn’t have been put in a group with anyone with a little bit of toughness? Mondo? Gozu? Fuyuhiko? Nope, he’s stuck with the little pansy army over here.

…Maki wasn’t sure why, but she was suddenly filled with the urge to kill Juzo. How strange.

“Team 3’s members will be Kanon, Sonosuke, Chihiro, Aoi, Twogami, Akane, Rantaro, Kiyotaka, and K1-B0!”

Twogami let out a bit of a sigh. Seems like even the staff was beginning to call him that… Even still, he was mostly happy with the team he was given. Other than Akane and potentially Kanon, the team was well behaved and would mostly stay in line. Perhaps K1-B0 would have a secret talent for video games? …Was that robophobic?

Meanwhile, Ryota cringed. That was the guarantee that he wasn’t going to be on the same team as his best friend… and that hurt. He was going to be on a team full of, frankly, strangers. And that terrified him. He could feel himself beginning to shake. He couldn’t do this. He-

He felt a hand land on his shoulder. It was Twogami’s.

“Ryota… I know that it must be terrifying to be put into this situation, but I have faith that you can make the most of it. Have confidence in yourself… You can conquer this challenge.”

Though Ryota still didn’t feel completely confident… He let out a sigh of relief at his friend’s words. He wishes he could be as confident as Twogami was on a daily basis…

“Team 4’s members will be Junko, Sato, Gundham, Korekiyo, Shuichi, Yasuhiro, Masaru, Mondo, and Kaito!”

Junko let out a groan as she rolled her eyes. Just great, she was stuck on a team with the weirdos and the meatheads… The only way these teams could’ve been worse for her is if she was stuck on a team with her bitch of a sister and that little hope dispenser and she was forced to watch them flirt for the entire tournament… That would’ve been hell.

“Team 5’s members will be Kazuo, Yasuke, Sayaka, Koichi, Sakura, Keade, Mahiru, Teruteru, and Hajime!”

Mahiru couldn’t help but perk up at the end of that team’s announcement. She turned over to Hajime, giving him a small smile as he turned to her as well. Seems like both of them were pretty happy to be on the same team.

Natsumi, on the other hand, wanted to vomit.

“Team 6’s members will be Hiyoko, Miaya, Toko, Tenko, Gonta, Yuta, Ibuki, Kyoko, and Nagito!”

Tenko grumbled under her breath. Admittedly, this was about as good as she was gonna get… Only three males, and she had a… tolerance for Gonta. Yuta was undetermined, but if Aoi says he’s a great guy, then she’ll allow him. Nagito… Ugh. Nagito was a problem.

Kyoko’s thoughts on the situation were much different. She didn’t care for her team much at all, until she heard Nagito’s name… This was a great opportunity to keep an eye on him. She had been meaning to start investigating his actions sooner rather than later, and frankly, this was a great excuse.

“Nooooo! Mikan-chan, Ibuki will miss youuuuuu!”

Ibuki was crying, wrapping her arms around Mikan as she bawled her eyes out. Mikan… had a much less severe reaction.

“I-Ibuki… We’re only on d-different teams… I-I’ll still see you again…”

“Team 7’s members will be Kirumi, Mukuro, Nagisa, Makoto, Fuyuhiko, myself, Seiko, Ryoma, and Hifumi!”

Mukuro couldn’t help but sneak a peek at Makoto as the team was announced. The two of them hadn’t had the chance to talk since the incident in Makoto’s Ultimate Lab, so being on the same team with him was an ideal opportunity. N-Not that she was being weird about it! Was it weird to want to talk to one of your classmates? Of course not!

…Of course, when she turned her gaze back to her table, she was met with the smirking faces of Peko and Maki.

“...Not a word, got it?”

“No worries, Mukuro… Your secret is safe with us.”

Komaru lit up as she heard Nagisa and Makoto’s names back to back. She turned to the l’il Ultimate Social Studies with a wide smile.

“Nagisa, you’re teaming with my brother! That’s awesome! I’m sure the two of you will get along just fine!”

Nagisa merely just huffed and crossed his arms. He was hoping with the last of the two teams announced, he would get to be with someone from the Warriors of Hope, but… Makoto would have to do.

“And last but certainly not least, Team 8! Peko, Taichi, Celeste, Gozu, Ryota, Byakuya, Komaru, Leon, and Sonia!”

Ryota couldn’t help but groan. What kind of cosmic irony was this…? He ended up on a team with the wrong Byakuya! Twogami had trouble holding back his laughter at the sheer irony of the situation, but thankfully managed to do so for the sake of his poor friend.

Byakuya clicked his tongue. Wonderful, he was stuck with the clown of a wrestler in Gozu and a baseball player who was more interested in impressing others than contributing to society. Still… It could’ve been much worse. Taichi himself was already a business partner of the Togami Corporation, Sonia was someone who he could most certainly benefit from a close relationship with, and Celeste was… tolerable. The rest of them were insects that he wasn’t going to bother himself with.

“Alright everyone, those are the teams! The events will begin tomorrow, so spend the rest of the day meeting your teammates and doing any necessary preparations! I hope you guys have fun with this! I’ve set numbers at each table for you guys to meet up, so make sure to head over there and start discussing!”

----

Team 1:

Hiroko, Miu, Yuto, Natsumi, Monaca, Nekomaru, Jin, Kyosuke, and Himiko had all gathered at the table as designated by Chisa. With all of them sitting there like this… It sure was a rag tag team, that was for certain. Hiroko looked like she didn’t care, Miu looked incredibly pissed off, Yuto was too busy snacking down on some bread to be bothered with anybody else, Natsumi looked like she hated just about everyone here, Monaca was in a deep staring contest with Jin and Kyosuke… It was a mess. Only Nekomaru and Himiko were really invested in the Gaming Olympics at all…

“Nyeh… Are you guys gonna start discussing stuff with us or what? Why are you all just staring off into space…?”

Kyosuke crossed his arms, not letting Monaca out of his sight for even a second.

“Apologies, but I refuse to participate in any sort of ridiculous series of events while this demon spawn is on my team. I’ve done my research on you, Monaca… You’ve been hiding something from us this entire time.”

Monaca’s ice cold stare seemed to disappear as she put on an innocent expression, looking at Kyosuke with the best child-like look of surprise she could muster. Which, as it turns out, was pretty good.

“Whaaat? Monaca has noooo idea what you’re talking about! Is this some sort of silly adult game that you like to play, Kyosuke? Cause if it is, I’m not interested!”

Jin couldn’t help but pinch the bridge of his nose at this exchange. Kyosuke has been coming to him about Monaca for a while now, and putting them both on the same team just seemed… disastrous. Case in point, this entire exchange.

“Alright, that’s enough. You two are going to need to cooperate if we’re going to get through this. I know not everyone here is very happy with how things ended up with the teams, and I know some of you also don’t want to participate at all… However! As headmaster, I want you all to give it your best! We’re here because Usami wants us all to be friendly with one another, and we can’t have that if we’re at each other’s throats. So please, let’s cooperate a bit, okay?”

“HEADMASTER KIRIGIRI IS CORRECT! WE MUST ALL SHOW A LITTLE TEAM SPIRIIIIIT!”

Jin flinched at the volume of Nekomaru’s outburst, but he agreed with the sentiment. If he could get everyone on this team working together, then even if they do poorly in the event itself, it would be considered a win.

“Ugh, fine… I’ll play games with you little cocksuckers… After all, how would you be able to win without the genius of the great Miu Iruma? Gahahaha!”

Natsumi rolled her eyes. As much as she wanted to just ditch these losers… She wasn’t going to let all the training that Hajime and her did go to waste.

“Fine fine, whatever… I’ll play. I’m not getting all buddy-buddy with any of you, though. Save it for someone who gives a shit.”

Yuto was still going at his food, but the small nod of his head seemed to confirm that he was on board. Things were looking up!

“Yeah, I’ll pass, thanks.”

“Monaca agrees! Playing with this meanie is not something Monaca wishes to do!”

…Well, those two will take a little bit more convincing. Jin turned to Hiroko, who was lighting another cigarette and popping it into her mouth. As she realized Jin was looking at her, she froze.

“Huh? Oh, yeah… I’m down to play some games, I guess. I got nothin’ better to do.”

With the state of Kyosuke and Monaca, Jin will take anything he can get.

---

Team 2:

Seated at the table with the number 2 on it were Kazuichi, Kotoko, Tsumugi, Mikan, Maki, Angie, Jataro, Ruruka, and Juzo. The split between the two groups was immediately noticeable, with Maki, Ruruka, and Juzo on one side of the table and everyone else on the other.

“Ah, what a team! I must say, I am quite pleased with the way things have turned out!”

Kotoko had a wide smile on her face as she celebrated her luck. Angie herself seemed to be in a great mood as well.

“Nyahaha! Atua truly must’ve granted us great fortune to be put in such a team! Praise Atua!”

Mikan tilted her head a bit in confusion. Atua…? What in the world was Atua?

“Um, Angie… Wh-What exactly is Atua…?”

Tsumugi put on a nervous smile and turned to Mikan. This was not a rabbit hole that Tsumugi wanted open right now.

“Mikan… Maybe you should save that for another time…”

Kazuichi leaned back in his chair with a massive, toothy smile on his face that bared his shark-like teeth to everyone at the table.

“Still! Can you imagine how lucky we got? We didn’t get stuck with any of the crazies or jerks! We’re totally winning this tournament, guys!”

Jataro was the first to cheer out in excitement, with everyone following suit not long after. These 6 were certainly excited, but the other 3… not so much.

Maki, Ruruka, and Juzo just sat at the other side of the table… silently watching them smile and cheer. They turned back to each other, but stayed in complete silence.

“...”

“...”

“...”

These three were certainly outliers, that much was obvious. Things might not be as smooth for that team as Kazuichi had hoped…

---

Team 3:

“Alright, as the only member of the staff at this table, it’s my responsibility to make sure that all of you actually take this somewhat seriously. So, if anyone here is thinking about slacking off, you’ll have me to answer to.”

The point was made loud and clear, and everyone at the table wasn’t even thinking about not participating. Of course, they weren’t really thinking about it in the first place.

Chihiro was just happy for the opportunity to spend time with other people, especially getting to see how K1-B0 works. Though she’s given up on trying to take him apart, she’s still fascinated by him and wants to be his friend.

Speaking of K1-B0, he’s also perfectly happy with how things turned out. He was initially disturbed by the fact that he was with Chihiro, but after she promised not to try and open him up, he was okay.

“Yo, Akane! I’m so happy we’re on the same team, I’ve been trying to talk to you for a while!”

Akane turned her attention over to Aoi, her mouth stuffed with food as she quickly ate it all. She… may have tried to respond a few times before hand, but Aoi decided to ignore that.

“Really? Oh, is it cuz you’re lookin for some gymnastics tips? Don’t worry sis, I got ya! Listen, all you have to do is-”

“No, nothing like that! I just wanted to hang out and train with you! Don’t you wanna join Sakura and I for some training some time?”

Akane thought about it for a second, but ended up shaking her head.

“Nah, the training I get from Coach Nekomaru is the best I’ve gotten in my entire life. I don’t think I’m gonna start skipping those any time soon.”

Aoi smiled and clapped her hands together. That was totally fine! After all, that gave her another idea.

“How about Sakura and I join you guys for some training together? I’m sure even Sakura and I could learn some stuff from Coach!”

“Yeah! I’ll tell him about it later, you guys can show up if you want.”

Aoi couldn’t help but show her smile. She had more workout buddies! She couldn’t wait to tell Sakura.

On the other half of the table, Kiyotaka was happily talking with Twogami, discussing who knows what while Taka had a wide smile on his face. Clearly, he was enjoying himself, which was quite the stark difference compared to when he talked to his own Byakuya. Kanon, who was watching the whole thing unfold, couldn’t help but be curious about the two Byakuyas… Surely one of them must be impersonating the other, right?

“Kanon, what’re you doing at the end of the table by yourself? You’re a part of this team too, you know.”

Kanon almost jumped out of her seat as one Rantaro Amami snuck up behind her. She blushed, shoving the Adventurer away as she grit her teeth.

“Cut it out! I know that, you dunce! I’m just keeping my distance. I’m not interested in this gaming garbage, and I’m not interested in any of you.”

Rantaro’s expression fell, a sigh escaping his lips as he took the empty seat right next to Kanon.

“Kanon, it might not be my place to pry, but I can’t help but notice that you’re staying separate from everyone else on the island. Even your own class can’t get a hold of you.”

Kanon’s expression soured, and she didn’t even give Rantaro a second look.

“First off, how do you know? You been watching me or something? Second off, why do you care?”

Rantaro shrugged his shoulders, a sly smirk on his face as he leaned back in his chair.

“Let’s just say… I’m very good at reading people. Regardless, why I’m doing this isn’t important. Nothing I’ve said is wrong, is it?”

Well… Kanon couldn’t exactly deny what he was saying. She was keeping her distance from anyone not named Leon, but-!

“Is it because you don’t trust anyone other than Leon?”

Kanon bit her lip. Seems like Rantaro hit the nail on the head.

“I see… Well, that’s certainly understandable. It’s hard being thrust into a new location without anyone you know, and so you latch onto the one person you do know as a lifeline. I completely understand.”

Rantaro sighed and turned to Kanon with a stoic expression.

“However, the more you use that lifeline to keep yourself afloat, the less progress you’re making to meet new people and grow, and so you’re stuck using that lifeline for the rest of your life. And when that lifeline begins to grow and mature…”

“...They start to move on.”

Rantaro nodded his head as Kanon finished the sentence for him. He gave her a small smile as he stood up, ready to head back to the main group.

“Just something to think about, yeah? I’ll be around if you need someone to talk to.”

Kanon merely nodded her head as Rantaro walked off. Once he sat back down, Kanon let out a sigh. She really did have a lot of thinking to do…

Chapter Text

Team 4:

“Alright everyone, listen up! We may not have a lot of gaming experience as a combined group, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t gonna put in our 100% effort! With enough practice, hard work, and time investment, we can make anything happen!”

Junko changed her mind. Even watching her sister and that hope magnet suck face would be better than this. Anything would be better than this.

Listening to Kaito ramble on about how they had a chance (they didn’t) to dominate the competition just made her sick to her stomach. These disgusting hope speeches always made her sick…

It wasn’t as if she would be able to distract herself by talking to someone else, either. Who would she even be able to talk to? Sato, the crazy girl who spent half of her brain energy thinking about Mahiru and the other half hating anyone who tries to mess with her? Korekiyo, who was just a creep in every sense of the word? Yasuhiro, Mondo, and even Masaru were just idiots who wanted to crack their own skulls, and she didn’t have that mental energy to deal with Gundham’s garbage right now… That just left Shuichi, and she felt like it was best to avoid the detective who could very well be looking into you right now.

So, her best option was to just act like she was asleep and hope that they wouldn’t bother her. Sadly, that didn’t last very long.

“Junko Enoshima! Are you listening to anything I’m saying?”

Junko lazily lifted a thumbs up into the air, not even bothering to lift her head from the table. Kaito wanted to chew her out, but Shuichi just tapped his shoulder and shook his head. Kaito let out a sigh as he addressed the rest of the group.

“Well, whatever… My point is, we should be taking this seriously! And don’t forget to have a good time, as well!”

God, what a hopelessly pointless speech… Junko had already given up on the idea of a killing game, but maybe she would bring it back, just to make sure that Kaito would die. Ooo, or she could kill him herself! Now that sounded like a good time~

“Kehehe… I must say, I am quite interested to participate in these… video games, you all speak of.”

Mondo turned to Korekiyo, a look of skepticism on his face as if he’d just said something absurd.

“Huh? You’ve never played a video game before…?”

Yasuhiro ran a hand through his hair. Not having played a video game seemed completely ridiculous, especially in today’s age… but Korekiyo wasn’t exactly a normal guy.

“I mean, I guess I can see how someone has never played a video game before, but what about you, Mondo? What kinda games have you played?”

Mondo chuckled, a smirk appearing on his face as he turned to the group.

“Me and my boys actually have quite the history with video games! We had quite a few guys and gals who were big video game fans before they became a part of the gang, so every Sunday, we’d drive down to the local arcade and have a good time! It was pretty much a reservation specifically for us considering how we took that place over.”

Sato huffed, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at Mondo.

“So what, you just brought your gang to a local arcade and bullied everyone out? Sounds a bit like a pussy move to me…”

Mondo felt a vein pop in the side of his head as he turned to Sato. What the hell did she just say?!

“Excuse me?! The fuck did you just say to me?!”

“You heard what I said! You were just being a bunch of bullies, that’s it!”

Mondo looked like he was just about to tear Sato’s head off before Masaru, of all people, managed to step in.

“Yo, Mondo! Chill, dude! She’s just trying to get under your skin!”

“I don’t care! If she talks shit about my gang, she talks shit about me! And I never let people get away with talking shit about me, I can promise you that!”

“Cease your incessant prattling at once! Is this the teamwork that we of Team 4 will share? Pitiful, truly. Mondo, you mustn’t let a witch turn your fury against you, lest you want the whole team to fall apart like Mount Hufanga!”

Mondo just grit his teeth. He knew he had to keep his emotions in check, but hearing it be told to him like that, from Gundham of all people… Really made it hit home.

“Hey, who’re you calling a witch?!”

“Does the witch wish for me to call her by another name? No… Those who are a witch shall always be a witch, and you are just that!”

Kaito slapped his forehead. Here he was, thinking that Gundham was trying to diffuse the situation, only for him to get Sato all pissed again! This was just great...

“Alright, that’s enough! All of you, cut it out! If you guys keep fighting over nothing, we’re not gonna get any work done!”

While the tension was most certainly still there, everyone decided to sit back down in their seats, though not without them glaring across the table at each other. While this was an unmitigated disaster for Kaito, Junko was secretly smiling from ear to ear. These guys really didn’t like each other, huh? That was excellent information to have in her back pocket~ She figured now was a bad time to get them all riled up again, but if she picked her targets right…

The gears in her brain were really turning for the first time since arriving here, and she was finally starting to get a semblance of a plan together. Things were about to get veeeery interesting~

Shuichi couldn’t help but notice the glint in Junko’s eye as the group began to go their separate ways and prepare for tomorrow’s activities. That girl…

---

Team 5:

Kazuo Tengan couldn’t help but let out a sigh as he watched some of the other teams around him. Bickering a plenty, that was all he could see. He was hoping that they would get along better than this, but sadly, it seems they had a lot of work to do before Usami would let them access the new island.

“Well… Thankfully all of you seem to be getting along just fine. A nice and calm team… Truly, this seems to be quite the rare occurrence on this island, hoho!”

Tengan looked between all the other members of his team. Yasuke had his nose buried in yet another book, no surprise there. Koichi was… completely knocked out. The less said about him, the better. Teruteru was most likely still in the kitchen, and that just left one main conversation on the table. Kaede, Sayaka, and Sakura were on the left side of the table and both Hajime and Mahiru were on the right.

“Huh… You know, based on how the other teams ended up, I’d say we got pretty lucky, huh?”

As Kaede spoke to the rest of the group, Hajime couldn’t help but let out an awkward chuckle. She… most certainly had a point.

“Yeah… From what I can tell, some of these other teams are wild. I mean, I can hear Mondo and Sato screaming at each other from all the way over here…”

Sakura let out a sigh as she crossed her arms. She would certainly have to have a talk with Mondo after this tournament…

“I see… Mondo’s anger must still be quite the issue, then. How unfortunate.”

“Uh, yeah! Why the hell is arguing with someone like Sato, anyways?!”

Mahiru put her hands on her hips. It was clear that she was not happy, though Sayaka couldn’t help but interject.

“Um… Mahiru, no offense, but Sato has a tendency to be… pretty antagonistic? I mean, if you’re not a part of her friend group, she can be pretty off-putting.”

Mahiru wanted to protest, but Hajime put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. Mahiru merely just sighed.

“Yeah… You’re probably right. I’ve been trying to help her open up a bit more, but she’s always been a little defensive…”

Hajime smiled and shook his head.

“Don’t worry about it so much, Mahiru. I’m sure Sato will open up soon. After all, she’s already starting to get on better footing with Hiyoko and Natsumi! If she can open up to those two, she can open up to anyone.”

Mahiru frowned, but what Hajime was saying made sense. It was most certainly going to be a process, but she was… improving.

“Yeah… I know.”

Yasuke let out a sigh, closing his manga and slipping it into his bag as he turned to the main group discussing.

“If you’re done talking about everyone’s personality issues, are we going to talk about strategy for the tournament?”

The other five and Kazuo all turned to Yasuke, with surprise that was very poorly concealed. Kaede was the first to say something after Yasuke’s statement.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I mean, we should start preparing. Think about it; not only are we better off compared to everyone else because we’re not constantly bickering with each other and are actually able to get something done, but I know that Hajime and Mahiru are both good friends with the person running this event, so I’m well aware that you both have at least some information on the format for this event. So, spill it.”

Mahiru just looked at Yasuke with confusion, but Hajime let out a sigh as he started going over what he knew.

“Okay, so… From what I can tell, each game played will make us use a different player. There will be 1v1s, 2v2s, and whatever like that, but I know for a fact that Team Fortress 2 will be a full 9v9 between teams. So, if we’re going to prepare for anything, it would be solidifying each role in TF2 because we all need to play each class.”

Yasuke nodded his head. That would make sense… Chiaki was the type to get everyone involved, so she wouldn’t make it so that one person could sweep through the tournament. The 9v9 Team Fortress 2 seemed right up her alley…

“Alright, and I assume that you know enough about Team Fortress 2 to help us plan for that?”

Hajime nodded his head and cleared his throat.

“Yeah, so Team Fortress 2 is a team-based first person shooter with 9 different classes that all have different roles. Depending on the game mode, the objective is different, and I’m not sure what Chiaki will want to do for the tournament. However, we can at least plan out who will take which role.”

Yasuke started rubbing his chin. It was quite fortunate that they had someone like Hajime on their team to help prepare.

“Okay, that makes sense… So we’ll plan out who gets what class. Can you explain each class and their abilities?”

Hajime took a deep breath, collecting himself as he turned to everyone at the table in order to get through his explanation.

“Alright, so… There are 9 classes in Team Fortress 2: Scout, Soldier, Pyro, Demoman, Heavy, Engineer, Medic, Sniper, and Spy. The Scout is fast, has high DPS, and captures objectives more quickly than any other classes. He targets the lower HP classes and can take them out quickly in order to let the other offensive powerhouses start dealing damage. If you play Scout, your job is to deal damage and run around the opponent.”

“The Soldier is a general, all around offensive class. He’s a little slower than average, but he has good movement options with Rocket Jumping. Without Rocket Jumping, he’s pretty slow, but he deals a lot of Area of Effect damage with rockets. Because of his reliance on Rocket Jumping, I think it would be best if I played Soldier.”

“Pyro is a pretty limited class, but he can still be useful. He has consistent damage with his flamethrower that does damage over time, and he can reflect projectiles with airblast. The only issue is that he has to be really close to his target and doesn’t have amazing movement options, so it’s a little hard to fully get a good opening to burn your opponent.”

“Demoman is an incredibly versatile class. He can be used offensively by spamming sticky bombs at a chokepoint, he can stick them to a wall in order to set a trap, and he can use the explosion to launch himself across the map. He’s pretty easy to play, especially since he’s not reliant on Sticky Jumping unlike Soldier, so I think any of you guys could play him.”

“Heavy has the highest health in the game, but is also the slowest character in the game. He can soak up a ton of damage, but also has a tendency to get taken out by spies and snipers. He’s great for being on the front line and soaking up damage, but it can be risky.”

“The Engineer’s job is to set up various buildings that support the team. The sentry gun automatically targets enemies in its range which makes it great for controlling a certain space. The dispenser allows players to restore health and regain ammo whenever they want, and the teleporter is great for getting slow classes back to the front lines. The engineer isn’t great in terms of actually fighting other players, but his support capabilities are invaluable.”

“The Medic is pretty self-explanatory… He heals you, but he also has a mechanic called Ubercharge that allows him to grant invincibility after healing people for long enough. He’s obviously very important.”

“Sniper is also pretty self-explanatory. He shoots people from a long distance and does a lot of immediate damage. He’s great for taking out Medics and Heavies especially, but he can target pretty much everyone.”

“Finally, we have the Spy. He can disguise himself as someone on the enemy team, he can backstab someone and instantly kill them, and he can turn invisible. He’s a little specific, but he can do well in the right hands.”

Hajime let out a sigh as he finally finished up the long winded explanation.

“Any questions?”

Everyone was taking some time to consider everything Hajime said. It was hard for some of them to decide who they wanted to play without the context of the game itself, but some of them had already decided, with Yasuke going first.

“Well then, I suppose I’ll be playing the Spy.”

Mahiru turned to him with some thinly-veiled surprise on her face.

“Really? I thought you would ask to play as the Medic…”

“Just because I’m a Doctor? Please. I’d much rather play a class like Spy that allows me to think and outsmart my opponent. Picking off stupid players with no idea what they’re doing seems like the perfect role.”

Everyone couldn’t help but chuckle at that. There was the Yasuke everyone knew and loved.

“I believe that it would be best if I picked the Heavy. I will do my best to protect you all.”

Hajime nodded at Sakura as she asserted her claim on Heavy. That certainly made sense, Heavy seemed to match Sakura’s personality to a T.

“Alright. Again, I’ll play as the Soldier due to us not having time to teach any of you Rocket Jumping, so that leaves 6 of the classes left. Does anyone have any they really want to play?”

Kaede shrugged her shoulders. Admittedly… She didn’t have too strong of an opinion on what class she wanted to play, but supporting everyone else sounded fun!

“I think I’ll go with the Medic! Supporting everyone sounds like a good time.”

Then Mahiru put her own choice in the group.

“I’ll take the Scout! I like to get up and personal.”

And immediately after Mahiru said that, Sayaka hit the group with a bombshell.

“I’ll take the Sniper!”

Hajime turned to her with surprise. Sayaka as the Sniper?! That… was pretty surprising.

“You wanna be the Sniper? I mean… It can be kinda boring sitting back and clicking on heads. Are you sure?”

Sayaka nodded her head with a smile.

“Of course! I have a pretty good aim, so I think I’d be pretty good!”

Hajime was still a little surprised, but… Well, if she wanted to, he wasn’t gonna stop her.

“Alright, well… Whatever you want, I guess. Anyways, that just leaves Pyro, Demoman, and Engineer. Mr. Tengan, do you have a preference? We’ll give the other two to Koichi and Teruteru.”

Kazuo let out a small laugh. Admittedly, he was incredibly happy that this issue was entirely dramaless. This team gave him quite a bit of hope that everyone on the island would get along well.

“Well, my reaction time may not be as good as you youngsters, so I believe I shall take the Engineer and support you all from the backline.”

Hajime nodded his head. It certainly made sense for Tengan to pick more of a support role. That just left Pyro and Demoman.

“I think Teruteru would prefer Pyro, so that leaves Koichi with…”

Hajime paused and turned to Koichi, who was still blackout drunk on the table. Koichi was going to play Demoman, huh? Well, wasn’t that ironic?

---

Team 6:

“Woohoooooo! Alriiiight! Ibuki is sooooo excited! Ibuki can’t wait until this tournament starts! Who’s with Ibuki?!”

Unfortunately for Ibuki, the only one that yelled out their agreement was Yuta, who stood up and pumped his fists up in his air.

“YEAAAAAH! Let’s goooooo!”

After that, there was dead silence at the table. Yuta, noticing that he was completely alone in his excitement, blushed red and sat down at the table. Poor guy…

“Gonta is quite excited to participate! Gonta no know what a… video game is, but they sounds fun!”

“Yes yes! It’s very exciting, isn’t it?! We’re all going to have a great time!”

While Miaya was doing her best to try and hype everyone up, they were all pretty low energy and didn’t bother joining with her. Hiyoko just rolled her eyes and turned away from the group, Toko looked like she wanted to be anywhere else, and Nagito was just chuckling as he was getting glared at by Tenko and Kyoko.

“Aw… You guys… Don’t any of you care about the tournament? Boohoo…”

Nagito let out a small laugh as he began trying to reassure Miaya.

“Oh, don’t cry… I’m sure everyone here is just beginning to focus! After all, you Ultimates aren’t the type to just lie down and let others beat you, right? I’m sure the shining lights of the future will do everything you can to obtain victory!”

Tenko just rolled her eyes at Nagito’s speech. She didn’t trust him, not one bit, and she wasn’t trying to hide it.

“Oh please, you can’t fool me! I’m sure a degenerate male like you is just looking for an excuse to abuse us! However, I won’t allow it! I will do everything I can to protect the girls from this group from weirdos like you!”

Kyoko let out a sigh, as she brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

“Tenko, give it a rest. Nagito isn’t going to be doing anything out of line, will you?”

Nagito just let out a nervous chuckle. Guess that would have to be good enough for now.

Miaya, on the other hand, just let out an exhausted sigh. This team had awful synergy… How was she going to get them to work together at this rate?

“E-Everyone! Please, don’t fight each other! We need to work together if we want to win!”

Toko let out a low growl as she turned to Miaya.

“Y-You say w-we should work t-together… Geez, y-you’re starting to s-sound like that dumb idiot b-bear… A-Are we sure you’re not w-working with her?”

“Hwha?! Of course not! I don’t have any idea why she looks like me!”

Kyoko narrowed her eyes at Miaya. She highly doubted that Miaya actually had anything to do with why they were here, but she couldn’t lie that the similarities in personality, as well as the fact that Usami was quite literally Miaya’s creation… It was impossible for Kyoko to not suspect her at least a little bit.

Of course, this tournament being a required event was going to set back her investigation, but she would do her best to slip out during breaks.

---

Team 7:

“Mukuro! Wow, we ended up on the same team! How lucky, huh?”

Mukuro was shadowing a small smile as Makoto turned to her with that… that bright smile. That smile that seemed to melt away all of her troubles.

“Ah… Yes, I guess so. It’s always nice to have someone you know on the team…”

Makoto smiled and nodded his head. Admittedly, he was very excited to be on a team with Mukuro! He didn’t get to play with her during the basketball tournament, and it had been a while since he specifically hung out with her aside from the incident in his Ultimate Lab, so he was ecstatic to be given the opportunity.

“Of course! I may not be great at video games, but I hope we all do well!”

Chisa couldn’t help but coo as she watched this happen. The stoic soldier that’s lost love for life blushing over the ordinary boy with a heart of gold? It was so adorable!

“Oh, if those two aren’t the cutest people I’ve ever seen!~”

Kirumi and Ryoma, who were hanging around Chisa, both giggled and chuckled respectively at this. Good ol’ Chisa… If anyone was going to ship their own students, Chisa was a very good choice, and it seems like their guess was correct.

“Trying to get your own students together, Miss Chisa? Tsk tsk…”

Chisa huffed and put her hands on her hips as she turned to the Ultimate Maid.

“Kirumi, you don’t understand! I am doing what I can to make my students happy, and from what I’ve seen, Mukuro is the most happy when she is with Makoto! Thus, I will do everything I can to keep them together!”

Ryoma snorted, lowering his beanie as he turned to the side.

“Sounds like a pretty convenient excuse to me…”

Chisa darted over to Ryoma’s location and got right up in his face, fire in her eyes as Ryoma… flinched?!

“It is NOT an excuse!”

Ryoma couldn’t even remember the last time he was shocked like that. He quickly recomposed himself and took a breath as he popped a lollipop into his mouth.

“Alright, alright… I get it, teach. Now can I get my personal space back?”

Chisa smiled and clapped her hands together as she stood up straight once more.

“As long as you understand~”

Kirumi made a mental note to not interrupt Miss Chisa when she was shipping people together.

While all this was going on, the final four members of the team (Fuyuhiko, Seiko, Nagisa, and Hifumi) sat at the table and were discussing the idea of a video game tournament.

“Honestly, if you ask me… Even though I’m down to fuck around with people in a damn tournament, this seems pretty fuckin’ stupid. Why is this shit required? And why are the teams randomized? That shit doesn’t make any goddamn sense.”

Hifumi was a little nervous to respond to Fuyuhiko’s assertion, but thankfully, Nagisa was the one who did it for him.

“Usami won’t give us access to the next island until we all get along, right? Well, if we keep doing this teamwork stuff, then eventually we’ll get close enough for Usami to let us continue, right?”

Fuyuhiko clicked his tongue. He knew that the kid was right, but it was still annoying. He was this close to getting Peko on his team, but missed it just barely. It was… obnoxious, but at the very least he seemed to get put on a seemingly decent team. They weren’t… great, but they wouldn’t get on his nerves, at least.

“Y-Yeah… Honestly, I-I’m a little worried about not being with my friends, but… I-I’m still gonna do my best!”

As Seiko gave out her declaration, Hifumi himself puffed out his chest.

“Indeed! We shall attack and quickly claim victory!”

Fuyuhiko turned to Nagisa and the two of them just sighed. These guys might be a bit much…

---

Team 8:

“Byakuya, would it kill you to be a little nicer, dude?”

As Team 8 gathered at the 8th and final table, Byakuya just chuckled at Leon’s completely ridiculous statement.

“And why should I? You want me to be friendly with you all? I have no reason to do that. If you wish to have my respect, you must earn it.”

Komaru puffed out her cheeks, leaning forward and glaring at Byakuya.

“That’s not true! Everyone deserves to receive basic human decency!”

Byakuya turned to Komaru, looking down on her as if she were a bug.

“Well now… You’re Makoto’s younger sister, aren’t you? Truly, you must be the most pitiful person on this island. Not only are you the little sister of the most talentless person on the island, but unlike your brother, you don’t even have the allure of an interesting Ultimate Lab. Thus, I ask: What do you contribute?”

Komaru couldn’t help but gawk at Byakuya’s blunt retort to her, causing her to slink back a little bit as she tried to think of a response. However, it seemed like Gozu would beat her to the punch.

“Byakuya! How dare you speak to your fellow classmate like that? Are you looking to get ROOOOCKED by the Grrrrreat Gozu?!”

Sonia frowned and nodded her head in agreement.

“Byakuya, I must agree with Gozu… Your statement to Komaru was most uncalled for. Rectify it immediately!”

Byakuya merely just clicked his tongue, standing up from his chair and turning to the entrance of the dining hall.

“I see now that this truly will be a waste of time… While I would love to sit here and listen to you all preach to me about friendship and kindness, I would rather do anything else than waste my remaining time until being forced to spend time with you peons.”

And with that, Byakuya walked out of the dining hall, leaving everyone to sit there in a variety of shock and disappointment. Celeste, on the other hand, merely just let out a giggle.

“Oh my… Byakuya really does have a bit of a superiority complex, no? It’s quite a sight.”

Taichi just let out a sigh as he watched Byakuya walk away.

“Sadly, Byakuya has always been like this… I’ve done quite a bit of work with him and the Togami Corporation, and he’s always had this wall of confidence and arrogance in front of him…”

Ryota, shivering a bit from the pressure of the situation, darted his attention back and forth as he tried to enter the conversation.

“I-I… I much prefer th-the other… Byakuya…”

Leon had a bright smile on his face as Ryota said that.

“Oh, yeah! Twogami is a super chill dude. Why can’t our Byakuya be like him?”

Everyone nodded and talked a bit about Twogami, which made Ryota smile just a bit. It was… nice to see his friend was so popular.

“Um, Mr. Fujisaki?”

Taichi turned back to see Chiaki tapping his shoulder with Kokichi of all people next to her.

“What is it, Chiaki?”

“Well… We actually forgot to put Kokichi on the list for randomization, and we also wanted to make sure we had one of the programmers to help us in case something goes wrong, so… Would you mind switching places with Kokichi?”

As Taichi turned to Kokichi, the Ultimate Supreme Leader let out a devious chuckle. Taichi was hesitant, but… letting Kokichi get closer with the other students would most likely go a long way to meeting Usami’s expectations, so he reluctantly nodded his head.

“Of course. Should we head over to your Ultimate Lab to make sure everything is set up?”

Chiaki smiled and nodded her head as the two left the Dining Hall. With that, Kokichi sat down and leaned back in his chair.

“Nishishi!~ Good to see you guys! Didya miss me?”

Everyone at the table was a little apprehensive at Kokichi’s sudden appearance, but none more so than Peko.

“Kokichi… You must be aware that everyone here knows of your antics. If you try to pull anything to sabotage us, you’ll have me to answer to. Do you understand?”

Kokichi put on a shocked expression as some crocodile tears started flowing down his face.

“Waaaah! Peko, you’re so mean to me! I would never do anything to sabotage the team!”

Peko was a little taken aback by Kokichi just… busting out into tears like that, and Komaru didn’t help much.

“Peko… Why would you make Kokichi cry like that? He hasn’t even done anything yet!”

“W-Well, I…”

“Oh, don’t worry, I was just pretending. Thanks for the concern, Komaru!”

Komaru and Peko both balked at Kokichi’s sudden change in attitude.

“H-Huh? But, you-”

“What, you think the Ultimate Liar such as myself wouldn’t be able to lie about my own emotions? You guys underestimate me!”

Celeste cleared her throat as Kokichi said that, a dark expression crossing her face as she glared at him.

“Now now, Kokichi… It would be wise of you to remember your place here~ If you wish to discuss the true Queen of Liars, then I believe that would be myself, no?”

Kokichi lit up, an awe struck smile on his face as he turned to Celeste!

“Wow, you’re right! Even what you just said was a lie! You really are a great liar!”

Celeste couldn’t help but feel something snap inside of her as Kokichi taunted her, but she let out a deep breath and decided to just play with a bit of her hair. Kokichi… wasn’t worth the trouble.

“Oh my… I believe the chemistry of the team might be quite low… Perhaps we should do some team building exercises? Back in the Kingdom of Novoselic, we would have our soldiers play games together in order to work better as a group! Perhaps the same could work here?”

Leon gave a nervous smile, scratching the back of his head as he began to respond to Sonia. How exactly were you supposed to tell royalty that she was wrong?

“Uh… No offense, Miss Sonia… But isn’t that exactly what we’re going to do with this tournament? I mean, isn’t the point that they want us to get closer as a group to satisfy Usami?”

Komaru scratched her cheek, seemingly just as nervous to say anything as Leon was.

“W-Well… We’re not off to a great start, what with Byakuya running off and all…”

There was a bit of an awkward silence at the table following that. Everyone agreed that they needed to be better friends, but nobody really had an idea on what to do. Even Kokichi was being quiet, which was… a first. However, the speakers around the island soon began to spark to life.

”Attention everyone! This is your loveable tour guide Usami here to give you an announcement! I have officially decided to sponsor the Video Game Olympics! Because of that, I will be providing a very special prize for whichever team wins!”

Well, this got quite a few peoples’ attention. Everyone turned to the nearest speaker and awaited the rest of Usami’s announcement.

”The prize for first place in the tournament will be information about where we are, as well as exclusive access to the second island before everyone else! That’s all to announce, have fun!”

It didn’t take long for everyone in the dining hall to start freaking out.

Chapter Text

Junko tapped her fingernails on the table. Twas the night before the tournament, and Junko had quite a bit to think about. Information on where they were, huh? As well as exclusive access to the second island before anyone else? That was a prospect she could get behind. Of course, she had already thrown out her killing game idea… But that didn’t mean this info wouldn’t be useful! If she was going to get something together, she knew she would need all the info she could get. And it’s Junko Fucking Enoshima! Of course she’s got something being planned! If the endgame was despair, then it’s-

“Um, Junko? Apologies for being late, I got held up by Hifumi on the way here…”

Junko’s eyes snapped open at the sound of Tsumugi’s voice, turning around to see the cosplayer at her door. Well well, she sure took her sweet time to get here…

“Oh, it’s you. Come on, take a seat.”

Junko carelessly pointed across the room to another chair, with Tsumugi nodding and sitting down. She… had gotten used to Junko’s various personalities at this point, so seeing her be completely checked out wasn’t a huge deal to her. After all, she was a cosplayer, right? She was constantly changing her own personality to fit whatever character she was cosplaying as. It was pretty much the same thing, right?

“So… What did you want, Junko?”

Junko pulled out a pair of glasses and a clipboard, scribbling down some nonsense as she began to fill Tsumugi in.

“Well, I’m sure you’re more than aware of the reward for this video game tournament, correct? Very exclusive info on the archipelago and the second island? I don’t believe I need to explain to you how useful that might be.”

Tsumugi sweatdropped. She should’ve known it was something like this… When it came to Junko, it was all about information and plans and whatever… Admittedly, Tsumugi wasn’t nearly as interested in Junko’s scheming as she was initially. There wasn’t anything going on here, right? Maybe it would just be best to hang around and enjoy the sunshine. The video game tournament sounded fun! She didn’t want to ruin that by trying to mess with it and focus on something other than the games.

“Well, yes… But Junko, we’re on separate teams. What did you even have in mind…? It’s not like we can work together on this.”

Junko groaned. Leave it to Ms Plain Jane to not see the bigger picture!

“Don’t you get it?! We’re gonna rig the fuckin’ competition! It’s fuckin video games, there’s definitely some ways to cheat! Whatever the fuck game it is, we’ll find a way!”

Go figure. Tsumugi let out a sigh, standing up from her chair and moving towards the door. She really wasn’t interested in something like this.

“Sorry Junko… I’m gonna pass. I think I just want to enjoy the competition, right? If anyone else wins, I’m sure they’ll tell us everything they find out. What’s the point of rigging the competition in our favor?”

Junko flinched, turning to the side and looking down on the ground. She… was not expecting Tsumugi to stand up to her like that. Seems like a lot of people who she walked all over before were starting to do that nowadays. Was it something she said?

“Oh… I see how it is… Alright… I’ll see you later…”

Tsumugi nodded her head, closing the door behind her as she began to walk away. Once Junko heard Tsumugi’s footsteps get quieter, she tossed the clipboard she was holding at the wall.

“AAAAAAAAH! Fucking hell! This isn’t how it was supposed to go! I was supposed to dump Muku-butt, start scheming with Tsumugi, and bam! And new plan gets hatched and we start forcing these fucks to roll in some despair! But NO! Now not even Plain Jane is working with me! ‘Oh Junko, I just wanna have fuuuuun with the fuckin’ video games!’ Bull fucking shit! This is… This…”

Junko bit her lip, sitting down in her chair as she stared up at the ceiling.

“...This is true despair, isn’t it? Putting so much time and effort into something only for it to completely fall apart, by no fault of your own… This is amaaaaazing~”

---

The day of the tournament had finally come. It was 9 AM, and everyone was trickling into the dining hall for breakfast. As decreed by Chisa, everyone was sitting down with their groups for the tournament, which led to some very… awkward situations. Thankfully, they didn’t last long.

“Um… Hey everyone. Chiaki here. I don’t mean to rush you guys, but we’re gonna be starting at 9:30… We’re gonna be starting with Dragon Ball FighterZ, so make sure you guys pick whoever it is you want to play that game. I’ll explain the format for the tournament once we get there. See you guys there.”

Conversation broke out as soon as Chiaki finished her announcement, with each group trying to figure out who the best option to play FighterZ was. Most of them hadn’t played traditional fighting games at all, much less FighterZ specifically, so it was quite the conversation.

Team 1:

“Natsumi. You were playing FighterZ with Hajime the other day, correct? It’s best to let you play, since you’re the only one who has any experience.”

Natsumi balked when Kyosuke said that.

“H-Huh? How the hell do you know that?!”

Kyosuke crossed his arms, letting out a “Hmph” and refusing to answer the question.

“Oi, dickhead! Answer the fucking question!”

Jin let out a sigh. Why did Kyosuke have to antagonize her like that…?

“Alright, let’s settle down. Chiaki told us. Apparently she heard you playing with Hajime when you two were playing.”

Natsumi wanted to say something snarky to get back at them, but decided to just let it go. It wasn’t worth it. At the very least, they weren’t spying on her…

“Fine, fine. I’ll play FighterZ. Are you guys happy?”

Jin nodded his head. He would have to figure out who plays what moving forward, but thankfully the first game was decided for him.

Team 2:

“Kazuichi Souda! As the leader of this group, I decree that thou shalt be the player of Dragon Ball FighterZ!”

Kazuichi gave Kotoko a deadpan as she said that. Look, he liked the kid well enough, but she could absolutely get on his nerves every now and then. Now was certainly one of those times.

“Kotoko, I’ve never played that game in my life… Why are you choosing me to play it?”

Maki glared at Kazuichi, motioning to the rest of the table as she responded to him.

“Souda, take a look around. Do you think any of us here have any experience in video games whatsoever? This is probably one of the hardest games to get a hold of, so someone who’s actually played a good number of games would be better.”

Kazuichi looked around. Tsumugi… Mikan… Angie… Jataro… Ruruka… Juzo… Alright, maybe Maki had a point. Besides, disagreeing with Maki was a good way to get some vital organs removed from your body.

“Alright, alright… Geez, I’ll play FighterZ. Don’t expect anything out of me, though! Traditional fighting games aren’t easy!”

Please, have mercy…

Team 3:

“Chihiro. Are you certain you can handle this? From what I can tell, traditional fighting games are not easy to pick up on.”

Chihiro nodded her head, clapping her hands together as Twogami asked that question.

“Of course! Aside from Kiibo, I think I have the most experience with video games… I don’t play them a lot, but I know how they work! I think I can do decently.”

K1-B0 shook his head, awkwardly chuckling as Chihiro said that. Yet another misunderstanding that had been peddled around about him…

“Uh, actually… I haven’t played many video games. Actually, I haven’t played any. So, I agree, it should be Chihiro who plays FighterZ.”

Chihiro smiled. It was… nice to be relied on like this. She didn’t have many opportunities to do something for people directly, so it was a fuzzy feeling whenever it happened.

“Thank you, Kiibo! I won’t let you all down!”

Team 4:

“Alright team, listen up! As leader of Team 4, I’ve decided that the one who will play FighterZ is me!”

Sato couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at that. Kaito wanted to play FighterZ?

“You wanna play FighterZ? No offense, Kaito, but you don’t really seem like the type to play video games…”

Kaito chuckled, crossing her arms and shaking his head.

“Well, I may not be the best video game fan out there, but I’m a HUGE fan of Dragon Ball Z! As long as the game is somewhat similar to the show, I’m sure we’ll be fine!”

Shuichi, Masaru, Mondo, and Gundham all gave each other looks. As much as they wanted to argue with Kaito’s logic… None of them really wanted to play the game themselves. So, it was best to let Kaito have this.

“Alright, Kaito, that’s fine. Don’t let us down, okay?”

Kaito smiled at Shuichi, pointing at himself as he responded.

“Don’t worry, sidekick! I wouldn’t even think about letting you down!”

Team 5:

“Hajime, do you think you can handle this game?”

Hajime nodded his head at Kaede. Out of everyone on the island, it seemed like Hajime was the only one other than Chiaki who had any real experience with 2D Fighting Games. Seems like Hajime actually played FighterZ as well!

“Yeah, I can take care of it. I don’t think it’ll be too hard, either. Out of everyone on the island, I think I have the most experience other than Chiaki.”

Mahiru turned to Hajime, narrowing her eyes as she flicked him in the forehead.

“Hey, knock it off. I don’t wanna see you getting cocky out there, Hajime!”

Hajime couldn’t help but cringe as she flicked him. Look, it hurts, okay?!

“Ow! Alright, alright! I won’t be cocky…”

Sayaka, Kaede, and Kazuo couldn’t help but giggle at the display. Even Sakura cracked a smile.

“Geez, you two… You really are just like an old married couple, huh?”

“WE ARE NOT!”

Sayaka leaned back in her chair in shock as the two of them both yelled at her at the same time.

…Oh yeah, these two were getting together if it was the last thing Sayaka did.

Team 6:

“Alriiiiight! Ibuki will take the charge on FighterZ! You all have no need to worry!”

As Ibuki flashed a peace sign, the rest of the table just sat there in silence. Seems like Ibuki’s shenanigans weren’t as well received here as they usually were…

“Hm? Did Ibuki say something strange? Why is everyone all quiet?”

Kyoko let out a sigh, brushing a strand of hair away from her face as she turned to the side.

“Sure, that’s fine. If you’re volunteering, that means you have some experience with the game, right?”

“Nope! Ibuki has never played a single minute of this game! Though Ibuki appreciates Kyoko-chan’s faith in her!”

Another bout of silence.

“Oh, good god… We’re completely screwed, aren’t we?”

Toko couldn’t help but groan as Hiyoko said that.

“Ugh… What’s even the point…? We’re just gonna get obliterated out there…”

Miaya’s screen on her wheelchair was freaking out, with the projection of Usami doing her best to calm everyone down.

“E-Everyone! Please, calm down! We’re gonna be just fine, okay? All we have to do is do our best!”

Miaya was trying to calm everyone down, but a mire had already settled in over everyone. It seemed like her words fell on deaf ears.

“Everyone, Miaya is right!”

Then, out of nowhere… Nagito of all people began speaking.

“You’re all Ultimates! The cream of the crop, the pinnacle of what humans can achieve! If you all put your best foot forward, I don’t doubt that you can accomplish anything! So please, let’s give it our best, alright? You all can do this!”

Another pregnant pause occurred as everyone processed Nagito’s words. Most of the time, Nagito’s praise for the Ultimates seemed very shallow and… frankly, pointless. This time, though? It felt like he was being entirely genuine.

“...Huh. Seems like I had you all wrong, Nagito. For a moment there, I was under the assumption that you hated us all.”

As Kyoko gave Nagito a look, he couldn’t help but give her a chuckle.

“Now now, why would you assume that? You’re all my friends, right?”

Everyone all kind of… shifted awkwardly when Nagito said that.

“Ouch… Your silence stabs me more harshly than any words could…”

Team 7:

“Alright fuckers, leave this game to me. I-”

“Fuyuhiko, language.”

Fuyuhiko cringed as Chisa said that, turning to the side ever so slightly to see that she had quite the menacing expression on her face. Scary…

“...Uh, right. Anyways, I can take care of FighterZ. I’ve played my own fair share of fighting games, so I’ll take care of it.”

Makoto smiled. It was good that they had someone with experience in that front!

“Well, I also have experience in fighting games, but only a little bit… I think it would be best to let you play, Fuyuhiko!”

Fuyuhiko smirked, leaning back and crossing his arms. Listen, he wasn’t the type of gangster that liked to toot his own horn, but that didn’t mean he didn’t like some praise every now and then.

“Heh, just leave it to me. I’ll take out all the chumps in this tournament, no problem!”

Team 8:

“So, peons. If any of you have played this game, please step forward. I will not allow this information to slip through my hands because you all held me back.”

Everyone in the party either wasn’t paying attention or didn’t care a bit about what Byakuya just said. Only Sonia gave Byakuya a nervous chuckle as she responded.

“Um… I do not believe that any of us have any experience in this area, Byakuya… Perhaps it would be best for you to play this yourself?”

Byakuya growled. As much as he detested the idea with all of his being, he had to admit that no one else in the group was really qualified. You know what they say… If you want something done, you do it yourself.

“Fine. Consider yourselves lucky that someone such as myself is willing to waste my time with something this… pointless. You’re all lucky that the information happens to be incredibly intriguing to me, or else I wouldn’t even bother.”

Celeste merely giggled as she listened to the Ultimate Affluent Progeny.

“My my, I am very thankful that you’ve graced us with your time, Byakuya~”

Kokichi, on the other hand, was simply just giggling to himself.

“Nishishi~ I can’t wait to see Byakuya get completely destroyed!”

Byakuya turned to the Supreme Leader, pointing at him with a stern expression.

“Allow me to make this clear, you wannabe gangster. I, Byakuya Togami, do not lose. Not since I defeated my siblings and took control of the Togami Corporation.”

Kokichi couldn’t help but roll his eyes at this, maintaining his little smirk the entire time. Classic Byakuya!

“Mm… The idea you could lose hasn’t even entered your mind, has it? You are surely aware that there are people far more experienced in this game than yourself, yes?”

Byakuya closed his eyes and chuckled. Celeste just didn’t get it, did she?

“That does not matter. Someone such as myself simply will not lose. That is something you must remember.”

Celeste seemed completely unbothered by Byakuya’s words.

“The concept of losing doesn’t even exist for you, does it? Well, I do hope you will make us proud, Byakuya~”

Yeah, we’ll see about that.

----

Chiaki’s Ultimate Lab

Everyone on the island gathered into Chiaki’s Ultimate Lab, specifically the stage in the back. If it was a tournament, it was best to use the tournament venue area for that.

“Hey guys, thanks again for coming. I know not all of you are super on board with this, but it makes me happy that you all decided to play anyways.”

A large group of cheers rang out as she said that, with a large chunk of them coming from Nekomaru and Ibuki.

“ALRIIIIIGHT! LET’S GIVE IT EVERYTHING WE’VE GOOOOOOT!”

“Woooohoooooo! Ibuki is so exciiiiited!”

Chiaki smiled. Seeing everyone give this much support… It definitely made her happy.

“Ah, right, um… So, lemme explain how this works. We’re gonna be playing 10 games in total. 9 games will be played by a single person, with the final game being played by all 9 players at once. Where you place in each game will determine how many points you get. The point values are as follows:

1st Place: 1000
2nd Place: 800
3rd Place: 700
4th Place: 500
5th Place: 400
6th Place: 300
7th Place: 200
8th Place: 100

Anyways, we’re gonna start with FighterZ soon. So um… Here are the matchups for the first round.”

Once Chiaki finished speaking, the large projector screen showed a small bracket with each representative from all 8 teams. The matchups were as follows:

Natsumi vs Ibuki
Hajime vs Byakuya
Fuyuhiko vs Kazuichi
Chihiro vs Kaito

---

Match 1: Natsumi vs Ibuki

Natsumi’s Team: Android 21 (Lab Coat), Android 18, Videl

Ibuki’s Team: Kefla, Gotenks, Frieza

“Um… Miss Ibuki? It’s a great honor to meet you in person!”

As the two were selecting their characters, Ibuki giggled at Natsumi’s comment.

“Ooo, a fan? Ibuki is so happy to hear that! Does that mean Natsumi will throw the match?”

Natsumi’s fangirling immediately disappeared, smirking at the Ultimate Musician as she selected Videl.

“Pfft, not a chance! Even if I’m a huge fan of yours, that doesn’t mean I’m gonna give less than one hundred percent!”

Ibuki puffed out her cheeks.

“Aw, phooey! Alright, I’ll just have to beat you normally!”

Natsumi couldn’t help but be a little miffed at Ibuki’s comment, but all it managed to do was motivate the yakuza girl even more than before. As the match started up, Ibuki thought that she was going to do amazingly.

By the end of the match, it was clear that Natsumi outmatched her quite a bit. Natsumi’s ability to combo and utilize assists was far beyond anything than Ibuki had ever even known about. By the end of the set, Natsumi won with a clean 3-0, never losing more than one character in any round.

“Hah! ‘Beat me normally’, huh? Sorry Ibuki, but you’re dealing with a master!”

Team 1 was cheering for Natsumi, with the largest part of the cheering coming from Nekomaru.

“THAT’S AMAZING, NATSUMI! KEEP THAT UP, AND WE’RE A CINCH FOR FIRST PLACE!”

Natsumi chuckled, scratching the bottom of her nose as she did. Seems like she was happy to get a little bit of praise. Of course, when she looked at the crowd, she couldn’t help but see a certain Hajime Hinata giving her a thumbs up. With a soft smile, she returned the gesture.

---

Match 2: Hajime vs Byakuya

Hajime’s Team: Android 16, Frieza, Super Saiyan Vegeta

Byakuya’s Team: Cell, Fused Zamasu, Beerus

Hajime couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at Byakuya’s team structure. Fused Zamasu and Beerus? Both of them seemed pretty difficult, and Byakuya didn’t seem like the type to have actually played this game. What was his plan?

In all honesty, Byakuya just chose the characters who he knew were gods. Even if he didn’t watch the peasant crap himself, he at least knew enough about it to know who was who.

“Hajime Hinata… I must admit, you are still as intriguing as ever. From the way people are speaking, they are putting you on the level of Chiaki for games… I wonder why that is? And you had such aptitude for basketball, from what I heard.”

Hajime just kept his mouth shut. He wasn’t exactly willing to talk to Byakuya of all people about this. Besides, he didn’t exactly have an answer. He didn’t have any memory of his past, so he couldn’t explain to anyone why he had all these abilities.

Regardless, it was time for the game to start.

Right from the beginning of the match, Hajime could tell that Byakuya had never played a game like this before. More specifically, he had never used a fight stick. Byakuya was mostly just pressing random buttons without any sense of what they did. He wasn’t completely flailing around, but… He most certainly wasn’t going to be doing strings, and had no concept of neutral. Well, time to win.

Hajime back dashed out of range of Cell’s 2M, superdashing into him to begin his string. Hajime hit Byakuya’s Cell with a few aerial attacks before dunking Cell, calling Frieza’s A Assist to launch Cell back up into the air. After doing the same aerial combo, Android 16 slammed Cell into the ground once again, this time calling upon Vegeta’s A Assist to lock Cell into place before continuing the combo. After the combo had been finished, it was time for Hajime to spend his meter. Android 16’s Level 1 first, then Frieza’s Level 1, finished off with Super Saiyan Vegeta’s Level 3.

”You cocky bastard! FINAAAL FLAAAAAAAAASH!”

The crowd was cheering loudly throughout the entire combo, but once Hajime finished it up and knocked out Cell with the Final Flash, everyone started going crazy. Byakuya himself was in disbelief at what he just witnessed. What… What just happened to him?

“Huh…? Is that… Even possible?”

Byakuya turned to Hajime, grimacing as he did. What he saw was Hajime completely locked in, no sign of a smile or any laidback attitude imaginable. He was… entirely focused. That was when Byakuya knew that there wasn’t a chance for him to win.

In the back of the venue, Taichi watched the entire set with awe in his eyes. He thought Natsumi was good at the game, but this? Hajime was on another level!

“Woah… Chiaki, are you seeing this? He’s so good at this game! Surely some of this must be incredibly difficult, right?”

However, much unlike the rest of the venue, Chiaki was… disappointed? She certainly seemed unhappy, for some reason…

“Huh? Oh, yeah… I guess so.”

Taichi raised an eyebrow. That was certainly strange for Chiaki. Sure, she was never the most chipper person alive, but she was almost never outwardly unhappy like this.

“Chiaki? Is everything alright?”

Chiaki let out a sigh, stepping out of her seat as she headed to the other room of the arcade.

“...Yeah, I’ll be okay. Sorry, I need to step out for a moment.”

As Chiaki left the tournament venue, Taichi couldn’t help but be a bit worried. What was going on with her…?

---

Match 3: Fuyuhiko vs Kazuichi

Fuyuhiko’s Team: Piccolo, Vegeta, Teen Gohan

Kazuichi’s Team: Yamcha, GT Goku, Master Roshi

Match 3 was actually quite close. Despite Fuyuhiko’s more advanced knowledge of fighting games, Kazuichi was holding his own with his own unique tricks. He got used to the fightstick pretty quickly, and was able to get quite a few interesting strings. The final round of the set was down to their final characters, Piccolo vs Yamcha.

Okay, calm down Kazuichi… You got this. Deep breaths. Sure, you might be low on health, but as long as you just-

Unfortunately for the mechanic, he wasn’t ready for Fuyuhiko to fire a Special Beam Cannon Level 1 Super, dealing a ton of damage and knocking Yamcha out. Once Yamcha was down, Fuyuhiko jumped out of his chair, pumping his fist in the air as he did.

“FUCK YEAAAAAH! LET’S FUCKING GO!”

As the crowd cheered, Kazuichi just stared at the screen in disbelief. He was this close to closing it out! Why…

“Kazuichi, you did so well!”

The Mechanic was snapped out of his thoughts, turning to the side to see his team gathered directly off the stage. Kotoko, Mikan, Maki, Angie, and Jataro were all there to cheer him up.

“Yes, I would say that this was quite the performance! You did quite well, Kazuichi Souda!”

“Yeah, you did alright, I guess. Don’t beat yourself up.”

“Um… I-I think you did g-great!”

“Angie thinks you put in your best effort, and to Atua, that’s all that matters!”

“Oh, uh! Yeah, you did good, Kazuichi!”

Souda couldn’t help but give a soft smile at their words. These guys were trying to cheer him up, huh? How nice of em. Maybe he had more friends on this island than he thought.

---

Match 4: Chihiro vs Kaito

Chihiro’s Team: Videl, Broly, Trunks

Kaito’s Team: Ultra Instinct Goku, Blue Goku, Blue Gogeta

Kaito flinched at Chihiro’s character choice. Broly?! Why was someone as small and dainty as Chihiro using Broly?!

“Good luck, Kaito! May the best player win!”

Kaito turned to Chihiro, seeing her bright smile sent his mind into a rush.

“O-Oh! Uh… Yes! Of course! You too!”

Kaito got completely obliterated.

---

Round 2 Matches:

Winners:

Hajime vs Natsumi
Fuyuhiko vs Chihiro

Losers:

Ibuki vs Byakuya
Kazuichi vs Kaito

As Hajime took a look at the next round’s matches, he couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. Huh… Both Yakuza members won, huh? That was pretty impressive.

“Hajime…”

Hajime was torn away from his thoughts at the sound of a friend’s voice… Specifically, Chiaki’s voice.

“Oh, hi Chiaki! Hey, thanks again for hosting this event, I’m having a great time! I-”

“Hajime… just stop. Please. I know you’re doing your best to pretend for everyone else, but I know better now.”

Hajime looked crestfallen as soon as Chiaki said that.

“Wh… What do you mean?”

“Hajime… Are you really having fun? I want to believe that you are, but after meeting Izuru…”

Hajime bit his lip. So this was what it was about, huh? He had a feeling…

“So, that’s what this is about…”

“Hajime, I’m not trying to accuse you or… Izuru, I’m just worried about you!”

Hajime let out a sigh. He knew Chiaki wasn’t the confrontational type, but she was absolutely the type to check in on friends she was worried about.

“I appreciate you checking up on me, but trust me, I’m alright. Izuru… doesn’t affect my day to day feelings, alright? I’m still me.”

Chiaki bit her lip. She wanted to believe that, she really did, but with his talents appearing and everything, it just…

“Chiaki. It’s okay! I’m serious.”

Chiaki sighed and shook her head. She knew better than to assume Hajime was being legitimate. Of everyone on the island, Hajime was the one who disregarded himself the most. Well, maybe aside from Nagito, but… Well, he was a bit different.

“Alright, Hajime. I believe you. Just… Just promise me one thing, okay?”

Hajime raised an eyebrow, but eventually nodded his head.

“Sure, what’s up?”

“Promise me that you’ll tell me if you ever feel bored or if you feel like you’re not yourself.”

Hajime wanted to say something, but her words took him off guard so much that he simply just nodded his head. Hearing Chiaki say stuff like this was strange. She was normally so soft spoken, so she must be serious about this.

Chiaki smiled, nodding her head as she began returning back to the venue.

“Thank you, Hajime. And good luck.”

---

Match 1: Natsumi vs Hajime

Natsumi’s Team: Android 21 (Lab Coat), Android 18, Videl

Hajime’s Team: Android 16, Frieza, Super Saiyan Vegeta

“Well well well! Shame this didn’t take place in Grand Finals, but that doesn’t matter to me! It’s time I put you in your place, Hajime!”

Hajime chuckled as he sat down, selecting his team and their assists as he did. He was pretty confident that he would meet Natsumi at some point, and it looks like his guess was on the money.

“We’ll just see about that. I’m not gonna go easy on you like I did yesterday.”

Natsumi grit her teeth. This cocky bastard…!

“That’s it, you’re fucking dead! Run hands, motherfucker!”

Natsumi was most certainly better than she was yesterday. She had a better understanding of neutral, and she was getting some decent strings. Her Android 18 specifically was incredibly advanced. In the end, the match was decided by Natsumi using Videl to dodge a Heavy from Android 16, giving her a free punish that allowed her to seal out the set. Considering how dominant Hajime had been the previous match, the crowd couldn’t believe that Natsumi had managed to beat him.

“NATSUMI! NATSUMI! NATSUMI!”

When Natsumi finished the set, she stood up and gestured to the crowd.

“ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!”

Hajime merely just chuckled as he grabbed his fightstick and started walking off the stage. He thought he’d be more upset about losing, but honestly… He wasn’t. He had a feeling they’d make up these points later in the tournament.

---

Match 2: Fuyuhiko vs Chihiro

Fuyuhiko’s Team: Piccolo, Vegeta, Teen Gohan

Chihiro’s Team: Videl, Broly, Trunks

Despite the effort from Chihiro’s Broly, she wasn’t able to manage the 3v1 comeback on Game 5. Fuyuhiko closed the match out with Teen Gohan’s Level 3 after he locked Broly in the corner. He popped off again, but much less significantly than against Kazuichi.

“Alriiiiight! Grand Finals, bitches!”

Chihiro let out a sigh. Oh well… She didn’t expect to win any matches, so she was pretty happy with how she did! She was excited to see who would win the entire thing!

---

Grand Finals: Natsumi vs Fuyuhiko

Natsumi’s Team: Android 21 (Lab Coat), Android 18, Videl

Fuyuhiko’s Team: Piccolo, Vegeta, Teen Gohan

Hajime crossed his arms as he looked up at the projector screen. Huh, a Yakuza Grand Finals, was it? This would be pretty interesting.

Sure enough, the two siblings were glaring at each other quite viciously as they sat down. This was going to be a crazy set…

“So, Big Bro, you ready to get your shit kicked in?”

“No, but I’m ready to obliterate you! Come on, pick your goddamn characters!”

The set was about as close as possible. Game 5, final round, both characters were down to a sliver of health. The crowd was roaring, both yakuza siblings were sweating bullets, and the game came down to a ballsy dodge by Natsumi’s Videl that allowed her to finish the match. Fuyuhiko couldn’t believe that Natsumi was able to react that quickly. When Videl sealed the match, she leapt up into the air and let out a roar.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! THAT’S RIGHT, BITCHES! I’M NUMBER OOOOOOONE!”

Fuyuhiko let out a groan as he watched his sister celebrate. Second place was fine enough, but losing to his sister stung. Oh well… He’ll get his revenge another way.

---

After the excitement of Natsumi’s victory had died down, Chiaki went on stage to make an announcement.

“Alright, um… the consolation matches happened in another area, so we have the final results and their point values. Uh… Here you go.”

1st: Team 1 (Natsumi), 1000 Points

2nd: Team 7 (Fuyuhiko) 800 Points

3rd: Team 5 (Hajime) 700 Points

4th: Team 3 (Chihiro) 500 Points

5th: Team 2 (Kazuichi) 400 Points

6th: Team 6 (Ibuki) 300 Points

7th: Team 4 (Kaito) 200 Points

8th: Team 8 (Byakuya) 100 Points

Celeste merely giggled as she saw the results. Seems like Byakuya didn’t do nearly as good as he promised~ Byakuya noticed this and simply sneered. This was so far beneath him, he didn’t bother giving her a response.

Chiaki cleared her throat.

“Alright, so… Now it’s time to move on to the next game. Next up is…”

An image popped onto the projector screen.

“...Mario Party!”

Chapter Text

Now that the first day of the event had concluded, everyone had returned to the dining hall for dinner. After some discussion, everyone agreed that it would be best if they played one game every couple of days so that people weren’t just cramped up in Chiaki’s lab all the time. The next game would be in about three days, but that most certainly didn’t stop people from discussing who would play what.

“Ooo, ooo! Monaca wants to play Mario Party! Monaca thinks that Mario Party is one of the best games ever, so the team must let Monaca play!”

Monaca’s assertion was met with apprehension from Team 1. As much as letting the kid play Mario Party made sense, Monaca wasn’t a normal kid… Wouldn’t it make more sense for someone with her experience in technology to play a more advanced game? Hiroko was one of the people who had this thought, and so she stepped forward to confront Monaca.

“Yo, kid… I’m not trying to tell you what to do, but wouldn’t it be better for a chick as smart as you to be saved for one of the more complex games? I’ll admit, I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed, so maybe it’d be better if I played a game as simple as this…”

Monaca put her hands on her head, letting out a scream as she closed her eyes.

“No no NO! Monaca wants to play Mario Party, so MONACA IS GONNA PLAY MARIO PARTY! That’s FINAL!”

Even Hiroko, who was normally so calm and composed, couldn’t help but recoil at Monaca’s outburst… to which Miu found the gangster’s reaction hilarious.

“Gahaha! Oh, that’s just rich! The big bad girlboss just got shown up by a little kid!”

Monaca turned to Miu, a menacing expression covering her face as she did.

“Call me a little kid again, and you’ll lose your talking privileges. Do I make myself clear, Grease Monkey?”

Now it was Miu’s turn to recoil in fear.

“Y-Yes ma’am! I-I won’t d-do it again!”

Jin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Monaca was really a piece of work… Still, it wasn’t much of a problem to just let her play Mario Party. Jin had much more pressing matters at hand. He walked over to Kyosuke, crossing his arms as he matched Kyosuke’s stern expression.

“Kyosuke. Where are Yuto and Himiko? I haven’t seen them since we first got assigned to our teams.”

Kyosuke raised an eyebrow at the headmaster. That was… certainly not a question he was expecting, at least not the latter half.

“Himiko’s probably just hanging around her other deluded friends, if I had to guess… She doesn’t concern me. The fact that we don’t know Yuto’s whereabouts, however, is very concerning.”

Jin grimaced. So, it seems like Kyosuke didn’t know where he was, either…

“Do you think he might’ve found a lead on something?”

“Considering he’s been gone for this long, I wouldn’t doubt it. I didn’t see him at all during the tournament, and I find it unlikely that he was just relaxing in the arcade. More than likely, it’s safe to assume he found something important.”

Jin rubbed his chin. That was certainly concerning… Not even the fact that one of his students was missing, but also the fact that the person they had designated to gather information had been gone for so long. Surely he must’ve found something out by now, right?

“Talking about private matters in public? You really were never built to be a detective, were you?”

Jin’s blood went cold as he heard a voice behind him, turning around to see…

“Kyoko?”

“So, Yuto has been missing for a while, has he? And you’re not concerned about this? Seems you’re lax on your headmaster duties, much like your duty as a detective.”

Jin wanted to let out a sigh, but he knew Kyoko would be incredibly pissed off at that. Best not to poke the bear when it’s already angry with you.

“Kyoko, I’m doing all I can to make sure everyone on this island is safe and secure. We’re in an unknown location without access to many of the resources that we had access to. I’m doing everything I can to get us off this island…”

Despite Jin’s small speech, Kyoko wasn’t convinced. She sneered at her father, crossing her arms at him.

“Did you even look into Makoto’s Ultimate Lab yourself? I have a hard time believing that you’re doing everything you can when you’re not even willing to look into the obvious leads in front of you. You’re a failure of a detective.”

Jin merely kept his mouth shut as Kyoko said that. As much as he wanted to argue that he was busy with other things, what would it matter? That didn’t change the validity of Kyoko’s statement. He wasn’t a detective, and was never going to be. She had every right to be angry at him, and he knew it.

“...Nothing left to say? I thought so. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to work on actually figuring out the secrets of this place. Farewell.”

And with that, the Ultimate Detective took her leave, walking out the doors to the Dining Hall. Jin wanted to say something, but was quickly interrupted by Kyosuke.

“...I don’t think I’ve ever seen you spineless before, Jin. Don’t tell me you’re getting soft.”

The headmaster just let out a weak chuckle.

“It’s my daughter, Kyosuke… Besides, everything she said about me was absolutely correct.”

Kyosuke was a tad surprised at that. Was this… really the same person?

“Jin, what’re you-”

“Not now, Kyosuke. I’ll tell you about it another time. Right now, we’ve got more concerning issues than my past with my daughter.”

Kyosuke frowned. Jin was a lot of things, and Kyosuke was confident in putting “Great at changing subjects” on that list.

“Fine. Do you have any idea of where Yuto could be?”

Jin looked down to the ground as he pondered the question. There were only so many places that could be labeled as suspicious, right?

“Well, Makoto’s Ultimate Lab would be at the top of my list, though I’m pretty sure Yuto has already gone through that place with a fine tooth comb… Nothing else really sticks out to me.”

Kyosuke nodded his head, gripping his sword as he turned to the exit.

“Then I shall go there first. If I find anything, I will inform you immediately.”

Jin nodded his head as Kyosuke began to leave the scene.

Yuto… Where are you? You better not be doing anything stupid…

However, before Kyosuke could leave the scene, the PA system fired up.

ahem “Is this on? Sorry, I haven’t used this in a while… Hm? Oh, it is on! Love love! I’m here to tell you all that everyone has successfully completed my motive! I’m so proud of you all…”

Jin’s mouth opened a tad in surprise. No… She wasn’t, right? Not this late at night!

”So, as a reward for completing the motive, I have decided to open the Second Island! Your next piece of homework is to fill out the entire map! Good luck!”

And with that, the transmission ended.

And so did the peace in the dining hall.

As everyone did their best to rush for the entrance, Jin rushed to the back of the room and quickly grabbed the mic.

“EVERYONE STOP!”

And just as soon as the stampede started, it screeched to a halt.

“Okay, listen… I’m sure all of you are anxious to explore the second island, but please consider what time it is. It’s late, and I’m sure most of you are exhausted from the tournament. I will allow you to explore the island tomorrow, but for tonight, I must ask all of you to return to your dorms.”

After Jin was done talking, it was Kanon of all people that clicked her tongue and pointed at him.

“Oh yeah? And who exactly is gonna stop us from exploring the island right now?”

“That would be me.”

Kyosuke appeared behind her, hand firmly on the grip of his sword as he glared at Kanon.

“If you would like to explore the second island, feel free. However, you must be aware that you will face severe consequences if you do.”

Kanon couldn’t help but flinch at Kyosuke’s blatant threat. Geez, why was this psycho a part of the stuff?! He was threatening to kill her, for fuck’s sake!

“Jesus! What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

Jin just let out a sigh of exasperation. Leave it to Kyosuke to take things way too far…

“Kyosuke, that’s enough. While I’m not going to allow my staff to threaten anyone with serious injury, there will be consequences for exploring the island early. Please, do not make me give out punishment for something as pointless as this.”

Everyone in the dining hall gave out a collective groan. As much as they didn’t like it… they couldn’t exactly disagree with it, either. They all began slowly returning to their seats, once again continuing their dinner. All the excitement seemed to just drain out of the room at that point.

Jin himself let out a huge sigh of relief at the sight. Crisis averted… Though considering a few people weren’t in the dining hall during that announcement, including his own daughter, he was certain that a few people would explore it early. However, that was a problem that future Jin would deal with… Current Jin was ready for a good night’s sleep. Today’s events had been… exhausting, to say the least.

----

Mahiru, Sato, Hajime, Natsumi, Hiyoko, and Fuyuhiko all sat together at the dinner table. Needless to say, considering Natsumi was at the table, the atmosphere was far from quiet.

“Big Bro, you just gotta admit that I’m the better player! That’s all it comes down to!”

“Fuck you! You got help from Hajime before the tournament even started!”

Hajime just chuckled, taking a bite of his chicken before responding.

“I mean, she did end up beating me on the way to Grand Finals… I wouldn’t say that was a fluke, either.”

“Hajime, you’re a good guy, but please do not encourage Natsumi. If you do, she won’t stop talking for the rest of the night.”

“Um, exCUSE me, asshole! The fuck do you mean by that?”

Hiyoko put on a smirk and turned to the side.

“Probably that you talk way too much crap, if I had to guess… Have you tried being a little more quiet? Everyone else can hear you already.”

Sato chuckled, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair as she watched the argument between the Yakuza + Hiyoko break out.

“Pfft… These guys. Honestly, we can argue about the most pointless shit…”

Mahiru let out an exasperated sigh. Well, she was glad that Sato was at the point where she could freely joke about this stuff, even if she felt like she herself hadn’t moved on from the “pointless bickering” stage of her life.

“At least it seems mostly friendly now… I don’t think I would’ve been able to handle you guys being at each other’s throats any longer.”

Sato gave Mahiru a sympathetic smile. Now that she was reflecting on it more… she was causing trouble for Mahiru, wasn’t she? She wasn’t sure how she forgave Natsumi, or why she was even hanging around Hiyoko, but she was clearly happier with everyone getting along. Even if it was going to take much more time for her relationship with Natsumi to heal… She could at least stay somewhat friendly now.

“Yeah… Sorry about that. I just didn’t think you’d be able to forgive Natsumi that easily.”

Mahiru just gave Sato a small smile. She’s been acting as her pseudo protector for so long… Was Sato lonely without her? She didn’t seem like the type to make friends easily…

Maybe Mahiru should help her on that front? She began looking around the dining hall to see if she could find someone who might work as a good first friend. She saw Chiaki, but… that girl seemed too busy. Plus, she didn’t think that Sato shared many interests with her.

Her gaze then moved over to Mikan. While she was a sweet girl who could really use more friends, she was afraid that Sato’s loud personality might scare the poor girl away… Probably best to save that for later.

However, her gaze then fell on someone she wasn’t expecting to consider at all. That person was Kazuichi Soda, the Ultimate Mechanic. From what she could tell, he was currently tinkering with the Monopad to try and pop it open. She… wasn’t fully sure why, but it was Kazuichi. Surely he was trying to add something crazy to it.

Even still, this was a good opportunity. If she was right, she had the feeling that Sato and Kazuichi could help each other out. Sato needed someone who was going to be a good friend to her, and even if she thought Kazuichi was mostly unreliable, from what she heard from Sonia, he was a very good friend even through all the shenanigans that group goes through. If Sato was going to grow as a person, she needed someone like that who’s willing to stick with her.

Kazuichi, on the other hand, honestly just needs someone to kick him in the ass and start acting more mature. The dude is a very typical teen, and he has a lot of growing up to do. Sato was super mature, so she could help out a lot on that front!

“Hey, Sato… Why don’t you go and hang out with Kazuichi?”

Sato looked at Mahiru like she had just said something insane.

“...What? You want me to hang out with… him? Mahiru, is everything okay?”

Mahiru frowned, putting her hands on her hips.

“And what exactly is that supposed to mean?”

Sato leaned back a bit, lifting her hands up to defend herself.

“H-Hey, I didn’t mean to be rude! Listen, I just… You’re asking me to hang out with a guy. That’s so unlike you that I honestly thought something was wrong.”

Mahiru couldn’t help but deadpan at that. Is that really how people saw her?

“Look, I don’t just mindlessly hate on men for no reason… I think you two could help each other out! I know Kazuichi definitely needs someone to get him to act a bit more mature… Besides, you both look like you could use more friends.”

Sato grimaced. As much as she wanted to refute what Mahiru said… Mahiru was basically her only friend. And even if Kazuichi looked like a total dweeb… Maybe she shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

“Okay, okay… Fine. I’ll go talk to him if that’ll make you happy. But if he does something stupid, I’m out of there, got it?”

Mahiru gave a soft smile, nodding her head as Sato got up and headed to Kazuichi’s table.

You got this, Sato! I believe in you!

Meanwhile, Kazuichi was at work tinkering with the Monopad. He had a full set of tools to his side as he looked every which way. If he was going to implement texting and calling like Twogami asked, he was gonna need to get started on cracking this thing open. Now that he knew he was gonna have a lot of free time moving forward since he wasn’t able to be picked for the tournament, he figured it was as good a time as ever to get started.

Of course, what he didn’t expect was someone new trying to meet him out of nowhere.

“Hey. Is it alright if I sit here?”

Kazuichi looked up from his work, only to see… Sato? Someone he interacted with once, and even then, all it was was introductions. To see someone like her walking over, asking to sit with him? It was very strange.

“...Hello? Anyone in there?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah… Sure. Sorry, just spaced out a bit there… Been pretty tired after the tournament.”

Oh yeah, Kazuichi was in the tournament, wasn’t he? Ended up losing to Fuyuhiko in the semis. As Sato sat down, she decided to ask him about it.

“Y’know, you played pretty well today. I was a little surprised that you were able to control your character that well.”

Kazuichi just let out a weak chuckle, looking down at the monopad once again.

“Heh… Thanks. It was nothing compared to Hajime and Natsumi, though… Those two were going absolutely crazy.”

Sato frowned. Okay, yeah… She could definitely see what Mahiru was talking about now.

“Look, just because those two are freaks at the game doesn’t mean you didn’t play well!”

Kazuichi let out a sigh. What was he doing? Sato was just trying to cheer him up and he’s doing… this.

“Yeah… Sorry, just tired. I’ve been working on getting this damn thing open, and then I got put in that tournament with so much noise, and now Twogami keeps asking me on progress with the pad, not to mention everyone asking me to fix various little things…”

Kazuichi let out a defeated sigh. He really wasn’t sure why he was telling Sato this considering they barely ever interacted, but he would feel bad telling Gundham or Sonia this. He didn’t wanna weigh them down with his problems.

Sato, on the other hand, couldn’t help but grimace. This poor guy was being stretched thin, huh? To be honest, she really couldn’t see how Mahiru thought this guy was immature. Seems more like he was biting off more than he could chew, if anything.

“Geez, dude… Have you considered taking a break?”

Kazuichi just deadpanned at Sato as she asked that question.

“Dude, if I could, I would… Twogami’s been on my ass about this for weeks now. If I don’t get it done soon, he-”

Sato slammed her palm on the table, giving Kazuichi a glare as she did.

“Twogami can wait! Dude, just from looking at you, I can tell you’re exhausted. There are other mechanics on this island, right? Have them fuckin do something about it!”

Kazuichi looked more awake than he had the entire past week. Damn, this girl was intense!

“Huh? But, I-”

“No buts! You’re gonna take a goddamn break, and that’s final!”

Mahiru couldn’t help but facepalm as she watched this unfold.

God, Sato… You’re being too assertive! At this rate, you’ll-

“Alright, alright… You’re right. I really should take a break…”

Mahiru looked more than a little shocked as she watched Kazuichi… agree with her? Wait, why was she surprised? This was exactly according to plan! Totally!

Sato crossed her arms, a smug smile on her face as she looked at the mechanic.

“Damn right you are! Now come on. If you’re done eating, we should go.”

Kazuichi tilted his head.

“Huh? Go where?”

“To the Auxiliary Course dorms! We’re gonna watch a goddamn movie, and you’re gonna enjoy yourself, got it?!”

“Y-Yes ma’am!”

Wait… Doesn’t this seem like a classic setup for a date? No way, this is going way too fast! Unless…?

“Oi, if you’re thinking any stupid thoughts, I’m gonna punch you!”

“I-I wasn’t thinking anything! Honest!”

Sato huffed, crossing her arms before grabbing Kazuichi’s shirt and beginning to drag him to the entrance of the dining hall.

“Good. Now come on, we gotta go pick out a movie.”

Kazuichi wasn’t exactly sure how he got put in this situation, but he didn’t really think it was bad. After all, he was going to watch a movie with a girl who wasn’t bad looking at all. Would any guy in the world complain about something like that?

…It helps that she went out of her way to cheer him up. He really appreciated that, too.

Mahiru, all the while, just looked at the whole scene in awe. What… What was that? Sure, everything worked out, but that was just insane! She had no idea Sato had that kind of assertiveness with everyone... And she really cheered up Kazuichi! She… She really went and did it! Mahiru put a hand to her chest. Admittedly, she felt really proud of Sato in this moment.

“Mahiru? Everything okay over there? You look like you’re about to cry.”

Mahiru was snapped out of her thoughts by one Hajime Hinata. She let out a sigh, nodding her head with a smile.

“Yeah… Yeah, I’m doing great. Sato’s really starting to make more friends.”

Natusmi raised an eyebrow.

“Sato? Making friends? I’m more inclined to believe Hajime is able to get a girlfriend than I am to believe that.”

“Hey! What the hell?!”

Everyone at the table started getting into a laughing fit as Natsumi kept messing with Hajime. Mahiru maintained her smile the whole time. She really hoped that Sato would have this with other people at some point…

---

Shuichi let out a sigh as he sank into the couch. He was initially apprehensive about going to the video game tournament, but leave it to Kaede and Kaito to drag him along. Not like he had much of a choice in terms of participating thanks to Usami… But he was fine with not spectating. He had pretty bad cases of sensory overload, and with the loud noise and all the flashing lights… It was a bit much for him. He had to step outside between every set to get some fresh air.

Not to say he didn’t have fun! It was very enjoyable to spend time with his friends, of course. It was just a bit much for him to do that on a consistent basis.

“Master Shuichi… It’s nice to see you again.”

Shuichi perked up at the sound of Kirumi’s voice, turning back to see her smiling. Shuichi returned the smile, standing up and greeting her.

“Oh, hi Kirumi… I didn’t think you’d be here so late!”

“But of course. This time of night is around when I begin taking out the garbage so that I do not bother the other patrons. I was not expecting you to be up this late, Master Shuichi…”

Shuichi awkwardly scratched his head. How was he supposed to give an excuse to Kirumi on this?

“Ah, um… Well…”

Kirumi gave Shuichi a stern look.

“It’s not good to ignore your health, Master Shuichi. I also noticed that you were frequently exiting Chiaki’s Ultimate Lab due to overstimulation…”

“H-Huh? You were watching me?”

Kirumi nodded her head, fully admitting this fact as if there was nothing at all wrong with it.

“Yes, I was. I care about all of my patrons’ well being, though I am most concerned about you, because it seems that you do not take care of your health as much as you should.”

Shuichi lowered his cap over his eyes. She really could read him like a book… Best to just tell the truth.

“Okay… You’re right. I should take better care of myself. But! I’ll only do it if you start letting people help you out with your work. You work so hard for us every day, and it’s absurd that no one has bothered to lend you a helping hand.”

Kirumi’s face became stern as she shook her head.

“Out of the question. I appreciate your concern, but the duties of a maid are mine and mine alone.”

Shuichi frowned.

“Don’t be a hypocrite, Kirumi. You need to let other people help you, that’s an order!”

Shuichi froze, as did Kirumi. A blush formed on Shuichi’s face as the realization of what he just said hit him like a truck.

“I-I… I mean… N-No, I didn’t… I….”

Kirumi giggled, the smile returning to her face as she began heading for the door.

“Very well. I shall accept help in the future, Master Shuichi. Now, please get some rest.”

Shuichi was too embarrassed to even say anything, merely nodding his head as he scampered back to his room. Kirumi couldn’t help but smile at that as she continued on the garbage.

Rantaro, who was watching everything from the corner, couldn’t help but chuckle once the other two had left.

“Huh… I never expected those two to get close. Who would’ve thought?”

With one more sip of his tea, Rantaro got up and returned to his room, armed with brand new information.

---

Yasuke let out a sigh as he returned his tray to the kitchen. Today was an absolute nightmare for him… video games? What an absolute joke. Everyone was screaming, those flashing lights… It’s like they were trying to give him brain damage! It was bad enough that he had to deal with the stress of Nagito potentially revealing the sticky note to everyone at any time, but having all of that on top of it? It was hell.

“Yasukeeeee! Just the guy I wanted to see!”

And it was about to get so much worse.

“Kokichi… What do you want?”

Kokichi put on a fake heartbroken expression at Yasuke’s words.

“Aw, Yasuke… You’re so mean to me… sniff I just wanted to talk to my good friend, and this is how you treat me!”

“Get. To. The. Point.”

Kokichi wiped away the crocodile tears, a smirk appearing on his face as soon as he did.

“Wow, looks like someone’s in a bad mood… Alright, just for you, I’ll skip the act this time around. Aren’t I such a nice guy?”

Yasuke looked like he was about to murder somebody, and by somebody, he meant Kokichi.

“Kokichi, did you just show up to waste my time?!”

“Partially! But also, I had a bit of a proposition for you. And somehow, I just know you’re gonna accept!”

Yasuke’s vicious expression slowly faded into more of an indifferent deadpan. Why did he get the feeling this little gremlin was gonna say something dumb?

“Alright, fine… What is it?”

“Weeeeell, since the second island’s open and all… I was thinking we should go and check everything out! Come on, it’ll be so fun! We’ll get to know everything before everyone else! Doesn’t that just sound exciting?!”

Okay, so he really IS just wasting my time.

Yasuke scoffed as he began walking towards the dining hall’s exit.

“Yeah, no. I was already planning on doing that, but I’d rather gouge my eyes out than even think about exploring with you again.”

“Oh Yasuke… I didn’t know you were fine with the sticky note getting out!”

A pause. Yasuke stopped in his tracks before letting out an exhausted sigh.

“Fine. You can come along with me.”

“Awesome! I knew you’d see things my way, Yasuke~”

The moment I get off this island, there are quite a few people I need to get revenge on… Kokichi just put himself firmly on that list.

---

Hajime let out a sigh as he sat down on the couch. Once he did, Chisa clapped her hands in excitement.

“Alright, that’s everybo- Wait. Where’s Kazuichi?”

The remaining Class 77 members looked amongst themselves, but it seemed like Kazuichi wasn’t there. Of course, Mahiru raised her hand and spoke up.

“Oh! That’s because he’s actually spending time with Sato. I don’t think he’ll be back for a few hours, they said they’re watching a movie.”

Everyone in the class had varying levels of surprise to that. Hajime was mildly surprised that his friend had managed to pull something like that off, while Ibuki was completely flabbergasted.

“Gasp! Kazuichi-san managed to make it that far with another girl?! Ibuki can’t believe that he got a girlfriend before her! Oooo, the feeling of being outclassed cuts deep in my heart!”

Sonia clapped her hands together as a sparkle entered her eyes.

“Wow! I cannot believe it myself… I am so proud of Kazuichi!”

“Kehehe… My disciple has matured at an incredible rate. Yes, I believe he is more than my disciple now! He is now my partner!”

“Pfft… I gotta say, someone as wimpy as him pulling a girl is something I never thought I’d see…”

Mahiru glared at Hiyoko for that comment, clearing her throat to get everyone’s attention.

“Guys, I hate to break it to you all, but they’re not dating… They’re just hanging out and watching a movie with the rest of the Auxiliary Course.”

And with that, all the energy in the room seemed to completely drain.

“Well, that was a big fuckin waste of time…”

Hajime couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I mean, it makes sense… Kazuichi getting a girlfriend this quickly just seems a little unbelievable…”

And that comment earned Hajime a solid slap on the arm from Mahiru.

“Ow!”

“Um… A-Anyways, Ms. Yukizome…? W-Why did you gather us here…?”

Chisa clapped her hands, happy that Mikan was able to get them all back on topic.

“Ah, of course! You see, I was thinking that in order to grow our class bonds, we should have a sleepover here in the common room!”

Chisa’s suggestion was met with a wave of confusion and hesitation. Twogami was the first to respond to her.

“Miss Yukizome, with all due respect… We all live in the same building. By the typical definition, isn’t every night here a sleepover?”

Chisa shook her head, wagged a finger, and clicked her tongue.

“No no, Byakuya! This is completely different! Sleeping in the same building is one thing, but sleeping in the same room is a completely different experience! All of you will come together over the course of the night before spending time close together! Truly, there’s no better way to build up your relationships!”

Even with her explanation, there was still quite a bit of apprehension. Despite that, all of them knew better than to go against Chisa at this point, so they all silently agreed. Well, everyone except for Nagito.

“What a splendid idea! Chisa, you truly know how to grow hope within the budding hearts of the Ultimates… Truly, the hope that will grow from this experience will be shining with a glory that I’ve never seen before!”

A slight pause soon followed, that was quickly interrupted by Teruteru of all people.

“Who wants to sleep next to Nagito? One two three not it!”

“Not it”

“Not it”

This process continued until the last person who hadn’t said it was… Hajime.

“Wha-? Oh, come on guys…”

Akane chuckled, leaning back on the couch as she smiled at Hajime.

“Sorry Haj, looks like you’re stuck with the Hope Junkie for tonight!”

Nagito had a small smile on his face as he looked to the ground.

“Ah, I understand how this must be difficult for you, Hajime… I understand that no Ultimate would want to be within breathing distance of me. If you wish for me to sleep in the dumpster instead, I will gladly grant your wish.”

Hajime let out a sigh. This guy really was a piece of work…

“No, Nagito… I’ll sleep next to you.”

Nagito hugged himself, his eyes swirling a bit in reaction to Hajime’s words.

“Ah, an Ultimate wants to sleep next to me… Truly, this must be the best day of my life! Hajime, I’m truly not worthy of being in your presence!”

As Hajime walked over to Nagito, he turned back to Mahiru, who simply gave him an apologetic expression. Chisa, now satisfied with how that conversation turned out, clapped her hands together.

“Alright! Now that that’s settled, let’s start getting comfortable! You’ll all need your sleep for tomorrow, so try not to stay up too late!”

Everyone nodded their heads, heading off to their sleeping bag to get comfortable. Right when everyone was there, Mahiru turned to the group with a stern expression.

“Oh, and if any of the guys are thinking about doing something stupid tonight, don’t even think about it. I’ve already got Chisa on high alert for anything like that, so it’s best for you to drop that idea right now. That means you, Teruteru!”

Sure enough, the Ultimate Chef was quaking in his sleeping bag as Mahiru said that.

“A-A-Alright, I won’t! I promise!”

Hajime let out a sigh. This was going to be a long night…

---

Makoto walked into the small common area of his class’s dorm, sitting at one of the tables as he let out a breath. Today sure was exciting, wasn’t it? The energy in that tournament, as well as the announcement of a new island opening up… It was all pretty crazy. To be honest, he was looking forward to getting some sleep tonight.

“Makoto! There you are, I’ve been looking all over for you!”

Makoto’s eyes opened up as he heard Sayaka Maizono, the smiling girl who had just decided to sit with him. A smile appeared on his face as she sat down.

“Oh, Sayaka! It’s nice to see you! Sorry, I know we haven’t really talked much recently…”

Sayaka just giggled. Leave it to Makoto to apologize for not talking to someone directly in a day.

“Don’t sweat it, Makoto. I’m just happy to see you’re doing well!”

Makoto brushed his hair a tad as she said that. Sure, he was definitely feeling good recently, even if the secrets of the Ultimate Lab did concern him…

“Yeah, thanks. I dunno, something about this island just makes me feel a lot better physically! Something about the air, or maybe all the sunshine I’m getting. Who knows?”

Sayaka nodded her head, taking a sip of the tea she had prepared for herself. It was true, the weather here was absolutely gorgeous, and would be great for anyone trying to get healthy.

“Yeah, this place is amazing. To be honest, if we weren’t dragged here against our will, I might find it to be a great place to relax!”

Makoto looked a little concerned at what Sayaka said. He knew it would be naive to relax in a situation like this, but was she stressing herself out?

“Sayaka… I know it’s good to be on guard in a situation like this, but… Don’t you think you can afford to relax a little bit? I mean, nothing’s happened to us so far, right?”

Sayaka let out a sigh, placing the tea cup down as she smiled at Makoto.

“Oh Makoto… I had a feeling you would say something like that.”

Makoto scratched the back of his head as he watched Sayaka turn her attention to the window. The moon was shimmering on the ocean’s waves, and frankly, it looked like something out of a movie.

“I just… It’s not in my nature to relax in a situation like this. Climbing the ranks as an idol has taught me that you’re never safe, even when you’re surrounded by friends. Because at the end of the day, those friends could turn on you for their own self interest.”

“Sayaka…”

The idol grimaced, shaking her head as she turned back to the luckster.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have unloaded something like that without your permission.”

Makoto firmly shook his head.

“Not at all, Sayaka. I totally understand where you’re coming from. Well, I mean… I don’t exactly know what being an idol is like… but I know that you must’ve gone through a lot, right? I don’t think I can ever directly relate to the struggles and experiences you had, but I know that you’re strong. You can do anything if you put your mind to it. I mean, you already became the Ultimate idol! That’s gotta count for something, right?”

Sayaka tried to hide the genuine smile creeping up on her face, with… less than success.

“Makoto… Thank you so much. That… What you said means more to me than you’ll ever know…”

Makoto gave her a soft smile, beginning to stand up as he did.

“I’m just telling the truth, Sayaka… But I think we should go to bed.”

Sayaka nodded her head.

“I’ll be right behind you, okay? I’m just gonna finish up my tea.”

Makoto happily agreed, waving her goodbye as he headed to his dorm room. Once Sayaka felt Makoto was out of earshot, the smile on her face softly faded away.

“Alright Mukuro, you can come out now.”

There was a slight alteration in the shadow, almost as if the shadow itself was hesitating. Sure enough, it was Mukuro Ikusaba.

“...How did you know I was there?”

Sayaka gave the soldier a dry chuckle.

“You’d be surprised at the kind of shit that an idol has to deal with on a daily basis… Especially the Ultimate Idol.”

Mukuro didn’t respond. The two of them merely just… stared at each other for a bit, until Sayaka broke the silence.

“I won’t let you have him.”

“What?”

Sayaka stood up from her table, a stern expression on her face as she did. Seems like she was dead serious about this.

“Don’t play dumb with me. I know exactly why you were hiding and eavesdropping on our conversation… It’s because you’re just as invested in him as I am.”

Mukuro’s expression darkened even further. This girl was really pushing her limits…

“Makoto… is a good friend to me. I have no reason to be personally invested in his relationships with others.”

Sayaka let out a groan.

“Ugh, cut the crap… Listen, Mukuro. I’m giving you this advice because I actually like you and think of you as a friend… The fight for Makoto is just starting, and trust me when I say it’s not just gonna be us. Someone like Makoto only shows up once in a lifetime, maybe once in multiple lifetimes. People like you and me want him, and we’ll do anything we can to get him.”

“...”

Mukuro didn’t even know what to say to that. The words she was saying seemed so insane, so detached from reality…

So why was it so hard to actually refute her?

“I’m not stupid enough to think that you’re gonna pull out of the running… But here’s some advice: Make your move sooner rather than later. Because if you don’t, then people like Celeste, or Toko, or anyone are gonna do whatever they can to get after him, because he makes them feel SAFE. That’s my advice.”

And with that, Sayaka began to walk to her dorm. Mukuro was just… shocked. Did Makoto really have that kind of draw over people? Surely not, right? But, what she was saying about Celeste and Toko… was she implying that they had skeletons in their closet? Is she saying that people with rough pasts go to Makoto? And that stuff about making her move sooner rather than later… wasn’t it too early? How was she just gonna walk up to him and say that?

…More importantly, why hasn’t Sayaka followed her own advice?

Chapter Text

Makoto was singing a little tune under his breath as he took a bite of his waffle. It might seem like Makoto was in a strangely good mood, and that’s because he was! He was having a surprisingly luck-less morning. His hair was cooperating, the shower was comfortable for once. Admittedly, he did trip down the stairs this morning, but Mukuro was there to catch him, so everything worked out! Overall, he was doing well in terms of luck!

“You! Makoto Naegi! I wanna talk to you!”

I knew this morning was too calm to be true…

Makoto looked up to see… Kanon? That was weird, Kanon seemed like the type that didn’t really make friends with anyone. Why was she asking for him?

“Kanon? Oh, uh… Hi! How can I help you?”

Kanon huffed and crossed her arms, taking a seat and placing her breakfast right across from Makoto. It was pretty early in the morning, so the only people in the dining hall were those that liked to get ahead of the game. Makoto, Nekomaru, Akane, Yasuke, Kyoko, Jin, Chisa, and Kanon (apparently). No sign of Mukuro though, which was… strange. Wasn’t she there to catch him this morning?

Makoto noticed out of the side of his eye that Kyoko and Jin were sitting together, but the thought that they were working towards making up was quickly dashed as he saw what was happening. Kyoko was merely sipping her coffee, glaring directly at her father. The two of them weren’t saying a word to each other, despite what seemed like Jin trying to begin a conversation. Makoto let out a sigh. Seems like getting those two on friendly terms was going to be an uphill battle…

“Hey, are you even listening to me?!”

Makoto was snapped back to reality, turning back to Kanon to see that she was very unhappy. Makoto chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

“S-Sorry… I got a little distracted. Can you run that by me again?”

Kanon let out a frustrated sigh. For all intents and purposes, it sounded like she didn’t want to be there at all. If she didn’t want to talk to him, she could leave at any time…

“Fine, whatever. I was asking if you’re friends with Leon. I mean, you two teamed up for basketball, yeah? That means you’ve gotta be somewhat tight.”

Makoto raised an eyebrow. This was… a weird question. It was common knowledge that Kanon was infatuated with her cousin Leon, almost weirdly so. Really, for a large number of people on the island, that was the only fact about her they knew due to how much of a lone wolf she tended to be. Even still, wasn’t this a weird question to ask? Like, if she was as close to Leon as she claimed to be, wouldn’t she know who his friends are?

“Uh… Yeah, I’m friends with Leon. I think so, anyway. We hang out a good amount, but I don’t know if we’re super close.”

Kanon huffed and crossed her arms.

“I don’t care about your life story when it comes to your relationship with Leon, all I wanted to know is if you were friends.”

Makoto grimaced. He was starting to see why this girl didn’t hang around others very often…

“Either way, you gave me what I needed. You’re gonna be exploring the second island with him, yeah? If that’s the case, I wanna go with you.”

Makoto looked a little surprised. Kanon was inserting herself into the group, just like that?!

“W-Wait, I don’t think-”

“Hm? Are you saying something?”

Makoto let out a sigh. This girl was a real piece of work…

“Nothing… If you really wanna explore the island with us, we’re probably just gonna meet up here, so you might as well stick around.”

Kanon tilted her head at Makoto’s statement, but merely shrugged her shoulders and began eating her breakfast. Her breakfast consisted of 2 scrambled eggs, some white toast with orange marmalade, and milk. A somewhat light breakfast, but it was most likely still delicious. Teruteru could make just about anything tasty if he had enough time to cook it, after all.

“Yeah, that’s fine. I don’t got anything better to do, anyways.”

Makoto took that as a cue to begin his breakfast as well. Unlike Kanon’s protein-filled breakfast, Makoto was content with just a large waffle and some milk. What could he say? The waffle tasted good. That being said, he felt it would be kind of rude to just… not talk with her at all. He didn’t want to end up like the Kirigiris, after all. Besides, Kanon looked like she could really use more friends, and Makoto didn’t want her to be completely by herself in this place. Her only friend, to his knowledge, was Leon… a guy whose first reaction upon seeing her was to immediately flee the area. Not exactly a great person to have as your only friend.

“So, Kanon… If you don’t mind me asking, why are you so enamored by Leon? He’s a nice guy and all, but sometimes it feels like he’s the only one you actually care about.”

Kanon gave Makoto a dirty glare as he said that, causing the Luckster to back up a bit in his chair. Did he say something wrong?! Thankfully, it seemed like Kanon’s rage quickly subsided as she answered his question.

“Nah, I get why you’re asking, but it’s because Leon is… well, he’s family. Ever since we were kids, the two of us spent a lot of time together. Whether it be on the baseball diamond or otherwise… We were super close. It felt like I could rely on him for just about anything.”

Makoto nodded his head. He had no idea the two of them were that close as kids! But then again, if they were so close back then, what happened for Leon to actively avoid her?

“But… Once the two of us got older, it’s like Leon started just avoiding me. I’m not sure what it was, but around the time I became his manager, he really started dodging me. At first, it was just brushing me off. Then it became ignoring me… And now he’s actively running away from me every time I try to talk with him. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong…”

Makoto looked down, rubbing his chin as he processed what Kanon said. So… Around when she became his manager for baseball, Leon began avoiding her? And the avoidance escalated to the point where it is now. What must’ve happened at the moment Kanon became manager for Leon to begin avoiding her? Well, based on Kanon’s typical behavior around him, Makoto had a bit of an idea how this came to be…

“I see… Kanon, I might be prying a bit here, but I think Leon is avoiding you because you wanted to be a little… too close to him.”

Kanon, surprisingly, had a pretty calm reaction to what Makoto just said. She merely tilted her head in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“Well… Leon probably just wants some personal space, right? You two spent your entire childhoods together, but I think he wants some friends outside of just you. Like… I think the relationship you want with Leon, or even the one you had before, probably isn’t super realistic.”

Kanon merely sat there, staring at Makoto as he continued what he was saying.

“I guess, what I’m trying to say is… I think Leon just needs some space. I don’t think he wants to stop being friends with you, but I think he also wants to set some boundaries. I just don’t think Leon is the type of guy to drop those close to him on a dime…”

Kanon’s mood seemed to fall off a cliff as she received that piece of information. Sure, it was nice that Leon (probably) wanted to keep being friends, but… the idea that the two of them wouldn’t be as close as they used to be was deeply saddening to the girl. She cared about Leon, a lot! And if he didn’t feel the same way about her… Well, that’s just something she was going to have to deal with, huh?

“Thanks, Makoto… I guess I just never really thought about it like that before. I just… I miss talking with him. He’s the only family I have, and when he started avoiding me, I put all of my time into trying to talk with him again. Maybe that was a mistake…”

“No, that’s wrong!”

Kanon almost jumped out of her seat as Makoto pointed at her and screamed his catchphrase.

“Oi! You’re gonna give a girl a damn heart attack screaming like that! What is wrong with you?!”

Makoto awkwardly chuckled and scratched his cheek. Okay, maybe he went a bit too far…

“Ah, s-sorry about that… B-But still! What you said just now isn’t right! It wasn’t a waste of time to try and talk with him again!”

Kanon crossed her arms, an expression of annoyance plain for Makoto to see. She was getting more and more impatient with this guy the more he opened his mouth!

“Oh yeah? Pray tell, how was it not?”

Makoto let out a sigh.

“Leon still wants to be your friend, Kanon. Just because you won’t have the same relationship you did as kids, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to still be close with you. Things change, and just because things are different doesn’t mean they have to be… bad.”

Kanon looked at Makoto for a bit as he said that. What he was saying sounded… well, pretty dumb. But at the same time, she couldn’t exactly tell him he was wrong. So, she decided to take his words to heart.

“...Yeah, gotcha.”

Makoto gave Kanon a small smile.

“It’s just gonna take time, alright? Leon is a little oblivious to the feelings of other people, so it’ll take him a bit before he realizes that he hasn’t been doing things right.”

Kanon chuckled. Makoto was absolutely correct, that guy has always been a little bit of an asshole, even since he was a kid. It’s great for the major leagues for your best player to have a bit of a personality. Leon was always pretty nice to her, even when he was pissing off the entire opposing team. They just had that kind of relationship. And sure, maybe the two of them wouldn’t be attached at the hip like they were as kids, but…

“Yo, Naegi! You ready to explore the second isl-”

Leon froze in place as his eyes met with Kanon. As soon as he did, he turned on his foot to begin dashing out of the dining hall, only for Makoto to stop him.

“Leon, wait!!”

Leon hesitated, turning back to Makoto with a grimace. Did he not realize that this place was a danger zone?!

“Makoto, I seriously can’t stay here any longer! I-”

“Leon… Kanon just wants to talk to you. I promise it’s not anything serious. So just give her a chance, alright?”

Leon looked between Makoto, his newest best friend, and Kanon, his oldest best friend. Sure enough, Kanon seemed a lot more reserved than she had been these past few years. Did Makoto work his magic once again? He let out a sigh, putting a hand on his head as he walked over to the table.

“Alright… I can talk. What’s up, Kanon?”

Kanon swallowed, turning to the side and tapping her fingers together.

“N-Not much! What’s up with you, Leon?”

“Oh, you know. Just gonna be heading out to the second island with Makoto after breakfast.”

“Mm… That’s good.”

Silence. Makoto, who was sitting next to Leon, couldn’t help but cringe at the awkward silence that had mired itself over the group.

Oh no… Kanon, don’t stop talking now! You’re right there!

Makoto wanted to just interject right now, but he didn’t want to make this any more artificial than it already was. These two needed to work this out on their own, and any interference from Makoto would make it less legitimate.

“So, um… Leon, I just wanted to say… sorry.”

Leon almost jumped in shock. His face was absolutely incredulous. Kanon was… apologizing?! He jumped up, pointing at Kanon with an accusatory glare.

“Y-You’re not Kanon! The real Kanon never apologizes! What did you do with my cousin, you bastard?!”

Kanon felt a twitch coming on. Oh sure, avoid her for what felt like years, but then pretend to know her well enough to know when a doppelganger has arrived?!

“You asshole! Sit down or I’m taking it back! Geez, I try to do a nice thing and you go and do this…”

Leon flinched, grumbling under his breath as he sat back down.

“Anyways… I wanted to apologize. For… being too clingy?”

Kanon turned to Makoto, who gave her a nod and a smile. She was doing good!

“Yeah… I wanted to apologize for being clingy. I just… When I became your manager, I wanted to spend more time with you. You were my only real friend growing up, and I just… I miss the time we spent together. Now you’re my only family left, and it hurts every time you run away from me… But I know why now. I’m sorry. I’ll try and respect your boundaries moving forward.”

Leon just stared at her. Mouth agape, shock evident on his face. He had no idea how Kanon felt… He just assumed she had a crush on him or something weird like that! But still, if that’s all it was, then he kind of felt like an asshole for avoiding her all this time…

“Shit, Kanon… I’m sorry. I should’ve known that you just wanted to spend time with me, but I avoided you for dumb reasons. Listen, we’re family, right? I want you to be happy, too. So… friends?”

Leon extended a fist out to Kanon, a goofy smile on his face as he did. Kanon just huffed, though she couldn’t help the smile creeping onto her face as she returned the fist bump.

“...Friends. Now go and get your food, dude. We’ve got an island to explore!”

Leon gave his cousin a salute as he stood up.

“You got it, boss!”

And with that, the baseball player was off to the kitchen to grab his food. Makoto smiled at Kanon once he was out of sight.

“Kanon, that was great!”

Kanon giggled and put her arms behind her chair. Guess it really was just something dumb, huh?

“Yeah… I really didn’t think it was gonna go this smoothly. I couldn’t have done it without you, Makoto!”

Makoto shook his head.

“No, I don’t think so… I think you two would have solved your differences eventually. You just needed a little push! I didn’t really do much, honestly…”

Kanon narrowed her eyes at Makoto. This was NOT a conversation that she was about to have. Makoto seemed to have gotten the memo, awkwardly nodding his head as he withered under her glare.

“O-Okay, maybe I’ll take some credit…”

---

“Chisa, I’m not going over there.”

“Aw, c’mon Juzo! Just look at him! If he’s not lined up to be your pupil, I don’t know who is!”

“Okay, first of all, If anyone here was gonna be my pupil, it would be Mondo. Second of all, Gonta may look strong, but the guy’s talent is quite literally based on not hurting a fly. I’m not going over there.”

Chisa puffed out her cheeks. Even if she was close friends with Juzo, this guy could drive her up the wall! She was making a very basic request!

“Juzo, I’m serious! The poor guy has been sitting alone every time I look over at him… He could seriously use someone to talk to!”

Juzo looked over at the entomologist. Sure enough, he was sitting alone, eating away at his food without a care in the world. Juzo let out a sigh. If he continued to fight Chisa on this, he just KNEW that she would end up exploding at him, and knowing her, that was not what he wanted today.

“Fine… Fine. I’ll go and talk to him. But if he tells me to leave, I’m not looking back, got it?”

Chisa smiled, clapping her hands together as she did.

“Thanks, Juzo!”

Juzo just rolled his eyes as he got up, grabbing his tray and heading over to Gonta’s table. If Chisa wasn’t his friend, he wouldn’t even consider doing this… But at the same time, he knew what she was capable of. Best not to poke the bear.

“Hey, kid. Mind if I sit here?”

Gonta looked up, a smile brightening his features as he waved at the Former Ultimate Boxer.

“Oh, yes! Gonta no mind!”

Juzo clicked his tongue as he placed his tray down.

Gotta get this kid some English lessons…

“So, kid. Why’re you sitting here by yourself?”

Gonta tilted his head, almost as if he were surprised to be getting a question like that.

“Gonta no understand. Is sitting with others something Gonta must do?”

Juzo grimaced. This guy… really had no idea about any of this stuff, huh? That’s right, didn’t he grow up in the woods or something weird like that? No wonder this kid was sitting alone like this, poor guy probably had no idea how to make friends.

“Well… I guess you don’t HAVE to, but typically you’re supposed to sit with your friends during meals. Haven’t you ever sat with your family while you were eating? It’s like that, kind of.”

I don’t even know if he’s had that kind of experience before. Crap, maybe I should’ve explained it better…

“Oh, Gonta understand! But… if friends sit with friends at table, does that mean Juzo is friend?”

Juzo just sat there dumbfounded for a moment. How the hell was he supposed to answer a question like that?! He couldn’t exactly say “No, I’m only here because Chisa thinks you’re lonely”, could he?

…Chisa really knew how to pick em, huh?

“Well… Yeah. I guess we are friends.”

Gonta smiled. At the very least, it seemed like he was ecstatic to have someone to spend time with.

“Wow! Gonta very excited to make new friend! Would friend like to see Gonta’s bug collection?”

Juzo flinched. No, absolutely not. He would absolutely NOT like to do that, thanks.

Gotta think of an excuse…

“Sorry kid, but we’ve got an island to explore, remember? Can’t be spending time on bug collections and the like.”

Gonta looked disappointed for a moment, but nodded his head.

“Okay! Gonta understand. After exploring, then bugs!”

Juzo nodded his head, even if he was thinking the exact opposite. Going to see this kid’s bug collection was probably in the bottom five things Juzo wanted to do, but he had to make sure the kid was happy. He knew Chisa was watching, after all… Besides, he had some questions to ask.

“So, kid… I can see you’re pretty strong. Have you ever been interested in fighting?”

Gonta looked shocked as Juzo said that, quickly shaking his head.

“N-No! Gonta no like to fight anyone! W-Why would Gonta fight someone…?”

Juzo let out a sigh.

This is gonna be a long day…

---

“Shuichi Saihara, my good friend! I must say, you’re looking quite fidgety today! Is something wrong?”

Shuichi was snapped out of his daydreaming by none other than Kaito, who was looking directly at his “sidekick” with a strange expression.

“H-Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine… Just a little distracted right now.”

Kaede, who was to Shuichi’s right, crossed her arms and let out a huff.

“Shuichi, what did I tell you about overthinking things?”

“H-Hey, it’s not that! I’m just, um… well, like I said, I’m just distracted.”

Kaede tilted her head. Distracted by what? There wasn’t much going on here aside from people eating, and Shuichi most certainly wasn’t the type of guy to get distracted by something as inane as that. So, Kaede decided to follow Shuichi’s line of sight instead. While Kaito was busy talking about whatever the hell, Kaede wanted to get to the bottom of this. Once Shuichi changed the place where he stole a glance, Kaede looked over to that spot. There wasn’t much there, other than…

…Kirumi cleaning up plates. And with that, a smirk crept onto Kaede’s face. Well well, Shuichi being distracted and distant suddenly made muuuuch more sense! Kaede turned to the detective, her smug smile still remaining her face as she did.

“...Kaede? What is it?”

“You like her, don’t you?”

Shuichi balked at the question. What? Where the hell did that come from?!

“H-Huh? Like who? Kaede, wh-what’re you talking about?”

Kaede playfully flicked the top of Shuichi’s forehead (which wasn’t easy with the hat in the way!) and stuck out her tongue.

“Don’t play dumb, Shuichi! I’m talking about Kirumi!”

Shuichi’s heart skipped a beat. Was he really being that obvious? He didn’t think Kaede would take enough notice of him to figure that out… Not that it was even a crush! He was just making sure she wasn’t overworking! He kept to his promises!

Kaito, on the other hand, stopped whatever he was talking about to enter this conversation.

“Huh? Shuichi has a crush on Kirumi?”

Shuichi panicked, putting his hands up as he tried to shush Kaito.

“N-No! No, I don’t! Guys, seriously, that’s not what this is…”

Kaede rested her head on her hand as she looked at the detective.

He can deny it all he wants, but I KNOW he was stealing glances at her! It’s gotta be some sort of puppy love, I just know it!

“Shuichi, I saw the way you were stealing glances. You might not know it yet, but at the very least, you’ve got a little crush on her!”

“That’s wonderful! Shuichi, the world of love may be scary, but as you are my sidekick, I will teach you everything you need to know to succeed! You don’t have to worry about a thing with me!”

Considering how many times you strike out with Maki, I think I do have to worry with you…

Shuichi’s face was bright red as he buried his face in his hands. Why was this happening to him…? It wasn’t a crush!

Kaede giggled, softly patting Shuichi on the back. Alright, maybe she teased him a bit too much… But can you blame her? He was so darn cute! Seeing him get all blushy over this made her heart swoon.

“Alright, alright… I’m sorry, Shuichi. I shouldn’t have teased you that much. But! If you ever need help with the girls, you can always talk to me! You’ve got enough natural charm that I don’t think it’s necessary, but I’m happy to help!”

Shuichi let out a sigh as he lifted his face up. He wasn’t as embarrassed, but he was still partially covering his face with his hat.

“Th-Thanks, but I think I’ll be okay… I’m not really too worried about that right now.”

Kaede giggled. She laced her fingers together as she turned to both Shuichi and Kaito.

“But, if you don’t have a crush on her, then why were you stealing glances?”

Shuichi sighed, turning to the side as he softly answered the question.

“To make sure she isn’t overworking… I got worried when I learned that she does the garbage very late at night. She shouldn’t have to do all of our chores for us just because she’s the Ultimate Maid, but she wouldn’t let me help directly. So I’m just… looking out for here. I don’t want her to collapse because she’s been working too hard, you know?”

Kaede and Kaito both looked at the detective with a bit of a surprised look. Silence reigned until Kaito gave Shuichi a thumbs up.

“That’s my sidekick, always looking out for people! I knew I picked the right man for the job!”

Shuichi awkwardly chuckled, rubbing the back of his head as he did. He wasn’t sure why Kaito was praising him… He didn’t even do anything.

“Th-Thanks, I guess…”

“Shuichi, you’re so sweet. I think you’d make a good stay at home dad.”

Shuichi almost choked on a piece of food as Kaede said that. What was it with this conversation and always going to the weirdest places?!

“H-Huh? Kaede, what’re you talking about?”

“Well, you know! You’re kind, hard working, and a bit of a beta male! I think you’ve got all the qualities of a good stay at home dad!”

“Hold it! Kaede, I cannot allow that comment to pass! Shuichi is most certainly kind and a hard worker, but I refuse to believe that he is a beta male!”

Shuichi let out a sigh. God, these two drove him absolutely insane sometimes… Still, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Though he was wondering where Maki was through all of this…

---

Tengan cleared his throat as he approached the microphone, putting his hands behind his back as he began the announcement.

“If I could have your attention, please… Thank you. I apologize for interrupting your breakfast, but I would like to inform you all that we’re allowing you to explore the second island at your own discretion. Since we have not yet received the next motive from Usami, we will not be making any requirements for travel parties. Additionally, we have made the decision to trust that you all will be safe when exploring, and have decided not to attach a faculty member to groups… Please do not make us regret this decision. This is a privilege, and we will revoke this privilege should we feel you are abusing it. Thank you, that is all.”

Komaru gave a wide smile as she heard the announcement go off. They were finally able to discover the second island! The first island was pretty cool, but there wasn’t too much to get excited about there. Sure, the arcade was AWESOME, but everything else was kinda lame. But! Enough about that! Komaru wanted to share her excitement with everyone else.

“Guys, you hear that? We’re gonna be able to explore the second island! Aw, I can’t wait!”

The Warriors of Hope (which now included Toko, apparently) were all pretty excited as well. Toko tapped her fingers together as she smiled at Komaru.

“Y-Yeah! M-Maybe they’ll have a place f-for me to write there?”

Next was Kotoko.

“Or a place for me to show my true talents! Yes, a theater fitting for my exuberance and large enough to contain my splendor would be a fine gift~”

“O-Or maybe I can get an art studio! I haven’t done much art stuff since I got here…”

Masaru smirked as Jataro said that, leaning backwards in his chair with his hands behind his head.

“Well, I’ve already got my Ultimate Lab, and it’s super cool! I go there to train every day, and lemme tell you, Coach Nekomaru pushes you HARD!”

Monaca simply rolled her eyes at Masaru’s boasting. Seriously, was it too difficult for him to just shut up?!

“Monaca hopes there’s a fun place! This island can be sooooo boooooooring…”

Komaru giggled. Seeing these kids excited for the new island was great to hear. Well, everyone except for… Komaru turned to Nagisa, who seemed to be staring off into space.

“...Nagisa? Is everything alright?”

Nagisa raised an eyebrow at Komaru, but quickly dismissed her question.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just… I talked to Mr. Yasuke earlier today, asking if he wanted to explore the second island. He… said he already had, and that he didn’t want to talk about it. So, I guess I’m just kinda concerned…”

Komaru frowned. Yasuke was always a bit of a cactus, but she was under the assumption that he had a soft spot for Nagisa. Yasuke had taken him under his wing and was teaching him all about medical mumbo jumbo… Did something happen on the second island that caused Yasuke to clam up like that…?

Well, whatever. Not like she was gonna be able to pry that information out of Yasuke.

“Oh… Sorry, Nagisa. I think he might just be stressed. After all, there’s been a lot of dumb injuries going his way, and being one of the only people with medical knowledge here, I’m sure he’s a tad overworked.”

Nagisa nodded his head. He wasn’t too torn up about it, really. He was more concerned about Yasuke himself than anything else. Seeing him that disturbed… that wasn’t normal. He was normally such a composed guy, so seeing that from him was weird…

Komaru clapped her hands together to try and change the topic.

“Anyways! I know we don’t have a requirement to be with other people this time around, but I was thinking that it’s about time I formally introduce you guys to my brother! Does that sound fine?”

“Wooooo! We’re gonna meet big bro!”

“Ahaha! The big brother to the most wonderfully amazing Komaru? Oh, I would be honored!”

“Yeah, I’m down to meet him. Though he’s already pretty popular on this island as is.”

“A-Ah! Yeah, I can’t wait to meet him!”

“Monaca is super excited!”

Komaru smiled. These kids were a lot more excited to meet Makoto than she thought! Of course, there was one hold out… She turned to Toko, who was biting her thumb and nervously looking left and right.

“Toko? Everything okay?”

“Y-Yeah, I just… m-meeting new people i-isn’t… easy for me…”

Komaru smiled, softly patting Komaru’s shoulder as she did. She really should’ve expected this, but it’s no worries! Toko just needed a little reassurance, that’s all!

“I know it’s scary, but trust me, Makoto wouldn’t hurt a fly! He’s the nicest, coolest big brother you could ask for! You don’t have to worry about a thing with him, I promise.”

Toko looked down at the ground. As much as she wanted to refute what Komaru said, tell her that he’s just a poser who is trying to use people for his own gain… She didn’t know that. Besides, Komaru would know her own brother better than anyone, right? If she was saying he was a good person… then maybe he was.

“A-Alright… I trust you. L-Let’s go meet h-him…”

Komaru nodded her head, standing up from her chair and extending a hand to Toko.

“Alright guys, let’s go meet Makoto!”

A good number of cheers rang out as the group as they headed over to Makoto’s table. As the group approached, Makoto, Leon, and Kanon had their conversations interrupted.

“Makotooooo! I have some people who wanna get to know you better!”

Makoto turned around, face to face with a smirking Komaru and multiple kids running up to him.

“Mr. Makoto, it’s an honor! Your sister is so cool!”

“Um… Mr. Makoto, i-it’s nice to meet you!”

“Mr. Makoto, I am honored to be in your presence! Yes, I believe this meeting was fated to happen! The older brother of the chosen one… Truly, you are someone special!”

“Mr. Makoto, Monaca wants to know who you like! Is it Mukuro? It must be!”

“Mr. Makoto, it’s nice to see you again.”

Makoto leaned back in his chair as the five of them all spoke to him at once. Hadn’t they already met before…? Not just the introductions, either… They knew who he was cause of that time at the table with Mukuro!

“Um… Komaru? Why are they acting like they don’t know me?”

Komaru giggled, putting her hands behind her back.

“Weeeell, I told em that we were gonna spend today exploring the second island with you, and I guess they wanna take this time to get to know you a little better!”

Makoto sighed. Somehow, he had a feeling that Komaru wasn’t telling the entire truth… But that’s fine. It’s not like he was averse to meeting the kids! It could just be a bit… much. However, he turned his attention to behind Komaru to see… Toko hiding behind her.

“Hm? Oh, Toko! It’s good to see you! I don’t think I ever really got the chance to meet you!”

As Makoto addressed her, Toko shrunk further behind Komaru, causing her to frown at her older brother.

“Makoto! You should know not to be so forceful when you’re meeting someone!”

“Ah, I’m sorry!”

Makoto bowed.

“Sorry, Toko… I guess I got a little carried away.”

Toko bit her thumb, which was beginning to seem like a nervous tick. She stepped out ever so slightly from behind Komaru.

“N-No, it’s a-alright… I-It’s not your fault.”

Makoto gave Toko a bright smile.

“Well, I’m happy that we’re going to be exploring the second island together, Toko! I’d really like to take the chance to become better friends with you!”

Toko couldn’t believe what she was hearing. This guy… This guy really was just like his sister, wasn’t he? Maybe a little less mischievous, but he was just a bundle of positivity. He was kind, he was offering to make friends… with her? And for what? She hasn’t done anything for him. Hasn’t done anything with him. And yet he still wanted to be friends with her.

“O-Oh… Um… S-Sure, I’d l-like that…”

Makoto smiled, and Toko actually returned the smile as well. Maybe Makoto really wasn’t so bad…

“Komaruuuuu! I wanna go check out the second island! Come on come on, we’re wasting time here!”

Komaru looked down at Masaru, who was tugging on her pant leg as he complained at her. She let out a sigh as she turned to Toko and her brother.

“Sorry guys, but the kids are getting restless… You think we can walk and talk?”

“That’s fine by me! Oh, but uh… is it okay if Leon and Kanon come with us, too? I already said I’d explore with them.”

As Makoto motioned to them, Leon smiled and gave a wave. Toko, as expected, darted behind a Naegi for protection. This time, however, it was Makoto.

“Huh? Toko? Is everything okay?”

“N-New people… s-scary…”

Komaru let out a sigh. This was gonna be a long day…

----

After the announcement finished going off, Kazuichi swallowed the food he was eating and turned to Sato. The two of them were, once again, eating together at the dining hall.

“Huh… Yeah, I guess I haven’t thought about what we’re gonna do about groups for exploring the island… I’m sure you’re gonna want to be with your guys, and I know Gundham and everyone else is gonna want me there for their shtick.”

Sato tilted her head. At first she was confused as to what Kazuichi was referring to, but… she very quickly remembered.

“Oh, right. That stuff. Yeah… I’m gonna be honest, I’m not sure how or why you of all people got to be involved in that.”

Kazuichi shrugged. To be honest, he hasn’t really remembered why he got roped into it in the first place… Man, how long have they been here by now?! It can’t have been more than like, a month… Right?

“I don’t even really remember myself… Regardless, they’re all pretty good friends by now, so I go along with their stuff anyways. If you ignore the social implications, it’s actually pretty fun!”

Kazuichi showed a large, toothy smile that Sato couldn’t help but chuckle at. This guy was a total dork, wasn’t he?

“Hey, suit yourself, man. I’m not here to tell you how to live your life. But, uh, yeah… We’re gonna need to decide on groups.”

Kazuichi spent a moment deciding, but eventually shook his head.

“Nah, I think I’ll go with you guys… I haven’t talked to Hajime in a while, and he’s my Soul Brother! It wouldn’t be right if I stayed away from him for much longer.”

Sato raised an eyebrow. Soul Brother? Now that was something she hadn’t heard before.

“Riiight… And what exactly does a “Soul Brother” entail?”

Kazuichi chuckled, putting his hands behind his head as he smirked at Sato.

“Oh, I don’t think you’d understand even if I told you… Being linked as a Soul Brother keeps you both close for the rest of your lives. It’s an unbreakable bond!”

Sato looked unimpressed.

“What? I’m serious! He and I are gonna go through thick and thin together, and we’re gonna make it out alive!”

And now Sato was just annoyed. She finished up her breakfast and grabbed Kazuichi by the ear, dragging him over to where Hajime and Co. were sitting.

“Alright, I’ve had enough of this conversation. Come on, we’re leaving.”

“Ow! Hey hey, I’m not done with my breakfast yet! Sato, let go! My pancaaaaaakes!”

Those pancakes would never be eaten.

---

“Hey, uh, Twogami…? I-Is it okay if I explore the s-second island with you?”

Twogami raised an eyebrow at Ryota as he asked that question. What a completely pointless question.

“Ryota, I find it perplexing that you even feel the need to ask. Yes, of course you may.”

Ryota turned to the side, tapping his fingers together.

“W-Well, it’s just that… I k-kinda slowed you down last time, and I figured y-you might wanna-”

Twogami held up a hand.

“I’m afraid I must stop you there, Ryota. You did not ‘slow me down’ when we were exploring the first island. If anything, I very much appreciated the presence of someone who I was close to. So please, do not speak of this nonsense any longer and eat your breakfast. It would not be wise to allow it to go cold.”

Ryota nodded his head, a small smile on his face as he did. Twogami really was a nice guy, wasn’t he?

“Yoohoooooo! Twogamiiiii! Ibuki is here to join you on your journey!”

Ibuki ran up to the heir and almost screamed Ryota’s ears off with her voice. Geez, that girl was loud…

“Ibuki, there is no need to scream, I can hear you just fine.”

“Ah! Ibuki apologizes, but this is Ibuki’s normal speaking voice! If you want, Ibuki can show you her super loud voice!”

Ryota started panicking. If that was her normal voice, what was her loud voice like?! Thankfully, it was Twogami to the rescue once again.

“Ibuki… No thank you. We will hear your loud voice another time.”

“Awwww, boo! Oh well! Ibuki will happily join your team regardless! Oh, Ibuki should totally invite Sayaka, too! Sayakaaaaa!”

And with that, Ibuki had already left on her new mission. Twogami let out a sigh.

“That girl can be a real handful…”

“But… It doesn’t look like you’re unhappy.”

Twogami chuckled at Ryota’s response. Ryota couldn’t really see what was so funny.

“No, I suppose I’m not unhappy, Ryota… I suppose I’m not.”

----

“So! You all wanna get tougher, do ya? You’ve come to the right place! Whether you’re a veteran or a beginner, NEKOMARU NIDAI will help you train to your absolute peak potential! I promise that you’ll absolutely feel the difference!”

Chihiro, who was flanked by Mondo and Taka, tapped her fingers together as Nekomaru said that.

“A-Ah… Th-Thank you, Nekomaru. I-I’ll do my best!”

Mondo smiled, giving the Ultimate Team Manager a thumbs up.

“Yo, thanks again for helping out with this, dude. It really means a lot to me.”

“Yes, indeed! I cannot thank you enough for helping out our good friend!”

Nekomaru let out a haughty laugh.

“It’s no problem! I’m always happy to help out a friend! And when it comes to training, there’s no one better than me!”

Akane huffed. This guy sure liked to talk, huh?

“Oh sure, go and help them with their training…”

Nekomaru looked down at Akane with a bit of a scowl.

“Akane… Training you two is not mutually exclusive, you know that. I can most certainly train both of you at the same time.”

Akane grumbled under her breath, crossing her arms as she turned away. The Coach simply let out a sigh as he turned back to Chihiro.

“Just ignore her for now… Chihiro, if you’re going to become stronger, there needs to be a focus. In what way would you like to be stronger?”

Chihiro tapped her chin. Admittedly, this wasn’t something she put much thought into… She just wanted to be stronger in general. Whether that be muscles or general fitness, it didn’t matter much to her.

“Um, well… I guess… everywhere? I don’t really have a f-focus… I’m sorry…”

Nekomaru shook his head. He should’ve expected this when a girl like Chihiro came to him for training out of nowhere… But that was no issue.

“I see… In that case, I have an idea. It might be best for you to work on cardio first and foremost. We’ll want to make sure you’re in proper shape before we do more intense training.”

“Yo, Coach! What’s goin on over here?”

Nekomaru turned around to see Yuta waving at him, with Aoi and Sakura not far behind. All three of them sat down at the table as Nekomaru crossed his arms.

“Chihiro here came to me asking to receive some intense training. And I respect someone who’s willing to push their limits and become stronger!”

Yuta balked at Nekomaru’s statement. Sure, it was cool that someone had the drive to get stronger… But Nekomaru was supposed to be training him!

“Hey, I thought you were supposed to be training me!”

Nekomaru sighed, especially once he saw Akane’s smug look. He turned to Yuta with a frown.

“Look, Yuta… I can train all three of you. Are you underestimating my abilities?”

Yuta shook his head.

“N-No, sir…”

“Then have no fear! Because NEKOMARU NIDAI will make sure all of you hit your physical peaks!”

Aoi and Sakura couldn’t help but giggle at the display. Nekomaru sure was a character, wasn’t he?

Mondo crossed his arms as he saw Nekomaru. This dude was something else, wasn’t he? He was the Ultimate Team Manager and yet he was a hulking beast on his own!

“Damn, dude… I guess we made the right choice in coming to you.”

Chihiro smiled and silently nodded her head. The idea of training with people who were already professional athletes was a bit intimidating, but she was excited to finally become stronger!

“Hahaha! I’m glad you think so. Regardless, how’s about we all check out the second island as a group?”

Taka let out a laugh.

“I find this plan agreeable! Indeed, we shall conquer the second island together!”

“You said it, bro! We’re gonna show em what we’re fuckin’ made of!”

“Bro! What you said just now was super cool!”

As the two of them kept hitting it off, Aoi turned to Sakura with a confused expression.

“Um… Sakura? When did those two become friends…? And why is their friendship so… weird?”

Sakura shook her head as she continued to eat her breakfast.

“Sometimes it’s best not to question these things, Aoi… I simply have no idea.”

Aoi let out a sigh as she continued her breakfast. Maybe she would get answers on the second island… But probably not.

Chapter Text

“Nagito Komaeda.”

Nagito looked up from his food as his name was called out. The hulking form of Byakuya Twogami was standing across the table from him, arms crossed and a frown on his face.

“Ah, Byakuya! What a pleasant surprise. To be in the presence of such an important figure such as yourself is truly an honor… What can I do for you on this fine day?”

Byakuya let out a sigh. He pulled out a chair, sitting down and leaning forward. Based on his expression, it seemed like Byakuya wasn’t playing around.

“Nagito, I believe the two of us need to talk. I’ve been getting increasingly worried about you over these past few weeks.”

Nagito’s faux smile had disappeared. A look of… disgust? A look of disgust appeared on Nagito’s face for just a moment before quickly being replaced by his smile once more.

“Worried about me? Please, pay me no mind, Byakuya. An Ultimate like yourself should not be bothered with commoner garbage such as myself.”

Byakuya shook his head. He should’ve expected this reaction… Nagito wasn’t the type of person who would change his mind right on the spot. Byakuya may not know Nagito well, but he knew enough to deduce that.

“Nagito, that is exactly what I am referring to. You continue to isolate yourself from the group, putting all of us on a pedestal while dragging yourself down. We are your classmates, Nagito. Even if you don’t respect your own talent, at least respect that fact.”

Nagito scowled. Sure, they were classmates, but what did that matter? They were not the same, not even close. Surely Byakuya must realize how foolhardy and naive he is sounding right now.

“And what does us being classmates change, Byakuya? Absolutely nothing. Even if we share the classroom, you and I will never be the same. You, the heir to a multibillion dollar company who has influence over the entire world… and me, a nobody who received his spot at Hope’s Peak based on luck. We are not the same, Byakuya.”

Byakuya shook his head. It seemed like Nagito was missing the point.

“Nagito, I am not trying to argue that we are both on the same level in terms of talent. Frankly… We are not. I will not dispute that fact.”

Nagito frowned. For some reason, he had a bad feeling about where this conversation was going.

“But on this island? Talent is irrelevant. I have no access to my resources, no access to my company. Without my company, am I really any better than you?”

Nagito grit his teeth. That… That was a fallacy! One doesn’t simply stop being the Ultimate Affluent Progeny just because he’s stranded on an archipelago!

“That is where you’re wrong, Byakuya. You don’t simply lose your talent because we are stranded here! Even with no access to your resources, you are still Byakuya Togami! You are still someone who will rise above the rest and lead the world to a great new hope! I refuse to believe that one simply loses that title without access to their resources!”

And now they have gotten to the crux of the issue… Once again, Nagito was putting him up on a pedestal simply for the fact that he had an ultimate talent. And that anger… This was the most animated that Twogami had ever seen Nagito.

I wonder… How does Nagito really feel about the Ultimates and their place in society? No, I shouldn’t ask that. I shall save that for another time.

“I see… Well, perhaps that is true. We are still ourselves, after all. However, I must ask you… Do you believe that Hajime is an Ultimate?”

Nagito scoffed. What an inane question… If he wasn’t an Ultimate, then he wouldn’t have been in one of the main courses!

“Of course I believe that. Even if we don’t know what his talent is, Hajime is most certainly an Ultimate. The fact that he is firmly in the main course should confirm that fact.”

Byakuya nodded his head. Yes, that logic would make sense. The classes were presumably made before they had arrived on the island, after all, so they must’ve put him in the main course when they knew what his talent was.

“Yes, I agree with that. But then I must ask you… Is Hajime any less of an Ultimate because he does not remember his talent?”

Nagito froze. What… What was Twogami implying? He couldn’t be trying to… No, that’s impossible.

“...Explain yourself.”

“Think about it. If you’re to be believed, then we are Ultimates because of our life experiences and skills. Those are what define us and grant us our title. However… Hajime doesn’t have any of that. He has completely forgotten his past, including any knowledge of his talent. So, I must ask: Do you believe he is still an Ultimate?”

Nagito cringed. That… Of course he was! Just because he had his memory of his talent removed didn’t mean it wasn’t still there!

“O-Of course! You cannot simply remove the talent from someone’s memory! Even if he completely forgot, he would still have that latent potential in him to do amazing things!”

“I see. So in order for someone to be an Ultimate, they merely need to have the potential to be something great?”

Nagito nodded his head.

“Yes. Those born with talent are destined to lead this world to a better future, and those born without talent are destined to serve as stepping stones to allow them to reach their potential.”

“I see… In that case, what about those who don’t reach their potential? People who had that latent ability inside of them but never reached it. Are those people considered Ultimates as well?”

Nagito shook his head. Twogami was really starting to push his buttons here…

“No. If they failed to reach the peaks of their talent, then they simply didn’t have the potential to reach it in the first place.”

Byakuya leaned back and crossed his arms.

“Then what about those who we know have the talent, but they still failed to reach it?”

Nagito grit his teeth, slamming his fist on the table.

“Such a person does not exist! This theoretical person is a logical fallacy!”

“Then how do you explain failed prospects in sports?”

The anger building up in Nagito’s body suddenly seemed to completely drain out.

“...What?”

“You heard me. How do you explain failed prospects? There are many famous examples of a highly touted prospect in sports failing to reach their potential. Anthony Bennett, for example, was the first overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft. Despite that, he was awful and was out of the league within a few years.”

Nagito started to sink into his chair. Did Twogami have a point…? No, that just meant Bennett didn’t have what it took in the first place!

“N-No, that’s… He didn’t have the skill necessary to stick around! Just because they were wrong about him doesn’t-”

“But we knew he had the physical tools needed to succeed. In fact, Anthony Bennett was 20 years old when he was drafted. Considering he was older than Ultimates are, shouldn’t we have known how good he was going to be? Or do you believe Leon has just as good a chance to be a bust in the majors as Anthony Bennett?”

Nagito looked down at the table. This was ridiculous! However, before he could respond, Twogami continued.

“And what about those who were drafted low and ended up becoming a star? Mike Trout was drafted 25th overall, and yet has cemented himself as the best baseball player of this generation. How do you explain that?”

Nagito was at a loss for words. As much as he wanted to tell Byakuya that he was wrong and that these examples meant nothing…

…Did he really believe that anymore?

Byakuya let out a sigh. Seems like he had given Nagito a lot to consider, so he decided to really drive the point home.

“Nagito, listen. I understand that you feel worthless when compared to everyone around you. I know you like to put people on a pedestal because you believe in them and their talents… But you must not forget that none of us, and I mean NONE of us here got to this point entirely on our own. Leon may have had the natural talent, but he wouldn’t have reached the status of high ranked prospect without his coaches. Nekomaru may be an excellent coach, but he wouldn’t have been able to gain that title without the hard work of the people he coached. Even myself… I know I required a great deal of support in order to have the Togami Corporation run smoothly. The fact of the matter is that we cannot do everything by ourselves… Even ordinary people are essential for a healthy society to exist.”

Nagito slowly nodded his head. He understood Togami’s point, and yet-! He still couldn’t believe that he was equal with these people despite that. That just seemed so ludicrous to even suggest.

“I’m sorry, Byakuya, but I just… cannot understand your viewpoint. I cannot see you as anything other than the Ultimate Affluent Progeny.”

Byakuya nodded his head. He had a feeling that this wouldn’t be a one day mission, and it seems like he was correct.

“I understand. In that case, would you like to explore the second island with me? I would like to continue this discussion, but we also have work to do.”

Nagito turned to the side. Usually, he would deny the request and just travel by himself since he “wasn’t worthy to even be in the presence of an Ultimate such as him”... But he needed to continue this conversation. He needed Byakuya to understand exactly what it was like to be in Nagito’s position… to be a nobody that has no hope of becoming anything more.

“...Alright. I accept.”

Twogami smiled, nodding his head and letting out a chuckle as he did. Seems like he was already starting to make progress.

“Excellent. However, I will not accept that that is your entire breakfast. If you are to be a part of my group, I require you to eat more than that paltry dish.”

Nagito looked down at his breakfast. Sure enough… It was pathetic. A single piece of buttered toast and a small bowl of rice. Nagito laughed and tried to shake Twogami off.

“Ah, pay that no mind… I simply do not have a large appetite. This is serviceable enough for me to keep up with the rest of you during exploration.”

Byakuya shook his head. No, this pathetic excuse for a breakfast was absolutely unacceptable. He stood up and looked Nagito in the eyes.

“Nagito, I refuse to allow this. It is not healthy to eat this little during the most important meal of the day. Come with me, we are going to Teruteru to fix this immediately.”

Nagito just gawked at Twogami as he began heading towards Nagito. The lucky student had a feeling the heir was about to do something drastic, and so he got up out of his chair and chuckled.

“B-Byakuya, I understand your worry, but perhaps we can discuss this? Really, it’s fine! I just don’t feel very hungry today!”

Byakuya frowned and pointed a finger at Nagito.

“Nagito Komaeda, I will not accept any more excuses. We are going to the back to get you some real food, and I will not accept no as an answer. Am I understood?”

Nagito swallowed before wordlessly nodding his head.

“Excellent. In that case, follow me. I will show you the best way to get your energy up in the morning.”

As Byakuya walked towards the kitchen, Nagito just let out a sigh. That whole conversation about ultimates and talents completely exhausted him… But he also felt like he had somewhat of a new perspective now.

What makes an Ultimate an Ultimate, huh…? Well, let’s see which one of us is correct, Byakuya Togami.

---

Across the dining hall from that conversation was a table known as “The Medics’ Table”. Yasuke, Mikan, Seiko, and Miaya all gathered in the morning to eat breakfast and discuss what needed to be done that day. However, today was a bit… eerily quiet. There was no discussion amongst anyone as they ate. Miaya noticed this and decided that she… or rather, the Usami clone on her monitor, would break up the silence.

“S-So! A-Are you all excited to explore the second island? I know I’m super duper omega excited! There must be some absolutely amazing stuff on that island!”

“Miaya, get that disgusting thing on your monitor to close its mouth, please.”

“Kyaaaa! Yasuke is so mean to me!”

Seiko let out a sigh. Admittedly, she was pretty excited to explore the second island, but there was just one problem.

“Miaya… W-We can’t explore the second island. W-We have a job to do here… If we leave to go exploring, we won’t be able to care for anyone if they get hurt…”

Mikan frowned, tapping her fingers together. She knew that was going to be the case, but… It wasn’t fair! She wanted to go exploring with her friends! She had been so busy with medical stuff that she hadn’t spoken to any of them in a while, and…. Maybe they had already forgotten about her? What if they had just decided to move on already?! She wouldn’t doubt it… After all, who would wanna be friends with an ugly, boring, disgusting-

“No, that’s alright. Miaya and I can take care of things here. Mikan, Seiko, you two can go check out the second island.”

The two of them perked up at this. They were allowed to go explore the second island? That was the best news that Mikan had heard all day.

“Th-Th-Thank you so much, Y-Yasuke! I-I promise I’ll pay you back soon!”

Yasuke let out a sigh.

“Please, don’t bother. I don’t want to draw on you or anything weird like that. Just go and have fun with your friends or whatever the hell, I don’t know.”

Mikan giggled, nodding her head as she began heading over to Hajime’s table. Seiko, on the other hand, looked towards the door. She couldn’t find Ruruka and Sonosuke anywhere, so she was under the assumption that they had already left… without her.

“Um… I should probably go. I think Ruruka and Sonosuke have already left for the second island… So I’ll need time to catch up with them.”

Yasuke nodded his head, giving Seiko the go ahead to stand up and begin walking towards the second island. Once she was out of earshot, Miaya moved a bit closer to Yasuke.

“Aww, Yasuke! That was so sweet of you! Letting the other two go check out the other island to be with their friends… It’s so sweet I could cry…”

Yasuke grimaced, lifting his face from his manga to glare at Miaya.

“If you mention this to anyone, then I’ll REALLY give you something to cry about. Don’t push your luck.”

And just like that, Miaya’s avatar began crying her eyes out.

“Oh, boo hoo… Yasuke is so mean to me…”

Yasuke let out a sigh, burying his face in his manga once more. While he was slightly motivated by pity for Mikan and Seiko, there was a bit more to it than that. After all… He’s already seen everything there is to see there. He knows Seiko’s Ultimate Lab is there, and so keeping her in the medical building all the time would just be cruel. Besides, the less people ask why he knows the second island’s layout, the better. He lifted his eyes from his manga, taking a glance at Kokichi before returning his gaze to his book. That little rodent…

“Yasuke? Is something the matter?”

Yasuke waited a moment before letting out a sigh and shaking his head.

“It’s nothing, forget about it. Just finish up your breakfast soon. We have work to do.”

---

“Mukuro Ikusaba, might I have a moment of your time?”

Mukuro flinched. Standing right next to her was Peko Pekoyama, the Ultimate Swordswoman. That wasn’t what made Mukuro react. No, it was the fact that she even saw her in the first place! She thought she had a pretty good hiding spot.

“...I’m surprised you found me.”

Peko chuckled, crossing her arms as she smirked at the soldier.

“When you work with the yakuza, you tend to be pretty good at finding those hidden in the shadows. After all, we’re trained to take out anyone that tries to do so.”

Mukuro nodded her head. That… made sense, but it was still impressive that someone with glasses was so perceptive.

“I see. Regardless, what do you need from me?”

Peko’s expression became much more serious as they approached the purpose for the meeting. Mukuro was a bit taken aback by this shift in tone.

“I have not seen Maki for a while. In fact, I have not seen her for a few days now. Frankly, I am becoming a bit worried. Have you seen her at all?”

Mukuro shook her head. Maki was missing? Well, she had the tendency to disappear from everyone else’s view, but even still… being gone for this long was concerning.

“I have not. Have you tried asking Kaito or Shuichi?”

Peko nodded her head.

“I have… unfortunately, he has not seen her, either. That is primarily what’s worrying me… Kaito has always managed to keep tabs on Maki, even in the most crowded of places. Now, however, she has seemingly escaped the radar. Even Shuichi doesn’t know where she is.”

Mukuro grimaced. Not even Kaito or Shuichi knew where she was? That was most definitely concerning. The soldier let out a sigh, walking out from her hiding spot and towards Peko.

“I understand. Do you think she might be on the second island?”

Peko turned to the side.

“That is a possibility, yes… However, she has been gone for a while. I understand that she is part of the exploration group for the… Ultimate Elite Task Force, but…”

…Wow. Mukuro had completely forgotten about that whole thing. Well, she still had the security rotation with everyone else, but when was the last time they actually had a meeting? Then again, there hasn’t been much of a reason to call one. Besides, she trusted Makoto’s judgment, even if they were probably going to need to meet up tonight.

“Right… Still, if she’s been gone for this long, wouldn’t she have needed to go to the second island before we knew it was officially open?”

Peko nodded her head.

“And that’s why this is so confusing. How did she know? You don’t think she received a warning from Usami or anything, yes?”

Mukuro shook her head. That… wouldn’t make any sense. Maki and Usami were about as far apart from each other as you could possibly get. Why would Maki heed any warnings from her?

“I… suppose? It doesn’t seem likely to me, but if there’s something serious on the second island that concerns Maki, then-”

Mukuro stopped. All of a sudden, the realization hit her.

“...Her Ultimate Lab.”

“Come again?”

Mukuro turned to Peko with a stone cold expression.

“Maki’s Ultimate Lab. That must be what she was warned about. If there’s something she has to hide from everyone else in there…”

Peko began catching on, nodding her head.

“...I understand. If that is the case, then this might be a bigger problem than I initially anticipated… We should head over as quickly as possible.”

The two fighters nodded their heads, turning to the door…

“Ah, excuse me, you two… I apologize for eavesdropping, but I couldn’t help but overhear that you two were about to head to the second island.”

…And freezing in place as they were approached by Kirumi. The two of them gave each other a worried look as they turned back to the Ultimate Maid.

“...Hello, Kirumi. Yes, we were about to go and begin exploring the second island.”
Kirumi smiled at Mukuro, taking another step forward as she did.

“Excellent! In that case, would you mind if I joined you? I currently do not have anyone to travel with, and I am also worried about Ms Maki. I understand if you would prefer me not to accompany you on this most important mission.”

Peko grimaced. As much as she didn’t want a potential massive secret about Maki to get out… She also recognized that not allowing Kirumi to come would be equally suspicious. At the very least they could try and silence Kirumi if she came with them. Otherwise, she would snoop around and be more likely to tell people once she found what she was looking for. It was too risky.

“That’s quite alright… You may accompany us. However, please understand that finding Maki and making sure she is alright is our primary objective. We cannot stray from this task until it is completed.”

Peko crossed her arms, giving the maid a stern look. However, the maid simply curtsied and gave the two of them a smile.

“I understand. I shall assist you in whatever fashion you need.”

Mukuro nodded her head. With that settled, there was nothing left to do but start.

“Alright, we’ve wasted enough time. We really need to get a move on to the second island.”

The two girls beside Mukuro nodded, walking towards the door to leave the Dining Hall. Operation Find Maki had now been launched.

However, peeping out from behind a potted plant was someone who was eavesdropping… And said person happened to hear the entire thing.

“Nishishi! So, Maki has a dangerous secret, does she? I guess that would explain why her Ultimate Lab was all locked up last night. Hmhm, things just became a lot more interesting around here!”

---

“So uh, Fuyuhiko… Are you just a part of our group now?”

Fuyuhiko turned to Hajime with a deadpan expression. Aw crap, was he not supposed to ask that? Thankfully, Fuyuhiko just let out a sigh and shrugged his shoulders.

“I mean, I guess. I haven’t seen Ryoma in forever, and Mondo has a new best buddy, apparently…”

Fuyuhiko looked back at Nekomaru’s table to see Mondo, Taka, and Chihiro all laughing together with the athletes. Fuyuhiko sighed and turned back to Hajime.

“Yeah, so… I guess I’ll hang around you guys for a bit. ‘Sides, lets me keep a better eye on my little sister to make sure she’s not doing anything fuckin’ stupid.”

Hajime chuckled, but Natsumi’s reaction very quickly shut him up. She glared at him with an intensity that he hadn’t felt from her… ever. Okay, best not to touch on this subject…

“Y-Yeah, I getcha. Still, it’s nice that you wanna hang around. We’re happy to have you.”

Fuyuhiko huffed, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.

“Damn straight. Speaking of people bein’ in the group though… Mahiru, do you know what’s up with Kazuichi and the green chick you always hang out with? Sato, right?”

Mahiru raised an eyebrow before shrugging her shoulders.

“No idea. They seem like they’re pretty fast friends, even if I didn’t think it would actually work. I wanted her to make new friends and I guess Kazuichi and her are working out.”

Everyone in the group was a little shocked at that. Well, those in Class 77 weren’t as surprised since they had already heard about it, but still! Kazuichi and Sato just seemed like such a weird pairing!

“Yo guys! You all mind if Kaz and I tag along for exploration?”

Speak of the devil, here come the two of them now. Kazuichi was smirking at Hajime with his hands behind his head as Sato asked the question, though it was Mahiru who answered.

“Uh… Yeah, sure. As long as Kazuichi doesn’t do anything weird, it’s fine.”

Mahiru glared at him, and the mechanic just recoiled.

“H-Hey! I haven’t done anything weird since I’ve gotten on this island, y’know!”

Hiyoko huffed, turning to the side with a devious smirk.

“Oh, I’m sure… You’ve been too busy fucking around with your little wizard friends to do anything weird, huh?”

Kazuichi growled, pointing to Hiyoko as he tried to defend himself.

“H-Hey! I’ll have you know that I’m working on something super important!”

That got an eyebrow raise from Natsumi, who had suddenly taken an interest in this conversation.

“Oh really? Is it a way off of the damn island? If it’s not, then I don’t care.”

Kazuichi grimaced, slightly lowering his beanie.

“W-Well, no… It’s not something like that… A-And it’s not exactly finished, either…”

Hiyoko let out a groan.

“Uuuuugh, so you HAVEN’T done anything! What a waste of my time…”

Hajime sent Hiyoko a look.

“Hiyoko, be nice.”

“Hmph.”

As Hiyoko crossed her arms, Kazuichi sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

“I-I mean… Yeah, I haven’t finished anything yet…”

All of a sudden, he became way more high energy.

“But I took a big step towards it! Last night while everyone was asleep, I managed to finally break the protections on the monopad! We should be able to put anything we want on there soon!”

Hajime smiled. That seemed more like him. Kaz may be a bit of an immature kid at times, but at the end of the day, he was a hard worker who wanted to help people out. He-

“What?! What do you mean you finished it last night?!”

Kaz had a panicked look in his eyes as he turned back to Sato. Arms crossed, teeth bared, eyes narrowed… Yeah, she was NOT happy.

“H-Huh? Did I say last night? I-I meant… Um…”

“You meant WHAT?! There was no other time you could’ve completed it, huh?”

Kazuichi awkwardly scratched the back of his beanie.

“W-Well, I mean… Ah, hehe…”

Sato glared at Kazuichi. Even Hajime felt a chill go up his spine as he watched her approach the mechanic.

“You told me you were gonna relax and take a break from that last night.”

“A-And I did! I mean, we watched the movie, r-right? Yeah! Sato, it’s fine!”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think you would skip SLEEPING, Kaz! It’s not exactly relaxing if you don’t even sleep the day off!”

Sato crossed her arms, turning to Mahiru with a fiery expression.

“Mahiru! We’re leaving for the second island.”

With a huff, Sato turned on her heel and headed out of the dining hall. Mahiru let out a sigh as she turned to everyone else.

“Okay… I should probably go after her. Sorry bout this guys, she gets like this when you really piss her off.”

On her way out, she turned to Kazuichi and narrowed her eyes at him.

“And you! What’s wrong with you?! Don’t just go back on your promise like that! It’s a total dick move!”

“Yeah yeah, I got it! Geez, lay off me, will you?”

Mahiru looked like she wanted to say something more to the mechanic, but just groaned and dropped it. She’d deal with him later… Right now, she needed to track down Sato.

“W-Wait! Big Sis, wait up!”

Hiyoko quickly finished her breakfast and began dashing to catch up with Mahiru. Natsumi sighed, getting up and shrugging her shoulders.

“Alright, I guess we’re all going to the second island now… Hey, Kazuichi?”

Kazuichi turned to Natsumi with an eyebrow raised.

“...You fucked up, bro.”

And with that Natsumi was gone. Kazuichi let out a sigh as she left, though Hajime patting him on the back made him feel a tiny bit better.

“Oh, we’re leaving? Alright… I should probably catch up.”

Without even looking up from her Game Girl, Chiaki stood up and began walking out of the door. Not before slamming into a wall first, of course.

She didn’t even register it… Does that girl feel pain? Actually, how long has she been there? She hadn’t said a word before she left…

Hajime shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to worry about that. Right now, he needed to cheer up his soul brother. It was just him, Kaz, and Fuyuhiko. Fuyuhiko actually ended up being the one to speak up first.

“...Dude, you mind explaining what that shitshow was all about?”

Kazuichi let out a sigh as he turned to the other two guys.

“Yeah… So, yesterday was actually the first time Sato and I actually like… talked, y’know? And we were actually hitting it off a little bit. I’m not even sure why she approached me in the first place, honestly… But anyways. I was working on getting past the monopad security so I could work on something that Twogami commissioned from me, but I’d been working so hard that Sato told me to take a break.”

Hajime nodded his head. Alright, that made sense… Kazuichi had a tendency to overwork himself, so having someone to tell him to take a break was probably a good thing. Still, there must be more to the story if Sato got that pissed at him…

“So… Lemme guess. You didn’t take a break, did you?”

Kazuichi sighed and scratched his cheek.

“Well, I did… For a bit. Sato invited me over to the Auxiliary Course’s hotel and we watched a movie with… the Warriors of Hope? I think that’s what it’s called. It was a kids movie, but it was still pretty fun.”

Fuyuhiko and Hajime both exchanged a look. That… was a bit of context that they probably should’ve gotten last night.

“But… Once the movie was over and I went back to the hotel, I couldn’t sleep, man… And whenever I can’t sleep, I get rid of all my excess energy by tinkering with stuff! Can you really blame me for doing that?!”

Hajime and Fuyuhiko just deadpanned at the mechanic. Was this dude serious…?

“...What?”

“Dude, if you only fuckin did it cause you couldn’t sleep, why didn’t you just fucking tell her that?!”

Kaz took a step back.

“Dude, did you see how pissed she was?! She was gonna tear my head off if I said something like that!”

Hajime sighed and crossed his arms. He couldn’t exactly blame him for thinking like that… He knew that when he met Mahiru for the first time he thought the same thing.

“Look, Sato and Mahiru might be strict, but they’re not ruthless. If you have a good reason for doing something, they’ll usually back off, ESPECIALLY if said thing happens to benefit all of us on the island.”

Kazuichi chuckled, crossing his arms and smirking at Hajime as he said.

“Yeah, you’d know all about that, wouldn’t you? I’m sure you have a lot of experience with Mahiru!”

Hajime just rolled his eyes.

“Dude, don’t even start with that.”

Kazuichi chuckled a bit at his friend’s reaction before awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. He still had a lot to do, after all.

“Anyways, uh… I should probably go and apologize to her, huh?”

Fuyuhiko crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Kazuichi.

“Uh, yeah, you’re damn right you should. She was hella fucking pissed at you, dude.”

Hajime nodded his head, standing up and stretching a bit before turning to the entrance to the dining hall.

“Honestly, we should all probably get a move on. We need to explore the second island anyways, yeah? We should try and catch up with the rest of them.”

All three guys nodded as they proceeded to exit the dining hall. Kazuichi just hoped that Sato wouldn’t be too pissed at him when he met up with her again.

----

“Good morning, everyone. I have called this meeting to discuss our plan of attack for the conquering of island number two.”

Gundham made his announcement to the table. The table was… much smaller than it usually was. Other than himself, there was only Sonia, Himiko, Tenko, and Tsumugi. Kotoko was with Komaru, Kazuichi left with Hajime and Co, Gozu was sitting with the faculty, and Hifumi was nowhere to be seen. Thus, only the 5 of them were left. Himiko lowered her hat over her face.

“Nyeh… Our party’s basically been cut in half…”

Tenko laughed, a hand in front of her face as she did.

“Personally, I think the party is much improved this way! Only one degenerate male amongst our ra-”

Tenko froze before she could even finish that sentence, with Sonia giving her a dirty glare.

“...N-Never mind…”

Sonia sighed and turned to the side. It was true, though… their party had been reduced quite a bit for the time being. Many of the others had chosen other parties to travel with, and it left the rest in a bit of a precarious position.

“Still, it is quite concerning that our party is so low in numbers… Gundham, do you have a solution prepared for us?”

Gundham cackled under his breath.

“Have no fear, Dark Queen. I have spoken with all of those who are absent personally, and I can confirm that they have not left our ranks. They are merely… doing side quests on the side while preparing for the main mission.”

Tsumugi nodded her head.

“That’s good… I was worried that our party was going to be disbanded soon with how things were going… I’m glad it’s all working out!”

Gundham shook his head.

“Fiend… The party shall never be disbanded! I give you my word as Gundham Tanaka! So long as I am the leader of this party, we shall survive and thrive!”

Sonia lit up, clapping her hands together at the small speech.

“Wow, Gundham! How inspirational! I, too, will continue to grant you my magical powers! In the name of Sonia Nevermind, I pledge my powers to you!”

“Hmph. As a disciple of and future successor to Gundham Tanaka, I will continue to learn under you as Himiko Yumeno!”

“I shall continue to do my best! Um… Tsumugi Shirogane?”

“Hah! I will always be here to protect Himiko! Oh, and the rest of you, too.”

Gundham smiled. It was good to see morale was as high as ever, even if it had been a while since they all met up like this.

“Excellent news… Now, shall we begin our assault on the second island?”

A cheer rang out through the group as they all began to get up and leave.

“HOOOOLD IT! You have forgotten the GRRRREAT GOZU!”

Gozu barreled towards their table from the faculty table, flexing his muscles and puffing air out of his nose. Tenko instantly got into a defensive stance, but the others all smiled at the presence of their previous chaperone.

“It would be foolish to attack the island as you are. However! I, the Great Gozu, am here to assist you! Now let us be on our way!”

“Ah, Mr Gozu! It’s so good to see that you’ve joined us! Yes, let’s be on our way!”

And with that, the group began following Sonia to the second island.

---

With Gozu dashing off to hang out with his wizard group, Juzo merely let out a sigh. He turned to Gonta with a serious expression.

“Hey, kid. You don’t have a group to explore the second island with, do you?”

Gonta shook his head.

“No sir! Gonta no have a group to explore with. Was going to explore all by self!”

Juzo nodded his head. Yeah, that checks out. He started looking around the dining hall to see if there was a group that was small enough for him to dump him off on. Frankly, by this point, pretty much everyone had already cleared out of the building… except for one small group. Shuichi, Kaede, and Kaito were all still finishing up their breakfast. A smile crept up onto the boxer’s face as he pointed towards them.

“Hey, Gonta… Why not go and travel with Shuichi and the rest of those guys? I’m sure they’d like to learn more about one of their classmates.”

Gonta tilted his head. It sounded like a good idea, but Gonta had no idea how they would react to him asking.

“Well… Gonta is not so sure…”

Juzo walked over and pat Gonta on the back.

“C’mon buddy, I’m sure it’ll go great! You just need to go over and ask them.”

“Exactly! And don’t worry, we’ll be there to support you!”

Juzo froze as who else but Chisa and Kyosuke walked over to their table. Oh no, what were they doing here?!

“Huh? Chisa?!”

“We’re going to go explore the island with him, isn’t that RIGHT Juzo?!”

Chisa glared knives at Juzo, causing him to grimace and shrink into himself ever so slightly. He turned to Kyosuke, who just shook his head at the boxer. Juzo let out a sigh and turned to Gonta again.

“Alright… Yeah, we’ll go with you, kid. Let’s go.”

Gonta smiled, nodding his head as he began walking over to Shuichi’s table with the three faculty members behind him.

“Hello friends! Gonta wanted to know if it okay for Gonta and friends to travel with you!”

Shuichi looked up from his food, softly smiling and nodding his head. Honestly, he had been wanting to get to know Gonta better, and this was the perfect chance to do that!

“Of course, Gonta! You’re welcome to travel with us!”

Kaito got out of his seat, making a fist with his hand and putting on a wide smirk.

“This is great! I was getting a little worried that our group would be too small, but this is perfect!”

Chisa clapped her hands together. It was great that Juzo recommended these three for Gonta to travel with, they were so nice!

“You guys are gonna do great! And don’t forget, we’re gonna be coming with you!”

The kids were… decidedly less enthused with this development if the silence over the group was anything to go by, but they all accepted it.

“Alright, that’s cool and all… But basically everyone else has already left. We should probably get a move on…”

Shuichi nodded his head at Kaede’s comment, turning to the door and leading the way as everyone followed behind him. Juzo grumbled under his breath. How did he get stuck in this situation?!

---

“Mr. Makoto, are we there yet? We’ve been walking for a while!”

Makoto pulled out his monopad, taking a look at the map as he did. According to the map, there was something pretty close to here. He couldn’t see it yet, but…

“Oh! Actually, Jataro… Looks like we’re already here.”

The group of 10 came to a stop as they looked up at the building. It seemed… pretty basic, all things considered. But considering what Makoto’s lab looked like, that usually meant it hid something important. As Makoto approached the building and read the plaque on the door.

Writing Studios: Hifumi and Toko’s Ultimate Lab

As Makoto read that out, Toko seemed to perk up.

“W-Wait, this is m-my Ultimate Lab…?”

Komaru smiled, clapping her hands together as she turned to her friend.

“Wow, Toko, that’s great! I’m sure this’ll give you everything you need to write some amazing stories!”

Toko smiled softly and tapped the tip of her fingers together. Admittedly, she had quite a bit of inspiration to write recently, and having her own Ultimate Lab would allow her to write quite a bit. Still, she was held back by one thing.

“Y-Yeah, but… Wh-Why do I have to sh-share it with… him...”

Monaca smirked as she rode up to Toko.

“Oooo! Does Miss Toko not like Hifumi? Not surprising!”

Kotoko huffed and crossed her arms.

“Monaca! Do not disrespect Hifumi like that! He is the tank in the party of the Hope’s Peak Defenders, and I ask that you respect his role in our society!”

Nagisa sighed, walking up to Kotoko with a skeptical look on his face.

“Kotoko, what exactly has Hifumi defended us from so far? All I’ve ever seen him do is scream and talk about how he’s the ‘Alpha and Omega’ or whatever…”

Masaru noticed that Nagisa was about to do something stupid again, so before he allowed that conversation to continue any longer, he scratched the bottom of his nose and motioned to the front entrance.

“Hey, I’m sure talking smack about other people behind their back is fun and all, but… Shouldn’t we actually take a look at the Ultimate Lab? That’s… kinda why we’re here.”

Leon groaned and scratched the back of his.

“You guys can go ahead… A whole Ultimate Lab for writing stuff? I think I’d rather practice baseball for 10 hours straight than spend a minute in there.”

Kanon gave Leon an elbow in the ribs, glaring at him as she began walking to the lab.

“I’m gonna make you run sprints if you don’t get your ass in the building!”

“Y-Yes ma’am!”

Everyone let out a bit of a laugh as Leon began running to the door. Except for Makoto, who merely just smiled. It was… good that those two were back on speaking terms. He was expecting the immediate after effects to be super awkward, but they actually came back together pretty quickly. Even if Kanon’s “manager” mode is… pretty scary.

“Oi! He’s not the only one I’m gonna have run sprints if you guys keep messing around out here! Come on, we don’t have all day!”

“Silly Kanon, Monaca can’t run! You can’t make her run sprints even if you tried!”

Kanon glared at Monaca.

“Don’t be a smartass with me! Get your ass moving!”

Monaca flinched, quickly nodding her head and moving her wheelchair towards the door. Geez, Kanon can be scary…

----

Once Team Makoto had entered the building, Toko was instantly taken aback by just how BIG this place was. There was… so much material here. A seemingly endless supply of paper, reference material everywhere, multiple rooms that seemed to be solitary writing spaces… This place had it all.

“Ah, I see that my greatest rival has finally arrived!”

Everyone turned to see that Hifumi had already investigated the building. Well, they assumed that he had based on the wide smile on his face.

“Y-You… Y-You b-better not have m-messed anything up!”

Hifumi clicked his tongue and waved his finger.

“Toko, Toko… We both share this lab, do we not? Have no fear, I wouldn’t think about damaging a single part of this wonderful place. Just look around! It’s a writer’s paradise! Never again will I be hindered by writer’s block or lack of inspiration!”

Hifumi let out a scream.

“HYAAAAAAAAAA! I CAN FEEL MYSELF POWERING UP!”

Leon let out a scream of shock, pointing at Hifumi with faux fear.

“GYAAA! HE’S ABOUT TO GO SUPER NERD!”

Kotoko gasped, her face lighting up at the display. Seemed like someone was enjoying the display, at least…

“Ah! Hifumi, you’re achieving your true form! Yes, this is truly wonderful! I am most certain that you will be able to accomplish great things from this moment onwards!”

Kanon covered her ears.

“God, you people are loud! Quiet down, will you?!”

Makoto chuckled at the display, but as he continued looking around… There was one door that seemed different from the others. It was old, broken down, and seemingly unused for a long time… Hell, it had cobwebs covering it. What was this door all about? As he began walking towards it, Komaru took notice and followed him.

“Makoto? Hey, what’s up?”

“Look at this door, Komaru. What do you think this is all about?”

As Komaru took a look at it, her mouth opened in awe at what she was looking at. This wasn’t normal, right? Just having a door that seems creepy and completely unused.

“Woah… Okay, I see what you mean now.”

“Right? What d’you think it is?”

Komaru shrugged her shoulders.

“I dunno. Why don’t we find out?”

Komaru reached for the doorknob and tried to turn it… With no luck.

“Huh? The door’s locked.”

Makoto was starting to get even more confused. What was this place?! He knew it must be something like his own ultimate lab, but… for the life of him, he couldn’t understand why something like that was HERE.

“Well… I guess we’ll have to come back another time. Maybe we can ask Usami?”

Komaru shrugged her shoulders. As much as she wanted to know what it is, it was also Toko’s Ultimate lab. Best not to pry if it happens to be something private.

“Eh, I think we should just leave it be. After all, it’s her lab. Last I remember, you certainly kept your secrets when you found something weird in your own lab, Makoto!”

Makoto awkwardly chuckled. True, she had a point there…

“Alright, alright… We’ll leave it alone for now.”

“I AM GOING TO BE THE KING OF THIS ARCHIPELAGO! GRAAAAAAAAAAH!”

“AAAAA! HE’S GOING SUPER NERD 2!”

“LEON I AM GOING TO RIP OUT YOUR TONGUE!”

Makoto let out a sigh as he heard what was going on.

“We should probably go back to make sure they don’t tear this place down…”

Komaru nodded her head as the two siblings went back to check on the rest of their group.

----

“Sato, hey, wait up!”

Sato turned around to see Mahiru finally catching up to her. She let out a breath as her close friend began walking shoulder to shoulder with her.

“Oh, Mahiru. Hey.”

Mahiru gave her friend a smile, but quickly sighed and hardened her expression.

“Listen… I know what happened there was-”

“Sh… Mahiru, I know what you’re gonna say, and I really don’t wanna hear it. Not right now.”

Mahiru balked at Sato’s words, but decided it would be best to keep her mouth shut. Maybe Sato just wanted to talk right now?

Sure enough, Sato let out a sigh and crossed her arms.

“I just… You were 100% right about him. He’s totally immature! He doesn’t care what other people say about him, and he doesn’t even care about himself! He promised me he would take a break, Mahiru.”

Mahiru frowned and nodded her head. It was true… She was watching their entire conversation, and Kazuichi just let that out.

“I know he’s just trying to get something done, but it sucks that he’s so self destructive! Like seriously, is it so hard to just stop working on something and GET SOME SLEEP?!”

Mahiru giggled a little bit at Sato’s reaction.

“What?”

“Y’know, Sato… I didn’t think you’d start caring about him so quickly. It’s only been a day!”

Sato crossed her arms and scowled. True, it was pretty fast… But still!

“I mean, I guess… But he’s like… my only friend outside of you. It’d be kinda messed up if I didn’t care about him, right? Like, I just wanna make sure he’s taking care of himself. If he’s gonna complain to me about how tired he is all the time, the least he could do is take steps to make it so he’s not!”

Mahiru nodded her head. Yup, that definitely sounded like Kazuichi, unfortunate as it may be…

“I agree. Still, I can understand where Kazuichi is coming from, too… I think he really just wants to feel important, and he feels like whatever he’s working on will be super helpful to a lot of people. That doesn’t excuse his behavior, of course, but at least I can understand where he’s coming from.”

Sato nodded her head. That… was true. She knew Kaz had the best of intentions. He just wants to help everybody out, right? But still! It’s not like the monopads were going anywhere any time soon! He could’ve done it later and nothing would’ve changed!

“Yeah, I get it…”

“Geez, catching up to you two was way harder than it should’ve been…”

Mahiru and Sato turned around to see Hiyoko leading Natsumi and Chiaki over to them. Mahiru smiled and waved at her friend.

“Hi, Hiyoko! Sorry for leaving like that.”

Natsumi huffed and crossed her arms.

“Yeah, you should be! I thought we were gonna all explore together?”

Sato rolled her eyes. Classic Natsumi, complaining about anything and everything…

“We are. Not my fault it took you a while to get out of your own damn chair.”

“The fuck did you just say to me?!”

Before the two could do anything more, Mahiru stepped between the two of them with an annoyed expression.

“God, not again, guys… You were making good progress! Why ruin all of that now?!”

Sato grit her teeth, letting out a sigh as she turned away from Natsumi.

“Sorry, I just… I’ve been a bit stressed lately.”

Natsumi raised an eyebrow at her.

“Yeah, clearly. Is this about the dumbass mechanic?”

Sato glared at the yakuza girl, but quickly turned away from her.

“...Yeah, him. I’m just a bit pissed off at him, is all.”

Chiaki tilted her head. Seems like something must’ve happened while she wasn’t paying attention.

“Hm? Oh, you mean Kazuichi. Well, he’s gonna be traveling with us, so you’ll have a chance to talk it out… I think.”

Sato frowned. Did she want to talk it out? Well, not really, but… Well, it’d probably be best if she did.

“Hey guys… Sorry we’re late. We just had some… things to talk out.”

Speak of the devil, here comes the triad themselves. Kazuichi himself looked incredibly awkward and seemed to be avoiding Sato’s gaze. Mahiru ran over to Hajime, tugging on his arm.

“Hey Hajime, we should probably get a move on, right? Yeah, let’s go. Now.”

Hajime gave her a weird look. What was with the rush all of a sudden?

“Huh? Mahiru, what-”

“I said, we need to leave. Now.”

Hajime flinched at her tone of voice. He nodded his head once he realized what she was getting at, turning to Fuyuhiko.

“Y-Yeah! Fuyuhiko, I think it’s time to leave!”

The yakuza nodded his head, passing the message on to everyone as they all left the scene to explore the second island. Well, everyone except for Kazuichi and Sato, that is.

“...They totally just ditched us, didn’t they?”

Kazuichi chuckled, rubbing the back of his head as he wore an awkward smile on his face.

“Hah… Yeah, I guess they did.”

Sato frowned. Great going, Mahiru… Forcing her to talk it out, even if she wasn’t ready. This was just perfect.

“Um… So, listen… I…”

Sato tilted her head as she waited for Kaz to finish what he was saying. The mechanic sighed, an uncharacteristically serious expression on his face as he spoke.

“...I’m sorry. I know you were just looking out for my well being, and I just… ignored you. That was kind of a jerk move, huh?”

Sato’s expression softened. This guy…

“No, it’s… I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have blown up at you. I know you’re just trying to contribute what you can to the island, and I diminished your efforts.”

Kaz scratched the side of his cheek. He wasn’t expecting that kind of response… But he certainly wasn’t complaining.

“I-I guess… It’s just, whenever I can’t sleep, I usually tinker with stuff to try and get rid of my energy. Since I was in the middle of a project, I figured I would keep working on it, and somehow I managed to make a breakthrough. I really didn’t mean to go against the promise.”

Sato frowned. It was something he did when he couldn’t sleep? Well that changed things quite a bit!

“Kaz! Why didn’t you say that in the first place? I’m not gonna knock you just cause you were doing something when you couldn’t sleep!”

Kazuichi just awkwardly chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Oops…”

Sato groaned and shook her head.

“You dunce… Whatever. We should probably head out. The others are gonna be way ahead of us if we wait any longer.”

Kaz nodded his head, walking behind Sato as they went to join with the rest of the group. At the very least, he was happy that he made up with Sato so quickly. He certainly didn’t want to have her being pissed at him all the time. Mostly cause she could be really scary…

“Kaz, you better not be thinking about something stupid.”

“I-I’m not! Honest!”

She must never know…

----

Mukuro, Peko, and Kirumi had arrived in front of the building they were looking for… Maki’s Ultimate Lab. What they weren’t expecting was that Ryoma Hoshi was in front of Maki’s Ultimate Lab.

“Hm? Oh, you guys. Maybe you all will have a better chance at getting through to her than I will…”

Mukuro tilted her head in surprise. Getting through to her? What did that mean? She approached the door, and much like she expected, it was locked.

“Go away. I refuse to let anyone in here.”

The voice of Maki came out through the other side. Mukuro took a step back, scratching her chin as she thought about it. If she had to take a guess, her original guess was most likely correct… The identity of Maki’s actual talent must be inside.

“Maki, it’s us: Mukuro and Peko. We’ve been looking for you for a while.”

“Alright, you’ve found me and I’m okay. Now please leave.”

Peko frowned, walking forward to add herself to the conversation.

“Is that any way to speak to a friend…? Maki, we just want to talk with you. We know this must be stressful, but…”

“I will not talk about this with anyone.”

Kirumi frowned, crossing her arms as she approached the door.

“Maki, you are merely making yourself more suspicious by refusing us entry. Surely whatever your secret is cannot be worth locking yourself up in your Ultimate Lab.”

“I do not care if I’m seen as suspicious, I absolutely cannot allow anyone to enter this building. Think of me what you will, but that is my decision.”

Ryoma let out a sigh. He lowered his beanie over his eyes slightly before beginning to speak.

“Maki… Listen. I think all of us here have a bit of an inkling over why you’re hiding your talent… Based on your words and actions, it seems pretty obvious.”

A pregnant pause mired itself over the group before Ryoma continued.

“It’s likely that your talent involves… killing. And while I’m not here to downplay what that means… All of us here are killers. We’ve killed people in cold blood, and I don’t think I can even say that any of us regret it, either.”

Mukuro awkwardly rubbed her arm while Peko closed her eyes and turned away. Sure enough, neither of them could deny it.

“So please… Whatever your talent is, we’ll understand. Just let us in.”

The area was silent for a bit until Maki finally opened the door a crack. There were bags under her eyes, as if she hadn’t gotten a bit of rest in a while.

“Fine… I’ll let you guys in. But promise me that you will not tell a SOUL about this. Promise me that much.”

Kirumi nodded, a smile on her face as she addressed Maki.

“Of course, Ms. Harukawa. Your secret is safe with me.”

The other three nodded in agreement. Once she had that confirmation, she opened the door fully, motioning for them to come in. Once they did…

…Everything made sense.

The entire lab was filled with the most violent equipment you could find anywhere. Weapons, torture equipment, poisons, you name it. Mukuro’s expression darkened as she saw everything.

“...Just as I thought. Child Caretaker? Don’t make me laugh.”

Peko let out a giggle at Mukuro’s comment.

“She has a point, Maki… Surely you could’ve come up with something a little more believable.”

Maki rolled her eyes. Glad to know her friends were treating this as some sort of joke. Some real great friends she managed to make, huh?

“It wasn’t a talent I chose myself. The school itself gave me this talent in order to cover up my true talent. I told them it was ridiculous, but they were adamant that it would be a good defense.”

Maki let out a sigh. She turned to the other 4 students in the lab with a serious expression.

“I suppose there’s nothing left to hide. The truth is… I’m the Ultimate Assassin.”

Literally not a single person in the room was surprised about that. In fact, Peko turned to Mukuro with a smug smile and extended a hand.

“Mukuro, I believe you owe me 10 monocoins.”

Mukuro groaned, fishing 10 coins out of her pocket and placing them in Peko’s hand. Maki, on the other hand, merely just watched this exchange with shock.

“...What? Did you two bet on what my talent was?”

Peko smirked as she stuffed the coins in her pocket.

“Yes, we did. And it seems like I was correct this time around.”

Mukuro crossed her arms and grumbled under her breath.

“I thought you would be the Ultimate Bodyguard…”

Maki could feel her eye begin to twitch as she listened to these two talk. These two weren’t taking it seriously at all! This secret that she had been guarding for her entire time here was… It meant nothing to them!

“Maki, if I may…”

Maki turned to Kirumi with a bit of an annoyed expression.

“I believe the reason Mukuro and Peko are not taking it seriously is that they know you. It was pretty obvious that your talent wasn’t related to child care taking, and it was something a bit more… violent.”

Mukuro nodded her head.

“I mean, Peko and I accepted you pretty quickly cause we felt you were pretty similar to us… Guess we were right on the money.”

Maki let out a sigh. That somewhat made sense, even if she still wasn’t happy about it.

“Fine. But still, do NOT tell anyone about this. You guys might not care, but I know there are plenty of people on this island who do. I can guarantee you that their reaction won’t be the same.”

Ryoma nodded his head, lowering his beanie over his face as he headed for the door.

“My lips are sealed. Anyways, I’m gonna go explore the rest of this island if any of you wanna join me.”

The four girls nodded and began heading out of the lab. However, as they did, a strange thought popped into Mukuro’s mind.

Wait… Why didn’t Kirumi say anything when Ryoma said that all of us have killed someone before?

---

Hajime crossed his arms in annoyance. The literal MOMENT that he stepped into the music venue that served as Ibuki and Sayaka’s Ultimate Lab, who else would he see but Koichi Kizakura, black out drunk at the bar. Typical.

Mahiru’s nose scrunched up as she saw him knocked out over the bar. Seems like her reaction was even more extreme than Hajime’s.

“Ugh, are you serious?! He’s completely black out drunk! Isn’t he supposed to be part of the faculty?!”

Hiyoko scoffed, turning to the side with her typical mischievous grin.

“Tch, when is he NOT drunk? He’s probably only got his job cause of connections, and abuses that fact so he can stay drunk on the job.”

Chiaki frowned. She was pretty used to Hiyoko’s insults, but that one was a bit too far.

“Hey, Hiyoko… That’s a little too far. He’s the one who scouted us, right? I think we owe him at least a little bit of respect… I think.”

Everyone there, which had recently included Kazuichi and Sato, began shifting awkwardly. That much was true. In a way, all of them owed their spot at Hope’s Peak to Koichi in one way or another. So… Maybe Chiaki had a point.

However, that didn’t stop Hajime from scowling at the man. For one, he didn’t even remember getting an invitation because of his lack of memories, so he didn’t much care about that. Secondly, he was gonna wake this man up right now. He began heading behind the bar to start making something.

“Eh? Hajime, what do you think you’re doing man? We’re not old enough to be back there!”

“It’s fine, Kazuichi! I’m making something non alcoholic.”

Fuyuhiko narrowed his eyes at Hajime.

“I don’t think that’s what he means, man!”

Hajime decided to ignore him. For some reason, as soon as he stepped behind the bar, he felt… incredibly comfortable. Like this was where he was meant to be. His sight and motions felt… sharper. Smoother. It was a strange feeling, but not necessarily a bad one.

Regardless, it was time for work. Hajime gathered all the ingredients he would need for this drink. The idea was to make a high sugar drink that would energize Koichi and wake him up.

A Fluffy Dream with some vitamins extracted from vegetables… That should be enough to wake him up.

He grabbed a bottle of aged Adelhyde and poured an ounce and a half into his jigger, flicking his index to transition the liquid into the shaker. He grabbed the Powdered Delta, scooping three teaspoons into the cup to balance out the sweetness of the drink. He was mad at Koichi, but he wasn’t a maniac. He closed off the shaker by pouring the liquid into the bigger cup and locking them together.

Hajime then began shaking the drink up at a speed that was surprising for all who watched. Fuyuhiko and Natsumi were frankly blown away at what Hajime was doing. Since when has he been able to mix drinks? He was in high school! Regardless of this, he continued shaking at a very quick speed. Once he felt he had shaked it enough, he stopped on a dime and smacked the shaker to release the pressure build up. A cold hiss rang out and the light green liquid filtered into a funnel connected to a metallic bottle. He grabbed the crushed vitamins and began sprinkling them into the drink through the funnel. Once all the vitamins were in, he poured the liquid into a cup and moved to Koichi.

“Alright old man, drink up.”

Hajime slowly poured the drink into Koichi’s mouth, and in a matter of moments, the scout’s eyes shot open and he jumped up.

“Gah! Hoooly shit!”

Koichi stepped backwards, looking around as if he didn’t know where he was. Once he remembered, he let out a sigh.

“Oh, right… I must’ve blacked out from drinking too much, huh? I feel a lot better than I usually do, though.”

Hajime frowned, crossing his arm and tapping his foot on the ground as he glared at the scout.

“Well good morning. You have fun at the bar?”

Koichi just looked at Hajime, chuckling under his breath as he saw Hajime.

“Oh… Hajime. Yeah, I guess you could say that… Were you the one who woke me up?”

Hajime nodded his head, showing Koichi the cup with the drink that Hajime prepared for him.

“I had to make a special blend that’s focused entirely on energy so that you would get off your ass. Considering you aren’t slumping or anything like that, it’s safe to say that it must’ve worked.”

Koichi chuckled. Hajime was right… He felt better than he had in a long time. Sure, his crippling alcohol addiction might’ve had something to do with that, but even still… He was blackout drunk not even a minute ago, and now here he was… completely awake and with no hangover. That wasn’t something that just happened.

“Kid… Where did you learn to make a drink like that? You woke me up from an alcohol filled stupor and I feel better than I have in years.”

Hajime thought about it for a moment. That… was a good point. Where did he learn to do that…? He tried to wrack his memories for something he could latch onto, even if it was just a hint… But sadly, he couldn’t think of anything.

“I… I’m sorry. I can’t remember anything about it. I just… used my instincts and did what I had to do. Seems like it must be another of my latent talents, huh?”

Koichi chuckled. This kid was really something else. He dominated in basketball, he dominated in video games, and now he was a god of making drinks? Not just making delicious drinks, but drinks that could quite literally heal a person. Just what was this kid’s ultimate talent? More importantly, is this kid real? No one person can be this talented, right?

“Heh, maybe you’re the Ultimate Bartender. Wouldn’t that be a kicker?”

Hajime frowned and looked down at the ground. Sure, what he did just now was… pretty impressive. Even had to admit that. But even still, it was just too WEIRD that he didn’t remember anything about his talent upon doing this… All he remembered was how to do it. So why didn’t he remember anything about how he learned it?

“I… Maybe. I just… Wouldn’t I remember how I learned this if it were my talent? It’s the same feeling I had for basketball and video games. As talented as I feel, I don’t remember anything about it. That’s too weird for me to ignore.”

Koichi huffed, lowering his hat ever so slightly as he turned to the music stage. Sure enough, the rest of Hajime’s group was already beginning to explore it. Hiyoko had discovered the special effects, and was beginning to mess with Mikan with them. Koichi… wasn’t sure when Mikan got here, especially since he didn’t see her when he just woke up. Where did she come from?! Ah, whatever…

“Kid, it was just a joke. You need to stop worrying about these things so much.”

Hajime frowned. Of course he would say something like that. After all, it wasn’t talent that defined HIS life.

“I can’t just ignore what my talent is, Koichi. You don’t think it’s even a little strange that I still don’t know what my talent is?”

Koichi shrugged.

“Maybe. Maybe not. Who’s to say? Though I’ve got a better question for you, kid. Who cares?”

Hajime balked at Koichi’s question.

“What?”

“I mean it. Who cares? You’re here, and you’re plenty talented on your own. Even if you don’t have a title to go along with it, does it matter? People like you and care about you. You’ve got a solid friend group of people that want you to succeed. You’ve got people giving you opportunities for the future. When you’ve got all this going for you, does it really matter what title Hope’s Peak gave you?”

Hajime was silent. When Koichi laid it all out like that…

“...It’s pointless, right? That’s what you’re thinking?”

Hajime was shocked to hear Koichi say that.

“H-Huh? How did you-”

“Because I’ve been where you are, kid. Thinking that talent is everything. Lemme tell ya… Talent isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

Koichi turned to Hajime with an uncharacteristically stern expression.

“I’ve been scouting for Hope’s Peak for over 10 years now… Not once did I see a person who was happier with their life solely because they had a talent. Talent isn’t what makes a person, Hajime… It’s what you do with your life.”

Koichi tipped his hat to Hajime as he began heading for the entrance of the music venue.

“Alright, I’m done talking. I’ll leave you with one more thing… I think it’s time you start thinking about what’s really important in life.”

And with that, Koichi had left the music venue.

Hajime had a lot to think about.

Chapter Text

“Let’s see… If the map is to be believed, then the next undiscovered location is… Aha!”

Chisa clapped her hands together as the group arrived at a decently large building. If the two massive magnifying glasses were anything to go by, this was most certainly a detective agency of some kind. Usami wasn’t exactly much for subtlety, was she?

Shuichi sighed at the sight of it. Most people on the island would be ecstatic at the sign of their ultimate lab, but Shuichi just… wasn’t. He wasn’t even sure what about it made him annoyed, but he just had a feeling of dread enter his body upon seeing it. Kaede and Kaito, on the other hand, had the opposite reaction.

“Shuichi, look! It’s your Ultimate Lab! Oh man, this is gonna be so great! We’re finally gonna be able to see you at your peak!”

Kaito walked up to Shuichi, smiling widely and smacking him on the back. Shuichi stumbled forward a bit at the force of the slap, earning Kaito a very slight glare.

“Atta boy! I’m really happy for you, Sidekick! I just know that the Ultimate Elite Task Force is gonna make even more progress with you having the proper resources!”

Kyosuke raised an eyebrow at the comment. Ultimate Elite Task Force? Aside from the completely inane name, he had to at least assume it was some sort of student gathering. Why was he not informed of this?

“Excuse me? What is this… Ultimate Elite Task Force you’re talking about? I don’t remember receiving an invitation to such a group. Perhaps it got lost in the mail, hm?”

Kaito froze up, turning back to Kyosuke with a guilty smile. Now how was he going to get out of this predicament?

“O-Oh! D-Don’t worry, Kyosuke! It’s just uh… Like the student council! Yeah, exactly!”

Kyosuke’s eyes narrowed. For some reason, he wasn’t exactly buying it.

“A student council that you set up by yourselves? Well, I would know all about being a president of a student council. Tell me, what powers do you have? Do you have any executive power in the school? Hm?”

Kaito started shrinking in on himself as Kyosuke glared at him. Something about Kyosuke just made Kaito nervous… Perhaps it was that massive sword that he always carried around. Most certainly that was a factor, but it was also his general demeanor and the way he carries himself. He just acts like he’s the ultimate authority wherever he goes.

“Ah, well… Okay, alright. I’ll tell the truth.”

Kaito sighed, scratching the back of his neck as he turned to Kyosuke, Juzo, and Chisa. He was gonna have to do this at some point.

“Around the beginning of us being on the island, I organized a task force of all the students who could help us with day to day tasks, as well as the bigger picture of escaping the island. We figured that since you all wouldn’t be able to do things yourself, we would have some organization amongst the students to allow you all to take some breaks.”

Kyosuke nodded his head. Admittedly, this was far beyond what he initially expected from the group with a name like that. Even still, the fact that they were trying to do it without the faculty was foolish and counterproductive. If their goal was to support the faculty, then they should’ve coordinated with them.

“While I respect your idea, the execution was sloppy. If you wanted to help out the faculty, then you should’ve coordinated with us in order to maximize efficiency. As is, we’re wasting everyone’s time by giving faculty support when they don’t need it.”

Kaito clicked his tongue and turned to the side. Sure, Kyosuke had a point… But did he need to be so blunt about it?!

“Alright, alright… I got the picture. Not like I’m the one calling meetings anymore, anyways…”

Kyosuke once again looked shocked at Kaito’s admission. He wasn’t the one calling meetings? That was… strange.

“Wait a moment. If you’re not the one calling meetings, then who is?”

Kaito chuckled, giving Kyosuke a thumbs up as he explained himself.

“Simple! After the initial meeting, I gave ownership of the Ultimate Elite Task Force to Makoto! Everyone agreed that he would be kind and fair, and we couldn’t think of anyone better to run it!”

“Makoto Naegi…”

Kyosuke looked deep in thought. Makoto wasn’t necessarily his first choice for who should lead a group like that. Surely someone like Byakuya or even Kiyotaka would be better for a leadership role, but even he had to admit that Makoto had quite a few qualities that were beneficial for a leader to have.

Chisa, on the other hand, lit up and clapped her hands together.

“Amazing! Yes, Makoto is a great choice for a leader! I’m sure that he’s going to do great things!”

Gonta smiled and nodded his head.

“I no know what… Ultimate… Elite Task… Force is, but I know that Makoto is good person!”

Kaede smiled and nodded her head. Well, if they were talking about this out in the open, might as well get it all out there.

“Mhm! He was pretty hesitant on accepting the position at first, but after a little bit of convincing, he took the job! We haven’t had many meetings since the first one, though…”

Shuichi sighed and covered his eyes a bit.

“Well, I think that’s mostly cause we haven’t made much progress… I assume he’s going to call a meeting once we all discover more of the second island. After all, this is pretty important stuff.”

Kaede and Kaito both nodded their heads. That certainly made sense, there would be a LOT to go over at the meeting.

“Hey, hold it! What did we just say about making sure we’re involved?!”

Juzo stepped ahead of his two ex-classmates, frowning at the three members of Class 53, before Kyosuke raised a hand to stop him.

“Enough, Juzo. We’ll make sure to make it to the meeting tonight, but for now, we have something more important to do. If you all haven’t forgotten, we’re supposed to be exploring the second island. We can’t do that if we continue squabbling like this amongst ourselves. Now, let us be on our way.”

Kyosuke turned away from the group, arms crossed as he walked towards the Ultimate Lab. Juzo nodded his head, following not far behind his good friend. As the members of Class 53 walked with each other, Chisa went to them and smiled.

“Don’t worry about Kyosuke, guys. He may look tough, but deep down, I know he cares about all of you. He just wants to make sure that everybody is happy and healthy!”

Shuichi chuckled and awkwardly shifted his hat around.

“Heh… Didn’t really seem like it to me. But I suppose you might be right.”

Chisa nodded her head, turning away from the students as they all made it to the lab.

---

“Shuichi Saihara, just the person I wanted to see.”

As the group entered the lab, they were met by Kyoko Kirigiri walking up to Shuichi. Additionally, Rantaro was also looking at some files in the back, and took some time to wave at the newcomers before continuing his work.

“Oh, Kyoko! Um… Good to see you, too. What do you need me for?”

Kyoko gestured to the expansive lobby area of the Ultimate Lab. If anything was related to detective work, it was most likely here. Forensics kits, fingerprints, police tape, you name it. Frankly, Shuichi had never seen such a massive and in-depth concentration of detective equipment before, so he was a little overwhelmed.

“Well, I’m under the assumption that you and I will be sharing this lab, so I assume there might be some… personal belongings here.”

Shuichi raised an eyebrow. Kyoko seemed to pause when she said “personal belongings”... Did she find something important to her here?

“I see… Alright, thanks for the heads up, Kyoko. Do you want to like… establish boundaries for the lab or something like that?”

Surprisingly, Kyoko actually shook her head.

“No, I don’t believe that will be necessary. So long as you don’t get in my way, I won’t get in yours. I believe our partnership will produce some great results, Shuichi. So long as we continue working hard, that is.”

And with that, Kyoko parted away her hair and began rummaging through the files, leaving Shuichi standing there with the rest of his group behind him. Kaede huffed and crossed her arms.

”’So long as you don’t get in my way, I won’t get in yours.’ Geez, who does Kyoko think she is?!”

Kyosuke sighed and turned to the side.

“She’s the Ultimate Detective and the daughter of the headmaster. I think we should give her a little bit of leeway in terms of how she interacts with other people based on how busy she must be.”

Shuichi sighed, turning back to the ground with a… hard to read expression. Regardless, he didn’t seem to be bothered by it too much.

“Guys, it’s fine, don’t worry about it. I don’t really mind.”

Kaito huffed. Seems like everyone else cared about this significantly more than he did…

“Nonsense! I will not allow any such slight against my sidekick! She needs to manage her words better!”

Before this conversation could truly get out of hand, Rantaro walked over and waved at everyone.

“Ah, hello everyone. It’s good to see you’ve all made it here!”

Kaede smiled at Rantaro. It had been a while since she’d seen him! Though, what he was doing snooping around in an ultimate lab that wasn’t his was to be determined.

“Hello, Rantaro! It’s good to see you as well. What brought you here?”

Rantaro shrugged his shoulders.

“Admittedly, I’m mostly just exploring the rest of the islands. I left pretty early this morning, so I’ve seen most of what there is to see. I figured now would be a good time to check in on people and help them out if necessary.”

Rantaro chuckled, turning back to Kyoko with a smile on his face.

“Kyoko over here pulled me away to come and help sort through all the stuff in this place, and I had gotten the feeling she wouldn’t take no for an answer, so I decided to help her out. Can you believe how many documents are in this place?”

Shuichi awkwardly chuckled. He… certainly was not looking forward to going through this himself.

“Yeah, this is gonna be rough to sort out…”

Chisa, who had randomly pulled out a broomstick out of thin air, looked at the Ultimate Lab with sparkling eyes.

“Leave it to me! They didn’t call me the Ultimate Housekeeper for nothing, you know! I’ll have this place cleaned up in 15 minutes, tops!”

Right when Chisa was about to dash into the mix, Shuichi frantically ran in front of her and put his hands up.

“N-No! Chisa, it’s fine! We’re just going through everything that’s in here, we can clean up after ourselves! Besides, I don’t want you to throw out something that could potentially be important!”

Chisa let out a sigh, putting the broomstick away (to where???) and crossing her arms.

“Aw… And I had gotten all pumped up and everything… Oh well.”

Juzo let out a sigh as he watched this display, walking over to the kids in order to give them an explanation.

“With Kirumi around, Chisa hasn’t gotten much of a chance to do any cleaning. Every time she goes to clean something, it seems Kirumi is always there to do it first. She’s been… getting restless.”

Chisa let out a whine and looked up to the ceiling of the lab.

“It’s not fair! That girl is always one step ahead of me! But not anymore! From now on, I’ll be activating my cleaning senses so that I will no longer be beat to the punch! In fact…”

Chisa put two fingers on her temples, closing her eyes and starting to hum a bit. After a while, she pointed to the east.

“There! I’ve sensed it, there’s something that needs to be cleaned! Come on, adventure awaits!”

Chisa grabbed onto Kyosuke and Juzo, dragging the two of them along as she dashed out of the ultimate lab. The Class 53 students just looked on in shock at the display.

“Holy moly! Chisa’s got some serious muscle power if she’s able to do that!”

Kaede smiled, turning to Kaito as he praised her strength.

“Well, at least you’re not trying to praise her ‘Cleaning Senses’.”

“SHE HAS CLEANING SENSES?!”

Shuichi sighed, but despite his seeming lack of interest in the conversation, he couldn’t help but let out a bit of a chuckle. To his side, Rantaro approached him.

“Shuichi, I apologize if I’m intruding, but I would like to accompany you for a bit. We haven’t talked in a while, and I’d like to get out of this stuffy ultimate lab.”

Shuichi smiled and nodded his head. It really had been too long since he was able to talk to Rantaro, hadn’t it?

“Of course! We’d be happy to have you along, Rantaro. Though, ah… We should probably leave now. I have a feeling Kaede and Kaito will drag things along if we don’t get them out of the door.”

Rantaro chuckled and nodded his head. With that, he, Shuichi, and Gonta all headed out with Kaede and Kaito not far behind.

---

“YUTA! YUTA, LOOK! OH MY GOD, IT’S OUR LAB!”

Yuta was snapped out of his daydreaming by his sister pointing to a large building. Sure enough, the olympic symbol for swimming was plastered on it, and Yuta couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Woah! Sis, this is awesome! C’mon, we can’t wait here another second! We’ve gotta see what it’s all about!”

“I’m way ahead of you, lil bro!”

Aoi and Yuta ran ahead of the rest of their group, with Sakura merely chuckling as they did.

“Those two sure are energetic, hm?”

“GAHAHA! It’s always good to see athletes excited to hone their craft! Though, I’m also pretty curious to see what this is all about. The Ultimate Labs have been pretty crazy so far.”

Akane poked at her ear and smiled. Seems like her bad mood from earlier had disappeared. Wonder why that is?

“Honestly, I’m totally down for a swim! There’s no good beaches on the islands we have, so a big ass pool would be awesome!”

Mondo smirked, turning to his bro next to him with a smile.

“Bro, you hear that? We’re getting a big ass swimming pool! This is gonna be amazing!”

Taka laughed, putting his hands out in a dramatic gesture.

“Bro, language! But yes, you are absolutely correct! Do you think they have a luxury hot tub?”

“Bro, I was just thinking the same thing! They’ve definitely got to have one!”

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking, bro?”

“Are you thinking that we should totally go try out the hot tub, bro?”

“Bro! That was totally what I was thinking!”

“Let’s go do it, bro!”

And with that, Mondo and Taka were dashing behind the Asahina siblings in order to reach the Ultimate Lab. A brief moment of silence was broken up by Sakura.

“...I don’t think I’ll ever understand the relationship that those two have.”

Akane just started walking towards the pool with a shrug of her shoulders. To be honest, she really didn’t care about those two at all.

“Meh, I say let em do what they want as long as they’re not being too annoying…”

Chihiro fidgeted a little bit. How was she supposed to say this when everyone else was against it?

“Um… Well… P-Personally, I think their relationship is great!”

The two girls turned back to Chihiro with a raised eyebrow.

“You do?”

“Y-yeah! I think it’s… I think it’s cool for them to be close enough to not be embarrassed to do that in public!”

Nekomaru let out a laugh.

“Hah, you’re right about that! The bond between two bros is something that can never be shattered, not even in the most intense of moments! It’s a wordless pact that two men share, and it’s a pact that deserves respect!”

Akane groaned and rolled her eyes. Some dudes were just obnoxious…

“Whatever you say, Coach. I’m gonna start heading to the pool, if you don’t mind me.”

Sakura nodded her head and began following after Akane. Nekomaru let out a sigh as he walked alongside Chihiro.

“Don’t worry too much about what they say, kid. Everyone’s got different ways of showing their appreciation to others, you just gotta find what works for you. Now c’mon, we don’t wanna keep the rest of them waiting.”

Chihiro nodded her head, picking up the pace a bit as they headed for the pool.

----

The moment that Yuta and Aoi had stepped foot into their Ultimate Lab, they knew they were in heaven. Sitting in front of them was a massive, olympic sized pool separated by lanes. To the side was just about everything you would need to have fun at a pool. Pool tubes, water polo ball and nets, goggles, you name it. However, the thing that really caught Aoi’s attention was the doughnut stand off to the right. How’d they know?!

“Doughnuts!”

Aoi dashed away from her brother, quickly scooping a doughnut up and munching into it. Frankly, it was as if Teruteru made a doughnut. That’s how good it tasted.

“Mmmmnf!~ I can really get addicted to these!”

Yuta chuckled. Same ol’ Aoi… If you were in the way of her and a doughnut, it was likely that you wouldn’t be in the way for very long.

“Aoi, don’t eat too many of those! You’re gonna give yourself stomach cramps!”

Aoi nodded her head, not being able to respond as her face was stuffed full of doughnuts. Yuta just let out a sigh. She was definitely going to feel that later today…

After a bit, Mondo and Taka both entered the building and began admiring the pool.

“Wow, this pool is enormous! I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a pool this large in person!”

Mondo crossed his arms and nodded his head.

“You said it, bro! We could do all kinds of stuff in this place. Didya used to play pool games when you were a kid?”

Taka nodded his head as the two bros began walking forward.

“But of course! Sadly, it seems those days are long gone…”

“Nah, bro! What I’m saying is we could totally get some games going in this place! I mean, that pool is big enough that we could definitely fit a good chunk of the school in here!”

Taka lit up, turning to his bro with a wide smile.

“Bro, you’re so right! We should plan it out right away!”

Once Taka had made his announcement, Akane and Sakura entered the area. Much like Mondo and Taka, they too were impressed by the sheer size of the pool.

“Woah… I’ve seen some pretty big pools, but this one takes the cake.”

“Indeed. I am quite looking forward to using this place for some training.”

Sakura turned to the doughnut stand, and saw that the Asahina siblings had begun walking towards the back of the lab. There were quite a few doors there, but Sakura couldn’t make out what they said.

“We should probably go after Aoi and Yuta. As amazing as the pool is, there is more to discover in this place.”

Mondo, Taka, and Akane all nodded their heads. Once Nekomaru and Chihiro had caught up to them, all of them went to the back area to check things out.

Once they had reached their destination, they saw that there were four doors. They were all labeled as follows: “Sauna” “Hot Tub and Jacuzzi” “Male Locker Rooms” “Female Locker Rooms”.

Mondo and Taka seemed pretty excited about these back rooms. Considering their predictions earlier, it wasn’t exactly surprising.

“Woah, so there is a hot tub here! That’s awesome! We should totally go check it out.”

“I agree! Bro, let us begin our exploration of the hot tub!”

With that, Mondo and Taka both left the scene. Aoi let out a sigh and scratched the back of her head.

“So… Is anyone else starting to get annoyed by their shtick? At first it was weird but endearing… but now? I’m getting a little tired of it.”

Akane sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

“I dunno, I don’t think it’s too bad. Besides, who cares? Don’t you guys see? They’ve got a sauna in here! Yo Coach, you wanna see who can stay in there the longest? I bet you won’t last more than a minute!”

“GYAHAHA! I like the intensity, Akane, but you are not ready to defeat me! I accept your challenge!”

“Alriiiiight! Now that’s what I’m talking about! Coach, I want you to give it everything you’ve got!”

The two of them rushed to their respective locker rooms to get changed. Everyone else remaining couldn’t help but sigh at the display, but especially Yuta.

“Geez… They’re getting more use out of our Ultimate Lab than we are.”

Aoi chuckled, patting her brother on her back a bit to cheer him up.

“Aw, don’t worry about it, lil bro! Just cause people are enjoying it doesn’t mean it’s not ours, it just means that we have even more people to share our excitement with!”

Yuta gave his sister a small smile. That was true, but even still…

“Alright Coach! Ready when you are!”

“I was born ready, Akane! LET’S DO THIIIIS!”

As the two of them ran past Yuta, he just let out another sigh. Here’s hoping this sort of thing wouldn’t be a daily trend…

---

Costume Store

???’s Ultimate Lab
Lab for the Ultimate Imposter

That was the plaque that was staring Twogami in the face at this very moment. It wasn’t so much the plaque, but rather, what it implied.

“Eeeeeh? There’s an Ultimate Imposter on this island? Ibuki had no idea about this!”

Sayaka merely tilted her head in confusion. Someone was acting like another person? That was... A weird thought to think about. After all, no one knew each other before arriving here. How would they even know the difference? Speaking of which, how were they even supposed to know who the imposter was in the first place?

That’s when it hit her. She turned to Twogami, a look of understanding on her face as she began to piece the puzzle together.

I knew it was weird having two Byakuyas, but… One of them being the Ultimate Imposter? That was not what I was expecting… Then again, which one is the real one? Is it this guy, or the one in Class 78?

As Twogami continued staring at the plaque on the door, Nagito and Ryota both awkwardly stood around their friend. (Was Twogami Nagito’s friend? Well… Perhaps.) Ryota himself could see how worried Twogami was based on his facial expression, and… What he felt seeing his friend like this was not a pleasant feeling. He wanted his friend to be happy.

“Um… T-Twogami? Is everything… alright?”

Twogami let out a sigh. Perhaps now was as good a time as ever to tell them the truth… A truth that he had only just now remembered. And what a truth it was…

He turned to the rest of his group and let out a sigh. This… wasn’t going to be easy to explain.

“I… I have a confession to make.”

The entire group seemed to tense up when he said that. It seems like their suspicions were confirmed… Even if it wasn’t one they wanted.

“I am not Byakuya Togami, heir to the Togami Corporation. I am merely his copycat, a person who attempted to wear his clothes and have his identity become my own.”

An uneasy silence floated over the group as they processed this information. Of course, having two Byakuyas in the same place was certainly strange, but the idea that their friend was lying to them about their identity just seemed… Wrong. It seemed so unnatural!

“Gasp! The gavel of confession has swung down, crafting the blade of truth! Ibuki can’t handle this dramatic tension!”

Sayaka sighed, walking over to Twogami with a frown. She couldn’t believe that this guy was just… lying to them the entire time! What possible reason could he have to hide his identity?!

“So you lied about your identity this whole time?! We thought you were our friend. Why did you lie about your identity?!”

Twogami looked to the side, a solemn expression on his face as he closed his eyes. At the very least, they all deserved to know the truth.

“I… Did not know the truth myself. At least, not fully. When I first arrived on this island, I truly believed that I was Byakuya Togami. I looked, acted, and spoke exactly as he would.”

Twogami hesitated, looking down at the ground as he began recalling when things went wrong.

“But once I saw the real Byakuya… I began having my doubts. Doubts about my identity, about who I was… But I did not want to reveal them. We were all in a state of chaos, and I wasn’t one hundred percent sure of my theory either. But now that we have this ultimate lab, I don’t believe it’s up for debate any longer.”

Ryota looked absolutely crestfallen. His friend was… lying to him? He thought he would be more angry with him for this, but… Really, he just felt bad for his friend. What an impossible situation to be put in… Having to question your own identity, living in the shadow of another person… That sounded like hell.

Nagito, on the other hand, was more conflicted. On one hand, he had truly believed that he was discussing all of his personal beliefs with Byakuya Togami. Knowing that that conversation happened with someone else… certainly put a damper on it.

But on the other hand, did it really matter? Whoever this guy was… he challenged his beliefs. He gave him room for doubt in his ideals. And at the end of the day, actions speak louder than words. Even if this guy lied about his identity… That didn’t change who he really was at the end of the day, did it?

“Perhaps so… But I don’t believe it really changes anything, does it?”

Everyone in the group turned towards Nagito, with Twogami looking completely shocked.

“Wh-What? But I… I lied-”

Nagito cut off Twogami with a laugh. He wasn’t going to listen to whatever pointless drivel he was going to say.

“I’ll have to stop you right there… Yes, you may have been lying to us about your identity. Does that really matter? You didn’t do it maliciously. You’ve spent all this time helping us, and you truly acted like a leader when it counted. Even if you are a phony, you’re still my… friend.”

Nagito hesitated when finishing that sentence, but he stated it confidently. He could see Twogami’s mood improve dramatically once Nagito finished speaking, and that made Nagito feel… happy.

“Yes, I suppose that is… true. Even still, that does not excuse what I’ve done. I would like to reveal myself to the rest of the class, and tell them the truth.”

Sayaka huffed and crossed her arms. Even if Nagito had a point, she still wasn’t gonna let this guy off the hook that easily. She wouldn’t press him too hard on it, but still!

“Well, you can start by telling us what your actual name is.”

Twogami flinched. He turned back to the plaque, a hesitant expression as he responded to Sayaka.

“Well… Actually, I was hoping that the plaque would have my name on it. Because… the thing is… I’ve forgotten.”

Ryota’s eyes widened. Forgot his name?! How do you go and do something like that?!

“Y-You forgot y-your own name?! H-How could you do that…?”

The Imposter sighed and turned away from the group.

“I’ve been… impersonating people for so long that I seem to have lost any identity of my own. Everywhere I go, I would always steal someone’s face and borrow their name. My identity was always that of my target. Thus, I seem to have thrown my identity away at some point, if the plaque on this door is anything to go by…”

Sayaka’s expression softened once he heard the Imposter’s story. Well that… certainly changed a few things. Now she felt a little bad about getting mad at him earlier.

Ibuki, however, ran up to the Imposter with a smile on her face.

“Ooo, ooo! If you don’t have a name, does that mean Ibuki can give you one?! How about… Pepelo? Ibuki likes that name! Pepelo-chaaaaan!”

The Imposter blinked. It took him a while for everything to register, but once it did, he began laughing.

“Pepelo, hm? Yes, I believe that is… a good name. I like it.”

Ibuki smiled widely, flashing out a peace sign as she did.

“Wooohoooooo! Welcome to the friend group, Pepelo-chan! Now come on, we’ve wasted enough time out here! Let’s go and see what your Ultimate Lab’s all about!”

Ibuki grabbed onto Pepelo’s arm, quickly opening the door and dragging him into the lab. Sayaka just giggled, a smile on her face as she followed after them.

Ryota, meanwhile, merely just smiled at the scene. She was… happy that the friend who helped him meet other people on the island had finally received his own identity. He couldn’t imagine what it was like to live life without knowing who you are…

“Pepelo, huh? Well… I would’ve given him something a bit more grand. Someone like him deserves it…”

Ryota heard a bit of mumbling to his side, and sure enough, Nagito was looking down at the ground deep in thought.

“W-Well, I think… Pepelo is perfectly good. I l-like it.”

Nagito perked up, turning to Ryota with a smile.

“Ah, Ryota! Sorry, I was merely talking to myself. Please, don’t pay me any mind!”

With that, Nagito began walking into the lab. Ryota, however, was simply confused. Was Nagito close with Pepelo? He was under the assumption that the two of them had really only begun talking today. Did Pepelo’s conversation with Nagito sway him that much?

----

As the group of 5 entered the lab, they were completely blown away by what they saw. It wasn’t anything fancy or something like that… but the sheer scale of it was just insane. Lines and lines of clothes were all across the entire store. Frankly, it was… overwhelming. But that wasn’t even the craziest part. The craziest part was…

“Hey, aren’t… Aren’t these my clothes?!”

Sayaka couldn’t help but be shocked as she saw what could only be described as a larger sized version of her very own clothes. The rest of the group looked on in surprise.

“Woah, they are! Ibuki can’t believe it! Pepelo even has the power to impersonate any of us! Personally, Ibuki thinks that’s pretty sus!”

-----

While Chiaki was investigating the music stage, she suddenly sat up straight and turned towards a random direction. Hajime raised an eyebrow at Chiaki’s strange behavior.

“Um… Chiaki? Everything okay over there?”

Chiaki let out a sigh and continued exploring.

“It’s fine, Hajime. I just felt… a disturbance.”

----

Pepelo backed up a bit, shaking his head with a nervous expression.

“I don’t… think I would be able to get away with that. The only reason my talent works is because people don’t know that I’m there. If you all know my identity and have the knowledge of my existence, I wouldn’t be able to pull it off.”

Pepelo calmed down, crossing his arms and shaking his head.

“Besides, what would I have to gain from that? No, I think I’m done impersonating people. I… I would like to be myself, even if I don’t know who “myself” really is…”

Sayaka frowned. She wanted to believe that, but the fact that he lied about his identity this whole time…

No, I can’t think like that. He’s legitimately just trying to form an identity for himself… Don’t lay it on him.

Sayaka let out a sigh as she put the copy of her clothes down.

“Alright, I believe you. Regardless, if you really want to stop impersonating people, I suggest you get a new set of clothes on. Preferably a set that actually fits you…”

Pepelo chuckled. She definitely had a point… These clothes were most certainly too small for him. Even still, he didn’t believe now was a great time.

“I understand your words… However, I do not believe we have time to pick out a set of clothes. Our goal is to discover all that the second island has to offer, and by wasting time here, we are doing a disservice to-”

Sayaka walked up to him, cutting him off as she impatiently thrust some clothes into his possession.

“Yeah, alright Pepelo. You’re not Byakuya anymore, alright? So stop trying to act like him. Or, well… A nicer version of him, anyways.”

Sayaka sighed and shook her head.

“Regardless, just take the clothes, alright? We can go more in-depth with your clothes once we’re done exploring the island, but I don’t want you walking around looking like Byakuya if you’re trying to make your identity.”

Pepelo took the clothes into his arms. From what he could tell, it was a standard set of khaki pants and a blue collared shirt. Pretty tame, all things considered. He let out a sigh and began walking to the back of the building where he hoped there would be a changing room.

“Alright… I understand. I shall return as quickly as possible.”

And with that, he was out of sight. Sayaka let out a sigh as Byakuya disappeared from her field of vision.

“I know Pepelo only has the best of intentions, but… Man, everything he says is just so much harder to take at face value.”

Nagito, who had recently entered the building with Ryota, shook his head.

“Sayaka, I understand what you mean… But I think we can trust him. After all, it’s not like he’s some random person who snuck into Hope’s Peak Academy… He’s an Ultimate and a student of the main course, just like us. Just because he may look and act different doesn’t change the fact that he is who he is.”

A smirk appeared on Nagito’s face, crossing his arms as he narrowed his eyes at Sayaka.

“After all, you would know all about looking and acting differently behind closed doors, wouldn’t you?”

A pregnant pause. Even Ibuki had a legitimately shocked expression on her face. The tension between Sayaka and Nagito was so palpable, you could cut it with a knife. Ryota even started shaking a bit as he watched these two glare at each other. What… What caused this? Why were they acting so hostile? Eventually, Sayaka let out a sigh and turned to the side.

“...I’m not going to act like I’m perfect. Being in the idol industry… Has most certainly changed who I am. I’m not going to make any excuses…”

Sayaka stood up straight once more as she glared at Nagito.

“But that doesn’t mean I’m going to blindly trust anyone who has gone through similar experiences as me. We don’t know who he is, Nagito.”

Nagito merely laughed, waving Sayaka off with his faux smile.

“And that’s okay! You’re welcome to believe whatever you’d like. But just think about it, Sayaka. Are you reaaaaally in a position to throw stones? I’d think about that more carefully, if I were you.”

And with that, Nagito had begun to leave the Ultimate Lab. Ryota looked between Ibuki and Sayaka before following after the lucky student. Sayaka looked down at the ground. It… was hard to explain what she was feeling right now. Anger? For sure, there was plenty of anger. But anger towards whom? She knew Pepelo hadn’t done anything to hurt them, and yet she projected her own past experiences on him anyways. It wasn’t fair.

“Sayaka…? Ibuki is worried about you… Please, say something!”

Sayaka was snapped out of her thoughts by Ibuki, earning the musician a giggle.

“Thanks, Ibuki… But I’ll be okay. I just… It hurts more because Nagito isn’t necessarily wrong. We’ve all got skeletons in our closet, Ibuki… Some of us hide them more fiercely than others.”

“And what’s wrong with that?”

Pepelo had returned, now decked out in the clothes that Sayaka had given him. However, he also seemed to get a new hairdo. His hair was now pitch black and slicked to the side. She ended up giggling upon seeing him, even if she felt a bit bad about it.

“...Is something the matter?”

“S-Sorry, just… You look so standard now. It’s such a big change from when you looked like Byakuya.”

Pepelo smirked a bit at that.

“Yes, I suppose it is quite the change. Even still, it feels nice to have my own identity again. I’m actually… looking forward to exploring all of the options here.”

Ibuki smiled widely, running up to Pepelo and dragging him by the arm.

“Woohoooooo! Ibuki is so excited! Ibuki will do everything in her power to help Pepelo-san look amazing! Come on, let’s hurry up and search the entire island!”

Pepelo let out a yelp as Ibuki dragged him out the door again. Sayaka merely giggled as she followed behind them. Maybe… Maybe there was hope for her. After all, if even the Ultimate Imposter could find their own identity…

…Why couldn’t she?

---

It had been a long and arduous journey for the members of Gundham’s Brigade. Though they had successfully battled through all of the treacherous terrain they had faced thus far, they were on their last legs. Supplies and morale were low, the soldiers were starving, their entire bodies were sore… It was looking dire. However, like an angel descending from the heavens, their wish for a place to rest had been granted.

“Aha! I have found it! Directly in front of us!”

Sonia, Himiko, Tenko, Tsumugi, and the Great Gozu all looked ahead to see…

“Ah! A Diner! I’ve never been to one before, this is so exciting!”

Tenko turned to Sonia with a weird expression on her face. What was this girl talking about…?

“You’ve… You’ve never been to a diner before?”

“No, I’m afraid… There are a few diners in Novoselic, but I was strictly forbidden from going. My parents told me that it was unbefitting for a queen to dine at such a dirty restaurant.”

Himiko let out a groan. If this conversation lasted any longer, there was a good chance she was seriously going to pass out.

“Nyeh… If we keep stalling like this, I may seriously starve… I need an MP recharge…”

Gozu puffed some air out of his nose and flexed.

“I agree! THE GRRRREAT GOZU NEEDS HIS ENERGY FILLED! Come with me, we shall conquer the day!”

Gozu scooped Himiko onto his back, giving her a piggyback ride as he did a literal bullrush all the way to the diner. Tenko looked appalled at this, standing up and reaching out a hand.

“Halt, you degenerate male! That is my job! You return her this instant!”

Tenko began sprinting after Gozu. Tsumugi just let out a sigh as she watched the scene unfold.

“I guess they were really hungry… Still, Gozu saying that reminds me. Have you ever thought about what’s under Gozu’s mask?”

As the three of them began walking towards the diner, Gundham merely scoffed at Tsumugi’s question.

“What an insolent question… Listen to my words, and listen well! The Great Gozu is no mere cosplayer such as yourself! He is a demon from the Underworld, summoned by me to serve as our protector! I will not allow you to disgrace his name in my presence, lest you wish for me to cast you to the depths of Tartarus myself!”

Sonia’s eyes sparkled during Gundham’s speech. Seems like she was seriously on board with everything he was saying.

“Wow! Gundham, you’re truly amazing! Summoning a demon like that must’ve taken an intense amount of magical energy!”

“Kehehe… Normally, yes. However, for someone such as myself, it was merely child’s play! For I am the Lord of the Underworld! Demons shake when they hear my name!”

Tsumugi merely rolled her eyes as those two had their conversation. Seriously, was it too much to just have a normal conversation with people sometimes?! As much as she liked the whole shtick they had with these guys, she couldn’t deny the fact that they drove her crazy sometimes.

Maybe someone new who had their head on straight would help her out on that front…

---

“GRAAAAAH! I, the Great Gozu, officially claim this territory for the Tanaka Empire! Please await the arrival of your new overlord!”

Teruteru, the only other person in the diner, merely froze in shock as this hulk of a man busted through the door of the diner and began speaking nonsense. Claim the territory? Tanaka Empire?! What was he talking about?

His question was quickly answered as the rest of the group filed in. Oh… This was Gundham’s troupe. Well, even if he wasn’t necessarily friends with the guy, that didn’t mean he doesn’t want to be!

“Ah, hello! Welcome to Hanamura Diner, also known as my very own Ultimate Lab! How can I be of assistance?~”

Sonia gave Teruteru a warm smile as she and the rest of the group began taking their seats.

“Actually, Teruteru… We were hoping to get a meal. It has been quite the journey for us, and we are all quite low on energy…”

She was correct. Himiko had her eyes closed and face down on the table, Tsumugi looked like she was about to pass out, and Tenko was glaring at Teruteru with the intensity of a thousand suns. The chef started sweating a bit, nodding his head at Sonia’s request.

“O-Of course! I-I shall get you all some refreshments immediately!”

Teruteru dashed to the back of the diner to go and grab the whole party some water. With a bright smile, Sonia sat down in the booth next to Gundham and Tsumugi. On the other side, it was Gozu’s hulking figure that separated Himiko and Tenko, much to Tenko’s chagrin.

“Alright, Teruteru should be arriving with some water soon, everyone. Great job on making it this far! I know it must not have been easy for everyone…”

While Sonia was trying to start a conversation, it seemed everyone was too tired or disinterested to continue it. She sighed. Well, she supposed it was best to look around the diner. Or, well, it was also Teruteru’s Ultimate Lab, apparently. However, the whole place had a very old time-y feel. The spinny chairs at the bar, the booths with red leather, and the general decor all screamed “I wasn’t created this decade”. Still, Sonia had to admit that she had a soft spot for this type of decor. It was nice and home-y!

“Apologies for the wait, everyone! Here, some water for you all!”

Teruteru returned, passing around a glass of water for everyone. Himiko looked up, weakly putting a straw into the cup and sipping some water.

“Mm… I feel some of my energy returning to me.”

Tenko smiled at that fact, but only for a brief moment. Her focus was currently on the chef who was pulling out a notepad.

ahem “Now then! What can I get all of you? I’ve got to assume you’re hungry after walking all that way!”

Sonia looked a little confused. After all, where were the menus? She couldn’t exactly order something if she didn’t know what her options were!

“Um… Teruteru? I don’t mean to be rude, but… I believe you forgot to bring us our menus. I don’t think we can order if we don’t know our options.”

Teruteru shook his head, clicking his tongue as he did.

“Nonsense, mon cheri! You see, here at my Ultimate Lab, you are allowed to order anything and everything you want! Usami stocks up all types of food items here, so I can make whatever I like! Truly, it’s a chef’s heaven!”

That was quite the surprise. The group of 6 began mumbling amongst each other on what to order now that their options were so wide. Once they had made their decisions, they gave them to Teruteru and he wrote them down.

“Alright! I’ll be right back with all of your orders, so just hold on tight~”

And with that, Teruteru went to the back and began cooking up a storm. Now that the entire group wasn’t dehydrated, they were much more willing to talk amongst each other.

“Well, I believe it is safe to say that this particular outing has been quite profitable… We now have a new location to restore our energy. This will prove to be quite the useful location!”

Himiko nodded her head, pointing at Gundham with a fiery expression.

“Gundham! This is the perfect location for restoring our MP… That means you and I must duel here! Once we have completed our meal, I want to test my strength against you!”

Gundham scowled, slightly raising his scarf over his face. How foolish was this girl? Surely she must know if they pulled that sort of stunt, they would destroy the entire island!

“Naive fool… If you truly believe you can hold back enough to defeat me without destroying the island, you are sorely mistaken! Your time to challenge me shall come, but it is not now!”

Himiko covered her face with her hat. She had completely forgotten about that factor. However, before she could properly apologize to Gundham, Tenko stepped in on her behalf.

“Degenerate male! How dare you belittle Himiko like that? I’m certain that she’s fifty times the mage you’ll ever be!”

Sonia’s expression quickly turned into a glare as she looked at Tenko. Seems like someone was taking it too far.

“Excuse me, Tenko? Gundham is the leader of this party! He is the one who has forged the path forward for us, and I will not allow you to besmirch his name!”

Tenko growled a bit, slapping her hands on the table as she leaned closer to Sonia.

“He started it by insulting Himiko! If he’s going to insult my best friend, of course I’m going to stand up for her!”

“THAT’S ENOUGH!”

Everyone cringed once Gozu’s loud voice rang throughout the diner. Once he knew he had everyone’s attention, he began speaking.

“Everyone, this conversation is foolish! Are we not all part of the same group? All of us have forged our own paths through our strength and courage! Putting each other down is counterintuitive to our goals!”

Everyone awkwardly turned away from Gozu as he said that. He… most certainly had a point.

“Yeah… Gundham, I’m sorry for saying what I did.”

Gundham let out a sigh, closing his eyes and looking down.

“I… apologize as well. I was mistaken in insulting Himiko as I did. Truthfully, she has taken great strides in terms of her magical capabilities.”

Himiko lowered her hat over her eyes once again.

“...I still have a long way to go, especially if I ever want to be a match for you one day.”

Gundham smiled and nodded his head.

“You recognizing that fact is the first step towards becoming a true Mage. If you are to reach the top, you must never stop the search for more power and knowledge. Truly, you are she who will one day surpass me.”

Himiko smiled and nodded her head. That day may not be today, but… She was excited for it.

Tsumugi, meanwhile, just smiled at the scene in front of her. Well, would you look at that? Turns out there were serious discussions in this group!

“Alriiiight, lunch is ready! Who here is hungry?”

Everyone let out a cheer as Teruteru brought out the lunch. All in all, today wasn’t bad! Not bad at all.

----

Was Makoto sensitive to flashing lights? Well… Not typically, no. Sure, flashing lights could always be annoying depending on how bright they were, but most of the time, they were tame enough to where he could at least not worry about damaging his eyesight.

That was not the case for this place.

You see, this was the Casino, which was Celeste’s Ultimate Lab. He figured it would be a pretty typical lab, but the moment he stepped into the building, his eyes were assaulted with flashing lights of different intensities and colors. It was… very difficult for him to see.

“Gah… How does anyone even see in a place like this?!”

Komaru turned back to her brother, sticking out her tongue at him as they walked into the building.

“Quit being such a baby, Makoto! If you can’t handle this, you’re gonna have a rough time once it’s your turn to play on the big stage in the tournament!”

Makoto let out a sigh. She did have a point… And considering his turn to play was going to be very soon… He should probably start getting used to this place.

“Ah, visitors! Welcome one and all to my Ultimate Lab.”

Everyone in the room turned to the source of the noise, Celestia Ludenburg, greeting them all with a curtsy.

“I do hope that you all enjoy your stay here. I know I certainly will~”

Leon rubbed the back of his head. As much as he was probably going to be around this place quite a bit, there was just one problem.

“Hey, uh, Celeste? Is there, like… An age restriction on this place? I don’t think being too strict is a good thing, but like… We’ve got kids in our group.”

All 5 of the Warriors of Hope looked back at Leon with a glare, but Celeste quickly washed away their worries.

“No no, I wouldn’t think of doing something like that… After all, gambling is entirely harmless so long as it’s not real money being offered. Here at my Ultimate Lab, we use Monocoins as payment.”

The Warriors of Hope were all excited at the prospect of being able to play here, but Leon looked incredibly disappointed.

“Oh great… So there’s no actual reward for winning here.”

Kanon turned to his cousin with a raised eyebrow.

“What…? Dude, we’re on a stranded island. What do we need money for?”

“I don’t know! I was thinking, like… For when we get out of here. Obviously money’s gonna be useful then!”

Makoto chuckled and scratched the back of his head at the cousins’ antics, but it seemed like Celeste wasn’t done yet. She cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention once more.

“Ahem… Actually, I am quite glad that you brought that up, Leon. You see, This place has finally provided us with a place to use our Monocoins. In the back of the casino are… well, gumball machines. However, instead of gumballs, they have provided us with little capsules that contain items to collect. These items range from useless garbage to immensely useful. I suggest you spend your monocoins wisely~”

Celeste turned to Makoto with a smirk. After all, the Ultimate Lucky Student coming into a casino was quite an interesting combination.

“Makoto, I must say, I am very interested in how you will perform here… If you are not busy, would you care to play some poker with me? I would like to test your luck against mine.”

Makoto awkwardly chuckled, but decided to accept Celeste’s request.

“Of course! Though, is everyone else allowed to play? I think it’d be more fun with more people, don’t you agree?”

Celeste considered the offer. Then again, poker with just two people right from the beginning could be so very dull…

“...Very well. The rest of your group is allowed to join us. Now, shall we begin?”

Everyone let out a cheer as they moved to one of the many poker tables that Celeste had set up. Celeste sat in the dealer’s seat while everyone else sat around the perimeter of the table, choosing to ignore the glare that she was receiving from Toko. Was she mad about her talking to Makoto like that? How adorable~

“Now, before we begin, I would like to inform you all that we will be playing Texas Hold Em. Would anyone like a refresher on the rules before we begin? Or rather, are there any first time players at the table?”

Surprisingly, the only people who raised their hands were Jataro and Masaru. Everyone else kept their hands down, much to Masaru’s chagrin.

“E-Eh? Why are Jataro and I the only ones that don’t know how to play?!”

Makoto and Komaru rubbed the back of their necks, with the former speaking for both of them.

“W-Well, Makoto and I have played with our parents for fun a couple of times.”

“I-I had to learn the r-rules when writing a certain s-story…”

“Kanon and I both played with my baseball team quite a few times after games.”

Monaca giggled and smiled at Masaru.

“Monaca is very smart, so she already knows all the rules! Even if she’s never actually played…”

Nagisa shrugged his shoulders.

“I’ve played with my friends’ parents before. Helped me relax a bit from studying all the time.”

Kotoko turned to the side, a dark expression creeping onto her face as she did.

“...No comment.”

Celeste cleared her throat to try and ease up the tense atmosphere, smiling at everyone as she began shuffling the cards.

“Well, it’s no concern. I shall explain the rules anyways. Texas Hold Em is a variation of poker in which we all receive two cards at the start of each round. After looking at our cards, we all take a turn betting. If someone raises the bet over the base amount, then you must match that amount or fold and be eliminated from the round. Once everyone is done betting, then the dealer will reveal the flop, which consists of three cards. After another round of betting, I shall reveal the turn, which is another extra card. We repeat the process once again, and I shall reveal the river, which is the final card. You may, once again, follow the same betting rules until everything else. Once the betting is done, you reveal your cards and see who has the better hand. To determine who wins, the following order is used:”

Celeste pulled out a little cheat sheet with all of the combinations of cards that get scores. At the top of the list was a Royal Flush, which is an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and 10 all in the same suit. Following that is a Straight Flush, which is a straight line of 5 numbers in the same suit. Following that is Four of a Kind, which is self explanatory. The Full House is next, which comprises of three of one number and two of another. The flush, which is five cards of the same suit, follows. Then the straight, which is five numbers in sequential order. The list is rounded out by three of a kind, two pairs, one pair, and a simple high card.

Jataro didn’t really seem to get it, but everyone else nodded their heads, so he didn’t say anything. He’d figure it out eventually.

“Does everyone understand the rules? Excellent! In that case, let us begin~”

Celeste finished shuffling the cards before beginning to pass them around. Once she had done so, she pulled out two weird looking chips.

“Also, before I forget… There will be a Big Blind and Small Blind each round. The Big Blind will be forced to put in 2 monocoins, while the Small Blind is forced to put in one. The blind chips will move clockwise every round, so please don’t forget. As I am generous, I have given you all 20 monocoins to use in the game. Good luck~”

Makoto nodded his head. He started out as the big blind and Celeste, to his right, was the small blind. They threw their respective coins into the middle before Makoto took a look at his cards. Makoto started out with a nine of hearts and a two of spades… Not a great starting hand, but since he was the big blind, he would most likely play it out. Leon, Komaru, Nagisa, Kanon, and Monaca all decided to keep their hands and put in the minimum. Celeste, Jataro, Kotoko, Masaru, and Toko all decided to fold before the flop. Leon noticed Celeste was folding and smirked with her.

“Oh? Seems like the Ultimate Gambler is a little hesitant to hang around, huh?”

Celeste merely just giggled at Leon’s quip.

“Leon, an important part of being a gambler is knowing when to fold. It’s a piece of advice that I think you could use quite well~”

Leon sneered, especially once Kanon started giggling at him to his side. Still, Leon had a bit of a point, even if he didn’t know it. Celeste had somewhat playable cards, but she wanted to see what Makoto would do with his hand. After all, based on his reaction to looking at his cards, Celeste could tell that Makoto had a pretty terrible hand and was only playing this out because he was the Big Blind.

So, Makoto Naegi… What will you do to surpass the odds? I look forward to seeing what you come up with~

Once everyone had made their decisions, Celeste put down the flop. A two of diamonds, a nine of spades, and a three of clubs. Makoto hit the table with his knuckles to motion that he wasn’t going to bet, also known as checking. Komaru also checked, but once it got to Leon, it started getting a bit crazy. He grabbed 5 Monocoins and threw them into the center. Monaca rolled her eyes, throwing her cards to the center and glaring at the baseball player as she did.

“Leon, you’re stinky, you know that?”

The baseball player just chuckled at the weak attempt at an insult, with Komaru and Nagisa folding as well. Kanon called, and now it was just her, Leon, and Makoto left. Makoto considered his options. Despite his awful starting hand, he actually had a two pair right now. He wasn’t sure what Leon had, but he obviously wasn’t close to anything like a flush just based on how different the flop’s suits were all different. So, judging the flop, at best Leon had two pairs. With that knowledge, Makoto felt pretty comfortable matching Leon’s bet.

Celeste nodded her head. Now that the betting had finished, she revealed the turn, which was a four of diamonds. Once again, Makoto checked, but this time Leon went even more forward. He grabbed six more monocoins, putting them all in the center. So far, he had bet thirteen monocoins in total. With the massive bet, Kanon sighed and folded.

Makoto could see the reasoning behind it. Considering there was now a two, three, and four on the table, that means Leon could potentially have a straight, which would beat Makoto’s two pair. Makoto wasn’t normally the type to take a risk to keep in the game, but… there was always the possibility Leon was bluffing. And if he was, Makoto would be giving up his lead for no reason. And… there was something in the back of his mind telling him to match Leon’s bet. So, after some deliberation, Makoto matched his bet. Leon let out a low whistle.

“Wow, look at you, Makoto! I didn’t take you for the kind of guy that could stick around in a game like this.”

Makoto chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

“Well, normally I’m not… I dunno, I feel like taking a risk.”

Leon smirked, turning back to the center as Celeste revealed the final card.

It was the nine of clubs.

Leon smirked, grabbing all seven of his remaining monocoins and putting them in the center.

“I’m all in, baby! You gonna match that, Makoto? It’s okay to pull out this late, you know. Best to at least have some coins left, right?”

“I’ll call.”

Leon balked as Makoto, without a bit of hesitation in his voice, went all in to match Leon’s bet. The baseball player couldn’t help but respect the play.

“Huh. Well I’ll be damned.”

Celeste smiled at the two of them.

“Now, please show your hands.”

Leon had a devious smirk on his face as he flipped over his cards, revealing the Ace of Hearts and five of diamonds.

“I’ve got a straight, baby! You thought I was bluffing this entire time, Makoto? Think again!”

Komaru facepalmed as she saw the display. She couldn’t believe her brother just threw away all his coins in the first round.

“Big Bro, you’re embarrassing me…”

Makoto simply just smiled, revealing his cards. Sure, his hand was crappy to start, but…

“Actually, Leon… I have a Full House. I win.”

Leon, Toko, the Warriors of Hope, Kanon, Komaru, and even Celeste looked on in shock. Somehow, some way, Makoto had managed to beat a straight with a hand like THAT. Sure enough, there were two nines and a two on the table. Added with the nine and two he had in his hand, that made for a full house of three nines and two twos. Makoto wins. Leon slumped down in his chair with a shocked look on his face, with Kanon softly patting her cousin’s shoulder.

“Sorry, bro. Better luck next time!”

Celeste, on the other hand, was very pleasantly surprised.

“My my, Makoto! I’m surprised. I thought for sure that you were dead in the water when Leon was raising the bet that high.”

Makoto chuckled as he dragged all the monocoins to his side of the table.

“Well, I guess I just got lucky, huh?”

Celeste smiled at the luckster.

Yes… Lucky indeed~ Perhaps there’s more to you than I thought, Makoto~

Celeste ended up winning despite Makoto’s massive early game lead, but once Makoto’s group had left the casino, the first round was all they were talking about. Once they had left, Celeste turned a monocoin over in her hand.

“Makoto Naegi? Hm… Maybe….”

Chapter Text

Well, that was certainly interesting.

As Hajime and Co walked away from the Music Venue, there was quite a bit to talk about. For starters, Hajime felt it important to address the elephant in the room.

“So… Are we just not gonna talk about the fact that the stage was outfitted with LITERAL FLAMETHROWERS?!”

Fuyuhiko huffed, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. He had a feeling that this would come up, but seriously, have these guys ever been to a concert? This was pretty typical stuff.

“Man, don’t be such a pussy. Have you ever been to a concert? This is pretty normal stuff.”

Kazuichi gave Fuyuhiko a shocked expression. What kind of concerts was he going to that flamethrowers was par for the course?!

“Dude, there’s a difference between sparklers and ACTUAL FIRE! I don’t know about you, but when Natsumi was messing around with the settings back there, my face almost got burnt off!”

Sato glared at Natsumi as she chuckled. Did that bitch do it on purpose?!

“Hey, what’re you lookin at? It was a damn accident!”

Sato maintained her glare at Natsumi, crossing her arms as she did.

“For your sake, it better have been.”

Natsumi flinched. She had gotten pretty used to Sato’s bark over the years, but something about her this time was a bit… different. She wasn’t being outwardly spiteful like usual. What was up with that?

Mahiru, noticing that the mood of the group had suddenly gone down, decided to step in and stop them from fighting.

“Alright you two, that’s enough. What did I tell you guys about arguing?”

Sato huffed, turning to the side with a smug smile.

“Don’t worry, Mahiru. I was just having a discussion with Natsumi, that’s all.”

Kazuichi rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling as he watched the display going on in front of him. These people were scary sometimes… He turned to Hajime and Kazuichi with a hesitant expression.

“Are these guys always like this…?”

Fuyuhiko shrugged his shoulders.

“I mean… kinda? Like, Natsumi’s been antagonistic ever since she was a kid. That’s just kinda who she is.”

Hajime smiled at Kazuichi and patted him on the back.

“Hey, don’t worry about it, they’re getting better! When we first had our little group, these two were at each other’s throat constantly. It was a real mess.”

Kazuichi sighed and scratched his cheek. Seems like he really dodged a bullet by not hanging around these guys too early, huh?

“Man, I can’t even imagine what that would be like…”

“Yeah… it wasn’t pretty. Still, they’ve mellowed out quite a bit… I think.”

All of the guys jumped a little bit as Chiaki just… inserted herself into the conversation. Kazuichi himself took a step back in surprise.

“Ch-Chiaki! When did you get here?”

Chiaki tilted her head a little bit.

“I’ve been here the whole time… Why, am I not allowed to be a part of the conversation?”

Kazuichi scratched the back of his neck. It wasn’t that she wasn’t allowed to be there, more that…

“...Well, it’s not that you aren’t welcome, it’s just… Well, this was kind of a homie discussion, you know?”

Chiaki tilted her head once again, this time in confusion.

“...Am I not a homie?”

“Huh? Oh, um… Well, I didn’t really mean it like that, but…”

“Oi, slowpokes! Are you gonna hurry it the hell up or not? We’ve got places to be!”

The four of them all turned to the source of the noise to see Natsumi yelling at them while Mahiru, Sato, and Hiyoko continued walking forward. Hajime sighed and began following after them.

“Alright, that’s enough of this conversation… Come on guys, we’ve got more of this island to explore.”

As Hajime and Fuyuhiko went to catch up with the rest, Chiaki softly tugged Kazuichi to the side.

“Huh? What is it, Chiaki.”

Chiaki paused for a bit, taking a moment to think about what she wanted to say before smiling at Kazuichi.

“...I think you’re doing a good job, Kazuichi. Keep it up, I believe in you.”

Kazuichi felt his face burn up a bit, awkwardly looking around as Chiaki said that.

“H-Huh? I mean, thanks, but… Wh-What are you talking about, exactly?”

Chiaki didn’t give an audible answer. She just nodded her head and turned around.

“Right. We should probably catch up with the others… We’re kind of being left behind.”

As Chiaki began walking away, the mechanic was left dazed by her earlier comment.

“Huh? Hey, wait! Don’t just leave me here!”

After traveling for a good while, Hajime pulled out his monopad and took a look at the map. Sure enough, they were getting close to another building and once he looked up, he could see it on the horizon. He motioned to everyone else in the group to get their attention.

“Alright guys, we’re here. I… can’t really tell what it is from here, but considering how bland it looks, I’m gonna guess that it’s probably pretty important.”

Hiyoko crossed her arms, glaring at the building as the group got closer to it.

“Geez, boring is right… That place just looks like a rundown supermarket more than anything else! Hajime, maybe we should just skip this place.”

Mahiru sighed.

“Hiyoko, we need to visit the entire island. What if there’s something super important there? It’d be rude to just ditch it.”

Hiyoko huffed. There was no way something like that would be important!

“Ugh… Fine. Let’s just get this over with.”

The group waltzed on over to the building, taking a look at the plaque before walking in.

Hope’s Peak Pharmacy

Seiko Kimura’s Ultimate Lab

Hiyoko groaned as she read the plaque. She knew this place would be useless!

“Ugh, it’s just a pharmacy! I knew this place wouldn’t be helpful! Mahiru, seriously, we should just leave!”

Mahiru walked over to Hiyoko and flicked her on the forehead, causing Hiyoko to flinch and cover her head.

“Ow!”

“Hiyoko, no more complaining. It might not be as glamorous as the music venue, but this place is important! If someone gets sick, we’re going to need this place to help them get healthy!”

Hajime crossed his arms and nodded his head.

“Mahiru’s right. Just try and get through this, alright? We’ll go look for something more interesting once we’re done.”

Hiyoko huffed, turning away from Hajime as she grumbled under her breath.

“You don’t need to treat me like a kid, you know…”

Natsumi walked over to Hiyoko with a smug look on her face.

“Well, if you don’t wanna be treated like a damn kid, maybe you should stop acting like one, huh?”

“Wow, what amazing insight, Natsumi! If only you followed your own advice…”

Natsumi seethed at Sato’s comment, turning back to her with a sneer.

“You wanna say that to my face, bitch? I’ll rip your vocal cords out!”

“Oh no, don’t mind me! I’m just giving an observation, Natsumi. After all, what are friends for if not to help each other improve?”

“We are NOT fucking friends! I’ll kill you!”

At this point, it had officially gone too far. Mikan was cowering to the side, Mahiru looked concerned, and Kazuichi was entirely freaked out. Seeing this, Hajime sighed and grabbed Natsumi by the ear. He was starting to get sick of the bickering between these two.

“Alright, that’s enough out of you. Come on, we’ve got places to be.”

Natsumi struggled as Hajime began pulling her into the Ultimate Lab.

“Ow! Motherfucker, let me go! Don’t think you’re safe, bitch boy! I’ll-”

The door to the lab was slammed shut before Natsumi could finish what she was saying. Mahiru let out an exhausted sigh once she was in the pharmacy.

“Geez… I really thought we were making good progress. Why is she still being so difficult?”

Fuyuhiko sighed and put a hand on his hip. He had a small hope that maybe hanging around Hajime had chilled her out a bit, but it seems like she was still as antagonistic as ever.

“She’s always been this fuckin difficult… You say something that could be slightly interpreted as an insult, and she starts going crazy on your ass. I was hoping she would have mellowed out since she actually has some damn friends now, but I guess the fuck not.”

Sato crossed her arms and looked at Fuyuhiko with a skeptical look.

“If you really thought she would’ve mellowed out already, then I have a bridge to sell you.”

Fuyuhiko turned to her with narrowed eyes. Not a full on glare, but it was clear he was unhappy.

“Don’t think you’re blameless in all of this, bitch! Even if Natsumi has a lot of fucking work to do, you’re the one actively antagonizing her! How about you try just shutting up for a change? She’s not even fucking coming after you anymore!”

Sato glared at Fuyuhiko. The hell did he know? Of course he would side with his sister when he didn’t even know the context!

“Oh give me a break! So now I’m getting a lecture on ethics from the Yakuza heir? You don’t know half of the bullshit that Natsumi has put me and Mahiru through over the years! You think that’s the kind of stuff I just forgive and forget about?!”

Kazuichi had an awkward smile on his face. Not this again…

“H-Hey, maybe we should all take a deep breath, and-”

“I’m not done talking, Kaz!”

Sato walked up closer to Fuyuhiko and looked him in the eyes as she spoke to him.

“Listen up. I am never going to forgive Natsumi. I’ve given her a chance to show that she’s working on changing, and she hasn’t changed a bit. Why should I give her a chance?”

Hiyoko sneered and crossed her arms.

“Yeah, I’m with Sato! Nasty people don’t deserve to get forgiven!”

“B-But… I-If she’s trying to change, then-”

“QUIET, PIG BARF! I don’t wanna hear your annoying voice in this conversation!”

“Eek! I’m s-sorry!”

Once Mikan had shut up, Hiyoko turned to Mahiru with a serious expression.

“She hurt you, didn’t she? That means you have every right to hurt her back! She doesn’t deserve your forgiveness!”

Mahiru grabbed onto her camera strap, almost using it as a lifeline as she listened to everyone.

“W-Well, I… I guess, but…”

“Guys, don’t you think you’re being a little harsh right now?”

Everyone turned to Chiaki, who was once again inserting herself into the conversation. This time, however, Sato turned her attention to her to respond.

“Too harsh?! I don’t think I’m being harsh at all! If anything, I’m being generous by not doing something more severe to her!”

Fuyuhiko’s pupils dilated. What the FUCK was this bitch insinuating?!

“You bitch! If you lay a single fucking finger on my sister, I’m gonna hunt you down and make your life a living hell, you hear me?!”

“Fuyuhiko, please. Let me handle this.”

Fuyuhiko froze in place, slowly nodding his head as he backed up from Chiaki.

“Thanks. Now, Sato… I understand how you feel. I know that Natsumi has hurt you in the past, and you believe that she hasn’t changed…”

Sato grit her teeth as she glared at the gamer.

“That’s because she HASN’T changed! Not one bit! If anything, she’s gotten worse!”

“But you don’t really believe that, do you?”

Sato froze. Her icy glare maintained, but the rest of her body became less tense when Chiaki said that.

“...What?”

“I don’t think you really believe that. I mean, you wouldn’t still be hanging around us if that were true, would you?”

Sato bit her lip, taking a step back as she considered what to say.

“I-I mean, I’m here to… protect Mahiru…”

Chiaki shook her head.

“Maybe initially, but I think it’s more than that now… I think you still care about Natsumi, even after all this time. You’ve just convinced yourself that she’s a threat based on how she talks.”

“She’s a damn yakuza! Yakuza aren’t meant to be trusted, they’re criminals!”

Fuyuhiko huffed, turning to the side with an annoyed expression.

“Sure, do what you want. I’m used to not being trusted.”

Chiaki closed her eyes. What she said next was probably pretty important, so she had to take some time to think about it.

“Natsumi isn’t just a Yakuza. She’s someone you and Mahiru grew up with. I think… throwing that all away just because of some fights is just… too sad.”

Sato wanted to refute Chiaki… To tell her that what she was saying was ridiculous. But for some reason, the words just wouldn’t come out.

“I…”

“Chiaki’s right, Sato. I still think we should give Natsumi a chance.”

Sato turned to her best friend with a shocked expression.

“Mahiru…?”

“I know… I know that she did some stuff in the past. She bullied me… relentlessly. And I don’t think I’ll ever really get over that… But still! Forgiveness isn’t about forgetting the past. It’s about acknowledging it and accepting that it happened. And I’m willing to forgive Natsumi. She’s already trying to become a better person! Even if it’s for shallow reasons, I’m willing to give Natsumi a chance. A real chance.”

Sato bit her lip. After a brief pause, she let out a sigh and began walking to the pharmacy’s door.

“Fine. If you’re willing to forgive her… Then I am too. Let’s just explore the pharmacy…”

And with that, Sato slammed the door behind her and Mahiru let out a huge sigh of relief.

“Thank you, Chiaki… I don’t think I could’ve handled that on my own.”

Chiaki gave Mahiru a soft smile.

“Of course. I don’t think I fully understand what happened between you guys, but I do know that throwing out a friendship completely is just too sad. I hope you guys make up.”

With that, Chiaki entered the Ultimate Lab as well. Fuyuhiko sighed, entering the lab himself with Kazuichi and Mikan not far behind. It was just Chiaki and Hiyoko left, with the latter giving Chiaki a weird look.

“You’re really just willing to give Natsumi the benefit of the doubt like that? She hasn’t exactly been pleasant while she’s been with us, you know!”

Chiaki nodded her head.

“Yes. Even if she’s been a bit crude… I know that she does care about us, even if she doesn’t know it yet. I can see the attempts at change that she makes, but I know she needs some people in her corner to really make the change. Hajime alone isn’t enough when he’s needed all over the place.”

Hiyoko clicked her tongue. She let out a sigh, walking towards the door to the lab and opening it up.

“Whatever. Come on, let’s get this over with.”

With a small smile, Chiaki followed Hiyoko into the Ultimate Lab. Once the two of them had entered, they got a good view of the place. Despite its bland exterior, the interior actually looked somewhat interesting. Sure, it was mostly just racks of medicine across the place, but there was also some interesting lighting all over. It was small, but considering what this place would’ve been otherwise, small things were completely acceptable. Mikan, unlike the rest of the group, was absolutely ecstatic to be here.

“W-Wow! Look at all these medicines… W-We’ll never struggle to h-help someone again!”

As soon as Chiaki and Hiyoko had entered the building, Ruruka took notice and clapped her hands together.

“Well! If I’m correct, that should be everyone! Allow me to welcome you to Seiko’s very own Ultimate Lab! I’d give you a tour, but Seiko has said that most of this place is very top secret, so that’s a no go!”

Hajime crossed his arms. That was… awfully suspicious. What parts of this place would be off limits to everyone? Well, he had a few guesses, especially if said area related to Seiko’s talent in any way.

“So I assume the place where Seiko experiments with new medicine is specifically what’s off limits?”

“You’d be correct.”

Sonosuke walked out from behind the pharmacist’s desk and approached the group. He crossed his arms and looked at Hajime.

“If Seiko is to be believed, there’s a lot of dangerous stuff back there. And considering this is her Ultimate Lab, I’m willing to take her word on it.”

Hiyoko crossed her arms. Well that was lame! The most exciting part of the Ultimate Lab was completely off limits? Boooooring.

“Aw, and I really wanted to see what kinds of medicine I could make… I bet I could make something that would give me a massive growth spurt instantly!”

Kazuichi chuckled, awkwardly shifting around as he heard Hiyoko talk about that.

“I don’t think testing something like that with no knowledge of it is really a good idea…”

“Who asked you, Grease Monkey?!”

“N-No one, I’m sorry!”

Kazuichi slightly covered his face with his beanie, which earned Hiyoko a glare from Sato. Of course, the dancer completely ignored it as Sonosuke continued talking.

“Right… Anyways, sorry to tell you guys, but there’s no going back there, no matter what. Rules are rules.”

Fuyuhiko glared at Sonosuke. Who was he to try and enforce the damn rules?

“Oh really? And we should just let you chuckle fucks control who gets access to that shit?”

Ruruka glared at Fuyuhiko.

“How dare you?! We’re doing this for your own good!”

“And how do we know that you’re not just hogging something dangerous to yourselves?!”

“Why you little-!”

“That’s enough, Fuyuhiko.”

The yakuza heir turned to Hajime as he put an arm in front of him.

“What?! Hajime, you heard what they’re doing! There’s no telling what kinds of stuff they have back there!”

Hajime shook his head.

“I know how you feel, but I don’t think just allowing anyone to go back there is a smart idea, either. We just… have to trust that Seiko has good judgment for now.”

Fuyuhiko scoffed. As much as he hated to admit it, Hajime was right. Letting everyone on the island have access to whatever crazy shit was going on back there was definitely a bad idea, but he didn’t want to admit that. He turned on a dime, heading for the door with a sour look on his face.

“Fine. This whole place was a waste of time, anyways.”

Hajime sighed, following after the heir with Natsumi at his side. Hiyoko let out a bit of a cheer.

“Woohoooo! We didn’t have to spend long in this boring place!”

And with that, the dancer had quickly left the building. Mahiru couldn’t hold back her sigh as she saw that.

“Hiyoko can be such a kid sometimes…”

Natsumi raised an eyebrow at Mahiru.

“Sometimes? She’s a kid all the time! Seriously, she needs to grow up!”

Sato turned to Natsumi, ready to give her a sarcastic retort… But Chiaki softly tugged on her sleeve and shook her head. Ugh, fine. Sato kept her mouth shut as she and the rest of the group began to leave the lab.

Once the group was out, Sonosuke let out a sigh and began heading back to the pharmacist’s desk.

“Geez, these kids need to get it together… It’s like all of em have anger issues or something.”

Ruruka giggled and shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, they can do whatever they want. We need to focus on our super special plan!”

As Sonosuke sat down in his chair, he let out a sigh. Yes, Ruruka had pitched to him a certain… idea, but he whole-heartedly felt like it was a bad idea.

“Ruruka, are we really sold on this idea…? I mean, it sounds incredibly dangerous.”

Ruruka huffed, crossing her arms and glaring at Sonosuke.

“Excuse me, I don’t believe I asked for your opinion, Sonosuke! This idea is exactly what this island needs!”

Sonosuke grumbled, turning to the door to Seiko’s Ultimate Lab.

“Are you gonna clue Seiko in on your plan? After all, we kind of need her for this.”

“No, see, that’s the best part, Sonosuke! We don’t tell her!”