The Ghost We Both Know - KotsiMuna (2024)

Men are always bad. Women are always good.

Quite a simple and easy to understand philosophy, if you asked Tenko. And to her, it was more than just a philosophy, it was an undeniable truth. She grew up practicing and mastering Aikido, to the point that she was recognized as the Ultimate Aikido Master,, and it was all thanks to her master, who was like a father to her. She trusted absolutely everything he’d say.

“Don’t eat too much candy, that’ll diminish your power.” He said. She believed

“Always eat your vegetables, otherwise it will diminish your power.” He said. She believed.

“Don’t stay up late, that’ll diminish your power.” He said. She believed.

And, of course…

“Boys are degenerates. They’ll try to take advantage of you, and touch you. Don’t let them lay a finger on you. That’ll diminish your power.” He said.

And she unconditionally, unquestionably believed.

Her beliefs about men were rather radical, and she saw suspicion where there was none. As if things weren’t bad enough, her paranoia got worse when she and 15 other Ultimate Students were trapped in a killing game by a bunch of robotic bears. Tenko had to keep an eye on every single male to make sure they wouldn’t try anything against a girl!

“Degenerate male!” She shouted, after seeing Shuichi just a little too close to Kaede. She ran towards him, and tossed him to the floor.

“A-Aah!” The boy yelped, his hat almost falling from his face.

“T-Tenko! What are you doing?!” Kaede shouted, surprised.

Kaede would insist that she and Shuichi were just talking, that he hadn’t and wouldn’t try anything, and Tenko would leave them, but she wouldn’t believe it for a second. She made sure to keep a (not so) sneaky eye on Shuichi whenever he was near Kaede.

Another time, she saw Kaito talking to an obviously disinterested Maki. Tenko grabbed the boy by his arm, specifically the one that was actually slid into the sleeve of his jacket so that she wouldn’t touch him skin to skin, and threw him to the ground.

“Argh! Hey! The hell was that for?!” He grunted.

“Degenerate male! Don’t think I don’t know what you’re planning!” Tenko shouted, pointing two accusing fingers at the Ultimate Astronaut.

“Planning?! I’m not doing anything, I’m just talking to Maki!” He said.

“You were talking to yourself.” Maki said, coldly. “I wasn’t listening.”

“Ha! See? I knew it, you were just harassing her when she obviously didn’t want anything to do with you! Argh, damn you degenerate male…!” Tenko growled, and prepared to reach and throw Kaito again.

“Quiet.” Maki interrupted, earning a surprised look from Tenko. “You’re as loud and obnoxious as Kaito, you’re not any better. I’m leaving.” And then, the Ultimate Child Caregiver left the room, leaving a frustrated Kaito and a dumbfounded Tenko.

“Geez…” was all Kaito mumbled as he got up and left too. Tenko stayed in the room for a bit, trying to process it all. Was she really as annoying as a degenerate male?

She started to question her views a bit, but it didn’t take long for her to come back to her original self. Sure, she may be too energetic for some, she’s been told that before, but she knew she could never be as bad as a degenerate! She’d just have to make sure not to bother Maki again.

There were other males she met while trapped in this sick game. Ryoma Hoshi, a small but strong little man. Keeping an eye on him was hard… mostly because he spent most of his time alone either in his room or his Ultimate Lab. The former Ultimate Tennis Pro was… worrying, to say the least. He was never enthusiastic about anything, didn’t seem to care much about himself, and always looked and acted depressed. Tenko never thought she’d feel bad for a male, but here she was. Fortunately, Shuichi, Kaede, and a few other students were already trying to help Ryoma a bit. At least Tenko wouldn’t have to do that, she didn’t want to be too close to a degenerate, even if they were depressed!

Then there was Gonta Gokuhara, the Ultimate Entomologist, a complete opposite of Ryoma. An enormous, bulky beast, no doubt much stronger than Tenko. And yet… He was so cheery, so gentle. He somehow managed to flawlessly take care of fragile little bugs despite his extreme strength.

“Gonta want to become gentleman!” He would say, a big smile plastered over his face. He’d do anything to help others at any opportunity he had, and he had no other reason other than he wanted to do so, he wanted people around him to be happy. This didn’t make any sense for Tenko! How is a male supposed to be kind and caring?! She decided to avoid Gonta whenever she could. He made her brain hurt from thinking too much, and she wasn’t ready to confront her beliefs.

Then… There was one that stood out above the rest. Among the “nice” males like Gonta, Kaito, and Rantaro, the less than happy males that were Ryoma and Shuichi, and the unrivaled bastard degenerate that was Kokichi, one male was… different, in every possible way.

Korekiyo Shinguji, the Ultimate Anthropologist. He always showed up when you least expected, and always from the darkest corner. At least that’s how it felt for Tenko. She could never quite tell what Kiyo was thinking or feeling, especially because of his mask. That damned zipper mask, Tenko sometimes just wanted to rip it off. He was creepy, but also… Kind of effeminate. Males in soft sciences were usually pretty soft themselves, after all, but still…

“Kehehehe…” The sound of his chuckling was like a bad omen for the Aikido fighter. The anthropologist never missed an opportunity to spew information about ancient cultures and folk tales, especially if they were the creepy ones used to scare children into not leaving the house at night! Tenko believed he needed to be watched, probably tied up and locked, it was just a matter of time until he killed someone! But still, she was afraid of being near him.

One day though, she was essentially backed into a corner. Kaede had told Tenko that she really needed to work on her bias against guys, that she needed to spend time with a boy and just see how nice they could be. Tenko didn’t like the idea, but Kaede was so cute, she just couldn’t say no!

“Go around the school and spend some time with the first guy you find!” was the mission Tenko received.

The Aikido fighter then started wandering around the school, hoping to find Gonta or at the very least a quieter boy like Ryoma or Shuichi. Much to Tenko’s dismay, like always, Korekiyo emerged from a corner. She caught a glimpse of him and immediately shifted into defense mode, before she remembered Kaede’s assignment.

Oh god, she was gonna have to talk to Kiyo.

“...Greetings.” He said in his whispery voice. “You seem particularly… Distressed. Is something the matter?” He inquired.

Tenko groaned. “Aargh! I’m gonna have to spend time with you, of all people!”

Kiyo looked surprised, putting a hand over his mask. “Oh? Why is that?”

“Kaede told me to, and that’s it! Don’t think for a second that I am doing this willingly!” She shouted.

“Kehehehehe…” He chuckled, embracing himself. “How fascinating, that you are willing to do a thing you despise so much for the sake of your friend!” Korekiyo threw both his arms to his sides, looking up. “Ah! That is so beautiful!”

As if Tenko wasn’t uncomfortable enough already, Kiyo’s statement had made a chill run down her spine. “B-Beautiful?! The heck do you mean by that?!”

“I am referring to your spirit.” He replied, which only made Tenko more confused. Noticing her puzzled expression, Kiyo explained. “Your will to push forward even when face to face with such a dire situation, all for the sake of one person, it is oh so very admirable! Such determination is not something one can see in the day to day life, which is why I am truly thankful that I am able to witness such a wonderful attitude during the days we spend here, kehehehehe…”

Tenko was on the verge of throwing Kiyo out of the window at this point. “L-Let’s just get this over with, I don’t want to spend more time than I need around you!”

“Very well then. Say, how about I tell you some things about anthropology? Normally I would talk to Shuichi, but he is busy as of now, and since we’re supposed to spend time with each other anyway…” He looked at her, eagerly awaiting her answer.

“F-Fine!” His demeanor was setting off Tenko’s fight or flight instinct. “J-Just… Don’t be too creepy!”

“I shall try, yes.” He said.

And so it began. Kiyo told Tenko stories about mythological creatures, particularly ones from Brazil, the last place he had visited before the killing game. Stories about a one-legged boy that played pranks in everyone, and could only be contained within a bottle, stories about fire creatures who would kill those who disrespected the forest, one being a giant fire snake and the other a man whose feet were backwards, stories about a woman who was cursed to turn into a headless mule every night after marrying a priest… As much as she didn’t want to admit it, Tenko had found herself genuinely interested, even if the tales were pretty creepy.

“There is one I find particularly interesting, mainly because it is featured in a popular lullaby.” Kiyo said.

“Huh?” Tenko asked. “Wait, aren’t those sung for kids to sleep? Wouldn’t something like that be too creepy for a kid?!”

“Yes, and that is precisely why it intrigues me. This being is called ‘Cuca’. She takes the form of an old woman, and it’s said she kidnaps disobedient children. For example, kids that eat too much candy, or that don’t eat all their vegetables at dinner, and especially children that don’t go to sleep in time. See, this is where the lullaby comes in-”

Tenko interrupted the anthropologist. “Wait. What does she kidnap kids for?”

“Hm?” Kiyo was taken aback by her sudden interruption, but proceeded to answer her question. “For being disobedient. Eating too much candy, not eating vegetables, not going to sleep in time… These are all rules established by parents to aid in a healthy growth for their children, yes? However, enforcing such rules is a difficult task. This is why many of these urban legends and beliefs exist.”

“W-What do you mean?” Tenko asked. No, there was no way…

“Take the legend I just mentioned, Cuca, as an example. Kids are troublesome, but they are also naive. If they believe an old witch will come for them at night for being disobedient, then they will do their best to follow imposed rules in order to avoid such a fate. Another example is Santa Claus. If Santa only gifts well behaved children, then surely kids will behave the best they can, yes?”

Tenko was shocked as a dawning realization hit her. There was no way. There was absolutely no way. Gears were turning in her head. She remembered exactly why her parents had sent her to learn Aikido: Because she was disobedient. She had a short fuse. She was an uncontrollable child. The dojo, the lessons with her master, they were what helped her control her anger, this much she already knew long before. But now that she thought about it… It was all discipline. And her master’s lessons… And with what Kiyo had just said… Was all of that a lie made up to get her to behave? And she still believed it all, for so long, for so many years, as if she hadn’t ever grown up.

No, no, no no no no no. This had to be a lie, this had to be some trickery coming from Kiyo. It had to be, she should have known better than to believe a creepy degenerate male like him, even if for a second. Anger started to brew up inside of her, and before Korekiyo could properly react…

“D-DEGENERATE MALE!” She shouted at the top of her lungs, grabbing him by his bandaged hands and throwing him to the ground with full force, his hat flying off his head. The anthropologist let out a pained grunt as he landed, and Tenko was left breathing heavily.

She was blind with anger. She refused to accept that everything she believed was just superstition meant to fool a kid. She didn’t want to accept that her master had lied to her.

Once she started to calm down, she realized what she did. “K-Kiyo! O-Oh my god I’m so sorry-” However, as she leaned down to help, she noticed something weird. When she threw him to the ground, it seemed that Kiyo’s bandages had come undone, and were all tangled in a bundle around Tenko’s fingers, leaving most of Korekiyo’s wrist exposed.

And as she looked closer, she saw something… a bit worrying. Scars. Perfectly lined up, one after the other, on his arm, like a trail that began at his wrist and descended into the darkness of his sleeve. Tenko stared, unsure what to do. Before she could get even a peep out of her mouth, however, Korekiyo reached his hand and snatched the bandages from her. The anthropologist had a mix of emotions on his face. A bit of anger. A lot of confusion. Above all of them, however, was… embarrassment. As if a part of him had just been exposed, something that he didn’t want anyone to see. This visceral display of emotion was the first time Tenko was able to clearly tell what Kiyo was feeling, and it only lasted a few seconds before he ran away, looking like he was on the verge of tears.

Meanwhile, Tenko just stood there, shocked. She didn’t know what to do or even what to think. A few minutes passed. Kaede walked around the corner.

“Hi Tenko!” The Ultimate Pianist waved. Kaede was about to ask if Tenko had talked to a boy when she noticed the Aikido master was paralyzed. “T-Tenko? Are you okay?” As Kaede approached, she noticed Korekiyo’s hat lying on the ground next to Tenko. The pianist walked and picked it up, briefly inspecting it before turning to the Aikido fighter once more. “Tenko, did something happen? Tenko?!”

Tenko snapped out of her thoughts. “H-Huh? What?!” She realized Kaede was right next to her. “A-Ah! Kaede! I… I’m so sorry!”

The pianist looked confused. “Sorry… For what? Tenko, what’s going on?”

The events started to replay in Tenko’s head. She started to hyperventilate and tell everything to Kaede as soon as it came to her mind. “I-I ran into Korekiyo and then we had to talk and he told me about a lullaby and then I threw him to the ground and his bandages came off and he ran away and I-” It was then that she noticed Kiyo’s hat in Kaede’s hands. Her eyes widened. “I-I gotta apologize!” She snatched the hat out of the pianist’s hands and immediately ran as quick as she could towards Korekiyo’s room.

Tenko bolted past everyone. She came across Kirumi, almost bumped into Miu (who in response proceeded to cram 3 different slurs in a single sentence), and carelessly shoved Kokichi aside as she ran as fast as her legs could take her.

Finally, she arrived, nearly breathless, at Korekiyo’s bedroom door. She took a deep breath, and knocked.

“K-Kiyo! I-I’m… I came to give you your hat back!” She said.

…

No response.

“Listen, I’m…” Tenko took a deep breath and prepared for what she was about to say. “I’m sorry, okay?! I lashed out at you, and I’m sorry!”

…

No response.

She sighed. She didn’t think she’d ever say this about a male, much less about Korekiyo, but…

“...I’m worried! Please just open the door, or I’m gonna have to break it down!” She said. She hoped she didn’t have to do that, but there was no way she wouldn’t leave without knowing he was at least alright.

Fortunately, Kiyo opened the door.

The first thing Tenko noticed were his eyes. They were red, puffy, as if he was crying, and it even looked like there were some dried tears on his face. His hair was a mess, and his mask looked like he had just put it on in a rush.

“I, um… I-I came to give you this…” Tenko said, the words barely coming out of her mouth as she extended her hands, presenting Kiyo’s hat to him as she forced a smile. He wordlessly snatched it out of her hands and slammed the door shut again. Tenko wanted to protest, to keep knocking and to tear this damn door down so she could apologize face to face, but she decided against it.

This had been a rough turn of events for Kiyo, and also for her. Kiyo needed space, and Tenko needed some time to lay down and think. She walked to her own bedroom door, opened it, and entered. She made her way to her bed and unceremoniously slumped onto it. She remained like that for a while, her face buried in the pillow, trying to think.

Was all her master told her a lie? A lie to keep her in line? She was a very feisty kid, so it wasn’t out of the question…

Then, if the things about eating too much candy or going to sleep late were a lie…

Was the thing about degenerate males a lie too?

It would make sense, considering that everything else he told her was-

…

What he told her.

What he told her.

He.

Her master is a male. Of course the “degenerate males” thing was a lie. Her master had been such a kind and nice person, and he was male. And somehow Tenko had never noticed such a giant contradiction, even though she always talked about her master. Everything was laid out right in front of her but she never put the pieces together because she was blind, just mindlessly believing the same things she was told as a child without questioning. It took her a task from Kaede that ended up with her throwing Korekiyo to the ground for her to realize.

“...I’m such an idiot…” Tenko mumbled to herself. Then she remembered something.

Korekiyo.

What was up with him, anyway?

At first she thought he was just a creepy degenerate and nothing more. But after seeing what was under his bandages… She knew there was something more. Those scars… They looked…

Self-inflicted.

And that made Tenko uneasy.

Ding dong, ding dong

The nighttime announcement played. The 5 little colorful bears were doing yet another awful attempt at being funny and charming, but Tenko was far past the point of caring for what they had to say. She just wanted to sleep. Not even bothering to switch to her pajamas or pull up her blanket, Tenko sighed, and closed her eyes.

…

Still, she barely managed to sleep, and the little she slept wasn’t very good. When the morning announcement played, Tenko contemplated the pros and cons of tearing down that damn monitor, but ultimately decided not to do so. It was best not to get in trouble with Monokuma.

She groggily walked out of her bedroom, not even changing clothes or combing her hair. Step after step, Tenko slumped to the cafeteria, where she absent-mindedly ordered something from the little bears. She didn’t even specify what, just told them to make “whatever”. Normally she’d never even consider such a thing, after all, who knows what they could put in her food?! …But as of now, she was too tired to care.

Tenko sat down to wait for her order, and nearly fell asleep on the table, only jolting awake once she felt a nudge on her shoulder. “U-Umm…” The soft, timid voice came from the white-and-pink bear, Monophanie. Out of the 5 Monokubs, Monophanie had always been the one Tenko hated the least, though that was probably because she was the only female Monokub. “Y-You look really sleepy and tired, s-so I thought we’d make you some coffee…” Monophanie said, offering a medium-sized mug filled with pitch black coffee.

Tenko took the mug and shunned Monophanie away. She tried to take a sip, but it was too hot, so she decided to just let it cool down for a while. The Aikido fighter stared at her reflection in the dark liquid. God, she did look awful…

She felt another nudge in her shoulder, and prepared to shun Monophanie away a second time, but as she looked over her shoulder, she saw that the one nudging her was Kaede Akamatsu.

“Hey, Tenko.” Kaede greeted her, offering a small smile. The sight of the pianist always made Tenko feel a little bit better. Kaede sat down next to her, and took a deep breath. “Look, I know something’s bothering you.” She said, still smiling. “I don’t know what happened yesterday, with you and Korekiyo, but… I’m here to listen if you need to talk, okay?”

Tenko stared at Kaede for a few seconds. “...My world is falling apart…” She muttered.

The pianist took a few seconds to process what Tenko had just said. “Huh? What do you mean…?”

“My master. He lied to me.” She began. “He told me men were degenerates, that they’d always try to touch me and that I should never trust a male.” She rested her head on the table, arms slumped to their sides. “And I believed that. For years. I believed that and a bunch of other stuff he told me.”

“Wait, your master… Is male?” Kaede asked.

Tenko sighed and balled up her fists. “YEAH, HE IS!” Tenko shouted, lifting her head and looking at Kaede. “But I never realized that! Never!” Tears ran down her face. She felt so stupid. Everyone immediately noticed this glaring issue as soon as they heard it, but Tenko had to have it pointed out to her.

Kaede was taken aback by Tenko’s sudden outburst, but was quick to gently caress the Aikido fighter on her back. After a few moments of silence where the only noise was Tenko’s weeping, Kaede spoke. “...Was Kiyo the one who, um… Told you that?”

Tenko stopped for a moment. “K-Kinda…” She gulped. “Y-You told me yesterday to spend time with the first guy I found, and that was Kiyo. He… told me about some folklore stories and how they were used to keep kids from misbehaving.” She took a moment to breathe. “W-When he started talking about these legends… About the things they were meant to keep kids from doing… That’s… That’s when it hit me. All the stuff my master told me, it was just meant to… To keep me in check. It was just stuff meant for kids, but I never grew out of it! And because of that, I’ve just been… A jerk!”

Memories flashed before Tenko’s eyes, all the times she threw Shuichi around for no reason, all the times she refused to even acknowledge Ryoma, all the times she called Gonta a degenerate male…

She slammed her fist against the table, causing some of the coffee to spill out of her mug. “I’m… I’m so gullible…”

Kaede never expected that her plan could have such drastic results. Sure, she wanted Tenko to get over her bias against boys, but that wasn’t something that could happen overnight. Now, the poor girl had all her beliefs shattered and her trust in her master was shaken. Kaede didn’t blame Tenko for having such a strong emotional reaction.

“Well… You can start growing now.” Kaede said, earning a surprised and somewhat hopeful look from Tenko. “It’s never too late to improve, right? So… We can start working on that!” The pianist offered a sincere, optimistic smile. “A-Ah, but let’s not rush it. These things take time.”

Tenko felt like she was about to cry tears of joy. Men might not be as bad as she previously thought, but women were still as perfect as ever. “T-Thank you!” She said, holding back the urge to tackle hug Kaede onto the ground. “...But… Where do I begin…?”

“Well, maybe you should talk some more to Kiyo? Give a proper apology to him, and maybe you two can even become friends!” The pianist said, beaming with positivity.

Tenko was still a bit creeped out by Kiyo, but… She did need to properly apologize. And who knows, maybe Kaede was right. Maybe they could become friends…

…Besides, she was still worried about what she’d seen under his bandages.

“AHAHAHA!” A loud, high pitched laugh pierced through Tenko’s ears. “Damn, Tencrotch! Ya got eyebags so bad ya could use ‘em as f*ckin’ condoms!” Miu barged into the cafeteria, and Tenko felt the urge to throw her mug at the Ultimate Inventor. Right, maybe women weren’t as perfect as she thought, either. “Whatcha so tired for? I’m guessin’ ya spent the entire night jillin’ off to witch-bitch, eh?!”

“Shut up, Miu! No one’s in the mood!” Kaede shouted, pointing a finger at the inventor.

“E-Eeek!” Miu immediately backed off, shifting into her true, cowardly self. “I-I-I was j-just joking around, y’know… T-Trying to light up the m-mood…” She muttered.

“Oh silly Miu, that’s useless! Everyone knows you’re not funny!” Kokichi intervened as he entered. The Ultimate Supreme Leader’s comment was enough to shift Miu back into her usual rude self.

“And what’s a little lying twat like you supposed to know about bein’ funny?!” Miu snarled.

“More than you, that’s for sure!” Kokichi said, smiling with his arms behind his head.

“HA! As if! I’m the most hilarious girl in the WORLD!” The inventor retorted.

“You only make sex jokes, that’s it! You suck at sex jokes AND at sex!” The Ultimate Supreme Leader kept on attacking Miu’s ego.

“W-Why you…! I’ll let you know I’m the sexiest, smartest AND funniest girl you’ll EVER meet!” Miu said in a poor attempt at a comeback, her confident persona cracking.

“Wow, and I thought I was a nasty liar!” Kokichi kept on pestering Miu for who knows how long. Tenko and Kaede were considering leaving, until thankfully Kirumi stepped in and put an end to the two’s childish bickering.

The Ultimate Maid walked over towards Tenko, a look of inquiry in her face. “Hello, Tenko.” She said, bowing down slightly. Kirumi took one look at the coffee mug in front of Tenko, and slightly grimaced. “It appears you have not taken a single sip.” She picked up the mug. “Thank god.” Before Tenko could protest, Kirumi looked at her. “I will prepare a decent and complete breakfast, for you and everyone else. Please, just wait a bit.” She made her way to the cafeteria’s kitchen. “...Furthermore, I’d like to ask you something later.”

Tenko nodded. She, Kaede, Miu and Kokichi sat and waited for breakfast. Kaede and Tenko made some small chat. Unfortunately, Miu and Kokichi’s preferred pastime was annoying each other and, consequently, everyone else around. Things got a little better once Gonta and Keebo arrived, quieting down both Kokichi and Miu respectively.

A few more people walked in. Shuichi walked in without a word, sitting next to Kaede. Tenko could hear him whispering “Is Tenko okay…?” to the pianist. Angie walked in, hopping with excitement and greeting everyone. Rantaro entered and Tenko could see as he looked at her with a bit of worry in his eyes, though he didn’t say anything. Maybe he was scared to get yelled at or thrown for doing so. Tsumugi was so plain that Tenko didn’t even notice when she arrived, as if the Ultimate Cosplayer had simply materialized there.

Eventually, breakfast was ready. Kirumi distributed the plates to those that were already present, and kept the food of the ones yet to arrive in the kitchen. For Tenko, her breakfast was a nice plate of pancakes and a mug with coffee that smelled and looked a hundred times better than that of Monophanie’s.

As Tenko immediately began eating, Kirumi sat beside her. “There is something I’d like to ask, if I may.” She said. The Aikido master gestured for the maid to continue. “Yesterday, I saw Korekiyo frantically running in the halls. He looked distressed, so I reached out to him, but he ignored me. Moments later, you passed by, running just as quickly, and with his hat in hands. So, if I may be so bold: What happened?”

Kaede looked a bit confused as well. Tenko had forgotten to mention that her encounter with Kiyo ended up with him being thrown on the ground. “Ah, that… Um…” Tenko wasn’t sure where to begin, but that didn’t matter since she was interrupted.

“Oh. Oh. I get it.” Miu said, looking serious. And then, in a moment, she shifted into a hysterical laughter while pointing at Tenko. “You and creepshow are f*cking, ain’t ya?! That’s why ya look like sh*t, he’s kept ya up all night! AHAHAHA!” The Ultimate Inventor’s obnoxious laughter was nearly deafening. “All that- All that degenerate male bullsh*t-! Ya just wanted dick and didn’t know how to ask for it! No wonder ya were runnin’ after him like that! AHAHAHAHA!”

“Please be silent.” And once more, Korekiyo suddenly manifested out of nowhere. His sudden whispery, ominous voice was enough to startle Miu so badly that she fell to the floor.

“E-E-EEEEEEK!” She screamed. “I-I-I-I-” She stammered, but the words wouldn’t come out. Kiyo just rolled his eyes and stepped away, taking a seat nearby.

Everyone stared at him, especially Tenko and Kirumi.

“Ah, good morning, Korekiyo.” The maid said.

“Good morning.” The anthropologist replied, his hand fiddling with one of his outfit’s metal decors.

Kirumi walked back to the kitchen and brought Kiyo his food. A cup of tea and some delicious cookies that smelled delightful. “Korekiyo, would it be bothersome if I asked what exactly happened regarding you and Tenko yesterday?”

“HA, no need to ask, we already kn-” Miu began, but a quick glance from Kiyo was enough to immediately shut her up.

“Well, it is quite simple.” The anthropologist began. “Tenko seemed distressed. As I know she does not like men and can get quite… aggressive, I simply made my way out.”

“By running desperately?” Kirumi asked.

“Yes, I wasn’t in the mood to get thrown around.” Kiyo replied.

“Woooow!” Kokichi began, and turned to face Tenko. “See, Tenko? You’re so violent, even Kiyo was scared of you!”

The breakfast talk was almost entirely about Kiyo and Tenko, though neither of the two were actually paying attention. As more people arrived, the noise seemed to become a bit too much for Korekiyo to handle, and as soon as he had finished eating, he excused himself and left. Tenko decided this’d be a great opportunity to talk alone to him and properly apologize, so she got up and went after him.

“I’m tellin’ ya, these two are f*cking!” Miu said as soon as Tenko went after Kiyo, and the Aikido master considered turning 180° degrees just to reenter the cafeteria and slap the inventor’s face, but apologizing to Korekiyo was more important.

As she ran, she spotted him walking back towards his bedroom. “K-Kiyo, wait!” She said, causing him to turn back to face her. When she caught up to him, she took a moment to catch her breath, before she began speaking. “I’m… sorry. About what happened yesterday, I mean…”

Korekiyo stood still, looking at her for a few seconds. It felt as if his bright yellow eyes were piercing right through her. Eventually though, he spoke. “Apology accepted.”

Tenko’s eyes widened. “R-Really?”

“Yes. I cannot quite understand why you had such an outburst, but I can see that whatever the reason, you are still emotionally shaken by it.” He embraced himself. “Such a raw display of emotion… And yet, you still move on, you seek me out to apologize…” He extended his arms to his sides. “Ah! I am truly lucky that I can witness such beauty! Two days in a row, no less! How wonderful!”

…Well, at least it was nice to know Korekiyo was back to his usual, weird self.

“Well then, I believe we have no further topics to discuss.” Kiyo said as he turned around. “I will be in my room. Have a great day, Tenko.” He began walking away, but Tenko still felt like just an apology wasn’t enough. She was still worried about what she’d seen.

“W-Wait!” She said, causing Kiyo to turn around once more. “U-Um… About yesterday… You uh… You didn’t get to tell me about that lullaby.” Tenko hoped this would be enough to get the anthropologist to stay. He looked surprised for a moment, but thankfully, Tenko’s plan worked.

“Hmm…” Kiyo pondered for a few seconds. “Very well.” He said. “Let us revisit the topic of that lullaby…”

And so, it began. Korekiyo went into intricate detail about the lullaby, the lyrical implications it had, and even other similar lullabies. This allowed him to breach into other cultures and their lullabies that passed on through many generations, and that in turn allowed him to breach into other cultural aspects all around the world, and the weirdest part was…

…Tenko didn’t mind it.

In all honesty, it was kind of interesting. She had spent so much time in her life only within her own worldview, as if trapped in a little bubble, and now, hearing about so many places around the world and how different cultures had their similarities and variations, how they could interpret one thing in more than one way, it was… Fun!

Tenko let out a yawn in the middle of Kiyo’s rambling though, and almost immediately realized how bad that could be. “S-Sorry! I just… Didn’t sleep much tonight…”

“Ah, I see.” Kiyo was surprisingly understanding. “It’s best you still stay awake for a bit, however. Taking a nap so early might mess with your regular sleeping schedule.”

She let out another yawn. “Yeah, I guess you’re right… I shouldn’t… Stay up late…”

…Shouldn’t she? This was a belief she held because of her master, but…

“Hm. I see that look of distress from yesterday dawning on your expression again.” Korekiyo said. “May I ask what is the matter?” He said, quietly putting his arms behind his back.

Tenko didn’t know exactly what was wrong. Her mind was in turmoil and her lack of sleep wasn’t helping. “I just… My master…” She began, the words barely coming out of her mouth. “He told me all this stuff… About… Staying up late and…” She felt like she was nearly collapsing then and there.

“Ah, I see the issue.” Korekiyo began. “First, I believe it’s best we take a seat.”

Korekiyo led Tenko back to the cafeteria. Luckily, it was empty, so there would be no needless gossiping or questioning. The Aikido fighter had a bit of trouble following Kiyo, but she also wasn’t comfortable asking to take his hand.

“Your master led you to believe there was gonna be some absurd consequence to staying up late, correct?” Korekiyo began, as they sat down. Tenko nodded. “I see… And yesterday, when I began talking about the ways parents will make up stories to get their children to be on their best behavior… That was what made you realize.”

“Y-Yeah… Pretty much…” She muttered.

“I assume your hatred of men came from a similar origin?” He asked.

“Mhmm…” Tenko nodded. “...And I believed it… For years… But now I’m not even sure if I should!” She raised her voice. “I believed him! Then I found out that was just to discipline me! And now you told me that staying up late is bad…” Tenko was on the verge of crying. “I just… Don’t know if I should believe it or not…”

Korekiyo was silent for a moment. “It’s not as black and white of a question as you may think it is.” He said.

She looked at him, confused. “W-What…?”

“Well, there is a reason as to why parents do such things.” He began. “Staying up late is detrimental. So is eating too many sweets, which is why a parent would like to avoid their child doing both these things. Contrary to that, eating healthy foods like vegetables is good for a child’s development, hence why a parent would want their child to do that. And, of course, there are bad males out there whom children must watch out for and avoid.”

“S-So…” Tenko began. “I… Shouldn’t completely forget what he told me?”

“Correct. The problem wasn’t that you believed your master's lessons, in fact, it’s great that you believed him, and especially that you had a self defense method such as Aikido.” The anthropologist said. “The issue lies in that you took his teachings at face value, even after growing up, not acknowledging how nuanced people truly are.”

“Nuanced…” Tenko repeated the word, thinking about it.

“Yes, nuanced.” Korekiyo gave Tenko a rather extensive lecture on how there are many different factors that determine a person’s morality other than simply their gender. Things like familiar structure, wealth, religion, education, and other societal conditions were factors that played a role in a person’s moral beliefs. At one point, he had to stop just to order a meal for the two of them due to how long his speech was going for. “...In summary, while someone’s gender can certainly play a role in their views, as it is something that affects their personal experience, it is far from being the only factor that determines whether or not they are bad.” He concluded.

Tenko wasn’t really able to take all of it in due to her absent minded state. Still, she managed to understand where Korekiyo was getting at. “Mhmm… Got it…” She rubbed her eyes. She’d probably have to ask him to go over it again later.

A loud sound startled the Aikido master.

Ding dong, ding dong

The nighttime announcement began playing. Neither Tenko nor Korekiyo had realized how much time had passed. “Ah… It seems I have been talking for quite a while.” Kiyo commented. “Well, I suppose you are safe to go to bed now.”

“Yeah… I’m… Sleepy…” Tenko was barely able to speak.

Like when he took her to the cafeteria, Korekiyo led Tenko to her bedroom to make sure she didn’t fall asleep halfway there. He stopped in front of her bedroom. “This is where we part ways for today. Have a good night, Tenko.” He said.

“Alright…” She opened the door to her bedroom and entered. Korekiyo turned around to leave, but for the third time, Tenko stopped him. “Hey Kiyo…?” He turned around. “...Thanks, and um, see you tomorrow…” She said, and closed the door.

Kiyo stood there for a few seconds, before walking back to his bedroom. He entered, and closed the door. He took off his hat, and switched into his pajamas: a simple, green-ish gown and his sleeping mask. He sat on his bed, closed his eyes, and wrapped his arms around himself. Engulfed in utter silence, he listened.

She had a lot to say today.

“You missed a great opportunity.” She whispered in his ear. “She was sleepy. Vulnerable. Alone with you. No one knew. No one would’ve known. No one would be able to prove anything.”

Korekiyo was silent.

“She’d be a good friend. For me. Not for you.” She continued. “You know that, right? You’re not allowed to be near other girls unless I tell you to. The only girl you need is me.”

…

“You knew that. You knew all of that, didn’t you? Then why didn’t you take the opportunity? Why didn’t you send her to me?” She asked. He didn’t respond. “Answer me.” She demanded.

“I didn’t want to hurt her.” Korekiyo answered.

She scoffed. “Pitiful. I expected more of you, Korekiyo. Didn’t you say you’d do anything for me? You promised. You promised you’d send me friends.”

“S-Sister, please-” Korekiyo didn’t like the turn this was taking. But of course, he didn’t have a choice. He never had.

“Be silent.” Her whispers were making his ears hurt. “You think you can get rid of me just because I’m dead? No. Death won’t do us part, Korekiyo. And you will do what I tell you, even if I have to force you.” She went silent for a moment. “Get the knife.”

Korekiyo gulped. “T-T-There are n-no knives here…”

“Liar.” Her words cut deeper than any blade, but She still wanted to cause him physical harm. “You took one from the kitchen. I know you did. I know everything you do.”

Tears started welling up in Korekiyo’s eyes. He didn’t want to. He never wanted to. But he always did as he was told. He walked to the drawer he had hid the knife in, and took it.

…

Maybe it was just superstition. Maybe it was something she developed over the years. But Tenko had developed a sort of 6th sense over the course of her life. She knew when something was wrong.

She was having a nice, cute little dream, about a young little kid gleefully delivering sweets to their sickly relative. But the dream became a nightmare. Something took the place of the relative, lying there in their bed, looking the same but so different at the same time.

Tenko woke up in a cold sweat, nearly falling out of her bed. Her breathing was erratic. She placed her hand on her chest, taking deep breaths and feeling as her heart beat slowed down. What was that nightmare…?

She knew something was… off.

Tenko got up from her bed and walked out of her room, still in her pajamas. She closed the door. Her bedroom was on the top side of the dormitory, positioned diagonally relative to Kiyo’s bedroom, though his was on the bottom floor. Something was going on there. She made her way downstairs and stopped in front of his bedroom. She leaned forward and pressed her ear against the door.

She heard sobbing.

Amidst things like eating all her vegetables and not trusting men, there was one lesson from her Master that Tenko always followed, one that even during her breakdown, she never doubted for a second.

“Always help those who need it.”

Tenko took a deep breath, and slowly opened the door.

“...Kiyo?”

The sobbing stopped abruptly.

Tenko entered, and her heart began racing as she saw blood on the floor. Kiyo’s blood.

“K-Kiyo!” Tenko rushed inside of his bedroom.

Korekiyo was kneeled on the floor. His bandages were off, his right hand shaky, fingers wrapped around the handle of a kitchen knife. Blood poured out of his left hand’s wrist, the skin hastily cut. It poured all over his arm and dripped onto the floor. Similarly, tears ran down his face and to the ground, but amidst the bright, pink sea, they were invisible.

“D-D-D-Don’t… Look…” Kiyo muttered under his shaky breath, but Tenko could not and would not leave him like this.

She kneeled down next to him, not caring if she ended up staining her clothes. Tenko’s eyes darted back and forth between the knife and Kiyo’s wrist. She was panicking a bit, but she knew she had to stay calm. What would Kaede do in a situation like this…? “...Put down the knife.” She said.

“I-I can’t, I-” He stammered, but Tenko wouldn’t give up.

“Kiyo, it’s okay. I’m here. Just put down the knife, okay?” She said.

Kiyo hesitated at first, but his fingers slowly let go of the knife. It fell to the ground, and though the clanking noise it made wasn’t very loud, it definitely sounded awful to Kiyo. He clenched his fists and shut his eyes.

Tenko took a deep breath. Good, she managed to get the knife out of the equation. But what should she do now…? Normally the next step would be to wash his wounds, but Monokuma turned the academy’s water system off during nighttime…

“Do you have any more bandages?” Tenko asked. Kiyo nodded, and using his uninjured hand, pointed to one of the cabinets in this drawer. Tenko opened it. Fortunately, Kiyo still had plenty of clean bandages. She rolled a bunch together and used it to gently wipe off the excess blood from his cuts, applying a bit of pressure to stop the bleeding. Then, she took some more bandages, and wrapped them around his arm. “We’re cleaning these first thing in the morning.”

Korekiyo was silent while she bandaged his arm. “I don’t… deserve that…” He whispered.

“Huh?” Tenko stopped for a moment.

“These are supposed to hurt. I don’t deserve to try and make it better.” He said.

“What you don’t deserve is being hurt.” She said, earning a shocked look from the anthropologist. “We’ll be cleaning these tomorrow, I’ll be taking that knife back wherever you got it, and I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”

It still didn’t feel right for Kiyo to be treated like this. But he didn’t argue with Tenko. He just nodded. His sister was completely silent, like she usually was whenever there were other girls nearby. He didn’t know whether she did this deliberately or if she couldn’t reach him in these moments, but it was one of the reasons he liked spending time with girls. It’s why he hoped Tenko would stay a bit longer.

“...I’m sleeping here.” She said, much to his surprise. “I gotta make sure you don’t try this again.”

He was shocked. To think Tenko of all people would be so worried about him. He didn’t complain though, he just nodded in agreement. She finished bandaging up his arm, and took a deep breath. The ground was soaked in drying blood, and both had their pajamas stained.

Tenko got up, and extended her hand to Korekiyo. After the two were standing, she looked over to the bed. It was definitely spacious enough for two people, but it also only had one pillow and one cushion. Whatever, a small cushion was enough for Tenko. Before going to sleep though, she took the knife from the ground and stuffed it back in the drawer.

“Don’t even think of getting your hands on it, got it?” Tenko commanded. He nodded. “C’mon, let’s go to bed.” She said, helping him lay down. “We shouldn’t stay up late.”

And so, the two went to sleep, right next to each other.

They didn’t cuddle or get too close. Tenko was still a bit uncomfortable being so close to a guy after years of believing men were all perverts, and Kiyo didn’t want to be touched, not to mention his arm was sore. So, they laid there with their backs turned to each other. Still, just being there together was nice.

It was the first night in years that Korekiyo didn’ have a nightmare.

Ding dong, ding dong

The two of them woke up with the morning announcement. Tenko’s eyes slowly opened, and she sat up on the bed. Looking to her side, Kiyo was sleeping rather peacefully. She wished she could let him sleep some more, but they needed to clean his wounds now that the water was back on.

“Kiyo…” She said, nudging him. “Wake up.”

Korekiyo groaned. “Hm…?”

“We gotta clean off your wounds.” She said. “C’mon.”

“...Ah. Yes, you’re right…” Kiyo whispered, slowly sitting up. Tenko helped him get out of bed and to the bathroom.

She undid his bandages, and positioned his arm under the sink tap. She turned on the water, and let it pour over his wounds. Korekiyo winced a bit, but having Tenko around calmed him down. Tenko grabbed the soap and gently rubbed it over the cuts, trying not to brush her fingers against them. She rinsed them some more, and grabbed a nearby towel to dry his arm. After that, she grabbed a fresh, clean bundle of bandages and wrapped it around his arm.

“There…” She said. She looked him in the eyes. “Don’t do that again, okay?” Kiyo couldn’t promise that, but he nodded nonetheless.

The two left the bathroom, and were met with a distressing sight.

“Well well well, you two made quite a mess during the night, huh?” Monokuma said. The monochrome bear was standing on Kiyo’s bed and pointed at the bloodstains on the floor. “And guess who’s gonna have to clean up?! ME!” He said with an angry expression, and flashed his claws. “Damn you…! This isn’t the kind of mess you two should be doing together during nighttime!”

Tenko blushed heavily, and pointed back at Monokuma. “W-What do you mean by that?!”

“Ah, whatever. I’ll just clean this up when you leave. I’ve even brought you your uniform so you wouldn’t have to leave in a blood stained pajama!” Monokuma stepped aside to reveal Tenko’s clothes neatly folded behind him. “Aren’t I just a wonderful headmaster?”

“G-Get out already!” Tenko shouted.

Monokuma looked sad. “Aww… I was just trying to be nice…” He shifted into an angry expression. “Argh! The youth are so ungrateful nowadays! Ah, who cares. Just get ready you two, and then get out! Oh, and by the way, you are forbidden from entering this bedroom until nighttime!”

“Fine, fine!” Tenko yelled at the bear. “Oh, and since you’re gonna clean this all either way…” She went to the drawer and took out the knife from yesterday. “Put this back where it should be, got it?”

“Ugh, who do you think you are to boss me around?! I’m the headmaster here!” He sighed. “Sometimes it feels like I don’t have authority over my own students…” Monokuma hung his head low. “Ah, who cares! I’ll do it, fine. Just get ready and leave!” And like that, Monokuma vanished.

The two were speechless and frankly a bit embarrassed by Monokuma’s… implications. The Aikido fighter took her clothes and went back to the bathroom to change. Once she was done, she folded her pajamas, deciding she’d just leave them here for Monokuma to take care of when he cleaned Kiyo’s bedroom. She left the bathroom to find Kiyo, his uniform in hands, waiting for her to leave so he could change.

Once he left, his right hand was still unbandaged, and his hair was still a mess. Tenko took it upon herself to comb his hair. She had never noticed how… beautiful it was, even in its current state. It also felt really nice, and smelled just as good. She brushed those thoughts away though, she had to focus. While she sat behind him, brushing his hair, she looked over his shoulder to see his right arm. She could more clearly see the scars on his wrists. For how long had he been doing this…?

…And why?

Tenko had already made up her mind. She’d get to the bottom of this, no matter how long it took. For now though, she thought it was best to just take it easy.

“...Tenko.” He said.

“Hm?” She snapped out of her thoughts.

“Could you perhaps… Grab a few more bandages?” He asked. “I would like to bandage my other arm as well.”

She nodded, and got up from the bed. She walked to the drawer, and opened it, taking another bundle of bandages from inside. However, this time, she also saw… something else. A bundle of red rope.

“Um…” She carefully picked it up, pinching it with her fingers. “What… is this?”

“Ah.” Kiyo put a hand over his mask. He was silent for a moment. “...I simply have a… special interest in ropes and… what one can do with them. That’s all.”

“Uh huh…” She muttered, placing the rope back into the drawer and closing it. She handed the bandages to Kiyo, and sat back behind him to continue combing his hair. “...Well, uh… what… can one do with them?” She wasn’t sure why she asked this, or if she really did want the answer, but it was too late to back away now.

Kiyo took a moment to think. “There are many ways rope has been used historically. Mainly, as a way of restraint, as one would likely imagine.” Tenko nodded. “However, that was not their only use, as they were also instruments of torture.”

“T-Torture…?” Tenko was a bit nervous. She didn’t like talking or thinking about being in pain, and the mere mention of torture made her hesitant, but she was also… curious. “W-Wait, wouldn’t whips be more, um… efficient for that?”

“Kehehehehe…” Kiyo laughed. “No, I believe you are misunderstanding how they were used. They weren’t used to hit prisoners, but rather, to tie them up.”

“Tie them up? Wouldn’t that just be restraining them, then?” She asked.

“It depends on how they are tied.” Korekiyo explained. “There are many positions that one can be tied up in, and a variety of them are… painful. For example, the Reverse Shrimp Tie. It originated in ancient Japan, and it receives such a name because the position that the subject is tied in resembles that of a shrimp. It’s said that being tied in such a manner makes your whole body feel like it burns…”

“Oh, that actually makes a lot of sense!” She said. “In Aikido there are a lot of warm ups we do to get ready for training, and there’s a few of them that hurt if you hold for too long… so, tying someone up like that does sound painful…”

The anthropologist was a bit surprised, but pleasantly so. “Kehehehehe… interesting. Perhaps… we have more in common than I initially thought.”

Tenko smiled. At least she was getting him to open up a bit.

Once everything was done, Korekiyo and Tenko got up. The anthropologist put on his hat, and they were ready to leave. The two walked towards the door, and opened it, leaving one after the other in complete silence. Neither wanted to attract much attention to themselves.

Unfortunately, someone was standing near Kiyo’s bedroom.

And in a moment, a loud, startling, noise echoed through the entire dormitory.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Miu Iruma laughed as obnoxiously as ever. “I knew it! I knew it! You two ARE f*cking!” She pointed her finger at the two.

“Please be sil-” Korekiyo began, but his intimidation was futile. Either Miu ignored him, or she couldn’t hear him over her own deafening cackling.

One by one, the students that were still in their bedrooms left, and the ones who had already left the dormitory were coming back. “The hell?!” Kaito shouted as he walked out of his bedroom, covering both of his ears with his hands.

A worried Rantaro walked back into the dorms, unsure what was happening or what to do. Kirumi came right behind him. “Why’s Miu laughing so much?” She asked, and Rantaro just shrugged in response.

“Nyeh, what’s all this noise…” A sleepy Himiko said, tiredly peeking out of her bedroom, still in her pajamas.

Kaede, Shuichi, Maki, Angie, everyone quickly arrived to try and understand just what the hell was going on.

“M-Miu, please, lower your volume…! My auditory sensors are at their limit…!” Keebo said. “Why are you even laughing so much?!”

The Ultimate Inventor’s laugh started to die down. “Y’all didn’t believe me when I said it, but guess what just happened?! Tenco*cksucker and Creepshow just came outta the same room! Ahahaha!”

“Is this true, Tenko?” Kirumi asked.

“I–I-I… Um…” Tenko was blushing, unsure how to respond. The fact that she was still right next to Kiyo and in front of his door didn’t help her case.

“Of course it’s true! This bitch just couldn’t cope with lack of dick and went after the first guy she could find!” Miu snarled.

Rantaro looked to his side, and saw Angie, with one of her fingers up. “What are you doing?” He asked.

“Counting!” She replied, as cheery as ever. “One…” She whispered, her eyes closed.

Tenko gritted her teeth.

“And ya went after Creepshow, of all people! Damn, you must be REALLY desperate, AHAHAHA!”

“Two…” Angie raised another finger.

Tenko clenched her fist.

“Wait wait wait, don’t tell me ya made out through his mask?!” Miu cackled. “AHAHA, oh man, that’s f*ckin’ hilari-”

“Three!” Angie announced.

Tenko wound up her fist and delivered a punch straight to Miu’s face. The inventor stumbled backwards onto the ground. “O-OWWW! T-T-The f*ck was that for-?!” Miu yelled, a tear rolling down her face, and a pink streak coming from her nostril.

“That’s enough!” Kirumi shouted and finally intervened. She looked at Tenko. “We are not supposed to be fighting amongst ourselves!” She then turned and looked at Miu. “And what Tenko and Kiyo do in their free time is none of our business!”

“Yeah, Kirumi is right!” Kaede jumped in. “We’re supposed to be working together, fighting’s just gonna make things worse!”

“B-But-” Miu began.

“Miu was the one who-” Tenko said.

“No buts! I have already made breakfast. We are all going to eat and leave this topic behind.” Kirumi stomped her foot like an angry mom, and started making her way to the cafeteria. Kaede followed suit.

“...Tch! Whatever.” Miu said, getting up and making her way to the dining hall.

One by one, everyone started going to the cafeteria as well.

Though Kirumi had told them to leave this topic behind, Tenko could still hear some gossiping.

“You know you f*cked up when even the Ultimate Girl Lover hates you!” Kokichi said.

“Shut your trap before I kick you in the grapes, grape boy!” Miu growled.

“You two, Kirumi has already told us to leave this topic behind, so if you could-” Keebo began.

“Oh, of course the robot would just be mindlessly following someone’s orders.” Kokichi said. “Kirumi is already a maid, and you’re somehow below her in the hierarchy! Not surprising though, you are a robot.”

“T-That’s robophobic!” Keebo retorted.

“Wow. How did you know exactly when she was gonna punch Miu?” Rantaro asked Angie.

“I didn’t!” She replied. “Atua did. He just told me.”

“Ah, fair enough.” Rantaro chuckled.

Korekiyo also caught a few snippets of conversations as he walked next to Tenko.

“Gonta not understand… Why friends fight each other?” Gonta asked.

“Hmph. Sometimes people just lose their cool.” Ryoma answered. “At least she didn’t lose it as badly as I did…”

“Huh? What Ryoma mean?” The gentle giant was more confused now.

“...Nothing. Just forget I said anything. I shouldn’t just bring up this stuff. I’ve still got a ways to go…”

Kaito was talking to Maki and Himiko. “Why Kiyo though? No offense to him but… He is creepy as hell.”

“Nyeh? Were you talking to me?” Himiko asked.

“Y-You weren’t even listening?!” He looked genuinely surprised. “Geez, at least you get what I mean, right, Maki Roll?”

“I don’t get it and I don’t care.” Maki replied nonchalantly. “I’ve got better things to think about than whatever those two are up to. Also, stop calling me that.”

“G-God damn it…”

Eventually, everyone arrived at the cafeteria. Tenko sat next to Kiyo, and of course it was inevitable that some people would stare at them a bit while Kirumi was in the kitchen. Miu scoffed.

“f*ckin’ freaks…” She muttered under her breath, still rubbing her nose.

Kirumi arrived, bringing everyone’s breakfast. No one uttered a single word while they ate, the awkward tension in the air was almost palpable. The minutes felt like hours.

“Um…” Kaede made an attempt to break the silence. “Sooo, how is everyone doing?”

“Bad!” Kokichi immediately responded, smiling with enthusiasm.

“H-Huh?” The pianist was taken aback by the contrast between Kokichi’s words and his attitude.

“You sound… oddly excited, Kokichi.” Keebo said.

“Well duh, of course I am! After all…” He smiled deviously. “...Things are getting interesting.”

A menacing aura fell over the group. “T-The hell you mean ‘interesting’?!” Kaito asked.

“Weeeeell… I think there might be a murder soon.” Kokichi replied.

A few shocked gasps echoed in the cafeteria. “Don’t be an idiot, no one’s gonna murder anyone!” Kaito clenched his fist.

“Can you really say that?” The Ultimate Supreme Leader shifted into a serious expression. “You saw what happened this morning. Tenko…” He pointed at the Aikido master. “...punched Miu.” He pointed at the inventor. “Like it or not, that shows that the group’s already cracking. We’re already getting sick of each other.” He looked around the room. All the eyes were on him. “No one wants to be here forever. Much less with people like Miu.”

“H-Hey!” Miu yelled. Kokichi ignored her.

“And just a few minutes ago, we had our first physical aggression!” He smiled gleefully. “Hmm, I wonder who’s gonna die first? I think it’d be pretty easy to kill Miu and pin it on Tenko!”

“Eeeeek!” Miu squealed.

“Shut it!” Kaito yelled. “No one’s gonna kill anyone and that’s it!”

“Kokichi, I have already advised us to leave that topic behind.” Kirumi said in a serious tone.

“Yes, nyahahaha!” Angie smiled. “Atua said that we should all stick together, and no murder will occur! We just need to have faith!”

“Y-Yeah, there’s no way a little fight is going to shake us all into killing one another!” Kaede said. Shuichi quietly nodded in agreement.

Kokichi was silent for a moment. “Okay then.” He spoke, sounding disappointed. “If you wanna live in denial, go ahead.” He smiled. “After all, it’s not like it’s gonna change anything in the end.”

Kokichi left the cafeteria, and everyone stared at each other. Miu seemed especially nervous. “I can’t die… I can’t die…” She whispered to herself.

“Geez… That little bastard…” Kaito muttered.

Everyone was silent. Kokichi had managed to sour the mood even more, and as they finished eating, everyone excused themselves and left, with Miu being quite exasperated to do so. Kaede seemed upset that her attempt to cheer things up had resulted in this, but Shuichi was there to comfort her. Soon, only Tenko and Korekiyo remained in the cafeteria.

They sat there in awkward silence for a few moments. Tenko tapped her fingers against the table. Korekiyo fiddled with his outfit’s chains. Neither knew exactly what to do or say, but they didn’t want to leave either.

“...That little degenerate male…” Tenko muttered, talking about Kokichi, and then quickly shifting her gaze to Kiyo. “A-Ah! Sorry, force of habit…” She forced a meek smile.

“It’s quite alright.” He said. “You’ve grown up and lived with your biases for years. They’re like a tight knot, it’ll take time for them to come undone.” Tenko nodded.

A few more seconds passed, and Tenko had an idea. “Hey.” She said, catching Kiyo’s attention. “You’ve taught me some stuff about anthropology, so… Why don’t I teach you some Aikido?”

Korekiyo took a few moments to consider the idea. “Hmm…” He scratched his chin. “Yes… Kehehehehe… I have had my fair share of combat training around the world. Martial arts are a very interesting and important cultural aspect, after all. Aikido is one I am yet to learn, however. So, yes, I would greatly appreciate it if you taught me some more about it.” He said. Then he went back to pondering. “Ah, but where could we train?”

“Maybe we could use the gym?” Tenko suggested. “I doubt there’s anyone there right now.”

The anthropologist nodded. “Yes… Yes, that does sound great.”

“Good!” Tenko said, getting up with newfound enthusiasm. “Let’s go!”

She practically dragged Korekiyo to the gym, not that he minded though. He was enthralled by her. Her determination, her energy, it was all so mesmerizing, it made him feel… Something, especially in these past few days that he had spent with her. He couldn’t quite put a finger on it, though. It seemed there was yet another facet of human beauty that he had to experience.

Meanwhile, the Ultimate Artist sat alone in her bedroom. She made sure her door was locked shut, and sat on her bed, eyes closed and in utter silence. She took regular, deep breaths, focusing. Her usual smile was replaced by a completely neutral and unreadable expression. Though it’s not like Angie wasn’t hearing something.

“...I see.” She whispered to herself. “...Kokichi is right, then?”

Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Angie sat perfectly still, like one of the many statues that Atua had sculpted through her in all the years of her life.

“...It cannot be stopped?” She muttered. “...How sad…” Angie’s mouth turned into a small frown. “...Tenko will be distraught… All of us will be, but… especially her. I hope I can at least offer some comfort to her when… it happens.”

Angie’s expression returned to neutrality, and from there, she smiled a bit.

“...You’ll take care of him after all is said and done? And her as well?…How divine…” Angie said. “...Thank you.”

She opened her eyes. The Ultimate Artist got up, stretching herself after sitting in her bed for so long. As of now, she had nothing to take care of, she just had to wait until the moment arrived. Perhaps she could paint something to pass the time, and distract herself from the oncoming darkness. There was no stopping it, after all.

“...Poor Kaede.” She lamented.

Meanwhile at the gym, Tenko and Korekiyo had already begun their training. Surprisingly, Kiyo already had a decent grasp in self defense moves. He did say that he had learned the basics of plenty of martial arts in his travels around the world, so it made sense. He was a jack of all trades, to put it simply. Still, as a master of one, Tenko still had a lot to teach Kiyo in Aikido specifically.

“You see, one thing I had always found ironic…” Korekiyo said, dodging a kick from Tenko. “...is that, despite your previous biases against males, the founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba, was a man.”

“Really?” She said. “Huh, didn’t know that...” She nearly managed to grab his fist. She was holding back against him though, she didn’t want to actually hurt him, just test his reaction time.

“Additionally, you said that you and your Master often walked the streets to protect citizens from criminals, acting as… ‘Heroes of Justice’, correct?” She nodded as Korekiyo dodged again. “Coincidentally, Morihei Ueshiba’s drive to become stronger, which led to him inventing Aikido, was to protect his father from thugs.”

Tenko smiled. “Oooh, so Aikido really is the martial art of heroes!” She blushed a bit. She had already learned the ins and outs of the martial art itself, but the story of it was a whole new field, and it was just making her love her talent even more! In her excitement, she went a bit too hard on Kiyo, quickly swiping him off his feet. Fortunately, the Aikido master had a quick reaction time, and before he fell with his back to the ground, she extended her arms and held him. “A-Ah! S-Sorry about that…”

The two looked each other in the eyes. Neither knew exactly what to say. Korekiyo was laying on Tenko’s arms, speechless. They remained like that for a while, until Tenko finally realized what was happening and began blushing profusely.

“A-A-Aah! Sorry!!” She said she helped Korekiyo stand back on the floor. “I- Um- I just- Uh-” Her brain felt like it was short circuiting. “W-Well, training’s over for today-!” She blurted out. “How about uh… Why don’t you tell me more about the story of Aikido?”

Kiyo was still speechless himself. “Y-Yes, that sounds… excellent.” There was a small blush, barely visible on his cheeks due to his mask. “Let’s see…” He cleared his throat. “Morihei Ueshiba was born in Japan, on December 14th, 1883…”

Meanwhile…

“So that’s why I’m gonna go to space!” Kaito gave a hearty thumbs up. “We just gotta get out of this damn academy and everything’s set! And I wanna take everyone with me! And yes, that includes you, Maki Roll!”

“I don’t want to.” Maki replied, taking a book from the bookshelf.

“W-What?” The Ultimate Astronaut was confused.

“Are you deaf? I said I don’t want to.” She said again, her tone as cold as stone.

“W-Why not?! Doesn’t going to space sound awesome to you?” He asked.

“It sounds boring.” She replied.

“B-Boring?!”

“Nyahahaha!” A cheery, joyful laughter interrupted Kaito. “Hellooooo! Kaito and Maki!! How are you?”

“Oh good, now I have to deal with you too…” The Ultimate Child Caregiver sighed.

“Hey Angie. I’m just telling’ Maki that I wanna take everyone to space with me once we get outta here.” Kaito said.

Angie clasped her hands, and smiled. “Nyahahaha! So divine! Your resolve is truly inspired. Atua says that you’ll certainly go to space one day!” She beamed with optimism.

Kaito smiled. “See, Maki? Even Angie’s god is on my side!”

Maki rolled her eyes. “Did ‘Atua’ also tell you to come here and pester me?” She asked the Ultimate Artist.

“Hmmm…” Angie pondered for a moment. “No, he didn’t specifically ask me to pester you. He did tell me something was gonna happen in this library though, so I figured I should take a look.”

Both Kaito and Maki raised an eyebrow. “Something’s gonna happen here…?” The Ultimate Astronaut sounded a bit worried. “...What, exactly?”

The Ultimate Artist smiled. “Nyahahaha! That’s a secret! But don’t worry. Atua told me it cannot be stopped, so you don’t need to worry about it!”

“C-Cannot be stopped-?” Kaito was creeped out. “T-The hell? What can’t be stopped?!”

“As I said, you need not worry about it! Atua will take care of everything when the time comes…” She clasped her hands in a praying motion. “But! If it would ease your nerves, it has to do with Korekiyo!”

This little tidbit of information gave Kaito a bit of comfort, at least knowing something, however, it pertaining to Korekiyo, coupled with Angie’s slightly ominous tone, also made him a bit more worried. “Kiyo…” He muttered. “That guy’s always creeped me out.” He said, and then took the opportunity to change the topic. “You think he and Tenko are really… Y’know…”

“I don’t care.” Maki said, absentmindedly reading a book just to get her mind off of Kaito’s blabbering.

“If she is…” Kaito continued. “Then why Kiyo? He’s creepy as hell and I don’t think I’m the only one who thinks that!”

Angie laughed. “I think it’s because of the spirit!” She said. Kaito froze.

“S-S-Spirit…?” He stammered out.

“Yep yep!” The Ultimate Artist began explaining. “Ever since I met him, I can feel a dark spirit following him around everywhere he goes!” She said. “Its aura… is scary. You’re probably just feeling its negative energy, that’s why you’re scared of Kiyo!”

“S-S-S-So Kiyo’s b-being followed a-around by a… By a…” He shrieked. “A-A-A GHOST?!”

“Ugh, can you be quiet?” Maki shot a glare at Kaito.

“S-Sorry, it’s just…” He was trembling. “G-Ghosts are just…”

“Not real.” Maki completed his sentence. “Ghosts are just not real.”

“Don’t worry Kaito!” Angie reassured the Ultimate Astronaut. “You won’t have to worry about Kiyo for long!” She said with a cheery voice. Kaito initially felt relief, but he then realized the possible implications of what Angie had just said.

“...Huh?” He stopped. “What-”

“What do you mean by that?” Maki interrupted Kaito, asking the question for him.

“Well, I have no more business in this library.” Angie said, fiddling with a paintbrush while smiling gleefully.

“What. Do you mean. By that?” The Ultimate Child Caregiver said in a stern tone.

Angie was unfazed. “As I said… Atua will take care of everything in due time, so you don’t need to worry. Isn’t He so wonderful?” She clasped her hands together in a praying motion. “I will be taking my leave now.” Angie made her way to the library door, and stepped outside. She looked back at Kaito and Maki. “I’ll see you all back here soon! Nyahahahaha!” And like that, she left.

Kaito looked over, and this was the first time he saw a semblance of nervousness in Maki’s face.

Kiyo and Tenko had made their way back to the dining hall for a meal before nighttime. Save for a few people, the rest of the group seemed to have the same idea. Kirumi was in the kitchen making dinner, and thankfully the atmosphere now was much lighter than in the morning.

Ryoma, Gonta and Keebo were chatting, Kaede sat down next to a blushing Shuichi, Tsumugi was rambling to Rantaro about cosplays and geek media while a sleepy Himiko just barely paid attention to her… The only ones not present were Miu, Kokichi, Angie, Maki and Kaito.

Kirumi went around the cafeteria distributing everyone’s meals. Kiyo and Tenko got soup and beef respectively, both accompanied by a glass of water. They ate and chatted together, and fortunately no one made a big deal out of it. Eventually, Maki and Kaito arrived, and Tenko noticed they both stared at Korekiyo. Maki looked a bit nervous, but Kaito was straight up sweating. She almost called Kaito a degenerate, but held herself back, taking a deep breath and getting back to eating her food.

Kiyo looked at his soup as he ate, seemingly pondering something. Tenko looked at him, curious as to what he was thinking. As if sensing her curiosity, he spoke. “A common method of execution in 16th century Japan was that of boiling someone alive.” He began. “It is considered one of, if not the most painful way to die. At some point, the temperature of the water would make the skin begin melting away, making it so the clothes started sticking to the exposed muscles.” He finished.

“Um, alright…” The Ultimate Aikido Master wasn’t sure how to respond to this knowledge.

Kiyo chuckled. “Kehehehe… Apologies. That was a rather strange thing to comment, was it not?”

Tenko smiled. “Yeah… But that’s okay. I don’t mind.”

Seeing Tenko smiling like that… Kiyo nearly dropped his spoon. He stared at her, smiling under his mask. Her beauty fascinated, intrigued him, and not from an anthropological point of view. His once menacing yellow eyes now flattered her as they took in every feature of her face. Tenko couldn’t help but blush.

Both were too busy blushing at one another to notice Kaede not so discreetly looking at them. She nudged Shuichi and pointed at the pair. “They’re kinda cute, aren’t they?” She whispered to the Ultimate Detective.

“Y-Yeah…” He said, a bit nervous. “Pretty unexpected pair though…” He chuckled.

“And to think I somehow started that completely by accident…” The pianist laughed light heartedly. “I’m glad it’s going well, at least.”

“Yeah, haha…” Shuichi didn’t know what to say. He wanted to keep the conversation going but he was still not used to being so close to Kaede. “Um…”

Kaede held her head in her palm, smiling at the detective. “Y’know, you’re pretty cute too, Shuichi…”

Shuichi’s face turned so red that it could easily rival Himiko’s hair. He could only give a nervous laugh as he thanked god he wasn’t the Ultimate Robot, otherwise he’d be short circuiting right now.

Finally, everyone was done eating. In the end, the only ones who didn’t show up for dinner were Miu, Kokichi and Angie. The nighttime announcement played, and everyone got up and made their way to their room. Tenko, though, went with Kiyo to his bedroom door. He opened it and peeked inside. All the bloodstains were gone, as if they were never there to begin with. He let out a sigh of relief. He looked back at Tenko.

“So…” He began, and she already knew where he was going.

“Yeah, don’t worry. I’ll sleep with you tonight, too.” She said. Her 6th sense kicked in, and she looked behind her. Miu’s bedroom was parallel to Kiyo’s, and the inventor was standing at her door, just about to enter. “Don’t.” Was all Tenko said, shooting a glare at the inventor.

“Yeesh, I didn’t even say anything! Can’t I just get in my room in peace?!” She scoffed. “...Whatever. Joke’s worn off anyway.” Miu opened her door and closed it as she entered.

Tenko turned back to Kiyo. “I’m just gonna go to my room to get my pajamas and-”

“I believe that won’t be necessary.” He opened the door further, and pointed to Tenko’s pajamas, neatly folded on the bed, right next to his own gown. At least it seemed like the bear was making itself useful.

The two entered, and Kiyo closed the door. Tenko went to the bathroom to change first, and Kiyo did the same after she was done. Korekiyo came out of the bathroom with his bandages off, and sat next to Tenko on the bed.

“Let me see them…” She said, and Kiyo wordlessly showed his recently wounded arm to her. It was good to see the wounds were beginning to heal, but it still pained her to see him like this. “You… Never told me why you did this.”

Korekiyo looked at her. He wasn’t sure whether he should really tell her or not. What would She think? She wasn’t talking right now. Tenko had been spending time with him for a while, so he hadn’t heard Her voice in a while. He also didn’t want to leave Tenko oblivious to the truth either.

“...My sister.” He said. His heart skipped a beat once he uttered those words. There was no going back now.

“...Huh?” Tenko looked at him with a puzzled expression, silently begging for an explanation.

“Promise me…” He began. “Promise me you won’t be mad at me.” She nodded. “When I…” He took a deep breath. It was gonna be hard to open up about this. “When I was little, I had an older sister. She was always very sick, you see. Rarely did she spend time at home. Her life was confined to the hospital.” Korekiyo paused for a moment. “I always went to visit her. Bring her food. Spend time with her. I was the only one who could do so. Once, I brought a book that she requested. That… Was when I initially took an interest in anthropology.”

Tenko listened attentively to what Kiyo had to say. She could already tell something was… off. She remembered the nightmare she had, about a young child delivering sweets to a sickly relative, and she didn’t like where this was going.

“She… She liked anthropology as well. But she couldn’t travel around the world, no… That’s why I promised her I would do it. For her.” He took a deep breath. “But… That’s not everything that I did for her. Sister was very… desperate, you see. She wanted to… to…” The words barely came out of his mouth. He began trembling a bit. “...To have a boyfriend.”

Oh no. Oh no, no no no no no. Tenko really didn’t like where this was going.

“A-And so, as I frequently visited her, we… We did it. We were… together.” Kiyo said. “U-Until she died, we… We were… Lovers.” He took a deep breath. “...When she died, I felt… Different. I can’t describe it. It felt like my whole world was falling apart. She was… Everything to me. She made my uniform, every thread was woven by her in her deathbed, the hat, the armband, even the chains were added by her. She gave me my talent. And when she was gone, I felt… empty.” He sighed. “I kept traveling the world. One day, when I visited a village, I was tied up and whipped. It hurt. It hurt really badly. I… I was bleeding, and I thought I was gonna die. That’s when… She came back to me.” Sweat ran down Korekiyo’s face as his hands embraced his own body.

Tenko caressed Kiyo’s back, silently comforting him. Her fingers intertwined with his long hair, and it brought him a sense of relief.

“...Her spirit. It possessed me. And it never left. That’s why…” He placed his hand on his mask. “...It’s why I wear… This. My face… My body… They don’t belong to me. Not anymore. When I pull the mask down, it’s… Her.”

“Is… Is she…” Tenko began.

“N-No, She’s not here right now. When there’s a girl hanging out with me, She just… Disappears. I don’t know if She does this out of her own will or not.” He answered.

Silence followed for a few seconds. “...Anything else…?” Tenko asked.

“...There is one more thing.” Kiyo seemed nervous. “She… wanted something from me. She wanted me to give her… friends.”

“Friends…?” The Aikido master muttered.

“Yes, correct. One hundred friends, to be precise. One hundred girls.” He continued. “But… She is… She… She is a ghost. She is dead. So her friends… they…” He stopped. He didn’t have the courage to say it out loud. But Tenko understood it already.

She took a deep breath. “...How many?” She asked.

He gulped. “...N-N-Ninety seven…” He was on the verge of tears.

Ninety seven girls. Kiyo had killed ninety seven girls. A few days ago, knowing this would’ve made Tenko furious, but right now, it just made her… sad. Kiyo had been taken advantage of by his older sister, someone who was supposed to protect and care for him, and even after death she continued tormenting him. She was the one who drove him to this.

“T-The scars.” Kiyo presented his arm to her. “E-E-E-Everytime I f-fail, S-She…. She makes me do this.”

Tenko sighed. How could someone mistreat their little brother like this?! …And it was then that a realization hit her. “...Wait. So, if… You cut yourself yesterday, then that means-”

“Yes. You. She wanted me t-to… to kill you. But I didn’t want to, s-so…” Kiyo looked down in shame. “I-I-I’m sorry…” He said, his voice shaky. “I-I understand if you hate me now, I j-just… thought you should know…”

She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I don’t hate you.” She said.

Korekiyo looked at her, disbelief in his eyes. No, this didn’t make any sense. She hated him, she had to. “B-B-But I-”

“No no no, hush. You didn’t do anything.” Tenko stopped for a moment. “...You sister did.”

“W-What…?” He whispered. “N-No, I did it. I did it because I loved her and she loved me…”

“No.” She placed her hand on his shoulder. “That’s not love. That’s just… awful. Love shouldn’t make you hurt someone else, or make you hurt yourself, that’s just… wrong!” Tenko’s grip on Kiyo’s shoulder tightened. She was having a hard time keeping herself together too, but she wouldn’t let herself be shaken. She needed to be strong right now.

It wasn’t love… A few days ago, the insinuation that Kiyo and his sister’s relationship wasn’t love would’ve thrown the former into a rage, it’d make him spew threats, ramble about how no one else could understand, but right now… He wasn’t angry. He was just… confused.

“...What is, then?” He asked her, sincerely. Not a hint of contempt, doubt, or sarcasm. He genuinely, truthfully wanted to know. “If that wasn’t love… Then what is?”

Tenko looked him in the eyes. She took a deep breath. “This is.” She wrapped her arms around his torso, and hugged him. “...This is…” She repeated, whispering. She tightened her grip, but not too much.

Kiyo let out a gasp for air, as if this was the first time in years he’d been able to breathe. His heart started beating faster. Not out of fear. Not out of nervousness. But out of love, for the first time. Tenko felt warm against him, her face buried in his chest, and Korekiyo felt the quenching of a deep thirst deep within him, something that he had longing for unconsciously all these years, and had finally gotten. Tears started streaming down his face, and with shaking hands, he hugged Tenko back.

They remained like this for a while, Tenko listening to Kiyo’s heartbeat and the sound of his weeping. Neither were sure how much time passed, and frankly, neither wanted to break from the hug, but they needed to lie down and sleep. Tenko’s grip on him softened. “Psst…” She whispered. “Let’s go to sleep now, okay?” She pulled away from the hug, and looked at him. She gently wiped away the tears, and smiled. Tenko took a new bundle of bandages and wrapped them around his wounds for the night.

This time was different. Instead of sleeping with their backs turned to one another, this time they were much closer. Their hands intertwined, they pulled each other into another hug, they cuddled, slightly adjusted their positions, doing so very carefully not to startle the other, until they fell asleep.

…

…

Korekiyo and Tenko woke up with the morning announcement. The Monokubs were doing yet another unfunny bit, except this time the punchline wasn’t Monokid bullying Monodam, but instead a comically exaggerated apology from the former to the latter, complete with tears and emotional music. After a few seconds of debating yet again the pros and cons of tearing down the monitor, Tenko turned to nudge Korekiyo awake, though the loud orchestral music was already awakening him.

“What on earth is…?” He said, fluttering his eyes as he stared at the screen with the same bewildered attention one would stare at a car crash with.

“Yeah…” She sighed in sympathy. “Let’s just ignore them and get ready.”

It was the same routine from yesterday. The both separately changed into their day-to-day uniforms, Tenko switched Korekiyo's bandages, Korekiyo bandaged his scarred but unwounded arm, Tenko brushed his hair, and today she also got her hair brushed by him as well. The two were finally done and ready to leave, though before they did, Tenko wanted to ask Kiyo a question.

“Will you let me see you without your mask one day?” She asked.

Kiyo took a few moments to reply. “...One day, yes.” He spoke. “As I’ve said, my body doesn’t feel like it belongs to me… Not currently. I will retake it one day, however. And when that day comes… I’ll show you my face.”

Tenko smiled, and nodded. She extended her hand, and after a brief moment, Kiyo held it. Their fingers locked with one another, her skin brushing gently against his bandages. They both blushed, though Tenko’s blush was much more obvious.

“Does that mean we’re… Y’know…” The Aikido master asked timidly.

“I would like to believe so, yes.” The anthropologist answered.

Tenko couldn’t help but giggle. These past few days had been such a quick, drastic change. If she had gone back in time only 4 days and told herself that she’d not only be getting over her hatred for men, but also dating Korekiyo of all boys, her past self would have fainted.

The newfound couple made their way out of Kiyo’s bedroom. Miu was just getting out of her room, but thankfully she didn’t cause a fuss this time, instead just scoffing before walking away. She wasn’t the only one leaving her room though, there were quite a few students just getting up, one of which approached them with great enthusiasm.

“Hellooooooo!!” Angie waved her hand in the air as she approached them. “Tenkooo!! Kiyooo!! Good morning!!”

“Hey Angie!” Tenko replied, trying to return a bit of the enthusiasm.

“Greetings.” Kiyo did the same, though much more formally.

The Ultimate Artist clasped her hands together. “My, oh my! You two look so divine together! A wonderful couple, nyahahaha!!”

Tenko still felt a bit weird, having just started to actually go out with Kiyo, and Angie’s comment only accentuated that weird feeling. Still, Tenko felt happy. “Hahaha, y-yeah… Is it um… Is it that obvious…?” She said, blushing a bit.

“Well, we did just come out of the same room holding hands.” Kiyo commented. “That we are dating is an assumption most onlookers would make, yes?”

“Yep yep!!” Angie confirmed, and put her arms above her head in a praying motion. “But it wasn’t just an assumption on my end, no no no… Atua Himself told me so!!” She giggled. “And! He also wants you to know that you two have his blessing!! He’ll take care of you no matter what!!”

While Tenko didn’t necessarily share religious beliefs with Angie, she still appreciated her words. “Aww, thanks!”

Kiyo seemed a bit more surprised than Tenko, but he was also thankful. “Kehehehehe… To think we’d have a god’s blessing… Wonderful…” He whispered.

“Now then, I gotta go!” Angie said as she made her way out into the school. “See you two soon and hope you have a good day!! Byeonara!!”

“See ya around, Angie!” Tenko said.

“Goodbye.” Kiyo said.

The two waved as they made their way to the dining hall, holding hands all the way there. Meanwhile, Angie was heading to the library once more. Her usually happy expression had turned almost into a frown. She entered the library, and there was no one inside, alive or otherwise.

“Hm… Yeah, maybe it’s too early for anything to have happened…” She muttered to herself. Still, she felt a small wave of relief wash over her, but she knew this wouldn’t last for long. She sighed. Angie wished she could do something, but her wishes mattered little against the knowledge that nothing could be done. She closed the door.

“You look unusually sad, Angie… Something the matter?” A playful voice spoke, and as Angie turned around, the Ultimate Supreme Leader, Kokichi Oma, stared at her. “Whaaaat? Is anything going on with the library?”

She stared at him with a blank face.

“I heard it from Kaito, if you’re wondering. I was eavesdropping on him and Maki and they mentioned it. Well, more like Kaito mentioned it. Y’know what Maki’s like.”

Angie kept just staring at him.

“I’m right, aren’t I?” Kokichi smiled deviously. “Someone’s gonna get murdered soon, right~?” He said in a singsong voice.

Angie smiled. “Don’t worry, it won’t be you!!” She said in her usual happy voice. “...A shame.” She finished, still smiling, and walked away, humming a cute little song to herself.

Kokichi stood there, shocked. At least he was right. It was just a matter of time until it happened. He was right. Even if he didn’t want to be.

Back at the cafeteria, almost everyone was present, talking as they all ate the meals Kirumi had made. They were certainly better than anything the Monokubs could serve.

“So Himiko can turn bugs into giant bugs?!” Gonta asked.

“Nyeh… I can change their size to anything. I can even turn a bug into a smaller bug… Or a person into a bug… Or a person into a giant person…” The Ultimate Mage replied.

“Can Himiko not use magic to free us from here?” The entomologist followed up with another question.

“No…” Himiko said meekly. “It costs too much MP… It’s a pain. Besides… This school has a field that limits my power… So my magic isn’t even strong enough here.”

“MP? Field?… Gonta sorry… Not sure if Gonta understand…” He said. “But if this is how Himiko is when weak, Gonta cannot imagine what she like when with full power! Himiko’s magic must be really strong! Gonta would like to watch one of Himiko’s shows one day when we all out of here!”

She smiled. “Nyeh… Sure.”

Everyone was having their own conversations. Rantaro was talking to Ryoma and telling him about his little sisters, Tsumugi was explaining an anime plot to Keebo, Kaede seemed to be teasing a blushing Shuichi, and Kaito and Maki were whispering something to one another, with Kaito glancing at Kiyo every now and then. The only one not talking was Miu, who sat on her own.

Tenko looked over to Kiyo, consuming his meal through his mask. She remembered the first day everyone had been here, and during the group’s first collective meal, everyone looked at Korekiyo, some not even bothering to disguise their curiosity, and most gasped as he simply ate with his mask on. When he first explained how he had many masks for different activities, Tenko thought he was just trying to be creepy and mysterious, but now, knowing why he always wore it, she couldn’t help but feel really bad.

Still, she was kinda curious. “So, um… How does this work?” She asked, gesturing to his mask.

Kiyo stared Tenko dead in the eyes. “It’s enchanted.” He said without missing a beat. Tenko’s eyes widened. “Kehehehehe… I jest.” She pouted, but also had to stifle a laugh. “Truth is, the secret’s in the zipper. It is made so that it allows things to go through it. It’s honestly very amusing to see how people react to it the first time.”

Tenko remembered Miu’s words from yesterday.

‘Wait wait wait, don’t tell me ya made out through his mask?!’

Those words echoed in the Aikido master’s head. “...Uh huh…” She muttered under her breath.

Breakfast continued as normal. Well, mostly at least, until Kokichi arrived. He showed up shortly after Angie, but the weird thing was he didn’t do anything. He just sat, ate, and looked around the cafeteria, deep in thought.

“What are you doing?” Maki asked.

“Hm?” Kokichi looked at her, and his deadpan expression turned into a smile. “Nothing! Why?”

“You’ve just been staring at everyone without saying a word. You’re planning something, I can tell.” The Ultimate Child Caregiver retorted.

“Geez, can’t even do nothing nowadays, huh…” He sighed. “Welp, even if I was planning something, which I’m not, I wouldn’t tell you!” He laughed.

“Why you little rascal…!” Kaito intervened. “Just spit it out already!”

The Ultimate Supreme Leader started shedding his usual, exaggerated crocodile tears. “W-Wow… No need to yell… I-I-I’m not doing anything! You guys said you didn’t want me causing trouble, so I keep quiet and you s-still gang up on me!” He sniffled. “YOU ARE ALL SO MEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAN! WAAAAAAAAAAH!”

Sweat ran down Kaito’s neck, as he extended his arm to Kokichi. “H-Hey now, no need to cry…”

“Okay!” Kokichi immediately shifted into a gleeful expression.

“W-What the-!” The Ultimate Astronaut was shocked.

“You always fall for that.” Maki said.

“Yeah, Kaito, you should consider not falling for it one of these days!” Kokichi teased. “But anyway, I’m not planning anything, really. At least I know I’m not!”

Maki stared at him. “What do you mean you’re not?”

The Ultimate Supreme Leader scratched his chin. “Hmm… I don’t know? What do I mean?” Before anyone could question him further, Kokichi pushed his plate off the table, a loud noise echoing through the dining hall as the plate shattered and the remaining food fell on the floor. “Oh, looks like I finished breakfast! Welp…” He got up, and walked away. “I don’t have anything to do anyway, so I guess I’ll just be wandering around! See ya!”

He left, leaving everyone speechless. The silence was broken by Kirumi sighing, pinching the bridge of her nose as she went to grab a broom to clean up Kokichi’s mess.

Everyone looked at each other. Kokichi always found a way to sour the mood, but this time it was something else. Some, like Rantaro and Shuichi, were nervous with the possible implications of Kokichi’s words, and even others like Gonta and Himiko were nervous. There was a tension lingering in the air, and no one knew exactly what to do. The only one seemingly unfazed was Angie.

Other than the sound of Kirumi cleaning the floor, the only other thing to be heard was Angie’s humming as she tapped her fingers on the table. No one really understood Angie or why she was so carefree. But at least, her calmness helped lighten the mood a little, bit by bit. Eventually, everyone slowly went back to talking, and after finishing their meals, they all went their different ways around the school.

Korekiyo and Tenko stuck together as expected. They wandered around aimlessly for a while, until they stumbled into the AV room in the school's basem*nt. “Hey, what if we watched a movie or something? That’s… kinda like a date, right?”

“Yes, usually couples go to the cinema to watch movies together… I suppose this will be the closest to a cinema that’s available here.” He responded.

“Then that’s settled! Let’s watch something!!” She said, excitedly running into the room with Kiyo coming right behind her.

The two spent around half an hour looking for a decent movie, settling with a horror movie about an urban legend. The two turned off the lights, sat down, and watched. The movie in itself was kinda… boring. The first few horror scenes did get Tenko, but after a while they got too repetitive. It was really fun to hear Korekiyo listing all the cultural inaccuracies and misconceptions though.

“...However, I will admit that the movie’s presentation is very interesting specifically because it is so incorrect. In other words, the fact that an entire writing team was able to be so painfully wrong is honestly impressive.” He commented.

Tenko giggled. She held Kiyo’s hand and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Y’know, I picked a horror movie because I thought I was supposed to get scared and hug you, but… This movie isn’t… That scary.”

Kiyo looked at her. “Well, you are braver than average. Not only that, but the movie relies far too much on shock value, which gets stale very quickly.”

The Aikido master seemed a bit disappointed. “Ah… Right…” She muttered.

Seeing her like that made Korekiyo’s heart hurt. “Ah, do not worry. Not all movie dates have to go the same way.”

She looked up at him. “Huh?”

“You said you picked this movie because you expected to be scared and rely on me for comfort, yes?” He said, and she nodded. “Despite that being a common trope in romance stories, it is not necessarily a staple in real life. In fact, I dare say most dates don’t realistically follow this formula.”

Tenko fluttered her eyes at him. “Ah.” She muttered. “I feel kinda silly now…”

He ran his bandaged hands through her hair. “Don’t worry, I had a fun time nonetheless.” She smiled at him, and everything felt better again. He smiled back, and even though he was wearing a mask, Tenko could tell.

A thought popped in her head. “So, um… Kiyo…”

Meanwhile, Himiko, Ryoma, Gonta and Rantaro were chatting, sitting in one of the many unused classrooms scattered across the building. Himiko had been telling Gonta more about her magic shows, and Rantaro just happened to walk by and take interest, dragging Ryoma with him. Maybe that could help the tennis player cheer up a bit.

“Lay vee tate…?” Gonta muttered.

“Levitate.” Rantaro said. “It basically means flying.”

The entomologist's eyes brightened up. “Wow! Himiko can make people fly?!” He asked, bewildered and wonderstruck.

The Ultimate Mage was enjoying all the attention she was getting. “Yeah…” She smiled. “I’m pretty cool, aren’t I?”

“Himiko is amazing!” Gonta complimented.

Rantaro chuckled. Himiko kinda reminded him of one of his little sisters. “Agreed. Sounds pretty neat.” He said.

Ryoma wasn’t very enthusiastic though. He had barely said anything the entire conversation, just listening with a candy cigarette in his mouth. He was the only one not complimenting Himiko, and she felt like she needed to change that. Not only that, but Ryoma just seemed… sad. She couldn’t have that! After all, the greatest joy of magic was making others smile.

“Nyeh… Hey Ryoma.” She said, and he shifted his absent gaze to focus on her. “Wanna see some magic?” She asked.

He sighed. “Sorry, kid, but I don’t really believe in ‘magic’. I’ve lost that sense of wonder years ago…” He pulled down his beanie.

Geez. This guy was gonna be a tough case. Himiko really needed to cheer him up. But what could she do…? She felt… Tired. Really tired. Sometimes she really understood where Ryoma was coming from… But she couldn’t give up! Maybe she could do a magic show! Maybe she could jump in a tank about to be flooded with piranhas, but escape miraculously! That’d be cool! …And very hard to do. She needed a whole tank, a lot of water, a big space, piranhas… Ugh, it’d be a pain.

Maybe she could just do a simple spell like removing her thumb… But Ryoma wouldn’t be surprised by that, no, he looked like he’d probably seen this kinda spell before… Himiko didn’t know what to do, but she knew she couldn’t give up! …It was then that an idea popped up in her head.

“Maybe there’s a movie in that one room with a lot of movies?” She said.

“You mean… The AV room?” Rantaro asked.

“Yeah, that.” Himiko confirmed. “My MP’s too low to do anything… But I know a magic movie’s gonna cheer you up!” She smiled gleefully.

“Hmph…” Ryoma huffed, but Rantaro looked at him, silently begging him to just play along. “...Fine. I don’t have anything better to do anyway… So, lead the way.”

The mage’s expression turned from cheery to confused. “Um… Where’s the AV room again?”

Rantaro chuckled. “Don’t worry, I know where it is. It’s in the basem*nt.” He made his way to the classroom’s door. “C’mon, just follow me.”

“Nyeh… We gotta go all the way to the basem*nt…” Himiko muttered, sounding a bit defeated.

“Wasn’t this your idea?” Ryoma asked.

“Yeah, but…” She sighed.

“Oh!” Gonta said. “If Himiko tired, Gonta can carry her!” He offered, and the little witch smiled in response.

“Nyeh… Yeah, that’d be nice.” She said.

And so, the four departed to the basem*nt, with Rantaro leading the way, while Himiko took a piggyback ride with Gonta. Ryoma had to admit, it was pretty cute. After a few minutes of walking, the four arrived at the door of the AV room. Rantaro looked at it.

“So?” Ryoma asked. “Are we going in or not?”

“I hear something.” He replied.

“Oh, maybe someone else already using AV room…” Gonta suggested.

“Maybe…” Rantaro muttered. “Lemme check first.” He slowly opened the door, and inside, he saw…

…Tenko, making out with Kiyo through his mask.

She was straddled on his lap, hands on his face. His hands were wrapped around her waist. It took the Aikido master a few moments to realize that Rantaro was standing at the door, at which point she abruptly pulled away from Kiyo so strongly that she would have fallen to the ground if he wasn’t holding her. Kiyo looked a bit lightheaded.

Tenko stared at Rantaro with a mix of embarrassment and anger. “W-W-What are you doing here-?!” She yelled, nearly out of breath.

He lifted his hand. “Ah, sorry… We were looking to use the AV room…”

Ryoma peeked inside the room as well. He couldn’t help but smile. “Pfft. Looks like the room’s already in use.” He commented.

“Nyeh…?” Himiko said from outside Tenko’s point of view. It was a very faint sound, but it was unmistakably Himiko’s voice. The witch rubbed her eyes as she came to be. Gonta’s hair was surprisingly fluffy, and she had fallen asleep on his back. “Are we there yet…?”

Tenko hurriedly grabbed Korekiyo’s hand and pulled the disoriented anthropologist off the ground. “W-We were just about to leave-!” She shouted, helping him up.

Ryoma laughed. “Yeah, sure you were.”

Tenko had to resist the urge to kick the small man like a football, and so, she and Korekiyo made their leave. Himiko came to her senses, and she had a pretty decent view of the two from Gonta’s back. She looked down.

“What happened? Why are they in a hurry?” She asked Gonta, who shrugged, something that nearly caused the witch to lose balance.

“Gonta not sure.” He said. “Gonta hear Rantaro and Ryoma speaking to them inside AV room. Sounds like Tenko and Kiyo using AV room before us.”

“They sure were…” Ryoma laughed. Himiko looked at him with a smile. She wasn’t sure what happened, but at least Ryoma was a bit better. He looked up at her. “Yeah kid, you were right. Maybe magic does exist. Looks like I’ve still got a ways to go…”

Meanwhile, Tenko rushed with Kiyo back to his room, passing by Kirumi, Miu (who grit her teeth upon seeing them) and yet again pushing Kokichi aside after he stood in front of them for too long. She arrived at his door, the two entered, and she closed it, letting out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. Her face was red with embarrassment, and she placed her palms over it to try and hide her shame. Kiyo walked over to his bed and sat down on it.

“...Well, that was certainly a… New experience.” He said, running his fingers over his zipped mask.

Tenko peeked through one of her fingers. “...Was it good?”

Kiyo chuckled. “But of course. All time spent with you is good.”

“N-No, I um… I mean… The kiss.” She said. “...Was the kiss… Good?”

Korekiyo took a moment to think. “Well, I don’t have a lot of… experience in that matter, but yes, it was good. Better than anything I’ve ever felt.” He could see her smiling embarrassedly under her hands, and the sight could melt his heart.

She squealed, and rushed to him, jumping into a hug. She wrapped her arms around him, knocking him onto the bed while kicking her legs up in the air. She was saying something, though the sound was muffled due to her face being buried in his chest. Even so, Kiyo found her squealing to be… enamoring.

She squeezed him very tightly, but he didn’t mind. “Hm…” He began, having a slight bit of trouble speaking. “I-I wonder if the AV room has… movies about ancient Japan.” Tenko immediately looked up at him, paying full attention. She eased her grip on him to let him speak better. “You recall what I said about boiling alive, correct?” He asked, and she nodded. “You see, that reminds me of Ishikawa Goemon…”

“Huh?” She tilted her head. “Who?”

“Ishikawa Goemon. He was a thief that lived in the 16th century, who stole valuables from wealthy people to give to the poor.” Korekiyo explained.

“Oh! So kinda like Robin Hood?” Tenko asked.

“Yes, quite.” He continued. “Unfortunately, however, Goemon’s story did not have a good ending. He was boiled alive along with his family after a failed assassination attempt.”

“...Oh.” The Aikido master wasn’t sure how to reply to that.

“Yes, quite tragic, isn’t it?” He said. “Still, it was a very fascinating tale. Initially, Goemon attempted to save his son by holding him high above the cauldron. He soon realized that was pointless, however, and instead pushed the boy deep in the water to kill him quickly. Then, he held the corpse, displaying it to his enemies, before sinking into the pot himself.”

“Well, at least he tried…” She said.

“Yes, Goemon was very determined. It is… inspiring, in a way, how he defied his enemies to the very end. In fact, his determination is the reason he still lives on in Japanese culture, I believe.” Korekiyo scratched his chin. “There have been quite a few plays and films made about Goemon… I wonder if the AV room has some…”

“Well, if it has, we’ll definitely watch it together on our next date!” Tenko said excitedly. Her smile made Korekiyo weak, in the best kind of way possible.

“Yes, that would be wonderful…” He said.

Tenko kept gushing over him for the rest of the day. She didn’t care anymore if anyone saw it or what they thought. Her emotions were way too strong to be contained inside her body, so even if she was a bit loud and embarrassing sometimes, she wouldn’t hold back.

The next few days followed a similar routine. Tenko and Kiyo slept in one of the two’s bedroom, alternating which one every night, they’d wake up with the morning announcement, change into their uniforms, and brush each other’s hair. They’d go to the dining hall, eat breakfast, and occasionally get an insult or growl from Miu.

“How the hell did Wanko and Creepshow get together while I’M still alone?!” The inventor complained to Kaede.

“M-Maybe you should try being a bit more… Kind?” The pianist replied.

Miu cackled. “AHA! As if! Look at ya, always a goodie two shoes and that hasn’t landed ya with Sherlock hom*o yet, did it?!”

Kaede was silent, and smirked.

“...Oh COME ON!” Miu yelled.

Save for Miu’s rude comments and Kokichi’s mean-spirited jokes, everyone else was either indifferent or supportive of the two’s relationship. Even if Kiyo was still a bit creepy and if Tenko still had some of her old radical habits popping up here and there, the two actually fit together surprisingly well. It wasn’t uncommon to find Kiyo rambling on about cultures all around the world to Tenko, or to go in the gym only to find Tenko teaching Neo-Aikido to Korekiyo.

Within a few days, Korekiyo completely forgot exactly why he loved spending time with Tenko. He loved it because, well, she was energetic and her smile was bright like the sun and she encompassed the very essence or the word “beauty”, this he knew, but there was another reason why he enjoyed her presence so much.

When she was around, She wasn’t.

And Kiyo would find out the hard way that Her absence was willing.

Tenko and Kiyo still spent time together, but not every second of their lives were devoted to each other. Korekiyo still talked about anthropology to Shuichi, and consequently Kaede as well a few times. Tenko still gushed over other girls (and was trying to become a bit more open to the boys’ positive traits as well). Overall, things settled down for a few days, and they were a bit less clingy.

This was good, because as much as Tenko had grown to love spending time with her boyfriend, she also wanted to give him… a surprise. She remembered what Korekiyo had said about his uniform… That his sister had made it. Tenko had never thought she’d loathe a woman so much, but she did, and she’d go to any lengths to help Korekiyo get rid of her. She wasn’t sure how yet, but she would do it.

And the first step was to cut any ties he might have with her!

The Aikido master took some of her time to hang out with the Ultimate Cosplayer, Tsumugi Shirogane. The plain, blue haired girl had years worth of experience weaving lines and making costumes, so if Tenko needed someone’s help, it was hers.

“So, um…” Tenko began. “I wanna make an outfit for Kiyo!” She said. Tsumugi asked what kind of outfit she was looking to do, and as the cosplayer began rambling about all kinds of different combinations of clothes and all their intricacies, Tenko realized this wasn’t going to be an easy task.

It was clear that Tenko wouldn’t be able to do the whole thing as quickly as she wanted to. But that wouldn’t discourage her, because once she had something in mind, she wouldn’t let go! And so, every so often Tenko would hang out with Tsumugi and learn how to weave and sew. Tenko wondered where exactly Tsumugi was getting her supplies, since as far as the Aikido master knew, there weren’t any around the school, but if mages never revealed their secrets, neither would cosplayers.

After days of trial and error, Tenko finally managed to make something… A hat!

It was similar to Kiyo’s current hat, though the color palette consisted of a light blue with a few thin green lines to match Tenko’s own outfit, and the visor was made of black leather. Atop the hat was a simple, white drawing of a flower. She was overflowing with excitement and joy, she wanted to just run and find Kiyo as quickly as possible to gift him his brand new hat, but she had to wait. She had to wait until the whole outfit was complete, and then gift it.

She knew it was gonna be hard, but she also knew it’d be worth it.

The Ultimate Aikido Master squealed. “It came out so good!! Thank you so much, Tsumugi!! I couldn’t have done this without you!!”

Tsumugi went on about how plain she is and how it’s nice that someone sees so much value in her. Truth is, Tsumugi really just wanted to get Tenko off her tail for the day, and thankfully, the Aikido master left soon after. Tsumugi sighed. Where everyone saw people, she just saw tropes, cliches, writing decisions. It’s what watching too much anime without counterbalancing it with social interactions does to you. And if her anime knowledge was right, then things were just about to take a pretty drastic turn.

Tenko went back to her room, and put the hat away, hidden in a drawer, so that Kiyo wouldn’t see it by accident when he came along. Tonight, the two were gonna sleep in Tenko's room, so she just sat and waited. Admittedly, there was still around two hours before nighttime, but she had nothing else to do so she might as well sit down and wait.

A few minutes passed, and Tenko heard the door open. She looked over to see her boyfriend. “Kiyo!” As she got a good look at him, however, her heart sank. He looked… distressed. A few strands of his hair were plucking out, and his arms were wrapped around himself tightly. To say that Tenko nearly jumped out of the bed was an understatement. “K-Kiyo!! Oh my gosh are you okay, did something happen, are you hurt, are you-”

She was interrupted. “C-C-Can y-you… H-Hug me… P-Please…” His voice sounded as if it was stuck in a limbo between whispering and sobbing. Something clearly had happened, but for now she needed to focus on comforting Kiyo.

“Y-Yeah of course!” Tenko immediately pulled him into a hug, and his shaky hands slowly let go of himself so they could hug her back. He was taller than her, so he couldn’t bury his face on her chest while standing up, instead settling for just sobbing with his face down near her shoulder. She could hear his every whimper, every pained sob. She caressed him on his back. “...Can I ask what happened…?”

He seemed to freeze for a moment. “...You… You’ll see.” He muttered, and his grip on her tightened. “...I’m sorry… I’m s-s-so… sorry…”

Ding dong, ding dong

The unmistakable sound of an incoming announcement echoed around the entire school. Tenko was a bit startled, though. It didn’t seem like much time had passed since Kiyo had entered the room, so isn’t it too early for a nighttime announcement…?

…Except this wasn’t a nighttime announcement. It was something else, something brand new, something that everyone in this forsaken academy hoped to never hear.

“Puhuhuhuhu! Finally! Finally, finally, finally!” Monokuma was shown on the monitor, jumping around in a fancy looking office. “It finally happened! Whew, I was on the verge of reusing an old strategy like motive videos! That would’ve been lame!” He said, his voice joyful, but as always, with an underlying malice. If Monokuma was happy, then this could not, in any way shape or form, be good.

The bear took a seat on his chair, grabbed a bottle of wine, and started to fill his glass with it. He let out a satisfied sigh, and took a sip. After savoring the aftertaste for a few seconds, Monokuma turned to face the camera that recorded him, his never-wavering malicious smile being broadcast to the entire school.

“A body has been discovered!”

Those words sent a chill down Tenko’s spine. With how the past week had gone, she forgot she was in a killing game. Everything felt so nice, so colorful, so peaceful, it felt like nothing could go wrong. Time seemed to stop as an awful possibility came into her thoughts.

No, no no no no no no no no no no.

Fear swelled up inside of her, and just as her body felt like it was gonna collapse, she was brought back to reality by the very voice that had caused all this stress.

“Everyone, please gather in the library!” The monochrome bear gave the camera one last wave before the monitor shut down.

Kiyo still held onto Tenko for a few seconds before the two inevitably pulled away. She looked up at him, tears running down his face. His face looked exactly the same way it did when she found him weeping in his room for the first time. Her heart ached. She was as scared as he was, but they had to move on. She extended her hand, and the feeling of his bandages’ fabric rubbing on her skin as he took it was somewhat comforting. Maybe because she had come to associate this feeling with hanging out with him.

The two walked to the library in utter silence. The only sound to be heard were their footsteps, along with a few other students they crossed paths with. Gonta was scared. Ryoma seemed disappointed. Maki was unreadable as always, and Kaito took a few glances at Korekiyo. Eventually, everyone arrived at their destination. Opening the library door was hard. Everyone knew what was gonna be there, but they didn’t know who. As the door swung open, they could see a few people already inside. Kokichi was leaning against a bookshelf. Angie was praying, smiling as if there was nothing wrong. Kirumi stood next to Shuichi, who kneeled next to something obscured by a smaller bookshelf at the library’s corner. The just arriving students walked over to finally confront the inevitable. And behind the bookcase…

…Lay the corpse of Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist.

It was painful for everyone to see. Everyone had some affinity for Kaede, she had always been a very kind and supportive person, after all. The remaining few students arrived. Rantaro walked in, gently encouraging a very nervous Himiko. Miu and Keebo arrived together, and the inventor’s face grimaced in obvious disgust at seeing Kaede’s corpse, but she kept her mouth shut. Tsumugi showed up completely unnoticed.

There was no panic, just silence. No one dared to utter a word. Kaede had marks around her neck, making it obvious she had been strangled to death. There was no blood, no murder weapon, no exposed injuries, just a corpse laying there, motionless, breathless, staring up at the ceiling with its dead eyes.

The group’s peaceful grievance didn’t last for long though. “Ah! And I was beginning to think this day would never come!” Monokuma showed up out of nowhere, and a few students jumped at the sound of his cheerful voice.

The Monokubs arrived as well. “A-Ah! Kaede?! Why would anyone kill her?! Even I kinda liked her!!” Monotaro shouted.

“Damn… Guess being nice really doesn’t getcha anywhere, huh…” Monokid muttered.

“Yeah, she was my favorite student.. But eh, there’s still 15 left to root for.” Monosuke adjusted his glasses.

“I-I-I think I’m gonna be ill-!” Monophanie put her hands over her mouth. “H-How could anyone murder such a nice person in cold blood…”

“GUYS, PLEASE-DON’T-BE-SAD.” Monodam said. He turned to the students. “THIS-GOES-FOR-ALL-OF-YOU-TOO.”

“And how the HELL do you expect us not to be sad?!” Kaito shouted at the small robot. “YOU’RE the ones who put us in this damn game in the first place!”

“That’s debatable~!” Monokuma intervened, but before anyone could question what he meant, he continued. “But my little baby Monodam’s right! You’ll have all the time in the world to grieve… Later! Now, you have to investigate and get ready for the Class Trial!”

They had almost forgotten. When a person is murdered, and the body is found, all remaining students must participate in a Class Trial, and find the culprit. If the culprit is caught, they’re executed, but if they get away… All surviving students are executed instead.

“Now, as a kind headmaster, I’ll give you all a gift: the Monokuma File!” The monochrome bear announced, as he went from student to student and handed them a black tablet. Upon booting it up, the screen displayed some basic information about the murder.

Maki pulled out her Monopad and booted it up. “It’s 8:45 right now, so it happened less than an hour ago.” She announced.

Kaito nudged the Ultimate Child Caregiver on the shoulder. “Hey, uh… Maki Roll? Can I have a word with you for a sec?” Normally, Maki would’ve declined, but she had an idea of what Kaito wanted to talk about, so she walked out of the library with him.

“Well then, Mr. Ultimate Detective!” Kokichi finally opened his mouth, smiling and walking over to Shuichi. “What’s the case status?”

Kirumi gave the purple-haired boy a stern look. “Kokichi, this is serious. Please don’t try and make things worse.”

He laughed. “Well, I’m not sure if you’re aware, but my life’s on the line here, too! So, I would really appreciate it if I could not die, y’know? So I think I deserve to know a bit about how things are going, riiight?”

“Just look at the Monokuma File.” Shuichi said in an annoyed tone. “Everything’s already there, just… Leave me alone.”

Kokichi looked at him, and sighed. “Geez… Guess that’s what I get for trying to have fun…” He left the library.

The students split up to investigate. No one really knew what to do, after all, besides Shuichi, no one had participated in an actual murder investigation. Not only that, but there wasn’t much to be investigated. There were no footprints, no bloodstains, no murder weapon, the most evidence that there was would be alibis, but with the students splitting up, it would be hard to get every single alibi until the trial.

Around half an hour passed, and Monokuma declared the investigation was over, and it was time for the dreaded Class Trial. The students all made their way to the Shrine of Judgement, where the elevator presented itself. One by one, they made their way in, and descended into the darkness. Tenko held Kiyo’s hand the entire time.

There were a few whispers and murmurs here and there, some of the students already forming possible hypotheses and trying to figure out who it was ahead of time. Maki was talking to Kaito, and she said something about Angie. Tenko wanted to hear whatever it was that the Ultimate Child Caregiver was talking about, but ironically enough, the one to stop her from doing so was Angie herself.

“Yahoo!!” The artist whispered next to Tenko, calling the Ultimate Aikido Master’s attention. Even whispering, her voice was still more energetic than the rest, and a few other people turned to see her as well, though the only one really paying attention was Tenko. “We’re going to our first ever Class Trial!!” Angie said.

“...I know…” Tenko whispered.

Angie smiled. “You know what’ll happen to the culprit, right?” She said. Tenko nodded. Angie placed a hand on Tenko’s back. “You have to be strong and face the truth, okay?”

“What… Are you talking about…?” Tenko asked. Not that she needed though, she knew exactly what Angie was talking about, but she didn’t want to admit it. Angie seemed to notice that, and just smiled in return, not saying another word after that.

The doors opened, revealing the trial grounds. It had blue lighting and over the top decorations. 16 podiums were arranged in a circle, one of them with a portrait of Kaede, her face being crossed over by a large, red X. Each podium had a name, and the students all made their way to their assigned one. Tenko sighed when she realized she’d be right next to Kokichi.

“Let’s begin with a simple explanation of the Class Trial!” Monokuma said. “During the trial, you’ll present your arguments for who the culprit is, and vote for ‘whodunnit’! Vote correctly, and only the blackened will be punished. But if you pick the wrong person… I’ll punish everyone besides the blackened, and that person will graduate from this academy! Oh, and also, refusing to vote will result in your death, so make sure you vote for someone!” He finished. “Now… GET IT ON WITH! I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR A TRIAL!”

Silence fell upon the students. It lasted a few seconds before Kaito broke it. “So, where do we start?”

Gonta scratched his chin, nervous. “Gonta never done trial before… Not sure where to begin…”

Tenko took a deep breath, and forced a smile. “F-First!” She stuttered, but managed to keep her composure. “Let’s breathe in! …And breathe out! We need to remember our ‘No, No, No’s’! No running! No pushing! No talking!”

“But communication is the foundation of any discussion!” Keebo said.

Tenko knew that. Of course she knew that. And deep down, she was afraid of talking, of going on with this Class Trial, because she was afraid of what she might find out.

“Why don’t we begin talking about what we already know?” Kirumi suggested. She looked at Shuichi. “Did you find anything, Shuichi?”

The Ultimate Detective looked a bit nervous. “W-Well, um…” He stammered. “N-No, I couldn’t really… Find anything…” He pulled his hat down a bit, and avoided eye contact with anyone.

“Geeeez…” Kokichi sighed. “For an Ultimate Detective, you’re pretty useless, y’know?” Everyone stared at him, and Tenko considered punching him right in the face.

“So, there was no murder weapon?” Ryoma intervened. Shuichi shook his head. “Hmph. That means it was probably done bare handed.”

“Bare handed…?” Gonta asked.

“Yeah.” The Ultimate Tennis Pro explained. “The body was discovered pretty soon after the murder. I think if it was done with a rope or something, we would’ve found it nearby. And besides, the only place that would have a rope is the warehouse…” Ryoma turned to Kaito. “It’s pretty close to the Dining Hall. And you were there, right?”

Kaito looked back at him. “Yeah, I was.”

“Well, you didn’t see anyone, did you?” The tennis pro asked.

The Ultimate Astronaut shook his head. “No, didn’t see anyone near the warehouse.”

“And how do we know Luminary of the Sharts isn’t the culprit huh?!” Miu yelled. “He coulda just went to the warehouse and pretended he didn’t see jacksh*t!”

“L-Luminary of the WHAT?!” Kaito shouted in surprise.

“He couldn’t have done that.” Maki said, and all eyes turned to her. “I was with him.”

The Ultimate Inventor turned to her. “Oh, ya went on a little date-”

“Shut up.” Maki replied before Miu could even finish her sentence, causing the inventor to shrink in fear. “But I was with him, and I can confirm that no one went to the warehouse.”

“So, that means Ryoma’s right…” Kokichi said. “...So what?”

Kaito looked dumbfounded. “What do you mean ‘so what’?! We know that the culprit used their bare hands!”

“And how does that help us, exactly?” The Ultimate Supreme Leader said, and silence fell upon the courtroom. No one had an answer. “Even if we figured out the culprit just used their hands, that doesn’t help with anything, because in case you haven’t noticed…” He put his hands up, smiling. “Everyone here has hands!”

Kaito sighed, defeated, and no one knew what to say next. Maki scanned the courtroom, wondering if this was the time to speak her mind, or if there was more evidence to be presented. After a few more seconds of uncertainty, she spoke.

“There’s something I wanna talk about.” She said, and all the eyes turned to her once more. “A few days ago, me and Kaito were in the library. Angie walked in out of nowhere, and said that something was gonna happen there in a few days. When me and Kaito asked for an explanation, she just walked out.” The Ultimate Child Caregiver turned to her left, where stood the Ultimate Artist.

Rantaro turned to Kaito. “Is that true?” He asked.

“Oh, yeah, yeah it is…” Kaito took a moment before continuing. “She said that ‘Atua’ had told her that. And then she just… left.” He finished. He was specifically instructed by Maki to not mention what Angie had said about Korekiyo.

Maki didn’t believe in god or spirits. What she did believe though, is that Angie was the culprit, and was planning to somehow frame Korekiyo. If Angie let it slip that Korekiyo was involved in her ‘prophecy’ without Kaito or Maki having mentioned it before, then the Ultimate Artist wouldn’t be able to deny what she said. Maki took a few glances at Korekiyo, sitting right next to Angie. He was very obviously nervous. Maybe blackmail? Or some other threat? Regardless, Maki was sure he was being pressured into this.

“Well, Angie?” Rantaro asked. “How did you know something was gonna happen in the library?”

Angie’s eyes looked over the entire courtroom, glancing over all of her classmates. “It’s simple!” She clasped her hands above her head. “Atua told me so.”

Everyone was silent. “That’s… Not as good of a defense as you may think it is.” Rantaro continued.

Of course, no one but Angie believed in Atua at the moment. Her faith was met with skepticism and suspicion, but even so, she remained silent, smiling. She knew this wouldn’t last for long.

‘Please be the culprit please be the culprit please be the culprit please be the culprit-!’ Tenko thought to herself, clenching her fists in nervousness.

“Well?” Maki said. “You’re in the spotlight. If you don’t want us to vote for you, now’s the time to give your defense.”

Angie’s smile and composure didn’t waver even a small bit. What Maki noticed, however, was that, with her hands still above her head, she lifted a finger.

Kiyo was shaking.

“So?” Kaito insisted. “Are you gonna say anything or…?”

Angie lifted another finger.

Kiyo shut his eyes as tightly as he could.

“What the hell are you doing?” Maki asked, starting to lose her patience.

Rantaro had seen this before. He co*cked an eyebrow. He knew what she was doing, but he wasn’t sure why, though he was eager to find out. “She’s counting.” He answered.

Angie lifted a third finger.

Korekiyo collapsed to his knees, letting out a gasp for air as he did so. He held onto his podium, looking down at the floor, and tears started to stream down his face. All eyes immediately turned to him. Everyone besides Angie was taken aback by Kiyo’s sudden breakdown. Tenko was panicking.

“I… I can’t… I can’t do this anymore.” He muttered, and shakily began to get up. “...It’s me. I’m the culprit. I… I’m the one who killed Kaede.”

A few shocked gasps echoed in the courtroom. If Tenko’s fists could clench any harder, her fingers would be going through her palm. However, his confession wasn’t very… decisive. Some, especially Maki, were still skeptical.

“That can’t be right…” Maki said. If Kiyo really had killed Kaede, why would he admit it like this? And right as Angie was getting pressured, too… Something was up, it had to be!

Korekiyo looked shocked, and turned to Maki. “W-What do you mean it can’t be right?!” He sounded exasperated.

Maki kept her stone face. “I don’t know what Angie did to you, or what her plan is, but I don’t wanna die here, so I’m not voting for you.”

Now it was Angie’s turn to speak to Maki. “Oh? You think I did it?” She asked, smiling gleefully.

“I’m sure you did.” The Ultimate Child Caregiver replied.

“Ooooh, things are getting fun!” Kokichi commented. “Angie or Kiyo? Place your bets, everyone!”

“Nyeh… Didn’t Kiyo just confess?” Himiko asked.

“He did, but…” Rantaro began. “...It’s also possible Angie made him do that.”

“N-NO!” Kiyo shouted. “I swear, I’m telling the truth!” He was shaking. He looked at Tenko. He was scared, but he didn’t want her to die.

“Why don’t we do it like this…” Angie began. “You can all argue whether or not I’m the culprit, and I’ll just stay quiet!”

Kaito co*cked an eyebrow. “The hell you mean you’ll just stay quiet?”

“It’s simple!! I won’t defend myself or refute your arguments.” She said with a serene expression. “I have faith in Atua, and I believe he’ll guide you all towards the right answer!! Besides…” She turned to Maki. “There’s still more that you haven’t mentioned about our encounter. So you can begin with that!!”

And after that, Angie shut her mouth, content to just listen.

Maki had to admit, she was also a bit confused. Korekiyo was confessing without putting up a fight, and Angie wasn’t even gonna try to defend herself. This didn’t make sense… Why would either kill Kaede just to get caught later? Maki was startled out of her thoughts by Ryoma’s deep voice.

“So, what is it that you haven’t told us?” He asked.

The Ultimate Child Caregiver wasn’t sure what to respond. Her plan hadn’t exactly gone as planned, but she didn’t seem to have a choice. “...Angie also mentioned Korekiyo.” She said.

“Is that so?” Rantaro asked. “And what did she say about him?”

“She said we wouldn’t have to worry about him for long.” Maki concluded.

“I assume that’s why you were so suspicious of her, correct?” Kirumi asked. Maki nodded.

“...It does make sense.” Shuichi said after being quiet for a while. “If Angie supposedly predicted a murder, and also the culprit, it would make sense to assume she’d be trying to frame someone.”

“So… Angie did it…?” Gonta asked.

“We cannot say for certain, but it does seem plausible.” Kirumi answered.

“But we know it’s gotta be one of the two, right?!” Miu shouted. She looked at the two suspects. “Aight ya freaks, which of ya did it?! Spit it out!!”

“I… I’ve already told you…” Kiyo said. His hands were embracing his body, as if he hugged himself in a desperate attempt to seek comfort. “I… I did it…”

“So it really was ya, Creepshow?!” Miu yelled, pointing at him. “Should’ve known ya would kill someone eventually, you look like the kinda freak that’d be into-”

“Argh, shut up you… You nasty bitch!” Tenko shouted out of pure anger. She didn’t like swearing, but right now, it felt appropriate.

Miu immediately shifted into her cowardly self. “E-Eeek! W-Who are you calling a n-nasty bitch?!” She said, her voice shaky. “I-It was your man who killed someone!”

“W-We haven’t proved that yet!” The Aikido master shouted.

Kiyo tensed up. There was a strange and soothing beauty in how Tenko still insisted on standing up for and defending him. Even if he knew this wouldn’t last… This just showed why Kiyo had fallen for her.

“Welp, then let’s get to work on proving it, duh doy!” Kokichi said. The look Tenko gave him made it clear she was on the verge of punching him, and he did feel a bit intimidated, but he didn’t let himself be shaken.

It was then that Tsumugi brought up something interesting. What other evidence was there? Besides Kaito and Maki’s testimony, and Kiyo’s confession, there was no more significant evidence. If that was the case, then they had discussed everything, and all that there was left to do was cast their votes, relying solely on their gut feeling.

“...Hold on a second.” Kaito said. “...T-There’s… One more thing…” He looked visibly nervous.

Everyone looked at him. “Hm? What is it?” Rantaro asked.

The Ultimate Astronaut gulped. “S… S-Spirit…” He murmured.

“Nyeh…?” Himiko raised her eyebrow. “Did you just say…”

“S-S-S-SPIRIT!” He shouted, visibly horrified.

Everyone was silent.

“...Spirit?” Gonta asked. “Oh! Like ghost?”

Kaito shrieked. “Y-YES!”

“Do you think you could uh… Explain?” Rantaro said, looking confused.

“I-I-I… U-Uh… W-Well, y-you see, it’s-” He began stuttering out, and Maki sighed loudly.

“When are you gonna grow up? Are you so scared you can’t even explain?” She said. “Do I have to do it myself?”

“No.” Tenko interrupted her. “I know what he’s talking about. Better than anyone else.” Her expression was serious. On the inside, she felt like she was falling, crumbling into pieces, because she knew what she was about to say would prove Angie innocent and leave only one suspect. But she had to be strong.

All eyes were on her. “...Well? Can you explain it, then?” Rantaro asked.

Tenko took a deep breath. “...It’s Kiyo’s sister.” She began.

“Nyeh? His sister…?” Himiko asked.

“Yeah, his older sister. She… She did a lot of bad things to him. And when she died… Her spirit came back to haunt him.” Tenko explained.

No one seemed to believe it, but it was the truth. “...And you knew that… How?” Kirumi asked.

“He told me one night, when we were both alone in his room.” Tenko answered.

“So let me get this straight…” Rantaro began. “Kiyo is supposedly being haunted by his older sister’s spirit… And he only told you that?” The Aikido master nodded. “...And you didn’t tell anyone?” She nodded again. “...And Angie… somehow knew?”

There were a few seconds of silence. Angie looked as calm and peaceful as ever.

“If that’s true, then…” Shuichi began. “Angie… Really did foresee the murder.”

“So that means the culprit is…” Keebo said, and everyone turned to Korekiyo.

He was shaking. He felt ashamed of himself, embarrassed. Look at how much Tenko had managed to change, and yet… He remained the same. The same creepy, disgusting guy who would do anything for his sister. He felt disgust welling up inside of him.

…No, there was more than disgust.

Something else was… inside. No, not something. Someone.

Kiyo felt all of his limbs tingling as he lost control of them. His legs started to lose balance, and he fell backwards. This sensation, this… loss of control… It was so familiar. He had felt it many times in his life. He had felt it today, just around an hour ago, in the library.

…

…

Kiyo’s body suddenly jolted upwards after a few moments, and the sight shocked everyone. His mask had been pulled down, and underneath, his lips had red lipstick perfectly applied onto them. His facial features appeared to have become suddenly more effeminate, and he smiled.

“...Greetings.” He said, with an effeminate voice.

No one knew exactly what they were looking at. Except Tenko. She remembered what Korekiyo had said, about who talked when he pulled down his mask. Tenko knew who was in control right now.

Sister.

“Y-Y-YOU!” She stuttered, pointing at her.

Even if he wasn’t sure, Rantaro had a good guess as to what was happening. “I’m assuming you are…”

She smiled. “Yes, I am Korekiyo’s older sister. It is nice to meet you all.” She then turned to Tenko, and frowned. “...Except for you.”

“G-G-G-G-GHOOOOOOOST!!” Kaito shouted, panicked, and Sister grimaced, annoyed.

Maki had to admit, though she wasn’t scared, she was definitely… confused. This trial wasn’t at all going the way she expected it too.

“Woooow! A real ghost! I never thought I’d see one of these!” Kokichi smiled gleefully, inclining himself forward to have a good look at Sister. She returned to him a look of disgust.

“A… Ghost? Real ghost?!” Gonta said, a droplet of sweat running down his neck.

“E-EEEEEEK! S-So a dead bitch came back?!” Miu shrieked.

Sister rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes, a ghost. You need not remind me I am dead, I am well aware of that fact.”

“This is… incomprehensible! How can someone come back from the dead?!” Keebo shouted. “It… It doesn’t make any sense!”

Sister smiled at him. “I would not expect a walking pile of scrap to understand, but…” Her words shocked the robot, but before he could retort, she continued. “...It’s due to mine and Korekiyo’s love.”

“...Love, you say?” Rantaro asked.

“Why, of course. He had always been there for me. So obedient, so compliant…” She began. “...I decided that I should… look after him, even after my death. Make sure he didn’t stray from his path.” She turned to Tenko. “...How foolish of me.”

Before Tenko could reply, Maki decided to take control of the situation once more. “So… Why did he kill Kaede, exactly?” She said.

Sister smiled. “I believed Kaede would be a good friend.”

“A… Friend?” Shuichi asked.

“Yes, a friend.” She explained. “I have always been very lonely, and Korekiyo couldn’t satisfy all my needs… I died without any friends. But after I came back… I urged Korekiyo to send me a few. One hundred, to be exact.”

“One hundred friends…” Ryoma began. “...I’m assuming you mean… You asked him to kill people for you?”

“Precisely.” She answered. “I am dead, after all, and the afterlife is lonely. Cold and unforgiving. I decided… Some company would do me some good.”

“If you were cold, maybe you should’ve considered going to Hell.” Rantaro said, sounding surprisingly calm, and Sister shot a glare at him.

“Oooooooh, burn!” Kokichi said. Sister ignored the two.

“Besides, after everything I did for Korekiyo, I believe I deserved some… Retribution.” She said. “...Even if sometimes I had to push Korekiyo to do things, I was only doing what was best for him-”

“No you weren’t!” Tenko shouted. “You… You… You abused him! You’re an awful person! You’re a degenerate!”

Before Sister and Tenko could start bickering, Kirumi intervened. “You said you… ‘pushed’ him to do things… I am assuming that also refers to Kaede’s murder, correct?” She asked. “...With the way things were going, it seems unlikely he would do that willingly.”

She smiled. “My, my, aren’t you a smart one? …But yes, that is correct. Korekiyo wouldn’t do it, so I had to make him.”

“S-So…” Tenko began. “Y-You’re the culprit, not Kiyo!”

Everyone looked at each other. Well, technically, Tenko was right, but… “...How are we gonna separate the two, though?” Himiko said.

“H-Huh?” Tenko gasped.

“Well… They’re in the same body, right?” The mage continued. “And… It was Kiyo’s hands that killed Kaede…”

“W-Well, um…” The Aikido master looked around, her eyes landing on the monochrome bear sitting atop a throne. “There’s gotta be a way, right?!”

“Well…” Monokuma scratched his chin. He pulled out a list, and analyzed it. “Hmm… No, this season doesn’t have an Ultimate Exorcist…” He murmured, barely audible to the students from where he was sitting. “Nope! Sorry, but there isn’t. Even if technically it was his sister, he’s still the one getting executed.”

Tenko’s heart sank, and she almost fell to her knees. No, no this couldn’t be happening, this couldn’t be real, it had to be some sort of awful nightmare or something, but-

“Now then…” Sister spoke. “Why don’t we end this pointless charade already? It’s about time Korekiyo reunited with me, yes?”

“Before you go, there’s something I would like to do.” Angie said. It was the first time she spoke in a good while.

Sister turned to the Ultimate Artist, confused. She scoffed. “And what would a delusional little girl like you want?”

Angie smiled. “This!!” She pulled her hand back.

A few surprised gasps rang through the courtroom, but their sound was drowned out by the echo of skin hitting skin, as Angie delivered a full force, divine slap straight to Sister’s face. Sister winced in pain, her cheek red.

“What on earth-?!” She began, and prepared to strangle Angie then and there, but Monokuma intervened.

“Now now! No violence in the Class Trial!” He said.

“B-but she-!” Sister stuttered.

“Well, yeah, I can’t predict and stop the first offense!” Monokuma said joyfully. “But I can tell you were gonna fight back, and that’s something I can stop! So, no violence!” He growled.

Sister grimaced, while Angie kept smiling innocently.

“That was one mighty slap though!” Monokid commented.

“PLEASE-GUYS, LET’S-NOT-FIGHT-ONE-ANOTHER.” Monodam said.

“Eeeh, she kinda deserved it though…” Monosuke pushed his glasses.

“Y-Yeah!” Monotaro began. “E-Even Monokid’s a better sibling than that!”

“HEY!” Monokid shouted. “...Thanks!”

“You’re welcome!” Monotaro said.

“I-I think I’m gonna p-puke…” Monophanie put her hands over her mouth.

Sister rolled her eyes at the little bears’ comments. How useless and annoying they were. At least she wouldn’t have to put up with them for much longer.

“If you think you’ll be with Kiyo, you’re wrong!!” Angie said, startling Sister out of her thoughts. “He’s not going where you are.”

Before she could even question what that meant, Angie lunged her hand forward, reaching for her neck. She took the mask into her hand and forcibly pulled it up. Kiyo let out a gasp for air, and stumbled backwards onto his podium, audibly sobbing.

All the students were silent. Even Maki, who was usually cold and emotionless, showed an expression of shock and pity. Kaito finally felt like he could calm down, and as the terror dissipated, Sister’s words started to weigh on him, as he processed everything she said. He clenched his fist. Rantaro was visibly disgusted.

“...Well then.” Kokichi said. His voice was devoid of any emotion or mockery. “Let’s end this already.”

All the students silently agreed. Angie helped Korekiyo get up, and he held onto his podium for balance. The screens on all the podiums lit up, and every student silently voted. Tenko stared at the timer going down, indicating the time left to cast a vote. Monokuma’s words replayed in her head.

‘Oh, and also, refusing to vote will result in your death, so make sure you vote for someone!’

Her hands shook as the timer ticked down, but as it hit the 1 second left mark, she voted.

“Alright!” Monokuma said. “Let’s see the results!”

A large screen lowered above him, and on it, displayed the voting results. 15 votes, all cast on the same student: Korekiyo Shinguji, the Ultimate Anthropologist. The screen then changed to display a digital casino wheel, which spun and landed on Korekiyo. Confetti rained in the classroom, as bright lights flashed with a congratulating tune coming out of the speakers.

“You are all absolutely correct!” Monokuma announced. “The one who strangled Kaede Akamatsu in the library was none other than Korekiyo Shinguji!” The bear sighed. “Well, this wasn’t as exciting of a trial as I expected… But at least it was pretty unique!”

One by one, the students stepped out of their podiums. Some came around near Kiyo, and he couldn’t handle the mere thought of looking them in the eyes.

“I-I’m… I…” He stuttered. “...A-Apologies, I…”

“You don’t have to apologize for what your sister did.” Rantaro said.

“Yeah dude, that… that was messed up…” Kaito scratched the back of his head. He was still a bit in shock, and didn’t know what to say.

“So Angie really did see this coming, huh…” Maki muttered. She was honestly speechless.

“But… Why sister do that to Kiyo?!” Gonta asked. The entomologist was visibly distraught. “That not good! That not good at all!”

Ryoma sighed. He pulled his beanie over his head. “No matter why, it doesn’t excuse it.” He said.

Tenko walked towards Kiyo, and looked up at him. He was still shaking, and avoided her gaze. He felt so gross, so ashamed, everything that was wrong with him had been exposed and left bare for all to see, including the one whom he had come to cherish the most. He wished Monokuma would just skip to the execution right away, so that he could finally be free of this torment.

The Aikido master pulled him into a tight hug, and a shocked gasp escaped the anthropologist’s lips. She buried her face in his chest, and tears started to stream down her face. “...I’m… I’m sorry…” She muttered.

He was confused. “...Sorry… For what?” He asked.

“For not being there!” She shouted. “I-If I had been there, if I was with you, your sister wouldn’t have done that and-”

“N-No…” Kiyo interrupted her. “No, that… wouldn’t have stopped her…” He said, and wrapped his arms around her as well. “You would’ve just witnessed what happened… You have nothing to apologize for, it was my-”

“That’s enough!” Kaito shouted. “Quit blaming yourselves for what someone else did!”

“Kaito is right.” Kirumi said. She didn’t necessarily believe in ghosts, but the entire situation was too bizarre for her not to take this seriously. “It was your sister that did it, not you.” She said to Kiyo, and then turned to Tenko. “And being there would’ve only been dangerous for you.”

“B-But I-” Tenko began.

“No buts!” The maid said. “Neither of you are at fault and that’s it.”

“Yeah!” Himiko said, sounding surprisingly angry. “Just because an evil spirit possessed you doesn’t mean it’s your fault!”

“Gonta not understand… But Gonta knows Kiyo not guilty!” Gonta said.

“Y-Yeah… Jesus…” Miu began. “Y-Your sister’s f*ckin’ awful!”

“Yeah… I’ve done some evil stuff, buuuut…” Kokichi exhaled air through his teeth. “That was way past my limits.”

Tears started to stream down Kiyo’s face, and his grip on Tenko tightened. He thought they would all be disgusted, that they’d shun him and wave him off to his execution, but they didn’t. They stood with him, reassured him, even if his demise was inevitable, they comforted him in his final moments. This… This was a facet of humanity that he had never experienced before, and yet… It was the most beautiful one he had ever seen.

He wanted to thank them, but the words were stuck in his throat. He wanted to hang out with them, to get to know each and every one of them, but he knew it was too late. So he cried, for it was all he could do. And yet, even without any words to exchange, they understood.

“Now then…” The high pitched voice of Monokuma nearly made the students jump. “Sorry to interrupt the emotional moment, but don’t you think we’re forgetting something…?” He snapped his claws. “Oh, yeah! It’s time for the culprit, Korekiyo Shinguji, to receive his punishment!”

Ah, there it was. It was time.

“W-Wait! B-But Kiyo not guilty!” Gonta shouted in panic.

“Y-Yeah, that’s right, there’s no way you get to execute him, it’s not fair!” Kaito bulked up his fist.

“As I said already, it doesn’t matter if he was possessed or not! Kaede died by Kiyo’s hands, so he gets punished!” Monokuma yelled.

“No!” Tenko shouted, her face covered in tears. “No, no no no no! You can’t!” She assumed a fighting stance and stood between Kiyo and Monokuma.

Kaito and Gonta joined her, but the Monokubs hopped into their Exisals and jumped in.

“Sorry guys, I was on the verge of tears too, but I just can’t let ya mess up pops’ plans!” Monokid said.

“That’s right. Y’all better back down, don’t make us kill more of y’all than we need to!” Monosuke threatened.

“NO, I WON’T LET YOU-!” Tenko began, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

“T-Tenko, it’s… It’s okay.” Korekiyo said. “I… I don’t want you to die because of me.”

“B-But…” She whimpered.

“Before, I believed I should die for my sister. I was foolish. But you… you changed that. You showed me that love isn’t supposed to take one’s life. So please… don’t… don’t be like I was.” He said.

“I-I… B-But I…” She stuttered, and she felt it was hard to breathe.

“Now then, I’ve prepared a very special punishment for Korekiyo Shinguji, the Ultimate Anthropologist!” Monokuma said.

“I-I don’t wanna lose you-!” She ran to Kiyo, and threw herself into his arms once more. “P-Please-!”

“Let’s give it everything we’ve got! Iiiiiiit’s…”

“I c-couldn’t even show you w-what I was planning-!” She was getting desperate, clinging onto him as strongly as she could. “T-The surprise, remember?! I-It was-!”

“PUNISHMENT TIME!”

All the lights went out, save for a single one that illuminated Monokuma in his throne. A button appeared before him, and he took out a gavel, slamming the button with it. Multiple screens lit up around the courtroom, displaying an 8-bit animation and a message.

“Korekiyo has been found guilty. Time for the punishment!”

The lights came back on, and a chain descended from the sky. It wrapped itself around Korekiyo’s neck, provoking that disgustingly familiar sensation of choking that he had felt for years, and it abruptly pulled him upwards. Tenko tried to hold onto his hand, but his bandages came undone, and all that Tenko was left with was a bundle of dirty bandages tangled around her fingers as Kiyo was taken from her.

The trial grounds changed, the walls opening to reveal a dark, damp place that looked like a dungeon. In front of the students, a boiling cauldron was being prepared right under a hole. From the ceiling, came a screen, and it displayed Kiyo in what seemed to be a sort of dojo, tied in a reverse shrimp tie. He had told Tenko about it before.

‘It’s said that being tied in such a manner makes your whole body feel like it burns…’

As if that wasn’t enough, all five Monokubs reached their little paws forward and began spinning Korekiyo violently. This went on for about thirty seconds, all with some annoying, folklore-esque music being played from the speakers. After they were done spinning him, a samurai cut the rope Kiyo was tied on, and he fell through a trapdoor on the floor.

The screen went black, and from the hole atop the cauldron, Korekiyo fell, head first into the cauldron. There was a brief pause in the music. As Kiyo’s head emerged from the water, all the Monokubs held wooden sticks up, and started throwing them to the pyre underneath the pot as the music came back with full force, now with traditional dancers around the cauldron.

‘A common method of execution in 16th century Japan was that of boiling someone alive. It is considered one of, if not the most painful way to die. At some point, the temperature of the water would make it so the skin began melting away, making it so the clothes started sticking to the exposed muscles.’

Instinctively, Tenko tried to intervene, to rush and help him out before it was too late, but the dancers weren’t there for decoration, they were a barricade. As she tried getting closer to the pot, one of them just pushed her away, and she stumbled to the ground.

Korekiyo was crying blood. If he was screaming, the music was louder. He began to lose his strength.

‘Initially, Goemon attempted to save his son by holding him high above the cauldron. He soon realized that was pointless, however, and instead pushed the boy deep in the water to kill him quickly. Then, he held the corpse, displaying it to his enemies, before sinking into the pot himself.’

Succumbing to his injuries, Korekiyo sank deep into the pot, never to come up again. The music began to fade, and soon, all that there was to hear was the bubbling coming from the cauldron. Korekiyo was gone. The trial grounds closed off again, and the boiling grave in which Kiyo had been melted was put out of sight. Monokuma sat atop his throne, as usual.

“Whew!” He said, sighing in relief. “Now that was one hell of an execution! I’m in the mood for some soup now, though…”

No one paid any mind to the bear’s ramblings. Instead, everyone was gathered around Tenko. She had fallen to her knees and curled up on the floor, crying. The tears ran down her face and fell to the floor, slowly forming a small puddle. She balled up her fist and slammed it against the floor a few times. Tenko wanted to scream, to yell, to run at something and punch it, but her body felt weak, and words were caught up in her throat.

Angie kneeled next to her, caressing her back in silence. No other student had grown as close to Korekiyo as Tenko did. Though some, like Ryoma or Maki, knew the feeling of losing a loved one all too well. Some, like Himiko and Gonta, were just too sympathetic, and couldn’t bear to see Tenko cry, so they ended up shedding a few tears of their own. Most were silent.

…Except for Shuichi.

Now that the looming threat of an execution had been lifted with the end of the Class Trial, everything started to dawn on him. Kaede had been murdered. She wouldn’t be coming back. He wouldn’t walk out of her room to see her smiling, he wouldn’t hear her playing the piano again, he wouldn’t hug her again. And seeing Tenko bearing her emotions for all to see…

Shuichi cried too. He fell to his knees and buried his face in his palms. With both his hands and his hat in the way, seeing his face was impossible, but it was obvious by the sound of his sobbing and the tears pouring out at the sides of his hands that he was crying, soaking his sleeves in sorrow.

…

They couldn’t cry forever, though.

Eventually, whether they liked it or not, they had to leave the trial grounds. Everyone walked aboard the elevator in complete silence. The sound of the elevator’s mechanical humming as it ascended was loud enough to drown out Tenko and Shuichi’s last few sobs. By the time everyone was out, it was already nighttime.

No one knew what to say, nor did they want to. Every student was tired, confused, sad, angry, all of them were overwhelmed with a mixture of emotions and not enough energy to handle them. Not even Miu or Kokichi had any sassy comments to make. The group walked together to the dorms, where each one parted ways as they went to their bedrooms, and not a single “goodnight” was heard.

Only one student didn’t go to their bedroom, however.

Tenko stood in front of Kiyo’s door for what felt like an eternity. A part of her hoped that she would see him, lying on his bed with an anthropology book, eager to welcome her in and ramble about it, but she knew that was impossible. She opened the door, and walked in. It was the same as it ever was. Everything was still exactly as it had been left. The bed was perfectly tidy, the drawer was organized as Kiyo had left it, with a few books on top of it. Yet, the most important part…

Was gone.

Korekiyo was gone.

His books, his bed, his drawer, his girlfriend, all yearned to see him again, but it was pointless. Things are taken away from you without rhyme or reason, there are no wishes or feelings that can truly prevent anything, much less reverse it. This room would be left in the academy, like a cruel reminder to be displayed every morning and night, destined to gather dust.

…No. No it wouldn’t.

Tenko wouldn’t let this place gather dust. She wouldn’t let it be a monument of grief. Everything started here, when she found Kiyo at his lowest and decided to help him, so she couldn’t abandon what was left of him now. She closed the door, and got her pajamas.

She would treasure this room, and all the memories she made in it. She would keep both hers and his room in perfect order, she would sleep in both, she would make them into a memoir, in spite of Monokuma, in spite of this killing game, and especially in spite of his sister.

But above all, in honor of Kiyo.

Tenko changed into her nightwear, and laid in bed. It felt weird now, not feeling Korekiyo’s weight on it. She turned to her side. Normally, she’d see Kiyo there. Now, there was nothing. She adjusted herself, and it was odd not to have to beware not to bother a sleeping Korekiyo. She hated it, she hated how all of this felt, but she knew she would have to get used to it.

Tenko could lay in the center of the bed, but she opted for just sleeping where it was usually her side. The silence was too much to bear alone. She closed her eyes. Maybe, just maybe, if she kept herself where she usually was, with her eyes shut and keeping her hands to herself, she could pretend Kiyo was still there.

A few tears escaped her eyes before she fell asleep.

…

…

Ding dong, ding dong

The morning announcement played. Tenko woke up in the middle of the Monokubs’ bickering. She slowly opened her eyes, not even bothering to try and take in whatever nonsense the little bears were spitting out. Once they went silent, she stared at the ceiling, unsure what to do.

Should she go get breakfast? Should she cry some more? She didn’t feel the energy to do either. She sat up, and scanned the room. Her eyes landed on the books atop Kiyo’s drawer. Tenko got up from the bed, and started to look through them, trying to find whichever one was closest to a beginner anthropologist’s level. She found one that seemed to be relatively simple, about fairy tales around the world. She took it in her hands, sat back on the bed, and opened it.

Tenko read page after page. It wasn’t a special interest of hers, but she could see why Kiyo liked it. Among the cited tales, one caught her attention more than the others.

Little Red Riding Hood.

“The tale originated in Europe and can be traced all the way back to the 17th Century…” She murmured aloud as she read it. “In the original version, the tale ends after the Wolf fools and devours Little Red Riding Hood, but in later iterations, a woodcutter or hunter comes in with his ax and saves the little girl…”

Tenko had only heard one version of the story, that in which the hunter chases the wolf away with his ax, and she never imagined that there were so many different versions of the same tale. In some, the hunter saved Little Red Riding Hood before she was eaten, while in others, he cut open the wolf’s stomach to rescue her. In the Brothers Grimm version, the hunter, after rescuing the girl and her grandmother, fills the wolf’s stomach with rocks, causing it to drown after it wakes up and tries to drink water out of a well. There is also a very similar Taiwanese tale, called “Aunt Tiger”, where a tigress attempts to fool two sisters left alone in their house by pretending to be their aunt.

Tenko continued reading and reading, page after page, not realizing how much time was passing. This sensation… It reminded her of when Korekiyo would go on and on about cultures all around the world, sparing no detail whatsoever. It was comforting.

She was startled out of her thoughts as she heard her stomach rumbling. Tenko had become so immersed in the book she was reading that she forgot to go out for breakfast. Luckily for her, a knock at the door was bringing just what she needed.

“...May I come in?” Kirumi said.

“Yeah, sure.” Tenko replied.

The Ultimate Maid slowly opened the door, coming into the bedroom with a tray containing bread and some butter. “I wasn’t quite sure how your appetite would be today, so… I opted for something simpler as of now. I will prepare a more complete breakfast later if you request me to do so.”

Tenko smiled. “It’s okay.” Kirumi was right, while she was hungry, she didn’t feel like she could eat much at the moment. Tenko closed and put the book she was reading away, and ate in silence.

“...How are you?” Kirumi asked. “Are you… dealing well with grief?”

The Aikido master looked away. “...I don’t know…”

The maid sighed. A few more moments of silence passed before another person knocked on the door. “...Can… Can I come in…?” Shuichi asked. He wasn’t wearing his hat anymore.

Both Tenko and Kirumi looked at the door, and the former nodded. The Ultimate Detective made his way in, but he wasn’t alone. Along with him came Himiko, Gonta, Angie, Kaito and Rantaro. Tenko was taken aback by the sudden influx of people coming into Kiyo’s bedroom.

Himiko, Gonta, Kaito and Rantaro all stood up, while Angie and Shuichi sat on the bed.

“I…” Shuichi began. “...I know how you feel.” He looked at her. “Me and Kaede, we… Um…”

Tenko didn’t need him to say much, she already understood. “Oh…” She recalled back when she would watch Shuichi from afar while he spent time with Kaede.

“Y-Yeah, um… I’m not the best with words or… comforting others…” He took a deep breath. “But I understand what you’re going through. So… If you need, I’d be more than happy to help.”

“And not just Shuichi!!” Angie said. “We all want to help you, nyahahaha!!”

“That right! Gonta and friends help Tenko whenever she need!” The Ultimate Entomologist smiled at her.

“Nyeh, I hate seeing people sad…” Himiko began. “And… I could tell Kiyo liked to see you smile. So that’s why I don’t want you to be sad anymore!” She pointed to Tenko, and then turned to the Ultimate Detective. “That goes for you too, Shuichi!”

“A-Ah, um, thank you…” He smiled.

“Yeah, you two are going through a lot right now…” Kaito bumped his fists together. “But there’s no way in hell we’re gonna let you go through it alone!”

Rantaro sighed, and looked at Tenko. “...What Kiyo’s sister did was disgusting. An older sibling is supposed to protect their little sibling, not take advantage of them…” The unknown Ultimate seemed deeply saddened, but still, he mustered a smile. “But I can tell you were helping him. So, again, don’t blame yourself for what she did, okay? Kiyo wouldn’t want you to, and neither would any of us.”

Tenko felt like she was about to cry. “Y-You guys… I-I…”

She shed a few more tears. Not as much as she did yesterday, right after everything had happened, but she still cried a bit now. Shuichi wished he could let out his feelings as much as Tenko did, but he still bottled it up most of the time, so he didn’t shed any tears right now.

After a few moments of crying, Tenko stopped. She took a deep breath. “...Come with me.” She said, and got up. The others were a bit confused, but they followed her.

Tenko made her way back to her bedroom, and opened the door, gesturing for everyone to come in as she entered. Once everyone was inside, she opened her drawer, and took out a hat.

“What that…?” Gonta asked.

“Kiyo told me that his sister had made his outfit…” Tenko began explaining. “So I decided I’d make him a new one. I asked Tsumugi for help…” She took a deep breath. “I… I just finished this yesterday.” She held the hat for everyone to see.

“You mentioned a surprise yesterday, right before, well… You know.” Rantaro said. “Is this what you were talking about?” Tenko nodded.

“...Kiyo told me something… about being boiled alive.” She began. “...Um… Maybe this is really gross to say though…”

“Nah, I can tell something’s on your mind.” Kaito said. “Go on.”

“Well, he said that… at one point, the water would be so hot that skin would begin melting, and… clothes would start sticking to exposed muscles…” She said, and it was obvious a few people were disturbed, though no one interrupted her. “Kiyo… He died glued to the clothes his sister made… And… that…”

“It upsets you, right?” Rantaro asked.

Tenko nodded. “Yeah, but also… His mask.” She continued, and it took all her willpower to keep going. She needed to get this out of her chest. “You all remember how his sister came out when his mask was down, right?” They all nodded in response. “Kiyo said his face didn’t belong to him… It was… her face, and that’s why he wore the mask. He told me one day he’d take it off when he felt his face was his again, but…” She couldn’t bring herself to say that last part.

“He… died with the mask sticking to his face…” Shuichi murmured.

“Geez…” The Ultimate Astronaut didn’t know how to react.

Himiko walked over and gave a good look at the hat. “...You gotta keep going.” She said.

“Huh? What do you mean…?” Tenko asked.

“Well, you didn’t finish the whole outfit, did you?” The mage said. “You gotta keep going, even if Kiyo isn’t around to wear it. I think he’d like it…”

The Aikido master took a moment to think. “...You’re right! I still gotta finish it!” Tenko smiled.

“Nyeh! That’s the spirit!” Himiko smiled too.

“Nyahahaha! I’m sure Kiyo is very happy, wherever he is!!” Angie said, and clasped her hands together. “Remember that he’ll always be with you, even if you can’t see him, okay?”

“W-Wait, what do you mean by that…” A bead of sweat ran down Kaito’s neck.

Tenko smiled at Angie. “Yeah… I’ll… I’ll remember that.”

“Now then…” Kirumi began. “Shall we all go eat? I believe the others are waiting for us.”

“Yeah, I’m getting kinda hungry…” Rantaro said.

“Nyeh, same…” Himiko added.

“Very well. Let’s go then.” The maid turned to Tenko. “Are you coming, or do you still want some alone time?”

The Aikido master took a few moments to think. “You all can go ahead, I’ll be going right after you guys.” Kirumi nodded, and slowly, they made their way out. Though, Tenko held Shuichi by his arm. “Um, Shuichi? …If… If you also need a shoulder to cry on, you can count on me, alright?”

The Ultimate Detective smiled, and nodded, before he made his way out. Angie stopped right at the door.

“Ah, right! There is something else I wanted to tell you!!” She said, turning to Tenko. “You don’t need to worry about Kiyo being ‘reunited’ with his sister. Atua says he’s taking care of Kiyo and Kaede too, and keeping them both far away from her!!” She smiled.

While Tenko didn’t really share Angie’s beliefs, the thought brought her some comfort. She smiled back at Angie. “Tell him I said thanks.”

“I sure will!!” Angie said, and made her way out. “Byeonara!! Nyahahaha!!”

Tenko was now alone, in her bedroom. She sat on her bed, with the hat still in hands. She looked at it for a bit. Yeah, she’d finish Kiyo’s outfit, one day…Maybe… She’d even become an anthropologist. She didn’t believe she could become an Ultimate Anthropologist, like Kiyo was, but she could study the field.

She took a deep breath, and smiled. She placed the hat on top of the drawer, and made her way out to get some breakfast. Tenko still hadn’t fully dealt with her grief, she would probably still cry a good few times until she could finally accept everything that happened, and she knew she would never stop missing Korekiyo.

But she was ready to move on.