#supper danganronpa another 2

[willbyers-simp]

DM or comment if interested

the other thing is,I cant pay because im 17 and unemployed as im trying to finish highschool

[pyropsychiccollector]

Danganronpa: Another IF (Chapter 2, Part 2)

            The following morning, only eleven of the teens made their way to the cafeteria. Ishimaru had been attempting to rouse Togami, to get him to attend the breakfast meeting on time, but when he failed to get the Ultimate Affluent Progeny to answer his door, he reluctantly joined his classmates in the cafeteria. As a unified group, they all volunteered to split up to look for the suck-up heir. Even if he was a jerk, no one wanted to see another murder…

            It just so happened to be Naegi’s luck that he found the fearless Togami, as he went to check the library.

            “Togami?!” The Luckster let out a surprised yelp. The heir was leisurely reading a book by the light of a lamp, and he didn’t seem to give a damn that Naegi had been looking for him. “Wh-What are you doing?”

            “What, does it look like I’m fishing or something?” The heir rolled his eyes. “I’m reading… Be quiet.”

            “Oh, sorry…” Naegi apologized out of impulse, before realizing the others were worried sick about him. “Wait, no! What the heck are you doing here? We were worried about you… We’ve all been looking for you! What on earth possessed you to do such a thing?! We all agreed… to have breakfast in the cafeteria, remember?”

            “I agreed to that?” Togami snidely replied. “Give me a break… I can’t even relax with a book around here?”

            Togami snapped his book closed and stood up in a huff. Just as he did so, Ishimaru and the others came running into the library as well. Apparently, Naegi’s conversation with the heir had been loud enough for the others to hear and get word out that he’d been found.

            “So this is where you’ve been, Togami!” Ishimaru accused the heir as he pointed at him in righteous anger.

            “The heck are you doin’, man?!” Leon grumbled.

            “We were worried…” Sakura frowned in disapproval. Togami just scoffed.

            “You had no reason whatsoever to worry about me. I was just reading a book.” He continued to cite that as an excuse, as if there wasn’t anything wrong with that. “I’ve never read such a pedestrian novel before, but I thought it might be of some use in this situation…”

            “What were you reading?” Asahina asked curiously.

            “A mystery novel…” Togami replied dully.

            “Um… D-Did you perhaps… intend to make use of one of its tricks…?” Yamada asked nervously.

            A few, like Naegi, stared at the otaku in disbelief, but as they all considered the Ultimate Affluent Progeny, and how he’d been acting, that indeed seem very… possible. Well… everyone except Naegi, the undying optimist, considered that possibility.

            “Don’t be stupid.” Togami scoffed. Naegi nodded his head.

            “What he said!”

            “I’ll just use them as inspiration.” Togami smirked arrogantly, catching Naegi off-guard. “When it’s my turn to play the game, I’ll use a trick of my own making. It wouldn’t be nearly as fun if I didn’t. It’s not every day you get the chance to participate in such a palpably intense game, you know… So there’s no point in not enjoying myself…”

            With this said, the Togami heir chuckled ominously. Mondo snarled at the blond’s attitude.

            “G-Game?! The hell’re you on about?! Enough crazy talk, you little bitch!”

            “A game is a game.” Togami sneered. “… and this is a game of life and death… where there can be only one victor… That’s all there is to it.”

            “A zero-sum game.” Celes mused. At Naegi’s confused glance, she elaborated. “The term comes from game theory… a branch of mathematics… In game theory, a situation like this is referred to as a ‘zero-sum game.’ When resources are finite, one person’s gain results in an equal degree of loss among the other players. Take poker, for example.”

            “Like a game of tug-of-war.” Sakura mused. Celes nodded.

            “Or a school entrance exam… A vast majority of social interactions can be described as zero-sum games. Each school admits a limited number of students, and your acceptance means another’s rejection… And the same applies to the situation we find ourselves in now, only in this case… the resource we’re competing for… is the singular title of ‘successful villain.’”

            “In other words, this was always meant to be a game of King of the Castle.” Togami condescendingly summed up Celes’s explanation.

            “This is just… a game of King of the Castle to you?!” Sayaka gaped at the heir in shock.

            Celes giggled.

            “That’s why I said we need to adapt. If everyone stops wanting to get out, then there’s no need to worry about getting caught up in the game.”

            Togami raised an eyebrow at the laidback gambler.

            “Why wouldn’t you want to participate in such a thrilling game?” He laughed, as he continued to smirk devilishly.

            Celes placed her hands on her hips.

            “The possibility of you losing hasn’t even so much as crossed your mind, has it?” At the heir’s arrogant denial, the gambler giggled. “That shouldn’t surprise me, coming from the successor of one of the world’s leading financial giants…”

            Junko rolled her eyes.

            “Sounds to me like someone is too cocky…”

            “And what happens if you die?!” Asahina distressfully asked.

            Naturally, Togami stayed consistent with his attitude.

            “I won’t die. Not a chance.”

            “The hell’s your problem?!” Mondo cracked his knuckles.

            “You know, I’m surprised…”

            “What the hell about?!” Mondo was getting angrier by the minute.

            “That the archaic breed of misfits you were plucked from hasn’t gone extinct yet.” Togami sneered.

            “I’ll fuckin’ kill you…!” Mondo roared.

            “I told you once, and I’ll tell you again. I will not be killed.”

            Leon sighed in aggravation.

            “We’re going in circles here…”

            “Say as much as you want, it’s no use. The concept of ‘losing’ doesn’t even exist for him…” Celes mused. “He’s the Ultimate Affluent Progeny, one of the elite, groomed to inherit the Togami group… From birth, he had it drilled into his head that he’s destined to succeed – and he’s accomplished that. Games, tests – to him these all exist for one purpose: to win. Even if it means putting his life on the line. Isn’t that right?”

            Togami chuckled in amusement.

            “I’m impressed…”

            “You and I are one in the same… I, too, believe that games exist to be won.” Celes’s smile was deceptively pleasant.

            Togami seemed personally by the gambler’s assertion.

            “Shut that filthy mouth of yours and don’t go comparing me to the likes of you.”

            “My, oh my. I beg your pardon~.” Celes was clearly amused rather than personally insulted.

            “Anyway, I do have one thing to say. I hope you all bring the same level of ambition. The game just won’t be nearly as fun otherwise.” Togami’s arms were crossed, and he gave off this dark enthusiasm that made Naegi and all the others realize he was not joking around.

            “N-No! You… You can’t!” Fujisaki cried.

            “What was that?” Togami ground out as he rounded on the programmer again.

            “This… this isn’t a game… Our lives… are at stake…” Fujisaki tried to make him see reason. “We’re all friends… We can’t kill each other… That’s not right!”

            “Friends? When did that happen?” Togami cruelly replied, confusing the programmer further. “We’re not friends. No, it’s the exact opposite. We’re opponents, all vying for the top spot.”

            “B-But… still…”

            Togami snarled.

            “’But’? Who said you could use that word? A plebian like you need only agree with me.” When Fujisaki continued to try and contradict him, Togami glared at her harder. “If you have something to say, say it. If you can’t, then don’t open your mouth at all.”

            Fujisaki looked down morosely.

            “I-I’m sorry…”

            This exchange did nothing to sate Mondo’s fury. If anything, he was more pissed now.

            “The hell, man?! You get some sick pleasure outta bullying people weaker than you?! You make me sick!”

            “And the buddy-buddy act has started again… How long are you going to keep this up?” Togami shot back.

            “Fuck you!”

            “’Fuck you’? Really? I can hardly believe my ears. It seems you’re only capable of spewing simpleminded, meaningless drivel.”

            Mondo cracked his knuckles again, bearing his teeth.

            “That’s it! You’re dead!”

            “H-Hey…! Calm down!” Junko grimaced as the biker began to advance on the affluent progeny.

            “I am fuckin’ calm!” Mondo roared.

            “Suuure…” Junko rolled her eyes. Togami turned his back on them.

            “In any event… I have no intention of continuing to work with you… I have no desire to waste my time on something so meaningless… as cooperating with my opponents in a game of King of the Castle. And don’t even get me started on those ‘friendly’ meals together. Someone could slip me poison…And I have no interest in consuming my last supper here…”

            “You’re nothin’ but freakin’ theatrics!” Mondo snarled.

            “You’re on your own from here. Count me out…” Togami deadpanned as he left the library, not looking back even once.

            “Is he serious…?” Sayaka wondered worriedly.

            “No doubt.” Celes rolled her eyes.

            “He ain’t gettin’ away with that…!” Mondo raged. However, he nor anyone else went after the heir. There wasn’t a point. No one was going to change his mind.

            And no one else voiced dissent. Togami was the only one who wanted to work alone; even Celes, who so easily compared herself to Togami, was still onboard with cooperation. Togami would be watched, but they would not restrict his freedom. They owed him a modicum of trust as a classmate, until such a time when that would become impossible.

            If they couldn’t do that much, they would be no better than Togami himself.

            ~*~

            “So, did ya hear, Naegi?” Leon asked with a lecherous grin as they encountered each other in the hall. The Luckster was without Sayaka for once, as the pop idol had vaguely said she had some plans with the other girls that afternoon.

            “Um… no?” Naegi scratched his cheek nervously, as he had a feeling that Leon was going to suggest to do something that Maizono wouldn’t… ‘approve’ of…

            “The girls are havin’ a pool day! And by girls, I mean Asahina, Sakura, Junko, and Maizono! Even Kirigiri might join ‘em for a dip!” The redhead’s face was becoming more perverted by the second. “We should totally check ‘em out! Not like there’s anything wrong with going swimming at the same time as them. It’s just a big coincidence~.”

            Naegi sweatdropped. No wonder Celes put him on the same level as Hifumi. And here he’d planned to stick up for the guy, if push came to shove… Oh well. Live and learn…

            “My apologies, but that simply will not be possible.”

            … Well speak of the devil.

            “Eh? What’s your problem?!” Leon grumbled at Celes. “We’re just doing some male bonding here!”

            Celes cranked up her intimidation tactics as she leaned forward menacingly.

            “I regret to inform you that Makoto has a prior engagement with me. If you must get up to your perverted shenanigans, you will simply have to find someone else. Like Yamada or Mondo.”

            Not needing to be told twice, Leon backed off with a nervous grin and took his leave. Naegi didn’t mind so much that the redhead bailed on him, but he was a mixture of nervousness and curiosity as he was left alone with the Ultimate Gambler.

            “So… um… What’s up, Celes?” The brunet somehow managed to keep from sounding too awkward. “Did you wanna hang out?”

            Celes averted her eyes slightly as she frowned.

            “In a manner of speaking. I mostly wanted to keep you from doing anything lowbrow, but it would be a shame to part ways so suddenly.”

            Naegi’s cheeks became slightly pink as Celes directly addressed the whole ‘pervert’ thing. It’s not like he was actually going to take Leon up on his offer! He’d feel… dirty.

            “W-Well… Thanks for worrying, I guess, but I was gonna pass on it, anyway. I want Maizono to make friends, too.” Naegi scratched his cheek and also averted his eyes in embarrassment. His blush deepened a little as Celes giggled and put on that pleasant smile of hers, folding her hands beneath her chin.

            “Oh, I had a feeling you weren’t vulgar. Call it protecting my own interests, if you will. You are… not like the others. I wish to see your potential, especially since our talents are so similar.”

            Ah.

            “So… you wanted to play cards or something?”

            Celes tilted her head slightly as she looked off to the side.

            “Perhaps another time. For now, let us adjourn to the cafeteria, where you can make me some tea, and we can talk.”

            Naegi sweatdropped. Didn’t she quench her thirst this morning, bossing Yamada around?

            “I take it you want royal milk tea again.”

            “Oooh~. You are already a step above Yamada.”

            … Yep. He could tell that interacting with Celes was going to be interesting…

            ~*~

            “So… how does your ‘Luck’ work, Makoto?” Celes asked as she enjoyed her beverage – which she was pleasantly surprised to discover Naegi had gotten exactly right the first time. There was very little in the way of criticism she could give with how he prepared it, and she was seriously considering having him make her the tea from now on, instead of Yamada. “Monokuma has alluded to the fact you can be very ‘unlucky’, and yet our experiences thus far seem to indicate otherwise.”

            “Well… my luck’s a bit unpredictable.” Naegi rubbed the back of his head and laughed sheepishly. “Like, take how I got into Hope’s Peak. Or the day I got the acceptance letter, anyway. I decided to change my daily routine just one time, and take the long way home, but that wrapped me up in a bunch of unfortunate incidents…”

            As the Luckster regaled her, Celes looked more intrigued by the minute. By the end, Celes satisfyingly clinked her tea cup on the plate in front of her.

            “That all sounds very thrilling… But I wonder, do you think you were lucky that day, or unlucky?”

            Naegi scratched his cheek sheepishly.

            “I don’t think you can call that one day ‘just’ good luck, or ‘just’ bad luck… There was kind of… both.”

            “Mmm.” Celes hummed. “But you agree that luck can be good or bad, and that there is no in-between, yes?”

            Naegi rubbed the back of his head.

            “… I guess? That’s the whole point of luck, isn’t it? You’re fortunate or unfortunate.”

            “Then how about overall? Taking into account all of the events, how would you rate that day?” Celes seemed to have an opinion herself, but she appeared to want to hear Naegi’s first.

            Naegi released a small sigh and reflected on it. Sure, despite how “unlucky” he was that day, overall, the day turned out okay. A diamond thief was arrested, and Naegi got that letter from Hope’s Peak. Of course, he had no idea what he would be getting into by accepting, but… going strictly by that day…

            “I guess it turned out pretty well.” Naegi admitted with a wry grin. “Bunch of unlucky stuff happened, but it turned out well enough.”

            Celes seemed pleased with his answer as she folded her hands under her chin.

            “You see? Unpredictable your luck might be, it still suits you as the Ultimate Lucky Student. You might think you are unlucky at the time, but every single one of those moments add up into something you cannot foresee until you look back at them later. Perhaps our imprisonment here will be no different for you. If we are lucky, some of that fortune will spread to us as well…”

            Naegi sweatdropped as he took in everything Celes said. He honestly wasn’t sure what to think of “the ends justify the means” concept. He could hope that things would turn out okay, but Hagakure and Fukawa wouldn’t be getting that happy ending. And who knew if they would manage to escape with the remaining 13 of them? Monokuma obviously wasn’t done with them…

            Well, it wasn’t like him to dwell on the negative like that. He worried about the future, of course, but he had faith they could stay united.

            “Yeah… Dunno if I’d want everyone to suffer my bad luck, but I hope you guys can escape eventually because of it…”

            Rather than chide him about “adapting,” as Naegi was sort of expecting, Celes adopted a contemplative look.

            “… I think I will share my perfect gambling strategy with you, after all.” The gambler nodded, as if it was a foregone conclusion.

            “Perfect gambling strategy? Is there really such a thing?” Naegi couldn’t help but ask. The gambler smiled pleasantly.

            “Naturally. Strategy is important in whatever game you play, but there is always one factor that can even override the best strategies… and that is luck.”

            “Luck…?” Naegi parroted. This seemed more like ‘common sense’ than a secret, perfect strategy, but he’d listen to what Celes had to say.

            “As mentioned, luck comes in two varieties – good and bad. There is no in-between. From birth, our luck is built into us. Like a computer program. Some call it fate, but the bottom line is that luck is life.”

            “So you’re saying, the reason you never lose…” Naegi prompted her, having a feeling he knew what she’d say.

            “Exactly. I never lose because I’ve been programmed with good luck for gambling. And yet, you are the Ultimate Lucky Student, yes? I wonder if your luck exceeds mine… I am excited to find out one of these days~.”

            Naegi could tell Celes was amused, and that she really was looking forward to it. Though he himself was a bit nervous now, the two kept on talking like that for another hour, exchanging stories, before the girls returned from their pool outing. Despite not understanding Celes too well due to having to see through any lies she could be telling, Naegi felt like he got to know her better. In spite of everything, they bonded a little.

            After having dinner with everyone, Naegi would get caught up in a contest between Mondo and Ishimaru, as they tested to see who could sit in the sauna the longest. Mondo was particularly suicidal, as he went in there with all of his clothes on…

            Naegi never got to see the contest through to the end due to nighttime rolling around, but he would see the birth of an… eccentric and exuberant friendship the next morning… Quite the turnaround from how the biker and hall monitor were originally interacting…

            It was really too bad the peace wasn’t meant to last.

            ~*~

            “What could Monokuma possibly want with us at this late hour…” Ishimaru bit his fist nervously as they were all gathered in the gymnasium again. They’d had about a day of Ishimaru and Mondo’s buddy-buddy-ness, and many of them had been starting to think another murder would never happen. The new areas of the facility opened to them, as well as the strengthening bonds between them, was instilling them with hope.

            “I’m curious to see what will happen this time.” Celes mused. It wasn’t as if they were ignorant to the potential reason Monokuma had summoned them.

            “Just as I was starting to get bored…” Byakuya snickered. Hifumi just stared at him.

            “Why are you ‘bwahahaha’ing? Are you incapable of putting on a more pleasant face? Such as, say, the beaming smile shown at the close of each episode of our nation’s beloved housewife anime…?”

            “I’m more concerned about the fact that he can laugh at all right now…!” Asahina gritted out as tears pricked at her eyes. Togami just snorted.

            “Who is it you should really be concerned about?” At Asahina’s confused stare, he rolled his eyes. “Forget it… I was just expressing my amazement… You don’t want to live here, but you don’t want to kill anyone. You’ve rejected every option given to you… and are just wasting time away – without a goal. I’m amazed you can live with yourselves like that.”

            “I… I have an idea or two…!” Asahina defended herself. Togami rolled his eyes again.

            “Ah, yes… Weren’t you going on about how you were so certain the police would come and save us? How did that ever turn out? I don’t see any evidence of us having been rescued.”

            “W-Well, um…” The swimmer stuttered. “What is going on with that?”

            “It is rather strange.” Kirigiri concurred. “The police couldn’t possibly overlook something like this happening in a school in the middle of the city.”

            “The police are useless!” Yamada asserted.

            Celes held her knuckle over her mouth contemplatively.

            “Or perhaps the Puppetmaster has so much power he can control even the law enforcement…”

            Leon rubbed the back of his head and scowled.

            “Well… this might be totally irrelevant…”

            “If it’s ‘totally irrelevant’, should we really be talking about it?” Junko tilted her head. The baseball star huffed.

            “Just listen, alright? I was chillin’ in the entrance hall again, when I heard something. It was too far away for me to tell what it was, but if I had to try and place a name to it… I guess… it sounded like there was a construction site nearby? Y’know, like they were building or tearing down stuff…”

            Byakuya scoffed.

            “You were probably just imagining it… If our capture and imprisonment didn’t attract enough attention to Hope’s Peak, construction certainly would have done the trick…”

            “What? What? Whatcha talkin’ about~?” And just like that, the monochrome bear popped out from behind the podium, like he usually did. “Kuwata didn’t hear construction sounds… he heard explosions and stuff!”

            “Explosions?” Naegi echoed in disbelief.

            “Like machine guns firing… Upupu, they’re not unlike sounds you would hear at a construction site!”

            “Wh-What are you talking about…?” Maizono dreaded the answer. Monokuma just laughed.

            “My lips are sealed, and I’ve thrown away the key~. It’s classified! Top Secret!”

            “Then at least tell us what you can…” Kirigiri replied tersely. “Why did you want us all to come here?”

            Monokuma cocked his head at the mysterious girl.

            “You’re an impatient one! Gettin’ down to business! But first things first: I’ve got some complaints of my own… I’ve been feeling kinda blue lately… My stitches are comin’ loose, and I’m not as bright as I used to be… I think the problem is… I’m bored out of my mind! I need some excitement! Some danger! Some witty one-liners! If ya don’t mind me bein’ blunt about it… This sucks! We need another villain up in here, like, nowish! And it is for this reason I have decided to present you guys with your next incentive!”

            “I-Incentive?!” Naegi blurted out on impulse. Around him, the others were similarly horrified. “You mean like those videos? Are you saying you’re going to show us something crazy again to and try to incite another murder?”

            Monokuma shook angrily.

            “Incite another murder?! You’re makin’ me sound like the bad guy!”

            Ishimaru raised his fist in determination.

            “I-I don’t know what you’re plotting, but no one else is going to kill anyone! Try whatever you want, it’s not happening!” The hall monitor pointed accusingly at the monochrome bear, who just giggled.

            “Oh really? That’s nice. Give it your best shot. Well, I’m gonna get started here. Ahem. The theme of today’s incentive… is shameful memories and deep, dark secrets! Everyone who’s ever lived has accumulated their fair share of shameful memories and deep, dark secrets… So I’ve taken it upon myself to do a little digging and uncover all the skeletons in your closets!” The bear raised its hand proudly. “That top-secret information is right here in my hand, sealed within these envelopes… I will be distributing them in just a moment… so check out what I’ve dug up on you!”

            With this said, Monokuma threw the envelopes at the students, somehow making sure that each one landed at the feet of the designated owner. With a sense of trepidation, Naegi picked his envelope up and opened it…

            ‘”Naegi wet the bed until he was in fifth grade…” Really?’ The Luckster was truly dumbfounded. Out loud, he just exclaimed in shock like everyone else.

            “Wh-Why?!” Asahina exclaimed.

            “How did you… discover this?!” Ishimaru demanded to know.

            As gasps and grunts rang out all throughout the gym, Naegi couldn’t help looking Maizono’s way and seeing her clutching at the paper with an intensity he hadn’t seen since she watched her video… Just what had Monokuma dug up on her?

            “You’ve got twenty-four hours!” Monokuma announced. “If I don’t have a new villain by then, I’m gonna tell the whole world everyone’s deepest, darkest secrets! I might even get a bunch of people together and have them go door-to-door spreading the truth! Lions, and tigers, and bears! Oh my! The shaaame!”

            For a few moments, Naegi just stared in horror.

            “This is your… ‘incentive’ this time…?”

            “Darn tootin’!” Monokuma confirmed. “Y’all don’t want your dirty laundry out fer everyone to see, do ya?”

            Naegi sighed in aggravation.

            “While, yes, that’s not something I want people to know about… I wouldn’t kill someone just to prevent it from getting out!” The Luckster declared firmly. Monokuma reeled back in shock.

            “S-Say whaaat?!”

            “Exactly! And you’re a fool to think otherwise!” Ishimaru backed Naegi up. “No one would murder anyone over something so trivial!”

            Monokuma hung his head sadly.

            “W-Well, crap… I figured ‘memories’ was a great word to make you guys think about the outside world… And there’s also the fact you don’t want anyone to know about them… So I just thought this was a great way to – y’know!” The bear turned his back to the students morosely. “Siiigh… I guess this means no one’s gonna die! Laaame… Well, whatever. At the very least, I’ll enjoy what little satisfaction I can squeeze from revealing your secrets tomorrow… That awkward moment when you realize it was all for nothing… Gonna cry myself to sleep now… Bawww…”

            With all that said, Monokuma waddled off, but a number of people didn’t look like they bought his tactless display. He clearly was expecting one of them to snap from the pressure. Not everyone was that perceptive, though.

            “I was kinda scared at first… but it looks like we all dodged a bullet.” Asahina mused. She smiled sheepishly. “I mean, yeah, having our secrets spilled is kinda embarrassing… but there’s no way that’s enough incentive to commit murder… you know?”

            “Soldiers, I have a proposition…” Ishimaru announced tentatively as he crossed his arms in determination. “Let’s get this out of the way now and all reveal our secrets to one another! That way, this ‘incentive’ will lose its meaning! It’s a great idea, if I do say so myself! I’ll go first! My shameful memory is of when-”

               Togami cut him off right there.

            “Shut your mouth. No one wants to hear your rubbish.”

            “Wh-What?!” Ishimaru took a step back in shock.

            “It doesn’t matter if the rest of you want to have a share circle.” Byakuya continued snidely. “You won’t be hearing a word from me about my ‘secret’.”

            “Even if I wanted to share… it’s not possible.” Celes murmured. Yamada grinned.

            “And that makes us all the more curious. It’s human nature. So please, do tell…”

            “I will not.” Celes rebuffed him. Yamada started panting.

            “Come ooon, it’s not hard! Just tell us!”

            “Once again…”

            “Say it, say it, say it, say it!”

            “I said I don’t wanna talk about it, you fucking putrid sack of lard!” Celes roared as her switch was ‘flipped’. Yamada screamed in fright.

            Junko flashed a nervous smile and peace sign.

            “Y-Yeah… I don’t really feel up to sharing, either… Sorry, guys…”

            Maizono was covering her mouth and nodding in silent agreement. Naegi noticed how she was looking over at him the most; she probably wanted to at least tell him, but apparently, her secret might involve her career… She did mention how she’d done certain things she was not proud of, to get to where she was as the Ultimate Pop Idol.

            “A-And what about you, Fujisaki?” Ishimaru asked tentatively.

            Chihiro bowed her head.

            “Um… I’m sorry… I really don’t want to say anything right now… But… But… I can’t go on like this, so I promise I’ll tell you later… I’ll work really hard… so I’m strong enough… to tell everyone…”

            “If you don’t wanna, you don’t have to force yourself.” Asahina assured the brunette. “Truth is, I don’t wanna say anything either…”

            Mondo hung his head in shame.

            “As much as I don’t wanna admit it, Brozum… with this much resistance, it looks like you’re outvoted…”

            Kirigiri, Sakura, and Leon hadn’t said anything yet, but with at least half the class electing not to share their secrets, it looked like their votes weren’t going to make any difference.

            “W-Well… It is what it is…” Ishimaru appeared really conflicted. He shook his head back and forth. “R-Regardless, no one here is going to commit murder over something so trivial as this…”

            ‘Yeah…’ Naegi mentally agreed with the hall monitor. ‘No one’s got a past so dark, they’d go so far as killing someone… just to keep it hidden… Right?’

            Ishimaru stood at attention.

            “While the motion to reveal our secrets early has failed… I recommend you all prepare yourselves before the twenty-four hour deadline expires! Having our pasts out on display is shameful, but that shame weighs far less than another human’s life! So, uh… don’t make any hasty decisions…”

            “The more you stress the point, the more you stress me out, too…” Yamada grumbled.

            “O-Oh… My apologies… I know it’s unthinkable, but…” Ishimaru trailed off with a sigh. The nighttime announcement rang out, cutting out whatever he would have said. When the announcement ended, it was Junko who spoke next, cracking a reassuring grin as possible.

            “Anywho… It’s late… Let’s just call it a night, get some rest…”

            “I agree. We should all use this time to prepare for tomorrow.” Sakura concurred.

            Uneasily, they all dispersed. When Maizono quietly left without saying a word to him, Naegi knew not to expect a ‘sleepover’ that night; he didn’t take it personally – Monokuma had likely low-balled her again. On the bright side, she didn’t seem as distressed as she was when she watched the video of her friends… Still tense, but not distressed.

            Naegi was the second last to leave the gym. He’d stayed to watch Ishimaru try to reassure Mondo that everything would be fine, though the biker blew him off and said he’d just need time alone. The Luckster couldn’t help feeling bad for the hall monitor, who was just trying to keep everyone united. Mondo had been a little too forceful when Ishimaru tried one more time to at least share his secret with the biker; even though they’d gotten closer as friends, Mondo was just too wound up. Naegi felt bad for leaving Ishimaru just sitting there forlorn, but he assured Naegi he’d be fine. They all just needed to come to terms with this new incentive, and how it might affect their lives.

            As he was on his way out, Naegi ran into Leon. The baseball star gave off a casual impression, but Naegi could tell there was an underlying current of uncertainty and nervousness.

            “Yo, Naegs! I know it’s late, but do ya mind hangin’ out for a bit?”

            “Uh… sure.” The Luckster blinked in astonishment. “Any reason you picked me in particular to hang out with?”

            “Well, everyone’s on edge ‘cause of those secrets.” Leon explained with a hand on his hip. “You and Ishimaru didn’t seem too bad off, though, and neither was I, y’know? If Monokuma was trying to get us to snap, he wasn’t aimin’ for us. I just figured, since our secrets are probably duds compared to everyone else’s, why not be upfront? Some of us have to get over ourselves.”

            The Luckster winced at the redhead’s choice of words. True, everyone was on edge, but some of them probably had serious stuff to wrestle through. Like Maizono. ‘Getting over themselves’ might have been going a little too far.

            “Sure.” Naegi agreed after a few moments. He had nothing left to lose, except maybe some of his dignity. “Wanna take this back to my room?”

            The baseball star shrugged casually.

            “I don’t really care either way. Did you wanna see if Ishimaru wanted to join us, though?”

            Naegi just shook his head sadly.

            “No… he and Mondo got into a fight, sorta. He’s gonna need some time on his own for now. If we run into anyone else, though, we can see if they’re interested.”

            It wasn’t much with just the two of them, but maybe if they could show the others some unity in the face of this new threat, they could come around before the deadline. They had twenty-four hours, that was more than enough time to reassure everyone.

            No one had to die.

            ~*~

            “……od………ing…” A voice stirred Naegi the next morning. “…Go……Morn…Go…od…..morning… Good morning!”

            As Naegi’s bleary eyes recognized the form of Monokuma on his bed, he couldn’t help it… He let out a scream.