"Here," you announced. "Uhh...this is my dorm. Lovely, isn't it?" you added sarcastically. You made your unceremonious entrance into your room to lay some things down on your table. You were still clutching onto the item Kokichi had violently thrown at you when you walked inside, but he had insisted on going to your room first. His reason was because he wanted to check the place out, but you didn't really find your room to be very interesting anyway.

"Woooooow! What pretty colors you got!!" You looked around at all the blue and purple in the theme, and shrugged humbly.

"I'd guess that all of the other dorms are specially colored as well?"

"Mmm... Actually, as far as I'm aware of they aren't. Mine isn't, at least," Kokichi said disappointedly. You bit your nail awkwardly for a moment.

"Uhh, here. I can just give this to you and you can go back to your own room, if you'd like." You handed it over to him. "Still, I think this is a bit weird from you..." you mumbled. "I'll be honest. I've never seen you to be the type of person to give stuff away to others regularly." You didn't mind to bring up his own gift to you.

Kokichi shrugged. "So what? I think it's fine." He grabbed your arm and lead you into his dorm, where he put everything down on his own desk that he had.

"I guess." You sighed, not really knowing what to do. You then realized that you were in the male's room, for some reason. Either he must have forced me here or I started walking out of instinct... Still though, I should probably get out of here. "Oh hey, should I leave now? Or...what? Something you need me to do...?" The boy just hummed, as if he were actually thinking about it; you tilted your head at him.

"Do whatever you want."

"Okay..." You were quite conflicted and confused at that point. What games are you exactly trying to play, Kokichi? He was just staring you and your every moment with a blank face. Deciding to attempt in some small talk you asked, "Do you remember anything about your life before we got here?"

The leader murmured something, at which you tilted your head at. "Why do you want to know?" you heard him quietly repeat. "It isn't anything important." The demeanor around him changed, but you couldn't find the exact words to correctly describe it.

"Hey, is something wrong...? You're acting different than normal, and it's a bit weird..." you whispered. You weren't quite sure how, for he was doing nothing, but your figurative walls of an almost calm and serious front were slowly cracking. Your nervousness soon turned into a small flicker of fear.

"Are we friends?" he suddenly asked.

"Huh...?"

"It's just. As. I. Asked."

"Agh...!" you groaned, as your back fiercely met with a wall within a mere second. Your eyes had closed on instant, but upon opening them back up you instantly wished that you hadn't. "Why. . . ?" Kokichi was looking down over your shrunken body, which he held up to his dorm wall. He had a strong grip on your wrists, pinning them up against the wall as well. He was way too close for any comfort; you could feel his soft breaths on your skin.

"Get away... Get away..." you muttered defenselessly. He only inched closer to you, how ever that was possible.

"Do you trust me, (Y/N)? Sweetheart," Kokichi spoke. His grip on you tightened, making everything from your wrist and up begin to grow numb. Now what am I supposed to say to this? You couldn't run, you couldn't hide, and yet you didn't want to call out for help.

"...It's hard...to entirely figure that out...yet..." you stammered. "But...please." You had such little pride that you could barely keep, so you didn't go as far as to beg to be let free. Instead, a simple 'please' would have to do. Besides, it took up less of the breath that you were getting during the situation. You gulped nervously. The male's gaze seemed to struggle a bit in keeping a steady eye contact with you.

You tried to move out of his grip, but he stayed still. How is he so strong...?? You looked down to the ground, waiting for the moment to end; you could hear your quick heartbeat. Suddenly, Kokichi softly dragged one of his index fingers up your neck, making you shiver. He finally got to your chin, and forced you to look back up at him.

". . .Well...don't you just hate me now?" the purple-haired boy asked ominously. "Well!?" His tone had gotten louder and sharper. You realized that he had temporarily let go of one of your hands, so you took the chance. Instead of answering to his question, you raised a shaky hand up to him and tried to force him off of you. He complied and took two steps away.

"Wh-What is wrong with you?! You're so weird, you know that!?" You then sprinted towards the dorm's door and made your exit.
***

"Haha..." Kokichi cried pitifully to himself in a quiet manner. "Ah-haha..hah... I—I finally did it!" He held a hand up to his head, and grabbed a fistful of his own purple hair. "I'm getting closer..." His voice trailed off. This...actually hurts so much. But...isn't this what I specifically asked for? "It doesn't matter," he said aloud again.

"Yeah... My plan will work. It's already been this successful." However, the other teen's words stuck in his mind, replaying like a messed up tape. 'What is wrong with you?! You're so weird, you know that!?' Kokichi felt a strange pain in his chest. He couldn't help but to wonder why. "(Y/N)... We haven't spoke too awfully much...but, they are probably one of the people that I've connected—no, uh... 'interacted' with the most." The leader just sat down in his bed, sitting there and thinking over the things just brought up to him.
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"This is an official announcement!" Monotaro's voice blared through the monitor's speakers. Kokichi rolled his eyes.

"It is now 10 p.m.. For one o' you b*stards, this might be your last nighttime ever," Monosuke said matter of factly. The small leader shivered at the thought, and in turn bit his lip slightly.

"Don't do something violent to start the killing game. You can make it one more night," the more feminine of the bears spoke. Normally always against goriness, big difference between her and some of her other counterparts.

Monokid, the blue bear, started spewing out nonsense. There was a deep red blush on his face, and his mind seemed to just be everywhere. "Monokid seems really out of it. Is this what happens when you drink too much honey?" the red bear asked, looking over at the other one. There was a moment of silence.

"Bed time, ursine!" The view of the five bears pulled down and out of sight as the screen turned itself off.

Our last nighttime, huh? Kokichi thought. But there's so much I haven't done yet... The leader sighed as his dorm's lights seemed to dim darker and darker with each second, fitting for a good setting to sleep in. "Goodbye to a world... Man, if only the others back at home could hear me," he whispered, looking up at the ceiling. He situated himself under his covers, rolled on his side, and closed his eyes in hopes for a peaceful sleep. He had dreams of all his organization's members wearing happy smiles directed towards him.

When Kokichi's sleep was cut short, he awoke with his face and some of his sheets feeling a bit damp. Damn, did I actually cry in my sleep? He sighed in disgust at himself and reluctantly sat up, holding a hand to his head for support. He assumed that some of the noises coming in the room right next to him was what got him up so early. Frustrated, he knocked his own hand on the wall behind him.

"Heyyyy...! Whoever..." he paused to yawn, "is making that noise, please stop. Who even knows what time it is?" He was loud enough so the person on the other side could here, but not enough to wake anybody up. He wasn't that much of an a**hole, right?

"5:45," a voice spoke back to him.

"Holy f*ck, why are you up this early!? You interrupted my beauty sleep!" Kokichi said oh-so dramatically.

"Ah-haha. Sorry. Feel free to go back to sleep if you'd like, we know you need it," they said shortly. "Besides, I'm not that loud and I know it. You sound like you're going to pass out at any second by now."

The purple-haired grumbled and pulled the sheets back over him and desperately attempted to fall back asleep. However, despite how tired he was, every time he closed his eyes a nightmare would start to play inside his mind, causing him to in turn jolt right back up. He groaned in an angry tiredness, and continued making miserable noises.

"Shut up, will you?!"

"Mmm...no." Kokichi kept on at it, despite the other person.

"Tch, fine, then I'll leave. Will you give me an alibi if anyone dies?"

"Why? If you're planning on going out this early in the morning, it'll still throw a lot of suspicion down on you, y'know." Instead of hearing footsteps, the other teen just stayed put in their bed. "Oh wait...who are you again? Nishishi~"

"Oh, you're so tired that you can't recognize my voice?"

"Ehh...not really...!" The purple-haired dictator could pick up on the other person's hostility, and the growing sharpness in their tone. However, he was trying his best to act normal.

"...It's 6:03... Bye..."

Kokichi's heart wrenched. How long could he keep this up? Hearing the sharp tone really caused him to wonder, but also feel despair; however, a flicker of hope sparked up in his chest when the other teen's words began to soften, just a little bit, at the last second. Was it pity? I'll think about it later. I'm dead tired right now...
***

You were yawning profusely, and were cursing at yourself for waking up earlier than usual. Again, with another awakening you had to face that yes, you were still trapped in the killing game. Presumably, for the rest of your life. You sighed, and looked over at your clock. It was barely past seven, so the morning announcement would only be in about an hour. I should be able to go out now, you thought. Your doors made barely any noise as they opened and closed for your exit out of the room.

Shakily, you began walking. It felt like you could drop down, unconscious, anywhere and at any point in time. Slapping yourself a few times in a failed attempt to wake up, you slowly made your way to the library. A cloud of dust threw you into a coughing fit, which surely got you a bit more woken up. With haste, you walked over to the moving bookcase...and waited. They'll be here soon. They will, be here soon... Your eyes narrowed. Moments passed...

Ding dong! Bing bong!

"This is an official announcement from the Ultimate Academy. Wake up, b*stards. It's 8 a.m.." Monosuke spoke through the screen.

"Oooh, today's the day the time limit expires. My heart is pounding with excitement," Monotaro interjected.

"Don't worry! Even if you end up in hell, at least you can be proud that you didn't do the killing game!" Monophanie added.

"You're just assumin' they're gonna go to hell?" the yellow bear asked.

"This-just-in..." Monokid started with his slurs.

"Hey, Monokid... Why don't we go over there and drink more honey, okay?" the leader of the Monokubs offered to him.

"So long, bear-well!" The vision made its normal exit off the monitor screen. Now I'll just wait. Sighing, you slowly slid down the bookcase with your back against it, eventually getting to a sitting position on the ground. You hummed to yourself your favorite song to keep you entertained.

"Come on, you slow f*ckers. I'm getting impatient and I actually don't have all day...!" you muttered under your breath. You slowly pulled your legs up and hugged them to your chest. Then you heard faint voices, and it sounded like they were somehow coming from above you. You looked around and found a vent, assuming that's how you heard the others.

"It's connected to the library in the basement. You'll recognize the smell immediately," a voice that sounded like Shuichi's said.

"The smell?" Kaede repeated. A small second passed, and you didn't know what she was doing. "Oh! It smells like musty old books! Does this lead to the library?"

"It's probably a vent to control the humidity in the library. Remember the duct we noticed in the basement hallway? It leads here." Duct... What duct? you questioned in your mind. So they have been busy. You then remembered that you were eavesdropping on their conversation. You didn't entirely feel bad about it, but there was a twinge of regret planted somewhere deep inside you. You tuned out and continued humming.

"Huh??" You looked up with a plain expression on your face. "(Y/N)! Ah-haha, um, what are you doing here?" Kaede asked nervously. You noticed Shuichi quickly trying to hide something behind his back.

"Oh come on; you can cut the act. I know you're up to something, I just want to be in on it," you said in return.

"We aren't..." The pianist got cut off by Shuichi whispering something to her. She whispered a few things back to him until he nodded.

"We came up with a plan to catch the mastermind," the detective spoke. "We have cameras that are going to take photos of them, because you see... That bookshelf is—"

"A hidden moving door," you cut him off. "And behind it, there's a black and white door that is suspiciously resemblant to Monokuma. Yeah, I've done some of my own work." The male nodded.

"We figured that the door is where the mastermind controls Monokuma. So if they have to go here when the time limit is almost up then we want pictures to expose them."

"Y-Yeah," Kaede said, still a bit shook at your sudden presence. "But we couldn't tell anyone for, well, obvious reasons."

"Since you're already here, would you mind to possibly help us...?" Shuichi asked you shyly. You shook your head and got up from the ground. "Great... So here, you can set these cameras up to point towards the two entrances to the library, can't you?" You snatched the cameras with a fake mocked scoff.

"What do you think I am? Retarded??" You then proceeded to position the cameras in their correct places. Meanwhile, Kaede was busy putting a camera in a little reading nook next to the moving bookshelf, and Shuichi was putting some sort on sensor on top of said bookshelf. A few moments passed by with none of you saying a word, until finally everyone was finished.

"Oh, Shuichi," the Ultimate Pianist spoke up. "How about that over there?" She pointed towards the vent that you had noticed earlier. "Didn't you say that a person could fit through the vent that connects to the classroom? Wait, shouldn't we actually make sure a person could actually fit through?" Your brows furrowed a bit at the thought. I don't think anyone would try climbing through the vent for anything, you wondered in your mind; but you of course kept quiet about that.

"I think it'll be fine, since we'll be keeping watch in the classroom," Shuichi replied. "But we should investigate it a little more, just in case." Kaede nodded, and watched as you quietly rolled over the moving ladder underneath the vent. You let her go up, taking a step back.

"Whoa... Now that I'm up here, this is pretty high. It's kinda scary..."

"Do you wanna switch?" the detective asked her.

"Nah, I'm fine..." The blonde was obviously not fine. Her face held a nervous expression. All of a sudden, she rushed, "By the way, can you see my, um...delicates?"

"Ah! Sorry!" Shuichi apologized sheepishly.

"Sorry, huh? So you did see them..."

"Haha, pervert," you joked. He could do nothing as a red hue colored his face; he pulled his hat down farther to cover his face as best as he could. You watched as Kaede started investigating the vent. She messed around with something.

"Oh, the grate came off pretty easily."

"Did you break something, Kaede?"

"Um, no...I didn't break it... She pushed the grate in and hoisted her body up to look around.

"How is it? Could a person assassin-crawl through there, or even fit?" you asked a bit loudly so she could hear you.

"Hmm... It would be pretty difficult, but you might be able to crawl through. I can't really get to the vent with all these books in the way, though..."

"Well, we'll be able to see the entrance to the vent in the classroom..." Shuichi said, having recovered from his embarrassment. "So that should be okay, right?"

"Just in case, I'll stack more books around the vent so no one can get through." The pianist's tone seemed forced. As of she were...hiding something. Something seems off, you thought instantly. Your eyes had narrowed out of suspicion, but your demeanor dropped since you figured that you'd have to solve another mystery. Kaede quickly started rearranging the books, getting down off the ladder when she was done.

"...Kaede? What's wrong?" Shuichi asked, taking note of the female's rather strange behavior.

She stayed silent for a moment before speaking, "This will work... This will definitely work! I think this plan might actually protect everyone!" No matter what, you argued to yourself in your mind, I can't help but to feel like she isn't referring to the plan with Shuichi's cameras. No...she's talking about something else. "Yeah, it definitely will! This plan is perfectly composed like Chopin's ballades! I actually really like complicated contraptions, like Rube Goldberg machines and stuff. So I'm positive this will work! This setup is perfect!"

"Y-You really think so?" the blue-haired detective asked hopefully.

"Of course! We'll definitely catch the mastermind, and then we'll all escape!" Kaede suddenly paused. "Hey, wait. I have an idea." She climbed back up the ladder; without speaking a word, she began to reorganize all of the books up on the shelf. It took her a while to finish. She then opened up a big encyclopedia.

"Ah, Kaede...? Is this really the time to be reading a book?" Shuichi questioned the other teen.

"Sorry...I get easily distracted when I'm organizing things," she responded, climbing back down off the ladder and onto the ground.

"Hey...what were you even doing?" Your eyes narrowed all the slightest, which gave you a better look of her. "What was this, 'idea' you had?"

"Ah, well, you see...! I was just trying to figure out if there would be enough room to put one of the cameras up there. The mastermind surely wouldn't be able to notice it as much," Kaede answered you.

"Alright, so I think we're ready to leave. The final thing is to turn the sensors on. There's a ten second delay as it starts up, so we have to leave quick," Shuichi told the two of you. You both nodded. After turning the sensors on, all three of you then ran out of the library as quickly as possible.

"Now we wait for the mastermind to show themselves..." Kaede spoke up.

"There's still some time left. Do any of you want to go see anybody?" The detective glanced at both of you. You put some thought into it for a second. Your mind wandered to a certain someone...but you decided that you didn't want to go find them. After what had happened, you weren't quite sure how you would handle running into them again. You shook your head to respond to his question.

"I, personally, would rather focus on the plan. Besides, I'm sure everyone else is safe," the pianist beside gave her answer. "Plus, once we get out of here, I'll have all the time in the world to see them." She smiled cheerfully and hopefully. You all then walked up the stairs, and you followed them into a classroom. Looking around, you noticed the vent that they must have been mentioning.

"...Let's keep the door open a little. So we can see anyone going to the basement," Shuichi offered.

"Yeah..." Kaede agreed.

"Ah...Kaede? About the...security sensor receiver... Could you hold on to it please? I just feel like...you'd be better suited for that than me." Hey, what about me?? I'm still here...! "Ah, there's a power switch on it. Make sure you don't turn it off by accident." But then again, I am kinda a third wheel to this plan...

"No...you hold on to it, Shuichi," Kaede told him. "You're the one who came up with this plan... And...I trust you." As for yourself, you just looked down in strange silence. I guess they have forgotten I was here.

"Hey, I can see that you two are having a moment, so I'll just leave now," you said sternly, and started to strut out of the classroom before giving them a chance to say another word to you. Thinking back on it for a second, you realized that you probably sounded rude. Letting out of huff of frustration, you ended up hiding yourself somewhere near the staircase leading downstairs.

After a while, a nearby monitor turned itself on. However, it didn't have any of the Monokubs displayed on the screen like normal. Instead, there were bright flashy pictures showing up. They showed small figures, blue and pink, either in a situation where they were getting killed or where they were already dead; and one singular black figure was always somewhere on the scene, perfectly unharmed. Along with the displays was a weird song playing loudly through the speaker; very loudly.

Ahh! What is this?! you frantically asked inside your mind. You were sure that if you had to listen to the song for an extended amount of time, you would have gone completely mad. I bet this is a reminder of the time limit...or Monokuma's decided to toy with us.  "Quit fooling around!" you aggressively whisper-shouted, eyes scanning the room for any cameras that may have been around. Im your mind, you could imagine the toy bear's annoying high-pitch giggle, like nails on a chalkboard. Then, you saw people coming your way; you quickly sank deeper into the shadows to hide yourself.

"Himiko, Gonta, Kaito, Tenko, Angie, Maki, aaaand... Rantaro! ...Rantaro? And...the others?" You tilted your head in confusion. They were all talking while wasting no time in going down the stairs which led to the basement. The monitor, which you had to shift in order to see properly from where you hid, switched to a different screen momentarily. It was a laughing Monokuma against a blood pink background. These words continuously panned across the screen: In 1 hour... EVERYONE DIES. You shivered at the sight. Getting your mind on track, you decided to follow the mass downstairs.

When you got down there, you realized they all went to the game room. Hearing a noise behind you, you quickly turned around, only to find Shuichi standing there. "Oh. It's you."

"Uh, yeah... Hey, what are you doing down here? And where...did the others go?" he asked.

"Don't ask about my business. As for the others, they all went in there." You motioned over towards the room on the other side of the door you were standing next to you. Shuichi nodded, giving you a "thanks" before retreating up the stairs. Only a few more moments went by...before you faintly heard a noise.

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