The title didn't stick, of course. At the end of the day, Ahmya was still the ultimate arsonist and Rantaro was still the ultimate adventurer. However, the idea of there being an ultimate survivor quickly became a cute little joke with our raft. Brittany, Saikoro, and Sora all cheered for our ultimate survivors as we continued forward until we finally crossed where the two rivers met once again and approached the doc.

Yuuki's raft was nowhere to be seen, but that wasn't all that surprising considering how far behind they were. We also each felt a huge wave of relief when we looked back at what the other side of the river had in store; a huge waterfall about twice as tall as the one we went over.

"Class six," Rantaro breathed once we all got off the raft and were safely on land, looking back at the falls. "Looks like we made the right call."

There were no announcements from Monokuma, but that was probably because he was waiting for the rest of the students to arrive, which meant they were still alive! Probably...

Yuuki was inexperienced, but as the ultimate hero, he probably was used to performing water rescues. Plus, the worst he would have to deal with was that class five drop. It was a good thing we already decided which way we'd go. I was glad Rantaro made the right decision in telling us to go left. 

We had some time to kill, but none of us wanted to leave the dock, so we all simply sat by and waited. The sun slowly started to set, but when we checked the monopad the rule about being in our cabins during nighttime had disappeared, so this was probably an exception. We had been rafting for so long that time had slipped away without us even noticing. 

Saikoro and Sora spoke a lot while Rantaro continued to comfort Ahmya, who was still slightly shaken up by the whole ordeal, so I took the time to briefly get to know Brittany. She was from the United States, though she was born here, which explained her small accent and her talent. She apparently was never the best student, but I didn't really care about that. She was sweet. She rambled on about the dangers of different makeup products for much longer than I would have liked, but I didn't care all that much. 

"Hey, is that them?" Saikoro asked, standing up and bringing one of his hands to his eyebrows as he looked out at the river. I quickly turned around, expecting to see Ruji, Daiki, Kichiro, Bashira, Keiko, and Yuuki drifting down the calmer side of the river.

They weren't there, though.

"Oh no," Rantaro whispered.

My attention turned from the calm side to the waterfall. The waterfall that was about 400 meters away from us. The waterfall that Rantaro had called a class six.

Their boat was approaching the top of it.

"Oh no," I repeated, gasping and covering my mouth. "Ruji!"

Daiki and Kichiro's backs were to us, so it was clear that they were trying to paddle upstream, away from the falls. There was no way they'd be able to fight the current, though. They were going to be swept down. 

My eyes went to Ruji. The ghostbuster was paddling with all his might. He was far away, but I knew it was him from his clothes and hair. He was panicked. He was afraid. They all were. 

I was helpless to do anything as their boat tumbled over the falls.

They all fell out of their boat before it even crashed into the water below. There was a loud splash, and then they all disappeared beneath the mist and the waves.

I half-expected Rantaro to dive into the water to save them, but he didn't move. He probably knew it was pointless to go. It was too far, the current was too fast. Even beneath the falls, the water was rough and turbulent. I hoped it was deep enough for them not to die from the impact at the bottom. 

A few moments later, Yuuki's head popped up above the water, looking scared and confused. He had traveled a long way underwater, almost halfway back to us. Was the current really that fast?

"Yuuki!" Brittany called, bringing one hand to the side of her mouth to amplify her voice and using her other hand to wave frantically. The ultimate hero turned around himself in the water, then spotted us and waved back before swimming over.

Behind him, Keiko and Bashira popped up, right next to one another. Ahmya muttered a quiet "thank god," under her breath as the two followed.

"Ruji," I whispered to myself, terrified. "Where's Ruji?"

I didn't know how experienced with water he was. He could swim, right? Most people I knew could swim, but it was still entirely possible he couldn't. What if he was sucked down to the bottom of the river? What if he hit his head and fell unconscious? What if-

"SUKI!" 

I shook my head and looked forward. Ruji was struggling to tread the rough water, but he was there. He was okay, keeping his head above the surface with Daiki next to him.

They were both alive.

Yuuki, Keiko, and Bashira had swam closer, to the point where they were able to stand up in the shallower water. Ruji was closer to the falls, but making his way over. Soon enough, he too was in the shallows.

The four of them made their way to the dock, soaking wet. There was absolutely no sign of their boat anymore.

"What the heck, guys?!" Ahmya shouted in anger. At the same time, she ran up to Bashira and hugged her tightly, trembling. "I thought we agreed to go left!"

"There was a big waterfall on the left," Yuuki coughed, hugging himself. "We thought this way would be safer... that was certainly something..."

"Certainly something indeed," Saikoro chuckled, shaking his head. "You're lucky to be alive."

Lucky...

Unlucky...

"Kichiro?!" I suddenly gasped. "Where's Ki-"

"We don't know," Ruji shakily explained. "Daiki went back to look for him as soon as he resurfaced."

Why was Daiki always saving him?!

I shook my head, then jumped into the shallow water and waded out until it was up to my waist. "Daiki?!" I cried, bringing both my hands to the sides of my face. "DAIKI?!"

Maybe Kichiro's bad luck finally caught up with him. But Daiki? We couldn't afford to lose him. Not yet. Not like this.

"Guys," Daiki's voice breathed, though it didn't come from the river.

Everyone on the dock turned around to see the ultimate spy standing behind them, holding Kichiro in his arms. 

"Daiki!" I gasped, splashing to get back to the dock. He was absolutely soaked, as was everyone else, but that didn't matter.

What mattered was Kichiro.

"He's hurt," Daiki whispered. He kneeled and set the unlucky student down. There was blood dripping from the side of Kichiro's temple. The cuts on his legs from the first murder had also re-opened, staining his soaked pants.

"What happened?!" Yuuki frantically asked.

"You took him down a class six waterfall, that's what happened," Saikoro said, though he didn't sound angry. If anything, he sounded amused, like this was all a sitcom he was watching.

Yuuki's face flushed with guilt as Daiki shook his head and placed his gloved hand over the wound on Kichiro's face. 

"His heart wasn't beating earlier. I had to give him CPR onshore just after I saved him back there. He's alive now... but... I..."

I pulled myself up onto the dock and pushed my way through the small crowd of people. Kichiro was leaning into Daiki's hand slightly. No longer did I see the annoying kid who caused so much unneeded trouble. This was someone different.

This was someone Daiki cared about.

"Daiki, it's just a small cut," I breathed, squinting at the wound. It really was nothing major. If I had to guess, a paddle must have hit him on the head and knocked him unconscious as they all fell.

"It's bleeding a lot," the spy whispered. 

"It's going to be okay," I promised him. "We'll find him some bandages. We won't let anything bad happen to him."

The spy shook his head. He was pale. He was afraid. 

"Daiki..." I breathed, placing one of my hands on his. "He'll be okay."

"He's annoying anyway," Brittany added cheerfully. Sora was quick to shush her, thankfully.

"Wowwwie! This is quite dramatic! Oh, the despair! How I love it!" Monokuma chimed, suddenly popping up.

"Not the time, Monokuma," I found myself hissing as Daiki turned his gaze to the bear with wide eyes.

"It's always the time!" Monokuma grinned. "Don't worry though. I can read a room. I'm not a total monster! No no no, I'm just here to tell you that it's pretty late! The next motive will drop tomorrow morning, so I suggest you get some good sleep! Each of you has temporary cabins for your short stay in the adventure park! No roommates are required, so take advantage of the privacy! Check your map for directions!"

He disappeared just as quickly as he came. 

I found myself checking the rules before checking the map.

Surely enough, there was still no bedtime rule, so we weren't required to rush out to our cabins. Nor were we given rules about assigned cabins...

We made our way through the "adventure park" as a group. It was dark out by then, so it was hard to see, but I could make out silhouettes of many large structures. On the opposite end of the park were twelve cabins, each one of different sizes.

"Um... so how are we going to do this?" Bashira asked. "These clearly aren't equal. Someone's going to have to take the little ones."

"I think the captains should get the biggest ones," Brittany grinned. "Because they stepped up and stuff!"

"I actually think that's a good idea," Sora agreed. "First mates get to pick next, right?!"

"First mates?" Bashira asked. "What the heck is that? We didn't have first mates!"

"I think Suki should get the next pick," Rantaro shrugged. "She took over for me after the class five drop."

"Oh! Oh! And Daiki should get the next pick!" Yuuki grinned. "For saving Kichiro!"

Daiki seemed to shrug as Kichiro shifted in his arms. I was a little surprised that the spy chose to carry him. Yuuki offered to take over, but Daiki refused, which I found odd because Yuuki seemed way stronger. I didn't know Daiki was even capable of carrying someone for so long.

"Can I stay with him?" the spy asked quietly.

"Huh?" the hero hummed.

"Kichiro. He's my roommate," Daiki replied quietly. "I... I don't care which cabin I get. I just want to make sure he's okay. He gets... unlucky a lot."

From the way he said that it almost made me think that bad things happened to Kichiro more often than I had previously thought. I had seen the spy save him a few times... but what happened when I wasn't there to witness it? Just how unlucky was Kichiro? Did Daiki have to stay up at night just to make sure nothing fell on him and killed him in his sleep?

"Alright," Bashira chimed. "I don't see anything in the rules that forbids that. If we're allowing roommates, then can I stay with Ahmya? She's... still a little shaken up."

"Shut up," the arsonist whispered, though it was clear Bashira was correct. She was shaken up.

"Fine by me!" Yuuki smiled.

Eventually, it was decided that Rantaro would get the biggest cabin and Yuuki would get the second biggest. I allowed Daiki and Kichiro to take the third biggest, then I took the fourth biggest for myself. Saikoro took the fifth biggest and Sora took the sixth. Then, Ahmya and Bashira agreed to share the seventh while Keiko took the eighth. Brittany got the ninth, leaving Ruji with the tenth. Not that the Ghostbuster minded all that much. I offered to switch with him, but he refused, claiming that he preferred small cabins anyway. 

Most of us went into our cabins to turn in for the night, but before I could step into mine, Ruji's hand found mine.

"Before you go... can we do something?" he asked quietly.

"Oh, sure," I shrugged. "What is it?"

"It'll sound stupid."

"I doubt it."

"Alright," he breathed. "I just... this is our first day without a curfew. So... I want to see the stars. I was going to offer to take Maikeru one of the other nights, but the rules... and he probably would have hated it. And now I'm too scared to go my own."

Did this mean he felt safe around me? Or, at least safer than he did when he was alone.

We didn't walk far to see them. Just far enough away from the cabins for us to be alone, where there was a small clearing in the trees. I lay down in the grass and simply looked up at the sky. It was much clearer than anything I had ever seen. Back home, I didn't look at the stars often, but when I did they didn't look like this. I suppose I had light pollution to thank for that.

"Isn't the sky amazing?" Ruji asked, lying down a few feet from me and folding his arms over his stomach. Maikeru's flashlight was tucked into his belt, safe and secure. "I mean, just think about it. Infinite worlds, galaxies, solar systems! It's incredible!"

I giggled slightly. I never knew he cared about stars and space. I waited a moment as I tried to identify the feeling that resonated within me as I looked up at the large sky which seemed to cover the world like a sheet.

"It's scary," I eventually said.

"Really?" Ruji questioned, sitting up and finally looking at me. "Why?"

He seemed shocked at the mere mention of me being afraid instead of him. I suppose it did flip our dynamic a little.

The soft blades of grass lightly tickled the back of my head as my eyes were drawn to a small star just to the right of a cluster. The star almost looked like an outcast.

"I just... feel how unimportant we are," I finally said. "I feel small."

"But that's good," Ruji said, lying down once again and shrugging.

"I don't think so," I replied. My voice felt heavier than usual. "I... I want to mean something. I want it to matter that I'm here."

"Ah, you want to make your mark," Ruji chuckled, nodding up at the sky as if he understood.

"Doesn't everybody? Don't you?" I asked.

Wasn't that all anyone ever wanted? To be remembered, to be known. Would life be worth living if no one knew I was even here?

I never liked thinking about deep things like this.

"I think..." Ruji trailed off, clearing his throat and pausing for a moment as if he were trying to gather his words. "I believe," he corrected. "I believe you make your mark inside yourself."

"But I want more," I sighed. "I want someone to know I was here."

"Well, yeah. But you have to start with yourself. You have to let yourself know you're here." 

I never really thought about it that way.

Was that how Ruji saw everything? I never knew he was so deep. He always seemed so small and self-conscious. 

"...I don't do that, do I?" I asked, my voice smaller. "I focus too much on making my mark on others."

"Yeah..." Ruji replied.

I paused, closing my eyes so I no longer had to look at the sky and the stars.

"That's what makes me scared."

There was a shooting star that raced across the sky, leaving a streak of light behind it. It reminded me of a rocket ship.

"I wonder if there's an ultimate astronomer out there. Or an ultimate astronaut." I muttered.

"Unlikely," Ruji breathed. "Kids our age aren't old enough to take the test."

"How do you know?"

"I tried."

I shook my head and sat up, turning to look at him. "Wait, really?!"

"Yeah," he chuckled. "Suki... I really didn't want to be the ultimate ghostbuster. I mean, it's scary and most people don't believe in what I do. But the ultimate astronaut... now that would be something."

It really would. I mean, imagine. A kid our age, going to space... 

"It would be something," I agreed. "But... the ultimate ghostbuster is something too. Something really special and wonderful."

"You think so?"

"I'm not a liar," I giggled. 

"Do you think Maikeru thought so, too?"

"Of course," I said, giggling as his face turned a light pink color again. "Ruji, you've seen and done things that the rest of us can only dream of. And yes, it's scary, but you've done it. You're a survivor, as my raft would say."

"Your what?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing. Inside joke," I shrugged. "My point is... you're special. So don't sell yourself short, alright? I can't have my best friend doubting himself."

"Best friend?"

"Yeah. Best friend."